The effects of semantic mapping in vocabulary teaching

Data were collected from 87 students of two pharmaceutical classes assigned in the Control Group of 44 and the Experimental Group of 43 in Binh Dinh Medical College in eight weeks in the

HO CHI MINH CITY NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES



Lê Nguyễn Hương Giang

The effects of semantic mapping in

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled:

THE EFFECTS OF SEMANTIC MAPPING

IN TEACHING VOCABULARY

in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee The thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree

Ho Chi Minh City, September 21st, 2009

GIANG HUONG NGUYEN LE

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, GIANG HUONG NGUYEN LE, being the candidate for the degree

of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City, September 21st, 2009

GIANG HUONG NGUYEN LE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am deeply indebted to a number of people for helping to make this M.A thesis possible

First and foremost, my deepest gratitude goes to Dr Tung Thanh Nguyen, my supervisor

I am blessed to have known him and to have been accepted as his student in this M.A program From the point of view of a teacher, an advisor and a mentor, he is my strongest advocate, who embodies the definition of wisdom and intellect My professional development has been growing increasingly with his precious guidance and continuous motivation

I would like to sincerely thank the participants who contributed data to this study Many thanks also go to my colleagues, especially Bi Ngoc Thi Pham who kindly helped me very much in the process of data collection

Very special thanks are due to my friends of Class A5 for their kind support and warm encouragement throughout my difficult times away from home Without them, I could not have overcome my ups and downs and concentrated on my studies

Last but by no means least, my heartfelt thanks go to my parents, especially my wonderful, loving mother Suong Dong Thi Nguyen, my sister Tam Thanh Thi Le and my younger brother Duc Quang Le, without whose unfailing love, understanding, encouragement, and support over time and distance, I could not have got this far

ABSTRACT

Currently, the application of innovative and effective strategies for lexical instruction in Vietnam is limited Thus, the present study aims to investigate the feasibility and educational value of semantic mapping as a strategy in vocabulary instruction

Adopting Braden’s (1982) structural perspective and Nagy’s (1988) mentalist view

as a basic theoretical framework, this study considers semantic mapping not only as an organizer to connect nodes to lines in form, but also a network to associate knowledge, both old and new

Data were collected from 87 students of two pharmaceutical classes (assigned in the Control Group of 44 and the Experimental Group of 43) in Binh Dinh Medical College in eight weeks in the form of experimental teaching with pre- and post-tests to measure the students’ performance and journals and questionnaires to find out their reflections on the learning process

T-tests were employed to check whether the mean difference in lexical knowledge between the Control Group and the Experimental Group was statistically significant Journal data were sorted out into the themes in relation to the students’ evaluation of the application of semantic mapping Questionnaire data were analyzed according to the categories identified in the journal data

The outcomes of the study indicate that the Experimental Group attained the

significant improvement in the post-test results due to the treatment of semantic mapping,

but not due to chance Additionally, the students expressed positive attitudes towards it

and showed high appreciation for its effects in terms of motivation, stimulation and

facilitation of the vocabulary learning process, and promotion of group-work competence

Three further outcomes were not intended, but also generally positive They were the affirmation of a new and innovative teaching approach, new opportunities for students, and a new role for the teacher

In regard to the research questions in light of the findings, this study points out that the use of semantic mapping is worthwhile

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Certificate of Originality i

Retention and Use of the Thesis ii

Acknowledgements .iii

Abstract iv

Table of Contents v

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Context of the study 1

1.2 Aim of the study 3

1.3 Research questions of the study 3

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: SEMANTIC MAPPING: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 6

2.1 Defining semantic mapping 6

2.2 A typology of semantic mapping 8

2.2.1 Word mapping 9

2.2.2 Story mapping 10

2.2.3 Concept mapping 11

2.3 The use of semantic mapping in empirical research 12

2.3.1 Types to use 12

2.3.2 Stage to use 15

2.3.3 Way to use 16

2.4 The roles of semantic mapping in EFL classroom 18

2.4.1 Improvement in success and rate of foreign language acquisition 18

2.4.2 Improvement in attitudes towards foreign language acquisition 19

2.5 Implications for English vocabulary teaching practices 20

2.5.1 Stage 1: Introduction 20

2.5.2 Stage 2: Brainstorm 20

2.5.3 Stage 3: Categorization 21

2.5.4 Stage 4: Synthesis 21

2.6 Summary 21

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 22

3.1 Study setting 22

3.2 Participants 22

3.2.1 The Control Group 23

3.2.2 The Experimental Group 24

3.2.3 Resemblance 24

3.3 Data types of methods of data collection 25

3.3.1 Experiment 25

3.3.1.1 Pre-test 26

3.3.1.2 Experimental teaching process 26

3.3.1.3 Post-test 28

3.3.2 Journals 28

3.3.3 Questionnaire 29

3.4 Analytical framework 30

3.4.1 Quantitative analysis of pre- and post-tests 30

3.4.2 Qualitative analysis of journals 32

3.4.3 Quantitative analysis of questionnaire 32

3.5 Summary 33

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 34

4.1 Results from the experiment 34

4.1.1 Pre-test results 34

4.1.1.1 The Control Group 34

4.1.1.2 The Experimental Group 35

4.1.1.3 Pre-test similarities 35

4.1.2 Post-test results 37

4.1.2.1 The Control Group 37

4.1.2.2 The Experimental Group 37

4.1.2.3 Post-test differences 38

4.1.3 A comparison of pre- and post-test results for each group 40

4.1.3.1 Means 40

4.1.3.2 Distribution of score types 41

4.1.4 Summary 42

4.2 Results from Journals and Questionnaire 42

4.2.1 About the role of vocabulary and the application of semantic mapping in its teaching 43

4.2.1.1 The importance of vocabulary in facilitating English learning and the students’ thirst for improving their lexical knowledge 43

4.2.1.2 The students’ preference for the stage to teach vocabulary 45

4.2.1.3 The students’ preference for the approach to teach vocabulary 46

4.2.1.4 The students’ impression on semantic mapping 47

4.2.1.5 The students’ reflections on the teacher’s application of semantic

mapping 48

4.2.1.5.1 The effects of semantic mapping 48

4.2.1.5.1.1 Creating motivation 48

4.2.1.5.1.2 Stimulating and facilitating the vocabulary learning process 49

4.2.1.5.1.3 Promoting group-work competence 53

4.2.1.5.2 The constraints of semantic mapping 54

4.2.1.6 The students’ opinions for the frequency of using semantic mapping 55

4.2.2 Summary 56

4.3 Discussion 56

4.3.1 Preparation of texts 56

4.3.2 Reflections on the teaching program 58

4.3.3 Findings 61

4.3.3.1 Intended outcomes 61

4.3.3.2 Unintended outcomes 61

4.3.3.3 Summary 62

4.4 Overall summary 63

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 64

5.1 Answers to the research questions 64

5.2 An evaluation for the overall methodology 66

5.3 Recommendations for English language practitioners 67

5.3.1 For teachers 67

5.3.2 For students 70

5.4 Suggestions for further research 70

5.5 Summary 71

REFERENCES 72

APPENDICES 77

Appendix 1: Lesson plans 77

Appendix 2: Lists of students 83

Appendix 3: Vocabulary tests 85

Appendix 4: Post-test results calculated by SPSS software 13.0 89

Appendix 5: Journal summary 90

Appendix 6: Questionnaire 92

FIGURES Figure 2.2.1: Model of a word mapping 9

Figure 2.2.2a: Basic framework of a story mapping 10

Figure 2.2.2b: Detailed example of a story mapping 10

Figure 2.2.3a: Model of a Double Cell Diagram 11

Figure 2.2.3b: Model of a Project Concept Mapping 12

Figure 2.3.1: Word Scroll by Beers 13

Figure 6.3.1: A generic model of semantic mapping 69

TABLES Table 3.2.1: The Control Group’s background information 23

Table 3.2.2: The Experimental Group’s background information 24

Table 4.1.1.1: Pre-test score analysis for Control Group 34

Table 4.1.1.2: Pre-test score analysis for Experimental Group 35

Table 4.1.2.1: Post-test score analysis for Control Group 37

Table 4.1.2.2: Post-test score analysis for Experimental Group 38

Table 4.2.1.1b: Students’ viewpoints of vocabulary assistance 44

Table 4.2.1.3: Approaches to teach vocabulary that the students’ former teachers used 46

Table 4.2.1.4: How the students found semantic mapping 47

Table 4.2.1.5.1.1: Students’ responses to the effect of S.M on creating motivation 48 Table 4.2.1.5.1.2a: Students’ responses to the effect of S.M on stimulating the vocabulary learning process 50

Table 4.2.1.5.1.2b: Students’ responses to the effect of S.M on facilitating the vocabulary learning process 51

Table 4.2.1.5.1.2c: Various strengths realized by the students 52

Table 4.2.1.5.1.3: Students’ responses to the effect of S.M on promoting group-work competence 54

Table 4.2.1.5.2: Students’ responses to the constraints of S.M 55

CHARTS Chart 4.1.3.1: The change in pre- and post-test means of each group 40

Chart 4.1.3.2a: Control Group’s score type distribution 41

Chart 4.1.3.2b: Experimental Group’s score type distribution 42

Chart 4.2.1.1a: Students’ awareness of the importance of vocabulary 43

Chart 4.2.1.1c: Students’ self-evaluation of their present lexical stock 44

Chart 4.2.1.1d: Students’ thirst for improving lexical knowledge 45

Chart 4.2.1.2: Students’ preference for the stage to teach vocabulary 45

Chart 4.2.1.3: Students’ preference for the approach to teach vocabulary 46

Chart 4.2.1.4: Students’ impression on semantic mapping 47

Chart 4.2.1.6: Students’ opinions for the frequency of using semantic mapping 55

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Context of the study

Vietnam is entering a unique stage of its development With impressive economic growth over the last ten years, it has been integrating with the region and the world exemplified by its recent accession to WTO, membership of the UN Security Council, and active participation in various major regional and international activities To sustain the growth and enhance its status in international arena in the years to come, more than ever it needs a highly-skilled workforce that can help achieve its stated goals of modernization, industrialization and international integration One of the important skills needed is the mastery of foreign languages, especially English, as claimed by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Dung Tan Nguyen (as cited in Tran, 2008, para 2) that from now on to 2020, it will be the nuclear point in the foreign language educational policy and in communication

Indeed, during the last ten years English has maintained its dominant role as the first foreign language in Vietnam This phenomenon comes from various demands in both personal and social aspects In the light of the former, English proficiency is seen as a vital requirement for employment or overseas higher education For example, the mastery of basic English is one of the prerequisite demands for applicants for jobs in offices and companies, and certifications such as TOEFL, IELTS or TOEIC are a must for those students who want to study overseas

In regard to the latter, English plays an extremely important role in international operation For instance, with the recent economic policy promulgated by the government to attract capital investment, it has significantly facilitated economic co-operation “with an ever greater influx of foreign investment, mostly from capitalist countries” (Do, 2006, p 2)

co-Due to such necessary demands, in the last decade English has developed

“with an unprecedented speed in Vietnam” (ibid., p 8) Specifically, hundreds of language centers have been established all over the country, with an overwhelming majority of learners studying English (Ministry of Education and Training, as cited in

Do, 2006, p 2) Though it has not yet fully documented, “around 90% of foreign language learners have been studying English” (ibid., p 8)

Despite the recent English learning boom, “the basic knowledge about this popular language of a great majority of the learners has not met the demands in reality” (Nguyen, 1992, p 21) One of the major reasons for this problem is their shortage of vocabulary stock Truly, in a language, lexical items are the building blocks, since they label objects, actions and ideas, without which people cannot convey the intended meaning Many students’ difficulties, both receptive and productive, result from inadequate vocabulary, and even when they are at a higher level of language, they are still in need of it Hence there is no doubt that lexical knowledge can directly influence the success of language learning in which “students with affluent vocabulary tend to have advantages in enhancing the four language skills” (Nguyen, 2006, p 2)

Although it is of such great importance and in high demand, the interest in vocabulary in the teaching of English as second or foreign language has long been neglected Until the last decade or so, it was a common practice to consider the teaching of vocabulary as an afterthought or an “appendage” to the more important tasks of teaching other levels in the study of language such as grammar and pronunciation This misconception is proven by the fact that the teaching of

vocabulary in many schools and universities in Vietnam is strategically limited A

recent report by the Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh Province (2008) shows that the teaching of vocabulary in many schools tends to be

“conventionally restricted to translation into the mother tongue or improvised” (p 2) Obviously, practices such as listening to teachers, writing down the target language new words and their mother tongue equivalences, and trying to memorize word lists passively are what students normally involve themselves in These practices surely cause students a feeling of boredom and indigestibleness Likewise, as asserted by Nguyen (2006, p 4), “such obsolete and poor presentations have resulted in students’ negative attitude to vocabulary learning; thus most of them rarely remember the meanings of new terms beyond the tests” What is worse, as articulated by Hoangand

Wright (2005), the recent strategies to instruct vocabulary in Vietnam “rarely take place in a communicative environment” (p 3)

Although this field has recently begun to take a greater interest in the strategies for vocabulary instruction manifested with the appearance of studies which suggest some interesting and efficient strategies for teaching and retrieving vocabulary, such

as the investigation of teaching vocabulary through games (Nguyen & Khuat, 2003; Nguyen, 2006) and the exploration of creative approaches to build vocabulary (Hoang & Wright, 2005), none have exploited the strategies which can create mental linkages to reinforce the memorization of words yet

Hence the call for employing such strategies to diversify the lexical instruction

is necessary, and it is high time the strategies which can synchronize the easy retrieval of words with the creation of a relaxed and communicative learning atmosphere were applied As there has hardly been any investigation into semantic mapping and its effects on the improvement of the memorization of words as well as the creation of a positive and exciting learning attitude for students until now in Vietnam, such a useful strategy captures the researcher’s curiosity and deserves due research attention

The expectation of effectively employing this strategy for vocabulary instruction, therefore, generated ideas from which this study came into being

1.2 Aim of the study

The study is, thus, conducted in an attempt to investigate the feasibility and educational values of applying semantic mapping as a strategy into the teaching of vocabulary to enhance its effectiveness and, concurrently, students’ positive attitudes towards lexical acquisition

1.3 Research questions of the study

To achieve the aim established above, the process of researching is guided by the following main research question:

1 Can semantic mapping, as a strategy, be applied into the teaching of vocabulary?

Underlying the main research question are two sub-questions about the students’ vocabulary performance before and after the application of semantic mapping and their reflections on its application Therefore, the answer to the main question can be found out through the answers to the two sub-questions below:

2 What is students’ vocabulary performance under the treatment of semantic

mapping?

3 What are their reflections on the teacher’s application of this strategy into

their learning of vocabulary?

As the answers to the second sub-question may reveal some drawbacks, albeit unexpected, it is further split into two as follows:

3.1 What do they think about its effects in terms of motivation,

vocabulary stimulation and facilitation, and group-work promotion?

3.2 What, if any, are the likely constraints?

1.4 Significance of the study

The study pays its contributions to both theoretical and practical aspects Theoretically, by exploring semantic mapping, the study adds to the growing demand of strategies for learning and memorizing words for English language learners (ELLs) Also, by investigating semantic mapping within academic settings, it

is hoped to provide useful information about characteristics and benefits of this interesting but less-exploited strategy in dealing with vocabulary so far

Practically, the study is hopefully to provide helpful knowledge about kinds of semantic mapping and recommend clear guidelines for teachers to use this strategy to deal with vocabulary in particular and, thus, to facilitate their teaching of English in general For learners, this study hopefully provides useful instructions so that they can use semantic mapping as an effective vocabulary self-learning tip

1.5 Organization of the study

The study consists of 5 chapters Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the topic of the study by stating its context, aim, research questions, significance, and structure Chapter 2 reviews relevant theories of semantic mapping which are

organized along five main categories: definition, typology, use in empirical research, roles in language pedagogy, and implications for language teaching practices

Chapter 3 justifies the design and methods of investigation by taking the four features

of setting, participants, data types of methods of data collection, and analytical framework into account Chapter 4 presents the data analysis and interpretation for the three types of data: experiment, journals and questionnaire It then discusses the findings in the light of the data already presented Chapter 5 draws conclusion by explicitly answering the research questions, gives some recommendations for English language practitioners, and proposes topics for further research

CHAPTER 2 SEMANTIC MAPPING: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

As presented in the previous chapter, the teaching and learning of vocabulary have not been effective up till now in Vietnam due to the limitative application of strategies Therefore, an exploration of one of them – semantic mapping – is necessary To know how to apply it into practice effectively to solve the problem of vocabulary teaching, a theory of semantic mapping needs to be carefully worked out

Thus this chapter shapes the conceptual framework that is relevant to the topic under investigation in the present study by firstly exploring the concept of semantic mapping Secondly, it classifies its types; however, as only three of them will be employed to teach the selected lessons, these three are theoretically examined in detail Thirdly, it reviews some empirical research in which this strategy is used Fourthly, it considers the roles this strategy plays within English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms The chapter ends with some implications for English vocabulary teaching practices

2.1 Defining semantic mapping

As cited in Buis (2004, p 18), such researchers as Nagy (1988), Biemiller

(2001b), and Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2002) caution us that vocabulary instruction must be more substantial for words to really stick In this manner, the creation of associative links among words is quite a potential way to stick them Furthermore, “associative vocabulary instruction is a more effective approach to promote learning than instruction in which students only hear context mentioning of definitions,” as proclaimed by Beck, McKeown and Kucan (2002, as cited in Buis,

2004, p 18) Therefore, since its introduction in the early 1980s, semantic mapping has received a great deal of attention thanks to its original creativeness like that To understand it more clearly, it is essential to know what underlies this notion

The notion of semantic mapping dates back to the dyad Johnson and Pearson (1978) when they firstly proposed a categorical model of information in graphic form

as a classroom strategy to build and extend vocabulary knowledge It was then considered a breakthrough in language pedagogy, since at the same time it could analyze and group words into categories in a text, create the links within the lexical network describing them, and establish visual displays to show their relationships

It can be said that this strategy was essentially built up on the ground of

Chomsky’s doctrine of mentalism in 1960s which bestowed an emphasis on human

language learning capacity (as cited in Pateman, 1987, p 120) In that light, learning

is considered to be an active mental process, and the utilization from Chomskyan doctrine in this strategy lies in the creation of links to connect related information, thus activating the mentally acquired process about the language more favorably

Later, the perspective about semantic mapping is further discerned by Johnson, Heimlich and Pittelman (1986), who make an important contribution in putting forward semantic mapping as:

… a graphic arrangement of a word or concept in relation to other related words and ideas… The key to success of this arrangement builds upon students’ background knowledge and makes explicit the connections between new vocabulary words and what they already know By building the connections between old words and new words, students begin to understand relationships among the words they encounter (pp 778-780)

Thus, by putting the emphasis on the connections between old words in students’ background knowledge and new words to make the comprehension of them clear, this triad differentiate their viewpoint about semantic mapping from that of Johnson and Pearson, who point out the connections between new words in a text only

Afterwards, Nagy (1988) refines these definitions by offering a shorter one according to which semantic mapping is “a classroom activity reflecting the integration of instructed words with other knowledge” (p 10) This can be considered

as a combination of the two perspectives about semantic mapping above, as it shows that the understanding of new words through this activity is connected with other knowledge, including old and new

Obviously, though the ways of expression are various, these perspectives represent the unanimity in confirming the original ability of semantic mapping to create the association in knowledge Semantic mapping, as a strategy, is a creative capitalization of mentalist viewpoint in which “language is a specific behavior and certain modes of perceptions, categorizing, and language-related mechanisms are

biologically determined” (Brown, 1980, p 22) Accordingly, it can link and integrate not only words or concepts to the related ones within the scope of a text, but also new knowledge to prior one Such a viewpoint at once drew a great deal of attention because at the time researchers were placing the stress on the need to use strategies that were fundamentally “associative” in nature

Whilst the researchers mentioned above delve into the mentalist essence of this strategy, Braden (1982) takes a different view of what constitutes a semantic mapping, limiting it to schema overview With this in mind, he comes up with a very

simple definition in which semantic mapping structurally takes “the form of labeled

nodes connected to unlabeled lines” (p 10)

As such, the notion of semantic mapping can be looked at from two main aspects With regard to a mentalist perspective, it, as a strategy, creates association in the acquired process of knowledge thanks to the establishment of the links among the related items and even between the new and the old one Consequently, the learning has become an active and connective mental process Viewed from a structural perspective, it is simply considered as an organizer to connect nodes to lines Then the former has revealed the essence of its operation and the latter added to the description of the form Thus an understanding of semantic mapping needs to include these two aspects

2.2 A typology of semantic mapping

According to Buis (2004), semantic mapping “can take a number of different forms – chart, boxes, outlines, webs, mappings, clusters, networks, graphic organizers – depending on the key words and genre of the text study” (p 20) Also for this researcher, even the types for each form are indefinite because it can be presented in

“a wide variety of formats” (ibid., p 20) However, as alerted in the introductory paragraph of this chapter, this study takes into consideration only three types among them, based on the nature of the reading texts selected to teach They are word mapping, story mapping and concept mapping The last one includes the two sub-types of Double Cell Diagram and Project Concept Mapping

2.2.1 Word mapping

Word mapping is “a visual display through which the understanding of key words is clarified by graphically mapping them” (Masters, Mori & Mori, 1993, p 118) In this type of mapping, the key word is put in the center then the branches describing its characteristics or attributes are created and expanded from the centre When one branch stops or an idea does not fit, new branches are created Such a word mapping model can be seen in Figure 2.2.1below:

Figure 2.2.1: Model of a word mapping (Source: http:// graphic.org)

2.2.2 Story mapping

“A story mapping is a visual representation of the logical sequence of events

in a narrative text Places for the setting, characters, climax, and a solution are included on the map” (Gay, 1991, p 18) In other words, it is a visual depiction of the settings or the sequence of major events and actions of story characters The basic framework and the detailed example of a story mapping can be respectively seen in Figure 2.2.2a and 2.2.2b as follows:

Figure 2.2.2a: Basic framework of a story mapping (Source: http:// graphic.org)

Figure 2.2.2b: Detailed example of a story mapping (Source: http:// graphic.org)

2.2.3 Concept mapping

In general, concept mapping, as stated by Novark (1990), “involves assigning

a hierarchical relationship of information, beginning with broad categories and branching into related concepts with each then branching into lower levels” (p 937)

As mentioned in the introductory paragraph of 2.2 Typology of semantic mapping, a Double Cell Diagram is the first sub-type of concept mapping which can

be “used for comparing likeness and differences among subjects which can be facts, people, events, or concepts” (Gay, 1991, p 18) Normally in this organizer, the similar characteristics are placed between the subjects compared, whereas different features are put around them Figure 2.2.3a below is a model of the Double Cell Diagram:

Figure 2.2.3a: Model of a Double Cell Diagram (Source: http:// graphic.org)

Meanwhile, Project Concept Mapping, the other type of concept mapping, is

“a visual organization in which the key concept is modified with information predetermined to provide a clearer understanding about it” (Gay, 1991, p 18) Also, the key concept is put in the centre of the map and supplementary information, often raised in the form of instructive questions relating to the key concept, is around it The answers which can be expressed in words, phrases, or even sentences are branched from the corresponding questions Figure 2.2.3b depicting this type of mapping can be seen as follows:

Figure 2.2.3b: Model of a Project Concept Mapping (Source: http:// graphic.org)

2.3 The use of semantic mapping in empirical research

In a narrower sphere of application, semantic mapping, as a strategy, is recognized to be extremely effective to promote vocabulary teaching and learning To manifest this fact, it is helpful to mention the aspects relating to its use in empirical research Thus the following sub-sections will present these aspects in this specific

order of presentation: types to use, stage to use and way to use

2.3.1 Types to use

It can be said that semantic mapping has shown its great attraction, exemplified by a number of investigations in succession conducted into the deep exploration of the effects of its various types

For instance, in an attempt to investigate the effectiveness of semantic mapping, Beers (2003, pp 192-194) used a “Word Scroll” map to instruct vocabulary

in a way that helped the students most clearly understand the words The instructor began the map by following the order of introducing the target word, asking the students to write it in the center of the map with a working definition, and gave two

words that fit the statement “what it is” and two words for the statement “what it

isn’t” on both the sides For example, if the target word was courageous, “what it is” could be brave and strong and “what it isn’t” could be afraid or scared Then below

the scroll map, students came up with two examples of the word and contrasting

examples (Superman and running into a burning building; Scooby-do and running from danger) After that, they used the target word in a sentence The example of

Word Scroll Map shown by Beers can be seen in Figure 2.3.1 below:

Figure 2.3.1: Word Scroll by Beers (2003, p 192)

The results of this investigation show that the students understood new words more thoroughly and acquired lexical knowledge more largely through this strategy

Afterwards, the research by Salameh (2006) showed that story mapping could improve students’ predictive ability In the procedure of examining this type, the researcher prepared guiding questions to lead students through the mapping such as

“Where did the story take place?”, “When did the story take place?”, “Could the

setting have been different?”, or “Why do you think the author choose this setting?” (ibid., p 30) Then cue sentences with crucial words describing the plot of the story were provided The researcher continued by asking the students to discuss in groups

to find an appropriate cue sentence to answer the guiding questions based on the prediction of the meaning of key words After two weeks, she found that her students’ predictive ability of both word meaning and story plot was improved fairly greatly

At the level of a variety in the types of semantic mapping, the most recent research conducted by Hunter, Monroe-Ossi and Fountain (2007) focused on promoting vocabulary development for pre-school children by using concept mapping to document the hierarchical relationships among items described by them The researchers, drawing on Novark and Gowin’s (1984) work, believed that through concept mapping children were able to make visible their association about the relationships among the concepts being studied

With this thought in mind, they set a goal to examine this type as a tool to

teach the concept plant for children from three to four years of age at a learning

center They identified the key concept in front of the class by raising the focus question “What do you know about the plants?” To help the children be easier to

pose words or ideas, they conducted demonstrations showing that plant needed water, air, soil (nutrients), and sunlight Besides, they asked the children to plant bean (seeds) in cups so that they would learn about roots, stems, leaves, and flowers Then

the three researchers incorporated with the class to construct the preliminary concept

mapping The big ideas and essential questions (The world is made up of living and non-living things What do living things need from the environment to survive? What are the characteristics of living things?) were also made to serve for lesson

discussions After that, the final concept mapping was constructed with pictures and word cards of plant and parts of plant provided by the researchers

The final result reveals that the children could correctly identify concepts and their hierarchical relationships through which they developed their vocabulary knowledge In detail, they could make propositions connecting second- and third-level concepts, e.g., a plant (first level) can have a flower (second level) that can provide fruit (third level)

In sum, the research works delved into some depth above raise the awareness that there are various types of semantic mapping and each of them brings different effects in terms of understanding, prediction and recognition of the relationship: Word mapping makes the understanding of words deeper and enlarges the lexical knowledge, story mapping improves the prediction, and concept mapping helps to

realize hierarchical relationships of words The use of each type in an appropriate case to best utilize the benefits is, therefore, very important

2.3.2 Stage to use

In the investigation of the strategies which can assist reading comprehension, a number of researchers have used semantic mapping in the pre-reading stage as an activity to facilitate this process

In their research, Johnson, Heimlich and Pittelman (1986) found out the potential of semantic mapping as a tool to serve “as a pre-reading strategy to assess whether students are ready for the reading or not” (p 782) Its application in this stage then became an attractive issue

Carrel, Pharis and Liberto (1989) used it as a pre-reading activity to “provide the students with a lexical availability on the topic” (p 651) In this activity, they asked their students to brainstorm about the reading topic and the information was displayed on a graphic map Thanks to their associations, the map turned out to be a thorough summary of the content as well as the concepts and words that they were about to encounter in the reading

Six years later in 1995, in an effort to help students focus on the details in the reading texts, Zaid implemented a pre-reading activity with semantic mapping In this stage, he first wrote the noun phrase “Muslim carpets” which was the topic of the reading text on the board and asked his students to tell what they knew about it Their suggestion of “red and blue often used” was instructed to conceptualize into “color” and “popular” Then, “large” and “small” generated the category “sizes” and

“flowers” and “no animals” were categorized as “geometric patterns” (ibid., p 5) Immediately, the researcher found that the value of using it in this stage became apparent, since the map supplied students with a graphic conceptualization of their randomly given ideas which delved into the topic about to read

Likewise, Rosenbaum (2001) employed this stage to apply word mapping Accordingly, after providing the mapping which consisted of key words of the reading text, the researcher asked students, based on their understanding about the associative connections among those words, to pose the definitions, synonyms and

antonyms in their own words As a result, its use in this stage “encouraged students to utilize the prior vocabulary knowledge to interact with the text” (ibid., p 44)

Indeed, the use of this strategy in the pre-reading stage can facilitate the comprehension in many ways It can help to assess students’ readiness to involve themselves in the reading text, prepare them for a lexical knowledge, instruct them to conceptualize the items representing the topic, or foster their relating prior knowledge

to the new one Using it in this pre-reading stage, therefore, keeps on appealing to more research

2.3.3 Way to use

It is obvious that semantic mapping sets its status as a significantly effective strategy However, how to best capitalize on its effects depends mostly on the way to employ it This is also the issue investigated by many researchers

Recently, the teacher-student interaction in a classroom setting has highly been appreciated In this manner, the teacher plays a role as a guide on the side rather than

a sage on the stage, thus promoting students’ independence and creativeness With the purpose to test whether such a kind of interaction accords with this strategy, El-Koumy (1999) conducted research with 187 freshmen at an Egyptian university who were randomly assigned to three semantic mapping treatment groups: teacher-initiated, student-mediated and teacher-student interactive Treatment was administered over five months in one session per week The subjects were pre-tested and post-tested in reading comprehension While the pre-test indicated no significant differences in the groups, post-test results revealed students in the teacher-student interactive semantic mapping group scored significantly higher than the other two groups, which had similar results

As the researcher found, initiated by the teacher, semantic mapping saves students’ time and adds information to what they already know; however, it may inhibit their creativity and fail to create independent readers Mediated by the students, it forces them to think about what they read and helps them recognize what they already know in light of new information as a platform to learn more; yet this way may be time-consuming and hard for students with limited prior knowledge

Above all, “the teacher-student interaction capitalizes on the strengths of the two ways above and thereby shares the weaknesses of neither” (ibid., p 167)

In regard to another aspect relating to the way to use this strategy, though semantic mapping is considered to be “easy to capture” (Avery, Baker & Gross,

1996, p 279), it can become overwhelming if the teacher does not know to control the construction The reality shows that when students are asked to think of words related to the key word or topic, “they often generate too many new words” (Stoller

& Grade, 1993, p 34), which could induce overload, especially for students at lower language levels As a result, these researchers warned that “the use of semantic mapping should not be overly detailed and multileveled” (ibid., p 34) In the best way, “a semantic mapping should consist of four or five secondary-leveled categories” (Hanf, 1991, p 270)

In addition, as for the placement of categories in a map, when their clusters are formed, the teacher should “record them in nodes connected by spoke-like straight lines leading from the central node” (Antonacci, 1991, p 174), and the nodes at the secondary level should have a different shape from that at the primary level to help

“reinforce the verbal/graphemic” association for students (Englert & Mariage, 1991,

p 137) Moreover, the use of different colored chalks or markers at each step of the construction of semantic mapping is also encouraged, as it tends to “promote student conceptualization and structuring of the topic and helps them recognize the different sources of information” (Olson & Gee, 1991, p 298)

In a word, the process of utilization of semantic mapping requires the deftness and flexibility of the teacher This strategy should take place in the teacher-student interaction, avoid over-detail and multi-level, and diversify the shapes of nodes as well as the colors depicting categories Only when the teacher deals with these requirements in an appropriate manner are its effects best exploited

2.4 The roles of semantic mapping in EFL classrooms

Apparently, it can be said that semantic mapping has set its role as an

extremely effective strategy because the benefits it brings about are seen in both students’ performance and learning attitude

2.4.1 Improvement in success and rate of foreign language acquisition

Remarkable progress of the students exposed to the use of this strategy is manifested through more positive results from a number of research works

For instance, in the research by Margosein, Pascarella and Pflaum (1982) the students experienced semantic mapping obtained better results on the final test than those being instructed with contextual clues

Similarly, the outcomes from the research directed at testing the aids of concept mapping to reading comprehension by Joseph (2002) show an advance in the performance of two groups A and B through a cross comparison after two stages Specifically, in the first stage when neither group was instructed to devise a concept mapping from the reading, group A read article 1 and group B read article 2 They were both tested for comprehension by the use of a teacher-made test devised particularly for each article In contrast, in the second stage when both were instructed with a concept mapping to help them understand related ideas and concepts from their article, group A read article 2 and group B read article 1 Both groups were also given another teacher-made test that examined the comprehension for the article they read The results indicate that “with the aids of this strategy, group A scored higher than group B on article 2, and group B scored higher than group A on article 1” (ibid., para 15)

Likewise, the findings in the research investigating the effects of this strategy

on students’ reading comprehension by Salameh (2006) point out that there are statistically significant differences in which “the mean scores achieved on post-tests

by the experimental group involved in semantic mapping are considerably higher than those by the control group” (p 34)

Thus, it can be asserted that semantic mapping contributed much to the improvement in students’ performance

2.4.2 Improvement in attitudes towards foreign language acquisition

Beside its significant contribution to the progress of students’ performance,

this strategy creates positive effects on their attitudes, thus facilitating the learning

According to Heimlich and Pittelman (1986), “semantic mapping appears to motivate students of all age levels and to involve them actively in the thinking-reading process” (p 43)

More specifically, Zaid (1995, p 6) unveils its incorporation with many aspects of Communicative Language Teaching which has been recognized to benefit students very much in many ways First, “semantic mapping is interactive because in drafting the map, students work with each other both and after the targeted topic” In other words, its creation entails their total involvement In that way, they are active participants throughout the development of the map Second, as “it is a predictive activity, their curiosity, attraction and appetite to the lesson will be aroused” Third,

“as students control the input at each stage of the map’s building, it is centered”, which reduces their feeling of passivity and tedium normally observed in a conventional language classroom Finally, as it allows the teacher unobtrusively to assess students’ level of readiness to do an assignment, “it is teacher-friendly” This helps to create a comfortable learning atmosphere

student-In addition, this strategy promotes the ability of working in groups for students which involves them in an active learning process, as stated by Harmon (1998):

In these group sessions, where students participated as vocabulary enrichers and group members, learning outcomes resulted in the mobilization of independent word learning strategies, self-generated and shared meaning constructions, and exposure to peer-selected words The interaction among group members stimulated discussion that produced variations in word meaning and excitement in word learning (p 521)

Also thanks to such characteristics, semantic mapping, as Brassel (2003) asserts, “can make vocabulary learning meaningful and memorable in ways that the convention of listing words in a linear left-to-right fashion alone cannot” (p 32)

All in all, it can be said that semantic mapping is an important innovation, as its contributions to language education in general and vocabulary teaching and learning in particular are great It not only fosters students’ performance but also

creates a positive atmosphere of vocabulary learning which is essential for an effective apprehension and memorization of words

2.5 Implications for English vocabulary teaching practices

The findings from preceding research reinforce the belief that this strategy can facilitate the effectively teaching of vocabulary On the ground of what mentioned in the previous sections, a detailed process including four fundamental stages for the construction of a semantic mapping is put forward in this section

2.5.1 Stage 1: Introduction

Based on Beers (2003), from the outset the teacher announces the topic of the lesson by drawing a large oval on the blackboard (an overhead projector can also be used if possible) and writing the key word or concept in the center of it Alternatively, just like what Hunter et al (2007) have done, the teacher can display pictures, cards,

or even real things relating to the topic to introduce it, and simultaneously stimulate students’ thoughts and get the brainstorming procedure going

2.5.2 Stage 2: Brainstorm

As Johnson, Heimlich and Pittelman (1986) articulate, brainstorming is “the job of students” (p 780) After the teacher provides the key word or concept, students are asked to think of the related words, concepts, ideas, characteristics, attributes, and specific examples that come to mind and share them in groups The teacher then immediately records the ideas that students give around the topic oval; however, it will be better if he/she lists them to the side of the blackboard to transfer them for the complete semantic mapping later

2.5.3 Stage 3: Categorization

After the list of words is completed, words are grouped by category The

teacher encourages the students to see the relationships among their suggestions by asking them to discuss why certain words go together Here, as proposed by Englert and Mariage (1991) and Olson and Gee (1991), he/she together with the class uses

different colored chalks to draw or depict the nodes at secondary levels in different shapes from that at the primary level and then assigns category names

The class is then provided with the reading text which will almost certainly contain more information about the topic than what students listed on the pre-reading map Therefore, they are continually asked to discuss in their groups to add to or eliminate information from the map New information is thereby integrated with prior knowledge

2.5.4 Stage 4: Synthesis

The map is continually modified when the groups begin to organize and integrate the individual suggestions Then the class as a whole decides the final shape which the map will take The new version, with its different colors and shapes, highlights what they knew before they construct the assignment from what they know now

2.6 Summary

So far, chapter 2 has addressed semantic mapping with all its related aspects The chapter begins with an overview about the definition of semantic mapping Its three types directly related to the study are mentioned right afterwards Then it continues with a provision about its use, as a classroom strategy, in empirical research Next, its roles in EFL classrooms in terms of rate and success and attitudes are set out The chapter, based on the previous foundations, ends with a representation of a detailed process for constructing a semantic mapping as an implication for the teaching of vocabulary in practice

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

Based on the conceptual framework in Chapter 2, this chapter explains research design and the methods employed to investigate the problem identified in

Chapter 1 about the feasibility of applying semantic mapping into the teaching of vocabulary in a reading-based lesson and its possible efficiency To achieve this aim, the overall approach adopted was an experiment

Thus, this chapter explains how the experimental teaching was carried out by first giving a description of the study setting and its participants It then continues with a detailed presentation of the procedure for collecting two major types of data about students’ performance (i.e the pre- and post-tests) and their reflections on the learning process (namely the journal and questionnaire) It finally ends with an analytical framework for these three types of data

3.1 Study setting

The study was carried out at Binh Dinh Medical College This place is responsible for training nurses, pharmacists, general practitioners, pediatricians, and midwives for the Southern Central area There are six departments in the college, namely modern medicine, traditional medicine, pharmaceutics, nursing, midwifery, and social sciences It was staffed by 102 teachers and officers and trained 1,180

students in both in-service and regular modes at the time of data collection

3.2 Participants

The participants involved in the study were 87 freshmen of pharmaceutics for whom English was a foreign language These students belonged to the two classes of 4A and 4B which were randomly assigned into two separate groups of experiment and control, respectively, by the researcher herself More specifically, Class 4B was the group which would be exposed to an eight-week conventional vocabulary instruction, which was based on a word list (W.L.) whereas Class 4A was the group which would also be exposed to the same time of treatment but with the experimental teaching in which semantic mapping (S.M.) was applied as a strategy for vocabulary instruction

The details about these two groups are presented in the sub-sections of 3.2.1 and 3.2.2 below

3.2.1 The Control Group

The Control Group was described in terms of gender, age and English- learning experience and summarized in the table below:

Participants Control Group – Class 4B

learning

experience

Table 3.2.1: The Control Group’s background information

From Table 3.2.1, the Control Group was made up of 44 students, including 8 males (18.18%) and 36 females (81.82%) Among them, the quantity of students at the age of 19 was 19 (43.18%), from 20 to 27 was 24 (54.55%), and at 28 was 1 (2.27%) As such, it can be said that the participants in this group were fairly various

in their ages, and most of them were quite young

In addition, the English background of this group was rather homogeneous as they had learned this language at high schools This homogeneity is reflected in the splitting into only two: 17 students occupying 38.63% had spent three years learning English (since they started Grade 10), and the rest of 27 accounting for 61.37% had learnt English for seven years (since they began Grade 6)

3.2.2 The Experimental Group

Likewise, the Experimental Group was described in terms of gender, age and

English-learning experience and recapped in the table below:

Participants Experimental Group – Class 4A

learning

experience

Table 3.2.2: The Experimental Group’s background information

As seen from the table above, the total number of the students in the Experimental Group was 43 Among them were 8 males (18.61%) and 35 females (81.39%) Most participants of this group were young There were 19 students (44.18%) at the age of 19, 23 (53.48%) from 20 to 27, and 1 (2.34%) at 29 So, the age of the participants in this group was relatively various, and a large number of them were quite young

Besides, the English background of this group was rather homogeneous because most of the participants had learned English at high schools Of 43, 19 students accounting for 44.18% had learnt this language for three years (since they commenced Grade 10) and 24 occupying 55.82% had spent seven years learning it (since they were in Grade 6)

3.2.3 Resemblance

The information about the two groups depicted above shows a strong resemblance in all the four variables under consideration, namely the number of students, gender, age range, and English-learning experience Accordingly, there was approximately the same number of the students in both groups, the females in each group outnumbered the males four times, most of them were quite young, and the majority had learnt English for 7 years

3.3 Data types of methods of data collection

The two previous sections have provided the necessary information about the study setting and its participants This one aims to justify data types and methods of data collection The data were collected in accordance with the two stages of the experimental teaching: (i) students’ performance before and after the application of semantic mapping was explored through the administration of the pre- and post-tests,

and (ii) their reflections on this strategy were revealed via journals and questionnaire

3.3.1 Experiment

With S.M treatment, the researcher aimed to identify if there appeared any difference in the lexical knowledge of the group exposed to this strategy, and if so, whether this difference was caused by its interference Such a type of research can be suitable with an experimental design Therefore, it is indispensable to examine this methodology from a purely theoretical perspective first so that one can see its relevance to the nature of the problem under investigation later in this very part To begin with, Taylor, Kermode and Roberts (2006) rather meticulously explain an experiment in doing research as follows:

The classical pre-test, post-test experimental design is one in which one group

of subjects is exposed to a treatment, while another group is exposed to something inert The responses to the tests of the two groups are then examined to see if there is any difference between them … The results of the experiment are established by a set of comparisons The pre-test measurements

of both groups are compared to establish whether the groups were in fact initially equivalent The post-test measurements of both groups are compared with the pre-test measurements to establish if there has been a change and if so

in what direction (pp 176-178)

As such, the pre- and post-test experimental design was judged promisingly to investigate the feasibility and effects of this strategy into the teaching of vocabulary Moreover, since the change in the lexical knowledge of the Experimental Group was assumed to depend mostly on the application of semantic mapping, “this design is considered to be the best because the researcher has control over the variables, increasing the possibility of more precisely determining individual effects of each

variable Also, determining interaction between variables is more possible” (ibid., p

194)

All of what previously mentioned, consequently, did make the researcher

believe that this design would be appropriate and useful to help her prove the

effectiveness of this strategy On this ground, the experiment was carried out for eight

weeks from March 16th to May 4th, 2009 Details of its three stages are presented

below

3.3.1.1 Pre-test

The pre-test was a 25-item test of vocabulary to be done for 30 minutes (See

Appendix 3.1) The vocabulary knowledge was based on what they had learned in

semester one The content of the pre-test was the same for both groups and the

researcher herself was in charge of invigilating and scoring the tests

3.3.1.2 Experimental teaching process

During eight weeks, each group had eight 60-minute meetings for reading

comprehension The experimental teaching took place at the pre-reading stage to

supply students with vocabulary so that they could be ready for the reading It

comprised two main parts as follows

First, eight reading texts from the book “Headway Pre-intermediate” by Soars

and Soars (1991) were chosen The reason for the researcher to choose this book was

because it was used as the official textbook for classes of pharmaceutics at Binh Dinh

Medical College Moreover, these eight texts were selected on the basis that they

were likely to be of value to the students in terms of association, which means that

they contained words with high potential of lexical link As the theory in the previous

chapter indicates that the maps should not be over-detailed, the researcher chose in

each reading text from seven to eleven new words which were not limited in parts of

speech providing that they could reflect the topics of the reading texts

Second, “as the treatments given to the groups are different, the number of

groups should be equal to the number of treatments” (Isaac & Michael, 1983, p 92)

Accordingly, there were two groups involved in this study; therefore, the researcher

would use two different strategies which were W.L and S.M to treat them To give

an objective evaluation for these two treatments, it was important to ensure that

students in both groups had equal exposure to the reading material, equal distribution

of teacher’s input and peer interaction, and equal portions of class time allocated to

each kind of treatment

The main purpose of W.L treatment was to establish the link between form

and meaning For this reason, it consisted of English definitions of the target words

and analyses of their usage in the text The definitions were given in the form of

English synonyms and paraphrases, and the examples were taken from Oxford

Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1992) The students were then invited to join some

activities which were created to ensure that they had exposure to the material equal to

those for the Experimental Group Usually in the activities, after the peer check, the

answers were checked as a class with the instructor to provide clarifications where

necessary The time allocated for the treatment was 20 minutes

For S.M treatment, three types of semantic mapping mentioned in Chapter 2

were used repeatedly in eight reading texts The application of each type was up to

the content of each text Namely, word mapping was applied in Desperately seeking

someone and The road to ruin; story mapping was used in Marks & Spencer and

Dying for the vote; and concept mapping was utilized in Hello, people of the world,

The richest man in the world, Paul Newman, and David the teenage tycoon and

Mademoiselle Chanel

For example, to teach the reading text The richest man in the world (Soars &

Soars, 1991, p 44), the researcher applied the Concept map which consisted of nodes

starting from the key concept

At the beginning of the treatment, the key concept The Sultan of Brunei was

provided by the teacher in the center of the map while the words about to teach were

presented in circle-nodes which then lead to supporting information Then the

students received a framework in which only the key concept, empty circle-nodes

(that is, subordinate ideas that explain and clarify the main concept), and the number

of strands designated from each node were written They also received a list of

words/ideas from the text that modified the key concept and nodes, and were asked to