Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm Making use of authentic materials to improve grade 10 students’ vocabulary

 SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI
 Đơn vị : THPT NGÔ QUYỀN
 _________________
 Mã số: 
 SÁNG KIẾN
 MAKING USE OF AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
TO IMPROVE GRADE 10 STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY
 Người thực hiện: Trần Đức Tồn
 Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu:
 Quản lý giáo dục 
 Phương pháp giáo giáo dục 
 Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn: Tiếng Anh 
 Lĩnh vực khác: 
 Có đính kèm:
  Mô hình  Đĩa CD (DVD)  Phim ảnh  Hiện vật khác
 Năm học: 2019-2020 CONTENT
INTRODUCTION................................................................................................. 1
 1.Background /context ...................................................................................... 1
 2. Rationale ......................................................................................................... 1
 a. The importance of vocabulary .......................................................... 1
 b. The prospect of authentic materials ................................................. 1
 3. The scope of the research and research aims .............................................. 2
CONTENTS OF THE RESEARCH ................................................................... 3
I. REALITY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY ........... 3
II.RESEARCH CONTENT .............................................................................. 3
 1. Research procedure/ definitions of terms ........................................ 3
 2. Literature review ............................................................................... 5
 3. Adaptation. ......................................................................................... 6
 4. Merits and defects of the study .......................................................10
 5. Evaluation of the research ..............................................................11
 a. Novelty of the research ........................................................11
 b. Effectiveness ..........................................................................11
 c. Applicability of the research ...............................................12
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................12
REFERENCES ....................................................................................................12
APPENDIX ..........................................................................................................14
 1. Student questionnaire .................................................................................14
 2. Teacher interview ........................................................................................15 THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN
1. Tên sáng kiến: Making use of authentic materials to improve grade 10 
students’ vocabulary
2. Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến: Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn - Tiếng Anh
3. Tác giả:
- Họ và tên: Trần Đức Tồn Nam/Nữ: Nam
- Trình độ chuyên môn: Cử nhân chuyên ngành giảng dạy tiếng Anh
- Chức vụ, đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên tiếng Anh – Trường THPT Ngô Quyền
- Điện thoại: 0395734914 Email:
Tranducton2909@gmail.com
- Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo ra sáng kiến (%): 100% 2
brochures, tickets, TV programs, live talks movies, songs, comics and so forth. 
Throughout the time, researchers like Rings (1986), Peacock (1997) and Gilmore 
(2007) have proved that authentic materials are indispensable within the classroom.
 From my teaching experience, even students who score quite high in the 
exams at school face a great number of difficulties when they read financial 
reports, credit contracts, advertisements, prescriptions and so on. Therefore, it is 
authentic materials that offer students the chances to be exposed to the real 
language which is used frequently by native English speakers. Once they have 
contact with such materials in that way, they will soon get improved with their 
vocabulary competence.
3. The scope of the research and research aims
 This mini research aims to explore the effectiveness of authentic materials 
on vocabulary acquisition among Vietnamese EFL learners, especially grade 10 
students in Ngo Quyen High School. Using authentic materials as teaching source 
can also ensure the feasibility of lessons. Therefore, the following research 
questions are presented as follows,
 1. Do authentic materials benefit students’ vocabulary acquisition ?
 2. How practical are authentic materials in English classes ? 4
 During the research, a population of 80 grade 10 students are drawn from 
two classes, 40 students for each, as control and experimental group. The group 
attending lessons with authentic materials forms the experimental group, while 
the other with conventional lessons forms the control group.
 The two groups will take a pre-test to make sure that they are at the same 
proficiency level. At the end of the second semester, they both take the same 
post-test for score collection purpose. Their scores are treated as data for the 
research and will be analyzed to serve for the findings.
 With the participation of my colleagues, comparisons between the control 
group and the experimental group will be made to examine the effect of authentic 
materials on students’ vocabulary improvement.
 1.2. Data collection procedure
 a. Post-test and pre-test
A pre-test will be conducted in the first week. It is a vocabulary-based test, 
serving to provide the researcher with learners’ competence in English and 
to make sure that the two groups are at the same level.
A post-test at the end of the second term for the two will examine 
students’ improvement groups after 8 weeks treatment.
It is noted that the students are informed about criteria and grading rubrics before 
the test to avoid any possible misunderstanding or ill preparation among students.
 b. Classroom observations
3 colleagues from the English group will participate in the class taught with 
authentic materials once each month. They will observe my class and take 
necessary notes which they later use for their observation reports. During the 
lesson, all teaching and learning steps are videotaped for further analysis.
 c. Student questionnaire
A questionnaire of 5-point Likert scale items will be given to the experimental 
group. It serves to collect the attitude of the students towards the application of 
authentic materials in vocabulary improvement. Necessary instructions on how 
and what to do with the questionnaire are given beforehand.
 d. Teacher interview 6
strategy of using authentic materials. Because authentic materials and activities are 
designed to “imitate the real world situations” ( Herod, 2002), the use of such 
sources leads to greater interest and variety in the materials that learners deal with in 
the classroom (Nunan, 1989). Once students are motivated, they have every reason 
to pursue and benefit from vocabulary learning because such sources of material 
helps bring the contact to life, and ultimately makes learning and using language 
more meaningful and easier for students (Nunan, 1989). Take reading as an example, 
in an investigation on the link between reading authentic novel and vocabulary 
acquisition, Pellicer-Sánchez and Schmitt (2010) discover that the meaning and 
spelling could be recognized for 84% and 76% of the words respectively, while the 
meaning and word class could be recalled for 55% and 63%.
 However, Al Nabhani (2015) points out that the vocabulary from the 
chosen source might not be relevant to the student's immediate needs and above 
their levels. Although the use of authentic texts may prevent lower learners from 
responding in meaningful ways and lead them to feel frustrated, confused and de-
motivated ( Guariento and Morley, 2001), Miller (2005) and McNeil (1994) still 
argue that authentic materials can be used even with lower level learners as long 
as the choice of authentic materials is carried out sensitively.
 3. Adaptation.
Below are some lesson designs with authentic materials from both national and 
international sources.
* Unit 5: Technology And You – Listening: Adapted from BBC news.
Task 1. Listen to the conversation between the two reporters and answer the 
questions based on what you hear. The recording will be spoken TWICE.
1. Why is Neil annoyed?
 A. His smartphone stopped working.
 B. He didn’t finish his book.
 C. His laptop was not good.
 D. He was tired.
2. The survey has found ________ percent of executives said employees were 
 using their own personal computing technologies for business purposes.
 A. 18 B. 88 C. 58 D. 98
 3. What will the woman do if she has a problem with her laptops?
 A. She will try to repair her laptops.
 B. She will call IT supporters.
 C. She will ask her friends for help.
 D. She will talk to other laptop users. 8
 Since our founding in 1993, Safari West has been one of the premier wildlife 
destinations in the United States. Between our expansive wildlife collection and the 
natural beauty of the woods and rolling hills of Sonoma County, Safari West truly is 
the closest you can come to Africa without going there.
 For over twenty years, Safari West has existed as a place for people to meet 
the wonder of the wild face-to-face. We have introduced animals large and small 
to generations of visiting guests, all with the goal of igniting wonder, curiosity, 
and hopefully, compassion. Our mission is to inspire wildlife advocates who will 
help us protect and preserve these beautiful and often endangered creatures.
 Safari West welcomes visitors every day in our ongoing pursuit of this 
mission. Our dedication to conservation, environmental education, stewardship, 
and individual responsibility shows in our many ongoing projects and programs. 
We invite you to join us in this worthy pursuit.
Task 1: List out the advantages of keeping animals in this new kind of zoo. 
Task 2: Work in group. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of 
keeping keeping animals in the Safari in comparison with the Zoo.
* Useful expression
 Giving opinion
 - In my opinion,
 - I think (that)
 - I’m of the opinion that
 - From my point of view, 
 - I suppose that
 Agreement Disagreement
 - I agree that - I disagree that
 - I __________ agree that - I don’t __________ agree that
 - You have my full __________ that - I can’t go ________ with that
 - I’m in agreement with you that  - I’m in disagreement with you that 
Task 3: Make group reports, sharing your views with the rest of the class.
* Unit 11: National Parks – Reading: Adapted from Bach Ma national park 
management website.
 BACH MA MOUNTAIN
 Bach Ma mountain is the wettest place within Vietnam with approximately 
8,000 mm rainfall each year, mainly falling in the period between September and 
December. Areas at the foot of the mountain still receive about 3,000 mm annual