VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS USING SOME TECHNIQUES FOR ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE GRADE 6TH STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY AT VINH LAC PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOL SỬ DỤNG MỘT SỐ KỸ THUẬT TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN VỐN TỪ VỰNG CHO HỌC SINH KHỐI TRƯỜNG TH&THCS VĨNH LẠC Student: HOANG THI THU HUYEN Student code: 621207 Major: ENGLISH Supervisor: BUI THI LA, M.A HANOI – 2021 i CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled “Using some techniques for English vocabulary learning to improve the grade 6th students’ vocabulary at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor in English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Hanoi, 2021 Hoang Thi Thu Huyen Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Date:…………………… i TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i TABLE OF CONTENTS ii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.3 Research question 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS STUDIES (AT HOME AND ABROAD) 1.1.1 Study at home 1.1.2 Study abroad 1.2 REVIEW OF THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.2.1 The definition of vocabulary 1.2.2 Types of vocabulary 10 1.2.3 The importance of vocabulary 11 1.2.4 The importance of learning vocabulary 13 1.2.5 The most common vocabulary teaching in English context 14 1.2.6 Vocabulary teaching and learning techniques 17 1.3 SUMMARY 23 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 24 2.1 ACTION RESEARCH 24 2.1.1 Definition 24 2.1.2 Reasons for the use of Action research 27 2.2 RESEARCH SETTING 27 2.3 RESEARCH PROCEDURES 28 2.4 INSTRUMENT AND DATA COLLECTION 30 2.4.1 Classroom observations and teaching practice 30 2.4.2 Survey questionnaire 31 2.4.3 Interview 31 2.4.4 Pretest and post-test (See in appendices) 32 2.5 DATA ANALYSIS 32 2.6 SUMMARY 33 ii Chapter FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 34 3.1 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS 34 3.2 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM INTERVIEWS AND PRE TEST AND POST-TEST 35 3.3 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS FROM PRACTICE TEACHING 39 3.4 SUMMARY 52 PART CONCLUSION 53 RECAPITULATION 53 CONCLUDING REMARKS 53 LIMITATION OF THE RESEARCH 55 IMPLICATIONS 55 PART 4: REFERENCES 57 APPENDICES 59 iii ABSTRACT In this research, the writer have focused on the effectiveness of using some techniques in teaching and learning English vocabulary in order to improve vocabulary for 6th grade Ss at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School Learning vocabulary is not only difficult for students, but it is also difficult for teacher to figure out how to motivate students to learn vocabulary and effectively teach vocabulary That is also the question that prompted me to conduct research on techniques for teaching and learning English vocabulary The writer used the action research method as the main research method to complete the thesis In this method, the writer performed two main activities at the same time, which were researching which vocabulary teaching methods are currently being used by English teacher in this area and researching the difficulties that students face in the process of learning vocabulary, followed by researching which vocabulary teaching and learning techniques will be appropriate to apply, following all these research steps, the writer began to take action by applying with some techniques in vocabulary teaching and learning to observe how effective these techniques are To collected data for the study, the writer observed class, practiced teaching, conducted numerous interviews with English teacher and students, and required students to take a pretest and posttest The writer observed the class to determine what vocabulary teaching methods are being used by English teachers here Suggestions for using some techniques in teaching English vocabulary to increase vocabulary for students have been proposed, as have conclusions and assessments of student progress According to research findings, the theme was discovered: Using some techniques in vocabulary teaching and learning to increase students’ knowledge and improve vocabulary has shown a difference in interaction and learning attitudes On the basis of these findings, recommendations are made to teacher and students to improve the quality of English teaching and learning iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my honorable teacher, Mrs Bui Thi La, M.A who wholeheartedly supported me with the right guidance and promptly provided detailed comments in the shortest time possible to assist me in completing this thesis Secondly, I am grateful to Vietnam National University of Agriculture and the Faculty of Education and Foreign Language for providing me with an intensive study environment in which I can gain both practical experience and the necessary skills when confronted with actual work conditions I would especially like to thank all of the teachers in the Department of Professional English in the faculty of foreign language, who wholeheartedly imparted knowledge to me during my four years of study Finally, with the deepest and sincere affection, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the school board, the teachers, and the students of Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School for enthusiastically assisting me during my internship time In particular, I would line to thank Mrs Tran Khanh Van, who directly guided and taught me very meticulously and enthusiastically during my research here Furthermore, she shared her work experiences with me, which is extremely valuable practical knowledge for my future My thesis has capacity limitations as well as shortcomings in the research process I would like to listen to and absorb the teacher's feedback in order to improve and supplement my knowledge Sincerely thanks! v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Englsih = EL Second language = L2 Teacher =T Students = Ss vi PART 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study We cannot deny the importance of EL in all aspects of modern life or how widely it is used Nowadays, more and more people are learning EL, and this language can be found almost anywhere in the world EL has four main aspects and skills that are spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar Meanwhile, listening, reading, writing, and speaking are the four skills These four factors will help learners strengthen their EL skills This research focuses on one of the aspects that can build up the four skills in EL, the aspect which is known as vocabulary There are some reasons that make vocabulary is important to be learned Talking about the importance of vocabulary, the linguist David Wikin (1972) argued that, “Without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” (pp 111-112) Indeed, people need to use words in order express themselves in any language Learners cannot understand others or express their own ideas unless they have a solid command of the EL Without knowledge of the key vocabulary in a text, learners may struggle to comprehend the message; in other words, word knowledge is critical to reading comprehension and determines how well Ss will understand the texts they read, having Ss with a large amount of vocabulary knowledge is essential to language comprehension Vocabulary is always very important in all languages, and EL is no exception In order to communicate, learners must have a vocabulary; in addition to learning grammar, learners must also focus on learning vocabulary Currently, in most schools, EL Ts frequently focus on teaching grammar rather than teaching vocabulary; the writer are also paying close attention to this situation; specifically, the writer want to learn about the current state of Ss’ learning vocabulary at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School During my internship at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School, I was particularly interested in and focused on each of the Ss' vocabulary lessons, and I had numerous opportunities to practice teaching vocabulary and learn more about the situation of Ss' vocabulary learning, which is a major concern for me, I decided to look into some more effective techniques for teaching and learning vocabulary The lack of vocabulary makes it difficult for Ss to learn and improve EL skills, the writer discovered that three major factors influence Ss' vocabulary learning, resulting in Ss no longer placing a high emphasis on learning vocabulary The three main reasons are: The limited methods of learning vocabulary; objective factors from the Ss' environment and living circumstances; and the T's teaching method For the reasons stated above, I hope to present some effective techniques for teaching EL vocabulary for Ss at grade in secondary schools in the hopes that Ss will be interested in learning EL Due to my limited EL knowledge and the time constraints of the graduation paper, I decided to choose the research paper entitle "Using some techniques for EL vocabulary learning to improve the grade 6th Ss’ vocabulary at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School" 1.2 Aims and Objectives * Aims: This study was conducted with the goal of determining problems of the grade 6th Ss at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School in learning vocabulary in order to devise a strategy for implementing applying techniques of teaching and learning EL vocabulary in order to observe Ss’ change, and finally, to provide comments and solutions to improve Ss' vocabulary * Objectives: The objectives of the paper are: - To observe what vocabulary teaching methodologies are used at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School - To apply some certain vocabulary techniques to teaching vocabulary in order to examine how they can improve the process of learning vocabulary of Ss at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School - To suggest suitable vocabulary techniques in EL teaching and learning 1.3 Research question The aim of this research is to answer the following questions: - What are the vocabulary teaching methods used at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School? - To what extent EL vocabulary teaching and learning techniques improve Ss' vocabulary at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary school? - What suggestions should be given to enhance Ss’ learning vocabulary? 1.4 Scope of the study The research focused on a class of the grade six at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary School and focused on the use of some techniques in EL vocabulary teaching and learning to class 6A1 Ss at Vinh Lac Primary and Secondary school in order to improve their vocabulary To accomplish, the writer investigated the causes of ineffective EL vocabulary teaching and learning The writer conducted the research with class 6A1 with the participation of 32 Ss The textbook "Tieng Anh thi diem" will be used to apply vocabulary teaching and learning techniques Question 10: What does the word “Opponent” mean? A khán giả B đối thủ C trọng tài POST-TEST Quick EL Vocabulary Test – Bài kiểm tra nhanh từ vựng tiếng Anh Question 1: What does the word “Spin dryer” mean? A máy giặt B máy hút bụi C máy sấy quần áo Question 2: What does the word “Radiator” mean? A bàn B máy nghe nhạc C lò sưởi Question 3: What does the word “Villa” mean? A nhà kho B biệt thự C hộ tầng hầm Question 4: What does the word “Penthouse” mean? A chung cư B hộ C nhà tầng mái Question 5: What does the word “Sailing” mean? A trượt ván B chèo thuyền C lặn có bình khí Question 6: What does the word “Opponent” mean? A đối thủ B khán giả C trọng tài Question 7: What does the word “Boxing gloves” mean? A vợt cầu lơng B gậy bóng chày C găng tay đấm bốc Question 8: What does the word “Hockey” mean? A khúc côn cầu B đánh gôn Question 9: What does the word “Ocean” mean? 62 C đua ngựa A sông B đại dương C biển Question 10: What does the word “Wrestling” mean? A cử tạ B môn đấu vật 63 C lướt ván buồm Appendix 3: Lesson plans LESSON PLAN Teaching date: 14/4/2021 Tiết 88 – Tuần 30 UNIT 11: OUR GREENER WORLD LESSON 2: A CLOSER LOOK I: OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, Ss can achieve the following things: Knowledges: - Understanding the ways that people can to protect the world - Knowing what is good for the environment and what is bad for the environment - Knowing some lexical items related to “ reuse, reduce and recycle” - Ss pronounce two sounds /ɑː/ and /æ/ Capacity: - Using environmental knowledge to present in front of the class Quality: - Showing positive attitude to learning II: TEACHING DEVICES AND MATERIALS: - Devices: Projector, computers, headphones - Materials: Textbook, lesson plan, pictures III: PROCEDURES: Organization: - Numbers of Ss 6A1: Checking the previous lesson: - Aim: Ss review the vocabularies from the previous lesson - Content: Ss work individual to list the vocabularies and then the teacher will ask some Ss at random 64 - Product: Ss’ remembering the new words from the previous lesson - Performance: + Some Ss go to the board and list the vocabularies + The other Ss give comments + T corrects mistakes and leads them into the new lesson New lesson: * Activity 1: Opening: - Aims: Ss know some factors that are harmful to the environment - Content: Show some pictures about recycling and ask Ss to guess what it is - Product: Ss’ understanding the content of the pictures and the topic of the lesson - Performance: + Ss look at the picures and listen to the T’s instruction to answer the questions *Activity 2: New lesson: T’s and Ss’ activities Vocabulary 1.1 Exercise - T explains the task and shows the symbol of “Reduce, reuse, recycle” then explain the meaning - Ss draw a line from the symbols in column A to the words “Reduce, reuse, recycle” in column B with their meaning in column C - Ss present their answers - T corrects answers and gives explaination 1.2 Exercise - T uses pictures to present new words - Ss look at the picture and guess the words meaning - T read the words first and Ss repeat loudly Contents Reduce: Using something less Reuse: Using something again Recycle: Creating new products from used materials noise (adj): ồn (antonym) rubbish (n): rác thải (picture) can (n): vỏ lon (picture) plastic bag (n): túi nilon (picture) plastic bottle (n): chai nhựa (picture) bulb (n): bóng đèn trịn (picture) 65 - Ss copy the new words - Ss the task: Match the words with the right pictures - Ss present their answers - T corrects answers and gives explaination 1.3 Exercise - T gives instruction - Ss work in pair - T calls some Ss to write the words in columns on the board - T checks answers and gives explaination 1.4 Exercise - T lets Ss listen to the song - Ask them to sing along - Call on some Ss to try signing Pronunciation: /ɑː/ and /æ/ - T teaches the way to pronounce two sounds - Call on some Ss to practice 2.1 Exercise & 6: - Call on some Ss to try pronouncing the words - Let Ss listen to the words and repeat them - Let them listen again and put the word into correct columns - T corrects answers and gives explaination 2.2 Exercise & 8: Write /æ/ and /ɑ/ː - Give instruction - Ask Ss to work individually - Ask them to exchange the answers - Let Ss listen to the conversation and check *Activity 3: Consolidation rubbish plastic bags paper can glass plastic bottle bulb water noise 10 clothes Reduce: plastic bag, rubbish, plastic bottle, can, noise, bulb, paper .Reuse: plastic bags, plastic bottle, clothes, glass, can, bulb .Recycle: plastic bag, glass, rubbish, bottle, can, paper, bulb The “Three Rs” song Pronunciation: /ɑː/ and /æ/ Eg: hard and had /ɑː/ fast plastic glass dance answer afternoon /a:/: class, ask, father /ᴂ/: stand, have, that - Aim: Ss practice vocabulary and pronunciation 66 /æ/ had bad apple activity glass, water, paper, water, - Content: Ss group the new words into three groups: reuse; reduce; recyle .rubbish (n): rác thải can (n): vỏ lon (picture) plastic bag (n): túi nilon plastic bottle (n): chai nhựa bulb (n): bóng đèn trịn noise(adj): ồn - Product: Ss’ recall of word meanings and pronunciation of two sounds /æ/ and/ɑ/ː - Performance: + Ss the task + T calls out some Ss to present their answers + T corrects mistakes if necessary + T reads each word one again + Ss listen to the T and repeat *Homework - Ss review all vocabularies and practice pronouncing the two sounds /æ/ and /ɑ/ː - Complete all excercises of the lesson 67 LESSON PLAN Teaching date: 21/4/2021 Tiết 90 – Tuần 31 UNIT 11: OUR GREENER WORLD LESSON 4: COMMUNICATION I: OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, Ss can achieve the following things: Knowledges: - Can talk about ways to ‘go green’ - Knowing some lexical items related to sports Capacity: - Using knowledge and vocabualary from the topic to present in front of the class Quality: - Showing positive attitude to learning II: TEACHING DEVICES AND MATERIALS: - Devices: Projector, computers, headphones - Materials: Textbook, lesson plan, pictures III: PROCEDURES: Organization: - Numbers of Ss 6A1: Checking the previous lesson: - Aim: Ss review the vocabularies from the previous lesson - Content: Ss work individual to list the vocabularies and then the teacher will ask some Ss at random - Product: Ss’ remembering the new words from the previous lesson - Performance: + Some Ss go to the board and list the vocabularies 68 + The other Ss give comments + T corrects mistakes and leads them into the new lesson New lesson: * Activity 1: Opening: - Aims: Ss review vocabulary and grammar from the previous lesson - Content: Review the grammar points from the previous lesson, which may be used in this lesson Some grammar points are: conditional sentences – type and questions to ask about frequency (How often…) - Product: Ss’ recall the knowledge of the previous lesson - Performance: + Ss listen to the T’s instruction to answer the questions *Activity 2: New lesson: T’s and Ss’ activities Extra vocabulary - Go through the extra vocabulary with Ss - T reads the words first and Ss repeat loudly - Ss copy the new words Exercise - T introduces the task - Call on some Ss to read aloud and give translation if necessary - Let Ss read it again and work in pairs One is the interviewer and the other is the interviewee - Have some Ss compare the results of their interviews to the class - T asks them turn to page 57 to check their answers and count their points Exercise - T gives instruction - The interviewer then share responses Content a survey: làm khảo sát (explanation) be in need: cần (explanation) recycling bin(n): thùng tái chế (picture + explanation) breeze (n): gió nhẹ (situation) wrap (v): gói (situation) invite (v): mời (situation) The 3Rs Club in your school is doing a survey on how ‘green’ the Ss are Help them answer the following questions SURVEY How ‘Green’ Are You? Interview a classmate Compare his/ her answers with yours How many 69 with their friends to see how many different answers they have - Have Ss to report their interview results to the class Exercise - Have Ss to work in groups - Each group should be given a large piece of paper Ss must answer two more questions on this paper When the timer goes off, ask the groups to write their questions on the board Read the questions aloud - Ask about their comments on the questions Give feedback on the questions *Activity 3: Consolidation different answers have you got? - Report your classmate’s answers to the class Work in groups Consider adding two more questions to the survey - Share your group’s questions with the class Vote for the best questions - Aim: Ss practice vocabulary - Content: Ss use the given words to fill in the blanks a survey be in need recycling bin breeze invite wrap Let's …………… with our classmates about their favorite subjects The environment …………… of protecting by humans For plastic bottles and cans, we can put them in the …………… It will be more fun if you many…………… friends to the birthday party If it hot in your room, you will go out side and enjoy …………… I will help you …………… these birthday gifts - Product: Ss’ recall of word meanings - Performance: + Ss the task + T calls out some Ss to present their answers + T corrects mistakes if necessary 70 + T reads each word one again + Ss listen to the T and repeat *Homework: - Ss self-review 71 Appendix 4: Survey questionaire PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT TÌNH TRẠNG HỌC VÀ LUYỆN TẬP TỪ VỰNG (Section 1) Họ tên:………………………………… A: Learning strategies (Chiến lược học tập) I translate the words into Vietnamese to understand them (Em dịch từ sang tiếng Việt Nam để hiểu chúng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always I make plans to learn new words (Em lên kế hoạch học từ mới) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always Learn words that the teacher given in several example sentences in which new words are used (Học từ giáo viên cung cấp số câu ví dụ từ sử dụng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always The teacher tells us learn by group words (Giáo viên yêu cầu chúng em học cách phân nhóm từ) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always B Scopes/sources of new words (Phạm vi/ nguồn từ mới) The teacher writes new words on the board (Giáo viên viết từ lên bảng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always I find words from textbook (Em tìm kiếm từ từ sách giáo khoa) 72 a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always I find new words from films (Em tìm kiếm từ phim) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always I find new words from the Internet (Em tìm kiếm từ mạng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always I listen to English songs to find new words (Em nghe hát tiếng Anh để tìm từ mới) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 10 I find new words while reading books and magazines in the foreign language (Em tìm kiếm từ em đọc sách tạp chí nước ngoài) a, Never b, Sometimes 73 c, Always PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT TÌNH TRẠNG HỌC VÀ LUYỆN TẬP TỪ VỰNG (Section 2) Họ tên:………………………………… C Practice strategies (Chiến lược ôn tập) 11 I use new word in sentences to remember them (Em sử dụng từ câu để ghi nhớ chúng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 12 I write new words again and again by myself (Em tự luyện viết từ nhiều lần) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 13 The teacher tells us to write down the word several times (Giáo viên yêu cầu chúng em viết lại từ nhiều lần) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 14 I make connection to words I already know (Em tạo kết nối từ mà em biết với nhau) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always D Memory strategies (Chiến lược ghi nhớ) 15 To remember new words, I read them loudly (Em đọc từ thật to để ghi nhớ chúng) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 16 I repeatedly words are learned (Em nhắc lại nhiều lần từ học) a, Never b, Sometimes 74 c, Always 17 I test myself with word lists to check if I remember the words (Em tự kiểm tra ghi nhớ với danh sách từ) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 18 I group words together to remember them, for eg: nouns, verbs,…(Em nhóm từ lại với để ghi nhớ chúng, ví dụ nhóm danh từ, động từ, …) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 19 I repeat the word mentally to remember it (Em lặp lại từ tâm trí để ghi nhớ) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always E Words meaning look up (Tra nghĩa từ) 20 I use dictionary to find words meaning (Em sử dụng từ điển để tìm nghĩa từ) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 21 I ask my teacher when I don’t understand/remember words (Em hỏi cô giáo em không hiểu không nhớ nghĩa từ) a, Never b, Sometimes c, Always 22 I ask my friends when I don’t understand/remember words (Em hỏi bạn khơng hiểu khơng nhớ nghĩa từ) a, Never b, Sometimes 75 c, Always APPROVED BY SUPERVISOR .,date …month…year…… …, date … month … year …… Student Supervisor (Signature and full name) (Signature and full name) Hoang Thi Thu Huyen Certified by Department of Professional EL 76