Beruflich Dokumente
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I am very grateful to all teachers from 3 high schools in Hanoi and 100
grade 10 students at Thang Long high school for their enthusiastic
participations. Without them, the methodology of this study could not be
completed.
Last but not least, I would like to show my gratitude to my family for
their spiritual and material supports and endless encouragements, which are
really important in giving me confidence and optimism to fulfill this
research.
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ABSTRACT
It is undeniable that vocabulary has been considered the crucial
component of learning a foreign language. Techniques for teaching and
learning vocabulary are, therefore, the matter of concern in many studies.
However, current teachers‟ methods of teaching vocabulary seem not to be
so effective that the quality is far from being satisfactory.
The result of this study indicated that the quality of teaching and
learning vocabulary was not really good. Besides, teachers have not made
use of movies and videos in teaching though they are supposed to help retain
students‟ motivation, lengthen students‟ memory and better their
pronunciation. Furthermore, each technique still has some limitations so this
study also provides some suggestions for teachers to partly deal with them.
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CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
Acknowledgements 2
Abstract 3
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CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
3.1. Participants 24
3.1.1 Teachers of English 24
3.1.2 Grade 10 Students 25
3.2. Data collection 26
3.2.1 Questionnaire 26
3.2.2 Semi-structured Interview 27
3.3. Procedure of data instrument collection 28
3.4. Procedure of data analysis 29
3.4.1 Data Analysis Method 29
3.4.2 Data Analysis Procedures 30
3.5. Summary 30
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List of table and Figures:
Table 1 A summary of the geographical locations
of 3 Hanoi high schools
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
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communicative competence, so the quality of teaching and learning
vocabulary is far from being satisfaction.
After learning English for many years, students can only read and
understand short and simple texts and they find it difficult and feel unconfident to
reproduce their vocabulary to communicate with foreigners.
There are various ways to teach and learn English vocabulary, in which
using visual aids, especially movies or videos, is considered one of the most
useful and effective way to teach and to learn English vocabulary. Using
videos makes students draw attention to the lesson, arouse their interest in it
and create the good learning atmosphere during the lesson. Moreover,
through movies or videos with sound and picture, learners can enjoy
themselves, release stress and have an open mind to learn and perceive
words. Besides, learners can benefit a lot from widening communication
expressions and phrases. However, several teachers, even the experienced
ones, do not take full advantages of them when teaching vocabulary. Some
of them often complain that it would take much time to find the relevant
movies or videos for the lessons. Besides, in the videos and movies, there
may be some redundant new words, so they have to spend much time
explaining them.
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II, Aim and objectives of the study
V, Organization
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the research, the instruments used to collect data and procedures of data
collection as well as data analysis are made clear.
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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
I, Introduction
II,Content
2.1. An overview of vocabulary
2.1.1. Definition of vocabulary
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definition. Broadly defined, vocabulary is knowledge of words and words
meaning.
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a basic unit of a language denoting concept, things and phenomena in
society” (GHP, 1998, p 58).
To sum up, there are various ways to define the concept “vocabulary”.
Nevertheless, it is in favor that vocabulary is a total number of words existed
in language, including single words to express idea as well as multi- word
idioms which can be understood in the contexts.
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“If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is
vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh. An ability to
manipulate grammatical structures does not have any potential for
expressing meaning unless words are used”. Concerning about the
significance of vocabulary, Mc Carthy stated, “Without words to express a
wide range of meanings, communication in the second language can not
happen in any meaningful way”. By these statements, it can be concluded
that vocabulary is the decisive component of all uses of language. Therefore,
if the learners have a wide range of vocabulary, they will have more
confidence to communicate with others and vice versa. They can meet many
difficulties to express themselves and communicate with others.
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vocabulary is necessary. I. S. P. Nation offered that:“ Giving attention to
vocabulary is unavoidable. Even the most formal or communication-
directed approaches to language teaching must deal with needed vocabulary
in one way or another.”
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2.1.3. Classification of vocabulary
There are various ways to classify the kinds of vocabulary. In the first
place, in terms of semantics (meaning of the words), it is classified into
Notional words and Functional words. The former, whose meanings are
lexical, has certain terminal meaning and server as members of the sentence
such as subjects, attributes, adverbials. Notional words are nouns, pronouns,
adjectives, numerals, verbs, adverbs; they name objects, actions, quality and
so on. Whereas, functional words have grammatical meaning, they only have
meanings in relation to other words. They play structural roles and show the
relationship between words or between other parts of the sentences, or help
to build various tenses, voices and moods, etc. Functional words are articles,
prepositions, conjunctions, interjections, and so forth. Moreover, according
to Doff (1988), vocabulary can be classified into active vocabulary and
passive vocabulary in terms of methodology. The active vocabulary
mentions words, which learners can understand, pronounce correctly without
context and use effectively in speaking and writing. On the other hand, the
passive vocabulary is the words that are encountered or understood in
context such as in reading or listening but they are not used in speaking or
writing. Another category to classify vocabulary is in terms of
communicative language teaching. Learner‟s vocabulary is divided into
receptive and productive vocabulary (Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Ngoc,
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2002, p. 36). The receptive vocabulary refers to learner‟s understanding of
vocabulary when he hears or reads it. In other words, it is words learners
achieve while hearing, listening or reading. Productive vocabulary denotes
the understanding of words or phrases in verbal or written scenarios (Belisle,
2007). It means that productive vocabulary is what learners can use
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The benefit of using them in teaching and learning is undeniable. Followings
are some advantages of using videos and movies to teach vocabulary.
In the first place, video and movies are motivators. They help to
motivate learners and maintain their interest, attention during the lesson. In
classroom where the teacher keeps talking all the times and has nothing to
attract learners‟ attention, learners will get bored and tired. By using video
and movies, teacher will not have to talk much and encourage students to
talk more, which results in more learners‟ participation. Besides, video is a
combination of sound, colorful pictures and human- video interactions,
which is quite different from traditional classes with text- books, cassettes in
bad quality and non- native speakers. Video and movies are more effective
than traditional printed textbooks. What students can see from the textbooks
are only dead words and sentences. Students would become more excited to
experience this new way of teaching and learning. They would be more
eager to try to understand the new language and remember them for long
time. Learning with videos with chance to be acquainted with the native
voice, which makes students not feel so isolated from the real world and they
absorb the new language without being aware of this. When watching
videos, students would not aware that they are learning so they feel free from
pressure and stressful situation in traditional language classes. They learn the
language incidentally and as a result, they gain success. There are a series of
studies by Guildea, Miller and Wurtenberg (1990) which provide support for
video use. According to them, the learners who saw video pictures were able
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to produce a higher percentage of acceptable sentences using the most
difficult target words than were the learner who read only the narratives or
those who read both the narratives and definitions. In the words of the
researchers, “Pictures (video) improve sentence production for many words”
( Gildea, 1990).
In the next place, videos and movies help to create the good language
environment. By watching videos or movies, students have chance to listen
to the native speakers with standard pronunciation, accent, intonation and
stress. At the same time, students will achieve new words as well as their
correct use. Learners still feel shy to ask teachers because they can be
blamed on not paying attention to the lesson. By watching them, students
can understand clearly the reason why in this situation we use this word not
others. Furthermore, the ability to stop, start and rewind video can be
invaluable. Whenever students feel the words difficult, teacher can stop and
rewind it until they are clear. Therefore, learners will find it far easier to
understand difficult and new structures or expressions as well as know the
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way to pronounce words at the same time. Teachers can give more
explanation if necessary.
Some research shows the fact that five minutes of a short sequence
taken from a video is equal to forty- five minutes learning with traditional
books. Video is considered as a powerful medium because of the wide sense
of the term such as it presents the language in the full context, which helps
students know how to use language correctly. Students would find it easier
to remember the new vocabulary as well as the use of them as they are put in
specific context. Moreover, they know how to pronounce the words more
precisely. In addition, learners would find studying more interesting because
they do not have to listen to one voice all the time; instead, they could watch
and listen at the same time. Among many kinds of visual aids, video and
movies are recognized as the two most effective methods of teaching and
learning. In comparison with other visual aids such as pictures and
flashcards, which only provide the image or audiocassettes that present new
vocabulary through sound, video is absolutely better. Videos and movies
provide both sound and moving pictures, which both interests and motivates
learners. Video can be compared with radio or television, it is certainly more
preferable. It is clear that in the video learners can achieve advantages in
learning through both radio and television. By watching videos and movies,
the learners do not just hear the language but see the context in which it is
used. Besides, with TV sometimes we can not select the program that is
appropriate to learners‟ level as well as the content of the lesson but we can
do this with video. Further more, the source of video and movies is not
limited, almost any video can be used to teach English, especially
vocabulary such as commercial films, TV program and so on.
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In short, video and movies are effective aids, which help to facilitate
teaching and learning process. It is a very flexible medium. Especially, video
has been used in language teaching in many countries. According to a recent
teacher survey, 94% of classroom teachers had effectively used video during
the course of an academic year (Lori Griffin).
uptake from a movies with sub- titles . At first, the learners were pre- tested
to identify the number of known and unknown words. Then they watched
the film and were tested once a week for 4 weeks. Surprisingly, the findings
is the known words increased from 0 to 41 out of the total number of 100
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words being tested. Moreover, not only children but also adults find movies
and videos enjoyable. Those, who have bad vocabulary, can learn some
more new vocabulary unconsciously, for those who happen to have large
vocabulary can still benefit from watching movies and videos.
2.4. Summary
This chapter has dealt with the theoretical background of the study with
the basic but necessary knowledge of English vocabulary and using movies
and videos for teaching vocabulary. In order to find out the current situation
of teaching vocabulary as well as the application of movies and videos for
teaching vocabulary at high schools in Hanoi, a survey was conducted;
which would be reported in the chapter 3.
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CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
The literature on the research topic was briefly reviewed for the
theoretical basis of the study. To continue, this chapter presents the practical
side of this study, the author‟s research on how movies and videos are used
and how useful they are for English vocabulary teaching at some high
school. The participants, the instrument as well as the procedure of data
collection and analysis are discussed in detail in this chapter.
3.1. Participants.
In order to undertake this study, the author conducted the survey to both
teachers of English and grade 10 students at high school in Hanoi.
The teachers the researchers got here have vital role in designing and
facilitating the activities in their language classrooms. Therefore, ten
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grade10 teachers at Thang Long, Nguyen Gia Thieu and Lomonxop high
schools involved in the data collection process to report the factual situations
of English teaching and learning at their school as well as to share their
valuable experience related to the topic. The choice of schools was made to
ensure that they should come from across the city rather than the same
district. This diversity is illustrated in table 1 below
Lomonoxop 2 Tu Liem
Most of the teachers in the survey were female aged from 30 to 48. Their
teaching experience widely ranged from 8 to 24 years. Each teacher taught at
least 3 to 4 classes, i.e. 12 to 15 periods of English per week. Furthermore,
the main teaching material is the three- year course book. Moreover, the
Communicative Language Teaching method is used by majority of the
teachers here.
The second subject of this survey was the limited number of 100 students
in the 10th form at Thang Long high school in Hanoi, where the researcher
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did practicum. They were both male and female at the age of sixteen years
old. They are in 3 groups 10A12, 10A8 and 10A5 from the mainstream.
Some of them have been learning for 4 to 10 years, and some for 8 or 9
years. It is notable that among 100 students, 47 students preferred English as
the main subject when they get the entrance exam to the university whereas
53 students only considered English as a high school subject. Their main
purpose of learning was not only to get the good results in written tests but
3.2.1. Questionnaire.
Using questionnaires is the main use for collecting data. Questions were
short and focused; it is an effective and quick way to obtain a huge amount
of information especially to a large number of respondents in a short time.
Moreover, if the questionnaire is well conducted, the data can be easily
collected and analyzed. Two questionnaires were used, one for the teachers
and another for grade 10 students. Questionnaires for teachers were written
in English and the other for students were written in Vietnamese to make it
easy for them to answer and to avoid possible misunderstandings as well as
the inaccuracy of the outcomes.
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Teachers‟ questionnaire consisted of eleven questions, which was
started with a brief introduction and concise explanation of the research. So
was the students‟ questionnaire, which consisted of 15 questions. On the
following pages of two questionnaires, there was a combination of both
open-ended and close-ended questions to facilitate the data collation and
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3.3. Procedure of data collection.
The process of data collection could be put into three major phases as
follows.
Phase1:
The first phase was the preparation for the data collection including the
designing of two questionnaires. All personal information of the participants
was ensured to be kept confidential. Besides, thanks to the invaluable
supervision from my supervisor and friends, the survey questionnaires were
much improved and carefully designed.
Phase 2:
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After having the permission, the researcher made an appointment with
the teachers. The researcher explained why the information was being
collected and how it would be used. Then, the teachers were asked to spend
more time reading the questionnaires and filling in the questionnaire. Next,
following the questionnaire was the small talks between the researcher and
the interviewees to get an insight view into their attitudes.
Phase 3:
The next phase was conducted with the 10th form students in
classrooms. With the permission of the teachers of English and the former
teachers, the survey questionnaires were given to these students at break
time. Before completing the questionnaires, students were briefly explained
about the research topic and the reason why the information was being
Then, some semi- interviews with 5 students who had previously used
movies and videos to learning vocabulary were conducted after their class.
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the set aims and research question), counting on which were the tasks of
categorization, classification and final analysis.
The data received from the close- ended questions in the questionnaires
was quantified, calculated and transferred into numerical form. In order to
see the over all evaluation, the participants‟ choices and rating were
synthesized and analyzed to gain a composite score.
As mentioned from the beginning, the survey questionnaire and interviews were
conducted on the purpose of finding answers to the research questions. After all the
data was gathered, it was transformed and classified according to the three
research questions. From the data analysis, a large amount of statistics
obtained form the questionnaire was transformed into tables and charts,
which reassured the clear-cut format and facilitate the analytical task as well
as help readers understand comparison and synthesis.
3.5. Summary
14. Bibi Baxter. Using video to teach English. (Retrieved from the 10th
February 2010 from the website:
http://www.musicalenglishlessons.org/video/bean.htm)
http://iteslj.org/Lessons/Tatsuki-VideoinLL.html)
16. Lori Griffin, Using videos in the classroom. ( Retrieved on the 25th
February 2010 from the website:
http://www.libraryvideo.com/articles/article13.asp)
17. Online video for ELT (2008). (Retrieved on the 20th March 2010 from
the website:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/online-video-elt)
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