17 a STUDY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNER LEVEL AT APOLLO ENGLISH CENTER

--------STUDENT:CHU THI TRA GIANG GROUP: CQ55/51.01 GRADUATION THESIS TOPIC: A STUDY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNER LEVEL AT APO

 STUDENT:CHU THI TRA GIANG

GROUP: CQ55/51.01 GRADUATION THESIS

TOPIC:

A STUDY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNER LEVEL AT

APOLLO ENGLISH CENTER.

Major : English for Finance and Accounting

Student code : 17522202010007

Supervisor : M.A Tran Huong Giang

Hanoi – 2021

I hereby declare that this thesis entitled: “A study on vocabulary learning

strategies employed by the primary school students at beginner level at Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai.” is the result of my own hard works and efforts It has not

been submitted for any awards Other sources of information have beenacknowledged where they have been used

Hanoi, May 26th 2021

Student

Chu Thi Tra Giang

This paper aims to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies ( VLSs) used byVietnamese primary school students at beginner level at Apollo English Pham TuanTai in vocabulary learning, the differences between effective and less effectivelearners in using VLSs, factors that contribute difficulties to the students, andsuggestions to help students improve their vocabulary learning The study is based

on a research, which involved 50 primary school students at beginning of theireducation and 10 native teachers at the center Participants were required to take avocabulary tests and fill out questionnaires According to the research data, thereare significant differences between effective and less effective learners, as well ascommonalities between effective learners Effective learners employ a variety oflearning methods and maintain a positive attitude Meanwhile, there are six methodsthey use in common, they are, learning through videos and songs, using bilingualdictionary, practicing with family and friends, learning through games andpracticing exercises Vocabulary acquisition has been identified as being of primaryimportance and central to second language (L2) acquisition Vietnamese studentsare always hindered by a lack of vocabulary However, there has been little researchhas been done on the VLSs used by Vietnamese primary school students

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my thesis’sadvisor, MA Tran Huong Giang, for her gracious consultation, valuable guidance,constant encouragement, and patience in providing helpful comments She hasalways been willing to provide me with a lot of recommendations and valuablefeedback to my study and I am confident that I will be able to complete itsuccessfully My respectful heart goes out to her forever in gratitude This researchwould not have been possible without her.

Next, I am grateful the internship opportunities provided by Apollo English PhamTuan Tai My sincere thanks go out to all of my teachers for providing me with notonly knowledge but also experiences, as well as the teachers and students at ApolloEnglish Pham Tuan Tai who participated in this study, for their kind assistance,patience, and understanding Special thanks are given to teachers and friends fromthe Foreign Language Faculty of the Academy of Finance for their encouragementand advice on my thesis I would also like to express my gratitude to the authors ofthe books, newspapers, magazines, and other materials listed in the referencesection for their ideas, which have been reflected and developed in the study.Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents, my best friends.They have always stood by my side, assisting and encouraging me to finish thisstudy I am extremely grateful for all of the significant help and encouragement Ireceived during my studies

ESL: English as a Second Language

L2: second language

VLSs: vocabulary learning strategies

Figure 1.1: Classification of English vocabulary learning strategies 8

Figure 1.2: Organization structure 18

Table 2.1: General assessment form 22

Table 2.2: Level classification at Apollo English 23

Figure 2.1: Score range of students when applying memory strategies 25

Figure 2.2: Score range of students when applying cognitive strategies 27

Figure 2.3: Score range of students when applying compensation strategies 28

Figure 2.4: Score range of students when applying metacognitive strategies 29

Figure 2.5: Score range of students when applying social strategies 30

Table 2.3: Level classified by score 33

Figure 2.6: The number of students in each level 34

Figure 2.7: Students’ interest in learning English vocabularies of Group 1 36

Figure 2.8 : Students’ interest in learning English vocabularies of Group 2 37

Figure 2.9 : Students’ interest in learning English vocabularies of Group 3 38

Figure 2.10 : Students’ interest in learning English vocabularies of Group 4 39

Figure 2.11 : Students’ interest in learning English vocabularies of Group 5 40

Figure 2.12: The purpose of learning English vocabulary of students 41

Table 2.4 : Frequency of learning vocabulary at home by students 42

Figure 2.13: Difficulties of students when learning English vocabulary 44

Figure 2.14: Students’ preference among difference strategies of learning vocabulary 45

Table 2.5 : Teacher’s opinion about learning vocabulary 46

Figure 2.15 : Teachers have difficulties in teaching vocabularies 47

Table 2.6 : Strategies teachers use to teach vocabularies 48

Figure 2.16 : Frequency of practice English vocabulary 50

Y TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i

ABSTRACT ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES v

TABLE OF CONTENTS vii

INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale of the study 1

2 Aim of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 3

4 Methodology of the study 3

5 Organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 CONCEPTS OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES 5

1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary 5

1.1.2 English vocabulary learning strategies 6

1.1.2.2 Classification of English vocabulary learning strategies 7

1.1.3 Direct strategies 8

1.1.3.1: Memory strategies: 8

1.1.3.2 Cognitive strategies 9

1.1.3.3 Compensation strategies: 9

1.1.4 Indirect strategies 10

1.1.4.1 Metacognitive strategies: 10

1.1.4.2 Social strategies: 10

1.1.4.3 Affective strategies: 10

1.1.5 The importance of vocabulary learning strategies 10

1.2 METHODS AND CRITERIA OF ASSESSING EFFECTIVENESS OF ENGLISH LEARNING STRATEGIES 12

1.2.1 Class observation 12

1.2.2 Questionnaires 12

1.2.3 Assess test 13

1.3 THE DRIVING FACTORS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARIES 13

1.3.1 Subjective factors 13

1.3.1.1 Learning motivation 14

1.3.1.2 The passivity of students 15

1.3.2 Objective factors 16

1.3.2.1 Time limitation 16

1.3.2.2 Language barriers 16

EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNING

LEVEL AT APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI 16

2.1 OVERVIEW OF APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI 16

2.1.1 General information of Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai 16

2.1.2 Organizational structure and human resource 18

2.1.3 Apollo English center operating situation 19

2.1.4 Company’s value 20

2.2 PRACTICAL SITUATION OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNING LEVEL AT APOLLO ENGLISH CENTER 21

2.2.1 Practical situation of teaching and learning process at Apollo English center 21

2.2.1.1 The process of examining and assessing students’ inputs 21

2.2.1.2 The process of applying vocabulary learning strategies in class for primary school students 24

2.2.2 Methods and criteria of assessing effectiveness of English learning strategies 32

2.2.2.1 Class observation 32

2.2.2.2 Assess tests 33

2.2.2.3 Surveys and questionnaires 35

2.2.3 Findings and discussions 36

2.2.3.1 Findings from the results of questionnaires of students 36

2.2.3.2 Finding from the result of questionnaire of teachers 47

VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES AT APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM

TUAN TAI 51

2.3.1 Achievements 51

2.3.2 Limitations 51

CHAPTER3 53

3.1 ORIENTATIONS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES AT APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI IN THE NEXT SEMESTER 53

3.2 SOLUTION FOR LIMITATIONS OF APLLYING VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES AT APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI 53

3.2.1 Solution for teachers 54

3.2.1.1 Make good preparation before class to save time 54

3.2.1.2 Effective use of vocabulary strategies to increase students’ motivation 55

3.2.1.3 Try to break down language barriers 57

3.2.1.4 Changing students’ passivity in learning English vocabularies 57

3.2.2 Solution for students 57

3.2.2.1 Students should motivate themselves 57

3.2.2.2 Students should practice listen, write and say the words many times 59

REFERENCES 60

APPENDIX 61

It cannot be denied that English plays an important role because it has become aninternational language and is widely used in industries such as aviation, commerce,science and technology, etc In Vietnam, English is becoming more and moreimportant and is considered as a compulsory subject It can be said that if weconsider learning English as building a house, then learning vocabulary is the basicfoundation for that house However the process of teaching and learning English inVietnam is still facing many difficulties The reasons are that the education system

is too focused on English grammar and does not pay attention to the teaching ofcommunication in English, as well as the inequality of ability to use English amongstudents because of the lack of English practice environment The biggest limitation

in communication that most students cope with is the lack of English vocabulary Inspite of the fact that there are many ways to learn vocabulary, it is not easy to have

an effective vocabulary enrichment strategy That is the reason why the vocabularylearning method of almost Vietnamese students and learner is not really effective Moreover, many people find it hard to communicate successfully after many years

of learning English In place of what they have already learned, they tend to usesimple vocabulary Such usage also leads to the poor assessment of their English.The limitation of English vocabulary, therefore, causes a number of difficulties forstudents and learners

Offline vocabulary teaching and learning have also improved with various learningmethods, with some better progress to encourage and arouse the interest and passion

of students However, students still are not really interested in improving theirvocabulary and they have difficulties in memorizing and applying vocabulary toother skills such as speaking, listening, reading, writing

Particularly, primary school pupils, are not aware of the importance of learningEnglish and also have many difficulties in finding the motivation to learn

vocabulary During the time of studying online due to the Covid 19 pandemic,students' learning process has many disturbances and problems If the teaching andlearning English method does not meet effectiveness, students’ ability to learningEnglish will get worse over time.

When it comes to reality at Apollo English center, many students find it difficult tolearn a new word and most of them recognize vocabulary acquisition as theirgreatest single source of problems Besides, many primary school students are notpassionate about learning vocabulary because the learning method does not produceenough excitement and there is no interest has been raised in learning for them Arich vocabulary base is hard for them to achieve and it takes a long time Inaddition, because of Covid 19 pandemic, the students had to study online, withoutthe supervision and motivation of their teachers as well as the interaction with theirclassmates so the process of learning English vocabulary met a lot of difficulties.The key to help students use English successfully is to equip a rich knowledge ofvocabulary Only when the language is used properly and in accordance with thecontext do we understand correctly

For the above reasons, I decided to research on the topic: “A study on vocabulary

learning strategies employed by the primary school students at beginner level at Apollo English center.” The study is going to investigate the advantages and

challenges of the vocabulary learning methods used by elementary school students

at the Apollo English Center to find out the key vocabulary learning methods ofstudents and the relationship between the strategies they use and their efficiency inlearning From the result of the study, I might take some recommendations to helpstudents choose the best methods of learning vocabulary for themselves so that theycan easily extend their vocabulary

2 Aim of the study

The study was implemented with the following aims:

Firstly, the study aims to understand the importance of vocabulary learning onEnglish language skills, the importance of vocabulary on primary school students Secondly, the study aims to achieve the learning techniques used by primary schoolstudents who study at the Apollo English center; and to find out what strategieshave a positive impact on the vocabulary learning of the students.

Thirdly, this study points out some common variables that lead to difficulties forprimary school students when learning vocabulary offline and online

Finally, the analysis is to include some suggestions to help students develop theirvocabulary learning method

3 Scope of the study

In the frame of the study, the study is about vocabulary learning strategies at ApolloEnglish center in 3 months learning The study did not cover the entire vocabularyproblems, but instead concentrated on analyzing some of the English vocabularylearning methods used at this center by primary students In particular, the researchfocuses on the advantages and challenges of the strategies applied for primarystudents

The participants in this study were 50 primary school students from 5 classes atApollo English Center and 10 teachers

4 Methodology of the study

As the primary means of fulfilment, the analysis used some techniques

The first one is literature document to clarify such meanings relating to vocabularylearning strategies The second approach is the practical observation There will be

an accurate view of the problem The third way is pedagogical experiment andsystematic statistics to draw a reliable view of the vocabulary learning process bygathering materials and systematizing information from these materials

5 Organization of the study

The study is divided into three parts with three chapters and references:

INTRODUCTION includes rationale, objectives and scopes of the study, studymethods, study design

THE STUDY consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1: Literature review includes the concepts relevant to the study, overview

of vocabulary learning strategies, the importance of vocabulary in studying English,what makes it difficult for students to learn English vocabulary

Chapter 2: The study on vocabulary learning strategies used at Apollo EnglishPham Tuan Tai, review and discussion of the study, which highlights some effectiveapproaches used by elementary learners and common factors that trigger difficultiesfor students in vocabulary learning

Chapter 3: Some helpful techniques for primary school students to learn Englishvocabulary

CONCLUSION: Summarizes all the key issues as well as the study limits andsuggestions for further study

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 CONCEPTS OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES

1.1.1 Definition of vocabulary

Oxford dictionaries define “Vocabulary is all the words a person knows or uses in aparticular language” In addition, vocabulary is the stock of words in a language, orthat is known or used by an individual, or that is associated with particular activity.According to Richards and Renandya (2002:255), vocabulary is a core component

of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how learners speak,listen, read and write Without an extensive vocabulary and strategies for acquiringnew vocabulary, learners often achieve their potential and may be discouraged frommaking use of language learning opportunities around them such as listening to theradio, listening to the native speaker, using language in different context, reading orwatching television Others experts also state that Vocabulary is a large numbers ofwords that students have to know when learning a language, not only memorizingthe form of the word but also understands the meaning

Vocabulary is central to language and is of great significance to language learners.Vocabulary consists of not only single words, but also complex and compoundwords and idioms Nation in Schmitt (2000: 5) proposes a list of the various kinds

of knowledge that a person must learn in order to know a words: the meaning ofword, the written form of the word, the spoken form of the word, the grammaticalbehavior of the word, the collocations of the word, the register of the word, theassociation of the word, and the frequency of the word Vocabulary learning is notjust about words; it involves other aspects of vocabulary and strategies foreffectively learning and teaching it, which will be addressed in the next sections Vocabularies include conceptual knowledge of words that goes well beyond asimple dictionary definition Students’ vocabulary knowledge is a building process

that occurs over time as they make connections to other words, learn examples andnon-examples of the word and related words, and use the word accurately within thecontext of the sentence.

Learning vocabulary can be seen from the process teaching as Allah taught Adamthe names of the whole thing When, Education is a process that must exist inhuman life Allah has given the man the ability to call out words from names of thethings It is fact that man can communicate well if he knows the names ofsomething From the definition above that vocabulary is a component of languageand number of words

Based on those statements, it can be assumed that vocabulary is a collection ofwords as a basic component of language proficiency which has a form or expressionand contains of elements, they are meaning, use of word, form (pronunciation andspelling)

1.1.2 English vocabulary learning strategies

1.1.2.1 Definition of English vocabulary learning strategies

The term “vocabulary learning strategies” (VLSs) has been defined by differentresearchers and experts in the linguistic field To generally define VLSs, Nation(2001, p.217) states that VLSs are a subclass of language learning strategies Hebelieves that it is not easy to define what a strategy is, but “strategy would need to:

1 involve choice, that is, there are several strategies to choose from; 2 be complex,that is, there are several steps to learn; 3 require knowledge and benefit fromtraining; 4 increase the efficiency of vocabulary learning and vocabulary use”.According to this definition, VLSs are considered as “processes” more than onlystrategies, and they must be chosen by learners themselves The primary goals ofVLSs are to attain comprehension, memorization and application of newinformation about a language Similarly, VLSs are knowledge about themechanisms (processes, strategies) used in order to learn vocabulary as well as steps

or actions taken by students to find out the meaning of unknown words, to retain

them in long-term memory, to recall them at will, and to use them in oral or writtenmode.

Oxford seemed to give the most detailed and comprehensive definition of all

“Vocabulary learning strategies are behaviors employed by learners to makelanguage learning more successful, self-directed and enjoyable” Oxford alsodefines language learning strategies (LLSs) as “specific actions, behaviors, steps, ortechniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress indeveloping language skills These strategies can facilitate the internalization,storage, retrieval, or use of the new language Strategies are tools for the self-directed involvement necessary for developing communicative ability In Oxford’sdefinition, LLSs play the role as a facilitator of acquisition, memorization, recalland application of new language Besides, achieving learner autonomy andcommunicative competence is also the ultimate goal of LLSs according to Oxford

In general, the term “vocabulary learning strategies” is defined differently byscholars However, all definitions mentioned above all share the same goals to helplearners learn and use vocabulary easier and more effectively They are thebehaviors and techniques which learners employ to help them understand themeaning of a new word, remember it, retrieve it when necessary and increase theirvocabulary knowledge Besides a variety of definitions offered by famous scholars,there are several ways to classify VLSs

1.1.2.2 Classification of English vocabulary learning strategies

Vocabulary learning strategies are based on the theoretical framework of languagelearning strategies, and are important components of the language learningstrategies In this paper, vocabulary means the total number of words that make up alanguage and accordingly VLSs refer to the methods and techniques used bylearners with the purpose of learning vocabulary well

There are a wide range of different VLSs as demonstrated by the classifications ofvocabulary learning strategies are proposed by different researchers While a variety

of definitions of the VLSs have been suggested, this study has applied the definition

of Oxford (1990) that divided vocabulary learning methods to two main groups ofstrategies as the following:

Figure 1.1: Classification of English vocabulary learning strategies

1.1.3 Direct strategies

1.1.3.1: Memory strategies: they are strategies help learners to regulate their

learning, whereby learners link their learning of new words to mental processing by

associating their existing or background knowledge with the new words

Memory strategies, as one of the most effective strategies in the vocabulary learningprocess, are extremely powerful mental tools They include activities forremembering and retrieving the new information such as acronyms, key words,images etc They help the learner to link the second language (L2) item with thenew one Oxford (1990: 38) states that the mind can store some 100 trillion bits ofinformation, but only part of that potential can be used unless memory strategies

Language

learning

strategies

Direct strategies

Memory strategies

Cognitive strategies

Compensation strategies

Indirect strategies

Metacognitive strategiesSocial strategiesAffective Strategies

come to the aid of the learner She divides the memory strategies into fourcategories, all of which have different techniques Creating Mental Linkages,Applying Images and Sounds, Reviewing Well, Employing Action Using memorystrategies generally engages in associating different types of material That’s why,they are helpful in learning new vocabulary items and remembering them in thelong term.

1.1.3.2 Cognitive strategies: they are strategies that do not engage learners in

mental processing but is more mechanical means Cognitive strategies refer to thesteps or operations used in learning or problem- solving that requires direct analysis,transformation, or synthesis of learning materials These are the mental strategieslearners use to make sense of their learning

- 6 mains cognitive learning strategies:

1.1.3.3 Compensation strategies: they are communication strategies used by

learners to compensate for limitations in their languages, which allow learners touse the language despite their often large gaps in knowledge

 Guessing intelligently

 Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing

These strategies help to allow the students to use the language to speak and write inthe target language even when their vocabulary is limited For example, the use oflinguistic clues to guess the meanings or by inventing words to the use of linguisticclues to guess compensates their lack of vocabulary

1.1.4 Indirect strategies

1.1.4.1 Metacognitive strategies: they are strategies related to processes involved

in monitoring, decision-making, and evaluation of one’s progress

Metacognitive strategies are employed by the students to help them coordinate thelearning process by centering, arranging, planning and evaluating their learning, thishelp learner to control their own learning Students will also be able to plan whattheir learning strategies should be and change them if they are not suitable Forexample, overviewing with already known material and deciding in advance onwhat to pay attention to

1.1.4.2 Social strategies: Social strategies are activities that students engage in to

seek opportunities to be exposed to an environment where practice is possible.These strategies are important because language learning always involves otherpeople; it is a form of social behaviors For example, questioning for understanding

or facts and work together with peers or speakers of target language includingnative and native like speakers in order to upgrade their language skills

1.1.4.3 Affective strategies: Affective strategies are techniques to help the students

control their emotions, attitudes, motivations and values These strategies have apowerful influence on language learning because they allow the students to managetheir feelings For example, students may use laughter to relax and praise to rewardthemselves for their achievements

1.1.5 The importance of vocabulary learning strategies

It is widely approved by many scholars that vocabulary plays a crucial role incommunication and language learning

Vocabulary is central to language and of crucial importance to the typical languagelearner.” “Knowing a language means knowing the words of that language” First,vocabulary provides a useful and important aid for communication and expression

in the target language Learners think and express their ideas via words; and without

a sufficient vocabulary, they may have difficulties in expressing their thoughts andfeelings Communication may break down when speakers do not use the right words

In contrast, a rich vocabulary may give them a great advantage in communication asthey may feel more confident when interacting with other people and make themeasily understood by the interlocutors The more words one is able to use correctly,the better one will be able to express oneself easily and with self-confidence and tounderstand the world one lives in In other words, the more words we know, thebetter we can convey our thoughts and communicate with other people

Moreover, vocabulary also plays a vital role in building language proficiency Arich vocabulary makes the skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing easier

to perform Vocabulary is essential to language comprehension Vocabularysupports reading development and increases comprehension Students with lowvocabulary scores tend to have low comprehension and students with satisfactory orhigh vocabulary scores tend to have satisfactory or high comprehension scores Forinstance, to comprehend a text, learners need to know most of the words in that text

To understand a text, readers need to know at least 97% of the vocabulary in it.Without adequate vocabulary knowledge, a reader will fail to understand the maincontent and intended message of a text Even when he wants to guess the meaning

of a word based on the context, he needs to know the keywords in that text.Likewise, in writing and speaking skills, a rich vocabulary is the key for theformation of complete spoken and written texts

In comparison with grammar, vocabulary is regarded as much more important bymany scholars that “grammar is important, but vocabulary is much moreimportant”

Without grammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can beconveyed This can be confirmed by our reality experience For instance, if we saysomething with the right words but wrong structures, the listeners are more likely tomake out our intended message than if we use the wrong words In other words,

without using the appropriate words, exchanging and understanding thoughts andideas in communication are rather impossible

To summarize, it can be concluded that vocabulary is the central of languagelearning It is accepted by scholars to be key to communication and languagecomprehension As a result, vocabulary learning should be put at the centralposition and teachers need to explore more effective ways to promote it

1.2 METHODS AND CRITERIA OF ASSESSING EFFECTIVENESS OFENGLISH LEARNING STRATEGIES

The purpose of the present study is to examine the use of vocabulary learningstrategies (VLS) by primary school students at Apollo English center at beginnerlevel to better understand the ways that they applied to learn new words in English

1.2.1 Class observation

Class observation was the first method to be carried out in this study The purpose

of classroom observation is to improve student outcomes by improving theinstructional prowess of the teacher and also to perform an investigation intopossible inequities in instruction among different groups of students The classobservation in this study was conducted on 50 students from 5 classes for 40lessons The observer not only paid attention to the teachers’ methods, lesson plans,

or the ways that they conducted activities but also put an eye on students to aim atfinding out students' feelings and attitude towards classroom activities as well asteachers’ difficulties The ability to learn vocabulary was given the priority for thepurpose of the research Those were: whether or not able to learn and practicevocabulary in class activities, they used vocabulary in the right way and howstudents do to remember vocabulary in the long term

1.2.2 Questionnaires

Two questionnaires were designed and provided to the student to investigate thestrategies used by students, especially good students in vocabulary learning Then

we can find out the relationship between the learning efficiency and the strategies Both open-ended questions and close-ended questions were exploited The technicalterms were simplified so that the questions can be understood exactly Moreover, allthe questions were arranged in a logical order so that they could lead therespondents to the themes of the study The questionnaires were designed anddeveloped based on the author knowledge, observation and experience Thequestionnaire contains some questions related to individual characteristics and manychoices of VLSs The students were expected to select those that they have used inlanguage vocabulary learning In addition, there was a blank area for the otherstrategies they may use Since everybody has his own style and method of learning,

the selection cannot cover comprehensively The data was analyzed and classified

to assess in a precise way

1.2.3 Assess test

A test of target words was conducted to check the vocabulary learning efficiency ofthe English learners Through the result of the test, we can know each participant’svocabulary memorizing ability, and divide the class into different groups There areboth difficult and easy words, and may some participants already know some of thewords All of the participants are from the same class, and get the same education

So if there are some participants know the target words already, it just shows thattheir vocabulary is larger than others The papers were analyzed and classifiedaccording to the number of the words which are correctly interpreted by thestudents The instrument for collecting the data are by answering the question base

on the evaluation of the components of vocabulary test

1.3 THE DRIVING FACTORS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARIES

1.3.1 Subjective factors

1.3.1.1 Learning motivation

Learners’ learning motivation is very important for any type of learning, includingvocabulary learning The motivation determines how much attention the learnerswould love to pay, how to complete a learning task and how much sense ofaccomplishment it will take The researchers found that: the learning motivation has

a close relationship with the use and selection of learning strategies The learnerswho have strong motivation of vocabulary learning use more strategies than thelearners who have little motivation, and different vocabulary learning motivationcan affect learners choose different learning strategies In foreign vocabularylearning strategies teaching, if the learners ignore their learning motivation, then itwill lead to the failure of the strategies in teaching Learning motivation meanssomething which can push students to learn directly in an internal power Learningmotivation is a complex psychological activity As a way to stimulate and guidestudents’ learning, it plays an important role on students’ learning It is importantfor learners to behave and act that it determines the enthusiasm, tendency, selectionand consciousness of individual activities Motivation has been widely accepted byboth teachers and researchers as one of the key factors that influence the rate andsuccess of foreign language learning It is obvious that a student with highmotivation will get a better learning result In Vietnam, some students think that it is

a task to learn ESLs, not because of interest There is an old saying in Vietnam thatattitude is everything There is no doubt that interest, willingness or motivation willplay an important role in language learning Some students have a low interest inlearning English and feel it is boring to learn vocabulary This makes them have lessconfidence in learning English well This will even make them gradually give upstudying English Positive personality characteristics may be helpful in someaspects of language learning Some students have a high goal to achieve in learning

a L2 This is their motivation in learning language Thus, this kind of learners has adesire to learn, and strong reasons for studying hard in English They immersethemselves in learning, and they are persistent

1.3.1.2 The passivity of students

Some studies find that lack of participating in class comes from having the wholeclass looking at them Shy students also do not want to be in the spotlight They arenot likely to raise their hand to answer a question because they mind getting theanswer wrong in front of everyone For example, many teachers call on studentsperceived to be low achievers less often, wait less time for them to respond, givethem answers rather than try to help them improve their responses when theyanswer incorrectly, are less likely to praise their successes, and are more likely tocriticize their failures Because low achievers are less likely to answer correctly andbecause their mistakes occur in public, they have to deal with high levels ofambiguity and risk when they respond Under the circumstances, a good strategy forthem is to remain passive-not to volunteer and not to respond when called on-andpossibly to ask fewer questions and approach the teacher less often A second factorthat might create passivity is the tendency for low achievers to elicit more variedteacher expectations than other students Teachers may treat low achieversinconsistently over the course, try one approach after another in an attempt to findsomething that works Some teachers minimize interactions with low achievers andare critical of them, but other teachers seek them out frequently and provide a greatdeal of encouragement and support Some teachers call on low achievers frequently

in an attempt to get them to participate more often, but other teachers mostly avoidthem Some teachers rarely praise their successes, but others praise almosteverything they do, even responses that are incorrect Student passivity is a likelyoutcome of such diverse treatment and expectations Not knowing what to do, lowachievers may learn to avoid initiations and wait for the teacher to structure theirbehavior

No matter how well students are sorted, there will still be differences in how muchstudents know and how quickly they can learn Setting the pace of the class to keep

up with the strongest students will leave the weaker ones behind Weaker studentsmay be forgotten in classroom discussions and activities

1.3.2 Objective factors

1.3.2.1 Time limitation

Teachers and students don’t have enough time in classes and they always have toconsider how much time they have for each class to use their time effectively Theymay have plenty of ideas for amazing, engaging activities, but they do not makesure that they have enough time to carry them out or limited time Next, consideringthe goal the lesson, teachers determine what they hope their students will achieve bythe end of the class, then plan suitable activities within time allowance However,teachers might want to consider giving their class a time limit, for example, “youhave 10 minutes for this discussion” But it is also important to be flexible because

of the time limitation of class lessons

1.3.2.2 Language barriers

Limited vocabulary and language skills may prevent some students from activelyparticipating in class, socializing with peers, and learning to their fullpotential Bilingual staff or teaching assistant can also act as intermediaries betweenfamilies and teachers The difference in language between teachers and learners willmake students feel afraid when learning with foreign teachers Students will find itdifficult to grasp the teacher's message without teaching assistants

CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY THE PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNING LEVEL AT APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI.

2.1 OVERVIEW OF APOLLO ENGLISH PHAM TUAN TAI

2.1.1 General information of Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai

Company’s name: Apollo English

Headquarters: 181-183-185 Pho Hue Hai Ba Trung District Hanoi Legal representative: Le Thi Kim Chi

Branch 2: 36 Pham Tuan Tai, Cau Giay District, Ha Noi

Tel: +844 730 02999

Tax code: 0100774857

Email: talk2us@apollo.edu.vn

Website: www.apollo.edu.vn

Field of operation: Education and training

Apollo Education and Training was founded in 1995 and was the first fully owned English education and training organization in Vietnam Apollo English isproud to be a member of International House- a prestigious and long-standingorganization of the UK With the slogan: “Where the best become better”, ApolloEnglish always strives to become and keep the position as the leading Englishtraining center in Vietnam

foreign-The company has become a leader in the rapidly expanding Teaching English as aForeign Language (TEFL) and business training market The Apollo English isrecognized throughout the country as the longest running center

For the past 23 years, the organization has been recognized as Vietnam's leadingand most modern English language center

Apollo English has had over 500,000 students since 1995, a total of over 700 highlytrained teachers with many years of experiences Apollo English has 100%international teachers and 39 major English centers across the country at present.With a team of foreign teachers who have international qualifications in Englishlanguage teaching and innovative teaching methods as well as modern learningfacilities for many years, Apollo is proud to receive many important awards fromthe Government of Vietnam and the British Government, including:

Apollo was the first foreign organization to receive 2 medals "For the cause ofVietnam education" from the Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam

In 2008, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Apollo received the BritishQueen's MBE title for developing and training English according to international

standards in Vietnam Apollo is also a partner of major domestic and foreignorganizations such as IELTS, DOET, Cambridge University, and is also atraining advisory partner for many programs in Vietnam.

In addition to dedicating to foreign language training in Vietnam, Apollo alsoactively contributes to social activities such as awarding scholarships, organizingextracurricular activities and participate in the TV programs that are loved by theaudience such as "The way to Olympia",

2.1.2 Organizational structure and human resource.

Organizational chart of each branch of Apollo English is shown as follows:

Figure 1.2: Organization structure

The Center Director of Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai, Ms Luong Thu Hien, is the

legal representative of the center, who is responsible for the entire operation of thecenter and is the highest level decision-maker at Apollo Pham Tuan Tai

Customer service department: The duties of customer service department include

supporting for class registration, arranging work schedule for teachers and tutors,classroom management,…

Education department: The duties of educational department include teacher

management, managing transcripts, managing course results and print certificates

Center Director

Customer

service

Academic Department

Marketing Department

Sales Department

Accounting Department

Marketing department: The duties of marketing department include class analysis,

marketing plans, recording and analyzing statistics

Accounting department: The duties of accounting department are revenue and

expenditure management, managing student tuition collection and fee, handlingtuition fees when transferring classes or reserve the change for other students,managing the classrooms and teaching equipment

Sales department: The duties of sales department are arranging courses for students

of a certain organization, organizing the curriculum as well as private teachersaccording to the learners’ needs

2.1.3 Apollo English center operating situation

Apollo currently has many modern English learning centers in big cities like Ho ChiMinh City, Ha Noi, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Apollo offers English learningprograms of international standards including:

 English for children

 English for communication

 English for business

 Ielts and TOEFL iBT

 Training association

 Study abroad consulting

The teachers at Apollo English always meet 3 standards: University graduate,CELTA / TEFL / DELTA English teaching certificate and Cambridge TKTcertificate

Their teaching methods for students always combined with phonetic practice,encouraging students to actively speak, quickly and confidently respond

Apollo English in general and Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai in particular, haveinternational-class training facilities The center has spacious and large classrooms,fully equipped with projectors, multimedia systems,

2.1.4 Company’s value

“We established the Apollo English Center in 1995 with the mission to train the young generation of Vietnam to become global citizens to foster their prosperity, and help them change the world in a more positive direction For us, the biggest reward is seeing people's lives better thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of talented teachers at Apollo.

We hope we can help more students and will always be “A place where the best values become better” - Arabella Peters & Khalid Muhmood - Co-Founder of

Apollo English

Apollo English always works with a vision: Train the young generation of Vietnam

to become global citizens and promote the prosperity of Vietnamese individuals andcountries through English language courses with excellent teaching quality In aconstantly changing world, developing the necessary skills will bring greatadvantages for outstanding success, both domestically and internationally

Their mission is focusing on the teaching quality of English language studyprograms to make students more successful With more than 20 years of teachingexperience, 100% foreign teachers with a high level of expertise, and the exclusiveLETS methodology not only helps students to use English fluently and confidentlybut also develop life skills necessary for high academic achievement and futuregrowth The success of students is also their success

2.2 PRACTICAL SITUATION OF ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNINGSTRATEGIES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AT BEGINNING LEVEL

AT APOLLO ENGLISH CENTER

2.2.1 Practical situation of teaching and learning process at Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai

2.2.1.1 The process of examining and assessing students’ inputs

Entrance test is an important and indispensable process of the center to evaluate andclassify students in order to rank appropriate levels and study programs This alsohelps parents have better understand the current English level of their children

Like other English centers, Apollo English Pham Tuan Tai has a very thoroughentrance examination process, which has an in-depth, modern and scientificassessment method

Besides, 100% of foreign teachers and consultants provide support during the test ofchildren's English proficiency

Along with that, the center actively arranges time with the help of appointmentbooking from a professional customer care team

2.2.1.1.1 Examining and assessing form.

The Center tests and evaluates students mainly in 2 main free tests: Face-to-face testand online proficiency test

Face-to-face test: Students will be able to come to the center to experience full tests

of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills under a reasonable amount of timefrom 30-60 minutes

Skill General assessment form

Listening Students will hear an audio of objects, then they have to point out the

things they heard

Speaking Teacher will ask some questions about general information of studentsReading Students will be given a paper of assignment, which has 2 exercises

including: vocabulary exercises and grammar exercises

Writing Students have to do the writing test, which consists of writing

vocabulary test and writing sentences test

Table 2.1: General assessment form

Online qualification test: This is a new feature from the center to facilitate parentswho want to learn more about their children's current English level but have not hadtime to go to the center This helps parents limit travel during the current Covid 19epidemic, so that the children can continue their studies without encountering anyobstacles The form of online test is the same as face- to- face test but this kind oftest happens on Zoom Meeting

After the entrance examination and assessment, the center will classify students intothe following groups:

Level Equivalent to The Common European Framework of

Reference for Languages (CEFR)Kindergarten

( 13-17 years old) IELTS 2 B1

Table 2.2: Level classification at Apollo English

Apollo English focuses on nurturing children's confidence and potential Through

an English program designed specifically for each age with content suitable forchildren in school and in life, Apollo English not only equips students with basicEnglish, interesting knowledge in science and life, but also focused on building anddeveloping the skills needed for the future

Designed with a variety of ways to improve your English - from group, pair, videostudy, digital books, to online learning to encouraging children to have moremotivation at school time, Apollo Junior students no longer bury their heads inbooks and take notes on machines, but focus more on group activities to interactwith teachers and friends

As a program designed specifically for children, Apollo Junior not only focuses ondeveloping English knowledge potential but also helps them develop the life skillsthey need to prepare for the future Through a rich and useful curriculum, groupgames or small forums held in each lesson, students will gradually get used toworking in groups, gradually developing their communication skills andcooperating with friends and especially always creative in all circumstances andconfidently express your opinion in front of the crowd

2.2.1.2 The process of applying vocabulary learning strategies in class for primary school students.

There are a wide range of different VLSs that have been suggested Apollo Englishhas applied memory strategies, cognitive strategies, compensation strategies,metacognitive strategies, social strategies, affective strategies

The effectiveness of this method is based on the results of students’ scores usingthat method and the number of students who wish to continue enrolling in thatmethod.

Results are recorded from the test after 1 weeks of trying vocabulary learningmethods for each class

2.2.1.2.1 Memory strategies

Memory strategies are strategies help learners to regulate their learning, wherebylearners link their learning of new words to mental processing by associating theirexisting or background knowledge with the new words Some popular memorystrategies are creating mental linkages, applying images and sounds, reviewing well,employing actions

Figure 2.1: Score range of students when applying memory strategies

After 1 week of applying the memory strategies, the teacher gave students a test onvocabularies

When teachers and students use memory strategies in learning vocabularies, thescores of students show that this method is quite effective on students They hadused different techniques For instance, students sometimes link new words to apicture or a life experience They think of the relationship between what theyalready know and new things they learn in English

Most of the learners have performed well and the average score of them was 8 The high results of the test show that activities for remembering and retrieving thenew information are really helpful Students had acquired the retention skills tostore the new information and vocabularies

Keep learning these

strategies

45 students ( 90%) 5 students ( 10%)

The learners highly supported memory strategies incorporated into the curriculum

We found that the classes were more interesting and interactive to learn thelanguage easily That’s why memory strategies are considered as extremelypowerful mental tools

However, there are some students find it difficult to apply these strategies becausethey have not found a connection between the study materials and something theyhave already experienced Therefore, it is hard for them to associate with somethingthey are familiar with

2.2.1.2.2 Cognitive strategies

Cognitive learning strategies are strategies that improve a learner's ability to processinformation more deeply, transfer and apply information to new situations, andresult in enhanced and better-retained learning

Cognitive strategies require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learningmaterials

These include repetition, organizing new language, summarizing meaning, guessingmeaning from context, using imagery for memorization In the process of applyingthis strategy, students clearly demonstrated the skills of highlighting, analysis, andsynthesis.

Figure 2.2: Score range of students when applying cognitive strategies

Teachers and students had used activities which can be making mind maps,visualization, association, mnemonics, using clues in reading comprehension,underlining key words, scanning and self-testing and monitoring In fact, a studentremembers new words by visualizing them represented in a memorable orridiculous situation This makes it easier and faster to recall these words Studentswho scored 7 and 8 points said that they practice by imitating a cartoon character’sdialogue or they say and write new words several times

Cognitive strategies can help achieve more productive and sustained learning

These learning strategies engage learners in activities in which they are responsiblefor performing tasks while thinking about what they are learning and why they havereached particular solutions There is solid evidence that routine integration of thesestrategies coupled with daily active learning practice results in higher-order andsustained learning outcomes

Keep learning cognitive

Figure 2.3: Score range of students when applying compensation strategies

Learners can use the language learning despite gaps in knowledge by using skillssuch as predict or use synonyms For example, guessing the meaning when youdon't understand and using gestures