Using pictures as an effective means to teach english vocabulary to children age 6 11 at doan hung informatics language school in ho chi minh city a thesis submitted in partial fulfil

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURES  USING PICTURES AS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO CHILDREN AGED 6-11 AT DOAN HUNG INFORMATICS LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN HO C

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURES



USING PICTURES AS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO CHILDREN AGED 6-11 AT DOAN HUNG INFORMATICS LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Submitted by TRẦN THỊ Ý NGUYỆN

Supervisor ĐOÀN HUỆ DUNG, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY – AUGUST 2012

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

USING PICTURES AS AN EFFECTIVE MEANS TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO TEACH CHILDREN AGED 6-11

AT DOAN HUNG INFORMATICS LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY

In terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by Higher Degree Committee

Ho Chi Minh City, August 2012

TRẦN THỊ Ý NGUYỆN

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, TRẦN THỊ Ý NGUYỆN, being the candidate for the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of the theses

Ho Chi Minh City, August 2012

TRẦN THỊ Ý NGUYỆN

I would like to express my sincere gratitude, first and foremost, to my supervisor, Dr Đoàn Huệ Dung, who has provided me with constant encouragement and with invaluable guidance and comments on my writing

My thanks also go to all the teachers at the Doan Hung Informatics Language School who took time out of their busy schedules to complete questionnaire

so that I have a trustworthy source of data for the research Without the help

of all of these people, this research project would have been impossible

I am extremely grateful for the advice, assistance and support I have received from my director, Mr Hà Đăng Văn at Doan Hung Informatics Language School while working on this research project

Additional thanks go to my friend, Trần Thanh Phong for his great help and encouragement throughout my writing

Last but not least, I would like to give my special thanks and gratitude to my family, especially for my parents, who are always by my side and help me in any difficulty throughout the years of my study

ABSTRACT

English is one of international languages, which is used widely over the world Therefore, English is considered as a means of communication by many people to deliver idea and interact in a variety of situation The acquisition of vocabulary has long been considered a crucial component of learning a foreign language Vocabulary developing skill for the students is very important to communicative through written language, the more vocabulary and pattern the students have, the more they are in mastering vocabulary and the rule of vocabulary skill In studying English students have

to deal with some aspects such as grammar, vocabulary, spelling, pronunciation Among them, the vocabulary is one of important aspects in learning language, as stated by Baker, Simmons, and Kameenui (1995b: p.35)

“Vocabulary acquisition is crucial to academic development Not only do students need a rich body of word knowledge to succeed in basic skill areas, they also need a specialized vocabulary to learn content area material.” It is therefore necessary for helping students understand of words and concepts of which they have learnt deeper To young learners, I think that using pictures

as an effective means in teaching English vocabulary and it is an important instrument or media to support the achievement of learning and teaching process especially when teaching children Therefore, this thesis is done to (1) show how pictures can be employed in lessons as well as to determine the effectiveness of using pictures in increasing the student’s achievement or helping retaining the memorized words at Doan Hung Informatics Language School, and (2) understand the problems in teaching vocabulary

The study first examines the effectiveness of using pictures to teach English vocabulary for children aged 6-11 It then investigates the appropriate methods and techniques that can support the teaching learning process as well

as enhance the effectiveness of teaching English vocabulary by using pictures

at Doan Hung informatics language school through a questionnaire survey covering both teachers and 40 students of two English classes at this selected institution Oral interviews, questionnaire were used useful instruments for data collection The questionnaire-based survey aims to scrutinize teachers’ common methods and techniques in using pictures to teach English vocabulary to young learners more effective and students’ ideas in vocabulary learning by pictures Oral interviews serve to collect information gathered from questionnaires and discover teachers’ and students’ opinions on how to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning English vocabulary by using pictures

Finally, the researcher will give the result of study based on the findings, some conclusions and suggestions are made

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page No

Certificate of originality i

Retention and use of the thesis ii

Acknowledgement iii

Abstract iv

Table of contents vi

List of tables x

List of charts xi

Abbreviations xii

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Purpose of the study 3

1.3 Procedure of the study 4

1.4 Significance of the study 5

1.5 Limitation of the study 5

1.6 The organization of the study 5

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The nature of vocabulary 7

2.1.1 What is vocabulary? 7

2.1.2 The types of vocabulary 9

2.1.3 The use of vocabulary 10

2.2 Teaching vocabulary 11

2.2.1 Principles of learning and teaching vocabulary 11

2.2.2 Stages in teaching vocabulary 12

2.2.3 Techniques used for teaching English vocabulary to children 15

2.2.3.1 Presentation 15

2.2.3.2 Practice 17

2.2.3.3 Production 18

2.2.4 Techniques in using pictures to teach vocabulary to children 19

2.2.4.1 Drawing pictures on board technique 19

2.2.4.2 Using flashcards technique 20

2.3 The nature of pictures 21

2.3.1 What is picture? 21

2.3.2 The types of pictures 22

2.3.3 The use of pictures 24

2.3.4 Creating the pictures 25

2.4 Describing children 27

2.4.1 Characteristics of children 27

2.4.2 Children’ vocabulary learning strategies 28

2.5 Activities 30

2.5.1 Drawing 30

2.5.2 Using flashcards 31

2.5.3 Using game 32

2.6 A relevant study 35

2.7 Summary 36

Chapter 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions 37

3.2 Research design 38

3.3 Participants 39

3.3.1 The teacher subjects 39

3.3.2 The student subjects 39

3.3.3 The researcher 39

3.4 Instruments 40

3.4.1 Questionnaire 40

3.4.2 Interviews 41

3.4.3 The software 42

3.5 Control group 42

3.6.1 Materials 47

3.6.2 Pre-test and Post-test 48

3.7 Data collection procedure 49

Chapter 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Data collected from the teachers’ questionnaire 51

4.1.1 Role of vocabulary in teaching English 52

4.1.2 Teachers’ opinions in teaching English 53

4.1.3 Teachers’ views on students’ difficulties toward learning vocabulary 55

4.1.4 Teachers’ necessary stages to motivate learners in teaching vocabulary 56

4.1.5 Teachers’ current kinds of visual aids in teaching English vocabulary 56

4.1.6 Teachers’ motivational factors in teaching vocabulary 57

4.1.7 Teachers’ types of pictures currently used to teach vocabulary 59

4.1.8 Teachers’ current techniques in teaching English vocabulary 60

4.1.9 Teachers’ current activities for motivating students in teaching vocabulary 61

4.1.10 Teachers’ using pictures frequency to teach vocabulary for children at Doan Hung Informatics Language School 63

4.1.11 Teachers’ opinions of teaching English vocabulary through pictures 64

4.1.12 Teachers recommendations on improving the teaching of English vocabulary through pictures at DHILS 65

4.2 Data collected from the experimental teaching 65

4.2.1 Results of pre-test 66

4.2.2 Results of post-test 67

4.3 The results of interviews 69

4.3.1 The teachers’ interview 70

4.3.2 The students’ interview 71

4.4 Summary of the findings 72

Chapter 5 RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Conclusions 74

5.2 Suggestions 75

5.2.1 Providing students how to learn English vocabulary more effective 75

5.2.2 Increasing the time for practicing English vocabulary at class 76

5.2.3 Creating stimulating environment to motivate students

in learning vocabulary 77

5.3 Limitation of the study 78

5.4 Summary 79

REFERENCES 80

APPENDICES 83

APPENDIX 1: Lesson plans 83

APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for teachers 106

APPENDIX 3: The tests’ scores of Let’s Go 3E 111

APPENDIX 4: The tests’ scores of Let’s Go 3B 112

APPENDIX 5: Handouts (Activities) 113

APPENDIX 6: Pre - test 126

APPENDIX 7: Post - test 131

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 The content of the lessons that applied in teaching to control

group Table 4.1 Teachers’ characteristics

Table 4.2 Teachers’ viewpoints on the importance of vocabulary,

grammar and four basic skills in teaching English Table 4.3 Teachers’ visual aids were applied to motivate students in

teaching vocabulary Table 4.4 The control group’s and the experimental group’s pre-test

scores Table 4.5 The control group’s and the experimental group’s post-test

scores Table 4.6 The content of the interview

Table 4.7 Students’ opinions from interview

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 4.1 Vocabulary’s importance in language teaching and learning Chart 4.2 The teachers’ views on students’ difficulties in learning

vocabulary Chart 4.3 Teachers’ necessary stages to motivate learners in teaching

vocabulary Chart 4.4 Teachers’ views on using visual aids towards teaching

vocabulary Chart 4.5 Teachers’ current types of pictures in teaching vocabulary Chart 4.6 Current techniques were used in teaching vocabulary by

teachers Chart 4.7 Teachers’ current activities to motivate students in teaching

vocabulary Chart 4.8 Teachers’ using pictures frequency to teach vocabulary to

children at Doan Hung Informatics Language School Chart 4.9 Teachers’ views in using pictures to teach English vocabulary Chart 4.10 The pre-test result of the two groups

Chart 4.11 The post-test result of the two groups

B.A : Bachelor degree

DHILS : Đoàn Hưng Informatics Language School

M.A : Master of Arts

SS : Students

T : Teacher

TEG : The experimental group

TCG : The control group

TESOL : Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

The chapter begins with background to the study “using pictures as an effective means to teach English vocabulary to children aged 6-11 at Doan Hung informatics language school in Ho Chi Minh City” And then comes a purpose and procedure of the study Last comes the significance of the study, along with limitations and organization of the study

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Learning a foreign language involves the manipulation of four main skills; speaking, writing, listening and reading, which lead to effective communication Most of languages, English is the most widely used language in international events Many countries use English in their affairs, such as business, politic, education, science and technology that are why English becomes a very important language Due to the important role of English in all affairs, English is considered

as a compulsory subject in school of non-English speaking countries One crucial factor is the amount of vocabulary one possesses as vocabulary forms the biggest part of the meaning of any language (McCarthy, 1988) Vocabulary, however, is the biggest problem for most learners As you know, vocabulary is an element that can not lack in communication and conveyable meaning Therefore, in order to master any language, we need to have vocabulary knowledge strongly in order to understand and transfer information together Laufer (1997: 20-34) states vocabulary learning is at the heart of language learning and language use

To teach vocabulary for children is not easy so teacher must give the basic vocabulary to them to make them understand English For example, the teacher must use effective and appropriate methods It means that the method can build

characteristics Or teacher should be imaginative and creative to build the enjoyable teaching-learning condition based on young learners characteristic The problems that teacher faces in teaching English for children are as follows: First, students often pay no attention to the teacher in class Second, it is difficult for them to remember the word’s spelling and how to combine the words together Third, they feel bored if teacher does not have humorousness So, the teacher should apply appropriate methods to motivate their attention There are several methods to create enjoyable condition for children to learn English such as games, songs, pictures, stories… One of them, pictures can be regarded as a means that can help and encourage many children to sustain their interest and work because using pictures in teaching new words makes the process enjoyable and memorable Pictures can attract students’ attention and deepen their understanding of vocabulary They also help learners with abstract words, as associating the word with a concrete object makes these words easier to remember Harmer (2001:135) states that “one of the most appropriate uses for pictures is for the presenting and checking of meaning” Of course, not all new words can be taught using pictures but most concrete vocabulary can Moreover, pictures also help the students to understand the meaning or information that are referred in pictures The teacher has to give the suitable picture that is related to the material that will be given

However, in teaching and learning process, there are also a lot of vocabulary problems The factors can be caused by the individual teacher, by method that is used, by less motivation of the students in learning English, or the students have difficulties in mastering vocabulary… In order to help students improve their vocabulary and increase their enjoyment in learning English, and solve the problems that teachers face in their teaching vocabulary Therefore, this study focuses on the research entitled “using pictures as an effective means to teach English vocabulary to children aged 6-11 at Doan Hung informatics language

school” With the hope pictures can play an important role in supporting vocabulary learning as well as increasing the student’s motivation and interesting The writer limits it only concerning the effectiveness of teaching English vocabulary through pictures to children aged 6-11

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The aims of this study are targeted: 1/ To find out the main difficulties that teachers often face in teaching Vocabulary for children at Doan Hung Informatics Language School, 2/ To ascertain what types of pictures can help students in retaining memorized words better, 3/ To explore the appropriate techniques through using the pictures that can support the teaching and learning process to children, 4/ To enhance the effectiveness of using pictures in teaching English vocabulary for children aged 6-11

In order to reach those aims, this research is to answer the three following questions:

1) What are the main difficulties faced by teachers and learners (aged 6-11) in teaching and learning English vocabulary at Doan Hung Informatics language school?

2) What types of pictures are effective to the teaching Vocabulary?

3) What are appropriate ways of using pictures to teach Vocabulary to children aged 6-11 at Doan Hung Informatics language school?

The following hypotheses are formulated as follows:

 Using pictures in teaching English vocabulary provides a motivating atmosphere for teaching not only speaking skill but also listening and writing

 The use of pictures makes the class more active and alive

 Using pictures can be applied to teach vocabulary effectively at any level, especially children

1.3 PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY

This study consists of (1) an experimental teaching conducted on 40

students from two classes (Let’s Go 3B and Let’s Go 3E) at Doan Hung Informatics Language School to examine the effectiveness of using pictures in teaching English vocabulary to children; and (2) one set of quantitative questionnaires surveying 12 teachers who are teaching English for Let’s Go classes at DHILS in order to collect data to answer the research questions and test the hypotheses In this study, the purpose of this survey is to clarify the difficulties

of teaching and learning vocabulary to children; and (3) interview 4 teachers and 5 students aimed to explore the teachers’ and their students’ attitudes toward the teaching and learning English vocabulary by pictures This research was carried out as follows:

The first, pre-test and post-test were designed and conducted for 8 weeks experimental teaching Next, the experimental lesson was conducted on the one chosen class from February 20 to April 20, 2012

After eight weeks of experimental teaching, teacher gives post-test for both groups (experimental and control) to do, with the aim of seeing the results in their experimental lessons Simultaneously, the teacher questionnaires were delivered to

12 teachers to explore common approaches and their viewpoints applied in teaching English vocabulary to children Besides, after finishing experimental teaching, the researcher interviewed four teachers and five students to find out factors or attitudes concerning the teachers and the students in teaching and learning vocabulary through pictures

Finally, based on the students’ scores, responses from teachers and students, and especially the students’ behavior, fluency, pronunciation in their learning process, the researcher analyzes and discusses the results of the study

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

In the teaching and learning process of English, vocabulary plays an important role in conveying the meaning However vocabulary knowledge is very large, the students have difficulties in remembering words especially children Therefore, this study was done and then reported in this MA thesis focusing on using pictures as an effective means in teaching English vocabulary to young learners, with the hope to provide helpful knowledge about kinds of pictures which can help the student memorize vocabulary in their mind longer Besides, this study also can help teacher create an enjoyable atmosphere in the classroom and help students in their learning activities The result of this research may be significant for teachers who are teaching English for children aged 6-11 Moreover, the thesis helps teacher seek suitable ways to apply appropriate methods of teaching English vocabulary

1.5 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study was done at Doan Hung informatics language school with the participation of 12 teachers of English and 40 students Therefore, the generality

of its result is limited to this selected institution Because of the constraints of time and resources, this research has broad scope and it is impossible for the writer to handle all problems Therefore, the writer only focuses on students that have ages ranging from 6 – 11 and effectiveness of using pictures to teach English vocabulary

1.6 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This study consists of five basic chapters Chapter 1 gives information on

the background to the study, the problems associated with vocabulary teaching and

learning, and the purpose of the study It also describes the procedure of the study

and provides the significance, limitation and organization of the thesis Chapter 2

reviews relevant theories of using pictures which are organized along seven main categories: the nature of vocabulary (definition, the types of vocabulary, the use of vocabulary), teaching vocabulary (principles of learning and teaching vocabulary, stages in teaching vocabulary, techniques used for teaching English vocabulary to children, techniques in using pictures to teach vocabulary to children), the nature the pictures (definition, the types of pictures, the use of pictures, creating the pictures), describing children (characteristics of children, children’s vocabulary learning strategies), activities (drawing, using flashcards, using game), a relevant

study, and summary Chapter 3 presents the research design and methodology in

which this study will be conducted It introduces the participants, the instruments,

the experimental teaching, and data collection procedure Chapter 4 presents the results of data analysis and the findings of the study Chapter 5 presents the

conclusion of the study and gives some recommendations for further research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

Vocabulary is one of the important language elements besides the language skills such as reading, listening, writing and speaking As Wilkins (1972: 111)

states that “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed Without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.” In teaching and learning process, there are a lot of

vocabulary problems such as lack of the students’ interest in studying English or the method of study is less relevant Moreover, vocabulary knowledge is very large, it is difficult for children to remember all In order to help students increase the achievement or retain new words in their mind longer Pictures can be considered as an effective means to motivate them in vocabulary learning by teachers Therefore this chapter discusses some points as follows: (1) the nature of vocabulary; (2) teaching vocabulary; (3) the nature of pictures; (4) describing children; (5) actives in using pictures to teach vocabulary; (6) a relevant study; (7) and summary The issues reviewed in these sevent points provide a theoretical background for the present study

2.1 The nature of vocabulary

2.1.1 What is vocabulary?

Vocabulary is the number of words a person uses and understands in a

certain language It is important to differentiate between using and understanding words All languages consist of words, vocabulary is still widening Even the learners are native speakers; they also have to continue learning new words and meanings of old words Besides, the explanation of vocabulary is cited clearly: Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than just a single word: for example, post office, and mother-in-law, which are made up of two or

three words but express a single idea There are also multi-word idioms such as call it a day, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis

of the component words A useful convention is to cover all such cases by talking about vocabulary “items” rather than “words.” (Ur, 2003: 60) Due to requirements of teaching and learning, vocabulary plays an indispensable part in

an English foreign language; it is bigger than just the meaning of words It covers

a huge aspect of language and is the medium to express ideas It is true when children develop their vocabulary they will understand more words than they are using in their talking Children with language disorders are often slower at understanding and using new words Your child’s vocabulary does not include all the words that they are exposed to Your child will hear a great number of words

in their environment Children will often need to be exposed to words a number of times in their environment before the word becomes part of their vocabulary Thornbury states that they can be confronted by words that are totally unfamiliar,

or being used in ways that for them are novel and possibly obscure To find the right word to fit the meaning can be very frustrating, especially if the store of words is limited Thornbury (2002: 30-31) gives the learners some principles in

acquiring vocabulary in second language as follows:

 Learners need to acquire a critical mass of words for use in both

understanding and producing the language

 Learners should aim to build a threshold vocabulary as quickly as possible

 Learners need to develop strategies for coping with gaps in word knowledge to remember words, including coping with unknown words, or

unfamiliar uses of known words

 Learners have to take responsibility themselves for vocabulary expansion

Broadly defined, vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings

We use vocabulary to refer to the kind of words that students must know to read

increasingly demanding text with comprehension However, vocabulary is more complex than this definition suggests First, words come in two forms: oral and print Oral vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in listening and speaking Print vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in reading and writing Second, word knowledge also comes in two forms, receptive and productive Receptive vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them Productive vocabulary includes words that we use when we speak or write Receptive vocabulary is typically larger than productive vocabulary, and may include many words to which we assign some meaning

2.1.2 The types of vocabulary

Adrian Doff (1988: 19) classified Vocabulary into two terms such as:

a Active Vocabulary refers to items the learner can use in speaking or writing and it is also words which learners need to understand and use themselves,

we call this active vocabulary, although, in fact, it is more difficult to put into practice In teaching active vocabulary, it is usually worth spending time giving examples and asking questions, so that students can really see how the word is used

b Passive Vocabulary refers to a language items that can be recognized and understood in the context of reading or listening or words which teachers want students to understand but they will not need to use themselves, we call this passive vocabulary If it appeared as part of a text or dialogue,

teacher can ask student to guess the word from the context

The Modern language journal (1986) has divided vocabulary into two

kinds There are:

a Productive vocabulary refers to what one needs to know about a word in order to use it while speaking or writing

b Receptive vocabulary refers to what one needs to know in order to understand a word while reading or listening

As stated by Nation (2001: 24) classified vocabulary in the specific reference, such a word

a Receptive Vocabulary: Knowing a word involves being able to recognize a word and recall its meaning when it is heard or when it seen and having an expectation of what grammatical pattern the word will occurrence

b Productive Vocabulary: Knowing a word involves what is needed for receptive meaning plus the ability to speak or write needed vocabulary at the appropriate time, it also involves not using the word too often if it is typically a low frequency word and using it in a suitable

2.1.3 The use of vocabulary

Vocabulary has a key role in expressing our feelings, emotions, and ideas to others during the act of communication Vocabulary knowledge is complex and abundant Vocabulary is an element that can not lack in communication and conveyable meaning According to Thornbury (2002: 13) asserts that “If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions You can say very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words!” Therefore it is necessary for learners to learn vocabulary as much as possible One who has vocabulary knowledge rather good will find fewer difficulties than those who have poor vocabulary knowledge For instance, when they read a paper or text, they will easily get the information from what a paper or text referred to In short, those who lack of vocabulary will face a lot of problems Mastery of vocabulary will be useful for the process of language achievement

To understand and transfer information together effectively, he/she must master the language For example, student wants to develop communicate skills

but his/her lexical items is poor May be it is difficult for student to express his/her ideas accuracy and fluently Therefore, with a good command of vocabulary, one can feel more confident in conveying any information which he/she wants to express According to Allen (1983) “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” If one is good at grammar but his/her vocabulary is limited I think that it is difficult for one to transfer his/her information successful and fluently

Moreover, as what Thornbury (2002: 13) stated in How To Teach Vocabulary that “vocabulary learning never stops, even long after grammar system is firmly in place, new words are being coined daily and old words is assuming new meanings.”

2.2 Teaching vocabulary

2.2.1 Principles of learning and teaching vocabulary

Teaching and learning are very necessary in mastering of language According to Kieran A File on (http://bnn.ueh.edu.vn/Presentation Vocabulary/Teaching Principles by file Pdf) on May 20th, 2012 shows six principles can help

teaching vocabulary more effective: The first, teachers should give the learners

words, definitions, sentences….that will meet often, or need to use often in their language use situations or help the learners with difficult definitions is necessary One way to approach this is to set learners the task of learning the words for themselves in preparation for class After that teachers will give feedback The

second, teachers should focus on different aspects of a word – teachers guide the

learners how to learn a word’s stress (accent), its collocations and word family members, its grammatical patterns and word parts etc Learners can enrich their knowledge of a word, and perhaps remember it better, by learning more of these different aspects The third, teachers should provide meaningful learning

opportunities – teachers tell learners the meanings of words or get them to only

a meaningful context, and opportunities to use target words in meaningful writing and speaking tasks The fourth, teachers should test learners regularly to give learners feedback on their success and/or failure to learn and use the target words and motivate them to study vocabulary At the very least, regular testing can provide learners with a chance to retrieve newly learnt words from their memories and use them in a meaningful way Finally, teachers should be patient with their

learners - Students constantly forget words they have learnt Therefore teachers

remain patient with their learners and allow them a lot of opportunities to see, use and revise new vocabulary in a positive learning environment

Meanwhile Wallace (1988) points out the principles of teaching vocabulary are:

 Aim – what is to be taught, which words, how many

 Need – target vocabulary should respond students’ real needs and interests

 Frequent exposure and repetition

 Meaningful presentation – clear and unambiguous denotation or reference should be assured

Generally, learning and teaching vocabulary is a complex process The students’ aim to be reached in learning vocabulary process is to recall the word and to recognize it in its spoken and written form The teachers’ aim gives students principles of appropriate vocabulary teaching to help them improve their leaning vocabulary effectively

2.2.2 Stages in teaching vocabulary

According to Shannon Sensei on (vocabulary.htm) on May 10th, 2012, when teaching English vocabulary for children, teachers usually go through the following five stages

http://www.teach-esl-to-kids.com/esl-a Repeating the teacher At this stage, students are completely unfamiliar

with the vocabulary, so teacher uses the flashcards to help them memorize the word Teacher says the word three times quickly and has students repeat

it At that time, they will feel their learning more comfortable and interesting This fast repetition causes them to think less about the pronunciation and gives them a more native pronunciation

b Recognizing the new words At this stage, students can associate the word

with the picture on the flashcard, but are not yet confident enough to say the word on their own Teacher can support them exercises such as matching pictures to the words, filling in the blanks with cue pictures or laying out all the flashcards and ask a student to touch a particular card and speak loud the word

c Speaking alone, with prompting At this stage, students feel confident

enough to say the word on their own, but they sometimes still are afraid of saying the wrong word Teacher can help them solve this problem by prompting them with the right word to say Then they will feel confident enough to repeat it

d Speaking alone, without prompting At this stage, students feel confident

enough to understand word they learnt clearly and can say the word out loud without prompting from the teacher

e Using the word in a sentence At this stage, students know the vocabulary

and can start to use the words in simple sentences easier and more confident (e.g "It's a tiger", "I like an omelet" or “he’s a teacher”…) Different from above points, Adrian Doff (1988: 97) elicits three stages of the lesson in teaching vocabulary clearly

a Presentation: The teacher presents the new words or structures, gives examples, writes them on the board, and teaches pronunciation or spelling

of the words …

b Practice: Students practice using words or structures in a controlled way, e.g making sentences from prompts, asking and answering questions, giving sentences based on a picture Practice can be oral or written

c Production: students use language they have learnt to express themselves more freely, e.g to talk or write about their own lives and interests, to express opinion, to imagine themselves in different situations

Moreover, with enhancing the effectiveness of using pictures in teaching English vocabulary for children, teaching technique that used at Doan Hung informatics language school is Drilling Technique Here are the stages of the techniques used by the teacher:

 Stage 1: The teacher always reviews the old lesson or materials that given

to the students

 Stage 2: Before starting to teach, the teacher always warm – up by

introducing problems which are concerned with the lesson It is made therefore the students understand about the materials as a whole

 Stage 3: The teacher starts to teach by opening up their mind in motivation

session

 Stage 4: The teacher asks students to repeat the lesson in chorus

 Stage 5: The teacher gives them the exercises

 Stage 6: The teacher gives feedback to the students as an evaluation

With above stages that used at Doan Hung Informatics Language School Stage 1 and stage 2 are considered as presentation, stage 3 and stage 4 refer to practice, stage 5 and stage 6 are known as production In brief, different stages

can be used by teachers That is why teachers frequently improve their teaching and design the lectures carefully before coming class Clearly, the goal of language teaching in the classroom is for teachers to play a necessary role in imparting their knowledge to students

2.2.3 Techniques used for teaching English vocabulary to children

As mentioned above, there are four main stages in teaching vocabulary In this part of the review, techniques used in each stage will be manifested with clear and explain briefly Learning vocabulary can be boring for students if the only technique teachers use to teach vocabulary is having students write and memorize words Therefore, teacher needs to give students appropriate techniques in order to help them improve their learning vocabulary effectively There are many techniques and activities that teachers can employ and use in teaching vocabulary

In this research, the writer is going to focus on techniques such as: presentation, practice, production

2.2.3.1 Presentation

Presentation involves explaining the aims of the lesson so that children know what they will learn and why It is also during this stage that the teacher explains the new language, including both its meaning and form, and how to say

or write it correctly A good presentation will be understandable, interesting and in

a context the children can understand, such as a song, game, story or pictures…

There are many possibilities how to explain or illustrate the meaning of the words In the first place, it is necessary to mention techniques typical for ‘Direct Method’ as Thornbury 2004: 78) specifies them “using real objects (called realia)

or pictures or mime

Celce-Murcia (1991) recommends techniques which should be used in conveying meaning: bringing ‘realia’ or the objects into the classroom and show them to the learners, such as ‘notebooks’, ‘pencils’ or ‘books’ However, there are

objects which can’t bring to the classroom when that is impossible such as ‘cars’,

‘animals’, teachers can show their students pictures of those items Besides that, teachers can use mime, action and gesture to convey meaning

As Harmer (1993: 161-162) suggests, sense relations, definition and direct translation of words might function as yet another helpful tool for clarifying the meaning

Nation (1990: 51) listed basic techniques which can be used in the young learner classroom to show the meaning of new vocabulary: using an object, using

a cut – out figure, using gesture, performing an action, photographs, drawing or diagram on the board, pictures from books

Harmer (2001: 80-82) lists three ways the teacher usually use to explain or illustrate the meaning of words such as choral repetition, individual repetition and cue – response drills In these techniques, teachers should write the word on the board and then give an example in English to show what it means, or get students repeat a word, phrase, sentence a few times in chorus or check the students understand the word by asking them to say it in their own language or give clues the students to guess meanings

Meanwhile, Doff (1988) and Thornbury (2002:77) and Nation (1994) refer

to a variety of techniques can be used or combined in introducing vocabulary: translation, real things, pictures, actions, gestures, definitions, situations with a choice whether to present the word in its: spoken form or written form

In general, presentation focuses on the pronunciation or spelling of the word and includes strategies like the teacher’s modeling of the target word, chorus repetition… Therefore, teachers’ presentation plays an important role in inspiriting Presentation is effective or not depends on using examples, situation or explanation that teacher is going to present in class

2.2.3.2 Practice

The goal of the practice stage is to help the children use the new language

you have just explained to them The teacher can ask the children to produce sentences or answer questions that demonstrate they understand how to use the language correctly In a good practice stage, language will also be in a context which children understand It is at this stage that error correction is most important Practice involves classroom review of the previously introduced vocabulary as well as homework (e.g classroom tests, games, semantic maps,

written repetition)

Thornbury (2002:93 – 98) states there can be a variety of tasks which can

be used in order to help move words into long – term memory Those tasks, clarified by him, require learners to make decisions about words and they can be divided into five types in order of least cognitively demanding to most demanding: identifying, selecting, matching, sorting, ranking and sequencing First, Identifying tasks involving tasks of finding words in texts “Listen then tick the word you hear” Identification is the first step in recognizing words and requires learners do easy task as counting, ticking or a bit difficult is to unscramble words as in anagram Second, selecting tasks are cognitively more complex than identification tasks They involve both recognizing words and making choice amongst them Third, matching tasks involve first recognizing words and then pairing them with a visual representation, for example, a translation, a synonym, an antonym, a definition or a collocate Fourth, sorting activities require learners to sort words into different categories The categories can either be given, or guessed Finally, ranking and sequencing activities require learners to put the words into some kind

of order This may involve arranging the words into categories, in ranking tasks General speaking, practice is a vital part of learning new elements of a language Teachers need to have enjoyable games ready to help students practice

consolidate a student’s knowledge The memory is stimulated in a fun way and the words become embedded in the student mind much more easily than if words are listed and simply repeated by drilling Techniques for practicing new vocabulary

in games such as memory games, filling crosswords, filling in gaps in sentences, matching pictures to words, matching parts of words to other parts…

2.2.3.3 Production

Production stage can help motivate children communicate meaning with the new language Children should have the opportunity during this stage to experiment with the language, for example they can use the names of animals to make a story In this stage, teacher allows students to use what they learned in an uncontrolled way through role plays, discussions, language, game… You do not need to correct too much during this stage, but you can observe the children and give feedback at the end of the stage

The production stage of the lesson allows for the proper assessment of student development, where the teacher can discover just how much the students have learned Ideas for activities for the production stage of a lesson: a/ Students work in groups/pairs with questions and answers, students write comprehension questions for the other students to answer; b/ correct mistakes in the text; c/ gap fill exercises: Selecting appropriate words to insert in sentences; d/ matching the beginnings and the ends of words together; e/ matching pictures to words…

As for Thornbury (2002: 100) asserts there are two major types in production tasks that teachers may be used them very often namely: completion and creation (both are of sentence and texts) Sentence and text completion tasks are generally known as gap-fills In gap-fills, the distinction between open and close gap-fills is necessarily noticeable The open type is one where the learner fills the gaps (there may be a clue, such as the first letter of the word) The close gap-fill, words are provided, in the form of a list at the beginning of the exercises Besides, completion tasks involve activities such as: choose the best word from

the list to complete each sentence, use each word once; or select words from the list to complete these sentences… Creation tasks involve activities such as: use each of these words to make sentence which clearly shows the meaning of word; use each of these words to write a true sentence about yourself or someone you know

2.2.4 Techniques in using pictures to teach vocabulary to children

2.2.4.1 Drawing pictures on board technique

There are many different techniques which can be effectively applied in using pictures to teach English vocabulary for kids In every lesson, we have to establish new words and practice our students, making clear the meanings and the way in which each can be used Wright and Haleem (1996:8) presented another very inspiring idea of using drawing on the board: they suggest using it in combination with flashcards or pictures from magazines, e.g the teacher draws a scene and supplements it with individual pictures of people, animal or things The authors presented this technique for teaching structure From my point of view, I think that drawing pictures on board technique is also one of techniques which make students enjoy in learning vocabulary It can encourage the students to be active in speaking and listening participation in the classroom For instance: in reviewing, the teacher draws only a piece of a picture on the board and invites students to guess what he or she is drawing This makes students curious, they desire to know what the answer actually is and it makes them speculate and their opinions and so on This technique has positive effect on the students’ memory development In addition, the purpose of this technique is appropriate in reviewing the vocabulary for the students Activities of technique can be explained as below:

 You draw some pictures on the board about words that you will teach

 Asking the students to guess words that base on pictures

 This situation can make students adroit in three activities at the same time (seeing, hearing, and speaking)

 The teacher gives feedback to students’ answer

 After that teacher can change position The teacher gives any word and asks students to draw picture on the board that related to the word which teacher has just requested

 Finally, teacher gives comments and asks them read again

This technique can make the students more adroit and their ability about memorizing the English vocabulary is more increased because they learn in an enjoyable way Drawing pictures on the board in the classroom can enhance students to use English in flexible communicative way It can make students relax and fun to study

2.2.4.2 Using Flashcards Technique

Flashcards (picture cards) are an in valuable way of introducing and revising vocabulary, and can also be used to drill simple structures and functions Nation (2001) describes this strategy in Learning Vocabulary in Another Language that a learner writes the foreign word on one side of a small card, and its translation of the first language on the other The learner goes through a set of cards and tries to recall its meaning The aim of this technique is to present and revise vocabulary, to drill structures and functions, to help children relate words to imagine Below is the role of teaching English vocabulary in using flashcard technique

 Show the children a flashcard with a picture on it Say the English word clearly, and then repeat it all together Go on to the next card

 When you have shown them about ten cards (the number depends on the age of the children and the difficulty of the words) go back to the beginning and hold up the first card again

 This time wait and see if anyone can remember the word There is usually

at least one child who can more or less say the word; give this child encouragement and help with pronunciation, then use him or her as a model for the rest of the class Continue with the rest of the cards

2.3 The nature of pictures

2.3.1 What is picture?

Picture is visual representation of something, such as a person or scene, produced on a surface, as in a photograph, painting, etc Pictures can attract students’ attention and deepen their understanding of vocabulary and also help learners with abstract words, as associating the words with a concrete object make these words easier to remember Pictures can be defined differently by many authors

According to Andrew Wright(1989: 2) states: “Picture is not just an aspect

of method but through its representation of places, objects, and people they are an essential part of the overall experiences.”

Besides, Picture is defined by other way: “Picture is an image or likeness of

an object, person, or scene produced on a flat surface, especially by painting, drawing, or photography.” (Base on http://www.yourdictionary.com/picture) The use of pictures are more efficient and practical than words, they are easier to recall and to remember than words Moreover, using pictures in teaching new words makes the process enjoyable and memorable Through pictures, learner can see people, place and things from pictures They can help students understand what need to convey Therefore Harmer (2001:135) states that “one of the most

easy way of explaining the meaning of the word airplane, for example, is to have a picture of one.” Pictures used for demonstration of the meaning should be repeatedly connected with the spoken and subsequently also written form of the word or chunk of language Using pictures for students can give them opportunities to practice and develop language naturally in any situation Pictures also help them more interesting and active in foreign language learning

Furthermore picture has been explained by Vernon S Gerlach and Donald P.Elly (1980: 273), “Pictures are a two dimension visual representation of person, places, or things Photograph prints are most common, but sketches, cartoons, murals, cut outs, charts, graphs and maps are widely used ”

In general, picture can play an important role in supporting vocabulary learning and it is also useful tool to make the student enjoy and happy in learning English Pictures bring not only images of reality, but can also function as a fun element in the class

2.3.2 The types of pictures

There are many types of pictures which are used in teaching and learning vocabulary Hence we should know how to choose kinds of appropriate pictures to help student convey meaning clearly and effectively Every teacher can give types

of pictures differently in language teaching process

Betty Morgan Bowen (1973: 13-31) give some types of pictures as follows

 Wall picture: is easy to hang or suspend from a wall without damage It is a large illustration of scenes or events It can have more than one function or simply add an attractive accent to a classroom Wall picture is usually to be used with the whole of class

 Sequence Picture is a series of pictures of a single subject or a sequence of events Teacher uses it in telling a story effectively Besides playing this

picture sequencing game can encourage students to develop their thinking skills

 Flash card: is a set of cards with printed words on it can help up rapidly; Flashcard is widely used as a learning drill to aid memorization by way of spaced repetition It can be used to demonstrate exactly what the teacher wishes

 Work cards: includes visual as well as text magazine pictures drawing maps and diagrams

Besides pictures can collect from many of sources such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements and publicity, holiday brochure, catalogues, calendar, greeting cards, postcards, posters, stamps… They are often more productive and more enjoyable to think up ideas with teachers or with the students themselves

Meanwhile Andrew Wright (1989: 193-200) focuses on types of different pictures compare to Betty Morgan Bowen These are: 1/ Pictures of single objects usually refer to food, clothes, cars, animals, everyday objects, gifts… 2/ Picture of person includes picture of famous person, pictures of several people and pictures

of people in action They focus on identify, character, work, situation, everyday activities, what has happened before the action… 3/ Pictures of places consists of home or broad, landscapes, single building… They usually talk about some questions: where is it? When was the picture taken? How do you know? How to get there? Who to go with? 4/ Pictures from history are pictures illustrating scenes, costumes and objects from history can be used like other pictures They can be used in personal evaluation 5/ Pictures with a lot of information refer to a lot of people doing different things, or it may be a landscape or cityscape showing lot of objects, building… They are suitable for some activities: matching activities, for example, true/false games in which someone make a statement which is true or false and other students decide which it is 6/ Pictures of fantasies

also can be used in story telling 7/ Pictures of maps and symbols can be found in road traffic booklets, holiday brochures… Teacher can use some questions to ask students such as “what does the symbol mean? How do you know? What should you do? What can you do/see/ get there?”

Through above pictures presenting, there are a lot of pictures which can help students explain the meaning of vocabulary items by seeing the pictures they can know and understand about the message directly Moreover, the above pictures also can attract students’ attention and help them more interesting inside

or outside classroom

2.3.3 The use of pictures

Some reasons of using pictures in teaching and learning vocabulary:

 Pictures are easy to collect and useful for presenting vocabulary items

 Pictures can play a key role in motivating students, contextualizing the language they are using

 Pictures can make a particularly powerful contribution to both the content and the process of language learning

 Pictures provide motivation and give a non-verbal stimulus for what is said

or written

 Pictures can be used for revision from one lesson to another

 Pictures can represent or contribute much to the creation of contexts in the classroom

 Pictures play a role in the teaching of meaning even in traditional grammar translation methods

According to Andrew Wright (1989: 17) gives the roles of pictures in learning English as follows: a/ Pictures can motivate the students and make him

or her want to pay attention and want to take part; b/ Pictures contribute to the context in which the language is being used They bring the world into the classroom; c/ The pictures can be described an objective way or interpreted or responded to subjectively; d/ Pictures can cue responses to questions or substitutions through controlled practice; e/ Pictures can stimulate and provide information to be referred to in conversation, discussion and story telling

In short, the use of pictures is effective or not, it depends on teachers’ pictures choosing and techniques If teachers know to how apply pictures which are appropriate with students’ level, they will gain good result in language learning

2.3.4 Creating the pictures

There are various ways of creating the pictures which increase their

potential Teacher-made or student-made pictures always create more interest and enjoyable Neatness in picture making is much less important than enjoying the material while creating the pictures It is difficult to create high quality professional pictures if you don’t have the training If any student creates the pictures himself/herself, he/she will be more interesting in his/her learning, therefore he/she will memory longer in mind

According to Andrew Wright (1989: 204-210) gives some ways to create the pictures such as:

 Simple drawing: many actions can be represented by simple stick drawing

of people, or a simple geometrical shape can usually be found in the most complicated of objects

 Pictures on the boards: The teachers or the students can draw on the board without preparation, or images on it are immediately visible to the whole class

 Pictures on the overhead projector: teachers can design pictures from internet or other sources which involve with lessons to put on the OHP such as: food, clothing, animal, furniture……or access pictures from cartoon, games or English songs… in order to help students practice English skills

by reality pictures, they will become more enjoyable in classroom

 Pictures on paper and card: Paper and card are usually available to the teacher Drawing can be freehand or may be traced onto card Pictures can

be of single objects or may be larger and more complicated wall pictures

 Pictures on collage: Details of people and objects can be cut out of pictures and stuck onto other pictures Teacher can illustrate teaching points in an imaginative and dynamic manner with this way of making pictures

 Pictures on collage collection: Various objects and animals can be stuck onto a large piece of paper to make a big picture

 Personal collage: A great variety of pictures and relia (tickets, letters, personal, photos….) can be stuck on a card or piece of paper The student can write about themselves or they can base a story on the collage

 Story collage: Several pictures can be stuck on a piece of paper either as a sequence or as a single picture

Through the above present, teacher should guide students how to create pictures appropriately so that they can improve their language learning better anytime or anywhere, even at home Moreover, creating the pictures on the board, the overhead projector, the teacher card or the real objects… have often been regarded as the most significant means in increasing students’ interesting as well

as conveying the lesson more effective

2.4 Describing children

2.4.1 Characteristics of children

Children are curious they need activities, which are exciting and stimulate their curiosity in learning from their surrounding environment Children learn many of their first language words through social interaction with adults, and the use of pictures in children classroom would seem to offer similar rich opportunities for learning vocabulary Children of primary age usually acquire much of a foreign language through play

According to Harmer (2001: 38) gives characteristics of children aged nine or ten

in learning in the following ways:

 They often learn their lessons indirectly rather than directly, they take in information from all aspects, learning from everything around them such as pictures, flashcards or objects in class rather than only focusing on the precise topic they are being taught

 They are very active in responding to meaning even if they do not understand individual words

 They can understand the lesson from what they see, hear, touch or interact with objects around them more effective than teachers’ explanation

 They often display an enthusiasm for learning and curiosity about the around them

if teacher brings them attractive atmosphere

 They often easily get bored and lose interested after ten minutes or so if teacher doesn’t know how to motive in teaching or lacking of his/her humour

 They have need for taking care of as well as approving from the teacher

 They are keen to talk about themselves, and respond well to learning that uses themselves and their own lives as main topic in the classroom