The Effectiveness of Flashcards as a Learning Medium on Japanese Hiragana Writing Skills of Students at SMAN 4 Padang

Sep 28, 2026

This study determines students’ ability to write Japanese hiragana using flashcard-based learning media in Grade XI at SMAN 4 Padang, compares it with students learning without flashcards, and evaluates flashcards’ effectiveness. The research focuses on writing seion, dakuon, and handakuon hiragana for classes XI F3 and XI F5 using observation, pretests, and posttests. Results show numerical improvement in the experimental class but no significant difference by Mann–Whitney test (Asymp. Sig. 0.971 > 0.05), so the null hypothesis is accepted.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Foreign language learning importance

Japanese language skills and writing

Japanese writing systems and hiragana challenges

Research context at SMAN 4 Padang

The Effectiveness of Flashcards as a Learning Medium on Japanese Hiragana Writing Skills of Students at SMAN 4 Padang Rika Roza Putri, Ari Purnawan Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta, Indonesia Email: [rikaroza.2023@student.uny.ac.id](rikaroza.2023@student.uny.ac.id) Abstract: This study aims to determine: (1) students’ ability to write hiragana using flashcard-based learning media in Grade XI at SMAN 4 Padang,(2) students’ ability to write hiragana without using flashcard-based media, and (3) the effectiveness of flashcards on students’ hiragana writing skills. The research is limited to evaluating students’ ability to write seion, dakuon, and handakuon hiragana in classes XI F3 and XI F5. This quantitative quasi-experimental study used a nonequivalent control group design by comparing an experimental class and a control class selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through observation, pretests, and posttests, using hiragana writing tests and flashcard questionnaires as instruments. Data were analyzed using the normality test, Wilcoxon test, and Mann–Whitney test. The results showed that the experimental class (XIF5) had an average pretest score of 69.8 and posttest score of 82.2, while the control class (XIF3) recorded an average pretest score of 71.4 and posttest score of 80. Although there was a numerical improvement, statistical analysis using SPSS 26 with the Mann–Whitney test produced an Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) value of 0.971 > 0.05, indicating no significant difference between both groups. Thus, flashcard media did not significantly affect students’hiragana writing ability, and the null hypothesis was accepted. Keywords: The Effectiveness, Flashcard Learning Media, Hiragana Characters Corresponding: Rika Roza Putri E-mail: [rikaroza.2023@student.uny.ac.id](rikaroza.2023@student.uny.ac.id) INTRODUCTION In the current era of globalization, learning a foreign language is one of the prerequisites for communicating with other countries, especially developed countries. Not only is the mother tongue learned, but a second or foreign language is also very important, especially in education and the world of work, due to the large exchange of information between countries through various advanced technological media that provide diverse kinds of information and the emergence of various other foreign languages (Ayu, 2020; Nagle, 2021; Tanjung, 2018) . Language is a communication tool used to convey thoughts, feelings, information, and ideas to others orally and in writing (Dewi et al., 2022) . In addition, the importance of foreign languages in education deepens understanding, allowing humans to think logically and communicate effectively (Sulfa Hardianti & Arif, 2023) . Foreign language skills are among the competencies that students must master to face challenges in education and the world of work. One of the foreign languages in demand in Indonesia besides English is Japanese. Japanese is the 13th most in-demand language globally, with 126 million native speakers, most of whom are concentrated in two countries (Qian Ying & Murli, 2022) . Tadashi Ogawa stated that Indonesia occupies the second position worldwide in the number of Japanese language learners—716,353 people—according to a quick estimate from the Japan Foundation (JF) in 2022. Ogawa revealed that more Indonesian young people and teenagers are interested in Japanese comics (manga) and anime, and he mentioned that one of the main motivations for Indonesians to learn Japanese is the desire to continue their studies in Japan (Sopaheluwakan et al., 2023) . Japanese is also one of the foreign languages that is quite difficult for beginners to learn because it requires a long time (Andayani, 2020) . Japanese language education in Indonesia, especially at the high school level, has grown rapidly along with increasing student interest in the Japanese language and culture. In Japanese, there are skills that students must achieve: listeni

FAQs

What does the study aim to investigate regarding flashcards?

It investigates students’ hiragana writing ability with flashcard-based learning media, compares it with ability without flashcards, and tests whether flashcards are effective.

Which hiragana types are evaluated in the study?

The study evaluates students’ ability to write seion, dakuon, and handakuon hiragana.

What statistical result determines whether flashcards significantly affect performance?

The Mann–Whitney test produced Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) = 0.971, which is greater than 0.05, indicating no significant difference between groups.

Sep 28, 2026

Uploaded by River Wang