Effective strategies for teaching and learning vocabulary to improve reading comprehension in the toeic test

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY – HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION IN THE TOEIC TEST A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Supervisor ĐOÀN HUỆ DUNG, Ph.D Submitted by TRẦN VĂN DƯƠNG HO CHI MINH CITY, January 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality i Retention and use of the thesis ii Acknowledgements .iii Abstract iv Abbreviations v List of charts vi List of figures vii List of tables viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY 1.2 The aims of the study 1.3 Content and scope of the study 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 The organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Reading as a process of communication 2.2 Essential factors affecting reading comprehension 10 2.2.1 Factors related to the reader 10 2.2.1.1 Vocabulary knowledge 10 2.2.1.2 Grammatical and syntactic knowledge 11 2.2.1.3 Reading strategies / skills 12 2.2.1.4 Socio-cultural knowledge 14 2.2.1.5 Critical reading and thinking 15 2.2.2 Factors related to the text 16 2.2.2.1 The difficulty of topic 17 2.2.2.2 Styles 17 2.2.2.3 Cohesion and coherence 18 2.2.2.4 Organization of the text 19 2.3 The reciprocal relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension 22 2.3.1 The relationship between the writer and the reader 22 2.3.2 How can vocabulary learning improve reading comprehension? 24 2.3.3 How can reading enrich vocabulary? 26 2.4 The vocabulary acquisition 27 2.4.1 Receptive and productive vocabulary 28 2.4.2 On knowing a word 29 137 2.4.2.1 Written form 30 2.4.2.2 Spoken form 30 2.4.2.3 Word meaning 31 2.4.2.4 Meanings in context 32 2.4.2.5 Parts of speech and grammatical functions 33 2.4.2.6 Collocation 34 2.4.2.7 Vocabulary competence 35 2.5 Strategies in teaching and learning vocabulary 36 2.5.1 Discovery strategies 36 2.5.2 Consolidation strategies 37 2.6 Discovery strategies commonly used in reading classes 37 2.6.1 Teaching and learning from definitions 38 2.6.2 Using actions, objects, pictures or diagrams 38 2.6.3 Using L2-L1 translation 39 2.6.4 CONTEXT ANALYSIS 40 2.6.5 WORD STRUCTURE ANALYSIS 42 2.7 Some characteristics of reading materials in TOEIC tests 44 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research questions 46 3.2 Research design 47 3.3 The characteristics of the subjects 48 3.3.1 The first group of subjects 48 3.3.2 The second group of subjects 49 3.4 Instruments 50 3.4.1 Description of the questionnaires 50 3.4.1.1 The questionnaire for students before experimental teaching 50 3.4.1.2 The questionnaire for students after experimental teaching 51 3.4.1.3 The questionnaire for teachers 52 3.4.2 Observation 54 3.4.3 Discussions with colleagues 54 3.5 Data collection procedure 55 3.6 Assumptions 55 3.7 Teaching settings 56 3.8 Experimental teaching outline 57 3.8.1 The first group of strategies: CONTEXT ANALYSIS 57 3.8.1.1 What are context clues 58 3.8.1.2 Common types of context clues 58 137 3.8.1.3 Four-step strategy for inferring word meanings from context 64 3.8.2 The second group of strategies: WORD STRUCTURE ANALYSIS 66 3.8.2.1 Steps in word structure analysis 67 3.8.2.2 Some morphological concepts 67 3.8.2.3 Combination of the two groups of strategies 68 3.8.2.4 Roots 69 3.8.2.5 Prefixes 70 3.8.2.6 Suffixes 71 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Data analysis 73 4.1.1 The importance of reading comprehension 74 4.1.2 The students’ daily practice of reading and their self-assessment of reading ability 74 4.1.3 Factors affecting students’ reading comprehension 75 4.1.4 The reciprocal relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension 77 4.1.5 The students’ practice to enrich vocabulary 78 4.1.6 The students’ habitual strategies in determining the meaning of unfamiliar words 80 4.1.7 The teachers’ strategies in discovering the meaning of unfamiliar words 81 4.1.8 The students’ evaluation of the first group of strategies: context analysis (after experimental teaching) 82 4.1.9 The students’ awareness of the role and contribution of context to the meaning of a word 86 4.1.10 The students’ evaluation of the second group of strategies: word structure analysis (after experimental teaching) 87 4.1.11 The students’ evaluation of how the two groups of strategies contribute to their reading comprehension 89 4.2 Discussion of the findings 90 4.2.1 The role of vocabulary in reading comprehension 90 4.2.2 The reciprocal relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension 91 4.2.3 Effective strategies in discovering the meaning of unfamiliar words 92 4.2.4 Dealing with meanings through context analysis 92 4.2.5 Dealing with meaning through word structure analysis 93 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 Conclusion 95 137 5.2 Implications 97 5.2.1 Preliminary recommendations for teachers 97 5.2.2 What vocabulary items should be taught? 98 5.2.3 How to teach the two groups of discovery strategies? 99 5.2.4 Encouraging the students’ active role 101 5.3 Recommendations for further research 102 BIBLIOGRAPHY 104 APPENDIX 1: Questionnaire for students before experimental teaching 114 APPENDIX 2: Questionnaire for students after experimental teaching 122 APPENDIX 3: Questionnaire for teachers 130 137 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION IN THE TOEIC TEST in terms of the Statement of Requirements for Thesis in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Masters’ Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Department of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City Ho Chi Minh City, January 15, 2008 TRẦN VĂN DƯƠNG 137 RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Trần Văn Dương, being candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for care, loan, and reproduction of theses Ho Chi Minh City, January 15, 2008 TRẦN VĂN DƯƠNG 137 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Doan Hue Dung, Ph.D., for her encouragement and enthusiastic guidance throughout the research Without her valuable support and careful review of the draft, I would not have finished my thesis I would like to acknowledge and express my appreciation for the assistance of the authorities at CFS, Nong Lam University, who have created good conditions so that I am able to carry out the experimental teaching successfully I am also indebted to the teachers and students at CFS, Nong Lam University, for their assistance in collecting the data for this study I am grateful to Mr Truong Hon Huy, M.A for his valuable opinions for the research project I would like to thank Professor Nguyen Thai Hop, Ph.D for his generous support without which I would hardly have been able to overcome difficulties to pursue my studies up to now Finally, thanks are also due to Mr Lam Van Sy, STh.D and my good friends whose support was a constant source of encouragement and confidence to me 137 ABSTRACT One of the most essential components of reading comprehension is vocabulary Readers’ vocabulary knowledge is the best indicator of how well they can understand They cannot well understand a text without knowing what most of the words mean (Anderson and Freebody, 1981; Nagy, 1988; Nation, 2001) Therefore, enriching vocabulary knowledge is an important part in teaching and learning L2 reading comprehension This study sets out to investigate how the two groups of discovery strategies: context analysis and word structure analysis can help the students improve their reading comprehension in TOEIC tests Three questionnaires were distributed to Vietnamese students of English at Nong Lam University, Center for Foreign Studies (CFS) and their teachers 206 students and 19 teachers participated in answering the questionnaires In addition, the two groups of strategies were incorporated into reading comprehension classes during the twelve-week experimental teaching at CFS, from March 19 to June 9, 2007 The results of the present study show that the two groups of strategies “context analysis” and “word structure analysis” are really effective to enrich the students’ vocabulary, and as a result, their reading comprehension is greatly improved The strategies are extremely useful for them in taking TOEIC tests, when external sources of help such as using dictionaries or asking other people for help are not allowed Some pedagogical implications were suggested for teaching vocabulary in reading classes, especially for teaching the two groups of strategies in TOEIC reading comprehension classes 137 ABBREVIATIONS CFS Center for Foreign Studies L1 First language L2 Second language EFL English as a Foreign Language Version Questionnaire for students before experimental teaching Version Questionnaire for students after experimental teaching Version Questionnaire for teachers 137 Theo kinh nghiệm anh/chị, yếu tố sau ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu anh chị nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút nhiều a) Từ vựng (Vocabulary knowledge) ( ( ( b) Ngữ pháp (Grammatical & syntactic knowledge) ( c) Kỹ đọc (Reading skills) _ ( ( ( ( ( d) Kiến thức văn hóa xã hội (socio-cultural knowledge) ( ( ( e) Khả đọc có phán đốn phê bình (Critical reading and thinking) ( f) Mức độ khó chủ đề (Difficulty of topic) _ ( g) Văn phong (Styles) ( ( ( ( ( ( ( h) Liên kết văn (Cohesion) ( i) Cấu trúc văn (Organization of the text) ( ( ( ( ( Theo kinh nghiệm anh/chị, vốn từ vựng hỗ trợ cho khả đọc hiểu anh chị mức độ nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) ( Chút ( Tương đối ( Khá nhiều ( Rất nhiều (0-25%) (25-50%) (50-75%) (75-100%) Theo kinh nghiệm anh/chị, việc thường xuyên đọc sách báo tài liệu tiếng Anh có giúp làm giàu vốn từ vựng anh chị không? ( Có ( Khơng Chiến lược khám phá ý nghĩa từ qua phân tích ngữ cảnh (context analysis) anh chị sử dụng khơng? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) ( Rất dễ ( Tương đối dễ ( Khó ( Rất khó Chiến lược khám phá ý nghĩa từ qua phân tích ngữ cảnh (context analysis) giúp anh/chị nâng cao kiến thức từ vựng nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) ( Chút ( Tương đối (0-25%) (25-50%) 137 ( Khá nhiều ( Rất nhiều (50-75%) (75-100%) Anh chị đánh giá mức độ hiệu sử dụng loại dấu hiệu ngữ cảnh (context clues) để đoán nghĩa từ (chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút a) Định nghĩa (Definition) _ b) Giải thích (Explanation) ( c) Từ đồng nghĩa (Synonym) _ d) Lặp lại nghĩa từ (Restatement) e) Từ trái nghĩa (Antonym) ( f) Ví dụ (Example) _ g) Chi tiết xung quanh (Surrounding details) ( ( nhiều ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Khi phân tích liên kết văn (cohesion) để tìm dấu hiệu ngữ cảnh (context clues), yếu tố sau hữu ích cho anh/chị nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút a) Quan hệ kết hợp (Collocation) _ ( b) Sự lặp lại (Reiteration) _ c) Quy chiếu (Reference) d) Sự thay (Substitution) _ e) Tỉnh lược (Ellipsis) ( f) Liên từ (Conjunction) _ nhiều ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Theo anh/chị, trình phân tích ngữ cảnh để tìm ý nghĩa từ có giúp anh chị ý thức (develop an awareness) vai trị đóng góp ngữ cảnh (the role and contribution of context) ý nghĩa từ khơng? ( Có ( Khơng 10 Chiến lược khám phá ý nghĩa từ qua phân tích cấu trúc từ (roots, prefixes, and suffixes) anh chị sử dụng khơng? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) ( Rất dễ ( Tương đối dễ ( Khó ( Rất khó 11 Chiến lược khám phá ý nghĩa từ qua phân tích cấu trúc từ (roots, prefixes and suffixes) giúp anh/chị nâng cao kiến thức từ vựng nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) 137 ( Chút ( Tương đối ( Khá nhiều ( Rất nhiều (0-25%) (25-50%) (50-75%) (75-100%) 12 Khi tham dự kỳ thi TOEIC, anh/chị không phép sử dụng từ điển hay công cụ tra cứu nào; vậy, chiến lược (strategies) khám phá ý nghĩa từ qua phân tích ngữ cảnh phân tích cấu trúc từ giúp tăng cường khả đọc hiểu anh/chị kỳ thi nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá) ( Chút ( Tương đối ( Khá nhiều ( Rất nhiều (0-25%) (25-50%) (50-75%) (75-100%) - Chân thành cám ơn giúp đỡ bạn! 137 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS AFTER EXPERIMENTAL TEACHING Dear students, The aim of this questionnaire is to collect data for my thesis Please, take time to complete it Your answers are very important and strongly influence on the success of my study, and they will be used only for my study without exception Thank you for your help I PERSONAL INFORMATION Age: ( < 18 ( 18-25 ( 26-30 ( 31-40 ( > 40 Gender: ( Male ( Female Major at college: ………………………………….…………………………………………… ………………… Job (at the present time or in the future): …… ………………………………………… How long have you studied English at CFS, Nong Lam University? ( 1st course ( 2nd course ( 3rd course ( over courses Why you study English? (Please, put a check on your choice(s)) ( Communication ( Requirement of current or future job ( Overseas study ( Read materials in my major ( Read newspapers, listen to radio, watch TV ( Others: ………………………………………………………………… II SURVEY QUESTIONS Please, evaluate your reading abilities in English at the present time (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.): a) Speed: ( fast b) Comprehension: ( good c) Vocabulary: ( good d) Reading skills: ( good 137 ( slow ( not so good ( not so good ( not so good ( very slow ( poor ( poor ( poor In your experience, how much the following factors influence on your reading comprehension ability? (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much much very much a) Vocabulary knowledge ( ( b) Grammatical & syntactic knowledge _ ( c) Reading skills _( ( d) Socio-cultural knowledge ( e) Critical reading and thinking ( f) Difficulty of topic ( g) Styles _( ( h) Cohesion ( ( i) Organization of the text ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( In your experience, how much does your vocabulary knowledge support your reading comprehension? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Not much ( Not so much ( Quite much ( Very much (0-25%) (25-50%) (50-75%) (75-100%) In your experience, could reading newspapers, books, and materials in English help you to enrich your vocabulary knowledge? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Yes ( No The group of strategies to discover the meaning of unknown words through context analysis: is it easy to apply? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Very easy ( Easy ( Difficult ( Very difficult How much the strategies of context analysis help you to enrich your vocabulary? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Not much ( Not so much (0-25%) (25-50%) 137 ( Much ( Very much (50-75%) (75-100%) Please, evaluate the effectiveness of the following context clues which you use to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much a) Definition _ ( b) Explanation _ c) Synonym d) Restatement _ e) Antonym f) Example _ g) Surrounding details _ much very much ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( When you investigate cohesion to find out context clues, how much are the following factors useful for you? (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much a) Collocation _ ( b) Reiteration _ ( c) Reference _ ( d) Substitution _ ( e) Ellipsis _ ( f) Conjunction _ ( much very much ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( Does the process of context analysis help you develop an awareness of the role and contribution of context to the meaning of a word? ( Yes ( No 10 The group of strategies to discover the meaning of unknown words through word structure analysis (roots, prefixes, and suffixes): is it easy to apply? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Very easy ( Easy ( Difficult ( Very difficult 137 11 How much the strategies of word structure analysis help you to enrich your vocabulary? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Not much (0-25%) ( Not so much (25-50%) ( Much (50-75%) ( Very much (75-100%) 12 In TOEIC test, dictionaries and references are not allowed; thus, how much the strategies of context analysis and word structure analysis help you improve your reading comprehension in the test? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Not much (0-25%) ( Not so much (25-50%) ( Much (50-75%) ( Very much (75-100%) Thank you for taking time to complete the questionnaire! 137 APPENDIX PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO GIÁO VIÊN Kính thưa q thầy cơ, Bảng câu hỏi nhằm thu thập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu Xin q thầy / vui lịng dành chút thời gian quý báu trả lời câu hỏi Câu trả lời thầy / cô quan trọng thành công đề tài Tất câu trả lời sử dụng vào mục đích nghiên cứu khơng nhằm mục đích khác Chân thành cảm ơn giúp đỡ thầy / I THƠNG TIN CÁ NHÂN Tuổi: ( < 30 Giới tính: ( Nam ( 31-40 ( > 40 ( Nữ Trình độ chuyên môn: Nơi đào tạo: ( ĐH ( Sau ĐH ( Thạc sĩ ( Tiến sĩ ( Trong nước ( Ngoài nước ( Liên kết đào tạo nước Số năm công tác giảng dạy bô môn tiếng Anh: ( < năm( 1-5 năm ( 5-10 năm ( > 10 năm II CÂU HỎI NGHIÊN CỨU Theo thầy/cô, yếu tố sau ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu học viên nào? (đánh dấu x chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút nhiều a) Từ vựng (Vocabulary knowledge) ( ( ( b) Ngữ pháp (Grammatical & syntactic knowledge) ( ( ( c) Kỹ đọc (Reading skills) _ ( ( ( d) Kiến thức văn hóa xã hội (socio-cultural knowledge) _ ( e) Khả đọc có phán đốn phê bình (Critical reading and thinking) _ ( ( ( ( ( f) Mức độ khó chủ đề (Difficulty of topic) _ ( ( g) Văn phong (Styles) ( ( ( ( h) Liên kết văn (Cohesion) ( ( ( i) Cấu trúc văn (Organization of the text) ( 137 ( ( Theo thầy/cô, vốn từ vựng hỗ trợ cho khả đọc hiểu học viên mức độ nào? (đánh dấu x cho câu chọn) ( Chút ( Tương đối (0-25%) (25-50%) ( Khá nhiều ( Rất nhiều (50-75%) (75-100%) Theo thầy/cô, việc thường xuyên đọc sách báo tài liệu tiếng Anh có giúp làm giàu vốn từ vựng học viên khơng? ( Có ( Khơng Theo thầy/cô, dạy từ (trong môn đọc hiểu), cần phải giúp cho học viên nắm yếu tố nào? (đánh dấu x cho [những] chọn lựa thầy/cô) ( Chữ viết (Written form) ( Cách phát âm (Spoken form) ( Từ loại (Part of speech) ( Ý nghĩa (Meaning) ( Ý nghĩa ngữ cảnh (Meanings in context) ( Chức ngữ pháp (Grammatical functions) ( Quan hệ kết hợp (Collocation) ( Khả sử dụng từ (Vocabulary competence) Khi dạy từ cho học viên (trình độ trung cấp) lớp đọc hiểu (reading comprehension), thầy/cô thường sử dụng phương pháp nào? (đánh dấu x cho [những] chọn lựa thầy/cô) ( Cho định nghĩa Tiếng Anh (Definition in L2) ( Diễn giải nghĩa Tiếng Anh (Paraphrase in L2) ( Cho ý nghĩa Tiếng Việt (L2>L1 translation) ( Phương pháp khác (xin nêu _ rõ) Có nhiều cách để học viên biết ý nghĩa từ mới, theo thầy/cô, số cách đây, cách hữu ích cho học viên? (đánh dấu x cho [những] chọn lựa thầy/cô) ( Sử dụng từ điển song ngữ Anh–Việt (Bilingual dictionary) ( Sử dụng từ điển đơn ngữ Anh–Anh (Monolingual dictionary) ( Đoán nghĩa từ nhờ phân tích ngơn cảnh (Context analysis) ( Phân tích cấu trúc từ (Affixes and roots) ( Hỏi bạn bè (Ask classmates for meanings) ( Làm việc nhóm để tìm ý nghĩa từ (Group work activity) ( Học viên xin thầy cô cho nghĩa Tiếng Việt (L2>L1 translation) ( Học viên xin thầy cô diễn giải Tiếng Anh (paraphrase) cho từ đồng nghĩa (synonym) 137 Khi tham dự kỳ thi TOEIC, học viên không phép sử dụng từ điển hay công cụ tra cứu nào, từ trước tới nay, thầy/cơ có cung cấp cho học viên chiến lược (strategies) để tự họ khám phá (hoặc đoán) ý nghĩa từ khơng? ( Có ( Khơng Nếu có số chiến lược (strategies) sau đây, chiến lược thầy cô nói tới nhiều nhất? (trả lời theo thứ tự ưu tiên giảm dần, ví dụ: = ưu tiên nhất,… = ưu tiên nhất) Phân tích cấu trúc từ (Affixes and roots) Phân tích ngữ cảnh (Context analysis) Phân tích từ loại (Analyze part of speech) Phân tích hình ảnh dấu hiệu (Analyze available pictures or signs) Chiến lược khác (xin nêu rõ) Theo thầy/cô, chiến lược học viên dễ áp dụng hiệu nhất? (trả lời theo thứ tự ưu tiên giảm dần, ví dụ: = ưu tiên nhất,… = ưu tiên nhất): Phân tích cấu trúc từ (Affixes and roots) Phân tích ngơn cảnh (Context analysis) Phân tích từ loại (Analyze part of speech) Phân tích hình ảnh dấu hiệu (Analyze available pictures or signs) Chiến lược khác (xin nêu rõ) 10 Thầy/cô đánh giá mức độ hiệu sử dụng loại manh mối ngữ cảnh (context clues) để đoán nghĩa từ (chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút a) Định nghĩa (Definition) _ b) Giải thích (Explanation) ( c) Từ đồng nghĩa (Synonym) _ d) Lặp lại nghĩa từ (Restatement) e) Từ trái nghĩa (Antonym) ( f) Ví dụ (Example) _ g) Chi tiết xung quanh (Surrounding details) ( 137 nhiều ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( 11 Theo thầy/cơ, phân tích liên kết văn (cohesion) để tìm manh mối ngữ cảnh (context clues), yếu tố sau hữu ích cho học viên nào? (chọn mức độ đánh giá cho mục a, b, c,…) chút nhiều a) Quan hệ kết hợp (Collocation) _ ( b) Sự lặp lại (Reiteration) _ c) Quy chiếu (Reference) d) Sự thay (Substitution) _ e) Tỉnh lược (Ellipsis) ( f) Liên từ (Conjunction) _ ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( 12 Ngoài lớp, đâu hoạt động thầy/cơ khuyến khích học viên luyện tập để làm giàu vốn từ vựng phát triển kỹ từ vựng họ? (đánh dấu x cho [những] chọn lựa thầy/cô) ( Liệt kê danh sách từ (word list) gắng học thuộc lòng nghĩa từ (rote memorization) ( Đọc lớn tiếng nhiều lần (say new word aloud: spoken repetition) ( Viết viết lại giấy nhiều lần (written repetition) ( Học từ ngôn cảnh cụ thể (word in context) ( Học thuộc từ gia đình (word family) ( Vẽ mạng từ vựng (word web) từ có liên hệ ( Sử dụng từ học giao tiếp hàng ngày ( Đọc sách báo tài liệu thường xuyên ( Hoạt động khác (xin nêu rõ): Chân thành cám ơn giúp đỡ thầy / cô ! 137 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS The aim of this questionnaire is to collect data for my thesis We would like to ask you to complete it with relevant information This information is very important and strongly influences on the success of my study It will be used only for my study without exception Thank you for your help and feedback I PERSONAL INFORMATION Age: Gender: ( < 30 ( Male ( 31-40 ( > 40 ( Female Educational background: ( BA ( DIP ( MA ( Ph.D Training place: ( Viet Nam ( Overseas ( Co-operational training in Viet Nam Years of teaching experience: ( < year ( 1-5 years ( 5-10 years ( > 10 years II SURVEY QUESTIONS In your opinion, how much the following factors influence on your learners’ reading comprehension ability? (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much much very much a) Vocabulary knowledge _ ( ( ( b) Grammatical & syntactic knowledge ( ( ( c) Reading skills ( ( ( d) Socio-cultural knowledge ( ( ( e) Critical reading and thinking ( ( ( f) Difficulty of topic _ ( ( ( g) Styles ( ( ( h) Cohesion _ ( ( ( i) Organization of the text ( ( ( 137 In your opinion, how much does vocabulary knowledge support your learners’ reading comprehension? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Not much ( Not so much ( Quite much ( Very much (0-25%) (25-50%) (50-75%) (75-100%) In your opinion, could reading newspapers and books in English help your learners to enrich their vocabulary knowledge? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Yes ( No When you teach a new vocabulary item to your learners (in a reading comprehension classroom), which of the following factors must be taught? (Please, put a check on your choice(s)) ( Written form (spelling) ( Spoken form (pronunciation) ( Part of speech ( Meaning ( Meanings in context ( Grammatical functions ( Collocation ( Vocabulary competence When teaching a new word to your learners in a reading comprehension class, which of the following ways you usually use? (Please, put a check on your choice(s)) ( Give the definition in L2 ( Paraphrase in L2 ( L2>L1 translation ( Other _ ways: _ There are different ways to figure out the meaning of a new word Among the following ways, which one is helpful for your learners? ( Use a bilingual dictionary (English-Vietnamese) ( Use a monolingual dictionary (English-English) ( Guess the meaning through context analysis ( Analyze affixes and roots ( Ask classmates for meanings ( Group work activity to find out the meaning 137 ( Ask the teacher for L2>L1 translation ( Ask the teacher to paraphrase or to give a synonym In TOEIC test, dictionaries and references are not allowed; so far have you provided your students with some strategies which help them to discover the meaning of a new word themselves? (Please, put a check on your choice) ( Yes ( No If “yes”, among the following strategies, which one have you mentioned most? (Rank the following items from to 4; 1= most influential, 2=second influential, 3=third influential, 4=least influential) Word analysis (Affixes and roots) Context analysis Analyze part of speech Analyze available pictures or signs Other strategies: ………………………………………………………………………… ……………… In your opinion, among those strategies, which one is the most effective? (Rank the following items from to 4; 1= most effective, 2=second effective, 3=third effective, 4=least effective): Word analysis (Affixes and roots) Context analysis Analyze part of speech Analyze available pictures or signs Other strategies: ………………………………………………………………………… ……………… 10 Please, evaluate the effectiveness of the following context clues which can be used to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much a) Definition _ ( b) Explanation _ c) Synonym d) Restatement _ e) Antonym f) Example _ g) Surrounding details _ 137 much very much ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( 11 When you help your learners investigate cohesion to find out context clues, how much are the following factors useful for them? (Please, check a rate for each item a, b, c, etc.) not much a) Collocation _ ( b) Reiteration _ ( c) Reference _ ( d) Substitution _ ( e) Ellipsis _ ( f) Conjunction _ ( much very much ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( 12 What you usually ask your learners to outside the classroom in order to improve their vocabulary knowledge and their vocabulary skills? (Please, put a check on your choice(s)) ( Making a word list (rote memorization) ( Saying new words aloud (spoken repetition) ( Writing new words down many times (written repetition) ( Learning new words in particular context (word in context) ( Learning words in the same family (word family) ( Draw a word web ( Practicing new words in daily conversations ( Reading newspapers and other materials everyday Thank you for taking time to complete the questionnaire! 137 ... analysis” into a reading comprehension class to help students improve their reading comprehension; and 3) To suggest some implications for teaching and learning vocabulary in a TOEIC reading comprehension. .. stated in it Others make a distinction between reading ? ?the lines”, reading “between the lines”, and reading “beyond the lines.” The first refers to the literal meaning of the text, the second to inferred... STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING VOCABULARY TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION IN THE TOEIC TEST in terms of the Statement of Requirements for Thesis in Master’s Programs issued by the Higher Degree