Interpretation of the Empirical Meaning of Vocabulary Learning
someone or they communicated through E-mail or a formal letter. However, the participants did not learn this much. Other than the fact that IPALL was not
develop to facilitate speaking, the participants also mentioned that the teachers sometimes used Bahasa Indonesia in the classroom that they did not give students
many chances to practice speaking in English. Both IPALL Matching and Multiple Choice constituted a type of
vocabulary learning known as intentional vocabulary learning. Even though Ahmad 2012 argued that “… intentional vocabulary learning based on
synonyms, antonyms, word substitution, multiple choice, scrambled words and crossword puzzles, regardless of context, is not so effective, because learners are
more prone to rote learning,” it was fine to do intentional vocabulary learning like what IPALL facilitated. It was because it was in line with what Cahyono
Widiati 2008 that it was “...essential for beginning students whose lack vocabulary limit their reading ability.” Lacking vocabulary was what the
participants claimed. They mentioned that there were many words that they did not know. This made any exercises difficult and it would disable them to develop
their skills.
2 Interpretation of the Emergent Empirical Themes
a Better Learning Atmosphere
Both participants had never had the experience of vocabulary learning using the IPALL or other similar software. Textbooks were frequently used in
their previous English class in their previous schools. Lecturing was a common practice of English teaching. Getting bored and sleepy were always the things
they felt during English lesson. As the new users of the IPALL, they did not feel
any anxiety or fear of being unable to either operate the software or unable to answers the questions. Instead, they thought it was cool and fun. They could learn
in a condition where they were not depressed, in a condition where they were able to concentrate more because they could totally focus on vocabulary in each slide.
They also liked it because the application was designed by inserting various background and animation. Even though at first they had technical problem, they
did not get desperate. They talked to their friends and teachers how to solve it. It showed that Prensky’s 2001 argument about technology era where today’s
young people live as quoted in Gregory 2009 also represented what the happened on the days where the participants used the software. They were not
afraid to try a new learning medium. Moreover, the participant had laptops of their own. Therefore, operating
computer applications including Microsoft PowerPoint was easy. Even though the IPALL was operated differently from the usual Microsoft PowerPoint application,
the participants quickly learnt. They did not see it as a thing which made them nervous. According to Marriott Torress 2009 if people had technophobia, they
would avoid learning using a learning medium. Yet, it was not what the participants felt. They were more computer literate compared to people who lived
in the past, in a different era. Ellis 2008: p.693 mentioned, “...it is important to bear in mind that learners differ in what they find anxiety-provoking.”
Rani and Revalda did not think that IPALL was a thing which was anxiety-provoking. Besides, they live in the era where any kinds of technology
were much more accessible compared to that some years ago. They are accustomed to the use of technology usage. When it came to doing exercises in
the classroom, they also knew that their friends had almost the same competence in operating the application as that of them. Therefore, they just worked on the
exercises without being afraid about what other students think of their results. Each student, including the participants also faced the same thing; the fact that it
was their first time in life to learn vocabulary using the IPALL and so were their friends. It was obvious because it was also what students stated in their personal
notes which they gave to me. Thus, they just kept going without the fear of being unable to operate the IPALL.
a Chances to Repeat
Having chances to repeat doing the exercises was not a thing they usually had in the classroom. Often, they had to be willing to accept the fact that when
their scores for daily tasks or mid-term tests were low, they did not have the chance to improve those scores. In the classroom, they were given three chances
to do the exercises. It made them able to learn in their own pace. The results showed that some students who were very careful and clever only took one trial
and they were successful in achieving great scores. Meanwhile, the others spent more time because the scores were unsatisfactory. They took longer time
compared to the other students. Even though it was so, those who worked slower did not feel nervous knowing that their other friends had finished before they did.
They knew how much time, so there was unnecessary to be hurry. Actually, the IPALL Multiple Choice had a feature to enable teachers to give clues for each
question. Yet, they did not use it as they did not want the students to depend too much on the clues. It was because when they had an examination, they were
supposed to be able to understand questions without any clues. The students should learn to read questions carefully and try to find the clue themselves before
answering the questions. The IPALL was convenient in a way which was similar to blog like one of
the participants in a study conducted by Lin, Lin, Groom 2013 mentioned, “Blogs are convenient because I can access material or review your referring to
the teacher notes any time I like.” The exercises made using IPALL could be copied to the computer in the language laboratory at school so that students could
access, do it, and repeat doing it whenever they had time to do it for example such as at break time. The exercises could also be uploaded in ELTgallery, the name of
the website which was also developed by B.B.Dwijatmoko so that students could access it from anywhere else for instance, from home or from other places having
internet connection. Both Rani and Revalda were delighted to have chances to repeat. Rani told
me that the disappointment was deeply felt especially when she had taken a remedial test and obtained a much better score, but it was not what was written in
her final report. The scores in the final report were adjusted to the minimum standard of KKM Kriteria Kelulusan Minimum. Meanwhile, Revalda mentioned
that she felt a slight of regret whenever she obtained low scores. Since she felt unsatisfied, she took her second chance to do the IPALL matching and multiple
choice again. It was beneficial for students because they could notice which part was confusing and they could think about some ways to understand it. These
chances were important to the Rani and Revalda because there was plenty of time. They did not need to be in a hurry. They took their time without being afraid to be
left behind. They were able to take their time to think about what made a certain answer correct and what made the other answers incorrect in a certain context.
Rani and Revalda had made use of the given chances well because they realize that it was the opportunities that they rarely had in the classroom.
3 Interpretation of Other Empirical Theme Unshared Theme
The theme which was interpreted in this part was the theme which was not shared by the participants. Even though the theme was not found in both
participants’ lived experience, it was still important to enable me and also the readers to understand how different things could shape meaning differently on
vocabulary learning using the IPALL. This other theme was found in Revalda’s story about using IPALL at home. Rani did not share this story because she could
not access IPALL from ELTgallery at home as her laptop had different system which made her unable to open the file. Thus, she did it using her friend’s laptop
while she was at school or after school.
Focus and Concentration
There was a difference in vocabulary learning using IPALL. It was about the quiet situation which Revalda did not have when learning at school. She was
trying to really concentrate on the exercise that she did. However, she was unable to fully concentrate due to some noise. Her friends were busy talking about which
answers to be chosen. At home, she felt more comfortable. There was a good quotation about home by a famous English novelist, Jane Austen. She said,
“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” The word home meant differently to each person. For Revalda, it was a place where she was able to take
a rest after doing daily activities. Taking a rest at home meant a lot because her mind was more peaceful, her body was more relaxed. It was a calm place where
she could also calm her mind. Home was the comfort itself. Home was like a private place for her especially because she was often alone at home. She was
alone, but not lonely. It was a place where she could take her time for everything, including doing exercises in IPALL.
There was not much noise and she could do the exercises better at home. For her doing less exercises was fine as long as she could concentrate on the
vocabulary compared to doing many exercises but having limited time. It was because at the end she was only able to gain knowledge about only a few words.
Davies Pearce 2000 stated that “Unfortunately, vocabulary is neglected in some English language courses. This is a pity because working with words can be
enjoyable and satisfying for learners.” Having a chance to learn using IPALL made Revalda happy because she had never used such kind of application. It also
filled what was missing at school like what happened in some language courses; the need to enrich students’ vocabulary. As she was able to have this chance she
really wanted to learn vocabulary seriously with full concentration. It was true that she liked discussing things with her friends. Yet, when the classroom
situation started to get noisier that it was not conducive anymore, it was much more comfortable to learn using IPALL at home.