Snowball Throwing Method

Definition of Snowball Throwing Method

According to Firdaus (2010:3), snowball throwing is methods which make students enjoy and can decrease worry in learning speaking. It encourages creative thinking. Students can increase their speaking ability by using a new language and being motivated students for learning.

In addition, he described that snowball throwing encourages the students’ active speaking participation in the classroom, because this method contains a rich communication where students must be active. Snowball throwing also has capability to increase self-confidence of hesitant students, because in snowball throwing activities, the students will have different role and have to speak, which means they do not have to take the same responsibilities.

Widodo (2009) recommends that snowball throwing method could train students to think more to received messages from others, and gave that message to friends in one group. These questions used by paper than press it be a paper ball and throw the ball to other students. Students who get the paper ball than open it and answer the questions.

So, it is appropriate to use snowball throwing in increasing the students’ self- confidence in speaking.

Procedures in Using Snowball Throwing Method

Asmani (2011: 47) gives the procedures in using snowball throwing. They are:

1.      The teacher gives the materials based on the basic competence.

2.      The teacher makes some groups and gives the explanation about the materials to the moderator.

3.      The each moderator back to their groups, then they explain again what teacher explained before to their friends based on their each group.

4.      Then, each student has given a work paper to write one question involve the material that moderator of each group had explain it.

5.      A question paper then made it like a ball and throws it from a student to another for ± 15 minutes.

6.      After that, each student will get a snowball paper then the student is given an opportunity to answer the question from the question paper as by turns.

7.      Teacher makes evaluation about the materials.

8.      Teacher closes the teaching and learning process.

Techniques and Application in Using Snowball Throwing Method

Farrel and Jacobs (2010) described that snowball throwing is a useful cooperative learning method because each member works alone first and then presents to the group, thus students are discouraged from either doing nothing or, the opposite, attempting to dominate the group.

Whereas, Kearney (1993) in Farrell and Jacobs (2010) gave that snowball is actually two techniques in one: forward snowball and reverse snowball. Forward snowball involves students in working together to generate ideas, and in reverse snowball, students choose from among the ideas their group has generated. Forward snowball is used for brainstorming and highlights the benefit of heterogeneity because it is good for gathering as many ideas or as much information as possible.

Forward Snowball is also useful for teambuilding (creating bonds among group members) because it provides dramatic proof that two (or more) heads really are better than one. Within second language teaching such as English as Second Language (ESL) class. And reverse snowball could work as follows each group member list four examples of good writing in particular text. By step 3 of reverse snowball, they try to agree on the best examples of good writing in the text and prepare to explain their choice.

Based on above statements, the researcher can conclude that snowball throwing can increase students’ speaking skill because it make students enjoy with throw the snowball question. This method is also giving high motivation to the students to speak through give and answer questions by them each other.

The process of learning that could increase the activities in asking questions systematically related the problems based on level curriculum education unit is asking question. By asking, students had discovered materials teacher have not yet explains. By the systematically questions, students tries to arrange sentences be right based on English rules. Based on the Jurnal Pendidikan Penabur-No.13/Tahun ke-8/ Desember 2008, many students still can not give a connect question when the subject was underway. They also cannot complete to arrange a good question. 

Snowball throwing method is one of the asking techniques modification that emphasize to arrange questions skill and it made in an interesting game, that is throwing the snowball. And the inside of snowball is question that students have to throw the snowball to other students and the other students have to answer it. This method needs students’ skill that’s very easy and all of students can make it where they give question based on material.

Widodo (2008) explained that snowball throwing method is a method used to increase a subject topic. This method is always used by several groups and it consists of five to eight students that have ability to make question in a paper made such a ball. Then, the ball is throwing to other groups to receive by answer that question.

Based on above explanation, snowball throwing encourages the students’ active speaking participation in the classroom, because this method contains a rich communication where students must be active. Snowball throwing also has capability to increase self-confidence of hesitant students, because in snowball throwing activities, the students will have different role and have to speak, which means they do not have to take the same responsibilities. Snowball throwing as a model of teaching are hoped can increase students’ speaking skill, because of this model is also give high motivation to the students to speak through give and answer questions by them each other.

The Strength and Weakness of Snowball Throwing Method

Widodo (2008) gave the strength and the weakness of snowball throwing method. Snowball throwing method could give an opportunity to students in a group to make a systematically question. Beside that, it can increase students brave to give question to others student or teacher. It also teaches students to answer a question from other students goodly. Snowball throwing method can stimulating students to give question based on topic of the subject when subject was underway. Then, it can least students afraid when they ask something to their friend and teaches students to practice their mental. Last, by using this method students can give information each other. The weaknesses of this method are the knowledge is not spread everywhere and it is not effective.

All of the methods and models of teaching has capability to increase and improve subject material. But beside of it, it also had the weakness. So that, as a teacher we also has to create all of item needed in the class in order to develop teaching and learning activities.