Sử dụng các hoạt động và trò chơi từ vựng ngắn nhằm tăng hứng thú học đọc cho học sinh lớp 11 luận văn tốt

VINH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

==== ====

USING SHORT VOCABULARY GAMES AND
ACTIVITIES TO INCREASE 11TH FORM STUDENTS’
INTEREST IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING SKILL
(SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG VÀ TRÒ CHƠI TỪ VỰNG NGẮN NHẰM TĂNG
HỨNG THÚ HỌC ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11)

GRADUATION THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

Student:

VŨ THỊ NGA, 48A_ENGLISH

Supervisor: ngun ThÞ BÝch HiÒn, M.A.

VINH, 2011

VINH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

==== ====

1


VŨ THỊ NGA

USING SHORT VOCABULARY GAMES AND
ACTIVITIES TO INCREASE 11TH FORM STUDENTS’
INTEREST IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING SKILL
(SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG VÀ TRÒ CHƠI TỪ VỰNG NGẮN NHẰM TĂNG
HỨNG THÚ HỌC ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11)

GRADUATION THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY

VINH, 2011

2


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
For the completion of this study, I have been fortunate to receive invaluable
contributions from many people.
First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, M.A.
Nguyen Thi Bich Hien, for her absolutely indispensable assistance, excellent
suggestions, expert advice and detail critical comments, without which the study would
not have been complete.
I would also like to give my sincere thanks to all my teachers from the Foreign
Languages Department of Vinh University for their lectures and advice which are very
useful for me to finish this study.
I am fully grateful to the help of all the teachers and students at Cua Lo I High
School so that I could finish the survey for my study.
I also wish to thank my family and all my friends for their various kinds of help
and encouragement.
Finally, I am all too aware that despite all the advice and assistance with all my

attempts, I feel that the study is far from perfect; it is my sole responsibility for any
inadequacies and shortcomings that the study may be considered to have. Therefore, I
would like to receive any regard and comment from you on my study.
Vinh, May, 2011
Vu Thi Nga

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................................
TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................ii
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .................................................................................iv
PART I

INTRODUCTION1

1. Reasons for Choosing the Study....................1
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study..................................................................................2
3. Research Questions.........................................................................................................2
4. Methods of the Study......................................................................................................2
5. Scope of the Study....................3
6. Design of the Study.................3
PART II

DEVELOPMENT...........................4

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND............................................................4
1.1. Reading Skill.................4
1.1.1. Definitions of Reading...............4

1.1.2. The Importance of Reading.....................................................................................4
1.1.3. Principles for Teaching Reading in a
Communicative Language Teaching Classroom......................5
1.1.4. Stages of Teaching a Reading Text...........................................................................7
1.2. Motivation........................8
1.3. Vocabulary...................................................................................................................9
1.3.1. Definitions.................................................................................................................9
1.3.2 The Importance of Vocabulary.................................................................................10
1.4. The Relationship between Vocabulary and Reading Skill.........................................11
1.5. Teaching Vocabulary in Communicative Language Teaching...................................13
1.5.1. Principles for Teaching Vocabulary .......................................................................13
1.5.2. Steps for Teaching Vocabulary...............................................................................14
1.6. Short Vocabulary Games and Activities.....................................................................15
1.6.1. Definitions...............................................................................................................15
1.6.2. Why to Use Short Vocabulary Games and Activities..............................................16
1.6.3. Common Types of Short Vocabulary Games and Activities
Used in Reading Lessons...................................................16

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1.7. Summary...................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER 2: THE SURVEY.........................................................................................20
2.1. Overview of the Survey..............................................................................................20
2.1.1. Aims of the Survey..................................................................................................20
2.1.2. Description of the Survey........................................................................................20
2.2. Survey Result and Data Analysis...............................................................................21
2.2.1. What are the Attitudes of Students and Teachers at Cua Lo I High School towards
English Reading Skill and Short Vocabulary Games and Activities?...............................21
2.2.2. What is the Real Situation of Using Short Vocabulary Games and Activities in the

English Reading Lessons for the 11th Form Students at Cua Lo I High School? .............26
2.3. Summary.....................................................................................................................29
CHAPTER 3: SUGGESTIONS FOR USING SHORT VOCABULARY GAMES AND
ACTIVITIES TO INCREASE 11TH FORM STUDENTS’ INTEREST IN LEARNING
ENGLISH READING SKILL..........................................................................................31
3.1. Some Recommendations for Using Short Vocabulary Games and Activities in the
English Reading Lessons.................................................................................................31
3.2. Suggested Short Vocabulary Games and Activities to Increase
11th Form Students’ Interest in Learning English Reading Skill ....................32
3.2.1. Lucky Picture........33
3.2.2. Letter Chains......................35
3.2.3. Completing Network 35
3.2.4. Crossword36
3.2.5. Pantomime........................38
3.2.6. What do I Have?...................................................................................................39
3.2.7. Listen to a Song and Guessing the Missing Words ...........................................39
3.2.8. Finding the Differences..........................................................................................40
3.2.9. Finding Partner......................................................................................................41
PART III

CONCLUSION..........................................................................................43

3.1. Recapitulation............43
3.2. Suggestions for Further Studies.............43

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REFERENCES ........................................................................................................... 45
Appendix 1

Appendix 2

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
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Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards English and learning English. ..........................22
Table 2: The frequency of providing some short vocabulary games and activities
(Result from Students)........................................................28
Table 3: The frequency of providing some short vocabulary games and activities
(Result from Teachers)......................................................29

Figure 1: The time students spend on learning English per day.................................22
Figure 2: The language skills students focus on most and like most.........................23
Figure 3: Factors motivate students into reading lessons...........................................23
Figure 4: Students’ idea and teachers’ idea about the level of
the students’ interests in reading lessons.............................................24
Figure 5: Factors motivate students into reading lessons
(Teachers’ idea in comparison with students’ idea)...........................25
Figure 6: Students’ feeling about short vocabulary games and activities..................26
Figure 7: The effect of short vocabulary games and activities...................................26
Figure 8: The frequency of providing short vocabulary games and activities in
reading lessons according to teachers and students’ ideas...............................27
Figure 9: Stages in which short vocabulary games ad activities are used most.........28

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Reasons for Choosing the Study

English has been the common language of the world for decades. It plays an
important role in all aspects of society such as communication, science, technology,
education, etc. Especially, English becomes an official and effective international
communicative language. Therefore learning and mastering English would greatly give
advantage to the person concerned. As a result, more and more people are studying
English in order not to be left behind the development of society.
In education, English now is an important subject. It is compulsory not only in
teaching and learning but also in many examinations. However, it is not easy to master a
foreign language. Learning English is not an exception. Learning English means that
students have to learn many sub-skills such as speaking, listening, reading and writing.
As other skills, reading is a very important skill. Reading not only helps students widen
their knowledge, but also enables them to develop other language skills. The author
herself is fond of finding the attitudes of the teachers and the students in high school
towards reading lessons.
In addition, motivation is one of the most important factors that affect the success
of the learning process, especially in second language acquisition. So, maintaining the
students’ interest during the lesson is very important. Without motivation, it is very
difficult for students to get the best result from studying. Motivation also plays an
important role in the reading lesson. It raises a question for the teacher: “How to
motivate students or how to increase the students’ interest during the lesson?” Short
vocabulary games and activities are one of good choices for this problem. Teaching
vocabulary is an important part in reading lessons. In fact, the stock of vocabulary in
each lesson in general, and in reading lessons in particular is so large, but the time for
vocabulary is limited. Therefore, using short vocabulary games and activities is a good
way not only to teach students vocabulary or to help them understand more about the
reading text but also help to increase their interest during the lessons.
Last but not least, the author is trained to be a teacher of English in the near
future. The author considers this study as a good opportunity to understand students’
attitudes towards learning English in general and reading skill in particular, to have the

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knowledge about short vocabulary games and activities and to know how to make the
reading lesson more interesting for the students so that her dream to be a good and
understanding teacher will come true.
For the reasons mentioned above, the author decides to choose the topic “Using
Short Vocabulary Games and Activities to Increase 11th Form Students’ Interest in
Learning English Reading Skill” as the study of her graduation thesis.
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study
The aims and objectives of the study are as follows:
- To provide some basic knowledge about reading skill, vocabulary and short
vocabulary games and activities.
- To make an investigation into the real situation of using short vocabulary games
and activities in English reading lessons at Cua Lo I High School.
- To provide some suggested short vocabulary games and activities to partly increase
11th form students’ interest in English reading lessons.
3. Research Questions
The aims of this study are to find out the answers to the three following research
questions:
* What are the attitudes of students and teachers at Cua Lo I High School towards
English reading skill and short vocabulary games and activities?
* What is the real situation of using short vocabulary games and activities in the
English reading lessons for the 11th form students at Cua Lo I High School?
* What are some suggestions for using short vocabulary games and activities to
increase students’ interest in English reading lessons?
4. Method of the Study
To finish this study, the author has used quantitative and qualitative methods.
First, the author collected and analyzed the materials which refer to Reading
Skill, Vocabulary, and Vocabulary Games and Activities in English reading classes.

Then, she conducted a survey to get information about the real situation of using short
vocabulary games and activities in reading lessons at Cua Lo I High School. After that,
the author analyzed and synthesized the collected data. Finally, the author suggested
some short vocabulary games and activities in English reading classes for the 11 th form
students.

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5. Scope of the Study
Due to the limitation of a graduation thesis, the study only concerns short
vocabulary games and activities in English reading lessons. The subjects of the study are
teachers and 11th form students at Cua Lo I High School in Cua Lo town, Nghe An
province.
6. Design of the Study
Apart from Acknowledgement, Table of Content, List of Tables and Appendices,
the thesis consists of three main parts.
Part I is “INTRODUCTION” which consists of the author’s reasons for
choosing the study, aims, research questions, method, scope, and design of the study.
Part II entitled “DEVELOPMENT” includes three chapters. Chapter 1,
“Theoretical Background”, provides some background knowledge about Reading
skill. In addition, the author briefly introduces Vocabulary and Vocabulary games ad
activities.
Chapter 2 is titled “The Survey” .This chapter mainly focuses on the situation of
using short vocabulary games and activities in English reading classes for 11th form
students at Cua Lo I High School.
Chapter 3 entitled “Suggested Short Vocabulary Games and Activities to
Increase 11th Form Students’ Interests in Learning English Reading Skill”
provides several suggestions for the teachers in using short activities and games in the
reading lessons. It also introduces some short activities and games in the author’s

experimental lessons.
Part III is “CONCLUSION” in which the author summarizes the main points in
the study and suggests some topics for further studies.

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PART II: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: Theoretical background

1.1. Reading Skill
1.1.1. Definitions of Reading
There are different ways of defining reading. According to Anderson (1985:7),
reading is the process of constructing meaning from written texts. It is a complex skill
requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information.
Silberstein (1993:12) states that reading is a complex information processing skill
in which the readers interact with the text to (re)create meaningful discourse.
Or “Reading skills are specific abilities which enable a reader to read the written
form as meaningful language, to read anything written with independence,
comprehension and fluency, and to mentally interact with the message”.
(cited from />Despite many different definitions of reading, most educators agree that the
major purpose of reading should be the construction of meaning – comprehending and
actively responding to what is read. From these definitions, we can see that the readers
play an important role in deducing the text in order to realize communicative functions.
Thus, it is necessary for the students to learn how to read in an effective way.
1.1.2. The Importance of Reading
Reading is one of the main skills that a pupil must acquire in the process of
mastering a foreign language in school. Reading is about understanding written texts. It
is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two
related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the

process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language.
Comprehension is the process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text.
Readers typically make use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical
knowledge, experience with text and other strategies to help them understand written
text. Therefore, through reading in a foreign language the pupil enriches his knowledge
of the world around him. He gets acquainted with the countries where the target
language is spoken.

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In addition, reading also makes a great contribution to other language skills.
“Reading may contribute significantly to competence in a second language. There is a
good reason, in fact, to hypothesize that reading make a contribution to overall
competence, to all four skills” (Krashen &Terrell, 1983:131). When reading a text the
pupil reviews sounds and letters, vocabulary and grammar, memorizes the spelling of
words, the meaning of words and word combinations, he also reviews grammar and, in
this way, he develops other skills in the target language. The more the pupil reads, the
better his retention of the linguistic material is. If the teacher instructs his pupils in good
reading and they can read with sufficient fluency and complete comprehension he helps
them to acquire speaking, listening and writing skills as well. Reading is, therefore, both
an end to be attained and a means to achieve that end. In order to be good language
learners, it is necessary for students to master all four language skills together.
1.1.3. Principles for Teaching Reading in a Communicative Language Teaching
Classroom
As mentioned above, reading skill plays an important role in English language
learning. Therefore, it is necessary to have a set of principles that teachers of English
must follow when teaching reading so that they can ensure their students’ understanding
of the lessons.
Forseth et. al. (1996:84-85) has pointed out principles for teaching reading as

follows:
1. State the purpose of a reading task to the students before they read.
It is obvious that people have their own purpose when reading a text. Thus, it is
beneficial to state a purpose for reading the given text. The teacher should tell the
students why they are reading a text. By means of this, the students can focus on the text
better for they know what information they need to get after reading.
2. Prepare students to read by introducing the topic of the text.
When teaching a reading text, the teacher should introduce the topic of the text
beforehand to prepare for students with general knowledge about what they are going to
do in the text. If the subject is difficult, provide students with background information.
When the students are prepared carefully before reading, they will comprehend the text
more thoroughly.

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3. Before the students read the text, have them read questions about it beforehand to
help them focus on meaning.
Normally, each reading passage in the textbook has some questions relating to its
content for students to answer after reading. Therefore, have students read the questions
first will guide them to what information they need to understand the text. If questions
do not come with the text, the teacher can make up one or two which will help the
students concentrate. It is even helpful to have them try to answer the questions before
they read the text.
4. Do not pre-teach vocabulary unless necessary.
We know that one of the skills readers should learn is to guess the meaning of
unknown words. If all words are presented beforehand, this will prevent them from
being able to guess from context. Besides, it is very ineffective for students to remember
the meaning of lists of isolating words. Instead of doing in this way, the teacher should
work on skills that help the students guess intelligently. If a word is rarely used, it is

better to ignore it then.
5. Have students read silently without whispering the words or moving the lips.
Reading silently will help students to read more quickly and focus on more
important words. Moreover, the students will be able to pay attention on meaning, not to
the form of words only.
6. Discuss difficult vocabulary after reading the text.
After reading, if the students are not able to understand certain words by guessing
from the context, the teacher will help them by explaining the meaning of the words.
7. When discussing the answer to the comprehension questions, be sure to refer back to
the text often.
Generally, the comprehension questions are aimed at checking whether students
have understood the contents of the reading text or not. Thus, referring back to the text
will help the teacher check the students’ understanding as well as make them realize
where in the text that information locates.
8. Focus on developing the skills of the readers.
The goal of teaching reading is not only to help the students to understand the
text for that day, but also to help them to effectively read for themselves after class. It

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means that they can apply sub-skills that are taught in the classroom to read any kind of
text in their daily life.
In short, there are a number of principles that the teacher must follow when
teaching reading. Depending on the features of each class and each reading lesson as
well as the level of students that the teacher can choose an appropriate one for their
reading classes.
1.1.4. Stages of Teaching a Reading Text
Nguyen Thi Van Lam & Ngo Dinh Phuong (2007:59) suggested that there are 3
main stages of teaching a reading text as follow:

1.1.4.1. Pre-reading
In real life, people often read something because they want to. They read a
newspaper to get information; or they read a novel as they want to relax themselves or to
know the content of the story they like. However, in English classes, the situation is
quite different. Usually the students read a text not only because they want to, but
because the teacher tells them to, or because it is in the lesson. Therefore, it is necessary
to give the some activities before they start reading to make them want to read. Also,
these activities make it easier for them to understand the text and focus attention on what
they are reading. These activities are called pre-reading activities. They include:
- Introducing the text
- Presenting new vocabulary
- Giving guiding question
1.1.4.2. While-reading
This stage consists of two steps:
1.1.4.2.1. First Reading
The students read the text silently once through and discuss the guiding
questions.
1.1.4.2.2. Second Reading and Comprehension
After the students have read the text for the first time and have tried to
understand the general meaning, the teacher provides some while-reading activities and
should be sure that the students have looked at the activities before they go through the
text again for detailed comprehension. Some of the activities are:
• Matching

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• Answering the questions
• Main idea
• True or fall statements

• Multiple choice
• Paraphrasing
• Finding words with given meaning
• Labeling a diagram
• Choosing a picture that fits the meaning of the text
• Gap-filling, etc.
1.1.4.3. Post-reading
Post-reading activities serve several purposes:
•

To obtain a sense of closure

•

To personalize the main activity

•

To summarize, reinforce and evaluate what was done
A post activity should last 5-10 minutes of the lesson. In a reading lesson, there is

a difference between applying the activity at an earlier stage of the reading process and
at the post reading stage. This difference is due to the quantity and quality of
information possessed by the reader.
1.2. Motivation
Motivation in second language learning is a complex phenomenon. Therefore,
there are many concepts of learner motivation. Motivation is considered as the driving
force by which we achieve our goals. According to Pintrich and Schunk (2002:10), a
general definition of the term motivation refers to “the process whereby goal-directed
activity is instigated and sustained”. Gardner (1994) states that a specific second

language learning motivation is “the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the
goal of learning the language”. Thus, a motivation individual shows “favorable attitudes
toward learning the language”. Students’ motivation refers to a student’s willingness,
need, desire and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the learning
processes.
On the other hand, motivation can be defined specifically in term of two factors:
learners’ communicative needs and learners’ attitudes (Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo

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Dinh Phuong, 2007:29). Learners’ communicative needs means learner desiring to fulfill
professional ambitions or need to speak the second language in a wide range of social
situations. They will perceive the communicative value of the second language and
therefore they will be motivated to acquire proficiency in it. Learners’ attitude means
learners have favorable attitudes towards the second language community; they will
need to more contact with them.
Motivation plays a key role is in education. A teacher that implements
motivational techniques will see an increased participation, effort, and higher grades. So,
how to motivate students into learning English is the question that concerns many
teachers of English. According to Crookes and Schmidt (1991, cited in Nguyen Thi Van
Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong, 2007), the teacher should use forthcoming activities,
interesting text, various tasks, and materials, co-operative to increase the levels of
motivation for students. And clearly, culture and age differences will determine the most
appropriate way for teachers to motivate students.
1.3. Vocabulary
1.3.1. Definitions
Vocabulary is broadly known as knowledge of words and word meanings.
However, in education, the word vocabulary is used with varying meanings. For
example, for beginning reading teachers, the word might be synonymous with “sight

vocabulary,” by which they mean a set of the most common words in English that young
students need to be able to recognize quickly as they see them in print. However, for
teachers of upper elementary and secondary school students, vocabulary usually means
the “hard” words that students encounter in content area textbook and literature
selections.
According to Ur (1996: 60): “Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words
we teach in the foreign language”.
For example: - school, car, sky, song, etc.

(noun)

- beautiful, tall, big, talent, etc.

(adjectives)

- buy, say, go, meet, etc.

(verb)

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However, an item of vocabulary may be more than a single word. It can be made
up of two or more words but expresses a singular idea. For example: golf-keeper,
reading-lamp, sun flower, etc.
Moreover, there are a lot of multi-word idioms whose meanings can not be
deducted from the meaning of each component word, exemplified by:
-

hand over hand (make great progress)

-

white lie ( lie which makes no harm )

-

to be on cloud nine ( very happy)

-

etc.

Therefore, vocabulary should be seen as items, not just words.
1.3.2. The Importance of Vocabulary
When learning a language, the first thing we learn is vocabulary. It can be clearly
seen that vocabulary is the basic building blocks of language, the units of meaning from
which larger structures such as sentences, paragraphs and whole texts are formed.
However, teaching and learning English vocabulary seemed to be paid not
enough attention as other language skills before. Under the influence of communicative
language teaching, teaching vocabulary now is highly appreciated in comparison with
other aspects, especially with grammar. Wilkins refers: “The fact is that while without
grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”,
(1972:111). For instance, when a person says: “I visit my grandparents last week”, the
listener can still catch up the information because of the presence of the word “last
week”. However it is impossible without vocabulary.
Vocabulary plays a very important role in English language learning. A good
vocabulary can help students a lot. It is a good basis for learners to acquire other skills.
Without having a certain stock of vocabulary, students will encounter so many
difficulties in learning Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing and Grammar as well. For

example, with poor vocabulary, students can not understand the reading text and do the
task well. Or they can not know how to express their ideas in a speaking class, although
they have many interesting things in their mind.
It is the importance of vocabulary in a language class. How about its importance
in real life? In the thesis “Toward Teaching English Vocabulary to Vietnamese Tertiary
Students”, Hoang Tat Truong cited Saville and Troike’s idea:

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Vocabulary is most important for understanding and knowing names for things,
actions and concepts. We can appeal to our common sense and experience information
in making this decision about priorities. Many of us have gotten along in foreign
countries, even shopping, getting directions... if we just knew the names of what we
wanted although we had no idea how to structure grammatical utterance. (1985: 87)
As a matter of fact, in many situations, only using vocabulary can help us
communicate successfully. A foreigner went to a shop to buy things. He said:
-

Black hat, please!

And the he knew how much it cost by just asking:
-

Money?

Obviously, only simple words are used in this situation but the speaker can still
succeed in doing communicative task. Hoang Tat Truong added that non-native speakers
need vocabulary first in order to survive. In communicative language teaching, success
in communication is what teaching and learning aim at. The vital role of vocabulary in

this field can not be neglected.
In addition, a good vocabulary can help speakers confident in communication.
They are free to express their ideas without stopping to find words, without being afraid
of losing face when pronouncing incorrectly.
In conclusion, vocabulary plays a very important role in language learning and in
communication. Therefore, teaching and learning vocabulary becomes crucial part for
any language class.

1.4.

The Relationship between Vocabulary and Reading Skill.
We have mentioned to the importance of reading and the significance of

vocabulary. So what is the importance of one to the other? Or what is the relationship
between them?
As mentioned above, vocabulary is very important to have a successful
communication. It is also very important to learn all skills in a language learning,
especially to learn reading skill. Educational researchers have found a strong correlation
between reading and vocabulary knowledge. In other words, students who have a large
vocabulary are usually good readers. This is not very surprising, since the best way to

18


acquire a large vocabulary is to read extensively, and if you read extensively you are
likely to be or become a good reader!
They have also found that there is a strong correlation between reading and
academic success. In other words, a student who has a large vocabulary and is a good
reader is more likely to do well in school and pass exams than a student who is a weak
reader.

The graphic below illustrates the interdependence of vocabulary, reading ability
and academic success.

So, how can vocabulary affect reading skill, and vice verse? This relationship
seems logical: sufficient vocabulary can help learners read effectively, and extensive
reading can enhance acquiring a sufficient vocabulary. To get meaning from what they
read, students need both a great many words in their vocabularies and the ability to use
various strategies to establish the meanings of new words when they encounter them.
Young students who don’t have large vocabularies or effective word-learning strategies
often struggle to achieve comprehension. Their bad experiences with reading set in
motion a cycle of frustration and failure that continues throughout their schooling.
Because these students don’t have sufficient word knowledge to understand what they
read, they typically avoid reading. Because they don’t read very much, they don’t have
the opportunity to see and learn very many new words. This means that “the rich get
richer and the poor get poorer.” In terms of vocabulary development, good readers read
more, become better readers, and learn more words; poor readers read less, become
poorer readers, and learn fewer words.
In conclusion, vocabulary and reading have the strong effect on each other.
Teachers and students should pay attention to teaching and learning vocabulary and

19


reading so that students will have a good basis to learn other skills to communicate
successfully.
1.5. Teaching Vocabulary in Communicative Language Teaching
1.5.1. Principles for Teaching Vocabulary
Forseth et. al. (1996: 23-25) propose eight principles for teaching vocabulary:
1.5.1.1.

Present words in context.

Regardless of what techniques are applied to present new words, words should be
introduced in context. Presenting words in isolation forces students to understand
mechanically. As a result, they can not make use of the in authentic communication.
They do not know where, when, to whom, in what context... they should use which
words. From the context, we can learn more about the word by looking at the
surrounding sentences. For example, in the context: “I love orange juice. It is so
delicious to drink a glass of orange juice in a hot day”, student can know that “orange
juice” is a noun, it is a kind of drink and it may make people feel cool. Therefore, using
and presenting words in context helps students to guess at their meanings and to
remember them better.
1.5.1.2.

Do not present too many words at once.

People can not consume a big amount of food at the same time. It is similar to
learning new vocabulary. Too many new words will create a mess in students’ mind. It
is also one of the reasons that prevent students from learning vocabulary effectively.

1.5.1.3.

Remember that practicing words in context is more important than
memorizing isolated one.

We can learn many new words without being able to use them in communication.
Students may be required to learn the meanings of words but they must also be given the
opportunity to use them productively in speaking and writing.
1.5.1.4.

Teach students skills for guessing new words, especially when reading.

The meaning of words can be inferred from the different types of contexts and
from looking at the affixes of the word. Students will find them involved and more
active if they can guess the meaning of the words. For example: students have known
the word “careful”, when teaching the word “careless”, teacher can introduce that it is
opposite to “careful”, so students can guess its meaning.

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1.5.1.5.

Avoid translation as much as possible

Translation is always considered as the last choice. When presenting new words,
having words translated will separate learner from foreign language environment. The
only case that translation should be used is when it takes too long to communicate in
English.
1.5.1.6.

Avoid using the dictionary as much as possible.

When reading or listening, students should first try guessing or ignoring new
words so that they can continue without stopping. Also, using a dictionary when
speaking or listening will slow down communication.
1.5.1.7.

Remember that not all words are important.

This principle deals with the vocabulary selection problem in teaching language.
As we all know, the number of items in a language’s lexis is enormous. It is impossible
for learner to compile all the vocabulary. Not really important words should be ignored
and learners should concentrate on important ones. They should learn practical and
workable words that will help them in authentic communication in future.
1.5.1.8.

If a word is necessary for understanding an activity or a passage, teach it to
the students beforehand.

If it is not so necessary or important, the teacher should let students first guess at
the meaning while they are reading or listening. Teach the meaning later or not at all.

1.5.2. Steps for Teaching Vocabulary
Nguyen Thi Van Lam & Ngo Dinh Phuong (2007:32) suggested that teaching
vocabulary consists of such steps as follow:
1.

Provide the context for the word.

2.

Say the word clearly and write it on the board.

3.

Show the meaning of the word.

4.

Get the class to repeat the word in chorus and individually.

5.

Give examples to show how the word is used.

6.

Ask question using the word.

7.

Ask students to make sentences with the word.

These steps can be divided into 3 stages:
- Presentation: consists of steps 1, 2 and 3.
- Practice: consists of steps 4, 5 and 6.

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- Production: consists of step 7.
1.6. Short Vocabulary Games and Activities
1.6.1. Definitions
A game is often considered as structured playing, usually undertaken for
enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool.
There are also other definitions of games suggested by some scholars. According
to Kelley (1998:21) “A game is a form of recreation constituted by a set of rules that
specifies an objective to be attained and the permissible means of attaining it”.
Stenton & Lambert (1985) defines that a game is an activity that usually has 4

properties: a particular task or objective; a set of rules; a competition between players
and communication between players by spoken or written language.
In the long run, each of them has developed their own concepts of game; all the
above-mentioned definitions refer to the features of a game. It is governed by rules. It is
for fun and it has a goal or an objective.
Similarly, there are some definitions of activity. Activity is an action, in general.
And educational activity is the activity of educating or instructing; activities that impart
knowledge or skill. According to Harmer (1991), activity is a loose term used to give a
general description of what will happen in class. It is important to realize that here we
are not talking about what, general and physically, students are going to do.
It can be seen that there is not a clear difference between games and activities in
language teaching. Both of them are used with the same purposes: to support the
teaching and learning process and to increase students’ motivation.
Short vocabulary games and activities are short games and activities used to teach
vocabulary. They can be used for warm-up activities, to introduce new words, to
practice new words or in word-checking activities in all stages of a reading lesson.
1.6.2. Why to Use Short Vocabulary Games and Activities
Short games and activities have been shown to have advantages and effectiveness
in teaching and learning English in various ways. Educators can make students more
engage and find it easier to learn through the use of short games and activities.
According to Wright et. al. (2006: 2), games and activities have many benefits
such as: Games help and encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work;

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games also help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and
meaningful; and games can provide intense and meaningful practice of language.
Lee Su Kim, in “Creative Games for the Language Class” (1995: 35) suggests
some advantages of using games in the classroom:

• Games are a welcome break from the usual routine of the language class.
• They are motivating and challenging.
• Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help students to make
and sustain the effort of learning.

• Games provide language practice in the various skills- speaking, writing,
listening and reading.

• They encourage students to interact and communicate.
• They create a meaningful context for language use.
Therefore, the role of short vocabulary games and activities in teaching and
learning English cannot be denied. However, in order to achieve the most from
vocabulary games and activities, it is essential that suitable games and activities are
chosen. Whenever a game or activity is to be conducted, the number of students,
proficiency level, cultural context, timing, learning topic, and the classroom settings are
factors that should be taken into account.
In conclusion, using short vocabulary games and activities is one effective and
interesting way that can be applied in any classrooms. It is suggested that short games
and activities are used not only for mere fun, but more importantly, for the useful
practice and review of the lessons, thus leading toward the goal of improving learners'
communicative competence, especially improving their reading comprehension ability.
1.6.3. Common Types of Short Vocabulary Games and Activities Used in Reading
Lessons.
In fact, there are different short vocabulary activities and games used in reading
lessons. In this section, Matching Word with its Meaning, Making Sentences, and
Organizing Words into Categories, Finding Synonyms / Antonyms, Gap- Filling,
Paraphrasing and Building Words are recommended because these techniques are
typical and useful for the teaching of reading.
1.6.3.1.

Matching Word with its Definition

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This game is an excellent way for the students to remember new words and their
definitions. There are 2 columns: one contains words and the other contains definition
with wrong order. Students’ task is to find out which word goes with which definition.
1.6.3.2.

Making Sentences
In this activity, teacher simply asks students to make sentences, using words

they have learnt.
1.6.3.3.

Organizing Words into Categories

This activity is also called “Grouping and Organizing”. This is a good activity to
acquaint the students with all of the vocabulary and to get them to think about
relationships between and among words. Students use the list of vocabulary in which
words are generally already divided into various topics (which do not count for purposes
of this activity), but there are many more categories that can be created. Each category
must contain at least 3 words for it to legitimately be considered a category. Words may
be used in more than one category. Each student writes a category heading, underlining
it, and lists all words that correspond to the category underneath the heading. Stipulate a
time limit for this activity and stick to it, collecting the papers at the end of the time
limit. Then, for full class follow-up, ask students what categories they listed and put
these on the board. Once several categories are on the board, ask students to suggest

words that fit the category. This activity can force each student to look at the words and
think about their meaning, as well as requiring them to write the words multiple times.
1.6.3.4.

Finding Synonyms / Antonyms

Students race to see who can find a synonym/ antonym to a given word the
quickest. Divide your class into three teams. On your classroom chalk or dry-erase
board, write a vocabulary word that has recently been reviewed. On your mark, students
work together to think of a synonym/antonym for the vocabulary word. A representative
for the team raises his hand to indicate that the team has reached a decision. The
representative announces the synonym/antonym his team has selected. If the word is a
correct synonym/antonym, the team earns a point--if not, the remaining teams have an
opportunity to present a word. The team with the most points at the end of the game
wins.
1.6.3.5.

Gap- Filling

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This is also a good way to test students or to make the transition between
working with the definitions available and recalling what the words mean on their own.
Have a word bank with five vocabulary words and sentences or paragraph with blanks,
and have the students decide which word goes in which blank. Teacher’s challenge will
be constructing sentences which only match with one word, so small groups of words
are better. These exercises are also opportunities for you to give a wider scope to a word,
and discuss how that word fits into a sentence that the students might not have
considered.

1.6.3.6.

Paraphrasing
Nguyen Thi Van Lam & Ngo Dinh Phuong (2007:57) suggests that in this

activity, the teacher gives students a list of words or sentences and asks them paraphrase
by writing them again, using: very similar meaning, different words or different
grammatical structure (when using sentences).
1.6.3.7.

Crossword Puzzles

According to Benjamin & Crow (2009:118), “crossword puzzles are an excellent
way to develop the habit of thinking about the flexible meaning of words. They also
reinforce spelling patterns”. This activity is aimed at improving students’ guessing skill
by finding out the key word that relates to the topic of the lesson and arising their
vocabulary as well.
1.7. Summary
In this chapter, the author has attempted to make an overview about reading: the
definitions of reading, the importance of reading, the principles for teaching reading and
stages of teaching a reading text. The author has also mentioned about vocabulary, its
aspects, its importance and the relationship between vocabulary and reading. In addition,
short vocabulary games and activities, the benefits of using them and some common
games and activities used in reading lessons have been discussed in this part.

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