THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEMORY STRATEGIES TRAINING ON STUDENTS VOCABULARY RETENTION AN ACTION RESEARCH AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY

The study first aimed at identifying the vocabulary problems that studentsare facing with; evaluating the improvement of students’ vocabulary retention with some helpful memory strategie

This study was conducted as an action research in which students were taught onhow to process vocabulary deeply by applying some vocabulary learning strategies(VLS) The study first aimed at identifying the vocabulary problems that studentsare facing with; evaluating the improvement of students’ vocabulary retention with

some helpful memory strategies, namely structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context; finding out which

strategies are the most popularly used among students; and finally collectingstudents’ attitudes towards the strategy training scheme, four sub-memory strategiesand their suggestions for a better future teaching and learning program For theaccomplishments of these purposes, 28 first-year students in one class at PhuongDong university, Vietnam were involved in the study The data instruments variedfrom a Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) test, a group-interview, learners’diaries, pre-test/post-tests to a questionnaire Through the VKS test and the groupinterview, the results revealed that among many obstacles students encountered intheir independent vocabulary learning, lack of remembering techniques was thebiggest problem Learners’ diaries noticeably indicated students’ equal concerns forall four sub-memory strategies, and especially for “using imagery” strategy Theresults from the pre-test and the two post-tests helped to prove the effectiveness ofusing memory strategies in both short-term and long-term vocabulary learning.Finally, students’ positive attitudes towards both the strategy training scheme andfour memory strategies and their suggestions about the future learning and teachingvocabulary were comprised in the last instrument- questionnaire On this basis, thestudy gave some implications for teachers’ preparation, classroom practices andfuture research

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

TABLES

Table 1: Results from VKS test

Table 2: Students’ strategic problems in vocabulary learning

Table 3: Mean scores gained by the group in the pre-test and post-test 1

Table 4: Mean scores gained by the group in the pre-test and post-test 2

Table 5: Students’ preference of four sub-memory strategies

Table 6: Students’ suggestions for future schedule

Table 7: Types of strategy training

FIGURES

Figure 1: Action Research circle

Figure 2: Data collection procedure

Figure 3: Strategies used as reported students’ diaries

Figure 4: Report of strategies used in post-test 1

Figure 5: The whole group’s performance in the pre-test and post test 1

Figure 6: The whole group’ performance in the pre-test and post test 2

Figure 7: The whole group’ performance in the pre-test, post-test 1 and post test 2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii

ABSTRACT iii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 3

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 3

1.1 Language learning strategies 3

1.1.1 Background of language learning strategies 3

1.1.2 Definition of language learning strategies 4

1.1.3 The importance of language learning strategies in language learning and teaching 5

1.1.4 Classification of learning strategies 7

1.1.5 Strategies Training 8

1.2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies 12

1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary 12

1.2.2 The importance of vocabulary in second language learning 13

1.2.3 Factors affecting vocabulary learning and acquisition 14

1.2.4 Retention and factors affecting vocabulary retention 15

1.2.5 Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) 20

1.2.6 Classification of VLS 20

1.2.7 Oxford’s taxonomy 22

1.3 Memory strategies 23

1.3.1 Definition of memory strategies 23

1.3.2 Why memory strategies? 23

1.3.3 Oxford’s classification of Memory Strategies 24

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 30

2.1 The rationale of using Action Research 30

2.2 The background to the study 30

2.3 The research process 31

2.3.1 Identify the problems 32

2.3.2 Gather data 34

2.3.3 Interprete data 39

2.3.4 Act on evidence 40

2.3.5 Evaluation 45

2.3.6 Plan for the next stages 54

PART C: CONCLUSION 58

1 Major findings of the study 58

2 Limitations of the study 59

3 Suggestions for further study 59

REFERENCES 61 Appendix 1: Direct and Indirect learning strategies (Oxford, 1990, p 18-20) I Appendix 2: Schedule of Teaching GE1 IV Appendix 3: VKS test VII Appendix 7: Strategies used as reported in students’ diaries XIX Appendix 8: Individuals’ performance in the Pre-test, Post-test 1 and Post-test 2 XXI Appendix 9: Mean difference between pre-test, post test 1 and post-test 2 XXIII

Appendix 10: Suggested activities for introducing and practicing memory strategies XXV

PART A: INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the statement of the problem, rationale as well as aims andobjectives of the study reported in this thesis It also presents the research questionsand the scope of the research Finally, the chapter ends with an outline of structure

of the thesis

1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study

Vocabulary is considered an essential part of language learning According toKnight (1994, cited in Gu, 2003), learning words is the most important aspect oflanguage acquisition Learning vocabulary is regarded as the basis of obtainingother skills Vocabulary deficiency can result in weaknesses in readingcomprehension, listening comprehension, speaking competence, writingperformance and grammatical accuracy Therefore, learning vocabulary is anindispensable step of L2 acquisition However, how recently learners have learntsomething is not important, but in fact, the depth of processing In other words,students must be taught on how to process information deeply This view confirmedthe role of understanding and applying Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) inteaching and learning vocabulary

Studying VLS has been an interest for a great deal of psychologists, linguists andlanguage teachers for a long time There are numerous studies conducted aboutVLS, their effectiveness in learning vocabulary and these researchers almost haveattempted to develop a framework of category of VLS (e.g O’Malley & Chamot

1990, Oxford 1990; Gu & Johnson 1996, Schmitt 1997, Nation 2001)

Vocabulary retention is one of the prolems of vocabulary learning Students havenot known how to use memory strategies Thus the training of memory strategies isesential However, there are many memory strategies so each study focuses on agroup of Memory strategies

2 Aim of the study

The study aims at finding out the extent to which the training of memory strategieshelp the students to retain the learned words better The training in this study is

limited to four strategies as introduced in Oxford (1990)’s taxonomy These are

structured reviewing, using mechanical techinques, using imagery and placing new words into a context

2 Why do they have those problems?

3 To what extent does applying the 4 selected strategies, i.e, structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context help to improve students' vocabulary retention?

4 Scope of the study

This action research is an investigation into the effectiveness of the training ofMemory Strategies on students’ vocabulary retention However, the training doesnot cover all the memory strategies In an attempt to make this study moremanagable, the study focuses on the effectiveness of the training of 4 memory

strategies: structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context on a group of students (n=28) who were studying

English as a minor in Phuong Dong university curriculum

5 The organization of the thesis

The thesis is composed of three parts: Part A, Part B, and Part C Part A –

Introduction - introduces the rationale, aims and objectives as well research

questions of the study Part B labelled as Development is composed of two

chapters: Chapter 1- Literature review - introduces the theoretical foundations forthe whole study and Chapter 2 – Methodology - elaborates on the participants, themethod used, the instruments, the date collecting and processing procedure from the

tests, questionnaires, interviews and learners’ diaries Part C – Conclusion

-summarizes all the major points in the study, reveals the limitations of the study andproposes some suggestions for further research.

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides an overview of the literature related to the study: fromvocabulary learning strategies, next, memory strategies and last four sub-memorystrategies Besides, this review also reveals some critical analysis about the systems

of classifying vocabulary learning strategies as well as the research gap, thusmotivating to carry out the study

1.1 Language learning strategies

1.1.1 Background of language learning strategies

There has been a prominent shift within the field of language learning and teachingover the last twenty years with greater emphasis being put on learners and learningrather than on teachers and teaching In parallel to this new shift of interest, howlearners process new information and what kinds of strategies they employ tounderstand, learn or remember the information have been the primary concern ofthe researchers dealing with the area of foreign language learning So, languagelearning strategies (LLS) for foreign language learning and the teacher's role instrategy training is very important As vocabulary learning strategies are acomponent of second language learning strategies, a brief review of the literature onlanguage learning strategies is needed

Research into LLS began in the 1960s Particularly, developments in cognitivepsychology influenced much of the research done on LLS In most of the research

on LLS, the primary concern has been on “identifying what good language learnersreport they do to learn a second or foreign language, or, in some cases, are observed

doing while learning a second or foreign language” (Rubin & Wenden 1987:19) In

1966, Aaron Carton published his study entitled “The Method of Inference in Foreign Language Study”, which was the first attempt on learner strategies After

Carton, in 1971, Rubin started doing research focusing on the strategies ofsuccessful learners and stated that, once identified, such strategies could be madeavailable to less successful learners Rubin classified strategies in terms ofprocesses contributing directly or indirectly to language learning The strategiesinitiated by Rubin were expanded and refined by other scholars and researcherssuch as Wong-Fillmore (1976), Tarone (1977), Naiman et al (1978), Cohen &Aphek (1981), Wenden (1982), Chamot & O'Malley (1987), Politzer & Mc Groarty(1985), Conti & Kolsody (1998) Before presenting an overview of these studies, areview of the definitions of language learning strategies is needed, and this ispresented below

1.1.2 Definition of language learning strategies

It is clearly seen that research on learning strategies in general and languagelearning strategies in particular is becoming increasingly popular So far, there hasbeen no consensus among the linguists regarding to the definitions of leaningstrategies

According to Nunan (1991:168), “Learning strategies […] are the mental processeswhich learners employ to learn and use the target language” Nunan’s definition

restricts learning strategies only to “mental processes” Richard et al (1992:209),

offers a broader definition of learning strategies, that is, learning strategies areintentional behavior and thoughts that learners make use of during learning in order

to better help them understand, learn and remember new information Similarly,Weinstein and Mayer (1986) (in O’ Malley and Charmot 1990:43) have learningfacilitation as a goal and are intentional on the part of the learner The goal ofstrategy use is to affect the leaner’s motivational or affective state, or the way inwhich the learner selects, acquires, organizes, or integrates new knowledge

Oxford (1990:8) defines learning strategies as “specific actions taken by the learner

to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self directed, more effectiveand more transferable to new situation.”

Ellis defines learning strategies as “the particular approaches or techniques that

learner employs to try to learn an L2.” (1997:76) He further explains that learning

strategies can be behavioral or mental and are typically problem - oriented

Rubin (in Wenden and Rubin 1987:19) is even more explicit when he defineslearning strategies as “any set of operations, steps, plans, routines used by thelearner to facilitate the obtaining, storage, retrieval and use of information, that is,what learner do to learn and do to regulate their learning.”

According to O’Malley and Charmot (1990:1), learning strategies are “special ways

of processing information that enhance comprehension, learning, or retention of theinformation” or in their other words learning strategies are the “special thoughts orbehaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain newinformation.”

Obviously, learning strategies are defined in different words and from differentperspectives such as cognitive, social or pragmatic Therefore, researchers workedout the taxonomy of learning strategies instead of defining them This can be seen in

the following part

1.1.3 The importance of language learning strategies in language learning and teaching

Bridging the gap between students’ learning styles and teachers’ teaching styles will

be a powerful means to guide students towards successful learning Thus, teachingstudents learning strategies should not be neglected Oxford (1990) describeslearning strategies as “specific actions taken by the learners to make learning easier,faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable tonew situations” Learning strategies will compensate for the weakness of a learningstyle and maximize the strengths of a learning style powerfully

To emphasize the importance of LLS, Chamot et al (1999) stated, “differencesbetween more effective learners and less effective learners were found in thenumber and range of strategies used, in how the strategies were applied to the task,and in whether they were appropriate for the task” Therefore, teaching learningstrategies is especially useful for the latter learners If they can find effectivestrategies, they will be able to succeed, through effective strategy teaching, studentswill acquire not only vocabulary but also the way for studying.

The language learner capable of using a wide variety of LLS appropriately canimprove his language skills According to Oxford (1990), memory strategies “helpstudents store and retrieve new information”, cognitive strategies “enable learners tounderstand and produce new language by many different means”, compensationstrategies “allow learners to use the language despite their often large gaps inknowledge”, metacognitive strategies “allow learners to control their own cognition

- that is, to coordinate the learning process by using functions such as centering,arranging, planning, and evaluating”, affective strategies “help to regulate emotions,motivations, and attitudes” and social “help students learn through interaction withother” Developing skills in three areas, such as metacognitive, cognitive, and socio-affective can help the language learner build up learner independence and autonomywhereby he can take control of his own learning Lessard-Clouston (1997:3) statesthat LLS contribute to the development of the communicative competence of thestudents Being a broad concept, LLS are used to refer to all strategies foreignlanguage learners use in learning the target language and communication strategiesare one type of LLS As Oxford (1990:1) stated, LLS “ are especially importantfor language learning because they are tools for active, self-directed movement,

which is essential for developing communicative competence” Besides developing

the communicative competence of the students, teachers who train students to useLLS can help them become better language learners Helping students understandgood LLS and training them to develop and use such good LLS can be considered

to be the appreciated characteristics of a good language teacher Research into the

good LLS revealed a number of positive strategies so that such strategies could also

be used by bad language learners trying to become more successful in languagelearning However, there is always the possibility that bad language learners canalso use the same good LLS while becoming unsuccessful owing to some otherreasons At this point, it should be strongly stressed that using the same good LLSdoes not guarantee that bad learners will also become successful in languagelearning since other factors may also play role in success

1.1.4 Classification of learning strategies

In the 1980s and early 90s, research mainly focused on categorizing the strategiesfound in the studies of the previous decade As a result, several taxonomies wereproposed to classify them, including classifications of LLS in general and languagesub-skills strategies in particular

The most famous learning strategies are proposed by O'Malley and Chamot (1990).Their hierarchical framework of strategies distinguishes three major strategy types:Metacognitive Strategies; Cognitive Strategies; Socio-affective Strategies

O'Malley and Chamot's framework of strategies has considerable intuitive appealand many practitioners have used this taxonomy in planning their teaching.However, O'Malley and Chamot have never examined the construct validity of theirtaxonomy As a result, it is unclear enough to teach students and to train them to usethese three separate strategies

According to Rubin, there are three types of strategies used by learners thatcontribute directly or indirectly to language learning These are: LearningStrategies; Communication Strategies; Social Strategies

Stern (1992:262-266) stated that, there are five main LLS These are as follows:Management and Planning Strategies; Cognitive Strategies; Communicative -Experiential Strategies; Interpersonal Strategies; Affective Strategies

It seems that among numbers of classifications of learning strategies given by researchers, Oxford’s scheme is the most comprehensive detailed system of six strategies, classified as direct and indirect Oxford's (1990:17) taxonomy of LLS is shown as following:

1.1.5 Strategies Training

1.1.5.1 Why is training?

It has been suggested that one way to improve the learning of a second or a foreignlanguage is to teach learners how to learn more effectively In order to do this,teachers are recommended to train their students different learning strategies ingeneral and VLS in particular Chamot (1999, p.1, cited in Ghazal, n.d.) emphasizedthat learning strategies instruction can help “EFL learners become better learners Inaddition, skills in using learning strategies assist students in becoming independent,confident learners” There used to be a question that whether there exists arelationship between strategy use and success in second or foreign languagelearning or not Many researchers have studied for this and discovered this kind ofrelationship For instance, Cohen and Aphek (1981, cited in Ghazal, n.d.) taughtstudents of Hebrew to remember vocabulary items by making paired mnemonicassociations and found that those who made associations remembered vocabularymore effectively than those who did not In another attempt, in a journal titled

“Adult learners’ approaches to learning vocabulary in second languages”, Sanaoui

(1995, cited in Ghazal, n.d.) carried out a study to demonstrate the relationshipbetween vocabulary strategies use and success in acquiring and retaining

vocabulary items The study showed that adult learners of L2 vocabulary werelikely to fall into two categories: Those who adopted a structured approach to theirlearning and those who did not Learners in the first group took control of theirvocabulary learning They not only relied on what the language course providedthem with, but also used their own initiative in regularly creating opportunities forvocabulary learning by listening to the radio, watching movies, reading and self-studying By using vocabulary notebooks and lists, they kept systematic record ofvocabulary they learned and reviewed it several times a week Meanwhile, thelearners in the second group who followed unstructured approach relied mainly oncourse material If they made lists of vocabulary items, they did not review themand easily, they lost them little by little Sanaoui concluded that students who had astructured learning approach were more successful in retaining the vocabulary itemstaught in classrooms than learners who had an unstructured approach It issuggested from the research that helping learners gain control over processes formanaging their own lexis is an important task in vocabulary learning and teaching

in L2 classrooms

According to Cohen (2003), strategy training aims at providing learners with thetools to do the following:

-.Self-diagnose their strengths and weaknesses in language learning

- Become aware of what helps them to learn the target language most efficiently

- Develop a broad range of problem-solving skills

- Experiment with familiar and unfamiliar learning strategies

- Make decisions about how to approach a language task

- Monitor and self-evaluate their performance

- Transfer successful strategies to new learning contexts

In conclusion, strategy use will result in more effective vocabulary acquisition andrecall among L2 learners This is the reason why teachers should embark on

strategy training and help students raise awareness of the necessity of using VLS inlearning and retaining vocabulary.

- Training should, if possible, be integrated into regular language learningactivities over a long period of time rather than taught as a separate, shortintervention

- Students should have plenty of opportunities for strategy training duringlanguage classes

- Strategy training should include explanations, handouts, activities,brainstorming, and materials for reference and home study

- Affective issues such as anxiety, motivation, beliefs, and interests-all ofwhich influence strategy choice-should be directly addressed by languagelearning strategy training

- Strategy training should not be solely tied to the class at hand; it shouldprovide strategies that are transferable to future language tasks beyond agiven class

- Strategy training should be somewhat individualized, as different studentsprefer or need certain strategies for particular tasks

- Strategy training should provide students with a mechanism to evaluate theirown progress and to evaluate the success of the training and the value of thestrategies in multiple tasks

Steps for strategy training

Finding the usefulness of strategy training, some researchers tried to present amodel including the steps to be taken by teachers for this kind of instruction(Oxford,1990; O'Malley & Chamot, 1990) O'Malley and Chamot (1990) found twoapproaches in teaching learning strategy, direct (overt in Oxford's model) andembedded (covert in Oxford's model)

-Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach (CALLA)

Chamot & O'Malley (1994) proposed CALLA (Cognitive Academic LanguageLearning Approach) as a useful framework for direct language learning strategies

instruction which includes five phases: introducing, teaching, practicing, evaluating, and applying learning strategies In this approach, highly explicit

instruction in applying strategies to learning tasks is gradually faded so that studentscan begin to assume greater responsibility in selecting and applying appropriatelearning strategies.This study attempts to follow the CALLA approach as it

basically involves explicit instruction of strategies as well as orients the learners’towards higher level of autonomy Also, this approach allows the students todevelop their own practice and self evaluation skills to a great extent which wouldbuild up their confidence and responsibility- the characteristics the research aimed

to achieve - towards their own learning As stated above, not all L2 strategy trainingstudies have been successful or conclusive Some training has been effective invarious skill areas but not in others, even within the same study (Oxford, 1990a).Therefore, the present study was conducted to shed some light on this issue.Considering the specific situation of the researcher, the present study can add to theprevious literature on strategiestraining in general and on vocabulary strategiestraining in particular

1.2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies

1.2.1 Definition of vocabulary

“…without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can

be conveyed” (David Wilkins, 1972, cited in Hoang, 1985, p.1)

Above was the way that David Wilkins, a British linguist acknowledged vocabularyand the significance of vocabulary Vocabulary is considered a very importantaspect of learning a foreign language that has called for a great of attention fromlinguists, researchers, teachers and learners together with many different definitions

of vocabulary In the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, vocabulary is defined

as “all the words that a person knows or uses, or all the words in a particularlanguage.”

According to Michael Lewis (1993, p.89, cited in Hoang, 1985), vocabulary “…may be individual words or full sentences – institutionalized utterances – thatconveyed fixed social or pragmatic meaning within a given community”

Penny Ur, in her book “A course book in language teaching” defined vocabulary as

“the words we teach in the foreign language However, a new item of vocabulary

may be more than a single word: a compound of two or three words or multi wordidioms” (1996, p.60, cited in Hoang, 1985)

From the above quotations about vocabulary, the question: “What is vocabulary?”

in terms of vocabulary teaching and learning can be partly revealed Vocabulary isnot only a stock of individual words with fixed meanings, more than that, it is also acombination of words such as: poly words (e.g by the way, upside down),collocations or word partnership (e.g sense of humor, make a complaint),institutionalized utterances (e.g I’ll take it; Where are you from?), sentence frames(It can be said that ; there is /there are), or even text frames (e.g in thispresentation, I would like to…; Firstly, secondly, thirdly…) Learning vocabularyinvolves learning “chunks” rather than learning individual words

1.2.2 The importance of vocabulary in second language learning

In the very first part of his book “Vocabulary”, Michael Mc Carthy (1990, p.2, cited

in Quach, 2007) stated: “It is the experience of most language teachers that the

single, biggest component of any language course is vocabulary No matter how

well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds of L2 aremastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication in anL2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way.” It is impossible to deny the role ofvocabulary in communication in an L2 One’s vocabulary size plays a verysignificant part in his/her ability to communicate due to the fact that “words are thetools we use to think, to express ideas and feelings and to learn about the world.”(Johnson and Johnson, 2004, p.1, cited in Quach, 2007)

In the book named “Understanding vocabulary” (2000, p.16, cited in Quach, 2007),

Alexander wrote: “Comprehension improves when you know what the wordsmean” and “words are currency of communication A robust vocabulary improvesall areas of communication – listening, speaking, reading and writing”

All the above quotations highly appreciate the important role of vocabulary inlanguage learning, especially in second language learning Thus, teachingvocabulary should be a part of the syllabus and vocabulary should be paid more

attention through well- planned lesson of language teachers’ and serious learningbehavior of learners.

1.2.3 Factors affecting vocabulary learning and acquisition

Despite the abundance of research on vocabulary acquisition that has beenconducted by linguists, psychologists and theorists of L2 acquisition, there is still nogeneral theory of vocabulary acquisition While psycholinguists have a particularinterest in vocabulary development and exploration of the formal models ofvocabulary acquisition, and ignore the L2 vocabulary literature because it is modelfree, applied linguists are mainly concerned with the descriptive aspects ofvocabulary and do not draw on existing psycholinguistic models of bilinguallexicon even when this implies an immediate pedagogical significance (Singleton,2008) It was these differences that have made it extremely difficult to list all thesignificant factors and the ways in which they influence

Singleton (2008, p.4-24) listed some significant factors affecting vocabulary

learning and acquisition which were the most frequently discussed in relevantliterature, namely linguistic features of lexical items, the influence of first and otherlanguages, the incremental nature of vocabulary acquisition, the role of memory invocabulary learning and acquisition, the organization and development of L2 mentallexicon, the source of vocabulary (exposure to linguistic input), individual learner

differences, the role of teacher and vocabulary teaching and strategies

Approving Singleton’s viewpoint, but expressing in a more systematical way, inher research about how to increase students’ retention of vocabulary throughmeaning practice, Quach (2007) divided all the factors into three groups, namely

learner-related factors, teacher-related factors and learning context Discussing

learner-related factors, she mentioned about memory and storage system, learner’sneeds and interests (which can be called individual learner differences inSingleton’s way) and learning styles and strategies The group of factors relating toteachers included teaching method and strategy training Language input and outputwere two other factors mentioned in the group of learning context

In short, due to different influencing factors, achieving the goals of L2 vocabulary

acquisition is no easy matter This difficulty was stated in Singleton’s book as:

“Even a well planned vocabulary lesson based on contemporary pedagogicalprinciples cannot guarantee that learners will acquire the vocabulary that is taught”.Learning vocabulary through formal instruction is a complex process influenced by

a number of factors: the teacher’s approach to vocabulary teaching (i.e vocabularyteaching strategies) and his or her understanding of the key notions in vocabularyacquisition, the effort invested by learners in vocabulary learning (i.e vocabularylearning strategies) as well as their readiness to take responsibility for their ownlearning, and, finally, the interaction of all the factors mentioned above

1.2.4 Retention and factors affecting vocabulary retention

In the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005, p.1297), retention is defined

as “an ability to remember things” There is also another definition in which

retention in learning can be defined as “the ability to retain facts and figures in

memory” Although no definition of vocabulary retention in the literature has beenfound by the researcher, for the purpose of this study, vocabulary retention can beclarified as the storage of vocabulary in the memory, which becomes available forusage when needed

In terms of “acquisition”, we talk about “the act of getting something about

knowledge” (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 2005); whereas, talking aboutretention, we mention the act of remembering something In the scope of this study,factors affecting retention, especially vocabulary retention should be discussed The retention of vocabulary is affected by three following factors: memory,language exposure and effective vocabulary learning strategies There is a closerelationship among these three factors Learning refers to processes in the initialacquisition or encoding of information, whereas the term memory more often refers

to later storage and retrieval of information After all, it can be said that information

is learned only when it can be retrieved later, and retrieval cannot occur unlessinformation was learned Supporting this inseparable relationship among three

above factors, Gairns (1986, p.86, cited in Vu, 2005) stated: “Understanding how

we store information in the memory and why certain chunks of it seem to “stick”while others slip away is obviously a matter of concern to anyone whose workinvolves helping others to learn For language teachers, this knowledge should help

to establish classroom procedures that will promote more effective learning andretention of new language items.” Thus, it is necessary for both language teachersand learners to have a deeper investigation in this process

1.2.4.1 Memory

Types of memory

The role of memory is crucial in any kind of learning and vocabulary learning is noexception What people usually think of as “memory” in day-to-day usage isactually long-term memory, but there are also important short-term (workingmemory) and sensory memory processes, which must be worked through before along-term memory can be established

Sensory memory is defined as “the shortest-term element of memory It is the

ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimuli haveended It acts as a kind of buffer for stimuli received through the five senses ofsight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, which are retained accurately, but verybriefly” (cited in http://www.human-memory.net) For example, the ability to look

at something and remember what it looked like with just a second of observation is

an example of sensory memory Sensory memory lasts for such a short time within

200 - 500 milliseconds (1/5 - 1/2 second) and decays very quickly after theperception of an item It is often considered part of the process of perception, butrepresents an essential step for storing information in short-term memory

Short-term memory can be thought of as the ability to remember and process

information at the same time It holds a small amount of information (typically

around 7 items or even less) in mind in an active, readily-available state for a shortperiod of time (typically from 10 to 15 seconds, or sometimes up to a minute)

Long-term memory is intended for storage of information over a long period of

time Unlike short-term memory, which is limited in capacity, long term memory isseemingly inexhaustible and can accommodate any amount of new information

Despite our everyday impressions of forgetting, it seems likely that long-term memory actually decays very little over time, and can store a seemingly unlimited amount of information almost indefinitely

Process of memorization

Each different type of memory has its own particular mode of operation, but they all

cooperate in the process of memorization, and can be seen as three necessary steps

in forming a lasting memory

As information is perceived, it is stored in sensory memory automatically Sensory

memory does not require any conscious attention, but it is essential, because it gives

us the effect of unity of an object as our eyes jump from point to point on its surface

to examine its details; for example, if the object in your sensory memory is a redoctagon, you may or may not pay attention to it If you do pay attention, yourecognize that it is a stop sign Once you have paid such attention to a piece of

information, it can pass on to your short-term memory Your short-term memory

then lets you record limited amounts of information for periods of less than oneminute With an active effort, you can keep a piece of information in short-termmemory for longer by repeating; otherwise, the memory will disappear in less than

a minute Keeping an item in short-term memory for a certain amount of time lets

you eventually transfer it to long-term memory for more permanent storage The

mental work of repeating the information in this process explains why theexpression “working memory” is increasingly used as a synonym for short-termmemory But such repetition seems to be a less effective strategy for consolidating amemory than the technique of giving it a meaning by associating it with previouslyacquired knowledge Once the piece of information has been stored in your long-term memory, it can remain there for a very long time, and sometimes even for therest of your life

In short, it can be seen that in order to retain knowledge as much as possible,foreign language learners need all the information of the language that they learned

to be transferred into long-term memory The question is how it can happen?According to the above chart, short-term memories can become long-term memory

through the process of consolidation, involving rehearsal and meaningful association Unlike short-term memory (which relies mostly on an acoustic, and to

a lesser extent a visual, code for storing information), long-term memory encodes information for storage semantically (i.e based on meaning and association) In

other words, the main way of transferring from short- term memory to long-termmemory is by finding some pre- existing information in the long-term memory toattach the new information to

1.2.4.2 Language exposure

While the term memory more often refers to later storage and retrieval ofinformation language exposure refers more to processes in the initial acquisition orencoding of information There are many situations that a learner can discover themeaning of a new word or phrase such as: through the written text, through hearing

it used, or through other members’ explanations However, there is no guaranteethat those vocabulary items and their meanings will be remembered There is a factthat getting to know the meaning of a new vocabulary item is not the same asremembering that meaning

Joe et al (1996) gave out three important processes that may lead to vocabularybeing retained These processes can be viewed as three steps with the later stepsincluding the earlier steps The first process encouraging learning is attention, thesecond one is retrieval and the last one is generation

Attention

This is the first process in which learners need to be aware of needed usefullanguage item This noticing can be affected by several factors, namely: (1) thesalience of the word in the textual input or in the discussion of the text; (2) theprevious contact that the learners have had with the word; and (3) the learners’

realization that the word fill the gap in their knowledge of language (Schmitt andFrota, 1986, Ellis, 1990, cited in Joe et.al, 1996)

Retrieval

After the word is noticed and its meaning comprehended in the textual input to thetask, and if that word is subsequently retrieved either receptively or productivelyduring a task, the memory of that word will be strengthened

Receptive retrieval involves perceiving the form and having to retrieve its meaning

when the word is met in listening and reading

Productive retrieval involves wishing to communicate the meaning of the word and

having to retrieve its spoken or written form as in speaking or writing

Generation

This is the third process that leads to a word being remembered Generativeprocessing can also be receptive or productive This means that a word is usedgeneratively if it is used in a way that is different from its use in the textual input.Whereas, receptive use involves meeting the word in new context only

1.2.4.3 Effective Vocabulary learning strategies

Like general learning strategies, English vocabulary learning strategies includethose techniques that help learners to remember what they have learned- theirstorage and retention of new information

Identifying the effective vocabulary learning strategies is always a controversialissue that attracts a lot of research attention Politzer and McGroarty (1995, cited inSchmitt, 1997) warn that no strategy should be considered inherently good or badbut is dependent on the context in which they are used The context here iscomprised of many variables, including proficiency level, task, text, languagemodality, background knowledge, context of learning, target language, learnercharacteristics and culture, among which Schmitt (1997) highlights culture andlanguage proficiency

In the next section, more knowledge of vocabulary learning strategies, the reasonsfor teaching and learning vocabulary strategies and some classifications of

vocabulary learning strategies will be discussed into details, which helps readershave a closer view of this term

1.2.5 Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS)

Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) are one part of language learning strategies(LLS) which in turn are part of general learning strategies (Nation, 2001) LLSencourage greater overall self-direction for learners Self-directed learners areindependent learners who are capable of assuming responsibility for their ownlearning and gradually gaining confidence, involvement and proficiency (Oxford,1990) So is the case with VLS Thus, students need training in VLS they needmost

Research into VLS stems from two directions of research The first one is theresearch of general language learning strategies which showed that many of thelearning strategies used by learners are in fact vocabulary learning strategies (e.g.memory strategies in Oxford’s classification, 1990) or may be used in vocabularylearning The second one is the research oriented towards exploring theeffectiveness of individual strategy application in vocabulary learning Generally,research conducted so far has revealed that many learners employ learningstrategies in vocabulary learning more frequently than in other language learningactivities (O’Malley et al., 1885a, cited in Singleton, 2008) However, they aremostly inclined to use basic vocabulary learning strategies (Schmitt, 1997).Therefore, it is necessary for language teachers to make strategy instruction anessential part of any foreign or second language program

1.2.6 Classification of VLS

Studying VLS has been an interest for a lot of psychologists, linguists and languageteachers for ages There are numerous studies conducted about VLS and theireffectiveness in learning vocabulary and this vocabulary field has been productive

in the last two decades Some researchers have attempted to develop a framework ofcategory of vocabulary learning strategies Following are the three most prominent

taxonomies by Gu and Johnson (1996, cited in Gazah, 2007), Schmitt (1997) andNation (2001).

Gu and Johnson (1996 as cited in Ghazal, 2007) divide second language (L2)vocabulary learning strategies into: metacognitive cognitive, memory andactivation strategies

Metacognitive strategies are composed of selective attention (what words are

important to learn and are essential for adequate comprehension of a passage) andself-initiation strategies (a variety of means to clarify the meaning of vocabularyitems)

Cognitive strategies include guessing strategies, skillful use of dictionaries and

note-taking strategies Learners using guessing strategies draw upon theirbackground knowledge and use linguistic clues like grammatical structures of asentence to guess the meaning of a word

Memory strategies are comprised of rehearsal and encoding categories Word lists

and repetition are examples of rehearsal strategies Encoding strategies entail suchstrategies as association; imagery; visual, auditory, semantic, and contextualencoding as well as word—structure (i.e., analyzing a word in terms of prefixes,stems, and suffixes)

Activation strategies involve the strategies through which the learners actually

utilize new words in different contexts such as setting example sentences

Based on the system of Oxford’s taxonomy of LLS, Schmitt (1997) only adoptedfour strategy groups: social, memory, cognitive, and metacognitive Schmitt statedthat there was no category in Oxford’s system which adequately describes the kind

of strategies used by an individual when facing with discovering a new word’smeaning without recourse to another person’s expertise, so he added another newcategory – determination strategies (DET) to the system Therefore, there are 58individual strategies divided into two big groups: discovery strategies andconsolidation strategies

Nation (2001) introduces a taxonomy of 11 VLS These are grouped into planning, sources and processes Planning strategies involve deciding on what words and

aspects of words to focus on what strategies to use and how often to give attention

to certain words Meanwhile, sources strategies concern ways to find out

information about words This information may embrace all aspects of wordknowledge and can be found in the word itself (word part analysis), the context(guessing from context), sources of reference (dictionaries) or L1 (via analogy) The

final set of strategies (processes) includes ways to remember words and make them

available for use The particular strategies in this set are divided into three categories related three conditions of vocabulary learning, namely noticing,retrieving and generating

sub-In general, the strongest point of Nation’s taxonomy is probably its simplicity: onlyclasses and types of strategies are mentioned and plain terms are used This is insharp contrast with Schmitt’s taxonomy in which up 58 strategies are named andwith Gu and Johnson’s taxonomy in which psychological terms such asmetacognitve, cognitive, activation, self- initiation, etc are widely used Thisresearch took no attempt to fill the gap in changing and correcting the previousscholars’ VLS system, this study only focused on applying some specific strategies

in vocabulary learning in practice and examining the effectiveness of them.Although among many classification schemes and Schmitt’s taxonomy is probablythe most extensive, it is not necessary for this study to employ such complicated anddetailed strategies in Schmitt’s taxonomy The specific strategies used in this studywere taken from Schmitt’s original base - the Oxford (1990)’s classification of LLSdue to its clarification and simplicity

1.2.7 Oxford’s taxonomy

Oxford (1990) included in her system two big groups: direct and indirect learning

strategies Direct strategies are used directly to learn a target language, in which

memory strategies help the learners to store and retrieve new information; cognitivestrategies help the learners to produce new language by different tools; and

compensation strategies help the learners to use the language regardless that there

are many gaps Unlike direct strategies, indirect strategies are used indirectly and

support learning without involving the target language directly This group includedthese following strategies: metacognitive strategies that help the learners to controltheir own learning, affective strategies that help the learners to arrange theiremotions and motivation, and social strategies that help the learners to cooperateand learn with their peers (See Appendix 1 for the full taxonomy)

As this study focuses on the correlation between memory strategies training andstudents’ vocabulary retention, what follows is a brief review of memory strategies

in second and foreign language learning

1.3 Memory strategies

1.3.1 Definition of memory strategies

As one group of direct learning strategies set in Oxford (1990), memory strategies(traditionally known as mnemonics) have been found to enhance rememberingthrough the connection of new knowledge with familiar words and images Thesestrategies involve relating the word to be retained with some previously learnedknowledge, using some form of imagery, or grouping…

Thompson (1987) (cited in Schmitt, 1997) defined memory strategies as “…mnemonics work by utilizing some well-known principles of psychology: aretrieval plan is developed during encoding, and mental imagery, both visual andverbal, is used They help individuals learn faster and recall better because they aidthe integration of new material into existing cognitive units and because theyprovide retrieval cues.”

1.3.2 Why memory strategies?

“Contextualized” and “de-contextualized” are two ways of learning which still raise

conflicting views among language professionals concerning about languagelearning in general and vocabulary learning in particular

Oxford and Scarcella (1994, cited in Nemati, 2009) observe that while contextualized learning' (word list) may help students memorize vocabulary fortests, students are likely to rapidly forget words memorized from lists

'de-Nielson (2006, cited in Nemati, 2009) suggested that 'de-contextualized learning'should be introduced at early stages of language development as it has been found

to be more effective in building a fundamental vocabulary than the contextualizedreading That means teachers of beginner level learners need to include greateramount of 'de-contextualized' vocabulary instruction (word list) at the beginningand then gradually increase more context based vocabulary learning (extensivereading) as the language ability of the learners develops

Moreover, as mentioned in the first part (Introduction), how recently learners havelearnt something is not important, but in fact, the depth of processing In otherwords, students must be taught on how to process information deeply Of “de-

contextualized” vocabulary memorization strategies, “memory strategies” are

strategies which involve deep semantic processing of target word and have beenshown to be more effective than memorization techniques which just involveshallow processing such as oral rote repetition (Oxford, 1990)

Given the above reasons, the present study seeks to introduce, from among differentways of learning and teaching vocabulary, memory vocabulary learning strategieswhich involve deep processing and may consequently lead to better retention

1.3.3 Oxford’s classification of Memory Strategies

Oxford (1990)’s system of memory strategies consists of ten items as following:

Grouping: Words are easier to memorize, store and recall if they are put in groups.

Words can be grouped mentally or in writing according to their class, topic,function, similarity, dissimilarity or opposition, and so on

Associating/ Elaborating: New vocabulary items are easier to learn and use if they

are associated to those, which are already in memory

Placing new words into a context: New vocabulary items should be learned as

active items That is, a new item should be put in a meaningful sentence,

conversation, story, etc Using imagery: New vocabulary items are related to

concepts in memory by means of meaningful visual imagery either in mind or inreal drawings The imagery can be a picture of an object, a set of collocations forremembering a sequence of words or expressions, or a mental presentation of theletters of a word

Semantic mapping: A key concept is put at the center or at the top, and the related

words and concepts are linked with the key concept by means of lines or arrows.This strategy involves meaningful imagery, grouping, and associations It visuallyshows how groups of words relate to each other

Using keywords: A new word is linked to a known word (either in L1 or in L2)

which sounds like the new word

Presenting sounds in memory: Students create a meaningful, sound-based

association between the new word and known words in L1 or in L2 Rhyme canalso be exploited to remember new words

Structured reviewing: New words should be reviewed in spaced intervals, at first

close together and then move widely spaced apart Reviewing is essential forvocabulary learning

Using physical response or sensation: Physically acting out a new expression (e.g.,

going to the door), or meaningfully relating a new expression to a physically feeling

or sensation (e.g., warmth) (Oxford, 1990, p.43)

Using mechanical techniques: Using creative but tangible techniques, especially

involving moving or changing something which is concrete, in order to remembernew target language information Examples are writing words on cards and movingcards from one stack to another when a word is learned, and putting different types

of material in separate sections of a language learning notebook (Oxford, 1990,p.43)

In this study, among ten memory strategy items classified by Oxford (1990)

mentioned above, the four sub- memory strategies, namely structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context

were selected for some following reasons Firstly, within the scope of an actionresearch project it is too challenging to train students in all ten strategies Secondly,

a library search shows that many MA theses have searched other memory strategiesbut these four strategies remain inadequately researched

The technique of structured reviewing entail going back over L2 vocabulary atdifferent intervals, at first close together and then increasingly far apart Forinstance, the learner practices vocabulary words several times, then waits 15minutes before practicing them again, and practices them an hour later, three hourslater, the next day, two days later, the following week, and so on until the material

becomes automatic (or "overlearned") In this way, the learner keeps spiraling back

to these particular words, even though he or she is encountering other words in themeantime Naturally, the duration needed to make the words automatic depends onthe difficulty of the words, the degree of context, and other factors

Though structured reviewing is very powerful, L2 textbooks typically fail to makeany overt suggestions to learners about this technique Moreover, many suchtextbooks do not present L2 words in a consciously spiraled way that wouldimplicitly lead learners to use structured reviewing Some of the best teachers tend

to spiral back over previously learned L2 words to help their students review, butmany teachers simply drop previously covered words as they move on to new ones.Structured reviewing is thus an important vocabulary learning technique that has notbeen used to its full potential.

1.3.3.2 Using mechanical techniques

To remember what has been read, according to Oxford (1990), mechanicaltechniques were adjusted as a helpful technique in manipulating, flashcards.Flashcards are very popular with students, especially for vocabulary self-testing Inour research using learning journals, in which students explain their L2 learningstrategies, we have discovered that flashcards are among the most widely usedvocabulary learning techniques Commercial flashcards are available for manylanguages, including both traditionally taught languages like French, Spanish, andESL and less common ones like Russian

The flashcard technique involves at least three components: writing down (copying)the L2 word on the front of a card, writing the word's L1 meaning on the back, andthen using the card to become familiar with the new word and its meaning Theflashcard thus represents a glorified L2-Ll word list broken into units, eachcontaining one new word or expression in both L2 and Ll forms The copyingcomponent (assuming that the flashcard is made by the student and not purchased aspart of a set) might provide a small amount of kinesthetic benefit to some learners Unfortunately, we have not seen any empirical testing of the effectiveness of theflashcard technique In our own assessment, the flashcard approach is limited invalue for most students unless some contextualizing embellishments are added tothe ordinary, decontextualizing flashcard With creativity and thought on the part ofthe learner, flashcards can indeed be employed to provide greater context Forinstance, learners can sort flashcards into piles representing different groups ofwords (e.g., nouns, adjectives, adverbs, verbs, prepositions; words that are alreadylearned vs words still needing to be learned; past tense forms vs present tense

forms) Learners can tape flashcards to particular objects like lamp, table, and chair

signified by the words on the cards, thus providing a visual (and to a degree tactile)context Visual context might also be added by taping relevant pictures to the cards.Learners can arrange flashcards on the floor in a kind of semantic map, with relatedwords closer together and unrelated words farther apart Finally, students can addcontext by writing the new words in complete, meaningful sentences on the cards.

Students use or create an image that helps them remember information It can be assimple as a pencil drawing, or as complex as a "mental movie." An image also helpsstudents recall vocabulary without translating from their native language Compleximages can help students check their comprehension; if there are inconsistencies,then they may need to review the information Using imagery is well suited to anytask that involves vivid images or where it is useful to put abstract ideas in concrete

form For instance, in order to remember idiomatic expressions, students createfunny pictures that illustrate them.

1.3.3.4 Placing new words into a context

“Placing a new word into a context” means: “placing a word or phrase in a

meaningful sentence, conversation, or story in order to remember it.” (Oxford,

1990, p.41) This strategy involves a form of associating/elaborating, in which thenew information is linked with a context This strategy is not the same as guessingintelligently, which involve using all possible clues, including the context, to guessthe meaning

For example, students might not understand the word, acerbity, by itself, but this

sentence, “The acerbity of the lemon caused the little girl to spit out the bite she hadjust taken” makes them understand that the general meaning of acerbity must be

“bitter or sour” The context clues "lemon" and "spitting out the bite", which provide

more information in the sentence, help you understand what the vocabulary wordmeans

The strategies discussed above are useful in improving one’s own vocabulary Butlearners cannot learn these strategies on their own They need some external help inthe way of providing strategy training by their teachers

Summary

In conclusion, this chapter has provided the theoretical background for the wholepaper through providing definitions of key terms and significant backgroundinformation on vocabulary, vocabulary learning and vocabulary learning strategies.Particularly important is the discussion about learner autonomy – one of importantfactors in learner’s successful studying, which will be applied in the researcher’saction in subsequent chapters Moreover, the system in which 4 sub memorystrategies have also been demonstrated, which help readers be clear about thestrategies chosen in the treatment of the thesis Finally, the chapter discloses the gapthat the researcher is attempting to bridge via this study

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

The following chapter depicts in detail the methodology of this research paper Itincludes first the background of the study, the size and characteristics of the sample,the materials used then the implementation of an action research as well as thedescription of data collection instruments Furthermore, an elaborate report on theprocedures of data collection and data analysis is also incorporated

2.1 The rationale of using Action Research

Action research is initiated and conducted by the teacher with his or her ownstudents in his or her classroom The purpose and function of Action Research is tohelp the teacher to improve his or her own teaching practices (Nunan, 1992) Thisstudy is aimed at solving one particular problem that the teacher-researcher of thestudy was encountered with: how to help her students retain words better Theassumption is that the training of memory strategies may lead to better wordretention This purpose and nature fit well with how action research is documented

in the literature

2.2 The background to the study

The study was conducted at Phuong Dong university, situated in Hanoi capital,Vietnam For 4 years of studying (8 semesters), students have to take 2 differentcourses: General English (GE) from semester 2 to 5 and English for SpecificPurpose (ESP) for semester 6 With GE courses, lecturers aim at providing studentswith genenal knowledge, essential grammar, vital range of vocabulary forcommunicative English Four sub-courses are carried out to serve this demand

General English 1 (GE1) makes use of the book “Starting skills 1” (Unit 1-9) GE2 and GE3 exploit “Starting skills 2” respectively first half and second half of the book In GE4, students are studying first 5 units of “Starting skills 3” GE1 is

designed to help students reach A1-1 level GE2 is for A1-2 level Accordingly,after finishing GE4, students are expected to get A2 level according to CEFR The

class was chosen for this study was all at beginning level, which means all thestudents had little knowledge about English They all met three times a week(Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon from 12.30 p.m to 4.15 p.m) for thelessons.

In terms of schedule and objectives of the course, this course was conducted in 45sessions (15 weeks) Each session lasted 100 minutes As the name of the class(GE1), this course aimed at providing students with a system of grammar points andbasic vocabulary for general communication The main textbook of the course was

“Starting Skills 1” For each session, the teacher managed to help students cover

one out of four skills or grammar points or vocabulary part which had been clarified

in the schedule (See Appendix 2)

The study room was about 20 square meters for about 30 students with suchessential facilities as tables, desks and a board All the students were arranged intotwo rows of desks facing the teacher with an aisle which allowed the teacher tomove backwards and forwards to give lectures or to be a participant with students’group activities

2.3 The research process

A typical action research needs to go from one step to another As suggested byFerrance (2000), an action research cycle will be as follows:

Figure 1: Action Research circle

As can be seen from the above cycle, there are six main steps to conduct an actionresearch The first is to identify the research problem Then, data must be collected

through means of interviews, questionnaires, etc Next, the data is analyzed to findout the problems The fourth step is to design a plan of action so that the researchcan make a change and study that change After the intervention has been carriedout, it is the researcher’s task to evaluate its effects to justify whether the actionworked or not Then, if it had not been effective as expected, another method should

be considered in order to improve the situation This circle of action research wasadopted for this study The whole process of carrying out this action research isdescribed below

2.3.1 Identify the problems

In an attempt to identity the students’ problem with vocabulary retention, aquestionnaire or otherwised called Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (Wesche &Paribakht, 1996) was administered to the the first year students (N= 28) who werestudying English as a compulsory minor subject After the questionnaires werereturned (rate of returns: 100%), the students’ responses were analysed as the basisfor a follow-up interview

The Vocabulary Knowledge Scale (VKS) is a 5-point self-report scale developed byWesche & Paribakht (1996) that allows students to indicate how well they knowitems of vocabulary The students were given a list of words, and they were asked tochoose one of the five scales that best reflects their thought These five scales are asfollows (For the full VKS, see Appendix 3):

1.I don’t remember having seen this word before.

2.I have seen this word before but I don’t know what it means.

3.I have seen this word before and I think it means…………

4.I know this word; it means …

5.I can use this word in a sentence, e.g………

The purpose of using VKS in this study is to identify common problems thestudents encountered in retaining words that they had learned Results of an analysis

of the students’ reponses in the VKS helped to surface the students’ problems withword retention

Fifty words included in this first VKS were taken from the book: “Tiếng Anh 12”.

It was assumed that the students had learned all these words before their entry into

the university Twenty-five minutes was the time the teacher allowed her students to

complete this kind of test

Following the VKS, a follow-up interview was conducted with all 28 students, who

had participated in the VKS survey A group interview was chosen instead ofindividual interviews because the number of interviewees was relatively great(n=28) Regrading the format, a semi-structured interview format was chosen sothat more in-depth information about the students’ problems of word retention could

be obtained

Admittedly, group interview (N=28) can run the risk of copying answers, whichmeans some students can agree with others’ ideas without their own views.However, this way was still chosen since it was a time-saving idea and aninterview’s appearance as a small free- talk also made the insiders feel comfortableand friendly, which also helped teachers get the reasons for their problems from her

students The main interview question was “Why do they have those problems?”

Nevertheless, before going straight to the main problem, the teacher found somefriendly ways to start her discussion and also to know something about the waysthat her students often dealt with vocabulary retention at the beginning of thecourse In other words, to further supplement the main question, a number offollow-up questions and prompts were included with detailed instruction to make iteasier for students to answer and the teacher to collect data Finally, it was alsonoteworthy that quick note-taking of the teacher was of great importance for lateruse in the data analysis procedure

How well students know the words was described in 5 responses ranging from level

1 to level 5 The teacher then counted the number of each mark for each student

The figure was expressed as a percentage and illustrated in the table below:

Number of choices/1400(28*50)

Table 1: Results from VKS test

It can be derived from the results of the chart that: the students seemed to be weak

at retaining the words that they have learned They could see the words familiar,that they had seen them somewhere before, but they could not give out themeanings or gave out the meanings indecisively The semi-interview was used inthe next lesson helped to find out whether what students did in the test was the same

as what they said in the interview Furthermore, an interview also helped the teacher

to go insight the problems that her students were having when learning vocabulary

2.3.2.2 Results from the interview

A semi-structured interview was the instrument that the researcher used to find out

the answer to the second research question: Why do they have those problems?

During the interview, students gave out many reasons in Vietnamese, and teachershelped to translate and generalize so that the same ideas could be moved to the samepoints In this part, all students’ sayings in Vietnamese were translated into English.The information gained from the interview was analysised and put into six

categories: Lack of time, Lack of skills in using dictionaries, Limited opportunities for using words productively, Teachers’ approaches to vocabulary teaching, Lack

of memory strategies, Misbeliefs about vocabulary knowledge Details of these

categories are presented below

Lack of time

The time for self-study was obviously very important, after joining classes, it is timefor all students to stay at home and revise what they have learned Especially forlearning English, time for vocabulary was really necessary However, as the result

of the interview, some students revealed: “I have many subjects to cover, especiallymajor subjects They took me a long time to study Despite knowing that English isvery important for my future job, I do not have time for it.” Some other studentsadmitted: “Maybe because I am lazy, I like spending time chatting with friends orsurfing the net rather than sitting and learn by heart English vocabulary I’m notpatient enough…”

Nevertheless, there are two students who said that they spent a lot of time studying,trying to learn words; however, in the end they still forgot when they need them.They considered that their ways of studying was not effective at all Thus, it can beseen that lack of time was just the matter of some too busy or lazy students; therewere still other hard- working ones with a lot of time but an ineffective way oflearning

Lack of skills in using dictionaries

Resources for English language learning seemed to be limited The dictionaryseemed to be the only resource that was accessible to the students However, theywere not trained in using the dictionary, and this explained why their use of thedictionary was not quite effective For example, when using dictionary, manylearners only checked the first meaning that can be found for the word, which may

be of little use to students and sometimes misleads them One student shared: “Ioften use my dictionary to look up a new word; however, sometimes I still couldn’tunderstand the meaning of the sentence I do not know what is wrong here ”

Moreover, the dictionary that the students were able to access was not the most to-date one One student said, “My dictionary seems to be unreliable, sometimes Igot the different meaning compared with the one teacher gave in class.” The reasonshere could be the quality of his dictionary itself or just the way he checked themeaning of the word - it should be the second one while he chose the first one

up-Limited opportunities for using words productively

Opportunities for the students to use the target language are so important in secondlanguage acquisition Krashen (1997, in Brown 2000) maintained that in thelanguage classroom, output is too scary to make any important impact on languagedevelopment In the group semi-structured interview, some students shared thesame difficulty with output: “I have learned many words but because of no regularpractice so I have forgotten a lot”, said one student She added: “After learningwords, I often forget since I have no practicing environment.”

Teachers’ approaches to vocabulary teaching

The second problem with input was the help of the teacher Some students thoughtthat they needed their teachers to show concern about their vocabulary studying bychecking them regularly or stimulating them to study That was a passive way oflearning because in large classrooms, it was very difficult for teachers to take care

of all the students Students had to find out the way to study by themselves, andteachers were there to give a help