Suggested methods for effectively second language vocabulary teaching to elementary students graduation paper, major english pedagogy

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SUGGESTING METHODS FOR EFFECTIVELY SECOND LANGUAGE VOCABULARY TEACHING TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS Phạm Thị Như Quỳnh 15DH710359 June, 2019 ABSTRACT As the world is integrating rapidly, the needs for communication also increase As a result, it is vitally important to learn a foreign language and vocabulary learning is an essential part of the foreign language learning In Vietnam, like most other Asian countries, English in general and vocabulary learning, in particular, have been considered as a boring compulsory subject Vocabulary plays a major role in learning English as a process that requires not only learners’ and teachers’ efforts but also efficient vocabulary teaching methods in the class Through the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, the researcher collected and presented the data precisely in charts The data are investigated and analyzed in various aspects to find out how to use and combine popular teaching language methods effectively in the elementary classes that encourage students to learn more vocabularies inside and outside of the class After choosing the four most popular teaching second language methods at the present, which may remarkably effect towards students, the researcher spent four weeks of research consisting of observation and handling questionnaire to both Teachers and Teaching Assistants from an English Center located in Ho Chi Minh city with 40 participants This research is to find out some common difficulties that language teachers and teaching assistants have to deal with in the vocabulary teaching process and to determine some effective solutions for those problems to organize classroom activities more efficiently in learning second language classes towards young learners from the age of to 12 years old ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am really grateful to my thesis supervisor professor Triet for his guidance and invaluable suggestions I would like to say thanks to my friends and co-workers in the Vietnam USA Society English Center (VUS) I would also like to thanks my beloved family for their priceless existence in every phase of this study TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………… …I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………… …… …II TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………… ………….……… III LIST OF TABLES…………………………………….……… …… ….IV CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION…………………………………….… 1.0 Presentation…………….…………………………………….… … 1.1 Background of the Study…………………………………… …… 1.2Purpose of the Study…………………………………….….…… … 1.4 The Research Question…………………….…………………… … CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………… …3 Part 1: Theory Description………………………………… ………… 2.1 The role of vocabulary in learning English…………………… …….3 2.2 The dilemma in Vocabulary Teaching Process………………….……4 2.3 Characteristics of Learners and The Teacher’s Role in Teaching Vocabulary……………………………………………….……….….… ….6 2.3.1 Characteristics of Young Learners………… …… ……… 2.3.2 The Teacher’s Role in Teaching Vocabulary………… 2.4 Suggested efficient methods in teaching vocabulary for elementary students………………………………………………………… …….… 10 2.4.1 The Grammar - translation method………………………… …… 10 2.4.2 The Direct method…………………………………………… …….11 2.4.3 The Audio-lingual method………… … ……… .12 2.4.4 The Communicative Language Teaching…………………… 14 2.5 The Popular Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary…… …….…… 16 2.5.1 Using objects…………… …………………………… … 16 2.5.2 Drawing………………………………… ……………….… 16 2.5.3 Mime, Expressions and Gestures…… ………….……… 17 2.5.4 Synonyms and antonyms……………… …………… ….17 Part 2: Research Question……………………………………………….18 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY………………… ……19 3.1 Method…………………………………………………… … …19 3.2 Participants……………………………………………… ……… 19 3.3 Data Collection Instrument…………………………… …… ….19 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS…………………………………… …… 23 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION……………………………… …… …… 33 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION……… ………………….… …… … 38 6.1 Summary of the study…………………………… ……… …….…38 6.2 Limitations of the Results……………………… …………… ….38 6.3 Suggestions for Further Studies………………….……………… ….39 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.0 Presentation This chapter begins with the background of the study The purpose and the research question of the study follow the problem statement The final part is devoted to the limitation of the study 1.1 Background of the Study During recent years, it has been known that variety is one of the most important factors in maintaining a high level of motivation and interest among foreign language learners, especially with primary school students As F Dubin pointed out foreign language learners need materials that reflect reallife concerns (1974:1) There are many teaching methods that apply practical activities into the classrooms efficiently, to add variety not only the teaching process but also to the students’ experience in English In most of the primary schools as well as English centres, the foreign language teachers usually apply games with objects including pictures, flashcards and real objects and mime to practice students with new vocabularies 1.2 Purpose of the Study The aim of the study is to suggest some popular and effective methods for teaching vocabulary for elementary students In addition, this study also finds out some popular difficulties of foreign language teachers in the teaching process as well as determine several efficient solutions for those problems Teaching is one of the most complex professional careers in the world Teachers are responsible for most of the teaching process, as they should at least show the method for learning In teaching a foreign language process, teachers’ responsibility increases; therefore, they can use some efficient methods that support them more effective teaching In order to realize the aim stated above, the performance of a number of foreign language teachers having experiences in teaching elementary level students chosen to collect the information that supports this study 1.3 The Research Question Basing on the aim of the study stated above, there are three main questions will be answered: What are efficient methods of second language vocabulary teaching to elementary level students? What are the popular difficulties in the second language teaching process in primary school classes? What are some effective solutions for problems in the second language teaching process of young learners? CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW Part 1: Theory Description This chapter gives information about the dilemma in language teaching vocabulary as well as learners’ characteristics and the teacher’s role in teaching vocabulary This part also mentions about popular methods of vocabulary teaching and techniques of teaching English to elementary learners 1.1 The role of vocabulary in learning English Learning a language is a process and vocabulary is the root of that procedure Vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings According to Steven Stahl (2005), "Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition but also implies how that word fits into the world." Vocabulary knowledge which is not something that can ever be fully mastered expands and deepens over the course of a lifetime Instruction in vocabulary involves far more than looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence In communication, vocabulary plays a key role in learning a second language and English is not an exception Discussing the importance of vocabulary, the master of linguistics David Wilkins (1972 ) argued that: “without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Indeed, it is necessary for people to use words in order to express themselves in any language This point illustrates that even without grammar, people still have the ability to express their own ideas by using some useful words and expressions to communicate Learners usually find it difficult to speak English fluently because of a lack of vocabulary They consider speaking exhausting when they keep on using the same expressions and words In addition, their conversations are abruptly interrupted due to missing words Lewis (1993) went further to argue, “Lexis is the core or heart of language” (p 89) Particularly as students develop greater fluency and expression in English, it is significant for them to acquire more productive vocabulary knowledge and to develop their own personal vocabulary learning strategies Students often instinctively recognize the importance of vocabulary to their language learning As Schmitt (2010) noted, “learners carry around dictionaries and not grammar books” (p.4) Teaching vocabulary helps students understand and communicate with others in English Voltaire purportedly said, “Language is very difficult to put into words.” I believe that English language students generally would concur because learning vocabulary also supports students a base for the higher levels in English and helps them be a master in English for their purpose The importance of vocabulary for language learning is summed up in the advice to students from a recent course book (Dellar H and Hocking D, Innovation, LTP): “If you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not improve very much You will see the most improvement if you learn more words and expressions You can say very little with grammar, but you can say almost anything with words!” (Thornbury 2002, p 13) 1.2 The dilemma in Vocabulary Teaching Process Language teaching methods have updated markedly over the years in order to develop the efficiency of the language learning process While in the past the focus was laid on the grammatical description, modern methods show a reversed picture that reflects on promoting real communication in the classroom that helps students understand spoken and written language, and practice in conversations “The primary goal of the modern methodology is the decreasing of students’ anxiety’’ (Dana Shejbalová, 2006) Language teachers have to face a number of problems when they are in the process of finding out the most suitable method for the student’s needs Every student has their own experiences in learning the target language with different learning styles as well as characteristics that teachers have to manage to organise lessons and choose the most effective method for their learners in a limited time In addition to problems teacher might get in the vocabulary teaching process, the focus on grammatical structures for a long time, that limited students’ communicating ability in the target language, is the greater priority over the communicative functions The access of communicating approach set an important role of vocabulary as well as debates the effectiveness and optimisation of the teaching process Early learners also deal with a number of problems in learning vocabulary with both its amount and meanings “It’s almost impossible to say how many words in English” (Jeanne McCarten,2007,p.1) The Global Language Monitor, which tracks language trends, especially in the media, has counted up to almost a million at 988,968 Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged, together with its 1993 Addenda Section, includes around 470,000 entries Let's have a look at word family of MAKE: make, makes, making, made, maker and makers There is one word but includes six different word families How can we count different uses of the same word? For instance, the word make is not the same in makeup as in make plan and these uses are also different from the noun maker Moreover, there are a number of idiomatic uses of the same word make but with different meanings such as make the deadline, make my day and make a profit The new words are added to the language all the time; that’s the reason why language learners need to update both vocabulary and learning methods It is difficult for students when there are too many new words in a lesson that they cannot 35 30 25 20 15 10 Using objects Drawing Listening Reading Mine, Expressions and Guestures Speaking Synonyms and antonyms Writing Figure 4.12 Some suggeted method to determine the general needs of young learners In term of localizing the specific wishes of young learners, there are several solutions mentioned in this survey followed the four main skills in learning a second language such as listening, reading, speaking and writing The majority of those surveyed use objects as realia, visual aids and flashcards; drawing and mime, expressions and gestures to help learners who have problems in speaking Using synonyms and antonyms are chosen by a number of those teachers to improve students’ writing skill As for when I asked those teachers in the survey that how they deal with problems in lacking suitable appliances, materials in the teaching process, a number of answers were collected and some popular solutions of this problem will be shown The preponderance of respondents is using available materials such as blackboards, real objects, markers and paper that they can manage to create their own materials As I asked how to create activities including real-life situations in elementary classes, most of the language teachers surveyed use role-play to create activities that support learners a practical communicating situation in the class using the target language 29 In conclusion, when language teachers and teaching assistants that we have surveyed gave a number of answers that they have several problems in their teaching process, I finished the survey with the more detail question what activities they usually use in your classes to practice vocabulary for elementary students The majority of those surveyed agreed that they tend to use games that using objects such as pictures, realia and flashcards to practice young learners with new vocabulary 30 CHAPTER DISCUSSION The main method chosen to investigate the problem was asking a part of Vietnamese language teachers and teaching assistants having experiences teaching elementary students in Ho Chi Minh City through a survey In addition, a qualitative method was also conducted in the study to bring more specific answers Based on these two methods, those questions have essentially been proved pertinently by the results The survey listed a number of problems that language teachers and teaching assistants might get in their teaching process In addition, there are some effective solutions for those problems collected from those who took part in the survey basing on their own experiences in the teaching process Managing students in the class is one of the mentioned short-term problems in school as well as in the class consist of students’ reactions that affect the teaching process in a significant way One of these daily situations is violence between students in terms of studentstudent interaction Cubukcu and Donmez stated in their research in 2014: “Students are mostly in the heart of school violence, therefore, they are both bullies and victims” Richards summarised in his research (1990, p.10) that “Classroom management refers to the ways in which student behaviour, movement and interaction during a lesson are organized and controlled by the teacher” There are several solutions collected in the survey and using visual aids got the highest proportion Those language teachers and teaching assistants also chose using games, setting the rules as well as giving awards and punishment as popular methods to manage the elementary class There are some simple ways that some teachers offered to manage young learners while they are studying in class such as using realia like puppets or set the rules at the beginning of the course and so on “It is better to make your instructions 31 for primary students precise and concise; use puppets to help with classroom management Puppets can whisper in the teacher's ear, and they can write messages to the class; compliment leadership in students "Oh, I like the way Antonio is ready!" will cause everyone to turn to look at the ready student and to get ready also.” (https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/alexenoamen/classroommanagement-young-learners) The second difficulty that more than 72% of language teachers and teaching assistants have to face is addressing the general needs of the learners Learners with limited literacy in their first language benefit from instruction that builds on their backgrounds and immediate personal experiences focus on familiar topics and use concrete materials A study of instructional practices with this population revealed that “many activities assume too much shared cultural knowledge” (Achren, 1991) For example, even simple line drawings of such things as body parts may not be as transparent as teachers think for learners who not have the same cultural frames and life experiences “Educators recommend using real objects to set an immediate and meaningful context, gradually replacing those with photos or realistic pictures and moving to more abstract diagrams or graphics” (Hiffeldt, 1985; Ramm, 1994) Allender was also agreed in his research in 1998 that “when possible, meanings can be clarified in learners’ native languages” Following the survey, 80% of those who were interviewed indicated that they have problems addressing the general needs of the learners Those language teachers and teaching assistants also applied a number of solutions to deal with this problem and there are some most popular methods that they prefer to use to localize young learners’ needs 65% of those surveyed indicated that because students need a guide, so teachers should tell them what they are supposed to do, why it is important, and provide a strategy 32 for how to it and the majority of the respondents applied extra supplies and having students work in pairs or groups to encourage learners to practice new vocabularies as well as expand their knowledge and vision in learning a second language that is not affected by their own culture in negative ways Thirdly, localizing the specific wishes of young learners is mentioned in the survey as one of the difficulties that those teachers might get in their teaching process The figure for those who faced this problem is higher than those who got troubles in addressing learners’ general needs at 85% approximately There are several solutions mentioned in this survey followed the four main skills in learning a second language such as listening, reading, speaking and writing Learners are usually the result illustrated that the majority of those surveyed use objects as realias, visual aids and flashcards or drawing to help learners who have problems in speaking Moreover, miming, expressions and gestures are also used by some teachers to encourage young learners to speak up and get used to the communicative learning environment as well as raise their understanding of those practical situations Rocío (2011-2012, p.55) stated that “Speaking is a complex process that involves constructing a message in order to other people can understand and deliver the message using the correct pronunciation, stress and intonation It also involves interaction and to this, learners must be able to respond to what other people say At the same time, they need to be accurate and fluent enough for the other person to understand To be able to all of this mentioned, students need lots of practice, encouragement and correction” Young learners learning English as a second language need to be practiced in a communicative learning environment to practice speaking English Brown et al claimed “It seems clear that pupils generally feel more at ease talking to each other than talking to a teacher or to some other adult The advantage of talking to another 33 individual who shares the same daily experiences which you have and sees them from a very similar point of view is that you can take so much background knowledge for granted” (1984:36) Over half of those surveyed used synonyms and antonyms to improve young learners’ listening skill Listening skill is also improved in the communicative learning environment as learners are practicing speaking the target language According to Bueno, Madrid and McLaren: “Listening is important for speaking because it establishes a good basis for successful communicative exchanges” (2006, p.344) In terms of reading and writing, a number of language teachers offered using synonyms and antonyms as a way to learn those skills The next problem that more than half of those surveyed had to face is localizing the content of the textbooks to prepare the learners for real-life situations Textbooks support language teachers as a material to build up their teaching preparation for the lesson with the right content According to Cunnings Worth (1995) “Textbook evaluation would involve the careful selection of materials examining whether they reflect the needs of the learners, the aims, methods and values of a specific teaching program” Basing on the evaluation of the textbook, language teachers are able to know the content of the textbook as well as its strengths and weaknesses that will enable them to adapt it to suit the aim of the course, learners’ needs and teachers’ methods As Littlejohn (1998) observed, “textbook evaluation serves the purpose of examining whether the methodology and content of the materials are appropriate for a particular language teaching context” The majority of respondents used role-play to create activities that support learners a practical communicative learning environment in the class using the target language “It is widely agreed that learning takes place when activities are engaging and memorable Jeremy Harmer advocates the use of the role-play for the 34 following reasons: it's fun and motivating; quieter students get the chance to express themselves in a more forthright way; the world of the classroom is broadened to include the outside world - thus offering a much wider range of language opportunities” (https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/role- play) 35 CHAPTER CONCLUSION 6.1 Summary of the study In conclusion, throughout the process of collection and analysis of the data, The results of this study indicated that the research aims to determine some main problems that language teachers and teaching assistants might get in primary classes in the teaching process There are some problems pointed out in this research such as problems in addressing the general and specific needs of the learners; difficulties in identifying the content of the textbooks to prepare the learners for real-life situations and the probable shortcoming and lack of suitable appliances, materials in the teaching process The results of the study also showed that some popular and effective methods that are applied efficiently in teaching vocabulary for elementary students based on those teachers’ experiences who were surveyed There are several practical solutions collected from those respondents, namely the teachers’ guide, making extra supplies and materials available and having students work in pairs or groups to address the general needs of elementary students; improve four English skills to localize the specific wishes of young learners and using available materials such as blackboards, real objects, markers and paper that they can manage to create their own materials to deal with the lack of teaching materials 6.2 Limitations of the Results Some limitations related to this study should be pointed out those are the number of participants in the survey and the materials that were used during the instruction as well as the limited methodology The number of those surveyed was limited to 40 The use of such a small group of those participants in the limits the generalizability of the results 36 regarding the study Therefore, the findings of the study should be taken into account with the characteristics of the bigger group of language teachers, as all the subjects of the study were at the elementary classes A study with a wider group of those teachers might result differently with more various problems in vocabulary teaching process for young learners In addition, with a variety of those participants would bring more practical and efficient solutions for those problems Therefore this restricts the generalizability of the study to a wider area Time limitation was another important limitation of this study Extended exposure to teaching methods is a significant factor and this requires a longer period of time Thus, the time span for treatment should have been longer It might have lead to more conductive results if the time was longer Language teachers and teaching assistants need more time to figure out more their usual difficulties in the vocabulary teaching process of elementary students as well as to give more solutions for those problems The methodology of the survey was limited to google forms It would have been more practical and various effective vocabulary teaching methods that collected from those language teachers and teaching assistants if the methodology is widened to paperwork 6.3 Suggestions for Further Studies By this study, the four popular teaching method were compared Additionally, some difficulties in the vocabulary teaching process of young learners and several solutions for those problems were determined The following points can be beneficial for further studies with the same method but more up-to-date approaches in the future: + Using visual aids with online pictures shown on the slide instead of the paper as the traditional way 37 + Using visual reality technology to create an extremely practical environment speaking English with characters to encourage young learners learning the target language and to promote young learners’ ability to adopt a second language + Personalize the teaching program that specific content of each lesson to be much more convenient for learners so as not to be affected their understanding of knowledge of the whole course + Having more extracurricular activities that support learners an environment to apply their knowledge into reality 38 REFERENENCES Webster’s third new international dictionary (1993) Library journal Alqahtani, m (2015) He importance of vocabulary in language learning and how to be taught International journal of teaching and education The international institute of social and economic sciences Amara, n (2010) Teachingenglish.org.uk Retrieved from britistish council: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/alexenoamen/classroommanagement-young-learners Brooks, n ( 1964) Language and language learning: theory and practice New york: harcourt brace Budden, j (n.d.) British council Retrieved from british council, spain: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/role-play Cameron, l (2001) Teaching languages to young learners Cambridge university press D, d H (n.d.) Innovation Ltp Dubin (1974) Foreign language learners need materials Harmer, j (2010) How to teach english Longman 10 Hiffeldt, c (1985) Picture perception and interpretation among preliterate adults Passage: a journal of refugee education 11 Konya (2007) Teaching vocabulary to secondary school students through games Turkey: konya 12 Lewis, m (2002) The lexical approach- the state pf elt and a way forward Heinle elt-1 edition 13 Mccarten, j (2007) Teaching vocabulary-lessons from the corpus, lessons for the classroom New york: cambridge university express 39 14 Nathan, n (2013) Structuring vocabulary for tenderfoots Scientific and research publications 15 Rantonen, j (2016) How we teach english vocabulary inside the classroom: teacher perspectives and vocabulary from the outside 16 Richards, j A (1986) Approaches and methods in language teaching Cambridge: cambridge university press 17 Schmitt, n & (2010) A reassessment of frequency and vocabulary size in l2vocabulary teaching Language teaching 18 Scott, w A (1990) Teaching english to children New: longman inc 19 Shejbalová, d (2006) Methods and approaches in vocabulary teaching and their influence on students’ acquisition 20 Stahl, s (2005) Fluency-oriented reading instruction Stahl, steven 21 Thornbury, s (2002) How to teach vocabulary Longman 22 Wilkins, d A (1972) Linguistics in language teaching Cambridge: mft press 23 Ytreberg, w A (n.d.) Teahing english to children (n Grant, ed.) London : Longman 40 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Quantitative method What is your gender? a.male b.female c.other How old are you? a.19->22 b.23->30 c >30 How many years you have been teaching English for primary school students? a.1->3 b.4->10 c >10 Which other groups of students you had English teaching experience except for elementary learners? a.kindergarden b.secondary or high school students c.university or over How often you make lesson plans before classes? a.always b sometimes c never or used to How much time you usually spend to make a lesson plan? a.1 hour Do you have problems in managing young learners classes? a Yes b.No Have you ever had difficulty in addressing the general needs of the learners? a.Yes b.No Do you have problems in addressing the specific needs of the learners? a.Yes 10 b.No Do you have any difficulties in localising the content of the textbooks in order to prepare the learners for real-life situations? 41 a.Yes 11 b.No Have you ever had to deal with the probable shortcomings and lack of suitable appliances, materials in the teaching process? a.Yes b.No Qualitative method 12 Which methods did you find most effective in managing elementary classes? …………………………………………………………………………… 13 How you address the general needs of the learners? a Making extra supplies and materials available b Because students need a guide, tell them what they are supposed to do, why it is important, and provide a strategy for how to it c Having students work in pairs or groups 14 How you address the specific needs of the learners in Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading? a Using Objects (realias, visual aids, flashcards) b Drawing c Mime, Expressions and Gestures d Synonyms and antonyms 15 How you deal with problems in lacking suitable appliances, materials in the teaching process? ……………………………………………………………………………… 16 How you create activities including real-life situations in elementary classes? ……………………………………………………………………………… 42 17 What activities you usually use in your classes to practice vocabulary for elementary students? …………………………………………………………………………… 43