Meaning The importance of vocabulary The procedure of teaching vocabulary

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW

This chapter deals with some theories that become the bases for the discussion. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss four basic theories of the study, so that the problems stated in the previous chapter have strong theoretical principles. The theories are teaching vocabulary, pictures as the media, the characteristics of autistic students, and the instructional material design.

A. Teaching Vocabulary

‘The vocabulary is the range of word that can support the students to learn other aspects of language’ Burton, 1982: 98. The students can manipulate the stock of their vocabulary to perform in the language, either to express their idea or to comprehend new information accurately. The teaching of vocabulary is considered important because it is the basic in teaching other aspects of language. Therefore, vocabulary should be taught before other aspects. This section discusses the meaning, the importance of vocabulary, and the procedures in teaching vocabulary.

1. Meaning

Based on the mening of vocabulary stated in the definition of term, Keidler 1963: 21 defines vocabulary as: a stock of words in a language that can support the students to learn the skill of the language. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI The definition above means that vocabulary, as one of language elements, is a useful means to facilitate and support the students in learning the skills of the language. Burton 1982: 98 states that the larger of vocabulary, the better will be ones’ performance in all aspects of English language work.

2. The importance of vocabulary

Based on the meaning of vocabulary, it can be said that vocabulary can support students to learn the English skills. A large vocabulary helps the students to express their ideas, precisely, vividly Burton, 1982: 88, because vocabulary really supports students to learn the skills of the target language. By having much stock of words, the students will be able to comprehend the article or text-books; they can also communicate and write fluently in any other languages. Further, Naggy and Herman state that individuals who know many word meanings know much about the world in general Mc. Keown, 1987: 4. Considering the importance of vocabulary role in students’ learning, the mastery of this element should be ensured and developed. It is not done, the vocabulary mastery of the students will be very limited and as the consequence they will find difficulties in learning a language.

3. The procedure of teaching vocabulary

In the past, vocabulary was taught mostly by translation: either a list of words with their translation of the material containing new words at the end Lado, 1964: 120. However, the teaching process above does not really fit to be applied today since in the principle of teaching it is experiencing that is stressed. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI Experiences have been very influential as guide for teaching, but the students will easily forget what the teacher explain if they only sit and hear. Based on the guideline above, the steps of teaching vocabulary are formulated as follow: a. Hearing the word Teacher pronounces the word and lets the students hear it in isolation and in a sentence. Slow pronunciation, breaking the word into parts and building up to the whole word will help them to recognize the word. b. Pronouncing the word The students pronounce the word in order to help them remember the word longer and identify it more readily when they hear or see it. A few more repetitions of mispronunciation and the students will not make the mistake like habit. c. Grasping the meaning The next step is getting the meaning to the class. Picture of many kinds have been successfully used to show the meaning of words and utterances. They are particularly effective to cue the meaning-stimulus. Pictures can be used to illustrate the meaning of the words and later to practice their recall by covering the words and remembering them with the pictures as the only stimuli. It means that the students can recognize and identify the things easily since they have ever seen them in the picture. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI d. Illustrative sentence It is done by putting the word in sentences in order to illustrate the range and variations of position. e. Practicing from meaning to expression After knowing certain words, the students are asked to practice the use of the words to reinforce the trace and turn those words into habit. Pictures, realia, and dramatization can be used as stimuli. f. Writing the word This activity will help students to remember the spelling of the word that they have heard and pronounced.

B. Pictures as the Media

The effectiveness of picture in language teaching has been universally acknowledged. Pictures do not only stimulate the students to practice the language skills but also make the learning enjoyable. This section discusses the nature of pictures, pictures as the media to teach vocabulary, types of pictures, and the advantages for both teacher and students of using pictures as the media.

1. The nature of pictures