4.1 Results from the vocabulary learning strategies questionnaire
4.1.2 Students’ vocabulary learning strategies
The first research question was to determine which VLS were commonly used by the students. The completed VLS questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS (version 26) after data collection. Descriptive statistics, such as means and standard deviations, of the five categories and their subdivisions, were used to describe the most and least frequently employed vocabulary learning strategies. To begin with, each category of vocabulary learning strategies with different individual items was analyzed.
Table 4.2. Descriptive statistics for Determination strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 DET 1 I use a dictionary
to check for meanings of new words.
158 3 5 4.57 .825
2 DET 6 I guess the
meaning of new
words from
context.
158 1 5 2.91 1.503
3 DET 4 I analyze the
affixes and roots of the new word.
158 1 5 2.86 1.375
4 DET 3 I analyze the part of speech of the new word.
158 1 5 2.78 1.245
5 DET 5 I analyze any
available pictures or gestures to guess the word.
158 1 2 1.51 .50
6 DET 2 I analyze the word by breaking it into sound segments.
158 1 4 1.38 1.00
25
Firstly, taking the determination strategies into consideration, it is crystal clear that among the six items of the strategies, item number 1, "I use a dictionary to check for meanings of new words" was the most frequently-used one, with a mean M = 4.57. The strategy item 6, "I guess the meaning of new words from context"
was the second most often used item, with a mean M=2.91, followed by the item number 4, "I analyze the affixes and roots of the new word" (M = 2.86). Students are less likely to use item number 3, "I analyze the part of speech of the new word"
(M = 2.78), item number 5, "I analyze any available pictures or gestures to guess the word" (M = 1.51), and item number 2, "I analyze the word by breaking it into sound segments" (M =1.38) very often.
Table 4.3. Descriptive statistics for Social strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 SOC 9 I ask my classmates
for the meanings of new words.
158 1 4 2.77 1.179
2 SOC 7 I ask my teacher to translate the words into Vietnamese.
158 1 3 1.87 .766
3 SOC 11 I know some new words when working in groups.
158 1 3 1.81 .577
4 SOC 8 I ask my teacher for
new word’s
synonym.
158 1 3 1.52 .804
5 SOC 10 I ask my teacher to put an unknown word into a sentence
to helpme
understand the word’s meaning.
158 1 4 1.37 .88
26
As is shown by table 4.3, item number 9 of the social strategies, "I ask my classmates for the meaning of the word" (M = 2.77), was applied most frequently by the students. Item number 7, "I ask my teacher to translate the words into Vietnamese" (M = 1.87) and item number 11, "I know some new words when working in groups" (M = 1.81) were used at a moderate frequency. Meanwhile, items number 8 and 10, "I ask my teacher for a new word’s synonym" (M = 1.52) and "I ask my teacher to put an unknown word into a sentence to help me understand the word's meaning" (M = 1.37) were mostly seldom used by the students.
Table 4.4. Descriptive statistics for Memory strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 MEM 19 I remember the new
word together with the context where the new word occurs.
158 1 5 2.92 1.441
2 MEM 18 I remember the
sentence in which the word is used.
158 1 5 2.60 .977
3 MEM 12 I remember words by doing group work activities in class
158 1 4 1.88 .926
4 MEM 13 I link the word to a visual image in my mind.
158 1 2 1.51 .502
5 MEM 17 I group words
together with storyline
158 1 4 1.38 1.001
6 MEM 16 I use sound and meaning
associations.
158 1 4 1.38 1.001
27 7 MEM 20 I try to use newly
learned words in imaginary situations in my mind.
158 1 4 1.37 .878
8 MEM 15 I link the word to a Vietnamese word with a similar sound.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
9 MEM 14 I link the word to another English word with a similar sound.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
It can be seen in table 4.4 that items number 19 and 18 of the memory strategies, which are "I remember the new word together with the context where the new word occurs" (M = 2.92) and "I remember the sentence in which the word is used" (M = 2.60) respectively, were sometimes employed by the students. Other items, including number 12, "I remember words by doing group work activities in class" (M = 1.88); number 13, "I link the word to a visual image in my mind" (M = 1.51); number 17, "I group words together with a storyline" (M = 1.38); number 16,
"I use sound and meaning associations" (M = 1.38) and number 20, "I try to use newly learned words in imaginary situations in my mind" (M = 1.37), were used less often. It is also noticeable that there are two items reported as never being used by students, which are number 15, "I link the word to a Vietnamese word with a similar sound" (M = 1.00) and number 14, "I link the word to another English word with a similar sound" (M = 1.00).
Table 4.5. Descriptive statistics for Cognitive strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 COG 24 I repeatedly write
the word.
158 1 5 3.04 1.024
2 COG 26 I write a new word on a flash card so I can remember it.
158 1 5 2.94 .949
28 3 COG 21 I repeatedly say the
word in my mind frequently.
158 1 2 1.23 .311
4 COG 25 I remember words by doing a project.
158 1 2 1.11 .43
5 COG 23 I repeatedly say the word aloud.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
6 COG 22 I repeatedly spell the word in my mind.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
As for cognitive strategies, the most frequently used item was item number 24, "I repeatedly write the word" (M = 3.04), followed by item number 26, "I write a new word on a flash card so I can remember it" (M = 2.94). Item numbers 21, "I repeatedly say the word in my mind frequently" (M = 1.23) and 25, "I remember words by doing a project" (M = 1.11) were used less frequently. The other two items, which are "I repeatedly say the word aloud" (M = 1.00) and "I repeatedly spell the word in my mind" (M = 1.00) were not used by any students.
Table 4.6. Descriptive statistics for Metacognitive strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation
1 MET 27 I listen to English songs and news.
158 1 4 2.15 1.060
2 MET 28 I do not worry very much about the difficult words found when reading or listening; I pass them.
158 1 3 1.54 .827
29 3 MET 30 I remember words
by doing dictations.
158 1 2 1.11 .31
4 MET 29 I use on-line
exercises to test my vocabulary
knowledge.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
Regarding the metacognitive strategies, item number 27, "I listen to English songs and news" (M = 2.15), was the most frequently used strategy, followed by item number 28, "I do not worry very much about the difficult words found when reading or listening; I pass them" (M = 1.54), and item number 30, "I remember words by doing dictations" (M = 1.1). No student used item number 29, "I use on- line exercises to test my vocabulary knowledge" (M = 1.00).
Table 4.7. Top 5 of the most frequently-used items in all five vocabulary learning strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 DET 1 I use a dictionary to
check for meanings of new words.
158 3 5 4.57 .825
2 COG 24 I repeatedly write the word.
158 1 5 3.04 1.024
3 COG 26 I write a new word on a flash card so I can remember it.
158 1 5 2.94 .949
4 SOC 9 I ask my classmates for the meanings of new words.
158 1 5 2.92 1.441
30 5 MEM 19 I remember the new
word together with the context where the new word occurs.
158 1 4 2.77 1.179
When it comes to the most and the least frequently used items in all five categories, Table 4.7 shows that the most frequently used items are spread across the three categories of vocabulary learning strategies, namely determination strategies (DET), cognitive strategies (COG), and memory strategies (MEM). The highest mean (M = 4.57) was achieved by strategy item 1, "I use a dictionary to check for meanings of new words." Item 24, "I repeatedly write the words" reached the second highest mean of 3.04, followed by using flash cards (Item 26; M = 2.94), asking classmates for meanings (Item 9; M = 2.92), and remembering the new words together with their contexts (Item 9; M = 2.77).
Table 4.8. Top 5 of the least frequently-used items in all five vocabulary learning strategies
Rank Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation 1 DET 5 I analyze any
available pictures or gestures to guess the word.
158 1 2 1.51 .50
2 DET 2 I analyze the word by breaking it into sound segments.
158 1 4 1.38 1.00
31 3 SOC 10 I ask my teacher
to put an
unknown word into a sentence to helpme
understand the word’s meaning.
158 1 4 1.37 .88
4 COG 25 I remember words by doing a project.
158 1 2 1.23 .43
5 MET 30 I remember words
by doing
dictations
158 1 2 1.11 .31
The results shown in Table 4.8 reveal that analyzing pictures or gestures (Item 5; M = 1.51), analyzing words by breaking them into sound segments (Item 2;
M = 1.38), asking teachers to make sentences (Item 10; M = 1.37), remembering words by doing projects (Item 25; M = 1.23) and remembering words by doing dictations (Item 30; M = 1.11), were determined as the least frequently used items in all five vocabulary learning strategies.
Table 4.9. The items that are unemployed by students
Category Item Description N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation MET 29 I use on-line
exercises to test my vocabulary
knowledge.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
COG 23 I repeatedly say the word aloud.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
COG 22 I repeatedly spell the word in my mind.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
32 MEM 15 I link the word to a
Vietnamese word with a similar sound.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
MEM 14 I link the word to another English word with a similar sound.
158 1 1 1.00 .000
According to studies, no pupils used several items that are part of cognitive and metacognitive strategies. That could be due to the students' lack of awareness of them, or because they were too difficult for them to implement in the learning process at the time the study was conducted.
Following individual analysis, the representative variants of all five vocabulary learning strategies were analyzed collectively to determine which vocabulary learning strategies were most and least commonly used by the students.
Table 4.10. Overall descriptive statistics for 5 vocabulary learning strategies
Rank Strategy N Min Max Mean
Std.
Deviation
1 DET 158 1.67 3.33 2.52 .57
2 SOC 158 1.00 2.60 1.79 .57
3 COG 158 1.00 2.33 1.68 .34
4 MEM 158 1.00 2.56 1.67 .48
5 MET 158 1.00 2.50 1.48 .53
Valid N (listwise)
158
As shown in table 4.10, determination strategies (M = 2.52; SD = 0.57) were the most commonly used of the five vocabulary learning strategies, followed by social strategies (M = 1.79), cognitive strategies (M = 1.68; SD = 0.34), memory
33
strategies (M = 1.67; SD = 0.48), and metacognitive strategies (M = 1.48; SD = 0.53).
Overall, the data demonstrate that learners adopt a variety of vocabulary acquisition techniques depending on their preferences, but their determination approach choice is particularly noteworthy.