Studies in English Language and Education 1(1): 1-14 2014
ISSN 2355-2794 Only Abstract is published at academia.edu/researchgate.net. Full paper can be downloaded without charge at the journal official website: http://www.jurnal.unsyiah.ac.id/SiELE/article/view/1116/1033
Investigating elementary school pupils’ proficiency in mastering English vocabulary Diana Achmad Secretarial Training Program, Faculty of Economics, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, INDONESIA Abstract English has been taught at elementary schools as one of the local content subjects. It is necessary to study English from an early age in order to achieve good mastery in it. To master English means to master the four skills in it and also the language aspects, including vocabulary. As one of the language aspects, vocabulary plays an important role in language learning. This study reports on pupils’ proficiency in mastering English vocabulary after three years of studying in elementary school. The writer chose 55 grade-four pupils of SD Methodist Banda Aceh as a sample for this study. They were given a vocabulary test related to reading and writing skills consisting of 26 items. The test was to be done in 20 minutes. After calculating the data, it was found that the mean score ( ) of the pupils was 69.5, with the highest score at 92.3 and the lowest score at 26.9. More than 50% of the pupils could answer the questions correctly in less than 20 minutes. Only 4 out of the 55 pupils answered the questions less than 50% correctly and no one answered 100% correct. According to these results, this study showed that the pupils achieved good proficiency in vocabulary. Keywords: Teaching English to Young Learners, Vocabulary, Reading, Writing.
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INTRODUCTION
We all know and realize how important English is in our lives nowadays. This language has a significant status in the world’s communication since it is a global language and is used to communicate with other nations. Kral (1994) revealed that language is a form of communication among individuals in a specific social context and also a way of thinking and processing information. To master English means to master all skills in it, namely productive skills (speaking and writing) and receptive skills (reading and listening) as well as the language aspects such as vocabulary,
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Achmad: Investigating elementary school pupils’ proficiency in mastering English vocabulary
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