000029021 TEACHING VOCABULARY THROUGH WORD ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUES: AN EXPERIMENT DẠY TỪ VỰNG THÔNG QUA KỸ THUẬT LIÊN HỆ TỪ: MỘT THÍ NGHIỆM

000029021 TEACHING VOCABULARY THROUGH WORD ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUES: AN EXPERIMENT DẠY TỪ VỰNG THÔNG QUA KỸ THUẬT LIÊN HỆ TỪ: MỘT THÍ NGHIỆM

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES

TRAN THI THU HUONG

TEACHING VOCABULARY THROUGH WORD ASSOCIATION TECHNIQUES: AN EXPERIMENT

4 2.2 C o m p a r i s o n o f the Pretest and the 1st Poslt est R e s u l t s o f L 2 0 0 3 45

4 2.3 C o m p a r i s o n o f the Pretest and the 1st Posiiest R e s u l t s o f C 2 0 0 3 4 0

in

4 2.5 C o m p a r i s o n o f t he 1 si an d the 2 n d Posiiesi R e s u l t s o f I 2003 484.2.6 C o m p a r i s o n o f t he 1st an d the 2 nd Posll est R e s u l t s o f C 2 0 0 3 49

A c k n o w l e d g e m e n t

I w o u ld like to express m y sincere gra titu d e to m y a c a d e m ic supervisor .\fr H oa n g I an Hoot, MA (T E SO L j a s e n io r lecturer at H anoi U n iv e rsity o f F o r e ig n S tu d ie s, who has given m e c o n scien tio u s g u id a n c e a n d s u p e rvisio n th ro u g h o u t the w riting o f this thesis His p a t ie n t atte n tio n to detail, his enthusiasm a n d w illingness to s h a re ideas has been invaluable H is assistance a n d e n c o u ra g e m en t are a p r e c o n d itio n fo r the succe ss o f this M.A thesis.

I am I n d e b te d to all stu d e n ts o f co h o rts 23 a n d 24 o f the English D e p a rtm e n t at I la lav

Teacher T ra in in g College w ho have h elpfully partic ip a te d as in fo rm a n ts for the study, to

m y c o lle a g u es fo r their w a rm concern, interest a n d a s sista n ce in the p r o c e ss o f collecting the data, p r in t i n g a n d co p y in g materials Without their p a r tic ip a tio n a n d support, this thesis w o u l d nev er have c o m e into existence.

I w o u l d also like to express m y special thanks a n d a p p re cia tio n to ,\ls X g u y c n Thai I la

MA (TESO L), j o r her v aluable g uide in m a k in g the diesis proposal, her significauil\

im p o rta n t su g g e stio n s a n d c o m m en ts on identifying re se a rc h a p p r o a c h e s as well as

p r o v id i n g m a teria ls relating to the experiment.

1 am g r a te fu l to Dr Pham K im Sinh H e a d o f the D e p a rtm e n t o f Post ( ir a d u a te Studies,

a n d to the w h o le staff o f the D epartm ent fo r crea tin g lavorabte conditions a n d their

e n c o u ra g e m e n t to me to com p lete this thesis.

Last but n ot at all least, m y special appre cia tio n g o e s to m v h u s b a n d a n d m v two

d a u g h te r s f o r their love, encouragem ent, great help L in d care, which are e xtrem elv

im p o r ta n t fo r m y success.

List o f Tables

IWCil

Table I B P r e t es t re sult s o f e a ch s e c t i o n s o f I:.2 0 0 3 a n d C.20U3 92

Table 2 C o m p a r i s o n o f the pretest and the 1st post test re sult s o f I •.2003 45

Table 3 C o m p a r i s o n o f t he pretest an d t he 1st post t est re s ul t s o f C 2 0 0 3 4 6

Table 4 A T h e 1st Pos t t est re s ul t s o f P 2 0 0 3 and C 2 0 0 3 47

Table 4 B T h e first post t est re s ul t s o f ea ch s ec t i o n s o f f 2 0 0 3 an d C 2 0 0 3 93

Table 5 C o m p a r i s o n o f t he 1st post test an d the 2nd p o s t t e s t re sul t s o f I '.2 0 0 3 4<S Tabl e 6 C o m p a r i s o n o f t he 1st post test a n d the 2nd p o s t t e s t re sult s o f C 2 0 0 3 4 9

Table 7 A T h e 2 n d Postt est results o f H.2 0 03 and C 2 0 0 3 50

Tabl e 7 B T h e s e c o n d pos t tes t result s o f e a ch s e c t i o n s o f L 20 u 3 a n d C 2 0 0 3 94

List o f S a m p l e s o f V o c a b u l a r y P r e s e n t a t i o n for C o n t r o l a n d E x p e r i m e n t a l ( ¿r ou p s

Since E n g lis h ha s been w id ely u se d in I'ietnam the leaching a n d learning of l-'.nglish have b e c o m e m o re a n d m o re im portant to both tea c h e rs a n d 'indents a n d the teaching ot

vo c a b u la r y is one o f them Teachers w o u ld like to apply the m ost m o d e r n a n d

a p p ro p r ia te m e th o d s to the leaching to m eet the students ’ ne e d s to m a ste r /-jiglisli language.

There are m a n y different vrc/y.v o f te a c h in g v o c a b u la ry but the p r o b le m is that which tech n iq u es a n d w hich p ro c ed u r e s s h o u ld be a p p l ie d in the context o f HTTC The main

p u r p o s e s o f this r ese a rch s tu d y were to c o m p a r e the tw o d id ere n t m e thods: tradition^',

m e t h o d a n d current m ethods: using W o n ! A s s o c ia tio n Techniques ill 17) to /inti m u it

t ea c h in g w o r d lists th ro u g h w o r d a s so cia tio n tec h n iq u e s help le a r n e r s learn a large

n u m b e r o f w o r d s in a short tim e a n d re ta in w o r d s o ver time Specifically, the investigator

a tte m p te d to explore the m ost effective w ays to be a p p l ie d to leaching vocabulary.

The instru m en t u s e d in this stu d y was an e x p e r im e n t in which the tw o different methods ( traditional m e th o d s a n d WAT) were a p p lie d to tw o g r o u p s itiie c o n tr o l a n d experim ental groups) The e x p erim en t consists o f three parts The first purl was the pretest, which

re q u ires the subjects to do the test to collect the results and to f i n d out the n u m b e r oi

u n k n o w n w o rd s the s tu d en ts d i d not k n o w (w h ic h w o u ld be taught after die p r e te stt 'Ihe

s e c o n d p a r t was the a p plic ation o f die two tec h n iq u e s m e n tio n e d above to leach new

w o rd s to tw o g r o u p s a n d the third part w as the p o s t test to collect the results The results

o f the tw o tests were a n a ly z e d a n d taken into c o n s id e r a tio n o f the re le v a n t literature io

c o m p a r e w hich m eth o d s w ere m ore effective to the students The students ' p a riie ip a iio u

w a s also o b s e r v e d d u r in g the lessons by die te a c h e r to see how die m e th o d s were a p p lie d

a n d to s tu d y the stu d e n ts ' m otivation increase a n d interest.

Ylll

The s tu d y c o n c lu d e d b y d iscu ssin g the im plications o f the results from the tw o tests

c o n d u c te d b y the tea c h e r to the students In addition, the study also p r o p o s e d s o mi

s u g g e stio n s for furthe r research These suggestions slate the n e e d to conduct more rese a rc h to confirm the results a n d the effectiveness of the current m ethods e specially

WA T a n d to gel m ore info rm a tio n about h o w to leach v o c a b u la ry m o r e effectively.

IX

Sta tem ent o f Authorship

E xc e pt w h e r e r e fe r e n c e is m a d e in the text o f t he thesis, this t he s is c o n t a i n s no mater i al

p u b l i s h e d e l s e w h e r e o r e x t r a c t e d in w h o l e or in part f r om a t he s i s p r e s e n t e d b\ m e for

a n o t h e r d e g r e e or d i p l o m a

No o t h e r p e r s o n ' s w o r k h a s b e e n u se d w i t h o u t d u e a c k n o w l e d g e m e n t in the m a i n text o f the thesis

T h is t h es i s h a s not been s u b m i t t e d for the a w a r d o f a n o t h e r d e g r e e o r d i p l o m a in a m

" e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y has b e e n a great p r o b l e m for t ea c he r s in t he E n g l i s h - s p e a k i n gcountries a n d e s p e c i a l l y in V i e t n a m M a n y r e s e a r c h s t u d i e s h a w b e e n d o n e to find outtie m o s t e f f e c t i v e a p p r o a c h e s to the t e a c h i ng o f v o ca bula ry and the m o s t i m p o r t a n t thingi> h o w to a p p l y t h e m to t e a c h i n g c on te xt s It is said that there are many di f f e r en t w a y s to

e a c h v o c a b u l a r y , b ut s o m e w a y s are m o r e e f f e c t i v e than o th e r s B el ow are several

¡ r inc ipl es for t e a c h i n g w o r d s First, it is n e c e s s a r y to p r o v i d e the c o n t e x t s for new wor ds.Second, t he t e a c h e r s h o u l d not pr e sent too m a n y w o r d s at once N e x t, it is i m p o r t a n t tojractise w o r d s in c o n t e x t s a n d lastly t e a c h e r l e a c h e s the s t u d en t s s ki l ls for g u e s s i n g new

to b e g i n l e a r n i n g on the first d a y o f a c l a s s an d t he y are

p o w e r f u l e n o u g h to e n c o u r a g e c o m m u n i c a t i o n from the very

b e g i n n i n g W o r d s are s mal l p i e c e s o f l an g ua g e , w h i c h c a r r y

bits o f m e a n i n g K n o w i n g m a n y w o r d s d o e s not g u a r a n t e e a

p e r s o n will be abl e to sp e a k a l an g ua g e , but not k n o w i n g

e n o u g h w o r d s ca n p r e v e n t a p er s o n from effectively s p e a k i n g

o r u n d e r s t a n d i n g a l angua ge So we m us t teach w o r d s from

the very s tar t ” ( p 2 3)

A q u e s t i o n is r a is ed h er e a b o u t w h a t it m e a n s to know " a w o r d " , l o know "a w o r d ” is: first, to k n ow how lo use il (i.e how s t u d e n t s m a k e up s e n t e n c e s o r raise q ue s t i o n s cor r ec tl y) S e c o n d , to k n o w how lo p r o n o u n c e it Th ir d, to know w h a t it m e a n s , f o u r t h ,

lo k n o w h o w to spell it Filt h, lo k n ow i is par ts o f s p e e c h an d lastly, to r e c o g n i z e it w h e n

y ou r e a d it

1.2 A i m s o f t h e t hes i s

In t hi s thesi s, t he r e s e a r c h e r c o n s i d e r s tw'o w a y s o f t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y , t e a c h i n g wor d lists t h r o u g h w o r d a s s o c i a t i o n by u s i n g a v ar ie ty o f t e c h n i q u e s , s u c h as S e m a n tic

m apping, p a ir - m a tc h in g a n d w o r d fa m ilies w h i c h ar e s u g g e s t e d by D e c a r r i c o (2001 ) and

S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) an d /ca ch in g v ocabulary by rule m e m o riz a tio n ( g i v i n g the m e a n i n g o f

p r o b l e m s at H T T C in t e a c h i n g and l e a r n i n g v o c a b u l a r y Il also i n c l u d e s the o r g a n i z a t i o n

of the thesis C h a p t e r II f oc us es on the o v e r v i e w ol the re l e vant lite rat ure , starling will;

t he c o n c e p t s o f v o c a b u l a r y , de f i n i t i o n o f v o c a b u l a r y , the g oa l s o f v oc a bula ry l earning,

t he i nt e g r a t i o n b e t w e e n v o c a b u l a r y t e a c h i n g a n d the t e a c h i ng o f four m a c r o skills, the

d e v e l o p m e n t in t he t e a c h i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y w o u l d be m e n t i o n e d by d e s c r i b i n g the

t rad i t i o na l a n d c ur r en t m e t h o d s o f t e a c hi ng v o c a b u la r v I he Iasi part o f ihe c h a p t e r is lo

s t u d y p r e v i o u s r e s e a r c h s t ud ie s related lo this thesis lo r e c o g n i / e i he s t re ng t hs and

w e a k n e s s e s o f t h o s e r e s ea r c h s t u d i e s C h a p t e r t hree d et ai l s the m e t h o d s a n d p r o c e d u r e s

u s e d to c o n d u c t t he s t ud y a n d lo c ol lec t the data R e s u l t s a n d d i s c u s s i o n a p p e a r in c h a p t e r four C h a p t e r live i n c l u de s i m p l i c a t i o n r e s u l t i n g from the study, s u g g e s t i o n s for further

r e s e a r c h , a n d c o n c l u s i o n

C h a p t e r two: R e v i e w o f the L i t e r a t u r e

2.1 T h e c o n c e p t s o f v o c a b u l a r y

2.1.1 D e f i n i t i o n o f v o c a b u l a r y

V o c a b u l a r y is the total n u m b e r o f all w o r d s that a l a n g u a g e p r o c e s s i nc l ud es a single

w o r d o r t w o o r t hr e e w o r d i t e ms e x p r e s s i n g a s ingl e idea and m u l t i - w o r d i d i o ms w h o s e

m e a n i n g c a n not be d e d u c t e d from t he a n a l y s is o f c o m p o n e n t w o r d s ( M e Lay 1991) f o r

e x a m p l e 'P e o p le are i/o w n -io -c a r lli m e a n s p e o p l e ar c very h o n es t 'T o p u ll som eone's leg' m e a n s to tease s o m e b o d y or to play j o k e on s o m e b o d y .etc

H a r m e r ( 1 9 9 6 ) st at ed that s t u d e n t s not only k n o w how to c h a n g e w o r d s - how to m a k e 'P o s s i b l e' i m p o s s i b l e ' , h o w to m a k e ' inleresling' ' iniei'esied' hut al so know how w o r d s

c h a n g e t h e i r m e a n i n g an d s o m e t i m e s c r o s s - g r a m m a t i c a l borders, l o r e x a m p l e , the word

" a w e s o m e ' u se d to m e a n s o m e t h i n g that II1 led p e o p l e w ith m i x t u r e o f r espect or an d fear

N o w it m e a n s simply ' g o o d ' or ' g r e a t ' In o t h e r w o r d s , s t u d e n t s s h o u l d know what w o r d s

m e a n bo t h literally an d m e t a p h o r i c a l l y an d they know how w o r d s o p e r a t e gr a mm a t i c a l l y

a n d the w o r d f o r m a t i o n and to twist w o r d s to lit d i ff e re n t g r a m m a t i c a l con t ex ts B e c a u s e

w o r d s c a n c h a n g e t hei r s h a p e a n d their g r a m m a t i c a l value W i t h o u t this lexical

k n o w l e d g e , they w o u l d not be a bl e to use the g r a m m a r to g e n e r a t e s e n t e n c e s with

m e a n i n g , (pp 156-157)

Ur ( 1 9 9 8 ) p o i n t e d out his c o n c l u s i o n a b o u t the d e f i n i t i o n o f \ o e a b u l a r y :

" V o c a b u l a r y can be d e f i n e d , r ou ghl y, as the w o r d s w e l each in

the for ei gn l angua ge H o w e v e r , a new item o f v oc a bula ry m a y

be m o r e t han a s in g le w o r d : for e x a m p l e , post o f f ic e a n d m o t h e r

i n- l a w w h i c h are m a d e up t w o or three w o r d s but e x p r e s s a

s in gl e idea T h e r e are al so multi - w o r d i d i o m s such as call it a

d ay w h e r e the m e a n i n g o f the p h ra s e ca n not be d e d u c e d from

an a n a l y s i s o f the c o m p o n e n t wo rd s A usef ul c o n v e n t i o n is to

c o v e r all s u c h c a s e s by t a l ki ng ab ou t v o c a b u l a r y ' i t e m s ' ra t he r

t han ' w o r d s ' ( p 60)

By n o w it is c l e a r lor us to u n d e r s t a n d the c o n c e p t s o f \ ocabulary a n d the c o m p l i c a t i o n s

o f f o r m i n g w o r d s so that t e a c he r s will know how to t e a c h v oc a bula ry well M o r g a n and

S o m e p e o p l e p l ay on w o r d s that " / / g r a m m a r can he c o m p a r e d to h o n e s llicn v o c a h u h in

a s m u s c le s a n d hlo o d ". W h e n t e a c h i n g a slang, the t e a c h e r s ho u ld t e a c h t he voca bul a ry first a n d t he n put t h e m in t he c o n t e x t an d gi ve s t u d e n t s s o m e s u g g e s t i o n s to u n de r s t a n d , for e x a m p l e 'G r a s s ' is a c rim in a l s la n g f o r in fo rm er ' ip /ic f is a s l a n g for '.I p o u n d '

o r i d i o m s , for e x a m p l e , the s e n t e n c e "T he h a n k e r 's w ife 's nin es" m i g h t m a k e s t u d e n t s

m i s u n d e r s t a n d b e c a u s e s t u d e n t s ca n not r e c o g n i z e that ' h / u e s ' m e a n s s a d n e ss or s o r ro w

o r misery. T h a t is v o c a b u l a r y a p p e a r s first so v o c a b u l a r y is the first l inguisti c a r e a that

l e a r n e r s c o m e to c o n t a c t wi th e i t h er in wr itten o r s p o k e n form A n d the p u r p o s e the

t e a c h e r has to t e a c h v o c a b u l a r y is to t ake it for g r a n t e d in foreign l a n g u a g e t eac hi ng

2 1 2 T y p e s o f v o c a b u l a r y :

A c c o r d i n g to Ellis an d S in c l a i r ( 1 9 9 2) there are t wo k i n d s o f v o c a b u l a r y : they are a c t i v e

a n d p a s s i v e v o ca b u l a r y P as si ve vocabulary refers to l a n g u a g e i t e m s that c a n be

r e c o g n i z e d a n d u n d e r s to o d in the c o n t e x t o f r e ad i ng o r listening, a n d a c t i v e v oc a bula ry to

i t e m s w h i c h the l ea r ne r can use a p p ro p ria te ly in s p e a k i n g and w r i t i n g I hey c o n c l u d e d

t h a t m a n y l ea r n e r s ( bot h n at i ve a n d n o n - n a t i v e s p e a k e r s ) are w o r r i e d a b o u t their lack o f

a c t i v e v o c a b u l a r y In fact, they ar e not a w a r e o f t he d is t in c ti o n b e t w e e n a c t i v e and

p a s s i v e v o ca bu la r y b e c a u se it is usual to h a v e a far l ar g e r p a s s i ve v oc a bu l ar y t h a n the

a c t i v e one

4

Be s ide s , P a d r o n cl al ( 1 9 9 7 ) also m e n i i o n e d t w o t ypes o f v o c a b u l a r y : a c t i v e an d p a s s i v e (or p r o d u c t i v e an d r e c ep t i v e ) A view o f v oc a bula ry k n o w l e d g e d i s t i n g u i s h e s b e t w e e n active a n d p a s s i v e k n o w l e d g e o f a l an g ua g e : that is it m a k e s a d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n the ability to m a k e s e n s e o f a w o r d an d ihe ability to a c ti v a t e the w o r d a u t om at i ca l l y Un­

p r o d u c t i v e p u r p o s e s P a l m b e r g ( 1 9 8 7 ) r eUccl ed this view in his ar ti cle I ’o c a h u la r v

T ea ch in g in the F o re ig n L a n g u a g e C la ssro o m F o r h i m to know fully a for eign l a n g u a g e

wo r d r e q u i r e s that the l ea r n e r is abl e to r e c o g n i z e it in its s p o k e n o r w r i t t en form, to recall

it to r e l a t e it to a p p r o p r i a t e o b j e c t s o r c o n c e p t s , to use it in the a p p r o p r i a t e g r a m m a t i c a l

f o rms , to p r o n o u n c e it in a r e a s o n a b l e wa y to spell it co rr e c tl y, to c o m b i n e it wi th o t he r

w o r d s , t o r e la t e it w i t h o t h e r w o r d s an d a s s o c i a t i o n s a n d use it on the a p p r o p r i a t e level o f

f o r m a l i t y a n d in t he a p p r o p r i a t e s i t uat ions Es pe c ia l l y Na t i o n ( 2 0 0 1 ) r e ferr ed to four

k i n d s ot v o c a b u l a r y in t he text, high f r e q u e n c y words, a c a d e m ic w on/s technical, a n d

l o w - f r e q u e n c y w o rd s (p 1 0) l i e listed an e x a m p l e ol the re sult s o f a f r equency c o u n t and

p o i n t e d o u t t h o s e f e w e r than 5 0 0 r u n n i n g w o r d s ol the l a dvhir d v e r s i on o f The 'Tree Lillie Pigs. It c o n t a i n s 124 d i ff e re n t w o r d types

H e a l s o m e n t i o n e d t he a d v a n t a g e s ol d e r i v e d w o r d s c o n t a i n i n g k n o w n - b a s e d f o r m s that

r e d u c e t he l e a r n i n g b u r d e n o f s t udent s T h e s e i n c l u de a f f i x e s l i k e - ly - n e s s an d tin-, it is a bit s i m p l e for s t u d e n t s to for m new w o r d s fr om the root w o r d s , for e x a m p l e :

H e c o n c l u d e d that a w o r d family c o n s i s t s til a h e a d w o r d , its i nf l ec te d f or ms a n d its

c l o s e l y r e la t e d d e r i v e d l or ms l i e a r g u e d that the m a j o r p r o b l e m in c o u n t i n g u s i n g wor d

f a m i l i e s is to d e c i d e w h a t s ho u l d be i nc l u d ed in a w o r d family a n d w h a t s h o u l d not I his

c a n be w-ell d o n e wi t h the s t u de n t s w h o h a v e k n o w l e d g e an d r e c o g n i t i o n ol the p r e fi xe s

a n d s u f f i x e s so they can gain m o r e e x p e r i e n c e o f t he l an g ua g e

2.2 I n t e g r a t i o n b e t w e e n v o c a b u l a r y a n d the f o u r m a c r o skills

A c c o r d i n g to N a t i o n ( 2 00 1 p p 11 4 -1 2 6) l e a r ne r s need al least 9 5 % c o v e r a g e o f the

r u n n i n g w o r d s in the inpul in o r d e r lo gain r e a s o n a b l e c o m p r e h e n s i o n and lo have

im p o rta n t

k in d

un im p o rta n t kindness

e a s o n a b l e s u c c e s s al g u e s s i n g f r om c o n l e x i s L e a r n e r s need to me e t new w o r d s in differing c o n t e x t s that s t r et c h their k n o w l e d g e o f t he wor ds: in a r a n g e o f linguistic

; o n t e x t s in a s s o c i a t i o n wi t h pi ct ur e s, an d in d i s c u s s i o n an d n e got ia t ion So t e a c he r s can r\ to a f fe c t the qual it y o f the ment al p r o c e s s i n g o f v o e a b u l a i y wh il e l ear ners listen to the ape o r stories L e a r n i n g v o c a b u l a r y fr om s p o k e n input is an e f f ec t i v e m e a n s , o f

Just as t he oral skil ls o f l is te nin g a n d s p e a k i n g c a n c o n t r i b u t e to v o c a b u l a r y g r o w t h , s o

can the w r i t t en skills o f r e a d i n g and w r i t i n g ( N a t i o n 20 0 1 pp 144) 11 is studv s h o w e d that v o c a b u l a r y k n o w l e d g e a n d r e a d i n g c o m p r e h e n s i o n ar e very closelv related to each other I his r e l a t i on s hi p is not on e d i re c t i on a l V o c a bu l a r v know l edge can hel p r e a d in g

a n d r e a d i n g can c o n t r i b u t e lo voca bula r v g r o wt h

N a t i o n ( 2 0 0 1 ) p oi n t ed o ut that the m e a s u r e s o f l a n g u a g e use i n cl u de d m e a s u r e s o f oral

l a n g u a g e , r e a d in g c o m p r e h e n s i o n , an d wri ti ng A n i nt er e st ing f i ndi ng in s o m e o f the

s t u d i es w a s the i m p r o v e m e n t m a d e in w r i t i n g w h i c h s u g g e s t e d that l e a r n e r s ' k n o w l e d g e had p a s s e d a t h r e s h o ld w h i c h w a s e n o u g h to allow t h e m to p r o d u c e thei r o w n ideas( p- 151)

S h e r w i n ( 1 9 9 0 ) m a d e a n i nt e r e st i n g c o m p a r i s o n a b o u t the integral r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n

a c q u i r i n g new-' w o r d s a n d i m p r o v e d abi lity to c o m m u n i c a t e in the l a n g u a g e wi th the

r e m i n i s c e n c e of the " chi cken a n d e g g " q u e s t i o n (p 169) A n d it is di ffi cul t lo sav whi ch

c o m e s first but it is c e r t a i n l y true that t he w i d e r the v o c a bu l a r v the e a s i e r the task o f

s p e a k i n g , listening, r e a d i n g a n d w r i t i ng b e c o m e It is a l s o true, h o w e v e r , that the mo r e the s t u d e n t s hear, read a n d use new v o c a b u l a r v the m o r e they will learn w o r d s and

r e m e m b e r t he m

E n g l i s h t e a c he r s are c o n s c i o u s of the i m p o r t a n c e ol vocabularv in m o d e r n l a n u u a e c

l e a c h i n g but a big q u e s t i o n is how t e a c h er s t each v oc a bula rv and how s t u d e n t s ac quir e

6

M o r g a n a n d R i n v o l u c r i ( 1 9 9 1 p p 4 5) w h o already had a r e p u t a t i o n lor r i v a l i n g

i n n o v a t i v e l a n g u a g e t e a c h i n g ma t er ia ls , h a v e used t he s e i ns ig ht s to p r o d u c e a sol o f

pr a ctical t e c h n i q u e s

In s u m m a r y , the a c q u i s i t i o n o f v o c a b u l a r y is al so q u i t e necessary in Engl is h l an g ua g e

l ear ni ng T h i s is b e c a u s e l e a r ne r s ne e d v o c a b u l a r y to u n d e r s t a n d s p o k e n Engl ish, to

c o m p r e h e n d w r i t t e n E n gl is h, to say wha t t hey w o u l d n ee d to say an d lo ge ne r at e , d e v e l o p and p r e s e n t i deas in thei r w r i t i n g in English I her e is t he laei that a g o o d k n o w l e d g e ol

v o c a b u l a r y can d o m u c h to hel p d e v e l o p an d i n v o l v e lear ners w i t h all the l our skills:

s p e a k i n g, l iste ni ng, r e ad i ng a n d writing

2.3 D e v e l o p m e n t in the t e a c h i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y

A s v o c a b u l a r y p l a y s s uc h a n i m po r t a nt role in a l a n g u a g e a n d in Engl is h l an g u a g e

l ear ni ng, t he t e a c h i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y is an e s p e c i a l l y s i gn if i c a n t a s p e c t o f foreign

l a n g u a g e m e t h o d o l o g y H o w e v e r , a s a m a t t e r o f fact, there h a v e not be e n very cl ea r

t he o r i e s o f v o c a b u l a r y a c q u i s i t i o n an d r e s e a r c h activity is in g e n e ra l , at a fairly low level H u g h e s ( 1 9 8 9 ) e v e n st res se d that l e a c h i n g a n d l ear ning v o ca bu la ry ha v e been

d e v e l o p e d for 1500 yea r s blit no really new way lo t eac h and l earn v oc a bu l ar y an d yet no

b r a n c h o f f or ei gn l a n g u a g e t e a c h i n g an d l e a r n i ng w o u l d bet ter d e s e r v e i nve s ti ga t ion

T h e old p r o v e r b "what is n e w is not true a n d what is true is not n e w " is particularly

r e le v a nt to the h i s t or y o f v o c a b u l a r y t e a c h i n g ( C a r t e r an d M c C a r t h y 1989 p 39) I lie

t e a c h i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y has been the p r o b l e m for c e nt ur i e s C a r t e r a n d Mc C a r th y also

e x t r a c t e d t he s a y i n g fr om the b o ok " R em edies o f the Im perfection a m i A b u s e <>l W o n t s"

by the p h i l o s o p h e r J o h n l o c k e ( 1 9 7 5 p p 5 5 2 - 3 ) that "c oncrete words were best

d e s c r ib e d by p ic tu r e s rather than p a r a p h r a s e or d e /in itio n " w h i c h m i g h t be see n a s a

p r e c u r s o r o f m o d e r n l e a r n er s ' d i c t i o na r i e s o r many present -day l e a c h i n g mater ials M u c h

o f w h a t is said n o w a d a y s on the t e a c h i n g and le a r ni ng o f v o c a b u l a r y h as been a r o u n d for

a ver y l on g time T h e hi st or y and dev e l o p m e n t o f voca bul a ry l e a c h i n g is there fore , nol

so m u c h o n e o f ol d i nsi ghts l e a di ng lo n ew: it is m o r e a series o f d o m i n a t i n g i de o l og ie s

7

C' f a s h i o n s t h a t h a v e s u c c e e d e d o n e a n o t h e r an d w h i c h M i m e l i m c s c o m e l ul l circle In hct, t he r e h a s be e n e r e a t p r o g r e s s , m u c h r c l l n c n i c n l ha s Ui kcn p l a c e O U T t h e y e a r s and

a p p r o a c h e s t o t h e t e a c h i i m o f v o c a b u l a r y h a v e d r a w n on a d v a n c e s in d c s c r i p l i \ e

l n g u i s t i c s , p s y c h o l i n g u i s t i c s and I' c c c ni I\ e o n i p u U i i i o n a l l i n g u i s t i c s

I h e r e ar e m a n y di f f e r en t w a y s to t each v o c a b u l a r y , lull s o m e w a v s arc m o r e d i c c l i w tian o t h er s b e c a u s e o f m a n y r easons It d e p e n d s on w hat t e c h n i q u e s a n d how t he I cachcr applies to t he t e a c h i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y to suit I he students" level, ihci r backLiround kiovvledse a n d their a c q u i s i t i o n o f t he l a n u u a a e In short, il is c e r t a i n lliul c a d i m c l h o d his its o w n a d v a n t a g e s an d d i s a d v a n t a g e s t he n e w e r o n e s iniulit he b e l t er llian I ho okl

oi es an d OÍ c o u r s e , t e a c h e r pl ays a ver y i m p o r t a n t role in l e a d i i n u \ o ca b u l a i A ill hdpiiiLi tie s t u d e n t s l earn a n d r e m e m b e r the w o r d s m o r e easily

24 T r a d i t i o n a l m e t h o d

V h a t is m e a n t by ■■ f r a di i iona l m e t h o d " in this sillily is I he m os t p o p u l a r m e t h o d a ppl ie d widely by V i e t n a m e s e t e a c h e r s today I his h as s o m e t l i s a d u m i a u e s for the MiklcniN hill some a d v a n t a g e s for t he t e a c he r s It is s i m p l e to l e a c h all the m e u m i m s o f new l.iiLilish words in V i e t n a m e s e T e a c h e r s t ransl at e w o r d s cl i reel I \ lor I he s i u d e n i s fr om I n u l i s l ) 10

Vi et na me se , s o s t u d e n t s ar e not e n c o u r a u e d 10 look up I he new w o r d s in II clictionaiA ill chss T h e t e a c h e r b e c o m e s t he s t u d e n t s ’ dict ionar y in c l a s s an d llic iccichcr olk-n a s k s 1 he

s t i d e n t s d i r e c t l y il t here ar e n e w w o r d s an d i f the s i iklc nis want 10 k n o w I lie m e a n i n g o f thí w o r d s , t he t e a c he r p r o v i d e s the m c a n i i m in Vi ci ni imc se I lie t e a c h c r s on!) p er f or m vocabulary ac ti vi ti es that arc in I he lexis S o m e l oachcr* c \ cn o v e r l o o k i hc s c a c ii \i ii c v They e x p e c t s t u de n t s to m e m o r i z e new w o r d s by t h e m s d v e s anti r a re l y 1C\ icw their vocabulary If the s t u d e n l s m e e l a w o r d a ua in a n d I hoy h ; i \ e Ibriioilcn it llic Ic ac h cr will

e >p 1 ain it a ga in This is not a very s u c c e s s l u l m e t h o d b e c a u s e ill the r e s e a r c h e r s ' o pi ni on ,

it n a k e s t he s t u d e n t s passive

T i e t e a c he r s often p r e pa r e t he new l es s on s ver y c a r d III I\ to find oul ihc new ¿in J

i n p o r l a n l w o r d s as ihev o c c u r in skill d e v e l o p m e n t c o m p o n e n t s a n d [lien I he mcaniiiLi.s o f

8

t hos e w o r d s will he w r i t t e n on the boar d ! his p r o v i d e s helpful v oc a bula ry that they will

be a b l e to h e a r in t he s p o k e n d e s c ri p ti o ns I hey will be abl e to read the texts o r stori es

a n d t h e y will be a b l e to listen an d u n d e r s t a n d wha t they are li st e ni ng to If the s t u de n t s

h a v e g o o d m e m o r i e s , they c a n r e m e m b e r t h e m i f not they can forget t h e m easily a n d that

is t he r e a s o n w h y t h ey h a v e to look up the old w o r d s they h a v e already learnt in the

d i ct i o n a r y

A s a r e s ul t , s t u d e n t s s o o n for get t he w o r d s they h a v e learnt in a s h o r t e r t i me o r l onger

t i m e d e p e n d i n g on the fact that t hey h a v e g o o d m e m o r i e s or not They try study ing l i s i s

o f w o r d s , s pel li ng, p r o n u n c i a t i o n s , m e a n i n g , and sy n o n y m s only to r e a l i ze a lew hour s later t h e i r r e s u lt s ar e h ar d l y s at isf ac t or y T h e y start b l a m i n g their p o o r m e m o r y They say that t he n u m b e r o f w o r d s in E n g li s h and the c o m p l e x u s a g e d i s c o u r a g e s t he m T h e y c o m e

to rely o n i nci dent al l ear ni ng, f i ndi ng i nt ent iona l s t u d y i n g b o ri ng an d ineff ici ent

T h e c o n t e n t o f the f o l l o w i n g part w o u l d be m e n t i o n e d by r e v i e w i n g five traditional

m e t h o d s s u c h as: t r a n s l a t i o n, d i c t i o n a r y w o r k , de f i n i t i on , g a m e s , an d m i m e t e c h n i q u e s in

t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y in w h i c h no a s s o c i a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s a r e used

2 4 E T r a n s l a t i o n

K e n e d y a n d B o l i t h o ( 1 9 9 1 ) c o n f i r m e d that t r a n sl at i on is o n e o f many o f the t e c h n i q u e s

t ra di ti ona l ly u se d in E E T and can be e x p l o i t e d in E S P voca bula ry t e ac hi ng , especially at the earl y s t a g e s w h e n bot h s ub je c t an d linguistic c o n t e n t s are at an e l e m e n t a r y level T h us

d e m o n s t r a t i o n an d v i s ua l s ca n be used to pre sent an d p r a c t i se w o r d s t h r o u g h translation, ind this m a y be a p p l i ed i f t he t e a c h e r is c o m p e t e n t in t he student s" l a n g u a g e as well as English

l o w e v e r C a i r n s and R e d m a n ( 1 9 9 2 ) m e n t i o n e d seve r al types o f t ra n s l at i o n e q u iv al e nt

; om e o f w h i c h m a y be a ver y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d form o f literal t r a n s l at i o n a n d most o f the

e a c he r s o ft en use this t e c h n i q u e in the c l a s s r o o m for v o c a b u l a r y t eac hi ng O n the urface m a n y e q u i v a l e n t s are par tially s y n o n y m o u s a n d s o m e i t ems a p p e a r to be s i mi l a r

9

hul t h e r e arc o ft e n cu lt ur a l d i f f e r e n c e s and in l a d p r o v e r b s and s a y i n g s wh i ch c a n n o t he

t r a n s l a t e d literally

T h i s t e c h n i q u e m i g h t c a u s e s o m e d if f i cu lt ie s w h e n the m e a n i n g o f an il em in o n e c o n l e x l

is i d en t i c a l in b o t h l a n g u a g e s F or e x a m p l e , the v e r b "To d e p e n d (on s o m e th in g

so m eb o d y ) " p r o v o k e s e r ro r s o f transl at ion s uc h as 7/ depends on him

2 4.2 D i c t i o n a r y w o r k

A c c o r d i n g to S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 p 2 4 5 ) m os t c o l l e c t i n g a n d m a i n t a i n i n g o f v o c a b u l a r y can

be t e r m e d as ' d i c t i o n a r y w o r k ' , i.e ro u t i ne s w h i c h l o c u s on the w o r d an d its d ef in i ti on This t e c h n i q u e p r o v i d e s a n o p p o r t u n i t y to set up m e m o r y links fr om visual as well as

m o t o r traces It is usef ul as an i n d e p e n d e n t v oc a bu l a r y a c q ui s i t i o n strategy, a n d it is

h e lpf ul to e x p o s e t h e m to a v ar ie ty o f way s to p ra ct i se w o r d s an d their d ef i n i t i o ns a n d let

t h e m c h o o s e the m a n n e r , w h i c h is c o m f o r t a b l e for t hem

The a d v a n t a g e o f u s i n g t he d i ct i o n a r y is that the dict ionar y use a i ds r e te nt ion Cirabe and

S tiller ( 1 9 9 7 ) d e s c r i b e d a s u c c e s s f u l c a se study o f 1.2 lear ni ng by a highly m o t i v a t e d

e a r n e r , w h o u se d t he bi l i ng u al dictionary to study voca bul a r y both intent ionally a s well

is i nci de n ta l l y T h e di ctionary hel ps lhe l ear ner yet ihe a c c u m i c m e a n i n g s o f wor ds: "The

■onscious though/ i n v o lv e d in deciding whether or not to look up a w o r d u r n u \ c / u l tor

’o c a b u la r y retention " (p 1 1 2 )

This t e c h n i q u e is v e r y tradi ti onal an d it w o u l d be m o r e e f f ec ti ve if t e a c h e r a s k s s t u d e n t s

o s p e a k out to c h e c k how they u n d e r s t a n d w o r d s o r p h r a s e s o r w o r k in gr oups In fact

hi s is to h el p s t u d e n t s how to e x p r e s s wha t they w a n t to say p er f ec t l y p r o v i d e d that : t u de n t s h a v e to use bilingua l di ct ionar y

1.4.3 ‘D e f i n i t i o n ’ T e c h n i q u e

"'he first t e c h n i q u e in t e a c h i n g voca bul a ry is p r o p o s e d by Allen ( 1 9 8 3 p.45) f h e a u t h o r pointed out that d e f i n i n g Engl is h w o r d by m e a n s o f o t h e r Engl ish w o r d s re qui r es real

10

still Il is a skill lhal is particular!} n e e d e d b\ t e a c he r s o f I n t e r me d i a t e cl asses, for t wo reisons:

O i e r e a s o n is this: as a g e n e r a l rule, i n t e r m e d i a t e s t u d e n t s s h o u l d h e a r E n g l i s h f r om their teicher E v e n in p r o g r a m s w h e r e the l e a r n e r s ' n a t ive l a n g u a g e is s o m e t i m e s u s ed in

t e i c h i n g b e g i n n e r s , the c l a s s e s for i n t e r m e d i a t e s t u d e n t s s ho u ld be c o n d u c t e d e n ti r c l ) in

E i gl is h

Tl e r e is a n o t h e r r e a s o n w h y t ea c he r s o f i n t e r m e d i a t e c l as s e s ne e d skill in c o m p o s i n g

s i n p l e E n g l i s h e x p l a n a t i o n s Un l i ke m os t o f the basi c v o e a b u l a r ) that is t aught in

el eme nt a r y l essons, m u c h o f the i n t e r m e d i a t e v o e a b u l a r ) c a n n o t be d e m o n s t r a t e d t h r o u g h

a c i o n s o r s h o w n t h r o u g h pi ct ur e s H o w e v e r , the t e a c h e r s can usually s h o w the m e a n i n g s

o f i n t e r m e d i a t e - l e v e l w o r d s by p u t t in g t h e m into E n g l i s h e x p l a n a t i o n s w h e r e the o t h e r

w a d s in t he s e n t e n c e s ar e alreadv k n o w n

Eh; c o m m o n w a y the t e a c h e r s often a p p l y is to use s i m p l e En g li s h to s ho w the m e a n i n g s

o f wor ds F o r e x a m p l e , t he m e a n i n g o f p a r e n t c a n be m a d e c l e a r to s t u d e n t s w h o alreadv know t he w o r d s p e r s o n , m o t h e r and f a t he r W e c a n put p a r e n t into a d e f i n i n g s e n t e n c e like thi s, “ A p a r e n t is a p e r s o n ’s m o t h e r o r fat he r A n d this is the t e a c h e r ' s d u t ) not

the s t u d e n t , to prov ide t he d e f i n i n g s e n t e n c e It is not easv to d e f i n e En g l i s h w o r d s bv

m e m s o f s i m p l e r E n g li s h w o r d s b e c a u s e the skill o f usi ng the t e c h n i q u e g e n e r a 11}

r e qti re s c o n s i d e r a b l e e x p e r i e n c e in t e a c h i n g En gl i sh to s p e a k e r s o f o t h e r l a n gu ag es ( p > 8 )

Ali m ( 1 9 8 3 p p 4 6 - 4 7 ) a l s o a p p r e c i a t e d the h e l p f u l n e s s o f a l e a r n e r ’s d i c t i o n a r ) t hr o u g h the c o m p a r i s o n with the t w o d ef i n i t i o ns o f an E n g l i s h v e r b w h i c h is o f t e n t aught at the

It is cl ea rl y s e e n lhat in ( 1 a the d ef i n i t i o n is less e x a ct less c o m p l e t e t han the d ef ini ti on

in ( 2 ) but the w o r d s o f the de f i n i t i o n are q u i t e s u r e to be k n o w n by s t u d e n t s in an

i n e r m e d i a t e c l as s w h e r e a s in ( 2 ) it is very di ff i cul t as the w o r d w h i c h is b ei ng d ef i n ed

al h o u g h it is p r e p a r e d for n a t ive s p ea k e r s T h e n t he t ea c he r s m a k e t he m e a n i n g o f the

T e a ch er s c a n n ot use this t e c h n i q u e to d e f i n e all the new w o r d s e s p e c i a l l y i d i oms , slang

w o r d s e t c T h i s t e c h n i q u e is o f t en used as the e x p l a n a t i o n o f the c o n c e p t s o f the w o r d s anc it is very n ec e s s a r y and usef ul to p r a c t i s e s t u d e n t s ' s p e a k i n g skill B e c a u s e m o r e o f the v o c a b u l a r y c a n be t aught by point ing, or by us in g pi ct ures, o r by d e m o n s t r a t i n g an act on

All en ( 1 9 8 3 p p 5 1 -52) staled that g u e s s i n g g a m e h as be e n very p o p u l a r lor a long lime

b e c a u s e that r e qu ir es the use o f En gl i sh w o r d s O n e s u c h g a m e is c o n d u c t e d as follow:(1) F o u r s t u d e n t s arc as k ed lo c o m e lo the f r om o f ihe c l a s s r o o m O n e s l u d e n i is sel ec t ed

to d r a w a slip from a box w h i c h c o n t a i n s w o r d s relat ed to m a n y d i f f e r e n t c a t e g o r i e s and(2) T h e s t u d e n t s w h o has d r a w n t he slip s h o w s it to his three c o m p a n i o n s at the front o f the r o o m , but not to o t h e r m e m b e r s i f the class (3) T h e o t h e r m e m b e r s o f the cl ass ir\ to

a u e s s t h e w'ord on the slip w h i c h has bee n d r a w n f r om the b ox by a s k i n g a b o u t the

c a t e g o r y , ' i s it a w o r d for f o o d ? F or f u r n i t u r e ? For t r a n s p o r t a t i o n ? e t c until the right

c a t e g o r y has be e n gue s se d (4) T h e on e w h o s e g u e s s is cor rect may d ra w a slip f r om the box t he n e x t t ime the g a m e is played

Wi ll is ( 1 9 8 6 p 122) also m e n t i o n e d the w a y o f t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y by usi ng a g a m e lo olay T e a c h e r has a set o f c a r d s b e t w e e n 30 a n d 50 w h i c h can be m a d e quickly by the

e a ch e r E a c h card has a w o r d o r p h r a s e wr i tt en tin it Put the card face d o w n on the table,

n pairs, s t u d e n t s take t urns p i c k i n g a card (the rule is not to s ho w it to their partners)

S t u d e n t s h a v e to try to m a k e their par tne r s say w h a t is on t he c a r d by e x p l ai n i n g , defini ng, a s k i n g q u es t i o n s an d so on

j a m e s , Ii ke-activities are o f t e n r e c o m m e n d e d for l e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y not for p a s s i n g ime G a m e s have s o m e a d v a n t a g e s Firstly, it e n c o u r a g e s s t u d e n t s ' vocabulary

t x p a n s i o n an d well - c ho se n g a m e s can help s t u d e n t s a c q u i r e E n g l i s h w o r d s S e c o n d l y, james ar e hel pful for s t u d e n t s b e c a u s e they c r ea t e c o n d i t i o n s in w h i c h the use o f the

a r g e t l a n g u a g e is n e c es sa r y for l e a d in g the p la ye r s to the cor rec t g u e s s I lovvever it also

l a s s o m e d i sa d v a n t a g e s , as s o m e g a m e s do not r e qu i r e the pl aye r s to s p e a k any l a n g u a g e during t he g a m e s A n d m a n y g a m e s that i nv ol v e phy si ca l activity are u n s u i t a b l e b e c a u s e

h e y ar e t oo noi sy for the c l a s s r o o m so s t u d e n t s feel they must e x p r e s s their e m o t i o n s in

h e n a t i ve l anguage

A n o t h e r d i s a d v a n t a g e is that g a m e s can be m a d e m o r e difficult bv p u t t i n g l onge r p h r a s e s ,

t.g "in a siiilciisc" or "turn lhe 11' oJj" or m a k i n g t he m m o r e s pe c if ic , e.g "¡he

siilca se" o r " the m an who was walking". S o g a m e s ca n m a k e s t u d e n t s e m b a r r a s s e d to give t h e c o rr e c t guess.

T i i s t e c h n i q u e cr eates En g l i s h a t m o s p h e r e in the c l a s s r o o m : e s pe c i al ly it e n c o u r a g e s active s t u d e n t - c e n t r e d lear ning S o it w o u l d be m o r e ef f ec ti ve to the s t u d e n t s at l owe r level

This m e t h o d h el ps st ud e n t s u n d e r s t a n d the m e a n i n g s o f the w o r d s very qui ckly wi t h the

i lUs tr a t io n o f the t e a c h e r ' s ac ti on s In fact, it w o u l d be e f f ec ti ve w h e n it is a p p l i ed to the

st udent s at l o we r levels w h e n t e a c h i n g s i m p l e w o r d s , f o r e x a m p l e , w h e n the t ea c he r wants to e x p l a i n the m e a n i n g o f t he wo r d " b o r e d " ( s ) h c l oo ks at the wa tc h, m a k e s a bored face, y a w n s , then a sk s " how do / f e d ? " Many t ea c he r s a r e s u c c e s s f u l w ith using this t e c h n i q u e and they act well but ii is a bit funny to use this t e c h n i q u e all the li me when t e a c h i n g difficult w o r d s B e c a u s e it is easy lor the s t u d e n t s to m i s u n d e r s t a n d the

m e a n i n g o f the wor ds

A c c o r d i n g to Na ti on (2001) t w e n t y or thirty w o r d s ca n be t aught in a t e n - m i n u t e per iod

so it c a u s e s a lot o f p r o b l e m s to the st ud e n t s They o ft en ask the t e a c h e r s how to keep the m e a n i n g s o f the wo rd s t h e y have learnt and that is ihe great q u e s t i o n for lhe t ea c he r s

to t h i n k a b ou t the mos t a p p r o p r i a t e an d e f fe c ti ve w a v s to leach v o c a b u l a r y Il is o n e o f the r e a s o n s w h y the r e s e a r c h e r i n t e n d e d to i n t r o du c e t he cur rent w a y s o f t e a c h i n g word

l i s s t h r o u g h w o r d as so c ia ti on t e c h n i q u e s by D e c a r r i c o ( 2 0 0 1 ) an d S o k m e n ( 1997)

14

2 x C u r r e n t m e t h o d s in t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y

l i e first p u r p o s e o f this part is to d e s c r i b e s o m e m o s t p o p u l a r c ur r en t m e t h o d s in

t ea c hi ng v o c a b u l a r y in w h i c h the t hr e e a s s o c i a t i o n t e c h n i q u e s ( W A T ) w o u l d be u s ed in the e x p e r i m e n t s o that the r e ad er s w o u l d see the w h o l e pi ct u r e o f t he issue T h e s e c o n d

p ur p os e w a s to c o m m e n t on the a dva nt a ge s ' a n d d i s a d v a n t a g e s o f t h o s e m e t h o d s 10 justify the u se o f W A T in t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y in the e x p e r i m e n t

To f i nd o u t w h i c h a p p r o a c h e s are t he m o s t a p p r o p r i a t e and e f f e c t i v e o n e s in t e a c h i n g

v o c a b u l a r y is a b i g p r o b l e m S o m e o f t he r e s e a r c h e r s c o n l m n e d that it w o u l d be m u c h mor e u se f u l to h a v e a ge n e ra l look o v e r s o m e a p p r o a c h e s that ca n be d i v i d e d i nto t wo

c a t e go ri es ( t r a di t i on al a n d c u rr e n t m e t h o d s ) , o f w h i c h m a i n o f t h e s e m e t h o d s hav e been

a ppl ie d in t e a c h i n g v o c a b u l a r y not only in the w o r l d but al so in V i e t n a m so far And

m a n y of t h e r e s e a r c h e r s h a v e be e n s u c c e s s f ul in a p p l y i n g the c ur r en t wav s to the t e a c h i n g

t o s imil ar w o r d s a n d w o r d s in a w o r d fami ly are r e la t e d to ea ch o t h e r t h r o u g h hav ing a

c o m m o n base So w h i l e the s t u d e n t s ar e s t u d y i n g the new w o r d s thev h a v e to think o f the

w o r d s they h a v e lear nt to e x p r e s s t hei r o w n ideas o r t h e i r e x p l a n a t i o n

T h a t is t he r e as on w h y w h e n e v e r t e a c h e r s apply the c ur r en t m e t h o d s , s t u d e n t s ar e very

i nt erested H o w e v e r , m os t t ea c he r s d o not apply new m e t h o d s vcrv oft en, flic r e a s o n s are var ie d First, t e a c h e r s h a v e not m u c h live t i me o r p e r io d o f t i me in c l as s is limited

S e c o n d , it is t e a c h e r s ' p r e pa r a ti o n P e r h a p s , the t e a c h e r s are lazy o r it is a bit di ffi cul t or

\ 5

i m p l i c a t e d to p r e p a r e the l es son p l an s in det ai ls 1 'hird the t e a c he r s h a v e l imited

e s o u r c e s a n d it c o s t s a lot o f m o n e y to m a k e c op i e s , f o u r t h , it is the t e a c he r s '

■nthusiasm S o m e t e a c h e r s ar e not e n t h u s i a s t i c they d o not like c h a n g e , they sit only at

h e i r d e s k s a n d talk an d talk a n d s o m e o f t h e m e v e n rarely wri te on the boar d Lastly, it is

h e t e a c h e r s ' k n o w l e d g e T e a c h e r s are not very g o o d at e v e r y t h i n g su ch as: history, linguistics, l it er at ur e , a d v a n c e d s c i e n c e a n d t e c hn ol og y etc so it c a u s e s a lot o f p r o b l e m s

b r the t e a c h e r s in t e a c h i n g v oc a bu la r y Lor e x a m p l e , i f t ea c he r s are g o o d at history they can d r a w t he i r s t u d e n t s ' a t t en t i o n by a s k i n g t h e m a s many q u e s t i o n s as p o s s i b l e to

e nc our a ge t h e m to g u e s s the m e a n i n g o f the w o r d s the t ea c he r s wa nt to co n ve y

On the o t h e r h a n d , t e a c h e r s a r e not a b l e to e x p l o i t the u p - d a te i n f o r m a t i o n to apply it to tie c o u r s e o f t e a c h i n g A l t h o u g h t e a c he r s h a v e had the a b o v e l i mi ta t io n, they h a v e tried t) k e e p l o o k i n g for w a y s to s u b s t i t u t e rote r e pe t i ti on wi th m o r e e f f e c t i v e t e c h n i q u e s and t) m a k e t he i r s t u d e n t s ' l e a r n i ng v o c a b u l a r y e a s i e r a n d m o r e p l eas ant Many r e sear c h studies h a v e b ee n d o n e to find out t he best w a y s to h e l p s t u d e n t s st ore a n d retrieve w o r d s

h the target l a n g u a g e In the f o l l o w i n g s ec ti on, the r e s e a r c h e r is g o i n g to refer to s o m e current w a y s in t e a c h i n g v o c a bu la r y

S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 p p 2 3 9 - 2 5 7 ) e x p l i c a t e d seve r al c u r r e n t w a ys o f t e a c h i n g v o ca b u l a r y These i n c l ud e six p e d a g o g i c a l t h e m e s :

( ) l o build a l arge sight v o c a b u l a r y : it is very i m p o r t a n t b e c a u s e l ear ner s nee d help

d e v e lo p i n g a large si ght v o c a b u l a r y so that they may a u t om at i ca l l y a c c e s s wo r d m e a n i n g (1) To i ntegrate n e w w o r d s wi t h the old p r o v i d e a n u m b e r o f e n c o u n t e r s wi th weirds

t hrough a v ar i e t y o f c l as s ac t i v i t i e s w h i c h d r a w on b a c k g r o u n d k n o w l e d g e , s t i m u l a t i n g students to e x p l o r e t he r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n the t o- l ea r n wo r d a n d w o r d s already k n o w n (}) T o p r o v i d e a n u m b e r o f e n c o u n t e r s wi th a weird, w h e n a w o r d is r ecal led, the l ear ner

s i b c o n s c i o u s l y e v a l u a t e s it an d d e c i d e s how ii is d i f f e r e n t from o t h er s s/he c o u l d have chose n T h e r e f o r e , the t e a c h e r n e e d s to p r o v i d e initial e n c o d i n g o f new w o r d s an d then

s i b s e q u e n t retr i e val e x p e r i e n c e s

(4) T o p r o m o t e a d e e p level o f p r o c e s s i n g , w h e n s t u d e n t s are a s k e d to m a n i p u l a t e w o r d s , relate t h e m to o t h e r w o r d s and to t heir o w n e x p e r i e n c e s , an d then to jListilv their c h o i c e s

16

these w o r d s a s s o c i a t i o n s arc re inf or ce d So s t u d e n t s need lo he e n c o u r a g e d lo think

a h u d gi ve r e as o ns for thei r w o r d s c h o i c e s an d to e x t e n d t hei r le a r ni ng o f the wor l d

o i t s i d e o f t he c l a s s r o o m

(5) T o facilitate i m a g i n g and c o nc e rt i n a s T h i s m a y m e a n g i v i n g p er s o na l e x a m p l e s ,

r e a t i n g w o r d s to c u r r e n t e v e n ts , p r o v i d i n g e x p e r i e n c e s with the w o r d s , c o m p a r i n g t hem

to real life o r bet ter yet h a v i n g s t u d e n t s c r ea t e t h e s e i m a g e s an d relate the w o r ds to their

o v n lives T h i s is very i m p o r t a n t for s t u d e n t s to p r a c t i s e t hei r Engl ish

(61 T o use a variety o f t e c h n i q u e s in w hich s e m a n t i c m a p p i n g has been used in t e a c hi n g

v oca bula r y wh i ch w ill be d e s c r i be d in d et ai ls in the lat er section

The r e s e a r c h e r is g o i n g to focus o n l y on a var ie t y o f t e c h n i q u e s b e c a u s e o f the follow ing reasons: firstly N a t i o n ( 1 9 8 2 ) a r g u e d that the s t u d e n t s w h o w e r e m o s t s u cc e s s f u l used

s e veral v o c a b u l a r y l e a r n i n g s tr at egi es a n d this m i x e d a p p r o a c h c o n t i n u e s to be a d v o c a t e d

by o t h e r f a m o u s r e s e a r c h e r s as M c K e o w n ( 1 9 8 8 ) : CJrabe and S t ol l er ( 19 9 7) : S o k m e n ( 1° 9 7) , and a m i x e d a p p r o a c h is p a r ti cula r l y a p p e a l i n g to s t u d e n t s b e c a u s e it b r e a k s up the c l as s r o u t i n e wh il e b u i l d i n g a variety o f a s s o c i a t i o n a l links Se c o nd ly , there ar e a great n u m b e r of inst ruct ional i deas for t e a c he r s to c h o o s e from, s o m e m o r e traditional than others

Bo:h S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) and D e c a r r i c o (2001 ) had the s a m e ideas o f l e a c h i n g voca bula r y h\

u s i i g var ieties o f t e c h n iq ue s D e c a r r i c o c o n f i r m e d that var ieties o f t e c h n i q u e s have

c a i s e d a lot of interest in t ea c hi ng voca bula ry an d s ev e ra l key q u e s t i o n s o f p a r t i c u l a r

i nterest h a v e been raised for l a n g u a g e t eachers, f o r e x a m p l e , wha t d o e s it m e a n lo know

a word? W h i c h w o r d s do l ear ners need to know' ? Now will they learn them'.’ T h e s e

q u e s t i o n s reflect the c u r r e n t foc us on the n e e d s o f lear ners in a c q u i r i n g lexical

c o m p e t e n c e and on t he role o f the t e a c he r in g u i d i n g t h e m t ow a r d this g oal ( p 285)

17

2 5.1 P i c t u r e s or d r a w i n g s

Al l en ( 1 9 8 3 p p 5 4 - 5 5 ) c o n f i r m e d ihat t e a c he r s o f t e n pre f er to use p i c t u r e s for

i n t r o d u c i n g w o r d s that n a m e parts o f the body for s i m i l a r reasons A n d t e a c he r s c a n use

p h o t o g r a p h s , prints or p a i n t i n g s to i n t r o du c e di f f e r en t t ypes o f wo r d s I h cs c incl ude:(1) P h o t o g r a p h s from m a g a z i n e s (2) P er s on al p h o t o g r a p h s o f l ami I\ m e m b e r s ( 3) Prints

o r p i c t u r e s o f dif f e r ent c u l t u r e s .etc

T a T i e n H u n g and N g u y e n V a n Do ( 1 9 9 4 ) a l s o i nd ic a t e d that on c a rds , t e a c h er s co u ld

h a v e a p i c t u r e on o n e s ide an d the wo r d on the ot her O n a chart, t ea c he r s ca n o r g a n i z e

g r o u p s o f w o r d s or d r a w d i a g r a m s F o r e x a m p l e :

C a r d s w i t h a n i m a l s on t h e m (giraffe, clog, mouse, crocodile elc.).

C a r d s w i t h veh ic l e s on t h e m (car has lorry, ran elc.)

A c ha rt wi t h b od y parts m a r k e d , fParis o f die face: ear forehead, eyebrow etc.).

T e a c h e r s can draw the a b o v e w o r d s on the b l a c k b o a r d that will q u i c k l y c o n v e y the

m e a n i n g of t he certain a c t i o n s su ch 'as t o u c h i n g, hi tt i ng an d k i s s i n g an d p r e p o s i t i o n s o f

l o c a t i o n s uc h as under , b e s i d e and ab o ve It c a n be u n d e r s t o o d that this t e c h n i q u e g i s e s

s t u d e n t s m a n y o p p o r t u n i t i e s to a s so c ia t e f a mi l i a r a c t i o n s with the F n g l i s h w o r d s that

n a m e t h em Be s i d e s the s t r o n g points, this t e c h n i q u e still has s o m e w e a k points It is a bit

d i f f i c u l t for the t eac her s w h o fail to d r a w well an d it l ak e s l ime to p r e p a r e the mat er ia ls

It is not n e c es sa r y to t eac h v o c a b u l a r y in this way S o m e t ea c he r s w e r e s u cc e s s f u l in

a p p l y i n g it to t ea c hi ng v o c a b u l a r y to the s t u d e n t s at l o w e r level and s l u d e n l s w e r e \ eiy

i nt e r e st e d But it s o u n ds a bit funny i f the t e a c h e r s apply it to the i n t e r m e d i a t e s t u d e n t s

b e c a u s e it is ea sy to t each the s i m p l e w o r d s but it is r a t h e r difficult w h e n l e a c h i n g sl anu

w o r d s or idioms

2 5 2 G a p - fi lling

C a r t e r an d L on g ( 1 9 87 ) s h o w e d that ga p - filling is o n e o f the m a i n t e a c h i n g t e c h n i q u e s

a n d t his p r o c e d u r e is used Ilexibly so that l e a r ne r s c a n pra ct ise g a p - l l l l i n g e x e r c i s e s to

18

enha nce t h e i r a w a r e n e s s o f h ow e o l l o e a t i o n an d s t r u c t ur a l s e m a n t i c p a t t e r n s relale to the creation o f p a r t i c u l a r literary e f fe c ts and al so a i d s r e c o g n i t i o n o f the c o h e s i v e pat ter ns

n a d e by g r a m m a t i c a l an d lexical w o r d s I hes e e x e r c i s e s are o f t e n f o r m e d by d e l e t i n g every e i g h t h w o r d o f a b as ic text w hi ch may ev en be f a mi l i a r to the l ea r ne r s in o r d e r to

cc quai nt t h e m w i t h the t e c h n i q u e a n d to gi ve t h e m p r a ct i ce a n d t e a c h e r s llnd it u s cl ul 10 p' a ct ise t h e g a p - t i l l i n g e x e r c i s e s first on n on - literary text w h e r e a di f f e r en t o r d e r ol

c o m p l e x i t y is in o p e r at i o n

h brief', t his t e c h n i q u e h e l p s s t u d e n t s c o n s i d e r the w a y w o r d s ar e c o m b i n e d

g r a m m a t i c a l l y a n d s t r u c t u r a l l y to e n s u r e the c o h e s i o n o f a text T h i s t e c h n i q u e a l s o has

s ) i n e d i s a d v a n t a g e s O n e o f t he d i s a d v a n t a g e s is that it m a k e s the t e a c h i n g m o r e diffi cult

a i d the a c q u i s i t i o n o f v o c a b u l a r y is not very e f fec t i ve Ii is e f fe c t i v e in t est ing only

2 5 3 R e a l i a o r o b j e c t s

A c c o r d i n g to T a T i e n H u n g an d N g u y e n V a n D o (199-1) w h e n l e a c h i n g n o u n s in

se ma n t i c fields t he t e a c h er s c a n bring a ser ies o f real o b j e c t s to cl ass, t he s e are not only for s e e i n g but for h o l d i n g a n d p a s s i n g a r o u n d, f o r e x a m p l e : I l o u s e h o l d o b j e c t s s u c h as a can- o p e n e r , c l e a n i n g p r o d u c t s s uc h as s o ap o r d e t e r g e n t , c l o t h i n g s u ch as a hat shirt, or

s hocks, c o n t a i n e r s s u ch as a bottle, t ube box p a c k a g e o r jar etc c a n be b r o u g h t to class

Allen ( 1 9 8 3 ) n o te d that us ef ul p i c t ur e s co ul d h el p s t u d e n t s u n d e r s t a n d the m e a n i n g o f a

wo r d b e c a u s e it is b ig e n o u g h to be see n by all m e m b e r s o f the cl ass Bui real o b j e c t s are better t ha n p i c t u r e s w h e n e v e r the t e a c he r s ha v e t h e m in the c l a s s r o o m I o r e x a m p l e , whe n t e a c h i n g t he n a m e s o f the o b j e c t s a r o u n d the c l a s s r o o m , the t e a c h e r s s h o u l d use the real o b j e c t s s u c h as w i n d o w s , d o or s , walls, floors, d e s k s , and c l o c k s in the c l a s s r o o m and

s t ud en t s ar e a s k e d to look at t h e m , w a l k to t he m an d t o uc h them In this c a s e, p i c t u re s are less h el pf u l t han t he t h i ng itself

Allen ( 1 9 8 3 ) al so p o i n t e d out s o m e e x c e p t i o n s i n c l u d i n g a r t i c l e s o f c l ot hi ng: shoes, shirts, skirts, dress etc w h i c h are usually p re se nt in the c l a s s r o o m an d w o r n by

19

m e m b e r s o f t he class W h e n t he t e a c h e r s apply the s a m e way as they t e a c h the n a m e s ul the o b j e c t s in t he c l a s s r o o m it may m a k e the w e a r e r feel u n c o m f o r t a b l e Al len also

e m p h a s i z e d the a d v a n t a g e s o f this t e c h n i q u e b e c a u s e several o b j e c t s ca n often be found

in the c l a s s r o o m : e y e g l a ss e s , s u n g l a s s e s , wa llets, h a n d b a g s , u m b r e l l a s , etc O t h e r s can be

b r o u g h t to c l a s s ea si l y e n o u g h : a c a n o p e n e r , a pair o f sci ssors, a b ox o f p a p e r clips, a

t o o t h b r u s h , a n d a b a r o f s oap, b u t t o n s o f many c o l o u r s a n d s i / e s a n d o f v a r i o u s mater ials

H o w e v e r , t he r e are s o m e e x c e p t i o n s to the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n for real o bj ect s It s e e ms

a w k w a r d to p o i n t to i ndi vi du al m e m b e r s o f the c l as s w h i l e ray ing, " l i e ' s a hay: she \ a

g irl." It is s ai d that this t e c h n i q u e w o u l d be m o r e e f f e c t i v e to the s t u d e n t s at l o we r levels

2.5.4 O p p o s i t e s

■If the s t u d e n t s d o not k n o w a new w o r d but they k no w the o p p o s i t e the t e a c he r can give

t h e m t he a n t o n y m For e x a m p l e : s iz e w o r d s s uc h as tall, thin an d w i d e (short. /<//

n a rro w ), t i m e w o r d s s u c h as m o r n i n g , d a w n , o r s u n r i s e (evening, dusk sunset), family

r e l a t i o n s h i p s s u c h as brot her , m o t h e r o r aunt (sis te r father, uncle) ( T a Ti en H u n g and

N g u y e n V a n Do 1994 p 27)

In a d d i t i o n G a i r n s and R e d m a n ( 1 9 9 2 p 37) m e n t i o n e d the p a i r c d - s c t s wh i ch e x p r e s s

di r e c t i on al o p p o s i t i o n , e.g u p / d o w n , arrive 'depart, c o m e go etc.

T h i s m e t h o d is so c o m m o n that m os t o f the t e a c h e r s apply it to the l ea c hi ng o f

v o c a b u l a r y a n d m a n y e x e r c i s e s arc d e s i g n e d f o l l o we d this t e c h n i q u e but it still has s o m e

d i s a d v a n t a g e s b e c a u s e it is a bit di ffi cul t for s t u d e n t s to u n d e r s t a n d the e x a ct m e a n i n g s o f

t he w o r d s cl ea rl y in c a s e the s t u d e n t s do not k no w the o p p o s i t e a n d this c a n be

c o n s i d e r e d t he w e a k e s t poi nt o f the a p p r o a c h

2 5 5 G u e s s i n g w o r d s f r o m c o n t e x t s

T a T i e n H u n g a n d N g u y e n V a n Do ( 1 9 9 4 p 27) c o n c l u d e d that the m e a n i n g o f many

w o r d s ca n be g u e s s e d by r e a d i n g the w h o l e s e n t e n c e, flic f o l l owi n g e x a m p l e s ca n help

20

illustrate this point: the sn a ke slith er e d through the g r o w , the nurse h o o d e d the s e a l p e l to the doctor, he s w iftly fin is h e d his work a n d went right home., etc).

T h i s t e c h n i q u e e n c o u r a g e s s t u d e n t s to g u e s s the m e a n i n g o f the w o r d s in italics w ithout

l o o k i n g up the w o r d s in the d ic ti ona r y Wi t h this k i n d o f e x e r c i s e , the t e a c he r has to

se l ec t text s c a r e f u l l y at t he l evel s that suit wi t h t hei r s t u d e n t s to a v o i d the s h o c k o f

o v e r l o a d i n g U s i n g a u t h e n t i c texts is i m p o rt a n t , hut o n l y if the result is p os i t i ve and

s t u d e n t s ' abi li ty to c o m p r e h e n d will i nc r e as e as thei r k n o w l e d g e o f l a n g u a g e s y s t e m s

i ncr e ases E s p e c ia l ly , s t u d e n t s can be hel ped wi th s t ra t eg ie s for c o p i n g wi t h u n k n o w n

w o r d s H o w e v e r , t his t e c h n i q u e c a u s e s s t u d e n t s a lot o f p r o b l e m s to u n d e r s t a n d cverv

w o r d b e c a u s e t he m e a n i n g o f the s t a t e m e n t s d e p e n d s on w h o s ay s it w h o they are

s p e a k i n g to an d w h e r e the t w o p e o p l e are

2 5 6 G u e s s i n g w o r d s f r o m S t e m s a nd A f f i x e s

K e n n e d y a n d B o l i t h o ( 1 9 9 1 ) d i v i d e d wo r d f o r m a t i o n into t w o m a i n areas: (1) the

m e a n i n g o f p r e f i x e s an d s u f f i x e s an d (2 ) the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f w o r d c l as se s , such as noun,

It s u b s t a n t i a l l y r e d u c e s t he n u m b e r o f c o m p l et e l y new w o r d s he will e n c o u n t e r and

i ncr e as e hi s c o n tr o l o f E n g l i s h lexicon

Th i s t e c h n i q u e w o u l d be usef ul i f s t u d e n t s ar e a bl e to g u es s the m e a n i n g o f a w o r d by usi ng hi s k n o w l e d g e o f the m e a n i n g o f a p r e f i x e s o r suffi xes In c o nt r a s t , it is a bit diffi cult for the s t u d e n t s to g u e s s the e xa ct m e a n i n g s o f the w o r d s in c o n t e x t

2.5.7 M n e m o n i c d e v i c e s

M n e m o n i c d e v i c e s are in fact ai ds to m e m o r y The y may be ver bal , vi sual o r a

c o m b i n a t i o n o f both T h i s t e c h n i q u e is so e f f i ci en t in s t o r i n g w o r d s that the m i n d is then freer to dea l w i t h c o m p r e h e n s i o n ( C o h e n 19X7 c i t ) I he p u r p o s e o f this t e c h n i q u e is to

e n h a n c e m e m o r y F o r e x a m p l e , lear ners c a n r e m e m b e r the w o r d s o f the s o n g o r poetry by

c o m b i n i n g t he r h y m e wi th m ea n i n g Levi n ( 1 9 9 3 ) c o n c l u d e d in his b o o k T u c n i\ y e a r report c a r d' that a l t h o u g h m n e m o n i c s t r a t e g i e s may not be for all s t u d e n t s all the ti me

they are for m a n y s t u d e n t s s o m e o f the lime.

S t e r n b e r g ( 1 9 8 7 ) c o n f i r m e d that this t e c h n i q u e is li mi ted, f i r s t l y , it r e q u ir e s loo m u ch

ef fort f o r a l ea r ne r to use o v e r a p er iod o f t i m e o r i n d e p e n d e n t l y S econdl y , it is not practi cal a n d very c o m p l i c a t e d an d S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) said that this can be a p p l i ed to oilier

a r e a s o f k n o w l e d g e a c q u i s i t i o n and it is a p p r o p r i a t e to s t u d e n t s at l o w e r level

2.5.8 W o r d u n i t a n a l y s i s

S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) e m p h a s i z e d the n u m b e r o f w o r d s s t u d e n t s h a v e to a c q u ir e , b e c a u s e a

h u g e n u m b e r o f w o r d s w o u l d be o v e r w h e l m i n g ( h a l f a mi ll ion to o v e r t w o m i l l i o n ) in fact, n a t ive s p e a k e r s h a v e a m u c h s m a l l e r n u m b e r o f w o r d s in t hei r r e c e p t i v e or

p r o d u c t i v e v o ca b u l a r i e s , d e p e n d i n g on t hei r a g e a n d e d u c a t i o n a l b a c k g r o u n d (Lor

e x a m p l e , an u n d e r g r a d u a t e mi g h t on ly h a v e a v o c a b u l a r y o f 2 0 0 0 0 w o r d s (Nagy and

A n d e r s o n 1984; G o l d e n el al 1990; op Cil)

T h i s t e c h n i q u e e n c o u r a g e s t ea c he r s to c h o o s e to s y s t e m a t i c a l l y t each the i m p o r t a n t or esse nti al a f f i xe s an d w o r d r oo ts in E n g li s h u s i n g a variety o f e x e r c i s e s a l t h o u g h t he list

w o u l d b e d a u n t i n g O n the o t h e r h an d, it al so h el p s s t u d e n t s a lot in d e v e l o p i n g their

s t u d e n t s ' s e m a n t i c n e t w o r k s , ar e e f fe c ti v e for l o n g - t e r m retent ion I hey al so e m p h a s i z e d

t he i m p o r t a n c e in i nt e g r a t i n g new w o r d s w ith old p r o m o t i n g d e e p levels ol e n c o d i n g and

e s t a b l i s h i n g c o n c r e t e n e s s S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) m e n t i o n e d four t e c h n i q u e s for s e m a n t i c

e l a b o r a t i o n : s e m a n t i c f eat ur e ana lysi s, s e m a n t i c m a p p i n g , o r d e r i n g a n d pictorial

s c h e m a t a

2 5 9 1 S e m a n t i c f e a t u r e analy sis

S e m a n t i c f e at ur e a n a l y s i s is t he analy sis o f the m e a n i n g c o m p o n e n t s ol w o r d s in l e a c h i n g

a n d l e a r n i n g a n d S t i e g l i t z ( 1 9 8 3 ) c o n f i r m e d that is g o o d ¿it r e v i e w i n g a c ti vi ti es In

L i n g s t r o m b e r g ( 1 9 8 5 ) s h o w e d that u s i n g pictorial s c h e m a t a , i.e d if f e re nt types o f grids,

to e n c o u r a g e lexical o r d e r i n g w a s m o r e effi ci ent than u s i n g s y n o n y m s

S c h m i d l a n d C a r i h y ( 1 9 9 7 p p 251 - 2 5 2 ) al so st aled that c r ea t in g g ri ds o r d i a g r a m is

a n o t h e r s e m a n t i c s t ra t e gy an d t hes e visual d e v i c e s help s t u d e n t s d i st i n g u i s h the

d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n s i m i l a r w o r d s an d set up m c m o i y t races o f the s pe c if ic o c c u r r e n ce

Scales o r d i n e s , Venn d ia g ra m s a n d tree d ia g ra m s ar e e s pe c i a l l y i nt er e st ing for g r o u p

w o r k w h e n t e a c h e r s p r e s e n t w o r d s for t hes e pict ori al s c h e m a t a in s c r a m b l e d order

S t u d e n t s are t h e n a s k e d to u n s c r a m b l e the w o r d s by p u tt i n g t he m in logical order Sinc e there wi ll be d i f f e r e n c e s o f o p i n i o n on this kind o f e x e r ci s e , d i s t i n g u i s h i n g features o f the

v o c a b u l a r y will b e c o m e m o r e evi de n t ( Se e the f o l l o w i n g figures: 1 2 an d 3 p 24)

F i g u r e 1 S c a l e o r e l in e ( l e n n o n 1990)

T h e t as k is to a r r a n g e in o r d e r from h a p p y to sad: upset, pleased, o v e r jo y e d b r o k e n ­ hearted, a n d indifferent.

As the a b o v e fi gur e s illustrate, gri ds and s e a l e s w o r k better w h e n d i s t i n g u i s h i n g the

d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n w o r d s that are a b o v e the hi gh f r equency w o r d list

2 5 9 4 S e m a n t i c m a p p i n g

S o k m e n ( 1 9 9 7 ) s h o w e d that s e m a n t i c m a p p i n g r e f er s to b r a i n s t o r m i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s

w h i c h a w o r d h as a n d then d i a g r a m m i n g the result s, f o r e x a m p l e , w h e n a s k e d to g i \ c

w o r d s t hey t h o u g h t o f w h e n t hey heard the w o r d ' f a i t h f u l n e s s ' , low i n t e r m e d i a t e I SI

s t u d e n t s g e n e r a t e d s ix te e n w o r d s or phr a ses: eat friend, family, reliance, intsi dishonest, unfaithfulness, believe in friendships, bonds, obey dog friendly, sexually, unfaithful, gossiping, marriage, love. A f t e r c l u s t er i n g w o r d s , w h i c h we nt t oget her , they m a p p e d the

a n i m a l s

S o k m e n ( 199 7 p 250)

N a t i o n ( 2 0 0 1 ) st ated " S e m a n t i c m a p p i n g i n v o l v e s the t e a c he r a n d the l e a r ne r s w o r k i n g

H e p o i n t e d out in his s t u d y that there c o u l d be s ev er a l s t a r t in g p o i nt s for s e m a n t i c

m a p p i n g It c a n i nv ol ve the recall o f a p re vi ou s! ) read story, a re cent c u r r e n t ev ent, a

f ilm, a uni t o f study, or s i m p l y l e a r ne r s ' g en e r a l k n o w l e d g e o f a topic I le a l s o cited Stahl

a n d V a n c i l ' s o p i n i o n s that t he d i s c u s s i o n o c c u r r i n g d u r i n g t he b u i l d i n g up o f the

s e m a n t i c m a p that m a k e s the activity c o n t r i b u t e to v o c a b u l a r y l e a r n i n g a n d the skill is

i m p o r t a n t in t he w a v the t e a c h e r e n te r s into a d i a l o g u e wi t h the le a r ne r s , e n c o u r a g e s t hem

a n d s u p p o r t s t he i r par t i c ip a ti o n in the d i al og u e

D e c a r r i c o ( 2 0 0 1 ) also c o n d u c t e d a r e se a r c h on s e m a n t i c m a p p i n g S h e t hi nk s that

s e m a n t i c m a p p i n g is an a c ti v i t y that h el ps b r i n g into c o n s c i o u s n e s s r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g

w o r d s in a t ext and hel p d e e p e n u n d e r s t a n d i n g bv c r e a t i n g a s s o c i a t i v e n e t w o r k s lor

w o r d s A t ext is c h o s e n b a s e d on the w o r d s to be learnt a n d s t u d e n t s ar e a s k e d to draw a

d i a g r a m o f t he r e l a t i o n s hi p s b e t w e e n p a r ti c u l a r w o r d s fo un d in the text A va r ia t i on on

t h i s t e c h n i q u e , a " v o c a b u la r y n etw o r k" c o u l d be d e s i g n e d to h el p e v e n b e g i n n i n g

s t u d e n t s l ea r n to m a k e s e m a n t i c a s s o c i a t i o n s wi t hi n p a r ti c u l a r s u p e r o r d i n a t e hea din g s, ( p p 2 8 8 - 2 8 9 )

26

F o r e x a m p l e , w h e n c o n s i d e r i n g a l c \ l d e s c r i b i n g a s c e n e wi th a red hous e, a bl ue sky and

a yar d w i t h g r e e n g r a ss a n d p u p p i e s and ki liens p l a c i n g on il I'he l e a c h c r c o u l d llrsi

d i s c u s s t he c h o s e n w o r d s , p r o v i d e s u p e r o r d i n a l e category h e a d i n g s s u c h as a n im a l and

c o lo r in c i r c l e s on t he c h a l k b o a r d , and then h e l p s t u d e n t s learn to i llustrate the

r e l a t i o n s h i p s a m o n g the w o r d s by h a v i n g t h e m first identify the related w o r d s in t he text

T h e n , t h e t e a c h e r d r a w s c i r c l e s below e a ch category h e a d i n g c o n n e c t e d by a s s o c i a t i v e lines, a n d finally wr i te t he a p p r o p r i a t e related w o r d s in the c i r c l e s c o n n e c t e d to ihc

h e a d i n g s (e.g a n im a l c o n n e c t e d with p u p p y a n d killcn in a s s o c i a t e d circles: c olour

c o n n e c t e d w i t h red blue, an d g r e e n in a s s o c ia t e d circles)

T o s h o w w o r d s in re la t ion to o t h e r w o r d s , l e ac hc r can pre sent w o r d s in s e m a n t i c Helds

S c h o o l c o n n e c t e d with classroom, b la c k b o a r d chalk, desks, table teacher, stui/enls study, books, pencils, pens, rulers etc.

A n i m a l s c o n n e c t e d wi th dog, cat horse, cmr sheep, cows, hence etc.

T h i s t e c h n i q u e h e l p s s t u d e n t s r e m e m b e r the stock o f v o c a b u l a r y they h a v e learnt related

to t he s u b j e c t s a n d il is a p p r o p r i a t e to the s t u d e n t s at the i n t e r m e d i a t e level

M e a n i n g a s s o c i a t i o n s a t t a c h ed to w o r d s are also i mp or t a n t W o r d s a p p e a r to be o r g a n i z e d

i nto s e m a n t i c a l l y related sets in t he mi nd, and thus the a s s o c i a t i o n s a t t a c h e d it) a wor d will af fect t he w a y that it is s t or e d in the brain P s y c h o l o g i s t s i nv e s ti ga t ed t hese

a s s o c i a t i o n s by p r e s e n t i n g s u b j e c t s with a wor d and a s k i n g t he m to s u gg e s t oilier w o r d s

t hat it b r i n g s to m i n d For e x a m p l e , lhey pr e sent the w o r d table a n d ask w h a t o t h e r w o r d s first c o m e to m i n d F o r table, the m os t c o m m o n a s s o c i a t i o n is chair: lor h o y it is g ir l and

so on

D e c a r r i c o ( 2 0 0 1 ) s u g g e s t e d that n e w w o r d s s ho u l d not be p r e s e nt e d in isol at ion and

s h o u l d not be learnt by s i m p l e rote m e m o r i z a t i o n Il is i m p o r t a n t that new voca bul a r y

i t e m s be p r e s e n t e d in c o n t e x t s rich e n o u g h to p r o v i d e c l u e s to m e a n i n g a n d that s t u d e n t s

be g i v e n m u l t i p l e e x p o s u r e to i t em s they s ho u l d learn E x e r c i s e s an d ac ti v i t i e s i n cl ud e

l e a r n i n g w o r d s in w o r d a s s o c i a t i o n lists, f oc us ing o n h i gh l ig h te d w o r d s in c o n t e x t s and

27

p l a y i n g v o c a b u l a r y g a m e s M o r e recently c o m p u i c r p r o g r a m s lhai incl ude the soui kIs ol' the w o r d s as well as i l lu s tr a ti ve pi ct ur e s p r o \ idc op po rt un it y lor pra ct ice wi t h a \ a r i c t \ o f

c o n t e x t s , bot h w r i t t en a n d s po k e n

T h i s t e c h n i q u e has s o m e a d v a n t a g e s Firstly, it is p o s s i b l e to a n a l y z e w o r d s in dif f e r ent

w a y s a n d s econdly , it p r o m o t e s a great deal o f g r o u p int era ct ion So lear ners can a d d new

w o r d s to the chart a n d m a p s to e x p a n d v oc a bu la r y

2 5 10 P a i r - m a t c h i n g

T h i s is o ft en called c o l l o c a t i o n a l m a t c h i n g A s N a t i o n ( 2 0 0 1 pp I 60) p o in t ed out that the goal o f this activity is c o l l o c a t i o n a l use T h e t e a c he r g i v e s the s t u d e n t s t wo lists o f wo rd s ,

w h i c h t h ey h a v e to m a t c h to result in a set o f c o l l o ca t i o n s If the acti vi ty is d o n e in pairs

o r g r o u p s t hen the c o n t e n t o f the d i s c u s s i o n will p r o \ ide useful c l u e s to w hat is g o i n g on

I f it is d o n e as an i n di v id u a l activity, then the s pe e d wi t h w h i c h the l ear ner s find the

a n s w e r s an d any s i gn s o f retr ieval o f t he answ ers may be useful

I he m a j o r d es i g n f e at ur e is t he c l o s e n e s s in m e a n i n g o f t he i t ems w ithin e a c h list If the

i t e ms ar e ver y s i m i l a r in m e a n i n g - sparkle, glitter, shine, twinkle - the task will c au se

s t u d e n t s a lot o f dif f i cul ti es, l i e c o n f i r m e d that this acti vi ty, w h e n d o n e as g r o u p wor k,

m a k e s g oo d use o f l ea r ne r s wi th d i ff e re nt first l a n g u a g e s , b e c a u se they ca n use a variety

o f first l a n g u a g e par al lel s to pr e dic t En gl i sh c o l l oc a ti on s

D e c a r r i c o (2 0 0 1 ) c o n f i r m e d that, wo r d a s s o c ia t i o n ac t i v it i es can al so be c o n s t r u c t e d with lists o f w o r d s that are to be learnt, f o r e x a m p l e , s t u d e n t s c o u l d be giv en w o r d - m a t c h lists

s u c h as the f o l l o w i n g a n d a s k e d to draw lines from w o r d s in the left c o l u m n to t h os e that

s e e m m o s t cl osel y r e lated in t he right c o l u m n

T h e pai rs to be m a t c h e d s h o u l d ha v e a c l e a r a s s o c i a t i v e link Mich as t h o se g i v en on the list, but c l o s e l y related s y n o n y m s or a n t o n y m s s h o u l d p r o b a b b be a v o i d e d R e s e a r ch

s h o w s that s im il a r i t i es b e t w e e n w o r d s can m a k e le a r ni ng m o r e dilTicult b e c a u s e o f

i nt er f e re n c e, o r " c r o s s - a s s o c i a t i o n ” In par ti cula r , c a r e s h o u l d be t aken vviih pai rs w h o s e

m e a n i n g s ar e very s imil ar .e tc

T h e w a y to a v o i d c r o s s- a s s o c i a t i o n s in c l o s e h r e la t ed s e m a n t i c » r o u p s is to int egr a te

n e w w o r d s w i t h the ol d o n e s by t e a c h i n g the m os t fr equent o r usef ul (i.e unm arked)

w o r d first (e.g deep), a n d o n l y after it is well e s t a b l i s h e d i n t r o du c e its less f r equent (m a r k e d) a n t o n y m p a r t n e r (e.g shallow )

2 5 11 W o r d f am i l i es

F o r p r e s e n t i n g w o r d f a mi l i e s , o n e s i m p l e w a y is l o ' i n t r o d u c e such a f a mi l y a l o n g w i t h the

d e f i n i t i o n s for e a ch wo r d , as for e x a m p l e , the d e r i v a t i o n a l sel ael action, active, actively, activate, actor. A n o t h e r w a y lo i solate the w o r d f a m i l i es thal o c c u r in a p ar t i c u l a r text is

by h i g h l i g h t i n g t h e m so t h o s e s t u d e n t s can see the r e l a t i o n s h i p s r e lated to the root w o r d s

A w o r d f a m i l y c o n si s t s o f t he bas e form o f a w o r d a n d all the i nflected an d d e r i v e d for ms

o f it that ca n be u n d e r s t o o d by a lear ner w i t h o u t hav ing lo learn t h e m s epa ra t cl v ( I his will d e p e n d , to a great e x t e n t , on the l e a r n e r ' s c o m m a n d o f pr e fi xe s a n d suf f i xe s) For

e x a m p l e , c o n n e c t , d i s c o n n e c t and c o n n e c t a b l e are s u b s u m e d by a s i ng l e wo r d lamiiv ( B a u e r a nd N a t i o n 1993)

D e c a r r i c o ( 2 0 0 1 ) g a v e a v e r y i mp or t a n t c o n s i d e r a t i o n thal the t e a c h e r s can m a x i m i z e

v o c a b u l a r y c o n s i d e r a b l y by t e a c h i n g wo r d fa mi l i e s i ns te a d o f i n di vi du a l w o r d for ms A

w o r d f ami ly is a set o f w o r d s that i n cl ud es a b a s e w o r d plus its i nf l ec ti on a n d / or

d e r i v a t i o n s F o r p u r p o s e s o f t e ac hi ng , e spe ci al ly, it m a k e s m o r e s e n s e to view s et s such

as talk, t al ked, t al ki ng a n d t al ks as m e m b e r s o f a closclv r elated' ' l a m i i v " not as four

s i n g l e w o r d s , a n d to help s t u d e n t s r e c o g n i z e t h e m as such

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