THE USE OF WORD BASEBALL GRAPHIC ORGANIZER TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY MASTERY OF SMPN 8 SEMARANG SEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS

Abstract

Vocabulary is an essential part of communication. Mastering vocabulary also affects an individual's language skills. It is suggested that individuals should build their vocabulary mastery from an early age. This case is also applied to the seventh-grade students of SMPN 8 Semarang who has difficulties regarding mastering vocabulary. Through this research, the researcher aimed to improve the student's vocabulary mastery by the use of a word baseball graphic organizer. The study used a quasi-experimental method. The subject of this study is the seventh-grade student of SMPN 8 Semarang, which consists of 64 students as the sample. The data was obtained by the pre-test and post-test on both groups and the questionnaire for the experimental group only. The student's low vocabulary showed in the pre-test mean score which showed 39.70 for the experimental group and 39.67 for the control group. Both of the groups showed improvement in their vocabulary mastery through the post-test mean score which is 60.29 for the experimental group and 47.66 for the control group. However, there was a significant improvement regarding the experimental group rather than the control group by the mean difference of 20.59 for the experimental group and 7.99 for the control group. The t-test result showed that the sig (2-tailed) is lower than the significance level (0.031<0.05). By this, it is proved that there is a significant difference between the student who was taught by using the word baseball graphic organizer and who was not. Furthermore, the use of the word baseball graphic organizer is effective to enhance vocabulary mastery for the seventh-grade student of SMPN 8 Semarang.