The students` lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning.

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xii

ABSTRACT

Dian Prawesti. 2016. The students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University

Vocabulary knowledge is essential to support the students in improving their language skills. The option of teaching vocabulary as a single subject or in an integrated way with other subjects still becomes an issue considering its weaknesses and strengths. The main barrier of teaching vocabulary as a single subject is on the limitation of the class meetings which should be allocated. To overcome it, a website is applied in vocabulary learning. The benefits of applying a website in vocabulary learning are (1) building up a large vocabulary, (2) giving students control over what words to learn, (3) offering exercises to promote deeper learning, etc. Applying a website in vocabulary learning creates a new phenomenon in English learning.

This study focuses on the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. It employed hermeneutic phenomenology. Thus, this study focused on the description and interpretation of the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. There are two university students participated in this study. To gather the data, classroom observation and in-depth interview were done. A member check and re-interview were also done to make triangulation. The triangulation was done to improve the trustworthiness of this study.

The finding of this research is the description and interpretation of the students’lived experience in web-based vocabulary class which were categorized into pre-figured themes and emerging theme. The pre-figured themes consists of autonomous learning with ELTGallery, challenging vocabulary learning with ELTGallery and ELTGallery learning atmosphere. The emerging theme is perseverance.

From the description and interpretation in the themes, the students revealed that web-based vocabulary class offered more challenges especially in the stress level, website layout and its technical problems. However, in some other aspects it also benefited them with autonomous learning process. Autonomous learning encouraged them to be more responsible with their own learning progress. Further, during their learning process they also gained deeper value about perseverance. They had to be able to maintain their motivation and self-persistence to face the challenges in order to accomplish the learning goals.

Key words: vocabulary, website, lived experience, vocabulary web-based learning


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xiii

ABSTRAK

Dian Prawesti. 2016. The students’ lived experience in vocabulary web-based learning. Yogyakarta: Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Kosakata sangatlah penting untuk menunjang kemampuan para siswa dalam meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa. Pilihan untuk mengajar kosakata sebagai satu mata pelajaran atau digabungkan dengan mata pelajaran yang lain masih menjadi permasalahan dengan menyadari kelemahan dan kekuatannya. Tantangan utama dalam mengajar kosakata sebagai satu mata pelajaran adalah terbatasnya jumlah pertemuan kelas yang harus disediakan. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan ini, sebuah website diaplikasikan dalam pembelajaran kosakata. Keuntungan mengaplikasikan sebuah website dalam pembelajaran kosakata adalah (1) meningkatkan kemampuan kosakata dalam jumlah besar, (2) memberikan siswa kendali atas kosakata yang dipelajari, (3) menawarkan latihan-latihan untuk menunjang pembelajaran yang lebih mendalam dan lain sebagainya. Mengaplikasikan sebuah website dalam pembelajaran kosakata menimbulkan fenomena baru dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris.

Penelitian ini fokus pada pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website. Penelitian ini menerapkan fenomenologi hermeneutika. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini fokus pada deskripsi dan interpretasi pada pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website. Dua mahasiswa berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Observasi kelas dan wawancara mendalam dilakukan untuk mengumpulkan data. Penyesuaian data dan wawancara ulang juga dilakukan untuk mewujudkan triangulasi. Triangulasi dilakukan untuk meningkatkan keabsahan penelitian ini.

Penemuan pada penelitian ini adalah deskripsi dan interpretasi pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website yang dikategorikan menjadi tema yang di duga dan tema yang muncul. Tema yang diduga terdiri dari pembelajaran mandiri dengan ELTGallery, pembelajaran kosakata yang menantang dengan ELTGallery dan suasana belajar dengan ELTGallery. Tema yang muncul adalah keteguhan hati.

Dari deskripsi dan interpretasi pada tema-tema, para mahasiswa mengungkapkan bahwa kelas kosakata yang berbasis website menawarkan lebih banyak tantangan khususnya dalam hal tingkat stress, penampilan website dan permasalahan teknis. Akan tetapi, di beberapa aspek pembelajaran kosakata dengan ELTGallery juga menguntungkan mereka dengan proses pembelajaran mandiri. Terlebih lagi, selama proses pembelajaran para mahasiswa juga mendapatkan nilai yang lebih dalam tentang keteguhan hati. Mereka harus bisa menjaga motivasi dan kebulatan tekad untuk menghadapi tantangan-tantangan untuk meraih tujuan pembelajaran.

Kata kunci: kosakata, website, pengalaman hidup, pembelajaran kosakata berbasis website


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THE STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WEB-BASED VOCABULARY LEARNING

A Thesis Presented to

the Graduate Program in English Language Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)

in English Language Studies

by Dian Prawesti

136332006

THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2016


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i

THE STUDENTS’ LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WEB-BASED VOCABULARY LEARNING

A Thesis Presented to

the Graduate Program in English Language Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Magister Humaniora (M.Hum)

in English Language Studies

by Dian Prawesti

136332006

THE GRADUATE PROGRAM IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE STUDIES SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA 2016


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A THESIS

THE STUDf:NTS' LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WEB-BASED

VOCABULARYLEAR1aNG

Presented by Dian Prawesti

Student Number 136332006

Defended before the Thesis Committee and Declared Acceptable

Yogyakarta, June 14,2016


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STATEMENT OF WORK'S ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that all the ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise /

stated, are the ideas, phrases, sentences of the thesis writer. The writer

understands the full consequences including degree cancellation if she took

somebody else's ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper reference.

.'

Yogyakarta,6June2016

D an PrawestiVI


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LEMBAR PERNY ATAAN PERSETUJUAN

PUBLIKASI KARY A ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKADEMIS

Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma:

/

Nama : Dian Prawesti

NIM : 136332006

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul:

.'

THE STUDENTS' LIVED EXPERIENCE IN WEB-BASED VOCABULARY LEARNING

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, mendistribusikannya di internet atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin maupun memberikan royalty kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

Demikian pernyataan ini saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta

Pada tanggal: 6 Juni 2016 Yang menyatakan

DIan Prawesti


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vi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Allah SWT for giving me the strength and guidance during my study and thesis completion. Without the mercy of Allah, this would not be possible.

I would also like to thank Dr. B.B. Dwijatmoko, MA, my thesis sponsor, for his full guidance and patience during the thesis completion. His endless supports never failed to light up my spirit again every time I felt like giving up. I also thank him for giving me the chance to do research in his vocabulary class. I do really appreciate this chance. Without his help and supports, I would not be able to finish this thesis.

My sincere appreciation also goes to the lecturers in KBI, Dr. J. Bismoko, FX. Mukarto, Ph. D, Dr. Fr.B. Alip, Paulus Sarwoto, Ph. D, F. Widya Kiswara, M. Hum. And Josephine Puji Lestari, M. Hum. for all knowledge shared during my study in English Language Studies.

My deepest gratitude goes to my father, Agus Rachmadi, who always believes that his little girl will not give up to any battles; my late mother, Sri Handayani, whom I believe that she keeps watching over me from heaven – I finally finished it and I dedicate this to you, Mom. I love you! To my brothers and sister, thank you for the supports and prayers. To my most favorite men, Nico Arif Murdika Wibawa and Rajendra Kenzie Wibawa, thank you for the amazing love and life lessons– we’ve been such a great team, aren’t we?


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vii

I would like to thank Dipta and Martha for being my research participants. Their sincere help is always appreciated. They have been very helpful since I began my research until I finished it.

My gratefulness also goes to my classmates in KBI 2013 especially Dita, mas Bayu, Aik and miss Yunita – thank you for all the help and supports. To Balapan 58 family, mbak Suti and bu Murni. To KBI staff, Mbak Lely, Mbak Marni, Elly and Pak Mul. Thank you for helping me during my academic time. Finally, my gratitude also goes to those whom I cannot mention one by one. May all of them be blessed with health and happiness in life. Namaste!


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viii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE……… i

APPROVAL PAGE……….. ii

DEFENSE APPROVAL PAGE……… iii

STATEMENTS OF ORIGINALITY……… iv

LEMBAR PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN PUBLIKASI……… v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……….. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS……….. viii

LIST OF APPENDICES………... x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………... xi

ABSTRACT……….. xii

ABSTRAK……….. xiii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION……… 1

A. RESEARCH BACKGROUND……….. 1

B. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION……… 8

C. PROBLEM LIMITATION………. 9

D. RESEARCH QUESTION……….. 10

E. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES………... 10

F. RESEARCH BENEFITS……… 11

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW……….... 12

A. THEORETICAL REVIEW……….. 12

1. Vocabulary………... 12

a. The Nature of Vocabulary Knowledge……… 12

b. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary………... 17

2. Web-Based Learning Environment…...……… 21

a. Computer-Assisted Language Learning……….. 22

1) Interaction and negotiation of meaning……….. 23

2) Authentic audience……….. 24

3) Authentic tasks……… 25

4) Language exposure and production……… 26

5) Enough time and feedback………. 26


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ix

7) Atmosphere with an ideal stress/anxiety level………. 28

8) Learner autonomy……… 29

b. Web-based vocabulary class……… 29

c. Features of ELTGallery……… 30

3. Lived Experience…………. ………. 35

B. REVIEW OF RELATED STUDIES……… 37

C. FRAMEWORK OF PRE-UNDERSTANDING………. 40

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………. 42

A. RESEARCH METHOD………. 42

B. NATURE AND SOURCE OF DATA……….. 43

C. RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING………. 44

D. DATA GATHERING TECHNIQUES AND INSTRUMENTS……….. 45

E. DATA ANALYSIS……….. 46

F. TRUSTWORTHINESS OF THE STUDY……… 47

CHAPTER IV. DATA DESCRIPTION AND INTERPRETATION……. 48

A. DATA DESCRIPTION……….. 48

1. Dipta’s Description………... a. Dipta’s profile………. 50 50 b. Dipta’s story……… 2. Martha's Description……….. a. Martha's profile……… 51 55 55 b. Martha's story………... 56

B INTERPRETATION………. 61

1. The participants' profile……… 62

2. The participants' lived experience……… 63

a. Pre-figured themes……….. 1) Autonomous learning with ELTGallery………... 2) Challenging vocabulary learning with ELTGallery………….. 3) ELTGallery learning atmosphere……….. 63 63 66 69 b. Emerging theme: Perseverance………... 72

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS……….. 74

A. CONCLUSIONS……… 74

B. SUGGESTIONS………. 79

BIBLIOGRAPHY……….. 81


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x

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 Transcript of interview: Dipta………...86 Appendix 2. Transcript of interview: Martha………95


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xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ELT : ELTGallery Cha : challenging Voc : vocabulary

Lea : learning Atm : atmosphere Aut : autonomous DA : Dipta’s answer MA : Martha’s answer


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xii

ABSTRACT

Dian Prawesti. 2016. The students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. Yogyakarta: The Graduate Program in English Language Studies, Sanata Dharma University

Vocabulary knowledge is essential to support the students in improving their language skills. The option of teaching vocabulary as a single subject or in an integrated way with other subjects still becomes an issue considering its weaknesses and strengths. The main barrier of teaching vocabulary as a single subject is on the limitation of the class meetings which should be allocated. To overcome it, a website is applied in vocabulary learning. The benefits of applying a website in vocabulary learning are (1) building up a large vocabulary, (2) giving students control over what words to learn, (3) offering exercises to promote deeper learning, etc. Applying a website in vocabulary learning creates a new phenomenon in English learning.

This study focuses on the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. It employed hermeneutic phenomenology. Thus, this study focused on the description and interpretation of the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary learning. There are two university students participated in this study. To gather the data, classroom observation and in-depth interview were done. A member check and re-interview were also done to make triangulation. The triangulation was done to improve the trustworthiness of this study.

The finding of this research is the description and interpretation of the students’lived experience in web-based vocabulary class which were categorized into pre-figured themes and emerging theme. The pre-figured themes consists of autonomous learning with ELTGallery, challenging vocabulary learning with ELTGallery and ELTGallery learning atmosphere. The emerging theme is perseverance.

From the description and interpretation in the themes, the students revealed that web-based vocabulary class offered more challenges especially in the stress level, website layout and its technical problems. However, in some other aspects it also benefited them with autonomous learning process. Autonomous learning encouraged them to be more responsible with their own learning progress. Further, during their learning process they also gained deeper value about perseverance. They had to be able to maintain their motivation and self-persistence to face the challenges in order to accomplish the learning goals.

Key words: vocabulary, website, lived experience, vocabulary web-based learning


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xiii

ABSTRAK

Dian Prawesti. 2016. The students’ lived experience in vocabulary web-based learning. Yogyakarta: Kajian Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Sanata Dharma.

Kosakata sangatlah penting untuk menunjang kemampuan para siswa dalam meningkatkan kemampuan berbahasa. Pilihan untuk mengajar kosakata sebagai satu mata pelajaran atau digabungkan dengan mata pelajaran yang lain masih menjadi permasalahan dengan menyadari kelemahan dan kekuatannya. Tantangan utama dalam mengajar kosakata sebagai satu mata pelajaran adalah terbatasnya jumlah pertemuan kelas yang harus disediakan. Untuk mengatasi permasalahan ini, sebuah website diaplikasikan dalam pembelajaran kosakata. Keuntungan mengaplikasikan sebuah website dalam pembelajaran kosakata adalah (1) meningkatkan kemampuan kosakata dalam jumlah besar, (2) memberikan siswa kendali atas kosakata yang dipelajari, (3) menawarkan latihan-latihan untuk menunjang pembelajaran yang lebih mendalam dan lain sebagainya. Mengaplikasikan sebuah website dalam pembelajaran kosakata menimbulkan fenomena baru dalam pembelajaran bahasa Inggris.

Penelitian ini fokus pada pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website. Penelitian ini menerapkan fenomenologi hermeneutika. Oleh karena itu, penelitian ini fokus pada deskripsi dan interpretasi pada pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website. Dua mahasiswa berpartisipasi dalam penelitian ini. Observasi kelas dan wawancara mendalam dilakukan untuk mengumpulkan data. Penyesuaian data dan wawancara ulang juga dilakukan untuk mewujudkan triangulasi. Triangulasi dilakukan untuk meningkatkan keabsahan penelitian ini.

Penemuan pada penelitian ini adalah deskripsi dan interpretasi pengalaman hidup mahasiswa dalam kelas kosakata berbasis website yang dikategorikan menjadi tema yang di duga dan tema yang muncul. Tema yang diduga terdiri dari pembelajaran mandiri dengan ELTGallery, pembelajaran kosakata yang menantang dengan ELTGallery dan suasana belajar dengan ELTGallery. Tema yang muncul adalah keteguhan hati.

Dari deskripsi dan interpretasi pada tema-tema, para mahasiswa mengungkapkan bahwa kelas kosakata yang berbasis website menawarkan lebih banyak tantangan khususnya dalam hal tingkat stress, penampilan website dan permasalahan teknis. Akan tetapi, di beberapa aspek pembelajaran kosakata dengan ELTGallery juga menguntungkan mereka dengan proses pembelajaran mandiri. Terlebih lagi, selama proses pembelajaran para mahasiswa juga mendapatkan nilai yang lebih dalam tentang keteguhan hati. Mereka harus bisa menjaga motivasi dan kebulatan tekad untuk menghadapi tantangan-tantangan untuk meraih tujuan pembelajaran.

Kata kunci: kosakata, website, pengalaman hidup, pembelajaran kosakata berbasis website


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1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the research background which becomes the reason of conducting this study as well as its importance. It also presents the problem identification, problem limitation, research question, research objectives and research benefits.

A. Research Background

Vocabulary knowledge shifted its role based on the development of teaching method. During Grammar Translation Method era in the 19thcentury, vocabulary was taught to help students to read literature. It was because the purpose of the Grammar Translation Method was to make students able to read literature written in the target language (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). Therefore, translation was the main activity in this teaching method. There were not any systematic ways of choosing and teaching vocabulary items. Vocabulary was taught and discussed based on the literature given in a class. Pronunciation was given the least attention and even none.

Recently, by the coming of communicative language teaching era, vocabulary knowledge is considered more necessary since the focus of language teaching shifted from the command of structures to communicative proficiency. Yet, it still leaves an issue in language teaching field. The issue is the necessity of teaching vocabulary as a single subject or along with other subjects such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. Some teachers and language practitioners


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who believe that vocabulary learning is more effective when it is taught separately still allocate the time to conduct vocabulary subject in the class. Some others who believe that vocabulary can be learnt in an integrative way with other subjects, help students to develop their vocabulary knowledge through reading, writing, listening or speaking class. The limitation of the class meetings is also one of the reasons why vocabulary is taught in an integrated way with other skills.

Some vocabulary learning researches have been done to give some insights about the issue of learning vocabulary in context and out of context. Baumann, Kame’enui and Ash (2003) prove that people can learn word meanings incidentally from reading or listening contexts, but such learning most often does not come easily. The research shows that students are able to learn vocabulary more effectively when the learning process is done separately from the other skills than learning it in an integrated way. Another research by Nielsen (2003) discusses the implication of teaching vocabulary to second language learners in context and out of context. Many language practitioners believe that contextualized vocabulary learning is more effective than learning words in lists. The consideration of this belief is that having learned vocabulary through extensive reading or listening, learners will not only memorize the meaning of the words but also have the ability to use the words in a proper context. Meanwhile, learning vocabulary out of context or from the word lists will only help learners to memorize the words for the test. However, this belief is not absolutely true. A further research done by Nation and Newton (1997) verifies that learning vocabularies in context is more effective at later stages of language development.


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At early stages of language development, learners still need some helps to learn vocabulary out of context.

As a teacher, I also experienced the difference when vocabulary was taught in an integrative way with speaking, reading, writing or listening skill and when it was taught separately as a single subject. The students showed quite significant difference in their study result. Those who learnt vocabulary in speaking, reading, listening or writing class performed low vocabulary retention. Yet, when they learnt the vocabulary, they could directly know how to use it contextually since it was used in speaking, reading, listening or writing context. On the contrary, those who learnt vocabulary as a single subject performed higher vocabulary retention but they still needed more exposures in using the vocabulary contextually to improve their vocabulary depth. It shows that each teaching technique has its own strength and weaknesses. Personally, as a teacher and a student, I would rather students have an explicit vocabulary study to enrich their vocabulary mastery and then expose them with exercises to expand their vocabulary knowledge.

Furthermore, Laufer (1997) suggests the importance of helping beginners to explicitly learn the basic 3000 word families. The 3000 word families are used to represent the basic lexical competence which help learners to read independently and acquire language in a natural manner. In accordance with Laufer’s theory, the second semester students of Sanata Dharma University are required to learn the 3000 basic words to support their further study in English language learning and to develop their vocabulary knowledge. The vocabulary course is divided into three levels. Level one consists of the first 1000 words, level two consists of the second 1000 words and level 3 consists of the first 3000 words. Each level is


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supported with various vocabulary exercises to expose the words to the students. Since exposure is important for the students to improve their vocabulary knowledge, web-based learning environment is applied in the vocabulary course of Sanata Dharma University.

Web-based learning environment has become one of the issues in education since technology develops so rapidly time by time that it improves human’s life quality almost in all aspects. Computer and internet connection are widely explored to support teaching learning process in order to develop the quality of learners’ performance. Teachers and language practitioners significantly put their concern on using computer and internet connection creatively to provide effective learning processes and environment to help learners to achieve their learning goals. The intensive use of computer and internet connection in class leads to the phenomena of web-based learning environment.

Web-based learning environment shifts the teaching learning perspective from teacher-centered into learner-centered. It is a combination of distance learning, computer based learning and internet. Horton (2000) defines web-based learning environment as any purposeful, considered application of web technologies to the task of educating a fellow human being. In web-based learning environment, the website and internet connection allow learners to access information and do their tasks from their computer desks or laptops from anywhere and at anytime. In this case, learners are encouraged to be more autonomous and responsible to their own learning process and progress. In web-based class, the accomplishment of the tasks is mostly done outside the classroom.


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Thus, the learners should be able to plan their learning pace, read and study the materials independently as well as manage their time to complete the tasks.

One of the purposes of applying web-based learning environment in vocabulary class is to expose the students with various vocabulary learning strategies in order to improve their vocabulary mastery. As Schmitt (2010) states that the key which influences vocabulary knowledge is engagement. It means the more a learner engages with a new word, the more likely he/she is to learn it. Frequency is important to allow exposures so that students will understand and remember the meanings of new words and use them more often. Therefore, students need meaningful activities to review new words or phrases so that students will not simply forget what they are learning and what they have learnt. Web-based vocabulary class offers a set of various vocabulary exercises which is accessible for the students to practice anytime. Furthermore, the various vocabulary learning tasks which are provided in the web are expected to improve the students’ exploration of various vocabulary learning strategies, enhance their interest, motivation, autonomy as well as increase an effective individualized learning environment.

Several researchers have done researches related to lived experience. The first researcher is Simone C. O. Conceicao. She tries to investigate the meaning of the online teaching experience of college faculty (2006). The research result shows that the online experience gives new insights to the teaching practice specifically on the length and depth of engagement during the delivery of the course and the new ways as a reward of the new experience. The second researchers are George Veletsianos and Royce Kimmons. They try to discover the


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faculty members’ lived experiences with social networking sites (2012). The research result shows that there is a tension between personal connection and professional responsibility. The tension exists in establishing personal and professional boundaries, maintaining appropriate and meaningful connections, structuring participation and using their time efficiently. The result findings emphasize the synergies and tensions between online social networks and faculty identity. The third researchers are Ying Xie and Priya Sharma. They try to discover the students’ lived experiences and perceptions in using Weblog for educational use (2004). The research result shows that Weblogs was found helpful for learning, reflecting, and building a sense of community although the participants also found out that there was lack of structure of Weblogs usage and the public nature of the reflective process. The fourth researcher is Meeaeng Ko Park. She tries to discover the Asian international students’ lived experience in online learning environments (2012). The research result shows that language barrier, interactions and influence of cultural background shaped the participants’ experience in the online learning environment and affected their learning process.

A large number of researches also have been done to find the most effective way to learn vocabulary, yet, only a very few number of phenomenological researches are conducted to reveal the improvement of human quality hermeneutically in vocabulary learning. Tri Hoang Dang, M. A., does one of the phenomenological researches related to vocabulary learning. He tries to investigate Vietnamese EFL learners’ perceptions and lived experiences in using vocabulary notebooks. The research findings showed that the research participants expressed their positive attitudes towards vocabulary notebooks. The findings also


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suggest that in order to maximize the vocabulary learning, the participants need to receive more extensive and frequent training in the use of vocabulary notebook, format selection and notebook organization.

In fact, students’ experiences in joining vocabulary class can reveal the strength and weakness of a program since phenomenological researches contribute in identifying a phenomenon with an object of human experiences. Furthermore, Manen (1990) states that phenomenological research, which belongs to human science, studies persons or beings that have consciousness and act purposefully in and on the world by creating objects of meaning that are expressions of human being exist in the world. It leads a person to live his life to the fullest. Thus, doing a phenomenological research with students as the objects means to search for the ways ones experience the world as students as well as their awareness to live their life as students especially in web-based vocabulary learning class. Their meaningful experiences may enlighten themselves or even others to promote better life as students. At last, the ultimate aim of phenomenological research is to lead learners to self-actualization in field of autonomy, empowerment, liberation, human progress, collaboration, tolerance and others.

Giving the students more chances to manage their own learning pace definitely requires the students’ maturity to be responsible in accomplishing the learning goal. Ideally, each student should have high awareness in conducting meaningful activities in order to improve their vocabulary knowledge. However, not all students have the same motivation to do so which results on different achievement among them. Some problems and hindrance might occur during their study process. The success of the study depends on how the students manage their


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learning motivation despite the obstacles they might face. Therefore, to dig out the students’ lived experiences in web-based vocabulary learning environment, phenomenological research is done in this study.

It is expected that the data gained from the research participants are beneficial to uncover the lived experience in joining the web-based vocabulary learning class in this study. The lived experience is the result of their reflection during their study. It has to be something meaningful and thoughtful in their life. Therefore, the result of this study can both discover the scientific truth in order to improve life-quality and give well-thought feedback about the web-based vocabulary learning class.

B. Problem Identification

It is important to have a clear perception in dealing with lived experience since phenomenological research starts from the participants’ lived experience and results on its reflection at the end. From a phenomenological point of view, to do research is always to question the way we experience the world, to want to know the world in which we live as human beings (Manen, 1990). Thus, lived experiences cover some aspects from the participants such as feelings, belief, awareness, intention, understanding and some others. The research participants may have different point of view in seeing and reflecting those aspects. Therefore, students may have various lived experience toward certain phenomena specifically in this study is the phenomenon of vocabulary learning in web-based class.


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Studying vocabulary in web-based learning environment class is a new thing for the second semester students of the undergraduate English Language Study Program in Sanata Dharma University. Formerly, the students studied in a conventional way with printed materials and exercises. Applying web-based learning environment in class requires the students to improve their vocabulary mastery independently through some exercises provided in the website. As they are assigned to complete some weekly tasks such as memorizing the vocabulary lists, practicing the vocabulary in the contexts, making sentences using the vocabularies given, giving and gaining feedbacks from friends about their sentences as well as completing quizzes, ideally the students will improve their vocabulary mastery. However, some factors might influence the process of the students’ learning related to their authority andresponsibility to manage their own learning progress, which make differences in each student’s achievement.

C. Problem Limitation

This study is limited in exploring the textual reflection on the lived experiences of the participants in learning vocabulary in web-based vocabulary class. Two undergraduate students of Sanata Dharma University are fully involved as research participants. They were in their second semester of English Language Education Study Program when they had the vocabulary subject.

The lack of phenomenological study focusing on the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabularyenvironment class and the students’ different achievement results from their own learning process become the focus of this study. Classroom observation and in-depth interview to two students are


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conducted to gain the data about web-based vocabulary environment class. It is hoped that those data could reveal and give useful findings about the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary environment class.

D. Research Question

Having the experience in learning vocabulary in web-based class, the students are expected to reflect their learning process and progress. This study is conducted to reveal the students’ lived experience in web-based vocabulary environment class. Therefore, the research question is: What is thestudents’ lived

experience in web-based vocabulary environment class like?

E. Research Objectives

Vocabulary learning in a conventional environment and teaching strategies is a common phenomenon in English language study. However, vocabulary learning in web-based class environment is a breakthrough in English language study especially in Sanata Dharma University. Some teachers and language practitioners believe that exposing learners to technology in their learning process will improve their learning achievement. Furthermore, web-based class provides activities which encourage learners to be more responsible to their own learning progress.

This study is intended to describe and interpret the students’ meaningful experiences in using ELTGallery to improve their vocabulary knowledge. The students’ lived experience will contribute to English language study as a reflection of the student learning process in web-based vocabulary environment class.


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Hopefully, this research can improve higher efficiency and life quality especially in English Education Technology.

F. Research Benefits

This research is beneficial not only theoretically but also practically. Theoretically, vocabulary is an important aspect in acquiring a language and applying vocabulary learning strategies make students autonomous as well as enable them to take responsibility of their own learning (Oxford, 1990). In order to present various vocabulary learning strategies, teachers can apply web-based learning environment in class. By applying it, students can be autonomously exposed to a series of vocabulary learning strategies which are presented in form of various exercises. This research provides clear description on how the concepts of the usefulness of web-based learning environment work on the students’ lived experience in undergoing the web-based vocabulary class.

Practically, this research presents a better understanding of the phenomenon in web-based vocabulary learning environment. The sharing of the students’ lived experience will give a true story on learning vocabulary in web-based class which gives a vision to describe one of the phenomena in English language study. Any significant shared issues, difficulties, problems and values in this study may give contribution to English language study especially for the teachers and language practitioners in developing teaching materials in web-based learning environment. For the research participants, this research may raise their awareness in valuing autonomy learning.


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12

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the theories that support the present study. The main purpose of this chapter is to identify and clarify the research question theoretically. This chapter consists of theoretical review, review of related studies and framework of pre-understanding.

A. Theoretical Review

In this section, theories of the principal concepts in this study are discussed. The theories reviewed are about vocabulary, CALL, web-based learning environment, lived experience and hermeneutics phenomenology. Finally, a review of related studies is also presented and framework of pre-understanding is formulated.

1. Vocabulary

This section discusses theories about vocabulary which includes the nature of vocabulary, teaching vocabulary and learning vocabulary. Each part is discussed thoroughly in each sub chapter as follows.

a. The Nature of Vocabulary Knowledge

Vocabulary knowledge cannot be acquired all at a time since it improves over a lifetime. In order to keep up with the vocabulary knowledge, learners need


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to refresh and update themselves to expand their vocabulary knowledge and competence. Further, vocabulary knowledge covers some aspects which may differ based on the proponents. The following are the aspects of vocabulary knowledge proposed by Richards (1976) and Nation (2001).

Richards (1976) proposed eight aspects or assumptions of vocabulary knowledge. The first is knowing a word means knowing its syntactic development. One may expand his vocabulary from his childhood to adult life yet only little development of syntax happens in adult life. Richards (1976: 78) stated that in syntax, the period of maximum development appears to be from about age 2 to 12 with only minor changes according to social role and mode of discourse in adulthood. It means that during the childhood years, one continuously develops his vocabulary knowledge. However, when he enters his adulthood, his vocabulary knowledge is relatively constant unless he actively engages himself through activities such as reading, listening or others which can add new words to improve his vocabulary knowledge.

The second aspect is knowing a word means knowing the degree of probability of encountering that word in speech or print (1976: 79). If one can classify whether the words he listen or reads are familiar, rare or unknown, it means he has the awareness of the general probability of occurrence of a word. It is also important for the language learner to recognize how words are associated with other words. For example, when he reads the word animal, he can expect the words; wild, tame, furry, etc.

The third aspect is knowing a word means knowing the limitations imposed on its use according to how the function and situation may vary. Having


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this knowledge, one should be able to adjust the vocabulary used to suit to the expected situation and function. Recognizing the characteristics of the register helps someone to choose the vocabulary based on the demands of the situation. As cited in Richards (1976:79), Chiu (1972) divided register restrains into temporal variation, geographical variation, social variation, social role, field of discourse and mode of discourse.

The fourth aspect is knowing a word means knowing its syntactic behavior associated with that word. Learner can acquire knowledge about the structural properties of words as a part of vocabulary learning. The fifth is knowing a word means knowing its original form and the derivation that can be made from it. It is important to learn the rules of how to develop words into different forms or even different words. Being able to analyze the basic form of a word and its derivation can also be gained as a part of vocabulary learning.

The sixth aspect is knowing a word means knowing its network of associations with other words in language. Since words cannot stand alone, their relationships with other words can help learners to define their meanings. Some associative links are for example; antonym, synonym, subordinative classification, coordinate classification and superordinate classification. Having the knowledge of responding to free word association, learners can select a word for the right context in language use. The seventh is knowing a word means knowing its semantic value. Some features used to value words semantically are animate, inanimate, human, non human, living and so on. Being able to analyze words with their semantic values, learners can use words properly based on their restrictions. The last aspect is knowing a word means knowing its different meanings


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associated with the word. A word does not only have a single meaning. Richard (1976) stated that being able to understand various meaning of a word when it is used in different contexts covers the last aspect of vocabulary knowledge.

Meanwhile, Nation (2001) divides vocabulary knowledge into three aspects namely form, meaning, and use. Knowledge of form covers the spoken form, the written form and also the word parts such as prefix, suffix, and the root of the words. In the spoken form, learners deal with the pronunciation or the sound of the words. Pronouncing words correctly is a crucial thing in learning a language since mispronunciation can lead to misunderstanding in communication. In the written form, learners deal with the spelling and furthermore in word parts, learners deal with word formation. Knowledge of meaning covers form and meaning, concept and referents, as well as associations. Form and meaning refer to the way of words convey meaning from the word form. Concept and referents mean the items in which words can relate certain concept to its reference. Meanwhile, association is the process of how people’s mind associate the form and the meaning when they hear a specific word or expression. Knowledge of use deals with the grammatical functions, collocations and any constraints on its use related to frequency, level and so forth. In grammatical functions, learners should be able to decide the appropriate grammar patterns in using the words. In collocations, learners deal with a word or phrase which is usually used with another word or phrase. In constraints on use, learners deal with where, when and how often they use or meet the words.

Further, grading the vocabulary by the importance will help learners to improve their vocabulary knowledge since some vocabularies appear more


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frequently than others. Therefore, Nation (1990) categories words into four types using words frequency and range as the main criteria. They are high frequency words, academic vocabulary, technical vocabulary, and low frequency words. High frequency words occur in all kinds of texts the most frequently. It takes about 87 percent of the words used in the text. The number of high frequency words is 2000. Therefore, it is suggested that learners spend a lot of time to learn the high frequency words to support their basic understanding and knowledge of English. Academic vocabulary occurs quite frequently in most kinds of academic text. It takes about 8 percent of the words used in academic texts. The number of academic vocabulary is 800 words. Only if learners are in upper secondary school or in tertiary education, then special time to learn academic vocabulary is needed. Technical vocabulary only occurs less frequently in specialized texts since it takes only about 3 percent of the words. The number of technical vocabulary for each subject is about 1000 to 2000 words. These words are taught by the subject teachers. Yet, English teachers can only help with the learning strategies. Low frequency words occur the least frequently among other types of words. It only takes 2 percent or more of the words in any text. The number of the words is only about 123.000 words. Teachers do not need to spend the time to teach these words in class. In case some students need them, teachers can teach strategies for dealing with these words. Based on the research on frequency counts as stated in Nation (1990), university students need around 2000 high frequency words with additional of 1000 further high frequency words to support their study. The students also need to know the strategies to deal with the low frequency words they might find in the texts.


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Vocabulary knowledge is not only important to help learners understand texts but also help them support their communicative competence. Meara (1996) declares that lexical competence is the core of communicative competence. It is shown by learners who have a big size of vocabulary knowledge. They could perform language skills more proficiently than those who acquire small size of vocabulary knowledge. Further, Wallace (1982) also states that learners who do not have enough knowledge of the language structures can still perform certain level of communicative competence as long as they have sufficient vocabulary knowledge. Communicative competence here is defined as the internalized knowledge of the situational appropriateness of language (Hymes, 1972) as cited in Coady and Huckin (1997: 12). The importance of communicative competence shifted the focus of teaching language from structure mastery to communicative proficiency. In brief, it promotes fluency over accuracy which requires teachers to pay more attention to words since they help learners to convey meaning in communication. Therefore, it can be concluded that vocabulary knowledge still holds a big role in language learning and vocabulary should be acquired first before learners learn other aspects of language such as grammatical structures.

b. Teaching and Learning Vocabulary

Teaching vocabulary is not an easy task to do since teachers have to select the materials and the activities in order to improve students’ vocabulary knowledge. According to Brown (2007: 7) teaching cannot be defined apart from learning. Teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions for learning. Your understanding on how the learner


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learns will determine your philosophy of education, your teaching style, your approach, methods, and classroom techniques. It also happens in vocabulary teaching. The success of vocabulary teaching depends on how teachers prepare the vocabulary class with the appropriate approach, methods, and also techniques for the students to achieve the vocabulary learning goals. Davis (2007: 72) identified several key messages to prove the significant role of teaching vocabulary in school:

(1) Vocabulary knowledge is a critical aspect of reading comprehension.

(2) Students’ prior understanding and background knowledge are

important contributors to vocabulary acquisition and use. (3) The context in which students encounters words and the frequency of those

encounters influence the quality of students’ vocabulary knowledge and

use. (4) Students learn many new words indirectly; however, they also need strategies to help them when they encounter unfamiliar vocabulary. Systematic approaches to vocabulary instruction provide experiences that actively engage students in their own learning. (5) Teachers need to know what words to teach and various ways in which to teach them. Because the task of learning vocabulary is huge, all teachers have a

responsibility for developing their students’ vocabulary.

Those five roles show that teaching vocabulary is still an important thing to do to support learners acquiring a language while considering some factors which can influence the learning process. Furthermore, teachers as the facilitators should also be aware of students’ prior understanding and background knowledge as well as learning strategies to help students to improve their vocabulary knowledge and maintain their learning progress.

Meanwhile, Nation (1990) proposes four ways to fit vocabulary learning into a language learning course. First, detail preparation is needed before giving the materials to students. The examples of the preparation are simplifying the


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materials and carefully grading the vocabulary on the first English lesson. Second, unfamiliar words are discussed when they appear in the texts. However, teacher needs to consider the importance of the words to decide the time in discussing them. Third, vocabulary is taught in connection with other language activities such as inserting vocabulary exercises in reading or listening texts. This activity also helps learners to have more exposures in learning the vocabulary while comprehending it more contextually in other skills. Fourth, learning time is spent either formally in class or casually outside the lesson hours. Learning time in class can be used for direct learning activities such as dictionary work, exploring the word parts or guessing words. Casual learning outside the class can be used for indirect learning activities such as doing word puzzle, matching games, and so forth. Casual learning can also function as a review of the direct learning in class so that students can maintain their knowledge and ready to improve it further.

Learning vocabulary covers many aspects which can be done in many ways. Therefore, teachers and learners need to consider what kind of learning is needed and suitable. Nation (2001: 395) states that in learning vocabulary,

“learners should know what vocabulary to learn, what to learn about it, how to learn it, how to put in use and to observe how well it has been learned and used”.

It means that learners should also have high awareness in their learning process and progress. Learning vocabulary involved receptive learning and productive learning (Nation, 1990). In receptive learning, knowing a word means being able to recognize the sound of the word and also to recognize the appearance of the word. Receptive learning not only requires learners to be able to value whether the word form sounds right or at least looks right but also to differentiate the word


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with other similar forms. Productive learning covers receptive learning and its extension. Nation (1990: 32) explains that productive learning involves, (1) knowing how to pronounce the words, (2) knowing how to write and spell it, (3) knowing how to use it in correct grammatical patterns along with the words it usually collocates with, (4) knowing when to use it, (5) knowing how to use the word to stand for the meaning it represents and being able to think of suitable substitutes for the word if there is any.

The process of learning vocabulary also needs to consider implicit and explicit knowledge of the learners. According to Ellis (2005), “implicit knowledge

is procedural, it is held unconsciously and can only be verbalized if it is made

explicit”. Implicit knowledge can be applied in rapid and fluent communication

since it can be accessed rapidly and easily. Meanwhile, explicit knowledge is “the

declarative and often anomalous knowledge of the phonological, lexical, grammatical, pragmatic and socio-critical features of an L2 together with the

metalanguage for labeling this knowledge” (Ellis, 2004). Furthermore, Ellis (2005) stated that “explicit knowledge is held consciously, is learnable and

verbalize and is typically accessed through controlled processing when learners

experience some kind of linguistic difficult in the use of the L2”. Meanwhile,

Schmitt (2012) assumes that vocabulary knowledge is declarative in nature and can never be implicit. Similarly, Ulman (2001) and Hulstjin (2007) as cited in Schmitt (2012) also claim that vocabulary knowledge is symbolic and explicit; therefore, it is declarative while grammatical knowledge is procedural. Further,

Schmitt (2012: 125) states that Nation’s vocabulary aspects such as components


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words can be best learned explicitly and components related to the form of word and its receptive or productive aspects of usage can be best learned implicitly but can also be learned explicitly.

2. Web-Based Learning Environment

As CALL is optimally used in learning language, then it leads to web-based learning environment. Web-web-based learning environment allows students to be flexible in doing their learning process since it does not engage the students strictly with the learning time and place. Online system gives students opportunities to study and complete their tasks anytime and anywhere as long as they connect to the website through the internet. However, it is important to design the website effectively to support the learning process optimally.

Nielsen (1993) proposes a concept that the usefulness of web-based learning environment is a combination of its usability and utility. The usability concept includes the criteria that a website should be easy to learn, efficient to use, easy to remember, subjectively pleasing and only has few errors. The utility concept is divided into two categories namely pedagogical usability and added value of web-based learning and teaching. The pedagogical usability includes support for organization of the teaching and studying, support for learning and tutoring processes as well as achievement of learning objectives, and support for the development of learning skills. The added value of web-based learning and teaching includes organization of teaching process, development of quality of

teaching, development of learners’ learning skills and testing as well as


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Web-based learning should be designed effectively and efficiently in order to facilitate learners to be autonomous and responsible in their learning process. Hall (2003) also proposes principles of effective web-based development and design for learning. The principles cover two big criteria namely simplicity and complexity. Simplicity is divided into usability and consistency. Usability refers to the process of making the experience for learner simpler and stress free while consistency refers to the higher order design elements of site organization that allow learners to follow the learning instructions easily. Complexity includes interactivity, multi modality and adaptability. Interactivity is the requirement that the learner carry out some activities besides simply reading or listening (Brooks, 1997). Multi-modality is the various formats the web offers so that students can experience the information in various formats such as audio, textual and visual (Jacobson & Spiro, 1995). Adaptability is the notion of tailoring learning to a

student’s preferred learning style (Lanza & Roseli, 1991; Dillon & Weston,1996; Dillon & Gabbard, 1998). It is the description of learning environments created by the educational web designers. Knowing the description of learning environments, learners can easily adjust their preferred learning style which support them to achieve the learning goals. Thus, a web designer should be able to design their web-based program effectively and efficiently so that it can help students to achieve the learning goal.

a. Computer-Asissted Language Learning and the Principles

As technology has been widely used to support teaching learning activity, the term Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has also been very


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familiar. Beatty (2003: 7) defined CALL as “any process in which a learner uses a

computer and, as a result, improves his or her language”. It means that computer

here works as the media of language learning. Further, to maximize the benefits of applying CALL in language learning process, teachers and language practitioners need to be able to set the best environment to support the application of CALL. According to Egbert and Smith (1999), there are eight conditions in CALL to create the best environment in implementing CALL optimally.

1) Interaction and negotiation of meaning

In language learning, interaction is important for learners to practice their knowledge both in written and spoken forms. Through interaction, learners will also experience the process of negotiation in meaning by having repetition, clarification and restatement. Vigotsky (1934/1962) as cited in Peyton (1999: 17) stated his argument that interaction mediate all human learning with others. Therefore, it is believed that the more learners interact in the target language, the faster learning stages they will develop. It happens because during the interaction, learners may face challenges which force them to perform their language skills

and improve them. As Swain (1985:252) cited in Peyton (1999:18) stated that “the

use of language in interaction with others provides opportunities for contextualized, meaningful use, to test out hypotheses about the target language, and to move the learner from purely semantic analysis of the language to a

syntactic analysis of it”.

Network interaction is designed to provide learners with various contexts and positive learning environment to develop their language competence.


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Warschauer (1996) as cited in Peyton (1999: 21) reviewed the studies of computer-mediated communication in second language composition and foreign

language classroom resulted on “the amount of student participation and student -to-student interaction in the computer-mediated discussions was dramatically higher than in face-to-face discussions among the same individuals. Therefore, it is proven that CALL can provide effective interaction for students to negotiate meaning.

2) Authentic audience

Audience is the most crucial part in language learning since it helps learners to interact during the learning process especially in enriching and negotiating meaning. In language teaching and learning area, audience is classified into two best marginal members namely addressed audience and invoked audience (Johnston: 1999) as cited in Egbert and Smith (1999). Addressed audience refers to the teaching learning participants who are engaged in actual readership. Invoked audience refers to the teaching learning participants that are created through the text.

Further, authentic audience is also defined as “an audience that is

concerned exclusively with the meaning of the speaker’s message” (Johnston, 1999: 60). Therefore, based on Johnston’s definition about authentic audience, it

can be concluded that authentic audience should have positive interest and engagement towards the learning process which involve them to take part in it. In addition, it is confirmed that electronic audiences are authentic audiences in


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computer-mediated interaction class (Johnston, 1999: 62). It is because such audiences concern more on the meaning of messages than on their form.

3) Authentic tasks

Authentic tasks which engage learners actively in using the target language becomes the third principle of optimal CALL environments. A good task must have a clear goal which also leads learners to have goal-oriented behavior. Pica , Kanagy & Falodun (1993) as cited in Chapelle (1999: 101) define authentic tasks

as “the most useful and interesting tasks to be those whose goals require communication in the target language”. Thus, it can be concluded that a qualified

authentic task must provide sufficient practices on the target language.

There are two goals of authentic second language tasks, namely communicative and pedagogical (Chapelle: 1999). Both of the goals are then connected with one of two levels of task analysis; they are the second language activity and the second language task. Breen (1987) as cited in Chapelle (1999: 113) distinguishes both tasks further into task-as-work-plan and task-in-process.

Task as work plan is the second language activity goals which refers to “a general

description of what learners are expected to do in a task, how they are to go about

doing it, and what they are expected to learn” (Chapelle: 114). In relation to web -based vocabulary class, the concept of task as work plan refers to the instructions and the requirements on how the students should accomplish the tasks provided in ELTGallery web well. Task in process is the second language task goals which

refers to “the specific conditions and processes that actually occur as the learner works” (Chapelle: 114). In web-based vocabulary class, this concept is applied in


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how the students use the vocabularies learnt to make sentences. The sentences they make in the web are expected to be able to scaffold their knowledge in using the vocabularies in a real communication.

4) Language exposure and production

In this fourth principle, various language exposures and production are needed to create the best CALL environment. Language exposures are important for learners in order to encourage them to use and practice the language they learn. Spolsky (1989: 166) as cited in Egbert, Chao & Hanson-Smith (1999: 5)

states that “…the outcome of language learning depends in large measure on the amount and kind of exposure to the target language”. This statement highlights

that a large number of exposures is not enough. Various kinds of exposures are

also important to enhance the learners’ creativity in practicing the language.

The benefit of applying web-based class is its strength to facilitate students with different learning styles and preferences. Students have the autonomy to manage their own learning process based on their learning styles and preferences. Further, it also supports a large variety and creative language tasks for learners to practice both their receptive and productive language skills.

5) Enough time and feedback

Each learner needs different span of time to comprehend the learning process and to complete the tasks given as the exposures. As Egbert, Chao and Hanson-Smith (1999: 5) claim that “within the classroom, individual differences in ability, motivation, and other factors determine how much time each learner


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requires to complete a task successfully”. Therefore, in order to create the best

CALL environment, teachers should provide adequate time for learners to complete the learning process.

Besides time, learners also need individualized feedback to maintain their learning progress and to accomplish the learning goals. Critical feedback is necessary to build positive learning motivation which encourage learners to keep progressing. Feedback is also one way of maintaining interactions between lecturers and students.

6) Mindful attention to the learning process

Though the conditions of creating the best CALL environment have been set, but without mindful attention to the learning process, all of the efforts will be useless. Learners should realize the learning purposes and do things mindfully to get the best of them. Salomon (1990), as cited in Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith

(1999: 6) states, “during the learning process, learners must be mindful; they must be motivated to take the opportunities presented to them and to be cognitively

engaged as they perform them”. It can also be said that learners must be aware in their every action during the learning process.

Further, Vygotsky (1978), Salomon, Globerson & Givon (1991) suggest that metacognitive guidance which contains instructions and examples on how to learn things are included in the learning process. Teachers and peers are involved in metacognitive guidance to support the learning process and promote cognitive engagement. Moreover, providing metacognitive guidance in the learning process


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can also equip learners with self-confidence to be autonomous in doing the learning activities.

7) Atmosphere with an ideal stress/anxiety level

During the learning process, learners might get stressful and become anxious especially when they have low self-confidence in accomplishing the learning goals. Once learners feel stressful, then it will lead them to discouragement which affects their motivation to continue the learning process well. Brown (1987), Krashen & Terrel (1983) and Lozanov (1978) as cited in Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith (1999: 6) present their ideas that “before

becoming mindfully engaged and willing to communicate their ideas, learners must experience an optimal level of anxiety in the language learning environment, any feelings or worry or apprehension must be facilitative rather than

debilitative”. From the statement, it can be concluded that even if learners

experience anxiety during the learning process, it should be challenging instead of discouraging.

Therefore, teachers should also be mindful in setting the targets for

learners in accomplishing their learning tasks. Teachers’ expectation should be

reasonable and the goals they set should also be achievable. In CALL environment class, learners are given the opportunities to control their own learning which results on lower anxiety level.


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8) Learner autonomy

Since CALL environment class enables learners to control their own learning, it means that learners’ autonomy should also be thoughtfully allocated to

achieve the optimum result. Being autonomous does not mean that learners take over all the responsibilities in their learning process. Thein (1994) as cited in Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith (1999: 6) describes a learner-centered classroom

as “one that develops learners’ confidence and skills to learn autonomously and to design and coordinate tasks in a variety of contexts”. Thus, teachers still have the

responsibility to control and to give feedback to the learners’ learning progress as

well as to set clear boundaries to keep the learners on the right track in achieving the learning goals.

In addition, Savery and Duffy (1995) as cited in Egbert, Chao, and Hanson-Smith (1999: 7) believe that “a teacher’s role is to challenge learners’ thinking, not to dictate or attempt to regulate their thinking for them”. A good challenge is able to raise learners’ curiosity in learning. In brief, to support learners to learn autonomously, teachers act as facilitators in modeling and

monitoring the learners’ progress.

b. Web-based Vocabulary Class

Vocabulary learning strategies facilitate learners to decide the best way for them to learn. Vocabulary learning strategies also help teachers to provide a large number of various exposures for the students to enhance their vocabulary mastery. Cohen (2007) considers language learning strategies as some techniques which includes action, goal and situation. The features developed in web-based


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technology are able to present several actions to provide learners with various vocabulary exercises which refer to certain goals and can be accessed in

preferable situations based on learners’ learning autonomy. Goodfellow (1994) as

cited in Miles & Kwon (2008: 1) mentions that the use of technology in vocabulary learning covers the things which traditional classroom cannot cover

such as “building up a large vocabulary, giving students control over what words to learn, exercises to promote deeper learning and so on”. Further, Nation (2001)

also considers CALL as a key principle of vocabulary instruction which can provide a lot of exposures to assist language learning.

Therefore, ELTGallery website is developed based on the principles of computer-assisted language learning for teaching vocabulary in English Language Study Program of Sanata Dharma University. It is the basic vocabulary course for the second semester students. The website covers the first thousand-word list, the second thousand-word list, and the first three thousand-word list. ELTGallery website also includes some features such as the vocabulary learning materials,

vocabulary practice, vocabulary production, students’ interaction, vocabulary tests and students’ progress. Further details about each features are presented in the

next sub-chapter.

c. Features of ELTGallery

ELTGallery is specially designed to provide the second semester students of Sanata Dharma University with various vocabulary exercises. Since it is an online website, students can expose themselves to the vocabulary lists and the exercises anytime. By registering and get their accounts, the students can access


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the website and go to the specific features in the website. ELTGallery consists of ten pages, namely, word display, English Indonesian matching, Indonesian

English matching, completion practice, write sentences, review one’s own

sentences, read others’ sentences, comment sentences, tests and score record. The

description of each page is as follows.

The first is word-display page. This page consists of the vocabulary lists which the students have to memorize each week. The vocabulary list is the guidance for the students to do the exercises and tests in the other pages. The word display is completed with the Indonesian meaning so that the students can directly check them whenever they find difficulties in understanding the meaning of the English words. The part of speech of each word is also included to identify the context of the word when it is used in a sentence later. The part of speech is abbreviated such as noun to NN, verb to VB, adverb to AV, and adjective to AD. In addition, examples on how to use the words in sentences are also provided in word-display page. Thus, the students can have clear examples on how to use the words in appropriate contexts. This word-display page shows two aspects of

Nation’s vocabulary knowledge namely form and use. By checking the word display, the students can learn both the written form and the spoken form. Further, by reading the examples given, the students gain the knowledge of how to use the words in appropriate contexts.

The second page is English-Indonesian matching. It is the first exercise page after the word display. This page presents ten sentences with a missing word blank in each sentence on the left side. On the right side, ten words starts from A–


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students have to type the letter in the provided box. This exercise applies knowledge of meaning from Nation. Through matching exercises, students learn how words convey meaning from the word form.

The third page is Indonesian English matching. This page display more numbers of matching exercises than the English-Indonesian matching. The Indonesian-English matching exercises present twenty Indonesian words with a blank after each word on the left side. Then, the list of twenty English words numbered A –T is presented on the right side. In this exercises, the students also have to type the relevant letters in the boxes to complete the exercises. Both English-Indonesian matching and Indonesian-English matching provide repetition and exposures to the words which enable the students to review the vocabulary list

that they have learnt. This exercise also applies Nation’s vocabulary knowledge of

meaning.

Completion practice is the fourth page in ELTGallery. The completion practice consists of five numbers for the students to do. It presents twenty-five English sentences with a missing word in each sentence and also a box after each sentence. In this exercise, the students have to type the missing word of each sentence in the box to answer the exercises. In completion practice, the students need to pay attention to the meaning of the sentences and also the meaning of the words so that they can insert the correct words to the sentences. This exercise implies the aspect of knowing a word means knowing the limitations imposed on its use according to how the function and situation may vary (Richard: 1976). Therefore, the students should be able to choose which word is suitable with the context. This exercise also requires the students to be able to know the semantic


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value of the words. As Richard (1976) stated that by being able to analyze words with their semantic values, learners can use words properly based on their restrictions such as animate, inanimate, human, non human, living and so on.

The fifth page is write sentences. In this exercises, the students are expected to produce sentences based on the words they have learnt. After they have finished with one unit, the students are given twenty-five words randomly chosen from the words in the unit. Then, they have to make sentences using the words. In making sentences, the students have to pay attention to the context of the words as well as the grammar of the sentences. They are not allowed to use abbreviation in the sentences. The correctness in using the words with the right

context and grammar will show the students’ vocabulary mastery. Since this exercise requires the students’ productive skill, then it covers all the vocabulary -learning aspects.

The sixth page is review one’s own sentences. When the students have

finished with the production part, they can review their own sentences. They can

check whether the sentences need revisions or not. It takes the students’ awareness

in using the word in an appropriate context. Once they upload their work to the website, they cannot correct their mistakes anymore. Therefore, they really have to use the opportunities provided in this page.

The next page is read other’s sentences. In this page, the students can see

their classmates’ sentences. Reading their friends’ sentences can give them some

inputs in improving their own works. However, they cannot copy and use their


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The eighth page is comment sentences. This page allows interactions among the students. Here, the students have to give their comments on their

friends’ sentences by giving rate. The rate ranges from 1 to 3. The students can rate their friends’ sentences with 1 if the sentences are both lexically and grammatically unacceptable. They can give 2 if the sentences are acceptable either lexically or grammatically. They can give the highest rate 3 if the sentences are acceptable both lexically and grammatically. Through this rating system, the students can interact during or after giving the rate. They can discuss the rate of

their sentences, analyze the mistakes if there is any and ask their friends’

suggestions to improve their sentences.

The ninth page is tests. In one semester, the students only have a mid-term test and a final test. However, they also have to complete 12 weekly exercises. In weekly exercises, the students have to complete seventy-five completion exercises. The words in the weekly completion exercises are randomly taken from the sentences in each unit. The complete the exercises, the students are allowed to open their notes or work together with their friends. They can also repeat the exercises if the result is not satisfying. Meanwhile, the mid-term test is held after the students have finished the materials from unit 1 to 6. The final test is held after they have finished until unit 12. The materials for the final test are taken from unit 7 to 12. The mid-term and the final test are held in the class. The students are not allowed to open their notes and cooperate with friends.

The last page is score record. The score record page displays the students’

results on the matching and completion exercises, making sentences, sentence score, sentence comments, mid-term test, and final test. All of the scores are then


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audio, or video.

MA28 Martha Ooouw, I see. I think the website didn’t support multi-modality in its features. The format of the exercises were all textual, no video or audio. If other formats such as video or audio can be inserted, I think it will be much more interesting. Video can help students to learn vocabulary too. Perhaps the improvement is still a bit difficult to do but it is worth trying.

Q29 Dian OK, now the last question about your expectation for ELTGallery. Do you think ELTGallery facilitate your learning style, Martha?

MA29 Martha In the case of individual learning, it supported my learning style but not in other aspects.

Q30 Dian What was that? What’s your

expectation?

MA30 Martha I learn a lot through writing. I write the things I am studying in various colors. In ELTGallery, everything was in the website. We couldn’t do anything except doing the things based on the features. Hhhmm…I don’t know..if there are features to customized our own learning page without changing the content, I think that will be so great. So, whenever I open the website, I would feel very enthusiastic because I feel like it’s my personal website in my own style.

Q31 Dian Wow… It sounds very interesting, Martha. Hopefully your ideas will be considered soon.

MA31 Martha I hope so, miss.

Q32 Dian OK, now let’s talk more about your feeling in joining the vocabulary web-based learning class. How do you feel about the interaction in the class? Do you have enough opportunity to


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negotiate meaning during the learning process?

MA32 Martha What is negotiate meaning, miss? Q33 Dian Well.. it’s like the process for you to

understand the meaning of certain words. By asking your friends perhaps or looking for more examples to grab the meaning.

MA33 Martha I often got confused to whom I should ask, because everybody was very busy with their monitor during the lesson. I felt uneasy to disturb my friends and asked questions. I usually consulted my dictionary. Just sometimes, I asked my friends’ opinion about my sentences. So, I think the opportunity to negotiate meaning in the class was not that much.

Cha.Voc-ELT

Q34 Dian Hmm… I see. Then how do you feel being the audience in the class?

MA34 Martha Honestly, I prefer the conventional class than this online class. Web-based vocabulary class required us to stare the monitor in quite a long time. For me, it was not really enjoyable.

Q35 Dian What about the tasks, Martha? How do you feel about it?

MA35 Martha Actually the tasks have clear goals, the purpose of each task is also clear. But I think the number of the tasks need to be considered, so that we don’t feel very exhausted in completing them.

Q36 Dian So, do you think the number of the tasks were too many?

MA36 Martha I think so, miss. I had to stare the monitor in quite a long time to do the tasks and it is not good for our health.

Cha.Voc-ELT

Q37 Dian All right, noted. What about the language exposure and production in the class? How do you feel about it?


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MA37 Martha Hhmm…not really complete miss. It’s been good actually but the exposure and production especially the spoken ones were not facilitated. Listening also… there weren’t any exercises for us to practice the vocabularies in listening, especially in pronouncing the words. Well, maybe because it was a vocabulary class not a speaking class. For me, it’s okay but it’s not really fulfilling.

Q38 Dian I see. By the way, do you think you’ve got enough time and feedback during the learning process?

MA38 Martha Time, no. Feedback, ok. I always felt in a rush to complete the tasks, miss. Whereas I thought, I had made my time schedule to arrange my activities and time to do campus tasks. But, I don’t know…the time seemed never enough. It was very very exhausting.

ELT-Lea.Atm

Q39 Dian Wow…that bad?

MA39 Martha Yes, miss. Even when I was doing other activities like church or choir, I sometimes stole the time to do the tasks bit by bit with my hand phone. The tasks were like haunting me every time.

ELT-Lea.Atm

Q40 Dian Did it happen to the tasks in all subjects you’ve ever taken?

MA40 Martha Hhmmm… not all subjects actually, but I don’t know this one was a bit hard to handle. But I really felt challenged and I think I was successful. I got an A for this subject. Well, it was worth fighting for, miss.

Cha.Voc-ELT

Q41 Dian Great, Martha. That’s what we call self-pride, right?

MA41 Martha Yes, miss. That’s right.

Q42 Dian What about the feedback you’ve got during the learning process?


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MA42 Martha The feedback was ok.. I got much from friends but not from the lecturer. And sometimes I got confused why my sentences were commented in such a way, but I couldn’t confirm to the one who criticized them because I didn’t know who did that. I often felt that it was unfair. Ideally, it should be the lecturer’s task to criticize the students’ work.

Q43 Dian And did you get it from the lecturer? MA43 Martha No, because there was not enough

interaction in the class. We focused more on the website.

Q44 Dian Hhmm.. I see. Anyway, do you think that you’ve followed the learning process mindfully, Martha?

MA44 Martha I think so, miss. I tried to be well committed. Sometimes during the process, my mood was up and down. Quite moody. But when I remembered that I’ve been through this much, this far, then it was such a pity if I kept on being lazy and following my mood. It was such a self-alarm to motivate myself to get back on the track.

Cha.Voc-ELT

Q45 Dian That’s good, then. Then how do you feel about the stress level in this class? MA45 Martha I think it was medium, miss. Only the

burden of doing the tasks was quite high. Moreover if we also had homework from other subjects, the modem was error, there were a lot of things in mind…wow, it felt like I my mind was about to explode. You’d better stay away from me. Hehehe…

Cha.Voc-ELT

Q46 Dian Alright. The last ones, Martha. Do you think ELTGallery supports the students to be autonomous? How do you feel about it?

MA46 Martha Definitely, miss. Even it required us to be very independent in accomplishing


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the goals. Personally, I felt positive about that. Moreover, I am typically a person who is very curious about what topic to discuss in the class in the following day with the lecturer. With ELTGallery, the materials were not only prepared for the following meeting but it was ready for the whole semester, so that I could prepare myself better for the class. I was more ready and confident to join the class. Except…when there were a lot of things to do at the same time, then seeing the deadline in ELTGallery was very stressing. But, the idea of making the students more independent and responsible to their own study progress was very good, I think.


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Appendix 3 Observation Note

Wednesday, May 7th2014, 11 A.M

Audio Visual Laboratory of Sanata Dharma University

I asked the lecturer’s permission to observe his class some days before and he scheduled the class observation right away. I arrived around 10. 30 A.M and there were not anybody in the class yet. Around ten minutes later, the lecturer came and started to prepare the class. The students started to come some minutes before the class began.

11. 00 He opened the class by greeting his students. Then, he asked me to introduce myself in front of the students. After introducing myself, I took a seat in the quiet row.

11. 05 He asked the students whether they had some problems in doing their weekly tasks or not. Then, he asked the students to continue their work.

11.10 Students started to be busy with their monitor. Some were seriously doing the exercises. Some others were listening to the music while doing the tasks. Some others were having chitchat while doing the exercises.

11. 45 The lecturer asked again whether the students had some problems or not. The lecturer was still sitting while observing his monitor. No student was responding to his questions. They were still busy staring at their monitors.

12. 15 I asked the lecturer whether I could walk around to get closer observation of what the students were actually doing. He gave me permission. Then, I walked around and came to some students’ desks. 12. 30 The lecturer reminded the students to complete the tasks at home and

then he dismissed the class.

12. 40 I came to the lecturer’s desk and discussed the things I gained from the classroom observation.