VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNLVERSLTY OF LANGUAGES AND LNTERNATLONAL STUDLES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI BICH HANH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BL TIIGTHII SCHOOIL, (NATING KHO KHAN TRONG VIEC HOC TU VUNG TIENG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIẾU SỐ LỚP 10 TRUONG THPT MƯỜNG BI) M.A MINOR THESIS FKLELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE : 601410 HANOI - 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND IXTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYEN THI BICH HANH CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF ETTINIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI HIGH SCHOOL (NHỮNG KHÓ KIIĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANII CỦA HỌC SINH DẪN TỌC THIẾU SÓ LỚP 1U TRUONG THPT MUONG BD M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD : ENGLISIT TEACIIING METIIODOLOGY CODE : 601410 SUPERYISOR : Dr. DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ HANOT- 2011 iv Table of contents Page Declaration Abstract Acknowledgement Part 1: introduction 1. Rationale of the study 2. Aims of the sludy 3, Sigmuticance of the StUGY .neseominnnnenemensnsn 4, Soope of the study.
Methad of reszarch ie 6, Organizationof the study. development Chapter 1: literature review 1. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning. Principlss of vocabulary †eaching.1, Criteria for selecting vocabulary.
Forms of a word 1. Use ofa word, ao 1. Factors affecting vocabulary leaming 1. Methods in teaching vocabulary 0 2 1.
Repetition and attertion. Relationship with other words 1. Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of a third language 1. Intluence of proticiency in the native language and the second language on the acquisition ofa third language factor has great influenced on teaching, which means that the learners’ background is to be since peuple from different countries may need differen, words to express ltrsir ideas im the second language.
Expediency is one of the important crileria thal needs to he concemed since the classroom is a world by itself and requires specific types of vocabulary such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions, Harter (1991) also adds mors ctitetia for selection of vecabulary as concretion vs. Vacabulary teaching In general, when the teacher teaches a new English word, he should, by alt n 18, provide his leamers with its meaning, forms and use at the same time, Among these three areas, the use ofa word is the most important, but it carmot be achieved if the forms and meaning of the word are nol finely understood and grasped by the learners 1. Forms ofa word * Pronunciation and spelling : Each English word has its spelling and pronunciation, Leamers have to know all the spelling, pronunciation and irregularities of the word they are learning. In teaching, we need Lo make sure thal.
the: ° aspecls are accuralcly presented and learned. ® Grammar The grarumar of a new word should also be taught to the Ieamers. 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 usc it correctly. For example, when teaching the verb unk, we might give its irregularity in past form thougar.2, Meaning * Denotative and connotative meaning The meaning ofa word is primarity what itrefers ton the al world, meaningis found ina dictionary.
For cxample, dog denotes a kind of animal, common, domestic carnivorous mammal. A less obvious component of the meaning of a word is its connotation in differen! contsxis or ils conmolative meaning. This is the associations or posilive or Chapter 2: methodology 2.1, An overview of research setting 2.2, The materials of teaching and Jeaming. Desoription of the teachers of English.
Data Collection Instruments and procedures.3, Data Collection Prooedure. Data Analysis Procedure. secsseneseneneee Chapter 3: FINDINGS and discussion 3. Results and discussions from the questiomnaires for stuđents.
Results and discussions from the observation. Findings and discussions from the questionnaire 3. Motivating students to leam 3. Adapting the textbook 3.
Selection of the vocabulary teaching.4, Practising the vocabulary. Improving leaming and teaching conditions 3. Having local teachers to teach English for students in their COMMUNITIES .sceccssesoessesseeeeesensansanvonsseseansentaiasis Part 3: Conclusion 1. Limitations ofthe study 3.
Suggestions for further study References. forget most of learned words only a few day later. ‘This proves that problems in learning voønbulary ars undeniable, For bctler vocabulary teaching and learning, T have chosen Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at Muang Bi high school as the the topic of the study. 2, Aims of the study ‘The study aims at investigating the areas of challenges in leaming English vocabulary of ethnic minorily grads 10 student's im Muong Bi high school, Hoa Binh mountainous province.
Also, it is expected that some solutions to overcome challenges encountered will be suggested. ‘I’ be more specific, in realizing this study, the objectives ar > To investigate the areas of challenges that ethnic minority grade 10 students have cneountered when lcaming English vocabulary. » To offer some solutions wilh the hope of helping Fnglish language teachers in Muong Bi lugh school overcome difficulties in teaching vocabulary, improve the quality of their teaching, which helps improve ethnie minority students’ language leaming 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 stdy, the challenges in leaming English vocabulary of cthnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school could be shared among teachers of English to improve the quality of teaching and leaming in the coming years, Nexl, il might highlight the rationale for professional developmen! Programs for high schoot teachers of English in mountainous ars in Violnan, Finally, the findings could be used as a data base for further study. Scope af the study The study only concentrates on problems in learning vocabulary from the textbook “Tiéng Anh 10” (oy Hoang Van Van et al) of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school in Toa 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: negative feelings it evokes.
‘his meaning may or may not be indicated in a dictionary. or instance the word , as understood by most British people, has positive comotations of Biendslmp and loyalty: whereas the equivalent in Arabic! as understood by most of the ‘Arab countries has negative associations of dirty and inferiority. ‘The connotative meaning ofa word is varied from one conlext lo another » Meaning relationship How the meaning, specially denotative meaning, of one word rclales cam also be usefid in teaching. It is noted that the teacher has to make a carefull choice of and decision, on which meaning of a word to teach and how many wards to teach in the given class time or clsc leamers will be impeded by the pressure te absorb loo many meanings and words.
This often results in contusion or forgetting. Use of a word The most important thing for Icarncrs to learn a new word is to know how to usc it appropriately and effectively in different oral and waitten contexts or else it may become a dead or forgettable word. ‘lo use a new word well, they need to know how to collocate it with olher words corraclly. Thersfore, the teacher should put words inlo collacation, Far example, when introdueing, words like “to make” and “to do", the teacher may note that both words mean "to perform” but can be distinguished by the words they collocate with We oflen say "to do the homework" bul never say “lo make the homework” In shot, students should be taught the form, the meaning, and the use of words in vocatnilary lessons.
I'he teacher should ensure that vocabulary is regularly recyclsdrevised because if'students do not. the chance to pul it into use they will easily forgetil Unknown vocabulary is low in such micssages, considerable vocabulary learning can occur even though students’ attention is not directed to vocabulary leaming. Rubin and Thompson (1994: 82) suggest 3 strategies for dealing with this approach of vocabulary leaming, These strategies include receding a series of texts on a rélated topic, guessing the meaning of new words from context, and breaking up a word into components. Similarly, Deeerico fin Celeo-Murcia 2000: 255-299) says thal implicit vocabulary learning or incidents vocabulary learmng is lzarmng that occurs when the mind is focused elsewhere, such as on understanding a text or using language for commumcative purposes.
English vocabulary learning PART ONE: INTRODUCTION L. Rationale for the study These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming something ofa forerunner in global communication. It is the first and second language in most countries of the world. Almos 70% of the Internet is in Tgtish.
A huge volume of the information used on the Intemet is also in English, Thus, English is playing a very significant role in bringing the world together. ‘Therefore, teaching and leaming English have hocome the necessity all ovor the world, In Victham, English is # compulsory subject from primary schools to universities, However, the quality of leaning and teaching English is different from one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and those from remote and mountainous arcas 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 usc it as a key to science and technology, However, there still exist many difficulties facing teachers in teaching English to students, especially those from elhnic minorities, It ean be observed thal ethic trinorily studsnts? 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 ‘raining, 2008; 2009).
In some remote areas, lower level students understand tess than 20 per cent of whal teachers say in Vicinamase (Minority Studonls Necds”, 2008). Rihnic minority students mainly use thair mother tongues Muong, Thai, Hmong, Tay and other languages - to communicate inside their families and small communities. l'rom first grade onward, at school and in public places, cllmic minority sludetits have to struggle with Vietnamese ta 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 Vietamese language might be very challenging for ethnic minority students In addition, T find oul that any pupils are noi sueocssfbl Ieamors, only because they lack vocabulary.
In fact they are provided with almost every word necessary for their communication inside and outside the elassroom, but many of my pupils complain they - A Survey questionnaire for 100 grade 10 students was used to clarify the difficulties of cthnie minority grads 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 leaming in class. Organization of the study This study consists of three parts. Part One: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope, method af study, and orgamzation 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 conduoting the study.
It also provides a thorough description of the data collection procedure as well as the analytical procedure. Chapter Thr: = Findings and Discussion roperts the Findings of the study and discusses the prominent aspects.