Helping students use some tips while doing exercises about synonyms and antonyms in the national high school graduation exam

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Reason for choosing the research
Nowadays, in Vietnam, English is used more and more widely. It brings us chances to keep up with the development of the modern age. Therefore, teaching and learning English, especially at upper secondary schools play a very important role.
In any languages, vocabulary is considered one of the most essential elements of language. We can hardly use grammar appropriately if we do not comprehend the meaning exactly. So poor knowledge of English vocabulary can effect both the learning and teaching of English. Thus, it is necessary to apply new methods of teaching and learning to improve the situation.
Synonyms and antonyms are categorized into English vocabulary. According to the current national high school graduation exam questions, multiple choice questions related to this section account for about 14% (about 7 sentences out of 50 multiple choice questions including questions about synonyms and some antonyms in the closest and opposite meaning as well as in the reading comprehension). Besides, understanding and using antonyms and synonyms effectively can improve our writing skills and vocabulary knowledge. However, this part of the knowledge has not been regularly taught and revised like other vocabulary sections.
Therefore, in this study, I would like to give some suggestions for using synonyms and antonyms effectively. The effort of this study is to try to give some contribution to improve the quality of teaching English at high schools by “Helping students use some tips while doing exercises about synonyms and antonyms in the national high school graduation exam”.
1.2. Aims and objectives of the study
1.2.1. Aims
- To study the principles in teaching synonyms and antonyms.
- To investigate the causes of difficulties that teachers and students are facing with teaching and learning synonyms and antonyms, so that teachers can helpstudents to enhance their overall command of language in order to answer synonyms and antonyms questions in the national high school graduation exam.
- To designsome exercises about synonyms and antonyms from class 12 English book and introduce examples of synonyms and antonyms in the multiple choice test recently.
- To increase the effectiveness in teaching and learning English and help students to get good scores in the nationalhigh school graduation exam.
1.2.2. Objectives
The study is carried out to answer the following questions:
- What are synonyms and antonyms?
- Principles in teaching synonyms and antonyms
- Designing some exercises about synonyms and antonyms from class 12 English book
- Examples of synonyms and antonyms in the multiple choice test recently
1.3. Scope of the study
 In teaching English vocabulary, synonyms and antonyms are large sections. Within the scope of this study, I would like to focus on designing some exercises about synonyms and antonyms from class 12 English book.
As time is limited, the survey is carried out on a small scale to 12th form students: 12A4, 12A7 in the school year 2018 – 2019.
1.4. Method of the study
In order to carry out this study, it is mainly based on the data and information collected from surveys, observation and direct interviews from my colleagues. It is also based on a number of reference books about the use of synonyms and antonyms in teaching English. Furthermore, my actual teaching at Dang Thai Mai high school provides the great practical contribution to the study.
1.5. New points of the study
	Synonyms and antonyms are important parts of teaching and learning English vocabulary. Many experience initiatives of the authors have mentioned effective vocabulary teaching methods, but no author has ever studied on synonyms and antonyms in detail. Especially, in this study, I design some exercises about synonyms and antonyms from class 12 English book and introduce examples of synonyms and antonyms in the multiple choice test recently as tips for students while doing exercises about synonyms and antonyms in the national high school graduation exam.
2. CONTENTS
2.1.Theoretical background
 2.1.1. Definition of synonyms
According to language dictionaries, synonyms are words that have similar meanings. Synonyms are divided into two categories: complete synonyms and incomplete synonyms. The first is the words with the same meaning, used equally and can be substituted for each other in most cases. The second type are words that mean the same thing but still differ somewhat in expressive nuances (expressing emotions, attitudes ...) or ways of acting. When using these words, we must consider the options reasonably.[1]
 2.1.2.Definition of antonyms
Antonyms are contradictory words. Similar to synonyms, we also have two types of antonyms that are completely antonyms and incompletely ones .
From the above concepts, there are some points we need to note as follows: Whether the words are considered to be synonymous or completely opposite, there are differences between them and cannot be used in lieu of each other in case. Therefore, in addition to teaching and learning the meaning of words, we need to pay attention to the context in which synonyms or antonyms can be used.[1]
 2.1.3. Principles in teaching synonyms and antonyms
Due to the time constraints, I only included in this section some principles of teaching synonyms and antonyms that I have applied and found them effective. 
The first principle: All teachers' instructions must be detailed, clear and specific. If the instructions are not specific and generic, students will not know how to perform their tasks and the task is easy to fail. The most important part of this section is to guide students to find resources to look up synonyms and antonyms and quick and effective ways to look up.
The main source is English-English dictionaries and dictionaries specializing in synonyms and antonyms. Students can look up dictionaries with printouts or dictionaries on the internet. The quick way to look up for compound words not in the dictionary is to look up from the root, then determine the definition of the same word prefix, its suffix.[2]
The second principle: Get students centered, boldly assign tasks to groups of students to learn about synonyms and antonyms in specific lessons. This principle helps students take the initiative, actively participate in the lesson and help develop their teamwork skills and presentation skills.
Assigning the study of synonyms and antonyms in a certain lesson to students causes students to brainstorm, actively embark on a task and thereby actively memorize vocabulary. The work assigned to the student group will ease the pressure. In addition, students can also support and help each other to complete the task. The presentation part can be spoken in Vietnamese or English, depending on the choice of the groups, which helps develop the presentation skills.[2]
The third principle: Focus on monitoring the progress of groups, compare and evaluate results
Monitoring the progress of each group will help teachers evaluate and comment more accurately on the results of each group. In addition, teachers can promptly provide appropriate help for disadvantaged groups.
Comparing, comparing and evaluating the results of each group of students or even each student in the group will create more motivation for them to try to complete their tasks.[2]
The fourth principle: Teachers play a major role in synthesizing, modifying, and supplementing the results of groups.
After the results of the groups have been evaluated, they need to be fully integrated, edited and supplemented before the teacher returns the final product to the students. This is the period when teachers play a key role to ensure that they provide adequate and accurate knowledge to their students.[2]
The fifth principle: Regular checks, comments and evaluations that each individual student uses the knowledge of synonyms, in contrast, learns to speak and write English.
This is the principle of "learning with practice", to encourage students to use the knowledge they already have in speaking and writing production skills. This must be done regularly to form a habit of using a student's foreign language.[2]
2.2. The status of problem
2.2.1. Students, their background and learning conditions
The informants for the study consists of 82 students in the twelveth form (age 17-18) from two classes 12A4 and 12A7, and 8 teachers of English at Dang Thai Mai High School.
The first reason for my selection is that my selected participants are accessible. All these students have learnt English for more than four years at secondary schools as they started to learn English when they were in grade 6. Most of them have got familiar with teaching and learning methods at middle level. 
The second reason is our awareness of the completeness and reliability of the data collected. We must be well-informed about the real situation of teaching and adapting English vocabulary at our school. 
In addition, the main method used was the VocabularyTranslation Method. The students may be good at learning by heart English vocabulary but they can not use them effectively in the multiple choice tests.
2.2.2. Teachers and their working condition
Most teachers in the survey are female aged from twenty- six to forty. They have been teaching English for at least three years. They usually teach classes with 39 to 45 students and each of them is in charge of three or four classes. Meanwhile, teaching facilities are poor and backward. Therefore, the main teaching material of the teachers is the textbook for students. Teachers sometimes have difficulties in designing exercises about synonyms and antonyms from English book.
It can be found that the teachers have to work hard but the results seem not to be satisfactory. This is a great problem.
2.2.3. Analysis of the data
There is a quick questionnaire designed for students from two classes 12A4 and 12A7 to gather necessary information about using synonyms and antonyms to do exercises. Students are encouraged to express their own opinions about their ability to apply synonyms and antonyms in the multiple choice tests.
This data is collected from students:
Students total
Know how to do exercises about synonyms and antonyms
Have difficulties in doing exercises about synonyms and antonyms
Impossible to distinguish synonyms from antonyms
82
30 (36,6%)
22 (26,8%)
30 (36,6%)
Table 1: Analysis of the data collected from students before applying the research
It can be seen from the table that only 36,6% know how to do exercises about synonyms and antonyms to practise fluently whereas 26,8% find it difficult. 36,6% say they are impossible to distinguish synonyms from antonyms.
The following data is the result of the multiple choice test in the first semester before applying the research:
Class
Number of students
Excellent-good (%)
Average (%)
Weak (bad)
(%)
12A4
39
35
40
25
12A7
43
30
50
20
Table 2: Analysis of the data collected from the result of the multiple choice test in the first semester before applying the research:
These figures show that it is really necessary to change the way to teach new vocabulary so that students are able to practise effectively.
2.3. Designing some exercises about synonyms and antonyms from class 12 English book 
The design of the exercises is a teacher's duty to do after each knowledge section is taught in the classroom. Although it is a common task, there are some things we need to pay attention to. Firstly, the design of the exercise must ensure learning what to do and practice it. This is to ensure the effectiveness of the exercises we create. Secondly, the types of exercises that are designed must be diverse and rich with many levels from easy to difficult. This helps to accommodate different student groups and inspires students.
 2.3.1. Matching exercises
This is an easy exercise. Students only need to remember the knowledge they have learned to be able to complete this part.
Unit 1: Home Life (Page 12) [3]
Exercise 1. Match the word in column A with its synonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. brothers/sisters
a. write down
2. base
b. theme
3. wash the clothes
c. regulation
4. rule
d. irritate
5. topic
e. data
6. wait
f. foundation
7. information
g. gather
8. note down
h. do the laundry
9. collect
i. siblings
10. annoy
j. hold on/ hang on
Answer key:
Exercise 1:
1. i
2. f
3. h
4. c
5. b
6. j
7. e
8. a
9. g
10. d
Exercise 2. Match the word in column A with its antonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. supportive
a. neglect
2. willing
b. depressed 
3. obedient
c. ban 
4. take care of
d. critical
5. happy
e. indifferent 
6. allow 
f. at a loose end 
7. hard-working 
g. costly 
8. busy
h. reluctant
9. cheap
i. naughty
10. interested 
j. idle 
Answer key:
Exercise 2:
1. d
2. h
3. i
4. a
5. b
6. e
7. c
8. j
9. f
10. g
Unit 2: Cultural Diversity (Page 20) [3]
Exercise 3. Match the word in column A with its synonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. diversity
a. reply
2. flat
b. home for the aged 
3. job
c. present
4. respond
d. party 
5. confide in 
e. variety
6. careful
f. commence 
7. start
g. apartment 
8. gift
h. share one’s thoughts
9. nursing home
i. occupation
10. banquet 
k. thorough
Answer key:
Exercise 3:
1. e
2. g
3. i
4. a
5. h
6. k
7. f
8. c
9. b
10. d
Exercise 4. Match the word in column A with its antonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. difference
a. minority
 2. follow
b. temporary
3. majority
c. pessimistic
4. reject
d. be under no obligation 
5. modern
e. tell the truth 
6. permanent 
f. similarity
7. optimistic 
g. deteriorate 
8. be obliged
h. accept
9. lie 
i. traditional
10. better
k. precede
Answer key:
Exercise 4:
1.f
2. k
3. a
4. h
5. i
6.b
7. c
8.d
9. e
10.g
Unit 3: Ways of socializing (Page 30) [3]
Exercise 5. Match the word in column A with its synonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. suitable 
a. apparent
2. obvious
b. good-natured 
3. choice 
c. severe
4. polite 
d. purchase
5. buy
e. appropriate
6. stick to
f. gripping 
7. kind-hearted
g. hue
8. interesting
h. option
9. serious
i. be loyal to
10. color
k. courteous
Answer key:
Exercise 5:
1. e
2. a
3. h
4. k
5. d
6. i
7. b
8. f
9. c
10. g
Exercise 6. Match the word in column A with its antonyms in colum B
Column A
Column B
1. get off
a. take a call
2. modern
b. prohibitten 
3. leave a message 
c. politeness
4. make a call
d. maximum
5. acceptable 
e. get on
6. discourtesy
f. body language 
7. minimum
g. reveal 
8. verbal language 
h. take a message
9. conceal 
i. failure 
10. success
k. old-fashioned 
Answer key:
Exercise 6:
1.e
2. k
3. h
4. a
5. b
6. c
7. d
8.f
9. g
10. I
2.3.2. Odd one out exercises
In this form, students must recognize a word that does not have the same meaning or antonym to the remaining words. To do this exercise, students must remember groups of synonyms or antonyms.
Unit 1: Home Life (Page 12) [3]
Exercise 1: Find one word that is different in meaning from the others
1. housework, household chores, domestic tasks, household duties, daily tasks 
2. help, give a hand, owe, assist, aid
3. try, eliminate, endeavor, strive, make an effort, attempt
4. build, construct, put up, ruin, erect
5. child, kid, infant, gentleman 
6. place, space, site, spot 
7. sometimes, occasionally, frequently, from time to time 
8. important, creative, vital, crucial, significant
9. hobby, interest, perseverance, taste
 10. task, complement, duty, mission
Answer key:
Exercise 1: 
1. daily tasks	
2. owe
3. eliminate
4. ruin	
5. gentleman
6. space
7. frequently	
8. creative	
9. perserverance
10. complement
Unit 2: Cultural Diversity (Page 20) [3]
Exercise 2: Find one word that is different in meaning from the others
1. idea, view, point of view, opinion, objection
2. love sb, fall in love with sb, interfere with sb, fall with sb, take to sb
3. choose, select, opt, pick out, reckon, decide on, agree on
4. conduct a survey, make a survey, carry out a survey, cancel a survey
5. main, key, primary, vicious, major, core
6. famous, well-known, renowned, excessive, celebrated, notable, pretigious
7. take part in, participate in, result in, engage in, join, attend
8. however, nevertheless, on the contrary, additionally, by contrast, controversially
9. rich, wealthy, middle-class, well-off, affluent
10. dangerous, disastrious, hazardous, perilous, risky
Answer key:
Exercise 2: 
1. objection	
2. interfere with sb	
3. reckon	
4. cancel a survey	
5. vicious	
6. excessive	
7. result in	
8. additionally 
9. middle-class	
10. disastrious
Unit 3: Ways of socializing (Page 30) [3]
Exercise 3: Find one word that is different in meaning from the others
 1. terrible, awful, dreadful, accessible 
2. problem, difficulty, trouble, amenity, obstacle
3. argument, appointment, row, quarrel
4. beginning, provision, start, rudiment 
5. hate, detest, spark, loathe, dislike
6. friend, colleague, mate, pal, company
7. big, huge, giant, skeptical, mighty, gigantic, bulky
8. like, enjoy, love, fancy, adore, detect
9. mistake, error, fault, apology
10. attack sb’s attention, get sb’s attention, distract sb’s attention, catch sb’s attention
Answer key:
Exercise 3:
1. accessible 	
2. amenity 	
3. appointment 	
4. provision 
5. spark	
6. colleague	
7. skeptical	
8. detect	
9. apology	
10. distract sb’s attention
 2.3.3. Multiple choice exercises
	This exercise requires students to identify synonyms or antonyms in some options
Exercise: Choose the best word/phrase that is CLOSEST in meaning to the underlined part in each of the following questions. 
Women whose husbands do not contribute to the domestic chores are more vulnerable to illness.
A. able to be well protected 
C. able to be well known	
B. able to be easily hurt 
D. able to be equally treated
2. In many cultures, the mother is usually the homemaker while the father is the breadwinner.
A. the family member who is willing to share the domestic chores
B. the family member who likes bread
C. the family member who is responsible for childcare
D. the family member who earns money to support the family
3. We enjoy spending time together in the evening when the family members assemble in the living room after a day of working hard.
A. get together
B. watch TV	
C. chat
D. tell jokes
4. She got up late and rushed to the bus stop.
A. came into
B. went leisurely
C. went quickly
D. dropped by
5. It will take more or less a month to prepare for the wedding.
A. approximately 
B. generally
C. frankly
D.appreciatively
6. This is the instance where big, obvious non-verbal signals are appropriate.
A. situation.
B. attention 
C. place
 D. matter
7. When you are in a restaurant, you can raise your hand slightly to show that you need assistance.
A. bill
B. menu 
C. help 
D. food
8. Peter: In my opinion, old aged parents should lead independent lives in nursing homes
Nam: I disagree with you. Children should take after their elderly parents.
A. You can say that again	B. I can’t agree with you any more
C. There’s no doubt about that	D. That’s not a good idea.
9. Although I live in London for one year, I’m not used to driving on the left.
A. accustomed
B. familiar 
C. looking forward
 D. supportive
10. Quan Ho singing, a traditional kind of music, originated in Bac Ninh Province in the 13th century.
A. launched	B. took its origin 
C. initiated 	D. appeared 
Answer key:
1. B
2. D
3. A
4. C
5. A
6. A
7. C
8. D
9. A
10. B
2.3.4. Replacement exercises 
Doing this exercise, students must remember not only the meaning but also the way to write synonyms and antonyms and rewrite these words.
Exercise: Replace the underlined word or phrases with its