In addition, Nation also identifies the categories of knowledge about vocabulary:
a. Form: Readers recognize the word in print and distinguish its
various grammatical forms noun, verb, adjective, adverb. b.
Position: Readers know the grammar patterns and structures in which a word can occur and the words that frequently appear
before or after it, the collocations. c.
Function: Readers know how common or rare the word is and what types of situations and texts it would most likely occur.
d. Meaning: Readers know the various meanings and nuances of a
word as well as its synonyms.
8
Based on the references above, we can know the classification of vocabulary that it has its own utility when it is used. Furthermore, words
are a part of people’s way of living or tools to communicate in language which is used by a person for showing and telling their opinion and ideas
based on their need. In other words , the richness of person’s vocabulary is
popularly thought to be a reflection of level education.
3. What Need to be Taught
Vocabulary acquisition is needed to learn a foreign language by language learner especially young learner. So,
it’s important to know the aspects to be taught to learn vocabulary at the basic level by knowing a
word such as its form and its meaning. a.
Word formation
Word formation is how the word is constructed. Vocabulary item, whether one-word or multi-word, can often be
broken down into their component. Exactly how these components are put together is another piece of useful information such as sub-,
un- and –able, this will help students guess the meaning of words
like ungrateful, unhappy, and unsure.
8
Aebersold and Lee, op.cit., pp. 139-140.
Another way vocabulary items are built is by combining two words two nouns, or a gerund and a noun, or a noun and a
verb to make on item, such as swimming pool, book store, and
follow-up.
b.
Aspects of meaning
How the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of others can also be useful in teaching. There are various such
relationships with meaning:
1 Synonyms: items that mean the same, or nearly the same; for
example, clever and smart may serve as synonym of intelligent.
2 Antonyms: items that mean the opposite; rich is an antonym of
poor.
3 Hyponyms: items that serve as specific examples of general
concept; dog, lion, mouse are hyponyms of animal.
4 Super-ordinates: general concepts that cover specific items;
animal is the super-ordinate of dog, lion mouse.
5 Translations: words or expressions in the learners’ mother
tongue those are more or less equivalent in meaning to the item being taught.
9
As mention before, vocabulary is a set of word include word family. There are so many to be taught to master vocabulary because
knowing vocabulary form and its meaning is required to basic level. Vocabulary formation is how the vocabulary is constructed and vocabulary
meaning is how vocabulary reflects to its vocabulary. In addition there are several relationships with vocabulary meaning, such as synonym,
antonym, hyponym, super-ordinates and translation.
9
Scoot Thornburry, How to Teach Vocabulary, Edinburgh: Pearson Educated Limited, 2002, p. 15.
