nghiên cứu phương thức giảng dạy từ vựng trong giáo trình let's talk 1 cho sinh viên hệ không chuyên tại trung tâm ngoại ngữ uk, hải phòng

Problems in the vocabulary learning of non-major students in the course book “Let’s talk 1” at UK FLC .... However, up to now there has not been any research on vocabulary teaching metho

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

KHOA THỊ DIỆU HỒNG

A STUDY ON METHODS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY IN THE MATERIAL “LET’S TALK 1” FOR NON – ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT UK FOREIGN LANGUAGE CENTER, HAIPHONG

(Nghiên cứu phương thức giảng dạy từ vựng trong giáo trình Let’s talk 1 cho sinh viên hệ không chuyên tại trung tâm ngoại ngữ UK , Hải Phòng)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60 14 10

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Objectives of the study 1

3 Methodology 2

4 Scope of the study 2

5 Design of the study 2

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

1 Vocabulary description in Language Teaching and Learning 4

1.1 Definition of vocabulary 4

1.2 Classification of vocabulary 4

1.2.1 According to the concept of morpheme 4

1.2.2 According to the meaning 5

1.2.3 According to the function of vocabulary items in a sentence 5

1.2.4 According to the sequence of use 5

1.2.5 Other classifications of vocabulary 6

2 Vocabulary in teaching and learning English 6

2.1 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 6

2.2 The complexity of learning vocabulary 7

2.3 The complexity of teaching vocabulary 8

2.3.1 Selecting vocabulary to teach 8

2.3.2 What needs to be taught? 9

2.3.2.1 Forms of a word 9

2.3.2.2 Meaning 10

2.3.2.3 Use of a word 10

2.3.3 When necessary to teach vocabulary? 10

2.3.4 How to teach vocabulary effectively and appropriately? 11

3.1 Incidental vocabulary learning 12

3.2 Explicit instruction 12

3.3 Developing independent learning strategies 13

3.4 Using games in vocabulary teaching and learning 14

4 Summary 14

CHAPTER 2: PRESENT SITUATION OF VOCABULARY TEACHING AND LEARNING AT UK FLC, HAIPHONG 15

2.1 Learner’s language proficiency and vocabulary learning methods 15

2.2 Teachers and their teaching vocabulary methods 16

2.3 The material “Let’s talk 1” and material assessment 16

CHAPTER 3: DATA COLLECTION, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19

3.1 Research methodology 19

3.1.1 The subject 19

3.1.2 Instruments for collecting data 19

3.2 Findings and discussion 20

3.2.1 Findings and discussions about students 20

3.2.1.1 Students’ attitude towards vocabulary and their difficulties in vocabulary learning………20

3.2.1.2 Students’ vocabulary learning methods 22

3.2.1.3 Students’ attitude towards vocabulary exercises and activities in the course book “Let’s talk 1” 24

3.2.1.4 Students’ comments and suggestions on vocabulary teaching and learning at UK FLC……….24

3.2.2 Finding and discussions about teachers 28

3.2.2.1 Teachers’ attitude towards vocabulary teaching 28

3.2.2.2 Teachers’ vocabulary teaching methods 28

3.2.2.3 Teachers’ attitude towards vocabulary exercises and activities in the course book “Let’s talk 1” 32

3.2.2.4 Teachers’ comments and suggestions on vocabulary teaching and learning at UK FLC……….33

3.3 Interview 35

CHAPTER 4: PROBLEMS AND SOME FEASIBLE SOLUTIONS FOR BETTER TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY IN THE COURSE BOOK “LET’S

TALK 1’’AT UK FLC 37

4.1 Problems in the vocabulary teaching and learning in the course book “Let’s talk 1” at UK FLC 37

4.1.1 Problems in the vocabulary teaching of non-major students in the course book “Let’s talk 1” at UK FLC 37

4.1.2 Problems in the vocabulary learning of non-major students in the course book “Let’s talk 1” at UK FLC 37

4.2 Some feasible solutions to improve the teaching of vocabulary in the course book “Let’s talk 1” at UK FLC 38

4.2.1 Improving teachers’ classroom techniques for teaching vocabulary 38

4.2.2 Suggested vocabulary learning methods for students 40

4.2.3 Material development 41

Part C: CONCLUSION………44

1 Paper review 44

2 Limitation of the study and suggestions of further research 44

REFERENCES 46 APPENDICES I

Appendix 1: Questionnaire for students I Appendix 2: Questionnaire for teachers V Appendix 3: Interviews questions IX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

B.A : Bachelor of Art

M.A : Master of Art

FLC : Foreign Language Center

ELT : English Language Teaching

EFL : English as a Foreign Language

ELT : English Language Teaching

CLT : Communicative Language Teaching

GTT : Grammar Translation Teaching

L1 : First language

L2 : Second language

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

As the communication of politics, economy and culture between countries increases rapidly, English, as an international language, plays an important role in our daily life It is also undeniable that English vocabulary as a major component of language learning has been the object of numerous studies each of which has its own contribution to the field Laufer (1997) states that vocabulary learning is at the heart of language learning and language use In fact, it is what makes the essence of a language Without vocabulary speakers cannot convey meaning and communicate with each other in a particular language

In Vietnam, more and more people now are aware of the significance of English It is widely used and has been taught at schools, colleges, universities and many foreign language centers as well for years However, English teaching and learning in Vietnam has still been far from satisfactory Both teachers and learners have faced many difficulties in teaching and learning English, especially in teaching and learning vocabulary In UK FLC, Haiphong, as for non-major students and teachers, vocabulary teaching has yet to be paid due attention to as it deserves It is a factual that vocabulary has not been taught as a particular subject but has been integrated with four skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking or often ignored during teaching

Another reason is the course book ―Let’s talk 1‖ Applied since 2007, this book has

brought a lot of challenges for UK teachers and learners in terms of modern teaching and learning methods as well as vocabulary treatment However, up to now there has not been any research on vocabulary teaching methods that help non-major students learn vocabulary effectively

As a teacher of English at UK FLC, the author does realize a number of problems that the

teachers and students encounter in teaching and learning vocabulary in the material “Let’s talk 1‖ That is the reason why the author would like to carry out this research entitled ―A study on methods of teaching vocabulary in the material ―Let’s talk 1 ―for non-major students at UK FLC, Haiphong’’

2 Objectives of the study

Firstly, the research concentrates on studying the current situations of the teaching and learning vocabulary at UK FLC

Secondly, this paper will make attempt to identify the main problems and reasons for less effective vocabulary teaching and learning methods

Finally, my study hopes to suggest some recommendations so as to help teachers and learners have effective vocabulary teaching and learning methods

With the objectives above, the research is carried out with an attempt to find out the answers to the following questions:

1 What are the learners’ vocabulary learning methods and strategies at UK FLC?

2 What are the teachers’ vocabulary teaching methods and strategies at UK FLC?

3 What are tasks and activities should be used to help learners learn vocabulary effectively?

3 Methodology

In this study, a combination of various methods is used to achieve its aims and objectives The qualitative and quantitative analyses are the main tools for analyzing the data, which is collected from questionnaires and interviews with students and colleagues

After the data is analyzed and discussed, the findings will be shown, some conclusions will

be drawn, and some suggestions will be raised in the thesis

4 Scope of the study

Within the limit of a minor thesis, this study focuses on teaching and learning vocabulary

for non-major students at UK FLC with the course book ―Let’s talk 1‖ Specifically, this

minor thesis deals with the current problems which teachers and students encounter at the center, investigating into teachers‟ and learners‟ vocabulary teaching and learning methods Basing on these discussions of these situations, some effective and feasible solutions will be introduced

5 Design of the study

The study is organized into introduction, the main part and conclusion

- The introduction includes the rationale, aims of the study, scope of the study, methodology and design of the study as well

- The main part consists of four chapters

 Chapter 1 provides a thorough literature review relevant to the study

 Chapter 2 deals with the investigation into the current situation of

teaching and learning vocabulary in the course book “Let’s talk 1‖ for

non-major students at UK FLC In this chapter, learner‟s profile and their vocabulary learning methods, the teachers‟ vocabulary teaching methods are discussed comprehensively Moreover, the course book

“Let’s talk 1‖ is also described

 Chapter 3 focuses on analyzing research questions and research methodology Findings and discussions on the study are also presented

 Chapter 4 presents some problems after analyzing data in chapter 3 and suggests some feasible solutions for the effective application of vocabulary teaching and learning methods are proposed

- The last part of the study, “conclusion”, includes review, limitations and implications of the study

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

1 Vocabulary description in Language Teaching and Learning

1.1 Definition of vocabulary

Before proceeding to this study, it is necessary to clarify the definition of vocabulary So far, there have been different definitions of vocabulary Each linguist gives his own definition of vocabulary depending on the criteria that he or she considers the most important in terms of linguistics, semantics, lexicology …etc

Ur, in her book “A course in language teaching” defined vocabulary roughly “as the words

we teach in the foreign language However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single word: a compound of two or three words or multi word idioms” (1996, p.60) Pyles and Algeo” (1970, p.96) also gave their ideas about vocabulary They said “when most of

us think about language we think first about words It is true that the vocabulary is the focus of language It is in words that sounds and meanings interlock to allow us to communicate with one another, and it is words that we arrange together make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds” These statements indicate that vocabulary is an essential for part of language as Wilkin emphasized this with his saying “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed‖ According to Lewis (1993, p.89), vocabulary “ may be individual words, or full sentences–institutionalized utterance–that convey for social of pragmatic meaning within a given community”

In summary, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total number of all words that a language possesses, ranging from a single word, two or three words items expressing an idea to multi-word idioms of which meaning cannot be deduced from the analysis of the component words but only understood in the sentences, or in contexts, etc…

1.2 Classification of vocabulary

According to Nu (2004), vocabulary can be classified in different ways according to different criteria such as the concept of morpheme, the meaning, the function of vocabulary items in a sentence, the sequence of use …

1.2.1 According to the concept of morpheme:

Based on this criterion, words are divided into three kinds:

Simple word:

A simple word is a word that consists of only one morpheme Example: boy, man, radio, book, paper, magnet, house, compute …

Derived word:

A derived word is one that that consists of a root and one or more derivational morphemes

Example: careful, impossible, student mangles…

Compound word:

A compound word has at least two roots with or without derivational morphemes

Example: rainbow, living room, guesthouse, two-tone, pancakes …

1.2.2 According to the meaning:

There are two main kinds of meanings in a word, lexical meaning and grammatical

meaning

Semantically, vocabulary is divided into notional words and functional words

The notional words, whose meanings are lexical, form a great mass of the speakers‟

vocabulary They address, name objects, actions, qualities and have meanings in themselves They are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and so on…

The functional words, whose meaning is grammatical, only have their meanings in

relation to other words with which they are used They are particles, articles, prepositions, auxiliaries, conjunctions …

Grammatically, vocabulary is categorized into different parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adverbs…

1.2.3 According to the function of vocabulary items in a sentence

In linguistics, vocabulary can be also be classified basing on functions as different parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and pronouns Each part of speech has its own position complying with certain grammatical rules and relating to one another Thus, the teacher is required to point out the function of each item to his students and should teach them the family words as well And the students during the course should

be aware of different functions of vocabulary items

1.2.4 According to the sequence of use

Nation and Waring (2004) suggest two types of vocabulary–they are: high frequency words and low frequency words They state that although a language makes use of a large number of words, not all of these words are equally useful The question is how much

vocabulary should be learned by a language learner Nation and Waring (2004, pp 11) give out the number of about 3000 high frequency words the learner needs to know Nation (2004) argued that after these high frequency words are learned, the next focus for the teacher is on helping the learners develop strategies to comprehend and learn the low frequency words of the language

1.2.5 Other classifications of vocabulary

Methodologically, a foreign language leaner‟s vocabulary is classified as active and passive vocabulary

The active words are the words which the learner can understand, pronounce correctly, use effectively in speaking and writing The passive vocabulary is the words which the learner cannot produce or use correctly by himself even when he wants to

Melka (2004) discusses in detail the two notions of receptive and productive vocabulary

These notions are based on reality; we all have experienced words which we can understand perfectly well in a conversation or in a text, but we are totally unable to remember when we want to use them productively However, language teachers should bear in mind that vocabulary acquisition is an incremental process We need to rid

ourselves of the ―knows / doesn’t know‖ view of vocabulary, and realize that words will be

known to a greater or lesser degree, at least until they are fully mastered

2 Vocabulary in teaching and learning English

2.1 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning

Vocabulary is central to language and of critical importance to the typical language

learners (Zimmerman 1997b, p.5-19) However, teaching and learning vocabulary have

been neglected in second language acquisition throughout its varying stages After decade

of neglect, lexis or vocabulary, which is now recognized as central to any language acquisition process, has gradually become focus today Vocabulary is no longer a victim of discrimination in second language learning research Because researchers have found that vocabulary problems frequently interfere with communication and communication often breaks down when learners lack necessary vocabulary Learners and experienced English

teachers also know well how important vocabulary is (Zimmerman 1997b, p 5-19)

Regarding to this matter, Nation and Waring (2004) also said that ―substantial vocabulary knowledge is always a prerequisite to the performance of language skills Vocabulary

enables language use, language use enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge, and knowledge of the world enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge and language use and so on.‖

What is more, in learning a language, it is very important to learn as many words as possible All foreign language learners and their teachers have intuitively known for a long time that learning a foreign language involves the learning of a large number of words Lewis (1993, p.23) says that learning vocabulary is the core task in second language acquisition and any language skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing, translating, cannot exist without vocabulary Words are the currency of communication A robust vocabulary improves all area of communication Consequently, the teaching and learning

of vocabulary are significant in learning a foreign language, especially in the light of the communicative approach

To sum up, vocabulary plays a crucial role in language learning In order to succeed in learning a language, it is very essential for learner to master its vocabulary

2.2 The complexity of learning vocabulary

When asked about difficulties in learning foreign language, almost the students said that the biggest problem is learning vocabulary They say that the hindrance of learning vocabulary is because they forget easily the words they have learnt Sometimes, even they know the word meaning, they feel confused in using it in terms of grammar or semantics Moreover, when being asked about the learning methods of vocabulary, the answers show the poor knowledge about this field For them, it seems just learning vocabulary is to perceive a list of new words they encounter in learning English books with Vietnamese meaning In fact, the learning vocabulary is not as simple as that It is a complex process related to much knowledge around a vocabulary item from the need to master According

to Ellis and Sinclair (1989), mastering a vocabulary item should base on the following criteria:

- Understand the word when it was spoken or written

- Remember to be used when needed

- Use the correct word in terms of semantics

- Use correct grammatical words

- From the standard pronunciation

- Mastering the words may or may not be used with it

- Spelling words correctly

- Use a suitable context

Also, according to these linguists, not only one or several times learning a word the learners can master or remember but at least 7 or 16 times learning the vocabulary item in different contexts do they need to learn and use it

2.3 The complexity of teaching vocabulary

To teach vocabulary effectively, the teacher needs to solve four problems related:

1 How to select the vocabulary to teach?

2 What needs to be taught?

3 When is the right time to teach vocabulary?

4 Which method should be chosen to teach vocabulary effectively and appropriately?

2.3.1 Selecting vocabulary to teach

Gains and Redman (1986) proposed some main criteria as frequency, (p.58-59) cultural factors, (p.59) expediency and student’s need and level, (p.59-61) In teaching, the teacher should select the most frequently used words to teach because ―the high frequency of an item is no guarantee of usefulness, but there is obviously a significant correlation between the two so it is worth examining some of the work on frequency word-counts‖ In the other

words, the chosen vocabulary to teach should appropriate to student‟s level and respond to their needs For example, elementary students will find it difficult in learning vocabulary which is for advance learners Expediency is an important criterion that needs to be concerned as the classroom is a world by itself which requires specific types of vocabulary such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions The influence of cultural factors can be easily recognized in the educational environmental where the learners have different background and come from different countries They need different words to express their ideas in the second language

According to Gains and Redman (1986) there are four main sources of vocabulary

Through the course book: vocabulary can be found in the written and spoken texts,

activities for presentation and practice of grammatical structures, testing exercises… in the course book

Through supplementary materials (not designed specifically for vocabulary development)

provided by the educational institution or selected by teachers This may include texts, drills, role plays, video …

Through the students: A wide range of unanticipated and unpredictable items will

certainly occur from the students enquires, queries, and errors…

Through specific vocabulary activities designed by language teachers for their particular

group of students

Nu (2004) also said that there may occur many new words in a lesson However, it is the teacher who will decide for vocabulary selection In fact, a language leaner can only absorb from 5 to 7 new words in a lesson So, the teacher should select to teach active words which help students understand or complete a task The other new words can be guessed from the contexts or even translated if necessary

2.3.2 What needs to be taught?

2.3.2.1 Forms of a word

 Pronunciation and spelling

Words that are difficult to pronounce are usually difficult to learn (Rodgers, 1969; Ellis and Beaton, 1993) Words that are easy to pronounce can more easily be held in working memory and thus have a greater chance of entering long-term memory Thus the words introduced early in an English course should be easy for learners to pronounce Substantial listening practice and a small amount of guided pronunciation practice can make it easier for words with unfamiliar sounds to be learned

 Grammar

Just as words change, according to their grammatical meaning, so the use of certain words can trigger the use of certain grammatical patterns We make a distinction between countable and uncountable nouns The former can be singular and plural The latter can

only be singular; we can say ―one chair‖ or ―two chairs‖ but we cannot say ―two furniture‖ This difference, then, has certain grammatical implications ―Chair‖ can collocate with plural verbs whereas ―furniture‖ never can

Therefore, knowing a word means far more than just understanding its meaning or one of its meanings Somehow our teaching must help students to understand what this knowledge implies both in general and for certain words in particular By being aware what is stated above, students will be more receptive to the contextual behaviour of words when they first see them in texts or readings and they will be better able to manipulate the meanings and forms of the word

2.3.2.2 Meaning

 Denotation meaning

The denotation meaning is often the sort of definition given in dictionary which refers or

point out things or concept For example: a bird: a creature that is covered with feathers

and has two wings and two legs Most of bird can fly

 Connotation meaning

A less obvious component of the meaning of a word is its connotation This is association,

or the positive and negative feelings the word evokes which may or may not be indicated

in a dictionary definition A stubborn person may be described as being either willed or pig-headed Although these have the same literal meaning (i.e stubborn), strong-

strong-willed connotes admiration for the level of someone's will, while pig-headed connotes

frustration in dealing with someone

 Meaning relationship

Meaning relationship indicates the ways the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of the others There is a variety of this relationship such as synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, co-hyponyms or co-ordinates and super-ordinates The language teachers can exploit these

to clarify the meaning of a new word to help the students practising or preparing the testing materials

2.3.2.3 Use of a word

To all language learners, knowing how to use the word appropriately should be concerned

as it indicates whether a particular item is appropriate one to be used in a certain context Using a new word well can help the learners collocate it with other words accurately as well It is noted that the students should be taught forms, meaning, and use of words in vocabulary lesson so that they can learn and revise vocabulary items effectively and sufficiently

2.3.3 When necessary to teach vocabulary?

In learning foreign language, it is important that learners know how to a certain vocabulary item to master four language skills such as speaking, listening, writing and speaking Thus vocabulary teaching should precede teaching skills The teachers do pre-teach vocabulary

in a reading or listening task: in other words, new vocabulary should be introduced in contextual situation for students before assigning reading or listening task

2.3.4 How to teach vocabulary effectively and appropriately?

Thornbury (2002) discusses several techniques and procedures a teacher might choose to help learners acquire new vocabulary items The underlying premise is that sometimes there is a need for the instructor‟s direct intervention in the teaching of selected vocabulary items Since Lewis (1997) claims that most of the activities used in the Communicative Approach are compatible with the Lexical Approach, then what teachers need to do is adapt activities so that the tasks have a clear lexical focus To achieve this goal, Lewis (1997, p.205) points out that teacher should do the following:

• Consciously take every chance to expand the learners’ phrasal lexicon

• Develop learners’ awareness of word-grammar as well as sentence grammar

• Highlight Fixed Expressions and prototypical examples, so ensuring learners have maximum benefit from the language they meet

• Encourage accurate observation and noticing by learners, but without excessive

analysis

• Use many different ways to increase learners’ awareness of the value of noticing, recording and learning multi-word items

• Encourage learners to keep a well-organized lexical notebook

• Encourage lexical, but not structural, comparison between L1 and L2

• Help learners to hear and learn language in multi-word units

• Talk more informally, but in a carefully controlled way, with your class

• Tell simplified anecdotes (true or otherwise): increase carefully-controlled teacher taking time

• Take a global, holistic view of pronunciation

• Value successful language at all times, even if it is not formally accurate

Furthermore, in the preface to his second book Implementing the lexical approach, Lewis

(1998, p 3) argues that implementing the lexical approach in your classes does not mean a

radical upheaval, likely to upset colleagues, parents and learners

3 Recent research in second language vocabulary teaching and learning

As we enter the 21st century, acquisition of vocabulary has assumed a more important role, and as some would argue the central role in learning a second language (Lewis, 1993) Many recent researches have contributed much in finding out the approaches to highly effective vocabulary teaching and learning to help students store and retrieve words in the

target language According to the linguists, there are three approaches: incidental learning (indirect or implicit learning), explicit instructor and independent learning strategies

3.1 Incidental vocabulary learning

Many linguists have made the definition of incidental learning Nation (2001, p.232) defines the incidental vocabulary learning as an important strategy in vocabulary learning

It refers to the learning, which occur without specific intention to focus on vocabulary One can develop vocabulary knowledge subconsciously while being engaged in any language activities especially reading

Other defines the incidental vocabulary as that there is no special attention given to linguistic problems unless they arise spontaneously in the course of instruction Particularly, it involves the use of unfocused communicative tasks which are designed to elicit general sample of the language rather than specific forms (Ellis, Basturkman & Loewen 2002, p.419-432)

From the views mention above, incidental learning of vocabulary can be defined as a kind

of learning method from reading, listening, writing and speaking to language use while learners‟ main attention focuses on the information of passages or texts This method includes learning from extensive reading, taking part in conversations, listening to stories, watching English movies, listening to the radio or other exposure of input and output both out of and in classrooms (Nation 2001, p.232)

3.2 Explicit instruction

Explicit instruction depends on identifying specific vocabulary acquisition targets for learners It also involves diagnosing the words learners need to know Explicit instruction requires the language teachers provide opportunities for intentional learning of vocabulary, for elaborating word knowledge and developing fluency with known vocabulary

Intentional learning of vocabulary is a traditional and common method in teaching vocabulary According to Nation (1990), Paribakht and Wesche (1996), Zimmernan (1997) intentional learning through instruction also significantly contributes to vocabulary development and translation has a vital useful role in vocabulary learning

Ellis called intentional learning the planned method involving the use of tasks designed to forms which have been selected ahead by teachers (2002, p.1-46 ), whereas, Schmitt (2000 p.120) demonstrates that can be called explicit learning of vocabulary and it focuses

attention directly on the information to be learned In addition, intentional teaching of vocabulary in classroom is often the teacher-centered class

3.3 Developing independent learning strategies

It is obviously impossible for students to learn all the vocabulary they need in the classroom Thus, helping students learn how to continue to acquire vocabulary on their own is essential in learning foreign language There is no need to motivate the students to want more words under their command When vocabulary gets the attention it deserves, that is, when instructors model explicit methods of vocabulary acquisition which require deep processing and plan re-encountering of words, students not only learn words but experience (Resnick, 1989)

Independent strategy involves practicing guessing from contexts and training learners to use dictionary It is clear that guessing context is a complex and often difficult strategy to carry out successfully” to guess successfully from contexts, learners need to know about 19 out of 20 words (95%) of a text which requires knowing 3,000 most common words (Lui and Nation, 1999) However, helpful context are rare and difficult to guess the meaning of words in a long and difficult context

Nation and Coady (1988, p.104-150) introduced a five - step procedure that students could follow:

 Determine the part of speech of unknown word

 Look at the wider context

 Guess the meaning of unknown word

 Look at the intermediate context

 Check that the guess is correct

Liu and Nation (1985) also suggest that this method should be practiced in class rather than just their own individual practice to help learners can learn and share more experiences The second independent learning strategy mentioned below is using dictionaries in vocabulary learning process Day and Luperscu (1995) when talking about the use of dictionary in vocabulary acquisition, point out those students who used a dictionary scored significantly better on vocabulary test than the students who did not Since dictionaries are effective learning tools, learners should know when and how to use them efficiently Learning the meaning of words will be more effective if dictionaries can be used in combination with context and word elaboration activities

3.4 Using games in vocabulary teaching and learning

Many experienced textbook and methodology manuals writers have argued that games are not just time-filling activities but have a great educational value Lee holds that most language games make learners use the language instead of thinking about learning the correct forms (1979:2) He also says that games should be treated as central not peripheral

to the foreign language teaching programme

A similar opinion is expressed by Richard-Amato, who believes games to be fun but warns against overlooking their pedagogical value, particularly in foreign language teaching

There are many advantages of using games "Games can lower anxiety, thus making the acquisition of input more likely" (Richard-Amato 1988:147) They are highly motivating

and entertaining, and they can give shy students more opportunity to express their opinions and feelings (Hansen 1994:118) They also enable learners to acquire new experiences within a foreign language which are not always possible during a typical lesson

CHAPTER 2: PRESENT SITUATION OF VOCABULARY TEACHING AND

LEARNING AT UK FLC, HAIPHONG

It can be said that the learners‟ success or failure in learning foreign language especially in learning vocabulary depends much on teachers, learners‟ background, their needs and motivation, learning environment and the materials as well Furthermore, they are decisive factors towards the success of each EFL course

In this chapter, I would like to give a brief overview on learners‟ English background and vocabulary learning methods, teachers‟ methods of vocabulary teaching at UK FLC What

is more, a brief description of material and material assessment are also mentioned

2.1 Learner’s language proficiency and vocabulary learning methods

Most of the learners at UK FLC are non-major students They are the students from universities and colleges in Haiphong Many of them have been studying English since at high school while the others have not In addition, some of the students in the city have English learning conditions that are more standard than those in the countryside Therefore, students in UK FLC have different English background Besides, English is a compulsory subject at university so the main purpose of those students is firstly to pass exams at their school and then to get good job after graduation It is a factual that a large proportion of the total numbers of the students are false beginners even English have been introduced in the secondary curriculum for years Thus students‟ language proficiency has

a great variety of ability This has caused certain problems to the teaching and learning English in general and learning English vocabulary in particular at UK FLC

One thing can be easily realized when talking to these learners is that all of them are wish

to have good English communicative skills but they cannot communicate well The main reason here because at high school, they are familiar with their teacher‟s traditional teaching methods like “grammar focus”, and the expectation of the outcome is just only the students marks in English written tests The students only write words on paper with translation into Vietnamese and try to learn them by heart The students; therefore; have little chances getting involved in pair work or group work activities such as discussion, games …

All the factors mentioned above that make students have certain difficulties in listening, reading, especially speaking which help students improve their vocabulary And the reason for all of these obscurities is due to the shortage of essential vocabulary knowledge

2.2 Teachers and their teaching vocabulary methods

There are about 20 teachers with nine full time teachers and the others work there as time jobs at UK FLC, in which only 30 % is M.A of English They have been teaching English for years Most of the teachers have to teach in a large and crowded class with over

part-30 students and the duration for each English communicative course is 2 months only From the observations and talks to the teachers and their students, it can be obviously seen that most of the teachers favor traditional method; that is teacher- centered When teaching vocabulary, they prefer translation and making–up sentences tasks The teachers themselves are too deeply influenced by grammar-translation method As a result, vocabulary learning activities is not adequate enough for students to practice their vocabulary The activities to practice the learnt vocabulary are often assigned to students as homework rather than class work without checking This leads to the vocabulary learning and teaching is usually not as effective as expected

2.3 The material “Let’s talk 1” and material assessment

Although historically the importance of vocabulary has been minimised, some of the more recent published EFL course books have adopted a systematic approach to vocabulary learning and have become increasingly aware of the importance of developing vocabulary learning strategies Thus, to help teachers to access vocabulary component of the course

books systematically, in the book “Working with words‖: A guide to Teaching and Learning Vocabulary (Gains, R & Redman, S 1999), the authors suggest the checklist

which should help the teachers to select the suitable material and supplement the lexical items and material items as well

SELECTION

 Is there a lexical syllabus?

 Vocabulary in course books

 How are vocabulary items grouped?

 How many items are introduced at once?

LINGUISTIC CONSIDERATIONS

 To what extent does the course book assist both cleaner and teacher in clarifying meaning, dealing with style and connotation, or contrasting items which cause difficulty?

 Does it provide phonemic transcriptions and indicate the part of speech of new items?

 How thoroughly does it deal with the use of items?

METHODOLOGY

 What learning approaches are selected?

 Does the teachers‟ book suggest teaching procedures?

 Are practice and testing activities provided?

 Is the vocabulary recycled?

 How are learners encouraged to consolidate and widen their vocabulary outside the classroom?

 Does the course book contain useful visual material?

 Does the course book anticipate vocabulary needed for skills activities?

Compared to the criteria above, it can be said that Let’s talk 1 (Leo Jones, 2002) is a good

book for the learners who want to learn English with communicative purpose It has been used for 3 years at UK FLC as official material to learn general English Designed by Leo

Jones, a well-known ELT writer, Let’s talk 1 is aimed at developing oral communication

skills for students at the high-beginning/low-intermediate level including and innovating topics that encourage students to express their feelings, ideas and opinions The book consists of 16 four–page thematic units divided into two-page lesson and four review puzzles lessons with a lot of speaking and listening activities and activities are presented for practising vocabulary (at least two vocabulary exercises per unit in the Student book) The vocabulary provided in this book are the words and phrases which are useful in daily life such as weather and climate, free time, food and drink, entertainment, travel and tourism … Vocabulary exercises are given in pre-listening tasks or pre-speaking tasks so that the teachers can combine them with other skills to teach students new words before practising

The table below shows nine types of vocabulary exercises in the material

Types of vocabulary exercises

1.Put the words given in the correct group 6.Search words in square

2.Fill in the blanks with the words given 7 Put the scrambled letters in the correct

orders

3.Find synonyms /antonyms 8 Look at a picture and choose the words

that describe the picture

4.Do a crossword 9 Complete a vocabulary network with the

words given

5.Match words to make collocation

Besides, there are other types of vocabulary tasks in combination with listening, speaking

and reading skills such as Listen and fill in the blanks with a suitable word, Use the words

in the lesson to do a speaking task or Listen and choose the correct answers …

However, this book focuses much on speaking and listening activities while the tasks for vocabulary practising are limited Additionally, the book is written for the learners who want to learn English as their second language at the level of high-beginner Therefore, the number of vocabulary in the book is rather large for learners to study during their course which lasts for a short time These things cause much difficulties and inconvenience for both teachers and learners in teaching and learning vocabulary

In summary, a brief overview on learners‟ English background and vocabulary learning methods, teachers ‟methods of vocabulary teaching at UK FLC was given about in this

chapter What‟s more, the course book “Let’s talk 1‟‟ was also mentioned and assessed

The crucial factors affecting teaching and learning were clearly pointed out In next chapter, an effort will be made to find out the problems that the teachers and students at

UK FLC face in teaching and learning vocabulary based on the data collected through survey questionnaires

CHAPTER 3: DATA COLLECTION, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In chapter one, I present the rationale, the aims, and objectives, scopes and the setting of this study Chapter two introduced a review of literature related to teaching vocabulary has been discussed The chapter that follows presents the research methods and techniques for data collection This is following discussion of the instruments of the research and the procedure of the data

3.1 Research methodology

3.1.1 The subject

The study is conducted with the participants of 20 full-time teachers and 200 non-major students at UK FLC The students under investigation are mainly in the second term of the first year at four universities and other colleges in Haiphong They are between 18 and 20 years old, both female and male, randomly selected from eight different classes at UK FLC These students have finished the “Let‟s talk 1‟‟course They all have similar background, that is, they are supposed to be at high- beginner level of English Of the 20 teachers, nine are full-time teachers and 11 are part –time teachers at universities or colleges in Haiphong They all have Diploma Degree in English; six of them have M.A Degree

3.1.2 Instruments for collecting data

The study aims at investigating into vocabulary teaching and learning methods in the course book “Let‟s talk 1‟‟ at UK FLC to help non–major students learn vocabulary more effectively Given the complexity of the issue, the study employed a variety of research instruments and source of data in order to bring about the reliable information That is the reason survey questionnaires and informal interviews for both teachers and students are used in this research A combination of two research methodologies: qualitative and quantitative; is chosen in order to answer the research questions which are mentioned in the objectives of the study Action research is also used in this research to investigate teaching and learning so as to improve their own and their students‟ learning

 Questionnaires

The questionnaires for both teachers and students were administered to get information concerning:

- The students‟ attitude towards the importance of teaching and learning vocabulary

- Students‟ vocabulary learning methods

- Students‟ attitude towards vocabulary exercises and activities in the course book

―Let’s talk 1‖

- Students‟ comments and suggestions on vocabulary teaching and learning at UK FLC

- The teachers‟ attitude towards the importance of teaching and learning vocabulary

- The teachers‟ vocabulary teaching methods

- The teachers‟ attitude towards vocabulary exercises and activities in the course

book ―Let’s talk 1‖

- Teachers‟ comments and suggestions on vocabulary teaching and learning at UK FLC

 Interview

To guarantee the reliability and validity of the information and to be able to offer a more comprehensive analysis and recommendations, the writers also used feedback from informal interview with teachers/students in classes at UK FLC In this research, the interviews were taken placed after the analysis of the two survey questionnaires‟ data so that the researcher could clarify the information which is unclear from the surveys and seek more data needed

3.2 Findings and discussion

In this part, research data will be analyzed in detail according to the classifications in the questionnaires which are designed for both teachers and learners As mentioned in the previous chapter, the questionnaires focus on four main problems: the role of vocabulary in

teaching and learning English, vocabulary aspect in the course book ―Let’s talk 1 “ ,

teachers‟ and learners‟ teaching and learning methods, teachers‟ and learners‟ comments

on vocabulary teaching at UK FLC and their expectations

3.2.1 Findings and discussions about students

3.2.1.1 Students’ attitude towards vocabulary and their difficulties in vocabulary learning

Q1: What do you think about the role of vocabulary in learning English, in your opinion?

Q2: What do you think of learning of new vocabulary in your English lesson?

The table 2 illustrates the students‟ learning of new vocabulary in their English lessons It

is quite surprising that most of students think that learning vocabulary is rather interesting Only some of them (20%) feel interested in vocabulary lesson and few students find learning vocabulary very interesting When being asked why almost the students get bored with vocabulary lesson, they said that asking the teachers to explain the new words in the lessons and then writing them down in the notebooks or underlining the new words directly

in the course book or the materials are the ways students often deal with vocabulary Thus,

it is easy for them to forget the words have been taught before As a result of this, the students have many difficulties in communication skills such as speaking, writing, reading and listening due to the lack of essential vocabulary items

Q3: What do you think is the most difficult in learning new word items?

b Difficult to use words 74%

Table 3

It is also shown from table 3 that the numbers of students who find it difficult in word use and word memorization are the same (74%) They don‟t know how to find the right word

to use in suitable context even though they know a number of words 68% students among

200 non-major students agreed that they have problems with pronunciation Perhaps, these learners pay much attention on the matter of learning a new word or they had bad accent or bad ability to imitate their teachers It can be inferred from the fact that at the beginning of each course or during the lessons, the teacher doesn‟t teach the students the pronunciation rules and how to read the transcription of words in books or dictionaries A great proportion of students (57%) easily forget the words they have been taught This may result from the fact that there are too many new words for them in the course book to study

or they have not been instructed the effective ways to learn English vocabulary by their teachers

Q4: According to you, which one is the reason for ineffective vocabulary learning?

a Being unable to retrieve the words which have been taught 57%

b Inability to select appropriate words for the given context 35%

c Lack of practicing vocabulary exercises regularly 72%

d Using dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc in a wrong way 0%

Table 4

As can be seen from the table, the reason for ineffective learning which students (72%) choose most is lack of practicing vocabulary exercises regularly More than a half of students (57%) said that they cannot remember the learned words 35% students do not know the right word to use in appropriate context but all of them can use the dictionaries Apparently, the time for learning vocabulary in each lesson is limited so the students have few chances to practice their vocabulary individually or with their partners Besides, the exercises and tasks about vocabulary that their teachers provide are not enough and various The students do them at home without being check by their teachers

3.2.1.2 Students’ vocabulary learning methods

Q5: If you want to know the meaning of a new word, what do you often do?

in the context It is worthy of note that 17% is the number of students who learn vocabulary by basing on synonym/antonym

From these data, it can be inferred that students fail to guess the meaning from the context They do not know how to use synonyms and antonyms or have limited vocabulary knowledge

Q6: What do you do in order to improve the quality of your learning new vocabulary?

Table 6

Information from the data in question 6 illustrates that 57% students acquire English vocabulary through remembering words respectively In fact, it is an ineffective way to learn vocabulary because the students should know how to use the words appropriately in sentences or in contexts Another finding (6%) about using context to learn vocabulary once again shows the students „lack of words and unable to use them flexibly Only 12%

prefer learning new words they like For these learners it is difficult to add more new words in the vocabulary, they often have difficulties in their learning process

In summary, it can be said that students‟ ways of learning should be taken seriously into consideration They haven‟t found out the best ways to learn vocabulary except the traditional ways They learn in a passive ways without putting the words into practice This has a negative effect on their using right words in communication

3.2.1.3 Students’ attitude towards vocabulary exercises and activities in the course book “Let’s talk 1”

Q7: What do you think of vocabulary exercises and tasks in the course book “Let’s talk 1’’

in terms of helping students develop vocabulary learning competence?

Types of vocabulary exercises

and tasks in the course book

Greatly effective Effective

Not effective

Don’t know

Other suggestions

Look at a picture and choose the

Match the words to make

Use the words in the lesson to do

Put the scrambled letters into

Listen and choose the correct

Complete a vocabulary network

Table 7

The question manifests the judgments of students about the vocabulary exercises and tasks

in the course book in terms of helping them develop vocabulary learning competence

Students like the tasks “Looking at the picture and choosing the right words to describe them” because it is one of the quickest ways helping students memorizing the words and

practice speaking skills as well However, based on the information of the table, it can be

seen that only 5 % students think the exercises such as putting the words given in the correct group and find synonym or antonym are interesting

From the above information, it can conclude that the course book ―Let’s talk 1’’ is quite an

interesting book with helpful vocabulary exercises and tasks for students to learn but it still needs the adaptation in order to make it more suitable for all students‟ proficiency of language

Q8: What do you think of types of vocabulary exercises and tasks in the course book ―Let’s talk 1‖ in terms of helping you learn vocabulary effectively?

Interesting

75%

Effective 85%

Easy 25%

Various 82%

Relevant 95%

Useful 87% Not interesting

25%

Not effective 15%

Difficult 75%

Not various 18%

Not relevant 5%

Not useful 13%

Table 8

The results reveal that the students tend to have interests of the exercises like games such

as Search the words in a square or Do a crossword and tasks with visual aids Therefore,

the teachers should not forget the values of games and fun activities in the lessons All this

can be applied to teaching vocabulary too Teachers can ―play‖ with vocabulary while

teaching it It is very appreciated by the learners

However, the finding about the difficulty of vocabulary and tasks in the course book indicates that students‟ vocabulary items are rather limited They seem to be passive learners with traditional ways of learning Learning vocabulary through finding synonym/antonym is really a big challenge with students at this level while their teachers appreciate it

From the results of this question, we can refer that the majority of students highly appreciate the vocabulary exercises and tasks in the course book although there still has disagreement on the effectiveness of these types