Tài liệu Using mind mapping technique to improve the 12th graders’ english vocabulary at my hao high school.

NGUYỄN THỊ NGỪNG VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Thị Ngừng COVER PAGE 2 ENGLISH LANGUAGE USING MIND MAPPING TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE THE 12th GRADERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT MY HAO HIGH SCHOOL MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSE: 2016 – 2018 HANOI, 2018 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Nguyễn Thị Ngừng USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE TO IMPROVE THE 12th GRADERS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT MY HAO HIGH SCHOOL Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph.D. HANOI, 2018 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, the undersigned, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Using Mindmapping Technique to Improve the 12th Graders’ English Vocabulary at My Hao High School” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language. The substance of the thesis has not, wholly or in part, been submitted for any other degree to any other universities or institutions. Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person. The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences. Author’s Signature Nguyễn Thị Ngừng Approved by SUPERVISOR Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph.D. Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort. I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and deep appreciation to Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph. D, my supervisor, for his helpful and warm encouragement as well as his insightful comments on my work from the beginning to the end of the study. Next, the completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the cooperation from the respondents (ninety 12th graders at My Hao High School) who have been willing to take part in the study. I am very grateful to all of them for providing detailed information for the analysis of the study. In addition, I would like to thank all of the lecturers who gave me interesting lessons, dedication and advice during my study at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences. I also offer my special thanks to my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement help me to have this thesis accomplished. Last but not least, I must express my gratitude to my family. It is their endless love and expectations that have motivated me to complete this thesis. I am immensely thankful for all the assistance they have given me. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................... 1 1.1. Rationale.......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Aims of the Study ........................................................................................... 2 1.3. Research Questions ........................................................................................ 2 1.4. Scope of the Study.......................................................................................... 3 1.5. Significance of the Study ............................................................................... 4 1.6. Research Methods .......................................................................................... 5 1.7. Structure of the Study..................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................... 7 2.1. Vocabulary ..................................................................................................... 7 2.1.1. Vocabulary Defined..................................................................................... 7 2.1.2. Vocabulary Classified ................................................................................. 8 2.1.3. Aspects of Learning Vocabulary ................................................................. 9 2.1.4. Vocabulary Tests Defined ......................................................................... 13 2.2. Mind-mapping Technique ............................................................................ 15 2.2.1. Mind-mapping Technique Defined............................................................ 15 2.2.2. Mind-mapping Classified .......................................................................... 17 2.3. Mind-mapping Technique in Teaching and Learning Vocabulary .............. 21 2.4. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Mind-mapping Technique .......... 26 2.5. Previous Research ........................................................................................ 28 2.5.1. Previous Studies Carried out in Foreign Countries ................................. 28 2.5.2. Previous Studies Carried out in Vietnam .................................................. 29 2.6. Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 30 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................... 32 3.1. Research Setting ........................................................................................... 32 3.2. Participants ................................................................................................... 33 3.3. Data Collection Instruments ......................................................................... 34 3.3.1. Vocabulary Tests ....................................................................................... 34 3.3.2. Questionnaires .......................................................................................... 35 iii 3.3.3. Interviews .................................................................................................. 36 3.4. Research Design ........................................................................................... 37 3.5. Research Procedures .................................................................................... 40 3.5.1. Phase 1 ...................................................................................................... 40 3.5.2. Phase 2 ...................................................................................................... 40 3.5.3. Phase 3 ...................................................................................................... 41 3.5.4. Phase 4 ...................................................................................................... 42 3.6. Data Analysis ............................................................................................... 43 3.7. Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................. 46 4.1. Data Analysis from Questionnaires ............................................................. 46 4.2. Data Analysis from Tests ............................................................................. 54 4.3. Data Analysis from Interviews..................................................................... 59 4.4. Chapter Summary ......................................................................................... 63 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .......................................................................... 65 5.1. Recapitulation............................................................................................... 65 5.2. Concluding Remarks .................................................................................... 66 5.3. Implications .................................................................................................. 69 5.4. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies ......................................... 70 5.4.1. Limitations ................................................................................................. 70 5.4.2. Suggestions for Further Studies ................................................................ 70 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................... 72 APPENDIX 1: Questionnaires ................................................................................I APPENDIX 2: Semi-structured interview questions ........................................... III APPENDIX 3: Answers for the interviews........................................................... V APPENDIX 4: The students’ opinions about the teacher’s activities .............. VIII APPENDIX 5: Positive attitude of students toward mind mapping technique ... X APPENDIX 6: The students’ positive evaluation on the effectiveness of the MM technique ............................................................................................................... X APPENDIX 7: Pre-test .........................................................................................XI iv APPENDIX 8: Post-test 1 ................................................................................. XIII APPENDIX 9: Post-test 2 .................................................................................. XV APPENDIX 10: Mean Score of Tests ............................................................. XVII APPENDIX 11: Ranges of Scores ................................................................. XVIII APPENDIX 1: Key to the Tests ........................................................................ XIX APPENDIX 13: Textbook - Unit 6 .................................................................... XX APPENDIX 14: Listening Tapescript ............................................................. XXX APPENDIX 15: Lesson Plan ......................................................................... XXXI v ABSTRACT The principal objective of the present research is to investigate the 12th graders’ attitudes towards mind-mapping technique used in vocabulary teaching and evaluate the effectiveness of mind-mapping technique applied to vocabulary teaching. To do so, 90 students who are from two classes 12A2 and 12A8 took part in this study. Pre-test, post-tests, a questionnaire and an interview are chosen as the data collection instruments to find out the effect of the intervention. In this study, the writer as teacher and observer tried to apply Mind-mapping techniques to improve the students’ vocabulary mastery. There are four phrases used in this study namely planning, action, observation and reflection (from phrase 1 to phrase 4 respectively). The results of pre-test and post-tests were used to know the effectiveness of Mind-mapping techniques on students’ vocabulary mastery. It was indicated through improvement the mean score of each test. The mean score of pre-test was 40.11, that of post-test I was 63. 33 whereas the mean score of post-test II was 59.33. The findings of the study reveal that mind-mapping technique is one of the good ways to improve the students’ vocabulary in particular and English teaching and learning in general. vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The students’ opinions about the teacher’s activities............................ 47 Table 2: Positive attitudes of the students toward mind-mapping technique ...... 48 Table 3: The students’ positive evaluation on the effectiveness of the mindmapping technique ............................................................................................... 50 Table 4: Mean score of tests ................................................................................ 55 Table 5: Comparison of distribution of score range ………………………………58 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: An example of Mind-mapping .............................................................. 15 Figure 2: An example of a network tree .............................................................. 18 Figure 3: An example of an event chain .............................................................. 19 Figure 4: An example of a cycle concept map ..................................................... 20 Figure 5: An example of hayfork ......................................................................... 21 Figure 6: An example of thorn fish ...................................................................... 21 Figure 7: An example of cluster ........................................................................... 21 Figure 8: An example of variation ....................................................................... 21 Figure 9: A Mind-mapping about City................................................................. 25 Figure 10: A Mind-mapping about Animals ........................................................ 26 Figure 11: Procedure of the research .................................................................. 43 Figure 12: It is interesting to learn English vocabulary with mind-mapping technique .............................................................................................................. 49 Figure 13: Students’ opinions on pleasure when learning with mind-mapping technique .............................................................................................................. 49 Figure 14: Students’ opinions on the creativity when learning with mindmapping technique ............................................................................................... 50 Figure 15: Students’ opinions on the statement “I find it easy to remember new words.” ................................................................................................................. 52 Figure 16: Students’ opinions on the statement “The activities help retain vocabulary longer” ............................................................................................. 52 Figure 17: Students’ opinions on the statement “The activities help activate prior knowledge” ................................................................................................. 53 Figure 18: Mean score of the tests ....................................................................... 57 Figure 19: Distribution in results of the three tests ............................................. 58 Figure 20: Proportion of students find Mind-mapping techniques difficult........ 62 Figure 21: The desire to learn with mind mapping technique............................. 63 viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THE THESIS GCSE : General Certificate of Secondary Education T : Teacher Sts : Students AR : Action research ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale In today’s global world, the importance of English cannot be denied and ignored. It has been playing a major role in many sectors including medicine, engineering, education, aviation, etc. It is the language of science and technology. It is the official language in a large number of countries. English language, therefore, is believed to be used to access to every field of life. It is English that is used to communicate internationally. In acquiring a foreign language, vocabulary plays a crucial part. It is one element that links the four skills (speaking, listening, reading and writing) all together. When talking about the importance of vocabulary, it was noted by Wilkins (1972) that: "without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed." Indeed, people need to use words in order to express themselves in any language. In order to communicate well in a foreign language, anyone should acquire an adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately. Before 1970, little attention was paid to vocabulary teaching and learning. It means that teaching vocabulary was just considered as an addition to teaching grammar or simply a by-product of language teaching and commucative functions. However, some scholars of language acquisition no longer talk about the four language skills, but nine skills. These other five skills are vocabulary, spelling, grammar, pronunciation and study skills. Therefore, the role of vocabulary knowledge has been recognized by theorists and researchers since 1990. Besides, in my experience as a teacher of English, I noticed that my students usually find it difficult to speak English fluently. They usually consider speaking and writing activities (productive skills) exhausting because they keep on using the same words and expressions, so very soon their conversation is abruptly interrupted due to missing words. For the same reason, their receptive 1 skills (listening and reading) are not good either. The main reason for such problems is the lack of vocabulary. Other students are faced with the problem of forgetting the words right after the teacher has elicited their meaning or after having looked them in the dictionary. This is also a cause of the lack of vocabulary. Recognizing the importance of vocabulary, I myself understand that the teacher has an essential role in helping students to improve their vocabulary. To the best of my knowledge, there have not been any studies concerning Mind-mapping technique in vocabulary teaching carried out at My Hao high school before. Therefore, the author of the present study, a teacher of English, has decided to conduct a study named “Using Mind-mapping Technique to Improve the 12th Graders’ English Vocabulary at My Hao High School”. The findings of the study, if done well, would be original. 1.2. Aims of the Study The aim of the study is to improve the 12th graders’ English vocabulary at My Hao high school. In order to achieve the aim, the study is expected to reach the objectives as follows: - Uncovering the 12th graders’ attitudes towards mind-mapping technique used in vocabulary teaching; - Evaluating the effectiveness of mind-mapping technique applied to vocabulary teaching. 1.3. Research Questions The objectives of the study can be elaborated into the research questions as follows: - How is mind-mapping technique used in vocabulary teaching assessed by the 12th graders at My Hao High School? - What is the effectiveness of mind-mapping technique on the 12th graders’ English vocabulary outcome at My Hao High School? 2 1.4. Scope of the Study The focus of the study is using mind-mapping technique to improve the 12th graders’ English vocabulary at My Hao high school. Hence, the study could not cover all aspects in vocabulary teaching. It only focused on the use of mindmapping as a technique to help enhance the 12th graders’ vocabulary at My Hao high school. The subjects of the study are 90 male and female students coming from class 12A2 and 12A8. The age of those 90 students ranges from 17 to 18. They are going to be the participants and respondents to survey questionnaires, trial lessons and tests. The action plan was implemented in 5 months from October 2017 to February 2018, during the academic school year (2017-2018) at My Hao high school. TIME RESEARCH ACTIVITIES October 2017 - (week 1: from 2nd to 7th) The researcher identified the prepared the problems to be changed October 2017 - The researcher (week 2,3 instructional strategy (mind-mapping From 9th to 21st) techniques) which were theoretically effective to improve the situation and solve the problem. October 2017 - Students were given the pre-test (week 4: From 23rd to 28th) before the treatment in order for the researcher to evaluate the student’s vocabulary knowledge. November 2017 - The data collected from the pre-test (week 1: From 30th Oct to 4th Nov) were analyzed to form a hypothesis. November 2017 - The researcher made a detailed plan (week 2,3: From 6th to 18th ) of what she intended to implement. - Researcher’s intervention From November 2017 (week 4) 3 to December (week 1,2) From 20th Nov to 16th December) December - The first post-test was given to (week 2: From 11th to 16th) students to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. December - The students were asked to fill in the (week 1,2: From 4th to 16th ) questionnaire to figure out students’ attitudes towards teacher’s activities. - The interviews were conducted with 15 students. January 2018 - The second post-test was given to (week 1: From 1st to 6th ) students to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. January 2018 - The data collected from the two post- (week 2,3,4: From 8th to 27th) tests and questionnaire, interviews were analyzed to evaluate the students’ opinions about the treatment used and to identify if there are any improvements. - The researcher evaluated the effectiveness of the treatment and identified the results of the research. From February 2018 The researcher work with her thesis 1.5. Significance of the Study Theoretically, the findings of this research will reaffirm and reinforce the effectiveness of mind-mapping technique in previous studies. Besides, the teachers’ skill in using mind-mapping technique to improve the student’s vocabulary is expected to be sharpened and developed. In addition, the findings 4 of this research will be considered as reference to other researchers who want to study mind-mapping technique more intensively in teaching vocabulary. Practically, the researcher hopes that the results of the thesis may be practically beneficial to not only the researcher herself but also to the other teachers, the students and My Hao high school. Firstly, to the researcher, after carrying out this research, the researcher will have deeper and broader understanding of the theory and techniques of vocabulary teaching, especially Mind-mapping technique. Secondly, to the teachers, the findings of this research can support the teachers of English at My Hao high school to apply this strategy in teaching vocabulary, along with many other methods, so that not only the 12th graders but also the rest students may be beneficial. Moreover, the teacher can put aside their traditional methods in teaching English language particularly in teaching vocabulary. They can use this new strategy to make the students more interested in learning process. In addition, the teachers may not confuse in choosing an appropriate technique to teach different kinds of vocabulary. Thirdly, to the students, the positive results of this research are hoped to help the students enrich their vocabulary. In addition, learning vocabulary through Mindmapping technique can make the students more excited; more interested in doing their tasks and retain vocabulary in a long-term. Then, they can recall many kinds of vocabulary effectively. Finally, to My Hao high school, the school leaders can give the recommendation to the teachers in order to use the appropriate techniques or strategies in teaching and learning vocabulary. Therefore, the teachers will master more teaching skills and will bring benefit to the school. 1.6. Research Methods The purpose of this research is to find out whether mind-mapping technique has any positive effects on the 12th graders’ improvement and retention of vocabulary and explore the students’ attitudes toward this technique. Besides, I myself - the researcher - would like to improve my students' learning skill and my professional performance. Therefore, it is hoped to be a practical 5 action research project because its purpose is to research a specific school situation with a view toward improving practice, to focus narrowly on a specific problem and to be undertaken by an individual teacher within a high school. In order to address the two research questions, both qualitative and quantitative methods are exploited in this action research. The data are collected via survey questionnaires, interviews and tests. 1.7. Structure of the Study In addition to the references and appendices, the thesis is composed of five chapters: CHAPTER 1: Introduction CHAPTER 2: Literature Review CHAPTER 3: Methodology CHAPTER 4: Findings and Discussions CHAPTER 5: Conclusion 6 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter reviews the literature relevant to the study including an overview of vocabulary, mind-mapping, the effectiveness as well as the benefits of applying mind-mapping technique in teaching and learning vocabulary. Besides, the researcher also points out the literature gap and explains the reason why to conduct the present study. 2.1. Vocabulary Vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings. As Stahl (2005) puts it, "Vocabulary knowledge is knowledge; the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits into the world." Vocabulary knowledge is not something that can ever be fully mastered; it is something that expands and deepens over the course of a lifetime. Instruction in vocabulary involves far more than looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence. 2.1.1. Vocabulary Defined According to Webster (1994), vocabulary is the list of words which is often used in every aspect of life and words are usually arranged alphabetically with an equivalent definition. To be more details, vocabulary is often explained or translated, depending on the word stock at the command of an individual for the use of this person in particular work, language or branch of subject, etc. Additionally, Lado (1994) defined vocabulary as a form of expression with associated with the meaning and content of words. Meanwhile, it was also defined by Scrivener (1994) that vocabulary could be considered as a powerful meaning carrier because when a student identifies the importance of the vocabulary in communication and learning, they may reasonably intend to get, receive and accept a working knowledge of a great amount of words. Another significant thing to be considered for teachers when making work of vocabulary is the difference between receptive and productive vocabulary. 7 According to S. Thornbury (2002), in general, there are several difficulties when learners access vocabulary of a foreign language, and they are:  Creating the accurate connection between the form and meaning of words during the process of understanding the target language; for example, separating the meaning of the words related to the topic.  Using the exact word form for the intentional meaning when producing language. In brief, there are many different points of view about vocabulary. Having mentioned these definitions, the researcher decided to use that of Webster (1994) in this study because this definition from this scholar is more appropriate and useful to use in the study. 2.1.2. Vocabulary Classified According to Scrivener (1974), vocabulary can be divided into two types, including productive (active vocabulary) and receptive (passive vocabulary). Particularly, productive vocabulary is the group of words which are often used in spoken language, or daily conversation. This type of vocabulary requires good pronunciation – saying the sounds and stress of the words correctly – so that the dialogue can be carried out smoothly. Meanwhile, receptive vocabulary is the use of words that we can identify and understand how to use; but we do not use it intentionally in conversation or other purposes. Additionally, it is raised by Hendrich (1988, p.131) that, vocabulary classification is possible to maintain from different viewpoints: formal (for example word classes); mechanical (according to the frequency); semantic, that is according to the relationships of language marking to off-language reality or according to the relationships of meaning (synonyms, antonyms, etcetera); or from the grammatical viewpoint, mainly paradigmatic, which is grouping words together according to the same grammatical characteristics. 8 Another classification by Judy K. Montgomery (from the book: The Bridge of Vocabulary: Evidence Based Activities for Academic Success (NCS Pearson Inc, 2007). There are 4 types of vocabulary:  Listening which is the words we hear and understand;  Speaking which is the words we use when we speak;  Reading which is the words we understand when we read text;  Writing which is the words we can retrieve when we write to express ourselves. The first two constitute spoken vocabulary and the last two, written vocabulary. Children begin to acquire listening and speaking vocabularies many years before they start to build reading and writing vocabularies. Spoken language forms the basis for written language. Each type has a different purpose and, luckily, vocabulary development in one type facilitates growth in another. 2.1.3. Aspects of Learning Vocabulary As we know, vocabulary usually refers to words which are categorized depending on their functional aspects or parts of speech, including these kinds:  Nouns It was defined by Harmer (1998) that noun is a word or groups of words which illustrates the name of an individual, a place, an animal or abstract thing that we cannot touch. Particularly, there are seven types of noun; including countable and uncountable noun, which can be described by the appearance of the plural form. Another type of noun to be mentioned is the proper noun, which, according to Frank (1972), is nouns with the first letter written in capital form and it often refers to the exact name of a person or geographical things, etc. The next two types are the common nouns, which refer to a general sense of an individual place or object and physical items that we can perceive by using our senses to touch, feel, see, smell, taste or hear. Another type of noun mentioned is abstract noun, according to Martinet and Thomson (1986), which describes anything that can’t be perceived through physical sense, and the last type of 9