(Luận văn tmu) methods of learning english collocations in order to enhance english vocabulary for third year students of english faculty at thuong mai un

ABSTRACT One of the most problematic areas for foreign language learning is collocation It is often seen as arbitrary and overwhelming, a seemingly insurmountable obstacle to the attainment of native - like fluency This graduation thesis aims to illustrate the roles, importance, and types of English collocations and to investigate the use of collocations in the business context, then giving the methods of learning English collocations In this regard, the usage of English collocations of third –year students of English faculty at Thuongmai University is going to be examined The writer discusses how English Collocations can be dealt with in the school and at home This study will give the useful theory and information which is related to English collocations In addition, different solutions to students at both basic and intermediate levels are provided at the end of this graduation thesis i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would to thank my supervisor over the course of this – Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, for all her insightful comments, suggestions and keeping me focused in writing this dissertation, and also my friend – Dinh Thi Giang for all her advice and support during the coursework Lastly, I‘d also like to thank my parents, without whom none of this would have been possible ii iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iii LIST OF FIGURES .v CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study .1 1.3 Research subjects 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Research methodology 1.6 Organization of the study .4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .6 2.1 Definitions of collocation 2.2 The importance of English collocation 2.2.1 For English learners iv 2.2.2 For third – year students of English Faculty at Thuong Mai university .9 2.3 Types of English collocations .12 2.3.1 Grammatical collocations 12 2.3.2 Lexical collocations 13 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 15 3.1 Current situation 15 3.2 Difficulties .16 3.2.1 De-lexicalized Verbs 16 3.2.2 Randomness .17 3.2.3 Meaning and Noticing .17 3.2.4 Difficulties in studying and teaching at Thuongmai university 18 3.3 Reasons why third – year students of English faculty at Thuongmai University cannot deal with English collocations 18 3.3.1 Objective reasons .18 3.3.2 Subjective reasons 19 3.4 The process of surveying 20 3.4.1 The design of questionnaires .20 3.4.2 Data analysis 21 3.5 Discussion of the findings .29 v CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS .30 4.1 How should students deal with English collocations? 30 4.2 Solution to problems facing third - year students when learning English collocations 31 4.2.1 Spending more time on self - teaching .31 4.2.2 Taking the IELTS, TOEIC, TOEFL tests .32 4.2.3 Taking an English course 32 4.2.4 Practicing everyday 33 4.3 Recommendations for improving learning environment at Thuongmai University .33 CONCLUSION 35 APPENDIX vi LIST OF FIGURES No Table/chart Name Page Table 2.1 Grammatical collocations 13 Table 2.2 Types of lexical collocations 14 Chart 3.1 The amount of time students have been 21 learning English Chart 3.2 The amount of time a student spend per day 22 on learning English Chart 3.3 The weaknesses in learning English 23 Chart 3.4 The methods that students use to learn 24 English collocations Chart 3.5 Point ladder of students’ ability to use 25 English collocations Chart 3.6 Point ladder of students’ ability to remember 25 English collocations Chart 3.7 Students’ opinions about difficult factors in vii 26 reading skills 10 Chart 3.8 Students’ opinions about difficult factors in 27 listening skills 11 Table 3.1 Students’ opinions about the importance of 27 English collocations 12 Table 3.2 Students’ opinions about the best methods for learning English collocations viii 28 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 Rationale In the field of applied linguistics, a great deal of research efforts has been dedicated to the way to teach and learn English skills, while the methods of learning English collocations have not aroused the same degree of interest In recent years, we can see that a lot of students have paid more attention to English collocations, especially for students learning IELTS or TOEFL The main reason is that nowadays English collocations become more and more important for students to learn and remember vocabulary It's extremely necessary to know what words pair with each other and know how to use collocations In the past, some people used to try to find out the rules of forming English collocations as well as the importance of English collocations They did some research on lexical collocations, grammar, types, the origin of collocation… However, not many people have research on the methods of learning collocations It is a truth that understanding clearly about collocations is very important in not only English communication but also in all English skills (especially in reading and listening skills) Besides, third– year students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University are chosen as respondents because they are people who should know more about academic vocabulary and business terms which can absolutely help them build a strong foundation to work effectively in their future career Therefore, this thesis topic: “methods of learning English collocations in order to enhance English vocabulary for third - year students of English Faculty at Thuong Mai University” is performed with the strong expectation to find out the best methods for them to form English collocations and learn them easily, which would properly improve their English skills 1.2 Aims of the study English collocations are not new terms for English learners However, not everyone can understand exactly about it When trying to learn English vocabulary, researcher realized that remembering English collocations can help English learners to remember new words longer and applied them into speaking fluently Knowing how to use and form collocations is the key to learn vocabulary and help them gain the high band when they take the IELTS exam or TOEIC In addition, almost third – year students of English faculty at Thuongmai University are recognized that they have not gained enough knowledge about English collocations Therefore, this study has been conducted and followed these ideas: