Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at Muong Bi high school = Những khó khăn trong việc học từ vựng Tiếng Anh của học

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH



CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF
ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI
HIGH SCHOOL

(NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10
TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI)
M.A MINOR THESIS


FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE : 601410

HANOI - 2011

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HẠNH



CHALLENGES IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING OF
ETHNIC MINORITY GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT MUONG BI
HIGH SCHOOL

(NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN TRONG VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH
CỦA HỌC SINH DÂN TỘC THIỂU SỐ LỚP 10
TRƯỜNG THPT MƯỜNG BI)
M.A MINOR THESIS


FIELD : ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY
CODE : 601410
SUPERVISOR : Dr. DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ

HANOI - 2011
iv

Table of contents
Page
Declaration
Abstract
Acknowledgement
Part 1: introduction
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aims of the study 1
3. Significance of the study 2
4. Scope of the study 2
5. Method of research 2
6. Organization of the study 3
Part 2. development
Chapter 1: literature review
1.1. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning 4
1.2. Principles of vocabulary teaching 4
1.2.1. Criteria for selecting vocabulary 4
1.2.2. Vocabulary teaching 5
1.2.2.1. Forms of a word 5
1.2.2.2. Meaning 5
1.2.2.3. Use of a word 6
1.3. Vocabulary learning 6
1.3.1. Factors affecting vocabulary learning 7
1.4. Methods in teaching vocabulary 8
1.4.1. Repetition and attention 8

1.4.2. Relationship with other words 8
1.4.3. Exceptions 8
1.5. Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of
a third language 9
1.5.1. Definition 9
1.5.2. Influence of proficiency in the native language and the second language
on the acquisition of a third language 9
v

Chapter 2: methodology
2.1. Research setting 12
2.1.1. An overview of research setting 12
2.1.2. The materials of teaching and learning 12
2.2. Research questions 13
2.3. Participants 13
2.3.1. Description of the teachers of English. 13
2.3.2. The students 13
2.4. Data Collection Instruments and procedures 14
2.4.1. The questionnaire 14
2.4.2. Classroom observations 14
2.4.3. Data Collection Procedure 14
2.5. Data Analysis Procedure 15
Chapter 3: FINDINGS and discussion
3.1. Results and discussions from the questionnaires for students 16
3.2. Results and discussions from the observation 20
3.3. Findings and discussions from the questionnaire 22
3.4. Recommendations 24
3.4.1. Motivating students to learn 24

3.4.2. Adapting the textbook 25

3.4.3. Selection of the vocabulary teaching 27
3.4.4. Practising the vocabulary 28
3.4.5. Improving learning and teaching conditions 31
3.4.6. Having local teachers to teach English for students in their
communities 31
Part 3: Conclusion
1. Conclusions 32
2. Limitations of the study 32
3. Suggestions for further study 32
References 34
Appendices I
1

PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale for the study
These days, there is no doubt about the fact that the English language is becoming
something of a forerunner in global communication. It is the first and second language in
most countries of the world. Almost 70% of the Internet is in English. A huge volume of
the information used on the Internet is also in English. Thus, English is playing a very
significant role in bringing the world together. Therefore, teaching and learning English
have become the necessity all over the world. In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subject
from primary schools to universities. However, the quality of learning and teaching
English is different from one school to another, especially from schools in cities, towns and
those from remote and mountainous areas.
In Hoa Binh mountainous province, English is a compulsory subject in the
curriculum and it is considered as one of the major subjects for the high school final
examination. English is taught with the purpose to give students some basic knowledge of
English in order to communicate and use it as a key to science and technology. However,
there still exist many difficulties facing teachers in teaching English to students, especially
those from ethnic minorities. It can be observed that ethnic minority students‟ scores are

very low in English. Less than 5 per cent earn good marks, even in the national graduation
exams (Hoa Binh Department of Education and Training, 2008; 2009). In some remote
areas, lower level students understand less than 20 per cent of what teachers say in
Vietnamese (“Minority Students Needs”, 2008). Ethnic minority students mainly use their
mother tongues – Muong, Thai, Hmong, Tay and other languages - to communicate inside
their families and small communities. From first grade onward, at school and in public
places, ethnic minority students have to struggle with Vietnamese to study and
communicate with other people. This is why not many can understand lectures, even at
high school, because they do not thoroughly comprehend Vietnamese - and very few
teachers can explain things to them in their native languages (“Ethnic Schools Lack”,
2007). Thus, studying English language in addition to Vietnamese language might be very
challenging for ethnic minority students.
In addition, I find out that my pupils are not successful learners, only because
they lack vocabulary. In fact they are provided with almost every word necessary for their
communication inside and outside the classroom, but many of my pupils complain they
2

forget most of learned words only a few day later. This proves that problems in learning
vocabulary are undeniable. For better vocabulary teaching and learning, I have chosen
Challenges in English vocabulary learning of ethnic minority grade 10 students at
Muong Bi high school as the the topic of the study.
.
2. Aims of the study
The study aims at investigating the areas of challenges in learning English
vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school, Hoa Binh
mountainous province. Also, it is expected that some solutions to overcome challenges
encountered will be suggested. To be more specific, in realizing this study, the objectives
are:
 To investigate the areas of challenges that ethnic minority grade 10 students have
encountered when learning English vocabulary .

 To offer some solutions with the hope of helping English language teachers in
Muong Bi high school overcome difficulties in teaching vocabulary, improve the
quality of their teaching, which helps improve ethnic minority students‟ language
learning quality.
3. Significance of the study
The study is hoped to be beneficial to both teachers and ethnic minority
students in mountainous high schools. First, the findings of the study, the challenges in
learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong Bi high school
could be shared among teachers of English to improve the quality of teaching and learning
in the coming years. Next, it might highlight the rationale for professional development
programs for high school teachers of English in mountainous areas in Vietnam. Finally, the
findings could be used as a data base for further study.
4. Scope of the study
The study only concentrates on problems in learning vocabulary from the textbook
“Tiếng Anh 10” (by Hoang Van Van et al) of ethnic minority grade 10 students in Muong
Bi high school in Hoa Binh province and some possible solutions for teaching vocabulary.
5. Methods of research
The study combined qualitative and quantitive approaches. Data were collected via
questionnaires and classroom observations:
3

- A Survey questionnaire for 100 grade 10 students was used to clarify the
difficulties of ethnic minority grade 10 students in learning English vocabulary.
- Classroom observations were also carried out to get information about both
teachers‟ ways of teaching and students‟ ways of learning in class.
6. Organization of the study
This study consists of three parts:
 Part One: Introduction presents the rationale, aims, significance, scope, method of
study, and organization of the study.
 Part Two: Development consists of three chapters:

- Chapter One - Literature Review provides a theoretical basis for the study
- Chapter Two – Methodology includes an overview of the approach used in
conducting the study. It also provides a thorough description of the data collection
procedure as well as the analytical procedure.
- Chapter Three – Findings and Discussion reports the findings of the study and
discusses the prominent aspects.
 Part Three: Conclusion presents the conclusions of major findings,
recommendations, limitations for the study, and suggestions for further studies.
4

PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: Literature review
Research in English teaching and learning in ethnic regions
In the past 30 years, many scholars (Naimen, et al., 1978; WEN, 1996, 2003,2004;
CHENG & ZHENG,2002; CHEN,2005; ZHOU,2007) made research studies on learning
strategies and/or vocabulary learning strategies, and most of them made great success.
However, most of them took undergraduates as subjects, and few scholars focus on the
English vocabulary learning difficulties of ethnic students. Very few of research studies
focus on the ethnic minority students in senior high school in Vietnam.
1.1. The importance of vocabulary in language teaching and learning
Vocabulary is commonly accepted to be the most important language elements
among pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Wilkins (1972) emphasized this with his
saying, "without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be
conveyed" (p.1l). Pyles and Algeo also supported this idea with "when we first think about
language, we think first words. It is words that we arrange together to make sentences,
conversations and discourse ". These statements are enough to conclude that vocabulary is
the decisive element in language communication.
This is all true in learning a foreign language. If a learner has a wide range of
vocabulary, he can to make himself understood and understand others easily. On the
contrary, if his vocabulary is limited he will surely have difficulty in doing so and in

English learning. Therefore, vocabulary is a "must" for all language learners by all means.
1.2. Principles of vocabulary teaching
1.2.1. Criteria for selecting vocabulary
It cannot be denied that vocabulary is an essential element in learning a foreign
language. Therefore, it is important to concern first the criteria for selecting vocabulary to
help the teacher make valid decisions on the right vocabulary items to teach at the learner's
different level. Gairns and Redman (1986) proposed some main criteria as frequency;
student's needs and level; cultural factor and expediency. In teaching, the teacher needs to
select the most frequently used words to teach first. The vocabulary should be appropriate
to students' level and their needs, the priority given to vocabulary for English as a subject
in the curriculum might be different from that of English for specific purposes. The Culture
5

factor has great influenced on teaching, which means that the learners' background is to be
considered, since people from different countries may need different words to express their
ideas in the second language. Expediency is one of the important criteria that needs to be
concerned since the classroom is a world by itself and requires specific types of vocabulary
such as grammatical terminology and activity instructions. Harnler (1991) also adds more
criteria for selection of vocabulary as concretion vs. abstraction (concrete words should be
taught at lower levels whereas abstract terms should be taught at higher lever); coverage
(general words should be taught in more specific terms) and rapport (the student's
involvement with the words is a major motivator for vocabulary learning).
1.2.2. Vocabulary teaching
In general, when the teacher teaches a new English word, he should, by all means,
provide his learners with its meaning, forms and use at the same time. Among these three
areas, the use of a word is the most important, but it cannot be achieved if the forms and
meaning of the word are not firmly understood and grasped by the learners.
1.2.2.1. Forms of a word
 Pronunciation and spelling :
Each English word has its spelling and pronunciation. Learners have to know all the

spelling, pronunciation and irregularities of the word they are learning. In teaching, we
need to make sure that these aspects are accurately presented and learned.
 Grammar
The grammar of a new word should also be taught to the learners. They need to know the
grammatical function, the unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts,
the regularity and irregularity, the singular and plural forms of the new word so that they
can use it correctly. For example, when teaching the verb think, we might give its
irregularity in past form thought.
1.2.2.2. Meaning
 Denotative and connotative meaning
The meaning of a word is primarily what it refers to in the real world, meaning is found
in a dictionary. For example, dog denotes a kind of animal, common, domestic carnivorous
mammal. A less obvious component of the meaning of a word is its connotation in
different contexts or its connotative meaning. This is the associations or positive or
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negative feelings it evokes. This meaning may or may not be indicated in a dictionary. For
instance the word , as understood by most British people, has positive connotations of
friendship and loyalty: whereas the equivalent in Arabic' as understood by most of the
Arab countries has negative associations of dirty and inferiority. The connotative meaning
of a word is varied from one context to another.
 Meaning relationship
How the meaning, especially denotative meaning, of one word relates can also be
useful in teaching. It is noted that the teacher has to make a careful choice of and decision
on which meaning of a word to teach and how many words to teach in the given class time
or else learners will be impeded by the pressure to absorb too many meanings and words.
This often results in confusion or forgetting.
1.2.2.3. Use of a word
The most important thing for learners to learn a new word is to know how to use it
appropriately and effectively in different oral and written contexts or else it may become a

dead or forgettable word. To use a new word well, they need to know how to collocate it
with other words correctly. Therefore, the teacher should put words into collocation. For
example, when introducing words like "to make” and "to do", the teacher may note that
both words mean "to perform" but can be distinguished by the words they collocate with.
We often say "to do the homework" but never say "to make the homework".
In short, students should be taught the form, the meaning, and the use of words in
vocabulary lessons. The teacher should ensure that vocabulary is regularly recycled/revised
because if students do not get the chance to put it into use they will easily forget it.
Unknown vocabulary is low in such messages, considerable vocabulary learning can occur
even though students' attention is not directed to vocabulary learning. Rubin and
Thompson (1994: 82) suggest 3 strategies for dealing with this approach of vocabulary
learning. These strategies include receding a series of texts on a related topic, guessing the
meaning of new words from context, and breaking up a word into components. Similarly,
Decanico (in Celce-Murcia 2000: 255-299) says that implicit vocabulary learning or
incidents vocabulary learning is learning that occurs when the mind is focused elsewhere,
such as on understanding a text or using language for communicative purposes.
1. 3. English vocabulary learning
7

It is believed that the factors that affect the learner in language learning also have
an effect on his vocabulary learning. These factors include, according to Lighbown and
Spada (1999: 51-68), intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation and, attitudes, learner
preferences, learner beliefs, age, some kinds of activities. Rubin and Thompson (1994: 3 -
8) suggest a similar list of factors affecting learning: age, aptitude, attitude (emotions),
personality (extroversion, inhibition, tolerance of ambiguity), learning style (learning by
strategies. Ellis (1997: 76) emphasizes the importance of learning strategies, when he states
that studies have shown that successful learners use more strategies than unsuccessful
learners and successful learners use different strategies at different stages of their
development. He emphasizes that if crucial learning strategies can be identified, they can
be taught to students. Learning strategies are the decisive factor for vocabulary learning.

Hence many scholars have striven to introduce different vocabulary learning strategies in
order to help learners of English improve their vocabulary learning. The representatives of
those scholars are Nation (1982,1990, 2001), Lacey, Trench, and Vanderpump (1990),
Taylor (1990), not to mention many other scholars who are interested in learning strategies
such as Oxford (10001, Ruhin et Thompson (1994), Nunan 1991), Cook (1993), Wenclen
and Rubin (1987), Wenden (1991), etc.
1.3.1. Factors Affect Vocabulary Learning
There have been different opinions or factors that affect vocabulary acquisition.
However, they all share some main points. Below are four types of factor said to have great
impact on language learners‟ vocabulary acquisition.
The first type is the person- dependent factors including age, sex, language, and
cognitive and learning style. These factors differ from person to person. They are relatively
stable, and they determine to a large extent how a learner approaches a task.
The second is the learning task which includes the materials being learnt (such as
the genre of a piece of reading) as well as the goal the learner is trying to achieve by using
these materials (such as remembering, comprehending or using language). Different types
of task materials, task purposes, and tasks at various difficulty level demand different
strategies.
The third type of factor is the learning context. It is the socio-cultural-political
environment where learning takes place. The learning context can include the teachers, the
peer, the classroom climate, the family support, the social, cultural tradition of learning, the
8

curriculum, and the availability of input and output opportunities. These factors have a
certain effect on the ways learners approach learning task and acquire vocabulary
knowledge.
In short, the factors discussed above (person, task and context, ) exist together and
make a configuration of a particular learning situation that will help to bring about the
effectiveness of vocabulary.
1.4. Methods in vocabulary teaching

Markey (1978:138) states, “The method used has been said to be the cause of
success or failure in language learning, for it is ultimately the method that determines
what and the how of language instruction”. This statement shows us the importance of
method. It is method that determines success or failure in language teaching. That is the
reason why teacher have to understand well about different methods so that they can
choose the best ones for their learners. Below is a brief discussion on some methods in
vocabulary teaching in history and their role in vocabulary teaching and learning.
1.4.1. Repetition and attention
Some psychologists, according to Nation (1990: 43), believe that repetition is not as
effective as the type of attention given to a new word. Oral repetition of a word form is not
as effective as recalling the form of the word. However, the occuring frequency of a word
affects the learning burden: the more frequently it is met, the easier it is to learn. Seeing the
word form and a definition of its meaning is not as effective as having to make an effort to
recall its meaning before being shown the defnition as feedback.
1.4.2. Relationship with other words
Similarities between words can make learning easier. If the student has already
known the word meaning he may learn the meaning more easily. However, similarities
between words can also make learning more difficult: a list of words that are strongly
associated with each other (e.g. opposites, free associates) is more difficult to learn than a
list of unrelated words.
1.4.3. Exceptions
The effect of learning an exception is to make the learning of a rule more difficult.
For example, the word school and town are most often used as countable nouns, so when
used as singular nouns, they are often preceded by an article, a demonstrative adjective, or
a possessive adjective. However, in to go to school and to go to town, they neither are nor
9

proceeded by any of these words. As a result, school and town are often used productively
incorrectly.
1.5. Proficiency in the native language and the second language and the acquisition of a

third language
1.5.1. Definitions
Language acquisition is one of the most impressive and fascinating aspects of
human development. In website on June
20, 2011, language acquisition is defined as “the process by which humans acquire the
capacity to perceive, produce and use words to understand and communicate. This capacity
involves the picking up of diverse capacities including syntax, phonetics, and an extensive
vocabulary. This language might be vocal as with speech or manual as in sign”. Language
acquisition usually refers to first language acquisition, which studies infants' acquisition of
their native language, rather than second language acquisition that deals with acquisition
(in both children and adults) of additional languages.
With regard to second language acquisition, it is portrayed as the process by which
people learn languages in addition to their native language. The term "second language",
"target language", or "L2" are used to refer to any language learned after the native
language, which is also called "mother tongue", "first language", "L1", or "source
language". Second language acquisition also includes third language acquisition (L3).
1.5.2. Influence of proficiency in the native language and the second language on the
acquisition of a third language
Although English is taught in Vietnamese high schools as a foreign language, for
ethnic minority students, learning English is similar to learning a third language. This is
because these ethnic minority students have to learn Vietnamese in addition to their
indigenous or native language. This study was conducted in the Ethnic Minority Boarding
High School and two high schools in remote districts of the mountainous province, where
the majority of the students belong to ethnic minority groups. Thus, what follows is a brief
review of the literature on the influence of learners‟ first and second languages on the
acquisition of a third language.
The influence of proficiency in L1 and L2 on the acquisition of a third language has
interested researchers for a few decades, but knowledge about those influences remains
limited. Cummings (2000) stated that according to „interdependence hypothesis‟, there is a
10

positive and significant relationship between students‟ first language development,
specially their development of literacy skills, and their second language development. A
similar relationship might be expected to hold good in the case of multilingual acquisition,
so that different degrees of proficiency in the first and second languages would affect the
acquisition of the third language.
In addition, recent psycholinguistic research on third language acquisition has
made clear that the acquisition of an L3 shares many characteristics with the acquisition of
an L2 but it also presents differences. Accordingly, the educational aspects of teaching
English as an L3 differ from those of teaching English as an L2. Third language acquisition
is more complex phenomenon than second language acquisition because, apart from all
individual and social factors that affect the latter, the process and product of acquiring a
second language can themselves potentially influence the acquisition of a third language.
The educational aspects of the acquisition of English as a third language differ those of
English as a second language, and have more implications regarding the optimal age for
introduction of the different languages and the desired level of proficiency in each.
However, several studies on L3 acquisition have convincingly shown a qualitative
difference between the acquisition of a true L2 and the subsequent acquisition of an L3.
Some studies even indicate that L2 takes on a stronger role than L1 in the initial state of L3
syntax (e.g. Bardel & Falk, 2007; Rothman & Cabrelli Amaro, forthcoming). An
explanation put forward by Williams & Hammarberg (1998) and Bardel & Falk (2007) as
to why the L2 takes on a stronger role than the L1 is that of the L2 status factor. According
to Falk & Bardel, the L2 status factor is an outcome of the higher degree of similarity
between L2 and L3 than between L1 and L3, regarding age of onset, outcome, learning
situation, metalinguistic knowledge, learning strategies and degree of awareness in the
language learning process.
Also, the acquisitional setting may vary from predominantly informal acquisition,
as is the case for instance in bilingual environments, to more formal settings, such as
foreign language learning in the classroom. On the one hand, it can be assumed that L3
learners, especially those who have learnt the L2 in a formal setting, are aware of the

language learning process, and have acquired metalinguistic experiences and learning
strategies to facilitate foreign language learning.
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Therefore, for students from ethnic minority groups, studying one more language,
English – the third language, via Vietnamese – the second language might be very
challenging. This is because of the fact that when learning English, they comprehend
English lessons by listening, switching into their native languages - and then translating or
changing into Vietnamese and then English again. Limited literacy or Vietnamese
language skills can limit the acquisition of the third language. As a result, it is observed
that a large number of these students are almost illiterate in English despite many years‟
learning the language.
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CHAPTER 2 : RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter includes a justification for the approach the author used in conducting
the research. It also provides a thorough description of how the author collected the
necessary data as well as the analytical procedure to draw conclusions based on the
collected information. In the first section the author gives detailed description of the
research setting where the study was conducted. In the next sections, the author puts
forward an explanation of the author‟s understanding of the methods used in this research
and their advantages.
2.1. Research setting
2.1.1. An overview of research setting
Muong Bi high school is located in Hoa Binh, a mountainous province in the
northwest of Vietnam, where over 80 % of the population belongs to ethnic minority
groups, and where there have been many difficulties in life as well as in educational
development, especially in the development of teaching a foreign language like English.
Not much attention is paid to English learning though it is among the compulsory subjects
in the national final examinations.

2.1.2. The materials of teaching and learning
In terms of the materials of teaching and learning, the textbook currently used to
teach English are Tieng Anh 10, published by Ministry of Education and Training. The
teaching content of English textbooks follows the theme-based approach and is developed
on six broad themes. The six themes are subdivided into 16 topics corresponding with 16
units and a “Test yourself” after every 3 units. All units have the same structure, starting
with the theme of the unit, following four lessons focused on language skills and ending
with language focus. Language skills are developed in parallel with the development of
such language knowledge as grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation.
With strengths, the textbooks are expected to contribute better quality of English
learning in Vietnam high schools. In terms of curriculum development, the introduction of
the new textbook can be new fresh air blowing into the teaching and learning situation at
secondary schools in Vietnam. However, to a large number of ethnic minority students, the
English textbooks are very difficult. Very often the amount of new vocabulary in one unit
13

was too much for students. In addition, many topics in their English textbooks were strange
to their daily lives and background.
2.2. Research questions
Questionnaries and classroom observations in this study were intended to
address the following research question:
What are the challenges in learning English vocabulary of ethnic minority grade 10
students in Muong Bi high school?
2.3. Participants
2.3.1. Description of the teachers of English
The five participants who are currently teaching English to ethnic minority students
at grade 10 level graduated from Hanoi Universities of Foreign Languages or have taken
an English in-service training course; All of the teachers are female and from 28 to 32
years old. Their teaching experience at high schools varies from 5 to 10 years. The variety
in the participants‟ age, sex, qualification, and teaching experience is expected to provide

reliability and validity for the study.

2.3.2. The students
Teaching English for ethnic minority students in the remote mountainous area has
long been a controversial issue. Many ethnic minority students‟ English level is low and
Vietnamese language skills are limited. Besides, there is lack of proper teaching and
learning materials at primary and secondary schools. For them, English is simply an
obligatory subject; they learn it mainly for marks, the only goal is to pass the tests. The
time, the input and exposure to the language are limited to the classroom. Therefore, they
seem to be passive in learning. Students listen to their teachers and repeat passively and
give a mechanical response. They are likely to become demotivated to English learning,
depending much on the textbook and teachers‟ method of delivery. Language activities like
role plays, problem-solving tasks, or information gap activities, therefore, seem strange to
their culture of learning. Even, when they fail to understand something, they are not daring
enough to ask for clarification in public. Therefore, “the English learning environment is
described as a cultural island where the teacher is expected to be the sole provider of
experience in the target language" (Canh, 1999, p.74).

14

2.4. Data Collection Instruments and procedures
In order to get information, the main data collection instruments for this study
were questionnaires and classroom observations.
2.4.1. The questionnaire
At the beginning of March 2011, the author did a survey on this topic to
develop an appropriate survey instrument for this study. The final questionnaire was
administered to 100 ethnic students. In order to make sure that, all the students fully
understand the questions, the questionnaires were written in Vietnamese. All of the
distributed questionnaires were returned with answers.
The questionnaire focuses on three main factors that the author considers the causes

of the students‟ difficulties in learning English vocacbulary such as: the learners‟
background, the material and the teaching methods. The purpose of the questionnaire was
to examine how important the ethnic minority students think of their learning English and
what difficulties they often meet when learning vocabulary.
2.4.2. Classroom observations
In this study, from classroom observations, the researcher wanted to see how
English classes were really going on by the teachers of English in a mountainous area such
as how they organized classroom activities; how teachers conducted their teaching; what
challenges students face in their classroom learning. The observations were conducted in
10 English lessons at 10th grade of all selected teachers on language skills and language
knowledge.
2.4.3. Data Collection Procedure
According to Selinger and Shohamy (1989) once the researcher has selected a
specific design for the study which is consistent with the objectives of the research, the
next step is to collect the research data. In collecting the data it is important to use
procedures which elicit high quality data, since the quality of any research study depends
largely on the quality of the data collected and the data collection procedure.
As stated above, the study was carried out in Muong Bi high school. The reason for
the choice was that 100% students at these schools were ethnic minorities; that might be
useful to give rich information for the data collection of the study. Among the teachers of
three schools, five were selected for interviews on voluntary basis and all of them were
observed while teaching.
15

The observations were conducted in five selected teachers at the beginning of the
school year.
2.5. Data Analysis Procedure
The strengths of qualitative data rest very centrally on the competence with which
their analysis is carried out. According to Hatch (2002), interpretation, as interpretation of
interview data, is a defining element that permeates all qualitative research through making

inferences, developing insights, attaching importance, refining understandings, drawing
conclusions, and extrapolating lessons. Since researchers carry out interpretations in the
research process, they make sense of the phenomenon under investigation. This
interpretive analysis was intended to link interpretation to the data in order to result in
meaningful data.
The analysis of the observation data in this study involved careful readings of the
researcher‟s field notes of sample lessons. Following the observation guide, the researcher
conducted the analysis as follows. In the first stage, the researcher examined the field notes
of all the lessons of the five observed teachers. In the second stage, the researcher reviewed
the detailed field notes coupled with questionnaire. In the third stage, through analysis of
field notes of the sample lessons, the researcher demonstrated how the teachers of English
organized classroom activities in English lessons and how they dealt with the challenges in
teaching to ethnic minority students.
This chapter has examined the approach used in the study to illuminate its research
questions about the challenges in learning English vocabulary of grade 10 ethnic minority
students. It also described the data collection as well as the analytical procedure which
leads to the results of the research as presented in the next chapter – Results and
discussion.



16

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Data analysis is not a simple description of the data collected but a process by
which the researcher can bring interpretation to the data (Powney & Watts,1987). In the
following parts, the researcher interprets the results from the feedback of the
questionnaires and observations. The study mentions the ethnic students‟ constraints in
learning English vocabulary.

3.1. Results and discussions from the questionnaires for students
In order to get information about the students‟ attitudes toward English vocabulary
learning and the factors affecting their acquisition of the language the author poses here
10 questions for the students. Following is the findings.
Question 1. In your opinion, what is the role of vocabulary in learning English?
Items
Percentage(% of students)
A. Very important
76
B. Quite important
21
C. Not very important
3
D. Not important at all
0
Although they know clearly that English is very important almost of them
choose the answer “very important”, they still do not spend enough time on learning
English, because of many factors that hinder them from doing so. Firstly, they do not have
time to learn, secondly, some of them think they can learn it later when they have
opportunity.
Question 2. In Tieng Anh 10 there are … new words in one unit
Items
Percentage (%)
A too many
95
B. not too many
5
The results of in question 2 show that the greatest percentage (95%) of the learners say that
they are overwhelmed by the amount of vocabulary in one unit, so after 3 periods a week
they had to learn a great number of the new words in the text book and the words provided

by teacher. Only 5% of the students asked say there are not many vocabulary in one unit
to learn.
Question 3. The topics in the textbook are…
17

Most of the students (85%) state that many topics in their English textbooks are unfamiliar
to their daily lives and background, that is the reason why the students usually face
difficulties when they learn vocabulary. The rest (15%) say that sometimes they find the
contents of the lessons unfamiliar to them.
Question 4. Number the following items from the least to the most difficult for
you when you learn English vocabulary:
Items
Percentage (%)
A. Word form (pronunciation and spelling)
70
B. Grammar rules of the word
30
C. Collocation
40
D. Aspects of meaning
20
E. Word formation
50
As shown in the table, what students find the most difficult is the word form
which is caused by the great differences between their mother tongue and English. In
addition they do not know how to learn and remember their spelling. They listen to the
teacher many times and repeat what the teacher say but they still state that their
pronunciation is not better. Also, half of the students write in the questionnaire that they
have difficulty with word formation. That there are quite a lot of suffixes and prefixes in
English may make students confused when they learn. As a result, 30% of them find

grammar rules the most difficult, 20% choose aspects of meaning as the difficulty.
Question 5. Do you find it is difficult to pronounce English words?
When being asked if students find that in English pronunciation is difficult, most of
them say yes (82%). It is the fact that, minority ethnic learners always face many problems
in learning vocabulary, they always confuse /d/ with /t/, /v/ with /b/. As seen in question 4
that 70% of the learners revealed that pronunciation is the most difficult item when
learning English vocabulary. They are totally dependent on imitating the teachers so after
the lesson they cannot remember or read the words correctly by themselves.




18

Question 6. How does your teacher present the meaning of new words?
Items
Percentage (%)
A. Translate them into Vietnamese
90
B. Use visual aids
27
C. Explain the meaning in English
0
D. Use synonyms and antonyms
15
E. Others (please specify)
15
It can be seen from the table that most of the time translation is used to teach
vocabulary. There may be the reason why the students often find it boring to learn
vocabulary lessons. There is a small number of the teachers who used visual aids to teach

vocabulary (27%). Some students (15%) noted that their teachers organised them into pairs
and groups and help them do different vocabulary activities. It is the fact that none of the
teachers explain the meaning of the new words in English because it may cause more
difficulty for students.
Question 7. How does your teacher introduce the use of new words?
Items
Percentage (%)
A. Explain in Vietnamese
40
B. Give examples and students draw out the rules
54
C. Others (please specify)
6
More than half of the students under the survey express that their teachers
introduce the use of new words through examples. This may be the easiest and the most
economical way to teach word uses. Besides, it can enhance the students‟ ability to draw
out rules from examples. 40% of the students say that their teachers introduce word uses by
explaining it in Vietnamese. This way can be easy for students to follow but it does not
help them really understand in English and therefore cannot use the words later. Only 6%
say that they are not taught word uses.





19

Question 8. How do you practice new words in the class?

It is clear that almost all the students under the survey practice word by doing multiple

choice exercises. This technique is not difficult and many of them like it. However,
sometimes it causes the lessons boring. In fact only 15% of the teachers using word games
to teach vocabulary. May be doing gap filling exercises and write sentences are
challenging tasks for the students so they are not used regularly.
Question 9. Does your teacher give you chance to learn vocabulary in pairs/ groups?

Items
Percentages (%)
A. never
80
B. sometimes
15
C. often
5
D. always
0
90% of the students say that they learn vocabulary individually. This may be the
result of the fact that they do not have much time in class. For example, the teachers keep
delivering the new language items orally or by writing on the board while students look at
the board and take notes. Then they do practice before going to other tasks in the lesson.
Pair work and group work are rarely used. The interaction among teachers and students is
one-way and only happens when the teacher asks and students answers. The teachers
simply follow the instruction of the text book and teach what is required in the syllabus.
Hence, the teaching strategies used by the teachers in certain circumstances are not
relevant and effective.



Items
Percentage (%)

A. Make sentences with the words
20
B. Do gap filling exercises
20
C. Do multiple choice exercises
90
D. Do matching exercises
30
E. Play words game
15
20

Question 10. How much time do you usually spend learning new words at home?
Items
Percentage (%)
A. About one hour a day
20
B. No time at all
57
C. More than one hour a day
5
D. Sometimes when I am required to do
homework by the teacher
18
Although the students highly appreciate the role of learning vocabulary, only a
small number of them spend enough time learning it. Just 20% of the students spend in
total one hour daily learning; only 5% spend more than two hours and over half students
57% spend no time at all in learning new words. At school, students have to learn many
subjects and they do not pay much attention to learning English. They only concentrate on
some subjects, which they believe to be useful for their future, such as, maths, literature,

physics, chemistry or biology.

3.2. Results and discussions from the observation
The researcher observed four teachers‟ ten English lessons on language skills and
language knowledge at grade 10 with their permission. The analysis of the observation data
indicated that difficulties emerged in the actual classrooms such as lack of various types of
classroom activities associated with CLT, too many new words and structures were given
in each lesson, students‟ preference of using their native languages or Vietnamese
language, a large amount of teachers‟ using Vietnamese in class, and students‟ passiveness
in learning.
In general, all the teachers‟ lessons the researcher observed followed the basic steps
of the lesson: warm-up activities, presentation, practice and consolidation and homework.
The lessons on language skills included three stages namely pre-, while-, and post-stage. In
the pre-stage, teachers introduced the new language inputs to their students, often new
words or phrases, students learned both spelling and sounds in class, in chorus or
individually. However, what follows is a discussion of some prominent challenges.
First, there was lack of various types of classroom activities associated with CLT in
English classes, the teachers commonly organized only two types of activities such as
21

group and pair work in their vocabulary teaching, and left other activities out of account.
Some teachers often let students take part in mechanical practice such as repetition drills
and substitution drills in class. This monotonous ways of teaching might be one of the
reasons to make English lessons tedious to ethnic minority students and reduce their
interest in participating in classroom activities. Jacobs and Ball (1996) noted that “more
emphasis should be given to active modes of learning such as pair or group work in
problem-solving tasks, nevertheless, classroom group or pair work should not be
considered an essential feature used all the time, and may well be inappropriate in some
contexts”. Besides, some teachers were not creative in carrying out groups or pair works,
especially in arranging pairs or groups. Sometimes, many students were reluctant to join in

activities when being put into the same groups or pairs in class.
The next challenge was that too many new words and structures were given in each
lesson. Teachers spent too much time in presenting new words, especially in reading and
listening lessons. Two of the lessons the researcher attended were reading lessons, after the
lessons, the researcher even could not know what was going on, what objectives of the
lessons were, because the teachers presented too many new words and structures, students
had to write down and learn the words, whereas the reading passage was so long that both
teachers and students had to “race” to finish the lessons on time.
Another challenge was that a large amount of Vietnamese language used by the
teachers in teaching in English classes. The classroom observations revealed that most of
teachers hardly used English in teaching language skills and language knowledge lessons.
They used Vietnamese when introducing the topic of the lesson, analyzing grammatical
structures, checking multiple answers in students‟ book, explaining students‟ assignments,
and translating some difficult sentences, etc. Although English was encouraged to be
maximally exposed to language learners (MOET, 2006), the English language environment
in classes was limited in the observed lessons. Thus, in such a poor learning environment
like that, it was difficult for students to acquire a foreign language effectively.
Besides, students‟ preference of using their native languages or Vietnamese
language during group work or pair work caused challenges for teachers in their teaching.
When students were asked to have a discussion or joined in communicative activities,
some students often discussed in Vietnamese or their native languages instead of English,
they only shifted to English when the teachers approached them. Limited English