Ứng dụng điện thoại memrise hỗ trợ sinh viên tiếng anh học từ vựng như thế nào một nghiên cứu thực nghiệm

HUE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH NGUYEN PHUOC BAO CHAU HOW ‘MEMRISE’ MOBILE APP ASSISTS EFL-MAJORED STUDENTS WITH VOCABULARY LEARNING: AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY GRADUATION RESEARCH PAPER Hue, Academic Years: 2016 - 2020 STATEMENTOF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that this graduation research paper is conducted under the guidance of Dr Vo Thi Lien Huong, English Department, Hue University of Foreign Languages Itis my full participation in the work to take responsibility for the content, including participation in the plan, design, analysis, writing and revision of the manuscript All of information quoted or paraphrased from other materials is acknowledged i ABSTRACT The study looked at how ‘Memrise’ mobile app assists EFL-majored students with vocabulary learning, especially their reading comprehension skills The purpose of the study is to learn about the efficacy of the Memrise vocabulary learning tool on EFL students' vocabulary and reading comprehension proficiency, in this case, the third year students, Department of English, University of Foreign Languages, Hue University This is an experimental research To carry out this study, the researcher selected 40 third-year EFL students and divided them equally into the experimental and the control group The study was conducted within months when participants took totally four tests Data were quantitatively analyzed with the assistance of the SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software The results showed that there was a significant difference in the reading comprehension skills of the students in the experiment group using the Memrise app compared to the control group, who only learned in the traditional way The students mean of pre-test’s score of the experiment group was 3.075 Then in post-test, the mean score of this group was5.96 Meanwhile, the corresponding results of the control group were 3.635 in pre-test and 3.125 in post-test Based on the results of the data analysis, the researcher arrived at the conclusion that with Memrise as an assistant tool in learning vocabulary, students’ reading comprehension skills have been notably improved Keywords: Memrise, vocabulary, experiment, reading-comprehension-skills ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This paper and the research behind it would not have been possible without the exceptional support of my supervisor, Dr Vo Thi Lien Huong Her enthusiasm, knowledge and attention to detail have been an inspiration and kept my work on track from my first encounter with this thesis, How ‘Memrise’ Mobile App Assists EFL-Majored Students with Vocabulary Learning: An Experimental Study, to the final draft of this paper Ms Tran Thi Thuy Hang, my student fellow, who altogether work on a graduation thesis under the same guidance and devotion of Dr Vo, has encouraged me whenever I seemed to give up and has always been reminding me to stick to the procedure of my thesis In addition, I would like to express my profound gratitude towards my secondary school friend who helped me in providing briefing related to analyzing data And with all love and respect, I would like to express my gratitude to my parents who have always loved me unconditionally and have created the most favourable conditions for me to study and complete this graduation thesis iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENTOF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES .vi LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW I Vocabulary learning The role of vocabulary The difficulties of vocabulary learning II Using Mobile App in learning vocabulary Advantages and disadvantages of using mobile apps Memrise Mobile App III Related studies 16 METHODOLOGY 18 I Research questions 18 II Research Design 18 III Context and Participants 19 IV.Procedure 20 V Materials and Instruments 21 Content resource 21 Memrise Application 21 Preliminary, Progress and Evaluative tests 21 VI.Data Analysis 22 VII Limitations of the study 23 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 iv I Data analyzed from SPSS through Independent-samples T-test 25 II Test score report in control group and experiment group 26 Control group 26 Experiment group 28 Pre-test and Post-test mean score comparison between control group and experiment group 30 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 32 I Conclusion 32 II Implications 32 For EFL teachers 32 For EFL students 33 REFERENCES 34 APPENDIX 36 v LIST OF TABLES Table - Group Statistics 33 Table - Independent Samples Test 33 Table - Control group test score report 34 Table - Experiment group test score report 36 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure - The difference between progress test and Progress test score in the control group .35 Figure - The difference between pre-test and post-test score in the control group 36 Figure - The difference between progress test and progress test score in the experiment group 37 Figure - The difference between pre-test and post-test score in the experiment group 38 Figure - Pre-test mean score between control group and experiment group 31 Figure - Post-test mean score between control group and experiment group……39 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Abbreviation Definition COVID-19 Coronavirus disease EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language ICT Information and communications technology LTM Long-term memory MALL Mobile-assisted language learning SD Standard Deviation SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences viii INTRODUCTION The key role of vocabulary in language learning has been highlighted by Wilkins (1972, p 11): “[…] while without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” It is no doubt that vocabulary is the most important factor in the process of learning any foreign language As a student learning a foreign language for over 10 years, particularly English, I find that my academic progress significantly depends on my command of vocabulary, alongside with mastering the grammar system The learning of vocabulary must be done regularly and persistently since the number of words is almost countless and is constantly expanded Besides, in this 4.0 era, we absolutely cannot deny the powerful influence of technology on the efficiency of human’s work Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by introducing smart devices has enabled people to have access to knowledge and information with no spatial and temporal constraints (Sampson, Isaias, Ifenthaler & Spector, 2013) In addition, one of the most important impetus for utilizing technology in the process of language learning is its ability to solve the time boundary problems between instructors and their students (Salleh & Binti, 2010) Due to the limited class hours, teachers are unlikely to spend all of their time just teaching vocabulary to students, self-study becomes a key factor for an individual's success Moreover, according to Nisbet and Austin (2013), the use of mobile devices can be particularly powerful in the area of vocabulary development, which is one domain of ESL teaching and learning In this regard, it is strongly believed that students can apply technology, mobile applications in particular, to support the process of self-study and self-improvement in terms of vocabulary The present study, therefore, will focus on studying the assistance of a mobile application – Memrise – which provides vocabulary courses designed systematically and intriguingly – in learning the vocabulary of EFL students through an experimental study The original intention of the researcher for the research process was to collect data and analyze the reading comprehension skills, writing skills and translation skills of Number Experiment group Pre-test (X1) Post-test (X2) Difference (X2 – X1) NMe01 2.1 2.1 0.0 NMe02 4.3 4.3 0.0 NMe03 3.6 2.1 -1.5 NMe04 4.3 3.6 -0.7 NMe05 6.4 6.4 0.0 NMe06 5.0 4.3 -0.7 NMe07 5.0 4.3 -0.7 NMe08 1.4 3.6 2.2 NMe09 4.3 3.6 -0.7 10 NMe10 2.1 3.6 1.5 11 NMe11 1.4 2.9 1.5 12 NMe12 1.4 2.1 0.7 13 NMe13 4.3 2.9 -1.4 14 NMe14 7.1 5.0 -2.1 15 NMe15 2.1 2.1 0.0 16 NMe16 2.1 2.1 0.0 17 NMe17 5.0 3.6 -1.4 18 NMe18 3.6 2.9 -0.7 19 NMe19 3.6 1.4 -2.2 20 NMe20 3.6 1.4 -2.2 Appendix D - The difference between pre-test and post-test score in the control group 39 Experiment group Number Experiment group Score Me01 4.3 Me02 5.7 Me03 2.1 Me04 3.6 Me05 2.9 Me06 2.9 Me07 2.9 Me08 2.9 Me09 3.6 10 Me10 2.1 11 Me11 4.3 12 Me12 2.1 13 Me13 2.1 14 Me14 1.4 15 Me15 3.6 16 Me16 3.6 17 Me17 1.4 18 Me18 2.9 19 Me19 2.1 20 Me20 5.0 Appendix E- The students’ score of pre-test in the experiment group 40 Number Experiment Progress test Progress test group score score Me01 5.7 6.4 Me02 3.6 5.0 Me03 2.1 5.0 Me04 5.0 3.6 Me05 2.1 4.3 Me06 2.1 7.1 Me07 1.4 6.4 Me08 4.3 7.9 Me09 3.6 4.3 10 Me10 6.4 8.6 11 Me11 4.3 4.3 12 Me12 4.3 6.4 13 Me13 4.3 7.1 14 Me14 2.9 3.6 15 Me15 3.6 5.0 16 Me16 4.3 7.1 17 Me17 1.4 2.9 18 Me18 4.3 3.6 19 Me19 3.6 4.3 20 Me20 5.7 5.7 Appendix F- The students' score of progress test and progress test in the experiment group 41 Number Experiment group Score Me01 7.9 Me02 5.7 Me03 6.4 Me04 5.7 Me05 4.3 Me06 6.4 Me07 3.6 Me08 7.1 Me09 5.0 10 Me10 6.4 11 Me11 5.0 12 Me12 7.1 13 Me13 7.1 14 Me14 4.3 15 Me15 5.0 16 Me16 8.6 17 Me17 2.9 18 Me18 6.4 19 Me19 7.9 20 Me20 6.4 Appendix G - The students' score of post-test in experiment group 42 Number Experiment group Pre-test (X1) Post-test (X2) Difference (X2 – X1) Me01 4.3 7.9 3.6 Me02 5.7 5.7 0.0 Me03 2.1 6.4 4.3 Me04 3.6 5.7 2.1 Me05 2.9 4.3 1.4 Me06 2.9 6.4 3.5 Me07 2.9 3.6 0.7 Me08 2.9 7.1 4.2 Me09 3.6 5.0 1.4 10 Me10 2.1 6.4 4.3 11 Me11 4.3 5.0 0.7 12 Me12 2.1 7.1 5.0 13 Me13 2.1 7.1 5.0 14 Me14 1.4 4.3 2.9 15 Me15 3.6 5.0 1.4 16 Me16 3.6 8.6 5.0 17 Me17 1.4 2.9 1.5 18 Me18 2.9 6.4 3.5 19 Me19 2.1 7.9 5.8 20 Me20 5.0 6.4 1.4 Appendix H- The difference between pre-test and post-test score in the experiment group 43 Appendix I -PRELIMINARY TEST (PRE-TEST) 44 Key answers: Task 1: C B A C A D B Task 2: D B, C B, C, D 45 B Appendix K - PROGRESS TEST 46 47 Key answers: Task 1: B C A D D B Task 2: E A D B 48 A A C D Appendix L - PROGRESS TEST Key answers: Task 1: 49 c g a f e d b E G F C A B Task 2: H 50 Appendix M - EVALUATE TEST (POST-TEST) 51 52 Key answers: Part 1: A E D B E A C C Part 2: B D D B 53 C C