Nghiên cứu chiến lược đối phó với các từ vựng học thuật chưa biết trong lớp học của sinh viên chuyên ngành tiếng anh trường đại học ngoại ngữ đại học huế

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES CAO NGUYEN TRA MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH UNKNOWN ACADEMIC WORDS IN CLASSROOM LEARNING BY EFL STUDENTS AT HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES 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, 2016 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES CAO NGUYEN TRA MY AN INVESTIGATION INTO STRATEGIES TO DEAL WITH UNKNOWN ACADEMIC WORDS IN CLASSROOM LEARNING BY EFL STUDENTS AT HUE COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr, LE PHAM HOAI HUONG HUE, 2016 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ NGHIÊN CỨU CHIẾN LƯỢC ĐỐI PHÓ VỚI CÁC TỪ VỰNG HỌC THUẬT CHƯA BIẾT TRONG LỚP HỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN CHUYÊN NGÀNH TIẾNG ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƯƠNG HUE, 2016 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Date: 25 / / 2016 Signature Full name Cao Nguyen Tra My iii ABSTRACT This research paper investigated strategies used to deal with unknown academic words by EFL students at Hue University College of Foreign Languages It also addressed EFL students‟ perceptions toward academic words Besides, the study examined the difficulties that students faced when coming across unknown academic words in classroom learning The subjects of this study were 101 English major EFL students at HUCFL The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and self-reflection notes Then the data collected from questionnaires were processed with SPSS program and presented in tables and figures Meanwhile, information from the interviews and self-reflection notes was quoted and analyzed The findings of the study revealed that EFL students had strong awareness of learning academic words at university The data obtained showed that EFL students tend to use a rich variety of strategies to deal with unknown academic words such as using dictionary, guessing based on the context clues, examining word parts, ignoring unknown academic words, asking other classmates or teachers Among them, it can be said that using dictionaries was considered the most useful strategy although it was not employed very often Based on the findings of the study, suggestions were made with the hope of helping EFL students as well as teachers apply strategies to overcome unknown academic words with flying colors in classroom learning iv Acknowledgements I would like to express my cordial thanks, first and foremost, to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong for her enthusiasm, patience and profound knowledge In spite of coming up against difficulties during my research time, her whole-hearted and excellent guidance made me my utmost to complete the dissertation as well as possible To be honest, I feel very fortunate to have such a brilliant advisor and mentor for my study But for her help, this research would not have been possible to fulfill My thanks also go to all of the informants and participants for the questionnaires, interviews and selfreflection notes as well, without whose assistance my MA study here can hardly achieve as planned Besides my advisor, I owe a debt of heartfelt thanks to an English friend, Mr Neil Coker, who was always willing to help and offer me valuable suggestions over the past few months when the work was in the making I am much obliged to my close friends But for their countenance, I would not have accomplished my MA study on schedule Last but not least, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my family: my parents and my younger brother for supporting me spiritually as well as always standing by me throughout carrying out this research Without their precious encouragement when bad times come, I not know whether I have enough determination to make the best of things or not Thanks again for giving me motivation to follow out this study v v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS .xii A.List of tables xi B List of charts xi CHAPTER I-INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Structure of the study CHAPTER II-LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 An overview of academic vocabulary 2.2.1 What is a word? 2.2.2 What is vocabulary? 2.2.3 What is academic vocabulary? 2.2.3.1 General Academic Vocabulary 2.2.3.2 Domain-Specific Academic Vocabulary 2.3 Review of previous studies 10 2.4 The importance of academic vocabulary to EFL students 12 2.5 Review of strategies for dealing with unknown academic vocabulary 14 vii 2.5.1 Using context clues to unlock the meanings of unknown academic vocabulary 15 2.5.2 Using the dictionaryand related reference tools 18 2.5.2.1 What is a dictionary? 18 2.5.2.2 Types of dictionaries 18 2.5.2.3 Dictionary- use strategy 20 2.5.3 Using word components 20 2.5.3.1 Definitions of prefixes, suffixes and root/ base words 21 2.5.3.2 Applying word parts in coping with unknown academic words 22 2.5.4 Ignoring unknown academic words 23 2.5.5 Asking other classmates or teacher for help 24 2.6 Difficulties in dealing with unknown academic words 25 2.6.1 To using context clues 25 2.6.2 To using dictionaries 26 2.6.3 To using word components 27 2.6.4 To ignoring unknown academic words 28 2.6.5 To asking for help of other classmates and teachers 28 2.7 Summary 29 CHAPTER III-METHODOLOGY 30 3.1 Introduction 30 3.2 Research approach 30 3.3 Participants 31 3.4 Data collection 31 3.4.1 Questionnaire 31 3.4.2 Interview 33 3.4.3 Students‟ self-reflection note 34 3.5 Data Collection Procedure 36 3.6 Data Analysis 37 3.7 Summary 37 CHAPTER IV-FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 38 4.1 Introduction 38 viii 4.2 Findings from questionnaire, interview and students‟ self-reflection notes 38 4.2.1 EFL students‟ perception of the importance of academic words in classroom learning 38 4.2.2 Strategies used to deal with unknown academic words in classroom learning by EFL students 43 4.2.2.1 EFL students‟ strategies to deal with unknown academic words in classroom learning 43 4.2.2.2 Frequency of EFL students‟ use of strategies for dealing with unknown academic words in classroom learning 45 4.2.2.3 The usefulness of the strategies for dealing with unknown academic vocabulary in classroom learning 46 4.2.2.4 The factors affecting the use of strategies for dealing unknown academic words in classroom learning 47 4.2.3 Difficulties in dealing with unknown academic words in classroom learning 48 4.2.3.1 EFL students‟ attitudes toward the influential level of unknown academic words to their English comprehension in classroom learning 48 4.2.3.2 Difficulties faced by EFL students when dealing with unknown academic words in classroom learning 49 4.3 Summary 53 CHAPTER V-CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY 54 5.1 Introduction 54 5.2 Summary of the findings 54 5.2.1 EFL students‟ perception of the importance of academic words in classroom learning 54 5.2.2 Strategies used to deal with unknown academic words in classroom learning by EFL students 55 5.2.3 Difficulties in dealing with unknown academic words in classroom learning 56 5.3 Implications of the study 57 5.3.1 For teachers 57 ix APPENDIX B QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT INTERVIEWS General academic vocabulary is to mention the words that occur in all kinds of texts across subjects They are normally abstract words and have many meanings (Baumann &Graves, 2010) For example: Analysis, approach, area, benefit, create, collapse, contact, estimate, evidence, equivalent, financial, factor, individual, interpretation, occur, policy, principle, respond, role, significant, similar, structure, theory, variable,…  Từ học thuật chung sử dụng để đề cập đến từ xuất tất loại văn qua môn học Chúng thường từ mơ hồ có nhiều nghĩa (Baumann &Graves, 2010) In your opinion, what is the importance of learning academic vocabulary? How often you learn academic vocabulary? Do you think that you can easily deal with unknown academic words in classroom learning? Why? What strategies you use to deal with unknown academic words in classroom learning? What difficulties you often meet when coping with unknown academic words in classroom learning? 75 APPENDIX B QUESTIONS FOR STUDENT INTERVIEWS (Vietnamese version) BẢNG CÂU HỎI PHỎNG VẤN SINH VIÊN  Từ học thuật chung sử dụng để đề cập đến từ xuất tất loại văn qua môn học Chúng thường từ mơ hồ có nhiều nghĩa (Baumann &Graves, 2010) For example: Analysis, approach, area, benefit, create, collapse, contact, estimate, evidence, equivalent, financial, factor, individual, interpretation, occur, policy, principle, respond, role, significant, similar, structure, theory, variable,… Theo bạn, tầm quan trọng việc học từ vựng học thuật gì? Bạn học từ vựng học thuật thường xuyên nào? Chiến lược bạn sử dụng để đối phó với từ học thuật chưa biết học lớp? Tại sao? Bạn nghĩ dễ dàng đối phó với từ vựng học thuật chưa biết học lớp hay khơng? Tại sao? Những khó khăn mà bạn thường gặp phải đối phó với từ học thuật chưa biết lớp? 76 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE Perturbations of nebulous interstellar clouds in space result in gravitational interaction, with the consequent contraction of gaseous matter to createprotostars, which are much larger than the stars they will finally become As the temperature increases, the gas becomes completely ionized to form plasma and gravitational contraction of the core then takes place The onset of hydrogen-burning happens at a core temperature of several million degrees, and converts hydrogen to helium through nuclear fusion The greater part of a star‟s evolutionary lifetimes is spent hydrogen-burning and, during this period, it is said to be on the Main Sequence The end of hydrogen-burning is marked by the evolution of a star into a red giant, when it is said to leave the Main Sequence Burning ceases completely in the core, which undergoes gravitational contraction to maintain mechanical equilibrium (Taken from Reading 5,Compiled by Tran Quang Ngoc Thuy, 2008, p.66) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 77 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE In the late 1960s a Catholic civil rights movement began There was violent Protestant reaction and frequent fighting broke out In 1969 British troops were sent into keep order At first they were welcomed, particularly among the Catholics But troops, inevitably, often act without regard to democratic rights In the tense atmosphere, the welcome disappeared Extremist organizations from both communities began committing acts of terrorism, such as shootings and bombings One of these groups, the Provisional IRA (Extremist groups), then started a bombing campaign on the British mainland In response, the British government reluctantly imposed certain measures not normally acceptable in a modern democracy, such as imprisonment without trial and the outlawing of organizations such as the IRA The application of these measures caused resentment to grow There was a hardening of attitudes in both communities and support for extremist political parties increased (Taken from Britain, 1995, p.119) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 78 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE The second important reason why immigrants have traditionally been drawn to the United States is the belief that everyone has a chance to succeed here Generations of immigrants, from the earliest settlers to the present day, have come to the United States with this expectation They have felt that because individuals are free from excessive political, religious, and social controls, they have a better chance for personal success Of particular importance is the lack of a hereditaryaristocracy Because titles of nobility were forbidden in the Constitution, no formal class system developed in the United States In the early years of American history, many immigrants chose to leave the older European societies because they believed that they had a better chance to succeed in America In “the old country,” their place in life was determined largely by the social class into which they were born They knew that in America they would not have to live among noble families who possessed great power and wealth inherited and accumulated over hundreds of years (Compiled by Duong Lam Anh, 2002, p.21) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 79 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE Considering how complex modern states are, there are not really very many people in a British „government‟ (as defined above) Unlike some other countries (The USA for example), not even the most senior administrative jobs change hands when a new government comes to power The day-to-day running of the government and the implementation of its policy continue in the hands of the same people that were there with the previous government –the top rank of the civil service Governments come and go, but the civil service remains It is no accident that the most senior civil servant in a government department has the title of “Permanent Secretary” Unlike politicians, civil servants, even of the highest rank, are unknown to the larger public There are probably less than 10,000 people in the country who, if you asked them, could give you the names of the present secretary to the cabinet (who runs the cabinet office) or the present head of the home civil service; still fewer know the names of more than one of the present permanent secretaries (Taken from Britain, 1995, p.85) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… 80 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE In term of the size of its audience, television has long since taken over from radio as the most significant form of broadcasting in Britain Its independence from government interference is largely a matter of tacit agreement There have been occasions when the government has successfully persuaded the BBC not to show something But there have also been many occasions when the BBC has refused to bow to government pressure Most recent cases have involved Northern Ireland For a brief period starting in the late 1980s, the government broke with the convention of non-interference and banned the transmission of interviews with members of outlawed organizations such as the IRA on television The BBC‟s response was to make a mockery of this law by showing such interviews on the screen with an actor‟s voice (with just the right accent) dubbed over the moving mouth of the interviewee! (Taken from Britain, 1995, p.157) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 81 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE There are many intercultural situations, however, where one person cannot speak the other‟s language adequately to the task at hand This situation is especially common where native speakers of English are involved, as people of British and American ethnic background are among the largest groups of monolingual speakers in the world It is also common in countries with active immigration, like the United States, Canada, Australia, and increasingly the countries of Western Europe In these countries immigrants may come in to work with no knowledge of the native language at all, and pick up the language in crash courses and on the streets Native speakers, when confronted with an employee, colleague, or customer who seems to have an inadequate command of the language, tend to experience frustration, often coupled with resentment and anger („Why can‟t people who live and work here at least learn the language? Why I have to waste my time trying to communicate with them?‟) In our own research, we have found once native speakers of Australian English hear a foreigner accent in English, they tune out instead of listening carefully – why bother to listen, if it‟s so hard (Gallois&Callan, 1986)? (Taken from Cross-Cultural Communication, 2001, p.31) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 82 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE British houses have a reputation for being the coldest in Europe Moreover, to many people from other countries, British people seem to be ridiculously keen on „fresh air‟ This reputation is exaggerated It is partly the result of the fact that houses in Britain are, on average, older than they are in other countries and are not so well insulated In fact, about three-quarters now have central heating However, there is a grain of truth in it Windows, for example, are designed so that they can be conveniently opened to a great variety of degrees- instead of, as in many other countries, either being completely shut or fully open This way, air can be let into the house in winter without freezing its inhabitants Just as the British idea of home is a mental concept as much as a physical reality, so is their idea of domestic comfort The important thing is to feel cozy - that is, to create an atmosphere which seems warm even if it isn‟t really warm This desire usually has priority over aesthetic concerns, which is why the British also have a reputation for bad taste (Taken from Britain, 1995, p.179) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 83 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE More positively, here are some general points about first approaches:  Don‟t let unfamiliar equipment put you off A videocassette player is no more complicated or difficult than an audiocassette player  Ask a colleague to show you how something works Other teachers are often afraid of „interfering‟, but are also often happy to help if asked, especially with something they are enthusiastic about  Spend some time familiarising yourself with the equipment Don‟t underestimate the importance of hands-on experience  Experience the equipment from the learner‟s point of view Sit in the laboratory, for example, and go through the materials as a student receives them  Look out for opportunities to let students work the equipment in class Having someone else carry out simple mechanical tasks can be quite extraordinary in its effect of turning students into participants (Taken from Methodology 5, p.68) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 84 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE This final short section is really concerned with an approach to syllabus rather than materials design, and much though not all of the work is as yet experimental The most common labels attached to this kind of syllabus design proposal are „process‟, „task-based‟, and „procedural‟ (we shall not discuss the internal distinctions here) The essence of all of them is described by Breen: „One of the major sources of impetus for the recent interest in alternative methodologies has been an intensified theoretical and research focus upon the language learning process and, in particular, the contributions of the learner to that process‟ (1987:159) (Taken from Methodology 2, 2008-2009, p.92) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 85 APPENDIX C SELF-REFLECTION NOTE 10 Topics, of course, are by no means the only way in which attention can be paid to the learners themselves Although for most teachers, especially those faced with big classes, the goal of large-scale individualization of instruction is not a very realistic one, some differences between learners can be taken into account in a limited way The third part of this book will explore the possibilities in more detail Here we shall simply highlight the „individual differences‟ that appear to be significant in current materials Researchers in the psychology of second language learning have investigated a number of learner characteristics that have implications for the language classroom An understanding of such characteristics, or „variables‟, can make it possible for teachers and materials designers to adjust and vary certain aspects of the classroom to allow for the different individuals in it (Taken from Methodology 2, 2008-2009, p.87) The bold words of the passage above are academic words Your self-reflection note about dealing with unknown academic words above should mention these points: Which academic words in the passage are unknown to you? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… What are your strategies to deal with them? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 86 APPENDIX D INTERVIEW OF EFL STUDENTS Quynh, a student who has a fair mark, shared: “I suppose that learning academic words is important because it can help me prepare well for international exams in the future Moreover, knowing more academic words brings me a big chance to easily get high mark in different subjects at university However, I sometimes learn academic words since there are too many subjects at university and I not have much time to learn.” Phuong, another student said: “I cannot deny the importance of learning academic words at university because without academic words, understanding the content of the subjects as well as reading extra materials that instructors required in classroom learning will become more difficult I sometimes take the time to learn academic words because of the constraint of time, though.” Then An, a good student expressed: “Learning vocabulary is an integral part of students at Hue College of Foreign Languages, especially academic words Most subjects at university appear a large amount of academic words Therefore, it will be an obstacle if students not pay much attention to learning this kind of word Academic words help me to improve my English skills in order to make good presentations in classroom learning and also to be well-prepared for international exams I often spend time learning academic words through English texts from any kinds of subjects at university.” Trang said: “When coming across unknown academic words, I usually guess from the context clues, use dictionary and ask my friends for help I think that these ways are quite useful to me to unlock many unknown academic words.” 87 Trung was also eager to share his opinion: “There are quite a lot of academic words which are unknown to students They appear densely in subjects at university Hence, it is necessary to find out strategies to deal with these unknown words I frequently guess from context, use various kinds of dictionary (English-English dictionary or English-Vietnamese dictionary) Besides, I also ask my classmates for help if I not know the meaning of unknown academic words I seldom ask my teachers because I am afraid to bother and interrupt their teaching in classroom learning These strategies help me much in decoding the meaning of unknown academic words.” Lai similarly said: “I only use dictionary to find out the meaning of unknown academic words in subjects when being at university because I can take the initiative in my learning Besides, I feel using dictionary does not annoy anyone Asking other classmates for help is not useful at all since they not know exactly the meaning of unknown academic words at times.” Trinh showed her opinion: “To me, using dictionary to unlock the meaning of unknown academic words is quite effective In addition, I also guess words from context I think this strategy is interesting because it helps me find out the nearly exact meaning of unknown academic words.” Loan, an average student, said: “I find it hard to deal with unknown academic words Using dictionary really takes me much time to be able to discover the meaning of unknown academic words while the time for each period at university is limited In addition, I sometimes not find out the exact meaning of unknown academic words because of their variety of meaning.” Hieu also shared his difficulties: “Dealing with unknown academic words is not too difficult to me However, I sometimes meet some drawbacks with strategies Because an academic word contains many different meanings, using dictionary is not effective in some cases 88 Not finding out the right meaning of unknown academic words usually happens to me Plus, it takes me much time to apply this strategy.” Ngan totally agreed with Hieu‟s ideas and added: “Apart from using dictionary, I also sometimes guess unknown academic words based on the context, but making wrong guesses is inevitable and usually happens to me The reasons are that many important running words in the texts are unfamiliar to me and the topics being read may be strange to me Both of them make the guessing more difficult.” Huy was eager to share his opinions: “I usually meet difficulties in guessing unknown academic words based on word components Although I know the meaning of prefixes, suffixes, I still make a wrong guess in some cases I suppose that using word components is not a good strategy to several academic words.” 89