Responses of atc seniors on the use and evaluation of vocabulary learning strategies

BANKING ACADEMY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES -o0o - GRADUATION THESIS TOPIC: RESPONSES OF ATC SENIORS ON THE USE AND EVALUATION OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES Supervisor: M.A Tran Thi Thu Thuy Student: Nguyen Thuy Linh Class: K21ATCB Faculty: Foreign Languages Student ID: 21A7510082 Hanoi, May 2022 Tai ngay!!! Ban co the xoa dong chu nay!!! 17014128953511000000 DECLARATIONS I hereby declare that the topic: " Responses of ATC seniors on the use and evaluation of Vocabulary Learning Strategies" is an independent research work under the guidance of the lecturer: Mrs Tran Thi Thu Thuy I not have any copies of others The data and results presented in the report are completely honest All references in the thesis are fully cited Hanoi, 23th May, 2022 Signature Nguyen Thuy Linh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to extend my deepest thanks to all who assisted me in successfully completing my graduate thesis I was able to accomplish the most challenging assignment in four years of university thanks to everyone's assistance, direction, and support throughout the process First and foremost, I would like to express my gratefulness to Mrs Tran Thi Thu Thuy, my instructor When I was working on my research, she passionately assisted me, helped me with the essential information, and thoroughly edited my work The thesis would be difficult to complete without her supervision and attentive support In addition, I would want to express my gratitude to all of the students who took part in the thesis survey Your contributions were crucial to the study's success Finally, I would want to show my gratitude to my family and all of my friends for accompanying, comforting, and encouraging me during the thesis writing process ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATIONS i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF TABLES vi ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the Thesis Aim of study Scope of the study Method of study Design of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Overview of vocabulary 1.1 Definition of vocabulary 1.2 The importance of vocabulary 1.3 Classification of vocabulary 1.3.1 According to the concept of morpheme 1.3.2 According to the meaning 1.3.3 According to the sequence of use 1.3.4 According to the use of words 1.4 Aspect of vocabulary knowledge Overview of language learning strategy 10 2.1 Definition of language learning strategy .10 2.2 The classification of language learning strategy 11 Overview of vocabulary learning strategies 12 3.1 Definition of vocabulary learning strategy 12 3.2 Classification of vocabulary learning strategy 13 3.2.1 Metacognitive strategies (MET) 15 iii 3.2.2 Discovery strategies 20 3.2.3 Consolidation strategies .22 3.3 Previous studies on vocabulary learning strategy .25 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 29 Locale of the study .29 Participants 29 Method of study 29 Research instrument 30 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS 32 Metacognitive strategies 32 Discovery strategies .35 Consolidation strategies 38 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION 43 Discussion 43 Recommendation 45 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION .47 REFERENCES .48 APPENDICES 60 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ATC English-majored students at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Banking Academy of Vietnam EFL English for Foreign Language ESL English as a second language VLSs Vocabulary learning strategies LLSs Language Learning Strategies L1 First language L2 Second language MEM Memories strategy COG Cognitive strategy MET Metacognitive strategy DIS Discovery strategy DET Determination strategy SOC Social strategy v LIST OF TABLES Table 1- The use of metacognitive strategies 32 Table 2- Evaluation of metacognitive strategies 33 Table 3- The use of discovery strategies 35 Table 4- Evaluation of discovery strategies 37 Table 5- The use of Consolidation strategies 38 Table 6- Evaluation of Consolidation strategies 39 vi ABSTRACT The title of the thesis: Responses of ATC seniors on the use and evaluation of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Author: Nguyen Thuy Linh, student of the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking Academy of Vietnam Advisor: Mrs Tran Thi Thu Thuy (M.A) Key words: Vocabulary learning strategies, ATC students, English majored students Learning new words as part of English for Foreign Language (EFL) instruction and learning has not been properly explored since its usefulness has been called into doubt by numerous scholars in the past However, several research in recent years have indicated that good procedures for acquiring new words may be one of the keys to efficient language learning among EFL learners The purpose of this study is to look at how ATC students at Banking Academy use and evaluate vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) The three types of VLSs - metacognitive, discovery, and consolidation - were selected based on taxonomies offered by Al-Fuhaid (2004), Schmitt (1997), and Nation (2000) (2001) The initial goal was to investigate the most commonly used VLSs using questionnaires to obtain the essential data The second goal was to assess the usefulness of each of these VLSs According to the results, the discovery method possesses the two most popular methods, namely using a dictionary and guessing the meaning of words by context In terms of strategy effectiveness, the three most useful approaches lie only in the discovery and metacognitive categories The two strategies that are found to be most useful are using dictionaries and guessing the meaning of words by context, which belong to the discovery category One of the other three ways is to learn vocabulary through reading of metacognitive strategy vii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Background of the Thesis English is the most commonly used language in the world Therefore, a lot of useful learning materials of major educational institutions and universities are written in English In the face of the integration of the world along with the penetration of foreign companies into the Vietnamese market, the importance of English is even more evident Many countries include English in the school curriculum and children start learning English at a young age Vietnam is no exception Therefore, English is taught as a compulsory subject in school Despite investing so much time in learning English, even 10 years or more studying English at school, there are still many students who cannot pronounce correctly or use English in communication In order to communicate, a certain amount of words are required As Wilkins (1972, p 111–112) once stated, "Without grammar little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed" Many students have difficulty expressing their ideas and feelings due to lack of vocabulary In the process of teaching and learning foreign languages, vocabulary plays an important role It is a factor linking the four skills of speaking, reading, listening and writing (Nguyen & Khat, 2003) One of the most challenging problems every student encounters while learning a new language is mastering vocabulary As a result, language learners must be instructed in ways to assist them understand the meaning of words Vocabulary learning strategies are specific strategies employed by learners to learn new words in a foreign language To increase learners' performance in language learning, vocabulary learning strategies should be included in language classes to tackle vocabulary learning challenges Oxford (1990), Nation (1990), Nunan (1992), O'Malley and Charmot (1990) and others, wrote several books on learning strategies, while Nation (1982, 1990), Rubin and Thompson (1994), Schmitt (1997, 2000), and Taylor (1990) authored works on vocabulary learning strategies There have been a few studies on vocabulary learning strategies in Vietnam so far However, most of those researches only focus on the use or the frequency of each strategy but the usefulness Especially in Faculty of English of Banking Academy, the usefulness of vocabulary learning strategies has not been investigated As the result, this current study is conducted to not only verify the use of strategies but also to discover which vocabulary learning strategies that the students find most useful Aim of study The major goal of the research is to find out what strategies students use to acquire vocabulary and how effective they are As a result, the study was carried out in response to the two research questions listed below: 1) What is the frequency of use of each vocabulary learning strategy by English-majored students at Banking Academy? 2) What is the evaluation of the effectiveness of each strategy from the English- majored students at Banking Academy? Scope of the study Because of the restricted time and scope of the study, it was solely aimed to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies used by English major students at Banking Academy, especially the fourth- year students, and which strategies they consider the most helpful Method of study Quantitative analysis was chosen as the primary instrument for analyzing the data obtained from the questionnaire in order to meet the study's objectives