ABSTRACT

Adinata, Frans Ario. 2019. The Correlation Between Vocabulary Mastery And Speaking Skills Of The 1^st Semester Students Of English Department In FKIP ULM. Sarjana’s Thesis, English Department, Faculty of Teaching Training and Education, Lambung Mangkurat University, Banjarmasin. The first advisor: Dr. Noor Eka Chandra, M.Pd, the second advisor: Nasrullah, M.Pd.B.I

Keywords: Correlation, Speaking Skills, Vocabulary Mastery           

This research is aimed to find significant correlation between the vocabulary mastery and speaking skills of students. Speaking is the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts. A few research have been conducted on the similar topic. However, their emphasis is on pronunciation, grammar, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. While those research extend only those three areas, this research focuses on the subjects' interactions, responses, and reactions. The researcher conducted the current research in University of Lambung Mangkurat in Banjarmasin with the students batch 2019 as the population for the data collection.  The instruments used by the researcher in this research are vocabulary mastery and speaking interview. Compare to the previous research instruments, the instrument the researcher is using providing an actual speaking interactions during the time of the interview.

In this research, the researcher used quantitative approach. The sample were 61 students of students batch 2019 in FKIP ULM taken from three classes out of five classes. The samples were chosen randomly by means of random cluster sampling. The researcher used two tests in collecting the data. The first test was vocabulary test. The second test was speaking test in a form of interview. After collecting the data, the researcher used SPSS 26.0 in analyzing the data.

The findings indicated that there is positive correlation between students’ vocabulary mastery and speaking skills. There is strong connection between the students’ vocabulary mastery and the students’ speaking skill. Students whose vocabulary mastery is categorized as excellent were capable of speaking in clear, fluent, and accurate manner. They are able to speak up what is on their mind easily and capable in keeping up with the conversations at hand. The same goes for those whose vocabulary mastery is on the good level, they are able to speak clearly and are capable of keeping up in the conversations as long the topic is still within range of interest. Since the mastery of vocabulary clearly affects the speaking skills, it is recommended for the students to enhance their vocabulary mastery by doing some fun reading, reading English novel, or even listening to music. The students are also advised to practice their speaking skills by making a habit of speaking English most of the time, conversing with their friends by using English and reading some English texts or stories aloud.