VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES
TRẦN THỊ NINH

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF VISUAL AIDS TO VOCABULARY
LEARNING BY 10
TH
GRADERS IN LE QUY DON HIGH SCHOOL
HAI PHONG

(Tính hiệu quả của Giáo cụ trực quan đối với việc học Từ vựng
của học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Lê Quý Đôn, Hải Phòng)

m.a. minor thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10

Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Bàng, M.A

Hanoi - 2010 iv
Table of contents
DECLARATION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……… iii .
TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………….……… iv
Part a: Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
1
1. Rationale………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
1
2. Aims of the study…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……
2
3. Significance of the study…………………………………………………………………………………………….………
2
4. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…

14
1.3.4. The effectiveness of visual aids in teaching and learning vocabulary……………….…
15
Chapter II: Methodology……………………………………………………………………………………………………
18
2.1. Research questions……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
18 v
2.2. The participants……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
18
2.3. The methods of the study ………………………………………………………………………………………………
18
2.3.1. The questionnaires……………………………………………………………………………………………… …….
18
2.3.2. Class observation……………………………………………………………………………………………………….
18
Chapter Iii: Data analysis and discussion…………………………………………………………………
22
3.1. Situation analysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …
22
3.1.1. The setting of the study……………………………………………………………………………………………
22
3.1.2. Learners and their background……………………………………………………………………………
22
3.1.3. Materials and facilities…………………………………………………………………………………………….
23
3.2. Findings and discussions form survey questionnaires……………………………………………
24

language is agreed by many researchers. Rivers (1981: 462) emphasized : "Language is not
dry bones. It is living growing entity, clothed in the flesh of words”. As a result, vocabulary
learning is a means of mastering a foreign language. In teaching and learning English, it is the
basis for learning other skills. Despite the importance of vocabulary in helping learners of
English improve their language competence, the question of how to teach and learn
vocabulary effectively is always raised by both teachers and students. As beginners, the 10
th

graders at Le Quy Don high school often find it challenging to learn vocabulary, and a lot of
questions about how to learn vocabulary in an effective way are raised. What students are
wondering is always haunted in the teachers’ mind most of the time, which inspires them to
find out suitable solution to vocabulary teaching and learning to satisfy their students’ needs.
One of the most effective way to teach vocabulary is through visual aids. Using visual aids to
help students learn vocabulary is not the newly - arisen one. However, their effectiveness to
students’ vocabulary learning worth considering by all teachers, because what students can see
and touch will be perceived in their mind better than what they can hear only. Learning
vocabulary through visual aids brings about good results. When a teacher uses visual aids, the
students’ attention is more completely focused since visual aids provide one mechanism to direct
and focus attention. In addition, visual aids make a teacher more persuasive in teaching
vocabulary then increase students’ understanding of the topic.

The adage “A picture is worth a thousand words” is totally true because visual aids can
help establish organization for presentation. In other words, one of the most effectiveness of
visual aids is establishing the overall organization for the presentation; therefore, students look
for order in everything they have experienced. However, up to now there have not been any
studies on the effectiveness of visual aids in learning vocabulary. All the above reasons are the

2
motivation and the driving force for this study in which the use of visual aids and their
effectiveness to 10


5. Research questions 3
The study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of visual aids to vocabulary
learning by 10
th
graders at Le Quy Don high school, Hai Phong, therefore, aimed at answering
the following questions:

1. Do you students like learning vocabulary through visual aids?
2. How effective are visual aids to students’ vocabulary learning ?
3. How much progress have students made in learning vocabulary with visual aids?

6. Design of the study

The study is divided into three parts.
Part A: Introduction
This part provides a general introduction of the study with the specific reference to the
rationale, the aims, the methods, the significance and the design of the study.
Part B: Development
The development of the study consists of four chapters, as follows:
Chapter one- “Literature Review”: Gives a brief view on motivation, the theoretical
background of English vocabulary, the overall view of some visual aids and the effectiveness
of visual aids in vocabulary lessons.
Chapter two - “Methodology”: Gives an insight into the research methods to find out
the answers to the research questions. Also, this chapter gives a brief view on the subjects and
the procedures of the study.
Chapter three - “Finding and discussion”: Presents the data collected from the survey

(1972: 111) emphasized that “Without grammar, very little can be conveyed. Without
vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”. From researchers’ ideas, it shows a fact that non-native
speaker needs vocabulary first in order to communicate. If a language was a house vocabulary
would be as construction material to build up that house. Thus, it is needless to say vocabulary
is important or not

In teaching and learning English, learning vocabulary is worth learners’ great attention.
Vocabulary has not been a subject for students to learn lately but has been taught within

5
lessons of reading, writing, speaking and listening. It is true that vocabulary knowledge
contributes to reading success in other important ways that are perhaps less obvious. If a
learner has a wide range of vocabulary, he/she can understand others easily; on the contrary, if
his vocabulary is limited he /she will surely has difficulty in mastering English.

To sum up, knowing vocabulary of a language is a minimum self-requirement for those
who want to learn a foreign language.

1.2. What students need to know?

According to Ur (1996) there are many aspects concerning words, which need to be
taught. They are form, grammar, collocation, meaning and word formation. Davies and Pearse
(2000: 60) also emphasized that: “the aspects of new vocabulary items that you may need to
know about and learners may need to learn are similar to those of other new language items
such as grammatical patterns or functional expressions. Essentially, these aspects are meaning,
use in communication, pronunciation and spelling, and grammar.” As mentioned above,
learning a word means learning at least, its form, its meaning, and its use.

1.2.1. Form: Pronunciation and spelling


listed as synonyms (to distinguish between the different shades of meaning that synonymous
words have), antonym (items that means the opposite), hyponyms (to distinguish between the
various meaning of a single word for which has several meanings which are not closely
related), co - hyponyms or co – ordinates (refer to other items that are the “same kind of
thing”), super- ordinates (show general concepts that “cover” specific items), and translation.
In short, the words have various types of meaning. It is required that the teacher has to make a
careful choice of and decision on which meaning of a word to teach and how many meanings
and words to teach in the given class time.
1.2.3. Grammar 7
Ur (1996) indicated that the grammar of a new lexical item will need to be taught if
this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules. An item may have an unpredicted
change of form in certain grammatical contexts or may have some idiosyncratic way of
connecting with other words in sentences; it is important to provide learners with this
formation at the same time as the base form is taught. When teaching a new verb, we might
also give its past form if this is irregular (give, gave). This can be helpful to students because
they can avoid making mistakes in using word form.

1.2.4. Collocation

According to Ur (1996), the collocation typical of particular items are another factor
that makes a particular combination sound “right” or “wrong” in a given context. Therefore,
this is another piece of information about new item, which it may be worth teaching. When
introducing words like “decision” and “conclusion”, for example, teachers may note that you
“take” or “make” the one, but usually “come” to the other. Collocations are also often noted
in dictionaries, either by providing the whole collocation under one of the head - words, or by
a note in parenthesis.


helpful, but they relate to the different media of visual aids, not to the significant difference of
function in the teaching process.” He suggested another way of classifying visual aids, which
may help us to understand their function better, and hence help us to use them better and more
imaginatively in the classroom. He classified visual aids in term of the different media of
visual aids and in term of the significant difference of function in the teaching process.

1.3.2. Classification of visual aids in term of the different media of visual aids

1.3.2.1. Boards

The simplest classroom visual aid of all classrooms is the board, black or white. It has
great possibilities for pictorial representation, yet most teachers seldom use it except for
writing lists of words or paradigms on it.

9

According to Davies and Pearse (2000:154) the board is usually the most basic piece of
classroom equipment. They stated that: “a lot can be done with it if you know: for instance,
writing up examples and exercises, or supporting your teaching with diagrams, tables, and
drawings” Gower (1995:159) also supported their idea: “it is unusual to find classroom
without a board of some kind, whether it is white, black or green.”. It is clear that the boards
are divided into two types: chalkboards and white boards. The chalkboards are found in most
classrooms. They are usually black or green. Wright & Haleem (1991: 5) indicated that they
are “cheap to install, easy, and cheap to use and very adaptable” . Thus, chalkboard is said to
be the most common and useful visual aids for teachers. The teachers can make use of
chalkboards. It is clear that they are available, inexpensive and teachers can use them
whenever they like to teach a lesson. That they do not depend on other factors like electricity
supply is very important thing to use them in teaching

The teachers, therefore, can use chalkboards for to serve their different purposes. It is

classes as: trees, cars, mountains, etc. they can use a picture instead of the thing itself. ,
pictures can not only bring images of reality into the unnatural world of the language

11
classroom, but also function as a fun element in the class. Pictures meet with a wide range of
use not only in acquiring vocabulary, but also in many other aspects of foreign language
teaching. Wright (1990: 4-6) demonstrated this fact on an example, where he used one
compiled picture and illustrated the possibility of use in five very different language
areas. His example shows employing pictures in teaching structure, vocabulary, functions,
situations and all four skills. Moreover, he pointed out that “potential of pictures is so
great that only a taste of their full potential can be given” in his book. According to Bowen
(1982) pictures can be divided into wall pictures and wall charts; flashcards, work cards and
sequence picture.

1.3.2.2.1. Wall pictures and wall charts

Bowen (1982:13) defined “A wall chart is a large diagram or picture display card.
Most wall charts consist of combinations of visual and verbal material. Their aim is to give
information on a topic. A wall picture, on the other hand, is simply a large illustration of a
scene or event, or a set of scenes or events . Davies and Pearse (2000: 157-158) stated that:
“Wall - charts can be scenes like the national park” , or “separate but related
pictures” Generally, wall pictures can be seen by the whole class. So they are used with the
whole class. Besides, “wall – charts need to be clear for all learners, including those at the
back of the room or out side. This meant that you need to select cut – out pictures which are

approximately 15 cm by 20 cm” .They also point out the following characteristics of picture
flash cards. Like word flash cards “picture flash cards are inexpensive, easy for teachers to use

13
in the conduct of the lesson. The cards must be small enough to handle easily but large enough
for every student to see. One or more cards can be displayed at any one time by teachers or
students. ”.As for classroom use, picture flash cards “are more suitable for the representation
of a single concept, such as an object or an action. It is best to use picture flash cards for the
revision and practice of previously taught language, rather than for the presentation of new
items.” (Bowen, 1982:28)

1.3.2.2.3. Work cards

Ur clarified that “work cards are made in sets, each card offering a different, fairly
short task. They are not written on: a student does one card, writing answers on a separate
piece of paper or in a notebook, and then exchanges it for another working through as many of
the set as there is time for.” . Bowen (1982: 31) made it more clearly when stating “work cards
can include visual as well as text. Magazine pictures, drawings, maps and diagrams can be
important parts of work cards at all levels, used for a variety of purposes” .Finally, work cards
contribute to create interests and therefore motivate students in learning vocabulary.

1.3.2.2.4. Sequence pictures

Sequence pictures are a series of pictures on a single object. They reveal their story or
theme like a strip cartoon in a connected set of illustrations. Each picture will help students to
find out the meanings of the others that lead them to gain an overall scene of the story of
theme. That is the way of teaching reading linking together in a process. To sum up, “for
helping students understand the meaning of a word, we often find that a picture is useful” (
Allen, 1983: 24). It is clear that there are various types of pictures to be used for language
learning, practicing and organizing. They differ regarding their size, form and origin, which

supplement other ways of conveying meaning. When teaching an item such as ‘to swerve’, a
teacher might build a situation to illustrate it, making use of the blackboard or gesture to
reinforce the concept” (Gairns and Redman, 1986:73)

1.3.3. Classification of visual aids in term of significant difference of function in the
teaching process: Visual materials for talking about and Visual materials for talking
with.

Widdowson (1975) pointed out that: “there is no hard or fast line between these two
types. The division is made principally in order to draw attention to the relation between ‘
thing’ and ‘ language’ in the world out side classroom, which is meant to reflect” .He made it
clear by giving some examples: a pair of scissors can be used for talking about and for talking
with. The teacher may bring them into the classroom; he may talk about them, their shape,
their material, their use. He can ask the students about them and get them to describe them.

15
These are well - tried and familiar techniques and correspond to the use generally made of
conventional visual aids. But such language behavior is normal only in the classroom.
Nobody, except perhaps cutlers, describes and talks about scissors, in the world outside.

In fact, although describing and talking about physical objects and pictures is a
perfectly proper used of language, it is not very common in everyday social intercourse, it
occurs more often in specialized academic, technical, artistic situations, and in what we might
call ‘ demonstration situation’. This is what Widdowson (1975) called talking about things or
“using visual material for talking about”. Widdowson (1975) also stated that: “Plenty of
examples of ‘thing’ come to mind, which can be used both for talking about and talking with:
tools, instruments, money, clothes, toys, and, of course, the familiar model shop.”He showed
that “better the real thing to talk with than a picture of it to talk about.”

In conclusion, visual aids are available in many forms which are often used lot in

In conclusion, visual aids can help the teachers save time, energy and add interest.
More important, they improve students understanding of vocabulary and they allow for
different learning styles. It can be said that using visual aids is a good solution for those who
want to motivate their students in learning vocabulary. Thus teachers cannot ignore the visual
aids in teaching, but join it, involve in it and make use of it for the sake of our English
teaching.

In this chapter, some theoretical background knowledge and views on vocabulary, the
role of vocabulary, what need to be taught when teaching vocabulary and visual aids as well as
the benefits of using visual aids to motivate students to learn vocabulary have been introduced
to the extent that best suits the scale of the research. However, at my school there have not
been any studies done on this subject. That is the reason why I decided to carry out an
investigation into the effectiveness of visual aids in learning vocabulary by 10
th
graders. It is
hoped that through this study some kinds of changes will be made to help students learn
vocabulary better. The presentation and discussion of the data collected from the
questionnaires and class observation served to answer the research questions will be given in
the next chapters. 17
2. How effective are visual aids to students’ vocabulary learning?
3. How much progress have students made in learning vocabulary with visual aids?

2.2. The participants

The participants of the survey questionnaires are divided into two groups: The first
group consists of 12 teachers of English at Le Quy Don high school who have been teaching
English for at least 6 years. The second group includes one hundred and fifty students in three
classes of 10
th
graders.

2.3. The methods of the study

To obtain the data for the study, two methods were employed: survey questionnaire
and class observations.

2.3. 1. The questionnaire
2.3.1.1. Objectives
To gain the data for the research, two questionnaires were administered to the
response. One was designed for the teachers and the other for the students. This method is
chosen because it is easy to conduct and effective for the study.

2.3.1.2. The survey questionnaire for the students

The questionnaire for students consists of 7 questions. It was delivered to a hundred
and fifty students. It aims at investigating the students’ difficulties in learning English

19
vocabulary; the students’ attitude towards visual aids; the effectiveness of visual aids to

Classroom observation needs to be both well organized and focused because watching
carefully - planned and complex lessons can be overwhelming. Both the reviewer and
reviewee have to discuss the purpose of the observation in terms of, for example, what is being
observed, the problems presented by the class and what the main objectives of the lesson are.

In other words , there needs to be a focus for the observation. In terms of performance
management, this may be part of a whole-school focus, a subject focus or an element of
concern expressed by the reviewee being observed

Thus, to gain a better understanding of the researcher’s own teaching and to find out
better results for the study, class observation was employed in three classes. The method of
structured observation chosen in this research carried out the following tasks:

- Observing the learners
- Observing the language
- Observing the learning
- Observing the lesson
- Observing the teaching skills a and strategies
- Observing classroom management
- Observing materials and recourses
This chapter mentions the research methodology which is divided into three sections.
The first to be mentioned is the research questions to be answered in the research. The second
is the participants chosen to take part in answering the questions raised by the writer. In the
third section, the writer raises the methods of the study. The following chapter will present
data analysis and discussion of the findings.
students are learning basic English with the course book named Tieng Anh 10 published by
The Educational Publishing House. This course book is theme – based including 16 units and
6 test - yourself- sections. Each unit has its own purposes with specific topics falling into 5