Teaching vocabulary in reading comprehension lessons to the 10th form students at Thanh Ha Upper Secondary school Dạy từ vựng trong các bài đọc hiểu cho học sin

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

NGUYỄN THỊ LAN CHÂU




TEACHING VOCABULARY IN READING COMPREHENSION
LESSONS TO THE 10
th
FORM STUDENTS AT THANH HA UPPER
SECONDARY SCHOOL: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
(Dạy từ vựng trong các bài đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp 10 ở trường
THPT Thanh Hà: Khó khăn và một số giải pháp khả dĩ)


M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS



Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10

Hanoi, 2010





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





NGUYỄN THỊ LAN CHÂU



TEACHING VOCABULARY IN READING COMPREHENSION
LESSONS TO THE 10
th
FORM STUDENTS AT THANH HA UPPER
SECONDARY SCHOOL: PROBLEMS AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
(Dạy từ vựng trong các bài đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp 10 ở trường
THPT Thanh Hà: Khó khăn và một số giải pháp khả dĩ)


M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology
Code: 60 14 10
Supervisor: PROF. DR. HOÀNG VĂN VÂN







Hanoi, 2010





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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Candidate’s declaration
i
Acknowledgements
ii
Abstract
iii
Table of contents
iv
List of abbreviations and tables
vii
PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1

I. Rationale of the study
1
II. Aim and objectives of the study
1
III. Research questions
2
IV. Scope of the study
2
V. Significance of the study
2
VI. Methods of the study
3
VII. Organization of the study
4
PART 2: DEVELOPMENT
5
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
5
1.1 Vocabulary in EFL teaching and learning
5
1.1.1 The notion of vocabulary
5
1.1.2 Classification of vocabulary
6
1.1.2.1 According to meaning
6
1.1.2.2 According to teaching methodology
6
1.1.2.3 According to sequence of use
7

1.1.3 The place of vocabulary in EFL teaching and learning
7
1.1.4 The place of vocabulary in EFL learners' reading comprehension
8
1.2 Principles in teaching and leaning vocabulary
9
1.2.1 Selection of vocabulary items for learners
9
1.2.2 Aspects of vocabulary that should be taught
10
1.2.2.1 Word form: Pronunciation and spelling
11
1.2.2.2 Grammar
11
1.2.2.3 Collocation
11
1.2.2.4 Aspects of meaning
12


7
1.2.2.5 Word formation
13
1.2.3 What makes words difficult?
14
1.2.4 Current approaches to teaching and learning vocabulary
16
1.3 Summary
17
CHAPTER 2: PROBLEMS FACING THE 10

th
FORM STUDENTS AT TH-
USS IN LEARNING VOCABULARY IN RC LESSONS

18
2.1 The setting of the study
18
2.1.1 Subjects of the study
18
2.1.1.1 Students' background
19
2.1.1.2 The teaching staff and their teaching situations
19
2.1.2 English language teaching and learning program for the 10th form
students at TH-USS

20
2.1.3 The objectives of the 10
th
form course of English
20
2.2 Data collection instruments and procedure
21
2.2.1 The questionnaire for the students
21
2.2.2 The interview with the teachers of English
22
2.3 Data collection and analysis
22
2.3.1 Results from the questionnaires for the students

22
2.3.1.1 Personal information (Questions 1, 2, 3, 4)
22
2.3.1.2 Students' perception about the importance of vocabulary in RC
lessons (Question 5, 6, 7)

23
2.3.1.3 Students' ideas about the reality of teaching vocabulary in RC
lessons to the 10th form students at TH-USS (Question 8, 9)

23
2.3.1.4 Students' ideas about the solutions to bettering the current
situations of teaching vocabulary in RC lessons to the 10th form
students (Question 10, 11)


24
2.3.2 Results from the interviews with the teachers of English
25
2.4 Problems facing the 10th students at TH-USS in learning vocabulary in
RC lessons

26
2.4.1 Rigid, insufficient and ineffective ways of teaching vocabulary
26
2.4.2 Unfavorable vocabulary teaching environment
26


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2.4.3 Students' poor background knowledge and limited vocabulary size
27
2.4.4 Bad habits and ineffective ways of learning
27
2.4.5 Students' passiveness and shyness in learning
28
2.4.6 Lack of favorable vocabulary learning environment
28
2.5 Summary
28
CHAPTER 3: POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVING THE QUALITY
OF TEACHING AND LEARNING OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN RC
LESSONS FOR THE 10
th
FORM STUDENTS AT TH-USS


29
3.1 Need for the teachers to change their teaching vocabulary approaches
29
3.1.1 Aspects of vocabulary that should be taught
29
3.1.2 Categories of vocabulary issues
29
3.2 Providing effective strategy training for all students
32
3.3 Stimulating students' interest and motivation in learning vocabulary
through various techniques of presenting new word items

33

3.4 Improving students’ English proficiency and reading skills to activate
students' vocabulary and enhance their RC

34
3.5 Adapting the textbook
35
3.6 Creating a favorable teaching and learning environment
36
3.7 Summary
36
PART 3: CONCLUSION
37
I. Summary of the study
37
II. Limitations of the study
38
III. Conclusion
38
IV. Suggestions for further research
39
REFERENCES
40
APPENDICES
I

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
EFL: English Foreign Language
RC: Reading Comprehension
TH - USS: Thanh Ha Upper Secondary School

LIST OF TABLES
(In Appendix 3)


Page
Table 1: Students' perceptions about the role of vocabulary in students' RC
(Questions 5, 6, 7)

IX
Table 2: Students' observation about the current state of learning vocabulary in
RC lessons (Question 8)

X
Table 3: Students' observation about the current state of teaching vocabulary in
RC lessons (Question 9)

XI
Table 4: Students' ideas about the solutions to bettering the current situation of
teaching vocabulary in RC lessons to the 10th form students (Question 10)

XII
Table 5: Students' ideas about the solutions to bettering the current situation of

learning vocabulary in RC lessons of the 10th form students (Question 11)

XIII















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PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
I. Rationale of the study
In EFL teaching and learning program for high school students, there are no proper periods
for teaching vocabulary. It means vocabulary is integrated in all other language lessons,
especially RC lessons, the first period of any language unit. The purpose of reading lessons
is not only to develop students‟ reading skills but also to equip them with important
language input for the lessons that follow, such as: listening, speaking and writing. And
vocabulary seems to be one of the most effective tools to improve students‟ RC.
Obviously, knowing vocabulary of a language is a minimum self-requirement of those who
want to learn a foreign language such as English. The reason is that „vocabulary is central
to language and of critical importance to the typical language learner‟ (Zimmerman

1997:5). Lack of vocabulary knowledge will result in lack of meaningful communication.
Thus, a language learner who has no vocabulary of a language could not use that language
for reading comprehension, listening, speaking and writing. And in fact, the main
difficulties of understanding English, not only written and spoken, but also listened and
read English for people studying English is the limit of vocabulary they process. Yet, a
great many words are learnt from reading, mostly extensive reading program. Therefore,
improving students‟ vocabulary size is essential in any language classes, especially in the
author‟s own teaching context at TH-USS, where many students, mostly students in 10
th

form class, the new comers to a high school with very low vocabulary size, always prove
worried, passive in RC lessons and teachers‟ routine ways of teaching vocabulary have
demotivated students to acquire new language items. The factual state has urged the author
to take into account an investigation into the reality of teaching vocabulary in RC lessons
to the 10
th
form students at her school with the hope to find out feasible solutions to
problems facing the students, and lastly to light up their vocabulary size then enhance their
comprehension.
II. Aim and objectives of the study
The study aims at solving the problems facing the 10th form students at TH-USS when
learning English vocabulary in RC lessons. To achieve this aim, the following objectives
are set for exploration:


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1. Investigating the current state of teaching vocabulary in RC lessons to the 10
th
form
students at TH-USS. Obviously, it is impossible to capture a real classroom experience on

paper, the goal is to get a sense of the life of the classroom and of the problems facing the
10
th
form students in learning vocabulary in RC lessons.
2. Proposing a number of feasible solutions to promoting the teaching of English
vocabulary, and lastly to enhance the effectiveness of learning English to the 10
th
form
students at the author‟s school.
With these above aims, the study is carried out in an attempt to provide a beneficial
reference to the researcher herself, to the teachers of English at her school and to anyone
who is interested in vocabulary teaching in RC lessons.
III. Research questions
In order to achieve the aim and the objectives above, the following research questions are
raised for exploration:
1. What are the problems facing the 10
th
form students at TH-USS in learning vocabulary
in RC lessons?
2. What are the feasible solutions to the problems facing the 10th form students at TH-USS
when dealing with vocabulary in RC lessons?
IV. Scope of the study
This minor thesis does not cover all the broad matter of four language skills, it only
focuses on giving an insight into the teaching of vocabulary in RC lessons to the 10
th
form
students at TH-USS. It deals with background knowledge of vocabulary teaching, provides
investigated and analyzed data of the current state of teaching vocabulary in RC lessons to
the 10
th

form students at the author‟s school, and proposes possible solutions to promote
the quality of the teaching and learning of vocabulary.
Within the scope of the study, the samples of the study were restricted to 100 students at
10
th
form, the grade is undertaking the currents English 10 textbook and six teachers of the
English teaching staff. This number of participants is sufficient to provide valid and
reliable information, the contributions of which are vital to the success of this modest
research.
V. Significance of the study
The present research would serve as the initial study on vocabulary teaching in RC lessons
to the 10
th
form students at TH-USS. Once feasible solutions to the problems facing the


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10th form students when dealing with vocabulary in RC lessons are found, the study might
contribute to building up and enriching the 10
th
form students‟ vocabulary, improving their
communicative competence to fulfill the general objectives of the textbook.
It is also hoped that the study would bring theoretical as well as practical benefits to the
researcher herself, the teachers of English at her school and for anyone who is interested in
vocabulary teaching in RC process.
VI. Method of the study
The study utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods. These methods have played
an important role in TESOL for a long time. Qualitative researchers study things in their
natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or to interpret, phenomena in terms of the
meanings people bring to them (Denzin 2000). It involves an interpretive, naturalistic

approach to its subject matter and gives priority to what the data contribute to important
research questions or existing information. Whereas, quantitative research is the systematic
scientific investigation of quantitative properties and phenomena and their relationships.
Quantitative methods explain the data collected and their statistical treatment as well as all
relevant results in relation to your research questions (Nunan 1992: 5).
In carrying out these research methods, two instruments are used. The first instrument is
questionnaire and the second instrument is the semi-structure interview.
* Survey questionnaire for the 10
th
students:
According to Brown (2001: 6), questionnaires are any written instruments that present
respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to react either by
writing out their answers or selecting from among existing answers. In this study, survey
questions were designed and distributed to the students to get information on actual
situation of teaching and learning vocabulary in RC lessons in ten language classes of
grade 10. Questionnaire focused on the problems facing the students in learning
vocabulary in RC lessons and suggested solutions to better the current state.
* Interviewing the teachers of English teaching staff:
Interview is one kind of questionnaire but it is the vocal questionnaire. Interviews have
been used widely by second language acquisition researchers seeking data on stages and
processes of acquisition (Johnston 1985), and also by language testers, who use the oral
interview as means of assessing proficiency (Ingram 1984).


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According to Wisker (2001: 167-168), there are three main kinds of interviews such as
highly structured interview, semi-structured interview and unstructured interview among
which semi-structured interview is chosen as the second research instrument of this study.
This kind of interview addresses both the need for comparable responses, that is, there are
the same questions being asked of each interviewee and the need for the interview to be

developed by the conversation between interviewer and interviewee which is often very
rich and rewarding. By interviewing, the researcher could observe the responses of the
subject and questions may be clarified if they are misunderstood. Interviews help the
interviewer pursue the in-depth information around the topic and ensure the reliability of
the written survey questionnaires.
* Particularly, during the process of carrying out the study, searching reference books is
inevitable and the consultation with the researcher‟ supervisor is of great contribution to
the fulfillment of this dissertation.
VII. Organization of the study
The study consists of three main parts: the introduction, the development and the
conclusion.
The „Introduction‟ presents the general background of the study, the reason for choosing
the thesis, the aims, the research questions, the scope, the significance, the methods and the
organization of the study.
The „Development‟, the focus of the study is sub-divided into three chapters.
Chapter 1 presents „theoretical background‟. It is concerned with general knowledge about
vocabulary and vocabulary teaching and learning.
Chapter 2 provides research design and methodology of the study which consists of the
setting of the study, the procedures of the data collection and the data analysis. From these
bases, the major problems facing the 10
th
form students at TH-USS in learning vocabulary
in RC lessons are drawn out.
Chapter 3 is concerned with the solutions to solving the identified problems then
improving the quality of teaching and learning English vocabulary for the 10
th
form
students at TH-USS.
The „Conclusion‟ summarizes the main issues touched upon so far in the study, presents
the limitations of the study and makes suggestions for further research.

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PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter provides a brief review of the literature relevant to the study. It is subdivided
into three sections. Section one clarifies the term vocabulary, its classification and its role
in EFL teaching and learning. Section two presents the principles in teaching and learning
vocabulary. Section three summarizes the whole part content.
1.1 Vocabulary in EFL teaching and learning
1.1.1 The notion of vocabulary
The teaching and learning of vocabulary in EFL has been investigated from numerous
perspectives - by linguists, psychologists, educators and second language researchers, but
an exact definition of „What is vocabulary?‟ is still in need of discussion. Different
scholars define the term in a different way, depending on the criteria they consider the
most important in terms of methodology, linguistics, semantics etc.
In terms of semantics, Richard, Platt (1992: 40), considered vocabulary as “a set of
lexemes, including single words, compound words and idioms.” Besides, Pyles and Algeo
(1970) say, “It is true that vocabulary is the focus of language with its sound and meaning,
which interlock to allow us to communicate with one another” (quoted in Nguyen Bang
and Nguyen Ba Ngoc 2002: 35). In contrast, Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary
(2000: 1447) provided its own definition, vocabulary here is simply understood as the total
number of words in a language that “a person knows or uses”.
From the point of view of teaching Ur (1996: 60) defines vocabulary as the words we teach
in the foreign language. However, vocabulary is more complex than this definition
suggests. Ur pointed out that a new item of vocabulary might be “more than a single
word” such as “post office’ and “mother-in-law”, which are made up of two or more than
three words but express a single idea. There are also multi-word idioms such as “call it a
day”, where the meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the
component words.

Lewis and Hill (1985: 98) shared Ur‟s view that a vocabulary item contains more than one
word. In addition, they detected a temptation to think that a foreign language was nothing
more than using new words for old things. In fact, it was much more complicated than that.
For instance, a phrase of words such as “How do you do” is a complete phrase with a


15
single meaning. Linguists would call it a lexical item. The meaning of this group of words
cannot be deduced from the meaning of the individual words used in the phrase.
In short, it can be drawn from the above definitions that, vocabulary is all the words in a
language, including a single word, two or three word items and multi-word idioms which
meaning cannot be deduced from the analysis of the component words but in sentences or
in contexts, etc.
1.1.2 Classification of vocabulary
There have been a variety of ways to classify vocabulary. Bellow are some of the most
common ones.
1.1.2.1 According to meaning
Semantically, vocabulary is divided into notional words and functional words. (Nguyen
Bang & Nguyen Ba Ngoc 2002: 35).
Notional words are words with clear lexical meaning. They are indefinitely extendable,
open classes - new items can be added to them. The main notional words are nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs. Members of these four classes are often connected by derivational
relations (strength – strengthen).
Functional words, in contrast, are closed systems, including a limited number of members.
They cannot be extended by creating new items. Prepositions, conjunctions, and articles, as
well as auxiliaries and words classified as „particles‟ are function words. The distinctive
features of functional words are very general and weak lexical meaning, obligatory
combinability. These meanings are usually abstract, and they are often much more difficult
to absorb than the meanings of notional words (Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, Svartvik 1985:
16539).

1.1.2.2 According to language teaching methodology
Methodologically, a foreign language learner‟s vocabulary is divided into active
vocabulary and passive vocabulary.
Active vocabulary is the words which language learners can understand and use effectively
in speaking and writing, whereas passive vocabulary is the words which the learner can
recognize and understand when they occur in a context, but which he cannot remember or
use in their own speaking and writing (Nguyen Bang & Nguyen Ba Ngoc 2002: 36).
However, the active and passive vocabulary of language learners changes constantly. They
start using words, try new meanings, forget words, abandon words that have no use, revise


16
words, etc. Lewis and Hill (1985: 100) suggested that it was helpful to guide students
towards the words which it would help them to add to their active vocabulary.
Besides, according to some methodologists of the Communicative Language Teaching
Approach, word knowledge also comes in two forms, receptive and productive. Receptive
vocabulary includes words that we recognize when we hear or see them. Productive
vocabulary includes words that we use when we speak or write. Receptive vocabulary is
typically larger than productive vocabulary, and may include many words to which we
assign some meaning, even if we do not know their full definitions and connotations – or
ever use them ourselves as we speak and write (Hiebert & Kamil, 2005).
1.1.2.3 According to sequence of use
It is worth distinguishing two kinds of vocabulary: high-frequency words and low-
frequency words.
High-frequency words are the words that appear most often in oral communication and
printed materials of different fields of life. Nation (2001: 9) pointed out that there is a
small group of high-frequency words which are very important because these words cover
a very large proportion of the running words in spoken and written text and occur in all
kinds of uses of the language. Learning to recognize high-frequency words by sight is
critical to developing fluency in reading. Considerable researchers been done to generate

lists of the 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 most frequently-used words in English. Recognizing these
words gives students a basic context for figuring out other words.
Low-frequency words are of a very large group of words that occur very infrequently and
cover only a small proportion of any text. The younger the learner, the fewer words they
are likely to have in their low-frequency bank. However, as Nation (2001: 19) pointed out,
it is important to understand that the frequency of words can vary because it is relative to
the context and the learners.
For a language teacher, it is important to distinguish between high- and low-frequency
vocabulary in order to decide which words to teach and how much class time should be
spent on them.
1.1.3 The place of vocabulary in EFL teaching and learning
Vocabulary is an important aspect of EFL teaching and learning, the one that has called for
a great attention from researchers, teachers and learners. Traditionally, second language
instruction has focused on teaching adult language learners grammatical knowledge:


17
sentence construction, verb conjugations, singular and plural forms, noun-adjective
agreements, verb tenses, etc. British linguist David Wilkins (1972: 111) stated the role of
vocabulary by arguing, “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary
nothing can be conveyed”.
The status of vocabulary in the EFL curriculum, after Nunan (1991: 117) has been
considerably enhanced, partly as the result of the development of communicative
approaches to language teaching, and partly through the stimulus of comprehension-based
methods such as the Natural Approach. These methods point out that in the early stages of
learning and using a second language, one is better served by vocabulary than grammar.
It is widely accepted that vocabulary learning is central to language acquisition, no matter
the language is first, second, or foreign. As McCarthy (1990: viii) noted in his introduction,
“no matter how well the students learn grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of
L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in an

L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way.” This is also echoed by Laufer who stated,
“solid vocabulary is necessary in every stage of language learning, as is now being openly
stated by some second language acquisition researchers” (1997: 147). Vocabulary learning
is, therefore, one of the specific goals in a language classroom.
In conclusion, vocabulary plays a key role in any EFL course, for any language learner.
Without an extensive vocabulary, most language learners will not be able to use the
structures and functions they may have learnt for comprehensible communication. The
bigger vocabulary size language learners get, the better they understand and being
understood. Therefore, the acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is essential for successful
second language use.
1.1.4 The place of vocabulary in EFL learners’ reading comprehension
It has been found that vocabulary knowledge plays a very important role in EFL learners‟
RC. Actually, the major problem for EFL learners in RC is due to the presence of
unfamiliar vocabulary. Yet, vocabulary knowledge can be seen as the key for getting
meaning from a text. Specifically, understand the basis of grammatical structures enables
students to understand the relationship among words, but it does not provide access to the
meaning of the sentence. Knowing the meaning of the content words (nouns, verbs,
adjectives and adverbs) does. Therefore, “vocabulary knowledge is central to reading
texts” as Aebersold & Field (1997: 154) proposed. The larger vocabulary size students get,


18
the better they understand. Thus, language learners need to be provided strategies that can
reduce their frustration when encountering unfamiliar words in order to motivate them to
read more. Otherwise, they do not understand therefore they read slowly, and they would
not enjoy reading, as a result, they do not read much because of lack of comprehension.
1.2 Principles in teaching and learning vocabulary
1.2.1 Selection of vocabulary items for students
Actually, language learners‟ ability of RC is determined by their knowledge of words. This
word knowledge allows them to comprehend text. Therefore, word knowledge should be

taught to improve comprehension. Teachers who teach English as a foreign language need
to help students build up a large vocabulary of useful words during the course. Before
setting the criteria for deciding which vocabulary items should be chosen, it is useful to
look into relevant research and find out how many and what words learners need to know
to enable them to have reasonable comprehension and “begin” to adequately engage in
everyday communication. Nevertheless, determining how many and which words to be
taught is actually the hardest part of vocabulary instruction.
It is widely accepted across a range of literacy sources that the words which teachers
choose to teach should be based on the usefulness and frequency of word. Nation (1994: 3)
suggested that we regard the high frequency vocabulary as consisting of about 2,000 word
families. These words make up about 87% of the running words in formal written texts and
more than 95% of the words in informal spoken texts. In Meara's (1995) points of view,
students should learn very large vocabularies when they first start to acquire a language. In
fact, the base of 2,000 words now seems to be the most commonly cited initial goal for
second language learners. (Cited in Vocabulary Learning and Teaching - Teaching English
as a Second or Foreign Language, Third Edition, Marian Celce Murcia, Editor 2001: 287).
Sharing the above ideas, Carter (1998: 207), proposed, “It is claimed that knowing these
words gives access to about 80% of the words in any written text and thus stimulates
motivation since the words acquired can be seen by learners to have a demonstrably quick
return”. In addition, knowing the first 2,000 words should increase comprehensible
language input, as students would be able to understand more of the speech they are
exposed to and also more of the written texts that they read.
However, according to some researchers, such a base of two thousand words will not be
adequate for certain groups of students. The 2,000 level is only a beginning. Nation


19
(1994:4) suggested, “When the high frequency words are well known, then teachers may
wish to spend time on low-frequency words.” It is advisable for language teachers to
provide learners with strategies that allow them to cope with and learn this vocabulary

independent of a teacher.
Another important point when selecting vocabulary to teach is that language teachers
should begin by teaching new items in context. Nunan (1991: 122) emphasized, “even with
a functional vocabulary of the three thousand most frequently occurring items in English,
learners will still not know around 20 per cent of the items they will encounter in an
unsimplified text.”
As for teachers of EFL at high school, we should take into consideration the number of
items to teach in a period of 45 minutes. The number of vocabulary items to be taught may
depend on several factors like the target language of the lesson and students‟ level.
According to Cross (1991), students are able to internalize circa six new words within a
40-minute lesson, and Schmitt (2000) claims that students can learn ten words in a one
hour lesson. Thus, in a period of 45 minute teaching, we should teach around six or seven
new items.
In short, teachers of English as a foreign language can use these above suggestions as a
guide, but should adapt the number of vocabulary items taught during a lesson as they
believe appropriate and should take account of factors such as the objective of each lesson
and the ability of the students.
1.2.2 Aspects of vocabulary that should be taught
One of the greatest concerns of a language teacher is selecting what aspects of vocabulary
to be taught in a language classroom. In general, when we teach a new English word, we
should, by all means, provide our learners with its meaning, form and use simultaneously.
However, with hundreds of thousands of words in the English language, teaching
vocabulary can seem like a very daunting prospect. Moreover, our students will not need to
produce every word they learn, some they will just need to recognize. Selecting what to
teach, based on frequency and usefulness to the needs of the particular students is therefore
essential.
Ur (1996: 60-62) suggested the aspects of vocabulary as word form, grammar, collocation,
aspects of meaning and word formation need to be taught when teaching vocabulary.

20
1.2.2.1 Word form: Pronunciation and spelling
Word‟s pronunciation and its spelling are considered two obvious characteristics that a
language learner should be introduced when encountering the item for the first time.
Actually, the complex relationship between sound and spelling in English often causes
trouble for language learners. Therefore, teachers need to make sure that both these aspects
are accurately presented and learned. According to Davies (2000: 61), it is usually best to
present new items orally first and in written form later, especially at lower level. The main
advantage to this procedure when dealing with new vocabulary is that you can avoid
learners getting into the habit of using “spelling pronunciation”.
1.2.2.2 Grammar
Language teachers need to introduce the grammar of a new item if this is not obviously
covered by general grammatical rules. Specifically, it is important to provide learners the
information in case the item has an unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical
contexts or may have some unusual ways of connecting with other words in sentences. For
instance, when teaching a noun, we may wish to present its plural form if irregular (goose,
geese), or draw learners‟ attention to the fact that it has no plural at all (passion,
knowledge).
1.2.2.3 Collocation
Within the area of corpus linguistics, collocation is defined as “a combination of words in a
language that happen very often and more frequently than would happen by chance.”
(Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary 2000: 233-234). Items may co-occur simply
because the combination reflects a common real world state of affairs. For instance, “pass”
and “salt” collocate because people often want other people to pass them the salt. Besides,
many collocations have an added element of linguistic convention and English speakers
have chosen to say. This is another piece of information about a new item which it may be
worth teaching. An example of this is the collocation “strong tea”. While the same
meaning could be conveyed through the roughly equivalent “powerful tea”, the fact is that
English prefers to speak of tea in terms of being strong rather than in terms of being

powerful. A similar observation holds for “powerful computers” which is preferred over
“strong computers”.


21
Since there are no rules of collocation, it is difficult to group items by their collocational
properties, so teachers and learners are generally more successful when they deal with
common collocational problems in isolation or as they arise Gairns & Redman (1986: 39).
1.2.2.4 Aspects of meaning
It is essential to mention about denotation, connotation, appropriateness and meaning
relationship when concerning with aspects of word meaning. The teacher has to decide
which aspect of meaning that needs to be taught to students in certain language classrooms.
 Denotation and connotation
When we analyze word meaning, we should distinguish two separate concepts called
„denotational and connotational meaning‟. The denotational meaning gives us the basic
meaning of a word on conceptual level (this is a dictionary definition). For example,
“ball” denotes a round object used for throwing, hitting or kicking in games and sports.
The connotational meaning can be created thanks to different factors and they turn out to
be more problematic. Connotation includes stylistic, affective, evaluative, intensifying
values, pragmatic communicative values, the word acquires by virtue of where, when,
how, and by whom, for what purpose and in what context it is or may be used. The words
“house” and “home” have the same denotational meaning. However, they have different
connotational meanings. “House” refers to a material thing whereas “home” denotes a
spiritual sense. Connotations vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and
personal experience.
Understanding the difference between denotation and connotation is important to
understanding definitions and how concepts are used.
 Appropriateness
According to Ur (1996: 61), appropriateness is another essential aspect of word meaning
that needs to be taught. Learners should know whether a particular item could be used in a

certain context or not. The knowledge as whether a certain word is very common, or
relatively rare or taboo in a polite conversation, or tends to be used in writing but not in
speech, or is more suitable for a formal than informal discourse or belongs to a certain
dialect is very useful for language learners.





22
 Meaning relationship
Obviously, how the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of others is important in
teaching. There are various relationships. Some of the main ones are synonyms, antonyms,
hyponyms, co-hyponyms and superordinates.
* Synonyms: Synonyms are actually words of the same parts of speech that have similar or
identical denotation, but differ in shades of meaning, connotation or combinability with
other words. For example, “dude - fellow - bloke - chap – guy” may serve as synonyms of
man but they are different in connotation.
* Antonyms: Words of the same part of speech that are opposite in meanings are called
antonyms. Usually adjectives denoting quality, verbs denoting actions or states and
abstract nouns have antonyms. For example, “ugly – pretty, mean – generous, give – take,
joy – sorrow”
* Hyponyms: A hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field is included within that
of another word. Hyponyms are decided based on the viewpoint of intension and
extension. For example, “flower” (superordinate) - and “rose” (hyponym). A “rose” is a
flower, but not every flower is a rose. The meaning of “flower” is included in the meaning
of “rose”.
* Co-hyponyms or co-ordinates: other items that are the „same kind of thing‟ for example,
“red, blue, green, and brown” are co-ordinates.
* Superordinates: General concepts that „cover‟ specific items, for example, “animal” is

the superiordinate of “dog, lion, mouse”.
In language teaching and learning, sense relations are of paramount importance. As a
means of presentation and testing, these relationships are extremely valuable and can
provide a useful framework for the leaner to see where meaning overlaps and learn the
limits of use of an item.
1.2.2.5 Word formation
According to Bauer (1983: 1), word formation is of central interest to theoretical linguists
of all persuasions because of the light it throws on other aspects of language. We may
consider word formation the creation of a new word. Ur (1996: 62), drew out “Vocabulary
items, whether one word or multi-word, can often be broken down into components „bits‟.
Exactly how these bits are out together is another piece of useful information – perhaps
mainly for more advanced learners.”


23
When talking about word formation, affixation is the first sector that is mentioned about.
Affixation is, thus, the linguistic process speakers use to form new words (neologisms) by
adding morphemes (affixes) at the beginning (prefixation), the middle (infixation) or the
end (suffixation) of words, for example, replay, kindness, sinambung


(in Indonesian). New
combinations using affixes are usual and the reader or hearer would be expected to gather
their meaning from an understanding of their components.
Besides, there are various other ways of forming new words such as compounding (home +
work → homework), conversion (permit → an entry permit), clipping (hamburger →
burger), blends (motor + hotel → motel), etc.
In all, words can be formed in different ways. Language learners should know well about
word formation and the way to use words in appropriate grammatical contexts.
1.2.3 What makes words difficult?

Not all words are difficult, and many are difficult only in some contexts or for some
readers. However, as Nuttall (1996: 66) suggested, we can identify some kinds of lexical
items, and some ways in which words are used, that are frequently cause difficulty to
foreign language learners.
* Idioms
Idioms are common phrases or terms whose meanings are not literal, but are figurative and
only known through their common uses. We cannot deduce meanings of an idioms form
individual words. Some idioms are only used by some groups of people or at certain times.
The idiom shape up or ship out, which is like saying improve your behavior or leave if you
don't, might be said by an employer or supervisor to an employee, but not to other people.
Because idioms can mean something different from what the words mean, it is difficult for
language students to use them properly. They may fail to recognize the problem in
sentences likes:
He was beside himself. (be in a state of very great, uncontrolled emotion)
I can‟t go through with it. (finish doing)
They solved it once and for all. (once and finally)
* Words with several meanings
Nutall drew out, “any word with more than one meaning is potential troublesome” for
language learners especially those at low level. Some of the most dangerous
misunderstandings, in Nutall‟s point of view, arise when everyday words are used in


24
specialized fields, for instance, operation used in medical sector, receiver in telephone
branch or book (hire in advance) in a travel agent.
* Superordinates
There exist words of more general meaning viewed in relation to other words of more
specific meaning which could also be referred to by the general term. For example:

SUPERIORDINATE: Flowers

HYPONYMS: rose tulip violet sunflower lily
The superiordinate could replace any of the hyponyms in many contexts. The case is clear
in the following example, „Mr Bill came in slowly. The man looked tired, I thought.‟ Here,
the general word man refers to Mr Bill. Difficulties arise if the readers fail to realize that
the two terms have the same referent.
* Transfer of meaning
A metaphor is the expression of an understanding of one concept in terms of another
concept, where there is some similarity or correlation between the two. Nutall (1996:67)
proposed, “Metaphors and similar kinds of transferred meaning are always potential
problems. Like idioms, they do not mean what at first glance they seem to mean.” „He is a
tiger when he’s angry.‟ is an example of a metaphor. The trouble is language learner may
wonder if they are reading zoology or botany. We can see that metaphor always involves
an implicit comparison between A and B, so one ways of handling it is to analyze what A
and B have in common that is relevant to the context.
* Irony
For Nutall (1996: 68), irony is one of the most difficult uses of language. The problem is
the words may be simple, but the way the writer uses them is not. A statement, when taken
in context, may actually mean something different from, or the opposite of what is written
literally; the use of words expressing something other than their literal intention, notably as
a form of humor. Thus, language learners may misunderstand the apparent meaning and
the writer‟s underlying intention. For example, it would be ironical for you to say, „He is
as smart as a soap dish‟. If language learners did not know what a soap dish was, or how


25
smart it was (not), they might interpret the statement as a compliment, whereas the
underlying meaning you intended to convey is an insult.
* Other kinds of difficulty
Nutall also suggested us two other categories such as text-structuring words and pin-down

words. These kinds of words are involved in textual cohesion. Text-structuring words are
signals telling the readers to fill out their meaning, usually from information elsewhere in
the text. For example, „Various explanations of these phenomena can be offered.‟ While
phenomena relates back to something just described, explanations signals what will
probably follow. Filling out the meaning of such words is a crucial skill for interpretation
of text. Beside text-structuring words, pin-down words with abstract meaning often cause
difficulties that are lexical in nature.
In short, teachers of English should take into account features that make words difficult
and find out the most effective ways to present them to students in certain language
classes.
1.2.4 Current approaches to teaching and learning vocabulary
According to Hunt & Beglar (1998-09:01), there are three approaches in teaching
vocabulary “incidental learning, explicit instruction and independent strategy
development”.
Incidental learning concentrates on acquiring vocabulary “through extensive reading and
listening” (Hunt & Beglar 1998). This approach emphasizes the possibility of enriching
vocabulary by reading simplified readers or sustained silent reading which will be an aid
for students to read not only in the classroom‟s condition.
Another approach, explicit instruction, concerns learning vocabulary intentionally. This
seems to be suitable to the beginners who have limited vocabulary. Hunt and Beglar
suggesed some techniques that might be appropriate following explicit instruction
approach. One of them is word-pairs translation, others relate to the repetition of the word,
association, etc. The authors also mentioned some more activities such as sorting list of
words, semantic maps, generating derivatives, inflection, synonyms and antonyms of a
word, tree words, crossword puzzle, etc.


26
The last approach so called „student-centred learning’ lays tress on language learners‟
autonomy. As Gairns and Redman (1986: 77-79) suggested, students could enrich their

vocabulary by “asking others”. They can ask their teacher or other students to explain the
meaning of an item which they have just encountered. The teacher should decide to have a
final feedback session with the class to ensure that the activity has been effective in
supplying accurate information. Otherwise, students can use a dictionary to check the new
word they meet. This act may increase laziness on the part of the student who is unwilling
to use his own resources and guess the meaning for himself. However, we cannot deny
certain advantages in the use of dictionaries. A dictionary can be seen as a valuable
support to contextual guesswork. Moreover, making good use of a dictionary will give
students considerable autonomy about the decisions they make about their own learning.
Then, for more advances learners, learning vocabulary through guessing from context is
suggested as an independent strategy.
Besides the above approaches, traditional ways of learning and teaching vocabulary,
“visual techniques, verbal techniques and translation” (Gairns & Redman 1986:73-75) are
also valuable in teaching and learning of vocabulary.
1.3 Summary
This chapter has provided a brief description of the theoretical knowledge about
vocabulary and its important role in EFL teaching and learning. Firstly, the study was
concerned with different definitions of vocabulary by different scholars. Secondly, it
mentioned about the place of vocabulary in EFL teaching and learning, particularly its role
in EFL learners' reading comprehension. The chapter also included principles in teaching
and learning English vocabulary, which comprised the selection of vocabulary items for
students, aspects of vocabulary that should be taught, factors that make words difficult and
current approaches to teaching and learning vocabulary. That knowledge served as an
important basis for the present study.

27
CHAPTER 2: PROBLEMS FACING THE 10
th
FORM STUDENTS AT TH - USS IN
LEARNING VOCABULARY IN RC LESSONS
In this chapter, an attempt is made to answer the first research question raised in Part one,
section III, page 2: "What are the problems facing the 10
th
form students at TH-USS in
learning vocabulary in RC lessons?". To answer this question, a small-scale research is
conducted at TH-USS. As a way of start, I will first provide a short description of the
setting of the study, the subjects, (which include both the teachers of English and the 10
th

students at TH-USS), the teaching syllabus and the objectives of the 10
th
course. Then I
will present the research in the form of a questionnaire for the students and a semi-
structured interview with the teachers. This will be followed by a section in which I will
discuss in some depth the problems facing the 10
th
form students at TH-USS in learning
vocabulary in RC lessons.
2.1 The setting of the study
The study is conducted at TH-USS in Hai Duong province during the second term in the
school year of 2009-2010. TH-USS is an unspecialized school which has thirty three
classes with seven teachers of English, including the teacher researcher and one thousand
and five hundred students. English has been taught here as a compulsory subject like other
high schools in Vietnam and the English basis material is applied in all classes.
The study is mainly concerned with the 10

th
form students who have just had at least four
or five years learning English at lower secondary schools. However, they enter high school
with very low English proficiency and encounter many problems in comprehension
causing by their limited vocabulary size.
2.1.1 Subject of the study
The central purpose of the study is to investigate the reality of teaching vocabulary in RC
lessons to the 10
th
form students at the author‟s school to suggest possible solutions to the
problems facing the students. The final goal is to enhance the 10
th
form students‟ RC and
uplift their communicative skills. Thus, the informants are 100 students who were
randomly selected from 10 classes at grade 10 at TH-USS in Hai Duong. The 10th form
students are the major subjects of the study. Besides, six teachers of the English teaching
staff, aged from 27 to 52 are involved in the study. They have been teaching English at this
school for at least 5 years. Half of them graduated from the Hanoi University of Foreign


28
Language and International Studies, VNU. The rest had in-service EFL training
programmes.
2.1.1.1 Students in 10
th
form class and their background
Students who have studied in the 10
th
form class at TH-USS all come from rural areas.
They are both male and female aged sixteen or seventeen and many of them were born in

poor families. Their parents mainly work as farmers, gardeners or hired workers at
surrounding areas, so their living conditions are low.
Most of the 10
th
form students began grade 10 with very low English proficiency due to the
poor learning condition, the backward methods they have been taught and the inefficient
ways they have learnt which mainly focus on grammar. It is difficult for them to speak out
or write down anything. They often become overwhelmed since they are assigned to read
the text beyond their language proficiency level. There always exists a mental block in
their mind since they encounter any new vocabulary item. Actually, most hard-working
students turn to their mini English – Vietnamese dictionary or “Để học tốt tiếng Anh 10”.
Nearly no student has any kind of English reference at home, except “Để học tốt tiếng Anh
10” which gives the translation of the new word items and the answers to any exercise in
the textbook. The lazy ones do nothing just copy their friends‟ paper and write down in the
textbook. In case of the topic of the text is not irrelevant to their experience and
knowledge, they stop reading because they cannot understand the meaning of the text
enough to satisfy their expectations, needs or interests. It is a challenge for the teachers to
select appropriate teaching ways to improve students‟ motivation in reading.
2.1.1.2 The teaching staff and their teaching situations
The teachers of English at TH-USS in Hai Duong have been trained in Vietnam and none
of them has had a chance to study abroad. They nearly have no chance to work or contact
with native speakers, specialists and experts for consultation. The only advantage of the
school is that the teachers teach English with enthusiasm and they always desire their
students to learn English with passion and gain advance in learning it. However, their hope
and their ability are not relevant. Most teachers are not qualified enough to stage and
conduct communicative activities effectively in an English lesson. Teachers‟ talking time
and activities seem to dominate the English lessons. Furthermore, the textbook is the main
and only source of training which teachers and students closely depend on. In RC lessons,
the first lesson of any unit, the teachers consider that finishing all reading tasks in the