ABOUT THE RESEARCHER

Mr. Alvin B. Punongbayan, is an author of language books and an

educator in secondary and tertiary level. He finished Bachelor of
Secondary Education Major in English with Highest Academic
Distinction. He will soon finish Master of Arts in Education Major in
Administration and Supervision this school year 2017-2018.
He was a former College Instructor at STI College Balayan,
Batangas, high school teacher at Core Science Academy, and
currently teaching at Bilaran National High School. He is also a part-
time college instructor at Dr. Francisco L. Calingasan Memorial
Colleges Foundation Inc.
 Learning vocabulary is a vital part on humans life.
Knowledge about words, their meanings or the lexicography is
essential as it helps everyone to understand the people and
things around him.
This study focuses on the improvement of the science
vocabulary by using word cookies. Word Cookies are just cut-
outs from cardboard that look like cookies with words and
meanings inside.
 Nowadays, students find difficulty in dealing with words or
terms wherein they are not familiar. They are mostly engaged
with new terms related to technology and those brought by
social media.
According to Texas Education Agency, helping students to
develop a strong reading vocabulary requires more than
having them look up words in a dictionary. Rather, students
need instruction that will help them acquire new word
knowledge and develop strategies to enable them to increase
the depth of that knowledge over time.
To help students develop word knowledge in breadth and depth,
we must first recognize four fundamental obstacles, and then
develop teaching practices to address those obstacles:
The size of the task. The number of words that students need to
learn is exceedingly large.
The differences between spoken English and written, or "literate"
English. The vocabulary of written English, particularly the "literate"
English that students encounter in textbooks and other school
materials, differs greatly from that of spoken, especially
conversational, English.
Students-both English language learners and those for whom
English is the first language-may have limited exposure to literate
English outside of school.
The limitations of sources of information about words. The
sources of information about words that are readily available to
students-dictionaries, word parts, and context-pose their own
problems. Each can be difficult to use, uninformative, or even
misleading.
 The complexity of word knowledge. Knowing a word
involves much more than knowing its dictionary
definition, and simply memorizing a dictionary definition
does not guarantee the ability to use a word in reading or
writing. Adding to the complexity is the fact that different
kinds of words place different demands on learners
The students of Bilaran National High School
showed low performance in vocabulary
development as proven by the English teacher
from the vocabulary test given. This would have a
negative impact to their difficulty in vocabulary
development in Science.
Consequently, the researcher decided to conduct
an experimental study on the use of Word
Cookies to improve students vocabulary. This
aims to examine the effectiveness of word
cookies as an intervention material in improving
learners vocabulary.
Many people build their English vocabulary through a blend of
methods by taking English classes, reading books, watching movies
in English, and studying English with English language software. Playing
word and vocabulary games is a valuable part of learning English.
There are thousands of vocabulary words in our vocabulary lists.
Vocabulary.co.il is a fun educational website dedicated to helping you
build reading, phonics, or English language skills. They offer Free Online
Word Games which are specifically designed to build vocabulary skills
and to motivate people to learn through fun practice in spelling,
phonics, and vocabulary. (http://www.vocabulary.co.il/, 2017)
Success at college will depend in part on your ability to
communicate through writing. One way to improve your writing
is to improve your vocabulary. And one way to improve your
vocabulary is to read more, which in turn also helps to improve
your writing by exposing you to examples of the very thing you
are trying to emulate: good writing.
(http://www.collegescholarships.com/pages/college-essay-
advise-vocabulary-writing, 2017)
Vocabulary plays a fundamental role in the reading process,
and contributes greatly to a reader's comprehension. A reader
cannot understand a text without knowing what most of the
words mean. Students learn the meanings of most words
indirectly, through everyday experiences with oral and written
language. Other words are learned through carefully designed
instruction. (www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/
vocabulary, 2017)
Wessels, (2011) quoted in her study, Vocabulary knowledge, which is key
to the reading comprehension of English learners (ELs), must be a focus for
every teacher in todays increasingly diverse schools, including those in the
mainstream classroom Research-based strategies can provide teachers
and ELs with a gateway to increased vocabulary learning. One such
strategy, the Vocabulary Quilt, is explored in depth to illustrate how
teachers can use a single strategy throughout the lesson to access students
background knowledge, support students in making critical content
connections, and guide students to higher levels of word knowledge.
Sweeny, (2011), cited Effective vocabulary instruction is multidimensional
and intentional. It is most effective when addressed on a school-wide basis
and then implemented with consistent intensity across grades or subjects
and within grade level classrooms. A school-wide or district-wide
commitment to research-based vocabulary instruction can ensure that
there are consistent practices in all classrooms and that there is a
cumulative effect on the development of students vocabulary across
subjects and over the years. By creating language-rich learning
environments where interesting, unusual, useful, emotional, controversial,
and difficult words are noticed and celebrated, students become more
attuned to language and accustomed to using sophisticated and academic
language.
The studies of Sweeny (2011) and Wessels (2011) are
similar in the sense that vocabulary instruction has never
been easy; it takes a lot of strategies that will suit each
learners. A strategy that is research-based will likely be a
good way of teaching vocabulary. These studies have
relation to this research as this supports the aim of the
study to examine the effectiveness of word cookies in
teaching vocabulary.
 This study aims to answer the following:
1. What is the level of performance of the respondents in the control and
experimental group in the Pre-Test?
2. What is the level of performance of the respondents in the control and
experimental group in the Post-Test?
3. Is there a significant difference between the Post Test results of the
respondents in the control and in the experimental group?
4. What Action Plan may be proposed to enhance students vocabulary?
The general focus of the study was the improvement of
students science vocabulary through Word Cookies. The
respondents of the study were the two sections of Grade 9 of
Bilaran National High School of School Year 2017-2018. Section
Pythagoras was chosen as the Experimental Group and Section
Aristotle was the Controlled Group. It focused on the Science
Terminologies only. It was delimited to other terms, faculty,
grade levels and sections.
 Methods of Research
The researcher used the experimental method of
research to determine the effectiveness of word cookies in
vocabulary instruction. According to Singh (2006),
experimental method is a scientific method. It is oriented to
the future in the sense that the researcher is seeking to
evaluate something new. It is a process of contribution to the
already acquired fund of knowledge.
Thus, the experimenter operates under the basic
assumption that the research situation he wishes
to evaluate has never existed and does not now
exist. Situation here means in the sense of a
programme, curriculum or method for organizing
class, as well as a situation created to test.
 Respondents of the Study
The respondents were determined through probability
sampling method. All sections of Grade 9 have the chance to
be the respondents; a lottery was used to determine only two
sections to be chosen as the respondents of the study, the
control and the experimental group respectively. Grade 9
Pythagoras, the experimental group is composed of 47 students
and Grade 9 Aristotle, the controlled group is composed of 40
students. There was a total of 87 respondents of this study.
 Research Instrument
A test composed of 30 items was utilized by the
researcher to gather data needed for the study. It
was validated by an expert person on
instrumental validity.
 Data Gathering Procedure
The researcher asked permission from his principal to
conduct a study on the use of word cookies to improve
vocabulary. Upon validation of the questionnaire, the
researcher conducted a Pre-Test both to the control and
experimental group. Four weeks were spent in the experiment;
the experimental group used word cookies in vocabulary
instruction in their English Class, while the control group did not.
After four weeks, Post-Test was given to both groups also. The
Researcher ensured that all test questionnaires was retrieved.
 Statistical Treatment of Data
The researcher used the following statistical tool to analyse
the data collected.
1. Frequency, Percentage, and Mean. These were used to
determine the level of performance of the students in Pre-Test
and Post-Test.
Interval VERBAL INTERPREATION

2530 Outstanding

1924 Very Satisfactory

1318 Satisfactory

712 Unsatisfactory

1--6 Poor
2. T-test. This was used to determine
whether two variables are statistically
different from each other.
 Table 1
Pre-Test Results of Controlled and Experimental Groups
 Table 1 shows the result of pre-test given to the
controlled and experimental groups. With the controlled
group, there are 9 or 22.50% who recorded a satisfactory
rating, 25 or 62.50% got unsatisfactorily, and 6 or 15% got
a poor performance of the pre-test.
On the other hand, there are 5 students or 10.64%
who got a very satisfactory rating in the experimental
group. There are also 6 or 12.77% who got satisfactory
performance, 24 or 51.06% who got unsatisfactory and 12
or 25.53% got a poor performance in the pre test.
It can also be gleaned from the table that
controlled group obtained a mean of 10.53 and
the experimental group of 10.45. This indicates
that both the controlled and experimental
groups got a low performance in the pre-test
administered to them.
 Table 2
Post-Test Results of Controlled and Experimental Groups
 Table 2 shows the results of post-test given to the student-
respondents. It reveals that no one in the controlled group
achieved an outstanding rating. There are 5 students or 12.50% in
the controlled group who recorded a very satisfactory rating, 10
or 25% with satisfactory, 21 or 52.50% with unsatisfactory rating
and 4 or 10% of the respondents with a poor performance in the
post-test.
Meanwhile, there is no one who achieved a poor
performance in the experimental group. There are 14 students or
29.79% who gained an outstanding performance, 18 or 38.30%
with a very satisfactory rating, 10 or 21.27% with satisfactory and
only 5 or 10% who got an unsatisfactory rating.
The computed mean of the controlled group is
11.95 and 20.21 for the experimental group.
 Table 3
Significant Difference between the Post Test Results of the Controlled and Experimental Group
 Based from the computed t-value of 7.61 which is higher than
the t-tabular of 1.99 set at 0.05 level of significance, there is a
significant difference between the post-test results of the
controlled and experimental group. Thus, it can be gleaned that
there is a great impact of word cookies in teaching science
vocabularies to students of Bilaran National High School.
PROPOSED ACTION PLAN
Based from the findings of this study, the following conclusions were
drawn:
1. Students recorded a low performance in pre-test given to them.
2. Experimental group has higher performance in post-test than the
controlled group.
3. There is a significant difference between the post-test results of the
two groups.
4. The proposed action plan shall focus on the improvement of science
vocabulary.
Based from the conclusions above, the researcher hereby
recommends:
1. Diagnose students level of performance on vocabulary.
2. Use word cookies as materials in teaching vocabulary.
3. Provide proper actions and follow ups to students
performance.
4. The proposed action plan may be reviewed by concerned
personnel.
Book
Singh, Yogesh Kumar, Fundamental of Research
Methodology and Statistics. New Age
International (PP Limited Edition, 2006
Published Theses / Journals
Sweeny, Sheelah M. Research-based Practices in Vocabulary
Instruction: An Analysis of What Works in Grades PreK-12,
Massachusetts Reading Association, 2011.
Wessels, Stehanie. Promoting Vocabulary Learning for English Learners,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2011
Electronic Sources
Vocabulary.Co. Learn English Vocabulary, Retrieved
2017 http://www.vocabulary.co.il/
Colege Scholarships. Improve Your Vocabulary, Improve
Your Leanrning, Retrieved 2017.
http://www.collegescholarships.com/pages/college-
essay-advise-vocabulary-writing
Reading Rockets. Vocabulary, Retrived 2017.
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/
vocabulary
Texas Education Agency. Some Obstacles to
Vocabulary Development, Retrieved 2017.
http://www.adlit.org/article/19690/
Thank You!