Luận văn an investigation into using compilation of theme based lexical lists on students’ vocabulary retention

TRAN TULA THU AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING COMPILATION OF TLLEME — BASED LEXICAL LISTS ON PRIMARY STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION Dạy từ vựng cho học sinh tiểu học thông qua phương phá

TRAN TULA THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING COMPILATION

OF TLLEME — BASED LEXICAL LISTS

ON PRIMARY STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION

(Dạy từ vựng cho học sinh tiểu học

thông qua phương pháp sưu tập từ theo nhóm}

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English teaching methodology

Code: 8140231.01

Hanni, 2019

AN INVESTIGATION INTO USING COMPILATION

OF THEME - BASED LEXICAL LISTS

ON PRIMARY STUDENTS’ VOCABLLARY RETENTION

(Dạy từ vựng cho học sinh tiểu học thông qua phương phản sưu tập từ theo nhóm}

MLA MINOR THESIS

Field : English teaching methodology Code : 814/0231.01

Supervisor : Dr MAI THỊ LOAN

Hanoi, 2019

DECLARATION:

Thereby slate that I, Trin Thi Ha Thu, being a candidate for the Dogree of Master of Arts, accept the requirement of the University relating to the retention and use of M.A Thesis deposited in the library

T certify my authorship of the thesis: Am investigation into using compilation vf theme-based lexical lists on primary students’ vocabulary retention is the result of my own, and this thesis has not been submitted for any

degree at any olher umversity or institution

Hanoi, 2019

Tran Thi Ha Th

ACKNOWLEDMENTS

Jirst and foremost, | would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Dr, Mai Thi Loan for her valuable guide, patient support and encouragement in the completion of this M.A Thesis

1am so grateful to the writers of many books and Web pages I read which have stimulated my thinking on doing this paper,

‘This stady has been also completed with the invaluable help and the co operation of the students and the English teachers at Khanh Nhac A Primary

School Withow! their enthusiaslic contribution and cooperation, thns research would

certainly not have been completed

Finally, I am greatly thankful to my family and friends, who are forever a

greal, source of support and encouragement,

ABSTRACT

‘The study aims at investigating the use of compilation of theme-based lexical lists in teaching vocabulary lo primary students al a primary school in Ninh Binh In order to fulfill the aim of the study, the instruments employed to collect data were test, classroom observations and questionnaire for the students The results of the data analysis indicate thal (he students gave prominence ta vocabulary teaching and leaming through compilation of theme-based lexical lists The students also achieved considerable progress in their vocabulary retention after attending vocabulary lessons using compilation of theme-based lexical lists In addition, the findings of the research point out some recommendations to better situation for the benefits of the students, some of which are choosing well-suited materials, using compilation of theme-based lexical lists im combination with other activities such as games and mind-mapping The study is hoped to meet the teachers’ needs, increase the motivation of learners and teachers during leaming vocabulary process

ii

1.6 Significance of the study cccccscsssssssssnssessnestieteneseesie 3

2.2 Vocabulary in English teaching and learning 6

2.2.4 The role of vocabulary in English teaching and learning 10

2.3 Teaching English to young learn6s s0 series

2.3.1 Characteristics of young learners so nen T2)

2.3.2 Teaching Frighish vocabulary to young learners - 13

2.4 Methods in voơabulary teaching stress

2.1.1 The Grammar -Translation Methoả ¬

iv

2.4.4 Comamunicative Language Teaching sec seo, TỔ 2.5 Compilation of theme-based lexical lists in inglish vocabulary teaching and

2.5.1 Theme-based teaching approach 16

2.5.2 Planning vocabulary teaching using compilation of theme-based lexical lists18

3.6 Data analysis proceduFe co 222 tre x22rrrrrrer Sesessee 24

5.2 Concluding rernarks s2 ven sreerrrrrrraerrar 4

5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 46

APPENDICES I

APPENDIX 4: THE FORMULA OF MEAN, MEDIAN AND_STANDARD

APPENDIX 5: PHIEU DONG THUAN THAM GIA NGHIEN CUU XVII

vi

United Kingdom

Unnted States

Percentage

vii

TASTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 2.1 What is involved in knowing a word Source: Nation (2001: 27) 10 Figure 2.1 Brainstorming and making webs ., cssssseeeneeonaeinee "— Figure 4.1 Results of pretest seores of experimental class and control class 26 Figure 4.2, Results of posttest scores of experimontal class and contral class 27

‘Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest scores of experimental

Table 4.3 Teacher’s instruction in the classroorn, - 30

Figure 4.3 Materials in the classroom 31

Table 4.4 The teachers’ frequency of applying compilation of theme-based lexical

Figure 1 Students’ comments on English lessons using compilation of theme-

Figure 4.5 Students’ involvement in Fnglish classes using compilation of theme-

based lexical lists cscescsessessesseiesesneeressnsieseessencseneneses Heo

Figure 4.6 Students’ assessinent of the difficully of leaning vocabulary through

id

Vigure 4.7 Students’ assessment of their vocabulary retention after lessons using

Figure 4.E Ways of presenting the meaning of words that students like 37 Figure 4.9 Kinds of tasks stuđents would like to be ivolved 3Ế Table 4.6 Students’ preferred themes in English lessons implementing compilation

Figure 4.10 Students’ favorite kinds of activity organization in English classes .10

vi

CHAPTER 1: INFRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale

Yoday, with the world’s borders more porous than ever, coming along with the international globalization and technological advancements, the importance of foreign languages is obviously proved Foreign language can be considered as an effective tool to deepen ovr understanding and appreciation for the rich and complex world we are living in English, which is the most common language, has

‘been now widely aught in almost every school in Vietnam, Besides four main skills

of Linglish including listening, reading, speaking and writing, it is necessary to consider the importance of vocabulary which is not only the tool for expressing ideas but also the basis lo improve the Cour skills Underlimiys the essential role of vocabulary acquisition, Schmitt (2000:55) likens lexical knowledge to center of

commumicative competence and the acquisition of a second language” Therefore,

vovabalary is presented throughout every unil in the English textbook published by the Ministry of Kducation and ‘raining, integrated into four skills in Knglish

lessons

Being a teacher of English, 1 am well aware of the importance of applying,

effective methods in teaching vocabulary to primary students, The previous studies

have provided various methods of teaching vocabulary at primary schuols Pham Thị Thu Trang (2012) conducted a study on teaching vocabulary lo primary

students by using slory telling method Vii Thi Thanh Tam (2012) introduced an

action research on using stories and drama in vocabulary leaching Besides

(2009) proved the effect of other vocabulary teaching methods including definitions, antonyms, synonyms, pictures and drawings At Khanh Nhac A Primary School, the teachers of English have applied variety of methods and strategies to teach vocabulary in English lessons including compilation of theme-hased lexical lists However, from the researcher's experience, the application of compilation of

theme-based lexical lists has not been scientifically considered In other words, the

teachers are not well aware of teaching vocabulary to primary students based on a theme thorough the whole lesson This motivates the author to conduct the study

“An investigation into using compilation of theme-based lexical lists on primary

students’ vocabulary retention”

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

The study aims al invesligaling the use of compilation of theme-based lexical

lists in teaching vocabulary to primary students

This overall aim leads to the following objectives:

(1) To investigate the effectiveness of teaching vocabulary through compilation

of theme-hased lexical lists

(2) Yo investigate the curent situation of vocabulary teaching and learning by using compilation of theme-based lexical lists at Khanh Nhac A Primary School

(3) To give some recommendations to improve vocabulary teaching through compilaGon of theme-based lexival lists

(2) What is the current situation of vocabulary teaching and leaning by using

compilation of theme-based lexical lists?

(3) What are some recommendations on vocabulary teaching through

compilation of theme-based lexical lists?

14 Method of the study

‘The study was carried out by these steps:

First, the pre-test were administrated to the students in experimental and

control class.

Second, compilation of theme-based lexical lists was applied in the English Iessons in cxperimental classes in four wecks Simultancously, classroom

observations were made by the researcher in order to discover the use of compilation of theme-based lexical lists im English lessons

Afler that, the questionaire was delivered lo forty students of experimental

class to investigate their attitudes toward learning vocabulary through compilation

of theme- based lexical lists as well as their recommendations to promote teaching and loaning vocabulary in classes

‘The post-test were administrated after four weeks of applying compilation of

theme-based lexical lists to investigate the students’ vocabulary retention after the

course

Finally, the collected data was summarized and analyzed to lead to the major findings and give the answers to the research questions

15 Scope of the study

‘The study was conducted with the participation of eighty 4" grade students at Khanh Nhac A Primary School to investigate the use of compilation of theme-based

lexical ists on primary sludenis’ vovabulary retention Therefore, teaching

vocabulary to students in other grades and the teaching of the other vocabulary

strategies would be beyond the scope

1.6 Sipnificance of the study

The study contributes to the theory of teaching vocabulary by using

compilation of theme-based lexical lists In addition, the results of this sludy cam

help teachers of English at Khanh Nhac A Primary School in particular and other schools in general to effectively apply compilation of theme-based lexical lists in

order lo improve their siudents’ vocabulary retention

1.7 Structure of the study

The study consists of three parts Zach part deals with different aspects of the

study

Chapter 1 presents the introduction of the study including the rationale, aims and

objectives research questions, method, scope and design of the study

Chapter 2 is the Literature Review In this chapter, the writer focuses on some main poinia: the role and types of vocabulary in English caching and learning, the importance and the characteristics of teaching vocabulary to primary children, methods of vocabulary teaching and compilation of theme-based lexical lists in vocabulary leaching

Chapter 3 focuses on Research Methodology which includes the description of the setting and the participants of the study Data collection instruments and data analysis procedure are also introduced

Chapter 4 Data analysis and Discussion aims at analyzing the collected data Based on the analysis, some discussion on the use of compilation of theme-based lexical lists on primary students’ voeabulary relention was given

Chapter 5 provides the summary of the main issues and some recommendations for the effective use of the compilation of theme-based lexical lists in English teaching The limitations as well as some suggestions for Curther study are also inehnded im

this part.

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Previous studies on theme-based teaching

‘There have been a lot of researchers carrying out studies on the use of theme-

‘based teaching in the world

Fxamining the effective of thome-based syllabus for young second language

leamers, Alptekin, Hxeetin and Hayyut (2007) reported a longitudinal quasiexperimental study on the effectiveness of a theme-based syllabus versus an

essentially grammatical syllabus with functional elements for young Turkish

leamers of inglish (aged 10 11) over a period of two academic years, ‘The results

of the study indicated that young leamers using a theme-hased syllabus develop

ther English proficiency beUor tham those using an essentially gramanalical

syllabus

An Indonesia researcher, Fathima] (2014), investigated students’ responses

towards theme-based teaching in teactring English vocabulary with the participation

of 32 students in the fifth grade of one primary school in Bandung A classroom

achon research was carried oul by conducting observation through field notes and questionnaue a3 the struments The findings of the study revealed that students”

xesponses were highly positive towards the implementation of theme-based teaching Tn addition, theme-based leaching could enhance students’ interest in learning process that was supported by the themes chosen

Tiang (2017) conducted a case study on the impacts of theme-

based advanced Chinese intensive program in a university setting Based on the

evidence collected by the pre- and post-proficiency test results, learners’ self reported surveys on the themes and topics, and the reading strategies covered in the

program, the researcher argued that the Ihere-based model has positive impacts on

improving language proficiency

However, the fact is that there has been little research into applying theme- based leaching to improve slndenis’ vocabulary relenlion in Vietnam Therelore,

being aware of the importance of compilation of theme-based lexical lists in vocabulary teaching, the researcher decided to carry out the study to investigate the

use of compilation of theme-based Jexical fists on primary students’ vocabulary

retention

2.2 Vocabulary in English teaching and learning

2.2.1 Definition of vocabulary

Many different definitions of vocabulary have been given by linguists

Wilkins (1972: 11) stated that vocabulary is an important part of language learning and the human existence, without which no commurication can be successful, Vocabulary is collection of all words that constitute a language under discussion or a particular subject According ta Richards and Renandya (2002: 255),

vovabulary is the core componcnl of language proficiency and provides much of the

basis for how well leamers speak, listen, read, and write Richards (2000: 70) said

that vocabulary is one of the most obvious components of language and one of the first things applied linguisties tured their affention to

Jn Advanced Learners Dictionary of Current English, Homby (2006: 1645)

stated thal vocabulary is: (1) all the words thal a person knows or uses, (2) all the

words in a particular language, (3) the words that people uses when they are talking,

and (4) a list of words with their meanings especially in a book for leaming a

foreign language A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and

fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning a second language

Furthermore, according to Hamer (1991: 151 — 161), teaching vocabulary is

clearly more than just presenting a new words This may, of course have its place but there are other issues too However, not all vocabulary can be leamed through

inleraction and discovery lechniques Thus, statement implies that learning vocabulary

cannot always be done through interaction and discovery techniques for the beginners

The reason is that, in doing such as technique, the leamers are demanded to have an

adequate number of vocabularies thal have been mastered before.

From the above definitions, it can be concluded that vocabulary is all about

words the words in language or a special set of words

22.2 Types of vocabulary

Hatch and Brown (1995: 181 243) emumerated at least five kinds of

vocabulary: word classes, word families, word formation, collocation and homonyms Gruncberg and Sykes (1991) dislinguished the two types of vocabulary

‘The first type of vocabulary refers to the one that the students have been taught and that they are expected fo be able to use Meanwhile, the second ane refers to the

words which the students would recognize when they meet ther, but they would

probably not be able to pronounce Llowever, by investigating the classification of

Carter (1987), Nation (2001) and Schmitt (2000), the writer divides vocabulary into

amany types based on differen criteria as follows

2.2.2.1 Classification by origin

According to the origin of words, there are two types which are native words

and loan words Loan words arc words adopted from onc language and incorporaled

into another language without translation like cookie, kindergarten Native words

are words that are nol borrowed from another language, bul are inherited from an carlicr stage of the language like foot, hand

2.2.2.2 Classification by notion

According lo the notion, vocabulary is classified into funelion words and content words Function words are words that have little lexical meaning or have

ambiguous meaning and express grammatical relationships among other words

within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker Function words

include categories of words like determiners, conjunctions or auxiliaries Content words are words that name objects, qualities, actions or states They are usually

nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs

2.2.2.3 Classification by the part of speech

The eight main parts of speech are nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives,

adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections Nouns are words that describe

a thing and can be generic (common nouns) or specific (proper nouns), They can serve as the subject or object or a verb or as a possessive or the object of a

preposition Pronouns are nonspecific wards that take the place of nouns They are

small, short words that help avoid repetition and cut back on the need for longer nouns Verbs are words that deseribe an action and come im many different tenses and forms Adjectives are wards thal deseribe nouns They usnally come before the

noun they modify Adverbs are words that describe verbs Prepasitions are words

used to desoribe the relation between words in a sentence and are the beginning to a prepositional phrase Conjunctions are words used to bring two or more different clauses, phrases, or items together in a sentence Interjections are words used to show # quick and immediate cmotion They ofien stand by themselves and are followed by an exclamation mark

2.2.2.4 Classification by the concept of morpheme

Basing on the concept of morpheme, there are simple words, derived words and compound words Simple words are words consisting of one rool morpherne

Derived words are words consisting of one root morpheme and one or more

derivational morphemes Compound words are word consisting of at Jeast two roots with or without derivational morphemes

2.2.2.5, Classification by level of usage

According to the level of usage, vocabulary can be divided into common,

literacy, colloquial, slang and technical words Common words or popular words often connect with the ordinary things or activities and make up the biggest part of the vocabulary with its core as basic words stock Literacy words are chiefly used in

writing, formal and elevated in style like the word purchase/ buy Colloquial words

are used mainly in speaking to colleagues or friends and in informal writing Slang words are words of vigorous, colorful, fictitious or taboo nature, invented for specific occasions or uses or derived from the unconventional use of the standard vocabulary Teckmical wards are used in various special fictds with functions partly

to denole things or processes which have no names im ordinary English, and most

remain essentially foreign to outsider even ta educated native speakers

2.2.2.6 Classification by the usage of the word

Vocabulary can be divided into productive and receptive vocabulary

Productive vocabulary is defined as all Uhe words thal are retneved from a person’ s

memory and can be used at suitable time and in suitable situation Receptive vocabulary refers to all the words that can be understood by a person, including spoken, wrillen, or manually signed words

2.24 Aspects of vocabulary knowledge

Linguists have conducted studies that address different aspects of vocabulary kmowledge Schmitt and Meara (1997) investigated how leamers of Lnglish developed their vocabulary size and two aspects of vocabulary knowledge (affix and associlion) over a year They found thal the vocabulary sive correlated with affix and association knowledge and that there was an interrelationship between the two aspects of vocabulary knowledge Shimamoto (2000), in her cross - sectional study, addressed four aspects of receptive vocabulary knowledge including spoken form, written form, paradiginatic and synlagmalie knowledge She found that ihe

four aspects of vocabulary knowledge were intenelaled with each other and they

were also correlated with the learners’ vocabulary size

Nation (2002) had another point of view in vocabulary knowledge that he focuses on three significant aspeols of a word that cerlainly necd lo be considered:

form, meaning and use Accordingly, the form of a word involves its pronunciation

(spoken form), spelling (written form), and any word parts that make up this particular item (such as a prefix, root, and suffix), or example, in the word

“unsuccessful”, the prefix wn- means negative or opposite, seiccess is the root word, and —fil is a sullix incans full of or having Hero, they all go logether to refer ta someone or something that is able to succeed Nation (2001) also stated that meaning encompasses the way that form and meaning work together, in other words, the concept and what items it refers to, and the associations that come to amind when people think aboul a specilic word or expression Use, as Nation (2001)

noled, involves the gramunalical functions of the word or phrase, collocalions that

nomnally go with it, and finally any constraints on its use, in terms of frequency,

Ievel, and so forth For form, meaning, and use, Nation (2001) declared there is both

a receptive and productive dimension, so knowing these three aspeols for cach word

or phrase actually involves 18 different types of lexical lnowledge, as summarized

in the following table

Table 2.1, What is involved in knowing a word, Source: Nation (2001: 27)

Aspect Component | Receptive knowledge | Productive knowledge

ke ‘What does the word sound | How is the ward

wrillen What does the word look — | How is Hie word written

Whal word paris are

word parts | Whatparis are - recognizable in this word? needed to express the ‘

meaning?

meaning — | word form signal meaning hà

% concepts and | What is included im this What ilems can the

Meaning referents _| concept? , concept refer to? 9

associations this make people think of? | PX) people use instead of this grammatical | in what patterns does the | in what patterns must functions _ | word occur? people use this word?

What words ar types of | Whal words or typos of collocations | words occur with this words must people use

constraints on | Where, when, and how | Where, when, and how

we (register, | often would people cxpect | often can people use this

frequency ) | to meet this word? word?

Tho researcher strongly agroes with Nation (2001) that, form, moaning and

use are three significant aspects of vocabulary knowledge Knowing a ward is a

complex process that involves learning several differen bul interrelated types of

word aspects

224 The role of vocabulary in English teaching and learning

Nation (2601) desenbes the relalioustip between vocabulary knowledge and

language use as complementary: knowledge of vocabulary enables language use,

10

and conversely, language use allows people to increase vocabulary knowledge In other words, a person catmol use a language without having corlain knowledge of

vocabulary

Wilkins (1972) strongly confirms the importance of vocabulary Indeed, vocabulary knowledge helps people with language comprehension It is clcar that to suocessfully comprehend a text, students need to have sufficient word knowledge

The comprehension of a language depends on the amount of words that are known

in that language According to Nation (2001), readers need to know at least 97% of the vocabulary in a text for an adequate understanding of it Without knowledge of the key vocabulary in a text, a leamer may have serious trouble in understanding the message, thal is, word knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension and determines how well students will be able to comprehend the texts they read

‘Therefore, having students with a large amount of vocabulary knowledge is essential to language comprehension

Additionally, vocabrilary also helps people with language production

Hubbard (1983) states that the more words a student knows, the more precisely the

student can express the meaning he/she wants to Based on this view, to communicate effectively students need to know a large number of word meanings

Furthermore, according to Cardenas (2001), vocabulary is used to determing the proficiency a stdent has in oral context Since vocabulary is an essential

component to determine how much a student is able to communicate successfully, students have to overcome the lack of vocabulary knowledge in order to communicate effectively Language teachers should focus on effective instruction to

teach vocabulary to help students to develop their vocabulary knowledge in order to

communicate sucessfully

‘the above arguments on the role of vocabulary are all to say that vocabulary

is an essential component to determine how much a student is able to comntunicate

successfully It serves as an inslispensabke part of language through which thoughts,

ideas, feelings, experience are conveyed For mastering a language, one definitely

needs to have good stock of vocabulary

11

2.3 Teaching English to young learners

23.2 Characteristics of young learners

For the suc

ful teaching of English in primary schools, above all, il is

essential for the teacher to understand the young learners’ characteristics, instincts, and interests in their cognitive, linguistic, and emotional aspects

Clark (1990: 6-8) gives a list of the characterislics which young learners share

1 Children are developing conceptually: they develop their way of thinking from the concrete to the abstract thing

2 Children have no real linguistics, different (rom the adult learners thal

already have certain purpose in learning Ianguage, for instances, to have a better job, children rarely have such needs in leaming a foreign language They leam

subject what school provide [or [hem

3 Children are still developing: they are developing common skill such as tum

talking and the use of body language

4 Young children very egucentric, they tend to resolve around themselves

5 Children get bored easily Children have no choice to attend school ‘The lack

of the choice means that class activities need to be fun inleresling and exciting

as possible by setting up the intervsting activitics

According to Phillips (1995), in leaming a language, young leamers respond

to the language, depending on whal it docs or whal they can do with il rather thar

treating it as an intellectual game or abstract system Brewster (1991) supports it by saying that theories of the children’s learning require that young leamers be

supported by maving from the abstract to the concrete and through being involved

in activity Jt can be understood that the cluldren need activities that are more concrete rather than abstract and to be involved in those activities in order that they

can learn the language well

In short, children bring many different experiences and knowledge to their learning, and it is likely that each child learns differently from the same activity they

involve Tn addition, il is casy for yours learners to learn things they can sec and

12

fool, what they have expericncod or things relatcd tơ theïr daily activitios, what they are curious about, what they care about and what they like

2.3.2 Teaching English vocabulary to young learners

itis clear that children have leamed their native language with apparent ease

In other words, children can leam their native language without knowing they are learning According to Philips (1993), there are many [actors influencing, children’s amaturity such as environment, culture, sex and experience In order to be successful

in teaching English to children, teachers have to deeply understand their children’s

characteristics, goals and motivalion

Rixon (1999) claims the importance of the condition under which young learner programs are offered These inchide conditions inside the classroom and

oulside the classroom such as the social, cullural, cconoric valus of the language

Read (2003:7) clarify the condition by suggesting that young leamers are better

when leaming is:

» Natural

© Contextualized and part of a real event

© Interesting and enjoyable

© Relevant

© Social

Belongs to the child

® Las a purpose for the child

© Builds on things the child knows but also challenges thechild

© Offeredina relaxeđ and warm learning atmosphere

Tn facl, we carol expect our young students (o learn the iterns we teach and

remember al] the words in the lessons Although children can learn new words very

quickly, they will also forget them quickly Therefore, new words should be

introduced repeatedly in different silualions in the folowing lessons Since more

practicing can be extremely boring and tiring to young leamers, teachers should be

creative enough to wrap practicing in games, role plays and in singing songs,

activilics thai seem to be Curt and interesting,

2.4 Methods in vocabulary teaching

Tê Văn Canh (2003) affirms thal a new approach to English language

teaching is needed due to the status of English as an international global language Indeed, in order to bring students with the large amount of vocabulary, it is

extremely important for teachers 10 apply various methods and techniques in

language teaching Some major foreign language teaching approaches are briefly given as follows

241 The Grammar -Translation Method

‘The Grammar- ‘Translation Method (GIM) derived from traditional

approaches to the teaching of Latin and Greek and was the predominant method

in Furope in the 19h century The method focuses on the teaching of ihe foreign

language grammar through the presentation of rules together with some exceptions

and lists of vocabulary translated into the mother tongue GTM was used for the purpose of helping sludents road and appreciate forcign baryuage hieralure and hoped that the students would become familiar with the grammar of the native

language through the study of the grammar of the target language and that

familiarity would help them speak and write belter in their native language (Larsen

Ereeman, 2000:11) The main procedure of an ordinary lesson follows this plan a

Presentation of a gramunatical rule followed by a Hist of vocabulary and, finally,

translation exercises from selected texts while little or no attempt is made to teach

pronunciation

14

242 The Direct Method

‘The Direct Method, as the name suggests, is a method of teaching Hnglish directly through Unglish Stem (1983) points out that the Direct Method is characterized by the used of target language as a means of imstraction and communication in the language classroom, and by the avoidance of the use of the first language and of translation as a technique Correct pronunciation and oral skills are stressed because of the principle that speaking a language is more important than being able to write it The cmphasis was on everyday vocabulary and sentences

which are taught through demonstration, objects, and pictures while abstract vocabulary was taught by associalion of ideas The DirecL Method is useful in thal,

as River (1968) slates, i provides au exciting and inleresting way of learning

foreign language (trough activily The method is proved to be successful int

releasing students from the inhibitions all too often associated with speaking a foreign tongue, particularly at the early stages

243 The Audio-Lingual Method

The Audio-Lingual Method (also called Army Method, Mim-mem Method or Aural Oral Approach) is derived from ‘Ihe Ammy Method, so called because it was developed through a U.S Army programme devised after World War LL to produce speakers proficient in the languages of friend and foes As ‘thombury (2000) states, the Audio-Lingual Method considered language simply as form of behaviour to be learned through the formation of comecl speech habils Audio Linguisls believe in the soparation of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and wriling The Audio Lingual Method uses certain practical techniques like mimicry, memorization,

allem practice and the language laboralory, il encourages the use of dialogues and

subslitulion fables Tn the Audio-Lingual Method, like the Direct Method, students are

(aught a language directly without using the students’ mative language However, while

the Direct Method facuses on teaching vouabulary, the Audio-Lingual Method drills

students in the use of grammar.

244 Communicative Language Teaching

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is an approach to language teaching that emphasizes communication as both the means and the goal of language leaming Leamers converse about personal experiences with partners, and instructors teach topics outside of the realm of traditional grammar, in order to promote language skills in all types of situations According to CLT, the goal of

language education is the ability to communicate in the target language This is in

contrast to previous views in which grammatical competence was commonly given top priority CLT also focuses on the teacher being a facilitator, rather than an

instructor Furthermore, the approach is a non — methodical system that does nol use

a textbook scries to teach English, but rather works on devclopmg sound oral/verbal skills prior to reading and writing Among all methods used and practiced so far,

CLT has beon considered as the best practice in Fiyglish language teaching (FLT)

because it offers communication means enabling leamers to develop the commumicative abiliry (Power, 2003)

2.5 Compilation of theme-based lexical lists in English vocabulary teaching and learning

251 Theme-based teaching approach

In order to help students learn the important part of a language, which is vocabulary, many researchers have been researching for more efficient teaching methods to apply in English classes

One of the language teaching methods that is considered to be the new method of language teaching is by creating learning activities through theme-based

teaching in which the process of teaching and leaming is presented based on the

themes ihat will be expanded to other subjects The integration of therc-based

instruction into language teaching originates from general primary education and, as

stated by Cameron (2001:181), “has been practiced since the 1960s in UK primary

classrooms, where children typically spend all day with the same teacher” Brinton (2001) defines theme-based as an approach to language teaching with the whole

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cơusc siractred around cortam themcs or topics In other words, theme-based

teaching is a teaching approach with the large model of content -based instruction

(CBI) in which the emphasis is on exposing students to a highly contextualized

second language environment by using the subject matter as the content of Janguage learning In a theme-based course, different activities are linked together by their

content and the theme or topic runs through everything thal happens in the

classroom and acts as a connecting thread for pupils and teacher

A considerable advantage of theme-based teaching approach is to avoid

fragmented and uncormected skill exercises and to bring learners variety of

activities with a meaningful content that provides learners with motivating and meaningful uses of the language Cameron (2001) points out the other reasons for

using (heme-besed approach in language teaching, including the fact thal new

vocabulary items can be leamed easily, with the theme providing a meaningful

context for understanding, and for the natural use of a wide range of discourse

types, both writen and spoken Furthermore, the integration of theme-based

teaching can help identifying leamer’s individual difficulties since they might come

across new content, When supported by meanmgful content, “childreu may be able

to work out the meaning of new or unfamiliar language, or motivated by real

interest in a topic, they may struggle to communicate their knowledge to someone else” (Cameron, 2001:191) Vale and Fcumteun (1995) clann thai English 13 nol an isolated educational issue, Accordingly, they consider language as only one part of child education and suppose to supply a balance between different subjects and the

use of themes as the source for teaching Halliwell (1992:131) also states that

“Jearning other things in English will belp children to lear English”, Thus, it is considered to be very helpful to bring meaning to language leaming,

To short, compilation of theme- based teaching is a method that lets students

zmemorize words based on a common theme by making their own connections

‘between words and possibly organizing them in a spider diagram or on the special comer of their notebooks.

25.2 Planning vocabulary teaching using compilation of theme-based lexical lists

As effective theme-based teaching is extremely demanding, language

teachers sre supposed to creatively plan, auplerment and possess their own

imowledge of a wide repertoire of activity types and resources Even expert teachers need a careful planning of a theme, to prepare sub-themes and to identify the

language learning goals so that lcachers become coordinators or favililalors, who maintain a sense of the whole picture and a vision of the skills the students need to

acquire through classroom activities

Rased on the viewpoints of Cameron (2001), Mumford (2000) and Michael (1999), the writer offers three steps of planning theme-based vocabulary teaching which should be carried out by language teachers

Finding a theme

Conceming the very first step of planning theme-based teaching, Cameron

(2001:185) believes that teachers should think about some choice points in order to decide which avlivily 'o do or how much time to be spent on it, The sturents are

encouraged to be involved in finding the theme by suggesting the theme, or

selecting a theme for the term from a list Mumford (2000:6) states that i is

advisable to integrate the students im the planning precess because when Icamers

choose their methods and topics of study, their leaning becomes more meaningful,

and then the model of Hifclong learning is brought into the achool setting Tn

addition, Mumford (2000-4) also supposes that it might be useful to share ideas with

other colleagues and therefore work in collaboration with others

Planning content

Two basic planning tools Cameron (2001) mentions are brainstonning and making webs These facilitate collecting ideas and connecting them not only in a

linear direction, so thal themes and sub-themes can easier be developed from them

Brainstorming, according to Michael (1999), is the unrestrained offering of ideas ot suggestions by all members of a committee, conference, etc in an effort to find a solution lo a problem, generate [resh ideas, ole A web is a way of

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writing down ideas and connections without forcing them into linear form as in a list or in text, The figure below is an example of brainstorming and making webs in

planning theme-based language teaching

Figure 2.1 Brainstorming and making webs Planning language leaning tasks

Having identified sub-theme and guiding questions by taking a content

perspective on the theme, planning then has to bring a language leaning perspective

to it so that planning moves from content to foreign language classroom activities,

with discourse types and aspects of language use guiding the construction of

language learning task with clear goals and stages

2.6 Summary

In short, the chapter has clearly presented the relevant literature which has

been the basis for the study to be carried out The chapter firstly focuses on some previous researches related to the study The definition, types and some aspects of

vocabulary are also concemed The next part deals with compilation of theme-based

lexical lists in vocabulary teaching and learning The following Chapter 3 will

discuss the methodology by which the research was conducted

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Experimental research

Experimental research is a study that is undertaken in a controlled environment to trace cause-and-effect relationships between defined variables

(Kerry, 2018) Experimental research includes a hypothesis, a variable that can be

manipulated by the researcher, and variables that can be measured, calculated and compared ‘he researcher collects data and results will either support or reject the hypothesis This method of research is referred to a hypothesis testing or a deductive research method

Experimental rescarch gives rescarcher a high level of control In other words, the rescarcher can orcate the setting in which the phenomena is observed The researcher can remove or control other factors that may affect the overall yosults In addition, oxperimental rescarch can Iead to exeollent results The very

nature of expenmental research allows the researchers to easily understand the

relationships between the variables, the subjects, and the environment, and identify

the causes and effecis in whalever phenomena is studied

However, experimental research can be affected by errors There might be

blunders in the research design or in the methodology as well as random mistakes that cannot be controlled or predicted, which can seriously affect the outcome Besides, the experimental research might not be feasible in some situations in which the variables simply cannot be manipulated or the study would impede on the subjects’ human right or give rise to ethical issues

3.2 The setting of the study

‘The study was conducted at Khanh Nhac A Primary School which is located

in Ninh Binh Provinec In the school year 2018-2019, the school has the total of 634 students divided into 17 classes from grade 1 to grade 5 and 36 teachers of different subjects

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The four teachers of English have at least thưcc years of teaching experiences They graduated [yom different uriiversities in Vietnam The researcher also worked as an English teacher in this primary school before attending an MA course at University of Language and Intemational Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi The researcher received the permission of the prneiple and the

support of olber leachers of English to carry oul the rescarch

English is optional for students from grade 1 to grade 2 and compulsory for students from grade 3 to grade 5 Because of the importance of English as an international language, many activities are regularly held for students outside the classrooms English club has been established and operated weekly in order that students can improve Uieir English skills and help cach other learn English Moreover, the school coordinates with the Venus English Center so that students have chances to speak Lnglish to native speakers every Wednesday afternoon In addition, a lot of extra-curricular activities such as English Festival, English Speaking Contest, The Olympiad of Talent in English have been held in: the school

in order to motivate students to leam English and create an English environment for

both English teachers and students

In term of English materials, the textbook used as the official English mualerinl for 4! grade students at Khanh Nhac A Primary School is Tieng Anti 4 — standard syHabus published by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) The textbook consists of 20 units related to different topics, each unit is divided into three lessons in which speaking, listening, writing and reading skilis are integrated 3.3 Participants

The participants are eighty 4" prade students of two classes 4A, 4B at Khanh

Nhac A Primary School These students have been studied English as a compulsory subject since grade 3 Hach week, the participants have four periods of English and

the total of English periods in a school year is 140 ‘The reason for choosing the 4%

grade studonls as participants of the slady is that they have had one year lo gel

aqquainted wilh (he Frglish program Moreover, the 44 Fnglish program focuses on

providing students with vocabulary through sentences patterns

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All the participants had been divided into two classes since grade 1 and there

is almost no change of class distribution through years In class 4A which was chosen to be the experimantal class, the number of girls is 19 and the number of boys is 21 Class 4B the control class includes 20 girls and 20 boys Students in the experimental class were taught by using compilation of theme-based lexical lists

in vocabulary lessous Tn contrast, students in control class were laugh! withoul using compilation of theme-based lexical lists

3.4 Data collection instruments

These test tems were designed by experts so that they can be regarded a8 standard tests In addition, the tests were developed im consideration to the qh

grade students’ English ability After completing ‘liéng Anh 3, the students’

English proficiency was al Al] level — the minimal level of skill of lic Common European Framework of Reference for language (CEFR), therefore, short and simple vocabulary tasks were appropriate to them The pretest and posttest include

two tasks The first task (5 points) is about checking the students” vocabulary

xetention by matching exercise and the second task (5 points) requires students to look at the pictures and write the words The two tasks make up the totality of 10

points, (See Appendix 1)

3.42, Classroom observations

A classroom observation is the purposeful examination of teaching and/or learning ovents (ough the systematic processes of dala collection and analysis

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(Bailey, 2001) In other words, classroom observation is a process by which the observer records the teacher's teaching practices and students’ actions in order to

evaluate the quality of teaching provided and the consistency between Uk

curriculum plan and the actual delivery of the material by teachers

In the study, classroom observations were conducted in order to find out how compilation of theme-based lexical lisls were applied in English lesson of

experimental class ‘Totally, there were eight classroom observations made in Tnglish lessons using compilation of theme-based lexical lists in which the

researcher look a close look into what happened in the vocabulary lessons, how

compilation of theme-based lexical lists was applied and how students reacted in

these lessons In order to provide insights into teaching vocabulary using compilation of theme-based lexical ists, the observation checklist was designed based on some criteria (see Appendix 2) Accordingly, lesson procedures and

students’ participation aim at investigating the current situation of vocabulary

{caching and Icarning Teacher’s insiruchon, maicnals focus em siudenls"

expectations in vocabulary lessons In addition, suggested changes provide data

which leads to implications for teachers’ vocabulary teaching using compilation of

theme-based lexical lists,

3.4.3 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is defined as a document containing questions and other

types of items designed to solicit information appropriate to analysis (Babbie, 1990 377) In this study, the researcher applied questionnaire as the main means of data

collection because of some advantages Firstly, the large amount of information can

be collected from a large number of participants in a short period of time Secondly, since the respondents are free to express their own opinion without providing their

pyivate inftmmation, the resulls of questionmaires are accurate and objeclive

‘The questionnaire used in the research (see Appendix 3) inchides 10

questions which were written in both English and Vietnamese in order that ail the

students could fully understand the questions and truthfully give thei own answers

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The first five questions were designed to scck the data for the first two research

questions ‘[hey focused ơn the students' views on leaming linghsh vocabulary

through compilation of theme-basad lexical lists The next five queslions were used

to collect students’ expectations about teaching vocabulary using compilation of

theme-based lexical lists

3.5 Data collection procedure

‘The researcher carried out the following steps to collect the data from classroom observations, pretest, posttest and questionnaire:

Firslly, eighty 4 grade students were given a pretest umder the serious

control of the researcher ‘these test scores were gathered and then analyzed to identify the students’ vocabulary retention before applying compilation of theme- based lexical lists

Secondly, compilation of theme-based lexical lists was applied to teach

vocabulary on the experimental class in four weeks, whereas, the control class was

taught without using compilation of theme-based lexical lists During four weeks,

the researcher conducted classroom observations in experimental class to gain more

accurate understanding about he melhiods which the leachers applied im English classes using compilation of theme-based lexical lists and the participation and

involvement of the students

At the end of the 4% week, postlesl was taken by both experimental and

control class The posttest scores were collected to investigate the difference

‘between two classes after the experimental pericd

After the treatment, the students of experimental class were asked to fill in

the questionnaire to get their opinions of teaching vocabulary through compilation

of theme-based lexical lists

The collected data was analyzed to draw oul conclusions and suggestions for

futher studies

3.6 Data analysis procedure

The dala collected from the pretest and posllosl scores were used to measure

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the impact of the treatment All tests were marked by the rescarcher The test scores were computed and analyzed to work out means, median, minimum, maximum and

standard deviation (SD), to idenily whether the students in control class or

experimental class could improve their vocabulary retention after experimental period, (See Appendix 4 for the formula of mean, median and standard deviation)

The results of classroom chscrvations were analyzed and presonted in order

to investigate the current situation of using compilation of theme-based lexical lists

in experimental class

Besides, the dala collected from questionnaire was used to get the opinions

of the experimental students about teaching vocabulary by using compilation of theme-based lexical lists The results of questionnaire was presented and changed

into the equivalent percentages

3.7 Summary

The chapter has presented a complete description of the research

amethodology by which the study was carried oul, Tn addition, the research design including data collection imstruments (tests, classroom observations and

questionnaire for students), data analysis procedure is also fully described

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

4.1, Data analysis

4.1.1 Analysis of test

In order to measure the effectiveness of using compilation of theme-based

lexical lists on students’ vocabulary retention after four weeks of treatment, the

pretest and posttest were administered to both experimental and control class at the

same day Both tests were timed 15 minutes, including matching and word writing The results of pretest and posttest scores of the two classes were compared and

analyzed as follows

4.1.1.1 Comparison between pretest scores of experimental class and control class

Before taking part in English lessons with compilation of theme-based

lexical lists, the students in both control and experimental class took a pretest (see Appendix 1), The scores of the tests were divided into three grades of assessment

basing on the primary school grading scale assigned in the Circular No.22/2016/TT-

BGDDT dated September 22, 2016 of the Minister of Education and Training

These three grades include: good accomplishment (mark 9-10), accomplishment (5- 8), and unaccomplishment (mark 0-4), The results of pretest are shown in the

As can be seen from Figure 4.1, all of the students in two classes were

assessed to be accomplished after taking the pretest However, the number of

students well accomlishing in experimental and control class is very low (5% and

7.5% respectively) while a great number of students accomplished with the moderate level (95% of the students in experimental class and 92.5% of the students

in control class) The results of pretest showed that most of the students’ vocabulary

retention was at average level before the treatment In other words, most of them

encountered some problem in learning vocabulary

4.1.1.2 Comparision between posttest scores of experimental class and control

class

In order to evaluate the effect of the treatment on students’ vocabulary

retention after the experimental period, posttest was taken by students of the

experimental class and control class The results of posttest are shown in the

Figure 4.2 Results of posttest scores of experimental class and control class

According to Figure 4.2, there was a considerable improvement of the

number of experimental students assessed as good complishment based on the

results of posttest It is worth noting that the number of these students was 37.5%

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which had been only 5% before the treatment Besides, the number of students in control class scoring 9 or 10 for their posttest was slightly higher (10% in comparison with 7.5% for (he preles!) The results of posttest showed a certain improvement of students’ vocabulary retention in both classes

The figure also shows that the experimental class surpassed the control class

in term of the number of good accomplished students Afier taking parl in vocabulary lessons using compilation of theme-based lexical lists, the number of experimental students marked 9 or 10 accounted for 15% while only one tenth of

students in control class reached the marks (10%) Therefore, it can be said thai the

experimental class made greater improvements in their vocabulary retention than the control class after the experimental period

4.1.1.3 Comparison between pretest and posttest scores of experimental class and control class

Table 4.1, Descriptive statistics for the pretest and postiest scores of experimental

class and control class

Experimental class (N=40) | Control class (N=40) Descriptive statistics

those in the control class Specially after the treatment, we can see that standard

deviations of the posttest scores of the expcrimenlal class spread oul more widely than those of the control class (1.09 and 0.9 respectively) Besides, the mean of the

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experimental class’s posttest increased trom 6.8 to 8.23 with the scores ranging from 7 to 10 which had been from 5 to 9 before the treatment, whereas the mean of the control class’s posttest wont up from 6.88 to 7.13 with the scores ranging from 6

to 9 which had been from 5 to 9 before the course Looking at median, the median

of the experimental class rose from 7 to 8 with treatment, while the median of the

control class remained constant only 7 without trealment

In short, concerning all the statistical values, using compilation of theme- based lexical lists in vocabulary lessons had a significance impact on students”

vocabulary retention

4.1.2 Analysis of classroom observations

4.1.2.1, Lesson procedure and students’ participation

Table 4.2 Lesson procedure and students’ participation in the classroom

3 percentage of pariods (%

Lesson procedure and students’ a percentage of parieds (7%)

“The teacher encourages the

1 students to recall what they bave 8 315 62.5

leamt in previous lessons

The teacher links students’s prior

2 | knowledge to the content of the 12.5 30 37.5

new lesson

The teacher leads the students ito

3 _ | the topic of the lesson by a clear 0 50 50

introduction

Compilation of theme-based

4 | lexical hsts is used in combination 8 7$ 25

with other activities

tasks given by the teacher

The students are engaged, on task, 2 2

Š | and not disruptive most of the time 125 315 50

> _ | The students take notes of the 125 50 475

content

g | The students ask questions about 375 50 125

the lesson content,

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