9
CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW
In this part, the literature review of this research is explained to clarify concepts. The main issues of this part are the nature of vocabulary, the importance
of vocabulary, teaching and learning vocabulary, textbook, and curriculum 2013. Each part is then divided into several smaller parts.
A. THEORETICAL REVIEW
This part covers the discussion about the nature of vocabulary, the importance of vocabulary, teaching and learning vocabulary, textbook, and
curriculum 2013
.
1. The Nature of Vocabulary In this part, the concept of vocabulary, vocabulary distribution, word
recycling, word form, word meaning, and word use are clarified. a. The Concept of Vocabulary
Everyone must know what a word is. However, many might confuse what vocabulary is exactly and how word and vocabulary differ. According to
Nunan 1999, vocabulary is target language words presented in a list. It means that vocabulary consists of a number of words. Now it is clear how word and
vocabulary differ. One word can stand alone as a word, but vocabulary should consist of more than one word.
Knowing a word, according to Carter 1998: 5, is “knowing the different meanings carried by a single form”. Thus, he clarifies that it is more accurate to
define a word as a minimum meaningful unit of language. Words can be in different form, but it does not mean that they are counted as different words.
The concept of lexeme may help us in understanding the concept of word more clearly. Carter defines lexeme as the abstract unit underlying variants e.g.
goes, gone, going, went related to ‘word’. Thus, GO is the lexeme of the word- forms ‘goes’, ‘gone’, ‘going’, and ‘went’. Lexeme is ‘the basic, contrasting units
of vocabulary in a language’. If we search for a meaning in dictionary, we are looking for lexeme rather than words. Then we would find the word-forms under
the lexeme. The terms lexeme and word-forms are important theoretical concepts used when theoretical distinctions are needed. If not, we can just use the terms
lexical items, vocabulary items, or items to refer to words. The discussion above then leads to a concept of lexical words. It can also
be called “full words” or “content words”. It includes nouns table, fan, adjectives smart, diligent, verbs walk, go, and adverbs steadily, quickly,
bringing high information content. Lexical words are syntactically structured by grammatical words. Grammatical words include pronouns you, she, articles a,
the, auxiliary verbs can, should, prepositions in, among, and conjunctions but, and. According to Carter, they are also called “functional word” or “empty
words”. In the counting process of tokens, types, and word families in this research, content words and function words are considered the same, for example
do as a content word and do as a functional word. However, they are discussed and treated as having a different category in the discussion part.
b. Vocabulary Distribution This research is about vocabulary coverage and its recycling, which deals
with frequency. In the topic of coverage, types, tokens, and word families are the important terms. Thus, it is important to define what they are.
1 Types and Tokens If we intend to count how long a textbook is, we deal with token Nation
and Meara, 2002, or can be called as ‘running words’ Nation 2001. Even though the word, for example laptop, has occurred and been counted, it should
still be counted every time it occurs again. The same words are counted as a new word each time it occurs. If we are counting types, the same words are only
counted once although it occurs more than once. Any occurrence of the same word is not counted as a new word, but “as another occurrence of the same type”
Nation, 1983: 10. The sentence The red house belongs to the girl with red shirt contains ten tokens and eight types. After the first occurrence, the words the and
red are not counted again. Based on the definition above, the same words with different meaning
are counted as one type. Due to the reason of counting, which is related to vocabulary learning, words like I’ll, I’m, and let’s are counted as having two types
and two tokens. Words like student’s and family’s possession are also counted as having two types and two tokens. Numbers and proper nouns are also excluded.
The analysis and interpretation is only limited to English words only in the material presentation of the book.
2 Word Family Based on the explanation by Bauer and Nation 1993, the concept of
word family is crucial for systematic approach in vocabulary teaching and deciding the vocabulary load of texts which will be used. To know what is
included in a word family, one way is to count lemmas. A lemma is a set of related words which have the stem form and inflected forms that come from the
same part of speech Nation and Meara, 2002. Thus, go, goes, went, going are under the same lemma because their stems are the same, and they are all verbs.
However, word family does not only consist of a lemma. Word family also includes words with derivational affixes such as non- and suffixes such as -ness
whose stem are the same. Words under the same word family do not have to be in the same part of speech. Once the stem of words is known, learners will require
less effort to recognize other words under the same word family. As they are more proficient, they tend to acquire more number of words in their word families
Bauer and Nation, 1993. Furthermore, Nation and Meara 2002 also argue that there are some
groups of words which are usually used together such as single words. Some of them are not analyzed into parts, but learned and used as complete units. Such
words are called multi-word units MWUs. One criteria of MWU is that no word in the unit can be substituted by any other word. According to Schmitt 2000a:
400, a single meaning is given to an MWU, such as in phrasal verbs give up, compounds freeze-dry, and idioms burn the midnight oil’. However, in this
research, MWU is counted as separate words. On the other hand, Schmitt continues that the coverage of collocation
words which tend to occur together is far beyond the level of MWUs. In fact, longer sequences of words to occur together are common and frequently found
and some of them are treated as units, like have you ever heard the one about___? The term which is commonly used to refer to this type of sequence is lexical
chunk or lexical phrases. Lexical chunk is very common for its relation to functional language use. For example, the above lexical chunk is usually used to
introduce a joke. In this research, lexical chunk is regarded as words occuring together which has functional language use. However, it is counted as separate
words.
c. Word Recycling In this research, word recycling refers to how many times a word occurs
in a textbook and in what context it occurs. In another word, we can call it as frequency. According to Nation 1983, most frequency count is based on a
sample of text with at least one million words. Frequency itself has its own purpose. It provides a rational basis for
learners vocabulary learning, like what is stated by Nation and Waring 1997. Frequency information provides a rational basis for making sure
that learners get the best return for their vocabulary learning effort by ensuring that words studied will be met often. p. 17
Thus, it is very important to know the frequent words in a textbook before teachers use a certain textbook and ensure that the vocabulary learned is useful for
the learners. Other experts also note the role of frequency in vocabulary learning.
According to Coady and Nation 1988, word frequency in a textbook has some effects on some learners. Ten times in minimum is enough to have an effect on
them. There is no exact number of frequency which contributes to vocabulary acquisition, but the more the better in subsequent level Nation and Wang, 1999.
However, Pienemann and Johnston’s model, as stated in Gass and Mackey 2002, suggests that regardless the frequency of input one receives, the acquisition of
communicative value will hardly depend on particular developmental order. Otherwise, it will be kept and made available when one is ready for processing
and use Gass, 1997. It means that high frequency input does not necessarily bring effects on one’s acquisition of the input.
Learners can also learn words from the context in which they occur. It provides clues for learners to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words. However,
the result of learning words from context is not as great as it is expected. Although it tends to be low, if hundreds or perhaps thousands of unfamiliar words are met,
it could result in learning a number of words. And frequent words should have effect on learners Coady and Nation, 1988. Thus, presenting the same words
frequently in some contexts will provide opportunities for learners to acquire vocabulary.
According to Thomas, Pfister, and Peterson 2004 words with high frequency usually includes functionalstructural words like in, to, of, and for.
High-frequency words tend not to contain conceptual validity for an individual word or for the text where the words occur. Words with medium frequency are
those with lesser generality but frequently repeated Herdan 1964 as in Thomas et al 2004. In this medium-frequency group, some commonly used content words
may be found. He also states that words with low frequency tend to contain higher informational value than words with higher frequency. The size of group of word
types which occur only once is called ‘hapax legomena’. It indicates word learning and vocabulary richness of a text Holmes, 1994.
d. Word Form According to Nation 2006c, words which are easy to pronounce tend to
be easier to be held in working memory and the chance of entering long-term memory is bigger. That is why words introduced early in an English course needs
to be easily pronounced. Words with unfamiliar sounds can also be learned by listening practice and guided pronunciation practice. English spelling is irregular,
but there are some patterns and rules which can help to learn it. It can be helped if learners learn the most common affixes and their meanings and also simple
explanation of its etymology. Ehri et al. 2001 states that awareness that words are composed by
separable sounds, known as phonemic awareness, can affect one’s learning to read English. Similarly, learning to write and read can also be helped by paying close
attention to phonics relationships between sound and spelling Stahl, Duffy, Stahl, 1998.
e. Word Meaning Nation 2006c: 449 states that “if an L2 word is a loan word or a cognate
in L1, it is then very easy to relate the form of the word to its meaning”. For example, over a half of English words was derived from French and Latin
Roberts 1965, as in Nation 2006c. Thus, other languages derived from French or Latin share a lot of vocabulary. This can help the learning process of the words by
analyzing them into parts and paying close attention to prefixes and suffixes. Furthermore, Nation also argues that developing considerable concept is
required for understanding the meaning of some English words, especially for learners with certain first languages. For example, Indonesian language does not
have different pronouns for people with different sex, while English has. English differenciates words for siblings based on the sex brother and sister, while
Indonesian differenciates them by age kakak and adik. However, developing L2 concept for words may be helped if the L1 equivalent is sufficient. If the range of
senses corresponds much to the L1, the learning burden will decrease.
f. Word Use If a word has different grammar and collocations with the one in
learners’ first language or in the second language which they are familiar with, learning burden tends to increase. Enough time is needed to learn this aspect.
However, native speakers are able to use the language appropriately because they have learned and stored units of language, such as That’s all very well for you to
say, which is larger than a word, and access and use them whenever they need them. Thus, they just need quick time to produce language accurately Nation
2006c. In addition, Nation also proposes his idea about restrictions in word use. Some words such as faucet, kid, bugger, and explicate have
restrictions on their use. These restrictions include geographical restrictions Americans use faucet; British use tap, register
expedite is very formal; speed up is more colloquial, currency some words such as forsooth and breeches are no longer in
use, age restrictions potty and choo-choo are used by and with children, gender restrictions fabulous tends to be used by
women, and frequency some words such as diligent and capricious are not commonly used. p. 449
When learning a language, learning those restrictions is very necessary. It helps learners to produce language naturally.
2. The Importance of Vocabulary Vocabulary is important in language learning. It is clarified in this part,
including the discussion of vocabulary as input and input and acquisition. a. Vocabulary as Input
According to Gass and Selinker 2001: 305, input is “what is available to learners to support their learning”. Here, the discussion is about vocabulary as
language input. A memorable note written by Wilkins, as in Lewis 2008: 16 leads the researcher to realize that vocabulary is very important. He wrote that
“without grammar little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. The statement makes sense in terms of language comprehension. For
example, if a learner in a very early stage writes the sentence I yesterday buy much books on the store book. The grammar is totally wrong. The sentence should
be Yesterday, I bought many books in the book store. Although, the sentence uses wrong grammar, readers can still understand what it means. However, if the
learner wants to express his idea in the same target language, he cannot do it without having enough vocabulary knowledge. Even a word cannot be spoken or
written and no information is delivered if he does not know any vocabulary in the target language.
The idea that vocabulary is important is also supported by Sinclair at IATEFL 1996, as in Lewis 2008: 16. He states that “a lexical mistake often
causes misunderstanding, while a grammar mistake rarely”. The sentence My note book was lost carries meaning that someone’s book which he used to take note in
is not with him anymore. However, what he intends to say is netbook, a smaller version of laptop. Then, the lexical mistake causes misunderstanding to whom he
is talking to. Otherwise, the sentence My netbook lost will rarely causes misunderstanding although the grammar is wrong. The researcher does not intend
to say that grammar is not important. Grammar is important, but not as important as vocabulary because it is vocabulary which carries more meaning.
b. Input and Acquisition In the previous discussion, input is considered very important in language
learning. Krashen and Terrell 1995 state their point of view about vocabulary in its relation to acquisition.
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. p. 155
Vocabulary is seen very crucial as language input. Without comprehending vocabulary, learners will not acquire language. Learners’ recognition of the
meaning of vocabulary in certain utterance affects their comprehensibility because vocabulary is the key element of language. That is why without having enough
input, language acquisition would be hard to occur. Based on the Input Hypothesis by Krashen, input also has a great
implication on second language acquisition. He proposes that second languages are acquired “by understanding messages or by receiving ‘comprehensible input’“
Krashen, 1985: 2. Input is comprehensible if it is ahead of learners’ existing knowledge background. Thus, language input that learners hearread which
contains structures that they already know will not support and facilitate language acquisition as they can “do” nothing with the structures. Krashen defines learners’
current level of competence as i and the next stage as + 1. Then, the input which should be exposed to learners should be at the i + 1 level in order for acquisition
to occur. He also adds that the Input Hypothesis is central to all acquisition. Without any comprehensible input, acquisition will never occur. In addition, the
amount of comprehensible input needs to be sufficient, depending on learners’ developmental level and how ready they are to acquire new knowledge.
3. Vocabulary Teaching and Learning The concept of teaching and learning vocabulary is explained in this part.
It includes goals of vocabulary learning
,
principles of learning and teaching vocabulary
,
vocabulary acquisition
,
vocabulary teaching and learning, and what vocabulary should be learned.
a. Goals of Vocabulary Learning When planning or designing a language course, it is important to define
its goals. Setting learning goals is very useful to determine the material, learning activities, our teaching method, and so on. It becomes the guidance as well as the
end point of a course. According to Nation 2001, 2006a, when planning vocabulary learning
goals in a long-term course, we should pay close attention to three types of information to help us decide how much vocabulary to learn. First, it is the
number of words in the language. There are a number of specialist vocabulary like those in medical area and educational field. However, the question is not easy to
answer because what can be counted as a word is not clear yet. Second, it is the number of words native speakers know. The result of a reliable study by Goulden,
Nation, and Read 1990 argues that educated English native speakers know around 20,000 word families. The number tends to be rather low because the
counting unit is word family. On average, native speakers add 1,000 word families to their vocabulary per year. And this is possible for English non-native
speakers, especially learners of English as a second language. Third, it is the number of words that learners need to use another language. According to Schmitt
2000b, the first 2,000 most frequent types of English is referred as the level for the basic initial goal of second language learners. However,
only the first 1,000 most frequent types needs to be recognized by elementary level students
Sánchez Criado, 2009.
Nation 2001: 9 proposes that studies in native speaker’s vocabulary suggest that “second language learners need to know very large numbers of
words”, which can be useful in a long term. It is because the studies consider that all words are of equal value for learners. However, frequency based studies see
that some words are more useful than others.
b. Principles of Learning and Teaching Vocabulary Learning vocabulary in a language course will be more effective if well-
supported principles are applied as vocabulary growth is very essential in second language proficiency development. Those principles should be clearly known by
both teachers and learners. According to Nation 2006b: 498, such principles should include the following: 1 Vocabulary learning should be started with high
frequency vocabulary and special purposes vocabulary, then moving to low frequency vocabulary; 2 Learning and teaching high frequency vocabulary and
special purposes vocabulary should be based on four strands. They are meaning- focused input, meaning-focused output, language-focused learning, and fluency
development; 3 In teaching low frequency vocabulary, some strategies like guessing from context, learning word cards, using word parts, and using the
dictionary should be the main focus; 4 It is important to design learning activities
which “encourage thoughtful processing of vocabulary through retrieval, generative use, and the use of mnemonic devices where needed”; 5 Teachers
should help learners to “take responsibility for their own vocabulary learning”.
c. Vocabulary Acquisition It is rather surprising that descriptive studies in vocabulary development
patterns are still limited. The possible reason is that what is meant by ‘knowing’ a word is not very clearly defined Ellis, 2008. Another reason is the absence of
agreed terminal stage for word knowledge. Unlike grammar, vocabulary has an open system and every native speaker has different, various vocabulary size and
depth of knowledge of words. Ellis 1997 states learning vocabulary is not necessarily learning word
by word in phrases. If a learner says I am fine, it does not mean that he knows the words I, am, and fine. Ellis notes that vocabulary or lexical acquisition occurs
through segmentation process when learners realize that formulaic sequences are constructed by separate words so they need additional formulas, identify recurring
elements, and make open slots in them. In this case, the process of acquiring a word may not be so different from the process of developing grammar.
Studies in learners’ vocabulary development should consider both “quantitative changes in vocabulary size over time and qualitative changes in
learners’ knowledge of individual words” Ellis 2008: 99. Although it is not possible to exactly determine how many words learners know, estimates can still
be obtained. To do that, some forms of test can be used, such as Vocabulary Size
Test by Nation and Beglar 2007. Over time, by being given more and more input, learners will acquire larger number of words.
Studies in vocabulary qualitative changes require information about some dimensions of word knowledge. The three dimensions by Haastrup and Henriksen
1998 are: 1 partial-precise, referring to learners’ level of comprehension of the same given word; 2 receptive-productive, referring to learners’ knowledge of a
given word, whether learners can use it receptively or productively; and 3 depth of knowledge, referring to the extent to which learners have acquired properties if
a given word like word’s paradigmatic and syntagmatic relations. Another way to measure learners’ vocabulary development is using
Paribakht and Wesche’s 1993 Vocabulary Knowledge Scale. The scale includes five levels which explain learner’s level of knowledge of specific words. These
levels start from total unfamiliarity to ability to use the words in a sentence. The stages are: 1. Learners have never seen the word before; 2. Learners have seen the
word, but they do not know what it means; 3. Learners have seen the word before, and may know what it means synonym or translation, 4. Learners know the
word and its meaning synonym or translation, 5. Learners can use the word in a sentence. This process of acquisition proceeds cumulatively, where learners
gradually obtain information related to word form and word meaning.
d. Learning Vocabulary When planning a language course, it is important to differentiate between
high and low frequency words. Because of its wide use and occurrence, high
frequency words deserver more classroom time Nation, 2006b. On the other hand, because of its low occurrence, low frequency words do not deserve much
classroom time. After learners know the high frequency words, they can begin learning the low frequency words. However, the focus is learning the strategy how
to deal with the words. Here are some approaches and strategies in dealing with low and high frequency words.
1 Low Frequency Words Nation proposes four strategies in dealing with low frequency words,
namely guessing words from context, deliberate learning using word cards, using word part analysis to help memory, and dictionary use.
a Word Guessing from Context According to Nation and Meara 2002, the most useful strategies of all is
guessing from context. However, in order to be successful in guessing, learners should know 95-98 of the tokens in a text. In other words, the unknown word to
guess should be surrounded by supporting context which learners can comprehend. The success of this strategy also depends on learners’ listening and
reading skill. Besides, based on guessing procedures proposed by Clarke and Nation 1980, guessing strategy will be successful if learners are able to follow
the idea presented in the text and they have background knowledge of the text Coady and Nation, 1988. In second language learning area, guessing meaning
from context is included in meaning-focused input strand. After successfully guessing the meaning of a word, direct learning of the same word should be
followed to support the learning.
b Deliberate Learning with Word Cards Using word cards in vocabulary learning is included in deliberate one.
Deliberate vocabulary learning is more effective than incidental vocabulary learning since it is more focused and goal oriented Nation and Meara, 2002. In
order to be successful in this strategy, Nation 2001 suggests a set of learning guidelines through the use of word cards, which are: i retrieval rather than
recognition; ii the use of appropriately sized groups of cards; iii repetition spacing; iv word aloud repetition; v word processing; vi interference avoidance;
vii serial learning effect avoidance; and viii the use of context when needed.
c Memorization with Word Parts This strategy helps learners memorize unfamiliar words by analyzing its
parts. According to Coady and Nation 1988: 107, an unknown word can be analyzed by checking its “prefixes and stem, as a clue to its meaning”, for
example, the word apposition, which comes from the words ap- a form of ad-, pos, and -ition. The meaning of apposition can be obtained by relating “the
meaning of the parts to the meaning of the whole word” Nation and Meara, 2002: 45. This strategy requires practice and learning. However, according to Nation
and Meara 2002: 45, “word part analysis is not a reliable means of guessing, but it is a very useful way of checking on the accuracy of a guess based on context
clues”.
d Dictionary Use Nation and Meara 2002 propose that there are some types of dictionary;
monolingual, bilingual, or bilingualized. They can be used receptively to support listening and reading or productively to support speaking and writing. There are
some subskills in using dictionaries, as suggested by Nation and Meara 2002 Dictionary use involves numerous subskills such as reading a
phonemic transcription, interpreting grammatical information, generalizing from example sentences and guessing from context
to help choose from alternative meanings. p.46
2 High Frequency Words According to Nation 2006b, teaching and learning vocabulary with high
frequency can be divided into four strands, namely meaning focused input, meaning focus output, language focused learning, and fluency development.
a Meaning-focused Input Nation and Meara 2002 suggest that meaning focused input is included
in incidental vocabulary learning through reading and listening. In order for this strategy to occur, non-native speakers should meet three conditions. First, only a
small amount of unknown vocabulary is allowed in a text, around two per cent, or one unknown word in 50 Hu and Nation, 2000. Second, the non-native speakers
should receive large amount of input, at least one million tokens or more per year. Third, there should be more deliberate attention to the unknown word to increase
the learning. In terms of the familiarity of a text, Nation 2006b suggests that teachers
can make use of specially written or simplified material with appropriate language
level, containing around 95 familiar words. Those texts can be used in reading and listening activities. In class, teachers’ instruction and interaction with learners
are also a good source of listening input. If teachers use high vocabulary words, then learners have enough opportunities for vocabulary learning.
If an extensive reading program is well-managed, well-designed, it can also provide opportunities to learn and develop vocabulary knowledge. A good
extensive reading program, based on what Nation and Wang 1999 state, a provides interesting materials in which learners know 98 of the running words,
b inspires learners to read at least one book every two weeks, c encourages learners to read at least three books at the same level before reading those at
higher level, d encourages learners to learn the unknown words in the texts deliberately, and e facilitates learners to talk and write about what they read with
enough amount of time, not much.
b Meaning-focused Output Learning from meaning-focused output refers to learning through
speaking and writing, from receptive skill to productive skill. According to Nation and Meara 2002, the use of vocabulary in productive skill can be increased by
designing activities which encourage learners to use new vocabulary, providing opportunities for learners, such as speaking activities in groups, to negotiate the
meanings of unknown words, and encouraging learners to use partly known words in speaking and writing to increase their knowledge of the words.
Negotiation of meaning is a powerful aspect in learning vocabulary through speaking Nation, 2006b. However, the proportion of negotiation of
words learned through spoken communication activities is still small. Nation adds that to design speaking tasks which facilitate vocabulary learning, some
considerations should be put into account. Those are: i the target vocabulary should be included in the written input, ii the vocabulary should be used when
performing the tasks, iii it is necessary to provide various opportunities in the task for learners to use the vocabulary, iv learners are required to use the
vocabulary in a different way from the one in the written input. Learning from meaning-focused output can also occur in writing
activities. Nation, 2006b proposes that useful writing activities require written or spoken output as a source of information to write about. For example, the Internet
is a good media for learning vocabulary since it provides learners opportunities to communicate and discuss through writing which includes negotiation of
vocabulary. Besides, synthesizing information from some texts can also be a useful written input as a source of vocabulary learning.
c Language-focused Learning Nation, 2006b explains that vocabulary learning though language
focused learning occurs in many opportunities, such as giving deliberate attention through activities like intensive reading, making use of word cards, pre-teaching
of vocabulary, and deliberate learning. The most obvious place for direct vocabulary learning is in intensive reading activities. Intensive reading requires
teachers and learners to work together in a text, looking at the language features and content.
From vocabulary perspective, teaching unknown words can be solved by pre-teaching them, giving the meanings directly, giving training in using strategies
of guessing from context, analyzing word parts, and using dictionary. The selection of which one to use depends on whether it is high frequency or low
frequency word, whether it is important in the text, the nature of the word, and the context in the text.
d Fluency Development For sure, for fluency development, unknown words are not included.
Learners do not learn new vocabulary, but learn how to make the best use of vocabulary that they already know or learn before. According to Nation and
Meara 2002, developing vocabulary fluency needs several conditions. It requires familiar materials in a large number, focuses on the message, and enough pressure
to learn at higher level. Vocabulary fluency development does not focus specifically on vocabulary or grammar anymore. Above that, it aims to develop
fluency in listening, speaking, reading, or writing Nation and Meara adds that there are two approaches in developing
vocabulary fluency. The first approach is repetition. It involves repeated practice on the same material so that learners can perform it fluently. The activities can be
repeated reading, 432 technique learners speak for four minutes, three minutes, and two minutes about the same topic, but to different learners, the best recording
learners make repeated attempts to record their best-spoken text, and rehearsed talks. The second approach is making many connections and associations with a
known word. It involves using a known word in various contexts and situations. The activities can be speed-reading practice, extensive reading, continuous
writing, and retelling activities. It aims at developing vocabulary system in a good order. Fluency is gained by controlling the language system and using the known
word in various contexts and situations well and efficiently. According to Nation 2006b, there are some characteristics of fluency
development. They are: i involving no unknown vocabulary, grammatical features, or discourse features; ii existence of pressure or encouragement to
perform at faster speed; iii message-focused aiming at message production or comprehension; iv involving language use in a large number. In the level of
words or phrases, like numbers, time sequences, greetings, etc, the activities can be teacher saying words or phrases quickly while learners pointing to what is
being said, or done productively by doing vice versa.
e. Vocabulary to Learn There are two considerations before determining what vocabulary should
be focused on in vocabulary learning. They are the needs of learners and the usefulness of the vocabulary Nation and Meara, 2002. Nation and Meara adds,
to measure the usefulness of vocabulary items, it is necessary to count the frequency and range, which is “the occurrence of a word across several
subsections of a corpus” Nation and Waring, 1997: 13, in a relevant corpus. By
counting the frequency of vocabulary items in a relevant corpus, it enables teachers to find a list of words which is useful for learners in early stages of
language learning. The high frequency words deserve more teaching time and need to be the main learners’ vocabulary goal since they are frequent and
widespread. According to Read 2004 there are several things learners should be able to do with high frequency words.
Learners need to have more than just a superficial understanding of the meaning; they should develop a rich and specific meaning
representation as well as knowledge of the word’s formal features, syntactic functioning, collocational possibilities,
register characteristics, and so on. p. 155
On the other hand, Nation and Waring continues, the low frequency words are not so frequent and thus do not deserve teaching time. However, these
words should still be learned independently by learners after they have learned the high frequency words. Teachers should train them strategies how to learn those
words. Beside the frequency counts, the decision also depends on learners’ need. It is necessary for teachers to look at learners’ need and make a special purposes
vocabulary list.
4. Textbook In this research, the term coursebook and textbook have the same
definition. According to Matsuoka Hirsh, 2010: 57, a course book is defined as follows.
Unlike authentic text, course book is a book which is designed specifically to be used in a classroom language learning
environment with language teacher support including pre- teaching of target vocabulary items.
Textbook then refers to any kind of book which is used by teachers to support English language learning in a classroom.
a. The Role of Textbooks Nowadays, the use of textbook is widespread throughout schools and
courses in the world. Language learning activities seem incomplete without the use of textbook. According to Littlejohn 1998, although conferences, journals,
and workshops are able to be used to spread new ideas, textbook has been there to be the most powerful device for spreading new ideas in language teaching. It is
indicated by the number of publishers in the world which increases year by year. Often, learners have their own paradox about the existence of textbook in
language learning, as proposed by Sheldon 1988. It is a cruel paradox that for students, teacher-generated material
which potentially has a dynamic and maximal relevance to local needs often has less credibility than a published textbook,
no matter how inadequate that may be. p. 238
From an instructional design perspective, a textbook is the primary instructional resource as a material provider. The objectives, content, and teaching
sequence are determined by the textbook Kemp, 1977.
Hutchinson and Torres 1994: 324 propose a broad perspective on the role of a textbook, which makes a textbook “continues to be the mainstay of ELT
provision”. 1 Textbooks as a Basis for Negotiation
The idea that a textbook only serves as a classroom material provider is totally wrong. Classroom material provider is just one of the functions that a
textbook has. Instead, a textbook serves a lot of needs within classroom and beyond it. It is not only a packaged material in a certain format. More than that, it
“provides a structure for the management of the lesson as a social interaction and a basis for negotiation between all the relevant parties” Hutchinson and Torres,
1994: 324.
2 Textbooks as a Flexible Framework A textbook is not a dictatorial instructor. Instead, it provides learners
flexibility, responsibility, and freedom of choice within a structured learning environment presented by teacher through the use of a textbook Owen, Froman,
Moscow, 1978. It enables learners to achieve their best development by providing a secure framework. The argument is proposed by Allen 2008 who
argues that teachers have rights how and when to use textbooks. In other words, teachers have control over the textbook in classroom and thus, it is not a
dictatorial instructor. Although the FL textbook may be viewed as a tool to
‘standardize’ instruction and student learning, individual teachers exercise agency in how and when the tool is used. p.
23
3 Textbooks and Teacher Development Textbooks provide clear things to negotiate about, thus, teachers and
learners can negotiate them freely. The assumption that a highly structured textbook causes the de-skilling of teachers is not true. Hutchinson and Torres
1994 suggest that the more teachers feel comfortable with what they are doing, the more inclined they make changes and variations from the textbook. Textbooks
enable variations to happen in classroom. Without structured guidance provided by textbooks, teachers tend to do the same way in teaching. Hutchinson and
Torres’ argument is supported by a study by Stodolsky 1988 which reveals that teachers are not constrained by textbooks. Instead, they make variations in their
teaching resulted from their convictions and preferences, the nature of materials that they use, the school context, the learners, the subject matter, and the
classroom grade level.
4 Textbooks as a Workable Compromise Due to the various needs of learners in a learning context, textbooks are
regarded as a workable compromise, as Hutchinson and Torres 1994: 325-326 says that “nothing that happens in education is anything more than a workable
compromise, and we cannot uniquely condemn textbooks because they are not a perfect fit”. It is teachers’ duty to decide their own way of using and adapting the
textbook based on learners’ needs, as Cunningsworth 1984 proposes. No coursebook will be totally suited to a particular teaching
situation. The teacher will have to find his own way of using it and adapting it if necessary. So we should not be looking for the
perfect coursebook which meets all our requirement, but rather
for the best possible fit between what the coursebook offers and what we as teachers and students need. p. 89
Cunningsworth’s argument is supported by Allen’s 2008 argument that the main point of using a textbook is not on what is included or not included in a textbook,
but on how teachers use particular materials in their classrooms. So the most pertinent question may not be what is included or
not in a particular textbook package but how instructors are using it or not in their teaching practices and why. p. 7
b. Characteristics of Materials in Use in Southeast Asia According to Bao 2008, based on his personal experience, English
materials used in the ASEAN member countries can be divided into three main categories. They are imported coursebooks, in-country coursebooks, and regional
coursebooks. 1 Imported Coursebook
‘Imported coursebook’ also refers to ‘foreign coursebook’ or ‘global coursebook’. It is not specifically written for Southeast Asia market, but
distributed in this area. When operating in regional, some materials are helpful, some are not. Teachers in Southeast Asia believe that such coursebook has
strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are: a the various illustration and pictures encourage learners to learn; b it is more systematic in terms of tasks and
exercises; c independent learning is promoted, d teachers are assisted with resource banks and teacher manuals, e the language is accurate, and f the texts
are interesting, have various genres and topics. Despite of the strengths, imported coursebook also has some weaknesses. They are: a it is not always easy for
learners with various level to understand instructions, b sometimes the coursebook fails to present accurate cultural information and images, c there is
little opportunity for learners to express their identity due to different country or cultural background, d imported coursebook, for some parents, are not
affordable, and e it tends to be not in line with local examination system and national education requirement.
2 In-country Coursebook ‘In-country coursebook’ refers to ‘domestic coursebook’ or ‘local
coursebook’. The coursebook fulfills educational objectives or national curriculum in a certain country where it is spesifically published. In Indonesia,
there are such coursebooks, which are published by Penerbit Erlangga, Yudistira, the Ministry of Education and Culture, etc. Generally, such coursebook has the
following strengths: a it promotes “national identities, religions, and political viewpoints”, b it presents recognizable characters to the learners, like proper
names, local products, etc, c it contains many texts reflecting “sociocultural behaviour, values, beliefs, and familiar experiences” of the learners, d it provides
“convenient connection between the materials and the local educational network” Bao, 2008: 267. Despite of the strengths, in-country coursebook also has some
weaknesses. They are: a the design does not look appealing, b many texts translated from mother tongue to English are sometimes linguistically inaccurate
and result in vague content, c the materials are less ideal for skill-based learning, d some presents too much amount of new vocabulary and syntactic structures,
and e sometimes it contains too much local-culture topic which can lower learners curiosity.
3 Regional Coursebook This kind of coursebook is unique. It is written by non-native speakers,
but exported to and accepted in some countries. This coursebook share the same strengths with in-country coursebook and has two additional strengths: a it has
efficient distribution network and b it has good market sales with attractive design. It also shares the same weaknesses with in-country coursebook with two
additional weaknesses, which are: a the materials are not applicable in some countries due to the difference in English proficiency levels.
c. The Importance of Evaluating Textbooks According to Hutchinson and Waters 1987: 96, “evaluation is a matter
of judging the fitness of something for a particular purpose”. In this case, it judges the fitness of a textbook for particular learners, with their learning purpose,
background knowledge, needs, and so on. It is not a matter of good or bad, but how a textbook helps learners achieve the required purpose.
“Evaluation is basically a matching process: matching needs to available solutions” p. 97. This matching needs to be done as objectively as possible. To
do so, the needs and solutions should be looked separately. Although in the final analysis the choice made will be subjective, the subjectivity should not influence
teachers’ judgment too soon without looking at possibly useful alternatives. A
textbook has to match with teachers and learners’ needs. Thus, subjective factors should not obscure objectivity.
d. Criteria for a Good Textbook Selecting a good textbook might be challenging for teachers. There are so
many textbooks offered, but not all of them are suitable to students’ needs. In selecting a good textbook, teachers need to consider some aspects. Mukundan and
Nimehchisalem 2012 develop a textbook evaluation checklist to help teachers evaluate a textbook before using it, as presented in the table below.
Table 2.1 English Language Teaching Textbook Checklist by Mukundan and Nimehchisalem 2012: 1132
Evaluative Criteria
I. General attributes A. The book in relation to syllabus and curriculum
1. It matches to the specifications of the syllabus. B. Methodology
2. The activities can be exploited fully and can embrace the various methodologies in ELT.
3. Activities can work well with methodologies in ELT. C. Suitability to learners
4. It is compatible to the age of the learners. 5. It is compatible to the needs of the learners.
6. It is compatible to the interests of the learners. D. Physical and utilitarian attributes
7. Its layout is attractive. 8. It indicates efficient use of text and visuals.
9. It is durable. 10. It is cost-effective.
E. Efficient outlay of supplementary materials 11. The book is supported efficiently by essentials like audio-materials.
Evaluative Criteria
II. Learning-teaching content A. General
12. Most of the tasks in the book are interesting. 13. Tasks move from simple to complex.
14. Task objectives are achievable. 15. Cultural sensitivities have been considered.
16. The language in the textbook is natural and real. 17. The situations created in the dialogues sound natural and real.
B. Listening 18. The book has appropriate listening tasks with well-defined goals.
19. Tasks are efficiently graded according to complexity. 20. Tasks are authentic or close to real language situations.
C. Speaking 21. Activities are developed to initiate meaningful communication.
22. Activities are balanced between individual response, pair work and group work.
D. Reading 23. Texts are graded.
24. Texts are interesting. E. Writing
25. Tasks have achievable goals and take into consideration learner capabilities. 26. Tasks are interesting.
F. Vocabulary 27. The load number of new words in each lesson is appropriate to the level.
28. There is a good distribution simple to complex of vocabulary load across chapters and the whole book.
29. Words are efficiently repeated and recycled across the book. G. Grammar
30. The spread of grammar is achievable. 31. The grammar is contextualized.
32. Examples are interesting. 33. Grammar is introduced explicitly and reworked incidentally throughout the
book. H. Pronunciation
34. It is contextualized. 35. It is learner-friendly with no complex charts.
I. Exercises 36. They are learner friendly.
37. They are adequate. 38. They help students who are underover-achievers.
5. Curriculum 2013 The newest curriculum in Indonesia education setting is Curriculum
2013. Although it has not been implemented in all schools in Indonesia, several schools are believed to become pilot schools to implement the new curriculum.
The Junior High School JHS curriculum structure is as follows. Table 2.2 Curriculum Structure for JHS Kemdikbud, 2013a
Lessons Time Allocation per Week
VII VIII
IX Group A
1. Pendidikan Agama dan Budi Pekerti
3 3
3 2.
Pendidikan Pancasila
dan Kewarganegaraan
3 3
3
3. Bahasa Indonesia
6 6
6 4.
Matematika 5
5 5
5. Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam
5 5
5 6.
Ilmu Pengetahuan Sosial 4
4 4
7 Bahasa Inggris
4 4
4 Group B
1. Seni Budaya
3 3
3 2.
Pendidikan Jasmani, Olah Raga, dan Kesehatan
3 3
3
3. Prakarya
2 2
2 Total Time Allocation per Week
38 38
38
The content of lessons in group A is developed by the central government, while the content of lessons in group B is developed by the central government
complemented with local content developed by district government. In Curriculum 2006, English is firstly introduced formally in elementary
schools as a compulsory subject with six contact hours per week. In the new curriculum, Curriculum 2013, English is set as an extracurricular activity in
elementary schools. It is firstly introduced formally as a compulsory subject in JHS level with four contact hours per week. However, the total contact hours in
JHS level increases from 32 per week to 38 per week. The government adds some contact hours to some lessons like Pendidikan Agama dan Budi Pekerti. With the
increasing number of contact hours and decreasing number of Kompetensi Dasar in Curriculum 2013, it is expected that teachers have more time to develop
learning process which is active learning students oriented Kemdikbud, 2013a.
B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK