MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Vinh university
==========

TĂng thỊ THOA

TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY
THROUGH SHORT STORIES IN SOME PRIMARY
SCHOOLS IN VINH
(DẠY VÀ HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH QUA NHỮNG CÂU CHUYỆN NGẮN
TRONG MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở VINH)

MASTER thesis IN EDUCATION

Nghe An, 2013


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Vinh university
==========

TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY
THROUGH SHORT STORIES IN SOME PRIMARY
SCHOOLS IN VINH
(DẠY VÀ HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH QUA NHỮNG CÂU CHUYỆN NGẮN
TRONG MỘT SỐ TRƯỜNG TIỂU HỌC Ở VINH)
FIELD: THEORY AND MOTHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE : 60.14.10
MASTER thesis IN EDUCATION


school, Doi Cung primary school, Quang Trung primary school, Ha Huy Tap
primary school, Le Mao primary school, Cua Nam primary school.
I wish to express my special thanks to Ms. Dinh Thi Yen for her
suggestions of the study.
I also really want to express my profound thanks to my family, my friends
whose ideas, support and source of materials were great importance to me in
carrying out this study.
Finally, my sincere thanks are due to all classmates who gave me some
comments after reading my graduation thesis. Many thanks to all of them.
I will always keep thanks!

Vinh, 2013
Tang Thi Thoa

ABSTRACT
The study “Teaching and learning vocabulary through short stories in
some primary schools in Vinh” has implemented with a view to investigate the


way how teach vocabulary to primary students in Vinh in an effective method.
The study also aimed to indentify the teachers and students’ perceptions and
reaction towards teaching and learning new words through short stories.
The subjects of the research concluded teachers and 4 th and 5th grade
students in six primary schools in Vinh. The two data collection methods used
in this study were the questionnaire and interviews. The questionnaires were
given to teachers who have taught English in Vinh primary schools. These
teachers were interviewed afterwards so as to investigate their perceptions
towards teaching and learning through short stories. Students were interviewed
under the researcher’s clear instructions and assistance.
Some main findings consisted teachers’ and learners’ perceptions

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definition of vocabulary and its importance
2.2. Perspectives of knowing a word
2.3. Vocabulary teaching
2.3.1. The importance of teaching vocabulary
2.3.2. Teaching Vocabulary to children
2.3.3. Teaching vocabulary through short stories to children
2.3.4. The characteristics of from 8 to 12 years old
2.3.5. Aspects of vocabulary to be taugh
2.4. Vocabulary and context
2.4.1. Teaching vocabulary in context
2.4.2. Teaching guessing meaning from context
2.5. Techniques for presenting vocabulary
2.5.1. Presentation
2.5.2. Discovery techniques


2.5.3. Practice
2.6. Techniques of consolidating vocabulary
2.7. The value of short stories
2.7.1. Concept of stories
2.7.2. The benefits of using stories
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY
3.1. The research questions
3.2. Research design
3.3. Participant and research sites
3.4. Research instruments for data collection
3.4.1. The questionnaire for teachers
3.4.2. The interviews
3.5. Procedure of the study

4.4.2.3. Findings on the teachers’ perceptions towards vocabulary teaching and
consolidation techniques
4.4.2.4. Findings on the teachers’ perceptions towards necessity of teaching
vocabulary through Short stories
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS
5.1. Research questions revisited
5.1.1. Research question 1
5.2.1.Research question 2
5.2. Implications
5.2.1. For teachers
5.2.2. For administers
5.2.3. For students
5.3. Limitation
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDICES


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1. The reasons for choosing the study
In the course of global integration, English has become the vital device
for communication in all fields. It is acting as a bridge which brings people from
different countries in the world closer together. Therefore, human beings
appreciated the role of English more and more .
English has been considered to be the most necessary subject for students
in all levels of educational systems. The demand of learning English is gradually
increasing. To meet the need of everybody, education is required to be improved,
how to find the most effective method in teaching English is the concern now.
Open-door policy of many countries’ governments has been giving people many

from written contexts ( Nagy et al., 1985, Mckeown, 1985) (as cited in Aist,
2002).
Due to the facts above, it raises the issue how to teach and learn new
words for primary students in a contextual way. In fact, short stories can help to
solve these problems because it meets the primary need: context. The idea that
students can learn through reading short stories is attractive for many reasons.
Short stories are kinds of interesting materials that help students learn and
remember vocabulary in long term. Moreover, because of the words are inside
the text, students can remember the way how to write down the words correctly.
For the reasons as above, I have decided to choose the topic : TEACHING
AND LEARNING VOCABULARY THROUGH SHORT STORIES IN SOME
PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN VINH.
1.2. The Aims of the Study
For the reasons mentioned above, the thesis has been done with the wish
that it can contribute to the improvement in teaching English in general and in
teaching vocabulary in primary schools. The thesis aims to :
- Present some general knowledge about vocabulary.
- Give some features of the situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in
primary school.
- Help teachers and students be aware of the role of teaching and learning
vocabulary.
- Help students learn and remember vocabulary in long term.
- Raises the issue how to teach and learn new words for primary students in
a contextual way.
- Suggest some activities for teaching and learning vocabulary in primary
school.
1.3. The Scope of the Study
Investigates the necessity of teaching and learning vocabulary from
written contexts as well as to identify the teachers and students’ perceptions and
reactions towards teaching and learning new words through short stories,

Also, Ur (1989) roughly defines vocabulary as “the words we teach in the
foreign language” (p.60). It implies that vocabulary is written or spoken unit of
languages as symbol of idea in foreign language. For instance, if someone
learns new words in foreign, it means that someone learns vocabulary. The


items in vocabulary may be more than a single word, for example post office
mother-in-law, which expressing a single idea.
Furthermore, Mc Whorter ( 1989) states that vocabulary deals with the
competence in recognizing individual words and in associating meaning with
the particular combination of letters that form a word (p.331). Words are
symbols, groups of letter that stand for either a physical object or an idea. Then,
recognising words means working its meaning or idea and how they are formed
by a combination of letters. For example, the word chair in our minds a physical
reality, an object with a flat surface, supported by four legs and used to for
sitting. On the other hand, the word love does not represent a physical object. It
symbolises someone’s strong feeling of affection towards another.
Based on the three definitions above, vocabulary can be constructed as a
series of words in foreign language used to express meaning. The words are the
symbol in form of groups of letters either a physical object or an idea. It can be
formed from a single or more than one word.
The status of vocabulary within the curriculum has varied considerably
over these years. During the 1950s and 1960s when audio-lingualism had a
dominant influence on methodology, vocabulary suffered significant neglect but
made something of a comeback during the 1970s under the influence of
communicative language teaching. As a matter of fact, there is now general
agreement among vocabulary specialists that lexical competence is as the very
heart of communication competence, the ability to communicate successfully
and appropriately ( Coady and Huckin, 1979, cited in Decarrico, 2001, p. 285).
For much of this century, the principal focus of the traditional GrammarTranslation Method in ELT for years on a balanced diet of grammar and

what word to teach English.

2.2. Perspectives of knowing a word
As Hendrich informs vocabulary forms the naming part of communicative
act. From the didactic point of view it is essential to count with it as with a
component which adoption is mostly a question of memory. In every case
the lexicon is a basic element of a language from both communicative and
language methodological point of view. (Hendrich 1988:130) In action with
word list the language methodological and psychological viewpoints are


applied. Language methodology gives us at disposal mostly results of 10
statistical researches with figures of frequency and distribution of terms both
generally, in speech, in written form, or in different styles. These figures
serve well for basis of effective foreign language vocabulary choice and
practice. Psychology gives us valuable suggestions how to acquire and
remember a foreign language lexicon optimally and how to practise the
voluble use of this lexicon in communicative process.
Besides, psychology teaches us the importance and utilization of
motivation and how to overcome difficulties when acquiring a foreign language.
(Hendrich 1988:130)
Hendrich divides vocabulary of an individual as both active, meaning
productive, and passive, meaning receptive. This discrimination is
purposeful particularly when teaching foreign languages because words that
learners have to acquire actively have to be served and practised differently
than those words that are intended for receptive adoption. (Hendrich
1988:130)
Also Scrivener points out that the important consideration for teachers
planning vocabulary work is the distinction between productive and
receptive vocabulary. He explains the disctinction between them that people

• The frequency of the word
Another perception on knowing a word is (1) knowing its pronunciation
and stress; (2) knowing its spelling and grammatical properties; (3) knowing its
meaning; (4) knowing how and when to use it to express the intended meaning
(Wang, 2006, p.118).
In a much clearer and more detailed way, Harmer (1991, p. 158)
concludeds “Knowing a word” in the following way:

WORDS


MEANING

WORD USE

Meaning in

Metaphor and

context

Idioms

WORD

WORD

INFORMATION

GRAMMAR

What has been discussed so far is to clarify that knowing a word means
much more than just understanding its meaning(s), Thus, teachers somehow
must help students to understand what this knowledge implies both in general
and for certain words in particular. By being aware students will be more
receptive to the contextual behavior of words when they first see them in texts
and they will be better able to manipulate both the meanings and forms of the
word.

2.3. Vocabulary teaching
2.3.1. The importance of teaching vocabulary
"If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is
vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh" (Jeremy Harmer). An
ability to manipulate grammatical structure does not have any potential for
expressing meaning unless words are used. We talk about the importance
"choosing words carefully" in certain communications, but we are less concerned
about choosing structures carefully, unless of course we are in a language
classroom. Then structural accuracy seems to be the dominant focus. In real life,
however, it is possible that where vocabulary is used correctly, it can cancel out
structural inaccuracy, but communication's purpose is still achieved.
However, for many years in the past, the importance of vocabulary
teaching was not appreciated. Vocabulary was just seen as incidental to the


main purpose of language teaching - namely the acquisition of grammatical
knowledge about the language. Vocabulary was necessary to give students
something to hang on to when learning structures, but was frequently not a main
focus for learning itself.
Recently, in the highlight of Communicative Approach, the
importance of vocabulary teaching is highly appreciated. Methodologists and
linguists have increasingly been turning their attention to vocabulary, stressing its

the children) understands the word. After pre-teaching vocabulary words, the
children should read the text.
• Repeated Exposure to Words
It may seem common sense that the more times we are exposed to a word,
the stronger our understanding becomes. However, repeated exposure to new
vocabulary words is often ignored. Teacher often forget a person (especially a
child) needs to hear and use a word several times before it truly becomes a part
of her vocabulary. Providing multiple opportunities to use a new word in its
written and spoken form helps children solidify their understanding of it.
• Keyword Method
Like pre-teaching, the keyword method occurs before a child reads a
particular text. In this method, unfamiliar words are introduced prior to reading.
However, rather than encouraging the child to remember a definition for a new
word, the teacher teaches him a “word clue” to help him understand it. This
“word clue” or keyword might be a part of the definition, an illustrative example
or an image that the children connects to the word to make it easier to remember
the meaning when reading it in context. The idea behind the keyword method is
to create an easy cognitive link to the word’s meaning that the children can
access efficiently during a reading experience.
• Restructuring Reading Materials
This strategy is particularly effective for helping struggling children
improve their vocabularies. Sometimes grade level materials are inaccessible to
children because there are too many unfamiliar words in them. Teacher can
restructure the materials in several different ways to help children comprehend
them more easily. A portion of the difficult words can be replaced with “easier”


synonyms to help the children understand the overall text. Vocabulary footnotes
(definitions provided at the bottom of the page) can be added for particularly
challenging words so that the children can easily “look up” the word while still

literary genres, short stories seem to be the most suitable choice for this due to its
potential to help students enhance the four skills listening, speaking, reading and
writing more effectively because of the motivational benefit embedded in the
stories. As a teacher using a story in the classroom, there are many ways of
using and exploiting the stories to help children understand and add to their
enjoyment.
Short stories are one of suitable literary genre to use in English teaching due
to its shortness, is supported by Collie and Slater (1991: 196) when they list four
advantages of using short stories for language teachers. First, short stories are
practical as their length is long enough to cover entirely in one or two class
sessions. Second, short stories are not complicated for students to work with on
their own. Third, short stories have a variety of choice for different interests and
tastes.
The use of short-story in English teaching should be aimed to
encourage the students to use what they have previously learnt. By doing this, the
learning process will be student-centered. However, the teacher plays a great
role. She/he must choose a suitable text to use in class, and should help her/his
students understand the story with various activities.
In using short stories to teach English, story selection is indeed one of the
most important roles of the teacher. Since the lengths of short-stories quite vary,
choose a story short enough to handle within course hours. The shortness of the
text is important for the students because they will see that they can read,
understand and finish something in English, and it will give the students a feeling
of achievement and self-confidence.
Vocabulary and sentence structure of the short-story to be studied must be
suitable to the level of the students. The short-stories with archaic, slang, foreign
words, and allusions, having sentences imitating the speech of a particular
locality or ignorant people or foreigners should be avoided if the text is intended
for students below intermediate level. Similarly, very long sentences are difficult
for students to understand. As students will not understand these sentences and

contractions, parts of speech, spelling and word meaning as well as continuing a
pattern of vocabulary building by learning about antonyms, synonyms and
homonyms, root words, suffixes, prefixes, homophones and word meaning.
The study focuses on the 4 th and 5th graders who have the following
characteristics according to Clark(1990):
They are developing conceptually. They develop their way of thinking
from the concrete to the abstract thing. Teachers should bear in mind the
distinctiveness so as to apply in language teaching to children. They are
developing their common skills such as turn taking and the use of body language
and they learn slowly. They get bored easily so that the class activities should be
fun and interesting. They are better mimics. It will take them more confident in
attempting the sound of foreign language. They forget quickly. Therefore,


teachers need some techniques to teach vocabulary effectively and revise them
properly ( Clark, 1990, as cited in Scott and Ytrberg, 1990, pp. 6-8).
In addition, their general concepts are formed and they are learning to read
and write in their own language and somehow become competent users of their
mother tongue. It will be too hard to investigate the English vocabulary learning
of 6-year-old students who have just been taught the Vietnamese alphabet.
Second, 4th and 5th graders are developing as thinkers, which make it easy when
they threat a text (Slattery, M. and Willis, J.,2001). Regarding to their language
development, by the end of ten, students can understand a bit abstracts,
understand symbols beginning with words and generalise and systematise ( Scott
and Ytrberg, 1990, pp. 3-4).
It can be conclude that teachers need suitable approaches , exciting
activities and ways to motivate students based on their characteristics in teaching
English in general and teaching vocabulary.
2.3.5. Aspects of vocabulary to be taught
When learning a new subject, the basic material must be learned before it

(1). Being able to recognise the word when it is heard;
(2). Being familiar with its written form so that it is recognized when it is
met in reading;
(3). Recognizing that it is made up some parts and being able to relate these
parts to its meaning;
(4). Knowing that the word signals a particular meaning;
(5). Knowing what the word means in the particular context in which it has
just occurred.
(6). Knowing the concept behind the word which will allow understanding
in variety of contexts;
(7). Knowing that there some related words;
(8). Being able to recognise that the word has been used correctly in the
sentence in which it occurs;
(9). Being able to recognise the typical collocations;
(10). Knowing that the word is not an uncommon one and is not a
pejorative word.
Productive knowledge of a word includes receptive knowledge and some
other abilities. It involves:
(1). Being able to say it with correct pronunciation including stress;
(2). Being able to write it with correct spelling;
(3). Being able to construct it using the right word parts in their appropriate
forms;
(4). Being able to produce the words to express the meaning;
(5). Being able to produce the word in different contexts to express the
range of its meaning;
(6). Being able to produce synonyms and opposites for it;
(7). Being able to use the word correctly in an original sentence;
(8). Being able to produce words that commonly occur with it;
(9). Being able to decide to use or not use the word to suit the degree of
formality of the situation

vocabulary expansion will happen through the practice of other language skills,
which has been proved not enough to ensure vocabulary expansion.
Nowadays it is widely accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of
the syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by
Lewis (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching,
because ‘language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalised grammar’.
Students might even have a receptive knowledge of a wider range of vocabulary,
which means they can recognise the item and recognise its meaning.
Nevertheless, their productive use of a wide range of vocabulary is normally
limited, and this is one of the areas that need greater attention. At this stage we
are concerned not only with students understanding the meaning of words, but


also being able to use them appropriately, taking into account factors such as oral
/ written use of the language; degree of formality, style and others.
One more thing that cannot be ignored in vocabulary teaching is that
“language reflects the contexts in which it is used and the purposes to which it is
put” ( Nunan, 1991, p. 121). As a result, language in general and vocabulary
specifically is best encountered and learnt in context. Kruse (1979:209) makes
five suggestions for teaching written vocabulary in context.
1. Word elements such as prefixes, suffixes and roots. The ability to
recognise component parts of works, word families, and so on is probably the
single most important vocabulary skill a student of reading in EFL can have. It
substantially reduces the number of completely new words he will encounter and
increase his control of the English lexicon.
2. Pictures, diagrams and charts. These clues, so obvious to the native
speaker, must often be pointed out to the EFL student. He may not connect the
illustration with the item that is giving him difficultly. He may also be unable to
read charts and graphs in English.
3. Clues of definitions. The student must be taught to notice the many