4T7 if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go with your teammates (1)

How to study vocabulary effectively is concerned by many teachers as well asresearchers, and many learning methods are designed to serve effective vocabulary learningfor students.. Howev

Learning English is a long accumulation process It requires learners to have certainvocabulary combined with practicing each key skill However, for most students studyingEnglish, they have to face many difficulties in learning English in general and learningEnglish vocabulary in particular The most common obstacle for students is the lack ofnecessary vocabulary to learn well other language skills

How to study vocabulary effectively is concerned by many teachers as well asresearchers, and many learning methods are designed to serve effective vocabulary learningfor students However, because the learning motivation, attitude and learning style of studentsare so different, the causes, difficulties and nature of vocabulary learning of students arefound to design the method of learning words that satisfies the aforementioned characteristics

of students and these methods will quickly be accepted and widely used by students.Therefore, this is the goal and the reason for carrying out this research

There is a famous saying, "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to gofar, go with your teammates" The truth proves that there is no success without supportfrom people around you

In order to go this far, I am so lucky to have received a lot of help and supportfrom my teammates, my teachers, family and friends This support whether more orless, direct or indirect, whether by action or just honest advice, have helped metremendously

From bottom of my heart and deep gratitude, I would like to express mysincere thanks to the teachers of UEF on for their time, dedication and knowledgeduring the time we studied there

Especially, I would like to thank Ms…….for her guidance through everysingle lesson, giving me precious advice that enables me to complete this research.Following the direction that she led me, my essay has been successfully conducted.Once again, my deepest thanks to her

My graduation essay was conducted within 2 months During this time, Irealized that my knowledge was still very limited Therefore, there are still a lot ofmistakes, I hope to receive suggestion from the teachers and classmates in order toimprove my essay and my knowledge

TABLE CONTENTS

ABSTRACT 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2

LIST OF FIGURES 3

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 3

1.1Problem statement 3

1.2 Rationale for the present study 4

1.3 Aims of the study 4

1.4 Significance of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Definition of vocabulary 5

2.2 Role of vocabulary 6

2.3 Definition of vocabulary learning method 7

2.4 Classification of vocabulary learning method 7

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 10

3.1 Data gathering instruments 10

3.2 Settings for the present study 12

3.3 Participants’ information 12

3.4 Data collection procedures 15

3.5 Data analysis 15

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS 16

4.1 When do you like to learn English? 16

4.2 How long do you spend on learning English vocabulary? 17

4.3 Which kind of following methods do you use to learn English vocabulary? 18

4.4 Which method do you apply for remembering a vocabulary that you have

studied? 19

4.5 What level do you evaluate your lexises? 20

4.6 How many percentages will English effect to your work? 21

4.7 Which vocabulary learning method is best for you? Why? 21

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 23

CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION 24

6.1 Summary of key findings 24

6.2 Implications 24

6.2.1 For teacher 24

6.2.2 For Students 24

6.3 Limitations 25

REFERENCE 26

APPENDIX 1 27

LIST OF FIGUR

Figure 3 1 Which grade level are you? 13

Figure 3.2 Years of Studying English 14

Figure 3 3 Personality group of the participants 14

YFigure 4.1 When do you like to learn English? 16

Figure 4 2 How long do you spend on learning English vocabulary? 17

Figure 4 3 Which kind of following methods do you use to learn English vocabulary? 18

Figure 4 4 Which method do you apply for remembering a vocabulary that you have studied? 19

Figure 4 5 What level do you evaluate your lexises? 20

Figure 4 6 How many percentages will English effect to your work? 21

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Problem statement

Currently, English plays an important role because it has become an international language and is used as the official language in all industries such as aviation, commerce, science and technology, etc In Vietnam, English are becoming more and more important and are being included in the school environment as a

compulsory subject It can be said that if we consider learning English as theconstruction of a building, then learning vocabulary is its foundation There are manyways to learn vocabulary, but to have a strategy to enrich the vocabulary effectively isnot easy and in fact, they are not really effective to learn vocabulary yet.

1.2 Rationale for the present study

It is a fact in learning English that after many years of learning, many peopleare still difficult to communicate successfully They tend to use simple vocabularyinstead of what they have learned Besides, vocabulary usage is also an essential factor

to evaluate the quality of a writing Regarding to writing skill, learners often havedifficulty choosing vocabulary that is both accurate and logical

One secret to helping learners to successfully use English is to equip them withknowledge of vocabulary We can only understand correctly only when the vocabulary

is correctly and appropriately used Therefore, the limited knowledge of Englishvocabulary makes the great effect on the use of English

From the above reasons, the author digs into the vocabulary learning methods

of English learning students at UEF to find the key vocabulary learning methods forEnglish-specialized students and study new learning methods to strengthen andimprove the learning method for future specialized students The study focused onanswering the following questions:

(1) What is the role of vocabulary in learning English?

(2) Which vocabulary learning methods do UEF English-specialized studentsalways apply?

(3) How to learn vocabulary effectively?

1.3 Aims of the study

Researching this topic, the author wants to solve the following problems:

Firstly, the topic helps students determine the importance of learningvocabulary and its relationship with listening, speaking, reading and writing skills

Secondly, the topic digs further into the study of vocabulary learning methods

of the UEF English-specialized students

Thirdly, the topic gives some suggestions on how to learn vocabularyeffectively to help English learners build their own vocabulary

1.4 Significance of the study

The topic gives an overview of vocabulary and vocabulary learning methodsapplied to foreign language learning On that basis, the topic helps find effectivevocabulary learning methods for English learners

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of vocabulary

There are many different definitions of vocabulary In correspondence with itsvery important role in foreign language learning, vocabulary has become a majorconcern for researchers, instructors and learners

Ur, Penny (1996) defined vocabulary as words we teach in a foreign language.However, a vocabulary unit that may have a single word or also have more than asingle word It is a combination of two or three words or even multi-word idioms.

Pyles and Alges (1970) also suggested that: When thinking about a language,the first factor we think of is words The word is the focus of language They are theconnection between sound and meaning that allows us to communicate with others.Moreover, they are arranged together to create sentences, conversations or speeches indifferent forms It turns out that vocabulary is essential for learning any language

According to the dictionary definition on the world.IQ.com website, vocabulary

is words that are known by an individual or entity, which is part of a specific language

An individual's vocabulary is both a constituent of words that he can understand, aswell as a combination of all the words that he uses in the process of creating newsentences

2.2 Role of vocabulary

It's undeniable that vocabulary plays a very important role in a language, so itcan be said that if you consider learning English as construction of a building, thenlearning vocabulary is its foundation There are many ways to learn vocabulary, buthaving an effective vocabulary enrichment strategy is not easy, so many aspects ofvocabulary have been studied including how to use words, how to design vocabularylearning curriculum, assessment and vocabulary learning strategies Without a widevocabulary, it is difficult to create any conversation Therefore, learners need to makeefforts to acquire the target language not only in the classroom but also in the outsideworld As Troike (1976) asserted: Vocabulary is most important for understanding andrecognizing things, facts, actions or concepts

Scott thornbury (2002: 13) emphasized that: "Without grammar, words can beexpressed very little but without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed"

David Willkin (2007: 76) further asserted that: "If you spend most of your timelearning grammar, your English will not improve much You will see significant

progress if you learn a lot of words and phrases You can say very little about grammarbut you can say a lot of things with vocabulary.” Obviously, vocabulary is essential topractice listening, speaking, reading, writing skills and learning foreign languages ingeneral.

2.3 Definition of vocabulary learning method

There is no official definition of vocabulary learning method The reason may

be because lexical methods are part of language learning methods Therefore, thedefinition of language learning methods can be considered as the lexical methoddefinition

According to Oxford (1990), one of the leading lecturers and researchers in thefield of language learning method research has given his opinion on the method oflearning as follows: The method has a special meaning in learning a language because

it is an effective tool to help learners to actively and directly participate in learning tomaximize their communication ability

Rubin (1987) and Schmitt (1997) had the same opinion when defining learningmethod as a process in which information is conveyed, accumulated, absorbed andused In other words, learning method is special thoughts and behaviours thatindividuals use to help them understand, perceive or remember new information

2.4 Classification of vocabulary learning method

Although there have been many studies on vocabulary learning methods of theauthors, namely Lawson and Hogben, 1996; Avina and Sadoski, 1996; Hell and Mahn,

1997, however, only two studies have explored overall vocabulary learning

In a recent study by Stoffer (1995), she developed a survey of 53 items

designed to learn about vocabulary learning methods These 53 items are summarized

in 9 criteria;

(1) The method consisting of the use of authentic language

(2) Method used for personal motivation

(3) The method used to organize words

(4) The method used to create the internal connection.

(5) Method of memorization

(6) Method including creative activities

(7) Method including physical activities

(8) The method used to create confidence

(9) Method of dictionary look-up

In another study by Schmitt (1997), he made his own proposal for classifying thelexical method He distinguished the methods that the learner used to approach themeaning of the word at first contact with the methods that the learner used to reinforcethe meaning of the word in subsequent contacts Method used to approach wordmeanings includes word guessing and communication methods

Method used to reinforce the meaning of words includes communication,memorization, cognition and metacognition The communication method appears inboth groups as it can be used for both purposes This classification is partly based onthe Oxford classification system (1990)

Group of method of approaching to the word meaning

Method of guessing the meaning of words includes:

(1) Analysis of word types

(2) Analysis of prefix, suffix and root word

(3) Review of awareness of the first language

(4) Analysis of available image or gestures

(5) Guess of word meaning from the context of the text

(6) Use of bilingual dictionary

(7) Use of monolingual dictionary

(8) Use of word list

(9) Use of word table

Method of communication includes

(1) Ask teachers to translate into the first language

(2) Ask teachers to explain new words or find synonyms.

(3) Ask teachers the meaning of a complete sentence that contains the new word (4) Ask classmates about the meaning of the word

(5) Discover the meaning of new words through collective activities

Group of method of reinforcing the meaning of words

Method of communication includes

(1) Study the meaning of words and practice

(2) Check the accuracy of students’ word list or word table

(3) Communicate with foreigner

Method of memorization includes

(1) Study the meaning of words

through illustrations

(13) Study the spelling of words

(2) Describe the meaning of words (14) Study the pronunciation of

words(3) Connect with personal experience (15) Read out loud words during

learning by heart(4) Attach to words of the same type (16)Visualization of word

composition(5) Attach to synonyms and

antonyms

(17) Underline the first letter of aword

(7) Use the scale for adjectives of

degree

(19) Use the key word method

(8) Use the normalized method (20) Remember root words and

affixes(9) Use the topic-based vocabulary

method

(21) Remember word types

(10) Group words together to study (22) Clarify word meanings

(11) Group words in different blank

spaces on a paper

(23) Use words having the same root

(12) Study the spelling of words (24) Learn words in an idiom

Study the pronunciation of words (25) Use physical activities

Method of cognition includes

(1) Read many times

(2) Write many times

(3) Use word cards

(4) Take notes of words

(5) Refer to the vocabulary lists in the book

(6) Listen word lists

(7) Use vocabulary notebooks

Method of megacognation includes

(1) Use the communication methods in English

(2) Test and evaluate the personal level by test related to vocabulary

(3) Use crosswords

(4) Ignore new words

(5) Continue studying words from the outside along with learning in class

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3.1 Data gathering instruments

White (2002,p 24) Notes that: Quantitative research is scientific and objectiveapproach As mentioned above, the main aim of the study is to impartially record thefindings about students’ personal opinions on vocabulary learning methodsemployed It is obvious that the methodology of quantitative best suits the aim Withthis type of research, the results are given numerical values and evaluated throughsome mathematical treatment and then put in form of a report of quantitative dataanalyse

The tool to help the author gather information is the questionnaire Thequestionnaire is designed bilingually in both English and Vietnamese Thequestionnaire structure is divided into 2 parts including part 1 designed to collectpersonal information of participants and part 2 consisting of questions designed tolearn regular used vocabulary learning methods by UEF English-specialized students.

Part 1 of the questionnaire includes 3 questions designed to collect informationabout participants

The purpose of question 1 is designed to know which year do the specialized students belong to?

English-Question 2 helps the author gather information about how many hours theparticipants spend on learning English

Question 3 is designed by the author to understand the personality group of theparticipants

The second part of the questionnaire consists of 7 questions (from question 4 toquestion 10 of the questionnaire) designed to collect information about the vocabularylearning methods currently being used by the UEF English-specialized students

Question 4 is to help the author know the favourite English learning time frame

Question 9 is developed to learn about the awareness of the participants on therole of English in finding a good job in the future

Question 10: the last question is designed by the author to know whichvocabulary learning method, according to the participants, is best for them

3.2 Settings for the present study

To answer the research questions mentioned in chapter 1 of this study Theauthor conducted a survey at the University of Economics and Finance (UEF) in HoChi Minh City UEF was founded on September 24, 2007 with the goal of developing

to become one of the leading universities in Vietnam and achieving the nationalstandard of learning, based on the philosophy: Quality - Efficiency - Integration Onthe other hand, at UEF in general and the Department of Foreign Languages inparticular, English is the main communication language in the curriculum Therefore,this is a reliable source to study the vocabulary learning methods commonly used instudents

3.3 Participants’ information

Participants in the survey are students specializing in English at UEF Therewere 137 students answered the survey questionnaire They all have an average age of18-23 years old, of which 32.6% of them are freshmen, 36.3% are sophomores, 9.6%are juniors and 21.5% are seniors (Figure 3.1)

36.30%

9.60%

21.50%

Figure 3 1 Which grade level are you?

Among the participants, up to 110 students (equivalent to more than 80%) havebeen studying English for over 7 years There are 22 (equivalent to 16%) of them havebeen learning English from 5-7 years, 4 students (equivalent to 2.9%) have been learnEnglish from 3 to 5 years and only one person involving in the survey stated that hehas been learning English from 1-3 years From this point of view, it shows thatstudents participating in the survey have basic English proficiency, creating favourableconditions for conducting the study