USING HIGHLIGHTING OF HYPERLINKED ANNOTATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ INTENTIONAL VOCABULARY LEARNING

Trung tâm Học liệu ĐH Cần Thơ @ Tài liệu học tập và nghiên cứu__________ DANG VAN TOAI USING HIGHLIGHTING OF HYPERLINKED ANNOTATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ INTENTIONAL VOCABULARY LEARNIN

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Trung tâm Học liệu ĐH Cần Thơ @ Tài liệu học tập và nghiên cứu

DANG VAN TOAI

USING HIGHLIGHTING OF HYPERLINKED ANNOTATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ INTENTIONAL VOCABULARY LEARNING

M.A THESIS

Major: Principles and Methodology in English Language Education

Course Code: 601410

Supervisor: NGUYEN BUU HUAN

Can Tho October, 2008

Ketnooi.com chia se

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BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CẦN THƠ

KHOA SƯ PHẠM

ĐẶNG VĂN TOẠI

USING HIGHLIGHTING OF HYPERLINKED

ANNOTATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’

INTENTIONAL VOCABULARY LEARNING

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Luận văn Thạc sĩ với đề tài:

“USING HIGHLIGHTING OF HYPERLINKED ANNOTATIONS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ INTENTIONAL VOCABULARY LEARNING”

do học viên Đặng Văn Toại thực hiện và báo cáo đã được Hội Đồng Chấm Luận

Văn thông qua

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DECLARATION

This thesis entitled “Using Highlighting of Hyperlinked Annotations to Improve

Students’ Intentional Vocabulary Learning” is constructed under the supervision of

Nguyen Buu Huan, a senior lecturer of English of Center of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University

I declare that the information reported in this thesis is the results of my own work, except as cited in the references The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in any candidature for any other degree or diploma

Signature:………

Name: Đặng Văn Toại

Date: October 24, 2008

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My deep gratitude goes to Dr Trinh Quoc Lap, Deputy Dean of School of Education and the teacher in Research Methods at Can Tho University, and Associate Professor Dinh Ngoc Thanh, the Vice Rector of Mekong University, who all shaped me to be an independent researcher and helped me gain insights into how

to conduct an empirical study I would like to acknowledge Mr Nguyen Cao Dat, Rector of Mekong University, who created the opportunity for me to work on this study

I would like to express my thanks to Dr Nguyen Thu Huong for his useful advice and valuable lessons I sincerely appreciate the helpful comments from the senior lecturers Mr Huynh Trung Tin and Ms Truong Thi Kim Lien I am very thankful to

Mr Ly Hong Thai, a CFL instructor, who helped me find useful reference sources for my thesis I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr Huynh Minh Hien for his generous support during my study I highly acknowledge Mr Nguyen Duy Nhat an IT teacher at Mekong University, who helped design software for my teaching I would like to thank all my colleagues and students at Mekong University, who helped me collect data

Finally, I would like to give special thanks to my family, especially my wife and daughters, who shared with me the difficulties and provided me with best conditions and mental support to complete my thesis

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2.1 The definition of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations and intentional

2.2 The role of hyperlinked annotations on intentional vocabulary learning 7 2.3 Required conditions for intentional vocabulary learning 9 2.3.1 Conditions of successful intentional vocabulary learning 9

2.3.3 The effects of hyperlinked annotations in language learning 10 2.3.4 The value of hyperlinked annotations in intentional learning 11

2.4.2 Limitations of hyperlinked annotations in language learning

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3.4.2 Questionnaire on students’ motivation and attitudes 16

4.1.1 Students’ vocabulary knowledge before the study 19

4.2.1 Students’ attitudes and motivation towards the use of HHA 23

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, LIMITATIONS AND

5.1.2 Discussion of the findings gained by using questionnaires 26

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LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES

List of tables

Table 4.2: Comparison mean pre-test with the expected mean score

Table 4.4: Comparison mean post-test with the expected mean

Table 4.7: Comparison of mean questionnaire to the expected mean

List of Figures

Figure 4.1: Mean score of pre-test and post-test in comparison with the test value 22

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TÓM LƯỢC

Trong bài nghiên cứu này tôi trình bày kết quả nghiên cứu mà tôi đã thực hiện tại truờng Đại học Cửu Long Mục đích của đề tài nhằm nghiên cứu (1) tính hiệu quả của việc dùng các liên kết có chú thích (HHA) trong việc học từ vựng có chủ ý, (2) thái độ và động cơ của sinh viên trong việc học từ vựng Nghiên cứu được tiến hành với một nhóm thực nghiệm và đối tượng là ba mươi sinh viên không chuyên năm thứ hai ngành kế toán trường Đại học Cửu Long Công cụ chính để thu thập dữ liệu trong nghiên cứu này là các bài kiểm tra về từ vựng và một bảng câu hỏi về thái độ

và động cơ học tập của sinh viên Việc dùng kĩ thuật làm nổi bật các liên kết có chú thích mang lại kết quả có ý nghĩa Những kết quả tìm thấy trong nghiên cứu này cần được nghiên cứu thêm để có thể ứng dụng rộng rãi trong việc học tiếng Anh

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ABSTRACT

In this paper, the researcher presents the results of the study on the use of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in Mekong University The study aims to examine (1) effectiveness of using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning, and (2) students’ attitudes and motivation in vocabulary learning The study was performed by one experimental group design in which the use of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations was independent variable and students’ attitudes and motivation dependent variable 30 second-year students of non-English majors of accounting class at Mekong University participated in the study In this research, the pre-test, the post-test and the questionnaire were used as main instruments Results show that the effectiveness of the use of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations and students’ attitude and motivation in intentional vocabulary learning were significant The thesis calls for further research on the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations (HHA) in a wider range of learning English

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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Chapter one describes (1) the rationale of the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in intentional vocabulary learning of non-English major students in Mekong University, (2) the research aims and hypothesis and (3) the organization and the significance of the thesis

Highlighting of Hyperlinked Annotations (HHA) is a computer program (software) Using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, students can look up the definitions and the meanings of new words within the reading texts Using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations can help students improve intentional vocabulary learning When students want to look up the meanings of the key word, they click a mouse on that word (highlighted words with hyperlinked annotations) the meanings will appear in a pop-up window (a small box) underneath the word It (HHA) functions like an electronic dictionary on the computer

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Vocabulary learning is probably the most important component in comprehending the reading texts Consequently, using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning is very essential to improve students’ intentional vocabulary learning The main research trend investigates the factors contributing to efficient vocabulary learning Recent vocabulary learning research has been based

on the importance of Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) in intentional vocabulary learning (Huckin & Coady, 1997; Nation, 1990; Schmitt & McCarthy, 1997; Singleton, 1999) It has also been proposed that learners can successfully use intentional vocabulary learning into their knowledge system and they comprehend it (Hulstijn, 1990; Gass & Selinker, 1994)

Many studies examined the effect of using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations on vocabulary learning in reading comprehension These studies yielded positive results concerning the impact of computerized annotations on vocabulary learning and retention of second language lexical elements The availability of this kind of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations is considered one of the advantages

of vocabulary learning via computer The researchers found that using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations was beneficial to several aspects of language learning (Brett, 1998; Chun & Plass, 1996, 1997; Reidanus, 1996; Lomicka, 1998)

For all reasons stated, the researcher carried out the research “Using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations to improve students’ intentional vocabulary learning” to help non-English majors in Mekong University improve their vocabulary knowledge

1.2 Research Hypothesis and aims

1.2.1 Research hypothesis

Based on the analysis of the background of vocabulary learning classes at Mekong University and the benefits of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, the researcher hypothesized that the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations would work well to help students learn vocabulary and increase their vocabulary

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knowledge Particularly, the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations would help enhance students’ attitudes and improve the quality of intentional vocabulary learning

1.3 Organization and significance of the thesis

1.3.1 Organization of the thesis

The thesis consists of five chapters, including (1) Introduction, (2) Literature

Review, (3) Research Methodology, (4) Results, and (5) Discussions, Conclusion, Limitations, and Recommendations

Chapter one presents the rationale of using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations on learners’ intentional vocabulary learning and their motivation in language learning in the context of non-major English students in Mekong University Chapter two attempts to clarify the terms “hyperlinked annotations” and

“intentional vocabulary learning”, and introduces the theoretical background of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations on intentional vocabulary learning in non-English major classes Chapter three focuses on the research method, the research design, procedures, participants, and the materials Chapter four discusses the results

of the pre-test and the post-test on students’ intentional vocabulary learning analyzed by SPSS The results of the pre-test and the post-test are also presented and then compared to see to what extent highlighting of hyperlinked annotations affects the quality of the participants’ intentional vocabulary learning ability Chapter five concludes the research by discussing both theoretical findings on the significant role of the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in intentional vocabulary learning, and the implications for teachers of English in Mekong

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University The limitations of the research and suggestions for further research are also mentioned

1.3.2 Significance of the thesis

The research is expected to explore the effectiveness of using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in developing students' intentional vocabulary learning and students’ motivation to learn vocabulary

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CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter focuses on (1) the definitions of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations and intentional vocabulary learning, (2) its role, (3) required conditions, and (4) possible problems

2.1 The definitions of highlighting hyperlinked annotations and intentional

vocabulary learning

What is Hyperlink? A hyperlink, or simply a link, is a reference in a hypertext document to another document or other resource As such it would be similar to a citation in literature However, combined with a data network and suitable access protocol, it can be used to fetch the resource referenced This can then be saved, viewed, or displayed as part of the referencing document

A hyperlink is a link you can click on or activate with the keyboard or other device in order to go somewhere else A hyperlink is defined by its function, not by its appearance What it looks or sounds or smells like is completely irrelevant except

as a way of recognizing it Visually impaired people follow hyperlinks with based browsers and never see text at all A hyperlink without a colour underline is still a hyperlink if your browser allows you to click on it or otherwise activate it to

speech-go somewhere else on the World Wide Web, or in another hypertext system

A reference links from some point in one hypertext document to another document or another place in the same document A browser usually displays a hyperlink in some distinguishing way, (e.g in a different colour, font or style) When the user activates the link (e.g by clicking on it with the mouse) the browser will display the target of the link

According to DeRidder (2002) defined words or phrases in one document that point to another text with more information related to that word or phrase

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“Difficult words highlighted in a bold typeface, different color or underlining” called highlighting hyperlinked annotations

What is an Annotation? Annotations are comments, notes, explanations, or other types of external remarks that can be attached to a document or a selected part

of the document As they are external, it is possible to annotate any document independently, without needing to edit that document From the technical point of view, annotations are usually seen as metadata, as they give additional information about an existing piece of data In this thesis, the researcher used a special annotation schema for describing annotations

From the definitions of hyperlink and annotation mentioned above, the researcher viewed highlighting of hyperlinked annotations as “words or phrases in one document that linked to another text with more information related to that word

or phrase Target words or key words were highlighted in a bold typeface, different color or underlining.”

What is intentional vocabulary learning? As Koren (1999) emphasized, intentional learning meant months and years of “intentional study”, involving the deliberate committing to memory of thousands of words and dozens of grammar rules Intentional vocabulary learning “by definition, is intended learning of vocabulary” Intentional learning in vocabulary refers to the rehearsal and memorizing techniques applied by learners when they have the intention of learning

Intentional learning involved a deliberate attempt to commit new information

to memory through rehearsal and mnemonic techniques Intentional learning needed attention and notice from learners In second language vocabulary learning, it was seen as a distinct category because intentional learning implies the use of deliberate retention techniques

What is Pop-up window? A window that suddenly appears (pops up) when

we select an option with a mouse or press a special function key Usually, the

pop-up window contains a menu of commands and stays on the screen only until we

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select one of the commands It then disappears Pop-ups can be initiated by a single

or double mouse click A pop-up window must be smaller than the background window or interface; otherwise, it is a replacement interface

2.2 The role of hyperlinked annotations on intentional vocabulary learning

Researchers and second language teaching experts started paying more attention to vocabulary learning and teaching In fact, some researchers now claim that, compared to the other components of language, vocabulary was the most essential one McCarthy (1990), for example, stated, “no matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of second language are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in second language just cannot happen in any meaningful way” It was also argued that students, while communicating in the target language, find vocabulary to be the greatest hurdle to use the language Ludwig (1984) Language teachers and learners were challenged by the task of teaching and learning the large number of new words Due to limited class time and the need to focus on many language skills, direct instruction alone may not make a major contribution in this respect Moreover, it was not guaranteed that learners would attend to such instruction When looking at the large stock of vocabulary that proficient second language learners possess, it would appear that this huge amount of vocabulary could not be simply learned in the classroom or through intentional means

Gass (1999) also noticed that vocabulary learning was generally considered

to be a conscious learning process Laufer and Hill (2000) stated that it should not

be confused with unattended learning Several scholars Ellis (1994) and Fraser (1999) argued that attention was a prerequisite for any learning to occur, and what differentiated from intentional vocabulary learning with regard to attention According to Ellis (1994) was the type of attention the students made to the lexical item “whereas intentional learning requires focal attention to be placed on linguistic form, but allows peripheral attention to be directed at form” Within the type of attention resulting in intentional learning, Gass (1999) argued for a distinction

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between two subtypes, namely externally and internally driven attention Nation (2001) made a distinction of intentional learning similar to that of Ellis

Hulstijn et al (1996) mentioned the distinction between the two intentions of the learners They defined vocabulary learning as the “accidental learning of information without the intention of remembering that information” Second language researchers such as Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) and Trompetter (1998), Luppescu and Day (1993) considered learning that results from tasks during which learners were not informed of subsequent recall tests

Many scholars Fraser (1999), Huckin and Coady (1999) argued that most intentional vocabulary learning results from reading Research on vocabulary learning through reading compared various methods and strategies for learning the new words that appeared in the context These methods and strategies included hyperlinked annotations and looking words up in the dictionary These different methods and strategies for discovering the meanings of new words in a text had the subject of considerable debate and the experiments carried out for evaluating them have produced contradictory findings Regardless of the method and strategy used while reading, it has been shown that intentional vocabulary learning through reading yields a very high rate of retention This view was also supported by Pressley, Levin and McDaniel (1987) who argued that “learners can derive vocabulary meanings from context, but this process alone does not foster retention

of meanings” Due to the fact that vocabularies and the results that gained from reading were not sufficient, there seems to be a need for effective tasks to reinforce what the students have learned during the reading session As Stoller and Grabe (1993) suggested that second language reading and related vocabulary activities might be one appropriate way to direct and enhance the effects of learning resulting from reading

Wesche and Paribakht (2000) argued that “tasks provide learners with varied and multiple encounters with given words that highlight different lexical features, promoting elaboration and strengthening of different aspects of word knowledge”

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Many studies have attempted to investigate the effectiveness of vocabulary learning tasks on the development of learners’ vocabulary knowledge and retention of new words One of the studies that attempted to explore this issue was that of Wesche and Paribakht (1997) The researchers tried to determine whether reading comprehension plus vocabulary enhancement exercises lead to more effective learning of selected vocabulary items than an equal amount of learning spent on reading additional texts that incorporated the same words

2.3 Required conditions for intentional vocabulary learning

2.3.1 Conditions of successful intentional vocabulary learning

Rott (1999) investigated the effect of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations

on vocabulary learning and retention through reading text She measured the productive and receptive learning and retention of unfamiliar target words in reading text It has been shown that making particular words highlighted through marking has a positive effect on vocabulary learning (see Brett, 1998) Hyperlinked annotations were also found to influence intentional vocabulary learning favorably (see Hulstijn, 1992), and the number of consulted annotations were found to be in direct proportion to vocabulary knowledge

Ellis, N (1997) reminded that “inferring the meaning of new words is neither

an automatic nor an implicit process It involved conscious application of strategies for searching for information, hypothesis formation and testing.” He contended that words are more likely to be remembered when their meaning was guessed from context, (i.e when learners made a greater mental effort in the study process) As most of the views and research results distinctly showed an important condition of successful vocabulary learning was reading or having the target words in context

2.3.2 Hyperlinked annotations in language learning

Hyperlinked annotations extended the notion of text in hypertext by adding other kinds of data, such as sound, animation, and some kind of information Landow (1997) underscored the importance of Bush’s (1945) original idea that the

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human mind worked by association rather than in a linear way, and while traditional printed text does not allow for this factor, highlighting of hyperlinked annotation can imitate this process Landow pointed out that although highlighting of hyperlinked annotation was tangible like printed materials, it allowed the reader to participate in learning more actively by having to filter the good information from the bad, linking information together at their will, or even adding their own hyperlinked annotations In this way, the reader became a producer of the text rather than its consumer Slatin (1990) claimed that linkages in reading text stimulate the connections in the reader’s or learner’s mind “Perhaps the greatest value of hyperlinked annotations was its ability to link enormous quantities of material that

in a conventional text environment would be kept separate so that things which someone perceives as being related to do in fact become related.”

Son (1998) stated that hyperlinked annotation was the combination of hypertext and multimedia It implied managing information in multimedia format while users may choose their own non-linear paths through text, graphics, audio and video in the available databases Brett (1998) also emphasized “hyperlinked annotations can be defined as the computer-delivered combination of a large range

of communications elements text and animation” The theoretical foundations of hyperlinked annotations and multimedia were significantly different because while learning theories were fitted to multimedia in order to match the intact educational philosophies, hyperlinked annotations was created by modeling the cognitive learning theories Highlighting of hyperlinked annotation technologies offered numerous advantages for vocabulary learning

2.3.3 The Effects of hyperlinked annotations in language learning

The effects of hyperlinked annotations on reading comprehension and vocabulary learning connected the words with their meanings using base forms that were the form one would find in a dictionary The results of the two studies were different Gettys et al (2001) found that retention of lexical items were better aided

by reading the text with dictionary-form equivalents of the second language words,

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because it involved a deeper level of cognitive processing However, Grace (1998) discovered that learners with access to sentence-level translations demonstrated significantly greater short-term and long-term memory of correct English word meanings than learners without sentence-level translations

The different results of the previous study, Grace (1998) were not mentioned

or discussed by the later researcher Gettys et al (2001), so it was difficult to explain why different results were obtained Most of the empirical studies found vocabulary annotations could foster English Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ reading comprehension and vocabulary learning The current study provided one more set of evidence supporting the benefit of annotations

2.3.4 The value of hyperlinked annotations in intentional learning

In discussing the validity of hyperlinked annotations, Davis (1989) noted that annotation through reading text offers two features:

+ (a) annotations were not highlighted and therefore do not interrupt the reading process,

+ (b) readers could obtain as much or as little information as desired regarding

a particular concept or word mentioned in the text under study

Jacobs (1994) also stated that computerized annotations were an effective means that aids second language vocabulary learning Learners could access annotations of unknown vocabulary items

The computerized annotation was appealing, as pointed out by Davis and Lyman-Hager (1997), because the computer's capacity permitted us to store more extensive annotations than a printed format does Furthermore, a computerized annotation does not interrupt the reading process because the annotated item is highlighted until the reader clicks on the target word

Martinez-Lage (1997) contended that the value of hyperlinked annotations was attributable to different factors First, hyperlinked annotations provided immediate access to the available information in a program including textual and highlighted

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annotations This access provided readers with the desired meaning immediately and allowed them to continue reading without disturbing in the reading process, a problem usually caused by stopping to look up words in a dictionary Second, hyperlinked annotations gave access to imaging Highlighted information attached

to a word enables readers to "confirm or reject hypotheses made about the meaning

of a word" Finally, hyperlinked annotations provided an opportunity for readers to interact with the text making them actively involved in the reading process

2.4 Possible problems

2.4.1 Intentional vocabulary learning

Hulstijn (1993) put forward the ‘mental effort’ hypothesis, which claimed that the greater the mental effort required by inferring, the better information recall and retention could be achieved Hulstijn (2001) claimed that few words were acquired by an act of ‘intentional’ learning, as in the learning of a bilingual vocabulary list

Groot (2000), on the other hand, expressed a view that lacking time for exposure to new words led to less association and link with other words for solid storage and efficient retrieval

Hulstijn (1993) and Laufer and Hulstijn (2001) claimed that inferred meanings were more likely to be remembered than meanings provided by annotations They also admitted, however, that in order to be able to infer word meanings from context appropriately, learners must be familiar with 95 % of the words in a given text

2.4.2 Limitations of hyperlinked annotations in language learning environments

Some factors such as computer-literacy, vocabulary learning styles, and strategies, were not investigated in this study

To conclude, chapter two briefly reviewed the theoretical and experimental aspects of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, the concepts of students’

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intentional vocabulary learning, and the effects of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in previous studies

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This study aims to answer two following questions:

1 To what extent does the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations improve students’ intentional vocabulary learning?

2 What are students’ attitudes toward learning vocabulary through using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations?

3.2 Research design

The research design of the study was an experimental group with 30 students According to Gay and Airasian (2000), an experimental research is aimed at investigating the impact and the effectiveness of the treatment In the experimental research, the use of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations (HHA, small software) was independent variable Students’ motivation and attitude in vocabulary learning was dependent variable The aim of using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations was to enhance students’ intentional vocabulary learning The study was conducted in six weeks (36 periods) with six-period classes Students were computer-literate In order to check if the students were really involved in highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, the researcher highlighted fifteen words in vocabulary tests using hyperlinked annotations and counted the times when students consulted them

3.3 Participants

Thirty non-English majors of accounting in Mekong University (7males and

23 females) participated in the study They have learned general English for the first

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three semesters at the University The students’ level of English was intermediate Their age range was from 18 to 21 They were put in one experimental group Besides, 30 non-English majors of accounting at the same level in the other class helped me pilot the questionnaires The other two teachers in my school helped

pre-me collect data

3.4 Research instruments

To collect the data and to answer the two research questions, five kinds of instruments were used in this research They were computer programs (software) using the highlighting hyperlinked annotations, a questionnaire, vocabulary tests, Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program, and teaching journals

3.4.1 The vocabulary test

Pre-test and post-test were used as a means to measure the students’ enhancement in intentional vocabulary learning

The Pre-test (see appendix 1) was executed at the first week of the experiment It was designed with fifteen questions and fifteen marks in total The students circled the multiple-choices for the correct answers and each correct answer scores equivalent one point The purpose of the pre-test in this research was

to examine students’ prior vocabulary knowledge of the target words used in vocabulary test

The post-test ( see appendix 2) was implemented six weeks later The content and level of the pre-test and the post-test was the same difficulty except the order of questions and answers The purpose of the post-test was to examine students’ enhancement in vocabulary knowledge and the effects of using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning

Also, the researcher prepared four vocabulary tests (see appendix 3, 4, 5, 6)

during six weeks of experiment Each test consisted of fifteen questions about vocabulary knowledge The researcher used the computer program (using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations program) to mark students’ vocabulary test

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automatically after students finish each vocabulary test In addition, the researcher collected data by writing the teaching journals The researcher recorded the comments about students’ motivation and attitude for each class meeting and the researcher realized that students were interested in the way to learn vocabulary in reading texts by using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations

3.4.2 Questionnaire on students’ motivation and attitudes

To obtain information on students’ motivation and attitudes of using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, the researcher prepared a questionnaire (see appendix 7) of 19 items The items reflected students’ motivation and attitudes on hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning by five-point scale (strongly agree,

agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree) All the items were categorized into

three factors including importance, interest and enjoyment, and objection The students were asked to respond to each statement by ticking the provided column In writing the questionnaires, the researcher also adapted some items from the previous researchers such as Henderson et al (1987) and Hunter’s theory of second language motivation (1992) and Margaret and Gardner’s motivation and Attitude toward second language learning (2003) After the course, the data from the questionnaires and test results were collected, and then the researcher used the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) software to analyze the data

3.5 Materials

The materials used in this research were the pre-test and the post-test and four vocabulary tests during the time of experiment The contents of the four tests were not the same as those of the pre-test and the post-test Students read the reading texts and answered the exercises The researcher retrieved the vocabulary texts from www.hp-vietnam.com

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3.6 Procedures

The procedures of the experimental research were as follows:

Table 3.1: Procedures of the research

Week 1 Pre-test and piloted questionnaires (on students’ motivation and

attitudes in vocabulary learning)

One Experimental group

Week 2-5 Intervention: Using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in

intentional vocabulary learning

Practicing tests and recording journals

Week 6 Post-test, post-questionnaires on the effects of using the highlighting

of hyperlinked annotations, students’ attitudes and their motivation Assessment

3.6.1 The procedure of data collection

To collect data on students’ motivation and attitudes in using the highlighting

of hyperlinked annotations, the researcher had three steps as the following:

Step 1

The researcher designed a computer program (software) to help students learn vocabulary in the reading text called HHA (Highlighting of Hyperlinked Annotations) which functioned as an electronic dictionary The students could look

up the meanings of some highlighted words in the reading texts In addition, in order

to check whether students consulted the highlighted words or not the computer program could count the times that students clicked on highlighted words After introducing the computer program to the students, the researcher asked 30 participants in the experiment to take the pre-test The results of the pre-test were used to evaluate their improvement in learning vocabulary by using the highlighting

of hyperlinked annotations

Step 2

To help the participants familiarize with using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning, the researcher designed the vocabulary tests The researcher also gave the students clear instructions on how to use the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations After each class meeting, the

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researcher took notes about the participants’ improvement

Step 3

The researcher used the questionnaires to collect data The participants were given careful instructions before checking the answer If any participants had problems or did not know how to put the check on the questionnaire, the researcher explained it in Vietnamese The purpose of the questionnaires was to look at the participants’ attitudes and motivation in using highlighting of hyperlinked annotations in vocabulary learning

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

In this chapter, I attempt to report the results of the research based on the data analysis The results showed the statistical evidence on the effects of using the highlighting of

hyperlinked annotations in intentional vocabulary learning based on (1) analysis of

students’ vocabulary knowledge, (2) students’ attitudes and motivation towards the use of highlighting of hyperlinked annotations

4.1 Analysis of students’ vocabulary knowledge

As mentioned earlier, the research was conducted in order to determine whether the use of the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations (HHA) improved students’ intentional vocabulary learning The following section describes (1) learners’ vocabulary knowledge before and after the study

4.1.1 Students’ vocabulary knowledge before the study

To determine the students’ vocabulary knowledge before the study, the researcher used a vocabulary test (pre-test) in the first week The test was administered to 30 learners of English of Accounting Class Course 8 in Mekong University The test was done in a computer room with 30 personal computers during a period of 25 minutes The test was scored by HHA program on computer The data gained from the pre-test were analyzed by SPSS The Descriptive Statistics Test was used to determine the mean score of the vocabulary pre-test The average

score of students’ pre-test was (Mpre=6.4) Table 4.1 presented the descriptive

statistics of the pre-test

Table 4.1: Descriptive statistics of pre-test

N Min Max Mean (M) Std Deviation

PRETEST 30 4.00 9.00 6.4000 1.19193

Valid N (list wise) 30

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Table 4.1 also indicated that the mean score of students vocabulary knowledge

(M=6.4) was not as high as the average scale in the test (M=7.5) This result implied

that if the test were used as an assessment test on vocabulary, most of the students would fail because their scores did not reach the average level

To check the difference between the mean score of the pre-test and the

expected mean scores, the researcher ran the One Sample test The One Sample

T-test was conducted to compare the mean score of students’ vocabulary knowledge

with the test value to evaluate whether their mean was significantly different from

7.5, the expected mean for vocabulary knowledge, the sample mean score (M=6.4,

SD=1.19193) was significantly different from the expected mean score (M=7.5) and (t=-5.055, df=29, p=.00) The results supported the conclusion that students’

vocabulary knowledge was below the expected mean scores

Table 4.2: Comparison mean pre-test with the expected mean score (Test value = 7.5)

Test Value = 7.5

t df Sig (2-tailed) Mean Difference 95% Confidence Interval

of the Difference Lower Upper PRETEST -5.055 29 000 -1.1000 -1.5451 -.6549

The results in table 4.2 showed that before the experiment, students’ vocabulary knowledge was not very good because the mean score of the pre-test was lower than the expected mean score So the researcher would think that students

of Accounting in Mekong University were likely to have a good way to learn vocabulary To help my students in Mekong University learn vocabulary well the researcher used the HHA program (The researcher described details in chapter 3)

4.1.2 Students’ vocabulary knowledge after the study

The post-test (see Chapter 3) was used after the experiment in the last week

The post-test was also administered to 30 students of English for accounting class course 8 in Mekong University The post-test was done in a computer room (30 personal computers) and scored by HHA program on computer The data gained

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from the post-test was analyzed by SPSS The average scores of students’ post-test

was (M=8.1) Table 4.3 presented the descriptive statistics of the post-test

Table 4.3: Descriptive statistics of post-test

N Min Max Mean (M) Std Deviation (SD) POSTEST 30 7.00 9.00 8.1667 69893 Valid N

The results in table 4.3 showed that the mean score of the post-test

(Mpost=8.17) was higher than the mean score of the pre-test (Mpre=6.4), and it was

also higher than the expected mean score (M=7.5) From this, the researcher would

think that after using the highlighting of hyperlinked annotations, students’

vocabulary knowledge was improved The researcher also ran the One Sample T-test

to make sure that the results were significant

Table 4.4: Comparison mean post-test with the expected mean (Test value=7.5)

The results from Table 4.4 (t=5.224, df=29, p=.00) showed that the mean

score of post-test was higher than the expected mean scores (M=7.5)

4.1.3 Comparison of students’ vocabulary knowledge

There was a difference in students’ vocabulary knowledge after the study

Namely, the mean score of the post-test was (M=8.17) The researcher could think

that students’ vocabulary knowledge could be improved In fact, table 4.5 presented the comparison between the pre-test and the post-test before and after the study

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