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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE MILITARY SCIENCE ACADEMY DƯƠNG THỊ HỒNG HẠNH A STUDY ON MILITARY ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY CADETS AT COLLEGE OF MILITARY TECHNICAL OFFICERS MASTER THESIS IN FOREIGN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURES HÀ NỘI - 2018 HÀ NỘI - 20… MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MINISTRY OF NATIONAL DEFENCE MILITARY SCIENCE ACADEMY DƯƠNG THỊ HỒNG HẠNH A STUDY ON MILITARY ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY CADETS AT COLLEGE OF MILITARY TECHNICAL OFFICERS Specialization: English Language Code 60 22 02 01 : MASTER THESIS IN FOREIGN LINGUISTICS AND CULTURES THESIS SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN THU HẠNH, PhD HÀ NỘI – 2018 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS MTO Military Technical Officers ESP English for Specific Purposes L1 First language L2 Second language EFL English as a Foreign Language LLS Language Learning Strategies VLS Vocabulary Learning Strategies DET Determination strategies SOC Social strategies MEM Memory strategies COG Cognitive strategies MET Metacognitive strategies LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table 1.1 Oxford’s taxonomy of VLS 14 Table 1.2 Norbert Schmitt’s taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies 18 Table 1.3 Nation’s taxonomy of VLS 21 Table 2.1 Military English vocabulary strategies in the questionnaire 30 Chart 3.1 The role of military English VLS in learning a foreign language 34 Chart 3.2 Cadets’ self-assessment of English military vocabulary stock 35 Chart 3.3 Cadets evaluate the English military vocabulary classes in the class 36 Chart 3.4 Questionnaire results: Determination strategies 37 Chart 3.5 Questionnaire results: Social strategies 39 Chart 3.6 Questionnaire results: Memory strategies 40 Chart 3.7 Questionnaire results: Cognitive strategy 42 Chart 3.8 Questionnaire results: Metacognitive Strategies 43 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 A review of previous studies 1.2 Vocabulary learning 1.3 Vocabulary learning strategies 12 1.4 Strategies for military English vocabulary learning 21 1.5 Factors affecting learners in learning vocabulary 23 Chapter METHODOLOGY 26 2.1 Setting of the study and participants 26 2.2 Methodology for data collection 27 2.3 Procedures for data collection 32 2.4 Data analysis procedures 33 Chapter FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 34 3.1 Questionnaire 34 3.2 Interview 46 CONCLUSION REFERENCES APPENDICES 51 INTRODUCTION Rationale of the study It is clear that English has become more dominant around the world In some countries, it is used as the mother tongue and in other countries it is considered as the second language, which makes English increasingly widespread There is no doubt that English is the language of communication between people and different cultures To be aware of the importance of English, Vietnamese learners of English try to master it In recent years, English has become a compulsory subject at universities, including military universities In order to use English well, learners should pay attention to many factors, such as improving vocabulary, mastering grammar, understanding the culture of the native-speaking country, learning and practicing English regularly Particularly, vocabulary is one of the main components that make up the language knowledge system and plays a role as the formation and development of learners' language ability Wilkins [33, p.111– 112] wrote “ without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” Thus, vocabulary can be considered as the basic essential foundation for learners to master the language skills such as speaking, writing, listening and reading Besides general English, English for Specific Purposes is increasingly concerned with its importance and practical meaning At the college of Military Technical Officers (MTO), military English is a compulsory subject at the beginning of the third year with the duration of 45 periods However, the cadets have encountered a lot of difficulties in remembering as well as using vocabulary The ability to apply military English vocabulary learning strategies is still limited Although military English has been taught for a long time, until now, unfortunately there have not been any researches on military English vocabulary learning strategies of cadets at college of MTO Based on the above reasons, it is necessary to find out how much awareness cadets have of their vocabulary learning process, and what military English vocabulary learning strategies they were employing I hope that the information in this study would provide English teachers at college of MTO with suitable pedagogical methods to help cadets learn ESP better This is the reason why the researcher decided to carry out the thesis “A study on military English vocabulary learning strategies employed by cadets of the college of military technical officers.” Significance of the study The study can reveal frequently used vocabulary learning strategies employed by the cadets The teachers can implement the findings of this study to improve their methods of teaching English vocabulary and particularly military English one Moreover, this study gives recommendations to other teachers of English on how to teach the cadets to use military English vocabulary strategies effectively to improve the effectiveness of their learning military English vocabulary in class From the results of this study, cadets also need to adjust the vocabulary strategies to achieve higher academic results Besides, the writer will continue to conduct other researches to a wider audience, the mass of cadets to have an overview that helps regulate the teaching and learning of teachers and cadets in the college of MTO Aims and objectives of the study The study aims at: - Investigating the military English vocabulary learning strategies employed by the cadets at the college of MTO The objectives of the study are: - To find out MTO third-year cadets’ attitudes toward military English vocabulary learning strategies - To find out the military English learning strategies employed by these cadets Research questions of the study The study would be conducted to answer the following questions: Question 1: What are the attitudes of third-year cadets at the college of MTO to military English vocabulary learning strategies? Question 2: What military English vocabulary learning strategies are commonly used by the cadets at college of MTO? Scope of the study The study was designed to investigate military English vocabulary learning strategies which were employed by the cadets at the college of MTO The findings obtained from this study would hopefully be used to improve the teaching and learning of the military English at college of MTO in particular, and at other military colleges in general Method of the study In order to achieve the objectives of the study mentioned above, the quantitative analysis is the main tool for analyzing the data, which was collected from the questionnaire The results from the survey questionnaires were then combined with interviews and discussions with the teachers and cadets at college of MTO to provide the final recommendations Structure of the study Apart from Introduction, Conclusion, References, Appendix, the thesis is divided into main chapters as follows: Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW covers some information about history of research on learning strategies, some basis concepts related to vocabulary learning strategies and military English vocabulary learning strategies In addition, the classifications of vocabulary learning strategies and military English vocabulary learning strategies are also reviewed to set up the theoretical framework for the investigation in the next chapter Chapter METHODOLOGY justifies and describes the methods used in the study to seek the answer to the research questions raised in chapter Detailed information about the participants of the study and research procedures is also provided Chapter DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS analyzes and interprets the data collected from the questionnaire and interviews It also includes the summary and discussion of the main findings Summary Vocabulary learning is certainly of critical important to language acquisition but it is never a simple task for learners Therefore, the study of vocabulary learning strategies to find ways to help learners approach vocabulary more efficiently and effectively has been in concerns of a number of educational researchers The researcher of the present research is not an exception As an EFL teacher at MTO for several years, the researcher realized that vocabulary is a challenge to most cadets In Introduction, the writer did find out the direction for the current research in relation with vocabulary learning strategies Particularly, the researcher concentrated on the military English vocabulary learning strategies which are commonly used by third year cadets and the cadets’ attitudes toward military English vocabulary learning strategies She then drew out the research questions, which need to be examined and answered via investigation With the hope of enhancing MTO cadets’ vocabulary acquisition, the researcher concentrated on third year cadets at her college as the research participants Particularly, they were 100 cadets from faculty of Infantry weapon at MTO Because did not have every clear idea about what vocabulary learning strategies were commonly used by cadets, the researcher decided to generate this aspect in vocabulary learning strategies as the scope of the study The next chapter will present the relevant literature which was reviewed as a basis for the current research to be conducted 53 Since the language learning strategies are considered as other good tools for language learners, it is expected that this study will be able to support the English military teachers’ pedagogical viewpoints and give valuable information on how the students process information and select the most suitable military English vocabulary learning strategies to enhance their language learning Besides, teachers should help cadets become better language learners by training them in using the right strategies or appropriate strategies that suit their level so that they can get good marks in the exams Both objectives and goals can be achieved when cadets are well trained in the strategies used Strategies “putting words in certain group/topics, making sentences with new words” should be used more in class in order to help them get used to making sentences, writing essays, reading texts or discussing topics as the cadets have more chances to get better score when they have good skills of writing, speaking, listening and reading 2.2 Implication of learning Based on these findings of the study, following options which might be helpful for cadets are recommended Firstly, a seminar on military English vocabulary learning strategies should be held for students, especially at the beginning of new semesters before they start their military English lessons This can encourage and help them to become aware of the importance of vocabulary learning strategies In other words, this will raise awareness of how vocabulary learning strategies can help them in language learning In addition, the language learners themselves play an important role in improving their vocabulary knowledge They need to be more active and creative in employing vocabulary learning strategies In fact, it requires much time and effort to change one’s learning habit but as soon as learners are 54 accustomed to using powerful strategies for vocabulary learning, they will be successful in developing their language competence Secondly, the college should give them more opportunities to take part in activities inside and outside the college, such as encouraging them to take part in some presentations or giving them some roles, which are related to people relationships Through activities, cadets can use English more often and as the result, their English competence would improve day by day Thirdly, the college, where the cadets are learning, should help them to enrich their fundamental knowledge by giving them opportunities to pay a visit to some famous places in our country, e.g giving them opportunities to visit sea, museums or big cities If the college does not have enough funds, it should give cadets video shows on some certain topics of the books, such as the sea, technology, famous people, famous places, cultures…through these activities, their fundamental knowledge will improve Last but not least, improving learning conditions such as school buildings, classroom facilities and learning equipment is an important but sensitive problem The Vietnamese government have set up a plenty of projects and programs to help students especially cadets in military schools However, those somehow have not met the demands of military environment So the college should provide modern teaching facilities For example: Computer; Internet; Projectors; Cassette player; provides many English books, English story, English pictures in college library etc By this way, the student engagement in English lessons will be gradually improved Limitation of the research In the first place, due to the limited time, the current study involved a small population of learners and the numbers of military English vocabulary learning strategies investigated were also limited Therefore, they may be not typical for 55 the whole cadets at MTO If there were larger number of cadets and vocabulary learning strategies, the reliability of this study could be promoted Moreover, the sampling technique of the survey data was random, so hardly did it avoid reluctant participants who gave little satisfied responses to the questions To minimize such difficulty, the researcher did take time to encourage the sample to spend time giving trustworthy responses to the questions so that there would be some changes in their English vocabulary learning In the second place, this research was only studied in a small scale; it is only focused on vocabulary learning strategies without other skills, such as reading, speaking, writing, etc Suggestions for further research Based on those limitations, some suggestions are offered for further studies as follows First, in order to make the findings more representative and generalized, further studies need to recruit a greater number of cadets from different years at different levels Second, the present study only investigated MTO students’ frequency use of military English vocabulary learning strategies without exploring the relationship between the strategy use with other variables such as gender, age, major, motivation, learning styles, learning achievement…Therefore, further studies need to be conducted to investigate whether learners’ strategy use is related to those variables REFERENCES In Vietnamese Đỗ Hữu Châu (1962), Giáo trình Việt ngữ, Nxb Giáo dục, Hà Nội In English Ahmed, M O (1988), Vocabulary learning strategies: A case study of Sudanese learners of English, Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University Colledge of North Wales, Bangor, UK Brown, A L., Bransford, J D., Ferrara, R A., & Campione, J C (1983), Learning, remembering, and understanding In P H Mussen (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol Cognitive Development (p.77-166), New York: Wiley Chang, C Y., Chen, S., & Lee, Y N (2007), A Study of language learning strategies used by college EFL learners in Taiwan, Retrieved 15 June 2009: http://www.mdu.edu.tw/~ged/other%20download/bulletin/20070319/11.pdf Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K (2000), Research methods in education, London: Routledge Falmer Ellis, R (1997), Second language acquisition, London: Oxford University Press Dinh Thuy Hang, (2008), Vocabulary learning strategies employed by students at Hung Vuong Gifted High School, Unpublished master of arts thesis, Master of arts thesis, College of foreign language, VNU Hornby, A S., Ashby, M., & Wehmeier, S (2005), Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7th, edition), Oxford: Oxford University Press Hutchinson, T & Water, A (1987), English for specific purposes: A learning-centered approach, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 10 Tran Thi Thanh Huyen, (2001), An investigation into vocabulary learning strategies by students majoring in English at the department of foreign languages- Qui Nhon teacher training College, thesis, College of foreign language, Hanoi 11 Intaraprasert, C (2004), EST students and vocabulary learning strategies: A preliminary investigation, Unpublished research, Suranaree University of Technology, NakhonRatchasima, Thailand 12 Johnson, R W (2008), The difference between structured & semistructured Interviews in qualitative research, retrieved Sep 22nd, 2016 from http://www.ehow.com/info_12050751_difference-between- structured -semistructured-interviews-qualitative-research.html 13 Lewis, M (1993), The lexical approach: The state of ELT and a way forward, Hove, England: Language Teaching Publications 14 Mellor-Clark, S., & Baker de Altamirano, Y (2005), Campaign: English for the military, student’s book 2, Macmillan: Macmillan Publishers Limited 15 Nation, I S P (1982), Learning vocabulary, Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington 16 Nation, I S P (1990), Teaching and learning vocabulary, New York: Newbury House Publishers 17 Nation, I S P (2001), Learning vocabulary in another language, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 18 Nunan, D (1999), Second language teaching and learning, New York: Heinle & Heinle 19 Oxford, R (1990), Language learning strategies: What every teachers should know, Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers 20 Pyles, T., & Algeo, J (1970), An introduction to language, New York: Harcourt, Brace 21 Quirk, R (1974), The image of the dictionary, In: Quirk, R (ed.), The linguist and the English language, Edward Arnold, London 22 Robson, C (1993), Real world research, A resource for social scientists and practitioner-researchers, Oxford: Blackwell 23 Rubin, J., & Thomson, I (1994), How to be a more successful language learner: Toward learner autonomy (2nd edition), Boston: Heinle & Heinle 24 Schmitt, N (1997), Vocabulary learning strategies, In N Schmitt, & M Mc Carthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, acquisition, and pedagogy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 25 Schmitt, N., & M McCarthy, (2000), Vocabulary in language teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 26 Soars, L., & Soars, J (2000), New Headway Pre-Intermediate, Oxford: Oxford University Press 27 Taylor, A., & Malarcher, C (2006), Starter TOEIC: Building TOEIC testtaking skill, Tokyo: Compass Publishing 28 Taylor, L (1990), Teaching and learning vocabulary, London: Prentice Hall 29 Tick, A (2009), “The MILES military English learning system pilot project”, 2009 IEEE 7th International conference on computational cybernetics 30 Thornburry, S (2002), How to teach vocabulary, Harlow: Longman 31 Ur, P (1996), A course in language teaching: practice and theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 32 Wallace, M (1982), Teaching vocabulary, London: Heinemann Education Books 33 Wilkins, D A (1972), Linguistics in language teaching, London: Edward Arnold 34 Weinstein, C., & Mayey, R (1986) The teaching of learning strategies In M.C Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.) New York: Macmillan APPENDIXES APPENDIX (Vietnamese Version of Questionnaire) PHIẾU CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT VỀ CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH Phiếu khảo sát thiết kế nhằm nghiên cứu chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng anh chuyên ngành sinh viên năm thứ trường sĩ quan kỹ thuật quân Tất câu trả lời phiếu khảo sát bạn hoàn tồn bảo mật khơng dùng cho mục đích khác ngồi mục đích nghiên cứu Tất phiếu hỏi xử lý theo ngun tắc khuyết danh (khơng có tên người trả lời) Mong bạn trả lời TẤT CẢ câu hỏi phiếu khảo sát vui lòng KHƠNG thảo luận với người xung quanh Xin chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác bạn! Phần I Thông tin cá nhân Lớp: Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? …………… năm Phần II Thái độ học viên chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Mục đích phần khảo sát để tìm hiểu thái độ học viên chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành quân Khoanh tròn đáp án bạn cho phù hợp Theo bạn chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành quan trọng mục đích học tiếng Anh bạn? A Rất quan trọng B Quan trọng C Khá quan trọng D Không quan trọng E Không cần thiết Bạn tự đánh giá vốn từ vựng tiếng Anh quân là: A Rất phong phú B Phong phú C Bình thường D Hạn chế E Rất hạn chế Bạn đánh giá học từ vựng tiếng Anh quân lớp : A Rất sôi hiệu B Sôi hiệu C Bình thường D Buồn chán khơng hiệu E Rất buồn chán không hiệu Phần III Việc áp dụng chiến lược học từ vựng học viên Mục đích phần khảo sát để tìm hiểu chiến lược bạn dùng để học từ vựng tiếng Anh chuyên ngành Vui lòng đánh dấu (√) vào thích hợp (chỉ chọn ô với bạn nhất) (1): Luôn (2): Thường xuyên (4): Hiếm (5): Không (3): Thỉnh thoảng (1) (2) (3) (4) Phân tích từ loại, phụ tố gốc từ Không Sử dụng từ điển Anh Việt Hiếm Thỉnh thoảng Đoán nghĩa từ dựa vào ngữ cảnh Thường xuyên Luôn Luôn STT Chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng anh quân (5) (1) (2) (3) (4) Học từ hoạt động theo nhóm lớp 10 Học thực hành từ với bạn bè chủ đề liên quan 11 Học từ cách gắn liền với từ đồng nghĩa trái nghĩa 12 Học từ cách liên hệ với kinh nghiệm thân 13 Nhóm từ theo nhóm từ loại chủ đề để học 14 Đặt câu với từ học 15 Nói to từ học 16 Học cách viết cách phát âm từ 17 Đọc to từ nhiều lần 18 Viết từ nhiều lần 19 Ghi chép từ lớp 20 Học từ phần từ vựng giáo trình 21 Dán từ tiếng Anh quân lên đồ vật xung quanh 22 Làm sổ ghi chép từ 23 Học từ qua phương tiện truyền thông tiếng Anh (bài hát, phim ảnh, tin tức ) 24 Tự đánh giá trình độ thân qua kiểm tra từ vựng Không Nhờ giáo viên bạn dịch từ sang tiếng Việt Hiếm Thỉnh thoảng Phân tích tranh ảnh cử minh họa Thường xuyên Luôn Luôn STT Chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng anh quân (5) (1) (2) (3) (4) Không Dành thời gian học từ ngày Hiếm 26 Thỉnh thoảng Bỏ qua từ Thường xuyên 25 Luôn Luôn STT Chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng anh quân (5) Phần IV: Các ý kiến, đề xuất khác Bạn có sử dụng chiến lược khác chiến lược phiếu khảosát không? Bạn có đề xuất với giáo viên dạy tiếng Anh quân lớp để giúp bạn cải thiện việc học từ vựng không? CẢM ƠN BẠN ĐÃ HỢP TÁC! APPENDIX2 (English Version of Questionnaire) SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE ON MILITARY ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES This questionnaire was designed to investigate the vocabulary learning strategies employed by the third- year cadets at College of Military Technical Officers All of your responses to this questionnaire will be kept totally confidential, and they will not be used for any other purposes but the only purpose of research All of the information in your responses will be handled under the “No name” principle Please give your answers to ALL of the questions in the questionnaire and DO NOT discuss any of the questions with your friends Thank you very much for your cooperation! Part I: General information Class: How long have you learnt English? ……………years Part II: Cadets’ attitudes to military English vocabulary learning strategies The aim of this section is to find out what is cadets’ attitude to military English vocabulary learning strategies Circle the most suitable option Question In your opinion, how important are military English vocabulary learning strategies to your purpose for English learning? A Very important B Important C A little important D Not important E Not important at all Question Your self-assessment of military English vocabulary stock is A Very rich B Rich C Normal D Limited E Very limited Question You evaluate the military English vocabulary lessons as: A Very lively and effective B lively and effective C Normal D Boring and ineffective E Very boring and ineffective Part III: Cadets’ employment of military English vocabulary learning strategies The aim of this section is to find out what strategies you used to learn military English words Please tick (√) in an appropriate box (tick ONLY ONE that is true of you most) 1- Never 2- Rarely 3- Sometimes 4- Usually 5- Always (1) (2) (3) (4) Analyzing part of speech, affixes and roots Analyzing any available pictures or gestures Asking teachers/classmates for meaning Always Using an English- Vietnamese dictionary Usually Sometimes Guessing its meaning from the context Rarely Never STT Military English vocabulary learning strategies (5) (1) (2) (3) (4) Studying and practicing with classmates about related topics 11 Associating the word with its synonyms and antonyms 12 Connecting word to a personal experience 13 Putting words in certain groups/ topics 14 Making sentences with new words 15 Reading the words aloud when studying 16 Studying the spelling and sound of new words 17 Reading new words repeatedly 18 Writing down new words repeatedly 19 Taking notes in class 20 Using the vocabulary section in your textbook 21 Putting military English labels on physical objects 22 Keeping a vocabulary notebook 23 Using English-language media movies, newscasts, etc.) 24 Testing oneself with word tests 25 Skipping or passing new words 26 Revising new words regulary (songs, Always 10 Usually activities in class Sometimes Discovering new words through group work Rarely Never STT Military English vocabulary learning strategies (5) Part IV: Other comments and recommendations Do you use any other strategies that are not mentioned in the questionnaire above? Do you have any recommendations to your English teacher in class to help you improve your military English vocabulary learning? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR COOPERATION! APPENDIX INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Em cho biết khó khăn mà gặp phải học từ gì? Theo em đâu giải pháp cho vấn đề đó? Bạn có thường xuyên sử dụng chiến thuật học từ vựng tiếng anh chuyên ngành hay không? Những chiến thuật bạn thường sử dụng học từ vựng tiếng anh chuyên ngành? What are the difficulties that you face in learning new words? What kind of solutions you suggest to the problem? Do you often use vocabulary strategies in learning military vocabulary? What vocabulary strategies you often use in learning military vocabulary?
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