本研究探討將單字教學活動融入國小四年級英語課堂，並檢視單字學習成效。音韻覺識(phonemic awareness)一直是學童在學習單字時重要的基礎，若能發展良好的音韻覺識概念，對於未來英語學習將有很大的助益。本研究所使用的單字教學活動包含繪本閱讀、音節教學、音素教學及小書製作，目的為促進學童音韻覺識的概念及擴充詞彙深度，而小書製作也讓學童有機會應用習得字彙於繪本句型中。
本研究共有28名國小四年級學童參與，接受為期八週以英語繪本為主的單字教學，每週兩節課。分析的資料包含50個單字的口說前後測、50個單字的選擇題前後測、每週的小考成績及學生小書製作，採取質量並行的混和研究方式進行分析。
研究結果發現，學童的口說及選擇題後測成績均有顯著的進步。而在小書製作上也發現了諸多特色，例如學童能將所學單字應用於不同句型中、能寫出正確句型並搭配相應圖畫創作、能使用感興趣詞彙造句、能組合不同句型並延伸寫作內容，故小書製作促進了學童的詞彙深度及應用。從每週單字小考成績及錯誤詞彙分析中，能發現學童在平日單字教學活動後音韻覺識能力有正面的發展及進步。研究者的教學日誌內容也能支持以上發現。

The purpose of this study is to investigate if the word-learning activities can help the students develop their phonemic awareness and expand the depth of word knowledge. The activities used during the vocabulary instruction including (a) storybook reading, (b) syllables instruction, (c) phoneme instruction, and (d) mini-book making. The target words were from the eight selected picture books, which used in the word-learning activities and mini-book making. Most of the activities focused on the training of phonological awareness, especially on phonemic awareness. The mini-book making was designed to help the participants use the target words in writing based on the sentence pattern from the picture book. Once the participants get familiar with the activities, it will be easier for them to learn and decode new words.
The participants in the study were 28 fourth graders of a selected class with a lower average grade. The researcher selected them to do the research to improve their English proficiency. In the study, the researcher used two periods per week for the picture book teaching and mini-book making. The study lasted for 8 weeks.
The instruments in this study include the list of 50 words for oral performance, the list of 50 words written test, and mini-quiz tested each week. The above data were analyzed by pair t-test to compare the learning performance before and after the instruction. The products of participants’ mini-book making and participants’ performance on all the instrument were analyzed through the class observation as the qualitative way.
The major findings revealed that the participants’ phonemic awareness can be improved through word-learning activities. The mini-book making also expanded their vocabulary depth because they knew how to use the target words to make the sentences and created their own mini-books.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE
Introduction............. 1
Background............... 1
Purpose of the study..... 4
Research questions....... 5
Significance of the study 5

CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review............................ 7
Word Knowledge............................... 7
Phonological Awareness....................... 8
Phonemic Awareness........................... 9
Definition.................................. 10
The measurements of phonemic awareness...... 10
The empirical studies of phonemic awareness. 12
Summary..................................... 17
Vocabulary Instruction...................... 17
Direct methods of vocabulary instruction.... 17
Indirect methods of vocabulary instruction.. 18
Picture Books................................ 19
Definition.................................. 19
The empirical studies of picture books...... 20
Summary..................................... 25
The Application in the Study................ 25

CHAPTER THREE
Methodology.......................................... 29
The Participants..................................... 29
Teaching Materials and Activities.................... 30
Books used in the study.............................. 30
Activities used in the study......................... 35
Samples of mini-book making.......................... 39
Data Collection...................................... 42
The study procedures................................. 42
The class routine.................................... 43
The instruments...................................... 45
Data Analysis........................................ 47
A list of 50 words for oral performance during the pre-test and post-test 47
A list of 50 words for the pre and post written test. 48
A mini-quiz about the phonemic awareness............. 48
The products of participants’ mini-book.............. 48
The Researcher’s Journal for Each Week............... 49

CHAPTER FOUR
Findings..................................... 51
Oral Performance............................. 51
Written Test................................. 52
Participants’ Performance on Mini-Book Making 53
The inter-rater reliability.................. 53
The first mini-book making................... 54
The second mini-book making.................. 56
The third mini-book making................... 58
The fourth mini-book making.................. 61
The fifth mini-book making................... 63
The sixth mini-book making................... 65
The seventh mini-book making................. 67
The eighth mini-book making.................. 69
The Results of Participants’ Mini-Quizzes.... 72
Syllable blending............................ 73
Syllable sorting............................. 74
Phoneme blending............................. 74
Phoneme deleting............................. 75
Phoneme segmenting........................... 76
The Researcher’s Teaching Journal............ 78
The journal of the first lesson.............. 78
The journal of the second lesson............. 80
The journal of the third lesson.............. 81
The journal of the fourth lesson............. 83
The journal of the fifth lesson.............. 85
The journal of the sixth lesson.............. 86
The journal of the seventh lesson............ 88
The journal of the eighth lesson............. 89

CHAPTER FIVE
Discussion............................................. 93
The Common Features of the Mini-Books.................. 93
The classification of the common features.............. 94
The common features occurred in different weeks........ 95
The examples of the common features.................... 96
The Participants’ Weak Performance on Mini-Quizzes.... 102
Syllable blending..................................... 103
Syllable sorting...................................... 104
Phoneme blending...................................... 104
Phoneme deleting...................................... 104
Phoneme segmenting.................................... 105
The Researcher’s Observation and Journals............. 106
Time management....................................... 106
Participants’ performance during different activities. 108

CHAPTER SIX
Conclusion and Implications.................................. 119
Conclusion................................................... 119
The word-learning activities on students’ phonemic awareness. 120
The effectiveness of word-learning activities on words application. 121
Implications................................................. 122
Using the appropriate materials.............................. 122
Using the diverse activities to help the students’ word learning..................................................... 123
Designing the effective assessments.......................... 124
Limitations of the study 124

REFERENCES 127
APPENDIX A 137
APPENDIX B 139
APPENDIX C 145
APPENDIX D 151
APPENDIX E 153

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