Enhancing Vocabulary Acquisition: A Study on the Impact of Crossword Puzzle Learning Media in an EFL Context

Rusmiati; Annisa Miftahul  Jannah; Sungkawati Kardi  Wahyuningsih

Rusmiati UIN Ar-Raniry
Annisa Miftahul Jannah IAIN Takengon
Sungkawati Kardi Wahyuningsih IAIN Takengon

Keywords: Vocabulary crossword puzzle, language learning, gamed-based learning, retention

Abstract

Vocabulary mastery is essential in English language learning. The lack of English words in students’ memory will hinder them in communication. This research aims to determine the effect of crossword puzzle media on improving the vocabulary skills to the eighth-grade students of a junior high school in Aceh Tengah. The study was conducted by using experimental research, and carried out on two groups: the experimental and the control. A population of 120 eight-grade students were selected, and the sample were class VIII-1 and class VIII-2 consisting 32 students in each functioning as the control group and experimental group respectively. The results indicated that the average score of the experimental class exceeded that of the control class. This showed that the experimental class performed better than the control class. The results of the t-test revealed that the calculated t-value was greater than the table t-value (2.13 > 1.99). With a significance level of 5% and 38 degrees of freedom, this means that the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted. In other words, this learning media has a positive effect during English language learning.

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