Powtoon Video with Reading Aloud for Better Pronunciation in Primary Students

Video Powtoon dengan Pembacaan Lisan untuk Meningkatkan Pelafalan pada Siswa Sekolah Dasar

Abstract

Abstract : General background: Pronunciation is a fundamental component in English language learning, especially for primary school students, as it affects communication clarity and confidence. Specific background: In many Indonesian primary schools, pronunciation teaching is often limited to conventional methods without engaging multimedia tools, leading to low motivation and varied achievement. Knowledge gap: Limited research has applied reading aloud activities with Powtoon video to support pronunciation improvement in primary-level learners. Aims: This study investigates the use of Powtoon video integrated with reading aloud to improve the pronunciation of 24 sixth-grade students at a primary school in Pasuruan. Results: Using a quantitative pre-experimental design with pre-test and post-test, findings show a significant increase in post-test scores (M=79.27) compared to pre-test scores (M=59.79), with a paired t-test value of -24.472, p < 0.05, indicating a statistically significant difference. Novelty: This research applies Powtoon not for reading comprehension but specifically for pronunciation through reading aloud, targeting young learners. Implications: The results suggest that integrating Powtoon into pronunciation lessons can increase student engagement, provide multisensory learning experiences, and improve pronunciation consistency.

Highlights :

• Integrates Powtoon video with reading aloud for pronunciation learning

• Significant improvement in post-test pronunciation scores

• Offers an engaging multimedia-based approach for young learners

Keywords : Powtoon, Primary School, Pronunciation, Reading Aloud, Multimedia Learning

Introduction

Pronunciation is a crucial part of learning English. It is essential for every speaker to talk with good pronunciation. English is a widely spoken language with many different pronunciations throughout the world. In the world, there is no such thing as pure pronunciation. As a result, we frequently encounter different pronunciations and mispronunciations. Some people underestimate or ignore it. They feel that pronunciation is less important than speaking, which in turn is less important than grammar and knowledge. Pronunciation is key. Miscommunication is frequently caused by improper word pronunciation or tone. For example, if the phrases big, pig, sea, and woman all pronounced similarly, it can lead to confusion [1]. The English pronunciation is hard and perplexing since the vowel and consonant system has many different sounds [2]. English pronunciation is difficult and confounding since the vowel and consonant system contains many different sounds [2]. It explains why non-native speakers have difficulty with English pronunciation. According to Zhang and Yin, when a sound does not exist in the native language, second language learners may struggle to produce or, in some situations, substitute similar sounds in their mother tongue [3]. While this occurred with second language learners, it seems obvious that foreign language learners would encounter higher difficulties. The goal of pronunciation instruction is threefold: to help our students comprehend and be understood, to boost their confidence in communicative settings, and to enable them to monitor their speech based on contextual cues. To accomplish these objectives, the researchers examines the tools needed to teach pronunciation in a logical and principled manner [3].

From the pre-observation conducted on the primary school in Pasuruan on grade 6 students, the researchers found that students have various kinds of problems related to English learning, especially in pronunciation. Firstly, students were unable to pronounce English words with the correct pronunciation. This is one of the impacts of using the students' mother tongue or local language, namely Indonesian and Javanese in their daily lives. Secondly, the subject teacher is not an English graduate. This may have an impact on the quality of teaching and students' understanding of the subject matter. And lastly, during the English learning process, especially when learning pronunciation material, students feel discouraged or often make students feel bored, this is due to several things that affect it. Some of the main causes are monotonous teaching methods that do not involve students, such as relying only on textbooks or lectures without using interesting media. In addition, the material presented can feel irrelevant or uninteresting to students, making them feel unmotivated to learn. A lack of variety in learning activities, such as a lack of games, discussions, or creative projects, can also reduce student engagement. Another factor is the level of difficulty of the material that does not match students' abilities, which can make them feel frustrated and lose interest. All these factors contribute to feelings of boredom and inactivity in the English learning process. That is why Pronunciation lessons are usually taught by English teachers using only conventional methods. To practice pronouncing words correctly, students read activities and texts aloud. Teachers must devise techniques to help students improve their pronunciation in light of some of the issues that have been highlighted. According to Yansyah et al. "Three things are recommended in introducing foreign languages to children: qualified teachers, understanding of teaching techniques in children, appropriate and quality learning resources and facilities, and a good, simple and interesting curriculum" [4]. Taking these factors into account, the researchers picked reading aloud as an approach for teaching children to pronounce words correctly.

Reading aloud is an activity to read something loudly. Reading aloud is necessary to be learned. According to Elizabeth, reading aloud means reading a book by producing sounds audible to other [5]. Reading aloud has several benefits for students' pronunciation, including helping them to develop their listening and comprehension abilities and solidifying their vocabulary by exposing them to words in context [6]. Furthermore, Nurani and Rosyada's research shows that reading aloud has a significant effect on language learners' pronunciation. They emphasized that the reading aloud method is an effective way to improve learners' enthusiasm to acquire pronunciation as a new experience [7]. Studies document the instructional benefits of read aloud and imply that there are specific components of the read aloud process that favorably improve children's language and reading skills [8]. As a result of reading aloud, the students would learn how to pronounce the proper English sounds, and the researchers would be able to swiftly identify whether or not the students' pronunciations were correct. Reading aloud might also help pupils who lack the confidence to speak English in public.

In order to solve the problem faced by students, the researhers chose to use Powtoon video as learning media for reading aloud to improve students' pronunciation. It has not been applied in school. Powtoon is a web-based tool similar to PowerPoint, Prezi, and Impress, uses slides to create content. Powtoon's font and animation can also capture students' interest. Furthermore, Powtoon is an audiovisual platform that uses music and graphics to captivate students' attention [9]. It gives students an appealing and colorful material presentation. In terms of presenting media, Powtoon is equal to PowerPoint. Researchers choose Powtoon as a learning media because there are benefits and features. The first advantage is that Powtoon provides a wide range of engaging and simple animations. Animation can help to clarify difficult concepts and make learning more engaging. Second, Powtoon offers a choice of configurable templates. This allows users to easily produce learning content without having to start from zero. And thirdly, Powtoon continually updates and enhances its platform. This ensures that users always have access to the latest technology. As a result, it assists teachers in making English teaching and learning more engaging and exciting, and Powtoon can assist teachers in creating the learning process.

To strengthen the potential of Powtoon, the researches want to integrate reading aloud. This technique is beneficial to improve pronunciation. Several previous studies regarding the application of reading aloud to improve pronunciation, especially in primary school learning proved to have a significant impact or influence in learning activities. A previous study by Wahyuni focuses on the significance of pronunciation in English language learning, particularly among students at SMPN 2 Palangka Raya. As a result, teaching utilizing the reading aloud technique has a considerable effect on students' English pronunciation [10]. Then the article by Badawi et. al. According to the percentage, 88% of sample answers have a positive attitude toward the first hypothesis, which has positive responders. The second hypothesis, which states that reading aloud to students improves their pronunciation, has a positive reply rate and percentage, indicating that roughly 91% of sample responses are also favorable. This indicates that both of the hypotheses have been realized [11]. Furthermore, in a study by Samosa et. al. Students have made significant progress in terms of reading and analysis skills. English teachers are more effective in using Powtoon as an innovative teaching material to develop students' reading comprehension and analysis skills [12]. In some of the previous studies or relevant research above, the research update that the researches carries out is to find out the effect of reading aloud on pronunciation especially for grade 6 students at one of the schools in Pasuruan. If other researchers use Powtoon as a medium for learning reading comprehension, then in this study researchers focus on using Powtoon as a medium for learning reading aloud. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of reading aloud using Powtoon video on elementary school students' pronunciation. The following research question were developed: (1) Is there any effect of reading aloud with Powtoon video on primary school students’ pronunciation?

Method

Research Design

The method used in this research is quantitative method. Quantitative research is defined as research that focuses on the analysis of numerical data (numbers) using statistical methodologies. The researches determines what to explore, asks specific, narrow questions, collects quantifiable data from participants, analyzes these numbers using statistics, and conducts the inquiry in an unbiased, objective manner in quantitative research [13]. This research employed an experimental design in the form of a pre-experimental with one group pre-test post-test design. Creswell states "a pre-experiment design is a pre-test followed by a treatment and post-test for one group" [14]. According to the following description, the design:

Table 1. One Group Pre-test Post-Test Research Design

O1

X

O2

Information :

O¹= Pre-test

O²= Post-test

X= Treatment

The researchers gave a pre-test to the students to determine their skills before receiving treatment. The researchers then gave the treatment to the students, who were then given a post-test to find out if there was an effect of the treatment.

Population and Samp le

The population of this research was sixth grade students on the primary school in Pasuruan. This school was chosen as the sample because it has a flexible learning programme that supports the implementation of technology-based learning models. In addition, this school also has a heterogeneous student population from various socio-economic backgrounds, so that the research results can be more generalised. There were 24 students in one class. The researches used one class consisting of 24 sixth grade students as the pre-test experimental group and post-test experimental group. In this research, researchers used a total population sampling strategy. The population of this research is relatively small. Because all population members are sampled, the total sampling method or census is used in drawing samples. The sampling method or census is used as a whole in drawing samples. "Total sampling is a sampling technique when all members of the population are used as samples" [15]. Because the population to be examined is limited, the researchers plans to make the entire population the object of research.

Data Collection Techniques

A test is a method of determining whether something works well or how effective it is. The test was given to students to find out their pronunciation. In this research, the tests were divided into two categories, namely pre-test and post-test. The purpose of the pre-test is to find out the students' skills towards their pronunciation before the treatment is conducted. Whereas, the post-test is to find out whether their pronunciation improves or not after being given the treatment. The test was conducted using Powtoon video as the media. The researchers use instruments to collect relevant and accurate data needed to answer research questions or test research hypotheses. Research instruments are tools or methods used by researchers to collect data from research subjects by measuring students' understanding of learning. The following instruments were used in this study:

Teacher A ttributes

Before teaching students directly, researchers should prepare various attributes, including lesson plans, validity sheets, Powtoon videos as media, and worksheets. Researchers must have a thorough preparation before collecting data. The researchers gave samples of the worksheets and videos to the English teacher to ensure their validity before distributing them to the students.

Validation

Researchers have validated instruments before conducting research such as pre-test and post-test worksheets, Powtoon video media, and teaching modules to experts. The text on the pre-test and post-test worksheets were adopted from the Grade 6 students' English Book [16]. Meanwhile, the Powtoon video media was made by the researchers themselves by collecting various sources as references. Researchers have conducted validation to experts to prove that the instruments are ready to be used.

Pre-test

In this study, the pre-test was the first step in data collection. The pre-test was used as a brain warm-up to assess students' initial skills before receiving treatment. In this step, the researchers used the following instructions:

Figure 1. Pre-test Question

1. First, the researchers greeted the students and asked ‘Do you know about expressing feelings?’, ‘Can you describe your feelings?’.

2. Next, the researchers gave the students worksheets.

3. Then, the researchers read out the instructions on the student worksheet. Instruction are below:

4. Students were asked to come forward in turn to read the text that had been given by the researchers aloud.

5. Finally, the researchers and the subject teacher assessed the students' pronunciation.

Treatment

Treatment was the procedure of administering a treatment to the research sample in order to determine the influence of the independent variable on the study's dependent variable. In the treatment, the researchers used one

meeting. At that stage, researchers displayed visual content on the topic of expressing feelings to students. This was done using Powtoon video media. The following were the steps of giving treatment:

1. Before the researchers showed the video, students were asked to pay attention and note the important points on the video.

2. Next, the researchers displayed a Powtoon video related to Expressing Feeling using an LCD projector.

3. Then, students listened to the explanation on the video.

4. The researchers explained the content of the video and opened a question and answer session.

5. In the last step, students read the text on the screen, listen to the pronunciation in the video, and imitate together with a loud voice.

Figure 2. Flowchart of Students Teacher’s Activities in Implementing Powtoon Video

Pos t-test

The post-test was given after students received treatment in the learning process. In the post-test, the researchers compared the results between before and after the treatment was given. The purpose of the post-test in this study was to determine whether students' pronunciation had improved significantly after being given Powtoon video as a medium for teaching pronunciation. The results of this post-test were compared with the results of the pre-test. The researchers conducted the following procedures to collect data:

Figure 3. Post-test Question

1. First, the researchers reviewed the material from the previous meeting before starting the lesson.

2. Next, the researchers gave the worksheets to the students.

3. Then, the researchers read out the instructions on the student worksheet. Instruction are below:

4. Students were asked to come forward in turn to read the text that had been given by the researchers aloud.

5. Finally, the researchers and the subject teacher assessed the students' pronunciation.

6. Last, the researchers provide ice breaking related to the material

After all the students had performed, the researchers scored and analysed the students' results to determine their pronunciation. The scoring rubric used was adapted from Djiwandono as quoted in A. Tika [17]. More details can be seen in the table following :

Table 2. Pronunciation Scoring Rubric From Djiwandono

Aspect	Criteria				Score
	1	2	3	4
Intelligibility	Most of the words are produced unclearly	Produces some unlclear sound In sound in some words	Produces a very few unclear sound In certain word	Produces clear sound in very word
Fluency	To many causes in most of the words showing hesitation	Pauses for a while in some words showing hesitation	The whole text is pronounced fluently,but there is a little hesitation	The whole text is pronounced fluently whithout any hesitation
Accuracy	Most of the words are pronounced inaccurately so it causes misunderstanding	Pronounces almost a half part of the words constructing the text	Pronounces nearly whole words accurately. Doesn’t cause any misunderstanding	Pronounces the whole words of the text accurately and doesn’t cause any misunderstanding
introduction	Almost all of the sentences in the text are said with incorrecty intonation tune	Produces much incorrect intonation tune in the sentences of the text	Produces incorrect intonation tune in a few sentences of the text	Produces correct intonation tune in the whole sentences of the text
stress	Uses stress incorrectly in most of the words that cause difiently much error	Uses much incorrect stress that causes some error	Uses much incorrect stress that causes some error	Uses good stress in each word and no error

Total score x 5 = 100

After conducting an assessment from 2 assessors, the researchers calculated the average of the two scores to get the final result of the student's score.

Data Analysis

After the data has been collected, the next step is data analysis. The researchers used Statistical Program and Service Solutions (SPSS) version 26 to determine the hypothesis of Powtoon's influence on students' pronunciation before and after treatment using descriptive statistics and t-test statistics. Data was analyzed using MS Excel for the calculation of various statistical measures. In addition, IBM SPSS Statistics 26 was used to perform more complex statistical analyses.

Findings

Table 3. The Frequency Distribution of Test Score

	N	Maximum	Minimum	Mean	Std.Deviation
Pre test	24	50.0	70.0	59.792	7.2994
Post test	24	70.0	90.0	79.271	6.7759
Valid N (listwise)	24

From the table 3, it can be seen that on the pre-test score, there were 24 valid subject with a minimum score of 50.0 and a maximum score of 70.0. The mean pre-test score was 59.792, with a standard deviation of 7.2949. This indicates that the pre-test scores ranged from 50 to 70, with an average score of around 59.792 and moderate variation in scores among the subject. While on the post-test score, there are also 24 valid subject with a minimum value of 70.0 and a maximum value of 90.0. The mean post-test score was 79.271, with a standard deviation of 6.7759. This indicates that the post-test scores ranged from 70 to 90, with an average score of around 79.271 and a slightly smaller variation in scores compared to the pre-test scores. A comparison between pre-test and post-test scores showed a significant improvement in student performance. The mean score increased from 59.792 in the pre-test to 79.271 in the post-test. In addition, the minimum and maximum scores also increased, with the minimum score rising from 50.0 on the pre-test to 70.0 on the post-test, and the maximum score rising from 70.0 on the pre-test to 90.0 on the post-test. The smaller standard deviation on the post-test indicates that the post-test scores were more consistent and less scattered than the pre-test scores. Overall, this data indicates that students showed a significant improvement in performance from pre-test to post-test, which may indicate the effect of implementing reading aloud using Powtoon to improve students' pronunciation.

Table 4. Paired Sample T-Test

							Paired Differences		t	df	Sig. (2-tailed)
			Mean		Std. Deviation	Std. Error Mean	95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
							Lower	Upper
Pair 1	Pretest - Posttest		-19.4792		3.8995	7.960	-21,1258	-17.8326	-24.472	23	,000

The table 4 shows the results of a paired t-test to compare mean differences between two groups of paired data. The first column shows the name of the pair, in this case "pre-test-post-test". The second column shows the mean difference between the two groups of data, which is -19.4792. The third column shows the standard deviation of the mean difference, which is 3.8995. The fourth column shows the standard error of the mean difference, which is 0.7960. The fifth and sixth columns show the lower and upper bounds of the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference, which are -21.1258 and -17.8326, respectively. The seventh column shows the t-statistic value, which is -24.472. The eighth column shows the degrees of freedom, which is 23. The ninth column shows the two-sided p value, which is 0.000. The negative value of the t-statistic indicates that the mean difference between the two data groups is negative. The small two-sided p value (0.000) indicates that this result is statistically significant at the 0.05 significance level.

The hypothesis used is H0: µ=C Vs H1: µ≠C, while the test statistic used is the t-test statistic (dependent or paired) with an error level of α = 0.05 (5%). The t-test critical point is obtained by looking at the t-table.

Figure 4.

The t test statistical value based on the hypothesis testing output is |-24.472| = 24.472. The value of the t test statistic (24.472) > .068. Significant value or p-value (0.000) <

Based on the results of hypothesis testing, the t-test statistical value (24.472) > = 2.068 and the Significant Value or p-value (0.000) < , so the decision obtained is to reject H0. With a confidence level of 95%, it can be concluded that the average pre-test and post-test scores are statistically significantly different.

Discussion

Based on the results of data analysis, the researchers found that the use of the reading aloud strategy using Powtoon video has a significant effect on the pronunciation of 6 grade students in teaching pronunciation at primary school. This shows that the use of the reading aloud strategy using Powtoon video for student pronunciation in grade 6 students at primary school can significantly improve their test scores. Thus, the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted, while the null hypothesis (H0) is rejected. This is consistent with previous research that has shown that reading aloud might help students improve their pronunciation. The study by Mikhael et. al. Discussed experimental class research including 30 students from grade VII in SMP Negeri 3 Pematangsiantar. The researchers used Reading Aloud as a learning strategy on pronunciation. The calculated the t-test was 2.2 and the t-table value was 1.672. If the t-test is greater than the ttable referring to this, the null hypothesis is rejected, hence the hypothesis was created as follows: t-test > t-table of 5%, 2.2 > 1.672. The test results again showed that using the Reading Aloud for students' pronunciation as a strategy in teaching reading has significant effects on grade seven students at SMP Negeri 3 Pematangsiantar [19].

Furthermore A. Dermanis et. al. Investigating the role of reading aloud on English as foreign language for learners in improving reading and pronunciation at basic level schools[18]. The study used the descriptive analytical method. In order to examine the hypotheses, the study used a questionnaire as a tool for collecting needed data. The questionnaire was distributed randomly to fifty English language teachers at private schools in Bahary locality. The researchers has come up with the results of the research in hypotheses “reading aloud improves pupils’ pronunciation” has also positive respondents and percentage which shows that there are about (91%) of sample answers are positive too. That means two hypotheses have successfully achieved [11].

In a study by Samosa et. al. Students have made significant progress in terms of reading and analysis skills. English teachers are more effective in using Powtoon as an innovative teaching material to develop students' reading comprehension and analysis skills. This study's data on the success of the learners' progress was noteworthy in terms of their level of reading and analyzing skills. The results are significant at 0.05 level, hence the null hypothesis is rejected. As a result, there is a substantial change in the learners' pretest and post-test scores after using Powtoon as an instructional material to improve their reading comprehension and story analysis. Puspitarini et al. Using Powtoon in English class improves learners' comprehension and story analysis [20].

Conclusion

The researches focuses on the impact of using Powtoon media on primary school students' skills on pronunciation. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the effect of innovative teaching techniques in enhancing English language skills among young learners. The use of Powtoon as learning media presents several benefits for improving pronunciation. Powtoon, as a multimedia tool, offers a dynamic and interactive platform for students to engage with the material. Its visual and auditory elements can enhance students' understanding and retention of the content, making the learning process more enjoyable and effective. By incorporating Powtoon into reading aloud promotes active participation among students. In conclusion, the findings of this study support the hypothesis that the use of Powtoon media significantly influences primary school students. By focusing on improving pronunciation with reading aloud, such as Powtoon, educators can enhance students' language proficiency and communication abilities. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on effective language teaching strategies and underscores the importance of utilizing technology to enrich the learning experience for young learners. The contribution of Powtoon video for teachers in learning is that it can be used by all teachers, this is because this video is easy to understand and also suitable to be used as English learning materials. In addition, the animation displayed on the video adds an interesting impression for young learners. Thus, children are more eager to follow the learning. In future research, it would be beneficial to expand the study to include a larger sample size from diverse backgrounds to assess the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, incorporating qualitative methods such as interviews or surveys could provide deeper insights into students' perceptions and experiences with using Powtoon video for language learning.

Acknowlegement

The researchers is grateful and thankful to the principals, teachers, and grade 6 students at primary school in Pasuruan who have helped so that the researchers can complete the final project in the form of an article entitled "Reading Aloud With Powtoon Video: Improving Primary School Students' Pronunciation" to completion. The researchers hopes that this research can provide many benefits for the readers.