





























Ika Oktavianti / Journal of Economic Education 1 (2) (2012)

ELT FORUM 7 (1) (2018)

Journal of English Language Teaching

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


Pop-up Card to Teach Regular and Irregular Past Verbs

Rizka D. A. A, Sri Wahyuni, Arif Suryo Priyatmojo 

Putri Anggraeni, et al / Journal of English Language Teaching 6 (1) (2017)
Rizka D. A. A, et. al. / Journal of English Language Teaching 7 (1) (2018)
English Department, Faculty of Languages and Arts, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Indonesia
24

31


Article Info
________________

Article History: Received in April 2017

Approved in May 2017 Published in July 2017
________________

Keywords: pop-up card, past simple verbs, learning media.



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Abstract

___________________________________________________________________
This paper is based on an experimental research aiming to explain to what extent the achievement of the students who were taught by using pop-up card differs from those who were taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher in attaining regular and irregular past verbs and to describe how effective pop-up card is to teach regular and irregular past verbs. The subject of the study was the students of VIII C, as the control group, and VIII D, as the experimental group, of one of junior high schools in Semarang in the academic year of 2016/2017, consisting of 60 students, chosen by using convenience sampling. This study used pretest-posttest control group design as a part of quasi-experimental design. The experimental group was taught regular and irregular past verbs by using pop-up cards and the control group was taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher. T-test of the data showed that tvalue is higher than ttable (2.494 > 1.67). It can be concluded that there was a significant difference between the achievement of the students who were taught by using pop-up card and those who are taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher.



	
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INTRODUCTION
Grammar takes an important role in a language. Gerot & Wignell (1994:2) explain that grammar is a theory of language, of how language is put together and how it works. It includes the theory about putting words together or using appropriate verb form in sentences. Thus, learning verb forms is important for grammar mastery to know how language is used appropriately.
Verbs are central to the description of an event because we organise the telling of the event around the process or action or state of affairs (Alsagoff, 2008:107). Verbs can be divided into three major categories, according to their function within the verb phrase, that are full verbs, primary verbs, and auxiliary verbs. Morphologically, full verbs are considered under two heads: regular verbs (such as ‘call’) and irregular verbs (such as ‘drink’). Irregular verbs differ from the regular verbs, that the past form and the –ed form participle of irregular verbs cannot be predicted by general rule from the base. (Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, & Svartvik, 1985: 98)
There are differences in regular and irregular verbs. It is explained by Declerck, Reed, & Capelle (2006:24) that:
The regular past tense indicative form consists of the stem of the verb and a suffix usually written as –ed. The fact that the addition of the suffix is sometimes accompanied by a minor spelling adjustment to the stem is not considered as relevant. Verbs that form their past tense this way are called weak verbs or regular verbs... However, there are quite a few verbs in English that are irregular verbs or strong verbs. these verbs do not form their past tense by the addition of a suffix (mostly written as –ed) to the stem, but by various other means.
Because of the categorization of verb form changing, it is more difficult for English learners to master the verb form changing to apply into sentences appropriately. Therefore, it is a necessity to find out how to learn effectively to master verb form changing as a part of learning grammar.
There are problems related to grammar mastery for junior high school students in Indonesia. The first one is that EFL students commonly face difficult word structure in making grammatically correct sentences. The second, students are lack of vocabulary mastery, especially verb form changing. It makes the students to have difficulties in making sentences in English. In English, tenses indicate time. Therefore, a sentence with wrong verb form will cause misunderstanding in meaning. Thus, the students should learn verb form changing well, that could be by self learning or at school.
The materials given in English classes at school can be devided into two. They are spoken and written materials. Spoken materials include listening and speaking in language skills, while written materials include reading and writing. Based on School-Based Curriculum, students of junior high school in Indonesia study some genres of text. They are descriptive, report, procedure, recount, and narrative text. The language feature of the texts are different. Descriptive, report, and procedure text use simple present tense, while recount and narrative text use simple past tense. To understand those tenses, students are supposed to have high achievement in mastering the verb form as the key of tenses. Therefore, teachers should give them materials about verb forms and tenses in their classes.
In 2013 Curriculum, students are also supposed to understand tenses and be able to implement them into sentences or utterances. For example, students have to understand how to make sentences showing the information of daily activities using simple present tense, or stating past activities using simple past tense correctly. Therefore, students are supposed to understand verb forms and be able to use the correct form of a verb to make grammatically correct sentences or utterances. 
From the statements above, it can be concluded that in both School-Based Curriculum and 2013 Curriculum, there are materials that demand the students to learn tenses and acquire knowledge of verb forms related to them.
Based on the preliminary study conducted in one of the state junior high schools in Semarang, it was found that the eighth graders of the junior high school had problems in attaining regular and irregular past verbs. It was indicated from the students’ scores in test of regular and irregular past verbs that were low. Students need a medium to learn regular and irregular past verbs that can improve their understanding about the new verbs itself. For junior high school students, especially the eighth graders of junior high school, the medium should be interesting and communicative, so that it will be easier for them to remember the new verbs they just learn. 
According to Thornbury (2002:25), the best of all subjects of word learning were subjects who were given the task of silently visualising a mental picture to go with a new word, what so called imaging. Other tests have shown that easily visualised words are more memorable than words that don’t immediately evoke a picture. Therefore, the researcher tries to propose a teaching medium that has a visualisation of what will be taught, that is regular and irregular past verbs.
Nowadays, pop-up card has been popular. It has been used to make a birthday card, special gift, thanksgiving card, etc because of its fascination. Students of junior high school are mostly interested in something like this. It will be good to make it as a medium for learning activities. Pop-ups are easy to make. Johnson (1992:7) says that he takes ‘pop-up’ book to be hinged paper sections attached to book pages in such a way as to lie flat when the book is closed, but which becomes three-dimensional when the book is open. Since it is three dimensional, pop-ups are interesting and imaginable to resemble real situations. Therefore, pop-ups are particularly effective as media in the teaching and learning process. 
Pop-up cards that were used in this study have some contents. They are verb introduction table, 3D images as the visualization of the verb meaning in context, and questions containing the verb. The verb table contains a verb in infinitive and past simple form. 
Table 1.1.
The Content of Pop-up Card: Verb Table
	Infinitive
	Past Simple

	Stop
	Stopped



Questions provided in the pop-up cards are in past tense, so they are effective to stimulate the students to practice making sentences by using past simple verbs. The example of the questions is “Why did you stop playing game?”, followed by 3D image which visualizes a student who stopped playing games. By using that question, the students are expected to answer in past tense by implementing the past simple verb “stopped”. One pop-up card contains of 5 verbs, with 5 visualizations and 5 questions. Each card was used by 2 students for collaborative learning.
Pop-up cards used in this research were designed for learning regular and irregular past verbs, for both the content and the layout of the cards. Therefore, it is expected that the pop-up card is effective and efficient to learn the material, yet it has not been proved by any preliminary study. Therefore, this research was aimed to measure to what extent it is effective to implement pop-up card as a medium for students to learn English regular and irregular past verbs through an experimental research entitled “The Effectiveness of Pop-up Card to Teach Regular and Irregular Past Verbs”.

METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH
In the effort to achieve the objectives of the research, an experimental research as a part of quantitative researches was conducted. This research was done at one of junior high schools in Semarang in the academic year of 2016/2017. The population of this research was the eighth grade students of one of junior high schools in Semarang in the academic year of 2016/2017. The students are devided into 6 classes. They are VIII A until VIII F. 
There are two groups in experimental studies. They are experimental group and control group. By using convenience sampling, two classes were chosen as the two groups. VIII D was chosen as the experimental group, while for the control group, VIII C was chosen. Both groups were chosen based on the consideration that they were willing to take parts in the study and that they have the relatively same ability according to their preliminary achievement in the previous class material before the research was conducted. The experimental group was taught by using pop-up card as the medium in the teaching and learning process. Meanwhile, the control group was taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher. The teaching material for both groups was regular and irregular past verbs, or what so called past simple verbs.
The research was conducted beginning from August 6th, 2016 until August 29th, 2016. There were seven agendas in seven weeks in the research. The first one was asking permission to do the researrch in the school. The next agenda was giving try-out test to one class other than the control and experimental groups. The third agenda was giving pretest to both control and experimental groups. Then, the next three meetings were used to give treatments to the groups. The last agenda in the school was giving posttest to both groups. Each of agendas was done once in a week.
The research used pretest-posttest control group design as a part of quasi-experimental design. In this design, pretest was firstly done for the two groups. However, since the items of the pretest were multiple choice test items, try-out test was conducted before the pretest. It was aimed to choose valid items for the actual pretest of the study. 
Try out test is used to choose the items which meet the criteria of a good test item for the actual test. It was administered before the pretest and posttest were conducted to collect data. The students in the class which was used for try-out test were informed that the material of the test was regular and irregular past verbs. After the try-out test had been finished, the items of the test were analysed to choose which items met the criteria of a good test item for the actual test, that were valid and reliable. The computation needed in this test were validity and reliability tests, and item analysis of difficulty level and discriminating power.
After the pretest was done in both the control and experimental groups, treatments were given to both groups. The treatment for the experimental group was teaching a material of regular and irregular past verbs by using pop-up card as the medium of the teaching and learning process. Meanwhile, in the control group, the students got the same materials, but they were taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher. There were three meetings of the teaching and learning process. After the treatments were done for both groups, posttest was given to both groups to know the result after getting treatment. Both pretest and posttest were done in 80 minutes. Then, the results were computed statistically.
The source of the data is the result of the students’ pretest and posttest scores. The type of the data is quantitative data, in numeric form. The data was obtained through the students’ document of tests result. After that, the data were analyzed through a statistical analysis in order to draw a conclusion by using sample test and hypothesis test. Sample test was done before the study to see whether the sample distribution is normal or not and to see whether the sample is homogeneous or not. The sample test includes normality test and homogeneity test. The normality test was calculated by using chi square formula. Meanwhile, the homogeneity test was computed by using Barlett formula from the pretest and posttest scores of both experimental group and control group as the source of the data. The test other than sample test was hypothesis test that was measured by using t-test formula.
The first data computed in this study was the control group students’ score of pretest. After that, the calculation was continued based on the data of the experimental group students’ scores. The mean score, the normality and homogeneity of the pretest was computed and analysed. Then, the students’ scores of posttest were calculated. The mean score, the mean score difference between the pretest and posttest mean scores of both groups, and the normality and homogeneity of the posttest were analysed.
The computation of the data for a final result was done by using t-test formula. The value of tvalue was consulted with ttable with dk = n1 + n2 -1 in which the significance level is 5%. If tvalue ≥ ttable so the data is considered to have a significant difference in the significance level. After the data has been calculated by using t-test formula, then null hypothesis (H0) is determined whether it is accepted or not. If the tvalue ≥ ttable so H0 is rejected. In the contrary, if tvalue ≤ ttable, it means that the H0 is accepted.
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
The result of the study was obtained by analysing the data that were the students’ scores of the pretest and posttest of both control and experimental groups. There were four steps in the process of collecting the data. They were conducting try-out test, pretest, giving treatment, and administering posttest at the end of the activity in the groups.
Firstly, try-out test was conducted to identify the item validity, reliability, difficulty level, and discriminating power. The try-out test consisted of 50 multiple choice items. The first test was sample test, consisting of validity test and reliability test.
Pearson-product moment was used to calculate the item validity. 
The result of the calculation showed that there were 30 valid items and 20 invalid items. 
To find out the reliability of the test, K.R. 20 (Kuder-Richardson number 20) formula was used. 
Based on the result of the caomputation by using the formula, the reliability of the try-out test items was 0.900. Since the rvalue (0.900) was higher than rtable (0.361), so the try-out test is considered to be reliable.
After being done with sample test, the item analysis was done. The first analysis was the analysis of discriminating power to categorize the test items based on the ability of the students in the group’ answers. 
The results of the calculation showed that 18 items were poor items, 13 items were satisfactory items, 16 items were good items, and 3 items were excellent items.
The next analysis was determined by using difficulty level analysis which was used to categorize the test items based on the difficulty level. 
The calculation of difficulty level was categorized in three categories. They are  difficult, in range of 0.00 < ID ≤ 0.30; medium, in range of  0.30 < ID ≤ 0.70; and easy, in range of  0.70 < ID ≤ 1.00. 
Based on the categorization, it was revealed that there were 5 items that were easy, 23 items that were medium and 22 items that were difficult.
From the calculation of try-out test by using some formulas, all of test items were analysed. Some items were eliminated and some others were chosen to be used as the pretest items. As the result, 30 items were used for the pretest. 
The pretest was a multiple choice test consisting of 30 items. The posttest was a fill-in-the-blanks test consisted of 20 fill-in-the-blanks items and each of the posttest items was scored 5. 
The result of the pretest showed that there was no significant difference between the control and experimental groups’ achievements because tvalue is lower than ttable, i.e tvalue (-0.828) < ttable (1.67). Therefore, it can be concluded that the ability of the students in both control and experimental groups were relatively the same before the treatments were given. 
The following table shows the result of the pre-test of both control and experimental groups:

Table 3.1.
The Result of the Pre-test
	Variance Resource
	Experimental Group
	Control Group

	
	
	

	Sum of scores
	1783.333333
	1850

	Number of students (n)
	30
	30

	x
	59.44
	61.67

	Variance (s2)
	129.5658
	86.3985

	Standard deviation (s)
	11.38
	9.30



The mean score of the posttest in the control group was 83.50. Meanwhile, the experimental group’s scored 88.33. It can be seen that the achievement of the experimental group was higher than the control group’s. Below is the tabulation of the average scores of both groups:
Table 3.2.
The Result of the Post-test
	Variance Resource
	Experimental Group
	Control Group

	
	
	

	Sum
	2650
	2505

	Number of students (n)
	30
	30

	x
	88.33
	83.50

	Variance (s2)
	48.8506
	60.6034

	Standard deviation (s)
	6.99
	7.78



After the data of mean scores of both control and experimental groups was obtained, an analysis of significance was computed. By using t-test formula, it was obtained that tvalue is higher than ttable, i.e tvalue (2.530) > ttable (1.67). Therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected.
The mean score difference of both control group and experimental group can be shown as follows: 

Table 3.3.
The Mean Score Difference of the Control and Experimental Groups
	Group
	Pretest
	Posttest
	The Difference

	Control
	61.67
	83.50
	21.83

	Experimental
	59.44
	88.33
	28.89



The table above showed that the mean score of the pretest in the experimental group was 59.44. Meanwhile, the mean score of the posttest was 88.33. Therefore, there was a significant improvement between the pretest and posttest scores of students in the experimental group. 
The mean scores of the control group also showed an improvement. The pretest mean score was 61.67 and the posttest mean score was 83.50. In the control group, there was less improvement compared to the improvement of the experimental group. The improvement of the control group was only 21.83, while the experimental group’s was 28.89. It can be inferred that the difference of mean score in the experimental group was higher than that in the control group. Thus, the experimental group showed better performance than the control group.
To see if the data of the research can be analyzed or not, the normality and homogeneity tests were done. The normality test was done by using Chi square formula. 
Based on the computation of the control group students’ scores in the pretest, it was found that  was 1.5482 and  was 7.81, with α = 5% = 0.05 and dk = 6 – 3 = 3. Because the  was lower than , so the data were considered to be normally distributed. 
The next is the computation of the students’ scores in the experimental group. It was obtained that  was 5.3974, and  =  =  = 7.81. Since the  (5.3974) <  (7.81), so the pretest score of the experimental group is said to have a normal distribution.
The posttest of the control group is said to be normally distributed since the  (3.618) was lower than (7.81). The same result was obtained in the computation of the experimental group students’ score on the posttest, that  was 7.4773 and  =  =  = 7.81. Since the  was lower than , so the posttest of the control group is said to have a normal distribution.
Homogeneity test is done to show that the population is exactly homogeneous or not. Barlett test is used to test the homogeneity of population. 
The first computation was the homogeneity of the pretest of both control and experimental groups. The result of the computation showed that  (1.182) <  (3.84). Therefore, the data is considered to be homogeneous.
In the computation of the data in the posttest, it resulted that  (1.182) <  (3.84). It means that the data of both control and experimental groups in the posttest is homogeneous.
Since the objectives of the study were to explain to what extent the achievement of the students who were taught by using pop-up card differs from those who were taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher in attaining regular and irregular past verbs and to describe how effective pop-up card to teach regular and irregular past verbs is, the result of all of data computation was analysed. 
From the data obtained after conducting the research, it was revealed that the achievement of the students who were taught by using pop-up card differs significantly from those who were taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher. It was proven from the data of the students’ score in the pretest and posttest. The mean score of the control group in the pretest was 61.67, while the experimental group scored 59.44. It can be seen that both groups have relatively same ability before the treatments were given. 
In the posttest, the control group scored 83.50. Meanwhile, the experimental group scored 88.33. From the analysis of the computation by using t-test, the result showed that there was significant difference between the achievement of the experimental and the control groups.

CONCLUSIONS
From the computation and analysis of the data from the students’ pretest and posttest scores, a conclusion was drawn. The first is that the analysis of the result shows that the achievement of the students who were taught by using pop-up card differs significantly compared to those who were taught by using regular teaching media used by the teacher. It is proven by the computation and analysis of the students’ score in the pretest and posttest by using t-test formula. 
Based on the comparison of the mean score difference of the posttest of both control and experimental groups, it was shown that the experimental group performed better than the control group after the treatment was given. The experimental group was taught regular and irregular past verbs by using pop-up card as the media of the learning process. In other words, it can be inferred that pop-up card, as the media of learning process, is effective to teach regular and irregular past verbs for students, especially grade eighth students of junior high school.
After the research was finished, there were some suggestions, especially for teachers, to conduct effective and efficient learning process in the classroom. 
The first suggestion is to build fun atmosphere in the class by using interesting media for learning the material. Therefore, the students will keep focusing on the material during the learning process. 
The second is to motivate the students to learn by themselves. Using teaching methods and media which build the students’ creativeness to produce instead of taking something from the learning process will be effective for that. For example, by using questions provided in pop-up cards in this research, the students were stimulated to write sentences in past tense.

REFERENCES
Gerot, L., & Wignell, P. (1994). Making Sense of Functional Grammar. Sydney: Gerd Stabler Antipodean Educational Enterprises.
Alsagoff, L. (2008). A Visual Grammar of English. Jurong: Longman.
Quirk, R., Greenbaum, S., Leech, G., & Svartvik, J. 1985. A Comprehensive Grammar of The English Language. New York: Longman.
Declerck, R., Reed, S., & Capelle, B. (2006). The Grammar of the English Verb Phrase Volume 1: The Grammar of the English Tense System. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG.
Thornbury, S. (2002). How to Teach Vocabulary. Charlbury: Bluestone Press.
Johnson, P. 1992. Pop-up Paper Engineering : Cross-curricular Activities in Design Technology, English and Art. New York & London: RoutledgeFalmer.

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