A study on how to enrich English vocabulary for the first year English major students at Ha noi Pedagogical University No.2

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to register my profound gratitude to Mrs Nguyen Thi Le, my supervisor, for her invaluable instructions, expertise and encouragement

I would like to express my appreciation to the students as well as lecturers at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 whose participations and opinions are the valuable materials for my research

I would also like to give my special thanks to my classmates and my friends whose warm support and enthusiasm have contributed greatly to the development of the research

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ABSTRACT

Vocabulary learning strategies play an important role in vocabulary learning Admittedly, lack of vocabulary knowledge will have an effect on all four of language skills: listening, reading, writing, and speaking In addition, vocabulary learning and word retention are always the problems encountered by students at university This study, hence, investigates EFL students studying English as a second language in Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2

This study explores the strategy use of vocabulary learning among EFL learners The study could not have been completed without the help of FLF students at HPU2 A sample of 100 respondents participated in the study Data collection was carried out through questionnaires The results revealed awareness of students about how importance of vocabulary learning is in learning English, their beliefs in learning English vocabulary and their strategies most used in learning new words

Based on the results of the survey, some effective strategies for students in learning new words are presented to help them as well as those who have interest in the field of learning English vocabulary

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Title: A study on how to enrich English vocabulary for the first-year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2

(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English)

I certify that no part of this study has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgements and that the study is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor

Date submitted: May 2013

Student Supervisor

Luu Thi Hong Men Nguyen Thi Le, M.A

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EFL FLF HPU2 Ll L2 LLS VLS LIST OF ABBREVIATION

: English as a Foreign Language : Foreign Language Faculty

: Hanoi Pedagogical University No 2 : Native language

: Second language

: Language learning strategies : Vocabulary learning strategies

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Table 1: Table 2: Table 3: Table 4: Table 5: Table 6: LIST OF TABLES

A taxonomy of Schmitt’s vocabulary learning strategies Personal information of the study participants

The importance of vocabulary learning

Attitudes of students toward learning of English vocabulary The most-used strategies reported by students

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART ONE INTRODUCTION

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1.3.2.2 Classificatlons of vocabulary learning strafegles 8

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CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY

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CHAPTER THREE: MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION OF SEVERAL EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR

ENRICHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY

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vocabulary for the first-year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical

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PART THREE CONCLUSION

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PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

Vocabulary is central to language and is of great significance to language learners Words are the building blocks of a language since they label objects, actions, ideas without which people cannot convey the intended meaning The prominent role of vocabulary knowledge in second or foreign language learning has been recently recognized by theorists and researchers in the field Wilkins (1976, cited in Thornbury 2002, p.13) contends that “without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed”, hence the crucial role of vocabulary in language learning

English language is very important and in learning English language students have to learn vocabulary Vocabulary is a vital aspect in language, because it is essential for enhancing the four basic language skills, namely listening, speaking, reading and writing It is of utmost importance to people’s communication and language learning

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From my own interest in the field of vocabulary and the need to exploit efficient learning strategies that students can use to increase their vocabulary, I have conducted the study with the title: “A study on how to enrich English vocabulary for the first-year English major students at Hanoi Pedagogical University No 2.”

II Aim of the Study

The ultimate goal of the study is to help the first-year English major students to establish and enrich their English vocabulary learning The study aims specifically to:

1) Explore students’ attitudes of English vocabulary learning

2) Explore strategies are used the most by the EFL students in English vocabulary learning

3) Suggest some effective strategies to improve students’ vocabulary learning III Scope of the Study

The general research area of this study is vocabulary

The phenomenon is strategies for learning vocabulary made by the first-year students of English of Foreign Language Faculty at HPU2 in the academic year of 2012/2013 Others relating to vocabulary are also briefly mentioned

The population involved in the study is one hundred the first-year English major students at HPU2

IV Methods of the Study

The study was carried out based on material collection and survey questionnaires

For the theoretical basis, referential materials on English vocabulary and strategies for enriching vocabulary were gathered, synthesized and analyzed The problems were also pointed out, implications and suggestions were included

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V Significance of the Study

The study was carried out to give a clear picture about vocabulary learning of the first-year English major students at HPU2 It also highlights the important role of enriching English vocabulary More importantly, it offers the theoretical basis for the implication of vocabulary strategies Pedagogically, the findings of the study are believed to be useful for the first-year English major students to seek ways to increase their vocabulary Thus, it can help student create a relaxing and effective vocabulary learning atmosphere where students are willing to learn for their own interest In addition, the study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in English, specially in enlarging vocabulary

VI Design of the Study

The study has three main parts, namely: the introduction, the development and the conclusion

Part one: The introduction presents the rationale, the aims, scope, research methods and the design of the study

Part two: The development consists of three chapters

Chapter one: The literature review presents in brief theoretical background including vocabulary and strategy for learning vocabulary

Chapter two: Methodology This chapter presents the method used in the study including participants, research instrument, data collection, method of data analysis, and data analysis

Chapter three: This chapter shows the detailed results and analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires

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PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF

Vocabulary is a vital aspect in any language because it appears in every skill of language: listening, speaking, reading, and writing skill Vocabulary learning strategies are a part of language learning strategies which in turn are a part of general learning strategies It’s very useful to help student to learn English vocabulary quickly and easily It is the reason why many researchers have put much effort in studying vocabulary learning strategies like Oxford (1990), Gu and Johnson (1996), Nation (2001), ViSnia Pavicié Takắ (2008) They each have their own way to describe the vocabulary learning strategies Generally, they focus their attention on the definition, classification, characteristics and uses of the vocabulary learning strategies

In the book Learning Vocabulary in Another Language, Nation (2001) refers to the definition and the role of vocabulary learning strategies in guessing from context Moreover, he pays much attention to some word study strategies such as word parts strategies, using dictionaries, learning from word cards

Oxford (1990) gives a very comprehensive taxonomy or classifications of language learning strategies The key distinction in this taxonomy is that between direct strategies and indirect strategies Oxford divides the direct strategies into three: memory strategies, cognitive strategies, and compensation strategies On the other hand, indirect strategies cover metacognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies

Visnia Pavicié Takắ (2008) in the book Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Foreign Language Acquisition only focuses his attention on survey of research, research methods and studies on vocabulary learning strategies

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In the book Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Language Learning Outcomes, Gu and Johnson (1996) mention to the definition of vocabulary learning strategies They establish two main dimensions of vocabulary learning strategies for their study: metacognitive regulation and cognitive strategies which cover six subcategories namely, guessing, using a dictionary, note-taking, rehearsal, encoding, and activating strategies

In short, much research on vocabulary learning strategies has been carried out but has not made the point Therefore, it is essential to have quite a clear picture of effective strategies to enrich students’ vocabulary

1.2 Language learning strategies (LLS)

1.2.1 The definitions of language learning strategies

Many definitions of LLS are defined differently by researchers According to Wenden & Rubin (1987, p.23), LLS is considered as the ones “which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly” O’Malley & Chamot (1990, p.1) regard LLS as “the special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information” Another interpretation comes from Oxford (2001, p.166), who defines LLS as “operations employed by the learner to aid the acquisition, storage, retrieval and use of information, specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and more transferable to new situations” According to Cohen (as cited in Ellis 1999, p 531), “learning strategies are learning processes which are consciously selected by the learner The words ‘consciously selected’ are important because they demonstrate the special character of strategy”

1.2.2 The characteristics of language learning strategies

Oxford (1990, p.9) also proposes a list of twelve key features involving LLS, claiming that they:

1 contribute to the main goal, communicative competence 2 allow learners to become more self-directed

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are problem-oriented

are specific actions taken by the learner 4

5

6 involve many aspects of the learner, not just the cognitive 7 support learning both directly and indirectly

8 are not always observable 9 are often conscious

10 can be taught 11 are flexible

12 are influenced by a variety of factors

Among the features above, the tenth argument indicates that strategies are able to be instructed to language learners It plays an important role supporting language practitioners to study this issue further so that students can boost their learning by receiving appropriate strategy instructions

1.3 Vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies 1.3.1 Knowing a word

Knowing and learning a word means knowing a word receptively and productively Being able to understand a word while listening to a text is known as receptive knowledge on the other hand, being able to use a word in spoken and written form is understood as productive knowledge

It is widely believed that people learn words receptively first and later achieve productive knowledge (Schmitt 2000) He further proposes the following list of the different kinds of knowledge that a person must master in order to know a word:

- The meaning of the word - The written form of a word - The spoken form of the word

- The grammatical behavior of the word - The collocations of the word

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- The frequency of the word

Nation (2001) suggests other aspects that are involved in knowing a word completely: form-spoken, written and word parts, meaning-from and meaning, concepts and references, associations, use-grammatical function, collocations and

constraints on use

Based on above aspects of knowing a word, we can say that a word is a complex item and the learner needs more than one exposure to learn and remember it The different forms of word knowledge need to be learned gradually over a long period of time Each exposure to a word is a chance to accumulate the different types of lexical knowledge

There is no doubt that attention to form and meaning of the unknown lead to a word retention In some case this may involve memorization of units that will later be analyzed and in other cases may involve learning a rule or pattern that is subsequently practiced and used

1.3.2 Vocabulary learning strategies

1.3.2.1 The definitions of vocabulary learning strategies

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1.3.2.2 Classifications of vocabulary learning strategies

There are numerous different classification systems for vocabulary learning strategies Some representative classifications are listed at the following

1.3.2.2.1 O’Malley and Chamot’s VLS classification

O'Malley and Chamot (1990) identified three categories of vocabulary learning strategies, cognitive, metacognitive and social/affective Cognitive strategies are specified as learning steps that learners take to transform new material, for inference, contextual guessing and relating new information to other concepts from memory Metacognitive strategies involve consciously directing one’s own efforts into the learning task Social/affective strategies involve interaction with another person or taking control of one’s own feelings on language learning

1.3.2.2.2 Gu and Johnson’s VLS classification

Gu and Johnson (1996) conducted a questionnaire to investigate Chinese advanced learners’ use of English vocabulary learning strategies, they divided vocabulary learning strategies into two classes: cognitive and metacognitive strategies Cognitive strategies contain memory strategies, classification strategies, guessing strategies, dictionary strategies, note-taking strategies and activation strategies Metacognitive strategies contain plan-making strategies, self-evaluating strategies, self-checking strategies and selectively distributing attention strategies 1.3.2.2.3 Nation’s VLS classification

Nation (2001) divided vocabulary learning strategies into three general classes: planning, sources and process

* Planning (Choosing what to focus on and when to focus on it): includes choosing words, choosing the aspects of word knowledge, choosing strategies, and planning repetition

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* Process (Establishing knowledge): includes noticing, retrieving, and generating

1.3.2.2.4 Oxford’s VLS classification

Oxford’ taxonomy is one of the most accepted and comprehensive classification Oxford (1990) classified vocabulary learning strategies into two main types: direct strategies and indirect strategies Direct strategies are the strategies that directly involve the target language in the sense that they need mental processing of the language Indirect strategies indirectly support language learning by arranging, evaluating, lowering anxiety, encouraging oneself, cooperating with others, asking questions, and other ways Direct strategies include memory, cognitive and compensation strategies Memory strategies are those that help students to store and retrieve information Cognitive strategies enable learners to understand and produce new language Compensation strategies allow learners to overcome knowledge gaps to communicate Indirect strategies include three strategies: metacognitive, affective and social strategies Metacognitive strategies allow learners to control their own learning through organizing, planning, and evaluating Affective strategies help learners gain control over their emotions, attitudes, motivations, and values Social strategies help learners interact with other people The detailed Oxford’s (1990) taxonomy of language learning strategies is as follows:

* Direct strategies 1 Memory strategies

A Creating mental linkages B Applying images and sounds C Reviewing well

D Implying action 2 Cognitive strategies

A Practicing

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D Creating structure for input and output 3 Compensation strategies

A Guessing intelligently

B Overcoming limitations in speaking and writing * Indirect strategies

1 Metacognitive strategies A Centering your learning

B Arranging and planning your learning C Evaluating your learning

2 Affective strategies

A Lowering your anxiety B Encouraging yourself

C Taking your emotional temperature 3 Social strategies

A Asking questions B Cooperating with others C Empathizing with others

1.3.2.3 Clarifying Schmitt’s vocabulary learning strategies

A complete inventory of VLS will be conducive to pertinent studies in this area Schmitt (1997) attempted to propose a comprehensive taxonomy of VLS as possible and classified them based on Oxford’s classification system He primarily referred to Oxford’s (1990) classification scheme and adopted four strategy groups (social, memory, cognitive, and metacognitive) which seemed best able to illustrate the wide variety of VLS Social strategies involve learners using interaction with other people to facilitate their learning Memory strategies consist of those approaches helping relate new materials to existing knowledge system Skills which require “manipulation or transformation of the target language by the learner” (Oxford 1990, p.43) fall into the cognitive strategies Lastly, according to Schmitt, metacognitive strategies “involve a conscious overview of the learning

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process and making decisions about planning, monitoring, or evaluating the best way to study” (1997, p.205)

Since Oxford’s system deals with LLS in general and thus seems not to be able to cover certain specific strategies used in vocabulary learning, Schmitt created a new category for those strategies learners employ when discovering a new word’s meaning without consulting other people, namely determination strategies In addition, a helpful distinction suggested by Cook and Mayer (1983) and Nation (1990) was incorporated into Schmitt’s classification scheme That is, in terms of the process involved in vocabulary learning, strategies may be divided into two groups: (a) those for the discovery of a new word’s meaning (discovery strategies) and (b) those for consolidating a word once it has been encountered (consolidation strategies) Table 1 better illustrates the complete classification scheme proposed by Schmitt

Table 1 A taxonomy of Schmitt’s vocabulary learning strategies

Determination strategies

Vocabulary | Discovery strategies Social strategies

Learning Social strategies

Strategies — / Memory strategies

(VLS) Consolidation strategies Cognitive strategies

Metacognitive strategies

e Strategies are used for the discovery of a new word’s meaning

Determination strategies (DET): The strategies are used to discover a new word’s meaning without recourse to another’s expertise when learners don’t know a word

For instance, learners can use a dictionary, analyze any available pictures or gestures or guess meaning from textual context

Social strategies (SOC): The strategies are employed to ask someone who knows Learners can ask teacher or classmates about information in a variety of ways, such as a synonym, paraphrase, or L1 translation of new word

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e Strategies are used for consolidating a word once it has been encountered Social strategies (SOC): They can also be employed to consolidate learned words by interacting with other people like studying and practicing meaning in a group Memory strategies (MEM): The strategies (traditionally known as mnemonics) involve connecting the word to be retained with some previously learned knowledge, using some form of imagery, or grouping A new word can be integrated into many kinds of existing knowledge (i.e previous experiences or known words) or images can be custom-made for retrieval (i.e images of the word’s form or meaning attributes)

(1) Picture/imagery: Learners study new words with pictures of their meaning instead of definition

(2) Related words: New words can linked to L2 words that the student already knows Usually this involves some type of sense relationship, such as coordination (blue — other kinds of color like red, purple or white), synonymy (beautiful-pretty), or antonym (dead-alive)

(3) Unrelated words: Learners can also link words together that have no sense relationships One way of doing this is with “peg” or “hook” words One first memorizes a rhyme like “one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree etc.” Then

an image is created of the word to be remembered is chair, then an image is made of a bun (peg word) resting on a chair Recitation of the rhyme draws up these images, which in turn prompt the target words

(4) Grouping: It is an important way to aid recall, and people seem to organize words into groups naturally without prompting

(5) Word’s orthographical or phonological form: It involves focusing on the target word’s orthographical or phonological form to facilitate recall One can explicitly study the spelling or pronunciation of a word Other options are to visualize the orthographical form of a word in an attempt to remember it, or to make a mental representation of the sound of a word, perhaps making use of rhyming words The Keyword Method entails a learner finding a L1 word which sounds like the target L2 word, i.e the English word cat for the Japanese

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word katana (sword) Then an image combing the two concepts is created, such as a samurai cat waving a sword When the L2 word is later heard, the sound similarity invokes the created image which prompts the L2 word’s meaning (6) Other memory strategies: There are other useful ways of consolidating its

meaning, such as analyzing a word’s affixes, root, and word class One way of increasing one’s vocabulary is to analyze and learn the individual words of these chunks, and then use the whole chunk (if it is transparent enough) as a mnemonic device for remembering the individual word meanings In addition, the use of physical action can also facilitate language recall

Cognitive strategies (COG): The strategies are similar to memory strategies, but are not focused so specifically on manipulative mental processing They include repetition and using mechanical means to study vocabulary Another kind of cognitive strategy is using study aids Taking notes in class invites learners to create their own personal structure for newly learned words, and also offers the chance for additional exposure during review

Metacognitive strategies (MET): Students used the strategies to control and evaluate their learning, behaving an overview of the learning process in general

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CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY

II.1 Participants

The participants in this study are the first-year students of English of Foreign Language Faculty at HPU2 in the academic year of 2012/2013 The number of participants is 100 students which are divided into two branches: Bachelor of English (36 students) and Pedagogy of English (64 students) They are approximately from 19 to 21 in age The majority of students are female students They come from difficult provinces of the country and bring with them different levels of English background The total sample of students involved in the study is

100 and were chosen randomly

The most difficulty of the learners is that they cannot express their ideas in speaking and writing lessons and it is difficult for them to get the gist of information from the conversation or texts in listening and reading lessons They said that the reason for these difficulties is that they lack a great deal of vocabulary So, there is a need to find ways to help the learners enrich their vocabulary

II.2 Research instruments

In order to achieve the purpose of present study, a questionnaire was both quantitatively and qualitatively used to analyze the collected data in the study The survey questionnaires for the students were designed with two parts

Part one was a six-item background questionnaire in order to get some background information about students’ English learning experiences and attitudes of learning vocabulary

Part two was a vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire which was modified based on the Oxford’s Strategies Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (1990) The instrument includes thirty-one vocabulary learning strategies, and three more strategies should have been added by the participants The purpose of this questionnaire is to collect information about the strategies male and female

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students use when they learn English vocabulary and generally most-used strategies

11.3 Data collection

The questionnaires were delivered to 100 students during the regular class time in the classrooms The students were given clear instruction before each item so that they could respond appropriately to each item The questionnaires were expected to be returned within 30 minutes After the questionnaires were returned,

the data were collected and the data were selected by analyzing the questionnaire individually

II.4 Method of data analysis

The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics to see the overall patterns of vocabulary learning strategies used by the 100 first-year English major students come from Course 38, Foreign Language Faculty at HPU2

Data collected from students’ questionnaires were analyzed qualitatively to describe what strategies were used in English vocabulary learning The information was then displayed in forms of tables

11.5 Data analysis

This chapter presents the results of the research study The first section, the student background questionnaire reports what is the English learning background of the participant and what they feel about learning vocabulary The second section, vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire reports the learning strategies used by learners

11.5.1 Students’ background information

In the first phase of the research, a six-item questionnaire was given to the respondents The background questionnaire collected data on a variety of background categories The participants have indicated their name, age, gender and English language experience It mainly served three purposes: to provide personal data on participants, to get an overview of the English learning experience and to elicit the opinions about learning vocabulary The questionnaire was administered in a written manner Table 2 shows some personal information of students

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# of years

- English Enjoy learning

Gender Age studying ;

proficiency English English

Poor=52

Female 19-21 8-10 Good=45 Yes

Very good=0 Poor=3

Male 19 8-10 Good=0 Yes

Very good=0

Table 2: Personal information of the study participants

There were 3 male and 97 female learners included in the study This shows that there are more females studying foreign languages than males The first data collected from the survey questionnaires was years of learning English The overall number of years studying English was from 8-10 years of learning experience and this is a good indicator that the study participants are good at learning English It can be inferred that these students had good background knowledge of English In fact, 0% of the participants had very good proficiency in English, 45% of the participants were good in learning English and 55% had poor proficiency in English However, it was a very good point that all students enjoy learning English 11.5.2 Students’ attitudes of learning vocabulary

It should be taken into account students’ attitudes toward learning of English vocabulary When they find it necessary to learn vocabulary for their study, they would be highly motivated in learning process

Regarding question number 4 related to the importance of learning vocabulary from students’ point of view, it is worthy note that most of students, namely 72% felt that vocabulary is very important in learning English and 28 % of them considered it is important This was expected because the adult learners know that vocabulary development is a critical aspect of fluent communication

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@ Very important @ Important

Table 3: The importance of vocabulary learning

The next question, question number 5 investigated about attitudes of students toward learning of English vocabulary Results of investigation were shown in the following pie chart

8% 14% @ Very difficult Đ Difficult đ Not difficult 78%

Table 4: Attitudes of students toward learning of English vocabulary

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The last question, guestion number 6 elicited some disappointed responses because out of 100 participants only 15% of students were taught what vocabulary learning strategies are and the course instructors have taught them how to learn vocabulary The rest didn’t have suitable and useful vocabulary learning strategies for their study

II.5.3 Students’ ways of learning vocabulary

This questionnaire was specially designed to investigate the frequency of vocabulary learning strategies students apply

Strategies Never Occasionally Sometimes Usually Always

1 I think of relationship between what I already know and new things I learn in English

11 15 30 26 18

2 use new English words in a sentence so I can remember them

16 21 42 21

3 [remember a new English word by making a mental picture of a situation in which the word might be used

21 28 30 12

4 L use rhymes to remember new English words

26 33 23 12

5 Luse flashcards to remember new English words

10 44 23 16

6 I physically act out new

English words 31 30 22 12

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7 | review English

lessons often 41 28 20

8 I remember new English words or phrases by remembering their location on the page, on the board, or on a street sign

11 33 28 24

9 I keep a vocabulary notebook to jot down new words I want to learn

11 21 33 31

10 I try to make use of prefixes and suffixes when learning a word

26 32 31

11 I try to learn the new word by repeating it out loud several times

15 22 30 35

12 I make a list of new words with Vietnamese translation and memorize them

11 31 32 24

13 I think of cognate words to understand the meaning of a word

24 28 25 20

14 I say or write new English words several

times 22 40 29

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15 I try to talk like native

speakers 26 32 20 20

16 I use the English words I know in different ways 10 19 32 30 17 I start conversations in English 17 45 27 18 I watch English language TV shows spoken in English or go to movies spoken in English

18 30 29 16

19 I read for pleasure in

English 27 29 32 20 I write notes, messages, letters, or reports in English 23 48 13

21 I look for words in my own language that are similar to new words in English

35 26 31

22 I find the meaning of an English word by dividing it into parts that I understand

28 37 19

23 I try not to translate

word-by-word 16 30 32 18

24 To understand unfamiliar English

words, I make guesses 25 41 26

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25 Tread English without

looking up every new 5 19 23 31 20

word

26 I translate passages

from English to native 6 24 47 21 2

language and vice versa

27 [study new words

later in order to 0 6 28 47 19

remember them

28 I use monolingual

dictionary to discover the 8 27 17 28 20

meaning of a new word

29 Luse bilingual

dictionary to discover the 6 32 22 20 20

meaning of a new word

30 I use online

dictionary to discover

2 20 26 37 15

the meaning of a new word

31 I ask my teacher for

a meaning of a new 11 20 51 18 0

word

Table 5: The frequency of vocabulary learning strategies students do

As illustrated by the above table, it seemed that the participants used many strategies but they used strategies with different frequency

The data were analyzed and some interesting results were drawn from the questionnaires Table 6 introduces 10 most-used strategies reported by females and males All data from 100 participants are reported in percentage

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Number of participants | Percentage Ranking | Vocabulary learning strategies

using the | (%) strategy

I ask my teacher for a meaning of a new

1 51 51%

word

I write notes, messages, letters, or reports in

2 48 48%

English

I study new words later in order to

3 47 47%

remember them

I start conversations in English

4 45 45%

I use new English words in a sentence so I

5 42 42%

can remember them

To understand unfamiliar English words, I

6 41 41%

make guesses

I say or write new English words several

7 40 40%

times

I use online dictionary to discover the

8 37 37%

meaning of a new word

I find the meaning of an English word by

9 37 37%

dividing it into parts that I understand

I keep a vocabulary notebook to jot down

10 new words I want to learn 33 33%

Table 6: The most-used strategies reported by students

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As can be seen from the above table, the first most-used strategy by students was “I ask my teacher for a meaning of a new word” This social strategy seems to be very popular among participants and out of 100 participants, 51% used this strategy It is useful to discover the meaning of the unknown word Usually learners ask teachers for help in variety ways: giving the L1 translation, giving a synonym, giving a definition by paraphrase, using the new word in a sentence, or any combination of these

“T write notes, messages, letters, or reports in English” was the second most- used strategy by students Nearly half of the students, namely 48% used the strategy It is useful for students to practice English language frequently because they can use and remember new words in the sentence and the context Therefore, they also improve their writing skill

The third most-used strategy used was “I study new words later in order to remember them’ This retention strategy is usually used by 47% of the students Studying the word later helps students to revise them by rewriting a word over and over again and practicing pronunciation A good practice would be also using a word in a sentence

The fourth most-used strategy by the learners with frequency of 38% was “I start conversations in English” This strategy also helps students to improve their pronunciation, intonation and use of new word in context

“T use new English words in a sentence so I can remember them” was the fifth most-used strategy and it is used by 42% of the students Learners can remember the meaning of new word for a long period of time and learn which words go together

The sixth most-used strategy by students was “To understand unfamiliar English words, I make guesses” This discovery strategy is used by 41% of the students This strategy should be encouraged more and the main reason is the enormous number of words in English language, the size of the average adult’s working vocabulary, and the number of words one needs to know to recognize a

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high percentage of words on the average written page reasonably Moreover, it encourages readers to make and test predictions, which is a useful reading skill

The seventh most-used strategy by the students with frequency of 40% was “T say or write new English words several times” Many students usually use this strategy to remember spelling and meaning of new words

“T use online dictionary to discover the meaning of a new word” was the eighth most-used strategy and it is usually used by 37% of the students Dictionaries provide learners with valuable information The online dictionary is a very rich resource because it contains: thesaurus, acronyms, idiom, etc The number of students using these kinds of strategies can be expected to increase in the future because of the role of modern technology in learners' life Especially in the last few years the number of people uses computer mainly the young generation

Similarly, 37% of the students used the strategy “I find the meaning of an English word by dividing it into parts that I understand” This strategy is very useful however not much used by the learners They can identify the part of speech based on function of the suffix and prefix and then know the meaning of the new words based on the meaning of the word root

The tenth strategy used by 33% of the students was “I keep a vocabulary notebook to jot down new words I want to learn” They write down the new words and related information which they consider useful and all information is remembered better when it is written as well

In conclusion, it seems that the participants use some good strategies such as asking the teacher, using online dictionary, vocabulary notebooks, making guess, writing notes, messages, letters or reports in English and dividing the word into parts Based on the data results, students use approximately the same strategies with slight differences These strategies should be encouraged among the students Basically, students use all types of strategies: social, metacognitive, cognitive and memory strategies

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CHAPTER THREE

MAJOR FINDINGS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION OF SEVERAL EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR ENRICHING ENGLISH

VOCABULARY

III.1 Major findings and discussion

The findings of data collection and data analysis are extremely helpful for

the author to have better understanding about students’ opinions on the English vocabulary learning and their preferences for the strategies they often applies as well

First, the results showed that students were aware of the importance of learning vocabulary in learning English language Most of them believed that vocabulary learning was very important (72%) and no one felt that it was not important at all Almost students thought that learning English vocabulary was difficult and it was a good point that some students thought that learning vocabulary is not difficult (8%) This was expected because students knew that vocabulary development is a critical aspect of fluent communication However, the study investigated that out of 100 participants only 15% had instructions on different strategies to learn English vocabulary It is not easy for students to get the meanings of vocabulary items and keep them in memory Thus, vocabulary learning strategies should be paid more attention and practice

As master of fact that vocabulary learning strategies have strong influence of one’s size of vocabulary The results also showed ten most-used strategies reported by students: First, I ask my teacher for a meaning of a new word; Second, I write notes, messages, letters, or reports in English; Third, I study new words later in order to remember them; Fourth, I start conversation in English; Fifth, I use a new English word in a sentence so I can remember them; Sixth, to understand unfamiliar English words, | make guesses; Seventh, I write new English word several times; Eighth, I use online dictionary to discover the meaning of a new word; Ninth, I find the meaning of an English word by dividing it into parts that I

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understand and tenth, I keep a vocabulary notebook to jot down new words I want to learn

The strategy which students use the most was “I ask my teacher for a meaning of a new word” This definitely showed that the participants rely on a teacher and ask questions In my opinion, the students should not use this strategy a lot since it limits the students in becoming independent learners In general, students used some good strategies and they prefer learning a new word by writing and repetition Unfortunately, combination of vocabulary learning strategies is not used at all and this strategy should be encouraged among the students Using many useful strategies is a deep strategy which leads to word retention

III.2 Recommendations of several effective strategies to enrich English vocabulary for the first-year English major students at HPU2

In this section, the author would like to suggest several efficient and practical strategies to increase the first-year students’ English vocabulary

1172.1 Reading English materials as much as you can

Reading as much as you can is an effective approach for increasing vocabulary Through extensive reading, you can form your sensitivity to language and become more familiar with a good deal of words, from which you will benefit in future reading and writing

By reading as many magazines, fiction and non-fiction books, and journals as you can, you will encounter new words You can guess the meanings of many of these words by their context — that is, you will get a clue to the meaning from the words that surround the new word If you are still not sure, you can look up the word in a dictionary to check if you were right

It is very useful to read all genres of books, but this doesn’t mean you should start reading medical textbooks or other books with lots of new words on every page Choose books that you find quite easy to read You should read non-fiction and technical books because these will rapidly teach you not only new ways to speak, but also new ways to think Set aside time each day to sit down with your book You also should try to read the long, difficult stories in national,

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international and business newspapers and magazines, especially the columnists’ blogs A magazine such as the Economist or Time is a great option where few newspapers are available because a subscription can be mailed any where economically Also you try to read at least one book and several magazines every week Not just this week and the next week, but every week for a long time As well as improving your vocabulary, you will also keep updated and backdated, and your general knowledge will increase

One important point is that you should add the new words you meet in your reading to your own vocabulary When you see an unfamiliar word in a book, magazine, manual, etc., do not skip over it impatiently Instead, pause for a moment and get used to its sound and its appearance At first, you should try to puzzle out its possible meaning in the context of the sentence Whether you come to the right conclusion or not is of no importance What is important is that, by that process, you're becoming super conscious of the new word As a result, you will suddenly notice that this word pops up unexpectedly again and again in all sorts of places For now your mind has been alerted to notice it Once you've tried this exercise, look it up in the dictionary and confirm its meaning After you've seen each newly learned word a few times, you will know fairly accurately not only what it means but also the many ways in which it can be used; best of all, it'll now form a part of your natural vocabulary

1172.2 Using a dictionary

If you want to learn English vocabulary, you should have a good dictionary, preferably a college-level dictionary The dictionary should be all English (English-English dictionary), not a bilingual one A good dictionary should include the following information about a word:

e Its pronunciation

e Its part of speech (noun, adjective, verb, adverb) e A clear, simple definition

e Anexample of the word used in a sentence or phrase e Its origin (root, prefix)

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You don’t really know a word until you know how to pronounce it properly This is why a good dictionary shows you the pronunciation of each word It is not only the sound but the stress pattern which is important Remember you can use your dictionary in many ways — not just when you are not sure of the meaning of a word When you look up a word in the dictionary, you should make sure you know how to pronounce it One problem is that you know where the stress is If you stress a word wrongly, it makes you very difficult to understand Stress is often more important than perfect pronunciation

A good dictionary will show you a word’s part of speech Words often have different grammatical forms

Many words in English can be used in different ways When you look up a word in a dictionary, don’t stop at the first definition See how many other ways you can use it Sometimes one meaning is similar to another; sometimes the same word has several completely different meanings Don’t just learn one meaning of a new word; expand your vocabulary quickly by learning how to use the same word in different ways

Use one with explanations that are easy to understand and which has sentences showing how you use the words Some words often occur with other words; they form word partnership A good dictionary will give examples of the way in which words go together like phrase verb This makes listening and reading easier because when you see one word you expect the other

111.2.3 Learning roots, prefixes, suffixes

Roots and prefixes from Latin and Greek make up many English words It has been estimated that more than half of all English words come from Latin and Greek Prefixes and suffixes are additions placed at the beginning and end of a root word to modify its meaning Learning roots, prefixes and suffixes will help you enrich your vocabulary

A root is the base element of a word For example: “Pose” is a root meaning “put.” Study of the Greek and Latin root words provides a strong foundation for vocabulary development For example, if the student knows the Latin root “script”

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= “write” they can better understand the meaning of the words scribe; transcribe, manuscript, prescription, inscription, describe, transcript

A prefix is a word element that is placed before a root Adding a prefix to a root changes the meaning For example:

“Ex-” is a prefix meaning “out” or “from.”

“Expose” (prefix + root) means to uncover, disclose, or reveal (to “put out”) E.g When the tide went out, the shipwreck was exposed

Prefixes rarely form a new part of speech and can be classified in many ways, either according to their origin on function or meaning

A suffix is a word element that is placed after a root It changes the meaning of a root, too For example:

“tion” is a suffix that indicates a noun form

An “imposition” (prefix + root + suffix) is a state of affairs in which someone inflicts (imposes) on someone a set of conditions that needs to be met

E.g It was an imposition to ask him to go miles out of his way to pick up your package

Suffixes change the meaning of stems both in lexical and grammatical meaning Suffixes also transfer words into different parts of speech There are four groups of suffixes:

e Noun suffixes: -er, -or, -ing, -tion, -ness, etc

E.g Learner, actor, studying, organization, happiness, etc e Verb suffixes: -fy, -ize, -en, etc

E.g Beautify, economize, lengthen, etc e Adjective suffixes: -ful, -able, -less, etc

E.g Beautiful, eatable, worthless, etc e Adverb suffixes: -ly, -wise, etc

E.g Quickly, likewise, etc 1112.4 Create your own theme groups

Words are easier to remember and learn when you group words with similar meanings under a theme For example,

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be fond of devoted to mm cherish

adore

Then you can make another theme with the opposite detest

loathe abhor repel

despise

New vocabulary items are best learned with a group of words associated with a theme You may know and recognize some of the words in each theme This will help you remember the new words that you do not know Some words come under the same general meaning but differ slightly in meaning and use For example, if you take the theme “Type of light,” you find several words that mean “to shine” such as glisten, twinkle, sparkle and glow The word “glisten” means “‘to shine,” but it is often associated with things that are wet, whereas the word “twinkle” implies the light is unsteady and is often associated with the star or a person’s eye “To sparkle” means to give small flashes of light, whereas “to glow” means to give a soft light or heat Use associations to remember the differences in meaning For instance, “sparkle” — diamonds, glass, water; “glow” — soft, warm

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Here is a word chart for professions:

Concerning money Helping people Working with machinery

Economist Social worker Engineer

Banker Therapist Mechanic

Stock broker Counselor

JI1.2.5 Making your own word list

Get a notebook for your vocabulary study and use it to create your own word list Whenever you read and come across a word you don’t know, write it down in your notebook together with the sentence in which you found it You should try to work out the meaning of the word from its context Then you look the word up in a dictionary and write the definition in your notebook Also, you write down any

other information such as the root of the word, and see how it is connected to the meaning Lastly, you write your own sentence using the word Writing will help you remember the word and its meaning You should try to add a new word to your list every day

LHI.2.6 Using a thesaurus

It is easier to remember a word if you know related words A thesaurus is a good source for finding words that are related It may also list expressions that the words are used in

To use a thesaurus, you look up the word you want in the index at the back The index entry is followed by one or more references, all of which are in some ways related to the word you are looking up (although they are not necessarily synonyms) A number following each reference will direct you to a section that contains lists of further related words Use your dictionary to find the precise meaning for any word you are unsure of

Synonyms are words that have almost the same meaning; antonyms are words that have almost the opposite meaning Knowing the synonyms and antonyms of a word will expand your vocabulary Some dictionaries of synonyms

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and antonyms explain each synonym and how it differs in meaning for other synonyms Since no two words have the exact same meaning, this is very useful

for you

XHI.2.7 Listening to the radio and watch film and television programs that use a college-level vocabulary

Listening to good programs on the radio and television as well as to people who speak English well is another way of improving your vocabulary Since you cannot always ask the speaker to tell you what a particular word means, write down the words and look them up later

Watching only network television (ABC, CBS, and NBC) and listening to only mainstream radio stations limits your exposure to new vocabulary Here are some local sources that will expose you to a wider vocabulary:

Radio: - National Public Radio (in Western New York, WBFO FM-88.7), particularly "Morning Edition" from 6 — 9am, and "All Things Considered" from 5 — 7pm — CBC (from Toronto, AM 740)

Television: - PBS (in Western New York and Southern Ontario, channel 17) — just about any program that interests you; also, instead of watching the news on the networks, try the News Hour with Jim Lehrer, from 6:30 — 7:30 pm on Channel 17 (or 7-8 pm on Channel 23) It is also useful to watch films which you are interested in with English subtitle

IIT.2.8 Using some vocabulary websites

You can use the internet as an aid to vocabulary development by exploring the abundant opportunities for learning available on the World Wide Web

Look at vocabulary websites, especially those with a "Word of the Day." There are some great websites that can help you increase your vocabulary Many have games, and look for a "Word of the Day" feature Here are some useful sites: www.vocabulary.com

www.readersdigest.com (click on “Word Power”) www.wordcentral.com