Vietnam national university, Hanoi
UNIVERSITY OF foreign languages AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
POST-graduate studies
*** ***

BÙI THỊ THẢO
AN INVESTIGATION INTO CLASSROOM VOCABULARY
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AT DONG SON I SECONDARY SCHOOL
IN THANH HOA
NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG HỌC TỪ VỰNG TRÊN LỚP
TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT ĐÔNG SƠN I, THANH HÓA

M.A MINOR THESIS
Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60.14.10

Ha Noi, 2010

Vietnam national university, Hanoi
UNIVERSITY OF foreign languages AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
POST-graduate studies
*** ***
2. Classification of vocabulary 5
2.1. According to the concept of morpheme 5
2.2. According to the meaning 5
2.3. According to the function of vocabulary items in a sentence 5
2.4. According to the sequence of use 5
2.5 According to the use of word: Active and Passive vocabulary 6
3. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 7
4. Aspects of word knowledge to be included in vocabulary teaching 7
4.1. Pronunciation 8
4.2. Word – formation 9
4.3. Collocation 10
5. The most commonly used techniques in vocabulary teaching 10
5.1. Techniques in presenting vocabulary 10
5.2. Techniques in practicing new words 12
6. Factors that affect vocabulary acquisition 12
7. Classroom vocabulary learning activities 13
Chapter II: Research methodology 16
1. Research questions 16
2. The context of the study 16
2.1 The text book 16
2.2. The teachers of English 17

v
2.3. The 10
th
form students 17
3. Instruments of data collection 17
3.1. Survey questionnaire 17
3.2. Interview 26
4. Data collection and analysis 27

teacher to explain their meanings and usages. Forth, many Vietnamese learners do not
want to take risks in applying what they have learnt. Students may recognize a word in a
written or spoken form and think that they already "know the word", but they may not be
able to use that word properly in different contexts or pronounce it correctly. As the
result, the class is often quiet and inactive and the lessons appear to be uninteresting.
Students just seat in silence, do the exercises, and wait for the correct answers from the
teachers. They seem to get bored of having the same ways of learning every day.
Therefore, classroom vocabulary learning activities help learners develop and use words
in different contexts and make the lessons enjoyable.
It can not be denied that, classroom vocabulary learning activities are a well come
break from the usual routine of the language class. They help students to make and sustain
the effort of learning; provide practice in the various skills, such as speaking, writing,
listening and reading; encourage students to communicate. Besides, vocabulary-learning
activities bring real world context into the classroom, and stimulate students‘ use of
English in a flexible, meaningful and communicative way. That is the reason why I carry
out this research entitled, “An investigation into classroom vocabulary learning activities
at Dong Son I secondary school in Thanh Hoa”

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2. Aims of the study
The study was designed to achieve the following goals:
1. To find out the English teachers and students‘ perception and attitude towards
vocabulary and the current situation of vocabulary learning and teaching
2. To evaluate the effectiveness of the currently used classroom vocabulary learning
activities at Dong Son I high school.
3. To suggest how to use classroom vocabulary activities to improve vocabulary
teaching and learning
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the above-stated goals, the study was to seek answers to the
following questions:

which provides the theoretical background of the study. The focus of this chapter is the
definition, classification, the importance of vocabulary; aspects of word knowledge to be
included in vocabulary teaching; techniques in vocabulary teaching; factors that affect
vocabulary acquisition and classroom vocabulary learning activities. Chapter II includes
the description of the participants and the data collection instruments and the methods
employed to analyze these data. Chapter III presents the detailed analyses of the data
collected from the survey questionnaires for the teachers and the students and the
discussion of the findings. Lastly, part C is the conclusion of the study, the limitation of the
research and recommendations for the teaching and learning activities at Dong Son I
secondary school in Thanh Hoa.

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PART B
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Definition of vocabulary
The term ―word‖ appears to be a simple concept but in fact, it is extremely difficult
to define. Some linguists define words in terms of semantics or phonology, etc. For
instance, Palmer noted that a word is marked, if not by ―spaces‖ or ―pauses‖, at least by
some features of the sound system of the language (e.g. stress and juncture in English).
And yet, in rapid spoken English, we sometimes can hardly find stress and juncture, we
might say ―whatchangonna do?‖ for what in writing would appear ―what are you going to
do?‖ Is ―whatcha‖ one word or three and ―gonna‖ one or two? So, let us, for the time
being, accept the following definition which seems to be the most satisfactory: ―A word is
a dialectical unity of form and content, independent unit of language to form a sentence by
itself, for example ―book, bookish, unlucky, go, eat, lexicology, white-wash, kiss-me-
quick‖ and so forth.
Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the foreign language.
According to Harmer, if language structures make up the skeleton of a language, then it is
its vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh. A word is a unit of language that

There are two main kinds of meanings in a word, lexical meaning and grammatical
meaning. Vocabulary, therefore, can be divided into notional words and functional words.
(Read, 2000:18)
Notional words
Notional words, whose meanings are lexical, form a great mass of the speaker‘s
vocabulary. They name objects, actions, qualities and have meanings in themselves. They
are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and so on.
Functional words
Functional words, whose meanings are grammatical, only have their meanings in
relation to other words with which they are used. They are particles, articles, prepositions,
etc.
2.3. According to the function of vocabulary items in a sentence
Performing different functions in a sentence, English vocabulary can be divided into
different items as parts of speech. They are nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions
and pronouns. (Quirk, 1987:18). Each part of speech has its own position complying with
certain grammatical rules and relating to others.
2.4. According to the sequence of use
This criterion refers to the frequency of occurrence of words. There are three groups
of words which appear in different frequencies: high frequency words, low frequency

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words and specialized words. High frequency words are the words that appear most often
in printed materials. According to Robert Hillerich ―Just three words I, and, the account for
ten percent all words in printed English‖. Low frequency words are words that almost
every language user rarely uses, for example: eponymous, gibbous, bifurcate, plummet,
ploy, etc. They may represent a rarely expressed idea, they may be similar in meaning to a
much more frequent word or phrase, they may be marked as being old fashioned, very
formal, belonging to a particular dialect, or vulgar, or they may be a foreign words.
Specialized words are the words people who work in or study special areas of knowledge
use a specific group of words, or specialized vocabulary, in talking about their subjects. In

comprehension.
Vocabulary is a language component that plays an important role in deciding a
learner‘s language proficiency. It is central to language because it is considered the ―basic
building block of language, the unit of meaning from which larger structures such as
sentences, paragraphs and whole text are formed‖ (Read, 2000: 1). It is important to the
typical language learners because many of them have experienced lexical gaps, that are
words or concepts they read but they simply do not understand or can not express as
adequately as they could in their first language. As a result, many learners see second
language acquisition as essentially a matter of learning vocabulary, so they devote a great
deal of time to memorizing lists of new words and rely on their bilingual dictionary as a
basic communicative resource.
For methodologists, vocabulary is considered the strong foundation for learners to
build up their communicative castles. Concerning the significance of vocabulary, Wilkin
(1972: 110) states, ―vocabulary is one of the three dimensions of languages (phonetics,
grammar, vocabulary). Without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed.‖ This is true in learning a foreign language. If a learner has a
wide range of vocabulary, he can help himself understood and understand others easily; on
the contrary, if his vocabulary is limited he will surely have difficulty in communication.
Therefore, vocabulary is a ―must‖ for all language learners.
4. Aspects of word knowledge
There are several aspects of lexis that need to be taken into account when teaching
vocabulary. The list below is based on the work of Grains and Redman (1986: 13- 52):
. Boundaries between conceptual meanings: knowing not only what lexis refers to,
but also where the boundaries are that separate it from words of related meaning (e.g. cup,
mug, and bowl).
. Polysemy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word form with
several and closely related meanings (head: of a person, of a pin, of an organisation).

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. Homonymy: distinguishing between the various meaning of a single word form

slur words and phrases together in casual speech.

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It is well-known that the teaching of English to Vietnamese learners presents unusual
difficulties. The biggest difficulty is that there is virtually no similarities between the two
languages in the areas of sounds and/or rhythmic and intonation patterns. The unusually
rich system of the Vietnamese vowels (with 6 tones) and consonants can produce an
extraordinary number of different sounds without having to emphasize the final consonants
in any syllables and without ever having to combine two or three consonants at any time.
English does not make extensive use of two, three, four and even five consonants in
"clusters" within syllables and at the end of syllables. Consonants such as "th" in "think"
and "thought" present considerable difficulty for the Vietnamese native speaker. Equally
difficult are words like "picks" and "six" in which a "k" sound is followed by an "s" at the
end of the word. The difficulty is more than doubled in words like "sixth" and "sixths"
which have, at the end of a syllable, the series "k-s-th" and even "k-s-th-s". Since
consonants and consonant clusters are extremely important in English and of little or no
importance in pronouncing Vietnamese, the stumbling blocks to learning are impressive.
As a result, during the teaching process, teachers should let the students be familiar
with the articulators, the functions of them, help students writing correct transcription of
the words, let the students be familiar with the dictionaries, and they should know how to
use it. Besides, teachers ought to help students practicing sounds more and more and give
them more variety of pronunciation practice.
4.2. Word formation
Words can change their shape and their grammatical value, too. Learners need to
know facts about word formation and how to twist words to fit different grammatical
contexts. The verb ―move‖ has the participles ―moving‖ and ―moved‖. The present
participle and the past participle can be both used as an adjective and the verb ―move‖ can
also be a noun. There is a clear relationship between the words ―live‖, ―living‖, ―alive‖ and
―life‖. Learners also need to know how suffixes and prefixes work. How can we make the
words precise and excusable opposite in meaning? Why do we preface one with im- and

them to speak English properly. The selection of an appropriate technique depends on the
age of the students, their skills, and interests as well as what the teacher think will bring
desirable results. The following are most commonly used techniques in presenting
vocabulary items.
5.1.1. Visual techniques
According to Gains and Redman (1986) these techniques can include:
Realia- this word refers to the use of real objects in the classroom. These objects help to
make the meaning of word clear (ex: A pen, a postcard, a ball etc.). The teacher may also
use classroom environment: a chair, a table, a board. Things in the classroom can also be

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― touched ―, what is important to V. Allen (1983), who claims that success in learning
depends on the number of senses involved in the learning process and, however, realia is a
vital part in presenting vocabulary at the beginners level, where pupils learn words, using
concretes.
Pictures - may be the most useful ―aids‖ in language teaching, since they are used in
different ways. There are pictures, flashcards, blackboard drawings, wall pictures, charts,
photos from magazines. Those ―aids‖ are used to explain the meaning of words or to create
a situation and concept.
Mine, action and gesture - this technique is useful for explaining the actions and grammar
items. Such concepts as jumping, smoking or the words: “from, on, to” etc are easy items
to explain through performing those actions. Mime, action is a great fun for children who
like acting and moving very much.
All techniques introduced above are good for presenting new vocabulary to students
at the beginners‘ level because they are very interesting and involving for them.
5.1. 2. Verbal techniques
The following several techniques can be used only with students who have some
knowledge of English, e.g. those at the upper-beginners level:
Contrast- as Y. Fenging states in ―Forum‖ (July 1994), contrast usually shows the
similarities and differences between persons ideas and things. E.g.: ―The major points of

introduced in groups (when one word can be associated with another). Furthermore, the
lexical item, as is quoted above, must be taught in context. The reason is that, “the
meaning of many words can change, according to their use in particular sentences and
particular context’’. (;Forum‘July,1974). Although many linguists state that translation is
not a good presentation technique, it is only considered dangerous for students if it
becomes the only presentation technique.
5.2. Techniques in practicing new words
Joseph Pettigrew (2005) proposes different tips and techniques of practicing
vocabulary such as matching, synonyms/opposites, filling the blank sentences, complete
the phrases/ sentences. Teachers give the example and students give the category or vice
versa, correct the mistakes, label a picture, cross out the word that doesn‘t belong with the
others in group, arrange the words on the scale and complete the definition. Games are
very useful to motivate students as crosswords, puzzles, category games.
6. Factors that affect vocabulary acquisition
When referring the numerous factors that affect the effectiveness of vocabulary
learning, theorists and researchers present slightly different opinions. However, various
opinions meet at some points and below are four types of factors said to have great impact
on language learners‘ vocabulary acquisition.

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Firstly, it is the person-dependent factors including age, sex, language aptitude,
intelligence, prior knowledge, motivation, self-concept/image, personality, and cognitive
and learning style. These differ from person to person. Needless to say, there are relatively
stable and determine to a large extent how a learner approaches a task.
Secondly, it is the learning task including the materials being learned (such as genre
of a piece of reading) as well as the goal the learner is truing to achieve by using these
materials (such as remembering, comprehending, or using language). Different types of
task materials, task purposes, and tasks at various difficulty levels demand different learner
strategies. For example, learning words in a word list is different from learning the same
words in a passage. As well, memorizing a word meaning is different from learning to use

Learning activities can be defined as specific interactions of learners with other
people, using specific tools and resources, oriented towards specific outcomes. There are
many kinds of vocabulary learning activities which can be used in teaching English, such
as: guess the word, dominoes, lucky number, picture matching, find someone who, word
puzzle, bingo, noughts and crosses, scrambled words…etc. It is better if the vocabulary
learning activities are familiar for learners, because they learn in a variety of ways, for
example; by watching; by listening; by imitating and by doing things.
Language learning is a hard task which can sometimes be frustrating. Constant effort is
required to understand, produce and manipulate the target language. Well-chosen learning
activities are invaluable as they give students a break and at the same time allow students
to practise language skills. Learning activities are highly motivating since they are amusing
and at the same time challenging. Furthermore, they employ meaningful and useful
language in real contexts. They also encourage and increase cooperation.
Learning activities encourage, entertain, teach, and promote fluency. If not for any of
these reasons, they should be used just because they help students see beauty in a foreign
language and not just problems that at times seem overwhelming.
Vocabulary learning activities also lend themselves well to revision exercises
helping learners recall material in a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in
this thesis agree that even if vocabulary learning activities resulted only in noise and
entertained students, they are still worth paying attention to and implementing in the
classroom since they motivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate
fluency.
Some experts have also figured out characteristics of vocabulary learning activities
that make vocabulary learning more effectively. Lee (1995:35) lists several main
advantages when vocabulary learning activities are used in the classroom, including "a
welcome break from the usual routine of the language class", "motivating and
challenging" "effort of learning", and "language practice in the various skills." Eros
(2000) holds that learning activities are highly appreciated thanks to their amusement and

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importance of language, Pyles and Algeo said “When we first think about language, we
first think about words. It is words that we arrange together to make sentences,
conversation and discourse of all kinds”. Because of its‘ importance, vocabulary exists in
five main sections of English 10 (reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus).
It is arranged with various themes, such as, a days in life (Unit 1), school talks (Unit 2), or
undersea world (Unit 9)…etc. It can not be denied that vocabulary is central of each unit.
Because of its‘ importance in language, so, in the textbook, the authors always
consider many ways to improve vocabulary to students. They have suggested some
vocabulary classroom activities. But there are not many and various activities. To help
students learn vocabulary more effectively, I think that teachers should give more
activities, such as: playing vocabulary games, guessing the meanings, using visual
aids…etc. However, in order to achieve the most from vocabulary classroom activities, it is
essential that suitable vocabulary classroom activities are chosen. Therefore, I often
consider that how to use classroom vocabulary activities to improve students‘ vocabularies
at my school.

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2.2 Teachers of English
Nine teachers who were teaching at Dong Son I school are invited to join the study
(80% are female aged from thirty to fifty). They have been teaching English for at least
seven years. Most of them have to teach in a large class of over 45 students in each and
each teacher has to teach four or five classes of this kind so that they are to be responsible
for the learning results of around 180 students. All the teachers at Dong Son I school are
experienced and enthusiastic in teaching.
2.3 The 10
th
form students
Nearly 180 of 10
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form students at Dong Son I secondary school in Thanh Hoa are

There are two sets of questionnaire with both close-ended and open-ended questions
used for both teachers and students. Questionnaires are administered to nine teachers and
180 students
 Questionnaire for students
The questionnaire consists of 4 questions (see Appendix 1). Question 1, 2, 3 aim at
gathering the general information about students‘ own learning. By answering question 4
students comment on the classroom vocabulary learning activities that their English
teachers often use and evaluate their effectiveness.
 Questionnaire for teachers
The questionnaire designed for teachers also consists of 4 questions (see Appendix
2). Question 1, 2, 3 aim at finding teachers‘ perception of the importance of vocabulary
learning, their students‘ vocabulary learning and the difficulties they encounter when using
classroom activities in vocabulary teaching. Question 4 is for evaluating the effectiveness
and frequency of use of the currently used classroom vocabulary learning activities.
The activities stated in the questionnaire 4 (for all teachers and students) are currently used
to teach vocabulary. Below is the description of these activities:
Classroom vocabulary learning activities
Activity 1: Word matching
This activity helps students revise vocabulary before listening or speaking. This is an
example when you teach speaking (Unit 9). Students are divided into many pairs and
delivered handouts. Students are asked to match the words in column A with their
definitions in column B. After 3 minutes, the teacher receives the answer of the first five
pairs. The teacher reads the answer of 5 pairs, comments and gives good marks to the pair
which has the best answer. Afterward, the teacher asks students to use these words to
practice speaking about the actions which we should or should not do to protect our oceans
E.g: Match the following words in column A with their explanations in column B
A
B
1. Dispose of
2. Dustbin

T divides all class into many pairs.
1. T writes three words on the board. Sts make three sentences to summarize the
main ideas of the learned letter in Unit 6.
2. After three minutes, T checks up and gives marks.
Given words: visiting, weather, permission.
Suggested answer:
Lan ‗s classmates is visiting Huong Pagoda at the end of the first term. They believe
they will enjoy good weather. Lan hopes she can get her parents‘ permission to stay the
night from home.
Activity 4: Rearrange letters to form new words
This game is very popular game used for English language teaching. Teachers in my
school exploited this game for vocabulary revision with students working in groups, trying
to rearrange the letters as quickly as possible to form meaningful words. For each word,
the fastest group got a point and at the end of the game, the group with the most points was
the winner. Here are some examples of scrambled words used for Unit 4 (Special
education).

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Exercise 5: Arrange the letters to make 10 words you have learned. These words begin
with the first letter.
1. dafe 2. daseblid
3. losnes 4. srabtuct
5. sentdut 6. tareche
7. shocol 8. laner
9. atbaphle 10. pecanite
Answer: 1. deaf; 2. impair; 3. enrich; 4. disabled; 5. demonstrated; 6. blind; 7. miracle; 8.
illness; 9. dumb; 10. welcome
Activity 5: Missing words
Procedure
1. Select a paragraph or a short text at a level suitable for your class. Delete lexical

performance, Sir Paul said: ―I can‘t believe that we‗re actually transmitting to (10) …….
This is sensational. I love it.‖ Astronaut Bill McArthur also seemed happy and told Sir
Paul: ―We consider you an explorer, just as we are.‖
Answers:
1. musician 6. traditionally
2. versions 7. favor
3. album 8. song
4. channel 9. canceled
5. listening 10. space
Activity 6: Finding synonyms and antonyms
This type of task is exploited for vocabulary practice or revision. Students are asked
to find words of similar meanings or those of opposite meanings to match a word in A with
a word in B to have a pair of synonym or a pair of antonym. Below are some examples for
this type of exercise quoted from unit 3 and unit 4.
Exercise 7: Match a word in A with a word in B to have a pair of synonyms
A B
1. happen a. telephone
2. chance b. assist
3. call c. doctor
4. help d. some
5. several e. occur
6. physician f. opportunity
Answer: 1e; 2f; 3a; 4b; 5d; 6c
Exercise 9: Match a word in A with a word in B to have a pair of antonyms.
A B
1. poor a. worst
2. oppose b. professional