Some methods of teaching and learning english vocabulary for 6th grade students at tran mai ninh secondary school

THANH HOA CITY THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING INITIATIVE SOME METHODS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR 6th GRADE STUDENTS AT TRAN MAI NINH SECONDARY SCHOOL Writer: Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang Position: Teacher School: Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School Subject: English THANH HOA - 2020 TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale page 1.2 Objectives of the study page 1.3 Sample of the study page 1.4 Scope of the study page 1.5 Research methodology page CHAPTER 2: PROBLEM SOLVING 2.1 Some topics of vocabulary in English page 2.2 Some techniques to learn vocabulary in English page 2.3 Drills for practice page CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 3.1 Findings page 12 3.2 Recommendations page 12 REFERENCES page 19 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE 1.1.1 Theoretical basis Integrating with the trend of social development in particular and the world in general, English subject has an important role to play in the comprehensive development of each student With the aim at enabling them to integrate with international and regional communities, access various information about science and technology as well as apply the acquired knowledge at school effectively, educational management levels have continually opened different themes, seminars and model lessons on issues about innovating the teaching and learning methods of foreign language Currently, in the process of innovating teaching approach, the ultimate aim is to form and develop students the basic knowledge, skills in English and intellectual qualities necessary to continue studying or working Along with the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, learning vocabulary is essential Vocabulary works as an important basis for them to complete their skills in learning any foreign languages However, in fact learning a foreign language is not easy, so students often get bored because of numerous challenges in foreign language learning One of their difficulties is to perceive and memorize words they have learned or read before Therefore, it is pivotal for teachers should show their students effective techniques to study and remember words so that vocabulary is not the serious burden to them 1.1.2 Practical basis Teaching and learning foreign language is different from other school subjects as it is about an exotic language As a result, students are faced with numerous challenges, especially in Vietnam where English is taught as one of many foreign languages and students not have many opportunities to use English outside classrooms and Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School in Thanh Hoa city is not an exception Therefore, the teacher should find out and provide them with techniques to learn vocabulary effectively while creating favorable learning conditions which are conducive to students’ willingness to learn vocabulary as well as English Accordingly, they are more interested in English, which make the learning process become more comfortable After conducting mini tests to the students of classes 6C, 6F, 6H at Tran Mai Ninh Secondary School with the same content, the results are as follows: Classes 6C 6F 6H Number of students 18/ 37 22/ 46 23/ 45 with pass mark (50%) The table above shows that the number of students scored the pass mark is on about the average (the number of students scoring the average mark is around 50% in all classes) It is evident that the students' lexical resource is relatively limited compared with the knowledge of the vocabulary they have been provided from the secondary level On the basis of theory and reality as well as my teaching experience, I finally select the teaching initiative named "Some methods of teaching and learning English vocabulary for 6th grade students at Tran Mai Ninh secondary school" 1.2 Objectives of the study: - Work out the methods of teaching and learning vocabulary suitable for high school students - Consolidate the lexical resource for students by developing exercises for them to practice 1.3 Subject of the study 6th grade students at Tran Mai Ninh secondary school have learned 10year English pilot program published by the Ministry of Education and Training 1.4 Scope of the study Lexical resource is taken from English course book for th grade students in 1st semesters 1.5 Research methodology: 1) Quantitative method: The author systematizes the number of vocabulary that students have learned 2) Observation: The author has experienced teaching in many classes and compared different classes The evidence is shown through results of tests that the author marked 3) Interview: The author interviews students about the learning method of vocabulary In the position of group leader of English teachers, the author has chance to interview other colleagues, parents and students 4) Experimental method: Students in two experimental classes were asked to two similar tests before and during the study (after the application of the techniques to learn vocabulary), then the author compares and draws the final conclusion about the practicality of appropriate methods of learning vocabulary CHAPTER 2: PROBLEM SOLVING Like the Vietnamese vocabulary, English vocabulary is divided into diverse types and different topics Therefore, in order to remember groups of vocabulary we need to have these suitable methods and techniques to memorize each type of word 2.1 Some topics of vocabulary in English: a / Direction: Behind, in front of, to the left of, to the right of, opposite, near, next to, the between b/ School: School, grade, classroom, English, literature, history, geography, math, Timetable c/ Occupation: Student, teacher, nurse, doctor, engineer, worker, driver, farmer, business, policeman d/ Family: Family, sister, brother, father, mother, children, classmate e/ Sports: Sport, soccer, football, volleyball f/ Transportation: Bus, plane, bike, car, motorbike, truck, road sign, accident, traffic light, intersection g/ Quality: Big, small, noisy, quiet, beautiful, tall, late, old, high, difficult, dangerous h / Things: Desk, door, window, board, clock, waste basket, schoolbag, pencil, pen, ruler, eraser, bookshelf, stereo, lamp, couch, armchair, table, chair, stool, television, telephone, bench, letter, photo, flower, tree k/ Action: Come in, sit down, stand up, close, open, get up, get dressed, brush one's teeth, wash one's face, have breakfast, go to school / bed, so one's homework, take a shower, play games / soccer, read, have jobs, spell, walk, turn, l/ Places: House, living room, class, school, floor, classroom, city, town, street, country, farm, rice paddy, paddy fields, river, hotel, village, store, temple, restaurant, bank, hospital, factory, museum, stadium, drugstore, toy store, movie theater, zoo, police station, bakery, well, garden, mountain, clinic, post office, shop, supermarket, market, sea, food stall, canteen 2.2 Some techniques to learn vocabulary in English: When you encounter a new English word, it is necessary to remember it immediately and find tips to memorize it It is a mistake if you forget the word because when you happen to see it latter, you but cannot remember it or know it by face without memorizing its meaning Above are some tips to remember words faster and for a long time 2.2.1 Learning vocabulary by grouping them in relevant topic, part of speech or the extent of use (Using Network) When learning new words, you should find out whether there exists any relationship between the words you have already known and new words Below are effective ways to learn and remember new words There are some relationships between words in English as follows: Example 1: Mother Father FAMILY Sister Brother Children Friends Example 2: Bus Motorbike Bike Accident Train ROAD / STREET Truck Traffic light Car Sign Intersection 2.2.2 Learning new words through words with similar meaning or synonyms Although many adjectives are not synonymous, their meanings are related to each other because they refer to the qualities of an object, event, or phenomenon The recording and learning words with similar meaning also prove its effectiveness and these new words will gradually be added to the list during the learning process For example, when talking about the temperature, we have a series of adjectives demonstrating from low to high temperatures 2.2.3 Learning vocabulary by comparing with opposites/ antonyms This relationship has a strong impact to the memorization of vocabulary For example, when you are asked for a word related to the word 'hot', you will reply the 'cold', rather than words like 'desert', 'sun', 'weather' Consequently, you'll find out that noting and learning words with opposite meaning are very effective For example: cheap wide deep honest rich attack expensive narrow shallow dishonest poor defend 2.2.4 Learning vocabulary by combining words There are words which are often combined together into a phrase such as 'perform a task', 'make a suggestion', or 'do one's homework', etc You should also learn how to memorize new words in this way because this technique is practical and you can understand how to use and incorporate words systematically The words will be recorded in the form of mind map and recall visual diagram as follows: Spend Make Waste MONEY Earn Invest 2.2.5 Learning words through separation and combination techniques Example 1: The word “Brusque” (adj) means being rude, impolite This is a very difficult word to remember and rarely found in English materials Let’s see the separation technique to make the memorization at ease Brusque can be separated from the BRUS - QUE Then, Brus is transformed into BRUSH and QUE is changed into QUEEN As you can see, words like BRUSH (pen) and QUEEN (Queen) are simple words to those who have learned English Now, the word BRUSQUE originally means "grumpy and rude", you associate it to BRUSH and QUEEN Let’s imagine, in the kingdom of the brush, there is a queen reigning and she is a very rude and gruff person The BRUSH QUEEN is very BRUSQUE Example 2: AUGUR (v): predict Let’s think AUGUST Imagine: A magician can AUGUR (predict) what may happen in AUGUST A shaman can AUGUR everything that happens in AUGUST Example 3: BERATE (v) strict punish Let’s think BE- A-RAT (a mouse) Imagine: A naughty boy is punished by a fairy She BERATE (punishes) him by MAKING HIM BE A RAT (turning him into a mouse) 2.2.6 Learning vocabulary through association technique It means that you learn words through associating words with other familiar words For example: Stable (a) = firm and unchanged The word “stable” is similar in spelling with the word “table” Your association is because the table has legs so it is very stable 2.3 Drills for practice In order to support students to learn vocabulary effectively, the teacher should introduce the topic in advance to students This way can help them focus on thinking 2.3.1 Jumbled words  Things seetor = stereo seerra = eraser chenb = bench notelephe = telephone dobar = board chocu = couch koccl = clock paml = lamps  Subjects lengshi = English turelitera tham = math rosyht biemlatel = timetable gygrapheo = literature = = history = geography This is a type of exercise in which words are jumbled in a disorderly way and students are asked to find correct words The exercise helps students develop the ability to guess words quickly and accurately, as well as generate excitement for them when revising vocabulary 2.3.2 Word folks This type of exercise provides students with a root word/ phrase and they will have to find words or phrases which can be matched with the original phrase suitably For example: 2.3.3 Word square This exercise requires students to know words as well as find related words quickly with suggestion or without suggestion Before finding the vocabulary students are provided with topics so students could anticipate the words related to a given topic and then start to find words given in boxes with different letters For example:  Topic: Places/ Means of transport Answer V M J C P O O L A  pool, car, temple T E O M L L X P O  well, garden, bus O P G U A I A H O  train, zoo Y W A E N R N N Z N E R R T T K I E I L D M K A A E C A L E K N A B I T R N N C A R U L N T E M P L E S Q E A T C Q W X N N Z I G H T E Y B E H I A K N M S B E J  near, next  opposite R F R R N L D O N T X F A P L E F T T K P U V T H O O E T W E N B E  apartment  park, vegetable, market, mountain, plane Answer E Q O  bank  right, behind, front, left, between 2.3.3 Crossword Puzzles: Crossword puzzles require students’ ability to remember the words because in order to this exercise, students must deal with crossword puzzles with clues given After understanding the clues to infer, students have to find the exact word to match the crossword Normally, this exercise requires students to find the key word which is the first presumed vertical column Another difficulty for students is that there is no common topic for crossword so students can hardly judge the key word in vertical column if they cannot solve quizzes in horizontal cells Because of the difficulty and precision of vocabulary, students need to have relatively abundant lexical resource Therefore, this exercise will help students with the ability to think quickly and become more responsive to the vocabulary Besides, students can memorize words much better after completing the crossword For example: A natural cavity below the earth surface or in the mountain Light of the sun A large natural stream of water A short journey usually for pleasure A temple or sacred tower in Asian countries The science that studies the surface of the earth and its associated physical, biological, economic, political features A hill of impressive height Key S P A U G C A V E S H I N E R I V E R E X C U R S I O N O D A E U O N G T R A A I P N N G M O 2.3.5 Network Students will be given a hint and they need to list words related to the teacher’s suggestion (as much as possible) In a network exercise, students should remember words in themes, read and write them on their own without any hint This exercise will help students 10 systematize words in accordance with themes, remember how to read and write the exact words For example: Classical music Rock ‘n’ Roll Jazz Types of Music Pop music Folk music 11 CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 3.1 Findings Based on the experience of teaching and experimental students’ results in vocabulary exercises in classes 6C, 6F, 6H at Tran Mai Ninh secondary school, the results of effectiveness after applying the techniques to learn English vocabulary can be seen through the number of students with pass mark over the total number of students in each class as follows: 6C 6F 6H Before application 18/ 37 22/ 46 23/ 45 After application 24/ 37 30/ 46 32/ 45 Looking at the results we can see the progress of the students in doing the interesting exercises about vocabulary after they apply learning techniques These results demonstrate that these techniques and exercises have brought effectiveness Students were able to use a lot of words and remember more, they also began to feel excited when learning with different words and no longer felt afraid to learn vocabulary as well as vocabulary exercises 3.2 Recommendations From the results obtained above I would like to put forward some recommendations: Firstly, as teachers we need to disseminate techniques for learning vocabulary to students at low level so that they can remember simple words and accumulate more words when they level up If their vocabulary is restricted, students will encounter many difficulties at higher grades because vocabulary is increasingly diverse, easily leading to disruption when learning words Secondly, it is challenging for students to learn new words after every lesson Accordingly, teachers should make every effort to design suitable types of exercises about vocabulary for students to practice It is important to design diverse drills for each unit and revise words regularly through practicing because these activities will contribute to improving their memory Students, thus, can remember words in class without taking the time to learn at home Therefore, it is necessary to further strengthen the lexical exercises, especially integrate them in new units in the warm – up, post- teaching session or the consolidation period Thanks to these exercises done before, during or after the lesson, students will be able remember better 12 Thirdly, it is necessary to hold extracurricular English courses for students to participate They will be fascinated if joining and contributing their efforts in a team game by solving puzzles about vocabulary and awarding small gifts As a result, they will be more motivated to learn vocabulary voluntarily In short, there exist both advantages and disadvantages in each method, so the teacher gives students instruction to apply methods to learn vocabulary most effectively Confirmation from Tran Mai Ninh school Dated: 15th May, 2020 Statement of authorship I certify that the initiative is the result of my research Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hằng 13 APPENDICES: PRE-TEST Allotted time: 10 mins Choose the best answer: I like to work with numbers, so I like a Maths b Literature c Biology The alarm goes off at 4:30 a Goes wrong b Rings c Explores is a film or a TV program giving facts about something a Documentary b Cartoon c News A period of one hundred years is called a a A long time b Century c Decade is traditional music of a country a Folk music b Rock ‘n’ roll c Classical music I like to learn English best because it is an language a Nation b Region c International When the winter comes, everybody feels a Cool b Hot c Cold TEST Đáp án: 1a 2b 3a 4b 5a 6c 7a 14 POST TEST Allotted: 10 mins Choose the best answer: A period of ten years is called a a Century b Decade c None is correct We call a short journey for pleasure a(n) _ a Expedition b Travel c Excursion is modern music that is popular with young people a Pop music b Rock ‘n’ roll c Classical music The alarm rings at a.m a Goes wrong b Calls c Goes off is a film or a play that is intended to be funny, usually with a happy ending a Cartoon b Comedy c News Jack is a(n) of the team because we can’t without him a Integral b Tiny c Unnecessary We feel in the fall a Cold b Hot c Cool Đáp án: 1b 2c 3a 4c 5b 6a 7c APPENDIX 2: SAMPLE EXCERSICES 15 Exercise 1: Find out the words across and down in the squares and find out the key words 10 16 ACROSS We learn to sing, dance & play the piano in this subject We learn to draw and paint pictures in this subject What we in P.E? We study numbers in this subject We can learn to speak the language of France in this subject 10 When I study _ I learn A.B.C DOWN We can learn to speak the language of Spain in this subject We can learn about events of the past and long time ago We learn about other places, countries and cities in We can learn the language of China in this subject Key word: SUBJECT Exercise 2: Do the crossword puzzle: Across big, outside usually green, inside usually red( 10 alphabets) yellow, monkeys like them ( alphabets) grown in Hawaii (9 alphabets) small, often red (5 alphabets) Down yellow, sour ( màu vàng , có vị chua) (5 alphabets) also a color( tên tên màu sắc ) (6 alphabets) 17 purple or green( có màu tím xanh cây) (5 alphabets) also a computer company ( tên cơng ty máy tính) (5 alphabets) Georgia (USA) is famous for these (vùng Georgia(USA)nổi tiếng trồng loại ) (5 alphabets) Answer: Down LEMON- Quả chanh ORANGE- Qủa cam GRAPE- Qủa nho APPLE-Qủa táo PEACH- Qủa lê Across WATERMELON_ Quả dưa hấu BANANA- Qủa chuối PINEAPPLE_ Quả dứa CHERRY- Quả anh đào Exercise 3: Find out the correct words from these jumbled words paoogziel  tiernurtopni  opemclnitm  epmiirsnos  aiontettn  Answer: Apologize Interruption Compliment Permission Attention Exercise 4: Names some places of scenic beauty in Viet Nam Places of scenic beauty 18 Answer: One pillar Pagoda Thien Mu Pagoda Da Lat City Places of scenic beauty Thong Nhat Conference Hall Hue Imperial City Hoi An Ancient Town … REFERENCES Using words in English, Phan Ha, Education Publisher Fun with learning English vocabulary, Song Phuc, Education Publisher Learning English vocabulary in themes, MA Nguyen Phương Mai, Hanoi National University Publisher Website: http://www.vnsay.com/hoctienganh/thread-4899.html Website: http://tienganh123.com/?c=mod-37-6 Website: http://forum.vietnamlearning.vn/showthread.php?t=8007 Website: http://www.englishrainbow.com/ 19 ... the teaching initiative named "Some methods of teaching and learning English vocabulary for 6th grade students at Tran Mai Ninh secondary school" 1.2 Objectives of the study: - Work out the methods. .. methods of teaching and learning vocabulary suitable for high school students - Consolidate the lexical resource for students by developing exercises for them to practice 1.3 Subject of the study 6th. .. Subject of the study 6th grade students at Tran Mai Ninh secondary school have learned 10year English pilot program published by the Ministry of Education and Training 1.4 Scope of the study Lexical