b The position of Adjective 1 Adjectives come before noun
Example: - a young man
- new shoes - a nice girl
- empty boxes 2 Adjectives come after verb
An adjective comes after the verb be, look, appear, seem, feel, taste, smell, sound to describe the subject of a sentence.
Example: - He is young
- The soup smells good - She looks nice
3 Certain adjectives asleep, alone, alive, awake, afraid, ill, well come after a verb, but they do not come before noun
Example: He is asleep or He is a sleeping man
c Order of Adjective 1 When we use two or more adjectives in a sentence, and the adjective is
telling opinion nice, beautiful normally they comes before adjectives telling facts sunny, blue
Example: a nice sunny day
2 When two or more adjectives telling about facts, they come before a noun.
Example: a a large wooden box
b a tall thin man c a white plastic shopping bag
4. Problems in Teaching Vocabulary
In teaching and learning process, there are many problems found, from understanding difficult words until applying the words. The factor has various
kinds; it is quite useful to have the ideas of what makes words relatively easy or difficult to learn. As we know that English is one of the subjects in school and it
sometimes brings difficulty to the teaching or learning process. The fact is when students attempt to translate a passage is to look up too many words. When the
students find out the words he does not know, they take often the dictionary and look up the meaning. The problems arise when they select the right word to go
into a sentence but use the wrong means of grammatical marking for them. Below are the factors that make some words difficult to master. They are:
a Pronunciation
Research shows that words that are difficult to pronounce are more difficult to learn. Many learners find that the words with
cluster of consonant, such as strength or crisps or breakfast are problematic.
b Spelling
Sound and spelling mismatches will be the cause of errors in pronunciation or in spelling, and can be contribute to a word
difficulty. For example: muscle, headache, etc.
c Length and complexity
Long words are more difficult to learn than the short ones. And the variable stresses or polysyllabic words are difficult too.
For example: necessary, necessity
d Meaning
Words with multiple meaning such as since and still can also be difficulties for learners.
e Range-connotation and Idiomatic
Words that always used in wider range will be easier than those in narrower range. For example: Thin is more used than
skinny, slim, slender.
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B. The Cooperative Learning
1. Definition of Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning is an approach to teaching that makes maximum use
of cooperative activities involving pairs and small groups of learners in the classroom.
According Olsen and Kagan, Cooperative learning is group learning activity organized so that learning is dependent on the socially structured
exchanges of information between learners in groups and in which each learner held accountable for his or her own learning and is motivated to increase the
learning of others.
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According to Diane Larsen, Cooperative learning essentially involves students learning from each in groups. But it is not the group configuration that
makes cooperative learning distinctive; it is the way that students and teachers work together. The teacher helps students learn how to learn more effectively. In
cooperative learning, teachers teach students collaboratively. Indeed, cooperation is not only a way of learning, but also a theme to be communicated about and
studied.
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According to Kate Kinsella and Kathy Sherak, Small group learning is widely recognized as one of the most advantageous practices in contemporary
education. Although classroom collaboration is beneficial in improving outcomes for all students, it is particularly helpful for second language learners, especially
21
Jeremy Harmer, How to Teach Vocabulary, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p.27-28
22
Jack C,Richards. Approaches and Method in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 2001 , p.192
23
Diane Larsen Freeman, Technique and Principles in Language Teaching, New York: Oxford University Press,2000, p.164
those ESL, students with a dire need to become more proficient in the target language who have scant opportunities for sustained and varied practice. In
addition to promoting use of a wider range of communicative functions, group work helps students develop their subject area knowledge.
According to Shlomo Sharan, learning in small groups has been shown to increase opportunities for meaningful practice and fairly realistic language use, to
improve the quality of students talk namely, the range of language functions, such as asking question or requiring additional information, to create a positive
affective climate in the classroom, and to increase students motivation.
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One behavioral indication of students motivational involvement is the proportion of class time spent on task. Behavioral observers have been used in
several cooperative learning studies to collect information on this measure. Meanwhile according to Johnson Cooperative Learning is the instructional
use of small groups through which student’s works together to maximize their own and each other’s learning. It may be contrasted with competitive learning in
which students work against each other to achieve an academic goal such as a grade of “A.”
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According to Robert.E Slavin, the most important goal of cooperative learning is to provide students with the knowledge, concepts, skills, and
understanding they need to become happy and contributing members of our society.
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One of the most important tenets of motivational theories of cooperative learning is that cooperative goals create peer norms that support high
achievement. Essentially, the argument is that cooperative incentives motivate students to try to get each other to do academic work, and thereby gets students to
feel that their classmates want them to do their best.
24
ShlomoSharan , Handbook of Cooperative Learning Methods, London , Preager Westport,1994, p. 199
25
Jack C. Richards and Theodore S. Rodgers, Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,2001 , p.195
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Robert E.Slavin., Cooperative Learning Second Edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall,.1995, p.15
Assumption of the writer on Cooperative Learning is that it is working together to achieve shared goals. When students works together in small groups of
learners in the classroom. The writer agrees of that cooperative learning is applied at learners because cooperative learning can help teacher build positive
relationship among students, give students the experiences they need for healthy social, physiological, cognitive development, promote students learning and
academic achievement increased students retention and also can help students develop skill in oral communication and promote students self- esteem.
2. The Purpose of Cooperative Learning
The purpose of cooperative learning is to enhance learning and achievement by encouraging peer-to-peer interaction and cooperation.
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Moreover, according to Roger T and David W.Johnson the purpose of cooperative learning groups is to make each member a stronger individual in his or her own
right. Students learn together so that they can subsequently perform better as individuals. To ensure that each member is strengthened, students are held
individual accountable to do hisher fair share of the work, teachers need to asses how much effort each member is contributing to the group’s work, provide
feedback to groups and individual students, help groups avoid redundant effort by members, and ensure that every member is responsible for the final outcome.
Common ways to structure individual accountability: a. Keeping the size of the small group. The smaller the size of the group,
the greater the individual accountability may be. b. Giving and individual test to each student.
c. Randomly examining students orally by calling on one student to present his or her group’s work to the teacher in the presence of the
group or to the entire class. d. Observing each group and recording the frequency with which each
member contributes to the group’s work.
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