How to enrich english vocabulary

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ENGLISH

CODE: 13

------------------------

GRADUATION THESIS
B.A DEGREE IN ENGLISH STUDIES
HOW TO ENRICH ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Supervisor

: Le Thi Anh Tuyet, M.A

Student

: Pham Thi Diu

Date of birth

: April 16, 1994

Course

: K19A08 (2012 - 2016)

HANOI, 2016


Graduation Paper

DECLARATION
TITLE: “ HOW TO ENRICH ENGLISH VOCABULARY”

I certify that no part of the above report has been copied or reproduced
by me from any other’s paper without acknowledgemet and that the report is
originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor.

Hanoi, 15th April, 2016

Student

Pham Thi Diu

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)

Supervisor

Le Thi Anh Tuyet, M.A


Graduation Paper
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First of all, I wish to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor,
Mrs Le Thi Anh Tuyet MA, for her academic guidance and support
throughout this study. Without her valuable assistance, my thesis would not
have been completed.
I would like to sincerely thank the lectures of Faculty of English, Hanoi
Open University who have provided me with not only knowledge but also the
study condition during my student life, as well as their useful advice in this
graduation paper.

Finally yet importantly, I am indebted to my family and friends who
have encouraged and supported me so much in the completion of this paper. If
there had not been great help from the above people, my study could not have
been fulfilled.
Hanoi, 15th April, 2016

Pham Thi Diu

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)


Graduation Paper
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
L1

: The first language

L2

: The second language

ESP

: English for Specific Purposes

ESL

: English as a Second Language

TOEFL

: Test of English as a Foreign Language

CAE

: Certificate in Advanced English

Etc

: Et cetera

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)


Graduation Paper
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Students’ Attitudes Toward Learning Vocabulary. ......................... 28
Table 2: Students’ Learning Vocabulary Problems. ...................................... 29
Table 3: Students’ Common Ways in English Vocabulary Learning. ........... 30
Table 4: The Student’s Performance in Their English Vocabulary Learning. 32
Table 5: Teacher’s Teaching Method and Students’ Expectation ................. 34

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)


Graduation Paper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LISTS OF ABBREVIATIONS
LISTS OF TABLES
PART A: INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale .................................................................................................... 1
2. Aims and Purposes of the Study ................................................................. 1
3. Scope of the Study...................................................................................... 2
4. Reaseach Questions .................................................................................... 2
5. Methods of the Study ................................................................................. 2
6. Design of the Study .................................................................................... 2
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................... 4
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 4
I. An Overview of Vocabulary ....................................................................... 4
1. The Definition of Vocabulary ..................................................................... 4
2. The Roles of Vocabulary ............................................................................ 5
3. The Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge ..................................................... 6
II. Classification of Vocabulary...................................................................... 7
1. Receptive Vocabulary ................................................................................ 8
2. Productive Vocabulary ............................................................................... 8
3. Active Vocabulary...................................................................................... 8
4. Passive Vocabulary .................................................................................... 9
III. Some Common Techniques of Teaching and Learning Vocabulary........ 10
3.1. Teaching Vocabulary............................................................................. 10
Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)


Graduation Paper
3.1.1. Teaching Vocabulary Based on Texts ................................................. 10
3.1.2. Teaching Vocabulary by Using Synonyms, Antonyms ....................... 12
3.1.3. Teaching Vocabulary through Translation .......................................... 12

3.1.4. Teaching Vocabulary by Using Techniques........................................ 14
3.1.5. Teaching Vocabulary Using Games .................................................... 15
3.2. Learning Vocabulary ............................................................................. 17
3.2.1. Learning Vocabulary by Using Dictionary ......................................... 17
3.2.2. Learning Vocabulary by Using Flashcards ......................................... 18
3.2.3. Learning Vocabulary by Using Highlighting Words ........................... 20
3.2.4. Learning Vocabulary by Making Vocabulary Tree ............................. 21
3.2.5. Learning Vocabulary by Using Word Formation Charts ..................... 22
3.2.6. Learning Collocations......................................................................... 24
3.2.7. Practicing and Reviewing Regularly................................................... 25
CHAPTER II: PROBLEMS OF ALMOST STUDENTS IN LEARNING
ENGLISH VOCABULARY – A CASE STUDY ......................................... 26
I. Subject of the Study .................................................................................. 27
II. Data Collection Method ........................................................................... 27
2.1. Interview ............................................................................................... 27
2.2. Questionnaires ....................................................................................... 27
2.3. Observation ........................................................................................... 28
III. Findings.................................................................................................. 28
IV. Summary ................................................................................................ 35
CHAPTER III: SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’
ENGLISH VOCABULARY ........................................................................ 36
I. Recommendation for the Teacher.............................................................. 36
1.1. Using Context Clues to Present Word Meaning ..................................... 36

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Graduation Paper
1.2. Encourage Students to Develop Their Self-studying .............................. 37
1.3. Provide More Useful Teaching Facilities ............................................... 39

II. Recommendation for Students ................................................................. 40
2.1. Be Aware of Words ............................................................................... 40
2.2. Read More ............................................................................................. 41
2.3. Guess Word Meanings from Each Context then Making It Personal ............. 42
2.4. Using Dictionary and Thesaurus Handy ................................................ 43
2.5. Go Backs to Your Roots ........................................................................ 44
2.6. Learn Some Words a Day ...................................................................... 45
2.7. Engage in Conversation ......................................................................... 46
2.8. Play Some Games .................................................................................. 46
2.9. Using Some Vocabulary Tools or Websites ........................................... 47
2.10. Motivation ........................................................................................... 47
PART C: CONCLUSION...................................................................................................... 49
REFERENCES............................................................................................. 51
APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1.

Rationale
Language is a systematic means of communication by using sounds or

conventional symbols. It is the code we all use to express ourselves and
communicate

to

others.

Language

therefore

remains

potentially a

communicative medium capable of expressing ideas and concepts as well as
moods, feelings and attitudes. Besides mother tongue, we need an
international language to communicate with people from other countries.
English is a popular language that almost countries use it. It is spoken by
more than 300 million native speakers, and between 400 and 800 million
foreign users. It is the official language of air transport and shipping, the
leading language of science, technology, computers, and commerce, and a
major medium of education, publishing, and international negotiation. In
Vietnam, English is also one of the most important languages and taught as a
compulsory subject in all levels of education to make use of English to
become effective means to communicate and trade. In learning English,
vocabulary is a very important part. The more words you have, the more you
can understand whatever you read and hear, furthermore you can say
everything you want when you express your point of views. Therefore, in this
study, I would like to give an overview of vocabulary and find out some
difficulties that most students are facing in their learning process. Then I will
suggest some solutions to deal with these difficulties.
2.

Aims and Purposes of the Study

-

Finding out the difficulties that students are facing in learning
vocabulary.

-

Giving some solutions to improve and expand vocabulary
effectively.

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3.

Scope of the Study
The study limits itself to the investigation of the difficulties in learning
vocabulary of all students from elementary school, junior and senior
high schools to colleges or universities.

4.

Reaseach Questions
-

What are common techniques of teaching and learning
vocabulary?

-

What are the difficulties that students facing?

-

What are suggestions for students to develop their vocabulary?

-

What is the effective solutions to improve teaching and learning
methods?

5.

Methods of the Study
This study mainly using descriptive method, interview, questionares or
observation.

6.

Design of the Study
The study is divided into three parts:
Part A: Introduction
In this part, the academic routines required for a graduation paper,
namely rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study are
included.
Part B: Development
It is the most important part of my paper, including three chapters:
Chapter 1: Literature Review

This chapter provides theoretical background concerning with learning
and teaching vocabulary

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Chapter 2: Problems of Almost Students in Learning English
Vocabulary – a case study
It is the main part of my study, which describe the current situation of
learning and teaching vocabulary for students and identifies their
problem in learning vocabulary.

Chapter 3: Some Suggestions for Improving Students’ English
Vocabulary
The writer wants to give out some suggestions and solutions to deal
with difficulties in learning vocabulary in this chapter.
Part C: Conclusion
It is a brief summary of knowledge has been studied in the paper. The
questionnaires and the references used during the study are presented in
the last part of the study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

I.

An Overview of Vocabulary

1.

The Definition of Vocabulary
The term “vocabulary” is a simple concept but in fact, it is extremely

difficult to give an exact definition of vocabulary. There are some linguists
define the

term of

vocabulary in different

ways.

According

to

Neuman&Dwyer (2009), “Vocabulary” can be defined as “words we must
know to communicate effectively, words in speaking as expressive
vocabulary and words in listening as receptive vocabulary”.
Hornby (1995) defines vocabulary as “the total number of words in a
language, vocabulary is a list of words with their meanings”. While Ur (1998)
states: “Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the
foreign language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more than just
a single word: for example, post office, and mother-in-law, which are made

up of two or three words but express a single idea. A useful convention is to
cover all such cases by talking about vocabulary “items” rather than “words”.
In addition, Burns (1972) defines vocabulary as “the stock of words
which is used by a person, class or profession. According to Zimmerman cited
in Coady and Huckin (1998) said that: “Vocabulary is central to language and
of critical importance to the typical language learning”. Furthermore,
Diamond and Gutlohn (2006) state that vocabulary is the knowledge of words
and word meanings.”
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the
total number of words that are needed to communicate ideas and express the
speakers’ meaning. That is the reason why it is important to learn vocabulary.

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2.

The Roles of Vocabulary
Vocabulary is core to English language teaching and learning process

because without sufficient vocabulary, students cannot understand others or
express their own ideas. Wilkins (1972) wrote that: “While without grammar,
very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed”.
This point reflects our experience with different languages, even without
grammar, with some useful words and expressions, we can often manage to
communicate. Lewis (1993) went further to argue: “Lexis is heart of
language”. Particularly as students develop greater fluency and expression in
English, it is significant for them to acquire more productive vocabulary

knowledge and to develop their own personal vocabulary learning strategies.
Students often instinctively recognize the importance of vocabulary to their
language learning. Schmitt (2010) noted: “Learners carry around dictionaries
and not grammar books”. Teaching vocabulary helps students understand and
communicate with others in English. Voltaire purportedly said: “Language is
very difficult to put into words.” English language students generally would
concur, yet learning vocabulary also helps students master English for
their purposes.
A good mastery of vocabulary helps the learners to express their ideas
precisely. By having many stocks of word learners will be able to
comprehend thereading materials catch other talking, give response, speak
fluently and write somekind of topics.
On the contrary, if the learners do not recognize the meaning of the
words use by those who address them, the will be unable to participate inconv
ersation, unable to express some ideas, or unable to ask for information.

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Considering the important of vocabulary role in learning foreign
language.The mastery of this element should be ensured and develop.
Otherwise, the vocabulary mastery of the children will be limited and
consequence of it is that they will find difficulties in learning the skills of the
language. Therefore, schools have a task to teach vocabulary to their students
as suggested by John Carol as showed by Margaretha MC Keown (1987).
Although a considerable amount of vocabulary, learning is associated
with primary language learning in early years. The acquisition of most the
vocabulary characteristic of an educated adult occur during the years of

schooling, and infects one of the primary task of the school as far as language
learning in concerned, as to teach vocabulary.

3.

The Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge
The concept of a word can be defined in various ways, but three

significant aspects teachers need to be aware of and focus on are “Form”,
“Meaning”, and “Use”. According to Nation (2001), “the Form” of a word
involves its pronunciation (spoken form), spelling (written form), and any
word parts that make up this particular item (such as a prefix, root, and
suffix). An example for word parts can been seen with the word
uncommunicative, where the prefix “un-” means negative or opposite,
communicate is the root word, and “-ive” is a suffix denoting that someone or
something is able to do something. Here, they all go together to refer to
someone or something

that is not able to communicate, hence

uncommunicative. Nation (2001) stated that “Meaning” encompasses the way
that form and meaning work together, in other words, the concept and what
items it refers to, and the associations that come to mind when people think

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about a specific word or expression. “Use”, Nation (2001) noted, involves the

grammatical functions of the word or phrase, collocations that normally go with
it, and finally any constraints on its use, in terms of frequency, level, and so
forth. When teachers teach vocabulary to build students’ knowledge of words
and phrases, helping them learn any and all of these different components assists
them in enhancing their English vocabulary knowledge and use.
II.

Classification of Vocabulary

There are various ways to classify the words of a language. A useful
way for “English as a Second Language” students is to divide vocabulary in
the following three broad categories:
-

“Everyday words” - for talking with friends and family about
everyday things

-

“Subject-specific words” - the words of science, history,
mathematics, etc.

-

“Academic words” - the words used in textbooks and by the
subject teacher, which are not so common in everyday spoken
language and not subject-specific words.

But some experts divided vocabulary into two types: “Active
vocabulary” and “Passive vocabulary”. Harmer (1991) distinguishes between

these two types of vocabulary. The first type of vocabulary refers to the one
that the students have been taught and that they are expected to be able to use.
Meanwhile, the second one refers to the words which the students will
recognize when they meet them, but which they will probably not be able to
pronounce. Haycraft, quoted by Hatch and Brown (1995) indicate two kinds
of vocabulary, namely “Receptive vocabulary” and “Productive vocabulary”.

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1.

Receptive Vocabulary
Receptive vocabulary is words that learners recognize and understand

when they are used in context, but which they cannot produce. It is
vocabulary that learners recognize when they see or meet in reading text but
do not use it in speaking and writing (Stuart Webb, 2009).

2.

Productive Vocabulary
Productive vocabulary is the words that the learners understand and

canpronounce correctly and use constructively in speaking and writing. It
involves what is needed for receptive vocabulary plus the ability to speak or
write at the appropriate time. Therefore, productive vocabulary can be
addressed as an active process, because the learners can produce the words to

express their thoughts to others (Stuart Webb, 2005).

3.

Active Vocabulary
An active vocabulary is made up of the words readily used and clearly

understood by an individual when speaking and writing. Active vocabulary,
on the other hand, is vocabulary that you can recall and use at will when the
situation requires it. You are choosing to use the word and actively retrieving
it from memory. Manser, M. (2004) notes that an active vocabulary
“Consists of the words that people use frequently and confidently. If someone
asks them to make up a sentence containing such and such a word and they
can do it then that word is part of their active vocabulary.”
In contrast, Manser, M. (2004) says: “A person’s passive vocabulary
consists of the words whose meanings they know so that they do not have to

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look the words up in a dictionary but which they would not necessarily use in
ordinary conversation or writing”.
According to Corson, D. (1995):
“An active vocabulary covers all those words people need to use and
have no reservations about using to communicate with others on an everyday
basis. The range of people’s active vocabulary is a unique reflection of their
sociocultural position and the range of discursive practices engaged in. In
other words, it depends on the range of relations people contract as a part of

everyday existence, over a lifetime. Except for people who frequently make
contact with the specialist meaning systems of professions or of other special
knowledge categories, most people’s active words are high frequency words
in the language and need little stimulus to activate them in the mental lexicon.
They are ready for use in incoming and outgoing messages, with no
noticeable effort.”
Laufer, B. (2001) stated: “Educationists believe that using vocabulary
in

communicative

tasks

is

more

beneficial

to

developing active

vocabulary than requiring learners to memorize isolated words, or leaving
them to their own devices”.
In addition, Schwab, I. & Hughes, N. (2010) indicated: “While studies
agree that knowledge of vocabulary is important for developing reading skills,
they also show it is normally extensive reading that helps develop a wide
vocabulary.”
4.

Passive Vocabulary
A passive vocabulary is made up of the words that an individual

recognizes but rarely uses when speaking and writing. Also known as
recognition vocabulary.
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According to Reynolds, J. and Acres, P. (2013), “Your passive
vocabulary is likely to contain more words than the active one. One way to
improve the range of the vocabulary in your own writing is to try to transfer
words from your passive to the active vocabulary”
As Corson, D. (1995):
“A passive vocabulary includes the words stored in verbal memory that
people partially “understand”, but not well enough for active use. These are
words that people meet less often and they may be low frequency words in the
language as a whole. In other words, activating them takes longer and it
demands greater stimulus than most textual contexts provide. Words stop
being passive if people are regularly contracting relations that activate them,
since this lowers the amount of stimulus needed to put them to use. A facility
in using the words develops. Again constraints of another kind in the
extralinguistic context may also restrict the active use of some words. This
can happen even when words are available for active use in principle, such as
cultural taboo words that most people know but rarely use outside certain
settings”.
With passive vocabulary, you can listen and understand. Hearing the
vocabulary used prompts you to recall its meaning. In other words, you are

being made to recall them, so they are passive vocabulary.

III.

Some Common Techniques of Teaching and Learning Vocabulary

3.1.

Teaching Vocabulary

3.1.1. Teaching Vocabulary Based on Texts
Guessing from context as a way of dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary
in unedited selections has been suggested widely by L1 and L2 reading

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specialists (Dubin, 1993). Nation and Coady (1988) claim that there are two
types of contexts:
The first type is the context within the text, which includes
morphological, semantic and syntactic information in a specific text, while the
second one is the general context, or non-textual context, which is the
background knowledge the reader has about the subjects being read. Williams
(1985) agrees with Nation and Coady in considering the specific context as
‘‘the other words and sentences that surround that word, it follows that other
words in the context of the unfamiliar word often “throw light on” its
meaning. These other words can be found in the sentence containing the
unknown word or other sentences beyond the sentence of the unknown item.

Similarly, McCarthy (1988) sees context as within the text itself i.e. the
morphological, syntactic, and discourse information, which can be classified
and described in terms of general features. Learning from context not only
includes learning from extensive reading, but also learning from taking part in
a conversation, and learning from listening to stories, films, television or the
radio (Nation, 2001). In order to activate guessing in a written or spoken text,
there should befour elements available: the reader, the text, unknown words,
and clues in the text including some knowledge about guessing. The absence
of one of these elements may affect the learner’s ability to guess.
Furthermore, this technique encourages learners to take risks and guess the
meanings of words they do not know as much as possible. This will help them
build up their self-confidence so that they can work out the meanings of
words when they are on their own. There are many clues learners can use to
establish meanings for themselves, such as illustrations, similarity of spelling
or sound in the mother tongue, and general knowledge (Walters, 2004).

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3.1.2. Teaching Vocabulary by Using Synonyms, Antonyms
Synonyms and antonyms are especially important in building new
vocabulary because learners are able to know vocabulary. Synonyms and
antonyms are useful to know because they improve reading and writing skills.
And since words represent thoughts, it can plausibly be stated that they allow
students to understand the world at a deeper, richer level. It is important to
remember that synonyms are not words that have the same meaning, but
rather, words that have similar meanings. This means that by learning
synonyms, students learn to differentiate between shades of meaning. This

enable them to be more precise. In addition, by learning antonyms, students
learn the logical opposites of important words, thus enhancing their overall
command of language. Synonyms are words that have the same meaning as
the unknown in a given sentence. There may be signals that identify the
presence of synonym for the readers. They could be “or, commas, dashes, and
colons”. Meanwhile, antonyms are words that have the opposite meaning of
the unknown word in a given sentence. Signals which identify the presence of
the antonyms for readers are “instead, although, but, yet, and however”.
When students expand their vocabulary with sysnonyms and antonyms,
thay increase thier comprehension of English and learn to express themselves
with greater clarity.
3.1.3. Teaching Vocabulary through Translation
This is a type of teaching method has been around a very long time, and
it is called the grammar-translation method. Derived from the traditional
method of teaching Greek and Latin in the West, this method aims at having
students completely understand the grammatical rules and vocabulary of any
foreign language. The method has been so popular around the world, because

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you do not need native speakers to teach foreign languages. It is also easy for
the teacher to use. Teacher only really need the student’s native teacher who
has a knowledge of the grammar of the foreign language being taught. The
teacher is not using the foreign language for communication, because all
explanations about the foreign language are in the student’s native language.
ESP teachers should be aware of the importance of incorporating
vocabulary teaching into their classes. Vocabulary seems to be one of the

most commonly misunderstood aspects of language teaching. Most of the
times, vocabulary is approached in a very unsystematic way which creates
confusion for learners. When teaching vocabulary, teachers should not focus
on every single word because there is no need and no time to do it. It is
fundamental to help learners build their initial vocabulary by teaching them
what is meant by “learning words” and showing them how to learn the words
most effectively. Specialised vocabulary may not seem to be the primary goal
of ESP language, but learners in these fields need to acquire their specialised
terminology in order to better perform in their professions.Vocabulary is a
key element in any second language class because whereas grammar is
important for meaning, without vocabulary no message is conveyed. There
seems to be a tendency, especially in ESP courses, to provide students with
word-lists and ready-made glossaries to help them acquire specialised
vocabulary. Vocabulary, however, does not mean simply ‘words’ because
words are seldom found in isolation. For any given word, indeed, there is
always a wide range of other words which can occur or collate with it.
Theseword combinations or relationships, often called collocations, are very
important for learners and most of the time, serious errorsoccur as a result of a
lack of translational equivalence between L1 and L2.

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3.1.4. Teaching Vocabulary by Using Techniques
There are many vocabulary teaching techniques. Not all techniques are
equally helpful for every student or appropriate for every course. In this case,
the teacher should choose the most suitable techniques. The technique must
enable students to improve their vocabulary knowledge. One should also

notice that it is not possible to use only one technique during the process of
teaching vocabulary.
Vocabulary teaching requires several strategies to be put into use and
supported by technology, which empowers the process. Thera are the most
innovative and applicable strategies:
-

Using visual representations of words in text. Since vocabulary

relies heavily on the interaction between words, showing students the
frequency and type of words that appear in text can help them think through
word relationships. Free websites provide this type of word-mapping ability.
Potential question to students could include, “What seem to be the most
important words?” and “How do these words go together?” not to mention
reading comprehension questions around main idea.
-

Digital vocabulary “field trips”. A vocabulary “field trip” is

when a teacher presents many different sources of text to students and has
them pick out and record important words which are then brought together,
grouped conceptually, and discussed in various word-work ways. A digital
field trip puts this in students’ hands. Using free websites, teachers can
compile websites about a topic and makes notes on the sites to help guide
students. The multimedia on the sites gives students exposure to new words in
many different modalities.

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-

Let students use multimedia to show vocabulary knowledge.

The authors suggest that there is a word of multimedia out there that students
could benefit from using to show off their vocabulary knowledge. For
instance, creating a podcast or short video explaining the meaning of new
words. Another idea is that students could create Powerpoint slides with a
picture that they caption to show the meaning of a word. The authors show an
example of picture of three children working together that a student has
captioned with a made-up conversation between the children that ends with
one using the vocabulary word “contribute”.
-

Online vocabulary games. Perhaps the most straightforward use

of the internet, the authors point to the websites: www.vocabulary.co.il,
www.vocabulary.com and www.freerice.com as having strong resources and
games for teachers and students. The traditional vocabulary instruction of
copying definitions, drawing pictures and writing example sentences certainly
has its place. The authors suggest, however, that it is time to start looking for
updated, digital ways to increase students’ lexicons as well as their excitement
about expanding their vocabulary.
3.1.5. Teaching Vocabulary Using Games
Language learning is hard work. Effort is required at every moment and
must be maintained over a long period. Games help and encourage many
learners to sustain their interest and work. Games also help the teacher to
create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners

want to take part and in order to do so must understand what others are saying
or have written, and they must speak or write inorder to express their own
point of view or give information. Games encourage, entertain, teach, and
promote fluency. If not for any of these reasons, they should be used just
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because they help students see beauty in a foreign language and not just
problems that at times seem overwhelming. Games are often used as short
warm-up activities or when there is sometime left at the end of a lesson. Yet,
a game should not be regarded as a marginalactivity filling in odd moments
when the teacher and class have nothing better to do. Games ought to be at the
heart of teaching foreign languages. Games are used at all stages of the
lesson, provided that they are suitable and carefully chosen. Games also lend
themselves well to revision exercises helping learners recall material in
a pleasant, entertaining way. All authors referred to in this article agree that
even if games resulted only in noise and entertained students, they are still
worth paying attention to and implementing in the classroom since
theymotivate learners, promote communicative competence, and generate
fluency. There are many kinds of games which can be used in teaching
English. Of course, as a technique games need help from media. It can be
pictures, object, puppet, cassette, projector and many others object surround
us. There are some common games used in teaching vocabulary such as:
-

Cross Puzzle

-

Jumble Letters

-

Last Man Standing

-

Pictionary

-

Charades

-

Categories

-

Word Bingo

-

Chalkboard Acronym

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3.2.

Learning Vocabulary

3.2.1. Learning Vocabulary by Using Dictionary
A single word may have several possible meanings, and the appropriate
one can often be determined based on context. Laufer (1990) believes that a
word in a sentence could look familiar to language learners, however, they
may find that this meaning in the given sentence makes no sense. In addition,
guesses of the meaning of an unknown word are rarely accurate. Kaivanpanah
and Alavi’s (2008) study confirms that learners’ inferences about the meaning
of unfamiliar vocabulary are not always reliable. Thus, advocates of
dictionary use suggest that teachers should encourage learners to use a
dictionary to find the particular meaning of an unfamiliar word in a given
context. Walz (1990) claim that: “Dictionaries are the essential source for
information about words in a language”. Hayati and Fattahzadh (2006) also
recommend that learners consult a dictionary for the meaning of an unfamiliar
word to make certain that their assumptions are accurate based on the
contextual information. Access to a dictionary helps learners become more
autonomous because they can find appropriate interpretations of unfamiliar
words in sentences without depending on teachers’ explanations said by Gu
(2003) and Miyanaga (2006).
Most people know how to use a dictionary to look up a word’s
meaning. Here are some pointers on how to do this as a part of a vocabularybuilding program:
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Have your own dictionary: Keep it where you usually do your

reading at home. You are more likely to use it if you do not have to get it
from another room. At work, there may be a good dictionary available for

Pham Thi Diu – K19A08 (2012-2016)

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