An investigation into the effect of vocalabury on reading comprehension and suggested solutions to improve vocabulary for the first year english major student at IUH

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - - GRADUATION THESIS AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF VOCABULARY ON READING COMPREHENSION AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY FOR THE FIRST YEAR ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT IUH STUDENT’ NAME: NGUYEN THI NGA STUDENT ID NUMBER: 13030861 CLASS: DHAV9A COURSE: 2013- 2017 SUPERVISOR: LE PHAM THIEN THU, M.A HCMC, June 2017 Date of submission: 12/06/2017 Student Name: NGUYỄN THỊ NGA Supervisor’s Name: LÊ PHẠM THIÊN THƯ, M.A “I certify that this work is entirely my own and has not been accepted as part of a submission to another purpose else where.” Signed: …………………………………………………… Word length: words STUDENT DECLARATION I am Nguyen Thi Nga, hereby declare that the graduation thesis submitted by me is an original work completed under my supervision and has not previously submitted for any assessment I also confirm that the information incorporated in this thesis is truthful and unique It does not involve plagiarism or collusion Sources were mentioned in this thesis following copyright law I further declare that the report is only prepared for my academic requirement not for any other purpose Signature TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 The scope of the study 1.4 The significance of the study 1.5 Methods of study 1.6 Research questions 1.7 The limitations of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition 2.1.1 What is vocabulary? 2.1.2 Reading and reading comprehension 2.2 The importance of vocabulary and reading comprehension 2.2.1 The importance of vocabulary in learning the second language 2.2.2 The importance of reading comprehension 10 2.3 The mutual relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension 11 2.3.1 Vocabulary is an essential aspect of reading comprehension 11 2.3.2 The impact of reading on vocabulary development 13 2.4 The effect of vocabulary on reading ability 14 2.4.1 Awareness of learners to difficulties in learning the reading skill 14 2.4.2 The influence of vocabulary on predicting new words 15 2.4.3 The influence of vocabulary on reading comprehension 16 2.4.4 The influence of vocabulary on reading speed 16 2.5 Some suggested methods to study vocabulary effectively 17 2.5.1 Studying English vocabulary through demonstration picture 17 2.5.2 Studying English vocabulary through mass media 18 2.5.3 Studying English vocabulary through the funny games 20 2.5.4 Studying English vocabulary from the Internet such as English programs, English websites 21 2.5.5 Studying English vocabulary through books such as English books, dictionaries, and English novels 22 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Research design 24 3.2 Participants 24 3.3 Data collection instruments 24 3.4 Data collection procedures 25 3.5 Data analysis procedures 25 Chapter 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 Specific information of the participants 27 4.2 Students’awareness about of learning vocabulary 27 4.3 The frequency of learning vocabulary 29 4.4 The role of vocabulary in students’viewpoint 30 4.5 Vocabulary affects many skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing 31 4.6 Students’awareness about the importance of vocabulary on reading comprehension 32 4.7 Students’opinion about the relationship between vocabulary and reading 33 4.8 The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension 35 4.9 The vocabulary problem which students encounter when reading a text 36 4.10 How students overcome difficulty in reading the text 37 4.12 Reading ability would be improved when the knowledge of words increase 40 4.13 The problem which learners encounter in learning vocabulary 41 4.14 The method which students often use to improve vocabulary 42 4.15 Some suggested methods to study vocabulary effectively 43 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 46 5.1 Conclusion 46 5.1.2 The effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension 46 5.1.3 The good method for improving vocabulary 46 5.2 Recommendations 47 5.2.1 Recommendations for the teachers 47 5.2.3 Suggestion for further research 49 REFERENCES 50 APPENDIX 54 TABLE OF FIGURES Table 1: Specific information of the participants Table 2: Students’feeling of learning vocabulary Table 3: The frequency of learning vocabulary Table 4: Vocabulary affects many skills Table 5: The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension Tabe 6: How students overcome difficulty in reading the text Table 7: Reading ability would be improved through increasing vocabulary Table 8: The method which students often using to improve vocabulary Figure 1: Students’feeling of learning vocabulary Figure 2: The frequency of learning vocabulary Figure 3: The role of vocabulary in students’viewpoint Figure 4: Vocabulary affects many skills Figure 5: The importance of vocabulary on reading comprehension Figure 6: The relationship between vocabulary and reading Figure 7: The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension Figure 8: The vocabulary problem which students encounter when reading a text Figure 9: How students predict the meaning of new words correctly Figure 10: Reading ability would be improved through increasing vocabulary Figure 11: The problem which learners encounter in learning vocabulary Figure 12: The effective ways to study English vocabulary ABSTRACT Nowadays, English is one of the most popular languages in the world so it is not only a compulsory subject in many countries but also a virtual key for success in modern life However, learning English is still a difficult problem which many people have to face, especially four basic skills A lot of learners only care about Listening and Speaking, because they believe that communication is the most important factor However, reading skill is also the core of learning the language We cannot deny that reading comprehension plays a significant role in English learning process However, readers have to face a lot of obstacles while reading a text Therefore, finding these barriers and solving them have been an urgent duty of many researchers the recent time The thesis concentrate on the big problem of the reader is a lack of vocabulary and the effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension The writer finds out the importance of vocabulary in learning the language in general and reading comprehension in particular Besides, the thesis also mentions students’ awareness about the role of vocabulary, the fluency of learning vocabulary and these barriers which readers often encounter while reading The main purpose of the research wants to help students realize the essential of vocabulary to advance their vocabulary and improve reading comprehension Therefore, the thesis gave a lot of exact evidence from many researchers and their studies through literature review In addition, the writer also carries out the survey about the effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension on the first year English- major students to give the exact result for the research From the result of the survey, the writer tries to find out the good ways to helps learners improve their reading ability and advance vocabulary Moreover, the thesis also showed difficult problems which learners have to face on reading and gave some solutions to solve this problem These methods are not only more simple and effective but also more interesting than traditional methods All things are also mentioned in the thesis for helping learners study better ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the period of graduation thesis, I received a lot of enthusiastic help that supports and encourages me to overcome all difficulties and complete my graduation thesis First of all, I would like to express my special thanks to the Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh city and the Faculty of Foreign Language creating advantage conditions and opportunities for me to finish my thesis Secondly, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my supervisor Ms Le Pham Thien Thu She gave me enthusiastic and valuable guidance, support, useful help and encouragement at various stages of my graduation thesis In addition, she spends a lot of precious time on correcting my thesis and giving useful advice Thanks to her, I had confidence and motivation to finish my thesis My thesis could not complete successfully without her Thirdly, I want to express my thanks to Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Xuan, Ms Le Thi Thuy, who gave me a great chance to conduct the survey in their class Fourthly, I want to thank all lovely and friendly students of DHAV12 who contributed to help me collect valuable and reliable data for my thesis Moreover, I sincerely thank all my teachers and friends who helped, supported, encouraged me to complete my graduation thesis Last but not least, I am grateful to my family and relatives who always support and encourage me in belief, motivation which have been contributing to my career success All in all, I really thank all people helping me to complete my graduation thesis SUPERVISOR’S REMARKS Grade: Comments: Marker MARKER’S COMMENTS Grade: Comments: Marker Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 45 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion 5.1.1 The role of vocabulary in learning the English language It cannot deny that vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of learning the English languages It is considered a tool for people to communicate and express their ideas Moreover, vocabulary also impacts many skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing It decides to the development of other skills because vocabulary is the core of the language Therefore having a wide vocabulary will help people learning any language more easily and effectively Besides, from the literature review and the result of questionnaires, as can be seen, that many students realize the important role of vocabulary in learning the English language They also recognize that vocabulary affects other skills and can improve the ability to communicate better In addition, it is considered that expanding vocabulary is a necessary process in learning any language Through the statistic of the survey, the writer also knows some difficult problems which learners encounter while reading a text and the methods are often used by participants From there, the writer tries to give some better ways for learners to improve vocabulary more effectively 5.1.2 The effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension From the literature review, we can see that both vocabulary and reading comprehension plays a significant role in studying the language Moreover, it mentions that vocabulary not only affects reading comprehension but also has the correlative relationship with it Students need to have the breadth and depth of vocabulary in order to develop reading skill and the possibility of reading comprehension Besides, having a large vocabulary helps the reader understand the text easier and more exactly Moreover, reading is good ways to improve vocabulary quickly and better The result from the questionnaire is a good evidence for the effect of vocabulary on reading Almost participants agree that vocabulary and reading comprehension have the twoway relationship They affect and support each other in the learning process Through the viewpoint of many authors and the statistic data, we can see that the knowledge of vocabulary helps learners read better and it also affects the guessing of new words, reading speed and decoding the text Otherwise, reading helps learners increase vocabulary and reviews old knowledge Moreover, reading also opens knowledge in many different fields as culture, education, science 5.1.3 The good method for improving vocabulary Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 46 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 From the result of research, it is suggested that developing vocabulary is a crucial target of learners Because it brings many benefits for the growing of four basic skills and daily communication However, the writer also sees that learning process is not easy for everyone Following the survey, learners encounter a lot of difficult problems when reading and studying vocabulary Moreover, new vocabulary is a big obstacle with readers in reading comprehension Furthermore, participants also said that they often forget many words after learning and sometimes they can connect the meaning of the word in the text although they know it Therefore, the writer wants to find different ways to help learners study vocabulary better Data from questionnaires shows that participants often use a lot of ways to study vocabulary, for example, reading, using dictionary, repetition, or learning through root words, synonyms, antonyms However, it is not still the best ways to study Almost participants choose the methods learning through entertainment and education programs, games, music or mass media It is really good ways to study vocabulary better and more effectively In addition, it also helps people relax and decrease pressure so that it is favorite methods of many students now 5.2 Recommendations 5.2.1 Recommendations for the teachers The results and information from the thesis are a useful data resource for teachers to realize students’ difficulties and weakness points during the learning process From there, the teacher can give a suitable method to solve this problem and helps students study better Firstly, the teacher helps students recognize the valuable importance of vocabulary and reading comprehension in learning the language and how vocabulary affecting reading comprehension Besides, the teacher should create a lot of activities in the lesson to make students interested and pay attention when learning through some ways The teacher can ask students to read any English book or English newspaper after every lesson and then write a report about what they read Through reading, students can learn many vocabulary naturally and effective After that, students will exchange their books with friends This helps students save money to buy the book but they still have various documents Besides, students can support and help each other Instead of the only reading coursebook, the teacher can give students some English newspaper to read and require them to find new words or unknown words in the newspaper The teacher also can organize a lot of games which related to vocabulary in lesson such as Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 47 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 guessing words, crossword puzzles, word search game, word order The funny game helps the student become more excited Secondly, many students not have suitable ways to study so that teacher should provide a lot of reading strategies, example what they should before reading, while reading or after reading and some tips for students in reading comprehension and learning vocabulary as skim, scan Moreover, the teacher should introduce to all students how to combine these strategies effectively during reading comprehension process and how to overcome difficult text easily Finally, because learning vocabulary and reading is quite boring so that teacher should combine music, films or games while teaching a lesson It helps students have the motivation to continue studying Furthermore, the teacher should check homework and encourage to read more 5.2.2 Recommendations for the first year English-major students At the beginning of the study, freshmen encounter a lot of difficulties to get acquainted with new environment as well as new subjects and methods Therefore, they need to identify the target of learning to have the right method Especially, this is very important to the first year English major students because the goals of their learning will affect the result of studying in four years Firstly, students need to have a particular plan for their learning process, especially the target which they want to achieve in future (eg They want to prepare for IELTS exam) Next, students should be active in ways to study It is not enough to study in course book so they have to seek more reference books and different materials Besides, students spend a lot of time for reading Because the reading book is a useful activity for improving vocabulary and knowledge Books are very plentiful with many fields and it can provide large vocabulary Moreover, some websites offer the perfect opportunity for students to practice the Reading skill and vocabulary (eg https://www.vocabulary.com/, http://www.english-online.at/newsarticles/travel/voluntourism-new-trend-in-travel.htm) Secondly, reading is not difficult subject, but it acquires that students have to suitable strategies when reading comprehension and some tips to overcome difficult tasks Moreover, the topic in reading is very large and various so that students need to base on background knowledge and experiences to finish tasks Balance time is very important when reading In addition, having large vocabulary is an advantage for readers to success in reading the subject Therefore, students need to expand and improve their vocabulary Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 48 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 Thirdly, attitudes and motivation are two significant factors in learning the language Students always have to persevere and keep their passion during the learning process Besides, they should try learning many different ways to seek their suitable and favorite methods The last one, students should also spend time for review old knowledge to avoid forgetting Moreover, they should also read lots to improve the possibility of reading and expand vocabulary It is considered the good method when studying via mass media, English music, and films, English programs, reading books, novel, newspaper.This method is not convenient, simple but also effective because the diversity of topic will provide a lot of new words in different fields for learners 5.2.3 Suggestion for further research The writer expects that the thesis can be expanded in the future The scope of research not only limited in DHAV12 but also open to all students of Faculty of Foreign Languages Moreover, the write hopes that having more time to research deeply in improving reading skill and advancing vocabulary for students The writer also wants to find difficulties as well as a studying method more effectively and overcome the limitation of this thesis to make it better in future Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 49 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 REFERENCES Abdolmanafi-Rokni, S J &Ataee, A J (2014) The Effect of Background Music on Vocabulary Recall and Retention of Children Learning English as A Foreign Language International Journal of Basic Sciences & Applied Research, Vol (8), 491-495 Afni, N (2014).The Effect of Using Text Mapping Strategy towards Students’ Reading Comprehension in Narrative Text at the Second Year of MA Darul Ulum Tandun Alyousef, S H (2005) Teaching reading comprehension to ESL/ EFL learners The Reading MatrixVol 5, No 2, 143-144 Amer, A A & Khouzam, N ( 1993) The Effect of EFL Students’ Reading Styles on their Reading Comprehension Performance Reading in a Foreign Language, 10(1), p.967 Bromley, K (2007) Nine things every teacher should know about words and vocabulary instruction Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50, 528-536 Biemiller, A ( 2005) Vocabulary Development and Instruction: A Prerequisite for School Learning, In Neuman, S and Dickinson, D (Eds) Handbook of Early Literacy Research (Vol 2) New York, NY: Guilford Press Carter, R & Mccarthy, M (1988) Vocabulary and Language Teaching New York NY Carpenter, S K and Olson, K M (2011) Are Pictures Good for Learning New Vocabulary in a Foreign Language? Only If You Think They Are Not.Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning, Memory, and Cognition.American Psychological Association DOI: 10.1037/a0024828 Essays, UK (November 2013) Definition Of Reading Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/languages/definition-of-reading.php Edriz (2007) Vocabulary Mastery Retrieved fromhttps://vi.scribd.com/doc/18475644/Vocabulary-Mastery Farvardin, T M & Koosha, M (2011) Theory and practice in language studies ( Vol 1) Academy Publisher manufactured in Finland, 11, 1575-1580 Retrieved fromhttp://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol01/11/15.pdf Farstrup, E A & Samuels, J S (2008) WhatResearch Has to Say About Vocabulary Instruction The International Reading Association Fraser, C A ( 1999) The Role of Consulting a Dictionary in Reading and Vocabulary Learning p.73-89 Gallo-Crail, R.& Zerwekh, R (2002) Language learning and the Intenet: Student strategies in vocabulary acquisition In C A Spreen (Ed.), New technologies and language learning: Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 50 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 Cases in the less commonly taught languages, Technical Report vol 25 pp 55–79 Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai‘i, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center Glende, L (2013).Vocabulary and Word Study to Increase Comprehension in Content Areas for Struggling Readers, Education Masters, Paper 247 Retrieved fromhttp://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1248&context=education_ET D_masters Hansen, M K (2009) Vocabulary instruction, reading comprehension, and student retention: a review of literature, Hamilton, H (2012) The efficacy of dictionary use while reading for learning new words American Annals of the Deaf, 157(4), xx Hughes, M J (2007) Teaching language and Literacy, K-6 Retrieved fromhttp://faculty.uoit.ca/hughes/Reading/ReadingProcess.html Hoover, W A., & Gough, P B (1990) The simple view of reading Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 2(2), 127 - 160 Kamil, M., & Hiebert, E (2005) Teaching and learning vocabulary: Perspectives and persistent issues In Hiebert, E H And Kamil, M L (Eds.), Teaching and learning vocabulary: Bringing research to practice (pp 1–23) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Retrieved August 18, 2009, from PsycINFO database Kaboody, A M (2007) Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension; A Mutual Relationship Northern Arizona University Koivuniemi, M (2012) Learning English Vocabulary Using the Internet: A Quantitative Study of a Group of First‐year Upper Secondary Students Department of Language Kyongho, H and Nation, P (1989) Reducing the Vocabulary Load and Encouraging Vocabulary Learning through Reading Newspaper Reading in a Foreign Language, Vol 6(1), 323-335 Knight, S (1994) Dictionary: The tool of last resort in foreign language reading? A new perspective.The Modern Language Journal, 78, 285-299 Li, X & Brand, M ( 2009) Effectiveness of Music on Vocabulary Acquisition, Language Usage, and Meaning for Mainland Chinese ESL Learners Contributions to Music Education Vol.36(1), 73–84 Logan, L (2012) Early Vocabulary Development and Reading Comprehension University of Central Missouri, 8-28 Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 51 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga McLeod, S A ID number 13030861 (2014) Questionnaires Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/questionnaires.html Medina, S L (1990) The Effects of Music upon Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition Moore, L A (2014) A Research Review of Cognitive Skills, Strategies, and Interventions for Reading Comprehension Retrieved from http://download.learningrx.com/readingcomprehension-research-paper.pdf Nagy, E W ( 1988) Vocabulary instruction and reading comprehension, Center for the study of reading University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Technical Report, 431, Retrieved from https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/bitstream/handle/2142/17756/ctrstreadtechrepv01988i00 431_opt.pd f?sequence=1 Protopapas, A., Mouzaki, A., Sideridis, D G., Kotsolakou, A &Simos, G P (2013).The Role of Vocabulary in the Context of the Simple View of Reading, Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 29:2, 168-202 DOI:http://sci- hub.cc/http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10573569.2013.758569 Qian, D D (2002) Investigating the relationship between vocabulary knowledge and academic reading performance: An assessment perspective Language Learning52(3), 513-536 Schmitt, N., (2008) Review article: Instructed second language vocabulary learning Language Teaching Research, 12, 329- 363 Snow, C (2002).Reading for Understanding toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension RAND Reading Study Group Arlington, p.11 Sidek, H M.and Rahim, A H ( 2015) The Role of Vocabulary Knowledge in Reading Comprehension: A Cross-Linguistic Study Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 197 ( 2015 ) 50 – 56, Elsevier Ltd This is an open access article under the CC BY-NCND license, Peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.046 Tafani, V (2009).Teaching English Through Mass Media Acta Didatica Napocensia, Vol 2(1) Torgesen, J.K & Hudson, R (2006) Reading fluency: critical issues for struggling readers In Samuels, S J And Farstrup, A (Eds.) Reading fluency: The forgotten dimension of reading success Newark, DE: International Reading Association The Oxford dictionary Retrieved from(http://www.sltinfo.com/vocabulary/) Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 52 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 Uberman, A (n.d.) The Use of Games: For Vocabulary Presentation and Revision English Department of Pedagogical University Poland Retrieved from http://s3.amazonaws.com/academia.edu.documents/6631382/98-36-1d.pdf?AWSAccessKeyId=AKIAIWOWYYGZ2Y53UL3A&Expires=1493639642&Sig nature=tOhgZldLHKZS2eAJ1bFzEVz3VUc%3D&response-contentdisposition=inline%3B%20filename%3DThe_use_of_games_for_vocabulary_presenta pdf Verhoeven, L & Perfetti, A C (2011) Introduction to this Special Issue: Vocabulary Growth and Reading Skill, Scientific studies of reading, 15(1), 1–7 (2004).Vocabulary lesson, Educational Leadership, Volume 61(6), March 2004, pp 6669.Educational Research Newsletter & Webinars, Published in ERN May/June 2004 Volume 17 Number 5.Retrieved fromhttp://www.ernweb.com/educational-researcharticles/strong-connection-between-vocabulary-knowledge-and-reading-comprehension/ Whisenand, T G.and Dunphy,S M (2010) Teaching Tip Accelerating Student Learning of Technology Terms: The Crossword Puzzle Exercise Journal of Information Systems Education, Vol 21(2) Woolley, G (2011) Reading Comprehension: Assisting Children with Learning DifficultiesSpringer Science, Business Media B.V, p.15 Yee, N (2010) Understanding reading comprehension: Multiple and focused strategy interventions for struggling adolescent readers In the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education University of Saskatchewan, https://ecommons.usask.ca/bitstream/handle/10388/etd-04052010112818/ReadingComprehension.pdf You, Y (2011) Factors in Vocabulary Acquisition through Reading Vocabulary Acquisition Purdue University, vol (1), 43 Yuksel, D and Tanriverdi, B (2009) Effects of Watching Captioned Movie Clip on Vocabulary Development of EFL Learners The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology – TOJET, vol (2) Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 53 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 APPENDIX SAMPLE OF STUDENTS’ QUESTIONNAIRE I am Nguyen Thi Nga, from DHAV9A ( Faculty of Foreign Language, IUH) I am conducting to research the thesis on the topic “An investigation into the effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension and suggested solutions to improve vocabulary for the first year English-major students in IUH” Hopefully, you will help me to answer these question below This survey is anonymous That means no one will know who you are The reason for this is to encourage you, to be honest Please answer all question carefully and truthfully so that I can finish my thesis with the most valuable results Thank for your help so much! Personal information: Fill out the information below: Name: Class: Gender: Male  Female  Introduction: Circle the answer(s) which is the most right or suitable for you in each of the following question You can also write down your own answers or choose more than one answer that suit for you Please read carefully the instruction for each question before you choose the answers How long have you been learning English? How you feel about learning vocabulary? A Very boring B Boring C Neutral D Interesting E Very interesting How many hours a week you spend on learning vocabulary? A hours F I never learn vocabulary Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 54 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 Tick the column “yes” or “ no” for the role of vocabulary in your viewpoint Role of vocabulary YES NO Vocabulary plays an important role in learning the English language Vocabulary is the key for the learners to communicate with others Vocabulary helps you communicate even if you know only a little grammar Vocabulary gives people the ability to say what he or she means Vocabulary helps you understand what other people are saying and what you are reading Vocabulary affects many skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing A Strongly disagree B Disagree C Neither disagree or agree D Agree E Strongly agree What you think about the importance of vocabulary on reading comprehension? A Not important at all B Neutral C Slightly important D Important E Very important Tick the column “agree” or “ disagree” about the relationship between vocabulary and reading in your viewpoint Strongly disagree Vocabulary essential part plays in Disagree Agree Strongly agree an reading comprehension Knowing a lot of vocabulary helps you read the text more easily Vocabulary influences Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 55 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 reading speed Vocabulary influences on predicting new vocabulary Vocabulary influences on decoding the text You can improve vocabulary through reading Reading helps you review old vocabulary In your opinion, what are the barriers affecting your ability of reading comprehension (You can choose more than one answer )? A Lack of vocabulary B Difficult topic C Complex grammar points D Time pressure E Psychology F Unsuitable strategies H Others Which vocabulary problems you encounter when you read a context? ( You can choose more than one answer) A I often not understand reading passages because of a lot of new vocabulary B I can understand the meaning of the words individually but I can not connect them to each other in a sentence C I can recognize some words but I cannot remember their meanings D I know the meaning of the words but I not know their exact meaning in the context E Others 10 What you often to overcome difficulties in reading the text, especially new words? (You can choose more than one answer) Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never I focus on the meaning of every word to understand the whole text I guess the meaning of new words Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 56 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 base on the structure of these words I guess the meaning of new words base on textual situations I use my background knowledge and personal experience to help me understand the text I use the words I understand to help me guess the meaning of the words I don’t understand I use the context clues such as synonyms, examples, opposites, word from I use the dictionary to look up new words I skip difficult words and sentence in the text I analyze grammatical points and structures 10 I skim the text and find down the topic and the main idea 11 I try to read many times and find out answers 12 I ask my teacher and friends to solve the problem 13 I give up and other exercises 14 Ignore 11 How often you predict the meaning of new words correctly? A Always B Often C Sometimes D Rarely E Never Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 57 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 12 Do you agree your reading ability would be improved when the knowledge of words increase? A No, I strongly disagree B No, I disagree C Neither disagree or agree D Yes, I agree E Yes, I strongly agree 13 What problems you encounter in learning vocabulary? ( You can choose more than one answer) A I feel bored when learning vocabulary B I often forget the meaning of the word after studying it C I learn a word many times but I still cannot remember it D I don’t have motivation to study E I face some difficulties such as: deciding which words are worth learning, how to organize my vocabulary F Others 14 Which methods you often use to improve and expand your vocabulary? I expand my vocabulary Always Often Sometimes Rarely Never through Reading Repetition 3.Word in context Vocabulary trees Root words Prefixes and suffixes Synonyms and antonyms Word lists Visual dictionaries 10 Word games Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 58 Submitted by Nguyen Thi Nga ID number 13030861 15 In your opinion, which ways should be used to study English vocabulary effectively? (You can choose more than one answers ) A Reading books, magazines, newspaper, novels, essays written by English B Listening to music C Watching English films, TV, video without subtitles D Looking up the words in a dictionary and write down its meaning in a vocabulary notebook E Using the new words several times in conversation as soon as you can F Learning vocabulary through pictures G Learning vocabulary through the Internet such as English programs, English Websites H Learning by heart vocabulary every day I I only when the teacher asks to it J Others Supervisor: Le Pham Thien Thu, M.A 59 ... design To investigate the effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension, the quantitative research is a suitable method to be chosen to get information and data for the purpose of the study The. .. need to improve the ability of reading comprehension to recognize information easily 2.2 The importance of vocabulary and reading comprehension 2.2.1 The importance of vocabulary in learning the. .. Moreover, questionnaire use both close and open questions to collect data and investigate the thought and attitude of students about the importance of vocabulary, the effect of it on reading Many close