Using a picture comparison interactive medium to improve synonym mastery of the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta

(1)

USING A PICTURE COMPARISON INTERACTIVE MEDIUM

TO IMPROVE SYNONYM MASTERY OF THE TENTH

GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA NEGERI 7 YOGYAKARTA

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Martha Erika Diana Student Number: 131214136

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

(2)

i

USING A PICTURE COMPARISON INTERACTIVE MEDIUM

TO IMPROVE SYNONYM MASTERY OF THE TENTH

GRADE STUDENTS OF SMA NEGERI 7 YOGYAKARTA

A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements

to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

in English Language Education

By

Martha Erika Diana

Student Number: 131214136

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

vi

ABSTRACT

Diana, Martha Erika. (2017). Using a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium to

Improve Synonym Mastery of the Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.

Vocabulary is very crucial in the process of learning a second language. In mastering English vocabularies, a lot of synonyms should be covered. One type of synonyms is what we call near-synonym. Near-synonyms is expressions that are more or less similar, but not identical in meaning (Lyons, 1996). According to the document of 2013 curriculum, near-synonym topic is not emphasized on the

syllabus (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 2012). Somehow, neglecting

any subtle differences between them may trigger emergence of any word choice problem. Therefore, the researcher proposed a picture comparison interactive medium which presents verbal and nonverbal explanations of near-synonyms in a customized computer multimedia. This study aimed to find out whether there was any significant improvement in students’ mastery level after the medium implementation.

The goal of this study is to answer a research problem: To what extent can a picture comparison interactive medium improve synonym mastery of the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta?

An experimental research was conducted towards 59 students. The research instruments were vocabulary pre-tests and post-tests, observation sheets and interviews. An implementation of the picture comparison interactive medium was conducted in an experimental group and an implementation of PowerPoint slides was conducted in a control group. Observation sheets were used to observe the students’ behavior and 20 students were interviewed at the end of the lessons.

The results revealed that there were significant differences in the scores of the pre-tests and post-tests in both control and experimental group with p<0.05. However, the experimental group showed a higher improvement in the mean gain than the control group. Furthermore, the results of the observation sheets and interviews indicated that the picture comparison interactive medium could motivate the students to learn the materials better than PowerPoint slides.

For the conclusion, the picture comparison interactive medium was successful in improving the students’ mastery in near-synonyms. It could encourage them to be more interested, active, and enthusiastic in learning the materials. As recommendations, this study can be used to conduct another inquiry related to this topic and as one of the sources in learning English.

Keywords: Vocabulary, Synonym, Near-synonyms, Picture comparison, Learning

(8)

vii ABSTRAK

Diana, Martha Erika. (2017). Using a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium to

Improve Synonym Mastery of the Tenth Grade Students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata Dharma University, Yogyakarta.

Perbendaharaan kata merupakan suatu hal yang sangat penting dalam proses pembelajaran bahasa kedua. Dalam menguasai kosa kata Bahasa Inggris, terdapat banyak sinonim yang harus dikuasai. Sinonim sempurna, salah satu jenis sinonim, adalah ungkapan yang kurang lebih serupa, namun tidak memiliki arti identik (Lyons, 1996). Berdasarkan dokumen kurikulum 2013, topik mengenai sinonim sempurna tidak ditekankan dalam silabus (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 2012). Mengabaikan perbedaan halus yang ada di antara sinonim sempurna dapat memunculkan masalah dalam pemilihan kata. Peneliti mengajukan media interaktif perbandingan gambar dengan penjelasan secara verbal dan nonverbal dalam sebuah multimedia komputer yang telah disesuaikan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui apakah media tersebut dapat membuat siswa mengalami kemajuan yang signifikan dalam penguasaan materi.

Terdapat satu masalah dalam penelitian ini: Sejauh mana media interaktif perbandingan gambar dapat meningkatkan penguasaan sinonim para siswa kelas 10 SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta?

Peneliti melakukan penelitian eksperimental terhadap 59 siswa dengan instrumen pre-test dan post-test, lembar observasi, dan wawancara. Media interaktif perbandingan gambar diimplementasikan pada kelompok eksperimen sedangkan slide PowerPoint diimplementasikan pada kelompok kontrol. Lembar observasi digunakan untuk mengamati perilaku para siswa dan 20 siswa yang ditunjuk untuk diwawancara di akhir pembelajaran.

Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa dalam kelompok kontrol dan eksperimen terdapat perbedaan yang signifikan dalam nilai pre-test dan post-test dengan p<0.05. Namun, kelompok eksperimen menunjukkan peningkatan yang lebih tinggi pada hasil rata-rata post-test dibandingkan dengan kelompok kontrol. Selain itu, hasil dari lembar observasi dan wawancara menunjukkan bahwa media interaktif perbandingan gambar dapat memotivasi para siswa dalam belajar dibandingkan dengan slide PowerPoint.

Implementasi dari media interaktif perbandingan gambar berhasil meningkatkan penguasaan para siswa akan sinonim sempurna. Sarana ini mendorong para siswa untuk dapat lebih tertarik, aktif, dan antusias dalam belajar. Penelitian ini dapat digunakan untuk mengadakan penelitian lainnya dengan topik yang sama dan sebagai salah satu sumber dalam pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris.

Keywords: Vocabulary, Synonym, Near-synonym, Picture comparison, Learning

(9)

viii

DEDICATION PAGE

“For it is by grace you have been

saved, through faith

–

and this is not

from yourselves, it is the gift of

God!”

(Ephesians 2:8)

This thesis is dedicated to

Robertus Rudi Atana,

Rini Trimurti Margaretha,

Rosa Galuh Kristanti, and

(10)

ix

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to dedicate my deepest gratitude to

Almighty Lord Jesus Christ for His divine intervention in my academic

endeavor. Due to His blessing and guidance, I was able to endure the hard time

during my graduate study and finish my thesis.

My big appreciation goes to Ibu Yohana Veniranda, M.Hum., M.A.,

Ph.D., my thesis advisor, for opening her door to me whenever I ran into any

trouble spot in the completion of this thesis. She has already given much of her

time, attention, guidance, patience, and support for the sake of my success in

finishing this thesis.

I also acknowledge the big family of SMAN 7 Yogyakarta, the school in

which the research was conducted. I warmly thank Bapak Drs. Budi Basuki, MA.

as the headmaster of SMAN 7 Yogyakarta, for giving me the permission to

conduct my research there. Gratitude is also extended to Ibu Dra. Rahaju

Prihardarjati, the English teacher of SMAN 7 Yogyakarta, for giving me her

time, guidance, as well as advices to my research. Further, without the tenth grade

students of SMAN 7 Yogyakarta, particularly X MIA 2 and X MIA 5 who

participated in this research, this thesis would not have been possible so, I would

like to acknowledge their contribution to this study.

My sincere thanks are due to my proofreaders: Dian Prawesti, Indras,

and Rosa Galuh. Their suggestions and advices have been invaluable to this

(11)

x

own ways could motivate me to always work on my thesis writing: Shinta, Liris,

Fennie, Astri, Liza, Willy, Boni, Bertha, Wira, Daniel, and Angel.

Appreciation is also expressed to Deron Walker, Ph. D., who in spite of a great

distance could shed his unceasing encouragement and kind words towards me

during this thesis writing.

Finally, special recognition goes out to my mother, Rini Trimurti

Margaretha, my father, Robertus Rudi Atana, and my elder sister, Rosa Galuh

Kristanti. I thank them for always being by my side, granting me with their

patience, help, unfailing support, and continuous encouragement throughout my

zyears of study.

Last but not least, I would like to thank everyone who directly and

indirectly has lent his or her hands in this venture.

(12)

xi

LIST OF TABLES

Table Page

3.1 The Description of Near-synonyms in the First Session ... 39

3.2 The Description of Near-synonyms in the Second Session ... 41

3.3 The Distribution of Items in the First Session Tests ... 44

3.4 The Distribution of Items in the Second Session Tests ... 44

4.1 The Result of Experimental Group’s Pre-test and Post-test: Session 1 ... 54

4.2 The Result of Experimental Group’s Pre-test and Post-test: Session 2 ... 54

4.3 The Result of Control Group’s Pre-test and Post-test: Session 1 ... 55

4.4 The Result of Control Group’s Pre-test and Post-test: Session 2 ... 56

4.5 The Results of the Observation Sheets ... 57

(16)

xv

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

2.1 A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium Example ... 13

2.2 A Schematic Depiction of Verbal and Nonverbal Symbolic Systems by Allan Paivio, 1990 ... 17

3.1 Examples of a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium ... 34

3.2 Examples of PowerPoint slides ... 35

3.3 Research Hypotheses ... 49

4.1 The Comparison of Experimental and Control Group’s Pre-test and Post-test: Session 1 ... 52

(17)

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix A. Letter of Permission ... 79

Appendix B. Lesson Plans ... 81

Appendix C. Screen captures of Materials ... 86

Appendix D. Examples of Students’ Test Result ... 105

Appendix E. Observation Sheets... 110

(18)

1

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, there are six points to be discussed. The first is research

background. The second is problem formulation. The third is research objectives.

The last is definition of terms. These four majors are provided to give some basic

information in order to prevent any misunderstanding in this research.

1.1Research Background

Vocabulary plays a crucial role in the process of learning a second

language, especially English. As English being considered to be an International

language, learning English vocabulary turns out to be the basic step to master the

language. There are a lot of English vocabularies; some originally came from the

language itself and some were adapted from other languages such as Latin,

French, and German. The number of the vocabularies is in great quantities. It is

proved by the fact that the Ninth Edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s

Dictionary of Current English contains full entries for over 185.000 words, phrases, and meanings. Further, it has more than 700 new words and meanings

such as bestie, defriend, and live-stream. Evenmore, there are still many English words which have not been covered in the dictionary.

Due to the wide range of English vocabularies, the possibilities to find lots

of synonyms among them can be many. Synonym itself has several types. One of

(19)

near-synonym is a word or phrase that is more or less similar to another word or

phrase, but not identical in meaning. The examples are soft and smooth, show and

exhibition, and gather and collect. Without taking account some subtle differences between those near-synonyms in every context of sentences, it may entail to

emergence of any word choice problem.

The complexion of the word choice may become a threat to one function

of language which is to communicate or convey certain meanings. As Allen (1983, p. 5) mentions in his book, “Through research, the scholars are finding that

lexical problems frequently interfere in communication; communication breaks down when people do not use the right words”. Thus, understanding the use of

near-synonyms in the right context is essential to detain the emergence of any

misunderstanding.

The problem is that there are a lot of issues in English education

emphasizing word choice as a problematic matter among Indonesian EFL

students. This problem may emerge due to some factors. Two of them are the

distance between the native and the target language and minimum emphasis on particular topics.

The first factor is the distance between the native language which is Indonesian and the target language which is English. The word distance here is viewed as linguistic differences occurring among those two languages. The

language distance may affect the second language learning either through positive

transfer or through negative transfer. Corder, as cited in Ellis (1994), argues:

(20)

mother tongue is formally similar to the target language, the learner will pass more rapidly along the developmental continuum (or some parts of it), than where it differs (p. 327).

In other words, it is easier for learners to learn any second language which

is similar to their own first language. In the case of Indonesian EFL students, the

distance between their own first language which is Indonesian and their second

language which is English is considered relative high. Related to the issue of

near-synonyms, Indonesian EFL students face some linguistic differences in which the

Indonesian vocabularies are not as complex as English vocabularies. For example,

there is only one word to define lembut in Indonesian vocabularies. In contrast, the term lembut in English can be defined as soft or smooth, depending on the context (Oxford Learner’s Pocket Thesaurus, 2010). By analyzing those two

words deeper, we can consider them as a pair of near-synonym because both

words are generally regarded as synonymous but they have their own contexts to

use. Thus, it is essential that we deal with meaningful vocabulary learning which

emphasizes on any aspect of the language. Otherwise, such different feature in the

languages may entail to any difficulties that may be faced by learners.

The second factor is the minimum emphasis on particular topics.

According to the document of 2013 curriculum, near-synonym topic is not

presented on the syllabus (Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan, 2012). Consequently, teachers may tend not to cover depth understanding of any

language aspect which has a higher difficulty level such as a near-synonym.

One more thing that should not be neglected in providing students a good

(21)

her own learning style that should be taken into account in order to achieve the

success of the learning. Trying to cater many learning styles of learners, the

researcher proposes a learning aid named a picture comparison interactive

medium. This learning aid presents verbal and nonverbal explanations of

near-synonyms in an interactive computer multimedia. In other words, this medium

tries to facilitate three learning preferences which are verbal, visual, and

kinesthetic preferences. Furthermore, the computer use in the learning aid is

supported by Pennington (1996). He notes that computer-assisted language

classroom environment can be highly motivating for students of all learning styles

(as cited in Egbert & Hanson-Smith, 1999, p. 298). Further, presenting three

modalities in the learning medium is expected to enhance the effectiveness of the

vocabulary learning process.

To make the focus on this study distinct, the researcher wants to underline

that this study does not discuss broadly synonyms in general. However, this study

focuses on using a picture comparison interactive medium to improve synonym

mastery of the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta.

1.2 Problem Formulation

Regarding the research background which is explained before, there is one

main problem to discuss in this study:

To what extent can a picture comparison interactive medium improve synonym

(22)

1.3 Research Objectives

Based on the problem formulation, the researcher formulates one objective

of this study. The objective of this study is to investigate to what extent a picture

comparison interactive medium can improve synonym mastery of the tenth grade

students of SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta. This study aims to examine whether the

medium can make the students able to differentiate near-synonyms and use them

contextually.

1.4 Definition of Terms

In order to avoid any confusion and misconception in perceiving and

understanding some important terms in this study, some significant terms related

to this study would be defined. There are four terms presented in this section:

Near-synonyms, A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium, SMA Negeri 7

Yogyakarta, and Senior High School.

1.4.1 Near-synonyms

Near-synonyms is one type of synonyms. As stated before, Lyons (1995, p. 60) has defined near-synonyms as the words or phrases which are more or less

similar, but they are not identical in meaning. The examples of the words that can

be considered to be near-synonyms are show and exhibition. Those two words are generally regarded as synonymous. However, the two words are not synonymous

in meaning because they have their own context when they should be used. As

(23)

exhibition refers to any event which contains works of art or items of cultural or scientific interest that may be on display for a long time. In conclusion,

understanding how to differentiate and use near-synonyms in context is very

crucial in order to successfully deliver the meaning of the sentences.

1.4.2 A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium

Before having the deeper understanding about this research, this section

explains what a picture comparison interactive medium is. A picture comparison interactive medium is a learning aid proposed by the researcher to assist students’

vocabulary learning, particularly synonyms. It provides explanations of

near-synonyms in two modes which are verbal and nonverbal information. The verbal

information is presented through the presence of captions explaining lexical

categories of the words, contexts when the words should be applied, and examples

of sentences using the words, whilst the nonverbal information is presented

through illustrations of the near-synonyms. Further, that information will be

placed side by side in one page or screen. Besides, this learning aid is designed in

computer-enhanced multimedia which requires the students to operate the

medium and enables them to develop their independent and autonomous learning.

1.4.3 SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta

SMA Negeri 7 Yogyakarta is one of senior high schools in Yogyakarta.

This school is located in Jl. MT Haryono No. 47 Suryodiningratan Mantrijeron

Yogyakarta. There are eight classes of tenth grade consisting of 34 students in six

(24)

classes. Then, there are nine classes of eleventh grade and eight classes of twelfth

grade.

1.4.4 Senior High School

Senior High School is defined as the continuation of the primary education level in Indonesian formal education according to Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan (2015). This secondary education is further divided into general upper secondary education and vocational upper secondary education. In this

study, the researcher uses the first level of general upper secondary education

(25)

8

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter consists of two sections. The first section explains theoretical

description which discusses several theories used as the bases in this study. The

second section is theoretical framework. In the theoretical framework, the

researcher explains more how the theories help the researcher to find out the

answer of the research problem.

2.1 Theoretical Description

There are nine theories to be elaborated in this study: Experimental

Research, Near-synonyms, A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium, A Picture

as a Learning Aid, Dual Coding, A Compare and Contrast Strategy, Multimedia,

Computer Assisted Language Learning, and Relevant Previous Studies. All of

those theories helped the researcher to support findings and discussions in this

study.

2.1.1 Experimental Research

The essential feature of an experimental research is the condition when

researchers deliberately control and manipulate conditions which determine the

events they are interested in (Cohen, Manion & Morrison, 2007). As cited in

Cohen et al. (2007), Smith argues that this approach concerns with the issue of

causality. There are many experimental models in educational research; one of

(26)

2.1.1.1True Experimental Research

True experimental research is one of experimental research types which is

usually used to investigate cause and effect relationships. This experiment is

considered to be an ideal design of instructional that can help researchers to

maximize internal validity. There are several criteria that we should meet in this

design. First, the subject of the study will be randomly assigned to control and

experimental group. In the intervention of this experiment, those groups will be

exposed to different treatments. In educational research, the researchers usually

conduct different instructional methods towards the subjects. The control group

consists of research participants who do not receive any experimental treatment.

This group later will provide the researchers reliable baseline data that can be

compared to the experimental group results. In contrast, the experimental group

consists of research participants who receive any experimental treatment.

In true experimental research, we have independent and dependent

variable. The independent variable is a variable which can be controlled by the

researchers. The researchers are supposed to manipulate the variable that is

assumed to be able affecting the outcome of the research. The dependent variable

is the outcome of the research. The researchers do not manipulate this dependent

variable.

2.1.2 Near-synonyms

Words which share same meanings are called synonym. There are two

kinds of synonyms, absolute-synonyms and near-synonyms. Absolute-synonyms is

(27)

can be intersubstituted. According to Lyons (1995, p. 61), two or more

expressions can be called as absolute-synonyms if all of their meanings are

identical. Further, they should be synonymous in all contexts and semantically

equivalent on all dimension of meaning. Seeing those conditions, it can be

inferred that the existence of absolute synonyms is extremely rare.

Another kind of synonyms is near-synonyms.Lyons (1995, p. 60) defines near-synonyms as “the expressions that are more or less similar, but not identical in meaning”. This definition is same as what Inkpen (2007, p. 2) explains,

“near-synonyms have the senses that are very close each other, they may occur in

similar contexts; therefore, we should capture the subtle differences of each

near-synonym”. In other words, even the near-synonyms have similar meanings; they

cannot be intersubstituted as they have their own certain context to be used. The

examples of the words that can be considered to be near-synonyms are soft and

smooth. The two words would be generally regarded as synonymous. However, the two words are not synonymous in meaning. There are subtle differences

between those two words in which they have their own context to use. For

example, some people may be confused to decide which sentence is correct

between My aunt has very long smooth hair and My aunt has very long soft hair. They may think that both the sentences are correct grammatically and

semantically. In fact, as what is explained in the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2008), the second sentence is incorrect since the use of the word soft

(28)

word smooth can be used for the noun hair because this adjective refers to the things which have a surface that is perfectly regular without any holes or lumps.

Thus, choosing a wrong word in a sentence may bring any problem in

conveying any certain meaning of the sentence. In conclusion, understanding how

to differentiate and apply near-synonyms in the right context should be taken into

account in order to successfully deliver the meaning of any sentences.

2.1.3 A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium

It is needed to know the explanation of the medium which is proposed by

the researcher. This section will discuss the medium, namely a picture comparison

interactive medium. The explanation consists of what a picture comparison

interactive medium is and why a picture comparison interactive medium is used.

2.1.3.1 What is a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium?

In mastering English vocabularies, there are many difficulties that may be

faced by students. Seeing that problem, the researcher proposes a learning aid

which is named a picture comparison interactive medium to assist students’

vocabulary learning. The researcher expects that the implementation of the

learning aid can help students to tackle their problems related to vocabulary

learning especially in near-synonyms and improve their vocabulary mastery.

As explained before, the medium provides explanations of near-synonyms

in two modes which are verbal and nonverbal information. As the verbal

explanation, there are captions explaining the lexical category of the words,

context when the words should be applied, and examples of the sentences using

(29)

the near-synonyms. The Oxford Learner’s Pocket Thesaurus (2010) and

Cambridge Advanced Learners’ Dictionary (2008) come as the main references

for the researcher to compile the explanation of the near-synonyms in the

medium. Further, the researcher gets any illustration which can support the

explanation of the materials from many sources such as Imgur and Wallpaperxl.

In designing the learning aid, the researcher compares pairs of words

regarded as near-synonyms by placing them side by side in one page or screen.

Further, the use of computer supports the implementation of this medium since

this learning aid is designed in computer-enhanced multimedia. The researcher

used Articulate Storyline 2 software in making the computer-based learning aid.

Articulate Storyline 2 is e-learning authoring software for instructional designers. It provides user interface and interactive learning elements. By using this

software, designers can build any interaction on their medium by letting students

to click, hover over, and drag any object to trigger any action.

In a picture comparison interactive medium itself, the software supports

drag and drop activities which can put students into a practice. This existence of

the computer use in the medium enables the students to develop their independent

and autonomous learning. Moreover, this medium is also equipped with simple feedbacks to respond students’ answers. Therefore, this medium can be

considered interactive as it allows two-way flow of interaction between the

learning medium and the students. In sharing this medium, it can be shared via

web, Articulate Online, a learning management system (LMS), or offline. Below

(30)

Figure 2.1 A Picture Comparison Interactive Medium Example

In the Figure 2.1, learners are able to spot any differences between the

words listen and hear easily since the medium provides the descriptions, illustrations, and examples explaining the pair of near-synonyms. Therefore,

learners can find out any differences which might enhance their understanding

visually and verbally. Further, the computer-enhanced multimedia required the

students to operate it actively by the presence of drag and drop activities on the

medium.

2.1.3.2 Why is a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium Used?

This learning aid touches a new approach in learning vocabularies

especially in near-synonyms by applying the presence of dual coding, multimedia,

and compare and contrast theory. Through this medium, learners will be invited

to understand near-synonyms through two modalities, visually (by pictures) and

verbally (by captions which go along with the pictures). The form of the picture

(31)

way by presenting the explanation of each near-synonym side by side in one page

or screen. In addition, learners are encouraged to build their independent and

autonomous learning since this medium is supported by computer use in which

the learners are supposed to operate the medium in computer-enhanced

multimedia. It means that the medium also supports a kinesthetic learning

preference by putting learners into practices. Moreover, for the content, anyone

who wants to design the medium may adjust the difficulty level of the presented near-synonyms depending on the learners’ need.

2.1.4 A Picture as a Learning Aid

The presence of visual elements in today’s teaching and learning increases

as the integration of images and visual presentations with text in textbooks,

instructional manuals, classroom presentations, and computer interfaces broadens

(Benson, 1997; Branton, 1999; Dwyer as cited in Stokes, 2001). As the

educational community is trying to embrace visual enhancements in instruction;

however, the connection of visual and verbal information has already existed

throughout history. Aristotle, as cited in Stokes (2001, p. 10), states, “Without image, thinking is impossible”. Thus, putting visual elements to go along with

verbal elements can improve how we process certain information.

Pictures can be considered to be the most effective learning means in

teaching. The presence of any visual-enhancement in verbal learning is important

because visual literacy precedes verbal literacy in human development. It is the

basic literacy in the thought of processes that are the foundations for reading and

(32)

(1884), as cited in Murdani (2011), states that a language could be best taught by

using pictures actively in a classroom. Chanlin (1998) supports the statement by

reporting that visual treatments in lessons can enhance learning with varying

degrees of success (as cited in Stokes, 2001). When prior knowledge is low,

graphics, either still or animated, are better for learning descriptive facts than

lessons with text only. Moreover, Kleinman and Dwyer (1999) also examined the

effects of specific visual skills in facilitating learning. They found out that the use

of color graphics in instructional modules as opposed to black and white graphics

could promote any achievement, particularly when learning concepts.

There are several instructional functions that visualizations may have

whether they are accompanied by verbal explanations or not. Levie and Lentz

(1982) assert that in the term of the affect, visualizations are often said to be

motivating for students because they can make a subject matter more interesting

and appealing to students. Furthermore, they can trigger specific emotions or lead

to any changes in learners’ attitude. In the further research, Levin, Anglin, and

Carney (1987) has conducted an analysis of instructional functions associated

with the use of visualizations as text-adjuncts in education literature. In the

review, the authors described five functions of visualizations as text-adjuncts.

They are decorative, representation, organization, interpretation, and

transformation function. In the decorative function, the verbal information is

presented only to make a text more appealing to learners. Then, as a

representational function, visualizations exist to make the meaning of a text more

(33)

visualizations is considered having an organizational function if it can provide an

organizational framework for a text and make the content more coherent by

highlighting argumentative or organizational structures of the text. Interpretation

function of visualizations comes up by clarifying any texts which are difficult to

be understood and making them more understandable for learners. The last and

the rarest function is a transformation function. In this function, visualizations are

designed to improve memory performances directly by targeting any critical

information to be learned, recoding it into a more concrete and memorable form,

relating it in a well-organized content, and then providing the learners a

systematic means of retrieving the critical information. Thus, we can conclude

that there are five functions of visualizations we can bring to any enhancement of

learning processes. However, the presence of any visual-enhancement in

education settings must be properly designed and used; otherwise, it would not function effectively in maximizing learners’ achievement.

2.1.5 Dual Coding

Considering individual’s cognitive preferences in designing learning aids

is needed to help teachers in achieving effective learning processes, Rayner and

Riding (1998) describe a cognitive style as an individual’s preferred and habitual

approach in organizing and representing information. In other words, it can be

concluded as the way an individual processes the information he or she received.

There are numbers of researchers who have been trying to investigate cognitive

preferences. Early work in cognitive styles identified a verbal-visual cognitive

(34)

at processing words and some people are better at processing pictures (Mayer &

Massa, 2003).

The first verbal-visual model was introduced by Paivio (1986), namely a

dual coding theory. In this study, learners are described as either visualizers or

verbalizers. Visualizers tend to focus on imagery-based information such as

pictures and diagrams, whereas verbalizers prefer to focus on verbal information

such as texts or spoken narrations. Paivio’s theory of dual coding claims that

strong associative activation of mental imagery facilitates memory for words, and

these two processes – one verbal (symbolic codes) and one visual (analogue

codes) were separable in memory. The structural assumptions of dual coding can

be summarized in Figure 2.2, which illustrates the idea of separate but

interconnected systems.

(35)

The figure shows that the symbolic systems are connected to sensory input

and response output systems. From the figure, Paivio tries to explain that there is

an equal weight to verbal and nonverbal processing. As Paivio (1986, p. 53)

states, “Human cognition is unique in that it has become specialized for dealing

simultaneously with language and with nonverbal objects and events”. This theory

notes that there are two cognitive subsystems, one is for dealing with nonverbal

objects and the other is for processing languages. The verbal and nonverbal

representations differ in their internal representation formed in the long-term

memory. Whereas, the nonverbal information will be processed into imagens, the

verbal information is more likely to be encoded into logogens. Then, according to

Paivio (1990), these two internal codes are interconnected by referential links so

that they can activate each other. For example, the word mango could activate a mental image of a mango tree. In this case, we can note that verbal and nonverbal

information may yield a propositional representation as well as an analogical

representation by constructing a mental image for concrete words.

As what is mentioned in Zheng (2009), Ainsworth emphasizes her

functional taxonomy of multiple external representations. She proposes that every

representation has different functional roles for learning and support knowledge

differently.

She categorizes these roles into three groups; First, visual and verbal representations may have complementary roles in instructions by facilitating different cognitive processes, serving different learning objectives, or addressing individual representational preferences of different learners. Second, they can constrain interpretations and guide

learners’ reasoning about a domain. Third, visual and verbal

(36)

than what could be achieved by using just one representational format (as cited in Zheng, 2008, p. 77).

Thus, Ainsworth’s taxonomy supports the presence of these roles in order

to contribute to learning. Then, the contribution of the roles is expected to give

any positive influence towards learners. However, if one of the representations

does not contribute to learning, it should be deleted.

Regarding to the information retention in a memory, Paivio (1990) argues

that in a dual coding theory, high imagery items readily evoke nonverbal imagery

and that imagined representations are served as supplementary memory codes for

item retrieval along with the verbal code elicited directly by words (p. 159). In

other words, we can conclude that this dual coding of information which is based

on a single input representation is more likely to occur for pictures instead of

words. This picture-superiority effect is also supported by Baggett’s bushiness hypothesis. As cited in Zheng (2008, p. 72), Baggett states, “knowledge acquired

from visual rather than verbal external representations will be better accessible in

a memory because the respective nodes in the memory share more associations

with other nodes in the semantic network”. From this statement, visual concepts

are considered bushier than verbal concepts and more salient in the memory.

Moreover, this theory is also in line with Anderson and Bower (1973); he states

that memories for some verbal information is enhanced if a relevant visual is also

presented or if the learners can imagine a visual image to go along with the verbal

information. Likewise, visual information can often be enhanced when it is paired

(37)

can conclude that the existence of visual and verbal representations together may

be suited to enhance the information retention in the memory.

2.1.6 A Compare and Contrast Strategy

Comparing and contrasting methods will put students at ease to

differentiate and understand any given materials. There are many benefits that can

be acquired through this teaching method. Silver (2010, p. 7) has mentioned that

comparing and contrasting can strengthen students’ memories, develop higher-order thinking skill, increase students’ comprehensions, enhance students’ writing

in the content areas, and develop students’ habits of mind.

First, a compare and contrast strategy attempts to strengthen students’

ability in remembering key contents of any information they got by focusing the

students’ thinking in analyzing pairs of ideas. Second, this strategy can develop

higher-order thinking skill since it has a role as a practical and easy-to-use

introduction to higher-order thinking. Third, a compare and contrast enhances

comprehension by highlighting any important details, making abstract ideas more

concrete, and reducing any confusion between related concepts. Fourth, the strategy can enhance students’ writing in the content areas by providing a simple

structure that helps them to organize information and develop their ideas with

greater clarity and precision. The last, using a compare and contrast strategy in the

classroom will help students to develop five of 16 habits of mind which are:

thinking flexibly, thinking about thinking (metacognition), striving for accuracy,

applying past knowledge to new situations, and thinking and communicating with

(38)

above can help the researcher to support the use of picture comparison interactive

medium as an aid in learning near-synonyms.

2.1.7 Multimedia

Mayer (2005) defines multimedia learning as an action of learning from

words (spoken or printed text) and pictures (illustrations, photos, maps, or

graphs). Further, Mayer (2009) argues that a cognitive theory of multimedia

learning centers on an idea that learners attempt to build meaningful connections

between words and pictures and that they learn more deeply than they could have

with words or pictures alone.

According to Mayer and Moreno (1998), cognitive theory of multimedia

learning is based on three assumptions. Those are dual-channel, limited capacity,

and active processing assumption. The dual-channel assumption is that the

working memory has auditory and visual channels based on Baddeley’s (1986) theory of working memory and Paivio’s (1990) dual coding theory. Second, the

limited capacity assumption which is based on Sweller’s (1988) cognitive load

theory states that each subsystem of a working memory has a limited capacity.

The third assumption is the active processing assumption which proposes that

people could construct knowledge in a meaningful way if they pay attention to

any relevant material and organize it into a coherent material.

Optimally designed multimedia learning may help learners to reduce

cognitive loads, facilitate mental representations, and aid schema acquisition. As

(39)

learning from words and pictures happens when learners engage in five cognitive

processes.

The cognitive processes are selecting relevant words for processing in verbal working memory, selecting relevant images for processing in visual working memory, organizing selected words into a verbal model, organizing selected images into a pictorial model, and integrating the verbal and pictorial representations with each other and with prior knowledge (p. 54).

These five cognitive processes later will determine which information will

be selected and which knowledge will be retrieved from the long-term memory.

Then, the information will be integrated to construct a new knowledge. The

cognitive processes will also take a part in determining which bits of the new

knowledge are transferred to the long-term memory. Knowledge which is

constructed in the working memory is transferred to the long-term memory

through the process of encoding (Mayer, as cited in Sorden, 2005).

Furthermore, Mayer (2009) identifies the following twelve multimedia

instructional principles. Those are: 1) Coherence principle: People learn better

when extraneous material is excluded rather than included; 2) Signaling principle:

People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential

material are added; 3) Redundancy Principle: People learn better from graphics

and narrations than from graphics, narrations, and printed texts; 4) Spatial

Contiguity Principle: People learn better when corresponding words and pictures

are placed near each other rather than far from each other on a page or screen; 5)

Temporal Contiguity Principle: People learn better when corresponding words

and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively; 6) Segmenting

(40)

user-paced segments rather than as a continuous unit; 7) Pre-training Principle: People

could learn deeper from a multimedia message when they receive pre-training in

the names and characteristics of the key components; 8) Modality Principle:

People learn better from graphics and narrations than from graphics and printed

texts; 9) Multimedia Principle: People learn better from words and pictures than

from words alone; 10) Personalization Principle: People learn better from a

multimedia presentation when the words are in a conversational style rather than

in a formal style; 11) Voice Principle: People learn better when the words in a

multimedia message are spoken by friendly human voice rather than machine

voice; 12) Image Principle: People do not necessarily learn more deeply from a

multimedia presentation when the speaker’s image is on the screen rather than not

on the screen.

Despite of those principles, what is important is that the multimedia

instructional design remains focused on the concepts to be learned, rather than

trying too much to entertain. Too many appealing things may make the working

memory overloaded before the learners even get to the concept of the learning.

Mayer (2009) asserts that an effective instructional design depends on techniques

for reducing extraneous processing, managing essential processing, and fostering

generative processing.

2.1.8 Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL)

Every human comes with many differences. Those differences can be in

the matter of ethnic origins, languages, habits, or even food preferences. In

(41)

individual may have his or her own learning styles and preferences that may affect

learning environments. Soo defines a learning style here as “an individual’s

natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing and retaining new information and skills” (as cited in Egbert & Hanson-Smith, 1999, p. 290).

Further, Soo also notes that “differences learning styles among learners may affect

the learning environment by either supporting or inhibiting their intentional cognition and active engagement” (p. 289).

A study conducted by Ehrman and Oxford (1990) reveals that more than

20 styles have been identified and every individual can have 6-14 strongly

preferred styles at the same time. These styles can be categorized into four broad

domains which are cognitive, affective, perceptual, and physiological (as cited in

Egbert & Smith-Hanson, 1990, p. 293). Perceptual domain focuses on the

different ways that learners take and give out information. According to Fleming

(2012, p. 1), there are four sensory modalities that are preferred by students to

learn information. Those are visual, aural, read or write, and kinesthetic. Visual

learners prefer to learn by using any depiction of information in videos, graphics,

pictures, charts, diagrams, posters, and any other visualization. Aural learners

prefer to learn any information which is spoken or heard. Read or write learners

have strong reverence for words. The last, kinesthetic learners are the ones who

have perceptual preferences which are related to the use of experiences and

practices. Besides, multi-modal learners can have a preference of two or more

(42)

Hence, helping students to learn means that we should know what the students’ learning styles are and how to take any advantages of them. If the

teacher’s teaching style does not meet the learners’ learning styles and cannot

accommodate them, it may result in a clash which can affect the learners’ process

of learning and attitudes. Dunn, Griggs, Olson, and Beasley (1995) states that a

research on learning styles has highlighted the problem and it reveals that failing learners did significantly better “when they were taught with strategies that

complemented their learning-style preferences” (as cited in Egbert &

Hanson-Smith, 1999, p. 289). Hence, here language teachers need to understand and take this fact into account so that they could turn the learners’ differences causing the

clash to the learners’ advantage.

Teachers should be able to teach learners with various learning styles.

Therefore, they need to meet any approach providing the learners various means in learning that can match the learners’ learning experiences to the learners'

learning styles. Thus, the learners can learn optimally even though they may learn

the materials differently. One of the solutions that may be approached is designing

learning activities that can address a variety of learning styles. By providing such

learning opportunities, there are more chances for the learners to develop styles

suited to their needs.

Multimedia is one of very good solutions for teachers to address their students’ various learning styles. As cited in Egbert and Hanson-Smith (1999),

Shih and Alessi define multimedia as “a program or information environment that

(43)

According to Pennington (1996), multimedia computer can present language

games, simulations, and problem-solving activities as well. The computer-assisted

language classroom environment can be highly motivating for students of all

learning styles (as cited in Egbert & Hanson-Smith, 1999). Thus, the

computer-assisted language classroom offers a bigger market than traditional means of the

past to appeal the students more.

In a computer-assisted language classroom, there are more chances for the

teachers to develop learning means which can integrate two or more modalities of

a large number of learning styles simultaneously as what a dual coding theory

emphasizes. One single multimedia can be designed to cater several learning

styles since it may teach in auditory, visual, and kinesthetic media. In other words,

learners can learn the same content according to their individual learning style

preferences only by using one multimedia.

2.1.8.1 Computers and Classroom Atmosphere

From the previous section, we can conclude that the presence of computer-enhanced activities may help teachers to convey learning means suited to learners’

style. However, we need to figure out how the computer use in education does

affect classroom atmospheres. Schofield’s (1995) study of computer use in a large

urban high school reveals a great number of interesting facts. As cited in Egbert and Hanson-Smith, Schofield’s (1995) overall findings include the following:

a. The computer use in the learning enhanced the learners’ enjoyment of, interest

in, and attention to the conducted classroom activities. Finding the results,

(44)

he reported a research which confirmed that computers are motivating to the

extent that they can raise challenge, control, curiosity, and fantasy that allow for personalization of one’s work.

b. The increasing computer use triggered a change in the role of the teachers from

being experts who presented information to coaches or tutors who assisted the

learners. In other words, it could turn a teacher-centered learning to a

student-centered learning. As the result, it could help the students to develop their

independent and autonomous learning.

c. In some classes, peer interaction increased when computers were used.

However, in some cases, the computer use did not have a demonstrable

influence on interaction. In others, interaction was competitive rather than

cooperative (p. 343).

To summarize, Schofield’s findings can give us some views about the

computer use in schools and other educational settings. The conclusion is that the

computer use in educational settings inevitably affects the classroom atmosphere in varying the students’ attitude, role, and interaction. Consequently, those effects

may influence the success of the learning process.

2.1.8.2 Making the Medium of Learning in CALL

The great advantages of the computer-enhanced activities do not mean that

computers may supplant teachers. The learning media which can cater all learning

styles can be created only by designers who understand how to approach the

(45)

designers of learning media should consider. As cited in Egbert and

Hanson-Smith (1999), Holliday suggests that learning media should provide learners with:

a. Opportunities for any interaction to negotiate meanings.

b. Opportunities to hear or read modified comprehensible inputs.

c. Opportunities to produce or write modified comprehensible outputs.

d. Inputs that allow for a focus on target features of the second language.

e. Possibilities for any optimal feedback either in the form of self-access windows

or buttons or in the form of interaction.

f. A rich context in which the second language facilitates comprehensible input

(p. 188).

Accordingly, to make good computer-enhanced learning media, teachers’

role in being professional designers is needed. However, a question may arise

from educational settings in which we can question whether teachers are able to

cater their students’ different learning styles without any computer use. The

answer of the question is certainly yes. Yet, at this current rate of change, the

world of technology has been developing by the time. Education institutions are

expected to keep up with this rate of change. People will always need an

innovative approach which can ease their life. Another way of saying, people may

tend to choose any developed technology which is versatile instead of any

traditional means. Regarding to the educational settings, Bradin supports this idea

(46)

computers will inevitably replace teachers who do not" (as cited in Egbert &

Hanson-Smith, 1999 p. 300).

2.1.9 Relevant Previous Studies

There are several previous studies which are also relevant with the topic of

this study. The first study came from Sarjono (2008). She made a study about the

mastery of synonymous words. Other previous research which has the similar

topic to this current paper came from Putera (2011). His paper was about using

pictures in enriching vocabulary.

The two studies above include the similar aspects of the topic of this study

which are about the mastery of synonymous words and the use of pictures to

enrich students’ vocabulary. However, in this study, the researcher tries to bring

up certain learning aid which is a picture comparison interactive medium to

improve students’ mastery in synonymous words. By applying the medium, the

researcher includes four new aspects which are the theory of dual coding, compare

and contrast strategy, computer assisted language learning, and multimedia.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

In learning English as a Second Language and English as a Foreign

Language, mastering the vocabulary has a vital role in all language skills (Nation, 2011). For students’ significance, teachers are supposed to realize that good

vocabulary mastery in students must be developed since this aspect will help them

to enhance other skills. Students need to have more time to learn vocabularies.

(47)

learning vocabulary. One of the factors is that the tendency that teachers cannot

cater the students’ learning preferences. In fact, as cited in Egbert and Hanson

-Smith (1999), Dunn et al. (1995) found out that failing students could do better

significantly when they were taught with strategies suited their learning

preferences.

Concerning the importance of vocabulary mastery for students, acquiring

synonyms in English is also important in the acquisition. In this study, the

researcher proposed a picture comparison interactive medium to be administered

in learning activities. This research aims to investigate to what extent a picture

comparison interactive medium can be a learning aid in fostering students’ in

synonyms, especially near-synonyms.

To conduct this study, the researcher implemented an experimental

research to figure out the causality of a picture comparison interactive medium.

The researcher adhered to the criteria and steps of true experimental research. In

so doing, the researcher assigned the research subjects to control and experimental

group then deliberately controlled and manipulated the conditions of every group

(Cohen et al., 2007). After that, the researcher could find out any effects of the

treatments.

The description of near-synonyms proposed by Lyons (1995) was used as

a basis for the selection of the pairs of near-synonyms that would be the materials

in the lesson. Fourteen pairs of near-synonyms were selected in this study. Those

selected words were regarded as near-synonyms since they were more or less

(48)

Since the aim of the study was to measure the students’ mastery in near

-synonyms after the implementation of certain treatments, the students were asked

to do some tests. The tests required the students to choose between two

synonymous words and determine which word was suitable to complete the

sentences based on the context. The results of the tests were used to show the

students’ level of mastery in using near-synonyms.

Theories of visualizations proposed by Levie and Lentz (1982) and Levin

et al. (1987) were used to identify how the presence of any illustrations in the

implemented learning media. Then, the theory of dual coding by Paivio (1971)

and multimedia by Mayer (2005) gave the elaboration of the influence from

verbal and nonverbal information occurring in the learning medium. Theory of

compare and contrast strategy proposed by Silver (2010) came as a basis to

analyze why and how this kind of strategy gave certain impacts to the students’

mastery in near-synonyms. Further, the study of computer assisted language

learning by Schofield (1995) and Holliday (1999) gave some views about how the

computer use could bring certain atmosphere in the learning processes.

All of the theories gave the basic views which were relevant to this

research. Those theories helped the researcher to analyze any effect of a picture

comparison interactive medium implementation. Then, it helped the researcher to

(49)

32

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher presents a methodology used to conduct this

study. This chapter discusses the methodology systematically. The discussion

includes research methodology, research setting, research participants, research

instruments and data gathering technique, and data analysis technique.

3.1 Research Method

In conducting and organizing procedures of a study, choosing an

appropriate methodology is needed so that a researcher can answer questions of

the study. In this research, the researcher wanted to answer the question of to what extent a picture comparison interactive medium can improve students’ vocabulary

mastery in near-synonyms particularly. Based on the problem, an experimental

research was considered to be the most appropriate methodology in conducting

this study. As cited in Cohen et al. (2007), Smith (1991) claims that it is the only

method that directly concerns with causality. The essential feature of an

experimental research is that researchers deliberately control and manipulate the

conditions, conduct certain interventions, and then assess the differences of the

results. This method conducts independent variables as the input and dependent

variables as the outcome of the research.

In conducting this study, the researcher adhered to the procedure of an

(50)

1. Assigning subjects to two matched groups

The participants of the research were students of X MIA 2 and X MIA 5.

In the first step, the researcher randomly assigned the samples of the study. Both

classes were then assigned to two groups. X MIA 2 was assigned to an

experimental group, whereas X MIA 5 was assigned to a control group.

2. Conducting a pre-test 1

In this step, the researcher observed the students’ mastery in

near-synonyms. The researcher observed it by employing a pre-test to both experimental and control group. The test was used to measure the students’

mastery in differentiating and using near-synonyms. By conducting this

instrument, the researcher tried to find out whether the students had any problems

in mastering near-synonyms.

3. Conducting an intervention and observation

This was the most crucial step in this study. Basically, the intervention

employed in both groups had the same time allocation and materials which

discussed 7 pairs of near-synonyms. However, the researcher administered

different learning media to each group. For the experimental group, the researcher

implemented a picture comparison interactive medium as the learning aid to learn

the materials. Below are the examples of a picture comparison interactive medium

(51)

Figure 3.1 Examples of a Picture Comparison Interactive Medium

Despite the different media implemented in every group, the researcher

endeavored to raise fairness between the two different groups. Therefore, the

researcher attempted to use a learning medium which might also have any

potential in maintaining students’ concentration and motivation in the control

group. In so doing, the researcher administered PowerPoint slides to the control

group. The slides had fewer pictures and did not directly compare the 7 pairs of

near-synonyms side by side as what a picture comparison interactive medium did.

(52)

Wedding

/ˈ ed.ɪŋ/

• It is a noun.

• It refers to the occasion (the ceremony) of getting married.

1. They haven’t yet settled w hen the

w edding is going to be.

2. You are invited to my w edding.

Marriage

/ˈ er.ɪdʒ/

• It is a noun.

• It usually refers to the state/relationshipof being married.

They have a long and happy marriage.

Figure 3.2 Examples of PowerPoint Slides

The implementation of both learning media was paid attention. The

researcher prepared lesson plans, learning media, and any other instruments

needed for learning process. While the researcher was implementing the learning

media, she asked her classmate to be an observer who helped her to observe the classroom interactions, classroom events, and students’ attitude occurred during

the implementation of the learning media. Then, the observation filled in the

observation sheets that have been p