Using flashcards to teach vocabulary in a primary school in thanh hoa province

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI BE USING FLASHCARDS TO TEACH VOCABULARY EFFECTIVELY IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL MASTER ’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Vinh , 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THI BE USING FLASHCARDS TO TEACH VOCABULARY EFFECTIVELY IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60140111 MASTER ’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Supervisor : Assoc Prof , Ngo Dinh Phuong Vinh , 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is my own work The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission, and have not been published elsewhere Author Nguyen Thi Be i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the accomplishment of this study, I have been fortunate to receive a great deal of helpful assistance from many people First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc.Prof, Ngo Dinh Phuong for his valuable guidance, excellent suggestions and critical feedback throughout the research In addition, I am greatly indebted to the students of the classes I taught in order to experiment adaptation and gather information for my survey questionnaire and interview I would also like to extend my sincere thanks to my friends, my classmates, as well as my colleagues for their invaluable comments and encouragement Last but not least, I am all too aware that despite all the advice and assistance, I feel that the project is far from perfect; it is, therefore, my sole responsibility for any inadequacies and shortcomings that the study may be considered to have Vinh , 2017 Author Nguyen Thi Be ii ABSTRACT The student’s vocabulary mastery is still low because the student’s are difficult in determining the meaning of words Also, the students have difficulties differentiating the form of speech: noun, verb, adjective and adverb Meanwhile, the implementation of flashcard learning technique is important to help student’s vocabulary mastery The aims of this classroom action research are to know the process of learning vocabulary using flashcards, and to know student’s vocabulary improvement of using flashcards This research was conducted at Ly Tu Trong primary school in Thanh Hoa city as the subjects of the research This research consisted of 30 students of class 3B of Ly Tu Trong primary school The method used in this study was the experiment with questionnaire survey and the interview Vocabulary is central to English teaching and learning These days, many English have altered their teaching vocabulary methods They are focusing more on communicative approach instead of grammar or translation one However, in some areas, especially in the rural, students have still experienced the old teaching methods which leads to the act that student feel bored with learning English For examples, as teaching and learning vocabulary reading and vocabulary, teacher lists the words on the blackboard and translates into Vietnamese; students rewrite on paper and then try to learn by heart This method causes a situation where students lack interest in learning vocabulary Therefore, there is a need to enhance students’ motivation in learning vocabulary Being aware of the importance vocabulary, the researcher chooses the topic “Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in a primary school in Thanh Hoa province With iii this topic, the researcher would like to examine the current situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in at a high school and find out the benefits of flashcards in teaching and learning vocabulary TABLE OF CONTENTS Page STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FINGERS viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Scope of the study 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Design of the study 1.6 Research question CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 The Nature of Vocabulary 2.1.1 What is vocabulary? 2.1.2 Types of vocabulary 2.1.3 Reception vocabulary 2.1.4 Productive vocabulary 2.1.5 The importance of vocabulary 2.2 Psychology features of primary students 2.2.1 Social and emotional development 2.2.2 Intellectual development 10 2.3 The nature of Flashcards 11 2.3.1 The understanding of Flashcards .11 iv 2.3.2 The kinds of Flashcards 12 2.3.3 Advantages of using Flashcards 14 2.3.4 Disadvantages of using Flashcards .14 2.3.5 Overview of using flashcard in teaching vocabulary .15 2.4 How to teach vocabulary to primary students 17 2.5 Related studies .18 2.5.1 Improving students’ vocabulary mastery using flashcards 18 2.5.2 The effect of using vocabulary flash cards on primary students’ vocabulary knowledge 21 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Reality 24 3.2 Participants 25 3.3 Materials 26 3.3.1 Criteria of flashcards in teaching .26 3.3.2 English textbook 26 3.3.3 Observation 28 3.3.4 Questionnaire Survey .29 3.5.5 Interview 30 3.3.6 Post-class mini-test 31 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 32 4.1 The General English test 32 4.2 Data analysis 33 4.2.1 Current situation of teaching and learning English vocabulary of the 3rd form students 33 4.2.2 Attitude towards the importance of vocabulary in teaching and learning English .34 4.2.3 Frequency of using flashcards to teach vocabulary 35 4.2.4 The use of flashcards at different stages of a vocabulary lesson 36 4.2.5 Opinion of students and teachers on the effect of using flashcards to teach vocabulary 36 v 4.2.6 Benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by students and teachers .37 4.2.7 Difficulties of using flashcards to teach vocabulary perceived by students and teachers .39 vocabulary perceived by students 39 4.2.8 The desire for using flashcards in teaching vocabulary 40 4.3 Results of post-class mini-tests of Control Group(A) and Experimental Group(B) 41 4.2.2 Data analysis from interview .43 4.2.2.1 Interview with teachers 43 4.2.2.3 Interview with students 44 4.3 Discussion 45 4.3.1 The effect of the flashcards on memorizing the word meaning 46 4.3.2 The effect of the flashcards on memorizing the word spelling 46 4.3.3 The effect of the flashcards on memorizing the word pronunciation .47 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 47 5.1 Summary of the study 48 5.2 Limitation of the study .49 5.3 Suggestions for further research 50 REFERENCE 51 APPENDICES I APPENDICES II APPENDICES III APPENDICES 3A IV APPENDICES 3B V APPENDICES 4A VI APPENDICES 4B VII APPENDICES VIII APPENDICES IX vi LIST OF TABLES Page Table 4.1 The experimental and control group’s Score in general English test 32 Table 4.2 The average total scores and standard deviations of general English 33 Table 4.3 Benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by students 37 Table 4.4 Benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by teachers 38 Table 4.5 Difficulties of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by students .39 Table 4.6 Difficulties of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary perceived by teachers .40 Table 4.7 Results of post-class mini-tests of Experimental Group in which flashcards were applied 41 Table 4.8 Results of post-class mini-tests of Control Group in which flashcards were not applied 42 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure Flashcards of colors .13 Figure Flashcards of words 13 Figure Students concern about the importance of vocabulary 34 Figure Teachers concern about the importance of vocabulary .34 Figure Frequency of using flashcards to teach vocabulary 35 Figure Opinion of students and teachers on the effect of using flashcards to teach vocabulary 36 Figure The experimental group results 41 Figure The control group results 42 viii B Look at that house over there C Look at that house under there A He Italian, he not Polish B He is Italian, he isn’t Polish C They is Italian, they isn’t Polish 10 A What you have breakfast? B When you have breakfast? C Where breakfast you? 11 A Where is the train station? B What is train station? C Where the train station is? 12 A Give me the book! B The book me give! C Give the book me! B Put negatives I like coffee but I don’t like tea I drink whisky but he doesn’t speak/ she doesn’t eat/ I don’t drink/ you don’t play/ they don’t like rum He speaks Japanese but he doesn’t speak/ she doesn’t eat/ I don’t drink/ you don’t play/ they don’t like German They like Pop but he doesn’t speak/ she doesn’t eat/ I don’t drink/ you don’t play/ they don’t like Rock She eats Chinese food but he doesn’t speak/ she doesn’t eat/ I don’t drink/ you don’t play/ they don’t like Vietnamese food You play drums but he doesn’t speak/ she doesn’t eat/ I don’t drink/ you don’t play/ they don’t like guitar C Add these words to each group Germany Swedish twelve brown Tuesday seventy December II June Friday green Switzerland snow eight wind February nineteen orange rain Italian Norwegian sun Greek Sunday April Countries Nationalities Days Numbers Months The weather Colors D Add the correct verbs a book a ask a letter b listen to a song c live at a picture d work a question e read English f speak in town g look in a bank h write E Fill in the correct prepositions We live in/ near/ on/ under New York, in/ near/ on/ under The Bowery We live in/ near/ on/ under a big apartment in/ near/ on/ under the third floor Our building is in/ near/ on/ under the library in/ near/ on/ under our apartment is a bakery We are very happy in/ near/ on/ under our neighborhood III APPENDIX POST-CLASS MINI-TEST THE 1ST POST-CLASS MINI-TEST Test 1: WORD MEANING TEST Write the meanings of the words: Words Meanings 1, eight 2, green 3, brown 4, tooth 5, father Test 2: THE WORD SPELLING TEST Reorder the letters: v/n/e/i/g/e n/i/g/m/o/r/n t/i/s w/n/d/o r/i/g/l 10 d/o/g/o g/n/m/o/r/i/n Test 3: WORD PRONUNCIATION TEST Read aloud the following words: stand up nine pink pencil case classroom THE 2ND POST-CLASS MINI-TEST Test 1: WORD MEANING TEST Write the meanings of the words: Words Meanings 1, Pencil 2, book IV 3, ruler 4, bag 5, eraser Test 2: THE WORD SPELLING TEST Reorder the letters: 11 i/b/d/r 12 a/l/e/p/p 13 l/y/l/e/w/o 14 c/a/e/h/t/r/e 15 o/b/y Test 3: WORD PRONUNCIATION TEST Read aloud the following words: dog cat duck hello goodbye THE 3RD POST-CLASS MINI-TEST Test 1: WORD MEANING TEST Write the meanings of the words: Words Meanings 1, mouth 2, ear 3, orange 4, rainbow 5, leg Test 2: THE WORD SPELLING TEST Reorder the letters: k/h/t/n/a/s e/y/b/d/o/o/g V v/e/s/e/n s/u/d/e/t/n m/y/f/i/a/l Test 3: WORD PRONUNCIATION TEST Read aloud the following words: nose banana apple father table VI APPENDIX 3A SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For students) I am Nguyen Thi Be – a teacher of English I am conducting a research on “Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary to students at Ly Tu Trong primary school” This questionnaire was designed as a part of my research You can be sure that the information collected will be used for the research purposes only and your personal opinions will be kept strictly confidential in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please choose the answer by circling the letter next to your choice, putting a tick (√) in the right box or expressing your idea in the blanks (In some cases, you can choose more than more answers) How long have you been learning English? ………………………… How you think of vocabulary in English teaching and learning? □ Very important □Important □Normal □ Unimportant What is (are) your difficulties in learning English vocabulary?(You can choose more than one answer) A Cannot remember the meanings B Cannot remember how to pronounce and spell words correctly C Cannot remember word formations D Do not know how to use words in correct contexts E Others (please specify) …………………………… How much time in a lesson does your teacher spend on teaching vocabulary? A About 10 minutes B About 15 minutes C About 20 minutes D Aver 20 minutes What aspect(s) of a new word you often be taught by your teacher? (You can choose more than one answer) A Meanings VII B Pronunciation and spelling C Use D Formation E All of these above What technique does your teacher most frequently use to teach vocabulary (You can choose more than one answer) A Translating into Vietnamese B Giving examples C Using synonyms or antonyms D Using audio-visual aids E Using real objects F Using body languages (gestures, facial expressions…) G Combining different techniques How often does your teacher use flashcards to teach vocabulary? □ Sometimes □Always □Usually □ Rarely □ Never In your opinion, is it effective to use flashcards in teaching vocabulary? □Very effective □ Effective □ Normal □Ineffective How you think of advantages of using flashcards in learning vocabulary? (Tick in the box you agree with) Note: SA: Strong agree A: Agree N: Neutral D: Disagree SD: Strong disagree Benefits SA Flashcards make you feel learning vocabulary more exciting VIII A N D SD Flashcards help you guess the meanings of new words easily Flashcards help you understand the meanings of new words easily Flashcards help you remember new words quickly Flashcards help you be able to use new words taught in real situations Others (please specify)………………… How you think these main difficulties of using flashcards to teach vocabulary? (Tick in the box you agree with) Difficulties SA A N D SD 1.Time-consuming to prepare flashcards 2.Difficulties in choosing suitable flashcards 3.Pictures for picture flashcards in textbook are limited 4.Lack of time to teach vocabulary 5.Class –management (noisy…) 6.Large- size class Others (please specify)………………… 10 Would you like your teacher to use or continue using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in future? □ YES □ NO IX APPENDIX 3B SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For teachers of English) I am Nguyen Thi Be – a teacher of English in Thanh Hoa I am conducting a research on “Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary to 3rd graded students at Ly Tu Trong primary school” This questionnaire was designed as a part of my research You can be sure that the information collected will be used for the research purposes only and your personal opinions will be kept strictly confidential in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation! Please choose the answer by circling the letter next to your choice, putting a tick (√) in the right box or expressing your idea in the blanks (in some cases, you can choose more than more answer) General information? -Your age: ………………………… -How many years have you taught English? What you think of vocabulary in English teaching and learning? □Very important □ Important □ Normal □ Unimportant In your opinion, what is (are) your difficulties in teaching English vocabulary? (You can choose more than one answer) A Students’ lack of motivation B Students’ lack of interest C Lack of teaching aids D Lack of teaching time How much time in a lesson you spend on teaching vocabulary? A About 10 minutes B About 15 minutes C About 20 minutes D Aver 20 minutes What aspect(s) of a new word you often teach? (You can choose more than one answer) X A Meanings B Pronunciation and spelling C Use D Formation E All of these above What technique you most frequently use to teach vocabulary ( You can choose more than one answer) A Translating into Vietnamese B Using synonyms or antonyms C Using visual aids D Using real objects E Using gestures and facial expressions F Giving examples G Combining different techniques How often you use flashcards in teaching vocabulary? □Always □ Usually □ Sometimes □Rarely □Never In your opinion, is it effective to use flashcards in teaching vocabulary? □Very effective □Effective □ Normal □Ineffective Which stages you often use flashcards to teach vocabulary? A Presentation stage B Practice stage C Production stage D All of these stages How you think of advantages of using flashcards in learning vocabulary? (Tick in the box you agree with) Note: SA: Strong agree A: Agree N: Neutral XI D: Disagree SD: Strong disagree Benefits SA A N D SD Flashcards make Ss feel learning vocabulary more exciting Flashcards help Ss guess the meanings of new words easily Flashcards help Ss understand the meanings of new words easily Flashcards help Ss remember new words quickly Flashcards help Ss be able to use new words taught in real situations (complete tasks…) Others( please specify …) 10 What you think are the main difficulties that teachers face when using flashcards to teach vocabulary? (Tick in the box you agree with) Difficulties SA 1.Time-consuming to prepare flashcards 2.Difficulties in choosing suitable flashcards 3.Pictures for picture flashcards in textbook are limited 4.Lack of time to teach vocabulary 5.Class –management (noisy…) 6.Large-size class Others (please specify)………………… XII A N D SD 11 Do you intend to use or continue using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in future? □ YES □NO APPENDIX 4A INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR STUDENTS) How often does your teacher use flashcards to teach vocabulary? What are the major benefits of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary? What are the main hindrances of the application flashcards to teach vocabulary? Do you expect your teacher to use or continue using flashcards to teach vocabulary? Can you suggest some ways to improve the current state? XIII APPENDIX 4B INTERVIEW QUESTIONNAIRE (FOR TEACHERS) How often you use flashcards to teach vocabulary? What advantages can the exploitation of flashcards and learning vocabulary bring to teachers and students? In your opinion, what are shortcomings of using flashcards to teach vocabulary? What are your pedagogical suggestions to teach vocabulary more effectively with the utilization of flashcards? XIV APPENDIX Scores on the word meaning tests by the EXPERIMENTAL group Scores of the post mini test No Participan ts 1st Test 2nd Test 3rd Test A1 6 A2 6 A3 6 A4 8 A5 8 A6 6 A7 8 A8 8 A9 10 10 10 A10 11 A11 6 12 A12 6 13 A13 4 14 A14 8 15 A15 10 8 XV APPENDIX Scores on the word meaning tests by the CONTROL group No Participan ts Scores of the post mini test 1st Test 2nd Test 3rd Test B1 6 B2 6 B3 4 B4 B5 6 B6 6 B7 6 B8 B9 6 10 B10 11 B11 6 12 B12 6 13 B13 4 14 B14 6 15 B15 10 6 XVI ... motivation in learning vocabulary Being aware of the importance vocabulary, the researcher chooses the topic ? ?Using flashcards in teaching vocabulary in a primary school in Thanh Hoa province. .. vocabulary (listening vocabulary, speaking vocabulary, reading vocabulary, and writing vocabulary) are summarized just in active and passive vocabulary In general, vocabulary is divided into four... of using flashcard in teaching vocabulary In Vocabulary learning: A critical analysis of techniques, Oxford and Crokall claimed that using flashcards self-test vocabulary knowledge is a popular