Luận văn efficiency of gap fill exercises to 10th form students’ vocabulary acquisition

This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY-HANOL

UNIVERSITY OF LANGL AGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

~ đe LE) o& -

NGUYÊN THỊ KIỂU NGA

EFTICIENCY OF GAP-ETLL EXERCTISES TO 10”8

FORM STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

(Hiéu qua của bải tập điền khuyết đối với sự tiếp thu

từ vựng của học sinh lớp I0)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field: English Methodology

Cade: 601410

HANOI - 2011

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNTVERSITY-HANOL

UNIVERSITY OF LANGL AGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDLES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

~ #&e LL] ow -

NGUYÊN THỊ KIỂU NGA

EFTICIENCY OF GAP-ETLL EXERCTISES TO 10”8

FORM STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY ACQUISITION

(Hidu qua của bài tập điền khuyết đối với sự tiếp fhụ

từ vựng của học sinh lớp I0)

MINOR M.A THESIS

Field: English Methodology

Code: 601410

SUPERVISOR: LE VAN CANH, Ph.D

TIANG! - 2011

Aims and Objectives of the study

Rescarch Hypothescs and Questions

Method of the Study

Scape of the study

Significance of the Study

7 Organization of the thesis

PART I: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE : LIRETATURE REVIEW

1.1, What is vocabulary?

1.2 The role of vocabulary in second language learning

1.3 The vocabulary acquisition

1.3.1 Vocabulary teaching techniques

1.3.2 Revising vocabulary

LA Vocabulary activities and oxcrcises

1.5 Criteria of a good vocabulary exercise

Pages

ii

1 vii vill

-2, Aims and Objectives of the Study

‘The main aim of this study is to experiment gap-fill exercises in helping grade 10 students acquire their Lnglish vocabulary

To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study are set as follows:

© To experiment gap-Gill exercises and examine their effects on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary acquisition

= To invesligals the stutkenls? allitudes towards gap-fill excreiscs., ic how effeative they think domg gap-fill exercises is to their vocabulary learning

3 Research [lypotheses and Questions

‘To achieve the aims and objectives, the study is designed to test the hypothesis:

Hi Grade 10 students who apply gap-fill exercises will make more significant

impravement in their English vocabulary acquisition as measured by both pre-test and

post-test scores than those who do not apply such exercises

If the above hypothesis was fully accepted, the following null hypothesis would be

obviously rejected or vice versa:

HO: There is no difference in English vocabulary acquisition as measured by bath pre-test and post-test scores between grade 10 students who apply wap-fill exercises and those

who do nol apply such exercises

In order to identify which hypothesis would be accepted, the following rescarch questions are formulated and needed to answer satisfactorily:

(1) Whal effect do gap fill exarcises have on studenls” vocabulary acquisition as measwed by their scores in the pre-test and post-test?

Q) WHal sre the studenls’ attitudes towards gup-fill excreises afler the expermentall period?

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

1.6 Gap-fll exercises and the acquisition of vocabulary

L7 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, Context of the stuty

2.2 Rationale for using a Quasi-experimental method

Instruments for data collection

2.7.1 Pretest and Posttest

2.7.2, Questionnaire

2.8 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Effectiveness of GFEs on students’ vocabulary acquisition

3.1.1 Comparison of Pretest and Posttest Performance

3.1.2 Comparison of both group’s vocabulary gains aller the experiment

3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Vooubulary gains as resullsd fram the application of GFEs

3.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.4, Summary

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of main findings

2, Limitations of the study

26

tr Si

1.6 Gap-fll exercises and the acquisition of vocabulary

L7 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, Context of the stuty

2.2 Rationale for using a Quasi-experimental method

Instruments for data collection

2.7.1 Pretest and Posttest

2.7.2, Questionnaire

2.8 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Effectiveness of GFEs on students’ vocabulary acquisition

3.1.1 Comparison of Pretest and Posttest Performance

3.1.2 Comparison of both group’s vocabulary gains aller the experiment

3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Vooubulary gains as resullsd fram the application of GFEs

3.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.4, Summary

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of main findings

2, Limitations of the study

26

tr Si

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

4 Mcthod of the Study

Because the purpose of the study is to test out the impact of gap-fill exercises on students” acquisition of vocabulary, a quasi-experiment with a pre-test- and post-test design was adopted in this study Two non-randomized groups of 82 students (one control group and one experimental group, N~ 41 cach) participated in this experiment The pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed by means of t-test to find out the correlation of the two

means lo accepl or reject the null hypothesis, namely gap-fill exercises do nol have any effect on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary leaming In addition, a post-experiment questionnaire was also used as the supplementary instrument to elicit the students” ovaluative allitures towards yap-fill exercises aller the experimental porind

5 Scope of the Study

‘The experiment was conducted to examine the impact of one type of vocabulary exercises,

€., gap-fill exercises on students’ acquisition of vocabulary ‘Ihe sample was a small group of grade 10 sindenis who were non-randomily assigned lo a control eless and an experimental class (41 students for cach) Therefore, ne intention was made to goncralins the findings

6 Significance of the Study

Although no generalization was intended, the findings of the study could inform teachers

of the effectivencss of gap-fill excreiscs on students’ vocabulary learning,

7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is organized in three parts

Part Lis The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, aims, rescareh

hypotheses, scope, significance, and method of the study

Part Il is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background to teactting and leaming vocabulary in a second language including vocabulary’s definition, its role in second language learning, the vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary exercises and the relationship between gap-fill exercises and vocabulary

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

Dinh Tien loang

English as Forzign Language English as Second Language

Gap — Fill Exercises

Null Tlypothesis Alternative Hypothesis

First Language Second Language

Ministry of Education and Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the siudy Probability of chance (indicator of significance) Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science Obtained Value

Critie Value

‘Tesi of Pnglish for International Communication Independent factor

Dependent factor

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

1.6 Gap-fll exercises and the acquisition of vocabulary

L7 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, Context of the stuty

2.2 Rationale for using a Quasi-experimental method

Instruments for data collection

2.7.1 Pretest and Posttest

2.7.2, Questionnaire

2.8 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Effectiveness of GFEs on students’ vocabulary acquisition

3.1.1 Comparison of Pretest and Posttest Performance

3.1.2 Comparison of both group’s vocabulary gains aller the experiment

3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Vooubulary gains as resullsd fram the application of GFEs

3.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.4, Summary

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of main findings

2, Limitations of the study

26

tr Si

2, Aims and Objectives of the Study

‘The main aim of this study is to experiment gap-fill exercises in helping grade 10 students acquire their Lnglish vocabulary

To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study are set as follows:

© To experiment gap-Gill exercises and examine their effects on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary acquisition

= To invesligals the stutkenls? allitudes towards gap-fill excreiscs., ic how effeative they think domg gap-fill exercises is to their vocabulary learning

3 Research [lypotheses and Questions

‘To achieve the aims and objectives, the study is designed to test the hypothesis:

Hi Grade 10 students who apply gap-fill exercises will make more significant

impravement in their English vocabulary acquisition as measured by both pre-test and

post-test scores than those who do not apply such exercises

If the above hypothesis was fully accepted, the following null hypothesis would be

obviously rejected or vice versa:

HO: There is no difference in English vocabulary acquisition as measured by bath pre-test and post-test scores between grade 10 students who apply wap-fill exercises and those

who do nol apply such exercises

In order to identify which hypothesis would be accepted, the following rescarch questions are formulated and needed to answer satisfactorily:

(1) Whal effect do gap fill exarcises have on studenls” vocabulary acquisition as measwed by their scores in the pre-test and post-test?

Q) WHal sre the studenls’ attitudes towards gup-fill excreises afler the expermentall period?

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

1.6 Gap-fll exercises and the acquisition of vocabulary

L7 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, Context of the stuty

2.2 Rationale for using a Quasi-experimental method

Instruments for data collection

2.7.1 Pretest and Posttest

2.7.2, Questionnaire

2.8 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Effectiveness of GFEs on students’ vocabulary acquisition

3.1.1 Comparison of Pretest and Posttest Performance

3.1.2 Comparison of both group’s vocabulary gains aller the experiment

3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Vooubulary gains as resullsd fram the application of GFEs

3.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.4, Summary

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of main findings

2, Limitations of the study

26

tr Si

4 Mcthod of the Study

Because the purpose of the study is to test out the impact of gap-fill exercises on students” acquisition of vocabulary, a quasi-experiment with a pre-test- and post-test design was adopted in this study Two non-randomized groups of 82 students (one control group and one experimental group, N~ 41 cach) participated in this experiment The pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed by means of t-test to find out the correlation of the two

means lo accepl or reject the null hypothesis, namely gap-fill exercises do nol have any effect on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary leaming In addition, a post-experiment questionnaire was also used as the supplementary instrument to elicit the students” ovaluative allitures towards yap-fill exercises aller the experimental porind

5 Scope of the Study

‘The experiment was conducted to examine the impact of one type of vocabulary exercises,

€., gap-fill exercises on students’ acquisition of vocabulary ‘Ihe sample was a small group of grade 10 sindenis who were non-randomily assigned lo a control eless and an experimental class (41 students for cach) Therefore, ne intention was made to goncralins the findings

6 Significance of the Study

Although no generalization was intended, the findings of the study could inform teachers

of the effectivencss of gap-fill excreiscs on students’ vocabulary learning,

7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is organized in three parts

Part Lis The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, aims, rescareh

hypotheses, scope, significance, and method of the study

Part Il is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background to teactting and leaming vocabulary in a second language including vocabulary’s definition, its role in second language learning, the vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary exercises and the relationship between gap-fill exercises and vocabulary

4 Mcthod of the Study

Because the purpose of the study is to test out the impact of gap-fill exercises on students” acquisition of vocabulary, a quasi-experiment with a pre-test- and post-test design was adopted in this study Two non-randomized groups of 82 students (one control group and one experimental group, N~ 41 cach) participated in this experiment The pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed by means of t-test to find out the correlation of the two

means lo accepl or reject the null hypothesis, namely gap-fill exercises do nol have any effect on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary leaming In addition, a post-experiment questionnaire was also used as the supplementary instrument to elicit the students” ovaluative allitures towards yap-fill exercises aller the experimental porind

5 Scope of the Study

‘The experiment was conducted to examine the impact of one type of vocabulary exercises,

€., gap-fill exercises on students’ acquisition of vocabulary ‘Ihe sample was a small group of grade 10 sindenis who were non-randomily assigned lo a control eless and an experimental class (41 students for cach) Therefore, ne intention was made to goncralins the findings

6 Significance of the Study

Although no generalization was intended, the findings of the study could inform teachers

of the effectivencss of gap-fill excreiscs on students’ vocabulary learning,

7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is organized in three parts

Part Lis The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, aims, rescareh

hypotheses, scope, significance, and method of the study

Part Il is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background to teactting and leaming vocabulary in a second language including vocabulary’s definition, its role in second language learning, the vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary exercises and the relationship between gap-fill exercises and vocabulary

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

1.6 Gap-fll exercises and the acquisition of vocabulary

L7 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, Context of the stuty

2.2 Rationale for using a Quasi-experimental method

Instruments for data collection

2.7.1 Pretest and Posttest

2.7.2, Questionnaire

2.8 Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The Effectiveness of GFEs on students’ vocabulary acquisition

3.1.1 Comparison of Pretest and Posttest Performance

3.1.2 Comparison of both group’s vocabulary gains aller the experiment

3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.3 Discussion

3.3.1 Vooubulary gains as resullsd fram the application of GFEs

3.3.2 Students’ attitudes towards GFEs

3.4, Summary

PART II: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of main findings

2, Limitations of the study

26

tr Si

-vi-

3 Recommendations for the application of GIs

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appandix A: Tost Scores

Appendix B: Vocabulary pretest & key

Appendix C: Vocabulary posttest &key

Appendix D: The Questionnaire

Appendix E: Word lists

tà 3

39

Dinh Tien loang

English as Forzign Language English as Second Language

Gap — Fill Exercises

Null Tlypothesis Alternative Hypothesis

First Language Second Language

Ministry of Education and Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the siudy Probability of chance (indicator of significance) Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science Obtained Value

Critie Value

‘Tesi of Pnglish for International Communication Independent factor

Dependent factor

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment

4 Mcthod of the Study

Because the purpose of the study is to test out the impact of gap-fill exercises on students” acquisition of vocabulary, a quasi-experiment with a pre-test- and post-test design was adopted in this study Two non-randomized groups of 82 students (one control group and one experimental group, N~ 41 cach) participated in this experiment The pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed by means of t-test to find out the correlation of the two

means lo accepl or reject the null hypothesis, namely gap-fill exercises do nol have any effect on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary leaming In addition, a post-experiment questionnaire was also used as the supplementary instrument to elicit the students” ovaluative allitures towards yap-fill exercises aller the experimental porind

5 Scope of the Study

‘The experiment was conducted to examine the impact of one type of vocabulary exercises,

€., gap-fill exercises on students’ acquisition of vocabulary ‘Ihe sample was a small group of grade 10 sindenis who were non-randomily assigned lo a control eless and an experimental class (41 students for cach) Therefore, ne intention was made to goncralins the findings

6 Significance of the Study

Although no generalization was intended, the findings of the study could inform teachers

of the effectivencss of gap-fill excreiscs on students’ vocabulary learning,

7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is organized in three parts

Part Lis The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, aims, rescareh

hypotheses, scope, significance, and method of the study

Part Il is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background to teactting and leaming vocabulary in a second language including vocabulary’s definition, its role in second language learning, the vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary exercises and the relationship between gap-fill exercises and vocabulary

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Vocabulary is an important language clement that links four language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing together and makes communication flow smoothly Reality shows that many students have fairly good knowledge of grammar but atc hardly able lo express themselves properly becauss of their vacubulary doficicney Vocabulary leammg, therefore, becomes the central to language acquisition and interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years Scholars and

teachers new emphasize the need of systematic and principled approach lo vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner (Decarzico, 2001; Nation, 1990) One of the concerns in vocabulary is how to help students acquire their English vocabulary,

However, at upper secondary schools, the teaching and learning of English language in

general, L’nglish vocabulary in particular are still far from satisfaction as students’ final results in most Tinglish examinations remain unchanged at low levels In fact, most

secondary school students have not paid cnough: attention to vocabulary learning as they

mainly receive basic lessons of grammar together with four skills from their teachers and textbooks IL is common knowledge thal there are various techniques of learning vocabulary, mastering and using it in different contexts and one of the effective techniques

to help students to reinforce vocabulary is giving them appropriate vocabulary exercises,

namely, gup-fill cxcrciscs This lype of vocabulary excreises typically consists of leaving a zap or a blank space in a sentence or a passage which students have to fill in with the correct latter, word, phrase or whatever is missing,

Though vocabulary is vitally important to master any forcign languages, in reality, many grade 10 students’ English vocabulary is shll limited even though they have learned English for four years at the lower secondary school, It is their limited vocabulary that explains their poor performance in using English and in their test performance All these have motivated me to conduct this quasi-experimental research on the topic given, namely

sto 17" form students’ vocabulary acquisition

efficiency of gap- fill exer

4 Mcthod of the Study

Because the purpose of the study is to test out the impact of gap-fill exercises on students” acquisition of vocabulary, a quasi-experiment with a pre-test- and post-test design was adopted in this study Two non-randomized groups of 82 students (one control group and one experimental group, N~ 41 cach) participated in this experiment The pre-test and post-test scores were analyzed by means of t-test to find out the correlation of the two

means lo accepl or reject the null hypothesis, namely gap-fill exercises do nol have any effect on grade 10 students’ English vocabulary leaming In addition, a post-experiment questionnaire was also used as the supplementary instrument to elicit the students” ovaluative allitures towards yap-fill exercises aller the experimental porind

5 Scope of the Study

‘The experiment was conducted to examine the impact of one type of vocabulary exercises,

€., gap-fill exercises on students’ acquisition of vocabulary ‘Ihe sample was a small group of grade 10 sindenis who were non-randomily assigned lo a control eless and an experimental class (41 students for cach) Therefore, ne intention was made to goncralins the findings

6 Significance of the Study

Although no generalization was intended, the findings of the study could inform teachers

of the effectivencss of gap-fill excreiscs on students’ vocabulary learning,

7 Organization of the thesis

This thesis is organized in three parts

Part Lis The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, aims, rescareh

hypotheses, scope, significance, and method of the study

Part Il is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one reviews theoretical background to teactting and leaming vocabulary in a second language including vocabulary’s definition, its role in second language learning, the vocabulary acquisition, vocabulary exercises and the relationship between gap-fill exercises and vocabulary

LISTS OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest of experimental and control groups

Means gains of the expatimental group and control groups after the experiment

Students’ altitudes towards GFFs

The differences between the means scores on the paired pretest and the paired posttests

Differences in gain values obtainsd by both groups after the experiment