04051001798 using stimulating techniques in vocabulary teaching to fourth graders sử dụng các phương pháp gây hứng thú trong việc dạy từ mới cho học sinh lớp 4 một dự Án nghiên cứu hành Động tại trung tâm anh ngữ
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the problem and rationale of the study
In light of the rapidly developing world, English has unavoidably become the greatest common language spoken universally Discussing the importance of the English language, Nishanthi (2018) points out several reasons for language learners to choose English as a few of which promote that English is the International Common Tongue, the primary language of the press and internet, etc In general, English learners believe that the language has the ability to broaden their knowledge of the world Furthermore, in a 2011 study conducted on English learning in 5 developing countries, the British Council concluded that learning English can increase one‟s earnings by approximately 25 percent Likewise, in Vietnam, English is considered the dominant business language and almost a necessity for people who are to enter a global workforce It is perceived by them that the higher one‟s proficiency is, the better chance for them to succeed there will be Therefore, it is the norm rather than the exception that children are sent to language schools from a young age, even before they attend primary schools As a result, responding to parents‟ every need, the rise of early language education is in full bloom However, certain difficulties need resolving in language education, especially at an early age
Thornbury (2002), by quoting David Wilkins, states that without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed Meanwhile, vocabulary teaching and learning remains a constant challenge for both teachers and learners due to its lack of focus on instruction in ESL classrooms According to Mukoroli (2011), an increased emphasis on vocabulary has become crucial for English language learners in the process of language learning
Fortunately, the advance of the current generation in the 21st century has offered potential advantages, for instance, leading-edge technology As a result, technology has been adopted by teachers in the hope of stimulating inter est in learning among students and enhancing the overall effectiveness of language teaching, specifically vocabulary learning in young students Since then, multiple studies on the topic of innovative teaching techniques have been carried out Vocabulary teaching is no exception
Traditional vocabulary instruction for many teachers involves having understudies turn words upward in the word reference, compose definitions, and use words in sentences (Basurto, 2004) Word lists, teacher explanations, discussion, memorization, vocabulary books, and quizzes regularly are utilized with an end goal to assist understudies with learning words Yet, these strategies overlook what research and theory tell us about word learning and sound vocabulary instruction Vocabulary is a principal contributor to comprehension, fluency, and achievement.
Aims and objectives of the study
This study aims at investigating the effectiveness of applying digital games in vocabulary teaching to young learners In this particular case, the students are at the age of 8 to 9, at which the children have been partially exposed to English as a new language Therefore, it is the aim of this study to highlight the essentiality that teachers stimulate the students‟ interest as well as encourage them in the learning process
Simultaneously, the main objectives of the study are pointed as below:
(1) Investigating how students at the English center improve their vocabulary learning after being instructed by the stimulating techniques
(2) Finding out the students‟ preference for the stimulating techniques used in vocabulary teaching
(3) Exploring the students‟ opinions of the implication of the stimulating techniques in vocabulary lessons
Research questions
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the study is designed to answer the following questions:
(1) To what extent does using stimulating techniques in teaching new words contribute to the improvement of the children’s vocabulary at the English center?
(2) How do the students react to the application of the techniques in vocabulary teaching?
(3) What are the students’ opinions of the application of the techniques in vocabulary teaching?
Scope of the study
The study aims at investigating the effectiveness of stimulating techniques in teaching vocabulary to a group of fourth-graders at an English center in Hanoi The population consists of 7 students of EC 2-1, a selected group of students with English proficiency equivalent to A2 This study undergoes multiple stages and each has several steps, all results in a requirement of the duration of at least 3 months In this study, an amount of study regarding the techniques in teaching vocabulary will be discussed, along with methods utilized to answer posed questions.
Significance of the study
This study is expected to gain insights into how teaching techniques stimulate the students' learning ability of vocabulary at an English center in Ha Noi
As a result, once completed, the research would carry several potential significances as well as considerable benefits to teachers of ESL Foremost, the findings of this study would raise awareness among teachers of English, possibly of languages in general, to have a better approach in teaching vocabulary to young learners Though there are plenty of techniques for teaching not only vocabulary but also every other skill, it is important that teachers understand the students and have the right implications for the most effective teaching outcome Therefore, this study is
4 expected to assist ESL teachers in deciding and applying which technique can bring out the best results from the students.
Structure of the thesis
This paper consists of five main chapters
Chapter one: Introduction This part focuses on the rationale, objectives, scope, and significance of the study The research questions are posed in this part as well
Chapter two: Literature Review This part lays the theoretical foundation of the study with definitions of the key terms and review of related studies
Chapter three: Methodology This part gives information about the methodology of the study, including the setting, design, procedure of data collection, and data analysis
Chapter four: Findings & Discussion This part presents analyses and discusses the results of the study
Chapter five: Conclusion This final part will summarize and synthesize the main issues discussed in the thesis, point out some limitations of the research together with recommending some suggestions for further studies
LITERATURE REVIEW
The importance of vocabulary in language learning and language acquisition
Learning a new language cannot be separated from vocabulary Implying that in learning another dialect individuals need to know its vocabulary Vocabulary can be characterized differently Specialists have proposed a few terms about vocabulary According to Richards & Renandya (2002), vocabulary is a central part of language capability and gives a significant part of the premise for how learners speak, listen, read and write Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiring new vocabulary, students frequently accomplish their latent capacity and might be deterred from utilizing language learning openings around them such as listening to the radio, listening to the native speaker, using language in a different context, reading, or watching television In light of previous assertions, vocabulary can be assumed that vocabulary is a list of words as a basic component of language capability that has a structure or articulation and contains aspects, meaning, use of word, form (pronunciation and spelling)
Vocabulary has been recognized as L2 students' most prominent single cause of issues (Meara, 1980) This comment may perhaps mirror that the openmindedness of a vocabulary system is seen to be a reason for trouble by students Another possible reason is that, unlike syntax and phonology, vocabulary does not have rules students may follow to gain and build up their insight As such, it is not clear in L2 jargon realizing what rules apply or which vocabulary items ought to be learned first Oxford (1990) also claims that vocabulary is “by far the most sizeable and unmanageable component in the learning of any language, whether a foreign or one‟s mother tongue, because of tens of thousands of different
6 meanings.” Despite these troubles that language students face in L2 vocabulary, they actually need to manage it in their assessments as „„vocabulary has traditionally been one of the language components measured in language tests‟‟ (Schmitt, 1999) Moreover, numerous students see second language acquisition (SLA) as basically a matter of learning vocabulary and hence they invest a lot of energy in remembering arrangements of L2 words and depend on their bilingual word reference as an essential informative asset As a result, language teachers and applied linguists now, by and large, perceive the significance of vocabulary learning and are investigating methods of advancing it all the more viably.
Young learner learning vocabulary
Age is a critical factor in language learning The principal reality that instructors should take into consideration is that younger learners vary from older ones in the way they learn new languages In the first place, younger learners learn better through playing while the older ones are comfortable with unique learning and are more scientific Second, younger learners get exhausted more easily By and large, they lose interest following ten minutes or so Younger learners are likewise more egocentric and need individual attention In any case, as opposed to the regular conviction, younger learners are worse than more established ones in language learning They might be better at impersonating the specific way to express their teachers, yet they are by and large less effective in learning dynamic ideas As indicated by Lightbown & Spada (2006), older students are not less effective in language learning They may experience issues approximating native speakers‟ pronunciation, yet they are better at arriving at reaching high levels of proficiency in second or foreign language learning (Lightbown & Spada, 2006) The most important characteristics of young learners suggested by Mohammed Rhalmi in an article in 2019 are listed as follows:
1 Young learners get bored quickly On the off chance that the exercises are not intriguing and connecting enough, youthful students get exhausted without any problem This is on the grounds that they have a restricted capacity to focus For the
7 most part, following ten minutes, they can get unbiased in the current action, particularly on the off chance that it is educated straightforwardly and is without the components of play
2 Young learners are meaning-oriented They may comprehend what is being said without fundamentally seeing each individual word They may not just conjecture and decipher what is being expressed yet they likewise react to it with whatever language assets they have available to them
3 Young learners like to discover things They are portrayed by interest and eagerness They like to figure out their general surroundings through connecting with and spurring exercises where they need to find without help from anyone else instead of being told They likewise frequently gain by implication from everything around them – not really zeroing in on the point being instructed
4 They prefer concrete activities As indicated by Piaget's intellectual advancement hypothesis, youthful students are as yet creating That is, they are as yet advancing from cement to digest thinking Dissimilar to grown-ups who are more scientific, they are not yet exceptional to learn theoretical ideas, for example, language structure rules What's more, they are more disposed to comprehend and put together with respect to clarification as well as more critically on what they hear, see and contact (Harmer, 2001 p 82)
5 They are more egocentric They like to discuss themselves Exercises that emphasize their lives are some tea Furthermore, kids younger than 12 need singular consideration and endorsement from the instructor
6 They are imaginative Youthful students are inventive Exercises that are brimming with a creative mind are a wellspring of delight for them It is in some cases hard for them to recognize reality from the creative mind
7 They imitate They learn by mirroring grown-ups It is stunning how people impersonate and find things from a youthful age Kids obtain relational abilities through friendly collaborations Thus, since impersonation capacities as a learning instrument, it is remunerating to utilize it to show youngsters new abilities and information
One reason why training youthful students requires exceptionally talented instructors is that these students experience issues understanding conceptual ideas Also, while showing them, a fitting learning air ought to be given, where the youngsters may move and collaborate in a calm climate Youthful students are, be that as it may, more innovative They additionally like finding things and effectively react to significance-based exercises At long last, kids are additionally acceptable at emulating the instructors' language use and social practices
As this research aims at young learners, the characteristics are carefully considered by the researcher in the process of conducting this paper Several characteristics listed above specifically are applied during the syllabus -making process First, young learners get bored quickly With the aim of catching the students‟ attention, the researcher makes effort in choosing activities that make them interested For example, visual techniques are as colorful and eye-catching as possible, surprise factors are brought in as well Second, they are more egocentric It is important that the students can easily relate themselves to the lessons, especially in younger learners as they seem to be less interested in unfamiliar topics In picking appropriate materials in lessons, the researcher purposefully will intentionally make connection between the materials and the students, preferably in familiar topics Last, they imitate As one of the most remarkable characteristics of young learners, it is essential for the teacher to consider well their delivery of the lessons To be specific, if the lesson is presented with a clear logic linking, the students are likely to imitate the link in later lessons when the taught knowledge is revised
The difference between young and adult learners encourages the researcher to dig further into the teaching techniques specified for children, then becomes the reasons to study the appropriate method for this research.
Teaching vocabulary to young learners
In teaching English to young learners, for this situation, the students of primary school, the teachers should understand the idea of acquisition and learning
Acquisition can be characterized as an interaction of having language normally or subconsciously Then again, learning is a cycle of having language consciously Krashen and Terrell, (1983) express that securing a language is 'picking it up‟, i.e., creating capacity in language by utilizing it in regular, informative circumstances Children acquire their first language, and most likely, second language also Language learning is not quite the same as acquisitio n Language learning is 'knowing the standards', i.e., having a conscious knowledge about grammar As per ongoing exploration, apparently formal language learning is not close to as significant in developing communicative ability in second languages as previously thought
In accordance with children's turn of events and the two ideas above (acquisition and learning), the instructing of English to young students at grade school requires circumstances in which the learners get language capacities through securing rather than learning It implies that the students acquire language naturally and communicatively
In the instructing learning measure, the English instructors should know the sorts of language learning assets for youthful students, as follows a Learning resources are not extra materials for joy but rather primary materials that are requested and scholarly as intriguing exercises which children typically do in their everyday lives b Learning resources for kids should be proper for youngsters' aptitude, will, world, etc Subsequently, ideal English teachers to youthful students are the individuals who know about English melodies and games in English Furthermore, they can arrange those materials into turning out to be fascinating ones c There should be an unmistakable qualification among strategies and resources Songs, stories, sonnets, and games are resources
To make the circumstance of teaching English to children (young students) open, the English teachers ought to understand the open standards which are proposed by John & Morrow (1983) as follows
10 a Understand what you are doing b The whole is more than the amount of the parts c The processes are pretty much as significant as the structures d To learn it, do it e Mistakes are not generally a mistake
Encouraging English to young learners is not simply an issue of releasing them on plenty of genuine language assignments in the study hall Presenting language as second or unknown to younger learners effectively requires explicit abilities and instincts that vary from those suitable for grown-up instructing
Of all the standards proposed above, the researcher mindfully makes use of two of them First, the first standard should be understanding their own actions Unclear instructions and improvision in classrooms tend to challenge the teacher‟s ability to react properly As the students are at a young age, inconsistency in teacher‟s delivery may confuse them, making the lesson unclear, therefore decreases the efficiency of the class Second, „to learn it, do it‟ Theoretical instructions may make it difficult for young students to interpret the teacher‟s intention Therefore, it is recommended that the teacher always gives examples and corrects any misunderstanding by making the students do it themselves.
Review of related studies
There is surely no ideal remedy or method to enhance vocabulary in a day or two A student's vocabulary bank enriches on a gradual basis and more than that, it is necessary that one always shows interest and enthusiasm in finding, learning, and acquiring new words Teaching vocabulary through different approaches requires teachers to plan a wide variety of activities and exercises Having the same purpose of overcoming such difficulty, study and research regarding vocabulary teaching have been carried out consistently Several of which are chronologically presented as below
In 1988, Herman & Dole proposed 3 approaches to vocabulary instruction are: definitional, contextual, conceptual Each approach is discussed as it relates to
11 learning new words and to improving comprehension The authors concluded of each approach that (1) the definitional approach is the most effective, however, it
“should not be used as the only method of instruction.” (p.46); (2) the contextual approach holds the possibility of being an important part in a comprehensive reading program as it helps students become better independent word learners - “a valuable strategy considering the large number of words involved.” (p 49); and (3) the conceptual approach seems considerably beneficial, however, it requires lengthy teacher planning time (Graves & Prenn, 1986) and is instructional time-consuming
Later in 2009, Sanusi stated that the students' vocabulary development can also be influenced by the teachers' ability in applying a number of techniques The techniques are considered effective since they could be applied by English teachers in teaching vocabulary However, the author recommends that the use of techniques also should consider the number of aspects in the teaching-learning process, such as the teachers' competency, the student‟s ability, and the allocation of time
Finally, in the recent research conducted in 2020, Abduramanova investigated several innovative techniques of teaching vocabulary in the second language classroom Regarding mentioned techniques, the author stated that the technique that utilized actual objects and showing models brings a lot of profits to teach vocabulary to beginners Besides, the technique of using synonyms is one suitable way to improve young learners‟ vocabulary It can be effective for the fact that it builds on words and phrases that can be recognized by students Using homonyms is an important approach that helps enhance vocabulary bank of students as well as their pronunciation It is considered instructional and interesting to use in the classroom that students are quick to learn to pronounce and even translate their meaning The role-play technique is extremely important in classroom communication for it offers students an opportunity to practice different social contexts and roles Furthermore, according to the author, role-play helps cultivate “a sense of interest in art, culture, traditions that are influential to their behavior as well as real-life situations students can use new words in Finally, the techniques
12 using video might be the most stimulating as it provokes the students‟ interest Nevertheless, it is a disadvantage for teachers if they fail to choose a suitable video for the class
So far, some studies have been conducted to discover the effectiveness of innovative techniques in teaching vocabularies For instance, Bui (2012) found out the challenges the teacher encountered in applying games in teaching new words to the primary students at a state school in Hai Phong as well as gave some suggested activities to enhance the effective way of learning words Besides, Pham (2010) in another context, at a high school in Hanoi, worked on the effectiveness of using stimulating ways to encourage students to learn vocabularies The above-mentioned studies were conducted with participants who were in high school and at a state school and with only manual games without the support of technology Differently, the researcher would like to work on children aged from 8-10 at an English center where the researcher is working intending to enhance the students‟ desire to learn new words via games and some stimulating activities integrated technology.
Using stimulating techniques in teaching vocabulary to young learners
Based on the above-mentioned researches, the researcher wants to conduct similar research about English vocabulary, especially about techniques of teaching vocabulary The researcher adopts the categorization of Sanusi (2009) in categorizing the techniques used in the collected data The author proposed several techniques concerning the teaching of Vocabulary
Visual techniques: Visual included flashcards, photographs, blackboard drawings, wall charts, and realia They are extensively used for conveying meaning and particularly useful for teaching concrete items of vocabulary such as food or furniture, and certain areas of vocabulary such as places, descriptions of people, actions, and activities to practice activities involving student interaction
Verbal techniques: Definition and illustration sentences In this technique the English teachers are expected to introduce a word in English through the use of the other words in the same language
Synonyms and antonyms: synonyms and antonyms are especially important in building the learners‟ vocabulary
Contrasts and opposite This is a technique that students themselves use, often asking “what‟s the opposite of…?”, etc
Scale: once students have learned two contrasting or related gradable items, this can be a useful way of revising and feeding in new items
Translation: It can save valuable time that might otherwise be spent on tortuous and largely unsuccessful explanations in English
Using a dictionary: If the student has no teacher or peer to ask, he can still solve a number of problems by using dictionary
The difference between those researches and this research can be seen from what aspect that the researcher does In this research, the researcher wants to describe the Techniques of Teaching Vocabulary used by the teacher at the English center and how they affect the students‟ performance in learning vocabulary The techniques used in the study include visual and verbal techniques Moreover, considering that the participants are of young age, the studies of Pham (2010) and Bui (2012), which both aim at the students of primary education, are also made use of in this paper Considering the distinct characteristics of younger learners, both mentioned researchers applied technologies and games in teaching techniques to stimulate the students‟ interest This study also employs technologies in chosen techniques To be specific, in visual techniques, flashcards, photos, drawings, and realia will be utilized; in verbal techniques, synonyms and antonyms, contrasts, and translation will be utilized As technological materials are brought in every lesson as much as possible, photos are preferably eye-catching animated to be presented in projectors and TV screens in activities using visual techniques Small games are also mixed in between activities to raise the students‟ competency, therefore make the classroom atmosphere more positive How each technique is applied in the lessons is as described in the syllabus in Appendix 1
In summary, this chapter examines the prior literature related to vocabulary teaching techniques It has mentioned the importance of vocabulary, the characteristics of young learners, difficulty in teaching young learners, and the categorizations of the techniques in previous studies The following chapters will focus on the study - its methodology and findings – under the light of the theories discussed above
METHODOLOGY
Research questions
In order to achieve the aforementioned objectives, the study is designed to answer the following questions:
(1) To what extent does using stimulating techniques in teaching new words contribute to the improvement of the children’s vocabulary at the English center?
(2) How do the students react to the application of the techniques in vocabulary teaching?
(3) What are the students’ opinions of the application of the techniques in vocabulary teaching?
Research approach: Action research
Regarding three questions proposed in Chapter 1 of this research, different methods are utilized to give answers to said questions To be specific, for the first questions on the contribution of the techniques to the development of the student, the researcher carries out action research; for the second question on the students‟ attitude towards the teaching techniques observation method is utilized; and a questionnaire is employed to give answer to the third question of the students‟ opinion on the implication of the techniques
Valsa Koshy (2005, p 1) defines action research as “the method of inquiry employed by undergraduate and postgraduate students in higher education who are studying for accredited courses.” The author also states that the main purpose of action research is to facilitate practitioners to study aspects of practice In other words, the definition of action research is described by Bassey (1998, p 93) as “an inquiry which is carried out in order to understand, to evaluate and then to change, in order to improve educational practice.”
Action research gives preferable practice over hypothesis to instructors to
16 apply into a particular class or course; in this manner, to build up the educating and learning in a specific classroom, teachers or education practitioners should conduct research All in all, it expects teachers to take an effect on their education to make a positive outcome This outcome is more useful and important than noticing or breaking down's outcome Also, each class has an alternate setting with its problem depending on the level of the learners, the objective of the course, or students' inspiration To improve the students' English capacity, educators need to concentrate in their classes to discover the issues just as propose answers to settle them With that desire, the researcher has the purpose of enhancing her own students‟ pronunciation only, and the study is made to decide the effectiveness of using websites in improving students‟ pronunciation in her class and make a decision on how to utilize them efficiently The author believes that the change of English pronunciation is positive and gives children the motivation to learn English better and love learning English than before
In this research, action research has the features that reflect this study First, it is the purpose of this study to improve the current situation of teaching vocabulary in the English language Secondly, the study involves the intervention of the researcher on the participants‟ competence Finally, it is essential that the research questions are answered as the participants‟ reaction, interest, and emotion are reflected during the research To conclude, action research is the best selection on account of suitability in target, design and characteristics of the study.
Research context
The participants are 7 children from a class named EC 2-1 at an English center They all have finished the same coursebook “Family and friends 3”, Oxford University Press The participants are chosen for the following reasons Firstly, most of them are at the beginner level (A2) and have a limitation of vocabulary Hence, most of them are attending a state school As a result, they have a significant influence on the memorization methods to learn new words; which resulted from
17 the limitation of 35-minute class time, English is not compulsory, and most of the teachers are not willing to pressure them to learn It can be seen that for the aforementioned reasons, they are restricted to be exposed to more innovative techniques in their learning process, especially vocabulary
The participants as mentioned above are students of a class at the English center Being a teacher at the center makes it easier and more convenient for the teacher to conduct the research Moreover, the classes at the center follow a certain system of textbooks by Oxford University Press, which makes the evaluation more accurate and valuable as the system is well-supported Furthermore, the students are significantly at the same level of proficiency as they have to take an entrance test before joining any class At the time the research was being carried out, the chosen class of 2-1 was in a revision of the previous book, “Family and Friends 3”, which decreases their class time of learning new words as revision mostly focused on grammar
3.3.3 The role of the researcher
Carrying out this study, the researcher also took on different roles as both teacher and test designer As concerning as it might seem, it was easy for the researcher to lose their objectiveness during the process However, the researcher saw it as an opportunity to ensure the consistence and suitability for such specific context To elaborate, as the author of this study, they were one of those that understood and motivated the study, make the best out reviewed theories, definitions and previous studies Then, as the teacher of the class, they were clear about all and each of the students, therefore, the process of planning lessons applying stimulating techniques also served the benefit of the students Finally, as the test designer, it is important to point out that the tests had to be designed specifically for this study, as a result, they are the most suitable for the job as they had previous experience with the materials: teaching, testing and planning
Furthermore, for the questionnaire data collection process, it was also the
18 researcher‟s responsibility and duty to walk the students through the survey In brief, they explained the purpose of the study and ask for consent of the students for using the data for the study, then each section of the questionnaire was instructed and made sure that all and each of the students understand and be aware of what they were doing Following the research ethics, the data collected was the most authentic and reliable as possible.
Data collection instruments
With the purpose of finding out if stimulating techniques contribute to the improvement of the children‟s vocabulary at the English center, tests were carried out The tests held the ability to record the performance of the students clearly, therefore, there were tests to be taken to figure out the improvement of the students after a vocabulary learning session with stimulating techniques
There were 2 tests in each lesson:
• tests taken before the lesson
• tests taken after the lesson
In order to carry out the tests precisely, the steps were as described: creating a syllabus for the lessons, planning for each lesson with suitable techniques, making tests based on the vocabulary list, having the students done the tests, and collecting the scores
- First, a syllabus was created for the first 4 units of the textbook, including techniques used in each The vocabulary session is always the first lesson of one unit The syllabus is as included in Appendix 1
- Then, before each lesson, a lesson plan was made for the class, as included in Appendix 2
- Later, based on the word lists and the students‟ level of English proficiency, a test was created in the format of 10 fill-in-the-blanks questions
However, there was a difference between a test taken before the lesson and a test taken after the lesson In the test that taken before the lesson, a table of word list
19 and a Vietnamese translation for each word was included The students did the tests based on the provided translation in the duration of 15 minutes After 15 minutes, they turned in the test and the vocabulary session began Later, in the next lesson, usually 3 days later the previous, the students were asked to do test again, with no translation included, only the questions The scores recorded were of the tests taken after the lesson
In order to answer the second research question, observation was chosen to be one of the data collection instruments As the question focused on the reaction of the participants, it was necessary that the reactions have analyzed both ways: from the observer and the participant themselves Therefore, observation was employed mostly to provide another perspective The researcher observed the participant through recorded data of the lessons in the video format, which was more convenient for later evaluation Each video was the vocabulary teaching session at the beginning of each unit with various topics, which might explain the variation in the technique utilization The description of each video was provided in Appendix 7
The observation was not carried out during the lesson, instead, each lesson was recorded and the observation was then created In observing the recorded lessons, which were described in Appendix 8, the researcher had an observation sheet to conclude the observation
The observation sheet consisted of two main factors required: attention and excitement To make the observation more convenient in analysis, the attention and excitement level of the students was concluded in a gradable scale of 3, and the duration of the attention was also recorded In the level of attention, each level was based on the students‟ reflection of the teacher and materials, and their personal suggestion during the lesson Notable that only comments related to the lesson was counted and the duration of attention is only approximated as it was interrupted continuously
In order to give answer to the third question on students‟ opinion, a questionnaire was employed A questionnaire served as an appropriate instrument in collecting participants‟ opinion In a large amount of study that investigate the participants‟ opinion, especially students, the most popular instrument to be chosen was the questionnaire For example, Kutluk (2015) likewise utilized a questionnaire survey for their study on opinions of students about teaching techniques in accounting lessons The researcher saw the effectiveness of them utilizing a questionnaire in collecting students‟ opinion in their work As a result, a self- reporting questionnaire was developed to collect the relevant data about the students‟ reactions to the teaching techniques
The questionnaire sheet consisted of 2 parts: captures of previous lessons and the survey table Captures were photos taken in the classroom and of the visual aids included from the lessons The purpose of including the captures was to help students recall the lessons by provoking their impressions of each session The survey table was divided into two sections, visual and verbal according to the technique categorization The aim of the survey was to find out the opinion of the students on the application of the techniques used in each lesson, therefore, the table was in the format of the 5-point Likert scale of agreement
The main statement of the questionnaire was stated “In vocabulary lessons, I am more interested; more related to the topics; more likely to imitate the link; and learn new words better.” To elaborate, the statement was a summary of the effect that the researcher expects the techniques bring To be specific, each mentioned effect was as concluded in the characteristics of young learner that were noted by the researcher to adapt in this study The chosen characteristics were “young learners get bored quickly”, “they are egocentric”, and “they imitate” Of each feature, the researcher wished to investigate if the applied techniques could help resolve these difficulties For example, the fact that young learners lose interest quickly was questioned by the researcher whether the techniques used would make
21 the students more interested Next, the feature of them being egocentric was made used to attract them to learning by involving topics that they can easily relate to, therefore, to find out if any technique could attract the learners, the researcher let them decide which one made them related more And to make sure that the students can imitate the way the teacher connect the word, usually logically, it was important that they understand the link themselves; by deciding if they could imitate intentionally the link can help the researcher find out if they actually understand it
Furthermore, the agreement was in 5 gradable points of a Likert scale The points were in a scale of 5: strongly disagree, disagree, neutral, agree, and strongly agree, with 1 being “strongly disagree” and 5 being “strongly disagree” “Neutral”, in other words, can also be neither agree nor disagree.
Data collection procedure
Firstly, the participants‟ competence in English vocabulary would be examined at the beginning and the end of each unit with a vocabulary test The test format is a gap-filling exercise consisted of eight to ten blanks
This class has two English lessons at the center every week; however, due to time restraint, vocabulary sessions are only at the beginning of each unit This stage will last about ten weeks with 20 lessons These are steps that teacher may follow in this stage:
Step 1: Design a syllabus for 20 lessons that guarantee students learn the main aspects of pronunciation (The syllabus is provided in Appendix 1)
Step 2: Choose a technique appropriate for each lesson The techniques chosen for each lesson are both planned and improvised by the teacher Most of the techniques are planned in the lesson plans for each lesson, however, techniques such as drawings and realia are improvised by the teacher as it depends greatly on the classroom facility
Step 3: Design the activities to help students engage in the lessons
Step 4: Design a vocabulary test to evaluate the effectiveness of activities as well as the students‟ behavior in the lesson (The tests are provided in Appendix 3, 4, 5, 6)
All the lessons will be recorded to analyze later
To evaluate the students‟ progress, students are asked to memorize the words and apply them in the context Then the teacher will make a comparison with the first version in the pre-intervention stage and make the final decision on their improvement
In this stage, the research will make an analysis of the students‟ reactions based on their performance during the vocabulary session using the observation method
The questionnaire was handed to the students at the beginning of a lesson Fortunately, no student was absent and all 7 inquiries were collected Oral instructions were given clearly before students‟ doing the survey; all the terms were clarified to assist participants in understanding correctly the wording in the questionnaires The researcher was also present to answer any questions arising in the process aiming to avoid any misunderstanding and ambiguity.
Data analysis
Quantitative analysis strategies were applied in this study to analyze data from the tests and questionnaires As explained by Markey and Gass (2005), measures of frequency indicated how often a particular behavior or phenomenon occurred, and thus this type of descriptive statistics was applied for this study The answers from the questionnaires and scores of the tests were then categorized and the data was expressed in a numerical form so that the researcher could calculate the
23 degree of agreement upon each question item as perceived by the students In other words, the findings from the tests and questionnaires were analyzed to answer the first two out of three research questions
The tests will be in the gap-filling format: each unit has 10 new words, which corresponds with 10 blanks in the tests The difficulty of the tests is controlled by the level of the words, which are A1-A2 vocabulary, to be suitable for the students‟ proficiency The students will take each test twice, once before the vocabulary session and once after
- Every test to be taken before the teaching session will be provided with a list of the new words with its definition in Vietnamese
- Later, the students take the other test in the following lesson, no wordlist provided In total, there are 8 tests to be taken and the scores are recorded
In analysis, all of the scores collected will be in collected (as shown in Chapter 4) The scores of each test (before and after) will be separated and calculated mean and standard deviation, therefore, there will be 8 mean and 8 standard deviations from 4 lessons and 2 types of tests in each In order to answer the question whether the lesson helps in increasing the students‟ performance, 8 mean scores are divided in two types: before and after, then each will be compared if the mean score after is always higher than that of the before tests This is described in a line chart as in Figure 1 in the findings section in Chapter 4
As mentioned above, observation has its limitation of being subjective by the observer; the analysis will be unavoidably abstract Therefore, in order to convey the students‟ own opinion, the questionnaire is believed to solve the problem At the beginning of the questionnaire are the instruction and images from all recorded teaching sessions in case the students have a vague memory of them The researcher also claimed that there was no right or wrong answer in order to retrieve reliable responses In the end, there is a thank-you note for their participation
The questionnaire consists of 7 question items In more detail, all 7 question items were written in the form of a Likert scale from one to five These 7 items were aimed at examining how the students think about each teaching techniques listed out in the questionnaires The levels of frequency are ranked from 1-5, from Disagree to Agree This type of close-ended question is easier and faster for the researcher to analyze the results
The questionnaire will be given to the students at the end of each lesson, then collected at the end of lesson 4 In detail, each lesson is included with several techniques that the researcher chose to apply, then in the end of each lesson, the students are handed a survey table that consists of statements of each technique used However, to avoid duplicate statements, if in later lesson, the techniques used in previous lesson are also included, then the statement including both the lessons For instant, in lesson 3, the researcher chose flashcards, drawing, antonyms and synonyms, and translation to include in the lesson; therefore, the questionnaire was only included statements 1, 3, 5, and 7; nevertheless, statement 1 was also included in Lesson 2 as flashcards were also utilized, then the students will answer statement
1 for the impression of both Lesson 2 and Lesson 3
When the data is collected, it will be brought into tables for statistics analysis
To elaborate, the students‟ answer will be turned into numbers as they ticked in the questionnaire sheet The result is included in Appendix 11 In analyzing the data, the researcher will calculate each statement‟s mean and standard derivation using the SPSS software The statistic is included in the finding section in Chapter 4
Qualitative analysis strategy is applied in this study to analyze data the observation Among various methods available to analyze qualitative data, observation was employed by the researcher In order to observe the reaction of the students to the techniques, it was essential that the researcher classified the techniques in each lesson, for example, flashcard is the visual technique that was utilized in 3 out of 4 lessons, therefore, the researcher observed the reaction of the
25 students in the 3 lessons that used flashcards to draw a conclusion of flashcard in visual technique In the process of observation, specific examples from the observation were to support the claims This qualitative analysis is to seek answers to the second research question
The observation sheet consists of two main factors required: attention and excitement To make the observation more convenient in analysis, the attention and excitement level of the students will be concluded in a gradable scale of 3, and the duration of the attention will also be recorded For example, in lesson 1, the photos were graded 3/3 in attention: when the photos were shown on screen, 5 out of 7 students followed the teacher‟s gesture and watched the screen closely, during their approximately 4 minutes of attention, at least 4 students constantly give comments on the pictures, and at least 3 of them discussed with their peers on the photos
The excitement scale was graded partly based on the attention, however with separate factor being their reaction to the teacher or materials For example, in 3 out
4 lessons, translation was graded 1/3 as in most sessions, students gave no comments or discussed with their peers about the lesson, and no expression was shown It was somewhat in contrary to drawing in Lesson 3, which was graded 3/3: at least 5 students constantly give comments on the drawing and discussed enthusiastically with others, and all of them were showing positive expression: some smiled and some cheered
The sheet then used to analyze as an elaboration of what graded in the sheet Each technique is analyzed in separate lessons then concluded briefly Based on the observation, conclusion of the students‟ reaction to the application of the techniques was drawn
In summary, this chapter has focused much on the main parts of the study It has demonstrated the research questions, and the research context Information about the data collection instruments, the data collection procedure, and the data analysis has also been provided In the following part, the findings and the discussion of the findings will be presented
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Findings
4.1.1 The extent to which using the stimulating techniques in teaching new words contribute to the improvement of the children’s vocabulary at the English center
This is to seek answer to Research question 1: To what extent does using these stimulating techniques in teaching new words contribute to the improvement of the children‟s vocabulary at the English center?
As stated, vocabulary teaching techniques in the data chosen are categorized into 2 different types including visual and verbal techniques Each lesson has 2 vocabulary tests, one is taken by the students before the teaching session, and one after the session The scores of each student who participated in the lesson are recorded for analysis As shown in Table 2 below is the description of every technique used in each Lesson
Table 4.1 Description of techniques used in each lesson
Lesson 3 flashcards, drawings antonyms, translation
Lesson 4 flashcards, realia contrast, translation
Lesson 1 The efficiency of techniques used in Lesson 1 is analyzed based on the student‟s test score before and after the lesson
Table 4.2 Test score recorded with mean score and standard deviation before and after teaching of Lesson 1
Table 4.2 gives information about the test scores and mean scores of 7 students in the test before and after the teaching session of Lesson 1 Of all 7 students, no one was absent on the day of the first test which was taken before each vocabulary session; however, in the test taken before the session, only 6 students participated in the test as Student 7 was absent As a result, the mean score of the test before the session is the mean of all 7 inquiries, meanwhile, the mean score of the test taken after the session is the mean of only 6 inquiries According to Table 2, the techniques used in this lesson are both visual (photos, realia) and verbal (translation) techniques
It could be seen from Table 4.2 that the mean score of the test taken before the lesson (6.1) is significantly lower than that after the lesson (7.9) Hence, as seen
28 from the score of each student, the score of test taken after the lesson is also higher than that before the lesson, for an instant, the before a score of student 1 is 4.5, which is 2 points lower than the after score being 6.5 However, the difference in score of student 7 is not given as there is no after score recorded In terms of standard deviation (S.D.), the scores of the test taken before the session (2.1) are less consistent than those in the after session (1.6)
Lesson 2 The efficiency of techniques used in Lesson 1 is analyzed based on the student‟s test score before and after the lesson
Table 4.3.Test score recorded with mean score and standard deviation before and after teaching of Lesson 2
Table 4.3 gives information about the test scores and mean scores of the students in the test before and after the teaching session of Lesson 2 In Lesson 2, 2 tests are also taken by the class before and after the vocabulary teaching session However, only the after test is participated by all 7 students, while the before test is without the presence of student 6 As a result, the mean score calculated in the before test is only of 6 inquiries when the after test has the mean score of the whole class
As seen in Table 4, the mean score of the test taken before the session (6.5) is notably lower than the mean score of the test taken after the session (7.9) The score of the students 1, 2, 5, and 7 in both the tests observes the same pattern as all the scores recorded after the vocabulary session is higher than all that before the session Meanwhile, students 3 and 4 remain to have absolute scores of 10 in both of the tests In terms of standard deviation (S.D.), the scores of the test taken before the session (2.5) are less consistent than those in the after session (1.8)
Lesson 3 The efficiency of techniques used in Lesson 1 is analyzed based on the student‟s test score before and after the lesson
Table 4.4 Test score recorded with mean score and standard deviation before and after teaching of Lesson 3
Table 4.4 gives information about the test scores and mean scores of 7 students in the test before and after the teaching session of Lesson 3 In this lesson, there are also two tests, one before and one after the vocabulary session, are taken by the class In the test before the session, there are 5 students who participated, and
30 in the test after the session, 6 inquiries are recorded Therefore, the mean score of the before test is the mean score of 5 recorded scores, while the after test has the mean score of 6 inquiries
As observed from Table 5, the mean score of the test taken before the session (7.6) is slightly lower than the mean score of the test taken after the session (7.9) There are 2 students (2 and 5) whose scores experience the same pattern when their before scores, namely 6 and 5 respectively, is lower the scores of the after test, accordingly being 8 and 8 However, the score of the before and after test of student
3 is the opposite: while the before test is 7, the after score decreased to 6.5 Meanwhile, student 6 once again holds the same absolute score of 10 in both tests
In terms of standard deviation (S.D.), the scores of the test taken before the session (2.0) are less consistent than those in the after session (1.4)
Lesson 4 The efficiency of techniques used in Lesson 1 is analyzed based on the student‟s test score before and after the lesson
Table 4.5 Test score recorded with mean score and standard deviation before and after teaching of Lesson 4
Table 4.5 gives information about the test scores and mean scores of only 6 students in the test before and after the teaching session of Lesson 4 It is noted that student 7 is absent from both the test of before and after sessions of this lesson In detail, the before test scores have only 5 inquiries, and the after test receives scores from 6 students As a result, the mean score of the test taken before the session is of only 5 students, and that after the session is of 6 students
Table 6 shows the significant difference in the mean score of the before test (6.7) and the mean score of the after test (8.3) It is notable that the after-test scores are higher than the before test scores In this lesson, all the anticipated students‟ scores show the same pattern of the after score being higher than the before scores
In terms of standard deviation (S.D.), the scores of the test taken before the session (1.7) are less consistent than those in the after session (1.3)
Figure 4.1 Mean scores of tests taken before and after the teaching session in 4 lessons
Illustrated in Figure 4.1 the mean scores of recorded tests taken before and after the teaching session in 4 lessons The x-axis represents the scores of both the tests ranging from 6 to 8.5, the y-axis represents the tests of each lesson, and each line represents the trend of each lesson in different colors as described in the legend
32 box on the top right of the figure Overall, all 4 recorded series experience an increase in trend of the scores in the before test and the after test In specific, Lesson
1 has the mean score of the before test being 6.1 and the mean score of the after test being 7.9; Lesson 2 has the mean score of the before test being 6.5 and the mean score of the after test being 7.9; Lesson 3 has the mean score of the before test being 6.7 and the mean score of the after test being 8.3; Lesson 4 has the mean score of the before test being 7.6 and the mean score of the after test being 7.9
It can be seen from the mean scores of the tests taken before each vocabulary session that Lesson 1 has the lowest score of all 4 lessons with 6.1, while Lesson 3‟s mean score is the highest of all with 7.6 The mean score of the test taken before the session in Lesson 4 is relatively higher than that in Lesson 2 and Lesson 1 In the recorded scores of the tests taken after the teaching session, the mean score of lessons varies in only two scores of 8.3 and 7.9 In detail, the mean score of the test taken after the session in Lesson 4 is the higher score (8.3), meanwhile, the mean scores of Lessons 1, 2, and 3 have the same lower score of 7.9 This shows the overall trend of the test scores that the after tests‟ scores are higher than the before tests‟
Table 4.6 Standard deviations of scores recorded in tests taken before and after teaching session in each lesson