understanding and use of specialised vocabulary in their subject area at university or in a professional context. In the literature, ESP vocabulary has different terms
from one study to another. The terms include special purposes, specialized, technical, sub-technical, and semi-technical vocabulary Coxhead, 2013. Although
specialized vocabulary is claimed to belong to a particular subject area at university or to a professional discipline, it does not always that technical or highly technical
words are not used in everyday language. In contrast, ordinary words that usually can be found in daily language possibly have very specific meanings in particular
contexts. For example, treatment and care are words that can be found in everyday language but are also used in nursing studies. Hence, ESP vocabulary covers
various word levels. Nation divides vocabulary into four levels. They are a general service
vocabulary, academic vocabulary, technical vocabulary, and low frequent vocabulary Nation, 2001. According to Chung and Nation 2003, words
classified into a general service vocabulary or high frequency words are the most frequent 2,000 words of English. Around 80 of this vocabulary can be found in
academic texts and newspapers, and around 90 of them typically are in conversations and novels. Nation 2001 states that a general service vocabulary
includes all of the function words of English and content words such as between, early, the, is, by, and many more. The second vocabulary level is academic
vocabulary which is the extension of the general service vocabulary. It consists of words that can be found in any disciplines with the same form, but the meaning is
quite different. It covers average 8.5 of academic texts, average 3.9 of newspapers, and 1.7 of fictions Nation, 2001: 304. It is in between high
frequency vocabulary and technical vocabulary, but it is more closely related to high frequency vocabulary. In technical vocabulary, Nation defines that it is “a
group of words particularly useful by learners with specific goals in language use such as reading academic texts in a parti
cular discipline” 2001:316. In other words, technical vocabulary has specific use or interest to people working in
specialised field such as nurses, geologists, or accountants. The last level of vocabulary, low frequent vocabulary, consists of the remaining words of English.
2. English for Nursing EFN
English for nursing is part of ESP which is a relatively recent specialty. Hutchinson and Waters 1987 state
that ESP is “an approach to language learning which is based on learner
s’ need”. Therefore, the content and goals of ESP course are oriented to the specific needs of the learners. Analysing the needs of English for
nurses leads the development of the course and materials in English for nursing. In contrast with doctors and other professional health-care-provider, nurses use
English in specific ways. According to Bosher in Patridge and Starfield, 2013 English as second language ESL students in a baccalaureate-degree nursing
program use English not only in the clinical setting, but also in nursing education. In clinical setting, the use of English focuses on interaction between nurses with
patients and their colleagues on the job; charting and change-of-shift reports; and conducting nursing care plan where students are required to think critically about
data collected through both a physical and psychological assessment of a patient and to use theoretical information from multiple sources texts such as nursing
course textbooks to support their assessment, diagnosis, and intervention plan. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
Whereas in the academic setting, students need to apply reading strategies and skills to complex reading materials in their textbooks and to master specialised
words in nursing to help their understanding towards reading texts.
3. Vocabulary Acquisition
This section provides an overview of related theories by first examining aspects of vocabulary knowledge, the nature of vocabulary acquisition, and the role
of memory in vocabulary acquisition.
a. Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge
A single word is composed of different aspects. Learner may think that learning a word is only about pronunciation, spelling and meaning. Schmitt 2002
argues that words have strong and complicated features which are not discrete units in a language. There are some aspects of vocabulary knowledge that learners need
to know: word’s pronunciation, spelling, word parts, meaning, grammatical properties, collocations, and contextual factors affecting its appropriate use Nation,
2001. Knowing a word’s pronunciation means being able to recognize the word
when it is heard and also being able to produce the spoken form. Spelling knowledge refers
to learner’s knowledge of a word’s written form. Knowing the written and spoken form of words helps learners understand what they read and
what they hear. Another important aspect of vocabulary knowledge for language learners is a word meaning. The meaning of a word constitutes the relationship
between the word and concept. In language, the spoken and written form of a word correspond to a concept in the real world. Learners need to connect the written and
spoken forms of words with the concepts successfully in order to communicate an intended message. The strength of this connection determines how effective
language learners can remember the meaning of words when they encounter and use them in written and spoken language. Another essential issue regarding
meanings of words in language is that words generally have more than one meaning. When learners look up a word in a dictionary, they may encounter many
different meanings for the word. Thus, learners need to know the various meanings that may correspond to written and spoken forms of a single word Nation, 2001.
Collocation is part of another vocabulary knowledge aspect. It refers to typical co-occurrence of particular words more often than that would be expected
by chance. Accordingly, knowledge of collocation involves sequencing words in a way that is frequently observed in native speaker use of words in phrases and
sentences Nation, 2001. Knowledge of collocation is believed to affect fluency and the appropriate use of language Pawley Syder, 1983 cited in Nation, 2001
p.323. Thus, learners need to know what words typically occur together. Word parts are other important aspect of vocabulary knowledge. Word parts knowledge
involves knowing how to form different words by using a root word with patterns. It is necessary for learners to know what part of speech a word is in order to place it
in a grammatical pattern accurately Schmitt 2002. The last aspect of vocabulary knowledge deals with having information about contexts in which a given word can
be used appropriately Miller, 1999 cited in Nation, 2001. The context refers to a particular situation in which the communication is taking place. Particular words
and phrases can be more appropriate for a given communication context. Thus, PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
