The use of software games to improve students’ vocabulary mastery

ABSTRACT The writer believes that mastering vocabulary is a basic need in order to use language correctly and properly in communication. Though based on his lifetime experience, he finds that vocabulary has been a problem in English lesson and that it needs improvement from the earlier stage of education. After conducting pre-research, he found that vocabulary problems remained in the four grade of SDN Karangputat 01. Then he found the possible solution after knowing that the school got software games donated by the education authority in the area. Because of this, he decided to write the thesis about the topic. This thesis is written to solve problems that appear in the teaching and learning vocabulary so that the students can improve their attention, enthusiasm, and motivation in learning vocabulary, get good scores in vocabulary test, can remember, grasp and understand the meaning of words easily, can spell and pronounce words correctly. Then at the end, the students’ vocabulary mastery can be improved by using software games. The method used in this research is action research. The research was conducted in two cycles from April 17th until June 3rd 2009 on the fourth grade of SDN Karangputat 01, Cilacap. The research data are collected by using both observational techniques and non-observational techniques. The observational techniques include classroom observation to record the events in meetings, and peer-observation to observe the students’ behaviour and vocabulary mastery progress performed by students during meetings. The non-observational techniques include oral test and written test that are conducted to support the data from observation. Audio recording and photographs are also taken during the implementation of the research to provide more accurate supporting data. The data are analyzed through re-reading the field note, the observation report, and justified in referent of standard achievement target which had been stated before the research. The research findings prove that software games is an effective medium or teaching aid in teaching vocabulary to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. The research findings include: 1) The quality of teaching learning process was improved by using software games. Known from the observation, from the first time the computer and software games are introduced to the students until the end of the action, it was a magnet of students’ attention. From day to day after it had been used, students participated in class activity more and more especially in cycle 2 while the students were working in a group in a competition. The software games’ features were really useful aid to help teacher in drilling pronunciation and making students grasp words meaning in an interesting way. Because of this, it was easier for the students to be controlled. From the beginning until the end of the action, classroom situation was conducive. Students in fact did not get bored with the lesson; 2) Software games in English class does improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. Proved by the observation report, students’ spelling and pronunciation improved meeting by meeting, then at the end of the research, their spelling and pronunciation of the words they had met was satisfactory. The problem in memorizing the meaning of the words they had met was also reduced meeting by meeting, then at the end of the research, there was no one having real problem in memorizing the meaning of the words by using software games.