(SKKN 2022) using wordwall net based activities in teaching vocabulary for students of grade 10 at sam son high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION & TRAINING SAM SON HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE INITIATIVES USING WORDWALL.NET- BASED ACTIVITIES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR STUDENTS OF GRADE 10 AT SAM SON HIGH SCHOOL Author: Nguyễn Thị Nga Position: Teacher The field of the experience initiative: English THANH HOA, YEAR 2022 TABLE OF CONTENTS I INTRODUCTION .3 1.1 Rationale .3 1.2 The objectives of the study 1.3 The participants of the study 1.4 The methods of the study II CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background a Definition of vocabulary b Types of vocabulary c Vocabulary mastery 2.2 The problems before applying the method .7 2.3 Solutions 2.4 The effectiveness of the study 16 III CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION .18 3.1 Conclusion 18 3.2 Suggestions 18 I INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale There is no doubt that vocabulary is generally and widely considered to be one of the most essential elements of a language It plays an essential role in determining whether or not students will be successful in learning a language and getting their message across Moreover, it is believed that vocabulary knowledge is vitally important for the four skills, such as listening, reading, speaking, and writing Our lack of vocabulary knowledge is more likely to result in great trouble in expressing ourselves both in speaking and writing Because of the significance of vocabulary knowledge in effective communication, vocabulary learning, and instruction are attracting considerable attention from researchers and practitioners, particularly students and teachers Since the advent of technology from the beginning of the 21st century, technology and language learning have become terms frequently encountering next to each other, therefore resulting in web-based tools being used in English language classrooms Many popular web tools, such as Quizlet and Kahoot, are used as experimental tools with learners to investigate to what extent they are effective in enhancing learners’ vocabulary knowledge There are a lot of research that has been carried out in the area of vocabulary learning strategies in order to determine the effective and most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies However, there is a lack of research on specific web tools, like Wordwall.net Hence, the present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a single educational game website; Wordwall.net on the vocabulary knowledge of high school students Wordwall.net is an edutainment website in which there are multiple game choices, all played interactively or individually, such as information matching, picture matching, quiz, wheel of fortune, puzzles, etc designed for vocabulary practice On this website, teachers either create their own games out of ready-made templates and add up content (words and images) in the games or they make use of games created by other teachers Wordwall is particularly beneficial for mixed-level classes because it can also create a dynamic way to have class competitions For any level of learner, Wordwall has potential to be used for self-study, as teachers decide which content to use in the activities teachers can set tasks for groups or individual learners by giving them an access code They could even get their learners to use Wordwall to create activities for their classmates Moreover, due to the outbreak of Covid -19, most of schools in Vietnam must organize online teaching Therefore, it is crucial to enhance students’ learning motivation through some special tools and platforms Basing on the above reasons, I have decided to conduct a study on “Using Wordwall.net-based activities in teaching vocabulary for students of grade 10 at Sam Son High School” 1.2 The objectives of the study The study suggests many new games for teachers to apply in teaching vocabulary for high school students through wordwall.net platform Hence, vocabulary memorization becomes more effective for English learners The study is expected to research the effectiveness of using interaction with a word wall as the tool to combine the five identified effective teaching strategies plus social interaction to teach vocabulary words to middle school students Theoretically, this study can be used to enrich the example of techniques in teaching English vocabulary, especially for young learners Hopefully, this study will be helpful and have a contribution for further researches in the field of vocabulary teaching Practically, this study will give general description about the condition of English vocabulary teaching at high school level In addition, it will be useful for the teachers who are interested in teaching English for young learners The result of this study can be used as a consideration to improve the teaching language to young learners, especially for teaching vocabulary online 1.3 The participants of the study This study focuses on the activities of teaching vocabulary based on wordwall platform (dealing with the techniques of presentation, techniques of practice, techniques of training) In this study, I will just focus on the effectiveness on the 10th graders Hence, the data then will be analyzed through the tests of 10 th graders from two classes (10 A4 and 10 A10) in the school year 2021- 2022 1.4 The methods of the study The study is well organized with main parts: the rationale of the study, the content or the solution of the problems, and the conclusion The researchers used the comparative methods to analyse the effectiveness of the study II CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background a Definition of vocabulary Vocabulary has received a special concern in language teaching, especially teaching English as a foreign language It can also be regarded as the most frequently important component for language learners since the four language skills; reading, listening, speaking, and writing need a sufficient vocabulary knowledge The term vocabulary concerns with words and words meaning It is also defined as a collection all of words in a particular language and has a form in an expression that is associated with meaning [Gazlianty 2011] [ 1] According to Wikipidea, a vocabulary is a set of familiar words within a person's language A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge Acquiring an extensive vocabulary is one of the largest challenges in learning a second language Further, vocabulary is the basic of language and there is no language without vocabulary Before mastering the four language skills; listening, speaking, reading and writing, students have to learn the English components such as vocabulary, structure, and pronunciation [ 2] Words can also be defined in various ways, and estimates of vocabulary size differ depending on the definition used The most common definition is that of a lemma (the inflected or dictionary form; this includes walk, but not walks, walked or walking) Most of the time lemmas not include proper nouns (names of people, places, companies, etc.) Another definition often used in research of vocabulary size is that of word family These are all the words that can be derived from a ground word (e.g., the words effortless, effortlessly, effortful, effortfully are all part of the word family effort) Estimates of vocabulary size range from as high as 200 thousand to as low as 10 thousand, depending on the definition used (Graves, M.F 2000) [3 ] b Types of vocabulary There are a variety of ways to catergorize vocabulary However, according to Wikipidea [4], vocabulary can be divided into their usage in language skils as follow: Reading vocabulary A person's reading vocabulary is all the words identified when reading This class of vocabulary is generally the amplest, as new words are more commonly encountered when reading than when listening Listening vocabulary A person's listening vocabulary includes the words recognized when listening to speech Cues such as the speaker's tone and gestures, the topic of discussion, and the conversation's social context may convey the meaning of an unknown word Speaking vocabulary A person's speaking vocabulary includes the words used in speech and is generally a subset of the listening vocabulary Due to the spontaneous nature of speech, words are often misused slightly and unintentionally, but facial expressions and tone of voice can compensate for this misuse Writing vocabulary The written word appears in registers as different as formal essays and social media feeds While many written words rarely appear in speech, a person's written vocabulary is generally limited by preference and context: a writer may prefer one synonym over another, and they will be unlikely to use technical vocabulary relating to a subject in which they have no interest or knowledge Final vocabulary The American philosopher Richard Rorty characterized a person's "final vocabulary" as follows: All human beings carry about a set of words which they employ to justify their actions, their beliefs, and their lives These are the words in which we formulate praise of our friends and contempt for our enemies, our longterm projects, our deepest self-doubts and our highest hopes… I shall call these words a person's “final vocabulary” Those words are as far as he can go with language; beyond them is only helpless passivity or a resort to force c Vocabulary mastery It is strongly believed that mastering many vocabularies is very important for foreign language learners Without mastering it, of course, foreign language learners will have some difficulties in developing the four language skills The primary thing in learning a language is the achievement of a vocabulary Therefore, success in learning English demands vocabulary acquisition A large vocabulary can not guarantee the learner’s competence in learning English but in adequacy of vocabulary will obstruct their chances to make success in learning English Rivers in Nunan 1998: p 117 [5], argues that the acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is crucial for successful second language use because without an extensive vocabulary, one will be incapable of using the structures and functions one may have learned for comprehensible communication The importance of mastering vocabulary in learning is also stated by Nunan He says that the development of a rich vocabulary is an important element in the acquisition of a second language From the definition above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total numbers of words, a list or set of words in a particular language that a person knows or uses From these definitions, it concludes that mastery means the competency to understand and apply something learnt Vocabulary mastery is always being an essential part of English Lewis and Hill [6] say that vocabulary mastery is important for the students It is more than grammar for communication purpose, particularly in the early stage when students are motivated to learn the basic words Without having proportional English vocabulary, students will get some difficulties in using English Vocabulary mastery can be measured by the requirements of generalization being able to define words and application selecting an appropriate use of it Therefore, it can be said that vocabulary mastery is a complete skill to understand the stock of words and their meanings of a particular language 2.2 The problems before applying the method Many studies showed that the students still faced the problems or difficulties in vocabulary learning Kinds of difficulties faced by students in vocabulary learning were various They include: - Almost all of the students have difficulties in pronouncing the words - How to write and spell - The different grammatical form of a word known as inflections was one of causes of student’s difficulties in learning vocabulary - In addition, the students found difficulties in choosing the appropriate meaning of the words and also still confuse in using the word based on the context - The last, the students were also still confused when they found words or expression that were idiomatic There were some factors that caused students' difficulties in learning vocabulary First, the written form is different from the spoken form in English Secondly, the number of words that students need to learn is exceedingly large, the limitations of sources of information about words, and the complexity of word knowledge Knowing a word involves much more than knowing its dictionary definition Last but not least, the incorrect pronunciation is often caused by the lack of sound similarity between English and the students' native language Based on the result of the answer of questionnaire given by the researcher to 89 students of class 10 A10 and 10 A4 at Sam Son high school, it was found that English vocabulary is not easy to learn There are some difficulties that was found by the students in learning English vocabulary, those are they have difficulties in understanding vocabulary, they difficult to memorize English vocabulary, they difficult to pronounce English vocabulary and they said spelling make English vocabulary difficult for them N O QUESTION YES (%) NO (%) Do you like learning English 62% 38% In your opinion, is it easy to learn 60% English vocabulary? 40% Is it difficult to remember English 40% vocabulary? 60% Is the pronunciation of English 32% vocabulary difficult to understand? 68% Do the pronunciation and the 70% spelling make English vocabulary difficult for you? 30% Table 1: Students’ perspective / percentage about vocabulary subject 2.3 Solutions Wordwall is an online teaching tool used to design practical content for students such as games Teachers will design content students need to on Wordwall with available templates, then send links to students to practice and assignments All student results will be displayed at the teacher’s results interface to know the student’s ability The following steps will guide teachers to use Wordwall to create exercises for students - Step 1: Teachers fill in all the required information and then click Sign up to create an account With Free basic account then you will only be allowed to use 18 game creation content for students and new content creation which you can create your own from an existing source Step 2: Then the teachers will be transferred to the interface of all the games that teachers are provided with Click the game that the teacher wants to use For example, here will choose Match up game – match column A to column B correctly Step 3: Scroll down below you will see yes columns are Keyword and Definition to enter The Keyword column will be used to enter results and Definition to enter questions or quizzes Teachers must enter the correct answer for the question The system automatically shuffles the questions afterwards See she can click the index icon to insert the upper and lower index when the content requires or press the Symbol icon to add symbols For more questions then Click Add an item, there will be a maximum of 30 questions to enter Step 4: After entering the cell join table, if you want to change the column position, click Swap Columns to change If you want to change the position of any row, press and hold on the triangle icon and then move To copy more rows, click the Copy icon, to delete, click the trash can icon End click the Done button to save the game To take unit 5: Technology and You for example, teacher created an activity before starting the lesson The game is called “Random card” Students will be called to shuffle the card and deal the card with the random questions about technology, for example: - What is your favourite piece of technology? - Are there any new gadgets of technology you really want to have? - What are some benefits of the Internet in our life? After the game, students will be led to the lesson: Technology and you After that, the teacher asked students to review some words related to the topic by the following game Students learned some words such as: camera, speaker, CD room, … 10 https://wordwall.net/resource/21870859/technology-you https://wordwall.net/vi/resource/5763457/top-notch-1-unit-5-preview-technologyyou - In unit 7: The mass media, teacher created an activity called “wordsearch” All students were warmed up by some types of mass media They are tiktok, google, facebook, youtube… After the lesson, they were involved in some other activities to revise the vocabulary and content of the dialogue 11 https://wordwall.net/resource/25825912/mass-media https://wordwall.net/resource/26872612/the-mass-media In Unit 9: The undersea world, to learn more extensive words related to undersea world, students were asked to the following activity in order that they can learn more vocabulary Some words such as: whalling, conservation, migrate, measure, blue whale… 12 https://wordwall.net/resource/3880105/unit-9-undersea-world-listening-vocabulary After the lesson, teacher can give some game shows for students to help them learn more about marine creatures The information may be varied according to the teacher Here are the examples: 13 In unit 10: Conservation, students also played the game to revise and remember the the content of the lesson Students may be warmed up by classifying the consercation activities: 14 - In speaking skills, students could practice speaking through the following activities They would be asked to raise their opinion about the ways to conserve water or some other natural resources, - In Unit 12: Music, to warm up students and help them to have good background knowledge about the topic, teacher asked students to play the following quiz show 15 2.4 The effectiveness of the study After conducting the research in teaching, I realised the improvement of the students As a result, the marks of the tests are also different We can look at the categories of the tables before and after the study below: Good Class Credit Passing Fail total total % Students total % total % % 10 A4 & 89 10 11,2% 20 22,4% 50 10,2% 56,1% 10A10 The result of the 1st test before doing the research Class Stude nts Good total Credit % total 10 A4 & 89 10 A10 30 33,7% 42 % 47,1 % Passing Fail total total % 17 % 19,2 % 0% The result of the 2nd test after doing the research In this research, the effectiveness of a web tool in enhancing the vocabulary knowledge of high school students was measured 89 students of two classes having the same language levels, the same amount of English instruction, and same socio-economic conditions were chosen as participants The result of the analysis revealed significant differences in the students’level before and after the treatment The inexistence of significant difference between these results may have been caused by a lot of factors After applying the solution and carrying out some survey the researcher realized that:  Most of the students are more confident than before  Their English has also improved a lot not only writing, reading but also speaking and listening 16  More and more students are signing up to join the club In addition, the data were obtained from the distribution of the questionnaire to the students It was designed to help the writer to get more information about students‟ responses toward the implementation of the speaking club the data obtained can be seen in the following tables and description: Table 1: wordwall based activities are very useful ANSWER STUDENTS PERCENTAGE Strongly agree 53 59,5% Agree 36 40,5% Disagree 0 Strongly disagree 0 Total 89 100% Based on the table above, it shows that the platform is useful for all the students which can be seen that 53 students (59,5%) strongly agree, and 36 students (40,5%) agree while none of them disagree or strongly disagree with the statement Thus, it can be concluded that all of students (89 students) agreed that the method is useful Table 2: Wordwall platform encourages students to be more confident and ready to participate into many classroom activities ANSWER STUDENTS PERCENTAGE Strongly agree 70 78,6% Agree 19 21,4% Disagree 0 Strongly disagree 0 Total 89 100% This table shows that 70 students (78,6%) strongly agree that the method helps students to be more active in the class and 19 students (21,4%) agree with the statement On the other hand, none of them disagree or strongly disagree with the statement So, all of students believed that wordwall platform enhance their ability to memorize vocabulary better Moreover, based on the writer’s observation, they enjoyed English lesson more 17 In the study, it was revealed that with the web, both students and teachers could easily share the contents they designed during the teaching process Pointing out that the platform is a user-friendly application, it is stated that many materials can be easily accessed, content is developed and content can be shared In addition, the advantage that the prepared materials can be stored and used again and again when needed stands out It has been found in this study that the web offers the opportunity to be used as a measurement tool in the teaching process and to be effective in evaluating the student It has also been emphasized that quizzes can be made on the subject Hence, it creates an interesting learning environment Especially in the online education process, the distance between the teacher and the learner makes this opportunity even more valuable In addition, these tools are economical, strengthen the communication network with students, and easy file sharing with students can be seen as other opportunities III CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 3.1 Conclusion Through exploring the effectiveness of a web tool, Wordwall.net, this study aimed to test the effectiveness of it on vocabulary teaching The results proved the effectiveness of the web tool; However, the short length of the treatment time as well as the number of the groups might be suggested as the limitations of the present study With these limitations, it can be concluded that in such a short time a comparison between two teaching materials or techniques will not provide the best results in terms of their effectiveness In addition to this, more vocabulary should be added, preferably vocabulary previously unknown to students, to check observable and comparable changes in the level of improvement of their vocabulary Thus, these factors should be taken into consideration in the further research focusing on this specific tool Moreover, the impact of this web tool on other aspects of language learning, such as improvement of other language skills or the use of it as an assessment tool could be of possible research topics The biggest advantage of the word-wall based activities is that they create a student-centered teaching environment, as the curriculum aims 3.2 Suggestions The short length of the treatment time as well as the number of the groups might be suggested as the limitations of the present study With these limitations, it can be concluded that in such a short time a comparison between two results of the tests will not provide the best results in terms of their effectiveness In addition to this, more vocabulary should be added, preferably vocabulary previously unknown to students, to check observable and comparable changes in the level of improvement of their vocabulary Thus, these factors should be taken into 18 consideration in the further research focusing on this specific tool Moreover, the impact of this web tool on other aspects of language learning, such as improvement of other language skills or the use of it as an assessment tool could be of possible research topics CONFIRMATION OF THE HEADMASTER Thanh Hoa, May 10, 2022 I assure that this is my writing, not copying other people's content (Sign and state name) Trịnh Ngọc Long Nguyễn Thị Nga 19 REFERENCES [1] Gazlianty 2011 Improving Vocabulary Skill by Using Puzzle Game: A ClassAction Research at Second Grade of SMAN Narmada Unpublished Thesis [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary [3] Graves, M.F 2000 “Vocabulary Program to Complement and Bolster a Middle Grade Comprehension Program”.New York: Teachers college press articles http: //google Com Accessed on February 3rd, 2011 [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary [5] Rivers in Nunan 1998: p 117 The practice of English language teaching (3rd edition) London: Longman Group Ltd [6] Lewis and Hill (1995).Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [7] English textbook grade 10, Hanoi National Pulisher 20 APPENDIX TEST (BEFORE DOING THE STUDY) Linh can’t go out with us to see a movie now because she’s meal A preparing B making C arranging D keeping I’m responsible for cooking dinner as my mother usually works A lately B early C later D late I usually my younger sisters when my parents are away on business A pick up B take care of C look for D take charge of Ms Mai asked me how she could household chores equally in her family A make B divide C give D contribute In my family, my father always takes charge of doing the lifting A strong B hard C heavy D huge My mother told me to the yesterday but I forgot about it since I had much homework to finish A wash-up B laundry C childcare D exercises the rubbish in the early morning is a part of my daily routine A Taking out B Coming out C Pulling out D Bringing out My wife is going on her business next week so I have to most of the chores around the house A distribute B hold C take D handle Mr Hoang found it difficult to be in charge of the household A financial B financially C finances D financier 10 is a person who works at home and takes care of the house and family A Breadwinner B Homemaker C Servant D Houseman 11 When his wife gave birth to a baby boy, Mr Nam became the sole A housemaid B housekeeper C father D breadwinner 12 My mother and I often go to the supermarket to shop for at weekends A cook B groceries C heavy lifting D the chores 13 After eating dinner, I have to the and then my homework every day A washing-up B wash-up C washing-ups D washings-up 14 Her husband is very kind He always cares her and never puts all of the housework her A about - in B for - in C about - on D with - on 15 To Hoa, her father is the greatest person in the world and he always sets a good for her A role B behaviour C example D action 16 We take in doing the washing-up, cleaning the floor and watering the flowers A turn B out C around D turns 17 Most people will receive benefits when sharing the housework in their family A enormously B enormity C enormous D strong 18 Like his mother, Viet is a child who can talk openly to anyone A social B sociable C generous D critical 19 After marriage, Mrs Hoa always keeps good with her mother-in-law A association B relation C friendship D relationship 20 In many countries, divorces to rise because of long-standing conflicts A tend B have C aim D encourage APPENDIX TEST (AFTER DOING THE STUDY) In some Asian countries, the groom and bride their wedding rings in front of the altar A change B exchange C give D take In Scotland, the bride’s mother may invite the wedding guests to her house to off all the wedding gifts A show B turn C put D get On the wedding day, the best man is expected to help the A bride B groom C guest D bridesmaid In the past, the and engagement ceremonies took place one or two years before the wedding A propose B proposing C proposal D proposed Superstitions an important part in the lives of many people in Viet Nam A take B act C occupy D play Viet Nam has kept a variety of superstitious about daily activities A believe B believing C beliefs D believable Traditionally, most Vietnamese people never the floor during the first three days of the New Year A sweep B paint C polish D resurface Viet Nam is a country situated in Asia, where many mysteries and legends A origin B originate C original D originally The British usually pay a lot of to good table manners and are expected to use knives, forks and spoons properly A money B care C attention D compliment 10 In the U.S, children can choose their own partners even if their parents object their choice A to B for C against D with 11 In the UK, 18-year-olds tend to receive a silver key as a present to their entry into the adult world A symbol B symbolic C symbolize D symbolist 12 In Australia, on Mother’s Day, the second Sunday in May, children prepare and their mothers ‘breakfast in bed’ A cook B serve C display D present 13 People in Mexico Mother's Day on May 10 by giving their mothers handmade gifts, flowers, clothing and household appliances A open B memorize C celebrate D perform 14 In Viet Nam, you shouldn’t at somebody’s house on the lst day of the New Year unless you have been invited by the house owner A show up B get up C put up D go up 15 The newly-weds will fly to Venice to spend their tomorrow A vacation B honeymoon C holiday D marriage 16 After the wedding ceremony at the church, they go to the hotel for the wedding A cake B ring C day D reception 17 The bride and groom cut the wedding cake and speeches A prepared B wrote C heard D made 18 Some Koreans believe that it’s impolite to eye contact with a person who has a high position A maintain B lose C show D put 19 Brazilians often each other’s arms, hands or shoulders during a conversation A lend B shake C touch D move 20 American people are very informal at home, so they often their hands to eat some kinds of food A use B lend C wash D Shake ... study on ? ?Using Wordwall. net- based activities in teaching vocabulary for students of grade 10 at Sam Son High School? ?? 1.2 The objectives of the study The study suggests many new games for teachers... participants of the study This study focuses on the activities of teaching vocabulary based on wordwall platform (dealing with the techniques of presentation, techniques of practice, techniques of training)... new games for teachers to apply in teaching vocabulary for high school students through wordwall. net platform Hence, vocabulary memorization becomes more effective for English learners The study