The impact of using languae game based instruction on young learners vocabulary retention a quasi experimental study a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts in

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “The Impact of Using Language Game-Based
Instruction on Young Learners’ Vocabulary Retention: A Quasi-Experimental
Study” is my own work.
Except where reference is made in the text of thesis, this thesis contains no
material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by
which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.
No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the
main text of the thesis.
This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in
any other tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2016

NGUYEN THI THU HIEN

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This thesis paper was my maser thesis, and it was the most noticeable
achievement for my master study. It was the outcome based on my personal efforts;
my supervisor’s timing support, and my colleagues’ assistance.
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Pham Vu
Phi Ho, whose insights and thoughtful comments have guided me to do this work,
and who has seriously directed me with his competence, generosity, and patience. I
thank him for his understanding, encouragements, and precious advice. Without him,
my thesis completion would not be corrected and submitted on time.
I am thankful to the teaching staff and students in Vietnamese American

Private School. I am grateful to Ms. Thuy, the school headmaster for her acceptance
to carry out the experiment. I also thank Mr. Thanh and Ms. Mai, the vice principals,
for their encouragements by elaborative advice and technical supports.
Finally, my thesis paper would not have been successful without the
participation from the students in Class 5A3 and Class 5A4. I thank them for
cooperating with me throughout the training program, filling the questionnaire and
help in the accomplishment of this work.

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ABSTRACT

Vocabulary learning is an important and indispensable part of any language
learning process. It is considered as a difficult task so that teachers try as much as
possible to facilitate it for their learners. One of the techniques that can be used is
integrating language games. However, few studies have been conducted to explore
the influence of using language games in vocabulary teaching in the real context,
especially in Vietnamese American Private School. To address this gap, this study
especially focuses on examining the impact of using language game-based
instruction on the fifth graders’ vocabulary retention at Vietnamese American
Private School (VAPS).
The study was conducted in VAPS during the summer course (June to July)
of the academic school year 2015-2016, in district 8, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam.
The primary aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using language
game-based instruction on young learners’ vocabulary retention in primary schools.
The study involved 39 fifth grade pupils in two classes at VAPS. One class
consisted of 21 children and was considered as the experimental group; and the
second one involved 18 pupils and was considered as the control group. The
experimental group was exposed to language games in learning vocabulary,

whereas the control group involved in lessons without the use of language games.
The study lasted 6 weeks and involved a pre-test and post-test, interview and
questionnaire to participants. It was hypothesized that language games would
improve pupils’ vocabulary retention and their attitudes towards learning
vocabulary were positive.
The results of the study highlighted the positive effects of game-based
strategy in improving children’s vocabulary retention as well as positive attitudes
from the participants. These lead to two conclusions that adopting game activities
indeed helped the pupils improve their ability to memorize the new words
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effectively and their attitudes towards the game-based instruction were positive. The
study also mentioned several difficulties in applying game activities as well as
recommendations for better game treatment. Finally, it addressed some implications
and called for further research to investigate game-based instruction in a wider
context.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ......................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ..........................................................................................v
LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................ viii
LIST OF FIRUGES ................................................................................................ ix
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS .....................................................................x

CHAPTER I ...............................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................1
1.1. Background of the study ....................................................................................1
1.2. Problems of teaching and learning vocabulary in Vietnam ...........................4
1.3. Statement of the purpose ...................................................................................8
1.4. Research questions .............................................................................................8
1.5. Significance of the study ....................................................................................9
1.7. Overview of the thesis chapters ........................................................................9
CHAPTER II ...........................................................................................................11
LITERATURE REVIEW .......................................................................................11
2.1. Vocabulary ........................................................................................................11
2.1.1. What is Vocabulary? ....................................................................................11
2.1.2. Kinds of Vocabulary ....................................................................................12
2.1.3. The teaching of vocabulary .........................................................................15
2.2. Young learners .................................................................................................19
2.2.1. Definition of young learners ........................................................................19
2.2.2. Characteristics of young learners.................................................................20
2.3. Language games ...............................................................................................24
2.3.1. What are language games? ..........................................................................24
2.3.2. Types of language games.............................................................................27
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2.3.3. The advantages and disadvantages of using language games .....................31
2.4. Previous research in using language games in teaching English vocabulary
............................................................................................................................38
CHAPTER III..........................................................................................................47
METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................47
3.1. Research site .....................................................................................................47
3.2. Participants .......................................................................................................47

3.3. Research design ................................................................................................48
3.4. Procedures of the study ...................................................................................51
3.4.1. Pre-Training Phase.......................................................................................52
3.4.2. While- and Post-Training Phase ..................................................................52
3.4.3. Training procedures .....................................................................................53
3.4.4. Teaching material ........................................................................................61
3.5. Research instruments.......................................................................................63
3.5.1. Pre-test and post-test ....................................................................................63
3.5.2. Questionnaire ...............................................................................................64
3.5.3. Interviews.....................................................................................................68
3.6. Data collection ..................................................................................................70
3.7. Analytical Framework .....................................................................................71
3.7.1. The statistical tests .......................................................................................71
3.7.2. Descriptive data analysis .............................................................................72
3.8. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................72
CHAPTER IV ..........................................................................................................73
RESULTS / FINDINGS & DISCUSSION ............................................................73
4.1. Performance of both groups on pretest. ..........................................................73
4.2. Research question 1: Does language game-based instruction have any
effect on pupils’ vocabulary retention? .........................................................74
4.2.1. Control group’s performance on the pretest and posttest ............................74
4.2.2. Experimental group’s performance on the pretest and posttest...................76

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4.2.3. Experimental group’s and control group’s performance on the posttest .....78
4.3. Research Question 2: To what extent language games facilitate learners’
vocabulary learning? .......................................................................................82
4.4. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................94

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................95
5.1. Summary of the results/ findings ....................................................................95
5.2. Limitations of the study ...................................................................................97
5.3 Suggestions for further research .....................................................................98
5.4. Summary of the chapter ..................................................................................98
REFERENCES ........................................................................................................99
APPENDICES .......................................................................................................106
APPENDIX A: TEST ............................................................................................106
APPENDIX B: SCORES OF PRE- AND POST-TEST OF BOTH GROUPS118
APPENDIX C: POST QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................119
APPENDIX D: DATA ANALYSIS OF POST QUESTIONNAIRE ................125
APPENDIX E: INTERVIEWTRANSCRIPTS ..................................................128
APPENDIX G: LESSON PLAN FOR THE CONTROL GROUP ..................143
APPENDIX H: LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP ......153

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1. Types of vocabulary ...................................................................................... 151
Table 2. Schedule for the main stages of the research .................................................. 51
Table 3. Types of language games included ............................................................... 551
Table 4. Structure of a traditional lesson ...................................................................... 51
Table 5.Structure of a language games-based lesson .................................................... 57
Table 6. Selected learning unit ...................................................................................... 51
Table 7. Themes represented in questionnaire items .................................................... 67
Table 8.T-test value of vocabulary pretest of experimental and control groups .......... 74
Table 9.Mean scores of vocabulary pre-post-tests for control group ........................... 75
Table 10.Comparison between the pre-post-tests of the control group ........................ 75

Table 11.Mean scores of vocabulary pre-post-tests of experimental group ................. 77
Table 12.Comparison between the pre-post-tests of the experimental group ............... 77
Table 13.Mean scores of vocabulary posttests of experimental and control groups .... 79
Table 14. T-test value of vocabulary posttests of experimental and control groups .... 79
Table 15.Pupils’ general stance on the effect of language games on learning
vocabulary .................................................................................................... 83
Table 16.Games in practicing and remembering vocabulary ....................................... 85
Table 17. Games and motivation .................................................................................. 88
Table 18. Games and anxiety ........................................................................................ 89
Table19. Pupils’ preference for the use of games ......................................................... 92
Table 20.Pupils’ desire for the use of language games ................................................. 92

viii


LIST OF FIRUGES

Figure 1. Pre-test and Post-test Design ......................................................................... 51

ix


ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

CG

Control group

CLT

Communicative Language Teaching

EFL

English foreign language

EG

Experimental group

e.g.

for example

ELT

English language teaching

F

Frequency

HCMC

Ho Chi Minh City

L1

First language

L2

Second language

Min.

Minute(s)

N

Total number

No.

Number

p.

Page

Pp

Pages

Q(s)

Question(s)

r

Correlation

S(s)

Student(s)

SD

Standard deviation

SE

Standard error

SEM

Standard error of the mean

T

Teacher

x


CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study
English has become a global language and this is why our society is more

concerned about teaching and learning English at early ages. However, it is believed
that teaching English to school children is not an easy job; it requires a lot of work
and preparations. Especially, vocabulary plays an important role in learning a
foreign language. According to Nguyen & Khuat (2003), vocabulary is one element
that links the four skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing all together. In
order to communicate well in a foreign language, students should acquire an
adequate number of words and should know how to use them accurately. Similarly,
vocabulary is at the heart of oral language comprehension and sets the foundation
for domain-specific knowledge and later reading comprehension (McKeown &
Beck, 2007; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). However, a lot of educators face
difficulties to teach and to help learners memorize new words; most students have
shown no motive to learn and to memorize vocabulary. Indeed, many educators
have found that students learning a foreign language tend to forget or misuse new
words most of the time (Rohani & Pourgharib, 2013). For that reason, it is clear that
vocabulary learning is one of the most common problems in L2 learning. As Holden
(1999) claims that one of the most important issues in second language teaching and
learning is vocabulary learning and perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of
learning a second language is the retention of learned vocabulary.
What is the best way to teach vocabulary has always been one of the
controversial issues in language teaching (Coady & Huckin, 1997). For many years,
teachers have disagreed about how to include vocabulary teaching in their
instructional programs. According to Hatch & Brown (1995), there are numerous
types of approaches, techniques, exercises and practice that can be used to teach

1


vocabulary, but teachers should decide what types would be best for their students
and their circumstances. Some researchers such as Nguyen & Khuat (2003) and
Uberman (1998) have shown that students are tired of learning vocabulary in

traditional methods such as rehearsing, writing words on papers or learning
passively through teachers’ explanations, and this has created severe problems with
learning skills. Throughout the researchers’ long experience as teachers of English
for youngsters, they faced a lot of problems looking for the best way to teach
English to children; how to draw their attention and keep it for the whole class
period; how to motivate children and encourage them to learn. Thus, it is useful to
remmeber that teachers should have a good and interesting technique to introduce
vocabulary to learners; so that they will be interested and motivated to learn them.
It is believed that language games are proposed to solve the problem.
According to Yolageldili & Arikan (2011), although some teachers of English see
language games as time consumer or classroom techniques for fun, games have a
special role in any foreign language teaching programme because they facilitate
foreign language learning especially for young learners. Indeed, Nguyen & Khuat
(2003) believe students prefer to learn language in a relaxed environment such as
taking part in vocabulary games. They believe that in an interesting and
communicative class learners can learn 80 percent of what they were exposed to.
Similarly, Freeman (1986) also emphasizes that learners enjoy language games they
enjoys communicative involvement in the classroom. He believes that games can
provide a healthy and constructive competition. Games can encourage learners
discovering and voluntary involvement to the learning process, it can also establish
a better bonding between teachers and learners.
Furthermore, Yolageldili & Arikan (2011) also claim that with the
introduction of communicative language teaching; English language teaching and
learning has become much more demanding for teachers and learners just like any
other innovation poses challenges for its users. They believe that games have

2


become crucially important for English language learners and teachers not only

because they provide enjoyment and relaxation, but also as they encourage students
to use their language in a creative and communicative manner. Besides, because the
definition of the term “young learners” encapsulates those children between the
ages of about 5 years old and 12 years old (Rixon, 1999), it can be suggested that
games are a natural part of young learners’ lives.
Similarly, people usually enjoy a task if they play an essential part in it
(Dornyei, 2001). According to the author, the best way to illustrate this situation is
through activities done in the class, and which need a discussion among learners.
These activities make learners who contribute in them feel interested while those,
who do not, feel uninspiring. Learners need to practice regularly; otherwise, they
will forget. For that reason, teachers can resort to interactive techniques for
vocabulary revision and consolidation. Games, for instance, can be included in
revising learned items. They also help teachers to create a good atmosphere for
optimal teaching learning process. Many teachers believe that since learners prefer
to learn in an enjoyable environment; they will respond to and interact with these
games (Aslanabadi & Rasouli, 2013). Moreover, using such complementary tools
help learners learn many aspects of the language at the same time. Most of the time,
games can be considered as simple activities, but they are not always an easy task.
As it is mentioned above, using games in class is very effective especially for
beginners in improving their language. As Uberman (1998) stated, games can be
considered as an unconscious way of learning. In the similar vein, Azarmi (2011)
shares the same view that teaching languages by games is one of the best methods
for learning foreign languages; as play is the basic means processing information
for youngsters, learning new skills and practising old ones should be done by
adapting childhood games into the learning situation for getting better results.

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1.2. Problems of teaching and learning vocabulary in Vietnam

For years, many researchers have confirmed the important role of vocabulay
knowledge in learning a foreign language. Language ability of learners will be
improved overall by vocabulary improvement (Linse, 2006). Nevertheless,
vocabulary learning is not always an easy task since learners have to deal with
unfamiliar vocabulary during their language acquisition. According to Luu (2012),
for young learners, perhaps it is less difficult to learn vocabulary items for the first
time than to consolidate and to remember them. He also claims that young learners
often complain that they keep learning and forgeting. Most Vietnamese pupils; thus,
have faced a lot of difficulties in learning vocabulary and almost learn vocabulary
passively even though they realize the importance of vocabulary in learning foreign
language.
Firstly, according to ‘Tuoitrenews’ (electronic newspaper, July,16th, 2014), in
reality most of English classrooms in Viet Nam today, vocabulary lessons were not
paid enough attention in order to help students learn new words more interestedly
and effectively. For example, some teachers of English think highly of the ability of
speaking English and ignore the importance of vocabulary. They always focus on
the four skills in their teaching procedures, this causes many difficulties for learners
to acquire vocabulary. Those teachers also admited that they sometimes found it
hard to apply appropriate teaching methods. As a result, most students have formed
a habit of only learning new words found in their text books or through teacher’s
giving or explanation.
Secondly, according to To Thu Thuy (personal communication, April, 8th,
2015), the head of English Group who has been teaching English for over 20 years,
revealed that most learners find learning vocabulary boring and learn it passively.
She said that most teachers in the school use conventional methods to teach their
students. For instance, teaching and doing exercises by textbook, and there is not
much interaction between teacher and students. It makes students get bored and do

4

not pay attention at their teacher. Moreover, according to an article “Students,
parents confused about English study requirements at HCM schools.”,
( online newspaper, September, 13th, 2012) claimed
that most Vietnamese learners normally learn vocabulary by such traditional
methods as listing new words on a notebook and learning them by heart, writing
new words repeatedly down on papers, reading new words out loud several times,
and so forth. As a result, the students are bored with the traditional method
which is done by their teacher in language teaching. Likewise, teachers often
think highly of how to keep words in mind rather than teach them how to learn
through games in the relaxed and interesting environment. This phenomenon is so
common among the primary school that affects the quality of pupils and their
interests. In addition, the standard method of presenting up to 20 or more new
vocabulary words that students are expected to learn at a given time is not an
effective way to help the learners develop vocabulary (Gersten & Baker, 2000).
These methods seem not to be very effective and interesting ways for acquisition.
Due to this, students do not reason out the information and do not assimilate what is
being taught since they only reproduce what is done and what they learn just lasts a
short time.
Thirdly, for further clarifying of students’ information, Nguyen Thi Xuan Bich
and Tran Sung (personal communication, 5th April 2015), teachers of English who
have been teaching English for over 21 years, also shared the same point of view
that the problem was also caused by the teaching methods. Some of teachers were
not creative when teaching the foreign language to children. Teachers sometimes
made the students get bored and they also felt that the teaching method did not give
more chances to them to internalize the words in their memory. Moreover, they also
claimed that the other problem was classroom situation. The classroom situation in
learning vocabulary showed that the atmosphere was not alive, with the teachers

5

domination of teaching vocabulary. The students showed low participation in using
vocabulary.
Fourthly, as a teacher of English, during the reseacher’s teaching process, the
reseacher also realizes that when doing tasks in textbooks or doing tests, the most
common question that students often ask is “Could you tell me what this word
means?”. Furthermore, many of the researcher’s students often complained that they
learned a lot of new words, but those words seemed to fade away in their minds
only a few days later. They asked how they could learn vocabulary effectively and
could find it an interesting activity. In fact, as soon as learners leave the classroom,
they enter their native language world where they do not have the opportunity to use
what they have learned in English. Also, Luu (2012) claims that when English
language young learners are acquiring new vocabulary, they need concrete methods
to collect, store, and retrieve words for retention and future use. For this reason,
teachers should create an appropriate situation which is closer to real world context
and learners can enquire vocabulary as much as possible through funny, attractive
and interactive activities. It is believed that using language games might be a
suitable technique. Nguyen & Khuat (2003) trust that vocabulary games bring real
world context into the classroom, and enhance students’ use of English in a flexible,
communicative way. Shared reading, Nurdianita (2015) believes that the students
always want to learn vocabulary by doing interesting activities which are almost
similar to play games. They more interest to learn through play

than

learn

monotonously. Game are associated with a feeling of happiness. Pupils will be
attracted by playing a game than listening to their teacher. It can be altenative for

pupils to study by playing a game.
Finally, in recent years, communicative language teaching (CLT) has been
applied in Viet Nam and this led to the adaption of textbooks which are designed in
the light of communcative language teaching. In a CLT approach, learners are
required to take part in a number of meaningful activities with different tasks. This

6


is to improve learners’ communicative competence by encouraging them to be the
part of the lessons themselves(Nguyen & Khuat, 2003). Newton (2001) refers to
this approach as a way that can enable learners to manage their vocabulary meaning
and develop their communicative skills at the same time. Thus, many experts of
language teaching also agree that playing games is a good way to learn vocabulary,
especially in CLT class since it requires students to communicate actively with their
classmates and motivates them. Regarding these issues, it is important for teachers
to create an effective language learning environment, in which, the levels of anxiety
are low and the levels of comfort are high and which help to motivate students to
participate in learning vocabulary in the language classroom. Therefore, games are
highly recommended since it can create a meaningful context for language learning
process. As Uberman (1998) states that “games can lower anxiety, thus making the
acquisition of input more likely.”, he also believes that after learning and practicing
new vocabulary through games, students have the opportunity to use language
games in a non-stressful way. Wright, Betteridge, & Buckby (2006) come to a
conclusion that with the use of games, the teacher can create various contexts in
which students have to use the language to communicate, exchange information and
express their own opinions.
On the whole, it is clear that the demand for determining a practical method to
facilitate students’ vocabulary learning is extremely desirable. According to Allen
(1983), adolescents and adults may enjoy games as much as children do and, if the

purpose of a game is explained to them, they will not feel that it is childish. In
games, “language use takes precedence over language practice” (Allen, 1983) and
in this sense “games bring classroom closer to the real world. Each game, by nature,
focuses on one or more aspects of English like a grammar point, a vocabulary area,
or a communication skill” (p.73). Games can teach, and there might be no reason
why they cannot be included as a part of a lesson. Donmus (2010), believed that
“The value of educational games has been increasing in language education since

7


they help to make language education entertaining” (p.1497). He also claims that
“when games and education are combined, it can be educative and education
environments can be entertaining. The learners who learned with the use if games,
gain positive attitudes and can be more motivated while learning”.
Many studies examined the effects of using language games on teaching
vocabulary, but few studies consider this issue in the scope of elementary level in
Vietnam. More importantly, their research contexts are different from the writer’s
school situation in which few studied on the same aspects have been found.
Understanding the benefits of using language games in English language teaching
and learning, considering the causes impeding the learning process, and catching up
with the new requirement of teaching language reformation, the author found it
somewhat suitable to use language games to help learners learn and retain
vocabulary effectively. Therefore, the researcher decided to make the quasiexperimental study in which the research integrated language game-based
instruction into the vocabulary teaching process to train the children in VAPS to
examine whether using language games had any effect on their vocabulary learning
and vocabulary retention.
1.3. Statement of the purpose
Despite numerous studies conducted to investigate the impacts of language
game-based instruction on speaking, reading, writing and grammar, few studies

have examined the effect of language games on vocabulary teaching and learning,
especially in Vietnam, particularly in the researcher’s school. Language games are
considered to create the enjoyable atmosphere for learners to enhance their
motivation in learning vocabulary and improve their ability to memorize the words
effectively.
1.4. Research questions
The above mentioned situation has increasingly called for the research with
the hope to discover the effective approach or technique to teach English
8


vocabulary. The present study tries to meet that need. Its purpose is twofold: firstly,
to examine the effects of language game-based instruction on pupils’ vocabulary
retention towards language games experimentation, and secondly, to examine their
attitudes towards the use of language game-based instruction in classroom.
With these aims, it tries to address two research questions as follow:
1. To what extent language game-based instruction have effect on pupils’
vocabulary retention?
2. To what extent language game-based instruction helps learners’ vocabulary
learning?
On the direction to respond to these questions, the hypotheses were posed that
the use of language games has effect on children’s vocabulary retention and
facilitate their vocabulary learning.
Overall, the study consisted of two variables: (1) an independent variable,
which was the implementation of language games; and (2) a dependent variable,
which was the children’s vocabulary retention. The study attempted to examine the
effect of the independent variable on the dependent one by using a pretest and a
posttest to measure the scores.
1.5. Significance of the study
The study was conducted with the intention of offering profound insights and

understanding of integrating language games into teaching vocabulary as an English
teaching technique. Moreover, the researcher hoped that teachers at VAPS could
adopt an effective method to foster pupil’s active involvement and interactive
learning in English classes.
1.7. Overview of the thesis chapters
The present study consisted of five chapters. The introductory chapter
provided the background to the research, explained the rationale of the study,

9


declared the aim together with the research questions, remarked the noticeable
significance of the thesis and the scope of the study was presented finally. Next,
chapter 2 presented the literature review associated with the definitions and
characteristics of vocabulary, young learners, language games and the consideration
of the effects of integrating language game-based instruction on learners’
vocabulary learning and vocabulary retention. Then, chapter 3 provided a detailed
description of the methodology in the study. It presented information about the
research setting, the participants, the measures, the research design, data collection
and the analytical framework. The focus of chapter 4 was placed on the analyzing
and interpreting the data collected from the pretest, posttest, the questionnaires and
the interviews completed by the participants and the discussion of the study results.
The last chapter, chapter 5 made the conclusion, implications and recommendation
for further research.

10


CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW

Chapter 1 overviewed the introduction for the whole study. This chapter
demonstrates the theoretical background of language games as a way to improve
learners’ vocabulary learning. This chapter is consisted of four parts, including an
overview of vocabulary, definition of young learners, the concept of language
games, the advantages and disadvantages of using language games in teaching
English vocabulary, and previous studies in using language games in teaching
English vocabulary.
2.1. Vocabulary
2.1.1. What is Vocabulary?
As explained in the background of the study, vocabulary takes such a
fundamental role in mastering English as foreign language well. Since it is one
element that links the four skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing all
together, its definitions relates to various view about its nature and its use.
Vocabulary is the total of words in a language; vocabulary is a list of words
with their meanings (Hornby, 1995). The Oxford Dictionary defines vocabulary as
the body of words used in a particular sphere and as the total number of words that
make up a language (2007). In Longman Dictionary (1995), vocabulary is defined
as all the words that someone knows, learns or uses.
Neuman & Dwyer (2009, p.27) define vocabulary as “words we must know to
communicate effectively; words in speaking (expressive vocabulary) and words in
listening (receptive vocabulary)”. While Ur (2003, p.56) 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

11


idea. A useful convention is to cover all such cases by talking about voabulary

“items” rather than “words.”. In addition, Burn & Broman (1975, p.83) argue
vocabulary as “the stock of words which is used by a person, class or profession to
state their idea”. Furthermore, Diamond & Gutlohn (2006, p.41) state that
“vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings.”. Shared reading,
defined by Hatch and Brown (1995) as the term vocabulary refers to a list or set of
words for a particular language or words that individual speakers of language might
use.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total
number of words that are needed to communivate ideas and express the speakers’
meaning. It is a set/list of words of a particular language including single words,
compound words and idioms that individual speakers of a language might use. That
is the reason why it is vital important to learn vocabulary. Vocabulary in this
research is limited into a set/list of English words which is related to the theme that
would be taught in the training course.
2.1.2. Kinds of Vocabulary
It is important when defining vocabulary to know its types, there are many
kinds of vocabulary according to many experts. Harmer (1991) distinguishes two
kinds of vocabulary. The first kind of vocabulary refers to the stock of words which
have been taught by the teacher or learnt by the students and which are expected
to be able to use. While the second term refers to the words of which the
students will recognize when they meet them, but of which they will probably not
be able to pronounce.
Vocabulary can be presented in different types according to different purposes
(Hiebert & Kamil, 2005). In general, vocabulary is defined as the knowledge of
word meaning in its different forms (oral or print) or types (receptive or productive).
Similarly, Hatch & Brown (1995) indicate two kinds of vocabulary, namely
receptive vocabulary and productive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary is words
12

that learners recognise 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, 2008). While
productive vocabulary is the words that the learners understand and can pronounce
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, 2005).
In the same vein, Nation (2001) states that there are two kinds of vocabulary.
They are perceptive and productive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary refers to the
words that native speakers and foreign learners recognize and understand but hardly
ever use. It is used passively in either listening or reading. Productive vocabulary is
utilized actively either in speaking or writing. Listening vocabulary is generally
larger than speaking vocabulary while reading vocabulary is relatively larger than
writing vocabulary. Therefore it can be concluded that vocabulary can be presented
in four units. They are listening vocabulary, reading vocabulary, speaking
vocabulary, and writing vocabulary. Reading vocabulary consists of the word found
by people when they are reading. While listening vocabulary is the words that
people hear and understand when they are talking to others or listening to radio
and television. Speaking vocabulary includes the words people used in their
daily life and conversation. The last is writing vocabulary that consists of the word
people use in writing essays, reports, letter, etc.
In relation to kinds of vocabulary, Nation (2008:13-14) states that there are
four kinds of vocabulary in the text as follow:

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Table 1. Types of vocabulary
Types of

Numbers of

vocabulary

vocabulary

Frequency

Coverage of text

Implication for
teaching and
learning

High-

2,000

frequency

Occur

About 87% of the Spend a lot of

frequently

running words in a time

words

text

on

these

words.
sure

Make
they

are

learned

Academic

800

vocabulary

Occur
frequently

About 8% of the If learners are in
in running words in a upper secondary

most kinds of academic text

school

academic texts

tertiary school

Technical

About 1,000 Occur,

About 8% of the

vocabulary

to 2000 for sometimes

running words in a

each subject

frequently

or

in

in specialized text

specialized

texts
Low-

About

Do not occur About 2% or more

frequency

123,000

very frequently of the words in any

words

texts

Base on the table above, teachers need to decide which groups of the words
that their learners need. This is an important decision because it will affect the

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amount of learning expected and it will affect the type of learning, receptive and
productive.
2.1.3. The teaching of vocabulary
It is obvious that learning vocabulary is important as a part of learning
English or other foreign languages since learners learn vocabulary first before they
master more complex structure. Linse (2006, p.17) stated that “learners need to
acquire vocabulary learning strategies in order to discover the meaning of new

words.” Morgan & Rinvolucri (2004) characterize acquisition of vocabulary as a
“branching process rather than linear one”. They write that learning words requires
associations that cannot be learnt separately. They also describe learning as a social
process in which we interchange and share words with the others in order to
understand the meaning but also intensive personal process based on our own life
experience. Therefore, one of the main goals of foreign language learners is to know,
use and expand their vocabulary knowledge, so vocabulary teaching and learning is
very important. Consequently, researchers attempt to investigate strategies that may
enhance vocabulary development. When teaching vocabulary, several principles
should be kept in mind.
Cameron (2001) writes down the general principles to help children for
learning vocabulary. Firstly, teachers can model how to use strategies and draw
children’s attention explicitly to aspect of strategy use; for instance, teacher can
show how to find clues to the meaning of a new word in a picture. Secondly,
teacher can teach the sub skill needed to make use of strategies such as to use a
dictionary efficiently requires knowledge of alphabetical order and lots of practice
with it. Thirdly, classroom task can include structured opportunities for using
strategies; for example when teacher reads a story, teachers explicitly encourage
prediction of the meaning of new word. Fourthly, independent strategy used can be
rehearsed in classrooms like students can be helped to prepare list of words that
they want to learn from a lesson, can show ways of learning from lists and a letter

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