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 ELT FORUM 5 (2) (2016) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 
 

http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 

 

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING COMPUTER GAME “FAST HANDS” TO 

IMPROVE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY FOR JUNIOR HIGH 

SCHOOL 

(A Quasi Experimental Research at the Eighth Grade Students of SMP Negeri 1 

Muntilan in the Academic Year of 2014/2015) 

 

Retno Trihandayani  Drs. Ahmad Sofwan M.A., Ph.D. 

 

English Department. Faculty of Languages and Arts. State University of Semarang. 

 

Aticle Info 

________________ 
Article History: 

Received in April 2016 

Approved in April 2016 

Published in May 2016 

________________ 
Keywords: 

Computer Game, Fast 

Hands, Vocabulary. 

____________________ 

Abstract 
___________________________________________________________________ 
This study was a quasi-experimental research aimed at finding out whether computer game “Fast Hands” 

effectively improve students’ vocabulary or not. The population of this study were 192 students from the eighth 

grade of SMP Negeri 1 Muntilan in the academic year 2014/2015. Of this population, two classes were chosen 

as the experimental group (VIII-B) and the control group (VIII-F) consisting of 24 students for each group. Thus, 

there were 48 students as the samples. 

Based on the result of the analysis, it is shown that the students’ progress in mastering vocabulary for both groups 

is good after they were given the treatment. It is shown from the different means result in the experimental group, 

that is from 66.46 in the pre-test to 84.79 in the posttest. Thus, it has 18.33 in difference. In the control group the 

difference between the two means is 13.54. 65.83 in the pre-test and 79.37 in the posttest.  

To check whether the treatment significantly influenced students’ vocabulary, the t-test formula was used. Based 

on the result of the computation, the t-value is 2.237. This result was consulted with the critical value on the t-

table with 5% alpha level of significance and 40 degrees of freedom by using interpolation. Based on the result of 

interpolation, the critical value is 2.015. Since t-value is higher than t-table (2.237 > 2.015) it can be concluded 

that computer game “Fast Hands” effectively improve students’ vocabulary compared to the Word Lists Strategy. 

Thus, it is suggested that the teachers may use computer game “Fast Hands” in their teaching practice especially 

in improving students’ vocabulary. 

© 2016 Universitas Negeri Semarang 

 
 Correspondent Address:  

   B3 Building  FBS Unnes  

   Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229 

   E-mail: retnootrihandayani@gmail.com  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISSN 2252-6706 

 



 

Retno Trihandayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

2 

INTRODUCTION 

Background of the Study 

English as one of the most influential 

languages in the world is very important to learn 

because it can be used to give and receive 

information and to develop education, 

technology and art. English is also useful for 

young students. Preparing students to learn 

English as early as possible is a very good thing 

because their brains are ready to learn and will be 

very easy for them to master. 

English is the most widely used language 

in the world. In addition,  Indonesia is one of the 

countries that many of its citizen use English as 

their daily language. Even many schools have 

implemented English as their primary language. 

It shows that English is a language that has a very 

large influence in life, especially in education, 

technology, science, art and in making the 

relationship of cooperation with other countries. 

The current era of globalization requires Human 

Resources to compete in accordance with current 

development. Therefore, English should be given 

or be introduced to students since they are 

children. 

In English, there are four skills that should 

be mastered namely listening, speaking, reading 

and writing. In order to master English, we 

should also master the grammatical rule and 

vocabulary. More and more we master 

vocabulary, then it will be easier for us in 

mastering English.  

Laufer (1997:140) in Indriarti (2014) states 

that learning vocabulary is one of the most 

important elements without which neither 

comprehension nor production of language is 

possible. On the other word, vocabulary cannot 

be separated from other language skills. The more 

words the learners know, they will be more better 

to understand what they hear or read. In addition, 

the more words they have, they will be more 

accurate to express their ideas in spoken or 

written form. 

In School-Based Curriculum, teachers are 

given the freedom to utilize a variety of methods 

and media that can improve the interest, 

attention, and creativity of learners. This is 

important because in School Based Curriculum 

the teacher serves as a facilitator who is expected 

to select the media used in learning. Medium as 

one of learning sources is an alternative way to 

optimize the learning process.  

The media used should be interesting and 

they match to the characteristics of the learners. 

This aspect can be done by applying learning and 

playing technique,  such as the use of computer 

games. Learning through computer games is able 

to provide several advantages. First, lessons given 

can be accepted with delight, as related with the 

nature of the game that is entertaining and 

exciting. Second, because game is fun, playing at 

once arouse great interest for learners in a 

particular subject. 

Computer game has spread rapidly in 

youth people life; they get accustomed to the 

computer game rather than the other technology. 

By the development of the technology, computer 

game comes in various types. It is possible that 

we consider about the use of computer game as a 

medium in teaching and learning. 

Here the writer tries to use “Fast Hands” as 

one of computer games to teach vocabulary. This 

is a game for learning English focusing on 

vocabulary items where the player will  listen to 

the sound or read the word and then click on the 

matching pictures. It is really easy, fun and 

interesting to learn and review words. The players 

can choose the content that they  want to play 

with and there are more than 500 vocabulary 

items in total. 

By using computer game “Fast Hands” as a 

medium for teaching, learners are expected to be 

more interested in learning vocabulary and they 

get motivated in teaching learning process. 

 

LITERATURE REVIEW 

There have been a number of researchers 

conducted some studies related to the use of 

Computer Game in improving students’ vocabulary 

mastery such as Zahro’ (2010), Sulistiyani (2010), 

Kirti (2013), Astuti (2014), Etikasari (2014), 

Sanchez (2006), and D’Alesio, Scalia, and Zabel 

(2007). From the related of previous studies, I am 

inspired to do an experimental research on 

teaching vocabulary by using computer game 

“Fast Hands”. However, there are differences 



 

Retno Trihandayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

3 

between these researches above and this research. 

This research is about applying Computer Game 

“Fast Hands” to improve students’ vocabulary 

mastery, whereas, most researches above were 

about applying Song Lyrics, Computer Media 

(ATM 5 Programme), Cartoon Pictures, Puppet, 

Virtual Field Trips, and Multisensory Instruction. 

The writer uses computer game “Fast Hands”  to 

improve students' vocabulary mastery because 

this game is very interesting and many categories 

of vocabulary are contained in this game. Finally, 

the researcher decides to use computer game 

“Fast Hands” in this research because so far there 

are not many researchers using this medium in 

improving vocabulary mastery. 

 

General Concept of Vocabulary 

vocabulary is a collection of the words with 

their meaning that it used to communicate. 

Kammeenui (1991) in Bintz (2011) states that 

Learning vocabulary is fundamentally about 

learning definition of words. Many teachers 

believe that defining words before reading a text 

is an effective instructional technique to support 

vocabulary growth and enhance reading 

comprehension; however, research indicates 

otherwise. For example, the popular practice of 

requiring students to find definitions of words and 

write those words in sentences before reading 

appears to have little apparent impact on their 

word knowledge and language use, and has not 

improved student comprehension of texts that 

contain those words. 

 

Computer Game “Fast Hands” 

Game can be classified as one of the media 

that is familiar with youth people and can be used 

for teaching and learning process. In this study I 

used computer game “Fast Hands”. Computer 

game “Fast Hands” is a medium to teach 

vocabulary adopted by Owen. 

 This is a game for learning English 

focusing on vocabulary items. The player listen to 

the sound or read the word and then click on the 

matching pictures. It is really easy, fun and 

hopefully a great way to learn and review words. 

The player can choose the content their want to 

play with and there are more than 500 vocabulary 

items in total. 

 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES 

In this research, I used quasi-experimental 

research design with the use of non-equivalent 

control group design. This study involved two 

groups: an experimental group and a control 

group. This research used pre-test and post-test to 

obtain the data. 

Table 1 Research Design 

 
Pre-

Test 
Treatment 

Post-

Test 

Experimental 

Group 
O1 X O2 

Control Group O3  O4 

 

The population in this study was the eighth 

grade students of SMP Negeri 1 Muntilan in the 

academic year of 2014/2015. The number of the 

students was 192, which were divided into 8 

classes. The sample was VIII-B as the 

experimental group and VIII-F as the control 

group. The instrument of this research was test. 

Before the test is used to collect the data, the try-

out test was conducted to measure the validity, 

reliability, discriminating power, and the 

difficulty level of the test. To measure the 

significance of the pre-test and post-test of the 

both groups, the researcher used t-test based on 

Arikunto (2006). 

 

RESULT AND DISCUSSION 

Result of Try Out Test 

The try-out test was conducted on April 

27th, 2015. It was held in another class beside the 

experimental group and control group. The VIII 

C was chosen as the try out group. There were 24 

students and they had to choose the correct 

answer in the multiple-choice task format, 

complete the vocabulary matching task format, 

and select response fill-in vocabulary format 

items test which consisted of 40 items in 60 

minutes. The total scores of try out test were 

1517.5 and the mean scores were 63.23. The 

result showed that the items were valid and 

reliable. 

 



 

Retno Trihandayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

4 

Result of Pre-Test 

This research was followed by 24 students 

of class VIII-B as the experimental group and 24 

students of class VIII-F as the control group. 

There were 20 questions in multiple-choice, 

matching, and  fill-in tasks format in 30 minutes.  

From the pre-test result, the experimental 

group got total scores 1595 in doing pre-test. 

Next, the maximum score was 85.0, the 

minimum score was 50.0, and the mean score of 

this group was 66.46. In addition, the total scores 

of pre-test in control group was 1580. 

Furthermore, the maximum score was 80.0, the 

minimum score was 50.0 and the mean score of 

the students’ result in this group was 65.83. The 

result of pre-test in control group was slightly 

different from the experimental group. As a 

result, the writer concluded that two groups had 

equal level vocabulary mastery before getting the 

treatment; therefore, the experiment could be 

continued. 

 

Treatments 

The treatment was conducted two times 

for the experimental and control groups. Both 

groups received the same materials with different 

teaching media and method. The experimental 

group was taught by using Computer Game “Fast 

Hands” as media, while the control group was 

taught using the Word Lists Strategy. 

 

Result of Post Test 

The post-test was followed by 24 students 

of class VIII-B as the experimental group and 24 

students of class VIII-F as the control group. It 

was conducted as the same way as the pre-test. 

Based on the post test result, the total score 

of experimental group was 2035. This group got 

mean score 84.79. Furthermore, the control 

group got total score 1905. The mean score of this 

group also increased, that was 79.37. As a result, 

the result showed that there was an improvement 

in post test result than pre-test. It can be 

concluded that computer game “Fast Hands” 

have more effective to improve students` 

vocabulary mastery than Word Lists Strategy. 

 

 

The Significance Difference of Two Tests 

To know the significant difference of the 

experiment, t-test formula was used in this 

research. It was done by comparing the t-value 

and t-table. The t-value was found from the score 

differences between pre-test and post-test both in 

experimental and control groups, while the t-table 

was found by consulting to the critical value on 

the table column.  

The  difference  of  the  means  of  the  

experimental  and  control  groups  was classified 

to be significant if the t-test was higher than the t-

table. To measure the significance of the two 

groups, this formula was used:  

t = 
𝑀1−𝑀2

√𝑆12

𝑁1
+

𝑆22

𝑁2
 
 

   =  
84.79 − 79.37

√66.26
24

+
74.59

24
 
 

   =  
5.42

√2.761 + 3.108 
 

   =  
5.42

√5.869
 

   =  
5.42

2.423
 

   =  2.237 

The critical value on the t-table for 46 

degrees of freedom and 5% alpha level of 

significance was 2.015. Because t-value is higher 

than t-table (2.237>2.015). It can be concluded 

that there is significant difference between the 

post-test of the experimental group and the 

control group. It means that there is difference in 

the experimental group and the control group on 

vocabulary mastery after they received the 

treatment. In can be concluded, teaching 

vocabulary by using computer game “Fast 

Hands” are more effective to improve the 

vocabulary mastery of the eighth grade of SMP 

Negeri 1 Muntilan in the academic year 

2014/2015 than Word Lists Strategy. 

 

CONCLUSIONS 

This research was conducted on the 

purpose to find out whether computer game “Fast 

Hands” effectively improves students’ 

vocabulary.  In other words, it was conducted to 

find out whether or not computer game “Fast 



 

Retno Trihandayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

5 

Hands” gives improvement of students’ 

vocabulary mastery compared to the Word Lists 

Strategy. 

 Based on the result of the experiment, 

there are some conclusions. Firstly, there is a 

significant difference in students’ improvement of 

vocabulary mastery between those who were 

taught by using computer game “Fast Hands” 

and those who were taught by using Word Lists 

Strategy for the eighth grade students of SMP 

Negeri 1 Muntilan in the academic year 

2014/2015.  

Secondly, the use of computer game “Fast 

Hands” is more effective in enhancing students’ 

vocabulary compared to Word Lists Strategy. It 

can be seen from the computation on the previous 

chapter which showed that the t-value is higher 

than the t-table on the 5% alpha of education and 

40 degrees of freedom (2.237>2.015). It means 

that the students’ vocabulary mastery on the 

experimental group is better than the control 

group which shows the effectiveness of the 

treatment given to the experimental group 

compared to the treatment given to the control 

group.     

 

REFERENCES 

Arikunto, Suharsimi. 2006. PROSEDUR 

PENELITIAN Suatu Pendekatan Praktik 

(Edisi Revisi VI). Jakarta: PT Asdi Mahasatya. 

 

Astuti, Jatmiko P. 2014. The Use of Cooking Academy 

Game to Enrich Vocational Students’ English 

Vocabulary (A Classroom Action Research at 

the Tenth Grade Students of SMK N 

Mojosongo in the Academic Year of 

2012/2013). Final Project of English 

Department, Semarang State University. 

 

Bintz, W.P. 2011. Teaching Vocabulary across the 

Curriculum. Middle School Journal. Available 

at 

http://littoolkit.pbworks.com/f/Middle%252

0School%2520Vocabulary%2520Strategies.pdf 

[accessed 25/1/2015]. 

 

D’Alesio, Rosemary; Scalia, Maureen; and Zabel, 

Renee. 2007. Improving Vocabulary 

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Action Research Project submitted to the 

Graduate Faculty of the School of Education in 

Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the 

Degree of Master of Arts in Teaching and 

Leadership.  

 

Etikasari, Anis. 2014. Group Guessing as a Vocabulary 

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University. 

 

Indriarti. 2014. The Effectiveness of Semantic 

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Department, Semarang State University. 

 

Sanchez, Alicia D. 2006. Enhancing Vocabulary 

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partial fulfillment of the requirements for the 

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Sulistiyani. 2010. Improving Students’ Vocabulary 

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STBA Budhi Tangerang. 

 

Zahro’, Masning. 2010. The Use of Song Lyrics to 

Improve Students’ Vocabulary of Verb (An 

Experimental Research at the Eighth Grade 

Students of MTs Uswatun Hasanah Mangkang 

Semarang in the Academic Year of 

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Studies Semarang. 

 

 


