FRAMEWORK OF PRE-UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE REVIEW
One good thing about a learning medium is it can be made very specific with specific features to facilitate specific kind of learning. It helps students to
focus on what they need to learn. The IPALL is specifically made to facilitate students in vocabulary learning. It is meaningful for them because if they do not
know vocabulary, they cannot do the tasks or examination questions which are written in English. The IPALL matching and multiple choice have made them
able to focus on the word meaning and forms. They know more about those two facets of vocabulary knowledge than they did. Better knowledge of the word
meaning and forms serves as the first pre-figured theme. As I have experienced becoming both students and teachers, I have started
to notice things which I did not notice. My experience of being a student has given insight that students should always do what they are instructed to do. Some
work should be done using applications available in computers. I did not have many experiences in using technology at that time which caused fear. My
experience as a teacher has given an insight that when students have enough capacity to do something they will feel at ease. On the contrary, when they know
they are not equipped with certain knowledge and skills about something, they have great fear. It may also happen to students who do not have much or do not
have any experiences at all in learning using similar application. The fact that any computer application may not work because of an error can also be one thing to
worry. Thus, fear is the second pre-figured theme. Some students have better skills in English and have better vocabulary
mastery than the other students in the class. Some of them have tried to do the exercise only once and they have already got good score while some others need
to try more than once. Students who know what their strength and weaknesses are able to recognize which part of their learning process which needs to be improved.
To improve what is not good yet, students need patience and acceptance. They need to have patience with a consideration that the nature of vocabulary learning
itself is incremental Schmitt: 2000. It will get better as they keep learning it regularly. Acceptance is about being willing to accept their ability to do
vocabulary exercises no matter what the results are. It refers to a type of transcendence which Maslow 1979: p.261 has mentioned. They do not need to
keep feeling worried or guilty. Accepting means they know their weaknesses and admit them without having to feel or believing that they cannot be successful.
Acceptance is a quality that not all people possess. Acceptance is important not to make people get stuck in their weaknesses but to be patience while they keep
making improvement. Acceptance serves as the third pre-figured theme. The type of transcendence which Maslow 1979: p.264 means by
surpassing with what one is able to do agrees with the self-actualization concept which is about maximizing our potential. This leads to the fourth pre-figured
theme which is perseverance. Vocabulary learning has its own difficulties. Yet, difficulties will always be difficulties when they do not solve it. Giving up is not a
choice especially when it keeps us away from what we actually want to achieve and it disables us to know our actual potential. Thus, perseverance is needed.
The situation that students face from time to time is various. There are times when they learn without any significance problems but there are also times
when they have to think about solutions to their problems. The problems may come from external or internal factors. There are also times when they feel very
lazy and there are times when they feel very eager to learn. At the other time, they may feel they have to do their work right away but there are also times when they
cancel doing what they are supposed to do. In relation with those things, making the right choice is necessary. It is what is known as “listen to the impulse voices”
Maslow, 1979: p. 44. It is when one learns what is the right or wrong choices to take. The theme of making a right choice serves as the fifth pre-figured theme.
There are always temptations to take the shortcut to achieve good results. Some students may follow the temptations; some others decide not to do that. It is
related with how much they think honesty is important. It is not seen on the surface, but it is related with students’ conscience because people at their age have
to know which things are right and which ones are wrong. It is whether they are honest that the results they report to teachers are pure their own results. Honesty is
the seventh or the last pre-figured theme. To sum up, there are six pre-figured themes, those are better knowledge of word meaning and forms, fear, acceptance,
perseverance, making the right choice, and honesty. Better knowledge of word meaning and forms is the pre-figured empirical themes while the other five
themes are the pre-figured transcendent themes.
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