The correlation between the twelfth grade students` vocabulary mastery of academic words and the students` productive skills : a research conducted in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari - USD Repository
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE
STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN SMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008 i
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE
STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN SMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain the Sarjana Pendidikan Degree in English Language Education
By Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM
LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA
2008
A Thesis on
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE
STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN SMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
By Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071 Approved by
Date Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum.
6 December 2008 Sponsor ii
iii
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE
STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED IN SMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
By Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071 Defended before the Board of Examiners on 19 December 2008 and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Signature Chairperson : Agustinus Hardi Prasetya, S.Pd., M.A. ….....………...
Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. ….....………... Member : Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum. ….....………... Member : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. ….....………... Member : F.X. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd. ….....………...
Yogyakarta, 19 December 2008 Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University Dean, Drs. Tarsisius Sarkim, M.Ed., Ph.D.
iv
Nobody grows old merely by giving a number of years We grow old by deserting our ideals Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul
Samuel Ullman I dedicate this thesis to my parents: Stephanus Sujianto and Theresia Supriyanti and my beloved sister
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, I thank my Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, who has given His amazing grace, love, and guidance so that I can finish this thesis well. He has given me spirit in accomplishing this thesis.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Carla Sih Prabandari,
S.Pd., M.Hum, my major sponsor, for her guidance, corrections, criticism, and
great encouragement in accomplishing this thesis. I really would like to thank her for spending her time to correct and give suggestions in order to achieve the best result in this research. I would also like thank all of the lecturers in English Education Study Program, especially to Agustinus Hardi Prasetya, S.Pd., M.A., who has given great encouragement to finish this thesis as soon as possible. My gratitude also goes to all of the teachers and students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari, especially Mrs. Khusnul for spending the time to help me accomplish this thesis.
I would also like to express gratitude to my beloved family: my father,
Stephanus Sujianto, my mother, Theresia Supriyanti, and my sister, Ines, for
the prayer, love, guidance, and encouragement in accomplishing my thesis and for my beloved cousins Rini, Aris, and Lia. I would also like to thank all my best friends: Shinta, Wulan, Wida, Riri and Diaz for the beautiful friendship. My gratitude is also addressed to all my friends in Sanata Dharma University, especially in the English Education Study Program.
My gratitude also goes to all the secretariat staff of the English Education Study Program and the library staff who have helped me during my effort in vi finishing my thesis. Last but not least, I would like to express my special gratitude to Theodorus Damar Baskara for being my sunshine after the rain in my lifetime. May God always bless them all.
Anastasia Ary Budi Wahyuningsih
vii
viii
6 CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Theoretical Description...................................................
12 2.1.1.4 Vocabulary in Senior High School..........................
2.1.1.3 Vocabulary is a Significant Element in Learning English as Foreign Language....................................
11
10 2.1.1.2 What is Vocabulary?.................................................
9 2.1.1.1 Vocabulary Knowledge......………………………..
9 2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary..............................................
5 1.6 Definition of Terms.........................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5 1.5 Benefits of thresearch......................................................
4 1.4 Objective of the research.................................................
3 1.3 Problem Limitation.........................................................
1 1.2 Problem Formulation.......................................................
INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Background.....................................................
ABSTRAK ...................................................................................................... xvi
CHAPTER I.Page TITLE PAGE............................................................................................... i APPROVAL PAGES................................................................................... ii DEDICATION PAGE.................................................................................. iv STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY.......................................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURE........................................................................................ xii LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................... xiii LIST OF APPENDICES.............................................................................. xiv ABSTRACT.................................................................................................. xv
13
2.1.2 Understanding of Academic Words............................
14 2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning............................
16 2.1.4 Principles for Teaching Vocabulary............................
17 2.1.5 Assessing Vocabulary.......................…….…..............
19 2.1.6 Understanding of Language Testing...........….............
21 2.1.6.1 Types of Test in Terms of Test Method…................
22 2.1.6.2 Types of Test in Terms of Test Purpose....................
22 2.1.7 Theory of Testing Vocbulary........................................
23 2.18 Vocabulry Mastery in a Language Teaching Learning..
24 2.1.9 English Productive Skills: Speaking an Writing...........
24 2.2 Theoretical Framework....................................................
25 CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Method..............................................................
29 3.2 Research Procedure .......................................................
31 3.3 Subject of the Research.....................................................
31 3.4 Data Collection..................................................................
32
3.5 Instruments......................................................................... 33
3.6 Data Analysis...................................................................... 35
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 The Twelfth Grade Students’ Mastery of Academic Words in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari...............................................
37 4.1.1 Data Presentation...........................................................
38 4.1.2 Analysis Result..........……………...………………….
45
4.1.2.1 Analysis Result of the Twelve Grade Students’ Mastery of Academic Words.....................................
46
4.1.2.2 Analysis Result of the Students’ Mastery of Academic Words Based on Lexical Category.............................. 49 ix
4.1.2.2.1 Academic Words Mastered 100% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
49
4.1.2.2.2 Academic Words Mastered 95% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
52
4.1.2.2.3 Academic Words Mastered 90% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
53
4.1.2.2.4 Academic Words Mastered 85% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
54
4.1.2.2.5 Academic Words Mastered 80% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosar..............
55
4.1.2.2.6 Academic Words Mastered 75% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
57
4.1.2.2.7 Academic Words Mastered 70% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
58
4.1.2.2.8 Academic Words Mastered 65% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
59
4.1.2.2.9 Academic Words Mastered 60% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
60
4.1.2.2.10 Academic Words Mastered 55% by the Twelve Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.............
61
4.2 The Correlation between AcademicWords Mastery and the Students’ English Productive Skills............................. 63
4.2.1 Data Presentation............................................................ 63
4.2.2 Analysis Result............................................................... 64
4.2.3 Discussion....................................................................... 66
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions……..............................................................
69 5.2 Suggestions……..............................................................
70 x
xi REFERENCES..............................................................................................
71 APPENDICES................................................................................................
74
xii
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure 2.1: Chart for Low Frequency Words………………………………
15
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Raw score of the students in set 1……………………………….39 Table 4.2: Raw score of the students in set 2……………………………….
40 Table 4.3: Raw score of the students in set 3……………………………….
41 Table 4.4: Raw score of the students in set 4……………………………….
42 Table 4.5: Raw score of the students in set 5……………………………….
43 Table 4.6: Raw score of the students in set 6………………………………..
44 Table 4.7: The students’ mastery of academic words………………………..
46 Table 4.8: Academic words mastered 100% based on lexical category……..
49 Table 4.9: Academic words mastered 95% based on lexical category………
52 Table 4.10: Academic words mastered 90% based on lexical category……..
53 Table 4.11: Academic words mastered 85% based on lexical category……..
54 Table 4.12: Academic words mastered 80% based on lexical category…......
55 Table 4.13: Academic words mastered 75% based on lexical category……..
57 Table 4.14: Academic words mastered 70% based on lexical category….......
58 Table 4.15: Academic words mastered 65% based on lexical category……...
59 Table 4.16: Academic words mastered 60% based on lexical category………
60 Table 4.17: Academic words mastered 55% based on lexical category………
61 Table 4.18: The correlation between academic word mastery and productive skills………………………………………………….
65 xiii
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1 : The Request Letter to Conduct the Research.............................76 Appendix 2 : Table of Frequency and Mean Scores of the Correct Answers in
Vocabulary Test.........................................................................78 Appendix 3 : Table of the Students’ Mastery of Academic Words..............118 Appendix 4 : List of Academic Word Test Scores and Productive Skill
Test Scores…………………………………………………...133 Appendix 5 : Vocabulary Test Materials.......................................................137
ABSTRACT
Wahyuningsih, Anastasia Ary Budi. (2008). The Correlation between the Twelfth
Grade Students’ Vocabulary Mastery of Academic Words and the Students’
Productive Skills: A Research Conducted in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari. Yogyakarta:
Sanata Dharma University.
Considering to the fact that vocabulary and the skills are important for the beginners who learn English as a foreign language, this research is aimed to know the twelfth grade students’ mastery of vocabulary, especially academic words in senior high school and its relation with the students’ productive skills. This research is conducted to answer two problems. The problems are: (1) To what extent do the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari master academic words? (2) What is the correlation between academic words mastery and the students’ productive skills?
The researcher gathered many books that can support the process of problem solving in this research. The researcher looked for the supporting ideas from the books, such as the definition of vocabulary, academic words, productive skills, and the students’ mastery of vocabulary. The students’ mastery in this research means the mastery on understanding the word meanings, especially the Indonesian equivalences. Considering that vocabulary is a significant element in developing English skills, the correlation between academic word mastery and productive skills is discussed in this research.
The research subjects were the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1
Wonosari. To gather data from the sample of the research, the writer used an
instrument in the form of matching test to assess the students’ mastery of academic words so that they could match the English words with the correct Indonesian equivalences. The students’ productive skills were tested by using test materials from the teachers. Statistical data analysis and Spearman’s correlation were used to analyze the data. To have valid data, the vocabulary items were taken from their learning materials during the study in senior high school, i.e. from students’ books grade ten to twelve.
The first result showed that the students’ mastery of academic words was good since it was above the minimal standard of academic word mastery for beginner level, i.e. 583 words. The academic words mastered by the twelfth grade students consisted of nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions. The second result, the researcher found out that the correlation between academic word mastery and productive skills was very low. It might be because the students’ mastery of academic words was only focused on knowing the Indonesian equivalences. Therefore, the students’ mastery of academic words might not be reflected in speaking and writing tests. Finally, the researcher expected that other researchers can conduct other research with similar topic and design good materials for teaching and learning vocabulary and also the skills. xv
ABSTRAK
Wahyuningsih, Anastasia Ary Budi. (2008). The Correlation between the Twelfth
Grade Students’ Vocabulary Mastery of Academic Words and the Students’
Productive Skills: A Research Conducted in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari. Yogyakarta:
Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dengan adanya fakta bahwa kosakata dan ketrampilan dalam bernahasa itu penting untuk para pemula yang mempelajari bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing, penelitian ini ditujukan untuk mengetahui penguasaan kosakata para siswa kelas dua belas di tingkat sekolah menengah atas dan hubungannya dengan ketrampilan produktif. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk memecahkan dua masalah, yaitu: (1) Sejauh mana siswa kelas dua belas SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari menguasai kosakata akademis? (2) Apakah hubungan penguasaan kosakata akademis dan ketrampilan produktif?
Peneliti mengumpulkan banyak buku yang dapat mendukung proses pemecahan masalah dalam penelitian ini. Penelti mencari gagasan-gagasan yang mendukung dari buku- buku tersebut, misalnya: pengertian kosakata, kata akademis, ketrampilan produktif, dan penguasaan kosakata para siswa.Penguasaan dalam penelitian ini adalah penguasaan dalam mengetahui arti kata dalam bahasa Indonesia. Dengan mempertimbangkan fakta bahwa kosakata merupakan salah satu bagian penting dalam mengembangkan ketrampilan berbahasa Inggris, korelasi antara penguasaan kosakata akademis dan ketrampilan produktif dibahas dalam penelitian ini.
Subjek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas dua belas SMA Negeri 1
Wonosari. Untuk mengumpulkan data dari sampel penelitian, peneliti
menggunakan instrumen dalam bentuk test menjodohkan supaya mereka dapat menjodohkan kata dalam bahasa Inggris dengan arti yang benar dalam bahasa Indonesia dengan tujuan untuk menaksir penguasaan kosakata akademis siswa. Ketrampilan produktif para siswa diujikan dengan menggunakan materi ujian dari para guru. Analisis data statistik dan korelasi Spearman digunakan untuk menganalisa data. Untuk mendapatkan data yang valid, materi yang diujikan diambil dari buku-buku yang mereka gunakan selama proses belajar mengajar dari kelas sepuluh sampai dengan kelas dua belas.
Penemuan pertama menunjukkan bahwa penguasaan kosakata akademis para siswa itu baik karena penguasaannya berada di atas standar minimal penguasaan kosakata akademis tingkat pemula, yaitu 583 kata. Kata-kata yang dikuasai oleh para siswa terdiri dari kata benda, kata kerja, kata sifat, kata keterangan, dan kata hubung. Penemuan ke dua menunjukkan bahwa korelasi antara penguasaan kata akademis dan ketrampilan produktifnya sangat rendah. Hal ini mungkin karena penguasaan kosakata akademis siswa hanya dipusatkan pada pengetahuan arti kata dalam bahasa Indonesia, sehingga penguasan kosakata akademis siswa tidak tercermin dalam ujian berbicara dan menulis. Akhirnya, peneliti mengharapkan bahwa para peneliti yang lain melakukan penelitian xvi dengan topik yang sama dan merancang materi untuk proses belajar mengajar kosakata dan ketrampilan berbahasa Inggris. xvii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses all about background of the research, problem
formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the research, benefits of the research, and definition of terms that will be discussed in the next chapter.
1.1 Research Background
English is an international language and it is learned as a foreign language in Indonesia since Indonesian people do not use English in their daily life communication. English is one of compulsory subjects in educational field and it is taught from elementary schools up to senior high schools. Learning English in the kindergartens has been taught that is as a local content. Many education institutions in Indonesia offer English lessons to the students because they realize that the students will face global era in which English is important for communication. Mastering international language will be a good provision for the students in facing this global era.
Mastering English means the learners should master the language skills and elements. There are four English skills and three English elements that should be learned by the learners, they are: listening, speaking, reading, writing and for the elements are grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Vocabulary is one of supporting elements in communication and the development of vocabulary must be seen as a part of the major communication program of the school (Dale and
1 O’Rourke, 1971; 5). By understanding the vocabulary items, people will be able to understand the conversation and read the texts well. They need to improve their mastery of vocabulary so that they can comprehend listening and reading well (Lehr, 2001). In summary, the learners are considered to be able to master English well, if they can use English to communicate by using appropriate and accurate ways such as in grammar, diction (vocabulary), and pronunciation.
The students develop their vocabulary items every day through speaking, reading, listening, and writing and it is obvious that students need rich experiences to develop their vocabulary (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971; 6). This study emphasizes on the students’ mastery of vocabulary, especially academic words since the students are dealing with academic study. Besides knowing the students’ mastery of academic words, this research is emphasized on the correlation of academic words mastery with the students’ productive skills, i.e. speaking and writing skills. In summary, it can be said that vocabulary is the key to be able to master the language. Therefore, this research is aimed to find the twelve grade students’ mastery of academic words and the correlation between the academic words mastery and the students’ communication ability which is represented through the students’ final practice marks achieved in their study.
There are four kinds of vocabulary in different learning fields, such as: high-frequency vocabulary, academic vocabulary, technical vocabulary, and low- frequency vocabulary (Nation, 1990). These kinds of vocabulary are taught in different learning fields, for example: academic words can be found in a wide range of academic texts either in junior high school or senior high school; technical words which have a narrow range are used in specialized field, such as mathematics, law, philosophy, etc. In junior high school, senior high school, and university, the EFL learners learn more about academic words because they intend to do academic study. Here are some examples of academic words which can be found in academic texts: abandon, alternative, denote, element, etc.
There are a number of academic words that always occur in academic study in which the students should master. There are 570 up to 800 words of academic vocabulary that often occur in academic study, for example: in authentic reading materials, text books, etc (Nation, 2002). This is the number of academic words that should be mastered by EFL learners, especially for beginners’ level (senior high school). Considering to the fact that vocabulary is an important element in English learning, this research is aimed to know the number of academic words that have already been mastered by the senior high school students and its correlation with the students’ productive skills using academic words, especially in the twelfth grade (in the end of the study).
1.2 Problem Formulation
The research is aimed to assess the students’ mastery of academic words in senior high school level and to know its correlation with the students’ productive skills. The problems are formulated as follows:
1. To what extent do the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari master academic words?
2. What is the correlation between academic words mastery with the students’ productive skills?
1.3 Problem Limitation
The problem of this research is limited on the number of academic words that the students should master during their study in senior high school and its correlation with the students’ productive skills, especially the twelfth grade students. The problem is focused on the mastery of academic words since the students are dealing with academic study. Mastery in this research only focused on knowing the word meanings, especially the Indonesian equivalences. They learn academic words through the learning materials from the teacher. The teacher gives many reading or listening passages which is obtained from authentic materials, text books, etc that contain many academic words. The students who learn English will always develop their understanding of vocabulary when they are learning through the skills (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971; 5).
In senior high school, the students learn many vocabulary items which are included in high frequency words and academic words. However, this research is focused on the academic words since the students in senior high school are dealing with academic study. The students have already learned many academic words from grade ten up to grade twelve in senior high school. Therefore, this research is aimed to know how many academic words that the students master and also the correlation between academic words mastery with the students’ productive skills which is represented through the students’ final practice marks. In order to get the result of the measurement, this research takes students from grade twelve as the subjects because they have already learned academic words through the learning materials from grade ten up to grade twelve.
1.4 Objectives of the Research
The objective of this research is to know the number of academic vocabulary items mastered by the twelfth grade students during their study in senior high school by considering that mastery in this research means knowing the word meanings, i.e. the Indonesian equivalence. This research is also aimed to know the correlation between the students’ mastery of academic words with the students’ productive skills.
1.5 Benefits of the Research
This research is expected to be able to give several benefits for the students, teachers, and the future researchers. For the students, this research is aimed to give new experience to the students about vocabulary test because they have never had vocabulary test from the teachers. By doing the test, the students will be able to know their ability in mastering academic words through the result of the tests that they have done. Besides the students can get experiences of vocabulary test, the students can also expand their understanding of academic vocabulary, especially the word meanings.
For the English teachers, the result of this research is expected to give information about the students’ mastery of academic words and to know its correlation with the students’ productive skills. After knowing the result, the English teachers are expected to provide better strategies in teaching vocabulary in which vocabulary is an important element that can support the students’ quality in mastering English (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971).
This research is also aimed to give understanding and knowledge to the people in common, especially for the next researchers. After they know the students’ mastery of academic words and its correlation with the students’ productive skills, it is expected to the future researchers that they can design good materials and strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary items.
1.6 Definition of Terms
This section presents the definitions of terms or important constructs used in this research. The terms defined here are the twelve grade students in SMA
Negeri 1 Wonosari , vocabulary mastery, academic words, and productive skills.
The definition will be explained below.
1.6.1 Twelfth Grade Students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari
SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari has high quality chosen students. The students
who study in this school are the students who have good mark from their junior high schools. Commonly, the students have good ability in English subject, but the English ability of the twelfth grade students in 2007/2008 has been decreased from last year. Teaching vocabulary for the twelfth grade students is mostly integrated with teaching reading skill. Based on the English teachers’ opinions, they can give the students more knowledge about new academic words through the reading texts, especially by using authentic materials. According to the understanding of the English teachers in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari, the twelfth grade students in science class have better mastery of vocabulary than the students in social class. Vocabulary tests in the teaching learning processes are not done specifically, they are integrated with the other skill tests, such as in reading, writing, speaking, and listening test.
1.6.2 Vocabulary Mastery
According to Young (2007), vocabulary is a study of the word meanings, how to use the words, and root words and the affixes. Based on Lehr’s opinion (2001), the more the students read various texts or books, the more the students obtain new vocabulary items and know or understand many new words from academic text books and they will be able to comprehend the content of the reading texts better. In this research, vocabulary means the words and word meanings mastered by the EFL learners, especially the twelfth grade students in senior high school. Mastery in this context means the ability to understand the meaning of the vocabulary items that they have learned in academic study.
1.6.3 Academic Words
Academic words are in the second level of learning vocabulary after high- frequency words (Nation, 1990). Academic words are only found in academic discipline, such as in junior high school, senior high school, and in the university. Senior high school students are in the beginner level and they should be able to master 570 up to 800 academic words that often occur in the learning materials for the beginner (Nation, 2002). There are some examples of academic words that often occur in reading texts: approach, brief, comply, disposal, evident, etc.
1.6.4 English Productive Skills
Nunan (2003) states that in language teaching, there are four skills described in terms of their definition, i.e. productive and receptive skills.
Productive means language generated by the learners in speech or writing and receptive means language directed at the learners in reading or listening.
According to Nunan (2003), speaking is productive oral skill and writing is the physical act of committing words or ideas to some medium, such as handwritten or typed into a computer.
CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE This chapter explains about theoretical description and theoretical
framework of the research. Definition of terms, which is discussed in the previous chapter, will be discussed deeper in this chapter. Literature review that can support this research is mentioned and explained in the theoretical description.
2.1 Theoretical Description
The mastery of vocabulary of the senior high school students is one of the indicators in learning English as a foreign language since vocabulary is a key for the learners to be able to communicate with the others well using the language learned. There are theories that can support this study. The theories will be explained below.
2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary Vocabulary is one of important supporting elements in language learning.
It can be said as a significant part of communication and it is the key to be able to master the language well (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971: 6). This section will discuss the complete definition of vocabulary as follows.
2.1.1.1 Vocabulary Knowledge
Vocabulary knowledge means the knowledge in which the learners learn about the words, meaning of words, and how to use the words in the sentences when somebody is learning English, especially English as a foreign language. According to Young (2007), vocabulary is a study of the word meanings, how to use the words, and root words and the affixes. In other words, vocabulary does not only learn about the meaning of the words, but also the use of the words in different context. The students need to realize that vocabulary is an index of the nature and quality of their lives. Words can reflect what they have studied (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971: 9).
The people who are learning vocabulary have strong relation with the reading comprehension (Lehr, 2001). The learners get more knowledge of vocabulary from many reading materials. The learners should read many kinds of readings in different difficulty level. By reading a lot of different level in words’ difficulty, the learners will have more understanding of the meaning of words and their function in different context. Reading is not only one of the English skills that can help the learners in improving their knowledge of vocabulary. Through listening to many passages, the learners can also learn many words and the meanings. In learning vocabulary, there are words families and core meaning.
When the learners are learning a foreign language, such as English, they will learn word families and core meaning. According to Nunan (2003) word families are the basic words added by plural form, present tense, past tense, etc. for example: the word “fan” become “fan, fans” and “walk” become “walk, walks, walking, walked”. Core meaning is also important for the learners in learning English as a foreign language. It can reduce the number of items the learner has to cope with, provide access to a wide range of uses, and often contrasts with the first language of the learners.
2.1.1.2 What Is Vocabulary?
According to Young (2007), vocabulary is the study of the meaning of words; how words are used; root words, prefixes, and suffixes; and analogies. In learning vocabulary, the learners study the several different meanings of words and the part of speech. The learners also learn how to use the words. It means that the learners study the words in the context and apply what they learn in the form of writing. Words have their own roots and affixes. The learners will study root words and affixes that can support their vocabulary learning. They get more knowledge about original words and the other forms of the words. Analogy is comparing two pair words and choosing the pairs that go together. There is an example of learning vocabulary by analogy.
Book :Backpack
(A) clothing :dresser (B) china :silver (C) documents :portfolio (D) relic :museum (E) research : laboratory The answer is (C) documents : portfolio, because the type is object and logical
place . A book is carried in a backpack just as a document is carried in a
portfolio. The other words, such as: clothes are kept in a dresser like books are kept in a backpack, but they are not being toted around. Relics are kept in a museum (usually) but the museum is not the means of transporting the relics like a backpack transports the books. Some analogies will require the learners to decide what part of speech the words are because many words have more than one definition and will have more than one part of speech (Young, 2007).
2.1.1.3 Vocabulary is a Significant Element in Learning English as a Foreign
LanguageThere are three language elements that can support the learners’ skills in learning English. Those elements are grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation (Nunan, 2003). The language learners will need those elements in learning the language skills. Most of text books for senior high school focus on the structure of sentences in the language learned. Vocabulary is not taught sufficiently in the teaching learning process, but actually the case is vocabulary really support the language learners to learn skills of the target language (Burton, 1982: 99). Vocabulary can help the learners to improve their knowledge and abilities in learning a language since the more the learners master vocabulary items, the more they comprehend information from varied sources (McKeown, 1984). Nunan (2003: 135) states that learners see vocabulary as being a very important part of language learning and one of the difficulties in planning the vocabulary component of a course is making sure that it does not overwhelm other essential parts of the course. It means that vocabulary should be learned effectively in order not to ignore the other parts of English course, such as grammar and pronunciation.
2.1.1.4 Vocabulary in Senior High School
Students in senior high schools in Indonesia are the EFL learners. It will be better if the EFL students learn more about vocabulary since vocabulary is one of the English elements that can support the students’ ability in English. In senior high school, the students can learn vocabulary through the four skills they get in learning English. However, the learners will get more knowledge in vocabulary, especially the word meanings and forms. They emphasize the learning of vocabulary on the meaning and the forms of the words.
Senior high school students who learn English as a foreign language in Indonesia are included in beginner level. There are about six to eight hundred academic words which frequently occur in academic texts (Nation, 1990).
Vocabulary learning can be done while learning the four skills in English, but the emphasis is more on comprehension and productive skills. The students can learn vocabulary more from the various reading and listening passage. The more the students read or listen to the various passages, the more vocabulary they learn, especially the form and the meaning.
The meanings of the words can be explored more through the different level of readings (Lehr, 2001). The students will master the vocabulary more through reading and speaking skills, but it is possible to get vocabulary through the other skills, such as listening and writing (Nation, 1990). The understanding of word meanings and forms are very important for the learners in the beginning level of English as foreign language learning.
2.1.2 Understanding of Academic Words
Vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings. Vocabulary can be divided into two forms, they are: receptive and productive vocabulary. According to (Lehr, 2001), productive vocabulary is the words used when someone is speaking or writing, while receptive vocabulary is the words used when someone is listening or reading. Vocabulary can also be said as the kind of words that have to be mastered by the people who learn English as a foreign language.
Academic words refer to the words learned and operated in academic environments in English also need to be familiar with a special type of formal vocabulary that is common in academic discourse. Academic words are the words in the next level below the specialist words or it can be called as sub-technical words which occur in a number of disciplines (Jordan, 1997). There are three parts of academic vocabulary which are appropriate for teaching learning with research graduates. They are: (a). the research process: the vocabulary is verbs and nouns, (b). the vocabulary of analysis: high-frequency and two-word verbs, (c). the vocabulary of evaluation: adjectives and adverbs that occur in reviews, critiques, and some reports.
Coxhead says that academic words can be supportive elements in the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language as in (Schmitt and Schmitt, 2005). These words can be provided in texts which the students learn and they can support the productive skills of the students, such as: speaking and writing. If the students have good mastery on academic vocabulary, the students can have better result in their productive skills. For example, Coxhead compiled a corpus of three and a half million words written in academic discourse to help the students improve their mastery of academic vocabulary through 414 academic written texts (Schmitt and Schmitt, 2005). There are 570 academic words that occur frequently across a range of academic subjects. If the students learn these words in addition to a 2,000-word basic vocabulary, they will be able to understand more than 86 percent of words they encounter in academic reading (Schmitt and Schmitt, 2005).
In academic vocabulary learning, there is specialist vocabulary or technical words above the level of academic words. According to Nation, specialized word list can be used as a guide and focus for teachers in different activities and as a checklist and aim for students (Jordan, 1997). Specialist vocabulary or technical words may be of low frequency. Nation presents a decision chart for low-frequency words to assist students in deciding which words to learn (Jordan, 1997: 152). low-frequency words technical
(learn it as part of your subject) non technical containing known parts (learn it, the known parts will help you not containing known remember it) parts repeated
(learn it, it’s useful and the repetition will make not repeated it easy for you to remember it) (maybe ignored)
Figure 2.1 Chart for Low-frequency Words (Jordan,1997)2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning
According to Celce-Murcia (2001), vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, whether the language is first, second, or foreign. In language acquisition, vocabulary has important role for the deeper understanding of a language and it needs explicit vocabulary teaching learning. According to Carter in Celce-Murcia (2001), in explicit vocabulary learning, the learners learn the most important vocabulary list that is high-frequency words that occur about 80 percent in any written texts. The learners need to learn further vocabulary knowledge, such as low-frequency words which include academic words.