The use of first language in teaching english vocabulary to elementary level learners a study at vietnamese american english center a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY --- THE USE OF FIRST LANGUAGE IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO ELEMENTARY LEVEL LEARNERS: A STUDY AT VIETNAMESE AME

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

-

THE USE OF FIRST LANGUAGE IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO ELEMENTARY LEVEL LEARNERS: A STUDY AT VIETNAMESE AMERICAN ENGLISH CENTER

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by ĐẶNG VĂN KHƯƠNG

Supervisor

Dr PHẠM NGUYỄN HUY HOÀNG

Ho Chi Minh City, September 2016

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled “The Use of First Language in Teaching English Vocabulary to Elementary Level Learners: A Study at Vietnamese American English Center” as the statement of requirements for thesis in Master’s Programs at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, issued by the Higher Degree Committee

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text

of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

ĐẶNG VĂN KHƯƠNG

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Dang Van Khuong, being the candidate for the degree of Master

of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use

of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am grateful to many people who have helped me achieve this final product This thesis has been completed with the help and counsel of many people whom I now wish to acknowledge with very deep appreciation and gratitude

First and foremost, I would like to express special thanks to my supervisor Dr Pham Nguyen Huy Hoang for revising my thesis, for his valuable advice, kind and helpful assistance that he provided me throughout the thesis He has been a tremendous mentor to me while I was writing up my master thesis

My special thanks also go to all the teachers who have instructed me at Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMCOU) for their precious lectures in class, by which

I have been motivated to explore a lot of interesting issues concerning English language teaching and learning

I would like to extend my special thanks to Mr Phan Tang - the headmaster of VAE Center, and my special thanks to the administrators of VAE Center for assisting

me in obtaining the data for the study analysis I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all the teachers and the learners who took part in my study and made it possible for me to analyze their attitudes on the use of Vietnamese in teaching English vocabulary

Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my close friends Nguyen Van Khanh, Nham Chi Buu, Chau Tuan Nam, and Doan Quynh Nhu for their contribution

on the first draft of this study, and for their sharing with me a lot of reading materials which were very useful for me to conduct my study

ABSTRACT

There has been a long-standing debate over the issue of including or excluding the learner’s mother tongue (L1) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom There are two opinions in this regard: monolingual approach and bilingual approach While advocates of monolingual approach suggest that learning is determined by the exposure to the target language, those advocating the bilingual approach think that L1 makes a valuable contribution to the learning process Although the widespread use English-only in EFL classes, the use of first language is still a perennial topic So this study attempts to examine the use of Vietnamese language in English classes at a foreign language center in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City The main objective was to find out whether L1 plays a positive role or negative role in teaching English vocabulary to the elementary learners in Vietnamese context nowadays The approach employed to conduct this study was mixed one: quantitative and qualitative approach The tools which were used to collect data were classroom observation, questionnaire, and interview The participants were ten teachers and 153 elementary level learners at Vietnamese American English Foreign Language Center The results indicated that all the teacher participants overused Vietnamese in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners The main reasons were to help the learners understand the meaning of difficult words, and to help the teachers save time The learners’ attitudes towards the way their teachers used Vietnamese in vocabulary teaching were supportive

CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS II

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III

ABSTRACT IV

CONTENTS V

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS IX

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS XII

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 B ACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1

1.2 P ROBLEM STATEMENTS 4

1.3 A IM OF THE STUDY 6

1.4 R ESEARCH QUESTIONS 7

1.5 S IGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 7

1.6 A SSUMPTION OF THE STUDY 8

1.7 S TRUCTURE OF THE STUDY 8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10

2.1 D EFINITION OF TERMS 10

2.1.1 Vocabulary teaching 10

2.1.2 L1 and L2 10

2.1.3 Elementary level learners 11

2.2 T HEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE STUDY 12

2.2.1 The role of L1 in teaching methodology 12

2.2.2 Positive roles of L1 in FL classrooms 14

2.2.3 Negative roles of L1 in FL classrooms 19

2.3 V OCABULARY TEACHING 24

2.3.1 How many words are there in English and how many do teachers need to teach? 24

2.3.2 What do teachers need to teach about vocabulary? 25

2.3.3 Techniques for vocabulary teaching 26

2.3.4 The use of L1 in L2 vocabulary teaching 30

2.4 P REVIOUS STUDIES SUPPORTING THE POSITIVE ROLES OF L1 IN L2 VOCABULARY TEACHING

33

2.5 L EARNERS ’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS L1 USE IN L2 VOCABULARY TEACHING 42

2.6 C HAPTER SUMMARY 45

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 46

3.1 R ESEARCH DESIGN 46

3.2 S AMPLING 47

3.2.1 Population 47

3.2.2 Sample 48

3.3 I NSTRUMENTS 49

3.3.1 Observation 49

3.3.2 Questionnaire 52

3.3.3 Interview 56

3.3.4 Data collection process 57

3.3.5 Validity and reliability of instruments 58

3.3.6 Means 59

3.4 D ATA ANALYSIS 59

3.4.1 Research question 1: To what extent is L1 used in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners? 60

3.4.2 Research question 2: What are the rationales for the teachers’ use of L1 in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners? 61

3.4.3 Research question 3: What are the learners’ attitudes towards the way they learn English vocabulary with L1? 61

3.5 P ILOT STUDY 62

3.5.1 Vocabulary items explained in the pilot study 64

3.5.2 Vocabulary items taught without using Vietnamese 65

3.5.3 Using Vietnamese in teaching English vocabulary 66

3.5.4 Refinements of the observation sheet 66

3.5.5 Refinements of the learner questionnaire 67

3.5.6 Refinements of the interview questions for both teachers and learners 68

3.5.7 Answering the three research questions 68

3.6 C HAPTER SUMMARY 70

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS OF THE FINDINGS 71

4.1 R ESEARCH QUESTION 1: T O WHAT EXTENT IS L1 USED IN TEACHING E NGLISH VOCABULARY TO ELEMENTARY LEARNERS ? 71

4.1.1 Quantitative data collected from classroom observation 72

4.1.2 Quantitative data collected from the teacher questionnaire 77

4.1.3 Qualitative data collected from teacher interview 80

4.2 R ESEARCH QUESTION 2: W HAT ARE THE RATIONALES FOR THE TEACHERS ’ USE OF L1 IN TEACHING E NGLISH VOCABULARY TO ELEMENTARY LEARNERS ? 82

4.2.1 Quantitative data collected from teacher questionnaire 82

4.2.2 Qualitative data collected from teacher interview 86

4.3 R ESEARCH QUESTION 3: W HAT ARE THE LEARNERS ’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE WAY THEY LEARN E NGLISH VOCABULARY WITH L1? 94

4.3.1 Quantitative data collected from learner questionnaire 95

4.3.2 Qualitative data collected from the learner questionnaire 100

4.3.3 Qualitative data collected from the learner interview 106

4.4 C HAPTER SUMMARY 117

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND LIMITATIONS 119

5.1 C ONCLUSIONS 119

5.2 R ECOMMENDATIONS 122

5.3 L IMITATIONS 123

REFERENCES 125

APPENDICES 131

APPENDIX 1 131

APPENDIX 2 132

APPENDIX 3 134

APPENDIX 4 135

APPENDIX 5 136

APPENDIX 6 140

APPENDIX 7 144

APPENDIX 8 163

APPENDIX 9 165

APPENDIX 10 167

APPENDIX 11 171

APPENDIX 12 175

APPENDIX 13 179

APPENDIX 14 183

APPENDIX 15 187

APPENDIX 16 189

APPENDIX 17 191

APPENDIX 18 198

APPENDIX 19 200

APPENDIX 20 202

APPENDIX 21 209

APPENDIX 22 218

LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES AND CHARTS

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 2.2.2: POSITIVE ROLES OF L1 IN FL CLASSROOMS 18

TABLE 2.2.3: NEGATIVE ROLES OF L1 IN FL CLASSROOMS 23

TABLE 2.4A: REASONS WHY TEACHERS USED L1 IN L2 VOCABULARY TEACHING 40

TABLE 2.4B: OTHER REASONS WHY TEACHERS USED L1 IN THE CLASSROOMS 41

TABLE 2.5: SYNOPSIS OF DATA OF LEARNERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE USE OF L1 IN TEACHING L2 VOCABULARY 43

TABLE 3.5: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SCHEDULE OF THE PILOT STUDY 63

TABLE 3.5.1: NUMBER OF VOCABULARY ITEMS TAUGHT IN THE PILOT STUDY 64

TABLE 4.1.1A: NUMBER OF VOCABULARY ITEMS TAUGHT THROUGH THIRTY OBSERVATIONS 72

TABLE 4.1.1B: WAYS OF USING VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 74

TABLE 4.1.2: FREQUENCY OF THE WAYS TEACHERS TAUGHT VOCABULARY WITH USING VIETNAMESE 78

TABLE 4.1.3: SITUATIONS TEACHERS USED VIETNAMESE TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY 80

TABLE 4.2.1: FREQUENCY OF THE REASONS WHY TEACHERS USED VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 83

TABLE 4.2.2A: REASONS WHY TEACHERS USED VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY TEACHING 86

TABLE 4.2.2B: USING OR NOT USING VIETNAMESE, WHICH WAS BETTER? 89

TABLE 4.2.2C: STRONG POINTS OF USING VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING.90 TABLE 4.2.2D: DISADVANTAGES OF USING VIETNAMESE IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY TEACHING 91

TABLE 4.2.2E: WHEN TEACHERS SHOULD USE VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 92

TABLE 4.2.2F: WHEN TEACHERS SHOULD NOT USE VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 93 TABLE 4.3.1A: FREQUENCY TEACHERS USED L1 COMPARED WITH FREQUENCY

LEARNERS THOUGHT L1 SHOULD BE USED 96 TABLE 4.3.1B: REASONS WHY LEARNERS LIKED THEIR TEACHERS TO USE

VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 98 TABLE 4.3.2A: REASONS WHY LEARNERS LIKED THEIR TEACHERS TO USE

VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 100 TABLE 4.3.2B: REASONS WHY LEARNERS DID NOT LIKE THEIR TEACHERS TO USE VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 102 TABLE 4.3.2C: WHEN L1 SHOULD BE USED IN TEACHING VOCABULARY 104 TABLE 4.3.2D: WHEN L1 SHOULD NOT BE USED IN TEACHING VOCABULARY 105 TABLE 4.3.3A: HOW YOUR TEACHERS USED VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY

TEACHING 107 TABLE 4.3.3B: SITUATIONS TEACHERS USED VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY

TEACHING 108 TABLE 4.3.3C: SITUATIONS LEARNERS LIKED THEIR TEACHERS TO USE VIETNAMESE

IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 109 TABLE 4.3.3D: REASONS WHY THE LEARNERS LIKED THEIR TEACHER TO USE

VIETNAMESE IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 110 TABLE 4.3.3E: USING VIETNAMESE WAS BETTER IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY

TEACHING 112 TABLE 4.3.3F: NOT USING VIETNAMESE WAS BETTER IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY TEACHING 112 TABLE 4.3.3G: DISADVANTAGES OF USING VIETNAMESE TO TEACH VOCABULARY 113 TABLE 4.3.3H: WHEN L1 SHOULD BE USED IN TEACHING VOCABULARY 115 TABLE 4.3.3I: WHEN L1 SHOULD NOT BE USED IN TEACHING VOCABULARY 115

LIST OF CHARTS

CHART 4.1.1: TIME SPENT ON TEACHING VOCABULARY IN THE MAIN STUDY 73 CHART 4.3.1: PERCENTAGE OF LEARNERS LIKED AND DISLIKED THEIR TEACHERS USED L1 IN VOCABULARY TEACHING 95

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

HCMCOU Ho Chi Minh City Open University

VAE Center Vietnamese American English Foreign Language Center

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

In this chapter, the researcher will present the background information of the study It is the use of L1 in FL teaching in general Then there will be the aim of the study that leads to three research questions that guides the study The significance of the study, the assumption of the study, and the structure of the study will also be introduced

1.1 Background to the study

In foreign language (FL) teaching, there have always been contradicting views about whether to use the learners’ mother tongue (L1) in English classrooms or not Supporters of the monolingual approach have argued that people who learn foreign language should follow the basic route as a baby acquires its mother language, so the use of L1 in classrooms should be minimized or neglected However, supporters of the bilingual approach have become aware of the positive role of L1 in English classrooms because they believe that it could make a valuable contribution to the learning process, and therefore L1 could be used in facilitating the process of teaching and learning The issue of including or excluding the learners’ mother tongue in the

FL classrooms will be always a subject of ongoing discussion and controversy This study is going to examine in detail whether or not the use of learners’ L1 in the classroom may hinder or facilitate the process of learning new vocabulary in a second language

About the positive role of learners’ mother tongue, Weschler (1997), in the introduction of his study, gave an interesting example to indicate the role of L1 (Japanese) in the English classroom:

The teacher stares down at the wide eyes of his new students, “Class We are here to learn English As of today, you are not to use any Japanese in this room This is an

‘English-only’ class.” And it is from that moment, I would argue, that the class is lost (p

87)

Weschler (1997) definitely emphasized what was called the “timely use of the students’ first language.” It was not that L1 can be used all the time, but it was used appropriately When students learn a foreign language, it is the target language which they aim at, and there are certainly many means for them to reach this goal Weschler (1997) indicated that the use of learners’ L1 was one of those means The matter is how and when the teachers should use this means to exploit the advantages of mother tongue to the full Depending on each particular circumstance, teachers can apply L1 appropriately Damra & Qudah (2012) also said that when L1 was used appropriately,

it would be very helpful for students to learn a foreign language But the prerequisite

is that teachers and learners must share the same L1 So Damra & Qudah (2012) assumed that teachers who know their students’ mother tongue have more advantages than the ones who do not know

The use of learners’ L1 in the classrooms contrasts the pedagogy of teaching English through English In English-only class, teachers often ask students to “think in English” But we do not know how they really think when they learn the target language, and whether translation silently happens in their mind As Weschler (1997) said that they constantly ask themselves, “What does it mean?” And then they answer themselves by using their L1, no matter how the teacher asks them to think during the learning session Therefore, whether the teacher likes it or not, L1 still interferes in the process of learning English Weschler (1997) asserted that it is not if but to what degree students think in their L1 when they try to understand L2 (second language) Besides, Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë (2007) also said that no matter how good the students are, the majority of them “keep mentally translating from L2 into L1 and vice versa.” This fact makes teachers of English aware of the importance L1 in EFL classrooms Harmer (2007) called the process of translating what the students are learning in their heads is a “natural part of any language learner’s behavior,” because the learners always try to make sense a new language through a language which they already know

The use of L1 in English classrooms is mainly the use of translation from L1 into L2 and from L2 into L1 Translation has an important role in language teaching

because language learners use it during their lifetime Carreres (2006) believed that

“the translator as a life-long language learner and the language learner as a natural translator.” Translation sometimes can be seen as the fifth skill besides the four basic skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) “Translation from L1 to L2 and L2 to L1 is recognized as the fifth skill and the most important social skill since it promotes communication and understanding between strangers.” (Ross, 2000, as cited in Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë, 2007, p 133) Indeed, translation is a useful technique to help learners compare the target language with their mother tongue The authors Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë (2007) said that the real usefulness of translation in English classes is to compare grammar, vocabulary, word order and other language points in English with their L1 They added that translation in L2 classrooms is the way of comparing the similarities and differences between the two languages And they concluded that “translation activities help raise learners’ awareness of language transfer and may facilitate linguistic development” (p 138) So L1 can be seen as an effective tool in the classroom

Once L1 is recognized a valuable tool in English classrooms, it might cause bad effects if teachers overuses it The question is how to balance L1 in the learning process What factors should teachers of foreign language consider in balancing L1? There are four factors suggested by Atkinson (1993, as cited in Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë, 2007), namely the students’ previous experience, the students’ level, the stage of the course, and the stage of the individual lesson So it can be said that depending on who the students are, where they are in the learning process and what they are learning, teachers could choose to use the L1 in a suitable degree The study

of Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë (2007) at Mykolas Romeris University showed that the use of L1 in English classes is quite positive, but the amount of L1 depends on the learners’ proficiency level And they said that the less proficient learners need more reference to the L1

What if some teachers exclude or neglect L1 in language classrooms? If so, it might be related to some cultural problems Harmer (2007) said that “it makes no sense to deny the importance of the students’ L1 in their L2 learning,” (p 135)

because even both teacher and the students do not share the same L1, the teacher can discuss the issues of L1 and L2 with the class Indeed, it is not only the matter of languages but also the matter of culture Cook (n.d., as cited in Kavaliauskienë & Kaminskienë, 2007) said that the students’ culture is part of their language; and if the teacher neglects their language, he or she neglects their culture, and then neglect their identity as well He added that it was neither scientific nor pedagogic to exclude L1 from the teaching process When people try to learn a foreign language, they always face a new culture which they must accept They should not look down on this new culture because its values between the two languages must be considered the same As Schweers (1999) said that L1 made students realize their mother tongue and their own culture values are not less worth than the L2 ones

In this study, the idea that learners’ L1 is used in teaching new vocabulary is considered But the question is why teachers should apply it to teaching vocabulary Sedita (2005) said that knowledge of vocabulary is very important because it includes all the words which people need to have to link their background knowledge, to express their ideas, to communicate, and to learn new concepts It can be said that students who have wide vocabularies could learn better because they can understand new concepts more quickly Linguist David Wilkins said, “Without grammar very

little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” (cited in

Thornbury, 2002, p 13) Most teachers acknowledge the importance of vocabulary teaching However, vocabulary instruction may be a very difficult task for many teachers because they are not confident about the best way in vocabulary teaching (Bintz, 2011) There are a lot of choices related to the means of vocabulary instruction such as using real objects, using actions or gestures, using pictures, definitions, translation, etc Of these ways, according to traditional methods, translation has been most widely used in presenting the meaning of new words It means that, to some extent, learners’ L1 might be used in teaching new vocabulary

1.2 Problem statements

The researcher has been an English learner and an English teacher in several foreign language centers in Vietnam And the researcher sees that in most foreign

language classes in Vietnam, teachers of English are not allowed to use too much Vietnamese in classrooms, it means L1 should be minimized as much as possible They are encouraged to use English in all cases to show that English is a real vehicle

of communication, not just a subject to learn At the time this study was conducted, the researcher was working at Vietnamese American English Foreign Language Center (VAE Center), an English Center in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City, where the teachers were advised to use the Direct Method as a main means The official guidelines recommended that lessons should be planned to be as monolingual as possible It means that L1 was restricted to use there because it was believed that this method is helpful to the learners, especially elementary level learners However, the researcher saw that many of the teachers still used L1 frequently in their classrooms, especially in teaching English vocabulary

There might be some reasons which make the teachers use L1 in teaching English

vocabulary at VAE Center In the two main textbooks, Streamline English Departures and Streamline English Connections, all vocabulary items are given Vietnamese

meanings In the other books used for elementary level at this center, new words are not given Vietnamese meanings but they are often illustrated with pictures However, the principal of the center complains that the teachers still use too much Vietnamese in explaining the meaning of the words even though the meaning is available in the books The meanings presented in the books may not clear for the students Whether they use L1 to help the students understand the meaning or they use it to facilitate the process of teaching vocabulary, these teachers might have their own reasons for this

At VAE Center, teachers are strongly recommended to maximize the use of English in the classroom According to the Headmaster, all English classes should be

“English-only” ones That is a rule at this center; however, few teachers obey it However, Weschler (1997) posed a question which the researcher thinks it suits this situation: “Could an English-only work?” The author answered ‘yes’, but with some conditions, for example: with enough time given, with very limited goals, and with the right circumstances The researcher has been working for this center for some years, and the researcher sees that the teachers almost have not enough time to follow the

curriculum They have to teach fast, and get to the point what are needed for the exam And the most important thing is that there are a lot of goals set for the teachers, for example students must pass the exam at high rate, students can speak English well, and teachers use English only in the classroom, etc These goals are certainly difficult for the teachers to reach at the same time

There was a study which showed that using L1 in teaching vocabulary could help elementary learners retain the words in their mind longer Bouangeune (2009) said that many English professionals do not pay much attention to the use of L1 in teaching English because they think that English must be taught in English so that learners could expose to the target language as much as possible However, this author conducted a study to find out the positive use of L1 in teaching vocabulary From National University of Laos, Bouangeune (2009) made an important study in the area

of vocabulary for learners at low proficiency level His study indicated that using learners’ L1 to teach English vocabulary increased their retention of new words in both isolation and context And he thought that this was because the clear definitions and explanations in L1 that make the learners remember better

From the results of Bouangeune’s (2009) study and from the researcher’s real learning and teaching situations, the researcher would like to conduct a study on the use of Vietnamese language in teaching English vocabulary to learners who are at elementary level in Vietnamese context On the one hand, there have been many professionals who believed that L1 should be used to teach students who are low proficient in the target language, for example Auerbach (1993) and Nation (2001) According to these authors, L1 plays an important role in language teaching for low proficient learners On the other hand, our colleagues kept using Vietnamese in teaching English vocabulary although they were advised not to do so Therefore the researcher would like to seek the reasons why the teachers use L1 in teaching English vocabulary for elementary level learners

1.3 Aim of the study

The aim of the present study is to investigate the use of Vietnamese language in teaching English vocabulary to elementary level learners The researcher will try to

find out whether learners’ L1 plays a positive role or negative role in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners in Vietnamese context nowadays This includes how frequently the teachers use L1, why they use it to teach English vocabulary, and what learners think about the use of L1 in teaching English vocabulary This study will focus on the three main points: (1) identifying to what extent the teachers use L1; (2) examining the factors which influence the teachers’ decision to use the L1; and (3) finding out whether the students felt satisfied with their teacher’s way of using L1

1.4 Research questions

This study aims at answering the following questions:

1) To what extent is L1 used in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners?

2) What are the rationales for the teachers’ use of L1 in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners?

3) What are the learners’ attitudes towards the way they learn English vocabulary with L1?

1.5 Significance of the study

The implications of L1 in relation to vocabulary teaching were explored, and then there was a discussion on principles, advantages and disadvantages of using L1 in teaching L2 vocabulary The positive as well as negative roles of Vietnamese language in teaching English vocabulary was found, and then teachers might have different views on the ways they teach English vocabulary in the future because they have to make up their mind on the use of L1 in teaching L2 vocabulary to elementary learners in today’s context Although most English classrooms nowadays are well equipped with modern facilities which help teachers to teach new vocabulary better than before, teachers may use L1 to some extent to help learners understand the meaning of new vocabulary better, and to help learners avoid misunderstanding of the meaning when teachers use English to teach vocabulary

Because the issue of using learners’ mother tongue in the classroom is still controversial in the world, especially its use in teaching vocabulary to elementary

learners in Vietnam has not been carried out much, it is important to conduct a study

to disclose the existing reality in Vietnamese context The results of this study may also serve as an input for designing English teaching programs for elementary schools

or language centers Finally, the benefit might extend up to improving the quality of teaching FL in general and the quality of teaching English vocabulary in specific

1.6 Assumption of the study

This study assumes that English should be maximized in English language classrooms The target language should be used as much as possible for both teachers and learners However, there should be also a place for the use of L1, as Harmer (2007) said that there is an acknowledgement of the place of L1 in the learning of L2 The role of L1 may be positive if it is used at right time and right places Using

‘English-only’ might take a lot of time and might cause some problems with words’ meanings especially when they learn L2 vocabulary, so learners’ L1 could interfere to help teachers save the time and facilitate learning process The primary goal of this study is to find evidence to support the idea that learners’ L1 can facilitate the process

of teaching L2 vocabulary Whether the findings show that L1 has a positive role or negative role on L2 vocabulary teaching, it will be a meaningful contribution to the area of FL teaching The important role of L1 in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners seems worthy of consideration since there have been few studies conducted to this topic in Vietnamese context

1.7 Structure of the study

The present study consists of five chapters Chapter 1 provides a brief introduction

to the thesis and an overview of the study such as the background, the problem

statements, the purpose, and the significance of the study Chapter 2 reviews relevant

literature including the reasons why L1 should be used in L1 teaching, the positive as well as negative roles of L1 in EFL classrooms, and the techniques for teaching vocabulary Chapter 3 describes the methods used in this study in order to collect data for answering the research questions Chapter 4 presents and analyzes the collected data from the classroom observation, questionnaire, and interview This chapter also presents the discussions of the findings based on the collected data Chapter 5 gives

conclusions of the study, the limitations of the study, and recommendations for further research After those five chapters, there are also the references and the appendices

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews theories and literature related to the positive role as well as negative role of Vietnamese in teaching English vocabulary to elementary learners The literature review of this study will assess typical characteristics of L1 use in L2 teaching and how L2 vocabulary could be used with L1 in order to help learners understand the meaning and retain new vocabulary better Findings from previous studies will also be presented in lines of arguments to indicate the research gaps for the current study

be taught, or they can be picked out from the lessons at any time in the classroom by either the teachers or the learners They can be the words which the learners ask the teacher, or which the teacher wants to put forward They can be either active vocabulary or passive vocabulary

‘mother tongue’, ‘first language’ and ‘native language’ all are the same although it is possible to argue that there are some cases which may show they mean different things All of them are Vietnamese language because all the teacher and learner participants are Vietnamese people They all speak Vietnamese as their mother tongue And L2 is the second language or foreign language or the target language In this study, L2 is mainly used to refer to English Sometimes it refers to other languages rather than English especially in previous studies

2.1.3 Elementary level learners

Harmer (2007) said that students are generally divided into three levels: beginner, intermediate, and advanced; and that between beginner and intermediate, students are classed as elementary The level of the learner participants in this study is elementary level, and it is usually called Level A in Vietnam At this level, under VAE Center’s regulations, the learners have to learn English with the main materials such as the

book Streamline English Departure by Hartley & Viney (2010) and the first half of the book Streamline English Connections by Hartley & Viney (2013) After the

course, they have to take a final exam which is organized by Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education & Training They are tested with the four skills: writing, reading, listening, and speaking The first two skills (writing and reading) are combined into one test with the total time allotted 90 minutes for examinees to finish

it For listening skill, examinees also have a test with time allotted 30 minutes And for speaking skill, a conversation between examiners and one examinee is made from five minutes to seven minutes At this level of English, the learners can communicate

a little in English, they can use their English in some situations such as personal identification, house and home, life at home, education and future career, free time and entertainment

At VAE Center, elementary learners have to learn English around twenty months,

or they have to finish about 480 forty-five-minute periods before they take the exam Under VAE Center’s regulations in 2016, the textbooks which were used as teaching materials for elementary level were: Hartley & Viney (2010); Hartley & Viney

(2013); Cambridge ESOL (2011); Cambridge ESOL (2013); Thompson & Simmons (2009); Driscoll (2009); Simmons (2010a); and Simmons (2010b)

2.2 Theoretical framework for the study

2.2.1 The role of L1 in teaching methodology

To explore the role of learner’s L1 in EFL classrooms, one way is to look at the basic methods which teachers of English use in the process of language instruction in the classroom Foley (2012) said that there is a wide variety of ways of teaching and learning English around the world In the field of English teaching, there are five traditional teaching methods in which the role of L1 in L2 teaching has changed over time While one method accepts the positive role of L1 in L2 teaching, the other does not accept it or even prohibits it The five methods examined here are the Grammar-Translation Method, the Direct Method, the Audio-Lingual Method, Total Physical Response, and Communicative Language Teaching In this section, the aim is to list those teaching methods in order to discuss the role of L1 in each of them briefly A glimpse of those methods shows the periodic changes in the role of L1 use in L2 teaching

From 1800s, there was a classical method which was called the Grammar Translation Method (GTM) At the beginning of the century, this method was used to help students learn foreign literature and it was used to teach classical languages such

as Latin and Greek (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) This method allows teacher and learners

to use L1 freely as a main means to acquire the target language Both grammar and vocabulary are taught through L1 translation According to this method, nearly all phases of the lesson apply the use of learners’ L1 and translation techniques The standard medium instruction was the learners’ mother tongue, the grammar point was practiced through translation of sentences, and vocabulary was learnt by heart from bilingual lists (Klapper, 2006)

From 1900s, there was a method which did not allow teacher and learners to use L1 in L2 teaching and learning, it was called the Direct Method (DM) This method appeared because people set a new goal for their learning – it was to learn to use a

foreign language to communicate, which the GTM could not meet the needs Freeman, 1986) DM is based on the notion that language knowledge is acquired through experience (Klapper, 2006) According to this method, the meaning is conveyed through demonstration and visual aids; mother tongue is prohibited, or L1 has no place in the FL classroom

(Larsen-From 1945s, the Audio-Lingual Method (ALM) appeared This method was like the DM because both of them focused on oral-based approach The difference was that the DM emphasized vocabulary acquisition through exposure in situations, while the ALM drilled students in the use of grammatical sentence patterns (Larsen-Freeman, 1986) Vocabulary and structural patterns are taught mainly through the drilling of dialogues The purpose is to teach students how to use the target language in everyday conversation In this method, the restricted use of the learners’ L1 is allowed Translation can be used when it is necessary for the learners

From 1970s, there was a method which was called Total Physical Response (TPR) This method focuses on the learners’ understanding first, and then speaking will appear spontaneously It imitates the process in which a baby acquires its native language The baby must spend quite a long time listening to the people around before

it begins to speak This is also a least stressful way to achieve understanding of target language The learners’ anxiety is reduced so that their self-confidence is increased L1 translation in this method is not allowed L1 can be used to introduce TPR only After the introduction, L1 would be rarely used

From 1980s, there was a method which was called the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) People who used this method believed that learners not only need linguistic competence but they also need communicative competence Students learn the target language through some activities such as games, role plays, and problem-solving tasks so that they can reach the goal of true communication Teaching and learning materials in the method should be authentic This method accepts the L1 use but it must be used at the right time Whenever L2 can be used, L1 should not be used

so that learners could see that the target language is a real vehicle for communication,

it is not just an object to be studied (Larsen-Freeman, 1986)

The use of L1 in language classrooms has been increasingly concerned recently There are several studies conducted all over the world to find out the role of L1 in L2 teaching (Kieu, 2010) However, there has not been a consensus among the researchers on the positive role of L1 in L2 teaching On the one hand, some researchers believed that the use of L1 may lead to more dependence of learners on their mother tongue that may impede the progress of learning the target language On the other hand, some other researchers argued that the use of L1 may expedite the process of learning the target language as teachers can explain complex words and concepts more effectively

The use of L1 in the English classroom has both advantages and disadvantages

As Khati (2011) said that it depends on when and what amount of mother tongue is used in the EFL classroom, and it depends on the teaching methods a teacher applies

in the classroom Voicu (2012) also added that using L1 is not a problem but the problem is when and how to use it The researcher thinks that when teaching English vocabulary, especially to elementary learners, teachers should use the target language

to the fullest so that learners can see how the target language is really used or applied;

it is not just an academic subject they have to learn Every word should be explained

in English first, and then visual aids or other techniques could be used to demonstrate the meaning, L1 is used judiciously depending on each teacher’s technique or method L1 has both positive and negative roles in FL teaching

2.2.2 Positive roles of L1 in FL classrooms

L1 could be seen as a very effective tool to help facilitate FL learning Vygostky (1986, as cited in Manara, 2007) said that “L1 would quite naturally serve as a tool to help students think about and make sense of (i.e meditate their thinking about) the structures, content and meaning of the L2 texts they read” (p 491) Indeed, with the presence of the ‘natural tool’ in their mind, the learners could use it to think seriously about what they are learning If so, the prior knowledge of L1 could play a key role for them to learn new vocabulary Therefore, L2 vocabulary could be learnt better with the help of learners’ L1 existing knowledge As Manara (2007) said that the learners’ L1 is their linguistic schemata which are a resource for them to draw their

existing knowledge from and perceive a new language Linguistic schema here refers

to linguistic knowledge stored in memory on which new information processing depends This resource of linguistic schemata could help them learn new vocabulary easily So when they learn new words, they always refer to their prior knowledge of L1 to comprehend the meaning Voicu (2012) also said that when facing with something new such as a new piece of information, it is a natural instinct to look for similarities and try to draw some comparison with what we already know And what learners already know here is their prior knowledge of L1 Learners usually bring consciously or unconsciously what they have known to what they have not known yet when they learn new information, including learning new words From this fact, teachers can set about a teaching process that relies on their mother tongue to some extent, especially in teaching vocabulary

In addition, according to Piaget (as cited in Schcolnik, Kol, & Abarbanel, 2006), the three essential processes in which learning takes place are assimilation, accommodation, and equilibration Assimilation occurs first, accommodation occurs later, and equilibration is the last In Piagetian terms, “assimilation is the collecting and classifying of new information,” and when new information is encountered, it will

be added to the existing schema (as cited in Pritchard & Woollard, 2010) Accommodation is the change of their schema so that the new information or contradictory one they are facing could be accepted And equilibration is the state of being balanced without any contradictions in the mind When learners encounter a new word, they might classify it and add it to their prior L1 knowledge Therefore, it can be said that learners’ L1 schema is really a great help for them to acquire new words well According to Piaget (as cited in Pritchard & Woollard, 2010), “learners use their cognitive structures to interpret the environment,” that means “they assimilate new information into their existing cognitive schemas, understanding the information only to the extent allowed by the existing schemas.” So when learners learn new vocabulary, they may assimilate the new meanings into their existing L1 schemas That is why learners’ L1 should be used in teaching L2 vocabulary in FL classrooms

Time saving is one of the most important factors which most teachers of English consider in language classrooms, and using L1 allows the teachers to do this One of the benefits of using L1 inside the classroom is that L1 could save a lot of time (Solhi

& Büyükyazı, 2011; Kavari, 2014) Particularly when the teachers explain vocabulary, they try to exploit the limited time in class by using translation Khati (2011) said that L1 can be used to provide a quick and accurate translation of an English word which may take a lot of time for the teacher to explain it in English Besides, Voicu (2012) also said that instead of spending considerable time explaining the target language; sometimes it is much easier and more efficient for teachers to give a translation of a new vocabulary item For example, if a teacher wants to teach the word ‘horse’ to Vietnamese students, he or she should use visual aids or just give a direct translation

‘con ngựa’, rather than spending time explaining that it is ‘an animal with four legs which can be used for riding on, etc.’ Instead of spending too much time for lengthy explanation of new words, teachers can get to the point quickly so that they have time for doing other activities in the classroom Dujmović (2014) agreed that L1 helps prevent time being wasted on tortuous explanations while it could be better spent on other language activities Therefore, using L1 especially in teaching vocabulary could help teachers save quite a lot of time

Using L1 in teaching L2 could help learners compare the target language with their mother tongue When learning a new language, the learners will surely find something that is similar to their L1, and something that is different from their L1 Meyer (2008) believed that using L1 helps raise learners’ consciousness of similarities and differences between their L1 and the target language Besides, Damra & Qudah (2012) also supported that using the students’ L1 in the classroom could help them raise their awareness and knowledge about the similarities and differences between the two languages Basically, learners can compare the grammar and vocabularies in both languages Dujmović (2014) said that L1 helps point out the similarities and differences of grammar, vocabulary, etc Thanks to this comparison, learners would learn the second language better because it would be easier for them to remember words and grammar points Voicu (2012) said that using L1 helps compare the similarities and differences between the two languages regarding vocabulary and

grammar to enhance FL acquisition So using L1 helps learners compare the second language with the L1 in order to acquire the new language more easily

Using L1 in teaching grammar can be seen as an effective way One of the difficulties which teachers of English face is how to explain grammar in the target language If the teachers try to use English only to explain grammar, it is not sure that the students can understand all Solhi & Büyükyazı (2011) believed that L1 can be used to explain new or difficult grammar structures And Voicu (2012) also said that one of the reasons for using L1 is that it can be used to teach grammar Grammar usually has its own rules and exceptions which is difficult for people to learn it The use of L1 can help learners understand these rules quite clearly Kavari (2014) said that one of the benefits of using L1 is that it helps explain grammar rules So teaching grammar with the use of L1 would be easier for teachers and learners

L1 can be used for giving instructions in the classroom as well Sometimes, some learners may feel confused with their teacher’s instructions in English As a result, they do not know how to do some tasks correctly According to Khati (2011), using English only in EFL classrooms may cause some problems with instructions and explanations because teachers cannot be sure if their students understand those instructions or explanations correctly or not In this case, it is really a good reason for L1 to be used to explain again what the teacher wants their students to do Solhi & Büyükyazı (2011) believed that L1 can be used to explain long and complicated instructions And Kavari (2014) also said that L1 can help teachers give instructions more effectively Son instructions in class should be given with the interference of L1

to be sure that all the learners can understand clearly

Using L1 in the classroom gives learners a sense of security They feel safe and easy to express themselves In fact, one of the researcher colleagues used to ask his students to speak English only in class According to his rule, if any student used Vietnamese, he or she would be fined a sum of money As a result, most of his students said nothing in class The threat which this teacher posed was too challenging for his students Meyer (2008) believed that L1 use could reduce a possible threat posed by the L2 Indeed, in Bouangeune’s (2009) list of reasons why L1 could be

used, one of which is that L1 provides a sense of security which helps the students to express themselves Using L1 when it is necessary would make students feel easy to learn in class Solhi & Büyükyazı (2011) also believed that L1 use could help establish a good learning atmosphere, and make the students feel relaxed and confident The students feel confident in class, which is necessary for them to learn a language Kavari (2014) stated that L1 provides learners with a sense of security and confidence Learners would feel secure with the presence of their L1

Besides the reasons mentioned above, the use of L1 in FL classrooms also has other positive effects All of those positive roles of L1 are divided into two themes, namely positive roles in FL learning and positive roles in FL teaching They are summarized in table 2.2.2 below

Table 2.2.2: Positive roles of L1 in FL classrooms

No Positive roles of L1 Authors

First theme: In FL learning

1 It is an effective tool to help learners think and

make sense

Vygostky (1986, cited in Manara, 2007)

new language

(2008)

relaxed and confident

vocabulary and grammatical items

Bouangeune (2009)

on

Bouangeune (2009)

about similarities and differences between the two

languages

Meyer (2008); Damra &

(2012); Dujmović (2014)

new words

Kavari (2014)

Second theme: In FL teaching

Büyükyazı (2011)

structures (2011); Kavari (2014)

Kavari (2014); Dujmović (2014)

instructions

(2011); Kavari (2014)

words

Kavari (2014)

Although supporters of monolingual approach believe that L2 acquisition must keep L2 separate from L1, there is always an interrelationship between L1 and L2 Indeed, Cook (1997b, as cited in Cook, 2001) said that “the L2 meanings do not exist separately from the L1 meanings in the learner’s mind, regardless of whether they are part of the same vocabulary store or parts of different stores meditated by a single conceptual system” (p 407) Cook (2001) added L2 learning was not just like adding rooms to a house by building an extension at the back; instead, it was the rebuilding of all internal walls Therefore, the two languages, L1 and L2, cannot be put as separate parts in the mind, but they are closely connected and affect each other Learners’ L1 plays a role as an effective tool or a linguistic schema for the latter to be learnt well And it is an essential tool for them to acquire new vocabulary in L2

2.2.3 Negative roles of L1 in FL classrooms

For those who support the monolingual approach, learners’ mother tongue should

be limited in FL classrooms About the limit use of learners’ mother tongue in EFL classrooms, Cook (2001) said that it could be phrased in stronger and in weaker forms: the strongest form was called “Ban the L1 from the classroom,” and weakest form was called “Minimize the L1 in the classroom.” According to the former, L1 is not allowed to use by any means And according to the latter, L1 can be used but as little as possible so that the target language will be maximized Both cases show that L1 has negative role on L2 learning In the first case, however, L1 is seen as a harmful

factor on L2 While in the second case, the usefulness of L2 is emphasized rather than the harm of L1

Overusing L1 could lead to the problem that some students would form a habit of learning vocabulary passively in class Some teachers who are proponents of the so-called ‘Monolingual Approach’ believe that they should never use their students’ L1

in EFL classrooms even a single word However, the negative effects of L1 on L2 learning seem to occur most when learners’ L1 is overused Indeed, there would be surely disadvantages of overusing L1 in EFL classrooms As Kavari (2014) said that overusing L1 is equal to using the target language less, as a result, the learners would feel dependent on their L1 They would wait for their teacher to translate into their L1 instead of trying to catch the meaning in English Then they might form a habit of learning passively

The L1 interference may have negative impact on their communicative competence in the target language On the one hand, Dujmović (2014) also said that the use of L1 will make learners become dependent on it On the other hand, this author said that learners will not even try to understand the meaning from context and explanation; or they will not try to express their ideas within their limited knowledge

of the target language These two important skills are clearly needed to be practiced regularly by learners of language Because when they use language to communicate in real situations, they must understand what the others say depending on the context, and they try to use all that they have known to express what they want to say

It has been believed that learners acquire a foreign language following the same path as they acquire their mother tongue, which does not need the interference of another language For example there is a method called Total Physical Response which imitates the process a baby acquires its mother tongue So the use of L1 in EFL classrooms must be discouraged Voicu (2012) listed four reasons which indicated that using L1 has negative effects on learning a foreign language The first was that the use

of L1 may become a habit for both teachers and students Whenever they encounter a difficulty, they think about their L1 The second was that L1 may be misleading in learning the target language The third was that it may cause errors due to the L1

transfer And the last was that using L1 may hinder provision of comprehensible input Once L1 is used in FL classrooms, it may be used again and again Then both teachers and learners might depend on their L1 to acquire L2, which may mislead them Mirza, Mahmud, & Jabbar (2012) also said that L1 should not be used in EFL/ESL context because it may cause over dependency on L1, and it may mislead learning due to the differences between L1 and L2 Therefore, learners’ L1 should not interfere into L2 learning process due to its negative effects

The differences in the two languages may be a trap for both teachers and learners especially when they try to translate L1 into L2 or vice versa Jadallah & Hasan (2010) said that the use of L1 may be misleading sometimes because of the differences existing between the L1 and the target language So when L1 is used, errors may occur due to wrong translation For example, some Vietnamese learners usually use ‘The present continuous tense’ in English without “be” It is because in Vietnamese language, there is not what is so-called ‘auxiliary’, and there is only one form for any continuous tenses Therefore, depending on their mother tongue, they cannot feel the presence of ‘be’ in English Using L1 in translation may not be reliable

to teach and learn a second language

It is suggested that the use of L1 in FL classrooms should be reduced as much as possible, or even prohibited, because people thought that learners should be exposed

to the maximum target language input Even with CLT, the favorite method using in some language centers, using L1 would also impede L2 acquisition although L1 is accepted to be used at the right time It is the L1 interference that is responsible for learners’ mistakes in the process of learning a foreign language Jan, Li, & Lin (2014) said that there is very little (if any) a learner can get from using L1 in the CLT class Using L1 should be avoided so that the learners have more chances to be exposed to the target language

Using too much L1 in FL classrooms can be blamed for making learners become low proficient Jan, Li, & Lin (2014) said that some high-ranking administrators believed that the teachers’ over-reliance on the use of L1 in teaching English was one

of the key reasons for learners’ low proficiency in English It is because these learners

misunderstand that there are always equivalent words and structures between the two languages Indeed, Kavaliauskienė (2009) said that using too much L1 in the classroom may make students think that there are always words and structures in English which have L1 correspondences, which does not always exist For example, if

we translate all the words into L1 whenever we teach English vocabulary, our students will ask for L1 equivalence when we teach vocabulary without the presence of L1 Some students will wait for their teachers to give them a translation of words As a result, chances for learners to be exposed to the target language would be reduced

In general, according to supporters of monolingual approach, L1 should be avoided in EFL teaching on the ground that it hinders learning, and target language should be taught exclusively in the target language The target language should be the only medium of communication in the classroom The two languages, L1 and L2, must be kept separate To sum up, Cook (2001) had three arguments which summarized three reasons for avoiding the L1 use in FL classrooms:

1) The first reason was that FL learning was like the way in which monolingual children acquire their first language, and that learning should be based on the characteristics of L1 acquisition

2) The second reason was that L2 acquisition must depend on keeping the L2 separate from the L1 because the two languages form different system in the mind, rather than compound bilingualism

3) The third reason was that the teacher could maximize the provision of useful examples in L2 by avoiding the L1 use Because learners need to encounter the target language in order to learn it, it is the teacher’s responsibility to provide learners with samples of L2

From these three basic reasons, it can be said that L1 has a negative role on L2 learning, and it should be neglected or restrictively used in FL classrooms However, despite its negative effects, L1 has been used by teachers and learners in FL classrooms for one reason or another It seems that in some situations or sometime, these disadvantages can be accepted or overcome There could be a harmonization of using L1 in teaching L2 Maybe the positive attitude towards the use of L1 is that the

mother language can be seen as a useful element in assisting L2 learners rather than something that needs to be shunned at all costs (Cook, 2001)

In summary, the use of L1 in FL classrooms has some negative effects as in table 2.2.3 below

Table 2.2.3: Negative roles of L1 in FL classrooms

No Negative roles of L1 Authors

1 L1 use makes learners think that there are always

equivalent words between the two languages

Kavaliauskienė (2009)

(2012); Jadallah, & Hasan (2010)

(2012); Kavari (2014)

8 Learners will not try to express their ideas within

their limited knowledge of the target language

Kavari (2014)

mistakes in the progress of learning a foreign

language

Jan, Li, & Lin (2014)

Although using L1 in the classroom has negative effects on teaching and learning English, it should not be banned from the classroom Instead, the limit use of L1 would be more reasonable Overusing L1 surely does harm to the process of acquiring

a second language because it is believed that the best way to master a language is to live in its environment Besides, using too much L1 in the classroom would make it become a place for learning L1, not for learning L2 anymore However, some professionals agreed that there is a relationship between L1 and L2 in learners’ mind, and that L1 is a precious asset which learners bring into the classroom So if it is prohibited, a good chance to exploit the advantages of L1 will be neglected Supporters of monolingual approach believe that the process of learning a second

language should be the same as the process a baby learn its mother tongue, but this cannot be applied for students in the classroom Firstly, a baby lives in the environment of the mother tongue all the time, and it has a need to use the language to communicate with the world Secondly, a student in the classroom has very limited time to learn the target language, and when they go out of the classroom, they use their L1 Using L1 in the classroom has some advantages to some extent, but it would easily form a habit for both teachers and learners Once the habit is formed, it will be overused, which does damage to the students So L1 should be used when it is really necessary in the classroom

in order to understand from 80% to 88.7% of the words in an average text So it can be said that the basic number of words for an average learner is more than two thousand However, she added that the teachers of English have to decide which high-frequency words are in order to give them priority in teaching vocabulary Therefore, a teacher determines not only how to teach vocabulary but also which words need to be taught

For the first question, Schmitt & McCarthy (1997) said that it was difficult to answer it because vocabulary is changing continually with new words and new uses of old words and old words falling into disuse From the viewpoint of frequency, they said although a language uses a large quantity of words, just a small number of words occurs in normal use, and therefore if a learner knows these content words, he or she

is likely to understand a written or spoken text without difficulty Schmitt & McCarthy (1997) added “With a vocabulary size of 2,000 words, a learner knows 80 per cent of the words in a text which means that one word in every five

(approximately two words in every line) are unknown” (pp 9-10) They concluded that a learner needs to know around 3,000 high frequency words of the language, and these are top priorities when teaching vocabulary And they advised that teachers do not need to spend class time teaching low frequency words because these words will

be dealt with after high frequency words are well learnt So it is the teacher’s responsibility to decide which words belongs to high-frequency words that need to be taught first Then depending on the level of the students and the purpose of the lesson, the teacher chooses suitable techniques and necessary words to teach the students

2.3.2 What do teachers need to teach about vocabulary?

When teaching or explaining new vocabulary, it is usually thought that teachers give the meanings of the words and help learners read these words Sometimes the teachers explain the parts of speech and give some examples to demonstrate the meanings Besides teaching those things, teachers of English also need to explain some other things which are related to vocabulary teaching McCarten (2007) listed nine factors which a teacher needs to consider when teaching vocabulary, they are:

1) The meaning(s) of the words

2) Its spoken and written forms

3) What “word parts” it has (e.g., any prefix, suffix, and ‘root’ form)

4) Its grammatical behavior (e.g., its word class, typical grammatical patterns it occurs in)

5) Its collocations

6) Its register (e.g., words have specific meanings in specific contexts.)

7) What associations it has (e.g., words that are similar or opposite in meaning)

8) What connotations it has

9) Its frequency

Besides, Thornbury (2002) said that at the most basic level, when students learn a new word, they need to learn its form and meaning So these are two basic factors which teachers of English should be aware of when they teach new vocabulary But the question is the sequence of presentation the two factors The question is the form

is presented first and the meaning is presented later, or vice versa Thornbury (2002) said that the two approaches are valid because presenting the meaning first will create

a need for the form, and presenting the form first is suitable in some contexts in which the learners look up the meaning for themselves

In general, teaching vocabulary is to find out systematic ways of helping learners with vocabulary learning According to Scrivener (2011), it is to help learners with the four stages of learning lexis: (1) Meeting new lexical items and understanding them and their use; (2) Practicing using them; (3) Memorizing them; and (4) Recalling and using them Scrivener (2011) also added that our job (vocabulary teaching) does not finish as soon as learners have first met some new words, but teachers have to help learners practice, learn, store, recall and use those words So teaching vocabulary does not mean introducing the words to the students It does not stop after the teacher gives

a meaning to the students but the teacher must ensure that the students understand the words well, and then they can use it and remember it for later use

2.3.3 Techniques for vocabulary teaching

There is a wide variety of ways or techniques for teaching vocabulary but it is clear that no way is the best choice for all teaching situations Schmitt (2008) said there is no ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to teach vocabulary because it depends on the type of learners, the words, the school system and curriculum, and many other factors In general, there are two basic ways of teaching new vocabulary: direct way and indirect way The former is also called ‘explicit’ way – using equivalent translation; the latter

is also called ‘implicit’ way – exposure to words in real contexts (Carter & Nunan, 2001) In particular, there are several ways or techniques for teaching vocabulary through teaching history The following glimpse of vocabulary teaching methods indicates the diversity

Traditionally, teachers explain the meaning of the words first, and then they let the students practice using those words Scrivener (2011) said that the most common technique may involve a presentation-practice route which has two stages of teaching: present and practice At the former stage, teachers offer some cues, pictures or information about the words and elicit those words from learners Teachers must be

sure that learners have understood how the words are formed, what they mean and how they are used At the latter stage, teachers get learners to practice by repeating the words or using the words in dialogues, etc This technique of teaching new words is like traditional way which was used by many teachers Words are taught or explained first so that learners could understand well all related details, and then practice takes place to be sure that learners can use the words in their real life

Doff (1988) raised some techniques for teaching vocabulary, some of which do not allow teachers to use learners’ L1 such as teachers say the word clearly and write

it on the board, teachers get the class to repeat the word in chorus, teachers draw a picture to demonstrate the meaning, teachers give a English example to show how that word is used in the target language, and teachers ask questions using the new word From these techniques, we can see that the students’ L1 is not used Besides those techniques, he also suggested two other techniques which allow using the learner’s L1 The first is that teachers translate the word into the students’ own language; and the second is that teachers ask the students to translate the word by themselves In the last two techniques, the L1 is used by both teacher and students

Harmer (1991) also suggested some techniques of presenting new vocabulary They are realia; pictures; mime, action and gesture; contrast; enumeration; explanation; and translation It can be seen that in the last technique he proposed translation – it is the use of learners’ mother tongue Translation was mentioned as the last choice maybe because it has some limits Harmer (1991) said that translation is a quick and easy way to teach the meanings of new words, but this technique has two problems Firstly, it is not always easy to translate every word because there are not always equivalent words in two languages Secondly, translation prevents learners from interacting with the words they are learning

The terms mentioned by Harmer (1991) have the following meanings ‘Realia’ means teachers bring the things they want to present into the classroom Whenever the teacher wants to teach the word, he or she just holds up the object, or points to it, and says the word ‘Pictures’ means teachers use pictures to explain the meaning They can draw pictures on the board or they can bring pictures into the classroom Harmer