Luận văn teachers' attitudes towards applying clt in teaching vocabulary for grade 10 students at thai van cu high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INFERNATIONAL STUDIES POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT NGUYEN THI THANH HANG TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS APPLYING CLT IN TEACHING

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INFERNATIONAL STUDIES

POST GRADUATE DEPARTMENT

NGUYEN THI THANH HANG

TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS APPLYING CLT IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR GRADE-10 STUDENTS

AT NGUYEN VAN CU TINGIE SCHOOL

(Nghiên cứu thái độ của giáo viên đối với ac day Lir vung theo dflimg hiéng giao

tiếp cho hoe sinh lớp 10 tại Triờng THPT Nguyễn Văn Cừ)

MLA MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Conk:

SITPERVISOR: Dr DO TUAN MINIT

HANOL, 2010

TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration

Aims of the study

Significance of Ihe study

Scope of the study

Research questions

Mcthods of the study

7 Design of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Vocabulary and its status in language teaching and learning

LL Definition of vocabulary

1.1.2 The status of' vocabulary in lanpuage teaching and learning,

1.2 An overview on tanguage teaching methods in teactung vocabulary

1.2.1 The Grarnmar- Translation Method,

1.2.2 The Direct Method

1.2.3 The Andio-lingual Method

1.3 CLT on teaching vocabulary

1.3.1 Definition of CLT

1.3.2 Charactenstics of vocabulary commmnicative activities

1.33 Vooubulary loaching tachriquos in combination wilh communicative activi

1.4, Factors afftcting teachers’ attitudes

1.4.1 Definitions of teachers” attitudes

1.4.2 Factors affeoting teachers’ attitudes 5

2.1, Current situation of the (aching and learning of Tingtish at Nguyen Van Cu Thigh School

2.2.3.1, Results and discussions from the questionnaires 15 2.2.3.2, Results and discussions trom the observation 26 2.2.3.3 Results and discussion from the interviews 28

3.1.1 Toachors’ altitudes Lowards applying CIT in Icachiy vocabulary for grade-10

3.1.2 ‘The reason causing teachers’ attitudes in teaching vocabulary communicatively and

3.3.1 Suggestions for overcoming the problems in teaching vocabulary communicatively

3.2.1.2, Redefining students’ role and teacher’s role 31 3.2.1.3 Changing students attitudes towards learning English 3ì 3.3.1.4 Enproving students’ motivation in leaning vocabulary 3 3.2.2 Suggestions on vocabulary learning communicative activities for grade-10 students

PART C: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 38

REFERENCES

APPENDIXES:

‘Together with inmovation in English teaching and leaning methods everywhere in Vietnam, the new sories of English textbook for grads 10 was inlroduced alionwide in academic year 2006-2007 The new textbooks are designed to apply the communicative approach with leamer-centered learning ‘This has leaded teachers and leamers to face some difficultiss in English teaching and learning especially in teaching and learning vocabulary The rcason is that it is the first time for them to adapt the new method of teaching and learning instead of the old one, the grammar translation approach, which has existed in our education for along time As a tgacher of English al Nguyen Van Cu [Tigh School ( NVCHS), I found that thanks to the movement of Communicative Language

‘Teaching (CLI) many language teachers are now aware of the need to take vocabulary seriously, bul their students are unable (o use Tinglish effectively There maybe problems in their students’ ways of using vocabulary, but problems in teaching vocabulary are undeniable, In order to better vocabulary teaching and learning, I have conducted a research to find out teachers’ attitudes towards applying CLI in teaching vocabulary for grade 10, pointing out the main problems in teaching vocabulary communicatively, then offering some solutions to these problems

2, Aims of the study

The aims of the study as follows

- To give brief overview about the role of vocabulary, its relevance in teaching and learning methodology, and factors affecting leachers” alliluses

+ To find out teachers? altitudes lowards applying CIT in Iesching vocabulary for gradv-10 students at NCHS, and the reasons causing their attitudes

- To make some suggestions on overcoming the teachers’ problems in the application of CLT in teaching vocabulary

3, Significance of the study

This study plays an important role in improving vocabulary teaching methods to grade-10 students al NVCITS Tis implicaled suggestions will make the application of CLT at my school successful and effective

4, Scope of the study

vocabulary teaching through communicative approach for grade-10 students Then, based

on the teachers’ reasons ieading different attitudes some feasible solutions will be inlrođueod

5, Research questions

‘To achieve the aims of the study, the following research questions were proposed:

L Inwhat- ways da teachers at Nguyen Van Cu High School teach vocabulary to students?

2 Are teachers aware of the need to teach vocabulary conmnmicatively?

3 What have teachers done ta teach vocabulary communicatively?

4 What shoud teachers da to teach vocabulary communicatively?

6 Methods of the study

‘The research is done by both quantitative and qualitative methods; it is carried ont on the

dasic of situation analysis, walerial collection, survey questionnaires, class observations and follow-up interviews

In the first place, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference material on vocabulary, its

relevance in teaching and learning methodology, and factors affecting teachers” attitudes have been gathered, analyzed and synthesized thoroughly Sccondly, situalion analysis has

a lock at the background to the study including the description of the current context at

‘Nauyen Van Cu High School

Eventually, for the practical basis, questionnaires, classroom obscrvation, follow-up interviews were carried out with the teachers to gather the most reliable data for analysis to

find answer lo the research questions mentioned above

7 Design of the study

This thesis consists of three parts,

Part A is the introduction, which present the rationale, aims significance, scope, research

questions methods and design of the study

Part B consist of three chapters

Chapter deals with a Hterature review It starts with vocabulary and its status in language leaching and learning, then an overview om language leaching methods in teaching vocabulary The next is about CLT on teaching vocabulary which includes the definition of CLY, characteristics of vocabulary communicative activities, vocabulary teaching

in combinalion wilh commuticalive activili The final is sume factors

ochnign

affecting teachers’ attitudes

Chapter? presents the survey First, there is a description about the present situation of

Part € is aboul the conclusion, and suggestions for a further study,

References and Appendixes come in the end of the study.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary and its status in language teaching and learning

more than a single word, a compound of two or three words or multi-word idoms” "The above quolation indicates thal vocabulary is © the total member of words in a language”

(Homby, 1995:1331) In short, vocabulary deals not only with a single word but also two

or three word items expressing a single idea and mulii-word idioms whose meaning cannot

be deduced from ihe analysis of the component words A usefil convention is to cover all

such cases by talking about vocabulary “item” than “words”

1.1.2 The status of vocabulary in language teaching and Jearning

The slalus of vocabulary in language teaching and learning has changed dramatically in the last two decades “Since the mid-1980s, there has been a renewed interest wm the role of

vocabulary in second language learning” ( Coady & Huckin, 1997:1X)

According in Me Carthy (1990:VIE), vocabulary is the biggest component of any language course and “Ne matter how well the student learn granmnar, no mailer how successfully

the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meaning,

communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way”

In facl, vocabulary is am cssentiat component of Tamguags A gond knowledge of

vocabulary will help leamers develop the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and

writing Nowadays, vocabulary is considered an important aspect of teaching and learning

a forcign language Thus, sccond language vocabulary acquisition has becn paid the

attention of researchers, teachers, and leamers of concern

1.2 An overview on language teaching methods in teaching vocabulary

There arc mmany influontial method widoly used by language tcachers in the world in

general and in Vietnam in particular, but the following is a brief discussion of some major

foreign language teaching approaches and their role in teaching vocabulary,

1.2.1 The Granumar- Translation Mcthod

This one of the oldest method forcign language teaching According to Rivers (1981-29), il

“aims at inculcating an understanding of the grammar of the language and training the

students to write the new language accurately by regular practice in translating from the

native language ” Using this method, leachers teach vocabulary in the form of bilingual lists and the intricacies of grammar are provides by long elaborate explanations to give the rule for putting words together Respecting the teaching of vocabulary, this approach may

bo casy, cheap and uscful but its relovanc is restrictad bocanse i coneonlratos ơn [orm and not meaning ( Krashen, 1984, p.128)

1.2.2 The Direct Mcthod

This useful for teaching vocabulary Tn the classroom, only the target language is used, the words used are very common, active and concetning everyday activities This method focuses on speaking and Listening which snables teachers to drill students more on vocabulary With this method, teachers can introduce concrete vocabulary through demonstration, objects, and pictures, while abstract vocabulary is taught by association of ideas,

1.2.3 The Audio-lingual Meihad

It is very successful in improving students’ comprehension and fluency in speaking the target language In this method, the vocabulary content of pupils is strictly lamited and only learnt in context, new Leaching material is presented in dialogues Thus, students only have chance to focus on taking firm control of words and structures When the dialogue has

been learnt its adaptation with a more personal application to the students’ own situation,

provide more consolidation of leaming and provide chances for more flexible use of the material

1.3 CLT on teaching vocabulary

1.3.1 Definition of CLT

There is a variety of definitions about CLT The most gcncral ons is that CLT views language as a system for the expression of meaning Activities involve oral communication, carrying oul meaning task and using lam

ge, which is meaningful to the learners Objectives reflect the needs of the learners, they include integrator The eacher’s role is as facilitator of the communication process, Materials promote communicative language use; they are task-based and authentic ( Numan (1989:194))

1.3.2 Characteristics of vocabulary communicative activities

According ta Nation , P and Newlon, J (2000:224) communicative activities thal encourage vocabulary learning have the following features:

- help speakers to set their speech to a suitable level for the particular listeners and to adjust il when Tistsners indicate a lack of understanding,

- provide meaningful context or an illustrated setting within which to encounter new vocabulary;

- learners with be exposad lo repeal use of the

ew items during the course of the activities;

- _ leamers are likely to be required to use new items productively in the activity

Those foaluras include the choice af vocabulary and its placement wilhin the loxlual inpul for the activities, the teachers’ and leamers’ strategies for arriving at the meaning of unfamiliar items, and the processing demands of the activity By being aware of these features and the way they affect leamers’ responses to unfimiliar vocabulary, teachers can improve the quality of vocabulary lcarning that is likely to occur during performance of

communicative activities in addition, communicative activities encouraging vocabulary

learning are nol limited Lo oral productive language A communicalive activily can be a written format such as vocabulary exercises including word-building, matching word with

‘various types of definitions, studying vocabulary in context, semantic mapping, and split information aetivilies focusing on vousbulary Thus, choosing a relevant communicative activity tor teaching require thought and planning on the part of the teacher

1.3.3, Vocabulary teaching techniques in combination with coomunicative activities Based on communicative activities, students can acquire vocabulary through more elective teclmiques such as visual teclmiques, verbal techniques, games or role -play

1.3.3.1 Visual techniques

According to Zebrowska ( cited in Grain and Redman (1986)), visual techniques pertain visual memory, It is clcar that learmers can remember better the matcrial that has boon presented by many means of visual aids ‘Therefore, communicative using visual aids such

as flashcards, photographs, blackboard draving, wall charls and relia can slitmutate students lo speak the language Rogarding visual aids, sludenls can benefit fom communicative activities sitee they “ help to provide the situation which light up the

meaning of the utterances used” ( Lee, W.R and Coppen, H.1970:1) In addition, mine

and gesture are offen used to supplement other ways of conveying meaning, ‘Teachers can make use of the blackboard and gesture fo reinforce the conoepl

1.3.3.2, Verbal techniques

Vocabulary teaching and learning communicative activities can be carried out by means of verbal techniques as fallow

Ð use of illustrative situations ( oral or written): To ensure that students

understand, teachers often make use of more than one situational context to chock thal learners have grasped the concep

ii) _use of synonyms and detinitions: Teachers often use synouym where they have

to compromise and restrict the length and complexity of their explanations Besides, definition alane is often inadcquale as a mans of convey moming, and clearly contextualized example are generally required to clarity the limits

of the item iii) contrast and opposites: This technique often asks “ What is the opposite of ” i9 — cxample of the type: To illustrate the meaning of super-ordinates such as “

taken an in a safe environment in which students are as inventive and playful as possible

“4

dn the role, students are experimenting with their knowledge of the real world and developing their ability to interact with other people” Morcover, activilics of this kind Tet

students develop and practice vocabulary in combination with other language skills such as

grammar and speaking, and create the motivation and involvement necessary for learning

lo vecur Teacher can prepare a lol of situations such as sreparing a meal, going camping, interviewing for a job, With such situation, students should work in pairs, improvise a

suitable dialogue for each situation As a result, students will have tess pressure and will be

inore willing to parlicipale in the role-play

In conclusion, there are various communicative activities for teachers to choose They must

now how to adapt each type of activities so as to make if suitable for their students

1.4, Factors affecting teachers’ attitudes

1.4.1 Definitions of teachers’ altitudes

Despite different definitions of “ attitudes” , the following one is the most comprehensive definition “Attinedes and beliefs are a subset of a group of constructs that name define, and describe the structure and vonient of mental sates that are thoughd to drive a person's

actions” ( Richardson;i996:102) It can be seen that, attitudes are defined within the

framework of social psychology as a subjective or menlal preparation for action Attitudes are outward and visible posture Attitudes determine what each person will see, hear, think and do Attitudes can be positive and negative

This known that attitudes ave a profound impacl on teacher practices and behaviors

Teachers’ attitudes mean teachers’ view and behavior in school These attitudes are implicit and unconscious, teachers’ personal pedagogical knowledge These attitudes also

include cognitive and affective components, create links between practice, experience and decisions which have lo be madz These attiludes greatly impact their (caching in class,

1.4.2, Factors affecting teachers’ attitudes

1.4.2.2, Teacher competence

Teachers arc considered as a significant source of instinsic motivation H is also commonly known that teachers’ skill, knowledge, personality and proficiency in the target language play important role in the class

One generalization about a good teacher is leaching method and ability Tf learners find teachers’ method boring, they will probably become demotivated, whereas if they have confidence in the method, they will find it motivating,

1.4.2.3 Student elersent

* Students’ attitudes: Their attitudes might influence how they approach their learning as well as the way their teachers teach

* Students’ anxiefy and canfidlence: Many studios have showed problurns oflen attributed

to students’ low English proficiency are actually caused by students anxiety Thus it can be said that language anxiety has a negativs relationship with learning success and vice versa, self-confidence has @ positive relationship, One of the factors that may cause anxiety or bring back in confidence is Jcarncrs’ Iearning experience

1.4.2.4 Classroom conditions

Classroom condillons căn have a great effect on leaning and can alter a tearners” motivation either positive or negative However, teacher should bear in mind problems associated with “large” classes They include noise, too many people and fixed objects ina restricted space, nol enough mulerials for everyone, nol being able (o respond lo different needs the difficulties of maintaining the class etc

1.4.2.5, Language enviroment

InLE'L envionment, Jinglish is rarely heard outside school, thus practicing Lnglish outside

is very rare Without the rsinforcoment ofan English-envivorment, motivation becomes œ product of teachers’ initiative on the one hand and the learners’ will to succeed or fear of failuwe- on the othsr EPL is often a part of the school training program and therefore subject to not only contextual factors such as support from local community, government policies, etc, but also to teachers” language proficiency, resources, materials, and the ability lo evaluate learners as well

1.4.2.6, Syllabuses and text banks:

In the designing of a language of a language course o1 syllabus, one of the factors that

should be taken info account is time In a communicative class, learners need to have

enongh time to update knowledge and to practice what they have learnt Thus time plays an imporlant role in Leaching and learning a language

Texts books are of great importance in any language program because in most eases, textbooks include goals and objectives Administrators and teachers then should collaborale to answer the question of whelher the lextbook being used is appropriate lo Jearners* needs to the social aud institutional setting

1.4.2.7, Test and evaluation

Teaching ard lasting arc interwoven and interdopondont; Uherafore it is difficult lo soparate them Tests can serve positive and negative even give them a lot of anxiety, For the reason,

it is certain that teachers need make tests positive experiences for learners by creating tests with care and offort Tosis should retale with high dogrce to course

content and program objectives Moreover, the evaluation of leamers should be both based on test results and derived from classroom observation and teachers! learners feedback In trief, testing is a vital component of curriculum development and evaluation and cannot be separated from teaching and learning

of English learning and teaching at NVCUS will be analyzed, and the survey with a

questionnaire for 8 tcachers and another one for 180 studsnis, an observation and an interview with 4 teachers will be done, After that, the findings of the survey will be analyzed and discussed

CHAPTER 2: THE INVESTIGATION 2.1 Current situation of the teaching and learning of English at Nguyen Van Cu Tigh School

2.1.1 School factors

Nguyen Van Cu Tligh School was founded in 1977 in Da Ton village in Gia Lamn districl English, as a foreign language, is one of the compulsory subjects in high school In NVCHS, instructions, learning and teaching activities are mostly carried out in the classroom Most of the lessons ara developed in sush a fixed condition mt the teachers find it difficult to make a change in applying new ideas in language teaching

- ‘The class size: ‘There are about 45 students in each class ‘Thus, it is difficult to implement a communicative task in a inixed ability and large ¢lass Tho focus on creating a communicative environment also means that there is a lot of unavoidable noise in the classroom; it influences the learning of next-door class

- The school has just installed one language lab, but it hasn't been used The reason

is that it is designed for only 30 students , while there are about 45 students in cach class and 34 classes in school ‘he school has 1 overhead projector for 34 classes, 2 mnili-fiunction study rooms for nearly 80 teachers of 12 different subjects, but teachers hardly use them as teaching aids because these teaching aids are not enough if many classes are in need

- Malerials: Materials for reference and self-study are nol available There is also a library in NVCHS but there are few English references

- All of the classroom are designed for lecture lessons It means that the seating is arranged orderly in front of the teacher and classroom equipment is just a clulkbourd,

2.1.2 Teachers’ factors

Teachers are the most important factors in the process of teaching In order to carry outt this process properly The school has 8 English tcachers including 7 females and 1 male, and age fiom 25 fo 50 They are energetic and are willing to devote their time and energy to teaching Of the 8 English teachers who got B.A degree, 2 ones are following M.A course

of University of Languags & International Studics -VNUH The youngest ms nearly three teaching experience The oldest has over 25 years teaching experience, however, she had been teaching Russian for L8 years before staring her English teaching career

In term of language teaching method, the teachers at NVCIIS are familiar with traditional

teaching melhod as they

sludenis frors 12 villages in the district The age of the gradc-t0 students at NVCHS is

about 16 years They come fiom different areas of the district In general, students fiom

‘Trau Qui townlet, Long Bien district or nearby have better knowledge of the [inglish language than those who come from father areas But at school, these twa different groups

of students arc sct in the same classcs, so that there is big gaps among the students In class activities, betters students of English proficiency are always dominant while students of low proficiency keep silent or get bored

The traditional methods of teaching have mmch affect to the students’ awareness of their

needs in term of communication in real life situation Moreaver, when entering grade 10, they are divided into two streams: Natural Science and Basic Stream Most of them are often not good at English, or they spend only a little time learning it For them, English is simple an obligatory subject They learnt it mainly for marks, just to pass the tests Thus,

they seem to be likely passive in learning ‘They are likely to become motivated ar de- 1rolvated leaming depending much on the textbook and teachers’ method of delivery

However, the grade-10 students at NVCHS are rather highly motivated by some practical

reasons If they don not learn English carefully, they will fail the exams and cannot go up

to the higher class

2.1.4, The teaching materials

The iain material used for this sludy is the textbook Tieng Anh 10 (2006: Educational Press), which is thorne-based designed with 16 ustits, squivalenl to 16 Lopies divided into 6

themes: Personal Information, Education, Community, Health, Recreation, The World

around us very unit provides students with many vocabulary through practice of

listening, reading, speaking, and writing Reading is selected as the first section in every

unit on purpos

skills, it is useful to stimulate and familiarize students with the theme and relevant information and language items Teaching procedure of reading, speaking, listening, and

Via the roading text and tasks which focus on devcloping differznt reading

writing sections is divided into three stages lo achieve different language skills or knowledge on purpose This refers to the domination of communicative approach and characterized features of the new textbook Self-study activities are drawn attention to after cvery 3 units by Test yourself in which listening,

cading, grammar and writing are presented respectively The book is ended with glossary as well as pronunciation and phonetic symbols that has been introduced in the textbook ‘This is to help both teacher and learner easily

2.2 Methadakipy

2.2.1 Subjects of the study

The sample was drawn fiom two sources: 180 students in class 10A2, 10A6, 10A10,

10A13, and 8 teachers in English teaching staff

‘The first group who 1 took at random includes non-English majors at different classes They are also at different levels of English proficiency All of those have experience in English for 4 years at lowar-secondary schools The textbook in use is the new “Tieng Anh 10” Also, the subject is completely taught by Vietnamese teachers of English

The olher group involves all 8 teachers of English aged fram 25 lo SO years okd All of them have more or fewer opportunities to learner new teaching techniques in English Teacher Training Project methodology course

2.2.2 Data collection instruments

In order to calleet data for the study, Une kinds of instruments are used: questiormaire, classroom observation and interview

2.2.2.1 Questionnaire

The survey questionnaire is one of the instruments which are often used to collect data in social sciences, Many significant advantages of using questionnaires are indicated by many researchers, such as less pressure on informants, nol under pressure of interview bias and

analysis of answers is straightforward,

The questionnaires were delivered to 8 teachers and 180 students,

2.2.2.1 Questionnaire for the students

‘The second questionnaire consists of two types of questions inclnding 9 closed and

The questions focus on the following categaties:

- The students” attitudes and motivations towards learning English in general and

learning in particular (question 1, 2, 3, 7)

- The students’ evaluation of their English vocabulary lesson(question 4, 8, 9)

- The students” difficulties in learning vocabulary (question 5, 6}

2.2.2.1.2 Questionnaire for the teachers

‘The questionnaire was designed for 8 teachers of English at NVCHS (see Appendix B) It contains 10 closed and opened-ended questions in English ‘Ths questionnaire was delivered to the teachers and collected within 4 weeks

‘The questionnaire cmphasizes on:

- The teachers’ age and their teaching experience (question 1)

- The teachers’ opinions on CLT (question 2, 3, 4)

- The teachers’ attitudes towards teaching vocabulary (question 5}

- The teachers’ aims in teaching vocabulary (question 6)

- The teachers” time Lo sack vocabulary (question 7)

- The teachers’ ways to teach vocabulary (question 8)

- The teachers’ problems when applying CLT in teaching vocabulary to grade-10

Classroom abscrvation was also applied in order lo clarify and tos the validity of information about teaching and learning English vocabulary at 10-grade It was carried out

in four different classes once a week in each class within 5 weeks All of these observation

were for gathering information needed for the study Classroom observation is important

given to the purpose of this study because i helps to show the rescarcher how English vocabulary is being taught and also to test what challenges facing teachers when they apply CLT in teaching vocabulary for grade-10 students

2.2.2.3 Interviews with teachers

According to Sagor.R (1993) when using interviews to collect data, it is helpful to produce relevance information and insights, Although a interview usually requires considerable

asked 3 questions (see Appendix C)

2.2.3, Data analysis and result

3.2.3.1 Results and discussions from the questionnaires

2.2.3.1.1 Questionnaire for the students

a@ The shudents' attitudes and motivations towards learning English in veneral and

7

Question 1,2, 3 dealt with the students’ altitudes and motivations towards learning Trnglish

learning in particular (question I, 2, 3,

in general and learning in particular

Question J relates to students? attitudes towards learning English at school, The results are presented as follows

Neither ike nor dislike, just learn it because it is a 108 60%

must

Table I: Students’ attitudes towards learning English at school

‘The findings shown in the table indicated the students” attitudes towards learning English

at school The result from the table showed thal 25% of them showed their positive attitudes in learning English 60% thought English is a must Only 15% of those responded negatively did not find English interesting at all

Question 2 focuses on students’ reasons for learning Tnglish

Reasons for learning English Number (No) Percentage (%)

Table 2: Students’ reasons for learning English

According to the statistics of table 2, the grade students at NVCHS were aware of the importance and benefits of lsaming English 36.7% of the students said that they learned English for their future jobs 2.2% learned English for their interest, 23.3% Lcarning English for communicating Hspecially, 37.8% said that it was a compulsory subject, This revealed thal a great number of students in this school were not really motivated in learning English

Question 3 aims at exploring the students’ attitudes towards vocabulary learning

Table 3: Students’ attitudes towards vacabulary learning

‘As shown in the table 3, most of the students consider vocabulary a very important element

in language leaming ‘This number presents 59.4%, only 35.6% of them think vocabulary is important and 5% not very important This means thal most of these students are well aware of the importance of vocabulary in their English learning This awareness lead to motivation in their learning process

Question 7 discovers students’ interssis tawards typos of voeabulary Isachinys tochmiques

‘used in communicative activities

Students’ interests towards types of vocabulary teaching CNG) G0

techniques used in communicative activities

As clearly stated ftom table 4, 35 % of the participants are interested in “ Games”, while

“Oral! Written vocabulary cxerciscs” ( Verbal) hold 30% Hawever, 25% of the Lolal like isual”, and only 10 % of students being asked have the motivation for Role-play”

b The students’ evaluation of their teacher's way of teaching vocabulary (question4, 8, 9}) Question 4 helps to find out the students’ evaluation of their teacher’s way of teaching vocabulary 80% of the students state that their teachers always teach vocabulary by translating all new words into Vietnamese and vice-versa and saying the word clearly, and writing them on Ihe board Ard they also add that these techniques do nol make them fully

satisfied because they find them not efficient much The survey and the observation showed that the teachers often wrote all the new words with their Vietnamese equivalents

on the board and asked students to cupy down all le new words in their natzbooks Then,

they asked the sturferts fo repeat in chorus avd individually

Most of the students said that their teachers rarely carry out the three techniques ( use

synonyms and antonyms, use mimes, gestures and facial expressions and use English to

define the new word) Only 12% of the sludents say Ut their teachers somelimes use

synonyms and antonyms and 17% confirm that their teachers use target language to define

the new word, and 15% state that their teachers use mimes gestures and facial expressions Morcover, 20% of the students also reveal that tcachers sometimes usc the technique of using visual aids For their teachers’ way of teaching vocabulary, 31% of the participants say that they like their teachers using visual aids to show them the meaning of

din their loachers using mis

expressions in introducing the meaning of words, Furthermore, 15% of the respondent

confirm that they like their teachers to use the target language to define the new words

According to them, Ihese techniques are c[ficier

Question 4 also aims at exploring the students’ evaluation of their teacher’s way of consolidating vocabulary In order to consolidate students’ vocabulary, 20% of the students say that their teachers offen ask thamn (o do exercise of reordering words, doing multiple choue items, and matching words With their teachers’ way of consolidating vocabulary,

30% of the respondents confirm that they like matching words 35% state that they enjoy

doing multiple choice items Anat 30% of the participants say thal thoy are interested in reordering words As a result, they state that these techniques are efficient,

Most of the students said that their teachers sometimes ask students fo complete sentences,

fill in the gaps, make sentence with given words, discuss in pairs or in groups, ask and answer questions 31% of the students say they are asked to do completing sentences 25% state that they have to do the exercises in the form of filling in the gaps and making sentence with given words And 20% confirm that their teachers ask them to discuss in pairs or in groups, ask and answer questions, In addition, most of students also revcal that their teachers rarely let them play games Only 20% of the asked students state that their teacher sometimes use this way OF the ways, 40% of sindewls are interasted in playing games 25% dislike completing sentences, filling in the gaps, making sentence with given words, And 15% of the students like discussing in pairs or in groups T/hey find these ways

not efficient mach,

Question 8 focuses on the effectiveness of learning vocabulary communicatively

Effectiveness of learning vacahulary communicatively No) (%)

Help Ss to retain vocabulary and to be intcrestcd in the lesson 108 60%

Motivate but do not help Ss remembering new and learn items 45 25%

Table 5: Effectiveness of learning vocabulary communicatively

It can be seen from table 5, 60% of the participants suppose that leaming vocabulary communicatively can help them to relain vocabulary and to be intorested in the Lesson However, 25% suppose that activities of this type ae motivated but do not help Ss remembering new and leam items And up to 15% feel bored and ineffeotive during the communicative lasks given by the teachers