TÌM HIỂU về sử DỤNG các kỹ THUẬT dạy từ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHO học SINH lớp 10 tại các TRƯỜNG TRUNG học PHỔ THÔNG ở HUẾ

1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS . 5 LIST OF TABLES 6 LIST OF FIGURES 7 ABSTRACT . 8 CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 9 1.0 Overview 9 1.3 Research Questions . 12 1.4 Scope of the Research 12 1.5 Significance of the Research . 12 1.6 Organization of the research 13 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 14 2.0 Overview 14 2.1 Previous Studies Related to the Research 14 2.2. Clarification of Basic Concepts . 16 2.2.1. Vocabulary 16 2.2.2. Teaching Techniques . 16 2.3. The Complicated Nature of Vocabulary Knowledge 17 2.5. The Relationship between Vocabulary Teaching and Language Skill Lessons 17 2.5.1. Stages of a Language Skill Lesson . 17 2.5.2 The Role of Vocabulary Teaching in Language Skill Lessons 18 2.6 Procedures for Presenting Vocabulary in Language Skill Lessons 18 2.7 Selecting Vocabulary to Be Taught at Pre-stage of Language Skill Lessons . 20 2.8 An Overview of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 22 2.8.1 Definition 22 2.8.2 Synonym . 23 2.8.3 Antonym . 23 2 2.8.4 Hyponym 23 2.8.5 Vocabulary Network/ Word Association 23 2.8.6 Situation/ Context 24 2.8.7 Picture . 25 2.8.8 Drawing 25 2.8.9 Translation . 25 2.8.10 Realia/ Real Object 26 2.8.11 Mime/ Gesture . 26 2.8.12 Word Roots and Affixes . 26 2.9 About the Textbook Tieng Anh 10 . 28 2.9.1 Principles of Selection and Sequencing 28 2.9.2 Aims and Objectives of Tieng Anh 10 . 29 2.10 Summary 30 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY . 31 3.0 Overview 31 3.1 Research Approach . 31 3.2 Participants 32 3.3 Materials and Procedures for Data Collections . 32 3.3.1 The Questionnaires 32 3.3.2 The Interviews 33 3.3.3 The Class Observations . 34 3.4 Data Analysis . 34 3.5 Procedures 34 3.6 Summary 36 CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION . 37 4.0 Overview 37 4.1 Findings 37 4.1.1 Teachers’ Points of View on Vocabulary Teaching Techniques to Grade 10 Students at Upper Secondary Schools in Hue 37 4.1.1.1 Teachers’ Perceptions of Vocabulary Teaching 37 3 4.1.1.2 Teachers’ Purposes of Pre-teaching Vocabulary . 38 4.1.1.3 Teachers’ Reasons for Using Vocabulary Teaching Techniques 39 4.1.2 Teachers’ Use of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 42 4.1.2.1 Language Skill Lessons to Which Teachers Apply Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 42 4.1.2.2 Teachers’ Choice of New Vocabulary Items to Teach 42 4.1.2.3 Teachers’ Precedures in Teaching Vocabulary 43 4.1.2.4 Frequency of Teachers’ Use of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 44 4.1.3 Teachers’ Evaluation of the Effects of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 48 4.1.3.1 The Importance of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques in Teachers’ English Teaching 48 4.1.3.2 Teachers’ Self Evaluation on Using Vocabulary Teaching Techniquesư . 48 4.1.4 Students’ Attitudes towards the Teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 49 4.1.4.1 Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching 49 4.1.4.2 Students’ Evaluation on Teachers’ Current Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 50 4.1.4.3 Students’ Favorable Vocabulary Teaching Techniques 51 4.2 Discussion 52 4.2.1 Teachers’ Points of View on Vocabulary Teaching Techniques to Grade 10th Students at Upper Secondary Schools in Hue . 52 4.2.2 Teachers’ Use of English Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 54 4.2.3 Teachers’ Evaluation of the Effects of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 63 4.2.4 Students’ Attitudes towards the Teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 64 4.3 Summary 67 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION 68 5.0 Overview 68 4 5.1 A Summary of the Study 68 5.2 Teaching Implication 71 5.2.1 To Teachers 71 5.2.2 To Administrators 72 5.3 Contributions of the Study . 73 5.4 Limitations . 73 5.5 Suggestions for Further Research . 74 5.6 Summary 74 REFERENCES 75 APPENDICES 5 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT : Communicative Language Teaching EFL : English as a Foreign Language ELT : English Language Teaching ESL : English as a Second Language SL : Second Language 6 LIST OF TABLES Pages Table 1. The Common Affixes in Tieng Anh 10 . 27 Table 2. Theme and Their Corresponding Units in Tieng Anh 10 29 Table 4.1. Teachers’ Reasons for Using Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 39 Table 4.2. Frequency of Teachers’ Use of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 44 Table 4.3. The Importance of Vocabulary Teaching Techniques in Teachers’ English Teaching . 48 Table 4.4. Students’ Evaluation on Teachers’ Current Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 50 Table 4.5. Students’ Favorable English Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 51 7 LIST OF FIGURES Pages Figure 4.1. Teachers’ Perceptions of Vocabulary Teaching . 37 Figure 4.2. Teachers’ Purposes of Pre-teaching Vocabulary 38 Figure 4.3. Language Skill Lessons to Which Teachers Apply Vocabulary Teaching Techniques 42 Figure 4.4. Teachers’ Choice of New Vocabulary Items to Teach . 43 Figure 4.5. Teachers’ Procedures in Teaching Vocabulary 43 Figure 4.6. Teachers’ Self Evaluation on Using Vocabulary Teaching Techniques . 48 Figure 4.7. Students’ Perceptions of Teachers’ Vocabulary Teaching 49 8 ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to find out how and to what extent teachers teaching English to grade 10 students at upper secondary schools in Hue deal with vocabulary teaching in their classes. For the above purpose, commonly used 13 techniques in language classes were discerned by reviewing the professional literature in the field of vocabulary teaching. Based on the literature review, the data were collected from 180 students of grade 10 and 16 teachers at upper secondary schools in Hue through the questionnaires, interviews and classroom observations. The data collected were analyzed according to statistical frequency and percentage. The findings of the data analysis have shown that most of the teachers were aware of the importance of vocabulary teaching in the process of language acquisition. They identified clearly the advantages as well as disadvantages of the vocabulary teaching techniques while teaching. As a result, a wide range of vocabulary teaching techniques have existed and been exploited in English classes of all four skills. With regard to students’ attitudes towards their teachers’ vocabulary teaching techniques, students also asserted that most of their teachers’ current vocabulary teaching techniques were their favorable ones. Nevertheless, “hyponym” and “word roots and affixes” were two types of technique that their teachers seldom or even never use them in teaching vocabulary. In addition, most of the students showed their wish to have attractive ways of teaching vocabulary from their teachers in every language skill lesson. On the basis of the research findings, some pedagogical implications related to vocabulary teaching were proposed by the researcher to facilitate effective vocabulary teaching and learning at upper secondary schools in Hue. Besides, limitations of the research and suggestions for further research were also included. 9 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.0 Overview This chapter presents the rationale of the study in which the background of the research and the reasons for the research are taken into account. In addition, the aims, the objectives, the scope, the significance and the organization of the research are also given by the researcher. 1.1 Rationale of the Research English is an international language which serves as a language of diplomatic relations, trade, academic texts, reference materials and medium of several distinguished world media. It is undeniable that English provides a powerful tool to access world scholarship. Teaching and learning English are becoming popular in most of the world nowadays. In Vietnam, English has been taught as a compulsory subject in the school curriculum. As cited in Nguyen Loc (2005), in the survey of Vietnamese National Institute for Education Strategies and Curriculum Development, the proportion of pupils who study English at secondary school level in the country as a whole is 99,1% (French accounts for 0,6% and the rest percentage is for the other languages). It shows the demand for English which has been dramatically realized. However, the quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam has not necessarily improved (Ton Nu Nhu Huong, 2002). It is commonly heard criticism of teachers that students’ language proficiency is terribly low although there is again equal dissatisfaction of students about their teachers’ ability of the English language. In addition, due to students’ low language proficiency, teachers easily shift to the Vietnamese language during their teaching instead of using English instructions. Consequently, the interpersonal skill in English is not enhanced in both teachers and students. Commenting on this matter, Truong Thi My Van (2008) points out that the Vietnamese students’ passive learning habit resulting from the 10 traditional method discourages even the active students to contribute to the lesson unless they feel “safe” about what they are going to say. For the passive students, the safest and the easiest way is to remain silent. Recently, it can be seen that government of Vietnam as well as the whole society have made great efforts to meet the demand of English in the era of integration and development. As indicated by Tran Van Co (2006:1), “Since 1992 many teacher training workshops, courses and conferences have been conducted by outside Vietnamese organizations coming from New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Vietnamese English language teachers have opportunities to be trained new teaching techniques.” Obviously, foreign language teaching techniques coming from Western countries can make new changes and remarkable improvements in teaching and learning of English. However, the employment of new teaching techniques in the language classrooms among many Vietnamese teachers is still a challenge. As Pham Hoa Hiep (1999: 3) strongly confirms: “For many teachers in Vietnam, the concept of adapting whatever aspect of the new methodology is appropriate to the Vietnamese context and using whatever new techniques seem to work with Vietnamese students has not been considered.”. Accordingly, Harmer (2003) emphasizes that the problem is not with the methodology itself, or with ideas that it generates, but rather with how they are amended and adapted to feed the needs of the students who come into contact with them. Furthermore, Tran Van Co (2006), concludes that although some achievements have been made, there are many problems in applying the new teaching techniques which foreign trainer teachers use or which are written in teaching methodological books into Vietnamese language classrooms. With the importing of the Communicative Language Teaching, vocabulary teaching techniques have also been introduced into Vietnamese classrooms. It is, therefore, very significant for language teachers to find out how efficient vocabulary teaching techniques are used in order that they have appropriate teaching and guiding methods to help their students master new vocabulary. Since a