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the first semester, the students were regarded to have the same English proficiency as the senior high school students. The students came from different area and had
different English proficiency. In general, the students were motivated to learn English. The students had five classes in the first semester, and this current study
was conducted is one of the classes that was Academic Reading and Writing. It was because the researcher was also the lecturer of the class.
D. Data of the Research
Data of the study was quantitative in nature. It was the score the students got from three kinds of test. The current study employed three kinds of data taken
from three kinds of test, e.g. vocabulary size test, morpheme identification test, and morphological structure test. Thus the data gathered were vocabulary size,
morpheme identification awareness score, and morphological structure awareness score. All the data gathered from three kinds of test were interval data.
E. Data Collection Techniques
The data of the study were obtained from vocabulary size test, morpheme identification awareness test, and morphological structure awareness test. . The
tests were given to the students in one meeting. The students were given the information about what the tests were for and how to do the test. The students
were allowed to do the test in given time. The first test was vocabulary size test. The students who had finished vocabulary size test could continue to do the
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morpheme identification awareness test. The last test was morphological structure awareness test. The allocation for all tests was 90 minutes.
The tests were scored manually. The data gathered were used as the input data for further data analysis. The score for each test was analyzed to know
whether the data was linear and normally distributed. Correlation of Pearson Product Moment was then operated to get the correlation between the variables.
F. Research Instruments
There were three instruments used in this research. They were Vocabulary Size Test, Morpheme Identification Awareness Test, and Morphological Structure
Awareness Test. 1. Vocabulary Size Test
Vocabulary Size Test was a test by Nation. This instrument was used to measure the students’ written receptive vocabulary size. It was chosen as it was
commonly used for testing the vocabulary size with easy administration and scoring. This vocabulary size test aimed at measuring the number of words
known by the students in term of word family. The instrument measured written receptive vocabulary size that was the vocabulary needed for reading. It was
neither measuring listening vocabulary size nor vocabulary needed for writing and speaking. It was also not a test to measure reading skill although vocabulary size
was essential in reading skill. It was based on an assumption that vocabulary size was just one of the factors which influenced reading skill. The result indicated
only little effect on how well the words could be used in speaking and writing.
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This test consisted of 140 questions which reflected the 140,000 word families in English used in written receptive. Each correct answer was multiplied
by 100 to get the estimation of the rough word family the students had. This test had been widely used to measure the vocabulary size and suitable both for L1
speakers or L2 speakers. This test was also suitable for intermediate level learner such as the first-semester students of English Department of Muhammadiyah
University of Yogyakarta.
2. Morphological Awareness Test
The instrument to test the students’ morphological awareness was Morphological Awareness Test by Chang, C. M., Wagner, R. K., Muse, A.
Chow, H. S .
2005. This test consisted of two parts: Morpheme Identification Awareness Test and Morphological Structure Awareness Test.
a. Morpheme Identification Awareness Test
Morpheme Identification Awareness Test was a test to measure the students’ ability to breakdown complex words into elements or morphemes. It was
a test by Chang, C. M., Wagner, R. K., Muse, A. Chow, H. S 2005. It consisted of ten questions. The questions were ten complex words, and the
students were asked to breakdown the words into morphemes. In addition, they were asked to state the meaning of each morpheme. The total score of the test was
20 as each word worth 2 points. The complex words varied from compound words, words with inflections, and words with derivations. The students needed to
answer the questions by stating the meaning of the words and the meaning of each morpheme the word had.
