The practice of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners at VUS

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH ∞0∞ ĐỖ HUỲNH NGỌC TRÂM THE PRACTICE OF USING PICTURES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS AT VUS KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH NGƠN NGỮ ANH TP HỒ CHÍ MINH, NĂM 2020 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH ∞0∞ ĐỖ HUỲNH NGỌC TRÂM THE PRACTICE OF USING PICTURES IN TEACHING VOCABULARY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS AT VUS Mã số sinh viên: 1557010254 KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH NGƠN NGỮ ANH Giảng viên hướng dẫn: ThS PHAN THỊ THU NGA TP HỒ CHÍ MINH, NĂM 2020 TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH KHOA NGOẠI NGỮ CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨAVIỆT NAM Độc lập – Tự – Hạnh phúc GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên : Đỗ Huỳnh Ngọc Trâm Ngày sinh: 02/06/1997 Nơi sinh: TP.HCM Chuyên ngành: Ngôn ngữ Anh Mã học viên: 1557010254 Tơi đồng ý cung cấp tồn văn thơng tin khóa luận tốt nghiệp hợp lệ quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh kết nối tồn văn thơng tin khóa luận tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học Sở Khoa học Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Ký tên (Ghi rõ họ tên) Đỗ Huỳnh Ngọc Trâm Ý KIẾN CHO PHÉP BẢO VỆ KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẪN Giảng viên hướng dẫn: ThS Phan Thị Thu Nga Học viên thực hiện: Đỗ Huỳnh Ngọc Trâm Lớp: DH15AV01 Ngày sinh: 02/06/1997 Nơi sinh: TP.HCM Tên đề tài: “The practice of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners at VUS” Ý kiến giáo viên hướng dẫn việc cho phép học viên bảo vệ khóa luận trước Hội đồng: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ngày .tháng .năm Người nhận xét ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude towards my supervisor, Ms Phan Thi Thu Nga Without her guidance and support, it would have been impossible for me to conduct this graduation paper With her positive encouragement and valuable advice, I can make certain changes to enrich my work every day Furthermore, it is my pleasure to attain an opportunity to be her student owing to the fact that she is a great model who inspires me to become a teacher-to-be Thanks to her belief and devotion on my work, I am motivated to carry on not only this report but also on any tasks requiring professional knowledge, academic skills and teaching skills in my teaching job in the future Moreover, my grateful thanks also go to my parents who always give me a great support to complete this paper Also, I would like to give my appreciation to Vietnamese teachers, foreign teachers, and other teaching assistants at Vietnam USA Society English Center (VUS) who have contributed their ideas to my work Last but not least, I would like to show my genuine appreciation to the Board of Faculty of Foreign Language of Ho Chi Minh City Open University for optimizing my opportunity to conduct this graduation paper iii TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III TABLE OF CONTENT IV ABBREVIATIONS VII ABSTRACT VIII CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Problem statements 1.3 Previous relevant research findings 1.3 Research Aims 1.4 Research Significance 1.5 Research questions 1.6 Overview CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of volcabulary and rationales for teaching vocabulary 2.1.1 Definitions of vocabulary 2.1.2 Rationales for teaching vocabulary 2.2 Aspects of vocabulary items 2.2.1 Form 2.2.2 Meaning 2.2.3 Use 2.3 Techniques for presenting vocabulary 2.3.1 Visual techniques 2.3.2 Verbal techniques 2.4 Techniques for practicing vocabulary 10 2.4.1 Decision making tasks 10 2.4.2 Production tasks 11 2.4.3 Games 12 iv 2.5 Teaching vocabulary for young learners 13 2.5.1 Definitions of young learners and their characteristics 13 2.5.2 Young learners’ vocabulary learning strategies 14 2.5.3 Techniques for teaching vocabulary for young learners 15 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 18 3.1 Research design 18 3.2 Research setting and participants 18 3.3 Instrument 19 3.3.1 Observation sheets and camera 19 3.3.2 Questionnaire 19 3.4 Procedure 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 22 4.1 Results from observation 22 4.1.1 Teacher’s techniques 22 4.1.2 Learners’ attitudes 23 4.2 Results from questionnaire 23 4.2.1 About advantages of using pictures 23 4.2.2 About teachers’ using pictures 29 4.3 Discussions 34 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION OF STUDY 35 5.1 Conclusion 35 5.2 Recommendation 35 5.3 Limitations 35 5.4 Suggestions 36 REFERENCES APPENDICES Appendix A: Observation sheet Appendix B: Questionnaire v Appendix C: Pictures 13 vi ABBREVIATIONS VUS: Vietnam-USA Society English Centers ILA: International Language Academy AMA: American Academy L1: The first language L2: The target language vii ABSTRACT The aim of the study presented in this graduation paper is investigating "the practice of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners at VUS" The data presented in this study was collected from class observation and questionnaire Four classes, including the smart kids level (from to years old) and the super kids level (from to 10 years old) were observed to discover practical evidence in using pictures to teach vocabulary Then, 22 teachers at the author’ workplace took part in answering the questionnaire to examine the advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary The data from the observation was recorded in the observation sheets providing the teachers’ aims and uses of pictures in different activities of teaching vocabulary in the four classes while illustrating students’ comprehension as well as interests in learning vocabulary Specifically, students might not remember the word definition or spelling; however, on checking their understanding by using pictures, they can confidently speak out loud the words The findings of the data from the questionnaire analyzed by Google form indicate many advantages of using pictures to introduce new vocabulary, compared to other techniques as well as the important role of pictures to practice vocabulary Not only pictures act as useful prompts to help students comprehend the word meaning but also differentiate the confusing words Besides these findings, the analysis of the collected data from the questionnaire reveals that pictures are highly frequently used by teachers to teach different types of words to young learners viii Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching London: Longman Harmer, J (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman Hatch, E, and Brown, C (1995) Vocabulary, semantics and language Education Cambridge University Press Hill, D A (1990) Visual Impact: Creative language learning through pictures Prentice Hall Koay, J (2015) What is vocabulary? EduMaxi LTD Koay, J (2015) What is Vocabulary? EduMaxi LTD Lelawati, S Dhiya, S and Mailani, P (2018, March) The teaching of English vocabulary to young learners Nation, I (1990) Teaching and learning vocabulary New York: New York: Newbury House Nguyen, H T (2010) Using pictures in teaching vocabulary of English to the second year students of Mechanical Department at Haiphong Industrial Vocational College Nguyen, H T (2012, November 7th) Mot so phuong phap day va hoc tu vung tieng anh Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam Nguyen, H T (2014) The effectiveness of using pictures in teaching vocabulary at smartkids school in Bac Ninh Province Vietnam National University, Ha Noi Nunan, D (2011) Teaching English to young learners Anaheim University Press Philips, S (1993) Young learners London: Oxford University Press Rohman, I M (2016) The effectiveness of using pictures in teaching vocabulary Retrieved June 21st, 2019, from http://eprints.walisongo.ac.id/6590/1/113411063.pdf Sanusi, E (2009) The techniques of teaching vocabulary Ittihad Jurnal Kopertis Wilayah XI Kalimantan Sari, H P (2008) The effectiveness of using pictures in teaching vocabulary to sixth grade students of SDN SINGKALANYAR I PRAMBON NGANJUK viewed from their motivation Central Java, Indonesia Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge University Press Spratt, M Pulverness, A and Williams, M (2011) The TKT Course Module 1, 2, and Cambridge University Press Swan, M and Walter, C (1984) The Cambridge English Course Teacher's book Cambridge University Press Tama, S A (2014) The impact of using pictures on students' vocabulary mastery at grade three of SD NEGERI RULUNG RAYA NATAR SOUTH LAMPUNG The Second International Conference on Education and Language (2nd ICEL) Thornbury, S (2008) How to teach vocabulary Pearson Education Limited Tran, Y N (2013) A study on the effects of using pictures to present vocabulary to EFL adult learners at elementary level Nghe An Ur, P (1996) A Course in English Language Teaching Cambridge University Press Wright, A (1989) Pictures for language learning Cambridge University Press APPENDICES Appendix A: Observation sheet CLASS BOOK SM3 TEACHERS’ ACTIVITIES DATE AIMS 04/01/2019 * Practicing the (See picture in appendix C) (SUPER new words and * Place all the pictures of the new SAFARI 2) phrases vocabulary on the floor * Divide the class into two teams * Two students will rock, paper, scissors to decide who go first, and read out loud the words and phrases (there is a video to demonstrate this activities) The fastest student will gain a sticker from the teacher Note: There are words and phrases that students need to remember SM4 14/01/2019 * Introducing a (See picture in appendix C) (SUPER new vocabulary * The teacher shows the picture to the SAFARI 2) item “ice whole class, eliciting the question “What is cream” to the it?”, and starting choral drilling whole class * Nominating a student to repeat a word * The teacher uses the picture on the Oxford itools to present the sound “e” and the word “eggs” * The teacher calls one student to come to the board, slap the picture and say out loud the word (See picture in appendix C) * Teaching the * The picture is also presented in the phonic sound textbook “E” (eggs) (See picture in appendix C) SKA1 13/01/2019 (Everybody * Introducing a * The teacher uses the flashcards to present new vocabulary words (pencil, pen, ruler, backpack, Up 1) eraser, pencil case) * The teacher divides the class to three teams One student from each group comes to the board, listens to the teacher and slaps the correct picture The fastest student will gain one point for their team (see picture in appendix C) * Listen and * The teacher uses the pictures in listening number the skills correct picture SKA3 14/01/2019 while checking students’ understanding of a new word * Practicing a (See picture and in appendix) (Everybody new vocabulary * The teacher places flashcards about food Up 2) about “food” on the floor * One student will volunteer to be a teacher to say the word * One student from each team will come in front of the class Then, they will listen to their friends in order to jump and say the right word * Finally, when they hear their friends say (e.g: noodle, GO!”) they will try to get the racket and slap to the world “noodle” on the board (red racket: points, the blue racket (2 points) Appendix B: Questionnaire QUESTIONAIRE  The purpose of this questionnaire is helping the author to write the Graduation Paper Please read carefully and answer honestly All of your information will be protected Thank you!  Put X in the box before the answer that you choose Some questions may have more than one answer Teacher’s name: Email: Phone: How old are most of your students? Under From to 10 From 10-15 Above 15 Thinking about how you use pictures when teaching vocabulary for young learners classroom, in please indicate the extent to which you disagree agree or with the following statements Your students feel difficult to understand a new vocabulary when you explain it by showing them its definition Pictures act as not only useful prompts but also study aids during lessons that teachers can use to introduce a new word to students at any level You usually visual use techniques (pictures, realia, mime) to break the ice in your classroom at the beginning of the Strongly agree Neither Agree agree or disagree Disagree Strongly disagree lesson You find it easy to introduce a new vocabulary item by using pictures, compared to other techniques There are a great number of exercises and activities that require the support from pictures Due to young learners’ limited ability, the use of pictures is intensified by teachers in order to learners’ arouse interests and motivation when learning vocabulary students’ Your textbooks also use pictures to help students understand and practice vocabulary the Sometimes, pictures are not the best techniques to teach vocabulary because it depends learners’ styles on 10 How often you use pictures when teaching vocabulary? Sometimes Rarely Never Always 11 Where you usually get pictures for your teaching? your own drawings the internet authentic materials (magazines, books, leaflets, brochures, etc) textbook 12 Which techniques you prefer using the most when presenting a new vocabulary item to primary students? realia situation or explanation example or listing synonyms or antonyms translation pictures mime 13 Imagine that you are going to introduce a new word “plough” to young learners, which techniques you want to use? realia situation or explanation example or listing synonyms or antonyms translation pictures mime 14 After presenting a new vocabulary through visuals, which techniques below you often combine with to help your students comprehend it better? You can choose more than one option (but no more than 3) realia situation or explanation example or listing synonyms or antonyms translation mime none 15 Imagine that one student get confused with two words “desert and dessert”, which techniques are you going to use to help him/her differentiate them? You can choose more than one (but no more than 3) realia situation or explanation example or listing synonyms or antonyms translation pictures mime 16 What kinds of words can be taught by using pictures? Concrete words Abstract words Synonyms Antonyms/ Opposites Lexical sets Word families Compounds Collocations (e.g heavy rain, arrive at) Idioms (e.g to be over the moon) Appendix C: Pictures Picture 1: Picture 2: Picture 3: Picture 4: Picture 5: Picture and 7: ... ABSTRACT The aim of the study presented in this graduation paper is investigating "the practice of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners at VUS" The data presented in this study... purpose of the conducted study aims at finding the answer to the following questions: What are the advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners? How teachers use pictures. .. 9, the author aimed at answering the first research question “What are the advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary for young learners? ” (Appendix B) The findings (chart 1) from the