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Microsoft Word 30 Vu Dinh Hung doc Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN 978 604 82 2981 8 619 TEACHING VOCABULARY TO FIRST YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VIA MOBILE MESSAGES Vũ Đình Hưng Th[.]
Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 TEACHING VOCABULARY TO FIRST-YEAR UNIVERSITY STUDENTS VIA MOBILE MESSAGES Vũ Đình Hưng Thuyloi University, email: hungvd@tlu.edu.vn INTRODUCTION My research was conducted in a class studying the second English course at Thuyloi University Specifically, within three periods, learners went through vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation and four language skills Vocabulary only made up a small part at the beginning of each lesson As a result, in later activities making use of the words, many of them failed to keep pace with their partners because there were not sufficient practices before that Addressing this issue, I conducted a research of using mobile phone messages to teach vocabulary before classes To be more detailed, words in the vocabulary folder of each lesson and a gap-filling exercise were sent to participants via mobile messages before the lessons Students then used the words to complete the exercises and sent their answers to the teacher By doing this, they were prepared for later activities in class The purpose of this innovation is to consider their engagement and the reasons for their success and failure In other words, the study was carried out with the following questions: How my students engage with vocabulary learning via mobile phone messages? Why my students engage with vocabulary learning via mobile phone messages? RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND INSTRUMENTS Regarding methodology, Mason (2002) noted that qualitative research provides us with insights into the world including “the texture and weave of everyday life, the understandings, experiences and imaginings of our research participants” (p 1) Therefore, my evaluation was qualitative as it was to find out how and why learners engaged with mobile vocabulary learning Relating to research methods, student journals, group interviews and individual interviews were chosen and conducted RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 How my students engage with vocabulary learning via mobile phone messages? In answer to the question, there were evidences that weaker students have engaged with my innovation To be specific, four out of seven participants examined by the research instruments showed good engagement with my vocabulary teaching media In contrast, while there were two informants having medium level of engagement with mobile learning, one participant did not engage with it 3.2 Why my students engage with vocabulary learning via mobile phone messages? As regards the question, I will now present the factors that influenced how learners engaged with my innovation 3.2.1 Why my students engage well with the innovation? Four of my respondents engaged well with the innovation for a number of reasons 619 Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 Primarily, they had good engagement with mobile learning by means of their understanding of my innovation The informants managed to follow my instructions of how to learn on messages Moreover, student B said that the vocabulary lessons empowered them to in-class activities more easily Grewal (2014) also asserted, “Learning is the process of acquisition of knowledge The right knowledge can only be obtained through concentrated and mindful learning” (p.33) They also engaged well with mobile learning thanks to their positive attitudes towards it One respondent’s positive attitude was due to her increased vocabulary level Specifically, students G explained that she remembered more words from messages than other media Another reason for informants’ good attitudes towards mobile learning was its convenience Student B said, “It is great to learn via mobile messages because we learned on our own We could read the messages at any time and places” The same reason was stated by students D, G and H as they reported that they had their own schedule to read my messages and the exercises Exploring the topic more carefully, Deng and Shao (2011) noted that learners accessed their vocabulary lessons via a mobile application (REMWORD) at different time of the day (at school or during their leisure activities) while learners using other media mainly studied at school Besides, words on REMWORD were read in both traditional learning spaces (school, dorm and lakeside) and emergent spaces (canteen, bed, bus and waiting room); in contrast, learning via other media often took place at traditional places They added, “Mobile vocabulary learning increases the channels for active learners and promotes the chances for passive learners” (Deng & Shao, 2011, p 28) Furthermore, some of them thought positively about mobile learning thanks to the interactivity between them and the teacher Responding to why they were fond of mobile learning, students B and F shared the same idea that they were more interactive with the teacher when learning via mobile messages Similarly, Kim (2011) conducted a research to compare vocabulary learning of three groups of participants: the first one learnt vocabulary in class; the second one learnt via mobile without interacting with the teacher; and, the third group studied via mobile with interactivity The results showed that most of the informants had positive attitudes towards mobile learning, especially learning with interactivity with the teacher 3.2.2 Why my students have a low level of engagement with the innovation? There were a number of reasons why the innovation did not work well for three remaining respondents A distinctive issue rising from the data is learner autonomy To specify, three students complained about the conflict between teacher’s delivery time and their schedule Explaining her lack of understanding of the message content, student C said, “Sometimes I went home too late to check the words and sent answers to the teacher at that time” Students A and E shared the same reason that messages came when she was at school Additionally, the interference of other applications on mobile phone was also a problem To be specific, it was reported by students A, E and C that they sometimes or often switched to notifications of other mobile applications It was also found by Lu (2008) that 19% of the participants felt hard to concentrate on learning via mobile phone messages Besides, learners’ attitudes towards the lessons were influenced by the fact that they were at different levels of English proficiency To clarify, while student B found it easy to the exercises, student A formed a negative attitude towards it due to 620 Tuyển tập Hội nghị Khoa học thường niên năm 2019 ISBN: 978-604-82-2981-8 its difficulty She reported that it took a great amount of time for her to complete the exercises It was also mentioned by Kim (2011) that 5.6% of the respondents were fond of adjusting the difficulty level of the words and exercises CONCLUSION AND REFLECTIONS To sum up, the innovation made some good effects on learners’ engagement in learning vocabulary due to their understanding, positive attitudes and the interactivity with the teacher However, there remain some problems that need further research Specifically, more innovations should be carried out to develop learner autonomy It is also important to find out how to put students at the same English proficiency level into the same classes REFERENCES [1] Deng, H., & Shao, Y (2011) Self-directed English vocabulary learning with a mobile application in everyday context In S Yu (Ed.), 10th World Conference on Mobile and Contextual Learning: mLearn 2011 Conference Proceedings (p 24-31) Beijing: Beijing Normal University [2] Grewal, D D S (2014) Improving concentration and mindfulness in learning through meditation Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(2), p 33-39 [3] Kim, H S (2011) Effects of SMS text messaging on vocabulary learning Multimedia Assisted Language Learning, 14(2), p 159-180 [4] Lu, M (2008) Effectiveness of vocabulary learning via mobile phone Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 24(6), p 515525 [5] Mason, J (2002) Qualitative Research London: SAGE 621 ... more words from messages than other media Another reason for informants’ good attitudes towards mobile learning was its convenience Student B said, “It is great to learn via mobile messages because... teacher when learning via mobile messages Similarly, Kim (2011) conducted a research to compare vocabulary learning of three groups of participants: the first one learnt vocabulary in class; the... also engaged well with mobile learning thanks to their positive attitudes towards it One respondent’s positive attitude was due to her increased vocabulary level Specifically, students G explained