Teaching vocabulary to the young learners through games in language learning

Teaching plays the most significantrole in learning process. Through teaching a teacher can help the students to comprehend the given lesson. The word “teaching” according to Brown is “showing or helping someone to learn how to do something, giving instruction, guiding in the study of something, providing with knowledge causing to know or understand” (Brown, 2001:7).

Brown also said that “teaching is guiding and facilitating learning, enabling the learner to learn, setting the conditions for learning” (Brown, 2007:7). Heexplains that learning is acquiring or getting of knowledge of a subject or a skill from study, experience, and instructions. Learning is acquisition or getting, learning is retention of information skill, and learning involves some forms of practice, perhaps reinforced practice (Brown, 2000:7).Following the statement, we can surely say that teaching is connected with learning and they cannot be separated from each other because they support and fulfil each other.

Moreover, “Learning is a relatively permanent change in an individual’s knowledge or behaviour that results from previous experience” (Hamilton and Ghatala, 1994:7).

Teaching and learning are the main role in education system. In teaching process, the teacher has important roles in guiding the students to learn materials.

In the process of learning the learners get and learn information from the teacher, and they give feedback to the teacher as their response.

The success of teaching and learning process depends on both the teacher and the students. They should have a good communication. Teacher should be a good teacher to make the student interested in learning the materials. Thus, the learner should give a good response to the teacher, such as giving a good attention to the explanation of the material given by teacher, asking questions, and answering the teacher’s questions.

According to Harmer, there are some characteristics that the teacher should point out to be a good teacher;

• 1.    A teacher should make his/her lesson interesting.

• 2.    A teacher must love his/her job.

• 3.    A teacher should have his/her personality.

• 4.    A teacher should have a lot of knowledge.

• 5.    A good teacher is an entertainer in positive sense, not in a negative sense.

Responding the requirements above, the teacher will be able to become a qualified teacher and has the gift in making the students more interested in learning English.

The word “vocabulary” based on the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, means list of words with their meanings. Vocabulary is the first and essential thing that should be gained by the young learners. By mastering vocabularies,it will be easy for young learners to understand the language. If learners do not know the definitions of words, they will face some difficulties in understanding what they see, read, and learn.

As stated by Harmer “at beginner and elementary levels it certainly seems a good idea to provide sets of vocabulary which students can learn” (Harmer, 1991:159).

Based on statement above, we can conclude that teaching more vocabulary to young learners is a good way. In their ages, they will be able to master foreign language if there is a good method in teaching them.

According to Hadfield, a game is an activity with rules, a goal and element of fun. (Hadfield,1 998:4).Similarly, Harmer states; “Games are a vital part of a teacher’s equipment, not only for language practice they provide, but also for the therapeutic effect they have. They can be used at any stage of a class to provide an amusing and challenging respite from other classroom activity and are especially useful at the end of along day to send students away feeling cheerful about their English class”.(Harmer, 1991:101)

Games can be the media to teach vocabularies to young learners for some reasons. According to Wright, Bitteridge, and Buckby “games can be found to give practice in all the skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking), and for many types of communications (e.g. encouraging, criticizing, agreeing, explaining)”. (1997:1). Games are used to make the children easier to understand and remember vocabularies in some topics. By using games, the children do not feel that they learn something through that activity. Through games the students become active learners.

“Children play and children want to play. Children learn through playing. In playing together, children interact and in interacting they develop language” (Brumfit, 1995:142).

According to Harmer, “At the same time children’s span of attention or concentration is less than adults. Children need frequent changes of activity: They need activities which are exciting and stimulate their curiosity: They need to be involved in something active (They will usually not sit and listen)” (Harmer, 1991:7).

Based on the statements above, we can conclude that in teaching vocabulary the teacher should be able to create some various fun activities. The aim of that way is to make the student easier in understanding the materials and easier in memorizing the new words. Through experiences with situations in which a language is used by the students, they will be easy to learn and used the language. Besides, we also know that young learners have a high curiosity in learning something new. But they will be able to get bored easily if there is the same method in teaching. So the various kinds of fun activities are needed to attract them and increase their attention in learning English. So,one of the funniest activities which can be used in teaching English to the young learners is using games.