Developing a communicative board game as a teaching medium: Describe products through descriptive text in English speaking

Speaking remains one of the most difficult skills for Indonesian students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Many junior high school learners struggle with limited vocabulary, poor pronunciation, and fear of making mistakes, which often results in silence and low participation during speaking activities. In addition, classroom practices that only involve group representatives in oral presentations limit speaking opportunities for the rest of the students. These issues highlight the need for engaging, interactive, and inclusive learning media that can motivate students to speak confidently and equally. This study aimed to develop a communicative board game as a speaking medium to teach descriptive text for 8th-grade students in junior high school. The research employed a Research and Development (R&D) design consisting of seven stages: collecting information and data, analyzing the data, designing the product, expert validation, revising, producing the final product, and conducting field testing. Participants included 29 students and one English teacher at a private Islamic junior high school in Medan. Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires to determine student needs. Findings indicated that students required fun, interactive speaking activities that encouraged them to speak more confidently. The final product consisted of a communicative board game supported by cards, dice, pawns, and a cube. Expert validation and classroom implementation showed that the game improved student participation, encouraged speaking practice, and provided equal opportunities for all students to engage. This study concludes that the board game is an effective and practical medium for teaching descriptive speaking in EFL junior high school contexts.