Investigating students use of supplementary materials as an effective means for self study a case study at nguyen thi dinh high school in ben tre province m a

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE INVESTIGATING STUDENTS' USE OF SUPPLEMENTARY MATERI

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY –HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE

INVESTIGATING STUDENTS' USE OF

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS AS AN EFFECTIVE

MEANS FOR SELF-STUDY

A CASE STUDY AT NGUYEN THI DINH HIGH

SCHOOL IN BEN TRE PROVINCE

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial

fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By

LE THI THAO Supervised by DOAN HUE DUNG, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, NOVEMBER 2012

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This thesis would not have been possible without the guidance and the help

of several individuals who in one way or another contributed and extended their valuable assistance in the preparation and completion of this study It is a pleasure

to thank these people

First and foremost, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to

my supervisor, Dr Doan Hue Dung, Head of the Foreign language center of Nong Lam University, for the continuous support of my research, for her patience, inspiration, sincerity, enthusiasm and immense knowledge Her logical way of thinking and great efforts to explain things clearly and simply have been of grate value for me Her understanding, encouraging, guidance, detailed and constructive comments helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis

Besides my advisor, I would like to thank my friends and colleagues for their encouragement

I also thank the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature for their support and assistance since the start of my postgraduate work in 2009 The library facilities have been indispensable

My warm and sincere thanks also go to my husband for his share of my problems, his help in editing and decorating the report

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my parents for giving birth to

me at the first place, helping me get through the difficult times and supporting me spiritually throughout my life I am thankful to my entire extended family for providing a loving environment for me

Ben Tre, Vietnam, November 2012

Le Thi Thao

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY AND RETENTION OF USE

This thesis is submitted for the Master’s degree of TESOL in the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been and will not be published or submitted for publication or for academic assessment in any other academic course

I certify that my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ……… ……… 1

1.1 CONTEXT OF PROBLEM ……… … 1

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ……….………… 1

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS……… ………… … 2

1.4 DELIMITATION AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY……… 2

1 5 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS ……… 2

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ……… ……… … 4

2.1 SELF-STUDY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING ……… 4

2.1.1 Definition of self-study ………4

2.1.2 The importance of self-study to success in language learning …… 4

2.1.3 Self-study and motivation ……… 5

2.2 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING …6 2.2.1 Dictionaries ……….7

2.2.2 Media technologies ………17

2.2.3 Vocabulary notebooks……… ……… … 19

2.2.4 Students’ learning diaries……… …21

2.2.5 Other supplementary materials ……….22

2.3 THE ROLE OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS ……… 23

2.4 SUMMARY ……… 23

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ……… 25

3.1 RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY AND SAMPLING METHOD … 25 3.2 INSTRUMENTS ….……… 26

3.2.1 Questionnaire for students ……… ……… 26

3.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers ………… ……… 32

3.2.3 Semi-structured interviews with teachers ……… ……… 32

3.2.4 Semi-structured interview with students ………… ………… … 33

3.3 PROCEDURES ……… ……… 34

3.4 ETHICAL CONCERNS ……… … 35

CHAPTER 4 DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ……… 37

4.1 ANALYSIS OF DATA ……… 37

4.1.1 Checking data ……… 37

4.1.2 How students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School used supplementary materials in their self-study? ……… 37

4.1.2.1 Kinds of materials used ……… 37

4.1.2.2 Reasons why students used and did not use various kinds of supplementary materials in their English self-study ……… 38

4.1.2.3 Frequency of using supplementary materials ……… 39

4.1.2.4 Students’ use of supplementary materials in teachers’ point of view ……… 43

4.1.2.5 The influence of people around on students’ use of supplementary materials ……… 46

4.1.2.6 Students’ use of each kind of materials ……… 51

4.1.3 How students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School was assisted in using supplementary materials for self-study? ……… 70

4.2 DISCUSSION OF RESULT ………74

4.2.1 Students’ use of supplementary materials ……….74

4.2.2 Assistance to students ……… 77

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS …… ……… 78

5.1 CONCLUSIONS ………… ……… 78

5.2 SUGGESTIONS ……….……… 79

5.2.1 For teachers of English ……….79

5.2.2 For school staff leaders and school unions………81

5.2.3 For school library ……… 82

5.2.4 For students’ parents……… 83

5.2.5 For students ……… 84

5.3 CONTRIBUTION OF THE STUDY ……… 84

5.4 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH ……… ……… 85

REFERENCES ……… 86

APPENDICES ……… 94

APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE About students’ use of supplementary

materials in learn English ……… 94

APPENDIX 2: QUESTIONNAIRE For teachers- about students’ use of supplementary materials in self-study of English ……… 108

APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS USED IN PILOT STUDY ……… 112

Teachers’ opinion about the questionnaire for teachers ……… … 112

Teachers’ opinions about the questionnaire for students ……….… 113

Students’ opinion about the questionnaire for students ………….…… 114

APPENDIX 4: INTERVIEWS ……… 115

With students using many kinds of materials ……… 115

With students using no supplementary materials ……… 115

With teachers ……… ……….… 115

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

TEFL teaching English as a foreign language 3

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Effectiveness of dictionaries to four skills ……… … 16

Table 2: Negative and positive features of different types of dictionaries ……… 16

Table 3: Design of questionnaire for students ……… 30

Table 4: Statistics _ Number of materials used ……… 38

Table 5: Frequency of using various kinds of materials ………… ……… 40

Table 6: Mean of frequency of using various materials ……… 42

Table 7: Teachers’ perception about students’ use of supplementary materials …43 Table 8: Valid and missing cases in answering for question 2 in questionnaire for students ……… 47

Table 9: People who recommended students to use various materials …… … 49

Table 10: Percentage of using guidebooks ……… ……… 52

Table 11: Number of workbook and reference books used ……… 54

Table 12: Percentage of workbook and reference books used ……… 55

Table 13: How much of work book and reference books students used in a negative way ……… 56

Table 14: Number of storybooks ……… 57

Table 15: Number of newspapers, magazines ……… 57

Table 16: Percentage of story-books, newspapers and magazines used … …… 58

Table 17: Purposes of using storybooks, newspapers and magazines ………… 59

Table 18: Use of dictionaries in class ……… 60

Table 19: Form of dictionaries used ……… 61

Table 20: Kinds of dictionaries used ………… ……… 62

Table 21: Necessity of guiding students to use dictionaries ……… 64

Table 22: Number of DVDs and videos used ……… ……….…65

Table 23: Students’ attention while watching videos ……… 65

Table 24: English programmes on radio ……… ……… 66

Table 25: What students learnt from the internet ……… 67

Table 26: What students wrote in vocabulary notebooks ……… 69

Table 27 : Implication of data analysis ……… 74

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Number of materials used by each student ……… ………….… 38 Figure 2: Frequency of using various kinds of materials ……… … 40 Figure 3: People from whom students got the ideas of using various materials….48 Figure 4: Purposes of using guidebooks ……… ……… 53 Figure 5: Types of dictionaries ……… 60 Figure 6: Information to refer in dictionaries ………63

ABSTRACT

To be good at English, it is essential to make use of various kinds of materials However, very little was known about students’ use of supplementary materials for self-study in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School This study was aimed at exploring the issue concerning kinds of materials, frequency of use, ways of using, affecting factors and suggestions to help students in this school learn English more effectively The subjects of the study were 206 students and four teachers of English Information was collected through questionnaires for teachers, questionnaires for students, interviews with four students and two teachers

The result of the study indicated that:

1 Students used very little of supplementary materials and very few of them used the materials in recommended ways

2 Few students got assistance from other people in using the materials

3 To help students make full use of supplementary materials, it requires various actions from teachers, school leaders and unions, students’ parents and students themselves

This report can help to raise awareness of relating people and motivate them

to better the state

to some extent, may limit their choice for self-study

Normally, teachers pay much attention to their methods and techniques of teaching, to the language content and skills students need to acquire in class One important factor for the success of the students, which is not given enough care by both teachers and students, is students‘ self-study

This research was conducted as a case study in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School, with the hope to give an overview on (a) how much students of Grade 10 and 11 were exposed to various sources of supplementary materials; (b) how they used these materials for their English self-study and (c) what teachers of English had done to help their students use supplementary materials effectively Data was collected from questionnaires and interviews with teachers of English and students of Grade 10 and 11 in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to help students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School make better use of supplementary materials to improve their English Specifically, it is hoped to raise students‘ awareness of using various supplementary materials for self-study and to remind teachers of English of the importance of introducing and encouraging students to use supplementary materials for self-study Moreover, the result may help teachers realize what materials their students have got and how their students are using such materials and thus find out different ways to help their students get access to and use supplementary materials effectively Parents who are concerned with their children‘s learning English may get useful information about

the facilities that their children have got and about what their children should be equipped with to support English learning The study may also help the school administrators realize their role and the necessity of taking various actions to help students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School learn English better

1.4 DELIMITATION AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

As the study was conducted in the setting of Nguyen Thi Dinh High School , a normal school in rural area of Ben Tre Province, the findings of this study may not necessarily be generalized to (a) students in urban areas of Vietnam, who have much more chances to get access to various sources of supplementary materials, (b) English majored students in schools for the gifted, who are highly motivated in learning English and in self-study and (c) students of Grade 12, whose main studying purpose is to pass the final examination for secondary education

The study was conducted on the assumption that answers for the two questionnaires and sharing in the interviews truly reflected what the participants were doing

1 5 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

The thesis is divided into five chapters Chapter 1 is the Introduction which presents the rationale for conducting the study, the significance, method, aims, research questions and scope of the study Chapter 2 provides a theoretical framework for the study, including definitions and types of supplementary materials for language learning, definition and importance of self-study in language learning and teachers‘ role in helping students use supplementary materials Chapter 3 reports the methodology used in the research including

Chapter 4 reports the data collected and discusses the major findings Chapter 5, which is the last part of the study-Conclusion, summarizes what is addressed in the study, points out the limitations, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 SELF-STUDY IN LANGUAGE LEARNING

2.1.1 Definition of self-study

―The terms 'self-study' and 'self-instructional' will be used interchangeably to describe the type of course of study where the learner works, without a teacher, and most probably alone, in a location of his own choosing, to learn a new skill or to study a particular subject, in this case a foreign language, using 'externally directed materials‖ (Holec 1979 :3) (in Fearn)

2.1.2 The importance of self-study to success in language learning

―Owing to condition by culture and education system, many language students (even adults), are passive and accustomed to being spooned-fed This makes learning more difficult and must be changed.‖ (Oxford, 1990, p 10) That is

to say, ―whether at home or in class, students need to know how to direct their own

learning process, else all is lost‖ (Oxford, 1990, p.1) Little (1995) observes that

―genuinely successful learners have always been autonomous‖ (p.175) He also notes, ―the development of learner autonomy and the growth of target language proficiency are mutually supporting and fully integrated with each other‖ (Little,

2007, p 14 as cited in Gardner, 2011) Harmer (1991) states that if students make the most of their own resources, their learning is better and they achieve more while Takeuchi (as cited in Sakai, 2007) advises learners to study L2 by themselves outside the classroom if they want to succeed in L2 learning It can be seen that self-study is regarded as a prerequisite factor in students‘ improvement in language learning

However, ―in an effort to fill class hours with fascinating materials, teachers might overlook their mission of enabling learners to eventually become independent of classroom, that is, to become autonomous learners‖ (Brown, 1994,

p 208) Language learners will not always have the teacher around them to teach students everything and to guide them as they use the language outside the classroom, so they need to be trained to teach themselves (Oxford, 1990) Ideally,

self-directed learning) (Harmer, 1991) It is important for both teachers and students to try to achieve the final aim of making students study efficiently on their own

Classroom time cannot provide adequate practice opportunities for students

to reach moderate to high proficiency Therefore, students must seek out or create opportunities to practice all of the four skills and must realize it is up to them to search for these occasions (Oxford, 1990) Students should be aware that in language learning, ―practice makes perfect‖

2.1.3 Self-study and motivation

Ushioda (1996 as cited in Kocak, 2003) explicitly states that ‗autonomous learners are by definition motivated learners‘ In their study Spratt, Humphreys and Chan (2002) tried to assess students‘ readiness for learner autonomy, and the results revealed that motivation had a strong impact in this readiness Lee (1998) adds that promoting independence in learners will help them to continue their language development and take increasing responsibility for their learning Most scholars agree that motivation plays a key role in the learners‘ readiness for autonomous learning It determines the degree of effort learners put into foreign language learning In other words, the more motivation they have, the more effort they tend to put into learning the language A strong link between motivation and autonomy can be perceived in the article of Dickinson (1995 as cited in Kocak, 2003) who concludes that enhanced motivation is a conditional on learners taking responsibility for their own learning, noticing that their successes or failures are related to their own efforts rather than to the factors out of their control Motivation is a key factor that influences the extent to which learners are ready to learn autonomously (Spratt, Humphreys and Chan, 2002)

Using supplementary materials in self-study may help learners to improve integrative motivation, which is the stimulus for learners‘ further language studies from their desire to communicate or interact with L2 people or culture (Gardner, Tremblay, & Masgoret, 1997) Jarrell and Freiermuth (2005) investigated how Internet chat in language classrooms stimulated learners‘ motivation, especially their willingness to communicate Students can take advantage of this activity in

their self-study The more motivated they are, the more they learn As a result, such learners can acquire English naturally as motivation is undoubtedly an important factor in foreign language learning (FLL) success (Gardner, 1985b, and Scarcella & Oxford, 1992, as cited in Brown, 2004)

Students can integrate entertainment factors in English self-study process because entertainment use in language learning has great potential to improve learners‘ motivation (Dörnyei, 2001 as cited in Sakai, 2007) More specifically, that way of self-study can improve intrinsic motivation, which refers to a motivational influence for taking action that comes from pleasantness; for

example, the learner feels enjoyment or satisfaction in an activity (Noels et al.,

2003 as cited in Sakai, 2007) Ramage‘s (1990) study reported that intrinsically motivated students continued to study further than extrinsically motivated students (e.g those who were studying to earn credits) A similar relationship appears in the work of Deci and Ryan (1985) (as cited in Spratt, Humphreys, and Chan, 2002) who highlight intrinsic motivation as a necessary precursor of autonomy They claim that intrinsic motivation, in which learners are interested in learning tasks and outcomes for their own sake rather than for rewards, needs to be supported for the development of autonomy In short, self-study and motivation have a close relationship and affect each other

2.2 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING

Materials is anything which presents or informs about the language being learned (Tomlinson, 1998) Wherease, supplementary materials as defined in Glossary of basic terms in TEFL studies are ―materials designed to be used in addition to the core materials of a course They are usually related to the development of skills of reading, writing, listening or speaking rather than to the learning of language items‖ According to Joan Rubin and I Thompson (1994), supplementary materials are materials that can be used to support language learning include dictionaries, supplementary texts, reference grammars, and media materials

2.2.1 Dictionaries

There have been many studies about dictionary use while the use of other

supplementary materials in self-study has not been investigated In their research

into bilingualized dictionaries, Laufer and Kimmel (1997) found out what kind of

information in the entry that learners paid attention to Laufer and Harder (1997)

assessed the effectiveness of monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized dictionaries

and concluded that different dictionaries might accommodate different abilities in

dictionary use In Hong Kong, Taylor (1988) found out the dictionaries used, the

reasons, the type, the frequency, the problems, and factors discouraging dictionary

use Fan‘s (2000) study focused particularly on how frequently various types of

information in the bilingualized dictionary were used and how useful they were

perceived by the students That study also identified which dictionary behaviours

affected vocabulary proficiency In fact, the literature has witnessed the

exploration about various aspects of dictionary use This section only mentions

some issues that are closely related to the aims and the setting of the study

Types of dictionaries

Dictionaries can be classified according to their form of presentation

(electronic in the form of pocket calculator, electronic in the form of computer

software, electronic in cell phone or iphone, printed); their content (general,

specialized); the language included (monolingual, bilingual, bilingualised); and

how the entries are listed (alphabetical, thematic thesauruses)

This thesis focuses on the classification of dictionaries according to the

language(s) they include

Monolingual dictionaries

All information in monolingual dictionaries is presented in one language

Rundell (1988) and Hartmann (1992) shares the same idea that the monolingual

dictionaries for language learners, (like the now very popular EFL dictionaries

such as the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary and the Longman Dictionary of

Contemporary English) should be compiled in a different users' perspective from

that of monolingual native-speaker dictionaries With restricted vocabulary,

monolingual learners' dictionaries give lots of examples and illustrations; give

information about the various senses, the grammatical patterns, the stylistic usage, the pronunciation and other related information of L2 words Nation (2001) further defines an English monolingual dictionary as one that has an English headword, an English definition, and all the examples and other information in English (in Jee,

2008)

The main disadvantage of this kind of dictionary is that students who are less proficient in L2 may not be able to benefit much from it Research done by Nation (2003) on vocabulary learning has shown that for students to use an English monolingual dictionary easily they need to know at least 2000 English words Therefore, it is no surprise that surveys done on how students use dictionaries show that they prefer bilingual dictionaries (Laufer & Kimmel, 1997; Atkins & Vanantola, 1997; Baxter, 1980) Nevertheless, "most authors agree that the advantage of the monolingual English learner's dictionary in terms of its reliance on the target language outweighs the disadvantage and the deliberately sought semantic, grammatical and stylistic explicitness allows — even encourages

— productive activities" (Hartmann, 1992, p 153) Rubin (1994) also agreed with this statement when saying that ―in some languages, monolingual dictionaries may

be important even in the early stages of learning, since they provide information about declensions and conjugations; give exceptions and show examples of how a word can be used in different contexts.‖ (p 50) Therefore, students should try to use monolingual dictionaries as much as they can

Bilingual dictionaries

According to Hartmann (2001) and Tarp (2002), a standard bilingual

dictionary has two object languages, and provides equivalents in L2 for each word

and expression in L1 This kind of dictionary is called an active, or oriented, bilingual dictionary by Hannay (2003) It is intended to help a user to express a given idea from L1 into L2 in a given context

production-A passive, or reception-oriented, bilingual dictionary is for understanding a

given lexical item in L2 (Hannay, 2003) It gives the headword and the examples

in one language (English) and the meaning in another (Chinese) (Nation, 2001 in

dictionaries for highly advanced users such as translators (Nakamoto, 1995) Observational user studies have indicated that bilingual dictionaries are particularly useful to beginners of L2 (Hartmann, 1983; Hartmann, 1994 in Fan, 2000)

Bilingual dictionaries do not usually provide sufficient information for the students to be able to use Therefore, Thompson (1987) says that some of the main arguments against the use of these dictionaries are they encourage students to translate from the L1 to the L2 and vice versa instead of encouraging students to try and think in the L2 As a result, many learners misassumpt that there exists a one-to-one correlation between the two languages They believe that bilingual dictionaries help them learn meanings of words quickly They do not know semantic and stylistic characteristics of the words Therefore, in case a bilingual dictionary lists five or six Vietnamese equivalents for one English word, Vietnamese learners cannot tell which one of these meanings is being referred to in

a specific context Harmer (1991) added that in bilingual dictionaries, ―there is often no information either about the level of formality of the word, its grammatical behavior, etc Such a lack of information could lead to serious error

of translation‖ (p.174)

Because of the limited information available in many bilingual dictionaries, someone may argue that they should not be used However, according to Rubin (1994), ―this will not be sensible since most students who are at all interested in learning a language will use a bilingual dictionary whether their teachers want them to or not.‖ Bejoint & Moulin (1987 in Fan, 2000) explained that this kind of dictionary is popular because they are useful for quick consultation

Bilingualized dictionaries

―A bilingualized dictionary consists of a single alphabetical listing, in a

language foreign to its intended users‖ (Rundell, 1999, p.50) Bilingualized (also

sometimes referred to as hybrid, glossed, translated or semi-bilingual) dictionaries are usually the result of partial or full adaptation of existing monolingual dictionaries, whereby L1 equivalents are added to L2 definitions and examples A bilingualised dictionary is a compromise between the monolingual and the

bilingual learner's dictionary, combining the advantages of both (Laufer & Hadar,

1997 in Jee, 2008; Cowie, 1987; Reif, 1987; Stein, 1990; Hartmann, 1994a; Hartmann, 1994b; Nakamoto, 1994 in Tasovac, 2009; Rundell, 1999) According

to Laufer and Hadar‘s (1997) findings, bilingualised dictionaries are positive indicators in the comprehension and production of new words across all types of learners (in Jee, 2008)

Other kinds of dictionary are specialized dictionaries in areas like sports, arts, etc (Rubin, 1994) ―Thesauri give definitions in context for a limited learners' vocabulary in thematic groups‖ (Hartmann, 1991, p 7) Above all, it is of utmost importance for teachers to introduce to the students the various types of dictionaries available in the market apart from the bilingualized ones such as the monolingual, the alphabetic, and the thematic dictionaries The focus should be on the particular kind of services individual type or individual dictionaries offer so that students may know which dictionary to consult for their particular referential needs For instance, when they need the dictionary for writing, a thesaurus type

dictionary such as the Longman Lexicon will be especially useful As "dictionary

reference is a complicated business," it is not enough just to recommend dictionaries to our students To help them reap the benefits of good dictionaries, they need to be taught explicitly how to use them (Hartmann, 1991, p 9) Dictionary use should even be taught in primary and secondary schools to meet the needs of students at different phases of L2 learning

The use of dictionaries

Dictionary awareness and dictionary use is essential for foreign language learners because it helps to improve both receptive and productive skills This is because dictionary not only provides one of the best resources for learners to pick

up more words (Harmer, 1991; Knight, 1994) but also offers a good channel to expose themselves to a range of language skills (Knight, 1994) Moreover, dictionary use has its intrinsic value in that it is a powerful tool for lifelong learning and it can elevate the English standard of the lower verbal ability group (Nation, 2001; Summers, 1988; Walz, 1998 in Jee, 2008) Wen and Johnson

found that these students frequently used bilingual dictionaries but they used them constructively As Brumfit (1985) strongly states about dictionary usage; ― they are the most widespread single language improvement device ever invented We can not prevent our students using them, but we can ensure that they are used wisely.‖ (Preface, p.v)

―However, most language learners have not been taught systematically, presumably because dictionary skills have often been ranked low on teachers‘ priority lists alongside other more important skills such as reading, writing,

listening, or speaking.‖ (Chan, 2005 in Chan, 2010) It is obvious that there should

be an increase in dictionary use among students, except in class time because this may result in students‘ less interaction and less willingness to take risk The

question now is what kinds of dictionary to use and how to use them effectively

There have been many studies and discussions about strong and weak points of each kind of dictionary According to Rundell (1999), learners may find bilingual dictionaries easy to use, yet lack detailed information needed for productive skills Although monolingual learners‘ dictionaries are more likely to meet these needs, they are used much less widely, because they are perceived as

―difficult‖ Harmer (1991) suggested that teachers should not try to prevent learners‘ use of bilingual dictionaries, but to turn it to advantage by incorporating them into good dictionary practice using monolingual dictionaries This can be gained by encouraging learners to look up a word in their bilingual dictionaries and then check what they have found against the information in monolingual dictionaries As soon as students get to intermediate levels, teachers may encourage them to change completely to monolingual dictionary use because perhaps a good monolingual dictionary is the greatest resource for learners Students should also be made familiar with the value of thesauri and other kinds of reference materials, including electronic ones, for the development of productive skills such as composition and translation The point is that no dictionary is bad in itself Each kind has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending on how students use it It is suggested that students be flexible in using various kinds of dictionaries at different learning stages

The next part in this chapter is a review of dictionary use in specific skills Questions about what, when, how and what words are looked up for are taken into consideration In reading or listening, the issues raised are whether learners should guess word meaning from context or look up unfamiliar words immediately; how they should deal with multiple meanings or senses of one word

In reading

In Gu's (1994) case study of vocabulary learning of good and poor Chinese EFL Learners (in Tang, 1997), good readers were more discriminating in their selection of words to look up, and they guessed the meaning from context before deciding whether to look up the word Poor readers, on the other hand, immediately looked up all unfamiliar words they came across What is observed in Gu‘s case study is similar to Oxford‘s (1999) conclusion about good and less adept language learners In Oxford‘s findings, the responses of poor readers or less adept learners as mentioned above impede progress towards proficiency

Dictionaries should be rarely used while reading because the constant stopping to look up words slow learners down and prevent them from focusing on the key points (Day & Bamford, 1998; Brown, 1994 & Harmer, 1991) Students may get tired of and confused when trying to put all the pieces together (Rubin, 1994) Nunan (1999) and Brown (1994) advocated that good language learners learn to live with uncertainty and develop strategies for making sense of the target language without wanting to understand every word

So one of the silent reading rules that should be taught to students is that

―unless a word is absolutely crucial to global understanding, skip over it and try to infer meaning from its context.‖ (Brown, 1994, p 308) Rubin (1994) also advised learners to avoid being too dependent on a dictionary; ―remember that meaning can frequently be gained from contexts even better than from a dictionary and often more quickly and surely.‖ (p 51)

The problem is that it is difficult to convince learners of English as a foreign language to believe in the tips mentioned above ―Students are often tempted to read slowly, worrying about the meaning of each particular word And

yet if they do this they will never achieve the ability to read texts in English in anything but a slow and ponderous way.‖ (Harmer, 1994, p.191)

In writing

―If you have to look up a half-dozen words to write a ten-word sentence, there

is a high probability that the sentence won‘t be comprehensible… Every time you look up a word in a dictionary, you run the risk of picking the wrong one, especially if it is a verb with many meanings.‖ (Rubin, 1994, p 113)

Writing is a productive skill, thus students should use their own words and different ways to express their opinions rather than looking up English equivalents and write sentences in a way of translating word by word

In vocabulary learning

―A dictionary is an endless source of vocabulary enrichment.‖ (Rubin, 1994,

p 50) Knight‘s (1994) study found that Spanish university students using a

dictionary showed higher vocabulary and recall scores in both immediate and delayed tests and in a comprehension activity than students with no access to a dictionary

A dictionary may provide the following information under each headword: _ spelling

_ syllable division

_core vocabulary words (main entry)

_ new words or sub entries

_ formal or informal language

_ British English or American English

_ other geographical varieties

Foreign-language learners tend to look for equivalents between L1 and L2

in a bilingual dictionary while good explanation and the illustrations might be in

the foreign language in the bilingualized dictionary (Laufer & Kimmel, 1997) In learners‘ conception, bilingual and bilingualised dictionaries are the authority for translation equivalence This misconception is harmful to cross-cultural communication and the learning of a foreign language (Chen, 1994)

When consulting a dictionary, learners may find that a word may have several equivalents To find the correct meaning, it is suggested to look at the sentence or paragraph in which the word appears Learners should also study the examples given to understand and know how to use the word appropriately (Rubin,

1994) Knight‘s (1994) study found that those participants who used a dictionary

as well as guessed through context learned more words both immediately and after two weeks Yorkey (1997) suggested language learners check pronunciation, definition, examples and usage notes about grammar (part of speech, related structures) Other useful information includes collocations, frequency, and appropriateness of words However, learners often ignore or misread the most informative elements of the entry (Nesi & Meara, 1994 in Chan, 2010)

It is undeniable that knowledge of pronunciation is essential to the production of speech The incorrect pronunciation of words or the failure to put stress on the right syllable may hamper communication Research findings have also shown that knowing how to say a word helps learners commit the word to memory easier (Chi et al., 1994; Fan, 1998; Fan, Ho, & Ranson, 1996) However,

it is a fact that most students have difficulty with phonetic scripts (Taylor, 1988)

There have also been criticisms and concerns about using dictionaries as a way of learning new words Users might get frustrated, finding using dictionaries

time-consuming and tedious With electronic or online dictionaries, users may save

time in finding a word but many unskilled or novice users may still have to spend much time to decide the appropriate meaning for given context Most of these dictionaries contain native-language equivalents and explanations, as well as definitions and example sentences in English They can speak the English word to you, and they are easy to carry around However, electronic dictionaries are expensive and easy to lose

In practice as well as in research studies, dictionary use has been decontextualized (Nist & Olejnik, 1995; Nagy, 1997 in Jee, 2008) Regardless, dictionaries are valuable for lifelong learning and for reviving language skills without human source of information (Walz, 1998 in Jee, 2008) With the availability of various kinds of dictionaries, students may get confused in choosing dictionaries for their own use There has been much research comparing the effectiveness of monolingual dictionaries (MLDs), bilingual dictionaries (BLDs), and bilingualised dictionaries (BLLDs), but the results seem to be diverse

IN VOCABULARY LEARNING: Some research studies found that types

of dictionaries used have no significant effects on learners‘ vocabulary recall and retention (Bogaards, 1991; Hayati & Fattahzadeh, 2006), while others found that learners using BLDs remember words better than those using MLDs (Folse, 2004; Laufer & Hill, 2000; Schmitt, 1997 & Wu, 2005 in Jee, 2008; Luppescu & Day,

1993, as cited in Hayati, 2006; Iu, 2003)

IN THE FOUR SKILLS: Table 1 below shows which kind of dictionary is

more useful for each skill and Table 2 summarizes negative and positive features

of the three kinds of dictionaries, according to the result of some studies

Table 1: Effectiveness of dictionaries to four skills

Author of the

study

Comprehensive skills Productive skills

Melamed (1994)

experienced MLD users obtain better results than BLD and BLLD users

experienced MLD users obtain better results than BLD and BLLD users Laufer and Hadar

(1997)

_ BLLDs better than MLDs _ BLLDs more effective than BLDs

_ BLLDs better than MLDs

_ BLLDs and BLDs: no significant differences Hayati and Pour-

Mohammadi

(2005)

BLDs as useful as MLDs in reading comprehension for intermediate EFL students

Table 2: Negative and positive features of different types of dictionary

Could satisfy specific needs

of learners in a particular

country (Nakamoto, 1995)

Easier to use More demanding

Less likely to offer a quick solution to learners

Allow greater learner

flexibility since the user can

The range of lexical and grammatical

information is an invaluable resource at all stages in a productive task (Chan, 2011) Present different senses of a word, reinforcing the undifferentiated equation 'an L2 lexical item = an L1

Current studies (Iu, 2003; Laufer & Hadar, 1997) have shown a growing trend for either bilingual or bilingualised dictionaries and even a stronger preference for these two types of dictionaries by Asian learners (Fan, 2003; Hayati, 2006; Schmitt, 1997; Wu, 2005) including Hong Kong, Japanese, and Taiwanese students It is commonly seen that learners tend to use bilingual dictionaries although teachers usually recommend monolingual ones, as Atkins' analogy (1985,

p 22): "Monolinguals are good for you (like whole meal bread and green vegetables); bilinguals (like alcohol, sugar and fatty foods) are not, though you may like them better." The most natural progression is from the bilingual dictionary through the monolingual learners' dictionary to the monolingual native-speaker dictionary (Stein 1990; Zofgen 1991 in Nakamoto, 1995) Translations in

a BLD may reassure and help a dictionary user feel confident about the meaning and usage of a new word (Laufer & Melamed, 1994; Hartman, 1993), whereas information given in a MLD will complement and modify L1 translations (Laufer, 1993)

the diversity of materials from media technology mentioned above, students can try and choose the ones that are of their interest and can meet their learning needs

For listening skill, high school students can make use of cassette tapes and videotaped materials included in textbook series (Nunan, 1999) Audio tapes can help to improve pronunciation and develop listening comprehension Tapes can be used almost anywhere and at anytime to compare student‘s utterance It is especially useful when doing pronunciation and grammar drills, because time on class is not enough and students may feel shy to practice in front of other classmates (Rubin, 1994)

With videos, students have opportunities to watch and listen to authentic language in an authentic setting Students should choose videos with standard language and with little slang One video subtitled in students‘ native language is not particularly useful for listening comprehension but may be helpful for recognizing vocabulary items (Rubin, 1994) Besides the materials in textbook series, learners should make a regular effort to listen to English outside the classroom Another source of material which is easy to access and comfortable to use is songs It has been proposed that the use of music or song is conducive to language learning for both affective and cognitive reasons (Scheopp, 2001) Songs create a non-threatening and stress-free atmosphere, which is believed to enhance learning (Adamowski, 1997; Bechtold, 1983; Domoney & Harris, 1993; Lo & Li, 1998) The use of songs (music) can also facilitate language automaticity, which has been defined as a component of language fluency involve[ing] both knowing what to say and producing language rapidly without pauses (Gatbonton

& Segalowize, 1988, p.473)

Students can also use media technology to have conversations with native speakers; authentic materials through news and films on radio, television and videos These media offer opportunities for learning, practising, and encountering second languages in authentic, real world contexts This is really helpful for language learning because when ―playing‖ with the language, learners develop a feel for how it works, make it a part of them rather than an external mechanical

familiar topics that are amply supported by visuals, and are spoken clearly and deliberately (advertisements, announcements, weather reports, short news reports) Advanced students can listen to more complex materials like lectures, speeches,

professional discussions, movies or any program on the television and radio (Rubin, 1994) The media technology outweight other sources of materials in

presenting authentic contexts with a real need to use the language in an entertaining way

The out of class supplementary materials don‘t need to be limited to audio, video, or readings but can also include computer programs commonly known as e-

learning (Chwo, 2011) Computer-aided programs can give instant feedback

(Rubin, 1994) and students can use them easily at their pace

2.2.3 Vocabulary notebooks

The use of vocabulary notebooks is widely advocated by Allen (1983), Gairns & Redman (1986), McCarthy (1990) In a study conducted by Walters and Bozkurt (2009) investigating the use of vocabulary notebooks by a group of Turkish university students, the students who kept notebooks made greater gains in both receptive and productive knowledge of the target words and made greater use

of the target vocabulary in their weekly compositions (Schmitt, 2010)

Learners can write the words they encounter on their vocabulary notebooks and add L2-L1 translation or other knowledge they gradually acquire about the words such as collocations, semantic associations, frequency tallies, roots and derivations Vocabulary notebooks are particularly useful, since entries can be developed as a learner‘s understanding evolves Learners can be reminded to go through their notebooks regularly in order to add more information and rehearse what they already recorded After one term or one school year, it becomes a ready reference and a study guide for tests Keeping vocabulary notebooks is not only useful for vocabulary learning but also one way of promoting learner independence (Schmitt & Schmitt, 1995)

Information in vocabulary notebooks

When students learn vocabulary, they need to learn what words mean and how they are used (collocation, word formation and word grammar) (Harmer,

1991) Relating to word formation, students need to know how suffixes and prefixes work, how words are spelt and how they sound (Harmer, 1991; Rubin, 1994) Students are far more likely to remember a word if they learn that word together with other words, in context (Harmer, 1991) It is also necessary to take into consideration its relation to other words (hyponyms, antonyms, synonyms, etc…) (Harmer, 1991; Rubin, 1994) Word‘s frequency and stylistic qualities are also important (Richards, 1976; Nation, 1990)

Formats of vocabulary notebooks

Schmitt & Schmitt (1995) suggested that the notebooks should be arranged

in a loose-leaf binder, an index card binder, or on cards which are kept in a box The pages or cards should be large enough to include the elaborate information that students add to their word listings The word card or page should be divided into sections, with each having enough space to write down a different aspect of word knowledge (Schmitt & Schmitt, 1995)

These formats overweight traditional bound notebooks because they increase learners‘ flexibility The pages can be taken out and moved around, pages with better-known words can be put further back in the binder, and lesser known words put towards the front In addition, this arrangement allows words to be organized into groups, which can make learning easier Cohen (1990) proposes several word-grouping possibilities, including topics, parts of speech, themes, speech acts, and even separate sections for productive and receptive words However, it is best to avoid placing words which are very similar to each other in these groupings until they are known well enough not to be cross-associated (Schmitt & Schmitt, 1995) Students can add some of the following kinds of organisation: Semantic maps helps to visualize the associative network of relationships which exist between the new words and those they already know Hierarchical trees may clearly show the relationship between words which are part

of a super ordinate or subordinate structure They could also make notes on stylistic aspects of the word, or write a sentence illustrating its use

Another factor that helps students learn vocabulary items is that new words

advantage in that they are convenient to carry around and easy to study in odd minutes of free time The key point is students regularly go through their notebooks and do something with the words Students may go back and fill in different kinds of information on a scheduled basis For example, students may sketch as many keyword illustrations as they can for a few days After that, they might go back and list possible affixes for the words for the next few days Some time later, they may try to draw semantic maps Still later, they may review the words by writing down other words which collocate with them (Schmitt &

Schmitt, 1995) The discussion here shows that if students want to make good use

of vocabulary notebook, they need to pay attention to how to organize the notebook, what to write and what to do with the information they have noted

2.2.4 Students’ learning diaries

Learning diary is a record written in the target language by learners themselves about (1) ideas relating to content of the lessons (comments, opinions, questions) and (2) their thoughts, feelings, attitudes and perceptions about their learning process (about their teacher, their class and their own achievements and problems) It can also include specific information about strategies which learners find effective or ineffective for each of the four language skills (Oxford, 1990)

Dignen (2005) elaborates six key points that students can note down in their learning diaries:

1 progress: which areas of language you have improved

2 classroom learning: which classroom activities help you to improve

3 self-study: what you have done outside the classroom to practice your language

4 problems: what you find most difficult to improve and why

5 priorities: which area is the most important for you to focus on in grammar, communication skills, vocabulary, speaking fluently, pronunciation or understanding

6 action plan: how you can improve your English in the future

Harmer (1991) uses the term ―student diaries‖ with a wider scope of meaning In student diaries, students can write what they want about anything that interests them such as their personal lives, politics or stories Learning diaries can

support self-evaluation and self-reflection and make learners become more conscious of their experiential learning In other words, learners become aware and acknowledge what they have learnt and how they have progressed Through learning diaries, issues or problems associated with their learning are reflected and this enables them to consider options for their resolution Using learning diary, students better understand their own learning behaviours and take responsibility for their own learning process (Nückles, 2004) ―Regular journal writing ensures frequent writing practice and all students have a chance to use English to reflect their own thoughts and feelings.‖ (Harmer, 1991, p.146)

Other benefits mentioned by Dignen (2005) are students can:

_ stay motivated by noting down areas where they have improved

_ speed up their learning by identifying the right learning methods for them

_ use English more accurately by focusing on typical mistakes or problems

_ motivate themselves to spend time learning English outside the classroom

_ maximize their efforts by identifying their key learning objectives

_ ensuring them reach learning objectives by defining personal action plans

As mentioned above, in learning diaries, students write about not only what they learn but also how they learn Students can gain many benefits in learning: assimilating and integrating new information, stimulating students‘ critical thinking, encouraging self-expression To teachers, learning diaries can partly show them whether their teaching strategies are effective or not and thus helps to identify the need to adjust teaching strategies Basing on students‘ interest, motivation and negotiation between teacher and students, students can decide how often to use their learning diaries – after each lesson, after every three units or once

a month, etc

2.2.5 Other supplementary materials

Language learners also use workbooks (or student books); guidebooks which are closely related to text books in which lists of vocabulary, instructions for grammar and suggested answers to tasks or exercises are given; other reference books of grammar, vocabulary, the four skills and learning strategies

2.3 THE ROLE OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS

According to Lee (1998), students need to be assisted to gain awareness of independent learning outside the classroom In fact, students will act as self-determined learners rather than controlled, if they are provided with such support Additionally, Knowles (1975) (as cited in Kocak, 2003) has emphasized that it is important to prepare learners for a swiftly changing future, where independence learning will be indispensable for effective functioning in society With such preparation for independent learning, learners will also maximize their life choices

In his article, LI Zhijian (2006) argues that teachers play a guiding role and guide students according to the actual situation to determine the appropriate learning objectives to help students find the best way to achieve targets; guide students to form good study habits, master effective learning strategies; actively encourage students to independently explore For most learners the growth of autonomy requires the stimulus, insight and guidance of a good teacher‖ (Little, 2000 as cited

in Vera, 2010) As Kupfer (1990 as cited in Gardner, 2011) aptly puts it, autonomy

―like a skill, requires ongoing encouragement‖ (p 149)

Teachers in the teaching process should provide students with a variety of information resources; identify the types of the information needed in some topics and the usage of each resource in the learning process Teachers have to become a source of information and source of expertise Little (1995) states that it is difficult for learners in formal education contexts to accept responsibility immediately for their learning and he adds that it is the teachers who will help them to do so by equipping them with sufficient materials and with chances to practice them Continuing interest in learning depends to a large extent on whether learners find the materials they use interesting and useful (Frankel 1982; Hughes 1982 as cited

in Finch, 2002)

2.4 SUMMARY

This chapter has summarized and synthesized thematically the published information about supplementary materials and self-study in recent years, combining new and old interpretations of these terms It also traces the intellectual progression of the topic, showing what has been studied about various kinds of

supplementary materials and about learners‘ self-study The information is from various sources of books, journals, conference proceedings, theses and dissertations Among the supplementary materials for English self-study, dictionary is considered to be the most essential and hence gets the most attention Some other sources are just mentioned by the scholars and lack study about the advantages and disadvantages, problems in the using process and how to use them effectively Concerning the term ―self-study‖, it is not used widely because researchers and scholars are more interested in the term ―learner‘s autonomy‖ This study is concerned with the use of supplementary materials in general among students in NguyenThi Dinh High School To guide the study, definitions for the two main terms are drawn out basing on the definitions offered in the literature The term ―supplementary materials‖ means any learning materials and tools besides the English textbooks used in classroom These can be (a) materials sources specially designed for learning English like workbooks, reference books, dictionaries; (b) sources of English language for pleasure like songs, poems, novels, films; or (c) materials created by students themselves like learning diaries, vocabulary handbooks, etc The term ―self-study‖ is used to refer to students‘ study by themselves, which they are responsible for without direct supervision from teachers

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

This research was conducted as a case study because the researcher did not focus on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth, nor typically looked for cause-effect relationships; instead, emphasis was placed on exploration and description Case studies are the preferred strategy when how or why questions are asked Likewise, they are the preferred method when the researcher has little control over the events More specifically, this study is an illustrative case study,

which is primarily a descriptive study

3.1 RESPONDENTS OF THE STUDY AND SAMPLING METHOD

The subjects of this study were four teachers of English (there were seven teachers of English in this school, including the researcher, but only four teachers taught Grade 10 and Grade 11) All of them are female aged from 24 to 29 All four had taken the pedological course in English teaching at Universities of Can Tho and Dong Thap Since graduating from universities, they have been teaching

in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School from 2 to 5 years With their youth, they all show enthusiasm in teaching and applying new teaching techniques

Student respondents were six classes of Grade 10 and 11 at Nguyen Thi Dinh High School The purpose of choosing classes from two grades was to have

an overview of all two grades Students from each grade with their own age and their own experience of learning English may have different perceptions, ideas and habits about using supplementary materials in self-study

For each grade, the researcher chose three classes with different teachers of English Teachers may have great influence on students Therefore, it was essential

to choose classes with different teachers so that the student respondents were of various kinds, all of whom may make the whole picture of the situation as fully expressed as possible The total number of students in Grade 10 of this school was

279 with seven classes and Grade 11 was 293 with nine classes The numbers of subjects in three Grade-10 classes were 41, 41 and 42 Three Grade-11 classes had

36, 37 and 34 students Therefore, the total number of student subjects was 231

3.2 INSTRUMENTS

The study collected data in both qualitative and quantitative method Two data collection instruments employed were questionnaires and semi-structured interviews for both teachers and students

3.2.1 Questionnaire for students

Questionnaire is appropriate for the purpose of this study because it has some specific advantages Questionnaires are an inexpensive way to gather data from a potentially large number of respondents Often they are the only feasible way to reach a number of reviewers large enough to allow statistical analysis of the results (Saaya, Mustafa & Devaraju, 2007) Questionnaire can elicit the most data with the least time available Within the time constraints of the present study, this

tool may work well Moreover, questionnaires protect the privacy of the

participants and often confidentiality is necessary to ensure that participants will respond honestly Another advantage is that questionnaires reduce bias (Walonick, 1997) With questionnaires, the respondents are not influenced by the researcher‘s opinion because there are no verbal or visual clues from the researcher

The items in this questionnaire aimed to get students‘ response to (a) how frequently they were using supplementary materials, (b) how they got access to these materials, and (c) how they were using these materials for their English self-study

The written questionnaire consisted of the introduction and the task, both given in Vietnamese and in simple wording comprehensible to laypeople The introduction explained the purpose of the questionnaire Thirty-nine questions were grouped in three parts Part one had Question one which aimed to seek out how frequently each student was using each kind of supplementary materials It was presented in the form of a table The rows listed various kinds of supplementary materials while the five columns presented different levels of frequency in use The five time-span was based on the number of days that students had English lessons in class (from 2 to 5 days) and the whole time to learn one unit (2 weeks) Students need to answer this part Column 1.6 showed students

the questions that they needed to answer in Part 2 if they used each kind of materials

Part two sought for information about students‘ actual use of each kind of materials Therefore, one student who does not use one kind of materials will skip questions about that kind of materials, as guided in Column 1.6 To know who had helped students get assess to supplementary materials, the researcher included Question 2 With the information from this question, a conclusion was drawn about whether students were encouraged by teachers of English, whether they were willing to equip themselves with various kinds of materials and who had motivated students to use those materials Column 2.5 was inserted in case students got the materials in another situation not suggested by the researcher

Following the first two questions asking about all materials listed by the researcher were questions related to each kind of materials For example, Question

3 and 4 were for students who used guide-books which help students to solve the tasks and exercises in the textbook Guide-books of this kind contain lists of vocabulary items and the Vietnamese equivalents of these words as well as answer key for the tasks and exercises Students who did not use this kind of book would skip these two questions Questions like Question 3 asked students how many percents of the books they had used The purpose was to know whether students made full use of these books Question 4 asked students about purposes of using these books to see whether they used the books in an effective way or not The next three questions (from Question 5 to Question 7) were for students who used the workbooks in the textbook series designed by the Vietnam MOET and other kinds of reference books, which were partly or totally independent from textbooks They may be books giving guidance to and exercises for practicing grammar points and offering texts for reading comprehension with the topics similar to what students learnt from textbooks Alternatively, they may be reference books about any skill or language area in the form of exercises or tests

Students who used story-books, newspapers and magazines written in English would answer the next five questions These questions are about the number of materials students had got (Question 8), the percentage of the materials

used (Question 9), the purpose of using these materials (Question 10), the frequency of using (Question 11) and the content of the materials (Question 12) These questions aimed to know whether students had made full use of various kinds of materials, which makes learning English joyful like a hobby or interest rather than boring like a burden

The next nine questions were designed to get information about the most essential material for language learners, especially in self-study _ Dictionary To know whether any of the students use dictionary in class, the researcher included Question 13 Question 14 was used to know whether students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School were still using the traditional form of printed dictionary or they had possessed various kinds of dictionary for easy use Through Question 15, the researcher may know which kind among monolingual dictionaries, bilingual dictionaries or bilingualised dictionaries was preferred by students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School and if each student used two or more of these dictionaries at the same time Whether students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School made full use of the information was the next question, Question 16 Question 17 was used to know

if students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School had the habit of ignoring unknown words and guessing word meaning from context before consulting dictionaries The next question, Question 18 concerned how much guidance students had received from their teachers of English The answers to this question partly revealed the reason why students used dictionaries in the way they were doing They may have got not enough guidance or the guidance may have been ineffective Basing on this information, teachers of English can get the idea of how

to help their students in dictionary use The next question relating to dictionary asked students about their own need in receiving guidance in dictionary use The answer would show students‘ awareness of the importance of knowing how to use dictionaries effectively A comparison between students‘ and teachers‘ points of view on the issue was also made Question 20 concerned whether any of the students using printed dictionary owned dictionaries presented in topics Question

21 aimed to find out whether students in Nguyen Thi Dinh High School did the

Questions from 22 to 24 gained information about how students used tapes, disks and videos relating to textbooks and reference books Students were required

to give information about how much of these materials they used, whether they used these materials to practice pronunciation and speaking skill, and whether they practiced listening before attending class or after attending class for further practice

The next material being investigated in the questionnaire was videos with speech or subtitle in English Some questions in this part (Questions 25 and 26), like the preceding one, investigated the number, and the content of the videos being used To find out whether students listened to and read English or not while using each kind of videos, the researcher included Question 27

Questions 28 and 29 were for students who listened to English programs on radio Students can listen to music, news or even programs for English-speaking people With this kind of extensive listening, students are not expected to pay attention to all the details or every word, which may hamper comprehension Besides radio, TV is also commonly used by families in rural areas It is also a source of learning that students can make use of The question relating to this material (Question 30) also investigated the variety of programs that got students‘ attention

Question 31 aimed to gain information about students‘ use of internet to support English learning Students were asked about specific activities that they did with the help of computers and internet

The next material was students‘ learning diary for which some of the students still had no idea of what to write Question 32 was used not only to investigate the variety in the content of learning diaries but also to give students some suggestions of what to write One more supplementary material that students can make by themselves is vocabulary notebook The first question about this material, Question 33, is about the number of words students added to their notebooks each week This question had the same purpose with questions about frequency of use What students wrote in their vocabulary notebooks would be revealed in the answer to Question 34 Besides the equivalent meanings, students

should note down other useful information about a word, as recommended in the questionnaire The four questions 36, 37, 38 and 39 were about the general format

of the notebooks and how to organize words inside the notebooks Question 39 sought for other forms of organizing words in relation to one another, which helped students understand and remember words more

Part Three of the questionnaire was open questions asking students how their teachers, school leaders, school unions and parents had done and could do to help them use materials more effectively Table 3 below summarises the questionnaire design

Table 3: Design of questionnaire for students

items Part

Story-books, newspapers, magazines