Using Piccabulary To Improve Hyponyms Among Year 2 Bestari Pupils Of

Sk Syeikh Mohd Idris Al-Marbawi

Hamdan Bin Basran

[hamdan.basran@yahoo.com]
Supervisor
Madam Punethawathi A/P Rajagopal
Abstract
Vocabulary is an important element to be mastered in order for pupils to develop basic skills in
English language. Hyponyms is one of elements in the vocabulary. In this action research, most of
the pupils were unable to understand some of the vocabulary in English. The purpose of the study
was to determine if the use of piccabulary improve Year 2 Bestari pupils knowledge on
hyponyms. The respondents consisted of 6 pupils from Year 2 Bestari. The data of this study was
collected using pre-test and post-test, structured interview and observations checklist. The results
showed that 6 pupils achieved higher percentage in the post-test as compared to the pre-test. The
results of the study showed that the use of piccabulary was effective to improve Year 2 Bestari
pupils knowledge on hyponyms and it also help to enhance their learning.
Key words: Piccabulary,hyponyms
Introduction
During the third practicum, the researcher was placed in Sekolah Kebangsaan Syeikh Mohd Idris
Al-Marbawi which is located in Lubok Merbau, Kuala Kangsar, Perak. The school is located in
the rural area near Kuala Kangsar town. In addition to that, the school is quite small by which it
consists of almost 320 pupils. There are only two classes for each year. All the pupils in the
school are of one race which is Malay. The researcher had been assigned to teach English
language to Year 2 Bestari pupils. There were only 25 pupils in the class. The class consists of 16
male pupils and 9 female pupils, aged 8 years old. Most of the parents are working in Kuala
Kangsar area in various sectors and some of them work as farmers in that area. From the
observation, the researcher found out that they were not too interested in learning English because
they considered it as a difficult subject. This is because they did not understand the language.
Most of the time, the pupils speak in Malay language among themselves because it was their first
language. Even though they were the first class in year 2, they were at the average level of
proficiency in English. Vocabulary mastery of English is an important aspect in English language.
Vocabulary is the foundation to other skills in English language such as listening, speaking,
writing and reading. Vocabulary is also the key to the pupils understanding of what they hear and
read in the school.

Statement of Problem
The researcher practicum school for the third practicum was Sekolah Kebangsaan Syeikh Idris Al
Marbawi. It was observed that pupils had limited vocabulary .The researcher had met the English
teacher of Year 2 Bestari class to ask information about the pupils. According to the teacher, the
pupils in that class were active pupils but because of their limited vocabulary, it made them
unable to focus on the lesson. According to the teacher, most of the pupils had the vocabulary
problems that will lead to other problems in the classrooms. With the limited vocabulary, it made
the pupils to have low self confidence in learning English. They become passive learners and did
not dare to actively involved in the classrooms activities. The researcher identified that the pupils
were unable to remember well the new vocabulary they had already learn. So the researcher had
decided to emphasize on the usage of picture to explained new vocabulary especially on
hyponyms. By using pictures, it was easier for pupils to remember the new vocabulary because it
was more meaningful to learn vocabulary if they can see it visually rather than just knowing the
words itself.
Related Theories and Literature Reviews
Biemiller (2006), there is a strong link between vocabulary development and later literacy
development.
Allan Paivio (1971), there are two ways a person could expand on learned material: verbal
associations and visual imagery.
Hornby (2007), picture is a description that gives you an idea in your mind of what
something is like
Research Questions
This research attempted to answer the following questions:
1. Does the use of piccabulary improve Year 2 Bestari pupils understanding of hyponyms?
2. How does the use of piccabulary help to enhance Year 2 Bestari pupil in learning
hyponyms?
Definition of Term
Visual learner
Visual learners grasp information more effectively when they see something. For example by
using pictures, diagrams, films and other visual media. In learning process, this type of learner
tends to remember what they see rather than what they hear.
Vocabulary
Oxford advanced learners Dictionary (2005) defined vocabulary as all the words in a particular
language and all the words that a person knows or use(p.1645)
Picture
It consists of lines and shapes which are drawn, painted, or printed on a surface and show a
person, thing, or scene.
Hyponyms
Hyponyms can be defined as words that were related in meaning so that the meaning of one word
includes the meaning of the other words. For example, goat, duck and elephant were
hyponyms of animal.
Piccabulary
Piccabulary was a combination of word picture and vocabulary. In a set of picture cards,
pictures and vocabulary will be inserted to produce piccabulary. For example in one picture card,

the pictures of animals will be inserted along with the vocabulary or words that represent each
animal.
Methodology
Sample
The participants were chosen based on stratified random sampling. The researcher selected out of
26 pupils as the samples of this research. The selection of the samples is based on the observation
made by the researcher. The level of the proficiency of the participants is in the average level.
Their vocabulary is limited and most of them were unable to understand some of words
mentioned by the teacher.
Instruments
For this research, three types of instruments were used to determine the effectiveness of the
intervention used in this action research. The instrument used to collect the quantitative data was
pre-post test and structured interview. As for the qualitative data, the data was collected by using
an observation check-list.
Data Collection Procedures
The pre-post test had two sections which is section a and b. In section a, pupils have to
complete the table of hyponyms given. Meanwhile in the section b, pupils have to complete the
sentences using the correct vocabulary for each hyponyms. The scores for both tests were
recorded and compared to see the improvement made by the pupils. In the observation checklist,
the observer had to record the data on given paper of checklist and they had to tick and comment
about the behaviour. The instrument will be carried out during the lesson in all stage. The last data
collection method which is questionnaire will be conducted at the final stage of the research.

Data Analysis
The following section is the presentation of data that had been collected during the intervention.
These data were based on the pre-post test, observation checklist and questionnaire.
Pre-post test
The result for pre and post test were calculated and the improvement made were evaluated. Figure
1 summarises the comparison of the marks for pre-test and post test.
Figure 1

Pre-test & Post-test score

100%
score

80%

90% 90%

100%

100%

80%
70% 75% 65% 70%
60%

60%

80%
50%

40%

Pre-test score

20%

Post-test score

0%

Figure 1 shows the comparison between the result of pre-test and post-test. Based on the
bar chart, it clearly shows the changes of score in pre-test and post test. In pre-test, the highest
score was 75% and the lowest score was 50%. Meanwhile in the post-test, two of the respondent
able to score 100% and the lowest score was 80%.
Observation checklist
In the observation checklist, there were three observers who did the observation checklist who are
the researcher himself (O1), the cooperating teacher(O2) and researchers partner (03). For all the
description, all the observers answered yes and they gave comments for each descriptions. Table
1 shows the comments for each of descriptions in the observation checklist.
Table 1: Comments based on the descriptions in the observation checklist
Description
1. Pupils are active
during the lesson

2. The usage of
piccabulary motivates
pupils to learn.

Yes

N
o

Obser
ver
O1

Comment

/
/

O2
O3

Pupils ask lots of questions in the lesson.

They responded actively with the teacher

O1

Pupils paid more attention during the lesson

/
/

O2
O3

Pupils were motivated.

Pupils got excited

participating and responding to my teaching

3.The usage of
piccabulary promotes
discussion among
pupils.

4. The pupils enjoy

the lesson.

5.The pupils are

engaged in the
lesson.

O1

Pupils seem to discus among themselves.

O2

O3

O1

O2

/
/

O3
O1

Pupil discussed with their friends about the

picture.
Pupils discussed with their friends during the
lesson.
Pupils were excited when I introduced the
intervention
Pupils seem to enjoy the lesson with the use of
piccabulary
Pupils are happy
Pupils able to respond to the teacher

/
/

O2
O3

Less misbehavior occurred

Pupil focused during the lesson.

Structured interview
The structured interview contains five questions. The questions used closed ended questions
where the respondents answer yes or no. Table 2 showed the data analysis for the structured
interview.
Table 2: data analysis for the structured interview

Items / Questions

Yes

No

1) Do you enjoy learning English using picture?

2) Does Piccabulary help you to improve your

memorisation of hyponyms?

3) Does Piccabulary help you to write the correct

answer in the worksheet?

4) Does the use of piccabulary increases your

vocabulary on hyponym?

5) Do you want to use piccabulary in the next English

lesson?

Conclusion
Based on the research conducted, the researcher had identified that pupils understanding towards
hyponyms increased. The usage of visual aids such as piccabulary made pupils easier to
understand the different types of hyponyms and thus they were able to differentiate them
according to their word families. From the pre-test and post-test conducted to the respondents, all
respondents were able to show improvement in the understandings of hyponyms by scoring
higher in the post-test. The lowest mark in the pre-test was 50% and in the post-test, the lowest
mark was 80%. The proof of the understanding was pupils were able to improve as there was
overall improvement at least 15% in their post-test score. By integrating the usage of picture in
the lesson, pupils become more interested to learn by showing positive attitude during the lessons.
Based on the questionnaire given to the pupils, the results showed positive results regarding the
intervention where pupils enjoyed the lesson. From the data, it can be concluded that they were
enjoy the lesson which they were able to participate in the lesson and were not stressed during the
lesson. The findings also found out that the respondents agreed that the usage of piccabularry
helped them to improve their memorisation of the hyponyms that they had learned. The usage of
piccabulary as teaching aid had helped them in memorisation because most of the respondents
were visual learners and they learn better with the usage of visual aids. Furthermore, the research
also showed that the use of piccabulary increased their vocabulary on hyponym. The research had
proved that pupils vocabulary in hyponyms increased and it had helped them to widen their range
of vocabulary. The usage of piccabulary also promoted discussion that helped pupils to enhance
their learning. From the active discussion about the lesson among peers in the classroom it
promotes understanding about the lesson. From the observation checklist, the comments given
showed that there were active discussions which occurred during the lesson. By having the
discussion, it showed that pupils were engaged with the lesson and they paid attention during the
lesson. The findings also showed that pupils were active in the lesson where they involved with
the asking and answering session with the teacher during the lessons.
Implication and Recommendations
One of the suggestion to make the research better is the research should be carried out for longer
time. In teaching vocabulary, the time allocated for the research must be comprehensible so that
the researcher will be able to carry out the research without any rush. By the short time allocated
for the research, the results might not be able to achieve its objective because in learning
vocabulary, pupils need time to able them to master the vocabulary. Other suggestion is teachers
in school can use piccabulary in teaching other components of vocabulary. This research has
proven the effectiveness of piccabulary as an intervention that can help to increase pupils
knowledge in learning vocabulary on hyponyms and teachers can adapt the intervention and use it
in other vocabulary components such as antonym, synonyms and other components. English
teacher in schools can use piccabulary by combining it with activities such as group work, game
and other activities to make the lesson become more fun, meaningful and purposeful for the
learner. From this research, the school can use this intervention for teaching vocabulary not for
only Year 2 pupils, but it can be modified so that it can be used to teach other level. For the low or
average level of the pupils, piccabulary will help them in their learning process because it
involved the usage of visual aids that can enhance their understanding especially in learning
vocabulary.

References

.
Biemiller, A. (2006). Vocabulary development and instruction: A prequisite for school learning.
New York: Guilford Press.
Hornby, A. S. (2007). Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. New
York: Oxford University Press.
Paivio ,A., Sadoski, M. (2011). Lexicons, Contexts, Events, and
Images: Commentary On From The Perspective of Dual
Theory. Cognitive Science, 35(1), 198