2.7 article dec 2016 edition register journal vol 9 no 2

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Let the Game Begin: Ergodic as an Approach for Video Game Translation
SF. Lukfianka Sanjaya Purnama,
IAIN Surakarta
sastrainggrisiainska1@gmail.com
SF. Luthfie Arguby Purnomo, Dyah Nugrahani
ABSTRACT
This paper attempts to propose ergodic as an approach for video game translation. The word
approach here refers to an approach for translation products and to an approach for the
translation process. The steps to formulate ergodic as an approach are first, Aarseth’sergodic
literature is reviewed to elicit a basis for comprehension toward its relationship with video games
and video game translation Secondly, taking the translation of Electronic Arts’Need for Speed:
Own the City, Midway’s Mortal Kombat: Unchained, and Konami’s Metal Gear Solid, ergodic
based approach for video game translation is formulated. The formulation signifies that ergodic, as
an approach for video game translation, revolves around the treatment of video games as a
cybertext from which scriptons, textons, and traversal functions as the configurative mechanism
influence the selection of translation strategies and the transferability of variables and traversal
function, game aesthetics, and ludus and narrative of the games. The challenges countered when
treating video games as a cybertext are the necessities for the translators to convey anamorphosis,
mechanical and narrative hidden meaning of the analyzed frame, to consider the textonomy of the
games, and at the same time to concern on GILT (Globalization, Internationalization, Localization,
and Translation).
Keywords: Ergodic, Translation Approach, Video Game Translation, Textonomy, Anamorphosis
ABSTRAK
Paper ini berusaha menyarankan untuk menggunakan ergodic sebagai pendekatan untuk
menterjemahkan video game. Kata pendekatan disini menunjukkan suatu pendekatan untuk
produk terjemahan dan proses menterjemahkan. Langkah-langkah untuk merumuskan ergodic
sebagai suatu pendekatan adalah pertama: literatur ergodic Aarseth diulas untuk memperoleh
dasar pemahaman terhadap hubungannya degan video game dan terjemahan video game. Kedua,
dengan menggunakan terjemahan art elektronik, Need for Speed: Own the City, Midway’s Mortal
kombat : unchained dan Konami’s Metal Gear Solid, pendekatan berdasarkan ergodic untuk
penterjemah video game diformulasikan. Formulasi tersebut menandakan bahwa ergodic sebagai
pendekatan penterjemah video game, berkisar tentang treatment video game sebagai teks siber
yang mana fungsi scripton, texton dan travelsal sebagai mekanisme konfiguratif mempengaruhi
pemilihan strategi penterjemahan , pengalihan variabel, fungsi tranvesal, estetik game, ludus dan
narasi game. Tantangan terjawab ketika memperlakukan video game sebagai teks siber diperlukan
bagi penterjemah untuk menyampaikan anamorfosis, arti-arti yang tersembunyi dari analisis

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untuk mempertimbangkan tekstonomi dari game dan pada saat yang sama menyangkut GILT
(Globalization, Internationalization, Localization, and T ranslation).
Kata kunci: Ergodic, Pendekatan terjemahan, Terjemahan video game, Tekstonomi, Anamorfosis
INTRODUCTION
Approaches designed for video game translation revolve either around ludological and
narratological perspectives, or the combination of both as formulated by Esselink (2000), by
Mangiron and O‟Hagan‟s transcreation (2006), by Bernal-Merino (2009) and by Costales (2012).
Either approaches applied, they share, though they do not state it explicitly, similar perspectives in
the way that they treat video games as a cybertext, as an ergodic literature.
Ergodic derives from Greek words ergon which means work and hodos which means path
(Aarseth, 1997) from which ergodic literature, a type of literature requiring nontrivial efforts to
allow the reader to traverse the text (1997), emerges and from which type of discourse whose signs
emerges a path produced by a non-trivial element of work like I Ching, hypertext, interactive media,
computer games, automated poetry generators, and Multiuser Discourse (MUD‟s) (Aarseth in Rush,
2005). From the aforementioned etymological meaning and definition, ergodic denotes indexical,
benefactive, and configurative relationships. Indexical relationship emerges, for instance, when
video games, the focus of this article, hints the players to solve some puzzles or presents the players
some tutorials to solve the puzzles. It implies that when the players solve the puzzles either from
hints or tutorials, contiguity and factoriality, part/whole relationships (Trifonas, 2015), are eminent.
This indexical relationship is selected based on benefactive function from which benefactive
relationship between the games and the players in the embodiment of winning or losing surfaces.
The choices to solve the puzzles as implied by indexical relationship and the selection toward the
choices as signified by benefactive relationship are mechanized through the employment of
configurative relationship. When the players, for instance, decides to take the hint as a resolve for
their puzzles, they automatically and axiomatically proceed to perform configuration upon the
games in the manner of procedurality, to respond to the mechanics of the game (Bogost, 2007), or
of instrumentality, to exercise procedure-free responses (Sicart, 2011).This ergodict triangular
relationship is embodied through scriptons, textons, and traversal functions.

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Scriptons are strings appearing to the readers, textons as existing in the text, and traversal
functions are the mechanism by which scriptons are revealed or generated from textons and
presented to the user of the text (Aarseth, 1997). The strings mentioned in the definition refer to
linguistic units delivered by programming language.The connection between scriptons, textons, and
traversal function with the aforementioned triangular relationship is illustrated as follow:
Players, when immersing into the games, focus on the scriptons displayed through the existence
of textons previously designed by the developers. The different focus the players and the developers
have trigger different initiation from the triangular relationship. The players experience indexical
relationship, first, before they engage in the configurative one. In the phase of configurative
relationship, the players respond the game world through the avatars they are playing by
mechanically executing either procedural or instrumental configuration. This actions by the players
defining the configurative relationship are what Rush terms as ergodic-direct (2005) from which
ergodic-represented, the result of the user action (2005), emanates to evoke a benefactive
relationship. This relationship is eventually evoked to the players in the visual representation of
winning and losing. A different causal flow occurs on the developer side. On the developer
perspectives, the focus is directed to the textons to which the developers compute programming
language from which linguistic units are blended.
Through the textons transcribed into the scriptons, the developers attempt to deliver indexical
relationship to the players. The designed textons and scriptons, in game for instance, whether they
are in ASCII or Unicode, also contain configurative aspects from which the indexical relationship is
constructed via game mechanics. Through this game mechanics, the expectation the designers have
on benefactive relationship the players are expected to experience is embodied.

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The implication acquired from the aforementioned relations between the triangular
relationship and the ergodic variables is that any text appearing from cybertext media generates
mechanical impacts. These mechanical impacts are what Frasca highlights as ludology, the science
of play, (1999). In the perspectives of video games, ludology attempts to place video games as
games not as another form of narrative as what narratologists claim (2007) and video games as rule-
based system (Juul, 2005). These claims by ludologists imply that video games are mechanical in
nature and thereby any elements video games possess emanate and evoke mechanical impacts to the
game worlds, the avatars, and the players from which the ergodic triangular relationship and their
connection to scriptons, textons, and traversal functions emerge. This mechanical implication
observed from its traversal function is realized into seven variables:
Dynamics
In a static text the scriptons are constant; in a dynamic text the contents of scriptons may change
while the number of textons remains fixed (intratextonic dynamics, or ITD), or the number (and
content) of textons may vary as well (textonic dynamics, or TTD)
Determinability
This variable concerns the stability of the traversal function; a text is determinate if the adjacent
scriptons of every scripton are always the same; if not, the text is indeterminate.
Transiency
If the mere passing of the user's time causes scriptons to appear, the text is transient; if not, it is
intransient.
Perspectives
If the text requires the user to play a strategic role as a character in the world described by the text,
then the text's perspective is personal; if not, then it is impersonal.
Access
If all scriptons of the text are readily available to the user at all times, then the text is random access
(typically the codex); if not, then access is controlled.
Linking

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A text may be organized by explicit links for the userto follow, conditional links that can only be
followed if certain conditions are met, or by none of these (no links).
User Functions
Besides the interpretative function of the user, which is present in all texts, the use of some texts
may be described in terms of additional functions: the explorative function, in which the user must
decide which path to take, and the configurative function, in which scriptons are in part chosen or
created by the user. (Aarseth, 1997). Either texts the cybertext is categorized into, they revolve
around the indexical, configurative, and benefactive relationships between the games and the
players. This ergodic triangular relationship is differently and variedly responded by the players
depending on the text types they engage. In the perspectives of video game translation, the focus of
analysis revolves around the transferability of the text variables from source language to the target
one.
Ergodic, Video Game Translation, and the Problems of Transferability
Munday (2008) places video game translation as new media requiring new directions in the
manner of functionalist approach and thereby by functionalist approach, it indicates that the
translation is of specialized translation (Nord, 2006) which requires a special treatment to approach
it. This functionality signifies the necessity to treat the product of translation as functional in itself
and functional to itself since being functional involves being functional to whom functionality
applies and from whom functionality derives. In the perspectives of video games, the to-whom
variables, their gaming activities. Meanwhile the from-whom variables refer to the presented
problems in the games and the interactions between the players with the games in the scope of HCI
(Human-Computer Interaction). It further suggests that in the ergodic perspectives of cybertext,
functionalist approach for video games denotes the significance of ergodic triangular relationship
and the ergodic variables from which texts are classified.
Ergodic and the Transferability of Variables and Traversal Function
The focus of implementing ergodic approach in translation studies in the domain of video
game translation is to reveal whether variable shifts and shifts on traversal function occur when a
text is translated. To reveal the shifts on ergodic variables, mechanical comprehension toward each

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variable should be considered. In the perspectives of video game translation, the steps taken to
approach video game translationare to describe the assets of the video games. Assets range from in-
game text, art, audio, cinematics, and printed assets (Chandler (2005) in Mangiron and O‟Hagan,
2013). In ergodic-textonomy, the assets have features differentiating each asset from the others.
Table 1. Assets and Textonomy Typology
Assets Features Traversal
Function
Textonomy Ideology of
Influence
In-Game OST (On Screen
Text), UI (User
Interface),
Narrative and
Descriptive
Passages,
Dialogue, NPC‟s
Conversation
Textonic
Configurative
Explorative
Interpretative
Intratextonic
Dynamics (ITD)
Textonic
Dynamics (TTD)
Static
Anamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Art Graphics and
Images
Textonic
Configurative
Interpretative
ITD
TTD
Static
Anamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Audio Songs, Cutscenes Textonic
Configurative
Interpretative
ITD
TTD
Static
Anamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Cinematics Cutscenes Textonic
Configurative
Explorative
Interpretative
TTD
ITD
Static
Anamorphosis
Metamorphosis
Printed Assets Guide, Sketch,
Biography
Interpretative Static Metamorphosis
(Adapted from Chandler (2005) in Mangiron and O‟Hagan, 2013)
Dynamics refers to the number and format of textons and scriptons. If the number of textons
and scriptons share equality, the dynamics is static. If the textons are non-diegetic text based and so
are the scriptons, the dynamics is static. If the number of textons is constant, but the number of
scriptons is varied, the dynamics is intratextonic dynamics. If the textons are formatted in non-
diegetic text, but the scriptons are in diegetic text, the dynamics is also intratextonic and vice versa.
If the number of textons is varied and the number of scriptons is also varied, the dynamics is
textonic. If the texton is in image and diegetic , and the scripton is in either of the format, the
dynamics is textonic. Departing from the assumption that non-diegetic text, from the perspective of
data processing, embeds technical and operational difficulties, it arrives to a comprehension that:

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Table 2. Dynamics Variables
Textonomy Spatiality Performativity
Static Definite Singular
Intratextonic Dynamics Indefinite Plural
Textonic Dynamics Indefinite Plural
Definite spatiality provides a limited access to the textonomy and thereby the translators have to
be selective in applying the linguistics units or images for their translation. In contrast, intratextonic
and textonic dynamics enable the translators to access a susceptible amount of space for their
translations but due to the existence of complex combination of non-diegetic and diegetic texts, the
translators are required to execute a plural performativity, a multi tasking revolving around non-
diegetic and diegetic textprocessing. On the other hand, static textonomy requires the translators to
do a singular performativity: working on the diegetic s or images. Therefore, in the perspectives of
video game translation, this dynamics is vulnerable to alter and thereby a shift might occur.
The understanding on textonomy and text type contributes to the translation selection
strategy from which considerations on the ideologies of anamorphosis and metamorphosis are
taken. The following example from might help clarify the statement:
The textons from Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City are of intratextonic as the constant
textons provide, as indicated by the circle, an opportunity for the scriptons to change though only
for three spaced characters. The translators might utilize the opportunity to select the dictions from
which anamorphosis ideology could be transferred. The anamorphosis ideology is noticeable from

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the implication of the frame demanding the players to check the GPS as they speed up exceeding 60
miles an hour.
This anamorphosis requires both procedural and instrumental configuration from the
players. In the case of the racing game, the players are instructed to preserve their concentration to
the track by examining the signal displayed in a flashing arrow. The followings are the translated
version of the racing game by two different groups of translation with each group consisting of
three members. The three members were taking the roles of translator, editor, and typesetter. The
following translation is not intended to violate the copyright as the translation is intended purely for
educational purposes. The following translation will indicate that intertextonic, though flexible for
executing a rewriting on the textons, still has some limitations.
The intertextonic characteristic the textons have in the aforementioned game evokes a
flexible translation strategy selection. The changes on text display, as perceived from the above
screenshots, indicate that the scriptons are varied and thereby signifying the intratextonic
characteristics of the textons. In the case of the anamorphosis of the game, the left screenshot is able
to transfer the configurative implication regarding with the emergence of an arrow shaped signal
translated into „tandapanah‟ while the right one does not cope the configuration optimally due to the
absence of the translation of the word „arrow‟. Though the right screenshot misses the word
Figure 1 Indonesian version of Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City

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„arrow‟, it pertains „corners‟ translated into „tikungan‟ from which configurations from the players
entail. Meanwhile, the left screenshot does not preserve „corners‟ on their translation. It implies that
inter-textonic characteristics of the textons are proven to be less beneficial when, as Dietz(200, said
about the requirement to be a video game translator the translation and computer ability are not of
quality.
In the relation with translation techniques, the deletion employed on the word „arrow‟ and
„corners‟ triggers significant impact on the holistic apprehension of the traversal function. The
deletion ignites a traversal function shift from procedural/instrumental to instrumental configuration
only. Four scriptons contributing to the emergence of traversal function are „corners‟, ‟60 miles an
hour‟, „arrow‟, and „flash‟. These four units suggest mechanical implication in the form of
procedural and instrumental configuration. Procedural configuration emerges from:
acceleration | if | >60 | corner | arrow.sign | flash
acceleration | if | <60 | corner | arrow.sign | not.flash
The above logical string suggests that a configuration from the players will occur procedurally as
suggested from the scriptons. The players have to hit the acceleration button to hit over 60 miles an
hour to evoke the emergence of the flashing arrow. The absence of a scripton, as pointed out by the
string above, signifies the reduction on the completeness of a sequence to make an event happen.
This condition is what Rehak terms as suture, a condition by which spectators are „stitched into‟ the
signifying chain through edits that articulate a plentitude of observed space to an observing
character (in Isigan, 2013). In the case of the aforementioned translation, the problem of being
„stitched into‟ occurs when the translation technique of deletion is applied and thereby ludological
observation by the players is assumed to be reduced.
Ergodic and the Transferability of Game Aesthetics
Aesthetics in video games is concerned on the audiovisual style the games employ (Jarvinen,
2002). The styles oscillate around three elements: (1) space/environment (2) different objects, and
(3) symbols (Jarvinen, 2002). In the case of Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City translation, the
aesthetic element experiencing a shift is on the symbol. The influence of translation techniques is
assumed to trigger an impact on the on screen text display of the game. As perceived from the game
screenshots, the text display experiences a technical shift of presentation.

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j
The jumbled structure of the translated versions indicate that the translation focuses mainly
on transferring the message by examining the probable space intratextonic dynamics offers.From
aesthetics viewpoint, this jumbled structure is assumed to contribute to the shift of game experience
knowing that transferring a similar game experience is what game localization (and translation)
prioritizes to convey (O‟Hagan, 2009). In the case of the dynamics, the flexibility the dynamics
offers is not yet considered for aesthetic function of the game as the flexibility itself is still character
restricted. This condition is implied by Alexander O‟Smith, the translator of various Square Enix‟s
games. He said that there were often strict character limits for UI elements in the English
translation, so diving straight into dialog and narrative text could be dangerous when the translators
eventually realized none of the UI terms they wanted to use there would actually fit (in Jayemanne,
2009). It implies that the applied translation techniques will, in a direct manner, influence the graph
structure of the text in frame. It further suggests also that the knowledge and skill of restructuring in
translation studies should touch the domain of graphology and typeface restructuring since
aesthetics influence the physical form of play, sensory relationship between the players and the
games (Myers (2009) in Zimmerman, Perron and Wolf, 2009). Therefore, translation techniques,
traversal function and game aesthetics (audiovisual style) construct a causal relationship.
Figure2 Different text display

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Figure3 The influence of translation techniques in traversal function and game aesthetics
Asset refers to the analyzed game element, Text to whether the format is diegetic (linguistic
unit) or non-diegetic (image), Textonomy, as discussed before, to the dynamicity of a text,
Traversal Function to the method the players respond to the text, Orientation to whether the asset
has only ludic, narrative, or both elements, Dialogue Box to the type of box on which the textons
appear as scriptons to the players, Text Visualization to the techniques information is visualized,
and Display Effect to aesthetic effects regarding with the scripton appearance. As seen from Figure
4 of which the construction is based on the translated version of Need for Speed Carbon: Own the
City, deletion applied on a diegetic text triggers a shift on the traversal function of the frame and the
alignment as the display effect from which symbol element of game aesthetics is observed. If the
text had been shifted from diegetic to non-diegetic, the non-alignment display effect would have not
occurred and thereby the game aesthetics on symbol would have been preserved. Non-diegetic text,
though requiring plural performativity, could be beneficial for preserving game aestheticsin the
translation process if utilized optimally. One of the examples is the non-diegetic alteration in
Capcom‟s Mighty Final Fight:

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Figure 4 Non-Diegetic to Non-Diegetic with diegetic style
The reason of violence is behind the shift of non-diegetic text from the Japanese version to
North American version on the profile of Haggar (Purnomo and Purnama, 2013). The non-diegetic
text of the North American version, as seen from the screenshots, is able to visualize more
information about the character. This situation indicates that non-diegetic, to some extent, is flexible
to be utilized to cover diegetic information. It further suggests that plural performativity of the
intratextonic and textonic dynamics is not a hindrance to convey the message intended to deliver. In
the perspectives of translation techniques, the above case reflects that the translation technique
applied is amplification. In ergodic perspectives, the question is whether the amplification occurs on
the information given,on the data used, or both. By the amplification of information refers to the
addition of new information not found on the source language. By the amplification of data implies
that any texton addition triggers the addition of certain amount of space from which the amount of
data inclines. This condition suggests that any selected translation techniques will have any
consequence on the inclination of the data usage from which production cost might experience a
hike.
Other translation techniques as seen from Figure 4 denote that their relationship with
traversal function and game aesthetics still requires a close examination because modulation,
adaptation, and literal are not conscientiously observable in the term of character number impact. In
the perspectives of video game translation as a restrictive translation (Mangiron and O‟Hagan,
2006), it is assumed that distinctive translation techniques possess spatiality in terms of character
number. Description, Amplification, Linguistic Amplification, and Substitution might convey a
larger space as they have magnification function in which new information is added for the clarity
of meaning. Meanwhile Reduction, Deletion, and Linguistic Compression are assumed to trigger a

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smaller space as they have simplification function in which the information is reduced, deleted, and
compressed. On the other hand, Adaptation, Borrowing, Discursive Creation, Established
Equivalent, Literal, Modulation, Calque, Transposition, Variation are paradoxical as they are
relative in generating the character number. Departing from this assumption, translation techniques,
in video game translation, contribute to any ergodic elements and variables involving character
numbers. In the case of game aesthetics, the translation techniques have a role in the shift of game
aesthetics.
Ergodic and the Transferability of Ludus and Narrative of Video Games
Ludus, play in English word, owes its fame from Homo Ludens, a term introduced by Huizinga
(1944) to refer to men as playful creatures. In the context of video games, ludusis studied by
ludology, the science of play (Frasca, 2007), to refer to positioning video games as system of play
not as a system of narrative (Juul, 2015) while narratology, the study of narrative (Bal, 2009),
remarks that video games are a narrative which takes a different form like movies (Simons, 2007).
Due to its position as a game system, ludus revolves aroundthe studies on game mechanics from
which games pertain their function as a system. This game mechanics is one of the ludology
principles video games have:
1. Games should be considered as systems, with elements interacting between each other
within certain boundaries.
2. Games involve a conflict, which means that players will have to face some sort of
challenge. This conflict is artificial in the sense that it is apart from real life.
3. Games are defined by rules. Rules are what delimit both the player's actions and the
system's characteristics.
4. Games generate a quantifiable outcome. This can be a score or simply a judgment
(winning or losing.).
(Simon, 2007).
In the context of video games, ludus and narrative are ergodically diffused to suggest the
emergence of anamorphosis, hidden meaning (Aarseth, 1997). This anamorphosis is vividly
reflected from video game elements configuratively operated. They are pre-battle dialogue (PBD),
command list, skill/ability, job, and equipment. One of the examples is from Metal Gear Solid

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The above screenshots occur in PBD (Pre-Battle Dialogue) between Solid Snake and
Revolver Ocelot. The word „revolver‟ refers to his habit and skill in arming himself with a revolver.
The emphasis that his arsenal is a revolver is strengthened by his statement about the arsenal which
is a handgun and it has six bullets. The information about revolver, handgun, and six bullets,
besides emphasizing in a narrative manner about the character of Revolver Ocelot, also signifies the
ludus of the games from which the players could benefit from. The Ludus which is in the form of
game mechanics suggests that revolver has six bullets only and thereby when Revolver Ocelot will
reload a lot. The reloading condition opens the players to control Solid Snake, the main character, to
shoot Revolver Ocelot. This anamorphosis, in the perspectives of video game translations, is a
message the translators need to convey in their translation.
This anamorphosis, to some extent, opens a challenge to the translators if they are asked not
only to perform translation but also localization. If the name of the character and the image of the
gun are localized, the translators have to ensure themselves that the anamorphosis message is
transferable. The problem of ludus and narrative transferability exposes a greater challenge when
the anamorphosis resides on a word level such as in the name of an equipment as discussed in
Purnomo (2015).
One of the examples regarding with this is the translation of Midway‟s Mortal Kombat:
Unchained translated by two teams for educational purposes.
Figure 5 Revolver Ocelot and his Colt Single Action Army

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Sub Zero, the iconic character of the series, is a ninja with an ice based attack. His ice
element, besides being reflected from the azure fighting gear he wears, is also reflected from mostly
of the names of his moves. As seen from his source moves, middle screenshot, his special moves
consist of Rib Breaker, Ice Clone, Freeze Ball, and Cold Shoulder. Each name of the moves is
either the connotation or the denotation of the movements received by the viewers. Freeze Ball, for
instance, is a move in which Sub Zero bursts cold ball like energy, from which the name „ball‟ is
derived, to freeze his foes, from which the word „freeze‟ comes from. Therefore, it implies Freeze
Ball shares a linearity between the name and the visual movement. When Freeze Ball is translated
into Meriam Es (Ice Cannon) and Bola Salju (Snow Ball), the linearity is diverted.
The former translation to which compensation is applied ignites non-linearity because Sub
Zero does not use any cannon. The latter translation to which modulation is applied has a problem
of non-linearity also because Sub Zero does not burst snow ball. From the perspectives of narrative,
both translations pertain the iciness of Sub Zero and aesthetics alignment with Sub Zero‟s attributes.
Meanwhile, from the perspectives of ludus, game mechanics, it might deteriorate the players in
playing the game, to some extent, when the players rely on the preliminary knowledge they attempt
to obtain from the move nam e. The two aforementioned cases signify that anamorphosis finds itself
in the diffusion of the ludus and narrative of the games with meta cognition of the players as the
traversal mode.
Another interesting finding is on Sub Zero‟s Cold Shoulder, a move in which Sub Zero
attacks his enemy by sliding and forwarding his shoulder to hit the enemy. The first translation is
Srudukan Es (Ice Ram) and the second one is Dorongan Es Maut (Deadly Ice Push). There are three
similarities of the two translation versions. First is that they modulate the perspectives from an
object, which creates an impact to a process, which creates an impact. Second, they modulate also
in their translation of cold, which is the sensation one feels when touching something icy into es
(ice), which is the source of cold. Third, they omit some words to maintain the spatial stability for
the words. The pattern of omission is the same. They omit vocals. This happens due to, as discussed
before, spatial problems textons have. For the case of second translation, it is not just only
modulation but also discursive creation visible from the word maut (deadly). This discursive
creation ignites an intriguing finding regarding with loss and gain. Instead of vocalizing Dorongan
(push), the translator chose to add a word discursively to the translated move to emphasize the
deadliness of the move.

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It implies that, to some extent, stylistics and aesthetics of the move are the priorities the
translator decides to maintain. Though stylistics and aesthetics of the game arrive to consideration,
the translator fails to notice the aesthetics of the move in narrative sense. The phrase Cold Shoulder
also refers to an English idiom meaning „total ignorance‟. This aesthetic value is primarily
concerned on the narrative life of Sub Zero himself. Sub Zero‟s real name is Kuai Liang. His life is
identical to the phrase Cold Shoulder as he lives his own life after his parents and brother are dead.
People ignore his existence and he lives just for revenge. This aesthetic value in a narrative manner,
though revealed hermeneutically, is an anamorphosis, which deserves an attention to the translator
as it constructs a holistic relationship between the ludus and the narrative from which
metamorphosis and anamorphosis are evoked.
CONCLUSION
Ergodic as an approach for video game translation revolves on the discussion of the
transferability of variables and traversal functions, of game aesthetics, and of ludus and narrative of
the games. The transferability of the three elements poses a problem revolving around scriptons and
textons possessing a close relationship with characters and their number. The problem also hails
from the existence of anamorphosis Aarseth claims as an ideology of influence from which the
players‟ game experiences are defined. Anamorphosis, due to its hidden nature, requires a specific
attention from the translators while at the same time they have to consider GILT (Globalization,
Internationalization, Localization, and Translation) and translation strategies that could bridge the
two considerations. The problem also occurs when translation techniques are applied. Translation
techniques are taken as a consideration not only for their purposes to transfer meaning but also for
their possibility to consume extra spaces.
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Aarseth, E. J. 1997. Cybertext: perspectives on ergodic literature. Johns Hopkins University Press
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Press. Toronto.
Bernal-Merino, M. Á. 2009. Video games and children‟s books in translation.The Journal
of Specialised Translation, 11, 234-247. London.

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Bogost, I. 2007. Persuasive games: The expressive power of videogames. Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT). Massachusetts.
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Esselink, B. 2000. A practical guide to localization (Vol. 4). John Benjamins Publishing.
Amsterdam.
Fernández Costales, A. 2012. Exploring translation strategies in video game localization. Oviedo.
Frasca, G. 1999. Ludology meets narratology: Similitude and differences between (video)
games and narrative. Ludology. org. Helsinki.
Frasca, G. 2007. Play the message: Play, game and videogame rhetoric.Unpublished PhD
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O‟Hagan, M. 2009. Putting pleasure first: localizing Japanese video games.TTR:
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Tradução Cientifica e Técnica, 4, 29-41. Barcelona.
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FIGURE REFERENCES
Need for Speed Carbon: Own the City is the property and trademark of Electronic Arts
Metal Gear Solid is the property of Konami
Mighty Final Fight is the property of Capcom
Mortal Kombat: Unchained is the property of Midway

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Improving Students’ Listening Skill Through Shadowing
Mukminatus Zuhriyah
Universitas Hasyim Asy’ari Tebuireng Jombang
zoehrea@gmail.com
ABSTRACT
Listening is the first part of language skills that everyone gets when learning a language. It comes
before speaking, reading, and writing. Meanwhile, most of the students get difficulty to learn
listening of a foreign language, especially English. That is why shadowing was applied in the
listening class as one of the solutions to make the learners of English listening easy to understand
what the speaker says. This collaborative classroom action research was generally to know whether
or not shadowing could improve the students listening skill. It was also specifically to know: (1) the
lecturer’s activities, (2) the students’ activities, and (3) the students’ responses during the
implementation of shadowing in the listening class. The subjects were 18 students of the third
semester of English department of education faculty of Hasyim Asy’ari university (UNHASY)
Tebuireng Jombang in the academic year of 2016/2017. The data were obtained from the
observations got from the notes written by the collaborator and the listening test. The students’
listening skill improved after the implementation of shadowing. It could be seen in the improvement
of mean score, from 74.2 in cycle one to 75 in cycle two. Then, the precentage of students passing
the minimum mastery criteria also improved, from 61% in cycle one to 77.8% in cycle two. Thus, it
can be concluded that shadowing could improve students’ listening skill.
Keywords: Listening Skill, Shadowing, UNHASY Students

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ABSTRAK
Mendengar adalah kemampuan bahasa yang pertama kali diperoleh oleh setiap orang ketika
mempelajari sebuah bahasa. Sebelum orang berbicara, membaca, dan menulis, dia pasti
mendengar terlebih dahulu. Sementara itu, sebagian besar mahasiswa kesulitan dalam
mendengarkan bahasa asing, khususnya bahasa Inggris. Oleh karena itu, model shadowing
diaplikasikan di kelas listening sebagai salah satu solusi dalam mempermudah mahasiswa untuk
memahami apa yang dikatakan oleh pembicara bahasa Inggris. Penelitian tindakan kelas yang
bersifat kolaboratif ini pada umumnya untuk mengetahui apakah model shadowing mampu
meningkatkan kemampuan mendengar mahasiswa dan pada khususnya untuk mengetahui: (1)
aktifitas dosen, (2) aktifitas mahasiswa, dan (3) respon mahasiswa selama pelaksanaan model
shadowing di dalam kelas listening. Subyek penelitian adalah 18 mahasiswa semester tiga prodi
bahasa Inggris, FIP, Universitas Hasyim Asy’ari (UNHASY) Tebuireng Jombang tahun akademik
2016/2017. Data diperoleh dari observasi yaitu dari catatan yang ditulis kolaborator dan dari tes
listening. Kemampuan mendengar mahasiswa meningkat setelah pelaksanaan model shadowing.
Hal ini bisa dilihat dari peningkatan nilai mean 74.2 di siklus satu menjadi 75 di siklus dua.
Prosentase mahasiswa yang lulus KKM juga meningkat, dari 61% di siklus satu menjadi 77.8% di
siklus dua. Sehingga dengan demikian bisa disimpulkan bahwa model shadowing mampu
meningkatkan kemampuan mendengar mahasiswa.
Kata Kunci: Kemampuan Mendengar, Shadowing, Mahasiswa UNHASY .
INTRODUCTION
All the students learning English are hoped to be able to master the four English skills.
Among those skills, listening becomes the most important part of English skills. Listening is the
first stage in learning English. It is because listening comes at first before somebody speaks, reads,
or writes. Listening becomes a bridge when learning to speak, to read, and to write. In line with
this, Sevik (2012: 328) states that a person who learns a second or foreign language (FL) will first
hear, then, talk, and followed by learning how to read and write. Then, Adelmann (2012: 514)
states that a language learner needs competent listening skill when learning a language.
Additionally, Ghanbari and Hashemian (2014: 337) state that good listening comprehension has the
basic part for developing other skills in foreign language learning.
English department of education faculty of Hasyim Asy‟ari University, Tebuireng Jombang,
puts the listening in the first up to the fourth semester. The main objective of the listening course
itself is to make the students able to understand what the native speakers say about correctly.
Dealing with this situation, Schmidt (2016:2) found that listening is the most difficult skill to

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contend as a language learner. Then, based on the data on the preliminary study held on September
6, 2016, most of the students of UNHASY still got low score, under 75. Their mean score was 70.8.
The percentage of the students getting 75 was 39%. It means that they still have low listening skill.
Meanwhile, Arono (2014: 63) says that the teacher is still lack of commitment in applying the
model of teaching listening. Thus, it was very demanded to help the students improve their listening
skill through the appropriate teaching model to teach listening in order that they are easy to catch
what the speakers tell about. An alternative for this condition was by applying shadowing in
teaching and learning process of listening.
The general objective of this research was to know whether shadowing could improve the
listening skill in the third semester students of English department of education faculty of Hasyim
Asy‟ari University (UNHASY) Tebuireng Jombang in the academic year of 2016/2017. Meanwhile,
the specific objective was to describe the lecturer‟s activities, the students‟ activities, and the
students‟ responses during the implementation of shadowing in the listening class.
Previous Studies
There are several previous studies that have been conducted by some researchers explaining
about the success of shadowing to improve students‟ language skills. Firstly, Omar and Umehara
(2010: 199) in their research entitled “Using a Shadowing Technique to Improve English
Pronunciation Deficient Adult Japanese Learners: An Action Research on Expatriate Japanese
Adult Learners” conclude that there was the improvement on the participants‟ English
pronunciation, especially in their English rhythms. Next, Horiyama (2012: 113) in his research
entitled “The Development of English Language Skills through Shadowing Exercises” states that
shadowing exercises improved students‟ English skills and boosted their motivation and active
participation in the class. Other research entitled “A Pilot Study Comparing the Effects of
Shadowing and Oral Reading on Oral Reading Rate” by Osato (2014: 289) found that the effects of
shadowing were the improvements in both productive and receptive skills such as pronunciation,
listening, and reading ability. Then, the research entitled “Monitoring strategy in shadowing: self-
monitoring and pair-monitoring” by Hamada (2015: 4) found that the self-monitoring and pair-
monitoring groups improved their phoneme perceptions and the lower proficiency learners‟
listening comprehension skills of the self-monitoring group also improved. In addition, Shiota
(2012: 71) in his research entitled “The Effectiveness of Shadowing on Students‟ Psychology in
Language Learning” states that in the second language learning, the useful technique to solve the

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students‟ attitude problems was shadowing. Meanwhile, Zakeri (2014: 21) in his research entitled
“The Effect of Shadowing on EFL Learners‟ Oral Performance in Term of Fluency” found that
there was a great significant relationship between shadowing and the learners‟ fluency.
Listening
Listening is the first thing to be learnt before somebody learns speaking, reading, and
writing. In line with this, Sevik (2012: 328) states that listening is the basic skill that must be learnt
in the language learning process. In addition, Kim and Kang (2015: 175) report that many linguists
and English teachers state that listening becomes the most fundamental and the most important skill
among other language skills because it is a key role to study a foreign language. Then, Sevik (2012:
330) also states that listening is the same as reading which is a receptive skill because both listening
and reading focus on receiving information from an outside source. Meanwhile, Murjani (2010: 2)
states that listening is an active skill because listening is not only the process of hearing what the
speakers say but also the process of integrating what the speakers talk about with the information in
the real world. Thus, it can be concluded that listening is the most fundamental and important skill
which is not only a receptive skill but also an active skill to be learnt in the first language learning
process.
Bozorgian and Pillay (2013: 105) state that listening covers a complex process. Listening is
a process consisting of a conscious attention, reception, perception, and the assignment of meaning
and response to the message (Kim and Kang, 2015: 42). In line with this, Sarıcoban in Sevix (2012:
330) argues that listening is the ability consisting of identifying and understanding what others are
saying which involves understanding accent or pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of the
speaker, and grasping its meaning. Furthermore, Marzban and Abdollahi (2013: 239) state that in
the process of comprehending the spoken messages in the listening text, the listeners must integrate
information from a range of sources, such as phonetics, phonological, prosodic, lexical, syntactic,
semantic, and pragmatic. Then, Yonezaki (2014: 22) argues that a person commonly experiences
three stages in the listening process, such as perceiving sounds (perception), decoding sounds to
recognize them as certain linguistic forms (recognition), and comprehending the meaning of the
forms (comprehension). In short, it can be said that listening is the process of comprehending what
the speaker talks about by the listener through three stages, which are perception, recognition, and
comprehension.

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Then, Walker (2014: 172) states that the difficulties in learning listening cover three
features, linguistic features, cultural features, and psychological features. The linguistic features
consist of pronunciation, word boundaries, intonation, sentence and word stress. The cultural
features consist of the students‟ and the language cultural background and the regional accents.
Meanwhile, the psychological features consist of bottom-up and top-down processes,
metacognition, metacognitive regulation, metacognitive knowledge, and metacognitive experience.
Shadowing
Shiota (2012: 78) states that shadowing is a training technique which is used to improve the
interpreting skills. Shiki, et al in Zakeri (2014: 21) state that shadowing is an online repeating
speech which must be done immediately. In this case, the listener immediately repeats what the
speaker says without any pause. Horiyama (2012: 115) explains the steps of shadowing as follows:
(1) concentrating on the correct pronunciation when shadowing the listening text, (2) attending to
the meaning of the listening text, and (3) reproducing the listening text by picturing it. Next, Kadota
and Tamai in Hamada (2012: 7) give several steps: (1) dictation cloze, (2) mumbling, (3) parallel
reading, (4) checking the understanding of the written text, (5) shadowing three times, (6) checking
with the written texts for three minutes for sounds and the meanings that the listener could not
understand, (7) content shadowing by concentrating on both shadowing and interpreting the
meaning of the listening text, (8) dictation cloze (the same as the step 1), and (9) checking the
answers.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The design of this research was a collaborative classroom action research. It was a cyclical
process which consisted of four main steps: planning the action, implementing the action, observing
the action, and reflecting the action. The lecturer was as the researcher in this research. She
collaborated with a collaborator equipped with a Semester of Teaching Learning Planning (RPS) of
listening for the third semester and observation sheets containing field notes to write everything
related to the lecturer‟s activities, students‟ activities, and students‟ responses during the
implementation of shadowing in listening class. Two cycles were done in this research. Every cycle
had two meetings. Then, the subjects of the research were 18 students of the third semester of
English department of education faculty in the academic year of 2016/2017, Hasyim Asy‟ari
University (UNHASY) Tebuireng Jombang.

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Techniques of Collecting Data and Data Analysis
Techniques of collecting data used in this research were observation and listening test in the
post-test having been held. Observation was done by informing everything happening in the class
on the field notes which were written by the collaborator in every meeting in the cycle. Meanwhile,
the post-test was done in the meeting after the cycle had finished. Then, techniques of data analysis
used in this research consisted of descriptive analysis and statistical analysis. The descriptive
analysis consisted of the observation data which were analyzed to know the lecturer‟s activities, the
students‟ activities, and the students‟ responses during the implementation of shadowing. Next, the
statistical analysis was to know the improvement of the students‟ listening skill and the percentage
of the students passing the minimum criteria mastery. To know the improvement of the students‟
listening skill, the researcher compared the mean score of pre-test, post test I, and post test II. Then,
to know whether or not the improvement of the mean scores was significant, it was consulted to the
computational result of SPSS t-test by using SPSS version 20. The criteria of the success of this
research itself was when 75 % of the students got score 75 as the minimum mastery criteria.
DISCUSSION
Cycle One
There were two meetings in cycle one. They were done in September 15 and September 22,
2016.
The Lecturer’s Activities
Generally, the lecturer‟s activities in meeting one and in meeting two were the same. Firstly,
the lecturer checked the attendance list and prepared everything needed in the listening class. Then,
she explained the method of shadowing that was going to be applied in the listening class. Next, she
did the shadowing steps as what she planned. Here are the steps.
a. The lecturer asked the students to shadow the sentence in the listening text as soon as they
heard it and it was repeated four times
b. The lecturer had the students write down what they were saying in the shadowing
c. The lecturer got the students to find the meaning of the sentence that they have written in 5
minutes
d. The lecturer checked the answer consisting of the written sentence and the meaning found
by the students together with the entire the class.

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At those two meetings, the lecturer was in front of the class while playing and replaying the
listening text. She did not give time limitation when the students shadowed and wrote the sentence
spoken by the second person in the listening text. Then, she also did nothing when knowing that her
students did not shadow the sentence which the second speaker said as soon as they heard it. She let
the students shadow the sentence not as soon as they heard it even though at first she instructed the
students to shadow the sentence as soon as they heard it.
The Students’ Activities
In meeting one and meeting two, basically the students did what the lecturer instructed. The
following are the descriptions of the students‟ activities.
a. The students shadowed the sentence in the listening text that they heard
b. The students wrote down what they were saying in the shadowing
c. The students found the meaning of the sentence that they have written in 5 minutes
d. The students discussed the answer consisting of the written sentence and the meaning
together with the entire the class.
At a whole activity in meeting one, all the students did not shadow the sentence in the
listening text played by the lecturer directly. They shadowed the sentence in the listening text when
it was replayed in the second time. When first playing, they still paid attention carefully to the
listening text while writing down the text in their papers. Most of the students‟ writing was still
influenced by the words of the choices in their worksheet. Besides, some students were laughing
while shadowing the sentence. Then, the students found the meaning of the sentence that they
shadowed and wrote by matching it with the choices prepared in their worksheet.
Some of the students shadowed the sentence in the listening text played by the lecturer in the
first playing in meeting two. Other students still shadowed when the lecturer replayed the recording
in the second turn. It was exactly the same as the activities in meeting one. They still paid attention
carefully to the listening text when first playing. They did it while writing down the text in their
papers. No student was laughing while shadowing the sentence in this meeting. They started to be
confident to shadow the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying even though they did not feel sure
that what they said was correct. They also tried not to be influenced by the words of the choices
prepared in their worksheet even though they heard the similar sound to the words in the choices.
They did not want to be trapped anymore.

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The meeting after meeting two in cycle one was for post-test I. It was in September 29,
2016. The mean score of this post-test was 74.2. The students who passed the minimum mastery
criteria were 61%. That is why cycle one was considered unsuccessful.
The Students’ Responses
In meeting one, the students were still not comfortable with shadowing model applied by the
lecturer. It was because they were used to listening to the listening text by paying full attention
carefully and writing down it in their papers without repeating it in the loud voices. Most of the
students were still silent when the time to shadow the listening text came. They were afraid of
making mistakes because they were not sure about what they heard whether it was the same as the
speaker said in the recording. Besides, they complained that the speaker in the recording spoke very
fast.
Meanwhile, the students seemed rather comfortable with shadowing model in meeting two.
They tried to follow what the lecturer instructed in meeting two. It was proven by some of the
students who were shadowing the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying in the recording in the
first playing. They did it loudly while other students were busy with their papers and still paying
attention to the next replaying. When the second replaying came, there were only two students who
did not shadow the sentence that they heard. Both of the students looked at each other.
Cycle Two
This cycle also consisted of two meetings which were done in October 6 and October 11,
2016.
The Lecturer’s Activities
As usual, the lecturer checked the attendance list and prepared everything needed in the
listening class both in meeting one and meeting two. Then, she explained what the students had to
do in the method of shadowing that was going to be applied. She motivated the students to shadow
the sentence as soon as they could catch what the speaker said in the recording. Next, she did the
shadowing steps as what she planned in cycle two. The steps are the followings.
a. The lecturer asked the students to shadow the sentence in the listening text in 2 minutes
as soon as they heard it and it was repeated four times
b. The lecturer had the students write down what they were saying in the shadowing in 5
minutes after all the shadowing section finished

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c. The lecturer got the students to find the meaning of the sentence that they have written
in 5 minutes
d. The lecturer checked the answer consisting of the written sentence and the meaning
found by the students together with the entire the class.
In meeting one of this cycle, the lecturer was not only in front of the class to play and replay
the listening text but also stand in the space room between table A and table B to notice the
students‟ shadowing. She had already given time limitation for the students to shadow and to write
the sentence spoken by the second person in the listening text. Then, she motivated her students to
shadow the sentence that the second speaker said as soon as they heard it. She also asked what the
students‟ difficulties in shadowing the speaker‟s saying.
In meeting two, the lecturer did what she had done in meeting one. She really paid attention
to the time limitation when the students shadowed and wrote the sentence spoken by the second
person in the listening text. After the time to shadow finished, she replayed the recording. It was
done for four times.
The Students’ Activities
In this meeting, the students did what the lecturer instructed. The following are the
descriptions of the students‟ activities.
a. The students shadowed the sentence in the listening text that they heard in 2 minutes
b. The students wrote down what they were saying in the shadowing in 5 minutes
c. The students found the meaning of the sentence that they have written in 5 minutes
d. The students discussed the answer consisting of the written sentence and the meaning
together with the entire the class.
The students‟ activities were little different from those in cycle one. Most of the students
had already shadowed the sentence in the listening text played by the lecturer directly even though
their sentence was not complete yet. When the second playing, all the students shadowed the
sentence. It was done until the third and the fourth replaying. After all the shadowing activity
finished, the students wrote their sentence in the paper. Then, the students found the meaning of the
sentence that they shadowed and wrote by matching it with the choices prepared in their worksheet.
The students‟ activities in meeting one were different from those in meeting one. All of the
students had already shadowed the sentence in the listening text played by the lecturer directly even
though their sentence was not complete yet. They shadowed it until the fourth replaying. After all

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the shadowing activity finished, the students wrote their sentence in the paper. Then, the students
found the meaning of the sentence that they shadowed and wrote by matching it with the choices
prepared in their worksheet.
The meeting after meeting two of cycle two was for post-test II. It was done in October 18,
2016. The mean score of the listening test in post-test II was 75. The percentage of the students
passing the minimum mastery criteria was 77.8%. Thus, it can be said that cycle two was
successful.
The Students’ Responses
In meeting one of this cycle two, the students seemed comfortable with shadowing model
applied by the lecturer. Most of the students were active when the time to shadow the listening text
came. They were not afraid anymore of making mistakes even though they were not sure about
what they heard whether or not it was the same as the speaker said in the recording. Besides, they
looked so happy after shadowing together with entire the class. They could follow others‟ saying
when shadowing. They looked confident to tell their sentence and their finding of the meaning of
the sentence they had written.
The students seemed very comfortable with shadowing model in meeting two of this cycle.
They followed what the lecturer instructed. It was proven by all of the students who were
shadowing the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying in the recording after the first playing. They
did it loudly. They said the sentence and the meaning of the sentence without being asked by the
lecturer. They were very happy when knowing that their answer was true.
Findings
Besides improving listening skill of the students, the researcher found that shadowing which
was applied in the listening class could improve students‟ vocabularies and spelling. When the
students listened what the speaker said then wrote it, they often found some new words that they did
not know before. Nation in Alqahtani (2015: 22) states that a language use can increase the
knowledge of the vocabularies. The language use of this research is in the listening. This is
strengthened by Renukadevi (2014: 60) who argues that listening can help the learners to acquire
pronunciation, word stress, vocabulary, and syntax based on what the speaker says. Then, the
increase of the vocabularies itself was also followed by the improvement of the students‟ spelling.
They could distinguish the spelling of words which had similar sounds. They did it by writing and
understanding the context of what the speaker was talking about. The activities in shadowing really

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could enrich their vocabularies and spelling as well. Meanwhile, the listening itself can improve the
students‟ speaking skill. In this case, the students imitated the speakers‟ sayings and practiced them
in their speaking. This finding is supported by Sun (2009: 56) who states that listening can improve
speaking.
CONCLUSIONS
The followings are the conclusions based on the results of this research.
1. Shadowing could improve listening skill in the third semester students of English
department of education faculty of Hasyim Asy‟ari University (UNHASY) Tebuireng
Jombang in the academic year of 2016/2017.
2. The lecturer‟s activities in cycle one was as what she planned for cycle one. She still stood
in front of the class while playing and replaying the listening text. She did not give the time
limitation for shadowing and writing the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying. She still
let the students not shadow the sentence as soon as they heard it. But the lecturer‟s activities
had good progress in cycle two. She motivated her students to shadow as soon as they could
catch the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying. She also gave the time limitation for
shadowing and writing the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying.
3. The students‟ activities got good progress from cycle one to cycle two. Mostly, they
shadowed the sentence in the second replaying. But all of the students shadowed the
sentence as soon as they heard it in meeting two of cycle two. Then, their mean score also
got improvement, from 74.2 in cycle one and 75 in cycle two. Meanwhile, the percentages
of the students who got 75 as the minimum mastery criteria were 61% in cycle one and
77.8% in cycle two.
4. The students‟ responses also were different between cycle one and cycle two. In cycle one,
most of the students were still confused and silent when the model of shadowing was
applied in their class. But all of them were active by shadowing directly as soon as they
heard the sentence of the second speaker‟s saying. Besides, they looked very satisfied after
the class.
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Alqahtani, M. 2015. The Importance of Vocabulary in Language Learning and How to be Taught.
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Creating an English Computer Game as an Interactive Material in
Teaching English to Young Learner (TEYL)
Aprilian Ria Adisti
State Institute for Islamic Studies (IAIN) Salatiga
aprilian_adisti@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
This study aims at explaining the interactive materials that were needed in Teaching English to
Young Learner, creating an English computer game into an interactive material, and examining the
effective of the implementation of an English computer game as an interactive material in Teaching
English to Young Learner to the first-grade students of elementary school. The study used Research
and Development (R&D) adapted from Hutchinson and Water (1987:53-56) and by Borg and Gall
(1985). The study had seven stages, they were: (1) conducting a need analysis of the first-grade
students, (2) writing the course grid such as lesson plan and map of interactive material, (3)
developing preliminary form of English computer game, (4) preliminary field testing by English
teacher, English learning expert, and ICT learning expert, (5) revising the English computer game,
(6) trying out, and (7) writing the final draft of the use of English computer game for Teaching
English to Young Learners. The result of the study showed that students got better achievement in

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learning English. It could be seen from the result between pre-test and post-test using t-test
formula. The result showed t value > t table; 7.165 > 2.021, it meant that there was a significant
difference between pre-test and post-test. The post-test was higher that pre-test. The mean of pre-
test was 65.2 while the mean of post-test was 87.44. It was also strengthened by the result of the
interview which concluded that students liked learning English through this interactive material.
Keywords: Teaching English to Young Learner, an English computer game, interactive material
ABSTRAK
Artikel ini bertujuan untuk menjelaskan tentang materi interaktif yang dibutuhkan dalam
pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak, menciptakan game komputer bahasa Inggris sebagai
interaktif material, serta menguji seberapa efektif implementasi dari sebuah game komputer bahasa
Inggris dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak pada kelas satu Sekolah Dasar.
Penelitian menggunakan metode Research and Developing (R&D) yang diadaptasi dari Hutchinson
dan Water (1987:53-56) and oleh Borg dan Gall (1985). Penelitian memiliki tujuh langkah-
langkah, yakni : (1) membuat sebuah analisis kebutuhan pembelajaran pada kelas satu Sekolah
Dasar, (2) menulis course grid seperti rencana pembelajaran dan peta konsep untuk pembuatan
materi interaktif, (3) mengembangkan format awal game komputer bahasa Inggris, (4) mengetes
produk game komputer bahasa Inggris oleh guru bahasa Inggris, ahli pengajaran bahasa Inggris,
serta ahli ICT, (5) merevisi game komputer bahasa Inggris, (6) uji coba produk, (7) menulis draf
akhir penggunaan game komputer bahasa Inggris dalam pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-
anak. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa siswa memperoleh hasil yang lebih baik. Hasil
ini bisa ditunjukkan oleh t value > t table; 7.165 > 2.021, yang artinya ada peningkatan signifikan
antara hasil pre-test dan post-test. Hasil post-test lebih tinggi daripada pre-test, yakni rata-rata
pre-test 65.2 sedangkan post-test 87.44. Hasil ini juga diperkuat dari hasil wawancara yang
disimpulkan bahwa siswa menyukai belajar bahasa Inggris melalui interaktif material.
Kata Kunci: Pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak, Game komputer bahasa Inggris, Materi
interaktif
INTRODUCTION
English is an international language. Indonesian students learn English as foreign language.
English is introduced for the first time for students in junior high school before 1994. They learnt
English from the very beginning level, such as the introduction of vocabularies, simple grammar,

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etc. Since the need for mastering English becomes higher every time, nowadays, the English subject
is given from the elementary school to senior high school levels, even from the first grade students
of elementary school.
Teaching English to Young Learner (TEYL) means teaching children in the first-grade of
elementary school. TEYL is considered as an important way to develop children English skill in the
future. The teachers need special treatments to young learner because sometimes they feel
enthusiastic, but sometimes they also do not care about anything. That is why the teacher should
introduce children in learning English through attractive method in order to raise their motivation
and enthusiasm in learning English. One of them is by developing interactive English material that
is designing an English computer game to make children interested in learning English.
The advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) play a significant
role in learning process. Teaching English without supported by interactive material, is considered
as left behind. One kind of interactive material in teaching English is by designing an English
computer game. Basically, children like learning trough playing. An English computer game is
software that is designed for play and fun in learning English. By playing it, children are expected
to be more interested in learning English. They may not be aware that they are even learning
English. In their minds they are simply playing a game. Therefore, an English computer game as a
part of technology can be used to raise the cihildren enthusiasm in learning English.
Teaching English to Young Learner (TEYL) can use English computer game as an
interactive material for students. By playing game, student learn about vocabularies that are played
in the game. Since the purpose of teaching English in elementary school level is to introduce
English as an International language to students, so the most important thing for teacher in TEYL is
introduce vocabularies first to the students. Vocabularies are the main aspect of language. Slatterly
and Willis (2001) proposed the characteristics of young learners under seven years old in learning
vocabularies;
a. They acquire through hearing and experiencing lots of English, in much the same way they
acquire first language.
b. They learn things through playing; that are not consciously trying to learn new words or phrases.
c. They love playing with language sounds, imitating, and making funny noises.
d. They are not able to read and write in L1; important to recycle language through talk and play.
e. Their grammar will develop gradually on its own when exposed to lots English in context.

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Some studies agree that technology can be incorporated into Teaching English to Young
Learner. Deng (2006) observed 45 students and carried out a four months experiment by teaching
subjects in a traditional way during the first two months and then teaching students via games in the
last two months. The results of the experiment between game teaching and non-game teaching
indicate that it is beneficial to use games to promote language proficiency and vocabulary
acquisition.
Besides, Brian A Briggs (2010) conducted the study about the use of technology to increase
word recognition ability to kindergartens. The treatment group used digital cameras to define the
environment around them, while the control group had no exposure to the technology. The result
showed that in the control group scored higher in word recognition retention by at least 60% after
four weeks of the study. He suggested that the use of technology throughout the curriculum would
be a benefit for children in learning English. Of course, the result of his study proved that Teaching
English to Young Learner through technology can motivate students in learning English.
In this present research, I focus to compare the research conducted by Deng (2006) and
Brian A Brigg (2010) in some aspects. The first aspect, Deng (2006) observed some students who
taught by traditional way and those who taught by game in learning English but he did not use
computer game, while Brian A Briggs (2010) conducted the research to some students who taught
English used technology, that was digital camera. In this research, however, I only focus to apply
computer game as interacting material in Teaching English to Young Learner. The second aspect as
the novelty aspect, I focus to create English computer game as interactive material in Teaching
English to Young Learner. I also use Research and Development (R&D) as the methodology in
creating English computer game as interactive material in Teaching English to Young Learner,
especially to the first grade of elementary students.
A computer game is software that is designed for play and fun. The game is constructed
with certain rules and instruction to achieve specific goals usually through several levels. In facts,
people or children spend hours to play and finish a computer game. It indicates that computer game
is very engaging and attractive. Teachers can use this chance to teach vocabulary to students. By
using computer game, students are expected to be more interested in learning English especially
learning vocabulary through a computer game.
Vocabulary is important aspect in learning English. According to Cameron (2010:72),
vocabulary is central to the learning of a foreign language at primary level. In addition, David
Nunan (1991:118) stated that the development of rich vocabulary is an important element in the

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acquisition of a second language, include young learners. Based on the statements before, it is
implied that vocabulary is one of the language skill elements that has an important role for young
learners in learning languages. Teachers should teach students how to use vocabulary to convey
their ideas, teaching, and knowledge. In general, teaching vocabulary especially for young learners
is not easy. Thus, teachers need more creativity in teaching vocabulary to young learners.
As mentioned above, the use of English computer game can encourage students to enrich
their vocabularies. They can learn through play. English computer game is considered as an
interactive material for teaching vocabularies to the first-grade students of elementary school. When
it is used appropriately, it can be a very valuable resource in Teaching English to Young Learner
(TEYL).
RESEARCH METHOD
In this study, I used Research dan Development (R&D) method. Based on the above
background, I propose to put forward the following questions:
(1) Which interactive materials are needed in Teaching English to Young Learner?
(2) How can an English computer game be developed into an interactive material for
Teaching English to Young Learner?
(3) How effective is the implementation of an English computer game as an interactive
material in Teaching English to Young Learner?
Objectives of Study
The objectives of this study were to explain the interactive materials that are needed for
Teaching English to Young Learner to the first-grade students of elementary school, to design and
develop an English computer game into an interactive material, and to examine the effective of the
implementation of an English computer game as an interactive material in Teaching English to
Young Learner to first-grade students of elementary school.
Research Procedures
Based on the purpose of this study, that is to develop a finished product that can be used
effectively in an educational program, this study is classified as R & D category (Borg, 1981:712).
The major purpose of R & D is not to formulate or to test theory but to develop the effectiveness of
a product for use in classes. Products produced by R & D are generally quite extensive in terms of
objectives, personnel, and time to completion. In this study, the subject of this study was an English
computer game as an interactive material.

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The subjects of the study are the interactive material, 25 first-grade students of SD IT Ulil
Albab, English teachers, English lecturers as the teaching expert, and ICT learning experts. The
research framework in this research is drawn below:
Figure 1: Research Procedures
According to figure 1 above, there were seven stages. They were (1) Conducting a Needs
Analysis, (2) Writing the Course Grid, (3) Developing Preliminary Form of Products, (4)
Preliminary Main Testing by English Teacher, English Teaching Experts, and ICT Learning
Experts, (5) Revising the Designed Materials, (6) Trying Out, and (7) Writing the Final raft of the
Materials.
Instruments were needed to conduct the analysis. The type of instrument that was used to
gather the data were observation, interview, questionnaire, and test. Observation was done in the
first step. Then based on observation, I made the analysis about students‟ need and students‟
character by writing field notes, gathering documents, etc. Interview was given to support the main
data. It was conducted for knowing students‟ need in learning vocabulary. Questionnaire was given
DEFINE
Stage 1 : Conducting a needs analysis
DESIGN
Stage 2 : Writing the course grid
DEVELOP
Stage 3: Developing preliminary form of products
Stage 4 : Preliminary main testing by English teacher, English
teaching experts, and ICT learning expert
Stage 5 : Revising the designed materials
Stage 6 : Trying out
Stage 7: Writing the final draft of the materials

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in the forth stage that was given to develop the product. The tests were given to measure students‟
achievement in learning English. It was also used to indicate the effectiveness of using an English
computer game as an interactive material in Teaching English to Young Learner.
DISCUSSION
This section discussed the result of the development. It consisted of seven sections. Those
were explained in the following section in detaikl.
Conducting Analysis
It was the first step that was used to obtain the information of the learners‟ characteristics
and needs in learning English. I started conducting a need analysis by interviewing the English
teacher. The questions were about the English material, method of teaching English, and also the
result of English learning during the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, I also interviewed
some students about their opinion of learning English. This question was important to know what
they wanted in learning English.
I started conducting a need analysis by interviewing the English teacher. The questions were
about the English material, method of teaching English, and also the result of English laerning
during the teaching and learning process. The schedule for English subject in SD IT Ulil Albab held
twice in a week, that was Monday and Thursday. The duration was 35 minutes for each meeting.
Before using this interactive material, students wew taught use a work sheet. Sometimes teacher
also used pictures as media for teaching them. In SD IT ulil Albab, there were facilities like
computer and laptop. But the teacher had never used them as a media for teaching.
According to teacher‟s opinion, students sometimes felt bored in learning English since the
materials were not interesting. They just learned from the book. It made them learn English
passively because they just read from the book then did the task. Some students said that English
was boring subject. They did not want to learn English because they felt that this subject was very
difficult to be learned. They preferred to learn other subject than to learn English lesson. They also
said that they often forget about vocabulary that they had learned because they felt so difficult to
memorize the vocabulary from the book. Based on the result of the interview from teacher and
students, I took the conclusion that students need interactive material to support their eager in
learning English.

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Writing the Course Grid
This step was used as the guideline in developing the materials. In constructing the
material, I made lesson plan that was used as guidance during English learning process. I also
arranged the map of interactive materials which related to the Standard Competence and Basic
Competence. The map of interactive material could be seen below;
Figure 2 Map of Interactive Material
Skill Objectives Activities
Students are able to: Student operate their own computer to:
Listening -Listen to the pronunciation
of the instructor about 20
names of animals.
-Listen to the animal’s sound
Understand the simple
instructions in the English
game.
- Listen and watch the video.
- Guess the sound of the animals.
Click the pictures of animal based on
the instruction.
Speaking Pronounce the new
vocabulary about 20 names
of the animals accurately.
-Imitate the pronunciation of the
instructor in the English computer
game which they are playing.
Repeat the voice of the instructor.
Reading Read 20 names of the
animals
-Answer the multiple choice questions
about the sound of the animals.
-Match the words with the pictures of
the animals.
Writing Type their name and grade
before play the English
computer game.
Click the fonts in the computer before
playing the game.
Developing Preliminary Form of Products
In this step, the materials were developed based on the course grid that was written in the
previous step. I started constructing computer game as an interactive material for students that was
appropriated with lesson plan. The developing the materials were contains topic that was about
animal, vocabulary focus, and also skills of English such listening, speaking, and reading and
writing. The steps of developing the materials are:

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Determined the Topic
According to the syllabus and lesson plan, the topic was about the animals. I just focus on one
topic since the limited of time and it was also the request from the teacher. This topic had never
be taught by the teacher before.
Determined vocabulary that would be taught
There were 20 names of the animals that had to be known bu students. Those names of the
animals would be taught in the English computer game. At the end of the game, students would
do quisses about them.
Designed the quizzes
There were three konds of quizzes in the English computer game such as: mention the name of
the animals, guess the sound of the animals, and click the picture of the animals based on the
instruction.
Arranged the lay out of the materials
Here designed the pictures of the animals, provides the video about animals, provides the
animal‟s sound, provide the animations, record the dubber, provide the background and also the
backsound of the game.
Preliminary Main Testing by English Teacher, English Teaching Experts, and ICT Learning
Experts
The development of the English computer game had validated by two English teachers, two
English teaching expert, and two ICT learning expert. There were 15 questions below to each
indicator in scoring sheets. To score each indicator, the experts had to put a check (V) mark on one
of the available score columns in the table. The meaning of each score is; score 0 means totally
lacking, score 1 means weak, score 2 means adequate, score 3 means good, and score 4 means
excellent. The detailed of the judgment was shown below:
- The computer game that has designed is appropriate with Standard Competence and Basic
Competence of the School Based Curriculum for the first grade students of Elementary level.
- The computer game that has designed fulfills the needs of the learners in level of the first-grade
students of Elementary level.
- The computer game that has designed eases students to learn English effectively.
- The computer game that has designed fits the background of students‟ age, culture and interest.

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- Vocabularies that are used in computer game are appropriate with Elementary students‟ level.
- The computer game that has designed makes students more active in learning English.
- The quizzes in computer game are interesting and enjoyable for students.
- The instructions in every activity in computer game are clear for both the teacher and the
students.
- The organization of the activity in computer game is clearly structured.
- The lay-out of the computer game is interesting for both the teacher and students.
- The pictures in the computer game attract students to play it.
- The audio and video in the computer game are clear to be listened and seen.
- The fonts in the computer game are easy reading for students.
- The pronunciation and intonation of the dubber are clear to be listened by students in the first-
grade of elementary level.
- Generally, the computer game is easy to play for the students of the first-grade elementary
level.
For the validation of the questionnaire above, the first English teacher judged excellent for
questions point 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10,11,12,13,15 and good for questions point 9,14. For the second
English teacher judged excellent for questions point 2,3,4,5,6,8,10,11,12,13,14,15 and good for
questions point 1,7,9.
For the validation from the first English teaching expert judged excellent for all questions
point 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. For the second English teaching expert judged excellent
for questions 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15.
For the validation from the first ICT learning expert judged excellent for the questions
points 1,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15 and good for questions point 2,12. For the second ICT
learning expert judged excellent for questions point 1, 2,3,5,6,8,11,13,14,15 and good for questions
point 4,7,9,10,12.
According to the result of the questionnaire from experts‟ judgment, this interactive
material was judged as valid product. We could see from the judgment that only two categories
were chosen, they were good and excellent. It meant that English computer game could be used as
interactive material in teaching vocabulary to the first-grade students of elementary school.
Revising the Designed Materials

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In this step, the designed materials were revised as suggested by the feedback. There were
some suggestions from 3 expert judgments. According to the result of the questionnaire, I made
some revisions to the English game which included: (1) the materials, (2) the lay out (such as
pictures, video, back ground of the game), (3) the quizzes in the game, (4) the voice of the dubber,
and (5) the instructions of the game.
Trying Out
The try-out conducted to know whether the materials were appropriate or not for the
students. Since the subject was the first level students of elementary school, I need the teacher‟s
opinion and suggestion to judge whether this interactive material was appropriate or not for the
students. Before I gave this interactive material for students, I played this English game to the
teacher. I asked her whether this English game appropriate with material or not, and whether this
English game was easy to play for the first level student of SD IT Ulil Albab or not.
Beside asked to the teacher, I also conducted try out to the students. One by one student
tried play the game but not all section. I just wanted to make sure whether they could play the game
easily or not. Surprisingly, the students were very enthusiastic with this activity. All of the students
also did not feel difficulties to play the game. They played the game by themselves by clicked the
mouse to operate it. Sometimes they asked about the meaning of the instruction but after I gave
little bit explanation, they understood and continued play the game easily. It indicated that students
could play the game, so for the next step I could use this game as an interactive material for
teaching vocabulary for them, especially about the animal.
Before I gave an English computer game to the students, I conducted the pre-test first. The
use of pre-test was important to measure the effectiveness of English computer game to improve
students‟ ability in learning vocabulary. The result of pre-test would be compared to the result of
the post-test after students learned vocabulary used English computer game as interactive material.
According to the result between pre-test and post-test, the result of post-test was higher than pre-
test. It could be seen from the mean of pre-test and post-test, which is 65.2 for pre-test and 87.44 for
post-test. Students got improvement in post-test score after they used computer game as interactive
material for learning vocabulary. All of the students passed the passing score. They did the quizzes
well, and got better result than in pre-test. It indicated that an English computer game could be used
as interactive material for improving students‟ vocabulary. Based on the result in post-test, the use

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of English computer game was considered effective to raise not only students‟ score but also
students‟ eager in learning vocabulary.
Writing the Final Draft of the Materials
This step was done after revising the designed materials. The final result was the English
learning materials for the first-grade elementary students. It was the fix English computer game that
could be used as an interactive material for teaching vocabulary especially for the theme about
animals.
During the research, the students enjoyed the activities. They played the game
enthusiastically. All of the students were also said that they like playing Eglish game. They did not
feel bored during the activity. The result of this interview indicated that the use of participation of
English computer game as an interactive material could improve their eager in learning English.
This statement was also be proven by the result of the post-test. Students got better achievement
that pre-test. It could be seen in the comparison mean between pre-test and post-test. The mean
from pre-test was 65.2 while the mean from post-test was 87.44. by using t-test formula the result
also showed that there was a significant achievement of the students after they learn vocabulary
used this interactive material. Since t value > t table; 7.165 > 2.021, it meant that there was a
significant difference between pre-test and post-test group. The post-test was higher than the pre-
test. Moreover, the implementation of these interactive materials could be used for improving
students‟ achievement especially in learning vocabulary.
English computer game as an interactive material gave good contribution for teaching
vocabulary to the first-grade students of elementary school. Based on experts judgment, this product
was judged as valid product for teaching vocabulary. The teacher also gave opinion that this
interactive material was so useful for her to teach vocabulary to students. As the result, the use of
English computer game as an interactive material was ready to implement in teaching vocabulary to
the first-grade students of elementary shool.
CONCLUSIONS

2.7 article dec 2016 edition register journal vol 9 no 2

2.7 article dec 2016 edition register journal vol 9 no 2

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2.7 article dec 2016 edition register journal vol 9 no 2