18 water
, which can be a noun and a verb, restriction in geography, restriction in social class, and restriction in style of speaking and writing as in prose.
The focus of this study is on the vocabulary meaning, especially the meaning in context. What is meant by vocabulary in context here is vocabulary
which is appropriately and accurately used in certain situations. For example, the use of the word bar in the following context of situations the meanings are
taken from 7
th
Edition of Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary 2005. •
Bar for drinks food means “a place where we can buy and drink
alcoholic and other drinks” •
Bar for chocolate and soap means “a piece of something with straight
sides” •
Bar for electricity means “a piece of metal with wire wrapped around it
that becomes red and hot when electricity is passed through it” Knowing the meaning in context is necessary for the language learners so that
they will be able to decide what words they should use in certain situations and able to communicate the words they intend to.
b. Learning Vocabulary
Learning vocabulary is a complex process. According to Wallace 1982: 144, it needs not only the ability to spell and pronounce, but also to recognize,
recall, and use the words in oral and written form. In order to gain those abilities, there are some factors which need to be considered. Anthony, as cited
19 by Nation, gives three factors to be considered in learning foreign vocabulary,
they are: approach, method, and technique R.E.L.C Journal, 1982: 15-29. 1
Approach There are two approaches in learning foreign vocabulary, namely direct
vocabulary learning and indirect vocabulary learning. In direct vocabulary learning, the learners learn the new words, either in context or in isolation,
consciously. Meanwhile, in indirect vocabulary learning, the learners incidentally learn the new words through reading and or listening activities.
2 Method
Anthony, cited by Nation in R.E.L.C Journal 1982: 15-29, states that the method of foreign vocabulary learning is “grading”. It means that foreign
vocabulary learning uses some grades. The grades are constructed based on many factors such as time needed to learn, number of words to be learnt, the
difficulty level of the words, and the repetition of the words. 3
Technique There are two techniques which can be applied in foreign vocabulary
learning. The first one is receptive learning. Receptive learning is the ability to recall the translation of the foreign words when the words have been seen or
heard. Learning words through lists or contexts and presentation of word meaning in the mother tongue are examples of receptive learning. Meanwhile,
the second technique is productive learning. Productive learning is the ability to produce the foreign words by speaking and writing.
20
c. Teaching Vocabulary
According to Alan Hunt and David Beglar in their Current Research and Practice in Teaching Vocabulary
www.jalt- publications.orgtltfiles98janhunt.html, there are seven principles in
teaching vocabulary. The following discussion on those seven principles is according to the explanation of Alan Hunt and David Beglar.
1 Providing opportunities for the incidental learning of vocabulary
The incidental
vocabulary learning can occur through the activities of
reading and listening. The incidental learning of vocabulary through reading can benefit language curriculums and learners at all levels. In addition,
incidental vocabulary learning through reading can expose the language learners to the context of use. In short, by reading activities, the learners are
expected to get much exposure to words in context before understanding their meanings.
2 Diagnosing which of the 3,000 most common words learners need to study
Vocabulary size is important to be considered by teachers. Knowing vocabulary size enables teachers to select what words to teach. In Senior High
School, students are prepared to enter university so that the vocabulary size that the students need to be prepared is 3,000 words at the minimum.
According to Laufer 1992, for second language learners entering university, knowing a minimum of about 3,000 words was required for effective reading at
the university level, whereas knowing 5,000 words indicated likely academic success. One way to estimate vocabulary size is to use Nations 1990
21 Vocabulary Levels Test or a checklist test which requires learners to mark the
words on a list that they believe they know. 3
Providing opportunities for the intentional learning of vocabulary Intentional learning through instruction significantly contributes to
vocabulary development Nation, 1990; Paribakht Wesche, 1996; Zimmerman, 1997. Furthermore, Coady 1997b suggests that the beginning
students are better to supplement their reading with study of the 3,000 most frequent words until the word’s form and meaning become automatically
recognized. The first stage in teaching these 3,000 words commonly begins with word-pairs in which an L2 word is matched with an L1 translation.
Vocabulary lists can be effective way to quickly learn word-pair translations Nation, 1990.
4 Providing opportunities for elaborating word knowledge
Knowing a word does not mean knowing the translation. Instead, knowing a word involves knowing how to use the words receptively and productively.
In addition, elaboration of word knowledge also involves expanding the connections between what the learners already know and new information.
According to Prince 1996, one way to do this is to choose L2 words from the surrounding context and to explain their connections to the recently learned
word. Furthermore, to present this new information, teachers should create opportunities to meet these useful, recently learned words in new contexts that
provide new collocations and associations Nation, 1994.
22 5
Providing opportunities for developing fluency with known vocabulary Nation 1994: 208 states that developing fluency “overlaps most of all
with developing the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing”, so giving learners many opportunities to practice these skills is essential.
However, fluency partly depends on developing sight vocabulary through reading, especially extensive reading, and studying high frequency vocabulary.
6 Experimenting with guessing from context
Guessing from context can begin with deciding whether the word is important enough. This decision is a skill that requires practice and experience.
According to Hulstijn, Hollander, and Greidanus 1996, teachers can assist learners by marking words which learners should try to infer before using other
sources as well as by providing glosses. Once learners decide that a word is worth guessing, they might follow a five-step procedure like that of Nation and
Coady 1988: •
Determine the part of speech of the unknown word. •
Look at the immediate context and simplify if necessary. •
Look at the wider context. This entails examining the clause with the unknown word and its relationship to the surrounding clauses and
sentences. •
Guess the meaning of the unknown word. •
Check that the guess is correct.
23 7
Examining different types of dictionaries and teach students how to use them
According to Knoght 1994, Luppescu and Day 1993, bilingual dictionaries have been found to result in vocabulary learning. Bilingualized
dictionaries may have some advantages over traditional bilingual or monolingual dictionaries. Bilingualized dictionaries essentially do the job of
both a bilingual and a monolingual dictionary. Whereas monolingual dictionaries usually provide just an L1 synonym, bilingual dictionaries include
L2 definitions, L2 sentence examples, as well as L1 synonyms. Furthermore, bilingualized dictionaries were found to result in better comprehension of new
words than either bilingual or monolingual dictionaries Laufer Hader, 1997. In short, training in the use of dictionaries is essential. Due to that,
teachers should emphasize the importance of checking a word’s original context carefully and comparing this to the entry chosen because context
determines which sense of a word is being used.
3. The Eleventh Grade Students of Senior High School
