Synonyms and their challenges for first year students at the english department university of languages and international studies vietnam national university

Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of languages and international studies Department of post-graduate studies Lý tó Synonyms and their challenges for first-year students at the English department, university of languages and international studies, Vietnam national university (Tõ ®ång nghÜa thách thức sinh viên năm thứ khoa Anh, Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại häc Quèc gia, Hµ Néi) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 HANOI, 2009 Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of languages and international studies Department of post-graduate studies Lý tó Synonyms and their challenges for first-year students at the English department, university of languages and international studies, Vietnam national university (Từ đồng nghĩa thách thức sinh viên năm thứ khoa Anh, Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia, Hà Nội) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Linguistics Code: 60.22.15 Supervisor: Dr Hà Cẩm Tâm HANOI, 2009 iii Table of contents Acknowledgement i Abstract ii Table of contents iii introduction 1 Rationale of the study………………………………………………………… Scope of the study……………………………………………………………… Aims of the study……………………………………………………………… Organization of the study……………………………………………………… DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: literature review 1.1 Overview of synonyms……………………………………………………… 1.1.1 Synonymy as a sense relation…………………………………………… 1.1.2 Definition of synonyms …………………………………………………… 1.1.3 Characteristics of synonyms ……………………………………………… 1.1.4 Classification of synonyms……………………………………………… 1.1.4.1 Absolute synonyms ………………………………………………… 1.1.4.2 Non-absolute synonyms……………………………………………… 1.1.4.3 1.2 Factors distinguishing synonyms …………………………………………… 1.2.1 Connotation……………………………………………………………… 1.2.2 Formality of the context…………………………………………………… 1.2.3 Collocation………………………………………………………………… 10 1.2.4 Denotation………………………………………………………………… 12 1.3 Componential analysis……………………………………………………… 14 Chapter 2: methodology 16 2.1 Research design……………………………………………………………… 16 2.1.1 Research questions………………………………………………………… 16 iv 2.1.2 Data collection instruments……………………………………………… 16 2.1.3 Informants………………………………………………………………… 17 2.1.4 Procedures………………………………………………………………… 17 2.2 Analytical framework………………………………………………………… 17 Chapter 3: Data analysis and discussions 3.1 Discussion of the results of the test ………………………………………… 19 3.1.1 Result of exercise 1………………………………………………… 19 3.1.2 Result of exercise 2………………………………………………… 25 3.1.3 Result of exercise 3………………………………………………… 28 3.1.4 Result of exercise 4………………………………………………… 30 3.2 Major findings………………………………………………………………… Conclusion 33 35 Concluding remarks………………………………………………………… 35 Implications of the study results……………………………………………… 36 Suggestions for further research…………………………………………… 38 introduction Rationale of the study: Synonyms exist in almost every language, including English English, as Howard Jackson states, is a language rich in pairs of synonyms These pairs (or groups) of synonyms give us various choices when we want to convey one and the same idea They make a language flexible and varied However, to choose the appropriate word among a group of synonyms for a specific situation is not simple If we can this, we may feel absolutely satisfied because we have expressed ourselves not only correctly but also lively and emotionally We can create a mental picture for the reader by using words that are specific and accurate Thank to this, our utterances or sentences are very persuasive and appealing to readers or listeners On the contrary, if the word we use is not suitable, we may feel embarrassed and even uneasy This fact proves one thing that pairs or groups of synonyms are not substitutable in every situation Two words may be synonymous and equally appropriate for one context, but not so in another There are some underlying factors that make them different from one another Even native speakers, who are aware of these factors, sometimes find it hard to express themselves by not being able to choose the most suitable word An example in Vietnamese is that when a young girl wore a new orange T- shirt with the pattern of a butterfly on it, her mother liked it very much and wanted to pay a compliment to her However, she happened to find no words to say what she wanted to Her mind seemed to be empty, and she felt very confused She said to her daughter that “Thoa hơm có áo sặc sỡ thế!” Yet she was completely dissatisfied with her word choice because in Vietnamese “sặc sỡ” has a neutral, or sometimes rather negative sense, whereas her comment on her daughter‟s T- shirt was entirely positive After a while, a friend of the girl came and saw the T- shirt, she exclaimed: Ôi, ch cú cỏi ỏo tht l rc r! Then the girl‟s mother appeared to be released from her uneasiness and confusion now that she found the key to her problem of vocabulary “Rực rỡ” is exactly the word she wanted to use for her compliment, and that word gives an extremely different impression of how she felt about the T- shirt Therefore, using synonyms flexibly and effectively is really a challenge for students learning a foreign language First year students at English Department, College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University, have not learnt language theory, so a majority of them are not highly aware of the factors underlying a pair or a group of synonyms As a result, they make a lot of errors in using synonyms Nevertheless, these errors can be restricted and corrected if the students are warned about those factors That is why this study is carried out, to investigate the factors underlying the use of synonyms, and to help first year students to improve their use of synonyms in writing Scope of the study: This study is confined to English synonyms only It is not a contrastive analysis of synonyms, so Vietnamese synonyms are not mentioned They are just given as illustrations for the universal properties of synonyms Even within English synonyms, only several groups are investigated owing to the fact that the number of English synonyms is huge, and certainly a minor research can hardly cover all of them Once the study is developed, it can be seen that there are several factors underlying the use of synonyms; however, not all of these factors make synonyms become challenging to students, so only the factors that cause students to make errors are discussed in details The other factors are just listed for reference Although students at higher levels of English still make mistakes in using synonyms, only first year students are taken into consideration as they are appropriate subjects for the purpose of the study Aims of the study: This study is carried out to serve three major purposes: - To conduct an investigation into different aspects of English synonyms - To address the issue of using some specific groups of synonyms of first year students in English Department, College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University This is done by making the students to some tests Then their errors in the tests are picked up and examined for causes and sources - To provide some recommendations for preventative and curative measures to help improve first year students‟ use of synonyms Organization of the study: There are three main parts in this thesis The first part is INTRODUCTION in which the rationale, scope, aims, and design of the study are presented so that readers can have a general view of the thesis The second part of the thesis is DEVELOPMENT This part is sub-divided into three main chapters The first chapter deals with theoretical background and review of literature In this chapter, all the basic knowledge of synonyms, namely definition, characteristics, and classification are reviewed Chapter is about the methodology of the study It describes the research questions, informants, data collection instruments, and analytical framework Chapter 3, the backbone of the thesis, deals with data analysis and discussions This chapter mainly presents the errors in using synonyms by first year students and discusses their causes as well as suggests preventative and curative measures Through this last chapter, teachers and students may find useful methods to apply in their real teaching and learning The CONCLUSION part presents concluding remarks, implications for teaching and learning synonyms, and suggestions for further research development Chapter 1: literature review The knowledge of synonyms, factors distinguishing them, and the skill of componential analysis are required for identifying and analyzing first year students‟ errors in using synonyms Therefore, this chapter deals with the basic concepts and ideas to set the theoretical background for analyses which will be carried out later in this study There are different definitions and discussions on synonyms from various semanticists Some representatives are John Lyon, W Kreidler, Michael McCarthy, Norbert Schmitt, etc Their points of view on synonyms will be discussed and compared to establish a comprehensible and rich theoretical background that serves the purpose of the thesis 1.1 Overview of synonyms: 1.1.1 Synonymy - a sense relation: Sense relation is an internal meaning relation that holds between words within the vocabulary system of the language In other words, it is the paradigmatic relation, the relation between different words that might have been chosen on the „vertical‟ axis The most obvious sense relations are those of „sameness‟, „oppositeness‟, and „including‟ Such terms as synonymy, antonymy, and hyponymy are used to refer to these relations respectively So synonymy is a type of sense relation or lexical relation, a subject of semantics It is the relation of sameness that holds between two or more words Therefore, the matter of synonymy and the use of synonyms are mentioned in almost all books on semantics and vocabulary 1.1.2 Definition of synonyms: Many well- known linguists have given their own definitions of synonyms, mainly in their books of semantics or vocabulary Though the ideas are quite similar, they are expressed in different ways Charles W Kreidler (1998:97) writes about synonyms in his book Introducing English semantics According to him, synonymy is an instance of mutual entailment, and synonyms are instances of mutual hyponymy He takes the following example: (a) Jack is a seaman (b) Jack is a sailor Because the truth of (a) entails the truth of (b) and vice versa, and also the falsity of (a) entails the falsity of (b) and vice versa, seaman and sailor are synonyms Linguistic semantics with a famous representative, John Lyon, defines synonyms as “expressions with the same meaning” Similarly, Michael McCarthy (1997) says “synonymy means that two or more words have the same meaning.” He takes series of examples as begin and start, sofa and settee, below, beneath and under(neath), etc D.A Cruse (1986) in the book Lexical semantics states that synonyms are pairs or groups of lexical items bearing a special sort of semantic resemblance to one another Howard Jackson (2000:92) also mentions “sameness of meaning” that holds between two words when discussing synonyms So each linguist uses a different expression, but they all agree that synonyms are pairs or groups of words with the same meaning Only Lyon differs from other linguists in using the term “expressions” He makes clear this point by explaining that his definition does not restrict the relation of synonymy to lexemes, so lexically simple expressions may be synonymous to lexically complex expressions Denying this, Kreidler (1998:98) affirms that synonyms are typically single lexemes of the same weight Therefore, Mr Jenkins is our postman and Mr Jenkins is the person who delivers our mail may have the same meaning, but postman and the person who delivers our mail are not synonyms For the purpose of this study, synonyms are confined to lexemes, but not necessarily “single lexemes of the same weight”, and certainly they must be categorized as the same part of speech So, die, pass away and kick the bucket are considered members of a group of synonyms This will serve as a working tool in this thesis 1.1.3 Characteristics of synonyms: Two words are synonymous only when they are compatible with the same subjects For example, hard and difficult are synonyms when they are compatible with subject, so “Integral calculus is a hard subject” also means “Integral calculus is a difficult subject” However, while hard chair or hard knock is familiar, there are no such things as difficult chair and difficult knock This is to say that synonyms have different ranges of compatibility, the ranges overlap but they are not co-extensive Another characteristic of synonyms is that the bridging rule is not applicable for them, i.e the fact that A is synonymous with B and A is synonymous with C does not necessarily means that B is synonymous with C Thus, funny is synonymous with humorous when compatible with story, and funny is synonymous with peculiar when compatible with feeling, but humorous and peculiar are not synonyms Funny story = humorous story } humorous # peculiar Funny feeling = peculiar feeling 1.1.4 Classification of synonyms: 1.1.4.1 Absolute synonyms: “Absolute synonyms” is the term John Lyon used for pairs or groups of synonyms that can be substituted for one another in any given context, whereas Jackson (2000) would rather call this „strict synonyms‟ In this research, these two terms are used interchangeably Lyon establishes a set of three criteria to assess whether a pair of synonyms is absolute or not (i) all their meanings are identical (ii) they are synonymous in all contexts (their collocational ranges are identical) (iii) they are semantically equivalent (their meaning or meanings are identical) on all dimensions of meaning, descriptive or non-descriptive) More simply, Jackson states that the choice between strict synonyms would have no effect on the meaning, style or connotation of what was being said or written Cruse also makes a short explanation of absolute synonyms with the condition that all their contextual relations are identical Although many linguists mention absolute synonyms and classified them as one type of synonyms, they all agree that this type of synonyms is really rare Some linguists even argue that absolute synonyms not exist If they do, it is only when semantic change is taking place This means that when two words appear to become strict synonyms, either of them will change its meaning or fallen out of use Jackson takes sky and heaven as an example At first, these two words denoted both the physical firmament and the spiritual realm of God and the angels Then sky came to denote just the physical, and heaven just the spiritual 29 Justification for the comparatively good result of this exercise may be that it is quite easy to find connotative meaning of words in the dictionary Special shades of meaning of words are often explained as part of its meaning Words with derogative meaning are also noted in the dictionary Moreover, Vietnamese learners traditionally learn the meaning of words through translation Fortunately, the translation into Vietnamese still keeps the shade of meaning that the target word conveys In other words, there is an L1 equivalent for the L2 word, so the learners can base themselves on the connotation of their native word to guess the connotation of the target word The closer the translation into L1 is to the word in L2, the easier it is for the learners to guess On the other hand, if the translation into L1 does not convey the original meaning of the L2 word, it will be really challenging The pairs of synonyms in questions 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 seem not to be challenging to the students Among 60 students, a number of 40 (67%) students upwards had the correct answers to these questions Especially in questions 3, 5, and 10, the number of correct answers was big, from 52 to 54 This result, as analyzed above, is due to the closeness in the implied meanings between two languages Nonetheless, the number of correct answers decreases in accordance with the reduction in clarity of the shade of meaning When an L2 word is translated into an L1 word with neutral connotation, it will cause trouble for the students, even though in L2 it has quite clear connotation, either positive or negative This is what happens in questions 1, 2, and In sentence 6, the lexical gap between two languages makes it hard to translate newfangled into Vietnamese and still keep its derogative connotation Its equivalent in Vietnamese is lạ, which cannot convey the idea of „objectionably new‟, because lạ is neutral in Vietnamese In question 8, the number of the correct answers is the least The trouble in this question is that propaganda may have positive or negative connotation depending on the situation in which it is used It is not predetermined to have either positive or negative meaning although its derogative meaning is used more often However, „tuyên truyền‟ in Vietnamese is quite neutral, so it is really challenging for the students in this sentence The following componential analysis will show the difference between propaganda and information: 30 Use language Ideas Often exaggerated Often as facts as tool or false passed on Propaganda + + Information + + + + It is evident that the translation itself can convey the original shade of meaning, except for question and 8, so it is not hard for the students to have the correct answers L1 words in question and convey neutral connotative meaning, so they are challenging to the students The incorrect answers in some other questions may be explained by new words, words that the students have not been familiar with However, it is surprising that there were still wrong answers to such questions as questions and 10 because the words in these questions are so familiar that when designing them, the researcher even anticipated that all the answers to them would be correct The students who have the wrong answer perhaps were thinking too hard and put themselves in unnecessary trouble What should be learned from the results of this exercise is that students should be cautious when they use a word which is translated into their L1 with neutral connotative meaning, especially in sensitive situations Learning words through translation is often regarded as a backward and ineffective way Personally, the researcher believes that any method of learning has its own advantages and disadvantage Translation, through the analysis of this exercise, proves to be useful for learning the connotative meaning of words Translated words usually still keep this type of word meanings Only when there are lexical gaps between two languages difficulties emerge However, the learner should always check again the meaning of a word in the target language in order to ensure that the word they want to use really means what they mean to say 3.1.4 Result of exercise 4: This exercise seems to be the most difficult and challenging for the students to It requires the students to find out the word which does not fit the context in each sentence It was the same context in all sentences, which was predetermined to be formal; thus, their task, in fact, was to point out informal or colloquial words that cannot be used in academic writings and replace them with a more suitable ones The exercise was sub-divided into two parts 31 Totally, there were ten sentences In the first four sentences, no hints were supplied The students had to seek the wrong words themselves However, in the last five sentences, the inappropriate words were printed in bold as clues for the students, so they just needed to replace the words to correct the sentences The results of this exercise were very astonishing Beyond the author‟s imagination, no student could give any correct answer to the first four sentences The author had anticipated before delivering the survey questionnaire that the students had got used to the formaility of the context, and even had practiced writing in different styles, namely formal and informal But this result proves that they had not Even though the words belonging to informal styles in the first four sentences are very popular, the students could not recognize them Following is the specific result of this exercise: Sentence Students’ substitution Inappropriate Correct answer words a lot of x a great deal of a bit x somewhat got together with x collaborated start x commence big great, large, considerable, remarkable, considerable massive, dramatic, enormous, sharp things appliances, devices, equipment, devices products, machines, materials stuff ingredients, materials, garbage, materials products, chemicals find out seek, know, explain, search figure out, for, realize, ascertain point out, determine, carry out, etc done again redone, made, spent, repeated, trained repeated again 10 got received received 32 In the last six sentences where there were hints for the students, the scores were much better; but remarkably, these scores were not based on a better understanding of the situation In fact, it seems that the students substituted the unsuitable words with any synonym they know, but not the synonyms whose formality that they were sure about It was certain that in such cases, coincidences would occur The synonyms the students know may incidentally coincide with the expected substitutions, so they had correct answers The author infers this because in sentences and 9, although the students could use different synonyms to replace the given words, most of those synonyms not meet the requirement of this exercise They have not been aware that two-word verbs belong to informal language, therefore, they replaced find out with point out and done again with trained again Besides, many of the substitutions they use are not suitable in terms of other factors such as denotation and collocation For example, enormous reduction or sharp reduction seem awkward collocations in English, know and carry out are not synonyms of find out, and done again is not similar in meaning with such words as made or spent Besides, the students used some words that sound odd to replace the given word Maybe they have not really understood the meanings of those words, or they may have stored the meanings of those words wrongly in their minds For instance, some students used considerate, considering, considered to replace big These students may have mistaken the different forms of the verb consider for considerable What can be inferred from this result is that the students are not really aware of the formality of the context They not recognize even the most popular informal words which should not be used in formal writing Therefore, raising awareness of this factor is absolutely necessary Moreover, the students should also be alert of the most popular colloquial or informal words so as to avoid using them in academic writing In general, to help the learner truly understand the meaning of words, the teacher needs to teach words in context According to Richards (1976), knowing a word means knowing how often it occurs (frequency), the accompany it keeps (collocation), its appropriateness in different situations (connotation and formality), its syntactic behavior, its underlying form and derivations, its word associations, and its semantic features It is highly unlikely that an L2 33 student will be able to grasp even one meaning sense of a word in one encounter, let alone all of the degrees of knowledge inherent in learning a word But as the student meets the word through variety of activities and in different contexts, a more accurate understanding of its meaning and use will develop Nation (1990: 43-5) indicates that various studies create a range of 5-16 encounters with a word in order for a student to truly acquire it Therefore, an important aspect of this gradual learning is that the instructor consciously cues reactivation of the vocabulary Teaching a word in context makes it easier for students‟ understanding and retention of the word The more vivid and authentic the context is, the better it is It is the fact that when we see something with our eyes, especially something striking, amazing, or even disgusting and terrible, we remember the event and related things easier We also retain it in our mind longer Due to this, teachers had better attach the teaching of the target word to some specific objects (as teaching tools), or make up some situations in which the use of the target word takes place For example, when distinguishing dramatic or colorful from flamboyant, the teacher can show the picture of a room decorated and painted in two different ways, then attach each word to each picture to show different connotations the two words convey 3.2 Major findings: Basing on the results of the test, which were carefully analyzed in , the researcher has reached the following major findings Firstly, first year students make a large number of errors in using synonyms Their errors are mostly using synonyms with inaccurate denotation, unsuitable connotation, wrong collocation, and inappropriate formality Secondly, the cause of their errors is determined to be the unawareness that synonymous words are different from one another in some aspect, and cannot be substitutable in all contexts When they have to choose a word out of a pair or a group of synonyms to fit a given context, the students not base themselves on such factors as denotation, connotation, and collocational ranges of the words, and the formality of the context They have not had the fundamental knowledge of the meaning of words They seem to depend mostly on their 34 intuition, or their recognition of familiar phrases, or sometimes on the translation into their mother tongue In this way, only good lucks can help them have the correct answer Another finding is that among the four factors distinguishing synonyms which are studied in this thesis, connotative meaning of words is not very troublesome to the students In contrast, collocational ranges of words and the formality of the context are really challenging to them The researcher proposes a possible explanation for this phenomenon that the connotative meaning of a word is easier to find in dictionaries than the collocational ranges and the style of context in which the word is used Moreover, the translation into L1 can usually keep the shade of meaning of an L2 word, and so this type of meaning is easier for the students to acquire However, it seems pointless to base on the translation into L1 to learn the collocational ranges of a word or its style (used in formal or informal context) These factors are also scarcely informed in dictionaries Therefore, they are certainly problematic to any language learner Last but not least, the researcher, through the engagement into componential analysis, has recognized that knowledge of semantics is important and necessary for really acquiring a word Without a systematic theoretical background, the knowledge of word meanings become fragmental, and it is easy to lead to misunderstandings Therefore, the learner, at a particular stage of learning, needs to be equipped with the fundamental and systematic knowledge of word meanings so as to produce natural and effective language 35 conclusion Concluding remarks: In conclusion, the thesis has fulfilled the aims it proposed It has carried out an investigation into English synonyms Through this investigation, the most outstanding features of English synonyms have been presented including definition, characteristics, and classification Next, factors that distinguish synonyms are discovered They are denotation, connotation, formality, and collocation Componential analysis, a tool to analyze the meaning components of words, is also introduced, and it has been used as the analytical framework of the study The theoretical knowledge of English synonyms has helped the researcher implemented the analysis of the data, through which she has gained deep understanding of the common as well as the distinguishing features of some specific groups of synonyms Besides, it has proved to be useful in recognizing and classifying the errors in using synonyms that students at intermediate level usually make Their errors have been classified in terms of the factors distinguishing synonyms, and the cause of the errors has been determined to be the students‟ unawareness of those factors Semantic knowledge has also helped the researcher to make some suggestions to prevent and restrict the errors Some of those suggestions are based on the ideas of well-known linguists and scholars, so, hopefully, they will be useful for teachers and learners in their real teaching and learning However, due to the limited time and lack of materials as well as researching experience, the researcher has revealed several weaknesses in this thesis Firstly, the number of subjects is too small (only 60 students were studied), so the results may not represent the majority This is due to the fact that the researcher is not a teacher in the target college, but she is really interested in this problem As a result, she had to try her best to have her friends collect the data Despite this, not being a teacher in the college prevented her from getting a large amount of data, which can help make the result of the research more reliable Secondly, the researcher has not been able to make a comparison between English synonyms and Vietnamese synonyms, which is necessary for a better learning of universal semantic features of synonyms Lastly, synonyms are approached from the angle of word choice in this thesis 36 There are still other factors in word choice, which deserve to be studied but have not been done in this paper The researcher hopes that these shortcomings will be overcome in further research Implications of the study results: The most general implication of this study is that learning a word does not mean just learning its meaning, but more significantly learning how to use it correctly and effectively Choosing the best word out of a group of synonyms to fit a specific context is a proof that the learner has learned that word in a right way There may be some students, who have already been aware of the factors that distinguish synonyms, but to be aware of a problem does not mean that the problem could be solved immediately or easily It is just the necessary condition but not the sufficient condition Moreover, the aim of this thesis is to help students make not only accurate but also effective and appealing word choice As a result, the author really hopes that every student, good or not good, aware or unaware of the factors underlying synonyms, can find something useful in this part of the thesis With all the characteristics of synonyms analyzed in depth in chapter 1, and the errors of learners critically studied in chapter 2, the following lessons can be drawn out in order to aid teachers and students to work on synonyms more effectively Firstly, the teacher needs to raise students‟ awareness of the factors distinguishing synonyms A problem can only be solved when the people involved are aware of the reasons for it Now that the reasons for the errors in using synonyms have been discovered, they should be highlighted The students, when aware that there are factors underlying the use of synonyms, will be more careful and alert about using them Secondly, the teacher should teach words in context Teaching a word in context makes it easier for students‟ understanding and retention of the word The more vivid and authentic the context is, the better it is It is the fact that when we see something with our eyes, especially something striking, amazing, or even disgusting and terrible, we remember the event and related things easier We also retain it in our mind longer Due to this, teachers had better attach the teaching of the target word to some specific objects (as teaching tools), or 37 make up some situations in which the use of the target word takes place Nowadays, teaching words in context becomes easier with the aid of modern and advanced facilities such as computers and projectors These help provide the teacher with lively pictures and films, which are very useful in putting the learners in the context Thirdly, promoting a deep level of processing is a good way for teacher to teach meanings of words This idea is taken from Norbert Schmitt (1997), who claims that better learning will take place when a deeper level of semantic processing is required because the words are encoded with elaboration When students are asked to manipulate words, relate to other words and to their own experiences, and then to justify their choices, these words associations are reinforced Students need to be encouraged to think aloud, give reasons for their word choices, and to extend their learning of the world outside the classroom, for example report when they encounter the word in the real world Fourthly, we have seen that componential analysis is very useful in learning the deep layers of word meaning, so the teacher are advised to help the learner to develop semantic feature analysis skill Channell (1981) argues for including semantic feature analysis, the analyzing of meaning components of words, in teaching and learning Such analysis has also been recommended for reviewing activities (Stieglitz, 1983) Another implication for the teacher is that he/she should supply elaborate feedback It is advisable for the teacher to use such specific terms as wrong collocation, inappropriate connotation, or formal or informal in the margin instead of just word choice For learners, the most significant implication of this study is that they have to be aware of the difference between synonymous words Their meanings only overlap but not totally coincide, so they are just substitutable in a given context, but not in every context When writing or speaking to a teacher, a learner should think as simply as possible Learners should bear in mind that the simplest word is the best word, and the shortest statement is often the most effective If they have to vary words in their productive language, the students should be careful so that they would not get lost during the process of substitution Each word listed as a synonym for the word they are using may have its own unique connotation or shade of meaning that makes it slightly different from the original word 38 Besides, learners certainly should enrich their vocabulary regularly by learning new words (or deepening the knowledge of already known words) in context through extensive listening and reading Suggestions for further research: The researcher is highly aware that the thesis has some shortcomings, which, to some extent, may affect the reliability of the research results She will try to avoid or overcome these weaknesses in further research All the comments on this thesis and recommendations for a better research in future are highly appreciated To bring this thesis to a higher level and deeper analysis, the following areas are suggested being investigated: - A similar research but with more subjects and more systematic test-items - A contrastive study on English synonyms and Vietnamese synonyms - A study on different aspect of word choice As choosing synonyms is just an aspect of word choice, there are other equally important aspects as well, and they deserve to be investigated into so as to help students improve their word choice in particular, and develop their writing skill in general 39 References English publications Aitchinson J (1987), Words in the Mind: An 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McCarthy M (1997), Vocabulary, Cambridge University Press 14 Nation I.S.P (1990), Teaching and learning vocabulary, New York, Newburry House 15 Nattinger J., DeCarrico J (1992), Lexical phrases and language teaching, Oxford University Press 16 Read J (2000), Assessing Vocabulary, Cambridge University Press 17 Saeed J I (1997, 2003), Semantics, Blackwell Publishing 40 18 Sagor R (1992), How to conduct collaborative action research, ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Alexandria, Virginia USA) 19 Schmitt N & McCarthy M (1997), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy, Cambridge University Press 20 Schmitt N (2000), Key Concepts in ELT: Lexical Chunks, ELT Journal Vol.54, No.4 21 Wallace M J (1998), Action research for language teachers, Cambridge University Press 22 Le Thanh Ha (2007), A study on English lexical collocations and their implications for English-Vietnamese translation, M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, College of Foreign Languages, Department of Post-Graduate Studies 23 Nguyen Hoa (2002), Understanding English Semantics, Vietnam National University Publishing 24 Nguyen Van Loi (1999), Causes of errors in written English of full-time Vietnamese students of English at the intermediate level, M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, College of Foreign Languages, Department of Post-Graduate Studies I Appendixes Mini test I Circle the best answer for the following sentences: The vase is definitely not _, but just a very good imitation A real B factual C genuine D true My passport last month, so I will have to get a new one A elapsed B expired C ended D terminated I’m sure they were lies! A telling B speaking C talking D saying She always the crossword in the paper before breakfast A makes B writes C does D works All his companies had been successful and he was known to be _ rich A absolutely B completely C extremely D thoroughly The main road through Salisbury was blocked for two hours today after an accident _ several vehicles A containing B connecting C involving D including I would be most grateful if you give me a _ of this new typewriter A demonstration B display C showing D manifestation If you walk along this lane, you will see a signpost to the beach A pointing B showing C directing D indicating By the age of twenty five, he had his ambition of becoming a pianist A reached B achieved C completed D obtained 10 Her divorce was a(n) _ experience for her and she still hasn’t fully recovered A stunning B shattering C staggering D amazing II Cross out any of the words in italics that not form common collocations with the words in bold: The president visited the affected region in the direct/ immediate aftermath of the hurricane A massive relief attempt/ effort is underway II The city was struck/ affected by an enormous/ massive earthquake shortly after midnight We have to do/ make/ write a vocabulary test every Friday He got full/ maximum/ top marks in the listening test She’s busy reviewing/ revising/ studying for her exam He suffers badly from exam nerves/stress/worries, which affects his concentration length/span/time I realized it was a one-direction/ one-way/ single-way street, so I had to carry out/ do/ make a U-turn She was banned/ disallowed/ disqualified from driving for a year 10 This car has a powerful/strong engine III Underline the words which give positive feeling or favorable attitude in each pair of synonyms in the following sentences: Sandra is thin/slender My inability to warm up to strangers is caused by shyness/standoffishness He is stubborn/determined not to make the same mistake as before Jane marries John because of his boyish charm/immaturity Dave is opinionated/strong-minded I always support your newfangled/up-to-date ideas Catherine is often curious/inquisitive about other people’s personal affairs They tried to change our minds by propaganda/information When my candidate makes slashing changes against the opposition, he is irresponsible/forthright 10 When my candidate reverses his mind after election, it proves he is open-minded/a man of no principle IV The following sentences appear in formal writing Identify the words or phrases that not fit the context and replace them with more suitable ones In the last six sentences, the problematic words or phrases are in bold With women especially, there is a lot of social pressure to conform to a certain physical shape III Significantly, even at this late date, Lautrec was considered a bit conservative by his peers Later Florey got together with Paul Fidles in an experimental study of the use of curare to relieve the intractable spasms which occur in fully developed infection with tetanus or lockjaw When a patient is admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit, the clinical team should avoid the temptation to start specific treatments immediately Therefore after six months the dieter is behaving according to all twenty-six goals and she has achieved a big reduction in sugar intake Modern houses have so many labour-saving things that it is difficult for the person at home to have adequate exercise by doing chores, cooking, and looking after a family Simply making the effort to reclaim this wasted stuff for fertilizer would have a positive effect on greenhouse releases Unfortunately, since there are so many possible explanations, the correct one is most difficult to find out These exercises can easily be incorporated into an exercise routine, with each exercise done again a number of times 10 Sarah has got 200 dollars as compensation for her injuries in the accident .. .Vietnam national university, Hanoi University of languages and international studies Department of post-graduate studies Lý tó Synonyms and their challenges for first- year students at the English. .. Causes of errors in written English of full-time Vietnamese students of English at the intermediate level, M.A thesis, Vietnam National University, College of Foreign Languages, Department of Post-Graduate... can base themselves on the connotation of their native word to guess the connotation of the target word The closer the translation into L1 is to the word in L2, the easier it is for the learners