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2 Student-Centred Learning This technique allows the students to be independent learners. They can ask
the other students and also look into dictionaries to find out the meaning of the words that they do not understand. The use of dictionaries has a positive impact in
the students’ understanding of the difficult words. Nevertheless, it also has negative impact towards the students attitude towards learning new words. For
instance, they might have the tendency to look into the meaning of the word by word, not by its whole meaning. In addition, Wallace in Campillo 1995: 47
claims that over-frequent use of dictionary in reading a passage can make the text more difficult to understand because the concentration is distracted.
Since there are various type of methods in teaching vocabulary, teacher can select as well as combine the methods. However, the method needs to be fun for
the learners especially in vocabulary learning. It is because the learners are still foreign with the English words. So, by creating an enjoyable environment for the
students to learn is necessary.
2. Reviews of Flashcards
a. The Definitions of Flashcards
One strategy to help the teacher teach vocabulary to the students is using teaching aids. Flashcards is one of which. It is the most commonly used teaching
aid in language teaching Cross, 1992: 119. According to him, flashcards is a simple form of a visual aid which is a picture in a card or paper.
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Baleghizadeh and Ashoori 2011: 4 state that a flashcard is a piece of cardboard consisting of a simpe picture, word or a sentence on it. Flashcard is
useful for introducing new words in the classroom. It can be classified based on the kind and the class such as flashcard of places, transportations, characteristics
of people, and tools. Flashcard is also known as cue card. Broughton et al. 2003: 218 say cue card or flashcard is a card with writing or pictures held by the
teacher briefly, and it is use d to elicit students’ response, either oral or written.
In addition, flashcard is a teaching aid that can be implemented in the teaching and learning process of a language especially for teaching vocabulary. It
is the most widely used as the teaching media in the language classroom, may contain a word, a sentence or a simple picture, and can be classified based on its
classes. Flashcards can be choosen as the media in particularly any subject lesson.
If the teacher uses it in the classroom, the teacher can make it by himself, or by the help of the flashcard application. Also, the contents of the flashcard can be
suited based on the learners’ need. Besides, flashcards also can be the media for the learners’ to learn autonomously.
b. Types of Flashcards
Generally, there are two types of flashcard. According to Haycraft 1978: 102-106 in YS Nugroho 2012: 22-23, they are as follows.
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1 Picture flashcard This type of flashcard is very useful to present, and practice vocabulary for
the students. Picture flashcards also can help the students to identify verb on action, as well as to improvise in a dialogue. Picture flashcards should
be interesting, and large enough for the whole class to see what is on the flashcard. Below are the examples of picture flashcards.
taken from ht p: www.eslflashcards.comwordpresswpcontentuploads201505preview- daily-activities-1.jpg
Figure 1: Picture Flashcards
2 Word flashcard Word flashcard is a card where a word is printed on it. This flashcard
is useful for practicing word order in a sentence for the students. The cards can be placed randomly on the class board, then the teacher can ask the
students to put the cards to form an orderly sentence. The following figure is the example of word flashcards.
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taken from http:www.sightwordsgame.comwp-contentuploads201 12Flash-Cards-Print- V2-231x300.jpg.
Figure 2: Word Flashcards
However, the form of flashcards is not fixed. Teachers still can modify it according to their students’ need. Scott 1990: 109-111 suggests the variation of
picture, word, or even sentence flashcard. The first one, teachers can make the double side card. The front side of the card is a picture of an object, and the back
of the card is its word or definition. Below are the examples.
Figure 3: Double-Side Picture Cards Scott, 1990: 109
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The next idea is by making the word flashcard based on its word classes. The teachers then can ask their students to arrange it into a complete sentence.
The example is as follows.
Figure 4: Word Class Cards Scott, 1990: 111
In addition, as the development of technology, there is a change in the utilization of flashcard. Teachers are assisted with the digital and printable
flashcard, or flashcard app that can be downloaded into their smartphones. It helps them to save time and also choose the suitable flashcard for their vocabulary
teaching. In the implementation of flashcard especially in the vocabulary teaching
and learning, it is possible for the teacher to combine both word and picture cards. The teacher can make the flashcard into picture-word cards. It is to help the
learners to get the clearer idea of the words that are taught. The picture on the card is for the learners’ to have the visual of the word, while the word beneath the
picture can help them to know how the spelling of the word. Furthermore, teacher
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also can use the word class cards to be implemented in the constructing sentences activities. The word class cards can train the students to recognize words into its
classes.
c. Using Flashcards in the Classroom
