CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of Study

Vocabulary is an important part of language.Vocabulary has a significant
role in language. Basically, learning language is a matter of learning vocabulary of
that language. Research has shown that vocabulary knowledge plays a critical role
in students literacy development (Scott, Jamieson-Noel, & Asselin, 2003).Wilkins
(1972) states that without grammar very little can be conveyed; without
vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. Thus, it can be concluded that learning
vocabulary is important as the basic to encounter a new language. Vocabulary is
taught in many different ways. Cited in Fauzan (2010) , study conducted by
Rosmayanti(2008), shows that in most Indonesian traditional English language
class, most teachers use conventional method in teaching vocabulary in which
teacher only give the students a non-stop drilling memorization practice.
Sometimes this type make the students frustrated to memorize a list of new words
at once.
Those problem happens in1st grade students of SMP IT Raudhatul Jannah.
Based on informal interview on 25 September, 2014, the common problems of
learning vocabularymake the students bored, less motivated and lack of
vocabularies and fluency. Then, the students may feel burdened when they cannot
remember the words. According to Lewis & Hill (1990) states that students are
1

unlikely to be very successful at learning unless they enjoy the process. Therefore,
teacher needs to make strategy to avoid these problems by creating an interesting
activity.
There are many ways to solve that problems. One of the activities of
teaching and learning vocabulary is through game. Ersoz (2000) holds that games
are highly appreciated thanks to their amusement and interest.There are so many
games that can be applied by teacher to improve the students vocabulary, such as
the alphabet game, word search, puzzle and so on. But one of the effective games
is crossword puzzle. Teacher can make it by themself. With this game, students
can find their mission by reading the clues and looking at the corresponding slots.
They already know how many letters the answer has. To solve any crossword
puzzle, person must be able to identify and understand the terms which are being
used. Paul (2003:99) cited in Alifa Binta (2010), says that crossword puzzle can
be used at any level, and his wonderful way to bring together vocabulary from
many different lessons. It is more effective than memorizing the words.
Based on the problem above, writer is interested in this article with the
title The Use of Crossword Puzzle in Improving Students Vocabulary Mastery of
7th Grade of SMP IT Raudhatul Jannah.
1.2 Purpose of the study
This research aims for improving

the result study of

students in vocabulary learning at Junior High School by using

crossword puzzle.

1.3

Research Question
Based on the purposes above, the problems of

the

presented formulated in the following research question are:

1. How is the process of improving students vocabulary by
using cossword puzzle?
2. How is the result of improving vocabulary in SMP IT
Raudhatul Jannah by using crossword puzzle?

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
2.1 Vocabulary
2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the words that someone can use in their speech and
writing or those they will need to comprehend. It means that words have
meaning that can be used in a communication. According to Richards
(2002:255), vocabulary is the core component of language proficiency and
provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, read, and
write.
Vocabulary is one of the language components that can affect
macro skills. Some definition of vocabulary is proposed by some experts.
Nunan (1999: 101) cited in Nunik states that vocabulary is a list of target
language words.Furthermore, Jackson and Amvela (2000: 11) cited in
Nuniksay that the terms vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are synonymous. In
addition, Richards and Schmidt (2002:580) state that vocabulary is a set of
lexeme, including single words, compound words, and idioms.
According to Kevin (2007) cited by Rohimah (2010) defined that
vocabulary is the central to language and crucial aspect to master.
Accordingly, the role of vocabulary teaching is essential in order to be
capable of communicating withother people.There are many ways to study

vocabulary, according to Mr. Cheung (2010) cited in Fauzal Fikri (2012)

there are eleven interesting ways to study vocabulary, they are:

Written Repetition - copy the word and/or its definition a number of times

on paper.
Oral Repetition - Read the word and its definition aloud a number of

times.
Art - Draw a picture next to the word.
Visualization - Imagine an image with the word or first letter.
Association - Make up a story about the word(s), or associate an idea or

apart of the word with its meaning.

Dramatization - Act out the word physically.
Word Parts - Use prefix and suffixes to help id the meaning of the word.
Music - Write a rap or song about it.
Computers - Type the word and its definition into a computer.
Write a story about the words.
Using game- Quiz each other with a partner

2.1.2 Vocabulary Mastery

Vocabulary is one of the language aspects which should be learnt.
In learning vocabulary automatically they have to know the meaning of
words themselves and can use it in sentences. vocabulary mastery can be
defined as a number of vocabulary (words) in a language which contains
information about its meaning, form, and usage in context of
communication. According to Harmer (2001: 16) says that there are some
aspects that have to be discussed in vocabulary, namely: word meaning
(synonym, antonym, connotation, and denotation), extending word use
such as idioms, word combination or collocation, and the grammar of
words which comprises noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.

2.1.3 Kinds of Vocabulary

According to Nation (2001), there are two kinds of vocabulary.
They are receptive and productive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary refers
to the words that native speakers and foreign learners recognize and
understand but hardly ever use, it is used passively in either listening or
reading. While Productive vocabulary is utilized actively either in
speaking or writing. Therefore it can be concluded that vocabulary can be
presented in four units. They are reading vocabulary, listening, and
vocabulary, speaking vocabulary, and writing vocabulary.
Reading vocabulary consists of the word found by people when
they are reading. While listening vocabulary is the words that people hear
and understand when they are talking to others or listening to radio and
television. Speaking vocabulary includes the words people used in their
daily life and conversation. The last writing vocabulary that consists of the
word people use in writing essays, reports, letter, etc.
In relation to kinds of vocabulary, Nation (2001) states that there
are four kinds of vocabulary in the text:
1) High frequency words. These words are almost 80% of the running
words in the text;
2) Academic words. Typically, these words make up about 9% of the
running words in the text;

3) Technical words. These words make up about 5% of the running words

in the text;
4) Low frequency words. These are the words of moderate frequency that
did not manage to get into the high frequency list. They make up over
5% of the words in an academic text.

2.1.4

Teaching Vocabulary Through Games

According to Ghada Sari (2009) Learning vocabulary through
games isone effective and interesting way that can be applied in any
classroom. In this case I suggest that games are used not only for mere fun,
but more importantly,for the useful presenting, practice and review of
vocabulary.
According to Ghada Sari

(2009), games have proven to have

advantages and effectiveness in learningvocabulary in various ways:

1. Games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn
andretain new words more easily.
2. Games usually involve friendly competition and they keep
learnersinterested.
3. Vocabulary games bring real world context into the classroom and
enhancestudents' use of English in a flexible, communicative way.
4. Games are highly motivating and they give students more opportunity
toexpress their opinions and feelings.
5. Games add diversion to the regular classroom activities," break the
ice",but they are also used to introduce new ideas.
However in order to achieve the most from vocabulary games, it is
important that suitable games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be

conducted, the number of students, proficiency level, cultural context,

timing, learning topic, and classroom settings are factors that should be
taken into account.
Suggested games:
Ambiguous picture:
draw a small part of a picture. Ask the students what it isgoing to be.
Encourage different opinions. Do not confirm or reject their ideas.Add a
little more to the drawing and ask the question again. Build your picture
inabout four stages.
Association:
start by suggesting an evocative word:" storm", for example. Astudent says
what the word suggests to him or her-it might be "dark", and so onround
the class. You might start with any other word or use an item of
vocabularythe class has recently learnt.

Crosswords:
ask a student to write a word of not more than five letters in themiddle of
the board, for example, "melon". The letters should be written clearlyand
separately. Now think of a word which shares one letter with the word
onboard. Give students a clue to your word. For example," I like reading

them". If somebody guesses: books" he or she writes the word so it crosses

the first wordand shares a letter. The students now take over.

2.2 Crossword Puzzle

2.2.1 Definition of Crossword Puzzle
Crossword puzzles are the world's most popular word game. The first
crosswords appeared in England during the 19th century. They were a far
cry from what appears today in US newspapers, derived from word
squares, groups of words that can be read across or down. These appeared
in children's books and various periodicals. In the United States, however,
the puzzle evolved to become a serious adult pastime. During the height of
the crossword craze in the 1920s, people lost their jobs and marriages were
destroyed due to the addictive nature of these new puzzles.
The First known crossword puzzle was created by Arthur Wynne for
the eight-page comics section of the New York World. Usually, the page
featured word squares, hidden words and connect-the-dots exercises.
However, Wynne Wanted to try something different. He sketched a
diamond-shaped grid (with black squares) and wrote the word "fun" (the
name of the comics section) across the top of the square.
According to Augarde (1994, p.59) crossword puzzles is a chequered
diagram, usually square in which the player has to enter words guessed
from numbered clues either across (horizontally) or down (vertically).
The words are separated by black squares or by thick bars between

squares. According to Kilickaya (2007) crossword puzzles are excellent

way to review vocabulary, as students will immediately know their
answers are incorrect if they do not fit the puzzle. In addition, if the
students can not figure out the answer, they can simply count the squares
in the puzzle, find words of equal length and then try to deduce the correct
answer.
Paul (2003:99) cited in Alifa Binta (2010), says that crossword
puzzles can be used at any level; it is wonderful way to bring together
vocabulary from many different lessons. Paul adds that the combination of
puzzle solving and fun can create a powerful learning tool.
2.2.2

Types of Crossword Puzzle

According to puzzles expert, Dave Fisher (2014), In the English

language, there are three different types of crossword puzzles: freeform or

criss-cross crossword puzzles, standard, American-style crossword puzzles
and cryptic crossword puzzles.

1. Freeform or criis-crossword puzzles

The easiest of all crossword puzzles to create, freeform or
criss-cross crosswords are word puzzles with loosely
interlocking grids with a set of words going across and another
going down, sharing letters where the the two intersect.
Squares in which a word begins have numbers which
correspond to a clue made up of words or a picture which must

10

be figured out to deduce the word. Freeform crosswords are

asymmetrical and do not adhere to the guidelines set for
standard and cryptic crossword puzzles. These puzzles are
often used in educational settings to build vocabulary or to
reinforce concepts taught in class.
2. Cryptic crossword puzzles
Crossword grids in Britain and Australia generally have a
lattice-like structure and up to half of the squares may be
unchecked. The cryptic clues can be read as a sensible
sentence, more or less, but actually consist of two parts. One
part gives the definition, as in the standard crossword puzzle,
the other uses some form of wordplay that hints at the answer.
This wordplay may come in the form of anagrams, charades,
container words, reversals, deletions, double definitions, hidden
words or slits.

2.2.3

Teaching Vocabulary through Crossword puzzle

According to Harmer (2005: 200), there are some teacher roles in
class management. They are : the teacher as controller, the teacher as
assessor, the teacher as organizer, prompter, participant ad resource.
Teacher as controller means that teacher should be managing what
students do, they speak and what language they use. Teacher as assessor
means that a major part of a teachers job is to assess the students
work, to see ho well they are performing and how well they performed.

11

The aim of teacher as organized is tell to the students what they are
going to learn about, give clear instructions what exactly their task is,
get the activity going, and then organized feedback when it is over.
Teacher as prompter and participant is teacher needs to encourage
students to participate and teacher is going not afraid to be a participant
in learning process. the last is teacher as resource is means that teacher
should be always being ready to offer help to students if it is needed.
In teaching vocabulary through crossword, teachers need a guide
for the successful of learning process. according to Blum cited by
Renandya (2002: 124), there are twelve characteristics of effective
teaching were identified:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

instruction is guided by a preplanned curriculum

there are high expectation for students learning
students are carefully oriented to lessons
instruction is clear and focused
learning process is monitored closely
when students do not understand, they are retaught
class time is used for learning
there are some smooth and efficient classroom routines
instructional group formed in the classroom fit insttructional

needs
10. standards for classroom behavior are high
11. personal interaction between teacher and students are positive
12. incentive and rewards for students are use to promote
excellence
Based on the list above, it can be concluded that clear instruction,
learning monitored, and good interaction between teacher and students is
suggested in teaching vocabulary through crossword puzzle.

12

Good teaching and learning process is teacher can be act as the

roleof teacher, and then the learner can get what they should be learn. This
situation can get by using media in teaching vocabulary, such as crossword
puzzle games. Games can help students learn English interestingly.
According to Finocchiaro (1989: 150), games have their own build
in motivation. Motivation is help studets learn interestingly. Crossword
puzzle game is a media that can be used in teaching vocabulary to
decreased students learning difficulties.
According to Learn English Article (2010) cited in Yuliantika, there
are some tips and hints in solving crossword puzzle:

After learning some topics in a text, students remind the words that relate

to the topic.
There are some numbered white boxes of puzzle and also series of hints or

clues about a word given.

The white boxes are divided into across and down.
Students read the numbered hints or clues and then guess what word the

hint refers to.

The challenge is that the word has to be a certain number of letters.
For instance, when the topic is describing part of house let it says the
hint in down first is where you find the bath.There are only eight
whitesquares for the word, so the answer is bathroom because it is a part

ofhouse and fit in the amount of spaces.

The words in crossword puzzle connect each other such as in a word find.
After the students answer some of the word, then the students will have

13

some letters of other words that already have been filled into the white

boxes.
After the students answer all the hints or clues, the crossword puzzle

iscomplete.
Finally, teacher and students discuss the crossword puzzle.

2.2.4

Steps of using Crossword puzzle

Maluniu, Savannah & Teresa (2013), Crossword puzzles

are an extremely popular pastime. In addition, they

sharpen the brain and increase vocabulary. Graded from
"easy" to "difficult", some seem almost impossible to
complete. It is recommended that novices start with the
"easy" ones and progress, up the ladder, step by step. Get
a sharpened pencil or two and an eraser, but first, read on.
1. Solve the fill-in-the-blank clues first, as they're usually
easier than the others.
Then, you'll have a network of answers from which to
work. Solve as many of the squares as you can from the
network, and then start at the #1 box, across, then down.
Fill in the word if it fits both directions. Then do the same
with the next box until you fill in the words you are sure of.
If unsure, write your potential letters very lightly inside the

14

boxes. Continue like this, filling in words you are unsure of,
but fit into the down and across boxes.
2. Return to the start, making a second pass through the
clues.
Now that you have a few letters pencilled in, a correct
answer might just pop up in your memory. Ensure that the
letters fit into the other numbered boxes as well. It is not a
correct word, remember, unless it fits perfectly with every
box number it touches.
3. Repeat these steps until the puzzle is solved or until
completely stumped.Now the fun begins as you start to
find the letters for each remaining word.
4. Spend a long time thinking about the "theme" clues.
Often, this is key to puzzle solving. For example, if the
theme clues are based on famous crossword puzzlers and
you do not know much about it, look up "crosswords" on
Wikipedia.
5. Study the missing letters.
There are only just so many syllables in the English
language and only a few letters will work with both of the
words that cross. Take guesses and see if they fit.
6. Review the puzzle and the clues you missed or clues you
derived without any knowledge of the subject. Put these
to memory.

15

2.2.5 Advantages of using crossword puzzle

According to Jones (2007), teaching vocabulary through crossword
puzzle is an intentional way in which the attention of the learners is
directly focused on learning new words. It can expand the students
vocabulary because subject makes student more active and enjoy learing.
Besides, playing with words through crossword puzzle will improve the
students memory, reasoning, and spelling as well as increase their
problem solving skills.Moreover, crossword puzzles are a good way to
review vocabulary concepts in a way that is both thought provoking and
enjoyable.
According to Jones (2007), crossword puzzle also teaches
vocabulary, reasoning, spelling, and word attack skill. This is excellent
game, which allows teachers to create crossword puzzles using spelling,
reading, or vocabulary words. Futhermore, to fulfill the crossword puzzles,
the students must use word clues to determine the correct word to fit into
the crossword, either across the puzzle or up and down. The studet must
able to identify and understand the terms being used. This often involves
acquiring new vocabulary.

16

CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH
3.1 Research problem
This research has following problems; they are formed as
questions below:
1. How is the process of improving students vocabulary by
using cossword puzzle?
2. How is the result of improving vocabulary in SMP IT
Raudhatul Jannah by using crossword puzzle?

3.2 Research Instrumen

This research used some instruments for helping collecting
the data. The instruments was test and students response. The
17

test consisted of pre test and post test. Pre test was given to the
students before the treatment, while post test was given to the
students after the treatment. So, from the both of the test, the
writer wanted to know the result of the treatment.
3.2.1 Test
Test was used to measure students improvement of vocabulary
learning. The test that was used in this research is pre-test and
post-test. Pre-test was given before the treatment. And the posttest was given in the end of treatment. The researcher gave the
test in the form of multiple choice and essay.

3.2.2 Observation
Observation was used to gain a description of how well the game
work in vocabulary learning process and to the students
responses toward the use of crossword puzzle game in improving
students vocabulary mastery. The researcher used observation
sheet. In this research the observation focused on the condition
of the classroom and also teacher and the students activities.

3.2.3 Interview

18

Interview was used to gain students perception toward the use

of crossword puzzle in improving their vocabulary mastery. The
reseracher used the recorder.

3.2.4 Questionnaire
Questionnaire was used as a tool to determine prior knowledge of
students vocabulary through crossword puzzle. The reseracher
used a questionnaire sheet to collect the data.

3.3 Research Site and Participant

This research was involved 35 students of Junior High
School as participants. In this case the Junior High School was
located in Jl. Ciberko No.4 Klitimbang, Cibeber Cilegon, namely SMP IT
Raudhatul Jannah. The participants were in the first level because
the writer realized that the students in the first level was more
interseted in the crossword puzzle game.
3.4 Data Analysis
This research focused in descriptive analysis for analyzing
the data. The writer showed the table to explain the data
analysis, pay attention on the following table :

N
o
1.

Resear
ch
questio
n
Questio

Type of
data
Student

How to get
data
-

Pre test

Time
-

Before

How to
analyze
data
Special

19

n1
-

Post test
-

test score

2.

Questio
n2
Students
response

Questionnai
re

Interview

Observation

treatme
nt
After
treatme
nt
After
treatme
nt
After
treatme
nt
During
treatme
nt

formula

Descriptiv
e Analysis

CHAPTER IV
DATA INTERPRETATION

20

This chapter presented data interpretation of research. It covered of

students response, questionnaire. Related to the first research question, the
reasercher took the questionnaire to answer the first question about the process of
improving vocabulary.
4.1 Questionnaire

No

Statement

Do

you

vocabulary?
Do you feel interested in
learning

like

to

study

vocabulary

Total

Answer

answer
Yes
No
6
4

percentage %
yes
No
60%
40%

80%

20%

80%

20%

70%

30%

20%

80%

by

using crosswordpuzzle?
Does the crossword puzzle
can help you in learning

vocabulary?
Does the crossword puzzle
can

improve

vocabulary skill?
Does your teacher
using

your
apply

crosswordpuzzle

in

teaching vocabulary?

Based on the questionnaire above , the writer used it to get the data. The
questionnaire were conducted on Monday, 10th November 2014 at 10 a.m. The

21

questionnaire consists of five questions. 1) Do you like to study vocabulary?, 2)

Do you feel interested in learning vocabulary by using crossword puzzle?, 3) Do
the crossword puzzle can help you in learning vocabulary?, 4) Do
the crossword puzzle can improve your vocabulary skill?, and 5)
Does your teachers apply using crosswordpuzzle in teaching
vocabulary?. Based on the questionnaire, for the first question,
there were 6 students or 60% answered yes; on the other hand 4
or 40% students answered no. So,almost of them liked to study
vocabulary. Whereas for the second question, there were 8 or 80
students answered yes;on the other hand 2 or 20% students
answered no. It means most of them felt interested in learning
vocabulary by using crossword puzzle. Meanwhile for the third
question, there were 8 or 80% students answered yes; on the
other hand 2 or 20% students answered no. It means that
crossword puzzle could help most of them in learning vocabulary.
And then for the fourth question, 7 or 70% students answered
yes; on the other hand 3 or 30 students answered no. It means
that crossword puzzle could improve their vocabulary. Finally, for
the fifth question, there were 2 or 20% students answered yes;
on the other hand 8 or 80 % students answered no. As a result
before the researcher apply the method; their English teacher
had not applied the same method with the researcher.

22

CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION
5.1

Conclusion

Vocabulary is the words that someone can use in their

speech and writing or those they will need to comprehend. It
means that words have meaning that can be used in a
communication. In teaching vocabulary, teacher should use the
effective method, such as games. This research was focused on
crossword puzzle in teaching vocabulary. The researcher took
questionnaire as instrument for getting the data. The participant
are the students of SMP IT Raudhatul Jannah at first grade. The
result of the questionnaire showed that the students interested in
learning vocabulary by using crossword puzzle. It can help them
in learning vocabulary. Finally the using of crossword puzzle in
teaching vocabulary can improve students vocabulary.
5.2 Suggestions
The researcher believe that the use of crossword puzzle in teaching
vocabulary is an effective way for the teacher. The teacher can make it by
themselve with add some picture to make the students interest in learning
vocabulary. It is very simple and enough cheap.

23

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26