Some methods to consolidate vocabulary and structure for grade 7 students at Canh Nang town secondary school

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 Page
I. Introduction
1.1. Rationale..............................1
1.2. Aims of the study................................1
1.3. Scope of the study.......1
1.4. Method of study..................................................................................................1
II. Content
2.1. Theoretical bacground ................................................................2
2.2. The reality of teaching and learning English in grade 7.....2
2.2.1. The reality of the number of English classes in grade 7..............2
The reality of learning and expanding vocabulary..........2
2.2.3. The reality of teaching and helping students expand vocabulary....3
Solution made to sold the problem......4
2.3.1. Implementing solutions....4
2.3.1.1. Forms done4
2.3.1.2. Time applied..7
2.3.2. How to organize...7
2.3.2.1. Learn about 7th grade textbook.7
2.3.2.2. Group and give assignment.......8
2.3.2.3. Gather collection and draw illustrations for each word....8
2.3.2.4. Perform speaking product and play games relate to words...9
2.3.2.5. Practice Speaking........10
2.3.2.6. The organization of the games...11
2.4. The results after application of themmes..........14
III. Conclusion and recommendation 
3.1. Conclusion.17
3.1.1. For the teacher...17
3.1.2. For the students.....17
3.2. Recommendation...17
REFERENCES
I. Introduction
1.1. Rationale
	Nowadays, English is very popular all over the world. It is considered as the second language of many countries. As a result, English becomes a compulsory subject in most of secondary and upper secondary schools in Vietnam.
English is an important key for young generation to open the future, the needed site to step out into the world and serve their future career. It is also a mean for today young generation to exchange, learn with young people all over the world, study about the customs, traditions, cultures as well as the progress of science and technology of many countries.
According to the innovative method, English is no longer taught grammar but concerned more about the communication which is the main purpose in learning English. Learn English in order to communicate with foreigners. Therefore, the teachers must equip their students with a rich source of vocabulary so they can exactly express their thoughts, feelings, desires ... by their words.
Building a house, we must have the bricks, and so to say, to write or speak a sentence, we must have vocabulary. Expanding vocabulary for students like guiding them how to learn themselves, to widen more words, it is also a success in teaching English.
As a English teacher, exposed to many students in many different locations, I really worry about the quality of learning English in general, how students learn English vocabulary in particular. So with the passion for my job, desire to learn, I'm researching solutions to improve the quality of learning English, especially the method of enriching vocabulary for students. 
From the results above, I strongly launched an innovative experience "Some methods to consolidate vocabulary and structure for grade 7 students at Canh Nang town secondary school " in order to get remarks and suggestions from colleagues, with the aim of finding solutions to improve the quality of English for the students.
1.2. Aims of the study
For above mentioned reasons, the main aims of the study are as the following: to give measures of reviewing vocabulary creatively, innovatively and effectively, it integrates with Art – keep up with the innovation, overcome the way to convey the passive and boring old method. Moreover, guiding students to expand vocabulary and structures is a part of the initiation to promote innovation and foster students’ self-study, self-discipline.
1.3. Scope of the study
Students in grade 7 at Canh Nang town secondary school
1.4. Methods of the study	
Reading reference books, discussing with other teachers, applying in teaching, analyzing the data, observing and drawing out experiences.
II. Content
2.1. theoretical bacground
According to the National Resolution II period 8 "Renewing a educational method of education, overcoming the way to convey passively, practicing a creative mindset for learners. Gradually apply advanced methods and modern methods in the teaching process, to ensure conditions and duration of study, self-study for students"
The orientation above was legalized in the Education Law, Article 24, 2nd paragraph as follows: "Method of general education has to promote activity, creativity for students, consistent with the characteristics of each class, foster methods for self-learning support, train skills to apply knowledge to practical life, impact emotion, bring joy, excitement for student in learning"
In fact, there are many forms of learning: study in classroom, at home, self - study, study under the guide of teachers, study in groups. The important thing is that teachers must understand students, have to think about exploring,, to find out the most appropriate and effective teaching method.
Base on the core innovation of teaching methods that attract students’ attitude toward active learning, against passive study habits. Especially, foster self - learning method for children. The topic "Some methods to consolidate vocabulary and structure for grade 7 students at Canh Nang town secondary school ", with measures of reviewing vocabulary creatively, innovatively and effectively, it integrates with Art – keep up with the innovation, overcome the way to convey the passive and boring old method. Moreover, guiding students to expand vocabulary and structures is a part of the initiation to promote innovation and foster students’ self-study, self-discipline.
2.2. the reality of teaching and learning English in grade 7
2.2.1. The reality of the number of English class in grade 7
According to the current distribution programs, English 7 has 03 periods per week, almost periods have new words in lessons and even in exercise book. But in order to teach vocabulary well, make lessons more vivid, teachers must draw pictures, make teaching aids to illustrate, enable them to remember words easily and attract the attention of the children on the theme or focus lessons.
Regarding the distribution of periods within a week, sometimes two adjacent days, children have to learn English, to download a large number of vocabularies. This will inevitably cause psychological overload for some students, affect a lot to the next class.
2.2.2. The reality of learning and expanding vocabulary
For many learners, not just students, they said that it is difficult to learn English, learned before but forgot later. Some words they have learned by heart a few days ago but after a long time they will forget if they don’t see them again.
Especially, they are not creative in learning, do not know how to apply the words they have learned to particular sentence (it means we use these words for communication purpose ), moreover when learning words they only learn as under a "rote", memorize the pronunciation and meaning. Therefore they do not remember, engrave and forget words easily.
Remember all the words that the children are taught by the teachers very hard, so with the learning method like a machine, students do not collect and study themselves any other new words, so they do not self-expand their vocabulary.
2.2.3. The reality of teaching and helping students expand vocabulary
Most of the teachers were trained to apply innovative methods (according to the thematic training courses about replacing textbooks) teachers should have more or less understanding about the new purpose in educating English in secondary schools. But in a 45-minute lesson with the highest duration for teaching vocabulary is only 15 minutes, the teachers also select about 8 new words to teach (being the key word "key words"), do not have time to review, each period only teach words within this lesson, there is no bound together. That is also the reason that the vocabulary of students increasingly eroded and falling off.
Following is the result of the test on English vocabulary of class 7A,7B( with 21 students each class) at the beginning of the second term in school year 2015-2016 before I applied this research projects. My questionnaires have the following contents:
Question 1: You answer the questions by marking (x) in the box.
 Are you interested in learning English vocabulary and structure ?
Very interested
Interested 
Normal
Less interested
Not interested
After the survey, I have the following results
School year
Class
Amounts
Very interested
Interested 
Normal
Less interested
Not interested
Number
%
Number
%
Numbers
%
Numbers
%
Number
%
2015
-2016
7A
21
0
0
4
9.5
9
21.4
6
14.3
2
4.8
7B
21
0
0
3
7.1
10
23.8
6
14.3
2
4.8
Total
42
0
0
7
16,6
19
45,2
12
28,6
4
9,6
Question 2 
a) Give the meaning of the following words:
+ Friend (word appears more frequently)
+ When (word appears more frequently)
+ Her (word appears more frequently)
+ Worker (word appears quite frequently)
+ Literature (word appears quite frequently)
+ Library (word appears quite frequently)
+ Experiment (word appears once in the book)
+ Essay (word appears once in the book)
b) Name two subjects you know (but never learned in textbooks)
c) Make sentence with each word
(Time: 15 minutes)
After giving the survey forms and asking them to do in 15 minutes, I collected and synthesized the following results:
The school School year
Class
Amounts
Excellent
good
Medium
Weak
poor 
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
Number
%
2015-2016
7A
21
0
0
1
2.3
5
12
8
19
4
9.4
7B
21
0
0
3
7.2
8
19
12
28.6
1
2.4
Total
42
0
0
4
9.5
13
31
20
47.6
5
11.8
Through the survey we can see many students are not interested in learning English vocabulary and structure, the memory of students in remembering words is poor, especially they do not understand these words deeply in order to make sentences. Moreover, no one can find out and collect more words outside the words which they had learned in the text books. It is clear that the students were lack of interest and motivation in learning. As a result, teachers of English should pay attention to motivate students to learn vocabulary.
Solution made to sold the problem
2.3.1. Implementing solutions
2.3.1.1. Forms done
Today the integration between different subjects are being implemented in most of schools. From this application, I thought of creating excitement for students in learning vocabulary through the combination with Art. There are many students love this subject, even for most students painting is their passion. So why do not we encourage their passion, which makes them love learning English, especially in studying vocabulary and self-expanding vocabulary.
I can also call my solution is "The magic card". I call it the magic card because although it is a simple and small card, containing simple drawings of students and one simple sentence structure, but it contains a passionate love of students’ art. And moreover these cards also have a great effect on the children's learning English, they help them reflect on the words they have learned, understand and use words expertly through making questions and specific social situations. They also help them expand vocabulary, stimulate self-learning, give the passion to learn new things. From these cards they will serve the education of the children, help them practice speaking, help them with the foundation, a certain knowledge to learn English at the higher layers.
The form of the card is a rectangular cardboard has dimensions: length -30cm, width - 20cm. On the cards is the following information:
       - Drawings students draw themselves
       - The caption in English
    - Related Structure
Captions in English name
apple
Photos children draw to illustrate
English sentence structure
I would like some apples
(This is illustrated examples and explanations for the organization of a card)
I ask them to work in groups, draw illustrations for the words they have learned and collected (each group has a topic). Especially after each drawing (each word) they have to find related structures to its words and its topic. After gathering the collections, illustrating themed words that their group is assigned, they will have a show for their products. They will use the structure in each painting, practice speaking, review the structure and the words they have found. In addition so as to deepen students’ ability in memorizing words and the use more efficiently and make the show not monotonous but vibrant as learning English, I have held some games related to the vocabulary they have learned and collected.
(I have attached with the product of the first group on educational topic)
Examples:
Geography
I like chemistry. Do you like it?
My favorite subject is Geography
Chemistrystry
: 
Physical education
 Music
What subjects do you like?
- I like Physical education
When do you have Music?
- I have Music on Tuesday
 Math
 Biology
What is your favorite subject?
I hate Math. What about you?
Each student only collects a few words, a group only collects a few dozen words, with a class (about 6 groups) will be multiplied a lot by the number of words. And especially when they are self-study, self-explore, self-review, they will remember longer. Moreover, apart from learning from his own group, the children also learn the words from his friends’ groups. This is a way that causes excitement, comfort for the students and I am convinced that many children will love this way in learning vocabulary.
2.3.1.2. Time applied
With this study, the children mainly self-study, time drawing, time collecting the new words is the time the children self-study at home. Teachers only guide and give tasks to them at the beginning of the first semester. Students do their duties during a semester, after each lesson, the following themes and topics. Therefore, to avoid the distractions of school children, teachers must constantly remind them and check the performance of each group through each lesson in the classroom.
The performance for their products was held on the last 2 periods of the first semester (period 51, 52). This was an exciting lesson, because it was the time they got to show off their work, to be said, to be reviewed the English structures they have learned in a great space between Art and English. And they were also the most efficient review lessons with the complete of vocabulary and structures, prepared them to enter the first semester exam to get the highest results.
2.3.2. How to organize
2.3.2.1. Learn about 7th grade textbook
Understanding 7th grade textbook help teachers and students to have better understanding about the structure and themes in textbooks from that easily gather and collect related vocabulary. 7th grade textbook is one of the English system of 7 years of junior high school program and it includes the themes throughout the school program.
 - Topic 1: Personal information
    - Topic 2: Education 
    - Topic 3: Community 
    - Topic 4: Health 
    - Topic 5: Recreation 
    - Topic 6: People and places 
In this step, teacher plays a key role, instruct and explain clearly to the students to understand the mission of his group. Teachers must give assignment to the children to draw pictures to illustrate the topic in 7th English textbooks. Each topic is limited to the lessons in the book and students can find more words on the topic by many different ways.
Example: With the theme "Education" students can find the words about the subjects, all kinds of different books, during and after school activities, related verbs and adjectives. Furthermore, they can find more related words to their topic by asking siblings, uncles, relatives of the family... Or they can know through books with photographs and illustrations in English...
2.3.2.2. Group and give assignment
For class 7A,7B( with 21 students each class), I divided into 6 groups, 3 groups of 4 people and 3 groups of 3 people. Each group is mixed up with pretty, weak and average students. This is an opportunity for them to exchange learning, help each other to progress.
        After grouping, the teacher will assign tasks to each group, each group will gather, collect and draw illustrative pictures and find related structures for each word on the subject of his group.
 - Topic 1: Personal information 	- Group 1
    - Topic 2: Education 	- Group 2
    - Topic 3: Community	- Group 3
    - Topic 4: Health 	- Group 4
    - Topic 5: Recreation 	- Group 5
    - Topic 6: People and places	 - Group 6
Each group will appoint one leader who is responsible for the administration to take care of his group and make plan, assign specific tasks for each member.
2.3.2.3. Gather collection and draw illustrations for each word
In this activity, students will play a major role. The teacher only guides and helps them when needed. Therefore, they will be the most active and it is also the time for them to learn most.
Firstly, the time they perform this activity is not in the class but is the time they self-study at home. From each theme is the words that the children have in 7th English textbooks. However it may appear in one unit or appear scattered in the posts in the textbooks.
So the first thing students should do is finding and gathering them together (words that can be nouns, verbs, adjectives ... as long as related to the theme that the children are looking for). This collecting step is the time students can be reviewed the words again (they may be appear regularly, or are the words only appear one time in the book). So this is the first review.
Not only has the task of gathering vocabulary, they also have the task of finding new words in addition to textbooks related to their topic. This is an opportunity for students to expand their vocabulary, promote curiosity, self-understand and self-study. Students can find the new word from different sources such as: ask their siblings, relatives, find in other books, in dictionaries, or it could be anywhere.
After gathering words and looking for more new words from his own group, the owner of the team leaders assign task to each member of his team to draw illustrative pictures for each word and find out related structures (or making illustrative sentences for each word). This is the stage that students love the most and is also the stage they inculcate, memorize words and word usages which are located in every sentence structure.
And this is also the 2nd opportunity to reflect on the vocabulary. Moreover, this is not a passive remember but the more difficult and interesting point is that words are applied to a specific question, it helps students understand the meaning as well as the usage of the words deeper and it is the time the purpose of teaching English communication become successfully.
2.3.2.4. Perform speaking product and play games relate to words
Execution time was in two lessons (I held on 2 review sessions at the end of the first semester: Period 51, 52). Period 51 reviewed 3 topics. Period 52 reviewed 3 left topics.
This was probably the time that all students look forward to most, love the most because it was an opportunity for children to show off their achievements within 1 month. This is also an opportunity for them to show off to his friends about their painting skills as well as the abundant amount of words they have collected (Sometimes those accomplishments make teachers be surprised because there are many words teachers have never met).
The space organizing the show is a class has been stowed furniture away. They will stick all the paintings on the walls of their group around the classroom. Members of different groups will go around the class to a