THE EFFECT OF USING THE WORD CHAIN GAME TOWARD STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY AT THE 7th GRADE OF SMP NEGERI 29 SIJUNJUNG.
ABSTRACT Nurtasya, 2322062. The Effect of Using the Word Chain Game Toward Students’ Vocabulary Mastery at the 7th Grade of SMP Negeri 29 Sijunjung. Thesis, English Education Department, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, UIN Sjech M.Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi. Vocabulary is one of the most important parts of learning English. It helps students understand and express their ideas in communication. However, many seventh-grade students at SMP Negeri 29 Sijunjung had problems with vocabulary. They had limited vocabulary, low motivation to learn, and learned through conventional teaching methods that made the learning process less interesting. Based on these problems, the researcher offered the Word Chain Game as an alternative way to teach vocabulary. This game provides a fun, enjoyable, and interactive learning activity that encourages students to participate actively in the lesson. Through the game, students can practice, repeat, remember, and learn new words more easily while playing. Therefore, this research investigated the effect of using the Word Chain Game toward students' vocabulary mastery. This research employed a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design. The population of this research was all seventh-grade students of SMP Negeri 29 Sijunjung, consisting of three classes with 84 students. The sample consisted of 56 students selected through cluster sampling. The instrument of this research was a vocabulary test consisting of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions with 25 items. The data were collected through a pre-test and post-test and analyzed using descriptive statistics and non-parametric tests because the normality test showed that the data were not normally distributed. Therefore, the researcher used the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and the Mann-Whitney U Test, with the help of SPSS. The findings showed that the students' vocabulary mastery improved after learning through the Word Chain Game. The mean score of the experimental class increased from 41.86 in the pre-test to 71.36 in the post-test, while the control class increased from 46.43 to 59.86. The Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test showed a significant improvement in the experimental class with Z = -4.510 and Sig. = 0.000 (p 0.05). The Mann-Whitney U Test also showed a significant difference between the experimental class and the control class after the treatment with U = 238.500, Z = -2.530, and Sig. = 0.011 (p 0.05). These results showed that the students who learned by using the Word Chain Game achieved better vocabulary mastery than those who learned by using the conventional teaching method. Based on the findings, the Word Chain Game was an effective way to improve students' vocabulary mastery. Keywords: Word Chain Game, Vocabulary Mastery