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.

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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