A. DEFINITION AND USAGE OF VOCABULARY
Vocabulary is commonly defined as "all the
words known and used by a particular person".This is at least eight definition of vocabulary
that I have quoted from various sources:
1. “Vocabulary
can be definied, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language” Penny (1991: 60)
2. “Stock
of words used by person, class of people, profession, etc” (Barnhart 2008:697)
3. “a list or collection of words or of
words and phrases usually alphabetically arranged and explained or defined :
lexicon” (Merriam-Webster)
4. “a : a sum or stock of words employed by a language,
group, individual, or work or in a field of knowledge b : a list
or collection of terms or codes available for use (as in an indexing system)” (Merriam-Webster)
6. According
to Manser (1995: 461), “Vocabulary is the total number of words in a language.”
7. While
Morales (2004-2005) stated that vocabulary is a listing of the words used in
some enterprise
8. Furthermore,
Ur in Hidayati (2007: 7) stated that “vocabularies are the words that are
taught in the foreign language.”
From the opinions above, we can conclude
that vocabulary is a listing of all words that are taught in the foreign
language. Vocabulary refers to the words we must understand to communicate
effectively.
Knowing a word, however, is not as
simple as simply being able to recognize or use it. There are several aspects
of word knowledge which are used to measure word knowledge. The first major
distinction that must be made when evaluating word knowledge is whether the
knowledge is productive (also called achieve) or receptive (also called
receive) and even within those opposing categories, there is often no clear
distinction. Words that are generally understood when heard or read or seen
constitute a person's receptive vocabulary. These words may range from well
known to barely known (see degree of knowledge below). A person's receptive
vocabulary is the larger of the two. For example, although a young child may
not yet be able to speak, write, or sign, he or she may be able to follow
simple commands and appear to understand a good portion of the language to
which he or she is exposed. In this case, the child's receptive vocabulary is
likely tens, if not hundreds of words but his or her active vocabulary is zero.
When that child learns to speak or sign, however, the child's active vocabulary
begins to increase. It is possible for the productive vocabulary to be larger
than the receptive vocabulary, for example in a second-language learner who has
learned words through study rather than exposure, and can produce them, but has
difficulty recognizing them in conversation.
A.
TYPES
OF VOCABULARY
Accordance
to Judy K. Montgomery’s book: The Bridge of Vocabulary: Evidence Based
Activities for Academic Success (NCS Pearson Inc, 2007)
There
are 4 types of vocabulary:
1. Listening
2. Speaking
3. Reading
4. Writing
The first two constitute spoken vocabulary and the
last two, written vocabulary. Children begin to acquire listening and speaking
vocabularies many years before they start to build reading and writing
vocabularies. Spoken language forms the basis for written language. Each type
has a different purpose and, luckily, vocabulary development in one type
facilitates growth in another.
1.
Listening
Vocabulary
The
words we hear and understand. Starting in the womb, fetuses can detect sounds
as early as 16 weeks. Furthermore, babies are listening during all their waking
hours – and we continue to learn new words this way all of our lives. By the
time we reach adulthood, most of us will recognize and understand close to
50,000 words. (Stahl, 1999; Tompkins, 2005) Children who are completely deaf do
not get exposed to a listening vocabulary. Instead, if they have signing models
at home or school, they will be exposed to a “visual” listening vocabulary. The
amount of words modeled is much less than a hearing child’s incidental
listening vocabulary.
2.
Speaking
Vocabulary
The
words we use when we speak. Our speaking vocabulary is relatively limited: Most
adults use a mere 5,000 to 10,000 words for all their conversations and
instructions. This number is much less than our listening vocabulary most
likely due to ease of use.
3.
Reading
Vocabulary
The
words we understand when we read text. We can read and understand many words
that we do not use in our speaking vocabulary.
This is the 2nd largest vocabulary IF you are a reader. If you are not a
reader, you can not “grow” your vocabulary.
4.
Writing
Vocabulary:
The words we can
retrieve when we write to express ourselves. We generally find it easier to
explain ourselves orally, using facial expression and intonation to help get
our ideas across, then to find just the right words to communicate the same
ideas in writing. Our writing vocabulary is strongly influenced by the words we
can spell. Think about it: When reading, a child with hearing will say all the
phonemes related to a word to sound it out. They will then guess a word they
know. This is dependent upon their lexicon.
B.
HOW
MANY WORD ARE NEEDED FOR VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE?
The
English Language has a very large vocabulary, estimated to between 450,000 and 750,000 words (Stahl, 1999; Tompkins, 2005). English has
evolved from contact with Anglo-Saxon
English, Spanish, French, Greek and Latin to name a few.
English, Spanish, French, Greek and Latin to name a few.
C. VOCABULARY INTERVENTION INVOLVES
THREE TIERS:
Tier 1 – basic words (happy, clean,
fast)
Tier 2 – high frequency words; mature language
users; multiple meanings; used in many settings (cluster, sympathy, estimate)
Tier 3 – low frequency, specific
to classes such as: science/math/social studies (lathe, chasm, warp) There are
approximately 7,000 words in Tier 2. Teach 400 per year or 10 per week.
Research shows this will have an impact. For students who are on intervention
or IEPs and need a reduced set of words and frequent repetition, 3 words a week
should be chosen and reinforced in reading and writing.
D.
EFFECTIVE
VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION SHOULD INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING THREE COMPONENT:
a. Definitional
and contextual information about a word - To know a word, students need to see
it in context and learn how its meaning relates to the words around it. An
approach that includes definitions and shows how words are used in various
contexts can generate a full and flexible knowledge of word meanings.
b. Multiple exposures to a word in different
contexts - A word that is encountered once has about a 10 percent chance of
being learned from context. When students see a word repeatedly, they gather
more and more information about it until they get an idea of what it means.
c. Encouragement of students’ active
participation in their word learning - Students remember words better when they
relate new meanings to knowledge they already have. Group discussion of word
meanings also helps students learn new vocabulary by having to actively
participate in their own learning.
E.
PRINCIPLES
OF VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Because
words are the writer's most important tools, vocabulary development must be an
important and ongoing part of classroom learning. Laflamme (1997) offers
several key principles that should guide the creation and implementation of a
comprehensive vocabulary development program.
1. Teachers must offer direct
instruction of techniques or procedures for developing a broad and varied
vocabulary. This instruction can be provided both formally through the language
arts program, and informally through various classroom interactions-such as
story time-with students.
2. New vocabulary terms must be connected to students' previous
knowledge and experiences. If students are unable to contextualize new words by
attaching them to words and concepts they already understand, the words will
likely have little meaning to them. And as Ediger (1999) points out, "if
meaning is lacking, the chances are pupils will memorize terms and concepts for
testing purposes only or largely"
3. Students should be able to
contextualize the vocabulary terms they have learned and use them in society
(Ediger, 1999, p. 7). In order for students to do this successfully, they must
first learn to become comfortable using these words in the classroom. Students
should be required or encouraged to incorporate new vocabulary terms into their
oral and written reports and presentations.
4. Practice and repetition are
important methods by which students can become familiar with new words and
under- stand how they may be used correctly (Laflamme, 1997). Students should
be frequently exposed to the same words through practice exercises, classroom
use, and testing.
5. Teachers should model and enthusiasm
for and curiosity about new words through their own behaviors and attitudes.
Teachers who are enthusiastic about vocabulary development will automatically
look for "teachable moments" throughout the day, pointing out
interesting words as they crop up in texts, stories, or conversation; asking
students to explore alternative ways of expressing concepts; and helping
identify colorful, descriptive ways of speaking and writing.
6. Schools, teachers, and students must
be committed to vocabulary development over the long term. The teaching of vocabulary
must be an interdisciplinary project, integrated into the curriculum at every
level.
F.
VOCABULARY MASTERY
Vocabulary mastery is important for language
learners in learning the whole language. Willis (2008:80) says that “When
students build vocabulary mastery, they can more effectively communicate their
ideas, knowledge and voice”. When learners try to develop their vocabulary
mastery, their thinking and understanding of speaking will improve. Then, they
can communicate effectively.
Based on Langford (1995:68), “…mastery is defined by
the ability to demonstrate sufficient knowledge of the vocabulary words to be
able to define and use them in sentences.” It means that mastery is the capability
in showing the comprehension of words, and words should be defined or used in
sentences.
Vocabulary and mastery are parts of set in learning
vocabulary, mastery is clearly shown by learners’ ability in expressing
vocabulary that known with understanding. It is also shown by their ability of
making sentences using vocabulary.
Vocabulary mastery is purposed of learning
vocabulary, because when learners mastery vocabulary they are able to use it in
daily life. As stated by Weltens, et al (1986:144) that “Vocabulary mastery
includes receptive and productive control of the spoken and written forms of words.”
It means that vocabulary mastery consists of receptive and productive control
of words’ shape in speaking and writing. Receptive and productive controls of
words are process in learning vocabulary.The students’ vocabularies are taken
by two ways: receptive and expressive. Based on Cain (2010:100)”
REFERENCES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary (accessed on June 7th,
2014)
Penny Ur. 1991. A Course in
Language Teaching: Practice and Theory. Cambridge University Press.
Barnhart, Cynthia A. 2008. The
Facts On File Student’s Dictionary of American English. Facts on File, Inc.
Judy K.
Montgomery. The Bridge of Vocabulary:
Evidence Based Activities for Academic Success (NCS Pearson Inc, 2007)
Jean mc
carten. Teaching vocabulary: lesson from
the corpus lesson for the classroom. (Cambridge University press:2007)
Laflamme, John G. (1997). "The Effect of Multiple Exposure
Vocabulary Method and the
Target
Reading/Writing Strategy on Test Scores." "Journal
of Adolescent & Adult
Literacy",
40(5), 372-384.
www.merriam-webster.com
(accessed on June 7th, 2014)
David Wilkins (in Thornbury 2002:13)
No comments:
Post a Comment