Using flashcards to improve students’ learning vocabulary at sunrise language centre masters thesis

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA - VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY PHAN THI THANH THAO USING FLASHCARDS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING VOCABULARY AT SUNRISE LANGUAGE CENTRE MASTER’S THESIS Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA – VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY - PHAN THI THANH THAO USING FLASHCARDS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING VOCABULARY AT SUNRISE LANGUAGE CENTRE MASTER’S THESIS Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL Course code: 8140111 Supervisor’s name: Assoc.Prof LE HUONG HOA, Ph.D Ba Ria - Vung Tau, March 2023 i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: USING FLASHCARDS TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LEARNING VOCABULARY AT SUNRISE LANGUAGE CENTRE In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria - Vung Tau University Ba Ria Vung Tau, March 2023 PHAN THI THANH THAO ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Phan Thi Thanh Thao, being a candidate for the degree of Master of Theory of English Teaching Methodology 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 Master’s Thesis deposited in the library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care, loan, and reproduction for theses Ba Ria – Vung Tau, March 2023 PHAN THI THANH THAO iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to express my deepest gratitude to Assoc.Prof Le Huong Hoa, my supervisor for her patience, guidance, insightful advice, and constant encouragement through the whole research process Without her support and guidance, this thesis would never have been completed I would also like to express my gratefulness to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Post Graduate University for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical as well as practical knowledge Additionally, my special thanks to 18 KET-level students who have helped me enthusiastically in English lessons by using flashcard-based activities to improve their vocabulary retention Finally, I wish to thank everyone who directly or indirectly helped me in completing this thesis iv ABSTRACT The use of flashcards is seen to be an enjoyable strategy for pupils to boost their vocabulary retention Nakata, T (2019) The purpose of this study was to look into how the researcher used flashcard-based techniques to improve KET-level students' vocabulary retention, as well as the students' opinions and attitudes toward using flashcard-based techniques to improve vocabulary retention and the difficulties they faced during their learning process The study lasted four weeks and involved 18 KET students from an entire class at a language center in Ba Ria Vung Tau province Data from vocabulary tests, questionnaires, students' self-evaluation checklists, and students' reflections were analyzed using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies The results of the tests and student reflections demonstrated that flashcard-based strategies contributed significantly to the students' vocabulary recall The results of the surveys, student self-evaluation checklists, and student comments revealed that the students had favorable attitudes toward and enthusiastic ideas about their vocabulary retention as a result of the teacher's use of flashcard-based strategies The participants also revealed that they faced a variety of challenges during the learning process Keywords: vocabulary retention, flashcard-based techniques, KET students, action research, opinions, attitudes, difficulties v TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x LIST OF APPENDICES xi LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF FIGURES xiii LIST OF CHARTS xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methods 1.7 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vocabulary retention 2.1.1 Definition of vocabulary 2.1.2 The importance of vocabulary and vocabulary learning 2.1.3 Dimensions of vocabulary knowledge 2.1.4 Vocabulary learning strategies 2.1.5 Vocabulary teaching strategies by using flashcards 10 2.1.6 Vocabulary retention and memory 11 vi 2.2 Flashcard-based techniques 12 2.2.1 Definition of Flashcards 12 2.2.2 Types of Flashcards 13 2.2.3 The use of Flashcards as teaching tools 15 2.2.4 Advantages and Disadvantages of flashcards 16 2.2.5 Classification of flashcard-based techniques 17 2.3 Overview of related studies 19 2.4 Conceptual framework 22 2.5 Summary 24 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Restatement of the research questions 25 3.2 Reasons of choosing action research 26 3.3 The setting of the research 27 3.3.1 Research site 27 3.3.2 English textbooks 27 3.4 Participants 27 3.4.1 Students 27 3.4.2 Teachers 28 3.5 Research method 28 3.6 Research procedure 30 3.7 Data collection instruments 31 3.7.1 Vocabulary tests 32 3.7.2 Questionnaires 32 vii 3.7.3 Student self- evaluation checklists 34 3.7.4 Student reflections 34 3.8 Data analysis 35 3.8.1 Quantitative analysis 36 3.8.2 Qualitative analysis 36 3.9 Summary 36 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 37 4.1 The enhancement of the students’ vocabulary retention through the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques 37 4.1.1 Findings from Pre-test 39 4.1.2 Findings from Post- test 41 4.1.3 Findings from comparison of pre-test scores and post-test scores 43 4.1.4 Analysis from the student reflections in term of the effectiveness of the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques on vocabulary retention 44 4.2 The students’ opinions on and attitudes towards their vocabulary learning experiences through the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques 45 4.2.1 The students’ opinions on the effect of the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques on their vocabulary retention 45 4.2.2 The students’ opinions on and attitudes towards psychological and social benefits of the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques to teach vocabulary 50 4.3 The difficulties the students encountered during the vocabulary learning experience with the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques 54 4.3.1 The effect of the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques on the students’ vocabulary retention 55 viii 4.3.2 The difficulties derived from the student’s personal weaknesses and negative psychology 56 4.3.3 4.4 Time constraint 60 Discussions 61 4.4.1 The effect of the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques on the students’ vocabulary retention 61 4.4.2 The students’ opinions and attitudes towards their vocabulary learning through the teacher’s deployment of flashcard-based techniques 62 4.4.3 The students’ difficulties during the process of learning vocabulary through the teacher’ deployment of flashcard-based techniques 64 4.5 Summary 64 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 65 5.1 Recapitulation 65 5.2 Implications of the study 67 5.2.1 For English teachers 67 5.2.2 For students 68 5.3 Limitations of the study 68 5.4 Suggestions of further study 69 REFERENCES 70 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: THE PROCEDURE OF THE STUDY I APPENDIX 2: CROSSWORD PUZZLE GAMES AND STORYTELLING SCRIPTS THROUGH FLASHCARDS III CROSSWORD PUZZLE GAMES III STUDENTS’ CROSSWORD PUZZLES BY GROUP V STORYTELLING TOPICS ( personal writing) VIII XLIV THE STUDENTS’ RESPONSES IN QUESTIONNAIRES RELATED TO THEIR DIFFICULTIES THEY ENCOUNTERED INTERVENTION ( collected from Google Forms) Bạn đọc sai nên em khó đoán được từ DURING THE XLV Noise bạn ồn Students can pay attention on the flashcards more than on material learned Small and unclear flashcards may arouse problems in the teaching learning process since the students may misunderstand about pictures Students sometimes don't remember the words The difficulties I encountered when learning vocabulary through flashcard-based activities are that we don't have enough time to play all vocabulary and there's a few words with multiple meanings while I study them at different times so it's difficult for me to remember Đọc khó Học onli khó đọc phát âm flashcard is expensive and if the teachers want to make it by themselves, they need much time, flashcard is not big enough usually Nói khó It's difficult for me Thời ngắn em ko đủ thời gian nhớ Nếu thời gian học + từ vựng dài gây khó nhớ, cần chép lại vào vở, thời gian học từ vựng ngắn Time, phát âm, word form XLVI APPENDIX 9: STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION CHECKLIST (English version) [Adapted from Boudreault (2010) and Kholmakova (2017)] Week : From… … …to……… … (This check list consists of 20 questions) Please decide which answer best suits you when you learn vocabulary through flashcards activities Use the following scale to rate the statement below Almost always / most of the time Sometimes Rarely or never No Statements I could remember meanings of most of new words, even a complicated word phrases I could memorise the spelling of most of new words easily and accurately Watching the games or acting in a story made me familiar with the pronunciation of new words I found that it was not too challenging to make sentences with new words, even long and difficult words I felt motivated and eager in today vocabulary lesson I recognized storytelling games made me more creative and more confident XLVII I felt it was exciting to communicate in English I had more chance to surf the Internet and improve my pronunciation I knew how to work with others more effectively 10 I could not remember the meanings and the use of all new words because the new words were not often revised by the teacher after the lessons 11 Teacher did not give detailed guide about how to make up a story or write it effectively 12 Teacher did not give clear criteria for vocabulary assessment 13 I found difficult to follow the content of the lessons because I had limited vocabulary 14 I felt inferior when working in groups 15 Some learners had pronunciation mistakes so I could not completely understand the games or stories 16 I was worried that our group members would not be able to complete the games 17 I did not care the real meaning of the story but just watched and listened for fun 18 The games and storytelling did not attract me because the content of the plays was boring and too long 19 I needed more time to prepare the storytelling games 20 Class time constraint and noise made me dislike learning vocabulary through flashcards XLVIII STUDENT SELF-EVALUATION CHECKLIST (Vietnamese version) PHIẾU TỰ ĐÁNH GIÁ Tuần : Từ ngày…….….đến…….… (Phiếu tự đánh giá gồm 20 câu hỏi) Hãy định câu trả lời phù hợp với em, em học từ vựng thông qua kĩ thuật thẻ học từ vựng hôm Sử dụng thang điểm sau để đánh giá nhận định Gần luôn/ Hầu hết Thỉnh thoảng Hiếm khi/ khơng STT Các phát biểu Em nhớ nghĩa từ mới, chí cụm từ phức tạp Em ghi nhớ cách viết hầu hết từ cách dễ dàng xác Nghe câu chunh đóng vai kể chuyện hôm giúp em quen thuộc với cách phát âm từ Em thấy khơng q khó để đặt câu với từ mới, từ dài khó XLIX Em cảm thấy có động lực háo hức học từ vựng thông qua kĩ thuật ngày hôm Em nhận tự kể chuyện khiến em sáng tạo tự tin Em cảm thấy thật thú vị giao tiếp tiếng Anh Em có nhiều hội để tra mạng Internet cải thiện câu chuyện nhóm em Em biết cách làm việc với người khác hiệu trước 10 Em viết tất từ cách xác từ không giáo viên ôn lại sau câu chuyện 11 Cô giáo không hướng dẫn chi tiết cách diễn đạt câu chuyện viết câu chuyện hiệu 12 Cô giáo không đưa tiêu chí rõ ràng để đánh giá câu chuyện L 13 Em cảm thấy khó theo dõi nội dung câu chuyện hơm em có vốn từ vựng hạn chế 14 Em cảm thấy tự ti làm việc nhóm 15 Một số bạn mắc lỗi phát âm kể chuyện nên em hiểu nội dung câu chuyện 16 Em cảm thấy lo lắng liệu bạn nhóm em hồn thành câu đố câu chuyện hay không 17 Em không quan tâm đến ý nghĩa thực câu chuyện mà xem cho vui 18 Các câu chuyện khơng thu hút em nội dung kịch nhàm chán dài 19 Em cần thêm thời gian chuẩn bị cho câu chuyện 20 Hạn chế thời gian học lớp lí khiến em khơng thích học từ vựng thơng qua câu đố câu chuyện LI APPENDIX 10: STUDENT REFLECTIONS (Adapted from Janudom & Wasanasomsithi, 2009) PHIẾU TỰ SUY NGẪM (This reflection consists of 14 questions) Date and time: …………………………………… Number of group members: …… Class: ………… UNIT: ………… Topic: ……………………………………………………… You can write the answers in English or Vietnamese or both but English is encouraged Please write the answer to the following questions as specifically as possible (Các em viết câu trả lời tiếng Anh tiếng Việt hai, cô khuyến khích em viết tiếng Anh Hãy viết câu trả lời cho câu hỏi sau cụ thể tốt) Question What vocabulary did you remember from the flashcard-based lesson today? (Các em học từ vựng từ thẻ học từ vựng hôm nay? ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… LII Question What new words from the flashcard-based lesson can you make sense of meanings? Please write them and their Vietnamese meanings down? (Các từ thẻ học từ vựng mà em hiểu nghĩa? Hãy viết từ nghĩa chúng? ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question What new words from the flashcards can you pronounce after the lesson? (Những từ em phát âm sau học?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question What new words from the flashcards can you use after the lesson? Give an example of how you use the words in a sentence (Những từ mà em sử dụng sau học hôm nay? Các em đưa ví dụ việc từ sử dụng câu.) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question Do you think today flashcard-based games and storytelling helped you remember the meanings of new words better? (Các em có nghĩ trị chơi câu chuyện học hôm giúp em nhớ nghĩa từ tốt không? ) a Yes b No LIII Why(not)? (Có khơng khơng?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question Do you think the flashcards games and storytelling activities in today lesson helped you remember the spelling and pronunciation of new words? (Các em có nghĩ trị chơi từ thẻ học từ vựng hoạt động kể chuyện học hôm giúp em ghi nhớ cách viết từ không? a Yes b No Why(not)? (Có khơng sao?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question In term of psychological aspect, how the deployment of flashcardbased techniques in today lesson benefited you? (Xét phương diện tâm lí, việc áp dụng kĩ thuật từ thẻ học từ vựng vào học hơm mang lại lợi ích cho em) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question What skills did you acquire during and after the lesson? Please specify your reponses (Các em đạt kĩ sau học hôm nay? Các em giải thích thật cụ thể) LIV ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question Did you like working in groups? a Yes b No Why (not)? (Các em có thích làm việc nhóm khơng? Tại có/ không?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question 10 Did you volunteer to participate the part in the storytelling? (Các em có tình nguyện tham gia hoạt động kể chuyện hôm không?) a Yes b No Why (not)? (Tại có/ khơng)?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question 11 Did you feel happy and satisfied with today games and storytelling activities? a Yes b No Why (not)? (Các em có cảm thấy vui hài lịng với trị chơi hoạt động kể chuyện ngày hơm khơng? Tại có/ khơng?) LV …………………………………………………………………………….………… ……………………………………………………………………… ……………… ………………………………………………………………… …………………… ……………………………………………………………… ……………………… Question 12 Do you want to participate in other vocabulary lessons with flashcard-based techniques in the future? a Yes b No Why or why not? (Các em có muốn tham gia học có xen lẫn thẻ học từ vựng tương lai không? Tại có/ khơng?) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… Question 13 Were you participants or audiences in today lesson? (Các em người tham gia hay khán giả học hôm nay?) If being a participant, please write unpleasant moment(s) in today lesson (Nếu người tham gia, viết khoảnh khoắc mà em không hài lòng If being an audience, please write about what you disliked most in today activities (Nếu khán giả, vui lịng viết điều mà em khơng thích hoạt động ngày hơm nay.) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… …………………………………………………………………… ………………… ………………………………………………………………… …………………… ……………………………… LVI Question 14 What are several difficulties you encountered during the process of vocabulary learning through the use of flashcards? (Please specify at least three of them.) (Các em gặp phải khó khăn q trình học từ vựng thơng qua việc sử dụng thẻ học từ vựng? Vui lòng viết rõ ba số khó khăn đó) ……………………………………………………………………………….……… ………………………………………………………………………… …………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………… ……………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… LVII TWO STUDENTS’ REFLECTIONS COLLECTED LVIII