An investigation into some approaches to vocabulary teaching and learning and the application of

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study

English plays an important role as it has become the international language and its

contribution to different fields of our life such as: economy, technology, science,

education, trade and tourism is obviously considerable.

English language is now widely used in Vietnam. It serves as a main language for

international communication and it is taught throughout of Vietnam and it has been learned

by people in all walks of life not only at universities, colleges and schools but also in many

part-time English classes at foreign language centers. Consequently, the teaching and

learning of English has become more and more significant. However, both teaching and

learning of English are still far from being satisfaction. Both teachers and learners have

faced many difficulties in English teaching and learning - especially in teaching and

learning of vocabulary.

It is of common knowledge that vocabulary plays a significant role in second language

acquisition. Wilkins, a famous British applied linguist, emphasized this with his saying

"without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be

conveyed " (1972, p.11). Pyles and Algeo (1970) also supported this idea with "when we

first think about language, we think about words. It is words that we arrange together to

make sentences, conversation and discourse of all kinds". In fact, vocabulary is the

decisive element that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all

together. In order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an

adequate number of words and should know to use them accurately.

In Vietnam in general, vocabulary teaching has yet to be paid due attention to as it

deserves. Vocabulary has not been a particular subject for students to learn but has been

taught within lessons of reading, writing, speaking and listening. For most of teachers the

common way to communicate word meaning is translation through word list and many

learners use rote strategies as their major way of vocabulary learning.

In the Foreign Language Center of Haiphong University (FLC - HPU) the problem of

vocabulary teaching and learning is more difficult, especially for the learners at Pre￾Intermediate level. The main reason is that the classes are usually big with learners of

different ages and abilities. It seems difficult for the teachers to apply the suitable way to

teach these learners. Another reason is the course book. The number of new words in the

book Headway Pre-Intermediate is rather large and it makes the learners feel confused and

difficult to remember all of them. Furthermore, the learners at FLC – HPU, like other

Vietnamese learners in general, usually learn vocabulary passively through their teachers'

explanation. They only write words on paper with translation into Vietnamese and try to

learn them by heart. During the lessons learners find many new words in the text and then

ask their teachers to explain the meaning and usage. Sometimes teachers ask them to look

up words in the dictionaries. As a result, the learners feel bored in vocabulary lessons and

they very soon forget the new words they have learnt.

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Being teachers of English of the center, we have been many times asked by our learners

about the ways of vocabulary learning. They ask "teacher, can you tell me the way to learn

vocabulary?", "How can I remember words quickly and for a long time?" or "I had learnt

new words very quickly but forgotten soon".

Facing this situation, the teachers of English of FLC-HPU want to do something to change

the ways of teaching and learning of vocabulary. Therefore, I have conducted a research to

find the answer to help the teachers to apply more suitable methods to teach vocabulary to

their learners. I wish to help the learners successfully improve their lexical knowledge and

feel more interested in vocabulary lessons. As a result, this study will investigate some

ways in vocabulary teaching and learning among learners at level B (Pre-Intermediate) at

FLC-HPU. I would also like to suggest a certain effective way i.e. the use of games in

vocabulary lessons.

2- Aims of the study

- To give a brief overview about the role of vocabulary and its relevance in teaching

and learning methodology.

- To conduct a survey about present situation of vocabulary teaching and learning at

Pre-Intermediate level at FLC-HPU.

- To show some advantages of application of games in vocabulary lessons.

- To help the learners at Pre-Intermediate level to establish the effective ways in

vocabulary learning and feel more interested in vocabulary lessons through vocabulary

games.

Therefore, the research is carried out with an attempt to find out the answers to the

following research questions:

- What is the present situation of teaching and learning vocabulary at Pre￾Intermediate level at FLC-HPU like?

- What are the main difficulties in vocabulary teaching and learning at Pre￾Intermediate Level at FLC-HPU?

- What activities should be used to help learners to feel more interested and

comfortable in vocabulary lessons?

- Are games useful in vocabulary teaching and learning at Pre-Intermediate Level at

FLC-HPU?

3- Methods of the study

To achieve the aims mentioned above, quantitative method is used and the following tasks

are involved.

- Collecting data for the analysis from 160 learners of B level classes at FLC-HPU in

2005.

- Collecting data for the analysis from 16 teachers teaching B level at FLC-HPU.

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- Observing some experienced teachers' classes teaching B level at FLC-HPU and

interviewing some teachers and learners as well.

- Assessing what difficulties one dominant in vocabulary teaching and learning.

- Applying games in vocabulary lessons in some classes.

- Conducting a post-class survey.

- Collecting data for the analysis from some teachers and 90 learners (from 3 classes)

4- Scope of the study

The study focuses on effective ways to teach and to learn vocabulary and on

presenting some advantages of the application of games in vocabulary lessons at Pre￾Intermediate level at FLC-HPU. Due to time limitation, I can just conduct survey on

learners of B level and teachers teaching B level to investigate the problems

experienced by these learners and teachers and observe some classes in which some

kinds of games were applied in vocabulary lessons. After that I conduct a post – class

survey to find out if games help teachers and learners at Pre-Intermediate level to

teach and to learn English vocabulary better.

The basing course book is Headway Pre – Intermediate.

5- Design of study

The study is divided into three parts:

- The first part is "Introduction". In this part the rationale, the aims, scope, methods

and design of the study are presented.

- The second part: "Development" consists of 3 chapters:

Chapter one provides concepts relevant to the study i.e. definition of vocabulary, concept

of words, words and meaning, the status of vocabulary in language teaching and learning

in the past and in recent years. Some strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary, some

advantages of the use of games in vocabulary teaching and learning are also mentioned.

Chapter two deals with the investigation into teaching and learning situation at FLC-HPU.

That involves the information about teachers, teaching methods learning requirements,

materials and material assessment.

Chapter three is " data collection, findings and discussions, some suggestions". It focuses

on the ways the teachers and learners teach and learn vocabulary and the reasons that make

them feel uncomfortable and bored in the process of teaching and learning of vocabulary.

In "suggestion" part a consideration of applications of games in vocabulary lessons is

presented.

The last part of the study, "conclusion", points out what is addressed as well as what has

not been completed and some suggestions for further study.

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