The effects of concept checking questions on a2 students perfomance in english vocabulary acquisition

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE -*** - THE EFFECTS OF CONCEPT CHECKING QUESTIONS ON A2 STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature By LÊ TRẦN MINH ANH Instructed by PHAN THANH HÙNG, Ph.D Ho Chi Minh City, July 2023 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis had not been completed without the assistance of many people who always stood by me through all of the ups and downs of this writing journey First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude towards my supervisor, Doctor Phan Thanh Hung I am sincerely thankful for his dedication in giving feedback although he was living abroad No matter how busy he was, he always replied to all of my emails in a fast and careful way I also would like to thank all of my family members and friends for their financial and mental support, especially on the day I just wanted to give up But for their encouragement, I would not have been confident and motivated to finish the thesis I am also sincerely grateful for the support of the research site and all of the participants who were my colleagues and students They were all willing to allow me to conduct the research and take part in it wholeheartedly Last but not least, I want to express my thankfulness to the faculty and all of the lecturers teaching this MA program for sharing not only academic knowledge but also experience in conducting a thesis II STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I certify that this thesis which is “THE EFFECTS OF CONCEPT CHECKING QUESTIONS ON A2 STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY ACQUISITION” is my own work As far as I am concerned, it does not violate any copyright of other papers nor research I also declare that this is a true copy that has not been submitted nor published to any other university, institution, or publisher Ho Chi Minh City, July 2023 Le Tran Minh Anh III TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII LIST OF TABLES VIII LIST OF FIGURES IX CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Statements of the problem 1.3 Research aims 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Hypothesis 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Scope of the study 1.8 Organization of the thesis chapters CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Concept Checking Questions (CCQs) 2.1.1 Definitions of CCQs 2.1.2 Types of CCQs 2.1.2.1 Display questions 2.1.2.2 Referential questions 2.1.3 Characteristics of CCQs 2.1.4 Forms of CCQs 2.1.5 Benefits of CCQs 2.1.6 Drawbacks of CCQs 2.2 Vocabulary acquisition 2.2.1 Vocabulary and aspects of vocabulary 2.2.2 How children are exposed to vocabulary 10 2.2.3 How vocabulary is remembered 10 2.2.4 How to measure vocabulary 11 2.3 A2 students 14 2.3.1.Characteristics of A2 students 14 2.3.2.A2 students‟ vocabulary knowledge 15 2.4 Conceptual framework 17 IV CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Research design 18 3.2 Research site 19 3.3 Participants 20 3.3.1 Students 20 3.3.2 Teachers 21 3.4 Research instruments 23 3.5 Piloting 27 3.6 Data collection procedure 27 3.7 Data analysis scheme 29 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 30 4.1 Teachers‟ knowledge 30 4.1.1 Definitions 30 4.1.2 Types of CCQs 31 4.1.3 Characteristic of CCQs 32 4.1.4 Forms of CCQs 33 4.1.5 The benefits of CCQs 33 4.1.6 The drawbacks of CCQs 35 4.2 How to ask CCQs 36 4.2.1 How teachers address the drawbacks 36 4.2.2 Forms of CCQs 38 4.2.3 Stages to ask CCQs 41 4.2.4 How CCQs are directed to students 43 4.2.5 What if students say wrong answers? 44 4.2.6 Supplements 44 4.3 How CCQs are used in the experimental research 45 4.4 Summary of the observations and interviews 47 4.5 Results of the independent t-test and Pearson 47 4.5.1 Receptive vocabulary knowledge - Passive recognition 48 4.5.2 Receptive vocabulary knowledge - Passive recall 49 4.5.3 Productive vocabulary knowledge - Active recognition 50 4.5.4 Productive vocabulary knowledge - Active recall 51 4.5.5 Vocabulary knowledge test 52 4.5.6 Correlation between asking CCQs and students‟ performance in vocabulary acquisition 53 4.5.7 Discussion of the independent t-test and Pearson 53 4.6 Summary of the chapter 54 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 55 V 5.1 Summary of findings 55 5.2 Pedagogical implications 56 5.3 Limitations of the study 57 5.4 Recommendations for the study 57 REFERENCES 58 APPENDICES 63 APPENDIX A 63 APPENDIX B 64 APPENDIX C 68 APPENDIX D 72 APPENDIX E 76 APPENDIX F 81 APPENDIX G 83 APPENDIX H 104 APPENDIX I 108 APPENDIX J 109 APPENDIX K 110 APPENDIX L 111 APPENDIX M 112 VI LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CCQs: Concept checking questions CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages PPP: Presentation Practice Production VII LIST OF TABLES Table Types of vocabulary knowledge 13 Table 3.1 Participant recruitment criteria checklist 22 Table 3.2 The description of pretest and pottest 26 Table 3.3 The schedule of observations and interviews 28 Table 4.1 Forms of asking CCQs 38 Table 4.2 Number of CCQs in each stage 41 Table 4.3 How CCQs are directed to students 43 Table 4.4 How CCQs are used and directed to students in the experimental research 46 Table 4.5 Scores of Passive Recognition Vocabulary in the posttests of the control group and experimental group 48 Table 4.6 Scores of Passive Recall Vocabulary in the posttests of the control group and experimental group 49 Table 4.7 Scores of Active Recognition Vocabulary in the posttests of the control group and experimental groups 50 Table 4.8 Scores of Active Recall Vocabulary in the posttests of the control group and experimental group 51 Table 4.9 Scores of vocabulary knowledge in the posttests of the control group and experimental group 52 Table 4.10 The correlation of the students‟ learning with CCQs and their points in the test 53 VIII LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 Developing knowledge of a word 12 Figure 2.2 The Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) 16 Figure 2.3 Conceptual framework of the study 17 IX ABSTRACT Although asking “do you understand?” is the most explicit way to check for understanding in real life, this question can lead to dishonest answers from students in class due to their fear of embarrassment However, waiting to check students‟ exercises to evaluate their understanding may take a great amount of time Employing concept checking questions can provide an in-between solution that can detect students‟ misunderstanding immediately; nevertheless, it remains an underresearch topic in terms of vocabulary for A2 students Therefore, the thesis aims to investigate (1) how teachers ask concept checking questions to check A2 students‟ vocabulary acquisition at VUS English Center, and (2) the effects of asking concept checking questions on A2 students‟ performance in vocabulary acquisition A mixed-method research design was deployed to collect both qualitative data on how teachers ask concept checking questions, and quantitative data on the effect of using concept checking questions Four teachers were observed and interviewed, then their responses were coded into a thematic framework 102 A2 students took part in experimental research, and their test scores were compared by using Pearson and an independent t-Test The instruments include observation scheme, interview questions, pretest and posttest The findings shed new light on how concept checking questions should be used and their effects on A2 students‟ vocabulary acquisition; hence, assisting teachers to plan their lessons more effectively in order to help students engage in class activities more actively Keywords: concept checking questions, how to ask concept checking questions, effects, vocabulary acquisition, A2 students X depends on the numbers of number of vocabulary number questions words I teach on that vocabulary “It day depends on Normally the of it‟s gonna be questions for each item.” (interview questions for each 1) “For close-ended questions, I will ask one each vocabulary question for each word For open-ended questions, they require more questions to make sure students understand vocabulary really the However, each vocabulary taught must be asked at least one question.” (interviewee 2) “I try to ask all of the all vocabulary but not too vocabulary of many questions or the students will get bored.” (interviewee 3) 98 the “I try to be flexible so flexible directed that the students cannot predict For close-ended questions, I will ask the whole class there is one answer However, for open-ended whole class individually because only randomly volunteer questions, students‟ answers may vary I need to ask individually First, I let them volunteer and then if no one volunteers, I will select randomly.” (interviewee 2) “Normally I will let the volunteer students volunteer and choose randomly If I ask the whole class, choose randomly some passive students may not answer.” (interviewee 3) “I choose randomly students because I how CCQs are choose randomly want to make sure I give 99 chances to everyone If I let them volunteer, the active students answer will all.” (interviewee 4) “If I‟m using PPP, after after the the Present and before I presentation jump in the Practice before practice stage, I ask my students CCQs I need to make sure that my students have understood the words Because if they don‟t clearly understand the words, they can make some mistakes in the practice” (interviewee 1) “after teaching the after teaching meaning, pronunciation, I will ask students CCQs” (interviewee 2) “Normally I will use after presenting CCQs after presenting 100 stages new words.” (interviewee 3) “Actually if I see my when students students misuse misuse the words, I will ask them CCQs to remind them about the use of the words.” (interviewee 4) “I continue to seek the confirm the dealing with correct answer, and then correct answers wrong answers I confirm the correct answers for the whole class.” (interviewee 1) “I review vocabulary the again in confirm the correct answer order to confirm the correct answer.” (interviewee 2) “I give the students confirm the some time to think again answer and then confirm the answer.” (interviewee 4) 101 “The most used pictures is pictures because they are easy to find, use, and eye-catching And you don‟t have to pay for them They are free the Internet.” (interviewee 1) “Besides pictures, I also pictures deploy the use of videos videos and sounds sounds.” (interviewee 2) “If I teach the concrete vocabulary, I will use flashcards, flashcards pictures videos pictures, videos to make the lesson more visible supplement s supplement in my class on visible objects and comprehensible.” (interviewee 3) “I can use my students students‟ body as supplements too For parts example I can ask them to point to their body 102 parts when teaching vocabulary like finger, hand…” (interviewee 1) “I just ask simple CCQs don‟t need supplements so I don‟t need to use pictures, flashcards, videos,…” (interviewee 3) “If I teach abstract don‟t use vocabulary, I don‟t use more don‟t use supplements.” (interviewee 4) 103 APPENDIX H VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE TEST TEST Task 1: Circle the meaning of the word Golf A These are dark cold places inside mountains, and sometimes bats live in them B A driver takes people who are very ill to see doctors in hospital in this C If you can‟t spell a word, you can look for the meanings and spellings of different words in this D People don‟t usually play this game in teams They use a small, hard white ball A desert A This person carries meals on plates to people in restaurants B This is a very dry place where there is usually sand on the ground C If you go for a walk in these, you see some trees and perhaps birds, too D You go and see this person if you have a hole in your tooth Caves A These are dark cold places inside mountains, and sometimes bats live in them B This is a kind of road where you can travel very quickly from city to city C You find this round and black thing on the wheels of cars and motorbikes D This person can fly to the moon in a rocket Baseball A This is made from fruit and you can put it on your bread with a knife 104 B Players in this game throw, catch and hit the ball on a sports field C These have pictures on them and you can write on the back and send them to friends when you‟re on holiday D It is this person‟s job to write about news in a newspaper Pockets A You buy these and put them on your envelopes before you post them B This person flies a plane and usually wears a uniform C People like reading these because they have stories with pictures or photos on their pages D Some people put keys or money in these if they are wearing a coat or jeans, for example Task 2: Write one suitable word in the blank You often walk over _ when you cross rivers or roads You wear _to protect your eyes from bright light from the sun A(n) is a piece of jewellery that is worn around the arm You can find thousands of tall trees in a(n) There is water all round a(n) place so you need a boat to get to it Task 3: Circle the word that has the following meaning People this sport on ice It looks like dancing sometimes! A Flour B Gloves C A Waiter D Ice skating You wear special boots and move quickly down snow in this popular sport One foot is always behind the other A Sunglasses B A journalist C Snowboarding 105 D A manager When we play this, we hit the ball in the air with our hands or arms We don't want the ball to fall on the ground! A An astronaut B Volleyball C A flag D Salt Sometimes people race in boats in this sport It is usually a safe sport but might be quite dangerous if the wind is strong A Pepper B Sailing C Yoghurt D Cheese A large strong building, built in the past by a ruler or important person to protect the people inside from attack A Castle B Pizza C Art D A film star Task 4: Write one suitable word in the blank Something you can climb which isn‟t as high as a mountain is a h _ It's a good idea to wear a helmet on your head when you're c _ Lots of people put s _on their feet before they sports You wear a c over other clothes when you go outside The leaves on the p _ help clean the air KEY Task 1: 106 D B A B D Task 2: other answers are acceptable, if appropriate bridges sunglasses bracelet jungle island Task 3: D C B B A Task 4: hill cycling sneakers coat plants 107 APPENDIX I RESULTS OF PASSIVE RECOGNITION VOCABULARY Group Statistics STUDENTS N Mean Std Std Error Deviation Mean POINTS control 51 2.441 1627 0228 experimental 51 2.167 5447 0763 Levene‟s Test for Equality of Variances F Si g Poi nts Equal varian ces assum ed Equal varian ces not assum ed Independent Sample Test t-test for Equality of Means t df Sig (2taile d) Mean Differe nce Std Error Differe nce 37.7 00 3.44 36 49 100 001 2745 0796 3.44 58.8 52 001 2745 0796 108 95% Confidenc e Interval of the Difference Low Upp er er 116 432 115 433 APPENDIX J POINTS RESULTS OF PASSIVE RECALL VOCABULARY Group Statistics STUDENTS N Mean Std Std Error Deviation Mean control 51 1.304 8607 1205 experimental 51 2.206 4144 0580 Levene‟s Test for Equality of Variances F Sig Poin Equal ts varianc es assume d Equal varianc es not assume d 28.0 24 Independent Sample Test t-test for Equality of Means t df Sig (2taile d) 00 6.74 100 000 -.0920 1338 6.74 72.0 04 000 -.9020 1338 109 Mean Std Differen Error ce Differen ce 95% Confidence Interval of the Difference Low Upp er er 1.16 636 73 1.16 86 635 APPENDIX K RESULTS OF ACTIVE RECOGNITION VOCABULARY Group Statistics POINTS Poin Equal ts varianc es assume d Equal varianc es not assume d STUDENTS N Mean control experimental 51 51 1.980 2.392 Std Std Error Deviation Mean 7481 1048 2305 0323 Independent Sample Test Levene‟s t-test for Equality of Means Test for Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig Mean Std 95% (2- Differen Error Confidence taile ce Differen Interval of d) ce the Difference Low Upp er er 34.4 00 100 000 -.4118 1096 19 3.75 629 194 3.75 59.4 11 110 000 -.4118 1096 631 192 POINTS Poin Equal ts varianc es assume d Equal varianc es not assume d APPENDIX L RESULTS OF ACTIVE RECALL VOCABULARY Group Statistics STUDENTS N Mean Std Std Error Deviation Mean control 51 882 9033 1265 experimental 51 2.206 4379 0613 Independent Sample Test Levene‟s t-test for Equality of Means Test for Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig Mean Std 95% (2Differe Error Confidence taile nce Differe Interval of d) nce the Difference Low Uppe er r 33.6 00 100 000 -1.3235 1406 06 9.41 1.60 1.04 24 47 9.41 72.2 73 111 000 -1.3235 1406 1.60 37 1.04 33 APPENDIX M RESULTS OF VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE TEST Group Statistics STUDENTS N Mean Std Std Error Deviation Mean POINTS control 51 6.343 2.4114 3377 experimental 51 9.235 8268 1158 Independent Sample Test Levene‟s t-test for Equality of Means Test for Equality of Variances F Sig t df Sig Mean Std 95% (2Differe Error Confidence taile nce Differe Interval of d) nce the Difference Low Uppe er r Poin Equal 36.4 00 100 000 -2.8922 3570 ts varianc 69 8.10 3.60 2.18 es 04 40 assume d Equal 61.5 000 -2.8922 3570 varianc 8.10 95 3.60 2.17 es not 58 85 assume d 112