LUẬN VĂN THẠC SỸ - A STUDY INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING IN TERMS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES TRẦN THÚY AN A STUDY INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING IN TERMS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS RESEARCH PROPOSAL MASTER THESIS Da Nang, 2022 Da Nang, 2021 THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES TRẦN THÚY AN A STUDY INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING IN TERMS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Major ENGLISH.

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG

UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

TRẦN THÚY AN

A STUDY INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING

IN TERMS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR VIETNAMESE

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

RESEARCH PROPOSAL MASTER THESIS

Da Nang, 2022

THE UNIVERSITY OF DANANG

UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDIES

TRẦN THÚY AN

A STUDY INTO THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING

IN TERMS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR VIETNAMESE

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Major: ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

Code: LLPP.K41

RESEARCH PROPOSAL MASTER THESIS

SUPERVISOR:

I INTRODUCTION

1.1 RATIONALE

Vocabulary is an important aspect of the second language learning process Numerous studies have revealed that the English language proficiency of second language learners

in great measure, correlates with their vocabulary learning ( Kojic-Sabo & Lightbown, 1999) Hence, learning a second language largely means learning its vocabulary (Gass, 1999) as vocabulary skills make a significant contribution to almost all aspects of second language proficiency There have been a great number of different approaches to language learning, each with a different outlook on vocabulary (Richards & Rodgers, 2001) Consequently, research on vocabulary acquisition is likely to yield insightful implications for effective second language learning and instruction A review of the related literature shows that vocabulary learning and teaching research has followed basically two approaches: vocabulary can be either learned implicitly and incidentally, or taught explicitly and intentionally In effect, there has been a long-running debate about which of these two methods of learning vocabulary is more important Conventionally, the related literature proposes either an explicit or an implicit approach to the teaching and learning of vocabulary Explicit vocabulary learning engages learners in activities that focus attention primarily on vocabulary Several key principles which can help guide teachers in deciding basic questions of what to teach and how to teach include integrating new vocabulary with old, facilitating imaging, using a variety of techniques, providing a number of encounters with a word, encouraging independent learning strategies, and promoting a deep level of processing (Sokmen, 1997) Of these, promoting a deep level

of cognitive processing seems to be of paramount importance considering the aforementioned theories of forgetting In other words, the importance of promoting a deep level of processing is to transfer information from short-term memory to long-term memory, which has almost unlimited storage capacity Therefore, it is held that the more learners manipulate and think about a word, the more likely it is that the word will be transferred into long-term memory Research suggests that efficient learning of vocabulary is an incremental process, one that requires meaningful recurring encounters with a word at successive levels of difficulty over time (Decarrico, 1999) On the other hand, implicit vocabulary learning occurs when the mind is concentrated elsewhere, such

as on comprehending a written text or understanding spoken material One of the premises of implicit vocabulary learning is that new words should not be presented in isolation and should not be learnt by mere rote memorization It follows that new vocabulary items should be presented in contexts rich enough to provide clues to meaning and that learners should be given multiple exposure to items they are supposed

to learn (Nation, 2001)

According to Thornbury (2020), if there were not any knowledge about grammar, the meaning is delivered in very small amounts, but without knowledge of vocabulary, nothing can be received (Subon, 2013) This statement points out that teaching-learning ESL vocabulary should precede and any other methods must come in for criticism

Maiguashca (1993) stated that until the middle of the 1980s, vocabulary was not considered to be important In 2010, John Dewey claimed that vocabulary is truly important as a word is an instrument for thinking about the meaning which is expressed

There is a wide variety of learning styles, methodologies and techniques by which students can learn vocabularies and the two chosen types of vocabulary teaching-learning

to compare in the study are explicit vocabulary teaching-learning versus implicit vocabulary teaching-learning

As a second language teacher who has an endeavor to improve students’ learning development and ability, I make effort to discover the differences between the two methods, from which I can suggest solutions to an effective teaching and learning manner

This study is titled as “A Study into the Differences between Explicit and Implicit Teaching in terms of Teaching Vocabulary for Vietnamese High school Students”, which

is conducted to analyze how different teaching methods have had impact on students’ vocabulary acquirements

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

1.2.2 Aims

The study aims to investigate the differences between explicit teaching and implicit teaching in terms of vocabulary It looks at the significance of explicit teaching method and gives teachers advice about how to integrate these types of methods into their language lessons

1.2.2 Objectives

- To identify the differences between explicit teaching and implicit teaching in terms of vocabulary

- To find out which method between the two is more effective in teaching vocabulary

- To suggest some solutions for teachers to integrate these types of methods into their language lessons

1.3 SCOPE OF STUDY:

- The research studies that focus on the vocabulary teaching and learning follow

basically two approaches:

1) Implicit or incidental vocabulary learning that focuses on acquiring vocabulary as the by-product of other activities

2) Explicit or intentional approach that proposes teaching words through direct

instruction that engages language learners in activities that focus attention primarily

on vocabulary

- 30 Vietnamese tenth-graders students joined this study The students were divided into 2 groups randomly The level of students is intermediate, which was determined based on a proficiency test conducted by the teacher after the teacher had taught the two group vocabularies through explicit and implicit approaches Due attention was given to the following matching criteria:

All the students are attending a high-quality class and at the same level

The students join the course in the same duration

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

In order to fulfill the objectives mentioned above, this study tries to answer the following questions:

1 What are the differences between explicit teaching and implicit teaching in terms of vocabulary?

2 Which method of implicit - vocabulary instruction or explicit - has a better influence

on students’ vocabulary learning?

1.5 SINGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The study can have several pedagogical implications in that they can provide information for foreign language teachers on clearer ways for teaching-learning vocabulary items in EFL contexts Besides, it helps EFL teachers be aware of the importance of methods of teaching-learning vocabulary in classrooms and should try to use the best methods in their classes as much as possible to help learners learn more vocabulary

II LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

II.1 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1.1 VOCABULARY

In learning a mother tongue or any foreign language, vocabulary is the most significant

component Language acquisition cannot take place without learning its lexis with unlimited shifts in meaning caused by various contextual variables (Yang & Dai, 2012) Vocabulary is one of the most essential parts, along with phonetics/pronunciation and grammar, required to learn a foreign language (Pan & Xu, 2011) In addition, vocabulary

is the basis for language skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading, and writing Without learning the vocabulary, it is difficult to attain any language proficiency Vocabulary is the basis of acquiring a second language Rohmatillah (2017) asserts that without learning the vocabulary communication in the second language becomes harder Further, vocabulary knowledge is an integral part of the language; it is central to communicative competence Low vocabulary knowledge poses severe problems to its learners, which consequently impedes the learning of English language (Alqahtani, 2015) Schmitt (2002) argues that vocabulary plays a vital role in teaching and learning the second language as lexical knowledge is fundamental to communicative effectively The language of the human beings depends on the vocabulary used or gained Thus, without vocabulary, the learners will be demotivated to use the language (Richards & Renandya, 2002)

The term vocabulary has a variety of meanings proposed by teachers To some, it represents sight-word vocabularies as the immediate recognition of words by students Others describe it as meaning-vocabularies representing the words understood by students; it is also considered as listening-vocabularies or students’ understanding of the heard and spoken words The content teachers further describe it as an academic vocabulary that reflects the content-specific words or students’ understating of the oral and print words (Antonacci & O’Callaghan, 2011) Hiebert and Kamil (2005) provide another definition for the term vocabulary, which is the knowledge that the learners should have about the meanings of words They argued that words come into two types, oral and print and the knowledge, too, comes in at least two types: receptive (understand

or recognize) and productive (write or speak) The oral vocabulary belongs to a set of words for which the learners know the meanings while speaking or reading orally The print vocabulary consists of words for which the learners know the meanings when they write or read silently To Hiebert and Kamil, the productive vocabulary is a set of words that are well- known and used frequently by the learners in speaking or writing The receptive vocabulary is a set of words, which are less frequent and for which learner assign meanings while listening or reading (Hiebert & Kamil,2005)

Also, the vocabulary has two types as active and passive The active vocabulary refers to the words taught to students, and they can use these words in speech or writing

as oral or written expressions The passive vocabulary refers to the words that students

recognize and understand in a context Such a passive type of vocabulary occurs in a listening or reading material (Harmmer, 2007) Besides, Webb (2009) advocates that students recognize the receptive vocabulary when it is used in a context, i.e the one seen

in a reading text and the one that cannot be produced by students in a written or spoken form To Neuman and Dwyer (2009), vocabulary refers to the words in spoken (expressive vocabulary) and listening (receptive vocabulary) forms that the learners need for a competent interaction Hatch and Brown (1995) consider vocabulary as a group of words that the language users use differently Vocabulary knowledge usually indicates the learners’ progress Learning the vocabulary has always been a skill taught and evaluated in other language skills such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking (Schmitt, 2000) Instead, it promotes the development of language skills (Mart, 2012) According to Richards and Renandya (2002), vocabulary plays a vital role in language proficiency and is the foundation on which leaners can listen, speak, read and write They then keep using extensive vocabulary as well as strategies to acquire new vocabulary Learners seek to achieve their fullest potential and make the most out of language learning chances around them like listening to the radio, practicing listening to native speakers, utilizing the language in various contexts or watching movies

Vocabulary can also be defined as ‘the words we must know to communicate effectively: words in speaking (meaning expressive vocabulary) and words in listening (meaning receptive vocabulary)’ (Neuman & Dwyer, 2009) Therefore, learning second language is much related to the size of learnt vocabulary of learners (Nassaji, 2006) When it comes to acquiring vocabulary, Harmon, Wood and Kiser (2009) clarified that it

is an on-going process of encountering new words in different meaningful contexts

Vocabulary becomes even more important when speaking and writing English as a second language requires at least from 1000 to 2000 vocabulary items (McCarthy, O’Dell and Mark, 1999) Regarding explicit vocabulary learning, it means direct and rote ways

of learning for retention but if they are not practiced regularly, the vocabulary will be forgotten (Ausubel, 1964) Explicit vocabulary teaching-learning involves word lists or textbooks by which you can increase the size of your vocabulary from elementary level to advanced one (Dimas, 2009) According to Berry (1994), explicit learning will take place when people start to employ the structure of the learning environment On the contrary, implicit teaching-learning does not take advantage of those deliberate methodologies Instead, implicit learning is so extensive in language work and this method is important because of the similarity to first language acquisition which is received in an unconscious manner

2.1.2 VOCABULARY TEACHING METHODS

It is commonly known that some certain basic techniques have supported learners in developing their vocabulary such as flash cards, repetition, writing, revision and so on According to Hulstijn and Béjoint (1992), target vocabulary items could be remembered

much longer if their meanings were correctly inferred than when given explanation with synonyms Joe (1995) also states that the retention of unfamiliar words was boosted significantly if students got involved in a text-based exercise demanding a higher level of generativity A composition task can also help students better retain target words than a reading comprehension or a fill in one (Hulstijn & Laufer, 2001) In other words, students who join higher levels of vocabulary production will be able to remember target words longer and better than those who do not Last but not least, students can remember unknown words more effectively thanks to both pictorial and written methods instead of just receiving only one kind of annotations or without them

Oxford and Scarcella (1994) propose a new research-based approach to vocabulary teaching after examining relevant research concerning student motivation and need, the complexity of knowing a word, as well as factors that affect L2 vocabulary acquisition Compared with traditional approaches, in which vocabulary is often taught unsystematically in class and teachers tend to leave their students to learn vocabulary on their own without much instruction or guidance, teachers following this new research-based approach focus on words students are expected to meet frequently, and present words systematically based on a careful consideration of needs analysis Vocabulary instruction is personalised according to learners’ different learning needs, goals, and styles Since most vocabulary learning takes place outside of the language classroom, learners are also trained to raise their awareness of the knowledge involved in knowing a lexical item and the process of learning a new word Substantial emphasis on vocabulary learning strategies helps students become independent language learners inside and outside class Among the numerous vocabulary learning strategies, guessing from context

is held to be the most useful one However, somestudies (e.g Pressleyet al.1987; Kelly 1990) indicate that learners seldom guess the correct meanings In this approach, therefore, teachers guide students to use this strategy effectively and give them opportunities to practice the skill in class A final point to note is that teachers reduce

“decontextualized” vocabulary learning activities in class (e.g word lists, flashcards) whereas implementing more “partially contextualized”(e.g word association, visual and aural imagery, semantic mapping) or “fully contextualized” activities (e.g reading, listening, speaking, and writing in authentic communication activities).The arguments mentioned above are mostly supported by Sökmen (1997),commenting that the skill of guessing/inferring from context is a useful strategy in vocabulary learning and should be covered in a language classroom Nevertheless, some potential problems arise if learners mainly acquire vocabulary in this way For example, acquiring vocabulary through guessing in context is probably a rather slow process given the limited amount of time learners can afford in class In addition, guessing from context does not necessarily help learners commit the guessed words into their long-term memory For example, a study of intermediate level adult ESL students by Wesche and Paribakht (1994, cited Sökmen 1997) shows that learners who read and complete accompanying vocabulary exercises perform better in word acquisition than those who only do extensive reading As a result, scholars come to call for a greater need of an explicit approach to vocabulary instruction,

such as word unit analysis, mnemonic devices, etc Sökmen (1997) thus states that “the pendulum has swung from direct teaching of vocabulary (the grammar translation method) to incidental (the communicative approach) and now, laudably, back to the middle: implicit and explicit learning” (p.239) In addition, considerable emphasis is put

on encouraging independent learning strategies among students so that they know how to continue to learn vocabulary on their own After experiencing what Resnick (1989)calls a

‘cognitive apprenticeship’, students will acquire some skills to promote the depth of word processing and manage individual vocabulary learning through the model of their teachers (Sökmen 1997) The time and efforts spent on developing learning strategies will reflect its value afterwards

2.1.3 EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT TEACHING

Schmitt (1998) has explained at great length the role of awareness in implicit and explicit teaching-learning, the definition of the former being “learning without awareness” whereas the latter is, “learning with awareness” The sheer weight that Schmitt (1998) has allocated to awareness (or attention/consciousness) is not accidental Greenwood and Flanigan (2007, p 249) argue that “90% of the words that a student learns over the course

of a year are without direct instruction; these words are learned through incidental contact” Jenkins, Matlock, and Slocum (1989) assert that by explicit instruction, the instructor clearly outlines what the learning goals are for students, and offers clear, unambiguous explanations of the skills and information structures they are to be presented with in teaching They continued that by implicit instruction, the instruction does not outline such goals or makes such explanation overtly, but rather simply in teaching An overall review of literature will guide learners to investigate different ways

of teaching-learning and the superiority of one to another

McCarthy, O'Dell, and Mark (1999) have proposed that speaking and writing English

as a second language needs at least 1000-2000 vocabulary items Marzban and Kamalian (2013, p 85) have sought how to “transfer information from short term memory to long term memory, which has almost unlimited storage capacity” Explicit vocabulary learning refers to direct, rote ways of learning for retention, but when they are not practiced the vocabulary will not be “subsumed” and will be forgotten (Ausubel, 1964) Explicit vocabulary teaching-learning can involve word lists or handbooks and textbooks to help increase the size of vocabulary from elementary students to advance (Dimas, 2009) Berry (1994) has defined explicit learning as when people learn to employ the structure

of the learning environment But implicit teaching-learning does not use such deliberate strategies; implicit learning is so extensive in language work and the importance of this method is proposed due to the similarity to first language acquisition which is unconsciously received Winter and Reber (1994) have asserted that the spirit of implicit learning is mirrored in the notion that people can absorb knowledge or information from the environment without being aware of the learning process Similar viewpoints are presented by Schmitt and McCarthy (1997), who considers explicit learning the allocation of attention directly to the information to be learned Explicit vocabulary

learning refers to “conscious awareness and intention to learn” (Brown, 2000, p 217) and implicit learning is the “acquisition of knowledge about the underlying structure of a complex stimulus from the environment by a process which takes place naturally, simply and without conscious operations” (Ellis, 1994, p 1) In contrast to implicit teaching-learning, explicit vocabulary teaching-learning uses kinds of teaching-learning that are employed consciously (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013) The performance of implicit learning in task-based language learning has caused this method to be one of the richest methods of learning (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013) Hulstijn (2001) has drawn a distinction between explicit vocabulary learning and implicit learning processes by which explicit vocabulary teaching-learning describes the sort of learning where students are officially informed and directly involved in this kind of learning, but in implicit teaching-learning participants are involved through the retention of information incidentally (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013) (Schmidt, 2000, p 88), as cited in (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013), gives three definitions for incidental learning:

1 Learning without any intention to learn,

2 Learning of one stimulus aspect while paying attention to other stimuli,

3 Learning of formal features through a focus of attention on semantic features

Winter and Reber (1994) stated that the concept behind implicit learning is reflected

in the notion that leaners can acquire knowledge or information from the environment without taking the learning process into consideration Similarly, Schmitt and McCarthy (1997) regards explicit learning as the allocation of attention directly to the information that should be learnt Explicit vocabulary learning means conscious awareness and intention to learn (Brown, 2000) while implicit learning is the process of acquiring knowledge regarding the underlying structure of a complicated stimulus from the environment by a process taking place in a natural and simple way without conscious operations (Ellis, 1994)

Unlike implicit teaching-learning, explicit vocabulary teaching-learning makes use of consciously employed teaching – learning types (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013) The performance of implicit learning in task-based language learning has made this method become among the richest methods of learning Also concerning this field, Hulstijn (2001) has also differentiated explicit vocabulary learning and implicit learning processes

in which learners are informed and directly involved in this kind of learning; however, in implicit teaching-learning, learners are involved through the retention of information in

an incidental way (Marzban & Kamalian, 2013) According to Schmidt (2000), incidental learning is learning without any intention to learn, learning of one stimulus aspect while focusing on other stimuli and learning of formal features via paying attention to semantic features

Also interested in the field, Coady, Magoto, Hubbard, Graney and Mokhtari (1993) looked into explicit teaching in high-frequency vocabulary and its impact on ESL reading comprehension They carried out a study with the subject of 42 students of different

proficiency levels in an intensive English program at the university Twenty-two of whom were assigned to the experimental group and the rest to the control one The study was conducted in two phases In the first one, all students needed to complete a multi-choice vocabulary test with 36 items based on the basic vocabulary list and the Degrees

of Reading test from the College Entrance Examination Board which was made for native speakers Both groups then got English instruction Apart from the common treatment, the experimental group also received an additional computerized vocabulary learning program for one hour each week, within a period of total eight weeks In every session, the program showed the students 20 words from the range of 600 to 2000 most frequently used words The students could access the computerized enhances to the vocabularies that they do not know Any chosen word would then be recycled into a personalized file for each student At the end of the period, all participants had finished the same vocabulary and reading needed for the pre-test In the second phase of the study, the vocabulary was chosen randomly from the computer program, and the reading comprehension measures and the reading texts were changed The student was completed with a short closed-ended questionnaire as an assessment of the computer program The results pointed out that in the first phase, the students in the experimental group could perform better in both reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge In the second phase, the students dramatically increased their reading comprehension scores as well as vocabulary scores Most participants claimed that they would love to use the program by which they could learn new words to improve their reading comprehension This means there is a connection between reading comprehension and vocabulary According to Coady et al concluded that explicit teaching – learning of vocabulary will bring about more benefits and result in longer retention because effective vocabulary should be retrieved from memory easily and automatically

Marzban and Kamalian (2013) also carried out a research to figure out which method

is better between explicit and implicit teaching and the result was that explicit vocabulary teaching-learning method was more efficient Another study done by Mirzaii (2012) also revealed that explicit vocabulary teaching-learning was also found to be better than implicit solution What’s more, Karimi (2013) reported that explicit vocabulary teaching-learning could improve her learners’ vocabulary much more than implicit one after 15 sessions of experiment with two groups In this research, 36 pre-university students were chosen randomly so as to study the effect of these two kinds of teaching-learning for vocabulary She divided the class into two groups for explicit and implicit teaching-learning The group receiving explicit method was called the experimental group and the other one following the implicit learning method was called the control group Both groups took a pre-test to assess their writing capability at the beginning of the term and after the class room treatment, all the participants received the same topic to write about

in the post test The performance of them in the pre-test was rather the same, but the performance in the post-test was significantly different The result of this study pointed out that the group receiving the explicit method of teaching-learning produced better competence in using accurate collocations in their English vocabulary