A study on the use of New English File Elementary to teach speaking skills to first-year students at the Military Technical Academy

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** SẦM THỊ LOAN A study on improving first-year students’ vocabulary through extensive reading at Hanoi University of Business and Technology Nghiên cứu cải thiện từ vựng cho sinh viên năm thứ thông qua việc đọc mở rộng trường Đại học Kinh doanh Công nghệ Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2015 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** SẦM THỊ LOAN A study on improving first-year students’ vocabulary through extensive reading at Hanoi University of Business and Technology Nghiên cứu cải thiện từ vựng cho sinh viên năm thứ thông qua việc đọc mở rộng trường Đại học Kinh doanh Công nghệ Hà Nội M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Trần Hoài Phương HANOI – 2015 DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “A study on improving first-year students’ vocabulary through extensive reading at Hanoi University of Business and Technology” is my own research requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi Signature Sam Thi Loan i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr Tran Hoai Phuong, my supervisor for her encouragement and inspirational review during this process of writing the thesis Without her precious support and invaluable guidance, this thesis would never have been completed Besides, I would like to thank the authority of Hanoi University of Business and Technology for allowing me to carry out this study and thank my colleagues and all the students in class KT 19-05 for their participation in the study process Finally, an honorable mention goes to my families and friends for their assistance and support for me in completing this thesis ii ABSTRACT Vocabulary plays an important role in second language learning process However, for most of Vietnamese students in general and learners at Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) in particular, vocabulary seems to be one of the most difficult problems in learning English As a result, the researcher planned to conduct an extensive reading program as a mean of vocabulary improvement for first-year students at HUBT The study was carried out in the form of an action research study on 30 students of class KT 19-05 Before the implementation, a questionnaire was used to collect information from the students to identify the problem and the causes of the problem The collected data were analyzed to confirm the assumption that the lack of vocabulary really existed, and the cause of this problem was due to students‟ limited reading in class as well as at home Inspired by positive results in studies about extensive reading, the researcher created a plan of action in which graded readers were used for extensive reading The action plan was implemented in 10 weeks‟ time Then, the data were collected from various sources, including questionnaires, a pre-test, a post-test and book reports from students The findings from the study showed that extensive reading had a positive effect on learners‟ vocabulary acquisition and that there was a significant change in the students‟ attitude towards extensive reading Based on the findings of the study, some discussion and limitations were presented along with some important pedagogy of implications Despite the limitations, it is hoped that the study can be used as a reference as well as a source of useful information for other teachers who wish to utilize extensive reading in their class concrete context iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES vii PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aim of the study and research questions 3 Scope and significance of the Study Method of the Study Design of the Study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary 1.1.1 The Notions of Vocabulary 1.1.2 The place of vocabulary in foreign language teaching and learning 1.1.3 Approaches to Vocabulary Acquisition 1.2 Extensive reading 1.2.1 Extensive reading and intensive reading 1.2.2 Definitions of extensive reading 1.2.3 The basic principles of extensive reading 10 1.2.4 The relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension 11 1.3 Reading materials 12 1.3.1 Authentic materials 12 1.3.2 Simplified materials 13 1.4 Graded readers 15 1.4.1 What are graded readers? 15 1.5 Reading amount 16 iv CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 18 2.1 Research Questions 18 2.2 Description of Participants 18 2.3 Materials 19 2.4 Rationale for using action research 19 2.5 Data collection instrument 21 2.5.1 Questionnaire 21 2.5.2 Book report 22 2.5.3 Tests 22 2.5.4 Process of action research in this study 23 2.6 Data analysis method 24 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 The students‟ vocabulary levels 26 3.1.1 Results from learners‟ survey questionnaire 26 3.1.2 Results of the pre-test 31 3.1.3 Results of the post-test 32 3.2 Data collected from the Vocabulary Knowledge Scale 33 3.3 Students‟ attitude towards extensive reading 34 3.3.1 Data collected from the book report 34 3.3.2 The students‟ overall attitude toward reading materials 34 3.3.3 The students‟ opinions on the level of difficulty of reading material 36 3.3.4 Students‟ strategies to deal with new words 38 3.4 Data collected from attitude questionnaire 40 3.5 Discussion of research questions 42 3.5.1 Learners‟ vocabulary levels 42 3.5.2 The reasons for their performance on the vocabulary test 43 3.5.3 Positive effects of extensive reading on learners‟ vocabulary acquisition 43 3.5.4 Learners‟ attitude towards extensive reading 44 3.5.5 Other findings from the project 44 v PART III: CONCLUSION 45 Implications 45 Limitations 46 Conclusion 46 REFERENCES 48 APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE I Appendix 2: PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA KHẢO SÁT III Appendix 3: THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONAIRE V Appendix 4: THE ATTITUDE QUESTIONAIRE VI Appendix : THE VOCABULARY PRE-TEST VII Appendix : THE VOCABULARY POST-TEST VIII Appendix 7: THE POST-TEST (second measure) X Appendix 8: BOOK REPORT XIX Appendix 9: The list of graded reading stories & articles students read in the project XXI Appendix 10: The list of words marked YES, NS or NO in the pretest XXII Appendix 11: The list of words marked YES, NS or NO in the posttest XXIII Appendix 12: A sample of a lesson plan……………………………………… XXV vi LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURES Table 1.1: Number of word families at each graded reader level 15 Table 3.1: The students‟ self-assessment of their vocabulary knowledge 26 Table 3.2: Activities through which students learn English vocabulary most 26 Table 3.3: Learners‟ solutions when meeting a new word 27 Table 3.4: Students‟ opinions on the time for reading in class 28 Table 3.5: Students‟ opinion on the number of readings in their course book in class 28 Table 3.6: Students‟ habits of reading materials in English outside classroom 28 Table 3.7: Reading topics chosen by the students 29 Table 3.8: Students‟ attitude about being asked to read stories outside class 30 Table 3.9: The result of YES-marked words in the pre-test 31 Table 3.10: The results of YES-marked words the post-test in terms of 20 additional words 32 Table 3.11: Sample item requiring demonstration of word knowledge 33 Table 3.12: An overview of descriptive statistics obtained from the questionnaire responses 40 Figure 2.1: Action Research Cycle (McBride & Sckostak, 1989) 21 Figure 3.1: The students‟ overall attitude towards the reading materials 35 Figure 3.2: Students‟ opinion on the level of difficulty of the reading materials 36 vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study Founded in 1996 with the original name of Hanoi Private University of Management and Business, Hanoi University of Business and Technology (HUBT) has grown considerably in recent years and is becoming one of the most prestigious private universities in Vietnam At present, the university offers courses in three educational levels: College, Bachelor and Master with 15 different academic areas including Business Management, Trading Business, Tourism Business, Finance, Banking, Accounting, Information Technology, and Architecture and so on The university continues to pursue the goal of providing its undergraduate and graduate students with a practice-oriented education Every graduate with an HUBT degree is expected to master their professional knowledge, be proficient in using computer and especially be able to communicate in English in daily life situations as well as in business environment In order to meet the above demand, the university management board has put much emphasis on the teaching and learning of English, which is one of the crucial factors contributing to the success of both students and the university Consequently, HUBT spends a large volume of time teaching English for students from the first year to the third year The first-year students are expected to gain A2 level based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) after finishing the second term, before learning ESP (English for Specific Purposes) and TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) For this reason, the first year students are required to learn at least 240 compulsory periods of English in the first and second terms at the university Every week, the students have eight periods of English lessons; each is 45 minutes long The major course book used for students is Market leader (Elementary– 3rd edition by David Cotton, David Falvey and Simon Kent, the 2013 edition) Each unit of the book includes a wide range of activities: Vocabulary, Reading, Listening, Language review (Grammar) and Skills, and Case study (Speaking) Competition I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) department store I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means……………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Cuisine I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Income XIII I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) career I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) charity I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) popular I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it XIV means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Storm I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Information I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) …………………………………… …………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Chain I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… XV I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) career I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) report I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) bill I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) XVI I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Illness I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Change I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) Promise I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… XVII (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) grey I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (if you choose 4, please also complete 3.) equipment I don‟t know what this word means I have seen this word before, and I think it means…………………………………… I know this word It means………………………………… ……………………… (Give the meaning in English or Vietnamese.) I can use this word in a sentence (Write a sentence.) ………………………………………………………………………………………… (If you choose 4, please also complete 3.) XVIII Appendix 8: BOOK REPORT (adapted from Bamford, 1984, p.220) Title of story/article: (………………………………………………………………….) I read all………… /………… pages of the story/article How did you like the story/article? (circle one) A Great! (I loved it.) B Good (I liked it) C OK (I didn‟t mind reading it.) D Boring/ Stupid (I wish I hadn‟t read it) How difficult was the story/article? A Very easy B Easy C At my level D Difficult E Very difficult What did you when you met a new word? A Look up it in the dictionary B Guess the meaning from the context C Ask someone else for explanation Write your feeling about the story/article (Was it interesting and easy to understand the story? what was the story/article about? What did you like most about the main characters, the exciting events of the story/article?) ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… XIX ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Did you meet any difficulties while reading the story/article? ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… XX Appendix 9: The list of graded reading stories & articles students read in the project Source/Author Level The total number of words The Independence Beginner 156 Adele Brown Beginner 200 Amy Kazmin Beginner 220 http://www.english-forstudents.com/Stories.html Beginner 250 Therese Naber Elementary 255 The Observer http://www.english-forstudents.com/Stories.html Adrian Furnham http://www.english-forstudents.com/Stories.html Brothers Grimm Elementary 260 Elementary 280 Elementary 300 Elementary 320 Elementary 350 Frank Baum Elementary 450 The Business Wire Pre-intermediate 500 Danielle O'Connell Pre-intermediate 850 Kissing therapy http://depressivedisorder.bl ogspot.com/2011/11/kissin g-therapy-fordepression.html Pre-intermediate 995 The gift of the Magi O Henr y Pre-intermediate 1280 A Tiger or a Lady Frank Stockton Pre-intermediate 1500 Story/Articles Scientists tell us why we don‟t like Monday A trip to Peru Indian likes fast-food chain Paying attention Computer: How much is too much Take a tip from restaurant Online dating The book people The man who loved women The princess and the Frog The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus Ten ways to improve from your career Ten ways to stay fit & healthy 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 XXI Appendix 10: The list of words marked YES, NS or NO in the pretest Words YES NS NO Words YES NS NO fridge 10 20 26 cathedral 25 chain 20 27 scientist 18 coat 16 28 advertisement 22 fashion 22 29 musician 11 5.grey 3 24 30 competition 6 18 printer 25 31 neighbor 19 bandage 5 20 32 miserable 20 customer 17 33 career 19 trip 11 14 34 prince 15 13 10 staff 16 35 important 14 23 11 worry 10 18 36 charity 23 12 change 10 18 37 salary 14 16 13 crowded 18 38 price 15 12 14 rent 13 23 39 vegetarian 26 15 spacious 24 40 cruel 24 16 colleague 21 41 relax 13 11 17 report 17 11 42 useful 13 15 18 bill 19 43 railroad 25 19 equipment 16 44 belt 3 24 20 cuisine 0 30 45 alarm 11 16 21 strange 28 46 illness 2 26 22 check-out 26 47 orphan 25 23 tip 23 48 popular 15 14 24 waiter 14 13 49 equipment 25 income 10 19 50 department store 25 XXII Appendix 11: The list of words marked YES, NS or NO in the posttest Words YES NS NO coat 26 cathedral 29 advertisement 20 fashion Words YES NS NO 36 fridge 20 5 37 scientist 20 38 interest 19 28 1 39 chain 24 competition 21 40 musician 27 charity 28 1 41.prince 23 bandage 28 1 42 neighbor 21 customer 24 43 grey 24 tip 23 44 career 27 10 price 29 45 important 30 0 11 equipment 29 46 staff 27 12 vegetarian 24 3 47 salary 23 13 gym 28 1 48 colleague 23 14 rent 22 4 49 spacious 25 15 relax 28 50 information 27 16 useful 26 2 51 forget 25 17 railroad 22 52 report 20 18 bill 23 53 change 25 19 belt 26 54 alarm 26 20 illness 24 3 55 cuisine 21 21 strange 26 56 promise 25 22 unfortunately 15 57 problem 29 23 crowded 24 58 deep 18 6 24 suddenly 18 59 waiter 29 XXIII 25 market 30 0 60 appear 18 6 26 department store 26 2 61 charity 19 27 princess 23 62 printer 24 3 28 worry 22 63 storm 20 29 terrible 20 5 64 trip 26 30 baseball 24 3 65 check-out 25 31 snack 28 66 exciting 20 32 equipment 20 67 plan 26 33 favourite 16 7 68 healthy 20 34 fruit 26 69 strange 20 35 popular 27 70 income 27 XXIV Appendix 12: A SAMPLE OF A LESSON PLAN Date: 16/ 9/ 2015 Subject: English Class: KT 19 05 Period 1: Reading Time: 45‟ I Objectives: By the end of the lesson, students (Ss) will be able to: - Gain more extensive reading experience from other students in term of dealing with the meaning of new words in context - Using the information they have read to write and discuss the topic II Materials: Photo of two articles: Scientists tell us why we don‟t like + Monday + A trip to Peru III Procedure Time Steps Work arrangement 5‟ Warm –up Group work Competition game – Network Teacher (T) prepare a handouts with a network of the word “Trip” Trip 25‟ - T divides the class into groups and gives each group a handout T ask Ss to complete the network The winner will be the group completing the network in the shortest period of time Discussing XXV - T asks Ss whether they read and complete the book report or not Check closely how Ss did the book report T divides 30 students into groups then get them to work in the groups to discuss the two articles they have read regarding their feelings about the articles, difficulties they meet while reading, how they find the meaning of new words T calls on members of the groups take turn to share extensive reading experience with all the class T asks Ss how they find the meaning of words: “ great, scientist, satisfaction, employee, flexible ” without using dictionary T gives feedback to help Ss have better ways to the next readings 10‟ Wrapping –up T summarizes the main point of the lesson Assessment In general, Ss quite well fulfilled the tasks, however Some Ss are not familiar with this reading method so they are not interested in the articles 12 Ss complained the articles were difficult 22 students still look up new words in the dictionary Eight students did not write the feeling about the articles Adaptation T explains more clearly benefits of extensive reading provide reading strategies and guide them Ss how to read effectively XXVI T encourages Ss not to use a dictionary or ask someone else for new word meaning explanations while reading Encourage Ss to write their feeling about the articles and stories they read so that they can use word in contexts Homework Hand out the next two articles and a book report for Ss to at home Guide Ss carefully so that they feel easier and they have better job for next XXVII ... The action research was evaluated based on the results collected from the initial data, action data and post data From the findings of the action research evaluation, some conclusions as well as... in action research are ones based on information (or to use the research term, data) that an action researcher collects systematically.” In the Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied... collection and analysis of data relating to the improvement of some aspect of professional practice” Burns (2010: 2) states that action research is ? ?the central idea of the action part of action research