CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Research Findings

4.1.1 Findings of The Preliminary Research

1. Description Before Research (Pre-Interview)

Before conducting the research, on 26 th June 2023, the researcher

contacted the principal of AGAPE Elementary School to ask for

permission to conduct research at the school. Then on the following

day, 27th June 2023, the researcher visited the research site to conduct

interviews and observe the site. The researcher conducted unstructured

interviews with autistic class teachers.

There were three types of questions asked by the researcher to class

teachers. These factors include the general environment of the English

class for children with autism, the difficulties faced by autistic students

in increasing the students' English vocabulary, as well as the methods

used by teachers to overcome these difficulties in increasing the

student's vocabulary.

According to the class teacher, students' approaches and

understanding of learning English are different. The majority of autistic

students didn't like English class and the students were not interested in

learning English. In the English class, the students are so bad and still

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have difficulty understanding what is being taught. Apart from that,

they have difficulty passing the Minimum Completion Criteria (KKM).

Improving the English vocabulary of autistic students was difficult.

Such as the teacher said that increasing vocabulary for autist students

was one of the difficulties of students in learning English. This is

because students don't like foreign languages and they think that

English is difficult, so they are lazy and rarely re-learn the vocabulary

they have acquired.

To increase vocabulary, a teacher said that there was no method

used when English class took place. Like other learning, the teacher

used available facilities as learning media. However, the teacher also

occasionally taught by singing to overcome students' difficulties in

increasing vocabulary. After reading this strategy, the teacher tries to

find media that can be used to increase students' vocabulary. Here, the

researcher proposes to use picture therapy cards as a learning strategy in

the classroom.

The conclusion from this interview is that autistic students have

difficulty increasing their vocabulary due to their perception of English

and the lack of learning media used by teachers in class.

a. Pre-Questionnaire Results

An initial questionnaire was conducted to determine autistic

students' reactions to English lessons. The questionnaire was given

to autistic class students on Tuesday 25 July 2023. The following are

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 the results of the questionnaire given by the researcher to the

students:

Table 4.1

Pre-Questionnaire

Answer
No Questions
Yes No

37,50
1 Do you think English is fun? 62,50%
%

2 Do you think English is easy? 25% 75%

3 Do you like English class? 25% 75%

The results of the pre-questionnaire show that 37,50% of students

think that English was fun, so 62,50% of them think that English was not

fun. Then 25% of them think that English is easy and they like it, and 75%

think that English is not easy and they don't like English.

b. Description of Initial Stage Ability Data (Pre-test)

Before taking action, the researcher conducted an oral and written

test on July 25 2023 because in June students at AGAPE Elementary

School were on grade promotion holidays. The pre-test results obtained

are as follows:

Table 4.1

Pre-test Result Data

No Name Test Results

3
 Orally Written

1 Alde 4 6 66

2 Erlang 4 5 60

3 Daffa 5 7 80

4 Azam 3 4 46,7

5 Coci 4 3 46,7

6 Qonita 3 4 46,7

7 Nisa 2 1 20

8 Arkan 2 3 26,7

Amount 392,8

The results of the pre-test showed that the majority of autistic

students experience difficulties when working on questions orally and in

writing. The results above have been calculated using the formula

explained in the previous chapter.

Students named Daffa can just ask questions. Because these

students already can speak English and are already used to it. However,

when taking the oral test, the student experienced difficulties because

when answering the pronunciation was not clear.

The student named Nisa was very low in her English skills. This

student had great difficulty in working on questions and oral tests. In

pronunciation, there was doubt, and when the researcher asked a question

it must be repeated.

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 The student named Alde has moderate abilities but he has difficulty

remembering. In the oral test, Alde said the answer was in a low voice and

the pronunciation was difficult. When researcher say it must be done many

times so that students remember it.

The student named Erlang has almost the same abilities as Alde.

Erlang has pronunciation difficulties. The student was talkative so he said

it over and over again and seemed unsure. However, during the Erlang

written test, there was high interest so they often asked questions.

The student named Arkan has a lack of memory and a high sense

of laziness so this student finds it difficult to teach English. When an oral

test takes place, you often mention the same vocabulary even with

different questions. Then during the written test, the student was very

lacking in understanding.

The student named Azam was a student who had a high sense of

laziness and doubt. When the researcher asks the questions it must be clear

and repeated and when students answer it must also be repeated because of

their doubts.

The student named Coci was very passive. When asked, they must

be asked repeatedly and firmly, otherwise, students will not want to

answer and will even tend to get angry. The pronunciation was unclear and

less understandable.

The student named Qonita was taught but her memory skills were

low so the student had difficulty passing written and oral exams. The

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 researcher must be speaking the first letter of the word first before the

student remembers it.

The class average results from the pre-test conducted by the

researcher showed 49,1. Using the formula specified in Chapter III as

follows:

Ʃx
x=
ƞ

392 ,8
x=
8

x=49 ,1

The observation results that have been obtained are the basis for

carrying out action research, namely by using Picture Therapy Cards. It

was hoped that the application of this media to autism class students will

influence increasing the English vocabulary of autistic students at

AGAPE Wonosobo Elementary School.

4.1.2 Findings of the First Cycle

a. Planning

At this stage, the researcher interviewed the teacher, carried out

planning by creating material, and made a question to use during the

pre-test and post-test. After that, it continues with action, completion,

and reflection which is expected to increase the ability to recognize

body parts using English through the use of "Picture Therapy Cards”.

b. Action

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 Implementation of cycle I began on Tuesday 25 July 2023.

Based on the planning that had been created, the researcher put into

practice the teaching and learning process. The researcher began by

presenting "Picture Therapy Cards" and explaining the material that

students would study. Students were instructed to name the picture

indicated by the researcher using English. Then, students also work on

test questions that have been distributed by a researcher. After they

finished working on the test questions given by the researcher, they

collected them on the same day. The class average score obtained

during the pre-test was 49,1 which was a very low score.

c. Observations

At this stage, the researcher observes what happens in the

classroom during the class. Regarding the reactions of autistic students

when given assignments, the students paid attention to the instructions

given by the researcher, but when they could not understand the

meaning of the word they answered with what they knew, some gave up

and felt bored and then played on their own. Even though the researcher

had followed the lesson plans that had been prepared, the students still

felt a little bored when in class. Their advantage was that when the

researcher invited them to do new things using "Picture Therapy Cards"

they were very enthusiastic and followed along, even though sometimes

the researcher' voices were overpowered by the loudness of their voices.

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 When researcher use “Picture Therapy Cards” students are more

focused and they have curiosity about what they want to learn.

Therefore, the researcher can easily provide instructions to students

about how to use "Picture Therapy Cards".

d. Reflection

At this stage, the researcher finds out the progress and shortcomings

of the activities that have been carried out. The results of research from

those who have used the media "Picture Therapy Cards" on autistic

students are analyzed evaluated and then concluded. This activity

becomes the basis for revising the plan at the next stage. The percentage

of class average scores in the first cycle was 38,125%, which shows

that the English vocabulary of students with autism was very low.

Therefore, the researcher planned the actions that would be carried out

in the second cycle. The description of the stages carried out in the

second cycle follows:

4.1.3 Findings of the Second Cycle

a. Re-Planning

After reflecting on the actions in cycle I, the researcher

made a re-planning as a revision of the actions that had been

carried out in cycle I. The re-planning stage was not much different

from the stage of cycle I. The researcher revised the activities in

class which could make them feel bored and hoped that they would

be better in this second cycle.

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 b. Action

At this stage, the researcher has implemented action plans

that have been made using "Picture Therapy Cards" on autistic

children. In this second cycle, the researcher provided 1 action,

each meeting lasting 35 minutes. The initial activity was to

condition the students well after they prayed together outside the

classroom. After that, the researcher explained the material they

would study. As was done in cycle I, the researcher instructed

students to follow the path explained by the researcher.

The researcher showed "Picture Therapy Cards" and then

said the name of the picture using English then the students

imitated it. After that, the researcher appointed students randomly

to name the picture held by the researcher. Then after that, the

researcher distributed picture cards that only had pictures of body

parts with no vocabulary under them, and then they filled them in

on the back of the paper. Then, one by one, the students were

instructed to come forward one by one to point to their friend to

name the picture they had got. In this second cycle, the researcher

conducted a post-test on autistic students with oral and written

tests.

c. Observations

At this stage, the researcher observed the changes

experienced by students. In this cycle, students increasingly

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 concentrate and feel comfortable so that they follow what has

been instructed by the researcher. The students are so enthusiastic

when learning takes place. In this cycle, the researcher used his

voice louder than in cycle I. The researcher carried out his work

very well when playing his role as a teacher in class by using

"Picture Therapy Cards" which were modified in various ways so

that students did not feel bored in class, such as games which has

been explained previously.

During the learning process, the researcher approached the

autistic students' desks while checking their work. Students are

very enthusiastic about their work because students understand

the instructions given by the researcher. This automatically gets

positive feedback from students in expressing their opinions.

d. Reflections

At this stage, the researcher analyzed the progress and

shortcomings of the activities that have been carried out. The

results of applying "Picture Therapy Cards" were then analyzed

and evaluated by the researcher. From the results of the post-test

that has been carried out, the average percentage score for the

vocabulary test for students with autism was 75. Thus, the

average student gets a score above the Minimum Completion

Criteria (KKM). Because Class Action Research (CAR) was

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 successful, the autism class researcher and teachers agreed to end

it.

4.1.4 Findings After Implementing the Action

1. Pre-Interview Results

The researcher conducted unstructured interviews with teachers

after using "Picture Therapy Cards". This activity was carried out on

Thursday, 10th August, 2023. The first thing the researcher asked the

teacher was the general condition of the class when the action was

carried out. It was known that the condition of students after Class

Action Research (CAR) was better than before. They seemed

enthusiastic about using "Picture Therapy Cards" and of course, they

found it easier to improve their English vocabulary.

Second, regarding the difficulties of researcher in applying

"Picture Therapy Cards" when learning takes place. When in class,

they have difficulty expressing vocabulary because they are used to

using Indonesian in their daily lives. The researcher suggests that they

should be more accustomed to studying things they have learned at

school. The researcher also suggests that they use gadgets

appropriately, such as opening YouTube or other applications to

study, but it was not the researcher's intention to tell them to play with

gadgets. The researcher gave another suggestion to them to write the

names of objects around them on small pieces of paper and then stick

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them on the objects, for example, the words "Pencil" were attached to

the top corner of the pencil, and so on.

The final criteria, namely regarding the opinion of "Picture

Therapy Cards". According to the class teacher, this was an effective

bridge for teaching vocabulary or new things to students, especially

autistic students. This makes it possible to increase students'

vocabulary. This is an alternative and motivates class teachers to use

it.

2. Post-Questionnaire Results

On Tuesday, 8th August 2023, the researcher conducted a post-test

and then after that continued to instruct them to fill out the

questionnaire paper that the researcher had distributed like the first

time the researcher entered their class. The questions they got from

them were the same as the pre-questionnaire, and produced the

following:

Table 4. 2

Post-Questionnaire

Answer
No Question
Yes No

1 Do you think English is fun? 75% 25%

2 Do you think English is easy? 62,50% 37,50%

3 Do you like English class? 87,50% 12,50%

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 The results of the presentation above show that 75% of autistic

students think that English is fun, and another 25% think that English

is not fun. Then, 62,50% of students thought that English was easy

and 37,50% thought that English was not easy. And finally, 87,50% of

students are happy when English class takes place, and only 12,50%

of students don't like English class.

3. Post-test results

After taking action, the researcher conducted an oral and

written post-test on 8th August 2023 at the last meeting. The pre-

test results obtained are as follows:

Table 4.3

Post-Test

Student's Test
No Results
name Oral Written

1 Alde 9 8 85

2 Erlang 9 8 85

3 Daffa 10 8 90

4 Azam 8 7 75

5 Coci 8 7 75

6 Qonita 8 6 70

7 Nisa 5 5 50

13
 8 Arkan 8 6 70

Amount 600

The results showed that there was an increase in autist class

students after the implementation of "Picture Therapy Cards". This

can be seen from the increase in the scores obtained during the post-

test. These results are calculated using the formula explained in

Chapter III.

Ʃx
x=
ƞ

600
x=
8

x=75

According to data obtained by the researcher, the average

score of the autism class after the implementation of "Picture

Therapy Cards" increased. There was one student who got a bad

grade because that student had limitations in remembering and was

very lazy.

The student's class average scores increased from the post-test and

pre-test. The percentage increase was obtained using the following

formula:
2 1
x −x
p= 1
x 100=¿
x

75−49 , 1
p= x 100=¿
49 , 1

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 2590
p=
49 ,1

p=52 , 74 %

The data shows that the average score for the autism class

in the pre-test was 49,1 and the average score in the post-test was 75.

This shows that there was an increase in the class average of

52,74%.

4.1.5 Data Interpretation

The increase in vocabulary skills in autistic students from cycle I

to cycle II was summarized in the picture below:

Diagram 4.1

Increasing Vocabulary Skill Scores for Autistic

Students

75
49.1

P r e Test P o st -Test

In the first cycle of preliminary research, the average student test

class score was 49,1. This test was before implementing the use of "Picture

Therapy Cards". According to the score criteria explained in Table 3.2,

this figure was said to be poor and does not meet the Minimum

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 Completeness Criteria (KKM) for autistic students. In other words, there

were only 3 students who met the Minimum Completion Criteria (KKM),

and the others were below 60. Therefore, the researcher continued in the

second cycle.

In the post-test or research in the second cycle, after the action was

carried out, the class average score was 75. This figure shows the student's

improvement score. In this second cycle, there was only 1 student who got

a bad score, the score that student got was only 50, and 7 other students

got a score of 70 and some were even almost perfect. In the post-test in the

second cycle, the majority of students with autism met the Minimum

Completeness Criteria (KKM). Therefore, Class Action Research (CAR)

was said to be successful and the cycle stops.

4.2 Discussion

This research was carried out to determine the increase in the

English vocabulary of autistic class students at SD AGAPE Wonosobo by

using "Picture Therapy Cards". Class Action Research (CAR) was an

approach used by the researcher and "Picture Therapy Cards" was a

medium that has been used by researcher to study the English vocabulary

of autistic students. The researcher applied this media only to 1 autist class

at SD AGAPE WONOSOBO.

The increase in vocabulary skills of autist students by using picture

therapy cards can be seen in the results of the pre-test and post-test carried

out by researcher in cycles I and II. Researcher collect data through

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interviews, questionnaires, observations, and tests and then the results are

analyzed and calculated by the researcher.

The data was collected to determine whether or not there was an

influence experienced by autistic students when learning vocabulary using

picture therapy card media. Researcher found several impacts from using

this media, such as students feeling happier and more comfortable in class.

Moreover, students also remember the new vocabulary they have learned

more easily.

This research also took data using tests to help measure the

increase in English vocabulary in autistic students. The researcher found

different results before applying the picture therapy cards and after

implementing them. To find out the difference, the researcher

implemented the media through 2 cycles. The Minimum Completeness

Criteria (KKM) for autistic students was 60 (sixty).

The autistic class who studied vocabulary before using picture

therapy card media got a class average score of 49,1 and there were only 3

students who met the Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM), and the

other 5 did not pass. After carrying out the pre-test and knowing the

results, the researcher began to carry out learning using picture therapy

card media. In cycle I, the researcher observed that the majority of

students had difficulty working on questions, and most of them were not

enthusiastic when they did not understand a sentence, they answered with

what they knew, some gave up and felt bored and then played on their

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own. Because the results of the average score for the autism class in the

first cycle did not meet the Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM), the

researcher took action again in the second cycle with almost the same

learning, only adding games when learning took place. The learning

outcomes of autistic class students in the second cycle were higher than in

the first cycle with an average class score of 75 with the number of

students who did not meet the Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM)

only 1 child with a score of 50.

Based on the results of the data above, the English vocabulary

skills of autistic students have increased. An improvement of 52,74% in

the average score of autistic students after taking action. In other words,

the use of picture therapy cards in autism classes as a learning strategy

can help autistic students improve their English vocabulary at AGAPE

Wonosobo Elementary School.

Based on the description above, is able to be concluded that

picture therapy cards is able to help in learning to add vocabulary to

autistic students, especially in English. The benefits of this media are

numerous, especially in making it easier for teachers to deliver material

in class and more importantly, it can create a pleasant classroom

atmosphere so that students are comfortable in the classroom while

learning is taking place.

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 CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTION

5.1 Conclusion

Based on the results of research conducted from 25th July to 8th August

2023 to improve English language mastery among autistic students, the researcher

concluded that there was an increase in students' English mastery abilities. The

test results given to the autistic class at AGAPE Wonosobo Elementary School

showed scores that were far from the target of the Minimum Completeness

Criteria (KKM) for autistic children. The average score obtained for the autism

class was 49,1, while the Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM) for autistic

children was 60 (sixty). In the first cycle, there were only 3 students who met the

Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM), and 5 below there were even students

who got a score of 20. In this cycle, most of them were not enthusiastic and when

they did not understand a sentence, they answered as they were. What they know

is that some people give up and feel bored and play alone. Because the average

score for the autism class had not yet reached the Minimum Completeness Criteria

(KKM) standard, the researcher continued to the next cycle until they reached the

Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM) standard target.

In the second cycle, students experienced improvement which could be

seen from the increase in the class average score to 75. In this cycle, there was

only 1 student who got a score below the Minimum Completeness Criteria (KKM)

standard. So, it can be concluded that the use of picture therapy cards is very

effective for teachers to use in the classroom and is a learning strategy that can

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help autistic students improve their English insight. This can be seen from the

increase in the class average value which was 52.74% after the action was taken.

5.2 Suggestions

Based on classroom action research at AGAPE Wonosobo Elementary

School carried out by the researcher and without reducing respect, the researcher

provides suggestions that are expected to improve the quality of education and

English language learning in the classroom as follows:

5.2.1 For schools, it can be used as a reference and a supporting tool and can

create policies so that classroom teachers are more creative in using

learning media, as well as providing information about the media used to

improve the English skills of autistic students at AGAPE Elementary

School.

5.2.2 For teachers, it can create more enjoyable learning and can make students

more active in class when learning takes place. Teachers should also use

varied and more creative media so that students do not feel bored when

learning takes place.

5.2.3 For future researcher, hopefully, this research can be useful and a

reference for similar research.

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