Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at Muong Bi high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI HIGH SCHOOL (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 601410 HANOI - 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI HIGH SCHOOL (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 601410 SUPERVISOR : Dr DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ HANOI - 2011 iv Table of contents Page Declaration Abstract Acknowledgement Part 1: introduction Rationale of the study Aims of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Method of research Organization of the study Part development Chapter 1: literature review 1.1 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 1.2 Principles of vocabulary teaching 1.2.1 Criteria for selecting vocabulary 1.2.2 Vocabulary teaching 1.2.2.1 Forms of a word 1.2.2.2 Meaning 1.2.2.3 Use of a word 1.3 Vocabulary learning 1.3.1 Factors affecting vocabulary learning 1.4 Methods in teaching vocabulary 1.4.1 Repetition and attention 1.4.2 Relationship with other words 1.4.3 Exceptions 1.5 Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of a third language 1.5.1 Definition 1.5.2 Influence of proficiency in the native language and the second language on the acquisition of a third language v Chapter 2: methodology 2.1 Research setting 12 2.1.1 An overview of research setting 12 2.1.2 The materials of teaching and learning 12 2.2 Research questions 13 2.3 Participants 13 2.3.1 Description of the teachers of English 13 2.3.2 The students 13 2.4 Data Collection Instruments and procedures 14 2.4.1 The questionnaire 14 2.4.2 Classroom observations 14 2.4.3 Data Collection Procedure 14 2.5 Data Analysis Procedure 15 Chapter 3: FINDINGS and discussion 3.1 Results and discussions from the questionnaires for students 16 3.2 Results and discussions from the observation 20 3.3 Findings and discussions from the questionnaire 22 3.4 Recommendations 24 3.4.1 Motivating students to learn 24 3.4.2 Adapting the textbook 25 3.4.3 Selection of the vocabulary teaching 27 3.4.4 Practising the vocabulary 28 3.4.5 Improving learning and teaching conditions 31 3.4.6 Having local teachers to teach English for students in their communities 31 Part 3: Conclusion Conclusions 32 Limitations of the study 32 Suggestions for further study 32 References 34 Appendices I PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming something of a forerunner in global communication It is the first and second language in most countries of the world Almost 70% of the Internet is in English A huge volume of the information used on the Internet is also in English Thus, English is playing a very significant role in bringing the world together Therefore, teaching and learning English have become the necessity all over the world In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject from primary schools to universities However, the quality of learning and teaching English is different from one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and those from remote and mountainous areas In Hoa Binh mountainous province, English is a compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as one of the major subjects for the high school final examination English is taught with the purpose to give students some basic knowledge of English in order to communicate and use it as a key to science and technology However, there still exist many difficulties facing teachers in teaching English to students, especially those from ethnic minorities It can be observed that ethnic minority students‟ scores are very low in English Less than per cent earn good marks, even in the national graduation exams (Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training, 2008; 2009) In some remote areas, lower level students understand less than 20 per cent of what teachers say in Vietnamese (“Minority Students Needs”, 2008) Ethnic minority students mainly use their mother tongues – Muong, Thai, Hmong, Tay and other languages - to communicate inside their families and small communities From first grade onward, at school and in public places, ethnic minority students have to struggle with Vietnamese to study and communicate with other people This is why not many can understand lectures, even at high school, because they not thoroughly comprehend Vietnamese - and very few teachers can explain things to them in their native languages (“Ethnic Schools Lack”, 2007) Thus, studying English language in addition to Vietnamese language might be very challenging for ethnic minority students In addition, I find out that my pupils are not successful learners, only because they lack vocabulary In fact they are provided with almost every word necessary for their communication inside and outside the classroom, but many of my pupils complain they forget most of learned words only a few day later This proves that problems in learning vocabulary are undeniable For better vocabulary teaching and learning, I have chosen Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at Muong Bi high school as the the topic of the study Aims of the study The study aims at investigating the areas of challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school, Hoa Binh mountainous province Also, it is expected that some solutions to overcome challenges encountered will be suggested To be more specific, in realizing this study, the objectives are:  To investigate the areas of challenges that ethnic minority grade 10 students have encountered when learning English vocabulary  To offer some solutions with the hope of helping English language teachers in Muong Bi high school overcome difficulties in teaching vocabulary, improve the quality of their teaching, which helps improve ethnic minority students‟ language learning quality Significance of the study The study is hoped to be beneficial to both teachers and ethnic minority students in mountainous high schools First, the findings of the study, the challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school could be shared among teachers of English to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the coming years Next, it might highlight the rationale for professional development programs for high school teachers of English in mountainous areas in Vietnam Finally, the findings could be used as a data base for further study Scope of the study The study only concentrates on problems in learning vocabulary from the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” (by Hoang Van Van et al) of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school in Hoa Binh province and some possible solutions for teaching vocabulary Methods of research The study combined qualitative and quantitive approaches Data were collected via questionnaires and classroom observations: - A Survey questionnaire for 100 grade 10 students was used to clarify the difficulties of ethnic minority grade 10 students in learning English vocabulary - Classroom observations were also carried out to get information about both teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class Organization of the study This study consists of three parts:  Part One: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope, method of study, and organization of the study  Part Two: Development consists of three chapters: - Chapter One - Literature Review provides a theoretical basis for the study - Chapter Two – Methodology includes an overview of the approach used in conducting the study It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure - Chapter Three – Findings and Discussion reports the findings of the study and discusses the prominent aspects  Part Three: Conclusion presents the conclusions of major findings, recommendations, limitations for the study, and suggestions for further studies PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: Literature review Research in English teaching and learning in ethnic regions In the past 30 years, many scholars (Naimen, et al., 1978; WEN, 1996, 2003,2004; CHENG & ZHENG,2002; CHEN,2005; ZHOU,2007) made research studies on learning strategies and/or vocabulary learning strategies, and most of them made great success However, most of them took undergraduates as subjects, and few scholars focus on the English vocabulary learning difficulties of ethnic students Very few of research studies focus on the ethnic minority students in senior high school in Vietnam 1.1 The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning Vocabulary is commonly accepted to be the most important language elements among pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar Wilkins (1972) emphasized this with his saying, "without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" (p.1l) Pyles and Algeo also supported this idea with "when we first think about language, we think first words It is words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversations and discourse " These statements are enough to conclude that vocabulary is the decisive element in language communication This is all true in learning a foreign language If a learner has a wide range of vocabulary, he can to make himself understood and understand others easily On the contrary, if his vocabulary is limited he will surely have difficulty in doing so and in English learning Therefore, vocabulary is a "must" for all language learners by all means 1.2 Principles of vocabulary teaching 1.2.1 Criteria for selecting vocabulary It cannot be denied that vocabulary is an essential element in learning a foreign language Therefore, it is important to concern first the criteria for selecting vocabulary to help the teacher make valid decisions on the right vocabulary items to teach at the learner's different level Gairns and Redman (1986) proposed some main criteria as frequency; student's needs and level; cultural factor and expediency In teaching, the teacher needs to select the most frequently used words to teach first The vocabulary should be appropriate to students' level and their needs, the priority given to vocabulary for English as a subject in the curriculum might be different from that of English for specific purposes The Culture factor has great influenced on teaching, which means that the learners' background is to be considered, since people from different countries may need different words to express their ideas in the second language Expediency is one of the important criteria that needs to be concerned since the classroom is a world by itself and requires specific types of vocabulary such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions Harnler (1991) also adds more criteria for selection of vocabulary as concretion vs abstraction (concrete words should be taught at lower levels whereas abstract terms should be taught at higher lever); coverage (general words should be taught in more specific terms) and rapport (the student's involvement with the words is a major motivator for vocabulary learning) 1.2.2 Vocabulary teaching In general, when the teacher teaches a new English word, he should, by all means, provide his learners with its meaning, forms and use at the same time Among these three areas, the use of a word is the most important, but it cannot be achieved if the forms and meaning of the word are not firmly understood and grasped by the learners 1.2.2.1 Forms of a word  Pronunciation and spelling : Each English word has its spelling and pronunciation Learners have to know all the spelling, pronunciation and irregularities of the word they are learning In teaching, we need to make sure that these aspects are accurately presented and learned  Grammar The grammar of a new word should also be taught to the learners They need to know the grammatical function, the unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts, the regularity and irregularity, the singular and plural forms of the new word so that they can use it correctly For example, when teaching the verb think, we might give its irregularity in past form thought 1.2.2.2 Meaning  Denotative and connotative meaning The meaning of a word is primarily what it refers to in the real world, meaning is found in a dictionary For example, dog denotes a kind of animal, common, domestic carnivorous mammal A less obvious component of the meaning of a word is its connotation in different contexts or its connotative meaning This is the associations or positive or negative feelings it evokes This meaning may or may not be indicated in a dictionary For instance the word , as understood by most British people, has positive connotations of friendship and loyalty: whereas the equivalent in Arabic' as understood by most of the Arab countries has negative associations of dirty and inferiority The connotative meaning of a word is varied from one context to another  Meaning relationship How the meaning, especially denotative meaning, of one word relates can also be useful in teaching It is noted that the teacher has to make a careful choice of and decision on which meaning of a word to teach and how many words to teach in the given class time or else learners will be impeded by the pressure to absorb too many meanings and words This often results in confusion or forgetting 1.2.2.3 Use of a word The most important thing for learners to learn a new word is to know how to use it appropriately and effectively in different oral and written contexts or else it may become a dead or forgettable word To use a new word well, they need to know how to collocate it with other words correctly Therefore, the teacher should put words into collocation For example, when introducing words like "to make” and "to do", the teacher may note that both words mean "to perform" but can be distinguished by the words they collocate with We often say "to the homework" but never say "to make the homework" In short, students should be taught the form, the meaning, and the use of words in vocabulary lessons The teacher should ensure that vocabulary is regularly recycled/revised because if students not get the chance to put it into use they will easily forget it Unknown vocabulary is low in such messages, considerable vocabulary learning can occur even though students' attention is not directed to vocabulary learning Rubin and Thompson (1994: 82) suggest strategies for dealing with this approach of vocabulary learning These strategies include receding a series of texts on a related topic, guessing the meaning of new words from context, and breaking up a word into components Similarly, Decanico (in Celce-Murcia 2000: 255-299) says that implicit vocabulary learning or incidents vocabulary learning is learning that occurs when the mind is focused elsewhere, such as on understanding a text or using language for communicative purposes English vocabulary learning 33 investigate more challenges in teaching English in other aspects such as listening and speaking to ethnic minority students and to find out the possible solutions It is hoped that from the findings and limitations of the study, further studies would be conducted in helping to improve the quality of English teaching to ethnic minority students in mountainous areas 34 REFERENCES Allen, V.F (1983) Techniques in teaching vocabulary New York: Oxford University Press Allport, G W (1935) Handbook of Psychology Murchinson, C Worcester, MA: Clark University Press Canh, L.V (2001) Language and Vietnamese pedagogical contexts In J Shaw, D Lubelska,&M Noullet (Eds.), Partnership and Interaction: Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on Language and Development Bangkok: Asian Institute of Technology Reprinted in Teacher’s Edition 34-40 Canh, L.V (2004) From ideology to inquiry: Mediating Asian and Western values in ELT practice The Journal of Asia TEFL, I(1) 167-183 Ellis, R.(1997) Second language acquisition Hongkong: OUP Hoang Van Van, Hoang Xuan Hoa, Do Tuan Minh, Nguyen Thu Phuong and Nguyen Quoc Tuan (2006; 2007; 2008) Tieng Anh 10 Education Publishing House Kavitha, V (2009) Attitudinal Factor in Second Language Acquisition: An Illustrative Example from a Class in University Language in India Volume Nation, P (1994), New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary Bloomington: Pantagragh Printing Nation, P (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language New York: Cambridge University Press 10 Nation, P & Newton, J (1997) Secondary language vocabulary acquisition (238254) New York: Cambridge University Press 11 Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 12 Nation, P & Waring, R (2004) Vocabulary size, text coverage and word lists : Vocabulary- Description and Pedagogy pp.6-19 13 Meara, P (1982) Vocabulary Acquisition –A neglected aspect if language learning In Kinsella, V.(ed.) 14 Ministry of Education and Training (2006) Training materials on the new English textbook “Tieng Anh 10”: MoET 35 15 Minority students need unique English classes (2008, October 20) Retrieved from http://www.medbook.vn/foreign/tintuc.php?id=75 16 Nunan D (2001) Aspects of task-based syllabus design Retrieved from http:// www3.telus.net linguisticsissues/syllabusdesign html 17 Ur, P (1996), A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 18 Taylor ,L (1990) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary Newyork: Prentice Hall 19 Wallace, M (1982), Teaching Vocabulary London, Heinamann Educational Books 20 Second language acquisition (n.d.) In Wikipedia Retrieved on June 20, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_language_acquisition 21 So Giao duc va Dao tao tinh Hoa Binh (2008; 2009) Tổng hợp kết môn thi tốt nghiệp THPT: DoET I APPENDICES Observational protocol  General information Teacher observed: _ Observation date: _ Grade: _ Lesson: _  Focus of the observation  What are the common classroom activities being used by the teachers of English in classes? Please tick (P) the appropriate box (1) Very effective (2) Not very effective (3) Effective (4) Not effective Activities information-gap activities jig-saw activities task-completion activities role-plays information gathering activities group work (1) (2) (3) (4) Notes II pair work accuracy activities fluency activities mechanical practice meaningful practice communicative practice opinion-sharing activities information-transfer activities reasoning-gap activities  Other comments: How are groups and pairs arranged by the teacher of English? Does the teacher control ethnic minority students’ use of their native language or Vietnamese language when students take part in classroom activities? If yes, what are his (her) solutions? How does the teacher actually conduct his (her) teaching? What teaching methods are applied? Do the problems documented by the teachers of English in the interviews exist in their teaching? If yes, what are the teachers’ solutions? III QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for my study “Challenging in learning English vocabulary of 10th grade ethnic minority students at Muong Bi high school” We would greatly appreciate if you could respond to the questions below Your opinions would be useful to this research Thank you very much for your valuable contributions Please answer the questions In your opinion, what is the role of vocabulary in learning English? Tick one appropriate A Very important C Quite important B Not very important D Not important at all In Tieng Anh 10 there are…… new words in one unit A too many B not too many The topics in the textbook are: A Unfamiliar to your daily life B Familiar to your daily life Number the following items from the least to the most difficult for you when you learn English vocabulary: A Word form (pronunciation and spelling) B Word use C Grammar rules of the word D Collocation E Aspects of meaning F Word formation Do you find it difficult to pronounce English words? A No B Yes Because they are too different from your mother tongue How does your teacher present the meaning of new words? A Translate them into Vietnamese B Use visual aids IV C Explain the meaning in English D Use synonyms and antonyms E Others (please specify) How does your teacher introduce the use of new words? A Explain in Vietnamese B Give examples and students draw out the rules C Others (please specify) How you practice new words in the class? A Make sentences with the words B Do gap filling exercises C Do multiple choice exercises D Do matching exercises E Play words games Does your teacher give you chance to learn vocabulary in pairs/ groups? A Never B Sometimes C Often D Always 10 How much time you usually spend learning new words at home? A About one hour a day B No time at all C More than one hour a day D Sometimes only when I am required to homework by the teacher E Others (please specify) V UNIT 8: LESSON 3: LISTENING I OBJECTIVES After the lesson, the students will be able to compare the past and present of the town Develop their listening skill through True or False and Gap-filling exercises II.TEACHING METHODS Communicative method III.TEACHING AIDS English book, Blackboard, Cassette, computer, projector… IV TEACHING PROCEDURE Time 7’ Steps Work arrangement WARM-UP *Crossword Puzzle You can choose any number from to 10 to answer the questions and complete the crossword puzzle.Who can answer question 10 or find out the keyword will be the winner This person plays an important role in your family (not dad) The name of the farmer mentioned in the unit The place that you are studying You walk on the small in the village Not big The opposite direction of “The East” You often stay in a when you are away from home The place that people often spend their holiday (Eg: Tan Da…) The streets now are so with vehicles 10 Because of the modernization, there have been a lot of _in my town in the past few years M S U V C R M Y H O O A O D L S Whole Class VI R C C 8’ H E R H S W O S O A M E T O W N A S E R D G L T L T E E L D S BEFORE YOU LISTEN I Pre-teach vocabulary: Introduce some new words, Let Ss listen and repeat, explain the meaning of each word Whole class Destroy(v) : /di'strɔi/ Atmosphere(n) : /'ætməsfiə/ Resort(n) Narrow(a) Resurface(v) : /ri:'zɔ:t / : /'nærou/ : /,ri:'sə:fis/ Suburb(n) : /'sʌbə:b/ II Checking technique Ask Sts to work in pairs to match the words in column A with their Vietnamese equivalents in column B A B Destroy a Làm lại mặt (đường) Atmosphere b Hẹp Resort c Tàn phá Narrow d Vùng ngoại Resurface e Khí Suburb f Khu nghỉ mát Answers: c e f b a d Pair work VII 17’ WHILE YOU LISTEN Listen to the talk and the tasks that follow Task Decide if the following statements are true (T) or (F) according to the talk Individual and pairwork Ask Sts to read the statements, underline the key words and give predictions Then let sts listen to the talk twice to finish the task Ask them work individually then compare their answers with partner Popffero is on the west coast of England Popffero used to be a tourist resort The town no longer has its old atmosphere There are more green trees in the town now than there used to be Everybody in the town likes its changes Elicit the answers from the Sts Answers: F F F F T Task Listen to the talk again, and write in the missing words Ask sts to read the passage, guessing the needed words the let them listen to the talk again once or twice if needed to fill in the blanks The small old(1) _have been pulled down, and tall buildings have been put there instead They’ve also built a big(2) _ in the middle of the town The narrow streets have been (3) _and resurfaced, so the big trees on the two sides of the streets have been (4) _ down The large area of grass land in the suburbs of the town has been turned into an ugly (5) park Even the old corner (6) _isn’t there any more It has been replaced by a big (7) _store And there is an (8) restaurant where there used to be an old tea shop Getting the answers by letting them play the game “Lucky numbers” Divide the class into groups Each group has three times to choose the number they want Behind the number is either a blank needed filling or a lucky number If it is a blank, the group has to Individual and pairwork VIII fill in the needed word to get 10 points with the right word If it is a lucky number, the group get 10 points without giving any word The group with the highest points will be the winner 12 11 10 00 Answers: houses hotel widened cut 10’ car shop department expensive AFTER YOU LISTEN Idividual work Ask Sts take turn to talk about the changes in your hometown or home village Pay attention to the followings: * Houses * Roads * Means of transport 2’ HOMEWORK - Summarize the main point of the lesson Whole class IX - Giving homework: Write a short paragraph about the changes in your hometown Prepare the next part: Writing X UNIT 7: LESSON 1: READING I OBJECTIVES After the lesson, the students will be updated with names of some popular TV programs such as Quiz Show, Portrait life… II TEACHING METHODS Communicative method III TEACHING AIDS English book, Blackboard, TV schedules extracted from newspapers IV NEW LESSON: Stages Teacher’s activities Students’ activities Warm  GAME: Jumbled Words Up - Gives Ss 10 words whose letters are in the wrong order - Notes Ss that all the words are forms of - Whole class listen to the mass media teacher - Asks Ss to work in groups and - Work in groups rearrange them in good order to make the right words * enslieisov - television * rwepeapns - newspaper * idora - radio * agenmiza - magazine - Explains the term mass media: Mass media or mass communications refer to public institutions that report news - Listen to the teacher and write down the term mass media and other stories Mass media also keep people updated - Asks Ss to give examples for each type of mass media - Work individually, give E.g: Newspaper: Tuoi Tre; Nhan Dan… examples for each type of mass - Has Ss work in pairs, ask and answer the media following questions - Asks some pairs practice in front of the Before class - Work in pairs you read - Asks Ss to read the programs and point out the new words: - Some pairs practice Others * New words: listen to - mass media (n) - new headline (n) XI While you read TASK1 TASK2 TASK3 AFTER YOU READ - weather forecast(n) - portrait of Life (n) - population and Development -quiz show(n) - TV Series (n) - folk songs (n) - documentary (n) - Wildlife World (n) - around the world - Asks Ss to read the new words - Asks Ss to read three TV program schedules and Task - Has SS compare and discuss their answers with a friend - Tells Ss to read the programs carefully and decide whether the statements are true or false Correct the false information - Calls on some Ss to explain their answers by giving evidence in the reading passage - Checks the answers in front of the class as a whole - Asks Ss to work in pairs, ask and answer the questions in the book basing on the information in the reading passage - Calls on some pairs to ask and answer in front of the class - Keeps Ss in pairs and asks them to tell their partner about one of the TV programs they like watching best and explain why - Calls on some Ss to give short talks on the given topic - Gives Ss Names of some popular programs on VTV: * Rush Hour: Gio cao diem * Sing to learn: hoc Tieng Anh qua bai hat * GAME SHOWS: - Wheel of Fortune: Chiec non ky dieu - Who wants to be millionaire?: Ai la trieu phu? - The price is right: Hay chon gia dung - One vs one hundred: Dau truong 100 - Who is who?: Ai la ai? - Individual work - Write down the new words - Whole class repeat the new words after the teacher Work individually - Compare the answers with a partner Work individually - Some Ss to explain the answers Others listen to - Listen to the teacher - Work in pairs - Some pairs ask and answer Others listen to Work in pairs - - Some Ss give short talks Others listen to XII HOME WORK - Listen to the teacher and write down - Learn the old lesson - Prepare the new lesson