Mnemonics in Teaching Vocabulary

Learning English as foreign language can not be separated from the process of recognizing new vocabularies of the English itself. The process of catching the new word, on this case, must activate the function of the brain. The role of the brain in memorizing new vocabulary is as a box to store the word itself. Every student has different ability in optimizing the function of the brain. Some students are able to store and memorize new information in long term, while the others are only able to store the information in short term. In learning English, particularly in recognizing new vocabulary, many students have lack capacity in memorizing English word in long term. Those students are actually able to store the information in the brain in long term, but they have not known yet how to use or optimize the function of the brain in memorizing new vocabulary.

Mnemonics is memorizing technique that is able to help the students to store or memorize new information (new vocabulary) in long term. Mnemonic has effective role to translate information into a form that the brain can work better than its original form. In using this technique, students will activate their right brain. The system of this memorizing technique is how to change abstract information, in right brain to visual information by following the process of imagining, associating, and locating. Since the language of the brain is a visual or a picture, the process of visualizing the abstract information in the brain is precisely considered as the effective to store the information in a long term.

In teaching vocabulary, mnemonics technique can  be applied into two ways, they are Linking Mnemonics and Rhymes Songs Mnemonics. Link Words Mnemonics refers to the way to memorize English vocabulary by associating it with certain real object of the mother tongue word. After that the word associated, should be put into imaginative story. The following examples are Link Words Mnemonics:

English Vocabulary	Association	Imaginery Story
Gallop (Jalan cepat)	Galau	Obatnya Galau adalah berjalan cepat
Moustache (Kumis)	Motor Mustang	Pengendara Mustang pasti berkumis
City (kota)	Bu Siti	Bu siti suka pergi ke kota
Quivering (bergetar)	Kue kerings	Setelah makan kue kering perut kita akan begetar

In applying Link word mnemonics, it is suggested to create unique imagination in order that our brain is able to recognize and store the vocabulary in long term.

                Rhymes and Songs mnemonics is one of types of mnemonics tehcniques by combining the word memorized with a song. This tehnique is applied since there is a general fact that people are able to listen and memorize song easily. The song that used in this technique must be familiar with the students. The English teachers of kindergarten and elementary school frequently apply this technique. The following are the examples of Rhymes and Songs mnemonics:

The students are singing Mana di mana anak kambing saya in memorizing math formula

Plus ditambah

Minus dikurangi

Times dikali

Divided dibagi

Equals sama dengan 2x

I know English

I know about number

Which mnemonics are you going to apply? Explore your creativity to create creative teaching technique.

Bung Hatta

Tak banyak pemimpin seperti Bung Hatta
Memimpin Tanpa Menguras Harta Negara

-Mata Najwa-

I noticed the verse above on one of episodes in Najwa Shihab Talk Show program. The verse made me curious to search who Bung Hatta actually is. After searching on the internet and read in some biography books, I find an inspirational story about Bung Hatta that many people talk about them. Here is the story.

Bung Hatta, Most people Indonesia people are familiar with him as the first vice president of Indonesia. He is well known as one of the proclamators of Indonesia Independence. Beside becoming the president of Indonesia, Bung Hatta actually has good manner side that many people are not familiar with him. Bung Hatta is well know as humble and simple leader. One of the true stories that shows  he has these personalities is that when he wants to buy bally shoes but he could not buy it until is the end of his life.  Why could not he buy these shoes? The story began when he traveled abroad, he noticed a shoes named bally in one of the shoes shops, he was actually very interested in the shoes. Due to the fact that he did not have enough money to buy the shoes, he just kept the display of the shoes in his mind. He then cut the advertisement of the shoes from the newspaper then stick on the wall. Unfortunately, he could not buy the shoes until the end of his life. As vice president, he was actually able to buy the shoes. He must have had much money as vice president to buy the shoes. Then, why could not he buy the shoes until the end of his life? Many stories tell that Bung Hatta always spent his money for helping other people, particularly his family or relation. His humble and generosity reflected the real leader who has high integrity. He did not spend “money nation” for his private need, but he used it for his societies.

Wish a government officials nowadays typify Bung Hatta’s humble and generosity in spending "nation money”, Amin.......

Language and Building a Bicycle

Everybody must know that a mean of communication is language. People use language  to convey their ideas to others in form of giving information,answering questions, registering promises, and so forth. Discussing a language, particularly language for communication, can not be separated from structure, function and process of the language itself. The structure of language refers to the grammar of the language, the function means in what purpose people communicate such as for asking question, giving command, answering a question and so forth, while process is how people or speakers produce the sentence in appropriate structure.  

The process of people fit the function of language with accurate structure is much like building a bicycle. People who wants to ride bicycle should have a bicycle which has complete materials such as frame, two wheels, handlebars, pedals, chain,etc. Those materials, then, constructed to create bicycle. The bicycle, on this case, is the analogy of the grammar of language. A sentence that people convey in communication is constructed from certain language structure. A certain structure that people utter (the bicycle), then, must represents certain language function (to transport people from one place to another). When the bicycle built completely, it must work perfectly as the function of the bicycle it self. In language, the structure of question, for example, must have function for delivering question when the speakers of correct question structure. People must need process to build a bicycle. They must have right workshops,tools, and materials before they build them. They then build every part of bicycle with a series of steps, physical operation, and in a particular order. People produce language is like the process of building a bicycle. When people want to convey question (the function of a bicycle), they must be able to use appropriate question structure (the bicycle itself). Using their mental competence, they should be able to understand the process of putting the word in correct order of the question structure (the process of building the bicycle with appropriate materials and procedure).

Producing a language, then, is a process of constructing the language structure to convey accurate meaning of the language itself.

The English Learners’ Repeated Errors

Discussing students’ obstacles in learning English can not be separated from how they make mistake in using the language. In correcting the mistake, some students are able to use their English capabilities to correct it by themselves, but it is not rarely that some students need teacher’s explanation to correct the mistake. One of the students’ mistake that make many English teachers feel curious is that why the students frequently make the repeated mistakes that they do it many times.

There are two sources of problem why the students often make same mistake in using English, either in written way or spoken way. These problems are apparently noticed from the students who do not yet have good English competencies. The first source of the problem that cause students make a mistake is that L1 ‘interference’. This problem frequently occurs to the students since they have a deep knowledge to their first language that interfere the process of learning English. When their first language and English comes together into their mind, they usually feel confused to produce it in English. One of the interference of mother tongue toward English is that deals with the sound of language. The Indonesian students must face a problem to pronounce or utter  the word or sentence of English. The problem occurs since in Indonesia language the sound of certain word uttered same with the written, but in English, the word pronounced is mostly different from the written word. Therefore, their mother tongue sound usually interfere the how they produce English sound. The L1 interference often occurs in the structure of English. Indonesian students often have trouble  with the position of an adjective that comes together. In Indonesia language the adjective comes after a noun described, but in English the adjective comes before a noun. For example, The students utter gajah besar into Elephant big rather than big Elephant.

Developmental errors is the second source  of students’ mistake in using English. Developmental errors is also called over-generalisation. This problem occurs since English has generality and exception. One of the examples of over-generalisation is that when the students used simple past or past participle verb in sentence. Since there are a lot of verbs that added with ed in simple past and past participle form, the students usually make over-generalisation that all verbs of English should be added by ed in simple past and past participle form. For example, They bringed, I goed  rather than They brought, I went. Another example of over-generalisition is that when the students learn comparative. They make on over-generalistion that the comparative adjectives are formed with more - . For example His score is more good than my score rather than the correct one his score is better than my score.

Making a mistake or error in using second language is part of the natural process of language learning. Every student must have at any one stage to develop their language competence. The role of English teacher on this case does not only shape their language competence continually, but they also should be able to provide positive feedback toward students’ mistake rather than telling their errors.

Do you acquire or learn language?

It is not surprisingly that somebody who never goes to English lesson, but he can speak English in spontaneous communication. However, there are many people or students who have learned English at school for several years, but he is only able to memorize a lot of vocabularies or do grammar exercise rather than use it for active communication. Why could the two cases above actually occur in language domain? The answer is that because people pick up their second language into two ways, they are learning and acquisition.

People who are able to speak English actively and fluently without going to English lesson pick up the language through acquisition. People acquire the language by absorbing the language from their target-language community. They live in an environment in which all people use target language for communication, for example local people who live around some popular beaches in Bali who can communicate with foreigner fluently. People are able to acquire the language since they have good ‘spontaneous’ capabilities in receiving and producing the language. Initially, they must do a hard effort to build their spontaneous capabilities to get or use the language. Because they use it all the time with their environment, they are finally accustomed to the language. People acquire the language in natural and subconscious activity so that they can easily use in spontaneous conversation. It is similar with how we get our mother tongue. We can communicate with our parents, family, or friends because we do it naturally and subconsciously since we are child.

People who learn English as second language, on the other hands, pick up the language by using their ‘studial’ capability rather than spontaneous one. Most of their motivation get the language on this term is that they understand the language in term of the form or the structure of the language itself. They feel that they are successful of learning second language when they get excellent score from their written assignment. People learn English by organizing their learning and apply their conscious knowledge to do the task of English, particularly written task. They activate their studial capabilities to bring them to develop their competence in mastering the form of English, rather than using it for communication. In other words, they learn the language is to help them to check their spontaneous communication. Consequently, the more they monitor what they are saying, the less spontaneous they become.

In conclusion, whether people pick up the language through learning or acquisition depends on their sake of getting the language. When they get the language for spontaneous communication, it is suggested to acquire the language. If they want get the language for written test,on the other hand,they are suggested to learn English.