Luận văn i the difficulties of non major of english at haiphong foreign language center–haiphong university in lear

The purpose of the study is to explore 1 the most commonly-used vocabulary learning strategies that the first year non-English major students at Tân Trào University were using to leam Dn

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

JOR,

PHAM THUC ANH

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES BY FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH

MAJOR STUDENTS AT TAN TRAO UNIVERSITY

(NGHIIÊN CỨU THĂM DO CHIEN LUOC HOC TV VUNG

CỦA SINH VIÊN KHONG CHUYEN TLENG ANH NĂM THỨ NHAT

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TẤN TRẢO )

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

IIANOI, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES

JOR,

PHAM THUC ANH

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON VOCABULARY STRATEGIES BY FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR

STUDENTS AT TAN TRAO UNIVERSITY

(NGHIIÊN CỨU THĂM DO CHIEN LUOC HOC TV VUNG

CỦA SINH VIÊN KHONG CHUYEN TLENG ANH NĂM THỨ NHAT

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TẤN TRẢO )

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Lé Van Canh, Ph.D

HANOI, 2014

DECLARATION

T, Pam Thue Anh, hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An exploralory study

on vocalulary siralogies by first yoar non-Fnglish major at Tan Trio University” is submitted for the partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of

Post Graduate Studies - University of Languages and International Studies- Vietnam

National University, Hanoi I also declare that this thesis is my own work and effort

and thal il bas not been subritled anywhere for any award where all other sources of

information have been used, they have beon acktiowledged

11a Noi, 2014 Signature

Phạm Thục Anh

Furthermore, T want lo owe special thanks (o all the lecturers af the Faculty of

Post Graduate Studics- University off Languages and Intemational Studics - Vietnam National University, Ilanoi for their useful and interesting lectures, which have inspired me to go on this paper

In partioular, I send my thanks to my husband who supported and encouraged

me while the work was in progress

Last but not least, my heartfelt thanks go to my family, my friends and my colleagues for their helpful support and continuous encouragements.

ABSTRACT

This paper reports on vocabulary leaming strategies by first year non-English major students (N 219) at Tan Trao University The purpose of the study is to explore (1) the most commonly-used vocabulary learning strategies that the first year non-English major students at Tân Trào University were using to leam Dnglish vocabulary, (2) reasons for their preferences and (3) the effectiveness of those strategies to their vocabulary learning which is self-evaluated by the students A vocabulary learning questionaire and interview were used for dala collection The study points out that (1) leamers only limite to some strategies, (2) there is a strong influence of teaching method and past leaming experiences on leamers’ choice of vocabulary leaming strategies, and the practice of these limited vocabulary leaming strategies helps learners to retain sound, spelling and equivalent meaning, of a word, and (3) learners realize the benefits of those strategies on retaining sound, spelling and equivalent meaning of a word and help them concentrate on lessons

ii

Figure 2: Students’ use of SOC strategies in vocabulary learning 2

Figure 3: Students’ use of MEM strategies in vocabulary leaming 23

Figure 4: Students? use of COG strategies 1m vocabulary leaming 24 Figure 5; Students’ use of DE' strategies in vocabulary learning 25

Mothod of the study chả 0001.020001 dee

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CIIAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 Tntroductian

1.2 An overview of learning strategies research

1.3 Language learning strategies (LL§} nh rHheeuee

1.3.1 The đefinition of language learning strategies sen

LA Vocabulary and vacabulary learning strategies

1.4.11 Aspects of knowing a word,

1.5 Summtary

1.4.2 Faolors alTocting leemera in learning Fnglish vocabulary

1.4.3 Voeabulary learring strategi6§ thua

CHIAPTER 2: METTTIODOL:

2.1 The context of the study

2.2 Research questions

2.3 Rescarch method cọ ngan

2.4 ParticipanitS cà nh nành ngu narnemroei 2.5.1 The questiotMaiFE cọ n nhu HH

2.5.2 The Trlerview

OGY

2.6 Data analysis procedures

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Quantitative data

3.1.1 Students’ self-reported use of Determination strategies (DIT)

3.1.2 Students’ self-reported use of social strategies (SOC)

3.1.3 Studonts’ sell-reported use ol’ Memory stralogies (MEM),

3.2 Qualitative data

3.2.1 Reflection on the reasons for preferred vocabulary learning strategies

3.3.1 The most commonly-used strategies

3.3.2 The reasons (or the preferred strategies

3.3.3 The effectiveness of those commonly-used strategies on vocabulary

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Learning a second or foreign language (L2/I'L) is arguably one of the most cognitively challenging undertakings most people will go through in a lifetime, and

many argue that learning the vocabulary of an 1.2 is perhaps the most challengmg

aspect of becoming profivient in the target language (Meara, 1995: Milton, 2009,

Nalion, 2001; Sclrmlt, 2000) Some characteristics thal distinguish vocabulary

leaming from other language skills include the fact that - vocabulary leaming is incremental, potentially limitless, and heavily constrained by the leamer’s experience (Swain & Carroll, 1987, p.139) One area of L2 vocabulary acquisition research thal has beon gainmg attention in roeent years to help explain the dilliculties some 1.2 leamers cncounter when learning vocabulary is the focus on learning slralogivs-

vocabulary leaming strategies (VLS) in particular Scholars’ interest in L2 VLS, Schmit (2000) argues, stems from a movement to get away from a predominant

teacher-oriented pedagogical philosophy to a more learner-centered ideology that

includes an interes| in how leamers themselves can inanage their own language learning Schiitl believes thal il may be easier to apply learning siralegics lo vocabulary leaming due to the relatively discrete nature of vocabulary learning as compared to more integrated language skills such as reading, writing, speaking,

listening, and grammar

hh as motivation,

Th

Acquiring 2 second language involves different areas

leamors’ needs, learning environment, loarning strategies and lamguage awareness

is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore second language leaming strategies In any event, leaming strategies are defined by Chamot and Kupper (1989) as

“techniques which students use to comprehend, store, and remember information and skills” (p.9)

Vocabulary stralegies are one part of language learmmg stralegies which in

tum are part of general learning strategies (Nation, 2001) Language leaming strategies encourage greater overall self-direction for learners Self-directed leamers are independent learners who are capable of assuming respansibility for their own leaming and gradually gaining confidence involvement and proficiency (Oxford,

1990) So is the case with vocabulary learmmg strategies Thus, students need bairong

in vocabulary strategies they need most Research has shown that many leamers do

use more strategies to learn vocabulary especially when compared to such integrated

tasks such as listening and spoaking However, they are mostly inclined to basic vocabulary learning stralegios (Schill, 1997) This in tum stakes stralogy instruction an essential part of any foreign or second language program

Learning strategies are the tools that learners use for active, self-directed Tanguage learning, and research stows thal the conscious, orchestrated and tailored use of such strategics is strongly associated with language achnevernent and proficiency (O’Malley & Chamol, 1990) Research on 1⁄2 learning strategies and vocabulary acquisition over the past four decades has greatly advanced our knowledge and understanding of L2 vocabulary acquisition [lowever, most of the L2

VIS studies conducted Lo date have focused om specific leaning strategies under

experimental conditions such as the keyword tmethod, cietionary use and infereneing

As a resull, there is lack of research on leamer-selected VLS thal provides deep

understanding and reasonable explanation of vocabulary learning process ‘Ihis study will help fill this gap by focusing on this area In addition, litle research has been

dene on the nature of VIS FT students resort to at different stages of language development and ihe effectiveness of these types of strategies have on improving

vocabulary and their relationship to language proficiency

J believe that it is necessary to inquire into cuzrent situation of students’ use of

vocabulary learning strategies in this college ‘I'herefore, the researcher’s ambition in this paper is to gain an insightful understanding of the current vocabulary learning

siluation among the firs year non-English major students,

2 Aims of the study

The aims of the study are to get closer to a comprehensive understanding of vocabulary of freshmen at Tan Trao University and to provide some implications for

the learning and teaching of English as a foreign language

3 Objectives of the study

The objectives of the study are to explore (1) the most dominant self-selected,

vocabulary learning strategics by first year non-English major students al Tan Trảo University, (2) reasons for their preferences and (3) the effectiveness of those strategies on their vocabulary leaming which is self-evaluated by the students

In order to establish a theoretical framework for the investigation in thesis, the

Iiteralure on language leaning stralegies, vocabulary, and related issues is reviewed

4 Research questions

The study will be conducted Lo answer the following questions:

1 What are the most commonly-used vocabulary learning stralegies by first year non-English major students at Tan Trao University?

2 Why do they use those preferred strategies?

3 Ilow do they self-evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies to their vocabulary learning?

5 Scope of the study

The study limied itself lo the investigation of commonly-used vocabulary strategies are employed by first year non-linglish students at Lân Trào University It also explores factors that shape their choice of strategies and the usefulness of those self-selected strategies to their vocabulary learning,

6 Method of the study

This is @ study which used a mixed-mothod approach including questionnaire and interview After the data are analyzed and discussed, some conclusions will be drawn and some suggestions will be raised in the thesis

7 Design of the study

The thesis is divided into four chapters

Chapler 1 includes the rationale, the objective, the t

arch questions, (he

scope, the method and the design of the study

Chapter 2 covers some information about history of research on learning

strategies, some basic concepts related to history of research on learning strategies

and vocabulary leaming In addition, learning sualegies and leaming stralegy

classification are reviewed to setup the theoretical framework for the investigation i

the next chapter

In Chapter 3, the study is presented It includes the context of the study, the research questions, the research method and the participants

Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study discusses commonly-used vocabulary learning strategies by first, year non-English major students al Tan Trae

Unversity, the reasons for their choice and students’ evaluation of the effectiveness

of those strategies on their vocabulary learning,

In the last chapter - chapter 5, some major findings are presented and

conclusions are withdrawn.

classification are reviewed to sel up the theoretical framework for the investigation in

the next chapter

1.2 An overvicw of learning strategies research

Research on leaming strategies has been inspired by two interwoven principles: cognitive psychology and second language acquisition (” Malley and

Chamiat (1990) provide a good overview on this issues

Firstly, in the field of eognilive psychology and second language acquisition is best understood as a complex cognitive skill and research were experimental and oriented toward training leamers to acquire strategies According to Anderson (1985), two kinds of knowledge are involved in the acquisition skills: declarative Imowledge and procedure knowledge The former is statistic factual nowledge, or

what learners knew aboul; the latler is leamers’ ability to understand and generale

language and apply knowledge of rules to solve a problem without conscious application, known as dynamic information These two kinds of knowledge are thought to be at different stages or a sequence of skill learning: cognitive, associative,

and aulonomous stages AL the cognitive stage, the very beginming learmer may try 1o

obtain typical declarative knowledge such as vocabulary and the rules of grammar

‘Thus, learner may gain knowledge about language itself rather than try to use it actively for purpose such as commutative meaning and errors during performance are inevitable The next stage is called the associative stage where leamers start to reduce

errors in declarative knowledge and to synthesize chunks of elements of the language

the two Lypes of knowledge are vol restricled 1o a certain slage but used al different

stages Tl is reasonable nol le regard them as distinct but as recruiting processes.

Tn the case of this study about vocabulary learning strategies, the declarative knowledge is the information aboul leaning swategies, and procedural knowledge is the automatic use and application of language knowledge In the cognitive stage, leamers may know that these are such things as learning strategies or be aware that

they are using them in different tasks The second stage is referred to as the

associative slage, a IransiHomal period when the learners slarl 10 use language leaming automatically without conscious application, In the last slage, the autonomous stage, learners may use and apply strategies automatically

Secondly, in the field of second language acquisition (SLA), research on

leaming stralegies was conducted independently of cognitive psychologist and the

imothodologies in the studies were also different Farly altemmpls in SLA were made

by Rubin (1975) and Stern (1975) to find oul what ‘a good leammer does’ and called

these ‘strategies’ According to ” Malley and Chamot (1990), it is difficult to separate “which strategies are fundamental for leaming, and which one might be

most useful to other learners, and which should be combined with others to

maximum learning effectiveness” Therefore, they argue, it is necessary Lo clarify the

role of stralegie processing in SILA from both an empirical and theoretical slandpoist

(O° Malley & Charmot (1990:12), ‘Their suggestion is useful and encouraging me to

do this research

1.3 Language learning strategies (LLS)

1.3.1 The definition of language learning strategies

1.3.1.1 Strategies

According to Brown (2001) “strategies are those specific ‘attacks’ that we

make on a given problem They are moment-by-moment techniques that we employ

lo solve problems posed by second language input and oulpul” (p114) Cohen (2000)

stated that the term “strategies” has, in fact, been used to refer both to general

approaches and to specific actions or techniques used to learn a second language”

(p3

1.3.1.2 Language learning strategies (LLS)

There is ne consensus on the definition of language leaning strategies due ta

ditfcrent interpretations of “strategy” and “learning” Different studies have given different definitions of language learning strategies

Stem (1983) defined strategies as “best reserved for general tendencies or

overall characteristics of the approach employed by the language learners, leaving,

lechmques as the term to refer lo particular forms of observable learning behavier”

(ciled m Ellis 1999, p.531) Weinstein and Mayer (1986) slated that learmng

strategies have leaming facilitation as goal and are intentional on the part of leamer The goal of strategy use is to affect ‘the learner’s motivational and affective state, or

the way in which the leamer selecls, acquires, organizes, or inlegrates new knowledge (cited in O'Malley and Chamot 1990, p43) Tarone (1983) defined

leaming strategies as “an nilempl to develop linguistic and sociolmgurstic competence in the target language - to incorporate these into one’s interlanguage

competence” (p.67) Chamot (1987) stated that “leaning strategies are techniques,

approaches, or deliberals aclions that studenls take im order Lo facilitate the learrnng, recall of both lmguisic and content area information” (pp.71-84) Rubin (1987)

stated that, “learning strafegics are strategies thal, contribute to the development, of

language system that leamer constructs and affect learning directly” (p.22) Oxford (1992) defined leaming strategies as “strategic actions, behaviors, steps, or

techniques that students (often intentionally) use to improve their progress in

developmg 1.2 skills” These strategies can fi

ililale the internalization, storage,

are lools for sell-directed

lo help you remember than) or they can be mental (for example, using the linguistic

or situational contexts lo mfer the meaning of a new word” (p.76) Cohen (1998)

stated that “learning strategies are learning processes which are consciously selected

by the leamer he words ‘consciously selected’ are important because they demonstrate the special character of strategy” (Ellis, 1999 531) Wenden (1998)

defined learning strategies as “mental steps or operations that learners use to learn a

new language and Lo regulale their efforts lo do so” (p18)

From the definitions above, we can see there are some differences im the way

leaming strategies are defined regarding the following aspects Kirstly, Oxford (1992) viewed learning strategies as only behavioral, while in Weinstein and Mayer (1986)

and Ellis’s (1997) view, they are both mental and behavioral Secondly, Chamot

(1987) stated that learning slralegies are “deliberale actions” and Cohen (1998) thought of learning strategies as “conscious” but other researchers avoided

addressing it ‘Thirdly, Stem (1983) believed that learning strategies can only refer to

“approach” and “lechnique” is more conorcte, however, olher researchers use the

tenn sualegies to refer to the kind of behavior thal Stern (1983) called techmiques

Finally, Rubin (1987) suggested that language leaming strategies have direct effect

on language development while other researchers looked on it as more indirect

Obviously, there is nol yel a comprehensive defimition of learmimg stralegies

and the (erminology, in fact, is nol uniform, which are “learner siralegies” (Wendent

and Rubin, 1987), “learning strategies” (C’Malley & Chamol, 1990), and “hinguage

leaming strategies” (Oxford, 1990a, 1996), Different perspectives on defining

language leaming strategies, which such as are cognitive, social, or pragmatic, show the complexity of this field This is, probably, the reason for researchers lo work oul

taxonomy instead of definmg (hem and there are a number of basic characteristics m

ihe generally accepled view of LLS Oxford (1990-9) offers a more comprehensive list of the features of language learning strategies as the following

® - Conlribute to the tain goal, communicative compelence

+ Allow learners to become more self-directed

«Expand the role of teachers

« Axe problan-oriented

* Are specific actions taken by leamers, not just the cognitive

© Support learmng, both directly and indircetly

* Are not always observable

« Are often conscious

« Can be taught

+ Are flexible

* Are influenced by a variety of factors

1.3.1.3 Classification of language learning strategies

A vumber of researchers attempted to develop a classification scheme of

language learning strategies In the literature, however, like the definition of learning,

strategies, the research which has been done on this field has not reached a consensus

agreement on ways to classify learning strategies by different scholars

Cohen (2000) suggested that language learnmg strategies include strategies for

identifying, the material that necd to be leamed, distinguishing it from other matenal

if needed to be, groupiig it for easier learning (e.g grouping vocabulary category into nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs), having repeated contact with the material (e.g,

through classroom tasks or the completion of homework assignments) and formally

7

commmilling the matenal Lo memory when il does nol sect Lo acquired naturally

(whether through role memory techniques such as repetition, the use of umemonics,

or some other memory techniques)

Among a variety of classification of learning strategies offered by researchers, Oxford's (1990) scheme, which sees the aims of language learrriny strategies as being oriented towards the development of communicative competence, seems to be the

involved tu earring the largel language im the sense thal ihey need mental processing

of the language In this scheme, memory strategies are delined as those “helping students slor and relrieve new information”, cognitive strategies as “enablmg leamers to understand and produce new language by many different means”, and compensation strategies as “allowing learners to use the language despite their often

large gaps in knowle

oguilive, affective, and social stralegies, support language leannng by

armaryging, evaluating, lowering anxiely, cncouraging onosell, cooperating wilh others, asking questions, and other ways In Oxford’s (1990) system, metacognitive strategies allow leamers to control their own leaming through organizing, planning,

and evaluating Affective strategies help learners gain control over their emotions, alliludes, motivations, and values, while social stralegies lead Lo mereased mleraction

with the larget language (sce Appendix 1 for Oxford's (1990) taxonomy)

1.4 Vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies

1.4.1 Aspects of knowing a word

According to Cowie (1999), vocabulary refers to all the words that exist in a parlicular language or subject Macathy (1990) indicated that the single, biggest component of any language course is vocubulary Tn fact, knowing a word, il is believed, means knowing ils meaning However, knowledge of a word requires more

than that Cook (2001:61) states that “a word is more than its meaning” lor Cook

(2001), knowing a word may involve four aspects: form of the word (for instance,

spelling and pronunciation), grammatical properties (for instance, word combination

and appropriateness), and general meaning and specific meaning

Word knowledge is an essential component of communicative compelenoe (Sal, 1991), and it is nportant for both production and comprehension in a forcign language Richard (1976:83) offered the assumptions concerning knowing a word as

follows:

1) Knowing a word means knowing the degree of probabilily of eneonntering thal word in specch and print For many words, we also know

the sort of words most likely tơ be found associated with the word

2) Knowing a word implies knowing the limitation on the use of the word according to variations of fimction and situation

3) Knowing a word means knowing Lhe syntactic behavior associated with the word

4) Knowmg a word entails lhe knowledge the underlying form ol'a word and

the derivations that can be made from it

5) Knowing a word entails knowledge of the network of association between

that word and other words in the language

knowing the meaning of a word, and knowing how a word is used Knowing the form

of a word includes spelling, sounds and word parts Knowing the meaning of a word linking its form and meaning, knowing a concept for a word and what it can refer to, and knowing what other words of related meaning it can be associated with Knowing how a word used concerns the grammar of the word, including parts of

speech and sentence pattems it fits into, collocates of the word, and whether the word

is formal or informal, polite or rude, used mainly by claldren and so on, or has no restrictions on its use

In summary, knowing a word proposed by different scholars mentioned above involves many crucial aspects All of these aspects concerns word form, word meaning and word use Therefore, regarding vocabulary leaming it is certain that leaming vocabulary ilems means learning the form, the meaning and the use of the

new words,

1.4.2 Factors affecting learners in learning English vocabulary

According to Brustall et al (1975), in language leaming as in other form of

leaning, “nothing succeeds like success” He pointed out that successful leamers developed favorable altitude as the course progressed, thus these altitudes encouraged

more successful learning Learners’ molivalion is likely to benefit and determine pattly the effectiveness of learners’ vocabulary leaning,

It is believed that those factors that affect learners in language learning also

have an effect in his vocabulary leaming According to Lightbrown and Spada

(1999-51-68), these factors includes intelligence, aplitude, personalily, motivation

and altitudes, learner preferences, learner belicfs, age of acquisilion, and kinds of activities A similar list of factors affecting is suggested by Rubin and Thompson (1994:3-8) It includes, age, aptitude (emotions), personality (extroversion, inhibition,

tolerance of ambiguity), learning style (learning by rules of by risks, through eyes or

ears), and past experiences The importance of learning strategies lo the learning

process is emphasized by Nunan (1999-171): “Knowledge of strategies is important,

because the greater awareness you have of what you are doing, if you are conscious

of the provesses underlying the leaming that you are involved in, then leaming will

be more effective” Ellis (1997:76-78) also shares the same idea when he states that studies have shown that successful learners use more strategies than unsuccessful

leamers and successful learners use different strategies al different stages of their development He emphasizes if crucial leaming strategies can be identified, they can

be taught to students

Learning strategies are the decisive factors for fruitful vocabulary learning

Many scholars have striven to introduce different vocabulary learning strategies in order 10 help learners of Bngtsh improve their different vocabnlary learning

strategies such as Nation (1982, 1990, 2001), Taylor (1990), Oxford (1990), Rubin and Thomsen (1994)

1.4.3 Vacabulary learning strategies

definition of vocabulary learning strategies

2013:155) Cameron (2001:92) defined vocabulary Icarong

stems from thal for language learning

vocabulary ilem

strategies from Rubin (1987), Worden (1987), Oxford (1990); and Schmitt (1997) as the working definition in her study as “knowledge about the mechanisms (processes,

Catalan (2003:56) adopts the defiration of vocabulary learning,

strategies) used in order to leam vocabulary as well as steps or actions taken by

students (a) to find ont the unknown words, (b) 1o retain them in long-lerm memory, (c) to recall them at will, and (a) to use thorn in wrillon or oral mode Simlarly,

Tularaprascrt (2004:9) has defined vocabulary Isarning stralegies as “any sols of techniques or learning behaviors, which language learners reported using in order to discover the meaning of a new word, to retain the knowledge of newly-leamed words, and lo expand their knowledge of vocabulary”

1.4.3.2 Classifications of vocabulary learning strategies

Tn order to learn and acquire and enlarge vocabulary size, thal is, knowing a large number of lexical items, with their meanings, or haw to pronounce and use them correctly, language leamers needs to deal with a wide range of vocabulary leaming strategies and every leamer has his/ her own way for learning their vocabulary Vocabulary will also be very different depending on whether language learners’ primary goal is to undersland the lmguage, cilher in reading or hstening, ot

to produce it, either in speaking or writing Schmitt (2000:133) states that “active

leaming management is important Good learners do many things such as a variety of

strategies, structure their vocabulary learning, review and practice target words and

so on” Beside, Gu and John (1996) indicated that successful stralegy learners need

stralegy for controlling their strategy use This involves choosing the most appropriate strategies from a range of known options and decide how to pursue the

strategies and when to switch to another strategy

In classifying learning strategies, scholars have different ways of classifying

language learning strategies (Intaraprasert, 2004:10) Taking this into consideration, language researchers have made various allewpls to classify vocabulary learning

strategies [hese classification systems give crucial contribution to the knowledge of vocabulary learning strategies Instances of such classifications are the taxonomies

proposed by Cohen (1987:1990), Rubin and Johnson (1994), Decarrico (2001) are briefly discussed below

According Lo Cohen (1987-43:1990:21-37), strategies for dealing with vocabulary items, which have been found to share some common characteristics,

were put together and could be grouped under three main categories ‘They include

11

slralegics for remembering words, semantic strategies, and vocabulary learning and

practicmg slralegies

Rubin and Thomson (1994:79-82) introduced three main categories of

vocabulary leaming strategies that have been reported by language leamers to be effective These include Direct Approach, Use Mnemonics, and Indirest- Approach They are both concemed with conscious learning processes and unconscious leaming processes through both leaming words in list, completing various vocabulary exercises, and reading and listening

Decarrico (2001) proposed a list of four vocabulary strategies including Guessing meaning from Context, A Mnemonic Device or the Keyword Method, Vocabulary Nole Books, and Other T.carner Strategies She argued that language leamors have not beer taught the majorily of words Therefore, vocabulary teaming

is more likely to be mainly implicit Gncidental) She further suggested that strategies should aid both in discovering the meaning of the new words and in consolidating a word once it has been encountered Thus, language teaming should approach independent learning of vocabulary by using a combination of extensive reading and sell-study sbrategies

Although individual vocabulary leaming strategies have been increasingly

researched (Lawson & Llogben, 1996), only two researchers have proposed a

comprehensive list of vocabulary learning strategies Firstly, in a recent attempt by

Siler (1995), she developed a questionnaire which contains 53 items designed lo

measure specifically vocabulary learning strategies of 55 ilems which focus on the use of authentic language, physical actions, self-motivation and visual aids language leaming

In another research by Schmitt (1997) he developed a comprehensive

inventory of vocabulary teaming strategies ( see Appendix 2) He offered 2 groups of

vocabulary learming strategies: the ones Lo determine the meaning of new words

when encountered for the first time, and the ones to consolidate the meaning when

encountered again ‘Ihe former ineludes determination (DE'L) and social strategies

(SOC), and the latter includes social (SOC), memory (MEM), cognitive (COG), and

metacognitive strategies (MET) The social strategies are included in the two

calegories bacause they can be used for both purposes

1.4.3.3 Clarifying Schmitt's vocabulary learning strategies

Schmutt (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary leaming, strategies is used as the

12

theoretical framework of the investigation im this thesis Therefore, the clarification

and cxempluication of those vocabulary learning slralogics thal are used in the questionnaire will be presented below as a source of reference

a Determination strategies (DET)

Delermination stralegies refer to the slralegies an individual can use to find

oul the meaning of one word willioul resource Lo another person’s help Learner

try

to discover the meammng of anew word with the help of conlext, struchural krrowles

of language, and reference materials

b Memory strategies (MEM)

Memory strategies, traditionally known as Mnemonics, involve relating the word with some previous personal knowledge by usiry, some form of imaginary or grouping The strategies van consist of imagining word’s meaning, remembering ils orthographical form, grouping words together with a storyline and so on

c Social Strategies (SOC)

The other way to discover a new meaning or consolidate a word is through using the social strategies of asking someone for help with unknown words Teachers

are said to be offen in this position, They are

expected to give help i a number of different ways such as L1 translation, giving a synonym, giving a definition by paraphrase, using a new word in a sentence, checking learners’ words for accuracy,

or any combination of these Learners also get help from their classmates or benefit

tion with walive

from interaction with others such as group werk activities or intere

speakers

d Cognitive strategies

Cognitive strategies are those partially similar to memory strategies except for not being focused on manipulative mental processing This group includes repetition and mechanical means of leaming vocabulary such as word lists, vocabulary

notebooks to study words

through controlling and evaluation activities Testing oneself is

an instance of metacognitive strategies which provide “input to be effectiveness of

13

one’s choice of learning siralegivs, providing positive romforcement if progress is bemg made or a signal to swilch slrategies iil is nov” (Schmilt, 1997)

1.5 Summary

In this chapter, some information about history on the issue has been

introduced, such concepls as learning slralegies and knowledge of learnmy strategies

classification, faclors mvolving in vocabulary acqusition have been presented A theoretical framework has been prepared for the investigation in the next chapler

In summary, the reviewed literature has explored the main decisive factors in language learning in general and vocabulary learning in particular The points considered above are all central lo underslanding and explaming of whal and why leamers actually do in the process of learning vocabulary Tl helps to clarify the notions of Iearmng stralegics were born in two fickds that have developed it independently: cognitive psychology and second language acquisition ‘he former tried to analyze the strategies that scholars employ and then train novices to use as

well The latter referred to the kinds of strategies that are used A mumber of researchers have allempled lo syslemalize siralegies of normalive speakers, using

quesliomaires thal classify various kinds of strategies ilo categories It has proved reliable and valid as some studies have shown by collecting data from people such as university students and company employers ‘hough the two studies by Stoffer (1995) and Schmitt (1997) showed taxonamies of vocabulary learning strategies, no

study has dealt with students al Tan Trao University

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CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents methodology of the research including the context of the

study, the research questions, the research method, the participants, and the findings

of the study

2.1 The context of the study

At Tan Trao University, General English or Basic English is applied to

students of all departments General English is taught during the second, the third and

the forth term with total of 150 periods with the aims of providing students basic

knowledge of Fnglish Specilivally, the students have 3 periods of English per week

The chosen textbook 1s Lifelines Pre-intermediate (Hutchinson, 2000) This research

focuses on vocabulary leaming strategies used during the students’ English course

2.2 Research questions

As mentioned above, the aims of the study is to seek answers to the following research questions:

1 What are the most commonly-used vocabulary strategies by first year non-

linglish major students at ‘an ‘I'rao University?

2 Why do they commonly use those strategies?

3 Tlow do they self-evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies to their vocabulary learning?

2.3 Research method

‘This study is an exploratory inquiring, and therefore data were collected by

means of interview and questionaire Interviews can provide in-depth explanation within a particular context, while questionnaire paint a broad though possibly superficial piclure, iLis often a good idea lo use both (Drevor, 1995:8)

2.4 Participants

A total of 219 first year non-linglish major students at Lần rào University

participated in this study The age of the students, ranged from 18 to 23 The participants had been studying Lnglish between 7 and 12 years These students come

mostly from many parts of Tuyen Quang province Some of them studied other

languages such as French and Russian before enlering the college Almost students neither had chance to learn English in language venters nor practiced Lnglish with native speakers

2.5 Instruments for data collection

Tn order 1o collect the data for the study, the quesLionnaire and the interview

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were designed lo gain mformabon about vocabulary learning stratagies used by the students in the the study, their reasons, and their self reports on the effectiveness of

those strategies on their vocabulary learning

2.5.1 The questionnaire

The questionnaire (see Appendix 3) was designed to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies commonly used by the students participating in this study The questionnaire was based on Schmitt's (1997) taxonomy because of its comprohensiveness which is appropriate to the researched population in this sludy

The questionnaire was in Vietnamese to make sure that all participants could understand and complete all the questions It consisted of two parts The first part introduced the purpose of study and researcher’s expectation on students’ honesty of provided information on individual learning experience, and required the participants

lo provide personal information including age, sex, place of birth, duration of learning English, and extra English learning experience al Bnglish centres The second part included 33 in which 32 items pertaining to students’ approaches to vocabulary leaming, which were divided into 5 categories: determination strategies (DET), social strategies (SOC), memory strategies (MEM), cognitive strategies (COG), and motacognilive strategies (MET) Question 36 was an open-ended question lo which answer depends on individual students? earning experienee For more dotails, a table of vocabulary learning stratcgics in questionnawe is provided

Molauognilive Q28, Q29, Q30 Q31, Q32

Table1: Vocabulary learning sfrafegies in the questionnaire

In the first stage, the questionnaire was delivered to the students in thew regular classrooms at the beginning of the academic year in August Most of the students took 30 mimutes to complete all the questians They were encouraged to give their opinions as honestly as possible, and any copied reply would distort the data of the study The researcher confirmed that the aim of the study was to improve their

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own language lenrring and all their personal information was kept secret and only used for the research, Afler all the questionnaires were handed in, the commonily- used vocabulary leaming strategies were sorted out ‘his would help to provide information for the second stage of data collection

2.5.2 The interview

Interviews were held to explore the commonly-used strategies and reasons for their preference Six students were chosen among 219 students from the 6 classes involved in this sludy They were selected on the grounds of thal they were available and willing to take part m the interviows They were asked to join in separate interviews that allowed all the participants to share thew opinions without bias from other participants The same questions (see Appendix 1) were given to all the interviewees The interviews were in two hours and all the respondents were interviewed in Vietwamese lo ensure fall understanding and clear description Those exchanges were recorded for later data analysis Tn the mlerview, these informants wore asked to (1) report the most commonly-used stratogies in the questionnaire, (21 share the reasons for those preferences, and (2) self-evaluate the effectiveness of those preferred strategies on vocabulary learning

One-to-one inferviews lo six chosen studenis were conducted These took

pl

im two hours and were recorded (sce Appendix 5) for converacnee of alter

analysis During the interviews, cach respondent was encouraged to answer the given questions relating to leamers’ common-used vocabulary leaming strategies, the underlying reasons for those preferred strategies, and the effectiveness of those

stralegles ơn vocabulary learning

2.6 Data analysis procedures

Tho questionnaire dala wore analyzed by means of descriptive stalisties lo measure the frequency of each strategy the students reported that they used it ‘his help to identify the strategies that students most frequently used and those they least frequently used

The qualitative data collected through the interviews wore also analysed

quantilalively to identify the common pattern im the sludents’ reasons for using the strategies they claimed to have used in their vocabulary leaming Llowever, some

meaningful extracts from the students’ responses were also cited to illustrate the

quantitative findings

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

In this chapter, all collected data from the questionnaire and interviews are presented, analyzed and discussed to provide the answer to the three research

questions Furthermore, the findings of this study will be discussed and related to the relevant literature in the hope that the commonly-used vocabulary learning strategies,

the reasons for their preferences and the effectiveness of those preferred strategies on

vocabulary learning will be brought to light respectively

3.1 Quantitative data

The information gathered through the questionnaire provided quantitative data for the research question 1 which helped to find the most-commonly vocabulary learning strategies The terms ‘high frequency’ and ‘low frequency’ were used in data

analysis procedure, The former one refers to ‘always’ and ‘usually’ and the later one refers to ‘sometimes’ and ‘rarely’ The questions in the questionnaire were analyzed one by one in their vocabulary learning strategy group by counting its percentage

3.1.1 Students’ self-reported use of Determination strategies (DET)

Figure 1: Students’ use of DET in vocabulary learning

As can be seen from the chart above, among three questions of DET strategies, the third question (using bilingual dictionary strategies) was at the highest frequency

of using (39.7% usually and 37,4% always)

On the contrary, the answers to question 2 showed that students rarely used monolingual dictionary to look up for meaning of words (15.2% never and 30.2 %

rarely) Guessing from textual context (question! ), which was proved to be efficient

in many other studies, received little support from the learners More than 70% used

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this strategies with low frequency In terms of using flashcard (question 4), only 6.4% used it with high frequency and 40% never resorted to this strategy

3.1.2 Students’ self-reported use of social strategies (SOC)

Figure 2: Students’ use of SOC in vocabulary learning

Data from the chart indicated that in group of SOC strategies students liked

asking teachers for help of translation most (question 5) More than 70% of students

admitted that they always and usually asked their teacher to translate new words into

Vietnamese and 30 % sometimes do so

Asking teachers for paraphrases or synonyms of new words is also one way to

discover the meaning of unknown words (question 6) However, only 16% of the informants enjoyed employing this strategy and most of them (69 %) do not highly

value this way

Besides translating a new word into L1 or giving paraphrases and synonyms a

new word, teacher may give his support in form of a sentence in which a new word is

supplemented (question7) However, 35.3% of the students informed that they sometimes asked their teacher for a sentence including the new word, 30.6% rarely

and 20.6% never did it

The informants showed little attention to asking their classmates for meaning

(question 8) 3.7% always used this kind of vocabulary learning strategies, 17.4% usually did so and 34.6% sometimes employ it Only 7.8% never did it

In regards to discovering new meaning through group work activities

(question 9), the data showed low frequency of students’ using this strategy Many of the students reported they rarely (53.9%) used this strategy and 15.5% even never did

it Only a small number of the informants used this strategy with high frequency

(always 0.5% and usually 8%),

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Studying and practicing meaning of words in a group (question 10) seemed to

be unattractive to the students In fact, more than a half of the informants showed

their favor for this strategy

Asking teacher to check their flash cards or word lists for accuracy (question 11) were also less used by the students Less than 10% of the informants used this

strategy with high frequency

Seeking opportunities to practice new words such as interacting with native

speakers (question 12) is supposed to be a fantastic way to retain vocabulary However, this strategy seemed to be difficult for the informants to apply 55.7% informed that they never did so and nearly 5% used it with high frequency

3.1.3 Students’ self-reported use of Memory strategies (MEM)

Figure 3: Students’ use of MEM in vocabulary learning

Connecting the word to be retained with a particular vivid personal experience

in order to obtain and understand the underlying concepts is believed to be effective

in vocabulary learning (question 13) However, the answer to this question showed

that it is not frequent choice of almost students Only 18,7% used it with high

frequency and there remains 7.3% never used it

Some types of sense relationship such as coordination, synonym or antonym

are applied to deepen understanding of the new words effectively (question 14) The collected information, on the contrary, indicated opposite facts that only 17.8% used

it with high frequency and 50.2% rarely and 6.4% never used it

In question 15, the informants were asked whether they group words

according to particular topics or word types or not, The result revealed that nearly half of the informants (33.5%) used it high frequency and 22.2% rarely and 11%

never employed it

Grouping words together within a storyline did not gained support from the

students (question 16) About 20% used it with high frequency and 29.5% rarely did this and 20,5% denied using it

Question 17 aims at finding out whether the students use Key word method or

not Many of the informants reported that they employ this strategy with low

frequency (86.2%) Only 6.4% considered it to be one of their key strategies

Remembering affixes and roots (question 18) and parts of speech (question

19) were also less used by the students Only more than 30% adopted these strategies with high frequency

Paraphrasing the word’s meaning (question 20) is considered to be a useful strategy to compensate for a limited productive vocabulary However, data show an unexpected result with low frequency of using which accounts for 51.6%

Learning the words of a collocation can help for productive use of a language

(question 21) However, more than 60% of the informants sometimes or rarely did so 21.9% even never employed it

3.1.4 Students’ self-reported use of Cognitive strategies (COG)

Bnever rarely 1D sometimes} Cusmally always

Figure 4: Students’ use of COG in vocabulary learning

Written repetition (question 22) and verbal repetition (question 24) are

common strategies in many parts of the world (Schmitt, 1997) This seemed to be no

exception to the informants in case of written repetition The students paid their

special attention to this written repetition strategy (question22) with extremely high

frequency of using (96.8%), and no one never did so Also, a correlative result to

verbal repetition was reported in the collected data 73.5% of the informants always

and usually applied this Only 1.8 never did so In the contrary, learners seemed take

minimal care with silent study, 60% demied to adopt this

Taking notes in class (or noting down the new words) was a useful way for leamers which help learners to create their own personal structure for newly leaned

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words (Schmitt, 1997) In question 25, the students had a passion for this strategy

with surprisingly high frequency of using which accounted for more than 80% and

most of the informants took part in this activity

In question 26, taping L2 labels onto their respective physical objects is supposed to be one of strategies which helps a lot in vocabulary learning Schmitt

(1997) argues that “one expedient for making L2 words salient is to tape L2 labels onto their respective physical objects” Nevertheless, the data indicated a

comparatively equal percentage between the highness and lowness of using frequency The former accounts for 27.2% and the latter makes up 27.1% of the total

Up to 45,9% never employed this strategy

Not many students (23.6) reported seeking the chance to practice the words

have learned or need by talking to a friend (question 27) 30.6% sometimes and 30,7

rarely applied it 15% even never did so

3.1.5 Students’ self-reported use of Metacognitive strategies (MET)

Bnever Brarely sometimes Gussualy always

Figure 5: Students’ use of MET in vocabulary learning

Making use of mass media (question 28) such as television, songs, radio, newspapers were regarded as a handy and practical source helps to revise and

develop English vocabulary especially in authentic context Data show ignorance

from the informants to this kind of strategy In fact, only 16.4% preferred this mode

and 25.9% rarely and 17.5% never did so

Testing oneself with word tests (question 29) and using spaced word practice (question 30) are considered one of effective self-assessment strategies However,

these strategies were used by 65.7% and 66.5% respectively

To be questioned of skipping or passing a word (question 31), students showed adverse perceptions towards this strategy The amount of students who

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expressed their particular prefevenee for this strategy in comparison with ones who

showed their ignorance arc of equal make up 34.9% and 35.5% respectively

Continuing to study words over time (question 32) was supposed to be necessary to all leamers [lowever, a vast proportion of the informants (81,2%)

reported that they used il with low frequency and 5.5% never did so

Tr question 33, slndents were asked (o provide other stratagies thai they applicd to vocabulary leaning, However, no information of dilferent strategies was

reported in this question

The results of our questionnaire can be seen easier when the mean score of each question is counted as m the table below Our coding 1s thal

Always 5; usually 4,someimes 3; rarcly 2,never 1

@M)

soc Ask teacher for paraphrase or synonym of a new word (Q6) 26

SOC Ask teacher for a sentence including the new word (Q7) 24

SOC Discover new meaning through group work activities [(Q9) 21

SOC Studying and practiciig wilh leamner’s (riends (Q10) 26

soc Teacher checks students” flashcards or word lists for accuracy 21

(G11)

MEM Comnect the word with personal experience (Q13) 36

MEM Associale the word wath ihe wilh ils synonyms and anlonyms | 29

(Q14)

MEM Group words together to stady them (Q 15)

MEM Group words together within a slorylme (Q16)

MEM Use Keyword Method (Q17)

MEM Affixes and roots (remembering) (QTR)

MEM Parts of speech (remembering) (Q19)

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