Using mindmaps as a tool to teach english vocabulary to 11th graders

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY - - NGÔ THỊ CẢNH USING MINDMAPS AS A TOOL TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO 11TH GRADERS MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION NGHE AN- 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY - - NGÔ THỊ CẢNH USING MINDMAPS AS A TOOL TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO 11TH GRADERS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60.14.01.11 MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: TRẦN BÁ TIẾN, PH D NGHE AN – 2017 STATEMENTS OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis is the result of my own study and that it has not been submitted to any other universities and institution wholly and partially All statements of my thesis which are not my own are written in quotation and can be shown in the list of references Nghe An, 2017 Author Ngo Thi Canh ii ABSTRACT At Trieu Son High School, when students learn English, they usually faced with many difficulties not only in specific language skills but also in vocabulary memorizing Because of their learning habits and learning strategies, they failed to memorize words for a long time and to recall words when necessary Based on literature review, it is found that semantic mapping has had good effects on vocabulary learning; especially it improves the retention and retrieval of word meanings The study was conducted to explore the effects of mind mapping on students’ memorizing and students’ attitudes towards this method This experimental study followed a two-group pre-test and post-test design The participants were 40 grade 11 students at Trieu Son High School Two instruments: (1) the tests on vocabulary knowledge, (2) the questionnaire on the students’ perceptions towards mind mapping were employed to collect both quantitative and qualitative data The results indicated that the students in the experimental group outperformed those in the control condition in retaining word meanings The results also proved that the students had positive attitudes towards mind mapping This leads to the implication that the mind mapping can improve high school students’ vocabulary retention and is promising to vocabulary teaching and learning iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been completed without the support of many people First, and foremost I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Ph.D Tran Ba Tien for his assistance, encouragement and guidance I would like to convey my thanks to all my teachers at the Post Graduate Faculty, Department of Foreign Languages, Vinh University whose fundamental knowledge about langue teaching and learning is of great importance to the achievement of my academic study Finally, I would like to express the warmest gratitude to my colleagues, friends, students, especially my beloved family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement iv ABBREVIATIONS CA : Communication Apprehension CLT : Communicative Language Teaching EFL : English as Foreign Language ESL : English as Second Language L1 : First Language L2 : Second Language MM : Mind mapping CG : Control Group EG : Experimental Group v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page STATEMENTS OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT .ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABBREVIATIONS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES viii Chapter INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale 1 Aim of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Methods of the study 1.6 Design of the Study Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Vocabulary learning 2.1.1 What is vocabulary? 2.1.2 What is involved in knowing a word? 2.1.3 The importance of vocabulary 2.1.4 Kinds of vocabulary 2.1.5 Vocabulary retention 14 2.2 Vocabulary teaching 16 2.2.1 Multimodality 17 2.2.2 Multimodality and the English language teaching 18 2.2.3 The application of multimodal teaching to English vocabulary teaching 19 2.3 Mind maps 20 2.3.1 What is a mind map? 20 vi 2.3.2 Classifications of mind maps 21 2.3.3 Characteristics of mind maps 24 2.3.4 Advantages of mind maps 25 2.3.5 How to draw a mind map 25 2.3.6 Applying mind maps to teaching and learning 26 2.3.7 The applications of mind mapping to teaching a foreign language 27 2.3.8 The applications of mind mapping to teaching vocabulary 29 2.3.8.3 Activities in teaching with mind maps 33 Chapter METHODOLOGY 37 3.1 Research questions 37 3.2 Research design 37 3.3 The participants 37 3.4 Materials 38 3.5 Research instruments 38 3.5.1 Tests on vocabulary knowledge (SEE APPENDIX 1) 39 3.5.2 Questionnaire on the students’ perceptions towards mind mapping (SEE APPENDIX 2) 40 3.6 Data analysis 43 Chapter FINDINGS AND DISSCUSSION 44 4.1 Pretest and Posttest 44 4.1.1 Pre-test 44 4.1.2 Post-test 46 4.1.3 Improvement of the control and experiment groups in vocabulary knowledge 49 4.2 Students’ feedbacks on the application of MM in vocabulary lessons (from questionnaires) 54 Chapter CONCLUSION 58 5.1 Conclusion 58 5.2 Pedagogical implications and suggestions 59 5.2.1 Limitation of the study 59 vii 5.2.2 Suggestions for further research 60 REFERENCES 61 APPENDIX I APPENDIX VI APPENDIX XI APPENDIX XII APPENDIX XIII viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: The Numbers of the Students in the two groups 38 Table 2: Examples from the first part of the tests 39 Table 3: Examples from the second part of the tests 40 Table 4: Procedures of the research 41 Table 1: Means and standard deviations of participants’ pre-test measured by score of two groups 44 Table 2: Numbers of students in score levels according to pretest results of the control and experimental group 45 Table 3: Means and standard deviations of participants’ post-test measured by score of two groups 46 Table 4: Numbers of students in score levels according to posttest results of the control and experimental group 48 Table 5: Pre and post score on the vocabulary knowlegde for the control group 49 Table 6: Pre and post score on the vocabulary knowlegde for the experimental group 50 Table 7: Gain on the vocabulary knowlegde tests for the control group and experimental group 51 Table 8: Numbers of students in pre and post gain on the vocabulary knowlegde for the control group and experimental group 52 Table 9: The students’ vocabulary knowledge in the vocabulary tests for two groups 53 Table 10: Question & in questionnaires and students’ answers 55 ix Website 1.http://www.glencoe.com/sec/science/lep_science/physical_science/skill_handboo k/oinfo.html http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/education/studying-englishwith- tuoi-tre-news/weekly-lessons/unblocking-writer-s-block-technique-3mind- mapping-1.42101 http://www.imindmap.com/personal/ http://revista.inie.ucr.ac.cr/articulos/2-2005/archivos/vocabulary.pdf 66 APPENDIX Pre test for students (Part 1) Time: 20 minutes Name: Class: I fill each gap in the sentence with one word from the box in twenty minutes effort, stadium, skills, purpose, history, record, athlete, indulge, tank, population, equipment, conquest, venture, occupied, hobby, pleasure, avid, discard, holiday, scenery, pioneer, qualification, space, cosmonaut, orbit A computer is the most important piece of you will buy Some of the most delightful passages in Shakespeare’s early comedies are those in which characters in funny contests You should put more into your work He studied modern European at college He became a professional at the age of 16 He ran the 100 metres in 9.79 seconds and broke the world Thousands of football fans packed into the to watch the match An aquarium is a water-filled in which fish swim about His parents made him the gardening to keep him .during the days off 10 Most people take up a for relaxation, pleasure, or friendships, or to develop new interests 11 Our campaign’s main is to raise money 12 Many New Zealanders were readers who had achieved a high level of literacy through a free public school education 13 As individual advance through stages of school, they some attitudes and roles and take on new ones 14 He takes no in his work 15 I am always on for the next two weeks 16 Previous teaching experience is a necessary for this job I 17 The entire of the town was proud of their football team 18 Switzerland has some spectacular 19 We need people with practical like carpentry 20 exploration helps us see the earth un its true relation with the rest of the universe 21 On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, later referred to as Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to Earth 22 The word astronaut comes from Greek words that mean sailor among the stars; means sailor of the univese 23 The Norman architecture style began in Britain after the Norman of 1066 24 The of a glass factory set up by the engineers failed within a year because of poor planning 25 The settlement of America led to the loss of traditional ways of life for many American Indians ANSWER 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 10 23 11 24 12 25 13 II Pre- test for students (Part 2) Time: 25 minutes Name: Class: Circle the correct answers (Khoanh tròn đáp án đúng) The referee’s job is to make sure the of the game are observerd A laws B rules C norms D regulations Many grown-ups collect antique and costume dolls as a and learn about the people of other times and places through these dolls A career B Job C hobby D profession I all my free time doing karate, I joined a club three years ago A spend B take C use D waste At the end of the match, he was with a trophy and a bottle of champagne A given B prized C donated D presented Due to the bad weather, the match has been put until next Saturday A off B out C ahead D forward Psychlogists define learning as the process by which changes in behaviour result from experience or A train B instruction C observe D practice The singer was on the piano by her sister A played B performed C accompanied D helped The World Cup is a football which is open to all countries A participation B involvement C occasion D competition Some people books because they hope their books will increase in value and become good investments A raise B collect C save D keep 10 Tim went fishing with the new his uncle gave him A rod B stake C whip III D plant 11 Engineers working with specialists in space medicine have eliminated most of the dangers of living in A space B air C atmosphere D planet 12 In 1957, scientists from the of Soviet Socialist Republics sent the first artificial satellite, Sputnik1, into space A United B Unit C Unification D Union 13 The of the International Space Station is to have people living and working in the space station all the time A object B end C goal D destination 14 The most famous Soviet space station was Mir, which Earth from 1986 to 2001 A went B orbited C flew D surrounded 15 Overcoming is the biggest problem for a space mission A reaction B speed C wind D gravity 16 In the 1990s, China began developing a spacecraft which from Juiquan Space Launch Centre in northern China A lifted off B went off C lifted away D went away 17 On Oct 15, 2003, Yang Liwei became the first astronaut sent space by China A on B over C off D into 18 Yang Liwei orbited Earth aboard a Zhenzhou spacecraft for 21 hours before safely A dropping B landing C stopping D falling 19 I learned to a horse without using a saddle A ride B drive C mout D keep 20 You use a pack of to play games such as bridge and pocker A chess B board C pieces D cards 21 Chess is a very popular game, now often played on computer King, , bishop and rook are some of the pieces IV A queen B diamond C knight D club 22 Before Gagarin’s flight, there were still enormous uncertainties A historical B historic C history D historian 23 I’m very on going to a football match today A keen B enthusiastic C happy D interested 24 Their efforts were much when they won golds medals in bodybuilding an billiards A considered B required C expended D appriciated 25 I don’t have much money, so I bought the camera A newly B second-hand C immediately V D profitably APPENDIX Post-test for students (Part 1) Time: 20 minutes Name: Class: I fill each gap in the sentence with one word from the box in twenty minutes effort, stadium, skills, purpose, history, record, athlete, indulge, tank, population, equipment, conquest, venture, occupied, hobby, pleasure, avid, discard, holiday, scenery, pioneer, qualification, space, cosmonaut, orbit You should put more into your work He became a professional at the age of 16 Our campaign’s main is to raise money An aquarium is a water-filled in which fish swim about He takes no in his work Thousands of football fans packed into the to watch the match A computer is the most important piece of you will buy He studied modern European at college He ran the 100 metres in 9.79 seconds and broke the world 10 Some of the most delightful passages in Shakespeare’s early comedies are those in which characters in funny contests 11 His parents made him the gardening to keep him .during the days off 12 Most people take up a for relaxation, pleasure, or friendships, or to develop new interests 13 Many New Zealanders were readers who had achieved a high level of literacy through a free public school education 14 As individual advance through stages of school, they some attitudes and roles and take on new ones 15 I am always on for the next two weeks 16 Switzerland has some spectacular VI 17 The word astronaut comes from Greek words that mean sailor among the stars; means sailor of the univese 18 On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, later referred to as Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to Earth 19 Previous teaching experience is a necessary for this job 20 The entire of the town was proud of their football team 21 We need people with practical like carpentry 22 The Norman architecture style began in Britain after the Norman of 1066 23 The of a glass factory set up by the engineers failed within a year because of poor planning 24 The settlement of America led to the loss of traditional ways of life for many American Indians 25 exploration helps us see the ear th un its true relation with the rest of the universe ANSWER 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 10 23 11 24 12 25 13 VII Post test for students (Part 2) Time: 25 minutes Name: Class: Circle the correct answers (Khoanh tròn đáp án đúng) I all my free time doing karate, I joined a club three years ago A spend B take C use D waste The referee’s job is to make sure the of the game are observerd A laws B rules C norms D regulations Psychlogists define learning as the process by which changes in behaviour result from experience or A train B instruction C observe D practice Many grown-ups collect antique and costume dolls as a and learn about the people of other times and places through these dolls A career B Job C hobby D profession The singer was on the piano by her sister A played B performed C accompanied D helped At the end of the match, he was with a trophy and a bottle of champagne A given B prized C donated D Presented Due to the bad weather, the match has been put until next Saturday A off B out C ahead D forward The World Cup is a football which is open to all countries A participation B involvement C occasion D competition Tim went fishing with the new his uncle gave him A rod B stake C whip D plant 10 Some people books because they hope their books will increase in value and become good investments VIII A raise B collect C save D keep 11 Engineers working with specialists in space medicine have eliminated most of the dangers of living in A space B air C atmosphere D Planet 12 In 1957, scientists from the of Soviet Socialist Republics sent the first artificial satellite, Sputnik1, into space A United B Unit C Unification D Union 13 In the 1990s, China began developing a spacecraft which from Juiquan Space Launch Centre in northern China A lifted off B went off C lifted away D went away 14 The of the International Space Station is to have people living and working in the space station all the time A object B end C goal D destination 15 The most famous Soviet space station was Mir, which Earth from 1986 to 2001 A went B orbited C flew D surrounded 16 Overcoming is the biggest problem for a space mission A reaction B speed C wind D gravity 17 On Oct 15, 2003, Yang Liwei became the first astronaut sent space by China A on B over C off D into 18 I learned to a horse without using a saddle A ride B drive C mout D keep 19 Yang Liwei orbited Earth aboard a Zhenzhou spacecraft for 21 hours before safely A dropping B landing C stopping D falling 20 You use a pack of to play games such as bridge and pocker A chess B board C pieces IX D cards 21 Their efforts were much when they won golds medals in bodybuilding an billiards A considered B required C expended D appriciated 22 Chess is a very popular game, now often played on computer King, , bishop and rook are some of the pieces A queen B diamond C knight D club 23 Before Gagarin’s flight, there were still enormous uncertainties A historical B historic C history D historian 24 I don’t have much money, so I bought the camera A newly B second-hand C immediately D profitably 25 I’m very on going to a football match today A keen B enthusiastic C happy X D interested APPENDIX Answer for Pre test for students Part 1 equipment indulge 14 pleasure 15 holiday effort 16 qualification history 17 population athlete record stadium 18 scenery 19 skills 20 space tank 21 orbit occupied 10 hobby 22 cosmonaut 23 conquest 11 purpose 12 avid 24 venture 25 pioneer 13 discard Part D C A D A 14 B 15 D 16 A 17 D 18 B D C D B 10 A 11 A 12 D 13 C 19 A 20 D 21 A 22 B 23 A 24 D 25 B XI APPENDIX Answer for post test for students Part 1 effort athlete 14 discard 15 holiday purpose 16 scenery tank 17 cosmonaut pleasure stadium equipment 18 orbit 19 qualification 20 population history 21 skills record 10 indulge 22 conquest 23 venture 11 occupied 12 hobby 24 pioneer 25 space 13 avid Part A D 3.D 14 C 15 B 16 D C C D A D A 10 B 11 A 17 D 18 A 19 B 20 D 21 D 22 A 23 B 24 B 12 D 13 A 25 A XII APPENDIX This questionnaire consists of questions concerned with students’ opinions about learning vocabulary, their feedbacks on the use of MM in teaching vocabulary, the benefits that MM brings to their vocabulary learning, the difficulties that they have met when learning vocabulary with MM and their suggestions to make the lessons with the use of MM more interesting QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Chào em, Cô nghiên cứu đề tài “Sử dụng đồ tư để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh lớp 11 trường Trung học phổ thông Triệu Sơn 3” Để thu thập thêm ý kiến liệu cho nghiên cứu, hợp tác em việc hoàn thành câu hỏi khảo sát thực cần thiết đánh giá cao Thông tin cá nhân, câu trả lời em giữ bí mật tuyệt đối Họ tên: Lớp: Đánh dấu √ vào lựa chọn em điền thông tin vào ô trống Lưu ý, số câu hỏi, em lựa chọn đáp án Em học Tiếng Anh năm? Ít năm - năm năm Theo quan điểm em, học từ vựng dễ Em cảm thấy việc sử dụng đồ tư việc học từ vựng nào? nhàm chán Em có thích học từ vựng với việc sử dụng đồ tư không? XIII Theo em, học từ vựng thông qua việc sử dụng đồ tư mang lại lợi ích cho người học? Nhớ từ vựng dễ dàng nhanh Nhớ từ thời gian dài Tạo hứng thú cho việc học từ vựng Giúp người học động não với chủ đề Khơi gợi kiến thức học Giúp người học tóm tắt lại nội dung học cách hiệu Giúp người học ghi chép hiệu suốt trình học Ý kiến khác Em thường gặp khó khăn em học từ vựng với đồ tư duy? Khó để theo kịp học Tốn thêm thời gian lượng Ý kiến khác Em có gợi ý để làm cho giảng từ vựng áp dụng việc sử dụng đồ tư thêm thú vị? Kể tên gợi ý Cảm ơn hợp tác tất em! XIV ... teaching context so as to have suitable teaching methods to improve it 2.2 Vocabulary teaching In general, language learning and teaching are based on theories or beliefs about language As far... OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY - - NGÔ THỊ CẢNH USING MINDMAPS AS A TOOL TO TEACH ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO 11TH GRADERS Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)... supplement and development of traditional teaching With the advent of a new approach of English vocabulary teaching, that is Multimodal English Vocabulary Teaching, traditional vocabulary teaching