Journal of English Language Teaching        Volume 4 Nomor 2, Agustus 2017 

http://ojs.ikipmataram.ac.id/index.php/joelt           ISSN: 2548-5865 

80 

 

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF RANSOM NOTE GAME IN LEARNING 

VOCABULARY AT SMPN 1 KERUAK 

 

 

Arbi Maulida Hadijah Zurri
 (1)

, Kamarudin
 (2)

, Ahmad Hanan
 (3)

) 

(Arbimaulida@yahoo.com
(1)

, kamarudin_din15@yahoo.com
(2)

, 

hananbagus@yahoo.com
(3)

) 

Students of IKIP Mataram
1
, Lecturer of FPBS IKIP Mataram

2
, Lecturer of FPBS 

IKIP Mataram
3 

Faculty of Education for Language and Arts (FPBS) 

Mataram Institute for Teacher Training and Education (IKIP) 

 

 

ABSTRACT 

This research was aimed at finding out the effectevenness of Ransom Note Game in 

learning vocabulary. this research was quasi experimental design. The populations 

of this research were all of students at second grade students of SMPN 1 KERUAK 

that consist of 284 students that consist of eight different classes. In which the 

sample of this research used two classes where VIII.1 Class as experimental group 

consisted of 32 student and VIII.3 as control group consisted of 31 students. The 

experimental was taught by Ransom Note Game Game and control group taught by 

Puzzle Game. The instruments that used were objective test with multiple choices, 

matching word, fill in the blank and true or false. The analysis used t-test formula. 

The result of the analysis, showed that the value of to (t obtained) 2, 0888 was 

higher than tt (t table) 1, 8702, the significant level 0, 05. Based on the result of this 

investigation, it was proved that the alternative hypothesis (Ha) was accepted. In 

other words, there was significant effect of Ransom Note Game in learning 

vocabulary at the second grade students at SMPN 1 KERUAK in academic year 

2016/2017.  

 

Keywords: Ransom Note Game, and Vocabulary 

 

INTRODUCTION 

Vocabulary is one of an important 

aspect in teaching English language 

that should be mastered by the 

student. Without sufficient vocabulary 

student cannot speak in English. They 

have to know new vocabularies and 

the structure of English in order to be 

able to construct sentences or 

utterances in English.  

Sprenger (2013: 13) vocabulary is 

an essential component to college and 

career readiness, and references to it 

appear throughout the grade-level 

standards. Vocabulary is very essential 

to support a language learning process 

and to support a good communication 

by using the language. 

The researcher has conducted an 

observation at SMPN 1 KERUAK   on 

December 10th 2016. The researcher 

found problem the student still lack at 



Journal of English Language Teaching        Volume 4 Nomor 2, Agustus 2017 

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vocabulary especially in word 

meaning. Additionally, most student 

seems likely did not interest not able 

to speak and write in English because 

they did not have sufficient 

vocabulary in return they cannot speak 

and write in English. The students 

always ignore when the teacher gave 

some question about the material. The 

problem caused by the technique used 

in teaching and learning process, the 

student had given the method by their 

teacher just like write down on the 

whiteboard and ask the students to 

memorize those words. That method 

made the student have difficult to 

memorize the words and the student 

easily to forget the words. Referring to 

the problem above, the researcher 

proposes to solve this problem by 

using Ransom Note Game. The 

researcher assumes that by using 

Ransom Note Game was ease the 

student in learning vocabulary and 

attract the student to learn English. 

Ransom Note Game from newspaper 

and magazine, to attract the students to 

be more active and the student more 

enjoy in learning English. Because 

naturally students always want to have 

fun. Besides that students cannot be 

separated from their natural need 

which is playing games. 

Based on the statement of the 

problem, the purpose of the study was 

to find out the effectiveness of 

Ransom Note Game in learning 

vocabulary at SMPN 1 KERUAK in 

academic year 2016/2017. 

 

 

REVIEW OF LITERATURE 

1. Vocabulary  

According to Hiebert & Kamil 

(2005: 3) vocabulary is the knowledge 

of meaning word. In addition, 

Sprenger (2013: 13)vocabulary is an 

essential component to college and 

career readiness, and references to it 

appear throughout the grade-level 

standards. Baker, Simmons, & 

Kame‟enui (1997) in Sprenger (2013: 

8) vocabulary is a strong indicator of 

student success. 

Based on the explanation above the 

researcher found the conclusion about 

vocabulary that is study about word 

and meaning that word. 

a. Indicators  of Vocabulary 

According to Thornburry (2002: 

27) there are 6 factors that make some 

words or difficult than others: 

1) Pronunciation  

Potentially difficult words was 

typically be those that contain sounds 

that are unfamiliar to some groups of 

learners. 

2) Spelling  

Sound spelling mismatches are 

likely to be the cause of errors, either 

of pronunciation or of spelling, and 

can contribute to a words difficulty. 

3) Length and complexity 

Long words seem to be no 

more difficult to learn than short one. 

4) Grammar 

Also problematic the grammar 

associated with the word, especially if 

this differs from that of its L1 

equivalent. 

5) Meaning 



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When two words overlap in 

meaning learners are likely to confuse 

them. 

6)  Range, connotation and  idiomatic  

Words that can be used in a  wide 

range of context was generally be 

perceived as easier than their 

synonyms with a narrower range. 

2. Ransom Note Game 

According to Lewis and Bedson 

(1999: 110) Ransom Note is a Games 

using magazine or newspaper to ease 

the student to determine new 

vocabulary. 

There are three variations Ransom 

Note such as: a). instead of ransom 

note, ask the children to write a love 

letter. Make separate groups of girls 

and boys role and vice versa. b). Older 

children can write funny newspaper 

headlines. The children can award 

each other „wacky points‟ for them. c). 

For younger children you can use very 

bright colorful magazine with lots of 

pictures. Ask the children to find 

something blue, or find something big 

and yellow. They should sit in a circle 

with the entire magazine in the 

middle. Each child may take only one 

magazine at a time and must return it 

before taking another. The children 

cut out what the find and glue it to 

their sheets of paper. After about 6-8 

question the compare pictures. Hang 

them on the wall of your classroom if 

possible. 

Steps in Teaching Vocabulary by 

using Ransom Note Game 

According to Lewis and Bedson 

(1999: 110) there are some steps in 

teaching vocabulary toward Ransom 

note game: 

1. Divide the class into groups of 4-5. 

The children sit together at desks 

around the classroom. 

2. Give each group a pile of   

magazine or newspaper, two to 

pairs of scissors, and some glue. 

3. Explain to the groups what 

kidnapping is. Show them ransom 

note you have made. 

4. Tell the children they have 

kidnapped someone and must write 

a ransom note by cutting out words 

from the magazine and gluing them 

on to a piece of paper. 

5. The ransom note must not have any 

English mistakes in it. Otherwise 

the ransom was not be paid. 

6. When a group thinks they  have 

correct ransom note, they bring it to 

you. If it is correct, give them a 

thumbs-up sign. They win the 

game. 

If their note is wrong, give 

thumbs-down sign. They must return 

to their table and try again. Do not tell 

them the mistakes- they must work 

them out or write a new note. Of 

course it is all right to give them hints. 

Children who have finished can help 

the others. 

 

METHOD 

1. Research Design 

According to Kothari (2004: 31) 

research design is the arrangement of 

conditions for collecting and 

analyzing of data in a manner that 

aims to combine relevance to the 

research purpose with economy in 

procedure. 



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In this study, the researcher used 

quantitative approach and focused on 

quasi-experimental design, in 

addition, the researcher used pre-test 

and post-test. In this research, the 

researcher took the data from 

experimental group and control group.  

There are two groups in this study, 

those were experimental group and 

control group. Experimental group 

gave the treatment treated by using 

Ransom Note Game and the control 

group gave the treatment by using 

Puzzle Game.   

2. Population 

 In this research, the researcher took 

all second   grade student of SMPN 1 

KERUAK academic year 2016/2017 

as the population. The total number of 

the members of the population is 284 

student and they was be divided into 

eight  classes (VIII.1 are 32 student, 

VIII.2 are 34 students,VIII.3 are 31 

students, VIII.4 are 36 student, VIII.5 

are 39 student, VIII.6 are 36 student, 

VIII.7 are 35 student and VIII.8 are 34 

student). 

3. Sample 

 The researcher used cluster random 

sampling as technique sampling to 

take two classes as the sample for this 

research. 

The researcher, in this case, used 

lottery and those two classes that 

popped out where VIII.1 and VIII.3. 

VIII.1 classes consist of 34 students as 

the experimental group and VIII.3 

consist of 36 students as the control 

group. So, the total number of sample 

is 70 students. 

 

 

4. Research Instrument 

The researcher gave vocabulary 

test for the student. It was objective 

test that used and it consist of multiple 

choice 10 items, marching words 5 

items, fill in the blank 8 items, and 

true/false 2 items. The total number of 

questions is 25 items. 

 

FINDING AND DISCUSSION 

This research was conducted on 

05thMay – 05th June 2017 at SMPN 1 

KERUAK. The steps of the research 

were as follows: at the first step the 

researcher gave pre-test, the purpose 

was to  know the students‟ basic 

knowledge about the materials. 

Second, the researcher gave treatment 

to both the groups. Where in 

experiment group used Ransom Note 

Game and in control group used 

Puzzle Game. The last step, the 

researcher gave post-test to both of the 

groups as the last step to collect the 

data. To answer the problem, the 

researcher analyzed the data obtained 

from pre-test and post-test scores of 

both experiment and control group. 

Then, the researcher presented the 

statistical computation of mean scores 

of both groups. The discussion 

continued to analyze and interpret the 

findings. The statistical computation 

covered the calculation of both 

experiment and control group.  

Testing hypothesis is the process in 

deciding whether alternative 

hypothesis would be accepted or null 

hypothesis would be rejected. The 

hypothesis was tested by using t-test 

formula. To find out the result of t test 



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whether or not higher from t table (t 

test value ≥ t table) was used in 

determining the level of significance 

as well as the degree of freedom of 

samples minus two. 

In this research, the sample of data 

was 32 students for experimental 

group and 31 students for control 

group; the total sample for both of the 

groups obtained were the mean score 

of experiment group was 24,5 and the 

mean score of control group was 19,48 

meanwhile, the standard deviation of 

experiment group was 10,80 and 

standard deviation score of control 

group was 7,66 and the squared 

standard deviation score of experiment 

group  was 116,69 and squared 

standard deviation score of control 

group was 58,67.Those scores need to 

be analyzed using t-test to find out 

significant  result of this research. 

Based on the data, it shown that the 

hypothesis of this research was t-test 

value > t-table value at significant 

level of 0,05 (90%) with 32 student 

for experiment group and 31 student 

for control group the total sample for 

both of the groups was 63, so the 

degree of freedom that was used 63-2 

= 61. The result of t-test was higher 

than t-table 2,088 ˃ 1,8702. The mean 

score of experimental group who was 

taught by Ransom Note Game is 

higher than control group. So the 

alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted 

and null hypothesis (Ho) is rejected. 

Before go on we back to Spenger 

(2013: 13) defines vocabulary is an 

essential component to college and 

career readiness, and references to it 

appear thorough out the grade level 

standards.  

From definition vocabulary above 

that in learning vocabulary not only to 

be able to mastery the word but they 

also to be able understanding meaning 

word. So, that the researcher tried to 

applied Ransom Note Game in earning 

vocabulary.  According Lewis and 

Bedson (1999: 110) Ransom Note 

Game is a Game from magazine or 

newspaper to ease the student to 

determine new vocabulary. 

On the previous chapter, the 

researcher proposed a research 

question. That was stated “Is there any 

Effect of Ransom Note Game in 

Learning Vocabulary at Second Grade 

of Students at SMPN 1 KERUAK 

2016/2017?. 

After computing the result of the 

data in this study, It showed that the 

mean score of experiment group was 

24,5 and the mean score of control 

group was 19,48 meanwhile, the 

standard deviation of experiment 

group was 10,80 and standard 

deviation score of control group was 

19,48 and the squared standard 

deviation score of experiment group  

was 116,69 and squared standard 

deviation score of control group was 

58,67. Further, the result of 

calculating t-test was higher than t 

table, the result of t-test was 2,088, 

while the result of t table was 1,8702 

(2,088≥ 1,8702).  

In this part, the researcher 

comparison this research and the 

previous of the study that was 

conducted by Winda Medianty 

entitled “Improving English 



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Vocabulary by using Hangman Game 

Method to Student of class VIIIB in 

SMPN 4 Tamiang Layang academic 

year 2013-2014. This research used 

Classroom Action Research which 

relates to the implementation of 

Hangman Game method in state 

SMPN 4 Tamiang Layang. There were 

2 cycle in this research each of which 

consisted of plan, action, observation, 

and reflection. The instruments of data 

collection were students‟ and teachers 

activity observation sheets, vocabulary 

test, and questionnaire. 

The objective of this research was 

to improve the students‟ achievement 

on English vocabulary by using 

Hangman Game method to the eight 

grade students of class VIIIB in 

SMPN 4 Tamiang Layang in academic 

year 2013-2014 . 

Based on the teaching and learning 

activities that has done by the 

researcher, it could be stated that 

students enjoyed and fun the used of 

Ransom Note Game allowed students 

to work in team which make students 

open mindedly to figure out what are 

in their mind and share each other and 

they were not clumsy anymore such 

they done with the teacher. 

Based on the result above, the 

researcher concluded that Ransom 

Note Game has any effect in learning 

vocabulary. Therefore, Alternative 

Hypothesis was accepted and Null 

Hypothesis was rejected. 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION 

Based on the statement of the 

problem in the previous chapter, “Is 

Ransom Note Game effective in 

Learning Vocabulary at Second Grade 

of Students at SMPN 1 KERUAK 

Academic Year 2016/2017?”.In this 

study, the researcher found out that 

Ransom Note Game was an 

appropriate strategy in learning 

vocabulary. There were some points 

that the researcher took toward the 

advantage of Ransom Note in learning 

vocabulary.  

First, make the student interested 

and fun in learning vocabulary of 

English. Second, the students   

increase their vocabulary. Finally, it 

helps the student easier to remember 

the meaning of the words 

Based on the result of data 

analysis in the previous chapter (IV), 

the mean score of experiment group 

was 24,5 and the mean score of 

control group was 19,48. Furthermore, 

the score of t-test was 2,088, while the 

score of t table was 1,999 (2,088≥ 

1,8702) at the level of significance 

0,05% , meant that the score of t-test 

was higher than t-table. Alternative 

Hypothesis was accepted and Null 

Hypothesis was rejected. It took 

conclusion that the Ransom Note 

Game was effective in learning 

Vocabulary at the second grade 

students of SMPN 1 KERUAK in 

academic year 2016/2017. 

 

 

 



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REFERENCES 

 

Hiebert, E.H., & Kamil, M.L. (2005). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary 

Bringing Research to Practice. London: LEA.  

 

Lewis, Gordon., & Bedson, Gunther. (1999). Games for Children. Oxford 

University Press. 

 

Kothari, C. R. (1984). Quantitative Technique (Second Edi). New Delhi: Vikas 

Publishing House Pvt.Ltd. 

 

Thornbury, Scoot. (2002). How to Teach Vocabulary. England: Person Education 

limited.  

 

Steve, Miller. (2005). Experimental Design and Statistics (Second Edi). United 

Kingdom: Taylor and Francis e-Library. 

Sprenger, Marile. (2013). Teaching the Critical Vocabulary of the Common 

Core_55 Word That Make or Break Student Understanding. USA: ASCD.  

 

Thornbury, Scoot. (2002). How to Teach Vocabulary. England: Person Education 

limited.