Applying the technique of guessing word meanings from context for 11th form students at le loi high school m a thesis linguistics 60 14 10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST GRADUATE STUDIES ************************ LÊ THỊ THỦY APPLYING THE TECHNIQUE OF GUESSING WORD MEANINGS FROM CONTEXT FOR THE 11TH FORM STUDENTS AT LE LOI HIGH SCHOOL, THANH HOA (SỬ DỤNG KỸ NĂNG ĐOÁN NGHĨA TỪ QUA NGỮ CẢNH ĐỐI VỚI HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT LÊ LỢI, THANH HÓA) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2013 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ************************* LÊ THỊ THỦY APPLYING THE TECHNIQUE OF GUESSING WORD MEANINGS FROM CONTEXT FOR THE 11TH FORM STUDENTS AT LE LOI HIGH SCHOOL, THANH HOA (SỬ DỤNG KỸ NĂNG ĐOÁN NGHĨA TỪ QUA NGỮ CẢNH ĐỐI VỚI HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT LÊ LỢI, THANH HÓA) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Dr Lâm Quang Đông Hanoi – 2013 LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Chart 1: Result of the pre-test Chart 2: Result of post-test Chart 3: Result of post-test Table 1: The effectiveness of the guessing technique iv TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES iv TABLE OF CONTENT v PART A: INTRODUCTION The rationale of the study Aims and Objectives of the study Significance of the study Research questions Methods of the study Scope of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW I.1 Definition of context I.2 Guessing or inferring strategy I.3 Guessing word meanings from context as a technique of vocabulary teaching and learning I.4 Previous studies on guessing word meanings from context I.5 Types of context clues used in guessing word meanings I.5.1 Structural clues I.5.2 Inference clues 10 I.6 Approach to teaching of guessing technique 10 I.7 Vocabulary in English textbook for 11th graders 11 I.8 Summary 12 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 13 II.1 Rationale for the use of an action research 13 v II.2 Action research procedure 13 II.3 Background of the study 15 II.3.1 Participants 15 II.3.2 Data collection instruments 16 II.3.2.1 Tests 16 II.3.2.2 Students‟ diaries 16 II.3.2.3 Questionnaire 16 II.3.2.4 Focus group interview 16 II.4 Data collection procedures 17 II.5 Applying the guessing technique from context to teaching English vocabulary to 11th learners 20 II.5.1 Activities for presenting vocabulary 21 II.5.1.1 Real objects, picture 21 II.5.1.2 Demonstration, miming 21 II.5.1.3 Giving examples 21 II.5.1.4 Giving synonyms, antonyms 22 II.5.1.5 Contextual guesswork 22 II.5.2 Activities for controlled practice stage 23 II.5.2.1 Sentence-making 23 II.5.2.2 Gap-filling 23 II.5.2.3 Fill in the blank with the right form of the word 25 II.5.2.4 Translation 25 II.5.2.5 Matching 26 II.5.3 Activities for free practice stage 26 II.5.3.1 Word-games 27 II.5.3.2.Topic discussion 27 II.6 Summary 28 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 28 III.1 The results of the pre-test 28 vi III.2 The results after the training period 29 III.2.1 The results of students’ diaries 29 III.2.2 The results of the post-tests 29 III.2.3 The results of the questionnaire 31 III.2.4 The results of focus group interview 33 III.3 Summary 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 37 Summary of the findings 37 Conclusions 38 Limitations of the study 39 Suggestions for further research 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDIX A: PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST I APPENDIX B: POST-TEST VI APPENDIX C: TRAINING LESSON XI APPENDIX D: TRAINING LESSON XIV APPENDIX E: TRAINING LESSON XVII APPENDIX F: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS XIX APPENDIX G: AN EXAMPLE FROM STUDENTS’ DIARIES XX vii PART A: INTRODUCTION The rationale of the study Vocabulary is an essential component of language, which plays a decisive role in communication Wilkins, a famous British applied linguist, emphasized this with his saying "without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" (1972:111) Obviously, words not occur in isolation but within the context of sentence or a large discourse Also, a word used in different contexts may have different meanings; thus, simply learning the definitions of a word without examples of where and when the word occurs will not help learners to fully understand its meaning Learning an isolated list of words without reference to the context is merely a memorization exercise which makes it difficult for learners to use the words in spoken and written language In fact, students in general and Le Loi High School students in particular often have a habit of looking up word meanings in dictionaries without understanding how to use them Too much dictionary work can kill all interests in reading and even interfere with comprehension, because readers become more concerned with individual words and less aware of the context which gives them meaning Therefore, Le Loi High School students find it difficult to globally understand spoken or written discourse, most probably because they lack the ability to guess word meanings from context Many students tend to ignore unknown words, which is thought completely problematic to vocabulary learning Using the contexts in which words appear, that is, a sentence in which the words to be learned appears will help students derive the meaning of these unknown words Therefore, this problem is well worth taking into consideration Although it is evident that the use of contextual clues can be effective in learning and teaching English vocabulary and provide a means by which students can quickly increase their existing vocabulary base, it has not attracted much attention in terms of classroom instruction Some researches on the techniques of teaching vocabulary have mentioned this technique as a good one but little attempt has been made to integrate this technique training into normal teaching Even little has been made to investigate the usefulness of developing students' techniques for guessing unknown words through context on the improvement of their proficiency in using vocabulary All these have motivated the researcher to carry out an action research on applying the technique of guessing word meanings from context for 11 th graders at Le Loi high school Aims and Objectives of the study The study is aimed at applying the technique of guessing word meanings to teaching vocabulary so that students can understand word meanings as well as their form and then use them correctly On this basis, possible suggestions for improved effectiveness in students‟ vocabulary learning can be derived Significance of the study The present research is carried out to encourage students to deal with word meanings with the help of context It is also carried out with the hope that it would help teachers as well as 11th graders at Le Loi High School be aware of the important role of the guessing skill as well as some guessing techniques used in teaching and learning vocabulary Moreover, it is hoped that the study could help the 11th graders in particular and high school students in general improve their vocabulary and use vocabulary correctly and fluently Research questions This study was conducted to answer the following major research question: - How effective is the technique of guessing word meanings from context in helping 11th graders at Le Loi High School learn vocabulary? Methods of the study With reference to its characteristics, this thesis can be categorized as an action research The following instruments are applied to collect data for this study: One pre-test and two post-tests were used to measure whether students could improve their vocabulary A questionnaire of questions was given to the students to find out their opinions about the effectiveness of guessing technique in understanding word meanings Interviews were conducted after weeks of training to obtain more indepth data about how students assessed their progress when applying guessing technique and how this technique affected their vocabulary learning Students‟ diaries were also used to support this action research Students were asked to write reflective journals to express their reflections on the guessing technique The students‟ diaries were collected after every weeks of training and then were analyzed to find out what the students thought about the technique of guessing word meanings from context Scope of the study The study is concerned with the application of the skill to guess word meanings from context in teaching and learning vocabulary so as to measure the degree of effectiveness of this technique in improving students‟ vocabulary The study only th focuses on 11 graders at Le Loi High School, so the results of the study, though highly expected, may not be readily applied for all students at high schools PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the author will clarify several concepts concerning the technique of guessing word meanings from context In addition, different issues relating to this technique will also be presented I.1 Definition of context Context (language context) means “textual or discoursal place in which a particular word or structure can be found” (Gu, 2003:2) It can be as short as a sentence or as long as several paragraphs, and it will usually contain unknown words (Rapaport, 2003) Context refers to the words surrounding an unfamiliar word These surrounding words provide clues to the meaning of an unfamiliar word Traditionally, context was seen as a given, existing fully and completely in any properly written text and the key to using it was linguistic knowledge and it plays a very important role in the identification of words in text A word used in different contexts may have different meaning so simply learning the definition of a word without examples of where and when it occurs will not help learners to fully understand its meaning If learners are not able to contextualize new words by connecting them to words and concepts they already know, the words will likely be less meaningful to them And then if meaning is not contextualized, it will be difficult for learners to memorize as well as to use new words appropriately Bialystok (1983) proposes that context exists in relation and proportion to the reader‟s implicit knowledge (intuitive and unanalyzed knowledge of the second language), other knowledge (knowledge of other languages and world knowledge), and context (linguistic and physical aspects of a text which provide clues to meaning) From this view, context is clearly not an absolute presence in a text but is created by the reader, and is therefore influenced by the reader‟s linguistic and world knowledge D patterns of distribution of species in each region 32 The author mentions “tropical Asia” in the passage as an example of a location where… A a general theory of butterfly diversity has not yet been firmly established B butterflies are affected by human populations C documenting plant species is more difficult than documenting butterfly species D butterfly behavior varies with climate IX 33 Which of the following is NOT well understood by biologists? A Differences in species richness between temperate and tropical regions B European butterfly habitats C Comparisons of behavior patterns of butterflies and certain animal groups D Differences in species richness within a temperate or a tropical region 34 The idea “little is known about the evenness of butterfly distribution” is that… A we know about butterfly evenness distribution to some extent B we don‟t know anything about butterfly evenness distribution C we know much about butterfly evenness distribution D there are many other things that we don‟t know about butterfly evenness distribution 35 The word “generated” in the passage is closest in meaning to? A requested B caused C assisted X D estimated APPENDIX C TRAINING LESSON Part 1: Theory Guide students how to guess the meanings of unknown words from context (Nation and Coady (1988)) + Step 1: Look at the unknown word and find out what part of speech it is Is it a noun, a verb, an adjective, or an adverb? Example 1: She walks briskly to class so that she wouldn‟t be late We can guess that “briskly” is an adverb because it is after the action verb “walk” + Step 2: Look at the clause or sentence containing the unknown word If the unknown word is a noun, what does this noun do, or what is done to it? And what adjectives describe it? What verb is it near? If it is a verb, what nouns does it go with? Is it modified by an adverb? If it is an adjective, what noun does it go with? If it is an adverb, what verb is it modifying? Example 2: We offered our condolence to the unhappy woman when her husband died The situation is her husband died and the key word is unhappy woman The question is what we should offer when someone feels unhappy because her husband died Naturally we will offer her sympathy So we can guess that condolence means sympathy + Step 3: Look at the relationship between the clause or sentence containing the unknown word and other sentences or paragraphs Sometimes this relationship will be signaled by conjunctions like “but, because, if, when”, or by adverbs like “however, as a result” The possible types of relationship include cause and effect, contrast, time, exemplification, explanation, condition, arrangement, classification, comparison and summary Example 3: My library at home is quite sparse; the central library, however, has a lot of books XI In the sentence, there is a contrast unit We can see that the author is contrasting two ideas “sparse” and “has a lot of books” Therefore, “sparse” has the opposite meaning to “has a lot of books”, “few books” can be acceptable + Step 4: Use the knowledge you have gained from steps to to guess the meanings of the word and check if your guess is correct (a) See that the part of speech of your guess is the same as the part of speech of the unknown word If it is not the same, then something is wrong with your guess (b) Break the unknown word into its prefix, root, and suffix, if possible If the meanings of the prefix and root correspond to your guess, it is good If not, look at your guess again, but not change anything if you feel reasonably certain about your guess (c) Replace the unknown word with your guess If the sentence makes sense, your guess is probably correct Part 2: Practice Identify the part of speech of the underlined words and guess the meanings of those words During the winter, having to take a cold shower makes me shiver all over too He‟s such a mournful person that just being around him makes me sad, Many ships have vanished during hurricanes All crews have disappeared and have never been found Students! Students! Please stop chattering and listen to me Class has begun so you cannot enjoy talking Every atlas has its own legend The street is crowded with conveyances of all descriptions, such as buses, bicycles, cars and automobiles Iran is trying to restore many of its ancient buildings For example, Persepolis-Iran‟s oldest building-is being partially rebuilt by a group of Italian experts The girl always prevaricated when she was caught in the act of cheating and didn‟t XII want the truth to be known Although the rigors of the job were great for example, the long hours, the lifting of heavy loads, the very hot and then very cold temperatures outdoors George didn‟t complain because the pay was good 10 11 12 Be careful with this knife its edge is so keen that you can shave with it She had a lesion on her arm that would not stop bleeding He is a prestidigitator who entertained children by pulling rabbits out of his hat, swallowing fire, and other similar tricks 13 His schedule was hectic, but he managed to go out for basketball 14 My absent-minded teacher loses his keys, his book and his chalk almost everyday 15 Camping paraphernalia as tents or sleeping bags can range from very simple to quite complex KEY: Shake Talking Rebuilt 10 Sharp 13 Busy XIII APPENDIX D TRAINING LESSON I Determine the part of speech of the underlined words in the following sentences: Announcements of births, marriages and death appear in some newspapers The planet Mercury is visible to the naked eye but is not the easiest planet to spot The burglar alarm was activated by mistake Be careful with the stimulating effect of coffee He is late- he‟s probably stuck in a traffic jam One of the main cause of the liberation of women was the development of birth-control methods snow Above the snow line, any mountain hollow is permanently occupied with The glass factories of Toledo, Ohio, boomed after Michael Owens invented a process that turned out bottles by the thousands Have you got any comments on the new agrarian laws 10 Those so-called friends of hers are a bad influence on her 11 The doublebass is shaped like a viola and has a deep, rich tone 12 My little cousin is a blabbermouth He can‟t resist telling everyone my secrets 13 A business concerns with two or more owners is referred to as a partnership 14 He remains loyal to his principles 15 The children are curious about their presents in the boxes Key answers: V N 11 Adj Exercise 2: Read the short paragraph below, underline the nonsense words and try to guess the meanings of the words, basing on the context The big yellow school gleek pulled to a stop at the corner The driver opened the door and I climbed up the steps to get on board I walked down the narrow zupher XIV looking for an empty seat Then I saw my friend Jack waving to me from the last row “Over here, Janet!” he yelled I nodded and made my way toward him I took my norjot filled with books and placed it under the seat Then I plopped down beside him and enjoyed the ride to blat SUGGESTED KEY: Gleek means “bus” The clue words: big yellow school, pulled to a stop, driver Zupher means “aisle” The clue words: walked, narrow, empty seat Norjot means “schoolbag” The clue words: filled with books, placed it under the seat Blat means “school” The clue words: the ride to Plop means “sit” The clue words: seat, beside him Exercise 3: Guess the meanings of the underlined words, basing on the context Some vegetarians believe that killing animals is wrong Others are vegetarian because they think meat is bad for people The driver swerved to miss the little boy who stepped out into the road The podiatrist told the woman to take the medicine for days and call him if she didn‟t feel better She picked the irises and arranged them in a vase to put on the coffee table Her tea was tepid, so she put it in the microwave Breaking even involves making enough money to pay for business costs but no more Many new businesses go bankrupt, which means they lose everything Small enterprises are usually defined as businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $2 million in annual The asp, a small poisonous snake, is found in Africa, Europe, and Arabia XV 10 Rodents such as mice, rats, and beavers, can often a lot of damage 11 She screamed when she saw the arachnid moving across its web 12 Cetaceans, including whales and dolphins, are thought to have high intelligence 13 A great part of Canada‟s economy is based on its natural resources, for instance coal, oil, and wood 14 Many people are afraid of reptiles, like lizards, snakes and turtles 15 The large dog used by the Inuit in northern Canada to pull sleds is called a husky XVI APPENDIX E TRAINING LESSON Read the passage, underline any new words and try to guess the meanings of the words basing on the context First reactions to Thailand's giant new opium museum in the Golden Triangle are confused: pleasant surprise at cool air after the intense tropical heat, but then disorientation, shock, even fear Visitors enter the 100-acre complex through a long, dark, mist-filled tunnel, which winds into the base of a hill past bas-reliefs of distorted human figures before emerging suddenly into bright sunlight in front of a field of poppies "This is the mystery, the contradiction of opium," says Charles Mehl, head of research for the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which has just completed the $10 million museum "Opium is one of the very best drugs we have for treating chronic pain and bringing relief from suffering But it can also be one of the worst, destroying lives if it is used for recreation or exploited for commercial gain." Built into a hillside by the Mekong River on the northern tip of Thailand, the museum lies at the heart of the Golden Triangle Chiang Saen town is about 470 miles north of Bangkok, overlooking the junction of the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma The Golden Triangle is a largely lawless region that last year produced more opium and heroin than Afghanistan and more synthetic stimulant pills than all the rest of the laboratories in Southeast Asia put together, drugs agencies say Western backpackers and busloads of other day-trippers pour daily into the picturesque Chiang Saen district, in Chiang Rai province, to buy souvenirs on the Mekong's banks Some try illicit puffs on opium pipes in nearby villages The museum, which will open officially early next year, aims to exploit this tourist business, luring the curious with the promise of entertainment and impressive audio-visual displays in English and Thai But as visitors progress down the labyrinthine corridors that stretch across three floors, the warnings against narcotic XVII abuse gradually become more powerful "People think at first they know what they will see a quaint presentation about hill tribes growing opium But that's only a small part of the story," said Mehl Mae Fah Luang has fought a 15-year battle against drug-taking and addiction in Chiang Rai province, establishing what the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) says is probably the best anti-drugs crop-substitution program in Asia Lessons from that program, which has succeeded in the nearby Thai mountains of Doi Tung in part by offering farmers of opium poppies a better income from alternative crops such as coffee and macadamia nuts, are built into the museum But it also offers a thorough lesson in the history of opium, its derivatives such as heroin and laudanum, and explains how the drugs trade has helped change the world for hundreds of years SUGGESTED KEY: disorientation = confusion distorted = strange shape poppies = flowers contradiction = opposite of something exploited = used unfairly/ developed in a bad way synthetic = artificial illicit = not allowed/ unlawful curious = eager to know narcotic = drug 10 addiction = unable to stop 11 alternative = different XVIII APPENDIX F QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Dear Participants, We’re undertaking a research project on applying of guessing the meanings of unknown words from context This questionnaire is aimed to understand how effective the guessing technique is Please answer ALL the questions as truly as you can Your responses are not assessed or marked and they are used confidentially for the research purpose only Put a tick (√) in the column that you choose Thank you for your cooperation! Determining the parts of speech unknown words Realizing relationship between words and clauses Using synonyms and antonyms Paying attention different punctuation Basing explanations definitions unknown words Using XIX knowledge to guess Analyzing the form of the unknown words (especially affixes) APPEDIX G AN EXAMPLE FROM STUDENTS’ DIARIES XX ... the technique of guessing word meanings from context for 11 th graders at Le Loi high school Aims and Objectives of the study The study is aimed at applying the technique of guessing word meanings. .. any comments or interpretation of the research Further observation, investigation and talks with students revealed more information about them Most of the participants are at the age of 17 Nearly... word- formation which is of great use in learning and expanding vocabulary systematically Sometimes, it also requires understanding of the words and their meanings Example: Give the right forms