SKKN using wordwall net based activities in teaching vocabulary for EFL students at quy hop high school

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO NGHỆ AN TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG QUỲ HỢP -*** - SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM LĨNH VỰC TIẾNG ANH Using Wordwall.net-based activities in teaching vocabulary for EFL students at Quy Hop High school Họ tên: Thái Thị Hạnh Giáo viên: Tiếng Anh Tổ: Văn – Ngoại ngữ Trường: THPT Quỳ Hợp Nghê An, tháng năm 2022 CONTENT PART I INTRODUCTION PAGE 2-3 Rationale 2 The new factors of the study 3 Scope of the study Organization of the study PART II: CONTENT Theoretical background - 43 a Definition of vocabulary b Types of vocabulary c Vocabulary mastery d Problems in learning vocabulary e Wordwall.net- based activities f How to create wordwall.net- based activities Solutions and discussion 11- 43 a Demonstration of using wordwall.net-based activities 11- 40 b Discussion 41- 43 PART III: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 44 Conclusion 44 Suggestions 44 PART I INTRODUCTION 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 you decide which content to use in the activities You can set tasks for groups or individual learners by giving them an access code You could even get your 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 EFL students at Quy Hop High school” The new factors 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 learner, especially for teaching vocabulary online Scope 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 10th grade in the school year 2021- 2022 Organization 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 Hopefully that the study provides a useful access to most of the teachers in teaching language PART II: CONTENT 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 According to Wikipedia, 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 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 b Types of vocabulary There are a variety of ways to categorize vocabulary However, according to Wikipedia, vocabulary can be divided into their usage in language skills 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, 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 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 d Problems in learning vocabulary 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 100 students of grade 10 at Quy Hop 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 NO QUESTION YES (%) NO (%) Do you like learning English 62% 38% In your opinion, is it easy to learn English vocabulary? 60% 40% Is it difficult to remember English vocabulary? 40% 60% Is the pronunciation of English vocabulary difficult to understand? 32% 68% Do the pronunciation and the spelling make English vocabulary difficult for you? 70% 30% Table 1: Students’ perspective / percentage about vocabulary subject e Wordwall.net- based activities Wordwall can be used to create both interactive and printable activities Most of the templates are available in both an interactive and a printable version Interactives are played on any web-enabled device, like a computer, tablet, phone or interactive whiteboard They can be played individually by students or be teacherled with students taking turns at the front of the class Printables can printed out directly or downloaded as a PDF file They can be used as a companion to the interactive or as stand-alone activities There are lots of interactive activities for students to learn on wordwall.net They include Crossword, Find the match, Gameshow quiz, Match up, Quiz, Random wheel, Word search, Seating plan… In addition, wordwall activities can be used as student-completed assignments When a teacher sets an assignment, students are directed to that particular activity This feature can be used in-class when students have access to their own devices, or as a way of assigning homework To set an assignment, go to an activity page and click the Share button Choose Set Assignment to configure student access and results tracking The next page displays a unique access link you can communicate to your students When the students visit the activity through this link, their results are recorded and made available to the teacher Any activity you create can also be made public This allows you to share it via email or another means of communication with students or colleagues It also allows other teachers to find the activity in the Community search results Finally, Wordwall activities can be embedded into another website or learning management system using an HTML embed code The activity becomes playable directly from the website in which it is embedded f How to create wordwall.net- based activities In order to create a new game activity, click the blue Create Activity button and select a template; then, enter your desired content Content may consist of images, text, special symbols and LaTeX equations Creating a fully interactive activity only takes a few minutes and no knowledge of code or game design is required Therefore, most of the teachers can it easily Most game templates can be accessible in different themes Each theme alters the look and feel of the template by implementing different graphics, fonts and sounds If you wish to further tweak the settings of an activity, this is possible from the activity page You can find an Edit Content link underneath the activity itself Once you have created an activity, you can switch it to a different template with a single click This saves you time and is great for differentiation and reinforcement This feature is available for most templates, although not all game types can be interchanged Wordwall activities can be used as assignments You can direct students to that activity without visiting the main activity This feature can be used in-class where students have access to their own devices, or as homework How can you it? Go to an activity page and click the Share button Choose Set Assignment On the next page, you can configure student access and results tracking The final page displays a unique access link You must communicate the link to the students This template will be displayed: 10 37 UNIT 10: ECOTOURISM -In LANGUAGE vocabulary lesson, teacher created two activities in order for the students to practice new words The first activities was QUIZ https://wordwall.net/resource/31417041 38 The second activity was “Missing word” https://wordwall.net/resource/31417213 39 40 41 b Discussion After conducting the research in teaching, I realized 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 10 Credit Passing Fail Students 100 SL TL SL TL SL TL SL TL 2% 30 30% 60 60% 8% The result of the 1st test before doing the research Good Class 10 Credit Passing Fail Students 100 SL TL SL TL SL TL SL TL 20 20% 45 45% 35 35% 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 100 students 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 ✓ 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: 42 Table 1: wordwall based activities are very useful ANSWER STUDENTS PERCENTAGE Strongly agree 60 60% Agree 40 40% Disagree 0 Strongly disagree 0 100 100% Total Based on the table above, it shows that the platform is useful for all the students which can be seen that 60 students (60%) strongly agree, and 40 students (40%) agree while none of them disagree or strongly disagree with the statement Thus, it can be concluded that all of students (100 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 80 80% Agree 20 20% Disagree 0 Strongly disagree 0 100 100% Total This table shows that 80 students (80%) strongly agree that the method helps students to be more active in the class and 20 students (20%) 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 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 43 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 44 PART III: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION 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 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 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 45 REFERENCES Gazlianty 2011 Improving Vocabulary Skill by Using Puzzle Game: A ClassAction Research at Second Grade of SMAN Narmada Unpublished Thesis 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 Harmer, J 2001.The practice of English language teaching (3rd edition) London: Longman Group Ltd Hatch, E & Brown, C (1995).Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Herrel.A.L (2004).Fifty strategies for teaching English language learners An ESL teacher„s tool kit.2nded.Winnipeg Canada Penguin Publishers Hornby, AS 1983 Oxford Learners Pocket Dictionary of Current English, Oxford 11th Impression London : Oxford University Express Hornby, As.1995 Oxford advanced leaner‟s dictionary fifth edition New York: Oxford University press 46 APPENDIX A 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 47 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 behavior 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 48 APPENDIX B 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’ 49 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 50 APPENDIX C LINKS https://wordwall.net/resource/31375315 https://wordwall.net/resource/31375416 https://wordwall.net/resource/31375634 https://wordwall.net/resource/31376394 https://wordwall.net/resource/31376855 https://wordwall.net/resource/31378076 https://wordwall.net/resource/31377946 https://wordwall.net/resource/31385329 https://wordwall.net/resource/31385768 https://wordwall.net/resource/31386259 https://wordwall.net/resource/31386540 https://wordwall.net/resource/31386950 https://wordwall.net/resource/31387132 https://wordwall.net/resource/31387211 https://wordwall.net/resource/31416114 https://wordwall.net/resource/31416590 https://wordwall.net/resource/31416389 https://wordwall.net/resource/31416713 https://wordwall.net/resource/31416859 https://wordwall.net/resource/31417041 https://wordwall.net/resource/31417213 51 ... Demonstration of using wordwall. net- based activities Below are activities created as the demonstration of using wordwall. net- based activities to teach vocabulary for students at Quy Hop High School. .. students at Quy Hop High school? ?? The new factors of the study The study suggests many new games for teachers to apply in teaching vocabulary for high school students through wordwall. net platform... 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 EFL students