HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY II

FALCUTY OF ENGLISH
*****

FINAL-TERM ASSIGNMENT

Subject:

Research Methods for English Studies

TOPIC 5

Full name Student code

Phạm Quỳnh Hương 207140231103
Lê Ngọc Hiên 207140231075

Hanoi, 2023

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 Using images to teach English
vocabulary to primary school students

Abstract
Nowadays, English - the international language plays an extremely important
role. It is not only a necessary means to exchange information globally, but also
a bridge that opens up many development opportunities in the era of integration.
Therefore, teaching English to students is receiving more and more attention,
especially since elementary school. At the level of elementary students, the
curriculum is not too heavy, mainly focusing on adding vocabulary to them.
However, at this age, learners are often easily distracted in the learning process,
and learn words quickly but also quickly forget. To overcome this problem, I
will conduct an experimental study that proposes teaching vocabulary through
pictures to elementary school students.

Key words: Teaching, vocabulary, pictures.

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 Contents
Introduction.........................................................................................................4
Literature review................................................................................................5
1. Teaching Vocabulary...........................................................................5
1.1 . Vocabulary...........................................................................................5
1.2. The Importance of Teaching Vocabulary..............................................5
2. Teaching and Learning English Vocabulary to Elementary Students
...........................................................................................................................5
3. Pictures and the benefits of Teaching English vocabulary through
using pictures...................................................................................................6
3.1. Pictures....................................................................................................6
3.2. Benefits of teaching English vocabulary through using pictures........6
Methodology........................................................................................................7
1. Research question.........................................................................................7
2. Research sampling........................................................................................7
3. Research design............................................................................................7
4. Research instrument.....................................................................................8
4.1. Pre-test....................................................................................................8
4.2. Using pictures teaching Vocabulary......................................................8
4.3. Post-test...................................................................................................8
Conclusion...........................................................................................................9
References:..........................................................................................................9

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Introduction
Vocabulary is the first and most crucial core component of learning any
language. You cannot talk or comprehend what others are saying if you do not
fully understand the meaning of the words. Even if your grammar is subpar, you
can still communicate yourself if you have a large vocabulary. Therefore,
investing in vocabulary learning for English learners from elementary school is
very important. It serves as the foundation for the advanced knowledge they
learn later.
However, teaching English in general and teaching vocabulary in particular to
primary school students is never easy because their age too young. The
strangeness is something that almost any learner when learning English will
encounter. They will not be familiar with the alphabet, pronunciation,
transcription, vocabulary, sentence patterns…, especially vocabulary. At the age
when the mother tongue is still not fluent, learners have to absorb a relatively
large amount of new and unfamiliar vocabulary, so the situation of quickly
forgetting words is difficult to avoid.
Students losing focus is another issue that English teachers in elementary
schools frequently deal with. At this age, kids frequently struggle to focus
during classes and are easily distracted by outside factors. Especially if the
language is still alien to them, hyperactive youngsters frequently find it difficult
to concentrate when listening to dry information and a large amount of
vocabulary.
In this research, I will make a proposal to overcome the above problems. It is
using pictures to teach English vocabulary to elementary students. With eye-
catching colorful pictures, it is easier to attract children's attention than just
giving words and explaining them. Moreover, elementary students with
immature thoughts will also easily visualize the meaning of words through
observing pictures. In other words, the use of pictures in teaching vocabulary
gives learners an intuitive and realistic view, thereby helping them understand
and remember words longer.

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Literature review

1. Teaching Vocabulary

1.1 . Vocabulary

Learning words and vocabulary is the most important step in learning a new
language. According to Hornby (2006): “Vocabulary is all the words that a
person knows or uses and it is all the words in a particular language.”
According to Hatch and Brown (1995): “A vocabulary is a list or set of words
for a particular language or a list or set of words that can be used by speakers of
individual languages.” According to the definitions given above, vocabulary is
the total amount of words, along with their meanings and contents.

1.2. The Importance of Teaching Vocabulary

Vocabulary is a basic unit to provide learners of English starting at the beginner

level. It plays an important role in the successful development of listening,
speaking, reading, and writing skills. If learners only learn the grammar well
without having a good understanding of the vocabulary, they will not be
successful in expressing their opinions. In fact, people will not able to
communication without vocabulary. From here, we can prove that vocabulary is
very important in the process of learning English.

2. Teaching and Learning English Vocabulary to Elementary

Students
In the process of learning English, vocabulary is an important element for
elementary students - young students. At Vietnamese educational institutions,
primary school students start from 6 to 10 years old (grades 1 to 5). Young
children are very sensitive, curious, explore, pay little attention and love to have
fun. They cannot concentrate for a long time to study the unit knowledge of
grammar, vocabulary in English. Children may not understand all of English,
but they can understand it through fun activities, games or experiences. From
here, it can be seen that, in the process of teaching English to young children,
teachers should not only speak but also use images, short videos, and toys to
attract students to their lessons. The most typical way that is recommended is

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using pictures, therefore we should think about applying this teaching strategy
with young students.

3. Pictures and the benefits of Teaching English vocabulary

through using pictures

3.1. Pictures

The picture is visual medium and it is all that is visible to the naked eye.
Pictures can be maps, comic books, posters, cartoons, etc. According to Harmer
(1991): “Pictures are clearly indispensable for the language teacher since they
can be used in so many ways. We can teach vocabulary easily through the
pictures. A picture may not only be worth a thousand words but it may also be
worth a thousand years or a thousand miles”. From here it can be explain that,
we can be used to explain the meaning of words and it helps younger students
understand the meaning of a word more easily.

3.2. Benefits of teaching English vocabulary through using pictures

Students are a process of teachers' efforts to achieve the best goal. It means that
success is not only determined by a component but also by the evaluation of the
teaching process, which requires teachers to apply teaching methods appropriate
to the classroom context.

In the process of teaching and learning English, using pictures is the best choice
in teaching a new language to primary school students. Pictures help students
memorize new words and it has a very important function. According to Werff
(2019): “Pictures have many functions, with images teachers and students can
practice grammar structure, practice listening comprehension, perform writing
activities, practice speaking comfortably (eg. as activities). problem-solving
activities, role-playing, discussions, etc.), guided practice (exercises), and
teaching, practicing, or reviewing new vocabulary.” Or, according to Wright
(1989): “Pictures can play an key role in motivating students to contextualize
the language they are using, providing students with references and supporting
disciplinary activities”. In addition, Wright offers the advantages of pictures in
speaking and writing.

a. First, pictures can motivate students and make him or her want to pay
attention and take apart.

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 b. Second, pictures contribute to the context in which language is being
used.
c. Third, pictures can be described in an objective way or interpreted or
responded subjectively.
d. Fourth, pictures can cue responses to questions or cue substitutions
through controlled practice.
e. Last, pictures can stimulate and provide information to be referred to in
conversation, discussion, and storytelling.

(Wright, 1989)

From the above argument, it can be seen that images play an important role in
the process of receiving new words. It means, images are a good technique in
the process of teaching and learning English for elementary students.

Methodology

1. Research question
Will teaching vocabulary through pictures to elementary students really work?

2. Research sampling
In third grade, most elementary schools often begin teaching English to their
students. Because they have just been exposed to a foreign language, it is
inevitable that they will be surprised and have low results while learning. Most
students can't yet retain all the words they've learned and rapidly forget them.
Therefore I will choose 2 classes with poor English background in grade 3 at an
X elementary school to test this research.

3. Research design
In this study, I will investigate the impact of teaching vocabulary through
pictures to elementary school students. This study will thus be an experimental
study. The steps to be taken will be as follows: A preliminary evaluation exam
will be administered to both classes first. I'll then pick one of the two classes at
random to teach vocabulary using images, while the other class will continue to
learn vocabulary using the traditional methods. At the end of a semester, I will

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take the assessment again to compare the results of each class before and after a
semester, as well as the results between the two classes. From there, I will be
able to evaluate the effectiveness of using pictures to build vocabulary.

4. Research instrument
In research, the test will be a tool to measure students' vocabulary. The tests will
be short questions, consisting of a word, a phrase or a sentence. In addition, the
tests will include pictures related to the student's knowledge, it includes simple
tests such as "Find the appropriate word corresponding to each picture", or “fill
in the blanks”, etc. We recommend using the pre and post-test to apply in the
testing process. The pre-test applying the teaching method to know the students'
vocabulary and the post-test a period of applying the teaching method, it helps
teachers to realize the progress in the student's achievement in terms of
vocabulary.

4.1. Pre-test

The teacher gives test questions to 2 classes of an elementary school.

Requirements of the test: “Look at the pictures, find the word match with
pictures”. At this stage, the teacher will check the students' vocabulary.

4.2. Using pictures teaching Vocabulary

After conducting a pre-test, the teacher applies the method of using pictures to
teach vocabulary in the classroom. In lesson planning, the main tool to support
teachers is images. The image must be clear, the meaning of each photo is also
attached on each photo so that students can easily understand and remember it
longer.

4.3. Post-test

After using pictures to teach vocabulary to students, the following test will be
applied to the classes. The following test will be conducted after 1 month of
applying this method and the format of the exam is the same as the previous
test: Look at the pictures, find the word match with pictures.

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Conclusion
The main goal of the study is to evaluate the role of using images in teaching
English vocabulary to young students. To evaluate, I have given 2 main parts
that are theory and practice. The theory section deals with perspectives on the
topic of using pictures to teach vocabulary. In addition, the key concepts of the
topic's keywords are also covered. The practical part, applying the test is the
most practical method for evaluating a survey. From the results obtained can
suggest: “Does pictures have to be an effective support tool and have a good
impact on teaching English vocabulary to elementary students?”

References:
1. Harmer, Jeremy. 1991. The Practice of English language Teaching.
Essex: Longman
2. Werff. 2019. Using pictures from magazines in ESL classes. The Internet
TESL Journal, Vol. IX, No. 7, July 2003.
3. Wright, A. (1989 ). Pictures for Language Learning. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.