An investigation into the effect of applying mind mapping in teaching phrasal verbs to chau van liem 9th graders

ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of a technique which English teachers can apply in teaching phrasal verbs to the students attending Chau Van Liem Secondary Sc

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF APPLYING MIND-MAPPING IN TEACHING

GRADERS

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

By

LA THẢO QUỲNH Supervised by NGUYỄN THỊ KIỀU THU, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, AUGUST 2017

`

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY, RETENTION AND USE

OF THE THESIS

This is to certify that the thesis entitled An Investigation into the Effect of Applying Mind-Mapping in Teaching Phrasal Verbs to Chau Van Liem 9th graders is the product of my own work

The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution

The thesis’s content, except where clearly acknowledged within the text, has not been published by other authors

I hereby state that I approve the requirements of the University for the Retention and use of my thesis and that it is accessible for the purposes of study and research

Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2017

La Thảo Quỳnh

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I owe my deepest gratitude to Ms Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu, Ph.D., my supervisor, for her clear and enthusiastic instructions as well as valuable comments on my paper at various points in its development Without her precious support and patient guidance, I could have never finished this research

I also would like to express my gratitude to the headmaster, teachers and students at Chau Van Liem Secondary School, who contributed a great deal to helping me collect valuable data for my study

I am also grateful to my best friends who have spent their precious time listening to

me, encouraging me, consoling me and giving me valuable advice when I need them the most

Also, I am indebted to all the members in my family, for their great support and encouragement, especially my mom who always reminds me of finishing my work

on time and being responsible for it I would also like to say thanks to my boyfriend who has also been there for me and reminded me to complete my work responsibly and timely

ABSTRACT

This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of a technique which English teachers can apply in teaching phrasal verbs to the students attending Chau Van Liem Secondary School in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on their students’ learning This particular technique incorporated a number of mind maps self-designed by the researcher whose hope was to introduce them and prove their effect in teaching one of the most challenging aspects of English: phrasal verbs The data used for this study were collected through the administration of three sets of pre-tests and post-tests together with a student questionnaire and informal talks with some volunteer students The research has pointed out that the applied teaching technique does have an effect on the participants’ scores, attitudes and short-term memory through an increase in their scores after they underwent the treatment Furthermore, they expressed generally positive attitudes towards the technique stating that the mind maps’ general presentation and design were attractive enough

to motivate them in learning Although the students did point out some unsatisfactory features of the treatment, they still agreed that this teaching method could be used effectively to support the teaching and learning of English phrasal verbs Based on the findings, the researcher expected that English teachers at secondary schools would try out the method so as to create favorable results which have been proved by the study in its own research condition

Key words: mind-mapping, phrasal verbs, cognitive processing

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY, RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii

LIST OF TABLES ix

LIST OF FIGURES xi

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Aim of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Mind-mapping 6

2.1.1 Definitions of mind-mapping 6

2.1.2 Characteristics of mind-mapping 8

2.1.3 Laws of mind-mapping 8

2.2 Phrasal verbs 10

2.2.1 Definitions of ‘phrasal verbs’ 11

2.2.2 The construction and types of phrasal verbs 12

2.2.2.1 The construction of phrasal verbs 12

2.2.2.2 Types of phrasal verbs 14

2.2.3 Approaches to teaching phrasal verbs 15

2.2.4 How phrasal verbs have been taught in grade 9 in Vietnam 16

2.2.4.1 Phrasal verbs taught in the English 9 textbook 16

2.2.4.2 Phrasal verbs taught in English 9 Workbook 18

2.2.4.3 Phrasal verbs taught in Mai Lan Huong Workbook 18

2.2.4.4 Phrasal verbs in teachers’ English 9 lesson plans 23

2.3 Applications of mind mapping in educational settings and their related issues 23

2.3.1 Students’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in various educational contexts 23

2.3.2 Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in the context of ELT classroom 28

2.3.3 The effects of using mind maps in education 29

2.3.4 Using mind maps to teach vocabulary 31

2.4 A typology of memory and memory retention 33

2.4.1 A typology of memory 33

2.4.2 Memory retention 34

2.5 Basic framework for designing the phrasal verb mind maps 35

2.6 Definition of attitude 36

2.7 iMindMap software 38

2.8 The Current Study’s Operational Definitions and Theoretical Framework 38

2.9 Conceptual framework 41

2.10 Summary of Chapter 2 43

CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 44

3.1 Research question and hypotheses 44

3.2 Research design 45

3.3 Research methodology 48

3.3 Context of the study 49

3.3.1 Research site 49

3.3.2 Target population 49

3.3.3 Sampling 51

3.4 Teaching materials 53

3.4.1 Selection of taught phrasal verbs 53

3.4.2 Presentation of phrasal verb mind maps 56

3.5 Research tools 56

3.5.1 Sets of pre-tests and post-tests 56

3.5.2 Experimental teaching 58

3.5.3 Informal talks 59

3.5.4 Attitudinal student questionnaire 59

3.5.5 Classroom observation 63

3.6 Procedures of data collection and data analysis 64

3.7 Summary of Chapter 3 67

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 68

4.1 Analysis of data 68

4.1.1 The analysis of students’ test scores 68

4.1.1.2 First group (Class 9A5)’s test scores 68

4.1.1.2 Second group (Class 9A2)’s test scores 73

4.1.1.3 Comparison between the two experimental groups 78

4.1.2 The effect of using mind mapping to teach phrasal verbs on students’ attitudes 79

4.1.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards the presentation of distributed mind maps 79

4.1.2.2 Students’ attitudes towards the images in distributed mind maps 81

4.1.2.3 Students’ attitudes towards the content of the mind maps 82

4.1.2.4 Students’ favorite and disliked aspects of the mind maps 83

4.1.2.5 Students’ attitudes towards the actual application of mind maps 86

4.1.3 Informal talks 88

4.1.4 The effect of using mind mapping to teach phrasal verbs on students’ STM 90

4.2 Major findings of the current study 90

4.3 Discussion 91

4.3.1 The participants’ increased test scores 91

4.3.2 The participants’ attitudes towards the application of mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs 93

4.4 Summary of Chapter 4 94

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 95

5.1 Conclusion 95

5.2 Limitations of the study 96

5.3 Recommendations for the application of the technique and further studies 98 5.3.1 Recommendation for the application of the technique 98

5.3.2 Recommendation for further studies 98

REFERENCES 100

APPENDICES 107

APPENDIX 1: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 1 107

APPENDIX 2: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 2 111

APPENDIX 3: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 3 117

APPENDIX 4: THE STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE 123

APPENDIX 5: THREE MIND MAPS USED IN THE TREATMENT 127

APPENDIX 6: LEARNERS’ OPINIONS TOWARDS MIND MAPS IN A STUDY BY JONES ET AL IN 1999 130

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CVL Chau Van Liem Secondary School

EF Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature EFL English as a Foreign Language

ELT English Languages Teaching

STM short-term memory

USSH University of Social Sciences and Humanities VNU-HCMC Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam National University

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Keys of Unit 7’s Exercise VIII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook 21

Table 2.2 List of all excluded phrasal verbs 22

Table 3.1 Basic information about two experimental groups 50

Table 4.1 The summary of basic figures of Class 9A5's 3 sets of tests 69

Table 4.2 The summary of the mean scores of Class 9A5's tests 69

Table 4.3 The summary of Class 9A5's first meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 70

Table 4.4 The summary of Class 9A5's first meeting paired samples test 70

Table 4.5 The summary of Class 9A5's second meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 71

Table 4.6 The summary of Class 9A5's second meeting paired samples test 72

Table 4.7 The summary of Class 9A5's third meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 72

Table 4.8 The summary of Class 9A5's third meeting paired samples test 73

Table 4.9 The summary of basic figures of Class 9A2's 3 sets of tests 74

Table 4.10 The summary of the mean scores of Class 9A2's tests 74

Table 4.11 The summary of Class 9A2's first meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 75

Table 4.12 The summary of Class 9A2's first meeting paired samples test 75

Table 4.13 The summary of Class 9A2's second meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 76

Table 4.14 The summary of Class 9A2's second meeting paired samples test 76

Table 4.15 The summary of Class 9A2's third meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 77

Table 4.16 The summary of Class 9A2's third meeting paired samples test 77

Table 4.17 The summary of two groups' mean scores 78

Table 4.18 The summary of two groups' deviations 78

Table 4.19 The summary of two groups' t-values 79

Table 4.20 Students' attitudes towards the mind maps' presentation 81

Table 4.21 Students' attitudes towards the mind maps' images 82

Table 4.22 Students' attitudes towards the mind maps' content 83

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Thim’s classification of phrasal verbs 14

Figure 2.2 Phrasal verbs taught in Unit 7’s Language Focus in English 9 17

Figure 2.3 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise 4 in English 9’s Workbook 18

Figure 2.4 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VI in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook 19

Figure 2.5 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook 20

Figure 2.6 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VIII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook 21

Figure 2.7 Illustrative mind-mapping characteristics 36

Figure 2.8 The study’s theoretical framework 40

Figure 2.9 The study’s conceptual framework 42

Figure 3.1 Illustration of a phrasal-verb mind map 56

Figure 3.2 Process of data collection and analysis 66

Figure 4.1 Rustler’s basic mind map presentation 80

Figure 4.2 The respondents' favorite aspects of the phrasal verb mind maps 84

Figure 4.3 The respondents' disliked aspects of the phrasal verb mind maps 85

Figure 4.4 The respondents' views on the fitness of using mind maps to teach phrasal verbs 86

Figure 4.5 The respondents' views on the potential of the actual application of multi-word mind maps 88

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study

Since the issue of Resolution No 29-NQ/TW by the Central Government of November 11, 2013, there has been a widespread trend of renovations in the education field in most types of schools all over Vietnam The Resolution discussed the worrying past situations of education in Vietnam Specifically, the number of students per class was frequently quite high, approximately from 45 to 50 students

or even higher than that The teaching and learning quality remained low, especially

in universities and vocational schools Teaching methods were obsolete and theories received most attention instead of practice Consequently, it has been observed that graduates lack specific necessary practical skills for their jobs These drawbacks led

to the urge to propose and implement renovations in the educational fields so as to enhance the teaching and learning quality of Vietnamese teachers and students Novel innovations have come in various forms, one of which was the application of

a new model of classroom at some primary schools This model proposed the formation of a student council and students were asked to vote for and elect their president This was believed to help train students’ autonomy as well as equip them with a sense of modern society and responsibility Apart from that organization which was applied to learners, teachers were also another main focus of the Resolution Teachers working in all types of schools and institutes have been taking part in competitions and activities at local and national levels These contests create the opportunity for them to refine their teaching skills as well as exchange precious teaching experiences with other colleagues Besides participating in these mentioned occasions, teachers have also been required to submit their initiatives gathered from their teaching experiences and contexts

Among these suggestions, mind mapping has been proposed as a novel method to

be applied in various academic subjects such as History or Math A number of teachers teaching the two mentioned subjects asked their students to design mind maps whose contents are based on taught lessons This type of activity appeared to

stimulate learners’ interest and learning motives (Nguyen, 2012) This is the first reason which encourages the researcher of the current study to further explore the use of this visual tool in teaching students of another subject, specifically English The second reason is because mind-mapping has become one of the researcher’s interests since she was a sophomore at university The passion for this wonderful means of aiding memory grew much stronger when a bachelor’s thesis concerning the design of a supplementary grammar mind-mapping material based on a grammar book was carried out and positive results were collected Due to time constraint, the thesis at the bachelor level was narrow in terms of its scope and focus The number

of units in the material as well as the quantity of the studied participants were limited

as well Therefore, the researcher of the present study would like to further pursue the previous research path that had been implemented at the university level In this particular study, mind-mapping would be applied as the main means to transfer new knowledge to students In other words, this method would be utilized to teach English phrasal verbs It is the investigator’s desire to be able to introduce this memory-aiding tool to students of English to find out how they can assist various kinds of learners in mastering a specific aspect of English, i.e., phrasal verbs The final reason of the passionate desire to introduce English mind maps to Vietnamese secondary school students who would be the main subject of this study is for even though Tony Buzan – the father of mind-mapping techniques – has published various books on the application of mind maps in different fields, there are few materials which place a strong emphasis on applying mind-mapping in a particular area of knowledge The researcher used to teach at a university where she employed mind maps during class hours as a warm-up means and a technique to get students engaged in classroom activities and in group work Every time students were asked

to work together to create a mind map based on given topics or requirements, they showed a great deal of interest Their finished products were satisfactory and met all basic demands of the tasks Some were even beyond the lecturer’s expectation regarding their design and content Therefore, the researcher strongly believed that these types of graphic materials would be able to enhance students’ motivation and interest in learning

There are some previous works concerning the use of mind-mapping in the context

of English as a Foreign Language (henceforth EFL) classrooms as an aid to enhance students’ memory Ellis (2009) referred to mind mapping as an effective method to take notes He also mentioned some of its benefits However, it appears that mind-mapping has barely been applied in the context of EFL classrooms in Vietnamese schools, colleges or universities One rare source publicizing some grammar mind maps that can be accessed is the website entitled grammar mind maps There, some beautifully hand-drawn mind maps on English tenses and structures are provided to teachers and learners of English However, as the number of mind maps on the mentioned website is limited and updated slowly, the researcher of this particular study was obsessed with an attempt to provide the participants-to-be with a novel method to study phrasal verbs more effectively Specifically in this case, that technique was applying mind-mapping in learning phrasal verbs After being able

to identify the effect of this method in teaching phrasal verbs in particular, the expansion of its application in other fields of English were strongly recommended

to be carried out

1.2 Aim of the study

The aim of this study was to:

- Find out the effects of applying mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs to Chau Van Liem 9th graders

After the data were collected and analyzed, the potential application of this aiding tool in the context of Chau Van Liem in particular and of secondary schools

memory-in general would be proposed and discussed Furthermore, if mmemory-ind-mappmemory-ing demonstrated that it had effects which were significant after having been applied to teach phrasal verbs, some suggestions would be made regarding its application in

teaching other aspects of English

1.3 Research questions

In order to achieve the set aim, the study was guided by the following major question:

- What is the effect of applying mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs to Chau Van Liem 9th graders?

Besides the major question, the study would also be looking for the answers to two minor questions which are presented as follows:

- What are the attitudes of Chau Van Liem 9th graders towards the application of mind mapping in class?

- Can applying mind mapping in teaching phrasal verbs help increase the participants’ scores significantly?

1.4 Significance of the study

Mind maps have long been considered as an effective tool to aid human memory Its applications in diverse areas have also been introduced by Tony Buzan and adapted in different ways However, within the context of Vietnam educational institutes, mind-mapping still remains unpopular to students as a new approach to their path of mastering English If the applied teaching technique were to be proved

to have effect on students’ learning phrasal verbs, it could be further applied to teach other aspects of English, apart from phrasal verbs

1.5 Organization of the study

The study consists of five chapters presented as follows:

Chapter 1 provides an overview of the study including the background, the aim of

the study, the research questions, the significance of the study, and the organization

of the study

Chapter 2 is concerned with the literature review related to the study It includes

the definitions of mind-mapping from various sources, its characteristics introduced

by Buzan and Buzan (1995) Moreover, it will discuss the effects of using mind maps to study and students’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in the context

of English Language Teaching (hereafter ELT) classroom This chapter also dedicates a section to describe ten phrasal verbs chosen to be designed The last two parts of Chapter 2 present the theoretical and conceptual frameworks which are used

to guide the present study

Chapter 3 briefly presents research question and hypotheses, research

methodology, research design, the context of the study, the five research tools and the procedure of data collection and data analysis

Chapter 4 deals with data analysis and findings In this section, the analysis of the

data collected from the two sets of tests, the student questionnaire and informal interview will be presented The major findings of this research will be presented in the second part of this chapter, followed by the discussion of the results

Chapter 5 presents the conclusions of the study, limitations and some

recommendations to learners and teachers at the designated school concerning the actual use of mind-mapping in the future

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

The second chapter of the study is dedicated to presenting the operational definitions

of mind-mapping and phrasal verbs Hence, it consists of the discussion of cognitive issues, related studies and the theoretical and conceptual frameworks which help guide the current study

2.1 Mind-mapping

2.1.1 Definitions of mind-mapping

Mind-mapping, understood in its literal sense and in a straightforward way that most people without depending on their specialized knowledge comprehend when they first come across the word, can be viewed as a visible map in which the structural demonstration of the human mind, i.e., what people think, is displayed Nevertheless, the term is not understood in such an uncomplicated manner Henceforth, the term refers to a cognitive tool which can be used to organize or summarize information while people are learning (Hillar, 2012) Hillar’s (2012) description of mind-mapping, however, is quite recent, which means that other definitions of the same concept need taking into consideration

When speaking of this wonderful memory-aiding tool, Tony Buzan and Barry Buzan have to be mentioned as the pioneers who introduced, developed and made its various wonderful applications known to the rest of the world In one of their books

entitled The Mind Map Book, Buzan and Buzan (1995) defined the Mind Map as an

expression of Radiant Thinking1 and is therefore a natural function of the human mind They claim that mind map is an influential graphic technique which can provide people with a universal key to unlocking the potential of the human brain (Buzan & Buzan, 1995) The way the two brothers describe the term, however, is quite complex as it is embedded with another complicated concept – Radiant Thinking Other researchers and scholars have proposed different yet less complicated interpretations of the same phenomenon which share some basic

1 Refers to associative thought processes that proceed from or connect to a central point (Tony Buzan, 1996)

similarities with Buzan and Buzan’s and these ideas can be easily accessed on a lot

of websites Though information on the Internet may not be considered reliable enough to turn to, the following points of view are worth mentioning as some of their authors themselves write software allowing users to self-design mind maps Therefore, their ideas can be regarded as a good source for reference Mindjet, the developer of the software MindManager8, proposes a detailed explanation for the term mind-mapping According to him, a mind map applies visual thinking to create

a systematic presentation of a plan, problem, or project – a diagram that closely reflects the way the human brain naturally processes information Similarly, the administrators of the website the mind-mapping site suggested a simpler and easier-to-understand definition According to them, mind mapping is a form of visual thinking which can be formed by noting one's ideas down in the form of pictures or other graphical representation in order to get as clear a picture of the subject in question as possible

Apart from software designers and online authors, some researchers who are interested in applying mind maps in their teaching also publish their own interpretations of mind-mapping Murley (2007) describes mind mapping as a nonlinear visual outline containing complicated information She claims that this visual technique has the ability to facilitate “creativity, organization, productivity and memory” (p.175) Krasnic (2011) refers to mind mapping with a different name – visual mapping, which is connected to a diagrammatic tool employed to gather, generate, control and exchange information

In general, those definitions consider mind mapping to be the application of graphic

or visual images to help our brains capture knowledge effectively Mind map’s rules are based on the fact that human beings can retain the graphic or visual information much more easily than the information presented in the form of words or numbers Even though Tony Buzan and Barry Buzan are the authors who succeeded in making mind-mapping technique renowned to people from most parts of the world, the way

he and his brother define this term is rather complex Therefore, thanks to the consultancy of abovementioned definitions, mind-mapping, within the context of

this study, is simply considered to be a set of graphic or visual factors which has the ability to assist secondary students in particular and students of all levels in general

in enhancing their memory capacity The content of these graphic elements embedded in mind maps used for this specific study was specially designed to suit the content of taught multi-word verbs

2.1.2 Characteristics of mind-mapping

Buzan and Buzan (1995) described mind-mapping to be a powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of human brain Moreover, they also have emphasized that the Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of life where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance According to Buzan and Buzan (1995), mind-mapping has four important features Firstly, the subject of attention is crystallized in a central image This image concisely reflects the theme of the whole mind map Secondly, the main subject matters radiate from the central picture like tree branches Thirdly, on these branches or associated lines grow various phrases carrying information directly relating to the central image Information of lesser importance will be presented on branches radiating from high-level ones The Buzan brothers also note that mind maps’ liveliness and beauty can be enhanced by adding pictures, signs or colors, which is believed to encourage the process of information recall Finally, branches associated with a specific mind map will create a connected nodal structure (p.59) These overall descriptions would initially contribute to scaffolding the overall picture of a mind map which strictly conforms to Buzan and Buzan’s rules (1995) Nonetheless, these characteristics are not presenting enough detailed data as they merely cover the outer shell of a mind map The next section, therefore, would serve

to demonstrate a closer picture of specific details of a standard mind map

2.1.3 Laws of mind-mapping

In order to provide a more detailed guidance on how to design a proper mind map, the laws of mind-mapping are also worth mentioning As the previous section on the features of mind-mapping only contributes to portraying the general framework of

a mind mapping, this section adds more detailed information about lowered-level branches of a mind map

Buzan and Buzan (1995) presented a comprehensible step-by-step system of laws

as well as pieces of advice which carefully outlines what need to be done in order to sketch an organized mind map Following is the exact summary of mind-mapping’s laws which were presented by Buzan and Buzan (1995, p.96-97)

Techniques

1 Emphasis

 Always use a central image

 Use images throughout your Mind Map

 Use three or more colors per central image

 Use dimension in images

 Use synaesthesia (the blending of the physical senses)

 Use variation of size of printing, line and image

 Use organized spacing

 Use appropriate spacing

 Use only one key word per line

 Print all words

 Print key words on lines

 Make line length equal to word length

 Connect lines to other lines

 Make then central lines thicker

 Make your boundaries ‘embrace’ your branch outline

 Make your images as clear as possible

 Keep your place placed horizontally in front of you

 Keep your printing as upright as possible

4 Develop a personal style

Layout

1 Use hierarchy

2 Use numerical order

These attributes mentioned herein contribute to establishing a clear framework for the researcher to follow in order to properly design mind maps which would later be used as one of the main research tools Though different mind maps on dissimilar topics can be varied in terms of their presentation – specifically their colors, shapes, forms and etc – mind maps on phrasal verbs used in this specific study would strictly follow the aforementioned attributes in order to establish a harmonious system of mind maps As a result, it was expected that after the subjects of the study experienced learning with these mind maps, they would be eager to self-design their own ones to serve their own study purposes

2.2 Phrasal verbs

Phrasal verbs are amongst English elements which can pose numerous challenges for learners of English since there are a huge number of these verbs, all of which have various meanings diverging from the meaning of the head verb McCarthy and O’Dell (2004) pointed out that learners of English stand a great chance of coming across a large number of phrasal verbs when they listen and read English The two authors recommended that it is essential that learners have knowledge of their meanings and usage Condon (2008) agrees that phrasal verbs are remarkably challenging to master because the combination between verbs and particles appears

to be unmethodical More specifically, according to Condon, there are two specific sources of this difficulty: “(1) the lack of transparency in meaning and (2) the [semantically] random nature of the particles” as termed by Side (1990) (as cited in Condon, 2008, p.133) Complex in nature as phrasal verbs can be, the following

sections are dedicated to reviewing different definitions as well as multiple methods for teaching this kind of special verbs In addition to that, there would be a subsection consisting of a number of specified phrasal verbs which would be taught

in this current study

2.2.1 Definitions of ‘phrasal verbs’

Claridge (2000) confirms that it was problematic to provide a proper definition of the term ‘phrasal verb’ due to two reasons Firstly, the term can be referred to with different names, i.e., Fraser (1976) coins the term 'verb particle combination” (as cited in Claridge, 2000, p.46) or Live (1965) calls it “discontinuous verb” (as cited

in Claridge, 2000, p.46) Secondly, ‘phrasal verb’ can act as the coverage which may include other categories including prepositional verbs Complex as its nature might

be, other linguists and writers did provide numerous interpretations of the same term which are less complicated McCarthy and O’Dell (2004) simply defined phrasal verbs as the ones including a main verb and a particle which together create one meaning This definition excludes those with more than either one particle or one meaning, which, in fact, do occur in English ‘Catch up with’ can be taken as an example of three-word verbs or phrasal verbs with more than one particle Therefore, this definition might not be suitable to be applied in the current study Spears (2008) refers to phrasal verbs as two-word verbs which are idiomatic expressions wherein the second component of the verb – either an adverb or a particle – is not necessarily predictable Again, similar to McCarthy and O’Dell’s definition of the same term (2004), Spears merely calls phrasal verbs ‘two-word verbs’, which factors out all multi-word verbs including more than one particle As these elucidations are defective, it is worth presenting the definitions of the same term from other sources Besides writers and researchers, the meaning of phrasal verbs can be found in numerous prestigious dictionaries Oxford Online Dictionary defines phrasal verbs as an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically either an adverb or a preposition Cambridge Online Dictionary shares the definition of phrasal verbs as “a phrase that consists of a verb with a preposition or adverb or both, the meaning of which is different from the meaning

of its separate parts” Longman Phrasal Verbs Dictionary (Adrian-Vallance et al., 2000) presents an extremely brief definition of the term ‘phrasal verbs’ which states that “A phrasal verb is a verb that consists of two or three words”

Joshi’s definition of phrasal verbs (2014) is similar to those mentioned above in terms of its simple nature He merely defines phrasal verbs to be the ones which are made up of a verb and an adverb or a preposition or both, all of which are called

‘Particles’ Claridge (2000) states that “phrasal verbs are relatively unitary combinations of a verb and a particle, which is best of all described as an adverb, but not as a preposition” (p.46)

Even though its nature can be complicated, after discussing various viewpoints and classifications of the same term, the writer of the current study would eliminate all complicated factors to summarize a sole definition of the term, which would be applied solely throughout the whole study After being carefully considered, the definition proposed by Cambridge Online Dictionary includes the characteristics of phrasal verbs’ meaning which are necessary Therefore, this definition, i.e., “a phrase that consists of a verb with a preposition or adverb or both, the meaning of which is different from the meaning of its separate parts”, would be employed in the present study

2.2.2 The construction and types of phrasal verbs

2.2.2.1 The construction of phrasal verbs

Chomsky (1965) asserts that the verb-particle construction or the phrasal verb construction can hardly be categorized into predetermined grammatical groups like English parts of speech or noun phrases (as cited in Gorlach, 2004) Gorlach (2004) conducted a study to investigate phrasal construction and their resultative meaning, i.e., how their meanings embody a sense of ‘result’ of an action that a phrasal construction expresses by adopting sign-oriented framework The post section of English phrasal verbs, i.e., their post particles, was discussed in brief in the next section as phrasal verbs constitute a considerable part of phrasal construction Nevertheless, the latter purpose of Gorlach’s study is not open to discussion as it is irrelevant to the present study What is worth mentioning here is the discussion of

various linguists about the construction of English phrasal verbs, which is extremely diverse and controversial The professor made an attempt to present relevant theories

of a number of linguists who have proposed different scrutinies of phrasal verbs’ structure Chomsky (1965), who coins the term Verb-Particle construction to refer

to phrasal verbs, considered the Particle to be a relatively free “Adverbial” element However, in most cases, according to Chomsky, phrasal verbs are still seen as one unique lexical item (as cited in Gorlach, 2004) This assumption was later open to dispute by other linguists, one of whom was Bolinger (1971), who highlights the resemblance between adverbial particles and derivational affixes This leads to his opinion on proper position of English phrasal verbs in the language structure, which stand “at the border of syntax and morphology” (as cited in Gorlach, 2004, p.23) According to Bolinger (1971), this conclusion is based on the fact that a number of particles can move around in a sentence containing phrasal verbs

Another linguist named Johnson (1991) (as cited in Gorlach, 2004) suggests three criteria on which we can base to categorize “particle verbs” or phrasal verbs The first group of particle verbs can undergo morphological processes, specifically

forming adjectives from nouns by adding the suffixes –ing or –ed

Ex1: the table remained dusted off  the dusted off table

The second group includes those particle verbs whose selectional requirements do not originate in the selectional requirements of their parts

Ex2: We can’t make out whether he is lying or not

The last group consists of those whose gapping exhibits the same behavior in particle verbs as in single verbs

Ex3: Gary looked up Sam’s number, and Mittie, my number

This means that in Example 3, the particle “up” cannot stand a gap from the verb, i.e., it cannot move around as in:

*Gary looked Sam’s number, and Mittie, my number up

(Johnson, 1991, as cited in Gorlach, 2004, p.24)

As discussed by the linguists, the classification and analysis of phrasal verbs pose a lot of difficulties It is controversial whether to treat them as single or complex verbs This section is devoted to demonstrating a brief discussion of how linguists view the construction of English phrasal verbs The next sub-part in this section serves to present a number of types of particle verbs

2.2.2.2 Types of phrasal verbs

Doff and Jones (1994, p.136) categorized phrasal verbs into four main types which are presented as follows:

Type 1: Verb + adverb

Type 2: Verb + noun + adverb

Type 3: Verb + preposition + noun

Type 4: Verb + adverb + preposition + noun

It can be claimed that these four categories were compiled and categorized based on the structural features of a whole phrase as well as functional characteristics of each element present in the phrase In other words, the classifications are made from the inclusion of parts of speech of English most common word groups (i.e., verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs) Apart from this categorization, Thim (2012) discusses and compiles a detailed classification of phrasal verbs based on two specific features, namely their semantic and syntactic characteristics The following chart simply portrays one his category of phrasal verbs based on the classification

of their particles’ meanings This classification resembles what Gorlach (2004) discussed of the resultative meaning of phrasal construction in English

Figure 2.1 Thim’s classification of phrasal verbs

(Thim, 2012, p.13)

Nevertheless, the researcher of the current study did not attempt to go into details of how phrasal verbs are formed These sections assist in narrowing down the types of phrasal verbs which were going to be chosen and taught to the subjects of the study The researcher supported the classification proposed by Doff and Jones (1994) though it is not complete and quite simple, yet it is understandable and fits in the context of this study All of the selected phrasal verbs in this study belong to the first type which is verb + adverb

2.2.3 Approaches to teaching phrasal verbs

Kurtyka (2001) proposes a discussion about numerous methods of teaching phrasal verbs to ELT students According to the writer, approaches to teaching phrasal verbs can be provisionally classified into two categories: those focusing on the formal (syntactic) aspects of usage and those emphasizing the semantic meaning of the verbs (Kurtyka, 2001) In a latter part of the book by Kurtyka, another approach which is the combination of the two previous ones was discussed This method places an emphasis on both the syntactic and semantic components, which was put forward by Flower (1993) and Heaton (1995) (as cited in Kurtyka, 2001, p.32) In this approach, Flower (1993) initially offers a semantic analysis of meanings of the most common particles The proposal of this dissection presents a fascinating way which ELT teachers can adapt to when designing lesson plans on phrasal verbs After carefully reviewing some major teaching approaches, Kurtyka (2001) confers about the case of visualization in pedagogy The author makes a suggestion saying that so as to improve understanding and retention, educators would be advocated to merge the verbal and the visual in the presentation of phrasal verbs The mentioned

‘visual’ may incorporate all kinds of components including “from pictures, drawings and diagrams to coordinated miming exercises, done by teachers and learners…” (p.36) As recommended and encouraged by the researcher’s own idea, the current study would be an embodiment of an approach to teaching phrasal verbs by integrating visual factors

2.2.4 How phrasal verbs have been taught in grade 9 in Vietnam

2.2.4.1 Phrasal verbs taught in the English 9 textbook

As the respondents of the current study were using the textbook English 9 published

by the Vietnam Education Publishing House and there is one unit in the textbook aiming at teaching phrasal verbs to 9th graders of the investigated school, this section

is devoted to describing as well as discussing some factors regarding the format, the content and the number of phrasal verbs present in the book These features were believed to have an impact on the process of designing the research tools and the results of the study; therefore, they are worth mentioning carefully

The first edition of the textbook was put into circulation in May, 2005 and has been used as the main English textbook at secondary schools throughout Vietnam since then, despite some minor amendments and supplementations from time to time The book consists of 10 units whose topics are varied Each lesson has 6 numbered parts namely Getting Started, Listen and Read, Speak, Listen, Read and Write, together with a separate section about grammar named Language Focus at the end of every unit The Language Focus part is dedicated to reviewing previously-taught grammar points as well as vocabulary embedded in the main reading texts or listening recordings of the unit and also presenting new grammar points which can be tested

in examinations This grammar section usually consists of more than one grammar point accompanied by practice in the form of written exercises Sometimes, this section also helps learners review the vocabulary they have learnt Overall, the book appears to be aimed at teaching the four language skills

The unit which is to be further discussed is Unit 7 in which student were taught how

to use selected phrasal verbs

Figure 2.2 Phrasal verbs taught in Unit 7’s Language Focus in English 9

As seen in the picture, only five phrasal verbs were chosen to be included in the main lesson While doing the given exercise in the textbook, students received assistance in the form of pictures illustrating each given verb Since 9th graders who were the subjects of the study had already learned these 5 phrasal verbs after this

lesson, these 5 verbs (specifically turn on, turn off, look for, look after, and go on)

were excluded from the current study

2.2.4.2 Phrasal verbs taught in English 9 Workbook

Another material to be taken into consideration is the workbook attached to the main textbook and also designed and published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House This workbook is strictly conformable to the content of the coursebook As

seen in the picture below, among 7 verbs given in the box (get off, go off, turn off,

see off, come off, cut off, and take off), turn off is the one appearing in the main

textbook The rest are new verbs

Figure 2.3 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise 4 in English 9’s Workbook

2.2.4.3 Phrasal verbs taught in Mai Lan Huong Workbook

Besides what has been presented in the textbook, other sources which might be used

in the classroom also need analyzing and examining Mai Lan Huong is an author who has published a variety of English exercise books and guide books designed based on English textbooks from grade 6 to grade 12 published by the Vietnam Education Publishing House Due to their widespread appearance in the market as well as growing reputation for such well-designed and informative books, her

workbooks are frequently employed in English classrooms as a rich source and means for teachers and students of English to use Therefore, the English 9 Exercise Book composed by Mai Lan Huong needs bringing into consideration as well One feature of Mai Lan Huong’s books is the fact that they are frequently annually supplemented and amended, though the amendments and supplementations are not significant The current study utilized the exercise book published in 2012 to be the main book to be investigated In this workbook, more phrasal verbs are introduced

to 9th graders than those present in the main course book However, the introduction

of these verbs are not systematical Therefore, at the end of this section, a summary table was provided in order to clarify which multi-word verbs were eliminated from this current study

Followings are extracted exercises consisting of phrasal verbs from the workbook (Mai, 2012, p.65-75)

Figure 2.4 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VI in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook

Figure 2.5 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook

Unlike the above two exercises, the third one does not provide a list of phrasal verbs for learners to choose from Instead, students need to guess the correct particles to fill in the blanks

Figure 2.6 Phrasal verbs in Unit 7’s Exercise VIII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook

As seen in the pictures, 15 sentences need filling in As a result, the researcher needed to provide the answer keys in order to explicitly state which verbs are mentioned in this workbook The answer key is as follows:

Table 2.1 Keys of Unit 7’s Exercise VIII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook

1 down 2 for – away 3 on 4 down (off) 5 on

6 up 7 on 8 up 9 after 10 forward

11 after 12 across 13 up 14 out 15 off

Apparently, the phrasal verbs included in this exercise are: sit down, look for, throw

away, try on, turn down, turn off, turn on, give up, go on, pick up, look after, look forward, take after, run across, look up, look out, and call off In total, there are

seventeen phrasal verbs

Apart from these three exercises which place a strong and sole emphasis on assisting students in practicing the use of phrasal verbs, the following assignments which are

in the form of multiple choices, gap filling or sentence transformation also

incorporate a small number of multi-word verbs These verbs were going to be filtered out to be added into the list of verbs excluded from the current research They are presented as follows:

Exercise XI/Page 67-68 (Mai, 2012): use up, find out, and run out

Exercise XII/Page 68 (Mai, 2012): give up and take after

Exercise A – Section II/Page 69 (Mai, 2012): go on

Exercise A – Section III/Page 69-70 (Mai, 2012): give up, go on, get into, set in, look after, look for, look up, look out and pick up

Exercise B – Section III/Page 70 (Mai, 2012): get up and wake up

Exercise A – Section IV/Page 70-71 (Mai, 2012): end in, run off, get out, and use

up

Exercise B – Section IV/Page 71 (Mai, 2012): use up

Exercise A – Section VI/Page 72 (Mai, 2012): look after

Exercise B – Section VI/Page 72 (Mai, 2012): look for, turn on and go on

This table helps to finalize all phrasal verbs present in the main text book, its workbook and the workbook by Mai Lan Huong as they would be excluded from the mind maps given to the participants In general there are 47 exceptions The phrasal verbs are to be placed in alphabetical order for convenient look-up

Table 2.2 List of all excluded phrasal verbs

1 break down 13 get on 25 look forward 37 take back

2 call off 14 get out 26 look out 38 take off

3 come back 15 get up 27 look up 39 take after

4 come off 16 give up 28 pay back 40 turn down

5 cross out 17 go away 29 pick up 41 turn off

6 cut off 18 go off 30 put off 42 turn on

7 end in 19 go on 31 run out 43 turn up

8 fall over 20 keep up 32 run across 44 throw away

9 fill in 21 let in 33 see off 45 try on

10 find out 22 lie down 34 set in 46 use up

11 get into 23 look after 35 sit down 47 wake up

12 get off 24 look for 36 stay in

2.2.4.4 Phrasal verbs in teachers’ English 9 lesson plans

The final source to be investigated incorporates lesson plans from English teachers Specifically, lesson plans of Unit 7 in the English 9 textbook would be closely examined to find out which phrasal verbs teachers intended to introduce in class besides 5 multi-word verbs already presented above This step guarantees to increase the number of phrasal verbs would be eliminated from the current study if those teachers planned to teach new particle verbs besides the ones introduced in the main course book Since these teaching plans are of personal properties of teachers, most

of whom may feel uneasy or invaded if asked to share them Luckily, one teacher who is quite a life-long acquaintance of the researcher willingly agreed to share a part of the lesson where phrasal verbs are taught This teacher used to teach at the researched institute for a long time, so these lesson plans of his/hers were used to teach 9th graders at this school After going through her lesson plans’ pages, the researcher realized that she merely covered all phrasal verbs in the textbook without introducing new ones

2.3 Applications of mind mapping in educational settings and their related issues

2.3.1 Students’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in various

Jones et al (1999) carried out a research to describe the technique of mind mapping and to highlight specific applications in a variety of contexts based on their work in

executive education and management development consulting They provided specific examples of mind maps produced by their students and described positive outcomes resulting from this approach Pilot data regarding student experiences with mind mapping were briefly discussed and their paper concluded with why they believed this technique works From their survey, it was shown that over 70 executive students generally indicated that they were very pleased with the power and simplicity of the technique, and its significant advantage over linear note taking for recalling and thinking creatively

The following unsolicited quotes pertaining to mind mapping were received from two out of four of their executive students, who were asked to give their own opinions about the use of mind maps in the classroom (Jones et al., 1999, p.17-19) Their full answers can be found in the Appendix 6

Student number 2

This student claimed that at first he/she could not understand the usefulness of the tool or what was the real purpose of the application of this tool However, after being exposed the mind maps presented in the classroom, he/she changed his/her attitudes, saying he/she was now pleased with the tool because “it is a great way to get all of our ideas on the table, make some sense and order of them and see the "big picture"” Another benefit of mind maps that he/she pointed out that this tool proved to be useful in group meetings where it can be commonly seen that active members dominate the discussion leaving others’ opinions unattended Claiming that the tool is useful means that mind maps could incorporate everyone’s ideas, making them feel acknowledged and treasured To end the response, this student claimed that he/she would further employ the tool

in his/her future presentations

Student number 3

This student claimed that he/she was excited to learn about mind mapping even though he/she had never heard of it before He/she found it to be a fascinating exercise and claimed that mind mapping would be able to make speaking in public and even chairing meetings “more productive and less threatening”

Similar to Jones et al.’s research purposes and design, Budd (2004) employed mind maps as an exercise tool in classroom activities in group works to help engage his students whose major is economy He granted a one-hour period for each group to design a mind map on their own The finished products were then attached on a bulletin board and discussed by the whole class A year later, after his research had completed, Budd conducted an online survey with the participation of the students who had enrolled in his class in the previous year and taken part in his mind map-designing activities There were 39 responses returned which accounts for a rate of

60 percent The data collected from this online questionnaire yielded a neutral result regarding the question asking the participants whether they had learned a lot from the Mind Map exercises they had done in class with their peers Nevertheless, the researcher notes that specific students who prefer “doing” learning style all agreed with the mentioned statement Another significant finding reported by Budd is that the students who expressed their favor towards the importance of learning exercises confirmed that the amount of knowledge they had gained from the Mind Map exercise was great The results from Budd’s study demonstrate that the application

of mind maps in class does have effect on individuals whose learning style is more

of “doing” manner, meaning that they prefer applying taught theories into practical exercises, as claimed by Budd (2004)

Besides the application of mind-mapping in enhancing students’ engagement level and motivation, it can also act as a powerful means to assist teachers in designing graphic lectures Lee (2012) had an intention of designing a course which tried to simplify complex health law so that her non-law students would find it ‘digestible’ Mind-mapping aided her in providing attractive lecture notes as well as engaging more students in classroom activities The writer of the paper also introduces free technical software which enable students to create their own mind maps She reports her students’ remarks which stress that mind mapping enhanced their capacities to memorize, analyze, comprehend, and communicate the specific topic which was presented in each map (Lee, 2012) These recorded precious comments insinuated a positive attitude towards the applied tool, though it was not directly stated by the author In a recent research, Tungprapa (2015) introduced a number of mind-

mapping software to his master-degree students and required them to design their own visual maps by using computer programs put forward with the aim of summarizing the main theme of each lesson in the course entitled Educational Research Methodology Though the sample of the study merely incorporated a small number of participants – specifically 27 master-degree students, it presented interesting results which are worth noticing and mentioning The researcher carefully constructed a suitable system of research tool with the inclusion of 4 sets

of documents yielding results which can be considered reliable enough It is reported that the respondents’ post-study attitudes towards the use of electronic mind maps after they had undergone the treatment was higher than that of their pre-study (Tungprapa, 2015) In addition to the announcement of the overall results, the author included the 4 detailed responses in interviews carried out with the respondents All

of these participants confirmed that mind maps did provide them with a better chance to comprehend as well as memorize concepts and knowledge Furthermore, they could act as a powerful tool aiding users to summarize information Three out

of four interviewees asserted that they would continue to apply this tool in their learning (Tungprapa, 2015) Though the abovementioned studies surveyed and studied the utilization of mind maps in dissimilar fields, their outcomes regarding the reaction of participants were alike

Apart from studies conducted in alien contexts, there were surveys which were carried out in Vietnam with the employment of mind mapping in teaching It is a compulsory policy of the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam that applying mind maps in teaching a variety of subjects has been being nationwide carried out as a novel means to renew teaching methods and lessen the impact of traditional teaching method, i.e., teachers lecture and students take notes As a result,

a number of library researches have been implemented to describe the current situation in Vietnam as well as propose suggestions and initiatives for teachers of various subjects This means that few studies reporting students’ attitudes towards this teaching initiative can be found; nevertheless, attempt has been made to track down a few to portray and present what have been done to provide an overall picture

of the actual use of mind maps in Vietnam schools and institutes Though the

following studies may be dissimilar in terms of their research context, they do share two similarities, which are: they applied mind-mapping in the field of education and their studied participants were Vietnamese students

The researcher of the current study attempted to cautiously examine the literature only to find a number of studies relating to the use of mind maps in teaching history

to Vietnamese students The two studies conducted by two teachers (one male (Nguyen, 2012) and one female (Nguyen, 2012)) from two different schools, specifically one high school and one secondary school, shared a large number of similarities Firstly, they both discussed the use of mind maps in teaching History to Vietnamese students, both high school and secondary ones Secondly, the two authors made a great attempt in presenting specific classroom activities specially designed to adopt and adapt mind maps to suit lesson contents Specifically, they required their students to make history presentations or self-design mind maps based

on history lessons as homework These arrangements have yielded positive reactions

as reported by these two History teachers The female teacher coming from Hong Thuy Secondary (Nguyen, 2012) reports the numbers of students who were in favor

of the subject before and after she applied the treatment, namely mind mapping At the beginning of the school year, among seventy students she was in charge of, there were forty-one learners expressing their unfavorable attitude towards the subject However, in the middle of the second semester in the same academic year, this number dropped down to five students, 8 times lower than the starting number This results from the application of mind mapping, as confirmed by the researcher herself Similar attitudes were collected from the male teacher’s study though specific numbers were note provided He reports that a hundred percent of students from two grades – grade 10 and 12 – which he was in charge of show full commitment to history lessons as they were engaged in classroom activities with the help of mind maps Taking part in designing mind maps themselves and then exhibiting their own mind maps in front of the whole class motivates these students

a lot This results in the enhancement of lesson comprehension and learner autonomy (Nguyen, 2012) As the findings from the two abovementioned studies reveal,

Vietnamese students from two specific secondary and high schools who were exposed to mind mapping held positive attitudes towards this tool

However, these results came from a survey of History classes whose context is dissimilar of the current research Consequently, English learners’ attitudes need mentioning herein La (2013) studied the viewpoint of juniors and seniors studying

at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City towards the employment of a mind-mapping supplementary

material in class Even though this study, unlike that of Jones et al.’s (1999), did not

attempt to encourage students themselves try designing mind maps, it did provide

an insight into students’ reactions to the situation when mind maps were applicable and integrated into their lessons It is believed that the amalgamation of mind maps

in language classroom is not commonly encountered in the context of Vietnam Therefore, the results drawn from La (2013)’s study are worth noticing Specifically, they suggested that the respondents were attracted by the layout of the material and well aware of the graphic components present in the distributed material More importantly, these students held positive viewpoint about the actual application of the mind-mapping material in the context of English classroom (La, 2013)

From the review of the aforementioned works on how investigated students felt about the employment of this technique in studying, it can be acknowledged that mind-mapping can provide an interesting and effective means to aid students’ memory and that students may be excited about employing this method during their learning process Those can be the good reasons supporting the application of mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs in the context of EFL classrooms in secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as it is missing from the body of the literature

2.3.2 Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in the context of ELT classroom

Apart from students’ attitudes towards the employment of mind mapping in study,

it is worth looking at teachers’ side as they are the ones who are also exposed to the technique directly Balim et al have conducted an attitude research in 2009 in which

25 teachers were asked to state their opinions towards six open-ended questions