CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
D. Vocabulary
5. The Definition of Vocabulary
Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language. However a new item of vocabulary may be more than a
single word, for example, post office and mother-in-law, which are made up of two or three words but express a single idea. There are also multi-word idioms
such as call it a day, which the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the component words. A useful convention is to cover all such
cases by talking about vocabulary ‘items’ rather than ‘words’.
4
Meanwhile, Broadly defined that vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings.
5
Steven Stahl defines that Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that
word fits into the world. Vocabulary knowledge is not something that can ever be fully mastered; it is something that expands and deepens over the
course of a lifetime. Instruction in vocabulary involves far more than looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence. Vocabulary is
acquired incidentally through indirect exposure to words and intentionally through explicit instruction in specific words and word-learning strategies.
6
So vocabulary is English words that are related to the meaning of the words and the way to use them in communication.
4
Penny Ur, a Course in Language Teaching, Practice and Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 60
5
Fran Lehr, M.A., “A Focus on Vocabulary”, the article is accessed on May 4
th
, 2007 at http:www.prel.orgproductsre_ES0419.htm
6
Linda Diamond and Linda Gutlohn, “Teaching Vocabulary ,” the article is accessed on April 16th, 2007 at http:www.ldonline.orgarticle9943
5
6. The Use of Vocabulary
Vocabulary is basic to communication. If acquirers do not recognize the meanings of the key words used by those who address them, they will be
unable to participate in the conversation, and if they wish to express some idea or ask for information, they must be able to produce lexical items to convey
their meaning. Indeed, if they know the morphology and syntax of an utterance addressed to them, but do not know the meanings of the key lexical
items, they will be unable to participate in the communication
7
. Vocabulary is also very important for the acquisition process. The
popular belief is that one uses form and grammar to understand meaning. The truth is probably closer to the opposite: that someone acquires morphology
and syntax because he understands the meaning of utterances. Acquisition depends crucially on the input being comprehensible, and comprehensibility is
dependent directly on the ability to recognize the meaning of key elements in the utterance. Thus, acquisition will not take place without comprehension of
vocabulary
8
. Teachers have never doubted the value of learning vocabulary. They know how communication stops when learners lack the necessary
words.
9
So, vocabulary is one of the most important elements of language in order to make a smooth communication and understand the meaning.
7. The Kinds of Vocabulary
Kategori