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The Use of Crossword Puzzles As a V English As a Second Languag z Available online at http://www.journalcra.com INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CURRENT RESEARCH International Journal of Current Research Vol. 5, Issue, 02, pp.313-321, February, 2013 ISSN: 0975-833X RESEARCH ARTICLE The Use of Crossword Puzzles as a Vocabulary Learning Strategy: A Case of English as a Second Language in Kenyan Secondary Schools 1Martin C. Njoroge, 1Ruth W. Ndung’u and 2Moses Gatambuki Gathigia 1Department of English and Linguistics, Kenyatta University, P.O. Box 43844-00100, Nairobi, Kenya 2Karatina University College, Department of Humanities and Languages, P.O. Box Karatina, Kenya ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History: This paper focuses on the application of crossword puzzles in the teaching of vocabulary in English a Second Received 16th November, 2012 Language (ESL) classrooms. A pretest was used to measure the learners’ previous knowledge of English Received in revised form vocabulary in a Form 2 class. The pre- test was marked and recorded. A comprehension passage was composed by 25th December, 2012 the researchers and read by both the control and experimental classes. While the control class was exposed to the Accepted 30th January, 2013 Traditional Lexical Pedagogy in the teaching of vocabulary, the experimental cohort was exposed to a crossword th puzzle. A post-test was administered at the end of the study to measure whether there was a significant difference Published online 14 February, 2013 in scores between the experimental and control groups. The scores were tabulated and analyzed quantitatively Key words: using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences and emerging patterns discussed. Levene's Test for Equality of Variances was then employed. The general finding is that the use of crossword puzzles in the teaching of English Vocabulary, a Second Language is an effective strategy of vocabulary instruction. The study concludes that the use of Test, Crossword Puzzles, crossword puzzles is of pedagogical significance as it helps learners enlarge vocabulary and deepen their mastery Traditional Lexical Pedagogy, of the English lexis. English as a Second Language. Copy Right, IJCR, 2013, Academic Journals. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION In Kenya, learners of English as a second language display difficulties in the acquisition and use of vocabulary (Njoroge and Vocabulary is of primary importance to language teaching and Ndung'u, 2009; and Nyamasyo, 1992). Widaningsih (2009) claims learning because it plays a pivotal role in moulding the four language that one of the possible causes of poor performance in English as a skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening (Widaningsih, 2009). second language is that the teacher still uses the conventional method Unfortunately, vocabulary is often neglected in most second and in teaching. Thus, approaches or vocabulary learning strategies that foreign language classes (Fernández et al., 2009). Widaningsih help learners in the acquisition of vocabulary should be identified. (2009), nevertheless, points out that vocabulary mastery should be For example, literature on second language acquisition posits that the the first priority in English language teaching and learning. In the teaching of vocabulary should be done through exposure of learners same vein, McCarthy (1990) emphasizes that one of the most to various vocabulary enhancing activities (Coady and Huckin, important skills that teachers of English can give to learners is a wide 1997). The use of crossword puzzles is one of the strategies that a range of rich vocabulary. Stanovich (1981), however, believes that it teacher can employ. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to is impossible for learners to perform well in English if their analyze the effectiveness of the crossword approach and the vocabulary is very poor. Thornbury (2002, p.13) puts it succinctly If Traditional Lexical Pedagogy as instructional approaches in the you spend most of your time studying grammar, your English will not teaching of vocabulary in Kenyan secondary schools. improve very much. You will see most improvement if you learn more words and expressions. You can say very little with grammar, Statement of the Issue but you can say almost anything with words!” Vocabulary acquisition is the most important task facing the language Learning vocabulary is a complex process (Nagy and Scott, 2000) learner (Swan and Walter, 1984). Unfortunately, there is often little and most teachers normally ignore vocabulary teaching and focus on emphasis on vocabulary development in the school curricula. In the phonics, phonemic awareness, fluency and comprehension (Berne et Kenyan Secondary school curriculum, for example, due to the large al., 2008). In the United States of America, for example, the National amount of materials presented in a year in the Kenyan English Reading Panel in 2000 did not even categorize vocabulary as an Syllabus, vocabulary teaching is often either neglected by teachers or integral area in reading acquisition, arguing that it fell directly under taught on a limited basis. Njoroge and Ndung'u (2009) point out comprehension skills (NICHD, 2000). Unlike the learning of learners' inadequacy in both the range and lexical knowledge of the grammar and phonetics, vocabulary learning is an incremental and vocabulary that they are exposed to in the Kenyan education system. unending task for any language learner and it needs to be taken Vocabulary acquisition is a complex process and a challenge for seriously (Changhong, 2010). For example, Stahl and Nagy (2006) teachers as well as students especially because it is not an easy concur that a person’s vocabulary level “opens or closes access to subject to learn (Changhong, 2010). By analysing both the sources of information that will affect our future.” (p. 3). Mukoroli Traditional Lexical Pedagogy and the use of crossword puzzles (2011) also argues that vocabulary learning is an important and approach, this paper establishes that the use of crossword puzzles in indispensable part of any language learning process. the Kenyan ESL classrooms would improve the vocabulary of the learners. This is a lacuna that this paper attempts to fill since, *Corresponding author: [email protected], [email protected] according to Njoroge and Ndung’u (2009), there is little emphasis on 314 International Journal of Current Research, Vol. 5, Issue, 02, pp. 313-321, February, 2013 vocabulary development instruction during content instruction in the Types of Vocabulary Acquisition Kenyan education system. As Stahl and Fairbanks (1986) note, a successful curricula that employs successful strategies increases Incidental vocabulary acquisition is the learning of new words in children’s vocabulary by approximately 300 words a year. different contexts as a by-product of a meaning-focused communicative activity, such as extensive reading, listening and Rationale communicative interactions and exposure to natural input such as movies, listening to stories and radio and television (Nation, 2001). The choice of vocabulary instruction and acquisition as a topic of Laufer (1997) also simply defines incidental vocabulary acquisition study is based on a number of reasons. First, vocabulary is an as the acquisition of vocabulary through any activity not clearly important factor in the comprehension of language and the number of geared towards lexical acquisition. Read (2004) notesthat students words acquired by a learner is related to competent language use can learn vocabulary items incidentally while engaging in other (Nation, 1990). Students who have a limited vocabulary are at risk of language-learning activities. Intentional vocabulary acquisition, on not becoming proficient in reading (Beck and McKeown, 2005; the other hand, is defined as the activity aimed at committing the Blachowicz and Fisher, 2000). This may explain why Kenya lexical information into the memory. Intentional vocabulary Secondary School English syllabus states in its objectives that acquisition involves a deliberate way of directing learners’ learners should be able to build a wide range of vocabulary (K.I.E., consciousness to learning a word (Laufer and Hulstijn, 2001). 2002) by the end of secondary school learning. In addition, Graves (1986) argues that direct instruction produces better methods vocabulary is a major factor of poor reading comprehension, and and better word acquisition than no instruction at all. The use of students’ word knowledge is strongly linked to success in academics crossword puzzles in the teaching of vocabulary is part of (NRP, 2000 and Nagy, 1998). Stahl and Nagy (2006) add that the intentional vocabulary acquisition especially when the teacher more words we have, the more complex ways we can think about the intends that the learners acquire specific lexical items through this world. strategy. Secondly, Read (2004) has revealed a lack of research on issues Studies on Vocabulary concerning classroom-teaching of vocabulary. Although, studies on vocabulary acquisition done in Kenya have underscored the Vocabulary instruction and acquisition is a study area that has elicited effectiveness of vocabulary teaching and learning through various a lot of research. For example, Stoffer (1995), Gu (2003), Sanaoui activities or tasks (Njoroge and Ndung’u, 2009; Nyamasyo, 1992; (1995) have looked at vocabulary learning strategies while Cross Ngumo, 2007 and Orwenjo, 2009), we do not have a framework that (1991) and Nation (1990) have described the techniques of employs crossword puzzles in the teaching and
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