Out of class english vocabulary learning strategies insights from high school students

The challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out-of class ………... 13 Table 4.1.The importance of learning English vocabulary………..28 Table 4.2 The importance to use vocabulary

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION

Supervisor: Nguyễn Gia Việt, Ph.D

Nghe An, 2017

ABSTRACT

This study was motivated by an interest in the process of acquisition of English vocabulary by a previously unstudied group of learners, high school students The study identified the vocabulary learning strategies of 70 students in high school It also examined relationships between reported strategies and their insights over the period of the studying English out-of-class The data were collected with a self-report online questionnaire administered at the beginning of the 2017 semester, as well as with interviews with the participants Descriptive analysis of students’ importance indicated that the participants highly valued the role of vocabulary in studying a foreign language, understood the complexity of the process of vocabulary acquisition, and believed that words and phrases should be carefully studied and then practiced in context The participants reported high motivation and high expectations of their success as learners of English Descriptive analysis of vocabulary learning strategies demonstrated that besides active use of a dictionary, guessing, and note-taking strategies, virtually all participants reported frequent use of rehearsal strategies, especially repetition

Analysis of the responses to open-ended questions and interview prompts confirmed that the participants frequently used repetition and rehearsal strategies and considered them most effective for establishing form–meaning connections for new words The respondents also reported frequent use of contextual encoding, activation, and affective strategies Comparison

of the results of the two questionnaires revealed several vocabulary learning strategies that underwent changes as a result of one semester of studying English At the end of the semester students reported even more agreement with value of repetition, practice, good memory, and cultural knowledge for learning vocabulary

Interviewed students explained this shift by noting the difficulty of English vocabulary and cognitive overload while trying to acquire new words in context These findings once again argue against the claim that contextual acquisition of foreign language vocabulary is always effective in instructed foreign language learning Using correlation and cluster analyses, the study identified multiple relationships between groups of vocabulary learning strategies, as well as between the importance and strategies From detailed findings, some implications for teaching reading skill were proposed Limitations of the study were pointed out and further research was suggested

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor, Nguyen Gia Viet, who directly supported and encouraged me during the preparation of this study I am truly grateful to him for his professional advice, invaluable support and guidance he offered to help me carry out the study

I would also like to express my gratitude to all lecturers and staff of the Department

of Foreign Languages, Vinh University who supply me with the good conditions to conduct this thesis

I wish to express my sincere thanks to the students of the two classes I worked with

in order to gather data for my study

Last but not least, I owe special heartfelt appreciation to my parents, my friends without whose unceasing support, patience and understanding I could not have been able to complete my study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT……… ……… ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……… ……….……… iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS ……….……… iv

LIST OF TABLES ……… vii

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION ……… ……… 1

1.1 Rationale ……… 1

1.2 Purpose of the study ……… ……… 2

1.3 Scope of the Study ……… 2

1.4 Research questions……… 2

1.5.Design of the thesis ……… 2

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.1 What is vocabulary ? ……… 4

2.2 Kind of vocabulary ……… 4

2.3 Categories of vocabulary……… ……… 4

2.4 Vocabulary acquisition ……… … 5

2.5 Importance of the vocabulary……… 6

2.6 Remembering vocabulary ……… ……… 7

2.6.1 Short-term and long-term memory……… 7

2.7 The meaning of ‘knowing a word’………

2.8 Language learning strategies ………

8 9 2.9 Vocabulary learning strategies.……… 9

2.9.1 Definition of vocabulary learning strategies……… 9

2.9.2 Classification of vocabulary learning strategies……… 10

2.10 Studies on vocabulary learning strategies……… 15

2.10.1 Memory-based vocabulary learning strategies………

2.10.2 Learning from word lists and flashcards………

2.10.3 Mnemonics………

2.10.3.1 Vocabulary inferencing strategies………

2.10.3.1.1 Word part analysis………

2.10.3.1.2 Using context for lexical inferencing………

15 15 16 17 17 17 2.10.3.2 Consulting a reference source monolingual and bilingual ……… 20

2.11 The challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out-of class ……… 22

3.1 Research questions……… 24

3.2 Research participants……… 24

3.3 Materials……… ……… 25

3.4 Procedure ……… ……… ……… ……… 25

3.4.1 Data collection and instruments……….……… 25

3.4.2Questionnaire survey……… 25

3.5.3 The follow-up interview……… 26

3.5.4 Pilot study……… ……… 26

3.5.5 Data analysis……… 26

CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION……… 27

4.1 Importance of learning vocabulary in general……… 27

4.2 Importance of learning vocabulary out-of the class……… 28

4.3 Students’ Vocabulary Learning Strategies …… ……… 30

4.3.1 Memory Strategies……… 30

4.3.2 Cognitive and Affective Strategies ……… 33

4.3.3 Categories of strategies: Summary……… ………… 37

4.4 The most frequently used and the least frequently used individual strategies… 37

4.5 Comparisons of mean scores of all strategy groups ……….……… 40

4.6 The challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out of class…… ………… 41

4.7 Activities found to be most helpful for improving English……… ……… 45

CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION… ……… 52

5.1 Limitations of the study……… 52

5.2 Implications……… …… 52

5.3 Insights, challenges and solution……… 53

5.4 Conclusion………… ……… 54

5.5 Suggestions for further research……….……… 55

REFERENCES……….……… 57

APPENDICES……… 63

Appendix: A The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average score of level(4+5+6) of the tests on using wordlists by the two groups… ……….….……… 63

Appendix: B The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level (4+5+6) of the tests on using associations by the two groups………… ……… 64

Appendix: C The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level(4+5+6) of the tests on using imagery by the two groups……… 65

Appendix: D The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level

(4+5+6) of the tests on using repetition the two group……… 67 Appendix: E The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level

(4+5+6) of the tests on using analysis of word structure by the two groups 68 Appendix: F The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level (4+5+6)

of the tests on using dictionary by the two groups……… ……… 68 APPENDIX: H The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores

of level(4+5+6) of the tests on using visual by the two groups……… 70 APPENDIX: L The average scores of level (1+2+3) and the average scores of level

(4+5+6)of the tests on using note-taking by the two groups………… 72 71

LIST OF TABLES

Table: 1.1 Vocabulary learning strategies listed by Gu& Johnson (1996)……… 11

Table 1.2 Vocabulary learning strategies listed by Ma (2009) 12

Table 1.3 Self-Regulating Capacity in Vocabulary Learning scale (Tseng et al., 2006) 13

Table 4.1.The importance of learning English vocabulary……… 28

Table 4.2 The importance to use vocabulary ……… …29

Table 4.3 Means and standard deviation of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by using wordlists measured level (1+2+3) and level (4+5+6) ……….30

Table 4.4 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by repetition measured by levels for two groups……… 31

Table 4.5: Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by associations measured by levels for two groups……… 31

Table 4.6 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by encoding: Imagery measured by levels for two groups……… 32

Table 4.7 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by contextual encoding measured by levels for two groups………32

Table 4.8 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by visual encoding of word structure measured by levels for two groups………33

Table 4.9 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by analysis of word structure measured by levels for two groups……… 33

Table 4.10 Result of score on using dictionary on cognitive and affective strategies by participants from the two groups……….34

Table 4.11 Result of score on using note-taking on cognitive and affective strategies by participants from the two groups……….………34

Table 4.12 Result of score on using guessing on cognitive and affective strategies by participants from the two groups……… ……… 35

Table 4.13 Result of score on using technology on cognitive and affective strategies by participants from two groups……… ……….35

Table 4.14 Result of score on using semantic encoding affective strategies on cognitive and affective strategies by participants from the two groups……….36

Table 4.15.The rank of strategy categories in descending order……… … 37

Table 4.16 The most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies (mean ≥4.50)………… 38

Table 4.17 the least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies (mean ≤ 3.50)………39

Table 4.18: Students’ difficulties learning vocabulary (N=70)……… 41 Table 4.19.The relationship between learning vocabulary and learning strategies……… … 42 Table 4.20 Relationship between S21 and learning strategies……….43 Table 4.21 The most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies at time 1 and time 2…….44 Table 4.22 Perceived helpfulness of activities……….46 Table 4.23: Support activities for learning vocabulary out-of –class……… 48 Table 4.24 Means and standard deviations of level (1+2+3) and level (4+5+6) on vocabulary learning strategies for the treatment and control groups (Time 1)……… 49 Table 4.25 Means and standard deviations of level (1+2+3) and level (4+5+6) on vocabulary learning strategies for the treatment and control groups (Time 2)……….……50

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

This chapter consists of the following five parts which offer a general outline of the study: rationale, the aims and objectives, research questions, scope and design of the study..

1.1 Rationale

English has been used more and more widely It also becomes a compulsory subject

in education curriculum Especially, nowadays, vocabulary learning plays an important role in language teaching in the context where English is taught as a foreign language McCarthy (1990) stated that “No matter how well the students learn grammar, no matter successfully the sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings, communication an L2 just can not happen in any meaningful way” This is because lexical competence is now seen as the heart of language learning and the ultimate goal of language teaching is to improve the language competence of learners

Moreover, vocabulary has been recognized as an important factor for language learning because insufficient vocabulary knowledge leads the learners to encounter difficulties

in language learning Learners can significantly improve their language competence by developing their ability to use vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) High students generally encounter problems in English learning, except those who attend international programs where English is used as the medium of instruction (Somsai & Intaraprasert, 2011) Despite a regular use of the English language both inside and outside the classroom settings, the students still encounter problems in their out-of-class learning and they are difficult to communicate because

of lacking vocabulary

The reason may be because vocabulary has been recognized as crucial to language use in which insufficient vocabulary knowledge of the learners led to difficulties in second language learning (Asgari& Mustapha, 2011) Mastering vocabulary is one of the most challenging tasks that any learner faces while acquiring another language (Nyikos& Fan, 2007) Thus, in the case of language learning, students need to be educated with the strategies Silpakorn University Journal of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts149 which can help the

learners acquiring the meaning of words The particular strategies which are used by learners

for the acquisition of new words in the second language are called ‘vocabulary learning strategies’ (Gu, 1994)

Michael Shelby manifested that other difficulties in learning and using English vocabulary include fixed word collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, proverbs and regional differences in vocabulary usage There are differences in English usage in English-speaking countries in terms of spelling, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar This problems can be

mentioned by any language learners, any age bracket Real situations for some difficulties which students usually encounter in the out-of- class vocabulary learning is attaining the vocabulary in mind, misunderstanding some words, forgetting promptly the words

Moreover, communication will become more difficult with the reason lacking vocabulary In addition, the high school must learn many subject, so, they are limited the time, the problem dividing suitable time in house to study is necessary to be noticeable in this study

To face with challenges about out-of-class vocabulary learning problems, these strategies should have been brought to the language classroom to enhance language learners’ effectiveness in language learning According to Dóczi (2011) It can be said that through the use of vocabulary learning strategies, learners may be able to maximize the effectiveness of their English language learning On this basis, it is crucial to be aware of the basics of vocabulary learning strategies and how students adopt the strategies effectively by doing insights from high school students That is to say, it is vital to gain more insights into helping

learners perceive the use of out-of -class vocabulary learning strategies

1.2 Purpose of the study

The aim of this study is:

- to establish the students’ attitude towards the out-of-class vocabulary learning

- to explore the challenges which high students usually encounter in out-of-class vocabulary learning

- to promote positive attitudes to help students learn vocabulary more effectively

- to find strategies for students in the out-of-class vocabulary learning

- to increase opportunities to do other activities, concurrently save the time , lessen the stress for students in learning vocabulary

1.3 Scope of the study

This study was carried out with three groups of high school students: 30 students in the 10th grade, 20 students in the 11th grade , 20 students in the 12th grade The topic of the study is limited in high school students’ attitudes, and thus not applicable to extend generalization to other subjects and contexts

1.4 Research questions

1) How important is it to learn vocabulary out of class from students’ perspectives?

2) What strategies do students employ in learning vocabulary out of class?

3) What are the challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out of class?

1.5 Design of the thesis

Chapter one: Introduction- provides an introduction and an interview of the research

It presents the rationale, purposes, research questions, scope, and organization of the study

Chapter two: Literature review- presents theoretical background related to the study

It deals with the importance of vocabulary learning, some challenges for students in outof class vocabulary learning

-Chapter three: Methodology presents the research methodology of the study It specifies research questions, information about the participants, the instruments, and the data collection and data analysis procedures

Chapter four: Finding and discussion reports and discusses the main findings according to the research questions

Chapter five: Conclusion, summarizes the main findings, presents the implications and limitations of the study and finally offers suggestions for further research

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter focuses on the literature review and theoretical background of the study which starts with definitions and the importance of learning vocabulary out of class It reviews previous studies related to strategies as well as challenges of learning vocabulary

2.1 What is vocabulary?

Graves (1999, as cited in Taylor, 2000) defines vocabulary as the entire stock of words belonging to a branch of knowledge or known by an individual Hestates that the lexicon

of a language is its vocabulary, which includes words and expressions Krashen (1998, as cited

in Herrel, 2004) extends Graves‘definition further by stating that lexicon organizes the mental vocabulary in a speaker‘s mind An individual‘s mental lexicon is that person‘s knowledge of vocabulary (Krashen, 1998, as cited in Herrel, 2004) Miller (1999, as cited in Zimmerman, 2007) states that vocabulary is a set of words that are the basic building blocks used in the generation and understanding of sentences According to Gardener (2009, as cited in Adger, 2002) vocabulary is not only confined to the meaning of words but also includes how vocabulary in a language is structured: how people use and store words and how they learn words and the relationship between words, phrases, categories of words and phrases

2.2 Kinds of vocabulary?

Graves (2000, as cited in Taylor, 1990), Cummins (1999, as cited in Herrel, 2004) show that there are different types of vocabulary: Reading vocabulary refers to all the words an individual can recognize when reading a text Listening vocabulary refers to all the words an individual can recognize when listening to speech Writing vocabulary this includes all the words an individual can employ in writing Speaking vocabulary this refers to all the words an individual can use in speech Lexicon also refers to a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with information about them and can also refer to the mental faculty or power of vocal communication (McCarthy, 1990, as cited in Taylor, 1990) And McCarthy (1990, as cited in Taylor, 1990) the rothat mental lexicon plays in speech perception and production is a major topic in the field of psycholinguistics and neurolinguistics.Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman (1999) define lexicon as a mental inventory of words, a productive word derivational process They also state that lexicon does not only comprise of single words but also of word compounds and multi-word phrases (Celce- Murcia and Larsen Freeman, 1999)

According to Celce-Murcia and Larsen Freeman (1999) lexical units function at three levels: the level of the individual word, word compounds and co-occurrences and conventional multi-word phrases

2.3 Categories of vocabulary

Nations and Waring (2000, as cited in Adger, 2002) on the other hand, classify vocabulary into three categories: high frequency words, general academic words and technical

or specialized words Academic comprehension improves when students know the meaning of words Words are the building blocks of communication When students have a great vocabulary, the latter can improve all areas of communication, namely speaking, listening, reading, writing Current models of reading in the English for Academic Purposes ESL class rooconsider vocabulary knowledge an important source of variation in reading comprehension, because it affects higher level language processes such as grammatical processing, construction

of schemata and text 8 models (Adams and Collins, 1977 as cited in Zimmerman, 2007) In addition, when students have a higher academic vocabulary development, they can tolerate a small proportion of unknown words in a text without disruption of comprehension, this can even infer the meaning of those words from rich contexts

2.4 Vocabulary acquisition

English language learners who experience slow vocabulary development are less able to comprehend text at grade level Students are likely to perform poorly when assessed in various areas and are at risk of being diagnosed as learning disabled The fact show that vocabulary acquisition, semantic development and growth of word knowledge are currently being studied

in several interesting ways, the research that is presented here is to complement and augment these studies by introducing effective vocabulary teaching strategies in the English for academic purposes ESL classroom that will expedite the vocabulary development in ELLs Without some knowledge of vocabulary, neither language production nor language comprehension would be possible

As the growth of vocabulary knowledge is one of the essential pre-requisites for language acquisition, this growth of vocabulary knowledge can only be possible when teachers employ effective vocabulary teaching and learning strategies which are the objectives of this research thesis

In short, what the definitions above about vocabulary have in common is the vocabulary knowledge requires not only word meanings knowledge, but it requires the usage of the words in the appropriate context, in a natural way and also includes the relationship between new words acquired Vocabulary knowledge is viewed as a critical tool for second language learners because a limited vocabulary in a second language impedes successful communication Underscoring the importance of vocabulary acquisition, Schmitt (2000) states that “lexical knowledge is central to communicative competence and to the acquisition of a second language” ) Nation (2001) emphasizes the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and

language use as complementary: knowledge of vocabulary enables language use and, conversely, language use leads to an increase in vocabulary knowledge

2.5 Importance of the vocabulary

The importance of vocabulary is demonstrated daily in and out the school The achieving students possess the most sufficient vocabulary Researchers such as Laufer and Nation (1999), Maximo (2000), Read (2000),Gu (2003), Marion (2008) and Nation (2011) and others have realized that the successful second language using needs the acquisition of vocabulary and plays an important role in the formation of complete spoken and written texts

In English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) learning vocabulary items plays a vital role in all language skills (i.e listening, speaking, reading, and writing (Nation, 2011) Nunan (1991), furthermore, argue that the acquisition of an adequate vocabulary is essential for successful second language use because without an extensive vocabulary, we will be unable to use the structures and functions we may have learned for comprehensible communication Research has shown that second language readers rely heavily

on vocabulary knowledge and the lack of that knowledge is the main and the largest obstacle for L2 readers to overcome (Huckin, 1995)

Oxford (1990) emphasizes that vocabulary is “by far the most sizeable and unmanageable component in the learning of any language, whether a foreign or one’smother tongue, because of tens of thousands of different meanings” Despite these difficulties that language learners face in L2 vocabulary, they still have to deal with it in their examinations as

‘‘vocabulary has traditionally been one of the language components measured in language tests’’ (Schmitt, 1999, 189) Moreover, many learners see second language acquisition (SLA) as essentially a matter of learning vocabulary and therefore they spend a great deal of time on memorizing lists of L2 words, rely on their bilingual dictionary as a basic communicative resource In short, language teachers and applied linguists now generally recognize the importance of vocabulary learning and are exploring ways of promoting it more effectively Some of this research takes the form of investigation of strategies learners use specifically for vocabulary (VLS), which is our focus of attention

In addition, many researchers argue that vocabulary is one of the most important value in studying language Wilkins (1972) shows that: ‘‘There is not much value in being able

to produce grammatical sentences if one has not got the vocabulary that is needed to convey what one wishes to say While without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed’’ ) Krashen (1989), as cited in Maximo (2000)state many reasons for devoting attention to vocabulary “First, a large vocabulary is essential for mastery

of a language Second language acquirers know this; they carry dictionaries with them, not

grammar books, and regularly report that the lack of vocabulary is a major problem’’ Besides, vocabulary has been acknowledged as L2 learners’ greatest single source of problems (Meara, 1980) This remark may possibly reflect that the openness of a vocabulary system is perceived

to be a cause of difficulty by learners Vocabulary does not have rules the learners may follow

to acquire and develop their knowledge, it is different from the syntax and phonology In other words, it is not clear in L2 vocabulary learning what rules apply or which vocabulary items should be learned first Oxford (1990) also shows that vocabulary is “by far the most sizeable and unmanageable component in the learning of any language, whether a foreign or one’s mother tongue, because of tens of thousands of different meanings” Thus, vocabulary knowledge helps students with language comprehension Like Widdowson (1989), McKeown (2002) argue that vocabulary knowledge is the heart of a language comprehension and use Additionally, Barra (1995) suggests that to compexpand their vocabulary on their own (2001) Discovering meaning from context should be done from intermediate level upwards Students should start using monolingual dictionaries as early as possible With adequate training dictionaries can become an invaluable tool for them

2.6 Remembering vocabulary

2.6.1 Short-term and long-term memory

Researchers have proved that about 80% of heard information is forgotten after 24 hours They claim that new items are firstly stored in the short-term memory, where retention is not effective if the number of chunks of information exceeds seven It is an often experienced phenomenon that after repeating words again and again, students are able to recall them in a short time, but it is more difficult to keep words and expressions in the long-term memory An account for this is that vocabulary goes from passive to active knowledge, which means that words need to be often repeated before they become active vocabulary It takes time for this process to work

If words are learned in context instead of in random lists they are more likely to be remembered in the long run Meaningful tasks require learners to analyse and process language more deeply, which helps them retain information in long-term memory

Another important fact is that frequently used items are easier to retrieve, so it is teachers’ responsibility to make sure that the high frequency words get revised regularly, until they are thoroughly learnt Also Gairns and Redman argue that students’ knowledge is primarily determined by the number of times they see or use the words Moreover, they need to

be challenged to link the words with other words that they already know (Gairns and Redman, cited by Bárdos, et al, 1994) Therefore, improving vocabulary skills requires constant

attention To activate new vocabulary new techniques are needed which are suitable for the new generation living in the age of information and communication technology

Techniques in remembering vocabulary teachers have to think of ways of making the experience of learning and recycling vocabulary more memorable Pavicic mentions her former research in which she divided learning strategies into four groups

Self-initiated independent learning rehend a text

Learning is planned, and students are motivated to study outside the classroom This strategy involves word grouping, making notes of vocabulary while reading for pleasure, watching TV, using the Internet and doing regular revision

‘Formal practice’ It is mostly done in formal education when the aim is accuracy Vocabulary is learned and practiced systematically It is often carried out in drills, which help

to associate a word and a definition However, language is not learned to use creatively in speech and writing, as drills are limited in application

Functional practice

This strategy is based on learning new words in context Learning often happens incidentally, as learners are exposed to language without their making conscious effort to learn new words This strategy involves remembering words while reading or watching TV, and using known words in different contexts

‘Memorizing’

A number of memory strategies are based on inter-, intra- and visual associations, such as using pictures, visualization and looking for similarities between words (Accessed in 2004)

As these strategies contribute to vocabulary learning in different ways, they should be combined to make language learning effective Moreover, techniques are used with greater advantage if students are aware of the aim of the different tasks

2.7 The meaning of ‘knowing a word’

Does knowing a word ‘mean being able to recognize its written form and its meaning? However, this definition is insufficient because it refers to only form, meaning, not all the other aspects of vocabulary knowledge Vocabulary knowledge involves more than just the link between meaning and form it is multifaceted (Laufer and Goldstein, 2004) Oxford and Crookall (1990) who indicates that, knowing an L2 word’ involves not just the ability to recognize the word or to match it with its L1 counterpart Ling (2005) states that words are interwoven in a complex system in which knowledge of various levels of a lexical item is required in order to achieve adequate understanding in listening and reading or produce ideas successfully in speaking and writing Richards (1976), knowing a lexical item includes

knowledge of word frequency, collocation, register, case relations, underlying forms, word association, and semantic structure Alongside form and meaning, there is a distinction between receptive and productive knowledge that is used by researchers when investigating vocabulary learning (Milton, 2009) Nation (2001) also applies the terms ‘receptive and productive’ vocabulary knowledge description covering all the aspects of what is involved in knowing a word Therefore, we can say that receptive and productive knowledge is another aspect which is useful in understanding the L2 vocabulary learning process

2.8 Language learning strategies

Oxford (1990) shows that language learning strategies are “specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, and more transferable to new situations.” Nunan (1991, p 168) sees language learning strategies as “the mental processes which learners employed to learn and use the target language.” Stern (1992) divides language learning strategies into five main categories (1) management and planning strategies - relating with the learner’s intention to direct his own learning, (2) cognitive strategies - learning steps that require direct analysis, transformation, or synthesis of learning materials, (3) communicative strategies - gesturing, paraphrasing, or asking for repetition, (4) interpersonal strategies monitoring their won development and evaluating their own performance, and (5) affective strategies

2.9 Vocabulary learning strategies

2.9.1 Definition of vocabulary learning strategies

Regarding a definition of vocabulary learning strategies, different researchers have defined VLSs differently For example, Rubin (1987) defines lexical strategies as “the process

by which information is obtained, stored, retrieved, and used.” Takač (2008) explains that VLSs are “specific strategies utilized in the isolated task of learning vocabulary in the target language.” Further, Catalán (2003) sees VLSs as ‘knowledge about the mechanisms (process, strategies) used in order to learn vocabulary as well as steps or actions taken by students (a) to find out the meaning of unknown words, (b) to retain them in long - term memory, (c) to recall them at will, and (d) to use them in oral or written mode.’

Asgari and Mustapha (2011, p.85) have defined VLSs as steps taken by the language learners to acquire new English words.” Moreover, it can be said that VLSs are commonly used not only to discover the meanings of unknown words but also to retain them in long-term memory and to recall them at will For the present investigation, the term ‘vocabulary learning strategies’ has been defined as an attempt or attempts made by language learners while encountering vocabulary problems to discover the meanings of unknown words, to retain the newly learned words in long-term memory and to recall them at will.’

Vocabulary Learning Strategies Considerable research was done in vocabulary acquisition and learning strategies before the result of their intersection - vocabulary learning strategies - attracted attention of SLA researchers (Schmitt, 1997) The fact that the vocabulary needs of learners often outstrip learners’ ability to acquire a large number of new words has stimulated research into how vocabulary-learning strategies can assist learners (Nyikos& Fan, 2007) Considerable research was done in vocabulary acquisition and learning strategies before the result of their intersection - vocabulary learning strategies - attracted attention of SLA researchers (Schmitt, 1997)

The fact that the vocabulary needs of learners often outstrip learners’ ability to acquire a large number of new words has stimulated research into how vocabulary-learning strategies can assist learners (Nyikos& Fan, 2007) Studies of the vocabulary-learning strategies used by L2 learners have demonstrated 9 that learners differ in the range of strategies they use and in the effectiveness with which they apply those strategies (Gu& Johnson 1996; Lawson

&Hogben 1996; Schmitt 1997) There are many studies researching the effectiveness of particular vocabulary learning strategies, such as memory-based strategies, inferencing strategies, incidental vocabulary learning from reading, or consulting reference sources

Many studies show that the conscious and coordinated use of such learning strategies

is associated with language achievement and proficiency (O’Malley &Chamot, 1990) However, most research has focused on specific vocabulary learning strategies used by learners

of English as a second or a foreign language like lack of methods, time, the help from the teachers, having difficulties in pronunciation, intonation learning grammar is straight and it is easy to give up learning’s habit every day

2.9.2 Classification of vocabulary learning strategies

Rubin and Thompson (1994) introduced three main categories of vocabulary learning strategies that have been reported by language learners to be effective They are Direct Approach, Mnemonics, and Indirect Approach Lawson and Hogben (1996) They classified vocabulary learning strategies based on the information obtained through the think-aloud method and interviews provided by 15 university students learning Italian inAustralia The fifteen strategies were classified under four categories: repetition, word feature analysis, simple elaboration, and complex elaboration

The aforesaid vocabulary learning strategy classifications have been classified by different researchers based mostly on the results of their studies However, exactly the same vocabulary learning strategy classifications cannot be found These studies can be applied for both inside and outside class and in the different students, regions and environments This means that there is no exact agreement for vocabulary learning strategy classification

Additionally, some problems, such as a limit of English background knowledge, or language abilities of some teachers fear of being blamed and a feeling of shyness for making mistakes, or

a lack of chance to be in an English environment, limiting to the time of learning vocabulary, lack of method of out-of –class vocabulary learning may cause the different strategy use of the learners Accordingly, the present study aims to explore what strategies and the challenges are employed by the students to deal with their vocabulary learning problems

Research on vocabulary learning strategies as a subgroup of general language learning strategies is a relatively new field Porte (1988) and Ahmed (1989) were the first scholars who investigated how L2 learners applied vocabulary-learning strategies Ahmed (1989) divided all strategies into two sets: macro - strategies, which included memorization, practice, note-taking, and using different information sources; and micro strategies, which included specific behaviors within one of the macro-strategies Gu and Johnson (1996) provided one of the most comprehensive lists of vocabulary strategies in their Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (VLQ), which consisted of 108 items The questionnaire was based on the previous strategy research (Oxford, 1990) and included two sections: vocabulary meta-cognitive strategies, and cognitive strategies (Table 1.1)

Table: 1.1 Vocabulary learning strategies listed by Gu & Johnson (1996)

The discovery of a new word’s meaning Determination strategies

Social strategies Strategies for consolidating a word once

it has been encountered

Social strategies Memory strategies- Cognitive strategies Meta-cognitive strategies

Classifying vocabulary-learning strategies was proposed by Ma (2009) She summarized word acquisition stages as follows:

1 A new word is encountered through different contexts

2 The meaning of the word is found out

3 Various aspects of the meaning and form of the word are studied

4 The information about the word is recorded or organized

5 The word is memorized with the help of some strategies

6 The word is reviewed to ensure retention

7 When the word is met again, it is retrieved

8 The word is used to consolidate its acquisition

At each stage of acquisition, students can use strategies from one or more categories, which are displayed in Table 1.2

Table 1.2 Vocabulary learning strategies

Stages of vocabulary acquisition Category of strategies

1 Discovering new vocabulary? Cognitive strategies

Social strategies Meta cognitive strategies

2 What do you do on encountering new

vocabulary?

Meta cognitive strategies Cognitive strategies

Social strategies

3 When learning a new vocabulary item,

what aspects do you study?

Cognitive strategies

4 How do you organize the information

about the new vocabulary?

Meta cognitive strategies Cognitive strategies

5 How do you memorize vocabulary? Cognitive strategies Memory strategies

6 How do you review vocabulary? Meta cognitive strategies

Social strategies

7 How do you retrieve vocabulary? Cognitive strategies

8 How do you make use of new

vocabulary?

Meta cognitive strategies Social strategies

Ma (2009) suggested that the process of word acquisition is cyclic, and the words

that go through all of the stages are acquired more effectively In this classification there are 55

individual strategies distributed across four categories: memory, meta cognitive, cognitive and

social Schmitt (2010) states that one of the problems in L2 strategy research is that most

studies look at vocabulary learning strategies as discrete phenomena and explore the 30

quantity of strategy use, whereas he believes that quality of applying strategies by students

should become the focus of strategy research

Self-Regulation Models of Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Tseng et al (2006) proposed a new approach to assessing strategic learning, based on

the concept of self-regulation They suggested that focus on particular strategies and techniques

(outcomes of strategic learning) should be replaced with the focus on the learners’ inherent

regulatory capacity that drives their determinations to find and apply actual strategies A

self-report instrument was developed for measuring self-regulatory capability in vocabulary

learning The new measuring instrument consisted of 20 items divided into five sections, as

shown in Table 1.3

Table 1.3 Self-Regulating Capacity in Vocabulary Learning scale

3 I persist until I reach the goals that I make for myself

4 I believe I can overcome all the difficulties related to achieving my vocabulary learning goals

II Meta-cognitive control

1 I have special techniques to keep my concentration focused

2 I think my methods of controlling my concentration are effective

3 I have my special techniques to prevent procrastination

4 I think my methods of controlling procrastination are effective

III Satiation control

1 Once the novelty of learning vocabulary is gone, I easily become impatient with it

2 During the process of learning vocabulary, I feel satisfied with the ways I eliminate boredom

3 I am confident that I can overcome any sense of boredom

4 When feeling bored with learning vocabulary, I know how

to regulate my mood in order to invigorate the learning process

IV Emotion control

1 When I feel stressed about vocabulary learning, I know how to reduce this stress

2 I feel satisfied with the methods I use to reduce the stress

2 I know how to arrange the environment to make learning

vocabulary more efficient

3 When learning vocabulary, I am aware that the learning environment matters

4 When I study vocabulary, I look for a good learning environment

After testing the instrument, Tseng et al (2006) concluded that the construct of regulation could be transferred to the field of SLA, and “serve as a diagnostic measure to identify and understand learners’ strengths and weaknesses in terms of the five dimensions of self-regulation” especially if used together with qualitative tests Gao (2006), however, noted that the proposal of self-regulation needed to take into account other constructs with very similar meaning, such as metacognitive knowledge The scale could hardly measure learners’ self-regulation in specific task settings She pointed to some other qualitative and multi-method solutions for strategy research problems: using task-based strategy surveys (Hsiao & Oxford, 2002), task-based self-report protocols (Macaro, 2006), and the socio cultural turn in strategy research (& McCormick, 1994) Rose (2012) acknowledged that since the publication of Tseng

self-et al (2006), the concept of self-regulation has been actively used by some learning strategy researchers, thus showing the impact of the concept on the shift of research towards self-regulation

However, he argued that the model was still in its infancy In summary, there is still lack of consensus about classification of learning strategies Various patterns and configurations

of strategies have been classified: Oxford’s (1990) and O’Malley and Chamot’s (1990) classifications are based on psycholinguistic categories of direct and indirect strategies; Gu and Johnson (1996) organize 91 vocabulary learning strategies into cognitive and meta cognitive categories; 34 Schmitt (1997) distinguishes strategies for the discovery of a new word’s meaning and strategies for consolidating knowledge of a word once it has been encountered;

Ma (2009) organizes 55 vocabulary learning strategies around 8 stages of vocabulary acquisition; Oxford (2011) suggests using the concepts of meta-strategies, strategies, and tactics and classifying them into cognitive, affective, and socio-cultural–interactive groups The lack of uniformity makes it difficult to compare the research findings across studies Nyikos and Fan (2007) argue that the more clearly and unambiguously researchers can define vocabulary learning strategies, the more valid and reliable future research will be

2.10 Studies on vocabulary learning strategies

Discovery strategies included determination strategies used for independent looking

up of the word’s meaning and social strategies used for asking teachers or classmates for a

meaning Consolidation strategies included social, cognitive, meta cognitive, and memory strategies The participants were asked to indicate what strategies they used most often, and what strategies they found most helpful

The results showed that most frequently used strategies included using a bilingual dictionary, verbal and written repetition, studying the spelling, guessing from context, and saying the word aloud The strategies reported as most helpful coincided with the most used ones: bilingual dictionary use, saying the new word aloud, oral repetition, and written repetition The results also showed changes in strategy use as learners matured: The youngest learners favored repetition, focus on form, L1–L2 word lists and cards More mature learners reported more strategies that involved deeper processing: imaging, associations, and analysis Many more SLA studies have investigated individual vocabulary-learning strategies, but only a few strategies have been researched in depth The most extensively studied vocabulary learning strategies are memory-based and inferencing strategies (Schmitt, 1997)

2.10.1 Memory-based vocabulary learning strategies

Memory-based strategies include using word lists, flashcards, oral and written verbal rehearsal, and mnemonics Learners use memory strategies to enhance recall in the future

2.10.2 Learning from word lists and flashcards

Flashcards were a popular method learners used to memorize words These methods have been criticized as being ineffective because the words areremoved from their communicative context that might help the learner remember words better and understand how they are used in the language (Oxford &Crookall, 1990).However, research does not always support Oxford and Crookall’s (1990) position Several studies (Carter, 1987; Laufer & Shmueli, 1997; Mondria &Mondria- 38 De Vries, 1994; Prince, 1996) state that while advanced learners may benefit from learning vocabulary in context, beginners learn words more easily if they are presented in lists of translation pairs

In a study of 128 L1 Hebrew EFL learners, Laufer and Shmueli (1997) came to this conclusion after comparing of the four models of 20 target word presentation: (1) words presented in isolation (with L1 translation), (2) words in minimal context (each word in one meaningful sentence), (3) words in a text passage with glosses in the margin, and (4) words in

an elaborated (adapted) text passage In each mode, half of the words were translated into L1 and the other half were defined in English A short-term and a long-term multiple-choice tests using only English synonyms or definitions measured the retention of words

The results showed that word glosses with L1 translation were remembered better than those defined in L2, and retention scores were higher when less information was given;

that is, after studying word lists and words in minimal context Thus, contrary to supporters of presenting new vocabulary in authentic contexts, Laufer and Shmueli suggested that focus oriented methods of presenting new vocabulary, such as bilingual lists, may affect word retention better than context oriented methods Prince (1996) compared the results of learning vocabulary in two conditions: with L1 translation and in L2 context The participants (48 university EFL students in France) were divided into two groups according to their language proficiency

Half of them were asked to study English words in a list with French translation, whereas the other half had to guess the meaning of the same words presented in English sentences and then study them The test also included two modes: L1 - L2 translation and fill-in-the-blanks sentences The main conclusion was that when L2 vocabulary is presented with translation, it is learned more effectively, especially by less proficient students, although such learning does not guarantee the ability to use the words in L2 context The depth of processing hypothesis (Craik& Lockhart, 1972, cited in Nation, 2001) indicates that if words are not processed with full attention, they do not stay in the memory for a long time Ellis (1995) argues that connecting a word meaning and its form is an explicit process that benefits from such complex strategies as analysis, elaboration, and connection to previous knowledge Nation (2001) notes that the theory of depth of processing is supported by experiments with mnemonic strategies

2.10.3 Mnemonics

Mnemonics Mnemonic strategies are based on cognitive processes that are considered to facilitate faster learning, retrieval, and retention of material They can be classified into verbal, visual, or mixed techniques There are the creating mental associations, applying images and sounds, using rhymes, verbal elaboration, reviewing in time intervals, self-testing, and using physical response (Thompson, 1987) The study that reports the acquisition of

“large vocabulary” (Raugh, Schupbach, & Atkinson, 1977) uses experimental conditions and computer-based practice Besides, most of the words presented as effective examples are, in fact, low-frequency words Hulstijn (2000) asserts that the keyword technique and other mnemonics can be added to classroom vocabulary instruction when “a word’s form and meaning do not happen to associate easily”, thus making the task of memorizing the word difficult

2.10.3.1 Vocabulary inferencing strategies

When L2 learners encounter new words, they have to be able to get information about them This information can come from word form, from the context in which the word is found, or from a reference source

2.10.3.1.1 Word part analysis

In many languages, content words can change their form and meaning by adding prefixes and suffixes Gaining control of prefixes, suffixes and other word-building devices may be a source of vocabulary growth: New words may be learned by relating them to known ones, and guessing unfamiliar words in readings can be checked using knowledge of word parts (Nation, 2001) Studies of English derivational affixes (Bauer & Nation, 1993; White, Power, & White, 1989 as cited in Nation, 2001) confirm that a large proportion of English words make use of affixes, and about 60% of words can be understood from knowing the meaning of the base words

Several studies (Mochizuki &Aizawa, 2000; Schmitt &Meara, 1997) found a significant correlation between receptive knowledge of derivational affixes and vocabulary size

in L2 students Thus, learning how to use word parts deserves time and attention, and using this strategy can be very productive The combination of word part analysis and using context for guessing an unfamiliar word meaning can enhance the success of guessing up to 80% (White et al., 1989), but sometimes learners may twist the interpretation of the context if they rely on word part analysis too heavily (Laufer, 2009) Nation (2001) suggests explicitly teaching L2 learners to use word part analysis to infer the unknown word meaning only after conducting a careful analysis of the immediate and wider context

2.10.3.1.2 Using context for lexical inferencing

Vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension are closely connected: Readers

with profound vocabulary knowledge comprehend texts better and, at the same time, reading is one of the sources of vocabulary growth It show that o become a successful reader, a learner needs to deal with unknown words encountered in reading Inferring words from context helps readers understand and often acquire new words from reading Martin (1984) notes that native speakers of any language acquire most of their vocabulary from context through listening and reading because they have “the luxury of multiple exposures to words over time in a variety of meaningful contexts”

Native speakers learning their first language receive a lot of language input from everyday conversations and media Moreover, this luxury is denied to L2 learners, especially

FL (foreign language) learners If a second language is learned in a country where it is not spoken, learners often deal with the L2 only several hours per week, and they have to learn much information within a short time That is why lexical inferencing, which is sometimes problematic for native speakers (Haarstrup, 2008), is even more difficult for L2 learners s Research on the benefits of lexical inference for L2 vocabulary acquisition has not provided strong evidence (Nassaji, 2003)

Inferencing may be a productive strategy if it is successful, but it can rarely be successful if the percentage of known words in the text does not allows the learner to understand and use all of the contextual clues Nation (2006) concludes that adequate comprehension is possible if no fewer than 98–99% of the words in the text are known, so vocabulary knowledge is the key factor Studies on the use of strategies for guessing new words from context show that some learners are more successful in guessing, and at least part of their success can be explained by the number of guessing strategies used, and even more by the quality of their use Another important issue is if the use of such strategies enhances the process

of vocabulary acquisition and it brings more successful results

2.10.3.1.3 Incidental vocabulary learning from reading

The research on lexical retention from reading investigates how much vocabulary can

be learned from context Researchers are interested in several questions: (1) how the context of reading influences the vocabulary retention rate; and (2) how the frequency of occurrence of new words in the text influences vocabulary acquisition Although L2 learners are not found to

be very successful in inferencing new word meanings from reading (Arden-Close, 1993; Haarstrup, 2008; Laufer, 1988; Liu & Nation, 1985; Nassaji, 2003; Schmitt, Jiang, &Grabe, 2011), reading may deepen and strengthen the knowledge of partially known words (Pigada& Schmitt, 2006; Waring&Takaki, 2003)

Nation (2001) argues that learning from context is a cumulative process, and even small increases in knowledge should be taken into account.Waring and Takaki (2003) investigated how reading ESL graded readers influenced learners’ vocabulary retention for recognition and recall knowledge They stated that few new words could be learned from reading The participants could recognize only 42% of the target words and translate only 19%, and many of the learned words were lost after three months.No words that were repeated in the text fewer than five times were correctly translated, and some words were not translated even after 15–18 occurrences

Waring and Takaki assumed that a graded reader could help to strengthen already existing knowledge: lexical access speed, the noticing of collocations, the recognition of new word forms yet to be learned, a confirmation of previously guessed words meanings, ability to guess from context, and recognition of new word associations 46 (p.153) However, the study did not investigate if and how such kinds of knowledge were enhanced There were some words that were not remembered even after 20 exposures The authors agree with Laufer (2005) that intentional learning tasks typically produce higher results, and the amount of incidental learning may not match the amount of learning from an explicit teaching approach That’s why the best

methodology may be to combine incidental and intentional learning; for example, add reading vocabulary tasks (Schmitt, 2008)

Webb (2008) argues that for investigation of the problem it is necessary to consider both factors: (1) the number of target word occurrence in the reading; and (2) the quality of cues for guessing provided in the reading context He believes that gains in vocabulary knowledge have varied from study to study because it is difficult to assess how many times a word has to be encountered for successful acquisition without considering the quality of the context clues In some sentences the meaning of the target word may be transparent, but in others it may be obscure

Thus, differences between the types of contexts may be responsible for conflicting

results In his study of lexical retention (Webb, 2008), Japanese university

EFL students do a reading comprehension task that consists of short sentences rated

as more or less informative for inferring new words Each sentence contains a single target word In a more informative context it is easy to infer the meaning of the target word as it is provided by several context cues, whereas in a less informative context there are fewer cues and

it is more difficult to guess the meaning of a target word The results show that knowledge of form is influenced more by the frequency of occurrence, but knowledge of meaning is influenced by the quality of the context clues

However, frequently repeated words (more than 10 encounters) have a good chance

to be acquired even if they are embedded in aless informative context Research on extensive reading as a strategy for learning new vocabulary shows that efficiency of this method depends

on many variables: The amount of reading, the level of participants’ vocabulary knowledge, the number of context cues for inferring word meanings, and the number of occurrences of new words in the reading Studies that use tests sensitive to small amount of gained knowledge (Pigada& Schmitt, 2006; Webb, 2008) prove that such learning occurs Nation (2001) believes that the small gains can become large if learners read a lot and if some deliberate attention is paid to vocabulary Such attention can be provided by instructors in the form of vocabulary-focusing activities, or learners can follow guessing from the context by consulting reference sources to check their hypotheses

2.10.3.2 Consulting a reference source monolingual and bilingual

Consulting a reference source monolingual and bilingual dictionaries are the most universal sources of lexical information for L2 learners Studies on the use of reference sources (Fraser, 1999a, 1999b; Hulstijn et al., 1996; Knight, 1994; Luppescu and Day, 1993; Peters et al., 2009; Watanabe, 1997) investigate how the use of paper-based and online dictionaries affects vocabulary learning and retention, how well learners use dictionaries, what kind of

reference (vocabulary use, marginal glosses, text-embedded glosses) influence lexical retention better, and what kind of dictionary (bilingual or monolingual) is more effective for learning new word meanings Researchers are also interested in the effectiveness of such strategies as reference source use, guessing from context, elaborate processing of information, reinforcing the form–meaning connection, or combinations of these strategies

Luppescu and Day (1993) studied the influence of the use of a bilingual dictionary on vocabulary learning in a reading task The group that used the dictionary showed almost 50% more vocabulary gains than the control group, although the rate of reading in the experimental group was considerably slower (on average 50%) than that of the control group Knight (1994) investigated the effect of dictionary use in L2 learners with high and low L1 verbal abilities The use of a dictionary especially helped low L1 ability learners, but it also negatively affected the dictionary group reading rate (students in this group spent 42% more time reading)

Hulstijn, Hollander, and Greidanus (1996) explored ways to improve incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading with the help of different reference sources They found that when learners are provided with marginal glosses or use dictionaries to look up the meaning of unknown words, reappearance of the word in the text strengthened the form–meaning connection and might lead to eventual acquisition of such words However, reading for global meaning without paying specific attention to unfamiliar words might not enlarge L2 learners’ vocabularies to a great extent Learners should be trained and encouraged to use such strategies as paying attention to unfamiliar words, inferring from context, using dictionaries, and employing elaboration activities

Watanabe (1997) compared vocabulary retention after reading a text with three forms of connecting meaning to vocabulary: (1) a brief restatement of unknown word meaning embedded in the text; (2) glossing in the margin; or (3) multiple-choice glosses in the margin It was hypothesized that multiple-choice marginal glosses would provide better retention because

of deeper processing of the words Using glosses appeared to be almost twice as effective for vocabulary retention as in-text explanation or having no explanation or glosses Watanabe claimed that if the explanation of the word meaning in the text was sufficient for passage comprehension, learners might choose not to return to the unknown word

Under the gloss condition, students had to notice the unknown word, then look at its gloss, and then return to the text and see if the meaning fit in the context, thus paying more attention to the word form and meaning Contrary to expectations, multiple-choice glosses did not affected students’ performance Fraser (1999a) studied how L2 learners used three lexical processing strategies: inferencing from context, consulting dictionaries, and ignoring unknown words She found that consulting a dictionary could potentially be a productive strategy for

learning new words: It increased the recall of the new vocabulary by 30%, and by 50% when the consulting was combined with inferencing

However, the author pointed out that consulting a dictionary is a skill and stressed the necessity to encourage students to develop strategies for effective dictionary use: ignore some unnecessary words, infer the meaning of important words, verify the inferred meaning by consulting, and do some elaboration to enhance the learning of a word Fraser (1999b) supported the previous findings that the combination of two strategies - lexical inferencing and subsequent 51 consulting a dictionary - was more effective than using either one of these strategies alone Peters, Hulstijn, Sercu, and Lutjeharms (2009) claim that L2 vocabulary acquisition through reading depends on three factors: discovering the meaning of an unfamiliar word, elaborate processing of this information, and reinforcing the form - meaning connection Their study explored three techniques that could potentially influence students’ look-up behavior (using an online dictionary) and word retention

The techniques were the announcement of a postreading vocabulary test, text comprehension questions, and a postreading vocabulary task, in which learners had to provide

an L1 translation or an L2 synonym for each target word The results showed that a test announcement affected learners’ motivation to use an online dictionary, and it had an effect on word recognition, but not on word retention Text comprehension questions, and especially the combination of the questions and a post reading vocabulary task significantly promoted vocabulary learning Thus, looking up words in an online dictionary promoted only the first stage of a word acquisition that might not lead to word retention Elaborate processing (comprehension questions) and repetition (vocabulary task) promoted reinforcement of the form

- meaning task and retention of new words

There are different kinds of dictionaries, and the choice of the most suitable dictionary for various tasks is an important strategic decision Instructors usually recommend monolingual dictionaries to their students, but learners seem to favor bilingual ones more (Folse, 2004) The problem of effectiveness of different types of dictionaries - monolingual, bilingual, and bilingualized (where the L2 entry is followed by an L2 definition, L1 translation, and an L2 example sentence) - was investigated by Laufer and Hadar (1997) A total of 123 EFL learners with L1 Hebrew were divided into two groups 76 intermediate high school students and 46 advanced university students Each participant studied a list of 15 target words with their dictionary entries: 5 words with the monolingual entry, 5 words with the bilingual, and 5 words with the bilingualized entry

Comprehension and production of these words were tested, and significantly better results were achieved with bilingualized entries, irrespective of participants’ proficiency level

Thus, a good bilingualized dictionary seems to be suitable for any type of learner because it contains both simple bilingual and detailed monolingual information learners may benefit from

at different levels of L2 language proficiency Research on the use of reference sources for vocabulary acquisition shows that dictionary use during reading is beneficial for word learning and retention, especially when dictionaries are used in combination with other vocabulary learning strategies: inferring from context, deep processing of the information, and reinforcing the form– meaning connection A comparatively new phenomenon, a bilingualized dictionary, seems to be a good choice for learners of different proficiency levels (Laufer & Hadar, 1997)

Vocabulary learning strategies are viewed either as tools that L2 learners use to enhance their learning of vocabulary or as steps that learners take to solve learning problems Students whore gularly use multiple vocabulary-learning strategies appropriately are considered

to be more autonomous and self - regulated, and it may help them to reach higher levels of

vocabularyknowledge

2.11 The challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out-of class

There were some factors of difficulties in learning vocabulary First, the students faced the difficulties in the words because of the differences between spoken and written in English For example, when the students pronounce the word muscle, listen, write, honor, and honest Some words that contain silent letters are particularly problematic especially for Vietnamese students The incorrect pronunciation is often caused by the lack of sound similarity between English and the student’s native language This is in line with what Varasarin (2007) described that in this situation, the students wish they could speak English fluently but most of them think that English is too challenging for them to master

Regarding this, some expert view incorrect pronunciation has been caused by intruduction goal and the teacher himself and the teaching and learning in this area which is inappropriate (Varasarin, 2007) Next, the problem in writing the words or sounds- He tries to find the words that best fit the sentence semantically, he tries to pick up the word which is closest in meaning However, the choice could not be undoubtedly correct, since the students randomly selected the word If the choice of word is not correct the whole meaning of the word may be distorted Fourth, the different grammatical form of a word known as inflections was one of causes of students difficulties in learning vocabulary The example is affixation, is one

of the ways new words are formed from old including prefix and suffix It is hard for the students to know the meaning of the words because by adding prefix and suffix in a words can cause the changing in word class

The changing in word classes sometimes change the meaning of the word Furthermore, next factor of difficulty was related to diction The students faced the difficulty

when they want to use the words based on the context As we know that a word consists of more than one meaning It also can be categorized based on word classes For example the word

“can”can be as modal-auxiliary but on the other hand the word “can” can be as a noun The meaning of “can” as modal auxiliary is different from the meaning of “can” as a noun The last, the students are also still confuse when they find words or expression that are idiomatic It caused by idioms were difficult because of the lack of the cultural background Students think that the cultural background affects understanding of idiomatic expression

CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY

The previous chapter has presented relevant literature and theoretical framework of this study This chapter presents the methodology used for the data collection and analysis It starts with research questions, a description of the participants involving in the study It then describes data collection instruments and analysis procedures of the study Specifically the study considered the following questions The data collected was examined, compiled and analyzed to address the research questions Tables and charts are used to illustrate findings For, complete reference purposes, the survey questionnaires and interview questions are attached as appendices The process of data collection involved the participation of EFL students high school The study is carried out with the 70 participants of the twelveth students These students had been studying English for at least seven years at school They are applied an English program since the primary school which comprises listening, speaking, reading and writing

3.1 Research questions

In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims and objectives, the study was designed

to seek answers to the following research questions:

1 How important is it to learn vocabulary out of class from students’ perspectives?

2 What strategies do students employ in learning vocabulary out of class?

3 What are the challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out of class?

on the basis of convenience and availability It takes average of about 10 minutes for students to finish the survey questionnaire then the data will be gathered and analyzed From the analyzed result, emphasizing the importance of out-of class vocabulary learning will be mentioned, accordingly with bringing to the insights from students to attain the high effective in out-of-class vocabulary learning

3.3 Materials

The vocabulary texts were taken from books named vocabulary strategies by Oxford University Press (second edition) There were five passages in the books Each of passage was about 380 words and accompanied by two comprehension assignments The lesson plans were designed by general way The ones for treatment group were added some other activities to time vocabulary learning and vocabulary strategy comprehension

3.4 Procedure

The same students were also asked to keep an interview in which they detailed their exposure to English and the activities they undertook in English during each day, including and actions they did to maintain/ develop their English vocabulary skills and their reflections on these experiences, thus providing retrospective accounts of their independent language learning and enhancement activities and information about the opportunities to them to extend their exposure to the English language questionnaires and interviews are considered to be an important way of obtaining information about students’ introspective processes which would otherwise be inaccessible to the researcher (Bailey,1990; Nunan, 1992) To answer the

interview, students were given specific guidelines

3.4.1 Data collection and instruments

The principal data set for this study were from two different instruments: survey questionnaires and interviews

3.4.2 Questionnaire survey

A 26-item questionnaire was administered to 70 students from two different mixed classes The questionnaire was designed focusing on students’ studying English vocabulary in the outside of the class: the importance, strategies, and challenges All questions were written

in Vietnamese to guarantee students’ accurate understanding as well as their full confidence in their responses shown

This is the main of the questionnaire which focuses on the following categories:

1 Importance of learning vocabulary out-of-class (Questions 1-4)

2 Strategies do students employ in learning vocabulary out-of class (Questions 10-22)

3 The challenges that students face in learning vocabulary out-of class (Questions 23-26)

Most of the answers were provided on a five-point Likert scale which were graded as

“strongly disagree, disagree, no idea, agree, strongly agree” or “very often, often, often, sometimes, rarely, never” Students were asked to circle the number of the responses on the instrument that best described their feeling toward the statement at the moment(excepting questions 19,20,21,22) For example, a question that asked, “Do you think that the vocabulary

is important?” could be answered anywhere between one (completely disagree) and five (completely agree) or another example, in the question: “How do you learn vocabulary out-of class?” with five answers as “a very often, b often, c sometimes, d rarely, e never” The Likert scale was used in order to provide a quantifiable means by which all participants’ answers could be compared

3.5.3 The follow-up interview

After questionnaire collection, ten students were randomly chosen to interview through purposive sampling In order to make the interviewees comfortable and easily understandable, all the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese Each interview lasted approximately 10 minutes During the interviews, the researcher took notes for better transcription All the interviews were audio-taped for precision and easier transcription with the participants’ permissions

The students were interviewed in-depth about students’ preferences regarding learning styles, their strategy towards learning vocabulary, as well as suggestions for the improvement of leaning vocabulary out-of class The interviews were structured and consisted

of 7 questions which were utilized to allow individuals to give greater depth to their responses

3.5.4 Pilot study

Before conducting this study, the researcher took steps to test the data collection tools To do so, a group of twenty-seven students were randomly selected from the target population and given questionnaires for the researcher to attempt to see if the instrument would collect useful data They were required to present their personal information and their perspectives towards strategies as well as their challenges of learning vocabulary based on the Likert scale of the questionnaire items The main purpose of pilot testing was that it tried to identify any misunderstanding, ambiguities and useless questions

3.5.5 Data analysis

The data from the questionnaire, which were divided into three different categories, were analyzed statistically by using computer software The Microsoft Excel in order to answer the questions presented in the first chapter of the study The results were presented in the form

of percentage, frequencies and mean scores by using both tables and charts to illustrate

CHAPTER FOUR FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Importance of learning vocabulary in general

Table 4.1.showed students’ multiple reasons for learning vocabulary, but the main reason was a career opportunity The number of students who chose English because they hoped to use it in their future career was 39,7 students wanted to use it for vacation or travel purposes, five students needed it for their major, three students chose it because it fit into their schedule, one student took it for heritage reasons, one student was advised to take it, and one student heard that it was easier than other language

Table 4.1.The importance of learning English vocabulary

Future career

I want to be a translater and learning English vocabulary would help me communicate better with everybody that are coming over from English

English vocabulary is a valuable language to know in the space industry

I am looking to get a government job in the future I believe learning English vocabulary well will put me ahead of the curve when it comes to getting that job

Literature, culture, and politics

Interest in English literature and politics Many chess grandmasters are English and I'd like to read them in their original, and this all seems timely with English being in the news more and more, reinforcing my interest English literature, culture, & the beauty and difficulty of the language

Challenge & novelty of the

Family and friends’ influence

I wanted to learn about my history through the language

My little sister is half English and it's all she speaks There

will always be a barrier between us if I don't learn English for her

An foreigner friend of mine speaks English and he got me interested in English movies, music, and culture I went to England with him and am interested in going back

Studying abroad plans

I'm interested in studying abroad in England for a semester

so that I would have overseas experience for a future job in the government

Increased interest in visiting England , so I wanted to learn the basics of the language

Emotional appeal

The language is beautiful to me and there is just something inside of me that has driven me to learn England, I cannot explain the desire

I was attracted to the way it sounded and the appearance of its writing system

I love the professors in the department

Fate

I needed to take another language as a degree requirement

so I went to the language tab when registering classes, closed my eyes, and I let fate decide It decided on England This study was designed for students who had studied English for several years prior to taking the survey In the present study the questionnaire was administered during the first semester of studying , so some items of Gu’s (2005) study were not appropriate for students who had just begun studying a foreign language For example, extended dictionary strategies, strategies employing guessing from wider context, and most metacognitive strategies from Gu (2005) can hardly be effectively used by students during the first several months of studying such a different and difficult foreign language as English, so they were omitted

4.2 Importance of learning vocabulary out-of the class

Not all of students regarded the English vocabulary learning as playing an extremely important role in their daily lives outside the classroom While 16.7% viewed it as very important, using it every day in many contexts, nearly 40% said that it was not very important and they only used it occasionally (see Table 4.2)

Table 4.2 The importance to use vocabulary

Statements

Very important:

I use it frequently every day in many contexts

Important:

I often use it in different

situations

Not very important:

From the statistics in Table 4.2 we may say all of the participants hold positive attitudes to vocabulary learning and realize the importance of correlation between English proficiency and vocabulary The important group had more respondents show the high effect of learning vocabulary There were 12 participants agreed with the very important group points with 29 participants However, only 02 participants had negative result during the vocabulary course outside class

4.3 Students’ Vocabulary Learning Strategies

The second research question of the study focused on the learning strategies that first semester learners of English reported using This study investigated three groups of vocabulary learning strategies: memory, cognitive, and affective strategies Based on a Likert-type scale, there were six possible responses to each item: 1 = I never do that, 2 = I do that very rarely, 3 =

I seldom do that, 4 = I sometimes do that, 5 = I often do that, and 6 = I always do that These tables below presents the results of questionnaires concerning students’ memory vocabulary learning strategies There are 26 items about the vocabulary learning strategies are described The category of memory strategies is divided into two groups: rehearsal strategies and encoding strategies The table shows the mean scores, standard deviations, of the participants who chose the answers never + very rarely + seldom (1+2+3) and the number of participants who reported using the strategy sometimes + often + always (4+5+6)

4.3.1 Memory Strategies

Rehearsal strategies included (1) using word lists (S1 - S5) and (2) repetition strategies (S6-S9)

Of the five strategies dealing with word lists, students reported the highest level of use with S3,

I go through my vocabulary list several times until I am sure I know all of the words on the list

It was used at least sometimes by 83.2% of the participants More than 60% of the participants reported that they often or always learned words this way Reviewing previously memorized words (S5) was the second most popular strategy, used at least sometimes by 86.6% of participants, although only 6.2% of students reported doing it always Using flashcards (S1) was rated fourth among these methods of learning vocabulary, but it had the highest number of

students who always did so, 19.8%

Table 4.3 Means and standard deviation of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies by using wordlists measured level (1+2+3) and level (4+5+6)

Note: S = strategy Level 1+2+3 = I never do so + I do so very rarely + I seldom do so; Level

4+5+6 = I sometimes do so + I often do so + I always do so

Table 4.3 shows that the treatment group had a mean of 5.7 (SD: 1.5) for level (1+2+3) and the control one had a mean of 5.4 (SD: 1.0) There was a light difference between two groups: the treatment had 0.3 point higher than the control one However, there was a strong difference on level (4+5+6) The average score on level (4+5+6) of the treatment group was 7.8

(SD: 1.0) meanwhile the control one had an average score of 5.9 (SD: 1.0) It can be seen from the table, the treatment group increased by 2.1 points from level (1+2+3) to level (4+5+6) and the control one had only 0.5 points It is obvious that both two groups made progress during learning vocabulary by using word lists, but the treatment group had more progress than the control one

Table 4.4 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies

by repetition measured by levels for two groups

of the treatment one) On level (4+5+6), the average score of the control was still higher than that in the treatment one The mean on the level (4+5+6) of the control group was 6.3 (SD: 0.7) meanwhile that in the treatment one was 5.7 (SD: 0.7) It indicated that both two groups had progress during vocabulary learning strategies by repetition

Table 4.5: Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies

by associations measured by levels for two groups

of the treatment one) On level (4+5+6) the average score of the control was still higher than that in the treatment one The mean on level (4+5+6) of the control group was 6.3 (SD: 0.7) meanwhile that in the treatment one was 5.7 (SD: 0.7)

Table 4.6 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies

by encoding: Imagery measured by levels for two groups

Table 4.7 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies

by contextual encoding measured by levels for two groups

Table 4.8 Means and standard deviations of participants’ vocabulary learning strategies

by visual encoding of word structure measured by levels for two groups