INCREASING SPEAKING ABILITY BY USING
DICE GAMES
(MENINGKATKAN KEMAMPUAN BERBICARA DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN PERMAINAN DADU)
Mohamad Syafiudin (mohammedeladdin@yahoo.com)
Kani Sulam Taufik
Muchlisatun Muayanah
STKIP PGRI Sidoarjo Jl.
Jenggala Kotak Pos 149 Kemiri Sidoarjo
Abstract
One of the most important four basic skills of learning language is
speaking, because the main purpose of learning language is able to communicate.
The statements of this research are how the teachers use dice games to increase students’ speaking ability, whether
it is able to increase
students’ speaking ability effectively and what
the students’ responses are. The type of this research was classroom action research with descriptive
qualitative methodology that could describe the data of the research in word.
The setting was conducted in MI. Sunan Kalijogo and as the subject were the
fourth grade students. The results of the research indicated that the dice
games were successful to stimulate the students more communicative. It could be
known from the enthusiastic of the students when played it also from the score
they got. By this game they did not feel that they were forced to speak up.
Keywords: dice
game, increase, speaking, ability.
Abstrak
Salah satu
hal yang paling penting dari empat keterampilan dasar mempelajari bahasa adalah
berbicara, karena tujuan utama mempelajari bahasa yaitu mampu berkomunikasi.
Pernyataan dari penelitian ini yaitu bagaimana para guru menggunakan permainan
dadu untuk meningkatkan kemampuan berbicara siswa, apakah permainan ini mampu meningkatkan
kemampuan berbicara secara efektif dan apa tanggapan dari siswa tersebut. Jenis
penelitian ini yaitu penelitian tindakan kelas dengan metodologi kualitatif
deskriptif yaitu mendeskripsikan data penelitian dalam bentuk kata. Lokasi
dilakukannya penelitian ini yaitu di MI. Sunan Kalijogo sedangkan subjeknya yakni
siswa kelas empat. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa permainan dadu berhasil
diterapkan untuk merangsang siswa untuk lebih komunikatif. Ini dapat diketahui
dari antusias siswa ketika memainkannya juga dari skor yang mereka peroleh. Dengan
permainan ini mereka tidak merasakan bahwa mereka dipaksa untuk berbicara.
Kata kunci: permainan dadu, meningkatkan, berbicara, kemampuan.
Introduction
In
order that students are good at English, students have to master the four basic
language skills. They are listening, speaking, reading and writing. One of the
most important of these four basic skills is speaking. Speaking has essential
role in learning English. With speaking students are expected to be able to
communicate each other well, because the main purpose of learning language is
to be able to communicate.
There
are many methods that can be applied in teaching speaking, for example by
conversation, singing a song, playing games, etc. Increasing students’ speaking
by conversation is good to be applied by teacher, but often many students feel
bored when they ordered to speak up, because the lack of vocabulary they had,
so the influence they can’t increase their ability well. Then by singing a
song, with this method it is also good to do, but not every song can be used in
teaching learning because it is not relevant with the curriculum. Then by
playing games, there many games that can be applied in teaching speaking such
as guessing game, puzzle game, riddles game etc. and each of them are
successful to be implemented in teaching learning.
Based
on the statements above, the writer want to make a classroom action research
about increasing students’ speaking ability by using dice games, because of the
writer has never found yet about dice games implemented in the study. In this
research the writer would like to use dice games as a technique for teaching speaking
because in dice games require creativity to speak up, so it can make students’ more
training their brain to utter the ideas. This research must be done, to know
how is effect by using dice games to increase students’ speaking ability. The
writer aimed to offer an alternative technique in increasing students’ vocabulary
by using dice games. The writer interested to investigate how is the
implementation of teaching speaking using dice games to increase students’ speaking
ability in the fourth grade students of MI. Sunan Kalijogo, how the use dice
games in teaching speaking can increase the students’ speaking ability, and
what are the students’ responses to the dice games used by the teacher in
teaching speaking.
The
researcher’s reason chose MI. Sunan Kalijogo as the research place, because
during observation, the researcher found that the students having lack of
English speaking ability. The
writer want to know how the improvement of the students’ speaking if the writer
implementing dice games in there. In other hand, the head master of MI. Sunan
Kalijogo had given permission to the researcher for education purpose.
The researcher
chose the fourth grade student because during observation they had poor,
average and good speaking ability. Because of it, the writer chose them as
subject of her research.
Speaking
skill should be taught and practiced in the language classroom. Because the
language course truly enables the students to communicate in English, so
speaking skill needs the special treatment. In the reality, in daily life most
of people do speaking more than writing; yet many English teachers still spend
the majority of class time on reading and writing practice almost ignoring
speaking and listening skills. Based on the statement above, there should be a
good balance to practice in classroom. According to Hornby (1995:826) speaking
is making use of words in an ordinary voice, offering words, knowing and being
able to use a language expressing one-self in words, and making speech.
Therefore the writer conclude that speaking uses the word and produces the
sound to express ourselves either ideas, feeling, thought and needs orally in
an ordinary voice. Furthermore, success in communication is often dependent as
much on the listener as on the speaker.
There
are three components to make fluent in producing speech,
namely vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. According to Walter (1973:11)
speaking is one way of learning about one self. In speaking, someone must face
problems that have history and relatively to other people, groups, and the
predictions that have been formed for living together. While Tarigan (1990:3)
states speaking that is gotten by the children preceded by listening skill.
After getting the language input the students are able to master speaking
skill. So that, speaking is the way to express the idea and feeling to one
another.
Dice games can be defined as something or an instrument that are used to
attract students’ motivation to follow the teaching and learning process. Dice
games can be picture or numeric surface so they can make the students more interested
and focus in learning. By this game the students do not feel that they are
forced to learn. They also enable students to acquire new experiences within a
foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson. Dice
games can be alternative teaching technique that will give many advantages for
teacher and the students either.
The research was classified as Classroom Action Research. A collaborative
action research is an approach whereby a facilitator engaged with a group of
participants in the context of their working environment to help to define and
explore certain problems and needs. In this study the researcher acted as a
real teacher who taught the students. Meanwhile the real teacher acted as
observer who observed the teacher who applied the use of dice games in
improving students’ speaking ability when the teaching learning process
conducted. Since it dealt with the classroom setting, this study was directed
to develop the teaching strategy in order to find out the solution to the
classroom problem in the teaching of speaking. To handle classroom problem in
the teaching of speaking, the real teacher applied the use of dice during the
teaching learning process. The design of classroom action research used in this
study is cyclical process, which consisted of four steps adapted from Kurt
Lewin as planning the action, implementing the action, observing the action,
and reflection.
The data obtained in the study were in the form of transcript of
observation and student’s scores, and questionnaire. The first data was
concerning with the process of the implementation of the action in the context
of teaching and learning process.
They were gained from the result of observations.
The second data was obtained after the students had a test conducted at the end
of each cycle, and the third data is gained from the result of questionnaire.
There were some instruments prepared in order to make easier
in monitoring the implementation of teaching and learning activities. All of
those instruments were described as follows:
·
Observation checklist
The
researcher employed observation checklist to find out the data about “dice
games” as a technique to teach speaking. The indicators were measured in the
checklist, they were; the topic, the technique of conducting the games, the
teaching learning process.
·
Assessment
In
assessing the student’s improvement of speaking, he gave speaking test
consisted of 10 questions which are related to the material. He gave it in the
end of each cycle for evaluation.
·
Questionnaire
The
researcher gave questionnaire to the students in the last cycle, to know what
the students’ responses toward teaching learning process.
Findings
and Discussion
The researcher found
several things that could be noted down from the result of the observation
during the technique was implemented. The result showed the development of the
students’ speaking ability by using dice games. In this case, the researcher
observed what was happening in some activities.
a.
First cycle
Planning: The first cycle was held on July 17th,
2013. In this cycle the researcher acted as teacher who carried out the lesson.
He got time allotment 1 x 35 minutes to conduct his study, the teacher prepared
lesson plan, instructional material, and technique, and the criteria of
success. The teacher selected topic under title “things at home”. And he used
dices that consisted of numeric, questions, or pictures on its surface. The
criteria of success in this cycle based on the observation checklist; the
teacher had good performance in implementing the use of dice games technique.
Based on the questionnaire; the students were enthusiastic and approximately 50
percent of them participate during the teaching learning process. Based on the
assessment; more than or equal to 30 percent of the students’ score of speaking
mastery test was greater than or equal to 65. In the last section of this cycle
the researcher made notes as a reflection for the next cycle.
Acting: In this activity
the teacher explained about how to play dice games which had related to the
topic and to make the students understand about the main activity, and then the
teacher divided students into four groups each of which comprised six students.
After that the teacher gave each of groups three dices to try it at first. As
addition, the teacher discussed with the students about the meaning of pictures
from the dices. In this section the students could ask a lot to the teacher
about the meaning of pictures that they didn’t know yet before.
In this game, each group decided the first player and so on by teacher’s
aids. The player was allowed to roll dice one time; he/she had to guess or act
as the picture on the dices shown as quick as possible in two minutes of
limited time. If he/she could do it well, the turn to roll the dices was the
next player. But, if he/she couldn’t, the player would get punishment by
singing a song as he/she could.
Observing: Here, the researcher used the observation checklist
and the assessment to measure and assess the students’ speaking mastery. The
assessment was done when the students learned speaking by using dice games
based on their speaking class. The observer observed the activity while the
process of teaching and learning speaking immediately.
The result of observation showed that the technique was not done perfectly
caused two factors. First, the students had limited vocabulary. They couldn’t
memorize the material quickly so that they couldn’t answer/act as the picture
shown well. Second, the students were passive to answer/act as picture shown,
because they still felt shy, only some of them which were active in
answering/acting during teaching learning process.
Reflection: In this cycle the researcher found that there were
some important points that should be given more attention. The first was about
students’ vocabulary. It was found that there were many students who didn’t
know the meaning of the pictures. Here the research should give more material
or vocabulary list to them to be learned at home. The second was about the students’
motivation. Here the researcher gave more attention to the students which were passive
in answering/acting by giving them a motivation to make them did not feel shy
and also giving them spirit to make them enjoy in learning.
b.
Second cycle
Planning: This second cycle was held on July 24th,
2013, it was about the problem of the cycle before they were students’
vocabulary, motivation and understanding. Here the researcher gave more
attention to the students which had limited vocabulary by giving the vocabulary
list to be learnt at home yesterday before. And for who were passive in
answering/acting as the picture shown, the researcher gave them a motivation to
make them did not feel shy anymore. The researcher helped them in giving the
meaning of that vocabulary which they did not know yet the understanding of the
games. In second cycle the teacher prepared lesson plan, instructional
material, and technique, and the criteria of success. The teacher selected
topic under title “things at the school” and remained using dice games with
pictures or questions on its surface. Based on the questionnaire; the students
were more enthusiastic than the day before and approximately 70 percent of them
participate during the teaching learning process. Based on the assessment; more
than or equal to 55 percent of the students’ score of speaking mastery test was
greater than or equal to 65. In the last section of this cycle the researcher
made notes as a reflection for the next cycle.
Acting: In this section, the teacher explained and reminded anymore about dice
games which had related to the topic that would be taught and how to play it,
and then the teacher delivered students into four groups. In the teaching
activity, the teacher distributed the dices as like what the teacher did at the
first cycle. Here, there was no different activity as the day before, but the
main point of this activity was to make sure that the students could play this
game well without any mistakes, misunderstanding, or feeling shy to express
their answer, and in the final of game the teacher declared the winner of the
game for who never or seldom got punishments.
Observing: The students played dice games very well because
they had used the method before. However, in this cycle all the students were
motivated to speak in answering or acting as the rule. Their willingness to
speak up was better than the previous cycle. Moreover, they enjoyed the
learning process. The teacher afforded by giving stimulus and giving positive
sign when commenting students could encourage them to speak.
Reflection: In this cycle, the researcher found that there were
still errors in their answer, especially in the use of simple grammatical, so
it became the important point which should be given more attention. It was
found that there were some students still used wrong sentences in example “that
is books” or “it are elephant” whereas the right answer is “that is book” or
“it is elephant”, but these mistakes were not so fatal because the purpose of
this learning was to increase students’ speaking ability not in grammaticality.
Next, the researcher had to give more explanation to the students the use of
this grammatical for the right and the best answer. And by this second cycle,
it could be concluded that the use of picture/questioning dice game could
increase students’ speaking ability and it showed that students were ready to
be given a new challenge for their learning but remain in the same topic.
c.
Third cycle
Planning: The third cycle was held on July 31st,
2013. About the problem in the cycle before, it was about the students’
grammaticality. In this last cycle, the researcher would give more attention to
the students by explaining to them the use of grammatical clearly in order that
not making wrong sentences and also the rule of the new game that would be
played. Based on the questionnaire; the students were enthusiastic and
approximately 80 percent of them participate during the teaching learning
process. Based on the assessment; more than or equal to 78 percent of the
students’ score of speaking ability test is greater than or equal to 65.
Knowing the result, it could be concluded that this research can be stopped
here.
Acting: The researcher started to explain the material and what the students had
to do in the third meeting; the researcher also divided the students become six
groups. Then the teacher delivered the media of learning they are game board,
numeric dices and punishment picture cards to each group. Before playing the
game, the students were allowed to ask a lot to the teacher about the meaning
of pictures or sentences that they didn’t know yet before. After the students
more understood, the teacher gave oral test to evaluate how much they could
increase their speaking ability from this game.
In this game, each group decided the first player and so on by teacher’s
aids. Each student had to play with his/her group well. During the students
were playing the game, the researcher took around and control the class and
sometimes gave spirits to the students about in order not to be despair, and
motivated them and also appreciate the students’ participation by saying “good”
or “that’s right” in order the students were always motivated during teaching
learning process.
Observing: In this cycle, the topic was done well. The students
paid attention to the teacher very much, and the students could play the game
well and fair. Moreover the condition of the class was quite good. And most of
them understood the topic and they could finish the activity very well too.
Reflection: In this cycle
the students showed some improvements. They were easier to be controlled than
before. They also became confidence to speak up although there were still
mistakes in answering especially in grammatical. The method and suggestions
that had been applied during the research were applicable. And the result of
the method could assist the students to increase their speaking ability.
After having done the previous activity using dice
games technique as well as considering the reflection of each cycle, the
researcher tried to give some suggestions in order to make the dice games
increased the students’ speaking ability as follows: first, the theme must be
interesting. The second, explaining dice games method that would be conducted
by the students clearly. Third, companying the students’ while doing
interaction, observation, or during role-play dice games, in order the students
were serious and used their thinking ability maximally to answer or act. The
last, finding the way to make students able to keep learning motivation.
Therefore, it was better done after the students finish their dice games
activity, and make sure that the students understood what they had to repair
from their speaking.
Conclusion
Based on the result of the study, it could be
concluded that:
1.
Dice games could develop and motivate students in
learning English, especially speaking. So dice games was effective to use in
teaching speaking to increase students’ speaking ability, it was proven by
their great responses, It based on the result of questionnaire which showed
that more than 83,3% the students were enthusiastic participate during the
teaching learning process, and their scores from first until third cycle was
improved, it’s proved by the result of assessment, more than 78% of the students’
score of speaking mastery test is greater than or equal to 6.
2.
By using dice games, the students’ speaking could be
improved, by this technique the students could speak up and remember new
vocabulary that had been taught easily. It was proven by the students’ score,
in the final value, most the students got greater than 6 in doing the speaking
task.
3.
About the student responses to the dice games used by
the teacher in teaching speaking are: All of the students were happy and
interested in the use of this game. Most learners pointed out that it was very
useful to make easier speak up and remember the vocabulary for them. During
teaching and learning process the students gave good responses towards the use
of dice games. This could be seen from their active participation and
enthusiasm in teaching learning process.
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