A study on the methods of learning english vocabulary of first year english majors at vnua

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES BA THESIS A STUDY ON THE METHODS OF LEARNING ENGLISH VOCABULARY OF FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS

A STUDY ON THE METHODS OF LEARNING

ENGLISH VOCABULARY OF FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH

MAJORS AT VNUA KHẢO SÁT VỀ VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN

NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student : DAO THI NGOC DUNG

Student code : 621282

Major : ENGLISH

Supervisor : HA THI LAN, M.A

Hanoi – 2021

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE

FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA THESIS

A STUDY ON THE METHODS OF LEARNING

ENGLISH VOCABULARY OF FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH

MAJORS AT VNUA KHẢO SÁT VỀ VIỆC HỌC TỪ VỰNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TẠI HỌC VIỆN

NÔNG NGHIỆP VIỆT NAM

Student : DAO THI NGOC DUNG

Student code : 621282

Major : ENGLISH

Supervisor : HA THI LAN, M.A

Hanoi – 2021

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I, Dao Thi Ngoc Dung, thus certify that the survey thesis on first-year English language students studying English vocabulary at VNUA is my own work, written under the tight supervision of the supervisor Ha Thi Lan Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2021

Dao Thi Ngoc Dung

Approved by SUPERVISOR 1

Ha Thi Lan

Date: June 30th, 2021

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

During the period of conducting of the study, I received a plenty of

enthusiastic help and support me to fulfill duty the best way Therefore, I am grateful to the School Board of Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Faculty of Education and Foreign Languages, my supervisor and my parents

Firstly, I would like to express thanks to the School Board of Vietnam National University of Agriculture and the Faculty of Foreign Languages

creating conditions to me during the study process

Secondly, I sincerely thanks to Ha Thi Lan, M.A My supervisor who spent more times to give me useful guidance and advices from the beginning to the end of the thesis She always explained devotedly what I was not clearly about the study

Thirdly, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the year English-majored students of the Faculty of Education and Foreign

first-Languages at VNUA They corroborate enthusiastically to answer the

questionnaires which helped me colleting the data to accomplish the thesis

Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents who always

accompany with me and encourage me to overcome all difficulties and hard but meaningful time

In short, I really thank to people helping me to finalize this study

Ha Noi, June 30 th , 2021

Dao Thi Ngoc Dung

ABSTRACT

As we all know, from the past around the sixteenth and twenty-first centuries, how England dominated the colonies in the world They rule about a fifth of the global population over a quarter of the total surface of the earth (100 times the area of Vietnam) The Queen of England once said, "The sun never sets on England" That is why many parts of the world are assimilated to use English as a mother tongue To this day, English has been chosen as the official international language for exchange and communication with other countries and territories

In Vietnam, English is chosen as a compulsory subject of the education system At universities, including the Vietnam Academy of Agriculture, English

is trained to be applied in professions such as technology, tourism, import and export, etc English focuses on cultivating 4 skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, in which focusing on improving vocabulary is the first basic step that any learner English needs to be built Understanding the importance of English is that, but how to orient the learning method not everyone knows and applies it successfully

This thesis will survey and analyze the methods of learning English vocabulary of students, especially first-year English language students at VNUA Thereby contributing to improving and enhancing the learning of English vocabulary

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

VNUA: Vietnam National University of Agriculture

1.1 preview of previous studies (at home/abroad) 6

1.2.2 The importance of vocabulary learning 10 1.2.3 Classification of vocabulary learning methods 10 1.2.4 Some typical vocabulary learning methods today according to Norbert Schmitt

2.3 Principles/criteria for data collection and data ANALYSIS 21

3.1.2 The opinion of the first-year English-majored students toward of the importance of

LIST OF TABLE AND CHART

Table 3.1: Methods of learning English vocabulary 26 Table 3.2: Evaluating the use of word guessing method 26 Table 3.3: Evaluating the level of use of communication methods 27 Table 3.4: Evaluating the use of mnemonic methods 28

Chart 3.1: The general information of participants 24 Chart 3.2: The opinion of English-majored freshmen toward of the importance

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

Thousands of years have passed, researchers have discovered that the people who are good at English are the ones with a very high salary and career advancement ability Especially today when the 4.0 revolutions are taking place, English in particular and a number of other foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, which play an even more important role English is the official language of more than 53 countries and territories, the official language

of the EU and is the 3rd most spoken language in the world after China and Spain (due to differences in population) It can be seen that English has become

a global language and is considered a travel ticket, a bridge to help you easily communicate and work By opening the door to globalization, do you see the importance of learning English? For the students, future generations of the country, learning English has become more and more necessary than ever The Vietnamese education system has made English a compulsory subject on school seats since the elementary years, a compulsory exam between levels Nowadays, universities have majors for this English subject For work, according to a survey by the Organization of the Ministers of Education of Southeast Asian countries (SEAMEO), the need to use English in daily work in Vietnamese companies, administrative and non-business organizations is quite high, from medium to many, accounting for 69% English, a foreign language that is being used mainly, is also seen as a basis for promotion or salary increase English has

a very important role in today's life

1.1 Rational for the study

Learning is a non-stop process that involves learning English That requires

us not only to have a good attitude to study, hard work and hard work, but also

to have a reasonable learning method, especially when English is increasingly playing a very important role in learning and communication and at work It has

been demonstrated in several documents that the English typography school, presented in documents 3 through 9, contains 88,533 distinct word families (Nagy & Anderson, 1984) 88,533 words families make up a total of nearly 500,000 visually distinct word types, including given names About half of the 500,000 words appear once or less in a billion text words (Nagy & Anderson, 1984) From grades 3 to 12, an average student is likely to learn about 3,000 new words per year, if he or she reads between 500,000 and a million running words in writing each school year (Nagy & Anderson, 1984 Article That means that from elementary school, we had to acquire a fair amount of vocabulary, which requires us to have a good memory and suitable learning methods It is not so important to learn the right vocabulary, students only need to learn a small amount of vocabulary to pass the exam What about an English major? All English study materials or their papers will need to be used in English in the future, which requires students to have a broad vocabulary and a really effective vocabulary learning method because they involve pronunciation, grammar, meaning of words and many other contents In the last thirty years, studies of attitudes and vocabulary learning strategies have attracted a lot of interest from researchers, and have become the main topic of vocabulary learning, Gains & Redman (1986), Cohen (1990), Nation (1990, 2001), Hatch & Brown (1995) examined different strategies used in vocabulary learning; Krantz (1991), Luppesu & Day (1993), Grabe & Stoller (1997) studied the relationship between reading comprehension, dictionary use and vocabulary learning

As we all know, English Language is a new major at VNUA Conducting a survey on first-year English-majored students is essential to know if the input quality of students is good, and how they have implemented learning methods to achieve that result

In short, effective vocabulary learning is of great interest to teachers and researchers Many of the most effective vocabulary learning methods for learners have been applied However, each student will have different methods that suit them and will require new methods that suit each person's needs That is why this graduation thesis topic was chosen

1.2 Aims and objectives of the study

1.3 Research question

The writer has two research questions, including:

 What are the methods of learning English vocabulary by the first-year English-majored students at VNUA apply?

 What suggestions are suitable to improve vocabulary learning of year English-majored students?

first-1.4 Scope of the study k65enga

Research subjects: the first-year English-majored students at VNUA

The total number of the first-year English-majored students: 138 Students (K65ENGA: 34 students; K65ENGB: 25 students; K65ENGC: 32 students; K65ENGD: 29 students; K65ENGE: 18 students) The writer chose randomly

50 students to survey This is a reasonable number and easy to access and get information When doing research, it will also be more authentic and effective Research objects: English vocabulary learning activities of first-year English-majored students

The study was be done from January 2nd, 2021 to June 30th, 2021 at VNUA

1.5 Significance of the study

After completing this survey and research, the results will be applied in practice as follows:

 About the data sheet: survey the vocabulary learning situation of first-year students in the English language major at VNUA, thereby reflecting the current situation and proposing effective learning solutions

 About methods: Based on the results of the survey on first-year students' consciousness and vocabulary learning attitude, vocabulary learning methods are appropriate for the interests or specific characteristics of each student This result will be very helpful for teachers and students to apply

in their learning

1.6 Design of the study

Statement of thesis originality

Acknowledgements

Abstract

List of abbreviations, graphs, tables and figures

Part 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale for the study

2 Aims and objectives of the study

3 Research questions (in form of questions)

4 Scope of the study

5 Significance of the study

6 Design of the study

Part 2: DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Review of previous studies (at home/abroad)

1.2 Review of theoretical background (depend on what the study is about) 1.3 Summary

Chapter 2: METHODOLOGY

2.1 Research questions

2.2 Research methods

2.3 Principles/ criteria for data collection and data analysis

2.3 Data collecting procedures

2.4 Summary

Chapter 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 The general information of participants

3.2 The opinion of the English- majored freshmen toward of the importance

2 Limitation of the study

3 Recommendations/Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 preview of previous studies (at home/abroad)

* At home:

In our country, there are many researches related to effective method of learning English vocabulary One of them is “Nghiên cứu thực trạng và đề xuất giải pháp học từ vựng tiếng Anh của sinh viên không chuyên ngành tiếng Anh Trường Đại học Trà Vinh” of PhD PhungVan De (2012) in Tra Vinh university

He has contributed two effective vocabulary learning methods: vocabulary cards and word repetition There are two simple learning methodologies that can be used by students of all majors, including English majors and non-English majors One of the benefits of these two strategies is that they are simple to comprehend and remember The first way of using vocabulary cards involves having a group of students make and decorate vocabulary cards using A4 paper After that, students must memorize word spelling and meaning They have the option of studying alone or in couples Another group of students is instructed to study vocabulary, and one word is rewritten five times before being tested in the second method, which is word repetition The majority of the pupils memorized and implemented the information received from the two ways above

*At abroad

In this study, its name is A SmallScale Experimental Study: Using Animations to Learn Vocabulary of: M Naci KAYAOĞLU, Raşide DAĞ AKBAŞ, Zeynep ÖZTÜRK (2011) in Turkey The goal of this study is to see if there is a difference between learning vocabulary using animation and standard paper-based methods And the results demonstrate that, while there was no statistically significant difference between the post-test scores of each group, the post-test scores of the animation group were higher than the pre-test values This

increase implies that include multimedia, such as animations, can help children build their vocabulary As a result, the authors have created an animation-based method for learning vocabulary This is a unique technique that children will find interesting and useful, especially as the electronic age advances The introduction of high-powered multimedia brought the student closer to real-life circumstances where learning entailed listening, seeing, reflecting, doing, and engaging all at the same time However, in my opinion It had a small problem Students who want to use this method will need laptops, smartphones, televisions, and tablets, depending on their financial situation As a result, the method's efficacy isn't guaranteed

The name of the other study is A Study on Vocabulary-Learning Problems Encountered by BA English Majors at the University Level of Education by Naeem Afzal - Department of English, College of Sciences & Humanities Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University Al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia (2019) This study has shown problems of learning vocabulary in Saudi Arabia: Al-Seghayer (2015) emphasizes that the teachers in Saudi Arabia follow traditional methods in teaching English They use the students’ mother tongue more than the target language to deliver lessons, which causes students’ low performance” Some other studies pointed out problems in learning the vocabulary on the part of the students as well (e.g., see Baniabdelrahman & Al-Shumaimeri, 2014; Elttayef & Hussein, 2017; Farjami & Aidinlou, 2013) Find the solution here: PSAU English professors and students should collaborate to identify any and all resources that may help students expand their vocabulary

1.2 Review of theoretical background

1.2.1 The definition of Vocabulary

One of the most difficult questions to answer in vocabulary studies is what vocabulary is and there are a variety of only partly satisfactory answers depending on the reasons for asking the question

Pyles and Algeo (1979) also suggested that when thinking of a language, the first element that comes to mind is the word Words are the focus of language They are associations between sound and meaning that allow us to communicate with others Moreover, they are also arranged together to create sentences, communicative dialogues or discourses in different forms It turns out that vocabulary is essential for learning a certain language

According to the dictionary definition on the world.IQ.com website, words are words known to an individual human or other entity that are part of a particular language An individual's vocabulary is both the composition of all the words that he or she can understand, as well as the composition of all the words used by that person in the process of creating new sentences

Vocabulary is a collection of English words with various meanings and functions that people use to refer to objects and construct sentences The most basic aspect of English that people should learn first is vocabulary This is because vocabulary is needed when we want to say or pointing at something Nilawati, (2009) said that Vocabulary is at the heart of language and plays a crucial role in ordinary language Vocabulary is significant since it is used in people's communication and can be used as a foundation to build a decent phrase out of a few words People can't communicate successfully or even express themselves if they don't have a good vocabulary Research suggests that vocabulary learning follows a developmental trajectory (Biemiller, 2001) Vocabulary tasks should be restructured as necessary “Once students know what is expected of them in a vocabulary task, they often learn rapidly” (Kamil, 2004) We can learn language in a variety of ways, including through incidental learning Reading volume is very important in terms of long-term vocabulary development (Cunningham, 2005) In later work, Cunningham (2005) further recommended structured read-aloud, discussion sessions and independent reading experiences at school and home to encourage vocabulary

growth in students “Vocabulary, as one of the knowledge areas in language, plays a great role for learners in acquiring a language” (Cameron, 2001) Harmon, Wood, &Keser, (2009) as well as Linse (2005) state that learners’ vocabulary development is an important aspect of their language development Although it has been neglected for a long time, researchers have increasingly been turning their attention to vocabulary e.g Carter and McCarthy (1988), Nation (1990), Arnaud and Bejoint (1992), Huckin, Haynes and Coady (1995), Coady and Huckin (1997), Schmitt (1997, 2000) Read (1997) Because a restricted vocabulary in a second language impedes successful communication, vocabulary knowledge is frequently seen as a key tool for second language learners Underscoring the importance of vocabulary acquisition, Schmitt (2000) emphasizes that lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and

to the acquisition of a second language” p 55) Researchers such as Laufer and Nation (1999), Maximo (2000), Read (2000), Gu (2003), Marion (2008) and Nation (2011) and others have realized that vocabulary acquisition is critical for effective second language use and plays a key role in the production of entire spoken and written texts In English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as

a Foreign Language (EFL) learning vocabulary items plays a vital role in all language skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) (Nation,2011) Rivers and Nunan (1991), furthermore, argue that the acquisition of a sufficient vocabulary is crucial for successful second language use since we will be unable

to employ the structures and functions we have acquired for understandable communication if we do not have a large vocabulary

Summary

According to the definitions above, vocabulary is the foundation for developing the ability to learn and use English; it is also the total quantity of words required to communicate ideas and express meaning through the four skills of speaking, reading, writing, and listening

1.2.2 The importance of vocabulary learning

Vocabulary knowledge is a critical tool for second language learners because a limited vocabulary in a second language impedes successful communication In order to understand the language, vocabulary is crucial to be mastered by the learner Vocabulary mastery is needed to express our ideas and

to be able to understand other people's sayings Schmitt (2000) emphasized that

“lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language” (p 55) The importance of vocabulary is demonstrated in and out the school In classroom, the students possess the most sufficient vocabulary They can select it to express meaning or concept which they want to communicate So that the lack of vocabulary that is the main and the largest obstacle for language learning

1.2.3 Classification of vocabulary learning methods

There are numerous approaches of learning vocabulary Many researchers, including Avina and Sadoski (1996), Stoffer (1995), Hell and Mahn (1997), but in general, Schmitt's (1997) research is widely regarded and the most realistic He's proposed his own taxonomy of vocabulary-learning strategies He distinguishes between the strategies that students use to approach the meaning of words on first contact and the methods that students use to consolidate their vocabulary Methods used to approach the meaning of words include guessing and communication methods The ways methods used to reinforce the meaning

of words include communication methods, memorization methods, cognitive methods, and metacognition methods Communication method appears in both groups of methods above because it can be used for both purposes This classification is partly based on the Oxford (1990) classification system

 Group of approaches to the meaning of words

Methods of guessing the meaning of words include:

Analysis from category

Word analysis adds prefixes, suffixes and root words

First language awareness test

Image or gesture analysis is available

Guess the meaning from the context of the text

Use a bilingual dictionary

Use a monolingual dictionary

Use word lists

Use the word table

The method of Communication include:

Ask the teacher to translate into the first language

Ask the teacher to explain new words or find synonyms

Ask the teacher for the meaning of a complete sentence that contains the new word

Ask your classmates about the meaning of the word

Discover the meaning of new words through group activities

 Group of methods to reinforce the meaning of words

The method of communication include:

Study the meaning of words and practice according to

Check the accuracy of the student's word list or word list

Communicate with foreigners

The methods of memorization include:

Study the meaning of words through illustrations

Describe the meaning of the word

Contact your own experience

Match with words of the same type

Associated with synonyms and antonyms

Use semantic maps

Use the scale for adjectives of degree

Use the norm method

Use topic-based vocabulary

Group words together to study

Group words in intervals on a sheet of paper

Use new words to make sentences

Group of words in a plot

Study the spelling of words

Study the pronunciation of words

Read words aloud while memorizing them

Visualize the structure of words

Underline the first letter of the word

Sort words by group

Use the key word method

Memorize word roots and affixes

Memorize word type of word

Explain the meaning of the word

Use cognate words

Learn the words in an idiom

Use physical activity

The methods of Cognition- include:

Read many times

Write many times

Use word cards

Word notes

Refer to the vocabulary section in the textbook

Listen to the word list tape

Use a vocabulary notebook

The methods of Metacognition include:

Use English communication methods

Test your personal level with vocabulary tests

Use crossword puzzles

Ignore new words

Continue learning from outside of class time

1.2.4 Some typical vocabulary learning methods today according to Norbert Schmitt (1997, p 207-208)

1.2.4.1 Word guessing method

Word guessing method is used when learners are faced with approaching the meaning of a new word while not having at hand any source of reference as well as help from others Learners are forced to use some of the following tricks

to determine the meaning of words

 Guess words based on language structure

Word recognition of new words will make it easier for learners to guess the meaning of words Usually, the words that come after the auxiliary verb is/are; has/have; don't/ doesn't and have the endings “ing”; “ed”; or "s" is a verb Words ending in "ly" after the verb "to be" and before the verb are usually adverbs Words that come after the verb "to be" and before a noun are usually adjectives For example, in the sentence “Let me acquaint you with my family” we can easily identify the word “acquaint” as a verb We then refer to the context in the sentence above to quickly find the meaning of that verb The signs of identifying the meaning of a word are also expressed directly through its root word There are many words in English that are made up of Latin and Greek roots Knowing these roots we can quickly deduce what the meaning of the word is

In addition, prefixes and suffixes are also one of the important factors that help in guessing the meaning

If learners do not know that to convert some verbs or adjectives to nouns,

we simply add a letter or a group of letters, then of course they will see the two

words "improve" and "improvement" as two separate words That makes it easy for learners to forget them Therefore, learners will increase their vocabulary systematically by knowing the prefixes and suffixes of words

 Guess the word based on the word of the same root

Cognates are words that exist in different languages but are derived from

a common root If the target language is closely related to the learner's native language, cognates are a useful resource for both guessing and memorizing words For example, the German word "haus" is a cognate of the English word

"house" However, guessing the meaning in this way is only really effective for similar languages such as German and Dutch, which have the same root

 Guess words based on context

Any language has words that are used frequently and words that are rarely used According to an estimate by a recent study, only 2500 words of the total vocabulary of a British person are used frequently, leaving very little used Therefore, it is natural to encounter words that have never appeared while learning English

A word with no meaning can be guessed based on the context However, this method requires learners to achieve a certain level of proficiency in the language as well as a complete background knowledge of the problem under consideration and especially strategic knowledge about how to make the inference process efficient

 Use references ( dictionaries, )

The purpose of the reference material is for learners to check the accuracy

of the words they have just guessed Dictionaries are the most important and useful resource for English learners Currently on the market there are many different dictionaries, but a good dictionary must be a dictionary of a reliable publisher, preferably an English - English or English - English - Vietnamese dictionary

In monolingual and bilingual dictionaries, the author usually presents in the following order:

- The first information in bold is the spelling of the word being looked up

- Also in the beginning words section, you will see word breaks in syllables This information helps you to use hyphens to break words at the end

of a line when there is not enough space for the whole word and to continue writing the syllables in following line

- The third information is the phonetic notation It helps us to pronounce correctly the word being looked up The stressed syllable immediately before it will be the stressed syllable

- In the explanation you will see abbreviations like: n, v, a, adv… This means you are looking at the meaning of the word when it is used as a noun, verb, adjective or adverb…

- The next part will be some variation of the word if any If it is a noun, the author will give us its plural form; if it is a verb the author will provide the form

"s" or "es" in the present tense or the form "ed" or irregular in the past form

- When the searched word has multiple meanings, these meanings will be numbered from the most common to the least common However, to choose the correct meaning of the word you need to rely on the context

- To make it more clear, in each meaning there are illustrative examples These examples are mostly familiar and easy to understand

- Some common expressions are also presented in the extension

- The author will provide more information about synonyms and antonyms

of words if any