An investigation into the effect of applying mind mapping in teaching phrasal verbs to chau van liem 9th graders

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF APPLYING MIND-MAPPING IN TEACHING PHRASAL VERBS TO CHAU VAN LIEM 9TH GRADERS Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages By LA THẢO QUỲNH Supervised by NGUYỄN THỊ KIỀU THU, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, AUGUST 2017 ` STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY, RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS This is to certify that the thesis entitled An Investigation into the Effect of Applying Mind-Mapping in Teaching Phrasal Verbs to Chau Van Liem 9th graders is the product of my own work The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institution The thesis’s content, except where clearly acknowledged within the text, has not been published by other authors I hereby state that I approve the requirements of the University for the Retention and use of my thesis and that it is accessible for the purposes of study and research Ho Chi Minh City, August 15, 2017 La Thảo Quỳnh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe my deepest gratitude to Ms Nguyễn Thị Kiều Thu, Ph.D., my supervisor, for her clear and enthusiastic instructions as well as valuable comments on my paper at various points in its development Without her precious support and patient guidance, I could have never finished this research I also would like to express my gratitude to the headmaster, teachers and students at Chau Van Liem Secondary School, who contributed a great deal to helping me collect valuable data for my study I am also grateful to my best friends who have spent their precious time listening to me, encouraging me, consoling me and giving me valuable advice when I need them the most Also, I am indebted to all the members in my family, for their great support and encouragement, especially my mom who always reminds me of finishing my work on time and being responsible for it I would also like to say thanks to my boyfriend who has also been there for me and reminded me to complete my work responsibly and timely ii ABSTRACT This study is an attempt to investigate the effect of a technique which English teachers can apply in teaching phrasal verbs to the students attending Chau Van Liem Secondary School in Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on their students’ learning This particular technique incorporated a number of mind maps self-designed by the researcher whose hope was to introduce them and prove their effect in teaching one of the most challenging aspects of English: phrasal verbs The data used for this study were collected through the administration of three sets of pre-tests and post-tests together with a student questionnaire and informal talks with some volunteer students The research has pointed out that the applied teaching technique does have an effect on the participants’ scores, attitudes and short-term memory through an increase in their scores after they underwent the treatment Furthermore, they expressed generally positive attitudes towards the technique stating that the mind maps’ general presentation and design were attractive enough to motivate them in learning Although the students did point out some unsatisfactory features of the treatment, they still agreed that this teaching method could be used effectively to support the teaching and learning of English phrasal verbs Based on the findings, the researcher expected that English teachers at secondary schools would try out the method so as to create favorable results which have been proved by the study in its own research condition Key words: mind-mapping, phrasal verbs, cognitive processing iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY, RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT .iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii LIST OF TABLES ix LIST OF FIGURES xi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Aim of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Mind-mapping 2.1.1 Definitions of mind-mapping 2.1.2 Characteristics of mind-mapping 2.1.3 Laws of mind-mapping 2.2 Phrasal verbs 10 2.2.1 Definitions of ‘phrasal verbs’ 11 2.2.2 The construction and types of phrasal verbs 12 2.2.2.1 The construction of phrasal verbs 12 2.2.2.2 Types of phrasal verbs 14 2.2.3 Approaches to teaching phrasal verbs 15 2.2.4 How phrasal verbs have been taught in grade in Vietnam 16 2.2.4.1 Phrasal verbs taught in the English textbook 16 2.2.4.2 Phrasal verbs taught in English Workbook 18 2.2.4.3 Phrasal verbs taught in Mai Lan Huong Workbook 18 iv 2.2.4.4 Phrasal verbs in teachers’ English lesson plans 23 2.3 Applications of mind mapping in educational settings and their related issues 23 2.3.1 Students’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in various educational contexts 23 2.3.2 Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of mind maps in the context of ELT classroom 28 2.3.3 The effects of using mind maps in education 29 2.3.4 Using mind maps to teach vocabulary 31 2.4 A typology of memory and memory retention 33 2.4.1 A typology of memory 33 2.4.2 Memory retention 34 2.5 Basic framework for designing the phrasal verb mind maps 35 2.6 Definition of attitude 36 2.7 iMindMap software 38 2.8 The Current Study’s Operational Definitions and Theoretical Framework 38 2.9 Conceptual framework 41 2.10 Summary of Chapter 43 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 44 3.1 Research question and hypotheses 44 3.2 Research design 45 3.3 Research methodology 48 3.3 Context of the study 49 3.3.1 Research site 49 3.3.2 Target population 49 3.3.3 Sampling 51 3.4 Teaching materials 53 3.4.1 Selection of taught phrasal verbs 53 3.4.2 Presentation of phrasal verb mind maps 56 3.5 Research tools 56 3.5.1 Sets of pre-tests and post-tests 56 v 3.5.2 Experimental teaching 58 3.5.3 Informal talks 59 3.5.4 Attitudinal student questionnaire 59 3.5.5 Classroom observation 63 3.6 Procedures of data collection and data analysis 64 3.7 Summary of Chapter 67 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 68 4.1 Analysis of data 68 4.1.1 The analysis of students’ test scores 68 4.1.1.2 First group (Class 9A5)’s test scores 68 4.1.1.2 Second group (Class 9A2)’s test scores 73 4.1.1.3 Comparison between the two experimental groups 78 4.1.2 The effect of using mind mapping to teach phrasal verbs on students’ attitudes 79 4.1.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards the presentation of distributed mind maps 79 4.1.2.2 Students’ attitudes towards the images in distributed mind maps 81 4.1.2.3 Students’ attitudes towards the content of the mind maps 82 4.1.2.4 Students’ favorite and disliked aspects of the mind maps 83 4.1.2.5 Students’ attitudes towards the actual application of mind maps 86 4.1.3 Informal talks 88 4.1.4 The effect of using mind mapping to teach phrasal verbs on students’ STM 90 4.2 Major findings of the current study 90 4.3 Discussion 91 4.3.1 The participants’ increased test scores 91 4.3.2 The participants’ attitudes towards the application of mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs 93 4.4 Summary of Chapter 94 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 95 vi 5.1 Conclusion 95 5.2 Limitations of the study 96 5.3 Recommendations for the application of the technique and further studies 98 5.3.1 Recommendation for the application of the technique 98 5.3.2 Recommendation for further studies 98 REFERENCES 100 APPENDICES 107 APPENDIX 1: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 107 APPENDIX 2: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 111 APPENDIX 3: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST 117 APPENDIX 4: THE STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE 123 APPENDIX 5: THREE MIND MAPS USED IN THE TREATMENT 127 APPENDIX 6: LEARNERS’ OPINIONS TOWARDS MIND MAPS IN A STUDY BY JONES ET AL IN 1999 130 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CVL Chau Van Liem Secondary School EF Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature EFL English as a Foreign Language ELT English Languages Teaching STM short-term memory USSH University of Social Sciences and Humanities VNU-HCMC Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam National University viii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Keys of Unit 7’s Exercise VIII in Mai Lan Huong’s Workbook 21 Table 2.2 List of all excluded phrasal verbs 22 Table 3.1 Basic information about two experimental groups 50 Table 4.1 The summary of basic figures of Class 9A5's sets of tests 69 Table 4.2 The summary of the mean scores of Class 9A5's tests 69 Table 4.3 The summary of Class 9A5's first meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 70 Table 4.4 The summary of Class 9A5's first meeting paired samples test 70 Table 4.5 The summary of Class 9A5's second meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 71 Table 4.6 The summary of Class 9A5's second meeting paired samples test 72 Table 4.7 The summary of Class 9A5's third meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 72 Table 4.8 The summary of Class 9A5's third meeting paired samples test 73 Table 4.9 The summary of basic figures of Class 9A2's sets of tests 74 Table 4.10 The summary of the mean scores of Class 9A2's tests 74 Table 4.11 The summary of Class 9A2's first meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 75 Table 4.12 The summary of Class 9A2's first meeting paired samples test 75 Table 4.13 The summary of Class 9A2's second meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 76 Table 4.14 The summary of Class 9A2's second meeting paired samples test 76 Table 4.15 The summary of Class 9A2's third meeting paired samples statistics and correlations 77 Table 4.16 The summary of Class 9A2's third meeting paired samples test 77 Table 4.17 The summary of two groups' mean scores 78 Table 4.18 The summary of two groups' deviations 78 Table 4.19 The summary of two groups' t-values 79 Table 4.20 Students' attitudes towards the mind maps' presentation 81 Table 4.21 Students' attitudes towards the mind maps' images 82 ix 14 Samantha is some money for her trip to Italy a putting aside c going at b holding with d bringing in 15 After the speaker finished the speech (bài diễn văn), some listeners _ to make questions a carried off c held up b made off d got about 16 “Hey This is where Jane lives We should her for a minute.” a up c go over b make after d look in Good luck Thank you for your cooperation  116 APPENDIX 3: THE PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST Nickname : _ Year of birth : _ PRE-TEST Xin chào bạn Tôi La Thảo Quỳnh Hiện học viên cao học chuyên ngành Lý luận phương pháp giảng dạy tiếng Anh Đại học Khoa học Xã hội Nhân văn – Đại học Quốc gia TP.HCM Tôi thực nghiên cứu cho luận văn thạc sĩ với đề tài “Nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư để dạy động từ hai chữ học sinh lớp trường THCS Châu Văn Liêm” Hy vọng bạn hợp tác để giúp tơi hồn thành nghiên cứu Mọi thơng tin cá nhân bạn sử dụng mục đích nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn Please choose the answer that you think is the most suitable (Xin chọn đáp án bạn cho nhất) The thief the corner of the street as the police were after him a fell about c got through b broke for d made after As the exam is getting closer, her study pressure is _ a putting aside c building up b bringing in d falling about It used to me _ when my classmates laughed at my name a hold/up c build/up b do/up d burn/up I have just _ to give Maria a letter a called by b put to 117 c taken apart d got about It is weekend We can have time to _ and enjoy ourselves by the swimming pool a hold up c kick back b carry off d go at This library allows you to _ six books at a time a out c check out b come upon d get about Sarah looked at the sky and wanted to go home early before the weather a closed in c brought in b brought down d went over On the second day, when we were visiting the city, we an old friend from high school a came apart c held up b fell about d came upon I don’t think she died in a car accident, I think her husband her _, a look/in c went/at b did/in d put/to 10 As the blue car , the driver asked me for direction to the station a drew up c brought down b got through d carried off 11 I have a friend who loves to tell jokes, which makes everybody _ a get about c fall about b take apart d put aside 12 Our neighbour’s car has just been _ by two thieves a carried off c brought down b come out d done up 13 The teacher asked a difficult question, but I knew the answer so I _ my arm _ 118 a burned/up c held/up b put/aside d brought/in 14 Tet holiday is coming People usually spend time _ their houses a looking in c building up b coming apart d going over 15 They are having their car at a garage a got through c done up b made off d brought down 16 The boys were playing football in the house when suddenly the ball hit the vase, making it a come apart c checked out b carried off d put to 17 Mary’s parents are really rich, so she usually so much on her clothes a gets through c calls by b carries off d kicks back 18 John is planning to buy a house so he is _ some money a getting about c holding with b doing in d putting aside 19 This part of the lesson is really difficult so many students _ lots of questions for the teacher a check out c put to b carry off d bring in 20 My parents always tell me to _ my grandparents at least once a week a go over c look in b close in d come apart Good luck Thank you for your cooperation  119 Nickname : _ Year of birth : _ POST-TEST Xin chào bạn Tôi La Thảo Quỳnh Hiện học viên cao học chuyên ngành Lý luận phương pháp giảng dạy tiếng Anh Đại học Khoa học Xã hội Nhân văn – Đại học Quốc gia TP.HCM Tôi thực nghiên cứu cho luận văn thạc sĩ với đề tài “Nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư để dạy động từ hai chữ học sinh lớp trường THCS Châu Văn Liêm” Hy vọng bạn hợp tác để giúp tơi hồn thành nghiên cứu Mọi thơng tin cá nhân bạn sử dụng mục đích nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn Please choose the correct answer (Xin chọn đáp án nhất) The robber got on his car and the main street a closed in c got about b broke for d put to Tung is trying to _ his stamp collection by asking for more stamps from his friends a come out c fall about b hold up d build up I usually play football inside the house, which makes my mom _ all the time a burnt up c taken apart b fallen about d gone over Are you going to _ Jack’s house this weekend? a call by c get about b bring down d go at Mike never works on Sunday It’s time for him to and spend time for himself a out b get through 120 c break for d kick back Luna likes reading books a lot She usually _ three books at the library every week a look in c go at b check out d put aside The weather forecast predicts that the weather will _ tomorrow with lots of rain and wind a bring in c get through b close in d out Last week, I my ex-boyfriend in the company meeting a came upon c made after b fell about d done up The robbers one person and killed another in the bank a made off c put to b built up d did in 10 When your bus _ in front of my house, the driver always leaves of lots trash on the ground a put aside c gone over b made off d carried off 11 I completely _ her idea that we should use bicycles instead of motorbikes a hold with c go over b take apart d build up 12 My dream is to save enough money and _ to Japan a get about c carry off b put aside d call by 13 A famous painting in the museum has just been a fallen about c made off b put aside d carried off 14 Any planes flying into this area will be a closed in b broken for 121 c brought down d looked in 15 Jane and her husband are the room for their new baby a doing up c coming out b checking out d putting aside 16 My boss asked me to _ John’s house because he was absent from work today a fall about c hold up b call by d bring down 17 The number of families with two children is this year a building up c doing up b holding up d drawing up 18 Talking in class can make our teacher a kick back c burn up b make off d put aside 19 In the interview, I was _ a question about how many children I had a put to c go over b come out d look in 20 People are afraid to go out at night because they may be on empty streets a done in c looked in b closed in d brought in Good luck Thank you for your cooperation  122 APPENDIX 4: THE STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE Vietnamese Version KHẢO SÁT THÁI ĐỘ HỌC SINH KHỐI VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY TRONG VIỆC DẠY VÀ HỌC ĐỘNG TỪ HAI CHỮ Xin chào bạn Tôi La Thảo Quỳnh Hiện học viên cao học chuyên ngành Lý luận phương pháp giảng dạy tiếng Anh Đại học Khoa học Xã hội Nhân văn – Đại học Quốc gia TP.HCM Tôi thực nghiên cứu cho luận văn thạc sĩ với đề tài “Nghiên cứu ảnh hưởng việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư để dạy động từ hai chữ học sinh lớp trường THCS Châu Văn Liêm” Hy vọng bạn hợp tác để giúp tơi hồn thành nghiên cứu Mọi thơng tin cá nhân bạn bảo mật sử dụng mục đích nghiên cứu Xin chân thành cảm ơn I Thông tin cá nhân: Biệt danh: _ Tuổi: _ Giới tính: II Khảo sát thái độ: Nêu cảm nhận bạn sơ đồ tư dùng để học động từ hai chữ (phrasal verbs): a Bạn thấy cách trình bày sơ đồ tư nào? (Gợi ý: trình bày đơn giản, trình bày phức tạp trình bày dễ hiểu, v…v…) b Bạn thấy hình ảnh sử dụng sơ đồ tư nào? (Gợi ý: hình ảnh rõ, hình ảnh mờ, v…v…) c Bạn thấy nội dung sơ đồ tư nào? (Gợi ý: động từ cịn ít, động từ giải thích rõ ràng, động từ giải thích phức tạp, v…v…) d Bạn thấy việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư để dạy học động từ hai chữ phù hợp? 123 Phù hợp Không phù hợp Không chắn e Bạn thích điểm sơ đồ tư bạn xem? (có thể chọn nhiều đáp án) Cách trình bày Hình ảnh Màu sắc Nội dung Ứng dụng việc học Giúp nhớ lâu Giúp học thuộc nhanh Khác (xin nêu rõ): _ f Bạn khơng thích điểm sơ đồ tư bạn xem? (có thể chọn nhiều đáp án) Cách trình bày phức tạp Hình ảnh khơng rõ nét Giải thích khó hiểu Khơng giúp ích cho việc học Khác (xin nêu rõ): _ Sơ đồ tư nên sử dụng việc giảng dạy tiếng Anh cấp trung học? a Nên b Không nên c Không chắn Bạn sử dụng sơ đồ tư việc học tiếng Anh sau này? a Có b Khơng c Khơng chắn CẢM ƠN SỰ HỢP TÁC CỦA BẠN    124 English Version AN INVESTIGATION INTO 9TH GRADERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF MIND MAPS IN TEACHING AND LEARNING PHRASAL VERBS How you do? My name is La Thao Quynh I am currently a graduate taking an MA course on Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages at University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Ho Chi Minh National University I am working on a study entitled “An investigation into the effect of applying mind-mapping in teaching phrasal verbs to 9th graders at Chau Van Liem Secondary School” I hope that you can cooperate with me to help me finish this study All of your personal information will be secured and solely used for research purposes Sincerely thanks! I Personal information: Nickname: _ Age: Gender: _ II Attitudinal questions: Express your attitudes towards the mind map used in learning phrasal verbs: a What you think of the presentation of the mind map? (Suggestions: the presentation is simple, complicated or easy to understand) b What you think of the images used in the mind map? (Suggestions: the images are clear, the images are blurry) c What you think of the content of the mind map? (Suggestions: the number of verbs is limited, the verbs are explained clearly or in a complicated manner) d How you find applying mind maps in teaching and learning phrasal verbs to be? Suitable 125 Unsuitable I’m not sure e What is your most favourite feature of the mind map? (more than one option can be chosen) Its presentation Its image Its color Its content Its application in study phrasal verbs It helps you memorize phrasal verbs longer It helps you memorize phrasal verbs faster Other (please specify): _ f What is your least favourite feature of the mind map? (more than one option can be chosen) Its presentation is complicated The images are blurry The explanations are confusing It is not helpful for me to study phrasal verbs Other (please specify): _ Should such mind map be used in teaching English in secondary schools? a Yes, it should be b No, it shouldn’t be c I’m not sure Will you use mind maps in studying English in the future? a Yes, I will b No, I won’t c I’m not sure THANKS FOR YOUR COOPERATION    126 APPENDIX 5: THREE MIND MAPS USED IN THE TREATMENT 127 128 129 APPENDIX 6: LEARNERS’ OPINIONS TOWARDS MIND MAPS IN A STUDY BY JONES ET AL IN 1999 Student number The first tool I was exposed to in this class was mind mapping I must admit, at first glance, I could not understand how it could be useful or exactly why I should try to apply this tool As I reflect, I am disappointed that this was my first impression I would like to think that one thing I got out of this program is openmindedness and a more innovative approach to business, organizations, and problem solving None the less, I was skeptical However, after seeing the mind maps that have been presented so far, I am really pleased with this tool It is a great way to get all of our ideas on the table, make some sense and order of them and see the "big picture" When reading books or business documents, often times so much information is presented that it is difficult to organize and truly understand the total meaning and concept This tool goes a long way to solve that problem Additionally, a big problem my organization has when having meetings is that the groups are usually very large and a few players dominate If this tool is used, everyone’s ideas are acknowledged and considered One would think a tool would not be necessary, but my experience has been that without some discipline, there are people who not “get their say” Unfortunately for the organization, these could be the best learnings and ideas Finally, for me personally, I plan to use this tool to prepare for presentations Currently, I feel as if sometimes my delivery is not as smooth as it could be because my thoughts are not organized well Student number The last thing I wanted to mention was that I was excited to learn about mind mapping I had not heard of this, and I find it to be a fascinating exercise I have never been fond of public speaking but I think that this type of mapping will make speaking in public and even chairing meetings more productive and less threatening 130