JIMMA UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

LANGUAGEAND LITERATURE

(GRADUATE PROGRAM)

A COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF CONTEXTUAL AND STRUCTURAL

METHODS OF TEACHING VOCABULARY TO GRADE 11 STUDENTS: GEMBE

PREPARATORY SCHOOL IN FOCUS

ATHESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE IN

PARTIA FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS IN TEACH
ING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TEFL)

BY: TAMIRU TIBEBU

PRINCIPAL ADVISOR: ANDINET SHIMELIS (PhD)

CO- ADVISOR: DANIEL TAYE (PhD)
JUNE, 2017
 A Comparative Study on the Effects of Contextual and Structural
Methods of Teaching Vocabulary to Grade 11 Students: Gembe
Preparatory School in focus

BY:

Tamiru Tibebu

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of English Language and Literature

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Masters In
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)

Department of English Language and Literature

College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Jimma University

JUNE, 2O17
JIMMA, ETHIOPIA
 A Comparative Study on the Effect of Contextual and Structural
Methods of Teaching Vocabulary to Grade 11 Students: Gembe
Preparatory School in focus

BY:

Tamiru Tibebu

A Thesis Submitted to the Department of English Language and Literature

in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for Masters for the degree of masters
in teaching English as a Foreign Language ( TEFL)

Department of English Language and Literature

College of Social Sciences and Humanities
Jimma University

JUNE, 2O17
JIMMA, ETHIOPIA
Declaration
Research Title: A comparative study on the effects of contextual and structural methods of teaching
vocabulary to grade 11 students: Gembe preparatory school in focus.

I, the undersigned, declare that this research thesis is my original work, not presented for any degree in
any universities, and that all the sources used for it are duly acknowledged.
________________ __ _________ _______ __________________
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Confirmation and Approval
This thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as a thesis advisor.
Principal Advisor:
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Co-Advisor:
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Thesis Evaluators
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i
Dedication
This study is dedicated to my beloved mother who opened my eyes and let me to see today, W/ro
Askalech Mekonnen who passed away in 2008/2016.

ii
Acknowledgements

Above all, I commend my Almighty God on his throne for his indescribable help from my birth till
today. Next, I am greatly indebted to several people who have contributed to the completion of this
study in one way or another. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my research advisors
Andinet Shimelis (PhD) and Daniel Taye (PhD) for their valuable professional assistance, constructive
comments, and unreserved guidance throughout the course of the study.

I would like to extend my acknowledgement to Desalegn (the principal of Gembe Preparatory School)
for his kindness to cooperate and to organize the participants of this study through offering his advices
and to all grade 11th selected students those who had involved in the pretest, attending lessons and sat
for the post test without reluctance as well as to those who helped me during my study in the university
in one another.

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Abstract

The main objective of this study was to investigate the comparative study on the effects of contextual
and structural methods of vocabulary teaching in Gembe preparatory school focusing on grade 11.To
achieve the intended objective of this study pure experimental research design was used for this study in
which the pre- post test design were used. Methods of teaching vocabulary (independent variable) and
the academic achievement (dependent variable) were the two variables of this study. 75 sample
populations were selected through systematic sampling technique. Before the data were collected by the
pretest the pretest items were triangulated by pilot and Alberta k, 12 and the validity of the test items
were cheeked. After that the data were collected from the pre-post test scores reports. Addition to the
total results of each students in each group and average to get the average results in each group by
dividing the total results to the total numbers of students in each group. These pre-post test score results
were presented side by side for the two groups to know the change that had seen as a result of
independent variable (contextual and structural teaching methods).These results were triangulated in the
SPSS 20 software and analyzed in to mean, standard deviation and Pearson correlation the results were
similar. Based on the analysis made of this study, the findings of this study were identified. The finding
this study were the students that had been taught in the contextual (experimental) group test scores
shows significance differences from the students that had been taught by the structural method in the
post test and the test scores of the students those who had been taught by the contextual vocabulary were
greater than the test scores of students those who had been taught by the structural vocabulary teaching
method. This suggests that teaching vocabulary within the context is more effective than teaching
vocabulary by analyzing over the root words in teaching vocabulary. On the basis of the above findings
the following recommendations were given: knowing a word involves knowing its form and meaning at
the basic level. In deeper aspects it means the abilities to know its meaning. Therefore, both contextual
vocabulary and structural vocabulary teaching methods should be used in teaching vocabulary that
students will understand words meaning, form and structures. Teaching vocabulary prefer well-
organized teachers who provide by incorporating word structure, forms and in context acquisition and
retention of vocabulary items. More researches will be recommended for the future researchers those
who will be interested to conduct on this topic.

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 Tables of content
Contents Table of Contents
page
Declaration ................................................................................................................................................... i
Dedication ................................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................... iv
Tables of content ......................................................................................................................................... v
Lists of tables ........................................................................................................................................... viii
List of abbreviations and key terms ........................................................................................................... ix
CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background of the study .................................................................................................................. 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................................. 4
1.3. Objectives of the study ..................................................................................................................... 7
1.3.1. General objective ....................................................................................................................... 7
1.3.2. Specific objectives ..................................................................................................................... 7
1.4. Research Hypotheses........................................................................................................................ 7
1.5. Significance of the study .................................................................................................................. 7
1.6. Delimitation of the study .................................................................................................................. 8
1.7. Limitations of the Study ................................................................................................................... 8
1.8. Definition of key terms .................................................................................................................... 8
CHAPTER TWO: ..................................................................................................................................... 10
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ................................................................................................ 10
2.1. Concepts of vocabulary .................................................................................................................. 10
2.2. Historical overview of teaching and learning vocabulary .............................................................. 11
2.3. The Implication of Teaching Vocabulary in EFL class ................................................................. 11
2.4. Vocabulary teaching and Its Importance ........................................................................................ 12
2.5. The essential components of vocabulary instruction ..................................................................... 15
2.6. Characteristics of good vocabulary teaching methods ................................................................... 15
2.7. Principles of teaching and learning vocabulary ............................................................................. 16
2.8. Key steps in vocabulary teaching ................................................................................................... 17
2. 9. The Current Status of Vocabulary Teaching ................................................................................. 17
2.10. How words are remembered ........................................................................................................ 18
2.10.1. Short - term store ................................................................................................................... 18
2.10.2. Working memory................................................................................................................... 18
2.10.3. Long –term memory .............................................................................................................. 19
2.11. Contextual and structural methods of teaching vocabulary ......................................................... 20
2.12. Types of contextual clues ............................................................................................................. 21
2.12.1. Definition: .............................................................................................................................. 21
2.12.2. Example: ................................................................................................................................ 21

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 2.12.3. Comparison and contrast: ...................................................................................................... 21
2.12.4. Summary:............................................................................................................................... 21
2.12.5. Synonyms: ............................................................................................................................. 21
2.12.6.Antonyms................................................................................................................................ 21
2.12.7. Restatement: .......................................................................................................................... 21
2.12.8. Using background knowledge ............................................................................................... 21
2.12.9. Punctuation marks ................................................................................................................. 21
2.13.0. Similarity ............................................................................................................................... 22
2.13.1. Surrounding words ................................................................................................................ 22
2.14. Second Language Guessing From Context Studies ..................................................................... 22
2.15. Variables which might affect teaching contextual clues .............................................................. 22
2.16. Ways to use contextual clues or guessing more effectively ......................................................... 23
2.17. Structural Method of Vocabulary Teaching ................................................................................. 23
2.17.1. Main features of structural vocabulary teaching ................................................................... 26
2.17.2. Morphological analysis of words .......................................................................................... 26
2.17. 1. Dictionary ............................................................................................................................. 26
2.17.2. Synonyms .............................................................................................................................. 27
2.17.3. Antonyms............................................................................................................................... 27
2.17.4. Teaching root words .............................................................................................................. 28
2.17.5. Teaching prefix ...................................................................................................................... 28
2.17.6. Teaching Suffixes .................................................................................................................. 28
2.17.7. Words often confused ............................................................................................................ 29
2.17.8. Homonyms............................................................................................................................. 29
2.17.9. Hyponymy of Words ............................................................................................................. 29
2.18. Word web/ Word map .................................................................................................................. 30
2.18.1. Word Map .............................................................................................................................. 30
2.18.2. Phrasal verbs .......................................................................................................................... 30
CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................. 31
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY .................................................................................... 31
3.1. Research Design ............................................................................................................................. 31
3.2. Target population ........................................................................................................................... 31
3.3. Sample size and sampling technique .............................................................................................. 32
3.4. Setting............................................................................................................................................. 32
3.5. Instrument of data collection .......................................................................................................... 32
3.5.1. Testing ..................................................................................................................................... 32
3.6. Method of Interventions ................................................................................................................. 33
3.7. Data collection procedures ............................................................................................................. 33
3.8. Reliability and Validity of Instrument ........................................................................................... 34
3.9. Methods of data analysis ................................................................................................................ 34
3.10. Data Analysis Procedures............................................................................................................. 34

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 3.11. Ethical Considerations.................................................................................................................. 35
CHAPTER FOUR ..................................................................................................................................... 36
4.1. Analysis and Discussions of Data .................................................................................................. 36
4.2. The demographic information of the selected subjects .................................................................. 36
4.3. Analysis on the result of pre-post test scores of the selected students. .......................................... 37
4.3 Analysis on the experimental and controlled group in SPSS 20 software ...................................... 39
4.3.1. Analysis on the results of the experimental group .................................................................. 39
4.3.2. Analysis on results of controlled group ................................................................................... 42
CHAPTER FIVE ...................................................................................................................................... 48
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................. 48
5.1. Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 48
5.2. Conclusions .................................................................................................................................... 49
5.3. Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 50
References ................................................................................................................................................. 51
APPENDIXES .......................................................................................................................................... 58
APPENDIX A ........................................................................................................................................... 58
Appendix B ............................................................................................................................................... 65
APPENDIX C ........................................................................................................................................... 73
Appendix D ............................................................................................................................................... 74
Appendix E ............................................................................................................................................... 75
Appendix F................................................................................................................................................ 82
APPENDIX G ........................................................................................................................................... 91
APPENDIX H ........................................................................................................................................... 92
APPENDIX I ............................................................................................................................................ 93
APPENDIX J ............................................................................................................................................ 94
APPENDIX K: .......................................................................................................................................... 95
APPENDIX L ........................................................................................................................................... 96

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 Lists of tables

Table.1. Demographic information of the respondents ............................................................................ 37

Table.2. Analysis of Pretest results and post test results of the selected students .................................. 38

Table.3. Reliability Statistics for pilot test for experimental group .......................................................... 40

Table 4 .Case Processing Summary for experimental group .................................................................... 40

Table .5.Inter-Item Correlation Matrix on the experimental test items .................................................... 41

Table .6. Analysis on the test scores in mean, Std. Deviation and Std. Error......................................... 41

Table.7. Analysis on the confidence interval of the mean difference ....................................................... 42

Table 8.Case Processing Summary for control group .............................................................................. 43

Table .9.Inter-Item Correlation Matrix for items in the tests .................................................................... 43

Table.10. Reliability Statistics of pilot test for control group................................................................... 44

Table.11. Analysis on the results of the structural test scores in mean, Std. Deviation and Std. Error
Mean ......................................................................................................................................................... 44

Table.12. Analysis on the confidence interval of the mean difference ..................................................... 45

Table.13. Analysis on the relations of the effects of vocabulary teaching between contextual and
structural methods ..................................................................................................................................... 46

Table.14.Summary of the analysis for contextual and structural test scores in the pre- post-test ............ 47

viii
List of abbreviations and key terms

IV: Independent variables.

DV: Dependent variables.

EFL: English as a foreign language

ESL: English as a second langua

SLA: Second language acquisition..

Contextual” vocabulary acquisition is the active, deliberate acquisition of a meaning for a word in a text
by reasoning from textual clues (www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/Papers/context.auconf.pdf).

Structural vocabulary: is vocabularies that formed through morphological analyses of the word
(Filmore and Snow 2000).

PPMC: Person product moment correlation

DV: Dependent variable

IV: Independent variable

LTM: Long Term Memory

STM: Short Term Memory

WM: Working Memory

SLA: Second Language Acquisition

SPSS: Statistical Package For The Social Sciences

Approach: One of the most terms used in language teaching.

Methods: Show the way in which the contents are going to be presented.

Techniques: All the activities that are implemented in real classroom situations

Syllabus: summary outline of a course of study

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 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the study

The method of language teaching has been changing from grammar translation to direct method then to
communicative approach. But it was only during the communicative approach that the prominent role of
vocabulary knowledge in second or foreign language learning has been recognized by researches in the
field. The current popular communicative approach of language learning has emphasized meaningful
interactive over form. It also recognized that the vocabulary teaching and learning strategies that student
uses have a great importance on the success of their vocabulary knowledge (Hatch and Brown, 1995).

Languages are based on words (Thombury, 2002) is almost impossible to learn a language without
words; even communication, between human beings, is based on words. Therefore, teaching these words
is a crucial aspect in teaching-learning a language. Both teachers and students agree that acquisition of
the vocabulary is a central factor in teaching a language (Walter ,2004).However, there is no clear
strategies on how to teach vocabulary .Early teaching methods ,for example the direct method and the
Audio lingual method, concentrated on grammar rather than vocabulary. Recently, the communicative
language teaching method (CLT) is the advent to thinking about teaching vocabulary more extensively
(Nation, 2001).

Language is the most powerful and central tool in achieving our educational goal. When it comes for
examining language, words are focal points and we begin our investigation of language structure by
looking at words from four of the following perspectives: these perspectives are their parts that are
meaningful, their sounds of syllables that make them up, the principles that organize them into phrases
and sentences and the semantic relationships that link them in sets. It is only through language, a person
tries to express his/her thought, feelings, moods, aspiration which influences the ultimate and deepest
foundation of the society (Nelson and Stage, 2007).

Knowledge and skill of using words in different context play a crucial role in the comprehension of new
concepts, ideas, feelings and principles. Learners are greatly benefited in their learning that has got
experience in the use of words in different context. Laufer (1997) indicates that vocabulary teaching is
one of the most important aspects of language learning and language use in different context. It is
generally divided in to active and passive vocabulary.

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In language teaching and learning, vocabulary is a basic issue since words play a significance role in
expressing our feelings, emotions, and ideas to others. This means without vocabulary no amounts of
grammatical or other types of linguistic knowledge can be obtained in second language and is of great
significance to language learners (Zimmerman,1997).Words are a significance components of a
language since they name objects , actions ,ideas without which people cannot convey the intended
meanings. Vocabulary is important to access knowledge, express our ideas, communicate effectively and
learn about new concepts. Therefore having good knowledge of vocabulary is mandatory in order to
understand or convey message in communication and to pursue and succeed in one’s learning. Harmer
(1991) said that if language structure makes up the skeleton of the language then, the vocabulary
provides the vital organs and the flesh. Harmer further states that an ability to manipulate grammatical
structure does not have any potential for expressing meaning unless words are used. In order to improve
students' vocabulary, it has to be taught as the most essential aspect of the language. The students’
vocabulary knowledge is strongly linked to their academic success because students who have sufficient
knowledge of vocabulary can understand new ideas and concepts more quickly than students with
limited knowledge of vocabulary.

The major role of vocabulary knowledge in second or foreign language learning has recently been
recognized by researchers in the field. Accordingly, numerous types of methods, exercises, and practice
have been introduced in to the field to learn vocabulary. It has also been indicated that learning
vocabulary should not only consists of learning specific word but also aim at equipping learners with
strategies necessary to expand their vocabulary knowledge (Nation,2001).The prominent role of
vocabulary knowledge in second or foreign language learning has been recently recognized by theorists
and researchers in the field. Accordingly, numerous types of strategies, exercises and practice have been
introduced into the field to teach vocabulary. It has also been suggested that teaching vocabulary should
not only consist of teaching specific words but also aim at equipping learners with strategies necessary
to expand their vocabulary knowledge (Nation, 2001). Although each strategy contributes to success or
failure, consistent employment of certain types of strategy forms a means to vocabulary learning that
may considerably influence the outcomes of L2 learning. Vocabulary knowledge is an important
element in foreign language or second language acquisition. A student can increase vocabulary
knowledge formally in the classroom and informally through communication with others and through
out of class activities.

2
A student can increase vocabulary knowledge formally in the classroom and informally through
communication with others and through out of class activities. The most efficient way to increase learner
awareness is to provide strategy training. Strategies-Based Instruction (SBI) is a learner- centered
approach to teaching and it may include both implicit and explicit integration of teaching strategies into
the course content. In a typical SBI classroom, teachers describe and model strategies, draw facts from
students’ learning experiences, lead discussions about strategies, encourage students to try to employ a
variety of strategies and integrate strategies into class materials (Cohen, 2003).

Through structural approach we can learn English or any other language fluently. Structural approach
teaches to learn sentences in a systematic manner which involves the structure, sequencing and pattern
arrangement of words to make proper and complete sentences with meaning (Jitendra, Edwards, Sacks,
& Jacobson, 2004). Whereas Contextual vocabulary teaching is the active, deliberate acquisition of a
meaning for a word in a text by reasoning from textual clues and prior knowledge, including language
knowledge and hypotheses developed from prior encounters with the word, but without external sources
of help such as dictionaries or people (www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/Papers/context.auconf.pdf).

Vocabulary is the knowledge of words and word meanings. As Steven (2005,p.95) puts it, "Vocabulary
knowledge is the knowledge of a word not only implies a definition, but also implies how that word fits
into the world." Vocabulary knowledge is not something that can ever be fully mastered; it is something
that expands and deepens over the course of a lifetime. Instruction in vocabulary involves far more than
looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in a sentence. Vocabulary is acquired incidentally
through indirect exposure to words and intentionally through explicit instruction in specific words and
word-learning strategies.

Vocabulary instruction is a crucial component of reading instruction. The goal of vocabulary instruction
is to help students learn the meanings of many words so they can communicate effectively and achieve
academically. Effective vocabulary instruction requires educators to intentionally provide many rich,
robust opportunities for students to learn words, related concepts, and their meanings. Students need
strong instructional opportunities to build their personal warehouse of words, to develop deep levels of
word
According to Fan (2003), the inadequacy in lexical knowledge may hinder students’ language
proficiency development. Students may lack adequate vocabulary due to their inability to employ
appropriate vocabulary teaching methods which, in turn, might make them lose interest in learning EFL.

3
The researcher was motivated to conduct this research in Gembe preparatory school by comparing
contextual and structural vocabulary teaching methods since these methods are very important in
teaching vocabulary. Furthermore, the research was motivated to their significant differences in the
achievements of students in learning vocabulary.
In light of this, the purpose of this study is to investigate the comparative study on the effect of
contextual and structural methods of vocabulary teaching to grade 11 students of Gembe preparatory
school in focus.
1.2. Statement of the Problem

According to Locke, Spirduso, and Silverman (2013), the purpose of statement problem indicates that
why the researchers want to do the study and what the researchers intend to accomplish. Vocabulary
learning and teaching has not been given due consideration for many years. Although it was believed
that vocabulary could be thought only in isolated word lists for a long time, nowadays there are lots of
ways to teach and learn vocabulary. The most common ideas among them is the fundamental importance
of vocabulary in communication and in language learning it is believed that the more words we know ,
the more fluently we can communicate (Schmitt 2000 ,Coady & Hucking 2000 , Richards and Renandy
2002 ) .

Despite the fact of vocabulary teaching, as Carter (1988) indicated, for many years vocabulary has been
the victim of discrimination by researchers who claimed syntax to be more significant issue in the
language development process. As a result, vocabulary teaching and learning has not received enough
attention in English language teaching-learning context. Mastering vocabulary is one of the most
challenging tasks that any learners face while acquiring another language (Hyikos and Fan,2007)
.Because vocabulary knowledge is a multidimensional and complex construct (Read,2000 ),and knowing
a word involves numerous types of word knowledge , such as meaning ,word form ,collocation and
register (Nation ,2001) .

In the contextual teaching vocabulary, Context clues are those that are included around the unknown
word, whether in the same sentence or not, that help the reader understand the target word. These clues
do not always work and sometimes are actually distracting. Part of the teacher modeling of word solving
should include examples of non-directive or miss-directive clues (Nash and Snowling, 2006).

4
Recent research indicates that teaching vocabulary may be difficult because many teachers are not
confident about the best vocabulary teaching methods to practice vocabulary teaching and at times do
not know where to begin to form an instructional emphasis on word learning (Berne and Blachowicz,
2008). Teaching words is a crucial aspect in learning a language as languages are based on words
(Thornbury, 2002). It is almost impossible to learn a language without words; even communication
between human beings is based on words. In the structural vocabulary teaching, Word parts or
morphology focuses on prefixes, suffixes, roots, bases, word families, cognates—basically anything
inside the word that can help the reader figure out the word(Nash and Snowling, 2006). Guessing from
context as a way of dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary in un edited Selections have been suggested
widely by L1 and L2 reading specialists (Dubin, 1993).
Generally, knowing a word involves knowing its form and meaning at the basic level. In deeper aspects
it means the abilities to know its meaning (Harmer, 1993). Meaning, i.e. relate the word to an
appropriate object or context, Usage, i.e. knowledge of its collocations, metaphors and idioms, as well as
style and register (the appropriate level of formality), to be aware of any connotations and associations
the word might have, Word formation, i.e. ability to spell and pronounce the word correctly, to know
any derivations (acceptable prefixes and suffixes), and Grammar, i.e. to use it in the appropriate
grammatical form of word learning. The previous research had not been done in this study on the
comparative effectiveness of contextual and structural teaching of vocabulary (Jitendra, Edwards,
Sacks, & Jacobson, 2004).
In fact, local studies were addressed on the vocabulary teaching in that three local studies have been
reviewed for this study. Aweke (2016), assessing the proficiency of teaching vocabulary in the case of
Haramaya university model school on grade 9 students. The result of this study show that teachers did
not use vocabulary teaching techniques intended in the text book properly because of lack of awareness
about the importance and the vocabulary teaching techniques. Similarly, other study conducted by Bikila
Wayessa (2016) on an assessment of the practice of teaching vocabulary in EFL class: Kelemework
preparatory school grade 11 English language teacher in focus. The finding indicates that there was a
gap between the teachers’ practice of teaching vocabulary and methodological aspect of teaching
vocabulary.
The other study that had been made by Miressa (2014), on the assessment of the practice of vocabulary
teaching strategies in EFL classes in the case of Kellem secondary school of grade 9 and 10 which had
been conducted on English teachers result indicated that the English language teachers did not practice

5
different vocabulary teaching strategies in EFL classes. Furthermore, Getinet Gidey (2008), conducted
research on vocabulary –learning strategy use in the case of high and law achiever students in Gonder
College of teacher education result indicated the relationship between vocabulary- learning strategy use
and language learning achievements.
The topic of the study was different from the above studies that conducted by different scholars since the
study was done on grade 11 preparatory students and focus on the two vocabulary teaching methods
which are contextual vocabulary teaching method and structural vocabulary teaching method. In similar
way, the researcher’s observation shows that though vocabulary is a crucial component of a lesson in
EFL class particularly in Ethiopian English language classroom from primary to preparatory level. Not
few most of Gembe preparatory school students faced difficulties like feel nervous speaking English
,silent listener rather than active participation during instructional process.
The other difference of this study from the above studies is the presence of the poor performance of
students in writing and communicating in English during the instruction process in the class room due to
the lack of word power. Thus the reason behind the difficulty of writing and communicating in English
may be due to the absence of sufficient vocabulary in their memory that retrieved during writing
discourse. Due to the complexity of the writing skill, a great majority of EFL learners find it difficult to
produce acceptable compositions. One of the most factors that seem to be preventing learners from
attaining proficiency and consequently being good performers in writing is the lack of vocabulary.

The problem behind the lack of vocabulary which is in turn results in a poor writing achievement is
mainly due to the fact that EFL teachers do not make use of the strategies that enable the students to
learn easily new words and consequently to have a good vocabulary knowledge that help them to have
the required writing skill. The practical experiences in Gembe preparatory school in the vocabulary
knowledge shows the poor performance of students in vocabulary knowledge which resulted in the poor
performance of students in the writing skill. These practical experiences have been observed through the
teaching experiences of the researcher since the researcher has been teaching grade 11 in the school. The
previous research had not been conducted on this topic at woreda level and school level since the
preparatory began 200 7(2015/2016). This initiated the researcher to conduct research on the vocabulary
teaching methods focusing the effect of these two methods.

6
1.3. Objectives of the study

1.3.1. General objective

The main objective of this study was to investigate the comparative study on the effects of contextual
and structural teaching of vocabulary the case of G 11 preparatory students in Gembe.

1.3.2. Specific objectives

Based on the above general objective the specific objectives were:

1. To examine the effect of structural method of teaching vocabulary.

2. To find out the effect of contextual method of teaching vocabulary.

3. To compare whether the contextual or the structural teaching of vocabulary methods are equally
effective.
4. To find out which method of teaching vocabulary is more effective.
1.4. Research Hypotheses

Based on the statements of the problem and objectives of this study the null hypotheses were designed
as follows.
Ho 1.There is no significance difference between the mean scores of the students that will be
Taught using the contextual and structural methods of teaching vocabulary
Ho 2.The mean scores of the students that were taught using contextual teaching method of vocabulary
is equal with students that were taught with structural teaching method of
Vocabulary
Ho 3. Structural method of teaching vocabulary does not have any significant effect on
Learner’s academic achievement
Ho 4. Contextual method of teaching vocabulary is equally effective with structural vocabulary
teaching methods.
1.5. Significance of the study

This study will be important for teachers and students since its result provides valuable information on
the comparative study on the effect of contextual and structural teaching of vocabulary. In addition, it
helps material designers so as to develop helpful in preparing different modules that can facilitate
vocabulary teaching –learning techniques. More importantly, the findings of this study may serve as an
input for other researchers interested to explore the vocabulary teaching strategies employed by students

7
in a more detailed manner under different contexts. Finally, show the way for other researchers that
conduct the study on similar issues.
1.6. Delimitation of the study

The study was delimited to Gembe preparatory school which is located in Oromia Region, Jimma zone,
Gomma district, Gembe Town. The subjects of the study were only grade 11 students in the academic
year of 2016/2017. The study was involving 75 students as a representative sample. The research was
mainly focus on the two vocabulary teaching methods which are believed whether to have relationship
or differences with their language achievement

1.7. Limitations of the Study

This was an experimental study that only included a small number of participants. A larger sample from
different preparatory school would definitely yield more generalizable findings. As a result, conclusions
deduced or generalized from such a narrow context and recommendation provided might not serve
definitely the case of all preparatory schools throughout Gomma Woreda and the study does not offer
any conclusive findings about the comparative study on the effect of teaching vocabulary and also the
findings may not be generalized. .In addition to this, investigating study in a single school was difficult
to generalize to the rest of the schools and students

1.8. Definition of key terms

Vocabulary: “words that a reader recognizes in print” and “learning meanings of new words” (Beck,
McKeon, & Kucan, 2008).

Contextual” vocabulary acquisition is the active, deliberate acquisition of a meaning for a word in a
text by reasoning from textual clues and prior knowledge, including language knowledge and
hypotheses developed from prior encounters with the word, but without external sources of help such as
dictionaries or people (www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/Papers/context.auconf.pdf).

Structural vocabulary: is vocabularies that formed through morphological analyses of the word. It is
process of breaking the words into prefixes, root and suffixes to illustrate the meanings Filmore and
Snow (2000).

VLS: vocabulary learning strategy.

8
Comprehension: “understanding written text “(Tannenbaum, Torgesen, &Wagner, 2006 p.381).

Context: “the language that surrounds a given word or phrase “(Moats, 2005:p.68).

ELLS: English language learners.

Phonology:” Rule system within a language by which phonemes (individual speech sounds can be
sequenced, combined, and pronounced to make words

IV: Independent variables.

DV: Dependent variables.

EFL: English as a foreign language

ESL: English as a second language

SMTV: Structural method of teaching vocabulary

CMTV: Contextual method of teaching vocabulary

SLA: Second language acquisition.

Alberta K-12 ESL: Is a bench mark of a language proficiency test developed in Alberta institution as an
informed standard based assessment.

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching.

PPMC: Person product moment correlation

CPS: Case processing summary

CI: Confidence interval

SPSS: Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

Approach: One of the most terms used in language teaching.

Methods: Show the way in which the contents are going to be presented

9
 CHAPTER TWO:
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The purpose of this chapter is to review some relevant literature what has been written in the literature
on the issue related to the current study. This section discussed concepts and theoretical frame work of
the comparative study on the effects of contextual and structural methods of vocabulary teaching, the
major role of vocabulary, key features of contextual and structural methods of vocabulary teaching and
the major components of vocabulary teaching discussed in details.
2.1. Concepts of vocabulary

Graves (as cited in Taylor, 1990) define vocabulary as the entire stock of words belonging to a branch of
knowledge or known by an individual learner .He also states that the lexicon of a language is its
vocabulary knowledge, which includes words and expressions. Krashen (as cited in Herrel, 2004)
extends Graves ‘definition further by stating that lexicon organizes the mental vocabulary in speaker’s
mind. In relation to this, vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas and content together… making
comprehension accessible for students (Rupley; Logan & Nichols, 1998/1999) .Therefore, vocabulary is
central to language and of critical importance to the typical language learner .On the other hand,
vocabulary is the words we must know to communicate effectively both productive and receptive
vocabulary.

Words are the building blocks in a language. By learning the lexical items, we start to develop
knowledge of the target language. Based on our experience of being a language learner, we seem to
have no hesitation in recognizing the importance of vocabulary in L2 learning. Meara (1980) points out
those language learners admit that they encounter considerable difficulty with vocabulary even when
they upgrade from an initial stage of acquiring a second language to a much more advanced level.
Language practitioners also have reached a high degree of consensus regarding the importance of
vocabulary. The findings in Macro’s survey (2003) indicate that secondary language teachers view
vocabulary as a topic they most need research to shed light on to enhance the teaching and learning in
their classrooms. Therefore, it may be claimed that the role of vocabulary in L2 learning is immediately
recognized and implications for teaching from substantial research are in great demand.

Morphemes are better known as word parts root words or base words and affixes (also known as
prefixes and suffixes). Results from one study with 4th and 5th graders indicated that students who
understood morphology were more successful at learning academic vocabulary and comprehending text

10
(Kieffer and Lesaux, 2007). In addition, researchers have posited that knowledge of morphology can
help substantially increase the breadth and depth of one’s vocabulary (Edwards, et al., 2004).

2.2. Historical overview of teaching and learning vocabulary

Reviewing the literature on the history of vocabulary of foreign language teaching, it becomes clear that
vocabulary has been treated differently throughout the periods of different approaches. Despite the fact
that vocabulary teaching and learning has been central in both teaching and learning process , there were
periods when this vital area of teaching was virtually neglected (Ccelce-Murcia , 2001) .

The proponents of structural linguistics, particularly Fries (as cited in Ccelce-Murcia, 1994) held the
view that grammar was the very starting points of the language learning process. Advocating
behaviorists’ view points, Fries considered language as a process of developing a set of habits through
drilling. As far as much emphasis was put on grammatical and phonological structures of a language the
introduced vocabulary was rather simple. In the 1960s, Chomsky, developing a theory called
transformational –generative grammar, rejected view points of both behaviorists and structuralism. The
proponents of this approaches claimed that language learning was a mental process rather than a process
of developing habits (Nunan, 2003) .In contrast to behaviorism and structural linguistics, generative
linguistics paid more attention to vocabulary.
2.3. The Implication of Teaching Vocabulary in EFL class

In dealing with teaching vocabulary, one thing that is important to know and understand how students
learn and develop vocabulary.Thornbury (2002) declares the implications of teaching vocabulary
regarding how learners learn and develop vocabulary as follows:
A. learners need tasks and strategies to help them organize their mental lexicon by building networks of
associations.
B. teachers need to wean themselves off reliance on direct translation from their mother tongue.
C. words need to be presented their typical contexts, so that learners get a feel for their meaning, their
register, their collocation, and their syntactic environments.
D. teacher should direct attention to the sound of new words, particularly the way they are stressed.
E. learner should aim to build a threshold vocabulary as quickly as possible.
F. learners need to be involved in the learning of words.
G. learners need multiple exposures to words and they need to retrieve words from memory repeatedly.
H. memory of new words can be reinforced if they are used to express personally relevant meaning.

11
I. not all the vocabulary that the learners need can be taught: learners will need plentiful exposure to talk
and text as well as training for self-directed learning.
2.4. Vocabulary teaching and Its Importance

Words are the building blocks in a language. By learning the lexical items, we start to develop
knowledge of the target language. Based on our experience of being a language learner, we seem to
have no hesitation in recognizing the importance of vocabulary in L2 learning. Meara (1980) points out
those language learners admit that they encounter considerable difficulty with vocabulary even when
they upgrade from an initial stage of acquiring a second language to a much more advanced level.
Language practitioners also have reached a high degree of consensus regarding the importance of
vocabulary. The findings in Macro’s survey (2003) indicate that secondary language teachers view
vocabulary as a topic they most need research to shed light on to enhance the teaching and learning in
their classrooms. Therefore, it may be claimed that the
role of vocabulary in L2 learning is immediately recognized and implications for teaching from
substantial research are in great demand.
Vocabulary is obviously a very important element within a language as the overwhelming majority of
meaning is carried lexically; and, therefore, something to be taken into consideration both in Second and
Foreign Language Teaching. ((McCarthy 1990). Vocabulary teaching is one of the most important
components of any language class. The main reason is the fact that it is a medium, which carries
meaning; learning to understand and express the meaning is what counts in learning languages. As
pointed out by Harmer (1992,p.14), “Words are the building blocks of language and having a good
supply of them is very important for students’ right from the beginning of their English learning.”
(Krashen, 1998, p. 33) clearly states: Vocabulary is basic to communication. If acquirers do not
recognize the meanings of the key words used by those who address them, they will be unable to
participate in the conversation. And if they wish to express some ideas or ask for information, they must
be able to produce lexical items to convey their meaning.
Teaching individual words explicitly should be done meaningfully and through a systematic approach
so that students will establish routines for learning. These are the three steps and four strategies for
teaching individual words explicitly (Beck, McKeon, & Kucan, 2002; Graves, 2006):
1. Identify the potential list of words to be taught.
2. Determine which of these words to teach.
3. Plan how to teach the words using the following strategies:

12
 3.1. Provide a student-friendly definition.
3.2. Use the word in context and give contextual information.
3. 3.Provide multiple exposures.
3.4. Offer opportunities for active involvement.
According to Graves (2006), clearly explains that there are more words to be learned than can be
directly taught in even the most ambitious program of vocabulary instruction. Explicit instruction in
word-learning strategies gives students tools for independently determining the meanings of unfamiliar
words that have not been explicitly introduced in class. Since students encounter so many unfamiliar
words in their reading, any help provided by such strategies can be useful (Nash and Snow ling, 2006).
According to a recent review by Rub net al.(2007) , with regard to the intervention studies relating to
language learning methods teaching students learning strategies , if effectively done ,increase not only
their knowledge of strategies but also motivation and performance. In a large number of studies ,
instructing students to employ different methods of vocabulary teaching have yielding positive
outcomes and , training has been found to be successful ( Chamot , Barnhardt , El-Dinary & Robbins
,1999: Oxford ,1990 : Mizumoto & Takeuchi ,2009) .

Dictionary use teaches students about multiple word meanings, as well as the importance of choosing
the appropriate definition to fit the particular context. Morphemic analysis is the process of deriving a
word's meaning by analyzing its meaningful parts, or morphemes. Such word parts include root words,
prefixes, and suffixes.

Structural analysis is particularly suited for reading complex words in the upper grades. When a word is
divided into multilateral parts (ma/lig/nant), there are fewer units to blend than when analyzing a word
into phonics letter patterns. With fewer units to blend word identification is faster. When the word parts
themselves give the child insight into word meaning, adding new words to the child’s reading
vocabulary becomes much more efficient. The child who recognizes many word parts has a larger
reading vocabulary and better comprehension than the child who recognizes few word parts (Deacon &
Kirby, 2004; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006).

Context clues are the words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, pictures, and other text features that give
clues to the meaning of an unknown word. Using context to determine an unknown word is
highly recommended as an effective word learning strategy (Blachowicz 2005; Graves, 2006). Teaching

13
context clues involves good planning, explicit instruction, and opportunities for students to practice and
receive feedback using the gradual release of responsibility (Blachowicz 2005; Pearson & Gallagher,
1983).
Contextual analysis involves inferring the meaning of an unfamiliar word by scrutinizing the text
surrounding it. Instruction in contextual analysis generally involves teaching students to employ both
generic and specific types of context clues (Beck, McKeon, & Kucan, 2008).Instruction in specific
types of context clues is an effective approach for teaching students to use context to infer word
meanings. Baumann and his colleagues recommend teaching five types of context clues: definition,
synonym, antonym, example, and general. This sample lesson model can be adapted and used to
enhance contextual analysis instruction in any commercial reading program (Beck, McKeon, & Kucan,
2008).

According to Baumann (2010), context clues are important to teach because:

 The meaning of the word is sometimes stated in the sentence or sentences before or after the
unknown word.
 There may be clues in the sentence or sentences before or after the unknown word.
 Some texts provide the meaning of the word, but students may overlook it.
 The most helpful hints are often found in the same sentence, but students do not recognize these
hints.
 Some clues may be misleading. Students need to take the initiative and ask, “Does this
meaning make sense in this context?”

Research indicates that contextual word teaching is more effective than non-contextual word teaching
(Biemiller and Boote, 2006). Therefore, in teaching vocabulary, it is important to provide meaningful
learning experiences for students. One way of nurturing vocabulary development and retention is to
teach words in context. Divorcing words from their surroundings decreases the likelihood of
comprehension and retention and it was emphasized that new vocabulary should only be met in
sentences and meaningful contexts (Richards and Rodgers 2001). So, setting a good context which is
interesting, plausible, vivid and has relevance to the lives of the learners, is an essential prerequisite for
vocabulary teaching as it helps in both engaging the attention of the learners and naturally generating the
target vocabulary. Maintaining the context and making sure the language surrounding the context is easy
to comprehend, the teacher should start eliciting the target vocabulary.

14
Elicitation ensures that the learners work towards understanding the meaning as this is more likely to
help them remember and recall the vocabulary taught. Moreover, elicitation also makes the classroom
more learner-centered, and helps the learners make connections between the old and the new. One must
remember here that our learners are, as Tudor (2001, p. 15) puts it, “not…blank sheets of paper onto
which a pre-ordained body of knowledge can be transferred in a neat, predictable manner.”

2.5. The essential components of vocabulary instruction

Students can also learn vocabulary through indirect and direct exposure to words in a variety of
language contexts. For example, students can learn vocabulary indirectly when they engage in
conversations with others, through read aloud, and through independent reading (Armbruster, Lehr, &
Osborn, 2001). Students can learn vocabulary directly when teachers target individual words and
promote word-learning strategies (Armbruster et al., 2001). According to Michael Graves (2006), there
are four essential components of vocabulary instruction listed below.
 Providing rich and varied language experiences
 Teaching individual words explicitly
 Teaching word-learning strategies
 Fostering word consciousness
2.6. Characteristics of good vocabulary teaching methods

Vocabulary instruction that improves comprehension generally has the following characteristics:
 multiple exposures to instructed words,
 exposure to words in meaningful contexts,
 rich or varied information about each word ,
 the establishment of ties between instructed words and
 Students’ own experience and prior knowledge
 And an active role by students in the word-learning and teaching process.

On the other hand, Hunt and Begler (2002) suggest that learners need to be taught word learning
strategies for inferring words from contexts as well as those which can help them retain the words they
have encountered. Nowadays it is generally accepted that vocabulary teaching should be part of the
syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some authors, led by Lewi (1993) argue that
vocabulary should be at the centre of language teaching, because 'language consists of Grammaticalised

15
lexis, not lexicalized grammar'. Therefore, the incorporation of vocabulary into the curriculum is
essential for increasing students’ literacy skills, not only in the EFL classroom but in all areas.
knowledge, and acquire a toolbox of strategies that aids their independent word acquisition (Biemiller
and Slonim, 2001).

knowledge, and acquire a toolbox of strategies that aids their independent word acquisition (Biemiller
and Slonim, 2001).
2.7. Principles of teaching and learning vocabulary

However many theories about vocabulary teaching learning process were written, it still remains the
matter of memory. Thus, there are several general principles for successful teaching, which are valid for
any method. According to Wallace (1988) , the principles are:
Aim – what is to be taught, which words, how many.
Need – target vocabulary should respond students’ real needs and interests
Frequent- exposure and repetition.
Meaningful presentation – clear and unambiguous denotation or reference should be assured
Quantity: number of words set aside as in put
Situation analysis: such as formality, variety etc
Always should be in contextual: Surrounding the new word
Learner’s need: means depending up on learner’s interest and need
Learning vocabulary is a complex process. The students’ aim to be reached in learning vocabulary
process is primarily their ability to recall the word at will and to recognize it in its spoken and written
form.
Generally, knowing a word involves knowing its form and its meaning at the basic level. In deeper
aspects it means the abilities to know its (Harmer, 1993):
Meaning, i.e. relate the word to an appropriate object or context
Usage, i.e. knowledge of its collocations, metaphors and idioms, as well as style and register (the
appropriate level of formality), to be aware of any connotations and associations the word might have
Word formation, i.e. ability to spell and pronounce the word correctly, to know any derivations
(acceptable prefixes and suffixes),
Grammar, i.e. to use it in the appropriate grammatical form
According to Kaivanpanah and Alavi (2008), following the principles below will enhance the
effectiveness of teaching vocabulary by the use of contextual clues:

16
  Highlight the contextual clues that lead to the meaning of the target word.
 Select texts in which the target words occur a few times.
 To enhance accuracy of student’ inferences of target words
 Teach them background knowledge of the text
 Look up the word meanings in a dictionary to validate the accuracy of their inferences,
2.8. Key steps in vocabulary teaching

On vocabulary, teaching there are four basic steps; these steps are listed and discussed as follow.
A. Pronounce, Classroom observations indicate that, far too frequently, the teacher is the only person
who pronounces and uses the academic language of the disciplines. Thus, the first step in teaching a new
term is guiding students in correctly pronouncing the word. This will support learners in decoding the
word confidently, while also supporting both auditory and muscle memory (Shivwits, 2003).
B. Explain, Understanding the meaning of a new term requires a clear explanation of the meaning,
using language familiar to the students (Beck et al., 2002). If possible, provide a synonym or known
phrase to solidify the connection between the new vocabulary term and the student’s prior knowledge.
C. Provide Examples, Students will usually need at least two or three examples of a new term to firmly
grasp the meaning. Moreover, these examples should be drawn from a variety of contexts, not only the
one used in the reading or lesson, (Beck et al., 2002).
D. Elaborate, Research in cognitive psychology consistently indicates that learners understand and
remember information better when they elaborate on it themselves, (Marzano et al., 2001).Thus,
students’ understanding of new vocabulary terms is strengthened when they are given opportunities to
elaborate word meanings by generating their own additional examples and visual representations.
2. 9. The Current Status of Vocabulary Teaching

During the last three decades, the outlook on vocabulary has radically changed and researchers have
shown outpouring interests towards this area. Therefore, the movement toward effective methodologies
for teaching vocabulary has emerged and researchers and language teachers have also suggested many
strategies and techniques for vocabulary learning, which are dependent on the efforts of each learner
(Cohen & Macaro, 2007; Mizumoto& Takeuchi, 2009). 19 Nowadays it is generally accepted that
vocabulary teaching should be part of the syllabus, and taught in a well-planned and regular basis. Some
authors, led by Lewi (1993) argue that vocabulary should be at the Centre of language teaching, because
'language consists of grammaticalised lexis, not lexicalized grammar'. Therefore, the incorporation of

17
vocabulary into the curriculum is essential for increasing students‟ literacy skills, not only in the EFL
classroom but in all areas.
Thus, Vocabulary instruction that improves comprehension generally has the following characteristics:
multiple exposures to instructed words, exposure to words in meaningful contexts , rich or varied
information about each word ,the establishment of ties between instructed words and students‟ own
experience and prior knowledge and an active role by students in the word-learning process. On the
other hand, Hunt and Begler (2002) suggest that learners need to be taught strategies for inferring words
from contexts as well as those which can help them retain the words they have encountered.
2.10. How words are remembered

Unlike the learning of grammar, which is essentially a rule based system, vocabulary knowledge is
largely a question of accumulating individual items.
The general rule seems to be a question of memory. And during the process of teaching and learning
vocabulary an important problem occurs: How does memory work? Researchers into the workings of
memory distinguish between the following systems (Thornbury, 2002).
Short– term store
Working memory
Long– term memory

2.10.1. Short - term store

Short-term store is the brain capacity to hold a limited number of items of information for periods of
time up to a few seconds. It is the kind of memory that is involved in repeating a word that you have just
heard the teacher modeling. But successful vocabulary learning involves more than holding words for a
few seconds. To integrate words into long - term memory they need to be subjected to different kinds of
operations.

2.10.2. Working memory

Working memory means focusing on word long enough to perform operations on them. It means the
information is manipulated via the senses from external sources and/or can be downloaded from the
long- term memory.
Material remains in working memory for about twenty seconds. The existence of articulator loop
enables this new material processing. It works a bit like audiotape going round around again. It assures
the short- term store to be kept refreshed. The ability to hold a word in working memory is a good

18
predictor of language learning aptitude. The better ability to hold words in working memory the
smoother the process of learning foreign languages is.

2.10.3. Long –term memory

Long-term memory can be seen as kind of filling system. Unlike working memory, which has a limited
capacity and no permanent content, this kind of memory has an enormous capacity and its contents are
durable over time.
However, to ensure moving new materials into permanent long-term memory requires number of
principles to be followed, described by Thornbury, 2002:
Repetition – repetition of encounters with a word is very important, useful and effective. If the word is
met several times over space interval during reading activities, students have a very good chance to
remember it for a long time.
Retrieval - another kind of repetition. Activities, which require retrieval, such as using the new items in
written tasks, help students to be able to recall it again in the future.
Spacing - it is useful to split memory work over a period of time rather than to mass it together in a
single block.
Pacing – to respect different learning styles and pace, students should be ideally given the opportunity
to do memory work individually.
Use - putting words to use, preferably in an interesting way, is the best way of ensuring they are added
to long – term memory. This is so called “Use it or lose it” principle.
Cognitive depth - the more decisions students make about the word and the more cognitively
demanding these decisions are, the better the word is remembered.
Personal organizing - personalization significantly increased the probability that students will
remember new items. It is achieved mainly through conversation and role-playing activities.
Imaging – easily visualized words are better memorable than those that do not evoke with any pictures.
Even abstract words can be associated with some mental image.
Mnemonics – tricks to help retrieve items or rules that are stored in memory. The best kinds of
mnemonics are visuals and keyword techniques.
Motivation - strong motivation itself does not ensure that words will be remembered. Even unmotivated
students remember words if they have to face appropriate tasks.
Attention - it is not possible to improve vocabulary without a certain degree of conscious attention.

19
2.11. Contextual and structural methods of teaching vocabulary

According to Weatherford (1990), Context Based Approach of vocabulary learning is the most effective,
and it saves lot of time of the learner that is wasted in going to dictionary again and again. Contextual
evidence helps the learner to find out the meanings of the new words. It is based on teaching the
meanings of new words by having them used in different contexts surrounding the words. There are two
types of context: Pedagogical context/ Instructional context and natural context. The instructional
context refers to sentences specifically written to introduce the meanings of the new words. The natural
context refers to text sentences written to communicate ideas of the text. To understand the meanings of
the new words, the students need to know the information related to the topic in which the words are
embedded. Difficult words can also be explained by giving summary of it. For example, she speaks
without break and do not give chance to anybody else to speak in the meeting. She is really a loquacious
lady. In this respect, referent words, synonyms, antonyms, hyponyms, definitions, alternative and
restatement help to reach at the meanings of the words.

Context based approach not only helps the reader to know the meaning of the words but also help and
facilitate in the use of them. It develops independent learning habits, inculcate problem solving approach
and promote active learning process. The words that have got different meanings with the same spellings
and pronunciation are very difficult to be learnt without context based approach. For example, the word
pen is also used as a noun and verb, and at the same time it has also got the meanings a shed where
poultry birds are kept. In the same way, the sentence such as his fur coat was coated with ice. He left her
alone on the left bank of the river. There is no point in drying your clothes if they are already dry. She
pointed at me and made a very pointed remark. She drew the curtains to make the room lighter, and then
lighted her cigarette with a lighter. After he had drunk the whisky, the drunk was very drunk indeed. The
referee who refereed the match matched the toughness of the player. It is very difficult to memorize the
meanings of the words without any context. The contextual information helps the learner to understand
the meanings of the words that have got different meanings. Every word has its own usage context. It is
ineffective for students to master words from the concrete situation if the teacher explains them
monotonously and abstractly. Lack of context makes vocabulary learning difficult. Words taught in
isolation are generally not remembered. Therefore the background knowledge of words is very
important in vocabulary teaching. Coady (1987) suggests that background knowledge may serve as

20
compensation for certain syntactic deficiencies. Students pay attention to the content and show much
interest in background knowledge. Some related words are remembered effectively and firmly.

2.12. Types of contextual clues

Context clues are indicators of the meaning of a word. Such clues may be in the sentence that contains
the word or somewhere else in the text within close proximity (Stahl, 1991). Context clues include
definitions, example, comparison and contrast, summary, synonyms and antonym.

2.12.1. Definition: Often the writer defines the meaning of the word right in the sentence or gives
enough explanation for the meaning to be clear.

2.12.2. Example: Many times an author helps the reader get the meaning of a word by providing
examples that illustrate the use of the word

2.12.3. Comparison and contrast: Comparison and contrast usually show the similarity and difference
between persons, ideas, and things.

2.12.4. Summary: A summary clues sums up a situation or an idea with a word or a phrase.

2.12.5. Synonyms: Very often the reader can find in the same passage a familiar word that relates to a
subject in a manner similar to the way that the unfamiliar term does.

2.12.6.Antonyms :Words with opposite meanings may be found in the same context .Since the
background knowledge of words is very important in vocabulary teaching , it is important to enhance
accuracy of student’ inferences of target words and teach them background knowledge of the text.

2.12.7. Restatement: The writer may use other words, phrases, or sentences to provide meaning of
difficult words. The key words used in restating something: « in other words», «that is », « that is to
say»

2.12.8. Using background knowledge: Since the background knowledge of words is very important in
vocabulary teaching, it is important to enhance accuracy of student’ inferences of target words and teach
them background knowledge of the text.

2.12.9. Punctuation marks: the writer uses punctuation marks to describe the meaning of unfamiliar
words. The author will write unfamiliar words and then use punctuation, words, phrases or sentences to

21
explain new words. Punctuation marks such as - , commas, ―‖ inverted commas, ( ) parentheses; semi-
colon and: colon. E.g. Family members (siblings) should always stick together.

2.13.0. Similarity: the writer uses signal words of similarity. Key words – ―like, ‖‖ similarly,‖ in the
same way‖, ―as‖, and ―just as.‖ as/as ,similar to etc.

2.13.1. Surrounding words: words surrounding the new vocabulary might provide clues to the meaning
of new words. For example- Children are too young to understand that swallowing gum can be
dangerous.

2.14. Second Language Guessing From Context Studies

Walter (2006) conducted a study to compares the effectiveness of three methods in training ESL
students, through reading, how to guess the meaning from the context. He examined “ teaching the use
of an overall strategy to be used when encountering unknown words in text, instruction in recognizing
and interpreting specific context clues found in text and developing awareness of context through
practice with close exercise”(p.177).He found that, amongst others the general strategy was the most
positive method. Hence, he recommended that this strategy be taught to beginners and the two other
strategies be used for upper intermediate and advanced learners. Furthermore, Huckin and Jin (1987)
investigating the effectiveness of teaching-learning L2 advanced learners how to guess. By doing a pre-
test and a post-test, they compared experimental and controlled groups. The results showed that the
experimental group, which receive fifteen minute training sessions, improved more than the controlled
group,

2.15. Variables which might affect teaching contextual clues

Teachers and learners ought to be aware about some variables which might influence the skill of
guessing the unknown words from context. Some researchers mentioned factors which might negatively
affect guessing from the context. For instance:

 The number of the unknown words in the text;

 The number of contextual clues;

 Variability of the context;

 Relevant clauses;

22
  To what extent the clues were explicit;

 The importance of the unknown words;

 Readers prior knowledge of the topic;

 Familiarity of the concept to the reader (Ames, 1966) .

2.16. Ways to use contextual clues or guessing more effectively

In order to come over obstacles mentioned above, learners ought to come through a process of training
sessions. They should read a large quantity of texts because ,reading as much they do ,would result in
them in encountering more new words and, thus teaching-learning(Nation,2001).Moreover ,Li(1988)
found that guessing from the reading context ,was more successful than guessing from listening context.
He found that, in their guessing, learners were not the same and, therefore, those, in L2 who used a
variety of clues with a good proficiency, were supposed to be successful guessers.

2.17. Structural Method of Vocabulary Teaching

Structural method of vocabulary teaching means the arrangement of words in such a way as to form a
suitable pattern of sentence. The mastery of sentence structure in considered being mare with than the
acquisition of grammar. An appropriate situation should be created to practice the structure and to
understand its meaning. Generally the Structural approach to teaching English refers to the way the
language material is organized for presentation. It is the way some English sentences all carefully
selected and graded are arranged to form a syllabus. Structural approach is based on the theory of
behaviorist. To teach language through this approach we have to understand the pattern and structure of
the language. The Structural Approach is a technique wherein the learner masters the pattern of
sentence. Structures are the different arrangements of words in one accepted style or the other. It
includes various modes in which clauses, phrases or word might be used. It is based on the assumptions
that language can be best learnt through a scientific selection and grading of the structures or patterns of
sentences and vocabulary.

According to Fillmore and Snow (2000), structural approach of teaching vocabulary is based on the
morphological analyses of the word. It is process of breaking the words into prefixes, root and suffixes
to illustrate the meanings. It is considered easy and practical approach of vocabulary building. The

23
morphological features of the language such as prefixes, suffixes, and root help the learner to identify
the meanings. The students do not analyze the sentences to find out the meanings of the word but
analyze the word to follow its meanings. Knowledge about the root form of the word helps them to build
up their vocabulary in logical and in sequenced way. After getting command over the root form of the
word, there is no more difficulty to modify it as different parts of speech and build up the vocabulary.
The words that are generated by the learner can be recalled easily as compared to merely listened or
read. It is, therefore, necessary that the students must be provided opportunities to generate new words
from the given exercises. For example, the students might be asked to form adjectives and adverbs from
nouns or verbs. These exercises will greatly improve the vocabulary of the students.

Form teaching should be more challenging to a teacher than concept teaching. Second language learners
come to the language classroom with concepts already formed through first language acquisition. Thus,
concept teaching in the L2 basically involves activation of these concepts and occasionally modifying
these on the boundaries to fit L2 concepts. The more challenging task is to get the learner establish a link
between the concept and an L2 form because forms are arbitrary and concepts are already linked to L1
forms. Nation (1990) suggested that form teaching should precede presentation of meaning. He offers
techniques (e.g. the what-is-it technique) to delay presentation of meaning until form has been presented
several times. Barcroft (2004) also suggested that form and concept teaching to be separated. He claims
that our mental processing capacity is limited. When focus is on form, meaning will not be attended to
and vice- versa. Long (1991) uses this term to refer to instruction directed at teaching pre-selected
linguistic items in activities where the students’ primary focus of attention is on form rather than
meaning. In short, focus on forms involves discrete grammatical forms selected and presented in an
isolated manner. in the same way punctuation marks also help the reader to understand the meanings of
difficult words such as Full stop indicates the completion of the thought, comma indicates continuation
of the thought and semi colon, colon indicate the reversal of the thought.

According to Scott and Nagy (1997), conceptual approach focuses on the learning of concepts instead of
literal definitions of the words. The proponents of this approach believe that mere learning the meanings
of word without conceptual clarity is not enough to integrate the new knowledge with the existing one. It
does not make the learner able to fully comprehend the meanings of word and get sufficient skill to use
it. Conceptual approach explains the meanings of the word after passing through three stages. It starts

24
with the information what students already know about the new word. The second step is connecting
information with the previous information or schemata that already exist in the brain for identifying a
concept. The conclusion is drawn by comparing and contrasting information to find out similarities and
differences at third stage. It makes the learner able to add in the existing body of concepts or to revise it
in the light of drawn conclusion
According to Herman and Dole (1988), dictionaries are poor tool of teaching-learning the meaning of
unknown words. It does not enhance the skill to personalize the target word and use it in different
context and the learner only knows the meanings without knowing its use. According to Watt (1995),
definitional instructions of teaching vocabulary based on description or statement of word-meaning not
of its usage. The teacher provides a list of words and the students looks up in the dictionary to know
their meanings. They are not taught to use the word in different context.
According to Chun (1996) and Wallace (1988), teaching and learning words must fulfill the following
requirements. It can be recognized by the learner in spoken and written form. It can be recalled by the
learner at will .The learner is able to relate and use it in different contexts, use it in correct grammatical
form, spell it correctly, pronounce it in recognizable form and aware of its connotation and association
.Grains and Redman (1993) identified certain grouping criteria which will be helpful for teacher and the
students in teaching and learning of the vocabulary in the process of second language learning and
teaching. They say that words can be grouped in different ways :relating to the topic ,grouped as an
activity or process ,similar in meaning ,items which form pairs ,items on scale or cline which illustrate
differences in degree ,items which in word families ,grouping on national similarity ,items which
connect discourse ,items forming set of idioms or multi-word verbs ,grouping by spelling difficulty ,and
on the basis of stylistics ,etc. Mezyenski (1983) has identified some factors relating to the success of
vocabulary instruction methods in improving reading comprehension .They were:
 The amount of practice given in the learning of words.
 The breadth of training in the use of words.
 The degree to which active processing is encouraged.

According to Rivers (1981),« vocabulary cannot be taught directly to students but can be presented
,explained ,included in all kinds of activities in an indirect way ».He emphasizes on the contextual and
conceptual approaches of vocabulary learning that demands hard work and greater competency on the
part of teacher .It also needs command on the spoken form of the language . Doff (1989) does not agree

25
to this view .He says that vocabulary can be taught in a direct way by explaining the meaning of the
words .The teacher pronounce the word before the students and directly translates the meanings of the
word in the mother tongue of the students .It is more convenient and less time consuming technique for
the teacher .He suggests that language teachers must help their students by giving those ideas on how to
learn vocabulary and some guidance on what to learn.

2.17.1. Main features of structural vocabulary teaching

The structural approach makes use of the following features for teaching the vocabulary:

 Word order : Word order or the pattern of form is very important in vocabulary teaching for
e.g.: a) Jo broke his toy , b) The toy broke Jo
 The presence of function words: Function words help in modifying meaning considered the
following sentence -for e.g.: a) I ate an ice cream , b) I'm eating an ice cream , c) I will eat an ice
cream.
 The use of few Inflections

2.17.2. Morphological analysis of words

Morphology is the study of words in different terms, showing how words are broken down into smaller
units, and how such units are recognized. That is to say, by using the analysis of morphemes of words,
we can find out the meaning of words concerned with the roots, prefixes and suffixes. By using the
analysis of roots/base, prefix, suffix and word structure, we can teach thousands of English words. It is
estimated that there are over 600,000 English words concerned with the root and affixes. But the root
and affixes are only 600-800 in number .By using the analysis of roots, affixes and structure, we can
teach thousandsofEnglishwords .For instance: ”hand/handle/handful/handicap/handsome/beforehand….”
Explicit teaching of these word parts gives students an important strategy for learning new unknown
words (PREL, 2008). A base word is the smallest group of letters that forms a complete word. For
example, care is a base word that can be used by itself, as a verb or a noun (for instance, Abebe cares for
his plans by watering them daily; Mr. is now under the care of a doctor).
2.17. 1. Dictionary: It is an important tool in the teaching and learning of vocabulary. Teacher should
encourage students to search words in dictionaries. Therefore, the habit of its use should be inculcated
right from the beginning. Exploring dictionary entries can be one important and effective component of
understanding a word deeply. The entries can also help students determine the precise meaning a word

26
Allen (1983:82) perceives, „Dictionaries are passport to independence and see them as one of the
student - centered learning activities‟. The following are some current recommended English - English
dictionaries:
1. Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary,
2. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English,
3. Cambridge International Dictionary of English,
4. Oxford Picture Dictionary.
2.17.2. Synonyms: A synonym may be used to help the student to understand the different shades of
meaning, if the synonym is better known than the word being taught. Synonyms help to enrich a
student's vocabulary bank and provide alternative words instantly. These can be effective since they
build on words and phrases that students already recognize. Adjectives often have several symptoms,
and phrasal verbs will usually have a non-phrasal verb equivalent. Use caution that you do imply that all
the words have exactly the same meaning, since different words often are used for different connotations
or to imply different meanings. The same procedure can be used to elicit synonyms. The teacher needs
to highlight the fact that “true” synonyms are relatively rare and the answers will often be “near”
synonyms. The students could make crosswords, word snakes or other puzzles for each other using these
synonyms. Students were asked to bring daily five new words which were not familiar to them from the
text-book. At the end of each session they were asked to tell the word, its spelling and its meaning in
English. They were banned to see the notebook where these words were written. If they were not able to
give the correct word its spelling and meaning, they were asked to bring new ten words next day. Such
an exercise was fruitful for the learner.
2.17.3. Antonyms: The students were asked to make lists of opposite words. Two groups were made;
one group gave one word while the other group asked to give an opposite word to it. For example,
sharp/blunt, rude/polite, flexible/rigid, generous/mean etc. One group gave word „sharp‟ and the other
group gave opposite word for it as „blunt‟. Marks were written on the board. They found it very
interesting and memorized more words in order to win the contest. Thus, by play way method they can
learn new words
A root word: A root word is a special kind of base word. Like a base word, it carries the main parts of a
Word’s meaning, but it often needs a prefix and suffix to form a complete word in English. For example,
struct is a root word meaning “build or form). However, struct is not a word on its own. To make this a
word for example, construction, destruction, obstruction and other word parts be added

27
Prefix: Is a word part that can be placed at the beginning or end of a root or base word. The word part at
the beginning of a root or base word is called a prefix. The word part at the end of a root or base word is
called a suffix. Finally, it is very important for students to know how to use their understanding of
root/base prefixes and suffixes words to unlock the meaning of parts than merely identifying and
labeling specific word parts as prefix, suffix, and a base/root

2.17.4. Teaching root words

Helping students understand the meaning of these root words increase the number of words that can be
added at the beginning, in the middle, and at the end of words. The following steps provide guidance in
teaching root words explicit (Graves, 2006).
 Explain that a root word is the part of the word that carries the meaning.
 Give an example of a word and identify the root.
 Draw a semantic web on the board and write the root word in the middle.
 Give an example of other words with the same root and write them on the spokes of the web.
 Ask students to provide other examples of the root words by looking at the other examples.
 Discuss how knowing the meaning of other that has the same root word.

2.17.5. Teaching prefix

According to (Graves, 2004), teaching prefixes is a good investment of teaching time for several
resources. First, a large percentage of words use a relative small group of prefixes. For example,
knowing a prefix un can help students understand words such as unlike, uncomfortable, unhappy,
unload, and unlock, to name just a few. Suggested steps on how to teach prefix:
 Present the prefix in isolation and provide four words that contain the prefix.
 Define the prefix.
 Use the whole words in the sentences.
 Define the words.
 Give students an opportunity to find other words that contain the prefix.
 Use to keep track of new combination of vocabulary words and prefixes.

2.17.6. Teaching Suffixes

Suffixes are more difficult to teach than prefix. The use of suffixes is dependent on the root/base word.
In addition, there are many exceptions that can be difficult to remember. Sometimes suffixes carry a
« » or
meaning, such as the suffix ment, which means the condition or quality of « the state of. » But

28
sometimes suffixes don’t carry a meaning. For example, to change from singular to plural, S is usually
added (girl-girls ) unless the word ends in S, then es is added (bus-buses (White, etal. ,1989).The
following steps are key guidelines to teach suffixes.
 Explain what a suffix is.
 Show how the suffix is used in the text.
 Explain the meaning.
 Provide students with several examples of words using the suffix.
 Brainstorm other words.
 Allow students to practice removing the suffix to determine the meaning of the root/base word.
2.17.7. Words often confused
The long list of often –confused words was made in the class and students were asked to use them in
sentences.Teachersshouldprovidethemeaningofsuchwords,ifnecessary.Forexample:adapt/adopt,adverse/a
verse,delusion/allusion/illusion,compliment/complement, council/counsel, elicit/illicit, explicit/implicit,
immigrate /immigrate etc
2.17.8. Homonyms
Homonyms are words of the same language that are pronounced alike even if they differ in spelling,
meaning, or origin, such as “pair “and “pear”. Homonyms may also be spelled alike, as in “bear” (the
animal) and “bear “(to carry).But this list consists only of homophones that are not spelled alike.
Ant/aunt eye/I ate/eight fare/fair bear/bare sea/see son/sun by/bye/buy cell/sell.

2.17.9. Hyponymy of Words

Words can be studied in terms of the relationship of inclusion. Some specific words (e.g. green, blue
and red) can be viewed in relation to other general term, color or still more general one, painting, (Ur,
1996). The idea is that part of the meaning of specific words is contained by the general term,
technically called super ordinate word. McCarthy (1990) states that, many course book writers directly
or indirectly uses this frame work as a strategy of organizing vocabulary items. These techniques
discussed under sense relationship of words (synonymy, antonym and hyponymy) are only some of the
strategies by which the meaning of one word is explained in terms of other words. Although other types
of sense relations exist (e.g. polysemy = the relationship of a word to many different meanings,
metonymy whole-part relation), synonymy, antonym and hyponymy are by far the most frequently used
ones by teachers and textbook writers, (McCarthy, 1990; Nation, 2000). The last vocabulary teaching
technique perhaps a more advanced form of sense relation is word map.

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2.18. Word web/ Word map

The principle of vocabulary network, also known as Vocabulary Network, mind map, word association,
explains that beyond sameness, oppositeness and inclusion of meanings of words, there is an intricate
and complex interconnection or network among group of words. McCarthy (1990) writes that, semantic
relationship in terms of synonymy and antonym tends to simplify the complex nature of the mental
lexicon. According to Schmitt (2000), words are not stored in the mind in isolated pattern, but in an
organized and systematic manner. That organization is conveniently explained as association or
network. The vocabulary network technique is believed to function as a convincing framework of
organizing lexical items. Carter and McCarthy (1988) sate that “knowing a word means knowing its
place in a network or associations with other words in a language.” In a study of vocabulary learning
strategies, Ellis (1994) generally concluded that “any attempt to form an association involving the target
word aided retention.”

2.18.1. Word Map

Students work in small groups to learn connections among words by brainstorming and organizing
words according to a map that they design or a blank one that is provided by the teacher. An example
might be a key-concept word in the center of the page with rays connecting related words. For example,
when asked to give words they thought of when they heard the word “faithfulness”, ESL students
generated sixteen words or phrases: cat, friend, family, reliance, trust, dishonest, unfaithfulness, believe
in friendships, bonds, obey, dog, friendly, sexual unfaithful, gossiping, marriage, love. After clustering
words which they felt went together, they mapped the relationships between these words.
2.18.2. Phrasal verbs
Teachers should include phrasal verbs in their classroom language as much as possible – and draw
attention to these from time to time. There are many phrasal verbs in the English language and they are
used in normal, everybody speech and writing. Phrasal verbs mean words consisting of a verb and a
particle (preposition or adverb). The meaning of a phrasal verb is different from the meaning of each
word if it was considered separately. Common classroom expressions incorporating phrasal verbs are: sit
down, put your hand up, turn your papers over, write this down, cover the page up, look it up, hurry up
and calm down!

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 CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
This chapter briefly discusses at least seven main important parts of the study. These were research
design that encompasses types of study, target population in which the sample and study populations
were determined ,sampling size and sampling techniques were identified ,data collection procedure were
determined ,data collection instruments were identified and method of data analysis were discussed.
3.1. Research Design

The study was conducted to investigate the comparative study on the effects of contextual and structural
methods of teaching vocabulary in English at preparatory level. It was true experimental study in which
the pre- post test design was used. In this method of Pearson correlation moment product and confidence
interval were used in analyzing the data. Methods of teaching vocabulary and the academic achievement
were two variables of this study. Methods of teaching were independent variable and the academic
achievement was dependent variable. The students that were taught with contextual method were named
as Group A and the students that were taught with structural method were named as Group B. The
researcher had developed 20 lesson plans for contextual and structural methods of vocabulary teaching
(10 for each group). The lessons were validated getting the opinions of the experts of language in Jimma
university Dr.Andinet shimeles and Dr.Daniel Taye. Accordingly, the researcher has accepted their
suggestions and comments and made some modifications on some language. The significance
differences between the mean scores of the groups were tested.

3.2. Target population

The target populations for this study were grade 11 preparatory students of Gembe. The sample selected
students for the experimental and control group in the pre- post of were subject for this study to provide
their answers for the questions that had been designed as examination to test them. The reason behind
selecting this target population, the researcher has been teaching in this school in grade 11 and as well as
the researcher works his regular work since has been self sponsor of himself to his M.A. This helped
him to get current knowledge of students in vocabulary and it is also easy to collect data since he got
the sample students at school.

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3.3. Sample size and sampling technique

Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the sample respondents. The total populations
of the students in grade 11 are 149. From these total populations of students 75 students were selected
as the sample respondents from the attendance list. In this systematic simple random sampling technique
was used since using systematic sampling is its simplicity and is the assurance that the population will be
evenly sampled. Thus the total populations (149) students divided for seventy five (75) sample students.
Therefore, K= N/n = 149 ÷75: 1.98 so that the sample respondents were selected at two intervals and
purposive sampling was used to select the school in which this study was conducted. The selected
sample students were grouped in to 38 who were experimental and 37 who were control group who were
grouped in A group B group respectively and had been taught contextual vocabulary method and
structural vocabulary method for one month.

3.4. Setting

This study was conducted in Gomma woreda Jimma zone. Gomma woreda has location and bordering
woredas that bordering in different directions in the east it is boarded by Yebu woreda, in the west it is
boarded with Gera and Toba woredas, in the north it is bordered by Limmu and Babo woerdas and in the
south it is boarded with Santana woreda. The particular cite of this study is Gembe preparatory school
focusing on grade 11 students. The researcher selected this setting area through purposive sampling
since this selection was made under the decision of the researcher considering in different factors. The
factors considered in the selections of this area were the researcher was self sponsored to cover the cost
of these research activities, the school new and the students were not effective in communicating by
English as expected, this condition was motivated the researcher to choose this setting area.

3.5. Instrument of data collection

3.5.1. Testing
Vocabulary proficiency test were designed to obtain information regarding the students’ proficiency in
vocabulary teaching methods to identify student’s current academic success in relation to contextual and
structural methods of vocabulary teaching. The researcher was used Alberta K-12 ESL proficiency
bench mark which was developed by Alberta Education (2012) and modified it as suit to students’ level
of understanding .So that this test comprised 50 items and it was distributed to the students within one
hour to complete it. The teacher’s guide and text book of grade 11 was used as the guide additionally

32
since there were standardize at the level of the minster of Eudcation with the Alberta K-12 ESL
proficiency bench mark to design the content of lessons and to prepare the pre-post test questions.

Questions had been designed and used for the two groups those who taught in contextual and structural
differently. 50 questions were prepared on the basis of standard questions from the contextual and
structural vocabulary teaching contents that were taught for one month. The questions were prepared
using the contextual vocabulary teaching to know the achievement of students through the results test
scores. Then the contextual and structural vocabulary questions were prepared to test the two groups
separately and on the basis of the results that had been achieved on the test scores were identified for
each group to compare their difference so that either of the methods was identified as the effective
method in teaching vocabulary.

3.6. Method of Interventions

The program of teaching the contextual and structural vocabulary teaching method for one month had
been arranged and addressed for the school principals and students those who were involved in the
sample respondents of this study to get permissions from the school and students. The program was
arranged in the form of tutorial by convincing that this study will be important for the future for the
performance of students since these experiences will be used for the vocabulary teaching and learning
methods.

3.7. Data collection procedures

Registers and licenses are particularly valuable for complete enumeration that was written as the
recommendation paper for the Gembe preparatory school. On the basis of the recommendation paper the
researcher got permission from the school. The researcher had selected the sample respondents after he
got permission from the school. The selected students were grouped in Group A and B. Pre-test
questions were prepared for sample students on the basis of contextual and structural teaching
vocabulary methods which were guided by grade 11 English text book. The pre-test questions were
corrected and the scores were documented. After that the researcher developed 20 lesson plans for
contextual and structural methods of vocabulary teaching (10 for each). The lessons were validated
getting the opinions of the experts. Finally, the post- test questions were prepared on the basis of the
above lesson plans and the two groups were tested, corrected and the scores were documented were
become ready for the analysis.

33
3.8. Reliability and Validity of Instrument

Whether the test suits to students’ level of understanding or not it was piloted in Agaro, preparatory
school with special reference of grade eleven students. The question was piloted on 40 students (20 for
each). The pilot study lasted for one week and it was done in the classroom in the form of pre-test. As a
result of pilot testing, a few of the items and instructions were modified and deleted. To see the validity
of the test question 4 English language teaches were invited to discuss and suggest on the designed pre-
post questions and approval was also obtained from them to validate test item questions. Accordingly,
the researcher has accepted their suggestions and comments and made some modifications on some
language. In order to check the reliability of the pilot tests, the research employed cronbach alpha.

25 items from the designed pretest questions were taken and 20 students had taken from each and sat for
the pilot test examination and the scores of the pilot test were analyzed.

Accordingly, the result of the analyzed data for the pilot test indicted that the experimental group was
rated at Cranach’s Alpha of .872 and the control group was rated at Cranach’s Alpha of .857. This
implies that high internal contingency coefficient. This indicates that the data collection instrument is
reliable and valid for the actual research.

Face validity: Face validity simply means that the validity is taken at face value. As a check on face
validity, test items will be sent to teachers or English subject matter experts to obtain suggestions for
modification. While discussing the validity of a theory, Jansen (1994) defines validity as making
common sense, and being persuasive and seeming right to the reader. For Polkinghorne (1988), validity
of a theory refers to results that have the appearance of truth or reality.

3.9. Methods of data analysis

Descriptive statistical analysis was used to analyze the results of the two test scores from the two groups.
In the descriptive statistical analysis total result sum, average, mean, standard deviation, standard error,
and Pearson correlations. The teaching methods had changed the average scores, mean scores, of
students after the treatment were given after the pretest.

3.10. Data Analysis Procedures

The pre-post test scores were collected from the results of the two groups based on the given tests and
was arranged properly. These data that were collected and arranged were seated in the computer to

34
analyze the data in (SPSS) version- 20.0 Software will be used to analyze the data in to total result sum,
average, mean, standard deviation, and standard error and Pearson correlations

3.11. Ethical Considerations

The researcher got the recommendation letter from the department on the title a comparative study on
the effect of contextual and structural methods of teaching vocabulary in Gembe preparatory focusing on
grade 11.First, promote the aims of the research for the subject or participants to address the main
objective this study and get the willingness of the sample respondents. The researcher is confidential not
to change the responses of the respondents. The researcher avoids misrepresenting of research data and
promotes the truth and minimizes error. Promote the values that are essential to collaborative work, such
as trust, accountability, mutual respect, and fairness. Honestly report data, results, methods and
procedures, and on the basis of the research procedures and status.

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 CHAPTER FOUR
4.1. Analysis and Discussions of Data

In this part of the study different phases and steps were followed in the analysis and interpretations of
the data that had been collected for this study.
The first phase of the analysis had been made to analyze and discuss the demographic information of
the selected students in two groups.
The next step of the analysis followed with analyzing the valid of the pilot test that had been given
before the pretest to cheek the validity of the test items to measure the test scores were considered, to
support the pilot test with the other points of evidence that had confirmed the validity was cross cheeked
by the case processing summary that convinced the valid and unvalued numbers of the sample students
that were selected in the pre-post test scores and considered the inter items correlation matrixes to cross
cheek the validity of items variances to measure the achievements of students. The crude data that
collected for this study in the pr-pos test scores were analyzed and discussed.
In the last part of the analysis the data that had been collected in the results of test scores of the
experimental and control groups in the pr-post test scores had been fed in the SPSS 20.0 software and
analyzed for this study. In this analysis the mean, mean differences, standard deviations, case processing
summary, standard errors and the Pearson correlations had been identified in tables and followed with
discussions.
4.2. The demographic information of the selected subjects

The personal information like sex, age and grade level of the students those who had been selected as
the experimental group and control group were identified and presented in the table1 below and
followed with discussions.

36
 Table.1. Demographic information of the respondents
No Variables Information Responses Percent
1 Sex Male 38 50.66%
Female 37 49.33%

Total 75 100%
2 Age 18-20 54 72%
21-25 21 28%

Total 75 100%
3 Educational Grade 11 75 100%
level

The selected students as the experimental and control groups were male and female students. 38
(50.66%) of the students were male and 37(49.33) of the students were female. This implies that the
numbers of female and male students were proportional in that there was no gender bias in this study.
The ages of the students were ranged between 18 and 25 years. All the respondents were selected from
grade 11by using systematic random sampling technique.
4.3. Analysis on the result of pre-post test scores of the selected students.

The experimental study was made on the comparative study on the effects of contextual and structural
methods of vocabulary teaching at Gembe preparatory school focusing on grade 11.
In this study the pre- post test were used for the study. The pretest and post test were presented for the
two groups. First the pretest and post test were identified and analyzed in percentages for the result of
each selected student out of 100% and the difference between the pretest and post test scores were
identified for each students.
Based on the result of each student in the pretest and post test the total results of all students were
analyzed and the average of the pretest and post test results of all students were analyzed and the results
were identified total, average and differences of the pr-post test scores. On the basis of the analyzed total
results and averages of the pretest and post test results the difference between the pretest and post test
results in the total results and averages were identified for the experimental group and control group
were clearly presented in the table 2 below.

37
Table.2. Analysis of Pretest results and post test results of the selected students
Group A( Experimental ) Group B ( Control )
No Code of the Result out of 100% No Code of Result out of 100%
students Pre-test Post-test Differe the Pre-test Post- Differe
nces students test nces
1 A1 58 68 10 1 B1 76 72 4
2 A2 80 85 5 2 B2 71 68 3
3 A3 72 80 8 3 B3 73 74 1
4 A4 47 60 13 4 B4 62 60 2
5 A5 52 70 18 5 B5 60 65 5
6 A6 62 72 10 6 B6 54 56 2
7 A7 64 75 11 7 B7 74 75 1
8 A8 69 78 9 8 B8 66 69 3
9 A9 71 80 9 9 B9 72 73 1
10 A10 70 71 1 10 B10 76 75 1
11 A11 69 70 1 11 B11 74 75 1
12 A12 71 74 3 12 B12 79 80 1
13 A13 78 75 3 13 B13 66 69 3
14 A14 72 81 9 14 B14 73 75 2
15 A15 74 88 14 15 B15 83 85 3
16 A16 52 81 29 16 B16 74 73 1
17 A17 67 74 7 17 B17 65 67 2
18 A18 70 75 5 18 B18 56 58 2
19 A19 74 75 1 19 B19 69 70 1
20 A20 68 69 1 20 B20 46 51 5
21 A21 61 64 3 21 B21 63 62 1
22 A22 58 68 10 22 B22 70 71 1
23 A23 81 82 1 23 B23 68 69 1
24 A24 56 83 27 24 B24 71 73 2
25 A25 70 75 5 25 B25 66 68 2
26 A26 64 80 16 26 B26 71 71 0
27 A27 72 79 7 27 B27 80 81 1
28 A28 72 76 4 28 B28 68 69 1
29 A29 66 69 3 29 B29 72 73 1
30 A30 74 79 5 30 B30 78 77 1
31 A31 67 69 2 31 B31 64 65 1
32 A32 70 75 5 32 B32 70 72 2
33 A33 65 79 14 33 B33 70 71 1
34 A34 50 69 19 34 B34 66 67 1
35 A35 48 63 15 35 B35 61 62 1
36 A36 76 84 8 36 B36 50 56 2
37 A37 71 76 5 37 B37 52 54 2
38 A38 66 74 8 Total result 2506 2551 45
Total result 2529 2845 316 Average 67.72 68.94 1.22
Average 66.55 74.86 8.31

38
The data that had been analyzed in the above table encompasses the total result of the pretest and post
test scores, average and differences between the pretest and post test results, in that the total result of the
pretest and post test scores of the experimental were 2529 and 2845 respectively. The difference
between the pretest total result and the post test total result was 316(12.49%).From the difference of this
total result; we understood that the results of students have increased after they had been taught the
vocabulary in contextual vocabulary teaching method. The averages of pretest scores and the post scores
were 66.55 and 74.86 the difference between the pretest and post test was 8.31.Sothat the average of the
students result has increased in 8.31 after they had been taught by the contextual vocabulary teaching
method. This implies that the rate of increase after the pretest in the contextual vocabulary method the
result of students had been increased by 8.31%.

The pretest and the posttest total results of the controlled group were 2506 and 2551 respectively. The
difference between the pretest and post test total result was 45. The total results of the students have
been increased by 45(1.79%) points. The averages of the pretest and post test were 67.72 and 68.94. The
difference between the pretest and post test average was 1.22(1.225%). These results have indicated that
the results of the students were increased after the students had been taught by the structural vocabulary
teaching method.

When we compare the results of the experimental and control group, the results of the experimental
group has increased than the control group after they had been taught by the contextual and structural
method and tested in the post test scores.

4.3 Analysis on the experimental and controlled group in SPSS 20 software

4.3.1. Analysis on the results of the experimental group

In this part of the analysis the pre - post test scores on the contextual vocabulary teaching method were
analyzed. First the pre test was given on the basis of the contextual vocabulary contents and the scores
were presented for 38 selected students. After that the contextual vocabulary lessons were designed to
teach the selected students for a month using the contextual vocabulary teaching method and students
had been taught. The content of these contextual vocabulary lessons were selected and designed on the
basis of Alberta K-12 ESL bench mark and suit as students level of understanding. The test that was
given in the pretest was given as the post test and the test score was analyzed for each student in SPSS
20 software.

39
 Table.3. Reliability Statistics for pilot test for experimental group

Cranbach’s Alpha N of Items

.872
25

Reliability in statistics and psychometrics is the overall consistency of a measure. A measure is said to
have a high reliability if it produces similar results under consistent conditions. "It is the characteristic of
a set of test scores that relates to the amount of random error from the measurement process that might
be embedded in the scores. Scores that are highly reliable are accurate, reproducible, and consistent from
one testing occasion to another. That is, if the testing process were repeated with a group of test takers,
essentially the same results would be obtained. Various kinds of reliability coefficients, with values
ranging between 0.00 (much error) and 1.00 (no error), are usually used to indicate the amount of error
in the scores. The pilot test was statistical reliable since the cronbach alpha .872 for the 25test items that
used to test the students for the pilot test.

Table 4 .Case Processing Summary for experimental group

N %

Cases Valid Total

38 100.0
Excluded
a
0 .0

38 100.0

40
The case processing summary was analyzed to identify the valid, excluded cases by computing the
number of students for the contextual group. All the selected students were sat for the pretest and post
test and the scores were analyzed. Therefore, no one was excluded from the case in that 38(100%)
selected were valid and 0 was invalid in the above case processing summary.

Table .5.Inter-Item Correlation Matrix on the experimental test items

A1 A2

A1 .45 .25
A2 .25 .45

Inter-item correlations are an essential element in conducting an item analysis of a set of test questions.
Inter-item correlations examine the extent to which scores on one item are related to scores on all other
items in a scale. It provides an assessment of item redundancy: the extent to which items on a scale are
assessing the same content (Cohen and Swerdlik, 2005). Ideally, the average inter-item correlation for a
set of items should be between .20 and .40, suggesting that while the items are reasonably homogenous,
they do contain sufficiently unique variance so as to not be isomorphic with each other. As we saw the
result of the above statistics the inter item correlation of the questions that designed for the contextual
vocabulary test were between .25 and .45.Therefore, the homogeneity of the test item questions were
very confidential to measure the students achievements in the contextual vocabulary testing.

Table .6. Analysis on the test scores in mean, Std. Deviation and Std. Error.

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

A1 38 66.50 8.645 1.402

A2
38 74.87 6.321
1.025

41
Standard deviation is a measure of how spreads out numbers responses were varied from each other.
Standard error is a statistical term that measures the accuracy with which a sample represents a
population.
The pretest mean was 66.50 and the posttest mean was 74.87. The standard deviation of the pretest in
the experimental group was 8.645 and the standard deviation of the post test was 6.321. Std. Error Mean
of the pretest was 1.402 and Std. Error Mean post test was 1.025. This implies that the difference of test
scores in the pre-pos test in the case of standard error was not affecting the result of the test scores.

Table.7. Analysis on the confidence interval of the mean difference

Test Value = 0

95% Confidence Interval of the

Sig. (2- Mean Difference

T Df tailed) Difference Lower Upper

A1 47.416 38 .000 66.500 63.66 69.34

A2
73.014 38 .000 74.868 72.79 76.95

The mean difference between the pretest-post tests for the experimental group was analyzed in the above
table and the mean difference was identified. Before the mean of the pretest and post were separately
identified for each. Thus the mean value of the pretest was 66.5 and the mean value of the post was
74.86 and the mean difference between the pretest and post test was 8.36.This result is almost the same
with the result that analyzed in the above table 2.There was 95% confidence interval of the difference
between the lower and upper mean in the pretest in that lower was 63.66 and the upper was 69.34 and
post test in that the lower was 72.79 and the upper was 76.95. The mean difference between the between
the lower in the pretest and the post test was 9.13 and the mean difference in the upper in the pretest and
post was 7.61.

4.3.2. Analysis on results of controlled group

In this part of the analysis the pretest and posttest analysis of the result of the 37 selected students were
involved in the control group and tested on the structural vocabulary teaching method. First the pre test

42
was given on the basis of the structural vocabulary contents and the scores were presented for 37selected
students. After that the structural vocabulary lessons were designed to teach the selected students for a
month using the structural l vocabulary teaching method and students had been taught. The content of
these structural vocabulary lessons were selected and designed on the basis of Albarta K-12 guide
lines. The test that was given in the pretest was given as the post test and the test score was analyzed for
each student in SPSS 20.0 software.

Table 8.Case Processing Summary for control group

N %

Cases Valid Total

37 100.0
Excluded
a
0 .0

37 100.0

The case processing summary was analyzed to identify the valid, excluded cases by computing the
number of students for the controlled group. All the selected students were sat for the pretest and post
test and the scores were analyzed. Therefore, no one was excluded from the case in that 37(100%)
selected were valid and 0 was invalid in the above case processing summary.

Table .9.Inter-Item Correlation Matrix for items in the tests

B1 B2

B1 .50 .35
B2 .35 .50

Interitemcorrelations are an essential element in conducting an item analysis of a set of test questions.
Inter-item correlations examine the extent to which scores on one item are related to scores on all other
items in a scale. It provides an assessment of item redundancy: the extent to which items on a scale are

43
assessing the same content (Cohen & Swerdlik, 2005). Ideally, the average inter-item correlation for a
set of items should be between .20 and .40, suggesting that while the items are reasonably homogenous,
they do contain sufficiently unique variance so as to not be isomorphic with each other. As we saw the
result of the above statistics the inter item correlation of the questions that designed for the structural
vocabulary test were between .35 and .50.Therefore, the homogeneity of the test item questions were
very confidential to measure the students achievements in the structural vocabulary testing.

Table.10. Reliability Statistics of pilot test for control group

Cranabch’s Alpha Based on

Cronbach's Alpha Standardized Items N of Items

.857 .857 25

The alpha coefficient for the 25 items is .857, suggesting that the items have relatively high internal
consistency. (Note that a reliability coefficient of .70 or higher is considered “acceptable” in most
social science research situations.) The 25 items cronbach Alpha statistics of the pilot test for this study
was .857. The reliability of the test items of the test for the structural test was confidential to measure.

Table.11. Analysis on the results of the structural test scores in mean, Std. Deviation and Std.
Error Mean.

N Mean Std. Deviation Std. Error Mean

B1 37 67.81 8.442 1.388

B2

37 68.95 7.597 1.249

The mean of the pretest was 67.81 and the mean of the post test was 68.95.The difference between the
pretest and post test was 1.14. The standard deviation of the pretest scores was 8.442 and the standard

44
deviation of the post test scores was 7.597. The standard error of the pretest was 1.388 and the standard
of the post test was 1.249.

Table.12. Analysis on the confidence interval of the mean difference

Test Value = 0

95% Confidence Interval of

Mean the Difference

T Df Sig. (2-tailed) Difference Lower Upper

B1 48.860 36 .000 67.811 65.00 70.63

B2 55.201 36 .000 68.946 66.41 71.48

The mean difference between the pretest the post test for the control group were analyzed in the above
table and the mean difference was identified. Before the mean of the pretest and post were separately
identified for each. Thus the mean value of the pretest was 67.811 and the mean value of the post was
68.946 and the mean difference between the pretest and post test was 1.135.This result is almost the
same with the result that analyzed in the above table 2.There was 95% confidence interval of the
difference between the lower and upper mean in the pretest in that lower was 65.00 and the upper was
66.41 and post test in that the lower was 70.63 and the upper was 71.48. The mean difference between
the between the lower in the pretest and the post test was 1.41 and the mean difference in the upper in
the pretest and post was 0.85.
Correlation between sets of data is a measure of how well they are related. The most common measure
of correlation in stats is the Pearson Correlation. The full name is the Pearson Product Moment
Correlation or PPMC. It shows the linear relationship between the contextual and structural vocabulary
teaching methods in their effectiveness in teaching vocabulary. The range of relations, high correlation:
.5 to 1.0 or -0.5 to 1.0, medium correlation: .3 to .5 or -0.3 to .5., low correlation: .1 to .3 or -0.1 to -
0.3.The significance and the level relations between the contextual and structural methods in their
effectiveness has been determined on the basis of the above scales in the following table

45
Table.13. Analysis on the relations of the effects of vocabulary teaching between contextual
and structural methods

B1 B2

A1 Pearson Correlation 1 .975**

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N 37 37

A2 Pearson Correlation .975** 1

Sig. (2-tailed) .000

N
37 37

There were relations between the contextual and structural vocabulary teaching method in their
effectiveness in teaching vocabulary. The relation between them was ranged between .5 and 1.0 in
that the relation between them was .975. This implies that the two vocabulary teaching methods
were effective for teaching vocabulary. This did not meant that they absolutely equal in their
effectiveness in teaching vocabulary. There was a very slit differences in their effectiveness to teach
vocabulary as indicted in the data that analyzed in table 2 in that in the result in the post scores were
increased in the two teaching methods in contextual teaching method the average of the student
results was increased by 8.31 and in the structural teaching method the average of student result was
increased by 1.22. The difference between them was 7.07. The rate of effectiveness in the
contextual vocabulary teaching method the results of students was more improved although the rate
effectiveness was not by far from the structural vocabulary teaching method.

46
 Table.14.Summary of the analysis for contextual and structural test scores in the pre- post-test
No Experimental group Average mean
Pretest 66.55 66.5
1 Posttest 74.86 74.87
Difference 8.31 8.37

2 Control group Pretest 67.72 67.81

Post test 68.94 68.95
Insignificant 1.22 1.14
differences
3 Experimental and control In pretest 1.22 control G 1.31 control G
group differences In post test 5.92 Exp 5.92Exp

4 Relationships between Pearson correlation

contextual and structural
.975
groups.

The analyzed data were summarized for the experimental group and control group in the above table
side by side and the rate of their effectiveness were identified. As it was presented in the above table in
the pretest scores the control group greater than the experimental group by average of 1, 22 and by mean
difference it was greater by 1.14. However, after the two groups were taught and test by the post test, the
experimental group test scores was greater than control group by 5.92. However, when we saw the result
of test scores the pretest and posttest scores differences in each group the results of the experimental
increases by 8.31 in average and 8.37 by mean difference. Whereas, the results of the control group
increases by 1.22 in average and 1.14 in mean difference .When we compare the rate of increase in
mean and average for the two groups, the rate of increase by the experimental group was greater than the
control group by 7.09 in average and 7.17 by mean difference

47
 CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1. Summary

The main objectives of the study was to investigate the comparative study on the effects of contextual
and structural teaching of vocabulary in Gembe preparatory focusing on grade 11.To achieve the
intended objectives of this study the pure experimental method was used for this study. In this pure
experimental method the subjects of the study was divided in Group A( experimental group) and group
B( controlled group).The experimental group were assigned for the contextual vocabulary teaching
method and the controlled group were assigned for the structural vocabulary teaching method. The pre-
post tests were designed for the two groups. The pretest was given for the two groups before the students
had been taught by the two methods separately. The pretest results of the students were analyzed on 50
test items for each group. In this pretest experimental groups were tested on contextual vocabulary test
items and the control groups were tested on the structural test items and analyzed out of 100% for each
group. After the pretest was given for each group the experimental groups were taught vocabulary
lessons for a month by the contextual vocabulary teaching method and the students in the control
groups were taught vocabulary lessons for a moth by the structural vocabulary teaching method.

Finally, the same test items, structural test items that were given for the control group were given in the
post test and the scores were analyzed out 100%. The contextual test items that were given for the
experimental groups were given in the post test and analyzed out of 100%.The data were analyzed in
total results, in standard devotions, standard error, mean and mean differences.

Based on the analysis made of this study the findings of this study were identified and presented as
follows side by side with the research null hypothesis to prove the null hypothesis.

The first null hypothesis was designed to identify the absence of significance difference between the
mean scores of the students that have been taught using the contextual and structural methods of
teaching vocabulary since the differences were insignificant (1.22 and 1.31) . The result of this study
indicated that the students that have been taught in the contextual (experimental) group test scores shows
significance differences from the students that have been taught by the structural method in the post test.
However, the scores of pretest there was no significant differences.

48
The second null hypothesis designed was to identify the mean scores of the students that have been
taught using contextual teaching method of vocabulary greater than students that have been taught with
structural teaching method of Vocabulary. The findings of this study indicated that the test scores of the
students those who have been taught by the contextual vocabulary greater than the test scores of students
those who have been taught by the structural vocabulary teaching method.
The third null hypothesis designed was to identify the non effectiveness of Structural method of teaching
vocabulary to bring significant effect on Learner’s academic achievement. Since the results of the
control group increases by 1.22 in average and 1.14 in mean difference in the post test scores, the
structural vocabulary has very small significance on Learner’s academic achievement.

The last null hypothesis designed was to identify the more effectiveness of Contextual method of
teaching vocabulary than structural vocabulary teaching vocabulary method. Since the results of the
experimental group (those taught by contextual vocabulary teaching method) increases by 8.31 in
average and 8.37 by mean difference, the Contextual method of teaching vocabulary more effective than
structural vocabulary teaching vocabulary method.
5.2. Conclusions

The contextual and structural methods are methods of vocabulary teaching which are important for
teaching vocabulary. Therefore, the two vocabulary teaching methods are both considered as important
to increase the vocabulary power. The findings of this study have confirmed the importance of these
two vocabulary teaching method as they have positive relation in increasing the achievements of
students in vocabulary as evidenced in the result of this study. However, the rate of increase in the
students test scores in the pr-post results of the experimental group and the control group test scores
were not increased in the same rate in the structural and contextual teaching method. Therefore, the rate
of test scores of students those who had been taught by contextual vocabulary teaching method had
increased in post test than the pretest scores than students those who had been taught by the structural
vocabulary teaching method. From this point it is possible to conclude as the structural vocabulary
teaching method will demand more effort than contextual vocabulary teaching method to improve the
rate of structural vocabulary teaching method to maximize the performance students in vocabulary
learning.

49
5.3. Recommendations

Based on the summary and conclusions made of this study the following recommendations are given in
this study as follows:

Instruction in vocabulary involves far more than looking up words in a dictionary and using the words in
a sentence. Word-learning strategies include dictionary use, morphemic analysis, and contextual
analysis. Morphemic analysis is the process of deriving a word's meaning by analyzing its meaningful
parts, or morphemes. Such word parts include root words, prefixes, and suffixes. Contextual analysis
involves inferring the meaning of an unfamiliar word by scrutinizing the text surrounding it. Instruction
in contextual analysis generally involves teaching students to employ both generic and specific types of
context clues. Therefore, both the structural and contextual methods should be used in advance by
English teachers to teach vocabulary.

Vocabulary is a necessary ingredient for all communication. Language learners encounter vocabulary on
a daily basis, and must be able to acquire and retain it. Therefore, as a language teacher, one of the main
tasks of teachers should be helping students in develop a rich and useful vocabulary inventory through
using contextual and structural vocabulary teaching methods.

Learners should be encountered with the words in a variety of rich contexts and rich word building
techniques since variety is essential for vocabulary teaching.

50
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White, T., Sowell, J. & Yonagihara, A.(1989) .Teaching elementary students to use word-part

Clause. The reading Teacher, 42(4), 302-308.

Wallace, M, J. (1982).Teaching vocabulary. London: Heinenann Education Book Ltd.

Wallace, M.J. (1988). Teaching vocabulary. Chicago: University Of Chicago Press.
Walter, J.M.(2004).Teaching the use of context to infer meaning: A longitudinal survey of L1 and
L2 vocabulary research: Language Teaching, 37(4), pp.243-252.
Watts. (1995).Vocabulary instruction during reading lesson in six classrooms. Journal of
Reading Behavior,(27)3,399-424.
Weatherford, H.J. (1990). Techniques for learning vocabulary. New York: Oxford University press
Zimmerman, C.B.(1997). Does reading and interactive vocabulary instruction make a

Difference? An empirical study .TESOL quarterly, 31, 1, pp.121-140

Zimmerman, C.B. (2007) .Vocabulary learning methods. Cambridge Massachusetts: Harvard

University Press.

Website source:

 http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm
 www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/Papers/context.auconf.pdf).

57
 APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A: Contextual Vocabulary proficiency test

Contextual Vocabulary Proficiency test for selected respondents of grade eleven Gembe Preparatory
school of 2017

School name------------------Code---------Grade & Section---------------Time allotted------------

Date----------------------------- Group Type------------------------------Types of Test----------------

DIRECTIONS: Choose An Appropriate Answer For Each Question Based On The Information Givin
In The Passage

In 2005, the World Summit on Social Development identified three core areas that contribute to the
philosophy and social science of sustainable development. These “pillars” in many national standards
and certification schemes, form the backbone of tackling the core areas that the world now faces. The
Brundtland Commission described it as “development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

This is the issue that proves the most problematic as most people disagree on political ideology what is
and is not economically sound, and how it will affect businesses and by extension, jobs and
employability . It is also about providing incentives for businesses and other organizations to adhere to
sustainability guidelines beyond their normal legislative requirements. Also, to encourage and foster
incentives for the average person to do their bit where and when they can; one person can rarely achieve
much, but taken as a group, effects in some areas are cumulative. The supply and demand market is
consumerist in nature and modern life requires a lot of resources every single day; for the sake of the
environment, getting what we consume under control is the paramount issue. Economic development is
about giving people what they want without compromising quality of life, especially in the developing
world, and reducing the financial burden and “red tape” of doing the right thing.

There are many facets to this pillar. Most importantly is awareness of and legislation protection of the
health of people from pollution and other harmful activities of business and other organizations. In

58
North America, Europe and the rest of the developed world, there are strong checks and programs of
legislation in place to ensure that people's health and wellness is strongly protected. It is also about
maintaining access to basic resources without compromising the quality of life. The biggest hot topic
for many people right now is sustainable housing and how we can better build the homes we live in from
sustainable material. The final element is education - encouraging people to participate in
environmental sustainability and teaching them about the effects of environmental protection as well
as warning of the dangers if we cannot achieve our goals.

We all know what we need to do to protect the environment, whether that is recycling, reducing our
power consumption by switching electronic devices off rather than using standby, by walking short
journeys instead of taking the bus. Businesses are regulated to prevent pollution and to keep their own
carbon emissions low. There are incentives to installing renewable power sources in our homes and
businesses. Environmental protection is the third pillar and to many, the primary concern of the future
of humanity. It defines how we should study and protect ecosystems, air quality, integrity and
sustainability of our resources and focusing on the elements that place stress on the environment.

Source; http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm

Instruction one: For the item (1-15) Choose the contextual meaning of the following words written in
bold and write the letter of your choice.

1. Sustainable (paragraph one line one) refers to

A. lack to meet needs C. remain to be un productive

B. become well being D. Development

2 .Tackling (parag.one) means,

A. deal with C. stops the forward progress

B. lack to make determined effort D. all

5. Sound (paragraph two line 2) refers.

A. Pillars C .less recognition

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B. Recognition D. under quality

6. Adhere (paragraph two line 4) indicates.

A. believes in and practices C. less sustainable

B. stick fast to D. Stand against

7. Environmental sustainability (paragraph three line 8) means

A. allow all people to live well, now and in the future C. damage the environment

B. protects people from living well D. less attention to the environment.

8. Paramount (paragraph two line 9) means,

A. more important than anything else C. less important

B. insignificant D. A and B are correct

9. Renewable (paragraph four line 4) means

A. capable of being replaced C. never used again

B. un replaced D. not important.

10. Consumerist (paragraph two line 7)

A. users C. modern life

B. nature D. resource

11. Compromising paragraph two line 10),

A. good way of life C. quality of life

B. without damage D. damaging

12. Maintaining (paragraph three) indicates

A. not let it stopping C. give up

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B. compromising D. none

13. Requirements (paragraph two line four) means

A. less important C. refines

B.very essential D. all

14 .Concern (paragraph four 6) means,

A. Pillar C. resource

B. issue D. less important.

15. Integrity (paragraph four line 7) means

A. sustainability C. state of being united

B .economic development D. Ecosystem

Instruction Two: For the item (16-25) Choose an appropriate answer that complete the following
sentences.

16. The competition of the foot ball was---------by America.

A. launched C, inspired

B, hosted D. dispute

17. He was a good worker and caught the -----of the school principal.

A, relation C, work

B, attention D, no answer

18. There has been 15% increase in the ---------- of students in this year.

A, enroll C, successful

B, attend D, success

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19. The flight attendant asked the passengers to _____ attention to the safety demonstration.
A, give C, pay
B, devote D, lend
20. A severe hurricane in the South Pacific has __ many lives.
A, claimed C, killed
B, taken D, destroyed
21. Everything we wanted was to hand.
A. under control C. well cared for
B. within reach D. being prepared
22. We went to Jimmy´s Restaurant last night and had an excellent----- there.
A) Plate C) cooks
B) Meal D) dish
23. Someone else is --------the tune and for the moment you´re quite happy to with what seems like a
reasonable idea.
A, plying C, go
B, along D, singing
24. Many things that people do nowadays release greenhouse gases into the --------- and gases trap
energy. The result is global warming and, increases in the Earth´s temperature.
A, increase C, temperature

B, atmosphere D, warming.

25. Alternative -------- such as, solar panels and wind generators will also help to reduce the effect of
global warming.

A, solar panels C, energy

B, wind generators D. generators

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Instruction Three: For the item (26-29) answer choice that is synonym for the bold letters

26. He was inflexible in his determination to unite his country.

A. inflatable C. infantile

B. infernal D. inexorable

27. Because the author and the artist refused to collaborate, the book was never finished.
A confide C. provide proof
B. collate D. work together
28. Studying vocabulary can be an irksome task
A. easy C. tedious
B. pleasant D. irate
29. Einstein was a brilliant mathematician.
A. shining C. famous
B. very intelligent D. foreign
Instruction Four: For the item (30-31) choose the word that means the opposite of the bold
word.
30. I ate lunch with a most convivial group of my friends
A. lively C. unsociable
B. large D. old
31. A frightening number of illiterate students are graduating from college.
A. able to read and write C. unable to read and write
B. able to enjoy intramural sports D. well educated

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Instruction Five :Match the letters of the synonym in column B beside the appropriate word in column A

A B

--------32.habitat A .incessant
--------33.illiterate B. unkempt
-------34.unavoidable C incalculable
-------35.inflexible D. un able to read read and write
--------36.unwise.no careful E .natural place
--------37.not neat F. inevitable
--------38.very great G. inexorable
-------39.inapropriate H. park
-------40.constant I. incongruous
-------41.adequate J. sufficient
-------42.ambition K. wish
-------43.help L. surrounding.
-------44.atmosphere M. capable of being replaced
-------45.significance N. support
-------46.opportunities O. chance
--------47.zoo P. under control
--------48.renewable Q. impendent
-------49..to hand R. work together
--------50.collaborate S. very important

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Appendix B: Structural vocabulary proficiency test

School Name-----------------Code------------ Grade and section---------Time allotted---------

Group Type-------------------------------Date--------------------------

Structural Vocabulary Proficiency test for selected respondents of grade eleven Gembe Preparatory
school of 2017

Directions: Dear students, though the main objective of this vocabulary proficiency test are designed for
a research study, you have the chance to assess your understanding about your
vocabulary knowledge. So, you need to have the knowledge of the following
vocabulary areas:
Instruction One: For item (1-36) the sentences that follow are incomplete. Decide which of the choices
the best way of completing the given sentence.

1. My brother is a very successful businessman. His------------- is due to the fact that he works hard.

A. successes C. successfully

B. successful D. Success

2. Do not worry this bicycle is-------

A. repair C. repairable

B. a Repair D. repairing

3. Fossils were created --------times millions years ago.

A. historic C. historic list

B. story D. Pre- historic.

4. Most Africans are -------, speaking at least two but usually three or four languages.

A. monolingual C. lingual

B. bilingual D. languages

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 5. I do not enjoy the film it -----me.

A. bore C. barely

B. abode D. boring.

6. This math problems are -----I was confused at first but now I understand it.

A. confuse C. confuses

B. confusing D. confused.

7. The history of Harar was fascinating. Yes, it was --------to find out how old they are.

A. fascinates C. fascinating

B. fascinated D. fascinate

8. I have heard that you have some exciting plans for the holidays. Yes, I am going to be a tour guide! It
is fantastic! I’m really -------about it.

A, excites C. exhibited

B, exciting D. un excited

9. I can’t do this physics problem .It is -------to work out.

A, Possible C. Completely Impossible

B, Quite Possible D. Possibility,

10. Abebe is --------he could play in the basket ball.

A. not tall C. very tall

B. not quite tall D. tallness

11. You look -------.Go to bed and take rest.

A. exhausted C. very exhausting

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 B. exhausting D. happy

12. The part was ------but they had to leave early.

A. enjoyable C. un enjoyable

B. very enjoyable D. enjoying

13. I do not enjoy the film, it was ----by it.

A, feeling un happy C. feeling pleasant

B. happy D. interested.

14. Everyone is ------by instructions. The instructions were disturbing

A. disturbed C. happy

B. disturbs D. happiness.

15. The sun is shining. It is --------.

A. shining C. sun

B. shins D. sunny

16. Derartu is -----lovely girl that everybody likes her.

A. so C. such a

B. such D. so a

17. My muscles are too soft .So I’m starting to do --------exercise with my weights. My aim is to
strengthen my stomach.

A. strong C. soft

18. My brother always ------his homework in the evening.

A. does C .do

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 B. will work D. will do

19. There is a -----tree in our garden. Sometimes I enjoy solitarily

A. solitaries C. solitarily

B. solitary D. solitariness

20. The police man shouted ----at the supporters.

A. angry C. angrily

B. angering D. hungry

21. She can never resist pizza .She finds it.

A. irresistible C. resisted

B. resists D. resisting.

22. The doctor ----the illness, he prescribed the wrong medicine.

A. misdiagnosed C. diagnosing

B. diagnosed D. diagnosable.

23. Please remember that the ----of cameras and recording devices is prohibited during the performance.

A. operate C. operation

B. operating D. operationally

24. We would like to offer you a twelve month ----to Family Business Magazine.

A. subscription B. prescription C. description D. repetitive

25. She looked ---she started to cry.

A. happy C. happier

B. unhappy D. happiest

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26. I just can’t believe it! The story is----!

A. believable C. believing

B. unbelievable D. believes.

27. Let’s look at this information again. We should ----it before the test.

A. review C. viewing

B. view D. viewed.

28. The first women is very tired .She wants to rest! The second woman can’t stay still. She always
wants to move! She is -----

A. resting C. rested

B. restless D. restful

29. He was sitting ------in his seat on the train

A. comfort C. comforting

B. comfortably D. comforts

30. This word is very difficult to spell, and even worse, it’s -------

A. pronounce C. un pronounceable

B. pronounceable D. pronouncing

31. He didn’t pass his exam. He was -------for the second time.

A. succeeds B. successful C. un Succeed D. successfulness.

32. The film was ------good.

A. surprise C. surprised

B. surprising D. unsurprised

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33. The rate of ----in Brazil has been rising steadily.

A. employs C. employees

B. employed D. employment,

34. Some TV shows are totally ------for children. They mustn’t watch them.

A. suitable C. suite

B. unsuitable D. suiting,

35. My best friend and I talk----many times.

A. private C. privates

B. privately D. privating

36. Becham is very famous and he has thousands of -----.

A. admire C. admiring

C. admired D. admires.

Instruction Two: For item (37-40) Choose the correct meaning that represents the following
prefixes

37. What does the prefix “intra” mean?

A. outside C. between

B. within D. nowhere

38. What does the prefix “re” in the word reread?

A. up C. again

B. down D. stop

39. The banana was green. That meant it was ----

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 A. ripe C. un important

B. unripe D. ripped.

40. What does the prefix”bi” means?

A. one C. three

B .two D. four

Instruction Three: For item (41-44): Choose the correct meaning that represents the following suffixes

41. What the suffix “ious”?

A. less C. make

B. full of D. quality

42. What does the suffixes “less?”

A. without C. result

B.relating to D. none

43. What does the word suffixe “ation”

A. action C. through

B. across D. bad

44. What does the suffix “cy”?

A. to make C. relating to

B. quality D. pertaining to

Instruction Four:Choose the correct meaning that represents the following prefixes

45. What does the prefix “equ” mean?

A. outside C. equal

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 B. within D. nowhere

46. What does the prefix “post” in the word postpone?

A. to do after C. again and again

B. to do before D. stop

47. What does the prefix “mis” in the word to get wrong?

A. ripe C. un important

B. Wrong D. right

Instruction Four: Find the root words below and write in front of each word.

48. Friendliness----------------------

49. Uncontrollable ------------------

50. Disagreement ------------------

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APPENDIX C: Results of the pre- test for contextual and structural groups
Group A( Experimental Group) Group B ( Control Group)
No Code of the students Result out No Code of the Result out of
of100 % students 100%
1 A1 58 1 B1 76
2 A2 80 2 B2 71
3 A3 72 3 B3 73
4 A4 47 4 B4 62
5 A5 52 5 B5 60
6 A6 62 6 B6 54
7 A7 64 7 B7 74
8 A8 69 8 B8 66
9 A9 71 9 B9 72
10 A10 70 10 B10 76
11 A11 69 11 B11 74
12 A12 71 12 B12 79
13 A13 78 13 B13 66
14 A14 72 14 B14 73
15 A15 74 15 B15 83
16 A16 52 16 B16 74
17 A17 67 17 B17 65
18 A18 70 18 B18 56
19 A19 74 19 B19 69
20 A20 68 20 B20 46
21 A21 61 21 B21 63
22 A22 58 22 B22 70
23 A23 81 23 B23 68
24 A24 56 24 B24 71
25 A25 70 25 B25 66
26 A26 64 26 B26 71
27 A27 72 27 B27 80
28 A28 72 28 B28 68
29 A29 66 29 B29 72
30 A30 74 30 B30 78
31 A31 67 31 B31 64
32 A32 70 32 B32 70
33 A33 65 33 B33 70
34 A34 50 34 B34 66
35 A35 48 35 B35 61
36 A36 76 36 B36 50
37 A37 71 37 B37 52
38 A38 66

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Appendix D: Results of the post test for contextual and structural groups
Group A( Experimental Group) Group B (C0ntrol Group)
No Code of the Result out of No Code of the Result out of100
student 100% student %
1 A1 68 1 B1 72
2 A2 85 2 B2 68
3 A3 80 3 B3 74
4 A4 60 4 B4 60
5 A5 70 5 B5 65
6 A6 72 6 B6 56
7 A7 75 7 B7 75
8 A8 78 8 B8 69
9 A9 80 9 B9 73
10 A10 71 10 B10 75
11 A11 70 11 B11 75
12 A12 74 12 B12 80
13 A13 75 13 B13 69
14 A14 81 14 B14 75
15 A15 88 15 B15 85
16 A16 81 16 B16 73
17 A17 74 17 B17 67
18 A18 75 18 B18 58
19 A19 75 19 B19 70
20 A20 69 20 B20 51
21 A21 64 21 B21 62
22 A22 68 22 B22 71
23 A23 82 23 B23 69
24 A24 83 24 B24 73
25 A25 75 25 B25 68
26 A26 80 26 B26 71
27 A27 79 27 B27 81
28 A28 76 28 B28 69
29 A29 69 29 B29 73
30 A30 79 30 B30 77
31 A31 69 31 B31 65
32 A32 75 32 B32 72
33 A33 79 33 B33 71
34 A34 69 34 B34 67
35 A35 63 35 B35 62
36 A36 84 36 B36 56
37 A37 76 37 B37 54
38 A38 74

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 Appendix E: Contextual vocabulary teaching lessons for experimental group

Lesson One
Day One: Concepts of contextual clues and its types
Contextual clue means: An indicator of the meaning of a word such as clues may be in the sentence
that contains the word or somewhere else in the text within close proximity (Sthal, 1999). Context clues
include definition, synonyms, antonyms comparison and contrast and example.
Lesson Two: Synonyms
Synonyms are words with the same or similar meanings. Look the following synonyms of words.
Rank Word Synonyms
1 Opponent Enemy ,rival, foe
2 Past Former, previous, preceding
3 Plentiful Ample, enough, abundant
4 Mobile Movable, changeable
5 Least Fewest, minimum, smallest
6 Internal Inner, inside
7 Important Significant ,meaningful
8 Good Nice, fine, well-behaved
9 Fast Rapid, quick, swift
10 Evil Bad, wrong, wicked
11 Atrophied Wasted away
12 Cynosure Focus of all attention
13 Decade Ten years
14 Incredible Unbelievable
15 Adequate Sufficient

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 Exercise One: Synonyms: Choose the alternative hat has the same meaning as the underlined word

1. People used plants to make colorful dyes. The dyes were used to color cloth. What does word dyes
mean?

A. colorings C. food
B. dry D. flag
2. The bird sang from the bough of the tree. Then the bird hopped to another branch and sang some
more. The word bough means?

A. tree C. trunk
B. song D.branch
3. Jay came bounding over the flowers and into the yard. He should not jump over the flowers. The
word bounding means?
A. Marching C. leaping
B. stamping D. crawling
4. When alarmed the puppy hides under the bed. The frightened puppy will not come out. The word
alarmed means?
A. scared C. happy
B. catches D. crawled
5. Jennifer had a scowl on her face. She was unhappy about her grades. What does Scowl mean?
A. grin C. frown
B. stare D. smile
6. Bill's voice rose to a holler. His dad heard the yell across the room. What does the word holler mean?
A. shout C. whisper
B. sneeze D. hollow
7. The land was claimed for France. France ruled it for hundreds of years. The word claimed means?
A. State the right to own C. To make a map
B. To make sounds D. To live in a new country
8. The bees buzz, the hen clucks, the sheep bleats, and the cow moos. What does the word bleats mean?
A. has wool C. runs fast
B. say "baa baa" D. makes honey

76
9. When the flamingo was frightened she flew up in the air. What kind of animal is the flamingo?
A. monkey C. rabbit
B. bird D. fish
10. Adventure stories thrilled the boy. He became very excited. What does the thrilled mean?
A. surprised C. afraid
B. displeased D. excited
11. The stories her grandfather told her of his travels were interesting to the child. She could not wait to
hear more. What does the word interesting mean?
A.dul C.attention
B. cold D. uninteresting
12. In the United States of America there are medows called praires. The land is very flat in these areas.
What does the word prairies mean?
A. wetland C. flat land
B. dry land D. hills
13. For a brief moment there was silence. It was a short time. What does brief mean?
A .noisy C. short
B. rude D. long
15. Jesse's grades were outstanding. He made all As. What does outstanding mean?
A. really good C. long
B. bad D. outside
Lesson three : Context Clues: Antonyms
Day three
Concepts of antonyms
Antonyms are words that have opposite in meaning. An opposite meaning context clue contrasts the
meaning of an unfamiliar word with the meaning of a familiar term.

77
 Look the example below and do the next exercise
Ro.No Words Opposite/ Antonyms

1 Excess, extra Lack ,deficit

2 Tangible Vague. Ambiguous

3 Whole, entire Partial

4 Boring Interesting

5 Powerful Weak

6 Sociable Unfriendly, aloof

7 Clever Careless

8 Happy. Glad Unhappy

9 Poor Rich, wealthy

10 Plentiful Scarce, inadequate

Exercise one: Circle the letter of the word that most closely matches the underlined word in the
sentence. Use the antonym in blue as a clue to the correct meaning.
1. While she was indifferent to golf, her husband was an avid fan.
A. boring C. eager
B. likeable D. pleasant
2. I thought it was a fresh idea, but the teacher thought it was trite
A. special C. happy
B. loud D. common
3. Stacey was suspicious when the clown handed them a box, but her gullible little brother opened it
anyway.
A. trusting C. doomed

78
B. sad D. careful
4. While James is very outgoing, his older brother is very reclusive
A. withdrawn C. popular
B. athletic D. hungry
5. The woman abhorred cleaning house, but she loved a spotless home.
A. often C. enjoyed
B. demanded D. hated
6. George is adept with crossword puzzles, while his sister is a failure at solving them.
A. miserable C. close
B. skilled D. bored
7. She was an agile dancer, although her partner was quite clumsy.
A. quiet C. shy
B. nimble D. stiff
Lesson Four : Contextual clue through definition
The new term may be formally defined , or sufficient explanation may be given within the sentences or
individual words,
Example: 1.His emaciation that is, his skeleton –like appearance, was frightening to see.
“ Skeleton –like appearance “ is the definition of “ emaciation”
2. Habitat (N): The natural surroundings in which an animal or plant usually lives.
3. Cash crop (Np): A crop that is grown mainly to be sold rather than used by the farmer.
4. People grew many crops such as corn, beans, and squash.
Lesson Five : Contextual clues through comparison and contrast
Sometimes we can tell the meaning of an unfamiliar word when it is compared or contrasted to
something familiar. Context clues that shows comparison include like, as, similar,, and in the same way
.Contrast may be signaled by words such as but, although, however, and on the other hand.
Exercise One: Read the following sentences and underline each word or phrase that signals a
compare/contrast clue. Circle comparison or contrast, depending on the clue. Then write the meaning
of each italicized word.
1. The sink was cogged, like a ball stuck in vacuum deaner.
Compare/contrast
Meaning ---------------------------------------

79
2. The meeting was held in the main house, but refreshments were served in the annex.
Compare /contrast
Meaning ------------------------------------------
3. The summer was sultry; on the other hand, the fall was cool and dry.
Compare /contrast
Meaning --------------------------------------------------------------------
Lesson Six : Contextual clues at passage level
Day Six
Guidelines finding contextual clues in the passage
Remember: The words and phrases around a new word often have clues about the word’s meaning.
 Look for clues in the same sentence you read the word in.
 Look in sentences before and after the new word.
 Think about the way the word is used in the sentence.
 Ask yourself, “What do I know about this word?”
Read the passages below as a class or in small groups. Answer the questions.
Abdo and Helen have discovered something new. Their dad found a box of old comic books and gave it
to them. At first they did not want to look at them. They were not very interested in reading comic
books. Then, a week after they got the box, they began to read. They read about Superman, Batman, and
Spiderman. They were thrilled they were happy to be having so much fun. Their mom is about to spoil
the fun. She is going to take the comic books away. Jon and
Helen has not stopped reading. They need to clean their room, do their homework and take
a bath. She is going to hide the comic books until they shape up.
Exercise one: Read the above passage and choose the best meaning from the given alternatives for
words that has been written in bold letters
1. The word discovered means...
A. heard C. drew
B. found D. colored
2. In the story what does the word interested mean?
A. wanting to know C. wanting to sing
B. wanting to run D. wanting to clean
3. In the story, the bold word they means...

80
A. Jon’s things C. Jon and Helen
B. Helen’s things D. the comic books
4. A word in the story that is the opposite of dirty is
A. dusted C. wiped
B. shined D. cleaned
5. Another word for thrilled is...
A. happy C. sad
B.mad D. fun
6. A word in the story that means almost the same thing as ruin is...
A. stopped C. clean
B. fun D. spoil
Lesson eight: Contextual Vocabulary through analyzing and identifying the types of clues
Choose the correct meaning of the underlined word, and identify the type of context clue used: example,
contrast, definition, synonyms and antonyms
1. I’m looking for a unique gift for my boyfriend he appreciates un usual things.
A. example C. antonym
B.synonym D.definition
2. After the heavy rains, the stream became murky; in fact, the water was so cloudy you couldn’t see the
bottom
A. definition C.synonym
B. example D. antonym
3. The debris on the stadium floor included numerous paper cups, ticket stubs, and cigarette butts.
A. definition C .antonym
B. example D. synonym
4. The coach takes every opportunity to censure his players, yet he ignores every opportunity to praise
them.
A. example C. antonym
B. definition D. synonym

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Appendix F: structural vocabulary teaching lessons for selected students of grade 11
Lesson one: Concepts of structural methods of teaching vocabulary.

Structural approaches of teaching vocabulary are based on the morphological analysis of a word. It is a
process of breaking the words in to root, prefixes, and suffixes to illustrate the meaning of unfamiliar
words. It is considered easy and approaches of vocabulary building.

Root words: Are actually special kinds of base word and the main parts of a meaning. Like a root of a
tree.

Prefixes: a group of letters added to the beginning of a root/base word. E.g. un means not, unlike

Suffixes: a group of letters that is added to at the end of a base or root words. . A suffix can Change the
part of speech (for example, run, runner).

Words in Speech groups

Lesson two: Study words in speech groups

Rank Verbs Nouns Adjectives Adverbs

1 Accept Acceptance Acceptable
2 Achieve Achievement Achievable
3 Act Action Active Actively
4 Act Activity Active Actively
5 Act Activeness Active Actively
6 Believe Belief Believable
7 Bore Boredom Boring
8 Bother Botheration Bothering
9 Challenge Challenge Challenging
10 Clear Clarity Clear clearly
11 Collect Collection Collective collectively
12 Damage Damage Damaged
13 Decorate Decoration Decorative
14 Demand Demand Demanding

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15 Destroy Destruction Destructive destructively
16 Differ Difference Different differently
17 Educate Education Educative
18 Empower Power Powerful powerfully
19 Endanger Danger Dangerous dangerously
20 Enumerate Number Numerable
21 Evaporate Evaporation Evaporating
22 Explore Exploration Exploring
23 Fly Flight Flying
24 Force Force Forceful forcefully
25 Grow Growth Growing growingly
26 Hope Hope Hopeful hopefully
27 Harm Harm Harmful harmfully
28 Imitate Imitation Imitative imitatively
29 Indicate Indication Indicative Indicatively
30 Inform Information Informative
31 Instruct Instruction Instructive
32 Introduce Introduction Introductory
33 Inquire Inquiry Inquiring
33 Invent Invention Inventive
34 Live Life Lively livingly
35 Lose Loss Lost
36 Migrate Migration Migrating
37 Madden Madness Mad madly
38 Modernize Modernity Modern
39 Moisten Moisture Moistures
40 Move Movement Movable movingly
41 Narrow Narrowness Narrow
42 nationalize Nationality National nationwide
43 Observe Observation Observatory

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 44 Own Ownership Own
45 Perform Performance Performing
46 Permit Permission Permissible
47 Persuade Persuasion Persuasive
48 Please Pleasure Pleasant
49 Popularize Popularity Popular
50 Quicken Quickness Quick Quickly
51 Redden Redness Red
52 Sadden Sadness Sad Sadly

Exercise One: Complete the following sentences modifying the form of words in the brackets

1. The ----------- of students depend on their working performance.( achieve)

2. She ----------whether the students learn last month. (Inquire)

3. The public representative argued for the benefit of their people ---------- (courageous)

4. The ----------wind create harmful conditions on life of the community.(destroy

Lesson three: completion exercise

Exercise two: Complete the missing verb, nouns, adjective and adverbs using the above chart

Rank Verbs Nouns Adjectives Adverbs

1 Evaporate evaporating
2 Migrate Migration
3 Modernize Modernity
4 Act Activity active
5 Indication indicative indicatively
6 Believe Belief
7 Move movable movingly
8 Performance

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 9 Invent Invention
10 Harm Harm harmful
11 Introduce introductory
12 Migrate Migration
13 Accept Acceptance
14 Challenge challenging
15 Achieve achievable
Vocabulary Building:

Lesson Four: Concepts of root prefix and suffixes

1. Prefixes,

2. Suffixes, and

3. Root/ base words in focused lessons. The following are examples written in student- friendly
language: Base word: A base word is the smallest group of letters that forms a complete word. For
example, the word pay is a base word. We can add letters to the beginning or end to form new words
(for example, repay and payment). Root word is actually a special kind of base word A root carries the
main part of the meaning. Like the root of a tree,

1. Prefix: A prefix is a group of letters that is added to the beginning of a root or base word and that
changes its meaning. For example, the prefix un means “not” or “opposite of.” In the word unlike, the
base word is like. One of the meanings of like is “similar to.” By adding the prefix un, the meaning
changes to “not similar” or “different.”

2. Suffix: A suffix is a group of letters that is added to the end of a root or base word and that changes
its meaning, although its new meaning is often close to the original meaning. A suffix can Change the
part of speech (for example, run, runner). Change a noun from singular to plural (for example, cat,
and cats). Change verb tense (for example, wait, waited). Establish a relationship (for example,
employer, and employee). Show a difference in quantity (for example, less, lesser) and number (few,
fewest)

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Lesson five: Teaching Prefixes and steps we follow

Day Five

Teaching prefixes is a good investment of teaching time for several reasons. First, a large percentage of
words use a relatively small group of prefixes. For example, knowing the prefix un can help students
understand words such as unlike, uncomfortable, unhappy, unload, and unlock, to name just a few.
Second, prefixes tend to be consistently spelled correctly at the beginning of the word, unlike suffixes
that come at the end of the word. (For example, to emphasize the state or quality of something, both the
suffix ity and the suffix ty are used, as in necessity, loyalty.

Step 1: Present the prefix in isolation and provide four words. We use the prefix re with the examples of
reread, rethink, reuse, and return.

Step 2: Define the prefix. Re means “again” or “back”.

Step 3: Use the words in sentences. •The boys were asked to reread the book. Alice took a moment to
rethink how she solved the puzzle. My mom reuses the plastic bags from the grocery store to store my
wet swimming suit. I have to return the books to the library.

Step 4: Define the words. Re read means “to read again.” Rethink means “to think again.” Re use
means “to use again,” sometimes in a different way. Return means “to give something back” or “to
come back again.” Mrs. Kaholo realizes that teaching prefixes isn’t as time-consuming as we thought it
would be. Now she needs to think of opportunities to give students a chance to find other words with the
prefix (step 5) and have them start a vocabulary notebook (step 6).

Lesson six: The most common prefixes in English with examples

Day Four

Rank Prefix Definition/meaning Sample Words

1 Un Not unhappy, unafraid, undefeated
2 re again, back recede , regress
3 in , im , Not invisible ,impolite, illegal
il

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 4 Dis Not dislike, discomfort
5 en, em in, into, cover entangle, empathy
6 Non Not nonfiction ,nonstop, nonsense
7 in, im In incorporate, include, infect
8 Over above, beyond overdue, overactive
9 Mis Wrongly misconduct, mistake
10 Sub Under subject, subhuman
11 Pre before, prior predict, preview, prehistoric
12 Inter Among international, internet
13 Fore before, in front of forewarn, forenoon
14 Anti against, oppose antiwar, antisocial
15 Under too little underpaid, underfed
16 Trans Across Transport
17 Semi Half Semicolon
18 Extra Beyond Extracurricular
19 Post After Postoperative
20 Poly Many Polygon/polysomy

Exercise One: The prefix un-

This prefix is used to make opposites. Make these words opposites by adding un-

1. Happy ---------- 2.safe ----------3.health---------4.pleasant-------5.easy------6.truthful-------

7. Tidy----------8.luck-----------

Exercise 2(lesson two) Using the words you have created in task or exercise one ,copy and complete
these sentences.

1. A person who tells lies is -------------- 5.Some thing is that not nice to look at is--------

2. A classroom that is not neat is --------- 6.A person who doesn’t feel well is ----------

3. A person who worries a lot is ---------- 7.To walk under a ladder is considered are -------

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4. Someone who is miserable is--------- 8.Bare wires sticking out from a plug are ---------

Lesson seven: Study suffixes with their definition and example

Day seven

Rank Suffixes Definition Word examples

1 s, es Plural boys, chairs ,ladies ,boxes
2 Ed past tense wanted, tested, walked
3 Ly characteristic of friendly, loudly, lovely
4 er, or someone who does teacher, singer, doctor, actor, worker
5 ion, tion quality of attention, starvation
6 able, ible can be comfortable, comprehendible
7 Ment action or process enjoyment, loyalty, honesty, unity
8 Less Without tireless, joyless, careless
9 Ful full of joyful, fearful, careful
10 Ic having characteristic of comic, historic, public, atmospheric
11 Est Most smartest, lightest, fastest
12 ive, ative inclined to active, negative, positive, talkative
, tive
13 Al relating to Traditional
14 Fy Make Beautify
15 Ious full of Gracious
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Exercise One: Give the meaning and example for the following Suffixes

Rank Suffixes Meanings Examples

1. Less ------------- ---------------

2. Able ------------- ------------------

3. Tive --------------- -----------------

4. Est. ---------------- ----------------

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 5. Tion ------------------ ----------------

Exercise 2: Add the suffix ( ing) to each base or root word and write the new word on the line
beside it.

1. run------ 2.bite--------3.hop-------4.hope---------5.slide-----------

Exercise 3: Use the words in the chart above, choose a word that best fits the following definitions.

1. A celebration that has become a tradition is considered------------------------------

2. A person full of grace is -----------------------------

3. When weather forecaster’s talk about the pressure of the atmosphere, they refer to -----------pressure.

4. To make a house beautiful is to --------------------------------

5. The state of being content is called --------------------------

Lesson eight (8)

Day eight (6)

Study Root Words

Rank Root word Definition/meaning Sample words

1 Aud Hear audiophile, auditorium
2 Astro Star astrology ,astronaut
3 Bio Life biography, biology
4 Dict Speak dictate, dictator
5 Geo Earth geology,geograph
6 Meter Measure thermometer,barometere
7 Min little, small minimum, minimal
8 Phon Sound phonograph,microphone,phoneme
9 Port Carry transport,portable,import
10 Struct Build construction,destruct,instruct
11 Term Name Wording
12 Zoo Animal Zoology
13 Psycho Mind Psychology
14 Nom Rule Autonomy
15 Ideo Idea Ideology
16 Biblio Book Bibliophile
17 Gam Marriage Polygamy

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Exercise one: Find the root words of the longer words below and write in front of each word.

1. Psychology --------------------------

2. Zoology-------------------------------

3. Geology/geography------------------

4. Phoneme ------------------------------

5. Transport ----------------------------

Exercise Two: Define each word, using its root to help you. Write your answer definitions on the
line provided.

1. Omnivorous-----------------------------------

2. Omniscient -----------------------------------

3. Biannual --------------------------------------

4. Compendium --------------------------------

5. Append --------------------------------------

Exercise 3: Read each example .Choose the correct answer about the root words.

1. The root word in sanded is: A.sande B.ed C.sand D.sanded

2. The root word in running is: A.run B.runn C.ing D.running.

3. The root word in funniest is: A.funn B.funni C.iest D.funny.

4. The root word in fastest is: A.faste B.fasti C.fast D.est

5. The root word in unhappy is: A.un B.unhappy C.happy D.hapy.

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APPENDIX G: PHOTO I. WHEN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP TOOK PRE-TEST

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APPENDIX H: PHOTO II. WHEN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP TOOK POST--TEST

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APPENDIX I: PHOTO III. WHEN THE CONTROL GROUP TOOK PRE-TEST

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APPENDIX J: PHOTO IV: WHEN THE CONTROL GROUP TOOK POST-TEST

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APPENDIX K: SELECTED LESSEN PLAN FOR STRUCTURAL VOCABULARY TEACHING

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APPENDIX L: SELECTED LESSEN PLAN FOR CONTEXTUAL VOCABULARY TEACHING

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