An Experimental Study of Using Jeopardy Game Towards Students' Mastery on Passive Voice

ABSTRACT

Muthoharoh,  Siti  Faiqotun.  2013.  An  Experimental  Study of  Using  Jeopardy Game Towards Students‟ Mastery on Passive Voice at The Second Year Students of SMA N 1 Jekulo Kudus in The Academic Year of 2013/2014. A Graduating Paper. Educational Faculty. English Department. State Institute of Islamic Studies (STAIN) Salatiga. Counselor: Dr. Sa‟adi, M. Ag..

Keywords: Jeopardy game, Students’ Mastery, Passive Voice

This research is aimed at knowing the profile of students‟ mastery of passive voice taught using Jeopardy game and those who are taught without using it.  Besides  elaborating  the  profile  of  students‟mastery of  passive  voice,  this research also wants to explore whether or not any difference in mastery among students taught passive voice by using Jeopardy game and without using it, with the  reason  that  grammar  in  general  and  Passive  Voice  in  specific  terms  is important for student. It is used in daily activities and this subject included as one of  final  exam  subject.  Since  this  research  explores  the  students‟ mastery  of passive  voice  which  come  from  the  students‟ test,  quantitative  approach  is considered as an appropriate research design.

Then the result of this research is presented statistically in order to know the students‟ mastery of passive voice, also  descriptively to  reveal  the profile of students‟ mastery on  passive voice comprehensively. The findings of this research show that the average score of students‟ achievement on passive voice of XI IS 5 before using Jeopardy game is 63,9  and  after using it  is  68,9.  They appear more alert  and  can  identify the exercise faster.Then, the students taught without Jeopardy game (XI Bahasa) tend to be weak in level of understanding of Passive Voice. Their average score of voice pre test is 58,1 and their post test is 60,5. The students who are taught using Jeopardy game got higher score than those taught without using it. It is approved by the t-test result that shows 8,1 for the class who taught using Jeopardy game and 5,53 for the class without using it. Then, the main problem students‟ difficulty of learning Passive Voice, one solution to overcome the problem is by using Jeopardy Game.

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses on introductory explanation of the research. It presents background of the research that discusses the difficulties of learning passive voice in  EFL  environment  continued  with  the  strategy  to  teach  the  passive  voice namely, using a certain game to teach passive voice. The purpose is to help the students to comprehend the passive voice.

A.   Background of the Research

Language is a system of communication with other people using sounds, symbols, and words in expressing or conveying a meaning and idea or thought. Language can be used in many forms, primarily through oral and written communications as well as using expressions through body language. From that definition, language can be communicated into three ways: spoken language, written language, and gestures (Goldstein, 2008: 8). In spoken language, it includes the speaker and listener. It means that the human organs of speech produce the language through the sound. In written language, it includes the writer and reader. The communication in this way occurs by using the written symbols and the reader interprets them. In gestures, it means that the movement of parts of the body is the form of communication.

English is one of thousands languages in the world. Nowadays, it is considered as an important international language in many countries in the world. According to Lauder, (2008: 13) the Indonesians state that English is taught as compulsory subject from the first grade of elementary schools up to senior high schools, and even in semester of tertiary education institution.

The curriculum of teaching English deals with skills of practical language; like listening, speaking, reading and writing. For expanding the students‟ skills,  the  curriculum  of  the  teaching  English  also  includes  the language components like vocabulary, structure and pronunciation (in speech) or spelling (in writing) (Lado, 1983: 168). Even though, English has been taught as one compulsory subject and taught since elementary school, it is fact that many students face problems in comprehending their textbooks in using good grammar in carrying out communication. The reason is that the students‟ mastery in English is low. The students think that learning English is difficult (Devie, 2012: 1). It is not surprising because every language has its own system of rules or grammar. The differences between them usually induce problem in the learning English.

There are many definitions of grammar given by some linguists; Richards, Platt and Weber as quoted by Nunan defined: [Grammar is] a description of the structure of a language and the way in which units such as words and phrases are combined to produce sentences in the language (Richards, Platt and Weber, 2003: David Nunan, 2005: 2) The rules are not always understood consciously because they refer to those anyone ever thinks about hardly, but which allow people to use their language easily and naturally most of the time.

The students are not supposed to know only the grammar, but also to use a good grammar either in their spoken or written communication. Sometimes, we find that some students are good at vocabulary but they are not able to communicate, that situation arises because they do not know to construct a good sentence using the grammar. In other words, to make a good sentence and speak well, students must master grammar. It includes the study of verbs. Verbs are known as „the action words‟ in a sentence (Tomasello,1992: 6). Many verbs convey the idea of taking action or doing something. For  example,  the  words  like  go,  do,  take,  fight.  These  verbs  show  the meaning of doing something. The verbs are really crucial to study because even a shortest sentence must have a verb. The verbs like „Go!‟, „Begin!‟, „Start!‟, or „Stop!‟ can be considered a sentence although they are only a single word.

There are two kinds of construction of verb; active construction and passive construction. These two special forms for verbs are generally called active voice and passive voice. The active voice is the “normal” voice. This is the voice that people use dominantly. Students are also already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb. While in the passive voice the object of a sentence receives the action and becomes the subject of a sentence.

Passive voice is one of the topics in English grammar that must be learnt by the students. It is the verb form, where the subject receives the action. Thomson and Martinet (1986: 263) stated that the passive of an active tense is formed by putting the verb to be into the same tense as the active verb and adding the past participle of the active verb.

For example:       - They sent James to prison for two years (Active)

 - James  was  sent  to  prison  (by)  them  for  two  years (Passive)

Commonly, students are still confused with passive voice considering the usage of passive construction in Indonesia and English are different; in certain situation, Indonesian may use passive construction while English uses active  construction  to  tell  the  same  meaning.  In  this  case,  it  reveals  the contrast between Indonesia and English. This may cause problem for Indonesian   students   in   making  and   in   comprehending  Passive  voice. Therefore, teachers are advised not to disregard the fact that the people act and think differently from one country to another.

Based on the description above, learners may still have confusions in learning Passive Voice although they have studied it since high school. The writer  assumes  that  there  are  some  factors  related  to  Passive  Voice problems, such as the learners‟ weaknesses in comprehension. To help them in comprehending passive voice, the writer uses a game. It is one of the methods which can help to create dynamic, motivating their classes. Games are best set up by demonstration rather than by lengthy explanation (Norwanto, 2006: 37). Because, the real learning takes place when the students in a relaxed atmosphere, participate in activities that require them to use what they have been drilled on.

By recognizing the obvious condition about the students‟ weaknesses as appeared above, the teacher may try the right medium or strategy to teach the passive voice namely, using a certain game to teach passive voice. The purpose is to help the students to comprehend the passive voice. From the explanation above, the writer in interested in conducting a research on “An Experimental Study of Using Jeopardy Game Towards Students‟ Mastery on Passive Voice at The Second Year Students of SMA N 1 Jekulo Kudus in The Academic Year of 2013/2014”.

B.   Problem of the Research

The problem of the reseach are:

1. How is the profile of students‟ mastery of passive voice taught using

Jeopardy game?

2. How is the profile of students‟ mastery of passive voice taught without

using Jeopardy game?

3. Is there any difference in mastery among students taught passive voice by using Jeopardy game and without using it?