IMPROVING STUDENTS' VOCABULARY BY USING MANGA (DORAEMON) AT THE EIGHTH GRADE OF SMP NEGERI 4 PENDOPO BARAT

A vocabulary is a collection of words that have meaning and are used in sentences.
Manga is a kind of medium that the teacher can use to teach vocabulary. Manga is
a kind of comic book originally from Japan. Manga contains vocabulary that relates
to the illustrations, which can help students understand new vocabulary quickly.
The descriptive-qualitative research approach was applied in this study. The
participants of this study were 16 eighth grade students from SMPN 4 Pendopo
Barat in the academic year 2023-2024. To obtain data, the researcher employed a
vocabulary test, observation, field notes, and interview. According to the results,
there was a significant increase in students' ability in the form of an increase in
English vocabulary and also in their motivation to understand the vocabulary
contained in the manga. Additionally, the researcher saw several factors that
influenced the improvement of students' vocabulary by using the media in the form
of manga. The factors were that Manga influenced the students' motivation and
Manga influenced the students’ activeness in the learning process. The researcher
noticed that students became more enthusiastic and excited during the teaching and
learning process by applying this medium. Therefore, the researcher suggests that
Manga can be used as supplement of teaching media, especially in order to improve
vocabulary as well as students' interest in reading.
Keywords: Improving Vocabulary, Classroom Action Research (CAR), Manga