Using images in communicative activities to improve students’ retention of english vocabulary in architecture for students at hanoi architectural university

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************************************** NGUYỄN THỊ HÒA USING IMAG

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

****************************************

NGUYỄN THỊ HÒA

USING IMAGES IN COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

STUDENTS’ RETENTION OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY

IN ARCHITECTURE FOR STUDENTS

AT HANOI ARCHITECTURAL UNIVERSITY

(SỬ DỤNG HÌNH ẢNH TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG GIAO TIẾP ĐỂ NÂNG CAO KHẢ NĂNG LƯU NHỚ TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH KIẾN TRÚC CHO SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KIẾN TRÚC HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111

Hanoi, 2016

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

****************************************

NGUYỄN THỊ HÒA

USING IMAGES IN COMMUNICATIVE ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE

STUDENTS’ RETENTION OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY

IN ARCHITECTURE FOR STUDENTS

AT HANOI ARCHITECTURAL UNIVERSITY

(SỬ DỤNG HÌNH ẢNH TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG GIAO TIẾP ĐỂ NÂNG CAO KHẢ NĂNG LƯU NHỚ TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH KIẾN TRÚC CHO SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KIẾN TRÚC HÀ NỘI)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111

Supervisor : Assoc Prof Dr Lâm Quang Đông

Hanoi, 2016

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research has been accomplished with the support and encouragement of many people Hence, I hereby would like to express my appreciation to all of them

In the first place, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor

- Assoc Prof Lâm Quang Đông, PhD for his valuable assistance and guidance during the time I made efforts to carry out my research

Also, I would highly appreciate all professors and staffs of the Faculty of Graduate Studies for their meaningful lessons and precious support thanks to which I was able to overcome obstacles during the time my research was carried out

Post-Besides, I would like to give my whole-hearted thanks to students at Hanoi Architectural University for their enthusiastic participation in my research Without their help, I would not have been able to complete this paper

Last but not least, I owe a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family whose support and encouragement have always been a great deal of motivation that has helped me to ovecome all problems to complete my thesis

Hanoi,

Nguyễn Thị Hòa

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out in the form of an action research in which students were instructed with the use of images in their vocabulary lessons The research aimed first to figure out whether the use of images in vocabulary teaching could help improve students‟ vocabulary retention and then to investigate students‟ perspectives towards the use of images in vocabulary lessons In order to accomplish these purposes, 20 sophomores at Hanoi Architectural University were selected to participate in the study, which last for eight weeks Three data collection instruments were employed, namely pre-test/post-tests, class observation and interviews in order to have data triangulation to achieve most reliable findings for the research Findings from the tests, observation and interviews revealed that students had experienced an improvement in their vocabulary memorization throughout the eight weeks of study and the reason for the vocabulary retention progress was mainly attributed to the use of images in language classroom Benefits

of using images can be listed as the deeper impression of vocabulary on students‟ memory and a more frequently exposure to vocabulary use Results from the interviews and observation also reflected a completely positive attitude of students towards the use of images, claiming that visuals helped them have more fun and motivation in learning On this basis, some implications for teachers‟ preparation, classroom practices and future research were proposed

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

LIST OF FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1.Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

3.Researchquestions 2

4.Scope of the study 2

5.The organization of the thesis 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1.1 Vocabulary learning 3

1.1.1 What is vocabulary? 3

1.1.2.What is involved in knowing a word? 3

1.1.3 Vocabulary retention 4

1.2 Multimodality 7

1.2.1 Multimodality and the English language teaching 7

1.2.2 The application of multimodal teaching to English vocabulary teaching 9

1.3 Review on the use of images in vocabulary teaching 10

1.3.1 The use of images as a mode of multimodality in language learning 10

1.3.2 The use of images in vocabulary teaching and its effects on vocabulary retention 11 1.3.3 Types of images used in vocabulary teaching 13

1.4 Summary 17

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 18

2.1 Participants and the research context 18

2.2 Research methodology 18

2.3 Research methods 19

2.3.1 The pre-test and post-test 20

2.3.2 Class observation 21

2.3.3 Interviews 22

2.4 Data collection procedure 23

iv

2.5 Summary 26

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS 27

3.1 Data analysis and discussion 27

3.1.1 Effects of using images on students‟ vocabulary retention – findings from pre- and post-tests 27

3.1.2 Effects of using images on students‟ vocabulary retention – findings from observation and interviews 30

3.1.3 Students‟ perspectives of using images in vocabulary learning – findings from observation and interviews 34

3.2 Major findings and discussion 36

3.3 Implications 37

3.4 Summary 38

PART C: CONCLUSION 39

1 Conclusions 39

2 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study 40

REFERENCES 42 APPENDIX A I APPENDIX B II APPENDIX C III APPENDIX D VI APPENDIX E IX APPENDIX F XII APPENDIX G XV APPENDIX H XVII APPENDIX I XXVI

v

LIST OF FIGURES AND ABBREVIATIONS

FIGURES

Figure 1: Scores of pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2 27

Figure 2: The overall mean score of students‟ pre-test and post-test 1 28

Figure 3: The overall mean score of students‟ pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2 29

Figure 4: Students‟ vocabulary retention seen from class observation 31

ABBREVIATIONS

EFL : English as a foreign language ESP : English for Specific Purposes

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

Vocabulary has always been considered the backbone of a language and the basis of communication, as Hunt and Beglar (2005) put it They argue that the heart of language comprehension and use is the lexicon, and clarify that the significance of vocabulary in EFL is due to the fact that thoughts and ideas can be expressed without using grammar, but impossibly without words “Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (Wikins, 1976:111) Limited vocabulary, therefore, is likely to be a hindrance for learners in their communication For this reason, vocabulary is highly important to any language, because without enough words used appropriately and in context, people would not be able to understand what others express or state what there is in their own minds

As the importance of mastering vocabulary is evident and obvious, the teaching of vocabulary should always receive sufficient attention It is important for teachers to realize that learning a new language is not just a memorization process or acquiring new words; it is the connection between the words and their reality However, the traditional vocabulary teaching techniques in such a way as presenting new words

on blackboard together with its phonics, meaning, translation and requiring students‟ memorization of long isolated word lists are still kept in many language classrooms, which leads to the inefficiency of vocabulary acquisition This urges the researcher to conduct a study to identify an appropriate method in offering students with more effective vocabulary learning

2 Aims of the study

Multimodality has long been proposed by various researchers to be an approach that involves different aspects in interaction, including verbal and written language, pictures, graphics, speech… (Baldry&Thibault, 2006) In the sense of language teaching, multimodality has been proved to be beneficial to students‟ learning process and help stimulate learners with a motivating environment When applied to

the teaching of vocabulary as an aspect of language teaching, multimodality is often discussed from the angle of using visuals in teaching such as images, pictures, graphics, etc This study, which focuses on vocabulary teaching methods, is going

to investigate the application of multimodality to the vocabulary learning of students from the perspectives of using images in some communicative activities to enhance students‟ vocabulary retention The major aim of the research is to investigate whether the use of images in vocabulary teaching can help improve students‟ vocabulary retention The participants in the study are students at Hanoi

Architectural University

3 Research questions

In an attempt to achieve the above-presented aims, the study sought to answer the

following research question:

To what extent can the use of images in vocabulary teaching help improve students’ retention of English vocabulary in Architecture for students at Hanoi Architectural University?

4 Scope of the study

This research is an investigation into the effectiveness of the use of images on students‟ vocabulary retention in a specific context of students at Hanoi Architectural University The participants include a group of students (n=20) who

were studying English for Specific Purposes at Hanoi Architectural University

5 The organization of the thesis

The thesis is composed of three parts: Part A, Part B, and Part C Part A – Introduction

- introduces the rationale, aims and objectives as well as the research question of the

study Part B – Development includes two chapters: Chapter 1- Literature review -

presents the theoretical foundations for the whole study and Chapter 2 – Methodology - elaborates on the participants, the methodology and methods, the data collection procedure and data analysis including the tests, interviews and class observation Part C

– Conclusion - summarizes all the major points in the study, the limitations of the study

and proposes suggestions for further research

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary learning

1.1.1 What is vocabulary?

So far there have been a lot of definitions of vocabulary Vocabulary is defined as words in a specific language or freestanding items of language that have meaning (McCarthy, 1990) Ur (1996) defined vocabulary roughly as “the words we teach in the foreign language” Besides, vocabulary is broadly defined as knowledge of words and word meanings (Lehr et al., 2004) According to Lehr et al., vocabulary

is more complicated than this definition suggests Words not only come in oral forms which include the words that can be recognized and used in listening and speaking, but also in print forms of reading and writing In addition, word knowledge also comes in two forms: receptive and productive Receptive vocabulary refers to words that can be recognized in reading and listening Productive vocabulary indicates words that can be used in speaking and writing (Lehr et al., 2004) Therefore, vocabulary is understood as knowledge of word spelling, pronunciation, collocations and appropriateness (Nation, 1990) Pyles (1970), from another perspective, confirmed that vocabulary is the focus of language with its sounds and meaning, which interlock to allow us to communicate with one another

As discussed above, vocabulary can be seen in many different ways Vocabulary refers to words or a set of words in a language or knowledge of words regarding its forms, meanings and how to use it accurately in the context In other words, vocabulary refers to the words, compounds and idioms in a language that can be used to convey and receive information in oral and written communication

1.1.2.What is involved in knowing a word?

When it comes to vocabulary, it surely is the first step toward learning a foreign language A sentence is usually made up of numerous words Without any concepts

of grammar, learners may guess the meaning of a sentence if the vocabulary is

comprehensible to them Likewise, learners of a foreign language are likely to get their messages across by putting all the words together, even though not in a grammatical, correct order Therefore, vocabulary serves as the foundation for language learners in communication However, mastering numerous vocabulary lists to use in communication is not always easy for language learners For some students, vocabulary has always been one of the obstacles that hinder their English learning Learners may have different problems in learning vocabulary Some are capable of recognizing the word in reading but fail to spell it out Some are able to spell the word out in writing, yet they mispronounce the word in speaking Still, others can say the word and spell it out perfectly, but surprisingly, they may not know the meaning of the word Indeed, to learn is one thing; to know is another

In order to know a new word, students need to take great efforts Nation (2001) pointed out that in order to know a word, many aspects are involved Nation distinguished vocabulary knowledge into receptive and productive The former refers to the ability to understand a word while listening or reading The latter means the ability to use a word in speaking or writing Sun (2007) introduced an idea that vocabulary gaining develops along a linear continuum, and that the concept denies the dichotomy that vocabulary knowledge is either known or unknown On the both ends of the continuum are one‟s receptive vocabulary knowledge as well as one‟s productive knowledge This model assumes that for a word to be a productive one, it must be a receptive one first (Melka, 1997; Palmberg, 1987; Pigott, 1981, as cited in Sun, 2007)

1.1.3 Vocabulary retention

One of the significance in vocabulary learning process is not always students‟ comprehending word meaning or spelling, but vocabulary retention Retention is defined as “the ability to retain facts and figures in memory” Vocabulary retention,

in a similar way, can be referred to as the storage of vocabulary in memory, which becomes available for usage when needed The efficiency of vocabulary learning can be measured by the extent to which students can remember the words that

they‟ve already learned to apply in the productive or receptive language learning Important as it is, it is worth spending time figuring out the factors that can affect

students‟ vocabulary retention

According to different researchers, retention of vocabulary is affected by three following factors: memory, language exposure and effective vocabulary learning strategies There is a close relationship among these three factors

a minute)

Long-term memory is intended for storage of information over a long period of time Unlike short-term memory, which is limited in capacity, long-term memory is seemingly inexhaustible and can accommodate any amount of new information Despite our everyday impressions of forgetting, it seems likely that long-term memory actually decays very little over time, and can store a seemingly unlimited amount of information almost indefinitely

It can be seen that in order to retain knowledge as much as possible, foreign language learners need all the information of the language that they learned to be transferred into long-term memory The question is how it can happen? The answer

is that short-term memories can become long-term memory through the process of consolidation, involving rehearsal and meaningful association Unlike short-term memory (which relies mostly on an acoustic, and to a lesser extent a visual, code for storing information), long-term memory encodes information for storage semantically (i.e based on meaning and association) In other words, the main way

of transferring from short-term memory to long-term memory is by finding some

pre-existing information in the long-term memory to attach the new information to Nation (1990) proved that it is impossible to expect students to acquire a word only after one or two times seeing that word, but at least 5 to 16 times of exposure are needed to help students acquire a word (as cited in Xiqin, 2008) In addition, Gairns and Redman (1986) have concluded that for the first time of exposure to new words, students will take those words into their short-term memory The vocabulary will

“fall into disuse if it is not activated regularly” (as cited in Xiqin, 2008) Thorbury (2002) also shares the same opinion, claiming that 80% of materials are lost within

24 hours of initial learning This is true in both the short term (e.g from lesson to lesson) and in the long term (e.g after the whole course) In other words, if we do not revise and practice the knowledge that we learnt, it will soon disappear Therefore, it can be concluded that after being introduced to students, the vocabulary can only be restored in students‟ short-term memory, and will soon fade away if the process of consolidation, involving rehearsal and meaningful association does not take place

Language exposure

While the term memory more often refers to later storage and retrieval of information,

language exposure refers more to processes in the initial acquisition or encoding of information There are many situations that a learner can discover the meaning of a new word or phrase such as: through the written text, through hearing it used, or through other members‟ explanations However, it can hardly be certain that those vocabulary items and their meanings will be remembered as getting to know the meaning of a new vocabulary item is not the same as remembering that meaning Joe et al (1996) gave out three important processes that may lead to vocabulary

being retained These processes can be viewed as attention, the process in which

learners need to be aware of needed useful language item (Schmitt and Frota, 1986,

Ellis, 1990, cited in Joe et.al, 1996); retrieval – the process after the word is noticed

and its meaning comprehended in the textual input to the task, and if that word is subsequently retrieved either receptively or productively during a task, the memory

of that word will be strengthened; and generation, the process that leads to a word

being remembered

Effective vocabulary learning strategies

Vocabulary learning strategies is the third factor contributing to vocabulary retention Language teachers have been placing great emphasis on teaching English vocabulary However, the results of mastering vocabulary are not desirable, because words sometimes can be forgotten very easily and won‟t last long Therefore, it is of great necessity to adopt effective vocabulary learning strategies Like general learning strategies, English vocabulary learning strategies include those techniques that help learners remember what they have learned - their storage and retention of new information

Identifying effective vocabulary learning strategies is always a controversial issue that attracts a lot of research attention Politzer and McGroarty (1995, cited in Schmitt, 1997) warn that no strategy should be considered inherently good or bad but it depends on the context in which they are used The context here is comprised

of many variables, including proficiency level, task, text, language modality, background knowledge, context of learning, target language, learner characteristics and culture, etc

It is important that language teacher is well aware of the factors that affect students‟ vocabulary retention and the characteristics of the teaching context so as to have suitable teaching methods to improve it

1.2 Multimodality

1.2.1 Multimodality and the English language teaching

Multimodality means three or more symbols are involved in the interaction, including verbal and written language, picture, graphics, space and other symbol resources which could construct meaning (Baldry&Thibault, 2006)

A new term multimodal teaching was put forward in 1996, which creates a

precedent of applying multimedia to language teaching As a new type teaching theory, multimodal teaching is inclined to use all kinds of channels and means to

mobilize a variety of senses of students into the process of learning This kind of teaching approach attaches great importance to students' multiliteracies

Haijing (2015) made a comparison between traditional English teaching and the multimodal one, pointing out some benefits of multimodal one over the traditional one He claims that a distinctive feature of traditional English teaching classroom is just using chalk and blackboard, sometimes with a tape recorder Such a kind of instructional mode is quite monotonous and tedious without diversity, which will easily lead to students' fatigue In traditional instruction, teachers are always pumping and hammering knowledge into students, which makes students receive knowledge passively In reality, such a circumstance has reversed students' subject position and teachers' dominant position in the process of teaching and learning Methods of imparting knowledge should not be limited to language modality but including non-language modality, such as gestures, postures, actions, facial expressions and so on Turning to these symbols is conducive to receive new knowledge for students It is the appropriate modality that can enhance teaching contents, attract students' attentions and deepen their understandings about teaching materials In the process of making up multimedia courseware, more and more modalities should be involved, such as texts, pictures, colors, animations, music, videos and so on Only in this way can better results in teaching be attained Therefore, in the process of teaching, more modalities should be adopted to supplement teaching and stimulate students' enthusiasm so as to foster their all-round abilities

In recent years, with the advent of multimedia and information technology, English class teaching is turning into Multimodal foreign language teaching from the single traditional teaching mode With the lead of science and technology, modern classroom goes beyond traditional textbook, chalk and blackboard Multimedia courseware is gradually taking the place of traditional blackboard and adopted by a majority of teachers, especially college English teachers Multimodal Teaching in English Classroom Teaching can not only mobilize more senses of students to get

involved in teaching and learning, but also it can deepen their understandings of new materials and contents This will finally improve the effectiveness and efficiency of classroom teaching

1.2.2 The application of multimodal teaching to English vocabulary teaching

Multimodal teaching is the supplement and development of traditional teaching With the advent of a new approach of English vocabulary teaching, that is Multimodal English Vocabulary Teaching, traditional vocabulary teaching is plausibly outdated and cannot meet the needs of modern students Therefore, it is of great significance for students to adopt a new way to learn English vocabulary well

It is obvious that vocabulary is of great importance However, traditional way of vocabulary teaching is very much behind the time Traditionally, vocabulary teaching always follows such steps as: first, teachers read the new word list while students listen to the teachers carefully; second, teachers begin to lead the reading while students read after teachers; third, teachers start to teach the new words while students take notes as they listen to the teachers; last, teachers give their students assignments while students should do all kinds of pattern drills after class to consolidate what teachers taught in class Students recite new words by rote learning instead of turning to sounds, actions, pictures, colors, etc to deepen their memory Traditional students are lacking effective vocabulary learning strategies Such class teaching is of great tedium, let alone to mobilize a variety of senses of the students taking part in teaching interactivity Multimodal English vocabulary teaching will compensate the lack of traditional English vocabulary teaching Combining Multimodal theory with English vocabulary teaching will lead to easy memorization of new words The combination of Multimodal theory with English vocabulary teaching will definitely help solve some problems existing in English vocabulary teaching The application of Multimodal theory to English vocabulary teaching is becoming more and more popular Within the limit of this study, the application of multimodal vocabulary teaching will be discussed from the angle of the use of images

1.3 Review on the use of images in vocabulary teaching

1.3.1 The use of images as a mode of multimodality in language learning

Most language teachers seem to agree that the use of images can enhance language teaching As they help teachers to bring the real world into the classroom, they make learning more meaningful and more exciting (Brinton, 2000) Visual aids can

be a helpful tool in the language classroom as Mannan (2005) points out, they „help the teacher to clarify, establish, correlate and coordinate accurate concepts, interpretations and appreciations, and enable him to make learning more concrete, effective, interesting, inspirational, meaningful and vivid‟ (p.108)

According to Bamford (2003), it must be taken into account that visual literacy is the key to obtain information, construct knowledge and build successful educational outcomes He asserts that this is due to the increase of the number of images in the world (as cited in Arif and Hashim, 2009) It is important to point that students bring to the classroom their own background, which nowadays is associated with images provided by mass media, videogames etc

Images or visual materials or anything used to help the student see an immediate meaning in the language may benefit the student and the teacher by clarifying the message, if the visuals enhance or supplement the language point, as Canning-Wilson (2000) indicates in her work These advantages suggest that visuals can help make a task or situation more authentic (Canning-Wilson, 1998)

Studies carried out by Mukherjee and Roy (2003) have found that the use of images to contextualized spoken speech is a great help for students, given that they can understand 30% more than without the visual support Following this path, Canning-Wilson (2000) research suggests that images can be used to enhance the meaning of the message conveyed by the speakers thanks to the paralinguistic cues

Another important thing to note is that images may help in building mental models, and communicate relationships among content objects in a more efficient way than can words alone (Clark and Lyons, 2004) According to Canning-Wilson (1997) the importance of visual aids is highlighted when focusing on the way language is processed

These researchers have concluded that images clarify and enhance students learning, and that this information is recognized and remembered for longer durations than verbal information alone

1.3.2 The use of images in vocabulary teaching and its effects on vocabulary retention

Oxford (1990) defined using imagery as “relating new language information to concepts in memory by means of meaningful visual imagery, either in the mind or

in an actual drawing.” In the book titled: “Vocabulary: description, acquisition and pedagogy”, Norbert Schmitt and Mc.Carthy (1997, as cited in Clark and Lyons,

2004) just wrote, “new words can be learned by studying them with pictures of their meaning instead of definitions.” The image can be a picture of an object, a set of locations for remembering a sequence of words or expressions, or a mental representation of the letters of a word This strategy can be used to remember abstract words by associating such words with a visual symbol or a picture of a concrete object Learners can create their own mental images of a word's meaning Imagery has been shown to be more effective than mere repetition in reading passages and sentences, suggesting it could well be more effective for vocabulary too New words can also be associated with a particularly vivid personal experience

of the underlying concept, for example, a learner mentally connecting the word snow to a memory of playing in the snow while a child.”

Students use or create an image that helps them remember information It can be as simple as a pencil drawing, or as complex as a "mental movie." An image also helps students recall vocabulary without translating from their native language Complex images can help students check their comprehension; if there are inconsistencies, then they may need to review the information Using imagery is well suited to any task that involves vivid images or where it is useful to put abstract ideas in concrete form For instance, in order to remember idiomatic expressions, students create funny pictures that illustrate them

Early researchers such as Adam and Chambers (1962) or Harber and Myers (1982)

seem to agree with the idea that memory for picture-word combination is superior to memory for words alone or pictures alone (as cited in Petterson, 2004) Branch and Boom explains that memory for pictures is superior to memory for words and this effect has been called the Pictorial Superiority Effect (as cited in Petterson, 2004) More recent research on visuals and words has shown that memory for visual tends

to be better than memory for words (Clark and Lyons, 2004) These researchers have claimed that persuasion tends to be accomplished in both children and adolescents almost exclusively through imagery, and that those images and visuals speak directly to us in the same way experience does: holistically and emotionally Taking this into account, Piaget and Inhelder (2000) state that young students have little knowledge of the living world and developing conceptions Therefore they need more visual information to represent their thoughts (as cited in Arif and Hashim, 2009) They also claim that human beings develop their visual language skills before verbal language development, which serves as the foundation for the last one

This is a possible explanation for the need of pictorial information rather than textual among young students (Arif and Hashing 2009) They had already explained this with his theory based on the idea that cognitive growth is stimulated by the balance between verbal and visual experiences in the early stages of learning Arif and Hashim (2006) research proves that pictures gained better attention than words, and among young learners, pictures became the main clue in interpreting the meaning of the words

Clark and Lyons (2004) explain that in the process of learning, two different types

of memories are involved: working memory and long-term memory The new information is stored in the working memory which is claimed to be the center of active mental work, including the learning When the visual and phonetic information is received then it is organized to form a cohesive idea Finally this idea must be integrated with active prior knowledge from long-term memory As it is seen, the two memories work together in complementary ways, to form what is

called an updated mental model that will be stored in long-term memory, where it lasts indefinitely (Clark and Lyons, 2004) The virtual capacity of the working memory is affected by how much related the knowledge of the long-term memory is with the domain studied The more it is related, the more is the virtual capacity Taking into account that in a learning environment this related knowledge may not

be too much, cognitive overload can take place if the working memory cannot process all the new information during learning In order to avoid this cognitive overload the two subcomponents of the working memory should be used in their best way One of these subcomponents is specialized in visual input and the other one in auditory input For example, if a graphic is explained by words presented in audio, learning the new information is better than if the words are presented in text (Clark and Lyons, 2004,) The mental models that have been mentioned before are the schemas stored in the long-term memory and are the basis of thinking, and images are claimed to help build them

Visual aids help learners store information in long-term memory and make learning more meaningful for students (McLeod, 2007) An interesting example is a study on the use of visual art in German courses (Knapp, 2012) “For twenty-first century students brought up in a society dominated by visuality, paintings provide an immediate connection, inviting them to explore linguistic structures, literary texts, and cultural constructs in memorable ways” (Knapp, 2012, p 27) Knapp quotes Ortuño's (1994) beliefs about the benefits of using visual art as part of instruction; one of which includes helping students acquire “concrete vocabulary” and helping

to illustrate “grammatical concepts” (Knapp, 2012, p.22) Furthermore, according to Ortuño (1994), as cited in Knapp (2012), introducing visual images can lower classroom anxiety and promote “active exploration of the language” (p.20)

1.3.3 Types of images used in vocabulary teaching

1.3.3.1 Picture flashcards

Hill (1990, as cited in Jolokva, 2009) classified pictures according to their size into three „key‟ categories:

- “Large (20x30 cm): useful for whole-class work”

- “Medium (10x15 cm): useful for group-work”

- “Small (5x5 cm): useful for games and other group-work activities”

The large flashcards are typically used by the teacher for whole-class activities such

as presenting new language, controlled practice or as prompts for speaking activities The small picture flashcards, on the other hands, are used by students for working individually or for games and activities in pairs or groups

- Big picture flashcards: are very helpful tools in presenting and drilling forms of new words, since they draw learners‟ attention and make these often boring activities more enjoyable Also, that is exactly what teachers need when presenting new language – to catch their learners‟ full attention, to raise their interest in the presented subject and hence also their motivation At the same time, flashcards (as well as other forms of pictures and visual aids in general) enable students to link the meaning of the words with real-world images immediately When using flashcards

in presentation, it is easy to involve learners actively and to combine the presentation with controlled practice The presentation of vocabulary with flashcards can be done in various ways, for example in telling a story or just simply based on a set of vocabulary for a particular topic

- Small picture flashcards: plenty of variations of these cards are typically applied in communicative activities in pairs or small groups of students, thus playing a meaningful role in reviewing and practicing vocabulary Small flashcards can be in the form of one-side-only cards, both-sided ones and sets of pairs (antonyms or synonyms, a picture and the corresponding word or phrase) or sets of cards connected e.g by their meaning Being flexible in their way of use, these cards offer teachers and their students a large amount of possibilities in applying them in a number of activities and games such as „domino‟ or various forms of word matching activities Moreover, they fit for a range of sorting or ordering activities, e.g creating a story These cards can also be used for games based on asking each other questions and exchanging them while searching for sets (Wright, 1990; as

cited inJolokva, 2009)

1.3.3.2 Drawing

Drawing finds huge potential in teaching languages Simple drawings can possibly substitute other forms of pictures Wright (1990:203, cited in Jolokva, 2009) stated that drawings “provide an immediately available source of pictorial material for the activities Drawings of students and teachers also have a special quality, which lies

in their immediacy and their individuality.” The activity of drawing within the classroom could be perhaps divided into two categories: Drawing on the board carried out by the teacher for example to illustrate the meaning of new language in presentation and drawing as an activity of students in various, usually listening or reading exercises

- Drawing on the board:

It is highly flexible during presentation and therefore bears several advantages, as Wright and Haleem (1996) listed among their board characteristics: “Texts and pictures can grow in front of the class”… “can be erased, added to or substituted quickly.” (Wright and Haleem 1996: 5, cited in Jolokva, 2009) This feature widens the teacher‟s options how to present or review language in a meaningful way This is true for teaching structures as well as vocabulary For instance, in reviewing, the teacher draws only a piece of a picture on the board and invites students to guess what he or she is drawing This makes students curious, they desire to know what the answer actually is and it makes them speculate and reason their opinions and so on

Wright and Haleem (1996: 8) presented another very inspiring idea of using drawing on the board: They suggest using it in combination with flashcards or pictures from magazines, e.g the teacher draws a scene and supplements it with individual pictures of people, animals or things It is a wonderful tip for presenting and practicing vocabulary too, since this might put the vocabulary into context For example a house could be drawn and pictures of furniture could be placed inside, either by the teacher or by students This particular example can be used for the presentation or practice of names of rooms or furniture, prepositions of place, home

activities, etc This composition is again very flexible, as the pictures might be easily moved around the board and there is a lot to talk about while doing so

- Drawing as a students‟ activity

There are several ways of using drawing as an activity in language teaching Drawing enables vocabulary to be used in context, which is more meaningful Very favourable

is the listen-and-draw or alternatively the listen-and-colour type of activity This can be organized either as teacher-to-class, student-to-class or as pair work

1.3.3.3 Wall-pictures

Wall pictures are another valuable visual material for language classes In the first place, they can be displayed in the classroom to set English (or foreign languages in general) environment and then they function as another source of language to be absorbed by students in the process of natural acquisition Furthermore, they will find their use both in presentation of new language and controlled practice

Wall-pictures are often complex pictures, illustrating a scene and containing lots of objects and details They are big enough to be seen by the whole class and they can

be used instantly and repeatedly Due to their character, they are obviously suitable for presentation of new language They put vocabulary into context and therefore make the presentation meaningful, which is highly recommended for successful retention of new words This is especially useful for the vocabulary teaching to students of architecture Teacher can collect wall pictures that contain vocabulary of frequently-used terms in architecture to hang in class so that students can see them everyday, which helps them a lot in retention

1.3.3.4 Videos

There are normally two main uses of video: instructional video specifically created

to teach foreign languages, and authentic video materials, such as films, TV series, commercials, etc., originally created for native speakers of the language Students of all levels can benefit from the use of video, since there are always easier video sequences, spoken at a slower rate that can match lower level students‟ needs (Sherman, 2003)

Talavan (2007) also suggested the use of video with subtitles A subtitled video clip provides a triple connection between image, sound and text, and sound and text being linked by translation when standard subtitles are used This fact is relevant enough when we think about the importance of visual associations in memory for vocabulary learning and how this type of connection generally encourages greater retention in lexical terms This mnemonic power of images is here enhanced by the presence of sound and text together; when this text appears in the form of translation, the associations in memory are enhanced even further

1.4 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter has provided the theoretical background for the whole paper through providing definitions of key terms and significant background information on vocabulary learning and vocabulary retention Review on multimodality and the application of multimodality in language teaching in general and in vocabulary teaching in particular has also been discussed Moreover, details about the use of images as a mode of multimodality in vocabulary have also been demonstrated, which help readers be clear about the specific strategies in which images have already been utilized in different language classrooms and see how these techniques could fit in the specific context of this study In order to justify the efficiency of the use of images in vocabulary teaching, a study in the context of Hanoi Architectural University has been conducted with the employment of three data collection methods, which is going to be discussed further in the next chapter

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Participants and the research context

The participants of the study were 20 students at Hanoi Architectural University Those are the 2nd year students, who are currently studying English for Specific Purposes (ESP) at the University They are expected to have reached the pre-intermediate level in English proficiency It is compulsory for students at HAU to complete the two courses on general English in the first two terms of their University before proceeding to the ESP course The ESP course includes 30 face-to-face hours and 60 self-study hours The main focus of the course is on vocabulary related to student‟s major, together with the structures that can be applied to communicate or make presentations on the major-related issues The content covered in the ESP course consists of five different themes, namely:

1 Housing in Britain, in which students are required to be able to define and describe different types of houses;

2 The procedure of building construction, in which students can describe plans

of houses after the lesson;

3 Design of houses for tropical climate, in which students are expected to describe different climates, function of different parts of a building;

4 Building materials, in which students are taught to describe properties of different kinds of materials;

5 Water supply, in which students are required to be able to define and describe the function of different parts of the water system

2.2 Research methodology

With a view to investigate the efficiency of using images on learners‟ vocabulary retention in the context of Hanoi Architectural University student, an action research was conducted

Watts (1985:118) defines action research as “a process in which participants examine their own educational practice systematically and carefully, using the techniques of research” This is to say that action research mainly refers to a

disciplined inquiry performed by the teacher with the goal that the research will bring some information and change in his/her future practices This kind of research

is handled in the context of the teacher‟s environment, that is, with the students and

at the institution where the teacher works - on questions that deal with educational matters at hand

Sharing similar viewpoint, Curry (2009) also describes action research as a kind of study that is carried out by a teacher in his own classroom for a purpose of seeking

an improvement in the teaching practice According to Dahlberg and McCaig (2010), action research is supposed to be “practical” and “accessible”, “aims to change practice” and “is problem driven”, which can be inferred that if applied in a context of a language classroom, teacher will identify a specific issue within his teaching context and come to a decision to carry out a change Action research is also said to be different from other research approaches in which it is “accessible”, which means that the researcher can intervene to take action when necessary (Dahlberg and McCaig, 2010)

Therefore, within the context of using images to develop the vocabulary retention for students at Hanoi Architectural University, conducting a study employing action research is an appropriate approach As the researcher in this study is also the teacher at this University, she can get directly involved in the teaching process and can realize the problems and difficulties her students have to face, and accordingly, can think of possible solutions to deal with these problems as they arise In addition, conducting an action research enables the researcher to intervene into the research process to make possible adaptation to aim at improved practice; therefore, as a role

of both a teacher and a researcher, this can be done easily

2.3 Research methods

In order to answer the research question, which aims at finding out to what extent the use of images can improve students‟ vocabulary retention, the researcher employed the three different data collection instruments, namely the vocabulary

tests, class observation, and interview

2.3.1 The pre-test and post-test

The study took place in 8 weeks and were divided into two different phases Phase 1 lasted 4 weeks and phase 2 continued for another 4 weeks The reason for dividing the study into two phases were to examine the vocabulary retention of students in both short-term and long-term one Results after the first phase of the first four weeks reflected students‟ short-term memorization of new words, while the retention of vocabulary was justified after the second phase, or after eight weeks Students were required to take the three tests, one pre-test at the beginning of the innovation, one post-test in week 4 after the first phase and the second post-test in

week 8 after the second phase

The three tests were designed to be similar to one another in terms of task types, allotted time and numbers of the tasks The pre-test was assigned to students before the research started The items tested in the pre-test were the vocabulary that students learnt from the four previous weeks The two post-tests were conducted during the process of the research, in which the first post-test was delivered after the research went for four weeks The first post-test examined students‟ memorization of the vocabulary learnt during the first four weeks when the use of images was applied in teaching vocabulary The second post-test was administered to students in week 8, the final week of the study, which tested how much vocabulary students could remember during the eight-week process The content of the second post-test contained 1/2 of the new vocabulary that were learnt from week 5 to 8 and 1/2 of the items in the test examined the vocabulary that were learnt during the first four weeks

In order for the post-test‟s validity and reliability to be ensured, students were not given the answer keys of any tests Besides, they were not notified in advance that they would be given another test

The vocabulary tests were marked and the scores of each test were compared to see whether there was any improvement in students‟ vocabulary acquisition Data gathered from vocabulary tests helped the researcher to answer the research question of whether the use of images could help develop students‟ vocabulary retention

2.3.2 Class observation

According to Dalhberg and McCaig (2010), observation is a popular research method in action research, especially in school setting in which the action and behaviors of learners are inspected It can include the participation of the researcher

or the involvement of the independent observer who is supposed to directly witness

the research settings

In this study, to ensure the objectivity of the data and to collect viewpoint from various informants, the researcher was fortunate to have the observation done with the participation of an independent observer who was also an English teacher at Hanoi Architectural University Observation was conducted in all lessons throughout the eight weeks of the study and was based on a detailed checklist (See appendix A) The checklist was designed which illustrated the specific criteria on which the observer could base to observe students‟ vocabulary retention as a whole group as well as their attitudes towards vocabulary learning Each of the lessons was observed basing on such criteria as students‟ retention of previously-learnt vocabulary and immediate memorization of vocabulary, their engagement and level

of interest, etc The observer was supposed to attend the lessons from the beginning until the end, do the observation and take as detailed notes as possible so that the researcher could base on that to have a precise analysis and evaluation

Normally in Vietnam, class observation occurs when there needs to be an evaluation

of students‟ learning or teacher‟s teaching The results of the observation usually have either positive or negative impact on teachers if the lessons receive good or bad feedback Therefore, at the presence of an observer in class, students often feel quite tense as they are under the pressure of performing well for fear that their performance, if poor, may affect their teacher In order to avoid unnatural behaviors of students when there is the presence of an observer, it was informed to students in advance that a teacher would come to make class observation Students were also clarified about the purpose of the observation, which aimed to collect data

to serve the purpose of doing research, and not for the aims of evaluating students‟

level or teacher‟s performance during the lesson

2.3.3 Interviews

The use of interview as the third research method contributed to triangulating data

by gathering information expressing the perspectives of the learners The interview was one of the most popular data gathering instruments in qualitative research Interview could allow researchers to investigate phenomena that were not directly observable, such as learners‟ self-reported perceptions or attitudes (Gass & Mackey, 2000) Thanks to the interview, the researcher could achieve data from particular individuals by face-to-face meeting, which could assist the students by clarifying

the questions or clearly define the students‟ responses

In this study, the list of questions in the interview focused on eliciting information about students‟ opinions about the use of images in vocabulary lessons, how they evaluated the effects of the use of images from different angles such as effects on their learning motivation, vocabulary retention, what difficulties students had when using images in learning vocabulary, etc All the 20 participants in the study were invited to the interview Each of the interview lasted about 5 minutes It was announced to students that all the data gathered were used for research purposes only and anonymity would be ensured for all of them

The students were asked the following questions:

1 In what way were you usually introduced to new words in English lessons?

2 What do you think about learning vocabulary using images? (Did you enjoy it? Did it give you any pleasure in learning English?)

3 Did the use of images do any help for you in your language learning? If yes, what did it help?

4 Did the use of images help you remember the new words better? If yes, what did

applied again in the next semester? What are other methods that can be used to memorize vocabulary better?

It is customary for students in Vietnam in general not to speak frankly about their teachers In this case, the researcher was also the teacher who instructed the reading lessons; therefore, it was highly likely that students would not be straightforward in answering the interview questions, especially giving negative feedback on what the teacher did This is partly because students really respect and appreciate what the teacher has done for them; and partly because they fear that criticism may harm the relationship between them and their teacher They are afraid that their teacher may not be happy or feel hurt to receive criticism Anticipating this, the researcher had informed the students in advance about the purpose of the interview, which aimed at finding out problems and shortcomings so that adaptation could be made to improve the quality of the lessons The teacher also emphasized that she was open to any kinds of feedback, including negative ones and ensured that students would be anonymously mentioned in the study

With the use of three data sources, both quantitative and qualitative, comprehensive data were gathered and the research question was fully answered

2.4 Data collection procedure

Procedure of the image using intervention

During the eight weeks of the study, each week students had one vocabulary lesson which lasted 45 minutes Instead of guiding vocabulary to students in a traditional way such as presenting new words on blackboard with meaning, pronunciation, examples, etc the teacher used images Images were utilized in a variety of ways, from posters, flashcards, drawing, semantic maps to other visual forms like short films, video clips, etc Images were either prepared by the teacher or by students Before each lesson, students were required to collect images related to the topics that were going to be taught to use as resources for the whole class Word presentation was done through the use of images, similarly to the practice stage Different activities using images were applied to help students practice the new

words such as guessing games, matching, conversation grid, information gap activities, etc

A vocabulary lesson often started with about 5 to 10 minutes of vocabulary review

in which students were checked how much they could retain vocabulary from previous lesson(s) Activities used for vocabulary review were mainly matching games in which students were supposed to match pictures with words or definitions

of words The main vocabulary teaching activities followed with the main focus on the use of images The teacher often used elicitation to activate students‟ knowledge about the targeted words For instance, she gave the images of targeted words and asked students what they could tell from the pictures they saw; or she showed a short video clip about the topic with follow-up questions for students to brainstorm the upcoming-targeted words After that, the teacher listed the words with equivalent pictures to demonstrate the words, together with the definitions, part of speech, pronunciation and structures or examples of how the words could be used in context For vocabulary practice, communicative activities were implemented with

a view to helping students practice the words they learnt in a meaningful way Here are some of the frequently-used communicative activities:

- Assembling an object: Looking at a photograph of an object, a student gives step-by-step directions to another student who attempts to assemble an object (e.g., different kinds of houses made from multiple images; or assembling different kinds of materials) The student assembling the object can ask questions to clarify the directions

- Identifying the differences: Students are given altered versions of the same photograph or drawing They have to describe different versions of an image that has been slightly altered The task requires students to pay close attention to details and to describe objects as accurately as possible in order

to locate the differences in the versions

- Drawing: A student describes an image to his or her partner who draws it as accurately as possible Afterwards, the students compare the drawing to the

image and the class votes on the best reproduction Students switch roles and

do the same task with a different image

- Information gap: Students are given a task to accomplish, but each group member only has part of the necessary information The students must combine and synthesize their individual bits of information in order to solve

a problem or make a decision

- Comic strip: One student recounts a story based on a comic strip The listener must arrange the comic strip images to match the chronology of the story The task can be made more difficult by introducing „distractors,‟ images that are unnecessary to the storyline Thus, the listener is supposed to determine which events (images) belong to the story and in what order they occur

An example of a lesson plan is provided in Appendix F

Procedure of data collection

- Administering the vocabulary tests

The pre-test was delivered in the first week of the study, then the first post-test in week 4 and the second post-test in week 8 The three tests had the same format and time allotment, and were delivered at the beginning of the lesson to ensure that the tests were performed in the same setting To guarantee the accurate results of the scoring, all the tests were scored independently by two different raters, one was the researcher and the other was a teacher of Hanoi Architectural University Marking rubrics were informed to raters to make sure the grading was consistent

- Administering the observation using checklists

The class observation was conducted in all lessons during the eight weeks of the study with a view to finding out students‟ progress in vocabulary retention and students‟ attitudes towards the use of images in vocabulary lessons…Observation was done by an independent observer who was a teacher at Hanoi Architectural University to ensure the objectivity of the results At the end of the study, there were eight observation checklists collected Each criterion of observation in the checklist was processed, compared and analyzed Feedback from the observer was also used for data analysis

- Administering the interviews

Interviews were conducted with all the 20 participants As Day and Bamford (2004, cited

in Nguyen, 2007) explained, “using the students‟ first language also means that the information you receive has more chance of being accurate and complete” Therefore, the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese language so as to avoid any unnecessary misunderstanding In addition, as students‟ English proficiency was limited, they would feel more relaxed and comfortable to express their ideas in their mother language Using English to ask and answer in the interview, if any, would well result in the restriction in students‟ expression of their opinions

The interview with each student lasted about five minutes Students‟ responses were taken notes by the teacher in as many details as possible for use in data analysis

2.5 Summary

The chapter has provided information about the methodology of the study in which

an action research was employed Three data collection instruments including tests, observation and interviews were conducted with the aims of finding out the efficiency of the use of images in vocabulary teaching at Hanoi Architectural University Data collected from each of the instruments will be presented and discussed in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

3.1 Data analysis and discussion

3.1.1 Effects of using images on students’ vocabulary retention – findings from pre- and post-tests

It was presented in the Methodology chapter that students participated in this study had to take three vocabulary tests The pre-test at the beginning of the innovation was to determine how much vocabulary students could retain after the previous vocabulary lessons The content of the pre -test covered the vocabulary range that students learnt from the four previous weeks in which a traditional method of vocabulary teaching was applied The first post -test was delivered in the fourth week to identify the extent to which students could retain vocabulary after four weeks of applying images in vocabulary teaching The vocabulary range in the first post-test was those that students learnt during the four first weeks of the study in which images were utilized to teach vocabulary The second post-test was administered at the end of the research - after week 8 - with a view to justifying the amount of vocabulary retention that students could achieve after the whole process of the study The results of the tests are presented in the following table:

Students Test results

Pre-test Post-test 1 Post-test 2

Figure 1: Scores of pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2

To evaluate the improvement of students‟ vocabulary retention, the researcher would compare the results between the pre-test and the first post-test, the pre-test and the second post-test and finally all the three tests together In each group of comparison, the students‟ test results as a whole were analyzed first and then significant performance of individuals would be discussed in further details

Results of pre-test and post-test 1

The difference in scores between the pre-test and post-test 1 was presented in the following chart

Figure 2: The overall mean score of students’ pre-test and post-test 1

It is obvious from the test results that the overall mean score of the first post-test was relatively higher than that of the pre-test, 7.08 in comparison with 6.59 With this upgrade in the test results, it was likely that students made some certain improvement in their vocabulary retention

The most significant improvement in test scores was seen in student 9, 13, 14, 16,

18 and 20 The increase in scores from the pre-test to the post-test ranged from 0.7

to 1.4 Although an increase in scores was found in the majority of participants (17 out of 20 students), some other students experienced a drop in their test results As can be seen from Figure 1, student 2, 10 and 12 were all found having a post-test result being lower than the pre-test one However, the drop was not significant, which ranged from 0.1 to 0.4 point

Results of pre-test and post-test 2

The difference in scores between the pre-test and the two post-tests was illustrated

in the following chart

Figure 3: The overall mean score of students’ pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2

Similar to what was found from the pre-test and test 1, the mean score of

Overall mean score of pre-test, post-test 1

and post-test 2

test 2 and the pre-test also displayed considerable difference While the overall mean score of the pre-test was 6.59, the one of post-test 2 was 7.25 The result of post-test 2 was also seen to be slightly higher than that of post-test 1, which was 7.25 compared with 7.08 It was apparent from Figure 3 that the results of the three tests experienced a trend of development, which may imply the improvement in students‟ vocabulary retention towards the end of the study

With regards to students whose scores experienced the most significant improvement after the first post-test, from Figure 1, it can be seen that the majority

of these students have slight increase in their scores of post-test 2 compared with the pre-test This revealed that improvement continued to take place after more weeks of using images in vocabulary teaching Among those students who experienced a drop in scores between the pre-test and post-test 1, student 2, in his/her second post-test, the result demonstrates noticeable improvement, which is 7.4 compared with 6 in post-test 1 and 6.2 in the pre-test The other two students, student 10 and 12, had the results of post-test 2 either the same as or slightly higher than that of the pre-test It can be seen from the figure that although some students had minor drop in their scores of post-test 1, the score of post-test 2 after all still experienced an increase Also, no students had the scores of post-test 2 lower than that of the pre-test

In general, despite slight fluctuation in the scores of some students, the overall results showed that these students made certain improvement in their vocabulary retention

3.1.2 Effects of using images on students’ vocabulary retention – findings from observation and interviews

Findings from the test results show an improvement in students‟ vocabulary retention However, to justify whether the improvement in the vocabulary retention came from the use of images, data from class observations and interviews were analyzed and discussed

From class observation:

As described in the Methodology chapter, the observation was conducted with the help of an independent observer who evaluated students‟ vocabulary retention to answer the research question and also examine students‟ involvement and interest in the lesson to give suggestions to the teacher to have better implementation of the techniques if necessary Students‟ vocabulary retention was evaluated in two separate parts including the retention of previously-learnt vocabulary, which was done through the 5 or 10-minute vocabulary review and check at the beginning of each lesson; and the immediate memorization of vocabulary learnt right in that lesson, which was done through the observation of how students performed in the follow-up activities after vocabulary was instructed These two parts illustrated students‟ vocabulary retention in terms of both short-term and long-term memory For the observation, students were evaluated as a whole group, not individually The rate was given from 1 to 5 ranking from the lowest to the highest level

Figure 4: Students’ vocabulary retention seen from class observation

Figure 4 shows the level to which students retained vocabulary during the eight weeks, both the retention of vocabulary learnt from previous lessons and that right

in the present lesson It can be seen that overall, vocabulary retention shows

previously-Retention of learnt vocab

immediately-relatively high results For the retention of previously-learnt vocabulary, the rate ranges from 4 to 5 over the maximum rate of 5, in which in three weeks, students vocabulary retention reached 5 With regards to immediate vocabulary memorization, the rate was even higher, with five weeks being rated 5 over 5 and only one week being rated 4 Basing on detailed comments from the observer, it was realized that the majority of students showed their good performance during the vocabulary review session at the beginning of each lesson Most students could respond quickly and precisely by giving correct definitions of words when they were shown the images Some students were unsure about their answers; however, this number was not significant However, it can be noticed that there was a downward trend in the retention of vocabulary towards some final weeks In week

6, 7 and 8, the rate of vocabulary retention from previous lessons was from 4 to 4.5 This was partly explained by the fact that when the study had gone through nearly two months, the amount of vocabulary learnt was much more than those of some first weeks This led to students‟ occasional forgetting of words that were already learnt Nevertheless, the rate of these final weeks was only lower compared with that of some first weeks On overall, the amount of vocabulary that students could retain still remained relatively high, accounting for 80% of the total number of words learnt

Concerning students‟ performance during the follow-up activities which were administered to check students‟ short-term memory of vocabulary, it was found out

by the observer that most students performed outstandingly well They could immediately retain the new words and could apply the words learnt in subsequent tasks in the lessons The only exception was in the final week when the rate of vocabulary memorization ranked level 4 over 5 This was latter discovered in the interview that towards the end of the study, some students lost some interest in getting involved in activities using images and accordingly lost concentration in the lesson This was probably the reason for the not as good performance of students in comparison with that of other previous weeks

Although the observation could not reflect the performance of each individual student, the assessment of students as a whole group still reflected the extent to which students could retain the vocabulary Findings from the observation can be used to crosscheck with results from the tests

From the interviews:

Question 3 and 4 in the interviews sought the answer of what effects the use of images had on students‟ vocabulary learning in general and on their retention in particular Students‟ were also asked to self-evaluate their progress of vocabulary retention after eight weeks being instructed with images

When asked about the benefits of the use of images to students‟ vocabulary learning and retention, the majority of students reported that visuals helped them have more fun in learning vocabulary Some students mentioned their particular interest in learning new words through viewing clips and pictures They also fancied the communicative activities in which they could use the words they had just learnt in specific contexts of language use Students also described that they used to learn vocabulary with the guide of teachers in such a way that words were instructed, Vietnamese meaning was introduced, accompanied with other vocabulary aspects like part of speech or pronunciation The follow-up activities used to be doing the exercises in the handouts given by teachers which were similar to items in the tests More interestingly, some students also claimed that the use of images helped them broaden their knowledge about different things related to the vocabulary learnt, not just the single word itself When looking at visuals, they could also develop their imagination about the various things relating to their major of studies

With specific regard to the improvement in vocabulary retention, the majority of students also gave very positive evaluation of the use of images in vocabulary learning 17 out of 20 admitted that their vocabulary memorization was much better thanks to the frequent access to the images related to vocabulary They explained that images were often more vivid and had more impression on their memorization than the presentation of words in the traditional way of teaching That was why they