T1 112008094 Full text

A STUDY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Hanindha Sabatta Kristy
112008094

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2012

A STUDY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

THESIS

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Hanindha Sabatta Kristy
112008094

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
SALATIGA
2012

i

A STUDY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Hanindha Sabatta Kristy
112008094

Approved by:

Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, MA
Supervisor

Sesilia Rani Setyo Sari, M.Hum
Examiner

ii

COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such material as has been submitted for examination in any course or
accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any university. To the best of my
knowledge and my belief, this contains no material previously published or written by any

other person accept where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@ 2013. Hanindha Sabatta Kristy and Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, MA.
All right reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means without the
permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English Department, Faculty of
Language and Literature, Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga.

iii

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: Hanindha Sabatta Kristy
: 112008094

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In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive royalty free
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Date
: February 6, 2013

iv

A STUDY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY
FACULTY OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS
Hanindha Sabatta Kristy
112008094

Abstract
This paper investigated the use of strategies by non-English major students in their
vocabulary learning. The participants of this study were 92 students from Faculty of
Information Technology of Satya Wacana Christian University. The data were analyzed
based on Schmitt's vocabulary learning strategy classifications, which are determination,
social, cognitive, memory, and metacognitive strategies. The result for descriptive statistics
of this study showed that determination strategies were used most frequently and social
strategies were used least frequently. The result related to specific analysis of each strategy
revealed that most of the participants commonly enriched their vocabulary through English
media. Additionally, this study also discovered using new vocabularies in writing journal,
note or report are strategies least commonly used by participants. Considerably more work
will need to done by conducting a further class observation and interview in order to gain
deeper analysis of the vocabulary learning strategies used.
Key words: vocabulary learning strategies, non-English major, Schmitt’s classification

Introduction
Language learning and vocabulary cannot be separated since vocabulary is considered
the first step in learning language. People start their language learning by acquiring words so
they can communicate and develop their language. Milton (2009) and Zhi-liang (2010) made
an analogy of language learning as a building construction. They argued that words are used
as the building blocks of language. As constructing good building needs enough materials,
developing language requires comprehension of a great number of words. It is argued that
vocabulary is used as a foundation in language acquisition.
Vocabulary plays an important role in language learning. It is set as one of the goals of
language learning (Nation, 2001) and plays an active part of a language (Zhi-liang, 2010). As
cited in Zhi-liang (2010), Wilkins (1972) pointed that “without grammar little can be
conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (pp.9-10). In line with that,
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McCarthy (1990) pointed out that “no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter
how successful the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of
meaning, communication in L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way” (pp.265) It is
clear that people are still able to communicate using words even though the words are not
grammatically correct or pronounced perfectly.
Lightbown and Spada (2006) highlighted that using word incorrectly may lead learners

to fail in communication. For this reason, language learners are expected to learn how to use
words appropriately. Mullen (1963) emphasized that learners would not be engaged to ideas
or people if they are not able to use words and understand it. Accordingly, learner should
acquire a large number of vocabularies to help them develop their language skill.
Conventionally, vocabulary learning was assumed as learning form and meaning of the
words (Li & Bithcener, 2010), therefore, memorizing the form-meaning association is the
aim of the learning. However, the present study of Nation (2001) pointed out that vocabulary
cannot be taken apart from discourse because both knowledge of word and the skill of using
it are dynamically complex. Acquiring vocabulary is more than just knowing the form and
the meaning of the words. Moreover learners are required to not only know the form and the
meaning of the words but also know how to utilize the word in context.
From the debatable concepts of vocabulary learning presented above, it is emphasized
that acquiring a large number of vocabularies may assist learner in communicating in the
target language. However, this also may bring some problems for the learner if they cannot
utilize words and its context (of target language) appropriately. In summary, it is believed
that in learning vocabulary there are two things for the learner need to be aware, which are
the need of large number of vocabulary acquisition and the need of knowing words. Word
knowledge is required to help learners to grasp the meaning of words deeply and enable them
to know how to use the words in the context of learning properly.

2

With the purpose of acquiring high number of vocabulary and being able to utilize
vocabulary correctly, it is suggested that language learners need to do certain actions in
learning vocabulary. Nation (1990) proposed some approaches of vocabulary learning. He
divided the method into direct and indirect approaches. In direct vocabulary learning
approaches, learners do exercises which include word-building, guessing words from context,
learning words in list, vocabulary games and do activities that address learners’ attention on
vocabulary.
In the approach, learners’ attention is directed to some other features, such as message
conveyed by the speaker or writer. This approach makes vocabulary learning possible to take
place when the learner meets few unknown vocabulary though their attention are not focused
on the learning. On the other hand, Nation (ibid) pointed out that indirect approach needs
time to cover all the features and materials as it doesn’t only focus on the vocabulary
learning. Unlike the contextualized activities used in the direct approach, the
decontextualized activities used in indirect approach should be given more time.
Lightbown and Spada (2006) found out several factors that make words accessible to be
learned, which are frequency, cognates and borrowed words. Through their study, they
divided words into three lists that have each characteristic and chose some Latin students as
their participants. List 1 contains words such as book, sing, eye, night, and smile. Those

words are easy for students to recognize because those are simple one – syllable words,
commonly occur and clearly illustrate action and objects. Even though learners may have no
difficulty in knowing those words, learners still need to meet (see and hear) those words
frequently and relate them to the meaning before memorizing it. The list shows the frequency
the words are seen, heard and understood which determine how difficult the words are for the
learner. In line with that, Nation (2001) pointed out that in order to memorize a new word; a
learner needs to have significant opportunities dealing with it. Therefore, learners are able to

3

use the word in speech fluently and unconsciously grasp the meaning of the word when it
appears in context. High frequency of encountering words helps learners to develop their
vocabulary. The more learners are already familiar with a word the lighter learning burden
they have (Nation, 1990).
Besides the importance of frequency in vocabulary development, Lightbown and Spada
(2006) discovered that borrowed words also help learners in mastering vocabulary. They put
some words (hamburger, coke, walkman, taxi, pizza, hotel, internet, disco, etc.) into List 2.
All of the word in List 2 may be already familiar for learners who have never studied English
before. The reason is because those words are parts of international vocabulary and
‘borrowed’ and adapted from other languages. This shows that international terms of words

are already established in learners’ mind and facilitate them to increase the number of
vocabulary.
Moreover, Lightbown and Spada (ibid) also presented some words in List 3 such as
activity, international, expression, description, and so on. Unlike List 1, the words in List 3
seem more complex. Those are quite long, uncommonly used and illustrate actions and
objects. However, many students of the participants know those words on a sight because
those words are similar with Latin and have equivalent translation in Latin origins. Here,
cognates play a role in helping learners to recognize the words. The resemblance of the words
and the meanings make learners easy to know the meaning of the new words.
Basically, acquiring vocabulary can be done through many strategies. Gu (1994)
highlighted “vocabulary learning strategies” (VLS) is the term to specify particular strategies
used by learners in acquiring a new word in the second language. A research conducted by
Gu and Johnson (1996) studied which strategies used by Chinese university students in
learning English words. The study tried to relate the strategies used by measuring the number
of vocabulary that was acquired which usually called as vocabulary size and language

4

proficiency. Through the study, they discovered that the use of strategies did not have any
impact with language proficiency, but have correlation with larger vocabulary size.

Nation (2001) described vocabulary learning strategies and encouraged learners to put
more responsibility in their own learning. Brown and Perry (1991) stated that learners are
required to choose and have accurate learning strategies and grasp new vocabulary with
different levels of difficulties. The learner is the one who is accurately aware of their
weaknesses, strengths, and preference in their learning method (Schmitt & Schmitt, 1993),
thus, learner is in charge to know and decide what strategies are best and applicable for their
vocabulary learning. Briefly, by utilizing vocabulary learning strategies, the vocabulary
learning process can also be controlled even without much help from the teacher. Learners
need to have sufficient opportunities in encountering new words. Along with limited second
language classroom (ibid), learners should be able to create their own chances to have contact
with new words outside the classroom.
In spite of the following studies, vocabulary learning strategies seem to be related to
five steps of foreign language vocabulary learning pinpointed by Brown and Payne (1991)
(Fan, 2003; Kafipour & Naveh, 2011) obtaining sources for encountering new words, 2)
drawing an apparent illustration (visual and auditory) of the forms of the new words, 3)
understanding the meaning of the words, 4) connecting the forms and the meaning of the
words, 5) utilize the word.
Numerous studies have been conducted in an attempt to classify the strategies of
vocabulary learning. A study by Schmitt and Schmitt (1993), categorized strategies into
initial learning of new word's meaning and studying and remembering the word's meaning
once it's known (see Table 1). Nation (2001) grouped the strategies into planning (choosing
what and when to focus on) which are choosing words, choosing the aspects of word
knowledge, choosing strategies, and planning repetition; sources (finding information about

5

words) consist of analyzing the word, using context, consulting a reference source in L1 or
L2, using parallels in L1 and L2; processes (establishing knowledge) includes: noticing,
retrieving and generating.
Gu (1994) divided second language vocabulary learning strategies into cognitive,
metacognitive, memory, and activation strategies. Later, Gu’s taxonomy have been refined by
Fan (2003) into primary category (dictionaries strategies and guessing strategies) and
remembering category (repetition, association, grouping, analysis and known word
strategies). Afterward, as one subcategory of language learning, Schmitt (1997) purposed
vocabulary learning strategies based on the classification of four language learning strategies
(social, memory, cognitive, and metacognitive) by Oxford (1990) and adapted them into
categories which are best to illustrate wide variety of vocabulary learning strategies.
Table 1. Vocabulary Strategy List (Schmitt & Schmitt, 1993)
Use reference materials (dictionaries)
Ask others for information / work with others
Intial learning of new word’s Analyze words from available information
meaning

Create system to analyze words
Use knowledge of other language
Avoidance (skip or pass new word)
Repetition
Study the formal and grammatical aspects of a
word
(Make and) use study aids

Study and remembering the
word’s meaning once it’s
known

Perseverance strategy
Use physical action
Manipulation of meaning
Create system of association
Work with others
Imaging
Use of knowledge of other languages
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The aforementioned studies in vocabulary learning strategies carried out with similar
categories. In summary, the classification is divided into two major groups. First group is
initial strategy which contains of strategies that learners used when they first encounter
words. Learners may use strategies of identifying of meaning by themselves or from other
sources, finding out the words knowledge deeply and setting up of vocabulary learning.
Second group is association strategy which deals with mental process. This strategy includes
approaches of connecting the new words with existing knowledge; manipulate them in their
mind so that they can memorize them.
Fundamentally, this concept of vocabulary learning strategies above was covered up by
Schmitt’s taxonomy. His study was conducted on 600 English learners in Japan from
different ages. In his study, Schmitt categorized vocabulary learning strategies into five basic
groups of strategies that are included in discovery and consolidation strategies. Discovery
strategies is the step taken by the learner for initial discovering new words), while
consolidation strategies is used to consolidate a word once it has been discovered. Schmitt

(ibid) categorized the taxonomy into determination, social, memory, cognitive, and
metacognitive. Determination strategies help learners to identify the meaning of new words

independently without any help from others. Learners can use these strategies by recognizing
the part of speech, using dictionary or guessing word meaning from context.
With regard to discovering words, social strategies involve cooperation with others
such as teachers, classmates, and native speakers. These strategies drive learners to make
interaction to help them understand words meaning. Here, learners attempt to ask teacher for
their first language translation, ask classmates for meaning, discover meaning through group
activity or interact with native speakers. After encountering new words, learners relate the
new word with the existing words knowledge. These are memory strategies when learners
employ to evoke vocabulary they acquire. Examples of these strategies are imaging word’s

7

meaning, using words in sentences, connecting words to its synonyms or antonyms.
Cognitive strategies are related to language manipulation or transformation process. These

strategies cope with mechanical aspects rather than mental processing. It can be seen from the
action of doing repetition, taking notes, highlighting new words, making list of new words,
and so on. Metacognitive strategies deal with learning process control. These strategies
reflect to the ability of learners in looking for chances to learn, record, and review
experiences of encountering new words. Some examples include finding some opportunities
for learning vocabulary outside classroom, continuing to learn new words for many times,
skipping or passing new words, etc.
The research revealed that bilingual dictionary is the most frequently used among the
participants. Thus, Schmitt’s taxonomy was used as a starting point of this study. This study
believed that Schmitt provide more comprehensive a wide range of classification than the
other classification. Additionally, this classification was also used as fundamental theory for
some previous researches. As the participants of this study were from any different level of
learning, it is believed that Schmitt’s taxonomy is suitable with this research. Additionally,
this classification was also used as fundamental as theory for several previous researches
(Kudo, 1999; Kafipour & Naveh, 2011; Fan, 2003; Zhi-liang, 2010) This study was also
conducted for participants in any level of learning so that it is believed that it is suitable with
this research.
Concisely, after reviewing significant roles of the strategies in vocabulary learning
process, this study attempts to explore the use of strategies by non – English major students
who learn English as foreign language. Therefore, this study finds out what strategies of
vocabulary learning strategies that were used by Faculty of Information Technology (FIT)
students from Satya Wacana Christian University. The FIT offered English course aimed at
providing the students better understanding of English for IT. Based on the researcher’s

8

observation, it found that the materials of the course was English for Specific Purposes (ESP)
and offered specialized vocabulary for IT. The researcher also found that the students were
required to master a large number of IT vocabulary to assist them dealing with IT instructions
which usually presents in English. This fact seemed to be an encouragement for the
researcher to conduct a study on their vocabulary learning. Particularly, this study aims at
finding out what kind of strategies that Faculty of Information Technology students use in
enhancing their vocabulary learning at most and at least. This study provides a brief
description of vocabulary learning strategies which may brings several contributions in the
process of vocabulary learning, especially for FIT students. Through this study, by knowing
the existence of vocabulary learning strategies, the students can find out what strategies
which are suitable for them so it can help them improving their vocabulary learning.
Furthermore, this study also offers encouragement for teachers to introduce the existence of
the strategies so that they can help the learners to be able to apply the strategies in their
learning process appropriately. Furthermore, there are two major research questions
developed to lead this study:
1. What kinds of vocabulary learning strategies were most frequently used by Faculty of
Information Technology (FIT) students in English course?
2. What kinds of vocabulary learning strategies were least frequently used by the FIT
students in English course?

The Study
Context of the study

This study was administered in BIP 3 (English for Profession level 3) classes of the
Faculty of Information Technology Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga, Indonesia.
There are two reasons why this research was conducted for IT students. The first reason was
that the need of learning English for IT. The students was obliged to master specialized

9

English vocabulary for IT to ease them understand instruction of IT which commonly used
English. It was presumed that the students had to encounter many terms of IT which were
difficult for them. The second reason was that they had limited opportunity to make use of
English vocabulary in their daily routine. They were also accustomed to learn English only
from the English course which was offered. For those reason, this study insisted on finding
out how the students can deal with obligation to know a large amount of specialized
vocabulary and cove with the limitation they have.
Method of the Study

The collected data were categorized into a categorical data. According to Fraenkel and
Wallen (2008), data can be considered as categorical data when they show the frequencies of
occurrences in each category. In this study, the data simply indicated number of participants’
preferences of a particular vocabulary learning strategy. Hence this study reported the
frequency of the utilization of some approaches that were categorized into several strategies
in learning vocabulary. Therefore, this study adopted a descriptive research method design in
analyzing the data. This study did simple calculation of the data and presented it through
graphs and reported it in a descriptive form.
Participants

The participants of this study were 92 non-English majors’ students from Faculty of
Information Technology of Satya Wacana Christian University, Salatiga. There were 66
males (72%) and 26 females (18%). The participants’ ranged from 17 to 25 years. They were
from different groups of academic year. They took Professional English 3 course which
provide them with English for the introduction of technology. The participants were chosen
from three different classes of the course. They had already taken Basic English which was a
course on general English.
Instrument of Data Collection

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This present study used a close-ended questionnaire to collect data. The questionnaire was
adapted from the research developed by Kafipour & Naveh (2011) which was based on
Schmitt’s vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire (VLSQ). The questionnaire had two
parts: demographic questions and main questions. The first part of the questionnaire was
expected to reveal demographic information about the participants. While, the second part
included several questions relating to what strategies were used by the participants. The main
questionnaire consisted of 32 likert-scale items that was divided into five categories
according Schmitt’s framework: determination, social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive.
It had 5 questions for determination strategies (A), 3 questions for social strategies (B), 10
questions for memory strategies (C), 8 questions for cognitive strategies (D) and 6 questions
for metacognitive strategies (E).
Procedure of Data Collection

Before administering the questionnaire, 5 participants were chosen randomly in order
to check the clarity of the questionnaire. Then, the researcher spread the questionnaire under
teacher permission before the English class was begun. The participants were asked to answer
the questionnaire and return it as soon as they complete it. After all the questionnaires had
been collected, the finding of the questionnaire was ready to be analyzed.
Data Analysis

The collected data were analyzed using Excel Program. Descriptive statistics were
used to answer the research question. The questions had been divided based on the VLS
taxonomy that was explained before. It made the data easier to be analyzed because it showed
which questions belonged to determination, social, memory, cognitive or metacognitive
strategies. Each response of the questionnaire had certain point. The collected data were put
into a table and then were calculated to find the average. The result of the data analysis
showed what strategies were commonly used and what strategies were rarely used.

11

Discussion
The data was statistically analyzed to answer all the research questions. To
determine what extent the strategies were used by the participants, the discussion was divided
into two parts: analysis of overall strategies use and analysis of each strategy category. The
average of overall strategy used and each category of strategies were calculated.
Overall strategies use
As displayed in Figure 1 below, determination strategies (average=3.25) were found
as the most frequently used strategies by the participants.
Figure 1. Overall strategies of vocabulary learning

3,5

3,25

3

3,09
2,53

2,76

2,84

memory

cognitive

2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
determination

social

metacognitive

Then it was followed by metacognitive (average=3.09), cognitive (average=2.84),
memory (average=2.76), and social strategies (average=2.53). From the summary of average
scores, the study revealed that social strategies were the least frequency used by the
participants. As the data showed, the range of average scores were not significantly different.
It shows that all the five categories are also often used by the participants.
In the following section, the utilization of each strategy category is discussed more
specifically.

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1. Determination strategies
Determination strategies are a set of strategies used by the participants to figure out
new words they have met independently (Schmitt, 1997). Below, there are five statements
used to investigate the use of determination strategies.
Ketika saya menemukan kosakata baru dalam Bahasa Inggris yang belum diketahui

sebelumnya, saya …
A1: mengenali kata tersebut termasuk fungsi kata apa (verb/kata kerja, noun/kata
benda, adjective/kata sifat,dll)

A2: memastikan

apakah

kata-kata

tersebut

merupakan

kata

serapan

(activity=aktivitas)

A3: menebak makna kosakata dari konteknya
A4: menggunakan kamusBahasa Indonesia – Bahasa Inggris
A5: menggunakan kamus Bahasa Inggris – Bahasa Inggris
Figure 2. Determination strategies

4
3,5

3,53

3,43

3,49

2,96

3

2,85

2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
A1

A2

A3

A4

A5

From Figure 2 above, it could be seen that the average of each item of determination
strategies were below 3.5. The highest average was 3.53 of A3, which means that most of the
participants guessed the meaning from the context when they encountered new English
words. Furthermore, the strategy of using Indonesian – English (bilingual) dictionary
(statements A4) was also frequently used by the participants. The average of A4 was 3.49.
13

Otherwise, using English – English dictionary seemed to be the least strategy the participants
used to determine meaning of new English words. It is shown from the average of A5 which
was only 2.85. Others strategies in this category seemed not so significantly different. The
average of A1 was 3.43 and A2 was 2.96.
This study assumed that most students in this study were more concerned put their
concern more on discovering new words rather than deeper understanding of the usage of the
words. Since they were not English major, they were assumed to have no heavy pressure in
learning English, consequently this strategy was considered sufficient for them.
2. Social strategies
Besides determining the meaning of the new words independently, the participants
also used social strategy to grasp the new meanings with some helps from other people.
However, the social strategy was most infrequently used by the participants. The social
strategy only had an average of 2.53 compared with others strategies.
Figure 3. Social strategies
3,5
3
2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0

3,14
2,48
1,96

B1

B2

B3

In order to analyze the use of the social strategy, this study provided 3 statements, as
seen below:
B1: meminta bantuan kepada dosen atau teman untuk mengartikan kata
B2: mempelajari kosakata bersama teman sekelas di dalam kelompok
B3: mempelajari kosakata baru langsung dari penutur asli (native speaker)

14

From Figure 3 above, the strategy of asking help from teachers or friends to get
meaning (B1) had the highest average (3.14), and then followed by the strategy of B2 with an
average of 2.48 and the strategy of B2 with an average of 1.96, which was considered as the
lowest average of all. It appears that the participants did not depend on help from other
people. They may depend on technology to help them to figure out the vocabulary.
3. Memory strategies
Since the participants had successfully discovered the meaning of the new words, the
participants applied some approaches that were done by connecting new words to their
existing knowledge in order to keep the acquired vocabulary in mind. The approaches were
memory strategies. From the collected data, this study found that the participants used
memory strategies on average of 2.76.
Figure 4. Memory strategies
4
3,5

3,08

3,29

3,34

3,05

3,14

2,93

3

2,46
2,5

2,13

2,08

2,07

2
1,5
1
0,5
0
C1

C2

C3

C4

C5

C6

C7

C8

C9

C10

Below are ten statements provided for further analysis of memory strategy utilization.
C1: membuat gambar berdasarkan kata yang ditemui untuk mempermudah
mengingat kata tersebut

C2: mengingat kosakata baru dengan membayangkan atau menggambarkan kata
tersebut di dalam pikiran

15

C3: menghubungkan kata yang baru ditemui dengan kata-kata yang telah dipelajari
sebelumnya (misal: taught dihubungkan dengan teach, big dihubungkan dengan

huge)
C4: menghubungkan kata baru dengan kata lain yang maknanya hampir sama atau
berlawanan

C5: menggunakan kata-kata baru ke dalam kalimat sehingga bisa diingingat
C6: mengucapkan kata-kata baru dengan lantang saat pertama menemuinya
C7: mengingat kosakata baru dengan menggunakan flashcard (kartu pengingat berisi
tulisan kata-kata Bahasa Inggris)

C8: mengingat kata melalui imbuhan kata (im-, un-, -able, -ful, -ment,ex-)
C9: menggunakan gerakan saat mempelajari sebuah kata
C10:mengecek kembali kosakata yang sudah dipelajari
This study investigated that most of the participants commonly used strategy C5 in
which they put the new vocabularies into sentences to make them easier to memorize the
vocabulary. Figure 4 shows that C5 strategies reached the highest average of 3.34.
Nonetheless, the participants were not really familiar to use pictures of the new words when
they wanted to try to keep the vocabularies in their memory. This strategy got the lowest
average (2.07) of all the strategies in memory strategy.
4. Cognitive strategies
This study also found that the participants also made use of cognitive strategy in their
learning process. The participants did language manipulation in gaining understanding of
knowledge of the new words. As indicated in the statements below, this study offered specific
analysis of the process of the participant in doing language transformation in their vocabulary
learning.
D1: mengucapkan kosakata baru berulang kali
D2: membuat daftar kosakata baru
D3: menggunakan media berbahasa Inggris (game, lagu, atau film)
D4: mencatat atau menandai (menggarisbawahi atau memberi warna) kosakata baru
yang saya temui

D5: memberi label dalam Bahasa Inggris pada benda-benda tertentu
16

D6: membuat catatan, jurnal atau laporan dalam Bahasa Inggris
D7: mencoba untuk tidak mengartikan kata per kata
D8: mencari kata dalam bahasa ibu (mother tongue) saya yang artinya hampir sama
dengan kata baru dalam Bahasa Inggris

Figure 5. Cognitive strategies
4,5

4,11

4
3,5

3,29

3,11

3

2,41

2,40

2,5

3,05
2,41
1,95

2
1,5
1
0,5
0
D1

D2

D3

D4

D5

D6

D7

D8

Figure 5 illustrates that the participants used English-language media (games, songs
or movies) most often to remember new words and built their vocabulary storage (D3
strategy) despite of the use of the new words in notes, journals or reports in English (D6
strategy).
5. Metacognitive strategies
Learners were considered as the one who know their strong and weak point in
learning process and choice in approach of individual and culture learning (Schmitt, 1993).
Therefore, learners should take their own responsibility of their learning process. By using
metacognitive strategies, learners are expected to be able to control their own learning
(Schmitt, 1997). On the other hand, this data analysis yielded an observation which proved
that the participants of this study used metacognitive strategies in their vocabulary acquisition
process. This study used six statements to get more detailed inquiry of metacognitive strategy
application:

17

E1: mencari kesempatan untuk belajar Bahasa Inggris di luar jam kuliah
E2: menguji kempapuan saya dalam menguasai kosakata yang telah saya pelajari
E3: member perhatian khusus terhadap kata-kata Bahasa Inggris yang baru saya
temui

E4: mengabaikan kata yang saya temui jika tidak mengetahui artinya
E5: menonton film, mendengarkan lagu, bermain game dalam Bahasa Inggris dengan
tujuan khusus untuk memperkaya kosakata

E6: menggunakan gerakan tubuh saat saya tidak bisa mengucapkannya dalam
Bahasa Inggris

Figure 6. Metacognitive strategies
4,22

4,5
4
3,5
3

2,91

3,07

3,1
2,83
2,43

2,5
2
1,5
1
0,5
0
E1

E2

E3

E4

E5

E6

The least commonly used of metacognitive strategy was statement E4. The average
score of E4 statement was much lower (2.43) than those of others statements. In contrast,
statement E5 was considered as the most commonly used of metacognitive strategy. Its
average was hit the highest (4.22). Related to the aforementioned finding, this observation
showed that the participants watched movies, listened to songs, and played games in Englishlanguage (strategy of E5) more often with the aim of providing opportunities to enrich their
vocabularies. Besides, the participants seemed to give more attention to the unknown
meaning of words rather than ignoring new words when they did not know its meaning
(strategy of E4).

18

In addition, this study discovered that the way the participants intentionally enriched
their vocabulary storage was by watching movies, listening songs, and playing games in
English (metacognitive strategy). This ranked as the most frequently used strategies among
all strategies. This approach attained the highest average score (4.22). In contrast, the lowest
average score was for the statement D6 (1.95). The participants did not frequently apply new
vocabularies in their notes, journals, or reports in English.
The discussion above shows that most of the strategies were used by the participants
in learning English vocabulary. Even though the participants were not studying English as
their major, they were trying to learn English vocabulary. Furthermore, this study discovered
that the participants had already been familiar with the different vocabulary learning
strategies even though not all strategies were used.

Conclusion
As far as the classification of strategies was concerned, this study seemed to support
Schmitt’s vocabulary learning strategies taxonomy. The most obvious finding to emerge from
this study was that there were five types of strategies which were used in learning vocabulary.
The strategies included determination, social, cognitive, memory, and metacognitive
strategies. The present study was classified into two parts. The first set of analysis examined
the overall strategies of vocabulary learning. The second part was the investigation of several
items in order to analyze each categorize of vocabulary learning strategies specifically.
Returning to the research question posed at the beginning of the study, it is now clear
that this study had discovered the use of strategies by the Faculty of Information students in
this study. The result of this study indicated that determination strategies were the most
frequently used by the students of Faculty of Information Technology. According to Schmitt
(1997), determination strategies provide a significant role when learners encountered a new

19

word and identified the meaning of the words without aid from someone. Besides discovering
the new words meaning independently, learners may ask help from other persons in grasping
the meaning of new vocabularies which is considered as social strategies (Schmitt, 1997).
Conversely, the analysis of the data reported that social strategies were the least frequently
used strategy by the students in learning vocabulary.
More specific analysis of each strategy was also reported. Applying new English
vocabulary in writing reports, notes or journals was used by the participant infrequently. On
the other hand, this study indicated that the participants purposely watched movies, listened
to songs, or played games in English to have their vocabulary improved. Finally, this study
concluded that in general the students are familiar enough with the strategies that can be used
in learning vocabulary.
Regarding to the analysis of the findings, this study suggests several noteworthy
implications to following vocabulary learning. Taken together, this research suggests that
using aforementioned strategies promote self-monitoring and self-evaluating to learners in
enhancing their vocabulary learning process. Consequently, learners need to be aware of the
existence and the functions of vocabulary learning strategies. By using appropriate strategies,
it is believed that they may have their vocabulary learning improved. At this stage, teachers
also play an important role in students learning process. Teachers may encourage the students
by introducing the set of vocabulary learning strategies both implicitly or explicitly. Then, the
teacher also may help them choose what strategies are suitable for them so that their learning
becomes more effective.
Naturally, this study still has some limitations. This study uses likert-scale
questionnaire as the instrument of data collection. This type of questionnaire seemed to be
ambiguous for the participants. Hatch and Brown (1995) agreed participants’ response to
likert-type scale questionnaire can change according to context. The questionnaire has some
20

unclear points so that it seemed to be a little bit difficult for the participants to understand it.
Five participants involved in piloting study which was conducted before this study. It is
assumed that having bigger number of piloting participants for further study brings more
benefits in measuring the clarity of the questionnaire. Other limitation also occur regard to
the finding of the data. Using questionnaire seems only discovers the superficial level of the
strategies use of the participants. Since questionnaire is self report, it seems unclear whether
the participants really used the strategies in their vocabulary learning. It indicates that they
may response the questionnaire according to their belief and thought about the use of
strategies. It is suggested that researcher need to conduct class observation and do interview
for deeper information of vocabulary learning strategies.

21

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I would like to express my special appreciation to my Lord, Jesus
Christ who always besides me, strengthens me, inspires me for everything in my life. This
thesis would not have been possible without the valuable guidance from my supervisor, Mr.
Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika. Thank you so much for my thesis examiner, Sesilia Rani Setyo Sari,
M.Hum for the feedback for my thesis improvement. My big gratitude also goes to my father,
Sugiyono, and my mother, Sukarni Laurentina, for their worthy advice and encouragement to
keep me on track. To my little sister and brother (who are bigger than me actually), Ghita and
Samuel, for the spirit they always give for me. Thank you so much for Andree ‘Cacing’ for
coloring up my life with your endless supports, my companion in arms – ED’ers 08,
especially to Tyag and Yayas, for everything happened in my college time and to my friend
in BPMU 2011-2012 for giving me wonderful experiences. It inspires me a lot. Last, but not
least, many thanks to Massgerat (Bella, Dita, Petra, Estu, Emil, Kodyl) for the wonderful
friendship and happiness. Thanks for supporting me all the time.

22

References:
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vocabulary acquisition. TESOL QUARTERLY , 25, 661 - 670.
Fan, M. (2003). Frequency of use, preceived usefulness and actual usefulness of second
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Fraenkel, J., & Wallen, N. (2008). How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New
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O'Malley, M., Chamot, A., Stewner-Manzanares, G., Küpper, L., & Russo, R. (1985a).
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majors in Independent College. Cross-Cultural Communincation , 6, 152-164.

24

APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A
VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES
QUESTIONNAIRE
(Adapted from Kafipour & Naveh and Schmitt’s VLSQ)
Yth. Rekan – rekan Fakultas Teknologi Informasi
Kuesioner ini disusun untuk mengumpulkan data dalam riset mata kuliah Bahasa Inggris
di Fakultas Teknologi Informasi – Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga. Penelitian ini
ditujukan untuk mengetahui strategi yang digunakan mahasasiswa FTI dalam mempelajari
kosakata Bahasa Inggris. Partisipasi Anda dalam pengisian kuisioner ini akan sangat
membantu saya dalam pembuatan skripsi untuk menyelesaikan studi saya di Fakultas Bahasa
dan Sastra.
Petunjuk Umum:
Beri respon pada pertanyaan dan pernyataan di bawah ini dengan cara memberi tanda centang
pada kolom yang Anda anggap paling sesuai dengan diri Anda.
Contoh:
Ketika saya menemukan kosakata baru dalam
bahasa inggris yang belum diketahui sebelumnya, 1
2
3
4
5
saya ….
A1 menghafalnya dalam hati
v
1 : Tidak Pernah (0%)
4 : Sering (75%)
2 : Jarang (25%)
5 : Selalu (100%)
3 : Kadang – kadang (50%)
Semua informasi diri dan respon yang Anda berikan bersifat rahasia dan hanya dipakai untuk
kepentingan penelitian ini. Hasil dari penelitian ini tidak akan mempengaruhi nilai Bahasa
Inggris Anda.
Pertanyaan mengenai informasi diri
NIM
: ………………………
Progdi.
: ………………………
Umur
: ………………………
Jenis Kelamin :
L
P
Lama belajar bahasa inggris …….. tahun.
Ketika saya menemukan kosakata baru dalam bahasa
1 2 3 4 5
inggris yang belum diketahui sebelumnya, saya ….
Mengenali kata tersebut termasuk fungsi kata apa
A1 (verb/kata kerja, noun/kata benda, adjective/kata sifat,
dll)
Memastikan apakah kata - kata tersebut merupakan kata
A2
serapan (activity = aktivitas)
A3 Menebak makna kosakata dari konteksnya

25

Menggunakan kamus bahasa Indonesia – Inggris
Menggunakan kamus bahas Inggris – Inggris
Meminta bantuan kepada dosen atau teman untuk
B1
mengartikan kata
Mempelajari kosakata bersama teman sekelas di dalam
B2
kelompok
Memperlajari kosakata baru langsung dari penutur asli
B3
(native speaker )
Saat saya ingin mengingat kosakata baru dan
1 2
meningkatkan jumlah kosakata, saya ….
Membuat gambar berdasarkan kata yang ditemui untuk
C1
mempermudah mengingat kata tersebut
Mengingat kosakata baru dengan membayangkan atau
C2
menggambarkan kata tersebut di dalam pikiran
Menghubungkan kata yang baru ditemui dengan kata kata yang telah dipelajari sebelumnya (misal: taught
C3
dihubungkan dengan teach, big dihubungkan dengan
huge)
Menghubungkan kata baru dengan kata lain yang
C4
maknanya hampir sama atau berlawanan
Menggunakan kata-kata baru ke dalam kalimat
C5
sehingga bisa mengingat
Mengucapkan kata - kata baru dengan lantang saat
C6
pertama menemuinya
Mengingat kosakata baru dengan menggunakan
C7 flaschcard (kartu pengingat berisi tulisan kata-kata
bahasa Inggris)
Mengingat kata melalui imbuhan kata (im-, un-, -able, C8
ful, -ment, ex-)
C9 Menggunakan gerakan saat mempelajari sebuah kata
C10 Mengecek kembali kosakata yang sudah dipelajari
D1 Mengucapkan kosakata baru berulang kali
D2 Membuat daftar kosakata baru
Mengunakan media berbahasa Inggris (game, lagu, atau
D3
film)
Mencatat atau menandai (menggarisbawahi atau
D4
memberi warna) kosakata baru yang saya temui
Memberi label dalam bahasa inggris pada benda - benda
D5
tertentu
Membuat catatan, jurnal atau laporan dalam bahasa
D6
Inggris
D7 Mencoba untuk tidak mengartikan kata per kata
A4
A5

26

3 4

5

D8
E1
E2
E3
E4
E5
E6

Mencari kata dalam bahasa ibu (mother tongue) saya
yang artinya hampir sama dengan kata baru dalam
bahasa Inggris
Mencari kesempatan untuk belajar kosakata bahasa
Inggris di luar jam kuliah
Menguji kemampuan saya dalam menguasai kosakata
yang telah saya pelajari
Memberi perhatian khusus terhadap kata - kata bahasa
Inggris yang baru saya temui
Mengabaikan kata yang saya temui jika tidak
mengetahui artinya
Menonton film, mendengarkan lagu, bermain game
dalam bahasa Inggris dengan tujuan khusus untuk
memperkaya kosakata
Menggunakan gerakan tubuh saat saya tidak bisa
mengucapkannya dalam bahasa Inggris
-Terima kasih atas partisipasi Anda dalam mengisi kuisioner ini

27

APPENDIX B
DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS FOR VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES QUESTIONNAIRE
NIM

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36

672011188
672011228
672011123
672011083
682011036
682011025
672011055
672011132
672008025
672008072
672008010
612009319
672011156
672011122
672011171
672011120
672011169
672011147
682008068
672009220
672011021
672011001
672007248
682007054
682008059
672011032
682008014
672008129
692008026
682008601
682009034
672009274
672009279
672011004
672011100
672007278

A
19
19
19
19
19
18
20
19
21
21
22
21
18
21
19
19
18
19
22
21
18
19
24
23
23
19
21
22
22
24
21
21
23
18
18
22

S
L
P
L
P
P
P
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
L
P
P
L
P
L
L
L
L
L
L
P
L
P
L
L
P
P
L
L
L
P

A1
3
4
2
4
4
3
4
3
3
3
3
3
4
4
5
2
5
4
3
3
4
4
2
3
4
3
4
3
4
4
4
1
3
4
5
4

A2
3
4
4
4
3
3
2
4
5
4
4
2
2
4
3
2
4
3
3
2
2
3
2
4
3
2
3
2
5
2
3
2
2
3
3
2

A3
4
3
5
2
3
3
4
4
4
5
4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
4
3
5
5
1
4
5
2
2
3
2
3
4
3
2
4
4
1

A4
4
4
3
5
5
4
4
3
5
2
3
3
3
3
2
5
3
2
3
1
3
2
2
4
5
4
3
4
5
2
2
4
4
4
3
5

A5
4
2
2
2
4
4
1
2
5
2
3
2
4
1
2
5
3
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
3
1
5
1
2
5
2
4
1
5

B1
2
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
4
1
2
2
2
4
4
3
3
3
4
3
3
4
5
4
4
4
3
5
4
1
4
2
2
3

B2
1
4
2
3
4
4
3
3
2
3
3
2
2
2
1
1
2
2
4
3
2
2
3
3
1
3
1
2
4
2
2
2
3
3
2
1

B3