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From the statements above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is a list of words that has some meaning which students know in a language. And also
vocabulary is a central of a language thay should be known by a learner.
C. Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners
Teaching vocabulary to young learner is not easy. They have their own factors that different from each other.
“Children differ in physical characteristic, social skills, home site intellectual ability, learning capability, ideas attitudes,
needs, ambitions, hopes, and dream. It requires teacher to use teaching and tactics.” Jerolimeck, J. et. al. 2001:3
Wendy A. Scott and Lisbeth H. Ytreberg mention that young learners have certain characteristics that teacher should know. Some of the characteristic are:
1. They understand situations more quickly than they understand
the language used. 2.
Their own understanding comes through hands, eyes, and ears. 3.
They are very logical-what you say first happened first. 4.
They are very short attention and concentration span. 5.
Young children sometimes have difficulty knowing what fact is and what fiction is.
6. Young children are often playing and working alone, but in the
accompany of others. 7.
Young children can not decide for themselves what to learn.
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8. Young children are enthusiastic about learning. Scott and
Lisbeth, 1990: 2-3 The characteristics of students are complex. In order to make good interaction
to them, teacher should know and understand the characteristics of the students. Teachers not only have to understand the characteristis of the students but also
have to choose some techniques to teach. According to Allen, “Understanding the
meaning is not only the first steps in learning a word” there are many techniques
to teach vocabulary for young learners. They are: 1.
The teacher can show the students the meanings of all the new words in sample textbook lesson.
2. The meanings can be shown by pictures.
3. The teacher can ask the students by pointing something in the
classroom which is named by the English. 4.
The students can hear and see each of the words and copy the new vocabulary into their notebooks.
5. The students can use the words in communication activities
Allen, 1983 : 21. Based on the explanations above, a teacher should understand children’s
characterictics because each of them has their own characteristic. Teaching with words does not enough for young learners. A teacher have to be more creative in
delivering a material by using some media and activities.
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D. Games
