The Effects of Semantic Mapping on Vocabulary Memorizing

concentrate on looking at the word list and learn both the English words and the Vietnamese
meanings by heart”.
Table 12 sums ups the ways students used to memorize vocabulary at home.
Table 12. <strong>The</strong> Ways Students used to Memorize Vocabulary at Home
<strong>The</strong> ways students used to memorize vocabulary Percentage
1. writing words on some pieces <strong>of</strong> paper 77.8%
2. learning the words and their meanings by heart 11.1%
3. reading Sunflower magazines or English-Vietnamese
stories
11.1%
Question 3: Have you ever been taught vocabulary using the semantic mapping?
Table 13 summarizes the students’ answers <strong>of</strong> whether ever being taught vocabulary by using the
semantic mapping or not.
Table 13. <strong>The</strong> students’ Answers
<strong>The</strong> students’ answers Percentage
No 88.9%
Yes, but didn’t know the name <strong>of</strong> the technique 11.1%
When being asked about whether ever being taught vocabulary by using the semantic mapping or
not, the majority answered that they hadn’t been taught using this technique before. Only one
student admitted that she was taught when she was in grade 9. However, she said “At that time I
was one <strong>of</strong> the students that were being trained to take the exam for students who were good at
English. I was taught vocabulary by using this technique but I didn’t know its name was
semantic mapping”
Question 4: Do you think it is effective or ineffective to use the semantic mapping to memorize
vocabulary?
All <strong>of</strong> the students acknowledged that the semantic mapping was effective for memorizing
vocabulary. Some students also appreciated the value <strong>of</strong> the semantic mapping as not only
“effective” but also “interesting”. One student explained that using the semantic mapping was
interesting because it was “logical” and he “can draw as many branches in the maps as
possible”. However, there were some thoughts raising some issues about using the semantic
mapping. Some opinions were dealt with the time being acquainted with this technique because
it “takes a long time to know how to use this technique”. One student said that “it is critical for
students who are not good at English” and another added “the semantic mapping requires an
available amount <strong>of</strong> vocabulary from the users”.
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