Trang 1 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY PHẠM BÍCH NGỌC EFL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF USING FLASH CARDS IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY T
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY PHẠM BÍCH NGỌC EFL PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF USING FLASH CARDS IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO PRIMARY STUDENTS Field: Theory and Methodology of English language teaching Code: 8140111 Supervisor: Dr VÕ DUY ĐỨC BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN PHẠM BÍCH NGỌC NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC HÀNH SỬ DỤNG THẺ TỪ VỰNG TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TỪ MỚI CHO HỌC SINH TIỂU HỌC Ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học Tiếng Anh Mã số: 8140111 Người hướng dẫn: TS VÕ DUY ĐỨC i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that I completed the study indicated in this report With the exception of areas where reference is given in the text, no other person's work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis I confirm that this work has not been provided in any other form for the fulfillment of any other degree or qualification and that it is being submitted as part of the M.A thesis in English at Quy Nhon University Quy Nhon, November 2023 Phạm Bích Ngọc ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to convey my heartfelt gratitude to Dr Võ Duy Đức, my thesis supervisor, for his essential assistance and support throughout the project Without his knowledge and perseverance, this thesis could not be completed It is a privilege to be one of his students I'd like to thank everyone who took part in the study Last but not least, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my parents for their encouragement, support, and understanding iii ABSTRACT Teachers employ a variety of media when teaching English Flashcards are an effective medium for teaching English, especially in primary education, since they facilitate the teaching and learning of vocabulary Therefore, the overall aim of this research is to investigate EFL primary school teachers‘ perceptions and their practices of teaching vocabulary in elementary school settings in Quy Nhon City To answer the research questions, the investigation employed a quantitative and qualitative approach through a questionnaire among 50 primary teachers in 17 primary schools in Quy Nhon City Moreover, observation checklists and interview instruments were also employed to explore their perceptions and assess their teaching practice The data results reveal many essential aspects of using flashcards in vocabulary instruction The findings show that teachers have favorable attitudes toward utilizing flashcards to teach English vocabulary, saying flashcards are an effective tool to make vocabulary learning enjoyable and memorable However, there are some drawbacks to using flashcards as teaching aids in elementary schools Hopefully, the findings of the study have provided an insightful understanding of the use of flashcards in teaching vocabulary in primary school settings in Quy Nhon City From these empirical findings, relevant implications are suggested for better using flashcards with primary school teachers iv TABLE OF CONTENT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF CHARTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Rationale 1 1.2 Research aims and objectives 2 1.3 Research questions 3 1.4 Scope of the study 3 1.5 Significance of the study 3 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .4 2.1 Vocabulary 4 2.1.1 Vocabulary definition 4 2.1.2 Kinds of vocabulary 5 2.1.3 Teaching and Learning Vocabulary 7 2.1.3.1 Teaching vocabulary 7 2.1.3.2 Learning vocabulary 9 2.2 Flashcards 11 2.2.1 Flashcards definition .11 2.2.2 Kind of flashcards 12 2.2.3 Teaching and Learning flashcards 14 2.2.4 Advantages and disavantages of flashcards 17 2.2.4.1 Advantages of flashcards 17 2.2.4.2 Disadvantages of flashcards 19 v 2.3 Teachers’s preceptions on using flashcards 20 2.4 Related studies 21 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY 25 3.1 Research design 25 3.2 Setting and participants 26 3.3 Data collection instruments 28 3.3.1 Questionnaires 28 3.3.2 Semi- structured interview 29 3.3.3 Observation checklist 30 3.4 Procedure 31 3.4.1 Data collection 31 3.4.2 Data analysis 32 3.5 Summary 32 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 33 4.1 Teachers’ perceptions of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 34 4.1.1 The necessity of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 34 4.1.2 The benefits of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 38 4.1.3 The weakness of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 46 4.2 The implementation of using flashcards to teach English vocabulary 48 4.2.1 Frequency of the use of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary 48 4.2.2 Teachers' application of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 50 vi 4.2.3 Students’ respond when flashcards are implemented 51 4.2.4 Challenges that teachers may face when using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary 52 4.2.5 Suggestions for the effective use of flashcards in English classes 55 4.3 Discussion 57 4.3.1 EFL teachers’ perceptions of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary to primary school students 57 4.3.2 The implementation of using flashcards in teaching English vocabulary and challenges faced by teachers 60 4.4 Summary 61 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 62 5.1 Conclusion 62 5.2 Implications 64 5.3 Limitations of the study 65 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 65 REFERENCES APPENDICES vii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Reseach Design p.26 Table 3.2 A brief description of the survey participants p.27 Table 4.1 Teachers’ perceptions of the necessity of using p.34 flashcards Table 4.2 Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of using p.38 flashcards Table 4.3 Teachers’ perceptions of the weakness of using p.46 flashcards Table 4.4 Teachers’ activities p.50 Table 4.5 Students’ responses p.51 Table 4.6 Challenges that teachers may face when using p.55 flashcards viii LIST OF CHARTS Chart Frequency of the use of flashcards in the classroom p.49 4.1