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TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE
Acceptance page i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
Table of contents iv
List of figures, tables, and abbreviations vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION
1 Rationale 1
2 Aims of the study 2
3 Research questions 2
4 Scope of the study 2
5 Significance of the study 3
6 Methods of the study 3
7 An overview of the rest of the study 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Vocabulary
1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary 5
1.1.2 The roles of vocabulary 5
1.1.3 Aspects of vocabulary to be taught 6
1.2 Approaches and Methods in teaching vocabulary
1.2.1 Grammar translation method 7
1.2.2 The Direct method 7
1.2.3 Audio-lingual method 8
1.2.4 Communicative Language Teaching approach 8
1.3 Pictures
1.3.1 Definition of pictures 9
1.3.2 Benefits of pictures 9
1.3.3 Main types of pictures in vocabulary teaching 10

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1 Participants 12
2.2 Data collection instruments 13
2.3 Procedures of data collection 15
2.4 Data analysis methods and procedures 16

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CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 The current exploitation of pictures to teach vocabulary 18
3.2 Advantages of using pictures 22
3.3 Main difficulties in using pictures to teach vocabulary 24
3.4 Desires and pedagogical suggestions 27
PART C: CONCLUSION
1 Conclusion 30
2 Pedagogical suggestions 32
3 Limitations of the study 33
4 Suggestions for further research 34
REFERENCES 36
APPENDICES
Appendix 1A: Contents of the course book New English File Elementary
Appendix 1K: Contents of the course book New English File Pre-intermediate
Appendix 1H, 1I, 1J, 1N: Samples of vocabulary bank from the course books
Appendix 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F, 1G, 1L, 1M, 1N, 1O, 1P, 1Q: Suggested worksheets
Appendix 2A, 2B: Questionnaires for teachers and students
Appendix 2C, 2D: Interviews for teachers and students
Appendix 3: Transcription of the Interviews

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LISTS OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS
List of Tables
Table 1: A classification of the 120 surveyed students according to their majors and classes
Table 2: Advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary as perceived by teachers
Table 3: Advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary as perceived by students
List of figures
Figure 1: Using pictures to teach vocabulary according to teachers and students’ answers
Figure 2: The frequency of using pictures to teach vocabulary
Figure 3: Teachers’ ways to exploit pictures to teach vocabulary
Figure 4: Difficulties in using pictures to teach vocabulary perceived by teachers
Figure 5: Difficulties in using pictures to teach vocabulary perceived by students
Figure 6: Teachers and students’ attitudes towards the necessity of using pictures to teach
vocabulary
List of abbreviations
CLT: Communicative Language Teaching
VNU, HUEB: Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Economics and Business
VNU, HULIS: Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International

Studies
M.A: Master of Arts


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PART A: INTRODUCTION
This initial part states the rationale for the study, the aims, the scope and methods
of the thesis. More importantly, the research questions are identified to work as clear
guidelines for the whole research. Lastly, this part concludes with an overview of the rest
of the thesis, serving as a compass to orientate the readers throughout the study.
1 Rationale
According to Harmer (1993, p.153), “If language structures make up the skeleton
of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh.” Apparently,
vocabulary functions as a cornerstone without which any language could not exist.
Speaking would be meaningless and perhaps impossible having only structure without
vocabulary. Vocabulary limitation makes learners difficult to express their ideas, emotion,
as well as fulfillment of communication targets. David Wilkin (1972) pointed out “Without
grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed.” (as
cited in Thornbury, 2002, P.47). Therefore, vocabulary, one of the major components of
language, reserves a consideration in both teaching and learning English.
In the context of Viet Nam National University, Hanoi University of Economics
and Business, English is being taught as a compulsory subject for non-major students. As
far as the situation of English language learning and teaching is concerned, students have
confronted a number of obstacles preventing them from achieving communicative
competence. After several years of learning English, the students may be very good at
grammar exercises but they always find it hard to communicate successfully in English.
They have many difficulties in expressing their ideas because of lacking vocabulary. In
addition, they may know very well the meaning of words when doing exercises but hardly
use them in real situations.
To overcome these disadvantages, the gap between classroom knowledge and

students‟ ability in real communication should be bridged. One of the ways to narrow this
gap is to implement pictures in teaching vocabulary to maximize the active vocabulary of
students.
Last but not least, pictures have been used to teach many aspects of language for
the fact that this type of visual aids is useful in providing students with interest motivation
and a sense of the context. With regard to M.A theses of VNU, HULIS although there are a
number of studies on exploitation of pictures, most of them deal with listening, speaking,
and reading. In other words, applying pictures to teach vocabulary has received little

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attention, leading to a needed consideration for further studies especially with first-year
students at VNU, HUEB.
From the above mentioned reasons, this thesis on exploitation of pictures in
teaching vocabulary meets the research demand of the context.
2 Aims of the study
The research thesis is expected to find out whether pictures have been exploited in
teaching vocabulary for first year students at VNU, HUEB. If they already have, a closer
look would be taken at the different ways they are employed. Secondly, the study aims at
clarifying the fundamental advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary according
to the perceptions of both teachers and students. In addition, subsequently, hindrances for
further exploitation of pictures in the same context are also detected paving the ways for
several pedagogical implications for better employments of pictures in the context of
teaching vocabulary to first year students at VNU, HUEB. In brief, these aims could be
summarized into four research questions.
3 Research questions
1. How have pictures been exploited by teachers in teaching English vocabulary for first
year students at Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Economics and
Business?
2. What are the advantages of pictures in teaching vocabulary as perceived by teachers and
students?

3. What are the main difficulties in exploiting pictures in teaching vocabulary as
perceived by teachers and students?
4. Do teachers and students desire to use pictures in teaching vocabulary?
What are their suggestions for more exhaustible exploitation of pictures in teaching
vocabulary?
4 Scope of the study
The study is restricted to the area of investigating in the uses of pictures-one type of
visual aids in teaching vocabulary not a wide range of visual aids. The samples of the study
are also limited to only first year students from main stream classes at Vietnam National
University, Hanoi University of Economics and Business.

5 Significance of the study
As one of the trail-blazing studies on teaching vocabulary with the help of pictures
to freshmen at VNU, HUEB, the thesis could be particularly useful for students, teachers,

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and researchers who develop an interest in the topic.
Specifically, since the study delves into exploiting pictures to teach vocabulary in
the light of CLT approach as a means of bridging the gap between classrooms and the real
world, its findings hopefully would contribute to first year students‟ better use of English
as a tool of communication.
As for the teachers, they would get useful information on different types of
pictures, source of pictures, as well as uncommon ways to apply pictures in the light of
CLT. More importantly, they would have more ideas of students‟ perceptions and desires
of this technique. In addition, the study also provides teachers with some helpful
suggestions so that they could take their own initiatives to effectively exploit pictures in
their classroom situations.
Finally, with regard to the researchers, those who happen to develop the same
interest in this topic could certainly rely on this research to find reliable and useful
information for their related study.

6 Methods of the study
6.1 Data collection methods
During the process of data collection, the researcher employed the questionnaires
and interviews. To be more detailed, two sets of questionnaires were used for 120 students
and 11 teachers respectively so that the data about the exploitation of using pictures to
teach vocabulary could be gathered from different viewpoints. In addition, six sets of semi-
structured interviews questions were applied to exploit further information from three
teachers and 6 students of 3 classes.
6.2 Data analysis methods
In the first place, the collected data would be classified according to four research
questions. The needed combination of gathered responses from both teachers and students
was to analyze four research questions. For each research question, responses were
calculated and transferred into numerical forms. The data was then clearly presented in the
forms of tables and charts to facilitate the synthesis, comparison and generalization of the
data. Pie charts and graphs were principally utilized to analyze and compare figures in
general sense, while tables were preferably applied when further details were required. The
participants‟ answers to open-ended questions in questionnaires and interviews would be
summarized and presented in the form of quotation and cited if necessary.
7 An overview of the rest of the study
The rest of the thesis includes five chapters

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Chapter 1 (Literature review) provides the background of the study, including definitions
of key concepts and aspects of vocabulary.
Chapter 2 (Methodology) describes the participants and instruments of the study, as well as
the procedures employed to carry out the research.
Chapter 3 (Data analysis and discussion) presents, analyzes and discusses the collected
data from the questionnaires, interviews and class observations
Conclusion summarizes the main issues discussed in the thesis, the findings that the
researcher found out from the data collected according to the four research questions, the

limitations of the research, several pedagogical recommendations concerning the research
topic as well as some suggestions for further studies. Following this chapter are
bibliography and appendices.
Summary
In this chapter, the researcher has elaborated the following points:
1. Rationale
2. Aims of the study
3. Research questions
4. Scope of the study
5. Significance of the study
6. Methods of the study
7. An overview of the rest of the study
In brief, these elaborations have not only justified the major contents and structure of the
study but it also works as the guidelines for the rest of the thesis.





PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter provides an overview of the literature, specifically the background and
a number of studies related to the research topic, laying the solid foundations for the
subsequent development of the thesis. Not only are key terms like vocabulary and picture
defined but background information about the key terms is also presented to ensure the
thorough understanding of the research matters.

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1.1 Vocabulary
1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary

As the current thesis tackles vocabulary acquisition, it is first necessary to
demonstrate the definition of vocabulary. According to Oxford Advanced Learners‟
Dictionary Sixth Edition (2000), vocabulary is “all the words a person knows or uses or all
the words in a particular language.” Each linguist or scholar in his specialized field with
his own set of criteria worked out different definitions of vocabulary. In terms of
methodology, Penny Ur (1999, p.60) stated: “Vocabulary can be defined roughly as the
words we teach in the foreign language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more
than a single word and also multi-word idioms”. With regard to the semantic criterion,
Pyles and Algeo‟s (1970, p.96) believed:
It is true that vocabulary is the focus of language. It is word that sounds and
meanings interlock to allow us to communicate with one another and it is word that
we arrange together to make sentences, conversations and discourse of all kinds.

It is worth noting that there are various definitions of vocabulary and each has its
own features reflecting some aspects of vocabulary. Actually, making a complete
definition covering all aspects of vocabulary is categorically a great work. However, it can
be drawn from the above definitions of different views: vocabulary is all the words
including a single word or multi-word items that a language possesses.
1.1.2 The roles of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
It is widely accepted that vocabulary is the most important dimension of all
language materials. According to Sinclair (1996, p.67), “Vocabulary is crucial for getting
meaning from a written or oral text. Without knowledge of key vocabulary in a text, a
learner may have serious trouble understanding the massage. Besides, Harmer (1991:
p.153) mentioned: “If language structures make up the skeleton of language, then it is
vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh to make up its perfect body”.
Therefore, to most of language learners, the acquisition of vocabulary is a fundamental and
important component in the course of language learning. It is undeniable that students
mastering a variety of vocabulary perform better in the practical and communicative
language activities as well as four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
From the above we can see that vocabulary is the leading factor for learners to gain

their target language. Hence, vocabulary deserves an important position in foreign
language teaching and learning.
1.1.3 Aspects of vocabulary to be taught

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A matter of great concern for teachers is what aspects of a word should be taught in
a language class. To understand a text, learners need to know words and “knowing a word
involves knowing: its spoken and written context of use, its pattern with words of related
meaning, (Cater, 2001, p.43), (as cited in To Thu Huong et al, 2008, P.77). When teaching
vocabulary in CLT, it is then necessary to consider aspects like meaning, forms, grammar,
collocation, word formation and uses. Because the main goal of language teaching in CLT
is to develop communicative competence through interaction in the target language and to
enable students to produce grammatically sentences in real situations. Ur (2000, p.60-62)
and Harmer (1993, p.156-157) agreed on listing the fundamental features, which need to be
included within vocabulary teaching. Besides knowing the form of the word, learners also
need to be familiar with its grammar. Learners need to know irregular forms of verbs or
plural nouns, the position of adjectives etc. Another aspect in teaching vocabulary is the
word formation. Learners should know how to change a word form and when to use it.
Teaching the meaning includes mainly connecting a word with its equivalent in the real
world. It is called denotation. Apart from denotation, connotation of the word (associations
and feelings, which arise when the word is heard) should be taught. Many vocabulary
items have several meanings depending on different contexts. Moreover, according to
Harmer (1993, p.157) “word meaning is frequently stretched through the use of metaphor
and idiom.” Furthermore, learners need to be provided with the word sense relations to
other words such as synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms etc. Another challenge the learner
will face when learning a new item is collocation. On top of that, the student needs to
acquire the ability to recognize when it is appropriate to use a particular word – speaking
or writing, informal conversation with a friend or formal polite conversation. (Ur 2000,
p.60-62; Harmer 1993, p.156-157)
To sum up, it is not enough to learn just the form of a new vocabulary item and its

denotation. In order to be able to understand properly and to use a new item of vocabulary
in a given language correctly, the learner must be familiar with the word connotation,
grammar and formation as well as its collocation and the right way and appropriateness of
use.
1.2 Approaches and Methods in teaching vocabulary
1.2.1 Grammar translation method
According to Richards and Rodges (1996), “In the nineteenth century, the
Grammar Translation Method was the primary method used to teach English” (As cited in
To Thu Huong et al, 2008, p. 28). This method focuses on translating grammatical forms,

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memorizing vocabulary, and learning rules. Priority is given to accuracy not to fluency.
Moreover, emphasis is on form and not on meaning. It also aims at providing the students
with a wide literary vocabulary in written exercises.
However, there are a number of weak points of this method shown quite clearly in
terms of communicative goal. Norbert Schmitt (1997, p.12) stated, “One of the main
problems with Grammar translation methods was that it focused on the ability to analyze
language and not the ability to use it”. In addition, Prato and Celce-Murcia (1979, p.35)
claimed, “In the grammar translation method, classes are taught in the mother tongue with
little active use of the target language. Much vocabulary is taught in the forms of lists of
isolated words”. Therefore, students taught in this method are generally good at grammar,
reading, and translation skills but could hardly communicate in the target language and
engage in even simple conversation.
1.2.2 The Direct method
Towards the end of the late 1800s, a revolution in language teaching vocabulary,
seen as the dawn of modern foreign language teaching, took place. The appearance of the
Direct method moves as far away variety of typical techniques of the Grammar translation
method. It emphasizes oral communication with speaking, listening and pronunciation.
This method is highly appreciated in teaching foreign language in general and in
teaching vocabulary in particular. Students are asked to put words in lists or complete

various vocabulary exercises. When teachers apply this method students are taught
vocabulary in direct relation to concrete objects and experiences. Besides, the grammar
rules are often presented through repetition of forms and action made by teachers, so
students find it easier to master the lesson.
This method, however, like all the other approaches, it had problems. It required
teachers to be proficient in the target language, which was not always the case. In the
United States, the 1929 Coleman Report took this limit into account and concluded that the
Direct Method was not sufficient to develop overall language proficiency. (Norbert
Schmitt, 1997, p.13)
1.2.3 Audio-lingual method
Because of weak points of previous methods in developing students‟
communicative skills, a new pedagogical direction was needed and Audio-lingual method
naturally continued as a rule of development. Because the emphasis in Audiolingualism
was on teaching structural patterns, the vocabulary needed to be relatively easy and so was

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selected according to its simplicity and familiarity. New vocabulary was rationed and only
added when necessary to keep the drill viable.
1.2.4 Communicative Language Teaching approach
In the late 1950s the Audiolingualism proved ineffective, and it began to fall out of
favor. Hymes (1772) added the concept of communicative competence, which emphasized
using language for the meaningful communication_ Communicative Language Teaching
(as cited in Nobert, S, 1997, p.34)
1.2.4.1 Features of Communicative Language teaching approach
Norbert Schmitt, (1997, p.14) pointed, “The focus is on the message and fluency
rather than grammatical accuracy. It is taught through the problem-solving activities, and
tasks that require the students to transact information such as information gap activities.”
According to David Nunan (1991, p.279), in CLT, there is an emphasis on learning to
communicate through interaction in the target language and the introduction of authentic
texts into the learning situation. The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not

only on the language but also on the learning process itself is one of the typical features.
Especially, an attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside
the classroom is actually activated in this approach. In addition, In the classroom, CLT
approach often takes the form of pair and group work requiring negotiation and
cooperation among learners, fluency-based activities that encourage students to develop
their confidence and role play in which they practice and develop language functions.
To sum up, a certain number of objectives in teaching a foreign language to make
students use the target language in the real life and develop communicative competence
could be put into practice with the presence of the Communicative Language Teaching
Approach.
1.2.4.2 Principles of teaching English vocabulary in CLT approach
The various pedagogical principles of CLT approach to language teaching in
general and vocabulary in particular are shown quite clearly. According to Hubbard et al
(1989) in Nation (2003) (as cited in To Thu Huong et al, 2006, p.91) general principles
could be summarized in the following main ones. In the first place, teachers teach and
practice words in their spoken form, otherwise students will try to pronounce the words as
they are written. Then, students will remember new vocabulary better if it is presented in a
memorable way to start with and put to regular practice. Teachers always check their
students‟ understanding the meaning of new words. In addition, high frequency words are
suggested to be given more teaching time and attention than low frequency words because

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they are more useful. Those words should be fluently accessible for both receptive and
productive use and become part of learners‟ active vocabulary. Learners had better be
trained in vocabulary learning strategies (using word cards, learning by means of word
association, guessing meaning from context, using dictionary, etc) for effective self-study.
1.3 Pictures
1.3.1 Definition of pictures
Being one major type of visual aids, a picture, as defined in the Oxford Advanced
Learners‟ Dictionary is “a visual representation or image painted, drawn, photographed, or

otherwise rendered on a flat surface”. They are not only one of the most interesting visual
aids but also “worth a thousand words” (Hill, 1990 as cited in To Thu Huong et al, 2006,
p.222)
1.3.2 Benefits of pictures
Concerning the benefits of using pictures in teaching vocabulary, it is said that
pictures are “of great help in stimulating the learning of a foreign language” (Bowen, 1982,
p.1). This is due to the fact that both ears and eyes are considered the primary channel of
learning. Thus, looking at a picture both intentionally and unintentionally may encourage
the students to come up with certain ideas or think about certain vocabulary. What we see
affects how we interpret what we hear and vice versa. How someone is dressed, how they
behave and what they say is inextricably linked in our mind. Added to this, Andrew
Wright, (1989, p.136) also found out in his study:
Pictures have been used for centuries to help students understand various aspects of
foreign language. The pictures have motivated the students, made the subject they
are dealing with clearer, and illustrated the general idea and form of an object or
action which are particular to a culture
Undeniably, students will have quicker understanding and better memorization of some
objects when they see the images. This is totally similar to the conclusion implemented by
Sarkar (1999, p.56) that “pictures of stage, of periods of costumes, of life at a particular
time, etc enlarge the learners‟ understanding far more effectively than any amount of
painstaking explanation”. Pictures can represent the non-verbal sources of information.
They and what they represent are centrally bound with the nature of communication itself.
In addition, not only serving the function of illustration, pictures also help to “bring
life” into classroom by introducing everyday topics to the students and place them into
natural situations. Andrew, (1984, p.28) stated: The most useful contribution a picture can
make is to contribute to the students‟ understanding of a more general context which may

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be made up of pictures, the students‟ actions, the teachers‟ actions sound effects and
words.

1.3.3 Main types of pictures in vocabulary teaching
Picture Flashcards
Bowen (1998, p.25) stated: “Flashcards are pictures drawn on cards which are held
up rapidly by the teacher.” In terms of size, it is suggested that picture flash cards must be
“small enough to handle easily” but “big enough for the class to see”
Drawings
Drawing finds huge potential in teaching languages. Wright (1990, p.27) stated that
drawings “provide an immediately available source of pictorial material for the activities.
Students and teachers drawings also have a special quality, which lies in their immediacy
and their individuality.” The activity of drawing within the classroom categories: drawing
on the board carried out by the teacher to present the meaning of new words and drawing
as an activity of students to practice.
Wall pictures
According to Bowen (1982, p.43), whether “commercially produced or hand-
drawn, a wall picture is a large illustration of a scene or event, or a set of scenes or events.”
Due to their features, wall pictures are intended to be used for the whole class activities.
Therefore, a wall picture should be large enough to ensure that all students in the class can
see apparently.
Summary
In short, this chapter briefly reviewed the theoretical background of the study. In
the first place, vocabulary and its connected issues like definition, roles and aspects of
vocabulary were presented in detail. Besides, different approaches and methods of teaching
vocabulary were also analyzed in terms of Grammar translation method, the Direct method
and Communicative Language Teaching approach. Finally yet importantly, the researcher
focused on the definition, benefits and main types of pictures. All of these lines would be
the basis for the next parts of the whole thesis

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOOGY
This chapter would depict in detail the methodology of the whole research. It
includes the size and characteristics of the sample, justification for and description of the
two data collection instruments. Furthermore, an elaborate report on the methods,
procedures of data collection and data analysis is also incorporated.
2.1 Participants
The process of data collection involved the participation of both English teachers
and first year students at VNU, HUEB. The first group included 120 first-year students
from different majors and the other consisted of 11 teachers of English Department,
HULIS.
2.1.1 Teachers
Because of the fact that using pictures to teach vocabulary was clearly identified as
the subject of the whole study, teachers‟ roles in designing, facilitating, prompting, and
assessing these activities in the classrooms should be considered thoroughly. Thus, English

teachers working at VNU,HUEB were involved in the data collection process to report the
factual situations of English teaching and learning vocabulary as well as to share their
valuable experiences related to the topic.
Although the number of English teachers at English Department VNU, HULIS was
considerable, there were only 8 teachers currently working for VNU, HUEB. The
researcher made an attempt to ask 3 other English teachers who used to teach English at
VNU, HUEB for cooperation. Among the surveyed teachers, 8 teachers had master degrees

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and the others were attending M.A course. They all aged from 25 to 32 and had at least 2-
year teaching experience.
2.1.2 Students
There has been a shift from „teacher centeredness‟ to „learner centeredness‟ in the
modern language teaching. Therefore, the participation of first year students played a vital
role in this study. In fact, the principle underlying the sampling procedure of these students
was “stratified random sampling” since this principle was stated by Hoang &Nguyen
(2006, p.27) to “minimize the effects of any extraneous or subjective variables that might
affect the outcome o the survey study”. Moreover, Verma and Mallick (1999, p.34)
believed that sampling procedures were particularly useful in research which aimed at
assessing the attitudes, values or beliefs of a group.
Thus, 120 students were randomly selected to provide the greatest assurance that
the students could accurately represent the whole population. However, surveyed freshmen
must come from different majors to ensure that students of almost different levels of
English, from almost every English teaching and learning background were considered in
the study. In addition, the students‟ ages were from 18 to 22 and the number of males was
strikingly considerably equal to that of females.
Majors
Classes
Number of surveyed students
International Economics

Mainstream
20
Finance and Banking
Mainstream
20
Accounting
Mainstream
20
Development Economics
Mainstream
20
Political Economics
Mainstream
20
Business Administration
Mainstream
20
Total
120
Table 1: A classification of the 120 surveyed students according to their majors and
classes
2.2 Data collection instruments
In order to get a sufficient reliable and valid data for the study, interviews and
questionnaires would be employed in this thesis. Questionnaire, one of the most widely
employed tools in educational research (Verma &Mallick, 1999) was the major data
collection instrument because it allowed the researcher to access a significant number of
subjects which contributed to data validity and reliability. Meanwhile, the data from

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interview helped to clarify and complement the information from questionnaire in order to

offer the researcher an insight into the issue.
2.2.1 Questionnaire
Two different sets of questionnaires were utilized, one for the teacher and the other
for first-year students. The similarity between two sets was the combination of close and
open-ended questions, which gave the researcher certain control over the content and at the
same time allowed the subjects to offer in-depth information.
To be specific, the questionnaire for teachers consisted of seven questions. The first
3 questions were to find out whether teachers used pictures to teach vocabulary and the
ways they exploited the pictures. The fourth question was to answer the second research
question (advantages of pictures in teaching vocabulary. The fifth question was to seek
obstacles for further exploitation of pictures as perceived by teachers. The questions
number 6 and 7 were to answer the last research question from which teachers‟ desires of
using pictures and their pedagogical suggestions for further exploitation would be revealed.
The questionnaire for students included 6 questions. Students were asked to share
their opinions if their teachers had ever used pictures to teach vocabulary (research
question 1), how they perceived the strengths and difficulties of using pictures (second and
third research questions); their desires in teaching vocabulary and recommendations for
more effective ways of using pictures to teach vocabulary.
Generally, in terms of content, all the questions in two questionnaire sets were to
solve the research questions.
2.2.2 Interviews
According to Mc Donough (1998), the in-depth interviews gave room for
individual expression, which was helpful in this case to investigate subjects‟ further
opinions of advantages, hindrances, and recommendations. Similarly, to the questionnaires,
there were two separated schedules for teachers and students. They were both semi-
structured to provide interviewees with great flexibility while offering the interviewees
adequate power and control over the course of the interview (Hoang & Nguyen, 2006,
P.45). The language used in the interviews was both English and Vietnamese in order to
minimize the misunderstandings.
In terms of structures, the interviews with the teachers aimed at exploring specific

and typical types of pictures exploited by the interviewees. Therefore, the questions could
be categorized into 5 interview questions in order to answer research questions. Firstly, the
teachers were asked to tell about the frequency they often applied pictures to teach

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vocabulary. This was followed by the comment section, which required the teacher to
subjectively and even objectively evaluate the activities with the help of pictures to teach
vocabulary in terms of advantages and difficulties encountered. Finally, teachers were
asked to express their sincere desires for further exploitation of pictures to teach
vocabulary to their own students.
Likewise, other interviews were also conducted with 6 students of 3 classes The
purpose was to investigate the using pictures profile in their class, outstanding strengths of
pictures and their suggestions for further exploitation of pictures. In addition, informal
unrecorded talks were naturally presented between the researcher and other students to
collect the data in a relaxing and effective way. Such open responses together with their
answers in the questionnaires were to solve research questions.
2.3 Procedures of data collection
The data collection went through three major phases in chronological order: preparing
instruments, delivering questionnaires, and interviewing.
2.3.1 Phase 1
The first step was the preparation for the data collection process, which included
the designing of two interview schedules and two questionnaires for two main groups of
participants namely the teachers and students.
After that, they were revised through piloting. The questionnaires and interviews
had been piloted with two English teachers at English department, HULIS and a group of
second-year students from VNU,HUEB. The results of piloting were taken into great
consideration for the formulation of the final draft to maximize the strengths and keep
weaknesses to a minimum. Thanks to this process, the pre-face of the teachers and
students‟ questionnaire was much improved with more worth-asking questions. Besides,
appointments were also made for interviews with teachers at this point.

2.3.2 Phase 2
In this phase, the questionnaires were delivered to both teachers and students.
Questions were exchanged frequently between the surveyed teachers and the researcher to
ensure the comprehension of the questions and the accuracy of the collected data. More
importantly, following questionnaire would be an informal talk between the researcher and
the interviewee. The motive of this small but significant step was to check the teacher‟s
comprehension of the research topic.
2.3.3 Phase 3

15
The last step was interviews with teachers and students. According to the time
arranged, the researcher would conduct interviews with the teachers and students during
their off-periods. In addition, to ensure the absence of noise, interviews for students would
be set after classes had finished. The interviewer began with a friendly talk to introduce
and create rapport among participants. Then, the researcher gave a brief explanation of the
format, the length of the interview and asked them for any questions before actually
recording the interview. Tape-recording did not bear any threats to the reliability of data
collected thanks to the non-threatening situation of the study and the confidentiality of
data. During the interview, respondents were encouraged to express their subjective
viewpoints, share their personal experiences, and give specific examples so that in-depth
information could be achieved. The researcher had to clarify questions or any
misunderstandings of the respondents to reorientate them tactfully when they went off
track. Noticeably, in addition to tape-recording, the researcher took notes on important
points throughout the interview, which was useful for later transcription of the tape.
2.4 Data analysis methods and procedure
In the first step, the data collected was classified according to four research questions.
Since each research question aimed at exploring an aspect of using pictures to teach
vocabulary from teachers and students‟ views, it must be answered through the synthesis of
information involving the two parties.
As for the first research question, all ways of exploiting pictures to teach vocabulary

applied by the teachers to first year students at VNU,HUEB were gathered from the
questionnaires and interviews before being divided into different groups. Regarding the
next two questions, both of teachers and students‟ answers were combined to find out all of
the advantages and disadvantages of this technique. To be more details, this part required
data from question 4, 5 in the questionnaire for teachers and question 3, 4 for students
combining with in-depth information from interviews. In terms of the last question, pie
charts and graphs were principally employed to analyze and compare figures. Lastly, most
typical quotations from the interviews and open-ended questions in the questionnaires were
frequently cited when necessary to illustrate the analysis of data. Notably, quotations from
the interviews were always cited with the line numbers assigned in the interview
transcriptions. Especially, for each research question, responses were calculated and
transferred into numerical forms. The data was then clearly presented in the forms of
tables, pie charts and graphs for easier comparison and analysis and synthesis.
Summary

16
This chapter has justified the methodology applied in the thesis by elaborating on the
two groups of participants. Next, the data collection instruments, the procedures of data
collection and analysis were also clarified thoroughly. Such justifications of the
methodology would help pave the way for the analysis of the collected data in the
following chapter.
CHAPTER 3: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, all collected data from the questionnaires and interviews will be
analyzed and discussed to reveal the answers to four research questions. Additionally, the
results would be closely compared to the relevant literature discussed in Chapter 1 with the
highlight on the similar as well as new findings on the research topic.
3.1 The current exploitation of pictures to teach vocabulary for first year students at
VNU, HUEB.
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Teachers'answers

Students' answers
Yes
No

Figure 1: Using pictures to teach vocabulary according to teachers and students’
answers
To present the meaning of new words and consolidate or check the vocabulary,
teachers could use different techniques. Therefore, the first question raised in the
questionnaire was intentionally designed to clarify if pictures were employed to teach
vocabulary to first year students at VNU, HUEB. As can be seen from Figure 1 all of 11
surveyed teachers stated in certain that they had ever applied pictures in their vocabulary
lessons. The researcher also worked out the same situation when analyzing the comments
of the surveyed students. Remarkably, 115/120 freshmen (95.8%) did not hesitate to draw
a conclusion that their teachers‟ teaching vocabulary lessons had the presence of pictorial
materials. These great numbers were momentous evidence that pictures were employed by
English teachers.


17


3.1.1 The frequency of teachers using pictures in teaching vocabulary
18.2
36.4
9
36.4
never
rarely
s ometime
s

us ually
always

Figure 2: The frequency of using pictures to teach vocabulary
A) Students’ responses B) Teachers’ responses
The two pie charts in Figure 2 showed the fundamental similarities between
teachers and students‟ comments on the frequency of using pictures to teach vocabulary.
Notably, there were not any teachers claiming that they had never utilized pictures in
teaching English vocabulary. This proved the considerably high popularity of pictorial
materials in vocabulary lessons, which considerably coincided with the result collected
from question number one. In comparison with students‟ answers the researcher found out
only 5/120 students (4.3%) choosing the option “never”. Meanwhile, there were 4/11
teachers (36.4%) and 35/120 students (29.3%) who agreed with the frequency level of
“sometimes”. In addition, the number of teachers and students mentioned that pictures were
usually applied during the vocabulary lessons were respectively 36.4% and 41.3%. These
great numbers expressed the remarkably high frequency of using pictures in teaching
vocabulary. In terms of the comment on exploiting this kind of visual aid for every lesson,
18.2% of teachers and 16.8 % of students put a tick on this option. Therefore, as can be
seen clearly from the pie chart above, the extent of high frequency in using pictures as
perceived by teachers and students did not vary greatly.
In terms of the result from the interviews, in responding to the question, “How
often do you use pictures in teaching vocabulary?” Teacher B stated:
F requenc y of us ing
pic tures
A
4.3
16.8
29.3
41.3
8.3

never
rarely
s ometimes
us ually
always

18
Whenever I want to give my students new words related to one topic mentioned in
each unit, I always ask my students to move to the vocabulary bank in which new
words are always depicted with pictures for the better illustration.
(Appendix 3A, Interview 2, Line 5-8)
The other teacher also said that she sometimes used this type of visual aid. This was
explained quite clearly on the ground of time and teaching condition. In comparison to the
answer from three groups of students, the results were not much different:
Most pictures my teachers apply are from the available source in the course book.
With new words in reading text or other parts of the lesson, my teachers often
explain in English then translate into Vietnamese if we do not thoroughly
understand her points. (Appendix 3B, interview 1, Line 4-7)
From this result, it could be concluded that pictures were used to teach vocabulary for first
year students at VNU,HUEB, with quite high frequency. More importantly, the main
source of pictorial materials was mostly from the well-designed course book.
3.1.2 Teachers’ ways to exploit pictures in teaching vocabulary
In the light of Communicative Language Teaching approach, a vocabulary lesson is
generally divided into three stages: the presentation, the practice and the production stage.
With regard to the situations of teaching vocabulary for first year students at VNU,HUEB,
the researcher aimed at detecting the ways English teachers exploited pictures in teaching
vocabulary in class. Then the question whether teachers applied this type of visual aid
according to CLT approach could be answered thoroughly.
9.1
91.9

1
1
1
72.7
27.3
100
0
0
100
27.3
72.7
27.3
72.7
45.5
54.5
27.3
72.7
18.2
81.8
36.4
63.6
54.5
45.5
63.6
36.4
27.3
72.7
0%
10%
20%

30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
No
Y es
`

Figure 3: Teachers’ ways to exploit pictures to teach vocabulary
The result from Chart clarified the teachers‟ ways to exploit pictures in teaching
English vocabulary. The most common way which most teachers chose was making full

19
use of the available source of the vocabulary bank in the course book. According to the
data analyzed, 100% of surveyed teachers answered that they often used pictures in the
course book as an extremely helpful teaching aid to present the meaning of concrete words.
This could be explained more in the interviews with teacher A:
Each unit in the course book New English File Elementary often contains one
vocabulary topic. New words are always listed and illustrated with pictures in the
vocabulary bank. Therefore, we often exploit exhaustibly the available material
which is considered as useful and effective. (Appendix 3A, interview 1, Line 16-21)
More notably, 72.7% of surveyed teachers also supported the statement 2. This
number was persuasive evidence that a majority of teachers designed needed handouts
which had different picture flash cards to illustrate the meaning of new words of the same
topic and then asked students to guess the meaning of words. In addition, it could be

obviously seen from Chart that other ways to present the new words with the help of
pictures were not implemented but with extremely low frequency: 9.1% of teachers applied
chalkboard drawings and especially none of teachers chose wall pictures for their teaching
aid in class.
After presenting the meaning of new words, practice stage was considerably
important. The most popular ways used by teachers to help students review the new words
were picture description and guessing (27.3 %), picture and sentence matching (27.3%),
students‟ drawing (27.3%) and blank filling with pictures (18.2%) and finding out the
differences between two pictures (36.4%). However the number of teachers applied these
techniques to help students practice new words they had just learnt was not great. At this
point, the questions of why these techniques were helpful but were not applied by majority
of English teachers could be supported by an interviewed teacher‟s answer.
It is a bit time consuming to design scramble word pictures for students to
practice. Sometimes I ask my students to describe the pictures and let the others
guess the words illustrated in those pictures. Most of my students are excited about
this activity. (Appendix 3A, Interview 1, Line 24-26)
Moreover, 45.5 % of surveyed teachers asked students to fill in the blank with the
word illustrated with its image, which pinpointed the popularity of this technique. With
this type of exercise, teachers helped students to revise what they had just learnt and at the
same time put the words in the passage with full sentences, which created the sense of
context to students.
In terms of the production stage, most of teachers (54.5%) asked students to give as
many examples as possible with the pictures shown in class. Besides, the techniques of
describing the prominent details of the pictures and making a story based on pictures were

20
applied by 63.6% and 27.3% of teachers respectively. In terms of the interviewed students,
when being asked about the ways their teachers often apply to exploit pictures in teaching
vocabulary, they demonstrated some of the most widely used in class. Student 1 of group
A said:

My teachers in class often ask us move to the vocabulary bank, look at the pictures
and the new words listen in the same topic, then match the words with its right
pictures, then draw out their meaning. Sometimes, teachers also give us take part in
some activities with vocabulary such as: picture description and guessing the
words, describing the details of the pictures.
(Appendix 3B, Interview 1, Line 15-19)
When being asked about teaching vocabulary in the light of CLT, most of
interviewed teachers shared the same idea that they were fully aware of the stages and
principles of teaching vocabulary for the communicative purpose. However, because of
limited time for teaching vocabulary in class, teachers often applied pictures or tried to use
techniques to present the new words in the most memorable way and then moved to the
speaking part immediately. In the speaking part, teachers might let students talk about the
topic which they could apply the new words they had just learnt. Sometimes this part could
have the presence of pictures but normally pictorial materials were not used.
In short, teachers exploited pictures in teaching vocabulary mostly to present the
meaning of new words by asking students to look at pictures and guessing the meaning of
concrete words. The available in the course book were fully employed for each lesson. One
more thing was that scramble words, students‟ drawings, giving examples, describing the
pictures and finding the differences between two pictures were different ways which
teachers used in class, however, with low frequency. Teachers applied some important
principles of teaching vocabulary according to Communicative Language Teaching but did
not fully followed significant stages on the ground of time limitation in class.


3.2 Advantages of using pictures to teach vocabulary perceived by teachers and
students
3.2.1 Teachers’ perception of the advantages of using pictures
Statement
Perceived by
11 teachers

Strongly
agree
(5pts)
Agree

(4 pts)
Neutral

(3pts)
Disagree

(2pts)
Strongly
disagree
(1pts)
On
average
1
7
3
1
0
0
4.55

21
Table 2: Advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary as perceived by
teachers
The table 4 gave an overview of the teachers‟ general perception of the advantages
of teaching vocabulary using pictures. From the column of average points, the researcher

could see clearly the rank of score from the highest to the lowest. The first place belonged
to the statement that using pictures helped to make learning vocabulary more exciting. The
number of 4.73 points showed that majority of teachers agreed with this outstanding
advantage. The element of students‟ excitement was always considered as one of the most
important things to lead to the success of one lesson. Thus, the presence of pictures in
teaching vocabulary, as a result, helped both teachers and students have effective classes.
In the second place, with the number of 4.55 points on average, drawing student‟s attention
to the lesson was also another striking good point perceived by many teachers. Especially,
there were a notable number of teachers who highly appreciated some of remarkable
advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary such as motivating students to
brainstorm and guess the meaning of new words (4.4 points), helping students understand
and remember the meaning of new words more quickly (3.73 points), giving a needed
sense of context and a specific reference point to students (3.54 points).
In terms of the information from three interviewed teachers, the researcher also got
the same opinions as those of the questionnaire. Two of three teachers emphasized the
advantages of making the lesson more interesting. Teacher B stated:
My teaching would be less boring and traditional; as a result, my students seem to
be more eager to the lesson. They appear to be more curious of what they are going
to do with pictures shown (Appendix, 3A, interview 3, Line 24-26).

In short, many surveyed teachers pinpointed overriding advantages of using
pictures. They were giving great motivation to students to learn, making the lesson less
boring with traditional way, giving students needed sense of context, bringing the world
2
8
3
0
0
0
4.73

3
2
4
3
1
1
4.4
4
4
3
2
1
1
3.73
5
4
2
2
2
1
3.54
6
2
2
3
1
3
3.09
7
1

2
2
4
1
2.55
8
1
2
3
4
1
2.64
9
1
1
3
3
2
2.4

22
into the classroom and especially strengthening the students‟ ability to remember new
words.
3.2.2 Students’ perception of advantages of using pictures
Statement
Perceived
by 120
students
Strongly
agree

(5pts)
Agree
(4 pts)
Neutral
(3pts)
Disagree
(2pts)
Strongly
disagree
(1pts)
On
Average

1
36
27
19
21
17
3.37
2
39
41
15
18
7
3.72
3
35
20

22
19
24
3.19
4
31
27
28
15
19
3.29
5
22
41
17
21
19
3.22
6
13
30
39
10
28
2.92
7
14
17
21
35

33
2.53
8
25
31
29
20
15
3.26
9
9
21
17
30
43
2.36
Table 3: Advantages of using pictures in teaching vocabulary as perceived by
students
As could be seen clearly from the table 4, the collected ideas from students, to
some extent, were similar to teachers‟ views. First of all, the number of students, who were
in favor of the advantage that the presence of pictures made them more interested in the
lesson, was the highest one of 3.72 points. Then, majority of students also agreed that
basing on the use of pictures, they could remember the new words more quickly, have
more time to brainstorm and give answers. The average points were 3.19 and 3.29
correlatively. With regarding to the strong point of giving the students needed sense of
context; more than a half of students (63) agree and strongly agree with this
correspondingly 3.22 points on average.
When being asked about the advantages of pictures in teaching vocabulary, three
groups of interviewed students gave their common views on some strong points of using
pictures. The students from group A commented

Pictures help us boost our motivation to learn. Besides, I see that through doing
exercises related to pictures, I can remember the new words and then use them
again more easily. [….] learning new words with pictures meant learning
something practical and close to the life. (Appendix 3B, interview 1, Line 35-37)