Effects of using mind mapping on EFL high school students vocabulary learning = tác động của sơ đồ tư duy đến việc học từ vựng tiếng anh của học sinh trung học phổ thông

The findings of the study reveal that mind mapping greatly affects EFL high school students’ learning of vocabulary.. However, few studies have been conducted on using mind maps for Engl

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

NGUYỄN THỊ LAN PHƯƠNG

EFFECTS OF USING MIND MAPPING ON EFL

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

NGUYỄN THỊ LAN PHƯƠNG

TÁC ĐỘNG CỦA SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐẾN VIỆC HỌC

TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH TRUNG

This thesis has not previously been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution

Binh Dinh, 2022

NGUYEN THI LAN PHUONG

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all , I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Dr Truong Van Dinh, for his amazing supervision His outstanding knowledge and profession teaching-related expertise inspired me greatly during my academic life at Quy Nhon University, and he opened new horizons for me in the field I appreciate his accommodating guidelines and suggestions, great patience, and strong management skills in helping me resolve the obstacles during the time I carried out my thesis I feel fortunate to have had him support for my work

I also take this opportunity to express gratitude to all the lectures who took part in the training process of MA course at Quy Nhon University for their scholarly knowledge and experience as well as their inspirational to me which incited me to widen my research from various perspectives

A special thank goes to my dear friends Nguyen Thi Hang and Nguyen

Vo Bich Thuy They not only encouraged me when I met obstacles during my thesis, but also guided me how to analyse data by using SPSS software I am very lucky to know both of them Another special gratitude goes to the head

as well as the staff of Ngo May High School for their assistance and encouragement for me to conduct the study at the facility

Last, but not least, I am grateful to all the support and encouragement I received from my beloved parents and my husband and my two children throughout the process of writing this thesis in particular and my life in general

ABSTRACT

Vocabulary is at the heart of developing proficiency and achieving competency in any language learning skill However, many students still have some trouble in lexical learning due to a lack of a suitable learning strategy Thus, this study aimed at investigating whether mind mapping had any significant effects on EFL high school students’ vocabulary

The research followed a combination of a quasi-experimental method and

a mixed-method with the participation of 80 EFL Grade 10 students at Ngo May High School, Phu Cat district, in Binh Dinh province These participants were divided into 2 groups: the control group and the experimental group Data were collected from three sources: (1) the pre-test and post-test to estimate the students’ vocabulary improvement, (2) the questionnaire to assess how the changes in their opinions towards vocabulary learning with mind maps were, and (3) interview with six students in the experimental group to clarify their opinions

The findings of the study reveal that mind mapping greatly affects EFL high school students’ learning of vocabulary In fact, it not only makes students feel inspired to learn vocabulary but also helps them remember words longer The researcher suggests that further studies in this area should consider a larger sample size to obtain a better picture of the reality of the effect of mind mapping on learning vocabulary

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF FIGURES ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study 3

1.2.1 Aim of the Study 3

1.2.2 Objectives of the Study 3

1.3 Research Questions 3

1.4 Scope of the Study 3

1.5 Significance of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 6

2.1 Vocabulary 6

2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary 6

2.1.2 Importance of Vocabulary 6

2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning 8

2.1.4 Testing Vocabulary 9

2.2 Definition of Mind Maps 11

2.3 Definition of Mind Mapping 12

2.4 Features of Mind Maps 13

2.5 Techniques for Making a Mind Map 14

2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Mind Maps in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary 15

2.6.1 Advantages 16

2.6.2 Disadvantages 19

2.7 When and Where to Use Mind Mapping 19

2.8 Related Studies 22

2.9 Chapter Summary 24

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 25

3.1 Overall Approach 25

3.2 Research Setting 25

3.3 Participants 26

3.4.Teaching Material 28

3.5 Measurement Instruments 30

3.5.1 Pre-test 30

3.5.2 Post-test 31

3.5.3 Questionnaire 32

3.5.4 Interview 32

3.6 Treatment Procedure 33

3.7 Analytical Framework 34

3.7.1 Quantitative Analysis of Pre-test and Post-test 34

3.7.2 Quantitative Analysis of Questionnaire 35

3.7.3 Qualitative Analysis of Interview 35

3.8 Validity and Reliability 36

3.9 Summary 38

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39

4.1 Data Analysis 39

4.1.1 Results of Two Tests 39

4.1.2 Results from Questionnaires 45

4.1.3 Results from Interview 49

4.1.4 Overall Summary 51

4.2 Discussion of Findings 52

4.2.1 Students’ Improvement in Vocabulary Learning 52

4.2.2 Students’ Positive Opinions on Learning Vocabulary through Mind Mapping 54

4.2.3 Summary 56

4.3 Chapter Summary 56

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 57

5.1 Conclusions 57

5.2 Limitations of the Study 58

5.3 Recommendations 58

5.3.1 Teachers 58

5.3.2 Students 60

5.4 Suggestions for Further Research 60 APPENDICES

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Participants’ parameters 27

Table 3.2: Five degrees of grades to classify the students’ ability 32

Table 3.3: Reliability statistics for the questionnaire 37

Table 4.1: Group statistics of pre-test results 42

Table 4.2: Independent samples t-test of the two groups before the treatment 42

Table 4.3: Group statistics of post-test results 43

Table 4.4: Independent samples t-test of the two groups after the treatment 44

Table 4.5: Advantages brought about by learning vocabulary with mind maps 45

Table 4.6: Disadvantages resulting from learning vocabulary with mind maps 47

Table 4.7: Students’ future intentions of learning vocabulary with mind maps 48

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1: Pre-test score distribution of control and experimental group 39 Figure 4.2: Post-test score distribution of control and experimental group 40

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Chapter 1 presents rationale, aim and objectives, scope and significance

as well as the organization of the study

1.1 Rationale

Nowadays, English is considered as one of the most popular languages

in the world English also plays an important role in the lives of Vietnamese people as the development of globalization has a great impact on this country Besides, the Vietnamese market increasingly attracts a large number of foreign companies There are now good opportunities for English learners and users to find better jobs Therefore, it is becoming necessary for people to study English

To master English, one has to be good at four skills, namely reading, speaking, listening, and writing Moreover, one has to grasp the linguistic areas such as pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar Among them, vocabulary is considered as an essential element in the process of learning any foreign languages It plays an important part in developing proficiency development and competency achievement in language skills Wilkin (1972) states that “Without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Indeed, the mastery of vocabulary helps learners tranform their ideas or information by speaking or writing, and understand listeners and reading materials In other words, students can communicate with others fluently and confidently

Teaching vocabulary is an important aspect of English language training Many teachers are concerned about how to teach vocabulary to their students effectively New words have to be introduced in such a way that captures students' attention and stick in their minds To address students' need for vocabulary learning, mind mapping has been designed to assist students enhance their vocabulary acquisition and retention

In the period of integration and globalization, Vietnam focuses on the training and improvement of foreign languages, especially English However, the teaching of English in Vietnam has not been successful as desired due to some challenges In fact, most teachers at high schools teach vocabulary by traditional methods such as translation, synonyms, antonyms, and sometimes using pictures When teachers write a new word on the board, students who look up it in the dictionary or guidingbooks give its Vietnamese meaning This method makes students feel bored and passive Besides, students learn vocabulary by recording the words on paper many times, which students learn vocabulary singly, sporadically and time-consuming Furthermore, students

do not have a chance to practice vocabulary regularly Although they have already learnt the words, they cannot remember them due to lack of practice They do not even understand how to use these lexical items in other contexts The above-mentioned reasons raise some important questions that need

to be addressed In other words, it is necessary to find out a suitable and effective technique to improve students' learning methods and vocabulary retention Mind mapping is a useful technique to teach vocabulary because it is a powerful tool to optimize the brain’s ability to create, learn and remember According to Buzan (1993, p.1), mind mapping is “a powerful graphic technique providing a universal key to unchain the potential of brain” This technique is like the thinking process in that it enables us to change from one topic to another, from one side to another It records information through the use of symbols, images, emotional meanings and colors, like a process in the brain (Effendi, 2004, p 8) Consisting of pictures, symbols and colors, it creates patterns that not only help students understand vocabulary knowledge, but also make them feel good and enjoyable It engages their brain activity, keeps students interested in mastering vocabulary knowledge and assists students’ vocabulary retention in long term memory effectively

However, few studies have been conducted on using mind maps for English teaching and learning in high school in Vietnam Above reasons lead

to the author’s decision to conduct a research: “Effects of using mind mapping

on EFL High School students’ vocabulary learning”, in the hopes of helping

students improve their vocabulary competence, become more interested in learning vocabulary, and remember it better

1.2 Aim and Objectives of the Study

1.2.1 Aim of the Study

This study aims to help students study vocabulary effectively through the use of mind maps

1.2.2 Objectives of the Study

In order to gain the aim, the objectives of the research are:

- To evaluate the effects of teaching vocabulary using mind maps to high school students in comparison with the teaching of vocabulary using the traditional teaching method

- To find out about students’ opinions on learning vocabulary using mind maps

(2) What are students’ opinions on learning vocabulary using mind maps?

1.4 Scope of the Study

This study focuses on teaching vocabulary to Grade 10 students using mind maps and finds out about the effects of using mind maps on students’

vocabulary learning

The researcher only collects the vocabulary in three lessons Getting started, Language and Reading of Unit 1 (Family Life), Unit 2 (Your body and You) and Unit 3 (Music) out of 10 units in students’ coursebook Grade

10 for the 10-year curriculum which students study at Ngo May High School These 3 lessons are designed with mind maps as models for students to refer

to

1.5 Significance of the Study

Theoretically, the study contributes to perfecting the theories about theory and methodology of language teaching and proposes some approaches

to the challenges posed by the teaching of the vocabulary of a language Practically, the findings of the study help teachers to be aware of challenges that they face in teaching vocabulary and provide them with some solutions to these problems Also, curriculum designing will be facilitated in terms of providing appropriate tasks to assist students in mastery English vocabulary

1.6 Organization of the Study

The study is presented in five chapters: Introduction, Literature Review and Theoretical Background, Methodology, Findings and Discussion and Conclusion

Chapter 1, Introduction, consists of rationale, aim and objectives of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance and an overview of the study’s organization

Chapter 2, Literature review and theoretical background, presents definition of vocabulary, importance of vocabulary, vocabulary teaching and learning, testing vocabulary, definition of mind maps and mind mapping, features of mind mapping, techniques for making a mind map, advantages and didadvantages of using mind maps in teaching and learning vocabulary

and related studies related to the topic of this study

Chapter 3, Methodology, covers the research methods of the study, data collection and data analysis

Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion, presents the results gained in the processing of the data and discusses the results of the data analysis

Chapter 5, Conclusion, summarizes the findings, presents the limitations

of the study of teaching vocabulary using mind maps, provides some suggestions for further study and gives implications on teaching vocabulary

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Chapter 2 is to shape the theoretical framework of the study It reviews the literature knowledge related to (1) vocabulary knowledge and its significance in language learning, (2) the use of mind mapping assisted vocabulary teaching and learning (3) Related studies on mind mapping in teaching and learning vocabulary

2.1 Vocabulary

2.1.1 Definition of Vocabulary

The term “vocabulary” is defined variously According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Online, vocabulary is defined as a) all the words that a person knows or uses, b) all the words in a particular language, c) the words that people use when they are talking about a particular subject and d) a list of words with their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language Phillips (1993) defined vocabulary as “the collection of words that an individual knows” Furthermore, Hornby (2006) described vocabulary as all the words that are known and used by a person Furthermore, vocabulary is “a core component of the language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, and write”

(Richards & Renandya, 2002, p.255) According to Diamond and Gutlohn

(2006) in www.readingrockets.org/article, “vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings.”

From the above mentioned definitions, it can be seen that vocabulary is the group of words that speakers use to communicate and express their thoughts and feelings

2.1.2 Importance of Vocabulary

Vocabulary plays an essential part in learning a language According to Schmitt (2008, p 329), vocabulary knowledge is considered as one of the

critical essential component for conquering a language English learners cannot either comprehend written texts or convey messages to others if their vocabulary knowledge is not sufficient Moreover, Morra and Camba (2009) also emphasizes that “nowadays it’s widely accepted that vocabulary learning

is one of the essential elements both of acquisition of one’s native language and of learning a foreign language.”

Vocabulary is viewed to be one of the critical components in language learning Krashen (1989) states that vocabulary brings the success in mastering a language Harmer (2001) also claims that it is vocabulary that is the core of the language He suggests that if language structures form the skeleton of the language, vocabulary provides the vital organs and the flesh Besides, Schmitt (2000) points outs that knowledge of vocabulary is important in communication and the achievement of a second language The learners also need to acquire skills like speaking, listening, reading and writing with vocabulary knowledge serving as the foundation for these skills

As a result, a lack of vocabulary knowledge impacts on these skills (Gass, 1999; Zhang & Li, 2011)

According to Paribakht and Wesche (1999), vocabulary acquisition is a growing and repeated process that involves the accumulation of many types

of knowledge as well as the development of various levels of ability to make use of that knowledge in communication Furthermore, Alquatani (2015) also emphasizes that vocabulary is extremely important in the process of learning language Thus, it is believed that the success in learning the target language

is attached with vocabulary knowledge According to Thornburry (2002), spending much time learning grammar can not assist learners improve their language learning; however, mastering vocabulary will help them transform their ideas and information lexically with very little grammar Wilkin (1972) writes that “while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without

vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Therefore, vocabulary is supportive of communicating successfully In other words, vocabulary knowledge plays an important part in learning language

2.1.3 Vocabulary Teaching and Learning

Vocabulary learning is a vital part learning any language Many efforts are made in order to find out the methods for how vocabulary should be taught and what the learning strategies are It is argued that whether vocabulary is learnt incidentally or intentionally Vocabulary acquired repeatedly in communicative activities is considered as incidental learning whereas intentional vocabulary learning makes learners consciously try to master their target words Incidental vocabulary learning is one of the main aspects of language acquisition Incidental vocabulary learning referred to as passive learning (Shmidth, 1990; as cited in Alemi & Tayebi, 2011) While Cristina (2010) states that, “Vocabulary is picked up unintentionally through indirect exposure to words and through explicit instruction on purpose in specific words and word learning strategies” (p.170) Since the mid-1960s, researchers have carried out studies into language learning strategies and twenty years later, vocabulary learning began to attract attention from EFL researchers (Wei, 2007) According to Schmitt (2000), only pre-teaching vocabulary may not make significant contributions to vocabulary learning Nation (1990) indicates that after-lesson activities could can help students learn vocabulary effectively Nation (2007) also states that vocabulary activities need to be practiced repeatedly by students in order for vocabulary to be learnt

In the process of vocabulary teaching, if vocabulary is taught in traditional techniques such as translation and provision of synonyms and antonyms, it will not be as effective as vocabulary taught with the strategies which students can acquire vocabulary knowledge themselves According to Schmitt (2000) and Nation (2001), vocabulary learning strategies beyond the

classroom should be adopted so that learners can develop their vocabulary Ahmed (1989) points out four main groups of learning vocabulary strategies such as (1) strategies of memorization, (2) strategies of practice and strategies

of dictionary, (3) strategies of notetaking, and (4) strategies of group work Besides, Gu (2010) clarifies that the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary learning strategy use are attached strongly

2.1.4 Testing Vocabulary

Teachers can use testing to discover how well students proceed in their learning of English Since vocabulary plays such an important part in language teaching and learning, vocabulary examinations are used in a variety

of language schools Testing vocabulary is a essential activity for teachers to get feedback on their students' comprehension and vocabulary achievement According to Read (2000), vocabulary tests are written from two distinct viewpoints First, vocabulary assessments are created to determine whether or not students understand the meaning and application of a group of terms; and second, vocabulary is assessed in the context of a language-use assignment Teachers express their preference in favor of vocabulary based on the first viewpoint to measure students’ progress in vocabulary learning and identify areas of shortcomings According to Read (2000), vocabulary assessment should consider both vocabulary breadth and vocabulary depth Read (2000) indicates three components of L2 vocabulary assessment: 1) Vocabulary can

be measured as a discrete or embedded element within a broader construct; 2) vocabulary can be selective or comprehensive; and 3) vocabulary can be assessed as a context independent or context dependent element

In the first dimension, assessing vocabulary as a discrete element is a measure of vocabulary knowledge or use as an independent construct while assessing vocabulary as an embedded element is a measurement of vocabulary as one of the elements in a larger construction

In the second dimension, selective vocabulary assessment is a measure that focuses on specific vocabulary items while comprehensive vocabulary assessment is a measure that considers the entire vocabulary content of the input material or test takers' responses

In the third dimension, assessing vocabulary as a context-independent element is referred to a vocabulary measure in which the participants can produce the awaited response without referring to any context

According to Laufer & Goldstein (2004), different researchers can use various sorts of vocabulary tests, such as placement tests, diagnostic tests, and achievement tests, depending on their own perceptions of vocabulary knowledge Achievement tests should be used to determine whether a course's objectives have been met by the end of a period of training (Brown, 2004) Dougherty and Bravo (2010) state that multiple-choice assessments are commonly used in contemporary vocabulary assessments for content areas based on teachers' curricular demands and for vocabulary performance assessments at the conclusion of units Dougherty and Bravo (2010) conclude that multiple choice tests at the end of units are used to access vocabulary depth The depth of tests may be selective because they test only the words from the controlled sets of units in the textbooks These words are required to comprehend the concepts and participate in disciplinary activities with those units Coombe (2011) suggests that discrete vocabulary tests are applied to evaluate vocabulary explicitly and common formats for assessing vocabulary recognition are multiple choice questions

In conclusion, teachers frequently use vocabulary achievement tests to assess students' vocabulary achievement at the end of a learning stage In those achievement tests, vocabulary can be measured as a discrete, selected, and context-dependent component Generally, the tests are designed in the

form of multiple choice

2.2 Definition of Mind Maps

In the 1950s, the concepts of semantic network was introduced, showing the relationship between concepts The concept maps were developed by various learning experts At that time, a concept map had a radial structure but it was not organized around a central concept like mind maps Back to the 1970s, when working as an educational psychologist in Canada, Buzan first developed mind maps When giving the lectures about how to use the brain to

a group of psychology students, he realized that his students concentrated uncomfortably on the lessons He was unable to “use the brain” to help his students understand and remember information about the brain This obstacle urged him to create radiant pictures based on the structure of human’s brain in order to assist students That is why the current framework of mind maps has the structure of brain cell or neuron Buzan, after that, tried to create a set of rules guiding how to make a mind map as we know today

Mind maps actually consist of many pictures, colors and key words The visual things attract learners of ages In addition, a mind map is said to be a non-linear visual outline which is able to upgrade the four aspects of creativity, organization, productivity, and memory (Murley, 2007, as cited in Gargouri & Naatus, 2017, p 40)

Furthermore, mind maps use images, pictures, colors, and key words to demonstrate information on different branches The center of a mind map can

be an image or a key word Key information radiates out from the central image and continue to radiate to other levels or branches on the associated line These branches have a close connection to one another

In short, from the above elaboration, a mind map has been defined in various ways However, some of them are too complicated for students to fully understand Therefore, in the current study, a mind map can be stood as

a free-flowing form of pictures, images, keywords and other graphical

representations a mind map can be understood as a free-flowing form of pictures, images, keywords and other graphical representations to represent information in a radial format starting in the centre and radiating outward using branches with related information

2.3 Definition of Mind Mapping

In terms of definition, there have been various definitions referring to mind mapping so far As can be seen in the Oxford Advanced Dictionary (1992), it is defined as “a diagram in which information is presented visually, usually with a central idea placed in the middle as associated ideas arranged around it” (p.65)

In the same vein, many authors claim that a mind map is made based on radiant thinking, describing how the human brain the various ideas and information that are associated to each other through relationship hooks In other words, mind map is a network of connected and related concepts In a mind map, ideas can be connected to any other ideas According to Bitimirov and Nilson (2006), mind mapping is visual representation of ideas and relationships among the ideas in non-liner way Mind maps actually consists of many pictures, colors and keywords These visual things attract learners of all ages In mind mapping, ideas can be connected to any other ideas Particularly, each researcher has proposed a different definition for this term

According to Antonnaci (1991), mind mapping is a graphic organizer which can assist learners to visually organize and graphically show the relationship It is believed that human’s brain is so extremely special that it is still a myth In order to unlock it, Buzan (1993, p.59) states that a mind map is

“an expression of Radiant Thinking and is therefore a function of the human mind,” and “a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of the brain” The difference between mind mapping and conventional outlines is in the way of expressing ideas With the old outlines, people can only read information in two stable directions, including

from left to right and top to down, following a linear direction which is different from the natural preference of human’s brain

Sharing the same idea, Bitimirov and Nilson (2006) agree that mind mapping is visual representation of ideas and their relationship among these ideas in non-linear way Moreover, Hofland (2007) claims that “mind mapping is a technique that stimulates both parts of the brains, the left side is used for rational and logical thinking whereas the right side is used for creative thinking” (p.5)

2.4 Features of Mind Maps

It is believed that the two hemispheres of brain are being utilized in the process of drawing a mind map The left side of the brain helps control some aspects about logic, analytics and details while the right side is about creativity and imagination

Mind maps can be applied to every aspect of life, including learning In our daily lives, a mind map can be used whenever we have to think, plan, recall, or create something When using a mind map, users can store a large amount of information on one page, and the relationships among various concepts and ideas are clearly showed Buzan (1996) presents four essential characteristics of a mind map First of all, the subject of attention is crystallized in a central image Secondly, the main themes of the subject radiate from the central image as branches Thirdly, branches comprise a key image or keyword printed on an associated line Topics of lesser importance are also represented as branches attached to higher level branches Finally, the branches form a connected nodal structure

In the same lines, Fiktorius (2013) points out four main features of a mind map Firstly, each mind map has a central point which is usually a keyword or an image, presenting a main topic or theme Secondly, all the ideas of the mind map radiate from the central point as branches which are

connected to each other in parent-child relationships Thirdly, the final structure of the mind map becomes a hierarchy of linked nodes Fourthly, each mind map contains a lot of colors and images

Based on the afore-mentioned views, every mind map usually includes some similar parts, namely central image or key word, branches with ideas, colors, and pictures In short, mind mapping shares the three main characteristics in common First of all, a mind map has to consist of a main idea, presented in form of a keyword or an image Secondly, some branches are linked together using curved lines Thirdly, people use images, pictures, symbols, and colors in a mind map These characteristics make a mind map a useful tool for language learners to study and review vocabulary

2.5 Techniques for Making a Mind Map

There are various authors suggesting the steps to make a mind map First

of all, the seven steps created by Buzan (1993, pp 97-103) are shown as follows In the first steps, it should be started in the center of a blank page, which allows our brain to spread out in all directions freely and naturally Next, the images and pictures will be used for the central idea An interesting image will keep learners concentrating on the topic Then, many colors are used as possible in order to provide energy to the brain The next step is connecting the main branches to the central image When ideas are connected,

it will be much easier to understand and remember things The fifth step is to make branches curved rather than straight-lined In the sixth step, there should be only one key word per line because a single key word will definitely make the mind map more powerful and flexible In the last step, the use of images is throughout applied

Murley (2007) explains that ideas are shown in a relational context with the main topic at the center of the map The steps of drawing a mind map suggested by this author are presented as follows First of all, the central

theme or main idea will be replaced in the center of the paper Lines, arrows, branches and different colors are ways of showing the connection between the central theme and main ideas The relationships are really important Thirdly, drawing quickly without major pauses or editing is encouraged instead of creating an artistic masterpiece It is important in the initial stages of mind mapping to consider every possibility of ideas Fourthly, different colors are chosen to symbolize different things Lastly, some space should be left on the page It will be easy to add anything to the diagram over a period of time

Al Naqbi (2012, p 15) also suggests even steps to create a mind map First,

it should be started from the center of a piece of blank paper Then, pictures or photographs are used for the central idea After that, attractive colors should be used The next step is connecting the main branches to central picture and connecting the second-order and are used for the central idea After that, attractive colors should be used The next step is connecting the main branches

to central picture and connecting the second-order and third-order branches to the first-order, second-order and so on Curving rather than straight connecting line should appear in the mind map It is because straight line will make the brain bored The next one is using one keyword for each line A single keyword has more power and flexibility in mind mapping The last step is using picture since every central picture means a thousand words

Grounded from the above suggestions, the difference among the above mentioned ways of making a mind map is in the degrees of drawing specific details and using various pictures and colors Therefore, it can be said that the quality of a mind map will depend much on the creativity and carefulness of painters

2.6 Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Mind Maps in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary

2.6.1 Advantages

There are many benefits of using mind-mapping Buzan, T and Buzan,

B (1993, p 89) mention that mind mapping can help readers save time by noting and reading only words relevant to the core-ideas Krasnic (2012, p 42) lists the major advantages of a visual map: using a mind’s full range of skills, overcoming information overload, storing pertinent information and resources in one place, providing a focused and detailed view, thinking flexibly and freely, increasing creativity, developing holistic understanding, thinking clearly through organized connections, enhancing problem-solving and decision-making, improving memory and understanding, and maintaining interest through its attractiveness, interaction and fun-disposition Additionally, in their research paper Zarei and Adami (2013, p 17) state that semantic-mapping recollects known words or concepts in isolation or in a context Witter-Merithew (n.d, p 15) also finds the benefits of mind-mapping: it is easy to prepare for representation and helps recall the information more efficiently This is because a mind map is structured in a logical way Moreover, its visual-spatial representation and hierarchy encourage further review, understanding of the text and discovery of contradictions in terms, paradoxes and extant text gaps

Mind mapping plays an important role in education and teaching There are six reasons to use mind mapping to teach a class The first is that it has great benefits for lesson planning With its visual mode, the teacher can tease out the topics, the order of such topics and the ways to interest students Furthermore, he/she can start with a topic and continue to explain all related matters using this visual aid Besides, an audio-visual lesson is always more interesting than a plain one Additionally, it is easy for students to follow the teacher’s lesson properly Likewise, the linkage of ideas and topics will help students follow a logical path and naturally they will understand better

Finally, mind mapping enhances cooperation between students and the teacher When they work in groups, they accumulate their own resources at the same time Moreover, they can be ready to grasp, assimilate and evaluate the information to be read (Heimlich & Pittelman, 1986, as cited in Tateum,

2007, p 18)

For students, mind mapping helps them “brainstorm” and explore ideas, concepts, or problems as well as communicate new ideas and thought progression more easily It also allows them to understand the relationships and connections between ideas and concepts more easily Moreover, it facilitates their note-taking and critical planning tasks so that they can recall information with little trouble

Zaid (1995, p 6) claims that students can improve their reading comprehension, written expression and vocabulary development by using mind maps Moreover, they may develop their ability to use words properly because they know the relationship behind the words (White, 1998, as cited in Saeidi & Atmani, 2010, p 52)

Kinchin (2000, as cited in Mistades, 2009, p 2) emphasizes that “pupil- produced-maps” are the most favored in the learning process because the students‟ learning misconceptions can be more clearly explored than in traditional methods Besides, student errors and alternative frameworks are easily investigated within the term of study (Edmondson, 2000, as cited in Mistades, 2009, p 2)

Dilek and Yürük (2012, p 1542) write that a mind map helps students eliminate the traditionally routine ambiance of the classroom, recall information and more importantly, relate new information to prior knowledge

DePorter and Hernacki (n.d, as cited in Effendi, 2004, p 9) describe some of the advantages of using the mind mapping technique Firstly, it is

flexible; this means a learner can label or deposit ideas anywhere on his/her mind map according to his/her own professed opinions Secondly, he/she can save time since all the sub- topics focus on the main one This also helps the learner comprehend his/her material clearly and more easily remember it Finally, with the infiniteness of imagination and creativity as well as its associated pictures and colors, a learner can stimulate his/her mind to more enjoyable and exciting learning prospects

Specifically, mind mapping can help learn vocabulary It is because mind mapping “stores vocabulary in a logical and helpful way, so that the students can find old words and they can add new words easily and quickly” (Baker & Westrup, 2000, p.41)

Learning vocabulary does not mean that one just has to learn new words;

it also means that one has to remember them To put it another way, learning is remembering However, remembering a long list of words or even

a word in the long-term memory is not easy Therefore, sensory memory has

an important role in learning vocabulary According to Johnson C and Johnson D (n.d, p 10), graphic organizers including mind mapping are some

of the additional activities that can help deepen students’ word knowledge Mind mapping is an especially excellent way to “brainstorrm” vocabulary in a language classroom One idea leads to another, thus making a whole page of words to learn This is true because of these creativity and visualization Mind mapping combines both and becomes whole-brained uni-minded exercise, which helps students think more holistically Secondly, with pictures, drawings, or graphics, students develop graphic word impressions in their minds Thirdly, confronted with colorful pictures, students become more excited and creative The more interested they are in the activity, the more effective it will be Moreover, the relationship between sub-topics relating to the central topic helps students understand words in depth and remember

them longer Mind mapping thus allows students to clarify their thoughts by categorizing and grouping them together into related ideas Moreover, to achieve the best mind maps, students will have to work in groups and discuss issues with their friends, thus making learning a collaborative venture Working in groups helps students develop critical thinking and remember words longer it also saves time in their vocabulary learning

To maximize the advantages of mind mappings, Buzan, T and Buzan, B (1993, p 96) gives some principles The first is capitalizing words for ease of reading; the second is to use unlined paper; the third is to start a mind map in the center of the paper and connect all words or phrases with lines; and finally, the designer may use different colors for each hierachy of words The same classification of words has the same color to distinguish it from the others

2.6.2 Disadvantages

However, Hofland (2007, p 31) finds some disadvantages of mind mapping when he uses it Mind mapping often seems strange to his students Older students consider carrying crayons to be childish while other students just write in their notebooks Therefore, they do not welcome its use This makes the researcher to come up with a solution to their positive attitudes towards working with mind maps

According to Stewart (2010, p.6), one of the limitations of mind mapping is that “it is not a comprehensive teaching solution or a versatile graphic organizer… It is not a suitable replacement for diagramming a sentence or charting a novel's plot” Recognizing this shortcoming, the reseacher applies mind mapping to teach vocabulary in a reading comprehension lesson, not in a story

2.7 When and Where to Use Mind Mapping

Since first trademarked by the first mind mapper, Tony Buzan, in May

1990, many organizations including those of education and business have

become familiar with mind mapping They have found that while mind mapping is still a relatively untapped resource in education, it is a very efficient tool to use for “brainstorming” solutions to business problems (as cited in Stewart, 2010, p 4)

In recent years, mind mapping has been used not only to organize people’s lives and develop new business ideas but also to teach learners in a variety of educational environments Because employers can tap into their employees’ creativity and foster the sharing of innovative ideas, it improves productivity at work In addition, it improves productivity at home We often make a list of things we need to buy at the market or what we should daily do and this helps us to think more logically and strategically Most importantly, mind mapping improves productivity at school

Wittkower (n.d, pp 5-7) mentions mind maps can be used as created and learner-created maps While experts use them to outline their plans, present their entire speech in a single document, take crucial notes, and record presented material rapidly and precisely, students use them as evaluative, mnemonic, writing and analytic tools In the same vein, Krasnic (2012, pp 43-45) describes mind maps as a learning assessment tool since they can be used

expert-to summarize information, take notes of all information in one place, negotiate advantages and disadvantages of a topic, plan or outline before writing, develop ideas, review an entity of pictures, and present clearly

Because mind mapping can be used in an educational context to analyze and organize what learners know or learn (Jonassen, Carr & Yueh, 1998, p 25), it serves three main purposes in language learning They are: (1) learning vocabulary, (2) building a clear context in the pre-stage, while-stage and post-stage of a lesson, especially a reading comprehension one, and (3) organizing one’s thought in pre-writing Historically, Heimlich and Pittelman (1986, as cited in Dilek & Yürük, 2012, p 1535) first gave credence to the idea that

mind maps can be applied in pre- and post-stage He especially mentions their three applications in general vocabulary development, pre- and post-reading and study skill techniques Moreover, Bogatikov (n.d, pp 6-10) specifies the use of mind mapping in the three stages of a reading lesson and in writing As

a pre-reading activity, he applies them in the activation of the students’ available knowledge, categorization and text prediction In while-reading, students read the text and fill in the mind map but mind maps are also handy

in the post-reading stage via creating a semantic map after reading texts together with writing composition

Hofland (2007, p 38) urged his class to experience mind mapping and found that its members could easily recall the content and even details of the reading text, which enabled them to be better students in reading skills Moi and Lian (2007, p 8) also use mind maps as a strategy for reading comprehension In addition, students’ thinking ability and creativity can be harnessed into writing skills as well; they can plan what they are going to write, which helps them save time and write logically Mind mapping is also beneficial to one’s speaking skills in preparing a topic for an oral test as well

as in teaching pronunciation Finally, the students mention that mind maps are very suitable for the elicitation of vocabulary

Regarding the employment of mind mapping in remembering new vocabulary, Deporter, Readon, and Singer Nourie (1999, p 175) propose some reasons why teachers can use mind mapping in teaching vocabulary (1) Mind mapping is very appropriate and flexible when applied to different age levels, themes, subjects and situations for whole classes, groups or individuals; (2) mind mapping is a very good tool for creative thinking and problem solving; (3) in foreign language teaching and learning, mind mapping can improve memory recall the retrieval of facts, words or images; (4) mind mapping is a creative note taking method that helps us to remember

more information, and (5) mind mapping is a colorful use of pictures or symbols, which leads to an increase in the student interest in the subject According to Antonacci (2015, p 19), the three most effective usages of the map are guiding discussion by teachers before, during and after reading a text, the selection of critical key words to teach and students’ active discussion on constructing their word maps

In short, mind mapping is used for learning vocabulary, building a concise context before, during and after study sessions, as well as organizing one’s thought before writing

2.8 Related Studies

According to research on teaching English with mind maps, there still appears to be strong support for its effectiveness in vocabulary learning Because of the benefits it provided for students in terms of performance and learning attitude, researchers believe it was an excellent teaching approach for teaching vocabulary

There have been researches on teaching vocabulary with mind maps

Typically, a research study entitled named "Teaching vocabulary through mind mapping technique to the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 15 Palembang" by Effendi (2004), an Indonesian student at PGRI University

She recruited 80 students at random from 360 10th grade students at SMA Negeri 15 Palembang in the academic year 2009-2010 for her study She separated them into two groups, each with 40 students: control and experimental In her study, the only testing instrument was post-treatment testing The matched t-test formula yielded a result of 2.396, which was higher than the t-critical value of 1.725 This indicated that mind mapping was helpful in the classroom when it came to teaching vocabulary As a result, the researcher recommended that other researchers be consulted

Dilek and Yürük (2012) discovered that mind mapping was very

efficient in vocabulary instruction after conducting research on 32 intermediate students from Turkey's Selcuk University's School of Foreign Languages A survey questionnaire of 40 items was conducted prior to the main study to determine the association between the students' beliefs and the vocabulary-learning approach they preferred to utilize In the primary study,

pre-32 pre-intermediate students between the ages of 18 and 20 were split into two groups Under the treatment regime of 25 hours per week, there were 15 students in the experimental group and 17 students in the control group Students' opinions regarding vocabulary learning strategies were directly related to their choices in vocabulary learning, according to the findings of this "strategies in vocabulary-learning" questionnaire Furthermore, the findings of the t-test showed that mind mapping was more effective than typical vocabulary learning approaches

Diem, D.T (2011), a Vietnamese National University student in Hanoi, did a study on mind mapping and diagrams using three instruments: survey questionnaires, interviews, and vocabulary tests The survey questionnaires were conducted with 100 randomly selected first-year mainstream students enrolled in the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education for the academic year 2010-2011 to study the repercussions of the research problem Thirty students participating in the control and experimental groups were involved in trial lessons, pre-testing, two post-tests and semi-structured interviews To achieve the research's second goal, the genuine experimental approach was used in data collection processes The results from the questionnaire showed that mind maps and diagrams had been applied to teach vocabulary in Faculty I, but were not commonly used The results of the following two tests (t obtained = 2.18 & t' obtained = 2.17) were higher than table t (2.145) This proved that teaching vocabulary to first-year mainstream students using mind maps and diagrams were effective, particularly in terms

of students acquiring and recalling words

Another research study entitled “Using mind mapping to teach vocabulary to the first year non-English major students at Bac Giang University of Agriculture and Forestry (BUAF)” was conducted by Lan,

N.T.T (2012), a student of Ha Noi University in Viet Nam In her research, she chose 90 students (42 males and 48 females) at BUAF in the academic year of 2011-2012 Quantitative method was employed to survey 90 students

by a questionnaire The results from the questionnaire showed that mind mapping could help students to brainstorm new topics, summarize the main points of the lesson and take notes during the lesson Besides, the findings of short interviews showed that using mind maps to teach vocabulary to the first year non-English major students at BUAF got positive effects on students’ vocabulary learning, especially in terms of students remembering vocabulary and having the enjoyment in their learning of vocabulary

However, few studies in Viet Nam have investigated the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary to high school students using mind maps It is for the reason that the researcher decided to conduct this study for the purpose of assisting students in improving their vocabulary competence and enhancing their motivation to learn vocabulary

2.9 Chapter Summary

The chapter establishes the conceptual framework by providing relevant information about mind mapping and the relationship between mind mapping and lexical competency, which encourages and enhances the researcher's confidence in completing the research Previous empirical research studies relevant to the topic are also used to identify the research gap In the next chapter, the theoretical basis developed in this chapter will be used to design reseacher

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

The aim of this chapter is to provide the justifications for the research method of the study Firstly, the description of research setting and participants are presented Secondly, the research instruments used to collect data and the procedures are described in detail Finally, the chapter also deals with analytical framework and the issues of the research validity and reliability

3.1 Overall Approach

As this study aimed at exploring how mind mapping, as an independent variable, affects vocabulary acquisition, as a dependent variable, in terms of the students’ lexical acquisition and their opinions toward this treatment in vocabulary learning, an experimental design seemed to be a better choice However, because the researcher could not randomly assign the participants into the control and experimental group, a quasi-experimental study was chosen This choice was made as the researcher took responsibility for teaching two classes at the beginning of the school year

To answer two research questions, the researcher performed a series of measurements both before and after the introduction of mind mapping to teach vocabulary The researcher worked on three tools for data collection: vocabulary tests, questionnaires, and interviews Among them, test prevailed over questionnaire and interview The results of the test should be expressed

by the change in vocabulary level through the test Then, questionnaires and interviews were conducted to understand students' opinions on the value of mind mapping for vocabulary learning The details of all these issues will be explained in more detail in the following sections

3.2 Research Setting

The study was carried out at Ngo May High School, which is located in Phu Cat District, in Binh Dinh Province In the academic year 2021-2022, this

school had 23 classrooms and seven English teacher, three of whom are master’s degree holders and four Bachelor’s degree holders There were eight Grade 10 classes, seven Grade 11 and eight Grade 12 classes Most of the students at this school were quite bad at English According to the statistics of the Grade 10 entrance examination for the academic year 2021-2022, English scores of the students participating in this research were very low The scores

of 15 students (18.75%) ranged from 5 to 5.75 and those of 8 students (10.0%) from 6 to 6.25 Meanwhile, 28 students (35%) had scores from 3.5 to 4.75 and 29 (36.25%) below 3.5 Through talks to the students, they confided that they were afraid of learning English since they thought that it was too difficult Therefore, they were not really interested in learning it, but they had

no choice because it was an obligatory subject

Under the high school curriculum, students learn English in 105 periods

a year with 54 periods and 51 periods in each semester respectively Each week there are 4 English periods with one optional period The forms of assessment are formative and summative Each semester has two oral tests, two 15-minute tests, one mid-term test and one final test The test content includes listening, pronunciation, grammar, reading comprehension, sentence rewriting, synonyms and antonyms

3.3 Participants

The participants in this study were 80 Grade 10 students at Ngo May High School They were divided into two equal groups, experimental and control The experimental group consisted of 40 students, 21 of whom were male and 19 female The control group consisted of 40 students, 15 females

and 25 males

The participants were taught English with the new course book for the ten-year curriculum The participants received 45-minute class of English every week

Table 3.1 shows the participants’ characteristics in both groups in terms

of number, gender, age, and years of English learning

Table 3.1: Participants’ parameters

25 males (62.5%) and 15 females (37.5%) while the experimental one has 21 males (52.5%) and 19 females (47.5%) However, the difference in gender does not affect vocabulary learning via mind mapping (Saeidi & Atmani,

2010, pp 51-64) Most of the students are very young, around 16-17 years old Particularly, the students aged 16 in both control and experimental groups has the high rates of 95% and 100% respectively A small proportion

of 5% in the control one is at the age of 17 However, the one-year difference

in age among the students is not considerable and does not affect their English study much All of the students in both groups have eight-year experience in English studying

Overall, all four factors consider namely the number, gender, age and English learning experience are almost identical between the two groups of participants

3.4.Teaching Material

The formal face-to-face instruction of English for the control group and the experimental group was provided by the researcher, using the textbook (Tieng Anh 10) for the ten-year curriculum which was designed under the National Foreign Languages Project 2020 According to Hoang (2015), this textbook for grade 10 costs the total time of 105 forty-five-minute periods Eighty-eight 45-minute periods are allocated for teaching and seventeen 45-minute periods are allocated for reviews, tests and reserves Hoang (2015) adds that the textbook for grade 10 consists of 10 units and 4 reviews Each unit includes 8 headings or lessons: Getting Started, Language (Vocabulary, Pronunciation, Grammar), Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Communication & Culture, and Looking Back & Project Each lesson is instructed in one 45-minute period Each review is provided in two 45- minute period Hoang (2015) states that the level of English proficiency for Grade 10

is level 3-1 (the first level of 3 levels of CEFR level B1) The formal face instruction of English for both groups in this study involved unit 1, unit

face-to-2, and unit 3 of the textbook for grade 10 In each unit, the researcher designs the mind map for two lessons (Getting Started and Language) to consolidate the vocabulary for students after teaching the two lessons The total time allocated to teaching these three units is twenty-four 45-minute periods, which is equivalent to 8 weeks Given that the proper time length for the intervention of this study to be effective should be from 8 weeks to 12 weeks (Mclnemey and Elledge, 2013) In this light, the time length of the intervention

in the current study is legitimate

The lexical words are in two lessons (Getting Started and Language) in Unit 1, 2 and 3 Most of the words are at the levels of A2, B1, B2 and some words at C1 and C2 levels (Appendix 1) The researcher determines the levels

of the lexical words thanks to the website of Oxford dictionary in

https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/

These materials were used for both the groups in different ways The time of reviewing the vocabulary taught in the three lessons (Getting started, Language and Reading) in each unit in both groups was in 45 minutes For the control group, the researcher followed the traditional presentation of reviewing the vocabulary First, the reseacher clearly pronounced the new word two or three times Then, the reseacher elicited the meaning of the word, ostensively or verbally For each word, the researcher used one of these

techniques to elicit the meaning For example, with the lexical item “take out the rubbish”, the researcher used a picture of a person picking up the rubbish and putting it into a dustbin With the word “split”, the researcher asked students the question: “What is the synonym of the word split?” With the word “passionate”, the reseacher explained to her students its meanings in

Vietnamese The reseacher asked her students to tell her an adjective showing someone that has very strong feelings or emotions and so on The next step was repetition; the researcher got the class to repeat the new word chorally and individually a few times and checked the pronunciation carefully The final one was writing vocabulary on the board

The researcher mainly applied the new technique to the experimental group At the beginning, the researcher gave the students a model of a mind map to make sure that all of them knew what a mind map was Then, the reseacher modeled how to make a mind map of Unit 1 First of all, the reseacher reviewed the topic and wrote it on the board The reseacher asked the students all of the vocabulary learnt in three lessons in each unit and wrote

on the board Then, the reseacher asked some questions leading to the related

words For example, in Unit 1, the words and phases as responsibility, breadwinner, homemaker, take out the rubbish, shop for grocerries, do the heavy lifting, equally, contribute The reseacher asked some questions: “Who