second language, and real vocabulary consists of words, the learner is familiar with after and because of exposure.
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The most important point of the productive vocabulary or receptive vocabulary is that it suggests that there are different ways to
“know” a word. Knowing a word includes being able to recall its meaning and being able to see which shade of meaning a word is most suitable for
the context that occurs. By knowing the meaning of a word may include being able to make various associations with other related words. That
what is considered sufficient knowledge under one circumstance will probably not be sufficient under others.
4. Ways of Presenting New Vocabulary
On presenting new vocabulary to the learners, frequently the teacher will find it necessary to explain the meaning of word or short phrase. Here are
numbers of ways in presenting new vocabulary:
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a. Realia This is the word to refer to the use of real objects in the classroom. Thus
the words ‘pen’, ‘ruler’, or ‘chalk’, can be easily explained by showing students a pen, a ruler, or a chalk. This is clearly satisfactory for certain
23
Susan. M. Gass and Larry Sclinker, Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course Second edition, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc, 2001, p. 374
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Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of Language Teaching, Essex: Pearson Education Limited, 2001, third printed, p. 85-86
single words, but the use of realia is limited to things that can easily be taken into the classroom.
b. Pictures Pictures are clearly indispensable for the language teacher since they can
be used in so many ways. Pictures including blackboard drawings, wall pictures, flashcard, charts, and any other non-technical visual
representation. Pictures can be used to explain the meaning of vocabulary items and to create a situation or context.
c. Mime, action, and gesture It is often impossible to explain the meaning of words and grammar either
through the use of realia and or of picture. Actions, in particular, are probably better explained by mime. And gesture is useful for explaining
words like ‘from’, ‘to’, or indicating that the past is being talked about the teacher gestures backwards over his shoulder
d. Contrast Sometimes a visual element realia, picture, mime may not be sufficient
to explain meaning, so contrast can be used. In letterland, the letterlanders like everything which start with there letter on they name. Example
‘Clever Cat doesn’t like a cup of tea, but she likes a cup of cocoa’
e. Enumeration The word ‘vegetable’ is a difficult word to explain visually. However, the
teacher rapidly lists or enumerates a number of vegetables and the meaning will become clear.
f. Explanation Explaining the meaning of vocabulary items can be extremely difficult
just as grammatical explanation, especially at elementary levels. It will be important, if giving such explanations, to make sure that the explanations
includes information about when item can be used. g. Translation
For many years translation was considered as something of a sin. Clearly if the teacher is always translating this will impede students’ learning
since they want to hear and use the target language, not their own. But it seems silly not to translate if by doing so a lot of time can be saved. If the
students do not understand a word and the teacher can not explain it, he can quickly translate it; the same is true, in principle of a piece of
grammar. Translation then seems a useful measure if used sparingly, but it should be used with caution.
These aids and measures may be useful for explaining the meaning of a word or sentence. They may be used in combination e.g. pictures and
mime, translation and enumeration, etc
To clarify the statement above, Penny Ur also gives some comments concerning with the ways of presenting the meaning of new items:
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a. Concise definition as in a dictionary: often a superordinate with qualification, for example: a cat is an animal which...
b. Detailed description of appearance, qualities.... c. Examples hyponyms
d. Illustration picture, object e. Demonstration acting, mime
f. Context story or sentence in which the items occur g. Synonyms
h. Opposites or antonyms i. Translation
j. Associated ideas, collocations No matter how many experts classifying the ways of presenting the
meaning of new items, the learners also need to review and practice words with which they are already familiar. Finally, in increasing their vocabularies,
learners also need to be trained to become independent learners, by becoming effective word recorders.
5. Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary
