Improving Students’ Speaking Skills Through Describing Picture Strategy at SMP Negeri 7 Palu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58421/gehu.v5i1.875

Authors

  • Devitriani AR. Haku Universitas Tadulako https://orcid.org/0009-0002-9445-2616
  • Abdul Kamaruddin Universitas Tadulako
  • Mashuri Mashuri Universitas Tadulako
  • Hastini Hastini Universitas Tadulako

Keywords:

Speaking Skill, EFL Students, Describing Picture Descriptive Speaking, Junior High School

Abstract

Descriptive speaking skills remain among the most challenging competencies for junior high school students, particularly in contexts where English is taught as a foreign language. Many students struggle with pronunciation, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehensibility, resulting in limited confidence and difficulty expressing descriptive information. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of the Describing Picture Strategy in developing the descriptive speaking skills of eighth-grade students at SMP Negeri 7 Palu. Using a quasi-experimental design with a pretest–posttest control group, the study involved 57 students selected through simple random sampling. The experimental group received treatment using the Describing Picture Strategy, while the control group received conventional instruction. Data were collected using a speaking performance test and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS 25. The results show a significant improvement in the experimental group’s mean score from 59.69 to 71.81, compared to the control group’s increase from 58.24 to 61.08. An Independent Samples T-Test yielded a p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.05), indicating a statistically significant difference between the groups. These findings demonstrate that the Describing Picture Strategy effectively enhances students' pronunciation, fluency, and comprehensibility by providing visual stimuli that trigger ideas and reduce speaking anxiety. The study concludes that visual-based, student-centered techniques are beneficial for improving descriptive speaking performance in EFL contexts.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Y. Marvilen and R. J. Isu, “Describing Picture Technique in Improving Students ’ Speaking Skill at the Second Grade of SMP Swasta Taruna Karya Kupang in the school year 2023 / 2024,” vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 55–65, 2024.

F. S. Faiza and R. E. Irsyad, “Tingkat Kemampuan Berbicara Pemelajar Bipa (Bahasa Indonesia Penutur Asing) Tingkat Pemula Menggunakan Tes Teks Deskripsi,” Tabasa J. Bahasa, Sastra Indones. dan Pengajarannya, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 19–38, 2021, doi: 10.22515/tabasa.v2i2.3883.

T. Ari Wibowo and N. Nasrullah, “the Effect of Pronunciation Training on English Speaking Skill Among English Non-Native Speakers,” Expo. J. Pendidik. Bhs. Ingg., vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 92–100, 2024, doi: 10.26618/exposure.v13i1.10740.

J. D. Andika and Y. Yulia, “Tantangan dan Strategi Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris dalam Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka di Sekolah Menengah Indonesia Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris , Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta , Indonesia Challenges and Strategies in English Language Learning within the Emancipated Curriculum Implementation in Indonesian Secondary Schools,” vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 1417–1433, 2025.

C. I. Meutia, F. Wiandari, A. H. Husaini, P. Pendidikan, and B. Inggris, “Problematika Non-Linguistik Siswa Dalam,” vol. 7, no. 2, 2020.

S. Wahyuni, U. Bina, and B. Getsempena, “P-ISSN Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENTS DIFFICULTIES IN SPEAKING,” vol. 2, no. 1, 2021.

S. Arna, “Peningkatan keterampilan berbicara siswa melalui media Big Book siswa kelas I MI pada pembelajaran bahasa Indonesia,” 2022, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim.

N. Saragih and E. J. Gultom, “The Effectiveness of Using Picture Strategy in Improving Speaking Abilty At The Second Grade Of SMA Negeri 3 Pematangsiantar,” Biling. J. Pendidik. Bhs. Ingg., vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 18–23, 2022, doi: 10.36985/jbl.v4i1.377.

J. Jrpp, V. Nomor, and M. Rofiki, “Jurnal Review PendidikandanPengajaran ( JRPP ) Jurnal Review PendidikandanPengajaran ( JRPP ),” vol. 3, pp. 336–342, 2020.

P. Dasar, “Pendidikan Dasar dan Keguruan,” vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 82–91, 2023.

E. Education and L. Vol, “PERFORMANCE: Journal of English Education and Literature Vol. 3, No. 2, p. 227-238,” vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 227–238, 2023.

A. P. Aqila, “TBLT Strategies on Student s ’ Speaking Achievement : An Experimental Study,” vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 185–197, 2025.

H. D. Indriyaningrum, M. Q. Tobba, and L. Wuryandari, “Efektivitas Penggunaan Media Visual dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Inggris di Sekolah Menengah Pertama,” vol. 2, no. 2, 2022.

A. Badriyah and Z. Zaitun, “Meningkatkan Kemampuan Berbicara Bahasa Inggris Peserta Didik Kelas VII SMP Labschool FIP UMJ pada Materi Describing People dengan Menggunakan Media Kreatif,” Semnasfip, pp. 2310–2318, 2024.

Z. Mo, “The Effect of Visual Stimuli on L2 Acquisition,” vol. 0, pp. 221–228, 2023, doi: 10.54254/2753-7048/33/20231754.

A. Anggun, N. Sari, and Z. Nufus, “Proceedings STAI RAKHA Amuntai The 1,” no. 2004, pp. 169–180, 2022.

M. I. Yasin, M. H. Fikri, W. Sudrajad, and A. Syakur, “Improving Students Speaking Ability Through Picture at Junior High School,” vol. 1, no. 1, 2024.

K. K, T. Murtiningsih, N. A. Pebriano, and N. A. Aflahah, “eilmuan dan,” pp. 59–65, 2023, doi: 10.23917/jkk.v2i1.59.

J. Karya et al., “Jurnal Karya Ilmiah Mahasiswa (Kima) Pusat Penerbitan & Publikasi Ilmiah (P3i) Fakultas Sastra UMI. https://jurnal.fs.umi.ac.id/index.php/KIMA/issue/view/12,” vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 311–318, 2023.

D. Satria, K. Berbahasa, P. Didik, P. Bahasa, and S. Pembelajaran, “Keterampilan Berbicara Sebagai Kunci Utama dalam Kemampuan Berbahasa Peserta Didik di Sekolah,” vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 1–9, 2025.

F. Al Fauzi, A. Saputri, and R. Sabartono, “The Students ’ Perception Of Using Visual Literacy In English Language Learning : A Descriptive Study,” vol. 06, no. 02, pp. 212–220, 2024.

D. F. Berlianti, A. Al Abid, and A. C. Ruby, “Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif Pendekatan Ilmiah untuk Analisis Data,” J. Rev. Pendidik. dan Pengajaran, vol. 7, no. 3, pp. 1861–1864, 2024.

S. Widodo et al., “Buku ajar metode penelitian,” 2023, CV science techno direct.

M. A. Adeoye, “Review of sampling techniques for education,” ASEAN J. Sci. Educ., vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 87–94, 2023, [Online]. Available: https://ejournal.bumipublikasinusantara.id/index.php/ajsed

U. Syahidah and F. Umasugi, “A DESIGN OF SPEAKING ASSESSMENT RUBRIC,” vol. 10, no. May, pp. 31–46, 2021.

Downloads

Additional Files

Published

2025-12-20

How to Cite

[1]
D. A. Haku, A. Kamaruddin, M. Mashuri, and H. Hastini, “Improving Students’ Speaking Skills Through Describing Picture Strategy at SMP Negeri 7 Palu”, J.Gen.Educ.Humanit., vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 233–240, Dec. 2025.

Issue

Vol. 5 No. 1 (2026): February

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of General Education and Humanities

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.