The effectiveness of the natural method to improve the vocabulary mastery of kindergarten students.

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE NATURAL METHOD

TO IMPROVE THE VOCABULARY MASTERY

OF KINDERGARTEN STUDENTS

A THESIS

Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree

in English Language Education

By:

Retno Purbo Sari 001214052

ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM

DEPARTMENT OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS EDUCATION

FACULTY OF TEACHERS TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

YOGYAKARTA

v

Friendship

needs no symbols or vows to make it whole,

it’s just a sacred covenant that’s locked within the soul!

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I thankGodfor always giving me everything. Whatever I get, it is all what is best for my life. His existence has always helped me go through the worst and the best moments.

I would like to express my sincere gratefulness to my major sponsor,

Drs. Pius Nurwidasa P., M.Ed., for his care, attention, guidance, patience, and encouragement in helping me accomplish this thesis.

I would like to thank the big family ofTK Indriyasana Baciro,Bu Tari,

Bu Sri, andBu Anaswho have permitted me to do this research, and Ichaas my observer who is also a great partner.

My deepest gratefulness goes to my mother, Ibu Mus. She always understands and trusts me whatever I do. Her love has given me strength to fight through the difficulty of life. Her prayers always bless me in my every single step. My love and gratitude also goes to my father, Bapak Paulus, and my brother,

Danar , Mbak Nana, Mas Agung, Afik, Inda,who have given me plenty of love and joy in my life. I give my sincere love and thanks to Yosiwho has taught me how to love. He has known me at my worst and at my best and he is always by my side. I thank him for always supporting me.

My special thanks are given to Mas Bambang, Putri, Herlina, Ika, Veby, Wiwik, Topak, Iik, Agung, Dina, Teguh, Pipit, Ucrit, Mbak Vita, and

Mbak Airin who always support me. Everything seems so easy when I am with them. I also would like to thank toCossa for his help, Moko and family,Eddy, Adhi, Momon,Abhi for everything, andEndahfor her help.

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I also would like to give my appreciation to these great people, Ibu PathukandNovi for their love and care, my family in Godean, all my friends in PBI’00, “I am Sam” crew, my friends in Cempaka 36 and Gg. Guru, my friends in English Link, my friends in KKN, my friends in PPL, and also my friends in SMUNSA. I thank them for the help and support.

Finally, I would like to thank all the people who have given me supports, love, guidance, and prayers whom I cannot mention one by one.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

TITLE PAGE ………..…..……… i

APPROVAL PAGE .……….…….…... ii

EXAMINATION BOARD PAGE ……….……….. iii

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

DEDICATION PAGE ……….………. v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ………..……… vi

TABLE OF CONTENT ………..……….. viii

LIST OF TABLES ………..……... xi

LIST OF FIGURES ……….………. xii

LIST OF APPENDICES ………..………... xiii

ABSTRACT ………..……… xiv

ABSTRAK………..……… xv

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION………..…………. 1

A. Background of the Study ………..………. 1

B. Problem Identification ………..………. 2

C. Problem Limitation ………..………... 3

D. Problem Formulation ………..………... 3

E. Research Objective ………..……….. 4

F. Research Benefits ……….………. 4

G. Definition of Terms ……….………... 5

CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIE………... 6

A. Theoretical Description ……….………... 6

1. Vocabulary Mastery ….………... 6

1.1. Vocabulary Mastery as Knowledge of Word ……...………… 7

1.2. Children’s Innate Ability to Learn a New Language ….…….. 10

2. An Overview of the Aspects in Vocabulary Acquisition Process ……… 13

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2.1. Comprehensible Input in Vocabulary Acquisition …...……… 14

2.1.1 Learners’ interaction with the environment …...……….. 14

2.1.2 Context of Vocabulary ………...……….. 15

2.2. The Process of Memorizing the Input ………..……… 17

2.2.1 The Use of Repetition ………...……… 17

2.2.2 Deep Processing of New Vocabulary …...……… 19

2.3. The Usage in the Real Communication ……...………. 20

3. The Natural Method ………...………... 21

3.1. Vocabulary Mastery Acquired Through the Natural Method ……….. 23

3.1.1. Comprehensible Input in the Natural Method …….…... 24

3.1.2. The Process of Memorization in the Natural Method ……….. 25

3.1.3. Real Communication Provided in the Natural Method …..……… 26

3.2. Types of Teaching Learning Activity Based on the Natural Method ... 27

3.2.1. Learner’s Roles ………..…………. 27

3.2.2. Teacher’s Roles ……….………. 28

3.2.3. Teaching Technique in the Natural Method ... 29

4. Kindergarten Curriculum ……….. 31

B. Theoretical Framework ……….……… 33

C. Hypotheses ……… 36

CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY………..……… 38

A. Research Method ………... 38

B. Setting ………... 39

C. Subject ……….. 39

D. Time Allocation ……… 40

E. Research Instruments ……… 40

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G. Analysis of the Data ………. 43

CHAPTER IV: RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……..…... 45

A. Introduction ………..…………. 45

B. Presentation of the Tests Result ………...…………. 45

1. Data Presentation ………..………... 45

1.1.Data Presentation of the Pre Test ………..……… 45

1.2.Data Presentation of the Post Test ………..……….. 46

1.3.Descriptive Statistics ……….……… 48

2. Test Validity and Reliability ………..………. 48

3. Data Analysis ……….…………. 49

3.1. Data Analysis Using Independent Sample t-test ……..……… 49

3.1.1. Analysis of the Pre test ……….……….. 49

3.1.2. Analysis of the Post Test ………..…………... 50

3.2. Data Analysis Using Non Independent Sample t-test ..……… 52

C. Presentation of the Observation Results …………..………. 52

D. Other Findings ………..……… 57

E. Hypothesis Testing ………..……….. 59

1. Restatement of the Research Hypothesis ………..….. 59

2. Hypothesis Testing ………..………… 60

F. Result Interpretation ………..……… 60

G. Summary ………..………. 61

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION….………. 62

A. Introduction ……….……….. 62

B. Conclusions ……….……….. 62

C. Recommendation ….………. 64

BIBLIOGRAPHY….……….. 65

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1. The Pre Test Score of the Experimental Group

and the Control Group ……… 46 Table 4.2. The Post Test Score of the Experimental Group

and the Control Group ……… 47 Table 4.3. The Descriptive Statistics ……… 48 Table 4.4. The Test Reliability ………. 49 Table 4.5. The Mean Scores of the Experimental Group

and the Control group ………. 51 Table 4.6. Observation List Score of the Experimental Group ……… 53 Table 4.7. Observation List Score of the Control Group ……….. 54

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Factors Influencing Vocabulary Acquisition ……….. 35 Figure 2.2. Factors Influencing Vocabulary Acquisition in Natural Method … 35 Figure 4.1. Chart of the Competence Difference ………... 58 Figure 4.2. Chart of the Observation Results ………. 59

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix 1 : PERMOHONAN IJIN PENELITIAN ………. 68

Appendix 2 : KETERANGAN PELAKSANAAN PENELITIAN ………… 69

Appendix 3 : ACTIVITIES REPORT ……… 70

Appendix 4 : SYLLABUS ……….. 71

Appendix 5 : LESSON PLAN ……… 72

Appendix 6 : THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP SCORES ………. 82

Appendix 7 : THE CONTROL GROUP SCORES ……… 83

Appendix 8 : THE COMPUTATION ……… 84

Appendix 9 : THE T-TABLE ………. 87

Appendix 10 : THE PRE TEST ……… 88

Appendix 11 : THE POST TEST ……….. 90

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ABSTRACT

Purbo Sari, Retno. 2007. The Effectiveness of theNatural Method to Improve the Vocabulary Mastery of Kindergarten Students. Yogyakarta. Sanata Dharma University.

The study was intended to find out the effectiveness of Natural Method to improve vocabulary mastery of kindergarten students applied in TK Indriyasana Baciro. Natural Method is one method that uses the target language to communicate in the classroom. In this case, the students are supposed to learn the target language naturally and unconsciously.

There are two problems that were formulated in this study. The first problem was whether or not the Natural Method improved the students’ vocabulary mastery and the second problem was the contributions of the Natural Method in improving the students’ vocabulary mastery.

In order to answer the problems, a quasi-experimental method was used. In this method, there were two groups involved in the study. The first group was the experimental group as the group that was treated using the Natural Method and the other one was the control group as the comparison to the first group. The control group did not get the treatment as the first group did.

To gather the data, pre test and post test were carried on to both groups. The pre test was conducted before the treatment and the post test was conducted after the treatment. The result showed that t-value of the pre test was 0.032. It means that the input competence of both groups were not significantly different. The treatment was carried on for 8 meetings. Both groups showed significant difference of competence after the course. However, the experimental group achieved higher competence than the control group with the t-value 3.95 which was significantly different. It means that the Natural Method applied in TK Indriyasana Baciro was effective to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.

The target language which was used optimally in the classroom encouraged the students to interact deeply with the language. The students memorized the vocabulary unconsciously since by using the target language in the classroom, the teacher automatically repeated the vocabulary taught in the previous meetings. In addition, the students accustomed to hear the target language to communicate and this condition led them to produce the words they acquired first.

This research is intended to give a portrait how the Natural Method applied in the kindergarten school. This research is also expected to give an alternative method for English teachers to teach English to children and give an overview for other researchers who do research in language teaching method for children.

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ABSTRAK

Purbo Sari, Retno. 2007. The Effectiveness of the Natural Method to Improve the Vocabulary Mastery of Kindergarten Students. Yogyakarta. Sanata Dharma University.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat keefektifan Natural Method untuk meningkatkan kemampuan kosa kata bahasa Inggris anak-anak yang diterapkan di TK Indriyasana Baciro.Natural Method adalah suatu metode pengajaran dimana bahasa yang diajarkan digunakan secara langsung untuk berkomunikasi di dalam kelas. Dalam hal ini, murid-murid diharapkan dapat menguasai kosa kata secara alami tanpa disadari.

Ada dua hal yang menjadi permasalahan dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama ialah apakahNatural Methodmeningkatkan penguasaan anak dalam kosa kata bahasa Inggris dan masalah yang kedua ialah apa kontribusiNatural Method dalam meningkatkan penguasaan kosa kata.

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metodequasi experimental. Dalam metode penelitian ini, ada dua kelompok yang diteliti. Kelompok pertama adalah kelompok eksperimen (eksperimental group) sebagai kelompok yang menerapkan Natural Method dan kelompok yang kedua adalah kelompok control (control group) sebagai pembanding untuk kelompok pertama. Kelompok control tidak menerapkan Natural Methodseperti pada kelompok eksperimen.

Untuk menproleh data, kedua kelompok melaksanakan pre test dan post test. Pre test dilaksanakan sebelum diterapkan Natural Method sedangkan post testdilaksanakan setelahNatural Method selesai diterapkan. Hasilt-value dari pre test adalah 0.032. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan awal siswa-siswa kelompok eksperimen dan control tidak jauh berbeda. Metode Natural Method diterapkan selama 8 pertemuan. Kedua kelompok menunjukkan adanya perkembangan kosa kata setelah mendapatkan pelajaran bahasa Inggris. Tetapi, kelompok eksperimen (eksperimental group) mengalami peningkatan yang lebih baik daripada kelompok control (control group) dengan nilai perbedaan (t-value) 3.95. Hal ini berarti penerapan Natural Method efektif untuk meningkatkan kemampuan kosa kata anak.

Penggunaan bahasa Inggris secara optimal di dalam kelas, mamacu siswa untuk lebih berinteraksi dengan bahasa tersebut. Siswa-siswa mengingat kosa kata secara tidak sadar karena dengan menggunakan bahasa Inggris di dalam kelas, secara otomatis guru akan mengulang kata-kata yang telah diajarkan sebelumnya. Selain itu, siswa-siswa akan terbiasa mendengar bahasa Inggris untuk komunikasi dan memacu mereka mengucapkan kata-kata yang telah dikuasai.

Penelitian ini dimaksudkan untuk memberi gambaran tentang bagaimana Natural Method diterapkan di taman kanak-kanak (TK). Penelitian ini juga diharapkan dapat memberikan metode alternative bagi guru dalam mengajar bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak dan gambaran untuk peneliti lain yang melakukan penelitian dalam bidang pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak.

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

A. Background of the Study

English is being taught from early schools today. English has been taught from kindergarten level. In the kindergartens, English is still optional to be taught. However, from the research done by the writer, it was found that a number of kindergartens have already started introducing English in the class. The writer did the research by taking random sampling and the result showed that 16 out of 18 kindergartens have already introduced English to the students either in the class hour or in the extracurricular hour. From the fact above, it is clear that there is a demand to introduce English to kindergarten students.

The objective of the lesson is to teach English vocabulary to the students. Vocabulary is the basis for communication (Krashen and Terrell, 1983:155). Words are used to bring out the idea and how people can interact using the foreign language depends on how much the vocabulary acquired. Children learn language by recognizing different name for different thing. The beginning process of children acquiring new language is learning the vocabulary. Therefore, teaching English in kindergarten is aimed to introduce vocabulary to the students.

Since giving English in Kindergarten is still optional, there is no specific method suggested to be used in the teaching learning activity. Today, there are varieties of method that can be chosen. The teacher is free to choose any method to teach vocabulary. However, appropriate method should be well selected in order to optimize learning. Hence, the teacher should consider the characteristics

of the students when choosing a method to be applied.

Kindergarten students have special character that is helpful for them to learn a new language. Kindergarten students are learning rapidly. They are still experimenting with language, trying out new words, inventing words by combining other words or adding ending which they have used at other time (Foster and Headly’s, 1959:8). Moreover, learning at this age is not driven by learning the language and the rule of language instead by activity and play (Lado, 1959:57). Considering the characteristic of the learners above, the study of this research is to find out whether Natural Method can be applied in kindergarten to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.

B. Problem Identification

Natural Method is a method where the teacher doesn’t use translation or the students’ native tongue but the teacher uses English to communicate in the class. The Natural Method uses the acquisition principle as the principle in the first language learning. Language is learned unconsciously and naturally. By teacher talking in the target language, it is expected that the teacher gives enough input along with the context of the vocabulary aimed to introduce. The teacher does not recourse to the students’ native language, instead the teacher use the help of gestures, demonstrations and paraphrase the sentence to make the meaning comprehensible.

Although the Natural Method sees that second language acquisition process is parallel to the first language acquisition, there is a difference of the quantity in providing input for the learners. The learners hear their first language

more frequently from the people around them rather than hear the target language which is only in the classroom. The problem which may arise is whether or not the students can generate concept of the vocabulary introduced if not through translation and whether or not the students can memorize and recall the words taught. In other words, the problem is whether the students can acquire the vocabulary of the target language. Therefore, the study of this research is to see the improvement of the students’ vocabulary mastery when it is taught using Natural Method.

C. Problem Limitation

The study will be conducted for kindergarten class. The students will be around 4 to 5 years old. There are two groups in this research; one as the experimental group and the other as the control group. The experimental group will be treated using the Natural Method. The study of this research will be limited to the improvement of the students’ vocabulary mastery after being treated using Natural Method.

D. Problem Formulation

Based on the background of the study, the problems in this research are formulated as follow:

1. Does the Natural Method improve the vocabulary mastery of kindergarten students?

2. What are the contributions of the Natural Method to improve vocabulary acquisition?

E. Research Objective

The objective of this research is to see whether the Natural Method applied in kindergarten can improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. The experimental group will be treated using the technique proposed in the Natural Method. To answer the first question, the writer compares the students’ vocabulary mastery of the experimental group and the control group by conducting pre test and post tests of vocabulary mastery. The result will be computed by using t-test to see whether or not the difference is significant.

How the Natural Method can improve the vocabulary mastery will be seen from the contributions of the method in the teaching learning activity. To answer the second question, the writer uses observation check list to see the contributions of the method that can improve vocabulary mastery which will be compared with the traditional method.

F. Research Benefits

1. The writer

The study done by the writer is expected to give input to the writer of how to manage the class, and how to make the target language comprehensible for the students.

2. The teacher

The study is expected to give an alternative for the teachers in the teaching learning process that can be applied at school.

3. The other researches

teaching method since this study presents an overview of children’s characteristics in responding to the teacher talk using the target language. In addition, this study also talks about the technique in the Natural Method of how to use the target language to communicate in the classroom.

G. Definition of Terms

1. language acquisition

Acquisition refers to an unconscious process that involves the naturalistic development of language proficiency through understanding language and through using language for meaningful communication. (Krashen,1985) 2. vocabulary mastery

Vocabulary mastery in this study means the lexical input acquired by the students along with the meaning of the words.

3. Comprehensible input

Comprehensible input refers to the utterances that the students understand based on the context in which they are used (Richards and Rodgers, 1986:132).

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CHAPTER II

THEORETICAL REVIEW

This chapter presents a discussion of the theories as the foundation of this topic. The discussion covers three major areas: theoretical description, theoretical framework and hypotheses. The theoretical description discusses any related theories supporting the study. The theoretical framework discusses the theories used to conduct this research and the hypotheses present the hypotheses of this study.

A. Theoretical Description

The theoretical description will present a discussion of vocabulary mastery as the language element to be achieved in this study. The discussion will give a clearer definition about what is meant by vocabulary mastery. To support the theory, in this discussion, the writer presents the theories that facilitate and influence vocabulary mastery. Related to the theories mentioned before, the next discussion will discuss the foundation theories of the Natural Method that can improve vocabulary mastery. Hence, the correlation between the natural method and vocabulary mastery can be seen clearly.

1. Vocabulary Mastery

Vocabulary is the basis for communication (Krashen and Terrell, 1985:155). In simpler way, vocabulary can be defined as words and these words are used to name.

Names are essential for the construction of reality for without a name it is difficult to accept the existence of an object, an event, a feeling (Taylor, 1990; 1). Therefore, vocabulary can represent idea/thought to be decoded in communication.

1.1. Vocabulary Mastery as Knowledge of Words

Vocabulary mastery is related to knowledge of words. Richards as cited by Taylor (1990) proposed some descriptions of knowledge of words. Learners can be said to have mastered vocabulary if they have some knowledge of words as described below.

1. Knowledge of collocation; knowing the syntactic behavior associated with the word and knowing the network of associations between that word and other words, for example: ‘car’, ‘plane’ is a noun and related to transport. The use of hyponyms and superordinates are helpful. For example: ‘raspberry’ and ‘strawberry’ are hyponyms of ‘fruit’ and ‘fruit’ is the superordinate. This collocation gives a meaningful context of the words and not merely knowledge of words in isolation.

2. Knowledge of semantics; it consists of two meaning: denotation and connotation. Denotation means knowledge firstly what the word means, for example ‘shirt’ refers to a garment worn above the waist, having a collar and fastening at the front with buttons. Semantic knowledge as what the word ‘connotes’ can be described as the meaning beyond the words denote. As an illustration, the connotation of the term ‘shirt’ is for men only. The same garment worn by women is normally referred to as a

‘blouse’. While women in some circumstances use the term ‘shirt’, it is never acceptable for men to use the term ‘blouse’ for the garment worn by men. It’s easy to teach concrete things by showing the objects like pencil, plate, book, etc. for more abstract concepts, synonyms, antonym, paraphrase or definition may be useful. Since this study is registered for children and hence will not require further thinking of the real meaning of words, the research of this study will only cover the semantic knowledge as the words denote.

3. Knowledge of polysemy; knowing many of different meanings associated with a word depending on the context. Some words with the same spelling or sound may have different meaning. The following words are the example of similar sound:

 Thesheepis eating the grass.

 Theshipis moving to the shore.

Teaching vocabulary items in isolation ways such as in a list is likely to cause confusion. Therefore, it is necessary to present lexical items in context.

4. Knowledge of the equivalent of the word in the mother tongue; recognizing and comparing of how the same thing can be said in different languages. For example, an instrument with two blades used for cutting paper, cloth, etc. can be called as “gunting” or “scissors”.

5. Knowledge of the frequency of the word in language; knowing the degree of probability of encountering the word in speech or in print. Some lexical items in English are more frequent in speech than in writing, such as

‘indeed’, ‘well’. Other items like ‘former’, ‘later’ may only occur in the written language. This knowledge of language is not becoming the goal in learning language in this study. It is because the frequency for the students to interact using the target language is limited and therefore the language used in class is automatically using high frequency words. Moreover, students at this age do not learn language in print.

6. Knowledge of morphology; knowing the underlying form of a word and the derivations that can be made from it. For example the word ‘dissatisfaction’ has a common prefix denoting opposite (dis-), a common noun suffix (-ion) and is derived from the verb ‘satisfy’. The words ‘cleaning’, ‘cleaned’ are derived from the verb ‘clean’.

Students when acquiring a language go through a process. Sometimes a student learns a form; a word or a construction before learning its meaning. Later, coming in contact with the same word in different situation which makes sense to him, he discovers what this form means. (Lado, 1961:17-9). The knowledge of words above can be said as the mastery of vocabulary seen from different point of view either from its form or its meaning. Knowledge of morphology and frequency of the word in language are the example of knowledge seen from its form rather than its meaning. Knowledge of collocation, polysemy, semantics and the equivalent of the word in the mother tongue demand the student know both the form and the meaning.

As it is said above, firstly the student will notice the form and then from contact with the situation, he will be able to give meaning to the word. The students will experience all those knowledge by the time they learn the language.

However, Taylor (1990) suggests that it’s better to teach several aspects of ‘knowledge of words’ together, using a combination of stimuli. Although kindergarten students are young learners, they have capabilities to learn a new language. The following will discuss them further.

1.2. Children’s Innate Ability to Learn a New Language

Although kindergarten students are young learners, they have innate capabilities to learn language which can be used as the considerations why English is taught at this age. Halliwell (1992) proposes 6 qualities of children’s characteristics that help children learn foreign language.

1. Children’s capabilities to grasp meaning

Children are already very good at interpreting meaning without necessarily understanding the individual words. They understand what the message probably means from the intonation, gesture, facial expression, actions, and circumstances. By understanding message through this way, they start to understand the language. Their message–interpreting skill is part of the way they learn new words in their mother tongue. When they encounter a new language at school, they can all on the same skill to help them interpret the new sounds, new words, and new structures.

2. Children’s creative use of limited language source

Alongside the ability to perceive meaning, children already have great skill in using limited language creatively. It can be seen in children acquiring their mother tongue. Children combine and reconstruct words they have known to convey meaning, sometimes using analogy. In the foreign

language classroom, it occurs naturally when the need to communicate has been temporarily intensified by some activities in real interactions.

3. Children’s capacity for indirect learning

Children frequently learn indirectly rather than directly. Language activities which involve children in guessing what phrase or word someone has thought are good examples. Guessing is actually a very powerful way of learning phrases or structures, but is indirect because the mind is engaged with the task and is not focusing on the language. The process relates very closely to the way in developing mother tongue. Learners acquire mother tongue through continuous exposure and use. For this reason, it is a good idea to set up real tasks in the language classroom. Real tasks, that is to say interesting activities which are not just language exercises, provide children with real language use. In such tasks, children let their subconscious mind work on the processing of language while their conscious mind is focused on the task. In this way, games are very effective opportunity for indirect learning.

4. Children’s instinct for play and fun

Children take great pleasure in finding and creating fun in what they do. Sometimes in doing certain activities, children put their own drama in the activity. Here, as in the guessing activities, they make language their own. It is such a very powerful contribution in learning. Through their sense of fun and play, the children are living the language for real.

5. The Role of Imagination

in children is accepted, it provides another powerful stimulus for real language use. The teacher can use the children’s imagination to be the stimulus to ask the children to share their idea because children like talking.

6. The instinct for interaction and Talk

Children like talking and this is probably the most important for language teacher. It is one of the instincts a young child brings to learning a foreign language at school. It is one motivator for using the language. They can learn about the language, but the only way to learn to use it is to use it. The characteristics show that children open to new language as they open to new words of their mother tongue. Children before the age of puberty, develop a foreign language in similar way as they develop their mother tongue. It is as stated by Brown (1991;25) that children learn a second/foreign language as much apparent ease as the first and that will change in the adults learning. Younger children in the second/foreign language are as creative as they are in the first. Brown (1991) also states that if human beings are bio-programmed for first language development up through puberty, then there is reason to believe that bio-program would operate in second/foreign language learning as well. Younger children internalize a foreign language as subconsciously as their first while in adults learning they tend to learn the foreign language consciously by learning the language and learning the rule of the language. It is different from children’s learning where it takes place naturally. Children are driven to activity and to learning by play and memorization (Lado, 1959: 57). From the characteristics above, English is possibly best learn since the early age and possibly done using

the target language as the medium to communicate.

The objective of the teaching learning activity that is the mastery of vocabulary has been discussed above; the following discussion will discuss any related theories that influence vocabulary mastery.

2. An Overview of the Aspects in Vocabulary Acquisition Process

Children mastering language go through a process called acquisition process. Krashen (1983) describes acquisition as a ‘natural’ process where there is no conscious focusing on the linguistic form. Acquisition occurs in natural communication situation. Therefore, the students are said to have acquired language if they can apply the vocabulary in appropriate situation for meaningful communication. This view of language acquisition is the principle which will be used in the Natural Method.

Vocabulary is of course part of language; therefore acquiring language means acquiring vocabulary since vocabulary is the basis for communication. The process of acquiring vocabulary involves three important aspects. The first is related to the input the students get, the second is the students’ memory and the last is related to the usage. The input to be decoded should be comprehensible in order to provide meaningful input for the students to store them in the brain (memorization) and to be recalled in appropriate situation (usage).

The three aspects above cannot be separated from the two major skills in learning language; receptive and productive skills. The process of a child learning a language begins with the receptive skill. The child hears the language and then produces the language. Johnson (2001:83) states that a child when acquiring

language goes through a ‘silent period’. It is the period between the child first being exposed to a new language and his beginning to produce it. In other words, there is an interval between the child first hearing a particular words and his use of it. Krashen (1982:60) hypothesizes that people acquire spoken fluency not by practicing talking but by understanding input. The hypothesis is supported by Lenneberg (1962) who states that a child can acquire “competence” without ever producing. Hence, firstly the child comprehends the input and will decide what and when to speak later. The following discussion will talk further about the aspects in acquiring vocabulary.

2.1. Comprehensible Input in Vocabulary Acquisition

Comprehensible input as the exposure to new vocabulary of the target language is important in the vocabulary acquisition. The more the input comprehensible, the more it is easily stored in the brain. (Celce: 2001). The exposure to new vocabulary consists of the form and the meaning. In order to get comprehensible input, interaction with the environment and context where the certain words occurred have important role. Interaction and context are two important factors in providing input that are related to each other and cannot be separated. Both have contribution in providing meaningful forms. The following will discuss them further.

2.1.1 Learners’ Interaction with the Environment

Interaction is one factor that facilitates comprehensible input. Interaction in this case means interaction with the people around and interaction with the

object what the words refer to or with what they hear. By interaction with the environment, the students will get much input uttered by the people around and generate concept of the words from the association of the words they hear with the object. The students will get meaningful input from their interaction with the environment. It is as stated by Gatenby (1944) that learning is by the ear; the child associates an object, action with a combination of sound. They are thinking from object to name. An instrument containing a thin stick of graphite for writing or drawing is a pencil, having tears dropped from the eyes is crying. Hence, interaction to enhance the vocabulary is not only with the people around but also with the object itself.

By active interaction using the language, the learners will get much input of target language. In the teaching new vocabulary items, visual aids and demonstration are helpful. Here, in other words, the students interact with the objects of what they hear. The aid given will make the utterances more meaningful since the learners will get easier to draw the concept of the words uttered.

2.1.2 Context of Vocabulary

Context has contribution in the usage. The students get context from the people’s utterances. Students can generate concept when the words are used, in what situation the words are used by noticing the context given by the speakers who use the language. If interaction with the people provides the forms and interaction with the object helps the students generate concepts, context gives clues of what situation for the form to be used or in other words it provides the

meaning. Therefore, it is stated above that interaction and context are related o each other.

Although names are learnt separately, the child rarely hears them separately (Gatenby, 1944). Children hear a word in combination with other words. They hear them in context, for example:this is your book, open your book, put your book on the table, etc. The children correlate the action/situation when the same word uttered and then generate the object which the word refers to. The process in bilingual child is similar to the process of a child in acquiring the first language. The child who is bilingual does not translate; he merely learns another name for an object (Gatenby, 1944).

Two words or more can have the same spelling and pronunciation, but are different in the meaning. If the objects at the time when the words uttered are clear, it will not lead into confusion. However, when the objects that represent the words do not exist or not clear, it presumably leads into confusion, especially when the words are presented in isolation without any context to explain. Hence, context is necessary to make the words meaningful.

In the case of first language learning, mother usually has already provided context to introduce new vocabulary, either by providing the objects or utterances. In the second/foreign language learning, teacher talk is one aid to give enough contexts. Gebhard (1996:70) states that teacher talk is important in providing learners with the only substantial live target language input they are likely to receive. By teacher talk, the teacher gives enough input for the students.

Another important consideration in teaching vocabulary by providing context is that we can lead the learners to associate words. Meaning association to

attached words are important. According to Decarrico as sited by Celce (2001), words appear to be organized into semantically related sets in the mind, and thus the association attached to a word will affect the way that it is stored in the brain. Context given by the teacher when talking mostly covers words association, for examplestablerelated tochair, bookrelated topencil, pen, etc.

2.2. The Process of Memorizing the Input

Human memory is crucial to the concept of learning. The ability to understand language and to produce it depends on the ability to recognize and retrieve information stored in the memory (Wenden and Rubin, 1987:43). If much exposure to a new language has been provided, the next is how to store them in the brain and to be recalled at anytime. In this study, there are two ways proposed by the writer how to memorize the input; they are repetition and students’ processing the language.

2.2.1 The Use of Repetition

As well as interaction, repetition is a prominent feature both in the case of first language and foreign language learning; both of mother-child interaction and of native-non native interaction. Learners remember best items which have recurred many times and especially those which they have uttered themselves (Taylor;1990: 36). Repetition is very helpful for the learners to store the new items in their memory. Therefore, several times repetition of a word when it is introduced will help the learners to recall the meaning of the word anytime when it is uttered. When the learners have been able to recall the words they’ve learned,

it can be said that they have pass the ‘threshold’. Repetition can be done in some ways as proposed by Taylor (1990) below.

1. Frequent repetition of the words. The teacher repeats her utterances frequently in order to continue the conversation.

For example:

Teacher: There. A man there. A man. See there the man. Child : A man?

Teacher: Yes, a man. He stands up. ……..

2. Repetition may involve paraphrase, synonym, or expansion. For example :

Teacher : What color do you want? Student : ……color..?

Teacher : red, yellow, blue? 3. Choral/ direct repetition

Choral repetition may lead the students to practice the pronunciation. However, it can be just students parroting when they repeat the words without knowing the meaning. For example:

Teacher : Say it, wet! Student : wet

4. A less overt way of effecting repetition is to use questioning rather than simply to model the item. The example of direct repetition by questioning:

Teacher : (The teacher uses a series of pictures) Is it a dog or a cat? Student : A cat

Teacher : And this white animal? Student : A cat.

2.2.2 Deep Processing of New Vocabulary

The consideration in promoting a deep level of processing is that learning involves either short term memory or long term memory (Celce, 2001:289). Short term memory has a small storage capacity and holds information temporarily while it is being processed. The importance of promoting deep level of processing is to transfer information from short term memory to long term memory. The more students manipulate and think about a word, the more likely it is that the word will be transferred into long term memory (Murcia, 2001; 289).

Decarrico as cited by Murcia (2001) proposes that there are two ways in learning vocabulary: implicit learning and explicit teaching-learning. In explicit vocabulary learning, students engage in activities that focus on vocabulary, while implicit learning is incidental learning which is learning that occurs when the mind is focused elsewhere. Explicit learning should take place in the initial stage. In learning vocabulary, learners are taught some vocabulary. Here, their mind is consciously focused on the vocabulary taught. However, new words should not be presented in isolation and should not be learned by simple rote memorization; learners should process the words. When the word is attached to other words and the learners guess the meaning of new word from the construction, the implicit learning takes place here and they process the word. When they process the word, it is expected that the word will be transferred into long term memory and can be recalled in appropriate situation.

2.3. The Usage in the Real Communication

In the vocabulary acquisition process, it’s not enough for learners just to remember a great deal of vocabulary. They need to know how to use them. Usage in this case is how the students use the input in the real communication, in the appropriate situation. Hence, when talking about usage, it has close relation with interaction and context. Allwright (1984) and Long (1983) claim that it is in the interaction process that acquisition occurs. Learners acquire language through talking with other, either with the teacher or the people around. As it is stated before, learners experience ‘silent period’. Therefore, the interaction process begins with students understanding the language (receptive skill) and then producing the language (productive skill).

In the process of understanding the language, the learners learn the context where and in what situation certain words are used from the people’s utterances. By the interaction process, the learners generate concept about the context where the words occur and when they are ready they will produce the words. Context is related to the meaning association. For example, red has association with yellow, blue, white, and so forth which under color context. The following is an illustration of students’ usage.

Teacher : (The teacher shows a blue book) This is a book. The color is blue (the teacher picks another book with red color). This is a book. The color is red. What is this?

Students : Book

Teacher : What color is this (blue book)? Students : Blue.

From the brief illustration above, the students can use the words in appropriate context. Therefore, context through interaction provides clues for the students in the usage.

The discussion above talks about some theories supporting vocabulary acquisition. The next discussion will talk about the Natural Method applied in the classroom to improve second/foreign language vocabulary mastery.

3. The Natural Method

The Natural Method is used to teach English for Kindergarten Students in this research because the Natural Method has the three aspects in acquiring vocabulary. Krashen and Terrel (1983) have identified the Natural Method based on what they call “traditional” approaches to language teaching. Traditional approaches are defined as based on the use of language in communicative situations without recourse to the native language. In the teaching learning process, teacher provides input by talking in the target language with the use of realia, gesture, and demonstration to help the students give meaning to the words. The real communication using the target language also takes place through the interaction between teacher and the students in the classroom.

Natural Method is built from five hypotheses called “Monitor Model” proposed by Krashen (1983). The hypotheses propose two theories addressed both the process and the condition for the process to take place. The five hypotheses are as follow:

1. Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

acquisition – learning distinction. Acquisition refers to the natural assimilation of language rules through using language for communication and language mastery commits unconscious process. Learning refers to the formal study of language rules and is a conscious process. Most of the activities in the classroom are spent on activities that foster acquisition. Learning exercises are important in certain cases.

2. The Natural Order Hypothesis

Based on this hypothesis, the acquisition will take place naturally without emphasizing on error correction. Speech errors that do not interference with communication are not corrected. There is no expectation that the students will perform late acquired items correctly in early stages of second language acquisition. The students will perform the acquired items correctly only when they are ready.

3. The Monitor Model Hypothesis

The Natural Method encourages appropriate and optimal monitor use. Students are expected to use the conscious grammar when they have time, when the focus is on form, and when they know the rule. They are not expected to apply the rules consciously in the oral communication activities in the classroom. In the case of children learning language, the monitor hypothesis is not emphasized since the activities are communicative activities.

4. The Input Hypothesis

The classroom is the source of input for language students, a place where they can obtain comprehensible input necessary for language acquisition.

Based on this hypothesis, comprehensible precedes production. The input should be slightly beyond the current level. Krashen and Terrel (1983) state “1+1” formula. The input given to the students increases from the “1” level to “1+1” level. Production is allowed to emerge in stages, which consists of response by nonverbal communication: by physical response, response with a single word: yes, no, house, combination of two or three words: He is Dimas, yellow book, and finally more complex discourse. 5. The affective Filter Hypothesis

The Natural Method aims to bring down the affective filter as lower as possible by eliminating pressure and anxiety. In order to lower the affective filter, several ways can be done. The fact that there is no demand for early speech, that comprehension precedes production, that correction is not done for every error, and that the students decide when and what to speak reduce the pressure and anxiety in classroom activities. The requirement that the input and activities in the classroom be interesting to the students will contribute to a more relaxed classroom.

3.1. Vocabulary Mastery Acquired Through the Natural Method

The Natural Method principles are based on the five hypotheses presented above. However, the principles in the Natural Method include the three aspects in the vocabulary acquisition process which include input, memorization, and usage. The following discussion will talk about the three aspects in the Natural Method.

3.1.1. Comprehensible Input in the Natural Method

The techniques used in the Natural Method which emphasize on the interaction and context ensure comprehensible input. The interaction in the Natural Method includes interaction with the people which is in this case with the teacher using the target language to communicate and interaction with the objects which is dealing with the reference of what the students hear.

According to the theory of vocabulary acquisition discussed in this study, there are at least two factors that can lead into comprehensible input; interaction and context. The interaction and context in the Natural Method is based on the acquisition hypothesis proposed by Krashen (1983). The students acquire as they are exposed to samples of the target language which they understand. This happens in much the same way as students pick up their first language. The Natural Method does not recourse to the students’ first language. Hence, the teacher talks in the class using the target language. By teacher talk in the target language, the students involve in the real communication in the target language in the classroom. The teacher provides enough context in what situation certain words are used. To help the students comprehend the utterances, realia and demonstration are used.

The process of acquiring new vocabulary happens naturally. It is based on hypotheses in the input and natural order hypotheses proposed by Krashen and Terrell. The ability to speak fluently cannot be taught directly; rather, it emerges independently in time, after the acquirer has built up linguistic competence by understanding input. Comprehensible input refers to utterances that the learners understand based on the context in which they are used.

3.1.2. The Process of Memorization in the Natural Method

Natural Method put the students in the situation where they process the language. As it is stated before in the theory of vocabulary acquisition, in order to involve long term memory, a deep processing of the vocabulary is needed. Students also remember best items which have recurred many times (Taylor, 1990). Teacher talk in the classroom includes the use of repetition of the vocabulary taught in natural way instead of in rote memorization. The students will not be provided by memorization drilling instead by indirect memorization in order to avoid boring activity and create more relaxed classroom activities. Krashen (1983) states that comprehension precedes production. Therefore, teacher talk in the classroom includes repetition of new vocabulary items. In the process of acquiring the vocabulary, the students will be accustomed to hearing the vocabulary item first while memorizing it and gradually produce it. The indirect memorization in which the memorizing process happens naturally is expected to lower the affective filter.

In the input hypothesis as one of the bases of the Natural Method, it is stated that people acquire language best by understanding input that slightly beyond their current level of competence. They need to understand input language that includes a structure that is part of the next stages. Krashen refers to this with the formula “1+1”. An acquirers can “move” from a stage 1 (where 1 is the acquirer’s level of competence) to a stage 1+1 (where 1+ 1 is the stage immediately following 1 along some natural order) by understanding language containing 1+1 (Krashen and Terrell, 1983:32). Hence, the process of acquiring language is like a chain. The students process the language by using the

vocabulary items they’ve known as the cues to guess the meaning of new items which is slightly beyond their current level.

3.1.3. Real Communication Provided in the Natural Method

The principle in the Natural Method not to recourse to the students’ native language optimizes the use of the target language in the real communication. In the process of acquiring language, the students begin with the receptive skill. In this case, the students react to the teacher utterances/instruction by physical respond then followed by producing the words. Learners of a second or foreign language have wide varied exposure which help them learn the language and develop communication skill (Davies, 2000). Teacher talk in the classroom in the target language along with the use of some aids will provide a wide exposure as comprehensible input. The teacher talk in the target language accustoms the learners with English for communication. Establishing English in the classroom encourages the development of oral communication skill (Davies, 2000:74). Therefore, the use English as the language in the classroom provides enough room and chances for the learners to use English in the real communication.

3.2. Types of Teaching Learning Activity Based on the Natural Method

The emphasis in the Natural Method is to present as much comprehensible input in the target language as possible by creating communicative interaction in the classroom using the target language. Teacher talks focuses on object in the classroom or the topic discussed. To minimize the students’ affective filter, they are not forced to say anything until they feel ready, but they are expected to

respond in other ways. Techniques recommended by Krashen and Terrell are often borrowed from other methods and adapted to meet the requirements of the Natural Method theory. These include command-based activities from Total Physical Response; direct Method activities in which mime, gesture are used to elicit question and answer, and situation-based practice of structure and patterns. What characterizes the Natural Method is the use of familiar techniques that focus on providing comprehensible input and classroom environment that cues comprehension input, and minimize learners’ anxiety. The teaching learning activity in the Natural Method is teacher-center activity. On the fact that teaching learning consists of interaction of the teacher and learners, the learners has certain roles although the center is on the teacher.

3.2.1 Learners’ Roles

The learners are challenged by input that is slightly beyond their current level of competence and able to assign meaning through the context used. Since the students are not forced to produce anything at the early stage, the roles of the students seem to change by stages. According to Richards and Rodgers (1986:137), there are some stages of linguistic development that change along with their roles.

1. pre-production stage

In this stage, students participate in the language actively without having to respond in the target language (Krashen and Terrell, 1983:76). For example the students point to pictures, choose some things/pictures, act out physical command, and so forth.

2. early-production stage

In the early-production stage, the students respond to either-or questions, use single word or short phrases, and use fixed conversational patterns 3. speech-emergence phase

Students involve themselves in role play and games, contribute personal information and opinions, and participate in group problem solving in this phase.

The learners experience silent period before producing the target language. They listen and understand the language they hear first. They process the language by guessing and generating concepts of the utterances they hear. They respond to the language such as by physical respond and produce the language after they are familiar with the language. The central role of learners in the learning activity is that they choose what and when to speak.

3.2.2. Teacher’s Roles

According to Krashen and Terrell as cited by Richards and Rodgers (1986:138), the teacher in the Natural Method has three central roles.

How the class will go depends on the teacher decisions.

1. First, the teacher is the primary source of comprehensible input in the target language. Class activities and teacher talk are to provide input for acquisition. The Natural Method demands a center-stage role of the teacher.

2. Second, the Natural Method teacher creates a classroom atmosphere that is interesting, friendly, fun, and in which there is low affective filter for

learning. By not demanding the students to produce utterances in the target language until the students are ready for it, not correcting the students’ errors, and providing subject matters of high interest to students are expected to lower the affective filter.

3. Third, the teacher must choose and manage a rich mix of classroom activities. The teacher is demanded to choose materials and activities based on the students’ needs and interests.

3.2.3 Teaching Technique in the Natural Method

The Natural Method adopts techniques and activities from various methods. The techniques borrowed for examples are the command-based activities as in Total Physical Response, and the use of mime and gestures from direct methods as stated in the earlier discussion. The techniques below are the cited examples from Krashen and Terrell’ Natural Method which are used in the classroom.

1. Start with TPR (Total Physical Response) commands: “Stand up. Turn around. Raise your hand”.

2. Use TPR to teach names of body parts and to introduce numbers and sequence. “touch your nose, then stand up and turn to the right three times” and so forth. 3. Introduce classroom terms and props into command. “Pick up a pencil and put it

under the book, touch the wall.” Any item which can be brought to the class can be incorporated.

4. Use names of physical characteristics and clothing to identify members of the class by name.

5. Use visuals, typically magazine pictures, to introduce new vocabulary and to continue with activities requiring only student names as response

6. Combine use of pictures with TPR

7. Using several pictures, ask students to point to the picture being described. Picture1. “There are several people in this picture. One appears to be a father, the other a daughter. What are they doing? Cooking. They are cooking a hamburger. Picture 2. “There are two men in this picture. They are young. They are boxing.”

The technique used in the classroom will be suited to the condition of the class. It will depend on the learners’ level, the objective of the lesson, and the material given. However, there are distinctive features of the teaching learning activities in the Natural Method. In summary, the techniques practiced in the class as proposed by Krashen and Terrell (1983) and Richards and Rodgers (1986) are as follow.

1. The teacher speaks in the target language to provide much comprehensible input.

2. The language used in the class should be simple, and use “here and now” principle. The vocabulary taught is daily vocabulary and things around them.

3. The vocabulary taught is repeated over and over while talking naturally. 4. The teacher can show the real object of the word, use gesture and

demonstration to make the meaning comprehensible. Whatever helps comprehension is important. Visual aids are useful.

5. Teacher talk begins with TPR (Total Physical Response). The students respond physically to the teacher order.

6. Teacher talk should be like foreigner talk. Foreigner talk is characterized by a slower rate of speech, repetition, restating, use Yes/No instead of Wh-questions, and other changes that make messages more comprehensible to person of limited language proficiency.

7. Students are not expected to use a word actively until they have heard it many times After the students are ready to talk and familiar with the words, the teacher encourages the students to produce words

8. The teacher doesn’t force the students to speak if they are not ready for it. 9. In order to lower the affective filter, student work should center on

meaningful communication rather than on form, input should be interesting and contribute to a relaxed classroom atmosphere.

10. Producing errors is considered normal. Hence, errors are tolerated in the early learning.

In all these activities, the instructor maintains a constant flow of “comprehensible input”, using key vocabulary item, gesture, mime, context, repetition, and paraphrase to ensure the comprehensibility of the input.

4. Kindergarten Curriculum

The curriculum to teach English as foreign language to Kindergarten Students in this research is drawn from the Curriculum 2004Standar Kompetensi fromDepartemen Pendidikan Nasional. The curriculum is modified because there is no specific language competency to teach a foreign language. However, this curriculum is used as the major source with some modification suited to the students’ competencies because in the children learning language, the process of foreign/second language is similar to the first one. The indicators in the curriculum are modified because the students haven’t acquired English as they have acquired their first language even the list of vocabulary. For example, the students will not be required to retell a short story as it is stated in the standard curriculum.

The following is the modified curriculum made by the writer which consists of goal, competencies, indicators, and evaluation.

Goal : to introduce English to Kindergarten students

Basic Competency Standard competencies Indicators

Students are able to listen, communicate orally, have list of vocabulary

Students are able to listen and recognize different sounds of language and pronounce them

repeat the words uttered by the teacher

Students are able to listen and understand simple sentences

perform/do simple orders

Students are able to

communicate orally

mention their names or people around them answer simple questions Students understand some

terms in English of things around them which consists of noun, verb, adjective, and time

show the things

mentioned by the

teacher (things in class, animals, vehicles, fruit) Mention the things

around them

Show/mention number in order, color

Act/perform some activities (sit, stand, run, sing, jump)

Greet the teacher/friends (good morning)

Evaluation:

- Portfolio : The teacher uses the compilation of the works done by the students to see the students’ improvement

- Performance : the teacher observes and takes note about the students’ performances and attitudes during the lesson

B. Theoretical Framework

Introducing English to kindergarten students becomes a demand for kindergartens. Although English is still optional to be taught, a number of kindergartens have already given it to the students. English is considered new for kindergarten students. However, English is introduced because kindergarten students as young as four to six years old are at the best stage to learn language. They are still experimenting with language, trying out new words, inventing words by combining other words or adding ending which they have used at other time (Foster and Headly’s; 1959,8).

Related to learning English as foreign language, the students begin with the words. Therefore, the objective of teaching English for kindergarten students is to teach English vocabulary. Vocabulary is the basis for communication since it contains all the information.

Vocabulary mastery means knowing words. To know words may mean to know the collocation, semantics, or know the equivalent of the word in the mother tongue, know the frequency of the words, morphology, and polysemy. Children go through a process when acquiring language. Firstly they learn the form and the meaning and by the time they learn English, they will improve their capability in knowing words.

There are three aspects that influence vocabulary acquisition and are considered in teaching learning vocabulary. They are the input as the exposure to the target language, the memorization, and the usage. The input the students receive must be meaningful for the students to help them generate concepts. The input is stored in the brain and recalled anytime. Interaction with the environment

both with the people who use the language and the objects of what they hear, and providing a rich enough context to the words taught give meaningful/comprehensible input. The use of repetition and committing a deep processing of the words such as by guessing the meaning will help the learners to store the words taught in the brain and transfer them into the long term memory. When the comprehensible input is stored in the brain, it will be recalled and used in appropriate situation.

The Natural Method proposed to teach English vocabulary to kindergarten students in this research has the three aspects that influence vocabulary acquisition. Natural Method sees learning language as a natural process. The Natural Method provides a situation where the students receive much input through teacher talk. Teacher talk does not recourse to the students’ first language. Here, the students interact with the teacher using the target language. By talking in the target language to interact with the students, the teacher provides enough contexts for the words taught.

The process of learning begins with students comprehending the input uttered by the teacher and producing the words only when they are ready. To help the students comprehend the meaning, gestures, miming, and visual aids are used. By providing gesture and visual aid, the teacher leads the students to interact with the objects. Teacher talk as the comprehensible input is given to be slightly beyond their current level. Hence, the teacher begins from one simple discourse and then move to the more complex one. For example, the teacher begins with “pencil”, “blue pencil”, etc. In this case, the teacher uses repetition and provides context to associate the words with the meaning.

Students’ utterances In summary, vocabulary mastery which is influenced by some factors can be seen from the figure below.

Interaction

(people and object) context

Repetition Deep processing Figure 2.1. Factors Influencing Vocabulary Acquisition

The following figure shows the process of acquiring vocabulary in the Natural Method.

Interaction (teacher talk, context realia, demonstration) (1+1 level)

Repetition Deep processing (guess the meaning) Figure 2.2. Factors Influencing Vocabulary Acquisition in Natural Method

From the two figures above, it can be seen that the principles in the Natural Method are similar to the principles in acquiring vocabulary. It is

usage input

memorization

input

memorization

hypothesized that if the principles of the Natural Method are the same as of the principles to acquire vocabulary, the Natural Method can improve vocabulary mastery. The study of this research is intended to find evidence to support the hypothesis. The next part states some hypotheses of this research.

C. Hypotheses

There are three hypotheses in this study, namely conceptual hypothesis, operational hypothesis, and statistical hypothesis. They are stated as follow: 1. Conceptual Hypothesis

There are two conceptual hypotheses:

1. The Natural Method improves vocabulary mastery of kindergarten students. 2. Natural Method gives contribution in providing comprehensible input, optimal memorization and practice for real communication.

2. Operational Hypothesis

There is a positive significant difference between the t-value of the students taught using the Natural Method and that of students taught using traditional method.

3. Statistical Hypothesis Ho:e =c

Hi:e >c Note

Ho = There is no significant difference between the t-value of the students taught using the Natural Method and that of students taught using traditional method.

Hi = There is a positive significant difference between the t-value of the students taught using the Natural Method and that of students taught using traditional method.

e = the t-value of the experimental group c = the t-value of the control group

If there is a positive significant difference, it implies that the Natural Method improves the students’ vocabulary mastery.

38

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter talks about the research implementation. The discussion includes research method, setting, subject, time allocation, research instrument, research procedure, and technique of analyzing data.

A. Research Method

Experimental research was applied in this study to answer the problems as stated in the problem formulation. In this research, the writer used two groups, one as the experimental group and the other as the control group. The students in the experimental group were taught using the experimental method which was in this case using the Natural Method while in the control group, the students were taught using traditional method which usually used translation and memorization drilling. The control group was taken as the comparison to the experimental group to see the effectiveness of the Natural Method.

In this research, there were two variables. Those variables were independent variable and dependent variable. Independent variable was the treatment or manipulated variable that was presumed to have an effect on another variable while dependent variable referred to the variable that might be affected by independent variable. In this research, the independent variable was the Natural Method and the traditional method that was applied in the experimental group and the control group respectively. The dependent variable for the two groups was the same that was the students’ vocabulary achievement.

To answer the first problem, the writer conducted pre test before applying the treatment to see the level of the students’ ability of both groups. After the treatment had been done, post test was conducted to see the improvement of the students’ vocabulary achievement. Meanwhile, to answer the second problem, the writer used observation check list during the treatment for both groups to see the contributions of the methods to improve vocabulary acquisition. Further explanation of this analysis will be discussed further in Chapter IV.

B. Setting

In order to see whether or not the Natural Method improves the children’s vocabulary mastery, the experimental research in this study was conducted at TK Indriyasana Baciro. The writer chose the school as the place for doing the research because the school had two classes in the same number of students with equal age; therefore the class was expected to have almost equal ability. Furthermore, the students were introduced English only from their class teacher in limited topic and vocabulary.

C. Subject

The subjects of this research were the first grade students of TK Indriyasana Baciro. In this research, the writer needed two presumably equivalent groups. Since there were two classes with the same range of age in the Kindergarten which were expected to have similar ability, the writer chose the classes to be the subjects of this research. Pre-test was conducted to see the language proficiency of the students. The total number of the students was 56; 28

students for each group. However, the writer only took 24 students in each group who did both pre test and post test as the subject of his study.

D. Time Allocation

The research was conducted in the second semester. The writer conducted the research in ten meetings. The first meeting was used as the pre test to see the language proficiency of the students before treatment. The treatment was done in eight meetings, and the tenth meeting was used to evaluate the language proficiency of the students after treatment.

E. Research Instruments

In order to see whether or not the Natural Method improved the vocabulary acquisition of kindergarten students, firstly the writer conducted pre test to see their language proficiency. After the treatment had been done, the students’ vocabulary acquisition was evaluated to see the effectiveness of the Natural Method to improve the students’ vocabulary acquisition.

There were two kinds of test in this research and those were pre test and post test. The students did written test for both tests which was recognizing pictures since they hadn’t been able to write or read. The pre test was conducted in order to see the input competence of the students before the treatment. The pre test was conducted to both experimental and control groups. After the treatment, the students of both groups did post test in order to see the progress before and after the treatment. The results of the pre test and the post test of both groups were used to analyze the effectiveness of the Natural Method.

A test has to be reliable and valid (Hughes; 1989). To see the reliability of the test, the writer used thesplit-half method. The writer used two scores which were taken from the odd number and even number. The two sets of scores were used to obtain the reliability of coefficient as if the whole test had been taken twice. The following formula was used to find out the correlation coefficient (r) between odd number items and even number items.



 





 

 

_   _{ }     _{ }  











Y

Y

X

X

r

N N Y X XY N

xy ₂ 2 ₂ 2

2

Where,

N = the number of subjects X = the score of odd items Y = the score of even items

Then, by means of the Spearman-Brown formula, the reliability of the test can be estimated.

r r

r

xx  

1 2

Where, 

r

xx the estimated reliability of the whole test

r = the Pearson correlation between two halves

A test is said to be valid if it has face validity and content validity. A test is said to have face validity if it looks as if it measures what it is supposed to measure. Content validity of a test can be seen if its content constitute a representative sample of the language skills (Hughes;1989). To construct the test

to have face and content validity, the researcher used the course objective of the English lesson for kindergarten students as the consideration to determine the material to be tested and the form of the test.

In order to see the contributions of the Natural Method to improve the vocabulary acquisition, the writer used observation check list during the treatment. There was one observer to observe the activities of both classes. The observer was English teacher. The observer was given explanation about each item in the observation list before observing the class. The observation check list consisted of a list of items about the occurrence of some activities that improve the vocabulary acquisition during the class activity. The activities were recorded in term of frequency of occurrence in order to identify more clearly as suggested by Best (1986). The observation check list was as follow:

Frequency of Occurrence Activity

1 2 3 4 5

Where, 1 = never 2 = rarely 3 = occasionally 4 = frequently 5 = always

F. Research Procedure

In order to conduct the research, the writer took the following steps: 1. the writer conducted library research

2. the writer asked the permission of TK Indriyasana Baciro 3. the writer designed a pre test

4. the writer conducted a pre test to measure the vocabulary proficiency of the students.

5. the writer conducted experimental research. The writer needed ten meeting to conduct the experimental research. The first meeting was for the pre test, eight meeting for the treatment, and the tenth meeting was to evaluate the vocabulary improvement of the students.

6. the writer presented the result of the pre test and post test in a table and then analyze them statistically. The writer also presented the result of the observation during the treatment.

7. the writer drew conclusion from the analysis.

G. Analysis of the Data

In order to measure the significance of the main scores on the pre test and post test of the experimental group,Non Independent sample t-test(matched test) was used to analyze the data. The mean score of the pre test and the post test was compared and the result of the comparison was the t-observed.

The following was theNon Independent sample t-testformula.

SD

x

x

t

obs 2 1 







1



1 2 2         





N N D n SD

D

where,

x

1 = the mean of the pre test

x

2 = the mean of the post test

SD = the standard of errors between two means

∑D = the total difference

n = the number of pairs

In order to see the significant difference between the mean score of the pre test and the mean score of the post test, the results of the experimental and control groups were analyzed by using statistical analysis t-test Independent sample (Brown, 1988: 165). By using Independent Sample t-test, the mean score of the experimental group was compared to the mean score of the control group, and the result was expected to be significantly different. The following was the formula.





                     





n

n

n

n

x

x

x

x

t

obs 2 1 2 1 2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 Where,

t

obs = the t-value for independent means

x

1 = the mean of the experimental group

x

2 = the mean of the control group



2

1

x

= the sum of the squared deviation scores in the experimental group



2 2

x

= the sum of the squared deviation scores in the control group

n

1 = the number of cases in the experimental group

45

CHAPTER IV

RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

A. Introduction

This chapter will present the result of the research and discuss the research findings. In other words, this chapter presents the answer of the research problems as formulated in the first chapter. Firstly, this chapter presents the result of the tests; both the pre test and the post test as well as the analysis of the test, and secondly it presents the result of the observation.

B. Presentation of the Tests Result

In order to find out the improvement of the students’ vocabulary mastery, there were two tests administered to gather the data. Both the experimental group and the control group did the pre test. Pre test was conducted to see the input competence of both groups before treatment, whereas the post test was conducted to see whether or not there was a significant progress after the treatment. This sub topic is divided into three parts and those are data presentation of the pre test, data presentation of the post test and the descriptive statistics.

1. Data Presentation

1.1. Data Presentation of the Pre Test

The pre test was conducted to both experimental and control groups before the treatment. The following table shows the result of the pre test.

Score Experimental Group Control Group

x f f.x f f.x

2 3 4 6 7 8 9 5 4 11 2 1 -1 10 12 44 12 7 -9 2 5 15 -2 -4 15 60 -16

-∑ 24 94 24 95

Mean 3.92

24 94 .  





f x f 96 . 3 24 95 .  





f x f

Table 4.1. The Pre Test Score of the Experimental Group and the Control Group The table above shows that the mean scores of the experimental group and that of the control group are not far different. The mean score of the experimental group is 3.92 and the mean score of the control group is 3.96 with 24 cases of each group. There were not any students of both groups who got the maximum score 18. The maximum score of the experimental group was 9 and the minimum score of the group was 2. The Control group had the maximum score 8 and minimum score 2.

1.2. Data Presentation of the Post Test

The Post test was conducted after the treatment to both experimental and control groups. The table below shows the result of the post test of both experimental group and control group.

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Appendix 12

OBSERVATION SHEET Meeting :

Name /Observer :

Direction : Check the number that represents the frequency of the observed situation. [1= never, 2 = rarely, 3 = occasionally, 4 = frequently, 5 = always]

Frequency

No Activity

1 2 3 4 5 1. Teacher talks in the target language

2. Teacher uses demonstration/gesture 3. Teacher uses realia/visual aids 4. Teacher acts out what she says 5. Students pay attention to the teacher

6. Students do the instructions from the teacher correctly

7. Students perform/do what they are told to do 8. New vocabulary is repeated by the teacher 9. There are repetition of vocabulary taught in the

previous meetings

10. Teacher uses indirect repetition, such as: offering choices, synonym, questioning

11. Students initiatively repeat words after the teacher 12. Teacher introduces new vocabulary in sentences /

real communication

13. Students initiatively answer the teacher question in The target language

14. Students produce/say English words without being asked

xiv ABSTRACT

Purbo Sari, Retno. 2007. The Effectiveness of theNatural Method to Improve the Vocabulary Mastery of Kindergarten Students. Yogyakarta. Sanata Dharma University.

The study was intended to find out the effectiveness of Natural Method to improve vocabulary mastery of kindergarten students applied in TK Indriyasana Baciro. Natural Method is one method that uses the target language to communicate in the classroom. In this case, the students are supposed to learn the target language naturally and unconsciously.

There are two problems that were formulated in this study. The first problem was whether or not the Natural Method improved the students’ vocabulary mastery and the second problem was the contributions of the Natural Method in improving the students’ vocabulary mastery.

In order to answer the problems, a quasi-experimental method was used. In this method, there were two groups involved in the study. The first group was the experimental group as the group that was treated using the Natural Method and the other one was the control group as the comparison to the first group. The control group did not get the treatment as the first group did.

To gather the data, pre test and post test were carried on to both groups. The pre test was conducted before the treatment and the post test was conducted after the treatment. The result showed that t-value of the pre test was 0.032. It means that the input competence of both groups were not significantly different. The treatment was carried on for 8 meetings. Both groups showed significant difference of competence after the course. However, the experimental group achieved higher competence than the control group with the t-value 3.95 which was significantly different. It means that the Natural Method applied in TK Indriyasana Baciro was effective to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery.

The target language which was used optimally in the classroom encouraged the students to interact deeply with the language. The students memorized the vocabulary unconsciously since by using the target language in the classroom, the teacher automatically repeated the vocabulary taught in the previous meetings. In addition, the students accustomed to hear the target language to communicate and this condition led them to produce the words they acquired first.

This research is intended to give a portrait how the Natural Method applied in the kindergarten school. This research is also expected to give an alternative method for English teachers to teach English to children and give an overview for other researchers who do research in language teaching method for children.

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xv

ABSTRAK

Purbo Sari, Retno. 2007. The Effectiveness of the Natural Method to Improve the Vocabulary Mastery of Kindergarten Students. Yogyakarta. Sanata Dharma University.

Tujuan dari penelitian ini adalah untuk melihat keefektifan Natural Method untuk meningkatkan kemampuan kosa kata bahasa Inggris anak-anak yang diterapkan di TK Indriyasana Baciro.Natural Method adalah suatu metode pengajaran dimana bahasa yang diajarkan digunakan secara langsung untuk berkomunikasi di dalam kelas. Dalam hal ini, murid-murid diharapkan dapat menguasai kosa kata secara alami tanpa disadari.

Ada dua hal yang menjadi permasalahan dalam penelitian ini. Masalah pertama ialah apakahNatural Methodmeningkatkan penguasaan anak dalam kosa kata bahasa Inggris dan masalah yang kedua ialah apa kontribusiNatural Method

dalam meningkatkan penguasaan kosa kata.

Untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan tersebut, penelitian ini menggunakan metodequasi experimental. Dalam metode penelitian ini, ada dua kelompok yang diteliti. Kelompok pertama adalah kelompok eksperimen (eksperimental group) sebagai kelompok yang menerapkan Natural Method dan kelompok yang kedua adalah kelompok control (control group) sebagai pembanding untuk kelompok pertama. Kelompok control tidak menerapkan

Natural Methodseperti pada kelompok eksperimen.

Untuk menproleh data, kedua kelompok melaksanakan pre test dan post test. Pre test dilaksanakan sebelum diterapkan Natural Method sedangkan post testdilaksanakan setelahNatural Method selesai diterapkan. Hasilt-value dari pre test adalah 0.032. Hasil ini menunjukkan bahwa kemampuan awal siswa-siswa kelompok eksperimen dan control tidak jauh berbeda. Metode Natural Method

diterapkan selama 8 pertemuan. Kedua kelompok menunjukkan adanya perkembangan kosa kata setelah mendapatkan pelajaran bahasa Inggris. Tetapi, kelompok eksperimen (eksperimental group) mengalami peningkatan yang lebih baik daripada kelompok control (control group) dengan nilai perbedaan (t-value) 3.95. Hal ini berarti penerapan Natural Method efektif untuk meningkatkan kemampuan kosa kata anak.

Penggunaan bahasa Inggris secara optimal di dalam kelas, mamacu siswa untuk lebih berinteraksi dengan bahasa tersebut. Siswa-siswa mengingat kosa kata secara tidak sadar karena dengan menggunakan bahasa Inggris di dalam kelas, secara otomatis guru akan mengulang kata-kata yang telah diajarkan sebelumnya. Selain itu, siswa-siswa akan terbiasa mendengar bahasa Inggris untuk komunikasi dan memacu mereka mengucapkan kata-kata yang telah dikuasai.

Penelitian ini dimaksudkan untuk memberi gambaran tentang bagaimana Natural Method diterapkan di taman kanak-kanak (TK). Penelitian ini juga diharapkan dapat memberikan metode alternative bagi guru dalam mengajar bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak dan gambaran untuk peneliti lain yang melakukan penelitian dalam bidang pengajaran bahasa Inggris untuk anak-anak.