Khóa luận Suggestions on techniques to learn vocabulary for students in quang trung secondary in Haiphong

Nội dung text: Khóa luận Suggestions on techniques to learn vocabulary for students in quang trung secondary in Haiphong

1. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG - 2010
2. HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER SUGGESTIONS ON TECHNIQUES TO LEARN VOCABULARY FOR STUDENTS IN QUANG TRUNG SECONDARY IN HAIPHONG By: DƯƠNG THU THỦY Class: NA1004 Supervisor: NGUYỄN THỊ HUYỀN, M.A HAI PHONG - 2010
3. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp Sinh viên: Mã số: Lớp: Ngành: Tên đề tài:
4. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
5. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn: Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị
6. PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: 2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu ): 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký)
7. NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày tháng năm 2010 Người chấm phản biện
8. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale 2. Aims of the study 3. Scope of the study 4. Method of the study 5. Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I. Vocabulary 1. Definitions 2. Classification of vocabulary 2.1. Reading vocabulary 2.2. Listening vocabulary 2.3. Writing vocabulary 2.4. Speaking vocabulary 3. Vocabulary importance II. Vocabulary study 1. What need to be studied 1.1 Meaning 1.2 Form a. Spelling b. Pronunciation a. Orthography word formation b. Some equivalent concept c. Ways of word formation 1.4 Grammar 2. Vocabulary study 2.1 Studying from textbook 2.2 Study from dictionary 2.3 Studying from English songs 2.4 Study from idioms and phrases 2.5 Studying from mass media 2.6 Studying from listening and speaking 2.7 Studying from reading and writing
9. 2.8 Studying from integrated skills containing reading, writing, speaking and listening skills 2.9 Studying from pair work and group work 3. Vocabulary learning tips Chapter II: A STUDY ON THE STUDENTS’S LEARNING VOCABULARY IN QUANG TRUNG SECONDARY SCHOOL I. The reality of learning English at high school 1. Teaching staff 2. Students 3. English teaching and learning condition II. Survey questionnaire 1. Objective of the survey 2. Design of the survey 3. Data and analysis 3.1 Students’ opinions on what they have obtained after learning vocabulary lessons 3.2 Problems often faced by students when learning vocabulary. 3.3 Students’ normally used techniques to study vocabulary. 3.4 Students’ points of view on the effectiveness of their learning vocabulary. 3.5 Students’ expectation toward learning English vocabulary. III. Findings and discussion of findings Chapter III: SOME SUGGESTED TECHNIQUES TO STUDY ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR THE STUDENTS IN QUANG TRUNG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1. Introduction 2. Studying English vocabulary from picture 2.1. Words accompanied with pictures 2.2. Matching 3. Studying English vocabulary through the funny games 3.1. Jumble words 3.2. Word search game 3.3.” Crossword” game 3.4. Matching game 4. Studying English vocabulary through mass media 4.1. Using books, magazines, newspapers 4.2 Watching films with English subtitles 5. Studying English vocabulary from Internet 6. Studying English vocabulary from Synonyms and Antonyms
10. 7. Studying English vocabulary via books PART III: CONCLUSION APPENDIX LIST OF REFERENCES
11. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to Mrs, Nguyen Thi Huyen, M.A – my supervisor. A person of varied skills and experience in English teaching, she has eased my research through valuable suggestion, careful and detailed comments. Without her help this paper will never be completed. I wish also to express my great thanks to Dr. Tran Thi Ngoc Lien – the Dean of foreign language department of Hai Phong Private University, and other kind hearted teachers of English, for their concern and support during the time I am studying here. My gratitude also goes to the class NA 1004, for their continuing support and sharing their ideas with me both as classmate and friends and for the wonderful time we had in Hai Phong Private University. I also would like to express my deepest thanks to English teachers and all students at Quang Trung secondary school in Hai Phong for their help that I would completed my research. Last but not least, I thank my mother and my father who have no knowledge of English but their help, support and encouragement to my English study is uncountable, through my life, they have been and still are ever ready to assist and stay beside me. For which I am truly grateful. Hai Phong, June, 2010 Duong Thi Thu Thuy
12. PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Each nation has their own language, custom and culture. To have a common voice, all nations in the world need have a common language and English is such a language. Nowadays, English is very important because it has become an effective medium and is used widen in many fields of life such as science, technology, foreign trade, tourism business, education and so on In Vietnam, since the implementation of the open door – policy, it is now a great demand to learn English for the process of integrating into regional and international economic and diplomatic development. Studying English, students have chances to know many interesting things around the world. However, it is not easy work because English is very variety and complex. English learners, especially the secondary students have to face up with many difficulties such as vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar in which vocabulary is the most difficult problem. Almost students have difficulties in studying vocabulary at first. In fact, studying vocabulary well is one of the keys, which help learners step by step discover this interesting language. To the beginners, vocabulary is the most important factor, plays an important role in integrating four basic skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. In order to use English as an effective tool in communication, students have to equip an adequate number of words and should know how to apply them accurately in each real situation. The more vocabulary we have, the more confident we are. However, students can not avoid forgetting vocabulary in the process of studying English. It is really one of the biggest in learning English. Moreover, students have to face up with its form, pronunciation and meaning because of its variety and complication. In fact, a word may have more than one meaning and more than one part of speech. For example, “study” may be a noun and a verb also. Some words with different spelling and meaning have the same pronunciation, such as “sun” and “son”. Due to my English knowledge limitation and the frame of graduation paper, I make a sketchy presentation on some effective methods of studying vocabulary with the hope that this can help the students in Quang Trung secondary school. In the future time, they will study English for specific purpose which reqires lots of vocabulary. From the above reasons, I would like to choose the research title “Suggestions on techniques to learn vocabulary for students in Quang Trung secondary school” to help the mentioned students as well as others enrich their English vocabulary. 2. Aims of the study With the hope of helping the students in Quang Trung secondary school make progress in studying vocabulary. My graduation is about to help the students
13. improve their own vocabulary and to prepare for them to the basic knowledge of vocabulary with higher requirement for the next grades. To summarize the above, my study is aimed at: Cover background knowledge of vocabulary. Find out reality of teaching and learning English at Quang Trung secondary school. Find out appropriate techniques for learning vocabulary which students’ attention. The students will feel interested, enjoyable and funny when they learn English vocabulary. Hopefully, students will be interested in learning English, especially English vocabulary and get better results. 3. Scope of the study In fact, there are various techniques to study English vocabulary. However, due to my limitation of knowledge and time, I have no ambition to study all techniques. In my graduation paper, I mainly focus on studying some effective techniques in learning English vocabulary for the students in Quang Trung secondary school (in HP) 4. Methods of the study To complete this graduation paper, a series of methods have been applied: Collected references, books and websites related to vocabulary and techniques to study English were analyzed in details to form the theoretical background of this paper. A survey questionnaire is conducted for students and teachers at Quang Trung secondary school in Hai Phong, the information from which has provided invaluably. 5. Design of the study The study is divided into 3 main parts: PART I is INTRODUCTION in which rationale, aims, scopes, methods and design of the study are presented. PART II named DEVELOPMENT which consists of three chapters: Chapter I: “Theoretical Background”, presents the background knowledge of English vocabulary and tips to study English vocabulary. Chapter II: “A study on the students’ learning vocabulary in Quang Trung secondary school” deals with the reality of learning, survey, findings and discussion. Chapter III refers to “Some suggested techniques to study English vocabulary for students in Quang Trung secondary school” that can help students make progress in studying English vocabulary.
14. PART III is CONCLUSION which summaries the whole study mentioned in the previous parts. Briefly, this study consists of three main parts the first is Introduction, the second is Development and the last part is Conclusion, of which the second is the very important part.
15. PART II: THE STUDY CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I. Vocabulary 1. Definitions Vocabulary has been defined variously. Here are some main definitions of vocabulary: According to Richard, Platt (1992), vocabulary is “a set of lexemes, including single words, compound words and idioms.”(p. 40). Whereas, the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995:1331) offered its own definition. Vocabulary here is simply understood as “the total number of words in a language.” Another definition was given by Penny Ur (1996) in which vocabulary could be understood as all the words taught in the foreign language. Furthermore, from his point of view, vocabulary “may be more than a single word” such as post-office or mother-in-law. Meanwhile, another definition found in the website: www.en.wikipedia.org that “A vocabulary is a set of words known to a person or other entity, or that are part of a specific language”. Lewis and Hill (1985) also shared Ur’s idea in that he considered a vocabulary item more than one word. They also mentioned a temptation to think that the core of learning a foreign language was to use words for old things. However, in fact, it was more complicated than that. Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Hoc (2002) considered their following definition of vocabulary as “logical”. According to them, when the term “vocabulary” of a language was mentioned, it should be mentioned as consisting of all the words, compounds and idioms used to transmit information on both “oral and written communication”. In conclusion, it is easy to see that there are many ways to define vocabulary. The way that linguists choose to define vocabulary depends on the way he assesses the importance of the components of each language. Of all the above definitions, the one that Richard and Platt (1992) proposes in the Dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics is perhaps one of the most widely-accepted definitions since it given us the whole scope of vocabulary. 2. Classification of vocabulary Vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings. However, vocabulary is more complex than this definition suggests. Words come in two forms: oral and print. Oral vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in listening and speaking. Print vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in reading and writing (Kamil & Hiebert, in press).
16. 2.1 Reading vocabulary A person's reading vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when reading. This is the largest type of vocabulary simply because it includes the other three. Reading vocabulary is made of the words in print that we recognize or can figure out. If you are reading the book that deals with a scientific subject, the definition of various terms should be noted in that book. If you are reading a fiction book, and uncommon term is used, a definition of that term should be listed. Placing the words within the text increases the chances that the word will be retained. 2.2 Listening vocabulary A person's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she can recognize when listening to speech. This vocabulary is aided in size by context and tone of voice. Listening vocabulary refers to the words we need to know to understand what we hear. 2.3 Writing vocabulary A person's writing vocabulary is all the words he or she can employ in writing. Contrary to the previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is stimulated by its user. We expect that this writing should also enable students to use the vocabulary they have studied in a realistic context, and that they could be motivated to learn even more vocabulary they need to accomplish the task.
17. 2.4 Speaking vocabulary A person's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she can use in speech. Due to the spontaneous nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse – though slight and unintentional – may be compensated by facial expressions, tone of voice, or hand gestures. 3. Vocabulary importance Of many components of one language, vocabulary has been commonly accepted to be the most important language one. Commenting on the role of vocabulary, Wilkins (1982), a famous British linguist said: “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”. (Cited in A course in TEFL – Theory and Practice II by Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Hoc (2002:35)). People consider vocabulary as the key to master English knowledge. With the lack of vocabulary, it is difficult to communicate with other people confidently. Moreover, it is hard to express idea and explain something necessary. Therefore, on a personal level, a good vocabulary is important in sharpening one’s perception thought and perception, to become fully conscious, must be formulated in words. A good vocabulary is important not only for more precision in thought but also in one’s daily affairs, the action one must perform both on and off the job in ordinary living. Vocabulary plays an important role in combining four basis English skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. When having a multiform vocabulary, it is extremely advantageous to develop four above skills. If we lack of necessary vocabulary, it will be difficult to express any ideas to others. Therefore, our speaking skill can not make any progress. Moreover, sometimes it makes confusion among people and leads to many inconvenient situations. Additionally, if it is supposed that you have a poor vocabulary, how can you write a lively and
18. excellent essay or normal paragraphs? Truly, it requires a great number of vocabulary. Normally, we also can get information from reading books. If books are Vietnamese certainly these are not any problems. However, these books are written in English and denoted in English style. If you do not have a good dictionary, it will take you lots of time to understand. We have to understand what we have learned to use vocabulary in each situation effectively. Frequently reading comprehensions, and thus retention, are faulty because of a learner’s less than adequate vocabulary. With the lack of vocabulary, it is difficult to communicate with other people confidently. Moreover, it is easy to have misunderstanding in the process of exchanging information. It is hard to express ideas and explain something necessary. Only when having a great number of vocabulary can we make a progress in developing 4 above skills. In communication, it is a decisive factor to make us talk with others actively and understanding each other quickly. With a poor vocabulary, the free flow of ideas and pen is blocked and dribbles out; with a good vocabulary, it will be helped to flow, unimpeded. II. Vocabulary study 1. What need to be studied It requires you to spend a lot of time on studying vocabulary. Because studying vocabulary is a long process with the practice of many aspects such as mastering the meaning, form and word formation and grammar. Only when we spend much time practising these can we make progress in English vocabulary study. 1.1. Meaning The first thing to realize about vocabulary items is that they frequently have more than one meaning, so when you learn a new word you should decipher its meaning in the context in which it is used. Another fact about meaning is that sometimes words have meaning in relation o other words. Thus, you need to know the meaning of “animal” word to describe anyone of a number of other things, eg:
19. elephant, peacock, penguin, dragonfly ect. “Animal” has a general meaning whereas “elephant” is more specific. We understand the meaning of the word like “good” in the context of word like “bad”. Words have opposites (antonyms) and they also have other words with similar meaning (synonyms) eg: “bad” and “evil”. Even in that example, however, one thing is clear: words seldom have absolute synonyms although context may take them synonyms on particular occasions. As far meaning goes, then, you need to know about meaning in context and you need to know about sense relations. 1.2 Form a. Spelling Spelling is the writing of word or words with all necessary letters and diacritics present in an accepted standard order. It is one of the elements of orthography and a prescriptive element of language. Most spellings attempt to approximate a transcribing of the sounds of the language into alphabetic letter: however, completely phonetic spellings are often the exception, due to drifts in pronunciations over time and irregular spellings adopted common usage. b. Pronunciation Pronunciation plays an important part in making listeners understand what we are speaking about. Therefore, it is extremely important in the process of learning English vocabulary. However, it is not easy to pronounce an English vocabulary to learn from dictionary, from daily conversations among different people, from news on internet, radio, television You should pay attention to the stress and intonation. However, if you make too many mistakes in pronouncing English vocabulary, it may makes listeners confused and lead to a wrong information transmission. 1.3 Word formation
20. 1.3.1. Some equivalent concepts Hoang Tat Truong said that: “Word formation is the process of building of new words from the material already existing in the language according to certain structural and semantic patters and formulate”. The subject mater of word formation is of course not simple words but the one that are analyzable structurally and semantically, i.e derived and compound words. Thus, word formation goes into such word as “learner mouthy”, “baby-sister” but not “learn mouth”, “baby” and “sit”. In linguistics, word formation is the creation of a word. Word formation is sometimes contrasted with semantic change, which is a change in a single word’s meaning. Word formation can also be contrasted with the formation of idiomatic expressions. Conventionally, a combination of two or more words that function as a single unit of meaning such as barefoot. Word whose component part as themselves words or combined forms (Adapted from IS04: 1984). 1.3.2. Ways of word formation The following are the various principal ways of word formation in English grade according to their productive degrees. Two major ways are: (1) Affixation (2) Compounding Affixation is the formation of new words with the help of affixes. Affixies consists of prefixes and suffixies; therefore affixation is divided into prefixation and suffixation. For example: dislike, inconvenient, approval, unstable. Besides, these other ways, namely
21. (1) Shortening (2) Conversion (3) Sound imitation (4) Sound and stress interchange (5) Words from name (6) Back derivation However, aside from merely expanding the lexicon with new word, formation experts have recognized two types of word formation rules, that is: (1) Lexical derivation (2) Compounding In terms of lexical derivation, the use of morphemes and other functions can be described as functional derivation transposition, category adjustment and effective derivations. Functional lexical derivations insert a grammatical category function. Compounding (word – composition) is the building of a new word by joining two or more words. A compound word that consists of at least two root morphemes: It is clear that the components of a compound may be either simple or derived words or even other compounds. Compound can function in a sentence as separate lexical units due to their integrity, semantic unity and so on. In general, English compounds have two stems. The second element usually expresses a general meaning. In the examples above, boy, keeper, carrier etc express a general meaning thus being the basic part in the compound. This basic is called “determinatum” the first part, being the determing ones, is called “determinant”. 1.4 Grammar The grammar of a new item will need to be studied if this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules. An item may have an unpredictable change of form
22. in certain grammatical contexts or may give some idiosyncratic ways of connecting with other words in sentences; it is important to provide learners with this information at the same as we study the base form. When studying a new verb, for example, we might give also its past form, if this is irregular (buy – bought), and we might note if it is transitive of intransitive. Similarly, when studying a noun, we may wish to present its plural form, if irregular (mouse – mice), or draw learners’ attention to the fact that is has no plural at all (happiness, information). We may present verb such as want and enjoy together with the verb form that follows them (want to, enjoy), or adjective or verbs together with their following prepositions (interesting in, accuse somebody of). 2. Vocabulary study Normally, there are lots of different of vocabulary denoted all aspects of life. It has been widely said that nowadays, number of vocabulary is increasing very quickly day by day, year by year. For example, the appearance of brand new words likes “blog”, “bogger” in accordance with the internet’s development. According to the aims, each person has own choice to study vocabulary which is suitable to the occupation. At present, learning vocabulary can be easily carried out from many ways. We can learn English everywhere with the support of many resources. These are really advantages for us to make use of applying them to enhance our English knowledge, especially English vocabulary. Here are some popular ways which help you improve your vocabulary effectively: 2.1 Studying from textbooks The English textbooks like a source supplying the available new words. You are taught English vocabulary according to the arranged topics and the new words also are arranged systematically due to each lesson. Therefore, learning vocabulary from textbooks makes you pay attention to the lesson and easy to remember new words. Normally, you are taught English vocabulary according to the arranged
23. topics such as shopping, travel, family ect with related vocabulary. For example, with the topic “shopping” you may learn and remember some main words such as “bargain, sale off, discount, expensive ect”. With the topic “family” it is necessary to remember words “generation, niece, grandparents, family tree” ect. Obviously, when studying English vocabulary in group, it will be easy to memorize. A part from, doing as many exercises as possible and studying English vocabulary in group are also a good idea. It will help students review lessons and consolidate the knowledge. So, it is a good technique to learn English vocabulary. Sometimes, you can exchange the results with your friends to compare and unify to the best one. If you make mistakes, your friends will show you and remind you to do it again. 2.2. Studying from dictionary This is the most common way when studying a certain foreign language, especially English. Searching a new word in dictionary makes you know the part of speech, the usage, the meaning and the pronunciation as well. Importantly, you see the detail examples to know how to apply that word in each situation. Sometimes, you have experiences in avoiding using words in some cases to be not misunderstood. For example, if you want to search the word “pollution”, you find it in your dictionary alphabetically. After that you will know its pronunciation /p∂'lu:∫n/; the part of speech is a noun. Its meaning is denoted like this “sự ô nhiễm, sự làm ô uế, sự làm mất thiêng liêng – sự ô nhiễm, sự làm nhơ bẩn (nước ); chất làm ô nhiễm, chất làm nhơ bẩn – sự đầu độc, sự làm hư hỏng, sự làm sa đọa”. Besides, we know more about its verb – “to pollute” with the meaning “làm ô nhiễm, làm nhơ bẩn (nước ). Therefore, we know how to distinguish between a noun and a verb and use these words in a concrete situation. It is advisable to use English Study software to learn English, especially English vocabulary. This is English studying software published by LCKSOFT software joint stock Company. This software helps you to learn listening skill with
24. Headway, Here and There and streamline. Moreover it provides some useful programs such as ABC Grammar, Grammar in use, Reading Practice, Writing Assistant, Vocabulary Study and Crossword Game. These sections not only supply us to relax ourselves. Especially, with 7 different dictionaries, this software allows you to search and learn English vocabulary effectively. English- Vietnamese dictionary containing 140.000 news words with about 2000 illustrations allowing us to find out necessary words to know its pronunciation and meaning, part of speech and usage ect. Besides, Vietnamese - English with 90.000 new words. This is an enormous number for us to search vocabulary. Moreover, thus software also has synonym and antonym dictionary to help us know more words related to the word which we are searching for. Interestingly, it has Word Usage Dictionary to explain the way to use some important vocabulary and help us to avoid mistakes when using words in concrete situations. Remember that you should give a good dictionary which explains new words with illustration, concrete examples and even notes when necessary. In fact, a good dictionary has a great influence on your English studying process. Oxford and Cambridge dictionary are two reliable dictionaries which you can use to master the usage of English vocabulary because they are written by natives. 2.3. Studying from English songs Music is a manifestation of culture and of the human need to communicate because it is inextricably associated with language. Listening to music are always every students’ hobby, therefore using music in foreign language learning is a good way
25. of promoting students’ vocabulary and of encouraging students to create mental fantasies. Songs are authentic and easily accessible examples of spoken English. The rhymes in sons provide listeners with repetitions of similar sounds. The words used in the songs often are the beautiful ones with nice meaning and close to the daily life. Students can skim the lyric and the remembrance of new words seems to be more easily. Words in song fit the music, helping learners associate the number of syllables, stress in these words with memorable rhythms. The relax atmosphere song create can expose students to the difficult words helping to convince learners of the way English is written, pronounced, how to use words in the context. Songs can attract students and draw them in English period. Studying English vocabulary through reciting rhyme and poems is mostly funny and very effective. 2.4 Studying from idioms and phrases One of the most interesting ways to study English vocabulary is to learn from idioms or phrases. Our vocabulary will be enriched after accumulating from these. Using idioms and phrase in real conversations makes our tasks more meaningful and impressive. In daily life, you can practise English with your friends and foreigners. Of course, if you spend much time and effort, the result will be very surprising. For example “no pains no gains” (thất bại là mẹ thành công), “safe bind safe find” ( cẩn tắc vô áy náy), “many men many minds” (chín người mười ý). Studying vocabulary according to this techniques make you rapidly boost your own vocabulary and have a flexible way in using different words in each situation. 2.5 Studying from mass media Mass media consists of main means of mass communication such as newspaper, television & radio, books, magazines, adverts, cinema, videos, internet (personal website pages, blogs) ect which occupy a central and pivotal role in our lives. We can learn a enormous number of vocabulary from this. Importantly, these
26. vocabularies are very up– to– date and denote the fact of each events happened in detail. The four basic skills in English will be improved when studying from mass media. Students can learn various vocabularies from this. For example, listening to the English songs and finding out its lyrics can help you widen English vocabulary considerably. Additionally, you can see adverts written in English appear every where and every time. That attracts lots of people, capture the attention of everyone with the combination of images and introduction. And, you may learn directly through English online websites to practice your listening and speaking skill. Interestingly, you have chances to learn from colorful imager in internet which left you a deep impression. 2.6 Studying from listening and reading It is obvious that we can learn a lot of English vocabulary from reading and listening skills .Reading skill often provides us a comprehensive knowledge about a certain matter such as Environment, Migration, Love and Marriage. Some times, we have difficulties in guessing the meaning of new words. However, it does not matter because you can read the whole content of a reading to think about the meaning of that word or find out directly in the dictionary. If you are patient, you will equip for yourself a great number of vocabularies, besides, listening from direct conversation between different people. 2.7 Studying from speaking and writing From two English skills mentioned above, your speaking and writing skills will be improved so much. You can study how to arrange all the ideas in your minds and find suitable vocabulary to denote them. More over, you also know how to add more interesting vocabulary to make the conversation more joyful and comfortable. Naturally when your writing in better you will have more vocabulary to express your own ideas, so, you feel more flexible to talk with people about a
27. certain matter. It means you know many ways to express an idea and your idea will be more persuasive and reliable. 2.8 Studying from integrated skills containing reading, writing, speaking and listening skills This advice sheet will be useful if you want to use a number of new vocabulary in your speaking or writing, but finding that words which you have known are not available when necessary. In reality, these are two important skills requiring of a great number of vocabulary. If the aim of studying is clear, the methods will be more effective. It is obviously that we can learn a lot of English vocabulary from reading skill. Normally, it is popular for us to get information from books, newspapers, magazines ect. Sometimes, we have difficulties in guessing the meaning of new words. However, it doesn’t matter because you can read the whole content of a reading to think about the meaning of that word or you also can write down and directly find its meaning in the dictionary. If you are patient, you will equip for yourself a great number of vocabulary. Therefore, it is convenient for you to develop your writing skill. Supposed that you are asked to write a paragraph or an essay about the topic Environment, it will be simple for you to combine the skill of writing with the English vocabulary accumulated from reading skill to create lively paragraph or an interesting essay. With a plentiful number of English vocabulary, you can avoid to write boring paragraph or clumsy essay. Naturally, when your writing is better, you will have more vocabulary to express your own ideas. So, you will have more vocabulary to express your own ideas. So, you feel more flexible to talk with people about a certain matter. It means you know many ways to express an ideas and your idea will be more persuasive and reliable. From 2 English skills mentioned above, your speaking skill will be improved so much, leading to a better result of your listening skill. You can study how to
28. arrange all the ideas in your minds and find suitable vocabulary to denote them. Moreover, you also know how to add more interesting vocabulary to make the conversation more joyful and comfortable. In a word, in order to learn English vocabulary, you can learn from many various kinds of resources. It can be said that self-studying playa an importance part in our process of learning English. Everyday, we make effort to practice to enhance our English skills, especially our English vocabulary. Because “Practice makes perfect”, let’s learn how to arrange time to study English effectively. 2.9 Studying from pair work and group work Working in groups help fostering learning independence, and especially in vocabulary work, learners can exchange knowledge, asking others to explain unknown items. It is also hope that group work will be a motivating factor, as students talk about the places they have been on holiday to, trying to remember vocabulary in details together, exchanging impressions and even good memories! The more partners they communicate, the more vocabulary they can catch. 3. Vocabulary Learning Tips When you start to learn a language, you have basically one objective_”learn as many words as possible”. Memorizing long lists of words is not the only way. There are other ways that are more fun and engaging. I will refer to some following tips: Vocabulary Learning Tip One: Read, Read, Read! Most vocabulary words are learned from context. The more words you're exposed to, the better vocabulary you will have. While you read, pay close attention to words you don't know. First, try to figure out their meanings from context. Then look the words up. Read and listen to challenging material so that you'll be exposed to many new words. Vocabulary Learning Tip Two: Improve your context skills. Learning long lists of unrelated words is boring, difficult and doesn't help you much when you come across those words in a different context. If you focus on learning words in the
29. context you're most likely to find them, you're more likely to recognize them when you encounter them or need to use them again. When learning food words, for example, think about when you'd be most likely to use them, i.e. when cooking, eating, shopping, etc, and learn other words related to those situations. Then try constructing sentences using the new words. Good dictionaries contain examples of usage which you can use as models for your own sentences. Vocabulary Learning Tip Three: Practice, practice, practice. Learning a word won't help very much if you promptly forget it. Research shows that it takes from 10 to 20 repetitions to really make a word part of your vocabulary. It helps to write the word - both the definition and a sentence you make up using the word - perhaps on an index card that can later be reviewed. As soon as you learn a new word, start using it. Review your index cards periodically to see if you have forgotten any of your new words. Also, do a search on a word using dejanews.com (for searching newsgroups) to get many examples of how the word is actually used. Vocabulary Learning Tip Four: Make up as many associations and connections as possible. Say the word aloud to activate your auditory memory. Relate the word to words you already know. For example, the word GARGANTUAN (very large) has a similar meaning to the words gigantic, huge, large, etc. You could make a sequence: small, medium, large, very large, GARGANTUAN. List as many things as you can that could be considered GARGANTUAN: Godzilla, the circus fat lady, the zit on your nose, etc. Create pictures of the word's meaning that involve strong emotions. Think "the GARGANTUAN creature was going to rip me apart and then eat me!" Vocabulary Learning Tip Five: Use mnemonics ( memory tricks). For example, consider the word EGREGIOUS (extremely bad). Think EGG REACH US - imagine we've made a mistake so bad that they are throwing eggs at us and a rotten EGG REACHes US. Such funny little word pictures will help you remember what words mean, and they are fun to make up. Also, find out which learning style suits you best. Everyone learns differently! Vocabulary Learning Tip Six: Get in the habit of looking up words you don't know. If you have a dictionary program on your computer, keep it open and handy. America Online and other internet services have dictionaries and thesauruses on their tool bars. Find them and look up any word you are not absolutely sure of. Use a thesaurus when you write to find the word that fits best. Vocabulary Learning Tip Seven: Play with words. Play Scrabble, Boggle, and do crossword puzzles. These and other word games are available for the computer, so you are not dependent on a partner to play. Also, try out the Franklin Electronic Dictionary that features built-in word games. Vocabulary Learning Tip Eight: Use vocabulary lists. For the serious vocabulary student, there are many books that focus on the words most commonly found in standardized tests, such as the SAT and GRE. There are also many interesting word sites on the Internet, many of which will send you a word a day by email.
30. Vocabulary Learning Tip Nine: Get excited about words! Come to appreciate the sometimes-subtle differences between them. Do you know the difference between something that denotes something else and something that connotes something else? If not, go look it up. Learn to say what you really mean and discover the joys of being able to express yourself in writing. Your future can depend on how rich your vocabulary is. A good vocabulary will make a difference on the standardized tests. It will also determine the quality of your communication. So be in it for the long pull. Let building your vocabulary be a lifelong proposition. Remember: "In the beginning was the word." Until you have a word for something, it does not exist for you. Name it, and you have made your reality richer. Obviously, the mentioned tips above are very useful and interesting ways to memorize words. You can choose for yourself the suitable ones to apply and support while studying English vocabulary.
31. CHAPTER II: A STUDY ON THE STUDENTS’ LEARNING VOCABULARY IN QUANG TRUNG SECONDARY SCHOOL I. Reality In order to study English vocabulary well, the teaching and learning condition is very important. It is interdependent relationship between the teachers, the selected materials and the students. All of them are the decisive factors for the success of the learning. 1. Teachers Quang Trung secondary schools’ teaching staffs are all enthusiastic, responsible in their work and try their best to give the most effective lectures to students. The old have experiences and the young are active and creative. There are seven teachers of English in Quang Trung secondary school. All of them graduated from university and most have experience in teaching for more than six years. They always try their best to meet the demands of work. The fact shows that the way of teaching is refreshed by these enthusiastic teachers day by day to avoid boredom. 2. Students The basis English of these students is not equal. However, they begin to acquaint with the English learning environment from primary school and are fully aware of the fact that English is really important and necessary for their future work. Therefore, their attitudes toward learning English seem to be serious. Most of the students like learning English and have been learning English for many years. They soon realize the importance of English with this positive attitude, they will have some effective ways to learn English because English is not only their favorite subject but also essential in their future job. 3. Teaching and learning condition
32. In general, Quang Trung secondary school is well – equipped with a lot of teaching aids and spaces. All infrastructures are in good condition: classrooms large and bright enough, chairs and tables are quite comfortable and wide enough. Each classroom is equipped a radio and many English cassette, teachers also use many pictures to make English lessons more interesting and effective. In addition, teaching aids is always available when necessary such as cassette players, micros, pictures, and especially there are two projectors are always ready whenever they need to use. It is the reason why students have more chance to get approached to facilities and to improve their English better. Furthermore, teachers often organize English contests to encourage students to express their abilities. Besides, sometimes they have chances to study and talk with foreigners. It is the reason why students are very interested and pleased with extra activities. They have much time to talk, play games, sing the beautiful songs and relax with English, the students also have a lab where they study English every week with various English books and references not only meets students’ demand of reading but also help students broaden their knowledge. To sum up, Quang Trung secondary school is a good environment to practice English. It always leaves an unforgettable impression on people who visit it the first time. It is really the good choice for teachers and students to work in. II. Survey questionnaires 1. Objective of the survey The general goal of this study is to have a right look at current situation of learning vocabulary of students in Quang Trung secondary school to find out the better learning techniques. This survey has following purpose:  To look for students’ attitude toward techniques to learn vocabulary.  To find out the reality of students when learning English vocabulary.
33.  To explore students’ expectation for learning techniques that are interesting and useful one. 2. Design of the survey. This survey questionnaire includes 6 questions: The first two questions were designed to know students’ opinions about vocabulary lessons. The next question focuses on students’ problems when learning English vocabulary. The 4th question aims at finding some normal methods of students to study English vocabulary. The 5th question was designed to know the effectiveness of students when applying the above study methods. The last question finds out the expectation of students toward learning English vocabulary. 3. Data analysis Because the survey was carried out at the end of the school – year, all students and teachers at Quang Trung secondary school are busy with the examination, I myself have to cope with difficulties in studying these survey questionnaires. It is the reason why questionnaires were distributed among 100 students from two 9th classes at Quang Trung secondary school.
34. 3.1 Students’ opinions on what they have obtained after learning vocabulary lessons. Question 1: What do you think Question 2: How important do you about vocabulary? think about vocabulary? 15% 7% 4% Very Boring Important Important Interesting 25% Not very 60% 60% Difficult important Not important 29% Basing on the first question “What do you think about vocabulary?” and “How important do you think about vocabulary?”. The results given in the first and the second question indicate that 60 % the students faced up with difficult in memorizing vocabulary. Additionally, when being interviewed, a large number of the students affirmed that “English is a difficult subject, especially its vocabulary. It is not easy to memorize vocabulary”. Normally, they often learn by heart each word. However, they will easily forget it in a very short time. They may read this again and again or write down many times. Although it took them lots of time and effect, the results were not effective as they had expected. The effectiveness of this method is very low and makes students have to spend much time. Because they do not know how to apply words in a concrete situation. In addition, because the various meaning of a word may make students confused, they do not study English vocabulary systematically. Naturally, 15 % of them feel boring with vocabulary lessons. This leads to a status like this – students do not pay attention to the lessons and lose many knowledge. At the same time, 60% of the students considered vocabulary lesson is of slight importance to them. Very few students (only 4%) insisted that vocabulary put no influence on them. From this result, we can prove an idea that learning vocabulary should not be omitted due to its necessity, really.
35. 3.2 Problems often faced by students when learning vocabulary. Forget 37% vocabulary 35% Apply words in context Misunderstand 8% Do not have 20% good methods Question 3: What problems do you often have difficulties in learning vocabulary? The percentage of the students in Quang Trung secondary school who have difficulties in forgetting vocabulary is 35%. Because they have already learnt by heart. They do not use them frequently leading to forget these new words quickly. In fact, it requires a lot of time to master the usage of an English word. Besides, 20% of the students do not know how to apply words in context flexibly. The reason is that they just learn word by word without finding out a suitable method. In addition, 8% of the students face up with difficulty in misunderstanding the meaning of a word and distinguishing their meanings because a word may have more than one meaning in the given contexts. 3.3 Students’ normally used techniques to study vocabulary. Question 4: Which techniques do you often apply to improve your vocabulary? 6% 19% learn through internet using picture and game learn by heart only 14% Mime and gesture 61%
36. Thank to the question “Which methods do you often apply to improve your vocabulary?”, we have more research on students’ normal methods to study English vocabulary. Surprisingly, 61% of the participants often learn by heart to memorize English vocabulary. This seems to be a very natural and popular methods applied widely. Though the effectiveness is not high, students really do not find out another ways to enrich their vocabulary. Understandably, this also seems to be a traditional way used in a very long time. In fact, it is very helpful if we focus on learning by heart spelling and pronunciation. However, some students can not remember all by using methods. Besides, using pictures and games are applied by 14% of the students. These are interesting methods which is easy to memorize English vocabulary. Normally, pictures with various colors will capture the attention of them. Moreover, they have an unforgettable impression while learning English vocabulary. 6% of the students use mime and gestures – a very low percentage. Obviously, this method was not applied widely to boost students in learning English, especially English vocabulary. Partly, students often ask for teachers’ support in the process of studying English vocabulary. For example, hen they find a new word in the text, they immediately ask teachers for help in stead of seeking in their own dictionary. Sometimes, this made them lazier and passive in learning English. Especially, they will be easy to forget new words. This is waste of time indeed. Today, students also learn through internet such as learning English through online English websites (19%). Here are some popular online English websites www.hocngoaingu.com , www.bbc.co.uk , www.voanews.com etc
37. 3.4. Students’ points of view on the effectiveness of their learning vocabulary. Question 5: How is the effectiveness of your learning English vocabulary? 15% 19% Good Not very good Very good 19% Ineffective 47% From the table, we can recognize that 19% of the students thought that the effectiveness of their learning English vocabulary is good and 19% of them thought that the effectiveness of their learning English vocabulary is very good. It is a good sign. Meanwhile, 47% of the students does not think the effectiveness of their learning vocabulary is very good, even 15% of them consider it is ineffective. Without a helpful method, student will get many difficulties in studying English vocabulary. 3.5 Students’ expectation toward learning English vocabulary. Question6: Among the techniques in learning vocabulary, rank them from the least favorite to the most favorite? Using pictures 16% 33% Using games Using songs 21% using films with English subtitles 30%
38. The data displays in the chart above clarifies that a majority of participants choose games and pictures as the most favorite techniques to learn vocabulary. And, using songs and films with English subtitles are the third and fourth favorite ones, respectively. They love these techniques in learning English vocabulary, especially using pictures. Thus, in the class, teachers and students should use these techniques more usually. III. Findings and discussion of findings This survey is responded by 100 students of Quang Trung secondary school, which can be partially useful to give some suggestions on using some techniques in studying English vocabulary. We can see clearly that most of the participants soon realize the importance of learning vocabulary with this positive attitude they will have effective ways to learn English because English is not only their favorite subject but also essential in their future job. However, they also express their difficulty in learning English vocabulary. They think that words play an essential part in learning English. Without sufficient vocabulary they can not communicate effectively of express their own idea. This will lead to their losing interest in learning. Besides, when learning vocabulary the most difficulty which students often face up with is the meaning of the words. In fact, they realize that a word may have more than one meaning as well as have different connotation so that they do not know how to use exactly in context. The new problem is the form of words. Students find it is difficult for them to distinguish American English and British English (eg: color/ colour; favorite/ favourite), part of speech (eg: advice/ advise; practice/ pratise )
39. Referring to using some techniques in studying English vocabulary, pictures and games are two favorite techniques. Interestingly, they can use the lyric of English songs and sounds as well as films with English subtitles it improve the English vocabulary. Briefly, basing on surveying the current learning English of students in Quang Trung secondary school, I have already had some research on their attitudes toward learning English vocabulary and their problems as well as expectations. During the process of complete this research paper, I would like to give some useful suggestions to support the students of Quang Trung secondary school make progress in learning English vocabulary. With the hope that this research paper will contribute some effective techniques to study English vocabulary in particular. Thus, this chapter is the background for me to find out suitable techniques to make this research paper.
40. CHAPTER III: SOME SUGGESTED TECHNIQUES TO STUDY ENGLISH VOCABULARY FOR STUDENTS IN QUANG TRUNG SECONDARY SCHOOL 1. Introduction Learning vocabulary plays an importance role in studying English. It is like the bricks to build a house. With the lack of vocabulary, it is difficult to communicate with other people confidently. Moreover, it is hard to express idea and explain something necessary. These suggested techniques can help students enrich their vocabulary as well as broaden their knowledge of many aspects in life. In addition, interesting learning techniques also enhance students’ motivation to learn and create pleasant atmosphere before English lessons. There are many techniques for studying vocabulary. For the limitation of this research paper, I only present the applicability of some techniques in studying English vocabulary. The applicability will concentrate on some suggested techniques to help the Quang Trung’s students have more pleasure and effectiveness in learning English vocabulary. 2. Studying from pictures Pictures bring joys to everyone, especially young people, such as students. They become very vivid parts of life. Picture with lots of colors and shapes always capture the attentions of all people. Sometimes, when looking at pictures we can imagine many interesting things with the real emotions. And of course they are one of the most effective and useful kinds of visual aids in studying English vocabulary. However, pictures can show us the real things obviously, but we also have to face up with its weak point is that it seems to be difficult when we learn mental thought by pictures. It is difficult for us to imagine exactly what the picture
41. refers to. In fact, using pictures can be applied in all stages of studying vocabulary, presentation, production and practice stage. So, students can self-study by collecting pictures to practise everyday. Surely, their English vocabulary will be widened very effectively. The students of Quang Trung secondary school are young and inquiring and active. Thus, the pictures’ colors must be beautiful, bright and impressive Attentionlly, using pictures and improve the speaking skill very well. Importantly, colors seem to be the decisive factor leading to the lecture which using pictures. For the students in Quang Trung secondary school, they are taught some main topics such as Jobs, Environment, Publication places, Festival 2.1. Words accompanied with pictures As for the topic Festival, we can use following pictures when learning about traditional festivals: Tet Holiday Mid-autumn Festival
42. Liberation Day Children Day There are some traditional festivals of Vietnam which occur regularly in a year. They attract the attention of everybody, especially children. These festivals contribute to a more diverse image of Vietnamese culture to the world. They are handed out through generations. So, looking at these pictures make us imagine the traditional festivals of our country. As for topic Publication places, we can learn English vocabulary by using some following pictures Hospital School
43. Park Post office From the pictures above, students can have a kook at some kinds of publication places such as Hospital, School, Park, Post office. They realize the differences among them by looking at all the features, sizes, shapes, colors and functions of each one. For example, hospital is place to take care of the medical check-up and treatment. 2.2. Matching Example 1: Here is a picture of body parts. Let’s write the number 1-30 next to the correct word.
44. ( “ Test your vocabulary – Peter. W – 20:1980) Students can use picture like this to improve English vocabulary by arranging the appreciate words. By this way, we can easily memorize new words. As for the illustration above, we have more vocabulary about parts of the body such as “Adam’s apple, biceps, palm, thumb, thigh ”. We may make some riddles to ask our friends. When necessary, we can apply them in certain situations.
45. Example 2: Looking at all the traffic signs found in England and write the correct words under each sign. ( “ Test your vocabulary – Peter. W- 21:1980) By doing this example, you will remember some traffic signs in English. In order to avoid forgetting them, you should often do it again and again. In addition, you can have a comparison between the traffic signs in Vietnam and the ones in Lon Don to find out the differences and the similarities. It will be useful for you to realize some popular traffic sign in England.
46. Example 3: Write the number of each drawing next to the correct word. ( “ Test your vocabulary – Peter. W- 42: 1980) In this example, you can see many places to live. Your task is to brainstorm and arrange them correctly. You can discuss with your friends to finish this example. Moreover, it is advisable for you to describe each place in your way. This helps you remember all the features of them and know how to distinguish each place in concrete situations. 3. Studying English vocabulary through the funny games
47. Games have been showed to have advantages and effectiveness in learning English vocabulary in various ways. First, games bring in relaxation and fun for students, thus help them learn and retain new words easily. Second, games usually involve friendly competition and they keep learners interested. These create the motivation for learners of English to get involved. Third, through the funny, intelligent games, students can apply the situation, the structure from the theory to the real life in a flexible communicative and easier way. Therefore, the role of games in learning English can not be denied. However, in order to achieve the most from games, it is essential that suitable games are chosen. Whenever a game is to be conducted, the proficiency level, cultural context, learning topic, timing are factors that should be taken into account. Many of Vocabulary Learning Fun’s vocabulary word games are organized with dozens of categories of vocabulary lists. By making connections between words and ideas, and between words and pictures, we build vocabulary skills. Connections between vocabulary words make the process of building vocabulary skills faster and more efficient. The fun of English vocabulary games can help both native and foreign speakers of English build their English language vocabulary skills. There are vocabulary word games for all levels of English. Students can learn from the funny questions: Q: What can get bigger without Q: what doesn’t ask questions but getting heavier? often need to be answered? A: hole A: telephone Q: What travels round the world but Q: What has teeth but can not bite? always stays in the same corner? A: comb A: stamp Q: What is black when it’s clean and Q: What kind of dog has no tail? white when it’s dirty? A: hot dog A: blackboard Q: what falls but never gets hurt? Q: What kind of room has no A: rain walls, no floor and no ceiling? A: mushroom
48. 3.1. Jumble word Jumble words help students recall the knowledge and words fast and effectively. It is also a useful way of relaxing after a hard lesson. Jumbled words Answers Song titles 1. peseling lichd 1. sleeping child 2. alhe eth olrwd 2. heal the world 3. yaphp enw arye 3. happy new year 4. elhol 4. hello 5. evner dha a ardem 5. never had a dream come true Artist’s and band’s 6. sketetrabc yobs 6. Backstreet boys name 7. limache sacjnok 7. Michael Jackson 8. etlebs 8. Beatles 9. veils lesryp 9. Elvis Presley 10. nanadom 10. Madonna
49. Musical types 11. lisaclacs 11.classical 12. klof 12. folk 13. crytuno 13. country 14. opp 14. pop 15. orck 15. rock 3.2. The word search games Through this game, students can enrich their vocabulary and then use them to improve English skills. If they have a rich vocabulary, they will be able to practice English better, more quickly and exactly.
50. 3.3. The “Crossword” game Crossword grids such as those appearing in most newspapers and magazines feature for children in English conner, every letter is checked (that is, it is part of an answer reading across and another reading down), and usually each answer is required to contain at least three letters. In such puzzles black squares, used to separate answers, are traditionally limited to about one-sixth of the design. Crossword grids elsewhere, such as in Britain and Australia, have a lattice-like structure, wit a higher percentage of black squares, leaving up to half the letters in an answer unchecked. A small example of a quiz style crossword, to illustrate the format: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Across Down 2) A ___ works in a restaurant. 1) A ___ grows crops. 5) A ___ cuts people's hair. 3) A ___ sells bread. 7) A ___ works in a school. 4) A ___ paints pictures.
51. 9) A ___ helps you when you are ill. 6) A ___ looks after your teeth. 10) A ___ works in a band. 8) A ___ works in a kitchen. The solution to this cross word is: 1 F 2 W A I T E R R 3 B M A 4 P E K 5 H A I R D R E S S E R I R N 6 D 7 T E A 8 C H E R E O N R 9 D O C T O R K I 10 S I N G E R T 3.4. Matching game In this activity, pupils will try to match the pictures and the suitable words.
52. 4. Implication of mass media in studying vocabulary Mass media is an indispensable part in our life today. In fact, it is very useful for the students to studying vocabulary. For example, everyday they spend a little time reading newspaper or magazines to enrich English vocabulary. After seeing some new words, it is necessary to take note and try to learn vocabulary. In fact, it is hard to understand much information through these news. However, it really boosts students’ listening skill. Mass media consists of main means of mass communication such as newspaper, television & radio, books, magazines, adverts, cinema, videos, internet (personal website pages, blogs) ect which occupy a central part and pivotal role in our lives. We can learn a enormous number of vocabulary from this. Importantly, these vocabulary are very up-to-date and denote the fact of each events happened everyday in detail. The four basis skills in English will be better when studying from mass media. 4.1 Using books, magazine, newspapers For example, here are some reference books which can help students to have more knowledge about English vocabulary.
53. It will be very useful if students have chances to read some English newspapers to get information and learn vocabulary: When having difficulties in understanding the meaning of the new words in a certain context, students can ask each other, even ask teachers for help. Reading newspapers and magazines written in English will improve student’s reading skill and widen English vocabulary. 4.2 Learning vocabulary by watching films or cartoons with English subtitles: This is also a very interesting technique to learn English vocabulary. Students will not only listen to the conversation between characters but they can read the dialogues on the screen. Hence, it is helpful to remember new words. Moreover
54. they now some films or cartoons with English subtitles for you to watch and contents of these ones. (From www.free4vm.org ; www.video.phimtructuyen.org) 5. Implication of internet in studying vocabulary Nowadays, Internet is an indispensable part in out life and has a great influence on our life. As for the students in Quang Trung secondary school, Internet can help them study English vocabulary effectively. Everytime, students can learn directly through online websites which teach English. It is convenient for them to study new words, pronunciation and meaning. This is s very interesting technique. Through internet, students can download many documents related to English vocabulary t improve their English. Besides, Internet includes a huge of English music, even poems like this. It has been found in a website It is easy to remember English vocabulary. Moreover, students can share and discuss about these vocabulary. Mỏng mảnh thì là chữ thin Cổ là chữ neck, còn chin cái cằm
55. Visit có nghĩa viếng thăm Lie down có nghĩa là nằm nghỉ ngơi Mouse con chuột, bat con dơi Separate có nghĩa tách rời, chia ra Gift thì có nghĩa món quà Guest thì là khách chủ nhà house owner Bệnh ung thư là cancer Lối ra exit, enter đi vào Up lên còn xuống là down Beside bên cạnh, about khoảng chừng Stop có nghĩa là ngừng Ocean là biển, rừng là jungle Silly là kẻ dại khờ, Khôn ngoan smart, đù đờ luggish Hôn là kiss, kiss thật lâu. Cửa sổ là chữ window Special đặc biệt normal thường thôi Lazy làm biếng quá rồi Ngồi mà viết tiếp một hồi die soon Hứng thì cứ việc go on, Còn không stop ta còn nghỉ ngơi! In addition, If you enjoy singing, try learning some songs in the language you're learning. This is a fun way to improve your pronunciation and vocabulary. You could also try learning to recite poems and stories. Listening to songs is an enjoyable way to improve your listening comprehension, especially if you have the lyrics written out so that you can follow them as you listen.students can learn from the lyric of English songs. Simply, they loaded song lyrics to their computer and listen to the song, skim the lyric, then they try to remember new words. Or they can study with their friends by asking each other to fill it in the blank all the words in the song. Songs offer a change from routine learning activities. Songs help to develop students’ abilities in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Songs can be used to
56. learn a variety of language skills such as sentence patterns, vocabulary and pronunciation. Songs can give insight into culture. Songs are highly memorable. Songs are motivating. Songs help learn the prosodic (speech rhythms) features of the language such as stress, rhythm and intonation. Songs help learn English grammar eg nouns, verbs, adjectives etc For example: the lyric of the song “Heal the world” (Michael Jackson) from the website www.lyrics007.com There's a in your heart And I know that it is And this place could be much Brighter than And if you really try You'll find there's no need to cry In this place you'll feel There's no hurt or There are ways to get there If you care enough for the living Make a little , make a better place.
57. Chorus: Heal the world Make it a better place For you and for me and the entire human race There are dying If you care enough for the living Make a better place for You and for me. If you want to know why There's a love that cannot lie Love is strong It only cares for joyful giving. If we try we shall see In this bliss we cannot feel Fear or dread We stop existing and start living Then it feels that always
58. Love's enough for us growing Make a better world, make a better world. These are missing words in this song: place, love, tomorrow, sorrow, space, people. Sometimes, students can collect some fumy English video clips to have joy to study. They will be relaxed and studied very quickly. These video clips have interesting sounds and images. Therefore students do not fell boring. On the contrary, they are fond of paying attention to these and learn English vocabulary naturally. Obviously, their pronunciation will be better and their vocabulary will increase very fast. Besides, students use some English news loaded from internet to have more up-to- date information about all events happened recently. This will become a good habit of students in order to accumulate new words. They have to brainstorm to understand about a certain matter and express their thoughts according to their opinions. 6. Synonyms and Antonyms Whenever you study a new word, you should know its synonyms and antonyms to have a deep impression when learning it and enrich your own vocabulary. For example, you study the new word “beautiful”, you know its synonyms are “mice, pretty, good-looking ”, and its antonyms are “bad, ugly”. This means you can remember all the words related to it. By this way, your vocabulary will be widened so quickly. Example: Write down a synonym for each of the word on the left. Choose from the ones on the right. Number 1 I have done for you.
59. 1. talk speak depart 2. love help 3. hate adore 4. fall mend 5.phone receive 6. swim allow 7. leave comprehend 8. let ring 9. ask loathe 10. cry require 11. assist weep 12. get speak 13. need inquire 14. understand stumble 15. repair bathe 7. Learning vocabulary via books Many reference books can be found in book shop such as science books, examinations books with lots of exercises. It is good for students to read essays in reference books. It provides so many vocabulary and explain clearly some natural phenomenons. Example 1: Here is a paragraph in the essay named “The forces of natural” quotes from English Essay Book ( Trần Công Nhàn – Lê Trần Doanh Trang- Nhà xuất bản tổng hợp Hồ Chí Minh - 209:2004)
60. “The forces of natural are constantly at work on our planet. Wind, fire, water, lightning, volcanic activities are all ceaseless forces of nature that destroy and create at the same time. Lightning strikes down a tree and another grows in its place. Floodwaters wash away a whole tract of land only to deposit soil on it. Volcanic eruptions tear open mountains and the lava that flows make the surrounding soil fertile. The forces of nature take no consideration of man’s preferences. They just do their work as they have done for millions of years. We are all subject to the forces of nature though we try to protect ourselves as much as possible. Rain lashes down, the sun beats relentlessly, drought kills our crops, floods wash away our houses while we try to avoid them. Sometimes we can and sometimes not ”. This paragraph describes some natural phenomenon, so we can learn some vocabulary such as: “to deposit” (v: lắng xuống); “lava” (n: dung nham núi lửa); “subject to” (adj: lệ thuộc, phụ thuộc); “fertile” (adj: phì nhiêu). Example 2: The importance of water (English Essays Book- Trần Công Nhàn – Lê Trần Doanh Trang- Nhà xuất bản tổng hợp Hồ Chí Minh - 211:2004) “Water is one of the most important things on earth. Every living thing needs water for its survival. Without water, plants, microbes – every thing, will perish. Our bodies are composed of about 75% water. So we are literally walking bags of water. Water allows our blood to flow through the blood vessels thus supplying the body with vital nutrients. Also water allows waste matter to be eliminated from the body via the excretory system. Our need for water becomes very apparent when we are thirsty. The taste of water going down the throat is something we are all find so much pleasure in. we drink glasses of this precious transparent a liquid part in the evolution of man ”
61. This paragraph emphasizes the importance of water with some new words such as: “vessel” (n: mạch, ống); “nutrient” (n: chất dinh dưỡng); “waste water” (n: chất thải); “via” (prep: qua); “excretory system” (n: hệ bài tiết). Besides, doing exercises in examination book will help students improve vocabulary surpringly. Example 3: Choose the best word or phrase for each sentence: canal frightening level Rabbits cattle in order to location Sheep crops Instead of needles Yet 1. Nothing is soft in the desert. Many of the plants, such as cactus, have hard needles leaves. 2. The size and .of the world’s desert are always changing. 3. Within the last 100 years, deserts have been growing at a speed. This is partly because of natural changes, but the greatest desert makers are humans. 4. Some people in Australia got from England. Today there are millions of them in Australia, and they eat every plant they can find. 5. The of the water table underground is decreasing every year in the southwestern United States. 6. In dry areas, people plant on land that is poor and dry. When there are one or two dry years, the plants die, and the land becomes desert. 7. Animal such as goats, ., and eat every they can find until there is nothing left at all. All the techniques above will be effective if students carry out them immediately. With some suggested techniques to study English vocabulary, I hope that they will make progress in enriching their English, especially vocabulary.
62. PART III: CONCLUSION In general, this research paper has been carried out with the aim to investigate the current English teaching and learning situation in Quang Trung secondary school. The paper is relevant to the situation as there has been a strong tendency to learn English for communication among the students. Therefore, it is necessary to select and organize the class room activities carefully in order to improve the effectiveness in teaching and learning English vocabulary. Besides, the study showed a clear teaching and learning condition in Quang Trung secondary school in which teachers should take into consideration when they decide to choose a technique of teaching vocabulary or design various kinds of classroom interactions. In addition, a survey questionnaire was implemented to find out the Quang Trung students’ difficulties when learning English vocabulary as well as their attitudes and expectations about using techniques in learning English vocabulary. With the hope that I can contribute some techniques which suggest to study English vocabulary. Consequently, I have completed this research paper with a special care and interest with the aim to bring effective and pleasant lessons for the Quang Trung’s students. However, the time and knowledge is limited, mistake and shortcomings are unavoidable. Any further comments and contributions for perfection of this paper are gratefully appreciated. My suggestions for further study are:  Techniques to improve listening/ speaking/ reading skills.  The difference between vocabulary and pronunciation of British English and American English.
63. Survey Questionnaire Dear Quang Trung’s students! This survey questionnaire is designed to find out attitude and expectation toward learning English vocabulary of students in Quang Trung secondary school. Your answers will be used for studying purpose of the graduation entitled “Suggestions on techniques to learn vocabulary for students in Quang Trung secondary school”. Các em học sinh trường Quang Trung thân mến! Phiếu điều tra này được tiến hành nhằm tìm hiểu thái độ và những mong muốn của các em học sinh trường cấp hai Quang Trung trong việc học từ vựng Tiếng Anh. Những câu trả lời của các em sẽ được dùng cho mục đích nghiên cứu khóa luận tốt nghiệp “Những phương pháp học từ vựng cho học sinh tại trường cấp hai Quang Trung” Cảm ơn sự đóng góp của các em! Complete the following questions by circling the answer you choose ( Em hãy khoanh vào các câu trả lời em chọn ) 1. According to you, how important is vocabulary in learning English? ( Em hãy đánh giá tầm quan trọng của từ vựng trong học Tiếng Anh) a. Very important b. Important c. Normal d. Not important 2. In your opinion, what do you think about vocabulary? ( Em nghĩ thế nào về việc học từ vựng?) a. Boring b. Interesting c. Difficult 3. Which following techniques do you often apply to improve your vocabulary? ( Em thường áp dụng phương pháp nào sau đây trong việc học từ vựng?) a. Learning through internet b. Using pictures and games c. Learning by heart only d. Learning through English songs 4. How is the effectiveness of your learning English vocabulary? ( Em hãy đánh giá hiệu quả việc học từ vựng của em như thế nào?) a. Very Good b. Very good c. Good d. Ineffective
64. 5. As for you, what problems do you often have when learning vocabulary? (Khó khăn nào mà em thường gặp phải trong khi học từ vựng?) a. Forget vocabulary b. Apply words in context c. Do not have good method 6. Which techniques do you like to learn English vocabulary? (you can choose more than one) ( Em thích những phương pháp nào sau đây để học từ vựng, em có thể chọn hơn một đáp án) a. By pictures b. By games c. By songs d. By films with English subtitles e. By textbooks f. By idioms and phrases Thank you very much for your help and enjoy your summer holiday! REFERENCES I. Books 1. Lewis, M. & Hill, J. (1985). Practical Techniques for Language Teaching. London: Commercial Colour Press. 2. Nguyen, B & Nguyen. N. (2002). A course in TEFL – Theory and practice II. Hanoi: English Department – College of Foreign Languages- National University. 3. Richards, J., Platt, J & Weber. H. (1992). Longman Dictionary of Applied Lingistics. London: Lonman. 4. Trần Công Nhàn – Lê Trần Doanh Trang (2004) Bài luận tiếng Anh English essays. Nhà xuất bản tổng hợp thành phố Hồ Chí Minh.
65. 5. Watcyn-Iones. P (1980) Test your vocabulary. BPCC Hazell Books Ldt. II. Websites 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.