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culture and respond more quickly to changes in society than do other aspects of language
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. Mastering vocabulary is the ability to get or and to receive lots of
words. By having and mastering vocabulary, we will know the meaning of vocabulary in the context. It can also help to avoid making the mistakes in
identifying a language with the dictionary and guide us in making the equivalence of the second language to the native language.
Here is some of the vocabulary use: Helping us master kinds or levels of meaning
In mastering the kinds or levels of meaning such as the words with their lexical meaning are, they are by no means the only essential meanings in
the symbols and devices of a language and also the lexical content of the various words- the words as listed and defined in a dictionary.
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In the sentence “The old man killed the little bear”, the dictionary does tell us the
kind of beings to which the words man and bear refer it will explain the particular type of action for which the word will is a symbol. And it will give
us some notion of the qualities included in the meanings of such words as old and little. This is however practically all the help the dictionary can give. It
does not tell us whether old is to be taken as a characteristic of the man or of the bear; or whether the bear or the man or both are little. The dictionary
cannot tell us whether, in this particular sentence, the man bear performed the action. So the syntactical, the positions in which old and little stand in relation
to man and bear give us the essential meaning that it is the man that is old and bear that is little. The fact that the old man precedes the word killed and that
the little bear follows that word. Killed conveys the meaning that the man Rather than ear performed the action. Here, syntactical meaning absolutely
essential to any understanding of the utterance expressed by the word order.
14
Suzanne Romaine, The Cambridge History of the English Language, Vol. IV Cambridge: UK, 1998, p. 57
15
Charles C. Fries, Teaching and Learning English as Foreign Language, Michigan; 1970, p. 18.
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Morphological meaning or the forms of the words. The form of the word man in contrast with men and the form of the word bear in contrast
with bears signals the feet that there was but one man and but one bear. In similar fashion the form of the word killed indicates the fact that the action has
already occurred. It is not now in process nor projected for the future.
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8. How to Teach Vocabulary
Vocabulary is basic to communication. If people do not recognize the meaning of the key words used by those who address them, they will not be
able to participate in the conversation. If they want to express ideas or ask for information, they must be able to produce words to convey their meaning.
Thus vocabulary learning is very crucial in developing competence in a second or foreign language.
In teaching vocabulary, the teachers are hoped to have some techniques in order to make students familiar with the vocabulary so that they understand
new word easily. The techniques functions not only to help the students grasp the meaning of new words quite easily, but also to vary the teaching activity in
order to avoid the boredom on the part of students. Harmer mentions that the following aids can help to explain new vocabulary are:
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a. Realia
This is the word to refer the use of real objects in the classroom. Thus the words „book’, „pencil’, or „chair’, can be easily explained by showing
students a book, a ruler, or a chalk. This is clearly satisfactory for certain single words, but the use of realia is limited to things that can be taken
easily from the classroom. b.
Pictures Pictures are clearly indispensable for the language teacher since they can
be used in so many ways. Pictures can be used to explain the meaning of vocabulary items: the teacher can draw pens, rulers, pencils, and books in
16
Charles C. Fries, Teaching and Learning English as Foreign Language, p. 18.
26
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of Language Teaching, London: Longman, 1983, pp. 85
—86 .
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the blackboardwhiteboard, or have magazines picture of trucks, bicycle, train, or bus onto cardboard. The teacher might bring in a wall picture
showing three people in a room that could be used for introducing the meaning of the sentence, for instance: there are three people in the
classroom. c.
Mime, action, and gesture It is often impossible to explain the meaning of words and grammar either
with realia or in picture. An action, in particular, is probably better explained by mime. Gesture is useful for explaining words like „from’,
„to’, etc. or indicating that the past is being talked about the teacher
gestures backwards over his shoulder d.
Contrast A visual element sometime may not be sufficient to explain meaning and
contrast can be used. Thus, the meaning of “full” is better understood in the context of “empty”, “big” in the context of “small”, etc.
e. Enumeration
The word “vegetable” is difficult to be explained visually. If, however, the teacher rapidly lists or enumerates a number of vegetables, the
meaning will become clear. The same is true of a word like “clothes”. f.
Explanation Explaining the meaning of vocabulary items can be extremely difficult
just as grammatical explanations. It will be important in giving such explanations to make sure that the explanations include information about
when the item can be used. For example, it would be unsatisfactory just to say that “mate” is a word for “friend” unless you point out that it is
colloquial informal English and only be used in certain context. g.
Translation For many years, translation went out of fashion and was considered as
something of sin. Clearly, if the teacher is always translating, this will impede the students’ learning since they want to hear and use the target
language, not their own. Nevertheless, it seems silly not to translate if by
