A study on enhancing vocabulary memorization through the uses of pictures for the first year english major students at hung yen university of technology and education

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
---------------------------------------

GRADUATION PAPER
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON ENHANCING VOCABULARY
MEMORIZATION THROUGH THE USE OF
PICTURES FOR THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH
MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
(NGHIÊN CỨU TĂNG CƯỜNG NHỚ TỪ VỰNG QUA
VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRANH ẢNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM
NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI
HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN)
Supervisor: Truong Thi Huong, MA
Student: Nguyen Thi Huong
Student number: 11317028

Hung Yen - 2021


HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
---------------------------------------

GRADUATION PAPER
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS

A STUDY ON ENHANCING VOCABULARY

MEMORIZATION THROUGH THE USE OF
PICTURES FOR THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH
MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION
(NGHIÊN CỨU TĂNG CƯỜNG NHỚ TỪ VỰNG QUA
VIỆC SỬ DỤNG TRANH ẢNH CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM
NHẤT CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI
HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN)
Supervisor: Truong Thi Huong, MA
Student: Nguyen Thi Huong
Student number: 11317028

Hung Yen - 2021


i

DECLARATION
I affirm that the proposition qualified ‘Enhancing vocabulary memorization through the
uses of pictures for the first-year English major students at Hung Yen University of
Technology and Education’ is the result of my own examination and substance of this research
has not submitted for a degree to any other university or institution.

Hung Yen, May 2021
Signature

Nguyen Thi Huong


ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I would like to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude to many people who have
assisted my research work.
Firstly, I would like to express my profound gratefulness to my supervisor – Ms. Truong
Thi Huong – one of the greatest teachers of the Faculty of Foreign Languages who has been
consistently prepared to provide me advice to assist me in finishing effectively my exploration.
This thesis could not have been completed without her scholarly instruction, insightful advice,
and enthusiasm in my research and thesis writing. In addition, I would like to show my profound
gratitude to the teachers who helped me to conduct the questionnaire and 53 students of the
English department at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education who participated in
the study for sparing their time filling out the questionnaire and answering the interview. Besides,
I would like to dedicate my special thanks to my classmates in TAK15.1 who have supported,
cooperated and provided me with valuable suggestions. Last but not least, I sincerely thank my
family for their love, great encouragement and unconditional support to me to fulfill this thesis.


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ABSTRACT

This study was carried with a view to investigating the possibility of using pictures for
teaching and learning vocabulary of the teachers and the fresh-year English major students of
FFL at UTEHY campus 2. The data gathered by survey questionnaires, which delivered to 53
first-year English major students of FFL at UTEHY campus II. The interview also used to collect
information from 3 teachers of FFL at UTEHY. The results showed that most of the students
considered enhance vocabulary extremely important during the process of learning English. As
a result of my research, I hope that the study will make a great contribution to solve the
difficulties of the students and help them succeed in learning.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION ......................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT ............................................................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................... iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................................... iv
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION................................................................................................ 8
1.1.Rationale of the Study ....................................................................................................... 8
1.2 Aims of the study .............................................................................................................. 9
1.3. Scope of the Study ........................................................................................................... 9
1.4 Methods of the study ......................................................................................................... 9
1.5 Design of the study.......................................................................................................... 10
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE ............................................................................ 11
2.1. Overview of vocabulary ................................................................................................. 11
2.1.1 Definitions of vocabulary .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.2 Classification of vocabulary ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
a. Reading vocabulary..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
b. Listening vocabulary................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
c. Writing vocabulary ..................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
d. Speaking vocabulary ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.3 The importance of vocabulary ................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.1.4 Teaching and Learning vocabulary ........................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
a. Learning Vocabulary................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
b. Teaching Vocabulary .................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.


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2.2. Overview of pictures ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2.1.Definition of pictures ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2.2 Types of picture to learning English ......................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
2.2.3 The effectiveness of using pictures for learning and teaching new words ........ Error!
Bookmark not defined.
2.3 Summary ......................................................................................................................... 19
CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY ..................................................................................................... 20
3.1. Methods of the study ...................................................................................................... 20
3.1.1 Participants ............................................................................................................... 20
a. The teachers ............................................................................................................... 20
b. The students ............................................................................................................... 20
3.1.2 Data collection instrument ........................................................................................ 21
3.1.3 Procedures of data collection.................................................................................... 21
3.1.4 Summary................................................................................................................... 21
3.2 Data analysis ................................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1 ................................................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1.1 Students’ opinions on what they have obtained after using pictures for learning
vocabulary ...................................................................................................................... 21
3.2.1.2 Problems often faced by students when learning vocabulary through using
pictures ........................................................................................................................... 24
3.2.1.3 Students’ points of view on the effectiveness of their learning vocabulary through
pictures ........................................................................................................................... 26
3.2.1.4 Students’ recommendations ............................................................................... 30
3.2.2 Survey questions for teachers ................................................................................... 31


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3.2.2.1. Teacher's opinion about the student’s ability on what they have obtained after

using pictures for learning vocabulary........................................................................... 31
3.2.2.2 Teacher's opinion on what they have obtained after using pictures for learning
vocabulary ...................................................................................................................... 31
3.2.2.3 Teachers’ Opinions on Students’ Common Difficulties when applying pictures in
learning vocabulary........................................................................................................ 32
3.2.2.4 Solutions to overcome difficulties from the teachers ........................................ 33
3.2.2.5. Suggestions for teacher ..................................................................................... 33
3.2.3. The interview ........................................................................................................... 34
3.2.3.1 The interview for students ................................................................................. 34
3.2.4. Findings and discussion ........................................................................................... 35
3.2.5 Implication ................................................................................................................ 37
3.2.6 Summary…………………………………………….......………………………………33
CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION ........................................................... 38
4.1. Conclusion...................................................................................................................... 38
4.2. Limitations and suggestions for further study ................................................................ 38
4.3. Suggestion for further study ........................................................................................... 38
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................... 40
APPENDIX 1 ............................................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 2 ............................................................................................................................ IV
APPENDIX 3 ............................................................................................................................ VI


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LIST OF CHART AND TABLE
Chart 1: The opinion of students in English vocabulary .......................................................... 22
Table 1: The times students often spend on learning English vocabulary through pictures .... 23
Chart 3. The opinion in students’ interest in using picture for learning English vocabulary .. 24
Chart 4: Difficulties of students in learning vocabulary through using pictures ...................... 25
Table 2 Students’ difficulties in the learning vocabulary through pictures .............................. 26

Chart 5: The effectiveness of your learning English vocabulary through using pictures ......... 26
Chart 6: The effectiveness of using pictures for learning vocabulary of the fresh-year English
major students ........................................................................................................................... 27
Chart 6: Kinds of the pictures best affect memory ................................................................... 28
Chart 7: Pictures applications ................................................................................................... 29
Table 3: English learning applications...................................................................................... 29
The table 4 Students’ recommendations ................................................................................... 30
Table 7: The student’s ability of using pictures to enhance vocabulary memorization. .......... 31
Table 6: Benefit of pictures for teaching English vocabulary .................................................. 31
Chart 8: Teachers’ opinions on students’ common difficulties when applying pictures for
teaching vocabulary in class by percent ................................................................................... 32
Chart 9: Solutions to overcome obstacles from the teachers .................................................... 33


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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Rationale of the Study
English is an international language. As we know that English is a way to get through
international communication in the globalization era. It is spoken by many people all over the world.
English is also a key to open doors to scientific and technical knowledge which is needed for the
economic, political, social, culture, tourism, and many other fields. Another fact of the importance of
English is a top requirement of those seeking jobs because many occupations require people who have
an English competence. From the facts above, it is obvious that everybody needs English to greet the
global era.
Nowadays in Vietnam, mastering the English language is very important for most people,
especially students. The skill in the English language that the students need to learn is listening,
speaking, reading, and writing. These skills need to be mastered by the students so that they can
communicate in the spoken and written form of the language. To do this, the students need to master

an amount of English vocabulary. They cannot do the activities of listening, speaking, reading, and
writing if they do not master a number of English words. Therefore, it is important for students to
increase their vocabulary of English. Naturally, language teachers tend to be driven to increase and
improve vocabulary knowledge among their students.
In other words, a teacher must be able to create a favorable condition of learning and he
must be skillful to choose suitable material and techniques to stimulate the student to learn. Every
teacher wants to run the teaching-learning process effectively. So, the use of picture is aimed to enable
the students to get the lesson and give an enjoyable atmosphere in the classroom to encourage the
students’ motivation and students’ interest in the lesson.
Pictures are very helpful media especially to avoid misunderstanding of the questions since
the students can relate the questions to the pictures given. Pictures have an important role in the
understanding of meaning. They give an illustration of something and make it clear. Pictures are used
to help students to understand and comprehend something clearly and easily. Based on the previous
explanation I decided to write a final project entitled: “Enhancing vocabulary memorization through
the uses of pictures for the first-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology
and Education.”


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1.2 Aims of the study
This study was carried with a view to investigating the possibility of using pictures for
teaching and learning vocabulary of the teachers and the fresh-year English major students of FFL at
UTEHY. Another objective of this study is to find out the effectiveness and the difficulties of using
pictures in both learning and teaching of students and teachers respectively. From that point, some
suggestions will be given to help students and teachers apply to use picture for learning and teaching
vocabulary.
To fulfill the purposes mentioned above, the study aims to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the attitudes of the teachers and the fresh-year English major students to enhance
vocabulary memorization through the use of pictures for teaching and learning of FFL at UTEHY?

2. How is the effectiveness of using pictures for teaching and learning vocabulary for the teachers
and the fresh-year English major students of FFL at UTEHY?
3. What are the difficulties that the teachers and the fresh-years English major students at UTEHY
have been facing when using pictures for learning new words?
1.3. Scope of the Study
The study is about enhancing vocabulary memorization through the use of pictures for firstyear English major students. Because of time and information constraints, as well as a lack of reference
resources, this study cannot resolve the whole problem of learning vocabulary. Moreover, the study
was unable to include all UTEHY students. It is designed for using pictures to enhance vocabulary
memorization for the first-year English major students of FFL at UTEHY campus 2 only.
1.4 Methods of the study
The study used both quantitative and qualitative approaches to gather data,
including student questionnaires and teacher questionnaires with the student interview
questions. These questions were created with the study's main objectives in mind. The survey
questionnaires delivered quantitatively to 53 first-year English major students and 5 teachers of
FFL at UTEHY campus 2 to find out their attitudes toward using pictures for learning new
words
In addition, the interview was conducted with five first-year English major students of
FFL at UTEHY. These interviews have supported the researcher in checking the
questionnaire's validity and reliability and conducting interviews with students.


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In summary, the whole survey and interview results aim find out difficulties the
students' and the effectiveness in learning English vocabulary through pictures to improve
the quality of learning English vocabulary for first-year students of the FFL at UTEHY.

1.5 Design of the study
The organization of this research includes four main chapters and is arranged as follow:
Chapter 1 is to introduce the theoretical basis of the research, the purpose of the research, the

research question, the scope of the study, the research method, the design of the study.
Chapter 2 is Literary review that includes related studies and an overview of theories such as the
definition of vocabulary, the definition of pictures, the difficulties of using pictures for learning new
words and the effectiveness of using pictures for learning- teaching vocabulary
Chapter 3 is The Study that includes an overview of the situation, the research methodology, data
collection from the survey questionnaires and interviews, data analysis and discussion, findings, and
recommendations.
Chapter 4 is the Conclusion which summarizes the study as well as limitations of study and
suggestions for further study.


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CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1. Overview of vocabulary
2.1.1 Definitions of vocabulary
Vocabulary has been defined variously. Here are some main definitions of vocabulary: in
keeping with Richard, Platt (1992), vocabulary is “a set of lexemes, including single words,
compound words and idioms.”(p. 40). Whereas, the Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1995:1331)
offered its own definition. Vocabulary here is just understood as “the total number of words in a
very language.”
Another definition was given by Penny Ur (1996) during which vocabulary may
be understood as all the words taught within the foreign language. Furthermore, from his point of
view, vocabulary “may be over one word” like post-office or mother-in-law. Meanwhile, another
definition found on the website: www.en.wikipedia.org that “A vocabulary may be a set of words
known to someone or other entity, or that are a part of a selected language”.
Lewis and Hill (1985) also shared Ur’s idea therein he considered a vocabulary item over one
word. They also mentioned a temptation to think that the core of learning an overseas language was
to use words for old things. However, in fact, it had been more complicated than that.

Nguyen Bang and Nguyen Ba Hoc (2002) considered their following definition of vocabulary
as “logical”. per them, when the term “vocabulary” of a language was mentioned, it should be
mentioned as consisting of all the words, compounds and idioms wont to transmit information on
both “oral and written communication”.
The last, it's easy to determine that there are some ways to define vocabulary. The way that
linguists like better to define vocabulary depends on the way he assesses the importance of the
components of every language.
Of all the above definitions, the one that Richard and Platt (1992) propose within
the Dictionary of instruction and applied linguistics is probably one amongst the foremost widely
accepted definitions since it gave us the full scope of vocabulary.
From the reason above, it will be summarized that vocabulary is that the total number of
words, including meaning and data.
2.1.2 Classification of vocabulary
Vocabulary is knowledge of words and word meanings. However, vocabulary is more
complex than this definition suggests. Words are available two forms: oral and print. Oral
vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in listening and speaking. Print


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vocabulary includes those words that we recognize and use in reading and writing (Kamil & Hiebert,
in press).
a. Reading vocabulary
Individual's about reading vocabulary is all the words he or she will be able to recognize when
reading. This can be the biggest variety of vocabulary just because it includes the opposite three.
Reading vocabulary is formed of the words in print that we recognize or can determine.
If you're reading a book that deals with a scientific subject, the definition of assorted terms should be
noted in this book. If you're reading a fiction book, and an uncommon term is employed, a definition
of that term should be listed. Placing the words within the text increases the probabilities that the
word are retained.

b. Listening vocabulary
Individual's listening vocabulary is all the words he or she will recognize when taking note
of speech. This vocabulary is aided in size by context and tone of voice. Listening vocabulary refers
to the words we'd like to understand to know what we hear.
c. Writing vocabulary
Personality's writing vocabulary is all the words he or she will employ in writing. Contrary to
the previous two vocabulary types, the writing vocabulary is stimulated by its user. We expect that
this writing should also enable students to use the vocabulary they need studied during a realistic
context which they may be motivated to find out even more vocabulary they have to accomplish the
task.
d. Speaking vocabulary
Somebody's speaking vocabulary is all the words he or she will use in speech. Because of the
spontaneous nature of the speaking vocabulary, words are often misused. This misuse – though
slight and unintentional – is also compensated by facial expressions, tone of voice, or hand gestures.
2.1.3 The importance of vocabulary
Vocabulary is considered an important aspect of language learning, especially in learning
English. It helps in communication. People rely more on vocabulary than grammar when they want to
communicate. As Wilkins (1972, p. 111112) argues “without grammar, little can be conveyed; without
vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”. From only a few words in a sentence, people can guess what
the sentence will be about. Sometimes, only a single word can show what the speaker or the writer
wishes to express. Thus, it can be said that vocabulary is one of the most crucial elements in English
of all skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.


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First of all, in speaking skills, people need to communicate or present their ideas to others.
It can be imagined that even if the grammar is incorrect, but with the link of vocabulary used in the
presentation of sentences, listeners should be able to guess what the speakers are trying to convey. To
do this, it can be said that vocabulary promotes communicative language which is an important and

necessary aspect of speaking skill. Moreover in speaking skills, the size of vocabulary required for
adequate skills was discussed by West (1960), who argued that around 1,200 headwords would be
enough for a simple presentation of ideas in English. Additionally, West (1953) also recommended
the General Service List for about 2,000 words that is the goal a learner should try to reach. Nation
(1990, p. 93) did not discuss such a large number of vocabulary that is required to speak English:
“Clearly, to speak English it is not necessary to have a large vocabulary. In developing learners’
spoken English vocabulary it is best to give learners practice in being able to say a lot using a small
number of words.”
Secondly, listening performance may fail if listeners have very limited or no knowledge about
any single word in the sentences that are delivered in speech. This skill is considered somewhat
difficult for people who lack skill in listening practice, especially in the English language. Therefore,
if they have difficulties catching what a speaker is trying to say, they have little chance of
understanding the idea presented. However, it can be imagined that if a listener does not even know
what the words are in a single sentence the speaker is saying, this would mean that he or she is unable
to identify the words that he or she hears, producing a communication problem. It can be concluded
that vocabulary plays a very important role in this kind of skill also.
Apart from that discussed above, focusing on reading skills also shows an important role in
vocabulary. Knowing words can make readers understand a text or a passage. Of course, key
vocabulary would be important and necessary to understand the reading but some words which are
not keywords may also have some effect on the meaning of the sentence. The more words the readers
know the more they are likely to understand the reading. As Alsaawi (2013) mentioned people with
limited vocabulary may not be able to read with understanding. This is still a crucial problem for
readers if they do not know the meaning of a word and try to find the appropriate meaning of a single
word, they may find it difficult to select which meaning suits the context the most. The more meaning
readers know about words, the better the overall comprehension can be made.
Finally, writing skill which is considered the most difficult productive skills in English. As
Tangpermpoon (2008) states, it is the most difficult skill of English for language learners to perform
because it is not only about one or two aspects to be able to write but it consists of many things such

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as vocabulary, background knowledge and so on. However, in order to transfer the writers’ ideas to
others, at least, the writer needs to have the ability to put words into sentences. It is therefore difficult
to discount the possibility that vocabulary is one of the main tools to help writers present their ideas
From those discussions about vocabulary knowledge and all four English skills, it can be seen
that vocabulary seems to play a larger and important aspect to all. Without vocabulary, it may be
impossible to perform those four skills. It is important to know, therefore, how to increase vocabulary
knowledge among language learners is suggested to be studied in order to find more effective ways
of encouraging language learners to master or to improve their vocabulary knowledge. It could be
assumed that after having a better knowledge of vocabulary, they should be able to perform all four
skills better.
To sum up, vocabulary knowledge is very important. The more vocabulary the students know,
the more likely it is that they can communicate and understand the language. However, if they do not
have adequate vocabulary knowledge, strategies to cope with unknown words should be introduced
to them so they can find to deal with their limitations in vocabulary. At the same time, these vocabulary
strategies could reveal some useful learning strategies which encourage them to learn and remember
the new words.
2.1.4 Teaching and Learning vocabulary
a. Learning Vocabulary
Carter (1987) explained how vocabulary is learned. He categorized two methods: direct
method and indirect method. So as to be told words either direct or indirect methods, there are two
approaches introduced.
The primary approach is that the “productive approach” which might help students activate
and retrieve items of vocabulary from memory. The second approach is that the “receptive
approach” which involves strategies that help students to grasp and store lexical items in their
memory. The receptive approach is probably going to assist students comprehend the language
while the productive approach tends to encourage students to use or apply the language. Nation
(1990)
Additionally, explained these two approaches. He used the term “receptive learning” for the

“receptive approach” and explained that it's the power to acknowledge words and may recall their
meanings. For the “productive approach”, certainly he called, “productive learning” and have a
tendency to target the flexibility to talk out or write the needed vocabulary which they need learned


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from the receptive learning and apply it in an appropriate time. He also stated the amount of
necessary words required in each application.
In step with Nation (1990, p. 5), He says “If learners have to cover the entire range of language
skills, then a productive vocabulary of around 3000 base words and bigger receptive vocabulary is
required.”
From this statement, receptive vocabulary should be acquired or learned over the productive
vocabulary which is alleged to be 3000 words. Therefore, this suggests that the vocabulary used for
reading and listening or receptive learning should be over this number.
However, so as to be told a language, two approaches should be met, as stated by Nation (1990,
p. 6), “Real vocabulary learning comes through use, both receptive use and productive use.” So, if
students don't have an opportunity to hide both applications, vocabulary learning won't be
successfully learned.
b. Teaching Vocabulary
Consistent with Goebel (2001:6), “teaching vocabulary shouldn't only comprises teaching
specific words but also aim at equipping students with strategies necessary to expand their
vocabulary knowledge”. Vocabulary plays a very important role in learning the language. Schmitt,
N (2000:19) says that “One of the key elements in learning language is mastering the second
language’s vocabulary”.
Vocabulary teaching can help the scholars to be told the meaning of the words, understand the
connection between form the meaning, and the way to use it. Students always handle vocabulary in
learning English because it appears in any language skills. Having enough vocabulary can make
them ready to listen, speak, read, and write. Therefore, vocabulary should be developed so as to
attain their language skills. Meanwhile, vocabulary can't be separated but it should be taught in

context. Teaching vocabulary in context and creating a decent environment to assist the
scholars remember the words easily can improve student’s vocabulary.
Firstly, in teaching the listening skill by using pictures, the author gave the materials by
asking the scholars to pay attention to her so repeat after her. as an example, when the subject was
transportation, the author showed some 31 pictures of transportation and mentioned their
names, then she asked the scholars to repeat saying the names of objects after her. during
this skill, the author used pictures to form the scholars inquisitive about learning. After they
finished and therefore the students knew the names of all the objects on the photographs, the
author showed the photographs again one by one and asked the scholars to mention the names of the
thing to test whether or not they listened to her well or not.


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Secondly, in teaching speaking, the author led the scholars to some communicative activities.
She used pictures to create her easier in delivering the materials. When the subject is about
transportation, she 32 showed some pictures of transportation. Then, she asked some students to
answer the questions on the photographs. This activity could make the scholars understand the
objects and help them say the names of the objects properly.
Thirdly, reading is vital when the learners are learning a replacement language. In teaching the
reading skills by using pictures, the author read the vocabulary twice to create it more clear, then
asked the scholars to read it aloud together after the author did. After that, she randomly pointed a
student to read the vocabulary aloud.
Moreover, in teaching the writing skill by using pictures, the author must explain a way
to write the right letter. Then, the author asked students to write down the vocabulary on the
blackboard. They write the vocabularies supported the images.
Finally, skill practice is that the third step in teaching and learning activity. This activity is
employed to understand the students’ progress within the material that has been explained before.
The teacher prepares some pictures about transportation.
Teaching vocabulary is clearly over just presenting new words. The words that are most

ordinarily used are those an instructor should teach first. But commonly the way of teaching
makes the scholars lazy and bored. The teacher needs something different to form students
interested, mostly children because they're very easy to induce bored. Therefore, the teacher needs
something interesting which might motivate them.

2.2. Overview of pictures
2.2.1. Definition of pictures
Pictures are kinds of visual instruction materials that might be used more effectively to
develop and sustain motivation in producing positive attitudes towards English and to teach or
reinforce language skills.
Grainger (2013), in his presentation about “Power of the image – 10 ways to use
photographs” on January, 26, 2013 claimed that, “we process visuals 60,000 times faster than text”.
He reported that from seeing pictures, people could understand the aim of the message being delivered,
with understanding occurring very quickly and far above simply getting the gist of what to
communicate via a text.
It is used for helping and supporting the teacher in the instruction. Besides, pictures can
stimulate the student's interest and improve their progress in learning. The picture is chosen because
it is simple, interesting, cheap, and can also be made easily.


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According to Burke, (1980:29), “ if a picture can save a thousand words, why do not
language teachers make greater use of them in their lesson? ”. It is reasonable to recognize that
pictures in teaching vocabulary will help the teacher to achieve the objective of teaching as well as
the student in increasing their stock of vocabulary.
The picture gives the student a real concept. Picture in this case as a tool has an important
role in supporting the act of teaching. It can help the teacher makes the teaching-learning process
interesting and does not go into the atmosphere of boredom. In this case, the English Teacher should
be creative in teaching vocabulary.

2.2.2 Types of the picture to learning English
Through picture presentation, people are able to reach outside their minds. Pictures that they
can see always lead to the reality of their minds. But the realities that have been presented by pictures
depend on the types of the pictures.
There are two kinds of pictures that Brazyna Szyke finds especially useful as teaching aids, they
are:
Pictures of individual persons or things may be used mainly at the elementary level, to introduce
or test vocabulary items, for example, a man, and a car. Portraits, pictures showing people in close
detail, are useful for intermediate and advance learners. The students can be asked a question about
the age and profession of the model
Moreover, pictures of situations in which person and object are in action between objects and
people can be a perfect teaching aid for introducing or reviewing grammatical or structures.20
According to Betty Morgan Bowen, there are some types of pictures as their shapes: Wall pictures:
are simply a large illustration of scenes or events. It is usually to be used with the whole of the class.
Besides, a sequence Picture is a series of pictures of a single subject it is function is to tell a story or
a sequence of events. And, Flashcards and Word Flashcards is the card with printed words on it can
help up rapidly, the cards can be used to demonstrate exactly what the teacher wishes. And, Picture
Flashcards; useful for the representation of a single concept, such as an object or in action.
The description above teaching some language-learning skills, which the language teacher
helps the student enter to an imaginative experience beyond the classroom.
2.2.3 The effectiveness of using pictures for learning and teaching new words
According to the definition of the picture, it would be interesting to make use of pictures
or visual input in teaching and learning new words instead of studying via text only, in order to make


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a practical and effective contribution to education. The use of pictorial and visual input could make
lessons more attractive and expose students to something closer to the real world.
Moreover, according to Doda Bataragoa (1983:34-36) points out the followings are the

versatility of picture, as a medium of instruction: picture can attract the learners, which means that
there are some aspects in the picture that catch their attention, a picture can stimulate discussion and
raise questions and picture can supply information and ideas. In addition, Doda Bataragoa explains
good picture have the following qualifications:
Composition: Overall organization of the compositions is fundamental to a good picture. Clarity:
The picture that will be used in teaching should not only be good but also should communicate as
intended message or idea clearly, the picture is more meaningful when they are simple and direct
rather than complex.
Use of color: Color adds realism as well as attractiveness to visual materials although research
indicates the non-realism ones.
Contrast and sharpness: This quality refers to the darkness and the lightness of a picture is also
important in transmitting or communicating information and ideas. So, this could show that picture
use could help draw the attention of students.
Another example of using picture or visual input in learning is from the study of Mason,
Pluchino, and Tornatora (2013) about the online and offline science reading text with the use of
abstract and concrete illustrations. They use “Eye-tracking” as the methodology to study text tracing
and picture processing. The finding of this study revealed that students who learned with the use of
pictures labeled with text outperformed the students who learned without labeled pictures. So, this
could reveal that picture use has some benefits to support reading.
For the English language, pictorial or visual input has widely been used as material to help
teachers motivate students, such as being used as a stimulus for a conversation class, an example for
a vocabulary lesson, a supporting picture for a reading passage, and so forth. Pictures have also been
investigated in many research studies.
As the preceding discussion has shown, the importance of learning languages, the
importance of vocabulary, vocabulary strategies, and pictures used in English language teaching are
of fundamental importance at a practical level. However, it is equally important to better understand
how languages learned or acquired so as to have a deeper insight into how pictures influence different


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stages of obtaining language competence. Relevant ideas or theories about language acquisition will
be discussed in further detail in the next section.
2.3 Summary
This chapter has so far touched upon issues relating to the topic of the study. It has
discussed issues concerning vocabulary: definitions of vocabulary, the importance of vocabulary, the
definition of pictures, effective of using pictures. Besides, study and recommendation will be
presented in the next chapter.


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CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY

This thesis is designed to investigate the effectiveness of using pictures for learning and
teaching new words and possible obstacles faced by the teacher and students in these techniques. The
researcher firstly carried out a survey to gain a general view about the use of pictures for learning and
teaching new words of Faculty of English- UTEHY campus 2, and accordingly had discussions with
the teacher about the effectiveness of techniques afterward. Several surveys were also used in order
to collect relevant data. This chapter analyzes the result of these surveys. The findings of the attitudes
survey and the effectiveness survey on the use of pictures for learning and teaching new words will
be presented, followed by the analysis of data of this technique.
3.1. Methods of the study
In order to study English vocabulary well, the teaching and learning condition is very important.
It is interdependent relationship between the teachers, the selected materials and the students. All of
them are the decisive factors for the success of the learning. To collect the data for researching, the
author used both quantitative and qualitative methods. The interview and the questionnaires were
designed based on the main goals of the study. After getting the results, the author will use the tables
and charts represent the collected data.
3.1.1 Participants

a. The teachers
UTEHY schools’ teaching staffs are all enthusiastic, responsible in their work and try their
best to give the most effective lectures to students. The old have experienced and the young are active
and creative. There are 31 teachers of English in FFL at UTEHY campus 2. Because of Covid –19
situation the questionnaire was administered to three English teachers. All of them have experience in
teaching for more than three years. They always try their best to meet the demands of work. The fact
shows that the way of teaching is refreshed by these enthusiastic teachers day by day to avoid boredom.
b. The students
The research related to Faculty of Foreign Languages campus II – UTEHY and the freshyear English major students in using pictures for learning new words. 53 the fresh-year English
students who come from classes Tak18.1 of the Faculty of Foreign Languages campus II were chosen
for the subjects of the study. Moreover, students here come from all parts of the country but all most
of them come from provinces and mountainous areas and their level of English is not quite high.


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3.1.2 Data collection instrument
The writer used survey questionnaires and interview questions to complete the study. The
results of the questionnaire were the major source of data analysis. The writer used survey
questionnaires and interview questions to complete the study. The results of the questionnaire were
the major source of data analysis.
Questions often focus on students' perceptions of the importance of improving vocabulary
and the effectiveness of using pictures to help them develop English vocabulary. This source of data
collection was aimed at providing a realistic view of the frequency and creative adaptation of using
pictures to enhance vocabulary memorization. The questionnaire sheet including ten questions was
designed to help the writer have an orientation to follow how the effectiveness of the picture to
improve vocabulary. As a result, the data collected was summarized and analyzed more easily.
3.1.3 Procedures of data collection
The questionnaires are designed based on the operation of the fresh-year English student of
FFL. After designing questionnaires, the writer distributed them to 53 students in FFL questions were

included to make it easier for the writer to collect the information needed 3 copies of survey
questionnaires were sent to the lecturers in FFL. After collecting information, the data will be
illustrated in the statistic or be presented in a table. During this period of time, all the necessary
information was summarized under the categories of difficulties to contribute to the data analysis of
the study.
3.1.4 Summary
This chapter presented the overview on objective of course, the subjects of the study, instruments
of data collection and data collection. The author used two different instruments, survey
questionnaires, and interview with the purpose of achieving more reliable, valid data. In the next, the
author will present the data analysis, and discussion for teaching and learning English vocabulary
through using pictures.
3.2 Data analysis
3.2.1
3.2.1.1 Students’ opinions on what they have obtained after using pictures for learning
vocabulary
Question 1: What do you think about vocabulary?


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Boring
15%
Boring

Interesting
25%

Difficult
60%

Interesting
Difficult

Chart 1: The opinion of students in English vocabulary
Question 2: How important do you think about vocabulary?

7%

4%
Very Important
Important

29%

Not very important

60%

Not important

Chart 2: The importance of English vocabulary
Basing on the first question “What do you think about vocabulary?” and “How important do you
think about vocabulary?” .The results given in the first and the second question indicate that 60 % the
students faced up with difficult in memorizing vocabulary. Additionally, when being interviewed, a
large number of the students affirmed that “English is a difficult subject, especially its vocabulary. It
is not easy to memorize vocabulary”. Normally, they often learn by heart each word. However, they


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will easily forget it in a very short time. They may read this again and again or write down many times.
Although it took them lots of time and effect, the results were not effective as they had expected. The
effectiveness of this method is very low and makes students have to spend much time. Because they
do not know how to apply words in a concrete situation. In addition, because the various meaning of
a word may make students confused, they do not study English vocabulary systematically. Naturally,
15 % of them feel boring with vocabulary lessons. This leads to a status like this – students do not pay
attention to the lessons and lose many knowledge. At the same time, 60% of the students considered
vocabulary lesson is of slight importance to them. Very few students (only 4%) insisted that
vocabulary put no influence on them. From this result, we can prove an idea that learning vocabulary
should not be omitted due to its necessity, really.
Question 3 How much time do you spend on English vocabulary through pictures?
Less than 15
minutes/day

15 minutes –
30 minutes/day

1 hour – 1
hour
minutes/day

22.6%
students)

(12

50.9%

(27

students)

0%

More than 1

30 hour

Other

30

minutes/day
15.1%
students)

(8

11.3%(6
students)

Table 1: The times students often spend on learning English vocabulary through pictures
Looking at table, we found that 22.6% of all students spend less than 15 minutes of time on a day
spent using pictures for learning vocabulary, half of them (50.9%) spending between 15 minutes and
30 minutes a day, no student has spent between 1 hour and 1 hour 30 minutes a day, up to 15.1% of
students spend More than 1 hour 30 minutes a day on their own and the last 11.3% offer a different
time frame. In general, students usually spend between 15 minutes and 30 minutes a day studying on
their own.
With 5 members in TAK18.1 were interviewed about the frequency of learning English vocabulary
50% of them said that they do not have the habit of learning independently and tend to depend largely

on the given course book and the teachers.