Action Research >>
Learning Vocabulary through Drama Games By Hamorn K. Y. Lau, Grade 1 Homeroom Teacher, hlau@ais.edu.hk American International School of Hong Kong
The first two weeks (stage I) consisted of pre-intervention testing in order to measure children’s initial vocabulary size, word knowledge of the target vocabulary, and reading proficiency. First, all participants took individual Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test with me in order to assess their initial receptive vocabulary size.Then, they were given 10 vocabulary-definition questions, in the format of Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS), of the target words. The words came from a unit of Wordly Wise 3000® Book 1 (Grade 1) which would be taught in “textbook-only” condition at stage II. The children had 20 minutes to complete the pretest, and draw on a sheet of paper to show their word knowledge. The result was analyzed. In addition, Fountas & Pinnell reading assessments were implemented to diagnose participants’ reading levels. Introduction Children’s vocabulary has to grow substantially in order to become proficient readers. Schools which recognize the strong relationship between one’s vocabulary size and his/her reading competence often adopt a textbook-based vocabulary curriculum, such as Wordly Wise 3000 ®. Such a curriculum provides a well-structured vocabulary program and makes teachers accountable for the delivery of explicit vocabulary instruction, which is particularly important to young language learners. However, a textbook-driven vocabulary curriculum offers teachers little space for teaching the prescribed vocabulary creatively. To fill in this gap, I conducted an action research project to investigate how drama games, which might engage learners actively in the learning process, influenced my First-Graders’ vocabulary acquisition. Drama games offer students a lot of opportunities to get actively involved in the cyclical process of acquiring and deepening word knowledge. They also allow young children to recognize and utilize words in various yet meaningful settings in their imagination while transforming traditional vocabulary lessons to a more playful, creative, joyful experience. In this research, it was my intention to explore the impact of a textbook-based vocabulary curriculum which was modified by dramatization, in order to enhance young learners’ learning experience. Method For triangulation purpose, this research adopted a mixed methodological approach, which allowed me to validate and expand quantitative results with qualitative data. In my Grade One class, there were 12 boys and 12 girls, with an average age of 6. Most of them are bilingual (or trilingual) with English as one of their mother languages. A within-subjects design was adopted, i.e. each child experienced both learning conditions (textbook-only and with dramatization).
34 EARCOS Triannual Journal
In the third and fourth weeks (stage II), the unit of Wordly Wise 3000 ® was taught exactly the way prescribed in the teacher manual (i.e., textbook-only condition). At the end of stage II, twenty-four hours after the textbook-only intervention, there were post-intervention VKS and drawings, and a follow-up group discussion. In the fifth and sixth weeks (stage III), students first did another VKS and drawing to assess their pre-intervention word knowledge of the target words which would be taught in with-dramatization condition. The result was analyzed. Words that 80% or more of students were unfamiliar with would be taught through drama games, while familiar words were taught as described in the teacher manual. At the end of the Week Six, twenty-four hours after the intervention, there were post-intervention VKS and drawing, and another group discussion. Different statistical tests were carried out to analyze the collected quantitative data. First, Pearson correlations were used to analyze the relationship between vocabulary size and reading proficiency. Second, paired-samples T tests were executed to investigate students’ performance in textbook-only and with-dramatization conditions. Next, one-way ANOVA (ANalysis Of VAriance) was carried out to compare the means of score change among different categorical groups. I hypothesized that with-dramatization was a more effective intervention than textbook-only in teaching young children new vocabulary. Results and Reflection The data revealed that vocabulary size and reading proficiency have a statistically significant linear relationship (r = .828, p < .001). The direction of the relationship is positive (i.e., vocabulary size and reading proficiency are positively correlated), meaning that these variables tend to increase together (i.e., greater vocabulary size is associated with higher reading proficiency). Even after controlling the effect of exact age (ranged from 6.3 to 7.6), the correlation between vocabulary size and reading proficiency remains unchanged (r =.828,
