Based on the current research, the most-used vocabulary learning strategies by the intermediate L2 learners and their perceptions of the usefulness of the strategies are investigated; more importantly, the researcher is enabled to closely examine the use and perception of strategies by the high achievers. From a view to investigating language proficiency as one of the crucial factor to vocabulary learning, more research carried out among the high achievers in other high schools would be interesting.
In addition, for further vocabulary learning strategy research, cultural factors and pragmatic constraints should also be taken into account and, rather than finding universal
―good‖ strategies to discover vocabulary strategies which are applied for different groups of learners with different backgrounds and ability. Methodologically, it is especially necessary to draw out longitudinal designs for the sake of the better vocabulary development as opposed to word list retention.
Furthermore, in vocabulary acquisition research in the linguistics tradition, vocabulary has been largely concentrated on (target: what is to be learned; or product: what is learned) rather than acquisition (how is vocabulary learned, the learning/ acquisition process); whereas most vocabulary acquisition research are conducted with experimental comparisons between some favored strategies and various combinations of control techniques. Therefore,
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vocabulary researchers should have a change of mentality for learners, especially experienced and successful ones, to be capable of managing their own learning and choosing their own strategies, but not be only on the receiving end. In other words, systematic studies of the natural processes of vocabulary learning in authentic foreign language learning situations need to be conducted with the aim of identifying the whole range of vocabulary learning strategies, finding out what works and what does not work, and what distinguishes the successful from the unsuccessful learners.
Obviously, much knowledge is still remained to learn and explore in the field of vocabulary acquisition. Most importantly, the language learners and teachers should work collaboratively towards the same learning goal.
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REFERENCES
Wenden, A. and Rubin, J. (1987). Learner Strategies in Language Learning. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Carlo, M., August, D., McLaughlin, B., Snow, C., Dressler, C., Lippman, D., Lively, T.,
& White, C. (2004). Closing the gap: Addressing the vocabulary needs of English language learners in bilingual and mainstream classrooms. Reading Research Quarterly, 39(2), 188- 206.
Francis, D. (2015). Enhancing Social Studies Vocabulary and Comprehension for Seventh-Grade English Language Learners: Findings From Two Experimental Studies.
Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness 10/2009; 2(4): 297-324.
Stern, H. (1992). Issues and Options in Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP.
Doff, A. (1988). Teach English: A training course for teachers: Teacher’s workbook.
Cambridge University Press: United Kingdom.
Schmitt, N. and Schmitt, D. (1993). Identifying and assessing vocabulary learning strategies. Thai TESOL Bulletin, 5(4): 27-33.
Kim, C. (2014). Vocabulary acquisition with affixation: learning English words based on prefixes & suffixes. Second Language Studies, 31(2), Spring 2013, 43-80. University of Hawaii.
Reid, J. M. (1995). Learning Styles in the ESL/EFL Classroom. Newbury House. New York: Heinle & Heinle.
Lightbown, P. M. & Spada, N. (2013). How Languages Are Learned. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2008). Instructed second language vocabulary learning. Language Teaching Research, 12(3), 329-363.
Thornburry, S. (2002). How to teach vocabulary. England: Pearson Education Limited.
Decarrico, J. S. (2001). Vocabulary learning and teaching. In Marianne Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language, 285-299. Boston: Heinle and Heinle.
Nagy, W., & Anderson, R. (1984). The number of words in printed school English.
Reading Research Quarterly, 19, 304-330.
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McKeown, M., Beck, I., Omanson, R., & Pople, M. (1985). Some effects of the nature and frequency of vocabulary instruction on the knowledge and use of words. Reading Research Quarterly, 20(5), 522-535.
Gunning, G.T. (1996). Creating reading instruction for all children. Needham Heights:
Allyn & Bacon.
Kridalaksana, H., (1993), Kamus linguistik. Jakarta: PT Gramedia pustake Utama.
Hiebert, E. H. (in press), Teaching and learning vocabulary: Bringing scientific research to practice. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
McIntosh, C. (2013). Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary (4th edition).
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Nguyen, T. H. T. (2015). A study of English Vocabulary Learning Strategies exploited by the secon-year students of different learning style preferences at School of Law. Hanoi:
Vietnam National University.
Huynh, L. M. (2010). A study of learning English vocabulary of pupils at Quoc Hoc High School in Qui Nhon. Danang: University of Danang.
Zheng, S. (2012). Studies and Suggestions on English Vocabulary Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from
http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/elt/article/viewFile/16664/11119
Vliet, N. (2014). 38 language-learning experts reveal their favorite methods for learning vocabulary. Retrieved from
http://www.smartlanguagelearner.com/experts-reveal-method-learning-vocabulary Building Vocabulary. Retrieved from
https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/teaching-methods/48607.html?page=1 Vocabulary in content and techniques to guess meaning from context. Retrieved from https://vi.scribd.com/doc/34771560/Vocabulary-in-content-and-techniques-to-guess- meaning-from-context
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APPENDICES
APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRE I FOR STUDENTS
Please stick (V) at your appropriate answers? (Hãy tích vào câu trả lời thích hợp) Question 1. In your opinion, what is the position of vocabulary in English learning?
(Theo bạn, việc học từ vựng có quan trọng trong quá trình học tiếng Anh không?) Very important Important Not important
Question 2. What contents does vocabulary learning refer to?
(Việc học từ vựng bao gồm những thành phần nào dưới đây?) Pronunciation and spelling of words
Pronunciation, spelling and the meaning in the word list Collocations of words
All the meanings related to the item
Question 3. In your opinion, what is the difficulty in your vocabulary learning?
(Theo bạn, trong quá trình học từ vựng, bạn gặp phải khó khăn liên quan tới khía cạnh nào dưới đây?)
Pronunciation Spelling Meaning Word collocations (Kết hợp từ) Question 4. In your opinion, what knowledge you have learned is helpful for your vocabulary learning?
(Theo bạn, những kiến thức nào dưới đây sẽ giúp ích cho bạn trong việc học từ vựng?) Lexical knowledge (suffix, root, and stem of words) (Ngữ âm)
Contexts of word (Ngữ cảnh)
Western Culture Native language (Ngôn ngữ văn hóa bản xứ) Society-related knowledge (kiến thức xã hội)
Word collocations (Kết hợp ngữ)
Question 5. “How do you usually learn vocabulary?”
(Bạn thường học từ vựng như thế nào?) By reading repeatedly (Đọc lặp lại) By writing automatically (Viết lặp lại)
By analyzing affixes and roots (Phân tích tiền tố, hậu tố và thân từ) By association (Kết hợp)
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By keeping word cards with pictures, photographs, objects, etc. (Bằng tranh, ảnh… minh họa)
Question 6. How do you feel learning English vocabulary?
(Bạn cảm nhận như thế nào về việc học từ vựng?)
Headache (đau đầu) Boring (tẻ nhạt) Interesting Very interesting Question 7. How do you feel your efficiency in vocabulary learning?
(Hãy tự đánh giá về hiệu quả học từ vựng của bạn?)
Inefficient (Không hiệu quả) Not very efficient (Không hiệu quả nhiều) Efficient (hiệu quả) Very efficient (Rất hiệu quả)
Question 8: Which following discovery strategies of vocabulary learning do you often use?
(Bạn thường áp dụng những phương pháp nào dưới đây để tìm được nghĩa của từ mới?)
Discovery Strategies v
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Guess its meaning from the context (Đoán nghĩa dựa vào ngữ cảnh)
Look up the word in a Vietnamese/English dictionary (Sử dụng từ điển Việt – Anh)
Use an electronic or online dictionary
(Dùng từ điển điện tử hoặc từ điện trên mạng) Ask my classmates or peers for the meaning (Tham khảo bạn cùng lớp)
Learn words from the mass media
(Học từ qua phương tiện thông tin đại chúng) Try to think of an English word that is similar (Tìm ra một từ tiếng Anh gần giống)
Look up the word in an English dictionary (Sử dụng từ điển Anh – Anh)
Ask my teacher(s) for the meaning (Hỏi thầy/cô giáo trên lớp)
Look at the parts of speech (Nhìn vào từ loại)
Look for the clues in the word itself
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11 12 13 14
(Dự đoán từ chính bản thân từ đó hiển thị) Learn words from word lists or glossary (Học từ bảng từ)
Ignore it (Bỏ qua)
Learn words through ICQ or chat room communication (Học từ qua giao lưu trên phòng chát)
Interact with native speakers (e.g. the NET) (Giao tiếp với người bản xứ)
Question 9: Which following consolidation strategies of vocabulary learning do you often use?
(Bạn thường áp dụng những phương pháp nào dưới đây để ôn tập từ mới đã học được?)
Consolidation Strategies v
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Hear it spoken in English (Nghe bằng tiếng Anh)
Divide the target word into syllables (Chia từ thành các âm tiết)
Study the spelling of the target word (Học cách đánh vần của từ)
Use English words similar in sound
(Sử dụng những từ tiếng Anh nghe giống từ cần học) Read it in a text
(Đọc từ trong một bài khóa cụ thể)
Connect it to other English words on the same topic
(Liên tưởng từ với những từ tiếng Anh khác trong cùng 1 chủ đề) Put it in a sentence
(Đặt từ vào trong một câu cụ thể) Study the word list
(Học qua bảng từ)
Keep a vocabulary notebook (Tạo một quyển ghi chú từ mới) Relate it to a visual image
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11 12
(Học qua hình ảnh)
Use Vietnamese words similar in sound (Dùng từ Tiếng Việt giống âm với từ cần học) Study the word over time
(Ôn lại nhiều lần)
Question 10: Look at the following discovery strategies, in your opinion, how does it work if/when you apply it during your learning?
(Theo nhận thức của bạn, những phương pháp học nghĩa từ mới nào dưới đây sẽ hữu dụng cho bạn trong quá trình học tập?)
Discovery Strategies Useful Not much Unuseful
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Guess its meaning from the context
Look up the word in a Vietnamese/English dictionary
Use an electronic or online dictionary Ask my classmates or peers for the meaning Learn words from the mass media
Try to think of an English word that is similar
Look up the word in an English dictionary Ask my teacher(s) for the meaning
Look at the parts of speech
Look for the clues in the word itself Learn words from word lists or glossary Ignore it
Learn words through ICQ or chat room communication
Interact with native speakers (e.g. the NET)
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Question 11: Look at the following consolidation strategies, in your opinion, how does it work if/when you apply them during your learning?
(Theo nhận thức của bạn, những phương pháp ôn tập từ vựng nào dưới đây sẽ hữu dụng cho bạn trong quá trình ôn tập?)
Consolidation Strategies Useful Not much Unuseful
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Hear it spoken in English
Divide the target word into syllables Study the spelling of the target word Use English words similar in sound Read it in a text
Connect it to other English words on the same topic Put it in a sentence
Study the word list
Keep a vocabulary notebook Relate it to a visual image
Use Vietnamese words similar in sound Study the word over time
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APPENDIX 2
QUESTIONNAIRE II FOR TEACHERS
Please stick (v) at your appropriate answers?
Question 1. How do you usually teach vocabulary?
Ask students to read after me
Explain the meaning listed in the text and make sentence examples Explain the root, stem, affix etc.
Explain the collocations of a word
Question 2. How do you feel teaching English vocabulary?
Boring Interesting Headache Very interesting Question 3. How do you feel your efficiency of vocabulary teaching?
Not very efficient Inefficient Efficient Very efficient
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APPENDIX 3
THINK-ALOUD PROTOCOL
Please look at the following cases and then try to guess the meaning of the boldface words? Explain your guessing as clearly as possible.
(Hãy dự đoán nghĩa của những từ in đậm dựa theo ngữ cảnh? và giải thích dự đoán đó) Excerpt 1:
Jennie didn‘t like the jacket her mother bought her until several strangers made remarks about how much they liked it.
Excerpt 2:
Even though John had a good job and a nice family, he yearned for more.
Excerpt 3:
After Gears of Pain 6 came out, the amount of people playing Gears of Pain 5 declined.
Excerpt 4:
Anthropologists observe and record what a culture does, believes and says. They do this in part by discussing material with informants.
Excerpt 5:
Some of the trees in Redwood National Park are truly gargantuan, and in fact, they are the tallest trees in the world.
Excerpt 6:
a. Mary realized that Mr. Ashman was a misogynist soon after she started working as his assistant.
b. It is difficult for a woman to work for a misogynist. She is never sure if his criticism is based on her work or on the fact that she is a woman.
c. Mary knew that no woman would ever get a top-level job in a company run by a misogynist.
Excerpt 7:
It had been raining hard through the night so the ground was saturated.
Excerpt 8:
Can you infer the meaning of the boldface word below? (students can use dictionaries)
―Cowards die many times before their deaths
The valiant never taste of death but once‖. (William Shakespeare‘s Julius Caesar)