Applying information technology in vocabulary teaching and learning for the first-year English non-major students at Thuong Mai University

se of Microsoft PowerPoint in the 
classroom. 
Q8 In the future, I am willing to try other different technology tools, like Youtube, 
computer games or Blog, in English language learning. 
A five-point Likert-scale is used to indicate students’ statement by choosing among the 
five responses ranging from “strongly disagree to strongly agree”. The data collection was 
limited to the experimental group (N=36). 
3.3. Instrument 
In order to check whether the two different methods make any difference on students’ 
English vocabulary acquisition, SPSS 12.0 was used to see if there was a statistically 
significant difference in two classes’ pre-test and post-test scores. An independent samples t-
test was used for comparing the means on variable between two teaching methods. Microsoft 
PowerPoint was used in the experimental group. This software presented approximately 2000 
words and phrases which show the spelling, translation, pronunciation, and image. Besides, 
descriptive statistics was used to analyze the questionnaire of using Microsoft PowerPoint 
teaching in the classroom. The frequency percentages, means and SD were reported. 
4. Results and discussion 
4.1. Students’ Pre-Test Results 
Based on Table 2, the p value is higher than .05, and this showed that there was no 
significant difference with experimental group and control group at the beginning of the 
research. 
Table 2. The independent sample t-test of English pre-test 
 Number Mean Std Deviation Sig (2-tailed) 
Experimental group 36 62.12 10.85 .070 
Control group 38 60.16 12.79 .070 
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4.2. Students’ Post-Test Results 
According to the results in Table 3, there was a significant difference in the scores 
between experimental group (M=68.9, SD=6.7) and control group (M=62.0, SD=9.0). That 
is, the use of Microsoft PowerPoint in English vocabulary teaching has positive effect on 
students’ performance and helps students in English vocabulary acquisition. Under the 
Microsoft PowerPoint instruction, the experimental group performed better in the post-test and 
made a big progress. 
Table 3. The independent sample t-test of English post-test 
 Number Mean Std Deviation Sig (2-tailed) 
Experimental group 36 68.9 6.74 .000 
Control group 38 62.0 9.08 .000 
4.3. Questionnaire Analysis 
The results of descriptive analysis of the questionnaire (percentages, means and SD) 
were shown in Table 4. The main purpose of the questionnaire was to understand students’ 
attitude toward ICT use in the classroom. Moreover, this questionnaire was only distributed in 
the experimental group. 
Table 4. Percentages, means and standard deviation of using Microsoft PowerPoint in the classroom 
Item Percent (%) Mean SD 
 SA A N D SD 
Q1 42.86 42.86 14.29 0 0 4.29 0.20 
Q2 42.31 30.77 23.08 0 3.85 4.08 1.02 
Q3 50 46.15 3.85 0 0 4.46 0.58 
Q4 57.69 38.46 3.85 0 0 4.54 0.58 
Q5 7.69 3.85 34.62 15.38 38.46 4.26 0.70 
Q6 46.67 40 13.33 0 0 4.33 0.71 
Q7 60 33.33 6.67 0 0 4.53 0.63 
Q8 50 43.33 6.67 0 0 4.43 0.63 
For question one, 42.86% of the students showed that they liked English better through 
Microsoft PowerPoint instruction whereas 0% of them denied this statement. Next, for the 
confidence in English vocabulary learning, there were more than 2/3 of the students stated that 
they felt more confident whereas only 3.85% of them reported that they were still lack of 
confidence. Among the 8 questions, question 2 scored the lowest mean of 4.08. It might be the 
Vietnamese culture because students are shy and humble. Question 3 asked students whether 
they would spend more time on learning English vocabulary after experienced Microsoft 
PowerPoint instructions in the classroom. The result of question 3 was very positive 
because there were 96.15% of the students agreed on this item. The analysis of students’ 
understanding of English vocabulary showed that they agreed that the use Microsoft 
PowerPoint was better than the traditional blackboard lecture (mean=4.54). With regard to the 
only negative item in this questionnaire, question 5 aimed to understand if students’ learning 
motivation had increased. The results were quite interesting because half of the students 
disagreed on item 5 whereas 34.62% of the students were neutral and 11.54% of them 
 Journal of Inquiry into Languages and Cultures ISSN 2525-2674 Vol 2, No 1, 2018 
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agreed on this item. Question 6 wanted to test students’ self-study attitude by asking if they 
would download the software and reviewed the lessons. The results showed that 86.67% 
of the students would do this after class whereas 13.33% of them were neutral. Question 7 
aimed to know the overall attitude among students toward the use of iPad teaching in the 
classroom, and the result scored the highest “strongly agree” of all the 8 items. That is, about 
93.33% of the students had high evaluation on the use of Microsoft PowerPoint in the classroom. 
The final question wanted to know if students wanted to try other ICT tools in the future. The 
results turned out to be good due to nobody disagreed on this item and approximately 93.33% 
of the students wanted to continue to use the ICT tools in the future. 
4.4. Discussion 
 The findings of this paper are summarized as follows: 
 (1) The Microsoft PowerPoint created significant progress in students’ English 
vocabulary acquisition. 
The current research tended to understand students’ progress and attitude in English 
vocabulary acquisition under the Microsoft PowerPoint teaching. The findings in this paper 
showed very positive results. First of all, the experimental group, who learned English 
vocabulary through the Microsoft PowerPoint instruction, performed better in the English 
post-test than the control group. Table III showed that the final exam average score of the 
experimental group (M=68.9) was higher than that of the control group (M=62). The 
independent sample t-test showed that there was a significant difference between the 
experimental group and the control group (p=.000<.05). This also proved that the proposed 
teaching method (using Microsoft PowerPoint in the classroom) is effective. 
 (2) Using ICT teaching in the classroom had positive effects on students’ English learning 
motivation. 
Another major finding in this paper was that students’ learning motivation was 
increased in the ICT classroom. The research explored students’ attitude toward the use of ICT 
in the classroom. According to items 3, 5 and 6 in the questionnaire, students were more 
active for English vocabulary learning. Moreover, based on item 1 and item 2, students’ 
attitude toward English was changed, and there were more students who wanted to learn 
English. 
 (3) The use of Microsoft PowerPoint teaching created a relaxed learning environment. 
In English vocabulary teaching, the effectiveness of vocabulary acquisition depends 
on the method the teacher uses and teacher’s enthusiasm (Yun, 2011). Since the development 
of English vocabulary acquisition is a long-term work, the learning should not be limited to 
in-class lectures. Instead, teachers should encourage students to develop self-study habits and 
increase students’ learning motivation. By using the ICT, students will feel familiar and 
relaxed in the classroom. In this paper, the use of Microsoft PowerPoint in English 
vocabulary teaching provided lots of pictures, words, sentences, audio-files and pronunciation 
practices in the traditional classroom. It was totally different from the traditional teacher-
centered lecture. With the use of Microsoft PowerPoint, there were more interactions 
between the teacher and students, and students seemed to be more focused during the lectures. 
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According to the research, the visual effects provided by the ICT really help the increase in 
students’ learning motivation (Mooij, 2007), (Nation, Learning Vocabulary in Another 
Language, 2001). The results of this paper were corresponded with these previous researches. 
Hence, the Microsoft PowerPoint provided a meaningful learning interface in the traditional 
Vietnamese classroom. Instead of memorizing the word by word, students got more chances to 
think and apply the words. Also, the learning responsibility has been transferred from 
teacher to students. Moreover, students can download the software after class and review the 
lessons at any time, any place. It is like seamless learning and if the teacher can use this kind 
of ICT tools in the classroom, it can be beneficial for both teachers and students. 
(4) The ICT teaching had influenced students’ willingness of using computers in English 
learning. 
Based on the results of the questionnaire, students wanted to try different ICT in future 
study. After the instructor used the Microsoft PowerPoint to teach English vocabulary in the 
classroom, students seemed to understand how to apply the ICT in learning and this is in line 
with the previous research findings (Rott, 2002; Schmitt, 2000). 
5. Conclusion and Implications 
According to the research results, the instructor believes that using Microsoft 
PowerPoint in English teaching has positive effect on students and the results were as 
follows: 
 (1) The effectiveness of using Microsoft PowerPoint in students’ English vocabulary 
acquisition had been approved. 
 After using Microsoft PowerPoint in English vocabulary teaching, the experimental 
group showed a great performance on the post-test than the control group. Hence, it is believed 
that applying ICT method in English teaching has its positive effectiveness. 
 (2) Students’ attitude toward ICT in the classroom was positive. 
 According to the results of the questionnaire, the experimental group felt motivated, 
delighted and interested in using Microsoft PowerPoint to learn English vocabulary. 
 (3) The teachers are encouraged to use more ICT applications in the classroom in the 
future. 
 Based on item 10 in the questionnaire, students are willing to learn English by using 
different ICTs. Therefore, teachers need to realize this trend and apply more ICTs in English 
language teaching in the future not only to meet students’ needs, but also to create a lively 
learning environment. 
However, the number of students in this paper limits the reliability of the results. If 
there are more classes and students involving in this research, and teachers’ attitude can also 
be investigated, the reliability and validity of this paper can be increased. In the future, it is also 
suggested to include interviews of teachers and students to enhance the completeness of the 
research. 
 Journal of Inquiry into Languages and Cultures ISSN 2525-2674 Vol 2, No 1, 2018 
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ỨNG DỤNG CNTT TRONG GIẢNG DẠY TỪ VỰNG 
CHO SINH VIÊN KHÔNG CHUYÊN TIẾNG ANH NĂM THỨ NHẤT 
TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THƯƠNG MẠI HÀ NỘI 
Tóm tắt: Việc ứng dụng CNTT trong việc dạy và học là yêu cầu bức thiết của ngành giáo 
dục trong giai đoạn hiện nay. Việc ứng dụng CNTT vào việc dạy học môn tiếng Anh không 
những giúp cho người dạy phần nào tiết kiệm được thời gian chuẩn bị đồ dùng dạy học mà 
còn giúp cho người học tiếp cận được bài giảng một cách dễ dàng. Microsoft PowerPoint là 
một phần mềm có khả năng trình diễn khá linh hoạt. Trong giới hạn bài viết này, tác giả xin 
đề cập đến việc ứng dụng Microsoft PowerPoint trong việc soạn giảng các bài dạy từ vựng 
và kiểm tra từ vựng cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất tại trường Đại học 
Thương Mại Hà Nội. 
Từ khóa: CNTT, giảng dạy từ vựng, kiểm tra từ vựng