ENGLISH WORDS ACQUISITION OF DIFFERENT ETHNIC CHILDREN
(A CASE STUDY AT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTRE MEDAN)
A THESIS
Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the degree of Magister Humaniora
By:
MARTHA OKTAVIA TOGATOROP Registration Number: 810 6111 022
ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM
POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
ENGLISH WORDS ACQUISITION OF DIFFERENT ETHNIC CHILDREN
(A CASE STUDY AT INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION CENTRE MEDAN)
A THESIS
Submitted to the English Applied Linguistics Study Program
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the degree of Magister Humaniora
By:
MARTHA OKTAVIA TOGATOROP Registration Number: 810 6111 022
ENGLISH APPLIED LINGUISTICS STUDY PROGRAM
POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL
STATE UNIVERSITY OF MEDAN
iii ABSTRACT
Togatorop, Martha Oktavia. Registration Number: 8106111022. English
Words Acquisition of Different Ethnic Children (A Case Study at International Education Centre Medan). A Thesis. English Applied Linguistics.
Postgraduate School. State University of Medan. 2012.
iv ABSTRAK
Togatorop, Martha Oktavia. 8106111022. Pemerolehan Kata Bahasa Inggris
Pada Anak-Anak Beda Etnis (Sebuah Studi Kasus di International Education Centre Medan). Tesis. Program Linguistik Terapan Bahasa Inggris.
Pascasarjana. Universitas Negeri Medan. 2012
i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Praise the Lord, the Almighty, the Wonderful, the Amazing and the Merciful Lord Jesus Christ, for granting me the blessing and opportunity of attaining a higher education. It was only through His supernatural guidance, wisdom, love and blessing that I was able to manage this process when it became overwhelming at times.
This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance, the support and the help of several individuals who contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the completion of this study. Now, it is her pleasure to thank everyone who has been supporting and assisting the writer in the completion of this thesis.
First and foremost, her utmost gratitude is extended to her honorable advisors Prof. Dr. Lince Sihombing, M.Pd and Dr. Eddy Setia, M.Ed TESP who had given her their excellent suggestions, guidance, advices, patience and precious time in completing and correcting this thesis.
She owes her deepest gratitude to all of her examiners Dr. Didik Santoso M.Pd, Prof. Dr. Busmin Gurning and Dr. Sri Minda Murni M.S who had given valuable knowledge, experience and lesson to her during her academics years.
ii
Playgroup Hayam Wuruk Medan. She also would like to thank the students of IEC and their parents who were willing as participants to be researched in this research.
She also addressed her special gratitude to her beloved parents (Anggiat Maruli Togatorop & Donta Eviana Sihombing (Cand. S.Pd), her beloved sisters and brother (Asima Dermawati AMKG SKM, Fanny Sulastio & Patar Sudewo) for supporting and encouraging her with their best wishes.
Her best regard also delivered to her best friend in Petra (K’Mei Siti S.Pd, K’Debora Sihombing S.S, Melda Erayana S.S And Lestari Manik S.Pd) for their love, encouragement and prayers.
The writer indebted to her close friends (Srisofian Sianturi, S.S, M.Hum Elita Modesta Br.Sembiring, S.S, M.Hum, Vivi Novalia Sitinjak, S.S (Cand.) M.Hum and Mr. Raikhapoor Tobing S.Pd (Cand.) M.Hum) and also her classmates LTBI A2 for their love, encouragement, advice, support and friendship during the academic years at the State University of Medan.
Lastly she offers her regards and blessings to all of those who support her in any respect during the completion of this study.
Medan, November 22nd, 2012
The writer
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ... i
ABSTRACT ... iii
ABSTRAK ... iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... v
LIST OF TABLES ... ix
LIST OF CHARTS ... x
LIST OF APPENDICES ... xi
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
1.1 The Background of Study ... 1
1.2 The Problem of the Study ... 5
1.3 The Objective of the Study ... 5
1.4 The Scope of the Study ... 6
1.5 The Significance of the Study ... 6
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ... 8
2.1 English Words Acquisition ... 8
2.1.1 Early English words acquisition ... 8
2.1.2 English words acquisition in IEC ... 10
2.2 Types of words ... 11
2.2.1 Noun ... 11
2.2.1.1 Types of Nouns ... 12
vi
2.2.2.1 Types of verbs ... 13
2.2.3 Adjective ... 14
2.2.3.1 Types of Adjective ... 14
2.2.4 Adverb ... 14
2.2.4.1 Types of Adverbs ... 15
2.2.5 Pronoun ... 15
2.2.5.1 Types of Pronouns ... 16
2.2.6 Preposition ... 16
2.2.6.1 Types of Prepositions ... 16
2.2.7 Conjunction ... 17
2.2.7.1 Types of Conjunctions ... 17
2.2.8 Interjection ... 18
2.3 Different Ethnic Children in IEC ... 19
2.3.1 Chinese Ethnic Children ... 20
2.3.2 Batak Ethnic Children ... 21
2.3.3 Javanese Ethnic Children ... 21
2.4 The Relevant Studies ... 22
CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHOD ... 25
3.1 Research Design ... 25
vii
3.2.1 Data ... 26
3.2.2 Data Source ... 26
3.3 The Technique of Collecting the Data ... 27
3.3.1 Observation ... 27
3.3.2 Interview ... 29
3.4 The technique of analyzing the Data ... 30
3.5 The Trustworthiness of the Study ... 31
CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS . 33 4.1 The Data ... 33
4.2 The Data Analysis ... 35
4.2.1 The Types of English Words Acquired by Different Ethnic Children of IEC ... 35
4.2.1.1 English Words Acquired by Chinese Children of IEC ... 35
4.2.1.2 English Words Acquired by Batak Children of IEC ... 37
4.2.1.3 English Words Acquired by Javanese Children of IEC ... 40
4.2.2 The Dominant Type of Word is acquired by Different Ethnic Children of IEC ... 41
4.2.3 The Dominant Ethnic Children in Acquiring English Words ... 45
viii
English Words ... 47
4.2.4.1 Chinese Ethnic Children ... 48
4.2.4.2 Batak Ethnic Children ... 51
4.2.4.3 Javanese Ethnic Children ... 53
4.2.5 The Reason of Different Ethnic Children of IEC acquire English Words ... 54
4.2.5.1 Chinese Culture ... 54
4.2.5.2 Batak Culture ... 55
4.2.5.3 Javanese Culture ... 56
4.3 Research Findings ... 56
4.4 Discussions ... 58
4.5 The Implication of the Research ... 62
4.5.1 Implication for Practice ... 62
4.5.2 Implication for Future Research ... 63
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS ... 65
5.1 Conclusions ... 65
5.2 Suggestions ... 66
REFERENCES ... 68
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Page
Table 4.1 The list of English words uttered by the Chinese children ... 35
... Table 4.2 The list of English words uttered by the Batak children ... 37
Table 4.3 The list of English words uttered by the Javanese children ... 40
Table 4.4Total number of English words uttered by Chinese children ... 42
Table 4.5 Total number of English words uttered by Batak children ... 43
Table 4.6 Total number of English words uttered by Javanese children ... 44
xi
LIST OF APPENDICES
Page
I. Appendix A. The Subjects ... 70
II. Appendix B. Observation Sheet of IEC Children ... 73
III. Appendix C. Interview Sheet of IEC Children ... 81
x
LIST OF CHARTS
Page
Chart 4.1 The English Words Acquired by Chinese Ethnic Children ... 41
Chart 4.2The English Words Acquired by Batak Ethnic Children... 43
Chart 4.3 The English Words Acquired by Javanese Ethnic Children ... 45
Chart 4.4 The Percentage of English Words Uttered By Different Ethnic
1 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Background of Study
Human language is a remarkable way to communicate. No other form of communication in the natural world transfers so much information in such a short period of time. It is even more remarkable that in three short years a child can hear, mimic, explore, practice, and finally, learn language.
Every infant has been equipped with a capability to understand languages that are spoken by people around him. Wherever an infant born he must be able to understand and to communicate the language that is spoken by adults surrounding him, and the process of acquiring a language by an infant is called as language acquisition.
2
Input hypothesis states that input is a determinant factor of how well the children acquire the language. While input refers to the amount of language exposed to them (Krashen, 1987). So, in other words if there is no input there will be no acquisition. The sources of input are the people around the children. The more people around the children, the more input the children will have, the more talkative the people around the children, the more input will be exposed.
3
In some big cities of Indonesia English has got a special position in which it is exposed to the young children through Pre-school and Playgroup school even though it is only for certain schools such as IEC, Prime one School, Tumble Tots School, etc. The importance of English has pushed many parents to realize that they need to introduce English earlier to their children. Parents all over the world put their children in language schools at an early age, convinced that the earlier
they start learning, the better. Most of parents who push their children to totally immerse to the English language will send their children to those schools which provide teaching learning with full of English. Children who are sent to this school are expected to be able to speak or communicate by using English language.
4
They are also having the same chance to improve their English toward teacher and friends. So, in here the difference ethnic might contribute to the different ability of those children in acquiring the English words. In line with that, Dixon (2010) also finds that cultural differences among the childrearing in Singapore may contribute to home language and literary practices that differ by ethnic group leading to differences in English vocabulary.
In addition, the difference among the three ethnic is also influenced by different character among them. Erlangga in Kompas (2012) found that Chinese characters are diligent, tenacious and hard worker. Whereas Geerzt (1961)) describes that Javanese is identical with their indirect speech. Geerzt adds there are two principles which motivate Javenese people to avoid being direct those principles are harmony and respect. Beside that Javanese people also identical with their politeness and shy character. On other hand, Kuntjara (2003) explains that Batak often stereotyped by other as rude person, usually speak frankly and tend to be aggressive
5
1.2 The Problems of the study
Based on the background above, the problem of the study can be formulated as following questions.
1. What type of English words is dominantly acquired by different ethnic of IEC?
2. What ethnic children of IEC is the most dominant in acquiring the English
words?
3. How do the different ethnic children of IEC acquire the English words?
4. Why do the different ethnic children of IEC acquire the English words in
the way they do?
1.3 The Objectives of the Study
In line with the research problem, the objectives of the study are:
1) to find out the type of English words acquired by different ethnic children of IEC.
2) to find out what ethnic children is the most dominant in acquiring English words.
3) to find out how do the different ethnic children of IEC acquire the
English words.
6
1.4 The Scope of the Study
This study is concerned with the field of acquisition and psycholinguistics. This study focuses on the English words acquisition of different ethnic children in IEC Playgroup. The types of English words that will be analyzed are limited based on part of speech classification. The different ethnic children that will be analyzed here are Chinese, Batak and Javanese ethnic children. This study is limited to the students of IEC playgroup on Jalan Hayam Wuruk no.17 Medan.
1.5 The Significance of the Study
The findings of the study are expected to contribute significantly to different parties theoretically and practically.
a. Theoretically these finding will be helpful for;
1. Language teachers, to enrich teacher’s knowledge in the process of English language acquisition and as guidelines for them in the process of introducing English words to the students.
2. The second language acquisition researchers who are interested in knowing whether there are differences among different ethnic children in acquiring English words.
7
b. Practically these findings will be helpful for;
1. Language teachers, to enable the teachers to recognize the student’s ability from different ethnic in acquiring English words.
68 REFERENCES
Adanza, Estela G.1995. Research Method; principles and Aplications. Philiphine:Rex Book Store, Inc
Allen, Rosemary.2007. All about Grammar. Western Australia: R.I.C. Publication
Bogdan, C. Robert., & Biklen Sari Knopp.1992. Qualitative research for
Education: An Introduction to Theory and Methods.
2ndedition.Needham Heights, MA:Allyn and Bacon.
Clark, H.H & Clark, E.V.1977. Psychology and Language: An Introduction
to Psycholinguistics. New York: Harcout Brace Jovanovich.
Carter, Ronald.1998.Vocabulary: Applied Linguistic Perspective.2nd edition. New York: Routledge
Clark, Eve V.2009. First Language Acquisition.2nd ed. United State of America: Cambridge University Press.
Dixon, L. Quentin.2010. The Role of Home and School Factors in Predicting English Vocabulary among Bilingual Kindergarten
Children in Singapore. United State:Cambridge University
Press.vol.32- issue 01, pp 141-168
Doloksaribu, Twenti.2010. Peranan Budaya dalam Memotivasi Belajar Siswa Pada Etnis Batak Toba dan Jawa di SMA Negeri 2 Lubuk
Pakam. PPS UNIMED: unpublished
Dutwin, Phyliss.2010. English Grammar.New York:Mc Graw Hill
Fitzgerald, et al.1982. Language use of Preschool Children in a child
/Parent Education.London: Multilingual Matters
Gee, James Paul.2011. An Introduction to Discourse Analysis Theory and
Method.New York: Routledge
Geerzt, Hilder.1961.The Javanese Kindship Family.Glencoe,ILFree Press.Excerpted in Fishman (1968a) and Pride and Holmes (1972) Goode & William, Hatt. 1982. A Critical Introduction to Its
Methods.London:yale University Press
69
Holmes, Richard, Hazadiah M. Dahan and Habibah Ashari.2005.A Guide to
Research in the Social Science.Malaysia: Pearson Malaysia
Sdn.Bhd.
Jackson, Howard. 2000. Words, Meaning and Vocabulary: An introduction
to Modern Lexicology.London:ContinuumInternational Publishing
Grow
Kidwell, Paul et al. (2011). Statistical or Word Acquisition with Application to Readability Prediction.Journal of American Statistical association March 2011, vol.106, no.493
Kuntjara, Ester.2003. Gender, Bahasa dan Kekuasaan. Jakarta: Gunung Mulia
Lincoln Yvonna S. & Guba Egon G.1985.Naturalistic Inquiry. Beverly Hills California:Sage Publication
Pavio, Allan & Begg, Ian.1981. Psycholinguistics. USA: Prentice-Hall (Englewood Cliffs, N.J.)
Radford, Andrew.1999. Linguistics; An Introduction. United Kingdom: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge.
Troike, Muriel Saville. 2006. Introducing Second Language Acquisition. New York:Cambridge University press.
Eri.2005.inhttp://kompas.com/kompascetak/0508/31/humaniora/2015967.ht m Rabu, 31 Agustus 2005 accessed on October 8th, 2012 at 11.45 am.
Erlangga.2012.inhttp://bisniskeuangan.kompas.com/read/2011/02/04/08414 524/Inilah.Filosofi.Bisnis.Orang.Tionghoa accessed on Thursday, 5th July 2012 at 15.00 p.m
Krashen. 1987. In /http:/LANGUAGE LEARNING article—A Summary of Stephen Krashen’s Principles and Practice in Second language Acquisition.htm accessed on Sunday, 22ndApril 2012 at 14.40p.m
