Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
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, the term of vocabulary
learning strategy, which is made up of various categories, is still
too great to be discussed within the scope of this study; hence,
this paper only focuses on the current situation of journal keeping
as a strategy in learning English vocabulary.
The population of the study is limited to the 70 freshmen in the
Faculty of English, and the six teachers who have been teaching
freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE. Furthermore, direct class observations,
followed by notebook collection are in the scope this study.
I.4. Overview of the study
This thesis is divided into six chapters as follows:
Chapter I: Introduction offers an overview of rationale, aims of
the study, research questions and the scope of the study.
Chapter II: Literature Review presents theoretical background
providing the background knowledge of vocabulary, vocabulary
learning strategy and notebook keeping. Some related researches
conducted by former scholars and professionals are also
illustrated.
Chapter III: Methodology describes in detail the participants,
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
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the theoretical background of vocabulary,
vocabulary learning strategies and notebook keeping will be
discussed. The chapter consists of three main sections. Section I
presents an overview of vocabulary, including the definition,
classification, vocabulary knowledge and the importance of
vocabulary learning to second language learning. Section II
demonstrates an overview of vocabulary learning strategies in terms
of the definition and classifications. Section III provides
theoretical backgrounds related to journal keeping and vocabulary
journal keeping strategy.
II.1 An overview of vocabulary
II.1.1. Definition of vocabulary
Vocabulary is an extremely significant concept in second
language researchers which have been defined by many linguistics
and researchers (Miller, 1999; Ur, 1996).
According to a definition in Collins Cobuild Advanced Learners
Dictionary (2006), vocabulary is the total number of words that you
know in a particular language (p.1164). Similarly, in Cambridge
Advanced Learners Dictionary Online, vocabulary is described as all
the words existing in a particular language or subject. Also,
vocabulary is specifically explained by Ur (1996), who said:
Vocabulary can be defined, roughly, as the words we teach in the
foreign language. However, a new item of vocabulary may be more
than a single word: for example, post office or mother-in-law,
which are made up of two or three words but express a single idea.
There are also multi-word idioms such as call it a day, where the
meaning of the phrase cannot be deduced from an analysis of the
component words. A useful convention is to cover all such cases by
talking items rather than words (p.60)
In general, it can be said that vocabulary is a lists of words
that belongs to a branch of knowledge or known by an individuals.
It can be made up of a single word or more than a word, which is
used to express a single idea or sets or ideas.
II.1.2. Classification of vocabulary
Vocabulary is extensively used to express ideas or thought of
individuals; therefore, it varies depending on the situations or
contexts. In different cases, it is advisable for the users to
apply different types of vocabulary. To gain a clear look and have
an appropriate of vocabulary, it is not impossible to offer a
vocabulary distinction.
II.1.2.1. According to the communicative area of use
Cummins (1999) classifies vocabulary into four different types
as follow:
The first type is reading vocabulary, which refers to the all
words an individual can recognize when reading a text.
Listening vocabulary comprises all the words an individual can
recognize listening
Another type is writing vocabulary which includes all the words
an individual can employ in writing.
Last but not least, speaking vocabulary refers to all the words
an individual can used in speech.
II.1.2.2 According to the way people get and create the
language
Nations (2001) points out two concepts to classify vocabulary
according to the way people get and create the language. From his
view, vocabulary consists of two types: receptive vocabulary and
productive vocabulary. Receptive vocabulary refers to the way
people acquire the word (input); it includes reading and listening.
He suggests that the student can learn different words in different
contexts. However, it does not mean that when the student finds the
word in different context, he can understand the different meanings
which that word could have. On the contrary, the term productive
vocabulary refers to how a person can produce a word through
speaking or writing.
II.1.2.3. According to the frequency of use
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: high-frequency
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
high-frequency 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. Learning collocation, as Hill (as cited in
Lewis) states, facilitates learners thinking, leading more fluidity
when communicating in spoken and written language (p54-55).
II.1.3.1.4. Meaning
II.1.3.1.4.1. Denotation
Denotation is primarily what the word refers to in the real
life. It is also the definition given in a dictionary (Ur,
1999)
II.1.3.1.4.2. Connotation
Connotation is considered a less obvious component meaning of a
new item which is understood the association, or positive or
negative feeling of what it evokes, which may, or may not be
indicated in a dictionary definition. (Le and Thai, 2007)
II.1.3.1.4.3. Formality/ Appropriateness
It is also necessary for the learners to know whether a certain
word is more suitably used in formal or informal discourse, in
writing or in speech. This requires them to have understanding of
the formality of the word.
II.1.3.1.4.4. Meaning relationships
Another aspect of meaning of the word refers to meaning
relationships which indicate how the word relates to the meaning of
others. There are various relationships in which synonyms,
antonyms, hyponyms, super-ordinates and translation equivalents can
be mentioned as the main ones (Le and Thai, 2007).
Synonyms are items that mean the same or nearly the same while
antonyms refer items that mean the opposite. For example, love,
adore, be fond of something are the synonyms of like while hate,
dislike are the antonyms of the word.
Hyponyms are items that serve as specific examples of a general
concept; by contrast, super-ordinates are general concepts that
cover specific items. Chicken, 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 learning in general and vocabulary learning in particular,
a learning strategy is thought to be the key to open the door of
comprehending, memorizing and using new words.
II.2.2. Definition of vocabulary learning strategies
Actually, many researchers have placed big concern on vocabulary
since the late 1980s (Nations, 1990). Via studies conducted on
different leaner subjects, researchers realizes that second
language learners face many difficulties, both receptive and
productive, in mastering sufficient vocabulary. Vocabulary is one
of the main parts of any language; consequently, it can be said
that vocabulary learning strategies is consider a subcategory in
the framework of language strategies.
A general definition is given by Cameron (2001), which defines
vocabulary learning strategies as actions that learners take to
help themselves understand and remember vocabulary.
Brown and Payne (1994) identifies five steps in the process of
learning vocabulary in a foreign language: (1) having sources for
encountering new words, (2) getting a clear image, either visual or
auditory or both, of the forms of the new words, (3) learning the
meaning of the words, (4) making a strong memory connection between
the forms and the meaning of the words and (5) using the words (as
cited in Hamzah et al, 2009).
Hamzah et al (2009) proposes a view of vocabulary learning
strategies from three different angles. First, a vocabulary
learning strategy, very broadly speaking, refers to any action
taken by the learner to aid the learning process of new vocabulary.
Second, a vocabulary learning strategy could be related to only
such actions which improve the efficiency of vocabulary learning.
Hence, it can be accepted that some of learning strategies employed
by poor learners do not extremely benefit their learning process.
Last but not least, a vocabulary learning strategy might be
connected to conscious (as opposed to unconscious) actions taken by
the learner in order to study new words.
Furthermore, Hamzah et al (2009) states that vocabulary learning
strategies are various. A strategy that works well for one student
may completely fail with another and sometimes, a strategy may
demonstrate different effectiveness in concrete learning
situations. Hence, it is necessary for learners to build up an
intensive awareness of good and efficient strategies so that they
could select the most suitable learning strategies.
II.2.3. Classification of vocabulary learning strategies
Although vocabulary learning strategies are a relatively new
area of second language study, many researchers have tried to
propose a detailed description of strategy distinction. Via
empirical research, a wide range of classifications of vocabulary
learning strategies have been noted.
II.2.3.1. Gu and Johnsons (1996) classification
Gu and Johnson (1996) report that second language vocabulary
learning strategies are made up of four categories: metacognitive,
cognitive, memory and activation strategies. Metacognitive
strategies include selective attention and self-initiation
strategies, which are used to identify important words for the
adequate comprehension of a passage and make vocabulary items
clear. Cognitive strategies consist of three sub-categories:
guessing, use of dictionaries and note-taking strategies. Memory
strategies are divided into rehearsal strategies and encoding
strategies while activation strategies refer to the use of new
words in different contexts.
II.2.3.2. Nations (2001) classification
Nations (2001) suggests a taxonomy of various vocabulary
learning strategies. Basing on the theory, three broad categories
of vocabulary learning strategies 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 Types of Strategies
Planning: choosing what to focus on Choosing words
When to focus on it Choosing the aspects of word knowledge
Choosing strategies
Planning repetition
Sources: finding information about words Analyzing the word
Using context
Consulting a reference source in L1 and L2
Using parallels in L1 and L2
Processes: establishing knowledge Noticing
Retrieving
Generating
II.2.3.3. Schmitts (1997) classification
The most applicable classification of vocabulary learning is the
taxonomy proposed by Schmitt (1997), which is widely used as the
basis for different studies. Schmitts list of vocabulary learning
strategies is represented in the table below. is represented in the
table below.
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 first category is determination strategies which are
considered individual learning strategies used for discovery of a
new words meaning.
Social strategies are used to learn new words through
interactions with others.
Memory strategies include ones that whereby learners link their
learning of new words to mental processing by associating their
existing or background knowledge with the new words
Cognitive strategies do not engage learners in mental processing
but is more mechanical means.
Metacognitive strategies belong to the last category which
consists of strategies related to processes involved in monitoring,
decision-making, and evaluation of ones progress.
Involving in these five categories are 58 strategies used for
discovering, consolidating, memorizing, using the word. The number
of strategies which belongs to the memory category accounts for the
largest.
II.3. An overview of vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Graves (2006) claims that building a basic vocabulary of the
most frequent English words is one of the most critical skills for
English language learners. Mukoroli (2011) declares that recording
the words that they learn or encounter is of great importance, for
once the target vocabulary is documented, it is more easily leant
and remembered. A vocabulary record could serves as a useful
reference source that can be used in or out of the classroom, so
keeping a record is highly recommended for every learner. In
Schmitts Taxonomy of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (2000), keeping
a vocabulary notebook is regarded as one of the cognitive learning
strategies that help to repeat and use mechanical means to learn
vocabulary.
II.3.1. Definition of a journal
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.
According to Fowle (2002), a vocabulary notebook is a notebook
kept by each learner specifically for the purpose of recording new
and useful lexical items (p.380-381). This definition is specified
by Walters & Bozkurt (2009), who define vocabulary notebook as
a kind of personal dictionary that learners use to record the words
they encounter, along with their meanings and any other aspects of
the word deemed important, such as part of speech, other word
forms, collocates, synonyms, antonyms, and perhaps a context
sentence. (p.404)
Regarding the form, Schmitt and Schmitt (1995) suggest that
vocabulary notebook should be arranged in a loose-leaf binder, an
index card binder, or on cards. Rosado and Lazaro (2012) propose
three kinds of material to make a vocabulary notebook which are
sheets of paper, index cards and electronic documents.
Comparing with the definition of journal discussed above, it can
be concluded that a vocabulary journal and a vocabulary notebook
are similar to a large extent. First, there is a little room for
doubt that both a vocabulary notebook and vocabulary journal are
forms of note-taking that students carry out with elements of word.
Students use them as means of recording and consolidating in order
to improve their understanding of new and useful vocabulary items.
As regards the form, both vocabulary journal and notebook can be a
ring binder of papers, cards or electronic documents. In this
paper, the term vocabulary journal and vocabulary notebook can be
used interchangeably.
II.3.3. Format of a vocabulary journal
II.3.3.1. Materials to make a vocabulary journal
A vocabulary journal is generally understood as a small book of
plain paper for writing vocabulary new words in. However, the form
of journal could vary due to the use of the learner.
Schmitt and Schmitt (1995) propose a format of a vocabulary
notebook.
First of all, they suggest that the vocabulary notebook should
be arranged in a loose-leaf binder, an index card binder, or on
cards which are kept in a box. 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:
Figure 2: A format vocabulary journal entry suggested by Childs
(1999)
II.3.4. Effectiveness of notebook keeping in vocabulary
learning
The effectiveness of notebook keeping strategy has been
highlighted by many researchers (Schmitt and Schmitt, 1995; Fowle,
2002, Rosado and Lazaro).
Schmitt and Schmitt (1995) claim that journal keeping strategy
plays an important role in enhancing vocabulary learning. They
state that new words need to be recycled regularly to be learnt and
one method to do this is to have students go back and fill the
above kinds of information on a scheduled basis. (p.8) 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
their own learning. Correspondingly, students become autonomous
because they have to worry about the word they want to learn.
II.3.5. Related studies on vocabulary notebook keeping
strategy.
.
Chapter III: METHODOLOGY
This chapter provides a detailed description of the methodology,
which is divided into three sections. Section I begins with a
description of the participants, including the teachers and
students. Section II follows with the description of research
instruments employed to collect the data for the study. Section III
presents the data collection procedure of the study.
III.1. Participants
III.1.1. Students
Seventy freshmen, including 64 females and 6 males, in class
62A, 62B and 62C at F.O.E, HNUE are chosen to be the participants
of the study. The vast majority of these students have learnt
English for at least 8 years. Nearly almost students in class 62A
and 62B are believed at the Pre-intermediate level in English
proficiency while those in class 62C appear to be at the Elementary
level. The reason why the researcher chooses these students as the
target population of the paper is that they are the first-year
students, who mostly have learnt English for at least seven years.
Thus, they have acquired certain background knowledge of vocabulary
as well as considerable experience in learning vocabulary.
Furthermore, these students have the first semester to undergo new
vocabulary teaching and learning methods at F.O.E, which is
different from those at their high schools to a large extent. The
difference in the learning environments and requirements is
believed a crucial factor to force these freshmen to explore and
try out different methods of learning vocabulary and this is hoped
to support the purpose of the study.
II.1.2. Teachers
In addition to collecting the responses from freshmen, the
opinions of the teachers on vocabulary learning are also highly
appreciated. Six teachers who are currently teaching freshmen at
F.O.E, HNUE are selected to take part in the interviews of the
research. Half of these teachers have received the Masters degree
of Art in 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.
Chapter IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
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
Figure 6a: Students opinions on the importance of vocabulary
learning
Figure 6b: Teachers opinions on the importance of vocabulary
learning
Figure 6a shows that students attitudes towards the importance
of vocabulary learning are rather positive. Much more than half of
students surveyed agree that vocabulary learning plays a very
important role in their English learning while nearly four-fifths
of them strongly agree that vocabulary learning is of importance.
There are a small number of students, accounting for 7%, who hold
on the opinion that vocabulary learning is quite important and none
of them consider it unimportant at all.
As regards the pie chart figure 6b, it is clearly seen that the
teachers share the same opinions with the majority of students.
One-third of teachers interviewed strongly agree that vocabulary is
of great importance. The majority of these teachers claim that
vocabulary plays an important role and unsurprisingly, all of them
disagree that vocabulary learning is quite important or unimportant
at all.
To sum up, it can be concluded that vocabulary is highly
appreciated by nearly almost students and teachers at F.O.E, HNUE.
Interviewed about the reasons, students share that vocabulary
learning provides a great help in improving their English skills,
especially speaking and writing. These students suppose that having
a wide range of vocabulary can make English learning easier and
more effective. Similarly, teachers declare that vocabulary plays a
crucial role in learning success. They compare vocabulary words to
the materials in writing and speaking as well as the clues in
reading and listening.
IV.1.1.2. Students opinions on time consumption in vocabulary
learning per day
Figure 7: Students opinions on time consumption in vocabulary
learning per day
The pie chart indicates the students opinions on the amount of
time they spend on learning vocabulary each day.
According to the chart, there is a difference in the time
consumption in vocabulary learning among students surveyed.
Evidently, nearly half of participants spend from thirty minutes to
an hour learning vocabulary. More than a quarter of them devote
from fifteen minutes to thirty minutes to deal with new words.
Nearly one-fifth 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
Aspects of vocabulary
Frequency (%)
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Form
1a. Spelling
28.6
37.1
17.1
12.9
4.3
0.0
1b. Pronunciation
44.3
24.3
14.3
10.0
5.7
1.4
2. Grammar
17.1
32.9
22.9
17.1
10.0
0.0
3. Meaning
3a. Denotation
20.0
45.7
18.6
11.4
4.3
0.0
3b. Connotation
0.0
4.3
14.3
31.4
41.4
8.6
3c. Formality/ Appropriateness
0.0
2.9
14.3
27.1
50
7.1
3d. Meaning relationships
4.3
20.0
31.4
35.7
8.6
0.0
4. Collocation
11.4
22.9
30.0
20.0
10.0
1.4
5. Word formation
5.Affixes
10.0
21.4
34.3
20.0
14.3
0.0
6. Others
2.9
11.4
17.1
34.3
30.0
2.9
Table 2: Students opinions on the frequency of aspects of
vocabulary to be learnt at home
(1) Always (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.
The differences in the frequency of aspects of vocabulary to be
learnt may be explained by the students characteristics and
learning situations. It is clearly seen that freshmen at F.O.E,
HNUE have just graduated from high schools where the
grammar-translation teaching approach is widely-used. In this
teaching method, the form and the meaning of the word is greatly
paid attention to while the use of the word is likely neglected. As
a result, these freshmen, with only a semester to learn at the
university, could not be familiar with new learning approaches
which stress on the use of a word such as collocation, formality
and meaning relationships. Moreover, the reason for the high
frequency of learning pronunciation of word may be pronunciation
practice and plus speaking are new main subjects at the university
in the first semester; therefore, students tend to learn how to
pronounce the word frequently in order to improve their English
learning success
IV.1.1.4. Students and teachers opinions on the most frequently
used strategies in vocabulary
Figure 8: Students and teachers opinions on the most frequently
used strategies in vocabulary learning
Students opinions on using different strategies for learning
vocabulary items vary quite a lot in the chart.
As can be clearly seen, students and teachers have nearly the
same opinions on the most frequently used strategies in vocabulary
learning. The majority of students involved in the research claim
to use dictionaries as the most popular strategy. This idea is
totally approved by 100% of teachers in the interview. The strategy
of keeping a vocabulary notebook belongs to the second place when
nearly half of students and more than five of six teachers polled
agree to use it frequently. Guessing from context appears to be
frequently used by approximately two-fifths of students and the
same situation happens to the strategy of asking the teacher for
the L1 translation. On being asked about the reasons why asking
teachers for L1 translation, some students participating in the
research reveal that they, as new students at FOE, are hesitant to
ask teachers for the Vietnamese meaning of the word because they
are still shy and not confident enough to raise their voice at
class. Unsurprisingly, using vocabulary techniques, such as
newspapers, magazines, flashcards, etc. is not really appealing to
students. These students confirm that although using techniques
could bring about positive outcomes in vocabulary learning, they do
not have chance to apply this strategy because of the lack of
techniques. The least commonly used strategy falls on analyzing
words (24% of students and 17% of teachers) because students do not
have enough understanding of word formation. Additionally, some
other strategies are also paid attention to, namely making
sentences or dialogues and listening to English media.
IV.1.2. Current situation of using vocabulary journal keeping
strategy among freshmen at FOE, HNUE
IV.1.2.1. Students opinions on the experience in using
vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Figure 9: Students opinions on the experience in using
vocabulary journal keeping strategy
The data collected from survey questionnaires reveal that out of
70 students involved in the research, three-quarters say that they
have ever kept a journal in their vocabulary learning. Meanwhile,
the rest a quarter have never used this kind of learning strategy
before.
From interviewing these students, it can be explained that
students, who are interested in learning English, tend to have a
small journal to record everything new they encounter in their
learning, including new words. Furthermore, when they were in the
first semester at F.O.E, HNUE, some of them, especially those from
class 62A and 62B, were required to make a glossary, which is
another type of a vocabulary journal, by their teachers. On the
other hand, some students in C62C are still quite unfamiliar with
the term vocabulary journal.
The current situation of using vocabulary journal keeping
strategy in freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE is apparently illustrated by
the following results.
IV.1.2.2. Students opinions on the frequency of using vocabulary
journal keeping strategy
Figure 10: Students opinion on the frequency of using vocabulary
journal keeping strategy
The pie chart describes how frequently vocabulary journals are
kept by freshmen at FOE, HNUE.
The result from surveying students who have ever used vocabulary
journal keeping strategy shows that this kind of strategy is always
often used by about a very small number of students (with 8%).
These students say that they always take their journals with them
for every English lesson so that they could pick up and note down
the newly learned lexical items. More than one-fourth of students
(28%) claim that they, not always and usually, but often use
vocabulary journal keeping strategy for their learning. By
contrast, up to about half of freshmen say that they do not want to
bring their own journal keeping every time or often. They confess
that they generally forget to edit their notebooks at home and only
do it when their teachers requires. There are a very small
proportion of students (8%) who rarely use a journal in their
vocabulary learning.
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
Figure 11: Students opinions on time consumption in editing
their vocabulary journals
The pie chart presents the students opinions on time consumption
in editing vocabulary journals among freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE.
Generally, it is clearly shown that the majority of students
spent over thirty minutes editing their vocabulary journals, with
more than three-fifths of students. To be more specific, while the
majority of students, which accounts for 45%, devote from thirty
minutes to an hour to their journals. There are about nearly
one-fifth 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
Aspects of vocabulary
Frequency (%)
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Form
1a. Spelling
77.4
22.6
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1b. Pronunciation
50.9
30.2
15.1
3.8
0.0
0.0
2. Grammar
3.8
18.9
26.4
34
11.3
5.7
3. Meaning
3a. Denotation
26.4
50.9
17.0
5.7
0.0
0.0
3b. Connotation
0.0
7.5
13.2
32.1
32.1
15.1
3c. Formality/ Appropriateness
0.0
0.0
5.7
20.8
52.8
20.8
3d. Meaning relationships
9.4
22.6
26.4
20.8
13.2
1.9
4. Collocation
9.4
22.6
39.6
17.0
7.5
3.8
5.Word formation
5a. Affixes
3.8
18.9
34.0
22.6
17.0
0.0
5b. Others
0.0
0.0
7.5
20.8
52.8
18.9
Figure 12: Students opinions on aspects of vocabulary involved
in their vocabulary journals
(1) Always (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
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.
IV.1.2.6. Students opinions on the frequency of some common ways
to define and explain words in their vocabulary journals
Activities
Frequency (%)
1
2
3
4
5
6
1. Using L1 translation
5.7
18.9
22.6
30.2
15.1
7.5
2. Using L2 definitions
13.2
37.7
24.5
15.1
9.4
0.0
3. Making sentences
7.5
20.8
30.2
20.8
15.1
5.7
4. Illustrating words by pictures or drawings
3.8
13.2
26.4
41.5
9.4
5.7
5. Making semantic maps
0.0
0.0
13.2
22.6
49.1
15.1
6. Writing a composition
0.0
0.0
0.0
7.5
13.2
79.2
7. Others
0.0
7.5
18.9
41.5
28.3
3.8
Table 3: Students opinions on the frequency of some common ways
to define and explain words in their vocabulary journals
The table gives the information about the frequency of different
ways that freshmen at FOE, HNUE apply to define and explain new
words in their vocabulary journals.
Obviously, there is an extreme contrast in the frequency of
strategies namely using L1 translation, using L2 definitions,
making sentences, illustrating words by pictures and the ones of
making semantic maps and writing a composition. To be more
specific, it is clearly shown that giving the L2 definition of a
new word is the most outstanding activity used to record words in
journals by nearly fourth-fifths of freshmen surveyed. Comparing
with the L2 definitions, using L1 translation is less favorable.
This result is supported by those collected from the journal
collection. Following this, making sentences containing the word
attracts the attention and interest of nearly three-quarters of
students. There are nearly half of students who sometimes
illustrate the meaning of words by pictures or drawings in their
vocabulary journals. On the contrary, students seem not to be in
favor of semantic mapping and composition writing. Nearly almost
students rarely or do not apply these activities at all.
Specifically, nearly half of students sometimes use semantic
mapping while up to fourth-fifths never employ composition
writing.
From the data analyzed above, it can be said that freshmen at
FOE, HNUE tend to apply the common activities, namely defining by
L2, sentence making and picturing when editing their vocabulary
journals. The low frequency of such activities as semantic mapping,
and composition writing may attribute to the following reasons. To
begin with, it is evident that these activities are quite new to
freshmen, who have just had a semester studying at the university.
Besides, a semantic and a composition are considered to take time
to edit.
IV.1.2.7. Students and teachers opinions on the difficulties in
using vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Figure 12: Students and teachers opinions on difficulties in
using vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Through survey questionnaires and interviews, students and
teachers at F.O.E, HNUE share their views on the main difficulties
that students often encounter when they write and keep a vocabulary
journal.
As can be seen from the chart, the students opinions are quite
different from their teachers. While the majority of students think
that lack of ideas and lack of sources are the biggest difficulties
in keeping a vocabulary journal, most teachers propose that
vocabulary journal is time-consuming and seems to be unappealing to
students. Specifically, more than one-third of students share that
they find it hard to search for and select reliable vocabulary
sources that containing valuable words for their learning. As well,
many of them reply to have problems in explaining and illustrating
the word clearly and creatively. By contrast, more than four-fifths
of teachers claim that it is difficult for students to balance the
time spent on editing vocabulary journals. Approximately a quarter
of students and more than three-fifths of teachers agree that the
lack of techniques also significantly influence on the success of
writing and keeping a vocabulary journal.
IV.1.3. Teachers and students attitudes towards the use of
vocabulary journal keeping strategy
IV.1.3.1 Students and teachers opinions on the usefulness of
using vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Figure 13a: Students opinions on the usefulness of using
vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Figure 13b: Teachers opinions on the usefulness of using
vocabulary journal keeping strategy
Among the 51 students who have used vocabulary journal keeping
strategy, much more than half of them agree that journal keeping
strategy is very useful for improving their vocabulary learning.
Similarly, 4 of 6 teachers suggest that vocabulary journal keeping
is a greatly useful way to learn and store new words because they
think that writing things down may lead to even deeper
understanding of words; as a result, remember it better. In
addition, nearly two-fifths 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
A
N
D
SD
1. It helps me learn a larger number of words
17%
32.1%
30.2%
13.2%
7.5%
2. It helps me memorize words more easily
20.8%
37.7%
17%
17%
7.5%
3. It helps me learn aspects of words, such as pronunciation,
collocation, etc. better.
24.5%
47.2%
17%
9.4%
0%
4. It helps me check and recall words whenever I forget
60.4%
20.8%
7.5%
0%
0%
5. It helps me enhance my vocabulary learning autonomy
15.1%
30.2%
28.3%
18.9%
7.5%
6. Others
17%
32.1%
30.2%
13.2%
7.5%
Table 4: Students opinions on the effectiveness of journal
keeping strategy in vocabulary learning
SA: Strongly agreeD: Disagree
A: AgreeSD: Strongly disagree
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
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
Cambridge Advanced Learners Dictionary, 3rd Edition, published
by Cambridge University Press in 2008
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English published by
Longman
In addition, students may easily look up synonyms, antonyms or
collocations at these dictionaries below:
Oxford Learners Pocket Thesaurus published by Oxford University
Press in 2010
Oxford Collocations Dictionary for students of English, 2nd
Edition, published by Oxford University Press in 2009.
Moreover, online dictionaries, such as Oxford Online Dictionary,
Cambridge Online Dictionary, are well-known and widely chosen.
2. Websites
Learning vocabulary on the Internet is also a great choice for
almost every English learner. Actually,
www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish is a valuable website that students
could use to collect a wide range of vocabulary words every day.
Furthermore, www.vocabulary.co.il/ and www.tienganh123.com are
other helpful suggestions.
IV.2.2 Some recommendations for editing a vocabulary journal
IV.2.2.1. Aspects of vocabulary to be recorded
As a component of language, vocabulary knowledge does not
involve only knowing the meaning and the form (spelling and
pronunciation), but requires various kinds of lexical knowledge.
Thus, it is advisable for students to cover substantially aspects
of word which are suggested by (Gairns, 1986). These aspects
include the form of word (spelling and pronunciation), grammar,
aspects of meaning (denotation, connotation, formality and meaning
relationships), collocation and word formation (etymology).
IV.2.2.2 Format of a vocabulary journal
The materials for making a vocabulary journal may be various.
Students can use sheets of paper, or card blinders, or a collection
of electrical particles on computer disk or an audio tape.
The format of vocabulary journal entry could follow the Childs
(1999) introduced above and here is an example:
VOCABULARY WORK SHEET
WORD: IMPECCABLE, Impeccable
Date Entered: March 1st, 2013
SOURCE: People magazine..Sept 2000, page 47
SAMPLE USE: Liza was always known for her impeccable
manners.
DICTIONARY DIFINITION: not capable of sinning or liable to sin
free from fault or blame flawless
Synonyms: innocence, faultless, flawless
ETYMOLOGY: 1531 from Latin impeccabilis: in + peccare - to
sin
Root Word: pecc - sin
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:
Crossroads
Roundabout
Pronunciation
/'krsrudz/
/ 'raundbaut/
Meaning
A place where two roads meet and cross each other.
A place where two or more roads meet, forming a circle that all
traffic must go around in the same direction
Illustration
Example sentence
At the next crossroads, turn right.
At the roundabout, take the 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:
(Glove /glu:v/ - a covering for the hand, made of wool or
leather, etc. with separate parts of each finger and the thumb.)
(Scarf /ska:f/ - a piece of cloth that is worn around the
neck.)
(Boot /bu:t/ - a strong shoe that cover the foot and ankle and
often the lower part of the leg.) (Coat /ku:t/: a piece of outdoor
clothing that is worn over other to keep warm and dry.)
4.2 Semantic mapping
IV.2.1.3.2. Making semantic maps
A word in English is not an independent item but has strong
relationships with other ones. Semantic mapping is considered ideal
to make these relationships explicit and useful for storing the new
lexical items. When vocabulary words are organized systematically,
they are believed to be learnt and memorized better and better.
Nevertheless, it is surprising that semantic mapping is not
widely used by freshmen at FOE, HNUE. Maybe, these students are not
familiar with this kind of vocabulary learning strategy.
Here are some recommendations for using semantic mapping to make
a vocabulary journal more successful.
To start with, students could use semantic mapping to reflect
the relationships of the words related to the same topic. In this
kind of semantic map, the central of the 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)
(Related word) (Topic) (Key word)
(Key word) (Related word)
(Related word)
(Adapted from Antonacu & Catherines, 2011, p.21)
For example, a semantic map of the topic House could be made as
follows:
(Saucepans) (Video) (Sofa)
(Loungee) (Kettle)
(Kitchen) (Coffee table)
(Sheet) (HOUSE) (Washbasin )
(Bedroom) (Bathroom) (Towel)
(Alarm clock)
(Chest of drawers) (Sink) (Shower)
(Adapted from McCarthys, 1990, p.96)
Semantic mapping is also use to describe the aspects of a word
such as spelling, meaning, synonyms, antonyms, etc. Here is an
example:
(Adapted from Antonacu & Catherines, 2011, p.21)
This may be an example: (The process of making air, water, soil,
etc., dirty; the state of being dirty)
(Dirtiness, Contamination) (Cleaniness, Purification)
(Pollution)
(Pollution is damaging our planet and its life.)
4.3 Writing a composition
It is generally accepted that students could gain significant
improvements in vocabulary learning if they encounter the
vocabulary words frequently. There is a tendency that students
nowadays learn vocabulary by topics. For each topic, they tend to
make a list of vocabulary words with their pronunciation, meaning,
collocation, etc. in their journals. It is evident that storing and
memorizing this list of words arises serious difficulties if
students just look at their vocabulary 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
In this chapter, a brief summary of the findings is presented.
Besides, the limitations of the study and suggestions for further
research are also figured out.
V.1. Major findings.
First and foremost, by gathering data through survey
questionnaire, interviews and class observations, the current
situation of vocabulary learning among freshmen at F.O.E, HNUE was
clearly reflected. It can be concluded that both teachers and
students in the faculty highly regard the importance of vocabulary
learning. Students tend to spend time learning vocabulary every day
and pay