The effects of mind mapping on the 12th graders' vocabulary learning at Nguyen Van Khai high school

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

THE EFFECTS OF MIND MAPPING ON THE 12TH GRADERS’

VOCABULARY LEARNING AT NGUYEN VAN KHAI HIGH SCHOOL

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts in TESOL

Submitted by DO NGUYEN XUAN THAO

Supervisor: NGUYEN THANH TUNG, Assoc. Prof. Dr.

HO CHI MINH City

November 2015

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

------------------------------------------

DO NGUYEN XUAN THAO

THE EFFECTS OF MIND MAPPING ON THE 12TH GRADERS’

VOCABULARY LEARNING AT NGUYEN VAN KHAI HIGH SCHOOL

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES

Major code: 60140111

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: NGUYEN THANH TUNG, Assoc. Prof. Dr.

HO CHI MINH City, 2015

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the thesis entitled “The effects of mind mapping on the 12th graders‟

vocabulary learning at Nguyen Van Khai High School” is my original work. It is based

on my own research to meet the requirements for theses in Master‟s Programs at Ho Chi

Minh City Open University issued by the Higher Degree Committee

All sources used by me have been documented. No other person‟s work has been used

without due acknowledgement.

This thesis has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject

or course at this University or elsewhere.

Dong Thap, August 2015

DO NGUYEN XUAN THAO

ii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Do Nguyen Xuan Thao, being the candidate for the degree of Master

of to the TESOL, accept the requirement of University relating to the retention and use of

the Master‟s theses deposited in the University library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the

University library should be accessible for the purposes of the studies and research, in

accordance with the normal condition established by the library for care, loan, and

reproduction of thesis.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the process of carrying out this research, I have received a lot of contribution and

support from many people. Therefore, I would like to express my special thanks to them.

Firstly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. Dr.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, a Vice-Dean of the Department of English at Ho Chi Minh City

University of Education, for his untiring and useful assistance to me throughout the

process of my writing. He spent his valuable time reading my thesis with much care and

gave me his perceptive comments. His encouragement and approval have also helped me

a lot to overcome troubles in doing the research, without which I am not able to complete

this study well.

Secondly, I thank all lecturers in the Ho Chi Minh City Open University who gave me the

opportunity to learn more and all the staff members of the Department of Post Graduate

Studies for their help during the course. Especially, I would like to express my

appreciation to Dr. Pham Vu Phi Ho, a lecturer and coordinator of the MA program in

TESOL at Ho Chi Minh City Open University. He spent his precious time organizing

many conferences and presentations for us to present our work and helping us to

overcome our problems.

Thirdly, I am grateful to Mr. Chau Quoc Tuan, my principal, who provided me with the

opportunity to take this MA course and finish my thesis. I also thank my colleagues, who

substituted for me in my work-place during my absence for this MA course. I also

sincerely appreciate all the 12th graders at Nguyen Van Khai High School, especially two

classes – 12CB1 and 12CB2 – which were willing to help me finish my research.

Lastly, my special thanks go to all my family and my friends who have given me the free

time and opportunity to write and do research and encouraged me whenever I got stuck

iv

ABSTRACT

The teaching and learning of vocabulary at a high school has recently been paid much

more attention to by teachers and learners. However, many students still have some

trouble in lexical learning due to the lack of a suitable learning strategy. Thus, this study

was carried out to examine the role of „mind mapping‟ in improving vocabulary of the

12th graders at Nguyen Van Khai High School in Dong Thap Province.

Based on the theoretical framework of mind-mapping, the quasi-experimental research

was carried out during the first semester. Fifty-six students of the two classes at Nguyen

Van Khai High School were divided into two groups: control group and experimental

group. Data were collected from three sources: (1) the final Grade 11 exam of the second

semester of the previous academic year and post-test to estimate the students‟ vocabulary

improvement after the treatment, (2) the pre- and post- questionnaire to assess what the

changes in their attitude towards vocabulary learning with mind-mapping were, and (3)

interview with ten students in the experimental group to clarify their attitude.

The findings of the study reveal that mind-mapping affects the Nguyen Van Khai High

School students‟ lexical ability a lot. In fact, it not only helps them remember words

longer but also do tests better. Moreover, questionnaires and interviews show that they

feel more relaxed, active, creative, and learner-centered. Thanks to this, their motivation

to learn vocabulary increased.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP......................................................................................i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS.......................................................................ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................................iii

ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... v

LIST OF FIGURES..........................................................................................................viii

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................ 1

1.1 Background of the study........................................................................................... 1

1.2 Statement of the problem.......................................................................................... 4

1.3 Purpose of the study and research questions............................................................ 4

1.4 Significance of the study............................................................................................ 4

1.5 Structure of the study................................................................................................ 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................ 6

2.1 The concept of mind mapping.................................................................................. 6

2.1.1 Definition of mind mapping ............................................................................... 6

2.1.2 Classification of mind mapping.......................................................................... 8

2.1.3 Characteristics of mind mapping ...................................................................... 16

2.2 Ways to make mind mapping................................................................................. 18

2.3 Advantages and disadvantages of mind mapping .................................................. 22

2.3.1 Advantages........................................................................................................ 22

2.3.2 Disadvantages................................................................................................... 26

2.4 When and where to use mind mapping .................................................................. 26

2.5 Empirical research .................................................................................................. 28

2.6 Chapter summary.................................................................................................... 32

vi

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY..................................................................................... 33

3.1 Overall approach ...................................................................................................... 33

3.2 Research site........................................................................................................... 33

3.3 Research participants............................................................................................. 34

3.4 Research instruments.............................................................................................. 36

3.4.1 Teaching material: Textbook ............................................................................ 36

3.4.2 The measurement instruments .......................................................................... 39

3.5 Procedure ................................................................................................................ 43

3.6 Analytical framework............................................................................................. 44

3.6.1 Quantitative analysis of the Grade 11 final exam and post-test ....................... 44

3.6.2 Quantitative analysis of pre- and post-questionnaire........................................ 45

3.6.3 Qualitative analysis of interview ...................................................................... 46

3.7 Validity and reliability............................................................................................ 46

3.8 Summary................................................................................................................. 48

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS ............................................... 49

4.1 Data analysis ............................................................................................................ 49

4.1.1 Results in the tests.............................................................................................. 49

4.1.2 Results from questionnaires............................................................................... 54

4.1.3 Results from interview....................................................................................... 65

4.1.4 Overall summary............................................................................................... 69

4.2 Discussion of findings.............................................................................................. 69

4.2.1 General findings................................................................................................. 69

4.2.2 Specific findings................................................................................................ 70

4.2.3 Summary............................................................................................................ 74

4.3 Chapter summary ..................................................................................................... 75

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................... 76

5.1 Conclusions.............................................................................................................. 76

5.2 Strengths and limitations in the methodology of the study...................................... 76

5.3 Recommendations.................................................................................................... 77

vii

5.3.1 The teachers....................................................................................................... 78

5.3.2 The students....................................................................................................... 78

5.4 Suggestions for further research............................................................................... 80

5.5 Summary .................................................................................................................. 80

REFERENCES .................................................................................................................. 81

APPENDIX 1 .................................................................................................................... 88

WORKSHEET 1 ............................................................................................................... 92

APPENDIX 2 .................................................................................................................... 93

APPENDIX 3 .................................................................................................................... 98

APPENDIX 4 .................................................................................................................. 100

APPENDIX 5 .................................................................................................................. 103

APPENDIX 6 .................................................................................................................. 106

APPENDIX 7 .................................................................................................................. 108

APPENDIX 8 .................................................................................................................. 111

APPENDIX 9 .................................................................................................................. 113

APPENDIX 10 ................................................................................................................ 114

viii

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1: A mind map of wedding ............................................................................ 8

Figure 2.2: Linear, circular, hub spokes, tree, and network ........................................ 8

Figure 2.3: KWL chart ................................................................................................ 9

Figure 2.4.a: Venn diagram............................................................................................. 9

Figure 2.4.b: Venn diagram of Whales and Fish ............................................................ 9

Figure 2.5: QAR........................................................................................................ 10

Figure 2.6: Web organizer......................................................................................... 11

Figure 2.7: T chart ..................................................................................................... 11

Figure 2.8: A network tree ........................................................................................ 12

Figure 2.9: An event chain ....................................................................................... 12

Figure 2.10: A cycle concept map.............................................................................. 12

Figure 2.11: A spider concept map ............................................................................ 13

Figure 2.12: Word relationships................................................................................. 13

Figure 2.13: Synonyms, antonyms, examples and non-examples.............................. 14

Figure 2.14: Word connections .................................................................................. 14

Figure 2.15: A word map ........................................................................................... 15

Figure 2.16: A concept map ....................................................................................... 15

Figure 2.17: A story map............................................................................................ 16

Figure 2.18: Mapping components............................................................................. 16

Figure 2.19: The structure of semantic maps............................................................. 17

Figure 2.20: How to make a mind mapping............................................................... 20

Figure 4.1: Pre-test score distribution of control and experimental group ................ 49

Figure 4.2: Post-test score distribution of control and experimental group............... 50

ix

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Participants‟ characteristics...............................................................................35

Table 3.2: Teaching material ....................................................................................... 37

Table 3.3: Five degrees of grades to classify the students‟ ability.............................. 40

Table 3.4: Summary of instruments of data collection................................................ 42

Table 3.5: Schedule for the main stages of data collection ......................................... 43

Table 3.6: Reliability statistics for pre-questionnaire.................................................. 48

Table 3.7: Reliability statistics for post-questionnaire ................................................ 48

Table 4.1: Group statistics of pre-test results.............................................................. 51

Table 4.2: Independent samples t-test of the two groups before the treatment........... 52

Table 4.3: Group statistics of post-test results............................................................. 53

Table 4.4: Independent samples t-test of the two groups after the treatment.............. 53

Table 4.5: The students‟ attitudes to vocabulary learning........................................... 55

Table 4.6: The students‟ methods of self-studying vocabulary................................... 56

Table 4.7: The teachers‟ methods of teaching vocabulary .......................................... 57

Table 4.8: The students‟ difficulties in learning vocabulary....................................... 59

Table 4.9: The advantages to students who learn vocabulary by using mind mapping ..

........................................................................................................................................ 61

Table 4.10a: The disadvantages to students who learn vocabulary by using mind

mapping (before conversion).......................................................................................... 62

Table 4.10b: The disadvantages to students who learn vocabulary by using mind

mapping (after conversion)............................................................................................. 63

Table 4.11: The students‟ future eagerness in using mind-mapping to learn vocabulary

........................................................................................................................................ 64

Table 4.12: Students comments................................................................................... 67

x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

A: Agree

ANCOVA: Analyses of Covariance

ANOVA: Analysis of Variance

D: Disagree

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

F: Female

GCSE: General Certificate for Secondary Education

MOET: Ministry of Education and Training

M: Mean or Male

MANOVA: Multivariate Analysis of Variance

MM(s): Mind mapping(s)

N: Number

SA: Strongly agree

SD: Strongly disagree

S.D.: Standard Deviation

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

Sts: Students