20- vuong ut bach lan

8/11/2019 20- Vuong Ut Bach Lan

1/15

Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal

Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Graduate SchoolGraduate School

97 Vo Van Tan. Dist.3, HCMC, Vietnam

ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AN RE!ORT

TESO" #

Na$e o% candidate& VUONG UT 'ACH "AN

Student No& TESO"#()

E$ail address&levuon*n*oclan+*$ail,co$

Na$e o% course-or. su/0ect& Research Methodolo*y

Title o% this ite$ o% -or.& A study on the importance of learning styles and

strategies in learning English to non-major students of English at Social and

Affairs University

Na$e o% lecturer& TUNG THANH NGU1EN

Ed in TESO" 2Mel/Uni3 Australian4

!h in "in*uistics 2HCMC USSH3 Vietna$4

ue date& April 5(3 ()5(

STATEMENT O6 AUTHORSHI!&

I certify that the above assignment is my original wor! it is base" on my ownresearch an" reflection. #ll so$rces $se" by me have been "oc$mente". %o other

&erson's wor has been $se" witho$t "$e acnowle"gement. This &iece of wor

has not &revio$sly been s$bmitte" for assessment in this or any other s$b(ect or

co$rse at this )niversity or elsewhere.

*t$"ent's *ignat$re+++++++++++++++Date+++++++++


2/15


Table of Contents

CH#-T/ 01 I%T/2D)CTI2%..........................................................................................

0.0. 4acgro$n" of the st$"y..........................................................................................

0.. /esearch 5$estion....................................................................................................3

0.3

*ignificance of the st$"y........................................................................................3

CH#-T/ 1 6IT/#T)/ /VI................................................................................8

.0 Definition.....................................................................................................................8

. /esearch con"$cte" in the #rea of 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an" *trategies............

.3 /esearch on #sian an" Vietnamese 6earning *tyles an" *trategies............................:

.8 #n m&hasis on 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an" *trategies.........................................9

CH#-T/ 31 MTH2D262;


3/15


CHA!TER 5& INTROUCTION

!! "ac#ground of the study

#s a saying goes, ?;ive a man a fish an" he eats for a "ay. Teach him how to

fish an" he eats for a lifetime@. This can be a&&lie" to lang$age teaching an"

learning. 4eing &rovi"e" with an answer for a &roblem, the learner can only "eal

with an instant sit$ation, b$t fail in the long>term goal. 2n the other han", if a

lang$age learner has their own learning styles an" is ta$ght s$itable learning

strategies in or"er to wor o$t the &roblem by their own, they are em&owere" to

achieve lang$age ac5$isition. Hence, lang$age styles an" strategies &lay an

im&ortant role in the secon" lang$age ac5$isition. These iss$es have also been &ai"

m$ch attention on "oing e"$cational research in the scholar worl". This &a&er is to

show my interest in these iss$es. e teachers wo$l" lie to investigate o$r st$"ents

learning styles an" strategies in learning nglish. If they "o not realiAe the

im&ortance an" infl$ence of learning styles an" strategies on learning, it is o$r "$ty

to aware them! If they "o not now the s$itable strategies in their learning, we

teachers nee" to hel& them with that.

ith this in min", I wish to raise awareness these among the st$"ents, an" as a

res$lt, the thesis title goes as1A study on the importance of learning styles and

strategies in learning English to first year students of English at University of

Labour and Social Affairs.

!$! Research %uestion

I am con"$cting a research name"1 &A study on the importance of learning

styles and strategies in learning English to first year students of English at


4/15


University of 'a(our and Social Affairs. To eB&lore the matter, the research

will mae a great attem&t on investigating the following 5$estions1

1. Ho do learning styles and strategies influence on learning English!

". Ho do strategy instructions help first year students learn English better!

!)* Significance of the study

The st$"y highlights the im&ortance of learning styles an" strategies to the

nglish learning. Moreover, the fin"ings of the st$"y are tho$ght to be $sef$l for

teachers of nglish to be aware of the essential role of the strategy instr$ctions to

the first year st$"ents in learning nglish better.

3


5/15


CHA!TER (& "ITERATURE REVIE7

$! +efinition

It is really hel&f$l for lang$age teachers to consi"er the learning styles of their

st$"ents so that they can incor&orate into their teaching a&&roach to have the highest

effect on teaching an" learning a lang$age. Hence, what is ?learning style@

#ccor"ing to 6e=evel, it is a way in which a &erson sees or &erceives things best

an" then &ossesses or $ses that has been seen@ 099, &.07E. In more "etails, Feefe

G enin 0997, &.3E consi"er learning style a constr$ct that lins &erce&t$al

res&onse ten"encies, cognitive control sills an" st$"y an" instr$ctional &references.

They also state that learning styles are characteristic cognitive, affective, an"

&sychological behavio$rs that serve as relatively stable in"icators of how st$"ents

&erceive, interact with, an" res&on" to the learning environment 0997, &.8:E. 2r in

other wor"s, the fo$n"ation of learning styles is cognitive behavio$rs. *haring the

same iss$e, hrman G 2Bfor" 0990, &.300E in"icate that learning styles are

&referre", nat$ral an" habit$al &atterns of mental f$nctioning an" "ealing with new

information s$ch as absorbing, &rocessing or retaining. Tra"itionally, there are three

main learning channels1 vis$al, a$"itory, an" inesthetic. More s&ecifically,

-ritchar" :, &.E shows the lin between learning styles an" m$lti&le

intelligences. #ccor"ing to his theory, learners are "ivi"e" into eight categories

incl$"ing ling$isticverbal, logicalmathematical, s&atialvis$al, m$sical,

inter&ersonal, intra&ersonal, an" nat$ralistic learner.

8


6/15


The secon" term nee"s clarifying is ?learning strategy@. #ccor"ing to 2Bfor"

0990993, &.0:E, learning strategies are consi"ere" &roce"$res, em&loye" by the

learners in or"er to mae their own lang$age learning as s$ccessf$l as &ossible.

They also refer to s&ecific actions, behaviors, ste&s, or techni5$es that st$"ents $se

to im&rove their &rogress in "evelo&ing 6 sills. These ste&s an" behaviors are

conscio$s to facilitate ac5$isition, storage, retention, recall, an" $se of new

information hrman G 2Bfor", 099, &.30E. In 2'Malley G Chamot view&oint

099E, there are three main ty&es of strategies $se" by 6 leaners1 metacognitive,

cognitive an" social strategies.

The $se of s$itable learning strategies is really im&ortant an" necessary for a

learner in ac5$iring a secon" lang$age. The fact is that learning styles may not

easily be change" lie we change o$r learning strategies. Hence, if learning

strategies are change" into the s$itable ones, the res$lts are m$ch better.

$!$ Research conducted in the Area of 'anguage 'earning Styles and Strategies

Many researchers have con"$cte" st$"y on learning styles. #ccor"ing to

4ernice McCarthy as cite" in 6e=ever, 099, &.09>E, each learner has their own

learning style. *he &oints o$t fo$r main ty&es1 imaginary, analytic, common sense,

an" "ynamic. %one of these styles is the best for all learners. ach learner has one&artic$lar or a miBe" style that fits them most. Imaginary learners can learn best

when inter&ersonal relationshi&s are "evelo&e". They ten" to see the overview of a

&roblem rather than its "etails. 6earning by listening an" sharing the i"ea together

with feeling, sensing an" watching is the characteristic of this style. Meanwhile,

analytic learners learn by watching an" listening. They ($st sit, listen an" eval$ate

information they receive from their teacher. This in" of learners is the best of the

tra"itional way. 2&&osite to this style, learners who "o not learn by theory only, b$t


7/15


want to test what they have learnt in the real life an" &$t theory into &ractice are

calle" common sense learners. Therefore, the combination of theory an" &ractice

can easily fit their style. *imilarly, "ynamic learners &refer action an" &ractice in the

lang$age learning &rocess. #n" more a"vance", they follow their feelings an"

sensing to fin" o$t the new "irections an" sol$tions to the &roblem.

In a""ition, Hale>vans states his own i"ea when he re&orts that %eil D.

=leming an" Colleen Mills "evelo&e" the V#/F system J, &.8>E. V#/F is

$se" to "escribe the way learners absorb information. They are Vis$al, #$ral,

/ea"ingriting, an" Finesthetic. =irst, vis$al learners learn best by seeing

materials s$ch as ma&s, charts, &ict$res, "iagrams, vi"eos, an" other non>verbal

formats. *econ", a$ral learners absorb information by hearing from lect$res an"

"isc$ssion as they fin" it easy to remember what it so$n"s lie. %eBt,

rea"ingwriting learners lie wor"s or teBts. They are intereste" in rea"ing an"

writing the s$mmary for what they have ($st rea". 6ast, inesthetic learners refer to

learners who can ac5$ire lang$age better thro$gh actions relate" to their bo"y.

Together with learning styles, learning strategies are in concern. hrman G

2Bfor" re&ort that lang$age learners at all level $se strategies! however, they may

be $naware of what strategies they are $sing. # more &roficient lang$age learner

a"o&ts a variety of "ifferent strategies in "ifferent sit$ations to get more self>

"irecte" an" hel& im&rove their &erformance.

In a""ition, %aiman et al. 097:, as cite" in 2'MalleyG Chamot, 099, &.JE

"ivi"es learning strategies into five broa" categories incl$"ing an active tas

a&&roach, realiAation of lang$age as a system, realiAation of lang$age as a means of

J


8/15


comm$nications an" interaction, management of affective "eman"s an" monitoring

of secon" lang$age &erformance.

Consi"ering this iss$e at another view&oint, 2Bfor" 099, &. 37E "ivi"es

learning strategies into two categories1 "irect an" in"irect ones. Direct strategies

are "efine" as the ones that "irectly involve the target lang$age. This category

re5$ires mental &rocessing of the lang$age, b$t each element in this category has

"ifferent f$nctions an" serves for "ifferent &$r&oses. It incl$"es memory, cognitive

an" com&ensation strategies. Moreover, 2Bfor" 099, &.03E also foc$ses on

in"irect strategies which incl$"e metacognitive, affective an" social strategies. He

believes that these strategies "o not "irectly involve the target lang$age b$t can

hel& s$&&ort an" manage lang$age learning.

The im&ortance of learning strategies is increasingly &ai" attention. =iel"

, &.9E states that nowle"ge of comm$nication an" lang$age strategies nee"s

to be seen, an" is increasingly being seen, as the central of =6 learning. To some

eBtent, learning strategies has been com&are" with st$"y sills. 6earning strategies

ten" to be $nobservable mental &rocesses, while st$"y sills are more overt

techni5$es ;raham, 0997, &.37E. In a""ition, llis G *inclair as cite" in ;raham,

0997, &.37E assert that learning strategies are &rocess oriente" whereas st$"y sills

are &ro"$ct oriente". Teachers teach st$"y sills to hel& st$"ents &ass eBternal

eBaminations! while the aim of learning strategies is basically one of self>

eBamination an" insight into an" control over oneKs learning.

$!* Research on Asian and ,ietnamese 'earning Styles and Strategies

7


9/15


It is believe" that in most ast #sian co$ntries, lang$age teaching is

"ominate" by a teacher>centere", boo>centere", grammar>translation metho" an"

an em&hasis on rote memory 6i$ G 6ittlewoo", 0997E. *haring this i"ea, M$r&hy

as cite" in 4erry, Dasen G *acraswathi, 0997, &.0JE also states that #sian st$"ents

are often criticiAe" of being &assive learners, showing heavy "e&en"ence on rote

learning. They often em&loy low>level of learning strategies foc$se" on &assing

eBams. Moreover, #sian learners $s$ally $se" learning strategies that wo$l" lea" to

low aca"emic achievement.

hat "o the esterners thin of this iss$e *$&&orting the same i"ea,

4allar" G Clanchy, 4iggs, *am$elowicA as cite" in atins, /eghi, G #stilla,

0990, &.0E claim that there still is a very strong &erce&tion by aca"emics in

co$ntries lie the )nite" Fing"om an" #$stralia that #sian st$"ents are more

liely to rely on rote learning than their estern &eers. In a""ition, Dimmoc

, &.0JE states that esterners consi"er #sian st$"ent as ?a rote learner,

&assive, com&liant, failing to s&ea $&, a"o&ting $n5$estioning attit$"es towar"

their teachers@.

2n contra"ict to the aforementione" belief, many researchers fin" o$t

interesting that may change the &revio$s &oint of view. Fember , &.99>00E

&roves that st$"ents from Hong Fong an" other &arts of #sia were liely to be high

achievers in aca"emic worl". #gain, -illay an" his co>worers come to a

concl$sion that their fin"ings &rovi"e evi"ence against the common negative belief

abo$t #sian learners as cite" in Tan, McInerney, 6iem, G Tan, :, &.78E. In

a""ition, /amb$r$th an" McCormic as cite" in *alili G Hoosain, 3, &.0E

:


10/15


raise their interesting fin"ing that ?#sian st$"ents combine s$rface strategies with

intrinsic or "ee& motivation whereas #$stralian st$"ents combine" eBtrinsic, or

s$rface, motivation with "ee& strategiesL.

$!) An Emphasis on 'anguage 'earning Styles and Strategies

4elonging to #sian, Vietnamese learners share the same c$lt$re &atterns that

may infl$ence their learning styles an" strategies. It is arg$e" that Vietnamese

st$"ents' &assive learning styles an" strategies are the res$lts of e"$cational system

which enco$rages st$"ents to learn by listening, taing notes or co&ying their

teachers. They are not familiar with active class &artici&ation an" "isc$ssion in

gro$&s. They may get conf$se" when teachers as them to wor in gro$&s or

eB&ress their i"eas in front of the class /ao, 8, &.0:E.

In a""ition, /ossi>6e, 099 as cite" in ;riffiths :, &.0E fin"s o$t while

*&anish s&eaers &referre" a$"itory learning, Vietnamese learners eB&resse" a

strong &reference for vis$al learning.

Moreover, 4ris J, &.:E states that Vietnamese st$"ents are eB&ecte" to

show their res&ect by following an" agreeing with everything their teachers say.

Vietnamese st$"ents are infl$ence" by #sian c$lt$re. Therefore, m$ch or little, they

are infl$ence" some c$lt$re &atterns>they "o not lie eB&ressing their i"eas an"

often say


11/15


However, in the &ast few years, Vietnamese e"$cational systems have

change" a lot in c$rric$l$m an" learning materials lie the co$rse boo, as well as

teaching an" learning metho"ology Dang, JE. 6earner centere"ness is &ai"

m$ch attention an" is the tren" of Vietnamese e"$cation. Hence, st$"ents will be

more active an" less "e&en"ent on their teachers.

CHA!TER 8& METHOO"OG1

0


12/15


This section, which is s&lit into smaller &arts, "escribes the metho"ology em&loye"

in the c$rrent research. The first &art &resents the research s$b(ects. The neBt one

will contin$e to "isc$ss instr$ments.

*! Su(jects

The s$rvey was con"$cte" with the &artici&ation of 0: st$"ents age" 09E in

)niversity of 6abo$r an" social #ffairs an" 00 teachers from De&artment of

=oreign 6ang$age. The st$"ents are chosen from 3 classes of "ifferent

"e&artments1 #cco$nting, H$man an" /eso$rces an" Management De&artment1

#H$%11& #H'L11& and #H(%11. ach class com&rises of J st$"ents who share"ifferent e"$cational bacgro$n"s an" &$r&oses of st$"ying the target lang$age>

nglish an" have been learning nglish for seven years. nglish is ta$ght as a

re5$ire" s$b(ect "$ring two years at $niversity. =or each school semester, nglish

taes five cre"its in total. These fig$res show that the "ata collecte" from the

s$rvey will s$rely be reliable beca$se the learners are well aware of their mission,

an" have eno$gh nowle"ge of nglish to answer the 5$estions given.

The &artici&ation of all s$b(ects in o$r st$"y was vol$ntary. Most of them

were com&letely willing to coo&erate with the ho&e to contrib$te their &references

of their learning styles an" strategies in learning nglish at $niversity.

*!$ Research instruments for +ata ollection

In or"er to realiAe the aims of the st$"y, 5$antitative metho" was $se". Two

s$rvey 5$estionnaires were $se" to collect information an" evi"ence for the st$"y.

> The first s$rvey 5$estionnaire was for 0: first year st$"ents.

> The secon" one was for 00 nglish teachers of De&artment of =oreign

6ang$ages.

#ll comments, remars an" recommen"ations given in the st$"y were base" on the

"ata analysis.

00


13/15


*!$! The survey %uestionnaire

To arrive at the reliable "ata s$rvey was con"$cte" an" 5$estionnaires were

a"ministere" to 0:first>year st$"ents an" 00 nglish teachers. The 5$estionnaire

$se" as instr$ment for "ata collection was "esigne" to get information relate" to the

to&ic raise" above. It is &ilote" an" then "elivere" for st$"ents an" teachers.

*t$"ents an" teachers will chec in the boB neBt to their answer. They can give their

own answer if necessary.

*!$!$ +ata ollection Procedure

=irstly we gave the 5$estionnaire an" interview to some o$r teachers an"

some st$"ents. #fter finishing, they gave fee"bac to hel& $s to im&rove an" e"it it.

Then we s$rveye" st$"ents an" teachers with the following 5$estions! an" for each

5$estion, we constr$cte" a table to show the main an" &ercent of the choice then

trie" to fin" the eB&lanations for the fin"ings base" on "oc$ment review, theory,

reality. e will $se *-** to mae the "ata analysis more eBactly.

*!) Summary

This &art has "escribe" the metho"ology $se" in the &ro&osal to get

information an" "ata relate" to learning styles an" strategies from the st$"ent an"

teachers. The 5$estionnaire $se" as the instr$ment to get information! *-** $se"

as tool to hel& analyse the "ata.

0


14/15


Re%erences

4erry, .., Dasen, -. /., G *acraswathi, T.*. 0999E. Han"boo of Cross>C$lt$ral

-sychology, Vol$me 1 4asic -rocesses an" H$man Develo&ment n" e".E.

4oston1 #lly an" 4acon.

Dang, H.V. JE 6earner>centere"ness an" =6 instr$ction in Vietnam1 # case

st$"y.)nternational Education *ournal, 7 8E, 9:>J0.

Dimmoc, C. E.#esigning the Learning+centered School, A -ross+cultural

erspective. 6on"on1 /o$tle"ge=almer.

hrman, M. . G 2Bfor", /. 6. 099E. #"$lt 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an"

*trategies in an Intensive Training *etting. %he /odern Language *ournal,

783E1 300>37.

=iel", F. E.)ssues in /odern 0oreign Language %eaching. 6on"on1

/o$tle"ge=almer.

;raham, *. 0997E.Effective Language Learning. Cleve"on1 M$ltiling$al Matters

6t".

;riffiths, C. :E.Lessons form ood Language Learners. Cambri"ge1

Cambri"ge )niversity -ress.

Hale>vans, /. JE./ind erformance Hac2s. California1 2'/eilly.

Feefe, . ., G enins, . M. 0997E.)nstruction and Learning Environment.%ew


15/15


Fember, D. E. Misconce&tions abo$t 6earning #&&roaches, Motivation an"

*t$"y -ractices of #sian *t$"ents.Higher Education& 8, 99>00.

6e=ever, M. D. 099E.Learning Styles, 3eaching Everyone od ive 4ou to

%each. Colora"o1 Davi" C. Coo.

2'Malley, .M., G Chamot, #.). 099E.Learning Strategies in Second Language

Ac5uisition. Cambri"ge

2Bfor", /. 0990993E. 6ang$age 6earning *trategies in a %$tshell1 )&"ate an"

*6 *$ggestions.T*26 o$rnal. E.0:>.

-richar", #. :E. ays of 6earning.Learning %heories and Learning Styles in

the -lassroom.

/ao, V.F. 8E. Special Education.%ew Delhi1 #.-.H. -$blishing Cor&oration.

*alili, =., G Hoosain, /. 3E. %eaching& Learning and /otivation in a

/ulticultural -onte6t. )*1 Information #ge -$blishing.

Tan, 2.*., McInerney, D.M., 6iem, #.D., G Tan, #.;. :E. 7hat the 7est -an

Learn the East, Asian erspectives on the sychology of Learning and

/otivation. )*1 I#->Information #ge -$blishing.

08

20- vuong ut bach lan

Documents