Mastering English Vocabulary Requires Some Learning Strategies

In mastering the English vocabulary is the significant part to show the students’ knowledge of word meaning in a given passage. Knowing the vocabulary means that someone (learners) has already acquired the beginning part of the learning English. By understanding the word (vocabulary) is the first step to achieve reading comprehension. In line with this, Baker, Simons, and Kame’enui state” the relation between reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge is strong and unequivocal. Means, to gain the reading comprehension, the students (learners) should mastering the vocabulary first. Of course there is a big correlation among those cases.

Indeed, by mastering the vocabulary, the learners can define the world and get brighter life.  According to Steven Stahl said” Teaching word meanings should be a way for students to define world, to move from dark to the light, to more fine-grained description of the colors that surround us”. By knowing the vocabulary, automatically, the students could understand and translate every single the new words.

Moreover, here there are four strategies in mastering the vocabulary (4 strategies), clearly stated by Instructional Dustbin, listed as follows:

1. Look them (vocabulary) up (find the meaning in the dictionaries)

Certainly dictionaries have their place, especially during writing, but looking up a word and copying a definition is not likely to result in vocabulary learning. In another words mean that using dictionaries is not really effective to presents the students’ understanding. Example: translating the words by using the standard dictionaries.

            2. Use them in a sentence

Writing sentences with new vocabulary after understanding of the word meaning is helpful. Example: Reading a text and paraphrase it according to the students’ understanding (to show the students’ understanding).

            3. Use context

                        Example: in common, word “interest” means being attractive by something, but in economy aspect, word “interest” means the debt that must be paid by customer of bank.

            4. Memorize definition

                        I think it is not really effective because there are thousands million words to be remembered.

Those are 4 strategies in mastering the vocabulary, but the most effective way to master them only has 2 of them (the strategies); 2. Use the vocabulary in sentences 3. Use context

Ad (2) Use the vocabulary in sentences

            An expert says that “a good writer is a good reader”. Means, if the students want to be a good writer, they should read a lot. But, firstly, the students should be a master of vocabulary because by writing a new vocabulary after understanding the word meaning is related to the students’ achievement on their reading comprehension. Example: in TOEFL, the reading comprehension is the biggest score than grammar and listening. In writing something, students can not directly to come to the writing the text. They should do the writing process as Grenville (2001:11) stated: getting ideas, choosing ideas, outlining, drafting, revising, and editing.

            Ad (3) Use Context

            Besides, understanding vocabulary can be mastered by use them in context. It helps the students broaden their deepest understanding. It is not just depend on one context, means the context would serve the students in higher level thinking to be understood well. The vocabulary would differ in a different context as common. Example: