VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI HIGH SCHOOL (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 601410 HANOI - 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI HIGH SCHOOL (NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10 TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI) M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 601410 SUPERVISOR : Dr. DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ HANOI - 2011 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv Table of contents Page Declaration Abstract Acknowledgement Part 1: introduction 1. Rationale of the study. Aims of the study.
Significance of the study. Scope of the study. Method of research. Organization of the study.
development Chapter 1: literature review 1. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning. Principles of vocabulary teaching. Criteria for selecting vocabulary.
Forms of a word. Use of a word. Factors affecting vocabulary learning. Methods in teaching vocabulary.
Repetition and attention. Relationship with other words. Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of a third language. Influence of proficiency in the native language and the second language on the acquisition of a third language.
9 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com v Chapter 2: methodology 2. An overview of research setting. The materials of teaching and learning. Description of the teachers of English.
Data Collection Instruments and procedures. Data Collection Procedure. Data Analysis Procedure. 15 Chapter 3: FINDINGS and discussion 3.
Results and discussions from the questionnaires for students. Results and discussions from the observation. Findings and discussions from the questionnaire. Motivating students to learn.
Adapting the textbook. Selection of the vocabulary teaching. Practising the vocabulary. Improving learning and teaching conditions.
Having local teachers to teach English for students in their communities. Limitations of the study. Suggestions for further study. I LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale for the study These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming something of a forerunner in global communication. It is the first and second language in most countries of the world. Almost 70% of the Internet is in English. A huge volume of the information used on the Internet is also in English.
Thus, English is playing a very significant role in bringing the world together. Therefore, teaching and learning English have become the necessity all over the world. In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject from primary schools to universities. However, the quality of learning and teaching English is different from one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and those from remote and mountainous areas.
In Hoa Binh mountainous province, English is a compulsory subject in the curriculum and it is considered as one of the major subjects for the high school final examination. English is taught with the purpose to give students some basic knowledge of English in order to communicate and use it as a key to science and technology. However, there still exist many difficulties facing teachers in teaching English to students, especially those from ethnic minorities. It can be observed that ethnic minority students‟ scores are very low in English.
Less than 5 per cent earn good marks, even in the national graduation exams (Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training, 2008; 2009). In some remote areas, lower level students understand less than 20 per cent of what teachers say in Vietnamese (“Minority Students Needs”, 2008). Ethnic minority students mainly use their mother tongues – Muong, Thai, Hmong, Tay and other languages - to communicate inside their families and small communities. From first grade onward, at school and in public places, ethnic minority students have to struggle with Vietnamese to study and communicate with other people.
This is why not many can understand lectures, even at high school, because they do not thoroughly comprehend Vietnamese - and very few teachers can explain things to them in their native languages (“Ethnic Schools Lack”, 2007). Thus, studying English language in addition to Vietnamese language might be very challenging for ethnic minority students. In addition, I find out that my pupils are not successful learners, only because they lack vocabulary. In fact they are provided with almost every word necessary for their communication inside and outside the classroom, but many of my pupils complain they LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 forget most of learned words only a few day later.
This proves that problems in learning vocabulary are undeniable. For better vocabulary teaching and learning, I have chosen Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at Muong Bi high school as the the topic of the study. Aims of the study The study aims at investigating the areas of challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school, Hoa Binh mountainous province. Also, it is expected that some solutions to overcome challenges encountered will be suggested.
To be more specific, in realizing this study, the objectives are: To investigate the areas of challenges that ethnic minority grade 10 students have encountered when learning English vocabulary. To offer some solutions with the hope of helping English language teachers in Muong Bi high school overcome difficulties in teaching vocabulary, improve the quality of their teaching, which helps improve ethnic minority students‟ language learning quality. Significance of the study The study is hoped to be beneficial to both teachers and ethnic minority students in mountainous high schools. First, the findings of the study, the challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school could be shared among teachers of English to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the coming years.
Next, it might highlight the rationale for professional development programs for high school teachers of English in mountainous areas in Vietnam. Finally, the findings could be used as a data base for further study. Scope of the study The study only concentrates on problems in learning vocabulary from the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” (by Hoang Van Van et al) of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school in Hoa Binh province and some possible solutions for teaching vocabulary. Methods of research The study combined qualitative and quantitive approaches.
Data were collected via questionnaires and classroom observations: LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3 - A Survey questionnaire for 100 grade 10 students was used to clarify the difficulties of ethnic minority grade 10 students in learning English vocabulary. - Classroom observations were also carried out to get information about both teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class. Organization of the study This study consists of three parts: Part One: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope, method of study, and organization of the study. Part Two: Development consists of three chapters: - Chapter One - Literature Review provides a theoretical basis for the study - Chapter Two – Methodology includes an overview of the approach used in conducting the study.
It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure. - Chapter Three – Findings and Discussion reports the findings of the study and discusses the prominent aspects. Part Three: Conclusion presents the conclusions of major findings, recommendations, limitations for the study, and suggestions for further studies. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: Literature review Research in English teaching and learning in ethnic regions In the past 30 years, many scholars (Naimen, et al., 1978; WEN, 1996, 2003,2004; CHENG & ZHENG,2002; CHEN,2005; ZHOU,2007) made research studies on learning strategies and/or vocabulary learning strategies, and most of them made great success.
However, most of them took undergraduates as subjects, and few scholars focus on the English vocabulary learning difficulties of ethnic students. Very few of research studies focus on the ethnic minority students in senior high school in Vietnam. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning Vocabulary is commonly accepted to be the most important language elements among pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Wilkins (1972) emphasized this with his saying, "without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" (p.
Pyles and Algeo also supported this idea with "when we first think about language, we think first words. It is words that we arrange together to make sentences, conversations and discourse ". These statements are enough to conclude that vocabulary is the decisive element in language communication. This is all true in learning a foreign language.
If a learner has a wide range of vocabulary, he can to make himself understood and understand others easily. On the contrary, if his vocabulary is limited he will surely have difficulty in doing so and in English learning. Therefore, vocabulary is a "must" for all language learners by all means. Principles of vocabulary teaching 1.
Criteria for selecting vocabulary It cannot be denied that vocabulary is an essential element in learning a foreign language. Therefore, it is important to concern first the criteria for selecting vocabulary to help the teacher make valid decisions on the right vocabulary items to teach at the learner's different level. Gairns and Redman (1986) proposed some main criteria as frequency; student's needs and level; cultural factor and expediency. In teaching, the teacher needs to select the most frequently used words to teach first.
The vocabulary should be appropriate to students' level and their needs, the priority given to vocabulary for English as a subject in the curriculum might be different from that of English for specific purposes. The Culture LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 5 factor has great influenced on teaching, which means that the learners' background is to be considered, since people from different countries may need different words to express their ideas in the second language. Expediency is one of the important criteria that needs to be concerned since the classroom is a world by itself and requires specific types of vocabulary such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions. Harnler (1991) also adds more criteria for selection of vocabulary as concretion vs.
Vocabulary teaching In general, when the teacher teaches a new English word, he should, by all means, provide his learners with its meaning, forms and use at the same time. Among these three areas, the use of a word is the most important, but it cannot be achieved if the forms and meaning of the word are not firmly understood and grasped by the learners. Forms of a word Pronunciation and spelling : Each English word has its spelling and pronunciation. Learners have to know all the spelling, pronunciation and irregularities of the word they are learning.
In teaching, we need to make sure that these aspects are accurately presented and learned. Grammar The grammar of a new word should also be taught to the learners. They need to know the grammatical function, the unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts, the regularity and irregularity, the singular and plural forms of the new word so that they can use it correctly. For example, when teaching the verb think, we might give its irregularity in past form thought.