By prepositional phrases and their vietnamese equivalents

DECLARATION I hereby declare that no part of the enclosed Master Thesis has been copied or reproduced by me from any other’s work without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor Hanoi, 31st December 2013 Do Thi Ngoc Lan APPROVED BY (Supervisor’s signature and full name) i ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Ly Lan, Ph D, who gave me valuable suggestions, useful comments, experience and support during the time of completing the graduation thesis Without her professional instructions and patient advice, this thesis may not be finished I also would like to pay my homage to all my lectures at the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Hanoi Open University for their useful lectures, supports, encouragement and for inspiring me the love for English Foreign Language teaching and doing scientific research I express my affectionate and deeply gratitude to teachers and students at University of Economic & Technical Industries, who supplied me with a great deal of practical figures My sincere thank goes to my family, my friends who encouraged and helped me with valuable materials, gave me energy and advice during the time I implemented this study Hanoi, 31st December 2013 Do Thi Ngoc Lan iii ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS Adv Adverb E.g For example N Noun No Number Prep Preposition PP Preposition Phrases UNETI University of Economic and Technical Industries * An asterisk signifies that what follows it is incorrect [ ] Reference Number [ :] Reference Number and page are separated by ‘:’ For example: [15: 27] the reference number is 15 and the page in the reference is 27 ( : ) Illustration examples reference resources (reference number : page number) ^ An omission signifies that where are needed in the sentence iv LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, GRAPHS Table 2.1: Information of the research participants 24 Table 2.2: The learners’ acquisition levels on the syntactic items 31 Table 2.3: The learners’ acquisition levels on the semantic items 31 v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS iv LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, GRAPHS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vii INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims and objectives of the study 2.1 Aims of the study 2.2 Objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study CHAPTER 1THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 Literature review 1.1.1 Previous studies overseas 1.1.2 Previous studies in Vietnam 1.2 Theoretical background 1.2.1 English prepositions 1.2.1.1 Definition of English prepositions 1.2.1.2 Classification of English prepositions 1.2.1.3 Position of English prepositions in sentence 12 1.2.2 Vietnamese prepositions 13 1.2.2.1 Definition of Vietnamese prepositions 13 vii 1.2.2.2 Classification of Vietnamese prepositions 14 1.3 English and Vietnamese prepositional phrases 15 1.3.1 English prepositional phrases 16 1.3.2 Vietnamese prepositional phrases 19 1.4 Summary 21 CHAPTER 2METHODOLOGY 22 2.1 Research design 22 2.2 Research participants 23 2.3 Research procedure 25 2.4 Data collection instruments 27 2.4.1 Selected materials 27 2.4.2 The survey questionnaire 28 2.5 Data analysis methods 31 2.6 Summary 34 CHAPTER 3FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 35 3.1 Syntactic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases 35 3.1.1 Position of ‘by’ prepositional phrases 35 3.1.2 Function of ‘by’ prepositional phrases 38 3.2 Semantics features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases 39 3.2.1 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting time 39 3.2.2 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting place or direction 39 3.2.3 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting means or agents 39 3.2.4 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting manner 40 3.2.5 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting motion 40 3.2.6 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting selfness or without help 40 3.2.7 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting means of transport 41 3.2.8 ‘By’ prepositional phrases denoting method 42 viii 3.3 'By' prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents 42 3.3.1 Similarities 42 3.3.2 Dissimilarities 45 3.3.2.1 In terms of syntactic features 45 3.3.2.2 In terms of semantic features 46 3.4 Difficulties in mastering ‘by’ prepositional phrases at UNETI 48 3.4.1 Difficulties faced by teachers 48 3.4.2 Difficulties faced by learners 49 3.4.2.1 In terms of syntactic features 50 3.4.2.1.1 Substitution 50 3.4.2.1.2 Omission 51 3.4.2.1.3 Addition 51 3.4.2.2 In terms of semantic feature 54 3.5 Implications for mastering 'by' prepositional phrases…………………… 3.5.1 Being well aware of mother tongue interference 55 3.5.2 Getting familiar with the omission or addition of ‘by’ prepositional phrases………………………………………………………………………… 3.5.3 Broadening knowledge of semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases 3.5.4 Being aware of how native speakers use ‘by’ prepositional phrases 57 3.6 Summary 59 CONCLUSION 60 Recapitulation 60 Limitations of the study 61 Suggestions for further study 62 REFERENCES 63 APPENDIX 66 ix APPENDIX 70 x 3.5.3 Broadening knowledge of semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases By means of semantics, learners often have to encounter the polysemy, idiomatic meanings, and cultural diversity in the use of a single item of language The understanding of these will help explain what speakers and mean when they produce utterances To be provided with key insights into meanings of the preposition in general, and ‘by’ prepositional phrases in particular, could be beneficial for learners in acquiring English as second language 3.5.4 Being aware of how native speakers use ‘by’ prepositional phrases In the translation task designed in the questionnaires, learners are required to translate the sentence ‘Điện thoại gần cửa sổ’ into Englishand the fact is that it has been translated as ‘The telephone is near the window’ Learners thought that ‘gần’ can translate into ‘near’ in English So they chose ‘near’ not ‘by’ The right answer here is ‘The telephone is by the window’ To avoid this mistake, they must think how English people use ‘by’ prepositional phrases Moreover, translation perhaps is the most common evidence that can explain why learners meet difficulties Applying word-by-word translation to idiomatic expressions in learners’ first language can result in common mistakes In short, teachersshould create interesting topics related to ‘by’ prepositional phrases, motivate the learnersdevelop enjoyable atmosphere in the class and prepare a lesson plan carefully with enough stages 57 In order to have effective lesson, the role of the teachers play an important factor in teaching their English The information relating to the teachers’ experience towards teaching ‘by’ prepositional phrases was shown as follows: Firstly, teachers need to have a good knowledge not only about ‘by’ prepositional phrases but also prepositions in general They should master scopes of using prepositions as well as the difference in the use of each preposition Secondly, it will be suggested that teachers not only need to understand deeply techniques in teaching ‘by’ prepositional phrases but also use them effectively and skillfully For example, techniques in teaching ‘by’ prepositional phrases are listening and speaking, using the classroom and using the text – completion exercises These techniques can be useful means supporting for teachers so much Thirdly, teachers should point out errors made by students during the process of teaching ‘by’ prepositional phrases However, more important, they should give students solutions to avoid errors and overcome difficulties One of the effective solutions is that they should prepare some types of exercises covering the areas of difficulties that students might commit errors when using ‘by’ prepositional phrases and let students practice Lastly, teachers create interesting topics related to ‘by’ prepositional phrases, motivate the students, create enjoyable atmosphere in the class and prepare a lesson plan carefully with enough stages Besides, the learners are also very important factor in order to decide their successful results They themselves should be aware of their 58 needs and tasks For improving their ability of mastering ‘by’ prepositional phrases, they should: Study English basic prepositions, especially ‘by’ prepositional phrases as well as their usage Ask the teacher immediately in case they not understand the syntactic and semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases Not be afraid of making mistakes, but finding out which causes of these mistakes because learning from one’s own mistakes is the most important factor in processing self-study Work in pairs or in groups to practice doing the exercises together 3.6 Summary All the syntactic and semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases have been presented and the actual difficulties met by the UNETI second-year learners have been shown when completing a questionnaire in form of a grammar written test In order to master ‘by’ prepositional phrases in particular, learners should practice as much as possible at anytime and anywhere It is hoped that all mentioned above implications for mastering ‘by’ prepositional phrases could be somehow useful for the UNETI second-year learners to improve their competence and performance of English 59 CONCLUSION Recapitulation This study focuses on examining the basic ideas and various views on structural and semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents in order to find out the similarities and dissimilarities of both languages It is due to their specific features, a survey has been conducted at UNETI to check the second-year learners’ proficiency in ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents The results taken from the survey conducted at UNETI later have been classified to help finding out some implications for using ‘by’ prepositional phrases In studying, the specific structural and semantic feature of ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents, some similarities and dissimilarities can be found as follows Similarities - ‘By’ prepositional phrases in both two languages used to denote the relationships between the main elements and sub-elements in sentence -‘By’ prepositional phrases in English and Vietnamese usually join noun with noun, pronoun with noun, verb with noun, and verb with pronoun, etc to create new prepositional phrase - ‘By’ prepositional phrases in English and Vietnamese play role as adverbial in a sentence, which have the same position at the beginning or at the end of the sentence Dissimilarities - ‘By’ prepositional phrases have function, as subject in Vietnamese but it can be inverted adverbs in English 60 - In Vietnamese, ‘by’ prepositional phrases have function as a predicate but not in English sentence ‘By’ prepositional phrases have function as the main element in the sentences - In English, in the passive voice sentences often have to use preposition ‘by’ but in Vietnamese not usually use as this way By conducting the survey among target participants of second-year learners at UNETI, some major difficulties when using ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents have been found: Being well aware of mother tongue interference Getting familiar with the omission or addition of ‘by’ prepositional phrases Boarding knowledge of semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases Being aware of how native speakers use ‘by’ prepositional phrases To deal with these problems, some implications have been proposed to help the students on using ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents in an effective way, namely: - The learners’ mother tongue interference - Omission or addition ‘by’ prepositional phrases in the sentences as well as in the fix expressions and idioms - Having knowledge in semantic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases - Having ability in translating Limitations of the study The present thesis is just a small contribution to the study of the ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents as well as the common difficulties in the use of ‘by’ prepositional phrases and provides some solutions In other words, it can never give a complete account of all the 61 meanings designed by ‘by’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents Therefore, this study also has some limitations: First, the number of the subjects in the research is only limited to the 100 students at UNETI, not all the students at UNETI therefore the other research on difficulties in the use of ‘by’ prepositional phrases should be conducted Second, due to the limitations of knowledge as well as the limited sources, mistake are unavoidable, therefore the author would highly appreciate all the comments and suggestions from teachers, colleges and readers Third, ‘by’ prepositional phrases is one of over 150 prepositions in English Suggestions for further study We would like to propose these aspects of cognitive semantics involving ‘by’ prepositional phrases: The first is a study of the pragmatic features of ‘by’ prepositional phrases in English and their Vietnamese equivalents The second is a study of ‘near’ prepositional phrases in English and in Vietnamese in the light of cognitive semantics perspective 62 REFERENCES In English Agoi, F (2003) Towards Effective Use of English A grammar of modern English Ibandan Joytal Printing Press Celce – Murcia, M & Larsen – Freeman (1978) An English Grammar for teachers of English as a Second Language, Newbury House Downing A; Locke, P (1992) A University Course in English Grammar Module 13 New York Prentice Hall International Fillmore, C (1968) Toward a Modern Theory of Case In F Dineen, (ed) Hayden, P & H (1966) Mastering American English Prentice – Hall Inc Jesperseen, O (1933) Essentials of English Grammar Henry Hott and Company Lawal, B G (2004) Jenuine Mistake by Users of English Ibadan, Domonion Publishers (Nigeria) Liz & John Soars (2011) Tiếng Anh giao tiếp- Tập (New Headway – Elementary) Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội Liz & John Soars (2011) Tiếng Anh giao tiếp- Tập (New Headway – Pre - Intermediate) Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 10 Liz & John Soars (2011) Tiếng Anh giao tiếp- Tập (New HeadwayIntermediate) Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 11 Nordquist, R (2006) Grammar & Composition Armstrong Atlantic State University 12 Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S (1973) A University Grammar of English Presented by the Australian Government 63 64 In Vietnamese 13 Diệp Quang Ban (2008) Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Tập Nxb Giáo dục 14 Diệp Quang Ban (2008) Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Tập Nxb Giáo dục 15 Nam Cao (1945) Đời thừa http://maxreading.com/sach-hay/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/doi-thua-21755.html 16 Nguyễn Tài Cẩn (1999) Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 17 Trần Ngọc Dung (2010) Cẩm nang Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Tủ sách tinh hoa Việt Nam 18 Đinh Văn Đức (2001) Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt – Từ loại, Nxb Đại học quốc gia Hà Nội 19 Anh Đức (1964) Đất http://maxreading.com/sach-hay/truyen-ngan-anh-duc/dat-16206.html 20 Bùi Đức Tịnh (1952) Văn phạm Việt Nam,NxbSài Gòn Phạm Văn Tươi 21 Tơ Hồi (1953) Vợ chồng A Phủ http://vuhuu.edu.vn/null/Ebook/Tac_Gia_Tac_Pham/T4.HTM 22 Trần Hữu Mạnh (2008) Fundamentals of English Tranditional Syntax, Nxb Đại học quốc gia hà nội 23 Nguyễn Khải (1990) Một người Hà Nội http://daotao.vtv.vn/truyen-mot-nguoi-ha-noi-cua-nguyen-khai/ 24 Vũ Trọng Phụng (1936) Số đỏ http://www.khotruyenhay.net/doctruyen/sodo.html?id=wI7yewHbxNSc751 TuHr7LHLJLPw6vfth&ssid=2530 25 Nguyễn Kim Thản (1964) Nghiên cứu ngữ pháp tiếng Việt 2, Hà Nội: Nxb Khoa học xã hội Dictionaries 65 26 Hornby A (1995) Advanced Learner’s Dictionary Oxford: Oxford University Press 27 Lê Khả Kế (1997) English- Vietnam Dictionary Nxb Khoa học xã hội – Hà Nội Biography Stories 28 Những truyện ngắn giải Cuộc thi tạp chí văn nghệ Quân đội (1992 1994) Bến trần gian, Nxb Quân đội Internet sources 29 http://www storystar.com 30 http://vi.wiktionary.org/wiki 31 http://www.eslcafe.com/grammar/prepositions10.html 32 http://rongmotamhon.net/mainpage/thanhngu_anhviet_0_9html APPENDIX 66 Dear participants, This is a kind of a survey to check your proficiency of ‘by’ prepositional phrases in terms of syntax and semantics Please complete the following tasks in accordance with each instruction The results will be very useful for finding out a good solution for improving English teaching at our university Thank you for your cooperation WRITTEN GRAMMAR TEST (Time allocated: 60 minutes) -Task I: Fill in the blank with suitable prepositions ‘by’, ‘in’ ,‘on’ or nothing Example: Joanne usually goes to work by bus I saw Jane this morning She was ……………………………the bus How did you get here? Did you come………………………… train I decided not to go……….car I went ……………… my bike instead I didn’t feel like walking home, so I came home …………… in a taxi Sorry we’re late We missed the bus, so we had to come ……….foot Task II: Put the words in the right order to form a complete sentence bus/ We/ usually/ go/ work/ to/ by (7 words) ………………………………………………………………………………… the/ white/ sweater/ Don’t/ shirt/ washing/ the/ in/ machine/ put be/ has/ to/ It/ washed/ hand/by (17 words) ………………………………………………………………………………… by/ home/ be/ have/ to/ we/ o’clock (7 words) 67 ………………………………………………………………………………… book/ a/ is/ by/ Tolstoy/ War/ Peace/ and (8 words) ………………………………………………………………………………… 10 the/ window/ by/ is/ telephone/ the (6 words) ………………………………………………………………………………… Task III: Translate these following sentences into English 11.Điện thoại gần cửa sổ ………………………………………………………………………………… 12 Nó vào nhà qua cửa sau ………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Tơi khơng định cầm bạn Tơi cầm tình cờ ………………………………………………………………………………… 14 Anh có xong cơng việc trước không? ………………………………………………………………………………… 15 Anh ta bị cảnh sát bắt (bị bắt cảnh sát) ………………………………………………………………………………… Task IV: Complete the sentences using by + the following: chance/ credit card/ hand/ mistake/ satellite/ chance Example: Sorry, I have no cash Can I pay by credit card? 16 We had not arranged to meet We met …………………………………… … 17 I didn’t intend to take your umbrella I took it…………………………… 18 Don’t put the sweater in the washing machine It has to be washed……… 19 I don’t need cash I can pay the bill……………………………………… 20 The two cities were connected ………………… for a television program 68 Task V: Make sentences with ‘by’ prepositional phrases basing on suggestions Example: They have to be class not later than o’clock →They haveto be class by o’ clock 21 We have to be home not later than o’clock →I have to………………………………………………………………… 22 I have to be at the airport not later than 8.30 →I have to be at the airport………………………………………………… 23 Let me know not later than Saturday whether you can come to the party →Let me know……………………………………………………………… 24 Please make sure that you’re here not later than o’clock →Please make sure that……………………………………………………… 25 If we leave now, we should arrive not later than lunchtime →If we leave now,………………………………………………………… Task VI: All these sentences have a mistake There is a mistake in each below sentence Underline and correct them Example: Did you come here by Kate’s car or yours? in Kate’s car 26 I don’t like travelling on bus ……………………………………………………………………………… 27 These photographs were taken by a very good camera ……………………………………………………………………………… 28 I know this music is from Beethoven, but I can’t remember what it’s called ……………………………………………………………………………… 29 I couldn’t pay by cash – I didn’t have any money on me ……………………………………………………………………………… 30 We lost the game only because of a mistake of one of our players ……………………………………………………………………………… The end 69 APPENDIX Answer key to written grammar test I Fill in the blank with suitable prepositions ‘by’, ‘in’, ‘on’ or nothing On By By/on nothing On II.Put the words in the right order to form a complete sentence 6.We usually go to work by bus Don’t put the sweater white shirt in the washing machine It has to be washed by hand We have to be home by o’clock War and Peace is a book by Tolstoy 10 The telephone is by the window III Translate these following sentences into English 11 The telephone is by the window 12 He entered by the back door 13 I did not intend to take your umbrella It took it by mistake 14 Can you finish the work by o’clock? 15 He was arrested by the police IV Complete the sentences using by + the following 16 by chance 19 by credit card 17 by mistake 18 by hand 20 by satellite V Make sentences with ‘by’ prepositional phrases basing on suggestions 21 We have to be home by o’clock 22 I have to be at the airport by 8.30 23 Let me know by Saturday whether you can come to the party 24 Please make sure that you’re here by o’clock 25 If we leave now, we should arrive by lunchtime 70 VI All these sentences have a mistake There is a mistake in each below sentence Underline and correct them 26 …travelling by bus/ travelling by the bus/ travelling on buses 27 …taken with a very good camera 28 ….this music is by Beethoven 29… pay cash or pay in cash 30 ….a mistake by one of our players The end 71