IMPROVING THE SPEAKING ABILITY OF GRADE VIII STUDENTS OF SMPN 1 WONOSARI THROUGH THE SNAKES AND LADDERS BOARD GAME IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR OF 2013/2014

The objective of this research was to improve Grade VIII students’ speaking skills by using the Snakes and Ladders board game in SMPN 1 Wonosari. This was action research study which consisted of two cycles. The researcher worked collaboratively with the English teacher, the students, and the collaborators. The subjects of the research were 24 students of VIIIE of SMPN 1 Wonosari in the academic year of 2013/2014. The data were qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative data were collected by observing the teaching and learning process, and interviewing the students, the teacher and the collaborators. The data were in the form of field notes, interview transcripts, photographs, and video. Meanwhile, the quantitative data were collected through assessing the students’ speaking performance by comparing the means of the pretest and posttest. The data were the students’ speaking scores. They were analyzed using a t-test using SPSS 16.0 program. The procedure of the research consisted of reconnaissance, planning, acting, reflecting, and revising plan. The results of this research showed that the use of the Snakes and Ladders board game was effective to improve the students’ speaking skills. Based on the qualitative data, the use of classroom English helped the students to be more familiar with English. The vocabulary practice and pronunciation drilling also helped them to enrich their vocabulary knowledge and build their accuracy. Furthermore, the Snakes and Ladders board game was effective to encourage them to practice speaking. Meanwhile, the use of various media could grab their attention during the class. Based on the quantitative data, the students’ mean scores for the speaking skill improved from 8.25 in the pretest to 14.20 in the posttest. According to the t-test, the means of the pretest and posttest were also statistically different since p was lower than the significance level (0.00 < 0.05)