VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

VŨ NGỌC HẢI

THE IMPACT OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS‟
VOCABULARY LEARNING: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON 11TH
FORM STUDENTS AT GIA VIEN B HIGH SCHOOL
Tác động của hướng dẫn trực tiếp đến việc học từ vựng của học sinh lớp 11
trường trung học phổ thông Gia Viễn B: Một nghiên cứu hành động

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI, 2016

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VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES
*****************

VŨ NGỌC HẢI

THE IMPACT OF DIRECT INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS‟

VOCABULARY LEARNING: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON 11TH
FORM STUDENTS AT GIA VIEN B HIGH SCHOOL
Tác động của hướng dẫn trực tiếp đến việc học từ vựng của học sinh lớp 11
trường trung học phổ thông Gia Viễn B: Một nghiên cứu hành động

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Dr. Nguyễn Thi Ngo
̣
̣c Quỳnh

HANOI, 2016

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DECLARATION
I, Vu Ngoc Hai, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “The impact of direct
instruction on students‟ vocabulary learning: An action research project on
11th form students at Gia Vien B High School.” is submitted for the partial
fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies,
University of Languages and International Studies- Vietnam National University,
Hanoi. I also declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and efforts and
it has not been submitted for any other purposes.

Hanoi, 2016

Vũ Ngọc Hải


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to my
supervisor Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quynh for her unfailing support, patience and
continuous help in the process of writing up this dissertation. Her insightful ideas
and constructive suggestions have enriched my knowledge about the research in the
field of direct vocabulary instruction and it thus broadened the scope of my project.
Besides, my deep thanks and appreciation also go to all the lecturers and the
staff of the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies at University of Languages and
International Studies for their valuable lectures and knowledge on which my minor
thesis was laid the foundation. In addition, I am also grateful to my lovely 11th form
English major students at Gia Vien B High School who were highly cooperative in
my study.
Last but not least, I deeply indebted to my family whose love and great
support help me complete this thesis.

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ABSTRACT
This study, which is an action research project, sets out to examine the
impact of direct instruction on the vocabulary retention of 11th form student at Gia
Vien B High School in Ninh Binh and to gain their self-evaluation of the impact of

teachers‟ direct instruction on their vocabulary retention at the same time. The
research started with a semi-structure interview to explore students‟ attitudes toward
and their problems in learning vocabulary. Based on results of this analysis, the
researcher decided to design activities to present vocabulary through direct
instruction during a six-week intervention. During this period, the students had to
take a post-treatment test and a delayed post-treatment test which were designed to
measure their retention of taught words. By the end of the intervention, the survey
questionnaire was administered to all students and semi-structured interviews were
carried out with four selected students to find out the students‟ opinions and attitude
toward the impact of teachers‟ direct instruction on their vocabulary retention.
Findings of the study revealed that direct instruction did not make great
improvement in the students‟ vocabulary retention. This might be because the time
of the intervention was not long enough (6 weeks) for the intervention to bring
about significant difference. However, the students‟ attitudes toward vocabulary
learning were positive despite their insignificant change in the test scores.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION ................................................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...............................................................................ii
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................... iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................... vi
LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS ............................................vii
PART A: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1
1. Rationale .......................................................................................................... 1
2. Aims and Objectives of the Study ................................................................. 3

3. Research questions ......................................................................................... 3
4. Method of the Study ....................................................................................... 3
5. Scope of the Study........................................................................................... 4
6. Significance of the Study ................................................................................ 4
7. Organization of the thesis .............................................................................. 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT .............................................................................. 6
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................... 6
1.1 An overview of vocabulary .......................................................................... 6
1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary ....................................................................... 6
1.1.2 Types of vocabulary .............................................................................. 7
1.1.3 Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge ...................................................... 8
1.2 Approaches to vocabulary instruction........................................................ 9
1.3 Direct Instruction ....................................................................................... 10
1.3.1 Definition of Direct Instruction .......................................................... 10
1.3.2 The Characteristics of Direct Instruction ............................................ 11
1.3.3 Process of Direct Instruction ............................................................... 12
1.4 Vocabulary retention .................................................................................. 14
1.5 Related previous studies on the impact of direct instruction on the
students‟ vocabulary learning ................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 2. METHODOLOGY .................................................................. 18

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2.1 Setting of the study ..................................................................................... 18
2.2 Participants ................................................................................................. 19
2.3. Research design.......................................................................................... 19
2.3.1 Rationale for using action research method ........................................ 19

2.3.2 Research procedure ............................................................................. 22
2.4. Techniques of collecting data ................................................................... 25
2.5. Techniques of analyzing data ................................................................... 26
CHAPTER 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................. 28
3.1 Analysis of the preliminary study ............................................................. 28
3.2 Data analysis ............................................................................................... 29
3.2.1 The findings from the post-treatment tests ......................................... 29
3.2.2 The findings from questionnaires ....................................................... 30
3.2.3 The findings from observation ............................................................ 34
3.2.4 The findings from the interviews with the students ............................ 35
3.3 Discussion .................................................................................................... 36
PART C. CONCLUSION ................................................................................ 38
1. Summary of the study .................................................................................. 38
2. Reflection ....................................................................................................... 39
3. Limitations of the study ............................................................................... 40
4. Plan for the next cycle .................................................................................. 40
REFERENCES ................................................................................................. 42
APPENDICES ..................................................................................................... I
Appendix 1: Lesson Plans .................................................................................... I
Appendix 2: Vocabulary post-treatment test ................................................. XVII
Appendix 3: Vocabulary delayed post-treatment test .................................... XXI
Appendix 4: Post-treatment questionnaire for students .............................. XXIII
Appendix 5A: Interview questions for students ......................................... XXVII
Appendix 5B: Transcripts of the students‟ interview ............................... XXVIII
Appendix 6: Classroom Observation Evaluation Sheet ................................ XXX

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

GVB: Gia Vien B
MOET: Ministry of Education and Training
EFL: English Foreign Language

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LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS
Table 1: What is involved in knowing a word………………………………………9
Figure 1: The model of action research………………………………………….....23
Table 2: The results of the students‟ tests……………………………...………......30
Table 3: Students‟ perception of the impact of direct instruction on their retention of
vocabulary………………………………………………………………………….30
Figure 2: Students‟ attitude toward activities in teaching learning process……….32
Figure 3: Students‟ evaluation on teacher‟s vocabulary teaching style……………33
Figure 4: Students‟ attitude to vocabulary teaching learning process……………..34

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Vocabulary is crucial to language learning since it functions as a cornerstone

of language use. According to Nation (2001), “vocabulary learning is not a goal in
itself; it is done to help learners listen, speak, read, or write more effectively” (p.
362). In other words, a necessary skill to strengthen reading and listening
comprehension as well as to communicate successfully is the ability to grasp the
meaning of new words. This can positively impact overall academic success and
can develop skills for real world applications. Rivers (cited in Nunan 1991) also
argued that acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is vital for using second language
successfully because without an extensive vocabulary, we will be unable to use the
structures and functions we may have learned for comprehensible communication.
The vital importance of vocabulary is also reaffirmed through famous line “Without
grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”
(Wilkins, cited in Guo 2010, p. 50). Truly, without vocabulary, there will be no
sentence, no text and no language. Vocabulary learning, therefore, becomes central
to language acquisition, and interest in its role in second language learning has
grown rapidly in recent years.
With two years‟ experience of teaching at Gia Vien B High School (GVB),
the writer has realized that for GVB students who study English as a part of their
general education requirement, vocabulary is an integral part in mastering other
skills. However, through the pre-research observation, the writer found that they
have been facing some obstacles in learning vocabulary. They are: (1) they had
limited number of vocabularies, (2) they had trouble in memorizing the meaning of
words, (3) and they forget taught words quickly. By considering the problems as
mentioned above, the writer conducted more observation and the interview to the
students in the class to get more information. By doing so, the writer explored some
factors causing those problems. They are: (1) the teacher‟s way of teaching is
conventional. Students are just asked to read, repeat and write words all the times. It

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can also be said that teacher‟s vocabulary teaching technique is less varied, (2)
students do not have many chance to review words after the lesson and (3) they are
fed up with monotonous class‟ atmosphere.
Therefore, in order to help the students achieve success in learning
vocabulary, an appropriate method for teaching vocabulary is very urgent. As
known, there are a lot of common methods such as contextual learning, definition
instruction, strategy instruction, direct instruction, to name just a few. Direct
instruction is defined as a teacher-led instructional procedure in that students are
provided with specific instructions on the task, modeling, teacher-led practice,
independent practice, and frequent feedback on their performance (Bender, cited in
Rockwell 1995). According to Rosenshine (1979), direct instruction has the
following characteristics: an academic focus; a teacher-centered focus; and use of
factual questions; and controlled practice in instruction. Direct Instruction, as
Setiawan (2010) stated, not only uses more controlled and repetitive delivery of
instruction, but also provides the teacher with strict guidelines for lesson
presentation, their introduction of successive skills. It also gives students the chance
to work independently, work in groups when taking part in vocabulary games.
Based on this background, the writer finds that direct instruction will be easier for
the teacher to conduct the students in teaching learning process. In addition, the
repetition delivery of vocabulary instruction can help the students review newly
learned words. What is more, the students will no longer be passive ones obediently
sitting in desks and taking notes because they will be given the opportunities to take
part in the activities in groups. The teaching learning process becomes more
interesting for them.
From the explanation above, it can be concluded that direct instruction
method can be applied for dealing with the difficulties which GVB students have
been encountering. As a result, the writer is motivated in conducting an action
research on the impact of direct instruction on 11th-form students' vocabulary

learning at GVB High School.

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2. Aims and Objectives of the Study
The study aims to find out the impact of direct vocabulary instruction on
vocabulary learning of 11th-form students at GVB High School in Ninh Binh.
Therefore, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives:
a. To explore the impact of direct vocabulary instruction on students‟
vocabulary retention
b. To gain understanding of the students‟ opinions of and attitudes towards
direct vocabulary instruction regarding its impact on their vocabulary retention in
order to inform my approaches to vocabulary instruction.
3. Research questions
With the above-stated aims and objectives in mind, the researcher designed
and conducted this action research project in order to seek answers to the following
research questions:
1. To what extent does direct vocabulary instruction impact the students‟
vocabulary retention as measured by the post-treatment test and the delayed posttreatment test?
2. How do the students self-evaluate the impact of teacher‟s direct
vocabulary instruction on their vocabulary retention?
4. Method of the Study
As the aim of the study is to improve the teaching of vocabulary to the
writer‟s own students, the study adopted an action research approach. The data were
collected by means of:
-


Tests (post-treatment test and delayed post-treatment test)

-

Questionnaires

-

Interviews.

These three research instruments are used in this study to collect data for
preliminary study, the process and the effects that the action created, and reflection
on the action cycle.

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5. Scope of the Study
To improve student‟s vocabulary learning, EFL teachers can use varieties of
techniques. However, this study merely focused on studying how effective
vocabulary direct instruction is to students‟ retention of vocabulary. Type of
vocabulary was introduced to the students through direct instruction method was
receptive vocabulary.
This action research was applied in six sessions. The action was carried out
for 11th form students in a class of 37 students at GVB High School. The collected
data were analyzed and discussed to figure out how vocabulary direct instruction
works to help improve 11th form students‟ vocabulary learning. Then some
solutions were proposed to improve the quality of teaching and learning vocabulary.

6. Significance of the Study
For the teachers of English division, this study is hoped to bring them the
detailed and full view on the reality of teaching and learning vocabulary at 11th form
students of GVB High School, and the necessary use of Direct Instruction to
improve vocabulary learning of students. As a result, they can apply this method in
teaching vocabulary. It is also hoped that for the students who learn English as a
compulsory subject at High School, this action research can provide them easy ways
to memorize vocabulary. In addition, they are also given chance to practise
vocabulary which helps them improve the ability of vocabulary retention.
7. Organization of the thesis
The study consists of three major parts:
Part A, Introduction, presents the rationale of the study, the aims and
objectives, the research questions, the method, the scope, the significance and the
design of the study, and review of previous studies.
Part B, Development, includes three chapters:
Chapter 1, Literature Review, reviews the theories on vocabulary, types of
vocabulary, aspects of vocabulary; approaches to vocabulary instruction; retention;
and the overview of direct instruction including definition, characteristics, process.

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Chapter 2, Methodology, describes the setting of the study, the participants
and materials used during six sessions of the research. Moreover, this chapter shows
how the researcher applied the data collection instruments and my procedure of
conducting the study.
Chapter 3, Data analysis and findings, the writer used quantitative and
qualitative method to study and analyze the figure and information collected.

Part C, Conclusion, gives a summary of the study, reflection, limitations of
the study, and plan for the next cycle.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
In order to lay a foundation for this research, some theoretical background
knowledge concerning concepts of vocabulary, the role of vocabulary in second
language learning, vocabulary acquisition and direct instruction have been
reviewed.
1.1 An overview of vocabulary
1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary
There are various definitions about vocabulary from researcher to researcher,
even though from dictionary to dictionary and it depends on the criteria in terms of
linguistic, semantic. According to Ur (1996, p. 60), vocabulary can be defined,
roughly, as words we teach in a foreign language. However, a new item of
vocabulary may be more than a single word: for example, post office and mother-inlaw, which are made up of two or three words but express a single idea. There are
also multi - word idioms such as call it a day, where the meaning of the phrase
cannot be deduced from an analysis of the component words. In other words, it can
be understood that vocabulary is the total number of words in a language. It can be a
single word, two or three word items expressing a single meaning even though
multi – word idioms used in specific contexts.
Hatch and Brown (1995, p. 1) argued that the term vocabulary refers to a list
or set of words for particular language or a list of words that individual speakers of
language use. Since vocabulary is a list, the only system involved is alphabetical
order. The choice in vocabulary selection and methods used in teaching vocabulary

are important factors. Sharing the same idea with Hatch and Brown, Hornby (1995,
p. 1331) states that “vocabulary is the total number of the words” (with their
meaning and with rules for combining them) making up the language.
From the definitions above, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the total
number of words which are needed to communicate ideas and express the speaker‟s
means. That is the reason why it is essential to learn vocabulary.

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1.1.2 Types of vocabulary
There are varieties of kinds of vocabulary. Harmer (1998, p. 159) adds that
active vocabulary refers to vocabulary that students have been taught or learnt and
which the students will recognize when they meet then but which they will probably
not be able to produce. Haycraft (cited in Hatch & Brown 1995) divides two kinds
of vocabulary, namely receptive and productive vocabulary.
a.

Receptive vocabulary is words that the learners recognize and

understand when they occur in context, but which cannot produce correctly. It is
vocabulary that the learners recognize when they see it in reading context but do not
use it in speaking and writing. The receptive vocabulary is also called a passive
process because the learner only receives thought form others. In language
application, the receptive vocabulary is considered the basic vocabulary. It is much
larger than productive vocabulary because there are many words recognized when
the learner hears or reads but do not use when he speaks or writes. In these respects,
Richards and Rodgers (1987, p. 308) give a profound explanation that the listening

vocabulary is larger than speaking vocabulary and similarly to the reading
vocabulary that is relatively larger than writing vocabulary.
b.

Productive vocabulary is the words that the learners can understand,

pronounce correctly, and use constructively either in speaking or writing. It involves
what is needed for receptive vocabulary plus the ability to speak or write at the
appropriate time. Therefore, productive vocabulary is also called active vocabulary.
In conclusion, the learners are in receptive control of the words that they
understand when they hear them or read them. Meanwhile, the learners are
in productive control of the words that they use to express themselves, in speech or
in writing (Benjamin & Crow, 2012). In this research, receptive vocabulary in
reading texts is chosen to introduce to the students through direct instruction
approach because direct instruction was proved to be effective once it was done
prior to a reading and reviewed or assessed after the reading (Coyne et al., 2009).

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1.1.3 Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge
When teaching vocabulary, three significant aspects teachers need to be
aware of and focus on are form, meaning, and use (Lessard-Clouston,
2013).According to Nation (2001), the form of a word or a phrase involves its
pronunciation (spoken form), spelling (written form), and any word parts that make
up this particular item which consist of prefix, root, suffix. The meaning of a word
surrounds the way that form and meaning work together. In other words, the
meaning of a word or a phrase is the concept and what items it refers to, and the

associations that come to mind to the people when they see that word or that phrase
(Nation, 2001). Nation (2001) stated that the use of a word or a phrase involves the
grammatical functions of the word or phrase, collocations that normally combine
with it, and any constraints on its use. There are both receptive and productive
dimension for form, meaning, and use. Therefore, Lessard-Clouston (2013) claimed
that knowing the three aspects of each word or phrase relates to 18 types of lexical
knowledge which is summarized in the following table.
Aspect

Component
Spoken

Receptive knowledge
What

does

the

word How

sound like?
Written

Productive knowledge
is

the

word


pronounced?

What does the word look How is the word written
like?

Form
Word parts

What

and spelled?
parts

are What

word

recognizable in this word? needed

to

parts

are

express

the


meaning?
form
meaning
Meaning concepts
and

and What meaning does this
word form signal?
What is included in this What word form can be
concept?

used

referents

to

express

meaning?

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this


associations


What other words does What items can the concept
this make people think of? refer to?

grammatical

In what patterns does the In

what

patterns

must

functions

word occur?

collocations

What words or types of What words or types of

people use this word?

words occur with this words must people use

Use

one?

with this one?


constraints

Where, when, and how Where, when, and how

on use

often would people expect often can people use this
to meet this word?

word?

Table 1: What is involved in knowing a word
(Adapted from Nation, 2001, p.27)
In this research, receptive vocabulary is selected to teach through direct
instruction. Therefore, the table above is really useful for teacher research so that
she knows which components should be mentioned and focused when presenting
and reviewing vocabulary.
1.2 Approaches to vocabulary instruction
According to Hornby (1995), “teaching” is defined as giving instruction to
somebody‟s knowledge, skill, etc. Based on his explanation, teaching vocabulary is
an activity that the teacher gives the students knowledge about vocabulary and how
to use it.
To get the best result on language learning, it is important to choose good
and appropriate technique in teaching vocabulary. There are numerous techniques
that can be applied in introducing vocabulary. Allen (1983) suggested some
techniques of introducing vocabulary that can be prepared and chosen as follows:
a. Demonstration
The technique, which belongs to demonstration, is gesture and action
performing. The teacher can use real objects and command, or demonstrate the


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material using of real objects available in the classroom namely, book, pencil, table,
and board.
b. Visual aids
Visual means something visible. Teacher may use visual aids such as
flashcards, photograph, blackboard, drawings, wall figures, and realia in the
teaching of vocabulary to enable students to observe and identify the objects
vividly. Besides, visualization may interest the students in their learning vocabulary.
c. Verbal Explanation
Verbal explanation can be conducted through definition and translation.
Allen (1983) states that teacher can use explanation in the students‟ own language,
definitions in simple English, and using vocabulary that students have already
known to show the meaning. For example, the word “raincoat” can be introduced
by explaining what it looks like and when it is usually used.
d. Word List
Vocabulary selection should be paid attention to carefully by English teacher
when using word list technique. The words selected to teach should be suitable to
the students‟ need and their level.
It goes without saying that all these techniques are more or less useful for a
particular situation, student‟s level or kinds of vocabulary, the best way would be in
many cases to combine them and use several together when presenting vocabulary.
In this thesis, the writer could be flexible in choosing suitable techniques to
demonstrate or explain vocabulary. However, verbal explanation is not an effective
technique to introduce vocabulary because definitions do not appear to be useful
instructional tools as explained by Marzano (2014).

1.3 Direct Instruction
1.3.1 Definition of Direct Instruction
Direct Instruction is defined as an approach to teaching. It is skills-oriented,
and the teaching practices which it implies are teacher-directed. It emphasizes the
use of small-group, face-to-face instruction by teachers and aides using carefully

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articulated lessons in which cognitive skills are broken down into small units,
sequenced deliberately, and taught explicitly. (Carnine, 2000; Traub, 1999, cited in
Carnine, Silbert, Kame'enui, & Tarve 2013). Bender in Sylvia Rockwell (1995, p.
54) defines direct instruction as a “teacher-led instructional procedure in that
students are provided with specific instructions on the task, modeling, teacher-led
practice, independent practice, and frequent feedback on their performance”. Direct
instruction is mentioned as a pre-planned approach with “brisk paced instruction”
that enables students to learn systematically through steps and a sequence of wellorganized assignments (Engelmann, Hanner, & Johnson, cited in Parker 2014).
Bursuck and Damer (2007) contributed a clear and adequate notion of the
components of direct instruction in the following ways: explicit instruction is the
clear, direct teaching of skills and strategies; systematic instruction is teaching that
clearly identifies a carefully selected and useful set of skills and then organizes
those skills into a logical sequence for instruction.
It is also stated that direct instruction means teaching specific words, such as
pre-teaching vocabulary prior to reading a selection. It is estimated that students can
be taught explicitly some 400 words per year in school (Beck, 2013).
In general, the term direct instruction refers to (1) instructional approaches
that are structured, sequenced, and led by teachers, and/or (2) the presentation of
academic content to students by teachers, such as in a lecture or demonstration. In

other words, teachers are “directing” the instructional process or instruction is being
“directed” at students.
1.3.2 The Characteristics of Direct Instruction
According to Marzano (2004), the main characteristics of effective direct
instruction include:
a. Effective vocabulary instruction does not rely on definitions;
b. Students must represent their knowledge of words in linguistic and
nonlinguistic ways;

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c. Effective vocabulary instruction involves the gradual shaping of word
meanings through multiple exposures;
d. Teaching word parts enhances students‟ understanding of terms;
e. Different types of words require different types of instruction;
f. Students should discuss the terms they are learning;
g. Students should play with words;
h. Instruction should focus on terms that they have a high probability of
enhance academic success.
Teacher researcher followed these characteristics of direct instruction strictly
and applied them in her vocabulary teaching as well as vocabulary revision.
1.3.3 Process of Direct Instruction
According to Arends (1997, p. 82), direct instruction relies heavily on the
preposition that much of what is learned comes from observing others. The behavior
of others, both good and bad, thus becomes a guide for the learner‟s own behavior.
Learning by imitation saves students much needless trial and error. The teaching
procedure of direct instruction is as follows:

1. Clarify goals and main points
a. State the goals or objectives of the presentation ;
b. Focus on one thought (point, direction) at a time;
c. Avoid digressions;
d. Avoid ambiguous phrases or pronouns.
2. Give step- by- step presentations
a. Present the material in small steps;
b. Organize and present the material so that one point is mastered before the
next point is given;
c. Give explicit, step- by- step directions (when possible);
d. Present an outline when the material is complex.
3. Carry out specific and concrete procedures
a. Model the skill or process;

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b. Give detailed and redundant explanations for difficult points;
c. Provide students with concrete and varied examples.
4. Check for students‟ understanding
a. Be sure that students understand one point before proceeding to the next
points;
b. Ask students questions to monitor their comprehension of what has been
presented;
c. Have students summarize the main points in their own words;
d. Re-teach the parts of the presentation that the students have difficulty in
comprehending, either by further teacher explanation or by students tutoring other
students.

Meanwhile, Marzano (2004) suggested six-step process to effective
vocabulary direct instruction. They are:
a. Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term;
b. Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their
own words;
c. Ask students to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation
of the term;
d. Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their
knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks;
e. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another;
f. Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with
terms.
In this research, the writer follows six-step process suggested by Marzano
(2004) for numerous reasons. First of all, the six-step process suggested by Marzano
has been proved to have positive effects on students‟ vocabulary achievement in a
series of studies (Marzano, 2006a, 2006b; Gifford & Gore, 2008; Dunn, Bonner, &
Huske, 2007, cited in Marzano 2010). Moreover, direct instruction can be regarded
as a powerful tool that can be used in classrooms at any grade level (Marzano,

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2004). Secondly, the steps in teaching procedure of direct instruction are logic and
scientific. In specific, there is a balance between introducing new term[s to students
and reviewing them. The first three steps are applied when introducing a term to
students while the last three ones are used when the teacher reviews newly learned
term. These later ones need not be executed in sequence as long as the students can
get more knowledge of vocabulary. At last, these six steps are easy for the author of

this investigation to apply during the process of conducting the research at GVB
High School. In specific, each step in Marzano‟s process describes the vocabulary
instructions clearly; therefore, it provides the teacher research a strict guideline for
her vocabulary presentation as well as vocabulary revision. In addition, this process
consists of six steps, which is convenient for teacher researcher to apply during six
sessions.
1.4 Vocabulary retention
Retention is defined as “an ability to recall or recognize what has been learnt
or experienced; memory” (Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary, 1992, p. 773).
Vocabulary retention has been defined as “the ability to recall or remember
things after an interval of time. In language teaching, retention of what has been
taught (e.g. grammar rules and vocabulary) may depend on the quality of teaching,
the interest of the learners, or the meaningfulness of the materials” (Richards &
Schmidt, 2002, p. 457). Bahrick (1984) states that how well people remember
something depends on how
deeply they process it. How deeply people understand words depends on repeating,
re-cycling, and re-presenting vocabularies as well as re-noticing them by the
learner.
According to Frost (2008), human mind‟s ability to retain information can be
divided in to short-term memory and long-term memory based on the duration of
memory retention. Short-term memory is used to store or hold information while it
is being processed while long-term memory retains information for use in anything
but the immediate future. The object of vocabulary learning is to transfer the lexical

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information from the short-term memory to the more permanent long-term memory

(Schmitt, 2000). In this study, short-term memory is considered as the initial
memory of the word meaning at the end of the lessons whereas the number of words
can be recalled at the next lessons or at the end of the study.
1.5 Related previous studies on the impact of direct instruction on the students‟
vocabulary learning
A number of studies have investigated the effects of direct instruction on the
students‟ vocabulary learning.

Some recent studies have been selected and

discussed here.
Setiawan (2010) contends that direct instruction method could improve the
students‟ vocabulary mastery. In specific, it helped the children remember the
meaning of words easily and motivated them to learn vocabulary.
The National Reading Panel‟s findings suggest that direct instruction in
vocabulary is effective in improving both vocabulary and comprehension
(McCardle & Chhabra, 2004).
Beck and McKeown (2007) carried out two studies with kindergarten and
first grade children from low achieving schools. The first study compared a direct
instruction approach to no instruction. The direct teaching of words consisted of the
following steps: The word was contextualized in the story, the meaning was
explained, children were asked to repeat the word, additional examples of the word
in context were provided, children made judgments about examples, children
constructed their own examples, and the word meaning was reinforced through
subsequent questioning. The no instruction group did not receive direct instruction
but did participate in daily read-aloud as a part of the school‟s curriculum. The
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-3, 1997) and pre/posttests were used to
examine the extent of learning. Students who received direct instruction on
vocabulary learned significantly more vocabulary. In the second study, the authors
compared two groups receiving the same direct instruction as described in the first


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study, the only difference was the amount of instructional time. The gains were
twice as large for the students who received more instruction.
Biemiller and Boote (2006), after conducting two studies to compare the
effects of repeated reading without word explanations to repeated reading with
direct instruction of word meaning, came to a conclusion that direct explanations of
word meanings while reading stories provides explicit opportunities for children to
relate words to meaning.
Direct instruction can be beneficial for older students. Middle school and
high school curricula rely heavily on textbooks, which include a great number of
multisyllabic words that are barriers to comprehension. Analyzing word parts can
help to infer the meaning of 60% of multisyllabic (Bromley, 2007). Students can
analyze words and independently determine meaning if knowing the meaning of
common root words and affixes. Bromley (2007) states that explicit instruction that
focuses on meaning and word structure can help students connect unknown words
to known words. Older students should be taught to break down multisyllabic words
to aid them in analyzing word parts.
Kucan et al. (2006) conducted a professional development initiative which
describes a collaborative effort between high school teachers and university faculty
to enhance vocabulary instruction in secondary classrooms. Teachers were taught
how to develop rich representations of word meanings through the usage of various
classroom activities. Some of these activities included teaching students how to
locate synonyms and antonyms, constructing visual representations, comparing and
contrasting words, identifying examples and non-examples, and reading words in
multiple contexts. Teachers were also taught how to help their students learn about

how words work. These activities are: (a) direct instruction of root word and affix
meanings, (b) teaching students how to identify root words and affixes, (c) teaching
students the parts of speech and how to identify them, and (d) getting students
generate various forms of words. This study‟s findings provide support for direct
instruction.

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