vocabulary in various contexts is an inseparable part of vocabulary learning. Meaning is not enough because learning vocabulary meaning only is not a
guarantee that students are able to use the words in real communication.
6. Lived Experience
As this study aims to seek the meaning of lived experiences, it is necessary to understand the meaning of lived experience or what it is about. Dilthey 1985:
p. 59 as quoted in Manen 1990: p.36 argues that “lived experience is to the soul what breath is to the body: ‘Just as our body needs to breathe, our soul requires
the fulfillment and expansion of its existence in the reverberations of emotional life’…is the breathing of meaning.” If lived experience is associated with breath,
then it is very important to one’s life. It is important as everything which has happened has given certain meaning which others may not understand how
significant it is to the one who has experienced it. Understanding meaning of certain things can be enlightening to someone. They have been at the time when
they have found values which they have not found before. Some other definitions and the nature of experience are also stated by
other experts. Palmer 1994 states, ‘Experience,’ “says Gadamer, is a matter of multisided disillusionment based on expectation, only in this way is experienced
acquired…every experience runs counter to expectation if it really deserves the name experience.” The statement actually attempts to say that people may have
their own expectation about what life should be like. However, life events have another way to show how things are actually like. These life events are what are
experienced by people which are able to bring them to really see the nature of
things. Further, Dilthey 1985: p. 227 as quoted in Manen 1990: p.37 states, “Lived experience are related to each other like motifs in the andante of a
symphony.” When a symphony is not well-composed, it will not be tuneful. It is a unity which forms good symphony. It is the same as that of lived experiences
which are formed part by part which meaning can be seen in the unity of the parts. Meanwhile, the same idea is also written in Alvesson’s book entitled Reflexive
Methodology . Gadamer 1989a: 60-70 as quoted in Alvesson Skoldberg 2000:
p.55 states, “…experience is more ‘global’ than a single perception…it is also connected with the whole life of the individual, making up an organic part of
this.” Each part of the experience is not to be understood separately from the whole.
Based on some definition proposed, the working definition of lived experiences are the life events which are experienced by people which is not
always what they have assumed to be like and which meaning can only be seen in relation with those people’s life as a whole. Meaning is divided into two;
empirical and transcendental meaning. Bijou in Becker 1971:p. 5 states that “The concepts are empirical. They are based on observable interactions between
stimulating events and behavior”. It is in scope of roles of psychology in education. In this study, empirical meaning refers to the meaning which is shaped
around whether vocabulary learning using IPALL helps students to have better vocabulary knowledge and greater motivation. The two things are observable.
Hence they belong to empirical meaning. Meanwhile, there is not an exact definition of transcendent meaning. However, the key to understand what
transcendent is, is mentioned by Maslow 1973: p. 267. He states, “This is
certainly a higher attitude.” Thus, transcendence is the great qualities that people have reached which distinguish them from other people. Maslow 1973: p. 259
mentions, “Transcendence in the sense of loss of self-consciousness, of self awareness…concentration on something outside one’s own psyche.” It does not
mean that a person does not notice what is happening, but it because the person concentrates on things beyond themselves; beyond what can be seen.
Those two types of meaning are what are attempted to be revealed in this research. This meaning is able to be found and interpreted by understanding what
people have within them such as awareness, beliefs, intention, and feeling. Then, the nature of meaning itself is possible to be reached when I go into inside
people’s experiences. It is important in order to obtain the empathic understanding which is one of the goals of this research. Meaning is subjective because each
person experience a thing differently which makes them see things differently also.
a. Previous Learning Experiences
What has happened during students’ previous learning experiences make students have different perception about something. It is possible that good
learning experiences boost students’ confidence and eagerness to learn while the bad learning experiences may result in less degree of enthusiasm. Some studies
conducted from time to time have shown that previous learning experiences have contributed on students’ conception of what learning is about. Studies conducted
by Eklund-Myrskog 1997 and also Entwistle, McCune, Walker 2001 as quoted in Gravoso, Pasa, Mori 2002 state clearly that “…meanings students
attach to the concept of learning are derived from the cumulative effects of
previous educational and other experiences.” The word cumulative effects show how students’ conception is not built at a single time. When either good or bad
things happen continuously, it can be imagined how often students have to feel those things. The results of it surely depend on whether the things are awful or
fine according to students’ point of view. Learning using multimedia can also be perceived from two different points
of view. When students, in their past, have repeatedly used media, then such kind of learning is comfortable for them. However, students who do not have previous
learning experiences in using media may not feel as comfortable as those who have ever used it. Yet, there is still a possibility that those who never learn using
media become more enthusiastic as they find such kind of learning amusing. In relation with this study later on, it will be revealed whether students’ learning
experiences go on around this theme; the theme of previous learning experiences.
b. Awareness
In a simple way, awareness is a person’s consciousness of the things that he or she is doing. There is also a term known as language awareness. Donmall
1985: p.7 as quoted in Lier 1996 defines it as “…a person’s sensitivity to and conscious awareness of the nature of language and its role in human life.” People
learn English because they want to achieve certain goals. If they have goals then, it is assumed that they are aware what the importance of it is. However, their
performance depends on how much they are aware of the role of the language they are learning in their life. If they have great awareness, it is very likely that
they learn it with enthusiasm. If not then, they are still learning but it is like
learning without direction because they do not know what they are learning the language for.
Similar definition stated by other experts is also found in a research conducted by Ellis. Association for Language Awareness as quoted in Ellis 2012
mention a key definition to understand the meaning of language awareness, which is “…conscious perception and sensitivity in language learning, language
teaching, and language use. In this study, it is the awareness of vocabulary learning. It refers to students’ consciousness about the importance of learning
vocabulary in relation with English learning and with their life. Being aware is also the notion of being able to notice what a person is experiencing right now in
relation with the idea that finally, learning vocabulary is very useful and meaningful to their life. Meaning, which can be both empirical and transcendent,
is able to be shaped if the person involved is aware of their life events.
c. Beliefs
When students come to language class, they do not come without anything. They have prior knowledge and skills as results of their previous
learning experiences. More importantly, they have mindset about what language learning is about and how a language should be learned and what they have to do.
It is the belief that they hold about learning a language. Ellis 2008: p.698 defines it as “Clearly ‘beliefs’ constitute an individual difference variable notably
different from the other variables we have examined in that they are neither an ability nor a trait-like propensity for language learning.” It is more like what
people believe to be true. It can be illustrated as when people say, ‘It should be
