IMPROVING STUDENTS VOCABULARY BY USING WEBTOON

(A Classroom Action Research on the Seventh-Grade Students of

SMPN 6 Pontianak in Academic Year 2022/2023)

A RESEARCH DESIGN
Submitted to fulfil one of the requirements to write a thesis in English
Language Education Study Program, Language and Art Education
Department, Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Universitas
Tanjungpura, Pontianak

Proposed by:
SILVA NORIDHA SITOMPUL
F1021191049

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY

UNIVERSITAS TANJUNGPURA

PONTIANAK

2023

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents.....................................................................................................................
3
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................
5
1.1 Background ........................................................................................................................
4
1.2 Research Question .............................................................................................................
6
1.3 Research Purpose ..............................................................................................................
6
1.4 Research Significant ..........................................................................................................
6
1.4.1 Students …………………………….…………………………..…………………
6
1.4.2 English Teacher …………..……..………………………….……………………..
6
1.5 Scope of Research ..............................................................................................................
7
1.6 Terminology........................................................................................................................
7
1.6.1 Webtoon ...........................................................................................................................
7
1.6.2 Vocabulary Mastery..........................................................................................................
7

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................

8
2.1. Theoritical Framework ....................................................................................................
8

2
2.2 Vocabulary ..……………………………...……………...…………………….
………….8
2.2.1 The Definition of Vocabulary ......................................................................................
8
2.2.2 The Aspect of Vocabulary …...………………………………………………………...
9
2.2.3 The Importance of Vocabulary........................................................................................
10 2.2.4 Teaching
Vocabulary...................................................................................................... 11
2.2.5 Assessing Vocabulary……………..………………...……..….………………………
12
2.3 Webtoon ....................................................................................................................
13
2.3.1 The Definition of Webtoon .......................................................................................... 13
2.3.2 Procedure of Using Webtoon ....................................................................................... 13
2.3.3 The Relation between Webtoon and Vocabulary Mastery ..............................................
19

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................
21
3.1 Research Design................................................................................................................
21 3.2 Technique of Data
Collection .......................................................................................... 24 3.3 Data Collection
Tools ....................................................................................................... 25 3.4 Data
analysis .................................................................................................................... 26
References...............................................................................................................................
28
Appendices..............................................................................................................................

3
29 Appendix
1 .............................................................................................................................. 30
Appendix 2 …………………………………………………………………………………..
31

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

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-general issue (about vocabulary)

-problem identification (apa masalah murid’’ (BELUM DIPARAFRASE)

In the class, most students were passive because they

did not know a lot of vocabulary. In addition, the teacher used traditional method namely teacher-
centered. After giving explanation, usually the teacher asked the students to answer the questions.
Therefore, when the teaching learning was in progress, they gave no attention, and felt boring at
the English subject. One technique for teaching English vocabulary is by using webtoon. webtoon
application can be used as one of the educational techniques in teaching English. Vocabulary can
be practiced and

-bagaimana solusinya (webtoon utk memecahkan masalahnya)

And webtoon is the solusion for this problem, the advantages webtoon for vocabulary is

-previous research/penelitian sebelumnya bagaimana

Many previous studies have discussed webtoon as learning media in learning English, such as in
vocabulary (Sahrini and Wardah, 2021)

-gap

https://doi.org/10.24036/jelt.v7i4.101305

-harapan dari kontribusi

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 In reality, students in Indonesia still struggle to learn English vocabulary. This issue

can be found in elementary and higher schools (Suryanto & Sari, 2021). Students must

participate in regular learning to develop their language skills and use them later in life.

Additionally, since language is challenging, either students or teachers must put in further

effort. For students, speaking or listening is insufficient, teachers must design tasks for

students. Students that have a wide vocabulary tend to comprehend content more quickly.

Students have trouble understanding what will be said without good vocabulary mastery and

strategy. They will not be interested in getting vocabulary if they do not know how to add to

and improve their vocabulary. It will be more effective to increase the student is interest in

the learning process by using a helpful method when teaching reading. Teachers must use

innovative methods of instruction and learning to improve student motivation to learn to be

able to maximize the students is interest. Using the right media when teaching English to

students might increase their motivation to study.

Appropriate media are needed to make teaching vocabulary be more interesting. Media also

can improve student motivation and prevent students is bored in the learning process. There

are so many media in teaching which the teacher can use to help the students learn

vocabulary. One of the various media that can be used as a useful tool in teaching to draw

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students is interest is comics Zahra, (2019) defines comic as a term applied to a series or

sequence of closely related highly stimulating drawings that differs from the ordinary

cartoon. Through comics as a media in teaching vocabulary, they will get a new atmosphere

in the learning process. Also, teachers can motivate the student to learn more interestingly

and enjoyably. Comic is a kind of cartoon picture which contain several continued story.

Comic also appear in newspapers or comic books. Today, it is easy to find many innovative

comics. Students are still ready to read comics by browsing the internet even without the

comic book or other printed comics with it. On the internet or through their smartphone, they

can access webcomics. Students can access and download comic reading apps like Webtoon,

and other apps to read.

Webtoon applications are one of the most popular and interesting in this era. According to

Jang and Song (2017), the term webtoon is a combination of the words web and cartoon.

Many genres can be found in webtoons, including drama, fantasy, comedy, action, etc. There

are several stories to read in every genre. Sound effects and moving pictures add interest to

several stories. Students can choose if they want to try and read comics in the English

language to improve their vocabulary by using Webtoon. Webtoon is a kind of comic that can

be used in the classroom. Students who use webcomics as additional reading material will

have some advantages in terms of improving their vocabulary. By using Webtoon as a fun

way to teach vocabulary skills, the students can discover several stories that are highly

engaging. Students would be more engaged in their studies if they used the Webtoon comic,

as they would learn something new and creative from the comic and feel excited about the

teacher is approach to teaching and improving their vocabulary.

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1.2 Research Question

Based on the background of the research above, the researcher aims to answer the question

below:

1. How does the use of Webtoon improve students vocabulary mastery?

1.3 Research Purpose

Based on the problem statement, this proposed study is conducted to:

1. To improve the students vocabulary mastery by using Webtoon.

1.4 Research Significance

It is possible to anticipate the results of research into the use of comic strips in the media for

English vocabulary teaching. It will provide readers with additional benefits. In order to help

other teachers become better at teaching English to students, the researcher also wants to

share this result with them.

The results of this study will hopefully be useful for:

1.4.1 Students
It is believed that by learning vocabulary through comedic stories, the students would

increase their vocabulary and build their study skills to learning vocabulary, so they are able

to succeed.

1.4.2 English Teacher

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The teacher can use the study is findings as feedback on her lessons, which will help the

student perform more generally.

1.4.3 Other Researchers

The other researcher can learn how to teach and improve vocabulary by using webtoon. In

addition, it gives advice on improving creativity in the classroom, especially when teaching

vocabulary.

1.5 Scope of Research

The researcher will limit the study to the seventh grade students at the school year 2022-2023

of SMPN 06 Pontianak. The studys goal is to determine and address student vocabulary

learning problems. Digital comics media of many categories, such as Bilibili Comic, Line

Webtoon, Manga Toon, Comics Web, and others, were easy to find. However, the researcher

of this study focused on noun and the researcher will choose the title from the webtoon, the

title is My Kitty and Old Dog with comedy as the genre in using the Line Webtoon medium

for teaching English vocabulary.

1.6 Terminology
Here is the definition of terms in this research provided by the researcher to avoid

misunderstanding:

1.6.1 Webtoon
Webtoon is an online comic from South Korea. There are many genres like comedy, drama,

fantasy, etc. The title of the webtoon I choose is My Kitty and Old Dog. This research

focuses on comedy as the genre.

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 1.6.2 Vocabulary Mastery
The vocabulary in this study is focused on nouns, especially for Junior High School students

in the seventh grade. In this study, the researcher will be using the syllabus for the first

semester. The ability to use or understand words from a language that a person has learned

and heard during situations that they have encountered in life is referred to as vocabulary

mastery.

1.6.3 Vocabulary Noun

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.2 Vocabulary

2.2.1 The Definition of Vocabulary

Vocabulary can be defined as the words of a language, including single items and phrases or

chunks of several words which covey a particular meaning, the way individual words do. One

of the components of the English language that students need to master is vocabulary.
(Ghazal, 2007)
According to , Vocabulary learning is one of the more difficult things that people

who are learning a foreign language must do. Vocabulary is an essential aspect of language

learning, as can be concluded from the definition provided above. It refers to the employing

of those words by students to understand their meaning and to share their views and opinions

with others. Because of this, vocabulary is a crucial tool for learning a language.

(Takac, 2008) states that vocabulary might be described as a dictionary or a collection of words. The

use of vocabulary is important while teaching a language. The students comprehension of English

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would be simple if they had mastered enough vocabulary. (Thornbury, 2002a) states that

without language not much can be expressed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. The

vocabulary is frequently used by language learners, especially beginners, as they develop their

ability to speak, read, and write. As is common knowledge, vocabulary is a language is

complete dictionary, including an explanation for each words meaning. In other words,

students who are good at vocabulary will be able to write and speak many sentences with

ease when learning English.

2.2.2 Aspect of Vocabulary

Vocabulary becomes important to learning English for some reasons. The first and

most important component of learning English is vocabulary. Vocabulary mastery is essential

for students. Additionally, we know that students often have trouble with vocabulary.
(Harmer, 2001)
According to , There are various vocabulary related concepts that teachers

should make clear to their students such as:

a. Meaning

Depending on the context in which it is used, a word may have more than one meaning. The

teacher can use techniques like guided discovery, contextual speculation, and using

dictionaries to determine the meaning.

b.Spelling

Spelling is important for vocabulary learning since it helps with reading. Spelling Words in

the same variation of English may have different acceptable written forms, or more often,

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words in unique kinds of English may have different acceptable written forms, as is the case

with many British or American English terms

c. Pronunciation

How words are pronounced is called pronunciation. As the word and its spelling are

unrelated, learning it is challenging. Good pronunciation makes it easier to communicate with

the listener.

d. Word Classes

Word categories are known as word classes. The students should practice many grammatical

patterns with ease, including nouns (countable and uncountable), verb complementation,

phrasal verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. This categorization of words in a language is based on

how they are used for communication. Nouns can appear in specific contexts and perform

specific tasks in sentences. Word class membership is an important lexical characteristic

since verbs also have certain locations and functions.

e. Noun

In addition to other words like pronoun (subjective pronoun) and phrases, nouns are one of

the parts of speech and one of the components of a complete sentence. Nouns are also used to

refer to people, places, and things, whether they be physical (such as a table book, pen, house,

or building) or abstract (such as growth, improvement, or learning).

2.2.3 The Importance of Vocabulary

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 Teaching vocabulary to students is one of the most important aspects of teaching a

foreign language. The right vocabulary should be taught, and learners should be made aware

of how to use words and phrases so that the meaning is accurately communicated. The ability

to use a language effectively is greatly influenced by vocabulary. According to

(Cameron, 2001)
, Vocabulary can serve as a platform or stepping stone for learning a second language. It

implies that mastering vocabulary is the first stage in learning a foreign language. It will be

challenging for the students to inform or communicate their ideas if they do not know the right term.

It is difficult to teach a new language to learners . The teacher continues to have trouble teaching

vocabulary.

According to (Arief et al., 2020) , vocabulary instruction is quite challenging. In addition,

students should understand the meaning of the words in addition to the actual words because

they frequently lack imagination in creating a welcoming classroom environment for the kids,

many teachers fail to teach and develop the vocabulary of their students. Books, magazines,

newspapers, articles, and other printed teaching resources are typically the only ones that can

be used to teach vocabulary. Even though, the term vocabulary material" is used to refer to a

wider range of educational resources.

2.2.4 Teaching Vocabulary

According to (Doff, 1988), there are four stages in teaching vocabulary such as presentation,
practice, production, and review:

a. Presentation

In the process of teaching vocabulary, presentation is one of the most crucial stages. It
indicates that new lexical items are being given to students. According to
(Gairns & Redman, 1986)
the methods used to present new vocabulary words include spoken, visual, and translational
methods.

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b. Practice

The students might quickly forget the new words if the teacher simply explains the meanings.
Thornbury, 2002)
( states that practice makes perfect. Therefore, the teacher should give students

vocabulary tasks so they can learn the new words.

c. Production

Students are recommended to take on high level tasks at this stage, namely production tasks
Thornbury, 2002)
( . The students should create something on their own. When they did this,

students would change their words from receptive to productive and keep them to long term

memory.

d. Review

According to (Davies & Pearse, 2000) reviewing is an innovative take on old language, a test,
requiring innovation and creativity. It produces excellent results for language instruction and
acquisition. Students get more opportunity to use words and get feedback during the reviewing
stage.

2.2.5 Assessing Vocabulary

Due to the many degrees of vocabulary understanding, it can be challenging to evaluate

vocabulary knowledge. There are words that I have never heard, words that I have heard but

do not understand, words that I know but do not fully comprehend, and so on. In other words,

as teachers, we must assess the student’s knowledge and comprehension of those terms.
(Coombe, 2013)
Therefore, it must be evaluated in some way. states that several different

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assessments can be employed to assess vocabulary proficiency, including the following:

1. Multiple Choice Question Format

One of the most popular formats in professionally created language tests is multiple choice

questions. They are frequently used for assessing learning at the levels of recall and

comprehension. So, the researcher will be using multiple choice question for this study.

2. Matching Format

Matching is another popular tool used in vocabulary assessment. In some matching exercises,

the student will have access to two columns of material. The task for the student is to find out

which columns match one another.

3. Sentence Completion or Gap Fill Items

An assignment that requires students to read the text and then write the best or correct answer

is known as a sentence completion or gap fill item.

4. Translation tests

Translation is another tool for evaluating students practical vocabulary assessment. The

teacher needs to have an acceptable working to monitor how well this is done.

2.3 Webtoon

2.3.1 The Definition of Webtoon

According to (Jin, 2015), the term webtoon development combines the words web and cartoon.
The comic strip was originally offered online but is now available on smartphones.

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2.3.2 Webtoon for Learning Vocabulary

2.3.3 Procedure of Using Webtoon

Webcomics can therefore be used by teachers to help students improve their understanding of

picture stories. It can be used in the classroom to help students understand short stories more

quickly. Teachers can distribute comics to each student after introducing the webtoon and

before asking them to read the text. It is very simple for teachers to use this media in the

classroom, and students will have fun spending time with it.

Figure 2.1 First download and install Webtoon on the Google Play

Store or App Store by typing Webtoon.

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Figure 2.2 Before reading comics, you are required to log in to your

account using LINE or Username.

Figure 2.3 Now you are on the main page of the Webtoon service.

Note, on this page there are various comic titles that you can read

and don’t forget to set what language you will use.

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Figure 2.4 Find out what stories you will read.

Figure 2.5 After that, you can start to read stories on the Webtoon!

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 2.3.4 Procedure of Using Webtoon in Teaching Vocabulary

2.3.3 The Relation between Webtoon and Vocabulary Mastery

Words are learned through speech, because of those four skills, it is now much easier to

learn vocabulary, for instance through reading. Since English language learners lose interest

in acquiring vocabulary, it is important to take action to fix this problematic issue. When it

comes to English learning, the popularity of digital comics, in this case, Webtoons seems to

be one of the solutions. A nice aspect of this user friendly program that readers may enjoy in

addition to the great functions it offers and can help English language learners. Users have

the option to change the comic is language between English, Thailand, Indonesian, and

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Korean. Thus, it is believed that these elements can help language learners in developing their

language, especially their vocabulary.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design.

In carrying out this research, the researcher will use Classroom Action Research. According
(Burns, 2010)
to , Action Research is the idea of reflective practice to bring improvements, in which

the teacher acts as the researcher. This type of research is an effort used to solve issues in

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educational practice at school (Creswell, 2012) . According to (Kemmis & McTaggart, 1988), in

the implementation of this research, there will be several stages of the research cycle to be carried

out, namely planning, action, observation, and reflection.

Figure 1 adopted from Kemmis and McTaggart, 1988

1) Planning
The researcher prepared a plan for the lesson in this phase based on the student's vocabulary

issues with English. In this phase, the researcher chose the relevant media and topic using the

Webtoon application while also following the school curriculum and, in this case, selecting

things from the cycle I class topic. The researcher also set up a lesson plan based on the

teaching material and topic, prepared an observation sheet for the teacher and the students for

cycle I or post-test I, and prepared the post-test I to collaborate with other researchers.

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 2) Action
In these steps, the researcher completed the study tasks in accordance with the schedules she

created in the planning section. The researcher used the Webtoon Application as an act. On

the basis of the lesson plan that the researcher had created in advance of the meeting, the

researcher acted as a teacher during the teaching and learning process. First, the researcher

welcomed them to the class. In the second, following the instructions in the lesson plan, the

researcher introduced, clarified, and explained the purpose of the information. In the third

interview, the researcher asked about things that had occurred in class. In the Fourth, the

researcher provided a class example. The researcher used things from the lesson as an

example during this meeting. The researcher then gives the class an assignment to write down

the names of things in the classroom in the exercise book at the end of the meeting.

The researcher welcomed the class at the first meeting's second session. The second

step was introducing the study and outlining the objectives of the classroom materials before

explaining the teaching and learning materials. The students generally respond one by one

when the researcher asks them about the subjects they are learning in class. If students give

the wrong answer to a researcher is inquiry, the researcher will reveal the correct response.

The Webtoon application was used by the researcher in the teaching and learning process.

The discussion was then closed when the researcher had finished motivating the students in

the teaching and learning process.

3) Observation

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An observation sheet was required for this phase in order to evaluate the student's level

through the teaching and learning process. The observer can see all of the classroom

activities, including the teacher's performance, the structure of the classroom, and the

reactions of the students. In addition to giving the observation sheet, the researcher

challenged the students to share their ideas out loud with confidence. At this point, the

researcher observed both students and teachers. First, the researcher observed the teacher,

interviewing, observing, and asking about problems with learning English, such as

vocabulary. Then, after making observations with the teacher, the researcher found problems

with students, especially vocabulary in English. Finally, the researcher made observations

with students, interviewing, observing, and asking about problems with learning English. As

a result, students stop enjoying studying vocabulary in English, especially when studying

English. The researcher gave the students post-test 1 of the first cycle at the conclusion of the

teaching and learning process to evaluate how much their English vocabulary had improved

according to the Webtoon Application.

4) Reflection
After the meeting, the researcher evaluated the teaching and learning process. The research

team interviewed the students about their experiences learning English vocabulary through

the Webtoon Application, as well as about any challenges they found. The teacher's remark

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comes after the meeting. The researcher was able to identify their issues and their post-test

results thanks to reflection.

3.2 Technique of Data collection

The researcher will use three techniques in collecting the data for this study:

3.2.1 Observation

Observation is a way of collecting data by observing behaviours, events, or physical

(Ciesielska et al., 2018)
characteristics observed in the individual's natural setting . This

observation process will be carried out during the learning and teaching process, in which the

researcher will make a note in detail in the form of the field note and observation checklist to

get valid data which will be the qualitative data of this research.

3.2.2 Survey
A survey is an act of scrutinizing a process or questioning the targeted sample to obtain data

about a service, product or process. A data collection survey collects information from a
(Tague, 2005)
targeted group of people about their opinions, behaviours, or knowledge . In

conducting this research, the researcher will use a questionnaire as one of the tools of the data

collection survey.

3.3 Tools of data collection

3.3.1 Observation checklist

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An observation checklist is a list of criteria that the researcher will look at when observing

the class. This list will contain matters related to student attitudes during the actions carried

out by the researcher.

3.3.2 Field note

Field notes will be taken down during participant observations. it is used for documentation
(Phillippi & Lauderdale, 2018)
purposes as a gatherer of contextual information . This will be

the essential instrument for the researcher to understand the phenomena encountered in the

field. It will provide detailed information to help the researcher immerse herself in the

observed environment.

3.3.3 Test

The test will be given with a post-test after teaching. The purpose of the vocabulary tests was

to determine the student's proficiency with vocabulary. The post-test scores were compared to

see how students' vocabulary achievement had improved. It will be expected that by

comparing the students' results, it will be clear if the use of Webtoon will help the students

improve their vocabulary.

3 . 4 Data analysis

3.4.1 Data Analysis for Observation

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To analyze the observational data, the researcher will use the percentage formula, in which

the result of the observation will be described. To get student’s score from their observation,
(Sudijono, 2008)
the researcher use formula proposed by :

P = The Class Percentsge

F = Total Percentage Score

N = Number of Students

3.4.2 Data Analysis for Test

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To get students score from their test proposed by (Fraenkel et al., 2012):

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REFERENCES

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