For your own knowledge, what is the best method of learning Vocabulary for Vietnamese high school students? Why?

Globalization is a raging storm that simultaneously sweeps through numerous countries, hence critical impacts on every conceivable aspect, ranging from the preservation of traditional values to the economic climate. In a strenuous effort to emerge and even prevail from the tempest, preparations have been carried out on multiple scales. Yet, the process would resemble the act of blind and fruitless investment if language, which is fundamental to communication, received insufficient attention. The effort to achieve language proficiency, however, has been confronted with uphill challenges, in which acquiring vocabulary is the representative. While an anonymous agreement on the application of scientific methods in absorbing new words in elementary schools is well-grounded, learning vocabulary is a journey whose destination is beyond the horizon. Hence, one prominent question is articulated: “What is the answer for effective acquisition of vocabulary for Vietnamese high school students? ”. The most viable proposal, verified from a personal perspective, is to facilitate Project-based Learning. The advocacy of Project-based Learning stems from the comprehension that while there are a great number of attempts in defining this teaching method, the three consistent cores are: students performing an proactive role, the investigated issue being problematic yet authentic and relatable, the availability of a predetermined time period, which can stretch to weeks, and detailed criterias for assessment. Consequently, two logical deductions can be drawn from the definition. On the one hand, not only extrinsic but also intrinsic motivation can be observed from the application of Project-based Learning, hence the high likelihood of encountering and absorbing new words in a natural language context. An external sense of encouragement is deprived from the aspiration to achieve a desirable score and to enhance a positive image during the process of collaborating with others. According to Maslow’s tower, which depicts the hierarchy of needs, to be prominent among the crowd as an high-profile individual whose academic records are in flying colors and whose soft skills are admirable will elevate the student to the four floor, at which self-esteem is strongly enhanced. Intrinsic motivation, furthermore, is perceived in the personal interest toward the researched topic. The issues that are put under the scrutinized scope are not randomly picked but rather based on empirical data illustrating students’ preferences or relevant life situations. As a result, the official topic is simultaneously challenging and relatable, thus provoking a deep desire for students to delve deeper into the obscured corners of the issue. Cooperating together, the externally and internally motivational elements push language learners forward by gravitaing them to the projects. During the process of searching for references such as academic papers, journals, recordings, etc. , it is inevitable that they will come across new words whose lexical meanings are connected to the topic. The vocabulary, additionally, appears in authentic materials. Hence, aside from being able to provide a coherent explanation for the word, students can smoothly exploit its functions in communication scenarios. An easily observed instance is the multiplication of participation rate of highschool students as volunteers in non-profit projects. The prospect of being involved in an activity whose scale is out of the confined classroom is believed to be an invaluable opportunity to sharpen skills and broaden knowledge, thus a highlight to polish personal profile and admiration from contemporaries. Correspondingly with the expectation, it is crystal clear that new words relating to the theme of the projects are naturally acquired and the remarkably fluid application of them during oral presentations or conversations are perceived. On the other hand, Project-based Learning suits highschool students’ level of cognitivity and needs for freedom; therefore, the stream of new words is safe from being confronted with confusion and boredom, which can arise from the pure application of other teaching methods. Upon reaching the age of 16, the most considerable concern of learners is the prospective career paths. As they are struggling to settle on a major that is most appropriate for them in terms of their personality, ability and market demands, the desire to gain autonomy on carrying out projects with an aim of exploring all career avenues is worthy of notice. As a consequence, Direct Method is out of the question due to its significant dependence on the demonstrations of the lecturers and the limitations in describing abstract concepts. The Audio Lingual Method, meanwhile, refrains learners from the creative playground through means of imitation and repetition. Conversely, Project-based Learning paves the way for the active involvement of students. Although being known as a teaching method, acquiring new words by conducting projects reserves a significantly large room for activities conducted by the learners. In fact, subsequent to the input section, in which teachers’ role resembles that of an orchestra leader, is the time for exploration and teamwork. It is during this period that new vocabularies are learnt through reference sources. Notably, students are not left on their own to decide whether they have been able to effectively manipulate the words or not since the whole process of researching will be assessed on various scales by the students themselves, the classmates and also the teachers. Among the compulsory criterias, regardless of written or spoken forms, is the presence of measurements in terms of vocabulary. The variety of words, the spellings, the formality, the ability to put the word in the right contexts and even usage of literary devices are well contemplated. In conclusion, Project-based Learning, given its principles, is the most ideal candidate to assist language learners during the journey of conquering the seemingly infinite source of vocabularies. The teaching method can outperform other alternatives in accomplishing the multitasking missions, which includes facilitating instrumental and integrative motivation as well as reserving space to enhance high schoolers’ creativity. Therefore, it is reasonable to assert that Project-based Learning is an indispensable cog in the higher construction of lexical-item structure.