USING NURSERY RHYMES TO ENHANCE VOCABULARY AMONG YOUNG ENGLISH LEARNERS IN INDONESIA

Abstract

This research is being conducted to examine and explain the results of using nursery rhymes in improving vocabulary skills among young English learners in Indonesia. This study focuses on whether the use of nursery rhymes in English teaching will significantly improve vocabulary mastery among Indonesian elementary learners. Two English teachers and eighty students from two elementary schools in Depok-Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia who are in third grade and aged between eight and nine years participated in this report. The theoretical basis of this current study is based on the concrete theory of learning by Ausubel, the theory of social constructivism by Vygotsky and the theory of second-language acquisition by Krashen. This research employs the quasi-experimental approach, the experimental group was taught English using nursery rhymes and the control group was taught over a span of eight weeks using traditional method. Pre-test and post-test instruments were used to collect data for the analysis. The results suggest that the use of nursery rhymes substantially improved average vocabulary scores for the students. Students from the experimental group also performed significantly better in matching the vocabulary with the correct image, matching the English vocabulary with its synonyms in Bahasa Indonesia and filling in the blanks with the right choice of English vocabulary compared to their counterparts in the control group. This study asserts that the use of nursery rhymes can significantly enhance the awareness of vocabulary among students. This research also has significant pedagogical implications and developments on the use of nursery rhymes to teach English vocabulary. Hopefully the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Teacher Education Division will train teachers to use nursery rhymes to develop English vocabulary for young learners.