BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE VOCABULARY FOR SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY Research group: Student 1: Hoàng Thị Thuỳ Dương Code: 2122202010870 Student 2: Đỗ Thị Bích Ngọc Code: 2122202010660 Supervisor: Tran Thanh Du, Ph. BINH DUONG PROVINCE - 04/2023 1 TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT .Background of study. Significance of the study. Scope of the study.
Structure of the study. Overview of vocabulary ·························································· 12 2. Vocabulary learning strategies. Previous studies ··································································· 26 CHAPTER 3.
Research design and methods. Setting, population and samples. Data collection and analysis. RESULT AND DISCUSSION.
Summary of the main findings. Limitations and future directions. 51 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I hold a firm belief that a completed study would not be done without any assistance. Therefore, I would like to give grateful acknowledgement to people who support and motivate me during the time of doing this research.
First of all, I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor Tran Thanh Du, PhD. His kind support and continuous advice went through the process of completion of my graduate paper. His encouragement and comments had significantly enriched and improved my work. Without his motivation and instructions, my study would have been impossible to be done effectively.
In addition, I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all the teachers, staff and my classmates at the school. Moreover, my research has been done by contribution of all relevant students at Thu Dau Mot University. So far, my special thanks to my parents for their endless love, care and have given me the most assistance and motivation for the whole of my life. Lastly, my deep thanks to all my classmates in D21NNAN02 during the time I studied at Thu Dau Mot University.
I really appreciate their kind help and encouragement when we study together. 3 ABSTRACT This study aims to find out the type of vocabulary learning strategies that the second-year English majored at Thu Dau Mot University commonly use. This study used qualitative research design; that is, to analyze vocabulary learning strategies used by the students. The students were instructed to fill the questionnaires for the researcher to get depth information about their vocabulary learning strategies.
Based on the strategies for discovering meaning; using an English-Vietnamese dictionary, guessing meaning from context, and analyzing pictures or gestures were the strong preferences. While the less-used from discovering meaning were checking for L1 cognate, analyzing affixes and roots, and analyzing part of speech. In terms of strategies for consolidating meaning, studying and practicing meaning within a group, imaging word form, and imaging word’s meaning were preferred. While the less-used strategies from consolidating meaning were testing oneself with word tests, skipping or passing new word, and continuing to study word over time.
Key words: English vocabulary, strategies, language problems, meaning, new words. INTRODUCTION This chapter provides an overview of the study. First of all, the background of the present study is introduced. Then the researcher discusses the significance and the purposes of the study.
Moreover, the research questions, the scope and limitation of the study are also included. Finally, this chapter outlines the structure of the study. Background to the study English is a language that plays an important role in different fields in the world, especially in Vietnam. So, equipping yourself with knowledge and a good level of English will benefit your studies, research and even your chances of finding a high paying job.
Mastery of the English language includes vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, which are the three components. According to Kamil and Hiebert (2005:3), listening and reading comprehension cannot be achieved without a sufficient number of known words. In addition, students who lack vocabulary will struggle with their speaking and writing skills. According to Hay Craft (1978, p.
8), mastering language requires a variety of skills, including listening (understanding spoken language), reading (understanding written language), speaking, and writing. On the other hand, students should first learn vocabulary before learning the four skills. Because students will misunderstand if they do not understand the word's meaning. Therefore, four language skills need to be supported by the vocabulary.
In the 2013 paper, “Vocabulary Knowledge and Speaking Proficiency among Second Language Learners from Novice to Intermediate Levels”, Rie Koizumi asserted “…out of five factors (i., accent, comprehension, fluency, grammar, and vocabulary), vocabulary was the only one that affected level differences between learners at novice and intermediate levels. For learners at intermediate levels and above, all the five factors affected level differences, but vocabulary frequently appeared as the discriminatory factor.” 5 In the 2008 study, ‘Vocabulary Size and the Skills of Listening, Reading and Writing. Language Learning Journal’, Lars Stenius Stæhr stated “Learners’ receptive vocabulary size was found to be strongly associated with their reading and writing abilities…” It can be deduced from the preceding description that vocabulary is an essential component of any English language proficiency. As the foundation of language, vocabulary has a significant impact on students' comprehension of developing English skills.
Vocabulary is the fundamental part to make informative language. Because a lack of vocabulary will make it harder to communicate effectively, vocabulary knowledge is a crucial tool for studying English. The students will be able to communicate more effectively if they have mastered their vocabulary. When it comes to communicating verbally and nonverbally, vocabulary is crucial.
Students are unable to use the structure and function of the language as comprehensible communication if they lack vocabulary, and it is nearly impossible to study a language without vocabulary. As a result, vocabulary plays a crucial role in the study of English. Students must be proficient in vocabulary because they are aware of its significance. Understand the importance of English in life, and at the same time realize the urgency of learning vocabulary of English majors at Thu Dau Mot University in improving English proficiency.
That is the reasons why we choose the topic is to find out the current situation and difficulties in learning vocabulary of specialized students. Research objectives This research paper focus on difficulties in learning English vocabulary that second-year students at Thu Dau Mot University are facing with and solutions to improve their vocabulary. Research questions Considering the purpose of this study, the content of this study focuses on answering the following two main questions: 6 1. What difficulties do second-year students at Thu Dau Mot University face in learning English vocabulary? 2.
What are the strategies to improve the students’ English vocabulary? 1. Significance of the study The purpose of this study is to examine the most efficient vocabulary learning strategies utilized by English major second-year students at Thu Dau Mot University. It is believed that being aware of how different people learn will make everyone who is interested in English as a distant teaching profession and learning more aware of their roles. In addition, it will help students become aware of the methods for more practical learning while also developing students' potential lives and fostering competitive teaching and learning.
Additionally, it will make it easier for students to develop strategies and methods for becoming many motivated and self-sufficient learners. Learning how students use vocabulary can change how teachers and researchers design activities and materials that help students improve their lexical competence. Scope of the study The study focuses on finding out ways to help seacond years students improve their vocabulary. Structure of the study The following is a list of the five chapters that make up this study: Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter focuses on the study's background, objectives, research questions, significance, and thesis statement.
Literature review The study's literature review is presented in two subsections. The first is the hypothetical structure which with respect to certain speculations connected with issues and and solutions to improve English vocabulary of second year students at Thu Dau Mot University. The second is previous research on the difficulties associated with learning English vocabulary. Methodology 7 This chapter describes the study's research methods, population and sampling, research instruments, data collection and data analysis methods of this study.
Results and discussion This chapter is divided into two small parts. The first is the results section focuses on the data analysis which presents the data from the survey in tables and figures, then describe in general the results obtained from the study. The second is the discussion concentrated on discus the findings from the survey results. Conclution This chapter including the summary of the main findings, the limitations and future direction, the recommendations, and the implications (optional) of the study.
LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides the literature review of important theories of the research. This theoretical review covered here includes definition of key terms (English vocabulary, vocabulary learning problems), learning vocabulary (components of vocabulary, purposes of learning vocabulary, functions of vocabulary) and the solutions for the problems. Definition What are learning strategies? In my opinion, a learning strategy is an individual’s approach to completing a task. There have obviously been a number of definitions of learning strategies because it is believed that learning strategies are an important and significant part of development in both a native language and a second language.
Learning can be characterized as the interaction by which the external and unfamiliar become internal, familiar, and usable. The process of learning is frequently depicted as lively, and students can employ a variety of methods. Those techniques are referred to as strategies. However, the definition of the term "language learning strategies" is not universally agreed (Hoang, 2019).
A learning strategy is defined as "an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language," according to Faerch and Kasper (1983:67). According to O'Malley and Chamot (1990), learning strategies, as defined by Weinstein and Mayer (1986, p. 43), aim to facilitate learning and are global in nature. "Affect the learner's motivational or affective state or the way the learner selects, acquires, organizes, or integrates new knowledge" is the goal of strategy use.
Learning strategies are defined as "any set of operations, steps, plans, routines used by the learner to facilitate the obtaining, storage, retrieval, and use of information, that is, what learners do to learn and do to regulate their learning," according to Rubin (Wenden and Rubin 1987:19). 9 O'Malley and Chamot (1990, p. 1) define learning strategies as "special thoughts or behaviors that individuals use to comprehend, learn, or retain new information." According to Bialystock (1985), learning strategies are the normal processes of learning that take place regardless of whether the learner is paying attention to them and manipulating them intentionally. As a result, the learning process and learning strategies are identical.
As Nunan (1991:168), "Learning systems are the psychological cycles which students utilize to learn and utilize the objective language". According to Nunan's definition, learning strategies are limited to "mental processes." Richard et al (1992:209), offer a more extensive meaning of learning techniques, or at least, learning procedures are deliberate way of behaving and contemplations that students utilize during learning to all the more likely assist them with understanding, learn and recall new data". According to Ellis (1997:76), "the particular approaches or techniques that learner employs to attempt to learn a second language" is the definition of learning strategies. He goes on to explain that problem-oriented behavioral or mental learning strategies are common.
Oxford (1990) her perspective on language learning strategies is summed up in twelve key features. They are: (1) the contribution to the main goal, communicative competence (2) learners’ allowance to become more self-directed (3) the expand of the roles of teachers (4) being problem-oriented (5) specific action taken by the learner (6) the involvement of many aspects of the learner, not just the cognitive (7) direct and indirect learning support (8) being not always observable (9) being often conscious (10) being taught (11) being flexible 10 (12) being influenced by a variety of factors. These twelve features reflect almost fully the characteristics of language learning strategies.