syntax, and morphology, their vocabularies increase throughout their life.
4
In acquiring vocabulary native speaker and non native speaker may have different
ways to get it. As Lightbown and Spada state children whose their first language is English has little effort in learning vocabulary, and it is quite different with
those are non native speakers.
5
Native speaker of English may be easy in getting it because they are accustomed with the language. In contrast, some of non native
speakers of English may not get many vocabularies as easily as native speaker because their language is different with English, they must adapt with the spelling,
the letters and the meaning.
2. Kinds of Vocabulary
Nation divides kinds of vocabulary into three or four levels based on how its frequency and how its range; they are:
a. High frequency words. These words often occur in all kinds of uses of
language whether in formal and in informal uses, in speech and writing, in novels, conversations, newspaper, and academic texts. The number of
high frequency words are about 2000 words of English, it can be found in a text is about 80 or more of running words in formal written text and
about 90 in friendly conversation. b.
Academic words. These words are usually put or found in all kinds of academic subject area such as in academic writing that including
Economic or Geography textbook, Arts, Science, Commerce, and Law. Academic words do not often occur in daily uses. Less than 2 of the
running words in conversation are from academic word list. These words of academic words are important for people who will use English for
academic study. c.
Technical words. These words often occur in more special purposes and very common in one particular area such as the vocabulary of Physics or
4
Thom Hudson, Teaching Second Language Reading, New York: Oxford Universiy Press, 2007, p. 227.
5
Pasty M. Lightbown and Nina Spada, How Languages are Learned. Third Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 97.
the vocabulary of Applied Linguistics. In other words, most technical words occur only in one specialized area. Technical words are very
important for anyone who specializes in a particular area such as a doctor, linguist, educationalist and etc. The number of technical words
would seem at least 20 of the running words of technical words. d.
Low frequency words. These words do not often occur in daily use and can be found in friendly conversation about 5, in newspaper about
10, and in academic text about 10. In addition, these words have a narrow scope; so that the uses of these words are rarely found.
6
Different with Nation, Haycraft in Vocabulary Semantics and Language Education classifies the vocabulary in two kinds, namely receptive vocabulary and
productive vocabulary: 1.
Receptive vocabulary is words which come in a context that students recognize and understand in reading and listening, but they cannot
produce those words perfectly. 2.
Productive vocabulary is words which students understand of those words then they can pronounce and use correctly in speaking and
writing.
7
Read mentions two kinds of vocabulary, those are: a.
Function words. These words can be seen in grammatical aspects, such as articles, prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, auxiliaries, etc.
b. Content words. These words modify the meaning and provide links to the
sentences. The kinds of these words are noun, verb, adjective, and adverb.
8
Those are kinds of vocabulary according to some language experts. Although they have classified vocabulary in different kinds, the important things
6
I. S. P. Nation, Teaching Vocabulary: Strategies and Techniques, Boston: Heinle Cengage Learning, 2008, pp. 7
—14.
7
Evelyn Hatch and Cheryl Brown, Vocabulary, Semantics and Language Education, New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995, p 370.
8
John Read, Assessing Vocabulary, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 18.
