Enhancing English Vocabulary Skills for Grade 9 Students ‘Using Deal or No Deal’ Game

Vocabulary is essential for students to comprehend literature and achieve academic success. However, many learners struggle to acquire and remember new words. To help overcome this, teachers have turned to interactive methods such as game-based learning. This research explores using the Deal or No Deal game to improve the English vocabulary of Grade 9 students, particularly in literature lessons that evaluate the validity of reasoning and recognize fallacies. Conducted in the 2024–2025 school year, the study occurred in a public secondary school in Ozamiz City with a purposively chosen sample of 40 Grade 9 English students. Adopting a classroom-based action research approach, the study utilized pre-tests, post-tests, and vocabulary activities connected to literary themes such as the author's reasoning, types of fallacies, and effective presentation. The data were examined through descriptive statistics such as mean, frequency, and percentage, while a t-test was applied to assess the significance of students' vocabulary improvement. Findings revealed that many students had difficulty understanding vocabulary in literature lessons before the intervention, which hindered their performance. Students markedly improved their vocabulary scores after introducing the Deal or No Deal game.

vocabulary improvement, grade 9 students, English vocabulary, game-based learning, Ozamiz City

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