An investigation into the vocabulary learning strategies used by the freshmen english majors at an giang university

LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 General aspects of word knowledge Table 2.2 Definitions of language learning strategies Table 4.1 The mean scores for the five categories of VLSs Table 4.2 One-S

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

CAN THO UNIVERSITY

NGÔ NGỌC HÒA

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES USED BY THE FRESHMEN ENGLISH MAJORS

AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY

TESOL Course Code: 160528

MA THESIS IN TESOL

Supervisor:

BÙI THỊ HỒNG ANH, M.A.

DECLARATION

I hereby declare that the thesis titled “An Investigation into the Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by the Freshmen English majors at An Giang University” represents my own work and that it has not been previously submitted

to any other university or institute in application for admission to a degree or other qualifications

_

September 2009

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Firstly, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Bui Thi Hong Anh for her continually invaluable guidance and encouragement throughout the research Without her support, the thesis could not have been accomplished

Secondly, I am indebted to the English-majored freshmen at An Giang University for their willingness to participate in this study

In addition, my great appreciation is also devoted to my academics at Can Tho University for their committed instruction during the course

Finally, many thanks go to my friends whose interest in this research was constant

sources of encouragement and confidence to me

TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Abbreviations ix

2.4 Classification of language learning strategies 15

2 5 Schmitt’s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies 17

Appendices 81

Appendix 6: Descriptive statistics of the VLSs used by the four groups of achievers 97

Appendix 7: Descriptive statistics of the specific VLSs used by each group of achievers

98

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 General aspects of word knowledge

Table 2.2 Definitions of language learning strategies

Table 4.1 The mean scores for the five categories of VLSs

Table 4.2 One-Sample T-test of the often used VLSs among the freshmen

Table 4.3 The VLSs often used by the freshmen

Table 4.4 The VLSs often used by the four groups of achievers

Table 4.5 One-Sample T-test of the VLSs often used by very high achievers

Table 4.6 The VLSs often used by very high achievers

Table 4.7 One-Sample T-test of the VLSs used by fairly high achievers

Table 4.8 The VLSs often used by fairly achievers

Table 4.9 One-Sample T-test of the VLSs often used by medium achievers

Table 4.10 The VLSs often used by medium achievers

Table 4.11 One-Sample T-test of the VLSs often used by low achievers

Table 4.12 The VLSs often used by low achievers

Table 4.13 Pearson Correlation Matrix

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Interrelationships between direct and indirect strategies among the six strategy groups

Figure 5.1 The VLSs often used by the freshmen at An Giang University

Figure 5.2 The VLSs often used by very high achievers

Figure 5.3 The VLSs often used by fairly achievers

Figure 5.4 The VLSs often used by medium achievers

Figure 5.5 The VLSs often used by low achievers

VLS: Vocabulary Learning Strategy

VLSs: Vocabulary Learning Strategies

Det: Determination Strategies

Soc: Social Strategies

Mem: Memory Strategies

Cog: Cognitive Strategies

Met: Metacognitive Strategies

EFL: English as Foreign Language

ESL: English as Second Language

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION

This chapter centers on the rationality of the study; the research aims; the research questions; the research hypotheses; the significance and the outline of the thesis

1.1 Rationale

The researcher frequently bears in mind a question: “Why do many students at

An Giang University study the same syllabus under the same learning conditions but they achieve very divergent results?” The researcher has tried finding the answer to the question For example, the researcher has considered some of the learners‟ factors such as motivation; language aptitudes; attitudes; learning styles; and time spent studying After closely looking at those issues through journals, research studies, books in the field of second language acquisition, it is known to the researcher that these are not completely the determinants of language learning So what other factors could determine students‟ achievement and failure in studying English? The answer could be variations in learners‟ use of learning strategies

In addition, the major goal of learning a language is to attain competence for listening, speaking, reading and writing Vocabulary plays an indispensable role

in every skill The key to pursuing communicative competence is only by the way of enlarging vocabulary Therefore, vocabulary is the core of language and plays very important role in language learning (Coady & Huckin, 1997) Sharing Coady‟s and Huckin‟s view, Rubin and Thompson (1994) assures that language learners are unable to communicate in their target language with a small number of words and vocabulary is the central point of studying a language However, expanding vocabulary is not always easy for all language learners without knowing and applying a variety of vocabulary learning

strategies because it is believed that “a large amount of vocabulary could be acquired with the help of vocabulary learning strategies and that vocabulary learning strategies have been proved useful for students of different language levels.” (Nation 2001) Thus, it seems undeniable that “the success and failure

in learning a language could to a considerable extend be determined by vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies could not be separated from the cultivation of language skills” (Gu, 1997)

Despite the importance of vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies, researchers have ignored them for years Yet, a recently growing interest in vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies has led to a number of research studies in this sub-category of second language acquisition including (e.g Porte, 1988; Ahmed, 1989; Gu & Johnson, 1996; Lawson & Hogben, 1996; Schmitt, 1997; Kudo, 1999; Kojic-Sabo & Lightbown, 1999; and Fan, 2003) These researchers targeted at examining the frequency of vocabulary learning strategy use; the relationships between the use of vocabulary learning strategies and language proficiency; and the vocabulary learning strategies of good and poor learners They found that there were several differences in the use of vocabulary learning strategies between good and poor learners Good learners inclined to use larger numbers and more types of vocabulary learning strategies whereas their poor counterparts applied limited numbers and fewer types of vocabulary learning strategies They also uncovered popular and unpopular vocabulary learning strategies among Asian and non-Asian students as well Those studies have punctually been carried out in response to a gradual shift in the field of second language study resulting less emphasis on teachers and teaching but greater emphasis on learners and learning over the world Nonetheless, much research on second language study in Vietnam has hitherto centered up on teachers and teaching especially in the domain of vocabulary learning and vocabulary learning strategies Research into teaching and learning English at

An Giang University is of no exception

Taking all the above-mentioned issues into consideration, the researcher determines to carry out “An investigation into the vocabulary learning strategies used by the English-majored freshmen at An Giang University” with a strong belief that it is impossible for teachers to help their students without knowing how they actually study

1.2 Research aims

The research is conducted to accomplish the subsequent aims The first aim is to find out the often used vocabulary learning strategies among the English-majored at An Giang University in general Another aim is to discover whether very high achievers, fairly achievers, medium achievers and low achievers differ in their often used vocabulary learning strategies One more aim is to see

if there are differences in the time spent studying vocabulary, the frequency of reviewing vocabulary, the plan for vocabulary learning, and the sources of vocabulary learning strategies among very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers The final aim is to find out if there is a correlation between the often used vocabulary learning strategies and students‟ scores in their vocabulary knowledge test

1.3 Research questions

The study is set out to seek for the answers to the following questions:

(1) What vocabulary learning strategies do the English-majored freshmen at An Giang University often use to study English words?

(2) Do very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers differ in their often used vocabulary learning strategies?

(3) Are there any differences in the amount of time spent studying vocabulary, the frequency of reviewing vocabulary, the plan for vocabulary learning, and the sources of vocabulary learning strategies among very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers?

(4) Is there a correlation between the often used vocabulary learning strategies and students‟ scores in their vocabulary knowledge test?

Hypothesis 2

Very high achievers, fairly achievers, medium achievers and low achievers could differ in quantities and types of their often used vocabulary learning strategies

Hypothesis 3

There could be differences in the amount of time spent studying vocabulary, the frequency of reviewing vocabulary, the plan for vocabulary learning, and the sources of vocabulary learning strategies among very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers

Hypothesis 4

There could be a correlation between the often used vocabulary learning strategies and students‟ scores in their vocabulary knowledge test

1.5 Significance of the study

To begin with the idea that vocabulary learning strategies are a very essential means for language learners to nurture their language skills, the present paper describes and analyzes English learners‟ often used vocabulary learning strategies Besides, the researcher wants to find out if there are any differences

in the use of vocabulary learning strategies among very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers In addition, the researcher would prefer to find out whether there are differences the amount of time spent studying vocabulary, the frequency of reviewing vocabulary, the plan for vocabulary learning, and the sources of vocabulary learning strategies among very high achievers, fairly high achievers, medium achievers and low achievers

The researcher also finds out whether there is a correlation between the often used vocabulary learning strategies and students‟ scores in their vocabulary knowledge test Although medium achievers and low achievers are unable copy the strategies used by very high achievers and fairly high achievers, they could reconsider their learning methods in order to select more suitable learning strategies to their learning situations

It is hoped that the findings of the study will contribute to vocabulary learning and teaching Additionally, the results could help raise awareness to both language instructors and learners about the importance of vocabulary learning strategies in acquiring English as a foreign language Furthermore, the results could prove that success in learning English does not only lie on teachers and teaching but requires students‟ effort, responsibility and independent study Thus, students‟ learning outcomes possibly depend on how they study and how they regulate their own learning process

1.6 Outline of the study

This thesis is of the following parts Chapter one addresses the rationale, the research questions, the research aims, the hypothesis, the significance and outline of the study Chapter two introduces and establishes a conceptual and theoretical framework on word and vocabulary, knowing a word, language learning strategies and vocabulary learning strategies, the classification of vocabulary learning strategies, the taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies

as well reviews the studies related to the thesis The next part, chapter three, specifies research methods such as the research design, the subjects, the research instruments, the data collection procedure and the data analysis Chapter four presents the quantitative and qualitative results Chapter five makes mention of discussions, limitations, pedagogical implications, suggestions for further research and conclusions Finally, the references and appendices of study are provided

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter will mention vocabulary and word; knowing a word; language learning strategies and vocabulary learning strategies; classification of language learning strategies; taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies; and finally research into vocabulary learning strategies

2.1 Vocabulary and word

Vocabulary is basically defined as “all the words of a language” (Webster‟s dictionary, 1996: 1494) Accordingly, there is active and passive vocabulary in

a language Active vocabulary is all the words used by a particular person In contrast, passive vocabulary is all the words recognized and understood, although not necessarily used by a particular person In other words, active vocabulary is words that a particular person uses in spoken and written form whereas passive vocabulary is words that a particular person understands upon listening and reading However, one question that emerges from the definition

of vocabulary is “What is a word?” Linguists have presented several definitions

of word The complexity of defining a word resulted in a conclusion that “word

is characterized by different, often contradictory traits depending on the theoretical background and descriptive context” (Bussmann, 1998) In the following paragraphs, typical definitions of word from different perspectives will be addressed

In terms of orthography, a word is regarded as “any sequence of letters and a limited number of other characteristics such as hyphen and apostrophe bounded

on either side by a space or punctual mark” (Carter, 1998:4) This definition has been criticized for being formalistic, inconsistency and incompleteness due to the fact that the differences in meaning and the issues of polysemy, homonymy and grammatical functions are disregarded (Takac, 2008:5) In fact, in English,

homonymy and polysemy are quite common Words such as bear- bear; see -

see; or stand - stand are alike in forms but very dissimilar in their meanings For

grammatical functions, a verb usually has several forms due to their functions in

sentences for example go - went - gone; take - took – taken Should homonymy,

polysemy and words with different grammar functions be considered one word

or several words? Thereby, this definition does not seem to work well with

polysemy, homonym as well as words with different grammatical forms

In reference to semantics, a word is defined as “the smallest meaningful unit of

language” (Carter, 1998) Nonetheless, it is not a clear definition of what

meaning is (i.e what the relationship between the linguistic sign is and what it

denotes outside the language) Takac (2008:5) continues that namely some units

of meaning consist of several words (e.g bus conductor, for some the meaning

cannot be determined without looking into their function of structuring and

organizing information (e.g if, but) and certain integral parts of words cannot

stand on their own even if one knows their meaning (e.g the prefix 're'- in

retell) Thus, it is not a completely satisfactory definition of word Morphologically, “A word is a minimal free form” It means that “a word is a

word if it can stand on its own as reply to a question or a statement or

exclamation” (Carter, 1998:5) This definition could not be complete in

regarding to conjunctions (e.g but, or, and, yet, or so) They only stand alone in

a dictionary but they are likely to go with other words in spoken and written

sentences

In the view of lexical-semantics, “A word is the minimum meaningful unit of

language” (Carter, 1998: 5) According to this definition, one word has only one

meaning This definition is critiqued for two reasons First, it does not fully

apply to words with several meanings or polysemy Second, it seems

inapplicable to “a string of words taken together has a different meaning than

the combination of the individual component words” or an idiom (Schmitt,

Evidently, it is uneasy to find a universally acknowledgeable and accurate definition of word To avoid these problems, it is suggested that the term word

be substituted by the term lexeme or lexical item because it is argued that lexeme is “the smallest unit in the meaning system of a language that can be distinguished from other similar units A lexeme is an abstract unit It can occur

in many different forms in actual spoken or written sentences, and is regarded

as the lexeme even when inflected” (Richards & Schmitt, 2002: 303) In this paper, the terms word and vocabulary are used interchangeably as Carter (1998) points out that “it is clear that the uses of the words or vocabulary have general common-sense validity and are serviceable when there is no need to be precise.” (Carter, 1998:8) So, a word is employed in this thesis with a general common

sense: “A word is the minimum meaningful unit of language” (Carter, 1998:5)

One question arises from the definitions of word is “What does knowing a word mean?” The question will be answered in the following lines

in appropriate contexts The difficulty reveals that knowing a word requires learners to know more aspects of word knowledge rather than merely its meaning

Linguists have presented a number of definitions of knowing a word but different authors have distinct opinions about “what does knowing a word mean?” which reflects the authors‟ background knowledge of the concerned topic In this section, certain views on knowing a word will be considered

McCarthy and O‟Dell (2001:5) make some suggested guidelines for knowing a word It is insufficient to just know the meaning of a word It is also necessary

to know its collocations; its distinctive syntactical features; and its pronunciation In addition, other aspects including its degree of formality, informality or neutrality should be discerned (McCarthy & O‟Dell 2001: p.5) More detailed than McCarthy‟s and O‟Dell‟s criteria of knowing a word, Nation (2001:24) makes an apparent distinction between receptive and productive knowledge of a word (see table 2.1)

Table 2.1 General aspects of word knowledge (Nation, 2001:27)

R What does the word sounds like?

P How is the word pronounced?

R What does the word look like?

P How is the word written and spelled?

R What parts are recognizable in this word?

P What word parts are needed to express the meaning?

Form and meaning

Concept and referents

Associations

R What meaning does this word form signal?

P What word form can be used to express this meaning?

R What is included in the concept?

P What items can the concept refer to?

R What other words does this word make us think of?

P What other words could we use instead of this one?

R In what patterns does this word occur?

P In what patterns must we use this word?

R What words or types of words occur with this one?

P What words or type of words must we use with this one?

R Where, when, and how often would we expect to meet this word?

P Where, when, and how often can we use this word?

R = receptive knowledge P = productive knowledge

The ability to understand a word when reading or listening is termed receptive

or passive knowledge Contrastingly, productive or active knowledge is

classification of word knowledge bears a resemblance to the distinction between receptive skills of listening and reading and the productive skills of speaking and writing In line with productive and receptive skills, three fundamental criteria of knowing are suggested involving: knowing its form, its meaning and its use (Nation 2001:27) Every criterion comprises separated aspects but they are closely interwoven with each other The three major terms form, meaning use and their subcomponents will be dissected below

2.2.1 Form

The term form not only makes reference to spoken but also written form of a word Knowing the form is known as the ability to recognize the word through reading and listening and the ability to pronounce the word accurately with stress and write it with correct orthography

Word parts deal with the ability to realize the components forming a word and associate them to the word meaning, for example, upon encountering the words overrate, overemphasize and overexcite, students can discover that the words are composed of over- rate, over - emphasize and over - excite and can link these parts with their meanings The ability to realize the link between word parts and the word‟s meaning is very essential in language learning since it is ascertained that learners‟ knowledge of word‟s parts and how the parts are built together changes as their proficiency develops (Nation, 2001)

2.2.2 Meaning

In addition to knowing the form of a word, it is crucial to know how to connect form and meaning of a word Baddeley (1990) assures that the strength of connection between the form and its meaning influences the retrieval of the meaning when seeing or hearing it

Concerning about word‟s concept and referent, it is claimed that the relationship between the two is not always one to one Words have various meanings Words have the same form but convey unconnected meanings are referred to as

homonyms (e.g book – book, see – see) Occasionally, words have the same form and they are closely related in their meaning are said to be polysemy for example, the noun head as a person‟s head and as the head of a department (Nation, 2001:49) Coping with homonyms and polysemous items well, it is magnitudinous to be aware of the concept behind the word, understanding the word meanings well in different contexts, and knowing how to produce the words in a variety of contexts

As far as knowing the associations of word is concerned, associations indicate the relationships between words, such as synonymy (words with different forms with the same or nearly similar in meaning e.g handsome and good-looking), antonymy (words with opposite meaning e.g., good and bad), and hyponymy (the hierarchical relationship between words e.g., bird is hyperonym, a lark is the hyponym) It is affirmed that understanding these relations is helpful for explaining the meaning of word and developing tasks to deepen learner‟s understanding of words (Nation, 2001: 52)

2.2.3 Use

To be able to use the word accurately, it is needed to have the knowledge of the form and the meaning as well as the knowledge of grammatical functions involving knowing the part of speech of the word and what grammatical patterns can it be put in, for example, some Vietnamese English learners write a sentence: “I very like my class” The example shows students‟ incomplete understanding of English language structure They know the form and meaning

of the word “like” but they do not really know its part of speech; so they put it

in a wrong pattern

The way in which words are regularly used together is referred to as collocations involving the restrictions on how we use words together, for example which prepositions usually go with a particular verb or which verbs and nouns usually go together For example in English the adjective high and

low frequently go with the noun salary but not with good and bad; the verb do often goes the noun homework – do one‟s homework but not make one‟s home work (Richards & Schmidt, 2002: 87)

Apart from those aspects of word knowledge, knowing the constraint on use plays very important role in teaching and learning vocabulary This aspect of word knowledge includes knowing whether the word is high or low frequency and knowing how to use the word properly Nation (2001:57) stresses the importance of knowing the frequency constraint by stating that “if a teacher spends a lot of time on a word and overuses it, this affects the learner‟s use of this word If time is given to words according to their usefulness, then this can

be avoided” (Nation, 2001:57) The appropriateness of word use is sometimes contingent upon culture Nation (2001: 58) concludes that constraint on use can not be similar across cultures Some words are appropriate in this culture but inappropriate in another as “in Thai, names like pig, fatty, shrimp and mouse are common nicknames They are less acceptable in English.”

Overall, to be capable of knowing and using a word well, it principally requires being knowledgeable of form, meaning and use but the other aspects of word knowledge underlying these criteria are not supposed to be ignored In comparison with McCarthy‟s & O‟Dell‟s (2001), Nation‟s (2001) definition of knowing a word seems more specific and comprehensible The researcher is in support of Nation‟s criteria of knowing a word Thereupon, this paper is based

on Nation‟s (2001) suggested criteria of knowing a word

2.3 Language learning strategies and vocabulary learning strategies

The present study is conducted to scrutinize the English learners‟ vocabulary learning strategies Vocabulary learning strategies are subcomponents of language learning strategies Hence, the researcher reviews definitions of learning strategies and draws a definition of vocabulary learning strategy for the study

The term strategy whose meaning was described as carefully designed plans for military operations primarily originated from military science (Oxford, 1990) Nowadays, the term strategy has become increasing popular in many spheres of human lives as in commerce, politics, and diplomacy and in education as well Generally in education, strategies are set of deliberate plans and operations a learner employs to facilitate learning processes and to improve learning results (Gu, 1997: p.4) Besides the term strategy, the terms tactics and techniques are often found in language learning context Learning strategies are conceptualized

as learner‟s general approaches to learning while tactics and techniques refer to specific actions used to achieve a specific goal Tactics are observable actions implying the use of a certain strategy (Schmeck, 1988:171), for example, when

a learner infers a word‟s meaning by remembering another word that sounds similar, he or she uses the strategy of inferencing (Goh, 1998: 125) Takac (2008: 47) remarks, “Currently researchers have abandoned the dichotomy between strategies and tactics or techniques and use the term individual learning strategy to refer to the kind of behavior Stern called techniques” In second language study, although authors have done research on language learning strategies, they have not been able to present a commonly agreed definition of language learning strategy Some typical definitions of vocabulary learning strategies are summarized in table 2.2 below

Table 2.2 Definition of vocabulary learning strategies (Takac, 2008:51)

Tarone (1981) An attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the

target language

Rubin (1987) What learners do to learn and do to regulate their learning

Chamot (1987) Techniques, approaches or deliberate actions that students take in order

to facilitate learning, recall of both linguistic and content information

Wenden (1987)

The term refers to language behaviors learners engage in to learn and regulate the learning of L2, to what learners know about the strategies they use (i.e strategic knowledge), and to what learner know about aspects of L2 learning

Weinstein and

Mayer (1996)

Behaviors and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning that are intended to influence the learner‟s encoding process

Oxford (1990) Behaviors or actions which learners use to make language learning more

successful, self-directed and enjoyable

Ellis (1995) Generally, a strategy is mental or behavioral activities related to some

specific stages in the process of language acquisition or language use

Purpura (1999) Conscious or unconscious techniques or activities that an individual

invokes in language learning, use or testing

As shown in table 2.2, there seem to be rather many definitions of language learning strategies One feature of language learning strategies which could cause controversy among the definitions in table 2.2 is concept of consciousness and unconsciousness of language learning strategies With respect to

consciousness of language learning strategies, Takac (2008: 55) argues that the issue of consciousness of language learning strategies is still very much controverted Language learners often utilize their learning strategies deliberately and consciously but when they can use them automatically, they can use them without consciousness Thus, Takac (2008:.55) maintains that

“Many researchers agree, however, that language learning strategies are often used deliberately and consciously, but their use can become automatic, that is, subconscious It can be concluded that language learning strategies are conscious, potentially conscious or subconscious depending on individual learners and the task they are engaged in”

In view all the definitions, in this paper language learning strategies are

“specific intellectual or physical actions, behaviors, steps, techniques or methods that language learners regularly engage in either consciously or subconsciously to facilitate their learning process and improve their competence

in the target language” Correspondingly, vocabulary learning strategies are

“specific intellectual or physical actions, behaviors, steps, techniques or methods that learners regularly engage in either consciously or subconsciously

to facilitate and improve both the efficacy of vocabulary learning and use in the target language”

2.4 Classification of language learning strategies

According to O‟Malley and Chamot‟s (1990), language learning strategies are divided into three categories including metacognitive, cognitive and social / affective strategies Metacognitive strategies provide an overview of language use and learning as well as the procedure for planning and regulating learning and using a language effectively while cognitive strategies are related to the process of manipulating information through an instant task with a view to obtaining and storing the information Finally, social strategies are involved in acquiring and retaining a language with the help of interacting socially and

controlling personal emotion This classification indicates that the three categories are interrelated and evenly pivotal to the process of learning and acquiring a language

Oxford‟s (1990) classification of language learning strategies is quite different from O‟Malley‟s and Chamot‟s (1990) She proposes the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) which is more comprehensible, specific and well-organized in connection to individual strategies, as well as strategy groups involving the four separated skills such as listening, reading, speaking and writing In her classification, language learning strategies are categorized into two categories: direct and indirect These two categories of language learning strategies are further divided into six smaller groups The direct language learning strategies include memory, cognitive, and comprehension meanwhile the indirect ones are composed of metacognitive, affective and social strategies Direct strategies are involved in the language in a variety of specific tasks and situations Oxford (1990) claims that these strategies are exceptionally the focal point of acquiring a second language The direct type consists of memory strategies for memorizing and retrieving new information, cognitive strategies for understanding and producing the language and compensation strategies for using the language Whereas, the indirect strategies related to management of language learning comprise metacognitive strategies for co-operating in learning, affective strategies for controlling emotions and social strategies for interacting with others in studying A critical point of Oxford‟s (1990) classification lays on her categorization of the six strategy groups into 19 strategy sets and 62 subsets, 194 strategies in total in combination with the four language skills The reciprocal relationships between direct and indirect strategies and the six strategy groups are displayed in figure 2.3

2.5 Schmitt’s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy

Schmitt‟s (1997) classification of vocabulary learning strategy provides an intelligible framework for research into vocabulary learning strategies Basing

on Oxford‟s (1990) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy which was composed of social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, Schmitt (1997) amended it to serve the purpose of describing and analyzing vocabulary learning strategies for the fact that Oxford‟ (1990) work was generally constructed in service of depicting language learning strategies He arranged the taxonomy into two broad categories: discovery strategies and consolidation strategies The discovery strategies assist language learners to discover the meaning of word as it is encountered for the first time and consolidation strategies facilitate students‟ remembrance of the word that has once been

encountered Discovery strategies are grouped into four types such as guessing, analyzing word features, using the dictionary and asking other people (Schmitt, 1997:206) His argument behind the classification is that when encountering a word for the first time, language learners have to use contextual clues, or available references to uncover the meaning of a new word, or seeking help from others to know preliminary meaning of the new word Language learners must be aware of the word form and meaning and put the word into consolidation before using Thus, discovery strategies are helpful for building crucial blocks of effective learning vocabulary Otherwise, after having once obtained the preliminary information about a word, language learners endeavor

to memorize it Consolidation strategies enable language learners to consign word learnt into their memory The consolidation strategies comprise word associations, groupings, semantic-processing strategies, the keyword method and repetition as well In the following lines, determination strategies, social strategies, memory strategies, cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies

in Schmitt‟s (1997) taxonomy will be elaborated

Schmitt‟s (1997) distinction between discovery and consolidation strategies leads to a more understandable classification in which discovery strategies are subcategorized into determination and social strategies while consolidation strategies are originated from the social, cognitive, or metacognitive strategy groups Hence, finally Schmitt arrives at a complete taxonomy with determination strategies, social strategies, memory strategies, cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies under the discovery and the consolidation strategies

Determination strategies are related to analyzing word parts of speech, analyzing affixes and roots, checking the L1 cognates or guessing meaning from context Social strategies make references to interaction with other people such as teachers, classmates or even native speakers to gain the word meaning

or to consolidate the word meaning or use Learners may ask their teachers or peers for an L1 translation of new word, a synonym, a definition, a paraphrase

or use the new words in a sentence or by any combination of these (Schmitt, 1997:210)

Memory strategies are associated with analyzing pictorial presentation of the word meaning, imagining word‟s meaning, linking a word with personal experience, connecting a word with its coordinates, linking a word with its synonyms and antonyms, using semantic maps, using gradable scales for adjectives, using the peg method, using the loci method, grouping words together to learn them, grouping words within a storyline, studying the spelling

of a word, studying the sound of a word, saying a new word out loud when studying, underlining initial letters of a word, configuring, using the key word method, remembering affixes and roots, remembering word parts of speech, paraphrasing a word‟s meaning, using cognates in studying, learning words of

an idiom together, using physical actions when learning a word, and using semantic feature grids

Cognitive strategies involve verbal repetitions, written repetitions, word lists, flash cards, taking notes in class, using the vocabulary glossary at the back of a textbook, listening to tapes of word lists, putting English labels on physical objects, keeping a vocabulary notebook

Metacognitive strategies are in regard to learning English vocabulary through media, testing oneself by doing vocabulary tests, using space practice, ignoring

or passing a new word and continuing to study a word over the time The detailed description of Schmitt‟s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy has proven that it is the most comprehensible and elaborative system which can be employed as an instrument for conducting research into vocabulary learning strategies as Takac (2008:67) confirms that “Schmitt‟s (1997) proposal of a typology of vocabulary learning strategy is currently

among the most comprehensible typology of (exclusively) this subgroup of language learning strategies”

Apart from Takac‟s (2008) remark, Catalan (2003) points out six prominent benefits of using Schmitt‟ (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies as

a research instrument: researchers can standardize it as a test; researchers can use it to collect the answers from their subjects easily; it was developed on the basis of language learning and memory strategies; it is simple as regards technology; researchers can use it with learners of various ages, educational backgrounds and target languages; and it also is abundant and responsive to a various learning strategies

The researcher definitely concurs with Catalan‟s (2003) and Takac‟s (2008) remark, thus, Schmitt‟s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies will

be adopted as guidelines for designing vocabulary learning strategies in this research study However, some points in the taxonomy will be adapted to suit the subjects and the aim of the study First, in Schmitt‟ (1997) classification, strategies such as learning vocabulary by using word lists and flash cards are arranged into both Determination and Cognitive strategies which may cause misunderstanding among the subjects To avoid this possible confusion, using word lists and flash cards are only arranged in Cognitive strategies in the questionnaire In addition, Schmitt‟s (1997) arranges vocabulary learning strategies into two broad categories including discovery strategies and consolidation strategies Nonetheless, in the questionnaire of the study, the researcher combines these two categories into vocabulary learning strategies in general in order to lessen the complexity of the questionnaire Lastly, some strategies as using “scales” for gradable adjectives, using semantic feature grids and underlining initial letter of the words will be excluded from the questionnaire of the thesis because they could be unfamiliar to the first year students

2.6 Research into vocabulary learning strategies

The importance of vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies has appealed a wide interest among researchers in the area of second language study all over the world since the late 1980s of the last century Many authors have conducted research on this topic Two main directions of researching vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies include exploring the language learning strategies employed by learners and the effectiveness of individual strategy application (Takac, 2008:58) The former shows many of the learning strategies that learners use which are in fact called vocabulary learning strategies (Takac, 2008:58) while the later is research oriented towards exploring the effectiveness

of individual strategy application in vocabulary learning (Takac, 2008:58) The recently new focuses have resulted in a few studies into vocabulary learning strategies In this research, the researcher reviews several research studies having been conducted between the late 1980s and the early 2000s which have

been found in the field of vocabulary teaching and learning

The first investigation into vocabulary learning strategies was conducted by Porte (1986-1988) He aimed to explore the strategies used by under-achieving students The population of his survey was 15 adolescent students The results

of the study uncovered that good and under-achieving students had some strategies in common as noting down the translation of new words and looking

up meanings of words in a dictionary A prominent finding was that there were differences between good and poor learners in their behaviors The poor students were demonstrated less sophistication and a less suitable response to a particular activity such as instantly turning to a dictionary when encountering unfamiliar words or by analyzing immediate context of a new word Although the study was conducted on very small number of participants, it has practical values in teaching and learning vocabulary It was commonly believed that the study of the good learners‟ strategies would help their poor peers The study

showed that even though the poor students imitated strategies used by the good

ones, they could not make much progress in their learning Takac (2008:64)

remarks, “It would be necessary to determine the extent to which failure can be

attributed to an inadequate or incomplete use of learning strategies.” Porte

(1988) also suggests aiding the weak learners to “identify their learning

strategies and then develop the existing strategies if necessary and feasible”

Being interested in discovering the strategies used by good and poor learners,

Ahmed (1989) investigated 300 Sudanese learners of English from intermediate

school to university by employing a think-aloud task, direct observation, and an

interview Thirty-eight micro-strategies were discovered and divided into six

macro-strategies such as information sources, dictionary use, memorization,

practice, preferred sources of information and note-taking

He found out that the good learners applied larger numbers and more types of

strategies than the poor ones; the good learners also favored learning words in

context, using dictionary as a resource and asking questions to clarify meaning

The poor learners in contrast did not like learning new words and they did not

know what to learn about words Ahmed‟s (1989) study was considered the first

major study on vocabulary learning strategies Its results boosted more

understanding of good and poor learners' differences in the use of vocabulary

learning strategies

Aiming to explore students‟ belief about vocabulary learning, the strategies

preferred by the Chinese learners and the relationship between the use of

vocabulary strategies and language learning outcomes, Gu and Johnson (1996) carried out a study on 850 second year students with the help of a set of

questionnaires, vocabulary size tests and proficiency measures The

questionnaire was composed of a section about the belief of vocabulary learning

and a total of 91 vocabulary learning strategy items The second part of the

questionnaire includes: metacognitive regulation (e.g selective attention,

self-initiation); guessing strategies (e.g using background knowledge or wider

context, using linguistic cues or immediate context); dictionary use strategies;

note-taking strategies (e.g meaning-oriented or usage-oriented); memory

strategies for rehearsal (e.g., by using word lists, oral repetition, or visual

repetition); memory strategies for coding (e.g., association or elaboration,

imagery, visual encoding, auditory encoding, using word-structure, etc.);

activation strategies (e.g., the deliberate use of vocabulary learning strategies)

Some points were uncovered in Gu‟s and Johnson‟s (1997) study First, most of

the Chinese learners were not dependent on rote learning, a common feature

related to Asian learners Next, the subjects employed a wide range of strategies

among which the meaning-oriented were favored Third, metacognitive

strategies (e.g., self-initiation and selective attention) positively contributed

learners‟ proficiency Contextual guessing, skillful dictionary use and note-taking (belonging to cognitive strategies) correlated with vocabulary size

and general proficiency whereas visual repetition negatively affected

vocabulary size and general proficiency Finally, five groups of learners were

identified: readers – small group of high-achieving students, who strongly

believed in learning vocabulary through reading, guessing and contextual

coding; active strategy users – another small and successful group of learners,

who were open to using a wide range of vocabulary learning strategies;

encoders; non-encoders – the vast majority of students, whose use of strategies

was average; passive strategy users – a small number of under-achieving

students, who believed in memorizing vocabulary and exploited the strategy of

visual repetition and word lists most frequently

Gu‟s and Johnson‟s (1996) study provides important pieces of information

about Asian English learners‟ vocabulary learning strategies First, thanks to

students‟ response to the vocabulary learning strategy belief questionnaire, it

was found that learners considered vocabulary learning as requiring conscious

learning and active use Besides, mechanical memorization was proved

unpopular among Chinese learners In addition, two metacognitive strategies

(e.g self-initiating and selective attention) were important for successful

learning Cognitive strategies turned out to be the most useful for both general

success in language learning and vocabulary expansion A number of strategies

such as guessing from context, using a dictionary for learning, note-taking,

attending to word formation, contextual coding and deliberate activation of new

words were reported positively correlating with vocabulary size and general

proficiency The strategies of visual repetition were showed to be the least

useful for all variables Moreover, the strategies oriented towards vocabulary

retention aided vocabulary extension, rather than general success in language

learning It was also remarked that Gu and Johnson (1996) uncovered five

groups of learners based on their approach (“reader”, “active strategy users”,

“non-coders”, “coders” and “passive strategy users”), which provided evidence

to support the view that various approaches can be effective (Takac, 2008:67) While earlier-mentioned researchers employed several research instruments to

elicit data from their research subjects, Lawson and Hogben (1996) examined

language learners‟ vocabulary learning strategies by the only means, a think

aloud procedure, which enabled them to look at which strategies learners

actually used not what they claimed to use Their subjects consisted of 15

female advanced-level university students in Australia studying Italian as a

foreign language The focus on the study was on the issue of deliberate

acquisition of vocabulary: their subjects were given a task of Italian words on

index cards New words were written separately in the front side in context of a

sentence whereas an explanation of the related word in English was written in

the reverse side After a short time of think-aloud session (e.g learning

process), the researcher gave students a word test On the basis of the tape

scripts, Lawson and Hogben divided vocabulary learning strategies into four

broad categories including repetition, word feature analysis and complex elaboration with a total of 15 vocabulary learning items

The results revealed that the repetition strategies were popular among the subjects as they were supposed whistle word feature analysis was neglected All the participants read the related words (belong to repetition category) presented

to them The strategy was used for learning most of the Italian words Nevertheless, knowledge of suffixes (belonging to word feature analysis) was unused It was also reported that most of the strategies related to transforming new information “in a new way that would set up relationships of new material with existing memory structure” were not in use He also found that students who made greater numbers of strategies recalled more words in the vocabulary test than students who made use of smaller numbers of strategies Additionally, the number of vocabulary learning strategies reported having been used by the successful students was twice as large as that of the unsuccessful ones The findings of Lawson and Hogben‟s study turned out to be congruous with Ahmed‟s (1989) study which uncovered that good learners employed more strategies than the poor ones Although the result of the study seems worthy of noticing, it was claimed to be unreliable due to the fact that it was based on a single think-aloud session (Ahmed, 1989, Gu & Johnson 1996, Kojic-Sabo & Lightbown, 1999)

Schmitt (1997) purposed to explore which strategies Japanese students used and which of them they considered the most and the least useful He investigated

600 participants at four levels involving junior high school students, high school students, university students and adult learners The research instrument was his taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy classified into discovery strategies and consolidation strategies which were further divided into five subgroups such as determination strategies, social strategies, memory strategies, cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies The participants were given a list of 58

strategies and asked to note down which strategies they used and which they perceived as the most and the least useful The results showed that bilingual dictionary use was most frequently exploited and considered the most helpful among the participants Namely, the strategy was preferred by eighty-five percent of the participants Besides, five other strategies such as written repetition, verbal repetition, saying word aloud, studying word‟s spelling and taking notes in class were supposed to be useful and often used Schmitt indicated that the Japanese students highly appreciated the importance of studying a word‟s form which was originated from the study style promoted in Japanese high schools Simultaneously, the result also revealed that some strategies were claimed to be beneficial but they were not almost unused For example, eighty-eight percent of the participants recognized the importance of strategies relating a word with its synonyms and antonyms but only forty-one percent of students applied it

In addition, upon observing the strategies used by the four groups of students, Schmitt realized that the patterns of strategies inclined to change from

“shallower” to “deeper” ones in accordance to students‟ seniority The finding was supported by the fact that ninety-one percent of the junior high school students used written repetition in contrast to fifty percent of adult subjects under the investigation Furthermore, the strategies with “deeper” mental processing (e.g strategy of imaging the word‟s meaning) were utilized by fifty-eight percent of the adult students in comparison to thirty-seven percent of the junior high students Moreover, an important note of the study is that guessing meaning from context was quite popular Also the social strategies such as asking a classmate or teacher were exploited quite often Besides, the findings

of survey implicated that the patterns of strategy use were changeable over the time; so some strategies were found more common in a certain age groups than

in the others He concluded that Japanese learners were probably eager to apply

Similar to Schmitt‟s (1997) research, Kudo (1999) conducted a survey to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies used by 504 Japanese senior high school students, whose age was between 15 and 18 His research instrument was a set of vocabulary learning questionnaire based on Schmitt‟s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy but he neglected distinguishing between strategies for discovery and consolidation because in his opinion it might be too complicated for high school students to understand As a consequence, there were four categories in the questionnaire as social, cognitive, memory and metacognitive strategies He did not make use of determination strategies in the questionnaire either First, the result showed that students did not know much about vocabulary learning strategies Social strategies were the lowest in the rank, which implied that students were not interested in working with anyone as learning English vocabulary Besides, the results uncovered that students favored „shallower‟ learning strategies such as rote learning and dictionary more than „deeper‟ cognitive processing for example the keyword method and semantic mapping Thus, Kudo‟s (1999) findings were consistent with Schmitt‟s (1997) results However, factor analysis showed that the four categories (e.g., social, cognitive, memory and metacognitive strategies) did not reach the required reliability Yet, it is noticeable that the use of vocabulary learning strategy could not be related to cultural background because he concluded that his Japanese subjects and the students in Oxford‟s (1990) research in Alabama seemed to use the same strategies

Kojic-Sabo and Lightbown (1999) carried out a research on two groups of English learners The subjects of the study were 47 undergraduate ESL students and 43 pre-university EFL students by means of questionnaire and vocabulary knowledge tests The tests consist of a yes – no test and an overall proficiency close test They found that dictionary use received the highest scores for both

scores The two groups were similar in the use of note-taking strategy The statistics also manifested a significant difference between the two variables: the ESL group scored higher for their learner independence and EFL group for their review

In reference to the use of strategies and the students‟ level of achievement, the results revealed a strong relationship between the two variables Students who exploited more strategies performed better both in their vocabulary and proficiency tests than the students who made use of smaller numbers of strategies The independence and time did not positively correlate with success

in language learning The study result was in line with Gu‟s and Johnson‟s (1996) findings Students who were skillful at using a dictionary and spent more time on practicing new words gained higher achievement in their vocabulary size and general proficiency test

With a view to finding out the most frequently and least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies, the belief about the most and the least useful strategies, the differences between the frequency of use and usefulness of the strategies, the strategies used by proficiency students and strategies for learning high and low frequency words, Fan‟s (2003) conducted an investigation on 1,067 first year students in Hong Kong by means of vocabulary test and questionnaire The purpose of the vocabulary test was to determine students‟ proficiency in English vocabulary The questionnaire was totally composed of

56 vocabulary learning items which was used for examining students‟ vocabulary learning strategies The questionnaire was indirectly based on Schmitt‟s (1997) taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategy; however, Fan rearranged them into management, sources, guessing, dictionary, repetition, association, grouping, analysis and known words Generally, the results indicated that students considered vocabulary learning strategies important but they did not often make use of them As regards to the most frequently used and

often perceived useful, it transpired that students were inclined to be in favor of dictionary use strategies and the ones connected to known words while the keyword methods fell into disfavor and were considered useless The results also denoted that students had an ardent preference for rote memorization and imagery in learning vocabulary

The results of the study turned out to be similar to the findings of Ahmed‟s (1989), Gu‟s and Johnson‟s (1996), Kudo‟s (1999) and Schmitt‟s (1997) Both Kudo‟s and Schmitt‟s subjects were slightly interested in association strategies Fan‟s and Gu‟s and Johnson‟s results showed that students disbelieved in the memorization of words, which was contradistinctive with Schmitt‟s (1997) finding In respect of the frequently used strategies and the perceived usefulness

of the strategies, management strategies were infrequently employed even so they were believed to be useful Regarding proficiency learners‟ vocabulary learning strategies, the results were found to be analogous with Ahmed‟s (1989), Lawson‟s and Hogben‟s (1996) findings in the way which good learners made use of larger numbers of strategies and used them more often than the poor ones

In summary, some points can be noticed from the literature First, a number of researchers have conducted studies to investigate vocabulary learning strategies

of Asian and non-Asian learners The non-Asian participants came from Africa – Sudanese students of English (Ahmed, 1989), Australia – Australian students

of Italian as a foreign language (Lawson & Hogben, 1996) whistle the Asian students were largely Chinese (e.g.,Gu & Johnson, 1996; Kojic-Sabo, 1999; and Fan, 2003), and Japanese (e.g Schmitt, 1997; and Kudo, 1999) Second, the researchers purposed to find out the frequency of vocabulary learning strategy use (Ahmed, 1989; Schmitt, 1997; Kudo, 1999; and Fan, 2003), learner‟s perception of the usefulness of vocabulary learning strategies (Gu & Johnson, 1996; Schmitt, 1997; and Fan, 2003), the relationship between

non-the vocabulary learning strategy use and students‟ achievements in language study (Gu & Johnson, 1996; Lawson & Hogben, 1996; Kojic-Sabo & Lightbown, 1999; and Fan, 2003), the strategies employed by the good and poor students (Porte, 1988; and Ahmed, 1989) by means of questionnaires, tests, interviews and think-aloud procedures Third, the results of the previous research studies yielded contradiction While some findings (e.g Ahmed, 1989; Lawson & Hogben, 1996; Kojic-Sabo, 1999; Fan, 2003) brought forward the fact that high proficiency learners significantly differentiated from the poor out

in terms of numbers and types of strategies used; Porte (1989) revealed that the good and poor learners had some vocabulary learning strategies in common As regards the studies on Asia learners, Gu and Johnson (1996) confirmed that Chinese students utilized various types of vocabulary learning strategies rather than the strategies related to rote-learning but other researchers (e.g Schmitt, 1997; Kudo, 1999; and Fan 2003) found the strategies connected to rote-learning and bilingual dictionary were quite popular among the population of their studies The review of research works into vocabulary learning strategies provides an overview of learners‟ vocabulary strategy use even now it is obvious that studies into English vocabulary learning strategies are rather limited Besides, it is found that there has been a rarity in research into vocabulary learning strategies used by Vietnamese learners of foreign languages Moreover, most research into vocabulary learning strategies concentrated on good and poor, achieving and less achieving, proficiency and less proficiency students; so the learners in the middle of the range (e.g fairly high achievers and medium achievers) appeared neglected Even if a number of systematic research studies into vocabulary learning strategies have been done,

it seems insufficient to drawing any definite conclusions (Takac, 2008:58) In addition, it should not always be a good idea to just borrow the findings from foreign research studies to describe the strategies exploited by Vietnamese

learners Therefore, the researcher should like to conduct “An investigation into