Chuyên đề tốt nghiệp: Evaluating the impact of vocabulary on reading comprehension of students in the Faculty of Foreign Language

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NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE ON READING COMPREHENSION OF STUDENTS IN THE FACULTY OF

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Hanoi, March 2023

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NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE ON READING COMPREHENSION OF STUDENTS IN THE FACULTY OF

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

SUPERVISOR: DO THI KIEU LAN, M A.

Hanoi, March 2023

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CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS22

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Nguyễn Thị Dương- 11191268- Business English 61B

4.3.1 Recommendations for students to improve lexical resOULCeS - <©>+ 32 4.3.2 Suggestions for improving teaching approachh eee ese ceeeeeeeseeeeeseees 37

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION 41

5.1 Conclusion ooo cece ec 41

5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further res€arCHh - - +s + ksseeseekeeske 42REFERENCES

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Thanks to the support and encouragement of many people, the research has been finished successfully.

First and foremost, I'd want to thank my supervisor, Mrs Do Thi Kieu Lan, for her enthusiastic support, patience, valuable guidance, and invaluable recommendations throughout the study process Working and studying under her supervision was a huge privilege and honor for me.

Apart from my supervisor's assistance, I'd like to convey my sincere thanks to Mrs Le Thi Thu Ha - the lecturer of the reading class that I attend because of her constructive

advice and support during my internship time The research will not be finished without the responses and sharing opinions of students in the Faculty of Foreign Language to my

survey questionnaire.

Additionally, I am grateful to the authors of earlier study and materials that I consulted while performing the research.

Next, I would like to thank the Faculty of Foreign Language, National Economics University where teachers and officers are always willing to help me when I have difficulty

and provide me with necessary teaching materials during my internship period.

Last but not least, I want to thank everyone who has helped and motivated me to

finish the research, both directly and indirectly.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

No Abbreviation Equivalent

1 AFL Arabic as-foreign language learners 2 GPT Generative Pre-training Transformer 3 ect Et cetera

4 et al And other

5 e g For example

6 EFL English as a Foreign Language 7 FFL Faculty of Foreign Language

8 NEU National Economics University 9 WF Word form

10 WM Word meaning 11 WU Word usage

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Table 2.1 Knowing a word 17Table 2.2 Aspects of the word 18

Figure 2.1 Proposal framework of word aspects affecting reading comprehension 19

Figure 4.1 Participants Demographics 22Figure 4.2 Time students spend on self-learning English per day 23Figure 4.3 Time students spend on self-learning vocabulary per day 23Figure 4.4 The importance of learning vocabulary in learning English 24Figure 4.5 The importance of vocabulary in reading comprehension 25

Figure 4.6 Data analysis about the importance each aspect 26Figure 4.7 Data analysis about the challenge of each aspect 27

Figure 4.8 Data analysis of word form 27

Figure 4.9 Data analysis of word meaning 29

Figure 4.10 Data analysis of word usage 30

Figure 4.11 The Forgetting Curve 35Figure 4.12 Spaced Repetition Method 35

Figure 4.13 Illustration of Kahoot Game Code 38Figure 4.14 Illustration of Kahoot game 38Figure 4.15 Illustration of Kahoot game 39Figure 4.16 Constructive feedback samples 40

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CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the research

With more than 1.5 billion speakers worldwide, English is the most popular language by the number of speakers Because of the country's rapid economic integration with the rest of the globe, English is without a doubt the foreign language most commonly used in Vietnam at the moment A wide range of colleges and institutions in Vietnam have established English result requirements as a major mandatory graduation criterion,

including National Economics University (NEU) Thus, this is both a challenge and

opportunity for the NEU students to overcome and dominate Using this international language fluently is one of the leading linguistic goals for them in the current context of globalization, not only to meet the graduation requirement but also serve for communication and business with people from different parts of the world, which support their personal and professional development Meanwhile, practicing English is a part of commendatory requirements for students majoring in Faculty of Foreign Language (FFL) who have studied a wide range of different subjects whose materials or textbooks are served by English language on a regular basis As a result, English reading comprehension is a highly required skill, by which students can enrich their insights into subjects and be well-prepared for each examination.

To learn a language effectively, understanding the components forming a language which consists of three main factors: vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar is of vital importance for learners Apart from pronunciation and grammar, knowledge of vocabulary plays a key role for boosting language skill Particularly to reading skill, vocabulary is the crucial input source for reading comprehension of students because it helps them understand the meaning of words and phrases in different contexts A large number of vocabularies allows students to process and understand text more easily, making them better readers When students encounter unfamiliar words while reading, it can cause confusion and hinder reading comprehension As a result, the level of understanding vocabulary is essential for academic success and particularly has an enormous impact on

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reading comprehension of students In fact, reading comprehension is the combination of different factors including background knowledge, reading skills and vocabulary knowledge Besides the other two elements, I pay high attention to the factor concerning vocabulary knowledge which could often trouble students most As a student, I understand how vocabulary is crucial to reading comprehension This is due to understanding a wide range of vocabulary, students can gain better reading acquisition In contrast, lack of vocabulary could cause students to have a lot of difficulty to complete reading comprehension In fact, students have a large number of new words to learn in every unit with a variety of topics, which requires students to put a lot of effort and time as well as a productive learning method to exploit vocabulary in each topic However, the proportion of time spent on the class is about seventy-five minutes per lesson, not sufficient enough for them to learn new words as well as at the same time complete reading tasks which often contain a large workload in every unit On top of that, building vocabulary is a long journey and requires a great deal of effort and time to practice, which not all the students actually pay high attention to and are willing to prioritize in their limited self-learning time On the other hand, other learners are mindful of the need of learning vocabulary, but they have not discovered effective techniques for dealing with that large number of new words This can lead to some problems such as students not remembering the words they have learned before or they often cannot recall a word although it seems to be familiar, ect.

Because of these concerns, assessing the effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension has become a strong driver inspiring the author to do the research "Evaluating the impact of vocabulary on reading comprehension of students in the Faculty of Foreign Language" in order to understand the level by which vocabulary have influence on the reading comprehension Therefore, based on the outcomes, the research is expected to raise the awareness of FFL students in learning vocabulary and recommend the selective learning methods to enrich vocabulary that they can apply to boost their reading comprehension and give teaching suggestions that teachers could consider to construct an effective lesson.

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1.2 Rationale

This research is conducted for the following reasons Firstly, the researcher desires to bridge the gap in the research field of learning English vocabulary, and evaluates the effective level of vocabulary on students' reading comprehension Secondly, as a student, vocabulary is also a big trouble for me as well as other students throughout the course of acquiring English and improving reading comprehension As a result, I hope the findings of this research could gain a certain contribution for raising the awareness of FFL students’ in learning vocabulary and improving English skill of students in my Faculty of Foreign

Based on the mentioned reasons, this study “Evaluating the impact of vocabulary on reading comprehension of students in the Faculty of Foreign Language" is conducted.

1.3 Purposes of the research

The primary goal of this research is to look into the association between vocabulary and reading comprehension among FFL students at National Economics University,

specifically how the three aspects of vocabulary including word form, meaning and usage impact on the process of reading comprehension In addition, FFL students are given some practical advice for expanding their lexical resources.

1.4 Research questions

This research is conducted to answer the following questions:

The first research question: What effect does vocabulary knowledge have on students’ reading comprehension at the Faculty of Foreign Language?

To answer this question, the researcher identifies the answer of three specific questions below:

How does the aspect of word form affect students’ reading comprehension?

How does the aspect of word meaning affect students’ reading comprehension?

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How does word use affect students' reading comprehension?

The second research question: What are the suggestions for students to enrich their lexical resources?

1.5 Scope of the research

The research aims to discover the effect of vocabulary on text comprehension of students majoring in the Faculty of Foreign Language, National Economics University The survey comprises the engagement of 72 students who have currently been in the

second semester of the academic year 2022-2023 at the faculty.

1.6 Research methods

Survey questionnaires are used to acquire primary data from students majoring in the Faculty of Foreign Language at National Economics University Participants can exhibit their personal thoughts and attitudes to evaluate how vocabulary effects their

reading comprehension using an online survey sample consisting of a series of questions

pertaining to the issue As a result of the survey's performance, the researcher can collect data objectively The data obtained during the investigation is examined and used

strategically in incorporating areas of the study.

Secondary data is collected from a variety of published studies through desk research, which is the main source of reference for literature review As a result, the researcher can gain an overview about the topic and define the main topic of the intended research as well as give understanding of related terminology which has appeared during the process of undertaking the research.

1.7 Structure of the research

This research is divided into five chapters The first chapter is an introduction that covers the study's rationale, purpose, research questions, scope, method, and design The second chapter is a literature study, which deals with the ideas of vocabulary and related terminology, reviewing past studies linked to the topic vocabulary and its impact on student

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learning English and reading comprehension in Vietnam and overseas Chapter III outlines the study's methodology, which includes participants, study techniques, instruments, and data collection The fourth chapter is about data analysis, discussions, findings and recommendations for improving students’ vocabulary Finally, Chapter V is the conclusion, limitations and suggestions for further research.

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CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview of vocabulary and reading comprehension

Vocabulary in reading comprehension refers to a type of information that enhances text comprehension by identifying the semantic meaning of one, two, or more words, thereby giving the "necessary cognitive capacity for higher-level reading processes" (Silva and Cain, 2015) On other hand, reading comprehension is a complicated subject (Snow, 2010) Reading comprehension involves the active extraction and production of meaning from text by the reader Variety of factors, including the other components of competent reading and the education they get, might influence the reader's comprehension of text Vocabulary, for example, is a powerful predictor of reading comprehension (Connor, 2008) "Reading comprehension involves visually perceiving letters and words, converting them into speech sounds (decoding), parsing linguistic information, developing initial understanding of propositions based on the given information, and integrating propositions for an accurate and coherent mental representation" (Kintsch,1988; Snow, 2010 for different levels of mental representations and comprehension).

Throughout the past two decades, one of the primary areas of concentration in second language study has been vocabulary knowledge and its function in reading comprehension Both vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension are intimately associated, and the relationship is not one-way, because vocabulary knowledge can assist the student in comprehending written materials, and reading can contribute to vocabulary growth (Maher Salah, 2008; Nation, 2001) Vocabulary or knowledge of words, "as the building blocks of language", plays a critical role among the three basic components of language, namely sounds, grammar, and vocabulary In fact, it would be impossible to make or understand language without first recognizing the meaning of the words Although students may be able to decode and read fluently, understanding the meanings of words in the text is essential for reading comprehension (Mehrpour, et al., 2011) Vocabulary knowledge is essential in reading assessments, and reading study has consistently revealed a component of lexical items that vocabulary tests rely heavily on Vocabulary assessments

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are significantly predictive of performance on reading comprehension examinations (Shen Zhifa, 2011).

Type of vocabulary: Words have two types, according to Hiebert and Kamil (2005) The first is verbal vocabulary, which is a collection of words for which we are familiar with the definition when speaking and reading aloud Second, the focus of the current article is on words in print syntax that are understood while we write or read

silently (reviewed by Rohmatillah, 2014).

Aspects of vocabulary: According to the study of Gairn and Redman (1986), in which terminology is reviewed by Rohmatillah (2014), there are specific elements of words that should be considered when learning vocabulary include followings:

Word meaning is separated into two parts including denotation and connotation.

The literal meaning of a term, as defined by the dictionary, is referred to as denotation.

Contrarily, connotation refers to the connections a given term has with certain things or the emotional cues associated with that term A word's connotative meanings coexist with its denotative meanings (Rohmatillah, 2014).

Word form "refers to the ways the form of a word in English conveys different

meanings" (Surtees, 1856)

Pronunciation is the ability to detect and reproduce objects in speech (Redman, 1986).

Synonyms: "If two words W1 and W2 are synonymous, then anything which can be described using W1 (in the relevant meaning) can also be described using W2, and vice versa." (Rechard Hudson, 1995)

Grammatical patterns of vocabulary: "Pattern grammar focused on patterns of words and the typical context in which words are used" (Huston and Francis, 2000)

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Idiom: "An idiom is defined as a constituent or series of constituents for which the semantic interpretation is not a compositional function of the formatives of which it is

composed" (Fraser, 1970).

Word family: ''A word family is typically and often implicitly defined as a Level 6 family, and consists of a base word (e.g., avoid), its inflections (avoids, avoided, avoiding), its derived words (avoidance, avoidable, unavoidable), and inflections of the derived words (avoidances) The base word is normally the infinitive form for a verb, the singular form for a noun, or of course simply the unchanging form for a preposition, conjunction, and so forth" (Tom Cobb, 2021)

Collocation: "Firth (1957) defined collocation as the habitual co-occurrence of words or when a term favors a certain lexical item exclusively in language usage According to Halliday (1961), collocations are more explicit since they give a mathematical description of the words in context He shows how collocations give words their syntagmatic relationships, and that this syntagmatic association may be quantified by counting the likelihood of their recurrence." (Reviewed by Shamim, 2020).

Phrasal verb: "According to Ghazala (2003), a phrasal verb consists of a verb with a particle In Claridge's research paper (2000), phrasal verbs are conceived as a subtype of multi-word verbs while other considers a phrasal verb as the combinations of a head verb

and one or more obligatory particles, in the form of intransitive prepositions, adjectives and verbs (reviewed by Adizova, 2021)".

"Spelling is the choice and arrangement of letters that form words " (Rechard N.

2.2 Summary of related research

Salah (2008) tries to determine the percentage of vocabulary coverage (known words) readers need to assure reading comprehension of two passages from an online Arabic news source as it examines the connection between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension of authentic Arabic texts Survey statistics is gathered from 23

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Arabic as a Foreign Language (AFL) students at Brigham Young University, whose productive and receptive skills ranged from Intermediate Low to Intermediate Mid The subjects are given two reading comprehension tests, a lexical coverage test for each passage text, and instructions to circle any unknown words in the texts According to the findings, the respondents need to understand about 90% of running words for the first section and about 86% for the second passage in order to complete it correctly The results of this study indicate that there may be a lexical threshold, below which AFL learners may not be able to comprehend real texts well.

The influence of depth of linguistic knowledge on word recognition is examined by Kaivanpanah and Zandi (2009) by giving participants including 57 EFL students (17 males and 40 females) a TOEFL test and a measure of vocabulary depth to complete Finally, the findings revealed that language knowledge is substantially connected to reading comprehension.

Furthermore, Mehrpour et al (2011) examine the relationship between vocabulary proficiency and word recognition among sixty ELF students including 30 male and 30 female from five Shiraz language education institutes The data analysis results reveal that while both the breadth and intensity of linguistic knowledge are significant in EFL learners’ ability to comprehend reading, depth of vocabulary knowledge makes a more important

contribution The findings also show a favorable relationship between the depth and

breadth of vocabulary knowledge, meaning that students with a big vocabulary size also have a deep understanding of the reading.

Leila A and Mostafa Z (2014) conduct a study which focuses on investigating the link between vocabulary understanding and reading ability with the participation of 450

EFL students from Kerman's Azad University's English Department at the undergraduate

level The result indicates reading comprehension and lexical knowledge have a strong positive connection, meaning that students with a bigger vocabulary are able to retain more information from the passage they read, and that deeper knowledge of terms helps learners

grasp the text better.

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Falk-Ross and his team (2014) focus on creating a language-building approach to promote literacy activities for underprivileged pupils The methodology entails interviewing teachers and recording the results of tests administered to students before and after the implementation of the new method of teaching vocabulary, the outcomes unveil significant changes "in students' reading comprehension, vocabulary use, and a significant difference in the students' achievement following the interventions".

Fadi Al-Khasawneh (2019) discovers how vocabulary size affects Saudi EFL students' reading comprehension There are 64 male students from King Khalid University's first level enrolled as subjects in this study during the 2018— 2019 academic year The TOEFL mock test reading comprehension test and the Vocabulary Size Test (created by Schmitt et al.) have been utilized to collect important information for the research project The study's findings show that Saudi EFL students have a vocabulary of

2025 word families altogether According to numerous researchers in this sector, this amount enables students to comprehend 90% of written documents The findings also reveal a substantial correlation between reading comprehension and vocabulary size Vocabulary comprehension is a major indicator of reading comprehension Besides, the research offers some recommendations for those involved in education, including

emphasizing vocabulary instruction and employing various teaching techniques that

promote vocabulary learning.

Yang Tong and his colleagues (2020) carry out the research into how vocabulary

affects students' comprehension for Chinese students from elementary school to master's level schooling The result reveals vocabulary knowledge supports comprehension development through character semantic meaning identification, with a focus on surface

meaning identification From elementary to secondary education, reading comprehension

is a requirement testing reading proficiency and a broader vocabulary knowledge base facilitates quicker access to semantic knowledge At the same time, the researchers also believe that the more complex the passage structure has, the more reading knowledge students need for cognitive processes Document comprehension, on the other hand,

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requires not only word recognition but also a combination of reading methods, inference ability, and other related elements Therefore, in higher-grade groups, the link of lexical resources and reading comprehension decreases into smaller proportions.

Vu (2019) undertakes a corpus-based semantic analysis of twenty English worksheets used in Vietnam for university entrance admission and high school graduation over a 17-year span, one of the few studies on English language examinations in Vietnam and the first to examine their lexical content (2002-2018) The findings indicate that a vocabulary understanding of 5000 word families is necessary to attain 95% coverage on the exam papers The requirement for vocabulary knowledge in different exam papers ranged from 3000 word families to 12,000 word families for 95% coverage, demonstrating large variations between the exams.

According to Vu (2021), Vietnam is still a long way from having a complete picture of the usage of words in English language learning, instructing, and examination For the time being, it appears that a more principled approach to vocabulary is required for English language learning, teaching, and testing in Vietnam In conclusion, the literature reviews indicate that understanding of vocabulary and reading comprehension are related, which is changed depending on the research subjects and regions There has been a limited amount of research in the correlation between vocabulary and English learning and related

2.3 Overview of the internship place

2.3.1 National Economics University

Address: 207 Giai Phong Street, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi

National Economics University (NEU) is one of the prestigious universities in Vietnam which specializes in Economics, Management and Business Administration Besides, NEU is in charge of a network of more than 40 universities that focus on business administration and economics The university has developed into a significant center for academic interchange on a national and international level Furthermore, NEU is also a

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famous research and consultancy center, with considerable academic publications and consulting work for the government, non-governmental organizations, and the business community on policy formulation and strategic development.

In 1956, the university was founded as the Faculty of Finance and Economics and after different changes until 1985 it was renamed as National Economics University which is the official name nowadays.

Throughout the establishment and development, the school has gained a great number of remarkable achievements In the increasingly cutthroat climate, NEU always pays high attention to the quality of training and employment preparation for undergraduate students The university has a wide range of training programs including nine schools, seventeen faculties and one institute.

NEU presently has trained and educated over 35 000 students each year at the Bachelor, Master, and Ph D levels, with over 1200 faculty and staff personnel, including over 150 professors and associate professors and more than 200 Ph Ds Every year, the institution trains a large number of talented students, thereby supplying a reliable source of quality labor force for the market in many professional fields which contribute to the economic progress of the whole country.

In the future, NEU strives to be a forerunner in economics, management and business administration knowledge invention Besides, the university aims at becoming a place that attracts and nurtures talent and endowment of high-quality human resources that support Vietnam's long-term growth The school leaders also set durable goals to become a research-oriented and multi-discipline institute ranked among the top five in Vietnam and among the top 100 in Asia in economics, management, and business administration.

2.3.2 Faculty of Foreign Language, Department of Business English Address: 705, Al, National Economics University

The Faculty of Foreign Languages and Economics founded on November 26, 2003, which is one of National Economics University's newer sections with a history of rapid and

sustainable growth.

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At the present, the training programs of the faculty includes three departments: Department of Business English, Department of Non-Specialized Foreign Language, and Department of Vietnamese and Language Theory.

Since the academic year 2006 -2007, the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Economics officially has begun enrolling and training Bachelor of Foreign Languages majoring in Business English including English major This major focuses on Business English and is associated with a number of supplemental subjects on Business Administration taught in English to differentiate the program and boost its competitiveness This is because, at the same time, learners have a chance to enrich the insights into economics management and business administration as well as be trained foreign language skills, which contributes to equip students with future employment skills and increases more career chances for students after graduation.

The primary responsibility of the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Economics is to provide instruction in foreign languages for long-term regular students, English for Business English majors, and English for Advanced, High Quality, and POHE program

students Besides, the faculty also teaches English for students in some master's degree programs and the associate programs such as The Bachelor of Business Administration program linked with Dongseo University in Korea Not only English, the FFL also provides

Vietnamese training for international students so that they can have better access to the

learning environment in NEU Furthermore, the Faculty of Foreign Languages is also in charge of providing intensive foreign language instruction for undergraduate students enrolled in cooperation programs, graduate students, and other important programs at the university It also oversees exam preparation for English classes that help students meet English output standards.

More than 1200 students majoring in Business English have graduated as of October 2022, and there are roughly 500 students majoring in Business English studying at the faculty, together with approximately 9,000 students from different programs and systems have been learning English and Vietnamese here Besides, Foreign language subjects are taught directly to students of courses and systems by almost 50 lecturers of the faculty.

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The staff of the faculty currently number 48 people, including one Associate Professor, five PhDs, ten Masters, and two Bachelors Business English has been taught in the Faculty of Foreign Languages for a long term in both the main program and the extra-curricular program In addition, the Faculty of Foreign Languages has high-quality lectures with foreign-trained qualifications who can teach economics and business administration majors in English The collaboration between National Economics University and many international universities is a great driver to provide the faculty with good facilities as well as a comprehensive system of textbooks, lectures, and updated reference materials This has created a perfect environment for learners to study and develop both professional and

personal life.

In terms of curriculum, the English bachelor's degree curriculum consists of a business administration minor and a major in English language As a result, graduates have English as a second language in order to carry out professional activities in the business

field where English is required as the primary communication medium Namely, a

bachelor's degree in English language masters the basic knowledge of aspects of the English language such as the cultures of English-speaking nations (primarily the United Kingdom and the United States) and Vietnamese culture Graduate students are expected to obtain an English qualification equivalent to level C1 on the Common European Standard Framework of Reference for Language Assessment (CEFR) and master basic knowledge of business administration as well as in-depth knowledge of specialized English in the area of economics-business administration to serve professional and higher education goals In addition to industry knowledge and proficient English for professional jobs such as translation, interpretation and economics and business administration, students are also proficiently equipped with information technology tools to serve the needs for the professional service and improve the efficiency of Internet exploitation for study and research Moreover, during the educational procedure at the faculty, students are equipped with specialized skills useful for a professional working environment such as teamwork skills, presentation skills, negotiation skills, diplomatic skills, management skills, and

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study abilities, as well as other important soft skills such as critical thinking and problem solving.

Throughout the first two years of the four-year program, students study general political, social, and legal issues, as well as general economic understanding, which includes understanding Marxism-worldview Leninism and methodology, as well as its application in learning, researching, and studying other modules, as well as in real life in the contemporary situation At the same time, students could have extensive knowledge about scientific socialism, the Communist Party of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh's ideologies, and the Vietnamese legal system As a result, they would have a better grasp of politics, society, and the law, which allow them to apply and practice in the fields of economics and business administration Then, students have studied basic and advanced knowledge of the language sector during the next two years In this period, the training program assists learners in grasping basic principles of language including structure, nature and function, origin and development and basic concepts of linguistic theory both in English and Vietnamese Furthermore, students can gain a fundamental knowledge of the socio-cultural and cross-cultural aspects of English-speaking areas such as historical, cultural, human, social, economic, and linguistic traits In terms of knowledge of the English language, students have learned about the components of language: English phonetics and phonology, lexicology, English grammar and its application to analyze language structure and explain some linguistic phenomena Therefore, students have the ability to practice effectively language knowledge to pragmatic contexts in occupations such as editor, English teacher, interpreter, media agent, officer as well as for research work and study linguistics With an advanced level of knowledge, students would receive education specializing in principles of marketing, international business administration, business communication, banking, and finance, thereby applying their language and business administration knowledge flexibly in dealing with various business

situations/problems in the employment environment.

In the training program, in parallel with the education of other subjects, students have also been trained comprehensively in four skills of listening, speaking, reading and

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writing, in which reading and writing will be combined to teach for students in order to take advantage of the effectiveness of learning English Specifically reading skill which has been served with 4 modules Reading module | has aimed at providing learners with the vocabulary, sentence structure, reading abilities, and background knowledge needed to read B2 level texts on themes such as sociology, economics, science, psychology, behavior, and so on Next, reading module 2 is designed to assist English majors at FFL upper -intermediate reading competence (B2+) Reading comprehension abilities such as reading for main ideas, reading for details, distinguishing subject sentences from main ideas, logical thinking, anticipating the meaning of words in context, and vocabulary analysis are specifically addressed by the module Reading module 3 is intended to help second-year English language majors develop advanced reading skills including logical, creative thinking skills as well as reading skills through rigorous and extended reading assignments on various topics Finally, in reading fourth sector, students have learned following the syllabus of the textbook Pathway 3 which is adapted to academic English learners with a variety of sources National Geographic's meaningful and authentic material, thereby enhancing the students' capacity to assess, analyze, and synthesize knowledge that allow students strengthen their reading skills as well as logical and creative thinking This lesson also includes crucial methods and strategies for preparing for the IELTS exam Obviously, the higher level of reading is, the more vocabulary and skills students are required, which is both a challenge and opportunity for learners to boost their language skills.

2.5 Framework to evaluate the impact of vocabulary on reading of students in Faculty of Foreign Language

The framework of this study was built based on researching the following reference models.

According to Nation (2001: 40), the aspects that are necessary for learners to know about the word in case the learned concept is responsive and efficient (which is used in 4

skills speaking, listening, reading, and writing) can be observed in the table below.

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Table 2.1 Knowing a word

Aspect of the word

The form Spoken form 1)What does the word sound like?

2) How is the word pronounced?

Written form 1) What does the word look like?

2) How is the word written and spelled?

Concept 1) What does the word mean?

2) What word should be used to express this

The use Grammatical patterns 1) In what pattern does the word occur?2) In what pattern must we use the word?

Appropriateness 1) Where would we expect to meet this word? 2) Where can this word be used?

Collocation 1) What words or types of words can be expected before or after the word?

2) What words or types of words must we use with this word?

2) How often should the word be used?

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Researching In the field of teaching vocabulary, the other vocabulary-related factors that should be taken into account are listed by Gower, Philips, and Walters (1995: 144).:

Table 2.2 Aspects of the word

Aspect of the word

The form 1) What part of speech is the word-noun, verb, preposition,

2) How is it spelled - is it regular or irregular?

3) Does it belong to a family of words, for example electricity, electrical, electrician?

4) How is the word, or combination of words, pronounced and, in word or more than one syllable, where is the stress? 5) How does the word collocate with surrounding words? Is it part of the set expression?

The meaning 1) Many words have more than one meaning What exact meaning in which context do you want to focus on?

2) What is the connotation of the item?

3) Could the vocabulary item have different meanings for different people?

The use 1) How is the vocabulary item used?

2) Does it have a restricted use? Does it belong to a particular style or register?

From research information, this study is carried out to figure out the relationship between vocabulary and reading through three key aspects of the word including the form, the meaning and the use As a result, the questionnaire is organized and developed.

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Figure 2.1 Proposal framework of word aspects affecting reading comprehension

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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research participants

With the aim of gathering objective information to evaluate vocabulary's effect on passage comprehension, the appropriate research subject answering the online questionnaire are 72 students from the Faculty of Foreign Language, Department of Business English This is due to the fact that students have comparable reading and language skills and have completed at least one semester of studying reading according to the syllabus, therefore, they have their own experience in reading journey which is the basic requirement for researching.

3.2 Data collection methods

With the goal of obtaining trustworthy and precise data and achieving the research's objectives, a questionnaire is used as an instrument to collect data through online surveys which has a wide range of advantages Firstly, online questionnaires are time-efficient which can be sent out and completed quickly which benefits both researcher and respondents A wide range of participants can also be reached in a shorter time period compared to traditional survey methods, thereby allowing researchers to gather more

responses and data Next, online surveys can ensure the responses are unbiased because the

respondents can answer survey questions in confidence without fear of embarrassment or judgment because they remain anonymous The other strength of online surveys is data management which allows responses from online surveys easily to be compiled and analyzed, supports researchers to quickly draw conclusions and make data- driven decisions Last but not least, by eliminating the need for printed surveys, online surveys are a more cost-effective and environmentally-friendly option for data collection.

The questionnaire is designed including two parts The first part is shorter and simple to get the participants’ background information while the second part is the main part of the research including questions built to support figuring out the answer of the research question In fact, this study focuses on the impact of three main parts of vocabulary

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including its form, meaning and use on reading comprehension Therefore, 12 close-ended questions are designed to gather participants' opinions on how the aspects of vocabulary influence on reading comprehension The research used the Likert five-point scale answers from 1-5 corresponding to the following degrees: "Strongly disagree", "Disagree", "Neutral", "Agree" and "Strongly agree" because this style of designing answers brings many benefits Firstly, Likert scales are easy to understand as they present clear statements that the participants can rate on a scale of | to five, where | represents "strongly disagree" and 5 represents "strongly agree" just depending on their own experience Secondly, the use of a five-point Likert scale can make it easy to analyze responses, as the numerical values facilitate statistical analysis Next, by using a five-point Likert scale, the researcher can identify trends in responses, such as the number of students that agree with a statement, disagree with a statement and are neutral about a statement Finally, the consistent use of a five-point Likert scale can increase the reliability of the questionnaire and responses received, as it reduces the potential for confusion or misunderstanding Therefore, thanks to this collecting data instrument, the research is expected to gather the most reliable statistics about the current situation and ensure consistency and accuracy in the research findings.

3.3 Data collection procedure

Step 1: Designing the questionnaire.

Step 2: Delivering the questionnaire to 10 students for a pilot study and then adjusting the questionnaire.

Step 3: Using social media for disseminating the online questionnaire to FFL students.

Step 4: Collecting data from the questionnaires and processing into figures.

Step 5: Analyzing collected data.

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CHAPTER IV DATA ANALYSIS, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The chapter evaluates the effect of vocabulary on understanding reading of students through statistical description of the primary data as well as includes further discussion and recommendations for students to boost lexical resources.

4.1 Data analysis

In fact, the survey comprises the engagement of 72 students who have currently been in the second semester of the 2022-2023 academic year at the faculty.

@ First year

19,4% @ Second year

@ Third year @ Fourth year

Figure 4.1 Participants Demographics

The pie chart clearly shows that the large percentage of participants are freshmen and sophomores, with a total statistic of more than 60% The rest of the students are in their third and fourth years, with 19.4% and 16.7% respectively The primary reason for this disparity is that I have more opportunity to connect with sophomores and freshmen than the others, leading to superior results.

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