very young learners’ vocabulary development in english: a
TRANSCRIPT
VeryYoungLearners’VocabularyDevelopmentin
English:ACaseStudywith4and5year-oldChildren
FinalDegreeProject
ClàudiaYllaEsteve
Tutor:AnnaVallbonaGonzález
EarlyYearsSchoolTeachingDegree
MinorinEnglish
Facultatd’EducacióTraduccióiCiènciesHumanes
UniversitatdeVic-UniversitatCentraldeCatalunya
Vic,May2016
2
AcknowledgmentsI would like to express my gratitude to all the people who have made this study
possible.Withouttheirguidanceandparticipationthisprojectwouldnothavebeen
possible.
First of all, I would like to thank my tutor Dr. Anna Vallbona González who
encouraged and guidedme since the beginning of the project. Her dedication and
constantadviceshavebeenfundamentaltocarryoutthisresearch.
I am also very grateful to Susagna Riu, a good friend ofmine,who supported and
helpedmeasacoachthroughoutthewholeproject.
Furthermore,IwouldliketosaythankyoutotheschoolLesEscoles,inGurbandto
all the pupils who took part in my sessions and tests actively. Their participation
facilitatedandallowedmetocarryoutthisstudy.
Finally,Iwishtothankmyfamilyandfriendsforbeingalwaysbymyside.
3
AbstractThepresentstudyisbasedonhowyounglearnersacquirethevocabularyofasecond
language through being exposed to some specific words in four different sessions,
whichareallrelatedtothetopicofanimals.
Inordertodoso,threevocabularytestswerecarriedout.AnInitialVocabularyTest,
to check their previous knowledge of the words, a Vocabulary Test after every
session, to see the difference after being exposed to the words, and a Delayed
VocabularyTest, toobservethewordsthatchildrenrecognisedandrememberedin
relation to the initial test. Results suggest that time is an influential factor in
vocabularyacquisition,especiallywithveryyounglearners.
Keywords:vocabularyacquisition,veryyounglearners.
ResumAquestestudiesbasaencomaprenents jovesadquireixenvocabularid’unasegona
llenguaapartird’haver estat exposats a algunesparaules específiques endiferents
sessions,totesellesrelacionadesamblatemàticad’animals.
Peraconseguir-hos’hanportatatermetresprovesdevocabulari.Unaprovainicial,
per comprovar el seu coneixement previ de les paraules, una prova de vocabulari
desprésdecadasessiópertaldeveureladiferènciadesprésd’haverestatencontacte
amb les paraules i una prova final de vocabulari per observar les paraules que els
alumnes varen reconèixer i recordar en relació amb la prova inicial. Els resultats
suggereixen que el temps és un factor que influeix en l’adquisició de vocabulari,
específicamentquanestractad’aprenentsmoltjoves.
Paraulesclau:adquisiciódevocabulari,aprenentsmoltjoves.
4
TableofContentsAcknowledgements…………………………………......................................................................2
Abstract………………………………………………...........................................................................3
Listoffigures……………………………………………………………………………………………..5
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….6
2. Theoreticalframework………………………………………………………………….....7
2.1VocabularyAcquisition…………………………......................................7
2.2VocabularyinForeignLanguageLearning………………………....8
2.2.1TheFrequencyFactorinVocabularyLearning……....9
2.2.2Learningaword.GeneralConsiderations……………..12
3.LearningVocabularyinForeignLanguageContexts………………………………13
3.1LearningVocabularythroughgames………………………………….13
3.2LearningVocabularythroughsongs…………………………………..15
3.3LearningVocabularythroughstories…………………………………16
3.4TechniquesinVocabularyteachingtoyounglearners………...18
4.Study…………………………………………………………………………………………………..22
4.1Researchobjective…………………………………………………………….22
4.2Participants…………………………………………………………………...….22
4.3Datacollectionandinstruments…………………………………………23
4.4Dataanalysis……………………………………………………………………..24
4.5Results…………………………………………………………………………..….25
5.Discussion……………………………………………………....................................................32
6.Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………..37
7.Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………………....…39
8.Webreferences…………………………………………………………………………………..41
9.Appendices…………………………………………………………………………………………42
5
Listoffigures
Figure1:TheCurveofForgettingdevelopedbyEbbinghaus………………………….……...10
Figure2:Short-termmemory’sroleinourmemoryprocess………………………...……....11
Figure3:Methodologystructureusedtocollectdataandinstruments……….…...……23
Figure4:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafter
Session1andtheDelayedVocabularyTest………………………………………………………...…26
Figure5:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafter
Session2andtheDelayedVocabularyTest…………………………….…………………………..…27
Figure6:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafter
Session3andtheDelayedVocabularyTest………………………………………………………..….28
Figure7:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafter
Session4andtheDelayedVocabularyTest…………………………………………………………...29
Figure8:Someofthemostinterestingfindingsobtainedaccordingtothe
results……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..31
6
1.Introduction
English has become an important global language of communication and, in recent
years, it has expanded throughout theworld. Due to its importance, since the early
90’s,Englishhasbecomethemostwidelytaughtlanguageinourschools.
Vocabulary is one of the aspects which is central to English language teaching and
learning because without a good knowledge of vocabulary, students could not
comprehend others or express their own beliefs. According to Meara (1996:35)
“Lexical competence is at the heart of communicative competence”. In otherwords,
vocabulary is essential for communication;without sufficient vocabulary knowledge
communicationcouldnotsimplytakeplace.ThisismainlythereasonwhyIdecidedto
focusthisprojectonvocabularyacquisition.
The main objective of this research project is to find out the evolution of young
learner’s vocabulary acquisition over a short period of time. Therefore, this study
analyses if time isan influential factor invocabularyacquisition. Inorder todoso,a
vocabularytestwascarriedtocheckhowmanyandwhatwordschildrenknewatthe
beginningoftheproject,afterbeingexposedtosomevocabularysessionscarriedout
during my training placement, and howmany and what words young learners had
acquiredattheendofthestudy.
I chose this topicbecause therehasnotbeenmuchresearchyet in the fieldofEarly
Year’s Education as far as English for very young learners is concerned because the
introductionofEnglishinEarlyYearsisstillquitearecentthinginourschoolcontext.
Therefore I wanted to go further and investigate about an aspect which I will be
involvedinasafutureteacher.ItisanaspectthatIfindveryinteresting.
This project has been divided into two parts; the theoretical framework where the
mainaspectsofvocabularyacquisitionaredefinedandexplainedandthestudy,which
includes the main research questions, an explanation of the data collection and
instruments,thedataanalysisandtheresultsobtained.Afterwards,inthediscussionI
will answer the research questions and at the same time Iwill link the resultswith
7
someideasmentionedinthetheoreticalframework.Finally,Iwillconcludemystudy
statingsomegeneralconclusionsabouttheproject.
2.TheoreticalFramework2.1VocabularyAcquisitionAcquiringthevocabularyofourfirstlanguageisnotaneasytask.However,acquiring
the vocabulary of a second language especially if the second language learners are
veryyoung isevenmorecomplicated.Young learnersofa second/foreign language
arestillbuildingup their first languagevocabulary,andthisdevelopment isclosely
tied up with their conceptual development. In fact, very young language learners
begin the task of first language acquisition without the cognitive maturity or
metalinguisticawarenessthatoldersecondlanguagelearnershave.Althoughyoung
secondlanguagelearnershavebeguntodevelopthesecharacteristics,theystillhave
fartogointheseareas,aswellasintheareaofworldknowledge,beforetheyreach
thelevelsalreadyattainedbyadultsandadolescents.
Therefore,inplanningandteachingaforeignlanguage,weneedtobearinmindthis
firstlanguagebackgroundtoknowwhatwillworkandwhatmaybetoodifficultfor
children.
Vocabulary development is not just about learningwords, it is also about learning
more about those words, about learning formulaic phrases or chunks, or finding
wordsinsidethem.Learningwordsisnotaneasytaskthatisdoneandfinishedina
short period of time. It is complex since learning words is a cyclical process of
meeting newwords, followed bymeeting those words again and again, each time
extendingknowledgeofwhatthewordsmeanandhowtheyareusedintheforeign
language.AsCameronpointsout“everytimechildrenmeetfamiliarwords,theyhave
changed and will bring new first language and conceptual knowledge to the
vocabulary”(Cameron,2001:74).
AccordingtoLocke(1993)theacquisitionofthewordmeaningstakesmuchlonger
than the acquisition of the spoken formof thewords so children use thewords in
their speech long before they have a full understanding of them. The vocabulary
developmentisacontinuousprocessinwhich,childrendonotonlyaddnewwordsto
8
theirexistingvocabularybankbutalsobuildupknowledgeaboutwordstheyalready
knowpartially.Learningawordrequiresa long timeandplentyofexposure to the
wordusedindifferentsituations.
HatchandBrown(1995:372)alsoclaimthat“learningwordsisacontinuousprocess
thatchanges,aschildrengetolder”.Thesetwoauthorsdescribefive“essentialsteps”
in vocabulary learning based on their research into learners’ strategies. For them,
learners in the first place need to have sources for encountering newwords, then
theymustgetaclearimage,whethervisualorauditoryorboth,fortheformsofthe
newwords.Oncethesourcesandtheimagesaresetup,theymustlearnthemeaning
ofthewords.Thiswillallowthemtomakeastrongmemoryconnectionbetweenthe
formsandthemeaningsofthewordsandfinallytheywillbeabletousethewords.
2.2VocabularyinForeignLanguageLearning
Historically,inforeignlanguageteaching,vocabularyhashadanuncertainplacewith
inthefieldoflanguageteaching.InthedayswhentheAudio-lingualMethodwasused
and implemented, vocabulary received limited attention. Up to the 1980s, the
emphasis was not on the understanding of words; it was on the acquisition of
grammarstructuresandpatterns.Itwasbelievedthatoncethesepatternshadbeen
incorporated,thenvocabularycouldsimplybeconnectedtotherelevantslotsinthe
grammarpattern.However, for the last threedecades,with the introductionof the
CommunicativeLanguageTeaching(CLT)approach,vocabularyhasbecomeamajor
focuson linguisticwork.Theemphasis isnowinfavourofbuildingupanextensive
vocabularybankofwordsassoonaspossible.OnereasonisthatinmanyESLclasses,
even where teachers have devoted much time to vocabulary teaching, the results
havebeendisappointing.Allen (1983) stated that sometimes, aftermonthsoreven
yearsoflearningEnglish,manyofthewordsmostneededhaveneverbeenlearned,
especially in countries where English is not the main language of communication.
Nowadays,eveninteacher-trainingprograms,moreattentionisgiventotechniques
forteachingvocabulary.
Vocabularyisreallyneededinbothteachingandlearning.Iflearnersdonotknowthe
meaningof thewords, theywillnotbeable tounderstandwhat theysee, readand
9
learn. Thus, building up useful vocabulary is central to the learning of a foreign
language.
In the words of Thornbury (2002:13), “The ability of English will improve
significantlyifwelearnmorewords.Wecansayverylittlewithgrammar,butwecan
sayalmosteverythingwithwords”.
Nation(1990)suggestedthatanewwordneeds tobemetat least fiveorsix times
before it has any chance of being learnt. Indeed, vocabulary needs to be met and
recycled at intervals, in different activities, so that with new knowledge and new
connections are developed every time the same words are met. For children who
start language learning young this is especially important. Thus, real vocabulary
learningcomesthroughuse,meetingthewordsinavarietyofcontextsandhavingto
usethemtoexpressnewideas.
2.2.1TheFrequencyFactorinVocabularyLearning
Giventheunderstandingthatmanylanguagescontainmorethanamillionwords,itis
fair to say that native or non-native speakers will never learn all the words. The
Englishlanguageissaidtocontainaround54thousandwordfamilies. It isbelieved
thatthevocabularyofanativespeakeradultrangesfrom20thousandforastudent
ofabouteighteenyearsofage startinguniversity to the37 thousand.Youngnative
speakersofEnglishknow4or5thousandwordfamiliesbytheageoffive,towhich
theyaddabout1 thousandeveryyear. Incomparison,SecondLanguage learnersof
Englishwho attend English schools have been found to add about 1 thousand per
year, but the 4 or 5 thousand gap between them and their native speaker peers
remains(Nation,1990).Asitwasexplainedinprevioussections,itiswidelyaccepted
that the frequency factor plays an important role in vocabulary knowledge.Nation
(1990) stated that plenty of studies suggest that a learner needs to have many
meaningful encounterswith anewwordbefore it becomesestablished inmemory.
According toPalmer(1917:123) “themore frequentlyusedwordswillbe themore
easily learnt”. It means that words that are frequent in a language are learnt first
because they are found more often and each encounter leaves an evidence which
makesthemeasiertoremember.
10
Wecaneasilyrememberideas,itemsorinformationtowhichweturnourattention
butwecanquicklyforgettheideas,itemsorinformationthatwe“touch”onlyonceor
twice. This natural forgetfulness of information is a quality of a healthymind that
keeps our brain from being overwhelmed. Indeed, we tell our memories what is
important to store and retain by how many times we practice retrieving the
information. Inotherwords; themoretimeswepractice themorepermanently the
informationwillbestored.In1885,EbbinghausaGermanphilosopher,producedan
explanation of how memory works. It is called The Curve of Forgetting originally
calledTheEbbinghausCurve.Ebbinghausdemonstratedhowquicklywe forgetnew
informationifwedonotfrequentlyuseit.(Seefigure1below).
Figure1:TheCurveofForgettingdevelopedbyEbbinghaus
Ifweassumethatweheartennewtermsinasession,ourimmediaterecallis100%
(PointA).Itmeansthatwecanrepeatthetermsordefinitionsatthepointwherewe
first encounter them.Nevertheless, ifwedonot repeatedly return our attention to
thesetermsordefinitionswewillforgetabout40%overthefirst24hours(PointB).
Ifwewait another24hours, twodays laterwithout reviewing thewords,wehave
lost60%(PointC).Inconclusion,wecangofromagradeof“A”(100%)to“B”(60%)
to“C”(40%)injust48hours.
Thisfactoriscalledshort-termmemoryloss.Whathappensisthatourbrainsattacha
drop of temporarymemory “glue” to the information. In a short time, this drop of
temporary “glue” loses its bond and we forget the information. However, if we
11
continuallyaddmoredropsof“glue”,eventuallytheinformationwillbecomepartof
morepermanentmemory.
Inordertounderstandthis,weneedacleardefinitionofthetermshortmemory.It
referstotheprocessoftemporarilystoringsmallbitsofinformationforaveryshort
amount of time, usually for only 15-30 seconds. As explained before, this kind of
informationquicklydisappearsunlesswemakeaconsciousefforttoretainit.Short-
term memory is a necessary step toward the next stage of retention, long-term
memory. The transfer of information to long-term memory for more permanent
storagecanbefacilitatedorimprovedbyrehearsal,atermfortheroleofrepetitionin
the retention of memories. It involves repeating the information over and over in
ordertogettheinformationprocessedandstored.
Below there is an illustration that shows the part short-termmemory plays in our
memoryprocess.
Figure2:Short-termmemory’sroleinourmemoryprocess.
12
2.2.2Learningaword.Generalconsiderations
Knowledgeofawordexistsonvariouslevels,whichseemtobelanguageuniversals.
These different aspects of word knowledge were originally described by Richards
(1976) and later redefined by Nation (1990). Cameron (2001) in an attempt to
describe theprocessand link it to the teachingofvocabulary incontextsof foreign
language learning described what knowing a word entails. The main aspects
concerningvocabularylearningaccordingtoCameron,aresummarizedbelow:
• ReceptiveKnowledge:Recognisingandunderstanding themeaningwhen it is
spokenorwritten.
• Memory:rememberorrecallingthewordindifferentcontextswhenneeded.
• Conceptual knowledge: using the word with the correct meaning. Knowing
whatthewordmeans.Forinstance,notconfusingchickenwithkitchen.
• Phonological knowledge: hearing and pronouncing theword correctly, on its
ownorinphrasesandsentences.
• Grammaticalknowledge:accurateuse,knowinggrammaticalconnectionswith
otherwords.Forinstance,shesangverywellnotshesangverygood.
• Collocation knowledge: knowingwhich otherwords can be usedwith it. For
example,abeautifulviewnotagood-lookingview.
• Orthographic knowledge: spelling the word appropriately. For example,
protractornotprotacter.
• Pragmatic knowledge: using the word in the right context and situation.
Knowing the limitations on the use of the word according to variations of
functionandsituation.Forinstance,Wouldyoulikeacoffee?ismoreappropriate
inaformalorsemi-formalsituationthanWhatcanIgetyou?.
• Connotational knowledge: knowing positive or negative associations with
relatedwords. For instance, slimhas positive connotations,whenused about a
person,whereasskinnyisnegative.
• Metalinguistic knowledge: recognising grammatical properties. For example,
knowingthatthewordprotractorisanounandproisaprefix.
13
Tosumup,knowingaboutawordincludesknowingaboutitsform,forinstance,how
itsounds,howitiswritten,thegrammaticalchangesthatmayhave,itsmeaning;its
conceptualcontent,anditsuse;patternswithotherwordsandtypesoflanguageuse.
Consequently, increasing the depth of vocabulary knowledge does not happen
automatically ina foreign language, even inmost favourable circumstances suchas
immersionprograms.Conceptualknowledgegrowswhenchildrenexperiencemore
oftheworldintheirdailylives.However,itmightdependbecauseofmaturation,one
of the factors that seem to affect the nature of conceptual knowledge. (Cameron,
2001).
3.LearningVocabularyinForeignLanguagecontextsLanguagelearningisachallengingtaskrequiringconstanteffortespeciallyforyoung
learners.Theprocessoflanguagelearningishardwork.Childrenmustmakeaneffort
tounderstand,torepeataccurately,tomanipulatenewlyunderstoodlanguageandto
use the whole range of known language in conversation or written composition.
Effortisrequiredateverymomentandmustalwaysbekeptinmind.
3.1LearningVocabularythroughgamesGames are considered a good strategy for teaching vocabulary to young learners.
Games encourage learners to direct their energy towards language learning by
providingthemwithmeaningfulcontexts(Wright,Betteridge,andBuckby,1979).
Communicativecompetenceisofutmostimportancewhenlearningalanguage.Word
gamescancontributetospontaneousandcreativeuseofthelanguageastheyprovide
a context where children “feel less self-conscious and therefore more apt to
experimentandfreelyparticipateinusingtheforeignlanguage”.McCallum(1980:9).
Inaddition,gamesautomaticallystimulatestudent’sinterestandhelptheteacherto
createcontextsinwhichthelanguageisusefulandmeaningful.AccordingtoWright
etal.(1979)learnersaremorelikelytoexperiencethemeaningofthelanguagewhen
usingitinagamethanwhentheyareusingitinaconventionaldrillinaclass.Ifthe
learnersrespondtothecontentinapositiveway,itmeansthatthelanguagethatthey
14
are acquiring is meaningful as they are amused, challenged, intrigued or even
surprised.Thus,iscrucialtogiveimportancetothemeaningofthelanguagebecause
children will learn more vividly and, therefore, they will better remember the
contents.
LewisandBedson(1999)mentionthefactthatplayinggamesisavitalandnatural
part of growing up and learning. It is essential for a child’s development and for
learning life skills. Through games children experiment, discover and interactwith
theirenvironment.Theyaddvariationtoalessonandraisemotivationbyproviding
encouragement to use the target language. The game context in itself makes the
foreign language immediatelyuseful to thechildrenas itbrings the target language
alive. In addition, games provide enjoyment and relaxation, but also they incentive
studentstousetheirlanguageinacreativeandcommunicativemanner.(Yolageldili
andArikan,2011).
McCallum(1980) suggested several reasonsandadvantages forusinggames in the
classroom:
• Gamesfocusstudent’sattentiononspecificstructures.
• Theycanfunctionasreinforcement,reviewandenrichment.
• Theyinvolvethesameparticipationfrombothslowandfastlearners.
• Gamesprovideimmediatefeedbackfortheteacher.
• Theycanbeusedinanylanguage-teachingsituationandwithallskillareas.
• Theycontributetoanatmosphereofhealthycompetition,providingcreativeuseof
naturallanguageinanon-stressfulsituation.
• Theyensurethemaximumstudentsparticipation.
Moreover, Uberman (1998) also affirms the beneficial role of games concerning
vocabularyteaching.Fromherownteachingexperiences,Ubermannoticedstudent’s
excitementandenthusiasminlearningthroughgames.Forher,gamesareusefuland
effectivetoolsthatshouldbeappliedinvocabularyclasses.Theuseofvocabularyisa
waytomakethelessonsmoreinteresting,enjoyableandeffective.
15
3.2LearningVocabularythroughSongs
Listening is fundamentally important for language acquisition because it provides
input forthe learner.Withoutopportunitiestohearthetarget language,acquisition
simplywillnot takeplace.AccordingtoNunan(2011), listening is thegasolinethat
fuels theacquisitionof aural language. It is also relevant as it formsapproximately
60%of languageuse.Whenplanning listening experiences for young learners, it is
crucial to keep inmind that the activities need to be developmentally appropriate.
They should vary according to the age, developmental stage, and the level of the
learner. Therefore, songs, rhymes and activities, which involve physicalmovement
andmanipulationofobjects(TPR),canbeappropriateforyounglearnerstoacquire
languagelearning.
Creatinganenjoyable learning isachallengeforteachers.Aswithgames,songsare
anotheruseful and fun strategy that language teachers should take into account as
part of their classroom-teaching repertoire. Songs contain authentic language, are
easily obtainable, provide vocabulary, grammar and cultural aspects and themost
importantthingisthattheyarefunforthestudents.
Forthisreason,songsplayanimportantroleinthedevelopmentofyoungchildren’s
second language. A testament to this is the commonness which songs are used in
EnglishLanguageTeachingclassroomsallovertheworld.
Songsshouldbeconsideredavaluablepedagogical tool formanyreasons.Murphey
(1992)believedthatsongscanhelpyounglearnersimprovetheirlisteningskillsand
pronunciation, thus potentially helping them to enhance speaking skills. Songs can
also be useful tools in learning vocabulary, sentence structures, and sentence
patterns. They can provide the opportunity of vocabulary practice as they are
normally based on a theme or topic that can support the context for vocabulary
learning.Regardingsentencestructuresandsentencepatterns,manychildren’ssongs
haveaclearsentencestructureorsentencepatternthatcanbecomesetinthemind
of the learner. Accordingly, songs can be useful to reinforce questions and specific
vocabulary taught in a lesson.Nunan (2011) states that songs andnursery rhymes
arealsoexcellentforgivingstudentsintensiverepetitionoftargetlanguageitems.In
consequence,musicandrhythmsofthesongfacilitatevocabularyacquisition.
16
Mostchildrenenjoysingingsongs,astheycanbeawell-welcomedchangefromthe
routineoflearningaforeignlanguage.LoandLi(1998)pointedoutthatsongsoffera
breakfromtheclassroomroutineandthattheuseofthemtolearnEnglishdevelopsa
non-threateningatmosphereinwhichskillscaneasilyimprove.
Eken (1996)claims that songscanbeused in theEnglish languageclassroom fora
varietyofreasons.Inthefirstplace,theycanbeusefultopresentatopicoratheme,
aswellastopracticealanguagepointorlexis.Songscanalsobeemployedtoenhance
children’screativityanduseofimagination,thusprovidevarietyandfuntoteaching
and learning. Furthermore, they can also provide a relaxing classroom atmosphere
encouraging extensive and intensive listening. Finally, songswill allow teachers to
focusonthecommonlearnererrorsinamoreindirectway.
3.3LearningVocabularytroughstories
Listeningtoandretellingstoriesarebasictoearlylearning.Storiesarefundamental
tothehumanexperience.Childrenenjoylisteningtostories intheirmothertongue.
Forthisreason,storybookscanprovideanidealintroductiontotheforeignlanguage
as they are presented in a context that is familiar to the child. Cameron (2001)
mentionsthefactthatstoriescanofferawholeimaginaryworld,createdbylanguage,
thatchildrencanenterandenjoywhilelearningalanguage.Children’sstoriesinclude
usesoflanguagethatareconsideredtypicalofpoeticandliterarytexts.Manyofthese
instruments offer chances for foreign language learning. Specifically, stories are
designed and created to entertain and acquire vocabulary, so writers and tellers
choosewordswithspecialcaretokeeptheaudienceattention.Therefore,theymight
provideunusualwordswith interesting rhythmsor sounds that are onomatopoeic.
AccordingtoCameron(2001),childrenwillpickupwordsthattheyenjoyand,inthis
way, stories offer space for growth in vocabulary. If stories have the qualities of
content, organisation and language use they become potentially useful tools in the
foreign language classroom, since they have the potential to capture children’s
interestandthusmotivationtolearn,alongwithspaceforlanguagegrowth.
Ellis and Brewster’s storytelling handbook (1991) provides several reasons why
teachersshouldusestorybooks.Ontheonehand,storieslettheteacherintroduceor
17
revisenewvocabularyandsentencesstructuresbyexposingthechildrentolanguage
in varied,memorable, and familiar contexts,whichwill enrich their thinkingwhile
startingtheirownlanguageproduction.Atthesametime,storybookscanenrichthe
pupil’s learning experience since they aremotivating, giving thempositive attitude
towards the foreign language, and create desire to continue learning. On the other
hand, listeningtostories inclass isasharedsocialexperience; itprovokesashared
response of laughter, sadness, excitement and anticipation which is not only
enjoyablebut canhelpbuilding the child’s confidenceupandencourage social and
emotional development. Moreover, listening to stories develops listening and
concentration skills as children enjoy listening stories over and over again so
repetitiondefinitelyhelps them to acquire and reinforce their language, due to the
fact that many stories contain natural repetition of key vocabulary and structures
thatmay help children to remember and anticipate what is about to happen. In a
nutshell, stories are an excellent opportunity providing authentic language use,
meanwhile children also exercise their imagination, which is undoubtedly a useful
toolinlinkingfantasyandrealworld.
18
3.4TechniquesinVocabularyteachingtoyounglearners
Young learners have plenty of opportunities to explore and grasp new vocabulary
duringtheirEnglish lessons.Vocabularycanbetaughtusingdifferenttechniques. It
canbeintroducedbytheteacher,orthroughgames,songs,storiesandthroughother
materialsthatareavailableintheclasses.Vocabularycanalsobelearntthroughclass
interaction.Itcanbefromteachertostudentsorviceversaandstudentstostudents.
Through interaction, plenty of this vocabulary is automatically absorbed (Harmer,
1993). It is useful to make a distinction between direct and indirect vocabulary
learning. In direct vocabulary learning the learners do exercises and activities that
focus their attention on vocabulary. However, in indirect vocabulary learning the
learners’ attention is focused on some other features, usually the message that is
conveyedbyaspeakerorwriter.
Newvocabularyshouldideallybepresentedinacontextthatisfamiliartothechild.
Visual support is very important to help convey meaning and to help children
memorize new words (Brewster, Ellis & Girard, 1991). Repetition drills are also
useful for familiarizing students with new vocabulary or specific expressions.
AccordingtoCross(1991),theprocedureofteachingvocabularycanbedividedinto
threestages:presentation,practiceandproduction.
1.Presentationvocabularyisintroduced.Herearesometechniquesthatcanbeused
tointroducevocabulary:
• UsingFlashcardsorpictures
Agreatdealof vocabulary canbe introducedbyusing illustrationsorpictures.Hill
(1990)haslistedseveraladvantagesofusingpicturessuchasavailability;onecanget
theminmagazinesorontheInternet.Theyarecheap,oftenfree;theyarepersonalas
teacherscanselectthem,theyarealsousefulforvarioustypesofactivitiesandthey
are easily kept too. Therefore, pictures aremultifunctional devices that arewidely
usedasalearningdrilltoaidmemorizationbywayofspacedrepetition.
19
• UsingPuppets
Puppets are parts of visual aids for teaching strategies especially in teaching
vocabulary. It is believed that puppets can give an element of fun to learners. By
insertinghumorouselements,puppetsareintendedtoattractstudent’sattention.
• UsingRealobjects(Realia)
Muchof the vocabulary at this stage of children’s learningwill consist on concrete
nouns.Thismeansthatthereareplentyofobjectsthatcanbeusedtoshowmeanings.
Forhelpingstudentsunderstandthemeaningofaword,weoftenfindthatapicture
is useful, but real objects are better than pictures whenever we have them in the
classroom.AccordingtoNunan(1999:313),Realiaisdefinedas“objectsandteaching
propsfromtheworldoutsidetheclassroomthatareusedforteachingandlearning”.
Introducinganewwordbyshowing therealobjectoftenhelpspupils tomemorize
the word through visualization. Realia also stimulates the mind and makes the
vocabularymorememorableaschildrencantouch,smelloreventaste.
• Mimingandgesturing
Miming and gesturing are useful techniques for the explanation of actions and
grammaritems.However,thistechniquehassomelimitations,asitcanbedifficultfor
the teacher to mime some complicated concepts. However, as teachers we should
consideronemethodthatisused,whenexplainingthemeaningthroughactions.Itis
calledTotalPhysicalResponse(TPR).ThemainprincipleofTPRistoreachlearners
tounderstandbylisteningfirstandstartspeakingwhentheyfeelready.Thismethod
iscarriedoutthroughcommands.Whenweaskstudentstorespondphysicallytooral
commands,which use the newwords, the activity is verymuch likewhat happens
when one is learning one’s mother tongue. (Allen, 1983). Children have frequent
experiences in obeying commands during the early years of learning the mother
tongue. Those experiences seem to play an important part in the learning of
vocabulary.
20
• Usingtranslation
It is the traditional way of explaining the meaning of words using the student’s
mother tongue. The advantage of translating the word by the teacher is that this
methodsavestime.Ontheotherhand,itisnotaveryeffectivewayofacquiringnew
wordsbecauselearnersarepassive.
2.Practice.Onceanewwordhasbeenintroduced,teachersshouldprovideexercises
in order to practice and check the subject items being learnt. Several types of
activitiescanbecarriedout,forinstance:
• Memorygames
Itisasimpleandfunactivityforyounglearners.Itdevelopssocial,visualand
memory skills. Children have to flip the cards over and match the pairs as
quicklyaspossible.Vocabularyisreinforcedwhenacardispickedup.
• Dominoes
It is a good game to practice vocabulary. Through matching different
vocabulary domino cards, children will revise and practice the words
previouslyintroduced.
• Bingo
Itisafungamethatencouragesstudentstostudyandreviewthevocabulary
words. The objective is to be the first one to get bingo by matching the
definitiongivenbytheteachertothevocabularywordontheirbingocard.
• What’smissing?
This game can be playedby using flashcards. The number of flashcardswill
dependon thestudent’s level,but it shouldbe limited toamaximumof ten.
Childrenhavetoclosetheireyesandtheteacherhastoremoveoneflashcard.
Whentheyopentheireyestheyhavetotelltheflashcardthatwastakenuntil
thereisnooneleft.
21
3. Production. In this stage students are expected to apply the newly learnt
vocabulary. The teacher can provide different activities that they can use on their
owntoconsolidateandrevisethewords,forexample:
• Wordfamilies/sets
Childrencanbuilduptheirownwordsets.Picturescanbecopiedfromstories
orcutoutfrommagazines,colouredandlabelled,andkeptinenvelopes.Each
onecanbelabelled,forinstance:animals,clothes…
• Collages
Making collages is a useful way of revising vocabulary. Children can collect
pictures around a particular theme, and stick these on to a large sheet of
paper.Thesecanbeusedtodecoratetheclassroom.
22
4.Study4.1ResearchObjectiveThisprojectaimstoanalysetheacquisitionofvocabularyinEarlyYearsspecifically
amongchildrenbetween4and5yearsofage.Inordertodosothefollowingresearch
questionswereposed:
1. Is time an influential factor in vocabulary acquisition as far as young learners is
concerned?
1.1Aretheredifferencesinvocabularyacquisitionwhencomparingtheinitial
knowledge of the students and their final knowledge after 4 teaching
vocabularysessions?
1.2Aretheredifferencesinvocabularyacquisitionwhencomparingtheinitial
knowledgeof thestudentsand theirvocabularyknowledge testedaftereach
session?
1.3 Are there differences in vocabulary acquisition when comparing the
knowledgeaftereachsessionandtheknowledgeattheend?
4.2ParticipantsThestudywascarriedoutinaCatalanStateSchoolthatofferseducationfromEarly
Years,(childrenbetweenthreeandfiveyearsold)untilPrimaryeducation,(children
fromsixtotwelveyearsofage).IchosethisschoolformyresearchprojectbecauseI
did the third training placement there and because I decided to link my didactic
interventionduring theplacementwith the research required formyFinalProject.
The participantswere 25pupils agedbetween4 and5 (52%boys and48%girls).
Children had been introduced to English for the first time at school in September
2015.TheywereexposedtoEnglish1hourand15minutesaweek.However,76%of
the children in this group had been attending extracurricular English lessons
(1h/week)at theschoolsinceSeptember, thus increasingtheiramountofexposure
tothelanguage.
23
4.3DatacollectionandinstrumentsIn order to carry outmy research and analyse howmuch vocabulary children had
acquired after being exposed to 4 English vocabulary sessions, I carried out one
vocabularytest.Eachchildwastestedindividuallyusingflashcards:the interviewer
showed each child the flashcards, one by one and asked: “What is this?”. All the
answersobtainedwerewrittendowninachart.(SeeAppendix7)
An Initial Vocabulary Testwas carried out at the beginning of February to see the
children’s prior knowledge of themainwords,whichwould be presented in the 4
sessions. Inorder todoso,40keywords fromthe4sessions thatwereabout tobe
taughtwereselected,specifically10wordspersession.Forthenext fourweeks,an
English vocabulary session tookplace everyFriday; so on the followingMonday in
theafternoon,3daysaftertheclasssession,atestwascarriedouttocheckhowmany
andwhichwordschildrenstillrememberedfromtheprevioussession.Therefore,4
testswereperformedintotal,eachone3daysaftereveryEnglishvocabularysession.
ThefirstdayofApril,7weeksaftertheInitialVocabularyTestand3weeksafterthe
last vocabulary session, aDelayedVocabularyTestwas carried out to checkwhich
wordschildrenrememberedfromallthesessions.(SeeFigure3)
As for the words chosen in the test, they were all related to the topic of animals:
sessions1and3weredesignedtoworkwith farmandwildanimals,andsession2
and4weredesignedtoworkwithclassicanimalstories;TheuglyducklingandThe
threelittlepigs.Belowthewordschosenforeverysessionarespecified.
Session1:Dog,Chicken,Goat,Duck,Pig,Horse,Rabbit,Cat,SheepandCow.
Session2:1-5littleducks,Quack,Motherduck,Hills,Swimming,Boy,Girl,Eggs,Ugly
andSwan.
Session3:Parrot,Zebra,Giraffe,Elephant,Lion,Bear,Crocodile,Kangaroo,Monkey
andTiger.
Figure3:Methodologystructureusedtocollectdataandinstruments
APRIL10_02_2016 19_02_2016 22_02_2016 26_02_2016 29_02_2016 04_03_2016 07_03_2016 11_03_2016 14_03_2016 01_04_2016
InitialVocabulary
TestSESSION1
VocabularyTestAfterSession1
SESSION2VocabularyTestAfterSession2
SESSION3VocabularyTestAfterSession3
SESSION4VocabularyTestAfterSession4
DelayedVocabulary
Test
FEBRUARY MARCH
24
Session 4: 3 Little Pigs, Farmer,Woodcutter, Straw, Sticks, Bricks,Wolf, Chimney,
Blowing,andHouse.
In order to understand how children could possibly acquire the vocabulary, it is
important tomention that the sessionswere thought and taught to do so through
differentmaterialssuchasflashcards,games,songsandstories.Thewhole4sessions
followed one specific structure; first of all vocabulary was presented through
flashcards;thenitwaspracticedinafunwayusingawiderangeofgames(adomino,
abingo,amemorygame…)andsongslinkedwiththerelevanttopicandvocabulary.
Finallya storywasread toconclude thesession.Otheruseful techniqueswerealso
used such as Realia and TPR (Total Physical Response). Moreover, handmade
materialslikepuppetswerecreatedtomotivateandrisechildren’sparticipation.
4.4DataanalysisAsmentionedbefore,whiletheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestaftereach
session and the Delayed Vocabulary Test were being carried out, all the pupils’
answers where noted on specific chart. I used the same chart for the Initial
VocabularyTest and theDelayedVocabulary test as theyboth tested the40words
thatthefoursessionsentailed.Theanswerswerecategorisedas“yes”withacrossif
thechildrenknewthewordand“no”withoutfillingthechartifthechildrendidnot
knowtheword.OnceIhadalltheanswersmarked,Icountedthemtofindouthow
many children seem to know or recognise initially and finally every word. (See
Appendices1and2)
Concerning the Vocabulary Test after each session, I also used a chart to collect
results.However, itwasadifferentchart foreverysession,as itonlycontained the
words for each session. After every session, the answers were also counted to
visualizeiftherewasanydifferencebetweenthewordsknownbeforeandthewords
knownafterbeingexposedtothemduringthesessions.(SeeAppendices3,4,5and6)
Afterwards, inordertobeabletoreflectallthedatacollectedusingbargraphs,the
percentageofcorrectanswersperwordwascalculatedforallthetests.
25
4.5ResultsIn this section of the project the results of the analysis are presented. In order to
presenttheresultsobtained,theInitialVocabularyTestandtheDelayedVocabulary
Testarefirstgoingtobecompared;SecondlytheresultsoftheInitialVocabularyTest
willbecomparedtotheresultsoftheVocabularyTestaftereverysession.Finally,a
generalcomparisonbetweentheresultsofthethreetestsisalsogoingtobeshown.
Session1Results
Accordingtowhathasbeenmentioned, theInitialVocabularyTestandtheDelayed
Vocabulary Test are first going to be compared. Figure 4, shows the results of the
wordsacquiredinSession1.Theresultssuggestthatinitiallybetween80and96%of
thechildrenknewsomewordsasdog,duck,pigandcat.Thewordthatinitiallythey
knewthemostwasdog(96%).Otherwordslikechicken,sheepandcowwereknown
bysomeof thechildren(50-60%).However, thepercentageofotherwordssuchas
goat,horseorrabbitshowsthatatthebeginningtheywereunknownwordsasonly
between4-8%ofthechildrenrecognisedthem.Themostunknownwordwashorse
withonly4%ofcorrectanswers.RegardingtheDelayedVocabularyTest,childrenat
theendseemtoknowmorethanatthebeginning;vocabularyknowledgeincreases
foralmostallthewords;cow,chicken,goat,rabbit,sheep,andespeciallyhorsewhich
wentfrom4%to64%.Wecanalsoseethatwordslikeduckandpigremainthesame
(80%and92%). In addition,we canalsoobservewithwords likedogandcat that
childrenattheendknewlessthanatthebeginning.However,itisaminordecrease
(only4%).
Comparing the InitialVocabularyTestwith theVocabularyTestafterSession1,we
notice an increase in the number of correct answers. Particularly, words like dog,
duck,pigorcatreachoralmost reach100%of correct answersandwords suchas
goat,horseorrabbittowhichchildrendonotseemtohavebeenfrequentlyexposed
risenotablyespeciallythewordgoatrisingto64%.
Concerningthethreevocabularytestsfromageneralperspective,wordslikechicken,
sheep, cowor goat start with a low percentage, then they rise but at the end the
percentagedecreasesagain.Otherwordslikedogorcatstartwithahighpercentage
of recognition, then they rise even more but, in the Delayed Vocabulary Test, the
percentage decreases more than initially. In duck the percentage starts high, then
26
continues rising but then it decreasesmaintaining the same percentage as initially
(80%).With pig, however, the percentage value remains always the same. Finally,
withwordssuchashorseorrabbitthepercentagestartslow,thenitrisesandkeeps
increasinguntiltheend.
Figure 4: Comparison between the Initial Vocabulary Test, the Vocabulary Test after
Session1andtheDelayedVocabularyTest.
Session2Results
Figure5showstheresultsofthewordsacquiredinSession2.Aswecanobserve,the
bluebars,which indicate thewords that children initially already knew, show that
words like1-5 littleducks,quackand swimmingseem to be better recognised than
others(80-96%).Thewordthatinitiallytheyknewthemostwasquack(96%).Other
words suchasmotherduck,boy,girlandeggswereknownby someof the children
(36-68%).Ontheotherhand,thepercentageofotherwordslikeugly,swanandhills
showsthatat thebeginningtheywereunknownwords formostof thechildren(0-
12%).Ifwefocusourattentiontothewordhills thepercentage(0%)indicatesthat
nochildalreadyknewtheword.RegardingtheDelayedVocabularyTest,childrenat
theendseemtoknowlessthanatthebeginning;vocabularydecreasesinhalfofthe
words,especiallywiththefollowingwords:1-5littleducks,quack,swimming,boyand
eggs.However,inwordslikemotherduckorhillsthevocabularyincreases,thusatthe
end children recognize those words better than initially. We should consider the
growth of the word hills, starting with 0% of knowledge and ending with 36%
96%
56%
8%
80%
4%
24%
80%
56%52%
100%
84%
72%
96%92%
56% 56%
96%
84% 84%92%
72%
48%
80%
64%68%
76%68%
72%
DOG CHICKEN GOAT DUCK PIG HORSE RABBIT CAT SHEEP COW
SESSION1
Ini$alVocabularyTest VocabularyTesta3erSession1 DelayedVocabularyTest
27
becomingthewordbetterknown.Wecanalsoobservethatwordssuchasgirl,ugly
andswanareknownthesameasinitially.
Comparing the InitialVocabularyTestwith theVocabularyTestafterSession2,we
notice a big vocabulary increase in the number of correct answers.Words like1-5
little ducks, quack, mother duck and eggs reach or almost reach 100% of correct
answersandthewordhillsgoesfrom0%to44%.
Concerningthethreevocabularytestsfromageneralperspective,wordslikemother
duckorhillsstartwith lowpercentage, thentheyrisebutattheendthepercentage
decreases.Otherwordslike1-5littleducks,quack,swimming,boyandeggsstartwith
ahighpercentageof recognition, then they increase evenmorebut, in theDelayed
VocabularyTest thepercentagedecreasesmorethan initially. Ingirl,uglyandswan
thepercentagestartslow,thencontinuesrisingbutthen,itdecreasesmaintainingthe
samepercentageasinitially,36%,12%and8%respectively.
Figure5:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafterSession
2andtheDelayedVocabularyTest.
84%
96%
52%
0%
80%
60%
36%
68%
12%8%
100% 100%96%
44%
88%80%
60%
100%
36%28%
76%
92%
72%
36%
48%
40%36%
64%
12%8%
1-5LITTLEDUCKS
QUACK MOTHERDUCK
HILLS SWIMMING BOY GIRL EGGS UGLY SWAN
SESSION2
Ini$alVocabularyTest VocabularyTesta3erSession2 DelayedVocabularyTest
28
Session3Results
Figure 6 shows the results of thewords acquired in Session3. The results suggest
thatinitiallybetween76-96%ofthechildrenknewsomewordssuchaselephant,lion,
crocodile,monkeyandtiger.Thewordthatinitiallytheyknewthemostwaselephant
(96%).Otherwordslikezebraandgiraffewereknownbysomeofthechildren(44-
48%).However,thepercentageofotherwordslikeparrot,bearandkangarooshows
thattheywerealmostunknownwordsformostofthechildren(12-24%).Themost
unknown word was kangaroowith only 12% of correct answers. Concerning the
DelayedVocabularyTest,childrenattheendseemtoknowmorewordsthaninitially;
vocabularyknowledgeincreasesinhalfofthewordssuchaskangaroo,parrot,giraffe,
bearandespeciallyzebrawhichwentfrom48%to84%.However,thepercentageof
the other half of the words; elephant, lion,monkey, crocodileand tigerdecreases a
littlebitsochildrenseemtoknowlessthaninitially.
Comparing the InitialVocabularyTestwith theVocabularyTestafterSession3,we
can realise a vocabulary increase in the number of correct answers. Particularly,
somewords like elephant, lionandmonkeyreach or almost reach 100% of correct
answersandwordssuchaszebraorgiraffe,whichincrease40%more.
Concerningthethreevocabularytests fromageneralperspective,words likezebra,
giraffe,parrot,bearandkangaroostartwitha lowpercentage, then theyrisebutat
theendthepercentagedecreases.Otherwords likeelephant,lion,crocodile,monkey
andtigerstartwithahighpercentageofrecognition,thentheyriseevenmorebutin
theDelayedVocabularyTestthefinalpercentageislowerthanintheinitialtest.
20%
48%44%
96%88%
24%
80%
12%
80% 76%
56%
88%84%
100%92%
40%
88%
44%
92%88%
32%
84%
68%
88%84%
32%
72%
36%
64%72%
PARROT ZEBRA GIRAFFE ELEPHANT LION BEAR CROCODILE KANGAROO MONKEY TIGER
SESSION3
Ini$alVocabularyTest VocabularyTesta3erSession3 DelayedVocabularyTest
Figure6:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafterSession3andtheDelayedVocabularyTest.
29
Session4ResultsFigure 7 shows the results of thewords acquired in Session4. The results suggest
that initiallybetween56-80%ofthechildrenknewsomewordsas3littlepigs,wolf
andhouse.Theword that initially they knew themostwasThe3 littlepigs(80%).
Other words like farmeror stickswere known by some of the children (16-20%).
However,thepercentageofotherwordssuchaswoodcutter,chimney,blowing,straw
andbricksshows that at the beginning theywere unknownwords formost of the
children(0-8%).Ifwefocusourattentiontowordslikewoodcutterandchimneythe
percentage (0%) indicates that no child knew the word. Regarding the Delayed
VocabularyTest,childrenattheendseemtoknowmorewordsthanatthebeginning;
vocabulary knowledge increases for almost all the words; 3 little pigs, farmer,
woodcutter, straw, bricks, sticks, chimney,wolf and blowing showing a considerable
growth.Weshouldbearinmindthewordblowing,startingwithalowpercentageand
risinguntil52%.Wecanalsoobservethatchildrenattheendknewlessthaninitially
injustoneword:housedecreasingto8%.
Comparing the InitialVocabularyTestwith theVocabularyTestafterSession4,we
can realise a considerable vocabulary growth in all thewords. In particular,words
like 3 little pigs, sticks, wolf, and house reach or almost reach 100%. We should
considerthewordblowingasitexperimentsanimportantgrowthgoingfrom4%to
80%.
Concerning the three vocabulary tests from a general perspective, words like
woodcutter, straw,bricks,chimney,blowing, farmer, sticks,3 littlepigsandwolfstart
withahigh,middleor lowpercentage, thentheyrisebutat theendthepercentage
decreases.However,only inthewordhouse thepercentagestartshigh, thenitrises
butattheenditdecreasesevenmorethaninitially.
80%
20%
0%4%
16%8%
60%
0%4%
56%
100%
64%
28%
40%
88%
64%
92%
40%
80%84%
88%
48%
16%20%
52%
28%
84%
12%
52%48%
3LITTLEPIGS FARMER WOODCUTTER STRAW STICKS BRICKS WOLF CHIMNEY BLOWING HOUSE
SESSION4
Ini$alVocabularyTest VocabularyTesta3erSession4 DelayedVocabularyTest
Figure7:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafterSession4andtheDelayedVocabularyTest.
30
To conclude this section, after analysing and comparing the InitialVocabularyTest
withtheDelayedVocabularyTest,3aspectscanbehighlighted:
1. Forsomeofthewordschildrenattheendknowmorethaninitially,sothereis
an increase in theirvocabularyknowledge.Forexample:chicken,goat,horse,
rabbit, cow (Session 1),mother duck, hills (Session 2), parrot, zebra, giraffe,
bear,kangaroo(Session3),3littlepigs,farmer,woodcutter,straw,sticks,bricks,
wolf,chimneyandblowing(Session4).
2. Children at the end know the same as initially, so vocabulary remains thesame.Forinstance:duck,pig(Session1),girl,uglyandswan(Session2).
3. Children at the end know less than initially, so there is a decrease in
vocabulary. For example: dog, cat (Session 1), 1-5 little ducks, quack,
swimming, boy, eggs (Session 2), elephant, lion, crocodile, monkey, tiger
(Session3)andhouse(Session4).
In addition, after analysing and comparing, the Initial Vocabulary Test with the
VocabularyTestaftereachsession,anappreciableaspectisobserved:
• Anincreaseofvocabulary
However, comparing the Vocabulary Test after each session with the Delayed
VocabularyTestanotherconsiderableaspectiseasilynoticed:
• Adecreaseofvocabulary
31
Thefigurebelowshowsasummaryofthemostinterestingfindings:
Figure8:Someofthemostinterestingfindingsobtainedaccordingtotheresults
Session1
Session2
Session3
Session4
InitialVocabularyTest
(Wordsbetterknown
initially)
Dog
96%
Quack
96%
Elephant
96%
3little
pigs
80%
VocabularyTestaftereach
individualSession
(Wordswhichafterbeing
practicedrisemoreregarding
theirinitialknowledge)
Goat
(8-72%)
64%
Hills
(0-44%)
44%
Zebra/Giraffe
(48-88%)(44-84%)
40%
Blowing
(4-80%)
75%
DelayedVocabularyTest
(Wordswhichattheend
increasemoreconcerning
theirinitialknowledge)
Horse
(4-64%)
60%
Hills
(0-36%)
36%
Zebra
(48-84%)
36%
Blowing
(4-52%)
48%
32
5.DiscussionAsmentionedbefore, thisresearchprojectaimedto findoutvocabularyacquisition
amongveryyounglearners.Inthissection,Iwilltrytoanswertheresearchquestions
posedasguidelinesofmyresearchaccordingtotheresultsobtainedintheanalysisof
thedatacollectedwith4and5year-oldstudentsandtointerpretthem.
R.Q.1: Is time an influential factor in vocabulary acquisition as far as young
learnersisconcerned?
Whenanalysing thedatacollectedandpresenting it ingraphs itwasobserved that
time seems to be an influential factor in vocabulary acquisition with very young
learners.Thisfact,canbeobservedwhenweanalysethebarsthatindicatetheresults
of the Vocabulary Test carried out after each session and the Delayed Vocabulary
Test. We should bear in mind to interpret and understand the results that the
VocabularyTestaftereachsessionwascarriedout3daysaftereachsessionwithout
beingexposedtothewords,andtheDelayedVocabularyTest6weeksafterthefirst
session,5weeksfromthesecondone,4weeksfromthethirdoneand3weeksfrom
thelastsession.Accordingtothat,itisclearlyobservableinallthesessionsthatthere
isanincreaseoftheirvocabularyknowledgewhentheirknowledgeistestedaftera
short period of time of being exposed to the words (Vocabulary Test after each
session).However, there is adecrease in thenumberofwordswhen the children’s
wordknowledgeistestedafteralongperiodoftimefrom6to3weekswithoutbeing
exposedtothewords.(DelayedvocabularyTest).
In the following answers, this research question will be further discussed and, by
answeringothersubquestions,amoredetailedpictureofthismainquestionwillbe
given;thisisthereasonwhynomoreinformationisgivenatthispoint.
33
R.Q.1.1:Aretheredifferencesinvocabularyacquisitionwhencomparingthe
initialknowledgeofthestudentsandtheirfinalknowledge?
Considering the results some differences are found in vocabularywhen comparing
thestudents’initialandfinalknowledge.Threemainfindingsneedtobeconsidered
and explained: sometimes the knowledge is higher, sometimes is the same and
sometimesislessthantheinitialknowledge.
1. Forsomewords,thechildren’sfinalwordknowledgeishigherthanthechildren’s
initial word knowledge. So, there is an increase in vocabulary at the end, as
children seem to know more words than initially. This might be because of
frequencyandexposure.According toNation(1997) lotsofstudiessuggest that
learnersneed tohaveseveralmeaningfulencounterswithanewwordbefore it
becomesestablished in theirmemory.Therefore, the fact thatchildrenattended
somesessions,inwhichsomewordswerefrequentlyusedincontexthelpedthem
tomemoriseandrecallthosewordsbetterattheend.Thisideawouldbeinline
with Palmer (1917) who stated that words that are repeated many times are
easily learntbecause theyare foundconstantly inacontextandthisencounters
makeiteasiertorememberthem.AsitisobservableinFigure4,initiallymoreor
lessallthewordswerewellrecognisedbythechildren,maybebecausetheyhad
hadmanypreviousencounterswiththewordsbeforethistestwasevencarried
out. However, two words like goat and horsewere almost unknown, probably
becausebefore thesession thechildrenwerenot familiarwith them. Inspiteof
that, it is interesting tonotice that6of thosewords(chicken,goat,horse,rabbit,
sheepandcow)attheendwerebetterknownthan initially,so itmeansthatthe
repetitionand thepracticeof thewords indifferent activitiesmayhavehelped,
andthatrepetitionisbeneficial forchildren’svocabularyacquisition.Ifwefocus
our attention to Figure 5 many of the words were identified at the beginning
exceptforthewordhills(0%),whichdoesnotseemtobepartof theircommon
foreignvocabularyrepertoireinitially.However,attheendonlythepercentageof
answersforthewordhillsrisestogetherwithmotherduck,sointhissessionfew
wordsseemtoberememberedoracquired finally.AccordingtoFigure6,at the
beginningalmostallthewordswereknownbutafterthefinaltest,only5ofthem
were recognised more than initially (parrot, zebra giraffe, bear,and kangaroo).
34
Finally,inFigure7,whichshowstheresultsofsession4,mostofthewordswere
initially relatively unknownmaybe because the vocabulary that appears inThe
three littlepigs story is not as usual to them as the vocabulary of farm orwild
animals. Nevertheless, it is the session from which children seem to know or
remember themostwords incomparison toothersessions (3littlepigs,farmer,
woodcutter, straw, sticks, bricks, wolf, chimney and blowing) as 9 words
experimentanimportantgrowthcomparingthemtotheinitial.This,mightbedue
tothefactthatbetweenthesession4andtheDelayedVocabularyTesttherewere
only3weeksso,childrencouldbetterrememberorrecognisethewordsbecause
there was a shorter period of time between the session and the Delayed
VocabularyTest.Ebbinghausprovidedanexplanationtothat,calledTheCurveof
Forgetting.(Seesection2.2.1inthisproject).Hedemonstratedthatthemoretime
passes without reinforcing vocabulary, the more we tend to forget the
information. Therefore, the less time between the information’s reinforcement,
thebetterthestudentswereabletorememberorrecalltheinformation.Inorder
tounderstandthis,weshouldalsoconsidertheroleoftheshort-termmemory.It
refers to theprocessof temporarilystoringsmallbitsof information forashort
period of time. The information stored quickly disappears with time unless a
consciouseffortismadetoretainit.Thesetwoaspectsmayprovideanevidence
which demonstrates that time seems to influence children’s vocabulary
acquisition since learning aword requires long time, plenty of exposure, and a
consciousefforttotrytoretainit.
2. For some other words, the children’s final word knowledge is equal to thechildren’sinitialwordknowledge.This,itmeansthat,forsomewords,vocabulary
doesnot increaseand it justremains thesame. InFigure4 thisaspect isclearly
appreciableinwordslikeduckandpigandinFigure5wordssuchasgirl,uglyand
swan. This fact may have been caused because not enough repetition was
provided.AsNation(1900)said,awordneedstobemetatleastfiveorsixtimes
beforeithasanychanceofbeinglearntsorepetitionisacrucialfactortoacquirea
word. Moreover, learning a word requires a long time and plenty of exposure.
Therefore, the more frequently language learners are exposed to foreign
vocabulary,themorelikelytheyaretorememberit.
35
3. Finally, the third find shows that, for some words, the children’s final word
knowledge is less than the children’s initial word knowledge. So, there is a
decreaseinvocabulary,aschildrenseemtoknoworrecogniselesswordsatthe
end than initially.Actually, it is a curious factbecause somewords that initially
seemedtobeacquired,attheendtheywerenotrecognizedbythechildren.This
aspectwasnoticed,inthepost-sessionstest:forinstance,inFigure4withwords
likedogandcat,inFigure5with1-5littleducks,quack,swimming,boyandeggs,in
Figure 6with elephant, lion, crocodile,monkeyand tiger,and finally in Figure 7
with only one word; house. However, with all those words, the percentage
decreasesverylittle.Inordertoexplainandgiveareasontothisfact,weshould
considerthefollowingquestion:“Whatdoesknowingawordmean?”.Knowinga
word does not justmean remember or recalling theword in different contexts
when needed, it is more than this. Some general considerations described and
mentioned before by Cameron (2001) should be also considered when we say
thatawordisknown(seesection2.2.2inthisproject).Indeed,learningwordsis
notaneasytaskthatisdoneandfinishedinashortperiodoftimesinceknowing
aboutawordincludeslearningaboutitsform(howitsounds,howitisspelt,the
grammaticalchangesthatmighthave),knowingaboutitsmeaning(itsconceptual
content),anditsuse(itspatternswithotherwordsandtypesoflanguageuse).So,
wecannottakeforgrantedthatchildrenknowwordsifwejustfocusonmemory,
other aspects should also be taken into account.We should also consider other
possible facts that could interfere and give a reason why the percentage in
children’s answers in the Delayed Vocabulary Test was lower for some words
than thenumber of answers in the Initial VocabularyTest. Concentration could
provide a possible explanation in this case: children were not as much
concentrated as in other vocabulary tests because theDelayedVocabulary Test
was carried out in the afternoon so they were a little bit tired and maybe 40
words tested at the same time were toomany words for such young learners.
Thus,thetestitselfmayhavehadaninfluenceontheresultsobtained.
36
R.Q.1.2:Are there differences in vocabulary acquisition when comparing the
initial knowledge of the students and their vocabulary knowledge after each
session?
When comparing the initial knowledge of the students and their vocabulary
knowledgeaftereachsession,inwhichthechildrenhadbeenrepeatedlyexposedto
words in a didactic way, the vocabulary increases. Short-term memory plays an
importantroleinthisvocabularygrowth;asitwasmentionedbefore,theVocabulary
Testsaftereachsessionswerecarriedout3daysafterthechildren’sexposuretothe
words, so between the session and the test there was a short period of time that
facilitated and allowed the children to remember or recall those words better.
Therefore, time isan important factor inourmemoryprocess; the less timepasses
betweenbeingexposedtosomething,themorewewillbeabletorememberit.The
more timepassesbetweenbeing exposed to something, the lesswewill be able to
rememberit.
R.Q.1.3:Aretheredifferencesinvocabularyacquisitionwhencomparingthe
knowledgeaftereachsessionandtheknowledgeattheend?
Regardingtheresultsonemainaspectisobservableinallthegraphswhencomparing
the knowledge after each session and the knowledge at the end; the vocabulary
decreases.According towhatwasmentionedbefore, childrenwere tested6weeks
fromthefirstsession,5weeksafterthesecondone,4weeksafterthethirdoneand3
weeks after the last session. Therefore, therewas a longer period of timewithout
reinforcementof thewords from the first session to the last in relation to the final
test.Apossiblereasonmaybethatchildrentendtoforgetthewordsquickly,sothe
vocabularywhichseemtobeacquiredafterthesessiondecreases.
AnothervisiblefeaturecanbeobservedifweanalyseFigure4wordslikehorseand
rabbit. The percentage of the words at the end rise even more than after being
practicedandtestedoncethesessionwasdone.Thereseemstobeanexplanationif
webelievethatthosewordswerereinforcedoutsidetheschoolsetting.Therefore,in
ordertoestablishvocabulary,buildingonandstrengtheningit,constantrepetitionis
keytoensurevocabularyacquisition.
37
6.ConclusionsIn this section the main conclusions reached after doing the entire research
procedurewillbeexposed.Thisprojectaimstofindoutthroughavocabularytestif
time is an influential factor in vocabulary acquisition as far as young learners is
concerned.
The first conclusion that canbe drawn from thewhole research is that vocabulary
acquisitionwithveryyounglearnersisanon-goingprocessthattakestime,practice
and plenty of exposure. Time is a key factor in the process of learning words.
Accordingtotheresultsobtained,childrencouldrecallorrememberbetterthewords
thatweretestedafterashortperiodoftimefromitsinitialexposure.Inotherwords,
the less time between vocabulary reinforcement themore childrenwill be able to
rememberthewords;thereforetheirvocabularyknowledgewillincrease.Thismight
be related to the use of their short-term memory; our brain stores small bits of
information for a short amount of time but they quickly disappear unless there is
plenty of repetition and a conscious effort to retain it. On the other hand, as was
observedinthisproject,childrencouldnotrecallorrememberthewordsthatwere
tested after a long period of time from its initial exposure. Therefore, the longer
withoutvocabularyreinforcementthemoredifficult itwillbeforthechildrentobe
abletorememberthewordsandvocabularyknowledgewilldecrease.Thismightbe
linked toTheCurveofForgettingprovided by Ebbinghaus (see section 2.2.1 in this
project).Hedemonstratedandexplainedhowquicklyinformationisforgottenifwe
do not frequently use it. As itwasmentioned before, repetition and frequency are
essentialaspectstoconsiderinordertoacquirevocabulary.
Secondly, learning words is not an easy task that is done and finished in a short
period of time, especially if we are dealing with young learners. Vocabulary
acquisition requires continuous repetitions inorder to achieveeffectivevocabulary
learning. Moreover, very young learners are very slow learners in learning a
second/foreign language as they are still building up their first vocabulary
knowledge. Furthermore, the fact that they receive limited input in the foreign
language, as they are not verymuch exposed to it,makes the process of acquiring
38
vocabularydifficultandlong.Inthelightoftheresultsobtained,sessionswithplenty
ofrepetitionsshouldbecarriedoutinordertohelpstudentssettletheirvocabulary.
Aftercarryingoutthisresearchprojectlinkedtomydidacticinterventionduringmy
placement, Iamconvincedthat techniquesandresourcessuchasgames,songsand
stories are good strategies to use for teaching vocabulary to very young learners.
They provide meaningful contexts, as well as variation to a lesson and raise the
motivation of the learners by encouraging them to use the target language in a
creative and communicative manner. Thus, they are useful tools in learning
vocabularyastheygiveopportunitiestopracticeandreinforceit.Someoftheresults
of the beneficial use of these techniques can be noticed in the graphs that show
children’svocabularyknowledgeafterbeingexposed tovocabulary throughgames,
songs, and stories: they show an increase regarding the initial knowledge ofmost
words.
Anothermeaningfulaspect toconsiderafter this researchproject is thatwecannot
quicklyandeasilysaythatawordisknown.Firstofall,weneedtotakeintoaccount
that the knowledge of aword entails general considerations. Therefore,we should
wonderandaskourselvesas teachers “Whatdoes itmean toknowaword?”.Once
this researchwas carried out I realised that knowing aword requiresmuchmore
thanrecallitwhenneededsomemoryonlyplaysaminorrole.Weshouldnotassume
thatchildrenknowawordifwejustfocusonmemoryskills;otherknowledgeshould
be also considered, as well as external factors such as concentration, motivation…
thatmightinterferewithchildren’sanswers.
Finally,Iwouldliketomentionthatallthethingsdescribedabove,whichIobserved
andlearntwhileandafterduringthisresearch,theyaregoingtobeusefulandkeptin
mind formy future as a teacher. Now I realise that when it comes to teaching or
introducingnewvocabularyinEnglishIcannottakeforgrantedthatpresentingthe
wordsjustoncechildrenwillrememberthemforalongtime.Infact,therearealways
somewordsthatwithoutanyexplanationchildrenfinditdifficulttoretain.Teachers
should pay attention to those words because they might be a sign that constant
repetitionisneededuntilvocabularyisfirmlyestablished.
39
7.Bibliography
• Allen,V.(1983).TechniquesinTeachingVocabulary.Oxford:OxfordUniversity
Press.
• Brewster,J&Ellis,G&Girard,D.(1991).ThePrimaryEnglishTeacher’sGuide.
London:PenguinBooks.
• Cameron,L.(2001).TeachingLanguagestoYoungLearners.Cambridge:
CambridgeUniversityPress.
• Cross,D.(1991).APracticalHandbookofLanguageTeaching.London:Cassel.
• Eken,D.K(1996).IdeasforusingpopsongsintheEnglishlanguageclassroom.
EnglishTeachingForum,34,46-47.
• Ellis,G&Brewster,J.(1991).TheStorytellingHandbookforPrimaryTeachers.
Penguin.
• Harmer,J.(1993).ThePracticeofEnglishLanguageTeaching.Essex:Longman
GroupUKLimited.
• Hatch,E&Brown,C.(1995).Vocabularysemanticsandlanguageeducations.
Cambridge:CUP
• Hill,D.(1900).VisualImpact:Creativelanguagelearningthroughpictures.
Essex:LongmanGroupUKLimited.
• Lewis,G.&Bedson,G.&Maley,A.(1999).Gamesforchildren.Oxford:Oxford
UniversityPress.
• Lo,R.&Li,H.C.(1998).Songsenhancelearnerinvolvement.EnglishTeaching
Forum,36,pp.3:8-11.
40
• Locke,J.(1993).Thechild’sPathtoSpokenLanguage.Cambridge,MA:Harvard
UniversityPress.
• McCallum,G.(1980).101WordgamesforstudentsofEnglishasaSecondor
ForeignLanguage.Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
• Murphey,T.(1992).Musicandsong.Oxford,England:OxfordUniversityPress.
• Nation,P.(1990).TeachingandLearningVocabulary.NewYork:Heinleand
Heinle.
• Nunan,D.(2011).TeachingEnglishtoYoungLearners.USA:Anaheim
UniversityPress.
• Palmer,H.E.(1917).TheScientificStudyandTeachingofLanguages.London:
Harrap.
• Richards,J.(1976).Theroleofvocabularyteaching.TESOLQuarterly,10(1),
77-89.
• Thornbury,S.(2002).HowtoTeachVocabulary.NewYork:Longman.
• Uberman,A.(1998).Theuseofgamesforvocabularypresentationandrevision.
• Wright,A.&Betteridge,D.&Buckby,M.(1979).Gamesforlanguagelearning.
Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress.
• Yolageldili,G.&Arikan,A.(2011).EffectivenessofUsingGamesinTeachingto
YoungLearners.ElementaryEducationOnline,10(1),219-229.
41
8.Webreferences
• Alban.D(2012).Short-termMemoryLossCausesandSolutions.RetrievedApril18, 2016 from Be Brain Fit website: http://bebrainfit.com/stop-short-term-memory-loss/
• Mastin, L. (2010). Short-term (working) memory. Retrieved April 15, 2016,
from The Human Memory website: http://www.human-memory.net/types_short.html
• Pappas,C.(2014).TheForgettingCurveineLearning.RetrievedApril11,2016,from eLearning Industry website: http://elearningindustry.com/forgetting-curve-in-elearning-what-elearning-professionals-should-know
• Roth, J. (2011). The Curve of Forgetting. Retrieved April 9, 2016, from:http://ol.scc.spokane.edu/jroth/Courses/English%2094-study%20skills/MASTER%20DOCS%20and%20TESTS/Curve%20of%20Forgetting.htm
42
9.AppendicesAppendix1
ChartusedandresultsobtainedintheInitialVocabularyTest
NamesP4-A/Voc. DOG CHICKEN GOAT DUCK PIG HORSE RABBIT CAT SHEEP COW 1-5LITTLEDUCKS QUACK MOTHERDUCK HILLS SWIMMING BOY GIRL EGGS UGLYDUCK SWAN
Student1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student2(6.08.2011) X X X X X X X X X
Student3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X X
Student5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X
Student6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student8(3.10.2011) X X X
Student9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student10(14.12.2011) X X X X X X X
Student11(28.08.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X X X
Student13(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X
Student14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X
Student16(13.07.2011) X X X X X X X X X X
Student17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student19(29.10.2011) X X X X X
Student20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student22(12.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student25(2.06.2011) X X X X
TOTAL 24 14 2 20 23 10 6 20 14 13 21 24 13 0 20 15 9 17 3 2
% 96% 56% 8% 80% 92% 4% 24% 80% 56% 52% 84% 96% 52% 0% 80% 60% 36% 68% 12% 8%
NamesP4-A/Voc. PARROT ZEBRA GIRAFFE ELEPHANT LION BEAR CROCODILE KANGAROO MONKEY TIGER 3LITTLEPIGS FARMER WOODCUTTER STRAW STICKS BRICKS WOLF CHIMNEY BLOWING HOUSEStudent1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent2(6.08.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011) X X X XStudent14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X X
TOTAL 5 12 11 24 22 6 20 3 20 19 20 5 0 1 4 2 15 0 1 14% 20% 48% 44% 96% 88% 24% 80% 12% 80% 76% 80% 20% 0% 4% 16% 8% 60% 0% 4% 56%
43
Appendix2
ChartusedandresultsobtainedintheDelayedVocabularyTest
NamesP4-A/Voc. DOG CHICKEN GOAT DUCK PIG HORSE RABBIT CAT SHEEP COW 1-5LITTLEDUCKS QUACK MOTHERDUCK HILLS SWIMMING BOY GIRL EGGS UGLYDUCK SWAN
Student1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student2(6.08.2011) X X X X X X X X X
Student3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X
Student5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X X X
Student6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student8(3.10.2011) X X
Student9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student10(14.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X
Student11(28.08.2011) X X X X X X
Student12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student13(6.12.2011)
Student14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student16(13.07.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student19(29.10.2011) X X X X X X
Student20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student22(12.02.2011) X X X X X X X
Student23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Student25(2.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X
TOTAL 23 18 12 20 23 16 17 19 17 18 19 23 18 9 12 10 9 16 3 2% 92% 72% 48% 80% 92% 64% 68% 76% 68% 72% 76% 92% 72% 36% 48% 40% 36% 64% 12% 8%
NamesP4-A/Voc. PARROT ZEBRA GIRAFFE ELEPHANT LION BEAR CROCODILE KANGAROO MONKEY TIGER 3LITTLEPIGS FARMER WOODCUTTER STRAW STICKS BRICKS WOLF CHIMNEY BLOWING HOUSEStudent1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent2(6.08.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) X XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X X X X X X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011)Student14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X
TOTAL 8 21 17 22 21 8 18 9 16 18 22 12 4 5 13 7 21 3 13 12% 32% 84% 68% 88% 84% 32% 72% 36% 64% 72% 88% 48% 16% 20% 52% 28% 84% 12% 52% 48%
44
Appendix3ChartusedandresultsobtainedintheVocabularyTestafterSession1Appendix4ChartusedandresultsobtainedinTheVocabularyTestafterSession2
NamesP4-A/Voc. 1-5LITTLEDUCKS QUACK MOTHERDUCK HILLS SWIMMING BOY GIRL EGGS UGLY SWANStudent1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent2(6.08.2011) X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) X X X XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011) X X X X XStudent14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X X X X
TOTAL 25 25 24 11 22 20 15 25 9 7% 100% 100% 96% 44% 88% 80% 60% 100% 36% 28%
NamesP4-A/Voc. DOG CHICKEN GOAT DUCK PIG HORSE RABBIT CAT SHEEP COW
Student1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X X
Student2(6.08.2011) X X X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) X XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011) X X X X XStudent14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X X X X X X
TOTAL 25 21 18 24 23 14 14 24 21 21% 100% 84% 72% 96% 92% 56% 56% 96% 84% 84%
45
Appendix5ChartusedandresultsobtainedinTheVocabularyTestafterSession3Appendix6ChartusedandresultsobtainedinTheVocabularyTestafterSession4
NamesP4-A/Voc. PARROT ZEBRA GIRAFFE ELEPHANT LIONBEARCROCODILE KANGAROO MONKEY TIGERStudent1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent2(6.08.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) X X XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X X X X
TOTAL 14 22 21 25 23 10 22 11 23 22% 56% 88% 84% 100% 92% 40% 88% 44% 92% 88%
NamesP4-A/Voc. 3LITTLEPIGSFARMERWOODCUTTER STRAW STICKSBRICKSWOLFCHIMNEY BLOWING HOUSEStudent1(4.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent2(6.08.2011) X X X X X XStudent3(26.04.2011) X X X X X XStudent4(7.10.2011) X X X X X XStudent5(26.12.2011) X X X X X XStudent6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent7(9.04.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent8(3.10.2011) XStudent9(20.09.2011) X X X X X X XStudent10(14.12.2011) X X X XStudent11(28.08.2011) X X X XStudent12(12.10.2011) X X X X X X XStudent13(6.12.2011) X X X XStudent14(4.03.2011) X X X X X X X X XStudent15(27.06.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent16(13.07.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent17(4.01.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent18(6.12.2011) X X X X X X XStudent19(29.10.2011) X X X X XStudent20(21.04.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent21(3.06.2011) X X X X X XStudent22(12.02.2011) X X X X X XStudent23(17.02.2011) X X X X X X X XStudent24(17.11.2011) X X X X X X X X X XStudent25(2.06.2011) X X X X
TOTAL 25 16 7 10 22 16 23 10 20 21% 100% 64% 28% 40% 88% 64% 92% 40% 80% 84%