VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH
CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF
ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI
HIGH SCHOOL

(NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10
TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI)
M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE : 601410 HANOI - 2011
iv

Table of contents
Page
Declaration
Abstract
Acknowledgement
Part 1: introduction
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aims of the study 1
3. Significance of the study 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Method of research 2
6. Organization of the study 3
Part 2. development
Chapter 1: literature review
1.1. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 4
1.2. Principles of vocabulary teaching 4
1.2.1. Criteria for selecting vocabulary 4
1.2.2. Vocabulary teaching 5
1.2.2.1. Forms of a word 5
1.2.2.2. Meaning 5
1.2.2.3. Use of a word 6
1.3. Vocabulary learning 6
1.3.1. Factors affecting vocabulary learning 7
1.4. Methods in teaching vocabulary 8
1.4.1. Repetition and attention 8

3.4.3. Selection of the vocabulary teaching 27
3.4.4. Practising the vocabulary 28
3.4.5. Improving learning and teaching conditions 31
3.4.6. Having local teachers to teach English for students in their
communities 31
Part 3: Conclusion
1. Conclusions 32
2. Limitations of the study 32
3. Suggestions for further study 32
References 34
Appendices I
1

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming
something of a forerunner in global communication. It is the first and second language in
most countries of the world. Almost 70% of the Internet is in English. A huge volume of
the information used on the Internet is also in English. Thus, English is playing a very
significant role in bringing the world together. Therefore, teaching and learning English
have become the necessity all over the world. In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject
from primary schools to universities. However, the quality of learning and teaching
English is different from one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and
those from remote and mountainous areas.
In Hoa Binh mountainous province, English is a compulsory subject in the
curriculum and it is considered as one of the major subjects for the high school final
examination. English is taught with the purpose to give students some basic knowledge of
English in order to communicate and use it as a key to science and technology. However,
there still exist many difficulties facing teachers in teaching English to students, especially
those from ethnic minorities. It can be observed that ethnic minority students‟ scores are

 To offer some solutions with the hope of helping English language teachers in
Muong Bi high school overcome difficulties in teaching vocabulary, improve the
quality of their teaching, which helps improve ethnic minority students‟ language
learning quality.
3. Significance of the study
The study is hoped to be beneficial to both teachers and ethnic minority
students in mountainous high schools. First, the findings of the study, the challenges in
learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school
could be shared among teachers of English to improve the quality of teaching and learning
in the coming years. Next, it might highlight the rationale for professional development
programs for high school teachers of English in mountainous areas in Vietnam. Finally, the
findings could be used as a data base for further study.
4. Scope of the study
The study only concentrates on problems in learning vocabulary from the textbook
“Tiếng Anh 10” (by Hoang Van Van et al) of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong
Bi high school in Hoa Binh province and some possible solutions for teaching vocabulary.
5. Methods of research
The study combined qualitative and quantitive approaches. Data were collected via
questionnaires and classroom observations:
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- A Survey questionnaire for 100 grade 10 students was used to clarify the
difficulties of ethnic minority grade 10 students in learning English vocabulary.
- Classroom observations were also carried out to get information about both
teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class.
6. Organization of the study
This study consists of three parts:
 Part One: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope, method of
study, and organization of the study.
 Part Two: Development consists of three chapters:

English learning. Therefore, vocabulary is a "must" for all language learners by all means.
1.2. Principles of vocabulary teaching
1.2.1. Criteria for selecting vocabulary
It cannot be denied that vocabulary is an essential element in learning a foreign
language. Therefore, it is important to concern first the criteria for selecting vocabulary to
help the teacher make valid decisions on the right vocabulary items to teach at the learner's
different level. Gairns and Redman (1986) proposed some main criteria as frequency;
student's needs and level; cultural factor and expediency. In teaching, the teacher needs to
select the most frequently used words to teach first. The vocabulary should be appropriate
to students' level and their needs, the priority given to vocabulary for English as a subject
in the curriculum might be different from that of English for specific purposes. The Culture
5

factor has great influenced on teaching, which means that the learners' background is to be
considered, since people from different countries may need different words to express their
ideas in the second language. Expediency is one of the important criteria that needs to be
concerned since the classroom is a world by itself and requires specific types of vocabulary
such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions. Harnler (1991) also adds more
criteria for selection of vocabulary as concretion vs. abstraction (concrete words should be
taught at lower levels whereas abstract terms should be taught at higher lever); coverage
(general words should be taught in more specific terms) and rapport (the student's
involvement with the words is a major motivator for vocabulary learning).
1.2.2. Vocabulary teaching
In general, when the teacher teaches a new English word, he should, by all means,
provide his learners with its meaning, forms and use at the same time. Among these three
areas, the use of a word is the most important, but it cannot be achieved if the forms and
meaning of the word are not firmly understood and grasped by the learners.
1.2.2.1. Forms of a word
 Pronunciation and spelling :
Each English word has its spelling and pronunciation. Learners have to know all the

dead or forgettable word. To use a new word well, they need to know how to collocate it
with other words correctly. Therefore, the teacher should put words into collocation. For
example, when introducing words like "to make” and "to do", the teacher may note that
both words mean "to perform" but can be distinguished by the words they collocate with.
We often say "to do the homework" but never say "to make the homework".
In short, students should be taught the form, the meaning, and the use of words in
vocabulary lessons. The teacher should ensure that vocabulary is regularly recycled/revised
because if students do not get the chance to put it into use they will easily forget it.
Unknown vocabulary is low in such messages, considerable vocabulary learning can occur
even though students' attention is not directed to vocabulary learning. Rubin and
Thompson (1994: 82) suggest 3 strategies for dealing with this approach of vocabulary
learning. These strategies include receding a series of texts on a related topic, guessing the
meaning of new words from context, and breaking up a word into components. Similarly,
Decanico (in Celce-Murcia 2000: 255-299) says that implicit vocabulary learning or
incidents vocabulary learning is learning that occurs when the mind is focused elsewhere,
such as on understanding a text or using language for communicative purposes.
1. 3. English vocabulary learning
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It is believed that the factors that affect the learner in language learning also have
an effect on his vocabulary learning. These factors include, according to Lighbown and
Spada (1999: 51-68), intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation and, attitudes, learner
preferences, learner beliefs, age, some kinds of activities. Rubin and Thompson (1994: 3 -
8) suggest a similar list of factors affecting learning: age, aptitude, attitude (emotions),
personality (extroversion, inhibition, tolerance of ambiguity), learning style (learning by
strategies. Ellis (1997: 76) emphasizes the importance of learning strategies, when he states
that studies have shown that successful learners use more strategies than unsuccessful
learners and successful learners use different strategies at different stages of their
development. He emphasizes that if crucial learning strategies can be identified, they can
be taught to students. Learning strategies are the decisive factor for vocabulary learning.

Markey (1978:138) states, “The method used has been said to be the cause of
success or failure in language learning, for it is ultimately the method that determines
what and the how of language instruction”. This statement shows us the importance of
method. It is method that determines success or failure in language teaching. That is the
reason why teacher have to understand well about different methods so that they can
choose the best ones for their learners. Below is a brief discussion on some methods in
vocabulary teaching in history and their role in vocabulary teaching and learning.
1.4.1. Repetition and attention
Some psychologists, according to Nation (1990: 43), believe that repetition is not as
effective as the type of attention given to a new word. Oral repetition of a word form is not
as effective as recalling the form of the word. However, the occuring frequency of a word
affects the learning burden: the more frequently it is met, the easier it is to learn. Seeing the
word form and a definition of its meaning is not as effective as having to make an effort to
recall its meaning before being shown the defnition as feedback.
1.4.2. Relationship with other words
Similarities between words can make learning easier. If the student has already
known the word meaning he may learn the meaning more easily. However, similarities
between words can also make learning more difficult: a list of words that are strongly
associated with each other (e.g. opposites, free associates) is more difficult to learn than a
list of unrelated words.
1.4.3. Exceptions
The effect of learning an exception is to make the learning of a rule more difficult.
For example, the word school and town are most often used as countable nouns, so when
used as singular nouns, they are often preceded by an article, a demonstrative adjective, or
a possessive adjective. However, in to go to school and to go to town, they neither are nor
9

proceeded by any of these words. As a result, school and town are often used productively
incorrectly.
1.5. Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of a


positive and significant relationship between students‟ first language development,
specially their development of literacy skills, and their second language development. A
similar relationship might be expected to hold good in the case of multilingual acquisition,
so that different degrees of proficiency in the first and second languages would affect the
acquisition of the third language.
In addition, recent psycholinguistic research on third language acquisition has
made clear that the acquisition of an L3 shares many characteristics with the acquisition of
an L2 but it also presents differences. Accordingly, the educational aspects of teaching
English as an L3 differ from those of teaching English as an L2. Third language acquisition
is more complex phenomenon than second language acquisition because, apart from all
individual and social factors that affect the latter, the process and product of acquiring a
second language can themselves potentially influence the acquisition of a third language.
The educational aspects of the acquisition of English as a third language differ those of
English as a second language, and have more implications regarding the optimal age for
introduction of the different languages and the desired level of proficiency in each.
However, several studies on L3 acquisition have convincingly shown a qualitative
difference between the acquisition of a true L2 and the subsequent acquisition of an L3.
Some studies even indicate that L2 takes on a stronger role than L1 in the initial state of L3
syntax (e.g. Bardel & Falk, 2007; Rothman & Cabrelli Amaro, forthcoming). An
explanation put forward by Williams & Hammarberg (1998) and Bardel & Falk (2007) as
to why the L2 takes on a stronger role than the L1 is that of the L2 status factor. According
to Falk & Bardel, the L2 status factor is an outcome of the higher degree of similarity
between L2 and L3 than between L1 and L3, regarding age of onset, outcome, learning
situation, metalinguistic knowledge, learning strategies and degree of awareness in the
language learning process.
Also, the acquisitional setting may vary from predominantly informal acquisition,
as is the case for instance in bilingual environments, to more formal settings, such as
foreign language learning in the classroom. On the one hand, it can be assumed that L3
learners, especially those who have learnt the L2 in a formal setting, are aware of the

2.1.2. The materials of teaching and learning
In terms of the materials of teaching and learning, the textbook currently used to
teach English are Tieng Anh 10, published by Ministry of Education and Training. The
teaching content of English textbooks follows the theme-based approach and is developed
on six broad themes. The six themes are subdivided into 16 topics corresponding with 16
units and a “Test yourself” after every 3 units. All units have the same structure, starting
with the theme of the unit, following four lessons focused on language skills and ending
with language focus. Language skills are developed in parallel with the development of
such language knowledge as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation.
With strengths, the textbooks are expected to contribute better quality of English
learning in Vietnam high schools. In terms of curriculum development, the introduction of
the new textbook can be new fresh air blowing into the teaching and learning situation at
secondary schools in Vietnam. However, to a large number of ethnic minority students, the
English textbooks are very difficult. Very often the amount of new vocabulary in one unit
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was too much for students. In addition, many topics in their English textbooks were strange
to their daily lives and background.
2.2. Research questions
Questionnaries and classroom observations in this study were intended to
address the following research question:
What are the challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10
students in Muong Bi high school?
2.3. Participants
2.3.1. Description of the teachers of English
The five participants who are currently teaching English to ethnic minority students
at grade 10 level graduated from Hanoi Universities of Foreign Languages or have taken
an English in-service training course; All of the teachers are female and from 28 to 32
years old. Their teaching experience at high schools varies from 5 to 10 years. The variety
in the participants‟ age, sex, qualification, and teaching experience is expected to provide

of the students‟ difficulties in learning English vocacbulary such as: the learners‟
background, the material and the teaching methods. The purpose of the questionnaire was
to examine how important the ethnic minority students think of their learning English and
what difficulties they often meet when learning vocabulary.
2.4.2. Classroom observations
In this study, from classroom observations, the researcher wanted to see how
English classes were really going on by the teachers of English in a mountainous area such
as how they organized classroom activities; how teachers conducted their teaching; what
challenges students face in their classroom learning. The observations were conducted in
10 English lessons at 10th grade of all selected teachers on language skills and language
knowledge.
2.4.3. Data Collection Procedure
According to Selinger and Shohamy (1989) once the researcher has selected a
specific design for the study which is consistent with the objectives of the research, the
next step is to collect the research data. In collecting the data it is important to use
procedures which elicit high quality data, since the quality of any research study depends
largely on the quality of the data collected and the data collection procedure.
As stated above, the study was carried out in Muong Bi high school. The reason for
the choice was that 100% students at these schools were ethnic minorities; that might be
useful to give rich information for the data collection of the study. Among the teachers of
three schools, five were selected for interviews on voluntary basis and all of them were
observed while teaching.
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The observations were conducted in five selected teachers at the beginning of the
school year.
2.5. Data Analysis Procedure
The strengths of qualitative data rest very centrally on the competence with which
their analysis is carried out. According to Hatch (2002), interpretation, as interpretation of
interview data, is a defining element that permeates all qualitative research through making

3.1. Results and discussions from the questionnaires for students
In order to get information about the students‟ attitudes toward English vocabulary
learning and the factors affecting their acquisition of the language the author poses here
10 questions for the students. Following is the findings.
Question 1. In your opinion, what is the role of vocabulary in learning English?
Items
Percentage(% of students)
A. Very important
76
B. Quite important
21
C. Not very important
3
D. Not important at all
0
Although they know clearly that English is very important almost of them
choose the answer “very important”, they still do not spend enough time on learning
English, because of many factors that hinder them from doing so. Firstly, they do not have
time to learn, secondly, some of them think they can learn it later when they have
opportunity.
Question 2. In Tieng Anh 10 there are … new words in one unit
Items
Percentage (%)
A too many
95
B. not too many
5
The results of in question 2 show that the greatest percentage (95%) of the learners say that
they are overwhelmed by the amount of vocabulary in one unit, so after 3 periods a week
they had to learn a great number of the new words in the text book and the words provided

grammar rules the most difficult, 20% choose aspects of meaning as the difficulty.
Question 5. Do you find it is difficult to pronounce English words?
When being asked if students find that in English pronunciation is difficult, most of
them say yes (82%). It is the fact that, minority ethnic learners always face many problems
in learning vocabulary, they always confuse /d/ with /t/, /v/ with /b/. As seen in question 4
that 70% of the learners revealed that pronunciation is the most difficult item when
learning English vocabulary. They are totally dependent on imitating the teachers so after
the lesson they cannot remember or read the words correctly by themselves.

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Question 6. How does your teacher present the meaning of new words?
Items
Percentage (%)
A. Translate them into Vietnamese
90
B. Use visual aids
27
C. Explain the meaning in English
0
D. Use synonyms and antonyms
15
E. Others (please specify)
15
It can be seen from the table that most of the time translation is used to teach
vocabulary. There may be the reason why the students often find it boring to learn
vocabulary lessons. There is a small number of the teachers who used visual aids to teach

choice exercises. This technique is not difficult and many of them like it. However,
sometimes it causes the lessons boring. In fact only 15% of the teachers using word games
to teach vocabulary. May be doing gap filling exercises and write sentences are
challenging tasks for the students so they are not used regularly.
Question 9. Does your teacher give you chance to learn vocabulary in pairs/ groups?

Items
Percentages (%)
A. never
80
B. sometimes
15
C. often
5
D. always
0
90% of the students say that they learn vocabulary individually. This may be the
result of the fact that they do not have much time in class. For example, the teachers keep
delivering the new language items orally or by writing on the board while students look at
the board and take notes. Then they do practice before going to other tasks in the lesson.
Pair work and group work are rarely used. The interaction among teachers and students is
one-way and only happens when the teacher asks and students answers. The teachers
simply follow the instruction of the text book and teach what is required in the syllabus.
Hence, the teaching strategies used by the teachers in certain circumstances are not
relevant and effective.
Items
Percentage (%)

physics, chemistry or biology.

3.2. Results and discussions from the observation
The researcher observed four teachers‟ ten English lessons on language skills and
language knowledge at grade 10 with their permission. The analysis of the observation data
indicated that difficulties emerged in the actual classrooms such as lack of various types of
classroom activities associated with CLT, too many new words and structures were given
in each lesson, students‟ preference of using their native languages or Vietnamese
language, a large amount of teachers‟ using Vietnamese in class, and students‟ passiveness
in learning.
In general, all the teachers‟ lessons the researcher observed followed the basic steps
of the lesson: warm-up activities, presentation, practice and consolidation and homework.
The lessons on language skills included three stages namely pre-, while-, and post-stage. In
the pre-stage, teachers introduced the new language inputs to their students, often new
words or phrases, students learned both spelling and sounds in class, in chorus or
individually. However, what follows is a discussion of some prominent challenges.
First, there was lack of various types of classroom activities associated with CLT in
English classes, the teachers commonly organized only two types of activities such as
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group and pair work in their vocabulary teaching, and left other activities out of account.
Some teachers often let students take part in mechanical practice such as repetition drills
and substitution drills in class. This monotonous ways of teaching might be one of the
reasons to make English lessons tedious to ethnic minority students and reduce their
interest in participating in classroom activities. Jacobs and Ball (1996) noted that “more
emphasis should be given to active modes of learning such as pair or group work in
problem-solving tasks, nevertheless, classroom group or pair work should not be
considered an essential feature used all the time, and may well be inappropriate in some
contexts”. Besides, some teachers were not creative in carrying out groups or pair works,
especially in arranging pairs or groups. Sometimes, many students were reluctant to join in