THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORD WIZARD STRATEGY IN IMPROVING THE

ENGLISH VOCABULARY SKILL OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS

I. CONTENT AND RATIONALE

Vocabulary is one of the most important language components in learning

English (Nation, 2001). The more vocabulary words students know, the better they are

able to comprehend. A large vocabulary opens students up to a wider range of reading

materials. A rich vocabulary also improves students' ability to communicate through

speaking, listening, and writing.

Ghazal (2001:1) states that “…learning new vocabulary is a challenge to

students, but they can overcome this by having access to a variety of vocabulary

learning strategies.”

The enduring effects of the vocabulary limitations of students with diverse

learning needs is becoming increasingly apparent’’ (Baker, Simmons & Kameenui,

2011:1) This may be because one of the drawbacks of learning English.

This scenario is also observed by the researcher among the Grade 11 students

during the first weeks of SY 2018 – 2019. Conversing with these students, the

researcher observes that most of them can hardly express themselves due to lack of

vocabulary.

Moreover, when the students are ask to recite in the class, they speak in

vernacular (Filipino Language) , if not, the teacher will not hear any response from
them. Also, in composition writing they use their native language to express their ideas.

Aside from that, the teacher knows that many of the reading comprehension breakdowns

experienced by the students involve word recognition and lexical meaning. The

researcher sees that the lack of vocabulary hampers the students to express their

themselves using the English language.

Furthermore, as the researcher interviews the students, they tell her that they

find it very difficult to speak in English due to lack of vocabulary..

Therefore, as the teacher, the researcher feels that it is very timely that the study

will be conducted to increase the English vocabulary skill of the students.

Many studies on improving vocabulary have suggested a variety of strategies.

The most frequent suggestion made was to use word games. Another way to increase

students’ vocabulary is through the use of word wizard strategy.

Isabel Beck, an expert on direct vocabulary instruction, created an ongoing

game called Word Wizard in which students can earn credit on unit tests for using

vocabulary words in their speech and writing or for bringing in examples of the word from

the real world. Set aside a specific time in class to ask for any Word Wizard examples

for students to share.

Possible examples from the real world could include words from an overheard

conversation, clippings of the word found in newspapers or magazines,words heard on

TV, words found on the internet, pictures taken of words on a billboard or an

advertisement and the like. The teacher can post these examples on the word wall or
create a separate dedicated space for students’ word artifacts.

(https://www.flocabulary.com/word-wizard/, 2018)

Considering the students’ vocabulary and improving this skill are deemed highly

important in order to assist the students to achieve the intended performance goals in

English.

The above premises provided the teacher a strong purpose to conduct an action

research which would attempt to improve the Grade 11 students’ English vocabulary

skill.

II. ACTION RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The main problem was to improve the vocabulary skill of Grade 11 students

through word wizard strategy.

Specifically, it sought answers to the following problems:

1. What is the skill level of Grade 12 students both in the control and

experimental groups in vocabulary before the word wizard strategy?

2. What is the skill level of Grade 12 students both in the control and

experimental groups in vocabulary after the word wizard strategy?

2.1. Is there a significant difference in the vocabulary skill levels of

the control group before and after the word wizard strategy?

2.2. Is there a significant difference in the vocabulary skill levels of

the
 experimental group before and after the word wizard strategy?

2.3. Is there a significant difference in the skill levels between the

experimental and control groups after the word wizard
strategy?

III. PROPOSED INTERVENTION, INNOVATION AND STRATEGY

Students need to say and hear thousands of words each year to build their

vocabulary. The Word Wizard activity is an ongoing vocabulary building activity that

uses sequenced activities for increasing students’ vocabulary.

Word Wizard strategy can be done in several ways depending on the needs of

the students. For this activity, here are some mechanics to be used and the procedure

to be followed by the researcher in helping students to build their vocabulary.

Engage student s in the word wizard activity after a story has been read following

these sequenced activities: talk about how the word was used in the story; have the

students say the word; give a friendly definition of the word; use the word in a different

context than the one in the story; have the student use the word in a sentence; repeat

saying the word aloud, and record the word to a vocabulary list. Make sure to review

vocabulary every time you meet them.

Word wizard may also be done cooperatively. The teacher divides students into

groups. Each student in the group is responsible for learning three new words from the

selection. Each “word wizard” is instructed to write the definition of the word in his/her

own words. After each “word wizard” has completed their task, it is their job to come

back to their group and teach their peers what they have learned. Each group member

can copy the new words that they learn from each other in their notebooks.
 To make this strategy more motivating, students can earn credit on unit tests for

using vocabulary words in their speech and writing or for bringing in examples of the

word from the real world. The teacher may also name them a title equivalent to their

earned words level like Word Watcher, Word Worker, Word Wonder, Word Winner,

Word Whirlwind, Word Wildcat, Word Whiz up to Word Wizard for them to strive for

more..

IV. ACTION RESEARCH METHODS

a. Participants and Other Sources of Data and Information

The respondents of the study were the Grade 11 senior high school students

who were enrolled for the First Semester, School Year 2018-2019 in Coliling National

High School, San Carlos City, Pangasinan. Grade 11 SHS class composed of 6 GAS

students, 12 ICT students and 28 FBS students. The researcher selected 14 females

and 14 males who got below 75 grade in Oral Communication.

b. Data Gathering Methods

The true experimental research design will be used in the study. Experimental

design is use to investigate causal relationships between one variable to another(Punch,

2013).

The researcher will employ pre-test – post-test to bring forth the result of the

study. The test will measure the skill of the Grade 11 students in English Vocabulary.

The researcher will administer 30-item test about vocabulary in English. Prior to

the conduct of the study the test will be submitted for content validation to five Master
Teachers in English. Comments, suggestions and feedback will be incorporated in the

final test.

c. Data Analysis Plan

V. Action Research Work Plan and Timeliness

Reseach Activity Timeline

Research Proposal March 2, 2019
Enrolment March 2, 2019
Research Implementation and 1st to 2nd week of April 2019
Documentation
Data Gathering 4th week of April 2019
Treatment of Data 4th week of April 2019
Finalization of the Research Paper 1st to 3rd week of June 2019
Submission of Final Paper Last week of September-1st week of
October 2019

VI. Cost Estimates

Deliverables Research Activity Item Expenditures Estimates

Inception Report Printing of Paper, Ink, Bond paper, 1800
pictures internet load, folders
Proposal Documentation Ink, Bond paper, 2700
internet load, fare
Final Printing Ink, Bond paper, 3900
internet load,
Total 8400

VII. Plans for Dissemination and Utilization

The results of the action plan can be dessiminated to all English teachers. The

approach can be discussed among these key people for benchmarking and for possible

division-wide implementation. The researcher can provide a seminar-training to discuss

the word wizard strategy in teaching vocabulary.

VIII. References
THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORD WIZARD STRATEGY IN IMPROVING THE
ENGLISH VOCABULARY SKILL OF GRADE 11 STUDENTS

An Action Research Presented

MICHELLE D. DE GUZMAN
T II
COLILING NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
COLILING, SAN CARLOS CITY PANGASINAN

DECEMBER 2018