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2. The Importance of Teaching Vocabulary
Vocabulary is very important. Without mastering or understanding a certain number of vocabularies, it will be hard to master the language. For
example: vocabulary from which a sentence is formed often makes students confuse and misinterpret the proposed meaning or message. This can happen
when most of words that are really strange for the students to grasp their meaning. Although only a few words arise in the sentence, however if they are the key
words the students will find it difficult to understand them. As a result, they will fail in comprehending the idea. In this case, students are demanded to learn
vocabulary seriously and productively. This learning can involve the growth of either receptive or expressive vocabulary in general language development.
Furthermore, Coady and Huckin 1997:5 who state” vocabulary is central to language and of critical importance to the typical language learner.” Moreover,
Coady and Huckin add, “No text comprehension is possible either in one’s native language or in a foreign language without understanding the text vocabulary”
1997:20. It means that vocabulary is an important role in teaching language. With more vocabulary, it will give easiness for the learner in understanding and
using language.
3. Word Classification
Considering the previous description of vocabulary, we find out that vocabulary deals with a list or set of words in a language. However, words can be
classified based on their functional categories. There are content words and function words. Content words have semantic qualities that can be describe. The
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classifications include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. In addition, there are pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, articles, and demonstratives which are
typically called function words. The meanings of these words show how we are to determine relations between words in utterances.
The classification will be discussed as follows:
a. Content Words 1 Nouns
In a grammar class, students may have learned that a noun refers to a person, place, or thing. However, nouns based on functional approach can have
some semantics roles such as agents, patients, dative, benefactive, instrumental, recipient, and locative. Nouns as agents mean that they can carry out action. For
instance, “Titik biked to Bahama.” Nouns as patients mean that they can receive actions carried out by others. For example, “Titik crashed her bike.” Nouns can be
dative when nouns affected by state of action. For example, “Titik felt so frustrated.” Noun can be benefactive, for whom something is done. For example,
“I changed the bike tire for Titik.” Nouns can be instrumental in helping to complete an action. For example, “I mended the tire with a patch.” Nouns can be
recipients. For example, “I give the bike to Titik.” Nouns can be locatives. For example, “Bahama is a great place to have a condominium.”
2 Verbs
Verbs are words that denote action. Verbs are also words that denote states and process.
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a Verbs Classifications 1 Activities, Accomplishments, Achievements and States Verbs
Vendler 1967 in Hatch Brown 1995 placed verb into four classes: activities, accomplishments, achievements and states. For example:
activities accomplishments
achievements states
run paint a picture
recognize know
walk draw a triangle
find love
write run a mile
lose have
seek build
hear betall
It will be easy for the children to learn activities and accomplishment verbs because they can implement it in their real activities.
2 Lexical, Modal and Primary Verbs
- Lexical or full verb are those with a meaning that can be clearly and independently identified e.g. in a dictionary such as run, jump, walk, want, etc.
They act as main verbs. - Modal verbs have function as auxiliary verbs. The verbs are: can, could, may,
might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought to, and used to. - Primary verb can function either as main verbs or as auxiliary verbs. The verbs
are: be, have and do. For example: Main verb use: I am sad. She has a cat. They do sums.
Auxiliary verb use: We are going. She has seen it. Do they go?
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3 Finite and Nonfinite Form of Verbs
- The finite forms of a verb are the forms which show tense, person, or number. For example: I go, she goes, and they went.
- The nonfinite verb forms have no person or number, but some types can show tense. For example: to go, going, gone.
4 Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
- Transitive verbs are verbs which require an object. For example: Jane makes a cake. The function of the word Jane in this sentence is subject, the word makes is
transitive verb and the word a cake is object. - Intransitive verbs are verbs which can be used without an object. For example: I
am waiting.
b Verbs for Children
Brown 1957 in Hatch Brown 1995 states that 57 of the verbs used by children are action verbs. In addition, action words are acquired early. The
words allow children to talk about actions in here and now. Transitive actions such as hug and bite and intransitive actions such as sleep, sit serve this purpose.
An –ing form of the verbs e.g. playing, reading is needed to talk the now or ongoing actions, so, the –ing of the present progressive is acquired early.
3 Adjectives
Hatch Brown 1995 state that adjectives are words used to highlight qualities or attributes. An adjective has several criteria:
- An adjective can occur immediately before a noun as in a big car. This is called the adjective’s attributive function.
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- An adjective can occur alone after forms of the verb be: The car was big. This is the adjective’s predicative function.
- An adjective can be immediately preceded by very and other intensifying words as very big, terribly nice.
- An adjective can be compared as in biggerbiggest, moremost beautiful. - Many adjectives permit the addition of –ly to form an adverb. For example:
quiet quietly.
4 Adverbs
Adverbs are similar to adjective in many ways. The difference is that adjectives assign attributes to noun while adverbs assign attributes to verbs,
clauses or entire sentences. Most adverbs are easy to recognize because they are formed by adding an
–ly suffix to an adjective, as in sadly and happily. There are some types of adverb: - Adverbs which have no distinctive element, such as just and soon, or compound
adverbs, somehow and whereby - A few other endings which mark a word as an adverb, used especially in
informal speech: new-style, earthwards, clockwise, and sideways.
b. Function Words 1 Pronouns
Hatch Brown 1995 states that pronouns refer to nouns that have already been mentioned in the discourse or point ahead to noun that we are about
to mention.
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There are many kinds of pronouns: - Personal pronouns are the main means of identifying speakers, addresses, and
others: I, you, he, she, it, we, and they. - Reflexive pronouns, always ending in-self or selves. For example: I cooked for
myself. - Possessive pronouns express ownership, and appear in two forms. My, your, etc.
are used as determiners in the noun phrase, as in my house, his motorcycle. Mine, yours, etc. are used to express their own as in, This is mine. Hers is over there.
There are several other subclasses, they are: - Reciprocal pronouns are used to express a two way relation ship. For example:
each other, one another. - Interrogative pronouns are used to ask questions about personal and non
personal nouns. For example: who?, whom?, whose?, which?, what?. - Relative pronouns who, whom, whose, which, that are used to link a
subordinate clause to head of the noun phrase, as in That’s the video which caused the problem.
- Demonstrative pronouns thisthese, thatthose express a contrast between near and distant, as in Take this one here, not that over there.
- Indefinite pronouns express a notion of quantity. Two types of indefinite pronouns: compound pronouns and of-pronouns. Compound pronouns consist of
two elements: every-, some-, any-, or no-, -one, -body, or thing as in someone and anything. Of-pronouns consist of several form which may appear alone or be
followed by of I’ve bought all the candies all of the candies. Their meanings
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range from the universal sense of all and both to the negative sense of none and few. Other items in this class include each, much, many, more, moat, less, fewer,
some and neither.
2 Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that join words, phrases or sentences. There are two kinds of conjunctions:
- Coordinating conjunctions consist of and, or and but. And there are few pairs such as neither…nor. These conjunctions signal such meanings as addition and
sequence and, the expression of alternatives or, and contrast but. - Subordinating conjunctions will exist when one clause is subordinated to
another, as in “I love you because you are handsome.” Here, the main clause I love you is joined to subordinate clause you are handsome by the conjunction
because.
3 Prepositions
Hatch Brown 1955 states that prepositions are all those words that help locate items and actions in time and space. There are two prepositions:
1 Single words prepositions include: about, at, on, in, before, by, down, for, etc.
2 Multi-word prepositions include: ahead of, because of, due to, instead of, as far as, by means of, etc.
Preposition can have two kinds of meaning: - Showing destination such as: to, onto, into, out of, off, etc.
- Telling about position such as: at, on, in, behind, under, beside, etc.
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4 Articles and Demonstratives
There are three articles in English: a, an, the. This, these, that and those are the kind of demonstratives.
4. Active Vocabulary vs. Passive Vocabulary
Based on Lewis and Hill, the differences between active vocabulary and passive vocabulary are:
1. Active Vocabulary
It means for students to add the word to their active vocabularies they need to know the contexts in which it can occur, the possible and impossible
collocations of the word or a learners active vocabulary is words that learners understand and use in speaking or writing. In other word active vocabulary is
made up of words that come to students’ mind immediately when they have to use words in a sentence, as they speak.
2. Passive Vocabulary
It means recognizing the its meaning when it occurs in context a relatively simple process. A learners passive vocabulary is the words that they
understand but dont use yet. Learners often have an extremely large passive vocabulary but a considerably smaller active one. Passive vocabulary usually is
used in reading and listening.
5. The Various Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary
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