THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED INSMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
i
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED INSMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
A THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements to Obtain theSarjana PendidikanDegree
in English Language Education
By
Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih
Student Number: 041214071
ENGLISH LANGUAGE EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAM LANGUAGE AND ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION FACULTY
SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY YOGYAKARTA
ii A Thesis on
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED INSMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
By
Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih Student Number: 041214071
Approved by
Date
Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum. 6 December 2008
iii
THE CORRELATION BETWEEN THE TWELFTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY MASTERY OF ACADEMIC WORDS
AND THE STUDENTS’ PRODUCTIVE SKILLS:
A RESEARCH CONDUCTED INSMA NEGERI 1 WONOSARI
By
Anastasia Ary Budiwahyuningsih Student Number: 041214071
Defended before the Board of Examiners on 19 December 2008
and Declared Acceptable
Board of Examiners
Signature
Chairperson : Agustinus Hardi Prasetya, S.Pd., M.A. …...………...
Secretary : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. …...………...
Member : Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum. …...………...
Member : Made Frida Yulia, S.Pd., M.Pd. …...………...
Member : F.X. Ouda Teda Ena, S.Pd., M.Pd. …...………...
Yogyakarta, 19 December 2008
Faculty of Teachers Training and Education Sanata Dharma University
Dean,
iv
Nobody grows old merely
by giving a number of years
We grow old by deserting our ideals
Years may wrinkle the skin
but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul
Samuel Ullman
vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, I thank my Dear Lord, Jesus Christ, who has given His amazing
grace, love, and guidance so that I can finish this thesis well. He has given me
spirit in accomplishing this thesis.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Carla Sih Prabandari, S.Pd., M.Hum, my major sponsor, for her guidance, corrections, criticism, and great encouragement in accomplishing this thesis. I really would like to thank her
for spending her time to correct and give suggestions in order to achieve the best
result in this research. I would also like thank all of the lecturers in English
Education Study Program, especially toAgustinus Hardi Prasetya, S.Pd., M.A., who has given great encouragement to finish this thesis as soon as possible. My
gratitude also goes to all of the teachers and students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari,
especiallyMrs. Khusnulfor spending the time to help me accomplish this thesis. I would also like to express gratitude to my beloved family: my father,
Stephanus Sujianto, my mother, Theresia Supriyanti, and my sister, Ines, for the prayer, love, guidance, and encouragement in accomplishing my thesis and for
my beloved cousins Rini, Aris, and Lia. I would also like to thank all my best friends: Shinta, Wulan, Wida, Riri and Diaz for the beautiful friendship. My gratitude is also addressed to all my friends in Sanata Dharma University,
especially in the English Education Study Program.
My gratitude also goes to all the secretariat staff of the English Education
vii
finishing my thesis. Last but not least, I would like to express my special gratitude
to Theodorus Damar Baskara for being my sunshine after the rain in my lifetime. May God always bless them all.
viii
STATEMENT OF WORK’S ORIGINALITY... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS... vi
1.4 Objective of the research... 5
1.5 Benefits of thresearch... 5
1.6 Definition of Terms... 6
CHAPTER II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Theoretical Description... 9
2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary... 9
2.1.1.1 Vocabulary Knowledge...……….. 10
2.1.1.2 What is Vocabulary?... 11
2.1.1.3 Vocabulary is a Significant Element in Learning English as Foreign Language... 12
ix
2.1.2 Understanding of Academic Words... 14
2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning... 16
2.1.4 Principles for Teaching Vocabulary... 17
2.1.5 Assessing Vocabulary...…….…... 19
2.1.6 Understanding of Language Testing...…... 21
2.1.6.1 Types of Test in Terms of Test Method…... 22
2.1.6.2 Types of Test in Terms of Test Purpose... 22
2.1.7 Theory of Testing Vocbulary... 23
2.18 Vocabulry Mastery in a Language Teaching Learning.. 24
2.1.9 English Productive Skills: Speaking an Writing... 24
2.2 Theoretical Framework... 25
CHAPTER III. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Method... 29
3.2 Research Procedure ... 31
3.3 Subject of the Research... 31
3.4 Data Collection... 32
3.5 Instruments... 33
3.6 Data Analysis... 35
CHAPTER IV. RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 The Twelfth Grade Students’ Mastery of Academic Words inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari...... 37
4.1.1 Data Presentation... 38
4.1.2 Analysis Result...………...………. 45
4.1.2.1 Analysis Result of the Twelve Grade Students’ Mastery of Academic Words... 46
x
4.1.2.2.1 Academic Words Mastered 100% by the Twelve
Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 49
4.1.2.2.2 Academic Words Mastered 95% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 52
4.1.2.2.3 Academic Words Mastered 90% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 53
4.1.2.2.4 Academic Words Mastered 85% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 54
4.1.2.2.5 Academic Words Mastered 80% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosar... 55
4.1.2.2.6 Academic Words Mastered 75% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 57
4.1.2.2.7 Academic Words Mastered 70% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 58
4.1.2.2.8 Academic Words Mastered 65% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 59
4.1.2.2.9 Academic Words Mastered 60% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 60
4.1.2.2.10 Academic Words Mastered 55% by the Twelve Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari... 61
4.2 The Correlation between AcademicWords Mastery and the Students’ English Productive Skills... 63
4.2.1 Data Presentation... 63
4.2.2 Analysis Result... 64
4.2.3 Discussion... 66
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 5.1 Conclusions……... 69
xi
REFERENCES... 71
xii
LIST OF FIGURE
xiii
LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Raw score of the students in set 1………. 39
Table 4.2: Raw score of the students in set 2………. 40
Table 4.3: Raw score of the students in set 3………. 41
Table 4.4: Raw score of the students in set 4………. 42
Table 4.5: Raw score of the students in set 5………. 43
Table 4.6: Raw score of the students in set 6……….. 44
Table 4.7: The students’ mastery of academic words……….. 46
Table 4.8: Academic words mastered 100% based on lexical category…….. 49
Table 4.9: Academic words mastered 95% based on lexical category……… 52
Table 4.10: Academic words mastered 90% based on lexical category…….. 53
Table 4.11: Academic words mastered 85% based on lexical category…….. 54
Table 4.12: Academic words mastered 80% based on lexical category…... 55
Table 4.13: Academic words mastered 75% based on lexical category…….. 57
Table 4.14: Academic words mastered 70% based on lexical category…... 58
Table 4.15: Academic words mastered 65% based on lexical category……... 59
Table 4.16: Academic words mastered 60% based on lexical category……… 60
Table 4.17: Academic words mastered 55% based on lexical category……… 61
xiv
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix 1 : The Request Letter to Conduct the Research...76
Appendix 2 : Table of Frequency and Mean Scores of the Correct Answers in
Vocabulary Test...78
Appendix 3 : Table of the Students’ Mastery of Academic Words...118
Appendix 4 : List of Academic Word Test Scores and Productive Skill
Test Scores………...133
xv ABSTRACT
Wahyuningsih, Anastasia Ary Budi. (2008). The Correlation between the Twelfth Grade Students’ Vocabulary Mastery of Academic Words and the Students’ Productive Skills: A Research Conducted in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.Yogyakarta: Sanata Dharma University.
Considering to the fact that vocabulary and the skills are important for the beginners who learn English as a foreign language, this research is aimed to know the twelfth grade students’ mastery of vocabulary, especially academic words in senior high school and its relation with the students’ productive skills. This research is conducted to answer two problems. The problems are: (1) To what extent do the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari master academic words? (2) What is the correlation between academic words mastery and the students’ productive skills?
The researcher gathered many books that can support the process of problem solving in this research. The researcher looked for the supporting ideas from the books, such as the definition of vocabulary, academic words, productive skills, and the students’ mastery of vocabulary. The students’ mastery in this research means the mastery on understanding the word meanings, especially the Indonesian equivalences. Considering that vocabulary is a significant element in developing English skills, the correlation between academic word mastery and productive skills is discussed in this research.
The research subjects were the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari. To gather data from the sample of the research, the writer used an instrument in the form of matching test to assess the students’ mastery of academic words so that they could match the English words with the correct Indonesian equivalences. The students’ productive skills were tested by using test materials from the teachers. Statistical data analysis and Spearman’s correlation were used to analyze the data. To have valid data, the vocabulary items were taken from their learning materials during the study in senior high school, i.e. from students’ books grade ten to twelve.
xvi ABSTRAK
Wahyuningsih, Anastasia Ary Budi. (2008). The Correlation between the Twelfth Grade Students’ Vocabulary Mastery of Academic Words and the Students’ Productive Skills: A Research Conducted in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari.Yogyakarta: Universitas Sanata Dharma.
Dengan adanya fakta bahwa kosakata dan ketrampilan dalam bernahasa itu penting untuk para pemula yang mempelajari bahasa Inggris sebagai bahasa asing, penelitian ini ditujukan untuk mengetahui penguasaan kosakata para siswa kelas dua belas di tingkat sekolah menengah atas dan hubungannya dengan ketrampilan produktif. Penelitian ini dilaksanakan untuk memecahkan dua masalah, yaitu: (1) Sejauh mana siswa kelas dua belas SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari menguasai kosakata akademis? (2) Apakah hubungan penguasaan kosakata akademis dan ketrampilan produktif?
Peneliti mengumpulkan banyak buku yang dapat mendukung proses pemecahan masalah dalam penelitian ini. Penelti mencari gagasan-gagasan yang mendukung dari buku- buku tersebut, misalnya: pengertian kosakata, kata akademis, ketrampilan produktif, dan penguasaan kosakata para siswa.Penguasaan dalam penelitian ini adalah penguasaan dalam mengetahui arti kata dalam bahasa Indonesia. Dengan mempertimbangkan fakta bahwa kosakata merupakan salah satu bagian penting dalam mengembangkan ketrampilan berbahasa Inggris, korelasi antara penguasaan kosakata akademis dan ketrampilan produktif dibahas dalam penelitian ini.
Subjek penelitian ini adalah siswa kelas dua belas SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari. Untuk mengumpulkan data dari sampel penelitian, peneliti menggunakan instrumen dalam bentuk test menjodohkan supaya mereka dapat menjodohkan kata dalam bahasa Inggris dengan arti yang benar dalam bahasa Indonesia dengan tujuan untuk menaksir penguasaan kosakata akademis siswa. Ketrampilan produktif para siswa diujikan dengan menggunakan materi ujian dari para guru. Analisis data statistik dan korelasi Spearman digunakan untuk menganalisa data. Untuk mendapatkan data yang valid, materi yang diujikan diambil dari buku-buku yang mereka gunakan selama proses belajar mengajar dari kelas sepuluh sampai dengan kelas dua belas.
xvii
1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
This chapter discusses all about background of the research, problem
formulation, problem limitation, objectives of the research, benefits of the
research, and definition of terms that will be discussed in the next chapter.
1.1 Research Background
English is an international language and it is learned as a foreign language
in Indonesia since Indonesian people do not use English in their daily life
communication. English is one of compulsory subjects in educational field and it
is taught from elementary schools up to senior high schools. Learning English in
the kindergartens has been taught that is as a local content. Many education
institutions in Indonesia offer English lessons to the students because they realize
that the students will face global era in which English is important for
communication. Mastering international language will be a good provision for the
students in facing this global era.
Mastering English means the learners should master the language skills
and elements. There are four English skills and three English elements that should
be learned by the learners, they are: listening, speaking, reading, writing and for
the elements are grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Vocabulary is one of
supporting elements in communication and the development of vocabulary must
O’Rourke, 1971; 5). By understanding the vocabulary items, people will be able
to understand the conversation and read the texts well. They need to improve their
mastery of vocabulary so that they can comprehend listening and reading well
(Lehr, 2001). In summary, the learners are considered to be able to master English
well, if they can use English to communicate by using appropriate and accurate
ways such as in grammar, diction (vocabulary), and pronunciation.
The students develop their vocabulary items every day through speaking,
reading, listening, and writing and it is obvious that students need rich experiences
to develop their vocabulary (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971; 6). This study emphasizes
on the students’ mastery of vocabulary, especially academic words since the
students are dealing with academic study. Besides knowing the students’ mastery
of academic words, this research is emphasized on the correlation of academic
words mastery with the students’ productive skills, i.e. speaking and writing
skills. In summary, it can be said that vocabulary is the key to be able to master
the language. Therefore, this research is aimed to find the twelve grade students’
mastery of academic words and the correlation between the academic words
mastery and the students’ communication ability which is represented through the
students’ final practice marks achieved in their study.
There are four kinds of vocabulary in different learning fields, such as:
high-frequency vocabulary, academic vocabulary, technical vocabulary, and
low-frequency vocabulary (Nation, 1990). These kinds of vocabulary are taught in
different learning fields, for example: academic words can be found in a wide
technical words which have a narrow range are used in specialized field, such as
mathematics, law, philosophy, etc. In junior high school, senior high school, and
university, the EFL learners learn more about academic words because they intend
to do academic study. Here are some examples of academic words which can be
found in academic texts:abandon, alternative, denote, element, etc.
There are a number of academic words that always occur in academic
study in which the students should master. There are 570 up to 800 words of
academic vocabulary that often occur in academic study, for example: in authentic
reading materials, text books, etc (Nation, 2002). This is the number of academic
words that should be mastered by EFL learners, especially for beginners’ level
(senior high school). Considering to the fact that vocabulary is an important
element in English learning, this research is aimed to know the number of
academic words that have already been mastered by the senior high school
students and its correlation with the students’ productive skills using academic
words, especially in the twelfth grade (in the end of the study).
1.2 Problem Formulation
The research is aimed to assess the students’ mastery of academic words in
senior high school level and to know its correlation with the students’ productive
skills. The problems are formulated as follows:
1. To what extent do the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari
2. What is the correlation between academic words mastery with the
students’ productive skills?
1.3 Problem Limitation
The problem of this research is limited on the number of academic words
that the students should master during their study in senior high school and its
correlation with the students’ productive skills, especially the twelfth grade
students. The problem is focused on the mastery of academic words since the
students are dealing with academic study. Mastery in this research only focused
on knowing the word meanings, especially the Indonesian equivalences. They
learn academic words through the learning materials from the teacher. The teacher
gives many reading or listening passages which is obtained from authentic
materials, text books, etc that contain many academic words. The students who
learn English will always develop their understanding of vocabulary when they
are learning through the skills (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971; 5).
In senior high school, the students learn many vocabulary items which are
included in high frequency words and academic words. However, this research is
focused on the academic words since the students in senior high school are
dealing with academic study. The students have already learned many academic
words from grade ten up to grade twelve in senior high school. Therefore, this
research is aimed to know how many academic words that the students master and
also the correlation between academic words mastery with the students’
In order to get the result of the measurement, this research takes students from
grade twelve as the subjects because they have already learned academic words
through the learning materials from grade ten up to grade twelve.
1.4 Objectives of the Research
The objective of this research is to know the number of academic
vocabulary items mastered by the twelfth grade students during their study in
senior high school by considering that mastery in this research means knowing the
word meanings, i.e. the Indonesian equivalence. This research is also aimed to
know the correlation between the students’ mastery of academic words with the
students’ productive skills.
1.5 Benefits of the Research
This research is expected to be able to give several benefits for the
students, teachers, and the future researchers. For the students, this research is
aimed to give new experience to the students about vocabulary test because they
have never had vocabulary test from the teachers. By doing the test, the students
will be able to know their ability in mastering academic words through the result
of the tests that they have done. Besides the students can get experiences of
vocabulary test, the students can also expand their understanding of academic
vocabulary, especially the word meanings.
For the English teachers, the result of this research is expected to give
correlation with the students’ productive skills. After knowing the result, the
English teachers are expected to provide better strategies in teaching vocabulary
in which vocabulary is an important element that can support the students’ quality
in mastering English (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971).
This research is also aimed to give understanding and knowledge to the
people in common, especially for the next researchers. After they know the
students’ mastery of academic words and its correlation with the students’
productive skills, it is expected to the future researchers that they can design good
materials and strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary items.
1.6 Definition of Terms
This section presents the definitions of terms or important constructs used
in this research. The terms defined here are the twelve grade students in SMA
Negeri 1 Wonosari, vocabulary mastery, academic words, and productive skills.
The definition will be explained below.
1.6.1 Twelfth Grade Students inSMA Negeri 1 Wonosari
SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari has high quality chosen students. The students
who study in this school are the students who have good mark from their junior
high schools. Commonly, the students have good ability in English subject, but
the English ability of the twelfth grade students in 2007/2008 has been decreased
from last year. Teaching vocabulary for the twelfth grade students is mostly
they can give the students more knowledge about new academic words through
the reading texts, especially by using authentic materials. According to the
understanding of the English teachers in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari, the twelfth
grade students in science class have better mastery of vocabulary than the students
in social class. Vocabulary tests in the teaching learning processes are not done
specifically, they are integrated with the other skill tests, such as in reading,
writing, speaking, and listening test.
1.6.2 Vocabulary Mastery
According to Young (2007), vocabulary is a study of the word meanings,
how to use the words, and root words and the affixes. Based on Lehr’s opinion
(2001), the more the students read various texts or books, the more the students
obtain new vocabulary items and know or understand many new words from
academic text books and they will be able to comprehend the content of the
reading texts better. In this research, vocabulary means the words and word
meanings mastered by the EFL learners, especially the twelfth grade students in
senior high school. Mastery in this context means the ability to understand the
meaning of the vocabulary items that they have learned in academic study.
1.6.3 Academic Words
Academic words are in the second level of learning vocabulary after
high-frequency words (Nation, 1990). Academic words are only found in academic
Senior high school students are in the beginner level and they should be able to
master 570 up to 800 academic words that often occur in the learning materials for
the beginner (Nation, 2002). There are some examples of academic words that
often occur in reading texts:approach, brief, comply, disposal, evident, etc.
1.6.4 English Productive Skills
Nunan (2003) states that in language teaching, there are four skills
described in terms of their definition, i.e. productive and receptive skills.
Productive means language generated by the learners in speech or writing and
receptive means language directed at the learners in reading or listening.
According to Nunan (2003), speaking is productive oral skill and writing is the
physical act of committing words or ideas to some medium, such as handwritten
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter explains about theoretical description and theoretical
framework of the research. Definition of terms, which is discussed in the previous
chapter, will be discussed deeper in this chapter. Literature review that can
support this research is mentioned and explained in the theoretical description.
2.1 Theoretical Description
The mastery of vocabulary of the senior high school students is one of the
indicators in learning English as a foreign language since vocabulary is a key for
the learners to be able to communicate with the others well using the language
learned. There are theories that can support this study. The theories will be
explained below.
2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary
Vocabulary is one of important supporting elements in language learning.
It can be said as a significant part of communication and it is the key to be able to
master the language well (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971: 6). This section will discuss
the complete definition of vocabulary as follows.
2.1.1.1 Vocabulary Knowledge
Vocabulary knowledge means the knowledge in which the learners learn
about the words, meaning of words, and how to use the words in the sentences
when somebody is learning English, especially English as a foreign language.
According to Young (2007), vocabulary is a study of the word meanings, how to
use the words, and root words and the affixes. In other words, vocabulary does not
only learn about the meaning of the words, but also the use of the words in
different context. The students need to realize that vocabulary is an index of the
nature and quality of their lives. Words can reflect what they have studied (Dale
and O’Rourke, 1971: 9).
The people who are learning vocabulary have strong relation with the
reading comprehension (Lehr, 2001). The learners get more knowledge of
vocabulary from many reading materials. The learners should read many kinds of
readings in different difficulty level. By reading a lot of different level in words’
difficulty, the learners will have more understanding of the meaning of words and
their function in different context. Reading is not only one of the English skills
that can help the learners in improving their knowledge of vocabulary. Through
listening to many passages, the learners can also learn many words and the
meanings. In learning vocabulary, there are words families and core meaning.
When the learners are learning a foreign language, such as English, they
will learn word families and core meaning. According to Nunan (2003) word
families are the basic words added by plural form, present tense, past tense, etc.
walking, walked”. Core meaning is also important for the learners in learning
English as a foreign language. It can reduce the number of items the learner has to
cope with, provide access to a wide range of uses, and often contrasts with the
first language of the learners.
2.1.1.2 What Is Vocabulary?
According to Young (2007), vocabulary is the study of the meaning of
words; how words are used; root words, prefixes, and suffixes; and analogies. In
learning vocabulary, the learners study the several different meanings of words
and the part of speech. The learners also learn how to use the words. It means that
the learners study the words in the context and apply what they learn in the form
of writing. Words have their own roots and affixes. The learners will study root
words and affixes that can support their vocabulary learning. They get more
knowledge about original words and the other forms of the words. Analogy is
comparing two pair words and choosing the pairs that go together. There is an
example of learning vocabulary by analogy.
Book :Backpack
The answer is (C) documents : portfolio, because the type is object and logical
place. A book is carried in a backpack just as a document is carried in a
kept in a backpack, but they are not being toted around. Relics are kept in a
museum (usually) but the museum is not the means of transporting the relics like a
backpack transports the books. Some analogies will require the learners to decide
what part of speech the words are because many words have more than one
definition and will have more than one part of speech (Young, 2007).
2.1.1.3 Vocabulary is a Significant Element in Learning English as a Foreign Language
There are three language elements that can support the learners’ skills in
learning English. Those elements are grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation
(Nunan, 2003). The language learners will need those elements in learning the
language skills. Most of text books for senior high school focus on the structure of
sentences in the language learned. Vocabulary is not taught sufficiently in the
teaching learning process, but actually the case is vocabulary really support the
language learners to learn skills of the target language (Burton, 1982: 99).
Vocabulary can help the learners to improve their knowledge and abilities in
learning a language since the more the learners master vocabulary items, the more
they comprehend information from varied sources (McKeown, 1984). Nunan
(2003: 135) states that learners see vocabulary as being a very important part of
language learning and one of the difficulties in planning the vocabulary
component of a course is making sure that it does not overwhelm other essential
parts of the course. It means that vocabulary should be learned effectively in order
not to ignore the other parts of English course, such as grammar and
2.1.1.4 Vocabulary in Senior High School
Students in senior high schools in Indonesia are the EFL learners. It will
be better if the EFL students learn more about vocabulary since vocabulary is one
of the English elements that can support the students’ ability in English. In senior
high school, the students can learn vocabulary through the four skills they get in
learning English. However, the learners will get more knowledge in vocabulary,
especially the word meanings and forms. They emphasize the learning of
vocabulary on the meaning and the forms of the words.
Senior high school students who learn English as a foreign language in
Indonesia are included in beginner level. There are about six to eight hundred
academic words which frequently occur in academic texts (Nation, 1990).
Vocabulary learning can be done while learning the four skills in English, but the
emphasis is more on comprehension and productive skills. The students can learn
vocabulary more from the various reading and listening passage. The more the
students read or listen to the various passages, the more vocabulary they learn,
especially the form and the meaning.
The meanings of the words can be explored more through the different
level of readings (Lehr, 2001). The students will master the vocabulary more
through reading and speaking skills, but it is possible to get vocabulary through
the other skills, such as listening and writing (Nation, 1990). The understanding of
word meanings and forms are very important for the learners in the beginning
2.1.2 Understanding of Academic Words
Vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings. Vocabulary can be
divided into two forms, they are: receptive and productive vocabulary. According
to (Lehr, 2001), productive vocabulary is the words used when someone is
speaking or writing, while receptive vocabulary is the words used when someone
is listening or reading. Vocabulary can also be said as the kind of words that have
to be mastered by the people who learn English as a foreign language.
Academic words refer to the words learned and operated in academic
environments in English also need to be familiar with a special type of formal
vocabulary that is common in academic discourse. Academic words are the words
in the next level below the specialist words or it can be called as sub-technical
words which occur in a number of disciplines (Jordan, 1997). There are three parts
of academic vocabulary which are appropriate for teaching learning with research
graduates. They are: (a). the research process: the vocabulary is verbs and nouns,
(b). the vocabulary of analysis: high-frequency and two-word verbs, (c). the
vocabulary of evaluation: adjectives and adverbs that occur in reviews, critiques,
and some reports.
Coxhead says that academic words can be supportive elements in the
process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language as in (Schmitt and
Schmitt, 2005). These words can be provided in texts which the students learn and
they can support the productive skills of the students, such as: speaking and
writing. If the students have good mastery on academic vocabulary, the students
corpus of three and a half million words written in academic discourse to help the
students improve their mastery of academic vocabulary through 414 academic
written texts (Schmitt and Schmitt, 2005). There are 570 academic words that
occur frequently across a range of academic subjects. If the students learn these
words in addition to a 2,000-word basic vocabulary, they will be able to
understand more than 86 percent of words they encounter in academic reading
(Schmitt and Schmitt, 2005).
In academic vocabulary learning, there is specialist vocabulary or
technical words above the level of academic words. According to Nation,
specialized word list can be used as a guide and focus for teachers in different
activities and as a checklist and aim for students (Jordan, 1997). Specialist
vocabulary or technical words may be of low frequency. Nation presents a
decision chart for low-frequency words to assist students in deciding which words
to learn (Jordan, 1997: 152).
low-frequency words
technical
(learn it as part of your subject) non technical
containing known parts
(learn it, the known parts will help you not containing known
remember it) parts
repeated
(learn it, it’s useful and the repetition will make not repeated it easy for you to remember it) (maybe ignored)
2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning
According to Celce-Murcia (2001), vocabulary learning is central to
language acquisition, whether the language is first, second, or foreign. In language
acquisition, vocabulary has important role for the deeper understanding of a
language and it needs explicit vocabulary teaching learning. According to Carter
in Celce-Murcia (2001), in explicit vocabulary learning, the learners learn the
most important vocabulary list that is high-frequency words that occur about 80
percent in any written texts. The learners need to learn further vocabulary
knowledge, such as low-frequency words which include academic words.
Teaching learning vocabulary can be done by recognizing new words that
are presented in contexts through exercise and activities include learning words in
word association lists, focusing on highlighted words in texts, and playing
vocabulary games. Learning vocabulary can also be done through the computer
programs that include the sounds of words as well as illustrative pictures provide
opportunity for practice with a variety of contexts, both written and spoken
(Celce-Murcia, 2001: 288). Besides learning vocabulary explicitly, the learners
should learn vocabulary implicitly. Implicit vocabulary learning means that
vocabulary is learned incidentally while reading or listening. For high-frequency
words often occur in explicit vocabulary learning, it does not provide enough
chances for the learners to guess the meaning of words. Therefore, in implicit
learning, the learners will learn low-frequency words, such as academic words and
their chances to learn vocabulary items by guessing meaning will be done
2.1.4 Principles for Teaching Vocabulary
According to Nunan (2003), there are four principles for teaching
vocabulary in a classroom.
1. Focus on the most useful vocabulary first.
In teaching vocabulary, the teachers should teach the more useful
vocabulary rather than the less useful vocabulary in order to give the learners the
best return for their learning effort. The most useful vocabulary that the learners
need can be found in the most frequent 1000 word families of English because it
can cover seventy five percent of running words in academic text books and
newspapers and about eighty percent running words in conversation. Another
useful word list is the second 1000 words of English. This word list contains
plenty of useful words that frequently occur in the texts. Nunan (2003) says that
Academic Word List (Coxhead, 2000) is the most suitable word lists for senior
high school and university students.
2. Focus on the vocabulary in the most appropriate way.
In this way, the teachers should look at the four most important vocabulary
learning strategies of using word parts, guessing from context, using word cards,
and using dictionaries. The teacher need to be able to differentiate the using of
high frequency words and low frequency words. High frequency words occur in a
large proportion in the textbooks in which it can provide a helpful context to allow
learners to guess the meaning of low frequency words (Nunan, 2003: 138).
Guessing meaning from context can help the learners having effective strategy in
word parts to remember and guessing meaning from context are two important
startegies to help the learners in learning vocabulary. Based on the research in
Nation (2001), using word cards and dictionaries are also effective startegies in
learning vocabulary that is to achieve faster and stronger vocabulary learning
results (Nunan, 2003).
3. Give attention to the high frequency words across the four strands of a course.
The four strands in language course are learning from meaning
focused-input, deliberate learning, learning from meaning-focused output, and fluency
development. High frequency words need to occur in all four strands of a course.
They should be used in communicating messages in listening, speaking, reading,
and writing and fluently accessible for receptive and productive skills (Nunan,
2003: 139).
4. Encourage learners to reflect on and take responsibility for learning.
According to Nunan (2003), the learners should realize that they must be
responsible for their own learning. Taking this responsibility requires knowledge
of what to learn and the range of options for learning vocabulary; skill in choosing
the best options; and the ability to monitor and evaluate progress with those
options. If the learners does not take control, the learning process will not be
effective for them. Therefore, the teachers should help them by doing these
following ways: informing, training, and encouraging the learners to reflect and
2.1.5 Assessing Vocabulary
Teaching vocabulary is very important and it obviously seems that words
need to be learned in order to be able to use the language well. In this case,
vocabulary is the basic elements that should be learned and it is the provision of
the people who want to learn a new language. In school level, such as senior high
school, the vocabulary needs to be assessed because it can be considered that
vocabulary is a particular priority in language learning. The principle which has to
be mastered by learners is the ability to memorize perfectly the largest number of
common and useful word-groups (Palmer, 1925). The strategies that are usually
used in assessing vocabulary are multiple choice and matching. These strategies
are easy to be done and to be scored. The teachers can easily score the correct
answers and through this way, the teachers can measure the students’ mastery of
vocabulary.
In assessing vocabulary, the teachers have to understand what vocabulary
is and then find the purpose of assessing vocabulary. In this case, the teachers
should be able to understand that vocabulary knowledge involves knowing the
meaning of words. Because of this reason, the purpose of vocabulary test is to find
out whether the learners can match each word with a synonym, a dictionary type
definition or an equivalent word in their own language (Read, 2000). In
vocabulary testing, the teachers assess learners’ knowledge of words. Indirectly, it
can be said that the teachers measure the learners’ mastery of vocabulary.
In assessing vocabulary, the teachers need to master the strategies of
Wesche and Paribakht (1997), through multiple choice, the learners can know
another meaning for the words, the learners can choose the right word by
eliminating the other words, so the learners can learn more vocabulary items. For
example: if there are 20 items tested through multiple choice types, the learners
can learn approximately 100 vocabulary items. In multiple choice and matching
tests, the learners indirectly learn to guess meaning of the words. We can also say
that learning vocabulary will not be separated with dictionary because it has an
important role in learning vocabulary. However, in the vocabulary tests, the
students are not allowed to use dictionary. Dictionary is only used in teaching
learning process to help the students improve their knowledge of new words. This
is an example of matching test (Read, 2000):
region _ 1. position in relation to others status _ 2. gas that we breathe
cell _ 3. part of a country
oxygen _ 4. smallest part of living thing skeleton _ 5. useful liquid
6. set of bones in the body 7. exciting event
In matching test, the students are to make a connection between target words and
their synonyms or definitions (Read, 2000: 171).
This research uses a practical way in the process of assessing vocabulary,
that is by giving test in the form of matching test. The words taken are the
common academic words from the text books such as English as a Second
Language (Cambridge International Examination): 2000; Cambridge University
Press , Learning to Use English 2: 2006; PT Piranti Darma Kalokatama, Window
to the World 2: 2006; Yudhistira, English Grade XI Science and Social
Programme: 2005; PT Bumi Aksara, and Contextual Learning: 2007; Grafindo
Media Pratama. These books contain many academic words and the meanings
that the students learn during their study in senior high school. Six hundred
academic words in the tests are taken from the books mentioned above.
2.1.6 Understanding of Language Testing
In education field, it is not avoided that evaluation is important in order to
know the students’ mastery of the materials they have learned. Same as the
students in senior high school who are learning English or the other subjects, they
will have their evaluation after they finish studying the materials. When the
students are learning a language, they will experience language tests. Language
test is a device for the institutional control of individuals, it is clearly important
that it should be understood (McNamara, 2000). There are many kinds of
language tests and they are distinguished from the test method and test purpose
(McNamara, 2000: 5-7).
2.1.6.1 Types of Test in Terms of Test Method
Types of test which is differed based on test method are paper-and-pencil
language test and performance test. The form in paper-and-pencil tests is taken
from the familiar examination question paper. They are functioned to assess either
the English components (grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation) or the
test items in this kind of test are in the form of fixed response format, for example
in the standardized test. One of examples of fixed response format is multiple
choice format (McNamara, 2000: 5).
I wonder what the newspaper says about the new play. I must read the ... a. criticism
b. opinion c. review d. critic
However, in perfomance test, language skills are assessed in an act of
communication, such as in speaking and writing tests.
2.1.6.2 Types of Test in Terms of Test Purpose
There are two types of langauge test based on test purposes. They are
achievement and proficiency test (McNamara, 2000: 6). Achievement test deals
with the process of the instruction and the test can be in the form of end of course
tests, portfolio assessments, or observational procedures for recording progress
based on classroom work and participation. The test items in achievement tests
should be related to what the students learn. Achievement tests have relation to
the past of the language learning process and they measure the result of teaching a
language. Proficiency test is different with achievement test. This test is aimed to
look to the future situation of language use without necessarily any reference to
2.1.7 Theory of Testing Vocabulary
In teaching vocabulary, the useful technique is testing vocabulary. There
are several advantages of testing vocabulary (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971: 20). They
are:
(1) the students must pay close attention to complete the exercise correctly, (2) the answers to the questions are clear-cut, (3) the students are actively involved, (4) the students senses the importance of the exercise, for his ability is being measured, (5) the exercises are generally brief, and (6) the teacher has a quick measurement of the students progress.
According to Dale and O’Rourke (1971), there are four kinds of
vocabulary testing. The first kind of vocabulary test is identification that means
the students responds orally or in writing by identifying a word according to its
definition or use, for example: a word may be identified as a synonym of another
word. Secondly, multiple choice is the test in which the students select the correct
meaning of the tested word from three or four definitions. Thirdly, matching test
is a test in which the tested words are presented in one coloumn and the matching
definitions are presented out of order in another coloumn. The fourth kind of
vocabulary test is checking. Checking means the students check the words they
know or do not know.
2.1.8 Vocabulary Mastery in a Language Teaching Learning
Vocabulary is an element which can contribute the process of teaching
learning English, especially in the teaching and learning process of English skills.
Lehr (2001) states, that vocabulary is one of important contributions in learning a
reading, and writing. In teaching learning process, all those skills are supported by
three English elements, i.e. grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation (Nunan,
2003). Beside the knowledge of grammar and pronunciation, vocabulary
knowledge is also important in understanding the language. In receptive skills,
such as reading and listening skills, vocabulary mastery is a significant point that
should be considered by the learners. The more the learners master the
vocabulary, the more they comprehend the content of the texts (Lehr, 2001).
Learners’ vocabulary mastery has strong relation with reading comprehension and
the other skills in English. The learners’ comprehension in English skills will be
better if the learners have good mastery in vocabulary, for example in reading
comprehension. Therefore, the learners’ vocabulary mastery should be improved
in order to be able to give more contribution in language learning.
2.1.9 English Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing
As stated by the Nunan (2003), the English skills are divided into two
parts, i.e. productive and receptive skills. Productive skills consist of speaking and
writing skills and productive means language generated by the learners in speech
or writing. It means that the students can produce ideas which are expressed
through speaking or writing. Speaking is included in productive oral skill and that
consists of producing systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning (Nunan,
2003: 48).
According to Nunan (2003: 88), writing can be defined as:
computer. On the other hand, writing is a mental work of inventing ideas, thinking about how to express them, and organizing them into statements and paragraphs that will be clear to a reader.
The purpose of writing is to express an idea or feeling and it can be called as a
process and a product. The writing process include the process of imagining,
organizing, drafting, editing, reading, and rereading, then the product can be in
the form of essay, letter, story, and research report. According to Nation, the
students’ fluency of using vocabulary can be improved through productive skills,
i.e. speaking and writing skills (Richard and Renandya, 2002: 269).
2.2 Theoretical Framework
Vocabulary is a set of words which are learned when people want to learn a
new language. It is one of language elements which has important role to support
the learners’ ability in understanding the language. Without understanding the
words and word meanings, the people will not be able to master the language
well, especially in communication (Dale and O’Rourke, 1971). As stated by
Pawly and Syder (1983), if people want to use the language fluently, they need to
be able to put words together quickly in typical combinations. Therefore, the
learners have to be able to master many vocabulary items in English that is
learned as a foreign language and use the words in speaking and writing fluently
and accurately. In senior high school level, the learners need to be taught high
frequency and academic words that are used in daily life context in academic
In learning vocabulary, the learners’ mastery of vocabulary need to be
assessed in order to know the students’ mastery of vocabulary in which the
vocabulary can support the students’ ability in communication (Dale and
O’Rourke, 1971). Mastery in this research means knowing the word meanings, i.e.
the Indonesian equivalences. The aim of the assessment is to find out whether the
learners can do the test and answer the questions correctly or not. In measuring
vocabulary mastery of the students in senior high school level, the teachers can
apply two types of test. They are multiple choice and matching. The tests can
measure the learners’ mastery through the score given after the tests are done.
Multiple choice and matching are the easy types to be scored. The students will be
tested by using matching test to assess the students’ mastery of academic words in
this research. The score is found through the correct answers and those are the
vocabulary that the learners master.
In teaching vocabulary, the teachers need many strategies and facilities to
make the teaching learning process work well. The teachers can use context-based
approach to teach vocabulary using dictionary as the escort of the learning
process. In learning vocabulary, the teachers can provide the kinds of dictionary,
like book dictionary and E-dictioanary. Those two kinds of dictionary can help the
learners become easier in learning vocabulary. The teachers can also combine
those two strategies to achieve the goals of vocabulary learning. Context-based
approach helped by the exsistance of dictionary will produce better result of
vocabulary mastery. The teacher can apply one of the principles in teaching
should teach the most frequent words occurred in academic study, for example
Academic Word List from Coxhead (2000). If this principle is applied in teaching
learning process, it can help the learners understand the words and word meanings
in mastering academic vocabulary and it is included in explicit learning of
vocabulary.
Vocabulary mastery of senior high school students is one of the supporting
factors in learning English as a foreign language. By having substantial
vocabulary mastery, the learners will easily follow the lesson, even communicate
by using English well. The learners will be easier in improving their skills in
English, such as: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Vocabulary mastery of
the learners will be obviously seen in those four skills, especially in listening and
reading. Nation (1990) says that there is close connection between vocabulary
mastery, coverage of the vocabulary in a text, and the ease a learner will have in
coping with the language of the text.
The theories about vocabulary assessment by Read (2000) and Palmer
(1925) can support the research about the vocabulary mastery of the students in
senior high school. The theories talk about the definition of vocabulary and how
to assess vocabulary to the learners. The theories of assessing vocabulary also
give explanation about the appropriate strategies of assessing vocabulary. There
are two types of test that are usually implemented in senior high school level.
They are multiple choice type and matching type. Those are included in the
This study uses matching test to measure the students’ mastery of vocabulary,
especially academic words.
Senior high school students are in the beginner level and so do vocabulary
items they learned in academic study, that is the academic words. The number of
academic words that occur frequently in academic study is about 570 up to 800
words for beginner level. Learning vocabulary in senior high school level is more
emphasized on the form and meaning of the words. In order to measure the
students’ mastery of academic words, the researcher will give test to the students
in the twelfth grade. The tests are in the form of matching test and the correct
answers of the tests will be scored. The correct answers can be the equivalences of
the students’ mastery of academic words in the beginner level, which is 570 to
800 words from the text coverage in academic study for senior high school
students (Nation, 1990). After knowing the students’ mastery of academic words,
the correlation between academic word mastery and productive skills will be
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY
In this chapter will be discussed the methodology of the research
including: (1) types of the research, (2) setting, (3) subjects of the research, (4)
instrument, (5) data collection, (6) data analysis. Those important things will be
explained deeply in each point below.
3.1 Research Method
This research was aimed to help the students and the English teachers to
know the students’ mastery of academic vocabulary and its correlation with the
students’ productive skills. Besides knowing their mastery of vocabulary, the
students could experience vocabulary tests that had never been had before and
given more knowledge about academic vocabulary items. This research is also
aimed to help the English teachers to know the students’ mastery of vocabulary,
so they can make better strategy of teaching English in order to improve the
students’ English skills, especially for the next generations.
This research was a kind of descriptive quantitative research. This research
is included in correlational study since it discusses the relation between the
students’ mastery of academic words with their productive skills, i.e. whether they
have high, substantial, low relation, or can be ignored or no relation (Young,
1982: 317 as cited by Sulaiman, 2003: 134). Correlation in this research means
one of statistical techniques used to find the relation between two or more
variables that has quantitative or qualitative characteristics. The correlation
measure is divided as follows:
a. 0.70 – 1.00 shows high association degree,
b. 0.40 - < 0.70 shows substantial relation,
c. 0.20 - < 0.40 shows low correlation,
d. < 0.20 means that the relation is very low or almost no relation between
variables.
The reason for choosing a method of the research was based on the characteristics
of the data obtained from the subjects. The data of this research dealt with
quantity of academic words mastered by the subjects and the data was gathered
from an instrument, that was in the form of matching test. Therefore, quantitative
method was applied to the research data analysis.
According to Olson (1995), quantitative reserach is a research that gather
the data by measuring or estimating. Quantitative method also considered that all
the indications observed in the research could be measured and changed in the
form of numeral and it was possible to use statistics analysis techniques
(Sudarsono, 1988). Quantitative method is aimed to describe an indication
quantitatively by using presentation of score which is obtained from the result of
the test. The score obtained from the tests were analyzed. The result of scoring
was counted and the scores were the answer to the first problem formulation.
After finding the number of academic words mastered by the twelve grade
students, the correlation of academic words mastery with the students’ productive
3.2 Research Procedure
This reserach was done in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari and it is located in
Gunungkidul regency. The researcher did some procedures to conduct this
research. Firstly, the researcher did library research to gather supporting ideas that
could help the process of problem solving in this research. After doing library
research, the researcher made instrument that could be used in the research. For
the third procedure, the researcher got permission to do the research in the
institution chosen as the subjects of the research.
The researcher then gave vocabulary tests to the samples on 1 to 12 April
2008, i.e. the twelfth grade students in SMA Negeri 1 Wonosari. On May 2008,
the students did final practice test (speaking and writing) and the test items were
from the teachers. Therefore, the researcher could obtain the result after the tests
were done. After all the data were gathered, the researcher analyzed the data and
discussed the data analysis. Finally, the researcher could draw conclusions from
the discussion and give suggestions.
3.3 Subject of the Research
The samples were taken by using cluster sampling and they would be the
representative of the population. Cluster sampling was a sampling technique that
was not taken based on individual, but it was based on a group, area, or a group of
subjects that naturally gathered in the same area (Sukardi, 2003). The subjects of
the research were taken from the population of the twelfth grade students inSMA
twelve, they were regular and acceleration class. The subjects of this research
were taken from regular class. From this population, the researcher took a hundred
and twenty students as the samples of this research. In summary, there were three
regular classes which became the subjects of the research.
3.4 Data Collection
The subject of this research was the twelfth grade students’ mastery of
academic words that was measured by using vocabulary tests done on April, 2008.
The students did the tests in the form of matching test and every student should
finish a hundred academic words. There were a hundred English words which
should be matched with the Indonesian equivalences. However, there were a
hundred and five Indonesian words in the tests. The other five words did not have
match and the students could be trapped if they did not match the words carefully.
The data collection was implemeted in April 1 to April 12, 2008. This kind
of test was included in achievement potential test because it was aimed to measure
the students’ achivement in studying English, especially the vocabulary mastery
of academic words and their productive skills. The results of the tests could reflect
the students’ achivement in understanding academic words. However, the
students’ productive skills were tested in the final practice examination on May
3.5 Instruments
According to Sudarsono (1988), measurement is the way to describe the
condition of someone or object quantitavely by using instrument that could
measure the objects. Instrument used to gather the data was in the form of test, i.e.
matching test, speaking test, and writing test. Ary, Jacobs, and Razavieh (1985)
states that a test is a set of stimuli presented to individual in order to elicit
responses on the basis of which a numerical score can be assigned. Matching test
was used as an instrument in this research since it is a simple form of test which
has 1 score for each item in the vocabulary test. Through matching test, the
students could focus on the students’ mastery of academic words, especially in
knowing the meaning of academic words (Indonesian equivalences) in the tests
like what has been mentioned in the previous chapter. Beside that, the students
could also learn more vocabulary through matching test because they could guess
the other word meanings.
Each test consisted of a hundred academic words and there were six
hundred academic words to be tested. The academic words tested were taken from
their books used in their teaching learning process, such as English as a Second
Language (Cambridge International Examination): 2000; Cambridge University
Press , Learning to Use English 2: 2006; PT Piranti Darma Kalokatama, Window
on the World: 2001; Erlangga , Linked to the World 1: 2006; Yudhistira, Linked
to the World 2: 2006; Yudhistira, English Grade XI Science and Social
Programme: 2005; PT Bumi Aksara, and Contextual Learning: 2007; Grafindo
The other instruments were in the form of practical test, i.e. speaking and
writing tests and these tests were from the teachers. In speaking test, there were
two parts that should be done by the students. They were retelling the content of
the texts and making a dialogue into a monologue. In each part, there were three
texts and dialogues. The students were to choose one of the text and dialogue and
they did the tests. In writing test, the students were to make a composition based
on the kind of text that they had chosen. In the question sheet, it was provided the
kinds of text with its genre, social function, generic structure, and significant
lexicogrammatical features. There were four kinds of text, i.e. recount, report,
analytical exposition, and explanation. In this test, the students decided which
kind of text they wanted to do and chose one of topics provided in the question
sheet, then they made a composition based on the kind of text they chose.
Those were the instruments used in this research. The vocabulary test was
from the researcher and the practical tests were from the English teacher inSMA
Negeri 1 Wonosari.These instruments were valid and the validity was included in
the content validity since content validity refers to the degree to which the test
actually measures, or is specifically related to, the traits for which it was designed
(Best, 1986: 155). Content validity was important for achievement tests and the
instruments used in this research were included in achievement test because it
assessed the students’ mastery of academic words and the students’ ability in
productive skills during the study in senior high school. The materials in
instruments were taken from the learning materials that the students learned and it
3.6. Data Analysis
The data were analyzed by doing scoring to the result of the students’ tests
first. The best way in scoring was manual scoring since it was more thorough and
had high sensitivity if there was a deviation (Sukardi, 2003). The scoring was
done by counting the correct answers of the tests and the correct answers could
reflect the students’ mastery of academic words. The scoring was rechecked in
order to get high accuracy. It was very important to recheck the results of the
scoring otherwise it could lead to the wrong analysis. There were a hundred
academic words in each test and each item had one score. If the answer was
incorrect, there was no score or null. The correct answers reflected the students’
mastery of academic words if they were analyzed into statistical data by
presenting the number of correct answers.
The score in matching test is one correct answer got one. According to
Arikunto (2005), the way in scoring is:
S: Raw score (score that is obtained)
R: correct answer
Through this scoring, the students’ mastery of academic words could be reflected
in the result of raw score and it was analyzed by using statistical analysis. The
academic words mastered were counted by using mean score of each item and it
was in the form of percentage. The percentages represented low or high mastery
After the number of academic words mastered was found, the correlation
of academic word mastery with the students’ productive skills was analyzed. In
this analysis, the correlation of academic words mastery with productive skills
was discussed based on the correlation theory in statistical analysis. Correlation
means one of statistical techniques used to find the relation between two or more
quantitative or qualitative variables (Sulaiman, 2003: 134). Coefficient correlation
used to analyze the data is Spearman’s correlation and counted by using SPSS
Program since it is used to find the relation between two variables in which the
data are from different sources, such as from the students’ vocabulary test scores
and practice examination scores. The students’ productive skills in this research
were represented through the students’ practice scores, i.e. the practice scores they
achieved in final examination. The Spearman’s correlation formulation is:
D2 n(n2– 1) in which:
Spearman’s correlation coefficient
D = the difference between two variables
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
This chapter discusses the results of data analysis based on the
methodology discussed in the previous chapter. The researcher attempted to study
the twelve grade students’ mastery of academic words and its relation with the
students’ productive skills. The samples of this research were taken from SMA
Negeri 1 Wonosari, grade twelve. The results of the research were analyzed by
using descriptive statistics analysis that was by finding the mean score of the test
scores and the correlation coefficient of those two variables. For the detailed
discussion, this chapter discusses the twelfth grade students’ mastery of academic
words, then the correlation between academic words mastery and the students’
productive skills.
4.1 The Twelfth Grade Students’ Mastery of Academic Words in SMA 1 Wonosari
In this section, the first problem is discussed, i.e. the twelfth grade
students’ mastery of academic words. The students’ mastery in this research
means the students’ ability to know the words and word meanings, especially the
Indonesian equivalences. The students’ scores are presented below and it will be
the base of the data analysis.
