Một số vấn đề khoa học xã hội và nhân văn hội thảo khoa học sau đại học 2019

HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC SAU ĐẠI HỌC NĂM 2019Ngữ văn Anh LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY AT AN EFL CLASSROOM LEARNING: A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF PRACTICES OF A COHORT OF TENTH GRADERS IN HO CHI MINH CIT

MỘT SỐ VẤN ĐỀ KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN

(Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm 2019)

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC KHOA HỌC XÃ HỘI VÀ NHÂN VĂN

NHÀ XUẤT BẢN ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA

DIỄN VĂN KHAI MẠC

Kính thưa quý vị Giáo sư, quý thầy cô và các nhà khoa học,

Kính thưa quý vị khách mời,

Các bạn NCS và HVCH thân mến,

Trước hết, cho phép tôi thay mặt Ban Giám hiệu Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM và Ban tổ chức Hội thảo trân trọng chào mừng quý thầy cô, quý vị quan khách, các anh chị và các bạn đã đến tham dự một sinh hoạt khoa học thường niên và có ý nghĩa của Nhà trường được tổ chức hôm nay: Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm 2019.

Thưa quý thầy cô, quý vị và các bạn

Để thực hiện được vai trò và sứ mạng của một trường đại học định hướng nghiên cứu, theo đuổi Triết lý “Giáo dục toàn diện - Khai phóng - Đa văn hóa”

và bộ giá trị cốt lõi “Sáng tạo - Dẫn dắt - Trách nhiệm”, Nhà trường luôn xác định công tác đào tạo Sau đại học có vị trí hết sức trọng yếu Những năm qua, chiến lược phát triển của Trường đều hướng đến mục tiêu: đào tạo nguồn nhân lực trình độ cao, chất lượng cao; tạo ra những công trình NCKH tiêu biểu về khoa học xã hội và nhân văn; có những đóng góp chiến lược cho sự phát triển kinh tế, văn hóa, xã hội của đất nước; đi đầu trong xây dựng môi trường đại học

tự do học thuật.

Trong chiều hướng hoạt động đó, việc tổ chức Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học thường niên chính là để tạo nên một diễn đàn học thuật, vừa nhằm thúc đẩy năng lực sáng tạo, bứt phá trong NCKH của những nhà khoa học trẻ; vừa đặt ra yêu cầu bắt buộc đối với NCS và HVCH: phải có những kết quả nghiên cứu, những công trình khoa học đúng tầm trong quá trình theo học sau đại học tại nhà trường.

Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học là nơi để NCS, HVCH thể hiện đam mê nghiên cứu, thể hiện ý tưởng và quan điểm nghiên cứu; cũng là nơi thực hiện đề tài và công bố kết quả nghiên cứu của mình Tại đây, các bạn được tiếp nhận ý kiến phản biện, trao đổi học thuật của các thầy cô, của các nhà khoa học và của

bè bạn đồng môn, đồng khóa Tôi tin tưởng rằng, với sự hướng dẫn, phản biện

có trách nhiệm từ những người đi trước; được thụ hưởng trình độ khoa học sâu rộng của các thầy cô, cùng với năng lượng sáng tạo dồi dào và lòng khát khao cái mới của người học trẻ, các bạn NCS, HVCH sẽ thấy rõ Hội thảo khoa học

sau đại học là hoạt động dành cho chính mình, là nơi mình sẽ thu hoạch được nhiều điều quý báu trên hành trình tập sự nghiên cứu; từ đó tích cực tham gia hoạt động này với tâm thế tự giác nhất, chu toàn nhất.

So với hội thảo năm 2017 và 2018, Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm

2019 có số lượng bài tham gia nhiều hơn - 149 bài viết đã được gửi đến Hội thảo

từ các ngành có đào tạo Sau đại học Các đơn vị có số lượng bài cao nhất là Khoa Giáo dục, Khoa Lịch sử, Khoa Văn học, Bộ môn Ngôn ngữ học,… Tất cả bài viết đã được gửi phản biện, chọn trình bày tại Hội thảo và chọn đăng Kỷ yếu Chúng ta sẽ biết được chất lượng, hàm lượng khoa học của Hội thảo sau các phiên làm việc sáng nay và chiều nay Hy vọng rằng, Hội thảo sẽ đạt được những kết quả bổ ích và thiết thực như mong đợi của tất cả chúng ta.

Thời gian sắp tới, Nhà trường sẽ đầu tư nhiều hơn cho hoạt động nghiên cứu khoa học đối với HVCH và NCS, cụ thể là hỗ trợ kinh phí và hỗ trợ công bố cho những đề tài đạt chuẩn theo quy định Việc làm này nhằm tạo thêm điều kiện thuận lợi để HVCH và NCS thực hiện tốt hơn nhiệm vụ NCKH của mình, đồng thời, nhằm xây dựng môi trường nghiên cứu ngày càng chuyên nghiệp, để chúng ta ngày càng có thêm các sản phẩm khoa học chất lượng cao được công

bố quốc tế, góp phần khắc phục một hạn chế lớn của KHXH&NV trong công bố quốc tế.

Tại diễn đàn Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm 2019, Ban Tổ chức Hội thảo trân trọng cám ơn các GS, PGS, các thầy cô ở các khoa/bộ môn và các cơ quan khoa học ngoài trường đã nhận lời hướng dẫn, phản biện và tham gia sinh hoạt học thuật, tận tình truyền đạt tri thức và phong cách nghiên cứu khoa học cho các thế hệ học trò Cám ơn các đơn vị trong trường đã tích cực hỗ trợ, phục

vụ để Hội thảo được tiến hành theo đúng kế hoạch đề ra.

Thay mặt Ban Tổ chức, tôi tuyên bố khai mạc Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm 2019.

Kính chúc sức khỏe quý thầy cô, quý vị và các bạn!

TS Lê Hữu Phước

Phó Hiệu trưởng, Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM Trưởng Ban tổ chức Hội thảo khoa học sau đại học năm 2019

HỘI THẢO KHOA HỌC SAU ĐẠI HỌC NĂM 2019

Ngữ văn Anh

LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY AT AN EFL CLASSROOM

LEARNING: A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF PRACTICES OF A COHORT

OF TENTH GRADERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

20

MATERIALS ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

31

YOUTUBE VIDEOS AND VOCABULARY SIZE OF TENTH GRADERS

IN A HIGH SCHOOL IN HO CHI MINH CITY

42

PRONUNCIATION AT A PRIVATE ENGLISH CENTER FOR ADULTS

51

FOR TEENAGERS: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT A LANGUAGE CENTER

59

ăn h⧤

DƯỚI G㲨C NH N VĂN H㲨A VĂN HㅷC

88

䢈ੰ⒌ 䢈ੰ⒌ ೛ảo

TRONG TIỂU THUYẾT SAINT-EXUPÉRY

108

C A HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN

TRONG KHO TÀNG TRUYỆN CỔ TⶉCH HÀN QUỐC.

ੰ ೛

167

176

∂

TR N ĐỊA BÀN QUẬN 5 - THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

189

MẦM NON QUẬN 2 - THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

197

CHẤT LƯỢNG GI O DỤC ĐẠI HㅷC TẠI TRƯ NG ĐẠI HㅷC KHOA HㅷC

XÃ HỘI VÀ NH N VĂN, ĐẠI HㅷC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

208

TẠI TRƯ NG CAO ĐẲNG KỸ THUẬT HẢI QU N

219

TẠI QUẬN TH ĐỨC, THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

227

TRUNG HㅷC CƠ SỞ TẠI HUYỆN CH U THÀNH, TỈNH BẾN TRE

䢈

Ở C C TRƯ NG TIỂU HㅷC TẠI TỈNH BẾN TRE

244

PHAN THANH GIẢN, HUYỆN BA TRI, TỈNH BẾN TRE

255

TẠI C C TRƯ NG TRUNG HㅷC CƠ SỞ

(Nghiên cứu trường hợp huyện Châu Thành, tỉnh Bến Tre)

263

C A HㅷC SINH: NGHI N CỨU TRƯ NG HỢP TRƯ NG TRUNG HㅷC

PHỔ THÔNG VÕ TRƯ NG TOẢN, THÀNH PHỐ BẾN TRE, BẾN TRE

271

GIỮA NHÀ TRƯ NG VÀ GIA Đ NH TẠI TRƯ NG MẦM NON

o ೛ ੰ ೛ ೛

278

Ng n ngữ h⧤

TRONG TIẾNG H N HIỆN ĐẠI T NGUY N NH N BIẾN ĐỔI NGỮ M

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289

TRONG TIẾNG HÀN (C㲨 SO S NH VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT)

38 SỰ PH T TRIỂN TƯ DUY ĐỐI NGOẠI HỘI NHẬP QUỐC TẾ

C A ĐẢNG CỘNG SẢN VIỆT NAM TH I KỲ ĐỔI MỚI

347

39 SỰ PH T TRIỂN NHẬN THỨC C A ĐẢNG CỘNG SẢN VIỆT NAM

VỀ NÔNG NGHIỆP TRONG TH I KỲ ĐỔI MỚI

357

40 QU TR NH X C LẬP Đ NG MINH C A VIỆT NAM D N CH CỘNG HÒA

T 1945 ĐẾN 1950 VỚI TRỤC XOAY CH NGHĨA D N TỘC - ĐỘC LẬP

D N TỘC

ੰá ೛ õ o 䢈 ੰ⒌

364

41 MỸ PH HOẠI CHⶉNH S CH HÒA B NH, TRUNG LẬP VÀ

NHEN LẠI NGㅷN L A CHIẾN TRANH Ở CAMPUCHIA (1954-1970)

376

42 CHẾ ĐỘ ĐỐI VỚI TÙ BINH Ở NHÀ TÙ CÔN ĐẢO GIAI ĐOẠN 1950-1954

43 VAI TRÒ C A MỸ ĐỐI VỚI CHẾ ĐỘ VIỆT NAM CỘNG HÒA

TRONG GIAI ĐOẠN KH NG HOẢNG (1/1964 - 2/1965)

394

44 HOẠT ĐỘNG SẢN XUẤT, KINH DOANH

C A TƯ SẢN NGƯ I VIỆT Ở NAM KỲ (1897-1914)

405

45 ĐOÀN CHUY N GIA THỐNG NHẤT (9902) VỚI 10 NĂM GIÚP ĐỠ

C CH MẠNG CAMPUCHIA TẠI TỈNH KOMPONG CHNANG (1979-1989)

416

46 VẬN DỤNG HƯỚNG TIẾP CẬN KHU VỰC HㅷC

TRONG NGHI N CỨU PHONG TRÀO ĐÔ THỊ

SÀI GÒN - GIA ĐỊNH TRONG KH NG CHIẾN CHỐNG MỸ

425

47 SỰ CHUYỂN BIẾN CƠ CẤU THÀNH PHẦN D N TỘC VÀ

NHỮNG T C ĐỘNG ĐẾN TỈNH KON TUM TRONG GIAI ĐOẠN HIỆN NAY

434

48 VĂN H㲨A 㲨C EO VÀ VƯƠNG QUỐC PHÙ NAM

TRONG HƯỚNG TIẾP CẬN NGHI N CỨU LI N NGÀNH

439

49 TⶉN NGƯỠNG TH PHÚC ĐỨC CHⶉNH THẦN TẠI MIẾU NHỊ PH

C A NGƯ I HOA PHÚC KIẾN QUẬN 5, THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

ੰ ೛ 䢈

446

50 VAI TRÒ C A ĐÔ THỊ MỸ THO

TRONG DIỄN TR NH LỊCH S VÙNG ĐẤT NAM BỘ (THẾ KỶ XVII-XVIII)

೛ ೛á ೛

455

VĂN H㲨A TRONG GIAI ĐOẠN 1954-1975

Đ ng phương h⧤ , Quan hệ quố tế, ăn hóa h⧤ , Nhân h⧤

CHIẾN THẮNG KHÔNG CHỈ BỞI YẾU TỐ MAY MẮN

ờ 䢈

489

T CUỐI THẾ KỶ XIX ĐẾN NHỮNG NĂM 30 C A THẾ KỶ XX

498

TRONG MỘT SỐ T C PHẨM VĂN HㅷC CỔ ĐIỂN HÀN QUỐC

“CHⶉNH S CH HƯỚNG NAM MỚI”: MẤY NÉT VỀ

QUAN HỆ VIỆT-HÀN KỂ T KHI B NH THƯ NG H㲨A QUAN HỆ ĐẾN NAY

೛ ੰ ੰ⒌ 䢈

523

C A NGƯ D N VÙNG BIỂN LAGI

531

PH T TRIỂN DU LỊCH Ở TỈNH B NH PHƯỚC T G㲨C NH N VĂN H㲨A

543

TRONG TRƯ NG ĐẠI HㅷC VIỆT NAM TH I ĐẠI HỘI NHẬP

(TRƯ NG HỢP TRƯ NG ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM)

553

NGƯ I HOA TRIỀU CH U THỊ XÃ VĨNH CH U, TỈNH S㲨C TRĂNG

562

Tr ết h⧤ , Thư v ện, ưu trữ, Đ㐠a lý, C ng t xã hộ , Xã hộ h⧤

䢈ੰ⒌ ೛ ೛ ೛

H CHⶉ MINH VỀ B I DƯỠNG THẾ HỆ C CH MẠNG CHO Đ I SAU

597

VÀ VẤN ĐỀ C N BỘ CẤP CƠ SỞ Ở NƯỚC TA HIỆN NAY

607

NGHI N CỨU TRƯ NG HỢP TRƯ NG CHⶉNH S CH CÔNG

VÀ QUẢN LÝ (FSPPM), ĐẠI HㅷC FULBRIGHT VIỆT NAM.

615

ỨNG DỤNG TẠI THƯ VIỆN TRƯ NG ĐẠI HㅷC KHOA HㅷC XÃ HỘI

VÀ NH N VĂN - ĐẠI HㅷC QUỐC GIA THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

626

VÀ NGHI N CỨU KHOA HㅷC TẠI ĐẠI HㅷC CẦN THƠ

637

PHẦN MỀM QUẢN LÝ TRⶉCH DẪN CHO NGƯ I DÙNG TIN

TẠI THƯ VIỆN ĐẠI HㅷC: NGHI N CỨU TRƯ NG HỢP

TRUNG T M HㅷC LIỆU, ĐẠI HㅷC CẦN THƠ

646

CHO HOẠT ĐỘNG VĂN THƯ TẠI TRƯ NG ĐẠI HㅷC LUẬT

THÀNH PHỐ H CHⶉ MINH

659

TP H CHⶉ MINH TRONG BỐI CẢNH HỘI NHẬP QUỐC TẾ

668

TRONG TIẾN TR NH PH T TRIỂN CÔNG T C XÃ HỘI Ở TP H CHⶉ MINH

678

MẠNG LƯỚI VÀ SỰ KIẾN TẠO BIỂU TƯỢNG

䢈 ੰ

700

ĐANG LÀM VIỆC TẠI C C KHU CÔNG NGHIỆP HIỆN NAY

710

CỘNG Đ NG THÔNG QUA THAY ĐỔI TH㲨I QUEN TRONG SINH HOẠT

VÀ SẢN XUẤT NÔNG NGHIỆP (Đi n cứu t㐝i x Tân Trung, huyện M Cày

N㐝 , tỉnh Bến Tre)

719

CHUYÊN ĐỀ

NGỮ VĂN ANH

INVESTIGATING STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES ON TEACHERS’ BODY

LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY AT AN EFL CLASSROOM

Ho Truc Chi * - Nguyen Thi Phuong Dung * Truong Ngoc Kim * - Vuong Ly To Nhu *

ABSTRACT

Body language is one significant component of human communication In the field of English language teaching, body language can serve as a powerful tool to assist students’ learning process This study aims to classify the most frequently used types of body language used by teachers in classrooms and investigate their potential impacts on students through learners’ point of view Adopting a case study design, the study engaged in an in-depth investigation of one university class of Vietnamese students in order to shed light on the current topic Four class observations were conducted in which one male teacher and one female teacher were observed twice to identify their typical non-verbal language Following the observations were seven semi-structured interviews undertaken with students to investigate their opinions about the impacts their teachers’ body language left on them The findings corroborated previous research with respect to typical types, purposes and impacts of the body language that teachers were using in classes However, some new findings about various types of body language and their impacts on student’s learning were also revealed from the data of this study Implications to teaching and recommendation to future research were also suggested.

Keywords: body language, human communication, English language, English language teaching,

With regard to gestures, language instructors would have difficulty teaching withoutthem The purpose of this research is to examine what EFL students think about teachers’body language in classrooms Furthermore, the findings from the research can provideteachers with a better understanding of the possible impacts of their body language on

* HVCH, Khoa Ngữ văn Anh, Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM Email: hotrucchi92@gmail.com

students’ learning process By conducting this study, the researchers intend to raiseteachers’ awareness of the importance of body language in the classroom and help themadjust their nonverbal messages during the lessons so learners can get the real meaning ofthe lecture vividly and accurately.

Based on the research background, the current study aims to answer some questionsabout the topic of gestures in relation to language teaching:

1 What types of body language do teachers use in their classroom?

2 Why are they used by teachers in classrooms?

3 Are students affected by teachers’ body language? If yes, how are they affected?

1.2 Literature review

Body language is a term for different forms of communication using body movements,gestures, or facial expressions instead of verbal language Bi Jiwan (1999) sorts out andintegrates different scholars’ categorizations to indicate his own classification aboutnonverbal communication, in which body language includes basic gestures, posture,manners, and movement of any parts of the body In this paper, we decide to examine fourmain categories of expressing body language including eye contact, facial expressions,posture, and hand gestures which are based on the framework and relevant findings ofIranian research (Karim, 2017) about teachers’ nonverbal communication and learners’perceptions of language learning

Body language plays a significant part in language teaching environment Someresearchers such as Neuclip (2003) cited by Kruger (2009) mentions an estimate of 90%communication techniques employed by the teachers in the classroom are nonverbal.According to Singer and Goldin-Meadow (2005), teachers use gestures when they teach

or lecture something Moreover, body language is frequently used to make abstractconcepts more understandable to students Alibali and Nathan (2007: 15) support this idea

by stating that “gestures were mostly used for new materials, referents that were highlyabstract, and in response to students’ questions and comments” Additionally, peopleengage in body gestures to “say something, to play their part in an explicit, willing,fashion in the give and take of social interaction” (Kendon, 1996: 8) Thus, body languagecan assist both teachers and learners in classroom communication and help to create amore efficient learning environment

Due to its important role in language teaching, there is no doubt that body languagecan affect student’s learning in both positive and negative ways According to Negi (2009),students can be motivated by teachers who smile at them The smile is considered asteachers’ incentive to reward students or simply understood as a way of expressing theirsatisfaction of students’ good performance Besides, students become more active if their

teachers keep movements in class and made frequent eye contact with them However,they may feel difficult with teachers who stare at them and indicate them by raised fingers.Furthermore, the learners highlight the role of hand gestures in explaining vocabularywhich leads to fast learning and easy remembering of words (Karim, 2017) Anothercategory of body language noticed by students is facial expression which indicatesteacher’s satisfaction or dissatisfaction on students’ performance, accompanied by ateacher’s kind look that causes them comfort in making mistakes and sharing ideas in theclassroom.

2 METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research Design

The research design is an in-depth case study focusing on body language from apedagogical perspective and in an EFL context In the study, an existing situation aboutteachers’ gestures in the classroom was defined, and a process that could change andimprove teachers’ gestures was discussed The research is conducted at a university whereone of the researchers is teaching The participants are students in a class which theresearchers are particularly interested in

2.2 Research Site and Participants

Participants were Vietnamese students and teachers The students’ ages are betweenthe ages of 21-22 years old The teachers have more than 10 years of teaching experiencewith their ages of 32 and 41 years old The students were recruited from a university in HoChi Minh City Most of them are third-year and non-major students Their level is Upper-intermediate

2.3 Methods of data collection

The study was carried out through seven interviews with students and four classobservations Observation is the first data collection instrument of the study Theresearchers decided to observe 1 class with 4 different lessons in charge by 2 Interview isthe second instrument of the data collection step of the study The interview contained 5questions designed to know students' thoughts of their instructors’ body language that theyobserve in the classroom

2.4 Data collection procedure

Data collection included classroom observations and interviews Before collectingdata, the researchers had obtained permission from the university where the study iscarried out

2.4.1 Observation

Four forty-five-minute observations were conducted in which the researchers took therole of non-participants The process of observation took about 4 weeks As a result,particular care was taken to observe issues relating to types of teachers’ body language,their purposes, and their impacts on students

2.4.2 Interview

Seven students were recruited for interviewing after the observed lessons in order toseek participants’ views of their teachers’ body language The process of interviewingtook about 6 weeks Mostly open-ended questions were used to allow the respondents’opportunities to develop their responses in ways which the interviewers might not haveforeseen Also, the interviews were conducted individually to help the participants feelrelaxed The purpose was to know how students interpreted their teachers’ body languageand how it affected their learning process

2.4.3 Data analysis procedure

Once the data had been collected, it was transcribed into a format ready for analysis.The analysis of data consisted of 3 phases: pre-coding, coding and theorizing Theinterview transcripts were used as a basis for developing data-driven codes The analysisinvolved a process of constantly testing and refining descriptive codes to take account ofall data Thus, overtime teachers’ body language was categorized in terms of types,purposes and impacts on students’ learning process

Figure 1 Thematic network of the study

3 FINDINGS

3.1 Findings from observation

Throughout the observations, the researchers aimed to investigate the typical typesand purposes of teachers’ body language in the classroom The findings of observationshave presented that teachers have the tendency to apply four main types of body languagewhen they are teaching: Hand gestures, postures, facial expressions, and eye contact

3.1.1 Hand gestures

The most common type of body language in the classroom was hand gestures andthey could be categorized into two sub-types: pointing and using hands to describe things.Pointing was a commonly used action Teachers pointed at different things in theclassroom, including students, to get their attention, invite them or emphasize theimportant parts Therefore, it could be assumed that the aims of pointing were graspingattention and interacting with students Moreover, teachers were likely to use their hands

to describe things they were mentioning In this case, illustrating was the role of teachers’hand gestures

3.1.2 Postures

The second type of teachers’ body language was postures During the observations,teachers rarely sat down or stayed at one spot for too long On the contrary, both of themhad walked around their classroom multiple times with a slow and firm pace In the fieldnotes, it was recorded that teachers frequently went around and monitored their studentsduring their discussions; showed agreement or encouraged them Hence, it had become atool for managing classroom and maintaining interaction with students However, therewere some occasions when teachers turned their back to students as they were writing onthe board It could be hard for teachers to maintain eye contact with students

3.1.3 Facial expressions and eye contact

Teachers’ facial expressions and eye contact had limited appearance in the class Bothteachers tended to keep their face calm with a smile in an attempt to make students feelcomfortable Their gaze would naturally fall on the students being invited to let themknow that their teachers were expecting them to do something These movements alsoshowed the interacting purpose between teachers and students in the classroom

3.2 Findings from interviews

The interviews aimed at investigating what types of body language are mostcommonly noticed by students and their possible impacts on students Among varioustypes of body language, the four most noticed ones by the interviewees were handgestures, posture, facial expressions and eye contact

3.2.1 Hand gestures

Some specific hand gestures helped enhance students’ comprehension of the lessons.The most typical type was teachers’ pointing, which was commonly used when teacherspresent or start “new lessons” or “explaining” Another one was hand movements ingeneral to explain something, illustrate things, mime an action and draw students’attention These hand gestures were useful to help students “keep track of the lessoneasier” and gave teachers an “active” and “enthusiastic” image Some gestures such aspatting students’ hands or shoulders were encouraging and friendly, which fosteredteacher-student relationship However, some generated the opposite impact, like pointingfingers and hands in pocket, made students feel “offended”

3.2.2 Postures

The types of postures and body movements which were helpful in interacting withstudents were preferred Interviewee 1 claimed: “It feels like we can erase the barrierbetween teachers and students” Besides, moving around gave the impression of an

“active teacher”, as Interviewee 5 agreed, made lessons more “lively” and interesting Itcould be concluded that these postures enhanced students’ concentration and motivation.However, some generated negative feelings Rigid postures showed unfriendliness,making students feel that teachers are “unfriendly and distant”, or worse,

“unapproachable” As a result, it did harm to teacher-student relationship

3.2.3 Facial expressions and eye contact

Friendly facial expressions like making funny faces and good eye contact had positiveimpacts on teacher-student relationships and students’ motivation These not onlyrepresented good interaction between teachers and students but erased “the distance” andbarriers between them as well Meanwhile, serious faces and wide-opened eyes maketeachers look distant and scary

3.2.4 Moderation in using body language

Besides typical types of body language mentioned, one important aspect that mightdetermine whether a type of body language generates positive or negative impacts wasmoderation Too much or too little body language created negative feelings in students.Too much was distracting, confusing and irritating (Interviewees 4 and 7) while too littlewas boring and inactive (Interviewees 3 and 6)

4 CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION

4.1 Conclusion

It is undeniable that teachers use various forms of body language while teaching,either consciously or unconsciously It was also discovered through interviews with

students that the majority of them pay attention to teachers’ body language in class and areaffected by it, though to different extents.

Most of what teachers intentionally do in class, from their hand gestures, posture,facial expressions to eye contact, serve two main purposes: to assist their teaching or tobuild their image, both are positive impacts Lessons where teachers utilize body language

to present or illustrate ideas are said to be more “interesting” (Interviewee 4) and “lively”(Interviewee 1) Actions like smiling or showing polite manners help teachers createpositive impressions as well as foster the teacher-student relationship Students, therefore,can feel more “comfortable” (Interviewee 5) and “encouraged” (Interviewee 7), whichleads to higher attention and better comprehension

However, teachers can also go wrong if they show undesirable body language, whenthey do certain things too many times or even when nothing is done at all As opposed tothe fact that friendly body language can encourage learning, negative body language likeshowing a serious face, pointing fingers or turning their whole back to students whilewriting (Interviewee 1) can create tension and distance Teachers who unconsciously domeaningless gestures can become a distraction and a joke for students (Interviewee 4);while those who appear lazy and barely move around drag the students’ enthusiasm down

4.2 Implication

Teachers are not just people whose job is teaching When standing in front of a class,they should be like presenters or actors on stage, ready to make full use of their bodylanguage to get the best results, or students’ success in this case

In order to use body language successfully, teachers should first be aware of itsimportance Even though what matters most is the lesson content, body language is thevisual instrument that helps deliver the lesson It leaves an impact on learners no matterhow insignificant the body language is One interviewee (Interviewee 5) mentions theirritation of seeing one teacher constantly popping her pimples during class Teachersshould pay more attention to avoid doing such unconscious actions as they may distractand bother students Rude or unfriendly appearance is not recommended either, since itcreates a distance between teachers and learners, which prevents them from enjoying thelesson Even when they are dissatisfied about certain things, teachers should learn to staycalm and hide their negative feelings from students

Consequently, teachers should make good use of preferred body language that leavesgood impacts on students Visual images stay longer in our brains than words alone, andstudents learn better when the ideas are demonstrated rather than told Teachers who makegood use of their postures in front of the class have a strong presence, which helps themmonitor the class better and keep things in control Furthermore, most students are afraid

of making mistakes, so keeping a friendly appearance and welcoming attitude, along withamusing body language, can ease such tension and motivate students

While it helps to be self-aware of one’s body language, teachers can also seek helpfrom other sources to improve themselves They can video record themselves whileteaching to take note of any unnecessary body language Similarly, they can ask for helpfrom colleagues Peer observation is a great method to assist teachers’ development, notjust in their body language Teachers can also conduct anonymous surveys orquestionnaires to learn about their students’ opinions Finally, teachers can considergetting professional guidance from courses or simply learn effective body language fromspeeches online.

4.3 Recommendations for future research

It has been suggested that certain types of teachers’ body language have positiveimpacts on students while some do the opposite However, the research only investigatedthe impact of common types of body language on students’ learning process in general,which leaves a gap for a more detailed and specific description of how a certain type ofbody language can affect students in teaching a specific skill or area of English

Another significant conclusion is that both too much and too little body languagenegatively affect students However, the research did not clarify to what extent teachers’body language may affect students Further research can be conducted to investigate thismatter in detail

It should also be noted that all the students selected for the research were at the sameage and had similar proficiency level of English There are still other possible contributoryfactors such as gender, age, nationality, and proficiency level of English of the studentsthat can be examined in relation to the impacts of teachers’ body language on students

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Kruger, F (2009) The use of nonverbal communication in the foreign language classroom: A pilot study TESOL Review, 77–94.

Mackey, A and Gass, S (2012) Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

McNeill, D (1992) Hand and Mind: What gestures reveal about thought Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Meriem, K (2017) The effect of the teachers’ body language in the classroom The case of second year EFL learners Grin Verlag.

Negi, J S (2009) The role of teachers’ non-verbal communication in ELT classroom Journal of NELTA, 14(1–2): 101–110.

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USING STORYTELLING TO TEACH ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

Nguyen Khanh Thao Di*

ABSTRACT

This paper will introduce the value of storytelling technique in the EFL classroom for young learners The paper will draw on characteristics of storytelling and its benefit, and explains why it is a suitable technique for teaching English to young learners The procedures for using the technique will be suggested

at the end of the paper.

Keywords: storytelling, teaching English, young learners

1 INTRODUCTION

Introducing the English language to kindergarten level has received critical attentionfrom the Vietnamese society English language learning has been promoted at severalkindergartens nationwide because of the practical needs of parents Most of those parents,especially young ones who live in urban and affluent areas, want their children to beacquainted with English at an early age However, this issue is still under intense debate.Due to the fact that there have been no tools to control the quality of English teaching

at this level, on 18 February 2014, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issuedthe Correspondence No.694/BGDDT-GDMN that forbade all kindergartens from runningEnglish language courses (MOET, 2014a) In response to this decision, educationcolumns and forums were full of protests from parents, teachers, and scholars, as they seethe benefits of English language learning at a young age (Cao et al., 2016) As a result,Correspondence No 1303/BGDDT-GDMN dated 18 March 2014 that allows Englishteaching at kindergartens was issued (MOET, 2014b) This expresses the desire of thesociety to increase the time spent learning English for Vietnamese learners, in order tohelp Vietnamese people reach a high level of proficiency in English

In addition, teaching English to young learners is very different from teaching English

to adolescent or adult learners due to their characteristics and cognitive development.Teachers, therefore, need specialized training to teach English to young learnerseffectively Unfortunately, Grassick (2006) claims that there is a shortage of Englishteachers for young learners in some Asian countries including Vietnam Nguyen andNguyen (2008) also state that the shortage of primary English teachers is a seriousproblem in Vietnam Most Vietnamese teachers of English are not trained to teach younglearners, but upper and lower secondary learners Henceforth, there is a call for teachersand educators in Vietnam to pay attention to the teaching of English to young learners

* HVCH, Khoa Ngữ văn Anh, Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM Email: di.nguyen.nva@gmail.com

Up to now, there have been several empirical studies conducted to investigatechildren-friendly methods or techniques that can help Vietnamese young learners learnEnglish more effectively For instance, Nguyen, N (2005) analyzes the effectiveness ofgames in teaching speaking to Vietnamese young learners who are from 8 to 12 years old,Pham (2010) examines the effect of songs on the 12-year-old-learners’ English rhythmproduction, and Nguyen, H (2010) uses repetition techniques to teach learners aged 6-12vocabulary with the aim of encouraging their vocabulary memorization.

Besides those strategies and techniques, the author of this paper, in an effort toexplore appropriate teaching techniques used for teaching English to her young learners,has also found another effective one

Storytelling is a powerful technique for teaching young learners It is very popular as

it provides learners with repeated simple words and structures in lively and meaningfulcontexts These characteristics make storytelling an appropriate technique for teachingEnglish to young learners who have great patience for repetition and learn concreteaspects unconsciously in real and fun situations According to Isbell (2002), storytellingpromotes expressive language development in oral and written form, and present newvocabulary and complex language in the powerful form that inspires children to emulatethe model they have experienced

However, there are few studies have been conducted to emphasize the use ofstorytelling in teaching English to Vietnamese young learners As such, this paper focuses

on reviewing the characteristics and benefits of storytelling, and recommends the stages toapply this technique to teaching English to Vietnamese young learners

2 OVERVIEW OF STORYTELLING

2.1 Definition of storytelling

Different authors have different viewpoints on what storytelling is

Gere et al (2002) define storytelling as “the act of using language and gesture incolorful ways to create scenes in a sequence” (p.2) This means that in storytelling, thestories are not only delivered verbally but also non-verbally The movements made withhands, heads, and even facial expressions contribute to the process of storytelling as well.The storytellers involve imagination and the use of language and gestures to create scenes

in the mind of the listeners In addition, the purpose of storytelling, as stated by Gere et al.(2002), is to create scenes in a sequence From the phrase in a sequence, it can be realizedthat storytelling cannot be a disorganized speech It means that the stories used instorytelling should be organized cohesively From this definition, it can be inferred thatstorytelling is retelling a literary text that has a sequence of events

Cameron (2005, p.160) defines storytelling as an oral activity, and stories aredesigned to be listened to and, in many situations, participated in In other words, storiesused in storytelling should be designed in a manner that enables listeners to not only listen

to but also to participate in This turns the storytelling activity into an interactiveexperience in which listeners do not simply passively receive the messages from thestories but participate in the process of storytelling By doing this, storytelling can keeplisteners engaged and make the activity a joyous learning experience

2.2 Characteristics of storytelling

This section presents some characteristics of storytelling as discussed by differentauthors to have a deeper understanding of the topic and its features

a Storytelling provides meaningful contexts

When we use storytelling, we are not only using language in the text but also thewhole context – what brings out the meaning With stories, learners learn the language in

a meaningful way The stories give learners a chance to practice predicting and linkingnew information to prior knowledge They also allow learners to progress gradually intheir own construction and reconstruction of knowledge

According to Zaro and Salaberri (1995), most of the new language in stories isperfectly contextualized The information given in the stories helps learners comprehendthe stories and the target language Besides, the grammatical structures included in thestories can be learned in an ongoing way because they appear frequently in stories inappropriate contexts

Gomez (2010) believes that storytelling is an ideal way to introduce foreign languages

to children As stories introduce new vocabulary and sentence structures in meaningfulcontexts, it is easier for learners to remember and understand the words and structures.Their meanings are contextualized and can be inferred from the pictures or teachers’gestures

Furthermore, although children may do not know every single word used in thestories, they can even understand them, thanks to their imagination and ability to predictconsequences, which helps them to guess the meaning They also take advantage of thestoryteller’s gestures, postures, intonation, and use them as hints to process andunderstand the meaning

b Storytelling provides natural repetition

Children enjoy hearing a story repeatedly Ellis and Brewster (2014) share thisopinion by stating, “children enjoy listening to stories over and over again This frequentrepetition allows certain language items to be acquired while others are being overtlyreinforced” (p.7) Repetition helps children to remember every detail of the stories, so they

can gradually learn to predict what is about to happen next in them This also encourageschildren to participate in the narrative, thereby providing a type of pattern practice in ameaningful context.

When learners listen to stories, they tend to pay attention to the keywords, and newlanguage naturally repeated in the stories Stories that have short plots and repetitiverhythms enable young learners to remember and then reproduce new words and structures

in a short amount of time As learners realize they can remember more and more, theirconfidence grows They might take remembering new language as an interestingchallenge they need to deal with, and then participating in the storytelling becomes anenjoyable activity (Ellis and Brewster, 2014)

c Storytelling is fun

Spaulding (2011) suggests that stories can exhibit joy by being fun This means thatstories themselves and storytelling should be fun so that they can attract the audiences’attention The learners’ joy comes not just from the stories but also from connecting withother learners while sharing that story

However, being humorous is not enough; it also needs to be purposeful In otherwords, it should convey some messages, not just laughter The stories should bemeaningful in a way that makes the listeners feel fulfilled even if they are not happy ones.Besides, stories in storytelling must be imaginative so that the storytellers can freely createimages in the listeners’ minds in order to illustrate the details of the stories

3 BENEFITS OF STORYTELLING

3.1 Storytelling is an effective method to teach young learners

Harmer (2007) states “teachers of young learners need to spend time understandinghow their students think and operate” (p.83) According to him, it is essential for Englishlanguage teachers to keep in mind the importance of age factor when teaching a younglearner class, as this group of learners is different from the other ones in terms of thelanguage learning needs, the language competences emphasized, and the cognitive skillsaddressed Hence, it is crucial for teachers of young learners to study the characteristics ofthis type of learners

According to Piaget (1936), children’s schema and cognition develop naturally asthey face new situations and experiences in their lives He grouped the children’scognitive development into four stages, which are the sensorimotor stage (ages 0-2), thepreoperational stage (ages 2-7), the concrete operation stage (ages 7-12), and the formaloperation stage (12 years onward) However, as the topic of this paper is teaching English

to young learners who are at the kindergarten level, the author mentions the second stageonly in the following part of the paper

The preoperational stage is ranged from ages 2 to 7 At this stage, children are notable to think abstractly so that they need concrete situations to process the ideas Due tothose characteristics, while teaching this group of learners, teachers should use pictures,songs, real objects, and even physical activities; classroom activities should be purposefuland real, meaningfully repetitive, and recycle a great deal of language Therefore,storytelling becomes an ideal technique for teaching foreign languages to young learners.

3.2 Storytelling promotes language skills

Storytelling also helps promote learners’ language skills It develops learners’listening and reading comprehension skills, improves their writing skill as well as theirknowledge of vocabulary and grammar, and enhances their language acquisition

Isbell, Sobol, Lindaur, and Lowrance (2004) investigate the effect of storytelling andstory reading in promoting young learners’ oral language complexity and storycomprehension The results show that storytelling assists children in expanding storycomprehension, oral retelling, and recognizing the elements of a story

Gonzalez (2010) finds that stories used for teaching English as a foreign language tochildren in first, second and third grade develop students’ acquisition of new vocabulary,listening and reading comprehension

Besides, learning to tell and write stories is an effective language learning applicationfor students to enhance language acquisition, improve their writing ability in expressingmeaning in full and completed sentences, and increase their knowledge of vocabulary andgrammar as well as their understanding of genre (Nicholas, Rossiter, & Abbott, 2011).Moreover, listening to stories allows the teacher to introduce or revise newvocabulary and sentence structures by exposing the children to language in varied,memorable and familiar contexts, which will enrich their thinking and gradually entertheir own speech Listening to stories helps children become aware of the rhythm,intonation and pronunciation of the language, and developing specific strategies forlearning English, for example, guessing the meaning of new words, training the memory,self-testing, and predicting (Ellis and Brewster, 2014)

3.3 Storytelling raises motivation

Storytelling can motivate and amuse young English learners since it is an engagingway of learning that allows oral production in a low anxiety environment

Cameron (2005) claims that children will pick up words that they enjoy and, in thisway, stories offer space for growth in vocabulary In an enjoyable learning situation,learners will be highly motivated and gain high self-confidence Once the learners feelinterested in the stories they will automatically want to understand them In such condition,

learners’ affective filter is low and it enables them to grasp the language input that hasbeen well arranged affectively (Krashen, 1982).

Gonzalez (2010) implies that telling stories is an ideal tool to utilize in learning thelanguage Stories make learners’ foreign language learning more interesting, amusing, andmemorable When classroom activities are familiar and enjoyable to learners, they mightacquire language better

According to Nicholas, Rossiter, and Abbott (2011), storytelling builds community,and contribute to positive affect in language classroom

Moon & Maeng (2012) conclude in their study that storytelling develops learners’reading comprehension as well as their positive attitude in learning English When thestorytelling technique is used, learners become more comfortable during the lessons andshow a great interest in learning English

Ellis and Brewster (2014) claims that stories are motivating, challenging andenjoyable and can help develop positive attitudes towards the foreign language, cultureand language learning

4 USING STORYTELLING IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO YOUNG LEARNERS

In this section, the researcher is going to review how to use storytelling to teachEnglish to young learners through three stages: pre-storytelling, while-storytelling, andpost-storytelling

4.1 Pre-storytelling

In this stage, teachers are supposed to explain the new language to young learners.However, because of the cognitive development of this type of learners, teachers shouldfocus on the pronunciation and meaning, not on the written form of words

A good pre-storytelling stage will be understandable, interesting and in a situation thatthe children can understand While explaining or illustrating the meaning of words toyoung learners, teachers need to use colorful pictures, real objects, songs, video clips, andphysical activities Besides that, teachers can use mime, actions and gestures to conveymeaning

In addition, the words and structures should be repeated several times to help learners

to remember Teachers may let learners practice the language using three accuratereproduction techniques recommended by Harmer (2007) such as choral repetition,individual repetition, and cue-response drills

In general, the stage focuses on the pronunciation and meaning of the words andincludes strategies like the teacher’s modeling of the target word, chorus repetition, etc

Therefore, teachers’ presentation plays an important role in inspiring learners Theeffectiveness of this stage depends on the teachers’ explanations, or their choices ofexamples, and context.

To help students remember plots of the stories, words, and structures, teachers mayask them to do some actions while retelling the stories Teachers also need to haveenjoyable activities ready to help students practice their newly acquired language Theymay divide the classes into groups of three to five students and ask them to work together

to role-play the stories using mime and gestures They might practice with the recording

or teacher’s narration initially, and then without Meanwhile, teachers may go around thegroups and encourage children to say what they can Since memory is stimulated in a funway, learning through fun physical activities can help to consolidate students’ knowledge,and words will become embedded in the students’ mind much more easily

4.3 Post-storytelling

This stage can help motivate young learners to use the learned target language tocommunicate In this stage, teachers may check students’ understanding of the stories byasking questions such as questions about characters’ feelings, or the moral lessons of thestories Young learners should also have this opportunity to experience the newly acquiredlanguage Therefore, teachers may conduct classroom activities or games that require thelearners to reproduce the words or structures they have acquired This stage of the lessonallows teachers to assess students’ language acquisition and development, where they candiscover how much the students have learned

5 SUMMARY

The paper has reviewed some theories related to the characteristics and benefits ofstorytelling, and explained why this is an appropriate technique for teaching younglearners The author has also recommended three stages for using storytelling in the hopethat the paper can help encourage some Vietnamese teachers of English to apply thetechnique in teaching Vietnamese young learners

Cameron, L (2005) Teaching languages to young learners United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press Cao, P., Ta, B & Hong, C (2016) National policies for teaching English in Vietnamese educational contexts: A discussion of policies THAITESOL Journal 29 (2), 1-17.

Ellis, G., & Brewster, J (2014) Tell it again: The storytelling handbook for primary English language teachers London: British Council.

Gere, J., Kozolvich, B., & Kelin II, D (2002) By word of mouth: A storytelling guide for the classroom Honolulu, HI: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning.

Gomez, A (2010) How to use tales for the teaching of vocabulary and grammar in a primary education English class RESLA, 23, 31-52.

González, N (2010) Teaching English through Stories: A Meaningful and Fun Way for Children to Learn the Language Teachers' Professional Development, 12(1), 95-106.

Grassick, L (2006) Primary English language teaching in Vietnam: A research study (Report for British Council/ Ministry of Education).

Harmer, J (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching PEARSON Longman.

Isbell, R (2002) Telling and Retelling Stories: Learning Language and Literacy Young Children, 57(2), 26-30.

Isbell, R., Sobol, J., Lindauer, L., & Lowrance, A (2004) The Effects of Storytelling and Story Reading

on the Oral Language Complexity and Story Comprehension of Young Children Early Childhood Education Journal, 32(3), 157-163.

Krashen, S D (1982) Principles and practice in second language acquisition Oxford: Pergamon.

MOET (2014a) Công văn 694/BGDĐT- GDMN về tổ chức cho trẻ làm quen với ngoại ngữ trong các cơ

sở giáo dục mầm non (Correspondence 694/BGDĐT- GDMN on the teaching of foreign language at kindergartens) Hanoi, Vietnam.

MOET (2014b) Công văn 1303/BGDĐT-GDMN của Bộ Giáo dục và Đào tạo về việc tổ chức cho trẻ làm quen với ngoại ngữ trong các cơ sở giáo dục mầm non (Correspondence 1303/BGDĐT-GDMN of Ministry of Education and Training on introducing English to kindergarten students) Hanoi, Vietnam Moon J, & Maeng U (2012) A comparison study of the effect of reading instruction using storytelling and storysinging Proceeding of 17th conference of Pan-Pacific Association of Applied Linguistic School

of Education, Ajou University.

Nguyen, H & Nguyen, T (2008) Teaching English in primary school in Vietnam: An overview Current Issues in Language Planning, 8(2), 162-173.

Nicholas, J., Rossiter, J., Abbott, L (2011) The Power of Story in the ESL Classroom Canadian Modern Language Review, 67(2), 247-268.

Piaget, J (1936) Origins of intelligence in the child London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Spaulding, A E (2011) The Art of Storytelling - Telling Truths through Telling Stories Lanham: The Scarecrow Press.

Zaro, J & Salaberri, S (1995) Handbooks for the English classroom: Storytelling Macmillan Heinemann Press.

VIETNAMESE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING: A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY OF PRACTICES OF

A COHORT OF TENTH GRADERS IN HO CHI MINH CITY

Pham Hoang Huy *

ABSTRACT

This study aims to investigate tenth graders’ application of English vocabulary learning strategies at Bui Thi Xuan High School in Ho Chi Minh City Based on Schmidt’s (1997) taxonomy and Easterbrook’s (2013) classification of vocabulary learning strategies, a questionnaire is utilized to find out the strategies that 180 students at the research site are using to master vocabulary knowledge The results generated reveal that most students are not aware of the notion of learning vocabulary strategies However, they are employing certain strategies typical of three groups of discovery, determination and consolidation The students locate the new lexical items mostly from classroom materials, mass media and on the Internet Many learners choose to study a new word after the first encounter with common strategies such as guessing meaning from context, learning its pronunciation and spelling, writing it down and reading it aloud several times.

Keywords: vocabulary knowledge, vocabulary learning strategies, tenth graders

1 INTRODUCTION

Vocabulary plays a great role for learners in acquiring a language as Thornbury (2002)states in his work, “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabularynothing can be conveyed” (p 13) In Vietnamese context, particularly at high school, itcan be considered the most critical aspect of learning English due to a fact that a greatamount of time is spent on introducing and expanding vocabulary of various topics ordealing with word families Moreover, high school students have to take exams on aregular basis, which require them to operate their vocabulary knowledge to deal with notonly lexically focused items but also reading, listening and writing ones

Internationally, vocabulary acquisition has been the interest of many researchers, e.g.Oxford (1990), Schmidt (1997), Easterbrook (2013), and Nemati (2013) They havefocused on the notion of vocabulary learning strategies, i.e strategies that help learnersperceive an effective state of acquiring a sufficient number of words to use in bothreceptive and productive skills (Thornbury, 2002) For instance, Nemati (2013)investigated explicit teaching of vocabulary learning strategies to learners and found thatthis type of teaching can enhance learners’ long-term memory Therefore, it is undeniablethat these strategies play a significant role in learner’s vocabulary learning

Regarding Vietnamese teaching and learning context, there have also been studiesconducted to explore the process of learning vocabulary, e.g Nguyen (2006), Vo (2011),

* HVCH, Khoa Ngữ văn Anh, Trường ĐH KHXH&NV, ĐHQG-HCM Email: hoanghuysih@gmail.com

Nguyen (2014) However, most of the researchers only focused on a certain strategy invocabulary strategy in teaching vocabulary learning, paying little attention to whatlearning strategies the students were applying For instance, Nguyen (2006) studied theeffect of using games on reinforcing, reviewing and extending university students’vocabulary stock while Nguyen (2014) suggested using the clarifying routine as a strategy

of vocabulary instruction in a reading class Although Vo (2011) carried out mixedmethods research to gain knowledge on what strategies were used by Quy NhonUniversity students, the practice of applying vocabulary learning strategies at high schoolstill remains unexplored The present study, therefore, wished to fill in the gap in theliterature

As the study aimed to find out what vocabulary learning strategies used by highschool students, specifically tenth graders at Bui Thi Xuan High School, the main researchquestion was:

What vocabulary learning strategies are used by tenth graders at Bui Thi Xuan HighSchool?

2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.1 Vocabulary knowledge

According to Schmitt (2000), knowing a word involves three main aspects: meaningand organization (i.e word meaning, register, and word associations), word form (i.e thewritten form and the spoken form), and grammatical knowledge (i.e word class andmorphology) Meanwhile, Nation (2001) states that possessing vocabulary knowledgemeans mastering word form (i.e the spoken form, the written form, and the word parts),word meaning (i.e connecting form and meaning, concepts and referents, andassociations), and word use (i.e grammatical functions, collocations, and constraints inuse) Although there are differences in labeling the knowledge elements and how they aregrouped together into broader aspects, they share almost identical natures For instance,register in Schmitt’s (2000) classification and Nation’s (2001) constraints both cover thestylistic constraints and appropriacy of a word concerning that it is used as an old-fashioned or contemporary word, in which countries, by which social classes, in whatsocial relationship, for what topic or genre, and in written discourse or oral discourse.Also, Schmitt’s (2000) morphology and Nation’s (2001) word parts somehow focus onthe internal structure of a word since they are discussed in terms of roots and affixes.However, the term “associations” means differently in the two classifications of wordknowledge Nation (2001) associates this element with sense relations (i.e synonymy,antonymy, and hyponymy) with homonymy, including homographs and homophones,being separated and explained in concept and referents However, Schmitt (2000) definesword associations as the organization of the mental lexicon with three categories clang

associations (i.e similarity in form), paradigmatic associations (i.e semantic relationships)

as well as syntagmatic associations (i.e collocations) In brief, Schmitt’s (2000) wordassociations entail what Nation (2001) proposes as concepts and referents, associations,and collocations

The present study used Nation’s (2001) classification with associations, and conceptsand referents being labeled as sense relations since they both address this aspect of wordknowledge

2.2 Vocabulary learning strategies

Initially, vocabulary learning strategies are implicitly included in definitions oflanguage learning strategies (e.g Oxford, 1990), and defined as “steps taken by students

to enhance their own learning” and puts them in relation with the four skills (p 1).Oxford’s (1990) classification consists of direct and indirect strategies with six categories.Direct strategies include “memory”, “cognitive” and “compensation” strategies Indirectstrategies consist of “metacognitive”, “affective” and “social” strategies, which supportlanguage learning without directly involving the target language

Schmidt’s (1997) work clarifies Oxford’s (1990) definition, presenting his taxonomy

by subdividing memory strategies into six areas: repeating, using mechanical means,associating, linking with prior knowledge, using imagery, and summarizing The first twoareas, according to him, are closely related to cognitive strategies because the process ofmanipulating information is less obvious The next three are memory strategies in the waythat associating, linking with prior knowledge and using imagery all require mentalinformation organization or transformation in which the information is made to be morememorable (Schmidt, 1997) In his taxonomy, Schmidt (1997) distinguishes betweenactivities typical for the initial discovery of a word and remembering that word once it hadbeen introduced Schmidt (1997) states that when learners first encounter a word, theymust apply determination strategies, i.e relying on their prior knowledge, contextual clues,

or reference materials to deduce the new meaning, or they have to consult someone else,which is of social strategies Concerning word knowledge, Schmidt (1997) completes histaxonomy by adding the category of consolidation strategies, which are learners’ effort toremember a word by using social, memory, cognitive or metacognitive strategies afterbeing introduced to that word

Easterbrook (2013) develops Schmidt’s (1997) taxonomy and comes up with threemain categories – discovery, determination and consolidation The first category concernsthe sources of new words such as in textbooks and classroom activities, or on the Internet.The determination category involves learners’ initial response to the words and whatfeatures they choose to study The last category comprises of strategies that helps learnersorganize, memorize, review, remember and use the new items The present study adoptedthe strategies proposed by Easterbrook (2013)

3 METHODOLOGY

This study adopted the quantitative approach with the survey design to describe trends(Creswell, 2011), particularly, what vocabulary learning strategies were used by tenthgraders

3.1 Participants

The participant students (N=180) were tenth graders at Bui Thi Xuan High School.They were at pre-intermediate level and were expected to reach intermediate level in thenext three years There were two main reasons why the study was conducted with theparticipation of tenth graders First, high school students would need to further theirEnglish learning at university, sit English examinations to gain language certificates, ordirectly use the language in their part-time jobs Second, they were novices to this level ofthe educational system and still had enough time to adjust their learning styles in order torealize the level objectives The research results would benefit them the most since theyoffered an overview of their awareness and application of vocabulary learning strategies

so that explicit teaching or further training could be integrated into the lessons

It is suggested by Cohen et al (2007) that a survey should have a large sample which

is representative of the total population and the sample should be selected in a way thatevery single member in the population has an equal chance to be included in the sample,i.e probability sampling, so that good generalizability can be obtained However, thecurrent study adopted convenience sampling due to the fact that it was not quite feasible tomix the students as they were distributed into fixed classes from the beginning of theschool year According to Nunan (2008), non-probability sampling can also be open tosurveys, in which the selection probability is unknown As a result, 180 students (fourclasses) were conveniently picked from a total of 638 tenth graders (14 classes) at Bui ThiXuan High School as the sample for the study

3.2 Research instruments

To collect data, a questionnaire to student respondents was used (see Appendix),which can help researchers to generate three types of data: factual, behavioral, andattitudinal (Creswell, 2011) The questionnaire used in the study wished to accumulateinformation of the first two types, but mainly behavioral aspects, i.e the application ofvocabulary learning strategies

The instrument was based on Easterbrook’s (2013) lists of vocabulary learningstrategies and adapted the second part of his five-part questionnaire (pp 307-309);however, there were two main differences between the two questionnaires Firstly, thequestionnaire in this research just asked whether the respondents were applying thestrategies rather than how often they employed them This was because the research aim

focused on what strategies were being used and it would be quite hard for the students tomeasure how often they practiced the strategies, let alone how different each of themmight interpret one degree of frequency The current questionnaire also omitted the finalitem in Easterbrook’s (2013) version, asking whether the participants remembered whohad taught them how to learn the words since it was not included in any strategycategories.

The instrument consisted of 11 multiple-choice items, divided into two parts The firstthree items aimed to gather personal information of the respondents like gender and theirawareness of vocabulary strategies The second part, including the other eight items, wasdesigned to collect behavioral data about discovery, determination and consolidationstrategies The study applied self-administration of the questionnaire with the presence ofthe researcher Although this strategy may be “threatening” to the student respondents, it

is believed to help guarantee that any issues involving uncertainty or misreading amongrespondents would be addressed (Cohen et al., 2007) Also, the researcher was able tomake sure that the questionnaire could be completed on schedule

4 RESULTS

Overall, less than half of the respondents had heard about the term “vocabularylearning strategies” and most got to know the term through the Internet Only 24 studentsstated that they knew the term from their teacher, and 17 students were informed by theirpeers However, the results of the second part of the questionnaire revealed that they allwere practicing several of them

4.1 Discovery strategies

The data showed that the most common source of new lexical items was on theInternet, at 86.7%, followed by English movies and TV channels, and textbooks andclassroom activities English materials and songs were among the most popular locationsthat the students found new English words (79.4%) while the students consideredconversations with friends and people from other nations as the least common sources ofnew language items (56.7%)

4.2 Determination strategies

In terms of initial responses, most respondents, at 74.4%, chose to consult a dictionary

at their first meeting with a new vocabulary item 67.8% reported that they would make aneffort to study the given context so as to deduce the meaning of the new word By contrast,asking for assistance from their teacher and friends and taking morphological aspects ofthe item such as prefixes and suffixes into the act of learning were less favorableresponses with fewer than 50% doing so However, nearly all the respondents decided tolearn the new item rather than ignoring it

When the students decided to study a new lexical item, the Vietnamese translation ofthe word, its pronunciation, its written form and grammatical part of speech were studied

by most of the tenth graders Also, more than half of the respondents chose to payattention to the collocations and contexts of a new item when they learned it Meanwhile,only a few students placed the importance on aspects like the English definition of theword, sense relations and sample sentences Similar to discovery category, morphologicalelements of the new word were the least attractive, at 17.8%

4.3 Consolidation strategies

As for consolidation, there are five component stages: organization, memorization,review, remember and production Firstly, in order to organize their learning of the newvocabulary items, most respondents chose to write the word down, at 76.1% Followingthat, keeping a vocabulary notebook and using the available wordlists were also popularamong tenth graders while only a small proportion of the students would experiencelearning new words with flashcards (7.8%)

Turning to memorization, the two most common techniques that the students appliedwere taking several looks at the items and saying it aloud a few times with 147 and 140individuals respectively The two less popular strategies were doing exercises, jottingdown the words several times and arranging the words in groups of the same topics ormorphological roots The strategies of associating the words with related words, listening

to them several times, remembering their affixes and acting them out were reported to beused by about half of the students At 7.8%, drawing pictures based on the meanings ofthe words was the least common strategy

In terms of review, similar to strategies of memorization, most students reviewed thenew items by either looking at them several times in a few days or saying them aloud inthe similar period of time In contrast, only around one quarter of the respondents chose tosay the items repeatedly or take several looks at them in just one day The data alsorevealed that using the vocabulary exercises and flashcards was also employed by a smallnumber of students with a higher percentage carrying out the review strategy with friends(30%) rather than individually (26%)

In terms of strategies related to remembering, two thirds of the students recalled themeaning first and then other features of the items By comparison, only a few of thestudents applied the other three strategies, which were remembering the way of learningthe items, remembering only the meaning and remembering the place the items wereencountered (around 20%)

At the final stage of acquiring a lexical item – production – the highest proportion ofthe tenth graders utilized it in spoken production such as conversations with theirclassmates, teacher or foreigners (68.3%) Following oral communication, 54.4% of the

respondents reported that they made use of the new words in generating thoughts inEnglish Exactly half of the students taking part in the study paid attention to collocationsand idioms that contained the new words and tried to include them in their Englishproduction At the lowest percentage of 42.8%, composing written works with the newvocabulary items was revealed to be the least popular production strategy.

5 DISCUSSION

There were several points emerging from the analysis of the data collected from thequestionnaire Firstly, vocabulary learning strategies seemed not to be explicitly taughtwithin the classroom context and the teachers were not the main source from which thestudents heard about the term This is in line with what Vo (2011) found out that bothteachers and students ignored vocabulary learning strategies in the classrooms althoughthey all emphasized the importance of teaching and learning vocabulary Secondly, theplaces where the learners could come across new lexical items ranged from materials andactivities within the classroom to means of mass media and the Internet Similarly,Easterbrook (2013) discovered from his work that new items were frequently discovered

in written materials, sometimes on TV or in movies and songs

Thirdly, the respondents seemed to focus on word meaning when encountering thenew item, either trying to guess the meaning from contextual clues or use a dictionary,rather than paying attention to the morphological elements of the new item The Chinesestudents in Easterbrook’s (2013) study also had the same initial response This could bethe result of the habit of “being instructed with definition-based, traditional, plaininstruction by the teacher” (Demir, 2013, p 1181) Fourthly, at the study stage, thestudents focused on all aspects of vocabulary knowledge but in an incomplete manner Interms of word form, the students concentrated on the spoken form and the written formrather than the affixes of the item As for meaning, only the Vietnamese translation of theword was taken into account As for word use, the tenth graders placed the emphasis onthe phrasal scale when learning the collocations of the new word without putting it intosample sentences The respondents studied the part of speech of the item; however, thislearning would not be thorough since the suffixes and prefixes were not covered Thesame case occurred in Easterbrook’s (2013) research when it reported that the participantsonly learned the spelling and pronunciation, and connected an English word with theChinese meaning

Regarding consolidation, a majority of the students applied strategies that served thepurpose of learning word form such as writing the word down in organization stage,reading and looking at the word several times to memorize it and repeating the sameprocedures for a few days in order to review the item Only a few learners kept avocabulary notebook to organize the key features of the lexical item Also, about half ofthe respondents chose to focus on the sense relations when studying a new word – aneffective way to memorize lexical items The students showed their lack of interest in

learning with flashcards, which was one of the strategies of learning vocabulary suggested

by Schmitt and McCarthy (1997) For the last two stages in consolidation, the students hadthe tendency to recall the meaning of the word before remembering other features, whichcould trigger all of the aspects of vocabulary knowledge In regard to production stage, thetenth graders preferred producing language in spoken form rather than written form

6 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

As stated by Oxford (2003), students are not always aware of the power of usinglearning strategies to make learning more effective, so teachers should explicitly teachvocabulary learning strategies as part of the lessons Firstly, teachers can prepare inputwhich is of various types such as newspapers, songs and movies to diversify teachingmaterials since textbooks are not the only place where learners can locate new items Thiscan encourage students to conduct self-learning with suggested sources of materials.Secondly, taking advantage of students’ habit of guessing meaning from contexts,teachers can help students strengthen their skills and build up their self-confidence towork out the meanings of words by themselves (Alqahtani, 2015) Moreover, teachersshould consider teaching common and useful affixes for students to learn, which alsobenefits students in regard to guessing the meaning of new words Teachers shouldmotivate learners to use monolingual dictionary and practice reading and understandingEnglish definitions, explanations and examples since this can influence students’ retention

of unfamiliar words in a positive way (Maghsodi (2010) Thirdly, teachers can guidestudents on keeping a vocabulary notebook and organizing it in a systematic way so thatthey can perform better at test items checking the ability to recognize synonyms andantonyms Also, teachers are recommended to offer students to produce English in notonly spoken form but also written form so that they can retain vocabulary longer

7 LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Convenient sampling technique limited the ability to obtain good generalizability ofthe study Moreover, the study was only conducted among the students at Bui Thi XuanHigh School so the results of the study may not present cases in other educational contexts.However, the findings and the followed pedagogical implications were beneficial forsimilar classrooms at Ho Chi Minh City since most city high schools are run to achievesimilar objectives and procedures Another limitation of the current study was that itaimed to capture the trend of learning practice rather than exploring any certain strategy indetail Therefore, more studies can be conducted with probability sampling so that highergeneralizability can be obtained A larger population of many high schools in the city can

be considered to get a more accurate overview of the issue of vocabulary learning Finally,future studies can adopt designs like correlational or experimental to explore the potentialrelation between certain strategies and students’ vocabulary retention