Using flashcards to teach vocabulary for young learners at an English center in Quy Nhon = Sử dụng thẻ từ vựng để dạy từ vựng cho học sinh nhỏ tuổi tại một trung tâm Anh ngữ Quy Nhơn

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

QUY NHON UNIVERSITY

VÕ TRẦN THU THẢO

USING FLASHCARDS

TO TEACH VOCABULARY FOR YOUNG LEARNERS

AT AN ENGLISH CENTER IN QUY NHON

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 8140111

Supervisor: Võ Duy Đức, PhD.

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN

VÕ TRẦN THU THẢO

SỬ DỤNG THẺ TỪ VỰNG

ĐỂ DẠY TỪ VỰNG CHO HỌC SINH NHỎ TUỔI

TẠI MỘT TRUNG TÂM ANH NGỮ QUY NHƠN

Chuyên ngành: LL & PP giảng dạy bộ môn tiếng Anh

Mã số : 8140111

Người hướng dẫn: TS. Võ Duy Đức

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby certify that the thesis titled “Using flashcards to teach

vocabulary for young learners at an English center in Quy Nhon”, is entirely

my own original work except where otherwise indicated. I have not used any

sources other than those listed and identified as references. I further declare that I

have not submitted this thesis at any other institution in order to obtain a degree.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my

supervisor, Võ Duy Đức, PhD, for the enthusiastic and continuous support of

my thesis, for his patience, encouragement, and immense knowledge. His

guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I

could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my research.

I would send my special thanks to all lecturers and staff of the of the

Department of Foreign Languages and the Department of Pedagogy, Quy

Nhon University for their profound knowledge and guidance during my two

years of studying.

I am also thankful to all the English teachers and students at IALC

center for their enthusiastic participation in my research. Without their help, I

would not have been able to complete this paper.

Last but not least, I own a great debt of gratitude to my beloved family

whose support and encouragement have always been a great deal of motivation

that has helped me to overcome all problems to complete my thesis.

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ABSTRACT

This study was carried out in the form of an action research which

investigates teachers perspectives towards the use of flashcards in vocabulary

lessons and then figure out whether this visual aid in vocabulary teaching

could help improve students‟ vocabulary retention. In order to accomplish

these purposes, five teachers and fifteen young learners at IALC center

(International Active Learning Center) in Quy Nhon were selected to

participate in the study, which last for eight weeks. Data collection

instruments were employed, namely teachers‟ questionnaire and interview,

pre-test and post-test, and class observation in order to have data to achieve

most reliable findings for the research. Results from the teachers‟

questionnaire and interviews reflected a completely positive attitude of the

teachers towards the use of flashcards, claiming that flashcard-based activities

helped teaching procedure more effectively. Findings from the tests and

observation revealed that students had experienced an improvement in their

vocabulary memorization throughout the eight weeks of study and the reason

for the vocabulary retention progress was mainly attributed to the use of

flashcards in language classroom. Benefits of using flashcards can be listed as

the deeper impression of vocabulary on students‟ memory and a more

frequently exposure to vocabulary use. On this basis, some implications for

teachers‟ preparation, classroom practices and future research were proposed.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

TABLE OF CONTENT

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

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

1.1. Rationale .............................................................................................. 1

1.2. Research aims and objectives .............................................................. 3

1.3. Research questions............................................................................... 3

1.4. Scope of the study................................................................................ 3

1.5.Significance of the study....................................................................... 4

1.6. Design of the study .............................................................................. 4

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................... 5

2.1. Vocabulary.............................................................................................. 5

2.1.1. Vocabulary definition ....................................................................... 5

2.1.2. Kinds of vocabulary.......................................................................... 6

2.1.3. Stages of Vocabulary teaching.......................................................... 7

2.1.4. Techniques in teaching vocabulary................................................... 8

2.1.5. Vocabulary retention....................................................................... 10

2.2. Flashcards................................................................................................. 10

2.2.1. Flashcards definition....................................................................... 10

2.2.2. Kinds of flashcards.......................................................................... 11

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2.2.3. Use of flashcards............................................................................. 12

2.2.4. Flashcard as a language teaching and learning tool........................ 14

2.2.5. Advantages and disadvantages of using flashcards........................ 16

2.2.6. Teacher‟s roles in using flashcards................................................. 17

2.3. Young learners......................................................................................... 18

2.3.1. Introduction..................................................................................... 18

2.3.2. Characteristics of young learners.................................................... 20

2.4. Action research......................................................................................... 23

2.5. Previous studies on the relationship between flashcards and vocabulary

retention 26

CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 31

3.1. Research design........................................................................................ 31

3.2. Research context ...................................................................................... 31

3.2.1. Participants...................................................................................... 31

3.2.2. Textbook ......................................................................................... 33

3.3. Data collection instruments...................................................................... 34

3.4. Procedure.................................................................................................. 38

CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................ 43

4.1. Teachers‟ perception towards the use of flashcards in teaching

vocabulary ...................................................................................................... 43

4.1.1. Findings and discussion from teachers‟ questionnaire ................... 43

4.1.2. Findings and discussion from teacher interviews........................... 50

4.2. The extent to which flashcards can improve young learners‟ vocabulary

retention.55

4.2.1. Results of pre-test and post-test...................................................... 55

4.2.2. Comparison between pre-test and post-test .................................... 56

4.3.Summary ................................................................................................... 60

CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................. 61

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5.1. Conclusions ..................................................................................... 61

5.2. Implications..................................................................................... 62

5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further research ............................ 63

REFERENCES................................................................................................ 65

APPENDICES

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1. Design of the textbook “Every Body Up 4” .................................. 34

Table 3.2. What Is Involved in Knowing a Word (Adapted from Nation, 2010). 37

Table 3.3. Procedure for data collection ......................................................... 40

Table 4.1. Teachers‟ common techniques in teaching vocabulary ................. 43

Table 4.2: Teachers‟ frequency of using flashcards in teaching vocabulary.. 46

Table 4.3. Teachers‟ purposes of using flashcards to teach vocabulary and its

frequency of use.................................................................................. 46

Table 4.4. Teachers‟ sources to get flashcards ............................................... 47

Table 4.5: Challenges faced by teachers in using flashcards to teach

vocabulary........................................................................................... 48

Table 4.6: Scores of pre-test and post-test...................................................... 56

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1. Action research model based on Kemmis and McTaggart (1988)24

Figure 4.1: The teachers‟ view on the role of vocabulary teaching................ 44

Figure 4.2. Teachers‟ evaluation of flashcards in general .............................. 45

Figure 4.3. Language games‟ availability....................................................... 47

Figure 4.4: Problems encountered by teachers when using flashcards in the

processing of teaching vocabulary...................................................... 48

Figure 4.5. Results of the pre-test ................................................................... 55

Figure 4.6. Results of the post-test.................................................................. 56