Vocabulary

Vocabulary is an important aspect in a language. To master a language, a learner should master the vocabulary of the language. In other words, the learner cannot use a language without having knowledge about vocabulary of that language. According to Lehr (2004: 1) vocabulary is knowledge of words and words meaning in both oral and print language and in productive and receptive forms which is used in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Next, Pribilova (2006: 13) says that vocabulary is the words are taught in the foreign language.

It can be concluded that vocabulary is words are useful in all skill in English, even in productive and receptive forms. It shows that vocabulary is the key to achieve all skills and it the basic unit in a language.

Young (2009) defines vocabulary in four ways: the meaning of words, how the words are used, root words, prefixes, suffixes and analogies. While Hornby (1974:959) defines vocabulary in three ways: total number of words (with rules for combining them) which make up a language, range of words known to a person and containing a list of words with definition or translation. Next, Nunan (2003:130-132) defines vocabulary in three ways: multiword unit, word families and core meanings.

 Thus, from that statement it can be said that vocabulary needs to be improved because it is the total number of words which makes up a language. So, without vocabulary, there is no language can be built.

  The Importance of Vocabulary

According to Wilkins in Thornbury (2004:13) states that very little can say with grammar but almost anything can say with words. According to Green (2009:1) there are some importances of vocabulary. First, Vocabulary has become a powerful insight to rising achievement. If the students’ vocabulary improves, directly their achievements will also rising. As Alexander (2009:1) says that vocabulary is really important because when children and adolescents improve their vocabulary, their academic and social confidence and competence will improve.

Second, the word is known help to organize the learning. It means that to organize the learning needed word because all language consists of words. According to Pribilova (2006:13) to find the right word to fit the meaning can be very frustrating, especially if the store of words is limited.

Third, the creation of labels (words) is a tool for increasing learning. With vocabulary, the students can increase their learning. As Thornbury (20043:13) says that there will be most improvement if learn more words and expression. It means that vocabulary is really important to be learned because it can improve students’ learning.

Fourth, Vocabulary instruction should be a vocal point of learning, especially for students impacted by poverty. According to Lehr (2004:1) there is an urgency to providing instructions that equips students with the skill and strategies necessary for lifelong vocabulary development. Thus, the teacher’s approach should be in vocabulary learning in order to enrich students’ achievement in vocabulary.

Fifth, vocabulary instruction is an excellent advance organizer but also must be taught in context. Brown (1994:135) says that part of the principle approach to learning and teaching involves an understanding of who the learners are. Thus, teacher cannot even begin to design techniques in the classroom without considering the contexts of learning.

Thus, vocabulary has the important role in learning language, it can increase all of skills in English; listening, speaking, reading and writing in order it can increase students’ achievement too.

  The Principles for Teaching Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a very important part of language learning and the difficulties in preparing technique in teaching vocabulary in order the students can master vocabulary quickly.

According to Nunan (2003: 135-141) there is a set of guiding principles that can be applied in a variety of teaching and learning situation:

1)      Focus on the most useful vocabulary first

The most useful vocabulary that every language learner needs whether they use the language for listening, speaking, reading or writing or whether they use the language in formal and informal situations is the most frequent 1000 word families of English.

2)      Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way

The teachers need to clearly distinguish the way they treat high frequency words from the way they treat low frequency words.

3)      Give attention to the high frequency words across the four strands of a course

High frequency vocabulary should get deliberate attention through teaching and study and should be met and used in communicating messages in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

4)      Encourage learners to reflect on and take responsibility for learning

The learners need to realize that they must be responsible for their own learning

From some principles above, it can be concluded that to make the students master in vocabulary learning, the teacher should use some principles in teaching vocabulary for the students.

  Teaching Vocabulary in Elementary School

According to McCarten (2007:20) there are some key principles that can be followed by the teacher to help young learners learn vocabulary more effectively. The first is focus on vocabulary. It means that the teacher gives vocabulary a high profile in the syllabus and the classroom so that students can see its importance and understand that learning a language is not just about learning grammar. An important vocabulary acquisition which calls noticing is seeing a word as something to be learned. In this view, know­ing what to learn is a necessary prerequisite to learning. Teachers can help learners get into the habit of noticing by making clear in classroom instruction and homework assignments.

The second is offer variety. It means that the teacher can use different ways to present vocabulary including pictures and sound. Practice activities should vary and engage the students. Offering variety also means catering to different learning styles. For example catering to students who prefer to learn either by seeing, hearing, or doing something.

The third is repeat and recycle. Learning vocabulary is largely about remembering, and students generally need to see, say, and write newly learned words many times before they can be said to have learned them. Most of experts agree that repetition is an important aid to learning and that having to actively recall or retrieve a word is a more effective way of learning than simple exposure or just seeing a word over and over.

The fourth is providing opportunities to organize vocabulary. Organizing vocabulary in meaningful ways makes it easier to learn. At this point, a useful step is to take time to organize the new vocabu­lary in some way that allows students to notice and bring together the target words as the basis for a communicative activity or to have a clear record for review purposes, or both.

The fifth is making vocabulary learning personal. Related to this point, materials should provide opportunities for students to use the vocabulary meaningfully, to say and write true things about them­selves and their lives.

The sixth is do not over do it. It means that the teacher should consider to the important point, which is not to overload students. There are limits to how much vocabulary anyone can absorb for productive use in one lesson and this will be affected by how difficult the words are and how much students are required to know about them.

The seventh is use strategic or technique vocabulary in class. Since the classroom may be the main or only place that students hear or use English, it is important to include in lessons the strategic or technique vocabulary.

By using some key principles above, the teacher can help students be bet­ter learners and acquire good learning habits by setting structured learning tasks that can be done out of class.