Tài liệu The effectiveness of using pictures to teaching english vocabulary to secondary school students

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY NGUYỄN VÕ MINH THƯ THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING PICTURES TO TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY TO SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING SUPERVISOR : LÊ NHÂN THÀNH, PhD Quy nhon, 2022 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN NGUYỄN VÕ MINH THƯ HIỆU QUẢ CỦA VIỆC SỬ DỤNG HÌNH ẢNH TRONG DẠY TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH TRUNG HỌC CƠ SỞ CHUYÊN NGÀNH: LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: TS. LÊ NHÂN THÀNH Quy nhon, 2022 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma at any university. I certify that my thesis contains no material, to the best of my knowledge and belief, except when specifically stated in the thesis. My thesis contains no previously published or written content by any other individual. Signed: Date:……../………/…....... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Without the support, encouragement, and contributions from my Assoc. Prof. Doctors, colleagues, friends, and family, the successful completion of this thesis work would not have been possible. I take this chance to appreciate them for their expert advice and wise invaluable comments, and generous time. They have enriched my knowledge and made my graduate journey a memorable chapter in my life. This paper could not have been completed without the encouragement and contributions of several individuals and groups to whom I would like to express my deep sense of gratitude during the stressful time of writing this paper. First of all, I am grateful to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Le Nhan Thanh, for his support, patience, and encouragement throughout my study. His technical and editorial advice was essential to the completion of this paper and has offered me several lessons and insights on how academic research works in general. I was fortunate to have a supervisor that genuinely cared about my job. It is not my success without his valuable comments, suggestions, and corrections. Besides, I also take this opportunity to express gratitude to all the lectures who took part in the training process of the MA course at Quy Nhon University for their scholarly knowledge and experience as well as their inspirational to me which incited me to widen my research from various perspectives. This study was made achievable by the presence of the enthusiastic students at Tran Phu Secondary School, who devoted their time to taking part ii in this research. I was also thankful to my colleagues for their fascinating assistance, support, and management during the pilot phase. Last, but not least, I am grateful for all the support and encouragement I received from my beloved parents and my brother throughout my thesis education. Your contribution is important. Thank you all for your help and support. iii ABSTRACT Vocabulary plays an important role in learning a foreign language. It supports students in learning other skills such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Language teachers have already employed mind mapping techniques to encourage their students to learn vocabulary. The current study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of using pictures to teach grade-7 students to learn English vocabulary. The sample of the study consisted of 40 grade-7 students at a secondary school in Ninh Thuan province. Those students were equally divided into two groups (experimental and control). The research was conducted based on mixed methods since it employed an experiment and a survey. These participants were divided into 2 groups: the control group and the experimental group. Data were collected from three sources: (1) the pre-test and post-test to estimate the students’ vocabulary improvement, (2) the questionnaire to assess how the changes in their opinions towards vocabulary learning with pictures were, and (3) observation classroom was carried out to gather data related to students' reactions and responses in vocabulary lessons. The findings of the study reveal that pictures greatly affect EFL secondary school students’ learning of vocabulary. Secondly, an experiment was carried out to examine the impact of pictures on grade-7 students’ mastery of English vocabulary. The results of the experiment showed that there are statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the experimental and control groups in the vocabulary posttest due to the use of pictures in favor of the experimental group. Along with the experiment. Based on the findings, the research provided suggestions that help students and teachers use pictures in learning and teaching vocabulary successfully. iv Keywords: effectiveness, pictures, school students, students’ responses, teaching English vocabulary v CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP ...................................... i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................ ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................ iv CONTENTS ................................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................... x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1 1 Rationale .................................................................................................... 1 2 Aim of the Study ........................................................................................ 2 3 Objectives of the Study .............................................................................. 3 4 Research Questions .................................................................................... 3 5 Scope of the Study ..................................................................................... 3 6 Significance of the Study ........................................................................... 3 7 Organization of the Thesis ......................................................................... 3 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................. 5 1 Vocabulary ................................................................................................. 5 1.1 Definitions. ...................................................................................... 5 1.2 Classification of vocabulary. ........................................................... 6 1.3 Important role of vocabulary in teaching and learning English. ..... 7 1.4 Stages in vocabulary teaching. ........................................................ 8 1.5 Techniques in teaching English vocabulary. ................................. 11 1.6 Factors affecting vocabulary retention. ......................................... 12 2 Pictures ..................................................................................................... 19 vi 2.1 Definition. ...................................................................................... 19 2.2 Principles of selecting a picture. .................................................... 20 2.3 Types of pictures. .......................................................................... 20 2.4 The use of pictures. ........................................................................ 26 2.5 The advantages and disadvantages of using pictures. ................... 27 2.6 Using pictures in vocabulary teaching activities. .......................... 29 3 Related Studies on Using Pictures to Teach Vocabulary ........................ 31 CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.................................... 34 1 Research Design ....................................................................................... 34 2 Participants ............................................................................................... 34 3 The Textbook ........................................................................................... 35 4 Data Collection Instruments..................................................................... 37 4.1 Questionnaires for students. .......................................................... 37 4.2 Vocabulary tests. ........................................................................... 39 4.3 Classroom observations. ................................................................ 40 5 Data Collection......................................................................................... 41 5.1 Administering the questionnaires. ................................................. 41 5.2 Administering the vocabulary tests. .............................................. 41 5.3 Administering the classroom observations.................................... 42 6 Data Analysis ........................................................................................... 42 6.1 Quantitative analysis of the questionnaires. .................................. 42 6.2 Quantitative analysis of the pre-test and post-test. ........................ 43 6.3 Qualitative analysis of the classroom observations. ...................... 44 7 Validity and Reliability ............................................................................ 44 8 Summary .................................................................................................. 46 vii CHAPTER 4. RESULTS OF THE STUDY ........................................... 47 1 Students’ Responses to Learning New Words Through Pictures ............ 47 1.1 Advantages of learning vocabulary with pictures. ........................ 47 1.2 Disadvantages of learning vocabulary with pictures..................... 49 1.3 Students’ intentions of future learning vocabulary with pictures. 51 2 The Effectiveness of Teaching New Words by Using Pictures ............... 52 2.1 Findings from the two tests. .......................................................... 52 2.2 The effectiveness of teaching new words using pictures as explored from the classroom observations. ............................................................ 56 3 Discussion of Findings ............................................................................. 64 3.1 Findings from the questionaire. ..................................................... 64 3.2 Finding from the two tests. ............................................................ 65 3.3 Finding from the observation. ....................................................... 65 4 Summary .................................................................................................. 66 5 Chapter Summary..................................................................................... 66 CHAPTER 5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION.............................. 68 1 Summary of Key Finding of the Study .................................................... 68 2 Pedagogical Implications ......................................................................... 69 3 Limitations ............................................................................................... 70 4 Suggestions for Further Research ............................................................ 71 REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 72 APPENDICES ........................................................................................... 76 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Background Information of the Participants ........................ 35 Table 3.2 Reliability Statistics for the Questionnaire........................... 45 Table 3.4 Descriptive Statistics for the Pre-test and the Post-test ....... 46 Table 4.1 Advantages Brought About by Learning Vocabulary With Pictures............................................................................................................ 47 Table 4.2 Disadvantages Findings From Learning Vocabulary With Pictures............................................................................................................ 49 Table 4.3 Students’ Intentions of Future Learning Vocabulary With Pictures............................................................................................................ 51 Table 4.4 Mean Difference in Students’ Vocabulary Mastery Within the Control Group ................................................................................................. 52 Table 4.5 Mean Difference in Students’ Vocabulary Mastery Within the Experimental Group ........................................................................................ 53 Table 4.6 Students’ Scores on Vocabulary Tests Between the Two Groups ............................................................................................................. 53 Table 4.7 The Number of Students Who Remember 3 and 4 Words .... 57 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4.1 Summary of Participant’s Vocabulary Mastery Before and After the Study ................................................................................................. 55 Figure 4.2 The Students’ Participation in Class................................... 59 Figure 4.3 Students in Slap the Board Game ........................................ 61 Figure 4.4 Classroom Interaction ......................................................... 62 x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as Foreign Language SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION To set the scene for the study, chapter 1 describes the rationale for the study, the research aim and objectives, and the research questions. This is followed by the scope and the significance of the study. Finally, there is an overview of the organization of the study. 1 Rationale Vocabulary plays an important role in learning a foreign language. The extent of students’ vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to reading comprehension and overall academic success Doff (1988). If students do not have a good vocabulary, they will find it difficult to read a passage, listen to a conversation, write a paragraph, and communicate in English. As a result, they gradually lose interest in learning a language. Besides, most students in high school often have problems with learning new words. They learn English vocabulary in an uninteresting and passive way. Teachers make a list of new words and give Vietnamese definitions, and they try to learn them by heart. As a result, students tend to copy definitions, repeat them back to their teacher and shortly forget the words altogether (Greenwood, 2002). Therefore, the teacher must apply other vocabulary teaching techniques to help students learn new words more effectively. There are many kinds of methods and techniques to teach vocabulary to students such as teaching vocabulary by using pictures, examples, definitions, and synonyms (Nation, 1990). Among them, using pictures is one of the techniques that play a significant role in helping learners remember new words better (Nattinger, 1998). According to Nattinger (1998), words in our mental lexicon are connected not only by meaning, form, and sound but also by sight. It means that pictures are useful aids in fixing words in students’ memory. Moreover, Gerlach (1980) also states that pictures could attract students’ attention. In short, pictures are appropriate for presenting and checking the 1 meaning of new words. From the statement, it can be seen that vocabulary functions as a cornerstone, without which any language could not exist. Speaking would be meaningless and perhaps impossible with only structures and without vocabulary. Therefore, the English teacher has to be able to organize teaching and learning activities they have to give materials by using a suitable technique and master the lesson effectively. Especially in learning vocabulary, teachers must make students able to memorize such words in the English language and groups of new words. Maria (1987) stated that research in first and second language acquisition suggests that initial teaching priorities for language areas should be vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. Therefore, the English teacher has to be able to organize teaching and learning activities, and they have to give materials by using a suitable technique and master the lesson effectively. Especially in learning vocabulary, teachers must make students able to memorize such words in the English language and group new words. The statements above mean that vocabulary is important to teach and teachers must try to find the most effective way to help learners retain new words in long-term memory. Available literature has indicated the benefits of pictures (Joklova, 2009; Leny, 2006; Shinta, 2006). Yet, there have been few studies in a secondary school context. Therefore, this study aims to explore the effectiveness of using pictures to teach English vocabulary to students at a secondary school in Ninh Thuan province in a two-month experimental study. It is envisaged that the outcome would add to the field of EFL teaching and learning in terms of vocabulary teaching strategies for students. 2 Aim of the Study This research aims to explore the effectiveness of using pictures in teaching English vocabulary to students at a secondary school. 2 3 Objectives of the Study To achieve this aim, the researcher tried to fulfill the following objectives: 1. To examine students’ responses to learning new words through pictures 2. To evaluate the effectiveness of teaching new words using pictures. 4 Research Questions 1. What are students’ responses to learning new words through pictures? 2. How effective is teaching English vocabulary to students through pictures? 5 Scope of the Study The research was carried out with the participation of all 40 students who were learning at a secondary school in Ninh Thuan Province. This study just focused on using pictures in teaching English vocabulary. The data was collected through questionnaires, vocabulary tests, and classroom observations. 6 Significance of the Study While much research has been conducted on the use of pictures, there are few studies to be done in Vietnam, especially in EFL secondary school context, it is significant to carry out the study because the findings of the study will provide be beneficial for teachers as they may use pictures more often in their vocabulary teaching. Besides, students will be taught how to learn vocabulary more effectively by using pictures. Thus, it is hoped that the findings of this study would be pedagogically significant for teaching and learning vocabulary. 7 Organization of the Thesis The thesis consists of five chapters: 3 Chapter 1, Introduction, presents the rationale for conducting the study, the research aims and questions, the objectives of the study, the research significance, and the structure of the thesis. Chapter 2, Literature Review, provides a theoretical framework for the study including definitions of vocabulary, classification of the vocabulary, the roles of vocabulary in teaching and learning English, problems of learning English vocabulary, and effective ways to learn vocabulary. Besides, the meaning of pictures, types of pictures, the use of pictures, and their advantages and disadvantages will be discussed, as related studies on the use of pictures. Chapter 3, Research Methodology, describes the methodology used in the research involving research design, participants, instruments, and the procedures for data collection and analysis. Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion, presents the results gained in the processing of the data and discusses the results of the data analysis. Chapter 5, Conclusion, summarizes the findings, presents the limitations of the study of teaching vocabulary using pictures, provides some suggestions for further study, and gives implications on teaching vocabulary. 4 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW Chapter 2 to shape the theoretical framework of the study. The first one presents vocabulary including definitions, the important role of vocabulary in teaching and learning English, how to make vocabulary learning and teaching effective, and techniques for teaching vocabulary. The second part describes pictures with definitions, types of pictures, the use of pictures, and the advantages and disadvantages of pictures used. The next section discusses testing consisting its important role and vocabulary tests. Besides, some related studies on the use of pictures are also mentioned. A summary of the theoretical background is also provided at the end of this chapter. 1 Vocabulary There are different definitions of vocabulary as it is an important factor in learning a foreign language. Each linguist gives his definition of vocabulary depending on the criteria that he considers the most important in terms of linguistics, semantics, lexicology, etc. 1.1 Definitions. According to Hatch and Brown (1995), vocabulary is the list of words that speakers of particular language use. Meanwhile, Carter (1998, p. 25) defines vocabulary as the smallest meaningful component of language. Likewise, Bloomfield (1993) and Carthy (1992, p. 32) also agree that a word is a separate item of language. Furthermore, vocabulary is “a core component of the language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how well learners speak, listen, and write” Richards & Renandya (2002, p. 255). According to Richard (2001, p. 4), one of the first things applied linguistics focuses on is vocabulary, which is one of the most visible components of language. Instead of thinking that 5 vocabulary is taught, it can be presented, explained, used in a variety of activities, but it must be learned by the individual. From the above-mentioned definitions, it can be seen that vocabulary is the group of words that speakers use to communicate and express their thoughts and feelings. It is clear that learning vocabulary is important to language learners because they surely need enough words in their target language to communicate efficiently. 1.2 Classification of vocabulary. There are different ways of vocabulary classification according to different criteria, features, or functions. In terms of semantics, Schmitt (2008) states that vocabulary can be divided into notional words and functional words. Notional words are those that have lexical meaning and form a great number of the speaker’s vocabulary. They are objects, actions, qualities, etc. Functional words are those whose meanings are grammatical. They only have meanings for other words with which they are used. In terms of grammar, vocabulary is classified based on different parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc. In terms of methodologists, a foreign language learner’s vocabulary is categorized into two kinds, namely active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. Active vocabulary refers to the words which the learners can understand and pronounce correctly and use constructively in speaking or writing. On the other hand, passive vocabulary refers to the words which the learners can recognize and understand while they are reading or listening to someone speaking, but they do not use the words in speaking or writing. However, some methodologists of the Communicative Language Teaching approach classify the learner’s vocabulary into productive and receptive 6 vocabulary. The productive vocabulary is the words that the learners can use effectively to produce information in speaking and writing. The receptive vocabulary is the words for the learner to receive and understand the information in listening and reading. As foreign language teachers, the teachers should know these classifications so that they can help students learn vocabulary better, especially helping students widen their vocabulary with more active and productive words. 1.3 Important role of vocabulary in teaching and learning English. Learning a language, especially English means learning the components of a language. Vocabulary is one of the components of language. So, the mastery of vocabulary is important because it supports the speakers in communication. Furthermore, vocabulary is also much more important than grammar because something could be expressed with the help of grammar. It is also key for students to understand what they hear and read in school and to communicate successfully with other people. Similarly, Saville and Troike (1984) also acknowledge that vocabulary knowledge is the single most important. It is one of the components that supports other skills such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Students cannot effectively express their ideas and meanings if they lack vocabulary. Wilkins (1972, p. 110) emphasized that “vocabulary is one of the three dimensions of languages (phonetics, grammar, vocabulary). Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” It does not mean that the author wants to compare vocabulary’s role and grammar but to show a fact that the author has experienced in her English learning process that language learners need vocabulary first to communicate. And Harmer (1993, p. 153) states that “if language structures make up the skeleton of language then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh.” Moreover, Morra and Camba (2009, p. 85) also emphasizes that “nowadays it’s 7