c. Memory Retention in Vocabulary Acquisition
Memory has strong connection with language learning. Language enables humans to retain information and communicate in highly sophisticated ways. The
information-processing approach to memory is based on the separate-storage model and the levels-of-processing approach Sanatullova-Allison, 2014. In the
separate-storage model, the individual is seen as an information-processing system. Once an item is perceived, it enters primary memory PM with short-term
memory. Rehearsal is necessary for the item to remain in PM and, if rehearsal is long enough, the item may enter secondary memory SM, which is long-term
memory. According to Burning, Schraw, and Ronning 1999, the knowledge people have about their own thought process guides the flow of information
through the two memory systems: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory retains information or hold information when it is being
processed for only a few seconds normally. It is also known as working memory. Shcmitt 2000 states that short-term memory has small capacity to keep though it
is fast and adaptive to retain information. However, information being kept in short-term memory can be extended by rehearsal. For example, repeating a phone
number constantly will not be forgettable easily. Long-term memory, in another hand, has unlimited storage capacity which retains information in anything but it is
relatively slow. Understanding how information is storage in memory and why certain parts of it are still stuck while the others are lost is helpful to promote more
effective learning and retention of new language items. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
4. Approaches to Vocabulary Learning
In this study the approaches of vocabulary learning discussed are implicit and explicit vocabulary learning. Implicit learning refers to natural learning
process, while explicit learning implies that requires more mental effort.
a. Implicit Vocabulary learning
The concept of implicit vocabulary learning is that words can be acquired naturally through repeated exposure in various language contexts with reading as
the major source of input. Hulstijn 2003, p.349 states that implicit learning is the process of acquiring vocabulary and grammar through meaning focused
communicative activities such as reading and listening. In Krashen’s input hypothesis 1993, vocabulary can be acquired by reading as long as the input is
comprehensible to the learner. According to Ma 2006, p.16, the most important feature of implicit vocabulary learning is incidental learning. The term incidental is
defined here as learners’ acquisition of the meaning of words as they engage in other tasks such as comprehension of reading and listening passages.
However, acquiring vocabulary incidentally in second language acquisition is not always successful to learners. There are disadvantages for incidental
vocabulary learning compared to direct learning. Hulstijn 1992 reported two ineffectiveness of incidental learning in vocabulary acquisition. First, contextual
information is often ambiguous and not sufficiently reliable for learners to be able to make the correct inference. Second, learners have the risk of failing to verify the
correctness of inferences and can learn words incorrectly. Wesche and Paribakhl 2000 added that the vocabulary acquired through incidental learning is mainly for
recognition and hardly at all for production. This is because the nature of incidental PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
learning which the main language activity is reading where the focus is on meaning and content. Moreover, only limited attention is paid to the lexical and
syntactic features of the new words. The quality and quantity of lexical processing in incidental learning is simply insufficient to enable the learner to grasp the
precise meanings and correct usage of words that will lead to correct production. To overcome the disadvantages of incidental learning, Hulstijn, Hollander
and Greidanus 1996 propose the use of glosses as one way to enhance incidental vocabulary learning. They found that learners who had access to glosses perform
better that those without glosses on a vocabulary test administered immediately after treatment. Hulstijn, et al. 1996 conducted research with Dutch students
learning French as a second language and found that marginal glosses L1 were more effective than bilingual dictionary use or Text-only condition no glosses and
no use of dictionary.
b. Explicit Vocabulary Learning
Another approach to vocabulary learning is explicit learning. Ma 2006 argues that vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies should be learned or
taught explicitly so that learning can be more efficient. However, Ma agrees with other scholars that context is the main source for acquiring vocabulary, but she
claims that learners need some extra help to build up an adequate vocabulary and to acquire the strategies necessary to overcome with the problems of reading
context. According to Coady 1997, there two main approaches in explicit learning: explicit instruction and strategy instruction.
In the explicit instruction, learners should be taught vocabulary explicitly by using various means including direct memorization techniques Nation, 2001. The
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