Applying the loci method combined with mind máp to improve vocabulary memorization for grade 10 students at hoang hoa 4 high school

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS APPLYING THE LOCI METHOD COMBINED WITH MIND MAPS TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY MEMORIZATION FOR GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT HOANG HOA HIGH SCHOOL Student: Do Lan Anh Student’s code: 1767010003 Class: K20A – English Teacher Education Faculty of Foreign Languages Supervisor: Dr Nguyen Thi Quyet THANH HOA, MAY 2021 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS During the time of completing my graduation‘s paper, I have gained precious experience and knowledge thanks to teacher‘s guidance, family‘s care and friend‘s cooperation I am very grateful to all for their help, precious experience and useful lessons, which will support me in the future, especially my career This graduation paper could not have been finished without the invaluable help, advice, and encouragement from teachers, especially Dr Quyet – my supervisor First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr Quyet who always instructed and supported me during the time of doing graduation‘s paper She always gave me the warm encouragements, helped and supported in my graduation paper Her support helped me finish my graduation paper well I also would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all teachers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages, for supporting me to complete this graduation paper i DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university or other institution or tertiary education Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given Student Do Lan Anh ii ABSTRACT In Vietnam, English vocabulary constitutes a challenge for English foreign language teaching and learning Most students spend a lot of time studying English vocabulary, but the result is often frustrating and unsatisfactory when so many students learn vocabulary by rote memorization, which is boring and dampens their enthusiasm for learning Therefore, it is desirable to find an effective tool to help students learn English vocabulary The Mind Map is a thinking tool that, based on divergent thinking, builds up a structure of knowledge for each target word by associating it with other related words or concepts Thus, recalling of one vocabulary word will prompt the other related items It also incorporates words, pictures, color, images and graphics, making learning information a vividly visual format Using Mind Maps in learning is in conformity with the theory of knowledge of visualization, information processing theory and brain science theory And, to help students to remember better, the research gives also a technique called Loci method The Loci method has been successfully applied in many cases to remember different types of information It is suitable for all people of all ages The purposes of this research are: (1) investigate the reality of learning English vocabulary of students at Hoang Hoa IV High School, (2) experiment with the use Loci technique combined with Mind map in learning English vocabulary for grade 10 students at Hoang Hoa IV High School This research showed that applying Loci technique combined with Mind maps to learning English vocabulary is effective method learning and help students improve amount of vocabularies and raise the quality teaching and learning at Hoang Hoa IV High School In conclusion, the writer shows that applying Loci method and Mind map is an interesting media because it could abstract the students‘ interest and it can help students improve their English vocabulary The writer hopes this thesis can be used an additional reference, there will be a further researcher with different discussion which can make a revision within development of this application iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i DECLARATION .ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF THE TABLES vi LIST OF THE CHARTS vii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aim of the study 3 Scope of the study Methods of the research Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND An overview of theoretical concepts 1.1 Vocabulary and its importance in language learning 1.2 Mnemonic techniques 1.2.1 Definition of Mnemonics 1.2.2 Kinds of Mnemonics 1.2.3 The Loci method 1.3 Mind maps 17 1.3.1 Definition of Mind maps 17 1.3.2 Features of Mind maps 18 1.3.3 Benefits of using Mind maps 18 1.4 Learning English vocabulary 19 1.4.1 Learning English vocabulary with the conventional method 19 1.4.2 Learning English vocabulary with the Loci method 20 1.4.3 Learning English vocabulary with Mind maps 21 1.4.4 Learning English vocabulary with the Loci method combined with Mind maps……… 23 1.5 Summary of the Chapter 24 iv CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 26 2.1 Setting 26 2.1.1 The conditional studying of students 10th - grade at Hoang Hoa IV High School 26 2.1.1 The level of English teacher at Hoang Hoa IV High School 26 2.1.2 The level of students in grade 10 at Hoang Hoa IV High School 26 2.1.3 The participants – grade 10 students at Hoang Hoa IV High School 27 2.1.4 Procedure of the application 27 2.2 Data collection 32 2.2.1 Instruments of data collection 32 2.3 Summary of the Chapter 34 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35 3.1 Data analysis 35 3.1.1.Data from questionnaires for students 35 3.1.2 Data from experiment 39 3.2 Discussion 44 3.3 Some Mind map samples to apply in learning English vocabulary 46 3.3.1.Circle Map 46 3.3.2.Tree Map 47 3.3.3.Bubble Map 48 3.3.4.Brace Map 49 3.3.5.Double Bubble Map 49 PART III: CONCLUSION 52 Summary of the study 52 Limitation and suggestion for further study 53 REFERENCES APPDENDICES v LIST OF THE TABLES Table 1: Lists of new words students often learn with the conventional method 20 Table 2: The basic stages in procedure of application 27 Table 3: Procedure of application 28 Table 4: List of vocabulary in week 2, & 31 Table 5: GPA at the end of the first semester of grade 10 students (2020-2021) 35 Table 6: Identification of English words‘ meanings with the topic ―Drinks‖ 39 Table 7: Identification of Vietnamese words‘ meanings with the topic ―Food‖ 40 Table 8: The results of applying through a composite test 41 vi LIST OF THE CHARTS Chart 1: The number of time students study English at home each day 36 Chart 2: Students‘ interest in the subject 37 Chart 3: The English level of students in grade 10 38 Chart 4: Compare students‘ preferences between the two methods 42 Chart 5: Students‘ evaluation about the Loci method combined with Mind maps 43 Chart 6: The difficulties that students must face 44 vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Today, being a means of international communication, English has exerted its dominance over the world Many countries including Vietnam are attempting to improve English ability of their citizens Vietnamese government has implemented policies to improve quality of teaching and learning English According to this, English was introduced as the compulsory subject from primary school to high school Students are required to pass English exams in National high school graduation exam to win places in universities Therefore, learning and teaching English is of great importance English is an extremely important tool in modern social life Moreover, it is also a tool to facilitate integration with the international and regional community It helps us to access international information about science and technology, cultural, medical, industrial and agricultural education which is changing every hour It also helps us to access advanced cultures as well as important international events Therefore, studying English as a foreign language is an indispensable basic culture in the educational program Currently studying English asks students to develop all skills of listening – speaking – reading – writing One of the factors for learning skills well, especially reading skills, is vocabulary Vocabulary is the most important part in all languages Vocabulary is the core of learning English Without it, students fail to communicate with people and express their own ideas It can be said that vocabulary is the foundation to build language skills To emphasize the importance of vocabulary, Schmitt (2000) states that ―lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language‖ In addition, Wilkins (1972) once said, ―Without grammar, little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed‖ Hence, learning vocabulary is of crucial importance to all language learners and teaching vocabulary should be placed in the center of attention in language classes One of problems in learning vocabulary is that learners are struggling against the decline of memory retention in time Forgetting Curve by Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885) shows that learners forget about 90% of what they learned within the first month After a few hours of studying a language, most of them forget 50% of the content Besides, students are constantly bombarded with new knowledge in subjects in which they may or may not be interested So, to learn a language, speak a language, use a language, everyone must learn vocabularies Learning English vocabulary in a traditional way does not make you feel happy while studying As soon as you look at the words, the students are tired and depressed the long vocabulary They often have a feeling of remembering a lot of words in a short time, especially before the test But the words they just learned are only ―temporary‖ in the brain for a short time And then they will forget immediately This not only affects the academic results but also discourages many students, even hating English Therefore, building a systematic image, showing the relationship between knowledge will bring many advantages in terms of remembering, developing awareness, thinking, imagination and ability High creativity is important Mind map is known as the method of clever vocabularies learning mentioned in the book ―I‘m good, you too‖ It is an interesting way to learn English vocabularies, which helps students learn them quickly However, in order to remember them for a long time, students should combine with mnemonic techniques They are not new techniques deriving from the Greek word ―Mnemonikos‖ which means ―aiding memory‖ Mnemonic techniques have been mentioned as vocabulary learning strategies by many researchers such as Schmitt (1997), Gu and Johnson (1996) At Hoang Hoa IV High School, Thanh Hoa Province, a majority of students in grade 10 have difficulty in learning vocabulary Most of them often complain that they have forgotten the vocabulary very quickly after English lessons They cannot complete the reading and writing tasks where the meaning of words is necessary for comprehension In a word, this lack of adequate vocabulary knowledge is an obvious and serious obstacle for many students in learning English and improving their language skills All the reasons above offered me an opportunity to carry out a study on ―Applying the Loci method combined with Mind maps to improve vocabulary 3.3.4 Brace Map A brace diagram helps to analyze the parts of an object and the relationship between them Visually, a Brace diagram looks like a horizontal tree The difference is that this one diagram lists all the parts of the main body as a whole Brace diagrams can help us visualize the creation of a web page The initial audience is the entire website To the right of the object are the main tasks, in this case, the site's subpages Each page will then unfold the elements within that page A Brace diagram can be extended sideways until all elements have been identified Picture 11: Illustrate “Brace Map” The characteristics of Brace maps are the same as Tree maps Students can apply to many vocabulary topics, which they can also use for learning speaking skills, reading skills, or writing skills For speaking and writing, students can develop main ideas and expand with supporting ideas For reading skills, students can use Brace maps to learn synonyms 3.3.5 Double Bubble Map A double bubble map is a combination of two bubble diagrams and it is known as a double bubble, or a Venn diagram The double bubble map is a comparison chart that identifies the differences and similarities between two topics The center between the two circles contains the two main ideas The intersection of the two 49 circles where the shared similarities are located Towards the sides are the bubbles that determine the difference of each central circle This diagram is suitable for learning words with the same spelling and pronunciation but they have the different meanings For example, we have "right (direction) - right (meaning right)", "left (direction) - left (past tense of "leave")" In addition, Double Bubble Maps are also very useful for learning synonyms or antonyms Picture 12: Illustrate “Double bubble map” Another benefit of double bubble diagrams is in decision-making If you have to choose between two solutions to a problem, this diagram can help you make the final decision By visual comparison and contrast, the option becomes clearer Double bubble diagrams are often included in presentations to show a comparison between two concepts Or they can also act as an Infographic The layout of the double bubbles does not have to follow a strict grid Don't be afraid to get creative with the arrangement of the bubbles, as long as they are still easy to understand Therefore, this is also an advantageous method for students to apply in any presentation 3.4 Summary of the Chapter The main content of Chapter III is to analyze data on the teaching and learning situation of teachers and students at Hoang Hoa IV High School, and 50 simultaneously, it also shows the evaluation results obtained by the researcher from the experiment Besides, Chapter III also provides some commonly used Mind map templates today and the principles of use of each type In the study, there were five types of maps given such as Circle Map, Tree Map, Bubble Map, Brace Map and Double bubble Map The researcher hopes that learners can apply these types of maps to learn English vocabulary effectively 51 PART III: CONCLUSION Summary of the study From this study, we can draw the following conclusions: This study evaluates the effectiveness of the Loci method combined with the unique word map on the vocabulary knowledge of grade 10 students at Hoang Hoa High School Through analysis of the results obtained from the survey questions, interviews, and mini-test vocabulary of students before and after applying this technique, we conclude that the contribution of the Loci technique and Mind map has helped them improve their memory and vocabulary Using mind maps creates favorable conditions for children to develop thinking and creativity The results showed that the participants in the experimental group, who were applied the Loci method combined with mind mapping, significantly improved their performance in the vocabulary test Therefore, through surveys and experiments, researchers can confirm that applying the Loci method combined with Mind maps is a useful method to enhance vocabulary learning and can play an important role in learning vocabulary It is important in teaching and learning vocabulary for students at Hoang Hoa High School, especially grade 10 students Because when they finish their studies at secondary school and start studying at high school, they will face many difficulties when changing the environment and educational methods The results of this study indicate that there is a significant difference in the effectiveness of the Loci method combined with mind mapping compared with the traditional learning method First, new words can be easily thought of and remembered Learners can categorize words based on their difficulty level and form Mind maps logically and appropriately forming a palace on paper and using the Loci method for memorization Second, learners not feel bored and pressured to learn vocabulary every day Third, learning letters by traditional methods causes rote learning Finally, there can be an attention problem with the traditional way as some words may receive less attention than others not used regularly by the teacher during the lesson and learners in the learning process In summary, applying the Loci method combined with Mind maps helps 10thgrade students at Hoang Hoa High School improve their vocabulary memorization 52 more than the traditional method This method not only helps them think logically but also creates interest in learning It is also suitable for children's learning attitude today because most of them tend to prefer playing to learning and not attach importance to learning English Limitation and suggestion for further study In any research papers, limitations are unavoidable The study presented in this minor thesis is of no exception The study has already deal with the difficulties of learning English vocabulary However, the number of participants in this survey and the data based on questionnaires is still not very high, neither is the reliability In the future, there should be further study on this field There are some suggestions for the students, English teachers and further researchers The suggestions are as follows: The researchers suggest for the teachers to use Mind maps in teaching English It is an useful appoarch because it could immerse students in learning English vocabulary Students are easy to memorize the material and motivated in learning For the students, they have to study to master vocabularies Because of mastering vocabularies, they can be reached all of English skills Therefore, students should develop their knowledge of vocabulary using the useful method like the Loci method and Mind maps And, to learn English vocabulary has become more effectively, they should combined the Loci method with Mind maps They are more interested in learning English vocabulary Last, the researcher hopes the results of this research can be used an additional reference, there will be a further researcher with different discussion which can make a revision within development of this method 53 REFERENCES A Vietnamese references “Applying Mind map to teaching and learning English vocabularies in reading lessons – grade 10” – completed by Trinh Thi Hanh – Nga Son High School “A study on mnemonic techniques to help students of grade increase their vocabulary retention at a secondary school” – completed by Le Thuy Duong – THAI NGUYEN 2019 “Using mind map to improve vocabulary knowledge for the first year English language teaching education students of FLF at HPU 2” – completed by DO THI VAN TRANG – HA NOI 2016 B English references Amiryousefi, Mohammad and Saeed Ketabi ―Mnemonic Instruction: A Way to Boost Vocabulary Learning and Recall.‖ Journal of Language Teaching and Research, vol 2, no 1, pp 178-179, 2011 Academy Publisher, Finland Foer, Joshua Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything The Penguin Press, pp 83-86, 2011 Hagstrom, Josefin and Anders Winman ―Virtually overcoming grammar learning with 3D application of Loci mnemonics?.‖ Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol 32, p 452, 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Kay, David The Science of Memory (PLE: Memory) Psychology Library Editions: Memory Series Taylor & Francis Group ProQuest Ebook Central, p 1, 2014 Legge, Eric, et al “Building a memory palace in minutes: Equivalent memory performance using virtualversus conventional environments with the Method of Loci.” Acta Psychologic, p 381, 2012 Maguire, Eleanor, et al “Routes to Remembering: The Brains Behind Superior Memory.” Nature Neuroscience, vol 6, no 1, p 93, 2003 Moè, Angelica and Rossana Beni “Stressing the Efficacy of the Loci Method: Oral Presentation and the Subject-generation of the Loci Pathway with Expository Passages.” Applied Cognitive Psychology, vol 19, p 95, 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd Qureshi, Ayisha, et al “The method of loci as a mnemonic device to facilitate learning in endocrinology leads to improvement in student performance as measured by assessments.” Advances in Physiology Education, The American Physiological Society, p 140, 2014 Thomas, Nigel “Ancient Imagery Mnemonics.” Mental Imagery, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2014 10 Zlotnik, Gregorio and Aaron Vansintjan “Memory: An Extended Definition.” Frontiers in Psychology, vol 10, p 3, 2019 11 Farrand, P.; Hussain, F.; Hennessy, E (2002) "The efficacy of the mind map study technique" Medical Education Archived from the original on 2013-01-05 Retrieved 2009-02-16 12 Martinez-Conde, Susana (April 26, 2013) "Neuroscience in Fiction: Hannibal Lecter's Memory Palace" Scientific American C Internet source "Mind Map noun - definition in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus Cambridge Dictionaries Online" Dictionary.cambridge.org Retrieved 2013-07https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/mindmap?q=mind+map Farrand, P.; Hussain, F.; Hennessy, E (2002) "The efficacy of the mind map study technique" Medical Education 36 (5): 426–431 doi:10.1046/j.1365- 2923.2002.01205.x PMID 12028392 S2CID 29278241 original on 2013-01-05 Archived from the Retrieved 2009-02 https://archive.ph/20130105174142/http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal /118952400/abstract Dalgleish, Tim; Navrady, Lauren; Bird, Elinor; Hill, Emma; Dunn, Barnaby D.; Golden, Ann-Marie (12 February 2013) "Method-of-Loci as a Mnemonic Device to Facilitate Access to Self-Affirming Personal Memories for Individuals With Depression" Clinical Psychological Science (2): 156–162 https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Method-of-Loci-as-a-MnemonicDevice-to-Facilitate-DalgleishNavrady/d4724c840f645e8dc3b9526fcea35827c691d396 Donor, Timothy "Breaking the language barrier" Retrieved 19 February 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNmf-G81Irs Foer, Joshua (March 16, 2005) "Forget Me Not: How to win the U.S memory championship" Slate Retrieved October 24, 2013 https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2005/03/how-to-win-the-u-s-memorychampionship.html APPDENDICES APPDENDIX QUESTIONNAIRES HONG DUC UNIVERSITY GRADUATION THESIS FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES QUESTIONNAIRE INVESTIGATION A- Information of investigator Name: Do Lan Anh Address: Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hong Duc University, Thanh Hoa Investigation purposes: Collect information for graduation thesis topics for the 2020-2021 school year: « Applying the Loci method combined with Mind maps to improve vocabulary memorization for grade 10 students at Hoang Hoa High School» Information about the person questioned: Name (1):……………………………………………………………… Class (2):…………………… B- Questionnaires: Please answer the questions by marking X in the box to give information about your learning English currently and express your knowledge about Loci technique as well as method of learning vocabulary with mind maps How long have you learning English? years years over years What was your last semester’s GPA? under from – under from – under from – over How much time you spend on learning English at home? hour a day 30 minutes a day 15 minutes a day No How is your English level? Excellent Good Average Weak Do you like learning English vocabulary? Yes No Which difficulties you have when learning English vocabulary? Synonym & Antonym Pronunciation & stress Kinds of word Learning method All of them How you usually learn English vocabulary? Read bilingual books Listen to music and watch American film Learn English online Set apps to learn English in your smartphone Others:……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………….………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Does your English teacher have a specific approach? Yes No 10 How long does it take you to memorize 10 words at a time? 15 minutes 30 minutes hour 11 After memorizing any word, how long can you remember it? 1- days 3-5 days week month over month 12 Do you know Loci method? Yes No 13 Do you know mind maps? Yes No 14 Have you ever applied mind maps in your studies? Can you talk about mind map’s usefulness if you have? Yes No ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 15 In your opinion, can your vocabulary memorization be improved when applying mind maps to learning English? Yes, of course Maybe No 16 In your opinion, is applying mind maps to learning English vocabulary a good idea? Why? Definitely, It‘s a great idea Because it helps us think logically and learn more easily Yes, because of its logic, we can memorize easier and longer I don‘t think so Because it‘s also a normal approach Others: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 17 In your opinion, the “Loci” method is…… one of the mnemonics an approach to help improving memory, which is known the longest Both of them Others: ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 18 Do you want to improve your vocabulary memorization? Yes No Thank you for joining in my survey! APPDENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Do you prefer using the conventional method to applying the Loci method combined with mind maps? How you evaluate this new method? What difficulties did you face when applying the Loci method combined with Mind maps? APPDENDIX THE WEEKLY TESTS Can you tell me the meaning of these words? Lists of words follow topic ―Drinks‖: water, milk, iced tea, fruit juice, pineapple juice, smoothies, lemonade, squash, mineral water, sparkling water Can you tell me the meaning of these words? Lists of words follow topic ―Food‖: thịt bò, thịt heo, trứng, cá hồi, hàu, tôm hùm, khoai tây, cà chua, rau ngò, gà tây APPDENDIX THE COMPOSITE TEST Name: ……………………………………………………… Class: ……………………………………………………… Question 1: Give the meaning of the following words smoothies mineral water sparkling water soya milk rượu sâm banh thức uống xay nhuyễn từ sữa nước uống có ga Question 2: Fill in the blank Cr_b O_ster Tu_ke_ Shr_mp B_lt H_g_ he_ls Sw_ats_irt C_rdi_an Question : Write the correct form of the following words ultausneosim callyengetier exverttro aphableproac perstivecep gaengentme modateer