An exploratory study of english vocabulary teaching strategies to young learners at popodoo english center in ha noi

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

DƢƠNG THỊ DOAN

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY TEACHING
STRATEGIES TO YOUNG LEARNERS AT POPODOO
ENGLISH CENTER IN HA NOI
(Nghiên cứu khám phá chiến thuật dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh cho trẻ em
tại trung tâm Anh ngữ PoPoDoo ở Hà Nội)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016


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

DƢƠNG THỊ DOAN

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY TEACHING
STRATEGIES TO YOUNG LEARNERS AT POPODOO
ENGLISH CENTER IN HA NOI
(Nghiên cứu khám phá chiến thuật dạy từ vựng tiếng Anh cho trẻ em
tại trung tâm Anh ngữ PoPoDoo ở Hà Nội)

M.A. Minor Programme Thesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Dr. Tô Thị Thu Hƣơng

HANOI - 2016


DECLARATION
I, Dương Thị Doan, hereby declare that this thesis is my own work, and I have
provided fully documented references to the work of others. In addition, this thesis has
not been submitted for assessment in other formal courses in any other universities. I
also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A
Graduation Thesis deposited in the library.

Hanoi, March 2016
Signature

Dương Thị Doan

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor,
Dr. To Thi Thu Huong, for her professional advice, thoughtful and constructive
comments on almost every aspect of the study. Her insightful suggestions and support

helped me a lot from the beginning to the end of this study.
Second, my thanks also go to all the lecturers at ULIS for their inspirational
lectures in class, providing me useful knowledge to complete my thesis.
Third, I am also deeply grateful to PoPoDoo English Center directors, English
teachers and students who participated in this research work. I thank them for their
support and co-operation.
Last but not least, my special thanks go to my parents, my husband, and my
friends for their love, care, and encouragement.

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ABSTRACT
The overall purpose of this research is to explore vocabulary teaching strategies to
the young learners at an English center in Ha Noi. Besides, the study tried to find out
differences in teachers‟ use of vocabulary teaching strategies to learners of different
age groups (4-6 years old, 7-9 years old, and 10-12 years old), and which strategies
teachers and students most prefer to use. The study employed both quantitative and
qualitative methods. The data were collected from survey questionnaire with 30
teachers and the interview with 15 randomly chosen teachers and 45 learners. Thus,
descriptive statistics using frequencies and percentages were employed in analyzing
the quantitative data and the qualitative data were analyzed qualitatively. The results
of the study revealed that there were several strategies which were used to teach
vocabulary to all groups of learners. However, there were also differences in the
strategies used with learners in different age groups. The reasons were perhaps due to
different language focus or skills used and different characteristics of each age group.
In addition, it was found that there were vocabulary teaching strategies which were
most preferred by only teachers, only learners or both teachers and learners. Finally
recommendations and limitations were shown.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration ……………………………………………………………………………..i
Acknowledgement ……………………………….…………………………………....ii
Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………....iii
Table of contents ………………………………………………………………..........iv
List of tables …………………………………………………………………….........vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………..1
1. Rationale of the study ………………………………………………………….1
2. Aims of the study ………………………………………………………………2
3. Research questions ……………………………………………………………..3
4. Scope of the study ……………………………………………………………...3
5. Significance of the study ………………………………………………………3
6. An overview of the rest of the study …………………………………………..3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ………………………………………………………...4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………..4
1.1.

Vocabulary ………………………………………………………………....4

1.1.1. Definition of vocabulary ………………………………………………...…4
1.1.2. The roles of vocabulary …………………………………………………….5
1.1.3. Aspects of vocabulary to be taught …………………………………….......5
1.2.

Vocabulary teaching strategies ………………………………………...…..7

1.3.

Review of some common methods associated with vocabulary teaching ..8

1.3.1. The grammar translation method ………………………………………..…8
1.3.2. The Direct method ……………………………………………………….....9
1.3.3. The Audio-lingual method …………………………………………………9
1.3.4. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) ……………………………...10
1.3.5. Post – methods ……………………………………………………………10
1.3.5.1.

Total Physical Response (TPR) …………………………………….…10

1.3.5.2.

The Silent way ………………………………………………………...11

1.3.5.3.

Community Language Learning (CLL) ……………………………….11
iv


1.3.5.4.

Suggestopedia …………………………………………………………12

1.4.

Teaching English to young learners ………………………………………13

1.5.

An overview of PoPoDoo English center in Ha Noi ……………………..18

1.5.1. Introduction ……………………………………………………………….18
1.5.2. Teaching program ……………………………………………………...…18
1.6.

Concluding remarks ………………………………………………………19

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY…………………………….……………...……20
2.1.

Participants ………………………………………………………….……20

2.2.

Data collection instruments ……………………………………………...20

2.3.

Procedure of data collection ……………………………………………..22

2.4.

Data analysis methods ……………………………………………………23

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ……………………………….….24
3.1.

Findings …………………………………………………………………24
3.1.1. Analysis of data obtained through questionnaire …………….....…24
3.1.2. Analysis of data obtained through interview …………………...…41

3.2.

Discussion ………………………………………………………………45

PART C: CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………….48
1. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….48
2. Recommendations …………………………………………………………….49
3. Limitations of the study ………………………………………………………49
REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………..50
APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………..I

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Classification of young learners according to age group
Table 2: Vocabulary teaching strategies in the questionnaire
Table 3: Teachers‟ attitude towards English vocabulary teaching
Table 4: Teachers‟ attitude towards using strategies in teaching English vocabulary to
young learners
Table 5: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Presentation phase for age group 3-6
Table 6: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Presentation phase for age group 7-9
Table 7: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on

learning styles in Presentation phase for age group 10-12
Table 8: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Presentation phase for age group 3-6
Table 9: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Presentation phase for age group 7-9
Table 10: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Presentation phase for age group 10-12
Table 11: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Practice phase for age group 3-6
Table 12: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Practice phase for age group 7-9
Table 13: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Practice phase for age group 10-12
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Table 14: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Practice phase for age group 3-6
Table 15: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Practice phase for age group 7-9
Table 16: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Practice phase for age group 10-12
Table 17: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Production phase for age group 3-6
Table 18: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Production phase for age group 7-9
Table 19: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
learning styles in Production phase for age group 10-12
Table 20: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Production phase for age group 3-6

Table 21: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Production phase for age group 7-9
Table 22: Teachers‟ responses to using vocabulary teaching strategies basing on
activating prior knowledge in Production phase for age group 10-12
Table 23: Strategies most preferred by very young learners (3-6 years old)
Table 24: Strategies most preferred by young learners (7-9 years old)
Table 25: Strategies most preferred by older/ late young learners (10-12 years old)

vii


PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
Vocabulary is a very important element in a language. It helps us express our
feelings, ideas, and emotions to others. Without vocabulary, there is nothing we can
express. As a result, communication cannot exist.
However, for many years, vocabulary has been the victim of discrimination by
researchers who claimed syntax to be a more important issue in the language
development process (Carter, 1988). As a result, vocabulary teaching and learning
were not regarded as an area to focus on.
After many decades of being neglected, the importance of vocabulary for
language learning and teaching is admitted by theorists, methodologists and
researchers today. In teaching and learning a foreign language, vocabulary plays a
very important role. It is essential in all four skills of speaking, listening, reading and
writing; and is considered as a tool to learn the four skills well. Whether vocabulary
teaching is effective in the classroom or not is really a constant challenge for teachers.
Accordingly, several types of strategies which are the ways teachers use to allow
learners to access the information have been introduced into the field to teach
vocabulary. Several researchers conducted studies on vocabulary learning and
teaching strategies. The interest of focusing on vocabulary teaching strategies may

come from various reasons. Firstly, for language teachers, it is one of the significant
areas they concern so that their learners can access vocabulary items they teach.
Secondly, for language learners, vocabulary teaching strategies that teachers use have
great impact on the success of their vocabulary learning. Each strategy teachers
practice in class may form a means to vocabulary learning that may enhance their
learners‟ vocabulary knowledge or help them to be better in reading, writing,
listening, and speaking.
One thing is that teaching English in general and vocabulary in particular to
young learners is different from teaching to adults. Age plays a crucial role in what we
teach and how we teach it, since a young learner class is different from an adult and/or
a teenager class in terms of the learners‟ language learning needs, the language
competences emphasized, and the cognitive skills addressed. As a result, teaching
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vocabulary to young learners seems to be more difficult. According to Paul Fletcher
and Michael Garman (1986), “Children learn new language from what they hear and
they use their ability to imitate a sound of a word from the adult”. Therefore, to teach
vocabulary to young learners, the teachers have to learn first about the way young
learners learn and decide how to teach them.
However, researches on vocabulary teaching to young learners have not received
enough attention in English language teaching contexts in Vietnam. There are few
studies on English vocabulary teaching strategies to young learners in the Vietnamese
context, only from secondary education. It becomes more difficult for teachers to
design an effective English vocabulary lesson. The effectiveness of vocabulary
lessons depends on teaching strategies teachers use in the classroom.
For these above reasons, I would like to conduct a research to explore
vocabulary teaching strategies to the young learners at an English center in Ha Noi. I
hope the result of my study will help teachers improve the effectiveness of English
lessons in general and English vocabulary lessons with young learners in particular.

2. Aims of the study
2.1.

Overall aim

As mentioned above, the overall aim of this study was to explore vocabulary teaching
strategies to the young learners at an English center in Ha Noi in order to improve the
effectiveness of English lessons in general and English vocabulary lessons in
particular.
2.2.

Specific objectives

Based upon the overall aim, this research was intended to achieve the following
specific objectives:
a) To investigate the strategies of English vocabulary teaching to young learners (312 years old) used by teachers at an English center in Hanoi.
b) To explore differences in using vocabulary teaching strategies to learners of
different age groups (3-6 years old, 7-9 years old, and 10-12 years old).
c) To find out which strategies teachers and students most prefer to use.
3. Research questions

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The study was carried out with an attempt to find out the answer to the overall
research question:
What are the strategies used by teachers at PoPoDoo to teach English vocabulary to
their young learners?
which was further broken down into:
1. Are there any differences in the strategies used with learners in different age

groups? If yes, what are the differences?
2. Which strategies are most preferred by teachers and learners?
4. Scope of the study
This study was restricted to the area of investigating vocabulary teaching strategies.
The samples of the study were also limited to only 30 teachers and 45 learners at
PoPoDoo English center in Ha Noi.
5. Significance of the study
The study is an attempt to shed light on English vocabulary teaching strategies to
Vietnamese young learner, an under-researched area in Vietnam. The findings of this
study were expected to be useful to any contemporary teachers of the young learners
to help them improve their performance in teaching vocabulary.
6. An overview of the rest of the study
The rest of the study included the following parts:
Chapter 1 (Literature review) provided the background of the study, including
definitions of key concepts as well as information related to the thesis.
Chapter 2 (Methodology) described the participants, data collection instruments, the
procedures employed to conduct the research, and data analysis methods.
Chapter 3 (Findings and discussion) consists of a comprehensive analysis of the
collected data from the questionnaire and interview and a discussion on the findings of
this study.
Conclusion summarized the main issues discussed in the thesis, the findings that the
researcher found out according to the research questions. The limitation of the
research, implications and recommendations for further studies were also mentioned.
References and appendices were presented lastly.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1.

Vocabulary

1.1.1. Definition of vocabulary
There are some definitions of vocabulary.
In her book, Penny Ur (1996, p.60) stated that “vocabulary can be defined,
roughly, as the words we teach in a foreign language‟. She also pointed out “a new
item of vocabulary may be more than 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”,
and “there are also multi-word idioms where the meaning of the phrase cannot be
deduced from an analysis of the component words”. From this view, we can realize
the variety of vocabulary types to be learned. Vocabulary consists of all the words in a
language, regardless of the number of words in a word.
According to Adrian Akmajian, Richard A. Demers, Ann K. Farmer, and Robert
M. Harnish (1993, p.11), the word is one of the most fundamental units of linguistics
structure. Words play an integral role in the human ability to use language creatively.
In the viewpoint of Hiebert and Kamil (2005, p.3), vocabulary consists of two
types. “Oral vocabulary is the set of words for which we know the meanings when we
speak or read orally. Print vocabulary consists of those words for which the meaning
is known when we write or read silently.”
Briefly, vocabulary is the focus of language. It is all the words that exist in a
language. It includes not only single words but also two-word items or three-word
ones or even multi-word idioms. It allows us to communicate with others in all forms
reading, listening, speaking, and writing.
1.1.2. The roles of vocabulary
As mentioned above, vocabulary is a very important part of a language. It is
crucial for learners to acquire a sufficient number of vocabularies. The reason is that,
without vocabulary, learners cannot communicate with others or express their own

4


feelings, emotions, and ideas. The role of vocabulary is indicated clearly by a famous
British applied linguist, Wilkins (1972). He wrote that “without grammar, very little
can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”. Mastering
vocabulary is very important for students. The mastery of vocabulary can help them
do their communication better. They have words to express their ideas and understand
others‟ thinking. When students know several words, the learning of four skills:
listening, speaking, reading, and writing will be promoted.
This explains why teaching and learning vocabulary is very important, especially
in the high time of the communicative approach. Therefore, learners need to pay a big
attention to vocabulary learning in order to obtain a rich knowledge of vocabulary.
1.1.3. Aspects of vocabulary to be taught
Normally, when learners want to access a new English word, they need to be
provided the basic level of that word: its meaning and its form. In addition, the usage
of words is also important so that learners can use them appropriately. According to
Penny Ur (1999, p.60), there are several aspects of vocabulary to be taught:
-

Form: pronunciation and spelling

-

Grammar

-

Collocation

-

Aspects of meaning (1): denotation, connotation, appropriateness

-

Aspects of meaning (2): meaning relationship

-

Word formation

 Form: pronunciation and spelling
Penny Ur (1999, p.60) wrote that “in teaching we need to make sure that both
these aspects are accurately presented and learned.” Pronunciation refers to what the
word sounds like and spelling refers to what the word looks like. It is not difficult to
remember the spelling of a word. However, to pronounce correctly a word, learners
have to know well about pronunciation rules and word‟s stress.
 Grammar

5


According Penny Ur (1999, p.60), “the grammar of a new item will need to be
taught if this is not obviously covered by general grammatical rules. An item may
have an unpredictable change of form in certain grammatical contexts or may have
some idiosyncratic way of connecting with other words in sentences; it is important to
provide learners with this information at the same time as we teach the base form.”
There are several grammar features of a word that teachers should provide learners,
including singular and plural forms, regularity and irregularity, transitiveness or

intransitiveness.
 Collocation
Collocation is another piece of information about a new item which it may be
worth teaching. It is a combination of words in a language that happens very often and
more frequently than would happen by chance. The dictionary of collocations is
available, either by providing the whole collocation under one of the head-words.
Therefore, learners can learn new items as many as possible.
 Aspects of meaning (1): denotation, connotation, appropriateness
Denotation is the meaning of a word what it refers to in the real world. It is often
given in dictionary. For example, “dog” denotes a kind of animal which has four legs.
“A less obvious component of the meaning of an item is its connotation: the
associations, or positive or negative feelings it evokes, which may or may not be
indicated in a dictionary definition” (Penny Ur, 1999, p.61). Therefore, connotational
meaning is related to the attitudes of the language user, his emotional reaction. For
example, the word “dog” to the British, has positive connotations of friendship and
loyalty whereas to the Arabic, has negative associations of dirt and inferiority.
One more important aspect of meaning that often needs to be taught is
appropriateness. Penny Ur (1999, p.61) stated that “It is useful for a learner to know
that a certain word is very common, or relatively rare, or “taboo” in polite
conversation, or tends to be used in writing but not in speech, o r is more suitable for
formal than informal discourse, or belongs to a certain dialect.”
6


From the above information, words have various types of meaning. Therefore,
teachers should consider and help learners use word items correctly in different
contexts.
 Aspects of meaning (2): meaning relationship
The fact is that words have meaning relationships with the others. Learning
meaning relationship is also considered as a good way to remember new words.

Therefore, “how the meaning of one item relates to the meaning of others can also be
useful in teaching (Penny Ur, 1999, p.620). Teachers should use relationships between
words in teaching vocabulary to deepen students‟ understanding of the new items,
enhance students‟ lexical capacity and long-term retention. Some main relationships
between words are synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, co-hyponyms or co-ordinates,
superordinates and translation.
 Word formation
“Vocabulary items, whether one-word or multi-word, can often be broken down into
their components “bits”. Exactly how these bits are put together is another piece of
useful information” (Penny Ur, 1999, p.62). Actually, teachers can wish to teach the
common prefixes and suffixes. They also need to help learners know how to make a
new vocabulary item by combining two words (two nouns, or a gerund and a noun, or
a noun and a verb.
1.2.

Vocabulary teaching strategies

Vocabulary is obviously a vital element within a language. Words play a
significant role in expressing our feelings, emotions, and opinions. As a result,
vocabulary teaching is one of the most important components of any language class. It
determines the success of learning a foreign language. It has the goal to help learners
not only to improve but also extend their vocabulary. According to Nation (2001),
teaching vocabulary should not only consist of teaching specific words but also aim at
equipping learners with strategies necessary to expand their vocabulary knowledge.
Strategies that teachers use to teach vocabulary make language learning process

7


easier, faster, more enjoyable, more effective and more favorable. Therefore, it is

necessary to use teaching strategies in general and vocabulary teaching strategies in
particular in a language class in order to help learners attain certain outcomes.
B. O. Smith (1963) defined teaching as “a system of actions intended to induce
learning” and a strategy as “a pattern of acts that serves to obtain certain outcomes and
to guard against certain others.”
In contrast to Strasser (1964), teaching strategy is a generalized plan for a lesson
(s) which includes structure, desired learner behavior, in terms of the goals of the
instruction and an outline of tactics necessary to implement the strategy.
Based upon the term “teaching strategy”, we can see that vocabulary teaching
strategies are actions taken by the teacher to teach or practice target vocabulary.
When vocabulary units need to be taught to students, teachers need to consider how to
teach them. Therefore, strategy is the way teachers are going to perform the teaching
tasks. There are several ways that teachers can use. It can be a combination of
different approaches, methods, and techniques. All have the goal to help learners learn
and keep a larger vocabulary.
In brief, in this study, I suggest vocabulary teaching strategies refer to the
selecting teaching approach, teaching methods, techniques, and activities in order to
achieve vocabulary teaching objectives. In other words, vocabulary teaching strategies
in my study can include approaches, methods, or techniques that teachers use to teach
vocabulary to young learners.
1.3.

Review of some common methods associated with vocabulary teaching

1.3.1. The grammar translation method
According to Richards and Rodges (1986, p.5), “In the mid – and late
nineteenth century, opposition to the Grammar translation method gradually
developed in several European countries”. This method focuses on translating
grammatical forms, memorizing vocabulary, and learning rules. It also aims at
providing the students with a wide literary vocabulary in written exercises.

8


However, there are a number of weak points of this method shown quite clearly
in terms of communicative goal. According to Richards and Rodges (1986, p.3),
“vocabulary selection is based solely on the reading texts used, and words are taught
through bilingual word lists, dictionary study, and memorization. In a typical
Grammar-Translation text, the grammar rules are presented and illustrated, a list of
vocabulary items are presented with their translation equivalents, and translation
exercises are prescribed”. Therefore, students taught in this method are generally good
at grammar, reading, and translation skills but could hardly communicate in the target
language.
1.3.2. The Direct method
This method focuses on oral communication with speaking and listening.
Correct pronunciation and grammar are also emphasized. Therefore, this method is
very useful for teaching vocabulary. In the Direct method, only everyday vocabulary
and sentences are taught. Teachers can teach concrete vocabulary through
demonstrations, objects, and pictures; abstract vocabulary by association of ideas.
However, this method was perceived to have several drawbacks. According to
Richards and Rodges (1986, p.10), “it required teachers who were native speakers or
who had native like fluency in the foreign language. It was largely dependent on the
teacher‟s skill, rather than on a textbook, and not all teachers were proficient enough
in the foreign language to adhere to the principles of the method.”
1.3.3. The Audio-lingual method
This method focuses on the ability of communication. “Oral proficiency is
equated with accurate pronunciation and grammar and the ability to respond quickly
and accurately in speech situations. The teaching of listening comprehension,
pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary are all related to development of oral
fluency.” (Richards and Rodges, 1986, p.52)

In this method, dialogues and drills form the basis of audiolingual classroom
practices. Dialogues are used for repetition and memorization. Correct pronunciation,

9


stress, rhythm, and intonation are emphasized. Moreover, there is little or even no
grammatical explanation. Grammatical patterns in the dialogue are selected and
become the focus of various kinds of drill and pattern – practice exercises.
1.3.4. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT)
According to Richards (2006, p.2), CLT “can be understood as a set of
principles about the goals of language teaching, how learners learn a language, the
kinds of classroom activities that best facilitate learning and the roles of teachers and
learners in the classroom.” In addition, CLT “sets as its goal the teaching of
communicative competence”.
This method stresses the significance of language functions rather than focusing
solely on grammar and vocabulary. In addition, “activities in CLT typically involve
students in real or realistic communication, where the accuracy of the language they
use is less important than successful achievement of the communicative task they are
performing” (Harmer, p.85).
1.3.5. Post – methods
1.3.5.1.

Total Physical Response (TPR)

The general objectives of TPR are to teach oral proficiency at a beginning
level. However, learners need to develop listening competence before they develop
the ability to speak. Accordingly, learners are acquired to respond physically to
spoken language in the form of parental commands. Language processing is thus
matched with physical actions. Therefore, imperative drills are the major classroom

activity in TPR. Role plays and slide presentations are also included.
As cited in the book “Approaches and methods in language teaching” by
Richards and Rodges (1986, p. 88), James Asher, the originator of TPR, stated that
“most of the grammatical structure of the target language and hundreds of vocabulary
items can be learned from the skillful use of the imperative by the instructor”.
Although certain features of TPR have had an influence, “the experimental
support for the effectiveness of TPR is sketchy (as it is for most methods) and
10


typically deals with only the very beginning stages of learning” (Richards and Rodges,
1986, p. 97). As a result, TPR may appropriate for beginner learners. Therefore, it
should be included together with other methods and techniques.
1.3.5.2.

The Silent way

According to Richards and Rodges (1986, p.99), the Silent way “is based on the
premise that the teacher should be silent as much as possible in the classroom and the
learner should be encouraged to produce as much language as possible”. Caleb
Gattegno, who devised this method, believed that learning is facilitated if the learner
discovers or creates language rather than remembers or repeats what has been taught.
The Silent Way adopts a basically structural syllabus, with lessons planned
around grammatical items and related vocabulary. Normally, pronunciation is the first
part focused on in a lesson. The teacher will silently point individual symbols and
combinations of symbols and monitor student utterances. After the sounds of the
language are solved, sentence patterns, structure, and vocabulary are practiced.
In brief, “the Silent Way teacher, like the complete dramatist, writes the script,
chooses the props, sets the mood, models the action, designates the players, and is
critic for the performance” (Richards and Rodges (1986, p.107).

However, according to Harmer (p.89), “To some, the Silent way has seemed
somewhat inhuman with the teacher‟s silence acting as a barrier rather than an
incentive”. The responsibility placed upon students under the controlling but indirect
influence of the teacher to acquire the language.
1.3.5.3.

Community Language Learning (CLL)

CLL is most often used in the teaching of oral proficiency. Richards and Rodges
(1986, p.119) pointed that “CLL does not use a conventional language syllabus, which
sets out in advance the grammar, vocabulary, and other language items to be taught
and the order in which they will be covered”. In CLL, learners become members of a
community – their fellow learners and the teacher. They learn through interacting with
other members.

11


A circle is formed in a CLL class. The teacher stands outside the circle. Each
learner says something in his own language. The teacher then gives him the English
equivalent for him to use so that he can say his message to another learner in the
circle. When learners feel confident to express their target language, they are put in
lines facing each other for pair work discussion. In addition, messages‟ students can
be recorded in order to replay and analyze then.
In short, teachers in a CLL class are considered as counselors. They help their
students achieve what they want, and provide a safe environment for them to learn and
grow. Therefore, “this job is to “facilitate” rather than to “teach”.” (Harmer, p. 88)
1.3.5.4.

Suggestopedia

According Richards and Rodges (1986, p. 142), “the most conspicuous
characteristics of Suggestopedia are the decoration, furniture, and arrangement of the
classroom, the use of music, and the authoritative behavior of the teacher”. All of
these are to ensure that learners are comfortable, confident and relaxed when taking
part in a class.
In a Suggestopedia lesson, learners are firstly took part in an oral review
section in which previously learnt material is used for discussion. In this part,
grammar, vocabulary, and precise questions and answers are paid more attention to.
After that, new dialogue material and its native language translation is presented and
discussed. The dialogue is the central focus of each unit. It is presented with an
accompanying vocabulary list and grammatical commentary. Finally, in the third part
- the seance or concert session - learners listen to the music coming from a taperecorder while the teacher reads or recites a new text in a harmonic way with the
music phrases. There are several minutes of solemn silence during the phrases. At the
end, the students silently leave the room without doing any homework.
Although “Suggestopedia has probably received both the most enthusiastic and
the most critical response of any of the so-called new methods” (Richards and Rodges,
1986, p. 152), it is now accepted as an important method of teaching. It is the fact that

12


techniques and procedures in Suggestopedia may prove useful in a language
classroom.
In conclusion, there are several methods used to teach English in general and
vocabulary in particular. It is important that the teachers know what methods are
appropriate to their learners with different age groups.
1.4.

Teaching English to young learners

We all know that learners are one of the key determinants in teaching and
learning process. They affect directly the success of a lesson. Therefore, teachers need
to know clearly who learners are, what the learners‟ language learning needs,
language competences as well as the cognitive skills are. Understanding learners‟
characteristics according to their age or grade level helps teachers apply appropriate
methods in teaching. Especially, a young learner class is different from a teenager or
an adult class. In addition, children also differ from each other in their class because
every one year of age makes a big difference in learning something.
According to Ersoz (2007), there are three classes or groups of young learners,
which are very young learners (age 3-6 years old), young learners (7-9 years old), and
older/late young learners (10-12 years old). Each group has specific characteristics as
well as language skills used.

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(From u.tr/file.php/79/Week_I_Who_are_Young_Learners.pdf)

14


The above grouping reflects the EFL teaching environment and the learners of
English in the primary education in Turkey. In comparison, learners of different age
groups in Vietnam have characteristics and skills used as mostly the same as learners
in Turkey. Only one thing I think it is different from Vietnam. Grammar is always
paid much attention to. As a result, children sometimes have to learn grammar early.
In the age group of 7-9 years old in Vietnam, in addition to chunks through songs and
classroom language, learners are also taught simple grammar so that they can read and
write short and simple passages. Normally, learners are acquainted with simple

grammar from 8 years old. It is clearly shown in English centers in Vietnam including
the English center where I conduct my study.
Basing on grouping in the EFL teaching environment and the learners of
English in the primary education in Turkey, the researcher suggested the classification
of Vietnamese young learners according to age group. In addition, vocabulary
teaching strategies which seem to be suitable for each group are attached.
This following table is considered as a guideline for my study.
Very young learners

Young learners

Older/ Late young
learners

Age

3-6 years old

7-9 years old

10-12 years old

Grade

Pre-school Education

1st – 3rd grade

4th – 6th grade

Language

- Listening & speaking

- Listening & speaking

- Listening/ Speaking/

focus/

-Vocabulary

Skills used

(concrete

Items: -Vocabulary
&

Items: Reading/ Writing

familiar (concrete, familiar and -

objects)

new objects)

- No Grammar Teaching -

Simple

Items

(concrete & abstract)
grammar - Grammar (inductive)

or metalanguage (can‟t teaching
analyze language but may
be exposed to chunks
through songs, classroom
language)
- No reading & writing - Learn how to read and
(may recognize letters or write (word to sentence
15

Vocabulary


short words)

level)

Characteri -Low concentration span -Low concentration span: - Longer attention span
stics

but easily excited

wide variety of activities but still children

- High motivation; active needed

involvement
-

Love

-

Taking

learning

-Short memory: frequent seriously
talking

but frequent

problems in sharing

revision

is - World knowledge

needed

- More cooperation in

- Short memory: Learn -Logical-analytical:

groups and in pairs

slowly forget easily

-

Asking questions

Developed

social,

- Repetition and revision - Problems in sharing in motor and intellectual
are necessary

group work

skills

- Limited motor skills - Developing confidence - Learning strategies are
(using a pen and scissors) in expressing themselves
but

kinesthetic

and -

energetic

Developing

used and developing

world

knowledge

- Love stories, fantasy, - Limited motor skills
imagination, art, drawing, (left-right)
and coloring

- Reasonable amount of
input
- Love stories, fantasy,
imagination, drawing &
coloring

Vocabular

-Visual

teaching -Visual

y teaching strategies (the use of real strategies
strategies

teaching -Visual

teaching

strategies

objects or video; pictures,
photos, flashcards, slides,
wallcharts,
mines,

posters;

gestures,

actions,

body
facial

expressions, …)
-

Auditory

teaching 16

Auditory

teaching -

Auditory

teaching