Tài liệu Vocabulary instruction on reading comprehension for students in grade 11 at truong dinh high school in tien giang province m.a. 60.14.10

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES ********* VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION IN READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE 11 AT TRUONG DINH HIGH SCHOOL IN TIEN GIANG PROVINCE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF TESOL Submitted by PHAN ĐỖ NGỌC DIỆP Supervisor NGUYỄN THÁI ÂN, Ph.D. HO CHI MINH CITY, 2011 i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION IN READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS IN GRADE 11 AT TRUONG DINH HIGHSCHOOL IN TIEN GIANG PROVINCE. in terms of the statement of Requirements for Theses in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee. Ho Chi Minh City, November 24 th, 2011 PHAN ĐỖ NGỌC DIỆP ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, PHAN ĐỖ NGỌC DIỆP, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirement of the university relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of thesis. Ho Chi Minh City, November 24 th, 2011 PHAN ĐỖ NGỌC DIỆP iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Dr. Nguyễn Thái Ân, who did provide me with insightful discussions, constructive criticisms, valuable comments, and continuing support in the preparation and completion of this thesis. I am greatly in debt to all the lecturers of the TESOL graduate program at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their helpful instruction during the course from the year 2006 to 2009. Finally, I would like to send my deepest gratitude to my family and my friends who cared, encouraged and supported me during the time of completing the thesis. iv ABSTRACT Vocabulary knowledge has long been a major determinant influencing ESL/EFL reading comprehension (Laufer, 1997). Reading comprehension efficiently helps readers to improve their vocabulary. The more they would read extensively the more ideas and words would be generated, which ultimately helps in the development of vocabulary of the target language. Vocabulary acquisition is one of the most challenging obstacles language learners must overcome. The main objective of the study was to investigate the reality of vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension for students in grade 11 at Truong Dinh high school to find out what difficulties teachers and students face when dealing with vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension and in what way vocabulary can assist students in reading comprehension. Sample of the study constituted of 2 classes if eleven graders and 10 teachers at this school. This study evaluates the vocabulary teaching component of an English teaching program for students at high school. It first describes the course and the issues which prompted the study. Then it examines previous research in vocabulary learning and applies some of the key findings to the development of a research project. This project has two elements: questionnaires related to vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension and classroom observation to find out the reality of vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension. Data analysis of the questionnaire shows reality and problems of vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension. Students know the importance of vocabulary knowledge in comprehension but they do not know how to effectively deal with new words in a reading text. Students should be actively involved in exploring word meaning and learn how to figure out meaning with unknown words in reading comprehension. v Findings from questionnaire and classroom observation reveal that teachers’ vocabulary instruction sometimes falls back to the “old” procedure of teaching vocabulary: reading aloud, translating. In addition, teachers seem to lack information about students’ real ability in reading. For this reason, teachers’ teaching methods do not meet the need of the students. Therefore, teacher should take into consideration the actual desire of students in learning as well as the problems students may encounter in reading comprehension. Students should be well aware of the strategies to deal with unknown words in a reading text. When students are taught how to get through with the reading text more effectively, they will feel more confident in reading comprehension, which also builds a bridge to success in learning English. “Guessing in context” and “word parts” are useful techniques help to determine meaning of words in reading comprehension. vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a foreign language FL: Foreign Language L1: first language L2: second language NRP: National Reading Panel TDHS: Truong Dinh High School vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgements iii Abstract iv List of abbreviations vi Table of contents vii List of figures xii List of tables xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. Background to the study 1 1.2. Rationale of the study 3 1.3. Problem statement 4 1.4. Significance to the study 5 1.5. Aims of the study 7 1.6. Limitations 8 1.7. Study setting 8 1.7.1. The school 8 1.7.2. Syllabus 9 1.7.2.1. Aims and objectives of the syllabus 9 1.7.2.2. The content of the syllabus 9 1.7.2.3. The construction of the textbooks 9 1.7.2.4. Time allocation 10 1.7.2.5. Methods being used in teaching English at high schools 11 1.7.2.6. Students’ profile 11 1.8. Organization of the study 12 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 13 2.1. Overview of the place of vocabulary in foreign language teaching 13 2.2. Teaching vocabulary in reading comprehension 15 viii 2.3. Correlation between vocabulary and reading comprehension 16 2.4. Need for vocabulary instruction 19 2.5. Perspectives on vocabulary instruction 20 2.5.1 Definition of vocabulary 20 2.5.2. Vocabulary learning process 21 2.5.3 What information is necessary to ‘know’ a word? 23 2.5.4. How should vocabulary be learned? 25 2.5.5. What makes a good vocabulary learner? 27 2.6. Principles of teaching and learning vocabulary 29 2.6.1. Vocabulary Knowledge 29 2.6.2. Principles of Vocabulary Instruction 32 2.6.3. Types of Vocabulary Instruction 34 2.7. Guessing meaning of unknown words 36 2.7.1. Guessing meaning of unknown words through context 38 2.7.2. Using word parts: prefixes, suffixes and roots 42 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 45 3.1. 45 Research questions 3.2. Research design 46 3.2.1. Subjects 46 3.3.2. Instruments 47 3.3.2.1. Questionnaires 48 3.3.2.1.1. Questionnaire for students 48 3.3.2.1.2. Questionnaire for teachers 50 3.3.2.2. Classroom observation 50 Data collection procedure 52 3.4. 3.4.1. Data collection procedure of questionnaires 52 3.4.2. Data collection procedure of classroom observations 52 3.5. 53 Conclusion CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 54 ix 4.1. Analysis of students’ responses 54 4.1.1. Question 1: Factors can help students to comprehend the text better 54 4.1.2. Question 2: The most important thing teachers should do to help students get success in vocabulary instruction 55 4.1.3. Question 3: The importance of context in guessing meaning of new words 56 4.1.4. Question 4. What students do when they find a new word 57 4.1.5. Question 5: Difficulties students encounter when reading a text in the textbook 58 4.1.6. Question 6: The ways students apply to learn vocabulary 60 4.1.7. Question 7: What teachers should do to help students acquire good ability of guessing meaning of unknown words 61 4.1.8. Question 8: Techniques students learn to guess meaning of unknown words 62 4.1.9. Question 9: Technique students apply when trying to guess meaning of unknown words in a reading text 64 4.1.10. Question 10: Students’ opinions on vocabulary instruction 65 4. 1.11. Question 11: Which role of context should be taught to students 67 4.2. Analysis of teachers’ responses 68 4.2.1. Question 1: Factors can help students to comprehend the text better 68 4.2.2. Question 2: The most important thing teachers should do to help students get success in vocabulary instruction 69 4.2.3. Question 3: The importance of context in guessing meaning of new words 70 4.2.4. Question 4. What students do when they find a new word 71 4.2.5. Question 5: Difficulties students encounter when reading a text in the textbook 72 4.2.6. Question 6: Ways students apply to learn vocabulary effectively 73 4.2.7. Question 7: Techniques students should employ to guess x meaning of unknown words 74 4.2.8 Question 8: How often teachers use different techniques in vocabulary instruction 75 4.2.9. Question 9. How often teachers translate the text into Vietnamese to students 77 4.2.10. Question 10: The most effective strategies in presenting new words 78 4.2.11. Question 11: Which role of context should be taught to students 79 4.3. Analysis of classroom observations 80 4.3.1. Analysis of techniques teachers applied in vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension 80 4.3.2. Analysis of the number of words presented in each lesson 82 4.3.3. Analysis of the selection of words presented in each lesson. 83 CHAPTER 5: SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 85 5.1. Suggestions 85 5.1.1. Suggestions to teachers 87 5.1.1.1. Finding suitable ways to teach vocabulary to students 87 5.1.1.2. Helping students become confident with new words and new texts 88 5.1.1.3. Continuing to acquire knowledge of linguistics, developmental stages of and instructional practices that enhance word knowledge among students 89 5.2.2. Suggestions to students 90 5.2.2.1. Changing the habit of learning 91 5.2.2.2. Dealing with unknown words when reading 92 5.3. Conclusion 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY 96 APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE (for teachers) 104 APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE (for students) 107 APPENDIX 3: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT (dành cho học sinh) 110 APPENDIX 4: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET 114 xi APPENDIX 5: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION REPORT CLASS 1 115 xii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Vocabulary as an Important Component of Reading 17 Figure 2: Limited vocabulary skills can limit vocabulary development 18 xiii LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Subjects specification 46 Table 2.The objectives of the questionnaire for students 49 Table 3.The objectives of the questionnaire for teachers 50 Table 4. The time framework of the four classes 52 Table 5. Factors can help students to comprehend the text better 54 Table 6. The most important thing teachers should do to help students get success in vocabulary instruction 56 Table 7. The importance is of context in guessing meaning of new words 57 Table 8. What students do when they find a new word 58 Table 9. Difficulties students encounter when reading a text in the textbook 59 Table 10. The ways students apply to learn vocabulary effectively 60 Table 11. What teachers should teacher should do to help students acquire good ability of guessing meaning of unknown words 61 Table 12. Techniques students learn to guess meaning of unknown words 64 Table 13. Techniques students apply when trying to guess meaning of unknown words in a reading text 64 Table 14. Students’ opinions on vocabulary instruction conducted by teachers 66 Table 15. Which role of context should be taught to students 67 Table16. Factors can help students to comprehend the text better 68 Table 17. The most important thing teachers should do to help students get success in vocabulary instruction 70 Table18. The importance of context in guessing meaning of new words 70 Table 19. What students do when they find a new word 71 Table 20. Difficulties students encounter when reading a text in xiv the textbook 72 Table 21. The ways students apply to learn vocabulary effectively 73 Table 22. Techniques students learn to guess meaning of unknown words 74 Table 23. Vocabulary instruction conducted by teachers in the classroom 76 Table 24.How often teachers translate the text into Vietnamese to students 77 Table 25. The most effective strategies in presenting new words 78 Table 26. Which role of context should be taught to students 79 Table 27. Frequency of techniques applied in vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension 80 Table 28. The number of words presented in each lesson 82 1 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.7. Background to the study According to Baumamn and Kameenui (1991) words are the tools we use to access our background knowledge, express ideas, and learn about new concepts. Students’ word knowledge is linked closely to academic success. Success in reading comprehension is usually seen as fundamental to the academic success of foreign language learners. Second language proficiency often assumes vocabulary and grammar as knowledge and reading as the ability to understand the text (Koda, 2005). Research consistently reveals that vocabulary knowledge heavily relates to reading comprehension more so than other factors such as grammar knowledge (Koda, 1989; Qian, 1999). Laufer (1997:20) has written, “No text comprehension is possible, either in one native language or in a foreign language, without understanding the text’s vocabulary. Hence, without understanding the meaning of words, second language readers may have a hard time developing comprehension. Consequently, vocabulary seems to be an important factor in reading comprehension (Richard & Rodgers, 2001). The stronger the vocabulary knowledge the EFL student has, the better reading comprehension the reader will achieve (Mecartty, 2000). Laufer (1997) indicates that it is not possible to achieve comprehension, either for native speakers or second language learners, without understanding the vocabulary in the text. Laufer further claims that second language reading comprehension is affected by vocabulary alone. The breath of vocabulary knowledge is usually presented as vocabulary size, which refers to the numbers of the words that second language learners know, rather than emphasizing on how well learners know given words. Anderson, R.C & Freebody, P.(1981) also 2 find that word knowledge is crucial to reading comprehension, and determines how well students will be able to comprehend the texts they read in the upper elementary grades, in middle and high school, and in college. Although it is true that comprehension is far more than recognizing words and remembering their meanings, it is also true that if a reader does not know the meanings of a sufficient proportion of the words in the text, comprehension is impossible. Laufer and Sim (1985) show that FL learners seem to rely more on vocabulary meaning than on knowledge of the subject or syntax. This means that a certain size of vocabulary has to be known to the learners before they can approach a text comfortably. As such, vocabulary learning and teaching must be an important part in the L2 classroom have examined the use of direct teaching including teaching vocabulary learning strategies as one of the means of promoting the development of L2 vocabulary knowledge. As a matter of fact, it has been suggested that one way to increase the speed of learning vocabulary of a second or a foreign language or a foreign language is to teach learners how to learn vocabulary more efficiently and effectively. Graves (2000) states that if students want to be successful in understanding unfamiliar vocabulary in their reading, they need to learn about words not simply acquire new words. Instruction that supports independent vocabulary learning strategies shows students how to determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabularies. On the whole, independent vocabulary learning strategies are procedures that teachers can model and teach explicitly to students to show them how to determine the meaning of unknown vocabularies. Additionally, teaching vocabulary learning strategies directly can help students become better independent vocabulary learners (Baumann, Edwards & Kameenui, 2003; Blachowicz & Fisher, 2000; NRP, 2000). Therefore, vocabulary instruction plays an important role in reading comprehension. A study on how to help students overcome trouble in dealing with unknown words in a reading passage should be carried down to find solutions to these problems. 3 1.8. Rationale of the study Students at Truong Dinh High school (TDHS) do have difficulties learning English especially when reading. They often confide that not only vocabulary but also reading is the thing that makes them frustrated most when learning English. However, they forget the words they learn very quickly for the reason that students do not know effective way to master vocabulary. High school students study vocabulary by reading the words aloud and writing them down on a piece of paper again and again. They often learn the words in isolation not in context and they pay much attention to Vietnamese meaning of the words rather than how to use the words in specific context. In addition to this, vocabulary instruction being presented at high school is rather old. Teachers pay much attention to word meaning rather than how the word is used in different context or how to figure out the meaning of a new word when reading (this can be seen in frequency of techniques applied in vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension). Teachers tend to give list of words and Vietnamese equivalents at the beginning of a reading period. Teachers just focus on how to help students understand the content of the reading text. Therefore, they sometimes translate the text into Vietnamese, which made students passive and dependent on teachers. As a result of this, the knowledge students get is not systematical, but somewhat mechanical. This makes students bored in the learning process. Teachers should motivate students in learning by providing them with suitable learning strategies when dealing with a reading text, e.g. teaching students to deal with unknown words. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out a study to find out what difficulties students and teachers face when dealing with vocabulary in reading comprehension and how vocabulary instruction can assist students to perform better in reading comprehension. 4 1.9. Problem statement Reading comprehension is one of the four language skills which require the teachers and learners to invest more time and energy to develop. Difficulties are often experienced by teachers when teaching English as a foreign language when reading is involved. Reading materials may be too difficult in terms of level, they may lack excitement, or some may be nothing more than texts on pages. Reading is such an important skill that learners need to spend time practicing it. Reading can provide “comprehensive input” as it leads to language acquisition. It can also enhance learners’ language competence. In addition, it increases the students’ exposure to the language as well as knowledge of vocabulary. Besides, reading can lead to improvement in writing. At the same time reading can consolidate previously learned language. When learning a foreign language, reading comprehension is important as it contains elements that link the other three skills: listening, speaking, and writing. In order to understand foreign language, learners should be well-trained in classes. However, there are factors leading to passive learning. First, learners think reading is boring and time consuming. Second, they treat reading as a simple task of understanding all the words in the passage, so they ignore other functions of reading. Third, they acquire reading passively from textbook, not actively in combination with other skills. At last, they hesitate to apply what they have learnt into practice. For the above factors, learners often have difficulty in learning reading comprehension. So do my students at high school. In fact, students have difficulty understanding the reading passage because they lack the ability to deal with unknown words in the text. Students tend to translate words by words into Vietnamese before doing the reading tasks. It is no good learning English like that, particularly in reading comprehension. In reality, people read because they want to obtain the necessary information. Therefore, in some cases, people just pay much attention to the main ideas or gist. For example, 5 when reading an advertisement in a paper or a notice on board, they just read the main point, not read all the words. As a teacher of English at high school and with the observation on the students’ learning process and their test performance’s scores, the researcher sees that students know very little of how to deal with unfamiliar words in a reading passage and they have limited amount of vocabulary. For this reason, they are often confused when doing reading comprehension test. They also feel bored when learning reading and pay less attention to reading than to other language skills. In order to help them get over their problems in reading comprehension, the researcher spends time studying vocabulary instruction in reading comprehension to find out the major problems related to this aspect and suggest solutions to these problems. Some researches about aspects of reading have been done. They do contribute a lot to the effectiveness of teaching reading concerning different aspects of learners. But more aspects of reading still wait ahead for further research. Therefore, the researcher continues the work of former researchers. 1.4. Significance to the study Vocabulary, which consists of the knowledge of meaning as the main component of a language, should be taught together with reading, structure and conversation. Vocabulary is also a means of communication. One can not always communicate without using words conveys their thoughts, especially in written form. So vocabulary should be part of a reading course because one needs the mastery of vocabulary to comprehend the reading passage. In learning English people can not only master one skill. Language is the integration of the four skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Language