Skkn using quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of grade 11 students at hau loc 2 high school

TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS……………….…….… …………………… I INTRODUCTION…………………….……………………………… Rationale of the study…………….………………… ………… Aims and objectives of the study …………….………………… Scope of the study………… ………………….………………… Methods of the study……….……………… …………………… II CONTENT ………………….…………………………………… …… Theoretical background….………….…………… …………… 1.1 Definition of vocabulary………….……………….………… … 1.2 The role of Vocabulary in teaching and learning English …… 1.3 Technology and integrating technology in Vocabulary teaching 1.4 Overview of Quizlet…….…………………………………….… Practical background ……………………………………… …… Utilizing Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of Grade 11 students at Hau Loc High school ……………………….……… 3.1 Preparation…………………………………………… ………… 3.2 Utilizing Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of Grade 11 students at Hau Loc High school ……………………… …… 3.2.1 Using Quizlet in to enhance students’ vocabulary acquisition in faceto-face class……………………………………………………….… 3.2.2 Using Quizlet to motivate students’ autonomy in vocabulary learning outside the classroom………………………… … …… Effectiveness of utilizing Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of Grade 11 students at Hau Loc High school….… 4.1 The improvements in students’ vocabulary acquisition when Quizlet used within and outside the class.…………………….… 4.2 Effectiveness of Using Quizlet to motivate students’ autonomy in vocabulary learning…………………………………………… … III CONCLUSION ………………….…… ……………….………….… Conclusion………………….…………………… ………… …… Recommendation……….…………………………………… …… REFERRENCES……………………………………………………… … LIST OF GRADED STUDIES……………………………………… … APPENDIX 1……………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 2……………………………………………… …… ……… APPENDIX 3……………………………………………… …… ……… APPENDIX 4……………………………………………… …… ……… APPENDIX 5……………………………………………… ……………… i 1 2 3 3 9 10 11 14 16 16 18 19 19 20 I II III IV V VI VII i skkn I INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study There is unanimous agreement that vocabulary plays an integral role in learning a second language Insufficient vocabulary may limit one to understand and produce speech as well as text For instance, it will be much challenging for anyone to understand a non-specialized text without a vocabulary bank under 5000 words (Nation, 1990, cited in Groot, 2000) Language learning plays a significant role in a learner's learning process in which the development of main skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and vocabulary, pronunciation, phonetics, etc., is such a complex process Among these elements, vocabulary is considered the central component in successful foreign language acquisition Lewis (1993, p.89) once stated that vocabulary is “the core or heart of language”, while according to Wilkins (1972, p.111), “without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” Therefore, promoting vocabulary learning has been a goal emphasized by English training programs, especially at basic levels Moreover, expanding vocabulary bank is very pivotal for many high school students in Vietnam because English exam papers for university admission and highschool graduation in Vietnam normally have high lexical demands According to Duy Van Vu (2021, p.7), who conducted a corpus-based lexical analysis of 20 English exam papers for university admission and high-school graduation in Vietnam during a period of 17 years (2002–2018), the exam papers required a vocabulary knowledge of 5000 word families to reach 95% coverage Hence, in order to get the Secondary School Education Certificate and win a place at universities, learners need to build up a large store of words Though enriching lexical knowledge is important, vocabulary acquisition is challenging to a number of language learners due to the fact that it is by far the most sizeable and unmanageable component in language learning (Oxford, 1990) Moreover teachers can not find out an interesting way to motivate and engage them in acquiring new words In fact, from my observations in my classes and my colleagues’ classes, students usually feel bored with learning vocabulary since they have not changed their learning habits They usually learn new vocabulary items on paper, trying to learn by heart or rely on their teachers’ explanations Students claim that it is hard for them to remember the new words Even when they have spent a lot of time learning them before, they easily forget the words after a relatively short time That’s why it is necessary to find a fascinating way to encourage students to learn new lexical items effectively This factual situation encouraged me to introduce Quizlet to my classes under expectation that it would become a remedy for vocabulary learning by providing students with new learning experience, keeping students’ motivation of learning, and enhancing students’ vocabulary retention and autonomy The research skkn “ Using Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of grade 11 students at Hau Loc high school” was conducted to investigate the impacts of Quizlet on vocabulary acquisition and its potential to increase students’ autonomous learning of English vocabulary Aims and Objectives the study This study was carried out with a view to achieving two goals Firstly, it aims at investigating the effectiveness of an educational technical tool named Quizlet on vocabulary learning The second goal is to examine the potential impacts of Quizlet on stimulating learners’ autonomy in vocabulary learning The research was concerned with two main areas including the effectiveness of technology-based game, Quizlet, in English vocabulary learning and teaching, and its promises to boost learners’ autonomy Scope of the study Learning a second language as a scholar once said “is a long and complex undertaking” Therefore, teachers of a second language have to apply a lot of techniques to accelerate the results of teaching and learning process However, this study only focuses on the use of Quizlet of students at grade 11 rather than any other online tools 78 students coming from class 11A1, 11A4 at Hau Loc high school, who were at the same level of knowledge and awareness and were all equipped with internet connected devices, participated in this study The study lasted for 16 weeks Methods of the study The study was designed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods Besides, many resources such as books, and some sources on the Internet were read by the researcher In order to gain the most reliable results, quantitative data were collected through pre-test and post-test designed to check students’ acquisition of the target words in the four vocabulary lessons in English 11 textbook The data then were processed and analyzed and presented with a system of tables and charts for clear description of the findings Questionnaires included a pre-survey questionnaire and a post-survey questionnaire Both of them consist of questions related to students’ attitudes to learning vocabulary before and after using Quizlet, and the changes in their learning interest and habits Along with the quantitative method, the qualitative data were obtained by class observation and consultancy from other teachers to collect further information about the real situations of teaching and learning vocabulary in grade 11 at Hau Loc high school skkn II CONTENT Theoretical background 1.1 Definition of vocabulary Vocabulary is commonly defined as all the words known and used by a particular person However, for years, there have been a lot of studies trying to give many other definitions According to Nash and Snowling (2006), vocabulary is described as “the knowledge of words and their meanings” (p 336) In the meantime, Sheehan (2002) supposes that vocabulary is “the ability to understand and use words to acquire and convey meaning” (Vocabulary, para 1) In brief, a word in vocabulary is a sound or a combination of sounds presented in writing or printing to symbolize and communicate a meaning Another notion from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary says that “A vocabulary  is a set of familiar words within a person's language A vocabulary, usually developed with age, serves as a useful and fundamental tool for communication and acquiring knowledge.” According to this website, knowledge of words can also be categorized into two forms: productive and receptive Productive vocabulary is a set of words used when writing or speaking Most of them are well-known, common and frequently used words In contrast, receptive or recognition vocabulary is that set of words, often less frequent in use, for which an individual can assign meanings when reading or listening In general, receptive vocabulary is larger than productive vocabulary During the process of learning a second language, vocabulary refers to one of four types, each of which represents a progressively increasing mastery of lexical terms These four types are listening vocabulary, speaking vocabulary, reading vocabulary and writing vocabulary Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we hear Speaking vocabulary consists of the words we use when we speak Reading vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we read Writing vocabulary consists of the words we use in writing The first two types relate to oral use of language, whereas the latter two are typically developed during the school years From the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total number of words that are needed to communicate ideas and express the speakers' meaning That is the reason why it is important to learn vocabulary 1.2 The role of Vocabulary in teaching and learning English Traditionally, vocabulary was neglected in language teaching programs and curriculums for the sake of grammar and other parts of language Nowadays, however, researchers have realized that vocabulary is an important part of language skkn learning and teaching and it is worthy of attention because of the following reasons In the first place, vocabulary is important since it’s the basis of all language Lewis (1993, p.89) ) stated that , “lexis is the core or heart of language” It’s the raw building blocks that people can use to express their thoughts and ideas, share information, understand others and grow personal relationships In many case in reality, even without grammar, with some useful words and expressions, people can manage to communicate As British linguists David A Wilkins (1972, p.111) eloquently put it, “without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Take how children acquire language as an example Before they ever attempt to say complex structures, they utter single words such as ‘duck’, ‘ball’ and ‘teddy’ and are usually able to communicate what they want Similar to English learners, without using complex grammar structure, they are still able to communicate, using vocabulary alone Secondly, vocabulary acquisition plays a significant part in learning English because a large vocabulary helps develop other language skills When students have a wide range of words in their target language, it also helps support their four language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking As Paul Nation (2015) noted in his paper on vocabulary learning: “Vocabulary is not an end in itself A rich vocabulary makes the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing easier to perform” In fact, lexical knowledge is perhaps the most important factor when it comes to reading comprehension Without a variety of words, students will have to struggle to understand the meaning of the text Likewise, if learners have never seen or heard a particular piece of vocabulary in a second language, it will be much harder to recognize and decode the sounds and extract the meaning Hence, a student’s vocabulary knowledge is not the only factor in developing listening skills but it certainly has an important role Moreover, learners’ receptive vocabulary size is found to be strongly associated with their reading and writing abilities It is much easier for students to express themselves in writing and speaking if they have a variety of lexical items They can have different selections of words and will be able to be more precise when expressing their thoughts, feelings, events or ideas Finally, a larger vocabulary can be a stepping stone to higher levels of language fluency In other words, the more vocabulary learners know, the easier it will become to improve their language skills For example, if students have strong foundational knowledge of vocabulary, they can easily understand the words from their context, naturally expand their vocabulary and improve their language skills without needing to spend time looking the words up in a dictionary or asking someone for explanations Moreover, they are less likely to experience a time when a particular word is “on the tip of their tongue” but they are unable to remember it, which makes them unable to completely express their messages Hence, it is skkn obviously that the more English words they know, the more fluently they can communicate in this language To sum up, there is clearly a strong link between a person’s understanding of vocabulary and an individual’s skills with language Therefore, to improve the quality of teaching and learning English, both learners and teachers need to focus closely on vocabulary 1.3 Technology and integrating technology in Vocabulary teaching Technology has been defined by different researchers According to İŞMAN (2012), it is the practical use of knowledge particularly in a specific area and is a way of doing a task, especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge The usage of technology includes not only machines (computer hardware) and instruments, but also involves structured relations with other humans, machines, and the environment (İŞMAN, 2012) Nowadays, students are referred to as "Digital Natives" since they are comfortable with technology, computers, and the Internet, as well as video games That has resulted in the necessity of integrating information technology in teaching and learning According to Hennessy, Ruthven, and Brindley (2005) and Pourhosein Gilakjani (2017), technology integration is defined in terms of how teachers use technology to perform familiar activities more effectively and how this usage can re-shape these activities Another notion from Dockstader (2008) stated that technology integration as the use of technology to improve the educational environment It supports the classroom teaching through creating opportunities for learners to complete assignments on the computer rather than the normal pencil and paper The application of technology has considerably changed English teaching methods Chalk and talk teaching method is no longer sufficient to effectively teach English because of the effectiveness of Technology-enhanced teaching environment compared to lecture-based class One of the most remarkable benefits of Digital devices is that it can be used to motivate and engage English language learners in the development of literacy and language skills (Traore & Kyei-Blankson, 2011; Ware, 2008) Learning a new language requires incredible patience and nerves; therefore, if not being sufficiently motivated during the long and tedious learning process, learners might be discouraged to try harder By utilizing various kinds of technological devices, language learners gain a “sense of freedom, motivation, and encouragement they need for learning” (Megan Clark, 2013) Moreover, utilizing technology in the classroom is a new method of teaching technique which provides more interaction, and makes students’ learning more effectively During the teaching activities, technology have been applied to various aspects of pedagogies In English teaching fields, this kind of computer-assisted skkn language learning can support and extend English curriculum goals, which make students engage in meaningful English learning activities, increase their vocabulary range and enhance their English communication skills Last but not least, applying new technologies in teaching and learning English promises the emergence of students’ autonomy Learners are more active and open to online resources, in which they can find every source of information needed to complete their assignments or to simply satisfy their curiosity of certain learning aspects without having to depend on the teachers In other words, Digital devices enable them to access authentic materials for self-directed learning and learn outside the classroom Thus, it can empower learners to learn independently and motivate life-long learning ability All in all, integrating technology in English teaching can reach the following goals: inspire students’ learning motivation and interests, enhance the effectiveness of learning English, increase students’ communication skills, and strengthen students’ self-explosion and life-long learning ability 1.4 Overview of Quizlet When learning Vocabulary, to memorize new words students use many ways such as writing and reading them again and again, doing word puzzles and games like crosswords, anagrams and word searches or using flash cash However, these methods are not only time-consuming, demotivating but also not really effective Nowadays, thanks to the development of technology, English learners could use digital flashcards to enrich their vocabulary size in a more interesting and convenient way Quizlet is an online learning tool that is specialized in vocabulary development and created by high school sophomore Andrew Sutherland in Albany, California It was originally conceived in October 2005 and released to the public in January 2007 In January 2014, this website had over 35 million user-generated flashcard sets and more than 11 million registered users according to Wikipedia Quizlet Application is considered as the digital flashcard that provides the picture cards used through electronic devices such as smartphone or computer, either online or offline, to help learners memorize the form and meaning of the words together As a memorization tool, it lets registered users create sets of terms and definitions customized for their own needs Quizlet then coverts that information into six different study modes in a user-friendly and intuitive format, making it useful for any type of learner, from visual to auditory to reading or writing Quizlet modes also include timed games, which are great for getting competitive-natured students actively engaged in their learning, instead of passively trying to memorize a list of vocabulary Additionally, it also helps to develop incorporate collaboration and teamwork skills When students take part in Quizlet Live, they are randomly sorts into teams to match the terms and definitions skkn Therefore, to win the game members in each team have to work together to give the correct answers in shorter time Learning Description mode Learn Words and their meanings can be learned through multiple choice and writing questions Questions are sorted from easy to difficult Flashcard Digital flashcards demonstrate terms in which the students can flip them by using mouse clicks or touching the screens to show definitions or pictures that explain the term Write Students are asked to write the definitions for the terms or the pictures exposed They can retake this module if they make an error Spell Students are asked to type what they hear from the audio prompt If they misspell the word, they will hear it dictated letter by letter while the correct answer is being typed in the screen Test A test consists of four types of questions: written, multiple choices, matching, and True or False The questions are based on the study set The scores gained and the correct answers for the mistaken ones can be checked Match A game in which learners are asked to match terms to their definitions (or the corresponding pictures) as quickly as possible After finishing it, the app shows them their scores and ranks among other learners Gravity Live Website Mobile Apps Available Available Available Available Available Available Available NonAvailable Available Available Available Available In this game, students are asked to type the term which is Available Noncorresponded with its definition before the asteroid falls Available and crashes onto the planet There are or more students required to play this module Available Nonin which they are connected to http://Quizlet.com/live Available and they are asked to enter the unique session code After that, multiple-choice questions based on the study sets should be answered by the students in each group through their computers They have to collaborate to get the correct answers because the answers are randomly scattered among the devices The winner is the first group that finishes the game Table 1: Different Learning mode of Quizlet In conclusion, Quizlet is a digital learning tool which enables students to have more flexibility to study what they want, when they want and in the way they want skkn Practical background Vocabulary acquisition has become more and more important for students, especially when the new general educational curriculum (in 2018) sets the goal that students at high school have to master from 600 to 800 words related to the themes in the text books and by the time they finish their schooling, they will have acquired about 2500 words However, some research has indicated that Vietnamese learners of English as a foreign language have limited vocabulary knowledge, which makes it difficult for them not only to learn English in higher level but also to find a well-paid job in the future According to Duy Van Vu and Elke Peters, who conducted a large-scale study to examine the knowledge of meaning recognition of 500 students in Grade 12 (18 years old) across different high schools in different provinces of Vietnam, only a very small proportion of Vietnamese twelfth graders mastered the 2000word level (14%) and even fewer students mastered the next word levels, even though their number of years of studying English ranged from to 12 years This worrying fact is illustrated in Vietnamese students’ alarmingly low scores in recent national high-school English examinations For example, in 2019, almost 70% of Vietnamese students scored below average in the national high-school English exam according to Ministry of Education and training In 2020, this rate was 63,13 %, just decreasing slightly compared to that of 2019 Moreover, English learners’ inadequate vocabulary knowledge might be one of the reasons why so many of them struggle with communicating in English although they have learned English for a long time at high schools All these issues might have resulted - at least to some extent - from learners’ poor vocabulary knowledge Moreover, my observations in teaching process at Hau Loc high school also indicate that in Vietnam, a common procedure of teaching vocabulary can be found in many high schools At the beginning of an English lesson, a teacher may write on the board a list of new English words that will appear in the lesson, provide their Vietnamese translations, model their pronunciation, and ask the whole class to repeat them after the teacher several times The focus is normally on single ones, often selected either by intuition or based on glossaries in textbooks and reference books After the vocabulary introduction, the focus often moves to a language skill, which is normally reading, listening or grammar Under the pressure of limited time in face-to-face class, it’s also very difficult for teacher check student’s understand of the given words Hence, every step in teaching vocabulary seems to be so quick and boring that many students find it hard to remember the spelling, pronunciation and meaning of the words immediately This problems lead to the necessity to find out a new and interesting way to improve the effectiveness of students’ learning vocabulary in in-person class In addition, when it comes to their vocabulary learning at home, learners are often left to their own devices To commit the words to the memory, students skkn usually write them automatically and read them repeatedly, which makes student feel bored and demotivated As a result, in the following class when the teacher call on some students to check their memorization of the words, many of them forget the words or some even remember the spellings and meanings but can’t pronounce the words correctly Therefore, it’s necessary for teachers to provide students with another interesting way to stimulate their autonomy in learning vocabulary outside the classroom Finally, the methods teachers currently use in class can not supply them an exhaustive assessment of students’ vocabulary knowledge In fact, at the beginning of new lessons, teacher usually call some students to the board to write the words and the meaning, which is so time-consuming that there is not enough time for the teacher to check the students’ learning of pronunciations, synonyms or antonyms or collocations of the words From the above given facts, in order to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning English, it’s necessary for teacher and students to apply a new method to not only help teachers in presenting the English terms and checking students’ vocabulary acquisition to improve the effectiveness of students’ learning in face-toface class but also motivate them to study independently outside the class Hence, Quizlet, a digital flashcard used through both computers and smartphone, is supposed to be a great measure for vocabulary learning and teaching because it can provide new learning experience to students, inspire them to learn the words, and promote their autonomy in learning vocabulary Utilising Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of Grade 11 students at Hau Loc High school 3.1 Preparation Before applying the study to solve the problems in teaching and learning Vocabulary, I chose two classes 11A1 and 11A4, which had the same number of students with the same level of knowledge and awareness They were in the same learning condition and were all equipped with digital devices connected with internet As previously mentioned, the research lasted for 16 weeks and consisted of phases During the first phase, lasting for eight weeks, students learnt unit 4, unit 6, unit and unit in English 11 textbook without introduction of Quizlet In both classes, I taught vocabulary in my normal way with the PowerPoint presentation, speaker, pictures, etc Students learnt the vocabulary by listening to their teacher’s lectures and doing the tasks in the text book I also assigned homework to them without any special requirements and let them study the target vocabulary in their own ways When students had finished unit 8, I asked them to a 15 minute pretest The result of the pre-test was followed skkn Figure 4: Matching question in Test mode Figure 5: Using Quizlet to check students’ learning vocabulary at the beginning of the lesson in class 11A4 at Hau Loc high school In short, not only does Quizlet provide learners with the new words in a more interesting and less time-consuming way by using digital Flashcards but it 13 skkn also helps them memorize the words immediately within class thanks to different assessment tools such as Learn mode or Test mode 3.2.2 Using Quizlet to motivate students’ autonomy in vocabulary learning outside the classroom One of the main reasons for the ineffectiveness of students’ vocabulary learning is that many of them find it boring to write the words on the paper and read them again and again As a digital learning tool, Quizlet brings students an interesting new method to revise vocabulary on their own outside the classroom Once they join the class which the teacher has set up on Quizlet, they can use other different modes besides Flash cash mode and Learn mode to remember the words they have learned in offline class For example, in the Spell mode, learners need to type what they hear If they type it correctly, they can move on to the next question If there is a mistake in their answer, Speller indicates which letters users have missed so they can retry This mode is perfect for learners who want to revise the pronunciation and spelling of a term Figure 6: Question in Spell Mode To learn the meanings and spellings, learners can practice with Writing mode, in which users are given some space to write the definition or meaning of a word learned in ‘flashcards’ functions Once they finish the first round, this mode starts a second round that focuses on questions they missed the first time To finish a full round in writing mode and see the results, students need to answer each question correctly twice 14 skkn Figure 7: Question in Write Mode Quizlet also keeps learning excitingly with two game activities, Match and Gravity In the former mode, a number of terms and their corresponding definitions are distributed randomly over the screen What players need to is matching the terms and definitions by dragging them with the mouse in the fastest time possible In the latter, learners have to type in the correct answer to destroy asteroids before they hit Because it requires students to actually type in the answer, the game pushes them to really learn the materials These two games not only enable learners to practice recalling and typing skill but also arouse competitiveness among them, for it has the High Score Table Figure 8: Question in Match Games 15 skkn Another way that students can make use of Quizlet to enhance their learning vocabulary is creating their own study sets from their practice tests and share them to others so that they can learn together By doing this, they save much time used for creating learning resources Here are the links of the study sets which have been created from the practice tests by my students since I introduced this method to the class: https://quizlet.com/_bbfvx4?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_av8e8p?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_ato257?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_avixd1?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_axu68y?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_bfd9ay?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_bgdjm1?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_bjx7hd?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_arigtz?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 https://quizlet.com/_be176v?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 To some extend, using Quizlet brings a new breath into teaching and learning vocabulary and make contributions to improve the effectiveness of this process and boost my students’ autonomous learning Effectiveness of utilizing Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of Grade 11 students at Hau Loc High school In order to assess the effectiveness of applying this method to teaching and learning Vocabulary, I gave a fifteen minute post-test to both class 11A1 and class 11A4 after finishing units from unit to unit 12 Pre-test and post-test scores were compared to look for the score gains that students achieved in each phase – before and after the application of Quizlet – which could imply its impacts Students’ responses to the sets of questionnaires were also summarized and reported with charts and tables, followed by detailed explanation focusing on students’ expression of their attitude and habits of learning before and after the treatment of the experiment 4.1 The improvements in students’ vocabulary acquisition when Quizlet used within and outside the class Class Average scores (Total mark: 10) Average score gains Class 11A1 Pre-test 6,42 Post-test 6,53 0,11 Class 11A4 6,31 8,23 1,92 Table 3: Differences between the pretest and posttest results 16 skkn The figures in table show that a dramatic rise in score gains was made by students in class 11A4 from 6,31 to 8,23 points while there was only a slightly increase in the average result of class 11A1, by only 0,11 points Regarding the test scores of individuals, all students received better results in the post-test in class 11A4, among which the highest score was 10 and the lowest was 4,5 Meanwhile, in class 11A1 the figures were 3,5 and respectively This implied that the application of Quizlet had some positive impacts on students’ vocabulary acquisition and promoted their word mastery Moreover, with regard to the difficulties that students often deal with when learning vocabulary, the data collected from the pre-survey questionnaire and the post-survey questionnaire in class 11A4 are presented in the following table Survey Remembering Meanings Remembering Spellings Remembering pronunciations Remembering synonyms or antonyms Remembering collocations Pre-treatment Post-treatment Number of Percentage Number of Percentage responses (%) responses (%) (out of 39) (out of 39) 17 38.5 12.82 20 51.2 18.91 27 69.23 16.21 26 66.66 18.91 24 61,53 10 37.02 Table Difficulties that students met in learning vocabulary in class 11A4 at Hau loc high school According to students’ reports in Table 4, in the first phase without using Quizlet, more than half of the students in class 11A4 found it difficult to master different aspects knowledge of new words such as spellings, pronunciations, synonyms or antonyms, and collocations, except for meanings 69,23% and 66,66% students agreed that the biggest difficulties they encountered was remembering pronunciations and synonyms or antonyms respectively in pre- intervention period Memorizing collocations of the words is the problem to 61,53% while 51,2% of the students believed remembering spellings was difficult for them It was also challenging for a quite large number of students, accounting for 38.5%, to remember meanings 17 skkn After Quizlet treatment, there was a decrease in all figures with only 12.82% students still found learning meanings troublesome for them Remembering collocations was reported to be less problematic to 18.91% of the students This digital learning tool helps 53,02% of the students (from 69,23% to 16,21%) overcome their difficulties in pronouncing the new words while 47,75% (from 66,66% to 18,91%) improve in retaining synonyms or antonyms The numbers of students finding it challenging to commit synonyms or antonyms and spelling to their memory after intervention were the same, only accounting for 18,91 % To sum up, Learning English vocabulary is a process of great difficulty in which students can sometimes get bored and discouraged; therefore, any tools that can help to motivate the students in their learning should be taken seriously, and Quizlet seems to be the tool we have been looking for 4.2 Effectiveness of Using Quizlet to motivate students’ autonomy in vocabulary learning In addition to the effectiveness, students’ autonomy also changed in a positive manner when Quizlet is applied The tables and charts below clarified the difference in students’ autonomy before and after the use of Quizlet in class 11A4 Figure 9: Changes in students’ attitude to learning new words Chart shows a positive changes in their attitude to their autonomy in vocabulary acquisition The number of students who showed eagerness to learn new words after utilizing Quizlet was nearly triple that before using this learning tool The number of students finding it interesting to learn vocabulary massively 18 skkn increased from students at the pre-intervention phase to 37 students at the postintervention phase While only 13 students believed that the method of their selflearning vocabulary at home was efficient in the former period, this number increased dramatically to 32 at the latter phase From the chart, it can be seen that Quizlet has positive effects on inspiring students to learn English vocabulary independently outside the class Concerning self- studying habits, the numeric data before and after the treatment period were collected and synthesized as presented in the table below Frequency of self studying vocabulary outside the class Often Pre- treatment 20 Post- treatment 31 Sometimes 11 Rarely Never Table 5: Frequency of self studying vocabulary outside the class Figures in table indicated that there was an increase in the number of students who often studied vocabulary after the class, from 20 at first to 31 after utilizing Quizlet This was better compared to 20 students in the previous period On the contrary, the number of students who sometimes and rarely revised the new words reduced dramatically after the second phase, from 11 to and from to respectively Most notably, there was no student who never learn new words at home in the second period in comparison with students in the first phase The higher frequency of learning after the introduction of Quizlet implies that this tool made students more willing to learn by themselves III CONCLUSION Conclusion Vocabulary is very important in teaching and learning English because without vocabulary, other language skills can not develop However, students’ vocabulary learning both inside and outside the class isn’t effective because teachers can not find out an interesting way to motivate and get them engaged in acquiring new words and stimulate their autonomy in vocabulary learning In attempt to give support to teachers, based on the limited scale of the study, the author carried out the research “Using Quizlet to enhance vocabulary acquisition of grade 11 students at Hau Loc high school”, then drew some following conclusions Firstly, Quizlet was a great way to improve the effectiveness of student’s vocabulary acquisition It facilitated the learning of the primary but crucial aspects of words, including definitions, spelling, pronunciation, synonym, antonyms, and collocations by providing learners with different modes designed according to the 19 skkn study sets that they created Secondly, the use of this digital flashcards not only helped them learn more quickly and easily, develop their long-term memory but also encouraged their independent learning Therefore, this learning tool should be highly recommended for English learners of all ages, especially high school students Finally, Quizlet offered a great learning experience that can promote students’ active learning both within and outside the classroom Recommendation In order to apply this method effectively, teachers have to spend time creating study sets used for each lesson Once the study sets are created, the different learning modes will be designed automatically In addition, because Quizlet is a website providing learning tools for students, they should be equipped with mobile phone or computer connected with internet to make full use of it In case student can not assess to internet, they can upgrade their account to use Quizlet App offline on their mobile phones A Quizlet Go upgrade breaks down to just $1/month and unlocks more great features that make studying even easier Moreover, Like Wikipedia, Quizlet permits everyone to make and share a study set, so there is no assurance that the data was exact One mistake in another person's cards could lead them to learn some wrong data; therefore, students should be required to check the information in other person’s study sets carefully before using them This is my little experience in finding methods to help enhance students’ vocabulary acquisition I hope to receive your reading and comments as well as contributions to make this study more perfect so that it can be widely applied XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hóa, ngày 17 tháng năm 2022 Tôi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, khơng chép nội dung người khác Trịnh Hồng Vân 20 skkn REFERENCES Nation, I.S.P (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Newbury House, New York Lewis, M (1993) "The lexical approach: The state of ELT and the way forward" Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications Wilkins, D.A (1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching Australia: Edward Arnold Duy Van Vu and Elke Peters (2021) Vocabulary in English Language Learning, Teaching, and Testing in Vietnam: A Review Oxford, R L (1990) Language Learning Strategies What Every Teacher should know Boston: Heinle and Heinle Nash H & Snowling M (2006) Teaching new words to children with poor existing vocabulary knowledge: A controlled evaluation of the definition and context methods International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders Sheehan, T (2002) Vocabulary in beginning reading Retrieved October 18, 2007, from http://reading.uoregon.edu/voc/index.php Nation, Paul (1994). New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary TESOL İŞMAN, A (2012) Technology and technique: An educational perspective TOJET: The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology, 11(2), 207 -213 tojet.net/articles/v11i2/11222.pdf Hennessy, S., Ruthven, K & Brindley, S (2005) Teacher Perspectives on Integrating ICT into Subject Teaching: Commitment, Constraints, Caution, and Change. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 37(2), 155-192. Retrieved May 17, 2022 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/98006/ Dockstader, J (2008) Teachers of the 21st century know the what, why, and how of technology integration Retrieved from http://the -tech.mit.edu/Chemicool/ Traore, M., & Kyei-Blankson, L (2011) Using Literature and Multiple Technologies in ESL Instruction Journal of Language Teaching and Research Clark, Megan (2013) "The Use of Technology to Support Vocabulary Development of English Language Learners" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocabulary https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quizlet I skkn DANH MỤC CÁC ĐỀ TÀI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG ĐÁNH GIÁ XẾP LOẠI CẤP PHÒNG GD&ĐT, CẤP SỞ GD&ĐT VÀ CÁC CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN Họ tên tác giả: Trịnh Hồng Vân Chức vụ đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên trường THPT Hậu Lộc TT Tên đề tài SKKN Các kỹ nhằm nâng cao hiệu dạy từ vựng Tiếng Anh khối 10 11 Some suggested Listening tasks designed basing on English Textbook 11 to teach Listening skills for weak student” Using visual aid to improve the effect of teaching pronunciation for students in grade 10 Cấp đánh giá xếp loại (Phòng, Sở, Tỉnh ) Cấp sở Loại C 2010-2011 Cấp sở Loại C 2016-2017 Cấp sở Loại C 2018-2019 Kết đánh giá xếp loại (A, B, C) Năm học đánh giá xếp loại II skkn APPENDIX PRE-TEST I Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions Question A charity B donation C gratitude D handicapped Question A represent B stimulate C society D spirit Question A smoothly B marathon C athletic D method Question A provide B ripe B agrarian D polite Question A announced B struggled C observed D repaired II Fill in the blanks with the suitable letters to make meaningful words Question R_PRE_ENTA_IVE Question _OLUNTAR_ Question _N_ALID Question IN_REA_E Question 10 ST_MU_A_E III Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions Question 11 All students can take part in the annual English-speaking Competition A happening once a year C happening once a term B happening once a month D happening once every six months Question 12 A bank has promised a donation of $24 million toward the disaster fund A connection B addition C contribution D provision IV Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions Question 13 Mary often found her teacher’s remarks stimulating A participating B discouraging C enjoying D interesting Question 14 Increasing numbers of people are using handheld devices to access the Internet A becoming greater in number B raising uncontrollable C going limited D getting smaller in amount V Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions Question 15 When someone …………… a poem or other piece of writing, they say it aloud after they have learned it A recites B takes part in C completes D competes Question 16 Air pollution, the greenhouse effect and global warming ………… a negative impact on the environment A have B make C D take Question 17 A number of safe and inexpensive birth-control … are provided to reduce the overpopulation in many country A methods B types C ways D sorts Question 18 Our natural …….will run out if people continue wasting them A figures B numbers C resources D population Question 19 People believed that what they on the first day of the year will ……… their luck during the whole year A control B influence C exchange D result Question 20 Experts say that the ……… of the world could be over billion by the year 2015 A number B population C rate D quantity III skkn APPENDIX POST-TEST I Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word whose underlined part differs from the other three in pronunciation in each of the following questions Question A prohibit B protect C potential D fossil Question A aquatic B advance C facsimile D solidarity Question A spacious B courteous C document D technology Question A decreased B influenced C endangered D established Question A exhaust B source C enormous D cause II Fill in the blanks with the suitable letters to make meaningful words Question A_TERN_TI_E Question REL_A_E Question FA_IL_TY Question E_F_RT Question 10 IN_ER_ERE_CE III Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions Question 11 Solar energy is not only plentiful and infinite but also clean and safe A boundless B unlimited C uncountable D inflexible Question 12 Oil spills are having a devastating effect on coral reefs in the ocean A powerful B significant C disastrous D detectable IV Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the word(s) OPPOSITE in meaning to the underlined word(s) in each of the following questions Question 13 The hotel staff are always friendly and courteous A efficient B rude C helpful D perfect Question 14 Thanh Ba Post Office has a spacious and pleasant front office A large B beautiful C scrammed D open V Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the following questions Question 15 The course aims to _ people with the skills necessary for a job in this technological age A transfer B transmit C equip D shape Question 16 We could make better of our energy resources A spend B use C need D limit Question 17 The society was set up to endangered species from extinction A prevent B distinguish C preserve D survive Question 18 The factory was fined for chemicals into the river A discharging B dumping C producing D exposing Question 19 This multi-sport event is an occasion when friendship and _ are built and promoted A knowledge B solidarity C effort D enthusiasm Question 20 We should develop such sources of energy as solar energy and nuclear energy A tradition B alternative C revolutionary D surprising IV skkn APPENDIX PRE - QUESTIONAIRE Question I: Please indicate your difficulties that you meet in learning Vocabulary by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer Yes No Do you find it difficult to remember meanings of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember spellings of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember pronunciations of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember synonyms or antonyms of new words? Do you find it difficult to remember Collocations of new words? Question II: Please indicate your attitude to your learning Vocabulary by yourself at home by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer Yes No Do you find eager to learn vocabulary on my own at home? Do you find learning vocabulary at home interesting? Do you find your method of learning Vocabulary at home effective? Question III: Please indicate your frequency of learning Vocabulary at home by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer How often you learn vocabulary at home? Often Sometimes Rarely Never V skkn APPENDIX POST- QUESTIONAIRE Question I: Please indicate your difficulties that you meet in learning Vocabulary after using Quizlet by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer Yes No Do you find it difficult to remember meanings of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember spellings of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember pronunciations of the new words? Do you find it difficult to remember synonyms or antonyms of new words? Do you find it difficult to remember Collocations of new words? Question II: Please indicate your attitude to your learning Vocabulary by yourself at home after using Quizlet by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer Yes No Do you find eager to learn vocabulary on my own at home? Do you find learning vocabulary at home interesting? Do you find your method of learning Vocabulary at home effective? Question III: Please indicate your frequency of learning Vocabulary at home after using Quizlet by putting an X in the box of your preferred answer How often you learn vocabulary at home? Often Sometimes Rarely Never VI skkn APPENDIX STUDY SETS ON QUIZLET Unit 9: The post office – part A: Reading https://quizlet.com/_bjjjkt?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 Unit 9: The post office – part C: Listening https://quizlet.com/_bkshw5?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 Unit 10: Nature in danger – part A: Reading https://quizlet.com/_bksk4e?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 Unit 10: Nature in danger – part C: Listening https://quizlet.com/_bksn0c?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 Unit 11: Sources of energy – Part A: Reading https://quizlet.com/_bksodp?x=1jqt&i=42bby3 Unit 12: The Asian Games– Part A: Reading https://quizlet.com/_bkskm9? x=1jqt&i=42bby3 VII skkn