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ABSTRACT
This action research examines the issue of weak vocabulary knowledge among Year Five pupils
due to lack of motivation and interest in learning English. The focus of this study is to improve
the vocabulary knowledge by using Pictionary Games. The title of this action research is “Using
Pictionary Games to Improve Vocabulary Knowledge Among Year Five Pupils. The aim of this
study is to find out if Pictionary Games is an effective learning tool to assist pupils to understand
the vocabulary they encountered in the textbook. Pictionary Games that incorporate visual
stimulus will facilitate the learners to have better understanding and memory of the vocabulary
learnt. In this study, 6 research participants from Year Five of SRK Stella Maris (M) were chosen
to undergo the 6-weeks Pictionary Games intervention. Three research instruments have been
used in this study namely pre-test and post-test, observation checklist and survey (Likert Scale).
Based on the findings, it has been discovered that Pictionary Games is effective in assisting
pupils’ understanding of the vocabulary and increasing their interest to learn English.
ABSTRAK
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Kajian tindakan ini mengkaji isu pengetahuan kosa kata yang lemah dalam kalangan murid
Tahun Lima disebabkan oleh kurangnya motivasi dan minat dalam mempelajari Bahasa
Inggeris. Tumpuan kajian ini adalah untuk meningkatkan pengetahuan kosa kata dengan
menggunakan Pictionary Games. Tajuk penyelidikan tindakan ini adalah "Penggunaan
Pictionary Games untuk Meningkatkan Pengetahuan Kosa Kata dalam kalangan Murid Tahun
Lima. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengetahui adakah Pictionary Games merupakan alat
pembelajaran yang berkesan untuk membantu murid memahami kosa kata yang mereka temui
dalam buku teks. Permainan Pictionary yang merangkumi rangsangan visual akan
memudahkan pelajar memahami dan mengingati kosan kata yang dipelajari. Dalam kajian ini, 6
peserta penyelidikan dari Lima Tahun SRK Stella Maris (M) dipilih untuk menjalani intervensi
Pictionary Games selama 6 minggu. Tiga instrumen kajian telah digunakan dalam kajian ini iaitu
pra-ujian dan pasca ujian, senarai semak pemerhatian dan tinjauan (Skala Likert). Berdasarkan
analisis dan intrepretasi data yang telah dijalankan, pengkaji mendapati bahawa Pictionary
Games berkesan dalam membantu meningkatkan pemahaman murid dalam kosa kata Bahasa
Inggeris dan meningkatkan minat mereka untuk mempelajari Bahasa Inggeris.
1.0 INTRODUCTION
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Pictionary is a classic language game that is popular in the western culture. As implied in
its name, Pictionary involves the use of pictures or visuals to describe the words or vocabulary
that are targeted in the session. Other vital elements of Pictionary Games are guessing and
communication.
Vocabulary knowledge is vital for the young learners to learn English. With good vocabulary
knowledge, children will be able to communicate in the language in different functions. Other
than that, there are levels that authorities have set to show what it means to know the meaning
of a word. Shanker & Cockrum (2009), stated that “There are five levels of vocabulary
knowledge. They are;
1. A student has no recognition of a word. Indeed, she may never have seen it before.
2. A student has heard of the word (that is, recognizes that it is a word) but has no
knowledge of its meaning.
3. A student recognizes the word in context and has a vague understanding of its meaning.
4. A student knows well the meaning of the word in the context in which it appears.
5. A student knows the multiple meanings of the word (if they exist) and can actually use
the word in thinking, speaking, or writing.” (p. 1)
These levels suggested clear indicator for the teachers and educators to assess the learners’
prior knowledge and their effectiveness in learning new words. It is also helpful to provide focus
for the teachers to teach the vocabulary that pose difficulties for the learners.
A group of researcher from IPG Kampus Tun Hussein Onn (IPTHO), have conducted
research entitled “The use of e-Pictionary in Vocabulary Instruction. Rafiah, Yee & Kee (2016)
discovered that, “the use of e-Pictionary to teach vocabulary has helped the participants to
remember the names of the pictures shown as they can see the characteristics, colours and
special features of the pictures.” Other than that, Shirtha, Ujang & Sudirman (2014) stated in
their research that, “Students’ vocabulary achievement significantly increased after the
implementation of Pictionary Game in teaching vocabulary.” The researches have shown that
Pictionary Games in any version is effective to increase students’ performance in learning
vocabulary.
1. To find out if Pictionary Games assist the pupils to understand the vocabulary.
2. To find out if Pictionary Games will increase pupils’ interest in learning the language.
There are several questions that need to be answered throughout this research, they are;
1. Does the Pictionary Games helps the pupils to understand the vocabulary they
encounter in the textbook?
2. Does Pictionary Games increase the pupils’ interest to learn the language?
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This action research is a quantitative study. The research instruments used to analyse and
interpret data are pre-test and post test, observation checklist and Likert scale. This action
research utilised the Model of Action Research by Whitehead and McNiff (2006) to solve the
problem faced by the researcher which is pupils have weak vocabulary due to lack of interest in
learning English.
Figure 1: The action research cycles based on Whitehead & McNiff (2006)
Meanwhile the action plans and procedures for the intervention are as follows.
Table 1
Increment
Pupils Pre Test Grade Post Test Grade Increment
Percentages
1 34% E 86% A 52% 60%
5 69% B 74% B 5% 8%
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Figure 3: Result of Pre-test and Post-test
The average score for the pupils before intervention took place is 56%. 56% is considered
as the satisfactory score. However, after intervention the average score of the pupils increased
to 77% which considered as the good score. The increase in mean showed that the Pictionary
game intervention is effective in helping the pupils to understand the vocabulary they encounter
in the textbook. From the result, the researcher can deduce that pupils are having better
knowledge in vocabulary because there are an increase number of correct answers given by the
pupils. Every pupil showed improvement in the tests because at least 5% increments were
recorded in the post-test from the pre-test. The highest increment recorded in 52% who is
obtained by Pupil 1. Other than that, there is an increase of numbers of pupils who acquire the
highest band. In the pre-test only one pupil managed to score A, but after the intervention three
pupils managed to put themselves in A grade. Meanwhile, the standard deviation of the score in
pre-test is 0.188406.
After post test, the standard deviation recorded is 0.161544627 as compared to pre test
which is 0.188406. The scores spread out narrower in the post test. As the mean score increase
(56% to 77%), this signifies that even though pupils showed improvement in their vocabulary
knowledge, they are still performing and progressing in their own pace. Other than that, the
standard deviation also showed that pupils have managed to close their performance gap after
the intervention. This progress is beneficial to encourage continuous motivation in the learning
process.
Table 2
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Pupil 4 √ √ √
Pupil 5 √ √ √
Pupil 6 √ √ √
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5.1.3 Likert scale
Table 3
Result of the Likert scale before intervention
Total
Totally Disagree Agree Totally
score
Items n disagree agree
( P x pt)
1 pt 2pt 3pt 4pt
(*/24)
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Total
Totally Totally
Disagree Agree score
Items n disagree agree
2pt 3pt ( P x pt)
1pt 4pt
(*/24)
1. English is a fun subject. 6 0 0% 2 33% 3 50% 1 17% 17
2.My favourite subject is English 6 1 17% 4 67% 1 17% 0 0% 12
3.I always participate in the activities
during English lesson. 6 0 0% 3 50% 1 17% 2 33% 17
4.I like to do English tasks in the
classroom 6 2 33% 0 0% 3 50% 1 17% 15
5.I like to read English books. 6 3 50% 3 50% 0 0% 0 0% 9
TOTAL SCORE OF INTEREST 70/120
MEAN 1.2 20% 2.4 40% 1.6 27% 0.8 13% 14
Table 4
Result of the likert scale during intervention
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Table 5
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Before intervention
Based on the result tabulated, the pupils are moderately interested in learning English.
This is because, the result showed that the total score of interest is only 63 points. Meanwhile,
the mean is 12.6, whereby the ideal score is 120.
During intervention
Based on the result tabulated, pupils showed positive changes in their perception of
learning English. In other words, pupils are getting interested to learn English. This was proven
by the total score of interest obtained through the Likert scale. The total score for this phase is
70 with a mean of 14. Hence, there is 7-points increment of score compared to the previous
survey.
After intervention
By this time, there is an increase of total score for this item. This is because; the total
score of interest has increased dramatically from 70 points to 93 points. There is 23-points
increment of the total score. Meanwhile, the mean of the interest score after intervention is 18.6.
Does the Pictionary Games helps the pupils to understand the vocabulary they encounter in the
textbook?
This action research found out that the intervention was effective to help the pupils to
understand the vocabulary the encounter in the textbook. Pupils have managed to score an
average of 27% increment in their post test score as compared to their pre test score. This
figure shows that, pupils have improved their understanding of the targeted vocabulary. The
intervention was done on the targeted vocabulary but not any random vocabulary. Hence, the
intervention will be helpful for the pupils to answer their examination questions since the
questions are formulated based on the textbooks. However, the result will not reflect pupils’
actual abilities in using English. This is because, vocabulary in the textbooks are limited and
only relevant in certain occasions.
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Then, the second question is:
The action research found out that the intervention has produced a positive result in increasing
pupils’ interest in learning English. The objective was confirmed through two research
instruments. One is observation checklist and another one is Likert scale. Observation checklist
was used to determine the pupils’ participation in the lesson before, during and after
intervention. Participation is a helpful indicator to determine pupils’ interest level. Based on the
checklist, there is an increased frequency of participation for the three phases of interventions.
Other than that, the analysis for the Likert scale showed impressive changes of pupils’
perception towards English lesson. Pupils responded more positively to the items as the
intervention went by. There was increment of the interest score recorded by the researcher
through this instrument.
To improve the intervention the researcher can integrate the use of Information and
Technology to the game. Teacher can create a mobile application that can be customised to the
pupils’ and syllabus need or utilise the available Pictionary application on Play Store or Google
Play. This improvement will benefit more pupils but the current research participants will require
longer time to adapt to the game systems and suitable devices will be needed to implement the
intervention.
Other than that, if the timeframe for the Cycle 1 is longer, there will be more content that
can be presented in the intervention and the game will be more complex and challenging. As
suggestion, teacher can use the intervention to do flipped classroom. For examples, instead of
teacher pre-teach the vocabulary, they are going to look for the meaning of the targeted
vocabulary independently at home and in the classroom; teacher will test their understanding
through Pictionary Games. Hence, instead of mere understanding, the researcher can see to
what extend the intervention is effective to provide vocabulary retention of the research
participants as well.
Other than that, the researcher can introduce the “token system” as addition to the game
procedures. Even though, token acts as extrinsic motivation that do not usually last longer, but it
will be effective to prolong the pupils’ interest to play the games.
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8.0 CONCLUSION
In conclusion, prior to the research objectives and questions, the intervention has been
proven to be effective as it meets the objectives outlined and answered well to the questions
listed. Therefore, the Pictionary Games as an intervention is highly potential to become effective
teaching aids and to supplement the English lesson. However, it is imperative for the involving
practitioners to ensure that the intervention is carefully planned and implemented according to
the pupils’ needs for maximum performance of the intervention.
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REFERENCES
Carmichael, C., Callingham, R., Hay, I., & Watson, J. (2010). Measuring middle school students’
interest in statistical literacy. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 22(3), 9-39.
Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ914118.pdf
Rafiah Abdul Rahman, Yee, B.C., & Kee, L.L. (2016). The Use of e-Pictionary in Vocabulary
Instruction. The English Teacher, 45(3), 144 - 158. Retrieved from
journals.melta.org.my/index.php/tet/article/download/387/273
Shanker, J. L & Cockrum, A. W. (2009). Locating and correcting reading difficulties (9th ed.).
London: Pearson .
Shirtha El Rusyda, Ujang Suparman & Sudirman. (2014). Teaching Vocabulary Through
Pictionary Game To First Grade Students Of Smp Al-Kautsar. Retrieved from
http://download.portalgaruda.org/article.php?article
Whitehead, J & McNiff, J. (2006). Action research: Living theory. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
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