A study on the current situations and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies on the second year english major students at hung yen university of technology and education

Trang 1 HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE CURRENT SITUATIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO IM

HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE CURRENT SITUATIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES ON THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION (NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG VÀ GIẢI PHÁP NÂNG CAO CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TỪ VỰNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Lien, M.A Student: Nguyen Thi Ly Student number: 11316047 Hung Yen – 2021 HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON THE CURRENT SITUATIONS AND SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES ON THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION (NGHIÊN CỨU THỰC TRẠNG VÀ GIẢI PHÁP NÂNG CAO CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TỪ VỰNG CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KỸ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Student: Nguyen Thi Ly Student number: 11316047 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Lien, M.A Hung Yen – 2021 i DECLARATION I certify that the thesis entitled “A study on the current situations and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies on the second-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education” is the result of my own research and the substance of this thesis has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution Hung Yen, May 2021 Signature Nguyen Thi Ly ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS In the process of implementing my graduation paper, I have received lots of encouragement, precious ideas and experiences from my teachers, family and friends I would like to thank all my teachers at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education for their useful advice First of all, I would like to express my profound gratitude and indebtedness to my supervisor Nguyen Thi Lien, M.A for her careful instructions and valuable advice during the conduct of my research My graduation paper would have never been complete without her instructions My deep appreciation also goes to the teachers of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education for their interesting lectures that provided me with a strong inspiration for this study I am grateful to the teachers and students at UTEHY for their willingness to respond to my survey questionnaires In my study, it is inevitable that the ideas of many writers in the field are recorded and developed I also would like to offer my sincere thanks to the authors of the books, journal articles, etc listed in the reference for their ideas that have been reviewed and developed in my paper I also would like to express my special thanks to all of my readers for their constructive comments on this thesis paper Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents and friends who have encouraged and supported me a lot during the course of my graduation paper Hung Yen, May 2021 Signature Nguyen Thi Ly iii ABSTRACT Current research has investigated perceptions, beliefs and teaching practices related to students’ vocabulary learning strategies Over the past two decades, vocabulary learning strategies seem to be of great interest in the urgent need to build a vocabulary item that is easily seen by L2 learners and that vocabulary acquisition has recovered Born to play a central role in language classes However, the fact that the majority of L2 learners are traditionally taught using methods that not pay enough attention to vocabulary can lead to a detrimental scenario, whereby vocabulary acquisition continues to be dropped By primary language teachers themselves are guided to learn grammar languages A questionnaire was made to collect data in related matters The results suggest that the second-year English major studied are aware of a range of vocabulary learning strategies including direct and indirect approaches to vocabulary acquisition Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate awareness raising activities in educational program to serve or in-service to inform language learners about advanced vocabulary prediction based on empirical research, as well Like some feasible methods of dealing with contextual dilemmas iv LIST OF TABLE CONTENTS Contents DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLE CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS v LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES vi CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The rationale of the study 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Methods of the study CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 The context of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at UTEHY 13 3.2 Methodology and data collect procedure 13 3.2.1 Methodology: 13 3.2.2 Data collection procedure: 14 3.3 Data analysis and discussion: 15 3.4 Main findings for the study 27 3.5 Recommendations 28 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 30 4.1 Summary of the study 30 4.2 Limitations of the study 30 4.3 Suggestions for further study 31 REFERENCES 32 APPENDIX I I INTERVIEWS QUESTION FOR STUDENTS VII v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS M.A: Master of Arts UTEHY: Hung Yen University of Technology and Education L2: Second language FFL: Faculty of Foreign Languages UTEHY: Hung Yen University of Technology and Education vi LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES I List of charts Chart 3.1 The students' opinions about English vocabulary .14 Chart 3.2 The students’ opinion about the importance of English vocabulary 15 Chart 3.3 Students’ assessment on difficulty of remember new English words 16 Chart 3.4 Students’ assessment on new English words in textbook 17 Chart 3.5 Students’ assessment on English proficiency according to Outcast research 18 Chart 3.6 Students’ assessment think about improving English vocabulary 23 Chart 3.7 Students’ assessment about take any measures to improve English vocabulary learn more effectively 23 II List of tables Table 3.1 The difficulties that students often make when learning English vocabulary 19 Table 3.2 Students’ opinion about the skills students lack when learning English vocabulary 20 Table 3.3 Students’ opinion about factors motivating students in learning English vocabulary 21 Table 3.4 The reasons for students’ difficulties in learning English vocabulary 22 Table 3.5 Students’ opinion some of the vocabulary learning strategies .24 Table 3.6 Students’ opinion towards the effectiveness of using activity while learning the subject to improve English vocabulary 25 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1.1 The rationale of the study In recent years, with great development in the country as well as in the world, we see that the education industry is receiving a lot of attention in its innovative methods of education, aimed at boosting student academic achievement Many universities have been changing the admission process by using English language academic achievements as a target for admission Using the results of IELTS, TOEIC Tests, etc to assess students' qualifications in the entrance examination process and the output standard examination process Therefore, learning and improving foreign languages, especially English, plays a very essential role for students However, these are my own personal observations First of all, everyone knows that we want to pass on information to others we have to use language We cannot pass information to others without a word, which limits our ability to receive information from the intended person Language is not naturally born in ourselves, it is a process of learning and practising But before learning a language, we must learn vocabulary, although it is a small factor, it's an important factor in forming human language skills Secondly, improving foreign language proficiency is a long cumulative process of practising skills, learning vocabulary and grammar Although learners spend a lot of time learning vocabulary, they still have difficulty remembering words and using words in the correct context Teachers also have their own strategies tailored to students' abilities, helping students to improve in word retention and use and improve their language proficiency, but not yet effective Therefore, choosing a suitable vocabulary learning strategy in language learning is very important for learners to improve their language skills Last but not least, the main purpose of learning vocabulary is to help learners improve their language skills and improve their English proficiency All learning vocabulary activities are designed with the aim of giving students an effective vocabulary learning strategy Reduce boredom with the current ineffective vocabulary learning methods of students Therefore, it is necessary to have new strategic solutions to improve the effectiveness of students' learning English vocabulary words to improve their daily language skills In conclusion, with the hope to find out the issue in learning vocabulary as well as the appropriate methods, strategies to improve it, a study entitled: “A Study on the current situations and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies of the second-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education” 1.2 Aims of the study The main aims of this study are to: - Investigate the attitude in learning English vocabulary of the second-year English major students at UTEHY - Find out the difficulties in learning English vocabulary of the second-year English major students at UTEHY - Suggest some solutions to improve vocabulary for the second-year English majors at UTEHY 1.3 Research questions In order to achieve the above-stated objectives, the study finds out the answers to the following research questions: What is the current situation of the second-year English major students towards learning vocabulary at UTEHY? What are the difficulties in learning vocabulary of the second-year English major students at UTEHY? What are solutions to improve vocabulary learning for the second-year English major students at UTEHY? 1.4 Scope of the study The study is about learning vocabulary for the second-year English major students at the Faculty of Foreign Language, UTEHY only Because of the limitations of time and knowledge, the shortage of reference materials, this study cannot cover the whole issue of vocabulary It only focuses on exploring students’ attitude towards some activities used by teachers, the difficulties as well as some solutions to improve vocabulary for second-year English major students at UTEHY 27 students chose to disagree and strongly disagree 2.5% of students disagree learn to think in English; 5% of students strongly disagree using mid map and flashcard will remember new words longer; students disagree note the new words for each topic and small group study helps you to improve vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation (7.5%, 5% respectively) Results and discussion for interview of students: After inviting students who agreed to participate in the interview questions, most of them said that they just spent 30 minutes to learn new words in every evening For this plan, it is quite little to learn English vocabulary because of always using language when going to school English is global language, although students recognized that learning English vocabulary is very important, some of them agree with the important level, they are still lack of motivation and pay attention on it When being asked about the difficult elements impact on their learning vocabulary, they having various answers However, the general factors of student are difficult to remember new words, not pronounce words correctly and not know how to use right context to find out a suitable word meaning 3.4 Main findings for the study 3.4.1 The current situation of the second-year English major students towards learning vocabulary at UTEHY Research has shown the status of second-year English major students about learning English vocabulary at UTEHY Survey results showed that most foreign language students felt that English vocabulary was very important but difficult to learn Besides being difficult to learn, most students also find it interesting to learn English vocabulary During the learning process, they often come up with strategies to increase the efficiency and improve students' vocabulary Research also has shown that second-year foreign language textbooks are suitable for them In addition, the researcher can find out what the second year students' language proficiency level is 3.4.2 The difficulties in learning vocabulary of the second-year English major students at UTEHY Based on a comprehensive analysis of data collected and directly interviewed from students, the researcher found that students may be difficult to learn English vocabulary 28 Through the student survey we clearly see that students make many mistakes and encounter some problems in the process of learning vocabulary Students are not excited or confused when giving answers about difficulties in their vocabulary learning process Besides, they also find themselves lacking many skills to learn it well However, there are motivations that motivate students to improve their vocabulary effectively such as having many interesting topics to learn, expanding relationships with foreign friends, high scores, studying abroad, good job in the future In addition, during the survey, there are also reasons that cause difficulties in learning English vocabulary for students such as words with many meanings, difficulty remembering word meanings, and limited practice time in class, lazy 3.4.3 The solutions to improve vocabulary learning for the second-year English major students at UTEHY Through research and data analysis, some solutions have been given to improve the English learning of second-year students majoring in foreign languages The results of the survey showed that activities that helped students enjoy such activities as small group study helps to improved vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation; listen and write, read what you hear on topics you like; not lazy, persistent with time, strategy and goals you set out In addition, there can be other activities such as: choosing a favourite topic; using vocabulary thinking diagrams related to the lesson will help students remember new words for longer Moreover, the study also gives some strategic solutions to improve learning English vocabulary better - Study 25’ and take 5’ - Each day memorize new words by topic - Learn new words in phrases and sentences - Note the new words for each topic - Learn to think in English - Used mid maps or flashcards - Watch, read, listen more 3.5 Recommendations The result of the survey is relatively positive; however, there are still some certain challenges that were mentioned by students Besides, each person has his/her own way to learn However, within the scope of the study, the researcher would like to put forward some 29 recommendations to upgrade the outcomes of learning English in general and learning vocabulary in particular The techniques suggested after this hopefully can serve as a tool for learning effectively Students should spend more time to focus on the limited part in English, especially English vocabulary by many ways They can improve knowledge for making daily plan for learning vocabulary in every day by different methods, exercises On the other hands, students also must to consider about developing skills in using dictionary to save time while they have difficult or strange words They should try to use the words which used to learned in many context, this way will be not only keep those words in your mind for a long time but also increase your fluency As you know, language is a really huge filed so it is quite hard to remember so many words Therefore, to save time and get effective result, students not waste time on rare and rarely used words, let learn words that you want to use and necessary with their major in the current and the near future 30 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 4.1 Summary of the study The scientific research topic: "A study on the current situations and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies on the second-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education" is conducted on the basis of the actual situation of English vocabulary learning of second-year students majoring in English For the purpose of investigating, reviewing the current situation of vocabulary learning, factors affecting learning motivation, determining the difficulty of learning vocabulary and offering improvement strategies In general, the results obtained from the study show that students are fully aware of the importance of English in general and learning English vocabulary in particular Due to the importance of self-study, creasing interested in learning English in Vietnam, creating a wide learning environment Today, it can be seen that the English language is increasingly developed across many different fields of professions Over time, many experts and linguists understand that vocabulary is one of the basic parts of the language English that learners must grasp in their language acquisition process Vocabulary helps students develop language skills in general and literacy skills in particular and provides them with other relevance That is why this topic was chosen for my research The research begins with an introduction that includes the rationale, purpose, research questions, scope, methods, and design of the study The next chapter is a literature review that provides some of the definitions and theoretical background needed for the study From these theoretical courses, chapter begins to study the reality of learning vocabulary, difficulties and problems and some solutions to improve vocabulary In addition, the analysis, discussions, and findings in this chapter are presented to help the research provide relevant and useful suggestions and ideas for new discoveries 4.2 Limitations of the study As the name of the study clearly states “ A study on the current situations and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies on the second-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education” and the subject of the study is also clearly second-year English major student at UTEHY (campus My Hao) Therefore, the results and discussion of the topic are completely reasonable and scientific within the scope of the topic 31 It is possible that factors such as qualifications, ability, are related to students' attitudes and learning behaviours, but these factors are not within the scope of the research topic Although the researcher has made efforts to carry out this study as the method of data collection, survey questionnaires, student interviews Due to time limitations, although the study was carefully designed, unambiguous, and based on reliable data, there are some limitations as follow: First, the study only conducted a survey among second-year English majors at UTEHY Second, the study only surveyed students, without the participation of teachers (because of the COVID19 epidemic situation) so the findings may not be generalizable Besides, another problem is raised, students may not be able to give the correct answer This is one of the obstacles for researchers In addition, the techniques proposed in this researcher were selected from various reliable but limited sources Inspire of the mentioned limitations, the researcher hopes that this study will contribute to improving the situation of English vocabulary learning for second-year English majors at UTEHY 4.3 Suggestions for further study Due to limitations, this study cannot cover all aspects of the study Many issues will be interesting topics for further study For example, further research on methods to create interest in learning the English vocabulary of students, learn more about students' vocabulary learning habits and especially, study the problems teachers often encounter in the teaching process to improve students' vocabulary learning Moreover, for further studies, to get better results, the researcher should invite more participants and the data collection method Together with using survey questionnaires and interviews, observation is also necessary to get more persuasive conclusions All in all, despite the study, can avoid the limitation, the researcher has been completed under the guidance of the supervisor and self – effort Any comments and criticism will be highly appreciated for better further study 32 REFERENCES Allen, V F (1983) Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 (ISBN 0-19-434130-5, $4.95) Besthia, W (2018) A survey on vocabulary learning strategies: A case of Indonesian EFL university students Journal of Research & Method in Education, 8(5), 636-641 Bowen, J D., Madsen, H., and Hilferty, A (1985) TESOL techniques and procedures Cambridge: Newbury House Cameron, L (2001) Teaching languages to young learners Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carter, R., and McCarthy, M (1988) Vocabulary and language teaching London: Longman Davies, P., and Pearse, E (2000) Success in English teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Ellis, R (1994) The study of second language acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Gu, P.Y., and Johnson, R K (1996) Vocabulary learning strategies and language learning outcomes Language Learning, 46 (4): 643-679 Harmer, J (1991) The practice of English language teaching London: Longman 10 Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and learning in the language classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press 11 Hinkel, E (2015) Effective curriculum for teaching L2 writing: Principles and techniques New York, NY: Routledge 12 Intaraprasert, C (2004) EST students and vocabulary learning strategies: A preliminary investigation Unpublished research, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand 13 Kitajima, R (2001) The effect of instructional conditions on students’ vocabulary retention Foreign Language Annals, 34 (5): 482 33 14 Long, M H., and Richards, J C (1997) Series editors’ preface In J Coady and T Huckin (Eds.), Second language vocabulary acquisition: A rationale for pedagogy (pp ix-x) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 15 Maley, A (1986) Series editors’ preface In J Morgan, and M Rinvolucri (Eds.), Vocabulary Oxford: Oxford University Press 16 McCarthy, M (1990) Vocabulary Oxford: Oxford University Press 17 Nandy, M (1994) Vocabulary and grammar for G.C.E ‘O’ level English Singapore: Composite Study Aids 18 Nation, P (1990) Teaching and learning vocabulary Boston: Heinle & Heinle 19 Oxford, R (1990) Language learning strategies New York, 20 Pyles, T., & Alges, J (1970) EnglishAnlntroductiomtoLanguage New York: Harcourt, 159, 134-155 21 Ramos, R D F (2015) Incidental vocabulary learning in second language acquisition: A literature review Issues in Teachers' Professional Development, 17(1), 157-166 22 Richards, J C (1985) The context of language teaching (Vol 3) Cambridge University Press 23 Rohmatillah, R (2017) A study on students’ difficulties in learning vocabulary English Education: Jurnal Tadris Bahasa Inggris, 6(1), 75-93 24 Rubin, D (1987) Learner strategies: Theoretical assumptions, research, history, and typology In A Wenden and J Rubin (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp 15-30) Eaglewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall 25 Schmitt, N (1997) Vocabulary learning strategies In N Schmitt and M McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp 77-85) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 26 Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 27 Schmitt, N (2000) Vocabulary in language teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 28 Smith, R K (1998) Building vocabulary for college (4th ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin 34 29 Sonbul, S., & Schmitt, N (2010) Direct teaching of vocabulary after reading: Is it worth the effort? ELT Journal: English Language Teaching Journal, 64(3), 253260 30 Subon, F (2016) Direct vocabulary instruction: The effects of contextualised word families on learners’ vocabulary acquisition Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 224, 284-291 31 Thornbury, S (2002) How to teach vocabulary (13 impr) Harlow 32 Ur, P (1996) A course in language teaching: Practice and theory Ernst Klett Sprachen 33 Xu, X., & Hsu, W-Ch (2017) A new inventory of vocabulary learning strategy for Chinese tertiary EFL learners TESOL International Journal, 12(1), 7-31 34 Zimmerman, C B (1997) Historical trends in second language vocabulary instruction Second language vocabulary acquisition, 6(1), 5-19 I APPENDIX I SERVEY QUESTIONNAIRES FOR STUDENTS Hello, My name’s Nguyen Thi Ly, I am from class TAK15.1, Faculty of Foreign Language at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education This survey questionnaire if design for my study entitles “A study on the current situation and solutions to improve vocabulary learning strategies of the second-year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education” Your support in completing this survey will be appreciated Please select the answer by circling the first letter of each sentences and tick the checklist items of express your ideas in the banks All the information provided by you is for learning purposes only and you can be confident that your identify will not be disclosed in any discussion of data Your answer will help me a lot in the research process I II General information - Your class: - Your gender: - How old are you? : - How long have you been learning English: Male Female years Student’s attitude towards learning English vocabulary How you feel when learning English vocabulary? a Very interesting b Interesting c Normal d Not interesting What you think about the importance of English vocabulary? a Very importance b Importance c Normal d Not important Do you find it difficult or easy to remember new words while learning English vocabulary? II a Very difficult b Difficult c Normal d Easy e Very easy What you think of the vocabulary in the textbooks for the second year English major students? a Very suitable b Suitable c Normal d Not suitable According to Outcast research, English proficiency is equivalent to the number of words you need to know as follows: A1: 500; A2: 1000; B1: 2000; B2: 4000; C1: 8000; C2: 1600 So, how many words you think you have? III Student’s difficulties in learning English vocabulary (SA: strongly agree; A: agree; N: neutral; D: Disagree; SD: Strongly disagree) What mistakes you often make when learning vocabulary? Skills No motivation to learn You don’t take the time to learn You don’t create a habit of learning vocabulary everyday Unable to pronounce the words Forget how to classify parts of speech Only study in textbook, don’t study by subject SA A N D SD III Others: What skills you feel you lack when learning vocabulary? Skills SA A N D SD Wrong pronunciation Skip look up the dictionary Use the wrong word in context Learn unnecessary things Ability to guess new words is limited Others: In your opinion, which factors often motivate you to learn English vocabulary? Factors Depending on your preferences Many interesting topics you want to understand Expand relationships with foreign friends High score SA A N D SD IV Pass the exam easily Study abroad Good job in the future Others: Which of the following reasons make it difficult for you to learn vocabulary? Statements SA A N D SD A word has many meanings Difficult to remember the meaning of the word Not interested in learning vocabulary Limit practice time in class Unpronounceable Lazy Others: IV Suggested solutions to improve learning vocabulary strategies for students Do you think about improving your vocabulary? a Yes b No c Never Do you take any measures to improve your vocabulary learning more effectively? a Yes b No c Never V What are some of the vocabulary learning strategies you have used? Strategies SA A N D SD Use mid maps or flashcards Watch, read, listen more Each day memorize new words by topic Choose topic you like Learn new words in phrases and sentences Divide study time (study 25’, take 5’) Underline important new words and take notes Others: What are your opinions on the effectiveness of using methods while learning the subject to improve vocabulary? Statements Learn to think in English Using mid map and flashcard will remember new words longer Study 25’ and take 5’ SA A N D SD VI Learn new word according to sentences; phrases; structures Listen and write, read what you hear on topics you like Note the new words for each topic Small group study helps you to improve vocabulary, speaking, pronunciation Not lazy, persistent with time, strategy and goals you set out Others: VII INTERVIEWS QUESTION FOR STUDENTS How much time you spend on learning English vocabulary? What is the importance of learning English vocabulary? Which factors often motivate you to learn English vocabulary? What you think of the difficulties in learning English vocabulary? Do you have any suggestions to learn English vocabulary better?