VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES USING HYPONYMY TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY RETENTION FOR FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATES: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A COLLEGE IN HANOI (Một nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng hệ thống quan hệ thượng ha vị dé cai thiện khả năng ghi nhớ từ vựng cho sinh viên năm nhất tại một trường Cao đắng ở Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi — 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES USING HYPONYMY TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY RETENTION FOR FIRST-YEAR UNDERGRADUATES: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT AT A COLLEGE IN HANOI (Một nghiên cứu hành động về việc sử dụng hệ thống quan hệ thượng ha vị dé cai thiện khả năng ghi nhớ từ vựng cho sinh viên năm nhất tại một trường Cao đắng ở Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231. Võ Dai Quang Hanoi - 2024 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that I have not duplicated or reproduced any portion of the thesis "Using hyponymy to improve vocabulary retention for first-year undergraduates: An action research project at a college in Hanoi" from any other source without giving proper credit.
It is the outcome of my independent study that I conducted under my supervisor's close supervision. Hanoi, 2024 Approved by SUPERVISOR Student’s signature (Signature and full name) (Signature and full name) Prof. Võ Dai Quang Dong Thi Thom Date:. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to sincerely thank my supervisor, Prof.
Vo Dai Quang, for his invaluable advice, encouragement, and enthusiastic support during the course of this study. Second, I want to express my gratitude to all of my instructors and the faculty and staff at VNU's Department of Post-Graduate Studies for providing me with excellent guidance and the ideal setting in which to complete my thesis. Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to all of the instructors and students at my school who have made it possible for me to finish my research by agreeing to take part in it. Last but not least, I would like to sincerely thank my friends and family for their unwavering support and encouragement to complete this thesis.
ii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Table 3. The procedures of the researCHh.- 5 <5 2 11 1E E9 vn tr 25 Table 4. Paired samples StAtIS{ICS.-- - c1 vn HH rg 35 Table 4. Paired Samples Correlations.
Paired Samples “T€SE. TH HH HH ng vg 35 Table 4. Paired Samples Effect Š1Z€S.- c1 1S 1S SH ng ng 36 Figures Figure 2. Example of hypOnYImVy.
-- -- s11 HH nh 13 Figure 3. Sample hyponymy mapping for uNit 4‡. Students’ perspectives regarding hyponymy: easy of Use. Students’ perspectives regarding hyponymy: effectiveness.
Students’ perspectives regarding hyponymy: future application. 39 iii ABSTRACT This study is conducted to investigate the effect of teaching vocabulary through hyponymy on first-year undergraduates’ vocabulary retention. This study uses a combination of methods, including information from a questionnaire, an interview, a post-test, and a pre-test. The tests and questionnaire were completed by forty first-year students who had just completed their first semester.
The interviews featured five students chosen at random. The post-test results were significantly better than the pre-test results, demonstrating the beneficial effects of the hyponymy-based strategy on improving the students' vocabulary retention. Additionally, the interview and questionnaire emphasized the advantages of using the hyponymy-based method in the classroom, stressing its effectiveness and user-friendliness. For educators looking to enhance their students' vocabulary retetion, these findings offer insightful information.
Then, based on the conclusions, several practical suggestions about effective teaching strategies would be recommended to help undergraduates overcome the problem of vocabulary retention so that they can improve their ability in using vocabulary in speaking and writing tasks. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP. - --- Á LnnHnn HH HH HH1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.- HH HH HH HH HH HH giờ il LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES.- ceeceseceneeeeeeneesneessesseesaeesseees 11 ABSTRACT oui. LH HH ngu 1 LL.
Aim and objectives of the S{UỈy. 2G SH HH ng 2 1. Research qU€SLIOTS.- - G3 SH TH HH Ho He 2 1. Scope of the Study.
Significance of the Study. cece G6 + E111 9E TH TH HH ng 2 1. Practical S1ØnIÍTCATC€. Methods of the SfUyy.-- Ác HH HT TH HH TH HH nh 3 1.
Structure of the Study. cv SH ng HH ng 4 CHAPTER 2. Quà 5 /“ NÀ@vo an. The definition of VOCablaTY.- «x3 39191 vn Hưng nh nh nàn 5 2.
The importance of learning Vocabulary. cece «+ tk ngư 6 2. Types Of VOCADULATY. Difficulties of L2 vocabulary Ïearn1ng.
Methods in teaching Vocabulary. <2 tk HH nhiệt 10 2. Strategies in teaching vocabullaTV.-- 5s ng iệt 11 / ý» san,. The definition of HypOnyMy.
Advantages of using hyponymy in teaching vocabulary. Disadvantages of using hyponymy in teaching vocabulary. Procedure of Teaching Vocabulary Using Hyponymy.-- 2Q n1 HT HH HH HH Hệ 17 2.G-ST HH HH 19 CHAPTER 3. Study participants and research COI€XÍ.1 E9 SH TH TH HH HH Hệ 24 3.
Methods of the Study.G- G0 ng TH HH hệt 30 B. Questionnaires and IntervieWS. Data analysis ProCedures. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.cằeere 35 xach ae.
The effect of utilizing hyponymy on students’ vocabulary retention. Students’ attitude towards the use of hyponymy-based method. 36 VY co on. The effect of utilizing hyponymy on students’ vocabulary retenfion.
Students’ attitude towards the use of hyponymy-based method. 2G 1 HH TH re 47 CHAPTER 5.- HH HH Hết 48 5. Recapitulations of main findings .-- -- - + + 3k3 9x19 1 1v ng ng rưệt 49 5. Limitations of the study and implication for future studIes.- Án HH HH HH HT gọn TH HH HH nh TH I APPENDIX Ì.
Ghi I VI APPENDIX 2.-- ĐÁ L4 k1HHHH HH HH II APPENDIX G1. ecceccescecceseecesesecseeseceeeseeesesseeseesesaessesaecsesaeesessaesaseeeeaeeaeeaeeateaeeaes VI APPENDIX t1. Rationale Limited vocabulary is a challenging issue for first-year undergraduates studying English, it affects their ability to communicate effectively. Consequently, it's critical to increase students’ ability to retain vocabulary.
Students and teachers have responded enthusiastically to the employment of semantic relationship-based methods to promote foreign language teaching and learning. Teachers can better support their students' foreign language learning by implementing semantic relationship-based strategies. The hyponymy-based approach is one of the semantic relationship- based strategies that has been proven to help students retain more vocabulary. Hyponymy promotes a stronger conceptual understanding of vocabulary by teaching words within the context of larger categories (Nation, 2001).
By helping to arrange and link new words with previously learned information, this method promotes the development of stronger memory representations. Hyponymy also facilitates contextual learning by enabling students to deduce the meanings of unknown terms from their comprehension of larger categories (Gass & Selinker, 2008). Students’ semantic knowledge is expanded through contextual learning, which also improves their language application skills in a variety of scenarios. All things considered, using hyponymy in vocabulary training provides a methodical and integrated approach that can improve vocabulary retention and application.
From such observations, it is found that it is important to promote first- year students’ vocabulary learning with hyponymy-based method. Therefore, I have decided to research the topic “Using hyponymy to improve vocabulary retetion for first-year undergraduates: An action research project at a college in Hanoi. Aim and objectives of the study This study is conducted to study the impact of teaching vocabulary through hyponymy on improving first-year undergraduates’ retention and to find out the students’ attitudes towards the use of hyponymy in vocabulary lessons. This study aims to help undergraduates overcome the problem of vocabulary retention and improve their English vocabulary retention.
Research questions This study aims at addressing the following questions: (1) To what extent does hyponymy-based method improve the students’ English vocabulary retention? (2) What are the students’ attitudes towards the use ofhyponymy-based method? 1. Scope of the study The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of using hyponymy on students’ vocabulary retention. While tests gauge the objective results, questionnaires and interviews offer insights into student perceptions. Designed as a small-scale action research project, the study primarily aims to improve the researcher's approach, involving 40 first-year students at a college in Hanoi.
The instructional content for this study was drawn from the "Topnotch 1" series. Significance of the study 1. Theoretical Significance This research offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of using hyponymy as a vocabulary learning strategy. By analyzing student performance and retention rates, the study can shed light on how learners acquire and retain vocabulary through the hierarchical relationships between words.
Practical Significance It is believed that both teachers and students will benefit from this study. First of all, in addition to other approaches, the study can assist students in understanding the impact of employing hyponymy in vocabulary retention. With this knowledge, students are able to choose efficient method for enhancing their vocabulary. Additionally, their efforts under the direction and support of their teachers can help them expand their vocabulary.
Furthermore, this study should serve as a resource for educators wishing to look into how hyponymy, a particular kind of lexical relation, can help pupils retain more vocabulary. From there, teachers can identify the most effective teaching techniques to lessen language acquisition difficulties for their students. Methods of the study Action research design was used to achieve the research aims. Action research is a technique to systematic inquiry in which practitioners and researchers work together to solve real-world problems.
In order to ultimately effect positive change or improvement, it places a strong emphasis on the active participation of participants in problem identification, solution generation, and intervention implementation. To enable ongoing learning and adaptation, this iterative process usually consists of cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting. Empowerment, democracy, and social justice are the cornerstones of action research, which seeks to provide information that can be put into practice as well as theory. Action research, according paraphrase Kemmis and McTaggart (1988), is "research in action," where theory and practice converge to address urgent issues in a variety of domains.
This study combines quantitative and qualitative data with mixed approaches to reveal findings in order to meet the research objectives. The pre-test and post-test are first used to collect quantitative data. To find out how employing hyponymy affects the recall of vocabulary, 40 non-English majors participated in pre- and post-tests. Second, in order to gain an in-depth understanding of the issues under investigation and the attitudes of students concerning the use of the hyponymy approach, a questionnaire and interview are done.
Notably, in order to determine the effect of using hyponymy on students' vocabulary retention, the findings of the pre-test, post-test, questionnaire, and interview are examined in parallel and compared. Structure of the study Chapter 1: Introduction — covers the rationale of the study, the aim and objectives, research questions, scope, method, significance, method and procedure as well as the organization of the study. Chapter 2: Literature review — delves into existing research relevant to the study's central question, offering a critical analysis of past studies and establishing a solid theoretical foundation. It explores key concepts related to vocabulary features and hyponymy, while also drawing connections to prior investigations into this teaching method.
Chapter 3: Research methodology — presents the hypothesis, study participants and research context, materials, research design, research procedures, data collection technique and data analysis procedures. Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings — uncovers the key research results, prompting a close exploration of their implications and consequences through a detailed examination of the analyzed data Chapter 5: Conclusion — presents the summary of the main issues and some pedagogical implications. To advance understanding in this area, the chapter also identifies key areas for further investigation and proposes innovative research questions to guide future studies.