THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEME-BASED TEACHING TO IMPROVE YOUNG LEARNERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEME-BASED TEACHING TO IMPROVE YOUNG LEARNERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY

A RESEARCH PAPER

Submitted to the English Department of FPBS UPI as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of Sarjana Pendidikan Degree

By

Nida Mujahidah Fathimah 0907399

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION INDONESIA UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

NIDA MUJAHIDAH FATHIMAH

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THEME-BASED TEACHING TO IMPROVE YOUNG LEARNERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY

APPROVED BY :

First Supervisor, Second Supervisor,

Ika Lestari Damayanti, S.Pd., M.A. Iyen Nurlaelawati, S.Pd., M.Pd.

NIP. 197709192001122001 NIP. 19770906200912002

Head of English Department of English Education Faculty of Language and Arts Education

Indonesia University of Education

Prof. Dr. Didi Suherdi, M.Ed. NIP. 196211011987121001

The Implementation of Theme-Based

Teachi g to I prove You g Lear ers’

English Vocabulary

Oleh

Nida Mujahidah Fathimah

Sebuah skripsi yang diajukan untuk memenuhi salah satu syarat memperoleh gelar Sarjana pada Fakultas Pendidikan Bahasa dan Seni

© Nida Mujahidah Fathimah 2013 Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia

Oktober 2013

Hak Cipta dilindungi undang-undang.

Skripsi ini tidak boleh diperbanyak seluruhya atau sebagian, dengan dicetak ulang, difoto kopi, atau cara lainnya tanpa ijin dari penulis.

ABSTRACT

This research paper entitled “The Implementation of Theme-Based

Teaching to Improve Young Learners’ English Vocabulary” was conducted to find out how the implementation of theme-based teaching could improve young

learners’ English vocabulary and the students’ responses towards its implementation. This research was carried out in one primary school in Bandung involving 32 fifth grade students. This study employed classroom action research by conducting vocabulary assessment, observation and questionnaire to collect the data. Based on the research findings, the theme-based teaching improved students’ vocabulary in terms of word identification, word meaning, and word use. It was

also found that the students’ responses were highly positive towards the implementation of theme-based teaching. For further research, it is suggested for teachers who want to apply this approach to provide themes that are familiar with the students and have been discussed together in the classroom to increase

students’ level of interest. Moreover, it is also suggested to conduct research in a longer period to give better result and better picture of the implementation of theme-based teaching to improve young learners’ English vocabulary.

TABLE OF CONTENT

PAGE OF APPROVAL

DECLARATION ... i

PREFACE ... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... iii

ABSTRACT ... iv

TABLE OF CONTENT ... v

LIST OF TABLES ... vii

LIST OF FIGURES ... viii

LIST OF CHARTS ... ix

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ... 1

1.1 Background of the Study ... 1

1.2 Statements of the Problems ... 3

1.3 Aims of the Study ... 3

1.4 Significance of the Study ... 4

1.5 Clarification of Terms... 4

1.6 Organization of the Paper ... 4

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 6

2.1 Theme-Based Teaching ... 6

2.2 Vocabulary ... 8

2.2.1 Definition of Vocabulary ... 8

2.2.2 Forms of Vocabulary ... 8

2.2.3 Teaching Vocabulary ... 9

2.2.4 Assessing Vocabulary ... 11

2.3 The Characteristics of Young Learners ... 12

2.4 Theme-Based Teaching in Teaching Vocabulary to Young Learners ...14

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD ... 19

3.1 Research Design ... 19

3.2 Site and Participants ... 22

3.3 Data Collection ... 22

3.4 Data Analysis ... 26

CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ... 29

4.1 The Implementation of Theme-Based Teaching to Improve Young Learners’ English Vocabulary... 29

4.1.1 Data Presentation and Discussion of Students’ Vocabulary Improvement... 29

4.2 Students’ Responses towards the Implementation of Theme-Based Teaching ... 42

4.2.1 Data Presentation and Discussion of Students’ Responses towards Theme-Based Teaching... 42

CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 48

5.1 Conclusions ... 48

5.2 Suggestions ... 49

BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents a general description of the paper. It covers the background of the study, the statement of the problems, the aims of the study, the significance of the study, clarification of terms and the organization of the paper.

1.1 Background of the Study

English as a foreign language has been seen as the important language to be learned in many countries since it has been treated as the international language. English language proficiency is meaningful in order to support people’s life nowadays. It can help people to widen their knowledge, facilitate them to communicate effectively and also to access information easier.

Based on its necessities, the English language learning has been introduced from the early age in many countries. As in Indonesia, English subject is taught since the elementary school level. But, it seems that this policy is going to be replaced since there will be some changes in the curriculum development 2013 as the decree of Ministry of Education and Culture (November, 2012) has proposed the plan of curriculum structure for each education level.

As in elementary school level, there will be some changes in the curriculum. Some school subjects, including English which is treated as one of local subjects in the latest curriculum, KTSP (Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Pendidikan), will be removed since it is considered that the number of the subjects has given too much burden to the students. It is also stated that the learning process will be based on the theme-based teaching to provide more contextual learning for the students.

Cameron (2001) states that in theme-based teaching, the curriculum is designed under theme that will be integrated among subjects without being separated into particular areas. The English subject may be deleted as the school subject in elementary level but it might still be treated as the additional subject or it can be said as the extracurricular. Eventhough the English subject is treated as

the additional subject, it will be interesting to see how the theme-based teaching that has been planned to be implemented in the curriculum development 2013 is also applied to teach English to young learners.

In the implementation of theme-based teaching, the teachers might be challenged since they need to be able to design their own materials in which text books are only for additional sources. As Cameron (2001:181) states, “...the

theme-based teaching required teachers to choose a theme or topic and then to plan a range of teaching and learning activities related to the theme”.

In designing a range of teaching and learning activities, teachers are not only required to plan it as the theme chosen but also they need to think of some aspects needed in learning foreign language. In the early stage, vocabulary seems to be essential in foreign language learning since it will be useful to improve some other skills. As it is supported by Cameron (2001:72), “building up a useful vocabulary is central to the learning of a foreign language at primary level”. She also further states that in introducing vocabularies, teachers need to design classroom activities in which the students will be able to participate and actively involved so they can experience the language by themselves. Moreover, the vocabularies also have to be recycled so the young learners will meet the words over and over again that might help them to have broad meaning of the words. Pinter (2006:85) argues that “recycling and revising both vocabularies and structures is important in TEYL classrooms”. She also highlighted that the recycling method needs to be varied so that the children can enjoy the activities.

Vocabulary learning process has been found as a problem in English as a Foreign Language based on the researcher’s observation in SD X, Bandung. The main problem is that how the children were being introduced to English vocabulary. It seems that they tended to be taught by translating the English vocabulary into Bahasa Indonesia and memorizing the vocabulary without having the real context of the vocabularies. This method might not be appropriate for young learners since they might forget the vocabulary easily that will cause failure in their learning. Cameron (2001) proposes that learners might fail to learn, or forget a lot of vocabularies because of some difficulties in vocabulary learning

which caused by inadequate recycling activities that do not relate to the learners’ real lives.

In line with that, the implementation of theme-based teaching is expected to be an answer of this learning problem. As Cameron (2001:191) states, “ theme-based work is likely to introduce new vocabulary items, with the theme providing support for understanding and recall”. Since the learning will go around theme, there will be more opportunities for the learners to meet particular words in different context that might give broader meaning of the words. Moreover, the implementation of theme-based teaching seems also beneficial for teaching children as it has been found by Yang (2009) in his study that the children were very positive towards theme-based teaching. The majority of them thought that teaching activities and tasks are more integrated and organized with the implementation of theme-based teaching. Considering that there will be opportunities for children to develop their vocabularies through theme-based teaching, as it has been planned to be implemented as the method in the curriculum development 2013, the present study tries to investigate how theme based teaching improves young learners’ English vocabulary.

1.2 Statements of the Problems

This study was conducted to answer two questions:

1) “How does theme-based teaching improve young learners’ English vocabulary?”

2) “What are the students’ responses towards the theme-based teaching that is implemented to improve their English vocabulary?”

1.3 Aims of the Study

This study is aimed to find out how theme-based teaching improves young learners’ English vocabulary and to find out students’ responses towards the theme-based teaching that is implemented to improve their English vocabulary.

1.4 Significance of the Study

The result of this study is expected to be a beneficial contribution not only for English language teacher but also for institutions concerned with teaching English for young learners. It is also expected that the theme-based teaching can help the students to learn English mainly in improving young learners’ vocabulary.

1.5 Clarification of Terms

Here are several terms used that are clarified to avoid misconception and misunderstanding:

 Theme-based teaching in this study refers to the approach that is used to teach English in order to improve students’ vocabulary. Theme-based teaching is an approach in which the learning activities are designed under a theme that will be linked based on the content. (Cameron, 2001)

 Vocabulary in this study refers to all the words that the students learn in order to communicate effectively involving word identification, word meaning, and word use.

 Young learners in this study refer to students in fifth grade of elementary school aged ten to eleven years old who learn English as a Foreign Language.

1.6 Organization of the Paper

This study is organized into five chapters as follow: Chapter I Introduction

This chapter focuses on the introduction of the research that gives information about the background of the study, the statement of the problems, the aims of the study, the significance of the study, clarification of terms, and the organization of the paper.

Chapter II Theoretical Framework

This chapter focuses on some theories and literature that related with the topic of the study. It will mainly discuss about theories and relevant studies about theme-based teaching, the concept of vocabulary, the characteristics of young learners, and the theme-based teaching in teaching vocabulary to young learners.

Chapter III Research Method

This chapter explains about methodology that is used in the study. Research methodology consists of research design, research site and participant, data collection and data analysis.

Chapter IV Findings and Discussions

This chapter presents the results of the study and discusses about the findings of the study based on the collective data.

Chapter V Conclusions and Suggestions

This chapter presents the entire conclusion of the study and also provides suggestions as a contribution for further learning and research.

CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD

This chapter explains about methodology that is used in the study in order to

answer these two questions: “How does theme-based teaching improve young

learners‟ English vocabulary?” and “What are the students‟ responses towards the theme-based teaching that is implemented to improve their English vocabulary?”

Research Methodology consists of research design, research site and participant, data collection and data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

This research was conducted by using classroom action research since it is

going to find out how the use of theme based teaching improves young learners‟

English vocabulary. As Jean McNiff and Jack Whitehead (2002:17) states that the main purpose of action research is the use of knowledge which leads to improvement of understanding that will be beneficial for society.

There are some steps needed in order to conduct this action research: planning, acting, observing and reflecting. This theory is further described by Lewin (1946, as cited in McNiff and Whitehead, 2002:41) as:

a spiral of steps involving planning, fact-finding (or reconnaissance) and execution, and which later came generally to be understood as an action– reflection cycle of planning, acting, observing and reflecting.

In this research, the action-reflection cycle was used since it gives opportunities for the researchers to have apparent result for each cycle of the research that will be helpful to conduct the next cycle. It also has been proposed by Koshy (2005:9) who considered that in action research, there will be continuous learning process so that the knowledge that have been learned during the process of planning, acting, observing and reflecting can be learned and shared for the improvement of learning.

There were two cycles taken to answer the question problems of the research. In the first cycle, the first step was planning in which plan for some aspects that would be implemented in the acting step was made. After that, the acting, observing and reflecting step were done. Then, the data from the first cycle was used to conduct the second cycle. These four steps of the action-reflection cycle will be described more in the table below.

Table 3.1 Action-reflection Steps

No Step Activities

1 Planning a. Choosing themes based on the text book used b. Developing lesson plans

- Setting the objectives - Selecting materials - Arranging activities - Choosing the media

2 Acting a. Setting up the video recorder at the back of the classroom b. Preparing the vocabulary assessment sheets

c. Implementing the lesson plans

3 Observing a. Observing the process of acting, especially the students‟ behavior through video recording.

b. Recording the observation result in the field notes.

4 Reflecting Reflecting the acting step based on the observation result and organizing how to conduct the next cycle.

There were four meetings for each cycle; three meetings for action and an assessment in the end of each cycle. The outline of the information in each cycle will be illustrated as follows.

Table 3.2 Cycle Information

Cycles Topics Meetings Materials 1 Food and Drink Meeting 1 Vocabulary

- Spicy, bitter, salty, sweet, fresh - Fo od (e.g: fried chicken, soup, etc) - Drink (e.g: coke, coffee, etc)

Expression

“Do you like…?” “Yes, I like… It is…” “No, I don‟t like… It is…” Meeting 2 Vocabulary

- Food (e.g: fried rice, porridge, etc.) - Drink (e.g: coke, tea, milk, etc.)

Expression

“Which one do you like?” “ I like…better than…” Meeting 3 Vocabulary

A bowl of soup, a plate of fried rice, a can of coke, etc.

Expression

“Can you give me…?” “Yes, of course.” “I‟m sorry, I can‟t”

Test Assessing students‟ vocabulary 2 Around the

School

Meeting 1 Vocabulary

- Noun (e.g: classroom, library, etc.) - Verb (e.g: study, borrow, etc.)

Expression

“What do you do in the...?” “I ... in the ...”

Meeting 2 Vocabulary

- Noun (e.g: classroom, library, etc.) - Verb (e.g: study, borrow, etc.)

Expression

“What do you need to do?” “I need to...”

Meeting 3 Vocabulary

- Noun (e.g: door, window, etc.) - Verb (e.g: open, close, etc.)

Expression

“Can you...the..., please?” “Yes, of course.”

3.2 Site and Participants

This research was conducted in SD X, Bandung. This site was chosen because of two reasons. First, the school is going to implement curriculum 2013 and adapt theme based teaching as their new method in learning process. Second, it was easy for the researcher to conduct the research there because of its accessibility.

The sample of this research involved a class of the fifth grade students. It consisted of 32 students, 16 of them were boys and 16 of them were girls. The students in the fifth grade in which were about 11 years old were chosen to conduct the research.

According to Nunan (2001:6), children around 11 years old have reached

“The Concrete-operational stage” in which “child begins developing the ability to separate the self from the environment and to think logically”. They even have

reached “The Formal-operational stage” in which“abstract thinking develops and

the child is now able to generalize beyond his/her immediate context from the instance to general”.

This study focused on the students‟ vocabulary mastery in which grammar

also needs to be put together. As Pinter (2006) argues that vocabulary learning and grammar cannot be separated and should be learnt together since they are interdependent. However, younger children are not capable enough to learn grammar since it deals with language system which is abstract and needs logical thinking. Hence, the students from the fifth grade were chosen since they are considered to be ready enough with the language system that will be put together with vocabulary learning.

3.3 Data Collection

There are some data collection methods that can be used in a research. As Koshy (2005:87) says, “there are many ways of gathering data; the most suitable method has to be chosen for the task in hand”. In this research, the data was collected through vocabulary assessment, observation, and questionnaire. Those data collection method is described as follows:

1. Vocabulary Assessment

The vocabulary assessment was carried out to see the students‟ vocabulary improvement that was employed during the treatment and in the test section.

In this study, the criterion referencing (see Chapter II) was used. This approach was chosen since this is appropriate with the school policy that has Minimum Passing Criteria for each subject. Moreover, it seems more appropriate for children since it focuses on individual achievement rather than compares it with other students‟ achievement so it will be less-competitive. This also can encourage students to learn since their effort and achievement are valued.

Based on the dimension of vocabulary assessment (see Chapter II), the assessment was conducted by using embedded test, comprehensive measure and context dependent assessment. The vocabulary assessment was carried out in a spoken form since the oral vocabulary was chosen as the focus in this study. The students were expected to respond based on the contextual information given that was adjusted with the theme in each cycle.

The assessment was conducted through interview by using set of picture cards as the media. The interview was chosen since the students‟ vocabulary improvement was assessed in a spoken form, as it had been learned in the classroom. There were questions given based on the pictures and the students had to answer with a correct expression as they had the similar activities in the classroom. The set of cards was used in order to bring child-friendly atmosphere so they will be less-threatened and less-likely being assessed. The vocabulary assessment focuses on three criterions which are word identification, word meaning and word use.

Table 3.3 Rubric for Assessing Vocabulary

(Antonacci and O’Callaghan, 2012)

Criterion 5 ≥ 90%

4 75-89% 3 51-74% 2 26-50% 1 0-25% Note Word Identification Proficient in saying the words Has a little difficulty saying the words Has some difficulty saying the words

Has a lot of difficulty saying the words Are not capable in saying the words Word meaning Knows the comprehen sive meaning of the words Knows more than partial meaning of the words Knows the partial meaning of the words Knows only a little meaning of the words Doesn‟t know the meaning of the words

Word use Can use the words with a high degree of accuracy in the context of speaking Can use the words with middle degree of accuracy in the context of speaking Can use the words with some degree of accuracy in the context of speaking Can use the words with a low degree of accuracy in the context of speaking Cannot attempt to use the words within the context of spea king. 2. Observation

Based on Koshy (2005), there are two types of observation; participant and non-participant observation. The participant observation was taken in this study since the researcher took part as a teacher. As it was also further described,

“…participant observation involves the researcher living in the context and being a part of it” (p.98)

In this method, the students‟ progress in the process of the treatment and also their behavior during the process were observed. This observation was conducted through video recordings and field note.

1.1 Video recordings

Video recording was used in order to get more accurate data in the study. Koshy (2005) states that different aspect as well as some significant point can be analyzed more by viewing the recordings. Since the study needs to check students‟

this video recordings are needed to complete the information. It also has been seen as one advantage of using video recordings, as Koshy (2005:104) claimed that

“Students’ behaviors and attitudes can be captured with greater accuracy than by making observation notes”.

1.2 Field note

This field note was used in order to see students‟ behavior during the lesson. As Creswell (2009) mentions that field note was taken to record behaviors and activities in the research site. The field note focus on two aspects, which are learning skill and social skill that has been adapted from Moon (2000).

Table 3.4 Field Note (Moon, 2000)

No Skills + - Notes

1 Learning Skills

- Can work independently of the teacher

- Can carry out own work activities

2 Social skills

- Show interest in learning English

- Are able to cooperate with others in pair/group work

3. Questionnaire

Kohsy (2005:89) sees that “questionnaires can help you to gather a reasonable amount of data in a short time”. In this study, the questionnaire was conducted in the end of the research in order to find out students‟ perception toward theme-based teaching as a method to improve their English vocabulary.

Pinter (2006) argues that children may easily misunderstand the question since the language use is too complex for them. Thus, the researches explained some terms

used before the students fill in their response and also made sure that all of the students understand the meaning of each question written. The smiley emoticon was also employed to avoid students‟ boredom since children may find it fun and interesting.

There are ten close questions provided in the questionnaire that is administered in Bahasa Indonesia. The open questions are avoided since it may be time-consuming and also tiring especially for children who inexperienced in writing (Pinter, 2006). In the questionnaire, the first two questions relate with the students‟ perception towards English learning. The third until the fifth are about the suitability of theme chosen with the students‟ interest, proficiency level and daily life. The sixth and seventh items relate with the students‟ perception towards the implementation of theme-based teaching in English learning. The next three items relate with the effect of theme-based teaching towards vocabulary learning. The last item relates with students‟ motivation in theme-based teaching for their future learning.

It was expected that the result of the questionnaire can provide further information that might be helpful for the study.

3.4 Data Analysis

Kohsy (2005) suggested two ways to be used in analyzing and presenting the data. There are quantifiable and descriptive data. He further states that “a combination of the representations from the various models might also be used”

(p.110). In this study, the researcher combined those ways to analyze and present the data that have been collected.

The quantifiable data was used to represent the data from the questionnaire. Kohsy (2005) suggests that the data collection which involved questionnaires or quantifiable information through observations can be displayed by using tables and diagrams. He also further described that it can be helpful in two ways; first, a visual display makes it easier for the reader to understand information. Secondly, they break up continuous prose which can sometimes be tedious for a reader trying to make sense of the data.

The descriptive data was used to analyze and present the data from observation. Kohsy (2005) supports that qualitative data very suitable for action research as its ability to capture the „richness‟ and „holism‟ of a situation.

For analysing and interpreting qualitative data, Miles and Huberman (Kohsy, 2005) define data analysis as consisting of three concurrent flows of activity: data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing/verification.

1. Data Reduction

In this stage, the data that have been collected might be narrowed in order to provide precise analysis. Kohsy (2005) states that data reduction refers to the process of selecting, focusing, simplifying, abstracting and transforming the data that appear in the written up field notes or transcriptions. He also further seen data reduction as a form of analysis that sharpens, sorts, focuses, discards and organises data in such a way that „final conclusions‟ can be drawn and verified. The data that have been chosen in this point then will be further used in the final analysis.

2. Data Display

The data display can be adjusted with the instruments that have been chosen. As Kohsy (2005:113) proposed that “data display can include different types of graphs, charts and networks.” He further describe that data display is used to portray

the information collected in a concise form so that the researcher will be able to move to further analysis and draw a conclusion based on the data illustrated before.

3. Conclusion Drawing/verification

The data conclusion was drawn in the end of the data analysis. In this stage, the information has to cover the whole areas of the data that lead to a comprehensible conclusion of the research. Kohsy (2005:114) defines this part as follow:

From the start, the researcher tries to decide what things mean and to note regularities, patterns and explanations. The researcher holds these conclusions lightly, maintaining scepticism until they are more explicit and grounded. Although final conclusions appear only when the analysis is over, the action researcher also draws conclusions as the project progresses.

In this research, the conclusion of the data analysis needs to cover the answer of these research problems: 1) How does the theme-based teaching improve young learners‟ English vocabulary, and 2) What are the students‟ responses towards the theme-based teaching that is implemented to improve their English vocabulary?

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents the entire conclusion and provides suggestion of the study. The conclusion is drawn from the research findings and discussion while the suggestions is provided as a contribution for further learning and research related to the implementation of theme-based teaching to young learners.

5.1 Conclusions

This study was conducted to find out the implementation of theme-based teaching in teaching vocabulary to young learners. It was aimed at investigating how theme-based teaching could improve young learners’ English vocabulary and what are the students’ responses towards the implementation of theme-based teaching. The data collection was conducted through vocabulary assessment, observation from video recordings and field notes, and also from questionnaires. The conclusion could be drawn as follows.

There were some findings related to the young learners’ vocabulary improvement based on the implementation of theme-based teaching. The findings indicated that the implementation of theme-based teaching could improve young learners’ English vocabulary. The data from the assessment during the treatment and in the test section showed that the students’ vocabulary was improved in terms of word identification, word meaning and the word use.

In terms of word identification, the students could pronounce the word better from time to time which was seen from the observation from video recordings and teachers’ note during the test section. In word meaning aspect, the students were also could recognize the meaning of the words better after they learned it several time. And the last, in the word use aspect, their ability to use the words known in a context of speaking were getting better each time.

Those improvements were supported by the principles of theme-based teaching and the principle of teaching vocabulary that had been applied in the teaching and learning process. The assessment part that was conducted by

considering young learners’ characteristics could also support the students’ vocabulary improvement.

Besides of those findings, the data gained from the questionnaires and field notes showed students’ positive response towards the implementation of theme-based teaching. It was shown that they had strong interest in learning English that increased after the implementation of theme-based teaching. It could be supported by the findings that they actively participated during the lesson. They also gave positive response towards the themes given. They argued that the themes given were suitable with their interest, their level of proficiency and their daily life.

Those findings related with their view that theme-based teaching could help them to learn English vocabulary in an easier way and more vocabulary could be learned by the use of theme-based teaching. This point was supported by the observation result that they were able to work independently and cooperate with others in pair or group work. Moreover, they were also willing to use themes for their next English learning.

5.2 Suggestions

Based on the findings of this study, there are some suggestions in relation with the implementation of theme-based teaching that hopefully can be useful for teachers who want to conduct theme-based teaching in their classroom and also for researchers who will conduct a study in the same topic.

For teachers who want to implement theme-based teaching in their classroom, it is important to set a theme that suits with children interest and needs. It is suggested that the teachers choose the themes that are familiar with the students and have been discussed with the students beforehand since it can raise

students’ motivation and their interest in learning English.

Furthermore, the teachers should provide various activities which can

maintain students’ interest during the lesson. It is important since the students

For the researchers who will conduct a study with the same topic, it is

suggested to select the vocabularies carefully so it can suit the students’

proficiency level. It is also suggested to provide various ways and context in introducing the vocabularies so the students may expand their vocabulary knowledge. However, it is recommended to conduct research in a longer period to give better result and better picture of the implementation of theme-based teaching

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In this research, the conclusion of the data analysis needs to cover the answer of these research problems: 1) How does the theme-based teaching improve young

learners‟ English vocabulary, and 2) What are the students‟ responses towards the theme-based teaching that is implemented to improve their English vocabulary?

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

This chapter presents the entire conclusion and provides suggestion of the study. The conclusion is drawn from the research findings and discussion while the suggestions is provided as a contribution for further learning and research related to the implementation of theme-based teaching to young learners.

5.1 Conclusions

This study was conducted to find out the implementation of theme-based teaching in teaching vocabulary to young learners. It was aimed at investigating how theme-based teaching could improve young learners’ English vocabulary and what are the students’ responses towards the implementation of theme-based teaching. The data collection was conducted through vocabulary assessment, observation from video recordings and field notes, and also from questionnaires. The conclusion could be drawn as follows.

There were some findings related to the young learners’ vocabulary improvement based on the implementation of theme-based teaching. The findings indicated that the implementation of theme-based teaching could improve young learners’ English vocabulary. The data from the assessment during the treatment and in the test section showed that the students’ vocabulary was improved in terms of word identification, word meaning and the word use.

In terms of word identification, the students could pronounce the word better from time to time which was seen from the observation from video recordings and teachers’ note during the test section. In word meaning aspect, the students were also could recognize the meaning of the words better after they learned it several time. And the last, in the word use aspect, their ability to use the words known in a context of speaking were getting better each time.

Those improvements were supported by the principles of theme-based teaching and the principle of teaching vocabulary that had been applied in the teaching and learning process. The assessment part that was conducted by

considering young learners’ characteristics could also support the students’ vocabulary improvement.

Besides of those findings, the data gained from the questionnaires and field notes showed students’ positive response towards the implementation of theme-based teaching. It was shown that they had strong interest in learning English that increased after the implementation of theme-based teaching. It could be supported by the findings that they actively participated during the lesson. They also gave positive response towards the themes given. They argued that the themes given were suitable with their interest, their level of proficiency and their daily life.

Those findings related with their view that theme-based teaching could help them to learn English vocabulary in an easier way and more vocabulary could be learned by the use of theme-based teaching. This point was supported by the observation result that they were able to work independently and cooperate with others in pair or group work. Moreover, they were also willing to use themes for their next English learning.

5.2 Suggestions

Based on the findings of this study, there are some suggestions in relation with the implementation of theme-based teaching that hopefully can be useful for teachers who want to conduct theme-based teaching in their classroom and also for researchers who will conduct a study in the same topic.

For teachers who want to implement theme-based teaching in their classroom, it is important to set a theme that suits with children interest and needs. It is suggested that the teachers choose the themes that are familiar with the students and have been discussed with the students beforehand since it can raise

students’ motivation and their interest in learning English.

Furthermore, the teachers should provide various activities which can

maintain students’ interest during the lesson. It is important since the students

For the researchers who will conduct a study with the same topic, it is

suggested to select the vocabularies carefully so it can suit the students’

proficiency level. It is also suggested to provide various ways and context in introducing the vocabularies so the students may expand their vocabulary knowledge. However, it is recommended to conduct research in a longer period to give better result and better picture of the implementation of theme-based teaching

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