Effectiveness of Powtoon Learning Media in Increasing Students' English Grammar Knowledge

The purpose of this study was to ascertain how Pow Toon learning materials work to improve students' English grammar knowledge. This study was carried out in Medan, Indonesia. Twenty eighth-grade kids served as the study's participants. Using Pow Toon learning resources, students' results on the English Grammar (basic present tense) test increased with each test. The pre-test had an average score of 57.66, the first cycle's test had an average of 74.33, and the second cycle's exam had an average of 90.66. The percentage of students passing their English Grammar tests (simple present tense) shows an increase; in the pre-test, 5% of students met the Maximum Completeness Criteria (KKM). 45% of students passed the first cycle test, whereas 100% of students passed the second cycle test. This indicates that using Pow Toon educational materials can help students learn more about English Grammar (simple present tense). Pow Toon learning materials engage students in the learning process, make the subject matter simple to write about and comprehend, and inspire them to use English Grammar (simple present tense) in discussions to explain daily activities.


Introduction
In general, grammar expresses a language's phonological, semantic, syntactic, and structural features (Karaman, 2020). Grammar is the formal portion of the English language. In order to create understandable sentences, students need to have a solid understanding of grammar. As a result, its importance in English must be taken into account (Yaccob & Yunus, 2019). According to Mandasari and Wahyudin (2021;Purba et al., 2020), a language's grammar describes how words and other linguistic structures are combined to make sentences in that language. The foundation of grammar is tense-based syntax, which is a crucial aspect of language. Thus, both consciously and unconsciously, learners must absorb them (Akr, 2011;. Students need to be aware of the grammar concepts they need to study in order to master the language, in this example, English, claims Listia (2020). Some people believe that English is a difficult language to learn because it has so many intricate grammar rules. They also believe that mastering grammar is a difficult process because it requires the user to know when and why to use one style of speaking or writing over another. Such judgment calls are said to require grammar finesse. According to Aziz et al. (2020), English tenses have a significant role in sentence structure and are strongly tied to grammatical rules. According to Natsir et al. (2002) and Napitupulu & Helentina (2021), English has sixteen tenses.
Tenses play a crucial role in grammar training. According to Jubhari (2018) and Sutiah et al. 2021, they are intended to demonstrate how the passage of time changes the verb forms employed in English phrases. Tenses, which describe when an event occurs in a sentence, are one of the key components of English; they also illustrate key ideas in learning the language (Siagian, 2019;PS et al., 2022). Tenses are pattern laws that grammar must obey when building sentences depending on time (Yuswendy, 2021;Ampera et al., 2020;Purba et al., 2020).
A verb's grammatical tense expresses the time or even the actual occurrence of an action. Tenses can provide more details about past, present, or future events or actions (Wulandari, 2019). The issue of tense frequently emerges in students' learning of English in all circumstances, along with grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and other issues (Sari & Putri, 2018;Amal et al., 2022). A teacher or educator involved in the process must employ a variety of strategies, methodologies, and media in order to teach English effectively. In order to engage pupils in engaging activities, the teacher must finish some assignments before entering the classroom. Remember to use learning resources, create lesson plans, give feedback, and create assessments (Butarbutar & Simatupang, 2020;. The authors gathered data demonstrating student learning results in English topics, particularly English Grammar (Tenses), based on their observations. The average student score that can be seen in the U.A.S. results is 60, which demonstrates that it is still below the 75-point K.K.M. threshold that has been established. There are 20 pupils total, and up to 19 of them meet the requirements. Low student learning outcomes can result from a number of factors, such as the teaching and learning process not involving students actively, which lowers student learning motivation; learning typically being boring, uninteresting, and difficult for students to understand; in addition, the teacher not offering innovations in learning and ignoring the needs of students in study.
Information and communication technologies based on media are becoming more commonplace. ICT-based learning materials include instructional components that give students who work with information and communication technology useful knowledge (Amalia, 2018). The use of technology in activities is becoming more common, but this does not preclude its use in education. If a teacher uses technology to enhance learning, it is thought that student motivation will rise (Megawati, 2020). There are various advantages to using technology in the classroom: 1. Because it is customizable, all students have equal access to learning and can utilize it at any time or place.

Effectiveness of Powtoon Learning Media in Increasing Students' English Grammar Knowledge
2. By allowing them to communicate via chat, phone, video, and conference calls to exchange different points of view, it can help students improve their collaboration skills. 3. Technology helps create an engaging learning environment, which motivates students more.

Literature Review
According to Yuliantini, 2021, Purba et al., 2019, and Ingtyas et al. (2021, Pow Toon is a different technology-based medium that may be used for learning. A professional-looking animated video can be produced using the animation program Pow Toon. Because Pow Toon can only be viewed through a web browser and does not involve downloading any software, it is very simple to use. Additionally, this tool is rather simple for new users to use, allowing them to create entertaining movies by editing a variety of templates in accordance with their imagination (Ardaningsih & Adnyayanti, 2022;Ingtias et al., 2022). The advantages of utilizing Pow Toon for English learning have been demonstrated in numerous research. According to Oktaviani's (2020) research, students readily accept technology and the internet because they are a normal part of student life. Pow Toon is a fun and flexible element that can be added to any educational resource at any level to improve students' comprehension of English. Additionally, Syafitri (2018) conducted a similar study on Pow Toon as a learning tool and came to the same conclusions, concluding that the Pow Toon activities had an impact on student accomplishment and learning motivation.

Research Method
For this study, classroom action research was used. Teachers employ classroom action research as a tool to help students throughout learning activities. Four stages must be followed in order to undertake classroom action research (Tampubolon, 2014). planning, doing, watching, and reflecting. There were two rounds to this study. The preparation, activity, observation, and reflection steps make up each cycle.
Four instruments were employed in the research by the author: observation logs, tests, and interview logs. The pre-test and post-test materials on basic sentences served as the source of the research results. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used in the collection of the data for this investigation. The use of qualitative data to describe the situation during the teaching and learning process justifies the usage of this technique. Contrarily, qualitative data is investigated and assessed to characterize grammatical changes while reviewing plain phrase content; quantitative data is studied to determine student performance using interview sheets and work papers. Tests, interview sheets, and observation sheets were all components of the study equipment. The class VIII SMP Muhammadiyah 05 Medan was the subject of this study. Based on the purposive sample strategy, the authors selected 20 students for the study. The purpose of this study was to enhance students' comprehension of grammar using Pow Toon learning materials.

Results and Discussion
Data from both quantitative and qualitative sources were used in this study. The average grade of student worksheets on the present tense key content served as the source of qualitative data. Two literals are used to resolve it. The preparation, activity, observation, and reflection stages make up each cycle. While the second cycle only needs two meetings, the first cycle takes four meetings. There was a post-test conducted after each cycle.
The author provides a homework for the present simple tense to the students. The author continues by enhancing pupils' comprehension of the present simple tense through the usage of Pow Toon media. Each meeting follows the implementation of the media with an assessment of the students' skills and knowledge of English grammar (basic present tense). An orientation test is the first exam, which is administered at the first meeting. At the conclusion of cycle one, the second test takes place, and at the conclusion of cycle two, the final test. A post-test was thus administered at the conclusion of each cycle.
The first test, referred to as the pre-test, is administered before the treatment. Given that there were 20 students and their combined pre-test score was 1153.28, the average score was X = 1153.28/20 = 57.66. According to the graph, 19% of pupils received a score of 75 or higher 1.

Chart 1. Student scores in the pre-test
Only 5% are capable, while 95% are unable, according to Chart 1. The data above indicates that the pupils needed to comprehend grammar better. The author offers teachers Pow Toon teaching resources to help pupils master grammar. As of now, the author is using the technique while also observing. After using the Pow Toon instructional materials in cycle I, the author administered a test. The average is x = 1486.60/20 = 74.33 based on the test results from cycle I, where there were 20 students and a total student score of 1486.60. According to Chart 2, students that have a score of less than 75 are 55% or 11. According to Chart 2, 11 students, or 55% of the class, were able to finish the job, as opposed to 9 pupils, or 45%. The author concludes that the cycle still requires development based on the aforementioned data. The writers therefore go over each cycle II activity. The author then makes use of the Pow Toon educational resources. The instructor then administers a test. Based on the test results from cycle II, there were 20 students and a total student score of 1813.26; therefore, the average value was x = 1813.26/20 = 90.66. As shown in Figure 3, students who score more than 75 are 100% or 20 students, whereas those who score less than 75 are 0% or 0 students. Chart 3. Increase in student scores in the pre-test, cycle I, and cycle II According to Chart 3, employing Pow Toon educational materials helps teachers teach grammar and enhances students' comprehension of the subject. Chart 4 displays the improvement in students' pre-test, post-test, cycle I, and cycle II scores.
Chart 4. Percentage of students who scored up to 75 points

Conclusion
After examining the data, the authors came to the conclusion that Pow Toon's learning materials were responsible for the growth in students' mastery of English grammar. This is evident from the low average of the students' pre-test results from the first meeting, where just one student had a score of 75. Nine students scored 75 on the post-test for the first cycle, while 20 students scored 75 on the post-test for the second cycle. The use of Pow Toon learning resources helped the student improve his or her command of grammar. This circumstance suggests that using Pow Toon learning materials can help students grasp achievement in grammar. It also demonstrates how students' knowledge has increased from the pre-test to cycles I and II. Between the pre-test and cycle II, the average value was 57.66, 74.33, and 90.66. The pre-test to cycle II student scores ranged from 1-9-20. The percentage of students who scored 75 or higher on the pre-test to cycle II varied from 5% to 45% to 100%, and the challenges students encountered when studying English Grammar using Pow Toon learning media were twofold: first, they had no idea what Pow Toon was, how to use it, or what English Grammar was used for. At the beginning of the meeting, they are still in the dark, but as time goes on, the students can comprehend Pow Toon and English Grammar, write it down, and use it in daily situations.