(SKKN CHẤT 2020) what mind map activities will help students improve their understanding the meaning of words

The main technique I used for my activities were to brainstorm the ideas to fill in the “mind map” The following is the full description of how I helped my students understand the meanin

I INTRODUCTION

1 The need of teaching words in context

Teaching new words always plays an important part in teaching the wholelesson Because words are the bricks that help students build their house ofEnglish However, many teachers have the habit of teaching isolated words.Actually, they have used many techniques of teaching words, but the wordspresented by the teachers are not in the same contexts with the words in thelessons Moreover, we all know that words and phrases have different meanings

in different contexts As a result, it is difficult for students to understand the truemeaning of the words in the lessons In addition, students feel that it is reallydifficult for them to remember the words This leads to the fact that students arelack of motivation for learning new words And they feel that learning words arereally boring because there is no linking between the words in the lessons andthe words presented by the teachers Therefore, in each lesson I have tried mybest to help my students understand the meaning of words in the lesson contextthrough “ mind map” activity

2 Study’s purpose.

The purpose of this study is to find out if mind map activities help improvestudents’ understanding the meaning of words The study question is “Whatmind map activities will help students improve their understanding the meaning

of words?

II LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Definitions and terms:

To understand my area better, I have already searched some definitions and terms related to teaching words in context so that I will have clear references

* Teaching the meaning of words in context is suggestions found within asentence, a situation, or a key word that a learner can use to understand themeanings of new or unfamiliar words

* A mind map is a graphical way to represent ideas and concepts It is a visualthinking tool that helps structuring information, helping you to better analyze,comprehend, synthesize, recall and generate new ideas Just as in every greatidea, its power lies in its simplicity

* A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information A mind map

is hierarchical and shows relationships among pieces of the whole It is oftencreated around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page,

to which associated representations of ideas such as images, words and parts ofwords are added Major ideas are connected directly to the central concept, andother ideas branch out from those major ideas

2 Previous study:

In order to find the resources to consult my issue I have read a study written byAndana, a professor in Cukurova, Turkey The title of this study is a guide toteaching students Their problem is teaching high proficiency students in highschools and universities Their aim is to help students understand the meaning of

words in academic situations.

After reading this research I found some strengths as well as weaknesses Thestrength of this research was that they use authentic situations and tips to teachstudents Their scaffolding activities help students to understand the situations inwhich the words are The limitation was that their research was only carried out

in classes with good students and students in their universities

However, in some ways their issue is relevant to mine They also use thetheories of teaching the meaning of words in context

III METHODOLOGY

1 Scaffolding activities.

First, students are given the key word related to the context.Then, they aresupplied some useful suggestions Next, students are encouraged to activatetheir background knowledge of words Finally, they present the words that theyknow and teachers provide some more words in context, so students canunderstand the words better

3 Data collection

Students in class 11A1, class 11A7 and class 11A9 at Huynh Thuc Khanghigh school where I was teaching were chosen for my study Before scaffoldingactivities were carried out, all students in class 11A1, 11A7, 11A9 wereprovided words in normal ways and I checked their understanding After that,students in each class were supplied the words based on the new method(students understand the meaning of new words in context) Teacher checks andcompares the result before and after the new method is supplied

4 The marking scales for students’ability to undesrstand and remember

the words.

The following criteria is the one I find relevant to check the result.

1 Number of words that students can remember 3

2 Using the words they have learnt in other 3

situations

3 Finding the synonyms and the antonyms of the 3

words that they have learnt

4 Classifying the words they have learnt into 1

groups

5 Data analysis:

The students’ tasks are marked based on the above criteria The scores ofstudents were written down in the table below

No Students’ names Scores before the Scores after the new

new method is applied method is applied1

IV DISCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITIES

* In what ways were my activities carried out?

In the school year 2018-2019, I was responsible for teaching grade 11 So, in

this paper I would like to deal with the lessons only in Textbook “ Tieng Anh 11” Here are the description and the purpose of each activity.

Activity1:

At this state teacher led students to the context by giving the topic of the lesson

or the main content of the lesson to activate students’ background knowledge.The reason for doing this was that students were motivated to get interest in thetopic and had ideas of words related to the topic

Activity 2:

At this state students were given some suggested questions by the teacher, theywere step by step led to this context to another one by the teacher’s instructions.The keys words in each lesson were underlined And the lessons which I used “

the power point” to present, the keys words were both underlined and changed

the colour in red to make students easier to notice In some cases, studentsunderstood the contexts and the meaning of words, but they did not know how toexpress in English, I myself helped them know what those words in Englishwere As a result, their words were developed in a natural way Therefore, theywere eager to learn new words because they found no difficulties inunderstanding and remembering Besides, this not only helped studentsunderstand the new words but also helped students have the prediction of thecontent of the lesson that they would learn

The main technique I used for my activities were to brainstorm the ideas to fill

in the “mind map”

The following is the full description of how I helped my students understand the meaning of words in context in each lesson in “ Tieng Anh 11”

knowledge of friendship to complete a mind map.

Question 1: Do you have any friends?

From the word “ friend”, I taught my students the word “ acquaintance”

Question 2: What qualities are necessary for true friendship?

Students gave some qualities of true friendship However, Some words were only given in Vietnamese, I helped my students understand what those words inEnglish were.

* The mind map

unselfish

UNIT 2: PERSONAL EXPERIENCES

A READING:

From the fact that teenagers tend to have their own idols, I led students to

the context by asking questions:

1 Do you have your own idol?

2 Dou you immediate his/ her in different ways?

Students answered my questions about her/ his own idol and in what ways theyliked to immediate her own idol After that I said that in this lesson they wouldread a story about a girl who wanted to have a hat like her idol’s one Her fatherknew this and gave her some money so that she could buy the one for herself.Next, students were divided into groups and were asked to build a story based onthe pictures in the textbook Each student in the group who were chosen to tellthe story completed the story they had built During the time students told

the story I helped them to understand the meaning of some new words based onthe pictures.

Picture d: > idol

Picture b: > floppy cotton hat

Picture f: > glance > sneaky; not making a fuss > take the money back

C LISTENING:

In this lesson students were led to the context of a fire They were told to listen

to Christina who would tell the audience about her unforgettable experience thatshe had witnessed The experience was that her house caught fire during thenight time when she was very small Then students were asked to look at the

picture in the textbook and to answer some questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: What do you think were the causes of the fire?

Question 2: How did she feel when she saw the fire?

Question 3: Who do you think she was the first person that she called when shesaw the fire?

Question 4: What did her mother do to save her?

Question 5: Was the fire a forgettable experience?

* The mind map

memorable

experience her feeling

protect her

6

UNIT 3: A PARTY

A READING:

In this lesson, students were led to the context by looking the pictures in the

textbook and answering the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1:

1 On what occasions are parties held?

2 What is the relationship between the people in the pictures?

3 What are they doing?

* The mind map

In this lesson, students were led to the context by answering the questions in the

textbook to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: What do you usually do to prepare your birthday party?

Question 2: What foods and drinks are often severed at your birthday party?Question 2: What activities do you often have at your birthday party?

* The mind map

preparing the birthday cake

prepare for a birthday party

cutting the

birthday cakes

into slices

openpresents

UNIT 4: VOLUNTEER WORK

A READING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would read a passage about thevolunteer work of American students Then students were led to the context byanswering the teacher’s questions and from the students’ answers teacher wrotethe words on the board

Question 1: What do American students do as volunteers?

Question 2: What are the words in the passage related to the word “ volunteer”?

* Volunteer work: Working in hospitals, orphanages or homes for the aged

Helping disadvantaged children or handicapped children,give care and comfort to them

* Volunteer (n): Voluntary ( adj)

Voluntarily( adv)Volunteer( v)

C LISTENING:

In this lesson, students were told to listen to a talk about a school fordisadvantaged children in Ho Chi Minh city Then students were asked to

answer the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: Who are students in Spring School?

Question 2: How is money raised to support charities in Spring School?

Question 3: Who set up classes in Spring School?

* The mind map

fund-raising activities Disadvantaged children

SPRING SCHOOL

Organisation for EducationalDevelopment co-operates withSpring School set up the classes

UNIT 6: COMPETITIONS

A READING:

In this lesson, students were told that they would read a passage about anEnglish competition in a high school Then students were led to the context by

answering the questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: How often is the English competition held in your school?

Question 2: What is the purpose of the competition?

Question 3: What do we call in English the students who are chosen to take part

in the competition?

* The mind map

to stimulate the spirit of learningEnglish among students

the purpose

ENGLISH

every two years

students chosen to take part in the competition how often

every year

( yearly)

UNIT 7: WORLD POPULATION

A READING.

In this lesson, students were told that they would read a passage about WOLRDPOPULATION Then students were led to the context by answering the

questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: Do you know what the population of the world in 1850, 1950, 1985,and 2000?

Question 2: Can women in the world limit the size of their families?

Question 3: How does the government help them in family planning?

* The mind map

B SPEAKING.

In this lesson, students were told that they would talk about WOLRD

POPULATION Then students were led to the context by answering

the questions to complete the “mind map”

Question 1: What are the causes of population explosion?

Question 2: Can you list the problems facing poor and overpopulated countries?Question 3: Can you suggest the solutions to the problems of overpopulation?

* The mind map

not aware of the problem

a large family is of overpopulation a form of

insurance

causes of population religion

explosion

WOLRD POPULATION

lack/ shortage ofschool/ hospital/ teacher/ doctor

C LISTENING

In this lesson, students were told to listen to a world population expert talkingabout the world population Then students were asked to answer the teacher’s

questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: Which country has the population ranked the first?

Question 2: What problem does population explosion cause to the world?

* The mind map

China ranks the first

illiteracy

problems populationWOLRD POPULATION

explosion cause to the world

lack of hospitals and schools/shortage of food / poor livingconditions particularly in

developing countries

UNIT 8: CELEBRATIONS

A READING

In this lesson, students were watched to a video clip about Tet Then students

were asked to answer the teacher’s questions to complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: When is Tet?

Question 2: What activities do people usually do at Tet?

Question 3:What are special things at Tet?

Question 4: What do people prepare for Tet?

* The mind map

go to pagoda

to pray

TET

streets decorated

with colored lights

and red banners

between 19th Januaryand 20th February

flowers ( apricotblossom, peachblossom)

special things

candied fruits

chung apples, plums)

In this lesson, students were told that they would talk about popular holidaysand celebrations in Vietnam and in the world Then students were asked to look

at the pictures in the textbook and answer the teacher’s questions to complete

the “mind map”.

Question 1: What are the holidays and celebrations?

Question 2: What is the purpose of each celebration?

Question 3: What are main activities in each celebration?

* The mind map

celebrate the

harvest

Thanks giving

a large meal with

roast turkey POPULAR CELEBRATIONS

IN VIETNAM AND IN THE WORLD

valentine’s Day

celebrate the largest full moon

Mid- Autumn Festival

flowers or gifts to the

people they love

In this lesson, students were told to listen to how people celebrate the New Year in Japan Then students were asked to answer the teacher’s questions to

complete the “mind map”.

Question 1: What activities do people usually do on New Year Days in Japan?Question 2:What are special things on New Year Days in Japan?

Question 3: What do people prepare on New Year in Japan?