A study on teaching and learning medical english vocabulary at hue junior college of medicine nghiên cứu về việc dạy và học tiếng anh ngành y dược tại trường cao đẳng y tế huế

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY - LE BA MAI KHANH A STUDY ON TEACHING AND LEARNING MEDICAL ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT HUE JUNIOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY - LE BA MAI KHANH A STUDY ON TEACHING AND LEARNING MEDICAL ENGLISH VOCABULARY AT HUE JUNIOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 8140111 SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN VAN HUY, PhD HUE, 2019 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ - LÊ BÁ MAI KHANH NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC DẠY VÀ HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Y DƯỢC TẠI TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG Y TẾ HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH Mã số: 8140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC TIẾN SĨ NGUYỄN VĂN HUY HUẾ, 2019 STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP The work contained in this thesis has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, my thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Signed: Date:09/12/2019 i ABSTRACT This study was conducted to investigate the vocabulary teaching and learning strategies for medical English of medical students at a junior college of medicine in central Vietnam It collected both qualitative and quantitative data from 200 students and English teachers , using questionnaires and indepth interviews Data were then analyzed using SPSS statistical software and qualitative content analysis Findings for this study revealed that all of the medical students are highly aware of the importance of learning medical vocabulary for their current study Especially, the study showcased the conflict between what was perceived and what was practiced in medical vocabulary learning Students often employed learning vocabulary in familiar and easy ways, yet, they were also aware of the importance of more challenging, contextualized vocabulary learning strategies As for teachers, they often used translation into the native language technique, eponyms and collocation to teach medical vocabulary With these findings, the study helps to shed more light on the frequency and usefulness level of vocabulary learning strategies used by students as well as the specialized vocabulary teaching techniques used by teachers in the context of Vietnam tertiary education ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research paper is the end of my long journey in obtaining my M.A There are many people who made this journey easier with words of encouragement I would like to express my deep gratitude to the following people for their help, advice, and encouragement in both direct and indirect ways during the study First, I wish to express my deep and sincere grateful thanks to my advisor, Dr Nguyen Van Huy, for his valuable and thorough comments, assistance, and support throughout the study My thanks also go to Hue Junior College of Medicine, especially English teachers and all students for support of the research study Finally, I would like to give my appreciative thanks to my family and close friends for their kind assistance and constant encouragement which always bring about success to my life iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Statements of Original Authorship i Abstract ii Acknowledgement iii Table of contents iv List of tables vi List of charts vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research aims 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the research 1.5 Significance of the research 1.6 Contents of the research CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) 2.1.1 The definition of vocabulary 2.1.2 Definition of vocabulary learning strategies 2.1.3 Taxonomies of vocabulary learning strategies 2.2 Vocabulary learning strategies for medical students 2.3 Challenges of leaning medical vocabulary 10 2.4 Vocabulary teaching techniques 11 2.5 Vocabulary teaching techniques for medical students 13 2.6 Challenges of teaching medical vocabulary 17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19 3.1 Research approaches 19 3.2 Research location 20 3.3 Participants 21 3.3.1 The students 21 3.3.2 The teachers 21 iv 3.4 Data Collection Instruments 21 3.4.1 Questionnaire 22 3.4.2 The Interview 22 3.5 Data Analysis 24 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 26 4.1 Reliability of the research 26 4.2 Perceptions of medical students about the importance of learning medical English 27 4.2.1 Overview 27 4.2.2 The attitude of medical students towards their learning medical English 29 4.3 Frequency and usefulness of vocabulary learning strategies for medical students 30 4.4 Teacher reflection on using strategies to teach medical English vocabulary 39 4.4.1 Teacher’s attitudes toward the necessity of learning medical English to medical students 39 4.4.2 Frequency of implementing of presenting medical vocabulary 40 4.4.3 Techniques used by the teachers in English lesson 40 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 46 5.1 Summary of the key findings 46 5.2 Pedagogical implications 47 5.2.1 Implications for teachers 47 5.2.2 Implications for students 49 5.3 Limitations of the research 49 5.4 Suggestions for further research 50 5.5 Summary 50 REFERENCES 51 APPENDICES 56 v LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Some research of taxonomies of vocabulary learning strategies Table: 3.1 Mean scores of data were interpreted based on mean range as follows: 24 Table 4.1: The reliability of the questionnaires 26 Table 4.2: Use of VLS strategies by Hue junior college of medicine in Thừa Thiên Huế province 27 Table 4.3 The level order of the strategies according to their frequency 37 Table 4.4 The level order of the strategies according to their usefulness 38 Table 4.5 Frequency of medical vocabulary presentation 40 Table 4.6 Describes the techniques that teachers use when teaching vocabulary 40 Table 4.7 Frequency of using these techniques 41 Table 4.7 Reason for teachers’ preferences to using the techniques 42 Table 4.8 Students’ preference in Techniques Used by the teacher 43 Table 4.9 Students’ preference for Study form used by the teacher 44 vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1 The school year of students participating in the survey 27 Chart 4.2 Gender of students participating in the survey 28 Chart 4.3 Ages of students participating in the survey 28 Chart 4.4 Students' previous exposure to English subject 28 Chart 4.5 The importance of learning medical English 29 Chart 4.6 Reason for learning medical English 29 Chart 4.7: The frequency and usefulness of using Dictionary Strategies with learning medical vocabulary 30 Chart 4.8: The frequency and usefulness of using Guessing Strategies with learning medical vocabulary 31 Chart 4.9: The frequency and usefulness of using Study preferences with learning medical vocabulary 32 Chart 4.10: The frequency and usefulness of using Memory strategies with learning medical vocabulary 33 Chart 4.11: The frequency and usefulness of using Autonomy with learning medical vocabulary 34 Chart 4.12: The frequency and usefulness of using Note – taking strategies with learning medical vocabulary 35 Chart 4.13: The frequency and impact of using Selective Attention with learning medical vocabulary 35 Chart 4.14: The frequency and usefulness of using Social strategies with learning medical vocabulary 36 Chart 4.15 Teachers' attitudes towards the necessity of learning medical English to medical students 39 vii 38 Tôi viết thông tin từ tơi tìm chúng từ điển Selective Attention 39 Tơi tạo lịch trình để học từ vựng 40 Tôi nghĩ mức độ tiến việc học từ vựng Tôi tự đưa lựa chọn từ 41 quan trọng cần phải học Social Strategies 42 Tôi hỏi giáo viên nghĩa từ 43 Tôi hỏi bạn lớp nghĩa từ Tôi cố gắng tìm hội để nói chuyện 44 với người nước ngồi thường xun Nghe xem phim, hát 45 chương trình T.V để liệt kê từ có liên quan đến chuyên ngành Y Sử dụng phương tiện ứng dụng 46 internet để có nghĩa từ cách nhanh chóng 64 47 Bạn thích giáo viên sử dụng kỹ thuật để dạy từ vựng chuyên ngành Y? ( đánh X vào ô bạn chọn) Kỹ thuật Khơng thích Khơng thích Thích Rất thích Breaking Down Word – Parts Linker Vowel Removing Affixation Eponyms Translation Into The Native Language Collocations Breaking Down kỹ thuật chia từ ghép thành thành phần có ý nghĩa Ý nghĩa yếu tố liệt kê riêng kết hợp ý nghĩa tất đơn vị, dẫn đến định nghĩa ý nghĩa tồn thuật ngữ Word – Parts nói từ gốc từ kết hợp tạo thành từ/thuật ngữ/cụm từ Từ gốc phần thiết yếu từ, từ gắn kết thường có nghĩa bổ sung cho hình thức từ ban đầu cuối Từ gắn kết chia thành hai phần chính: tiền tố hậu tố Linker – Vowels nghĩa nguyên âm liên kết, hiểu tạo liên kết mượt mà từ từ kết thúc nguyên âm thành từ bắt đầu nguyên âm, âm nhỏ / y / / w / thêm vào từ Khi chia nhỏ từ, nên ý điểm tả Một chữ nguyên âm sử dụng để tách hai gốc trở lên với hậu tố thuật ngữ y tế Thông thường, nguyên âm (o), có số quy tắc ngoại lệ xem xét áp dụng hình thức kết hợp (tức nguyên âm "o") Khi từ gốc kết hợp kết hợp với gốc hậu tố khác, nguyên âm "o" cần liên kết hai thành phần Removing affixation hiểu xóa bỏ gắn kết Bằng cách loại bỏ tiền tố hậu tố, sinh viên thấy ý nghĩa chung nghĩa “đóng” thuật ngữ Epnonyms có nghĩa "đặt tên theo" Cụ thể hơn, thuật ngữ đặt tên theo người phát mô tả cấu trúc giải phẫu bệnh chẩn đoán lần phát triển công cụ y tế thủ tục với mục đích tơn vinh họ Ngồi ra, số thuật ngữ thuộc loại đặt tên để nguồn gốc loại thuốc (tức đặt tên theo loại mà loại thuốc chiết xuất) nguồn gốc bệnh Translation into the native language nghĩa dịch sang ngôn ngữ địa, hiểu dịch nghĩa từ, từ tiếng Anh sang tiếng Việt Collocations cặp nhóm từ xuất với tần suất cao 65 48 Hình thức học Bạn thích mong muốn học lớp nhất? ( đánh X vào ô bạn chọn) Hình thức học Khơng thích Khơng thích Thích Rất thích Học với thiết bị dạy học: hình ảnh, video, máy chiếu, mơ hình, Học theo nhóm Tích hợp trị chơi / video / vào học Giáo viên dạy bạn kỹ thuật học từ vựng y khoa để bạn học từ vựng hiệu Giáo viên yêu cầu tự học 49 Những đề xuất giúp bạn học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Y hiệu hơn? Chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! 66 APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE (For students) (English version) This questionnaire aims at investigating the learning of English vocabulary of medical students at Hue junior college of medicine It was designed to collect quantitative data from the medical student about reality, how they learn and what is difficult when medical students encounter vocabulary learning It also finds out how students perceive about the role of vocabulary in learning English, especially for Medical English All the information collected will be used for research purpose only The accuracy of the information you supply will greatly help better understand the role of vocabulary in learning Medical English need for the future work as a nurse or pharmacist Your additional ideals will be helpful and valuable to the study Thank you very much for taking the time to answer the questions fully and thoughtfully I Part 1: General background information Full name (optional): Age: Gender: □ Male □ Female How long have you been learning English before the entrance to the Hue junior college of medicine? □ years □ years □ 10 years In which year of nursing/ pharmacist trainning programme are you? □ Freshman □ 2nd year □ 3rd year How important you think English is to your professional future job? □ Very important □ Important □ Fairly important □ Not important Why you learn medical English? ( You can choose more than one option) □ To improve English skill □ To complete a compulsory subject □ To read nursing document in English for professional development □ To communicate with medical professionals from other backgrounds and cultures 67 □ To get a good job in the futur □ To purpose further education □ To work as a nurs/pharmacist □ To follow trainning program conducted in English Other ( please specify): II.1 Please indicate your level of agreement about the frequency of using vocabulary learning strategies in learning medical English at Hue junior college of medicine Put a number for option that corresponds to your answer (1 Never, Rarely, Sometimes, often, always) Agreement No STRATEGY Never (1) Dictionary Strategies I use an English-only dictionary I use a Vietnamese/English or English/Vietnamese dictionary I use a Medical dictionary app installed in my cellphone If there are new words in new lesson or reading passage that I not know, I look them up in the dictionary I look up a word in the dictionary if it is of personal interest to me I look at the different meanings of a word in the dictionary I look at examples of how a word is used when I look it up in the dictionary When I look up a word in the dictionary, I look to see if it is a noun, a verb, an adverb, etc 68 Rarely Sometimes (2) (3) Often (4) Always (5) Guessing strategies I guess the meanings of words I don't know before I ask someone else or look in the dictionary 10 I use the context clues to find out the new words 11 I use grammatical structure to guess the meaning 12 I use illustrate pictures in the textbook to find the meaning of words Study preferences 13 When I study vocabulary, I work alone 14 When I study vocabulary, I work with one other person or my group 15 When I study vocabulary, I work in the dictionary Memory strategies 16 I keep a record of new words I see (for example, in vocabulary lists, in vocabulary notebooks, on vocabulary cards, in cellphone, etc.) 17 Outside of class time, I regularly review new words that I have recently seen 18 I remember the words by learning the medical wordslist 19 I repeat words aloud to help me remember them 20 I write words several times to help me remember them 21 I remember words together that have similar spellings 69 22 I remember words by creating mental pictures of them in my mind 23 I remember words together that sound similar 24 To help me remember words I pay attention to the word’s prefixes, roots, and suffixes (for example, pre-re,tion,- sion, etc,) (Word formation) I remember words buy grouping them together according to subject 25 (for example, remembering names of infectious diseases, remembering name of human body parts, remembering name of symptoms of a certain disease, ) 26 I remember words by remembering the sentence which I saw them or the context in which I saw them 27 I remember words by testing myself (for example, by looking at the English words and trying to remember the Vietnamese meaning and trying to remember English translation.) 28 I remember words by connect the new words with life situations and experiences Autonomy 29 30 I read English books, medical books, newspapers, and magazines of medical outside of class for my own pleasure I listen to English music outside of class time 70 31 I watch movies or find some video in English with medical topics outside of class time 32 I try to make opportunities outside of class to use words I‘ve just learned 33 I learn new words from all kinds of materials I have Note-taking strategies 34 I write down a word if I think is common 35 I write down a word that are of personal interest to me 36 I write down a word or phrases that I think are useful 37 I write down the definitions of English words in English 38 I write down information about words when I look them up in the dictionary Selective Attention 39 I have a schedule or routine that I follow for studying vocabulary 40 I think about my progress in vocabulary learning 41 I decide which words are important for me to learn and which are not important for me to learn Social Strategies 42 I ask my teacher for meanings of new words 43 I ask other students for meanings of new words 44 I try find opportunities to speak 71 to native English speakers as often as possible 45 Listen and watch films, songs, and T.V programs to list the new words 46 Use internet facilities and applications to get meaning fast II Please indicate your level of agreement about the usefulness of using vocabulary learning strategies in learning medical English at Hue junior college of medicine Put a number for option that corresponds to your answer (1 Very not useful, Not useful Neutral Useful Very useful) Agreement No Very not Not Very Neutral Useful useful useful useful (4) STRATEGY (1) Dictionary Strategies I use an English-only dictionary I use a Vietnamese/English or English/Vietnamese dictionary I use a Medical dictionary app installed in my cellphone If there are new words in new lesson or reading passage that I not know, I look them up in the dictionary I look up a word in the dictionary if it is of personal interest to me I look at the different meanings of a word in the dictionary I look at examples of how a word is used when I look it up in the dictionary When I look up a word in the dictionary, I look to see if it is a noun, a verb, an adverb, etc 72 (2) (3) (5) Guessing strategies I guess the meanings of words I don't know before I ask someone else or look in the dictionary 10 I use the context clues to find out the new words 11 I use grammatical structure to guess the meaning 12 I use illustrate pictures in the textbook to find the meaning of words Study preferences 13 When I study vocabulary, I work alone 14 When I study vocabulary, I work with one other person or my group 15 When I study vocabulary, I work in the dictionary Memory strategies I keep a record of new words I see (for example, in vocabulary lists, in 16 vocabulary notebooks, on vocabulary cards, in cellphone, etc.) Outside of class time, I regularly 17 review new words that I have recently seen 18 I remember the words by learning the medical wordslist 19 I repeat words aloud to help me remember them 20 I write words several times to help me remember them 21 I remember words together that have similar spellings 22 I remember words by creating mental pictures of them in my mind 73 23 I remember words together that sound similar To help me remember words I pay attention to the word’s prefixes, roots, 24 and suffixes (for example, prere,tion,- sion, etc,) ( Word formation) I remember words buy grouping them together according to subject (for example, remembering names of 25 infectious diseases, remembering name of human body parts, remembering name of symptoms of a certain disease, ) I remember words by remembering 26 the sentence which I saw them or the context in which I saw them I remember words by testing myself (for example, by looking at the English words and trying to 27 remember the Vietnamese meaning and trying to remember English translation.) I remember words by connect the 28 new words with life situations and experiences Autonomy I read English books, medical books, newspapers, and magazines of 29 medical outside of class for my own pleasure 30 I listen to English music outside of class time 31 I watch movies or find some video in English with medical topics outside of class time 32 I try to make opportunities outside of class to use words I‘ve just learned 74 33 I learn new words from all kinds of materials I have Note-taking strategies 34 I write down a word if I think is common 35 I write down a word that are of personal interest to me 36 I write down a word or phrases that I think are useful 37 I write down the definitions of English words in English 38 I write down information about words when I look them up in the dictionary Selective Attention 39 I have a schedule or routine that I follow for studying vocabulary 40 I think about my progress in vocabulary learning 41 I decide which words are important for me to learn and which are not important for me to learn Social Strategies 42 I ask my teacher for meanings of new words 43 I ask other students for meanings of new words 44 I try find opportunities to speak to native English speakers as often as possible 45 Listen and watch films, songs, and T.V programs to list the new words 46 Use internet facilities and applications to get meaning fast 75 47 What technique you like teachers to use to teach medical vocabulary? Put tick (X) for option that corresponds to your answer Not Like Techniques Not like to much Like Very Like Breaking Down Word – Parts Linker Vowel Removing Affixation Eponyms Translation Into The Native Language Collocations 48 What study form you like and want to learn the most in class? Not like Study form Not like to much Like Like very much Learning with teaching aids: pictures, videos, projectors, models, Study in groups Integrating games / videos / into lessons Teachers teach you techniques to learn medical vocabulary so that you can learn vocabulary effectively The teacher requires self-study 49 Can you give some suggestions to help improve learning medical vocabulary? Thank you so much! 76 APPENDIX C INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (For teachers) Teachers’ profile - Age: Major: - Years of teaching medical English: How you think about the usefulness of learning medical English to the medical student? How often you implement the vocabulary presentation? Which of the following techniques you use present vocabulary? What techniques the teachers use to present medical vocabulary? How you use vocabulary presenting techniques? What are usefulness of vocabulary teaching techniques on the students? APPENDIX D What techniques the teachers use to present medical vocabulary? Put tick (X) for option that corresponds to your answer Techniques Teachers Breaking -Down Word – Parts Linker Vowel Removing Affixation Eponyms Translation Into The Native Language Collocations 77 How often you use these vocabulary techniques teaching? Put tick (X) for option that corresponds to your answer Techniques Always Breaking Down Word – parts Linker Vowel Removing Affixation Eponyms Translation into the native language Collocations 78 Often Sometimes Never