Using prefixes, suffixes and word roots to teach vocabulary for 10th form English-major students at Bien Hoa Specialized High School, Ha Nam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG THỊ PHƯƠNG THANH USING PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND WORD ROOTS TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR 10TH FORM ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT BIEN HOA SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOL, HA NAM (Sử dụng tiền tố, hậu tố gốc từ vào việc dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lớp 10 chuyên tiếng Anh trường THPT chuyên Biên Hòa, Hà Nam) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410 Ha Noi – 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES TRƯƠNG THỊ PHƯƠNG THANH USING PREFIXES, SUFFIXES AND WORD ROOTS TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR 10TH FORM ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT BIEN HOA SPECIALIZED HIGH SCHOOL, HA NAM (Sử dụng tiền tố, hậu tố gốc từ vào việc dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lớp 10 chuyên tiếng Anh trường THPT chuyên Biên Hòa, Hà Nam) M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410 Supervisor: Hoàng Thị Hồng Hải, M.A Ha Noi - 2013 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS BHSHS : Bien Hoa Specialized High School MOET : Ministry of Education and Training ELT : English Language Teaching ELLs : English Language Learners L2 : Second Language VSL : Vocabulary Learning Strategies LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Whether students often study vocabulary 28 Figure 2: Difficulty students have when remembering new words 28 Figure 3: Whether students have difficulty understanding an unfamiliar word 30 Figure 4: What students to guess the meaning of a word in a text 30 Figure 5: Whether students know word parts (prefixes, suffixes and roots) 31 Figure 6: The percentages of students who know prefix groups 31 Figure 7: The percentages of students who know suffixes 32 Figure 8: The percentage of students who know word roots 32 v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ ways of learning vocabulary 29 Table 2: What students when coming across a new word while reading 30 Table 3: Students’ assessment of the word parts introduced in the program 34 Table 4: Students’ assessment of the exercises and activities designed by the 34 teacher Table 5: Students’ assessment of the benefits gained from learning word parts 35 Table 6: Students’ assessment of the benefits gained from doing the exercises and 35 activities in the program Table 7: Results of the pre-test 37 Table 8: Results of the post-test 37 Table 9: Results of the pre-test and post-test 38 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract List of Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the Study Aims of the Study Research questions of the Study Scope of the Study Significance of the Study Research Methodology Design of the Study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary 1.1.1 Definitions of Vocabulary 1.1.2 Classification of Vocabulary 1.1.2.1 According to the Language Methodology 1.1.2.2 According to the Concept of Morpheme 1.1.2.3 According to the Meaning 1.1.2.4 According to the Sequence of Use 1.1.2.5 According to the Function of Vocabulary Items in a Sentence 1.2 Vocabulary learning strategies 1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary learning strategies 1.2.2 Classification of vocabulary learning strategies Vocabulary learning strategy - Morphemic analysis 1.3 Word structures or morphology 1.3.1 Prefixes 1.3.2 Suffixes…… 1.3.3 Roots 1.4 Word formation 1.4.1 Definition of word formation … 1.4.2 Main types of word formation i ii iii iv iv v 1 2 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 9 10 11 14 14 15 vii 1.5 Previous studies on using prefixes, suffixes and roots to teach vocabulary 16 1.6 Summary 17 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 Research Context 18 2.2 Research Approach 19 2.3 Participants 19 2.4 Data Collection Instruments 20 2.4.1 Questionnaires 20 2.4.2 Pre-Test and Post-Tests 21 2.5 Intervention: The Vocabulary Learning Program 21 2.5.1 Word parts to be taught 21 2.5.2 The Types of Exercises and Activities 22 2.5.3 Format of a lesson 23 2.5.4 The Schedule for the Vocabulary Learning Program 23 2.6 Data Collection Procedures 25 2.7 Data Analysis Procedures 26 2.7.1 Questionnaires 26 2.7.2 Pre-test and post-tests 26 2.8 Summary 27 CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 28 3.1 Preliminary Investigation 28 3.1.1 Students’ ways of learning vocabulary 28 3.1.2 Problems with unfamiliar words 30 3.1.3 Students’ knowledge of word parts 31 3.2 Evaluation 32 3.2.1 Results and discussion from the post-task questionnaire 32 3.2.2 Results and discussion from the pre-test and post-tests 37 3.3 Summary 39 41 41 41 42 43 REFERENCES 44 APPENDICES PART C: CONCLUSION Summary of Major Findings Pedagogical Implications of the Study Limitations of the Study Suggestions for Further Studies PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationales It is undeniable that vocabulary plays an important part in language acquisition because it is a means of communication without which nothing could be conveyed As for second language learners, it is still the main tool which learners can use to develop skills such as reading, listening, speaking and writing The importance of vocabulary knowledge to overall academic success, especially in the area of reading and oral comprehension, is well documented (Catts & Kamhi, 1999; Nagy & Scott, 2000; Snow, Porche, Tabors, & Harris, 2007; Stahl, 1999) Recent reading reports (National Reading Panel, 2000; RAND Reading Study Group, 2002) have emphasized the central role of vocabulary in student achievement as well as the paucity of research on promoting vocabulary acquisition (Stahl & Nagy, 2006) However, facts have shown that not many language learners own an abundant source of vocabulary knowledge and those who study English are not an exception English, though has become an international language and has attracted a huge number of learners, has proved to be a complicating language due to its Greek, Latin and French origins Many words used nowadays have Greek, Latin or French roots, prefixes and suffixes, which is a great hindrance to second language learners especially those who want to use English in academic and scientific areas At Bien Hoa Specialized High School, English major students, who have to study English extensively to meet the requirements of examinations and future need have the same problems related to vocabulary knowledge The author is teaching English at Bien Hoa Specialized High School and at this moment, she is in charge of teaching 10th form English major students After lessons at class and through some tests, she found out that they not know much vocabulary especially academic words which they often see in texts of advanced level Moreover, when the author interviewed and made a questionnaire in the class, she also discovered that they lacked effective methods of learning vocabulary For example, when asked about how to learn new words, students were confused and most said they tried to remember words by learning by heart Also, when checking students' vocabulary through activities from tests to skill practice, she came to a conclusion that students need to study vocabulary seriously and should have an effective method of learning words This urges the author to find a proper method of teaching vocabulary to help her students overcome this difficulty and this also motivates her to conduct this study on using prefixes, suffixes and roots to teach vocabulary for 10th form English major students at Bien Hoa Specialized High School, Ha Nam By slowly and steadily studying the most prominent prefixes, roots, and suffixes, students can acquire a vocabulary that is far greater than the sum of its parts Aims of the study This research is designed to bring a new air into the teaching of vocabulary to 10th form English major students In general, the purpose of this study is: - to use another vocabulary learning strategy using morphemic analysis - to find out how this method benefits students in studying vocabulary - to investigate students’ improvements and attitudes during the time the study is carried out The research questions To achieve the aims which are mentioned above, the following research questions are raised for exploration: - How does the method benefit the building of students’ vocabulary? - What changes students have after the lessons? - What are the attitudes of students towards the new method of learning vocabulary? Scope of the study In this study, because of limited time and students’ level, the researcher just wants to focus on teaching students the most popular prefixes, suffixes and word roots which help them to understand the most common words that they often come across while reading advanced level passages Also, she just does research on teaching vocabulary to a limited number of students, that is 34 tenth form English major students during weeks However, the study is hoped to be beneficial to those who want to improve their knowledge of academic vocabulary and those who find understanding a word through its parts helpful Significance of the study Affixes including prefixes and suffixes make up a big part in the formation of words Knowing as many words as possible will help develop practical skills (reading, listening, speaking and writing) and knowing as many affixes and roots as possible will enable students to remember words in an easier way This study which the researcher is going to carry out is hoped to satisfy this goal Moreover, teaching vocabulary through prefixes, suffixes and roots, though is not alien to researchers in the history of education, is still quite a new method which very few teachers think of in their teaching Therefore, the researcher wants to look into and try this method with the hope that it will help her solve this current problem and benefit both learning and teaching vocabulary in the future Method of the study The method employed in this study is an action research, using a number of instruments such as a pre-task and post-task questionnaire, a pre and post test After analyzing the data, conclusions will be drawn and some suggestions will be made in this thesis Design of the study This study includes three main parts, which are presented as follows: Part A is the introduction which includes the rationale for the research topic, aims and research questions, research methodology, scope, significance and design of the study Part B is the development which consists of three following chapters: Chapter reviews some theoretical background relevant to the study It includes general knowledge of English vocabulary in foreign language teaching and learning and an overview of word structures or morphology as well as previous studies of other researchers on the related issues Chapter presents the research methodology This chapter introduces the research context, research approach, participants, intervention, data collection instruments, data collection procedures and data analysis procedures Chapter goes into details of the data analysis, results and discussion Part C is the conclusion which includes the summary, implications, limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will review some background information relevant to this study First, the ideas of researchers about the importance of learning word parts are looked into Next, an overview of English vocabulary such as definitions, classification, vocabulary learning strategies, and a revision of words structures such as prefixes, suffixes and roots are presented 1 Vocabulary 1.1 Definition of vocabulary It is not easy to define exactly what a word is So far, there have been a number of definitions of vocabulary Some linguists define it according to semantic criterion while others refer to it according to the phonological or potential one Diamond and Gutlohn (2006) gave a very broad definition, that is “vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings” Fran Lehr, in the website http://www.prel.org/products/re_/ES0419.htm defined vocabulary as knowledge of words and word meanings in both oral and print language and in productive and receptive forms According to Parmer (1983), the semantic unit may be a sequence of several words The phrasal verb “look after” is a typical example This phrase includes two words but its meaning can only be understood in the entire phrase and can not be interpreted by analyzing its single parts Ur (1996) defined vocabulary “as the words we teach in the foreign language” However, this author also added that “a new item of vocabulary may be more than a single word, a compound of two or three words and multi-word idioms” According to Lewis (1993), vocabulary “…may be individual words, or full sentences - institutionalized utterances - that convey fixed social or pragmatic meaning within a given community” From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, vocabulary is commonly considered as "all the words known and used by a particular person" Pyles and Algeo (1970) said that “vocabulary is the focus of language with its sound and meaning, which interlock to allow us to communicate with one another, and it is words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds” XVI Exercise 2: Identify the prefix, suffix and base and give the meaning of the following words: Postwar, precautions, rebuild, refinance, overbook, oversleep, overwork, pre-expose, prejudge, , superpowers, postgraduation Appendix 11: Lesson Now you will learn five negative prefixes: un-, de-, dis-, mis- and mal- Look at the following table Prefixes Meaning un2 de- unpack Reverse the action dis4 mis5 mal- Example decode disconnect Wrongly Badly, bad misinform maltreat Exercise 1: Write the opposite meanings of the underlined words in the blanks provided Study the chart before doing this exercise Be sure to use your dictionary if you need help The proposal for the new bridge is acceptable unacceptable The discussion ended up with most people in agreement _ You have spelled too many words _ The phone company will connect your telephone soon _ Due to the deaths of several patients, a lawyer was sent to _ investigate the doctor’s practice _ The author was angry because he was quoted in the newspaper _ The province was populated after the war _ XVII Exercise 2: Identify the prefix, suffix and base and give the meaning of the following words: Devalue, deselect, unbend, uncouple, unfasten, disappear, disallow, discontinue, malfunction, , malnutrition misconduct, , mislead, misinform, misidentify Appendix 12: Lesson Now you will learn five more negative prefixes: il-, in-, im-, ir-, non- Look at the following table Prefixes Meaning Example il- illegal in- inattention im- immoral ir- the converse of irresponsible non- nonsmoking contra- contrary (contr-, counter-) counteract Exercise 1: Look at the words listed below Write down their negative forms next to the appropriate prefix legal logical smoker relevant loyal mature possible responsible rational convenient XVIII Exercise 2: Identify the prefix, suffix and base and give the meaning of the following words: infallibility, illiteracy, illegible, irreplaceable, nonsense, non-denial, nonprofit, counterspy, contravene Appendix 13: Lesson In this lesson, you will study two prefixes: be-, en-(em-) -ify, -ize and -en, which are used to form nouns Look at the following table and three suffixes : XIX Exercise 1: Write either be- or en- to complete the meaning of the sentences The man wanted to large his only daughter’s picture People who come into contact with her are He felt She I have deviled couraged by the progress he made decks herself with jewels listed him in this enterprise Exercise 2: Complete the following sentences by changing the adjectives or nouns in italics into verbs by using -ify, -ize or -en - Your explanation is too difficult for me to understand Can you it a little? simple - The runway is too short to take the planes They are making plans to _ it length - Most people seem to think it would be a good idea to units of weights and measurements throughout the world standard - That water is not pure enough to drink It will have to be before it can be used pure - The government says it is spending too much money, and that ways must be found to economy Exercise 3: Identify the prefix, suffix and base and give the meaning of the following words: entomb, enliven, embody, embitter, befriend, belittle, lengthen, moisten, sharpen, fantasize, clarify, industrialize, modernize XX Appendix 14: Lesson This lesson focuses on number prefixes: uni-, mono -, bi -, tri-, quad- multi- and poly- Look at the chart below Prefixes Meaning Example uni- one uniform mono- monotone bi- two bilingual tri- three tricolor quad- four quadrilateral multi- many multi-racial poly- polyclinic Exercise 1: Complete the following sentences with the correct number prefixes: uni-, mono-,bi-, tri-, multi- and poly- “Juxtaposition” and “metamorphosis” are examples of In Thailand we need A “ syllabic words -storied car parks to accommodate all the cars corn”, a horse-like animal with one long horn, is the symbol of Wales Because of the energy crisis, Nowadays cycles are becoming increasingly popular cycles are still popular with small children One of the fastest means of transportation in Japan is the rail Exercise 2: Write a single word beginning with bi-, tri- or quad- to complete each sentence Use the clues to help you The _plets were called Billy, Milly and Tilly (three children born at the same time to the same mother) The class published a ly magazine for the parents (twice a month) Our dog Blaze gave birth to ruplets (four puppies) A page usually has a shape like a rilateral (four-sided geometrical shape) The students had to line up in the school _rangle (paved area surrounded by buildings on four sides) XXI Joe was allowed to play the in the school orchestra (small percussion instrument with three sides) The football team has ly training (two times a week) The three singers decided to form a for the talent contest (group of three musicians) Appendix 15: Lesson In this lesson, you will learn some prefixes: coll-,(con-, com-, cor-), inter-, and trans- Look at the table Prefix Meaning coll- Example collaborate (con-) with, together conduct (com-) combine (cor-) corporation inter- between, among international trans- across, beyond, change transform Exercise 1: Use the following words to fill in the blanks to complete the sentences collaborated colleagues collectable collide collocation combat inter-city transferred A German company with a Swiss firm to develop the product _ is the combination of words formed when two or more words are often used together in a way that sounds correct In New York, there is _ bus service, which is convenient for tourists Dolls for girls are highly We’re entertaining some _ of Ben’s tonight No one knew how many troops had died in _ It was predicted that a comet would with one of the planets He has been _ to a psychiatric hospital XXII Exercise 2: Identify the prefix, suffix and base and give the meaning of the following words: communication, commerce, collate, confederation, contact, interstate, inter-university, translation, transition Appendix 16: Lesson Now you will learn roots: -cred-, -vis(e)-, -scribe- (-script-) Look at the table Root Meaning Example -cred- believe credible -vis(e)- see television (-vid-) -scribe- video write transcribe (script) Exercise 1: Using all you know about prefixes, suffixes, and roots, guess the meaning of each of the underlined words from their context Circle the letter of the best answer Credulous people will accept all c - quite understandable the promises of the politicians d - much impressed a - with low education We inscribe a tomb with a name b - well-planned a - write words on c - stupid and selfish b - carefully paint d - ready to believe things c - build up What they did was incredible d - usually remember a - unbelievable Take this prescription to the drug b - very interesting store XXIII a - announcement c - sight b - diagram d - ability c - written order The manager appointed one person to d - result supervise his workers Pilots must have perfect vision a - invite before they may obtain a license b - pay a - training c - improve b - health d – observe Exercise 2: Analyze the prefixes, suffixes and roots and guess the meaning of the following words: Credit, describe, subscribe, prescribe, evident, visible, vista, review, indivisible XXIV Appendix 17: Lesson 10 In this lesson, you will study three more roots: -dict-, -gress- and -ject- Look at the chart below Root Meaning Example -dict- say, speak diction -gress- move, step progressive -ject- throw, put inject Exercise 1: Make words by combining the prefixes listed in Column A with the roots in Column B, and use these words in completing the following sentences The meaning given in parentheses will help you get the right word Column A Column B preproree(x)- -dict -gress -ject - The teacher marked the pupil’s (advance) on a chart - The architect was very disappointed that his new city plan had been ed (turned down) - Please (cause a picture to appear on the screen) the picture on the screen so that everyone can see it - The fortune teller - The pilot ed (told in advance) that there would be an earthquake ed (removed) himself from his falling jet-fighter - The quality of their work has gradually ed (returned to an earlier state) - The prisoners were pardoned by a royal (order given by a ruler) Exercise 2: Analyze the prefixes, suffixes and roots and guess the meaning of the following words: egress, congress, trajectory, dejected, inject, dictation, dictionary, verdict XXV Appendix 18: Lesson 11 In this lesson, you will study four more common roots : -form-, -port-, spectand -mit- (-miss-) These roots will help you guess the meaning of new words Root Meaning Example -form- form, shape reform -port- carry portable -tort- twist distort -spect- look prospective -mit-(-miss-) send transmitter Exercise 1: Use the following words to fill in the blanks to complete the sentences suspects emits informed conform transportation submitted formative inspected imported dismissed In order to promote the sale of Thai cigarettes, the government has banned those _ from other countries The servant was _ for being dishonest Have you _ them of your intended departure? He _ the notes and found that they were forgeries A volcano _ smoke and ashes My car is being repaired so I am without _ You should _ to the rules All the _ were taken to jail for questioning about the murder All papers must be _ no later than Friday 10 Psychologists today say that the _ years of a child are from birth to age Exercise 2: Analyze the prefixes, suffixes and roots and guess the meaning of the following words: format, conform, porter, portable, transport, support, spectacle, aspect, prospect, submit, transmit, mission XXVI Appendix 19: Lesson 12 So far 10 roots have been presented This lesson will present three more roots: -flect-, -tract- and -tend- Study the chart and notice the meaning of each root Root Meaning Example -flect- bend deflect (-flex-) flexor -tract- draw, pull tractor -tend- stretch extend (-tens-) extension Exercise 1: To this puzzle correctly, you will need some but not all of these words Use one word only for each answer Do not use any word more than once You are allowed to use your dictionary distract tractable retracted extend tenseness extensive inflexible reflection XXVII Exercise 2: Analyze the prefixes, suffixes and roots and guess the meaning of the following words: flexible, reflect, circumflex, attract, subtract, contract, extend, tendency, intend, contend XXVIII Appendix 20: Lesson 13 Morpheme analysis In this lesson, you will learn how to analyze a word into prefixes, suffixes, and roots and find what the word means from the meaning of its parts Look at the following list of words: Let’s break the words into its parts: prefixes, suffixes and roots Then, remember the meaning of each word part that you have learned and combine it so that you can come to the overall meaning of the word Example: Unity = uni- + -(i)ty = being one, together (one) (forming Noun) Transportation = trans- + -port- + -ation = the action of carrying something to somewhere (across) (carry) (forming Noun) Now work with your partner and break all the following 10 words and try to guess their meaning, using morpheme analysis presupposition overrate superimposition incredible mismanagement nonrenewable maltreatment enslave uncover empower XXIX Appendix 21: Lesson 14 In this lesson, you will continue to practice analyze the meaning of the following words: monotone dictator multidimensional formulation polytechnic retrospective trisyllabic intermittent manuscription reflect Work with your partner and find the meaning of each words basing on their parts Appendix 22: Lesson 15 Now you will work with another list of 10 words with the word parts you have learned Work individually and try to find out their meaning without looking up in the dictionary Then, check the meaning with your partner becalmed triangle monosyllabic quadrangle multiplicity eject polygraph invisible unify inspector 30