The effectiveness of using pictures in teaching vocabulary at smart kids school in bac ninh province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -  - NGUYỄN THỊ HOA THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING PICTURES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY AT SMART-KIDS SCHOOL IN BAC NINH PROVINCE (Hiệu việc sử dụng tranh ảnh việc dạy từ vựng trường Smart-Kids, tỉnh Bắc Ninh) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -  - NGUYỄN THỊ HOA THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING PICTURES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY AT SMART-KIDS SCHOOL IN BAC NINH PROVINCE (Hiệu việc sử dụng tranh ảnh việc dạy từ vựng trường Smart-Kids, tỉnh Bắc Ninh) M.A MINOR THESIS Field : English Language Teaching Methodology Code : 60140111 Supervisor: Hà Cẩm Tâm (Ph.D) Hanoi, 2014 CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT I hereby certify that this thesis is my own work and effort and that it has not been submitted anywhere for any award Nguyen Thi Hoa i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all the people who gave me the possibility to complete this thesis First of all, I would like to express my sincere and deep gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Hà Cẩm Tâm for her invaluable advice, careful instruction and helpful encouragement during the process of writing this minor thesis Secondly, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all of my lecturers in the Faculty of Post- graduate Studies, the University of Foreign Languages and International Studies for useful lectures and suggestion that have inspired and helped me much in the clarifications of my study My special thanks also go to all teachers and students at Smart-kids school in Bac Ninh province who contribute to the idea budget and spent time completing observation and tests Finally yet importantly, I would also like to express my genuine appreciation to my friends and my family for their unending support and words of encouragement If there had not been great help from the above people, the study could not have been fulfilled ii ABSTRACT Vocabulary is one of the important elements in teaching English In acquiring a foreign language, learning vocabulary is considered as one of important tasks At Smart-kids school, learning and teaching vocabulary is a major concern, too In an attempt to investigate the effect of pictures in teaching vocabulary the study has been conducted in the form of an action research The participation of the study comprised 30 kindergarten students They were randomly assigned into two homogeneous groups each consisting of 15 learners The experimental group used pictures in teaching vocabulary but the control group didn‟t use The classroom observation and tests were the main instruments employed for the data collection The result showed that the students in the experimental group outperformed the students in the control group in their vocabulary knowledge It means that the contribution of pictures in teaching vocabulary to students led to higher level of vocabulary improvement Therefore, using pictures in teaching vocabulary seems to be more effective than not using iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS .vii PART A INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims and significant of the study Scope of the study Research methodology Organization of the study PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary teaching 1.1.1 Stages in vocabulary teaching 1.1.1.1 Presentation 1.1.1.2 Practice 1.1.1.3 Production 1.1.1.4 Review 1.1.2 Techniques in vocabulary teaching 1.1.3 Factors affecting vocabulary retention 1.1.3.1 Memory 1.1.3.2 Motivation 11 1.1.3.3 Person-dependent factors 13 1.2 Pictures in teaching vocabulary 15 1.2.1 The meaning of pictures 15 1.2.2 The types of pictures 16 iv 1.2.3 Issues of using pictures in teaching vocabulary 17 1.2.4 Activities using pictures in teaching vocabulary 19 1.2.5 Review of previous studies on using pictures in teaching vocabulary 20 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 22 2.1 Research question 22 2.2 Informants 22 2.3 Planning 23 2.4 Acting 24 2.5 Observing 25 2.6 Reflecting 25 CHAPTER DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 26 3.1 Classroom observation 26 3.1.1 Memory 26 3.1.2 Interest 28 3.1.3 Classroom interaction 32 3.2 Test result 34 3.2.1 The progress tests 34 3.2.2 The final test 35 3.3 Finding and comments 37 PART C CONCLUSION 40 Conclusion 40 Implications 41 Limitations and recommendations for further studies 41 REFERENCES 43 APPENDIX I APPENDIX I APPENDIX IV APPENDIX VI APPENDIX VIII v LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table 1: The number of students remembers ……………………………… 27 and words …………………………………33 Table 2: The progress tests Chart 1: The students‟ participation in learning …………………………………28 activities in class Chart 2: Classroom interaction …………………………………32 Chart 3: The final test …………………………………35 Chart 4: Means of the tests …………………………………36 vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Part A – Introduction- provides the background to the study and statement of the problem, the aims, the research question, the scope of the study as well as the research methodology It also outlines the organization of the thesis Rationale of the study English teaching involves four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing One of the main tasks assigned to foreign language teaching at school is that of training students to be communicatively competent Speaking is "the process of building and sharing meaning through the use of verbal and non-verbal symbols, in a variety of contexts" (Chaney, 1998: 13) In any second language teaching and learning, speaking is always believed to be the most vital skill and in teaching speaking, vocabulary is the most important thing “If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh.”(Harmer 1993: 153) Cook‟s (2000) conclusion is also consistent with Wilkins in that “Grammar provides the overall patterns, vocabulary the material to put into those patterns” Or some authors, led by Lewis (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the center of language teaching, because „language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar‟ From the statement, it can be seen that vocabulary functions as a cornerstone without which any language could not exist Speaking would be meaningless and perhaps impossible having only structure without vocabulary Therefore, the English teacher has to be able to organize teaching and learning activities; they have to give materials by using a suitable technique and master the lesson effectively Especially in learning vocabulary, teachers must make the students able to memorize such words in English language and group of new words Celce Maria stated that research in first and second language acquisition suggest that initial teaching priorities for language areas should be vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation Therefore, the English teacher has to be able to organize teaching and learning activities and they have to give materials by using a suitable technique and master the lesson effectively Especially in learning vocabulary, teachers must make the students able to memorize such words in English language and group of new words The statements above mean, vocabulary is important to teach and teachers must try to find the most effective way to help learners retain new words in long term memory As a teacher at Smart-kids schools, I realize that teaching vocabulary is major concern because at the age of five, students cannot write or read and the effective way to teach is through pictures Therefore, I choose this topic to understand more about the effectiveness of using picture in teaching vocabulary Aims and significance of the study This study is aimed at finding out the effectiveness of using picture in teaching vocabulary at Smart-kids school based on the understanding of vocabulary and pictures in linguistic notion and the situation of teaching and learning there Through this, some implications to solve these problems will be suggested The result of the research will be helpful for many English teachers in many schools especially Smart-kids school in Bac Ninh province From this, the teachers will find an effective ways and apply many activities in class to attract students attention in learning new words Basing on suggestions in this research, teachers can have their own way to teach their students Scope of the study I cannot go into details of all parts of language theory and practice because of the limited time, the shortage of reference books, and the students‟ language ability This is also a wide topic so I mainly focus on the effect of using picture in teaching vocabulary in the field of memory, interest and interaction Research methodology This methodology used in the study is those of an action research Thus, it applied both qualitative and quantitative approaches with two methods of data collection The qualitative data were collected from observation and the quantitative data were collected from tests including two progress tests and one final test However, it was noteworthy that these above short-comings should always be taken into consideration when further studies are conducted in the future Though this is just a small-scaled study on the issue, it may provide some helpful suggestions for other teachers However, for further studies, the researcher would like to give following suggestions Firstly, in this study, vocabulary flash card was used to teach vocabulary to Smart-kids students In another research, it can be used to teach other components of the language, such as grammar Secondly, interested researchers can investigate the impact of one specific type of pictures such as flash card or wall chart 42 REFERENCES Andrew Wright (1989) Picture for Language, learning Cambridge Handbook for Language Teachers Cambridge University Press Betty Morgan Bowen (1973) Look Here!, Visual Aids In Language Teaching, London: essential Language- Teach Series Brazna Szyke (1981) Using Pictures as Teaching Aids;(English Teaching Forum, Vol.XIX,No.4 Brown, H.D (2000) Principles of Language Learning and Teaching (4th edn.) New York: Longman (Formerly New Jersey: Prentice Hall) Burns, A (1999) Collaborative action research for English teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Celce Maria (1987) Current Perspective on Pronunciation: Practice Anchored in Theory Washington DC: Teachers of English to Speaker of Other Languages Chaney, A.L., and T.L Burk 1998 Teaching Oral Communication in Grades K-8 Boston: Allyn&Bacon Cobuild, C (1987) English Language Dictionary Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cook, G (2000) Language Play, Language Learning Oxford University Press 10 Doff, A (1988) Teaching English: A training course for teacher-trainer’s handbook Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 11 Ellis, R (1994) The Study of Second Language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University 12 Ellis, Rod (1985) Understanding Second Language Acquisition Oxford, England: Oxford University Press 13 Gairns, R., & Redman, S (1986) Working with words: A guide to teaching and learning vocabulary Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 14 Harmer, J (1993) The Practice of English Language Teaching Essex: Longman Group UK Limited 43 15 Hunt, A & Beglar, D (2002) Current research and practice in teaching vocabulary learning In J.C Richard & W.A Renandya Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 16 Kemmis, S.,& Mc Taggart, R (1988a) The action research planner (3rd ed.) Geelong, Australia: Deakin University Press 17 Kemmis, S.,& Mc Taggart, R (1988b) The action research reader (3rd ed.) Geelong, Australia: Deakin University Press 18 Lewis, M (1993) The lexical approach Hove: Language Teaching Publications 19 Lightbown, P M and Spada, N (1999) How Languages are Learnt (2nd edn.) Oxford: OUP 20 McCarthy, Michael.1990 Vocabulary Oxford: Oxford University Press 21 Rogers, A & Horrocks, N (2010) Teaching adults Berkshire: Open University Press 22 Schmitt, N (1997) Vocabulary learning strategies In N Schmitt & M McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 23 Spolsky, B 1989 Conditions for Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: Oxford University Press 24 Stern, H.H 1983 Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press 25 Thornbury, S (2002) How to teach vocabulary New York: Prentice Hall 26 Thornbury, S (2004) How to teach vocabulary New York: Prentice Hall 27 Vernon,S,Gerlach and Donald P.Emily (1980) Teaching and Media a Systematic Approach (New Jersey: Prentice Hall) 28 Williams, M & Burden,R (1997) Psychology for language teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 29 Wright, Andrew Pictures for Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990 ISBN 0-521-35800-0 30 http://www.teach-this.com/esl-games/flash-card-games 44 APPENDIX LESSON PLAN Lesson plan 1: Time: period UNIT 3: ON A PINIC - Conversation; introducing yourself - Questions and short answers - Vocabulary I Objectives At the end of the lesson, students will be able: - To know about things they can bring when they go on a picnic - To ask and answer about friend‟s hobby - To express feeling: hungry and thirsty II NEW LESSON: Period Stage Activity Teacher warm up Students - ask questions: - Answer question of the teacher What is your name? - sing the song How is the weather? - revise vocabulary of previous How are you today? week: book, crayon, pencil, ruler - ask students to sing the song named “ the sun comes up” - homework check: ask about the school objects teaching - introduce new topic: go on a - answer the teacher‟s questions vocabulary picnic - tell their picnic - ask the students: Have you ever I Stage Activity Teacher Students gone on a picnic and where? - teaching vocabulary: - as teacher‟s order - rice - take part in activities - rice - chicken - cake - candy - read aloud new words and ask - practise conversation with partners students repeat - use guessing picture game - watching vocabulary II video to review Stage Activity Teacher Students - listen and point the picture Review vocabulary -practising conversation to review new words: What you like? Do you like…?_ I like… I am hungry_ me, too/ I‟m not  by practicing conversation, they can review new words -let students watch a video on internet about food warp up - ask students to learn - sing the song vocabulary - sing the goodbye song Materials - Pictures - CD Evaluation - Observation - Participation III APPENDIX THE PROGRESS TEST Name: Class: Exercise 1: Listen and tick the right picture ( ) ( The teacher has to read aloud the word) Fly a kite    Tea       bike IV chicken   Exercise 2: look at the picture and answer questions Do you like + things in the picture? What‟s this? ( teacher points things and asks) V  APPENDIX THE PROGRESS TEST Name: Class: Exercise 1: Listen and tick the right picture ( ) ( The teacher has to read aloud the word) Ride a bike        Sing  snake  VI Cat   Exercise 2: look at the picture and name animals VII  APPENDIX THE FINAL TEST  Name:  Class: Exercise 1: Listen and tick the right picture ( ) (The teacher has to read aloud the word) Dog    Monkey Candy   VIII  chair    door       10.milk 11.flower IX Exercise 2: look at the picture and name action Exercise 3: Listen to a sentence and answer question which is Mai? X Which fruit you like? How is the weather? What are you doing? XI How many pencils you have? Exercise 4: Speaking Ask and answer question? Do you like drawing/ flying a kite? Can you name classroom objects? XII ... about the effectiveness of using picture in teaching vocabulary Aims and significance of the study This study is aimed at finding out the effectiveness of using picture in teaching vocabulary at Smart- kids. .. 1.2.3 Issues of using pictures in teaching vocabulary 17 1.2.4 Activities using pictures in teaching vocabulary 19 1.2.5 Review of previous studies on using pictures in teaching vocabulary. .. previously, this thesis aimed at exploring the effectiveness of pictures in teaching vocabulary to kindergarten students The result of the study shows that using pictures in teaching vocabulary was