Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in the grade 10th class at chuong my a high school

1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT For the first part, I wish to thank various people for their contribution to this paper First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Ms Cu Thi Thu Thuy, my research supervisor, for her patient guidance, enthusiastic encouragement and useful critiques of this research work I would like to offer my special thanks for her encouraging, reminding me to finish my research regularly If it had not been for her treasury helps, I could not have finished my study properly My grateful thanks are also extended to Ms Tran Thi Hong Van – my supervisor in my training at Chuong My A high school for her advice and assistance in keeping my progress on schedule and assisting me in collecting data for my paper Secondly, I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by students in class10D1 and 10D2 and other English teachers at Chuong My A high school for their simple but indispensable helps in my getting data for the study Finally, I wish to thank my family for their support and encouragement throughout my study To complete this research, I would like to express my very great appreciation to the ones who helped me for their valuable and constructive suggestions during the planning and development of this research Thank you for all! ABSTRACT Vocabulary is central to English teaching and learning These days, many English have altered their teaching vocabulary methods They are focusing more on communicative approach instead of grammar or translation one However, in some areas, especially in the rural, students have still experienced the old teaching methods which leads to the act that student feel bored with learning English For examples, as teaching and learning vocabulary reading and vocabulary, teacher lists the words on the blackboard and translates into Vietnamese; students rewrite on paper and then try to learn by heart This method causes a situation where students lack interest in learning vocabulary Therefore, there is a need to enhance students’ motivation in learning vocabulary Being aware of the importance vocabulary, the researcher chooses the topic Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in the grade 10 th class at Chuong My A high school With this topic, the researcher would like to examine the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in at a high school and find out the benefits of flashcards in teaching and learning vocabulary LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching SS: Students LIST OF FIGRUES Figure 1a: Students’ opinion on the importance of vocabulary Figure 1b: Teachers’ opinion on the importance of vocabulary Figure 2a: Students’ purposes of learning vocabulary Figure 2b: Students’ difficulties of learning vocabulary Figure 2c: Teachers’ difficulties of teaching vocabulary Figure 3a: Students’ opinion on time consumption in teaching vocabulary Figure 3b: Teachers’ opinion on time consumption in teaching vocabulary Figure 4: Aspects of vocabulary to be taught in a lesson Figure 5: Teachers’ major current vocabulary teaching method Figure 6: Frequency of using flashcards to teach vocabulary Figure 7: Stages at which teachers use flashcards to teach vocabulary Figure 8: Opinion of students and teachers on the effect of using flashcards to teach vocabulary Figure 9a: Benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by students Figure 9b: Benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by teachers Figure 10a: Difficulties of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by students Figure 10b: Difficulties of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by teachers Figure 11a: Students’ desire for using flashcards in teaching vocabulary Figure 11b: Teachers’ desire for using flashcards in teaching vocabulary Figure 12a: Results of the first post-class mini-test of 10D1 and 10D2 Figure 12b: Results of the second post-class mini-test of 10D1 and 10D2 Figure 12c: Results of the third post-class mini-test of 10D1 and 10D2 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Statements of advantages of using flashcards to teach vocabulary (for students) Table 2: Statements of advantages of using flashcards to teach vocabulary (for teachers) Table 3: Statements of difficulties of using flashcards to teach vocabulary (for students) Table 4: Statements of difficulties of using flashcards to teach vocabulary (for teachers) Table 5: Results of post-class mini-tests of 10D1 in which flashcards are applied Table 6: Results of post-class mini-tests of 10D2 in which flashcards are not applied CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, English has become an international language all over the world In terms of teaching and learning English as the foreign language, vocabulary plays a crucial role Gover/Walter (1983:153) said “If language structures make up skeleton of language, then it’s vocabulary that provides the vital organs of the flesh” In most English classes in Vietnam, the traditional Grammar-Translation Method is the most popular to teach vocabulary In spite of many benefits, it cannot be denied that it has revealed limitations in promoting students’ communicative competence Therefore, it is imperative that another method be found out to give students many chances to improve their communication skill There is no doubt that using flashcards provides students with many benefits Firstly, a flashcard provides learners with all aspects of a new word: pronunciation, usage and illustration by picture Secondly, colorful pictures on flashcards makes students feel excited and pay more attention to lessons Moreover, it is convenient for teachers to deliver flashcards because they are small and light Finally, games using flashcards create rather interesting environment in the classroom However, the application of flashcard still has some drawbacks The first disadvantage of this technique is that teachers sometimes find it difficult to choose suitable cards for each topic Furthermore, teachers are likely to spend more time and money in preparing and making flashcards Finally, in a large- size class, flashcards are too small when being shown for students who sit at the end of the class to see them clearly All things considered, this study would focus on the applying of flashcards in teaching vocabulary to the 10th form students in Chuong My A high school Aims of the study This study research has the aims to: Present the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My A high school Find out the effectiveness of using flashcard in teaching and learning vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My A high school Provide some recommendations of using flashcard as suggestions for teachers to teach vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My A high school To achieve the goal of this research, the following research questions will be sought: What is the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in English classe at Chuong My A high school? What are the effectiveness and drawbacks of using flashcards in teaching and learning vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My A high school? Scope of the study Due to the limited time as well as the limited scope of a graduation thesis, this research is only paying attention to the use of flashcards in teaching English vocabulary but not various kinds of visual aids Also, the research was conducted on limited subjects of the grade 10th students at Chuong My A high school Organizationof the study The graduation thesis consists of five chapters, organized as follows: Chapter I- Introduction: mentions the background to the study and rationale to conduct it, states the aims, scope, organization of the graduation thesis Chapter II- Literature Review: represents theoretical background knowledge of vocabulary, flashcards, and reviews some related researches Chapter III- Methodology: states the subjects of the study, research instruments, as well as data collection procedures employed to carry out this research Chapter IV- Findings and discussions: analyzes and discusses the results collected from the classroom observation, survey questionnaire, interview and post-class mini-test Besides, the limitations of the study are introduced Chapter V- Conclusion: summarizes what have been discussed in the previous parts, limitations of the thesis as well as provides some suggestions for further research CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW II.1 Overview of vocabulary II.1.1 Definition of vocabulary “Vocabulary” is a term that is hard to definite exactly; therefore, there have been numerous definitions of vocabulary Firstly, according to The7th edition Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, vocabulary is “ all the words that a person knows or uses; all the words in a particular language; the words that people use when they are talking about a particular subject; a list of words with their meanings, especially in a book for learning a foreign language” (2010:1662) Secondary, in terms of teaching and learning language, in A course in language teaching (1996:60), Penny Ur 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” Thirdly, in English- An Introduction to Language (1970:96), Pyles/Algeo also 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 in words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds” Moreover, Wilkins (1972:111) shared this with his saying “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed” In conclusion, vocabulary is a group of words that links the integration with four skills: listening, reading, writing, speaking; therefore, teachers need take advantages of four skills for introducing vocabulary to students As a result, this 10 study discovers one of methods of teaching vocabulary combined other English skills II.1.2 The importance of vocabulary It is obvious that vocabulary is central to English language teaching Wilkins proved this in his statement “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing conveyed” (Wilkins, D A (1972:111) It means that if without learning vocabulary, students cannot understand and express their own ideas Furthermore, it is vocabulary that serves as an effective means of communication McCarthy shared this idea in his book Vocabulary (1990) “ No matter how well the student learn grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in a L2 cannot happen in any meaning way” Lewis (1993:89) believed that with a metaphor “lexis is the core or heart of language” It is pointed out that even without grammar, with some useful words, speakers manage to communicate To make it short, it is very important for students to learn vocabulary in order to master English with their purposes Hence, the teachers should take consideration in teaching vocabulary in classroom and enhance the importance of vocabulary II.1.3 Types of vocabulary According to Doff (1988:19), vocabulary is divided into: - Active vocabulary: are words which students will need to understand and - also use themselves Passive vocabulary: are “words which we want student to understand” (e.g when reading a text) but which they will not need to use themselves Fromkin (2011:11) pointed out that “in English” 70 A disaster B science fiction C action D horror Phantom of the Opera is a popular musical written by AndreLloyd Webber A play or film in which there are a lot of songs B part of the story performed by musicians C series shown on television or the radio D play performed by singers and orchestra Charlie Chaplin is considered as the greatest comic actor of the A musical cinema C romantic comedy B commercial film D silent cinema The movie Schindler 's List was on the novel Schindler c Ark written by the Australian write Thomas Keneally A based B depended C played D performed 10 The film is the 1940s, during the Second World War A made for B based on C set in D occurred in By Mai Lan Huong & Nguyen Thanh Loan 2006 Bai tap tieng anh10- Co dap an NXB Da Nang THE 3RD POST-CLASS MINI-TEST I/ Select the synonym of the following bold and underlined word in each sentence in the unit: At that time scientists discovered that when a sequence of still pictures were set in motion, they could give the feeling of moment A detected B founded C knew D saw In the first two decades of its existence, the cinema developed rapidly A smartly B instantaneously C strongly D speedily II/ Choose the best answer Chaplin's movies captivated throughout the world A scientists B musicians C directors D audiences There's an _ film on at the local cinema A interest B interesting C interested D to interest 71 They've just started a film of the novel A shoot B shot C shooting D being shot 'You look nervous.' 'This thunder makes me .' A scary B scare C scaring D scared III Complete these sentences with the correct form of the word in brackets 7.We were _ to hear your good news (thrill) 8.Why you always look so ? Is your life really so boring? (bore) 9.The journey took all day and night They found it very (tire) 10.It was very not to get the job (disappoint) By Mai Lan Huong & Nguyen Thanh Loan 2006 Bai tap tieng anh10- Co dap an NXB Da Nang TABLE OF CONTENTS ... teaching and learning vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My A high school Find out the effectiveness of using flashcard in teaching and learning vocabulary in English classes at Chuong My. .. like to examine the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in at a high school and find out the benefits of flashcards in teaching and learning vocabulary 3 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS... to a higher level of vocabulary improvement by using flashcards in teaching vocabulary Using flashcards facilitates their involvement in the class work by sharing answers, trying to participate,