The Effect of Using Duolingo on Students’ Vocabulary Achievement at SMPN 17 Kendari

Abstract

This study aimed to find out the effect of using the Duolingo application on students' vocabulary achievement at SMPN 17 Kendari. It also sought to examine how effective the use of two learning methods (conventional learning and blended learning) in using Duolingo in learning vocabulary. The population of this study was all the seventh-grade students of SMPN 17 Kendari. The sample of this study was the students of grade VII3, which consisted of 25 students. This study was conducted in a pre-experimental research design. The data of this study were collected by giving students pre-test and post-test and were analyzed by using the SPSS16.0 version (descriptive analysis and inferential statistics). The descriptive analysis described the maximum, minimum, mean, and standard deviation, while the inferential statistics examined the hypothesis. For testing the hypothesis of this study, the researcher used paired sample t-test, which was calculated through SPSS 16.0. The results showed an improvement in the students' vocabulary achievement shown by a different post-test score. The mean score of the post-test was 65,68, while the mean score of the pre-test was 42,16. In order to test the hypothesis, the researcher compared the value of sig (2 tailed) with the value α that was 0,05. In this study, the value of sig (2 tailed) was lower than the value of α (0,0000,05), which means that the alternative hypothesis (H1) was accepted, while the null hypothesis (H0) was rejected. Therefore, this study can be concluded that the Duolingo application can improve students' vocabulary learning achievement at SMPN 17 Kendari.