Using dialogues to teach vocabulary for the second-year non-English major students at Hanoi University of Industry

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES -  - VŨ THU TRANG USING DIALOGUES TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR THE SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY SỬ DỤNG ĐOẠN HỘI THOẠI ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ HAI CỦA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60 14 10 Hanoi – 2013 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES -  - VŨ THU TRANG USING DIALOGUES TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR THE SECOND-YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY SỬ DỤNG ĐOẠN HỘI THOẠI ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ HAI CỦA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 60 14 10 Supervisor : CẤN THỊ CHANG DUYÊN, MA Hanoi – 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Declaration i Acknowledgements ii Abstract iii Table of contents vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 2 Aims of the study Research question Research methodology Scope of the study Significance of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Teaching vocabulary in context 1.1 Definition of context 1.2 Context and vocabulary teaching & learning 1.3 Guessing and inferencing strategy 1.4 Contextual clues 1.5 Advantages and disadvantages of context in vocabulary teaching and 11 learning Dialogues as a context for teaching vocabulary 12 2.1 Dialogue definition 12 2.2 Types of dialogue 12 2.2.1 Grammar-demonstration dialogue 13 2.2.2 Conversation-facilitation dialogue 13 iv 2.3 Features of dialogue 14 2.3.1 Linguistic features 14 2.3.1.1 Phonetic features 14 2.3.1.2 Lexical features 14 2.3.1.3 Syntactic features 15 2.3.1.4 Objective features and situational features 15 2.3.1.5 Psychological features 16 2.3.2 Methodological features 16 2.4 Stages of teaching dialogues 16 2.4.1 Presentation Stage 17 2.4.2 Practice Stage 21 2.4.3 Production Stage 24 CHAPTER II: ENGLISH TEACHING AND LEARNING CONTEXT 26 AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY 2.1 Students and their background 26 2.2 Teachers and teaching methods 27 2.3 Material and facilities 27 2.4 Remarks on dialogues in the course book 28 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 29 3.1 Rationale for the use of an action research 29 3.2 Action research procedure 30 3.3 Background of the study 32 3.3.1 Participants 32 3.3.2 Data collection instruments 33 3.3.2.1 Test 33 3.3.2.2 Group Interview 33 3.3.4 Data collection procedure 34 CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS 36 v 4.1 The result of the pre-test and post-test 36 4.2 The result of group interview 37 4.2.1 Students‟ opinions of the effect of using dialogues to learn vocabulary 37 4.2.2 Preference of activities and exercises related to dialogue 37 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 Major findings 38 Implication 39 Limitation and suggestions for the further studies 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDIX I APPENDIX V APPENDIX XI APPENDIX XII APPENDIX XIV vi PART A: INTRODUCTION RATIONALE Hammer (1991) states “If language structure makes up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and flesh” It is clearly seen from this statement that vocabulary is central to language and is of great significance in language learning In the past, the importance of vocabulary teaching and learning was generally neglected for a long time, yet in recent years, the nature of vocabulary and its role in learning and teaching has been an increasingly interesting topic of discussion for researches, teachers, curriculum designers, theorists and others involved in second language learning Accordingly, numerous research studies related to this topic have been carried out It comes to a conclusion based on the research findings that “Through research the scholars are finding that lexical problems frequently interfere with communication; communication breaks down when people not use the right words " (Allen 1983) This highlights the significance of vocabulary in classroom teaching, for without vocabulary it is hardly possible to communicate When teaching the second-year students at Hanoi University of Industry, the writer finds out that vocabulary learning is a big problem to the students For young learners, perhaps it is less difficult to learn vocabulary items for the first time than to consolidate and remember them We often hear young learners complain that they keep learning and forgetting When English language young learners are acquiring new vocabulary, they need concrete methods to collect, store, and retrieve words for retention and future use Therefore, it is necessary to find out effective methods to help young learners retain new words in long-term memory According to Oxford and Crookall (1988), learning words in context is an effective vocabulary learning strategy and a main approach to improve vocabulary knowledge This has urged the researcher to carry out this action research AIMS OF THE STUDY The study is aimed at:  Examining the feasibility of using dialogues to teach vocabulary for the secondyear non-English major students in Hanoi University of Industry  Measuring the effectiveness of this vocabulary teaching technique on students‟ vocabulary acquisition Hopefully, based on the results of the study, the research aims to offer English teachers some suggestions for the better use of dialogues in their classes RESEARCH QUESTION The research was to seek answers to the following question: What is the students’ attitude toward learning vocabulary through dialogues? “To what extent does using dialogues to teach vocabulary affect students’ vocabulary acquisition?” RESEARCH METHODOLOGY To obtain the aims mentioned above, an action research is chosen for the study In this action research, pre-test and post-test are designed and used as data collection instruments The pre-test was exploited to gain the overview about student‟s vocabulary level before the study The post-test was administered to the students after four weeks in which dialogues were applied to help students learn vocabulary to measure the impact or effectiveness of this technique on students‟ vocabulary acquisition Collected scores were then processed and analyzed by T-test Paired Sample In addition, a group interview was conducts to get more in-depth data SCOPE OF THE STUDY It is impossible to cover every aspect of language theory and practice in this study Therefore, the study focuses on using dialogues to teach vocabulary for the second-year non-English major students in Hanoi University of Industry SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The results of this action research will help the author to improve her approaches to vocabulary teaching Those results can also be helpful to other teachers in the university or in other universities which have the same problems (vocabulary teaching & learning) with the university where this research was conducted DESIGN OF THE STUDY The research includes three main parts: Part A, Part B and Part C Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims of the study, the research question, the method of the study, the scope of the study, the significance of the study and the design of the study Part B: Development consists of four chapters:  Chapter 1: literature review  Chapter 2: English teaching and learning context at Hanoi University of Industry  Chapter 3: methodology  Chapter 4: data analysis and discussion Part C: Conclusion provides summary of major findings, implication, as well as presents limitation and suggestion for further study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Teaching vocabulary in context 1.1 Definition of context Context is an important concept Therefore, there have been many different definitions about context The word “context” comes from Latin words “co”, which means “together” and “text”, which means words, sentences Thus we can define that “context is the circumstance in which the word is used” In other words, it is the relationship between a word and other words around it In the light of linguistics, David Nunan (1993:7) points out in his book that “context refers to the situation giving rise to the discourse and within which the discourse is embedded” Another as noted by Nguyen Hoa (2000: 39), “context seems to be the minimal stretch of language that helps to understand what is written and spoken” In the light of human communication, Hymes (1974) views contexts as a limiter of the range of possible interpretations, and, on the other hand, a supporter of the intended interpretation Context can be seen as information and in turn, information is that which reduces uncertainly In this study, context is defined as a particular linguistic environment where a particular word is used and interpreted semantically and pragmatically In other words, in linguistics, context carries tremendous importance in disambiguation of meanings as well as in understanding the actual meaning of words Consequently, if learners cannot contextualize new words, the words are of little value and if meaning is not contextualized, it will be not easy for learners to memorize in addition to use new words appropriately As a result, using context to teach vocabulary is considered as one of effective vocabulary teaching technique 1.2 Context and vocabulary teaching & learning Learning vocabulary is an important factor in fluent second language (L2) speech Researchers have tried to find effective ways of teaching L2 vocabulary to L2 learners Different methods like glosses, mnemonic devices, and morphological and syntactic analyses are some examples of the attempts of second language teaching researchers to find practical ways of teaching L2 vocabulary (Min, 2008) From among all the proposed methods, contextualization has received special attention Webb (2007) points to the fact that different aspects of a word like its semantic relationships, syntagmatic and paradigmatic associations, and even its collocational behavior can be learned through context It is believed that context can have a positive effect on vocabulary acquisition of L2 learners Researchers like Engelbert and Theuerkauf (1999) refer to the positive effect of context on vocabulary learning reported in the literature Corrigan (2007) too claims that seeing vocabulary items in the context provides learners with information about the characteristic features of that word and the linguistic context in which that specific word occurs Gardner (2007) argues that many words in English have multiple meanings which are context-dependent When one tries to teach those words isolated from context, they lose their meanings and become vague In the work namely “The book of Learning and Forgetting”, Frank Smith asserts “Teaching one word at a time out of context is the worst way of teaching vocabulary, with rapid forgetting almost guaranteed.” In his opinion, people assimilate new words from context the first time they read them, “provided that gist of the material being read is both interesting and comprehensible Within five more encounters, the word and its conventional meaning are usually firmly established in the mind of the reader.” Nation, I S P (2001) Learning vocabulary in another language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nunan, D (2001) Research University methods in language learning, 9thed, Cambridge Press, The United States, 2001 Oxford, R L and Crookall, D., (1990) Vocabulary learning: a critical analysis of techniques TESL Canada Journal Read, J (2000) Assessing vocabulary Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Rivers, Wilga M 1981 Teaching Foreign-Language Skills Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Soars, J & Soars, L (1996) New Headway Intermediate, Oxford University Press Son, Tran Lam., (2009) “Using Information Gap Activities to Promote Communication in EFL Classes”, Paper presented at 5th National VTTN ELT Conference, Hanoi Stahl, S A (2005) Four problems with teaching word meanings In E H Hiebert & M L Kamil (Eds.) Teaching and Learning Vocabulary: Bringing Research to Practice Mahway, NJ: Erlbaum Sun, B and Zhou, R (2005) A research report on the senior high school students‟ use of contextual clues in lexical guessing FLTA, 2, 49-54 Thorne, C., & Wang, Q (1996) Action research in language teacher education ELT Journal, 50(3), 254-262 Walton, D and Krabbe, E C W (1995) Commitment in Dialogue Albany: SUNY Press 44 Webb, S (2007) Learning word pairs and glossed sentences: the effect of a single context on vocabulary knowledge Language Teaching Research, 11, 6381 Widdowson, H G (1994) Teaching Language as Communication Oxford University Press 45 APPENDIX PRE-TEST Time allowance: 45 minutes I Choose the best answer A lot of came to Ireland in the 1990s a immigrants b emigrants c invaders d colonies There was a nice meal and a band at the wedding a ceremony b reception c speech d group I mostly my friends via email a get on well with b have in common c keep in touch with d see each other Bob has had a very interesting _ He has had jobs in many countries and industries a carrier b job c career d work She‟s very successful Her _ has risen a lot in the past few years a money b salary c job d earnings I am very _ in old cars 10 a keen b interesting c interested d fond He _ his exam because he didn‟t study a failed b passed c missed d fell The house will look cleaner when you have finished the a home b housewife c housework d homework Stress is not an illness, but it can _ to many illnesses a get b celebrate c contribute d affect He off his holiday until after the winter a took b put c called d logged II Complete the sentences with a verb from A and a preposition from B Use each word once I A: put lie look throw turn run go pick go take try B: away out down off away after on back up out on You should _ lie _ down if you don‟t feel well It‟s cold _ your coat _ Can you _ _ my cat this weekend, please? I have to _ _ home now; it‟s late Please _ _ the lights Can I _ the dog _ for a walk? Don‟t _ the newspaper _, I want to read it _ _ these black shoes, they‟re smaller _ _ those books on the floor 10 You can‟t have a sandwich, we‟ve _ _of bread 11 _ _ and leave me alone! III Match each notice with a sentence II IV Which sentence fits the reply? Circle a, b, or c IV Read this restaurant menu Which meal would be best for each person? The first one has been done for you III „I‟d like something with meat and fish in it.‟ A „I like really hot, spicy food.‟ „I don‟t want a cooked meal – just something cold.‟ „I don‟t eat meat, cheese or rice.‟ „I want some meat, but I don‟t like chips or rice.‟ „I‟d like a vegetable dish with rice.‟ IV APPENDIX POST-TEST Time Allowance: 45 minutes I Complete this conversation about shopping Write ONE word in each gap The first one has been done for you are Jill: Where you going? Into town? Jack: Yes I‟m going to get a new of jeans Jill: you get me a few things from the supermarket? Jack: Yes, of course What we need? Jill: Well, we need coffee and a of milk And also, how eggs have we got? Jack: Only three And there much bread, either Jill: OK That‟s eggs, bread, milk, coffee … And what .8 10 11 you like for dinner? How about two steaks and a bottle of wine? Jack: Yes, that‟s a good idea Oh – wait a minute I haven‟t got money for all those things I‟ve 10 got £20 Jill: That‟s OK You can 11 by credit card at the supermarket II Choose the appropriate expression to substitute for the bolded & italicized word in each sentence below V His alarm clock is always set for six o‟clock He arises at the same time ever day a turns off b gets up c puts on She telephoned her friend to tell him about the meeting They decided to drive there together a turned on b took off c called up It‟s P.M now, and this important letter must be mailed today Can you take it to the post office immediately? a at first b right away c sooner or later Be sure to switch off the light before you leave the house a to turn off b to take off c to get off Pat placed her new hat on her head while cooking in the mirror a picked up b put on c gets on Remove your jacket and sit down for a few minutes a Turn on b Get on c Take off I want to stay unmarried for a while, but I hope to get married eventually a sooner or later b right away c at first In the beginning I thought that it was Bob who was in the car a To get on b At once c At first He boarded the bus at Broadway and 79th Street a got off b got on c picked up 10 John took the pecil with his fingers and began to write a note a turned on b got off c picked up III: Read this conversation in a hospital Choose the best words to fill the gaps The first one has been done for you VI A: How you break your leg? B: Oh, I was walking down some steps It A were B did C have A rained B has rained C was raining A slipped B trapped C dropped B fell C fallen ., and I and down and my leg What about you? What happened to your A felt head? A breaked B broken C broke A throwing B getting C putting A: I was in the kitchen away the shopping The cupboard doors were open, and I bent down to put some milk in A went the fridge, and then I up and A hit B stood C sat B hitted C hitting I my head on the cupboard door IV Choose the best answer A: My head is killing me! And my nose is running B: a- Don‟t worry He‟ll come soon b-You should call the police c-I think you should go to bed with a hot drink d-Why don‟t we go swimming? A: "I need to buy many things for our trip tomorrow." B: a-"If I were you, I'd get a job." b- "Let's go shopping!" c- "Why don't you go for a walk?" d- "You'd better call your parents." VII A: I'm afraid Mrs Alice is not in her office at the moment Would you like to leave a message? B: a-No, don't worry I'll call later b-Oh, dear! Where are you at the moment? c-What a wonderful surprise! I can't believe my eyes d-I will come to see you very soon A: Can I take these bags on with me? B: a- No, thank you It's easy for me to carry both of them b-I'm sorry Only one item of hand luggage per passenger c-I'd like to book a single room for two nights, please d-The weather is very nice today We can go then A: B: No problem It's stuffy in here a-Would you give me your work number, please? b-Would you mind opening the window? c-Can I help you? d-I'll give you a lift if you like VIII V Complete the conversation, mark the correct letter A - H VI Read the passage and answer the questions below Write your answer A, B, C or D Volunteering can be the experience of a lifetime and for some people it is a life changing experience Volunteer Bolivia is the international volunteer organization that combines a volunteer service learning experience with a program for an unforgettable intercultural experience They offer an affordable way for you to experience a foreign country while lending a hand Their variety of community volunteer positions provide you with the opportunity to make new friends, define a new career, develop new skills, and share your skills with others Short term volunteers are a crucial part of their program allowing you to fulfill IX the needs of a variety of children's centers scattered around the region These centers provide services for children Long term volunteers, are those who stay with them more than five months, speak intermediate Spanish and, are specialized volunteers who have an expertise that matches their Bolivian colleagues needs Many long term volunteers contribute in a collaboratively designed volunteer position such as helping in the office, translating, and working with the Bolivian staff If you have a specialized skill, they can place you in your profession Long term volunteers have also contributed as healthcare workers, physical therapists, graphic designers, by teaching advanced computer skills or in project development According to the writer, volunteer work is A a combination B an experience C an organization D a lifetime If you take part in Volunteer Bolivia, you have a chance A to work in a foreign country B to lose your career C to work in your hometown D to change experience According to the passage, A there is only one kind of volunteers B there are two kinds of volunteers: long term volunteers and short term volunteers C volunteers are not allowed to make friends D if you are a short term volunteer you will work with patients The word crucial in the passage means A necessary B not easy C very difficult Long term volunteers work as _ A designers B professors C healthcare workers D teachers of English X D important APPENDIX 3: The students’ vocabulary performance in post-tests Cases 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pre-test Scores 5 7 7 6 6 6 7 Post-test Scores 6 7 5 6 6 XI APPENDIX 4: GROUP INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS I: Interviewer S: Student I: Em thấy việc dùng đoạn hội thoại để dạy từ vựng thời gian vừa qua có giúp em học từ vựng tốt khơng? Vì sao? Cho ví dụ cụ thể S1: Em thích cách dạy Theo em thấy, từ ngữ đoạn hội thoại dạy lớp đơn giản đặc biệt gần gũi với đời thường em cảm thấy học từ nhanh nhớ lâu S2: Em thấy cách dạy hay mà khó đoạn hội thoại dài em phải nhớ nhiều từ vựng Vì có số từ em hay nhầm đưa phán đoán sai S3: Với phương pháp em tham gia vào nhiều hoạt động làm theo cặp, theo nhóm… em thấy vốn từ tăng lên nhiều phần học từ thầy cô phần học từ bạn bè S4: Các dạy giúp em nhớ từ nhanh biết dùng từ phù hợp với ngữ cảnh đoạn hội thoại mà chúng em học ngữ cảnh khác S5: Có Cách dạy giúp em dùng từ nên em cảm thấy tự tin giao tiếp mà trước em sợ S6: Chưa nhiều vốn từ kiến thức tiếng anh ban đầu em S7: Nhờ phương pháp em thích học từ vựng trước em thấy khơng khí học vui S8: Chưa hiệu từ nhiều nghĩa em thấy lúng túng sử dụng tình khác S9: Em thấy học từ vựng tốt em có hội thực hành nhiều XII S10: Có Nhờ cách dạy em đốn nghĩa từ qua ngữ cảnh với chủ đề quen thuộc I: Có dạng tập hoạt động mà em khơng thích? Vì sao? S1: Em thấy dang tập thay đơn giản không cần phải làm nhiều cho thời gian Ngược lại, dạng hoàn thành đoạn hội thoại lại khó u cầu phải có kiến thức rộng S2: Em thấy dạng hoạt động cho bổ ích em cảm thấy thích thú lần em học S3: Các dạng tập hoạt động cô cho em thích thích hoạt động đóng vai em trực tiếp tham gia nên nhớ từ lâu S4: Em thích dạng đốn nghĩa em đoán em nhớ lâu S5: Em khơng thích dạng reference words em đốn đa số sai S6: Em khơng thích hoạt động dùng body language bạn diễn khơng rõ ràng nên chúng em khó đốn S7: Em thích hoạt động cho giúp chúng em học tập chủ động hơn, sáng tạo S8: Các dạng tập cô cho phù hợp với khả em S9: Em thích hoạt động làm theo cặp theo nhóm qua chỗ em khơng hiểu em hỏi bạn S10: Em thích hoạt động sử dụng tranh ảnh qua tranh ảnh giúp em liên tưởng nhiều thú vị XIII