Improving english vocabulary learning for students of medical english at a medical college in hanoi through games an action research project

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ OANH IMPROVING ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING FOR STUDENTS OF MEDICAL ENGLISH AT A MEDICAL COLLEGE IN HA NOI THROUGH GAMES: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT NÂNG CAO VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Y CHO HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP Y Ở HÀ NỘI THƠNG QUA TRỊ CHƠI NGƠN NGỮ: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG MINOR THESIS Major : Methodology of teaching English (1) Code : 8140231.01 HÀ NỘI- 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ OANH IMPROVING ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING FOR STUDENTS OF MEDICAL ENGLISH AT A MEDICAL COLLEGE IN HA NOI THROUGH GAMES: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT NÂNG CAO VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Y CHO HỌC SINH TẠI MỘT TRƯỜNG TRUNG CẤP Y Ở HÀ NỘI THƠNG QUA TRỊ CHƠI NGƠN NGỮ: NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG MINOR THESIS Major : Methodology of teaching English (1) Code : 8140231.01 Supervisor : PHẠM LAN ANH.PHD HÀ NỘI- 2019 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT *** -I hereby cetify that this minor thesis entitled IMPROVING ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING FOR STUDENTS OF MEDICAL ENGLISH AT A MEDICAL COLLEGE IN HA NOI THROUGH GAMES: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT is completely the result of my own work for the Degree of Master at University of Language and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other university or institution i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the course of fulfilling my thesis I have owed my debt to many people First and foremost I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to, Ms Pham Lan Anh, my supervisor for her wholehearted guidance, valuable suggestion and useful materials during the time of writing this thesis Second, I would like to send my thanks to the colleagues at a Medical College in Ha Noi who have provided me with the insightful knowledge being most significant in paving the way for me to carry out the research I should be grateful to the librarians, for their constant help thanks to which I was able to access to all materials needed to accomplish the thesis Finally but importantly, my heart-felt gratitude goes to my beloved family whose support and encouragement has always been the great source of inspiration for me to complete this thesis ii ABSTRACT One of the most challenging tasks facing any language teachers is to capture students’ interest, and therefore, keep them in high learning spirit Meanwhile, vocabulary learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating especially for teenagers To realize this situation, the teachers are supposed to find out teaching approaches corresponsive to students’ needs and wants The study, in that light, lays a focus on students’ improvement in learning medical English vocabulary through language games The study is conducted in the form of an action research with the research tools being teacher’s diary, pre-test, post-test and survey questionnaire to collect data Then the data from teacher’s diary and tests were exploited to find out the improvement in students’ vocabulary And the data from survey questionnaire were used to find out students’ attitudes towards language games and provide factors that should be considered by teachers when using games to teach medical English vocabulary Through the results of the teacher’s diary, the pre-test and post-test, it can be concluded that language games could help improve students' vocabulary retention The results collected from the questionnaires showed that most of the students expressed their positive attitudes towards the games carried out in teaching medical vocabulary iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Identification of problem 1.3 Research objectives and research questions .2 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Structure of the study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vocabulary 2.1.1 Definition 2.1.1 Vocabulary of medical English 2.1.2 Techniques in teaching vocabulary of medical English 2.2 Teaching vocabulary of medical English using games 2.2.1 Definition 2.2.2 Kinds of games in language teaching and learning 2.2.3 Role of games in vocabulary retention of medical English 10 2.2.4 Review of previous studies .12 CHAPTER SUMMARY 15 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 Research design 16 3.2 Settings .18 3.3 Participants of the study 18 3.4 Research instruments 18 iv 3.4.1 Teacher’s diary .19 3.4.2 Pre-test and post-test .19 3.4.3 Questionnaire 20 3.5 Research procedure 20 3.5.1 Identifying problems 20 3.5.2 Planning the action 21 3.5.3 Implementing the action 22 3.5.4 Observing the action .23 3.5.5 Reflecting 24 3.6 Data collection Procedure 25 3.6.1 Teacher’s diary .25 3.6.2 Pretest and Post test .25 3.6.3 Questionnaire 26 3.7 Data analysis procedure .26 3.7.1 Data from teacher’s diary .26 3.7.2 Data from the pre-test and post-test .27 3.7.3 Data from the questionnaire 27 CHAPTER IV: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 28 4.1 Answer to the research question .28 4.1.1 Results from teacher’s diary 28 4.1.2 Results from the pre-test and post-test 32 4.2 Answer to the research question .34 4.3 Discussion 41 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION 43 5.1 Summary of major findings .43 5.2 Implications 44 5.3 Limitations 45 5.4 Suggestions for further research .46 REFERENCES 47 v APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX V APPENDIX VII APPENDIX IX vi LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: The vocabulary teaching plan 22 Table 4.1: Students’participation and students’retention 29 Table 4.2 The student’s attitudes towards studying medical English 34 Table 4.3: Role of medical English for students’ jobs in future .34 Table 4.4: Attitudes of students when learning medical English 35 Table 4.5: Troubles students find the most challenging with medical English vocabulary? .35 Table 4.6: Students’attitudes when the teacher use games in teaching vocabulary of medical English 36 Table 4.7: Students’attitudes towards necessity and importance of using games in teaching vocabulary of medical English 36 Table 4.8: Students’attitudes towards games the teacher used in teaching vocabulary of medical English .38 Table 4.9: Students’activeness while playing games 39 Table 4.10: Feeling of students after taking part in the game when learning vocabulary of medical English 39 Table 4.11: Benefits of the games in teaching learning medical English vocabulary 40 vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study Vocabulary is an essential part in learning a foreign language One of the most important issues in second language teaching and learning is vocabulary learning And, perhaps, one of the most difficult aspects of learning a second language is the retention of learning vocabulary (Holden, 1999) Vocabulary seems to be the foundation of language It encourages students to learn the four macro skills: listening, reading, writing and speaking Vocabulary is a very crucial element because without vocabulary students cannot learn other skills as Wilkin (1972) puts it, “Without grammar, little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed” In the context of a medical college under study, (here by called college X), almost all the students have spent many years neglecting learning English before their college enrolment Therefore, they get into trouble of attaining knowledge in general and vocabulary retention in particular The students have difficulties in remembering the writen form and spoken form of English vocabulary specially the medical vocabulary which belongs to a specialized professional area The pronuncation, spelling and function of vocabulary make them confused in practicing and using them They cannot remember the words they have learnt for a long time so they make mistakes each time the researcher asks them to exercise There are some main reasons that demotivate them in learning English They not use English in their career as well as in their daily life, so they feel it is useless to learn English In addition to this, medical terms cause them difficulties in pronouncing and writing which discourages them to learn English Therefore, they not have motivation to learn English CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION This chapter presents the summary of majors findings, the implications, limitations as well as recommendations for further research 5.1 Summary of major findings The study was a small action research about the effectiveness of games on improving medical English vocabulary of the students at a medical college in Ha Noi It also investigated the students’ opinion regarding to the application of games in vocabulary lessons This sought answer to the following questions: How vocabulary games help improve students’ vocabulary retention? What are the students’ attitudes towards the teacher’s use of vocabulary games? To answer the first research question and the second question, the results from the teacher’s diary, pre-test, post-test and questionnaires indicated that there was a considerable improvement in students’ vocabulary retention by using games First, the results from the teacher’s diary and those at the questionnaires proved remarkably improvement in remembering the vocabulary and use the vocabulary correctly in the lesson Second, the results of the students’participation proved that students had positive attitudes towards the teacher’s use of the vocabulary games Third, the results collected from the vocabulary assessment of the pre-test and post-test showed that after games were used in teaching medical vocabulary, the students could partly memorise the vocabulary for a long time For instance, most students could memorise the written form and spoken form of the vocabulary easily because they used the vocabulary repeatedly when they took part in the games The students did the vocabulary exercises correctly because they partly memorise the meaning of the medical vocabulary Fourth, the results collected from the 43 questionnaires showed that games made students more interested, relaxed, motivated and confident when learning medical English In summary, from the findings of the research, it can be concluded that language games could help improve students' vocabulary retention significantly To answer the second research question, the results collected from the questionnaires showed that most of the students expressed their positive attitudes towards games carried out in teaching medical vocabulary Firstly, it can be concluded from the results of the questionnaires that most students appreciated the application of the researcher’s organizing of vocabulary games They found vocabulary games interesting and effective Games partly helped improve their medical vocabulary Thanks to the researcher’s clear instructions, her encouragement, the students’ pairs and group discussion, the students could remember the medical vocabulary better Secondly, the results from the questionnaires indicated that learning medical English through the vocabulary games offered the students benefits Games supported language learning and encouraged the students to take part in the learning activities actively Moreover, the students expressed that they were more relaxed, more motivated, more self -confident and more interested in learning medical English According to the students’ opinions, the vocabulary games helped them remember the medical vocabulary easier and longer On the whole, the results in this study showed that the implementation of language games was effective and could improve students’ medical vocabulary retention However there still need further studies on medical vocabulary should be conducted with other participants on a larger scale and if possible in different contexts 5.2 Implications From the major findings of the study, the researcher hopes to have some pedagogical implications to help medical English vocabulary learning at a medical college in HaNoi 44 Firstly, motivating students to learn medical English vocabulary is really necessary and important because medical English vocabulary includes difficult terms, words relating to medical area In order to have a successful project of improving medical vocabulary, students need to be constructed and encouraged by teachers If medical English vocabulary is left to be done by students alone, the project to get students to improve vocabulary may be unsuccessful However, improving vocabulary involves both in-class and outof class practice, which demands significant planning At first, teachers should have a specific plan of using games in teaching medical English vocabulary, which refers to what kind of games to be used, the time when teachers use that game and what activities students when taking part in the game When teachers provide students with careful orientation, teachers not only help students to improve their vocabulary’s retention, but also might open a door to the variety of world that medical vocabulary can present Secondly, teachers are advised to pay attention to games selection (games for revision or warm up, games for concept checking or games for practicing) How to play games and materials used in the games must be easy with a variety of games and the games should be chosen by students Therefore, teachers should find out what kinds of games students like most and gain the most benefits Encouraging students to take part in the games actively can promote their independence and autonomy Finally, teachers are advised to design, collect and store interesting games which will help teachers have a big selection of games Besides, it’s very necessary and important for teachers to use games flexibly so that teachers can get the most effectiveness when vocabulary games are used in teaching medical English 5.3 Limitations To some extent, the findings proved that the study was a success 45 overall However, it must be asserted that there are some limitations that could not be advoided The post-test seems tobe easier than the pre-test The researcher recognised this limitation however it was not enough time for the researcher to change the test The research was carried out during a period of ten teaching section During a lesson of 120 minutes, only 30 to 40 minutes was spent on vocabulary work This may have been too short time to come to a general conclusion on how to teach vocabulary effectively to students Perhaps, if the research process could be lengthened, the results of the study would be more certain and comprehensive 5.4 Suggestions for further research Based on the limitations of the study as discussed above, the recommendations are raised for further research as follows First and foremost, further studies should be carried out in longer duration, long enough to conduct cycles of action research in order to produce more reliable results Second, the subjects of the study need to be broadened, for example with the second-year students Third, games may be applied in other skills such as listening, writing and reading Fourth, beside the teacher’s diary, questionnaires, tests other instruments such as interview, observation should be used in further research Fifth, it is important, especially with less confident students, to create a positive supportive, low stress atmosphere that encourages creativity and risk taking Finally, some further research if possible should be taken on studying the tips or techniques in order to apply vocabulary games to improve students’ English vocabulary 46 REFERENCES Freeman, D L Techniques and principles in language teaching (2nd.) London: Oxford University Press 2000 Print McCallum, G P 101 word games: for students of English as a second or foreign language Oxford: Oxford University Press 1980 Print Richard-Amato, P (1988) Making It Happen: Interactions in the Second Language Classroom Longman, New York Schmitt, N (1997) Vocabulary learning strategies In Schmitt, N and McCarthy, M (eds.)Vocabulary:Descriptive, Acquisition and Pedagogy Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Hornby, Albert Sydney 1995 Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary New York: Oxford University Press Keller, J (1999) Motivation in Cyber Learning Environments Educational Technology International, 1/1, 7-30 McDonough, J and McDonough, S (1997) Research Methods for English Language Teachers London: Arnold Richards, J and Lockhart, C (1996) Reflective Teaching in Second Language Classrooms Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Alemi, M (2010) Educational games as a vehicle to teaching vocabulary The Modern Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2(6), 425-438 10 Aslanabadi, H., & Rasouli, G (2013) The effect of games on improvement of Iranian EFL vocabulary knowledge in kindergartens International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6(1), 186-195 11 Cheng, C., & Su, C (2012) A Game-based learning system for improving student’s learning effectiveness in system analysis course Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31,669 – 675 12 DeHaan, J Reed, W., & Kuwada, K (2010) The effect of interactivity with a music video games on second language vocabulary recall Language 47 Learning & Technology, 14(2),74-94 12 Efendi, E (2013) The use of games to improve vocabulary mastery Journal de Physique III, (12), 78-84 13 Riahipour, P., & Saba, Z (2012) ESP vocabulary instruction: Investigating the effect of using a game oriented teaching method for learners of English for nursing Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 3(6), 1258-1266 14 Rohani, M., & Pourgharib, B (2013).The effect of games on learning vocabulary International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, (11), 3540-3543 15 Al Neyadi, O (2007) The effects of using games to reinforce vocabulary learning In Marifa H.C.T (Ed.), Action research and initial teacher education in the UAE (pp 99- 107) HCT Press, UAE 16 Allen, V F (1983) Techniques in teaching vocabulary New York: Oxford University Press 17 Blachowicz, C & Fisher, P (2004) Vocabulary Lessons Educational Leadership, 61(6): 66-69 18 Sørensen, B.H., & Meyer, B (2007) Serious Games in language learning and teaching – a theoretical perspective Retrieved from: www.digra.org/dl/db/07312.23426 19 Yolageldili, G.,& Arikan, A (2011) Effectiveness of Using Games in Teaching Grammar to Young Learners Elementary Education Online, 10(1), 219-229, 2011 Retrieved from: http://ilkogretim-online.org.tr 20 Yip, F.W.M., & Kwan, A.C.M.(2006) Online vocabulary games as a tool for teaching and Learning English vocabulary wiki.umd.edu/teamill/images/9/9f/Vicki's_article 48 Retrieved from: APPENDIX A SAMPLE OF TEACHER’S DIARY Type of Unit/ games Time Note Ss’participation Ss’retention Games for warm up Lucky Unit1- number Lesson - the students were 15 students interested in taking (account 50%) (18/7/2018) part in the game to know which one the lucky number - the questions were difficult - Most students of the did not remember the words relating medical area - The students feel relaxed to start new lesson - This game seemed to be attracted the students however I (account 20%) - they were excited was students the students got difficulty in finding out the answers of the questions so they could not give the perfect answer - Which make the students like this game most was the lucky number They got marks without answering questions - This game was rather excited but the students seemed not to be active when they joined the game Besides, this game did not provide the students with suggestions in order for the students to give the correct answer II APPENDIX PRETEST AND POST TEST Test (Pre-test) Câu 2-001- C1 A paediatrician………….children A treats B supports C prepares D performs Câu 2-002- C1 An anaesthetist………… surgeons in the operating theatre A treats B supports C prepares D performs Câu 2-003- C1 A surgeon…………….operation A treats B supports C prepares D performs Câu 2-004- C1 A pharmacist…………… medicine for the patients A treats B supports C prepares D performs Câu 2-005- C1 A midwife delivers…………… A babies B blood vessels C other images D tissues Câu 2-006- C1 A/ An………… takes of people’s eyes A dentist B ophthalmologist C surgeon D obstetrician Câu 2-007- C1 A lab technican examines samples and …………… under a microscope A babies Câu 2-008- C1 B blood vessels A cardiologist C other images specializes in D tissues illnesses of the and……………… A babies B blood vessels C other images D tissues Câu 2-009- C1 A radiologist takes x- ray and ………………… A babies B blood vessels C other images D tissues Câu 2-010- C1 An emergency responds to emergencies and gives………… A babies B blood vessels C other images III D first aid heart Test (post-test) Câu 3-001- C1 Obstetricians care for pregnant women They help the women with the birth of their babies A women B women who are doctors C women who are sick D women who will have babies Câu 3-002- C1 The order from the highest grade to the lowest of nursing profession in Britain is…………… A nursing officer- auxiliary nurse- sister- staff nurse B nursing officer- sister - staff nurse - auxiliary nurse C nursing officer- staff nurse - auxiliary nurse- sister D auxiliary nurse- sister- nursing officer- staff nurse Câu 3-003- C1 Anesthesiologists put patients to sleep during operations Then the patients feel no pain A hurt B not hurt C operate D not sleep Câu 3-004- C1 Exams and courses that you have taken is………………… A qualifications B pension C overtime D further study Câu 3-005- C1 Money that you will receive when you are old……………… A qualifications B pension C overtime D further study Câu 3-006- C1 Extra hours you can work to earn more money ………………… A qualifications B pension C overtime D further study Câu 3-007- C1 You’ve done this work before so you have………… about it A qualifications B pension C overtime D experience Câu 3-008- C1 More advanced learning means…………………… A further study B skills C pay- scale D basic training Câu 3-009- C1 Special abilities means………………………… A further study B skills C pay- scale D basic training Câu 3-010- C1 The levels of pay is…………… A further study B skills C pay- scale D basic training IV APPENDIX A LESSON PLAN OF TEACHING VOCABULARY Date Unit/Lesson Activities Time July 18th, 2018 Unit 1: The hospital - Present the vocabualry 120’ team – Part - Game - Practice July 20th, 2018 Unit 1: The hospital - Warm up team – Part - Present the vocabualry 120’ - Game - Practice July 25th, 2018 Unit 2: Pain- Part - Present the vocabualry 120’ - Game - Practice July 27th, 2018 Unit 2: Pain- Part - Present the vocabualry 120’ - Game - Practice - Game August 01 st, Unit 3: Blood- Part 2018 - Game for warm up 120’ - Present the vocabualry - Game for checking - Practice August 03 rd, Unit 3: Blood- Part 2018 - Game for warm up - Present the vocabualry - Practice - Game for revision V 120’ August 08 th, Unit 4: Medication- - Game for warm up 2018 Part - Present the vocabualry 120’ - Practice August 10 th , 2018 Unit 4: Medication- - Present the vocabualry Part - Game 120’ - Practice August 12 th , 2018 Unit 5: Alternative - Game for warm up treatment- Part - Present the vocabualry 120’ - Game - Practice August 14 th, Unit 5: Alternative - Present the vocabualry 2018 treatment- Part - Game - Practice - Game for revision VI 120’ APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE Bảng câu hỏi nhằm phục vụ cho để tài nghiên cứu việc cải thiện từ vựng tiếng Anh chun ngành Y thơng qua trò chơi ngôn ngữ trường Trung cấp Y Hà Nội Các thông tin câu trả lời em thực quan trọng với nghiên cứu Các liệu phục vụ cho mục đích nghiên cứu khơng mục đích khác Chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác em Mời em đánh dấu (v) vào câu trả lời mà em lựa chọn viết câu trả lời vào phần để trống: Em có thích học mơn tiếng Anh chun ngành Y khơng? a Có b Khơng Mơn tiếng Anh chun ngành Y có phục vụ cho cơng việc em sau khơng? a Có b Khơng Việc học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y với em nào? a Rất khó b Khó c Bình thường d Khơng khó Em có gặp khó khăn học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y? Nếu có khó khăn gì? Tại sao? a Đọc từ b Viết từ c Nhớ tứ d Dùng từ Suy nghĩ em giáo viên kết hợp trò chơi ngơn ngữ để dậy từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y? Tại sao? a Rất thích b Thích c Bình thường d Khơng thích Theo em trò chơi từ vựng có cần thiết quan trọng việc học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y không? Tại sao? a Rất cần thiết b Cần thiết c Bình thường VII d Khơng cần thiết Trong trò chơi giáo viên sử dụng học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y, em đánh số thứ tự trò chơi mà em thích từ đến (theo mức độ tăng dần) Giải thích lí do? Board race Word matching Scrambled words Lucky number Bingo Memory Pictionary Charades Trong chơi trò chơi, em a Tham gia cách tích cực c Tham gia có hứng thú b.Tham gia trò chơi giáo viên yêu cầu d Khơng tham gia Sau chơi trò chơi từ vựng, em cảm thấy nào? a Rất thoải mái b Bình thường c Khó chịu 10 Theo em trò chơi từ vựng mang lại cho em hiệu gì? a Làm cho việc học từ vựng đơn giản, dễ dàng b Giúp em nhớ từ vựng lâu hơn, xác c Giúp em có vốn từ vựng đa dạng, phong phú d Khơng có tác dụng VIII APPENDIX STUDENTS’ SCORES OF TWO TESTS No of students Score of pre-test Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss 5 Ss Ss Ss Ss Ss 10 Ss 11 Ss 12 Ss 13 Ss 14 Ss 15 Ss 16 Ss 17 Ss 18 Ss 19 Ss 20 Ss 21 Ss 22 Ss 23 Ss 24 Ss 25 Ss 26 Ss 27 Ss 28 Ss 29 Ss 30 Mean 5.16 Score of post-test 8 6 7 7 6 9 6 7.03 IX Gain 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 ... we have five main kinds of games: vocabulary games, structure games, writing games, reading games, and games for developing speaking and listening skills Each kind of game focuses on a language... researchers advocated the effects of games in their research papers and pointed out that language games helped develop learner’s ability in learning language in general and in vocabulary in particular... language teaching and learning is vocabulary learning And, perhaps, one of the most difficult aspects of learning a second language is the retention of learning vocabulary (Holden, 1999) Vocabulary