VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE AN INVESTIGATION INTO LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING COMPETENCE OF ENGLISH NON-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT IN HO CHI MINH CITY A thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Department of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYỄN VĂN PHƯƠNG Supervised by LÊ THỊ THANH, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2011 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled AN INVESTIGATION INTO LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE ENGLISH SPEAKING COMPETENCE OF ENGLISH NON-MAJORED FRESHMEN AT UNIVERSITY OF TRANSPORT IN HO CHI MINH CITY in terms of the Statement of Requirements for Theses in Master‟s Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee Ho Chi Minh City, February 14th, 2011 NGUYỄN VĂN PHƢƠNG i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyễn Văn Phƣơng, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements for the University relating to the retention and use of Master‟s Theses 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 the 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, February 14th, 2011 NGUYỄN VĂN PHƢƠNG ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr.
Lê Thị Thanh, my supervisor, for her useful instructions and enthusiastic assistance during my research. She has offered me a great deal of helpful suggestion and useful advice about this study. Without her careful guidance and enthusiastic encouragement, I would not have successfully completed my thesis. She critically read my thesis and gave me some helpful comments so that I can perfect it.
Another special thank goes to all the professors who have taught me during the Master Course in TESOL. These lecturers have given me some really interesting and useful lessons fulfilled with effective approaches and techniques in teaching and learning English which help me orient and develop my study. The benefits of the courses are really invaluable. They explained carefully the approaches and techniques in teaching and learning English which I have never heard before.
They are really experienced lecturers. For help with reference works, I especially thank the staff members of the English Research Center of University of Social Sciences and Humanities. I would like to express heartfelt thanks to the writers providing useful and interesting sources about language learning strategies. These materials are useful for me to generate new ideas in this field.
I am also sincerely grateful to teachers of English and students at UT-HCMC for their enthusiastic participation as the study‟s subjects and they also contributed a great deal of useful information to my research. iii ABSTRACT Assessing use of language learning strategies has been conducted by many researchers. Those researches‟ results might have contributed significantly to the improvement of learners‟ language learning. Following the direction of the previous researches, this thesis investigates the language learning strategy use of non- English majors at University of Transport in Ho Chi Minh City.
The study aims at finding out which language learning strategies students most frequently use to improve their English speaking competence and which variables affecting students‟ use of language learning strategies in their learning process. Data was collected from the 339 student subjects‟ responses to the questionnaire, the interviews with the fifteen teacher subjects, and classroom observations. Based on data analysis, the results of the research show that students‟ proficiency levels, years of English learning and motivation impact on the use of language learning strategies. Although the students use varieties of language learning strategies irrespective of the learning context, compensation and metacognitive strategies seem to be used most frequently.
Six strategies most frequently used by the freshmen are adjusting or approximating the message strategy, repeating strategy, paying attention strategy, getting help strategy, find out about language learning strategy, and delaying speech production to focus on listening strategy. The study reveals the potential benefits for the students such as raising their awareness of language learning strategy use, taking risk wisely to use new strategies to develop speaking competence, learning from experiences of the proficient students in the use of effective strategies. Some recommendations are made to students who need to raise awareness of language learning strategy use to improve their communicative competence, to teachers of English who should study more language learning strategies to help students learn English better and train students‟ autonomy, and to authorities who need to create better material facilities in order that both teachers and students can promote the effectiveness of learning and teaching English, especially English speaking competence. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Certificate of originality.
i Retention and use of the thesis. iv Table of contents .v List of Figures and Charts .x List of Tables. xiv Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION .1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY .1 The necessity of language learning strategies .2 University of Transport in Ho Chi Minh City.3 Department of English .4 Students at UT-HCMC .2 THE AIMS OF THE STUDY .4 SIGNIFICATION OF THE STUDY .5 DELIMITATION AND LIMITATION.6 OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTERS .6 v Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .1 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS .1 Language Learning strategies .2 FEATURES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES .1 Language learning strategies enhances students‟ speaking competence .2 Greater self-direction for learners .3 New roles for teachers.3 TAXONOMIES OF LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES .1 O‟Malley‟s taxonomy of language learning strategies .2 Rubin‟s taxonomy of language learning strategies .3 Oxford‟s taxonomy of language learning strategies .4 APPLYING LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES TO THE SPEAKING SKILLS .1 Applying direct strategies to the speaking skills.2 Applying indirect strategies to the speaking skills .5 RESEARCHES INTO LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES .1 Studies involving good language learners and limited language learners .2 Studies investigating factors affecting strategy choice .3 Studies of the effects of strategy instruction .1 Questionnaire for students .4 Data collection procedures .41 Chapter 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .1 STUDENTS‟ RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRES .1 Personal information of the student subjects .2 Information of the students‟ English learning .3 Student subjects‟ Language learning strategy use .1 Memory strategy use .2 Cognitive strategy use .3 Compensation strategy use .4 Metacognitive strategy use .5 Affective strategy use .6 Social strategy use .4 Comparisons of Language Learning Strategy Use.2 TEACHERS‟ RESPONSES TO THE INTERVIEWS .3 DATA COLLECTED FROM CLASSROOM OBSERVATION .1 Students‟ participation in the classroom activities .2 Learning motivation of students in the different departments .3 Teacher‟s teaching English .4 Visual aids and equipment .102 Chapter 5: FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .1 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS .1 Findings from the student subjects‟ background and English learning .2 Findings from the students‟ use of language learning strategies .1 Findings from the research question 1 .2 Findings from the research question 2 .1 Recommendations to students .2 Recommendations to teachers .3 Recommendations to the authorities .4 Recommendations for further researches.127 Appendix A: TOTAL NUMBER OF FRESHMEN OF UT-HCMC ACADEMIC YEAR 2008-2009 .127 Appendix B: DIAGRAM OF ALL THE LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES .128 Appendix C: OXFORD‟S STRATEGY INVENTORY FOR LANGUAGE LEARNING (SILL) VERSION 7.132 Appendix D1: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS .136 Appendix D2: BẢNG CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT .140 Appendix E: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS .144 Appendix F: COMPARISON OF GENDER, TIME OF LEARNING ENGLISH AND THE USE OF LLS.145 Appendix G: COMPARISON OF THE STUDENTS‟ INTEREST IN ENGLISH, ENGLISH PROFICIENCY AND THE USE OF LLS .147 Appendix H: THE ORDER OF THE LLS MOST FREQUENTLY USED BY THE STUDENTS .150 ix LIST OF FIGURES Chapter 2 .1: Diagram of the Strategy System (Oxford, 1990, pp.18 LIST OF CHARTS Chapter 4 .1: The gender of the student subjects .2: Years of learning English .3: Foreign languages have been learnt at high schools .4: The necessary skills for students‟ future jobs .5: Students‟ levels after the first semester.6: Mean of six strategy categories .7: Students‟ Levels of Memory Strategy Use .8: Students‟ Levels of Cognitive Strategy Use .9: Students‟ responses to “repeating” strategy .10: Students‟ responses to “formally practicing with sounds” strategy.11: Students‟ responses to “recognizing and using formulas and patterns” strategy .12: Students‟ responses to “recombining” strategy .13: Students‟ responses to “practicing naturalistically” strategy .14: Students‟ responses to “using resources for receiving and sending messages” strategy.15: Students‟ responses to “translating” strategy .16: Students‟ responses to “transferring” strategy .17: Students‟ levels of Compensation Strategy Use .18: Students‟ levels of Metacognitive Strategy Use .19: Students‟ levels of Affective Strategy Use .20: Students‟ responses to “using progressive relaxation” strategy .21: Students‟ responses to “making positive statements” strategy .22: Students‟ responses to “taking risks wisely” strategy.23: Students‟ responses to “discussing your feelings with someone else” strategy .24: Students‟ levels of Social Strategy Use .25: Students‟ responses to “asking for correction” strategy .26: Students‟ responses to “cooperating with peer” strategy .27: Students‟ responses to “cooperating with proficient users of the new language” strategy .28: Students‟ responses to “developing cultural understanding” strategy.29: Students‟ responses to “becoming aware of others‟ thoughts and feelings” strategy .30: Comparison of gender and the use of LLS .31: Comparison of time of learning English and the use of LLS .32: Comparison of students‟ interest in English and the use of LLS .33: Comparison of English proficiency and the use of LLS .95 xi LIST OF TABLES Chapter 1 .1: General English Program for the academic-year training system (2008-2009) .2: General English Program for the credit training system (2009-2010) .1: Learning strategies (O‟Malley et al.1: Classes were chosen randomly to survey .2: Teachers‟ personal information .1: The Ages of the student subjects .2: Students‟ learning English at the foreign language centers .3: Students‟ attitude towards learning English .4: Comparison of English levels and attitude to learning English .5: Motivation of learning English .6: Students‟ experience in learning English.7: Knowledge of LLS .8: The necessity of language learning strategy training .9: Mean of six strategy categories .10: Averages of Memory Strategies .11: The averages of three memory strategies .12: Averages of Cognitive Strategy Use .13: Averages of Compensation Strategy Use .14: Students‟ responses to “switching to the mother tongue” strategy.15: Students‟ responses to “getting help” strategy .16: Students‟ responses to “using gesture” strategy .17: Students‟ responses to “avoiding communication partially or totally” strategy .18: Students‟ responses to “adjusting or approximating the message” strategy .19: Students‟ responses to “using a circumlocution or synonym” strategy .20: Averages of Metacognitive Strategy Use .21: Students‟ responses to “paying attention” strategy .22: Students‟ responses to “delaying speech production to focus on listening” strategy .23: Students‟ responses to “find out about language learning” strategy .24: Students‟ responses to “organizing” strategy .25: Students‟ responses to “seeking practice opportunities” strategy .26: Students‟ responses to “setting goals and objectives” strategy .27: Students‟ responses to “self-monitoring” strategy .28: Students‟ responses to “self-evaluating” strategy.29: Averages of Affective Strategy Use .30: Averages of Social Strategy Use .31: Comparison of gender and the use of LLS .32: Comparison of time of learning English and the use of LLS .33: Comparison of students‟ interest in English and the use of LLS .34: Comparison of English proficiency and the use of LLS.35: The number of LLS the teachers master .36: The LLS were guided by the teachers .37: The frequency of training LLS to students .1: The descending order of six strategy categories .2: Six LLS are most frequently used by the students .107 xiii ABBREVIATIONS UT-HCM: University of Transport in Ho Chi Minh City EFL: English as a Foreign Language LLS: Language Learning Strategies GE: General English MBTI: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator SILL: Strategy Inventory for Language Learning xiv Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1.1 The necessity of language learning strategies There is a Chinese proverb stating “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” (Hutchinson, 1987, p.