Principles of Vocabulary Learning

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c. Principles of Vocabulary Learning

In learning a new word, both teachers and students need to know some principles to consider in vocabulary learning. Those principles are: 1 what vocabulary is needed by the learners, 2 how the learners learn vocabulary, and 3 test to see what the learners need to know and what they have already know Nation, 1990: 4-8. Those principles are going to be explained in the next paragraphs. First, in vocabulary learning, teachers or students need to decide what kinds of vocabulary groups are used. Nation 1990 defined three groups of vocabulary, they are high-frequency words, low-frequency words, and specialized vocabulary. Teachers can also choose which of these three groups contains the words which are needed by the students. Furthermore, by deciding what vocabulary is needed by the students, it will influence several aspects. Those are: 1 the way the words focused on for learning, 2 the amount of learning expected, and 3 the type of learning, whether it requires receptive or productive learning. Second, in vocabulary learning, the teachers need to know how their students learn vocabulary. The teachers should consider what kind of learning is needed, whether it is receptive or productive learning. Nation 1990 conveyed that receptive learning deals with the ability to recognize a word and recall its meaning when it is met. Meanwhile, productive learning is concerned with what is acquired for receptive learning combined with the ability to choose and use proper words to speak or write at the appropriate time. Besides, if productive learning is PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 13 more demanded, then the development of the quality of learning a small vocabulary is crucial. However, if receptive language is more challenged, then the quantity of vocabulary is more vital. Third, in vocabulary learning, the teachers should also prepare a test to see what vocabulary the students need to know and what vocabulary they have already been familiar with. Moreover, Nation 1990 stated that there are six reasons for testing. They are 1 to find learners’ total vocabulary size, 2 to compare vocabulary knowledge before and after the course, 3 to keep a continuing check on progress, 4 to encourage learning by setting short-term goals, 5 to see the effectiveness of teaching, and 6 to investigate learning. Nation 1999 also said, “one of the aims of a testing program is to see how the initial learning of particular words is made richer and more secure.” Thus, by having a vocabulary test, it enables the teachers to gain information about the previous learning that the students have already been mastered, then to continue on what vocabulary that the students need to increase more.

d. Vocabulary Learning Materials