i
WORD FREQUENCY OF THE VOCABULARY IN
COMPUTER GAMES
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Irene Rosa Nindyaputri
112013010
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
SALATIGA
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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 except where due reference is made in the text.
Copyright@ 2017. Irene Rosa Nindyaputri and Prof. Dr. Gusti Astika, M.A.
All rights 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 Arts, Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana, Salatiga.
vii TABLE OF CONTENTS
COVER PAGE... i
PERNYATAANTIDAK PLAGIAT...ii
PERNYATAAN PERSETUJUAN AKSES... iii
APPROVAL PAGE ...iv
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT ... v
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION...vi
TABLE OF CONTENT ... vii
ABSTRACT... 1
I. INTRODUCTION... 1
II. LITERATURE REVIEW ... 3
The importance of learning vocabulary in speaking... 3
The importance of learning vocabulary in reading... 3
The importance of understanding vocabulary in games... 4
Games as media for vocabulary learning...5
Vocabulary Profile...7
III. THE STUDY...8
Method of the Study...8
Samples...9
Data Collection Instrument... 10
Data Collection Procedures... 10
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IV. Findings and Discussions...11
1. Overall Result of Vocabulary Profile...12
2. Negative profile in games...13
A. Negative Vocabulary for K1...14
B. Negative Vocabulary for K2...15
C. Negative Vocabulary for K-3...15
D. Negative Vocabulary for K-4 (AWL)...16
3. Comparison of Vocabulary in Game 1 to Game 5...17
a. Comparison of Game 1 vs Game 2...18
b. Comparison of Game (1+2) vs Game 3...19
c. Comparison of Game (1+2+3) vs Game 4...20
d. Comparison of Game (1+2+3+4) vs Game 5...21
V.CONCLUSION...22
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ... 24
REFERENCES... 25
APPENDICES ... 28
Appendix A ... 28
Appendix B ... 29
Appendix C ... 30
Appendix D ... ... 31
Appendix E ... 32
Appendix F ... 33
Appendix G ... 34
1
WORD FREQUENCY OF THE VOCABULARY IN COMPUTER
GAMES
Irene Rosa Nindyaputri
Abstract
Vocabulary is an important element to learn a language, especially English. Students in Indonesia still have problems in vocabulary lesson because of the learning habit in classroom. Teachers can use games to help the students interested in learning vocabulary. By learning through games, students can improve their vocabulary and interest in learning vocabulary. The samples of this study were Around the World in 80 Days, Azkend 2: The World Beneath, The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship, The Rise of Atlantis, and Farm Frenzy. The vocabulary in the games were analyzed using The Compleat Lexical Tutor, v.4 withthe purpose to classify the vocabulary into its frequency groups. The result showed that there were 76.83% of K1, 6.91% of K2, 2.19% of AWL, and 10.59% of Off-List Words. In addition to word frequency, this study also explored the negative vocabulary and comparison of the vocabulary in the games to determine unique words in each game being compared.
Keywords: vocabulary, vocabulary profile, games
Introduction
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vocabulary with certain vocabulary learning method through games. Ang and Zaphiris (2008) stated that not only to entertain, games can be used to facilitate language learning.
Vocabulary has an important role in learning a foreign language. According to Nation (2001), learners should be able to use vocabulary learning strategies. In this case, by learning through games, learners can recognize some of the vocabularies of the games that they play. According to Rixon (1981), children change their play into games in the middle childhood. Children will play games that are more organized and planned which include a variation of rules and a specific objective. While playing games they will find and understand vocabulary in order to complete the task.
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study may help the teacher to teach high-frequency vocabulary based on the word in computer games. Learners can learn most frequently used words in computer games.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The importance of learning vocabulary in speaking
Vocabulary is the core to learn any language. Vocabulary is an important element to learn a language, especially English. One of the important purpose of learning vocabulary is to communicate with each other. According to Wilkins (1972), even though the grammar is wrong something very little still can be conveyed but without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed. The grammar may not be the most important thing in learning languages. Vocabulary is important to convey meanings or messages. If the learner uses wrong vocabulary others may get a wrong meaning. That is why vocabulary is important to learn in the beginning of learning languages. Beginners can learn vocabulary through games as learning strategy.
The importance of learning vocabulary in reading
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learners need to know should be those that the learner will find useful. According to Hutton (2008) vocabulary consists of the words that we understand when we hear or read them (receptive vocabulary) and words we speak or write (expressive vocabulary). Hutton also asserts that not all words have equal importance in language instruction. Krashen (1989) state that reading will result in vocabulary acquisition to second language learning. Learners could learn vocabulary indirectly while reading.
The importance of understanding vocabulary in games
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in playing the game and find out meanings through an online dictionary on the internet or ask their friends.
Games as media for vocabulary learning
Games can be interpreted as the activity that is fun and enjoyable. Games are activities that involve not only individual but also group. ElShamy (2001) states that game is a "Competitive activity played according to rules within a given context, where players meet a challenge" to achieve an objective and win (p. 15). In the group, learners have to be cooperative and compete to be the first. Despite that, Prensky (2001, p. 68) states that games are the enjoyable feature in playing. In learning the learners also can have fun in playing games.
Games have many advantages as a media for vocabulary learning. According to Tavil and İsisag (2009), games have advantages and effectiveness in learning vocabulary in various ways. Learners can learn vocabulary in many ways through games. According to Chuang and Chen (2007) using games in computers, provides more effective learning than traditional methods because learning using games can increase the motivation of learners, develop positive attitudes in students, and increase the retention process.
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the learning. Through games, students can also communicate with others. It is stated by Schwienhorst (2002), "games provide realistic sociocultural context for language learning". It means that from games learners can communicate with other players, can be the player from another country. The purpose is to cooperate to win the games. In this way, the learners can improve their language learning. Games can also be used to motivate and reinforce the students to learn a language. "The components of gameplay are ideal for creating effective digital learning environments" (Rankin et al, 2006, p.1). According to Rankin et al (2006), learners will be motivated and active to solve the goals/tasks in the game that they play. They become active in learning and they will try to solve problems based on what they have already known.
7 Vocabulary Profile
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Nation (1995), Lexical Frequency Profile or known as Vocabulary profile is a tool of assessing whether a particular text is suitable for use with learners at a specified level of proficiency. In learning vocabulary, it will help teachers to select words appropriate to students’ level of proficiency. In relation to games, Prensky (2001) stated that video games can be potential as motivation for teenagers if the games are integrated with learning activities. Video games can enhance learners’ motivation in learning process
as a tool.
THE STUDY
Method of the Study
9 Samples
10 Data Collection Instrument
The instrument for the study was a computer program named Lextutor and can be accessed at www.lextutor.ca/vp. It was created by Tom Cobb in 1999. Lextutor.ca was used to analyze word frequency of the vocabulary in computer games by calculating the text in four classifications.
Data Collection Procedures
The First step was to re-type all the words (spoken and written) appeared in each game in Microsoft Office Word while playing the game. One file had all of the words in the games that had been re-typed in Microsoft Office Word. The second step was to run Vocabulary Profiler and chose “vocabulary profile”. Then, the next step was to copy all the words in the games into the box provided and clicked SUBMIT_window button in order to the result.
Data Analysis
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compare game 1 vs game 2, game (1+2) vs game 3, game (1+2+3) vs game 4, and game (1+2+3+4) vs game 5. The purpose is to make teachers know shared and new words.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
This section presents the result of the analysis from games entitled ‘Around the
World in 80 Days, the World Beneath, The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost
Ship, The Rise of Atlantis, and Farm Frenzy’. There were 9,440 words from all games
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Table 1. The overall vocabulary profile in 5 games
1. Overall Result of Vocabulary Profile
The first row in Table 1 shows three terms; lemma, type, and token. Lemma is head words, for example: the head word of gets and getting is get. While get, gets, and
Freq. Level Lemmas (%) Types (%) Tokens (%) Cumul. token %
NGSL_1 (K1)
[1000 lemmas]) 601 (54.69) 810 (41.39) 7253 (76.83) 76.83
NGSL_2 (K2)
[1000 lemmas] 278 (25.30) 320 (16.35) 652 (6.91) 83.74
NGSL_3 (K3)
[801 lemmas] 149 (13.56) 171 (8.74) 328 (3.47) 87.21
NAWL (AWL)
[963 lemmas] 71 (6.46) 89 (4.55) 207 (2.19) 89.40
Off-List: ?? 569 (29.08) 1000 (10.59) 99.99
Total (unrounded)
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getting are considered as the same type. Token is words in text; the total number of the text. For example; if in text there are black [4], blue [4], board [9], the number of token is 17.
This section shows the overall result from all words in 5 games. As seen in table 1, there are lemmas, types, tokens, and cumulative token. In percentage of all words in 5 games, 76.83% of the words were K1 and 6. 91% of the words were K2. The percentage of both K1 and K2 were 83.74%, which was below the suggested amount of known words for uninterrupted comprehension which should be at least 95%. It means that this 5 games are difficult for the students in this study. In addition, the percentage of K1, K2, K3, and AWL were only 89.40%, with 2.19% of tokens from AWL. Furthermore, 207 of academic words may present difficulties to the students in this study. Then, the students may need to know off list words as many as 1000 words (10.59%).
2. Negative profile in games
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Table 2. Negative Vocabulary for K1, K2, K3, and AWL
Input Negative Vocabulary Total lemmas
K1 601
A. Negative Vocabulary for K-1
This section shows all the word lemmas (=head words) from the K-1 level that were not found in all of 5 games.
The percentage refers to number of lemmas, not tokens. From table 2 above, there were 54.69% that were found in all of 5 games. It means that there were 45.31% of words lemmas that were not found in all of 5 games based on the words listed in New General Service List (NGSL).
The following table shows some word lemmas that were not found in 5 games. The complete list has been put in Appendix A. Table 3. Some word lemmas of negative vocabulary profile of K1 in 5 games
ACCESS ACCOUNT ACHIEVE ADDITION ADDRESS
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CAMPAIGN CARD CARE CAREER CELL
DAILY DANCE DATA DAUGHTER DEAL
EASILY ECONOMIC ECONOMY EDUCATION EITHER
FACILITY FAIL FAMILY FATHER FAVORITE
B. Negative Vocabulary for K2
This section shows all the word lemmas (=head words) from the k-2 level that are not found in all of 5 games.
The percentage refers to number of lemmas in 5 games and do not refer to tokens. As can be seen from the summary above, 25.30% of lemmas of K2 were found in all of 5 games. It means that 74.70% word lemmas of K2 were not found in all of 5 games based on the words listed in New General Service List (NGSL).
The following table shows some lemmas that were not involved in all of 5 games. The complete list has been put in Appendix B.
Table 4. Some word lemmas of negative vocabulary profile of K2 in 5 games
ABROAD ABSENCE ABUSE ACADEMIC ACCIDENT
BACKGROUND BAN BAND BASICALLY BATTLE
CALCULATE CAMP CANCER CAPABLE CAPACITY
DAD DEAR DEBT DECADE DECLARE
EAST EDUCATE EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVE EFFECTIVELY
FACTORY FAIR FAIRLY FAITH FAMILIAR
C. Negative Vocabulary for K-3
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Based on table 2 above, it can be seen that 13.56% of word lemmas were found in all of 5 games. It means that 86.44% of word lemmas were not found in all of 5 games based on the words listed in New General Service List (NGSL). The following table shows some word lemmas that were not involved in all of 5 games. The complete list has been put in Appendix C.
Table 5. Some word lemmas of negative vocabulary profile of K3 in 5 games
ABORTION ABSOLUTE ABSTRACT ACCEPTABLE ACQUISITION
BADLY BARELY BARRIER BATH BEER
CABLE CAKE CANCEL CAP CAPABILITY
DAMN DARE DATABASE DEALER DEEPLY
EASE EASTERN EDIT EDITION EFFICIENCY
FADE FAITHFULLY FALSE FANCY FASCINATE
D. Negative Vocabulary for K-4 (AWL)
This section shows all the word lemmas (=head words) from the k-4 level that are not found in the input text.
The analysis from table 2 shows that there were 6.46% of word lemmas that were found in all of 5 games. It means that there were 93.54% of word lemmas not found in all of 5 games based on the words listed in New General Service List (NGSL).
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Table 6. Some word lemmas of negative vocabulary profile of K4 in 5 games
ABDOMINAL ABSORB ABSORPTION ACCELERATE ACCELERATION
BACKWARD BACTERIA BACTERIAL BANG BARGAIN
CALCIUM CALCULATOR CALCULUS CAMPUS CANDIDATE
DEADLINE DECAY DECEIVE DEFECT DEFICIENCY
ECOLOGICAL ECOLOGY ECONOMICALLY ECONOMIST EFFECTIVENESS
FABRIC FACET FACILITATE FACTORIAL FACULTY
Comparison of Vocabulary in Game 1 to Game 5
18 a. Comparison of Game 1 vs Game 2
Figure 1. Shared and unique words in game 1 and game 2
The first comparison was game 1 that had 415 words and game 2 that had 580 words. The chart shows 155 unique words in game 1. 260 words in game 1 and game 2 were shared. Thus, the unique words that were found in game 2 were 320 words. Before learning 320 new words from game 2, learners should know 415 word in game 1. Table 7 shows some examples of the unique words. The complete list has been put in Appendix E.
Table 7. Some unique words in game 2
All Also Ancient Apart Arrive
Ball Base Believe Below Binoculars
Carve Casual Chamber Charge Civilise
Game 1
155
Game 2
19 b. Comparison of Game (1+2) vs Game 3
Figure 2. Shared and unique words in game (1+2) and game 3
The second comparison was between game (1 + 2) with a total of 735 words and game 3 for 707 words. From this data, 462 unique words were found in game 1 + 2. The shared words in game 1 + 2 vs game 3 were 273 words. Thus, it can be concluded that unique words in game 3 were 434 words. Students should learn 434 unique words for game 3 after they learned 735 words in game 1 + 2. Table 8 shows some examples of the unique words. The complete list has been put in Appendix F.
Table 8. Some unique words in game 3
Afraid Again Alien Article
Bad Belong Beyond Carry
Cartridge Catapult Check Coast
Game 1+2
462
Game 3
20 c. Comparison of Game (1+2+3) vs Game 4
Figure 3. Shared and unique words in game (1+2+3) and game 4
The third comparison was game (1 + 2 + 3) with a total of 1169 words vs game 4 for 377 words. Based on the chart above, unique words of game 1 + 2 + 3 were 975 words. Meanwhile, 194 words of game (1 + 2 + 3) and game 4 were found similar. Therefore, the unique words of game 4 were 183. Students should know 1169 words that were found in game (1 + 2 + 3) before learning 183 new words in game 4. Table 9 shows some examples of the unique words. The complete list has been put in Appendix G.
Table 9. Some unique words in game 4
Along Babylonia Babylonian Clock
Else Euphrates Extension Extra
Famous Greece Include Influence
Game 1+2+3
975
Game 4
21 d. Comparison of Game (1+2+3+4) vs Game 5
Figure 4. Shared and unique words in game (1+2+3+4) and game 5
The last comparison was game (1+2+3+4) with the total of 1352 words vs game 5 with 565 words. From the data above, 1050 unique words were found in game (1+2+3+4). The shared words of game (1+2+3+4) and game 5 were 302 words. The calculation of unique or new words in game 5 was 263 words. Students should know 1352 words from game (1+2+3+4) before learning 263 new words in game 5. Table 10 shows some examples of the unique words. The complete list has been put in Appendix H.
Table 10. Some unique words in game 5
Advantage Andy Avoid Beware
Boom Bounce Bubbles Buffet
Busy Chomp Clam Coat
Game (1+2+3+4)
1050
Game 5
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CONCLUSION
The aims of this study was to show the result of vocabulary profile in 5 games; The titles of the games were Around the World in 80 Days, Azkend 2: The World Beneath, The Treasures of Mystery Island: The Ghost Ship, The Rise of Atlantis, and Farm Frenzy. Second, the aims of this study was to find list of vocabulary that are not covered in 5 games. Third, find unique words that are not appeared in the first game.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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Rixon, S. (1981). Games for practicing English. London: The Macmillan Press Ltd.
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APPENDICES
Appendix A
The complete list of K1 negative vocabulary profile
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fishing fix fixed fixing floor follow food for forget form free freeing friend friends from front full further gain game games gardens gave general get
Appendix B
The complete list of K negative vocabulary profile
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rolling routes row rush safe safer scales scientists select shaking ship ships shock shoot shot shut sight skin sky slipped slow slower
Appendix C
The complete list of K negative vocabulary profile
accomplish accurate admired adventure adventures alleged ally alright angle anxiety beneath
bite blind blinding boom boost boots bowl brilliant burst button carpet chamber characterize
chase chasing cheeks chicken cloud cluster coals coins compose constantly crazy creative
currency curtains curved darkness dedicated depth depths devote discovery dismissed
dominate eight eighty enterprise enterprising entertainment ethnic expenditures extensive
fantastic five flash flashing floods forever found founded four gallery gate gates gear giant god
gods golden govern grab harbor harbour height hint honest hook hundreds hurry hurrying
innocent inspiring isolated journal knife literally meter million mode mystery narrative
narratives nose nowhere ocean October passion phenomenon pile pipes piping pleasant port
possessions pot precisely printer prompted pump remarkable restore rid sail sailing sand
scholars servant seven shell shells shining shone shore silver sink sinks six smart smooth snap
spare specialist stairs stake stamp steel storage string stroke symbol symbols tail tails tank tap
teeth ten territory thousand three tight tower towers transforms translated transportation truck
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Appendix D
The complete list of K negative vocabulary profile
acid activate adaptation adjacent alien aliens ancestor ancestors arrow arrows artifact artifacts
authorities barrel bonus bonuses bubble bubbles calculation civilization click clicking clip
clues colonies converge damp depicted dictionary discharge drain dye fertility fins ghost ghosts
grams historically horizon incredible indicator insert instinct lever machinery manual
mechanics monkey monkeys nastiest onwards overlap oxygen parcel partially predator
predators prey profound progression published puzzle puzzles ray reinforced retrieve ropes
rotate rotating scatter scattered sensation shortly slot snakes sub surgeon surgeons swap
swapped swapping thread toxic trickier tricky tropical utilize utilizes valve
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Appendix E
37 Appendix H
Unique words in game (1+2+3+4) vs 5
