Luận văn an action research study on using social networking site to improve the tenth grade students’ vocabulary at a high school in nam dinh province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDTES FASE SOCEM EE Eon EM VŨ THỊ HUẾ AN ACTION RESEARCII STUDY ON USI

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDTES

FASE SOCEM EE Eon EM

VŨ THỊ HUẾ

AN ACTION RESEARCII STUDY ON USING SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE TO IMPROVE THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY

AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NAM DINH PROVINCE

(Nghiên cứu cái tiễn sự phạm về việc sử dụng một mạng xã hội

để cải thiện từ vựng của học sinh lớp 10 ở một trường THPT tỉnh Nam Định)

MLA PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

HAN(H — 2019

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

448 4⁄4 kinh Kế ĐO kiến ch

VŨ THỊ HUẾ

AN ACTION RESEARCII STUDY ON USING SOCIAL NETWORKING

SITE TO IMPROVE THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY

AT ATIIGII SCIIOOL IN NAM DINIT PROVINCE

(Nghiên cứu cãi tiên sư phạm về việc sử dựng một mạng xã hội

để cãi thiên từ vựng của học sinh lớp 10 ở một trường THPT tỉnh Nam Định)

M.A PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01

Supervisor: Nguyen Thu Tanh, Ph.D

HANOI — 2019

DECLARATION

1 declare that this thesis, which | submit to University of Languages and Intemational Studies, is my own personal effort I have faithfully and accurately cited all my sources, including books, journals, handouts as well as any olber media, such as the Internet, letters or significant personal communication

T declare that T understood the concept of plagiarism and T acknowledge any thesis will be rejected in case of plagiarism

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS itis a pleasure to thank many people who made this dissertation possible

I would like to express my deepest pratitude to my supervisor Ms Nguyen Thu

Hanh for her valuable gumdance, precious advice, and constructive oriticism 1 thank her for her understanding and encouragement I wish to address my sincere

thanks to the head of English division of University of Languages and

International Studies, Viet Nam National University | owe my thanks also to all

the teachers who have accepted to fill in the interview, and special thanks are due

to the students of grade 10 students in my school for their time to All in the

questionnaires, answer the interview and do the tests

ABSTRACT

In the context of Vietnam, most high school students only study Linglish

in traditional classrooms However, with the development of technology, using social networking sites, especially Facebook, may be a new trend in coming years With the deep concems about this situation, the researcher conducted a

smady titled “da action research study on using social networking site to

improve the tenth grade students’ vocabulary at « high school in Nam Dink province” This study was an action research project which was carried out to improve students’ vocabulary knowledge by using a sociat networking site Facebook The main purpose of this study was to find out the influcnes of Facebook on students’ leaming vocabulary process The participants were 94

students in grade 10 To collect the dala for this research, quantitative and

qualitative method were used Questionnaires, interviews and tests were

employed to triangulate the information from various aspects to ensure the vahdily and rehabilily of Ihe rescarch The resulis showed Lhat students’ scores

improved after they joined in the research, Additionally, Facebook also motivated the students to study not anly at school but also at home In short,

Facebook had a positive influence on the students’ learning vocabulary process

so that the students felt interested in leaming linglish vocabulary Basing on these findings, some suggestions for using of Facebook to teach English were aentioned in the paper Therefore, the paper would be a good reference for

researchers, teachers and students to have a closer look on the issue and enhance

students’ vocabulary knowledge

Key words: vocabulary, sovial ncbworking sites, Facebook, English vooabulary

Steps of teaching Linglish vocabulary ( Marzano, 20041)

Five essential steps of leaming new words (BrownandTayne, 1095)

A Facebook personal site Action research steps adapted by Susman (1983)

An online lesson

Data collection procedure Data from questionnaire and test analysis procedure Data from interview analysis procedure

Students’ reasons for learning English vooabulary Students’ learning micars

‘The amount of vocabulary leamt in a week

Students’ purposes for using Facebook

Studonts’ attitudes towards learning on Facebook

Students’ Lest score improverncnt Diagnostic test result

Final achievement test result Test resulis

An exercise to revise student vocabulary learning

Classification of the items in the two questionnaires

Classification of the items in the semester tests

Classification of the items in the pre- test and post- test Classification of the items in the interview questions

Vocabulary delivered to students through Facebook

Siudents’ studying places

Students’ strengths and weaknesses in learning Unglish vocabulary at the beginning of the research

Students’ strengths and weakriesses im learning English vocabulary al

the end of the research

Places for students to study English vocabulary Advantages of using Faccbook for educational purposes Disadvantages of using Facebook for educational purposes

8 Structural organization of the study

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

L Overall view of English vocabulary

1.1 Definition of English vocabulary

1.2 Types of English vocabulary

1.3 The importance of vocabulary in learning a langMage

2 Teaching and learning Rnglish vocabulary

2.1 Teaching Finglish vocabulary

2.4.1, Principles of teaching vocabulary

2.1.2, Steps of waching vocabulary isc ee

2.2, Learning English vocabulary

2.2.1 Principles of learning vocabulary

2.2.2, Steps of learning vocabulary ovo wea»

2.3 Problems in teaching and learning English vocabulary

3 Vacebook as a social networking site

3.1, Definition of Facebook

3.2, Advantages and disadvantages of using Macebook for educational

purposes

3.2.1 Advantages of using Macebook as an educational tool

3.2.2 Disadvantages of using Facebook as an educational tool

4, Previous studies

4.1 Previous studies overseas

4.2, Previous shudies tn Vieinamt.e ccc cece ce oe

2 The selling of the sLudy

3 Participants

4, Data collection instruments

4.1, Questionnaires

4.2 Tests

4.2.1, Pre- test {diagnostic test)

4.2.2 Post- test (final achievement lest)

4.3, Interview

5 Data collection procedure

6, Data analysis method

6.1, Quantitative Analysis Strategy

6.2 Quatilative Analysis Strategy

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

1 Questionnaires

1.1 Students’ overall view on learning English vocabulary

1.1.1 Students’ reasons for learning English vocabulary

1.1.2 Students’ strengths and weaknesses

1.1.3 Places for students to study vocabulary

11.4, Students’ learning means o.oo oo

L.L.5 The amount of learnt vocab lary coco se suse vs ssa ss uot ts se ae

1.2, Students’ overall view on learning through Facebook

1.2.1 Students’ purposes of using Facebook ove e ou»

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in learning vocabulary.

1.2.2 Students’ perception of learning on Facebook

1.2.3 Advantages of using Facebook for educational purposes

1.2.4, Disadvantages of using Facebook for educational purposes

3 Interview

3.1, Student? comparison of their learning vocabulary process

3.2 Students’ perception of ease and difficulty oƒ using Pacebook 3.3, The usefulness of Facebook as a learning tool

3.4 Students’ attitude towards learning English vocabulary on Facebook

3 Limitations of the research

4, Suggestion for future research

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In this part, the problem and the rationale for the study, together with the objectives and the scope of the whole paper, are clearly stated and explained Above all, this part also builds the research questions to work as clear guidelines

for the whole research

1 Rationale of study

During the whole teaching period, the researcher has recognized that most of ber Vietnamese students encounter several problems in learning Linglish One of the

biggest problems seems to come from their lack of vocabulary, which leads to their

lack of confidence in Hnglish leaming Students use language to express their ideas, opinions and thoughts so it is impossible to communicate with the other without

vocabulary Limited vocabulary repertoire strictly forbids students from expressing

fully and precisely their opinion

Leaming English vocabulary is an important area, which takes a great deal

of time and effort 1o gain Working as an English teacher, the researcher always

emphasizes teaching vocabulary because of its importance in language Icaming Vocabulary is needed for expressing meaning and in using the receptive (listening and reading) and the productive (speaking and wriling) skills Despite its importance, many students tend to not focus on it As a result, they cannot deal well with their exam (even written or oral), which leads to their results not as good as teachers expected From persemal point of’ view, there are some reasons for stuslenis

to not acquire extensive vocabulary in English (their FL) Firstly, many teachers are not confident about their practice in vocabulary teaching and at times they do

nol know where to begin to form an inslructional emphasis on word learning

Besides, because of the teaching time limitation, vocabulary is a minor part of a

lesson: therefore, it is not focused in class Last but not least, students have many

subjevis and homework (o do afler school so thal they spond litle time studying

Frglish, especially vocabulary af home

In Victnam, English becomes more and more popular It is the forcign language that is compulsory in schools: from primary schools to universities Vocabulary is one of the aspects which is needed Lo master four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing, To motivate students to study vocabulary, some Lnglish teachers and instructors have started to use social media to instrnet students

to study foreign language (FL) vocabulary Social media is strong motivation for students’ engagement because students will find it fun and relax to lea vocabulary and enjoy their time

Nowadays, Facebook seems lo play an tmportaril role im social Life so that it

could meet an educational need Several studies investigate using different

technologies in leaming and teaching, especially teaching foreign language

However, rare sludics explored Ihe role of Facebook in learning foreign languages, particularly leaming vocabulary ‘This study attempted to assess the effectiveness of

using Facebook in enhancing vocabulary of students in grade 10 at a high school in

Nam Dinh province 94 siudents were exposed to the use of Facebook ag an

environment to Jearn and enhance their vocabulary ‘hen, the students were given test, interview and questionnaire to assess their achievement after 9 weeks of using

Facebook as an educational too! for learning English vocabulary

2 Aims and objectives of the study

The purpose of this paper is to determine benefits of using a social networking sile: Facchook in teaching English More specilie purpose is to explore how Jeaming Lnglish through Facebook affects students’ achievement in vocabulary al a high school in Nam Dinh province and whether Facebook can enhance students’ vocabulary The general purpose can be categorized into some specific aims as follows:

© To investigate students’ attitudes towards using social networking sites for

educational purpose;

= To investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook as an

3 Research questions

The study attempts to answer the following questions:

(1) To what extent does using Facebook affect students’ English vocabulary learning?

(2) What are the students’ attitude towards the deployment of Macebook in teaching and learning English vocabulary?

4 Scope of the research

This study only focuses on the actual situations related to using Facebook to

enhance students’ vocabulary knowledge

5 Significance of the study

This study is noticable for studenls because through learning on the Intemet, EDL students may get an exciting way to study vocabulary It is also

important lo the teachers, who may be encouraged (o used social media in their

classroom as a teaching tool to motivate students to gct into leaning new words

6 Assumptions

To answer above questions, the researcher hypothesizes that:

® Facebook is an additional tool for students to learn vocabulary

® Students who learn English via social networking sites (include Kacebvok) will be more inclined to improve their vocabulary

® Leaming vocabulary via social networking sites (Kacebook) is more effective than in traditional classes

7 Research methodology

In carrying out the study, action research was used, Mills (2011) states action research is systematic inquiry done in teaching or leaming environment to gather information Based on the definition above, it can be concluded that action

research is the systematic study of efforts to overcome educational problems

« The choice of method

‘The research was designed as an action research study, which provided

solutions for teaching vocabulary al ligh school In this case, the researcher

adopted both quantitative and qualitative approaches The researcher used mixed method with the application of three types of data collection: questionnaires, test

results and inlerview

* Research tools

To gather reliable data (or this study, researcher collected the results of some vocabulary tests in class In addition, two questionnaires were designed for students at the beginning and at the end of the course The third tool used in the study was an interview which was adopted in the last week of dhe research

& Structural organization of the study

Finally, to puide for either researcher in writing the research paper or readers in reading the whole contents of the research paper, the rescarcher sels up the order of the paper as follows:

Chapter 1: Introduction - provides rationale of the study, aims and

objectives, questions, significance, hypothoses and research methodology of the

study,

Chapter 2: Theoretical background — presenis an overall view of relevant literature on the issue of using a social networking site (Facebook) to improve

students’ lexical knowledge

Chapter 3: Research methouology- provides a description of the research methods, selection of the participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures as well as data analysis methodology

Chapter 4: Findings and discussions - presenls the re

the discussion of the results

s of the study and

Chapter 5: Conclusion- summarizes the main points of the study draws some conclusions, points out the limitation of the study and makes some suggestions for further research

To sum up, the elaborations have not only justified the major contents and

structures of the sturly but they also work as the guidelines for the rest of the paper

CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

In this chapter, the importance of vocabulary in learning English as a foreign language will be discussed Lt also covers the definition and types of vocubulary, steps of leaching and learning vocabulary and some problems in teaching English vocabulary as a foreign language Besides, it shows the overall view of social networking sites as well as Facebook This chapter also reviews the previous studies on the use of social networking sites in teaching languages,

especially the application of Facebook to teach and learn vocabulary

1 Overall view of English vocabulary

1.1 Definition of English vocabulary

Vocabulary is an essential part of every language Hatch and Brown (1995, P.2) define vocabulary is all the words of a specific language that the speakers of

ions about

this Iangeage might use Many authors have the similar defi

vooabulary ‘Taylor (1990, p.32) states that vocabulary is the total stock of words belonging to a branch of knowledge or known by a person Zimmerman (2007, p19) also recommends thal vocabulary acquiring is leaning a collection of words in

a target language that are used in a specific context, Le also emphasizes that the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, which involves words and expression This ravans that without firm vouabulary base, comprehension and utilization of the language cannot be accomplished Ilerel (2004, p.25) enhances Zimmerman’s definition further by suggesting that lexicon organizes the mental vocabulary in an individual’s mind, which means thal a spesker’s mental lexicon is thal person’s Imowledge of vocabulary Some other authors have more complicated definitions about vocabulary Richards (2000, p 400) defines vocabulary as a group of words containing single words, compound words and idioms He also cmphasizes that vooabulary is a group of words of a particular aspect of foreign language learning and teaching Words mean the memory of the situation in which they have been observed and understood, brought out by the context they are used, which means

that to be familiar with a word is to be able to use or understand iL in a situatiou in

which the speaker has not oxpericnecd it before Additionally, Nation (2001, p.22 says that vocabulary knowledge involves understanding a word in the spoken form

of the word and ihe spoken [orm can be understoad in and oul af context rather

than guessed Besides, Zimmerman (2007, p.115) suggests that vocabulary is a set

of words that are the fundamental building blocks adopted in the generation and

understanding of sentences

From all the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total number of words that are needed to communicate and express idea and

thoughts In bref, whal all the definition above have tu common is that vocabulary

knowledge is not only the meaning knowledge but also the use of words in a particular context

1.2, Types of English vocabulary

Vocabulary is variously classified into some kinds Hatch and Brown (1995, p25) recommend two different types of vocabulary, named receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary Receptive vocabulary is the words that students recognize and understand when it is pat in a specific context, but they cannot produce it correctly Students can recognize these words when they appear in a

reading or listertmg context, bul they do nol use them m speaking and writing,

‘Therefore, leaning receptive vocabulary is also considered as a passive process

because the students only receive thoughts from the others In language application,

rocaptive vocabulary is slated as the fundamental vocabulary, which is much more enormous than productive vocabulary Productive vocabulary, in contrast to

yeceplive vocabulary, is the words that sludents undersiand and can pronounce

correctly in speaking and writing It includes all the receptive vocabulary and the abilities to speak or write at the right time As a result, leaming productive

vocabulary cau be addresses as an aclive process T meaus thal to use productive

vovabulary, students must be able to pronounce it correctly, use grammar of the

targel language accurately, and understand the cormolation meaning of the words

Nation (1990, p.98) divides voeabulary into two types according to their basis of frequency: low frequency vocabulary and high frequency vocabulary /ligh (frequency vocabulary includes words widely used in a parlicular Tanguage Th is often used for all four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening and across the full range of situation of use Low frequency vocabulary, meanwhile, consists of only small percentage of the conlemporary words, which means thal low Lrequency words are hardly used in language

Brown (1994, p12) states that vocabulary can be divided inta four types,

which are conlent words, function words, substitule words and distributed words

Content words are used to describe the names of subjects or things, such as: doctor,

lawyer, engineer; action done by those things like: heal, protect, work, and the

qualities of thosc things like: wonderful, boring and patient Function words are used to express the relation of grammar, such as conjunction: and, but, so and

auxiliary, such as: do, does, did Substitute words are used to represent substitutes

for whole formed classes of words, such as: nobody, everybody, and somebody

Distributed words axe used to present the negative, such as: any, either or neither

From the explanation above, it is easy to understand that every author is

different in categorizing types of English vocabulary Tn this rescarch, content and

high frequency words, such as nouns, verbs and adjectives, are concerned ‘The kind

of material for teaching vocabulary is narrative texts related to the topics that

students sLudy in (he Lextbook because (hey are interesting for students lo achieve

new vocabulary and new information

1.3 The importance of vocabulary in learning a language

The importance of vocabulary has been mentioned by many scholars Amer (2003, p.1) claims that vocabulary is the centre of a language and critically important to the specific learners In addition, Burton & Humpries (1992, p.40)

argues that “development of lexical knowledge of lexical knowledge ocoupies an

important posilion in the learners’ struggle Lo master a second/ foreign language” 11

ancans that not only Jeaming second languages but also learning foreign languages has closely connected to the total number of vocabulary students acquires Additionally, many authors agree that vocabulary is the main ilem for effective communication Hdiger (1999, p.1) clarifies “conversation carried on with the other

persons requites vocabulary” It means that the more vocabulary an individual has,

the more possibly he oan express his ideas Ho also adds thal various selections of words to convey the meaning 1s fundamental for speaking and writing skills and diverse terms in productive skills improve the quality of communication Additionally, Shedding says that the writers should use vocabulary that the readers

can understand and that are suitable with rhetorical matters j'urthermore, Carl

(2003) supports that a good writing is mainly relied on the author's ability to use

words to describe an event Nunan (1999, p.103) believes that people living

abroad and those trying to master the target language find that studying vocabulary

is much more essential than grammatical structures

Tn short, learners carmot improve their target language if they do not spend time increasing vocabulary ‘They can develop the language by focusing on words

and their expressions I means thal a person can enable their commuricalion

without the correct use of grammatical rules when vocabulary is available

2 Teaching and Icarning English vocabulary

21 Teaching English vocabulary

2.1.1 Principles of teaching vocabulary

Many students find it difficult to leam vocabulary because they are living in non- native environment Teachers; therefore, must pay much attention to both

“what to teach” and “how to teacli” There arc many challenging to for teachers to

teach students I'L vocabulary, such as what kinds of methods to use how many

words to teach or what kind of vocabulary should be taught Schmitt (2000, p.146) points out that there are 8 main principles in teaching, vocabulary to guide students

learn, memorize and use the wards, which are:

e Building a large sight of vocatulary

# integrating new words with previous words

© Providing number of encounters with a word

» Promoting deep level of processing

» Facilitating imaging

e Making new words “real” by connecting to the students’ words in some ways

e Using various techniques

® Uncouraging independent leaming strategies

As mentioned at the beginning, there is no standard to judge which is the

‘best way or even the righl way lo leach vocabulary Tl depends on many areas, such as: the level of students, the school curriculum or the students’ major However,

teachers should follow the basic principles to provide stadents with new words

2.1.2, Steps of teaching vocabulary

As mentioned above, teaching vocabulary is very imporant for all four

language skills Scholars show many different ways to teach vocalulary One of the

ueares! and most popular theories used to clearly point oul teaching 6 sleps is

Marzano’s theory published in 2004 It can be summarized as follows:

« Step 1 Explaining

In this step, teachers are expected to provide students with clear description, explanation, or example of the new terms There are many ways lo introduce them

to the students, such as: telling a story, using video or computer images as a source

of information, using a current event to connect the term to something familiar

* Step 2 Restating

The following step is to ask students to restate the descriptions, explanations

10

or examples in their own words In means that in spite of simply copying from what

teachers have said students have to get their own descriptions, explanations or

examples, Students can keep these descriptions, explanations or examples in their

In this step, students are encouraged to join in discussion activities that help

them to improve their knowledge of the words they have leamt Students can

compare and contrast the term, classify terms, identify synonyms and antonyms,

which can help them to add or revise the entries in their vocabulary notebooks

© Step 5 Refining and reflecting

The next step requires students to return thei notebooks to refining and

reflecting entries Students may do it in pairs or in groups by comparing their

description of the terms or explaining to each other any new information they have

learnt or new thoughts they have had since the last time they review the terms

© Step 6 Applying in Learning Games

The last step requires teachers to involve students in learning games that

allows them to play with the terms Many types of games can be organized to keep

the new terms in the forefront of the students’ thinking Steps to teach English

vocabulary can be summarized as in Figure 1 bellow:

Figure 1: Steps of teaching English vocabulary (Marzano, 2004)

11

Ta short, to leach vocabulary for students, many sleps should be applied Tn

addition, teachers also need to depend on students’ proficiency to choose which steps should be emphasized more

2.2 Learning English vocabulary

2.2.1 Principles of learning vocabulary

In learning, language vocabulary, many students find it difficult to choose

what to learn or how to lear As a resull, teachers should deliver lo students some

principles for studying vocabulary ‘They can guide students to use these principles for acquiring, vocabulary of target language Schmitt, N (2000, p75) suggests five

principles [or earning language as follows

* Guessing words from the context, which refers to the ability to infer the

meaning ol’ an expression using contextual clues

» Using word parts techniques Lo remember words

# Using vocabulary cards to remember foreign language- first language word

pairs

* Seeing words in different and multiple contexts

Keeping a vocabulary notebook There is no affirmation whelher which ponciple is the best or the most important; however, from my point of view, students should combine more than one technique

2.2.2 Steps of learning vocabulary

Leaming vocabulary is a fundamental thing in order to master all the four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening As Thombury (2002, p.2) points

that “without grammar very hittle can be couveyed, withoul vocabulary nothing can

be conveyed”, Iinglish teachers should focus on developing students’ vocabulary One of the most important aspects to develop their vocabulary is self- study

According to Harmer (1991, p2) studenls are cxpericnice some considerable

12

difficulties, such as: correcting cormections, understanding ihe foreign language

between the form and the meaning of words and discriminating the meaning of closely related wards Brown and Payne (1995, p.267) suggest a five-step model for students 10 acquire voeabulary knowledge including encouritsring new words, getting the word form, leaning the meaning of the words, consolidate word form

and meaning in the memory, and using the words

« Step 1 Encountering new words

The very first step of learning vocabulary is encountering new words, which

ameans finding studying sources, such as: watching television, listening {o the radio

or reading books In this study, students may find the narrative texts which are

interesting and suitable with their language level then handle it to the teacher so

thal the teacher can use il a3 a source of teaching Lor students

9 Step 2 Gelting the word form

‘the next step for studying vocabulary is to get a clear image of the word form, spelling and prommeiation It is considered as an essential step of leaning

vocabulary, especially when students are required to define the words Studeris can

take this step by looking the words up in the dictionary, which provides word form, pronunciation and also spelling

* Step 3 Getting the word meaning

The following step is to get the word meaning Tl is done with some

stratogics asking the native speakers about the meaning of the words Additionally, asking a bilingual friend or language teacher is also a way to get the exact definition Another siralegy is io contextualize or pul words in a particular situation Finally, one of the most popular ways that students apply to understand the meaning of these words is to look the words up in the dictionary or searching

them on the Internet

* Step 4, Consolidating word form and meaning in the memary

The fourth step is to focus on the consolidation of word [orn and meaning trị

13

the memory It is acquiring words through their appropriate context in which students can know the meaning and the form of the words at the same time

© Step 5 Using the words

The final step in learning vocabulary is to use the words After the four steps

above, students have to apply the words into their communication

This learning model is summarized by the Figure 2 as follows:

Figure 2 Five essential steps of learning new words (Brown and Payne, 1995)

In short, the five step learning model seems to encapsulate the general

dynamics that learners use to learn vocabulary This would be an important reference for students to follow to learn vocabulary

14

2.3 Problems in teaching and learning English vocabulary

Vocabulary is one of the element connecting four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) all together Therefore, to communicate well in FL, students should acquire adequate number of wards and know how to use them accurately Although students understand the importance of vocabulary, most of them encounter enormous obstacles due to several factors According to [Tuyen and Nga (2002, p.5), there are four difficulties in teaching and leaning vocabulary Virstly, because students find teachers’ explanation for definition, pronunciation, spelling and grammar function quite boring, they seem to force to listen to the

teachers Secondly, mast of the learners only focus on learning primary mcaning of

the new words As a result, they usually ignore other meanings, pronunciation and grammatical function of the words Thirdly, students leam new words mainly by

roading IexIbook or listening to their teachers’ lessons For instance, students may

xead through the text in the book and then ask the teachers to explain their meaning

in L1 However, these words are net pul inte conlexl so that students cannot

xemember thom vividly Last but not Jeast, many students find it risk when applying what they have learnt, [hey may realize the words in the written or spoken form

‘but they are incapable of using these words to communicate Besides, Sedita (2005,

p13) points out some types of students who have problems in leaming English at

school The first kind of students is those who have limited knowledge of English

so they cannot self study well Second type hardly has chance to practice using

vocabulary outside the classroom ‘he next ones are the leamers who enter school with finite vocabulary knowledge Besides, she also emphasizes some difficulties in

acquiring vocabulary knowledge that students usually meet, as foflowing:

© Students’ short memory

Lite reading, speaking, listening and wriling oulside the classroom makes students quickly forget the words ‘They do not have chance to practice the words they have learnt in their daily life so that the words become unusual and completely

forgotten

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# Students’ learning habits

One of the main reasons leading to the difficulties in learning language vocabulary is students’ bad learning habils Many of then only concentrale on the meaning of words, which means that they do not understand the use of words, the prommejation of words and even the spelling of words When they see a word in different conlexls, they may gel confused because of gelling unfamiliar wilh (hal word

® Connoiation

Connotation is the meaning that a word suggests or implies beyond its literal

meauing, which means thal it includes the emotions or associalions thal surround

the words lor example, the denotation of the two words “childish” and “childlike” are basically identical, however, the connotations of them are different The former

one has negalive connotation and offer used to refer to silly or smmalure behavior

while the latter carries the positive meaning of having the good qualities such as

innocence Thus, when choosing between words which have same denotation

mieatiings, learners seem ta be confused about which words are appropriate

© Spelling and pronunciation

The spelling and pronunciation of foreign language may encounter considerable difficulties Related to promunciation, students find it challenging to

pronounce some sounds in foreign language For example, Vietnamese students tend lo pronounce /1/ as /L in Vietnamese so that many foreigners become confused

when the first time talking to Vietnamese Many of them also miss the ending

sounds, which lead to the similarity between “why, wise, wife, wide and while”

that causes the misunderstanding whon they speak English to the foreigners

In short, there are many problems that students face when studying a foreign

language, which are related to the differences between the mother tongue and the

foreign language ‘teachers should aware of them so that they can remove these

obstacles from their stdents

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3 Facebouk as a social networking site

3.1, Definition of Facebook

Recently, social networking sites (SNSs) have been a field of study for many

researchers The term social networking sites refer to the form of websites to share

information, ideas or to improve personal contact Besides, they are also online

communities for individuals to interact with each others Davis, Amen, Aguilar and

Canche (2012, p.82) slate thal social networking siles are web- based and mobile

softwares used for users to create, engage and share ideas or existed contents in diverse form of communication in digital environment, such as: pictures, videos or

wnillen posis Tn other words, they allow people to communicate by building

personal profiles and sending instant messages to others Additionally, Boyd and

Ellison (2007, p.210) also state that the main purpose of social networking sites is

{o comet all the users depending on their common Tanguage, interest, cultures or

political views

In Vietnam, there are some popular social networking sites, such as YouTube or Faccbook found by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004 is a big virtual community that has been one of the most well- Inown social networking sites on the Intemet It allows individuals to create free accounts, build up personal profiles and control over the content of their Facebook pages An users’ wall can be seen by the other using the same “network” It also Jets users upload photos and videos, comment on others users’ posts, send private messages to friends and join group within the cormuunily A research by Pow Rescarch Centre (2010) emphasizes thai 65% of all the learners in the age of 16 to 30 years old get an account an Facebook

To educators, it means that individuals are continuously involved in the sharing information, interacting and communicating with other users Therefore, Facebook

is firmly believed to have huge potential as an educational tool, especially for teaching languages TE il is used efficiently by the teachurs, i could enhance students’ academic performance in general as well as students’ vocabulary

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especially In 2007, Ellison, Stenfied and Lampe state the essence of Facebook that

it can function “as a strong tool to maintain relations as people move” from

different “real world” community to another such as from school community to

university community (p.1164), They also emphasize that Facebook can be used to

“support relationships and keep people in contact, even when the life changes moves them away from each other” (2007, p 1165) A study carried out by Boy, D

and Ellison, N.B (2007) shows that most of the users are aware of and making of

Facebook in their work It also points out that Facebook is the most popular SNS

among all the students and scholars

Figure 3 A Facebook personal site 3.2, Advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook for educational purposes

Originally launched in 2004, Facebook began as a social networking site

created exclusively for students Facebook currently has over 150 million active

users worldwide, and has expanded to allow anyone with a valid email address to

sign up As it has gained in popularity, Facebook has become one of the main

communication tools used by students to stay in touch with friends, organize events,

and connect with classmates Some researchers have shown that Facebook can bring many advantages and disadvantages for students to study

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3.21 Advantages of using Facebook as an educational tool

The use of Facobook for educational purposes has become popular recently Maeliride (2009, p.58) suggests that Vacebook enhance the acquisition of foreign language skills and communivative competence Facebook also provides students with the means for finding personal language leaming needs Salas & Alexander (2008, p.116) consider that Facebook has made the world smaller so that we can access lo more information, more knowledge, and get beller chance ts socialize with other people ‘They point out some positive effects of using Facebook for educational purposes as follows:

# By spending so much time accessing to new technologies, learners could

improve their abilily to use computers and other devices

¢ With the increasing of using advanced technology in education and

business, social networking silos can be considered as a way io help students

build their social skills to get over their problems

* Talent studenis are discovered aster For example, the ones who are good

at music can upload their video clips into SNSs and share them with the others in

the online society

* Students are able to public about their issues, which develop conscious

awareness and help to solve a lot of problems

¢ Individuals are incapable of quickly uploading their pictures, videos or storics, which Icads lo a considerable amount of ervation In addition, they could immediately receive comments and feedback for their posts so that they van improve their skills

Ta short, there are many advantages of using social networking sites thal teachers should consider when they need to apply social networking sites to their

teaching

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3.2.2, Disadvantages of using Facebook as an educational tool

A study on a Dutch adolescent group of 210 students carried out by Vakenburg et al (2006, p 590) finds out that using Hacebook negatively influences

on their sell worth, which lesds lo the students’ low happiness Cheung, R., & Vogel, D (2011) state that users tend to be more expressive in the virtual world and they will give or receive much more negative feedback and comment for almost cvery activities off them on the Internet (han in their real life, As the Gene of using Facebook as recompense to the real life continues, those individuals addicted to Facebook they were at higher risk of being low self- confident

Additionally, there are some bad effects of Facebook on users that are listed

by Salas & Alexander (2008, p 116) as follows:

» The popularily of Facebook leads to the quickly published information that

decreases students” ability to use the correct spellings of words

» Many students depend on the accessibility of information on Facebook to get answers As a result, the students’ focus on knowledge and information is reduced Therefore, they are not willing to spend much time on searching, reading

and understanding the information

» Learners who usually surf Facebook while studying gel, reduced academic performance, Besides, their ability to focus on the task learning tasks is also dramatically decreased because of the distractions from these SNSs

‘the more time users spend on social networking sites, the less

time they spend communicating wilh the “real” commnumily Moreover, the lack of

body language and nonverbal communication SNSs are not enough to communicate Students spending much time on SNSs often communicate less effectively with the others

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Tn shorl, aHhough Facebook brings people many benefils, it is also the source of ham To apply these sites to teaching and leaming process, teachers should carefully aware of their advantages and disadvantages

4 Previous studies

Recently, online foreign language learning has been rapidly increasing due

to the quick growth of worldwide social networking sites Some researchers (e.g Firth & Wagner, 1997; Mills, 2011) have pointed out the paradigm shift in the way foreign languages are taught ‘they believed that foreign language teaching methodology has been moving from a cognitive orientation to social orientation

and from classroom sellings to naturalistic contexts As a result, traditional

classrooms are no longer efficient, instead, online environment in social

networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook provide more opportunities for students

fo cuhanve their language proficiency TL is blamed for dynamic learning

environment, in compared with the boring traditional class with black board and

chalks, so that the students are motivated to acquire foreign language vocabulary

However, whether social uclworking siles, specifically Faccbook, should be used for educational purposes or not is still a controversial question

41 Previous studies overseas

On one side, il is believed thal social networking silos (SNSs) as well as Facebook bring many benefits for acquiring language vocabulary Being developed

from the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky in 1978, sesiocultaism scholars believe

that the source of language learning is social interaction so the langunge learners use this scaffold interaction to develop their linguistic knowledge ‘Iherefore,

Facebook is hoped to improve students’ vocabulary by allowing them to inleract

and communicate with the others A study conducted by Qian in the Malaysian

higher education (LIL) context to discover whether l'acebook can be used to

enhance students’ vocabulary acquisilion, The sludy comes to the conclusion thal

Facebook is an essential tool to develop students’ word knowledge [t also points

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oul how SNSs could positively affect students’ Lechnology inlerest and trend of

using Facebook for learning and teaching languages nowadays It is believed that SNSs as well as Facebook set positive educational values on teaching foreign language vocabulary A study conducted by Kabilan, Ahmad & Abidin (2010, p.1?9) shows that Facebook is an “useful and meaningful learning environment

that could support, enhance and/ or strengthen their leaning language” They also

slate hai Facebook is a potential environment beeausc # builds up em technology which can engage students in meaningful web- based activities (2010, p.185) Besides, Blatterner and Fiori (2009, p.8) emphasize that Facebook provides authentic contexts for interaction because its features to share constructive educational experience but still control the privacy and safety ‘he emphasis on the authentic interaction is considered as the key to acquire language vocabulary so teachers should not ignore it In a stady of Japanese university, Promnitz (2011, p.309) concludes that Facebook is an effective but simple tool to assist a group of

lower language level students t become more relax in joining in online leaning

vocabulary aclivities, such as: discussing or giving opinions Nakata (2008, p.20)

states that it is essential to apply online language leaming to high school students

because of their high retention rale of words He also emphasizes on Unt positive influence of using spaced Icainmg on students” Iearnmg vocabulary motivation,

On the other side, SNSs as well as Facebook are considered to harm

students’ acadentie performanc

: Despile many study results showing the positive

effect of Facebook on students’ grades, there are initial indications that spending time on Facebook and SNSs negatively relates to students’ scores In terms of Facebook, Godwin and Janes (2008, p.9} do a case study on the improvement of four students after applying Facebook to their language learning ‘the study uses some methods to analyze the data, such as: questionnaires, observation and

inlerview Tn the end, they stale that this form of SNSs improves individuals’ communication and interaction, which causes damages to students’ academic

performance (2008, p.7) Khe (2011, p.668) suggests that Facebook has “little

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educational use”, however, he maicales thal more research should ¢ conducted io

explore the use of Faccbook for teaching, and learning languages

42 Previous studies in Vietnam

In Vietnam, using Facebook for educational purposes is still a new area so

that there are not many studies conducted in that field, Most of the research agrees that Facebook brings many benefits for students ta leam languages A study

conducted by Tuan (2014) in Vietnam higher education context to discover the

effectiveness of using Vacebook on improving students’ academic performance pives a positive result The study uses both quantitative and qualitative

methodology Lo analyze Ute data The queslionnaire and the interview done by 1000

students in Foreign Trade University give the same results The study comes to a

conclusion that Facebook is an important tool to enhance students’ knowledge

They use il not only for chatting and making Friends but also for learning Thanks

to Facebook, there are numerous students improving their academic performances

in class Additionally after carrying out a study about the effectiveness of

Facebook on sludouts’ learning process, Tu (2013) ompbasizes that online social networking site (Facebook) leads UKB (University of Economics and business) students develop themselves with better performance and improved skills and support for their sclf- caning These positive results provide strong, evidence that

UL students and lecturers can take advantages of high technology and popularity

of Facebook to improve quality teaching as well as learning Facebook is not only

vehicle that helps users expand large- scales networking capacity but also enable them to maintain close relationships with a group of friends lence, UBB lecturers

and students can connect and interact with each other better

Summary

in this chapter, some ideas related to learning and teaching vocabulary have

been discussed such as definition, vocabulary lypes and ils importance TL carol

deny the importance of acquiring vocabulary when leaming, languages Besides,

2

this chapter also contribules and explains sleps of learning and leaching vocabulary

and gives some techniques for students and teachers There arc various techniques that teachers and leamers oan choose to apply into their teaching and leaming vocabulary proves To build extensive vocabulary knowledge, sluderits have lo meet a great deal of difficulties because learning vocabulary is a complicated

process It is not only knowing the meanings of words but also knowing the

pronuncialion, spelling, form, uses and structures However, whether the strategies using to deal with difficulties are effective or not depend mostly on students feeling when they study so that teacher should change students’ perspectives on vocabulary learning and Besides, the ideas of social networking sites, Facebook as -well as its pros and cons are also discussed Additionally, previous related studies and the theoretical framework for the study are presented They are basis for the researcher to design the questionnaire and the test questions in which the investigation of the students’ improvement by using social networking sites is

carried out

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CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter includes (1) design of the study: (2) the setting of the study, (3) participants; (4) data collection instruments; (5) data collection procedures; (6)

daia analysis methods and summary

1 Design of the study

14 Action research

The focus of the suudy is the effectiveness of applying technology, expecially

Facebook, into students’ vocabulary learning process so action rescarch was uscd Action research has become a valued research methodology, an innovative approach to encourage aclive intervenlion of people m the issues being rescarched Though widely accepted as an effective method, action research is understood and interpreted differently by researchers, and different aspects can be emphasized According lo Saunders, Lewis and Thomhill (2003, p.94), aclion research aims Lo

“transform the present to produce a different future” ‘Therefore, a researcher, who employs action research as a research method, not only intends to describe,

understand, explam, bul also allempls lo bring aboul, the change Lo the problem and

to monitor the result, Beside formulating the examined problem, the researchers

must generate new knowledge about these problems and take concrete actions to create # beller silualion Action research presents an opporlunily lo mvesligale the

identified relevant and important issues, and simultaneously allows the

development of critical and reflective thinking, while exploring the practical

problems The model of classroom action research is modeled by Sustuan (1983), who states that action research consists of five main stages in a spiraling process,

which are:

# Identifying the problems and planning

To this sage, researchers indentify the problems and then prepare everything

that is necded in doing the action, such as preparing lesson plans and materials that

will be used as well as the evaluation materials after conducting the action to give

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information whether or nol the vocabulary is improved

# Action planning

Tn this slage, researchers make a list of all ihe ways they might help students

to improve the particular aspect that they are focusing ‘Talk it through with the

learning partners or colleagues or supervisor to listen to their advice Then, the

yosearcher arranges thoir work in priority and makes a list with the ongoing tasks Besides, they also prepare materials for the action

© Acting

(After preparing the plan for the lessons, the materials and the evaluation,

vesearchers implement the plan In this sludy, Facebook was implemented by the

soscarcher in teaching vocabulary The Facebook page was created and administered by the researcher

« Evaluating

Researchers observe the effects of critically informed action in the context

Aller those researchers reflect how the learnmg process runs The funetion of

evaluating is to now the strengths and weaknesses of the action Other planning is also prepared if only the action do not improve students’ knowledge

@ Specifying learning

After evaluating the data, researchers specify whether it is suitable with students to improve their knowledge on English vocabulary Researcher also gives some pieces of advices for other researchers and teachers to develop this study in

the future

For this study, the invesligalion would be taken place on the issue of using Facebook as an educational tool for students to acquire English vocabulary The students, who joined in the research, would use Facebook to improve their English vocabulary Afler thal the teacher gathered data and analyved whether il was useful

or not In the end, the teacher gave advice for further research and shown some

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limitations of the study

SPECIFYING LEARNING

DIAGNOSING Incenttying or defining & probien,

Mixed methods research represents research that involves collecting,

analyzing and interpreting quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or ina

series of studies that discover the same underlying phenomenon The researcher

applied both quantitative and qualitative approaches Quantitative methods focus on

the objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis

of data collected through questionnaires, surveys, tests, or by manipulating pre-

existed statistical data using some computational techniques This type of research

is used to gather the numerical data, generalize it and explain a specific situation In

this research, there were two ways to collect the quantitative data that the

researcher used from the beginning to the end of the research, which were using

questionnaires and different types of tests On the other hand, as qualitative procedures which involve collecting and analyzing non-numeric information with

interview was utilized In this action research, both qualitative and quantitative

approaches were used

2 The setting of the study

The context where researcher conducted her study was a high school in

Nam Dinh province at which she was teaching English The school was located in

rural area in Nam Dinh The school had forly- six leachers and nearly sever hundred students The number of students in onc class was about forty students,

most of whom got smart phones or computer connecting to the Internet; however,

they did nol have many chances to use the Thlornel for their sludy The teachers were equipped with some basic technology courses so that they could deal well with teaching by using technology

The curriculum for English which gave an overall view about the topics and the main contents was provided by the Vietmam Ministry of Education ‘Ihe fundamental materials for teaching vocabulary were textbooks (Tieng Anh 10, Tieng Anh 11, Tieng Auh 12) old version

The students Jearnt three English lessons a week with Vietnamese teachers

No lesson was taught by native speakers Traditionally, vocabulary was often given (o students by learning four skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing Since vooabulary was not separately taught, time for learning words in class was limited For example, each skill lesson contained forty five minutes; therefore, it took only about five lo ten minutes for aboul seven words every lesson to develop students’ vooabulary ‘These words were not recycled or reviewed in the latter exercises or latter lessons As a result, students’ vocabulary Imowledge was superficial

For that circumstance, the researcher expected thal providing sludenls with

vocabulary trough the social networking site would focus on the words appearing

on the textbook, their family words and some other words related to the topics The

students were supposed lo understand and remember the meanings of about fifleen

to forty words a week by watching video clips, looking at pictures or following the

posts on lhe researcher’ Facebook page By this new way, hopefully, the students

would generate their real motivation in studying vocabulary

3 Participants

The present study was performed on ninety four students in a high school in

Nam Dinh province, who were at grade 10

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