An investigation into the difficulties encountered by students in learning phrasal verbs in grammar lessons at khanh son high school in khanh hoa province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THANH HOANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS IN LEARNING PHRASAL VERBS IN GRAMMAR LESSONS AT KHANH SON HIGH SCHOOL IN KHANH HOA PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THANH HOANG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY STUDENTS IN LEARNING PHRASAL VERBS IN GRAMMAR LESSONS AT KHANH SON HIGH SCHOOL IN KHANH HOA PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN QUANG NGOAN, Ph.D HUE, 2014 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - NGUYỄN THANH HỒNG KHẢO SÁT NHỮNG KHĨ KHĂN KHI HỌC CỤM ĐỘNG TỪ Ở CÁC BÀI HỌC NGỮ PHÁP CỦA HỌC SINH TẠI TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG KHÁNH SƠN, TỈNH KHÁNH HÕA LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS NGUYỄN QUANG NGOẠN HUẾ, 2014 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not been published elsewhere Author Nguyen Thanh Hoang i ABSTRACT This study investigates difficulties that students at Khanh Son High School in Khanh Hoa Province are facing in learning phrasal verbs in grammar lessons One more important thing is that from the difficulties, solutions and suggestions are shown with the hope that teachers will have deeper understanding about the reasons leading to students‟ difficulties in learning phrasal verbs and about the ways in which teachers and students will be able to teach and learn phrasal verbs more effectively and communicatively The research aims to find out the answers to the students‟ perceptions of phrasal verbs, types of phrasal verbs they have difficulties in learning, and causes of the difficulties they encounter at Khanh Son High School In order to achieve the objectives of the thesis, the researcher made use of not only qualitative but also quantitative approaches to the analysis of the data which were collected from tests on phrasal verbs, questionnaires, and interviews The results show that most of the students under investigation got bad marks for the following reasons First, there are so many categories of phrasal verbs Second, a phrasal verb has so many meanings depending on different situations and contexts of the sentences Third, the students in the survey at the Khanh Son High School came from poor families in the remote and mountainous areas and there was a shortage of conditions (both time and money) for them to study ii Acknowledgements Above all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Quang Ngoan, for his valuable references, insightful ideas, practical advice, serious supervision, and enthusiasm from the start of my work His guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my M.A study A very special thank goes out to my lecturers at the M.A course in the Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching in the academic year 20122014 for their devotion to teaching, which inspired all the students in the class to better their teaching profession I wish to express my gratitude to Assoc Pro Dr Tran Van Phuoc, Assoc Pro Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong, and Dr Truong Bach Le for their useful comments on the research proposal for the necessary adjustments I am deeply indebted to the teachers and students at Khanh Son High School, who took part in my study iii Without their enthusiastic help, it would be difficult for me to complete my research Last but not least, I heartily thank my dear family and friends for their constant encouragement and support iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii LIST OF CHARTS ix LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF APPENDICES xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION .1 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research purposes .2 1.3 Research questions .2 1.4 Research scope 1.5 Research significance 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of the previous studies 2.2 Theoretical background .6 2.2.1 Definition of phrasal verbs 2.2.2 Distinction between phrasal verbs and verb phrases 2.2.2.1 Verb phrases 2.2.2.2 Phrasal verbs 2.2.3 Types of phrasal verbs 2.2.3.1 Types of phrasal verbs in literature .9 2.2.3.2 Types of phrasal verbs in the current high school textbooks in Vietnam 11 v 2.2.4 What phrasal verbs should be taught? 18 2.2.5 Methods for teaching phrasal verbs in grammar lessons 18 2.3 Chapter summary .22 CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY .23 3.1 The research approach .23 3.2 Participants of the study 23 3.3 Research instruments .24 3.3.1 The tests on phrasal verbs 24 3.3.2 Questionnaires 24 3.3.3 Interviews 25 3.4 Data collection procedure 25 3.4.1 Document review 25 3.4.2 Empirical data collection 25 3.4.3 Questionnaires 25 3.4.4 Informal interviews 26 3.4.5 Data analysis 26 3.5 Chapter summary .27 CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 Results of phrasal verb tests and discussion 28 4.1.1 Students‟ poor results in doing tests of phrasal verbs 28 4.1.2 Difficulties in learning phrasal verbs as reported by students at Khanh Son High School 34 4.1.3 Difficulties in learning phrasal verbs by students at Khanh Son High School as commented by their teachers 34 4.2 Findings from the questionnaire data and discussion 35 4.2.1 Teachers and students‟ viewpoints on the necessity of learning phrasal verbs 36 4.2.2 Teachers‟ and students‟ opinions about difficulties in learning phrasal verbs 39 4.2.4 Teachers‟ and students‟ suggestions for improvement in learning phrasal verbs 44 4.3 Chapter summary .46 vi CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 47 5.1 Summary of the key findings 47 5.2 Implications .49 5.2.1 For students 49 5.2.2 For teachers 49 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further study 51 REFERENCES APPENDICES vii How difficult you think it is for your students to learn phrasal verbs? difficult What kind of phrasal verbs you think is the most difficult for your students to learn? -separable phrasal verbs Why you think it is difficult for your students to learn phrasal verbs? phrasal verb our students aren‟t able to remember the meanings and uses of certain phrasal verbs Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… In which aspects you think your students have difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? phrasal verbs Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 10 What kinds of tests of phrasal verbs you think your students find difficult to do? Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 11 What kinds of materials you think your students can use to be successful in learning phrasal verbs? Reference books Posters and pictures Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 12 What you think your students should to be successful in learning phrasal verbs? rasal verbs in context Other ideas: ……………………………………………………………… 13 What you think your students should to be successful in doing tests of phrasal verbs? Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 14 What you think you should to help your students overcome the difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? s Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 15 What you think you should to help your students to be successful in doing tests of phrasal verbs? o read and learn phrasal verbs in dictionaries and reference books by heart phrasal verbs Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE B (for students) This survey aims to investigate difficulties in high school students‟ learning phrasal verbs Would you please respond to the questions in the following questionnaire? The data will be used for the study and NO other purposes Please read the questions carefully and tick (√ ) the answers that you find the most appropriate For some questions, you can choose more than one option Note : For questions with “Other ideas”, please write what you think If possible, would you please provide us with your personal information? Your age: ……………………… Your gender (Please tick one): Years of learning English: ……………………… Do you like learning phrasal verbs? How often you learn phrasal verbs? Which of the following types of phrasal verbs you learn? don‟t take an Object) -separable phrasal verbs (Some transitive PVs can‟t be separated by the object) ore than one preposition) How important you find learning phrasal verbs? Why you think you should learn phrasal verbs? o develop your communicative competence Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… How difficult is it for you to learn phrasal verbs ? What kind of phrasal verbs you think is the most difficult for you to learn? ansitive phrasal verbs -separable phrasal verbs Why you think it is difficult for you to learn phrasal verbs? different meanings phrasal verb a lot on the linguistic context Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… In which aspects you think you have difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? ning and understanding phrasal verbs in context Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 10 What kinds of tests of phrasal verbs you think you find difficult to do? Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 11 What kinds of materials you think you can use to be successful in learning phrasal verbs ? books Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 12 What you think you should to be successful in learning phrasal verbs? rt Other ideas: ……………………………………………………………………… 13 What you think you should to be successful in doing tests of phrasal verbs? inds of exercises of phrasal verbs Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 14 What you think you should to overcome the difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? Other ideas: ………………………………………………………………… 15 In which aspects you think you are the most successful in doing tests of phrasal verbs? and reference books by heart Other ideas: ……………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS These questions are designed to collect information for my research of “An Investigation into the Difficulties Encountered by Students in Learning Phrasal Verbs in Grammar Lessons at Khanh Son High School in Khanh Hoa Province” Your answers will be helpful and valuable to this research The data will be kept confidential and only used for the purpose of current research Thank you very much for your kind cooperation Do you think your students find it difficult to learn phrasal verbs? Why/ Why not? Which difficulties you think your students have in learning and using phrasal verbs? Which difficulties you think your students have when doing tests of phrasal verbs? What you think your students should to overcome their difficulties? What you think you should to help your students overcome their difficulties? APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS These questions are designed to collect information for my research of “An Investigation into the Difficulties Encountered by Students in Learning Phrasal Verbs in Grammar Lessons at Khanh Son High School in Khanh Hoa Province” Your answers will be helpful and valuable to this research The data will be kept confidential and only used for the purpose of current research Thank you very much for your kind cooperation Do you find it difficult to learn phrasal verbs? Why/ Why not? Which difficulties you have in learning and using phrasal verbs? Which difficulties you have when doing tests of phrasal verbs? What you think you should to overcome your difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? What you think your teachers should to help you overcome the difficulties in learning phrasal verbs? APPENDIX 5: TEST-PAPER (Time allotted: 45 mins) Class: 10 (Academic Year: 2013 – 2014) I Match the phrasal verbs in A with their meanings in B A B Live on A To leave or go out of a place Take off Go on B To move or happen faster C To ring Get out of Go off D To discover E To leave the ground and begin to fly Break in Speed up Find out F To wait (with pleasure) G To return H To continue to live or exist Go back 10 Look forward to I To enter a building by force J To continue II Complete the following sentences by circling the corresponding letter A, B, C, or D 11 If you want to join this club, you must ……… this application form A make up B write down C up D fill in 12 She tried to prevent the dog ……… running into the road A to B for C from 13 The bus only stops here to ……… passengers A pick up B alight C get on 14 Hurry up! It‟s time to ……… up and go to school D against D get off A stand B get C dress D start 15 The teacher carried ……… his threat suspend Tom for his repeated absence from class A on with B on C out D over 16 Do you think it‟s possible to ……… on nothing but fruit and vegetables? A live B eat C enjoy D make 17 You shouldn‟t stay at home so much Get ……… and make new friends A by B out C over D away 18 I always run ……… of money before the end of the month A out B back C up D down 19 Look ……… the picture I bought last week A in B look down on C into D at 20 Complete the sentences, basing ……… the prompts given below A in B on C with D about III Replace the words in brackets in the following sentences with a suitable phrasal verb (Make any other necessary changes) hold up put up with get out of try out come on go over run out of go along with come about fall out 21 Do you think you could ……….(examine) this work with me sometimes, Peter? 22 I didn‟t really want to play football on Saturday, but since there was no-one else to take my place I couldn‟t really ……… (escape from doing) it 23 I won‟t be a minute, Jan I just want to ……… (test) my new tape recorder 24 Yes, I‟ll ……… (accept) that 25.You can‟t have a sandwich, I‟m afraid We‟re ……… (used up our supply) bread 26 Because of an accident on the line between Brighton and Victoria, my train was ……… (delayed) for several hours 27 You look upset, Steven Have you and Nhan ……… (quarrelled) again ? 28 I don‟t know how she ……… (tolerates) him She must have the patience of a saint 29 He wasn‟t very good, but he has ……… (progressed) 30 How did this situation ……… (happen) ? IV Finish the second sentences in such a way that it means exactly the same as the sentence printed before it (Use another verb given in brackets and add one preposition to replace for the underlined words/phrases) Example : If you continue playing cards, you will be punished (go) If you go on playing cards, you will be punished 31 Hung and Dung stopped smoking a month ago (give)  ………………………………………………………… 32 Binh‟s mother was seriously ill and nobody took care of her (look)  ……………………………………………………………………… 33 Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes (look)  ……………………………………………………… 34 A new magazine has just appeared (come)  …………………………………………… 35 We‟ll visit you at o‟clock (call)  …………………………………… APPENDIX 6: TEST-PAPER (Time allotted: 45 mins) Class: 11 (Academic Year: 2013 – 2014) I Match the phrasal verbs in A with their definitions in B A B Carry out A To protect or defend yourself against danger, illness, attack, ect Build up B To establish Ward off C To gradually increase Keep away D To and complete a task Set up E To avoid going near Sb/Sth II Complete these sentences by adding the correct particle from the list below on for up out into off after of away over He was working on the computer when the fire broke ……… He filled in the necessary form and applied ……… the job I wouldn‟t dream ……… going to a party unless I hadn‟t been invited to Their aim is to set ……… a new political party 10 The voters told John that he could count ……… their support in the election 11 If you want to have a pet you must be ready to look ……… it for several years 12 I‟d love to get ……… from this place for a few days I really feel I need a break 13 When the princess kissed the frog, it turned ……… a handsome prince 14 Can you remember what to do, or you want me to go ……… it again? 15 He was convicted of using the firm‟s money to pay ……… his gambling debts III Choose the best answer A, B, C, or D to complete each of the sentences 16 The doctor advised me not to take ……… so much work in future A to B over C after D on 17 I can put ……… with most things but I can‟t stand noisy children A on B up C off D aside 18 Don‟t ……… up yet, you will soon be able to play the trumpet well A give B catch C break D turn 19 Some drivers seem to expect everyone else to get ……… their way A off B after C away from D out of 20 My uncle took ……… golf when he retired from work A on B after C up D over 21 All their money is ……… up in the new house which they have bought A connected B limited C tied D trapped 22 Stephen always wanted to be an actor when he ……… up A came B grew C brought D settled 23 The doctor says I‟ll take a long time to get ……… the shock A past B above C through D over 24 They‟ve ……… a new tower where that old building used to be A pushed down B put down C pushed up D put up 25 He kept his marriage a secret for years, but eventually the truth ……… A came through B went off C came out D went in 26 I told him I‟d prefer to walk, but he insisted ……… giving me a lift A about B on C to D for 27 There‟s a rumor that the National Bank is going to take ……… the company I work for A on B off C over D after 28 In their latest attack, terrorists have tempted to blow ……… the bridge A up B over C through D down 29 Over the past 50 years, many illnesses have been brought ……… control A in B under C to D over 30 Having looked the place ………., the gang away to make their plans A over B through C down D out IV Finish the second sentences so that they will have the same meaning as the preceding (Use another verb given in brackets and add one preposition to replace for the underlined words/phrases) Example : If you continue playing cards, you will be punished (go) If you go on playing cards, you will be punished 31 The baby is carefully taken care of (look)  …………………………………………… 32 He didn‟t look up, but continued working (carry)  …………………………………………………… 33 Please complete these details (fill)  …………………………………… 34 How did this situation happen ? (come)  ………………………………………… 35 The room has recently been decorated (do)  ……………………………………………… APPENDIX 7: TEST-PAPER (Time allotted: 45 mins) Class: 12 (Academic Year: 2013 – 2014) I Match the phrasal verb in A with a suitable definition in B A B Put up A To rely Depend on/upon B To reach or pass Get off C To dismount Get through D To collapse Fall in E To postpone II Choose the alternative which best matches the meaning of the underlined phrasal verb It was getting late so I decided to turn in A give up C switch off the light B go to bed D go home Don‟t buy the first thing you see : shop around a bit A go to several different shops to compare prices B try to find the cheapest one C look at everything they have got in the shop D wait until you know exactly what you want As it was getting late, he decided to press on A find a place to sleep B phone for help C finish the ironing D keep going The policeman shot off before anyone could stop him A left in a hurry B let everyone know the truth about what was happening C fired his gun D closed all the doors 10 You must try not to dwell on your brother‟s death A think too much about B forget C benefit from D remember 11 I was so late this morning that I hardly had time to gulp down a cup of tea A spill C make myself B leave unfinished D drink quickly 12 I knew that nobody would help me, so I decided to soldier on A let someone else the work B continue by myself C abandon the job D join the army 13 The London-to-Sydney flight touched down in Bombay A made a stop B crashed C flew low D was forced to land 14 In London this morning, three men wearing masks held up a van carrying gold bullion A robbed B lifted C delayed D stole 15 Tell me, Sir Water What made you hit upon the idea of putting tobacco up your nose? A finally reject B suddenly think of C openly criticize D carefully develop III Choose the best answer among A, B, C or D that best completes each sentence 16 He drives so quickly that I am afraid that one day he will ……… someone crossing the street A crash down B knock down C turn over D run across 17 The three friends all ……… for the same job A requested B intended C applied D referred 18 I think he is unwell; he was complaining ……… a headache this morning A of B at C from D against 19 For the first few minutes she was leading the race, then she began to fall ……… A out B through C back D off 20 His son‟ death was a terrible shock and it took him a long time to ……… it A get around B come through C go over D get over 21 If you want to be healthy, you should cut ……… on your smoking A up B down C out D through 22 After his mother died, he was ……… up by his grandmother A grown B brought C taken D drawn 23 I remember Alice as a spotty girl but she‟s turned ……… a beautiful woman A to B in C into D on 24 We should concentrate ……… what the interviewer is saying A on B onto C in D into 25 Can you remember the first time you ……… in love? A found B went C felt D fell IV Rewrite the following sentences without changing the meaning (Use another verb given in brackets and add one or two prepositions to replace for the underlined words/phrases) Example : If you continue playing cards, you will be punished (go) If you go on playing cards, you will be punished 26 She is bored with her teacher (feed)  ……………………………………… 27 5000 species of plants and animals are eliminated each year (get rid)  ………………………………………………………………………… 28 All of us are fond of taking care of the sick (look)  ……………………………………………………… 29 The student has completed his homework (carry)  …………………………………………………… 30 My father‟s room has been decorated (do)  ……………………………………………… 31 Mr Linh died in 2010 (pass)  ……………………………… 32 A committee has been established to examine the question (set)  …………………………………………………………………… 33 We can‟t tolerate that awful woman (put)  …………………………………………… 34 The women wearing masks are my friends (have)  …………………………………………………… 35 When entering the room, she felt tired (come)  ………………………………………………… APPENDIX 8: ANSWER KEYS Class 10: 1-H 2-E 3J 4A 5C 6I 7B 8D 9G 10F 11D 12C 13A 14B 15C 16A 17B 18A 19D 20B 21 go over 22 get out of 23 try out 24 go along with 25 run out of 26 held up 27 fallen out 28 puts up with 29 come on 30 come about 31 gave up 32 looked after 33 look for 34 come out 35 call for Class 11: 1D 2C 3A 4E 5B out for of up 10 on 11 after 12 away 13 into 14 over 15 off 16 D 17 B 18 A 19 D 20 C 21C 22 B 23 D 24 D 25 C 26B 27 C 28 A 29 B 30 A 31 looked after 32 carried on 33 fill in 34 come about 35 done up Class 12 : 1E 2A 3C 4B 5D 6B 7A 8D 9A 10 A 11 D 12 B 13 A 14 A 15 B 16 B 17 C 18 A 19C 20 D 21 B 22 B 23 C 24 A 25 D 26 fed up with 27 got/gotten rid of 28 looking after 29 carried out 30 done up 31 passed away 32 set up 33 put up with 34 having on 35 coming in