Điều tra về việc sử dụng flashcards dể dạy từ vựng tiếng anh cho trẻ ở một số trường tiểu học ở huế

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI TRA MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE USE OF FLASHCARDS TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO YOUNG LEARNERS AT SOME PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN HUE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: LE PHAM HOAI HUONG, ASSOC.PROF.DR HUE, 2017 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ NGUYỄN THỊ TRÀ MY ĐIỀU TRA VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG FLASHCARDS ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHO TRẺ Ở MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở HUẾ 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: PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƯƠNG HUẾ, 2017 STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: …./…./ 20… Signature i ABSTRACT This research is conducted to investigate the use of flashcards in teaching English vocabulary to young learners at some primary schools in Hue Firstly, it aims at investigating the teachers‟ perceptions of using flashcards Secondly, this study examines the reality of using flashcards to teach English vocabulary to young learners Finally, it helps to give some suggestions in using flashcards effectively in classroom The data were collected through questionnaire, interview and observation Seventy English teachers who were teaching at some primary schools in Hue took part in the study The data obtained through questionnaires, interview and observation were analyzed based on both quantitative and quantitative approaches The findings of the study show that most primary school English teachers have positive attitudes towards using flashcards to teach English vocabulary to young learners They are also aware of the benefits of the use of the flashcards to the teaching and learning process However, besides the above positive aspects, there still are some shortcomings Most teachers reported to face the difficulties such as time consumption, unsuitable flashcards and lack of the experience in using flashcards Based on the findings, suggestions are given to help to improve the effectiveness of the use of flashcards to those who need such as teachers and educators at primary schools in order to enrich the English vocabulary of primary school students ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To complete this graduation paper, I owe profound indebtedness those who are willing to help me during the conduct of my research First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong, for her helpful comments and whole hearted guidance from the beginning to the end of carrying out this study Secondly, I would like to send my heartfelt thanks to the primary school English teachers at Quang Trung, Ly Thuong Kiet, Vinh Ninh, Kim Long, Huong Long, An Cuu, Thuy Duong, Da Le, Thanh Lam, Thanh Toan, Thuy Chau, Phu Bai I, Phu Bai II, Thuy Tan, Vy Da, Huong Toan, Huong An primary schools, who enthusiastically helped me to carry out the study with ease Without their participation, I could not have enough valuable data to complete this graduation research paper Finally, I would like to thank my family and friends for their encouragement and support during my research process iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY i ABSTRACT .ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES AND FINGURES vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research significance 1.5 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Theoretical background 2.2.1 Characteristics of young learners 2.2.2 How young students learn 2.2.3 Vocabulary 2.2.3.1 Definitions 2.2.3.2 The importance of vocabulary 2.2.3.3 Techniques in teaching vocabulary 10 2.2.4 Flashcards 11 2.2.4.1 Definitions 11 2.2.4.2 Types of flashcards 12 2.2.4.3 The importance of flashcards in learning vocabulary 13 2.2.4.4 The advantages and disadvantages of using flash cards 14 2.2.4.5 Using flashcards with young learners 16 2.3 Related Studies 19 iv 2.4 Summary 22 CHAPTER THREE 23 METHODOLOGY 23 3.1 Introduction 23 3.2 Research methodology 23 3.3 Participants 23 3.4 Research site 24 3.5 Data collection 24 3.5.1 Instruments 24 3.5.1.1 Questionnaire 25 3.5.1.2 Class observation 26 3.5.1.3 Interview 27 3.5.2 Procedures of data collection 27 3.5.2.1 Piloting the questionnaire 27 3.5.2.2 Collecting data 28 3.6 Data analysis 28 3.7 Summary 29 CHAPTER FOUR 30 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30 4.1 Introduction 30 4.2 Teachers‟ attitudes towards using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 30 4.3 Teachers‟ perceptions of the use of flashcards to teach English vocabulary 33 4.4 The reality of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary in some primary schools 37 4.4.1 Teachers‟ frequency of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 37 4.3.2 Teachers‟ difficulties in using flashcards to teach English vocabulary 44 4.5 Suggestions to use flashcards effectively in teaching English vocabulary 47 4.6 Conclusion 50 CHAPTER FIVE 51 CONCLUSION 51 5.1 Summary of the key findings 51 v 5.2 Implications 52 5.2.1 For teachers: 52 5.2.2 For administrators 53 5.3 Limitations of the study 53 5.4 Suggestions for further research 53 REFERENCES 54 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FINGURES I List of tables Table 4.1: Teachers‟ attitudes towards using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary .319 Table 4.2: Teachers‟ perceptions of the benefits of using of flashcards to teach English vocabulary 332 Table 4.3: Teachers‟ frequency of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 386 Table 4.4: Teachers‟ opinion about the stages into which flashcards are integrated .398 Table 4.5: Types of flashcards used most often at some primary schools in Hue 40 Table 4.6: Work arrangement for using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 42 Table 4.7: Difficulties in using flashcards to teach English vocabulary .454 Table 4.8: Suggestions to use flashcards effectively in teaching English vocabulary 47 II List of figures Figure 1: Teachers‟ awareness of necessity in using flashcards to teach English vocabulary 31 Figure 2: Teachers‟ opinion about the stage into which flashcards are integrated 399 Figure 3: Teachers‟ work arrangement when using flashcards to teach English vocabulary .432 Figure 4: Teachers‟ responses to suggestions how to use flashcards .48 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ELT: English Language Teaching L1: The first Language L2: the Second language M: mean SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences TEYL: teaching English to young learners YL: young learners viii Luan, B.T (2014) Investigation into Some Experiences about The Use of Flashcard to Teach in grade Retrieved on August 25th, 2016 from http://123doc.org/document/2638807-mot-so-kinh-nghiemsudung-the-daytieng-anh-4.htm Learners’ Vocabulary Knowledge: Flash Cards versus Word Lists Retrieved on August 25th, 2016 from http://mextesol.net/journal/public/files/d8449b5efc1a65123512b9a73b78014 0.pdf Leedy, P & Ormrod, J (2001) Practical research: Planning and design (7th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications Mariana, A Seven Ways to Use Flashcards in English Language Teaching Retrieved on August 21st, 2016 from http://teachers.onlineenglishexpert.com/7-ways-to-use-flashcards-in-englishlanguage-teaching/ McCarthy, M (1992).Vocabulary Oxford: Oxford University Press McCarthy, M (1990) Vocabulary and Language Teaching London: Longman McCloskey, M L ( 2002) Seven Instructional Principles for Teaching Young Learners of English Symposium San Diego Retrieved on December 21st, 2017 from http://home.comcast.net/~educo-atlanta/Handouts05/McCloskey_TES OL_Symposium02.pdf Mondria, J.A., & Mondria-de Vries, S (1994) Efficiently memorizing words with the help of word cards and “hand computer”: Theory and applications System Nasr, R T (1972) Teaching and Learning English London Longman group limited 57 Nation, I S P (2001).Learning vocabulary in another language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nunan (2005) Practical English Language Teaching: PELT Young Learners New York: McGraw-Hill Companies Piaget,J (1967) Six psychology studies London: London University Press Piaget, J (1970) Logic and psychology (translation, W Mays) NY: Basic Books Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Sschmith and Achmitt (1995) Impact of Using Flash Cards English Language Essay Retrieved on July 8th, 2016 from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-language/impact-of-using-flashcards-english-language-essay.php Sasan, B & Arezoo,A (2009) The Impact of Two Instructional Techniques on EFL Suyanto, Kasihani K E.(2008) English for Young Learners, Jakarta, Bumi Aksara Scott, A Wendy & Ytreberg, H Lisbeth (1990) Teaching English to Children New York: Longman Inc Schmitt, N., & Schmitt, D (1995) Vocabulary notebooks: Theoretical underpinnings and practical suggestions ELT Journal Salkind, N J (2012) Exploring Research 8th Edition New York Retrieved on July 8th, 2016 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.14706431.2011.01075_2.x/abstr act Salkind, N J (2003) Interprise resource planning Retrieved on July 8th, 2016 from https://vi.scribd.com/document/95831630/SALKIND-2003 Sugiyono (2012) Metode Penelitian Bisnis Bandung: Alfa Beta Target, F (2003) Working in English Language Teaching (2nd ed) 58 The Oxford Advanced learner‟s dictionary (2010) Oxford University Press.(8th ed) Thornbury, S (2002) How to Teach Vocabulary Malaysia: Longman Thhornbury, S (2004) How to teach vocabulary Pearson Education limited Ur, P (1998) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Vinh, L (2006) The Use of Pictures to Teach Voabulary for Grade 7th Students Effectively Retrieved on August 25th, 2016 from http://123doc.org/document/2560329-skkn-su-dung-tranh-trongviecday-tuvung-tieng-anh-7-mot-cach-co-hieu-qua.htm?page=7 Vygotsky, L S (1962) Thought and Language Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Vygotsky, L S (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Wallace, M (1982).Teaching Vocabulary Biddles Ltd Guilford Wilkins, D (1972), Linguistics in Language Teaching London: Edward Arnold Retrieved o August 5th, 2017 http://www2.goshen.edu/~marvinpb/arted/tc.html Retrieved on July 8th, 2017 from http:// how-to-learn-any-language com/e/guide/flash-cards-html Wright, A (1989) Pictures for Language Learning Cambridge Cambridge University Press 59 from APPENDICES APPENDIX Questionnaire This questionnaire was designed to serve the research paper entitled “An investigation into the use of flashcards to teach vocabulary to young learners at some primary schools in Hue” The data collected are used only for the study, not for any other purposes Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statement LEVEL OF AGREEMENT Totally disagree I am interested in using flashcards in my teaching English vocabulary I usually use flashcards in vocabulary lessons I think using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary is necessary Flashcard is a useful tool in teaching English vocabulary Flashcard is an effective tool to help the students revise vocabulary 60 Disagree Neutral Agree Totally agree Teaching English vocabulary through flashcards is easy and highly effective Learning English vocabulary through flashcards is suitable for young learners because the students are imaginative Teaching English vocabulary with flashcards may have many difficulties I often use game cards 10 I often use word flashcards 11 I often use picture flashcards 12 I use flashcards to present new vocabulary items 13 I use flashcards in practicing stage 14 I use flashcards to consolidating stage 15 When using flashcards, I 61 often ask students to work in pairs 16 When using flashcards, I often ask students to work in groups 17 When using flashcard, I often ask students to work individually 18 I usually use the available flashcards that go with the textbook to teach in the classroom 19 I often create self- made flashcards to teach in the classroom 20 I think using flashcards makes my teaching English vocabulary easier 21 I think using flashcards stimulates and motivates my students in learning English vocabulary 22 I think using flashcards makes the lesson more vivid 23 I think using flashcards helps my students 62 understand vocabulary faster 24 In my opinion, learning English vocabulary with flashcards can help students understand the meaning of the words without translation 25 In my opinion, learning English vocabulary with flashcards can help students remember vocabulary longer 26 In my opinion, learning English vocabulary with flashcards can help students feel relaxed and interested in the lesson 27 Sometimes, I have difficulties in using flashcards in teaching English vocabulay because it takes more time than allotted 28 Sometimes, I have difficulties in using flashcards in teaching English vocabulay 63 because many words cannot be shown on the flashcards 29 Sometimes, I have difficulties in using flashcards in teaching english vocabulay because I not have experiences in using flashcards 30 Sometimes, I have difficulties in using flashcards in teaching english vocabulay because it takes time to prepare the suitable flashcards 31 In order to use flashcards effectively, teachers should be trained more about using flashcards to teach 32 In order to use flashcards effectively, teachers should try to create suitable flashcards for teaching English vocabulary 64 33 In order to use flashcards effectively, teachers should exchange experiences, ideas with colleagues about flashcards using Please provide some personal information Full name:……………………………………………… School: ………………………………………………… Thank you so much for your contribution! 65 APPENDIX OBSERVATION SHEET School: ……………………………………… Date: …………… Class: ………………………………………… Teacher: ……………………………………… Aim: - To observe how to teacher uses flashcards in teaching vocabulary Presentation Stage of the lesson with the use of flashcards How teachers use flashcards - Activities -Types of class arrangement Difficulties Related to flashcards Related to students Related to teachers Other notes: 66 Practice Production APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS How often you use flashcards in teaching English vocabulary? According to you, what are benefits of flashcards in teaching English vocabulary? In what ways you usually use flashcards to teach in the classroom? When you often use the flashcards in teaching English vocabulary? What difficulties you encounter in using flashcards to teach vocabulary? What you to overcome those difficulties? What are your suggestions for using flashcards effectively in teaching English vocabulary? Thank you so much for your cooperation! 67 CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN Thầy/ cô thường xuyên sử dụng Flahcards để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lần? Theo thầy/ cơ, flashcards có lợi ích việc dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh cho học sinh? Thầy/ lấy Flashcards đâu để dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh lớp học? Thầy/ cô sử dụng flashcard trình dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh? Thầy/ gặp phải khó khăn sử dụng flashcards để dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh? Thầy/ khắc phục khó khăn nào? Thầy/ có đề nghị để sử dụng flashcards cách hiệu việc dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh cho trẻ em? CÁM ƠN SỰ HỢP TÁC CỦA QUÝ THẦY CÔ ! 68 APPENDIX Picture Flashcards Picture on a side Word on another side Picture and Word only picture 69 APPENDIX Word Flashcard 70 APPENDIX Game card 71