ABSTRACTThis research is aimed to find out whether: (1) Discovery Learning is moreeffective than Grammar Translation Method to teach vocabulary; (2) studentshaving high self-esteem have better vocabulary mastery than those having lowself-esteem; and (3) there is an interaction between teaching methods andstudents’ self-esteem in teaching vocabulary.The research was conducted at IKIP PGRI Pontianak in the academic year of2013/2014 which consists of six classes. The samples were taken by clusterrandom sampling. There are two classes used as sample, namely class C as theexperimental group taught by using discovery learning and class A as controlgroup taught by using Grammar Translation Method. The data of the researchwere collected using two valid and reliable instruments, namely questionnaire andvocabulary test. The questionnaire is used to classify students into two groups: thestudents who have high self-esteem and those who have low self-esteem. Thevocabulary test is used to know the students’ vocabulary mastery. After normalityand homogeneity test were conducted, the hypothesis test was done. The data ofvocabulary test were analyzed by using multifactor analysis of variance 2x2 andTukey test.The research findings are: (1) Discovery Learning is more effective thanGrammar Translation Method to teach vocabulary; (2) the students who have highself-esteem have better vocabulary mastery than those who have low self-esteem;(3) there is interaction between teaching methods and students’ self-esteem inteaching vocabulary.According to the research findings, it can be concluded that DiscoveryLearning Method is an effective method to teach vocabulary to the second of IKIPPGRI Pontianak in the academic year of 2013/2014. However, in theimplementation of the methods, a teacher must consider about the students levelof self-esteem. As proved in the research, creativity influences the students’vocabulary mastery. By considering the students’ level of self-esteem, a teachercan choose the method he/she uses properly to teach vocabulary in order toimprove the students’ vocabulary mastery.Keywords: Vocabulary, discovery learning, grammar translation method, selfesteem,experimental research.