Improving the Students Vocabulary Mastery by Maximizing the Use of Different Types of Dictionary Among Second Year Students

at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta In the Academic Year 2008/2009

A proposal

By: Desiana Ratnaningtyas (05202244174)

ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS STATE UNIVERSITY OF YOGYAKARTA 2009
A. Topic Improving the Students Vocabulary Mastery by Maximizing the Use of Different Types of Dictionary among Second Year Students at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta in the Academic Year 2008/2009 B. Background of the Problem English as a second language (ESL) refers to teaching English to a person whos native or primary language is one other than English. Teaching English as a second language to the students in Indonesia still improve and have progress actually. English has been taught from the level pre-school until university degree as a foreign language. It aims to face the globalization era where English become the main language to communicate each other. As a foreign language, most of the students have difficulties to study English. It is caused by many problems, such as the vocabulary mastery. Language is one of the means of communication where people express their feeling, ideas, opinions, and desires. Language proficiency is one of the important things in Globalization era. Comprehension a language means that we study about language skills. Achieving the language proficiency need the mastery of integrated skills. English has four skills, there are speaking, listening, reading, and writing and these skill has the core component that is vocabulary. The first thing when we understand the sentence by looking the vocabulary. The English language is rich in its enormous range of words, having been for centuries an importer of words from other languages; words which it then used as if they were native (Burton, 1982: 98).The students who learn English usually feel difficult when they will understand about vocabulary.

Most of them usually find the meaning of vocabulary by using the limited bilingual dictionary. They always find the meaning but the meaning usually does not match with the context. It is happened because the teacher did not use the different types of dictionary. The teachers usually use only one up to two dictionaries. One thing, the teachers did not give the direction how the right ways to use dictionaries. We know, in the dictionary, there is many abbreviations and term that the students did not know it before. It makes the obstacles to master English vocabulary. Knowing a lot of words in a foreign language is important. The more words the students know, the better for your chance of understanding or making yourself understood (Edge, 1993:27). Based on this condition, the role of the teacher is very important. The teacher should emphasize the students to do more practice find the meaning of words in the dictionaries. They should give them more practice in variety way. They give some activities that can improve the vocabulary mastery, such as guessing word meanings from the context clues. If the students have been given more practices, they will feel as usual when they meet the new vocabulary in a context. C. Identification and Limitation of the Problem 1. Identification of the Problem The identified problem is improving the students vocabulary mastery through different types of dictionary. Vocabulary master is very important thing for the students because it will support the students ability to master the four language skill; reading, speaking, listening, and speaking. The problem that commonly appears in teaching in teaching vocabulary is that the students easily forget the new words that they have just learned, besides that teachers usually just give questions and answer drill or other technique but she is not using mediator teaching aids, she just uses a text to teach at school by reading the new words and except the students to memorize the words as soon as possible. The teachers usually use less media or variety when they teach their students. Almost, they still use the method grammar translation method when they will

build the students vocabulary. 2. Limitation of the Problem

This study does not discuss and solve all the problems mentioned above but it will focus on improving students vocabulary mastery by maximizing the use of different types of dictionary. The researcher will use monolingual dictionaries. The researcher things that it can build more new vocabulary when the students find the meaning through this dictionary.

D. Formulation of the Problem How are planning, implementation, and evaluation conducted in the effort to improve students vocabulary mastery by maximizing the use of different types of dictionary (bilingual and monolingual dictionary) since this school provides instruments related to this kind of media. E. Objective of the Research The objective of the research is to describe the planning, implementation, and evaluation in improving students motivation by maximizing the use of different types of dictionary in the first year immersion class of SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta. F. Significance of the Research 1. For the English teacher at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta, this research can be used as guidance to teach English especially in improving the students vocabulary mastery. 2. For the Headmaster of SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta, if this research is successful, the treatment can be used in the regular classes to improve the teaching learning process at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta. 3. For the other researchers, the result can be an input to conduct a further research. G. Review of Theory and Related Research Study 1. Review of Theory

a. Definition of Vocabulary Hornby (1995:461) define vocabulary as the total number of words in language. Burton (1982:98) states that vocabulary is the range of language of particular person. Jackson and Amvela ( 2000:11) says that the terms vocabulary, lexis, and lexicon are synonymous. Sinaga and Chris (2001) states vocabulary is about (pronunciation, spelling), grammar (verb; transitive/intransitive, regular, stative/dynamics, gerund/infinitive, accompanying/prepositions; and noun: words). http:www.bpkpenabur.or.id/kps-jkt/berita/200104/vocabularypuisi.pdf. Hodges, Richards (1984) (1984:1) states that vocabulary or lexicon of language encompasses the stock of that language which is as disposal of a speaker or writer. http://www.esp-world.info/ArticlesI /vocabulary.html The vocabulary of language always changes and grows. As life become more complex, people devise or borrow new words to describe mans activities. No one knows exact numbers of words in the English vocabulary today. From the interpretation above, we can conclude that vocabulary is the total number of word in language which make up the language and have a function in communication and acquisition. b. Vocabulary Mastery Mastery means complete control or complete knowledge (hornby, 1974: 523). This term has the same meaning as achievement that is how much a student has learned with reference to a particular course of study. In language learning, vocabulary take place in building the countable, regular/irregular, collocation, connotation, appropriateness, and word formation (affixes, roots and compound

language proficiency because vocabulary is core component in language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well the students speak, listen, write, and write. The objective of the vocabulary mastery is to make the students have a good language proficiency in the language skills. It depends on the quality and quantity of the vocabulary being mastered. The richer the vocabulary that can be mastered by the students, they will get the better skill that can be attained in using language. According to Richard, Jack C, without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, the learners often achieve less than their potential and may be discouraged from making use of language learning opportunities around them such as listening to the radio, listening to native speakers, using the language in different context, reading, or watching television. A large vocabulary helps the learners to express their ideas precisely, vividly, and without repeating yourself in composition (Burton, 1982: 98). The students can not do well in comprehension without large vocabulary, for the passages and questions involve a range of words much wider than that of daily conversation. All the learners especially in the International standard school other subjects will also benefit if their vocabulary is large. c. Dictionaries According to Burton (1982: 101), there are three kinds of dictionaries: 1) Desk dictionaries Desk dictionaries also called one-volume and short dictionaries. This dictionary is admirably suited to the students present need. It can bring it everywhere because the shape usually is simple and in the small size. It usually contains limited meaning of a word.

2) Library dictionaries This dictionary can be use as multi-volume works of reference because it provides exhaustive information about wordstheir meaning, their derivations, (etymologies), their use in the past and their use nowadays. The most famous is the Oxford English Dictionary the world-renowned O.E.D. 3) Specialist dictionaries It devoted to the vocabulary of various specialized subjects. There are dictionaries of science, history, psychology, economics, geography, sports and pastime, slang, clichs, proverbs, quotations, etc. Jackson and Amvela (2000:161) classified the dictionaries based the purpose and size. The number of words that a dictionary contains will depend on its size and purpose. There are three major categories of English dictionary according to purpose: 1) General-purpose dictionaries It aimed at native speakers of the language. General-purpose dictionaries come in three main sizes: a. Desk size It is equivalent to college dictionary in USA, e.g. Collins English Dictionary (CED), Longman Dictionary of the English Language (LDEL), the New Oxford dictionary of English. b. Concise size E.g. the Concise Oxford Dictionary (COD), Collins Concise English Dictionary, Longman concise English Dictionary. c. Pocket size E.g. the Pocket Oxford Dictionary, etc. 2) Childrens dictionaries It aimed at those acquiring English as their first language or through English-medium education. Childrens dictionaries come in various sizes,

a. The large format picture book dictionaries for infant school children to school dictionaries b. Dictionaries for teenager that begin to resemble adult dictionaries. 3) Learners dictionaries, aimed at those learning English as a second or foreign language, usually in adolescence or adulthood. It often seen as a progression from bilingual dictionaries in the language learning process and they are therefore usually aimed at learners either at intermediate or at the advanced stage of language learning. Different in size is reflected partly in difference format and page size, but more importantly from a lexical perspective, difference of vocabulary selection and information about words. As lexical records of the language, they must contain the everyday words, what the original. The lexicographer (dictionary-maker or compiler) is cramming a great deal of information into one book. He has to use abbreviations and a fairly complicated and rigidly observed system of code signal, such as different type faces and brackets of various kinds. If we will learn the vocabulary from a dictionary, we must familiarize ourselves with the lexicographers abbreviations, his symbol, his pronunciation signs (Burton, 1982: 101). a. The word is pronounced with the stress on the first syllable (di.ctionary). b. It is a noun (n). c. It is definition follows, and we have learn from it that the words in dictionary are usually (usu.) arranged in alphabetical

order. We also learn that a dictionary is either general (the words of language) or specialized (of some special subject, author,&c). d. A dictionary is a wordbook or lexicon. e. Examples of wordbooks or lexicon given : French-English Dictionary, containing French words with English explanation; and the &c tells us that there are similar dictionaries of other languages; for example, a GermanSpanish dictionary would contain German words with Spanish explanation. f. Examples of specialist dictionaries are: a dictionary of architecture, a dictionary of a Bible, a Shakespeare dictionary, etc. g. We also learn that the word can be used figuratively. We can refer to somebody as a walking dictionary or a living dictionary, meaning that he is well informed. We can refer to somebodys use of English as dictionary English or to his writing as dictionary style, meaning that his way of talking or writing is over-correct or pedantic. h. Finally, we learn that the word is derived from a medieval Latin word dictionarium. For further information about its derivation we are referred to the preceding word in the dictionary (prec.,). That word is diction which, the

dictionary tells us, came into English from the Latin word diction, which was itself derived from dicere, meaning say. Billingualized dictionaries may have some advantages over traditional bilingual or monolingual dictionaries. (Hunt & Beglar, 2002: 263). Bilingualized dictionaries essentially do the job of both a bilingual and monolingual dictionary. Whereas bilingual dictionaries usually provide just an L1 synonyms, billingualized dictionaries include L2 definitions, L2 sentence examples, as well as L1 synonyms. Billingulized dictionaries were found to result in better comprehension of new words than either bilingual or monolingual dictionaries (Laufer & Harder, 1997). A further advantage is that they can be used by all level or learners. Advanced students can concentrate on the English part of the entry, and beginners can use the translation. So training in the use of dictionaries is essential. In most classroom, very little time is provided for training in dictionary use (graves, 1987;Summers, 1988). Besides, learning symbols and what information a dictionary can and cannot offer; learners may need extra practice for words with many entries. Furthermore, learners need to be taught to use all the information in an entry before making conclusions about the meaning of word (Laufer & Hader, 1997). The learners attention should also be directed toward the value of good sentence examples which provide collocational, grammatical, and pragmatic information about word. Finally, teacher should emphasize the importance of checking a words original context carefully and comparing this to entry chosen because context determines which sense of a word is being used. 2. Related Research Study a. Billingual dictionaries have been found to result in vocabulary learning (Knight,1994; Luppescu & day, 1993)

b. Luppescu and Days (1993) study on Japanese students reports that bilingual dictionaries did result in vocabulary learning, unless the unfamiliar word had numerous entries, in which case the dictionaries may have confused learners. c. The quality of learning depends on the quality of the use previously unknown vocabulary during the communicative task (Joe, 1995). The more the vocabulary is observed or used in the contexts which differ from its occurrence in the written input, the better it is learned. d. The written input to a communicative task has a major effect on what vocabulary is used and negotiated during the task. Newton (1995) found that all of the vocabulary negotiated in the ranking and problem-solving tasks he investigated was in the written task sheet handed out to the learners. e. Nagy, Herman, and Anderson (1985) concluded that (for native speaker of English) learning vocabulary from context is gradual process, estimating that, given a single exposure to an unfamiliar word, there was about a 10% chance of learning its meaning from contest. H. Research Method In the previous part, we have discussed this research study that aims at improving students vocabulary mastery, some theories, some researches in the same topics and the conceptual framework. This part describes the methods that were used in conducting this research study. 1. Kinds of Research This research study is action research. It is action research because it tries to find the truth of actual actions in implementing the use of different types of dictionary maximally by showing the cause-effect relationships between the action and the results which would be achieved directly.

2. The Setting of the Research This research study will be done in the English lesson in the first year of immersion class at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta. SMA Negeri 3 is located on Jalan Yos Sudarso Yogyakarta. The number of this class is 25 students. The reason why the researcher used this school as the setting of the research is because this school is one of the International standard schools in Yogyakarta. The researcher has been there to do interview with the headmaster and have permission to do this research. That is why the researcher and the English teacher there will do the collaborative action research. 3. Place and Time of the Research This research study will be conducted at SMA Negeri 3 Yogyakarta in the academic years 2009/2010. The English lesson is three times a week and last 2 X 45 minutes for each meeting. 4. The Subjects of the Research The subjects of this study will be the students of the second years. The researcher, the teacher, and the headmaster will work cooperatively as a team in conducting this research. 5. The Instrument of The Research The main instruments will the researcher herself because she will undertake the observation, planning, implementation, evaluation, and reflection and made the report. Besides, the researcher will use observation, in-depth interviews students feedback, and some photographs as the other instruments to collect the data. 6. The Data Collection

In gaining the data the researcher will collect the opinions, suggestions, comments, and expectations from the research members. The research members are the researcher, the English teacher, the headmaster, and the students who joined into this class. 7. Research Procedure a. Determining the thematic-concern reconnaissance The researcher will find out the information about teaching-learning process by doing observation and conduct in-depth interviews to the students and the English teachers. The researcher will obtain the information by having a discussion with the headmaster and English teacher and will do the observation in the classroom. After getting information, the researcher and the collaborator will decide the problems and they will solve based on the urgency and feasibility. b. Planning After deciding the thematic problems, the researcher will plan some actions. The plan action is improving students vocabulary mastery by maximizing the use of different types of dictionary. c. Implementation After planning the actions, the English teacher and the researcher will implement the actions in the teaching learning process. The actions will implement in three cycles. During the implementation of the actions the researcher and the English teacher will observe and record the processes. d. Reflection Based on the observation on the process of implementation, the involved member will evaluate the results of implementation. The reflection will be done after each cycle of action implementation. It will be done by discussing the success of the actions as well as problems happening in the classroom during the actions of implementation.

8. Data Analysis a. Data analysis technique The data are qualitative in nature. The analysis mostly deals with language (words) than with numbers. The steps of the data analysis are collecting the data, comparing the data, building interpretation, reporting the outcomes, and presenting the data. The data are presented in the form of field notes, interview transcripts, students feedback forms and photographs. b. Data Validity The validity of the data was established by fulfilling the democratic, outcome, process, catalytic, and dialogic validity. Burns (1999: 161-163) has proposed some criteria to fulfill the validity of the research as follows: 1) Democratic validity which is concerned to the extend in which the research is truly collaborative. The researcher will fulfill the democratic validity by asking the English teacher to be her collaborator in conducting this research. 2) Outcome validity which is related to the notion of actions leading to outcomes those are successful within research context. The researcher will fulfill the outcome validity by providing the genuine data. 3) Process validity which raises questions about the process of conducting the research. The researcher will fulfill the process validity by planning, implementing, and revising the actions. 4) Catalytic validity which allows participants to depend their understanding of the research by monitoring other participants. The researcher will fulfill the catalytic validity by interviewing the collaborator and

the students and asking the students to give their feedback. 5) Dialogic validity which is related to the notion that the research is conducted through reflective dialogue with critical friends or other practitioner researchers. The researcher will fulfill the dialogic validity by having discussions with the firs and second consultant. To obtain the trustworthiness, Burn (1999:163) suggests four triangulation techniques. 1) Time triangulation: data are collected at one point in time or over a period of time to get a sense of what factors are involved in change processes. 2) Space triangulation: Data are collected across different subgroups of people to avoid the limitation of studies conducted within one group. 3) Investigator triangulation: More than one observer is used in the same research setting to avoid observer bias and provides checks on reliability of the observations. 4) Theoretical triangulation: Data are analyzed from more than one perspective. To assess the reliability of the data, the researcher will involve more than one source in gathering the data. The researcher will involved the research team, the English teacher and the students who are in the second years. The researcher will refer to many theories in conducting this research study.

I. Schedule of the Research

This research will conduct from April until September 2009

No

Activities April May June

Month July August September

1 2 3 4 5

Planning Research Data collection Analysis data Arrangement of the data

J. References
Burton, S. H. 1982. Mastering English Language. Macmillan Press Ltd. Edge, Julian. 1993. Essentials of English Language Teaching. New York: Longman Publishing Hodges, Richard E. (1984). http://www.esp-world.info/Articles1/vocabulary.html Jackson, Howard and Amvela, Etienne Z. Words, Meaning and Vocabulary. 2000. London: Cassell Richards, Jack C, et all. 2002. Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press.