A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY GRADUATION PAPER TOPIC: A STUDY ON SPECIALIZED VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGY EMPLOYED BY ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY HANOI - 2021 DECLARATION I herewith formally declare that I have written the submitted Graduation independently I did not use any outside support except for the quoted literature,and other sources mentioned at the end of this paper Hanoi, 2021 Phan Thi Thu Huong ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Thi Thuy Hanh, lecturer of Thuong Mai University for her valuable guidance, encouragement, correction, helpful suggestions, and detailed comments from the preparation to the completion of this thesis In the process of researching for the argument, I have also received a lot of supports from the lecturers in Thuong Mai University as well as my friends, classmates, and family Despite the efforts, the paper cannot avoid shortcomings I am looking forward to hearingthe suggestions and advice from the teachers to improve this paper Kind regards, Phan Thi Thu Huong INDEX DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii INDEX iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS vi LIST CHAPTER : OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Previous studies 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research Subjects 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.7 Organization of the study .5 CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW .6 2.1 Learning style preferences (LSP) 2.1.1 Definition 2.1.2 Classification 2.1.3 Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences .10 2.1.4 Advantages of understanding individual LSP 11 2.2 Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) 11 2.2.1 Definition 11 2.2.2 Classification 13 2.2.3 Advantages of using appropriate VLS .19 2.3 The distinction between LSP and VLS 19 CHAPTER RESEARCH FINDINGS 21 3.1 Data analysis 21 3.1.1 Student's awareness of vocabulary learning strategies 21 3.1.2 Strategies used for discovery a new word's meaning 23 3.1.3 Strategies used for consolidation a word in memory 26 3.1.4 Overall strategies use of the six categories of strategies 32 3.2 Implications 33 3.2.1 The need of vocabulary learning strategy training 33 3.2.2 Learner responsibility .33 3.2.3 Dictionary strategies 34 3.2.4 Teaching and learning in context 34 3.2.5 Memory strategies .35 3.2.6 Analysis of word features 35 3.2.7 Use of vocabulary .35 CHAPTER RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 37 4.1 Solutions for teachers 37 4.1.1 Teaches how to make a study plan 37 4.1.2 Teaching English self-study methods 37 4.1.3 Teaching how to learn 37 4.2 Solutions for student 38 4.3 For University .39 4.4 Organizations of Youth Union - Student Union 39 CONCLUSION 41 REFERENCES APPENDIX LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ALTE: Association of Language Testers in Europe CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for languages FLD: Foreign Language Department IAAL: International Association of Applied Linguistics TMU: Thuong Mai University LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Table 2.1 Definition of language learning strategies .12 Table 2.2 Structured and Unstructured Approach to Vocabulary Learning by Sanaoui (1995) 14 Table 2.3 Gu and Johnson's classification of VLS 15 Table 2.4 Schmitt's taxonomy of VLS 17 Figure 1: Student's awareness of the importance of vocabulary learning 21 Table 3.1 Descriptive statistics of students' use of Determination strategies 23 Table 3.2: Descriptive statistics of students' use of Social strategies .25 Table 3.3: Descriptive statistics of students' use of Social strategies (Consolidation) 26 Table 3.4: Descriptive statistics of students' use of Memory strategies 28 Table 3.5: Descriptive statistics of students' use of Cognitive strategies .30 LIST CHAPTER : OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale Vocabulary is essential for people's correspondence and language learning, and it plays a critical part in the development of a second language Wilkins (Wilkins, 1972: 111) stated that "without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" As a consequence, we cannot argue that language acquisition capabilities such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing are difficult to attain without vocabulary.As a consequence, researching vocabulary learning techniques is an important phase towards learning a second language The study of vocabulary acquisition gained little attention in the 1950s and 1960s Fortunately, since the 1980s, vocabulary acquisition has been researched more thoroughly Researchers, educationalists, and teachers are also getting more involved in it Many of them, both at home and abroad, have expressed their opinions on the importance of vocabulary learning As Decarrico (2001: 285) stated that "Although vocabulary has not always been recognized as a priority in language teaching, interest in its role in second language learning has grown rapidly in recent years and specialists now emphasize the need for a systematic and principled approach to vocabulary by both the teacher and the learner" Or Nguyen Huyen (2004: 1) compared "If a language could be considered as a house, then its grammar could be considered as cement and its vocabulary could be figuratively compared to bricks To build a complete house, not only cement but also bricks are needed Without bricks, no house can be built, even when plenty of high quality cement is available." Therefore, to be a fluent English user, learner must not only obtain a steady knowledge of English grammar but also have a diverse amount of English vocabulary English is a required course for students in Vietnam in general and at my college, Thuong Mai University in particular However, there is a significant difference between the students' English abilities and the syllabus's criteria As a result, vocabulary has been a significant barrier to English learning, and their rate of vocabulary improvement has been sluggish.Furthermore, many English teachers believe that their students should learn vocabulary on their own.Any new term can be looked up in an English-Vietnamese dictionary, which is labelled with a phonetic symbol and its Vietnamese meaning, so there is no need to spend time teaching vocabulary In addition, some methods that are still being used in colleges are no longer reasonable On the other hand, as a student, I realized that traditional vocabulary-learning methods were ineffective And if some of them have worked tirelessly to learn new vocabulary, the results have been dissatisfying I felt it important to provide them with effective learning methods for learning English words Those considerations inspire me to conduct research on the English vocabulary learning strategies used by English major students at Thuong Mai University 1.2 Previous studies The strategies employed by language learners had drawn more and more attention among teachers and researchers alike It was generally agreed that successful language learners were likely to apply strategies appropriate to their own language learning needs There did exist some research into vocabulary learning strategies in the west In a recent study conducted by West (1980), it was suggested that learning through incidental learning was effective when students knew how to take advantage of it Meara (1980) thinks there were words that made up a language; considerable evidence showed that a learner's vocabulary size highly predicted his general language ability Cohen and Aphek (1981) investigated seventeen English-speaking students learning Hebrew, among whom nine were beginners and six were intermediate level and two were advanced learners Brown & Palinscar (1982) hold that the strategies which were connected with the learning process, planning for learning, management of comprehension or production in the process of vocabulary learning and self-evaluation after the learning activities were classified as the Metacognitive strategies Oxford (1989) regarded learning strategies as external activities and gave such a definition “language learning strategies were behaviors or actions which learners used to make language learning more successful, self-directed and enjoyable.” Then Ehrman & Oxford (1990) considered language learning strategies as the “often conscious” behaviors that such as classrooms, study facilities, English resources… should also be ensured In which, the complete resource system in quantity, rich in content and standards of quality is an indispensable requirement in English self-study activities of students Recognizing the important role of this factor, schools need to have plans to constantly improve their facilities such as: - To consolidate, upgrade and expand the system of classrooms, laboratories and libraries; adhering to the requirements of the subject outlines to prepare the materials that are considered compulsory in the subject outline - Increase the ability to exploit the utilities of the intranet, expand the source of electronic materials, teaching equipment, etc by applying modern information technology achievements In addition to the facilities conditions, when considering the conditions for self-study activities, managers also need to pay attention to the service conditions and student service attitude of the specialized departments , support policies of the school to give students the best learning environment 4.4 Organizations of Youth Union - Student Union - Organize topics on self-study activities for students, especially new students Through attending topics on self-study activities, students raise awareness of the role of this self-study activity, and know how to practice effective self-study activities The time to organize the training of self-study activities is at the beginning of each school year, mainly new students The rapporteur invited from experienced psychologists and educators in the field or faculty 51 members, students with excellent academic records can also come and share tips determined to self-study well - Organize competitions on self-study activities Emulation in education is a method that has many advantages and is often highly effective In practicing selfstudy activities outside the classroom, the more it is necessary to promote this method When students are caught up in competitions, they eagerly practice self-study and urge other team members to the same to win - The content of the competitions is closely linked to the practice and development of English self-study activities of students Creating the diversity of the competition by combining multiple test formats, you can organize multiple-choice tests in qualifying to select a number of teams to take the test 52 CONCLUSION Sumary With the desire to improve teaching and learning English vocabulary in general and specialized English in particular at the University of Commerce, the topic has focused on the following goals The first is to explore students' perceptions of the importance of learning vocabulary The second is to study what strategies are commonly used in vocabulary learning Then, propose some suggestions for strengthening English teaching and learning at TMU In addition to data collection, students are once again aware of specialized vocabulary learning and the strategies commonly used in them Most of the learning vocabulary specialized in English is highly appreciated by students However, not all methods are widely used, effective, or rarely used, but most students agree that it is necessary to learn specialized vocabulary in class The results of the study provide the reasons for these problems First, a considerable number of students underestimate the role of specialized vocabulary learning Besides, the vocabulary learning strategy is not known by many students in the school Second, the limitation of using a bilingual dictionary (English - Vietnamese dictionary) to explore the meaning of a vocabulary hinders the discovery of the target word, which is suitable for a particular context Next, to consolidate a word in memory, writing repetition and word repetition were the strategies most frequently used by students Next, word features such as prefix, suffix, and root are useful clues for vocabulary 53 reading However, analyzing the prefix, suffix, and stem and memorizing the prefix, suffix, and stem of the word are the least used strategies in this study Then, the results clearly showed that the student lacked vocabulary for use and practice They need the opportunity to practice their vocabulary, otherwise they may forget The words in the passive vocabulary need to be used frequently so that they naturally switch to the active vocabulary Finally, this study not only reiterates, but also introduces readers to a number of less used but effective methods in enhancing specialized vocabulary learning In addition, the report highlights the importance of learning specialized vocabulary as well as the need to train longterm strategies Limitations and suggestions for further study Due to the shortage of time and knowledge, there are some limitations First, the data collection is not taking place on a larger scale for better generalization Second, within the scope of a minor thesis, the subject of the study mainly aims at the first year English majors only This is also the suggestion for further study with other subjects such as second year or third year students Third, although Schmitt's taxonomy is the most comprehensive available, it cannot embrace all the existing vocabulary strategies These limitations, therefore, can be done in future research studies From these limitations, later research can be strengthened and better Further studies need to use other techniques such as recall stimulation or speaking out loud and investigate other variables such as the learner's gender or the main study area 54 REFERENCES Cabré , M T ( 1999 ) Terminology Theory , methods and applications The Netherlands and the USA : John Benjamins Publishing House Dornyei , Z ( 2003 ) Questionnaires in Second Language Research Lawrence Erlbaum Associates , Inc , Publishers Dudley - Evans , T & St John M.J ( 1998 ) Developments in ES : A multi disciplinary approach Cambridge : Cambridge University Press Gairns , R and Redman , S ( 1986 ) , Working with Words : A guide to teaching and learning vocabulary , Cambridge University Press , Cambridge ) Hatch , E and Brown , C ( 1995 ) , Vocabulary , Semantics , and Language Education Cambridge University Press , Cambridge Hutchinson , T and Waters , A ( 1987 ) English for Specific Purposes Cambridge University Press Kavaliauskienë , G , & Janulevičienë , V ( 2000 ) Using the lexical approach for the Acquisition of ESP vocabulary The Internet TESL Journal ( ) , Oct Retrieved April 13 , 2014 from http://iteslj.org/Articles/Kavaliauskiene-LA.html Kenedy , C , & Bolitho , R ( 1984 ) English for Specific Purpose London and Basingstoke : Macmillan Press Ltd McDonough , J & S McDonough , 2001 , Research Methods for English Language Teachers , London : Arnold 10 McCarthy , M ( 1990 ) Vocabulary Oxford : Oxford University Press 11 Munby J ( 1978 ) Communicative Syllabus Design Cambridge : Cambridge University Press 12 Nation , P ( 2001 ) Learning vocabulary in another language Cambridge : Cambridge University Press 13 Nguyen , T G ( 1985 ) Vietnamese Lexicology Hanoi : Educational Publishing House 14 Nunan , D ( 1988 ) Syllabus design , Oxford University Press , Oxford 15 Phillipson , R.1992 Linguistic Imperialism [ M ] Oxford : Oxford University Press 16 Robinson , P C ( 1980 ) English for specific purposes Oxford : Pergamon Press 17 Robinson , P.C ( 1991 ) ESP today : A practitioner's guide Hertfordshire : Prentice Hall International UK , Ltd 18 Schmitt , N ( 2000 ) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge : Cambridge University Press 19 Strevens , P ( 1973 ) Technical , technology , and scientific English ELT Journal 27 , p 223-234 20 Strevens , P 1988 ESP after twenty years : a re appraisal In M Tickoo ( Ed ) ESP : State of the Art Singapore : SEAMEO Regional Language Centre 21 Ur , P ( 1996 ) A course in Language Teaching Cambridge : Cambridge University Press 22 Wilkins , D ( 1972 ) Linguistics in language teaching London : Amold 23 Wisker , G ( 2001 ) The Postgraduate Handbook , New York : Palgrave 24 Xhaferi , B ( 2010 ) Teaching and learning ESP vocabulary South East Eupean University ( Macedonia ) Retrieved July 27 , 2014 from www.meser.org/journal/index.php/jess/article/viewFile/101 9/1049 25 Definition of Terminology Retrieved July 29 , 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terminology 50 26 Keefe, J W (1979) Learning style: An overview In NASSP's Student learning styles: Diagnosing and prescribing programs (pp 1-17) Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals 27 Rakiza Sanaoui, Adult Learners' Approaches to Learning Vocabulary in Second Languages, “The Modern Language Journal” 28 Schmitt, N (1997) Vocabulary Learning Strategies In D N Schmitt, & M McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy (pp 199-227) 29 Gu, P.Y and Johnson, R.K (1996) Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Language Learning Outcomes Language Learning, 46, 643-679 30 Fraser, C A (1999) LPS use and vocabulary learning through reading Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 225-241 31 Felder & Henriques, 1995, Learning and Teaching Styles In Foreign and Second Language Education 32 Kolb et al (1979), cited in: “Kolb's Learning Styles and Learning Preferences: Is there a linkage?” Robert Loo 33 Dunn, R., & Dunn, K (1992) Teaching secondary students through their individual learning styles: Practical approaches for grades 7-12 Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, cited in Journal of Advanced Academics 2014, Norma Ghamrawi 34 Gregorc, A F., & Butler, K A (1984) Learning is a matter of style Vocational Education Journal, 59 (3), 27-29 Cited in Preferred Learning Styles of Postsecondary Technical Institute Instructors Cecelia Thompson 35 Sarasin, L (2006) Learning Style Perspectives: Impact in the Classroom Second Edition Atwood Publication 36 Pritchard, A (2009) Ways of learning: Learning theories and learning styles in the classroom Second Edition: Routledge 37 Gardner, H (2010) Multiple intelligences Retrieved January 23rd 2014 from http://www.howardgardner.com/MI/mi.htm 38 Stebbins, C (1995) Culture-specific perceptual learning style preferences of post-secondarystudents of English as a second language In J.M Reid (Ed.) Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classrooms pp.108-117 New York: Heinle & Heinle Publishers 39 Sanaoui, R (1995) Adult learners' approaches to learning vocabulary in second languages Modern Language Journal, 79:, pp15-28 40 Stoffer, I (1995) University foreign language students' choice of vocabulary learning strategies as related to individual difference variables University of Alabama: Unpublished PhD Dissertation pp5-7 41 Cameron, L (2001) Teaching languages to children Cambridge: Cambridge University Press P.92 43 Horwitz, E.K (1988) The beliefs about language learning of beginning university foreign language students The Modern Language Journal, 72 pp 283-294 44 Mizumoto, A & Takeuchi, O (2008) Exploring the driving forces behind TOEIC scores: Focusing on VLS, motivation and study time JACET Journals, 46, pp 17-32 45 Ellis, R (1989) Classroom learning styles and their effect on second language acquisition: A study of two learners 17(2) pp 249-262 APPENDIX APPENDIX INTERVIEW GUIDELINE How important you think vocabulary learning strategies is in learning English? Do you give your students training in using strategies for learning vocabulary ? What strategies your students usually use to learn a new word ? Describe them ? Among those strategies , which are applied most and least ? What aspects of words they pay most attention when learning a new word ? APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (for students) ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY This survey questionnaire is designed to investigate vocabulary learning strategies for English major students at Thuong Mai Universiry Please put a checkmark X in the box that they choose There will be no correct or false answers to any of the strategies in this survey, so please answer with the most honesty That is a way to contribute to help teaching and learning English vocabulary in our school better Thank you for your cooperation! PART I : GENERAL INFORMATION How long have you been studying English ? Less than years to years More than years How important you think vocabulary learning is in learning English ? Very important Important Not very important Have you ever heard of vocabulary learning strategies ( in other words , ways to learn English vocabulary effectively ) ? Yes No Have you been taught vocabulary learning strategies in class ? Yes No Do you think that vocabulary learning strategies should be taught in class ? Why ? Y N e o s PART II : VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES When you learn English vocabulary, have you ever used these strategies: I Strategies for discovery a new word's meaning No Strategies Always Degree of Frequency Often Somtimes Seldom Never Analyze the part of speech (c.g noun, verb or adjective, ete) Analyze prefixes , suffixes 10 11 12 and roots (e.g.overtime, station, impress) Guess meaning of words from textual context Analyze any available pictures or gestures Use an English - Vietnamese dictionary Use an English - English dictionary Ask the teacher for the meaning Ask classmates for the meaning sk teacher for paraphrase or synonym of new word Ask teacher for a sentence including the new word Discover new meaning through group work activity Others II Strategies for consolidation a word once it has been encountered No Strategies Always Degree of Frequency Often Somtimes Seldom Never Teacher checks student's flash cards or word list for accuracy Interact with native speakers Memorize the prefix , suffix 10 11 12 13 14 15 and root of the word Memorize the part of speech Associate a new word with the words have already know Connect word to a personal experience Connect the word with its synonyms & antonyms Use new word in sentences Group words together to study Verbal repetition Written repetition Write new words on a flash card to remember Keep a vocabulary notebook Use the vocabulary section in the textbook Take notes in class No Strategies 16 17 18 19 20 Always Put English labels on physical objects Use English - language media e.g newspapers , magazines , radio / TV programs , Internet , ect Test oneself with word test Continue to study the word over time Others 10 Degree of Frequency Often Somtimes Seldom Never 11 ... basis concepts related to language learning strategies and vocabulary classifications learning of strategies language In addition, the learning strategies and vocabulary learning strategies are... Data analysis The data gathered through the survey questionnaire were coded for statistical analysis to investigate students' awareness of vocabulary learning strategies; which vocabulary learning. .. methodologies as "actions that learners take to help themselves understand and remember vocabulary. " Catalan (2003) proposed a more concrete and careful definition of vocabulary learning strategies: "Vocabulary