The process of vocabulary learning

While research in China has focused on vocabulary learning strategies and the Chinese culture of learning beliefs about language and language learning, these have been explored as indivi

The process of vocabulary learning:

Vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs about language

and language learning

Robert Michael Easterbrook

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy in Education, The University of Canberra, November 2013

Abstract

The process of learning a foreign language is an important and challenging component in foreign language students’ lives due to the students’ limited language exposure and opportunities to practice the language While research in China has focused on vocabulary learning strategies and the Chinese culture of learning beliefs about language and language learning, these have been explored as individual factors Research has not explored these factors as part of a process of learning that is driven by both strategies and beliefs in the one research project In attempting to fill this gap, the present research thus explored the possible influence of vocabulary learning strategy use and beliefs about language and language learning on the process of vocabulary learning in the Chinese university context The research was novel in that it compared vocabulary strategy use, students’ language learning beliefs and examined potential impact on vocabulary development across 4 grades at a university level

Using mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative, the research explored vocabulary learning strategy use (VLS), beliefs about language and language learning (BALLL), general and specific, and English vocabulary size, in this order, to gain insights into the process of English vocabulary learning Data was collected using three questionnaires (one vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire, and two beliefs questionnaires), a range of vocabulary size tests (e.g vocabulary size tests 1000, 2000, 3000 and Academic) and interviews with Chinese English Majors in a university context Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman’s rho correlation tests were run, the first to observe statistically significant differences in mean-scores, at the individual level within a grade, and then between grades, and second, to observe the relationship among strategies, beliefs and vocabulary size test scores The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to observe relationships among the main factors (e.g strategies, beliefs and vocabulary size test scores), as well as between the main factors and age and years of English education The interviews underwent thematic analysis to highlight common themes which allowed students to elaborate on some questionnaire responses

The results show that there is consistency in strategy use and beliefs about language and language learning in Chinese English Majors process of vocabulary learning The process: students often discover new vocabulary in written materials, sometimes TV/movies and songs, and then use a small range of strategies to learn it using other strategies to complement the small

range of strategies The most frequently used strategies included guessing meaning, looking up dictionary, learning its spelling, writing it down, learning its pronunciation, saying it aloud, and connecting it with the Chinese meaning This process was observed in and/or interpreted from their VLS use and their BALLL, general and specific The results of exploring these factors highlighted 1) particular VLSs repeatedly used across four grades which included discovering new vocabulary in textbooks, when reading English materials; memorizing the new word’s pronunciation and spelling; connecting new words to the Chinese meaning; looking at the new word several times; remember the new word by its meaning (when read again)), and 2) general and specific beliefs about language and language learning, for example, it’s important to repeat English words and practice often and I learn English to find a good job in the future

Other strategies were used on occasion to complement the fixed set of strategies, depending on the learning task such as remembering a new word by its meaning (when heard again); the way the new word is used; trying to guess the word’s meaning from context (e.g the sentence the word is used in) There were strong correlations found among vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs, both general and specific There was no significant correlation found between strategy use/ beliefs and vocabulary size tests Vocabulary size grew incrementally but not dramatically throughout the four-year degree There was little difference in scores for all students in the 4 grades on the vocabulary size tests 1000 to 3000 and Academic, with scores decreasing from vocabulary size tests 1000 to 3000 However, scores increased in each grade on the Academic size test e.g English vocabulary size ranged from 2400 to 5200 for grade 1; from 3900 to 6300 for grade 2; from 1900 to 5900 for grade 3; from 3500 to 6100 for grade 4 The result can be attributed to students following a fairly fixed regime of vocabulary learning strategy use, driven

by a range of beliefs that reflect how students conceptualise language and how to learn it, as well

as a lack of opportunity to use it and limited exposure The fixed regime of vocabulary learning strategy use might also be explained by classroom pedagogy which tends not to focus on oral communication therefore limiting or constraining English vocabulary size and language development The discussion provides recommendations for teaching vocabulary and strategy training in the Chinese university context

Acknowledgements

This thesis would never have been completed if it hadn’t been for the help and support of so many people I want to express my thanks to them here

Dr Stracke, Dr Houston, Dr Jones, Dr Hill, Dr Petraki and Dr Zhang who willingly accepted

to supervise me at some stage during the research project but soon found it tough supervising, their warm encouragement and dedication to perfection, and their excellent assistance and abundant ideas and suggestions contributed to the completion of the thesis Dr Petraki, especially, for her commitment and hard work in the final stage when much revision and work was achieved

The Chinese English Majors who willingly participated in the research If these willing few hadn’t have agreed to participate, the project would never have seen full fruition They made my life very interesting when I taught many of them, and by giving their time and effort to informing

me about themselves and their lives without hidden agenda

The university research site teachers and administrators If the administrators hadn’t have given permission for the research to go ahead at the site, it would have had to have searched for and used another site And there was no telling how enthusiastic or how indifferent the administrators

at another site would have been to the research given the context of the research I thank the many teachers at the research site for the support and friendship

‘Dean’ Wang Lei, a dedicated Chinese English language teacher, excellent research assistant and very good friend Firstly, I thank him for his enduring friendship despite the hassles associated with being involved in the research project, secondly, for his willing assistance without which the data collection process would have been more trouble than it was, and thirdly, for carry the burden of association beyond the use by date

Yu Hong, excellent Chinese English teacher, research assistant, and partner during the many years spent in northern China Firstly, I thank her for her willingness to commit her time and

energy to assisting with the administrative duties attached to the data collection process and management of the questionnaires, and secondly, for her love and companionship without which

my life in northern China would have been more lonely and barren than it was

I offer the University of Canberra a special thank you for offering me candidature I thank the university for giving me the chance to fulfil a childhood dream that was finally realized, but not until I was in the autumn of my youth And without the support of the university in several important areas, completing the thesis might have been more challenging than it was

Some of my fellow PhD candidates during the PhD program, Josh Rosner, Andrew Blythe, Kilala Chi (now Dr Chi), Sri Wahyuni (now Dr Wahyuni), Yoshi Yamamoto (now Dr Yamamoto), Ross Hamilton, Walter Steensby, Dr Man Chul and many others who, while I was completing my thesis, supported me in many interesting and kindly ways; especially with humour and great conversation Firstly, I thank them for their camaraderie, and secondly, for the special encouragement some of them gave me when the journey got very challenging and tough, and thirdly, the small kindnesses some of them showed me that made the journey far more bearable and sustained me through the toughest times

To Dr Judith Ascione, a special thank you, for the wonderful assistance on the statistics Miss Jee Lee, for additional brainstorming on the approach to statistical analysis And a special thank you to Belinda Henwood for the excellent editorial work

To the many people who, though I was unknown to them, were role models and inspirational in the most important ways I give a special thank you to these people because if it hadn’t have been for their lives and the milestones they each achieved, I might not have been inspired to undertake one of the most interesting journeys ever during my short years on this planet

Definitions of Key Terms

Contribution to knowledge and significance of the research

The structure of the thesis

Definitions of vocabulary learning strategies

Classifications of vocabulary learning strategies

Vocabulary learning strategy research – a brief outline

Vocabulary learning strategy research conducted globally outside China

Vocabulary learning strategy research in a Chinese context

Beliefs in relation to language and language learning/strategies

Chinese culture of learning – English language education/learning in a

Methods and selection of methods

Mixed methods design

Reliability and validity

Case and participants

Role of the researcher

Data collection method & Procedures

Data collection instruments, their nature and function

Procedures – administration, data management and data analysis

Intended outcomes of the research

5.0 Chapter 5: Results – Vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs about

language and language learning – descriptive statistics

107

5.1 Part 1: Research question No 1: Which vocabulary learning strategies do

Chinese English Majors tend to use?

107

Frequency-of-use strategy groupings

Questionnaire & Interview data compared

Question #1: Where do you meet new vocabulary?

Question #2: What do you usually do when you meet a new word?

Question #3: Do you practise the new vocabulary? What strategies do you use?

Question #4: How do you memorise new words?

Question #5: Should vocabulary learning strategies be taught?

Strategies rarely or never used

The percentage of students often using a strategy

Research question No 2: What is the difference in VLS use among the four grades of CEMs?

Additional questions: Where do you often learn vocabulary during the semester? and Of four possible sources to obtain VLS, which do CEMs source the most?

Part 2: Research question No 3: What are Chinese English Majors

Western and Chinese culture of learning beliefs?

Beliefs about language and language learning

Three general groupings

Chinese culture of learning

Some general groupings in the data

BALLLQ & CCLQ beliefs compared with interview data

Spearman’s rho Correlational analysis of VLS use against VST/Academic score-means in each grade

Correlational analysis of 7 factors in each grade

Kruskal-Wallis test of beliefs & strategies against 3 means of scores on Academic size test

Boxplots analysis of beliefs against Academic size test means of scores

Section 1: Research question No 1 & Research question No 2:

Vocabulary learning strategies

CEMs’ memorization strategies compared to Schmitt (1997)

VLS use compared with Gu and Johnson (1996)

Patterning of VLS use compared to compared to Gu and Johnson (1996)

Use of discovery and consolidation strategies compared to Griffiths (2013) The present research compared to Ma (2009)

Clustering of VLSs in four grades

Gu’s Tetrahedral Model

Section 2: Research question No 3 & Research question No 4: Beliefs

about language and language learning

Horwitz’ BALLI

The difficulty of language

Foreign language aptitude

The nature of language learning

Learning and communication strategies

Motivations and expectations

Additional research into the relationship between beliefs and VLs generally

Shi’s CCL BALLL

Attitude to learning English

Learner’s aims for learning English

Criteria for being a good teacher of English

Teacher-student relationship

Perceptions of teachers’ attitudes towards students’ questions in the classroom

Favoured teaching method

Attitudes to the content of textbooks

Memorising vocabulary

Practising reading skill

Practising speaking skill

Practising listening skill

Practising writing skill

Barriers to learning English

What makes a good learner?

Research question No 6: Do BALLL and VLSs have an impact on EVS of CEMs?

Section 3: The process of vocabulary learning uses strategy clusters

The PVL involves strategies and beliefs

The importance of the findings

Summary of project aims

Major findings - summary

Theoretical implications & contribution

English vocabulary size – research question No 4

Statistical formula for the Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman’s rho correlations

VLSQ tables of means, percentages, groupings graphs, and interview tables

BALLI tables of means, percentages, groupings graphs, interview tables, and comparisons

CCLQ tables of means, percentages, groupings graphs, interview tables, and comparisons

Interview tables

Participant information sheets – for the questionnaire

Participant information sheets – for the interview

Informed consent form – for the questionnaire

Informed consent form – for the interview

Permission to conduct research

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BA Bachelor of Arts degree

BALLI Beliefs about language and language learning inventory

BALLL Beliefs about language and language learning

BALLLQ Beliefs about language and language learning questionnaire

CCL Chinese culture of learning

CCLQ Chinese culture of learning questionnaire

CEMs Chinese English Majors

CET College Entrance Test

DV Dependent variable

EFL English as a foreign language

EGP English for general purposes

ELT English language teaching

ESL English as a second language

EVS English vocabulary size

FLC Foreign language community

FLL Foreign language learning

FLLs Foreign language learners

GDLB General demographics and language background

ICQ Abbreviation of ‘I seek you’

IV Independent variable

LLSs Language learning strategies

LTM Long term memory

MoE Ministry of Education

NET Native English teacher [online]

PVL Process of vocabulary learning

SD Standard deviation

SILL Strategy inventory of language learning

SLA Second language acquisition

SPSS Statistical package for the social sciences

TEM Test for English Majors

USA United States of America

UU University of Utah

VLS Vocabulary learning strategy

VLSQ Vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire

VLSs Vocabulary learning strategies

VST Vocabulary size test

LIST OF TABLES, GRAPHS, CHARTS & ILLUSTRATIONS

Table 2.3 Vocabulary learning strategy categories 25 Table 2.4 Vocabulary strategy categories & strategy function 26 Table 4.1 Researcher, method and factor researched 67 Table 4.2 ‘Multi-questionnaire’ data collection instruments and method 75 Table 4.3 General demographics and language background 77 Illustration

CLQ Belief statement No 3: A good teacher of English should be

Table 4.6 One student’s general characteristics and language background 89

Table 4.9 Percentage of student VLS and frequency of use at the grade 1 level 91 Table 4.10 VLS use raw data of grade 1 re: Question 1 92 Table 4.11 Raw data converted to percentages for all grades for each question 92

Table 4.12 Percentage of students using a VLS and VLS frequency of use at grade

Table 4.13 Percentage of CEMs who use a VLS and VLS frequency of use of all

Table 4.15 All students all grades responses to BALLI Belief Statement #1 96

Table 4.16 All students in all grades responses to BALLI Belief Statement #1 as

Table 4.17 All students in all grades responses to CCL Belief statement #1 98

Table 4.18 All students in all grades responses to CCL Beliefs statement #1 as

Table 5.1 Categories & Strategies and means suggesting use 109 Tables 5.2 Categories & Strategies for whole group 109 Table 5.3 Question 1: Where do you meet new words? 112 Table 5.4 Question 3: What do you do when you meet new vocabulary? 113 Table 5.5 Question 4: when learning new vocabulary, what aspects do you study? 114

Table 5.6 Question 5: How do you put in order the info about then new

Table 5.7 Question 6: How do you memorize new vocabulary? [First group] 116 Table 5.8 Question 6: How do you memorize new vocabulary? [Second group] 117 Table 5.9 Question 7: How do you review vocabulary? 118 Table 5.10 Question 8: How do you remember words you have memorized? 119 Tables 5.11 Question 9: How do you make use of new vocabulary? 120

Graph 15 Unchanged then decrease 137 Table 5.12 Should vocabulary learning strategies be taught? 146 Table 5.13 Vocabulary learning strategies rarely or never used 148 Table 5.14 Ranked vocabulary learning strategies over all by percentage 151

Table 5.17 Percentage of students per grade who chose a place and frequency of

Table 5.18 Percentage of students per grade who chose a source of VLSs and

Table 5.19 BALLI beliefs by percentage, frequency and mean 162 Table 5.20 BALLI beliefs by percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 163 Table 5.21 BALLI beliefs by percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 164

Table 5.22 CCL beliefs by grade percentage, frequency and mean 173 Table 5.23 CCL beliefs by grade percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 175 Table 5.24 CCL beliefs by grade percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 175 Table 5.25 CCL beliefs by grade percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 177 Table 5.26 CCL beliefs by grade percentage, frequency and mean [continued] 178

Table 5.27 What should the student-teacher relationship be like? 190 Table 5.28 Should vocabulary learning strategies be taught? 192

Table 6.2 Category & strategies against VST & Academic scores for grade 1 199 Table 6.3 Category & strategies against VST & Academic scores for grade 2 200 Table 6.4 Category & strategies against VST & Academic scores for grade 3 201 Table 6.5 Category & strategies against VST & Academic scores for grade 4 202

Table 6.10 Differences in means-scores to show difference or no difference 209 Boxplot 1 Mann-Whitney for BALLI beliefs against Academic scores 210 Boxplot 2 Mann-Whitney for CCL beliefs against Academic scores 211 Table 7.1 Guessing from context, Dictionary & Rehearsal strategies 218 Table 7.2 Discovery & Consolidation strategies compared to Oxford’s SILL 219 Table 7.3 Categories & Strategies for whole group CEMs & Ma 2009 222 Table 7.4 Categories & Strategies and means suggesting use CEMs & Ma 2009 224 Table 7.5 Individual difference in VLS use Question 2 231 Table 7.6 Individual difference in VLS use Question 3 231 Table 7.7 Individual difference in VLS use Question 4 231

Table 7.9 Determination-initial response strategies Question 3 233 Table 7.10 Determination-study strategies Question 4 233 Table 7.11 English vocabulary size in grade 2 Xiao A & Xiao B 234

Graph 2 I learn English to improve myself/self-development CEMs & Shi 246 Graph 3 I learn English to find a good job in the future CEMs & Shi 246 Graph 4 I learn English for daily communication CEMs & Shi 247 Graph 5 I learn English for the honour of my family CEMs & Shi 247 Graph 6 I learn English to pass exams CEMs & Shi 248

Graph 7 A good teacher of English should improve my English skills CEMs &

Graph 8 Good teachers should be knowledgeable CEMs & Shi 249 Graph 9 A good teacher should provide comprehensible notes CEMs & Shi 249 Graph 10 A good teacher should improve students’ language skills CEMs & Shi 250 Graph 11 A good teacher should help students pass exams CEMs & Shi 250 Graph 12 The teacher-student relationship should be friend-friend CEMs & Shi 251 Graph 13 The teacher-student relationship should be parent-child CEMs & Shi 252 Graph 14 I love my teacher, but I love the truth more CEMs & Shi 253

Graph 15 If not agreeing with teacher’s teaching, still follow teacher CEMs &

Graph 16 I prefer the teacher use different teaching activities CEMs & Shi 254 Graph 17 I prefer the teacher to encourage me to learn CEMs & Shi 255 Graph 18 I think textbook content is not totally correct CEMs & Shi 255 Graph 19 I think textbook knowledge is useful in real life CEMs & Shi 256 Graph 20 I memorize vocabulary using rehearsal strategies CEMs & Shi 256 Graph 21 I practice reading with textbooks CEMs & Shi 257 Graph 22 I practice speaking by reading aloud & reciting texts CEMs & Shi 258 Graph 23 I practice listening by listening to textbooks tapes CEMs & Shi 258 Graph 24 I practice writing with a diary CEMs & Shi 259 Graph 25 I think the main barrier is I don’t work hard enough CEMs & Shi 260 Graph 26 A good learner of English should respect teachers CEMs & Shi 260

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

a key aspect of foreign language learning (FLL), and in particular, two influential factors, that

of vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) and beliefs about language and language learning (BALLL), in order to provide useful insights into the English vocabulary learning process in

China Section 1.1 discusses steps taken to explore the process of vocabulary learning (PVL),

1.2 discusses the background to the research, 1.3 research questions, 1.4 definitions of key

terms, 1.5 contribution to knowledge/significance of research and 1.6 structure of thesis

1.1 Steps taken to explore the process of vocabulary learning

To better know the process of vocabulary learning (PVL) in a Chinese context, VLSs and their use was explored Early research (e.g Stern, 1975) found VLSs influenced how vocabulary is learned, and subsequent research confirmed it (e.g Jiang, 2000; Schmitt, 2010) But it was found that VLSs influenced the range of vocabulary eventually learned (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996; Nation, 2001) Research (e.g Oxford, 1990) suggests that language learning strategies (LLSs) influence the outcome of language learning (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996; Gu, 2010), and that VLS use, specifically, can enhance vocabulary learning generally (e.g Schmitt, 1997)

Beliefs about language and language learning (BALLL) — general (e.g Horwitz, 1988) and specific, Chinese culture of learning beliefs (CCL) (Shi, 2006) — were explored Beliefs have been found to influence how language is learned (e.g Wenden, 1987), and also the range of language eventually learned (e.g Horwitz, 1999) Research (e.g Elbaum et al., 1993) suggests that BALLL influence the initial stage of vocabulary learning Language learners initially create a mental representation of the object of learning, for example, a foreign language is a ‘tool’ (see Everett, 2012), based on factors like experience and/or agent

influence, such as parents and teachers Secondly, they create a mental representation of the process of learning the foreign language (e.g rote memorisation of words and grammar (e.g

Gu & Johnson, 1996), again based on factors like experience and/or agent influence, such as parents and teachers However, an established belief in the mind of the language learner might be difficult if not impossible to change, even when the learner is faced with evidence that contradicts the belief; for instance, the belief that learning another language, for example English, is achieved primarily by imitation alone and doing nothing else

The research explored the impact of VLSs and BALLL on English vocabulary size (EVS) Research (e.g Nation, 2001) suggests that vocabulary learning is incremental, the result of not only repeated exposure to language (for instance, new language repeatedly exposed to cognitive processes and consciously manipulated in working memory), but also repeated opportunities to use it (for instance, recycling learned language) Nation (2001) identifies three main aspects of vocabulary knowledge, 1) orthography, 2) pronunciation, and 3) language use, which must be learned This thesis supports this idea, and vocabulary is seen as the learning objective of all English as a foreign language learners (EFL learners) in order to have complete vocabulary knowledge of a foreign language, particularly English EVS is explored as an aspect of the process of vocabulary learning (PVL) as much as an outcome (e.g Levin & Pressley, 1985), and explored with a view to better understanding it and subsequently improving vocabulary learning

Using mixed methods, the research is exploratory, gathering quantitative and qualitative data

to explore VLS use, BALLL and EVS as aspects of the PVL, based on evidence from questionnaires, interview and tests The research is also interpretive, in that making sense of the data collected on VLS use, BALLL and EVS was achieved through both quantitative measures (e.g non-parametric tests), qualitative analysis of qualitative data (e.g thematic analysis) and reference to prior research — see Chapter 4: Methodology and Procedures

1.2 Background

In the foreign language learning (FLL) field, particularly in a Chinese context, no (known) research has explored the English vocabulary learning process the way the present research does (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996), researching the relationship among VLS use and BALLL, general and specific, and vocabulary size test (VST) scores to gain insight into the PVL Gu

and Johnson (1996) suggested strategy use and beliefs were the whole process of FLL and a process of vocabulary learning but did not show its details, other than list some VLSs and beliefs that were somehow involved, and mentioned that time was a factor Schmitt (1997) hinted at it in his VLS taxonomy Griffiths (2013) found patterns of LLS use and highlights that patterns of use were correlated with course level VLS use, beliefs about language and language learning, general and specific, and EVS (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996; Gu, 2003; Tsai

& Chang, 2009) have been researched as individual factors affecting language learning outcomes in Chinese contexts Little is known of the actual process of vocabulary learning in

a Chinese context (e.g Ma, 2009), though research has shown the initial phase of learning vocabulary (e.g Jiang, 2002) Research has been done on each variable as an individual factor (in both non-Chinese and Chinese contexts) and conclusions drawn about the likely impact on learning outcomes generally, and vocabulary size specifically — see Chapter 2, section 2.3 and Chapter 3 The current research is predicated on previous research on each factor, but explores VLS use and BALLL together in the one project Although VLS use and learning outcomes have been matched in a Chinese context (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996; Gu, 2002), albeit at a general level, theories posed to explain the outcome of using strategies, as well as the impact of beliefs — for example, the beliefs of the Chinese culture of learning and its impact on proficiency (e.g Cortazzi & Jin, 1996; Shi, 2006) — there is a gap in the research regarding the process of English vocabulary learning where VLS use and BALLL play a role in the development of EVS in a Chinese context The present research tries to fill this gap

English language teaching was not explored — English vocabulary teaching specifically, or the direct relationship between language teaching and vocabulary learning The research is focused on the learning side of the equation Learning is therefore explored without strong reference to teaching, though the context of learning is English language teaching in a formal learning context of higher education in China Based on the literature (see Chapter 2, section 2.2), learning, especially in relation to English vocabulary learning, is viewed as the result of prior (and continuing) formal education and training, and learning experiences associated with formal education in China

As will be discussed, learning is influenced by factors, such as cognitive style, learning style and cultural style (e.g Ehrman, 1996, p 49), acquired in prior formal learning contexts (primary and middle school) and other sociocultural experiences (such as family life) (e.g

Cortazzi & Jin, 1996) as well as the one in which students presently find themselves (higher education) Chinese English Majors (CEMs) primarily experience formal education (even formal English education) in China — though they may experience a Westernized education later as senior undergraduates and/or postgraduates — so their early experience of formal education is culturally different from students, particularly university students, in either Australia or the United States This prior, and often continuing, educational and cultural experience must be acknowledged in any analysis of EFL learning in China Learning holds strong implications for teaching generally, and teaching pedagogy specifically, so the results will provide further insights for both teaching and pedagogy, and vocabulary teaching specifically, in Chinese higher education contexts

1.3 Research questions and their relationship to the research

In order to gain insights into the English vocabulary learning process in a Chinese context, the research explored CEMs’ vocabulary learning, their VLS use and beliefs as well as their EVS, and gathered pertinent data to answer the following questions:

Research question No 1: Which vocabulary learning strategies do Chinese English Majors

tend to use? This will be determined using a questionnaire constructed by Ma (2009) with slight modification The idea is to observe which strategies are used and observe patterns of strategy use across the four grades of a Bachelor degree

Research question No 2: What is the difference in vocabulary learning strategy frequency of

use among the four grades of Chinese English Majors? This will be determined using a scaling that indicates frequency of use — for example, never, rarely, sometimes, often and always, and, firstly, Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Spearman’s rho to observe differences in mean scores among individuals within a grade The students will be able to indicate whether they use a particular strategy and whether they use it on a regular basis (e.g., rarely or often)

Research question No 3: What are Chinese English Majors’ general ‘Western’ beliefs about

language and language learning and specific Chinese culture of learning beliefs about

language and language learning? Research question No 4: Do their beliefs about language

and language learning correlate with vocabulary learning strategy use? These will be explored

using questionnaires validated in and out of China; one exploring general beliefs about language and language learning (Horwitz, 1988), and the other exploring specific Chinese beliefs — Chinese culture of learning (Shi, 2006) Non-parametric Correlations Test using Spearman’s rho will be run

Research question No 5: What is the general English vocabulary size of Chinese English

Majors in each of the four grades (grade is used in China instead of year) of a four-year Bachelor degree? This will be determined using Nation’s Vocabulary Size Test Students’ vocabulary size will be observed across four grades to observe vocabulary development patterns in each grade and then observe whether the vocabulary learning strategy use and beliefs correlate with vocabulary size in each grade Non-parametric Correlations Test using Spearman’s rho will be run

Research question No 6: Do beliefs about language and language learning and vocabulary

learning strategy use influence English vocabulary size? Non-parametric Correlations Test using Spearman’s rho will be run

1.4 Definitions of key terms

1.4.1 Vocabulary

English vocabulary is viewed in the present research (see Chapter 2, section 2.1) as having two main appearances, orthographical and phonological: a stand-alone language item (e.g dog), which possesses meaning, or a combination of stand-alone items often called a multiword (e.g three dogs) which may or may not consist of morphological components such

as prefixes, suffixes, or a lexical ‘chunk’ like ‘not least of all’, ‘well and good’ and ‘as well as’, or acronyms that can carry meaning in an unusual way (e.g ‘AIDS’) (e.g Aitchison, 2003; McCarthy, 1990; Nunan, 2003; Proctor, 1996) The research agrees with these definitions These aspects of English are generally called English vocabulary, and Chinese EFL learners will learn them as part of their continuing formal English language education in

a Chinese university

1.4.2 Learning

Learning is viewed as a complex process that uses many cognitive resources (see Chapter 2, section 2.2), not least of all a cognitive ‘tool’ to ‘acquire’ generally both skills and knowledge and experience (Phye & Andre, 1986, pp 142-144) These cognitive resources (Phye & Andre, 1986) include general LLSs and specific VLSs (e.g Schmitt, 1997) gained/developed

in the process of acquiring the first or other foreign language or skill/knowledge — see Chapter 2, section 2.3 Illeris defines learning as any cognitive process that “leads to permanent capacity change and which is not solely due to biological maturation or aging” (2007, p 3) In the case of FLL, or more specifically foreign language vocabulary learning, the CEMs in this research are acknowledged as bringing VLSs with them to the English vocabulary learning task, strategies gained in the process of learning a first language (e.g Chinese Mandarin) or another foreign language (e.g Russian), as well as other knowledge (such as mathematics and science) and experience which they may or may not modify for learning English vocabulary

1.4.3 Vocabulary learning strategies

VLSs include learning strategies widely accepted and known by other names: learning skills, learning-to-learn, thinking skills and problem solving skills (e.g Pan, 2005; Phye & Andre, 1986) These broad definitions and classifications of ‘learning’ are subsumed in the use of the term ‘learning’ as it is used in the present research Language learning isn’t viewed here as a single factor activity Explicit reference is made to Rubin’s (1987) definition of language learning, which views it as a process — using many strategies — by which language information is obtained, stored, retrieved and used, and which was co-opted by Schmitt (1997), for instance, to define and classify VLSs This definition is applied to the cognitive

‘tools’ employed in vocabulary learning, and the present research will do the same — see Chapter 2, section 2.3

1.4.4 Beliefs about language and language learning

Beliefs are viewed in the present research as “psychologically held understandings, premises,

or propositions about the world that are felt to be true” (Richardson, 1996, p 103) Beliefs are also described as the relation between two categories when neither defines the other (Open

University, 1975), for instance, VLSs and BALLL — see Chapter 3, section 3.2 Beliefs are often categorised as mental representations A mental representation is a presentation in the mind in the form of an idea or an image (Mohamed, 2006) or common sense mental states — for example, thoughts, beliefs, desires, perceptions and imaginings (Pitt, 2008) They are about or refer to aspects of reality (e.g ‘my girlfriend is a blonde’ or ‘the moon is made of cheese’), and are evaluated with respect to consistency, truth, appropriateness and accuracy (Pitt, 2008) For instance, in terms of truth, the moon is not made of cheese; it is made of geological material similar to the planet Earth Whatever the content of beliefs (e.g descriptive, evaluative or prescriptive), they are action oriented (Rokeach, 1968)

1.4.5 Cognitive and cultural learning styles

Ehrman (1996, p 49) defined a ‘cognitive learning style’ as “broad preferences for going about the business of learning” Dörnyei (2005, p 121) said a standard definition refers to cognitive styles as “an individual’s natural, habitual, and preferred way(s) of absorbing, processing, and retaining new information and skills.” Thus a profile of an individual’s approach to learning (e.g Benson & Lor, 1999), if one can be compiled, is “a blueprint of the habitual or preferred way the individual perceives, interacts with, and responds to the learning environment” (Dörnyei, 2005, p 121) And with respect to the present research involving CEMs, such a ‘blueprint’ is generally referred to as the beliefs of the Chinese culture of learning — see Chapter 3, section 3.4.4

1.5 Contribution to knowledge and significance of the present research

The research is significant and a worthy project Firstly, the thesis will contribute to the field

of the PVL in China In particular, the thesis will contribute to a deeper understanding of CEMs’ English vocabulary learning in a university context in China (e.g four years of a Bachelor degree) Secondly, the thesis will contribute to theory — the PVL (for instance, how students behave when they discover new vocabulary and what they do when consolidating learning it) At the time of undertaking the research project, there appeared to be no other studies that explore the PVL in China Some studies have been conducted in China, firstly, on vocabulary learning strategies and learning outcomes (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996; Ma, 2009; Tsai & Chang, 2009; Wei, 2007), and secondly, on BALLL (e.g Shi, 2006) The present research findings will be useful for: a) Chinese and non-Chinese academics, teachers and

students who study vocabulary development, vocabulary learning specifically, language learning generally; b) course designers; and c) improving understanding of learning in Chinese contexts, the impact of Chinese beliefs on learning behaviour specifically

Academics will find the information on vocabulary development, the vocabulary learning process, useful; as well as how learners behave according to their BALLL, and how beliefs impact VLS use Curriculum designers will find this research useful because the insights into vocabulary learning may suggest ways to improve it, for example, explicit vocabulary teaching vs incidental vocabulary learning

The present research extends previous research (e.g Ma, 2009; Horwitz, 1988; Shi, 2006; Nation, 2001) The thesis provides insight into CEMs’ English vocabulary development (in a Chinese university) which Chinese teachers can use to assist their students achieve a larger vocabulary size Moreover, the research will extend the research on the relationship between VLS use, beliefs and their relationship to vocabulary development

Improving the understanding of the PVL in China will benefit Australian universities, particularly the number of Chinese students that attend them If the universities are aware of the learning patterns of Chinese students, they may wish to modify existing programs to accommodate or alleviate culturally specific learning styles, and improve Chinese student participation in Australian higher education

The contribution this thesis makes to vocabulary learning is that beliefs and VLS use impact vocabulary development This is clear in the research literature (e.g Gu & Johnson, 1996;

Gu, 2010), though the specific gain from using particular strategies is not clear; this is known only in a general sense With regard to beliefs and their relationship to learning: beliefs impact learning behaviour, language learning generally, and vocabulary learning specifically Therefore, the thesis will show that VLS use is significant to the process of vocabulary learning, and indirectly to teaching, and worth investigating, and that beliefs are resilient and difficult to change once established early in a learner’s life (e.g Mohamed, 2006) Research (e.g Gao, 2006) suggests beliefs may change in new learning contexts outside those where the beliefs were established and away from influencing agents (such as parents and teachers) which pressure learners to maintain the beliefs of local culture established early in life, but this needs further research, and therefore, makes local beliefs a worthy research topic

1.6 The structure of the thesis

The thesis consists of eight chapters Chapter 1 outlines the background to the research, its

significance, as well as the research questions and boundaries, in addition to some details about the research context which impact higher education — the EFL university context From the literature it is revealed that CEMs’ VLS use and vocabulary learning outcomes are influenced by their VLS use and BALLL, and act as a restraining influence on choice of VLS and consistent use of VLSs over time Exploring VLS use, BALLL and EVS will help EFL learners become more aware of their VLS use as well as their BALLL, and the impact these have on their vocabulary learning and development (as outlined above) This research does not explore whether increased awareness of VLSs has a positive impact on VLS use or encourages CEMs to become more autonomous learners (Pan, 2005) To answer the research questions, the research focuses on the contemporary university context where young adult Chinese nationals pursue a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in English, in which they learn EFL The research focus, therefore, is understanding the learning behaviour(s) and beliefs of CEMs in a real-life context

Chapter 2 provides a literature review of the conceptual background of English vocabulary,

vocabulary learning, establishing learning to be in the cognitive domain and VLSs The conceptual background of VLSs is discussed in Chapter 2 as well as the research literature on VLSs globally, and then in China

Chapter 3 provides a literature review of the conceptual background of beliefs generally,

BALLL and their influence on language learning, specifically vocabulary learning

Chapter 4 sets out the methodological framework of the research and the procedures used to

achieve the research goals It also outlines the rationale for the research design, the mixed methods as well as its quantitative and qualitative aspects

Chapter 5 presents other findings not observed in the statistical analysis but in descriptive

statistics to examine individual and group differences in VLS use It also presents other findings not observed in the statistical analysis but in descriptive statistics to examine individual and group differences in BALLL/CCL

Chapter 6 presents the results of the statistical analysis of differences in individual and group

differences in VLS use, BALLL/CCL and EVS as well as correlations among the main factors explored Correlational analysis is also conducted among sub-aspects of the research concerning the main factors against age and years of English language education

Chapter 7 discusses the results and interprets their meaning in relation to the research This

chapter highlights the contribution to knowledge, providing recommendations, suggesting what teachers and learners should do to be aware of the requirements and discusses the overall result

Chapter 8 concludes the thesis and provides a general discussion of the research, its aims,

the results and its implications for the research stakeholders, and makes suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2: VOCABULARY, VOCABULARY LEARNING AND VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES

2.1 Vocabulary and vocabulary knowledge

The discussion begins with definitions of English vocabulary (e.g Proctor, 1996) What it means to learn and eventually possess vocabulary knowledge (e.g Nation, 2001) is then discussed The thesis does not present a theory of vocabulary, rather, how it is generally defined in the literature This is used as a basis for discussion The importance of defining English vocabulary is highlighted by the fact that Chinese EFL learners, besides other EFL learners, think learning vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of learning a foreign language (e.g Horwitz, 1988; Law, 2003; Yang, 1999) The literature on vocabulary is substantial, both on what it is and what it means to possess it (e.g Aitchison, 2003; Ellis, 1997; Field, 2005; Laufer, 1997; Laufer, 2001; Ma, 2009; McCarthy, 1990; Nation, 2001; Nation & Waring, 1997; Nunan, 2003; Proctor, 1996; Schmitt, 1997) Vocabulary is discussed first because this is the object of learning, the knowledge EFL students are trying to learn

2.1.1 Definitions of words/word families/morphemes/lemmas and lexemes

Words are used every day but few stop to ask what they are According to Procter (1996, pp

1628–678), the word vocabulary means “all the words used by a particular person or all the

words which exist in a particular language or subject” The present research is not concerned with all the words used or all the words in a particular language, English specifically It is

concerned with the exact meaning of the noun word For instance, in a general sense the

meaning is given as ‘language unit’; and in a more specific sense, as “a single unit of language which has meaning and can be spoken or written” (Proctor, 1996, pp 1628–678)

However, McCarthy (1990, p 3) offers this clarification: “it is most convenient to think of

words as freestanding items that have meaning” But what is a freestanding item?

A freestanding item is discussed in contrast to a bound item, or what are generally referred to

as bound and freestanding words or morphemes The word ‘eating’ is an example ‘Eat’ in eating and the ‘-ing’ in eating are viewed as separate ‘morphemes’, yet one is a freestanding morpheme while the other is a bound morpheme The ‘eat’ in eating is a freestanding morpheme whereas the ‘-ing’ in eating is not an English word with any specific meaning (McCarthy, 1990) Freestanding morphemes are usually referred to as root words (possessing meaning), while bound morphemes are referred to as prefixes or suffixes, depending on

whether they appear at the end or at the front of a root word Placing a suffix or prefix on a

root word results in either deriving a new word from the root — for instance, eater, where er’ is added or eating, where ‘-ing’ is added (Nation, 2007) The process of adding ‘-er’ is derivation, where a new word is derived from the root word, while the process of adding ‘- ing’ is inflection, where the root word is inflected for grammatical meaning — for instance, ‘-

‘-ing’ indicates tense, in the sense that it highlights a particular aspect of the verb

Vocabulary is clearly words However, words are often discussed more technically in terms of

‘lemmas’ and ‘lexemes’ A lemma is a word’s generalised or glossed meaning and its word class — for instance, noun, verb and adjective (Aitchison, 2003; Field, 2005) — whereas a

‘lexeme’ is a word’s morphology and form (Aitchison, 2003, pp 220–21), highlighted above

in the example ‘eating’ Nunan (2003) and Schmitt (2010) include multiword units in the category of lexemes, for example, ‘absolutely fantastic’, ‘at once!’, ‘in a minute’, ‘portable TV’, ‘the United States of America’ These multiword units are emphasised in the discussion

of word families, in which a word can be either a single word item (e.g ‘die’) or a multiword item (e.g ‘give up the ghost’) (Nation, 2001; Nunan, 2003) Multiword items obviously highlight the combinatorial nature of words, and are often referred to as ‘lexical chunks’ (Schmitt & McCarthy, 1997), for example, ‘There’s no answer’ vs ‘There is no answer’,

‘heavy rain’ vs ‘severe rain’, ‘take medicine’ vs ‘have medicine or drink medicine’ (Nunan,

ing, stem + ed, possessive, (highlighted above) (Nunan, 2003, p 131) Vocabulary is distinguished according to word families (for instance, walk, walks, walked, walking)

(Nation, 2000, p 2), as well as by ‘token’ or a ‘type’ Word types can be type-tokens and word classes, such as lexical, functional, and inserts (Biber et al., 1999), where the tokens are simply every word counted in a text, while types are every word that has been counted at least once in a text (highlighting word class); a word that appears twice is not counted a second time (Nation, 2001; Schmitt, 1997) Thus words are basically freestanding objects that possess meaning, can be combined with other ‘morphemes’ (e.g suffixes) to make new words or can be combined to make bigger ‘lexical items’, and initially exist as phonological objects (spoken words) but can be made into orthographic objects (written words) What a word is seems clear enough, but what about the idea of word meanings?

2.1.2 Definitions of word meanings/core meanings

A lexeme refers to a word’s morphology and form but a lemma refers to a word’s generalised

or glossed meaning and its role in syntax The present research concerns words and word meanings and does not cover syntax Word meaning is often associated with its dictionary meaning, but word meaning also “consists of the relationship between a word and its referent (the person, thing, action, condition, or case it refers to in the real or an imagined world)” (Nation, 2001, pp 22–23) The relationship, often untidy and indirect, is said to be arbitrary, that is, until a community of speakers of a language all tend to agree on a word’s ‘referent’ (Nation, 2001, p 23) According to Nation (2000), because relationships between word and referent can be untidy and indirect, it is better to talk of relationships between a word and its

concept Therefore, establishing the meaning of a word often means describing the concept it

represents (Nation, 2001; Ungerer & Schmid, 1996) The relationship aspect of words to concepts is not within the scope of this discussion because the main research concern is learning words, but it is accepted to mean that words possess meanings In most cases words possess a ‘core meaning’ Core meanings are discussed next

The idea that a word has a ‘core meaning’ can be demonstrated using any content word A content word is one that contains knowledge/information, and is not therefore a function word — for example, ‘the’, ‘but’, ‘a’, ‘of’ But take the word ‘neutral’, for example (Nunan, 2003) The Collins COBUILD dictionary lists ten different meanings (in 2003) for the word

‘neutral’ These meanings, of course, are not just ten different meanings; they are in fact ten

different ‘senses’ of the word, or its ‘core meanings’ (Aitchison, 2003; Nation, 2001; Nunan, 2003; Schmitt, 1997) But what is really meant by the idea of a ‘core meaning’? A policy of

dictionary editors in relation to the order of senses — how they appear in a dictionary — will

help clarify the idea of a ‘core meaning’:

As a general rule, where a headword has more than one sense, the first sense given is the one most common in current usage Where the editors consider that a current sense is the

‘core meaning’, in that it illuminates the meaning of other senses, the core meaning may

be placed first

(Jackson & Amvela, 2000, p 178)

On the denotative level, word meaning is its commonly accepted dictionary meaning, or current usage according to the dictionary According to Procter (1996, p 776), for example, the word ‘keep’ has an initial meaning or ‘core meaning’ of “to have or to continue to have in your possession” Core meaning also suggests that the commonly accepted usage can be found in a given community of speakers at a given time, a word’s referent however can change over time On the connotative level, word meaning also includes a commonly accepted additional meaning or socio-cultural meaning, above and beyond the dictionary denotative meaning (Procter, 1996; see Richards et al., 2002) For example, the word

‘chocolate’ connotes pleasure and indulgence Word core meanings can, therefore, be quite diverse depending on how and when a word is used and quite ambiguous if the meaning isn’t clear

The idea that words possess a strong ‘societally’ imposed element is significant According to Schmitt (2000, p 27), societally imposed meaning is a common meaning shared by members

of the society that imposes meaning on a word or words While words can also be defined in isolation from context, some word meaning is still attached by societal convention According

to Schmitt (2000), encyclopaedic information, for instance, is a substantial part of a word’s meaning, so there is some dependence on a word’s basic core meaning in order to construct encyclopaedic information And such information, which can be idiosyncratic from individual

to individual, will often include an individual’s experience and beliefs Such information can vary from individual to individual, even though they are members of a society, so word meaning will necessarily be communal to a certain extent Schmitt (2000) uses the word

‘bachelor’ as an example — that everyone would need to agree that the word bachelor refers

to a male person who is definitely not married, which, consequently, becomes its core meaning While defining what a word is and how it carries meaning seems clear, Aitchison

(2003) says that there were difficulties associated with defining what constitutes vocabulary and where word meaning begins and ends However, these definitions provide a strong sense

of what a word is and what a word may mean, and of vocabulary, generally The next section discusses is what it means to know a word

2.1.3 Definition of vocabulary knowledge

According to Nation (2001), the different aspects of a word or vocabulary can be generally referred to as vocabulary knowledge But what does it mean to possess vocabulary knowledge? For Nation (2001), vocabulary knowledge should be discussed in terms of

possessing the item and system features of vocabulary Possessing vocabulary knowledge, according to Nation, means being able to recognise word items (‘item knowledge’) and being able to understand the various features of word items (‘system knowledge’) (Nation, 2001, p 23) Nation (2001) explains item knowledge as the individual word or form of the word, for instance, ‘dog’ (the orthographic form), and system knowledge to mean the various features of

the word (e.g phonological, orthographic, semantic) including the word’s relationship with other words in a person’s mental lexicon Mental lexicon is used here and glossed to mean what a person knows about words (Aitchison, 2003; McCarthy, 1990; Nation, 2001) A three-category framework was devised by Nation to discuss what it means to possess this vocabulary knowledge It comprises: 1) word form — the spoken form (phonological), the written form (orthographic) and the word parts (e.g base, affixes); 2) word meaning — including connecting form and meaning (of a word), concepts and referents, and associations; 3) word use — including grammatical functions, collocations and constraints on use (e.g register, frequency) (Nation, 2001) Nation’s framework underpins the vocabulary size test used in the current research

Now that vocabulary has been defined, and how it is defined as knowledge and knowledge to

be learned, how vocabulary knowledge can be learned, more specifically, how it can be learned by EFL learners is discussed next

2.2 Learning vocabulary

2.2.1 A view of learning (in relation to vocabulary learning)

According to Seedhouse (2010, p 242), it would help greatly if research projects would

“adopt a simple protocol briefly detailing the conceptualization of learning” used in the research Nation, though, was quoted (in Chacón-Beltrán et al., 2010, p 2) as saying (in 1995) that “there isn’t an overall theory of how vocabulary is acquired,” and Chacón-Beltrán

et al (2010) agrees Therefore the present research will, in the interim, do the same

Chacón-Beltrán et al (2010, p 2) also say that unsuccessful attempts have been made “to provide a theory or model that can explain vocabulary learning … it will require the coordinated work of linguists, SLA [second language acquisition] researchers, psychologists and neurobiologists” in order to create one Working within the constraint of the absence of

an established theory of vocabulary learning, the present research will posit vocabulary learning and VLS use, in particular within the cognitive domain (Schmidt, 1990) Huitt

(2009) refers to it as the learning domain, and the present research adopts this view

Tomasello (2000) tries to place learning entirely in the social domain However, social theory

is concerned with what happens in the environment immediately outside the brain — for instance, the language learner interacts with an interlocutor or language material in a social context and somehow learning results This approach bypasses the process involved and goes directly to the product of learning; such views talk of language or vocabulary acquisition as a spontaneous event (e.g Franceschini, 2003) Therefore, they do not address what happens inside the brain while social interaction happens or immediately after social interaction, and

is more a ‘cause and affect’, ‘stimulus-response’ theory, or, perhaps even implies that spontaneous acquisition occurs while the learner is engaged in social interaction Social theory is not rejected here; it is criticised for not providing a complete picture of the process

of learning in social interaction Strategy research highlights the use of social strategies, for example, ‘ask a classmate for the meaning’, in both language learning generally and vocabulary learning specifically — its cognitive dimension is the focus in relation to vocabulary learning

The research recognises the important role social interaction plays in vocabulary learning (e.g Ellis, 2010; Rosenthal, 1978), but here the cognitive domain is the focus ‘Cognitive

domain’ is used here to mean that learning is generally “connected with thinking or conscious mental processes” (e.g Procter, 1996, p 255; Schmidt, 1990; LeFrançois, 2000) The view of vocabulary learning adopted in the present research is this rather broadly defined process: the process by which (language) information is obtained, stored, retrieved and used (Schmitt, 1997).This leads us to the next step, how learners can get vocabulary knowledge into memory

Britton (1971, pp 128–29) states that “the idea that learning [as] something you do sitting in

a seat is a highly sophisticated notion.” He was referring to learning in formal contexts, of course Learning in formal contexts is the focus here; how EFL students learn English vocabulary, specifically in formal learning contexts According to Schmitt (2007), vocabulary learning is an incremental process, and therefore a complicated process — in any learning context The incremental nature of vocabulary learning strongly suggests “words must be met and used multiple times to be truly learned” (Schmitt, 2007, p 830) The number of exposures though, cannot be easily known, because of factors like “how salient the word itself is, how necessary the word is for a learner’s present needs, and whether the word is met incidentally while pursuing some other purpose or studied with the explicit goal of learning it” (Schmitt, 2007 p 830) Certainly, aspects of word knowledge may require a high number

of exposures before permanency is achieved However, is there something that the learner can

do to begin the process of achieving permanency?

Britton (1971) hints at the process of learning well before SLA research began — that if something remains in ‘consciousness’ long enough, it can be ‘modified’ This is the opposite

of Altman and Gray’s (2002, in Willingham, 2004) contention Therefore the act of modifying

is not a one-off event, but one that is often done to prevent decay and proactive interference from new information Getting something to remain in ‘consciousness’ long enough to actually ‘modify’ it is referred to as a ‘cognitive process’ (Malim, 1994) — this refers to working memories’ storage capacity Many cognitive processes are to do with ‘cognition’ Cognition, Malim says, is concerned with conscious rather than unconscious processes Cognition includes issues like selective attention, perception, memory, language and thought (Schmidt, 1990) This is the framework in which the present research is understood

2.2.2 Learning vocabulary (for example, words, units) as generally conceived

Dörnyei (2005) describes the origins of learning strategy research as beginning in the late 1960s, when information processing theories were applied to memory strategies Out of this research came “a broader conceptualization of planful and self-directed cognitive strategies” (Dörnyei, 2005, pp 188–89), and resulted in learning strategies becoming a ‘hot’ topic Attempts to theorise the concept ensued Those of Schmeck (1988) and Kirby (1988)

produced the most far-reaching implications (see Dörnyei, 2005) The term strategy

purportedly originated as a military term, but used in a non-military sense, the term means

“the implementation of a set of procedures (tactics) for accomplishing something” (Schmeck,

1998, pp 3–19) Schmeck conceived the notion that a learning strategy is, in a general sense,

“a sequence of procedures for accomplishing learning” (see Dörnyei, 2005, p 189) The idea developed further in an effort to specify the relationship between strategies, skills and abilities The argument was that “skills are existing cognitive routines for performing specified tasks, and strategies are the means of selecting, combining, or redesigning those cognitive routines” (see Dörnyei, 2005, p 189) Schmeck (1988) further defined skills as either knowledge skills or action skills; knowledge skills are used to access stimulus patterns

of stored representations and associations and action skills are used to transform input information to obtain desired results For Dörnyei (2005, p 189), “learning strategies offered

a unique insight into the mechanisms of the learning process in general and they also represented a significant mutable factor in promoting academic achievement for students” This is the heart of the present research

While learning is generally defined as being “connected with thinking or conscious mental processes” (e.g Procter, 1996, p 255; LeFrançois, 2000), some of the factors involved in learning the vocabulary of another language — ones that might make learning the vocabulary relatively easy or relatively difficult — should also be appreciated According to Paribakht and Wesche (1998), knowing a word is sometimes not an easy task They also say the complexity and amount of information needed, the knowledge associated with a word, is considerable The learner must establish relationships between form, meaning and function, both in utterances and in texts; they must establish the elaborate knowledge about individual words so they can be used communicatively; and they must establish an associational network of words The learner must know the meanings associated with stand-alone vocabulary items, bound items or multiword items, in the case of English These ‘cluster’

features represent how the vocabulary items, of English for instance, will mostly appear (as single words, phrases and chunks), and, of course, they will vary from language to language

If the meaning of one of these vocabulary items is already known, there is no need to learn it

— the meaning, that is Initially the learner simply links the new language item, whether phonological or orthographic, with its already known L2 (second language) meaning, for instance, ‘hello’ in English is linked to ‘ni hao’ in Chinese (see Jiang, 2000) Research suggests orthographies tend to be re-coded acoustically (Baddeley, 1964, in Willingham, 2004) — auditory input is converted to a visual image This is a two-way street — audio is translated into visual and visual re-translated into audio — as demonstrated by Willingham’s (2004) acoustic translation experiment This happens in working memory and is manipulated

by the person doing the learning A factor that can significantly make learning the vocabulary

of another language difficult, however, is said to be its distance from the L1, or the learner’s

first language Nation (2001) refers to this aspect as the additional language’s receptive learning burden This factor is significant for CEMs and their English vocabulary learning

because the distance can be said to be significant at the orthographic level (e.g written), and less so at the phonological level (e.g spoken)

2.2.3 Receptive learning burden of words

The idea that the vocabulary items of another language can possess a ‘receptive learning burden’ has been discussed from different perspectives, and is said to play an important role

in vocabulary learning (e.g Nation, 2001) When Nunan (2003) discusses this issue, however,

he seems to mean that the existence of word families makes it easier to learn words — for instance, learning a base/root word like ‘farm’ makes any derivations/inflections easier to

learn (see Nation, 2001; Jiang, 2000) Derivations are derived words, for instance, farmer,

‘farm+er’, whose word class has been changed, for instance, adjective, noun, verb (Schmitt,

2000), whereas inflections are inflected words, for instance, farms, ‘farm+s’, farmed,

‘farm+ed’, farming, ‘farm+ing’, whose grammatical category has been changed, for instance,

plural, tense (see Schmitt, 2000) Learning derivations/inflections is presumably easier if the learner knows the base/root word, s/he can then easily learn a derived form like ‘farmer’ or an inflected form like ‘farming’, because learning units is “made easier in most cases if the meanings of the single words that make up the multiword units are also understood” (Nunan,

2003, p 131) Put another way, there are fewer affixes (for instance, -er, -ate, -ion, -ably)

used to derive or inflect words (Bursuck & Damer, 2010) and should be easy to learn as one

learns vocabulary as a whole — meaning, the whole word with suffixes and affixes attached (Nation, 2001) But this is not what Nation means by the term receptive learning burden

Discussing the receptive learning burden of words in relation to single vocabulary items, Nation (2001, pp 23–24) grounds it in this warning, that “[vocabulary learning is] very demanding, [and] often [an] impossible task to [achieve]” This contrasts sharply, of course, with notions of implicit or unconscious acquisition (e.g Krashen, 2002) In terms of learning vocabulary items, whether single or multiword, ‘learning burden’ has to do with “the amount

of effort required to learn [vocabulary]” (Nation, 2001, pp 23–24) Nation’s general principle

is that “the more a word represents patterns and knowledge” already familiar to a learner, then “the lighter its learning burden” (Nation, 2001, pp 23–24; see Jiang, 2000) If the L2 sound patterns, for instance, are similar to the L1, L2 spelling patterns are similar to the L1, L1 contains L2 cognates, L2 words appear in similar grammatical patterns to L1, with similar collocations/constraints, then the learning burden is very light, making vocabulary easier to learn (Nation, 2001; Laufer, 2001; Jiang, 2000) So when the distance between L1 and L2 is minimal then the learning burden is light; when the distance between L1 and L2 is great, then the learning burden is heavy (Nation, 2001; Jiang, 2000) The assumption here is that the receptive learning burden of English, for instance, is heavy for Chinese EFL learners because the distance between English and Chinese is great, and therefore may present a significant learning issue for CEMs However, discussing the learning burden of words only goes so far into the PVL; it is necessary to take a step back and review the process by which words can

be entered into the mental lexicon, through the use of VLSs (Jiang, 2000; Ma, 2009)

2.2.4 The formal stage of the development of a lexical entry

Jiang (2000) describes the formal stage of the development of a lexical entry or how words can be entered into a person’s mental lexicon in great detail Ma (2009, p 57) summarises Jiang’s (2000) discussion of the formal stage of the development of a lexical entry as follows:

In the initial stage of learning an L2 word, the learner’s main task is to connect the L2 word form with an existing meaning in the mind, [whose] form [is/must be] an L1 translation or [an L1] definition

For clarification, word form equals Nation’s item knowledge Besides clarifying the idea of

receptive learning, this particular process of learning was initially referred to as ‘associative learning’ (Malim, 1994) —that is, learning which happens when an association or a connection is made, usually between two things (Richards et al., 2002; Jiang, 2000; Schmitt, 2000; Nation, 2001; Oxford & Nyikos, 1989) However, a recent development in understanding this process now sees it referred to as ‘connectionism’, meaning 1) information processing takes place through the interconnections of a large number of simple units, organised into networks and operating in parallel; 2) learning takes place through the strengthening and weakening of the interconnections in a particular network in response to examples encountered in the input; and 3) the result of learning is often a network of simple units that acts as though it ‘knows’ abstract rules, although the rules themselves exist only in the form of association strengths distributed across the entire network (Richards et al., 2002; Ellis, 2001; MacWhinney, 2001; Ellis, 2003; Hulstijn, 2001; Harrington, 2001)

Jiang (2000, p 51) summarises ‘connectionism’ in relation to vocabulary learning:

As one’s experience in L2 increases, stronger associations are developed between L2 words and their L1 translations … What these strong associations mean, among other things, is the simultaneous activation of L2 word forms and the lemma information (semantic and syntactic specifications) of L1 counterparts in L2 word use … Such simultaneous activation of L2 word form and language lemma information may result in

a strong and direct bond between L2 word and the lemma of its L1 translation

Jiang’s account of the initial stage of the development of a lexical entry brings the discussion

to a precise understanding of how L2, or English vocabulary in this case, can be learned in the initial stage of learning an L2, or an English vocabulary item

To conclude this section, Schmitt’s (1997) classification of cognitive and memory strategies (Table 2.1) are used to focus the discussion at this point Schmitt (1997) lists cognitive strategies to be, for example, verbal repetition, written repetition, using word lists, using flash cards, taking notes in class, using the vocabulary section in a textbook, listening to audio recordings of vocabulary lists, putting English labels on physical objects and keeping a vocabulary notebook The strategies (Schmitt, 1997, pp 207–08) are listed below