An investigation into vocabulary learning strategies employed by students at hung vuong gifted high school

ally important to every learner. Part of this involves knowing when to skip or pass a word. Continuing to study over time: a part from making full use of above strategies, one can maximize the effectiveness of his practice time if it is scheduled and organized. Testing oneself with test and using spaced word practice can be considered as organized activities by students themselves. 2.4 Summary In this chapter, some information about history of research on the issue has been introduced; such concepts as learning strategies, and knowledge of learning strategy classifications have been presented. A theoretical framework has been prepared for the investigation in the next chapter. In summary, the notion of learning strategies which is dealt with in the last part is born in two perspectives: cognitive psychology and second language acquisition. The former tried to analyze the strategies that experts employ and then train novices to use them as well. The latter preferred to describe the kinds of strategies which are used. A number of researchers have attempted to systematize strategies of nonnative speakers, using questionnaire that classify various kinds of strategies into categories. It has proved reliable and valid as some studies have shown by collecting data from people such as university students, and company employees. Though the two studies by Stoffer (1995) and Schmitt (1997) showed taxonomies of vocabulary learning strategies, no study has dealt with senior high school students at Hung Vuong Gifted High School. CHAPTER 3-THE STUDY In chapter one, the rationale, the aims, the research questions, the scope, and the design of the study were introduced. In chapter two, an overview of learning strategies, definitions of key concepts, knowledge of learning strategy classification, vocabulary learning classification, and a theoretical framework for the investigation were presented. This chapter presents the study including the context of the study, the research questions, the research method, the participants, and the findings of the study. 3.1 Research questions As mentioned above, the aim of the study is to seek answers to the following research questions: 1. What vocabulary learning strategies are commonly used by the students of Hung Vuong Gifted High School? 2. Do students’ gender and field of study/major have any impacts on their use of vocabulary learning strategies ? 3.2 Participants A total of 67 students from Hung Vuong Gifted High School participated in the study. Thirty five students of English (n=35) and thirty two students of maths (n=32). Forty seven were female and twenty were male. The age of the students was 16. The participants have been studying English for 5 to 8 years. They come from different places of Phu Tho province. Most of them come from the countryside. 3.3 Data collection instruments In order to collect data for the study, survey questionnaire was chosen because it is a simple and familiar instrument of collecting information from the students and is less time-consuming than other instruments. The questionnaire was aimed at measuring the frequency of vocabulary learning strategy use. The strategies were based on the study done by Schmitt (1997) and most of the items in the questionnaire were also chosen from Schmitt’s questionnaire due to the researcher’s interest. The questionnaire consists of two sections: the first section was the questions to gain personal information about the participants and the second section was the questions about the strategies that participants may have used. It contained 38 items, which were divided into five categories: Determination, Social, Memory, Cognitive and Metacognitive. The participants were asked to rate each strategy statement on a 5-point interval Likert scale in terms of their frequency of use in ascending order ranging from 1 (“never”) to 5 (“always”). For more detail, a table of vocabulary learning strategies in questionnaire is provided below: Group of strategies Questions in the questionnaire Number of questions DETERMINATION Q1, Q2, Q3 3 SOCIAL Q4, Q5, Q6, Q7, Q8, Q25 6 MEMORY Q9, Q10, Q11, Q12, Q13, Q23, Q26, Q27, Q28, Q29,Q30 11 COGNITIVE Q14,Q15,Q16,18,Q19,Q20,Q22,Q36,Q37 9 METACOGNITIVE Q17,Q21,Q24,Q31,Q32,Q33,Q34,Q35,Q38 9 Table 7: Vocabulary Learning Strategies in The Questionnaire 3.4 Data collection procedure The instrument required about 30 minutes to complete and was administered in the students’ English class. Before filling out the questionnaire, students were told that their participation was voluntary and their responses would remain confidential; they were also asked to give their opinions as honestly as possible, which was crucial to the success of this investigation. I also confirm to them that the research was carried out with the aim at improving their own English learning in general and their English vocabulary learning in particular. The questionnaire is written in Vietnamese so that all the informants can understand and complete all questions. 3.5 Data analysis procedure The data gathered through the questionnaire were coded for statistical analysis to investigate which vocabulary learning strategy are commonly used and how often each strategy is used by students at Hung Vuong Gifted High School. The terms high frequency and low frequency will be used in the data analysis procedure. The former term refers to always and usually and the later one refers to sometimes and rarely. The questions in the questionnaire will be analyzed one by one in their vocabulary learning strategy groups by counting its percentage. Mean values of vocabulary learning strategy use were calculated to determine whether there were differences in strategy use in terms of the students’ gender and major. 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 Percent (%) always 3.0 3.0 37.3 usually 44.8 23.9 38.8 sometimes 41.8 35.8 20.9 rarely 7.5 14.9 3.0 never 3.0 22.4 0.0 Q1 Q2 Q3 3.5.1 Applying Determination strategies to learning English vocabulary Figure 1: Students’ use of DET strategies in vocabulary learning The answers to question 1 show that 47.8% of the informants always or usually found the meaning of a new word by guessing from textual context but less than half of them used this strategy with low frequency (49.3%). Only 3.0% never did so. Monolingual dictionary use (question 2) is supposed to be rarely applied in our English learning setting. As can be seen from the results of the second question, 22.4% never used it. 26.9% of the informants used monolingual dictionaries. 50.7% used this kind of dictionary with low frequency. The third question shows us how often the informants used bilingual dictionaries. It is not surprising that almost of them used English-Vietnamese dictionaries with high frequency (76.1%). None of them never looked up a new word in a bilingual dictionaries. 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 Percent (%) always 1.5 4.5 4.5 10.4 1.5 16.4 usually 44.8 11.9 56.7 32.8 16.4 23.9 sometimes 32.8 40.3 37.3 32.8 31.3 16.4 rarely 17.9 31.3 0.0 16.4 38.8 22.4 never 3.0 11.9 1.5 7.5 11.9 20.9 Q4 Q5 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q25 3.5.2 Applying Social strategies to learning English vocabulary Figure 2: Students’ use of SOC strategies in vocabulary learning In question 4, 44.8% of the informants usually asked their teacher to translate a new word into Vietnamese, 32.8% sometimes and 17.9% rarely did so. 1.5% always and 3.0% never asked for their teacher’s help. Asking teachers or friends to make a sentence in which a new word is used one way to learn and retain new words (question 5). However, up to 40.3% of the informants revealed that they sometimes asked their teacher or their friend to make a sentence containing a new word. Only 4.5% always, 31.3% rarely and 11.9% never did so. Apart from making a sentence including a new word, students can ask their classmates to translate a new word into Vietnamese (question 6). The result shows that 56.7% of the informants usually asked their friends or classmates to translate a new word into Vietnamese. Meanwhile, 37.3% of them sometimes did so. With regard to studying and practicing meaning of words in a group (question 7), only 10.4% of the informants always used it. 32.8% of them usually and the same number rarely adopted it. 7.5% never did so. When asked whether they asked their teacher to check the meaning or spelling or not (question 8), most of them (70.1%) employed this strategy with low frequency or even never used it (11.9% ). Communicating with native speakers (question 25) is a fantastic way to practice vocabulary. Noticeably, there have recently been some voluntary foreign teachers coming to school and this is a wonderful chance for students to practice their English in general and their vocabulary in particular. However, a moderate number of the informants (16.4%) always took the chances to use it. Meanwhile, 23.9% usually, 16.4 % sometimes, 22.4% rarely and up to 20.9% never did so. 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 Percent (%) always 7.5 4.5 4.5 4.5 9.0 4.5 0.0 3.0 22.4 16.4 17.9 usually 32.8 14.9 31.3 35.8 16.4 28.4 34.3 32.8 53.7 25.4 41.8 sometimes 43.3 38.8 46.3 37.3 47.8 35.8 43.3 31.3 16.4 44.8 20.9 rarely 11.9 37.3 13.4 11.9 20.9 19.4 20.9 23.9 6.0 13.4 16.4 never 4.5 4.5 4.5 10.4 6.0 11.9 1.5 9.0 1.5 0.0 3.0 Q9 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q23 Q26 Q27 Q28 Q29 Q30 3.5.3 Applying Memory strategies to learning vocabulary Figure 3: Students’ use of MEM strategies in vocabulary learning Question 9 asks whether the informants associated a new word with the words they have already known. More than a half of them (55.2%) used this strategy with low frequency. Only 7.5% of them always did so. 32.8% of them usually employed it. Meanwhile, 4.5% of them never used this strategy. Associating new words with personal experience helps vocabulary learning more effectively (question 10). The answer to this question shows that 75.1% sometimes or rarely connected new words to personal experience. Only 19.4% employed this strategy with high frequency. 4.5% even never did so. Some types of sense relationship such as coordination, synonymy or antonymy are used to consolidate vocabulary effectively(question 11). However, more than half of the informants sometimes or rarely used this strategy (46.3% and 13.4% respectively). Only 4.5% always used it and the same number never used it. Grouping words according to particular topics or word types in order to study them (question 12) was usually used by 35.8% of the informants. Meanwhile, 37.3% and 11.9% sometimes and rarely used this strategy respectively. Up to 10.4% of them never did so. To our surprise, the majority of the informants reported that they sometimes (47.8%) or rarely (20.9%) made sentences to study or practiced the meaning of words (question 13). Explaining the meaning in your own English (question 23) is one of effective ways to practice and study vocabulary. Only 4.5% of the informants always and 28.4% usually did this. Meanwhile, more than half of them sometimes and rarely applied this strategy (55.2%). Up to 11.9% never did so. Question 26 asks if the informants adopted keyword method to guess the meaning of surrounding words. More than half of them used this strategy with low frequency (64.2%). 34.3% employed it with high frequency. 1.5% of them never used this strategy. Remembering affixes and roots (question 27) was not commonly used by our students. More than half of them used this strategy with low frequency (55.2%).34.8% of them employed it with high frequency and 9% never used it. Question 28 aims at finding out whether the informants remembered parts of speech or not. The answer to this question is really optimistic. Up to 76.1% used this strategy with high frequency. Meanwhile, 22.4% employed it with low frequency and 1.5% never did so. In question 29, the informants were asked whether they paraphrased the words’ meaning or not. The result showed that most of them used this strategy with low frequency (58.2%) and 41.8% of them employed it with high frequency. With regard to learning the words of an idiom together (question 30), more than half of the informants used this strategy with high frequency(59.7%). 37.3% applied it with low frequency and 3.0% never used it. 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 Percent (%) always 35.8 40.3 9.0 3.0 23.9 11.9 26.9 4.5 7.6 usually 47.8 32.8 22.4 31.3 38.8 31.3 40.3 16.4 22.7 sometimes 10.4 17.9 32.8 25.4 23.9 23.9 25.4 37.3 22.7 rarely 6.0 9.0 19.4 31.3 10.4 13.4 4.5 26.9 43.9 never 0.0 0.0 16.4 9.0 3.0 19.4 3.0 14.9 3.0 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q18 Q19 Q20 Q22 Q36 Q37 3.5.4 Applying Cognitive strategies to learning vocabulary Figure 4: Students’ use of COG strategies in vocabulary learning Taking note in class (or note down the new words) is a helpful way for learners (question 14). Perhaps for that reason, up to 83.6% of the informants reported that they took notes in class with high frequency. Only 16.4% did so with low frequency. Studying the vocabulary in the textbook seems to be convenient to our students (question 15). Therefore, the majority of the informants applied this strategy with high frequency (73.1%). 17.9% sometimes and only 9% rarely did so. Copying the new words in a diary is also an interesting way(question 16). However, over half of the informants employed this strategy with low frequency (52.2%). 31.4% used it with high frequency and 16.4% even never did so. Verbal and written repetition (question 18 and 19) are very popular strategies for most of English learners. It seems to be no exception to our informants in written repetition (question 19). More than half of the informants used this strategy with high frequency (62.7%). Only 3.0% never did so and 34.3% used this strategy with low frequency. However, less than half of the informants applied verbal repetition to learning vocabulary(34.3%). More than half of them sometimes or rarely did so. Even 9.0% never did so. Labeling physical objects in L2 (question 20) is not only relaxing and fun but also helpful activity for learning vocabulary. The use of this strategy with high and low frequency is not much different. The former accounts for 43.2% and the latter accounts for 47.3%of the total. Up to 19.4% of the informants never employed this strategy. Highlighting, underlining or circling new words for notice should be a habit of learning vocabulary(question 22). This can be clearly seen from the answer. The majority of the informants used this strategy with high frequency (67.2%). 25.4% sometimes and only 4.5% of them rarely did so. 3.0% never highlighted new words when learning. Not many of the informants (20.9%) reported that they sought the chances to practice the words they have learned or need to learn by talking to their friends (question 36). More than half of them (64.2%) sometimes or rarely used this and even 14.9% of them never did this. In question 37, the informants are asked whether they associated the similarity of sounds or word formation between English and Vietnamese or not. More than half of them used this strategy with low frequency. 30.3% did so with high frequency and the rest of them (3%) never applied it. 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 always 1.5 7.5 1.5 6.0 23.9 1.5 7.5 4.5 7.5 usually 20.9 14.9 3.0 25.4 11.9 16.4 13.4 37.3 25.4 sometimes 46.3 49.3 34.3 26.9 28.4 38.8 40.3 40.3 49.3 rarely 13.4 23.9 35.8 26.9 25.4 20.9 23.9 14.9 14.9 never 17.9 4.5 25.4 14.9 10.4 22.4 14.9 3.0 3.0 Q17 Q21 Q24 Q31 Q32 Q33 Q34 Q35 Q38 Percent (%) 3.5.5 Applying Metacognitive strategies to learning vocabulary Figure 5: Students’ use of MET strategies in vocabulary learning Mass media such as television (question 17), radio (question 33), newspapers, magazines, stories (question 34), internet (question 31) or songs (question 32) are not only informative but also effective way to enrich and retain vocabulary. That is the reason why our students are always encouraged to make use of it. However, not many of our informants used these strategies. Most of them used this strategy with low frequency. Even a big proportion of the informants (between 10% and 22%) never did so. Continuing to study words over time (question 38) or studying words everyday (question 17) are supposed to be necessary to all learners. However, the majority of the informants applied this strategy with low frequency. A very small proportion of them did this job with high frequency. Up to 17.9% never studied words everyday and 3.0% never studied words over time. Skipping or passing new words is not expected (question 24). Luckily, a vast proportion of the informants (70.1%) sometimes or rarely skipped new words they have met. May be they took note, highlighted or copied them in their diary. Up to 25.4% never passed new words. A very small number of the informants always did so (1.5%). The results of our questionnaire can be seen easier when the mean score of each question is counted as in the table below. Our coding is that: Always = 5 Usually = 4 Sometimes = 3 Rarely = 2 Never = 1 Categories Questions Mean (M) DET Guessing from textual context (Q1) 3.37 DET Monolingual dictionary (Q2) 2.70 DET Bilingual dictionary (Q3) 4.10 SOC Ask teacher for an L1 translation (Q4) 3.24 SOC Ask teacher for a sentence including the new word (Q5) 2.66 SOC Ask classmates for meaning (Q6) 3.63 SOC Discover new meaning through group work activities (Q7) 3.22 SOC Ask teacher for checking flash cards or word lists for accuracy (Q8) 2.57 SOC Interact with native speaker (Q25) 2.93 COG Take note in class (Q14) 4.13 COG Use the vocabulary section in your textbook (Q15) 4.04 COG Keep a vocabulary notebook (Q16) 2.88 COG Verbal repetition (Q18) 2.88 COG Written repetition (Q19) 3.70 COG Put English labels on physical objects (Q20) 3.03 COG Highlight new words (Q22) 3.84 COG Study words through talking to classmates (Q36) 2.69 COG Associate English sounds and word formation with Vietnamese (Q37) 2.85 MEM Associate new words with known words (Q9) 3.27 MEM Connect word to a personal experience (Q10) 2.78 MEM Associate the word with its synonyms and antonyms (Q11) 3.18 MEM Group words together to study them (Q12) 3.12 MEM Use new word in sentences (Q13) 3.01 MEM Explaining the meaning in your own English (Q23) 2.94 MEM Use keyword method (Q26) 3.10 MEM Affixes and roots (remembering) (Q27) 2.97 MEM Part of speech (remembering) (Q28) 3.90 MEM Paraphrase the word’s meaning(Q29) 3.45 MEM Learn the words of an idiom together (Q30) 3.55 MET Study words through television programs (Q17) 2.75 MET Skip or pass new word (Q21) 2.97 MET Study words everyday (Q24) 2.91 MET Study words on the internet (Q31) 2.81 MET Study words through English songs (Q32) 3.13 MET Study words through radio programs (Q33) 2.54 MET Study words through newspapers, magazines or stories. (Q34) 2.75 MET Testing oneself with word tests (Q35) 3.25 MET Continue to study word over time (Q38) 3.19 Table 8 : Means of Vocabulary Learning Strategies 3.6 Overall vocabulary learning strategy use First of all, it can be concluded that all the vocabulary strategies introduced in the questionnaire were employed by both majored and non majored English students at Hung Vuong Gifted High School. The strategies consisted of Determination, Social, Cognitive, Memory and Metacognitive strategies. Table 8 above showed that the average means of frequency of strategy use ranged from 2.54 to 4.13. Three most frequently used strategies with mean values above 4 were “Take note in class” (M = 4.13), “Bilingual dictionary (M=4.10), “Use the vocabulary section in the textbook” (M=4.04). The rest had mean values ranging from 2.54 to 3. 90. In general, the results show that Memory strategies were the most often used while Metacognitive strategies were the least often used. The informants used Cognitive and Determination strategies more than Social strategies. 3.7 The differences in the use of vocabulary learning strategies in terms of gender and majors As I know, vocabulary learning strategy use was affected by many factors, namely, place of living, years of learning English, attitude, self-rated English proficiency, motivation, gender, field of study and so on. However, the researcher only focused on gender and field of study due to the limited time. Also, it is impossible to cover so many things in such a minor thesis. In order to find the impacts of gender and major on the use of vocabulary learning strategies or in other words, the differences in strategy use between the English majors and non English majors, between the male and female students, means were calculated and then compared. 3.7.1 Strategy use by gender Numbers Strategies Female Male 1 Guess from the textual context 3.36 3.40 2 Monolingual dictionary 2.66 2.80 3 Bilingual dictionary 4.28 3.70 4 Ask teacher for L1 translation 3.30 3.10 5 Ask teacher or friend for a sentence including new words. 2.77 2.40 6 Ask classmates for meaning 3.60 3.70 7 Discover new meaning through group work activities 3.30 3.05 8 Ask teacher for checking students’ flash cards or word lists for accuracy 2.66 2.35 9 Associate new words with known words 3.40 2.95 10 Connect word to a personal experience 2.77 2.80 11 Associate the word with its synonyms and antonyms 3.19 3.15 12 Group words together to study them 3.11 3.15 13 Use new word in sentences 3.09 3.00 14 Take note in class 4.15 4.10 15 Use the vocabulary section in your textbook 4.11 3.90 16 Keep a vocabulary notebook 3.09 2.40 17 Study words through television programs 2.96 2.25 18 Verbal repetition 2.94 2.75 19 Written repetition 3.81 3.45 20 Put English labels on physical objects 3.26 2.50 21 Study words everyday 3.00 2.90 22 Highlight new words 3.87 3.75 23 Explaining the meaning in your own English 2.98 2.85 24 Skip or pass new word 2.13 2.35 25 Interact with native speaker 3.15 2.40 26 Use keyword method 3.06 3.20 27 Affixes and roots (remembering) 3.09 2.70 28 Part of speech (remembering) 3.96 3.75 29 Paraphrase the word’s meaning 3.49 3.35 30 Learn the words of an idiom together 3.68 3.25 31 Study words on the internet 2.83 2.75 32 Study words through English songs 3.34 2.65 33 Study words through radio programs 2.55 2.50 34 Study words through newspapers, magazines or stories 2.81 2.60 35 Testing oneself with word tests 3.45 2.80 36 Study words through talking to classmates 2.77 2.30 37 Associate English sounds and word formation with Vietnamese 2.96 2.25 38 Continue to study word over time 3.23 3.10 Table 9: Comparisons of Strategy Use by Gender The results showed that means of vocabulary learning strategy use between the male and female were not so much different. Most of the female had greater means than the male. However, there were 6 strategies in which the male had bigger means than the female. The male rely more on guessing from textual context, monolingual dictionary, asking teacher for L1 translation, connecting word to a personal experience, grouping words to study, using key words. They also are more likely to skip new words. Meanwhile, the female preferred such strategies as “Take note in class” (M=4.15), “Bilingual dictionary” (M=4.28), and “Use the vocabulary section in the textbook” (M=4.11). Clearly, the female employed the vocabulary strategies more often than the male did. A possible explanation is that the female are said to be more hard working than the male. 3.7.2 Strategy use by majors Numbers Strategies English majored Maths majored 1 Guess from the textual context 3.60 3.13 2 Monolingual dictionary 3.31 2.03 3 Bilingual dictionary 4.54 3.63 4 Ask teacher for L1 translation 3.57 2.88 5 Ask teacher or friend for a sentence including new words. 3.06 2.22 6 Ask classmates for meaning 3.69 3.56 7 Discover new meaning through group work activities 3.77 2.63 8 Ask teacher for checking students’ flash cards or word lists for accuracy 2.97 2.13 9 Associate new words with known words 3.46 3.06 10 Connect word to a personal experience 2.86 2.69 11 Associate the word with its synonyms and antonyms 3.57 2.75 12 Group words together to study them 3.63 2.56 13 Use new word in sentences 3.40 2.59 14 Take note in class 4.14 4.13 15 Use the vocabulary section in your textbook 4.06 4.03 16 Keep a vocabulary notebook 3.06 2.69 17 Study words through television programs 3.20 2.25 18 Verbal repetition 2.74 3.03 19 Written repetition 3.46 3.97 20 Put English labels on physical objects 3.77 2.22 21 Study words everyday 3.17 2.75 22 Highlight new words 4.09 3.56 23 Explaining the meaning in your own English 3.26 2.59 24 Skip or pass new word 2.23 2.16 25 Interact with native speaker 3.77 2.00 26 Use keyword method 3.17 3.03 27 Affixes and roots (remembering) 3.54 2.34 28 Part of speech (remembering) 4.20 3.56 29 Paraphrase the word’s meaning 3.80 3.06 30 Learn the words of an idiom together 4.14 2.91 31 Study words on the internet 3.29 2.28 32 Study words through English songs 3.60 2.63 33 Study words through radio programs 2.77 2.28 34 Study words through newspapers, magazines or stories 3.63 2.31 35 Testing oneself with word tests 3.63 2.84 36 Study words through talking to classmates 3.06 2.16 37 Associate English sounds and word formation with Vietnamese 3.37 2.06 38 Continue to study word over time 3.54 2.81 Table 10: Comparisons of Strategy Use by Field of Study As seen from the above table, the English majors had a large proportion of mean values above 3.00. Up to 6 strategies had mean values above 4. Meanwhile, the non English majors’ mean values were mostly above 2.00 and below 3.00. There were only two of the total strategies with mean values above 4. There was only one strategy in which the non-English majors had greater mean value than the English majors (strategy 14, written repetition). In general, the English majors reported making more use of strategies in vocabulary learning than the non English majors. A possible explanation is that English majors have a stronger motivation to enhance their vocabulary learning than the non-English majors. 3.8 Summary In this chapter, I presented the context of the study, the background information about the subjects of the study and the research method. Besides, data collection instruments and data collection procedures for the study were also showed. All the findings of the study were presented in tables and figures. The analysis and discussion of the findings are presented in the next chapter. CHAPTER 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION In the previous chapter, I presented all the results from the survey questionnaire. In this chapter those findings are discussed and analyzed. Particular emphasis is given to the discussion of the overall vocabulary learning strategy used by students and then the differences in vocabulary learning strategy use between English majors and non-English majors, between the male and the female. 4.1 Vocabulary Learning Strategies used by HV Gifted High School students: What and How often? Figure 6: Statistics of five groups of vocabulary learning strategies The participants reported that they used most of strategies given in the questionnaire in their vocabulary learning. However, these strategies were not used with high frequency. Only one of five groups of strategies had the frequency above 50% (Determination strategies). The rest had the frequency below 50%. For Determination strategies, bilingual dictionaries are more frequently used than monolingual dictionary and guessing from the textual context. The reason might be that using monolingual dictionary and guessing from the textual context often take time. In fact, the students are often encouraged to use monolingual dictionaries because it will give them chance to practice and study words repeatedly. Once the students get familiar with this strategy, they will find it very helpful especially for the English majors. Regarding to Social strategies, the informants reported that more than half of them used these strategies with low frequency (52.99%), about 37.56% used them with high frequency and 9.45% never did so. It can be seen that these strategies were not frequently used by the students. Asking teachers or friends for L1 translation is the most frequently used strategy (97%) while interacting with native speakers is the least frequently used (79.1%). This fact can be easily understood because students are not afraid to ask their friends or teachers for their help in L1 translation. As far as I know that our students do want to interact with native speakers although they don’t have many chances. That is the objective reason why more than half of them employed the strategy of interacting with native speakers. Studying and practicing meaning of words in groups or peer learning was not frequently used by the students. A possible explanation is that the students have no extra time for this activity. They finish school and then go home and most of them have the habit of learning at home by themselves. For the students living in the hostel, this activity can be easily organized and conducted. But why didn’t they do it? They didn’t make use of this activity regardless of its benefits such as vocabulary command, communicative competence, cooperation, group work skills and something like that. Students should be encouraged to employ this strategy in learning vocabulary. Asking teacher to check the meaning or spelling was used with low frequency or even 11.9% of the students never used it. This can be acceptable. They can apply this strategy to peer learning instead of asking their teacher. Memory strategies are the approaches which relate new materials to existing knowledge such as associating new words with the known words, associating new words with personal experience, sense relationship, or key word method, grouping words according to particular topics or word types, making sentences to study and practice the meaning of words, remembering affixes and roots, paraphrasing the words’ meaning, etc. Not many of the students used these strategies, maybe, for the reason is that they are not familiar with it. However, among this group of strategies, remembering parts of speech and learning the words of an idiom together were used with high frequency. Up to 76.1% of the students employed the former and 59.7% of the total informants used the latter. It’s because learning idioms is not only interesting but also necessary for their vocabulary tests. The students, especially English majored students, often deal with this when having tests. Cognitive strategies such as taking note in class, studying the vocabulary in the textbook, verbal and written repetition, highlighting, underlying or circling new words were preferred by the students. Meanwhile, the rest strategies (copying new words in a diary, practicing words by talking to friends and associating the similarity of sounds or word formation between English and Vietnamese) were used with low frequency. These are very simple and feasible activities for the students, so that they should be encouraged to use them as often as a habit. In a whole, Metacognitive strategies were not frequently used. Mean values of this group ranged from 2.54 to 3.25. As it is said that the mass media and information technology are on a big move all over the world. However, for our students who live in a highland province like Phu Tho, the chances of accessing these media seem to be rare. Therefore, most of the students used television, radio, newspapers, magazines, computers, etc. with not very high frequency. Yet, the public internet has become more popular in here, so that students should make use of this kind of modern technology for the purpose of learning English in general and for learning English vocabulary in particular. Somehow, the students have been always given the best learning conditions from the teachers, the school and the local government. When the researcher delivered the questionnaire, she hoped that she would get the large proportion of the students continuing to study words overtime or study words everyday with high frequency. What a pity that a very small number of them always did this (7.5%). Up to 17.9% never studied words everyday and 3.0% never studied words overtime. Teachers should know this and think of ways to encourage, even request their students to employ this strategy. Luckily, most of the students sometimes or rarely skipped or passed new words. Up to 25.4% of them never did this. To sum up, the results of the study show that only some of the strategies introduced in the questionnaire are frequently used by the students. Most of the strategies are infrequently used. 4.2 The differences in the use of vocabulary learning strategies in terms of gender and majors 4.2.1 Strategy use by gender It can be concluded that gender did not affect strategy use significantly. More interestingly, the female preferred such strategies as “Take note in class”, “Bilingual dictionary”, and “Use the vocabulary section in the textbook”. The reason is that the female seem to be more hard working than the male. Meanwhile, the male rely more on guessing from textual context, monolingual dictionary, asking teacher for L1 translation, connecting word to a personal experience, grouping words to study, using key words. They also are more likely to skip new words. The male should be encouraged or even forced to learn new words by checking frequently. Taking note in class and using the vocabulary section in the textbook are useful and feasible strategies so that the male and the female should apply them to their learning. 4.2.2 Strategy use by majors The results of the study show that the English majors generally exceeded non-English majors in their report of overall vocabulary learning strategy use. the English majors had a large proportion of mean values above 3.00. Up to 6 strategies had mean values above 4. Meanwhile, the non English majors’ mean values were mostly above 2.00 and below 3.00. A possible explanation is that English majors have a stronger motivation to improve their vocabulary learning. Moreover, English is their major so they need to spend most of their class time as well as home time on this subject. For the non-English majors, although English is not their major, it is ever more and more important and compulsory to them in their graduation exam. Therefore, the non English majors spend more time and their effort on this subject. They try to apply the strategies to their English learning in general and to English vocabulary learning in particular. Yet, we should note that both majors rated the use of connecting word to a personal experience as the least-used strategy. The strategies of taking note in class and using vocabulary section in the textbook are preferred by both majors. In short, both majors and non majors’ awareness of English learning generally and English vocabulary learning particularly should be enhanced. Teachers should suggest and guide their students how to apply appropriate and effective vocabulary learning strategies. Hence, students’ English learning and vocabulary learning will be improved. CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary and Implications The study indicates that there are not significant differences in vocabulary learning strategy use between the male and the female. At the micro level, however, there are some differences. The male rely more on guessing from textual context, monolingual dictionary, asking teacher for L1 translation, connecting word to a personal experience, grouping words to study, using key words. They also are more likely to skip new words. Meanwhile, the female preferred such strategies as “Take note in class”, “Bilingual dictionary”, and “Use the vocabulary section in the textbook”. Clearly, the female employed the vocabulary strategies more often than the male did. Based on this finding, it is suggested that the male should be encouraged to use the strategies which are given in the study more frequently than they did. This study also generated interesting findings about learners’ majors in relation to vocabulary learning. The English majors make use of strategies introduced in the questionnaire more frequently than the non-English majors. Out of which, the strategies of taking note in class for new words and using vocabulary section in the textbook are preferred by both majors. Connecting word to a personal experience is the least-used strategy. Although our participants reported they used all most of the strategies given in the questionnaire, the frequency is not really high. There are some of the strategies which are reported to be frequently used such as “bilingual dictionary ”, verbal and written repetition”, “taking note in class”, “using the vocabulary section in the textbook”, “remembering parts of speech”. The other strategies are said to be used with low frequency or even rarely or never used. This phenomenon may be due to the fact that our students learn words simply by using dictionary and listening to the teacher’s explanation. In addition, in Vietnam in general and in Hung Vuong Gifted High School in particular, a typical EFL environment, words are primarily taught through decontextualized activities in English classes. A considerable amount of instructional time is devoted to presenting, explaining, and defining terms. Moreover, students are usually expected to learn vocabulary on their own, mostly by mechanical memorization, without much guidance from teachers. Little effort has been made to teach students strategies to improve their vocabulary learning. However, merely giving students lists of words to learn does no result effective learning, despite the growing awareness on the part of learners of the importance of enhancing their communicative competence of the target language and the recognition that a much larger vocabulary is needed to this end. It is important for curriculum designers, teachers and students alike to acknowledge that a balanced and integrated approach is important particularly for foreign language learners in input-poor environments, especially in a northern highland province of Phu Tho. There are lacks of equipments and materials such as lab rooms, cassettes, televisions, magazines, etc. Chances of accessing to both English language and English culture are rare. Learning words individually will not take care of the other aspects such as communicative competence, vocabulary knowledge and so on. Pedagogically, it is important and feasible that teachers play a more active role in students’ vocabulary learning by providing learners with systematic L2 vocabulary instructions, offering contextualized learning opportunities, helping students learn specific strategies for acquiring words, and showing students how to learn words outside of their L2 classes. The ultimate purpose is to encourage learner autonomy so that students can learn vocabulary wisely both inside and outside of the class for more productive outcomes. 5.2 Limitations and suggestions for further study This was an exploratory study that only caught a glimpse of the present status of vocabulary learning by Hung Vuong Gifted High School students. A larger sample with more diverse backgrounds would be desirable in order to yield more generalizable findings. Furthermore, the data for the study were based on the self reports of the participants. Therefore, further studies are needed using other instruments such as oral interview and so on. Such multiple sources would provide more insights into what learners actually do. Hopefully, this will lead to more thorough investigations in the field. REFERENCE Allen, V.F. (1983). Techniques in Teaching Vocabulary. Oxford: OUP. Canale, M & Swain, M. (1980). Theoretical bases of communicative approaches to second language teaching and testing. Cohen, A.D. (1998). Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language. New York: Longman. Cook, V. (1983). Linguistic and Second Language Acquisition. London : The Macmillan Press Ltd. Ellis, R.(1997). Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: OUP Gairns, R. & Redman, S. (1986). Working with words. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gu, Y., & Johnson, R.K. (1996). Vocabulary Learning Strategies and Language Learning Outcomes. Language Learning, 46, 643-679. Krashen, S. (1892). Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Prentice Hall. Ming Wei. ( 2006 ). An Examination of Vocabulary Learning of College-level Learners of English in China. The Asian EFL Journal, Vol. 9, N2, 93-114. Naiman, N., Frohlich, M., Stern, H., & Todesco, A. (1996). The Good Language Learner. Cleverdon, Avon: Multilingual Matters. Nation, I. S. P. (1982). Beginning to learn foreign Vocabulary. A review of the research. RELC Journal, Vol. 13, 14-36. (1982). Learning Vocabulary. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Newbury House Publishers. Nation, P. (ed.). (1994). New Ways in Teaching Vocabulary. Alexandra: TESOL, Inc. Nunan, D. (1991). Language Teaching Methodology: A Textbook for Teachers: New York: Prentice Hall. O’Malley, J. M., & Charmot, A.U. (1990). Learning Strategies in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Oxford, R. (1990). Language Learning Strategies: What every teachers should know. Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Read, J. (2000). Assessing Vocabulary. Cambridge: CUP. Richard, J.C., Platt, J., and Platt, H. (1992). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistic. Hallow: Longman. Rubin, J. (1975). What “good language learner” can teach us. TESOL Quarterly, 9 (1) 41-51. Rubin, J. and Thompson, I. (1994). How to be a more successful language learner: Toward Learner Autonomy (2nd edition). Boston: Heinle and Heinle Publishers. Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary Learning Strategies. In N. Schmitt, & M.McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition, and Pedagogy. (pp.237-257). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Stern, H.H. (1992). Issues and Options in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Taylor, L. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. New York: Prentice Hall. Hoang Tat Truong. (1985). Towards Teaching English Vocabulary to Vietnamese Tertiary Students (Unpublished MA. Thesis). Canberra: Canberra College of Advanced Education. Weinstein, C., & Mayer, R. (1986). The teaching of learning strategies. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd Edition (pp. 315-327). New York: Macmillan. Wenden, A. (1991). Learner Strategies for Learner Autonomy: Planning and Implementing Learner Training for Language Learners. New York: Prentice Hall. Wenden, A. and Rubin, J. (1987). Learner Strategies in Language Learning. New York: Prentice Hall. Wharton, G. (2000). Language Learning Strategy use of bilingual foreign language learners in Singapore. Language Learning, 50 (2), 203-243. APPENDIX Bảng câu hỏi về chiến lược học từ vựng Bản câu hỏi này được thiết kế nhằm điều tra chiến lược học từ vựng của học sinh trung học phổ thông trường Cấp 3 chuyên Hùng Vương. Tôi rất mong các em dành chút thời gian trả lời các câu hỏi dưới đây một cách trung thực nhất. Mọi thông tin các em đưa ra đều được giữ bí mật hoàn toàn và chỉ được dùng cho mục đích nghiên cứu. Sự giúp đỡ của các em sẽ giúp tôi hoàn thành luận văn thạc sỹ của mình. Tôi xin chân thành cảm ơn sự giúp đỡ của các em. Trước khi trả lời các câu hỏi , xin các em vui lòng cung cấp một số thông tin cá nhân bằng cách khoanh tròn những thông tin đúng hoặc trả lời các câu hỏi sau đây: 1. Giới tính: Nam/Nữ 2. Quê quán của em: 3. Hiện em đang là học sinh lớp: 10/11/12 4. Tuổi của em: 5. Khối chuyên ban mà các em đang theo học: Khoa học tự nhiên/Xã hội / Chuyên Anh/ Chuyên toán 6. Em học tiếng Anh được bao lâu? Sau đây là những chiến lược học từ vựng, tức là cách mà em dùng để học từ mới hoặc ôn lại từ đã học. Các em hãy lựa chọn cách học từ vựng mà em đã sử dụng bằng cách khoanh tròn một trong những đáp án cho sẵn sau đây: STT Chiến lược học từ vựng 1 Đoán nghĩa của từ mới dựa vào ngữ cảnh a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 2 Tra từ điển Anh Anh a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 3 Tra từ điển Anh-Việt a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 4 Nhờ giáo viên dịch sang tiếng Việt. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 5 Nhờ bạn hoặc giáo viên đặt một câu trong đó có từ mới. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 6 Nhờ bạn hoặc giáo viên dịch nghĩa của từ mới sang tiếng Việt. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 7 Học từ trong những hoạt động theo nhóm ở trên lớp. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 8 Nhờ giáo viên kiểm tra xem danh mục từ của mình có đúng chính tả và nghĩa hay không. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 9 Liên hệ từ mới với những từ mà em đã biết. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 10 Gắn liền từ mới với kinh nghiệm của bản thân. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 11 Học từ mới bằng cách gắn liền với các từ đồng nghĩa và trái nghĩa của nó. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 12 Nhóm các từ mới theo các tiêu chí cụ thể để học như theo chủ đề hoặc từ loại. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 13 16. Học từ mới bằng cách đặt câu với các từ đó. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 14 Ghi chép lại tất cả các từ mới xuất hiện trong các giờ học trên lớp. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 15 Học từ mới trong phần từ vựng của sách giáo khoa. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 16 Chép từ mới vào một cuốn sổ nhật kí. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 17 Học từ mới qua các chương trình tiếng Anh trên truyền hình. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 18 Học từ bằng cách đọc to nhiều lần. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 19 Học từ bằng cách víêt đi viết lại nhiều lần. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 20 Dán tên bằng tiếng Anh lên các đồ vật xung quanh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao gi 21 Ngày nào cũng dành thời gian học từ mới. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 22 Dùng bút màu hay gạch chân khoanh tròn những từ mới xuất hiện trong tài liệu để tạo sự chú ý cho em. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 23 Giải thích nghĩa từ mới bằng chính vốn từ tiếng Anh của em. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 24 Bỏ qua từ mới. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 25 Tìm cách nói chuyện với người nước ngoài. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 26 Dùng phương pháp sử dụng từ khoá. Tức là các em chỉ cần biết một vài từ quan trọng, then chốt rồi đoán nghĩa của những từ xung quanh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 27 Phân tích cấu trúc của từ (các tiền tố và hậu tố, từ gốc).ví dụ: in-formal, color-less. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 28 Ghi nhớ từ loại của từ (danh từ, động từ, tính từ, trạng từ...) a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 29 Tự mình diễn giải lại nghĩa của từ theo cách đơn giản hơn. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 30 Học từ theo những cụm từ cố định. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 31 Học từ trên những trang web bằng tiếng Anh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 32 Học từ thông qua các bài hát tiếng Anh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 33 Nghe các chương trình tiếng Anh trên đài phát thanh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 34 Học từ, tăng vốn từ vựng thông qua việc đọc báo, tạp chí, truyện tiếng Anh. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 35 Tự kiểm tra trình độ từ vựng của mình bằng cách làm các bài tập liên quan đến từ vựng. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 36 Học từ bằng cách nói chuyện với các bạn trong lớp của em. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 37 Học từ bằng cách liên hệ sự giống nhau về cách thành lập từ, cách phát âm từ của tiếng Anh và tiếng Việt. a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ 38 Học và thực hành nghĩa của từ ngoài giờ học trên lớp a.Luôn luôn b.Thường xuyên c.Thỉnh thoảng d. Hiếm khi e.Không bao giờ