APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS AT BAC HONG PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HANOI

COVER PAGE 2 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Phạm Thị Lành APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL LEARNING THEORY IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE STU

COVER PAGE 2

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phạm Thị Lành

APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL LEARNING

THEORY IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS AT BAC

HONG PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HANOI

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Phạm Thị Lành

APPLICATION OF BEHAVIORAL LEARNING

THEORY IN TEACHING ENGLISH

VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS AT BAC

HONG PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HANOI

Field: English Language

Code: 8220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung

HANOI, 2019

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Application

of behavioral learning theory in teaching English vocabulary for the students at Bac Hong primary school in Hanoi” is the result of my own

research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language The substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any other degree to any other universities or institutions

Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains

no material previously published or written by another person

The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy

of Social Sciences

Author’s Signature

Phạm Thị Lành

Approved by SUPERVISOR

Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung

Date: August 16th, 2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to

Assoc Prof Dr Hồ Ngọc Trung, my supervisor, for his helpful and warm

encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of my study In addition, many thanks go to the teachers

at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, GASS, for their interesting lessons

from which I have benefited a lot for the accomplishment of the thesis

The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation from the respondents (84 students from the fifth grade at Bac Hong primary school in Hanoi) who have been willing to take part in the study I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of this study

I also offer my special thanks to my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family for their patience, endless love, and devotion Whatever choices I have made, they have always stood by me and believed in me I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

ABSTRACT viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF FIGURES x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aim(s) of the Study 3

1.3 Research Questions 3

1.4 Scope of the Study 3

1.5 Significance of the Study 4

Hopefully, the study will make a small contribution to the application of behaviorism in improving the young students’ vocabulary at Bac Hong primary school in Dong Anh, Hanoi 4

1.6 Research Methods 4

1.7 Structure of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 An overview of behaviorism 6

2.1.1 Concept of behaviorism 6

2.1.2 Behaviorism's point of view and foreign language teaching methodology 8

2.2 The primary school learners 10

2.2.1 Characteristics 10

2.2.2 Cognitive development 11

2.3 Teaching vocabulary for primary school students 13

Obviously, vocabulary is very important in learning a language, especially in learning English, because the English vocabulary is extremely large and varies as well According to El-Koumy (2004, p 40), vocabulary is an essential component of language and we would be totally mistaken if we ignore teaching it 13

2.3.1 Concept of vocabulary 14

2.3.2 The role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 14

2.3.3 Teaching English vocabulary effectively 15

2.4 Vocabulary teaching activities based on behavioral learning theory 17

2.4.1 General concept of TPR 17

2.4.2 Characteristics of TPR 18

Total physical response (TPR) helps students to understand the target language as a whole rather than the rules of the language For example, to explain particular word such pen, the teacher holds up a book and say “this is a pen” and repeated by the students This method is closely related with Grammar Translation Method which uses translation method to explain a language to students but instead of telling the meaning, the teacher gives a clue (picture, gesture) and let the students to figure by themselves 18

2.4.3 Procedures of TPR 19

2.4.4 TPR activities used for primary school learners in the study 21

2.5 Previous studies 24

2.6 Summary 28

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 29

3.1 Research setting 29

3.1.1 Context of the study 29

3.1.2 Definition of experimental research 31

3.1.3 Steps of an Experimental research 32

3.2 Participants 33

3.2.1 The Researcher 33

3.2.2 The Students 34

3.3 Data collection instruments 35

3.3.1 Pre- test 35

3.3.2 Post test 36

3.3.3 Classroom observation 37

3.3.4 Questionnaires 38

3.4 Research design 40

3.5 Procedures 42

3.5.1 Experiment Group 42

3.5.2 Control Group 43

3.6 Methods of data analysis 44

Students' score = 44

total number of correct answers 44

3.7 Summary 45

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 46

4.1 Data analysis from the tests 46

4.1.1 The Scores and Analysis of the Experiment Group 46

4.1.3 The comparison of the mean scores between two groups 49

4.2 Students’ Response from Classroom Observation 50

4.2.1 Experiment Group 50

4.2.2 Control Group 51

4.3 Data Analysis from Questionnaires 51

4.3.1 Analysis of the first questionnaire 52

4.3.2 Analysis of the second questionnaire 56

4.4 Discussion 61

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 63

In this chapter, we summarize the study and the research findings Then, we would like to discuss the applications, the limitations of this study, and the further studies 63

5.1 Recapitulation 63 The experimental research project was carried out in optional lessons during

4 months in the second semester of school year 2018 -2019 of eighty -four students in class 5A and 5B at Bac Hong primary school The previous chapters show that using TPR method that implied from behavioral learning theory in English vocabulary lessons consumed a lot of time Most of the students had few opportunities to be taught with TPR activities However, from the author's experience in teaching English with TPR method, two types of lessons and class observation can be drawn for experiment group and control group First, TPR method can be used effectively for experiment group to develop student's English vocabulary Second, traditional method is conducted to use for control group in

learning English vocabulary After that, we compare the results of the two

groups to find the differences between them 63

5.2 Concluding Remarks 64

5.3 Implications 66

5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 67

5.4.1 Limitations 67

5.4.2 Suggestions for Further Studies 68

REFERENCES I Foreign Authors I

Pinter, A (2006) Teaching Young Language Learners Oxford, UK: Oxford

University Press III Vietnamese Authors IV APENDIX 1 V

First questionnaire - Questionnaire for both groups Direction V

APPENDIX 2 VIII APPENDIX 3 XI APPENDIX 4 XIII POST TEST 1 XIII APPENDIX 5 XV APPENDIX 6 XVII APPENDIX 7 XX APPENDIX 8 XXII Unit 13: WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR FREE TIME? XXII

I Objectives: By the end of this unit pupils can XXII

II Languages focus: XXII III Teaching aids: XXII

IV Teaching processes: XXII

1 Class organization: XXII

2 New lesson XXII

ABSTRACT

This study is conducted to investigate the the extent to which behavioral learning-based activities facilitate vocabulary learning at Bac Hong Primary School and the attitudes of the students towards using behavioral learning-based activities in vocabulary teaching and learning There are 84 students who are from class 5A and 5B at the school take part in this study The study lasted 4 months A pre-test, 4 posttests, 2 questionnaires and class observation are chosen as the data collection instruments of the experimental research Research findings showed that the students had positive attitudes and progress in learning English vocabulary in the treatment group in which the researcher applied TPR method based on behavioral learning theory rather than in the control group After analyzing and synthesizing the statistics, the researcher discussed and recommended some implications along with suggestions for further research Last but not least, it is much hoped that the results of the study could be useful for the development of teaching and learning English vocabulary in particularly and all aspects of this language in general at Bac Hong primary school

LIST OF TABLES

Page Table 3.1: Frame of Questionnaire for 2 groups of students 47 Table 3.2: Frame of Questionnaire for students in experimental

group

49

Table 4.3: Results of Questionnaire for 2 groups of students 52 Table 4.4: Results of Questionnaire for students in experimental

group

56

LIST OF FIGURES

Page

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

TPR: Total Physical Response

ALM: Audio-lingual Method

GMT: Grammar Translation Method

LAD: Language Acquisition Device

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

There is no doubt that knowledge of a foreign language is nowadays necessary The ability to speak another language not only increases the chance to get a decent job but it is also convenient for personal use – to make oneself understood abroad As today’s international language for communication is considered to be English, the demand for English speaking people has rapidly increased Due to its great importance, English language has become an obligatory school subject at all primary schools in Vietnam This means that the pupils are obliged to start learning this foreign language at a very early age Some of them, however, might be exposed to English even earlier, though not mandatorily, since a lot of kindergartens offer English classes It is not easy to study perfect English vocabulary Almost all students often face up with some problems in learning vocabulary at first, especially primary school students In fact, it is difficult to memorize a new word with its meaning, spelling and pronunciation, many primary students are often confused with knowing how can apply grammar into sentences, sometimes, they cannot understand when being opposed to video and audio Moreover, techniques to teach English in primary schools is traditional teaching methods and similar activities days by days, which makes students become fed up with learning English

Therefore, English teaching for primary school children is especially concerned by parents and society in our country Interesting techniques to

teach English are necessary to help students learn English vocabulary better;

they also attract students' interest on English To create a good condition of learning English at school, teachers should give students opportunities to be sensitive to this foreign language Children develop the ability to use

language to understand others and to express their own meanings in the school years, and in the school years, this ability expands and grows We must bear in mind that children have different competences and abilities than adult learners do

pre-In language learning, there are four major and familiar theories of language acquisition and language learning named behaviorism, cognitivism, humanism, and constructivism Based on the historical development, behaviorism is the first theory of that is presented by Skinner and Noam Chomsky Speaking simply, behaviorists’ view on learning shows how learners’ behavior is shaped through stimulus and response They also view that behavior is observable

In English Language Teaching, the teacher needs a method that is suitable to teach children by considering their language acquisition Actually, children will learn easily when it is fun with movement and physical participation As teaching adults and teaching children are different, teachers should choose the suitable method and act properly Considering the problem existed, it is believed that implementing an appropriate method to teach children is necessary

From the above reasons, we decide to conduct a research on

“Application of behavioral learning theory in teaching English vocabulary for the students at Bac Hong primary school in Hanoi” We hope to give

some small suggestions for English primary school teachers to choose adequate teaching methods and classroom activities It is necessary to hold discussion of the theory of behaviorism This research will briefly examine an overview of behaviorism theory, how behaviorism theory is applied to a particular method of English language teaching methodology, and to an approach of teaching English vocabulary Hopefully the discussion will result

in minimizing false assumptions about the theory of behaviorism understanding of why teachers choose a particular method or technique of teaching for particular learners with particular learning objectives

1.2 Aim(s) of the Study

The study is aimed to examine the effectiveness of using activities based on behavioral learning theory in teaching English-as-a-foreign-language vocabulary to primary school children

In order to achieve the above aim, the study centres on:

- Investigating the extent to which behavioral learning-based activities facilitate vocabulary learning at Bac Hong Primary School;

- Finding out the attitudes of the students towards using behavioral learning-based activities in vocabulary teaching and learning

1.3 Research Questions

The thesis addresses the following research questions:

- To what extent does the use of behavioral learning-based activities facilitate vocabulary learning at Bac Hong Primary School?

- What do the students think about the use of behavioral learning-based activities in vocabulary teaching and learning?

1.4 Scope of the Study

Within the shortage of time, experience, and references, my research cannot cover all aspects of English teaching methods It mainly focuses on studying the primary children’s English acquisition influenced by behaviorism and giving typical sample lessons in a period of 40 minutes for grade 5 at Bac Hong Primary School (Dong Anh, Hanoi) where I am working

as a teacher of English

1.5 Significance of the Study

Hopefully, the study will make a small contribution to the application

of behaviorism in improving the young students’ vocabulary at Bac Hong

primary school in Dong Anh, Hanoi

1.6 Research Methods

The study was carried out by qualitative approach with the research method of Experimental Research which analyzes and gives examples behaviorism and its influence in teaching English as a foreign language for young children Comments, remarks, suggestions and conclusions are based

on problem identification, planning, actual researche, experience, and discussions

Preliminary survey was conducted in order to identify students’ initial problems in English vocabulary

Questionnaires were given to analyze the learners’ attitudes towards teaching and learning English vocabulary based on behavioral learning theory

in the EFL classes

1.7 Structure of the Study

The study consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction: give reasons for choosing the thesis, scope and aims of the study as well as the research method and the structure of the study

Chapter 2 – Literature Review: This chapter focuses on an overview of brief knowledge about the behaviorism theory in language acquisition, analyzes the teaching methods and techniques that make use of the theory, characteristics and cognitive development of young learners and teaching English at primary school

Chapter 3 - Methodology: This chapter reports the context settings, research hypothesis, participants, instruments and the procedure of conducting Experimental Research for the study The detailed results of the surveys and a critical comprehensive analysis on the data collected are presented

Chapter 4- Findings and Discussion: The part gives the data analysis from the Experimental Research results to make the foundation for the activities in chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Conclusion: summarizes the study, suggestions some typical activities and practical tips for teacher to improve 5th -grade students’ English vocabulary and examples for illustration, limitations of the study and suggestions for further study

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is concerned with the conceptions of behaviorism, the young learners' characteristics and cognitive development, teaching English vocabulary at primary school, Total Physical Respond method and previous studies on teaching English vocabulary for primary school children

2.1 An overview of behaviorism

2.1.1 Concept of behaviorism

Behaviorism is a theory of learning that was influential in the 1940s and 1950s, especially in the United States With regard to language learning, the best-known proponent of this psychological theory was B F Skinner (1957) Traditional behaviorists hypothesized that when children imitated the language produced by those around them, their attempts to reproduce what they heard received ‘positive reinforcement’ This could take the form of praise or just successful communication Thus encouraged by their environment, children would continue to imitate and practise these sounds and patterns until they formed ‘habits’ of correct language use

Behaviorism states that children learn a language mainly through repetition, imitation and habit formation Chomsky (1959) deviating from the tenets of Behaviorism introduces the Innate Hypothesis Chomsky (1993) states that ‘Language learning is not really something that the child does; it is something that happens to the child placed in an appropriate environment, much as the child’s body grows and matures in a predetermined way when provided with appropriate nutrition and environmental stimulation’ (p 519)

Behaviorism learning theory oriented "results that can be measured, observed, analyzed, and tested objectively" Repetition and training are used

so that the desired behavior can become a habit The expected result of the application of the theory of behaviorism is the formation of a desired

behavior Desired behavior gets positive reinforcement Skinner (1976) noted that evaluation or assessment is based on observed behavior In this theory, a lot of teachers do not lecture, but brief instructions are followed by examples, either by themselves or through stimulation

Behaviorism Learning Theory is a theory of learning that emphasizes human behavior as a result of the interaction between stimulus and response Behaviorism theory is a theory proposed by Gage and Berliner This theory later developed into the flow of learning psychology that influence the development of education and learning theory known as behaviorism flow This emphasis on the formation of the flow behavior appears to be a result of learning

According to Alissa (2003), behaviorism theory with stimulus-response relationship model, seated person as an individual passive learning Specific behavioral responses analyzed by using training methods or habituation alone The emergence of behaviors will be stronger when given reinforcement and will disappear when sentenced A person is considered to have learned

something if he can show changes in behavior According to this theory the

important learning is in the form of inputs and outputs in the form of stimulus response

Stimulus is all that is given by the teacher to the learner, while the response in the form of student reactions or responses to the stimulus given by the teacher

Therefore, it is something given by the teacher (stimulus) and something that is accepted by the students (response) should be observed and measured (Fauziati, 2016) It focuses on the theory of measurement, since the measurement is an important thing to notice changes in behavior occurs or not

2.1.2 Behaviorism's point of view and foreign language teaching methodology

Behaviorism, one of the theories in Children Language Acquisition which proposed by B.F Skinner Skinner (1976) stated that in this theory the teacher emphasizes in giving instruction and examples, either by themselves

or through stimulation In other words, by giving examples the children can imitate and then reinforce what they get To support the assumption, the journal entitled “Behaviorism in Foreign Language Teaching Methodolody” proves by explained and underlined that human behavior is a result of stimulus and response (Budiman, 2017) Therefore, to help children learn a language, the teacher does not lecture the children but rather offer commands than lecturing

There have been some well-known researchers whose work on kids’ language acquisition Skinner studied habit formation in behaviorism He agreed that repetition can make pupils learn well The Critical Period Hypothesis is that there is a time in human development when the brain is predisposed for success in language learning It has been hypothesized that there is a critical period for second language acquisition just as there is for first language acquisition Noam Chomsky explained the development of language ability by innate language acquisition device Chomsky theorized that children were born with a hard-wired language acquisition device (hereafter, LAD) in their brains (cited in Pinker, 1994) Pinker (1994) claimed that LAD is a set of language learning tools, intuitive at birth in all children

He also showed that each person has universal grammar

Behaviorism theory is crucial in foreign language learning The influence of this theory can be seen in the close relation to a particular

language teaching method called Audio-lingual Method (ALM) This ALM has two principles:

(1) Stimulus-Response concept, and

(2) an assumption that second language learning should reflect and imitate the perceived process of mother tongue learning

According to Fauziati (2016), the application of behaviorism theory in Audio-lingual method is as follows:

(1) the organism is the learner,

(2) the behavior as verbal behavior,

(3) the stimulus as what is presented of the foreign language,

(4) the response as the learners’ reaction to the stimulus, and

(5)the reinforcement as the extrinsic approval and praise of the teacher, fellow students, and self-satisfaction of target language use

Based on the relation between behaviorism theory and ALM, it is clear now that ALM is marked by the following characteristics:

(1) new language should always be dealt with in the sequence of listening, speaking, reading, and writing with emphasis on teaching receptive skills before productive skills, nothing will be spoken before it has been heard, and nothing will be written before it has been read,

(2) habit formation through frequent repetition,

(3) errors are avoided,

(4) the use of dialogues as the chief means of presenting language, (5) using mimicry, memorization, and pattern drills techniques,

(6) discouraging the use of mother tongue in the classroom, and

(7) the use of language lab in conducting teaching and learning process From that theory, young learner tends to remember better the language when the learning process using and applying physical activities Asher

(1977) showed that in learning the first language, before they speak, the listening should be accompanied by physical responses like reaching, grabbing, moving, or looking This theory is familiar with the name of Total Physical Response (TPR) It is assumed that Total Physical Response method has the similar principle with behaviorist theory The teacher’s direct here means the instruction given by the teacher Therefore, it can be concluded that

it is the stimulus they deliver to the children Moreover, the students act is the response of it If the teacher gives the command and gives the example or be the model, while the students copy what they did, it is similar with the theory

of imitation in behaviorism Whereas the teacher gives the same command over and over or repetition instruction, and makes the students habitual with

it, it is the application of behaviorist theory in correlation with TPR method For instance, in a lesson: Let say the topic is part of body The teacher may

ask “repeat after me”, “touch your ear”, while pointing the ear and the

students should repeat what the teacher say and do If the teacher does it repeatedly and the students imitate it until they pronounce it well, so that the method is successfully implemented

2.2 The primary school learners

According to Vietnamese education, the primary school learners mean children from the first year of formal schooling (six years old) to the fifth grade (eleven years old)

2.2.1 Characteristics

In most of the literature dealing with teaching at primary level, children are capable of using logical reasoning but they can also use their vivid imagination Their basic concepts are formed and they have very decided views of the world Children at this age do not see the teacher as an absolute

authority anymore They are able to make some decisions about their own learning and they begin to question the teacher’s decisions

Young learners need to move, they have got huge amount of energy They tend to have short attention spans Children are very much linked to their surroundings and are more interested in the physical and the tangible According to Scott and Ytreberg (1995), children’s own understanding comes through hands and eyes and ears and their physical world is dominant at all times Scott and Ytreberg (1995) concludes characteristics of children:

- The children ask questions all the time

- They rely on both the spoken word and the physical representation of the word to convey and understand meaning

- They have definite views about what they like and do not like to do

- They have developed sense of fairness about what happens in the classroom and they begin to question the teachers’ decisions

- They are able to work with others and learn from others

- They love to play and they learn better when they enjoy themselves

2.2.2 Cognitive development

What children can or cannot do at different ages is connected not only

to their physical, but also to their cognitive development The greatest part of these changes takes place during the primary school years “The years at primary school are extremely important in children’s intellectual, physical, emotional, and social development They go through a series of stages, progressively acquiring skills that are thought necessary by the society they live in” (Phillips, 1993, p 6) Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development has greatly influenced the views on teaching foreign language to children Curtain and Pesola in their book "Languages and Children – Making the Match" refer to Wadsworth, who studied Piaget’s

developmental stage theory: “The child develops cognitively through active involvement with environment, and each step in development builds on and becomes integrated with previous steps Because two of the four developmental stages normally occur during the elementary school years, it is important for language teachers working with children to keep the characteristics of each cognitive stage in mind” (Curtain and Pesola, 1988, p 66)

Children aged seven to eleven belong to the stage of concrete operations During this stage children are able to gradually apply logical thinking to concrete problems Learners can already work well with their classmates but they might be reluctant to co-operate with children of the opposite sex They learn effectively through concrete experience and with help of context The final stage is called the stage of formal operations and involves children of eleven to fifteen years old and older During these years the child’s cognitive structures are fully developed and children are capable of applying logical reasoning to all classes of problems It is claimed (Curtain and Pesola, 1988, p.66-68) that positive self-image, positive relationships, independence and sense of belonging to a peer group are very important at this age Young learners tend to be better in remembering the language when the learning process using and applying physical activities

In 1995, Scott and Ytreberg stated that children particularly aged from eight to ten are competent mother tongue users In this regard, they are aware

of basic linguistic rules of their mother tongue At these ages, children are able to grasp abstracts and symbols, generalize language, and systematize it Children are also capable of interpreting meaning without understanding words

separately, are powerful in using language creatively, are fond of doing exploration and create a certain funny condition; establish imagination; and are keen on communicating

McLaughlin (1978) regarded that in language teaching, most people believe that children learn a foreign language in the same way of that they learn their mother tongue Actually, children are potential in acquiring and learning a foreign language, and even they learn it more quickly than those who are learning the foreign language after puberty On the contrary, Long (1990) denied that children are less capable of absorbing or acquiring a foreign language optimally

2.3 Teaching vocabulary for primary school students

The first part of this chapter deals with description of young learners and aspects of their cognitive development This part will discuss concept of vocabulary, the role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning and Teaching English vocabulary effectively A foreign language’s learners will speak fluently and accurately, write easily, or understand what the learner reads or hears if they have enough vocabulary and have the capability of using it accurately

Obviously, vocabulary is very important in learning a language, especially in learning English, because the English vocabulary is extremely large and varies as well According to El-Koumy (2004, p 40), vocabulary is

an essential component of language and we would be totally mistaken if we ignore teaching it

We declare that the basis of a language is the vocabulary Consequently, teaching English vocabulary is the priority when the learners are in the beginning stage of the process The teacher should explain new

words in English, performing pronunciation modeling, and word-building in

order to help learners grasp English vocabulary The classification and association with other words will help students to comprehend new vocabulary

2.3.1 Concept of vocabulary

Vocabulary is a matter that a lot of linguists and English teachers have

paid attention to for a long period Vocabulary means all the words known by

a particular individual and the appropriate diction and understanding when used in communication Vocabulary is a list of words with their meanings, especially one given in a reading book of a foreign language Vocabulary is one of the language components which have to be mastered by the students in learning a new language They students will get difficulties in using English if they lack vocabularies According to BBC English Dictionary (1992, p 1316), vocabulary is the total of words you know in a particular language It

is generally believed that knowing a word means knowing its meaning Actually, knowing a word may involve four aspects: form of the word (for instance spelling and pronunciation), grammatical properties (for example, grammatical category of a word, its possible and impossible structure), lexical properties (for instance, word combinations and appropriateness), and general meaning and specific meaning

According to the definitions above it can be concluded that vocabulary

is a stock of words in a language, written or spoken, with meaning conveyed within a given society and culture

2.3.2 The role of vocabulary in language teaching and learning

Learning vocabulary plays an important role in language learning because Gass (1999) noted that “learning a second language means learning its vocabulary” (p 325) Vocabulary is essential in language acquisition because the mastery of vocabulary will help students master all the language

skills; listening, speaking, reading, and writing Vocabulary is able to make the students practise the structures easier; it is useful for the students to communicate in daily life and will strengthen belief that English can be used

to express some ideas or feeling they express in their native language (Finocchiaro, 1974, p 38) Thus, students should expand their vocabulary in order to be able to communicate with others

Vocabulary is believed to be the root for any language acquisition process Everyone learning a language must have enough vocabulary knowledge to epress their ideas, thought and emotion It is hard to learn a language without having enough vocabulary knowledge No matter how well the learners learn grammar without words to express meaning, communication in a foreign language may not occur in any meaningful ways

In teaching primary school pupils, vocabulary is considered to be really initial important to be mastered first For this reason, teacher should pay more attention to the teaching and learning English vocabulary to children as the learners Teacher should choose and apply some teaching techniques and media which are suitable with the students’ needs based on the curriculum All in all, an effective vocabulary teaching technique is the one which attracts the learners' attentionin order to make the learners understand the use of the words, and provide an opportunity for repetition

2.3.3 Teaching English vocabulary effectively

In teaching vocabulary, teacher should not give it separately word by word It will make the students know the words just the way they are without understanding how to apply the words whether in spoken or written into sentences or paragraph As a teacher of English for s long time, I see that the best way of teaching vocabulary is not only teaching the students to memorize but also teaching them to pronounce, to spell, and to use it in context

Vocabulary should not rely on the spoken words only; teacher should try to give as clearly as possible the explanation of the meaning of the words being taught by showing picture, dramatizing, illustrating, paraphrasing, or giving the similarity with their native language

Richards, S and Viliers, S (2014) considered that young learners learn fast but forget fast, so we need to do a lot of revision Also, we must remember not just to present them with individual words but also simple common phrases We must remember learners have different learning styles

and different intelligences They state in their Methodology Booklet of Oxford Primary Teachers' Academy that learners need to hear and say a word many

times before they come to see it This is partly because young learners naturally learn language by listening (this is how they learnt their mother tongue) It is also because English is not phonetically spelt and seeing a word too early can cause confusion

Teachers also need to clarify the stages of learning a word First, learners must be familiar with the sound of the word and be able to recognize

it when they hear it from the teacher or the tape Second, learners should then

be able to pronounce it correctly Third, students should be encouraged to use

it in simplesentence answers, drills, and dialogues Then, they will see the word in printed form and recognize it and be able to read it aloud Learners will be able to write and spell the words and use it in oral and printed contexts

In brief, teachers are successful in English lessons only when learners are able to use the word in a meaningful context appropriately and spontaneously Only when a learner realizes a lexical item in all of these stages can we say they know the word But this, of course, initially relates to short-term memory Teachers need to offer plenty of opportunities for regular

revision, recycling , and revising so that the word becomes fixed in long-term memory also learners are at different levels, aptitudes, attitudes and have different areas of interest in order to provide sufficient new words to be motivating, interesting and challenging

2.4 Vocabulary teaching activities based on behavioral learning theory

The important method which stimulates students’ learning and helps them to acquire language quickly and effectively is students’ involvement This part involving Total Physical Response approach - one of the foreign language teaching approachs applied by behaviorism

2.4.1 General concept of TPR

It is assumed that Total Physical Response method has the similar principle with behaviorist theory The teacher’s direction here means the instruction given by the teacher Therefore, it can be concluded that it is the stimulus they deliver to the children Moreover, the students act is the response of it If the teacher gives the command and gives the example or be the model, while the students copy what they did, it is similar with the theory

of imitation in behaviorism Whereas the teacher gives the same command over and over or repetition instruction, and makes the students habitual with

it, it means the application of behavioral theory in correlation with TPR method

TPR is a teaching-learning strategy developed by Dr James Asher, a professor of psychology at San Jose State University, where the students understand the new language first before they have to speak it, or write it, or read it - just as a child learns language the first time TPR is based on the premise that the human brain has a biological program for acquiring any natural language on earth - including the sign language of the deaf The process is visible when we observe how infants internalize their first

language Asher showed that the fastest, least stressful way for understanding

of any target language is to follow directions uttered by the instructor

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching method built around the coordination of speech and action; it attempts to teach language through physical (motor) activity TPR is linked to the “trace theory” of memory in psychology which holds that the more often or the more intensively a memory connection is traced, the stronger the memory association will be and the more likely it will be recalled Retracing can be done verbally (e.g., by rote repetition) and in association with motor activity Combined tracing activities, such as verbal rehearsal accompanied by motor activity, hence increase the probability of successful recall Asher’s emphasis

on developing comprehension skills before the learner is taught to speak links him to movement in foreign language teaching It is believed that:

- Comprehension abilities precede productive skills in learning a language

- The teaching of speaking should be delayed until comprehension skills are established

- Skills acquired through listening transfer to other skills

- Teaching should emphasize meaning rather than form

- Teaching should minimize learner stress Benefit of TPR: World's most thoroughly researched approach in second language acquisition

- Successful with children and adults learning any language

- Three strong features: High-speed understanding of any target language, Long-term retention and Zero stress!

- Another unusual feature: enjoyable for teachers as well as students!

2.4.2 Characteristics of TPR

Total physical response (TPR) helps students to understand the target

language as a whole rather than the rules of the language For example, to

explain particular word such pen, the teacher holds up a book and say “this is

a pen” and repeated by the students This method is closely related with Grammar Translation Method which uses translation method to explain a language to students but instead of telling the meaning, the teacher gives a clue (picture, gesture) and let the students to figure by themselves

In a TPR classroom, the students are more active since they are involved in the learning activity as listener and performer They listen to their teacher’s commands, mostly imperative commands then followed by actions The commands are given several times (drills) to make the students clearly understand the concept of the target language

In short, TPR teaching methods has following characterisitcs:

1 The teacher directs and the students “act” in response

2 Understanding of the spoken language must be developed in advance

structure of a language Teachers should be aware of this and apply TPR theory to students’ vocabulary learning For instance, if teachers are teaching

vocabulary: walk, run and stop, they can use physical actions to help students

understand the meanings of these words

In TPR lessons, teachers design suitable games which can stimulate students’ interest and motivate them to learn effectively

Pictures can give students visual impression Teachers can use drawing activities in class (Wu Fei, 2012, p.183) For example, in review section, teachers require students to draw on the blackboard what the vocabulary stands for

Wu Fei (2012, p 183) also stated that music always generates a kind of relaxing and ease environment for learning Teachers combine music with teaching content Students can sing and dance with music In this case, they can easily apprehend the meaning of teaching material

Children are good at performing Teachers plan some scenes based on daily life in which students are asked to play their respective roles Real situation can enhance students’ memory for the new content (Wu Fei, 2012, p 183) These are four steps in an English lesson applied by TPR teaching methods:

- First, teachers give instruction and do physical actions accordingly Students just look, listen and observe

- Second, teachers give instructions and do physical actions, and students act following what teachers have done

- Third, teachers give instructions without doing anything, and students do physical actions according to teachers’ instructions

- Last, some students give instructions and other students complete physical actions

The majority of class time in TPR lessons is spent doing drills in which instructors give commands by using the imperative mood Students respond to these commands with physical actions Apart from drills using the imperative, teachers can use other activities as well, such as role-plays, games, slide presentations, etc

2.4.4 TPR activities used for primary school learners in the study

TPR can easily be used in a everyday classroom routine The teacher encourages the children to recognize and respond to simple classroom

instructions and gestures, such as; hands up, stand up, sit down, wave goodbye etc She can make visual associations with words that the children can learn and mimic especially descriptive words For example: big, happy, small, and sad It should be kept in mind that they love to mime professions,

animals, vehicles, weather conditions etc In such activities children first listen and then understand messages, decide whether they are right or wrong, and finally act accordingly (Pinter, 2006)

* Commands

The most usual TPR activities involve teacher’s commands to which students respond physically, demonstrating comprehension Some commands require using largemotor skills, while others involve interaction with classroom objects, like desks, chairs, maps, the whiteboard, board markers, or pictures and charts For example:

Depending on the topic of the lesson, the teacher can prepare commands that will strengthen vocabulary learning using hand movement to

manipulate any set of pictures or flashcards: Point to / Touch / Pick up (an apple / a pear / an orange / a strawberry) The activity can become more

physically demanding if carried out as a competitive game in which the speed

of running and the ability to understand commands are combined: the pictures

or flashcards can be stuck on the whiteboard and individual members of two groups of children run to the whiteboard to touch or pick up the picture with the word the teacher uses in his/her command; the group that collects more flashcards is the winner This activity can be done as a lead-in for introducing new vocabulary, or as a practice activity for reviewing vocabulary

A more demanding activity will be the one requiring children to act out the verbs or verb phrases appearing in a lesson A good example are lesson 1 and lesson 2 of each unit in the book "Tieng Anh 5" - Vietnam National

Education Press such as: climb the tree, do karate, play with the knife, touch the stove, fly a plane, design, walk in space, turn right, turn left, Children

can mime the verbs, either while listening to the story or responding to teacher’s commands Hearing impaired children can be scaffolded with flashcards showing the pictures of activities, while physically impaired children can respond by holding up a flashcard showing the action that corresponds to the teacher’s command Further, the verbs can be practiced by

playing the game Simon says Simon says laugh haha ! Simon says swim! Simon says wave! Simon says stand up!, Simon says sit down! Children are supposed to perform only the activities introduced with Simon says If children mime the action when the teacher says Laugh! without saying Simon says, they are out (Alphin,2002) The commands can be made more challenging if given with increasingly faster speed These activities can be used as practice or wrap-up activities, or at any time during the lesson if a change of pace is needed

For lessons ouside the classroom, more action can be introduced with

commands like: Run forward Take three teps to the left Jump up and down

Throw the ball The sequence of commands should be prepared in advance so

that they are given fast, for the amusement of children (Lee, 1986, p 102)

* Games

Depending on the nature of students’ psychological characteristics, they can not keep their attention a long time and not often listen to the teacher In this way, a positive classroom atmosphere will enable some of students to interact with teachers and other students to maintain their attention In this mode, the teacher can also design some of the relevant

content of the game

Prepare some commands: touch your nose, touch your lips, touch your eyes etc

The teacher showed the students part of the body by mentioning and touching

Give the commands to touch part of their body according to what the teacher says

To know students’ understanding, the teacher can do miss-direction

technique for example when saying “touch your nose” the teacher touches

his/her lips

Repeat this techniques several times

The teacher can judge by the time of rule or control which group is the winner, and then gives them some gifts or prizes This game can cultivate students’ sense of English and English thinking in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere

* Storytelling

Storytelling is also a way to emphasize the uniqueness of each person’s imagination, and imagination can generate language TPR storytelling is another method that uses pantomime and physical activity: each word in a

story has its own gesture Furthermore, because teachers will contextualize the acquired vocabulary and act it out, their students will be able to hear, see, act out, retell, revise and rewrite it (Marsh, 2000).

* Miming and role-playing

This group of activities/games are usually related to a traditional song and focus on bringing language of the songs to life with simulation Using

simulation and dramatisation children act out the traditional songs, like The Mulberry Bush When listening to the song, children join hands and run round

a ring, and then stand still to mime washing their hands, cleaning their teeth, brushing their hair, cleaning their shoes, or going to school Another well-known action song is Head, shoulders, knees and toes, in which children touch respective body parts, thus performing physical exercise that requires them to bend forward and croach down

TPR reflects the way the baby learn their first language in which first they are observing all utterances they hear and they will speak when they are ready to do so TPR is a teaching strategy which involves the students to the learning process This strategy requires the teacher to be a commander to students The activities on the Total Physical Response Storytelling stimulate student’s ability in thinking and imagining All ideas given by the students are appreciated so the students will not afraid in making mistake and students will

be motivated to learn more and more

2.5 Previous studies

There is a large number of research studies, focusing on teaching English vocabulary using TPR method that were conducted by both foreign and Vietnamese researchers From the experiences and what the researcher has searched, few important studies particularly concentrate on how to

improve the vocabulary competence for primary students Following are some

related articles and studies:

Burston, J (2011) conducted a research project to reexamine the effectiveness of vocabulary learning via mobile phones The participants of this study consisted of 78 students aged from 18 to 22 were assigned to two groups: the SMS group (the experimental group) and the paper group (the control group) Then, they were administered a pretest to identify the level of their prior vocabulary knowledge Next, they were put into two intervention conditions The SMS group studied a selected list of vocabulary via mobile phone SMS text messages while the paper group worked on the same list of vocabulary through paper material in a self-regulated manner The study concludes that vocabulary learning through these two methods is effective in their own way and that a blended approach to vocabulary learning may better help increase the effectiveness from the perspective of sustained retention rates

Laura Holleny (2012) investigated the effectiveness of Total Physical Response Storytelling for language learning with special education students to ascertain the validity of the Total Physical Response Storytelling (TPRS) language learning method in comparison with “traditional” language learning methods The participants of this research consisted of 44 high school students in grades 9-12 with mild learning disabilities such as specific learning disorder, other health impairment, communication impairment, and multiple disabilities The four classes were divided into two groups: a control and treatment group Each group consisted of ten to twelve students The results from this study vary from class to class, as to the advantage of having material taught using TPRS techniques

Besides, Sühendan Er (2012) researched the effects of Total Physical Response Method in Early Childhood Foreign Language Teaching Environments The participants in this study were not mentioned and no texts was mentioned, so the classroom objects can be used easily but there were teaching via songs, games, stories accompany actions which attracted the attention of young active learners In this paper, the positive sides of using TPR in foreign language classrooms for young learners are discussed and some sample activities are introduced This study found that TPR was the most effective technique which could be used in foreign language classrooms for young learners

Moreover, Sasan Washang (2013) investigated the boosting vocabulary retention through adding a video component to the vocabulary building classes in English for specific purpose situations The 46 participants of the study were divided into 2 groups randomly Both groups attended classes for reading texts related to port management with special focus on the new vocabulary The first class was treated with only texts and exercises The second class was treated with the same texts and exercises with the addition

of selected videos with the length of around 10 minutes, also related to port management and specially selected to contain and discuss the same vocabulary After 16 weeks, 2 tests were administered to measure the students’ level of word retention The results showed the second group performed significantly better in both tests

Ice Sariyati (2013) performed a research project on the effectiveness of TPR (Total PhysicalResponse) Method in English Vocabulary Mastery of Elementary School Children and how the students respond toward teaching English vocabulary using TPR method The participants of this research were

42 elementary school children in the first class in Bandung, divided into 2

groups randomly This research used quasi-experimental design to find out whether the TPR method was effective in English vocabulary mastery of elementary school children with two groups (control and experiment) Pre-test and post-test and observation were used to know the students’ response toward the TPR method in the experiment class The result of the research showed that the TPR was effective and suitable to be used for elementary school children to learn English, especially English vocabulary and they felt happier and easier when learning with TPR method

Lately, Pham Vu Phi Ho and Ngo Thi Cam Anh (2018) operated the research article on the effect of using total physical response (TPR) on EFL young learners' vocabulary and speaking fluency in 2018 The majority of research on language learning methods supports using various learning strategies for learning vocabulary, but developing speaking skill The article focuses on effective ways to help young learners to remember vocabulary and speak fluently and provides, using TPR to create an active and friendly atmosphere in the classroom in order to make the young learners remember vocabulary in long-term and enhance their speaking fluency The researchers also explore the attitudes of young learners when TPR is used in language teaching in EFL classrooms in Vietnam so that deeper understanding of learners would be collected to make it more effective

Howerver, in Dong Anh District, Hanoi City where the researcher has been working for more than 14 years as a teacher of English, there has not been any research studies or articles related to the subject of improving English vocabulary for primary school students through TPR method applied from behaviorism Therefore, this thesis hopefully will make a small contribution to the application of behaviorism in which TPR method is presented in developing the students’ ability in English vocabulary at primary