Using contextual teaching and learning to improve the vocabulary mastery of VII A students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta

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USING CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING
TO IMPROVE THE VOCABULARY MASTERY
OF VII A STUDENTS IN SMP PANGUDI LUHUR 1
YOGYAKARTA
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Clara Belinda Charismalanni
Student Number: 081214013

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013

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USING CONTEXTUAL TEACHING AND LEARNING
TO IMPROVE THE VOCABULARY MASTERY
OF VII A STUDENTS IN SMP PANGUDI LUHUR 1
YOGYAKARTA
A SARJANA PENDIDIKAN THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree
in English Language Education

By
Clara Belinda Charismalanni
Student Number: 081214013

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2013
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There’s something I know to be true
Snow is white and the ocean is blue
Rain is wet and it falls from the sky
And the stars come out every night
And just as sure as the sun will rise
This love is real, you see in my eyes
Plant a seed and it will grow
Some things I know
There’s something in live I need
Water to drink, air to breathe
A place to rest when I need sleep
When I’m hungry, food to eat
As sure I need the Lord above
That’s how much I need her love
And I need shelter from the cold
Some things I know
There’s something in life I want
To be thankful for all I’ve got
A friend to talk with, a hand to hold

To still be young when I grow old
And I want all my dreams to come true
And I want to share them all with you
And I just had to tell you so
Some things I know
(Some things I know – Billy Gilman)

Dedicated to my beloved parents, sister
friends
… & my future

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STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY

I honestly declare that this thesis, which I have written, does not contain the work
or parts of the work of other people, except those cited in the quotations and the
references, as a scientific paper should.

Yogyakarta, June 5, 2013
The writer

Clara Belinda Charismalanni
081214013

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LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:
Nama

: Clara Belinda Charismalanni

Nomor Mahasiswa

: 081214013

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:
USING CONTEXTUAL TEACHING LEARNING TO IMPROVE
THE VOCABULARY MASTERY OF VII A IN SMP PANGUDI LUHUR 1
YOGYAKARTA
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikan
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan,
mengalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan

data, mendistribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempublikasikannya di Internet
atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari
saya maupun memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama
saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.
Dibuat di Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal: 5 Juli 2013
Yang menyatakan

(Clara Belinda Charismalanni)

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ABSTRACT
Charismalani, Clara Belinda. (2013). Using Contextual Teaching Learning to
Improve the Vocabulary Mastery of VII A Students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta: English Language Education Study Program, Sanata
Dharma University.
Vocabulary is one of the important elements in learning English as a
second language. The students can improve their English by memorizing many
vocabularies. The students also need to recognize and memorize the meaning of
the vocabulary so that they can speak fluently. However, based on the result of the
observation, the students found difficulty in learning English vocabulary. In some
cases, the students found that the vocabularies have different meanings when they
occur in different context.
This research was intended to overcome the problem faced by the students
of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. Based on the observation
conducted by the researcher, the students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
Yogyakarta experienced difficulties in learning vocabulary especially when it
occurs in different context. In order to help the students to improve their
vocabulary mastery, the researcher implemented Contextual Teaching and
Learning as a way to show the students how to recognize particular vocabulary by

analyzing the context where the word occurs. The researcher formulated one
question in this research. The question was: How does Contextual Teaching
Learning help the students to improve vocabulary mastery of VII A students in
SMP Pangudi Luhur 1?
This research was Classroom Action Research (CAR) which aimed to help
the students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta improve the
vocabulary mastery using Contextual Teaching and Learning. The participants of
this research were 42 students of VII A students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
2012/2013 academic year. There were two cycles of this research. Each cycle was
conducted in two meetings. The instruments used to conduct the research were
vocabulary tests, vocabulary worksheet, observation sheet, field notes, and
questionnaire.
The results of data gathered showed that the use of Contextual Teaching
and Learning helped the students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur I Yogyakarta to
improve the vocabulary mastery. It could be seen from the number of the students
who obtained score above the passing grade in the first and second cycles. The
number of the students who obtained the score above the passing grade in the first
cycle reached 26.82% whereas in the second cycle the score reached 88.09%.
Keywords: classroom action research, vocabulary, contextual teaching and
learning

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ABSTRAK
Charismalani, Clara Belinda. (2013). Using Contextual Teaching Learning To
Improve The Vocabulary Mastery of VII A Students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
Yogyakarta Yogyakarta: Program Studi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas
Sanata Dharma.
Kosakata adalah salah satu elemen yang penting dalam pembelajaran
bahasa Inggris. Para siswa dapat meningkatkan penguasaan Bahasa Inggrisnya
dengan mengetahui banyak kosakata. Para siswa juga perlu mengenal dan
mengingat arti dari kosakata tersebut sehngga para siswa mampu berbicara
dengan lancar. Akan tetapi berdasarkan pengamatan para siswa menemukan
kesulitan saat belajar kosakata. Pada beberapa kasus para siswa menemukan
bahwa banyak kosakata yang memiliki arti yang berbeda saat berada pada
konteks yang berbeda.
Penelitian in dimaksudkan untuk mengatasi masalah yang dihadapi siswasiswa kelas VII A di SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. Berdasarkan observasi
yang dilakukan oleh peneliti, para siswa kelas VII A di SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
Yogyakarta mengalami kesulitan dalam belajar kosakata khususnya kosakata yang
sama tetapi berada pada konteks yang berbeda. Guna membantu para siswa untuk
peningkatan penguasaan kosakata, peneliti mengimplementasikan pembelajaran
kontekstual sebagai salah satu cara untuk menunjukkan kepada para siswa
bagaimanaa mengetahui arti dari kata tertentu dengan menganalisis konteks kata
tersebut. Pada penelitian ini, peneliti merumuskan sebuah masalah. Rumusan
masalah tersebut adalah: Sejauh mana pembelajaran kontekstual dapat membantu
peningkatan penguasaan kosakata para siswa kelas VII A di SMP Pangudi Luhur
1?
Penelitian ini merupakan Penelitian Tindakan Kelas (PTK) yang bertujuan
untuk membantu para siswa kelas VII A di SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta
untuk meningkatkan penguasaan kosakata dengan mengimplementasikan
pembelajaran kontekstual. Responden pada penelitian ini adalah 42 siswa kelas
VII A di SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua
siklus. Setiap siklus dilaksanakan dalam dua kali pertemuan. Alat penelitian yang
digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah lembar kerja siswa, tes kosakata, lembar
observasi, catatan lapangan, dan kuesioner.
Hasil dapat yang terkumpul menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan
pembelajaran kontekstual membantu para siswa kelas VII A di SMP Pangudi
Luhur 1 Yogyakarta untuk meningkatkan penguasaan kosakata. Hal ini dapat
dilihat dari jumlah siswa yang yang lulus melewati kriteria ketuntasan minimal
pada siklus pertama dan kedua. Jumlah siswa yang lulus melewati criteria
ketuntasan minimal pada siklus pertama mencapai 26,82% sementara pada siklus
kedua meningkat mencapai 88,09%.
Kata kunci: penelitian tindakan kelas, kosakata, pembelajaran kontekstual

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my gratitude to Jesus Christ for His love and
guidance during my whole life. He is the One who gave me strength along the
process of writing this thesis.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to my sponsor, Made Frida
Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. for the time in reading and checking my thesis,

he r

guidance, patience, suggestion, motivation, and advice during the process of doing
the research and writing this thesis. My thanks are also for all PBI lecturers for
the precious knowledge and experience during my study, PBI secretariat staff,
and also all librarians in Sanata Dharma University who have given their very
best services.
I would like to thank P. Linawati Cahya, M.Pd. for an opportunity to
conduct research in her classroom. I also thank Br. Valentinus Naryo, FIC,
M.Pd., the principal of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta, who has permitted me
to conduct a research in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. The next thankfulness
goes to the students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta 2012/2013
academic year for being very cooperative.
I give my gratitude to my Dad, Pak Pri and my Mom, Bu Dwi for their
sincere love, support and encouragement. I also thank my older sister, Mbak Dika
for her love, care, support, jokes and money. I am very grateful to have my
family.

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I would also like to thank my best friends, Desya, Delis, Pita, and Bella
for the unforgettable moments in my life. I also thank Yuanita for her care and
motivation. I thank Rei for her help to become the observer during my research. I
also thank Okta for her help in finding the participants for my research. I also
thank all my friends in PBI, especially 2008 class A.
I thank my boarding house friends, especially Dini, Linda and Sesil for
their help, care, and jokes. I also thank my seniors in PBI, Mbak Tria, Mbak
Nisa, Mbak Mita, Mas Wendy for the unpredictable chat and jokes every day. I
also thank everybody who has colored my life.

Clara Belinda Charismalanni

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE………………………………………………...................................

i

APPROVAL PAGES ……………………………………....................................

ii

STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY………………………………........

v

PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI ……………………………………

vi

ABSTRACT …………………………………………………………………........

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ABSTRAK………………………………………………………………………….

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….

ix

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………….

xi

LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………......

xiv

LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………….

xv

LIST OF GRAPHIC ………………………………………………………………

xvi

LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………………..

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CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION

1

A. Research Background ……………………………………………..

1

B. Research Problems ………………………………………………...

4

C. Problem Limitation ………………………………………………..

4

D. Research Objectives ……………………………………………….

5

E. Research Benefits …………………………………………………

5

F. Definition of Terms ………………………………………………

6

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CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

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A. Theoretical Description …………………………………………...

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1. Vocabulary ……………………………………………………..

9

a. Definition of Vocabulary ………………………………………

9

b. Vocabulary Mastery ……………………………………………

10

2. Teaching Vocabulary

10

a. Importance of Teaching Vocabulary …………………………..

10

b. Assessment in Teaching Vocabulary …………………………..

11

c. Vocabulary Learning Aspect ………………………………….

12

3. Contextual Teaching Learning Vocabulary ……………………

12

B. Theoretical Framework ……………………………………………

12

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

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A. Research Method ………………………………………………….

16

B. Research Setting ………………………………………………......

18

C. Research Participants ……………………………………………...

19

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique ………………………

19

1. Instruments …………………………………………………......

19

2. Data Gathering Technique ……………………………………..

23

E. Data Analysis Technique ……………………………………….....

25

F. Research Procedure …………………………………………….....

27

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CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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A. Research Findings in the First Cycle ……………………………..

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B. Research Findings in the Second Cycle…………………………...

34

C. The Improvement of Research Findings in the First and Second
Cycles ……………………………………………………………..

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

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A. Conclusions ………………………………………………………..

51

B. Recommendations …………………………………………………

52

REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………

55

APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………….

56

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LIST OF TABLES

Table

Page

4.1 Students’ Score of Vocabulary Test I ………………………………………

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4.2 Students’ Score of Assessments I and II in the Second Cycle………………

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4.3 Students’ Score of Vocabulary Test II………………………………………

39

4.4 Result of the Questionnaire …………………………………….…………...

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4.5 Open-ended Question of the Questionnaire ………………………………...

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4.6 Students’ Improvement Scores in the First and Second Cycles ……………...

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LIST OF FIGURE

Figure

Page

Figure 2.1 Creating possibilities —An Action Research Handbook, Edmonton
Public Schools (Adapted from Kemmis & McTaggart, 1981)……...

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LIST OF GRAPHIC

Graphic

Page

Graphic 3.1 Percentage of The Students’ Improvement ………………………

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix A:
Letter of Permission ……………………………………………………………...

57

Appendix B:
Lesson Plans ………………….…………………………………………………...

59

Appendix C:
Worksheets and Tests ……………………………………………………..............

69

Appendix D:
Samples of the Assessments ………………………………………………………

73

Appendix E:
Samples of the Questionnaire ………………………...…………………………...

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Appendix F:
Field Notes ………………………...……………………………………………...

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Appendix G:
Observation Sheet …………………………………………………………………

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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of the study, the limitation of the
study, the problem formulation, the objective of the study, the benefits of the
study, and definition of terms.

A. Research Background
Learning a second language is not simple, especially learning English as a
second language. In learning English there are four skills and some important
elements. One of the important elements is vocabulary. Learning vocabulary
becomes an effective way to help students in order to master another skills such as
speaking and writing. Underlining the importance of learning vocabulary, Moras
(2001) says that “advanced learners can generally communicate well, having
learnt all the basic structures of the language. However, they need to broaden their
vocabulary to express themselves more clearly and appropriately in a wide range
of situations.” By knowing thousand vocabularies it may facilitate them to be
more fluent and creative while they are speaking or writing. Besides, students will
not be confused when they have to give their comment or opinion in a class
discussion orally.

Therefore, it is important for the students to enrich their

vocabulary.
Most high school students find difficulties to find the appropriate
vocabulary to compose their writing or to deliver their speech. It means that the

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students have lack of vocabulary. This problem also happens in SMP N 1 Pangudi
Luhur Yogyakarta grade VII class A. Many times they ask the teacher or their
classmates when they want to write or answer the question orally about certain
topic. When the teacher provides a text, they get confused and start to ask their
friends and it influences the effectiveness of the teaching learning process. It is
because it may take longer time only to discuss about new vocabulary.
The real example of the classroom activity is in the first meeting the
researcher gave them a passage contains of some paragraphs. In every paragraph
there are some words that the students have to find the meanings in Indonesian.
The word is written in the same way; however the word has different meaning
according to the context where it occurs in the sentence.

Example 1.
This morning I woke up late and missed (1) my breakfast. I also missed (2) my bus
and missed (3) my first class. Then, suddenly I remembered my grandmother. She
passed away two years ago. I missed (4) her very much. Then I decided to pray for
her (Harry, Herbert, and Jeris, 1988).
The teacher asks the students to find the meaning of each word that was
typed in bold. In general, the students know that the word ‘miss’ in Indonesian
(both in present or past form) means merindukan. However, if the students also
analyzed the context, those four words have different meanings. The word
‘missed’ that means merindukan is only the answer for the question number four.
The word ‘missed’ in number one means melewatkan. In the second sentence
‘missed’ (number two) means ketinggalan. After that, the students translate the

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whole sentence the meaning becomes pagi ini aku terlambat bangun dan
melewatkan sarapanku. Then, the word ‘missed’ (number three) means absen.
According to the illustration here, the researcher could conclude that there
is a problem. The students are not analyzing the context of the sentence before
they try to find the meaning of the particular word in Indonesian. As stated before,
in English a word may have more than one meaning based on the context.
In order to help the students to overcome this problem, the researcher
provides a strategy called Contextual Teaching and Learning. Learning
vocabulary using Contextual Teaching and Learning is a strategy to help students
to improve and enrich their vocabulary. Christ says that in learning through
context we try to determine a word's meaning by examining the words that
surround it (Christ, 2007). The importance of learning through context for the
students is not only to help them to memorize the new vocabulary and find the
meaning, but also know how to use it. In general, the meaning of the English
vocabulary depends on the context.
This strategy can be delivered to the students by asking them to read a lot.
Reading is an activity that allows students to discover a lot of vocabularies, the
common or the uncommon one. Hall says that and upon reading, you can be able
to encounter words that are not so familiar to you and this could be an additional
knowledge to increase vocabulary (2010). This provides an effective way for the
students to understand certain vocabulary according to the specific context. The
process can be done while the teacher delivering important information from the
particular text provided. For example, the teacher provides a text related to

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technology such as computer or another topic. Then, the teacher asks the students
to find the new vocabulary and find the meaning by consulting it with their
dictionary. After that the teacher provides another text but still use some of the
new words from the previous text given to the students. The teacher asks the
students to compare the use of that new word. By comparing those two different
contexts of the text, it may help the students to be better in understanding the
meaning of the new vocabulary.
By conducting this research the researcher would like to know the
students’ mastery in learning vocabulary using contextual teaching and learning. It
is because learning vocabulary through the context may become an easier way of
learning vocabulary for the students. The researcher also wants to help the
students to overcome their problem in the process of learning English. Besides,
the researcher also wants to know the students’ opinion before and after the
implementation.

B. Research Problem
Based on the research background, this research would be based on the
question.
How does Contextual Teaching and Learning help the students to improve
vocabulary mastery of VII A students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1?

C. Problem Limitation
This research focuses on the way to improve students’ vocabulary mastery.
The participants of the research are 42 students of VII A students in SMP Pangudi

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Luhur 1 academic year 2012/2013. The purpose of this research was to overcome
the problem of this class in learning vocabulary using Contextual Teaching and
Learning. Then, the limitation of this research is a study of learning vocabulary
for the students of a class mentioned before. This research will be conducted by
using Classroom Action Research.

D. Research Objectives
This research aimed to assist students of VII A students in SMP Pangudi
Luhur 1 Yogyakarta to improve their vocabulary mastery. The solution is taken by
using Contextual Teaching and Learning.

E. Research Benefits
There are some benefits of this research. This research is expected to
provide precious contribution for:
1.

VII A Students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
By conducting this research, the students are expected to improve their

vocabulary using Contextual Teaching and Learning. In addition, it is also
expected that they will be easier to find the appropriate words while they are
composed their speaking and writing. Therefore, they can master their English as
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2.

The English Teacher in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
The English teacher of VII A students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 also

obtained benefits. She can implement the technique in the class whose problem is
similar to the problem in VII A students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1.

F. Definition of Terms
There are some terms used in this research that should be defined to
provide better understanding. They are:
1. Contextual Teaching and Learning
Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) helps the students relate subject
matter content to real world situations and motivate students to make connections
between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens,
and workers and engage in the hard work that learning requires.
Bruton and Samuda describe that “the focus of this technique is on finding
the meaning of unknown words by examining the context where the words occur”
(as cited in Nation, 1990, p.161). In this research, Contextual Teaching and
Learning is a technique used to help the students of VII A students in SMP
Pangudi Luhur 1 in mastering vocabulary based on the context. Therefore,
students who apply this technique in learning vocabulary will examine the
surroundings where the words occurred and then find the meaning.
2. Vocabulary
Vocabulary is an important aspect in learning language. People start to
learn language by knowing the vocabulary of the language itself. Young states

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that vocabulary is vital to communicating with others and understanding what one
is reading (1999).
Besides, learning vocabularies also learns how the words are used, study
the words in context, and apply what they learn by writing sentences with their
words. In this research, learning vocabulary is important for VII A Students in
SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta because vocabulary is one of the aspects to
master English as their second language. Further, in their daily life they have to
read many English texts and apply what they have learned by writing sentences
using their words.
3. Context
According to Dale and O’Rourke (1971), context is “the relationship of a
word to other words in a phrase or sentence” (para. 37). In this research, context
refers to the sentence or utterance in which the target word occurs. Then, the
meaning of the word would also be different when the target word is used in
different context. In this research, it will help the VII A students in SMP Pangudi
Luhur 1 to master English vocabulary easier by knowing the context where the
word occurred.
4. VII A Students in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta
VII A students is one of the classes in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta.
In this junior high school, there are three grades. This class is the first grade of the
junior high school level. They were about thirteen years old.
The students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1Yogyakarta have difficulty
in learning vocabulary. They are really difficult to find the appropriate word to

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speak orally. The students need much time to think about it. However, in the real
situation they do not have a longer time to think and find the best word. Besides,
they are confuse when they have to understand a passage contain of many new
words because they do not know that the words have different meaning in
different context. Further, they are difficult to use the English word in appropriate
context. The students only guess and use the English word as long as they know
the meaning. Therefore Contextual Teaching and Learning may help the students
in mastering vocabulary through the context.

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CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

In this chapter, the researcher will present the review of related literature.
This part is divided into two. The first is theoretical description. The second is
theoretical framework of this research.

A. Theoretical Description
There are three main topics which are discussed here. The first one
is about vocabulary, the second one is teaching vocabulary, and the third one
is Contextual Teaching and Learning.

1. Vocabulary
This research focuses on the strategy to help students in improving their
vocabulary mastery. In order to understand more about vocabulary and vocabulary
mastery, in this part the researcher presents the definition of vocabulary itself and
also the definition of vocabulary mastery.
a. Definition of Vocabulary
Learning vocabulary for students becomes one of the basic steps in the
process of learning English as their second language. In order to know more about
vocabulary, there are some definitions of vocabulary. Read states that “vocabulary
is understood as all words in a language” (Read, 2000, p. 16). However, people
may have different interpretations on distinguishing what a word is from another

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(Nation, 1990). Other experts, Dale and O’Rourke state “words are a part of a
language system, integrated in syntactical pattern” (1971, p. 9). It means that
without words language will not exist. People must define word first then
integrate it one and another to create a language.
b. Vocabulary Mastery
Students not only need to know many words. They also need to be able to
understand, remember, and use them in order to improve their language ability.
Then, learning vocabulary becomes an important thing for the students to develop
and master their vocabulary. It also supports by the statement of Dale and
O’Rourke. Dale and O’Rourke (1971) state mastering vocabulary implies not only
knowing and understanding the meaning of the vocabulary but also the use of it.

2. Teaching Vocabulary
In this part the researcher presents teaching vocabulary. The teaching
vocabulary consists of the importance of teaching vocabulary and the assessment
in teaching vocabulary.
a. Importance of Teaching Vocabulary
Nation (1990) asserts that there are at least two reasons for why teaching
and learning vocabulary is important. First, “everybody is aware of the importance
of vocabulary in language learning.” Second, “giving attention to vocabulary is
unavoidable” (Nation, 1990, p. 2). Read (2000) states “vocabulary can be seen as
a priority area in language teaching, requiring test to monitor the learners’
progress in vocabulary learning and to assess how adequate their vocabulary

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knowledge is to meet their communication needs” (p. 1).
b. Assessment in Teaching Vocabulary
Assessment can be anything which measures students’ comprehension.
Teacher needs to check the students’ comprehension to know the students’
mastery and improvement. Deale (1975) explains that the aim of assessment was
to discover the mastery of the topic from the students, so that they could continue
to the next level. According to Dale and O’Rourke (1971), there are four main
ways to test vocabulary: (1) Identification – the student responds orally or in
writing by identifying a word according to its definition or use (2) Multiple-choice
– the student selects the correct meaning of the tested word from three or four
definitions (3) Matching – the tested words are presented in one column and the
matching definitions are presented out of order in another column (4) Checking –
the student checks their work. The student may also be required to write the
definition of the words he or she checked (p. 20).
c. Vocabulary Learning Aspect
There are many important aspects of learning vocabulary. One of the
important aspects is memorization. Gairns (1986) explains that learning new items
involve the memorization process. The first is in our short-term memory, and
afterwards in long-term memory.
Oxford (1990) suggests memory strategies to aid learning, and these can
be divided into (1) creating mental linkages: grouping, associating, placing new
words into a context; (2) applying images and sounds: using imagery, semantic
mapping, using keywords and representing sounds in memory; (3) reviewing well,

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in a structured way; (4) employing action: physical response or sensation, using
mechanical techniques.

3.

Contextual Teaching and Learning Vocabulary
In this research, the researcher uses Contextual Teaching and Learning as

a strategy to help the students to improve their vocabulary mastery. In order to
understand more about Contextual Teaching and Learning, here are some experts
that define about Contextual Teaching and Learning. Johnson (2002) describes
that Contextual Teaching and Learning is “an educational process that aims to
help students see meaning in the academic material they are studying by
connecting academic subjects with the context of their daily lives, that is, with
context of their personal, social and cultural circumstances” (p. 25).
According to Johnson (2010), there are some strategies in Contextual
Teaching and Learning such as problem based instruction, using multiple
contexts, considering the students’ differentiation and students’ learning
autonomy. In his book Johnson also provides the component of Contextual
Teaching and Learning. They are making the meaningful relevance, doing a
meaningful task, independent learning, group work, critical thinking and creativity
and so on. It means that the students are allowed to learn vocabulary by doing
assignment individually or in group to build their critical thinking and creativity.
Other researchers also state the theory about the relationship between
vocabulary and context. According to Read (2000), “words do not occur by
themselves or in isolated sentences but as integrated elements of whole texts and

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discourse” (p.4). Then, he also states that “the way that we interpret a word is
significantly influenced by the context in which it occurs” (Read, 2000, p. 4). It
means that vocabulary and context are two aspects that cannot be separated. In
other words, the meaning of a word is tightly related to the context where the
word occurs. In this respect, context refers to sentences or utterances where the
words occur (Read, 2000).

B. Theoretical Framework
This section reviews the relationship between the research conducted and
the related theories. Here the researcher presents the way the theories are
implemented in this research.
Dale and O’Rourke state that “words are a part of language system” (1971,
p. 9). It means that people need to have word first before they start to integrate it
into a language. Then, vocabulary becomes one of the important aspects of
learning English as a second language. In that case, it becomes important for
students to learn vocabulary as the first step to learn the language. Nation (1990)
also states that learning vocabulary is important for the students. By knowing and
remembering many words may help the students to improve their ability.
However, the students do not only need to know and remember many English
words but also need to know and understand the meaning of word according to the
context in order to use it correctly. When the students are able to use the particular
word correctly, they are in the process of mastering vocabulary, as mentioned by
Dale and O’Rourke.

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Then, in school students need to be able to speak and write their own
assignment. Sometimes they find difficulties because they are lack of vocabulary.
It is also difficult to understand the meaning of particular word in particular
context. According to Johnson’s (2010), Contextual Teaching and Learning may
help students to know meaning of the particular word by connecting it with their
daily life. By using Contextual Teaching and Learning, the students may
understand the meaning of the particular word in an easier way. In this research,
the students of VII A are involved to understand the meaning of particular word
by relating it with particular context in their daily activity. The researcher
provides examples that make the students easier to relate the vocabulary with their
life
Besides, Contextual Teaching and Learning also allows the students to use
and understand particular word in multiple contexts, as mentioned by Johnson
(2010). In this research, the researcher also provides a list of words that have
different meaning when the word occurs in different context since English words
may have different meaning in different context as also mentioned by Read
(2000). The students of VII A need to analyze the context of the word from the
whole sentence(s) to find the meaning. Then, they are supposed to be able to
remember the particular word when they know the meaning from the context.
At the end, the teacher needs to check whether the students understand the
material given by the teacher or not.

In order to check the students’

comprehension of the previous lesson given the teacher needs to assess the
students. Dale and O’Rourke also state about the importance of giving vocabulary

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assessment for the students. One of the ways to assess the students is by giving
them a test. In this research the focus of the test is about vocabulary. There are
four main ways to test vocabulary according to Dale and O’Rourke (1971). They
are identification, multiple-choice, matching, and checking. In this research, the
researcher also provides vocabulary test for the students. The test contains of a list
of question that must be answered by the students by identifying the meaning of
the word based on the definition or use.
The test would be held in two times by giving the students a list of words.
The researcher provided the same type and also the same question in each test.
This action is taken to prove that by memorizing many English words may help
the students to improve their vocabulary mastery.

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CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher presents the research method, research
participants, research instruments, data gathering technique, data analysis
technique and research procedure.

A. Research Method
Classroom Action Research (CAR) is the method used in this research.
CAR is a method to improve the teaching learning process in the classroom.
Stringer (2008) defines that action research refers to the process in three steps:
look, think, act. “Look phase involves systematically gathering information and
data. Think phase, information is analyzed and reflected upon. Act phase,
solutions are devised and implemented” (as cited in Ary, Jacobs,and Sorensen,
2010, p. 518).
Further, Stringer’s theory is developed by Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen
(2010) into four processes. It involves “reflecting, planning, acting and observing
process” (2010, p. 518). Those processes are conducted in cycle.
Step 1 Reflect: According to Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen, “experience and
perceptions are used to identify an area of focus based on problem. This may
include a review of the literature” (2010, p. 519). In this research, the researcher
did not satisfied with the students’ achievement then tried to find the solution by

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doing some observations and searching the related literature to support the
research.

Figure 2.1 Creating possibilities —An Action Research Handbook, Edmonton Public
Schools. (Adapted from Kemmis & McTaggart, 1981)

Step 2 Plan: Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen state that “a plan is developed for taking
action and/or gathering information and data in order to observe or capture the
experience or monitor the practice” (2010, p. 519). In this step, research question
and method are explicated. Besides, the researcher decides to formulate the
research question and method that will be used in the research.
Step 3 Act: In this step, according to Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen, “the researcher
implements the plan or changes a practice and collects data. Data may be
collected from a variety of sources” (2010, p. 519). In this step, the researcher
starts to collect the data by conducting the interview.
Step 4 Observe: Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen state that “in this step the researcher
synthesizes and analyzes the data collected” (2010, p. 519). In this step the
researcher synthesizes and analyzes the data collected from the interview”.

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Step 5 Reflect: In this step, according to Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen, “the
researcher reflects on and interprets the information and communicates or reports
it” (2010, p. 519). In this research the researcher concludes the most crucial
problem of the students based on the information and data from the previous step.
Step 6 Plan: Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen state that “a new plan of action is
developed to resolve or investigate the problem” (2010, p. 519). In this step, the
research makes and develops the material that will be used in the implementation.
Step 7 Act: In their book Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen utter that “a new action is
taken and data are collected (perhaps the same type or perhaps something
different)” (2010, p. 519). In this research the researcher implements the planning.
Step 8 Observe: According to Ary, Jacobs, and Sorensen (2010) “the new data
are analyzed, synthesized and interpreted” (p. 519). In this step, the researcher
analyzed all the data gathered

B. Research Setting
This research was conducted on October 18th until October 30th 2012. The
setting of this research was VII A class. This class was one of the classes in SMP
Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta 2012/2013 academic year. This research was
conducted for a month.

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C. Research Participants
The participants in this research were students of grade VII class A in
SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta 2012/2013 academic year. They were in the
first grade. The number of the students was forty-two students.
The students in this class were actually active. Nevertheless, they still
found difficulties when they found new vocabulary. As a result, the researcher
chose this class to help them to improve their vocabulary mastery.

D. Instruments and Data Gathering Technique
The researcher divided the instrument into two sections. The first section
was the research instruments before the implementation and the second section
was the research instruments during the implementation.

1. The Research Instruments Used before the Implementation
The instrument used in this step is informal interview.
Informal Interview
Interview is “conversation between the teacher-researcher and participants
in the study in which the teacher poses question to the participants” (Schmuck,
2007, p. 108). There are two kinds of interview, formal and informal. In this
research, the researcher conducted an informal interview. In order to conduct the
informal interview the researcher prepared some questions related to the students’
difficulties in learning English. The purpose of the informal interview was to

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discover students’ problems from their own opinion. It helped the researcher to
identify the students’ problems.
It was conducted to all students of VII A in SMP Pangudi Luhur 1
Yogyakarta. The researcher asked the students about their own problem that they
found during the process of learning English especially vocabulary. The informal
interview held in an open classroom discussion. The result of the informal
interview showed that the students found difficulties in their process of learning
English as a second language because of the limited vocabulary.

2. The Research Instruments during the Implementation
The research instruments used during the implementation were vocabulary
test I, vocabulary worksheet, observation sheet, questionnaire, vocabulary test II,
and field notes.
a. Vocabulary Test I
The vocabulary test I was provided to all students of VII A of SMP
Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. Vocabulary test I was held in the beginning of the
research in the cycle one. The aim of this test was to measure the students’
understanding in vocabulary for the first time before the researcher gave the
worksheets. In this test the researcher provided a list of words contained of thirty
numbers of words. The students were needed to find the meaning of each word in
the table. The words were taken from the passages that later would be learnt by
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b. Vocabulary worksheets
The researcher used vocabulary worksheets during the process of
research. In every meeting of all cycles the researcher provided worksheets for the
students. The questions were in the form of guessing and finding vocabulary
meaning from the passages. The students would find the similar words as the
world list of the vocabulary test in the passages. It was one of the strategies taken
from Oxford (1990) that states ‘placing new words into a context’ may help
students to be better in memorizing particular words.
The passages were in the form of descriptive text because the researcher
followed the curriculum of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. At that time, the
students learnt about descriptive text. Vocabulary worksheet aimed to improve
students’ vocabulary mastery. It helped and guided students to grasp the
information from the text provided.

c. Observation Sheet
The researcher prepared observation sheets. This observation sheet
contained of a list of questions. Observation sheet was used during the process of
the research. The observation sheet was used in every cycle. The observation
sheet was made by the researcher’s partner who was not directly involved in the
research. The observation sheet aimed to have feedback from the teaching
learning process in the classroom.

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d. Vocabulary Test II
The vocabulary test II was held in the end of the implementation. The
researcher provided the same question as the vocabulary test I. It should be done
by the students in the classroom. It was aimed to know the students’ ability in
memorizing the words. By using this instrument the researcher compared the
students’ score of the vocabulary test I and the vocabulary test II to see the
students’ improvement.

e. Questionnaire
According to Schmuck (2007) questionnaire is “one specific type of
survey involving the administration of question or statements in written form” (as
cited in Mertler, 2009, p. 135). In this research the researcher provided the
questionnaire to thirty students of VII A of SMP Pangudi Luhur 1 Yogyakarta. In
the questionnaire the researcher put questions related to the learning vocabulary.
The questionnaire contained thirteen questions. It was divided into two parts. The
questions of the first part were closed-ended questions. Then, the questions of the
second part were open-ended questions. Here, the researcher also asked about the
students’ opinions of the implementation of CLT in learning vocabulary. This
questionnaire aimed to gain the information from the students. Therefore, the
result of the research was not only based on the scores of the assessments, but also
based on students’ opinions.

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f. Field Notes
Field notes are “the written account of what the researcher hears, sees,
experiences, and thinks in the course of collecting and reflecting on the data in a
qualitative study” (Biklen & Bogdan, 1982, p. 74). In this step, field note is used
to record all activities during the implementation in the classroom.

3. Data Gathering Technique
In order to gather the data, the researcher prepared all those instruments
and finished all the steps. In the first step of the data gathering, the researcher used
vocabulary test I, vocabulary worksheets