THANG LONG UNIVERSITY ENGLISH DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON THE USE OF ENGLISH SLANG WORDS IN DAILY COMMUNICATION AMONG STUDENTS OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT AT THANG LONG UNIVERSITY Supervisor: Mai Lan, MA Student’s name: Thai Phan Hoang Thao Student’s code: A38882 Major: English Language Ha Noi, February 26, 2024 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This endeavor would not have been possible without the help and support of my instructor, Ms. Words cannot express my gratitude to her inestimable patience and feedback. She has been supportive, kind, and benevolent to me from the early days of working on the thesis. Her comments and instructions have helped me learn many new things while also assisting me in improving my weaker areas.
It is thanks to her dedicated guidance that I have been able to complete such an important dissertation. Next, I would like to show my appreciation to the teachers at Thang Long University who have guided me over the past 4 years. It is indisputable that the knowledge of English grammar, semantics, morphology, history, and culture that I have learned from them has been a solid foundation to help me create today's graduation thesis. I am also grateful to my close friends and classmates for their suggestions and references about modern slang words, editing help, and moral support.
Their belief in me has kept my spirits and motivation high during this process. Lastly, I would like to acknowledge all the fellow students who helped me complete the survey for the research. 100 students were a significant number, and I probably would not have been able to accomplish it on my own. Therefore, I appreciate those friends who assisted me in sharing the survey link with their peers at Thang Long, enabling me to meet the deadline on schedule! Student, Thai Phan Hoang Thao I Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long STATEMENT FROM CANDIDATE This graduation paper contains no material which has been submitted for examination in any other course or accepted for any other degree or diploma in any University.
To the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference is made in the text. Supervisor’s signature Student’s signature II ABSTRACT In the booming era of technology and social media, slang has become more common and most suitable to be used in informal conversations. This study wishes to learn about the frequency of slang usage among English language students at Thang Long University as well as their reasons for using slang words. Additionally, this study seeks to learn about the opinions of language students about the jadvantages and disadvantages of slang in their language learning.
In pursuit of this objective, the study utilized qualitative research methods and data were collected through a questionnaire. The survey consisted of three distinct sections, featuring a total of 30 questions, and was distributed to 100 English language students at Thang Long. The resultant responses underwent systematic coding and analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software and Excel. Results reveal a discernible influence of English slang, with students acknowledging positive impacts on listening, speaking, and pronunciation skills.
However, the study highlights contrasting opinions, indicating a need for further exploration of slang's role in language acquisition among English learners. III Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long LIST OF TABLES Page Table 4. The relationship between student’s attitude of slang and their frequency of slang usage 22 Table 4. The relationship between student’s worries about slang usage and their understanding of slang words 24 Table 4.
Sources of Slang Acquisitions 26 Table 4. When to use slang language 29 Table 4. Community to use slang with 31 Table 4. Reasons to use slang 33 Table 4.
Most used slang words 35 Table 4. Positive Effects of Slang on Learning 37 Table 4. Negative Effects of Slang on Learning 39 IV LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS Page Figure 3. Research Process 15 Chart 4.
Gender Characteristics 20 Chart 4. Students’ Academic Years 21 Chart 4. Student’s Self – Evaluated English Levels 22 Chart 4. Student’s Understanding of Current Slang 24 Chart 4.
Platforms 28 V Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I STATEMENT FROM CANDIDATE. III LIST OF TABLES. IV LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS.
V TABLE OF CONTENTS. VI CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. Rationale of the Study. Scope of the Study.
Significance of the Study. Organization of the study. 3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW. Theoretical basis of slang words.
Categories of slang. Resources of slang. The Reasons for Using Slang. 18 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Self – evaluated English Proficiency. Students’ Perspectives and Experiences in Using Slang Words in Daily Communication. Students’ Attitudes and Frequency. Student’s Worries About Slang Usage and Their Understanding of Slang Words.
Sources of Slang Acquisitions. When to use slang language. Community to use slang with. Reasons to use slang.
Most Used Slang Words. Students' Opinions on The Influence of Slang on Their Language Learning 36 4. Limitation and Recommendations. 47 VII Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 provides background information about the study, which includes the purposes of the research and critical research questions.
In addition, it articulates the importance of this study by explaining why it is integral for the students to be aware of the matter. Finally, it describes the scope and organization of the study. Rationale of the Study William Hatson, an etiquette expert, believes that the language one uses in his daily communication can disclose his social class. [3] Many researchers claim a person of the upper class has the tendency to use obscure or specialized vocabulary while a person of the working class might use more informal and simple terms.
In addition, high- class people are said to abide by the grammatical rules more than lower-class people, who have a propensity for using more shortened and non-standard sentence structures. However, it is important to note that the mentioned statement is not thoroughly accurate since language usage is complex and can be affected by numerous factors: education, exposure, and individual choices to name a few. In the modern age, with the massive influence of social media, popular culture, and the Internet, language usage has changed rapidly as slang has become more prevalent across all classes. Slang, which refers to informal, abnormal words or phrases that have a limited lifespan and may fall out as quickly as they are adopted, is once thought to be used only in specific social groups, subcultures, or communities.
Now, while there might still be certain variations of slang being used by different social classes and ages, the borderline has actually become more and more vague. This study aims to discover the use of English slang words among a specific social group: college students. By examining the ubiquitousness, patterns, and social dynamics of slang utilization, this research seeks to contribute to the comprehension of how slang functions within the linguistic repertoire of English majors at Thang Long 1 University. Moreover, this research wants to point out the possible effects of slang on language learning in the language student community.
Research Objectives While slang is an indispensable part of human life, the effect this form of language has on learning context, especially language learning, often does not receive much attention albeit the main users of slang are school-aged students. It is believed that slang is too unserious for a research article; however, with the popularity English slang words are gaining lately with the growing of social media and the Internet, the author is positive that sooner or later the influence of slang in language learning will be palpable. Taking that into consideration, the research set up three main objectives. First, the study aims to survey the frequency with which Thang Long English majors use English slang in their everyday conversation.
Second, the study will examine the sociolinguistic dynamics in the students’ community to understand more about their linguistic choices in different social situations or contexts. Third, the study will provide insights into students’ own perception of the impact of slang words on language proficiency among English learners as well as the influence of slang in their language acquisition and academic speaking skills. Research Questions This study poses three research questions in accordance with the three research objectives. 1) How often do students of the English Department at Thang Long University use slang in their daily communication? 2) What are the reasons for the usage of English slang words? 3) How do the English majors at Thang Long University think English slang will affect their English skills? 2 Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long 1.
Scope of the Study The research subjects are one hundred and one students majoring in English at Thang Long University. The reasons for choosing college students are owing to their young, vibrant nature. College students are likely to catch up with words that are on trend among young people, but they are also mature enough to evaluate their use of slang through more objective views. Significance of the Study Throughout the history of language, colloquial such as slang are often frowned upon by researchers, scholars, and professional educators due to their unacademic nature.
To date, there have been few research articles on the use of slang, especially in pedagogical settings. Nonetheless, slang still existed and has been growing even stronger ever since the booming of the Internet and the widespread of popular culture through social media. The main users of slang, amusing enough, mostly come from scholastic environments: schoolchildren and college students. In this study, the author wants to learn about the perspective of these people on the matter of how using English slang, hypothetically, affects their language learning.
The study will propose scientific data on slang usage of college students and thus contribute to the existing body of research on language variation. Moreover, from the results of this research, Thang Long University shall comprehend their students’ psychology and sociolinguistic dynamics better as well as gaining a better understanding of the role of slang in a language learning context. Organization of the study CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter introduces the rationale, the scope and the objectives of the study. In addition, it raises important research questions and annotates the significance of the research.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 3 This chapter presents the theoretical basis and previous studies related to slang study. CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY This chapter showcases the research methodology and describes each stage in the research progress, including sampling, data collection, and the information received. CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION This chapter offers the data analysis through survey tables and interprets the main result of the research. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION This chapter summarizes all the results and information collected from the survey, provides a final conclusion, and points out limitations of the research.
Lastly, it proposes suggestion for further researches in the near future. 4 Thư viện ĐH Thăng Long CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents the basic knowledge of English slang. It also mentions several previous studies related to the usage of slang by college students. Theoretical basis of slang words 2.
Definition Regarding the definition of slang, there were many different variations, since “slang is difficult to locate, to explain, and to grasp as a unitary phenomenon” (Elisa Mattiello, 2008). It was also difficult to trace back to the origin of slang language, as stated by linguist and lexicographer Ben Zimmer. He explained it was due to the fact that slang often got spoken before it got written down, much less published and added to archives. Thus, there have been many different characterization of slang throughout the time.
Some of these definitions, however, were proven to be imprecise. For example, Mattiello wrote in her research that the concept of slang had been mistakenly defined by lexicogracollphers, thinking it was bad language and colloquial.