Very Young Learners’ Vocabulary Development in English: A ...

VeryYoungLearners’VocabularyDevelopmentin

English:ACaseStudywith4and5year-oldChildren

FinalDegreeProject

ClàudiaYllaEsteve

Tutor:AnnaVallbonaGonzález

EarlyYearsSchoolTeachingDegree

MinorinEnglish

Facultatd’EducacióTraduccióiCiènciesHumanes

UniversitatdeVic-UniversitatCentraldeCatalunya

Vic,May2016

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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.

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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.

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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

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Listoffigures

Figure1:TheCurveofForgettingdevelopedbyEbbinghaus………………………….……...10

Figure2:Short-termmemory’sroleinourmemoryprocess………………………...……....11

Figure3:Methodologystructureusedtocollectdataandinstruments……….…...……23

Figure4:ComparisonbetweentheInitialVocabularyTest,theVocabularyTestafter

Session1andtheDelayedVocabularyTest………………………………………………………...…26


Session2andtheDelayedVocabularyTest…………………………….…………………………..…27


Session3andtheDelayedVocabularyTest………………………………………………………..….28


Session4andtheDelayedVocabularyTest…………………………………………………………...29

Figure8:Someofthemostinterestingfindingsobtainedaccordingtothe

results……………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………..31

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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• 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



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.


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


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.


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


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%.


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


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.

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• 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


Student4(7.10.2011) X X X X X X X X


Student6(31.03.2011) X X X X X X X X X X X X

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





Student15(27.06.2011) 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



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





Student5(26.12.2011) X X X X X X X X



Student8(3.10.2011) X X



Student11(28.08.2011) 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




Student19(29.10.2011) 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


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


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%

46

Appendix7

FlashcardsusedintheVocabularyTests

Session1

47

Session2

48

Session3

49

Session4

Very Young Learners’ Vocabulary Development in English: A ...

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