Sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy để giúp sinh viên ở Trường Trung cấp Nông Lâm Thanh Hóa tái sử dụng từ vựng

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ********* LƯU VĂN HẬU USING MIND MAPPING TO HELP STUDENTS AT THANH HOA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY RECYCLE VOCABULARY (SỬ DỤNG SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỂ GIÚP SINH VIÊN Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP NƠNG LÂM THANH HĨA TÁI SỬ DỤNG TỪ VỰNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HANOI – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ********* LƯU VĂN HẬU USING MIND MAPPING TO HELP STUDENTS AT THANH HOA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY RECYCLE VOCABULARY (SỬ DỤNG SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỂ GIÚP SINH VIÊN Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP NƠNG LÂM THANH HĨA TÁI SỬ DỤNG TỪ VỰNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Đỗ Bá Quí, MEd HANOI – 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration.…………………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………… ii Abstract………………………………………………………………………… iii Table of contents………………………….…………………………………… iv Abbriviations………………………………………………………………… vii List of table and charts…………………………………………………… … viii Part A: INTRODUCTION …………………………………………….… 1 Rationale of the study …………………………………………….………… 2 Aims and objectives of the study…………………………………………… Research questions………………………………………………………… Scope of the study…………………………………………………………… Methods of the study ……………………………… ……………………… Design of the study…………………………….…………………………… Part B: DEVELOPMENT………………….……………………………… Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ………………….…… ………… 1.1 Mind mapping……………….………………… …………………….… 1.1.1 Definition of mind mapping……………….………… ………….…… 1.1.2 Characteristics of mind mapping…………….……………………….… 1.2 The Birth of mind mapping………………………….…….…………… 1.3 How to create mind mapping……………….…………….….….……… 1.3.1 Steps to create mind mapping……………….…………………… …… 1.3.2 The three A‟s of mind mapping………………………….…… ….…… 10 1.3.3 Mind map laws……………….………………….……………………… 11 1.3.3.1 The laws of technique……………….………………….… ………… 11 1.3.3.2 The laws of layout ……………….………………….…… ………… 14 1.4 The application of mind mapping in some aspects…………….……… 14 1.4.1 The application of mind mapping in teaching foreign language…… … 14 iv 1.4.2 The application of mind mapping in teaching English vocabulary …… 17 1.4.3 The application of mind mapping in self-analysis…………….…… … 19 1.5 Summary………… ………………………………….………………… 21 CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY ………….………………….…………… …… 22 2.1 A brief introduction to THCAF and the teaching and learning of ……………………………………………………………………… 22 2.1.1 The college……………….…………………….………………….…… 22 2.1.2 The teachers of English……………….………………….……….…… 22 2.1.3 The students……………….…………………….………………….…… 23 2.1.4 The course-book “Lifelines - Elementary” …………….……….……… 23 2.2 Methods of the Study………………………………………… ………… 24 English 2.2.1 Piloting the application of MM strategies in helping students at THCAF recycle vocabulary – Using “Lifelines-Elementary”……………… ………… 24 2.2.1.1 Three chosen parts in the course-book “Lifelines - Elementary” …… 25 2.2.1.2 Class procedures………………………………….…………… …… 25 2.2.1.3 Participants………….……………………………………….… …… 28 2.2.1.4 Data collection instruments………….….………………….………… 28 2.2.1.4.1 Questionnaires……………… ………………….………………… 28 2.2.1.4.2 Interviews……………….……………… …………………….…… 29 2.2.1.5 Data analysis procedures……….…….………………….…………… 29 2.3 Summary……………………………………………………….………… 30 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS ……… ………… 31 3.1 Student Questionnaire………… …….………………….……………… 31 3.1.1 The students‟ opinions about applying MM to recycle vocabulary… 31 3.1.2 Students‟ feedbacks on the use of MM in recycling vocabulary…… … 32 3.1.3 Would you like to recycle vocabulary with MM any longer? 33 3.1.4 Students‟ opinions about advantages, difficulties when using MM to recycle vocabulary and their suggestions ….………….…………….………… 33 3.2 Interviews ….…………….…………….…………….…….….……….… 34 v 3.3 Summary ………………………………………………………………… 34 Part C: CONCLUSION……………….………………….………………… 35 Conclusions……………….…………………….………….……….……… 35 Limitations of the study……………….………………….….……………… 35 Suggestions for further study………………………………….…………… 35 3.1 To the teachers of English….…………………….….…………………… 36 3.2 To the students ….…………………….….………………….….………… 36 References….…………………….….…………………….……….………… 37 Appendices….…………………….….………………….….…………… … I vi ABBRIVIATIONS MM: Mind mapping THCAF: Thanh Hoa College of Agriculture and Forestry BOIs: Basic Ordering Ideas vii LIST OF TABLE AND CHARTS Page Table Table 1: Question and in questionnaires and students‟ answers… ………… 31 Charts Chart 1: Students‟ interests with the application of MM……………………… 32 Chart 2: Would you like to recycle vocabulary with MM any longer? ……… 33 viii Part A: INTRODUCTION This part includes rationale of the study, aims and objectives of the study, research questions, scope of the study, methods of the study and design of the study Rationale of the study To satisfy the social demand for English competence, more and more people are learning English nowadays and in many colleges or universities English has been chosen as one of the basic compulsory subjects English learners at colleges or universities have a diverse background of English because they come from different provinces in Vietnam Vocabulary is an important element in second language acquisition By learning new words, learners can enhance their listening, speaking, reading and writing as well as improve comprehension and production in second language Wilkins (1972) emphasizes the importance of vocabulary as “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” Although students‟ English level is not homogenous, they have a common difficulty in recycling English vocabulary Indeed, many students not have the habits of recording their vocabulary in the same place and not know how to organize them effectively Unfortunately, their English teachers not pay sufficient attention to teaching them strategies to organize vocabulary for the belief that it is the duty of the students at home As organizing to recycle vocabulary is one of the main problems faced by Vietnamese learners of English, each teacher should find effective methods of organizing vocabulary and introduce them to students Moreover, which method should be introduced to students is really a challenge for English teachers at Colleges? Nowadays, there are a number of vocabulary organizing methods in which teachers can teach students to store vocabulary and develop their own strategies to remember vocabulary Mind mapping is believed to be one of the techniques or activities which can be used in recycling vocabulary effectively For all the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to choose Using mind mapping (MM) to help students at Thanh Hoa college of Agriculture and Forestry (THCAF) recycle vocabulary as my topic of my MA thesis Aims and objectives of the study The first purpose of this study is to involve a review on the notion of MM and its applications to teaching a foreign language in teaching English vocabulary The second purpose is to involve a mini-experiment in which I exploit the insights of MM to help students at THCAF recycle vocabulary effectively, using the course-book the college is currently using; then in order to get to know how effective MM is to recycle vocabulary, a small research is conducted to obtain the opinions from the students at THCAF Research questions In order to address the aims of the study, the following research questions are raised for exploration: What are the applications of MM to teach English vocabulary? How is MM used to help students at THCAF recycle vocabulary effectively? Scope of the study Given in the aims set in and the research questions raised above for exploration in 3, the study cannot cover all aspects of vocabulary learning vocabulary Through this study, I would like to apply for students at THCAF in the framework of the thesis, I would focus on the way to apply Mind Mapping in recycling English vocabulary Methods of the study In order to achieve the aims mentioned above, the study was limited to only the first year non-major students of THCAF These 60 students belong to two classes (CN52A1 and TT52A1) First, MM was applied in the existing classes, and then students were given questionnaires that they can write down their ideas about this new teaching method Interviews with the students were conducted to get more information to support the study The data were recorded both formally and informally Design of the study This study is divided as follows: Part A: Introduction In this part, I would like to give out the rationale and the aims and objectives, the research questions, the scope, the methods and the organization to this thesis Part B: Development Chapter 1: Literature Review This chapter focuses on some basic knowledge of MM in general and MM in teaching vocabulary in particular Chapter 2: The Study describes the method based on study carried out with the description of participants, data collection instruments, data collection procedures and analysis procedures It also gives a brief introduction to THCAF and teaching and learning English, English teachers, students and the course-book (LifelineElementary) that the college is currently using Besides, in this chapter, it attempts to describe in detail three places where vocabulary is recycled for the students at THCAF, using the course-book “Lifelines- Elementary” Chapter 3: Data Analysis and Findings arrive at a preliminary confirmation about the effectiveness of MM in helping students recycle vocabulary; a questionnaire is designed to obtain students‟ opinions When there is some doubt about the results of the questionnaire, an informal interview is conducted Part C: Conclusion In this chapter, I would like to give an overview of what have been said in the paper as well as some of my own comments I II III IV V VI APPENDIX 7: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (ENGLISH) This questionnaire consists of questions Hi, students in THCAF I‟m studying the title “Using mind mapping to help students at Thanh Hoa college of Agriculture and Forestry recycle vocabulary” To get more information for my thesis, I need your co-operation to complete this questionnaire Your personal information will be secret Full name:………………………………… Class:……………………………… Writing information in the blank by ticking  In some questions, more than one answer can be chosen How many years have you learnt English? A Never B Less than years C 3-5 years D Over years In your opinion, recycling vocabulary is…… A Very easy B Easy C Normal D Difficult E Very difficult How you feel about using mind-mapping (MM) in recycling vocabulary? A Boring B Normal C interesting D very interesting Would you like to recycle vocabulary with MM any longer? A Yes B No In your opinions, what are the advantages when using MM to recycle vocabulary for learners? A Making interests in recycling vocabulary B Memorizing vocabulary what they have leant C Helping learners summarize what they have learnt effectively D Memorizing vocabulary long time E Remembering vocabulary easily and quickly F Other ideas VII What are the difficulties when using MM to recycle vocabulary for learners? A Difficulties in memorizing vocabulary B Using more time and energy C Other ideas What are your suggestions in using MM to recycle vocabulary more interestingly and effectively? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your co-operation! VIII APPENDIX 8: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE) Bản câu hỏi bao gồm câu hỏi BẢN CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO CÁC SINH VIÊN Chào bạn sinh viên trường Trung cấp Nơng Lâm Thanh Hóa, Thầy nghiên cứu đề tài “Sử dụng đồ tư để giúp sinh viên Trường Trung Cấp Nơng Lâm Thanh Hóa tái sử dụng từ vựng” Để thu thập thêm liệu cho nghiên cứu, hợp tác em việc hoàn thành câu hỏi khảo sát thực cần thiết Thông tin cá nhân câu trả lời em giữ kín tuyệt đối Họ tên:……………………………… Lớp:………………………………… Điền thông tin vào ô trống cách đánh dấu  Ở số câu hỏi, em lựa chọn đáp án Em học Tiếng Anh năm? A chưa B năm C 3-5 năm Theo quan điểm em, tái sử dụng từ vựng là… A dễ B dễ C bình thường D khó D năm E khó Em cảm thấy việc sử dụng đồ tư việc tái sử dụng từ vựng nào? A chán B bình thường C thú vị D thú vị Em có thích dùng đồ tư để giúp cho việc tái sử dụng đồ tư khơng? A có B không IX Theo em, ứng dụng đồ tư vào việc tái sử dụng từ vựng mang lại lợi ích cho người học? A Tạo hứng thú cho việc tái sử C Giúp người học tóm tắt lại nội dụng từ vựng dung học cách hiệu B Khơi gợi kiến thức D Nhớ từ thời gian dài học E.Nhớ từ vựng dễ dàng nhanh F Ý kiến khác ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Em thường gặp khó khăn tái sử dụng từ vựng với đồ tư duy? A Khó để nhớ từ B Tốn thêm thời gian lượng C Ý kiến khác ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Em có gợi ý để làm cho việc tái sử dụng từ vựng áp dụng đồ tư thêm thú vị? ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… Cảm ơn hợp tác em! X APPENDIX 9: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTION (ENGLISH) This interview is performed to get information of 15 students about the application of MM to recycle vocabulary The interview is conducted to get more objective and exact opinions and feedbacks about recycling vocabulary with MM The interviews are performed in both Vietnamese and English (depend on students‟ interest) Questions How you feel the recycling vocabulary with Mind mapping? Would you like to recycle vocabulary with Mind mapping any longer? What benefits does using Mind mapping bring to recycle vocabulary? What are the difficulties in recycling vocabulary with Mind mapping? What are your suggestions in the applications of Mind mapping to recycle vocabulary? XI APPENDIX 10: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTION (VIETNAMESE) Buổi vấn thực để lấy ý kiến 15 sinh viên việc sử dụng đồ tư việc tái sử dụng từ vựng Buổi vấn thực để lấy thêm ý kiến phản hồi khách quan xác việc tái sử dụng từ vựng với đồ tư Buổi vấn thực tiếng Việt tiếng Anh (phụ thuộc vào sở thích sinh viên) Câu hỏi Em cảm thấy việc tái sử dụng từ vựng với đồ tư nào? Em có muốn tái sử dụng từ vựng với đồ tư khơng? Những lợi ích mà việc sử dụng đồ tư đem lại việc tái sử dụng từ vựng? Những khó khăn em gặp phải tái sử dụng từ vựng với đồ tư duy? Em có gợi ý việc ứng dụng đồ tư để tái sử dụng từ vựng không? XII Appendix 11 Unit Descriptions (Vocabulary: Describing People) XIII Appendix 12: Unit Places (Vocabulary: Parts of a house) XIV Appendix 13: Unit 12 Health (Vocabulary: Parts of the body) XV ... HELP STUDENTS AT THANH HOA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY RECYCLE VOCABULARY (SỬ DỤNG SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỂ GIÚP SINH VIÊN Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP NƠNG LÂM THANH HĨA TÁI SỬ DỤNG TỪ VỰNG) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME... College THCAF is situated in Dan Quyen commune, Trieu Son district, Thanh Hoa province It is a training institution under Thanh Hoa Service of Agriculture and Rural Development It concludes departments:... the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to choose Using mind mapping (MM) to help students at Thanh Hoa college of Agriculture and Forestry (THCAF) recycle vocabulary as my topic of my MA thesis