THE
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ ACTIVITY IN
WATCHING
ENGLISH TV PROGRAMS AND STUDENT’S
VOCABULARY
MASTERY: THE CASE OF THE FOURTH
SEMESTER
STUDENT OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
SEMARANG
STATE UNIVERSITY
CHAPTER
I
INTRODUCTION
1.1
General Background of the Study
Brumfit (1981: 1) stated that English is an internationTal language and the
most widespread medium of communication, both because of the number and
geographical areas of its speakers and because of the large number of non native
speakers who use it for part of their international contact. Thus, it is not surprising
that the teaching of English is carried out in many parts of the world. For
example, our country Indonesia treats English as the first foreign language.
English has some important roles in the development of Indonesia, such as it is
used as an instrument in developing modern science and technology sources using
English in their explanation to help people around the world in learning them.
English is one of the international languages used as a means of communication
among nations in the world. It is used in international trade, tourism and
other important international affairs. Indonesian language is a mother tongue,
thus, English language is not used commonly in a daily life by Indonesian
people. Therefore, to consider the important role of English, the Indonesian
government positions English as the first foreign language.
Realizing the importance of English in our country, many people in Indonesia
are learning the language. They learn it for many different purposes such as
business, science, technology, and communication and also for education. Besides having different purposes
in learning the language, people also have different sources in learning it.
Most of them learn the language in formal education such as: schools, college
and universities. In our country, English has been taught as a compulsory
subject since the students are in the Junior High School until the University.
It is also taught in some Elementary Schools and Kindergartens in Indonesia as
local content from now on. In addition to learning the language in formal
education, people also learn it in non-formal education. English courses and
private lessons are the examples of non-formal education institutions existing
in our country. People can choose one of them that are suitable with their
purpose and funds. Although they are learning the language from different
sources, they have a same basic wish in their learning process that they want
to get a success on it in realizing their wish; they use some media that can
help them in the learning process. These media can be books, magazines,
newspapers, cassettes, radios and also television.
Television is one of the mass media that can also be used as a medium in
learning English. Why television? Because it is an interesting and enjoyable medium
to learn anything. The audience can learn anything they have not known before
watching television, because it always offers something actual and new to them
through its programs. As it is mentioned by Vernon S Gerlach / Donald P. Ely
(1980:354) “Television is an electronic system of transmitting still and moving
images with accompany in sound over a wire or through space. The system employs
equip that converts lights and sound into electrical impulses and reconverts
them into visible light rays and audible sound”. From the quotation we know
that the audience at home can know and learn anything new and actual in the
world through television. It is like a magic box that gives something wonderful
to its audience through its programs.
As one of the mass media, it gives so many benefits to its audience, such
as excitement, information and also knowledge. There are many kinds of knowledge
that can be obtained by them by watching television programs, for example
knowledge of environment, medicine, law, politic, culture and also language. As
it is mentioned on the previous paragraph, television can be used as a medium
to learning a foreign language, for example English language. It can happen
because television broadcast programs that are broadcast on their television
channels. The programs are broadcast everyday on television, from morning until
night, of course on specific times. This condition is very useful for the
English learners in Indonesia, included the students of the English
Department of Semarang State University because they can use the programs
to add their English knowledge. There are many English skills and knowledge
that can be learned by the students by watching English TV programs, such as
listening, speaking and also knowledge of vocabulary. There are many
vocabularies that can be learning by them by watching the programs, because the
programs provide so many vocabularies of many different fields. They can learn
vocabularies of environment, social life, law, politic, education etc from
those programs. It is important for them to have a large vocabulary because of
the four English skills such as listening, reading, speaking and writing need a
large vocabulary.
Mastering it will help them to improve the other English knowledge, as it
is mentioned by Charles B. Jennings (1978: 4): “If you already have an interest
in words (vocabulary) using them can improve your reading, writing, talking, and
thinking”. From the quotation above, we can take a reference that the basic
component, which must be mastered by them to get a success in learning English
is vocabulary. They will find some difficulties in their learning process
without mastering it, since most learning activities such as listening, reading,
thinking and talking need a large and solid vocabulary. As it is stated by
Micheal Bennet (1991:63) “Yet everyone, especially the English learners’ need a
large vocabulary to succeed in their learning process because reading and
listening are the ways they learn”.
The students of English Department of Semarang State University as a part
of English learners in Indonesia should also have a large vocabulary. Especially
because they will become teachers in the future. As teachers, they should have
a good English knowledge because they will teach many students and they should
be responsible for their teaching. Moreover, they have a duty to correct the
mistakes that have been done by their students during the learning process.
Therefore, they really should have a good quality in English correcting the
students’ mistakes is not an easy work, since they should know both the source
of mistakes itself and the correct form. They can not do this duty, if they
have not a good English knowledge. It is really needed by them to become
English teachers. Since this profession has a heavy responsibility; both,
responsibility for the result and the responsibility for the learning process
itself.
Relating to the matter, English students of Semarang State University really
must have a good quality in English. They can start to reach it by having a
large vocabulary because it helps them to master other English skills. Moreover,
it is also helps them in communicating with the teachers, other people and with
their students. It is really needed in a communication, as it is mentioned by
Canale and Swain in Jack Richard and W. Schmidt (1983: 5) “Communicative
competence was understood as the underlying system ofknowledge and skill
required for communication, e.g. knowledge of vocabulary and skill in using the
sociolinguistics of convention for a given language”. From the quotation above,
we know that mastery of the vocabulary of a foreign language is the most
required thing for communication. Nasr (1975:57) stated that language is used
to communicate ideas and experiences and vocabulary is an element in a language
that expresses units in our experiences. Realizing this fact, the writer thinks
that English TV programs are good media for the English students’ of Semarang
State University to enrich their vocabularies, also expression from those
programs. They can get that thing that they do not get in their classes and
textbooks. It is good for them to learn English language out of campus because
it can help them in their English learning process. Their English will develop
better if they also learn it out of campus.
This fact will open their eyes that they should learn from many different
sources if they want to get a success in learning English. They can not learn
from one source only. Furthermore, learning English out of campus will help
them in conducting communication in English, because out of campus they can
learn how to practice their English. Moreover they can know that English in
daily communication is slightly different from English in the textbooks.
Realizing this fact, learning and listening from people who have a good
quality in English is the right way for them to add their English knowledge.
They can increase English skills and knowledge, such as speaking and vocabulary
by listening them. Listening to the people who have a better speech style, such
as lecturers, presenters, teachers and eminent public figures is a good way for
them to build a large vocabulary. It is mentioned by Michael Bennet (1991: 63)
“That listening to intelligent people or native speakers is another good way to
acquire a solid vocabulary”. Furthermore, he stated that the context of spoken
language is ever more helpful than of written language. Since it includes body
language, facial expression and intonation (stress, pitch and juncture) to help
the learners to understand the meaning intended by the speaker (J Michael
Bennet, 1991:63).
Based on the statements above, we know that one of the ways in learning
vocabulary is by listening to the people who have a better knowledge and speech
style than we have. Relating to this matter, English TV Programs are exactly
the right media for the students of English Department Semarang State
University to enrich their vocabulary. It contains things that fulfill the requirements
for a good way in building a rich vocabulary. It also contains spoken language,
which is supported by facial expression and also the right intonation of the
announcers, actors, and actresses of the programs that condition will help the
English students in understanding the words or the sentences that are spoken by
them by seeing their factual expression and intonation. In this way, the
English students can guess the meaning of an unfamiliar word first before they
know exactly the appropriate meaning of the word.
In addition, English TV Programs also help the English Students of Semarang
State University to learn the vocabulary in its context. So, they really know
how to use the word that exists in the program in daily life. Moreover, they
can understand that a word has different meaning according to its context. For
example, the word ‘cool’ has different meaning when it is used in music and
climax contexts. In the first context it means good or wonderful. Meanwhile, in
the second context it means chilly. From this example, we know that context is
the most important thing in determining the meaning of a word. It is also helps
them in understanding a meaning of an unfamiliar word without looking it up in
the dictionary, Albert J. Harris and Edward R. Sibay (1981: 139) mentioned “We
can deduce the meanings of many words without looking them up in a dictionary
or other word book by studying them in context, in the sentence which they use
in a part”. Furthermore, Perrin(1957) also has the same opinion about the
meaning of the words, as it is cited by Gray C. Jack (1963:1) that words have
meaning only in a particular statements. From the two statements above, we can
conclude that two better ways to understand the meaning of words are by
studying them in their context and studying them in a particular statement. Relating
to the matter, the writer considers that English TV programs are really good
media for the students of the English Department of Semarang State University
to learn vocabulary in their contexts, so they will not get a difficulty in
choosing words in conducting communication in English.
In this thesis, the writer wants to discuss the significant correlation between
the students’ activity in watching English TV programs and their vocabulary mastery.
She takes the fourth semester English students of Semarang State University to
be examined because thinks that students in this grade already have enough
English knowledge to follow the programs. She considers that the program is a
really good program for them in building the vocabulary. She hopes that she can
find any significant correlation between two things above because she has a
hypothesis that there is a correlation between them. To prove her opinion, then
she conducted this research.
1.2
Reason for Choosing the Topic
The following
are the reasons of choosing the topic:
1.2.1
The
importance of vocabulary mastery for English students.
She realizes that vocabulary mastery in an important thing for English
students because a large vocabulary is needed by them to get a success in their
English learning process. Although there are four language skills, Such as
listening, reading, speaking, writing are started by vocabulary so it is a
first thing that English students must be familiar with.
1.2.2
The
importance of the context and spoken language in learning the vocabulary.
She considers that context is the first thing that should be noticed by
the English students in learning vocabulary. It helps them in using the
vocabulary in communication. They will find some difficulties about how to
choose an appropriate vocabulary in daily life without understanding the
context. Furthermore, she also realizes that spoken language- especially from
the people who have good speech style is also a good way to enrich vocabulary.
It is good since facial expression, intonation and good performance of the
speakers, will help the students in understanding their speech, support it. She
considers that English to programs contain those entire things. Moreover, they also
contain so many interesting things. Therefore, students will not get boredom in
learning vocabulary if they use the program.
Furthermore, she has an opinion that there is a significant correlation between
students’ activity in watching English TV program on their vocabulary mastery.
So, she chooses this topic in her thesis. The writer wants to know whether
there is the significant correlation between students’ activity in watching
English TV programs on the student’s vocabulary of English Department of Semarang
State University. For the sake of limitation, the writer chooses only the
fourth semester students as the subject of the research.
1.3
Assumption and Limitation
In conducting
this investigation, the writer has the following assumptions.
1.3.1
A
students’ activity in watching English TV programs is indicated by the score of
the questionnaires concerning the students’ activity in doing it.
1.3.2
A
students’ mastery of vocabulary is indicated by the score of vocabulary test.
1.3.3
The
result of this study is only applied to the fourth semester English Department
students’ of Semarang State University in the academic year 2006.
1.4
Statements of the Problems
The problems
stated in this thesis are:
1.4.1
What
does ‘vocabulary’ and ‘vocabulary mastery’ mean?
1.4.2
What
types of vocabulary are found in English TV Programs?
1.4.3
Is
there any significant correlation between students’ activity in watching
English TV programs and their vocabulary mastery?
1.5
Objectives of the Study
The objectives
of the study are:
1.5.1
To
understand what is vocabulary in learning language.
1.5.2
To
find out vocabulary types those are found in English TV programs.
1.5.3
To
find out whether there is a significant correlation between the students’
activity in watching English TV programs and their vocabulary mastery.
1.6
Significance of the Study
The result of this study will be useful for the readers. Especially for
the students of the English Department of Semarang State University. It may provide
useful information for them in conducting such a research. In addition, this
information can distribute to their knowledge of language research. This study
may be helpful for the English Department Students of Semarang State University.
It helps them be more alert to their vocabulary mastery. Furthermore, it may
help them to understand that vocabulary mastery is an important aspect in
language learning. It is a key for them to get a success in their learning
language process.
For the writer this thesis gives awareness that vocabulary is an important
aspect in language learning. Besides that, this thesis also gives her a view
that learning English out of school is very important to the English Department
Students of Semarang State University.
1.7
Outline of the Thesis
The outline of the thesis is as follows chapter I contains the introduction
covering the background of the study. The reasons for choosing the topic,
assumption and limitation, the statement of the problems, the objectives of the
study, significance of he study and outline of the thesis. In chapter II, she
discusses the theory underlying the writing of her thesis and the hypothesis.
In chapter III, she writes about the method of the investigation. It consists
of the population and sample, the variables, the method and procedure of
collecting the data, the instruments of the research, the administering of the test,
the scoring technique and the method of data analysis. In chapter IV, she
presents the research findings, which consists of the data analysis and the
discussion of the result.
The last chapter, that is chapter V, contains the conclusions and the suggestions
of the research.
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Thesis / PTK / PTS lengkap (Ms.Word),
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