Apology strategies in english by young vietnamese EFL learners and young americans

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN VÂN ANH APOLOGY STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH BY YOUNG VIETNAMESE EFL LEARNERS AND YOUNG AMERICANS (Chiến lược xin lỗi tiếng Anh người Việt học tiếng Anh người Mỹ) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201.02 HANOI – 2021 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN VÂN ANH APOLOGY STRATEGIES IN ENGLISH BY YOUNG VIETNAMESE EFL LEARNERS AND YOUNG AMERICANS (Chiến lược xin lỗi tiếng Anh người Việt học tiếng Anh người Mỹ) M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 8220201.02 Supervisor: Dr Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa HANOI – 2021 DECLARATION I certify that the work in this dissertation has been carried out by me to the best of my knowledge No part of this thesis was previously presented for another degree or diploma at this or any other institution Hanoi, November 2020 Signature Nguyễn Vân Anh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor – Dr Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa I am grateful to have been accepted as your student in this MA coursework program If it had not been for your precious guidance and continuous motivation, I might not accomplish this thesis I wholeheartedly appreciate and wish to thank all the American and Vietnamese respondents for their willingness to complete the data in the questionnaire, as long as attending the interview for the present study I from the bottom of my heart also would like to express my thanks to my family and friends for their devoted encouragement without which I would not be able to complete this study Hanoi, November 2020 Nguyễn Vân Anh ii ABSTRACT The present study “Apology strategies in English by young Vietnamese EFL learners and young Americans” investigates differences in the use of apology strategies between young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young American via a Discourse Completion Task questionnaire The questionnaire consists of fifteen situations with the contribution of forty informants whose age range is from 22 to 30 years old The exhaustive frameworks of apology strategies proposed by Holmes (1990) and Trosborg (1995) were the foundation for this study Findings reveal little disparity is seen between the two groups, as they used very similar apology strategies in the same contexts Among the strategies employed by the informants, giving an expression of apology was highly preferred to use along with other strategies Furthermore, a further interview with the attendance of three Vietnamese EFL learners and three Americans was conducted to dig in interviewees‟ comments about the questionnaire All interviewed Americans agree that to be more genuine, when giving apology, the nonnative speakers should explain for their offence The accomplishment of the thesis is hoped to serve as a useful source of reference for researchers in related fields, Vietnamese teachers and learners of English It is cemented by the important findings that incorporating culture into the teaching of English is inevitable The Vietnamese EFL learners, as a result, should be provided with both linguistic and cultural input iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS A Americans Ack An acknowledgement of responsibility Apo An offer of apology Bla Accepting the blame Con Concern for the hearer DCT Discourse Completion Task Des.Apo Recognizing hearer as deserving apology Ex.Apo Explicit expression of apology Exp An explanation or account For A request for forgiveness Lac.Int Expressing lack of intent Pro A promise of forbearance Reg An expression of regret Rep An offer of repair/redress Sel-Def Expressing self-deficiency Sit Situation Str Strategy V Vietnamese EFL Learners iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABRREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims and Objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significant of the study 1.6 Organisation of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Speech acts 2.1.1 Definition of speech acts 2.1.2 Classification of speech acts 2.2 Speech act of apology 2.2.1 Definition of apology 2.2.2 Apology strategies 10 2.2.3 Politeness 13 2.3 Previous studies about of speech act of apology 15 2.4 Summary 17 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Methods of the study 18 v 3.2 Theoretical framework 18 3.3 Participants 19 3.4 Instruments 20 3.4.1 Discourse completion task (DCT) 20 3.4.2 Interview 24 3.5 Data collection procedure 25 3.6 Summary 26 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 Main strategies and sub-strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 27 4.1.1 Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners 27 4.1.2 Main strategies by young Americans 28 4.1.3 Sub-strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 29 4.2 Sub-strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans in each situation 31 4.2.1 Sub-strategies in situation (Meeting) 31 4.2.2 Sub-strategies in situation (Salary) 32 4.2.3 Sub-strategies in situation (Zoo) 32 4.2.4 Sub-strategies in situation (Flashcards) 33 4.2.5 Sub-strategies in situation (Plagiarism) 34 4.2.6 Sub-strategies in situation (Book) 35 4.2.7 Sub-strategies in situation (Restaurant) 36 4.2.8 Sub-strategies in situation (Curfew) 37 4.2.9 Sub-strategies in situation (Stepping foot) 38 4.2.10 Sub-strategies in situation 10 (Camera) 38 4.2.11 Sub-strategies in situation 11 (Birthday) 39 vi 4.2.12 Sub-strategies in situation 12 (Vase) 40 4.2.13 Sub-strategies in situation 13 (Wrong size) 41 4.2.14 Sub-strategies in situation 14 (Shopping) 42 4.2.15 Sub-strategies in situation 15 (Lipstick) 43 4.3 Main apology strategies and sub-strategies distribution across situations 43 4.4 Answers of the interview across four questions 50 4.5 Summary 51 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 53 5.1 Recapitulation 53 5.2 Concluding remarks 54 5.3 Implications of the study 54 5.4 Limitations of the study 55 5.5 Recommendations for Further Studies 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE I APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND TRANSCRIPTS IV APPENDIX 3: RAW DATA XIII vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: Apology strategies categorized by Fraser (1981) 11 Table 2.2: Apology strategies categorized by Olshtain and Cohen (1983) 11 Table 2.3: Apology strategies categorized by Blum-Kulka, House and Kasper (1989) 12 Table 2.4: Apology strategies categorized by Holmes (1990) 12 Table 2.5: Apology strategies categorized by Trosborg (1995) 13 Table 3.1: Main strategies and sub-strategies 18 Table 3.2: Power and Distance in some situations 24 Table 4.1: Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners 27 Table 4.2: Main strategies by young Americans 28 Table 4.3: Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 28 Table 4.4: Sub-strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 30 Table 4.5: Sub-strategies in situation (Meeting) 31 Table 4.6: Sub-strategies in situation (Salary) 32 Table 4.7: Sub-strategies in situation (Zoo) 32 Table 4.8: Sub-strategies in situation (Flashcards) 33 Table 4.9: Sub-strategies in situation (Plagiarism) 34 Table 4.10: Sub-strategies in situation (Book) 35 Table 4.11: Sub-strategies in situation (Restaurant) 36 Table 4.12: Sub-strategies in situation (Curfew) 37 Table 4.13: Sub-strategies in situation (Stepping foot) 38 Table 4.14: Sub-strategies in situation 10 (Camera) 38 Table 4.15: Sub-strategies in situation 11 (Birthday) 39 viii APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed for the research on “Apology strategies in English by young Vietnamese ESL learners and young Americans” The purpose of this questionnaire is to find out what you would normally say in the situations listed below Your support of completing the following items is deeply appreciated Please feel free to genuinely complete the questionnaire, as all the information is kept private and for the research purpose only Part 1: Background information Instruction: Please complete the following with information about yourself: Gender: Male Female Age: Nationality: Highest level of education: Part 2: Questionnaire Instruction: Please read the situations below and write down the apology you would offer in a normal conversation No Situation You are a manager assistant You had to attend an important meeting with your boss in your partner‟s office at 8:00 am However, you arrived 15 minutes late, and your boss had to wait for you I What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are a manager in a small company You have promised to raise your staff‟s salary from this month on However, because of some undesirable situations, your company budget has been reduced and you cannot keep your promise What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You promised to take your daughter to the zoo this weekend However, you have an unexpected business trip and you cannot make it What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are an English teacher You promised to buy your students some flashcards for the upcoming vocabulary lesson However, you totally forgot it What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You copied some ideas from a published book for your final assignment without citing the source and when your lecturer found the ideas copied, she said you plagiarize What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are a freshman You borrowed a valuable book from a senior to prepare for your final exam However, after the exam, you found that the book was lost What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are a waiter in a five-star restaurant A customer ordered an ice-cream for dessert, but you bring him/her orange juice by mistake What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are a university student and living with your parents You asked them for permission to go out with your friends and promised to come back at 11:00 pm However, you returned home one hour late and your parents got angry What would you say to apologise? II ………………………………………………………………………………… You are a lecturer When going toward the elevator, you stepped on the foot of a student passing by you What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You borrowed an expensive camera from your close friend However, you 10 dropped it and broke it What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Your best friend and you have been together for over 15 years and you know each other very well This year, you forgot his/her birthday What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You are invited to one of your friends‟ party, and then you get drunk, you 12 accidentally broke his/her most favorite vase What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… You want to buy a pair of shoes online After purchasing, you realize that you 13 had ordered the wrong size You contact the shop owner to change the size What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… 14 Your neighbor knew you were going shopping and asked you to buy them some food and milk When you got home, you realized you completely forgot to buy those for them because you were so busy with the things in your shopping list What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… 15 You are a female customer When trying on a white blouse, you carelessly left your lipstick on the collar What would you say to apologise? ………………………………………………………………………………… III APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS AND TRANSCRIPTS I Interview questions After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? (For the Americans) Here are the answers from some Vietnamese EFL Learners Look at the same situation as yours and tell me: Do you think the apology strategy from Vietnamese EFL Learners appropriate in this situation? Do you feel it is sincere enough? Can you explain why you have that feeling? II Transcripts American interviewees - Interviewee 1: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: I answered this way because I‟m trying to explain what I would answer if I were in those situations How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: It will depend on the situations because I know in Vietnamese culture for example, being late to an important meeting can be quite disrespectful, but I don‟t find it particularly disrespectful IV With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: Definitely not If I was an employee, I would apologise more; while I was in the manager role, I would apologise less But, for example, when I was an employee looking for promotion or something, when I was late, that could affect my job in the future for being late, I would definitely apologise more in that situation I think I would say “I‟m sorry” and explain the situation of what had happened, so if there was a reason for me being late, it may be it was the traffic or, I don‟t know, car problems or something like that, just explain why I was late and how it wouldn‟t happen again And, um, kind of make a promise for the future However, I also think it‟s good to be honest So, if it was lateness because I‟d forgotten an appointment or if I had woken up late or something like that, I would also be honest in my apology, and just explain that was out of the character for me not usually late for things; and again, that wouldn‟t happen again, I would definitely be more apologetic to someone higher than me Interviewer: If you were a manager? Interviewee: I guess it would depend on the situation If it was my meeting that I was holding, or if it was something along with other people of the same level as me like the meeting of the managers, I would possibly just kind of end the situation and a quick “Oops, really sorry”, and then sit down Here are the answers from some Vietnamese EFL Learners Look at the same situation as yours and tell me: Do you think the apology strategy from Vietnamese EFL Learners appropriate in this situation? Do you feel it is sincere enough? Can you explain why you have that feeling? Interviewee: I think this one here explain a lot of the background, and, um definitely go over some honesty as I mentioned earlier, and seems that V you take the responsibilities for your action I think it‟s good But then, for example, “I sincerely apologise”, or something like that, I just think you could have done more I think having a reason behind your apology is good (Pointing to another answer) That‟s pretty much I would for this one as well, so I agree with this one (Pointing to a different answer) This one, um, “Sorry to let you down this time”, I think it‟s okay but then making the promise later on – this is quite a big promise to make And I think that they should be careful on what they say Cause I think you may let someone down again later on (Looking at another answer) Yeah I think this one is good as well: “Sorry for the inconvenience” Do you think that Vietnamese people tend to give a lot of reasons for their offence rather than the Americans? Interviewee: I think, again, it depends on the situations But I definitely found in my time here that Vietnamese people to be very apologetic Um, however, I‟ve heard a joke like “American people in particular are always saying sorry for things they have never done” So I think this time can be quite even Vietnamese people tend to give the concern for the hearer Is that right? Interviewee: Yea, I would say so Again, depending on possibly even generational, so maybe older people in Vietnam wouldn‟t that as much But I think maybe, um, kind of, like the younger generation, or like, kind of independent generation as well would definitely, I think would apologise more To me, it comes across that they try to earn respect from those older than them, or at a higher position than them, that could be whether more apologetic Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you VI - Interviewee 2: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: Of course there are also other ways to apologise in different situations, depends on the situation we are dealing with, and what it is about Always good to say “Sorry”, of course, if you feel something wrong; sometimes, if you nothing wrong You say “Sorry” just to smooth down the situation, and move on From America, we say “Sorry” a lot, even when we nothing wrong Just a polite thing to In situation for example, it will depend on the relationship with my boss, of course If I was new to the company, then I would have to apologise until he forgives me; otherwise I would get fired But if I work for the company for a long time, then maybe I have a better relationship with him, and maybe that‟s not a big deal “Hey, sorry bro, not gonna happen again”, that‟s it Depends on the situation and relationship you have with that person How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: None of them seems that serious But all of them wanted an apology We need to say “Sorry” because of the mistake made for somebody, but everything can be fixed as every problem has a solution Apologising is an easy way to start resolving my problem With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: No, I think if somebody has a higher status, it will depend on the job or the situation I guess If I‟m working on a super yacht, like a big boat, and the customers coming on the boat spending a lot of money, it‟s “Yes VII sir”, sorry for everything when I make the mistake no matter what, even if you don‟t feel sorry, you have to say “Sorry” because they‟re paying the money In terms of somebody who‟s lower than me, I would still apologise, but it wouldn‟t be the same tone or, I mean I would be more genuine if I apologise to somebody below me, I think I would mean it more I think I would be, I mean if somebody is higher than me, I‟m saying sorry because I have to If somebody is below me, I‟m gonna say sorry because I want to I did something wrong and I feel bad Here are the answers from some Vietnamese EFL Learners Look at the same situation as yours and tell me: Do you think the apology strategy from Vietnamese EFL Learners appropriate in this situation? Do you feel it is sincere enough? Can you explain why you have that feeling? Interviewee: Some are very short, like, just saying “I‟m sorry” Sometimes it‟s not enough, and it doesn‟t seem so genuine If I did something wrong and I just say “Sorry”, maybe they are not gonna believe me It‟s not a genuine apology Sometimes just to give the reasoning to why you are sorry and what‟s gonna happen to prevent it happening again, or to stop the mistake Kind of like a promise “Not gonna happen again” Depends on the situation, like, for the daughter “I have to go on the business trip”, I can‟t promise “It‟s not gonna happen again”, because work is work But I would promise to make it up to her, to go to somewhere else maybe Depends on the situation, but sometimes just saying “Sorry” is not enough Have to explain why and maybe have a promise to why you are not gonna it again Do you usually give the concern to the hearer? Interviewee: Yes, I mean usually when you are apologizing you will it because you are really mean it Make sure they are okay with it, and I mean if you say sorry, like giving a solution, that‟s also asking “Is it a great thing to VIII do?”, “What can we to make you feel better?”, “Sorry I didn‟t mean it, are you okay? What can we to fix it?”, etc Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you - Interviewee 3: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: There may be certain ways to different apologies, but mine will still be the same, I think How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: The one about the girl and the zoo may be not that too important, maybe or out of 10 With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: I‟ll try to keep it the same I mean it‟s good to be nice to your boss, but I‟ll say the same things to somebody who is worth with Social status does not make my apologies different I won‟t treat you different because you are my boss I will treat you the same like my co-workers Here are the answers from some Vietnamese EFL Learners Look at the same situation as yours and tell me: Do you think the apology strategy from Vietnamese EFL Learners appropriate in this situation? Do you feel it is sincere enough? Can you explain why you have that feeling? Interviewee: I would say most of them are quite appropriate This one is quite sincere This one is quite ideal I would say this one is not sincere I mean when you say sorry, at least you should give some reasons Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you IX Vietnamese interviewees - Interviewee 1: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: I think that there are many ways to say sorry to the others I make mistake or I make any fault to them But depends on the situations and the serious levels of the situations, I decided to use some ways to say sorry to them; like to some people I just said sorry, but to the others, I say sorry, also I explained the reasons why I made that fault Or, also, maybe, if the situation is very serious, I may make a promise to compensate to them But in general, I wouldn‟t change the ways I apologized because I think they are my best ways How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: It depends Some situations are very serious, like I was late for the meeting which was an important meeting; or I lost my friend‟s book; or I plagiarized But some situations which have lower seriousness, like I broke the promise to my baby; I forgot the flashcards to my students, I just say sorry to them With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: I will have different ways to say sorry Like, if I was late for the date between I and my friends, I will just say “Sorry”, and maybe I would buy her something like a drink to make it up But if I was late for the meeting with my boss, I had to say “Sorry” in a really sincere way, explained the reasons, and made a promise that I wouldn‟t that again In a nutshell, I X will use more strategies to the people who have higher status than me Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you - Interviewee 2: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: The way I chose to apologize in each situation is the way that I think may sound the most honest and it‟s simple enough, not too complicated And I think it‟s honest, so they could understand and know what I think And yes, I think there are so many different ways to say sorry For example, in this situation when I was late for a meeting, I could say that “Please forgive me for being late I misremembered the date I thought it would be tomorrow, and please forgive my absentmindedness How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: What I feel about the seriousness of the offence depends on each situation For example in the case that I was late for the meeting, it is quite big because it affects my job and my career and even my boss was included, so the apology I‟ll be giving must be enough sincere, so they could forgive me With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: I think I‟ll change it if there was someone who has higher social status than me to persuade them But even when someone who is younger or has lower social status than me, I‟ll keep apologizing that way because I respect them Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you XI - Interviewee 3: Interviewer: After you have finished the DCT, would you mind answering me some further questions about the test? Why did you answer the questions the way you did? Are there any other ways to apologize in each situation? Interviewee: I believe the key to any apology is sincerity And I normally would feel more comfortable saying sorry and taking the responsibility rather than giving excuses Especially in meetings/ events where time is limited, I don‟t find it a good idea to keep explaining about my fault Any explanation (if valid) should be conducted after the meeting/ event finishes How you feel about the seriousness of the offence? Interviewee: I consider an honest apology is a must-take action in all mentioned scenarios As in these situations, my faults affect other people‟s benefits (my late show up keeps people in wait, my busy work takes away my daughter‟s joy, my plagiarism affects my academic performance credit, etc.), I would feel very bad about these offences With the same offence but different people who have higher or lower social status than you, you think you still apologize the same way as you did? Interviewee: I would very much appreciate it if people, regardless of their social status, express their apology in a sincere manner So yes, I will still apologize the same way as I did Interviewer: I think that‟s all Thank you XII APPENDIX 3: RAW DATA Table 4.20: Sub-strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans in 15 situations Str.A: Ex.Apo Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit Str.C: Ack Str.B: Str.D: Str.E Sel- Des Lac Apo Reg For Exp Bla Rep Pro : Con Def Apo Int N 20 V (N = 20) % 100 1 0 15 35 5 20 15 N 20 A (N = 20) % 100 0 13 0 0 0 65 0 0 30 N 16 V (N = 20) % 80 0 10 40 0 15 20 13 0 15 10 65 0 15 25 N 15 V (N = 20) % 75 0 13 40 0 45 65 N 16 A (N = 20) % 80 0 14 0 40 0 35 70 N 13 V (N = 20) % 65 10 10 30 15 25 50 N 12 A (N = 20) % 60 1 0 10 5 25 0 40 50 N 18 V (N = 20) % 90 25 30 10 15 35 25 N 17 A (N = 20) % 85 5 20 40 15 10 25 30 25 N 17 V (N = 20) % 85 1 17 0 10 15 5 85 N 17 A (N = 20) % 85 XIII N 18 A (N = 20) % 90 2 18 0 15 10 10 90 N 14 V (N = 20) % 70 1 17 5 10 15 10 85 N 19 A (N = 20) % 95 0 1 20 0 0 10 5 100 0 N 17 V (N = 20) % 85 11 1 0 55 10 5 45 N 18 A (N = 20) % 90 12 1 11 0 60 5 10 55 N 19 V (N = 20) % 95 3 0 15 15 10 0 45 N 19 A (N = 20) % 95 0 0 11 15 0 10 0 55 N 16 V (N = 20) % 80 18 0 10 15 10 20 90 0 N 16 A (N = 20) % 80 1 6 20 5 30 30 10 100 N 15 V (N = 20) % 75 1 14 0 40 5 70 0 N 14 A (N = 20) % 70 10 15 0 10 50 25 75 0 N 17 V (N = 20) % 85 3 14 0 15 35 15 15 70 0 N 14 A (N = 20) % 70 17 0 20 35 15 20 85 10 N 15 V Sit 13 (N = 20) % 75 18 0 1 90 0 5 10 A 0 17 0 1 Sit Sit Sit Sit 10 Sit 11 Sit 12 N 10 XIV Sit 14 Sit 15 (N = 20) % 50 0 85 15 0 10 5 N 15 V (N = 20) % 75 1 12 1 15 5 60 5 N 20 A (N = 20) % 100 0 10 0 2 0 50 0 45 10 10 N 14 V (N = 20) % 70 12 20 25 60 15 N 13 A (N = 20) % 65 1 10 5 10 25 50 XV ... 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 Main strategies and sub -strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 27 4.1.1 Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners. .. Main strategies by young Americans 28 4.1.3 Sub -strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans 29 4.2 Sub -strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young. .. Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners 27 Table 4.2: Main strategies by young Americans 28 Table 4.3: Main strategies by young Vietnamese EFL Learners and young Americans