This research proposal aims to explore effective strategies for teaching vocabulary to kindergarteners in their third year. The study will involve 25 participants between ages 5-6 who will be tested before and after the experiment. The researcher hypothesizes that children may learn words easier when presented in small groups over time rather than drilling long lists at once. A pre-test, tests during treatment, and post-test will evaluate the impact of presenting words in chunks over one week versus all at once the next week. The analysis will compare individual student performance across the tests to determine which approach leads to better retention. The goal is to find modern vocabulary teaching methods that help young children acquire language through engaging activities.

1. RESEARCH PROPOSAL
(THESIS)
How to teach vocabulary to kindergartens in the 3rd level?
María José Noverola Rodríguez
December, 2013.

2. The aim of this project is to do further exploration on the different
strategies that already exist in the teaching field. It will be focused only in
how to teach vocabulary for kindergartens in their 3rd level around 5
years. There will be 25 participants, 13 girls and 12 boys; all of them are
going to be tested before starting the project by the application of a test,
which contained a set of pictures that had to be matched to its name to
see if they know the word.

3. Objectives
The main objective of this project is to come up with modern strategies that
help children to acquire vocabulary. Concerning their age they are not expected
to learn but acquire the language, so the way they are learning it would play a
highly important role. The strategies would be based in a set of words the
Institution in where I am working, requires me to teach. The tools and materials
that I am thinking will help me among this project are videos, songs, outside
activities, adapted board games, online games and presentations. The
advantage of the use of those materials is related, especially with new teachers
who are familiarized with technology, making them to save a lot of time in
creating material and so as money, and the benefit for children would be the
interaction they will have with new technology making them aware of the
importance of using it.

4. Hypothesis
Is it true that children learn vocabulary easier if they receive the
words in small chunks rather than to drill a long list daily in the
same period of time? What sort of motivation they find more
rewarding?

5. Method
Knowing the particularities and features that setting a strategy represents, as
mentioned in the previous research, it is essential to mention that
vocabulary is, if is not the most, one of the most important part of a
language. Therefore, the acquisition process of it could have variations
relying on the level and the complexity of the words that are going to be
taught, so as the background of the students, their learning necessities,
interest and their performance. For this reason, and taking into advantage
that I am already working as a teacher with a considerable amount of
students, that for my benefit or not, are children, I decided to conduct a
experimental research in which I hope to succeed since I have the most
important factor that learning a language needs, brain plasticity.

6. Instruments
There are going to be three essential instruments to achieve the aims of this
project, and one short treatment that is expected to succeed.
1. Pre-test.
Considering that the children have previous knowledge of English, it would be
necessary to apply them a pre-test to identify if they know the words. It would
be a simple and short test that could consist whether in presenting images to ask
if they know the name of the pictures presented or a written paper in which they
have to write the name of the picture printed.
2. Test
This will function as a tool to measure the effects that the application of the
treatment is having. It would be an important process through the treatment
since it would show if the experiment is functioning or not.

7. 3. Post-test
The post-test is expected to prove the long memory storage of the participants,
it would surely reflects the impact that the treatment will have on the students
and the feasibility of the project so it could be reused.
Treatment.
The treatment will consist in a variety of activities that are focused in teaching
vocabulary. It would last two weeks and it will have at least 6 different exercises
per week. The three learning styles are going to be used along the treatment in
order to results be the same.

8. Procedure
The first part of the treatment will be the application of the pre-test.
Then, dividing the list in two. The first list will have 10 words, which I
would teach along a week, dividing it in chunks of two daily words.
Along the second week the rest of the words are going to be presented
not in chunks but all in a row (10 words) asking for repetition and setting
a daily different activity .

9. Data analysis
The analysis of the results are going to be studied by the following
rubric.
Treatment (1st part)
Student
Test 1
Post-test
Juanito Perez
50%
50%
Treatment (2nd part)
Student
Test 2
Post-test
Juanito Perez
50%
50%
Student
Test 1
Test 2
Post-test
Final result
Juanito Perez
40 %
40%
20%
100%
Final result

10. My project tries to persuade students about the importance of
vocabulary, attempts to make them notice that second language
acquisition is not about knowing a dictionary from head to toe, but to
know as much words as they can and to relate them with grammatical
and lexical resources of the language. Although I was only emphasized in
teaching twenty words it is expected that at the end of the experiment I
will be teaching more than thirty because of the variation of some words.
“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”
-Confucius