A study on vocabulary learning strategies used by english major sophomores at hong duc university

HONG DUC UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES GRADUATION THESIS A STUDY ON VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY ENGLISH-MAJOR SOPHOMORES AT HONG DUC UNIVERSITY The Degree Of Bachelor Of Arts In English Language Student: Le Hong Son Class: K21B - English Linguistics Student’s ID: 1867020046 Supervisor: Dang Thi Nguyet, M.A Thanh Hoa, June 2022 DECLARATION I declare that this thesis is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another degree or diploma at any university, other institution or tertiary education Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and a list of references is given Student (Signature, full name) Le Hong Son i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Many people have contributed to making this thesis what it is They have given me a lot of help, guidance and encouragement That motivated me to accomplish the study as perfectly as possible First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dang Thi Nguyet, M.A, a lecturer at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hong Duc University From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank for her hearted guidance and valuable recommendations Without her, I might not accomplish my thesis Besides, I highly appreciate the teachers at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hong Duc University for their precious and profound lessons which provided me solid knowledge backgrounds for my thesis Many sincere thanks are also needed to give to the English-major sophomores at Hong Duc University who patiently completed the survey questionnaires and answered my interviewing questions Last but not least, I give my warm heart to my family and classmates They encouraged and supported me to go the end TABLE OF CONTENTS ii DECLARATION .1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii ABBREVIATION v LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF CHARTS vii PART I: INTRODUCTION .1 Rationale Aims and objectives of the study .2 Scope of the study Methods of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Vocabulary 1.1.1 Definitions 1.1.2 Classification of vocabulary .6 1.1.3 The importance of vocabulary in learning language .7 1.2 Learning vocabulary 1.2.1 Definition 1.2.2 Aspects in knowing a word 1.2.3 Difficulties in learning vocabulary 12 1.4 Vocabulary learning strategies 13 1.4.1 Definitions 13 1.4.2 Classification of learning strategies 14 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 19 2.1 Participants 19 2.2 Setting 19 iii 2.3 Instruments of data collection .20 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 22 3.1 The situation of learning English vocabulary 22 3.1.1 Students’ interests in learning English vocabulary .22 3.1.2 Students’ time spending on learning English vocabulary .23 3.1.3 Difficulties in learning English vocabulary 24 3.1.4 Students’ needs in learning English vocabulary 25 3.2 General learning English vocabulary strategies used by students 26 3.2.1 Determination strategies 26 3.2.2 Social strategies 28 3.2.3 Memory strategies .29 3.2.4 Cognitive strategies 30 3.2.5 Metacognitive strategies 31 3.3 Learning vocabulary sub-strategies used by different genders .32 3.4 Learning vocabulary sub-strategies used by different contexts 39 3.5 Suggestions for teaching and learning English vocabulary .46 PART III: CONCLUSION .50 Summary of the study .50 Limitations and suggestions for further study .51 2.1 Limitations of the study .51 2.2 Suggestions for further study 52 REFERENCES APPENDICES ABBREVIATION WORDS STAND FOR iv COG Cognitive MET Metacognitive DET Determination MEM Memory SOC Social L1 Source Language L2 Target Language VLSs Vocabulary Learning Strategies FFL Faculty of Foreign Language HDU Hong Duc University LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1 Aspects of knowing a word according to Garins and Redman (1986)……… v Table 1.2 Oxford’s classification of Language Learning Strategies…………………… 15 Table 1.3 Nobert Schmitt’s (1997) classification of learning strategies………………… 17 Table 2.1 Content and distribution of questionnaire…………………………………… 20 Table 3.1 Frequency of using DET strategies among genders………………………… 32 Table 3.2 Frequency of using SOC strategies among genders………………………… 34 Table 3.3 Frequency of using MEM strategies among genders………………………….35 Table 3.4 Frequency of using COG strategies among genders………………………… 36 Table 3.5 Frequency of using MET strategies among genders………………………… 37 Table 3.6 Frequency of using DET strategies among contexts………………………… 39 Table 3.7 Frequency of using SOC strategies among contexts………………………… 40 Table 3.8 Frequency of using MEM strategies among contexts………………………… 42 Table 3.9 Frequency of using COG strategies among contexts……………………… 43 Table 3.10 Frequency of using MET strategies among contexts……………………… 44 vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1 Students’ level of interests in learning English vocabulary…………………… 22 Chart 3.2 Time students spend on learning English vocabulary………………………….23 Chart 3.3 Difficulties in learning English vocabulary…………………………………….24 Chart 3.4 Desires to promote learning English vocabulary……………………………….26 Chart 3.5 Frequency of using DET strategies in learning English of using SOC strategies in learning English of using MEM strategies in learning English of using COG strategies in learning English vocabulary………… 27 Chart 3.6 Frequency vocabulary………… 28 Chart 3.7 Frequency vocabulary………….29 Chart 3.8 Frequency vocabulary………… 30 vii Chart 3.9 Frequency of using MET vocabulary………… 31 viii strategies in learning English PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale It is a fact that there are over half a million words in English Moreover, the English language has spread over large territories for many centuries due to historical and economical reasons It is not only the official language of the UK but also of the USA, Australia, New Zealand, vast areas of India, Canada, and many countries Some people in Asia, Africa, etc speak both their mother tongue and English as official languages Because of its importance, English is always dominant in modern society Especially in Vietnam, English is used as the most popular foreign language in all industries and is becoming more and more crucial in every school curriculum as a compulsory subject Therefore, people aware clearly that learning English is myriad essential for them to promote in any career for their gorgeous future One of the most urgent phenomena of English learning is effective vocabulary learning strategies It can be said that if we consider learning English as building a house, then learning vocabulary is the foundation or bricks of that house “Without bricks, no house can be built, even when plenty of high-quality cement is available.” (Nguyen Huyen, 2004) Even, though some people said that grammar is more necessary than vocabulary, grammar is as cement to link words together The more words we know, the better we can convey our thoughts Consequently, vocabulary acquisition has always been a fundamental and important activity in English learning and teaching There are many ways to access effectively to vocabulary learning, but having a proper strategy to raise the vocabulary size is not easy There have been so far many researches on this issue However, any research on vocabulary learning strategies applied by English-major sophomores in Hong Duc University has not been done before All efforts to have this study are for not only participants but also those who want to improve and promote English vocabulary The aforementioned important roles of learning strategies and vocabulary learning are the