The Effectiveness of Using Youtube Videos in Improving Students’ Speaking Skills at SMP Swasta Kartika 1-4 Pematangsiantar

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of using YouTube videos in improving the speaking skills of eighth-grade students at SMP Swasta Kartika 1-4 Pematangsiantar. The experimental class consisted of 32 students who received treatment using YouTube videos, such as BBC Learning English, which contains everyday conversation materials, while the control class consisted of 33 students who were taught using conventional methods. The pre-test and post-test data were analyzed using SPSS, including the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test and the t-test. The results showed that the mean score of the experimental class increased significantly from 54.69 to 83.13, which was higher than the control class, which increased from 59.09 to 69.24. In addition, the t-value (4.160) was higher than the t-table value (1.695) with df = 31 and a significance level of 0.05. Therefore, the null hypothesis (H₀) was rejected. This research was motivated by the low speaking ability of junior high school students, which is caused by the lack of engaging and authentic learning media. YouTube videos were proven to be effective in improving students’ fluency, accuracy, and comprehension through activities such as listen-and-repeat, dialogue practice, and role-play. The findings of this study contribute theoretically to the development of digital learning media and provide practical implications for English teachers to adopt authentic audiovisual materials in order to enhance students’ motivation and improve their speaking performance effectively