Luận văn developing supplementary vocabulary activities to enhance vocabulary retention for tenth grade students at a high school in bac ninh province

Tt results a need for more supplementary activities to enhance students’ vocabulary retention, Aiming to achieve my goals, I prefer action research with helps me in findimg oul the ef

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, IIANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL

STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

-—-000~——-

QUẢN THỊ MINH NGUYỆT

DEVELOPING SUPPLEMENTARY VOCABULARY ACTIVITIES

TO ENHANCE VOCABULARY RETENTION FOR TENTH GRADE

STUDENTS

AT ATIIGIT SCTIOOL IN BAC NINIT PROVINCE

hát triển các hoạt động bỗ trợ học từ vụng đề cãi thiện vốn từ vung

của học sinh lớp 10 tại một trưởng THPT Bắc Ninh

M.A MINOR PROGRAM TIIESIS

ield : English Teaching Methodology

Cole : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Dr Vu Thi Thanh Nha

Hanoi 2019

requirements Cor Unc Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and Intemational Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Bac Ninh, 2019 Student's signature

Quan Thị Minh Nguyet

Secondly, my grateful thanks are also extended to Ms Le ‘Thi Lien my supervisor in my training at Thuan Thanh 3 high school for her assistance in keeping my progress on schedule and supporting me m collecting dala [or my paper

Finally, I wish to thank my family for their support and encouragement

throughout my study.

ABSTRACT

Ti can be understood that vocabulary is a key point in learning English As a teacher of Hnglish for high school students, 1 am highly aware of vocabulary acquisition function for my students They are from rural district with quite low level of Briglish In addition, they have obstacles wilh words when they are learmng English because of lacking vocabulary ‘Therefore, they could face with a number

of difficulties leaming vocabulary effectively As a teacher, I want to find out a

solution to tus problem in my class Tt results a need for more supplementary

activities to enhance students’ vocabulary retention,

Aiming to achieve my goals, I prefer action research with helps me in

findimg oul the eflectiven

of supplementary activities on my sludenls, and their

attitudes towards those activities, That using digital flashcards and paper flashcards

is expected to support students’ vocabulary retention Observation and

queslionmaire are research tools which help me lo carry out my study Due to the

limitattion of the study, the participants includes 45 students in the practitioner's

class, quite a small number After an eight-week study, the practilioner gets some positive feedback of the students, and the students’ output is a little better, thew

desire to the adjustment is an encouragement By applying some supplementary

aclivilies to enhance students’ vocabulary retention, she hopes to help and suggest

some effective vocabulary leaming and teaching activities ‘[herefore, she does

expect that her findings would be the hints for further investigation in vocabulary retention as well Although the study time is not quite long, she would carefully

review and think of later study

iv

1.1 Rationale of the study

1.2 Aims of the gtudy

1.3 Scope of the study

1.4 Methodology

1.5 Organization of the thesis

CHAPTER IU: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1.2.1 Vocabulary classification according to frequency of use

2.1.2.2 Vocabulary classification according to meaning

2.1.3 Aspect of vocabulary to be taught in class

2.1.3.1 Pronunciation and spelling

2.1.3.2 Word formation

2.1.3.3 Grammar

2.2 ‘The role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning

2.3 Currently techniques in vocabulary teaching

2.4 Quizlet and flashcard as new vocabulary teaching and learning tools 16

3.4 Procedures of the research study

3.4.3 Observe: Observing the results of the plan 32

4.1 Current difficulties that students might face in their vocabulary

4.1.1 Diffieulties that stuđents might faee Krarrrerroseo dS

4.1.3 The most frequently used techniques to teach vocabulary 37

vi

42 Supplemenary acfiviss {o enhance siudenis" vocahulary relention and

Frequency of using supplementary activities prior to the study 42

5.2 Some suggestions for using flashcards and Quizlet to teach vocabulary 50

5.2.1 Tor the teachers cong reerreraere Xem SŨ

APPENDIX 1: LESSON PLAN sec Z1

PHIẾU CÂU HÓI KHẢO §ÁT sộ sec 1X

APPENDIX 4: nong merererraeie XI

vũ

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Eigure 1: Action Research Spiral

Figure 2: Detailed Action Research Model

Figure 3: Students! difficulties in leaning vocabulary

Figure 4: Aspects of vocabulary to be taught in a losson

Figure 5: Teachers’ major current vocabulary teaching methods

Figure 6: Frequency of using supplementary activities to teach vocabulary

Figure 7: Opinion of students on the effect of using supplementary activities to

Table 2: Difficulties of using supplementary activities to enhance students’

vocabulary as students’ perception

viii

44

46

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

Mastering vocabulary plays an important role in learning a foreign language It is because vocabulary carries content which constitutes a language itself Bach word has its own notion, so having good vocabulary helps the leamers understand well what they read and heard, ‘The larger amount of vocabulary the leamers acquire, the easier it takes to master language When we have command of a language, it meant thal we are able to manage vocabulary

It might be difficult for high school students, when they are at a beginning level,

they might lace difficulties wilh voeabulary leaming IL is obvious that if they have good vocabulary, they will use language more proficiently In addition, their test

requires definite range of vocabulary to pass TL is easy to understand that

vocabulary needed for high school student is not very much, but there is a number

of leamers who can not find the way to master

It is obvious that vocabulary plays a very important role for leamers of any language not English only, but learning vocabulary has not been paid attention enough yet Without vocabulary, language users can still communicate by other nonverbal means, bul in tests they can nol In wriling, vocabulary is a must for users That is the reason leamers should master vocabulary well Some students learn by heart words when they are being marked on the following lessor, in other way, they still have not found out the importance of vocabulary in language learning, When we do not have any course for vocabulary separately, mastering vocabulary depends on individual’s pereeplion, There are some sludents event do not understand basic words leading to be almost illiteracy Joining Knglish test, they choose the answer randomly without any responsibilities for their answer In addition, there is no extra aclivily for vocabulary mastering With the aim to enhance vocabulary retention for students in some extension, a new study on which

integrates some activities after class will be conducted

1.2 Aims of the study

This study research aimed to enhance the students’ vocabulary retention through

supplementary aclivilies

To achieve the objectives, the study answered the following research questions:

L) What challenges did the students have in learning vocabulary?

2) To what extent can supplementary vocabulary activities enhance the

studenis’ vocabulary retention?

3) What are the students’ opinion towards those activities?

1.3 Scope of the study

Due to the limited time as well as the limited scope of a graduation thesis, this

research is only paying allention to the use of supplementary aclivilies in Leaching

English vocabulary but not various kinds of teaching activities Also, the research was conducted on limited subjects of the grade 10" students at a high school in Bac

Ninh provinee

As teaching for few weeks, the researcher found out the problems in vocabulary

retention of students, she thought of any solutions to this problem As scon as she

figured oul some supplementary activilies which she thought they could help improve her students’ vocabulary retention, she decided to choose action research

method TL was helpful im this case because she could try the activities on her

familiar participants She designed two oycles referring to two activities to improve

students’ vocabulary retention After each cycle, she had review on the result, which

might favorable in students’ learing oulpul

1.4 Methodology

Aiming to deal with the current problem with students’ vocabulary retention, the

practitioner selected action research because she could make a test to apply other

activities to affect the current class situation In addition, she is the researcher who

understands the problem and the parlicipants the most

wy

The participants of the study are students at class she is curently teaching, which is quite familiar with the researcher, since she clearly Inows their characteristics of vocabulary acquisition In order to achieve the targels of the study, she preferred questionnaire and observation as a tool ‘he data from survey as well as her observation are expected to answer for her research question

1.5 Organization of the thesis

The graduation thesis minor consisls of five chapters, organized as follows

Chapter L- Introduction; mentions the background to the study and rationale to

conduct it, states the aims, scope, organization of the graduation thesis

Chapter 11- Literature Review: represents theoretical background knowledge of vocabulary, current teaching vocabulary method and some new teaching method,

aud reviews some related researches

Chapter LII- Methodology: states the subjects of the study, research inswuments,

as well as data collection procedures employed Lo carry oul this research

Chapter 1V- Kindings and discussions: analyzes and discusses the results

collected from the classroom observation, survey questionnaire Besides, the

limmilations of the stucly are mtroduced

Chapter V- Conclusion: summarizes what have been discussed in the previous

parts, limitations of the thesi

s well as provides some suggestions for futher

research.

CHAPTER TI: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Vovabulary is known to play an important role in Enghsh learners to have a fluent use Enriching vocabulary in their Hnglish acquisition is quite essential to use English effectively But for vocabulary, language learners would not be able to

communicate fluently because it helps carry all the content that language users

need All Lnglish language activities require the support of vocabulary You probably will not be able to write or read academic English with narrow vocabulary

TEsOUrces

Consequently, an appropriate vocabulary learning method will help you with better understand the meaning of words or phrases in Linglish, leading to effective English learning output

Regarding teaching vocabulary method, some authors made a suggestion which involves quile a number of concerning Sokmen (1991) recommended a muxed approach to teaching aiming to combine different styles of learning Her principle is based on the leamer’s independence, which means teachers will show variety of methods and then students will choose one It means making decision is for students, They have a chance to select what is suitable for them She also emphasizes the importance of reading in vocabulary teaching Reading, especially

in academic context, will bring students a source of vocabulary

Although dictionaries use is so omnipresent, Scholfield (1980) suggests it as useful way to lear vocabulary, working on a language by language basis Despite its effectiveness, using dictionaries well should take time Scholficld also gives some exercises at the beginning and then use dictionaries for effective output learning,

In addition, [Iwang and Nation (1989) found the effect on reading newspaper

stories on the same topic The stories relating to topic are more helpful to encourage

retrieval than unrelated topic When students face the words they leamt before, they

will have a chance to revise it The repetition should be twice or three times a week.

In addition to the above-mentioned diseussion, in this chapter, aspect of vocabulary, concept of vocabulary as well as vocabulary classification will be discussed in more derail

2.1 Concepts of vocabulary

2.1.1 Definition of vocabulary

There are quite a number of defimtions of vocabulary im the world Diicrem

definitions may be given for the term vocabulary regarding different viewpoints However one of the most general definitions of vocabulary is as the knowledge of words and word meamngs Or someone elsc may define vocabulary as a list of words arranged in alphabetical order with their definitions which explain how the words are used Vocabulary basically defined as the knowledge of word and its meaning, However, in reality it is more complex to elearly understand vocabulary in reality than its theory

Learning a language entails learning numerous of aspeels about language, involving lexicology and its prommeiation, syntax, writing system, discourse but of the

most imporlance is vocabulary aspect, said Folse (2004) It means thal when you

lcam any language in the world, the first most essential aspect you should pay attention to is its vocabulary In fact, there are many definitions of the theory of

vovabulary, and every linguist has a vecebulary definition of his own

Nation (2001) emphasizes that when we know a new word; it means that we know more than ils meaning, ils formation, and ils basic use The relationship between vovabulary knowledge and language use is defined as complementary; that is Imowledge of vocabulary enables language use and, conversely, language use helps improve vocabulary knowledge To be broader understanding, vocabulary is like a key leading us to master a foreign language generally When people think of any language, the first thing coming to their mind is the vocabulary This shows how

vooabulary plays an important rolo in the way language is fonnod, said Pyles and

AIgeo (1970)

It is true when we would like to make a sentence, or want to convey a meaning we have to use words which build the semence When yau study a language, the first

thing you pay attention is its vocabulary, which represent the meaning of any notion

in that language Vocabulary learning has been considered as an imegral and significant area of language teaching as Casco (201 1:31) also mentions “words are

the basic building blocks of language, the units of meaning from which larger

structures such as sentences, paragraphs and whole texts are formed”, which clearly

reveal the importance of vocabulary in language learning as well

It is the fact that there is an essential element of foreign language leaming is the amount of vocabulary one possesses, as vocabulary forms the biggest part of the

meaning of any language (McCarthy, 1988), tho larger amount of language vooabulary a user possesses, the easier he can master that language A word, in most linguistic analyses, is described as a set of properties, or features that it carries into

practice, including, its meaning, collocation, grammatical interaction, written form,

spoken form (pronunciation) and frequency To master a word is not only to learn its meaning but also to learn other aspects of vocabulary All these properties are

called word knowledge

Schmitt (2000) emphasizes thal “lexical knowledge is central to commumeative

competence and to the acquisition of a scvond language” p 55 Vocabulary kmawledge is normally considered as an indispensable part for second language

we recognize and use in reading and writing skill

Furthermore there are two forms, receptive and productive that we can understand

of word knowledge 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, even if we do not

know their full definitions and connotations — or ever use them ourselves as we

speak and write (Kamil & Hiebert) (2005)

2.1.2 Classification of vocabulary

Vocabulary is categorized based on different criteria such as frequency of use,

meaning, and olher crerta

2.1.2.4 Vocabulary classification according to frequency of use

According to Nation (2001), there are four kinds of vocabulary in written language

They are: high-frequency words, specialized words, and low-frequency wards It

means thal high repetition words are basic and common words, so peuple can casily understand the content Ile also states that high-frequency words include content

words which mean words carry content Tl conlains about 2000 word families as

Nation and Hwang (1995) present The high-frequency words of English are considered as the best selection for foreign language leamers who want to master

language academically, including nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs Therefore,

when leaming and teaching vovabulary, high-frequency words should be paid special attention I'eachers and learners should carry under the direct of learning, direel of teaching, incidental learning and us collocation In brief, high-frequency words are quite of importance that helps leamers to basically use any language both

in written and spoken language

‘The second type is specialized word, including technical words Nation (2001:17) also states that “Special vocabularies are made by systematically restricting the range of Lopics or language uses invesligaled” Therefore, il is possible [or users Lo

acquire vocabulary and understand vocabulary in some factors such as economic reports, magazine, education and etc Academie words are not technical one but is

also considered sub-lechmeal words because they include neither technical words

nor formal words In technical words, there are some words only occur in specific area, for instance; the word “cost”, “supplier” in economic field,

In terms of frequency of word use, there is another type low-frequency word Also according to Nation (2001), the relationship between low-frequency word and high-

frequency word is quite arbitrary This is quile of importance for language user 10

remember that the boundaries on which we classify sometimes is arbitrary We can

also interpret that low-frequency words are words that may not be familiar with

alnost every foreign language learner Low-frequency words contain proper names which are not popular to every user, and they often appear in some kinds of text

such as novels, newspaper

It is such an amazing thing that some proper nouns like character name, name of places are like technical words because they are high- frequency in that kind of text, but not in another one As such, the readers do not need to study the name of character in novel Ilowever, the classification is quite arbitrary because some words belong to low-frequency for beginners but high-frequency ones for advance leamers, Therefore, learners should focus on improving their vocabulary every day

so that they can use the language in many situations

24

Vocabulary classification according to meaning

Tn terms of meaning, voeabulary ean be divided into kwo types: notional words and functional words Notional words are words which clearly convey a meaning ‘They can perform nominative function, and can stand alone with complete meaning In other words, some items including prefixes or suffixes can be added into notional words to extend the meaning For example, we have the word lonely-loneliness,

care-careless.

Actually we can see these words under the form of subjects, verbs, adverbs and adjectives in the sentence which can stand independently Regarding of meaning classification, functional words in language can be preposition, articles, conjunctions, and particle hey can not stand alone to convey a complete nominative force as the notional ones can

2.1.3 Aspect of vocabulary to be taught in class

According to Ur (1996), when a new word is going lo be introduced Io tte learners, such types of word aspects must be focused om: its pronunciation and spelling, word form, grammar, and collocation It means that all the aspects of the word will help leamers to have clear knowledge of thal word For example, when a teacher explains a new word with its collocation in class, the student will be able to apply

that word or its phrase with the same context later

Nu (2004) also shares the same opinion that knowing a word means knowing some

aspects of words such as its prommeiation and spelling, grammar, its collocation

and word formation In his writing, Nation (2001) stated that knowing a word

referring to some aspects including word parts, grammartical functions, connecting

form and meaning, and collocations It can be understood that knowing a word

should go with ils collocation resulting the effective output for studonls They wilt

understand the cases that phrase suits with and will apply better the following time 2.1.3.1 Pronunciation and spelling

Bosch (1997:12) said that “learning lo pronounce wrillen words means Iearnmg the intricate relations between a language's writing system and its speech sounds”, In other words, it mentions the relationship betwesn the written words and the sound

system, and how the word is pronounced based on ils symbol

3.1.3.2 Word formation

Word formation refers to the ways in which new words are made on the basis of

other words or morphemes It is also called derivational morphology Most English vooabulary come by acding some affixes to its roots, altering their word class, or

combining inte compound words For instance: connect- disconnect, hark (V)-bark

ON), or bread-winner

Therefore, when teachiry: in the sroom, teachers should provide the learners the

word knowledge such as word formation to help students have broader views of vocabulary, which is easy to remember and apply it later We can compare and

introduce the new word by adding prefix lo the sludents al the same time if possible 2.1.3.3 Grammar

Grammar lays the base for effective communication, so improper grammar could have impact on the meaning and clarity of an intended message Grammar makes writing more readable and more interesting Granunar constitutes the system of a language It is sometimes described as the "rules" of a language, but actually no language in the world has its rules There are always exceptions in language use TC

we use the word "rules", we suggcst that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like set up a new game But languages did not start like that It means that an article with many grammatical errors will make the readers feel a little discomfort, as well as an incomplete statement or use of the wrong word choice will also annoy listeners Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and senlenves There is no common rule for language is fixed All languages change over time ‘Iherefore, grammar is of important in language use Grammar skills are useful in every aspect of life fram education to leadership, and social life to employment opportunities

They are equally important at home where children learn their grammatical pattems

from their parents aud family Whal we call "grammer" is simply a rellection of a

10

language at a particular time, or around the spoken time In addition, grammar adds meanings that are not easily inferable from the immediate context We should acknowledge thal as important as il is to develop our understanding of the grammatical facts of the language we are teaching,

What we do hope to do is to have students be able to use grammatical structures

accurately, meaningfully, and appropriately In other words, grammar teaching is not so much knowledge transmission as it is skill development In fact, it is better to think of teaching "grammaring" (Larsen-Freeman: 1997, 2001) Briefly, grammer

rules are likewise essential in everyday life for clarity of meaning,

2.1.3.4 Collocation

Collocation is used in spoken and written language to make the passage more fluent and natural A collocation is made up of two or more words that are commonly used together in Linglish Collocation is also another aspect that should be known about a

new item, which is intended to be taught

Taylor (1990) says that collocation means knowing the function associated with the

word and also knowing the association between thal word and other words m the

language It shows the relationship between words There arc ditforent kinds of collocations in English Strong collocations are word pairings that are expected to

come logether In English, there arc some vollocations we can guess the meaning

from its components for example: make a bed, have a dinner Besides; some of the

most common collocations involve verb and noun collocations used in everyday

silualions such as: make progress, prepare report, make a wish

In some exercise in English exam which students must sit on, if they have knowledge of collocation, they can do il well Therefore, it is beller if the leachers provide the knowledge for learners through lessons

Vocabulary generally plays an important part that shapes your ability to use foreign languages One of the factors that can help you to use a foreign language, especially Bnglish is the vocabulary You may not be interested in the grammar of Enghsh, bul you can not ignore the vocabulary because the vocabulary is one that will help you express your thoughts, and feelings

People can use non-verbal language when they meet and communicate to their

partners, but sometimes they do not work as expected For example, when you want

to express your thoughts and concems, body language can not perfectly perform It

is not by chance that almost every linguist admits the importance of vocabulary as

well For instance, Krashen (1989) states that most of the meaning in language is

conveyed by words, and lack ol vocabulary is the greatest obstacle for communication Without grammar, very little information can be transpired; no

vocabulary, no information can be commumicaled Tl makes sense int leaming a

forogn language, vocabulary can be considered as small cells that make up the ability ta use the language of leamers Vocabulary plays an important role in

foreign language learning, oth irr the first language and second language

There are quite number of linguist as well as writers concerning about vocabulary role or its importance regarding practical language Soveral linguists and investigators in learning foreign language mentioned that vocabulary leaming and foreign language learning have a strong relationship to each other (Qian & Schedl

2004) In addition, vocabulary has impact on language using Researchers such as Laufer and Nation (1999), Gu (2003) and others have realized that the acquisition of vocabulary is essential for successful second language 1

and plays a vilal role in

the formation of complete spoken and written texts

In Fnglish as a second language (FST.) and English as a foreign language (FFT) learning vocabulary items takes a vital part in all language skills including listening, speaking, reading, and writing, Moreover, there is an argument that the acquisition

of an adequate vocabulary is essential for sucessful second language use It is impossible to use the structures and fumctions we may have learned for

comprehensible communication without an extensive vocabulary,

2.3 Currently techniques in vocabulary teaching

From the facts, Allen (1993:3) reveals that “many teachers assume that vocabulary can be developed in teaching learning process.” Llowever, the students actually face some problems to find out the meaning of words The problem might be due to the lack of understanding of words, and ability to interpret from given text into communication meaning Sometimes it is because students’ lack of opportunities to meet the words, which result in low frequeney word to them It is teachers’ duty that

helps students improve the abilily of understanding and using vocabulary in specific

context Generally, there are several techniques regarding the vocabulary teaching However, there are a few things that should be remembered by the most Fnglish teachers if they want to present a new vocabulary or the lexival items to their students

It is obvious that the English teachers want students to remember new vocabulary and master it in quite appropriate context Therefore, it is supposed that students have to learn, practice, and revise to avoid from forgetting In this paper, there are some popular teaching vocabulary techniques to be mentioned including visual techniques, verbal techniques and translation

23.1 Visual techniques

Regarding the visual techniques, Gairns and Rednran (1980) as cited by Marla, ot al

(1999:12) says that "there are there form visual techniques; “relia, pictures, and mime or gestures.” Relia means using a variety of real-object brought by the

smidents irì the classroom Picture means the images of new words in reality that

teachers tend to teach in class or instance, some objects like table, apple, pen

should be better to be applied this technique in presenting,

Therefore, if students can join in preparation for lessons at home, they tend to be

more willing and eager to join the lesson That helps to promote students interaction

and motvalion for elas For example, al junior high schoot level, concerning to food and dniak topic, if a student is appouisted to bring a kind of food then present

about his or her favorile food, that will be much more imleresting than teachers”

presentation It is under teachers’ introduction obviously The usage of mimes in teaching new words is also considered of great value, especially with actions such

as jumping running, writing and smoking Referring to ideas mentioned above, Klippet (1994:115) implies that "mime or gesture is useful if it emphasizes the

importance of gestures and facial expression on communication That body language or facial expression is applied appropriately will warm the class

atmosphere Instead of reading and understanding the word meaning from textbook only, students can join extra activities that help them remember new word in reality,

which is beller

2.3.2 Verbal techniques

‘This technique applies to the use of illustrative situation, synonyms, opposites, scale, definition and categories when teachers introduce a new word to students, said Sanusi (2009) Moreover, the English teachers usmg the technique arc expected to introduce a word in Linglish through the use of other word in the same

language

We can obviously sce that synonyms and antonyms are especially important in building new vocabulary because leamers are able to know vocabulary in comparison with ils family word Tn addition, when leachers soleel this Lechnique, i also explains the meaning and the use of a foreign word in the foreign language itself That knowing a word meaning and its use in appropriate context helps student master foreign language more confidently

2.33 Translation

One of the most common techniques in vocabulary presentation is translation,

which is to translate the word in question inta a learner’s native language That is

considered to be the simplest and easiest to apply Although il is quile useful, some experts however do not recommend this technique (Doff, 1988, p 12) “if we only

give a direct translation, the students carmol see how the word is used in an English

sentence” Translation is simple, clear and quick for reaching the goal particularly when teachers give examples then students give the word translation

2.3.4 The use of dictionary

By Alten, using dictionaries is "passport to independence and use them is one the

students-centered lcarning activites.” (1993:83) Meanwhile, Gerald and Laura

(1989:120) state that "dictionaries are more easily used ta determine word

meaning.” Usmg dictionary as a sbalogy of learning new words m a foreign

language is supposed to be one of the most frutful strategies Me Carthy

concentrated on types of dictionaries in relation to leamer’s level

Some issues have been raised around the choice of dictionary for beginners Although it can be a useful learning resource, it makes the learner more independent

of the teacher Leamers can use dictionaries for checking word meaning, do

arrangement exercises

In conclusion, the usc of dictionary is an effective way for the students mn finding

out the meaning of words

2.4 Quizlet and flashcard as new vocabulary teaching and learning toals

341 Quidet

Quizlet is "a mobile and web-based study application that allows students to study information via learning tools and games”, from Wikipedia IL utilizes user-designed leaming modules composed of terms and their definitions or descriptions These modules (which are called study sets as used in Quizlet) are presented to students through different learning modes including Mashcards, games, collaborative activities and quizzes to facilitate leaming environments that can help students master languages and vocabulary The application interfaces designed for the website incorporate 8 Icammg modes of which 5 arc available in the mobile application interface

Quivlet is a digital (lasheard appheation Uhal was used in this research study Quizlel provides leamers with an attractive and easy-to-use interface that can enhance the experience of paper flasheards (Asherol & Imrie, 2014) Some of the advantages of Quizlct include the ability to rapidly create flasheards with pictures and audio, the ability to access the application on a computer or smartphone, the ability to aulomalivally rearrange flashcards lo avoid serial learning, or memorizing the order, and the ability to interact with the cards using a variety of study and game sets

2.42 Flashcard

According to Oxford Advanced learners’ Dictionary (1995:94), flasheard is a card

wilh the word or words and somelinucs a picture down iL Furthermore, in Longman

Dictionary (1985:107), in language teaching flashcards is a card with words,

sentence, or pictures It can be inferred from these definitions that flashcards are

cards with a word or words, a phrase, or a preture on it used to learn and momorive

vocabulary Flashcards are divided into two types: picture flashcards and word flashcards, in which picture flashcard might be more attractive and interesting to acquire,

a Picture flashcards: According to Wright & Haleem (1991:50), picture flashcards are cards with pictures printed or drawn on having 1520 cm

They should be small enough for the users to easily handle and big enough

for the whole class to see clearly The teachers can prepare them before class

Advantages of picture flashcards are the attractiveness and colorfulness

which blackboard pictures do not have Picture flashcards are useful for

presenting, practicing and revising vocabulary of previous lesson

b Word flashcards: In Bowen (1982), word flashcards which are cards with words printed on can be held up rapidly or “flash” by the teacher before the class A word flasheard is about 8em high and 10cm wide; and its length

17

depends on the size of class They are useful for representing words or

structure

2.5 Memorizing vocabulary

Retention is defined as the ability to provide the meaning of a new word after a

given period of time There are two types of word retention: short-term retention

and long-term retention

2.5.1 Vocabulary retention

Incidental vocabulary learning refers to acquisition of a word when there is no

conscious intention (Hulstijn, 2011), whereas the intentional vocabulary learning

refers to “a deliberate attempt to commit factual information to memory” (Hulstijn,

2011, p.1) Read (2004) believes that in terms of vocabulary learning, both

incidental and direct vocabulary learning are necessary

Based on Schmitt’s opinion, Yali (2010) pointed out that a combination of incidental learning, or reading text, and intentional vocabulary leaming (specific explicit vocabulary exercises) resulted in better retention, and greater depth of

vocabulary knowledge than the incidental vocabulary learning alone

2.5.2 Types of memories

Thang (2004) stales thal depending on the amount of time Une memory lasts on human brain, memory is divided into three types: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory Sensory memory is “the shortest-lived memory

that lasts for milliseconds to a few seconds” (Zhang, 2004, p 1)

The first one, sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory It is the ability lo relain mpressions of sensory imformalion alter the original stimuli have

term memory is extended for slorage of information over a long peried of time

Short-term memory can develop into long-term memory by process of

consolidation

2.6 Related studies

Vocabulary learning strategies and vocabulary memorization developing are important in learning a foreign language It is because vocabulary plays important roles in mastering language in general as well as foreign languages in particular to communigate TL is such a lot of previous research concerning with vocabulary improvement, including effective vocabulary learning and teaching Some authors from Ta Ku Ling Ling Ying Public School inchiding Carol Pua, Dorothy Li, Cherie

Tui & Shirley Cheng paid special allonlion to (caching and vocabulary learning

strategy and found cut technique by using mund-map as a tool to teach English for

‘young learners Researchers have indicated that mind-mapping could be an effective toal that helps students 1o associate new information to their existing knowledge Tn this study, they aim to improve students’ competence in English learning by introducing mind-mapping techniques to facilitate the knowledge acquisition and rolrieval process, reflectiry on techniques m teaching vocabulary and increasing students’ motivation to do more revision Mind-mapping can be used in different learning and thinking processes People make use of various colors, images,

symbols and errors, ele to associate and commect ideas The strong visual of mind

maps occurrence can speed up the leaming process and help students to memorize

and recall information effectively (Brinkmann, 2003)

Moreover, the more personalized the mind maps, the more easily the learner could

retrieve information (Buzan & Buzan, 2000) The result is students’ expectation to

teachers’ drawing In their own mind maps, they provided uew ‘meaning’ to the vocabulary with different drawings and word association hey could master the

vocabulary aller seemg the teacher's demonstration wilhoul asking for explanalions

Generally, it is found that helping clementary students to create personalized, colorful and interesting mind maps could ease their difficulties to acquire and recall

the vocabulary for a longer period of time

In addition, Barr from Tamagawa University conducted a study to measure the success of users by comparing vocabulary lest scores for Quivlel users and nonusers

of the application The result is without a doubt, many of his students were visibly engaged by Quizlet in the classroom, which can be predicted Unsurprisingly, the results of this sludy demonstrated thal, learners using Quizlot performed better than non-users on tests recycling contents from gap-fill card

Another study by Sanosi (2018) aims to find out the benelils of Quizlct use to

improve vocabulary retention to language learners Also, the findings suggests that Quizlet represents an ideal environment for leaning that can provide active learning,

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both inside and outside classroom, it helps students more active and get involved in class Other researchers were still concemed about the perception of students towards QuizleL Tn this regard, Kose, Cimon, and Mede implemented to observe and interview 42 students who used Quizlet as vocabulary learning tool for four weeks The results revealed that most of the students considered Quizlet effective especially m learmumg delirntions, synonyms and pronumeialion TL can be revealed that Quizlet is a quite amusing tool and method to learn vocabulary and remember

As such, It can be considered that Quizlet application is an effective tool for both teachers and students for vocabulary instruction and learning

There are many comparisons between Digital Flashcards (DFs) and Paper

Flasheards (PFs) In their res earch studies, Dizon and Tang (2017) mentioned that

“most comparison studies of D¥s versus PFs have revealed that incorporating computer assisted language leaming (CALL) is more effective at enhancing 1.2 vovabulary leaning.” To support his idea, a list of former studics was shown itn his

writing

Bagoglu and Akdemir (2010) studied and made a comparison at the use of DFs on

mobile phones versus PI's with a group of L2 Inglish students at a Turkish university The result of the studies showed that both groups were able to make

significant gains in learning vocabulary, but the DF group made a little greater

significant enhancement Azabdaftari and Mozaheb (2012) also looked at the use of

DFs with 7.2 English students al an Travian umiversity The parlictpants in the

experimental group used a combination of DFs over mobile phones, and the Internet

to study the vocabulary, while those in the control group used PFs as usual The use

of mobile-learning and DFs had a greator positive ellect on vocabulary learning than PFs, basing on the results of post-test ‘These studies proved that DF's may help

students more effective remember L2 vocabulary in the short-term Therefore, if the

students applied it seriously for a long Lime; it might be a definite improvement itr

their vocabulary retention

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In Vietram, thore is a study which aims at finding the impacts of flashcards on non-

Unglish major students at a in ‘Ira Vinh university, by Phung Van De (2012), ‘They

are encouraged lo prepare flashcards on A4 paper There are 2 ways to utilize flasheards: individual or in pairs ‘they can lean vocabulary by collecting and prepare flashcard themselves, then they will lea on their own In addition, they

can swap to their pariners, and do more activities [or interesting learning activilics

Regardless of which ways they apply, the students had to be checked every week to measure how effectively they work at home Ilowever, the quite minority students agree wilh that technique, only 25.8%, because they prefer ollier techniques to learn vovabulary It might be loss interesting than others in Icarning vocabulary for adults

CHAPTER Ill: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, the researcher discusses the methodology used to study the use of flashcards and some activities to teach the grade 10" students at a high school

There are three main parts: the subjects, data collection instruments and data

collection procedures

3.1 The methodology

3.4.1 Reason to choose action research

In the study, I choose action rescarch type because I would like to find cut that whether | apply a new teaching tool in my profession is effective or not In addition, the situation in my class is improved after my action or my students like or cooperate with me during the study time or net In addition, action research is quite flexible, especially for teachers It is because teacher is the only one who can see the problem in class himself, and find the solution for the problem to improve the

performance of thor students” learrmg

The second point is thal action research is a reproduclion cycle, which means aller

the cvaluation the process can be repeated with the revised plan Thirdly, it is

collaborative Teachers when they conduct an action research participate and

collaborate, examme their knowledge and how they interpret themselves and their

actions lhey do research themselves and collect data about how they teach

Moreover, it can be casily understood that Uhis class problem is of the researcher not

anyone else, so the researcher can be the person who understand them most ‘hat clearly understanding the problem helps researcher find out the results of action or

any tnprovemert later Lash bul nol least, action research aims al changing things

(cited in Nunan, 1992, p.17) It means that for teacher, the study is conducted

aiming to change and improve only the situation within class that the teacher are

taking care of, and it also alTcet the students’ output in some exionis We can also

infer that action research is extremely helpful for teacher to conduct his or her internal research for the specific context of his classroom

In this study, discussion of supplementary activities in teaching vocabulary was employed to improve students’ vocabulary retention This research was done in four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting

3.1.2 Phases of action research

Figure 1: Action Research Spiral

Adapted from Kemmis (1983), the figure outlines four steps in action, the movement from one critical phase to another, and the way in which progress may be made through the system It can be seen clearly that in an action research project, the researcher does nol slop afler geltimg the result from his actions Thal is the

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reason why two spirals are repeated It can be understood that when getting result

from the first action, the teacher must revise the whole procedure and improve He

must evaluate the effectiveness of his actions as well as the limitations of the methods After that, he should revise the plan, make some changes and implement it

again to get better results These stages will not separate but are embedded within

action and reflection

Action Research Model

DIAGNOSING Indentiying or

defining & problem `*

ACTION

SPECIFYING

Considering

Detailed Action Research Mode!

(adapted from Susman 1982)

Figure 2: Detailed Action Research Model

Figure 2 presents detailed action research model, according to Susman (1983) The

five steps in this model can be described as follows:

- Diagnosing: the researcher needs to identify the problem by observing the context, the class or collecting information about the problem.

- Action planning: the rescarcher proposes different solutions or methods which can

be used to solve the problem,

- Taking action: after considering the advantages and disadvantages of different solutions, the researcher chooses one course of actions to apply in the study context

- Evaluating: the researcher analyzes the data to find out the consequences of a

taken action

= Specifiing learning: the researcher presents the general findings, what can be solved and what remains problematic, from which he adjusts the plan to act again

‘Another cyele in an action rescarch begins

In this study, I prefer the model by Kemmis (1983) in which mentions clearly two cycles As far as | am concerned, two cycles of action help me approach and figure out the problem as well as improvement in my trial if any After the first cycle, there is time for me to reflect and review my action, from which I might have

appropniate adjustment laler al second cycle

3.2 Participants of the study

3.21, The students

Jn this study, there are total 45 students in non-English major class: 10 Al All of them have studied English for 7 years Some of them are good at Inglish Others are of an average level

322 The textbooks

‘The course book is English 10-Volume 1 by Hoang Van Van and Hoang ‘Thi Xuan Hoa, wilh the cooperation by David Kaye published by Pearson Longman Press and Ministry of Education and Training The book English 10 volume number | for pilot is for the first term; it consists of five units and two reviews Hach unit in the

book includes eight parts: getting started, language, reading, speaking, listening,

26

writing, communication and culture, and looking back and project However, we only focus on the first three units in the first semester for the research study,

We have to cover three units and one review in ten weeks, with thirty one periods, forty five minutes for each period There is also a work book for students to practice (in the series book of Fnglish 10) This workbook provides some supplementary exercises for students for further practice at home Although the course book does not spend much for language and vocabulary students can enrich their own vocabulary soures through the rest parts of unit

We also can see looking back and project part give a good chance for students ta revise their vocabulary retention al home through their project Afier all the paris of each unit, students gain some vocabulary and present it in the last part- the project

The researcher can measure students’ vocabulary retention al the following cl by

checking homework

Although the course book is quite useful in teaching English, the teacher still wants

to make her own assessment so that she can implement some supplementary activities That the practitioner evaluate teaching material on her own is quite

important in her teaching profession It might be help her to prepare teaching tools,

and visual aids to support her job There are nol many materials that help to make

assessment The work of Cunningsworth (1995) has helped to provide a good brief

sunmary of how a leveled evaluation can be conducted When applying the

impressionistic method, we take the literal meaning of the method by quickly looking through the texthook cover to cover, to try and get an overview of the

strengths and weaknesses of the book

An in-depth evaluation will be undertaken subsequently to provide a detailed evaluation of specific items in teach textbook on areas such as how the exercises can cater or the syllabus and leamers" nevds (Cunningsworth, 1995, McDonough

& Shaw, 1993)

I would follow Cunningsworth’s point of view to evaluate the course book English

10, by Lloang Van Van, Hoang Thị Xuan Lloa and David Kaye (2012)

Strengths

“ Layout and design: The course book layout and design are clear and easy book

map to follow and evaluate the object after each unit lesson The book contains 5

units and two reviews Hach unit consists of five parts: Getting Started, Language,

Reading, Listening, Writing, Speaking, Communication and Culture, Looking back

&Projecl Morcover, the aulhors msert pictures into most of the parts of one unit,

therefore, they help students a lot in assessing the task or understanding the text

One interesting thing is extra activity at the end of each lesson which helps students

lo find oul something about their life relating to the topie

* Language content Lnglish 10 is an interesting and flexible book with an

inlegraled range of acti

es to develop students’ knowledge of the world Hach um

is about familiar topic surrounding students’ life

* Skills: The book helps students improve all four language skills with speaking, listening, reading and writing Furthermore, it has grammar rules and exercises for them to practice and vocabulary to enhance

* Language pepe: The language used in the course book is quite popular arid high

frequency because it is related to familiar issues around them,

Weaknesses

Despite a large number of good points, the course book still has some minor weaknesses

“ Layout and design: ‘The eover is not attractive and colorful

* Skill: The writing skill is quite difficult of all skills, because its instruction is not very clear for students to follow

* Language type: In Language lesson, there are quite a number of grammar issues in

one forty-five period, which inakes stuslents hard Lo follow

2B

In brief, material which plays an important role in teaching and learning, English are quite effective despite some limitations ‘Ihe strong points are good design, various

and fannhar topics, and easy to understand and follow the lesson conlenL The

material aims to develop four skills, focusing more on communicative strategy, so the project and activities are interesting Ilowever, it has some weaknesses, since it

is nol suitable for all stinders Tt is meant that students have different level, and iL is

hard for weak students to complete the lesson, especially writing, skill

3.3 Data collection instruments

There are two kinds of data which the researcher collected The first one was

quantitative data and the second one was the qualitative data

Quantitative data refers to students’ opinion of applying supplementary activities by answering questionnaire Qualitative dala deal with any occurences and changes during classroom activitios Students’ behaviors, classroom situation, the process of classroam activity are the examples of qualitative data The researcher collected

qualitative data by observation and questiounaire

3.3.1 Observation

A key advantage of conducting observations is that the researcher can witness what teacher and students actually do, rather than what they say they do Observations can be made in real life siluations, allowing the rescarcher lo access lo the context and meaning so real-life data is collected Two kinds of observations, pre- observation and classroom observation are deployed in the research study The first week prior to the dala collection was the lime for pre-observation Classroom observation was implemented to find out whether supplementary activities have any influence on students’ vocabulary retention,

3.3.2 Questionnaire

According lo Polil and Hungler (1997-466), queshomare is defined “a method of gathering information from respondents about attitudes, knowledge, beliefs and feelings” Based on Advanced Design in Nursing Research (Brink and Wood (1989)

it can be concluded some characteristics of a questionnaire which bring the

* Data on a broad range of topics may be collected within a limited period of

ume

The questionaire was delivered to students al the end of the study aiming Lo find out their opinion of using supplementary activities and their desire of the use The details of questionnaire are as follows:

The first six questions are to explore their attitudes towards the importance of teaching and leaming vocabulary and how vocabulary is taught in English lesson

‘The seventh question is aimed at asking for their opinions of whether using some supplementary activities is useful or not

‘The eighth and ninth questions are designed to find out their opinions of the strengths as well as drawbacks of using supplementary activities

‘The eleventh question aims at asking their desire of continuing using supplementary

activities

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