The effects of using collocations in teaching english vocabulary for 11th – grade students at son tay high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  HOÀNG THỊ DUNG THE EFFECTS OF USING COLLOCATIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR 11TH-GRADE STUDENTS AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL Ảnh hưởng việc sử dụng kết hợp từ tiếng Anh đến việc học từ vựng học sinh lớp 11 trường THPT Sơn Tây M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI - 2016 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES  HOÀNG THỊ DUNG THE EFFECTS OF USING COLLOCATIONS IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR 11TH-GRADE STUDENTS AT SON TAY HIGH SCHOOL Ảnh hưởng việc sử dụng kết hợp từ tiếng Anh đến việc học từ vựng học sinh lớp 11 trường THPT Sơn Tây M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Prof Dr Nguyễn Quang HANOI - 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “The effects of using collocations in teaching English vocabulary for 11th-grade students at Son Tay high school” is entirely the result of my own work The material in this thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library The research reported in this thesis was approved by ULIS Signed: Date submitted: Hanoi, …./……/2016 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge and thank my supervisor, Prof Dr Nguyen Quang for his valuable guidance, critical feedback and enormous encouragement, without which my thesis would be far from completion I am also grateful to all the lectures of the Graduate Department, University of Languages and International Studies for their guidance and enthusiasm during my course My sincere thanks go to all English teachers and 11th – grade students at Son Tay High school Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends who are willing to help me during the course In particular, I find myself indebted to my family, especially my husband, for their love, care and tolerance when I was in the process of conducting and writing this thesis ii ABSTRACT This paper reports a quasi - experimental research that aimed to address the impacts of collocation teaching on grade 11 students‟ vocabulary improvements Data for the study including two proficiency tests and a follow-up questionnaire were collected from 92 students at Son Tay High school In this study, 46 students who followed the conventional vocabulary teaching methods belong to control group, and 46 others participated in experimental group in which they are exposed to different strategies related to collocation learning The scores taken from the two tests were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) for Windows version 20.0 software package The results show that English collocation teaching has improved the students‟ vocabulary learning The findings from the questionnaire indicate that students also have positive attitude towards the new vocabulary teaching method They have become well aware of the collocations‟ importance in language learning And they have also developed the habit of learning collocations independently outside the classroom The findings from the tests and the questionnaire support each other to affirm the undeniable positive effects of the collocation teaching Recommendations for students‟ English vocabulary improvements and suggestions for further studies are provided on the basis of the research findings as well iii TABLES OF CONTENTS Statement of authorship…………………………………………………………………i Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………….….ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………….…… iii Tables of contents…………………………………………………………………… iv Lists of Abbreviations…………………………………………………………………vii Lists of Tables, Figures…………………………………………………… ……… viii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale……………………………………… ………………………………1 Aims of the study……………………………………………………………… 3 Research questions………………………………………………………………3 Scope of the study……………………………………… …………………… Significance of the study ……………………………………………………… Organization of the study……………………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 The role and the importance of vocabulary in ELT………………… …… …6 1.2 Collocation …………………………………………………………………… 1.2.1 Definition of collocation……………………………………… ………………7 1.2.2 Classification of collocation……………………………………… ……….… 1.3 Collocation in teaching vocabulary…………………………………………….13 1.3.1 The importance of using collocation in ELT ……………………………….…13 1.3.2 Directions for teaching collocations in English vocabulary ………………… 14 1.3.2.1 Raising the students‟ awareness of the importance of collocations ……….14 1.3.2.2 Making students be well aware of collocations ……………………………14 iv 1.3.2.3 Teaching collocations through exercises ………………………………… 16 1.3.2.4 Teaching collocations through context …………………………………….16 1.3.2.5 Storing collocations ……………………………………………………… 16 1.4 Previous studies……………………………………………………………… 17 1.5 Summary …………………………………………………………………… 18 CHAPTER 2: THE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research method………………………………………………………………….19 2.2 Context of the research………………………………………………… ……….20 2.3 The study……………………………………… ……………………………… 20 2.3.1 Participants……………………………………… ……………………………20 2.3.2 Data collection instruments……………………………………………….…….22 2.3.2.1 Pretest and Posttest……………………………………………………………22 2.3.2.2 Survey questionnaire……………………………………… ……………… 23 2.4 Procedure ……………………………………… ………………………………24 2.4.1 The pre implementation phase………………………………………………….25 2.4.2 The implementation phase……………………………………… ……………26 2.4.3 The post implementation phase……………………………………… ……….30 2.5 Summary……………………………………… ……………………………… 30 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Results……………………………………… ………………………………… 31 3.1.1 Results of Pre-tests……………………………………… ……………………31 3.1.2 Results of the effects of collocation teaching on students‟ English vocabulary learning……………………………………… ………………………………………32 3.1.3 Results of questionnaire (Students‟ attitude towards collocation teaching)………… ……………………………………… …………………….… 36 v 3.2 Discussion……………………………………… ………………………………39 3.2.1 Vocabulary gains as resulting from collocation teaching………………………39 3.2.2 Students‟ attitude towards collocation teaching…………………………… …40 3.3 Summary………………………………………………… …………………… 42 PART C: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Recapitulation……………………………………… …………………………….43 Recommendations ………….……………………………………… …………….44 Limitations of the research……………………………………… ……….……….45 Suggestions for further study……………………………………… ……….…….46 REFERENCES APPENDIX 1: Test scores APPENDIX 2: Vocabulary Pre-test APPENDIX 3: Vocabulary Post-test APPENDIX 4: Key to the vocabulary Pre-test APPENDIX 5: Key to the vocabulary Post-test APPENDIX 6: Survey Questionnaire APPENDIX 7: Survey Questionnaire (Vietnamese version) vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1 Mother tongue L2 Foreign language EFL English as Foreign Language ESL English as Second Language M Means N Number of Cases or Subjects of the study p Probability of chance (indicator of significance) Std Deviation Standard Deviation SPSS Statistic Package for Social Science t Obtained Value df Degree of Freedom vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.1 Lexical Collocations Adopted from Benson et al (1986a) Table 1.2 Grammatical Collocations Adopted from Benson et al (1986a) Table 1.3 Grammatical collocations in G8 group Adopted from Benson et al (1986a) Table 2.1 The main tasks for three implementation phases Table 3.1 Descriptive statistics for pretest of the Experimental group and Control group Table 3.2 Independent Samples T-test of pre-tests Table 3.3 Results of descriptive statistics of the CG and EG in Pre-test and Post-test Table 3.4 Result of independent samples t-test of mean gains of the Experimental group and Control group after the treatment Table 3.5 Results of questionnaire on the students „attitude towards collocation teaching Allocation of gains by Control group and Experimental group Figure 3.1 after the treatment viii APPENDIX VOCABULARY PRE-TEST (Time allowance: 45 minutes) Part I: Choose one word that best completes the sentences (10 points) The city‟s road system is of handling the current volume of traffic A helpless B impossible C incapable D unable No relationship can last which is all give on one side and all take on the other A long B far C distant D wide If you not promise to _ a secret, I will never tell you what he did to me A keep B maintain C guard D hold I don‟t think they‟ve got much in with their neighbours They are too different A general B common C the same D relation Jane antique collecting when she was young She now owns an antique shop A get out B went on C take up with D took up She‟s getting of going into that office every day She hates her boss A tired B bored C sick D boring Mary and Daisy _ an apartment in the city center They are roommates A locate B stay C live D share I got the bus and sat down next to a schoolboy about my age A off B in C on D at Your mother will a fuss if she knows you fail the entrance exam A B make C have D get 10 The police _ no attention to Clare‟s complaint because she phoned them so many times before.pay (no) attention to st/sb A take B have C pay D fall III Part II: Make five collocations by matching a word from the box on the left with a word or phrase from the box on the right (5 points) ethnic illiteracy remote farming family a techniques b eradication c areas d minority people e planning Part III: Write C for the correct underlined collocations, I for incorrect ones and then correct them (5 points) In completion of each activity, you will have to answer the questions to explain your choices …………………………………………………………………………………… Mary is quite a shy person and finds it hard to take friends …………………………………………………………………………………… Each student will be given a set of CDs for studying English songs …………………………………………………………………………………… Time‟s over! Stop writing and give all your answer sheet to the monitor! …………………………………………………………………………………… According to the survey, out of 10 Vietnamese adults own at least one cell phone at present …………………………………………………………………………………… Part IV: Choose the most appropriate word in the box to fill in the blank (10 points) Mow, difficulties, accused of, wad, lifelong, loyal, struggle, spend, popularity, tie Without John‟s help, our family can hardly overcome the financial _ My boyfriend usually helps my father the lawns in the front garden The number of local residents in this area are growing in A group of men are _ stealing more than $4,300 worth of cigarettes from area grocery stores He ties one of the rope to his bed and throws the other _out of the window Inside the boy‟s bag, I saw a of dollar notes exactly like the ones my father had given me A friendship is a treasure gift that everybody should respect I hope that more people can participate in the _ against illiteracy IV We all know that dogs are always to its owner 10 Remember to _ time talking to your children! Part V: Translate the underlined Vietnamese phrases into English (10points) Cô thổi nến cắm bánh sau người hát “Chúc mừng sinh nhật” cô She on the cake after people sing “Happy Birthday” to her Tại cô định cưới trẻ? Why did she decide to when she was too young? Phòng bừa bãi Dọn dẹp đi! Your bedroom is in a mess it right now! Bạn lúc hi vọng để có lời khun hữu ích You can‟t always him for useful advice Công ty gặp rắc rối tài quản lý yếu Our company is _ financially because of poor management Bữa tiệc kết thúc vào lúc 10 30 phút The party _ at about 10.30 p.m Tôi mong gặp bạn sớm tốt I seeing you as soon as possible Ai chăm sóc Lisa cô công tác When Lisa goes on business, who will _ her children? Gia đình tơi thường siêu thị mua sắm vào cuối tuần My family usually _ in the supermarket at the weekends 10 Nếu cuối tuần không mưa, dạo Let‟s if it doesn‟t rain at the weekend THE END V APPENDIX VOCABULARY POST-TEST (Time allowance: 45 minutes) Part I: Choose one word that best completes the sentences (10 points) When you go to university, you will _a lot of new friends A find B make C D take The President has a trip to Europe for the _of negotiating a peace deal A goal B purpose C intent D aim I hope you make full of your time to review lessons for the entrance exam to university A use B utility C advantage D the best A daughter giving her mother a _ of red roses for Mother's Day means that she loves and admires her mother so much A bunch B branch C bush D mass The campaign aims to the awareness of the dangers of passive smoking A upgrade B raise C strengthen D intensify The last fifty years of this century has seen a steep decline in the birth _ and the considerable increase in the death A proportion B percentage C rate D ratio The keyboard I use on my computer is made plastic A of B from C by D in The president has promised to limit the of the army A scale B area C dimension D size In the Asian Games, all the athletes from all over Asia gather _to compete A each other B one another C with D together 10 Vietnamese people usually a big to welcome a New Year A clean-up B tidy C order D wash-up VI Part II: Make five collocations by matching a verb from the box on the left with a word from the box on the right (5 points) take make get become raise a extinct b place c animals d progress e wet Part III: Write C for the correct underlined collocations, I for incorrect ones and then correct them (5 points) Please fill in the following form to subscribe with our journal! …………………………………………………………………………………… Police are investigating an accident that resulted from the death of two passengers …………………………………………………………………………………… He can at least make an effort to improve his studying …………………………………………………………………………………… The author assumes that his readers are accustomed with certain basic concepts …………………………………………………………………………………… We want to hear the opinions of a variety of people …………………………………………………………………………………… Part IV: Choose the most appropriate word in the box to fill in the blank (10 points) consists, lack, race, developing, ward off, living, cut down on, amount, source of, pollute The Tet tree is popular in order to attract good spirits and evil ones We cannot imagine what will happen if humans continue to _ the air Water _ of hydrogen and oxygen VII A large _ of expenditure for education have been taken from the national budget These traffic infrastructure improvements will traffic jam People must develop and use alternative energy such as the sun, water, the wind, etc Poor _ conditions lead to spreading of infectious diseases Children in _ countries not develop in adequate conditions due to the _of hospitals and schools Human has to take responsibility for the serious environment polution nowadays Part V: Translate the underlined Vietnamese phrases into English (10points) Giám khảo công bố điểm tổng đội vào cuối thi the competition, the judges will announce the total score of each team Tôi không chán việc nói chuyện lịch sử Hà Nội I never _with talking about Hanoi‟s history Để bắt đầu năm mới, người thường đến chùa để cầu mong bình an may mắn To start a new year, people usually go to pagoda to peace and luck Cơ thích ăn mặc lịch để dự tiệc She like to for a party Sự bùng nổ dân số giới dẫn đến thiếu hụt lương thực nước The world‟s _results in the of food and fresh water Anh nói tham gia bữa tiệc, cuối anh khơng có mặt He said that he would take part in the party, but he didn‟t Điện hạt nhân thủy điện chiếm lượng tiêu thụ lượng lớn năm 2005 Nuclear and Hydroelectricity the largest amount of energy consumpption in 2005 Các nhà khoa học đưa hàng danh sách động vật gặp nguy hiểm phương pháp để cứu chúng VIII Scientists have made a lists of species and suggested ways to save them Họ mặc trang phục truyền thống vào để tham gia vào lễ hội They _ the traditional clothes to participate in the festival THE END _ APPENDIX KEY TO THE VOCABULARY PRE-TEST Part I: Choose one word that best completes the sentences (10 points) C A A B D A D B B 10 C Part II: Make ten collocations by matching a word from the box on the left with a word or phrase from the box on the right (5 points) d Ethnic minority people b Illiteracy eradication c Remote area a farming techniques e family planning Part III: Write C for the correct underlined collocations, I for incorrect ones and then correct them (5 points) I/ on competion of I/ make friends C I/ Time‟s up! C Part IV: Choose the most appropriate word in the box to fill in the blank (10 points) difficulties mow wad lifelong popularity struggle accused of end loyal 10 Spend Part V: Translate the underlined Vietnamese phrases into English (10points) blows out the candles get married tidy up comes to an end look forward to Ving/st take care of IX count on shopping getting into trouble 10 go for a walk APPENDIX VOCABULARY POST-TEST (Time allowance: 45 minutes) Part I: Choose one word that best completes the sentences (10 points) 1.B B 3.A A B C 7.A D D 10 A Part II: Make five collocations by matching a verb from the box on the left with a word from the box on the right (5 points) b d e a c Part III: Underline the correct collocation (5 points) I/ subscribe to I/ resulted in C I/ familiar with C Part IV: Choose the most appropriate word in the box to fill in the blank (10 points) ward off amount living pollute cut down on developing/ lack (shortage) consists source of being (race) Part V: Translate the underlined Vietnamese phrases into English (10points) at the end of the competition get bored (fed up) pray for dress up population explosion/ shortage turn up made up endangered put on _ APPENDIX X SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into the effects of using collocation in teaching vocabulary Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your corporation! ******************************************************************* ** In the following table, you will find statements about your attitudes towards learning English vocabulary through collocation Strongly agree: Agree: Neither agree nor disagree: Disagree: Strongly disagree: Please put a tick  on the answer that applies to you No Statements The teaching of general knowledge of collocation raised my awareness of collocation‟s importance I found that collocation learning supports very efficiently learning other English skills I found learning vocabulary through collocation helped me enlarge my vocabulary more quickly than other vocabulary learning methods Collocation learning helped me reinforce grammar knowledge XI Learning vocabulary through collocation helped me know how to put my vocabulary into practice The collocation exercises and activities were more varied and interesting compared with the activities in textbook Activities to revise collocations helped me get the better retention of English vocabulary in comparison with other traditional methods After taught learning vocabulary through collocation, I always tried to learn vocabulary in collocation rather than in individual words That teacher instructed me how to store and revise collocations independently helped me remember more vocabularies than only learning in class 10 If teaching collocation is frequently maintained, my competence in using English will be much improved Thank you very much! XII APPENDIX PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA (Bản tiếng Việt) Phiếu điều tra dùng để thu thập ý kiến việc liệu việc dạy từ vựng cách kết hợp từ mười tuần qua có mang lại thay đổi việc học Tiếng Anh hay không Các câu trả lời em sử dụng hồn tồn cho mục đích nghiên cứu Rất mong hợp tác em! ******************************************************************* Trong bảng sau chứa ý kiến thái độ quan điểm em việc học từ vựng cách kết hợp từ Hoàn toàn đồng ý: Đồng ý: Không đồng ý hay phản đối: Không đồng ý: Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý: Viết kí hiệu  vào phù hợp No Statements Việc dạy hiểu biết chung kết hợp từ làm tăng nhận thức em tầm quan trọng kết hợp từ Em cảm thấy việc học từ vựng cách kết hợp từ hỗ trợ hiệu cho việc học kỹ khác môn tiếng Anh XIII 3 Em cảm thấy việc dạy từ vựng cách kết hợp từ giúp em nhanh chóng mở rộng vốn từ vựng Em thích học từ vựng cách kết hợp từ giúp em tăng cường kiến thức ngữ pháp Việc dạy kết hợp từ giúp em biết cách để vận dụng từ Em thích tập hoạt động thiết kế sử dụng kết hợp từ chúng đa dạng thú vị hoạt động sách giáo khoa Học từ vựng kết hợp từ giúp em nhớ từ lâu so với phương pháp truyền thống khác Sau dạy cách học từ vựng thông qua kết hợp từ, em cố gắng học từ cách kết hợp từ lại với thay học từ riêng biệt Việc giáo viên hướng dẫn em cách tự ghi chép lại ơn tập kết hợp từ giúp em nhớ từ nhiều so với việc học từ lớp 10 Nếu việc dạy kết hợp từ trì thường xuyên, khả sử dụng tiếng Anh em cải thiện Xin chân thành cảm ơn em! _ XIV APPENDIX : HANDOUTS FOR STUDENTS COLLOCATIONS I Definition: In Oxford Collocations Dictionary (2002), collocation is defined as “the way words combine in a language to produce natural-sounding speech and writing” II Classification: Collocations are classified into main kinds: lexical collocations and grammatical collocations (Benson, 1986a)  Lexical collocation: nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs…  Grammatical collocation: a dominant word, such as a noun, an adjective, or a verb, and a preposition or grammatical structure like an infinitive or a clause Table Lexical Collocations Pattern verb (meaning creation or activation)+ noun (pronoun or prep phrase) verb (meaning eradication or nullification)+ noun Type A B adjective + noun C strong tea; a rough estimate bees buzz; bombs explode noun + verb D noun1 of noun2 E adjective + adverb/ adverb + adjective F verb + adverb G Type G1 G2 G3 Example compose music; make an impression revoke a license; demolish a house a pack of dogs; a herd of buffalo; a herd of buffalo sound asleep; hopelessly addicted anchor firmly; argue heatedly Table Grammatical Collocations Pattern Example noun + preposition love for noun + to inf They made an attempt to it noun + that clause An agreement that she would represent us in court XV G4 G5 G6 G7 G8 Type G8 (1) G8 (2) G8 (3) G8 (4) G8 (5) G8 (6) G8 (7) G8 (8) G8 (9) G8 (10) G8 (11) G8 (12) G8 (13) G8 (14) G8 (15) preposition + noun; adjective + preposition predicate adjective +to inf adjective + that clause By accident, to somebody‟s advantage Fond of; angry at She is easy to please She was afraid that she would fail the examination 19 verbal patterns of English Table Grammatical collocations in G8 Pattern Example S + V + Od to Oi He sent a book to his brother S + V + Oi + Od He sent his brother a book S + V + Od to Oi They returned the book to her (do not allow the dative movement transformation) S + V + Od for Oi She bought a shirt for her husband S + V + Oi + Od She bought her husband a shirt S + V + Prep + O He came by train S + V + O + Prep + O We invited them to the meeting S + V to V They began to speak S + modal V + V S + V + Ving He had better go He must go They enjoy watching television S + V + O to V She asks me to come S + V + O + bare V She heard them leave S + V + O + Ving I caught them stealing apples S + V possessive Adj + Ving S + V (+ O) + that clause We noticed his leaving early They admitted that they were wrong S + V + O to be C We consider her to be very capable S+V+O+C She dyed her hair red S+V+O+O We bet her ten pounds XVI S + V (+ O) + Adverb He carried himself well S + V (+ O) + wh-word He wants what I want G8 (18) It + V + O to V It + V + O + that clause G8 (19) S + V + C (adjective or noun) It surprised me to learn of her decision It surprised me that our offer was rejected She was enthusiastic The flowers smell nice G8 (16) G8 (17) XVII ... does using collocations in teaching English vocabulary affect students learning of new words at grade 11 at Son Tay high school? (2) What are students' attitudes towards teaching collocations? ... aware of what they should to improve their teaching performance in class, and students gain more insight into the importance of collocations Organization of the study The thesis consists of five... collocation method is suitable to the Vietnamese context Therefore, she decided to fill in the gap by studying on the effects of using collocation in teaching vocabulary for students at a school in