Definition of Vocabulary Vocabulary

quantity or number each; both, all, some, any, few, many, several, much, one, ones, two, etc. Other substitutes include; do yes, I do, think, say, tell, seem, appear, hope, believe, fear, guess, and the word so. c. the third kind of vocabulary item consist of those that are distributed in use according to such grammatical matters as the presence or absence of a negative; some I have some, any I don’t have any, too, either, already, yet,, etc. d. the fourth group is of “content” words in English, these content words fall into three classes; class I, the words for things; such as; hat, stone, water, paper, knife, food, blood, etc. The fourth group is of content words becomes the larges and the meanings can be looked up in the dictionary. From the descriptions above, it can be summarized that in a sentence there are content words that their meanings can be found in a dictionary and empty words are included as grammatical category. 3. What Do Students Need to Know? Language students need to learn the lexis of the language. They need to learn what words mean and how they are used. Whilst this obviously involves giving them the names for things it also involves showing them how word are stretched and twisted. Clearly some words are more likely to be taught at lower levels than others, and some uses of words may be more sophisticated than others- and, therefore, more appropriate for advanced students. We know that our students are aware of the vocabulary they need for their level and that they can use the word which they want to use- andor the words we have selected for them to use. Vocabulary, what it means and how it should be taught. 14 a. Meaning 15 14 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching New Edition, London: Longman,1991, p. 23 – 24 15 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching New Edition, London: Longman,1991, p. 156 The students are hoped to understand about meaning, because from this meaning the students can understand the text. And meaning here has many definitions, it depends on the context. In linguistics, meaning is what is expressed by the writer or speaker, and what is conveyed to the reader or listener. Meaning is inferred from objects or concepts expressed by words, phrases or sentences in semantics. Meaning is inferred from the current context as intended by the writer or speaker in pragmatics. Ambiguity in meaning may cause confusion in what is conveyed, and lead to different interpretations of the current context. The first thing to realize about vocabulary items is that they frequently have more than one meaning. The word „meaning‟ for example, obviously refers to something we use to read from-a written work in the form a set of printed pages fastened together inside a cover, as a thing to be read, according to one learner‟s dictionary. But the same dictionary then goes on to list eight more meanings of book as a verb and three meanings where „book‟ + preposition make phrasal verbs. So it can be said that the word „book‟ sometimes means the kind of thing you read from, but it can also mean a number of other things. When a word comes across, then, and tried to decipher its meaning it is needed to look at the context in which it is used. If a women in the theatre arguing at the ticket office and saying „but I booked my tickets three weeks ago‟ it will obviously understood a meaning of the verb „book‟ which is different from a policeman accompanied by an unhappy-looking man at a police station saying to his colleague. „We booked him for speeding.‟ In order words, it is needed to understand the importance of meaning in context. From the description above, it shows that: Many English words have more than one meaning. Sometimes words have meanings in relation to other words by looking at the context in which it is used such as antonyms and synonyms, general and specific meaning, etc. So, to know a meaning needs to know meaning in context and sense relations. b. Word Use 16 16 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching New Edition, London: Longman,1991, p. 156-157 Word use here is how a word, phrase, or concept is used in a language. Word use involves grammar and thus be the subject of profound analysis. By knowing word use, the students can put vocabulary into a good sentence. What a word means can be changed, stretched or limited by how it is used and this is something students need to know about. Word meaning is frequently stretched through the use of metaphor and idiom . It is known the word „hiss‟, for example, describes the noise that snakes make. But stretching its meaning describes the way people talk to each other „”don‟t move or you are dead, “she hissed.‟ That is metaphorical use. At the same time it can be talked about treacherous people as snake s „He is a real snake in the grass‟. „snake in the grass‟ is a fixed phrase that has become an idiom like countless other phrases such as „raining cats and dogs‟, „putting the cat among the pigeons‟, „straight from the horse‟s mouth‟, etc. Word meaning is also governed by collocation that is which words go with each other. In order to know how to use the word „sprained‟ need to know that whereas it can be said „sprained ankle, „sprained wrist‟ and cannot be said „sprained tight‟ or sprained rib. It can be said a headache, stomachache or earache, but cannot be said a throat ache‟ or a leg ache. From the descriptions above, it shows that: Word use frequently is metaphor and idiom from word meaning. There is a collocation that is which words go with each other in word meaning. There are style and register words such as formal and informal words. So, it is better for us to recognize metaphorical language use, know how words collocate, and understand stylistic and topical contexts words and expressions. c. Word formation 17 Word formation here is the creation of a new word. Word formation sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single words meaning. The students need to know about the change of the words. 17 Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching New Edition, London: Longman,1991, p.157