THE EFFECT OF USING THE HANGMAN GAME AS A TEACHING MEDIA TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING SKILLS

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of using the Hangman Game as a teaching medium to improve students’ English-speaking skills. It specifically examined whether the use of the Hangman Game contributed to improvements in students’ fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, and speaking confidence. This study employed a quantitative pre-experimental research design using a one-group pre-test–post-test design. The participants were 15 eighth-grade students of SMPIT An-Nida’ Lubuklinggau in the 2024/2025 academic year, selected through total sampling. Data were collected through speaking tests administered before and after the treatment and were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a paired-samples t-test. The results showed that the students’ mean speaking score increased from 66.33 in the pre-test to 76.33 in the post-test, while the standard deviation decreased from 7.67 to 5.81. The paired-samples t-test also showed a significant difference between students’ speaking performance before and after the implementation of the Hangman Game. The improvement was particularly observed in vocabulary, pronunciation, and fluency. These findings indicate that the Hangman Game can be an effective and practical teaching medium for developing English-speaking skills among junior high school EFL learners.