THE EFFECT OF TRAVEL VLOGS ON STUDENTS’ WRITING SKILLS IN DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS AT THE TENTH GRADE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

Writing is an essential language skill, yet students often struggle to find vivid inspiration and precise vocabulary when describing specific locations. To overcome this challenge, visual media such as travel videos can be utilized to stimulate their imagination effectively. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the exact effect of travel vlogs on the descriptive writing skills of tenth-grade students.
A quantitative one-group pre-test and post-test design was applied to 38 students from class X-1 at SMA Negeri 4 Palangka Raya. To collect data, the researcher administered a written test evaluated through a rubric measuring content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics. The collected scores were then analyzed using SPSS 31, where a Shapiro-Wilk normality test resulted in a significance value of <0.001. Because this specific value indicated that the data was not normally distributed, the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test was subsequently utilized to accurately analyze the results.
The findings revealed a massive improvement in the academic performance of the students after watching the travel videos. The average score of the class increased significantly from 50.52 in the pre-test to 76.98 in the post-test. Furthermore, the gathered data was analyzed using a Wilcoxon signed rank test, which resulted in a significance value of 0.001. Because this specific value is clearly lower than the 0.05 threshold, the alternative hypothesis was officially accepted and the null hypothesis was rejected. Therefore, it can be safely concluded that the implementation of travel vlogs carries a significant and positive effect on helping students write better descriptive texts. This engaging visual method is highly recommended for English teachers to easily enhance the spatial awareness and descriptive vocabulary of their learners.