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Moreover, students should learn very large vocabulary when they start to acquire a language because learning a language means learning its vocabulary
Gass, 1999: 325. It is because learning vocabulary deals with lexical items, a number of things and even meaning on the target language. However, it is
important for teachers to manage the learners in doing something with vocabulary which is going to be learned since it becomes the biggest part of the meaning of
any language Fan, 2003: 222.
b. Vocabulary Selection
The first priority in vocabulary teaching is to focus on which words that are to be studied Read, 2004: 148. Thus, teacher has to do selection towards the
words that are going to be taught. It is not an easy job because there are differences in linguistic analysis in which the words are based. Moreover, it is
better for teacher to select and to classify the words in different categories, for instance verbs are usually more difficult than nouns, and abstract nouns are more
difficult than concrete nouns. Since the subjects of the study are young learners in the second grade of
elementary school, the vocabulary mainly will be focused on the concrete nouns. Concrete nouns are easy to be learnt for children because teacher could perform
the realia or the picture so that students could have a clear meaning and description of the words. Moreover, presenting the concrete objects will help
students to touch, feel, or even smell that it will make the learning process more meaningful.
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c. Teaching Techniques
According to Decarrico 2001: 288, there are two techniques in teaching vocabulary; those are presenting words in the context and teaching a list of words
through word association. Presenting vocabulary through context is important in order to provide clues to meaning and to give the students multiple exposures to
words which are being learned. Teaching vocabulary in a list of words is rarely used since it is boring.
In addition, there are some techniques that are commonly used in the beginner’s class, those are: using repetition, using word-list, using pictures, using
realia, using story, using songs, and using games. 1 Using repetition
The teachers usually read or pronounce the words first and the students will repeat it. Then, the students write down the words and the teachers explain
about the meaning. 2 Using word-list
The teacher gives a list of words or vocabulary and its ‘equivalent’ in the native tongue. Memorizing and repeating dominate the learning process.
3 Using picture Teacher usually brings some pictures of objects with the names of the objects
written down below the picture. After the students understand, the teachers will ask the students to mention the name of the picture.
4 Using realia Facing the real objects is a good way to help students to have clear meaning in
their minds. It also makes learning become more meaningful.
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5 Using story Story is a good technique to teach vocabulary. It will help students to
understand the vocabulary in the context. Therefore, the teacher has to be careful in selecting the story, so it will not burden the students.
6 Using songs The atmosphere of the class will be full of joy by introducing songs in the
class. The songs make the students feel relaxed and enjoy the learning. Teachers build comprehension about vocabulary through song indirectly.
7 Using games Naturally, children like to play games. It will be an interesting technique to
teach children by using games. Combining the techniques above could create an interesting atmosphere in
the classroom, and to reduce boredom for children.
d. Learning Vocabulary
