Understanding of Academic Words

2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

According to Celce-Murcia 2001, vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, whether the language is first, second, or foreign. In language acquisition, vocabulary has important role for the deeper understanding of a language and it needs explicit vocabulary teaching learning. According to Carter in Celce-Murcia 2001, in explicit vocabulary learning, the learners learn the most important vocabulary list that is high-frequency words that occur about 80 percent in any written texts. The learners need to learn further vocabulary knowledge, such as low-frequency words which include academic words. Teaching learning vocabulary can be done by recognizing new words that are presented in contexts through exercise and activities include learning words in word association lists, focusing on highlighted words in texts, and playing vocabulary games. Learning vocabulary can also be done through the computer programs that include the sounds of words as well as illustrative pictures provide opportunity for practice with a variety of contexts, both written and spoken Celce-Murcia, 2001: 288. Besides learning vocabulary explicitly, the learners should learn vocabulary implicitly. Implicit vocabulary learning means that vocabulary is learned incidentally while reading or listening. For high-frequency words often occur in explicit vocabulary learning, it does not provide enough chances for the learners to guess the meaning of words. Therefore, in implicit learning, the learners will learn low-frequency words, such as academic words and their chances to learn vocabulary items by guessing meaning will be done incidentally.

2.1.4 Principles for Teaching Vocabulary

According to Nunan 2003, there are four principles for teaching vocabulary in a classroom. 1. Focus on the most useful vocabulary first. In teaching vocabulary, the teachers should teach the more useful vocabulary rather than the less useful vocabulary in order to give the learners the best return for their learning effort. The most useful vocabulary that the learners need can be found in the most frequent 1000 word families of English because it can cover seventy five percent of running words in academic text books and newspapers and about eighty percent running words in conversation. Another useful word list is the second 1000 words of English. This word list contains plenty of useful words that frequently occur in the texts. Nunan 2003 says that Academic Word List Coxhead, 2000 is the most suitable word lists for senior high school and university students. 2. Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way. In this way, the teachers should look at the four most important vocabulary learning strategies of using word parts, guessing from context, using word cards, and using dictionaries. The teacher need to be able to differentiate the using of high frequency words and low frequency words. High frequency words occur in a large proportion in the textbooks in which it can provide a helpful context to allow learners to guess the meaning of low frequency words Nunan, 2003: 138. Guessing meaning from context can help the learners having effective strategy in reading and understanding the meaning of low frequency words they find. Using word parts to remember and guessing meaning from context are two important startegies to help the learners in learning vocabulary. Based on the research in Nation 2001, using word cards and dictionaries are also effective startegies in learning vocabulary that is to achieve faster and stronger vocabulary learning results Nunan, 2003. 3. Give attention to the high frequency words across the four strands of a course. The four strands in language course are learning from meaning focused- input, deliberate learning, learning from meaning-focused output, and fluency development. High frequency words need to occur in all four strands of a course. They should be used in communicating messages in listening, speaking, reading, and writing and fluently accessible for receptive and productive skills Nunan, 2003: 139. 4. Encourage learners to reflect on and take responsibility for learning. According to Nunan 2003, the learners should realize that they must be responsible for their own learning. Taking this responsibility requires knowledge of what to learn and the range of options for learning vocabulary; skill in choosing the best options; and the ability to monitor and evaluate progress with those options. If the learners does not take control, the learning process will not be effective for them. Therefore, the teachers should help them by doing these following ways: informing, training, and encouraging the learners to reflect and evaluate their learning that is knowledge, skills, and awareness. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI