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I.1. Rationale
In our modern and fast-moving world, when the trend of globalization has been
profoundly influencing all aspects of life, a great importance is directly
attached to foreign language learning. As an indispensable communicative tool
in establishing and improving foreign interactions and relationships, English
undoubtedly has been playing an increasingly important role in recent years.
Nowadays, it is undeniable to say that almost everyone is eager to learn
English, though their purposes vary greatly.
However, learning a different language is a complicated set of work proceeding
through a wide range of adjustments, from minor to major ones (Gardner, 2010).
To be capable of using English fluently as the second language requires learners to
learn a wide range of theories and skills, including the four main language skills:
listening, speaking, reading, writing, and the three basic language elements:
pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Out of these factors, vocabulary has
assumed to play a more important role, and even, as some argue, the central role
in learning second language (Lewis, 1993). With this shift in emphasis, much
attention has been placed on finding how to teach and how to learn English
vocabulary by many researchers, linguistics and English teachers.
According to Alhaysony (2012), even though language teachers tend to try to
teach all the needed vocabulary for their students, they rarely have enough time.
Therefore, it is impossible for students to learn all the vocabulary they need in
classroom. (Sokmen, 1997, p.225) As a result, self-studying is essentially
employed to improve the vocabulary knowledge. In order to learn vocabulary
effectively, students are required to make plans, decide learning strategies and take
actions on their own. Ways of learning are various and are differently selected. As
Alhaysony (2012) pointed out, individual differences between language students
play indispensible role in deciding which vocabulary should be chosen and how
vocabulary should be learnt. Hence, it can be concluded that to master English
vocabulary, it is advisable for students to be of independence and of flexibility in
determining what their most suitable and appropriate learning strategies are.
As a senior student in the faculty of English (F.O.E), Hanoi National University of
Education (HNUE), who has experienced vocabulary learning for several years,
the researcher is strongly aware of the importance of learning vocabulary in
enhancing English proficiency as well as some problems students normally
encounter when learning new words. As a future English teacher, the researcher
understands that helping learners to develop their learning strategies is a vital
responsibility for every language teacher. Vocabulary, like other aspects of
language, needs to be accumulated overtime and via appropriate approaches. At
F.O.E, HNUE, vocabulary learning strategies are variously applied by students.
However, the effectiveness of these strategies varies considerably. With the aim to
investigate how vocabulary is learnt by freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE, which
strategies freshmen have used and to suggest new methods to help learners master
their English vocabulary, the researcher would like to conduct a research on the
field of vocabulary learning strategies. Regarding journal keeping as an efficient
learning tool that can assist students to settle a wide range of problems in
vocabulary learning, she has decided to conduct a study on the topic: An
investigation into the current situation of using journal keeping as a vocabulary
learning strategy among freshmen at Faculty of English, Hanoi National
University of Education.
I.2. Aims of the study
This study is conducted to achieve the main following aims:
Firstly, the study aims to investigate more deeply the current situation of
vocabulary learning at F.O.E, HNUE.
Secondly, the study aims to investigate the current situation of using journal
keeping strategy in freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE.
Thirdly, the study aims to investigate teachers and students attitudes towards the
use of journal keeping strategy in English vocabulary learning.
Finally, the researcher would like to recommend some suggestions for the use of
notebook keeping strategy in vocabulary learning for freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE.
The study is hoped to be of contribution to the development of new methods in
learning English in general and learning vocabulary in particular.
To fulfill the purposes mentioned above, this paper seeks answers to the following
questions:
Q1.
Q2. How is journal keeping strategy used in English vocabulary learning by
freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE?
Q3. What are teachers and students attitudes towards the use of journal
keeping strategy in English vocabulary learning?
Q4. What are some recommendations for the use of notebook keeping as
vocabulary learning strategies among freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE?
I.3. Scope of the study
To begin with, the researcher herself, as a student at F.O.E, HNUE, from her own
experience, is well aware that vocabulary is one of the most notable components
of a language. This is agreed by many researchers and commentators (Allen, 1983;
Laufer, 1987, Nation, 1990) who regarded vocabulary as a striking factor in the
development of second language acquisition. Considering that the ways of
learning vocabulary is being paid much attention nowadays, the researcher is
willing to have a full look at the field of vocabulary learning strategies. However,
research
instrument employed and the procedure of collecting and analyzing the data.
Chapter IV: Findings and discussion analyzes gathered data by research
instruments, present the findings.
Chapter V: Implications recommends some suggestions for using notebook
keeping to learn vocabulary effectively.
Chapter VI: Conclusion reviews the research outcome, its limitations and
suggestion for further study
In second language learning, some words are useful than others (Nations, 2001,
p.9). In other words, the frequency of second language words is divergent. Basing
on the frequency level, Cater (1987) categorizes vocabulary into four kinds: highfrequency words, academic words, technical frequency words, and low-frequency
words. He also emphasizes the importance of high-frequency words, as Nations
(2001) did. A small of high-frequency words may cover a very large proportion of
the running words in spoken and written texts with up to 80 percent of encounters
that can be seen (Cater, 1987). On the other hand, low-frequency words, or rare
words, occur very infrequently and take more time to recognize than highfrequency ones. Technical vocabulary consists of words and phrases that are
primarily used in specific lines of work or profession; in contrast, academic
vocabulary is critical to understanding the concepts of the content taught in
schools.
II.1.3. Vocabulary knowledge
II.1.3.1. Aspects of vocabulary to be learnt
Vocabulary is a multi-faceted aspect of language, so language acquisition is not
simple as some people believe. Lewis (1997) indicates that language consists of
not traditional grammar and vocabulary but often of multiword prefabricated
chunks. He specifies that chunks include collocations, fixed and semi-fixed
expressions and idioms occupy a crucial role in facilitating language production
being the key to fluency. Schmitt (2000) believes that at the most basic level,
meaning [of a word] consists of the relationship between the word and its referent
(the person, the thing, action and condition) (p. 22). As a result, language should
not be learnt in isolation.
Richards (1976) was considered the first author who offered a list of different
types of vocabulary knowledge. Schmitt (2000) also itemizes vocabulary
knowledge. He proposes that knowing a word includes knowing the meaning, the
written, the spoken form, the grammatical behavior, the collocation of the word.
Furthermore, the learners should increase their understanding of the register, the
associations and the frequency of the word so that they could use the word
appropriately in different situations.
The list of aspects of vocabulary to be learnt made by Gairns (1986) is favorable
in this paper, which is illustrated as follow:
II.1.3.1.1.Form (spelling and pronunciation)
According to Ur (1996), when learning aspects of vocabulary, the prerequisite
thing that students have to learn the word form, including the spelling and the
pronunciation. It is necessary for students to recognize what a word looks like and
what a word sounds like.
II.1.3.1.2. Grammar
The grammar of the new word should be learnt, as an item could change its form
unpredictably in certain grammatical contexts or idiosyncratically connect with
other words in sentences (Le and Thai, 2007). When learning the verb, for
example, students are advised to know the past form of the verb, if this is regular
(play, played) or irregular (go, went). Besides, students need to note whether the
verb is a transitive or intransitive. Similarly, learning a noun is expected to know
the plural form, if irregular (tooth, teeth) or it has no plural at all (love,
homework).
II.1.3.1.3. Collocation
Collocation is a term used to refer to a groups of words that belong together,
either because they commonly occur together like take a chance or because the
meaning of the group is not obvious from the parts, for example, by the way or
take someone in. (Nations, 2001, p.317) Language consists of a wide range of
familiar combinations; therefore, collocation may be worth learning because it
could make a particular combination sound right or wrong in a given context.
dog and buffalo are hyponyms of animal; by contrast, animal is the super-ordinate
of chicken, dog and buffalo.
Translation equivalents are the words and expressions in the learners mother
tongue that has (more or less) equivalent in meaning to the item being learnt.
II.1.3.1.5. Word formation
Last but not least, knowing how the word is formed is certainly useful information
for English learners. There are various kinds of word formation namely prefixes,
suffixes, clipping, conversion, compounding, blending and acronyms.
II.1.3.2. Stages to acquire vocabulary knowledge
As discussed above, vocabulary knowledge is a complex concept and there are
many cases that a word has different forms and meanings. Consequently, the
knowledge of vocabulary cannot be acquired in a certain short time, but be learnt
gradually over a long period of time. Mastering aspects of vocabulary of a
language is a challenging task and has to be taken in different stages. The extent of
knowledge about individual words, which a person can possess, ranges from a
little to a lot, as the description of five stages Dale (1989, as cited in Mukoroli,
2011).
At first, the student has no knowledge about the word. He has no idea of what the
word looks like or how the word is pronounced.
After that, the student has a general sense of the word. He learns its spelling, its
pronunciation and its meaning, for instance.
Next, the student has a narrow, context-bound knowledge about the word. He has
the first understanding of how the word can be used in some situations. For
example, he can use the word to make a sentence.
The student has a basic knowledge of the word and is able to use it in many
appropriate situations. In other words, the student understands aspects of the word
more deeply and can be able to use it appropriately for many communicative
purposes.
Finally, the student has a rich, de-contextualized knowledge of the word and can
use it in various appropriate situations.
In conclusion, knowing a word is not an all or nothing situation. Vocabulary
knowledge consists of different factors and rises to much challenge of leaning.
Nevertheless, problems of vocabulary learning may be totally dealt with if
effective teaching and learning strategies are applied.
II.1.3. Importance of vocabulary in language learning
Firstly, vocabulary exerts a great influence on the constructing and performing of
other aspects of language. According to Cook (1991, as cited in Tezi, 2006),
grammar provides the overall patterns, but vocabulary is the materials put in these
patterns; therefore, without words, grammatical items are meaningless (Tezi,
2006, p.52). In addition, without some vocabulary knowledge, neither language
production nor comprehension would be possible (Mukoroli, 2011, p.8). When we
think of language as a building, the words are the stones that will make the
building.
Furthermore, the importance of vocabulary is greatly stressed in using language
for communicative purposes. Tezi (2006) claims that lexicon is a source of
communication, so without sufficient vocabulary knowledge, communication is
difficult. Widdowson (1987) thinks that native speakers can understand language
material with correct vocabulary but not so proper in grammar rules rather than
those with correct grammar rules but not so proper in vocabulary use (as cited in
Xia, 2010). Accordingly, Wilkins (1997) states that without grammar, very little
can be conveyed, without vocabulary, nothing can be convey (p.111). It can be
inferred from Wilkinss statement that vocabulary is greater of significance than
grammar to a considerable extent and this corresponds with Gowers perspective
in Teaching Practice: vocabulary is important to students it is more important
than grammar for communication purposes. Similarly, McCarthy (1990) believes
that No matter how well students learns grammar, no how successfully the
sounds of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings,
communication in a L2 just cannot happen in an meaningful way (p.1). He
exemplified his idea by a very clear example of the situation when a foreigner
would like to find the way to go to the post office. The foreigner is supposed to ask
I post office where? It is believed that the communication would still be
recognized in this case even though his question lacks grammar.
In general, to start learning a new language, building up of a good vocabulary is
certainly the first and most important step. Lexical competence is essential to
language achievement (Gu, 2003), the superior filed of language learning
(Thornbury, as cited in Nguyen, 2010) and the heart of communicative
competence (Shen, 2003).
II.2. An overview of vocabulary learning strategies
According to Lord (1983), vocabulary is by far the most sizeable and
unmanageable component in the learning of any language. (p.83) Vocabulary
learning never stops because new words are being coined daily and old words are
assuming new meanings. To develop vocabulary competence, many learners
attempt to seek for appropriate and helpful strategies for their vocabulary learning.
Prior to investigating vocabulary learning strategies used by freshmen in F.O.E,
HNUE, it is vital to have a general look at the term of vocabulary learning
strategies.
II.2.1. Definition of learning strategies
Learning strategies are simply understood by some people as intended plans,
behaviors and steps that learners used to achieve their purposes in learning. In
terms of perspectives of scholars, in Mayers study, learning strategies were
defined as behaviors of a learner that are intended to influence how the learner
processes information (as cited in Lessard-Clouston, 1997). In a foreign language
namely planning, sources, and processes, are purely adopted without any research
result. Each of these categories is divided into a subset of key strategies, which is
illustrated as follow:
Figure 1: TAXONOMY OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES BY
NATIONS (2001)
General Class of Strategies
Planning: choosing what to focus on
When to focus on it
Types of Strategies
Choosing words
Choosing the aspects of word knowledge
Choosing strategies
Planning repetition
Noticing
Retrieving
Generating
There are two dimensions of second language vocabulary learning strategies can
be derived from this taxonomy: discovery and consolidation strategies which
distinguish the strategies that learners use to determine the meaning of new words
when they first encounter them from the ones they use to consolidate meanings
when they encounter the words again (as cited in Hamzal et al, 2009). It can be
easily seen that Schmitt adopted four categories (Metacognitive, Cognitive,
Memory and Social) from Oxfords (1990) six language learning strategies and
simultaneously add Determination as a new category in his study. These five
categories are generalized by Asgari and Mustapha (2011) in English Language
Teaching.
The word journal has been derived from the French word jour, which means
day in English. Thus, journal means daily.
In Oxford Advanced Leaners Dictionary Online, a journal is defined as:
(1) A newspaper or magazine that deals with a particular subject or professional
activity.
(2) A daily record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary.
Moreover, Jon Klug (2002) provided a vivid and interesting description of a
journal. He said:
A journal is also a tool for self-discovery, an aid to concentration, a mirror for
the soul, a place to generate and capture ideas, a safety valve for the emotions, a training
ground for the writer, and a good friend and confidant. (p.1)
In term of the physical form, journal presents different types. A journal could be
bound notebook, a ring binder full of papers, a collection of electrical particles on
computer disk or an audio tape.
In short, it can be summarized that a journal is a personal daily book that records
the thoughts, observations and experiences of the writer. People use journals in
different ways and for different purposes. In journaling, there are no rules, no
rights or wrongs. Writing a journal just means that you are reflecting and sharing
what you think, what you feel and what you experience from your real life.
III.1.2. Comparison of a vocabulary journal and vocabulary notebook
In Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, journal is defined as a written record
of the things you do, see, etc. while the term notebook refers to a small book of
plain papers for writing notes in.
Indeed, notebooks do not need to be big and heavy. Notebooks can be designed
with cards or binders, so this may help learners to add new words, or get rid of
them. According to Schmitt and Schmitt (1995), these formats are advantageous
over traditional bound notebooks because the pages can be taken out and moved
around to facilitate expanding rehearsal; pages with better-known words can be
put further back in the binder, and lesser known words put towards the front.
(p.137) Rosado and Lazaro (2012) add electronic documents as another favorable
material to make vocabulary notebooks. He argues that this material is commonly
chosen by some of students because they appear to feel more comfortable
compiling their vocabulary electronically with colors and technological resources.
II.3.3.2. Format of a vocabulary journal entry
Schmitt and Schmitt (1995) mentions possible information that could be included
in a vocabulary journal entry such as: an L1 translation, an L2 definition ,
collocations, keyword illustration, stylistic note, part of speech, pronunciation,
example sentence, derivative information, semantic map. Thus, Schmitt and
Schmitt (1995) suggest that students should cover aspects of word in a vocabulary
journal entry. They also propose some possible ways to define and explain new
words, namely making sentences and making semantic maps.
Additionally, a vocabulary journal worksheet can be found in Childs (1999),
which is illustrated as follows:
Vocabulary notebooks were seen as one way of helping students to engage more
meaningfully with the new words that they were being exposed to in their
language learning experiences. The more energy a person expends when
manipulating and thinking about a word, the more likely it is that they will be able
to recall and use it later (Fowle, 2002, p381).
Fowle (2002) has conducted a study on the implementation and outcomes of
vocabulary notebooks in a language center in Thailand and the results reveals that
using vocabulary notebooks encourages learners to use different learning
strategies. His study shows that in spite of the fact that keeping a vocabulary
notebook is listed as a single vocabulary learning strategy in Schmitts (1997)
taxonomy, the very act of keeping a vocabulary notebook will involve the practice
of a variety of different vocabulary learning strategies because students use
multiple determination strategies to discover meaning and other aspects of
unknown words. To be more specific, they may use monolingual or bilingual
dictionaries, guess from context, or seek the help of teachers or classmates.
Consolidation strategies, such as using dictionaries, inferring meaning from
context, asking teacher for clarifications, are also used when adding to the
information in the notebook, and when studying new words in the notebook, as
students could return to the notebook to retrieve words, use the words in classroom
activities, and share their words with their classmates. The memory strategies
utilized include connecting the word to synonyms and antonyms, using semantic
maps, grouping words together, using new words in a sentence, studying the
spelling of a word, studying parts of speech, and paraphrasing them. As a result,
vocabulary notebooks offer learners the chance to expand their use of vocabulary
learning strategies, and they have the potential to enhance vocabulary learning.
Furthermore, the findings of Fowles (2002) study indicate that vocabulary journal
keeping can act as an effective tool to promote learner independence. Students are
responsible for selecting the vocabulary recorded, and deciding the organization,
the ways to define and explains words as well as how much effort they put into
Section III
English while the others will be finishing their masters course by the end of this
year. The first three teachers have taught freshmen in F.O.E, HNUE for over four
years while the rest teachers have teaching experience of two years. With such
English teaching qualifications and experiences, these teachers are believed to give
the researcher reliable responses.
III.2. Data collection instruments
Questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations, followed by notebook
collection, are considered effective and practical tools for the researchers to find
out the answers for the research questions. Using survey questionnaires, interviews
and observations may bring a combination of quantitative and qualitative in this
research, which give the researcher reliable results.
III.2.1. Survey questionnaire
III.2.1.1. Reasons for using questionnaire
It can be said that questionnaires is the most common instrument used to in
gathering data for a research because of its low cost, its flexibility and its
feasibility. In this case, questionnaire is a good choice because they allow the
researchers to economically assemble information from a variety of people in
variety of situation targeting a variety of topics (Dornyei, 2003, p.8). As a result,
the researchers will take just about several minutes of class time but possibly
collect a wide range of information from a large group of students.
III.2.1.2. Description of survey questionnaire
The survey questionnaire used in the thesis includes 18 closed-questions which are
divided in to three parts:
Part 1 consists of the first questions used to gather information about students
experience in learning English in general.
Part 2 includes the next four questions that are about to investigate the students
opinion on the importance of vocabulary learning, what vocabulary they learn and
how they learn it.
Part 3 comprises the last ten questions which are intended to explore students
opinions on using notebook keeping in their vocabulary learning. In this category,
the question number 6 is a Yes-No question which is used to investigate whether
students have used journal keeping in their learning vocabulary. For those choose
the answer Yes, they are required to answer the questions from number 7 to 14
about experiences and attitudes in using vocabulary journals. For those who have
not used vocabulary journal keeping strategy yet, they are required to answer the
question number 15 to indicate their reasons why they do not use it.
III.2.2. Interviews
III.2.2.1. Reasons for using interviews
Interviews, as one of methodological tools of qualitative research, are adopted in
this paper to seek in depth and to clarify some vague information provided from
survey questionnaires. Moreover, interviews are appropriate for investigate
phenomena which cannot be directly observed (Gass & Mackey, 2005). In the
same time, because the interviews are interactive, they enable the researcher to
elicit data if initial answers are vague, incomplete, off-topic, or not specific
enough (Gass & Mackey, 2005, p.173), or to clarify terms that are unclear for
interviewees to receive expected information. Teachers, who are well-qualified
and enthusiastic, will be willing to provide real materials for the study.
III.2.2.2. Description of interviews
The interview totally consists of 12 questions which is used to gather teachers
opinions on their experiences and their attitudes towards using journal keeping in
learning vocabulary, which are also divided into 3 parts:
Part 1 includes seven questions to interview all the six teachers participating in the
study.
Part 2 is made up of three questions to interview the teachers who have used
journal keeping in their vocabulary teaching.
Part 3 is the two questions used to interview teachers who have not used
vocabulary journal before.
III.2.3. Classroom observations
III.2.3.1. Reasons for using class observations
It is said that seeing means believing. Hence, on this paper, direct class
observation is significantly regarded because it can help the researcher
continuously capture what students actually do in their vocabulary lessons at class.
Thanks to that, the researcher could directly record vocabulary strategies used and
check whether vocabulary journal keeping strategy is employed by freshmen at
class.
III.2.3.2. Description of class observation sheet
The class observation sheet is designed to investigate the frequency of aspects of
vocabulary is learnt and the frequency of vocabulary learning strategies are
commonly used at class by freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE.
III.4. Data collection procedure
During the first week of the semester 2, survey questionnaires are delivered to all
freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE. The instruction will be also given to assist the
respondents in giving their answers objectively. Students will circle one or more
appropriate options or tick (v) the appropriate boxes for 15 closed-questions. They
will be encouraged to answer entire questions in order that the researchers may
achieve expected information. Then, all survey questionnaires will be gathered
carefully for analyzing data later. Besides, direct class observations will be
conducted during the ten weeks. The researcher observes how vocabulary is learnt
at class by freshmen, which strategies are applied and the frequency of those
strategies. Simultaneously, the six teachers will be invited to take part in the
interviews on different occasions in the first two weeks. Each teacher will be
asked to answer from nine to ten interview questions, which are designed to
explore the teachers attitudes and experiences towards learning English
vocabulary and applying journal keeping strategy in English vocabulary learning.
Opened-ended questions that allow teachers to elaborate on the technique and
clarify the process of instruction will be used. All the teachers statements will be
recorded during the interview. The time and date of the interview will be also
recorded. In the development stage, the researchers will control the content of the
interview and explain more specifically about the questions to receive needed
answers. Finally, at the end of the tenth weeks, all vocabulary journals made by
students from the three classes will be collected. These vocabulary journals are
esteemed as the strong evidence for the responses the researcher receive through
questionnaires, and interviews.
III.5. Summary
To sum up, this chapter has given a description of the subjects of the study, the
data collection instruments employed, and the data collection procedure of the
research. Although each data collection instrument has its own strengths as
weakness, their combination would help to attain the objective and reliable data.
This chapter presents an analysis of the findings of the study, followed by the
interpretations and recommendations for using journal keeping strategy in
vocabulary learning.
IV.1. Findings
IV.1.1. Current situation of vocabulary learning among freshmen at F.O.E,
HNUE
IV.1.1.1. Students and teachers opinions on the importance of vocabulary
learning
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
7%
27%
49%
devote from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes to deal with new words. Nearly onefifth of students learn vocabulary for more than an hour, while the number of
students who less than fifteen minutes accounts for the least.
Comparing with the results analyzed from the figure 1a and 1b, it can be said that
vocabulary is highly appreciated by teachers and students at F.O.E, HNUE;
however, the amount of time spent vocabulary learning is not extremely high. The
possible reason for this case may be that vocabulary learning is not now taught
independently, but in the integration with other skills such as listening, speaking,
reading and writing. Accordingly, students do not have much time to concentrate
on vocabulary at class. Instead, they have to spent time to review it at home.
Furthermore, learning English is not merely learning vocabulary at all; therefore,
students have to invest time in other English components, such as pronunciation
and grammar and skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing. Besides,
it cannot be denied that some students, as they share in the interviews, are not
interested in learning vocabulary even though they are aware of the significance of
vocabulary to their English learning.
IV.1.1.3 Students opinions on the frequency of aspects of vocabulary to be
learnt at home
Frequency (%)
Aspects of vocabulary
1. Form
3a. Denotation
3b. Connotation
3c. Formality/
28.6
44.3
17.1
20.0
0.0
0.0
37.1
24.3
32.9
45.7
4.3
2.9
17.1
14.3
22.9
18.6
14.3
14.3
12.9
10.0
17.1
11.4
31.4
27.1
4.3
5.7
10.0
4.3
41.4
50
0.0
1.4
0.0
0.0
8.6
7.1
Appropriateness
3d. Meaning
4.3
20.0
31.4
35.7
8.6
0.0
1a. Spelling
1b. Pronunciation
2. Grammar
3. Meaning
relationships
4. Collocation
5. Word
5.Affixes
6. Others
formation
11.4
10.0
2.9
22.9
21.4
11.4
30.0
34.3
17.1
20.0
20.0
34.3
10.0
14.3
30.0
1.4
0.0
2.9
(4) Sometimes
(2) Usually
(5) Rarely
(3) Often
(6) Never
As the table reveals, there was a big difference in the frequency of learning aspects
of vocabulary in freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE.
Obviously illustrated from the table above, the form of words (spelling and
pronunciation) and grammatical patterns are the more popular choices to be learnt
by the first-year students at F.O.E, HNUE. Among the 70 freshmen responding to
the survey questionnaire, nearly half of them reply that they always learn
pronunciation and approximately a quarter usually learn it. More than three-fifths
of students are interested in learning the grammar frequently and the same
situation happens to collocation. Noticeably, there is an enormous variation in the
frequency of learning aspects of word meaning and word formation. In learning
the meaning of the word; for example, denotation is the aspect attracting students
attention largely while connotation and formality are not greatly focused on. To be
specific, one fifth of students always and nearly half of them usually learn
denotation while connotation and formality are rarely learnt by nearly half of
students surveyed. In word formation, it is obvious that learning affixes of words
is much more favorable than the others namely compounding, clipping and
blending.
Using dictionaries
80
60
40Using learning techniques
20
Others
0
Students
Teachers
24%
8%
15%
Always
Usually
42%
Often
Sometimes
Rarely
28%
In conclusion, it can be said that vocabulary journal keeping is quite widely used
by freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE. However, the frequency of using this strategy is not
really high in general.
IV.1.2.3. Students opinions on time consumption in editing vocabulary
journals
11%
17%
15
minutes - 30
minutes
30 minutes - 1 hour
26%
45%
devote from thirty minutes to an hour to their journals. There are about nearly onefifth of students editing vocabulary journals for more than an hour. The percentage
of students who spent less than fifteen minutes working with journals accounts for
the least, with only 8% in total.
To summarize, it can be concluded that the time spent on editing vocabulary
journals varies considerably among students surveyed. This may be due to the fact
that students interests, attitudes and devotion to their vocabulary journals are
different.
IV.1.2.4. Students opinions on aspects of vocabulary involved in their
vocabulary journals
Frequency (%)
Aspects of vocabulary
1. Form
2. Grammar
3. Meaning
3a. Denotation
3b. Connotation
3c. Formality/
77.4
50.9
3.8
26.4
0.0
0.0
22.6
30.2
18.9
50.9
7.5
0.0
0.0
15.1
26.4
17.0
13.2
5.7
0.0
3.8
34
5.7
32.1
20.8
0.0
0.0
11.3
0.0
32.1
52.8
0.0
0.0
5.7
0.0
15.1
20.8
Appropriateness
3d. Meaning
9.4
22.6
26.4
20.8
13.2
1.9
9.4
3.8
0.0
22.6
18.9
0.0
39.6
34.0
7.5
17.0
22.6
20.8
7.5
17.0
52.8
3.8
0.0
18.9
1a. Spelling
1b. Pronunciation
relationships
4. Collocation
5.Word
formation
5a. Affixes
5b. Others
(4) Sometimes
(2) Usually
(5) Rarely
(3) Often
(6) Never
Following the aspects of vocabulary learnt, this bar chart describes what aspects of
vocabulary are paid attention to in students vocabulary journals.
From the data illustrated in the table, it can be easily seen that the frequency of the
aspects of word recorded in students vocabulary journals is nearly the same with
that to be learnt in vocabulary learning in general. This is understandable that the
most- frequently-learnt aspects of vocabulary in vocabulary journals are the form
(spelling and pronunciation), grammar and the denotation of word. Analyzing the
data collected from survey questionnaire and journal collection, the results present
that all students responding to the study tend to record the spelling of word in their
journals while around fourth-fifths frequently put the word pronunciation and
denotation in. This is explained these students in the interviews that they appear to
note the definition of a new word next to its spelling. Most of students write the
pronunciation down while some of them learn them orally. Collocation is also
another aspect attached a great deal of importance because students are willing to
learn how to use exactly the word in speaking and writing. In addition, the
relationships between words are also noticed to learn by nearly half of students
and the same situation happens to the affixes of word. Unsurprisingly, the
formality of lexical items is the least frequently focused one in vocabulary
journals, following with its frequency as mentioned in the table 2.
In short, it can be concluded that students have tendency to record what they want
to know about a word to support their English learning in their vocabulary
notebooks, the form and the use, for example.
IV.1.2.5. Students opinions on the most frequently used sources to find words
for vocabulary notebooks
100
90
80
Textbooks
Hand-outs
Internet websites
70
60
50
40
Others
20
10
0
Figure 12: Students opinions on the most frequently used sources to find words
for vocabulary notebooks
The bar chart shows some kinds of sources that students often use to find words
for their vocabulary journals.
Clearly, textbook is the most favorable vocabulary source which is followed by
handouts delivered by the teachers. All students surveyed say that they often find
words from the text and more than four-fifths of them claim to use handouts.
Nearly half of freshmen prefer to collect words from Internet websites and the
least frequently used source falls on films and video clips. Some other sources
may include songs, novels and poems.
On being asked about the reason why students tend to prefer textbooks and
handouts to others, some of them share that they do not have chance to access
different learning materials. There are a small number of students who have
computers to access Internet websites and selecting reliable reference books to
collect vocabulary words causes considerable difficulties.
1. Using L1 translation
2. Using L2 definitions
3. Making sentences
4. Illustrating words by pictures or
5.7
13.2
7.5
3.8
18.9
37.7
20.8
13.2
22.6
24.5
30.2
26.4
30.2
15.1
20.8
41.5
15.1
9.4
15.1
9.4
7.5
0.0
5.7
5.7
drawings
5. Making semantic maps
6. Writing a composition
7. Others
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
7.5
13.2
0.0
18.9
22.6
7.5
41.5
49.1
13.2
28.3
15.1
79.2
3.8
Lack of time
Lack of sources
Lack of ideas
Lack of tecniques
Lack of interest
Others
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Students
Teachers
100
80
60
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly agree
40
20
0
Very useful
Useful
Quite useful
Not useful
100
90
80
70
60
Strongly disagree
50
40
30
20
10
0
Very useful
Disagree
Useful
Neutral
Agree
Quite useful
Strongly agree
Not useful
because they think that writing things down may lead to even deeper
understanding of words; as a result, remember it better. In addition, nearly twofifths of students propose that this kind of learning strategy is useful to a large
extent and less than 10% find it moderately useful. None of teachers and students
says that journal keeping strategy is not useful for vocabulary learning at all.
IV.1.3.2 Students opinions on the effectiveness of journal keeping strategy in
vocabulary learning
Effectiveness
SA
1. It helps me learn a larger number 17%
A
N
D
SD
32.1% 30.2% 13.2% 7.5%
of words
2. It helps me memorize words more 20.8% 37.7% 17%
17%
7.5%
easily
3. It helps me learn aspects of words, 24.5% 47.2% 17%
9.4%
0%
0%
0%
17%
D: Disagree
A: Agree
N: Neutral
The bar chart gives specific information about the way that journal keeping
strategy supports freshmens English vocabulary learning.
Obviously illustrated from the chart, the highest percentage of students, with
around 60%, strongly agree that vocabulary journal keeping strategy that the great
efficiency in checking and recalling forgotten words. It is the fact that students can
check the form or the use of the word they record any time if they bring with them
a vocabulary journal. Nearly three-fourths of freshmen surveyed fall on the
opinion vocabulary journal keeping enables them to learn well aspects of words
such as spelling, pronunciation, meaning, collocation, etc. Actually, when
recording new words in their journals; as discussed above, students have a
tendency to mention the aspects of word; correspondingly, these aspects may be
learnt better. More than half of students agree that they can memorize the words
more easily and effectively if they keep a vocabulary journal. There are about 30%
of students who regard vocabulary journal keeping as a good way to enhance their
vocabulary learning autonomy. Generally, when students encounter a new word
they themselves pick word up and then note it down in their vocabulary journals.
The habit of documenting new lexical items may empower students to become
more autonomous in their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, as the table
demonstrates, learning a larger number of vocabulary words attracts the smallest
attention and regard of freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE. Less than a quarter of students
surveyed think that they could learn more words through using vocabulary journal
keeping strategy. The others propose that it is impossible for them to cover all the
words written down in their vocabulary journals in a short time.
Overall, it is obviously seen that vocabulary journal keeping strategy considerably
benefit freshmens learning but the way this strategy support learning success
varies greatly
IV.1.3.3. Students opinion on the reasons for not using vocabulary journal
keeping strategy
90
80
I find it ineffective
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
Others
Figure 14: Students reasons for not using vocabulary journal keeping strategy
As mentioned in the pie chart figure 9, there are nearly a quarter of students
involved in the research having no experience in using vocabulary notebook
keeping strategy and their reasons for this matter may vary.
More than three-quarters of these students say that they are not fond of keeping a
vocabulary journal because they find it hard to be kept every day. Studying at class
and doing the tasks assigned by the teachers require them a large amount of time
each day; therefore, writing down all new words they learnt every day is quite
challenging. Moreover, these students share that it is difficult for them to bring
their vocabulary journal all the time when they go to class.
Nearly half of students mentioned above agree that editing a vocabulary
journal is time-consuming and more than one-third find it take them much effort.
Nearly one-fifth of students say that journal keeping is uninteresting and
motivating, and none of them consider this strategy an ineffective strategy.
In conclusion, the data reported in findings have made it clear that vocabulary
journal keeping strategy is quite well-known and widely used by freshmen at
F.O.E, HNUE. However, it cannot be denied that students encounter many
difficulties, both subjective and objective, in keeping their own vocabulary
journals namely the lack of time, sources, techniques and interest. These problems,
to a large extent, exert negative influences on the success of the strategy. Below
are some recommendations made by the researcher with the hope to help freshmen
deal with difficulties in using vocabulary journal keeping strategy.
IV.2. Suggestions
IV.2.1 Some recommendations for using vocabulary journal keeping strategy
IV.2.1.1. Managing the time spent on editing vocabulary journal
One of the main problems arising in the process of keeping a vocabulary journal is
that students do not have enough time to edit and design their journals as they
expected. Many students say that journal editing is time-consuming because they
have to follow different steps and activities such as searching for vocabulary
items, look the dictionaries up for the pronunciation and meaning, making
examples sentences, investigating aspects of the word, illustrating by pictures, etc.
It is the fact that journal keeping takes time, but the learners are extremely likely
to deal with the problem of lacking time if they know how to arrange and manage
the time they spent on their vocabulary journals appropriately and reasonably.
Actually, students in FOE, HNUE make a vocabulary journal as required by theirs
teachers every week. As a result, they tend to write and edit their journals in a
certain time. Even some of them share that they usually spend nearly the whole
night before the checking day to finish their journals. This leads to the fact that the
time spent on searching, selecting, analyzing and illustrating new vocabulary new
words is limited and their vocabulary journals cannot meet the criteria and
requirements given at the beginning of the learning course.
With the situation discussed above, it is highly recommended that students should
balance the time properly by keeping their vocabulary journals every day. No
much time is required, but just about thirty minutes each day is reasonable. The
number of words to be recorded is advised to range from five to ten so that the
students could make a careful investigation and a clear illustration of each word.
Moreover, students could pick up the words right from the listening, speaking,
reading and writing tasks and then write them down in their vocabulary journals.
By doing that, the time to review and edit could be saved. It is firmly believed that
recording vocabulary words day by day, step by step, could help the learners to
memorize the words better and better.
2. Selecting valuable and reliable vocabulary sources
It is obvious that second language vocabulary resources are now available
and various which can provide learners with a variety of choices. Therefore,
searching for and selecting valuable and reliable vocabulary sources is also a big
challenge that students have to overcome if they are willing to achieve a successful
learning outcomes. Prior to making vocabulary journals, some recommended
sources are hoped to be helpful.
2.1. Dictionaries
It can be claimed that a vocabulary English learner could not be successful
without the help of a dictionary. Different kinds of dictionaries are published
nowadays; however, to serve the purpose of making a vocabulary journal, these
following ones are considered the most reliable and satisfying:
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, 8th Edition, published by Oxford
University Press in 2010
Prefix: im - not
Suffix: able (adjective)
MNEMONIC:
PRACTICE SENTENCES:
- His suit was impeccably pressed before he went to the job interview.
- His impeccable arguments were very believable
DATE MASTERED: March 6th, 2013
(Adapted from Childs, p.28)
Moreover, students could use the vocabulary journal entry suggested by Gail
Gibbons as follows:
Figure 5: Students entry in vocabulary journal for Tornadoes by Gail
Gibbons
(From http://www.uk.sagepub.com/upm-data/40627_4.pdf)
IV.2.2.3. Suggested ways to define and explain new words in a vocabulary
journal
IV.2.1.3.1 Illustrating words by pictures or drawings
Obviously, students will not find vocabulary learning enjoyable and satisfying if
they often have to look at a list of words and their long definitions. Especially, for
an abstract word, the definition certainly cannot make it clear enough for students
to gain a deep understanding. Thus, it is believed that vocabulary items will be
learned and remembered much better if they are visualized by pictures. Pictures
not only bring images of reality, but also act as a fun motivating students to deal
with the word. People in general have love of drawing. Drawing a picture to
illustrate the word means that students are not only showing their understanding
about the word but also expressing themselves. The picture drawn can be said to
be a mirror that reflects the personality and individuality, even the mood and state
of mind, of the author; hence, it is highly memorable along with word connected
with it. Moreover, sticking a picture or photo on the journal is also highly regarded
to clarify the meaning of a new vocabulary word.
As the findings in the survey questionnaires and journal collection present,
students seem to be very in favor of illustrating new words by pictures or photos in
their vocabulary journals. There are some ways they could link a word with a
picture.
First of all, students can use picturing to clarify the meaning of abstract words,
such as love, angry, time and so forth in their vocabulary journals. Take the word
angry for example:
Angry /'gri/: having strong feelings about something that you dislike very much
or about an unfair situation
Second, pictures can be used to clarify the difference between two words
describing the two things with the similar characteristics but not the same. For
example, they could compare the difference between a crossroad and a roundabout
by illustrating them by images as follows:
Pronunciation
Crossroads
Roundabout
/'krsrudz/
/ 'raundbaut/
Illustration
Example
sentence
right.
second exit.
Last but not least, more than one word could be recorded with just a picture.
Students could draw or stick a picture on the center of a page and then pick up the
word from the picture. For example, when students record the words related to the
topic Winter clothes, they can be make it as follows:
map is the topic or the subject. Key words radiate from the central one as main
branches and finally, related words are linked to the key ones to make a organized
structure. This is the illustration of this semantic map
Related
word
Related
word
Related
word
Key
word
Key
word
Related
word
Topic
Related
word
Key
word
Related
word
Video
Saucepans
Kettle
Loungee
Coffee
table
Kitchen
HOUSE
Sheet
Bedroom
Washbasin
Bathroom
Towel
Alarm
clock
Chest of
drawers
Sink
Shower
Pollution
Cleaniness,
Purification
journals, then read and read. In this case, writing things down is advised to deal
with the problem. One of the best choices is to write a composition because it is
believed to enable students to practice the words in sentences. It is a good way for
students to reflect what they understand about the words they have recorded in
terms of the usage, not the form. A word could appear more than once; therefore, it
can be remembered better. Additionally, when writing a composition, students
have chance to share their ideas on some topics freely. The opportunity to express
the individuality could be useful to make learning words more interesting and
motivating.
Even though composition writing is thought to be an important means of
vocabulary learning by many researchers, the first-year students at F.O.E, HNUE
seem to get bored of doing it when they edit their vocabulary journals. It is likely
that they are still unaccustomed to this kind of strategy at all. Some of students
think that a composition is a big and professional writing and they are not
proficient enough to make it. Actually, a composition could be understood as a
short piece of writing that the author shares his/ her ideas or simply tell a story
about himself.
For example, when students make a record of words related to the topic Job,
they could be write a composition to share their ideas like below:
Which job will I apply for after graduating? is always a big question to
every student who is studying at the university. I am now a student and it is exactly
the question I am wondering. Getting a well-paid job and having a high position
have been my dream since I was at the primary school. I want to become a rich
and successful businessman like my idol, Bill Gates. I know that is not easy and I
now have to study hard to make my dream come true.
It can be clearly seen that in the composition above, students have chance to
practice with some vocabulary words and their structures, such as: apply for a job,
get a job, a well-paid job, a high position, businessman, successful, etc.
IV.2.3. Other suggestions
Following are some reference books and websites that students could use for
editing their vocabulary journals.
My vocabulary notebook, written by James Venema in 2012, may be considered as
a great book which could give students useful guidelines in selecting, explaining
and organizing words in a vocabulary journal. The author also recommends some
ways to improve learners vocabulary through using vocabulary journals.
Moreover, Vocabulary notebook sample packet, edited by Garrett and Vocabulary
Strategies Listing Interactive Notebooks, compiled by Creel could provide students
with some formats of vocabulary journal entry. Both of these books could be
downloaded from the Internet.
Chapter V: CONCLUSION
figured out, in which lack of time, vocabulary sources and interest are considered
the major ones.
Basing on the findings , this research proposes some recommendations that may
be helpful for students to use vocabulary journal keeping strategy more effectively.
V.2. Limitations of the study
In the paper, the researchers made a great effort to investigate the current situation
of vocabulary learning in general and the use of vocabulary journal keeping
strategy in particular in the first-year students at FOE, HUNE. However, due to the
researcher lack of time, experience, and technique equipment, together with other
objective factors, limitations of the study cannot avoided. To begin with, the study
only concentrates on a certain number of students, just the freshmen, but not all
students in the faculty. The number of interviews is also another shortcoming of
the research when only six teachers participate in the interviews, not ten teachers
as expected. In addition, the study only focuses on some outstanding obstacles in
the use of journal keeping strategy in vocabulary learning and recommends some
activities to edit vocabulary journals for students. Last but not least, the lack of
experience in doing research partly contributes to the certain limitations of the
study.
3. Suggestions for the further studies
Due to the limitations of the study, necessary changes for further studies should be
recommended. First and foremost, vocabulary journal keeping strategy, as stated
above, is widely-used by students at FOE, HNUE. Therefore, further studies could
be conducted on the same issue, yet on a larger scale and in a longer span of time
for more reliable results. Secondly, the way to foster students interest on using
vocabulary journals keeping strategy can be a good suggestion.