Using Alphabet Books to Build Second-Grade Vocabulary in an After-School Program

• Main Authors: Yen, Meng-Yao, 顏夢瑤
• Other Authors: Yang, Li-Chung
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2015
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/71170326244275473194

碩士 === 臺北市立大學 === 英語教學系 === 103 === The purpose of the study was to use alphabet books with young EFL learners to motivate them to read and write in order to learn more vocabulary words. The study targeted the second-grade students in Taiwan with different types of alphabet books to help them learn more vocabulary in meaningful contexts. There were 27 participants in the study, 14 in the experiment group and 13 in the comparison group. The experiment group received alphabet book instruction from March 31st, 2014 to June 12th, 2014. Three alphabet books, including Tomorrow’s Alphabet (1999), The Z Was Zapped (1987), and Dr. Seuss’s ABC (1996), were used. The three books are non-sequential because each alphabet is presented in a mini-story, and each mini-story can be read independently. The alphabet book readings were designed to facilitate the interactivity between the book and the readers. Besides alphabet book reading, the participants in the experiment group also created their personal dictionaries by drawing and writing the words they have learned. The result of the study showed that the experiment group outperformed in both word meaning and word recognition than the comparison group after an 11-week of alphabet book reading project. The participants were also satisfied with the alphabet books instruction, indicating that they liked the alphabet books, the teaching aid, and the way they learned the words. Base on the findings, this study also provide some pedagogical implications and research implications for the continued improvement of the alphabet book instruction.