Using images in helping students learn Vocabulary

TABLE OF CONTENTS 
PART 1: INTRODUCTION ..Page 3
 Rationale for the study  Page 3
 Purposes of the study and Research Questions  Page 3
 Scope of the study  Page 4
Methods of the study  Page 4
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Page 5
I. Literature Review  Page 5
1. Vocabulary learning Page 5
2. Review on the use of images in vocabulary teaching 	Page 6
II. Methodology	 Page 9
1.Participants and the research context	 Page 9
2.Textbook and Reading materials	 Page 9
3.The reality of teaching and learning vocabulary at Nong Cong 1 
high school
4. Research methodology	 Page 10
III. FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS
1.Data analysis and discussion	 Page 12
2. Major finding and discussion	 Page 14
PART 3: CONCLUSION
 Discussion of the main findings 	 Page 19
PART A: INTRODUCTION
Rationale for the study
It cann’t be denied that Vocabulary has always been considered the backbone of a language and the basis of communication because of the fact that thoughts and ideas can be expressed without using grammar, but impossibly without words. Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed . Limited vocabulary, therefore, is likely to be a hindrance for learners in their communication. For this reason, vocabulary is highly important to any language, because without enough words used appropriately and in context, people would not be able to understand what others express or state what there is in their own minds. 
Because the importance of mastering vocabulary is evident and obvious, the teaching of vocabulary should always receive sufficient attention. It is important for teachers to realize that learning a new language is not just a memorization process or acquiring new words; it is the connection between the words and their reality. However, the traditional vocabulary teaching techniques in such a way as presenting new words on blackboard together with its phonics, meaning, translation and requiring students’ memorization of long isolated word lists are still kept in many language classrooms, which leads to the inefficiency of vocabulary acquisition. From this fact, as a teacher of English at Nong Cong No.1 upper secondary school, I myself think that it is really vital to conduct a study to find an appropriate method in offering students with more effective vocabulary learning. That’s why I decided to carry out the entitled study: “Using images in helping students learn Vocabulary”
Purpose of the study and research questions
This study is aimed at looking into whether the use of images in vocabulary teaching can help improve students’ vocabulary retention. The participants in the study are students at Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school.
	In an attempt to achieve the above-presented aims, the study sought to answer the following research question:
To what extent can the use of images in vocabulary teaching help improve students’ retention of English vocabulary for students at Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school?
Scope of the study
This research is an investigation into the effectiveness of the use of images on students’ vocabulary retention in a specific context of students at Nong Cong no.1 upper secondary school?. The participants include a group of students of class 10c5.
 Methods of the study
This study using quantitative research method aimed to determine whether images are able to enhance students’ comprehension skills or have a positive effect on the ability of students to remember vocabulary. The author used data collection instrument to gather information about the students involved, monitor the progress of the students when they used images throughout the research, and determine the effectiveness of the images based on the pre-tests and post-tests and class observation.
The pre-tests were necessary to assess the vocabulary retention level and skills the students possessed before the intervention of the strategy and used as a baseline score. The post-tests were used to determine the effectiveness of the strategy used by the students during the research process by comparing the pre-test scores to the ones taken at the end of the six lessons.Class observation is also effective in evaluating .
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
Vocabulary learning
What is vocabulary?
So far there have been a lot of definitions of vocabulary. Vocabulary can be seen in many different ways. Vocabulary refers to words or a set of words in a language or knowledge of words regarding its forms, meanings and how to use it accurately in the context. In other words, vocabulary refers to the words, compounds and idioms in a language that can be used to convey and receive information in oral and written communication.
1.1.2. What is involved in knowing a word?
When it comes to vocabulary, it surely is the first step toward learning a foreign language. A sentence is usually made up of numerous words. Without any concepts of grammar, learners may guess the meaning of a sentence if the vocabulary is comprehensible to them. Likewise, learners of a foreign language are likely to get their messages across by putting all the words together, even though not in a grammatical, correct order. Therefore, vocabulary serves as the foundation for language learners in communication. However, mastering numerous vocabulary lists to use in communication is not always easy for language learners. For some students, vocabulary has always been one of the obstacles that hinder their English learning. Learners may have different problems in learning vocabulary. Some are capable of recognizing the word in reading but fail to spell it out. Some are able to spell the word out in writing, yet they mispronounce the word in speaking. Still, others can say the word and spell it out perfectly, but surprisingly, they may not know the meaning of the word. Indeed, to learn is one thing; to know is another. In order to know a new word, students need to take great efforts. 
Vocabulary retention
One of the significance in vocabulary learning process is not always students’ comprehending word meaning or spelling, but vocabulary retention. Retention is defined as “the ability to retain facts and figures in memory”. Vocabulary retention, in a similar way, can be referred to as the storage of vocabulary in memory, which becomes available for usage when needed. The efficiency of vocabulary learning can be measured by the extent to which students can remember the words that they’ve already learned to apply in the productive or receptive language learning. Important as it is, it is worth spending time figuring out the factors that can affect students’ vocabulary retention. 
According to different researchers, retention of vocabulary is affected by three following factors: memory, language exposure and effective vocabulary learning strategies. There is a close relationship among these three factors. 
Memory
Memory can be categorized into short-term and long-term memory. 
It can be seen that in order to retain knowledge as much as possible, foreign language learners need all the information of the language that they learned to be transferred into long-term memory. The main way of transferring from short-term memory to long-term memory is by finding some pre-existing information in the long-term memory to attach the new information to. 
Therefore, it can be concluded that after being introduced to students, the vocabulary can only be restored in students’ short-term memory, and will soon fade away if the process of consolidation, involving rehearsal and meaningful association does not take place. 
Language exposure
While the term memory more often refers to later storage and retrieval of information, language exposure refers more to processes in the initial acquisition or encoding of information. 
Effective vocabulary learning strategies
Vocabulary learning strategies is the third factor contributing to vocabulary retention. Language teachers have been placing great emphasis on teaching English vocabulary. However, the results of mastering vocabulary are not desirable, because words sometimes can be forgotten very easily and won’t last long. Therefore, it is of great necessity to adopt effective vocabulary learning strategies. Like general learning strategies, English vocabulary learning strategies include those techniques that help learners remember what they have learned - their storage and retention of new information.
It is important that language teacher is well aware of the factors that affect students’ vocabulary retention and the characteristics of the teaching context so as to have suitable teaching methods to improve it. 
Review on the use of images in vocabulary teaching
The use of images as a mode of multimodality in language learning
Most language teachers seem to agree that the use of images can enhance language teaching. Some researchers have concluded that images clarify and enhance students learning, and that this information is recognized and remembered for longer durations than verbal information alone.
The use of images in vocabulary teaching and its effects on vocabulary retention
The image can be a picture of an object, a set of locations for remembering a sequence of words or expressions, or a mental representation of the letters of a word. This strategy can be used to remember abstract words by associating such words with a visual symbol or a picture of a concrete object. Learners can create their own mental images of a word's meaning.
Visual aids help learners store information in long-term memory and make learning more meaningful for students , introducing visual images can lower classroom anxiety and promote active exploration of the language.
Types of images used in vocabulary teaching
- Picture flashcards.
	When teaching vocabulary of Unit 9:Preserving the environment, picture flashcashs can be effective. For instance:
->pollution
>contamination
- Drawing:Teacher or students can draw pictures on board. This can help understand and remember words better.
- Wall pictures :If it is possible , drawing pictures on the walls can help students remember words a lot.
- Videos: downloading videos from Internet is really effective when teaching Vocabulary
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
Participants and the research context
The participants were 43 students (who were divided into two smaller groups with twenty for each) of 10 C5 class from every corner of Nong Cong district, by this I mean they are both from town and rural areas. Almost of them are females and they are 16 years old. Most these students are generally at elementary level. They learned English for at least five years at high school but this subject was not carefully taken into its consideration. In their opinion, learning English means learning grammar and structures with common lexical sources. Therefore, they find learning vocabulary difficult. Some students can easily adapt to the new ways of learning, but most of them face challenges
2.2.Textbook and Reading materials
The vocabulary materials used in the study consisted of selected texts from new English Textbook 10 (learner-centered and communicative approach with theme-based teaching) published by Education Publishing House and Pearson. In the textbook, there are 10 units with diverse topics related to 4 themes: Our lives, Our society, Our environment, Our future. 5 sections were included in one unit namely: Getting started, Language, Skills, Communication and Culture, Looking back and Project. There are some samples based on the new English textbook for grade 10 in which such common organizers are appropriately applied. It is hoped that English teachers will have a better insight into using images and become confident to integrate these effective tools into their learning vocabulary classroom practice. The study was conducted when the participants were in the second semester when they already had had knowledge about basic structures as well as vocabulary in textbook of grade 10 . Therefore, the author found that it matched with the objectives of the learning program and students’ levels of proficiency. 
2.3. The reality of teaching and learning vocabulary at Nong Cong 1 high school
	As mentioned above, Vocabulary learning in new Tieng Anh 10 is the second of eight lessons that comprise one unit in the textbook( It is included in Language, consisting of Pronunciation, Vocabulary and Grammar). Language lessons admittedly provide language inputs such as vocabulary, structures as well as grammar related to the lesson topic. The students in our school, however, have been facing numerous challenges in vocabulary lesson because of their rentation ability . Some get bored with remembering words, others don’t know how to remember vocabulary long. In addition, most of them have difficulty in remembering words.
 2.4 Research methodology
With a view to investigate the efficiency of using images on learners’ vocabulary retention in the context of Nong Cong No.1 upper secondary students, an action research was conducted. Within the context of using images to develop the vocabulary retention for students at Hanoi Architectural University, conducting a study employing action research is an appropriate approach. As the researcher in this study is also the teacher at this school, she can get directly involved in the teaching process and can realize the problems and difficulties her students have to face, and accordingly, can think of possible solutions to deal with these problems as they arise. In addition, conducting an action research enables the researcher to intervene into the research process to make possible adaptation to aim at improved practice; therefore, as a role of both a teacher and a researcher, this can be done easily. 
In order to answer the research question, which aims at finding out to what extent the use of images can improve students’ vocabulary retention, the researcher employed the two different data collection instruments, namely the vocabulary tests, class observation. 
2.4.1 The pre-test and post-test
The study took place in 8 weeks and were divided into two different phases. Phase 1 lasted 4 weeks and phase 2 continued for another 4 weeks. The reason for dividing the study into two phases were to examine the vocabulary retention of students in both short-term and long-term one. Results after the first phase of the first four weeks reflected students’ short-term memorization of new words, while the retention of vocabulary was justified after the second phase, or after eight weeks.
Class observation
In this study, to ensure the objectivity of the data and to collect viewpoint from various informants, the researcher was fortunate to have the observation done with the participation of an independent observer who was also an English teacher at Nong Cong No .1 upper secondary school . Observation was conducted in all lessons throughout the eight weeks of the study and was based on a detailed checklist .
In order to avoid unnatural behaviors of students when there is the presence of an observer, it was informed to students in advance that a teacher would come to make class observation. Students were also clarified about the purpose of the observation, which aimed to collect data to serve the purpose of doing research, and not for the aims of evaluating students’ level or teacher’s performance during the lesson. 
Data collection procedure
Procedure of the image using intervention
During the eight weeks of the study, each week students had one vocabulary lesson which lasted 45 minutes. Instead of guiding vocabulary to students in a traditional way such as presenting new words on blackboard with meaning, pronunciation, examples, etc. the teacher used images. Images were utilized in a variety of ways, from posters, flashcards, drawing, semantic maps to other visual forms like short films, video clips, etc. Images were either prepared by the teacher or by students. Before each lesson, students were required to collect images related to the topics that were going to be taught to use as resources for the whole class. Word presentation was done through the use of images, similarly to the practice stage. Different activities using images were applied to help students practice the new words such as guessing games, matching, conversation grid, information gap activities, etc. 
A vocabulary lesson often started with about 5 to 10 minutes of vocabulary review in which students were checked how much they could retain vocabulary from previous lesson(s). Activities used for vocabulary review were mainly matching games in which students were supposed to match pictures with words or definitions of words. The main vocabulary teaching activities followed with the main focus on the use of images. The teacher often used elicitation to activate students’ knowledge about the targeted words. For instance, she gave the images of targeted words and asked students what they could tell from the pictures they saw; or she showed a short video clip about the topic with follow-up questions for students to brainstorm the upcoming-targeted words. After that, the teacher listed the words with equivalent pictures to demonstrate the words, together with the definitions, part of speech, pronunciation and structures or examples of how the words could be used in context. For vocabulary practice, communicative activities were implemented with a view to helping students practice the words they learnt in a meaningful way. Here are some of the frequently-used communicative activities: assembling an object, identifying the differences, drawing, information gap as well as comic strip.
CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS
Data analysis and discussion
Effects of using images on students’ vocabulary retention – findings from pre- and post-tests.
To evaluate the improvement of students’ vocabulary retention, the researcher would compare the results between the pre-test and the first post-test, the pre-test and the second post-test and finally all the three tests together. In each group of comparison, the students’ test results as a whole were analyzed first and then significant performance of individuals would be discussed in further details.
Students
Test results
Pre-test
Post-test 1
Post-test 2
S1
5.6
5.8
6
S2
6.2
6
7.4
S3
6.4
6.6
7
S4
7
7.6
7.6
S5
6.4
6.8
7.2
S6
5.2
5.8
6.4
S7
7.4
7.8
8
S8
5.4
6
5.8
S9
5.8
6.8
6.4
S10
6.8
6.4
6.8
S11
7.1
7.5
7.6
S12
8
7.9
8.3
S13
5.4
6.8
7
S14
6.2
7.6
7.8
S15
7.4
7.8
7.8
S16
6.7
7.5
7.5
S17
8.5
8.7
8.6
S18
5.2
6
6.2
S19
7.3
7.8
7.6
S20
7.7
8.4
7.9
S21
6.59
7.08
7.25
S22
5.6
5.8
6
S23
6.2
6
7.4
S24
6.4
6.6
7
S25
7
7.6
7.6
S26
6.4
6.8
7.2
S27
5.2
5.8
6.4
S28
7.4
7.8
8
S29
5.4
6
5.8
S30
5.8
6.8
6.4
S31
6.8
6.4
6.6
S32
7.1
7.5
7.6
S33
8
7.9
8.3
S34
5.4
6.8
7
S35
6.7
7.5
8
S36
6
6.5
7
S37
6.2
6.4
6.5
S38
6.4
6.6
7
S39
7
8
8
S40
8
8.2
8.5
S41
6
6.5
7
S42
6.5
7
8
S43
7
8
8.2
It is obvious from the test results that the overall mean score of the first post-test was relatively higher than that of the pre-test. With this upgrade in the test results, it was likely that students made some certain improvement in their vocabulary retention. 
Effects of using images on students’ vocabulary retention – findings from observation .
Findings from the test results show an improvement in students’ vocabulary retention. However, to justify whether the improvement in the vocabulary retention came from the use of images, data from class observations and interviews were analyzed and discussed. 
From class observation:
Students’ vocabulary retention was evaluated in two separate parts including the retention of previously-learnt vocabulary, which was done through the 5 or 10-minute vocabulary revie