THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING DICTATION TO THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF VOCABULARY IN A

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING DICTATION TO THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF VOCABULARY IN A

FORM ONE CLASSROOM

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH PROPOSAL FOR

THE DEGREE OF B.E.D. (TESL) (HONS)

FACULTY OF EDUCATION, ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES OPEN UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA

1. Statement of The Problem

This research investigates the effectiveness of an innovative mode of instruction, the dictation, to be used as an alternative teaching tool in learning. This study is aimed to see the effectiveness of the use of dictation in teaching of vocabulary to lower secondary school students rather than to the traditional product method. Besides that, it is used as a measurement to see how it can minimize and improve existing problems such as motivation and attitude among language learners.

2. Research Objectives

The objectives of this research are:-

i..To find out which approach to vocabulary teaching or the Dictation is more

effective

ii.To examine whether the Dictation is preferable in teaching and learning

vocabulary to traditional method.

iii. To examine whether dictation can help foster positive attitude and motivation

of students towards learning a language specifically vocabulary.

3. Research Questions The following questions are formulated in order to meet the research objectives:-

i.Can dictation be considered as an effective means of instruction to teaching

vocabulary?

ii.Which method, dictation or the traditional method is preferable in teaching and

learning vocabulary?

iii.Can dictation stand as a tool of motivation towards learning vocabulary?

4. Research Sample

The subjects of this study are Form One students. This group is considered important because the students come from different backgrounds and, therefore, are likely to have different English proficiency level.

As for the experiment group, 10 students will be randomly chosen from the two classrooms consisting of high, average and low achievers. The same will be done for the control group. Their scores in the UPSR English exam will be used to determine their ability levels based on the scales drawn up for proficiency level of students in English as shown in Figure 2. The ability levels of the learners and the type of school chosen are simply to fulfill the requirements of the research, that is, to see the effectiveness of using dictation in a Form One classroom. The reason why these learners are selected in such a way is simply because they are seen as those who need help in learning the language, specifically vocabulary. For the low achievers, they need to be exposed to the new techniques that will hopefully facilitate their learning. The high achievers are included in the research for the purpose of observing the effects of the dictation on them.

5. Research Instrument

a.Questionnaire 1

The first set of questionnaire will be given out to all students that participate in the research. The purpose is to gather their background information such as their age, gender, ethnicity, UPSR English grades etc

b. Questionnaire 2

The post questionnaire is designed for the experimental students. This questionnaire intends to obtain information on the learners preference towards learning vocabulary through dictation. It is to find out if students prefer to use dictation when learning vocabulary. This set of questionnaire will only be administered to the experimental group.

c.Pre-testA pre-test will be given to the students in both the experimental group and control group. The purpose of the pre-test is to examine students present vocabulary knowledge.

Students will be given an exercise on cloze-text. There will be 10 blanks to be filled with suitable words. Students will be given 20 minutes to answer the pre-test. Students vocabulary knowledge will be gauge according to the marks scored for their pre-test. Their vocabulary knowledge will be divided into four groups, that is, excellent, good, and average and poor according to the score received for their pre-test as shown in Figure 3.

Marks scored on the pre-test will be used as comparison with marks scored on the post-test to evaluate the effectiveness of using dictation to teach vocabulary.

d. Post-testA post-test will be given to the students in the experimental and control group at the end of the study. The purpose is to find out if using dictation can be an effective means for teaching vocabulary and as comparison between the experimental and control group as to which group can perform better.

e. Pre-observation

The pre-observation is designed to check students attitude and motivation towards learning vocabulary. It will be done on all the students in the experiment. It will be carried out simultaneously with the pre-test.

f. Post-observation

The post-observation is conducted on the experimental group. It is to be conducted simultaneously during the post- observation. The purpose of this observation is to find out students attitude and motivation towards learning vocabulary after going through the treatment phase. APPENDIX A

QUESTIONNAIRE 1

Please write all the information required in the blank spaces and circle your choices in the option provided.

Name:

Form:

Gender:

Race:

Age:

UPSR English Result:.

Semester One English Result:.

English Examination Result:...

Fathers occupation:

Mothers occupation:...

1. Do you speak English?

A. Yes

B. No

2. Where do you usually use the language?

A. At home

B. In your English class

C. Everywhere

3. Who encourage you to speak the language?

A. Parents

B. Your English teacher

C. Your friends

D. Yourself

THANK YOU!

APPENDIX B

QUESTIONNAIRE 2

This set of questionnaire is distributed in order to obtain information regarding your responses towards the use of dictation. Your full cooperation is needed in answering all the questions designed. Please write your responses or circle your choices in the option provided.

THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP STUDENT

PART A

1. Do you think by using dictation you can improve your vocabulary?

A. Yes

B. No.

2. What do you think of learning vocabulary through dictation?

C. Interesting

D. Useful

E. Fun

F. Boring

3. Will you use dictation to improve your vocabulary in future?

G. Yes

H. Maybe

I. No

4. Do you prefer to be taught using this method in future?

J. Yes

K. No

5. Do you enjoy learning new words through dictation?

L. Yes

M. No

PART B

Please read the following statements very carefully. Then circle the appropriate responses.

1. How useful is learning vocabulary through dictation?N. Very useful

O. Useful

P. Not useful

Q. Not useful at all

2. How much do you like learning vocabulary?

R. Very much

S. Much

T. Not much

U. Not much at all

3. How useful is the method?

V. Very useful

W. Useful

X. Not useful

Y. Not useful at all

4. How easy is the method?

Z. Very easy

AA. Easy

AB. Not easy

AC. Not easy at all

.

APPENDIX C

PRE-TEST

Each question in the text below refers to a numbered blank. For each question, write the correct answer to fit the numbered blank.

I am a potato farmer. I ____________ (!) alone on a small farm in Idaho. I grow my potatoes from seed potatoes. Every year, I ____________ (2) to town to buy my seed potatoes. I choose the seeds very ____________ (3). I am very poor, so I dont have any machine to help ____________ (4). I use my hands to plant the seed potatoes in the ground. Then, I cover all the seed potatoes ____________ (5) layers of soil. These layers of soil help to prevent my seed potatoes ____________ (6) turning green.

I check my potatoes daily to make sure that the cold, diseases and pets do not ____________ (7) my potatoes. Four months later, my potato plants are fully grown. ____________(8) are ready to be harvested. I use my hands to dig out each potato. I keep some potatoes for ____________ (9) and sell the rest. I also give ____________ (20) to my neighbours who are poor like me. I have a hard life but I am a happy man.

APPENDIX D

POST-TEST

Each question in the text below refers to a numbered blank. For each question, write the correct answer to fit the numbered blank.

Bali is blessed with sunshine, beautiful sunsets and white beaches. ____________ (1) from all over the world come to ____________ (2) the delights of the mountain scenery, the clear ____________ (3) lake and sea. There are many modern hotels and ____________ (4) exciting nightlife to keep you ____________ (5) till dawn. But behind the bright lights, you ____________ (6) find a traditional way of life in Bali. The temples, the colourful rituals ____________ (7), and handicrafts all ____________ (8) the strength of the local culture. The ____________ (9) and gentle Balinese will welcome you to ____________ (10) their island and you will want to return again to this paradise on earth.

APPENDIX E

PRE-OBSERVATION

PRE-OBSERVATION CHECKLIST

Put a ( ) where applicable

RemarksS

1 S

2S

3S

4S

5S

6S

7S

8S

9S

10

1.Students like learning vocabulary

2.Students like vocabulary lesson in school

3. Students think vocabulary is interesting

4.Students find it easy to answer vocabulary questions.

5.Students have confidence in answering vocabulary questions.

APPENDIX F

PRE-OBSERVATION

OBSERVATION RECORD FORM

Remarks Number

of students

1. Students like learning vocabulary.

2. Students like vocabulary lessons in school.

3. Students think vocabulary is interesting.

4. Students find it easy to answer vocabulary questions.

5. Students have confidence in answering vocabulary questions

APPENDIX G

POST-OBSERVATION

POST-OBSERVATION CHECKLIST

Put a ( ) where applicable

RemarksS

1 S

2S

3S

4S

5S

6S

7S

8S

9S

10

1.Students like learning vocabulary

2.Students like vocabulary lesson in school

3. Students think vocabulary is interesting

4.Students find it easy to answer vocabulary questions.

5.Students have confidence in answering vocabulary questions.

APPENDIX H

POST-OBSERVATION

OBSERVATION RECORD FORM

Remarks Number

of students

1. Students like learning vocabulary.

2. Students like vocabulary lessons in school.

3. Students think vocabulary is interesting.

4. Students find it easy to answer vocabulary questions.

5. Students have confidence in answering vocabulary questions

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