ABSTRACT The present research aimed to assess the effectiveness of the morphology course within the Bachelor’s program and its influence on the reading comprehension of 194 third-year En
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Among essential linguistic and cognitive competencies for English proficiency, knowledge of morphology stands out as a critical factor It is synonymous with one’s comprehension of the rules governing word formation in a given language, as highlighted by Kuo and Anderson (2008) The direct correlation between morphology knowledge and English reading comprehension is evident, given that morphologically complex words constitute a substantial portion of 60-80% of new vocabulary encountered in English reading texts (Nagy & Anderson, 1984; Guz, 2010)
In third-level education, students should be equipped with essential language skills to enhance their academic performance Vocabulary plays a pivotal role in achieving proficiency in the English language since it forms the foundation for various language competencies The acquisition of vocabulary is a gradual process, placing emphasis on practical application rather than theoretical understanding English learners’ knowledge of morphology may have been obtained unofficially during their previous learning processes Only at the university stage do English majors have an opportunity to delve into the theory of word formation rules and come closer to acquiring knowledge of morphology through official courses
There has been broad consensus among researchers on the essential contribution of morphological knowledge to improving students’ reading comprehension (Nagy & Anderson, 1984; McBride-Chang et al., 2008; Guz, 2010; Zhang & Koda, 2012) As a result, recognizing the importance of morphology in teaching and learning English, many Bachelor programs for English majors in EFL universities incorporate a morphology course into their official curriculum A morphology course aims to equip students with a nuanced understanding of word structures, exploring how morphological elements contribute to vocabulary usage and reading comprehension The morphology course is obligatory in the bachelor programs of Ho Chi Minh University of Banking (HUB) for English majors Spanning 18 periods, which is equivalent to participating in class five sessions, the course primarily uses “An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and Their Structure (2nd ed.)” by Carstairs-McCarthy (2018) as the textbook which focuses on the structure and formation of words in the English language Additionally, “Introduction Morphology (2nd ed.)” by Lieber (2015) serves as a valuable supplementary material that offers students additional examples and exercises to enhance their grasp of morphological concepts
The HUB morphology course aims to help students decipher words’ structural aspects and origin, encompassing prefixes, suffixes, and roots, and how these components combine to convey coherent meanings The course aims to equip students to understand word formation rules, enrich vocabulary, develop word analysis skills, and enhance reading comprehension Additionally, students are encouraged to apply their morphological knowledge in authentic language contexts, reinforcing their ability to wield the language adeptly in practical situations Consequently, the morphology course is expected to help students to be able to enhance their language proficiency, effectively navigate the intricacies of word formation, and employ language judiciously within the target language.
Rationale of the study
Empirical findings in language learning and pedagogy emphasize the significant role of morphological knowledge in contributing to L2 reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition (McBride-Chang et al., 2008; Zhang & Koda, 2012) However, existing research on this subject has predominantly focused on native learners and children, with only a limited number of studies examining university students Additionally, very few studies have been conducted on the effects of morphology knowledge on university students’ reading comprehension
A morphology course at EFL universities, in general, and at HUB, is expected to provide students with the theory of morphology knowledge and its applicability in using language skills However, whether the results are consistent with these expectations has not yet been investigated by any scholar Therefore, researching the topic “The Effectiveness of the Morphology Course in Improving Reading Comprehension among English Majors: Evidence and Implications” is an essential research topic to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the morphology course on third-year English majors’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension at HUB Because of a bachelor thesis’s time and scope limitations, the researcher only focused on the knowledge provided in that course and how it impacts students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension.
Research objectives
The study is to determine and assess the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving reading comprehension among the third-year English majors at HUB
First, the study investigates the impact of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension through the pre-test and post-test Second, the study explores the opinions of third-year English majors toward the morphology course at HUB Finally, the study aims to provide empirical evidence and implications for educators (teachers) on the importance of incorporating morphological knowledge in teaching language skills.
Research questions
This study aims to provide answers to the following three questions:
1 What is the effect of the morphology course on the morphological knowledge of the third- year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
2 What is the effect of the morphology course on the reading comprehension of the third- year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
3 What are the opinions of the third-year English majors toward the morphology course at
Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
Significance of the study
Through the comprehensive exploration of this study on third-year English-majored students at HUB, the influence of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension will be analyzed and evaluated Additionally, this study will elucidate students’ opinions on the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving their reading comprehension From a theoretical point of view, this research hopes to make contributions to those people
For the author as a novice researcher, this study offers valuable insights into the pivotal role of morphology in English proficiency It enhances personal knowledge by unraveling the intricate connections between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Furthermore, this research is expected to provide empirical evidence and realistic information on the influence of the morphology course on students’ reading comprehension The findings can be utilized by educators and learners in the field, providing a new method to enhance their quality of teaching and learning, along with improved learning strategies This study is also expected to be beneficial for researchers who are interested in morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, and in turn, potentially prompting more in-depth analyses.
Structure of the thesis
This thesis consists of five chapters Chapter 1 has described the background of the study, the rationale of the study, the research objectives, the research questions, and the significance of the study
Chapter 2 presents the review of related literature in which the thesis is grounded In this chapter, the researcher synthesized prior studies to elucidate the theoretical framework related to morphological knowledge and reading comprehension and clarify the correlation between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, thus filling the research gap
Chapter 3 provides and explains the methodology employed in this study It includes the research process, the research setting, the sample of the study, the research design, the data collection instruments, the data analysis tools, criteria of scientific quality, and ethical considerations
Chapter 4 indicates the data analysis and discussions of the study, relying on the results obtained from the pre-test and post-test calculations performed using IBM SPSS software Besides, participants’ responses to the qualitative data will be synthesized and coded
Chapter 5 discusses the implications for teachers, students, and researchers and outlines some limitations of this study The chapter then summarizes the main conclusions from the data analysis and discussion Furthermore, the chapter offers suggestions for future research.
LITERATURE REVIEW
The concept of morphology
Morphology is derived from the Greek word “morph” which means form or shape, and “- ology” which means the study of something According to Bauer (1988, pp 248), morphology is the study of how words are formed from smaller components and the changes made to those smaller components in constructing lexemes and word forms Linguists describe morphology as the study of the internal composition of words McCharty (2002, pp 16) characterizes it as the grammatical branch concerned with the arrangement of words and the relationships between words and their constituent morphemes Similarly, morphology is the study of words’ hierarchical and relational aspects of words, studying how lexical items operate according to word formation rules to generate other lexical items, as noted by Leong & Parkinson (1995, p 237)
Twain (2013) emphasizes that a proficient language user possesses morphological knowledge, which is crucial for understanding unfamiliar word formations and complex texts Morphological analysis involves identifying the smallest grammatical units, including morphemes, roots, and affixes, and arranging them to form words through derivation or inflection
From the provided definitions, it can be concluded that morphology is the study of word formation, with a specific emphasis on morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of language, and the combinations of morphemes to form new words
According to Haspelmath (2002), morpheme can be defined as the smallest meaningful constituents of a linguistic expression Lieber (2009, p 32) indicated that morphemes are the minimal units of meaning or grammatical function used to form words Based to Haspelmath and
Sims (2010), stated that morpheme is the smallest significant unit of linguistic phrase that can be distinguished by segmentation, a frequently occurring subtype of a morphological pattern A morpheme can be established as a minimal meaningful unit that can not be subdivided any further (Kolanchery, 2015) In conclusion, a morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning, the smallest piece of a word that contributes meaning to a word
Coates (1999) identified three essential criteria for defining a morpheme A morpheme should have a meaning or function, recur in other words with a related meaning, and be involved in a pattern of interchange Based on these criteria, morphemes can be broadly classified into free morphemes or bound morphemes because of their own characteristic distribution
Yule (2010) defined that free morpheme can stand on its own as a single word Fromkin et al (2011) also added that free morphemes are words that can stand alone Furthermore, according to O’Grady and Archibald (2016), free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand by itself Therefore, it can be said that free morpheme is an independent morpheme that can be free standing without being attached to other morphemes The examples of free morphemes are boy, house, man, book, etc
According to Yule (2010), he stated that bound morphemes are morphemes that cannot stand alone and must be bound to a morpheme or other word Fromkin et al (2011) noted that bound morphemes are never able to operate independently but are always a part of words Furthermore, as O’Grady and Archibald (2016) indicated, bound morphemes are morphemes that must be bound to other elements From the definition above, it can be said that bound morphemes as morphemes that are dependent
Some linguists argued that elements like o in speed-o-meter and bar-o-meter, in sister-in- law or mother-in-law, and a in now-adays can be considered infix-like in English (Çelik, 2007, pp
95-96; Trask, 2000), true infixes are exceptionally rare in this language, so they are not always mentioned in morphology studies
Yule (2010, p 69) made a further distinction within the set of bound morphemes in English, with derivational morphemes used to create new words or to “make words of a different grammatical class from the stem” Derivational morphemes are not words on their own However, they possess semantic content since every derivational morpheme attached to a base adds meaning to the derived word (Fromkin et al., 2011) The second type of bound morphemes is inflectional morphemes, which are used to illustrate information on the grammatical function of a word Learners use inflectional morphemes to signify whether a word is singular or plural, whether it is past tense or not, and whether it is a comparative or possessive form (Fatmawaty & Angrayni, 2019)
Certain derivational affixes can create a lot of new members for a given class of words In contrast, inflectional affixes are always added to available members of a given class of words According to Fatmawaty and Angrayni (2019), inflectional morphemes do not change parts of speech or meaning With only eight inflectional morphemes in English, their roles tend to be shaded away by the dominance of derivational morphemes However, it is essential to study inflectional morphemes alongside derivational morphemes in language research as they contribute to the grammatical meaning of words (Yule, 2010; Fromkin et al., 2011; O’Grady & Archibald, 2016)
Free morphemes, on the other hand, can be broadly categorized into lexical morphemes (content or open-class words) and functional morphemes (grammatical or closed-class words) Lexical morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone and receive an affix, either a suffix or a prefix Lexical morphemes in English encompass nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, which transmit the core content of the messages speakers intend to convey (Çelik, 2007, p 94; Lems et al., 2010)
Functional morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone but cannot receive affixes, both suffixes and prefixes Functional morphemes, on the other hand, primarily constitute functional words in English, such as articles, prepositions, conjunctions, quantifiers, and pronouns (O’Grady
& Archibald, 2016) Due to the difficulty in creating new functional morphemes in the language, these morphemes are considered a closed class of words English learners can grasp the meaning of lexical morphemes independently, but comprehending the meaning of functional morphemes typically requires their occurrence alongside other words within a sentence (Haspelmath & Sims, 2010).
Morpheme analysis and synthesis
Morpheme synthesis focuses on the productivity of morphological structure, involving assembling the smallest components (morphemes) to create words This aspect assumes that learners possess knowledge of these components in order to be able to construct new meanings within words (Arnoff & Fudeman, 2005; McBride-Chang et al., 2005)
The affixation process unquestionably stands as the most prevalent method for creating new words in the English language However, the expansive and ingenious nature of human language exceeds the bounds of affixation, giving rise to diverse methods of word generation Speakers frequently employ these innovative approaches to create new words, and, under the right conditions, these may be adopted by the larger linguistic community, integrating them into the language” (Akmajian et al., 2010, p 27)
However, as highlighted by ệz (2014), there are irregularities or exceptions in English morphology, such as irregular plurals or irregular past forms of verbs, which can be traced back to historical factors or the incorporation of borrowed words As a result, it is almost impossible for learners to apply morphological rules to decipher the words for meaning For this reason, language studies on morphology should not include irregularities or exceptions (De Belder, 2021)
Another concern is that alongside affixation, other fundamental processes contribute to the creation of new words, including coinage, borrowing, blending, clipping, backformation, conversion, acronyms, and eponyms (Akmajian et al., 2010)
However, as these processes depend on social factors and lack of stabilities and make fewer contributions to the new word formation as affixation (Akmajian et al., 2010; De Belder, 2021), they were planned to be excluded from the study
Morpheme analysis identifies morphemes or breaks words down into meaningful components (McBride-Chang et al., 2005; Magg, 2007) Similarly, Amiljalili and Jabbri (2018) claim that awareness of the analytic aspect of morphological knowledge is the essential understanding that words have internal structure and that words that share a common base morpheme also share some aspects of meaning Furthermore, morpheme analysis assists learners in gaining a deep understanding of word knowledge, enabling them to recognize word recognition and word definitions easily (Magg, 2007; Ahmed, 2017; Rabadi, 2019; Asaad et al., 2022)
Reading comprehension
According to Graesser (2007) and Shang (2010), achieving excellence in reading involves mastering various components, and considering them across different levels Additionally, Grabe (2009), “Reading is a strategic process in that a number of the skills and processes are needed on the part of the reader to anticipate text information, select key information, organize and mentally summarize information, monitor comprehension, repair comprehension breakdowns, and match comprehension output to reader goals" (p 15) Therefore, fostering expertise in students and cultivating strategic readers should be a significant objective in reading instruction (Janzen & Stoller, 1988) The term for the ability to process the text and grasp its meaning is known as reading comprehension
According to the Da Vinci Collaborative (2023), comprehension denotes the capacity to effortlessly understand, process, and interpret written text which is one of the main pillars of reading Furthermore, McNamara (2007) asserts that comprehension involves surpassing the literal words to comprehend the ideas in a text and the relationships among those ideas This process encompasses analyzing, synthesizing, understanding, and interpreting written pieces of text from various sources such as books, articles, or essays Similarly, according to van den Broek and Espin (2012), reading comprehension is a sophisticated interaction among automatic and strategic cognitive processes, allowing the reader to form a mental representation of the text Comprehension relies on the reader’s characteristics, including prior knowledge and working memory, as well as language processes like basic reading skills, decoding, vocabulary, sensitivity to text structure, inference, and motivation Effective comprehension also necessitates the use of strategic processes like metacognition and comprehension monitoring As readers advance in their comprehension skills, they can transition efficiently from the initial stage of learning to read to the ultimate goal of reading to learn (Yovanoff et al., 2005)
According to Oakley (2011, p 279) reading comprehension is the ability to derive meaning from text and it is the ultimate goal of reading activity Besides, Baier (2005, p.1) suggested that reading comprehension is a skill that is critical to the educational success of all individuals He added, that without any adequate reading comprehension, a learner will struggle in many areas Reading comprehension is needed for all areas in the school such as science, math, and social In short, the researcher can conclude that reading comprehension is a product of reading activity while reading activity is the process It means that reading comprehension is an active process, not a passive one, and it requires a deep level of engagement with the text, as well as a deeper level of understanding
Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand a written passage of text Effective reading is essential for a rich academic, professional, and personal life Reading fluency is a very important part of reading comprehension as readers who spend their time decoding words tend to lose the understanding of what is being read
There are eight features that should be involved in assessing the learners' reading comprehension (Brown, 2004) They include main idea, expression/ idioms/ phrases in context, inference, grammatical features, detail (scanning for a specifically stated detail), excluding facts not written (unstated details), supporting idea, and vocabulary in context
According to Cash and Schumm (2006), the comprehension process involves an understanding of words and how these words are used to create meaning Comprehension entails three elements that are discussed below:
The reader who is doing the comprehending: To comprehend, a reader must have a wide range of capacities and abilities These include cognitive capacities, motivation, and various types of knowledge
The text that is to be comprehended: The features of the text have a large effect on comprehension Comprehension does not occur by simply extracting meaning from text Texts can be difficult or easy, depending on the factors inherent in the text When too many of these factors are not matched to readers’ knowledge and experience, the text may be too difficult for optimal comprehension to occur
The activity in which comprehension is a part: A reading activity involves one or more purposes, some operations to process the text at hand, and the consequences of performing the activity The consequences of reading are part of the activity Some reading activities lead to an increase in the knowledge a reader has Another consequence of reading activity is finding out how to do something
Examples of this process are the reader making sense of the written text in order to get information and knowledge from the text and respond to the ideas of the author in order to make the messages or information
In the context of reading, there are five types of reading from simplest to most complex, including perceptive reading, selective reading, interactive reading, intensive reading, and extensive reading (Educational Research Techniques, 2017)
Perceptive reading: Understanding something or figuring things out is the main activity in perceptive reading This activity usually involves the identification of words, punctuations, and others or matching pictures Perceptive reading tasks deal with the elements of a unit of language, such as letters, words, word, punctuation, and other graphemic symbols (Brown, 2004) The focus of perceptive reading lies on the form such as recognizing the words, sentences, and punctuation rather than the meaning
Selective reading: Selective reading requires the students to recognize word, grammatical, or discourse features of language within a very short sentence or short paragraph (Brown, 2004) The focus of selective reading is the form of the words and grammatical aspects of language This activity involves the process of sorting things out or selecting the important information by careful choice
Interactive reading: Using both knowledge of word structure and existing knowledge to interpret the text they read is what interactive reading activity is Interactive reading can require students to read several paragraphs to one page of text or more and psycho-linguistically interact with the text (negotiate meaning) to identify relevant features and retain information that is conceptually processed (Brown, 2004) One such example entails a paragraph about chocolate and multiple-choice comprehension-check questions following the passage
Intensive reading: Intensive reading involves studying the text carefully in every word and grammatical by contrasting, examining, decoding, and maintaining every expression that has been found in the text (Pang et al., 2003) This activity involves the reader’s concentration in order to comprehend the detailed information in the text It may be the sentence, the paragraph, and the whole text The focus of intensive reading is the language and the grammatical features
Extensive reading: In order to review the ideas related to the text, a summary is often used The focus of extensive reading is usually the message which is conveyed by the writer The purpose of learning reading through extensive reading was studying the language not the content, not only seeking information but also could be for pleasure purposes (Richard & Julian, 1998) In contrast to intensive reading, extensive reading is an activity that involves the reader’s own pleasure because the focus of this activity is the content of the text, not the language
Significance of morphology knowledge in improving reading comprehension
The exploration of morphological knowledge’s pivotal role in enhancing reading comprehension has garnered consistent attention from scholars Morphological knowledge, as highlighted by Schreuder and Baayen (1995), is integral in revealing the intricacies within a word
It involves learners deducing word forms, accessing morphemes, and cultivating generic vocabulary knowledge, ultimately enhancing their reading comprehension abilities Similarly, as Nagy et al (1993) pointed out, students could improve their lexical resources thanks to morphological knowledge of prefixes, roots, and suffixes Other studies also suggested that morphological knowledge plays an indispensable role in the processes of comprehending, storing, and retrieving words (Bowers & Kirby, 2006; Kucan, 2012; Templeton, 2009, 2010; Akbulut, 2017; Goodwin et al., 2015)
This consistency across studies suggests that learners equipped with a more solid foundation of morphological knowledge are likely to achieve a deeper understanding of English words and language use, especially in the context of reading comprehension McBride-Chang et al (2005) and Wang et al (2006) further elaborated on how morphology knowledge empowers readers can determine and comprehend new meanings by deconstructing unfamiliar abstract words into their constituent morphemes Carlisle (2010) also suggested that word analysis, which involves identifying and manipulating morphemes, deciphering complex terms, constructing new meanings, and comprehending the meaning of words, is helpful in expanding vocabulary and enhancing text understanding
Sandra (1994) confirmed that morphological processing is a determinant of lexical access at the word level (vocabulary knowledge), contributing to text-level understanding (reading comprehension) Leong (1999) also suggested that word formation rules of synthesis and analysis play an indispensable role in students' reading comprehension As defined by Cash and Schumm (2006), the reading comprehension process involves an understanding of words and how these words are used to create meaning Oakley (2011, p 279) also described that reading comprehension is the ability to derive meaning from text, which is the ultimate goal of reading activity
In the process of learning English, students frequently come across words they are not familiar with They can understand word manipulation through the study of morphology since morphology involves the study of word formation Within the realm of morphology, learners learn how to form words into new words and understand the two aspects related to morphological knowledge
Several studies have consistently shown that morphological knowledge plays an indispensable role in reading comprehension (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007; Karimi, 2012; Amirjalili
& Jabbari, 2018) The conducted on morphological knowledge and reading comprehension indicated that L2 learners who can break words into meaningful parts not only increase their vocabulary but also have an extended enhanced comprehension of reading in the target language That is because being aware of derivational morphemes often offers students a reference to successfully inferred word meaning, which works as a guide to better comprehension of words and texts (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2012)
According to Kuo and Anderson (2006) and Crosson et al (2018), morphological knowledge and reading comprehension have a reciprocal and directional relationship In the reciprocal relationship, both morphological knowledge and reading comprehension contribute to improving each other Otherwise, morphological knowledge may lead to reading proficiency, but the opposite is impossible Based on what Graves et al (2013) stipulated, research revealed that the ability to diagnose and recognize morphological word families can be a skill in reading As Nagy and Anderson (1984) claimed, 60% of the unknown words a reader encounters in a text have meanings that can be imagined based on their constituent parts Through better comprehension of word formation processes, a reader will be more empowered to guess the meanings of these words, read longer words more accurately and fluently, and then manage to work out the text (Nagy et al., 2003)
Further, according to Carlisle and Stone (2003), the morpheme refers to a word usually made up of smaller recognizable units It means a morpheme to helps one to understand or guess the meaning of new words The students’ morphological knowledge helps decode words, include their meaning, and facilitate both word reading and understanding of words in texts (Lam et al., 2012) Word recognition is a critical part of reading (Adams, 1990) The faster one recognizes the words, the more fluent the reader s/he becomes (YucelKoc, 2015) Automatic word recognition could help their synthetic and analytic aspects of morphological knowledge The words less often like academic words can be accessed by segmenting them into morphemes When the students have morphological knowledge aspects, they should be able to access words with decoding So the students can help to recognize the words more easily and quickly Levesque et al (2017) state that direct and indirect relationships exist between two aspects of morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Morphological knowledge contributes to morphological decoding which can influence reading comprehension Weak morphological knowledge may be a limiting factor in the acquisition of new vocabulary Morphological knowledge could help students find out the new meanings of words and morphologically complex words when they read a text According to Jiang et al (2015), there is an important difference between successful and less successful readers when they apply morphological information Successful readers are worth synthetic and analytic morphology whilst less successful readers underestimate it
Ku and Anderson (2003) conducted a study to investigate whether morphological knowledge plays a significant role in vocabulary acquisition and reading proficiency among second, fourth, and sixth American and Chinese graders of English and Chinese languages and it was found that morphological knowledge is indispensable for English vocabulary acquisition and reading proficiency
Moreover, Zhang and Koda (2013) contended that the distinct impact of morphological knowledge on reading comprehension can be elucidated through three reasons Initially, it aided in deducing the meaning of intricate words while reading, subsequently facilitating vocabulary acquisition This, in turn, assisted learners in overcoming vocabulary gaps during reading, thereby enhancing overall comprehension Secondly, learners utilized the syntactic cues offered by suffixes in derived words to parse complex sentences, ultimately contributing to improved comprehension Lastly, morphological knowledge could enhance comprehension by influencing fluency in decoding morphologically intricate words
Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of research on the morphological knowledge of L2 learners as a central area of focus, and the limited relevant research sometimes yield conflicting findings on the potential contribution of morphological knowledge to L2 reading comprehension (Zhang & Koda, 2013) According to Kieffer and Lesaux (2008), the synthetic and analytic aspects of morphological knowledge among Spanish English as a Second Language (ESL) learners uniquely influenced reading comprehension, alongside oral vocabulary and word reading ability As Zhang and Koda (2012) study, it was observed that advanced Chinese EFL learners’ synthetic and analytic knowledge indirectly contributed to reading comprehension through the mediation of lexical inferencing ability and vocabulary knowledge Additionally, Zhang and Koda (2013) underscore the significance of word formation rules and morphological knowledge in the EFL curriculum and pedagogy Their findings suggest that morphology training could enhance L2 reading, not only for Chinese learners but also for those of other backgrounds
Furthermore, an understanding of morphemes appears to play a crucial role in learners’ comprehension of text Logan (2010) posited that a conscious grasp of morphological rules contributes to the understanding of syntactically intricate academic English sentences He emphasized the significance of recognizing the morphological structure of word construction for English language learners (ELLs) Moreover, morphemes serve various functions, including inflection, derivation, and compound processes in synthetic and analytic aspects In a three-year longitudinal study, Logan observed significant distinctions between native and non-native English-speaking learners in terms of comprehension, vocabulary, and word reorganization measures The study indicated that native English speakers consistently outperformed their counterparts Consequently, morphological knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary exhibited similar relationships with each other and with reading comprehension for both English-only speakers and ELLs In line with these findings, Gomez (2009) suggested that students should receive explicit and systematic training on morphological rules, derivational and inflectional roots, as well as suffixes
According to Ahmed (2017), the research investigates students’ morphological knowledge via tests The findings revealed that the average score for morpheme analysis was higher when compared to morpheme synthesis Additionally, there was a strong positive correlation between students’ overall scores on the analytic aspect section of the morphological knowledge test and their scores on the reading comprehension test Similarly, a strong positive correlation was observed between students’ overall scores on the synthetic aspect section of the morphological knowledge test and reading comprehension test, although it was somewhat weaker than the correlation observed in the first section of the test.
Research gaps
Although morphological knowledge plays a crucial role in L2 learning, it has not received extensive attention in international research literature While research on morphology has been prominent in studies on first language and the native mental lexicon, it has largely been overlooked in the context of L2 learning context (Sandra, 1997) Only a few studies have been done on the topic worldwide
Moreover, most researchers focused on morphological knowledge or learning reading comprehension The effects of morphology knowledge provided in the course on both morphological knowledge and their effects on reading comprehension remain unexplored
Whether these aspects are susceptible to instruction in the EFL context remains unanswered
It is still being determined if providing instruction in these for EFL learners can improve their reading comprehension Furthermore, the relative contribution of each aspect to enhanced reading comprehension needs to be better defined
To address these gaps, the current study aims to investigate how the morphology course effects third-year English majors at an upper-intermediate level in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking By concurrently examining the effects on morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, the study seeks to provide realistic information for those who are interested in English teaching and learning in an EFL context The purpose of this literature review was to investigate the significance of morphological knowledge on learners’ reading comprehension which was researched before Scholars have made many findings, but not all of them can be readily applied in practice This review establishes the foundation for the researcher’s study to explore the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving the reading comprehension of third-year English majors at HUB Therefore, the discussed literature provides a sufficient theoretical background for the methodology investigated in the next chapter.
METHODOLOGY
Research process
According to StudySmarter (2023), the research process constitutes a systematic series of steps that a researcher follows to guarantee the thorough completion of all aspects of an investigation Adhering to this research process enabled the researcher to address all facets comprehensively, ensuring the reliability and effective presentation of the gathered information The research process in this study typically unfolded in a systematic and structured approach that involved several key stages Firstly, the researcher identified a research problem by observing problems at HUB Once the problem was defined, a thorough review of related literature was undertaken to establish a foundation of existing knowledge and fill in the gaps in the field
Following the literature review, the researcher addressed the research objectives and formulated research questions that guided this study This step helped the researcher clarify the scope and purpose of the research Subsequently, the researcher chose research methods that aligned with the research objectives In other words, quantitative (pre-test and post-test) and qualitative design were employed to determine the objectives of this study
After collecting data, the analysis stage began, where quantitative data and qualitative data were employed to interpret the findings The results were then organized and reported After that, the researcher drew conclusions based on the analysis data and discussions, highlighting some implications for the chosen field These implications were expected to provide valuable insights for instructors, students, and future researchers, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge within the given domain The researcher also provided recommendations for individuals in the field, contributing to the ongoing development of knowledge In this study, the research process was summarized in Figure 3.1
Research setting
The research setting refers to the place where the study was conducted and the data were collected This study took place at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking, located in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The researcher selected the English majors from the Faculty of Foreign Languages to collect the necessary data for addressing the research questions The detailed timeline of the research is presented in Table 3.1
Month August September October November
1 Research Preparation a Crafting research proposal b Obtaining research permission c Creating research instruments
2 Research Implementation a Conducting pre-test and post-test b Executing qualitative survey
3 Thesis composition a Drafting of thesis b Writing the thesis
4 Examination and revision of thesis
Table 3.1 The time of the research
Undertaking a research study on morphology in six different classes has been quite challenging for the researcher Each class has its timetable and is taught by other instructors As a result, conducting a comprehensive research study became a complex task because it was hard for the researcher to organize a space with all participants who could participate in the research simultaneously within a limited time Due to these constraints, the researcher could only carry out pre-tests and post-tests within the timeframes of each class The lecturers in charge of the morphology subject gave specific timeframes Detailed information about the date and time allotted to conduct research in each class is shown in Table 3.2
Pre-test Post-test Qualitative survey
Table 3.2 Date and time allotted to conduct research
Sample of the study
The study was conducted on 194 third-year students majoring in Business English enrolled in morphology-syntax classes in the first semester of the academic year 2023 – 2024 at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking All the participants are FFL students, and their first language is Vietnamese To collect the relevant data, the researcher emailed morphology-syntax teachers for permission to conduct in-class tests for students The researcher went to the six classes, introduced the research objectives, and invited all students in the six classes to participate, and 100% of students agreed to participate voluntarily
Before starting each pre-test and post-test in different classes, the researcher announced that the results of this survey did not affect the student’s academic performance Therefore, the researcher hopes students can perform the test and answer the questions In the pre-test, the total number of tests issued is 194, and the total number received is 194 In the post-test, the total number of tests administered is 194, and the total number received is 194 All accepted tests are valid, resulting in a 100% acceptance rate of pre-tests and post-tests
In the qualitative data, the researcher received 33 responses from respondents through Google Forms within five days Even though the instructions requested answers in English instead of Vietnamese, one response did not meet the requirement and was discarded As a result, the researcher received 32 valid responses for analysis and assessment.
Research design
This research used mix-methods, including both quantitative and qualitative designs Firstly, the researcher wanted to determine the effectiveness of the morphology course on the results of students’ Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading Comprehension Test through the pre-test and post-test Secondly, the researcher sought to explore the third-year English majors’ opinions toward the morphology course at HUB
In the quantitative design, the researcher employed a longitudinal study to examine how a phenomenon unfolds over time, specifically at two distinct times This was achieved through panel studies, given the participants underwent consecutive measures at various intervals This research design was deemed optimal since it facilitated the collection of detailed information regarding changes on a small scale Its application allowed for comparing the participants’ pre-test and post- test outcomes
In the qualitative design, a cross-sectional design was utilized for its ease of participant recruitment and cost and energy efficiency The chosen methodology was ethnographic, as the researcher sought to explore the opinions of the third-year English majors regarding the effectiveness of the morphology course Through this approach, the researcher delved into participants’ opinions on the effect of the morphology course on improving their morphological knowledge and reading comprehension.
Data collection instruments
The instruments the researcher used were tests (a piece of paper) to obtain objective results The aims of both tests evaluated the effect of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension The pre-test and post-test comprised two sections, namely the Morphological Knowledge Test and the Reading Comprehension Test, each containing 35 questions The first section assessed students' morphological synthetic and analytic word formation rules, and one section assessed students' reading comprehension The assessment items for students' morphological synthetic and analytic knowledge encompass gap-filling, checklist, and multiple-choice selections In contrast, reading comprehension evaluation involved two different passages with two multiple-choice To ensure the discriminability and difficulty of the pre-test and post-test, these instruments went through testing for reliability and validity
In order to achieve the objective of the study, the researcher conducted the pre-test and post- test by personally distributing and collecting the assessments in the classroom with the permission of lecturers and participants This hands-on approach ensured direct engagement with participants and maintaoned consistency in the process, contributing to the reliability of data collection for the study
These instruments for quantiative design can be categorized into two main groups: the Morphological Knowledge Test - to measure the independent variables, and the Reading Comprehension Test - to measure the dependent variables A comprehensive list of all materials is provided in Table 3.3, with detailed explanations of the measurement, source, and format examples
Variable type Measurement Quantitative design
Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme synthesis)
English McBride-Chang et al., 2005
Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme analysis)
English Maag, 2007 Individual, written, multiple-choice Word Definition
English Maag, 2007 Individual, written, multiple-choice
English Anderson, 2008 Individual, written, multiple-choice Reading comprehension passage 2
English Anderson, 2008 Individual, written, multiple-choice
The pre-test and post-test instruments were used to address the two first research questions:
“What is the effect of the morphology course on the morphological knowledge of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?” and “What is the effect of the morphology course on the reading comprehension of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?” The Morphological Knowledge Test with two sections includes the Morphological
Structure Test (Morpheme synthesis) (Mc-Bride-Chang, Wagner, Muse, Chow, & Shu, 2005) and the Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme Analysis) (Magg, 2007); the Reading comprehension test adapted from Active Skills for Reading by Anderson (2008) These tests were selected due to their consistent and reliable performance, as well as the ease with which the results can be scored and interpreted
The Morphological Knowledge Test, adapted from Chang et al (2005) for the Morphological Structure Test and Magg (2007) for the Morpheme Identification Test, was applied to assess the student’s ability to deduce the word forms and access the morphemic units in English This test is of interest to the researchers as it encompasses both the morpheme analysis as well as morpheme synthesis of word formation rules In this study, the test is utilized to gauge students' knowledge of the relationship between words and their correlation within a sentence The Morphological Knowledge Test consisted of two parts: The Morphological Structure Test and the Morpheme Identification Test, which are discussed below
3.5.1.1 The Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme Synthesis)
The Morphological Structure Test, which was adapted from Chang et al.'s (2005) test battery, was used to measure the subjects' ability to synthesize morphemes to create new words that align with the context of the sentences This test aimed to assess learners' knowledge of the lexical structure and the relationships among morphemes or word parts This morphological structure requires students to combine morphemes in a quite productive manner The number of questions for pre-test and post-test consisted of 10 items, five items for each test The items included two inflectional affixes, two derivational affixes, six compound words, and 16 stems Each morpheme in both tests was assigned one point, resulting in a total score of 5 for both the pre-test and post- test morphological structure The participants were provided with a frame sentence containing the usage of the target morpheme and were asked to complete another sentence In other words, the test task requires test takers to use the frame sentence to complete the next sentence The response required morpheme compounding or syntactic manipulation
3.5.1.2 The Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme Analysis)
The Morpheme Identification Test was adapted from Magg (2007) for measuring the learners’ morphology skills This section has three mini-parts, including Word Familiarity, Word Recognition, and Word Definition Each part necessitated a response to the same set of five morphologically complex words Consequently, the questions for the pre-test and post-test consisted of a total of 30 items, with 15 in each test All the words in this section were chosen at the upper-intermediate level (B2 high), determined based on word frequencies as outlined in the Word Frequency Book (Carroll, Davies, & Richman, 1971) It is worth noting that compound words were deliberately avoided in this section to prevent ambiguity in choosing a root word For Part 1, Word Familiarity, participants were given a list of 10 complex words (five complex words for the pre-test and five for the post-test) and instructed to mark the words they knew The instructions specified, “check yes if you could use the word in a sentence.” In common language, familiarity with a word implies recognizing its meaning, and the primary purpose of Part
1 was to elicit a yes-or-no response indicating this level of acquaintance with each word However, a less apparent objective was to access a deeper level of knowledge in the subsequent stages of the test Comprehensive knowledge of a word involves understanding its associations with derivationally related words While this knowledge is typically implicit, the sequence of Part 1 (Word familiarity) followed by the second part aimed to make this knowledge explicit
For Part 2, Word Recognition, participants were tasked with identifying the simpler word that is morphologically linked to each complex word The participants had to recognize these words’ root (base) The score of Part 2 would reflect the student’s fundamental understanding of general derivational word-formation processes However, considering the results of Part 2 exclusively for the words identified as “known” in Part 1, it captured the particular, frequently implicit understanding of the derivational relationships associated with those specific test words This approach contributed to calculating the morphological knowledge (MK) score
For Part 3, Word Definition, a standard-format, multiple-choice vocabulary test was administered, requiring participants to select the definition of the target word Word Definition serves as a straightforward gauge of knowledge regarding word meanings Analyzing Part 3 responses for words identified as known in Part 1 enables the assessment of metacognitive skills This comparison, termed Accuracy, helps determine whether students comprehend the meanings of the words they believe they know
Figure 3.2 Scoring of the Morpheme Identification Test (Analytic aspect)
“Active Skills for Reading” by Anderson (2008) is a widely recognized tool employed for both research endeavors and the assessment of reading progress in educational and clinical contexts (Mojtaba et al., 2015) In this study, “Active Skills for Reading” by Anderson (2008) was utilized to gauge participants’ reading comprehension The Reading Comprehension Test was the pre-test and post-test, featuring two upper-intermediate reading passages with 15 multiple-choice questions These questions aimed to assess participants’ understanding of prefixes and suffixes, with all questions in both passages focusing on vocabulary knowledge The passages were age- and level-appropriate, and students were instructed to read the passages and choose the most suitable alternatives Each test question carried a score of 1, resulting in a maximum score of 15 The allotted time for this section was 15 minutes
This pre-test comprises two reading passages with 15 questions, each offering two options The post-test was complied with parallel-form with the pre-test The post-test items are intentionally set to the same difficulty level as those in the pre-test Again, the researcher used to measure the effect of the morphology course on participants’ reading comprehension
To address the final research question, a qualitative survey questionnaire was employed to gather the third-year English majors’ opinions toward the morphology course at HUB The research design of this qualitative inquiry involved three open-ended questions through Google
Forms, prompting students to respond to at least 20 words for each question The qualitative survey questionnaire asked participants to answer questions related to students’ opinions regarding the effectiveness of the morphology course on improving their morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Respondents completed the survey anonymously at their convenience, with no specific instructions provided regarding expectations The survey questions are detailed in the appendices section (See Appendix E).
Data analysis tools
In this research, both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were undertaken to address the three research questions aimed at assessing the effect of the morphology course on improving morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, and the researcher attempts to explore students’ opinions regarding the morphology course at HUB
In the quantitative data, the student’s test results (both pre-test and post-test) were analyzed using the software package SPSS (version 26.0), a widely utilized tool in applied linguistics and educational research The researcher systematically coded the data by assigning unique codes to each student, created a data file, and subsequently inputted the coded data In this study, the researcher mainly uses descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-test to statistic the general situation and analyze differences between the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension
In the qualitative data, the researcher scrutinized each respondent’s responses in the open- ended questions survey During the coding phase, the researcher highlighted extracts of the participants’ responses for easy identification Subsequently, in the precoding phase, the researcher thoroughly reviewed responses, reflecting on them and documenting thoughts in a journal In the initial coding phase, keywords extracted directly from the responses were incorporated to enhance the authenticity of preliminary codes These codes were then transformed into percentages, representing the proportion of respondents who shared similar opinions To interpret the data, the researcher followed an iterative approach Initial interpretations commenced during the coding process, progressing as the researcher continued to read, re-read students’ responses, and documented reflections along the way This iterative process allowed the researcher to grow familiarity with the data, leading to revealing underlying meanings As a result, the coding process facilitated a more profound understanding of the opinions of the third-year English majors toward the morphology course at HUB.
Criteria of scientific quality
To ensure the reliability and validity of the pre-test and post-test content, the researcher enlisted a panel of experts who scrutinized the theoretical constructs to affirm the credibility of the results Furthermore, pilot testing was conducted to assess the feasibility of fulfilling the study objectives and addressing its questions Specifically, 20 second-year English majors from the Faculty of Foreign Languages at HUB were randomly selected to examine the adapted tests' reliability and validity, namely the Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading Comprehension Test Their feedback during the pre-test and post-test indicated content clarity and satisfaction, affirming that the instruments were valid and aligned with the study’s objectives
In the qualitative design, the researcher will adhere to Lincoln and Guba’s criteria for ensuring the quality of this qualitative research This classification model is instrumental in validating the trustworthiness of the collected data Firstly, for credibility, it will enable the researcher to ensure alignment with the research objectives, which is to investigate the opinions of the third-year English majors regarding the morphology course at HUB Secondly, for transferability, the researcher can apply the strategies and tactics employed in this study to other studies on related subjects Thirdly, for dependability, it will ensure that this study remains consistent with its current purpose, ensuring coherence in the results Finally, for confirmability, the results will be gathered objectively through triangulation with other research, providing assurance of the objectivity of the results.
Ethical considerations
Participants in this study participated on a voluntary basis, signifying that their involvement was the result of their own free will, without any form of coercion In addition to voluntary participation, the confidentiality of participants’ information was rigorously upheld The data collected during the study was securely stored on a device with an encrypted password under anonymized markers This safeguarded participants’ identities and personal information, reducing the risk of potential harm or privacy breaches Furthermore, the input and output data of the participants were exclusively used for the purposes of the research and were not disclosed to any third parties These ethical considerations are crucial in maintaining trust between researchers and participants, which is at the core of ethical research conduct, particularly for a university student as a novice researcher
This chapter has covered the research process, the research setting, and the research participants It has also explained the research design of the thesis and presented the data collection instruments and data analysis tools Additionally, criteria for scientific quality and ethical considerations have been discussed The results of the data analysis to address the research questions and the data analysis discussion will be presented in the next chapter.
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Interpretation of quantitative data
The researcher did the research and got the complete data from the research instruments To gain the research objectives and address the research questions, the researcher analyzed the data accurately based on the SPSS (version 26.0) software The data was analyzed to determine findings about the objectives and also tackle the two first research questions in a systematic way
4.1.1 Effects of the Morphology course on morphological knowledge
The researcher analyzed the students’ achievement of morphological knowledge aspects, and the results showed the morphology course had increased all the aspects of morphological knowledge As a result, the mean scores, median, and standard deviations for the two aspects of the Morphological Knowledge Test, including the Morphological Structure Test (MST) (Morpheme synthesis) and the Morpheme Identification Test (MIT) (Morpheme analysis) at two different times (pre-test and post-test) are displayed in Table 4.1
Note: MST – Morphological Structure Test, MIT – Morpheme Identification Test, WF – Word Familiarity, WR – Word Recognition, WD – Word Definition, MK – Morphological knowldege,
Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics on Morphological Knowledge Test (MKT) aspects between pre- test and post-test results (N4)
In the pre-test, regarding the Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme synthesis) results, the participants were tasked to use morpheme compounding based on frame sentences to generate new words Table 4.1 illustrates that the mean score for MST was 3.82 out of five questions in this section during the pre-test Conversely, in the post-test, the mean for MST was 4.72 It can be seen that there is an almost 1-point difference in the mean scores between the pre-test and post-test Descriptive statistics for the Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme analysis) sub- components are also presented in Table 4.1 Almost all of the participants checked “known” Specifically, 185 out of 194 participants checked all known words in WF in the pre-test and 187 out of 194 participants in the post-test The researcher mentioned WF for each test because WF will be scored for other aspects of MIT Turning to MIT in the pre-test, participants displayed varying data across different sub-components WF had a mean score of 4.78, WR had a mean of 3.48, WD exhibited a mean of 4.53, MK scored 8.26, and Accuracy reached a mean of 8.01 However, improvements were observed in the table above in the post-test WF increased to a mean of 4.82, WR improved to 4.74, WD reached 4.87, MK advanced to 9.56, and Accuracy showed a mean of 9.61 These changes, combined with the reduced standard deviations and variances in the post-test, indicate a higher level of consistency and performance in the analytical aspect of the assessment Overall, the results of MIT increased from pre-test to post-test from 12.70 to 14.43 It means that the WF, WR, WD, MK, and Accuracy increased from the pre-test to the post-test Furthermore, to examine whether there existed a noteworthy distinction between the pre-test and post-test Morphological Knowledge Test of participants before and after taking the morphology course, this study conducted the paired samples t-test to determine where there is statistical evidence that the mean difference between MKT at pre-test and MKT at post-test are significantly different from zero The results of the paired sample t-test are presented in the following tables
Mean N Std Deviation Std Error
Table 4.2 Paired Samples Statistics (MKT)
Pair 1 MKT PRE - MKT POST 194 0,062 0,387
Table 4.3 Paired Samples Correlations (MKT)
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
Table 4.4 Paired Samples Test (MKT)
According to the provided data, students’ morphological knowledge at the pre-test mean was 16.61 (SD = 2.0), and the post-test mean was 19.19 (SD = 0.86) (Table 4.2) The t-test revealed those results as significant because p < 0.05, p = 000, and the effect size was huge with d = 1.68 (Table 4.4) Besides, the t-value was 16.844, and the significant data based on the t-table was at least 0.867 Thus, the t-value was higher than the t-table (18.844 > 0.867), and the two-tail significance showed that < 0.05 (p = 000) Therefore, it could be stated that there was a higher performance between the pre-test and post-test scores of the students’ morphological knowledge The data suggest that the morphology course significantly influenced providing students with morphological knowledge and led to improved performance on the MKT
4.1.2 Effects of the Morphology course on reading comprehension
The researcher analyzed the students’ reading comprehension test results It is worth pointing out that 190 out of 194 participants reached nearly the maximum score of the RCT in the post-test The results showed that the morphology course had increased the overall participants’ reading comprehension performance, as displayed in the following table
Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics on the Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) between pre-test and post-test results (N4)
Furthermore, to test if there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test Reading Comprehension Test of participants before and after taking the morphology course, the paired samples t-test was run to determine where there is statistical evidence that the mean difference between RCT at pre-test and RCT at post-test are significantly different from zero The results of the paired sample t-test are presented in the following tables
Mean N Std Deviation Std Error
Table 4.6 Paired Samples Statistics (RCT)
Pair 2 RCT PRE - RCT POST 194 0,008 0,915
Table 4.7 Paired Samples Correlations (RCT)
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
Table 4.8 Paired Samples Test (RCT)
The provided data showed that the student’s reading comprehension mean scores had increased significantly after being taught through morphological knowledge This was demonstrated by the correct answers they obtained in the post-test The Reading Comprehension pre-test mean was 11.27 (SD = 2.37), and the post-test mean was 14.72 (SD = 0.78) (Table 4.5 or Table 4.6) Therefore, a statistically significant disparity was observed between the participants’ pre-test and post-test on the RCT, t (193) = 19.327, p < 0.05, p = 000, and the substantial size d 1.96 (Table 4.8) Furthermore, the t-value was 19.327, and the significant data based on the t-table was at least 1.378 Thus, the t-value was higher than the t-table (19.327 > 0.867), and the two-tail significance showed that < 0.05 (p = 000) Therefore, it can be confidently asserted that the morphology course was indeed effective in providing students with the pivotal foundation for improving performance on the RCT.
Interpretation of qualitative data
The final research question delved into the results obtained from a qualitative analysis of data To explore respondents’ opinions on the morphology course at HUB concerning morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, a qualitative survey in English was used This survey consisted of two open-ended questions requiring students to respond to at least 20 words Reflection plays an essential role in assessing and determining the effectiveness of the morphology course This facet is critical not only to enhance the research in subsequent cycles and cultivate awareness among students and teachers following each instructional session but also to serve as evidence and implication for further research
The open-ended questions were designed to allow students to articulate their personal opinions concerning the morphology course at HUB These individual viewpoints serve as pivotal components for the reflective process, enabling a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of the morphology course By aligning these qualitative insights with the quantitative data, the study aims to achieve a consistent understanding of the morphology course’s effect
In the following table, the participants’ responses were coded and synthesized, presented in Table 4.9 (the original responses of participants see Appendix F) Furthermore, the two open- ended questions with similar corresponding students' answers and the percentage of students contributing to the related answers are also clearly demonstrated in Table 4.10 and Table 4.11
Table 4.9 Students’ opinions toward the morphology course at HUB
Groups Mini-groups Relevant responses
Providing a deeper understanding of words structure
Providing an explanation of how words are formed
Breaking down words into morphemes Knowing more about its roots and affixes Understanding word class
Avoiding making mistakes or misunderstanding words
Being familiar with the definitions Facilitating vocabulary expansion
Identifying the morphological complex words within a complex sentence
Grasping the meaning of complex text Improving fluent reading
Improving speed reading Language proficiency Targeting levels of language certificates
4.2.1 Students’ opinions of the effect of the Morphology course on morphological knowledge First open- ended question
Themes % Students contributing to theme
Providing a deeper understanding of words structure
Breaking down words into morphemes
Knowing more about its roots and affixes
Avoiding making mistakes or misunderstanding words
Being familiar with the definitions
Table 4.10 Results of qualitative analysis of the first open-ended question among 32 respondents
Concerning the first open-ended question, the responses conveyed a variety of opinions, all of which, however, were positive In this question, two aspects that the researcher collected are inferring unfamiliar words and vocabulary comprehension It is noteworthy to mention that 75.7% of respondents agreed that their ability to infer vocabulary improved after taking the morphology course As illustrated in the table, 87.9% of respondents expressed that morphological knowledge provided in the morphology course helped them offer a more profound insight into the structure of words A very large majority of participants, 81.2%, showed that they could break down unfamiliar words into their constituent morphemes Many students admitted that the morphological knowledge allowed them to dissect the word into its smallest meaningful parts, which can provide valuable clues about its meaning Furthermore, the high figure of 91.4% of students expressed that they knew more about its roots and affixes in morphological knowledge, and it helped them quickly identify and understand words that share similar morphological components, even if they had not encountered those specific words before
Four respondents (R) expressed their thoughts about this question:
Studying morphology in the course was beneficial for inferring the meaning of unfamiliar words because it provided insights into the structure and origins of words.… This knowledge allowed me to deduce the meanings of unfamiliar words by recognizing familiar morphemes, making the overall process of vocabulary comprehension much easier and more effective (R2)
…Before studying morphology, I determined the meaning of an unfamiliar word very subjectively, and the probability that I guessed correctly was very low But since studying morphology, learning about affixes, and how to change words, I feel more confident when determining the meaning of some unfamiliar words in the reading passages… (R16)
…I have a tendency guessing the words or study words by habit or learn by heart the word family (like N, ADJ, ADV); however, after studying morphology at school, I can explain why this word, that word is formed, and absolutely know how words change class (R28)
…Learning about word roots and affixes gave me the tools to analyze complex vocabulary, enabling me to make educated guesses about their meanings based on the morphological knowledge I have learned and not guessing words in an unconscious way (R32)
As can be seen in these responses, four out of 32 respondents showed extreme satisfaction with the morphology course and its effects on their English morphological knowledge R2 indicated that the morphology course provided their “insights” about the structure or origin of words According to the Cambridge English Dictionary (2023), insight means “the ability to have a clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation.” Hence, they expressed that morphological knowledge proved beneficial for deciphering unfamiliar words, attributing this advantage to a deeper understanding of word structure and origins
This aligns with R16, R28, and R32; however, they express their ideas differently For example, in R16, they showed they were “more confident,” or in R28, “guessing words by habit.”
In their responses, before taking the morphology course, they described their method as subjective, with a low probability of accurate guesses However, acquiring knowledge in morphology, specifically the understanding of affixes and word formation rules, has significantly bolstered their confidence and knowledge of why the words are made or changed, avoiding making mistakes or misunderstanding words due to habits or intuition This is also consistent with R32, who indicated the ability to analyze morphologically complex words without guessing “in an unconscious way,” which signifies the contrast between their current method, grounded in learned morphological principles, and their prior, less strategic approach to deciphering unfamiliar words Therefore, it can be stated that four respondents are highly satisfied with the morphology course due to the positive effect on their English morphological knowledge
Furthermore, some respondents provided more detailed insights, indicating that their improvement stems from a better understanding of how the meaning of words changes, two-thirds of respondents (66.7%) Additionally, after a thorough synthesis and analysis of the qualitative data in this question, the researcher noted that 17 out of 32 respondents acknowledged the morphology course’s assistance in retaining their previous knowledge that they would typically forget These respondents disclosed a tendency to rely on habitual or intuitive guessing of words in texts in an unconscious way Still, through the morphology course, they could avoid guessing words from this habit or memorization approach As Amirjalili & Jabbari (2018) highlighted, prefixation and suffixation are prevalent in most English words, and recognizing these affixes can significantly influence word formation and transformation This approach is seen as contributing to more meaningful learning as opposed to mere rote memorization or habitual guessing As a result, this highlights the significance of the morphology course in improving their understanding of word class changes and avoiding guessing unfamiliar words by habit or intuition through morphological knowledge, leading to a better understanding of complex words
Almost all participants (30 out of 32) demonstrated the ability to comprehend their vocabulary based on familiarity with the definitions by inferring unknown words These responses align with Lam et al.’s (2012) claim that an enhanced understanding of morphological knowledge facilitates vocabulary acquisition, empowering students to derive the meaning of unfamiliar words by drawing upon their familiarity with familiar morphemes Furthermore, 91% of respondents expressed that the morphological knowledge provided in the morphology course aided them in expanding their vocabulary The morphological knowledge in the course facilitates efficient vocabulary learning, leading to a more nuanced and diverse vocabulary Participants mentioned that morphological knowledge empowers their systematic approach to new words, fostering intentional vocabulary expansion and contributing to overall language proficiency
Therefore, it can be concluded that this aligns with the idea that morphological knowledge develops gradually along with the understanding of form and meaning (Carlisle, 2010) Students mentioned that knowing word structure and the ability of words to be modified facilitated a better comprehension of what they read, making it easier to handle and infer the meanings of unfamiliar words As a result, possessing the knowledge of morphology and its workings may significantly contribute to vocabulary development by aiding students in making informed inferences about meaning, avoiding making mistakes or misunderstanding unknown words due to their habit or intuition, and understanding the relative position of a lexical item within standard English In essence, morphological knowledge is likely to yield better learning outcomes as it correlates with various language skills such as vocabulary building and expansion, as well as reading comprehension (Wysocki & Jenkins, 1987; Qian, 1999) Furthermore, research indicates that learners can use their morphological knowledge to uncover meanings in newly encountered complex English text (Carlisle, 2010; Carlisle & Stone, 2003)
4.2.2 Students’ opinions of the effect of the Morphology course on reading comprehension Second open- ended question
Themes % Students contributing to theme
Identifying the morphological complex words within a complex sentence
Grasping the meaning of complex text
Targeting levels of language certificates
Table 4.11 Results of qualitative analysis of the second open-ended question among 32 respondents
In response to the second open-ended question concerning the effectiveness of the morphology course in enhancing English reading comprehension, many participants mentioned various aspects However, nearly all respondents believed that the morphology course significantly improved their understanding of word structure, consequently positively effecting their reading comprehension and aiding them in better understanding English texts Furthermore, it also helped them improve effective reading as well as language proficiency
As illustrated in the table, this ability is attributed to their proficiency in identifying morphologically complex words within a complex sentence and grasping the meaning of words in a complex text, with a percentage of 90.1% for each aspect This finding is similar to the research conducted by Levesque et al (2017), demonstrating that morphological knowledge can be considered a valuable language learning strategy for the derivation and decomposition of complex words, thereby enhancing English reading comprehension
Summary of the answers to three research questions
The 1 st question What is the effect of the morphology course on the morphological knowledge of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
There was an increase in the students’ morphological knowledge provided in the morphology course at HUB in morpheme synthesis and analysis, with 16.62 in the pre-test and 19.19 in the post-test (on the 20-question scale)
The 2 nd question What is the effect of the morphology course on the reading comprehension of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
The morphology course had a positive effect on the student’s reading comprehension, with 11.27 on the pre-test and 14.72 on the post-test (on the 15-question scale)
The 3 rd question What are the opinions of the third-year English majors toward the morphology course at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?
All respondents showed their satisfaction that the morphology course at HUB was beneficial for improving their morphological knowledge and English reading comprehension
This chapter has presented the results of the data analysis and offered some discussion, confirming the researcher’s point of view and the significance of this study The next chapter will focus on this study’s implications, limitations, and conclusion, along with suggestions for further research.
CONCLUSIONS
Implications
Based on the research results, it is implied that the effect of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension is significant for third-year English majors at HUB Given its importance, some implications of incorporating morphological knowledge into courses should be discussed As a result, the research is expected to convey vital implications for teachers, students, and researchers For teachers, it emphasizes the importance of integrating morphology courses into the curriculum and inspires them to innovate their teaching methods For students, it highlights the tangible benefits of engaging with morphology courses, encouraging them to view them as essential to their academic development For researchers, it provides a starting point for further exploration and collaboration, paving the way for a deeper understanding of the influence of morphology courses on learners’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension
The results of this study carry noteworthy implications for teachers Morphology courses have often been overlooked in favor of language skills courses, but this research reveals their pivotal role in enhancing students' morphological knowledge and reading comprehension skills Teachers can use this evidence to justify the effectiveness of morphology courses in the curriculum, ensuring that students receive a well-rounded education in language and linguistics Additionally, educators can use the specific strategies and materials that have proven effective to design more engaging and informative morphology courses This may involve developing innovative lesson plans, hands-on activities, and interactive tools to keep students engaged in learning morphology Teachers hold the key to enhancing their students’ reading comprehension skills by incorporating effective morphology teaching techniques
A second important implication of this study derives from the findings that students stand to gain tremendously from this research English majors, often tasked with rigorously analyzing literary texts and interpreting complex writing, can now see the advantages of taking morphology courses It can be admitted that morphological knowledge holds significance for reading comprehension and can be beneficial for identifying morphologically complex words Improved reading comprehension can empower students to engage with literary acquisition on a deeper level, discerning nuances that may have eluded them previously Additionally, these students are likely to perform better academically because of their ability to understand and analyze texts It implies that it would be better for students to actively engage in morphology courses, seeking to maximize the benefits for their academic development
For researchers, the implications of this study open the door for a more extensive exploration of the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving L2 learners’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, contributing to further theoretical advancements in the field Despite the recent growth in interest in morphological knowledge, uncertainties persist in this research area Consistent with a broad array of studies, including the present one, there is compelling evidence that morphological knowledge significantly influences how students comprehend written texts The findings from this study aim to provide a foundation for further research to investigate other pathways through which morphology courses can enhance morphological knowledge and reading skills This additional investigation can lead to more effective teaching methods tailored to the specific needs of English majors and L2 learners Moreover, through this research, the researcher hopes that researchers can collaborate with educators to implement and assess the effectiveness of these innovative teaching strategies in real classroom settings, fostering a symbiotic relationship between academia and pedagogy.
Limitations
Upon completion and reflection on the entire study, the researcher has identified several limitations that should be considered These limitations offer valuable experience for the author as a novice researcher and suggest ideas for future studies
The first limitation of this study is the inability to gather all the participants simultaneously
It is acknowledged that the pre-test and post-test administrations were conducted based on the class schedule, resulting in participants taking the tests on different dates and at various times This scheduling constraint had a partial effect on the test results This temporal misalignment complicates the interpretation of the results, as it becomes challenging to determine whether the observed improvements in reading comprehension were solely attributable to the morphology course or influenced by external factors Therefore, it would be better if the pre-test and post-test could be conducted at the same time for all participants to ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of the effectiveness of the morphology course
The second limitation is that the study’s execution across multiple classes, each taught by different instructors with distinct teaching methods and styles, also affected the participants’ results As a result, the instructor’s teaching approach can influence the morphology course’s effectiveness In this research, the morphology courses were delivered by different teachers, which can lead to variations in the quality and content of instruction Consequently, it becomes challenging to assess the course’s true effect on reading comprehension improvements among the participants
The results of this study may have been effected by the third limitation, namely, the time allotted for the tests, which was only 25-30 minutes during participants’ break times The researcher adjusted the number of relevant questions in the tests to better suit the participants’ age and align with the available time for their participation These modifications in the tests also partly affect the input and output data of the participants due to the limited time for conducting the tests
If this study were to be repeated, the researcher should explore options to extend the allotted test duration or optimize the test questions to ensure they can be completed within the designated timeframe Doing so would allow the researcher to make a more accurate assessment of the effectiveness of the morphology course, considering the appropriateness of the test questions concerning the available time
The fourth limitation affecting the study was related to the participants’ attitudes The participants were told that the pre-test and post-test would not effect their scores before the tests began This approach might have decreased students' motivation to perform optimally on the tests Therefore, if the study were to be repeated, it would be better if the researcher could use strategies that enhance participants' motivation, such as framing the tests as valuable learning experiences themselves or emphasizing their relevance to the course material
The last limitation is that the research data were drawn from a single aspect of HUB, and the participants were of the same age and studying the same major Therefore, if the individuals had been selected from among other HUB majors, the results of the tests used in this study might have been different Thus, it is suggested that this research should be expanded to other groups of participants For example, broadening the study to encompass participants from various majors within HUB would increase the sample’s diversity, thereby enabling a more comprehensive understanding of the samples under investigation to determine if similar findings can be reported.
Conclusion
In line with the data analysis and discussion of the quantitative and qualitative data presented in the chapter above, the researcher draws conclusions related to the morphology course at HUB and its effect on third-year English majors’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension as follows
The study’s two first questions are supported by the data analysis, which shows that third- year English majors benefit from having morphological knowledge It indicates that the morphology course contributed to students’ morphological knowledge Specifically, the third-year English-majored students’ morphological knowledge was categorized as good from the pre-test to post-test at 8.31 and 9.60, respectively (10-point scale) Furthermore, the morphology course significantly contributed to students’ reading comprehension was categorized as good with an increase in mean score from 7.51 on the pre-test to 9.81 on the post-test (10-point scale) After taking the morphology course at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at HUB, there was an increase in the students’ morphological knowledge in two aspects: morpheme synthesis and analysis Most importantly, the morphology course positively affected the student’s reading comprehension Similarly, this study could aid teachers in appreciating the importance of teaching morpheme synthesis and morpheme analysis of morphological knowledge and how it effects students’ reading comprehension Languages do not differ in the significance of morphology and morphemes in reading, and reading performance and morphological knowledge are directly correlated (Carlisle, 2010) Therefore, morphological knowledge can benefit students as they learn how to deduce the meaning of words with morphological complexity As a result, the researcher can conclude that boosting students’ morphological knowledge improves their lexical access and, in turn, significantly improves reading comprehension through the morphology course (Crosson et al., 2018)
Concerning the final research question, the findings of this study are significant, demonstrating that third-year English majors highly value the morphology course at HUB This course is strongly appreciated for its effectiveness in teaching morphological knowledge aspects, equipping students with the means to comprehend English and, more specifically, reading comprehension skills It can be concluded that the morphology course proves to be both valuable and appropriate within the educational context framework for English majors at HUB It establishes a crucial foundation for morphological knowledge, enabling learners to more effectively apply their strategies for English reading comprehension
The close relationship between morphological knowledge and a construct of reading comprehension places morphological knowledge at the heart of reading comprehension research Therefore, substantial advancements in reading comprehension can be achieved by EFL learners when morphological instruction is a primary module of the language curriculum at both schools and universities (Amirjalili & Jabbari, 2018) The morphology course of the Faculty of Foreign Languages at HUB has proven effective in facilitating the students to improve their reading comprehension The improvement of students in six morphology classes and their opinions confirm that two aspects of morphological knowledge are practical in tackling reading comprehension problems After completing the morphology course, they recognized gaining new tools to expand their vocabulary Significantly, they reported a newfound ability to comprehend the content and associated questions in English reading texts These outcomes underscore the research’s contribution to education, offering evidence for enhancing students’ reading comprehension and informing teachers’ pedagogical approaches.
Suggestions
Based on the implications and conclusions previously explained, some construct recommendations can be offered to the English teachers and students at the Faculty of Foreign Languages at HUB, as well as for future research The suggestions are as follows
5.4.1 For the FFL teachers and students at HUB
Firstly, the L2 English teachers, particularly the English teachers at HUB, should deliver comprehensive instruction in morphological knowledge within the curriculum of the morphology course by emphasizing its significance in aiding students in predicting the meanings of words morphologically complexity often encountered in a reading text Therefore, it will be much better if the students cooperate with teachers to benefit from the morphology course in improving their morphological knowledge as well as their reading comprehension ability
Secondly, since reading comprehension is a critical vocabulary development component, L2 English teachers should actively incorporate morphological concepts into their teaching methods This approach will help students become more familiar with vocabulary knowledge, especially root forms Their ability to understand the material they read may improve as their vocabulary grows
Thirdly, L2 English teachers should introduce students to various word roots during the teaching and learning activities and regularly assess their comprehension of these roots This approach will play a role in maintaining and enhancing students’ vocabulary knowledge, particularly in identifying roots and their corresponding meanings
Finally, when introducing the number of prefixes and suffixes, L2 English teachers ought to provide engaging and interactive approaches Students are more likely to understand these affixes and be able to fully pay attention to every affix characteristic in every segment of speech when diverse, entertaining learning techniques are offered Through morphology classes, students can eventually infer the meaning of challenging, morphologically complicated words by making educated guesses about the correct meaning based on the part of speech
In this section, the researcher would like to propose some recommendations for further studies on L2 learners’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension
One of the study’s merits is that it was the first to prove the positive effect of the morphology course on improving learners’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension This approach has not been exploited in studies focusing on the same issue Regarding research methodology, this research adhered closely to a pre-test and a post-test conducted on participants before and after taking the morphology course Moreover, this study exploited qualitative data to reveal the students’ opinions of the morphology course at HUB
To delve more deeply into the effects of the morphology course on students’ progress, this research advocates for a longitudinal study Such an approach provides students with extended periods to adequately process and absorb newly introduced learning strategies As revealed in the qualitative data by many students, the 18 periods with five in-class sessions were deemed insufficient for them to fully utilize the introduced morphological knowledge Furthermore, future investigations should also contemplate incorporating a pre-test and post-test, similar to the methodology employed in this study, while considering time constraints This would help ascertain whether the acquired morphological knowledge can yield enduring effect on students’ reading comprehension
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APPENDIX A The Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading Comprehension Test as a Pre-test Section A The Morphological Knowledge Test
Using one word only, come up with a “Noun” or a “Verb” for the underlined actions and objects
If you are unsure or do not know the correct answer, please leave it blank
Example: There is a kind of box for lunch, and we call it a lunchbox
There is another kind of box for tools, we call it a toolbox
1 The game where you throw a ball through a basket is called basketball
A paper that is printed and distributed daily or weekly, and it contains news is called
2 A cup that is used to hold tea is called a teacup
A cup that is used to hold coffee is called a
3 People with you in a class are called classmates
People live with you in the same room are called
4 I have one cat But my sister has many of them She has four
5 People who create ideas are considered creative
People who completely support your decisions are considered
P2.1 Word Familiarity Look at each word in the list below Check “Yes” if you know the word Check “No” if you do not know the word
P2.2 Word Recognition In each line, the word in bold font was formed from one of the words on the right Select the letter of the word on the right which is the basis for the bold word
Example: c teacher a tea b each c teach
P2.3 Word Definition Select the best definition for each word
16 believable a in the realm of possibility b an unlikely story c able to survive a tragedy
17 expensive a talking too much b thoughtful c costly
18 indecision a unable to choose b inappropriate c inaccurate
19 coordination a shaping raw materials b smoothing rough edges c harmonious interaction
20 discovery a finding something new b planetary alignment c keeping hidden
Section B The Reading Comprehension Test
Please read the following passages and answer the related questions accordingly