DEVELOPING VOCABULARY – LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT HAI PHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY

1. TESOL CONFERENCE 2011 DEVELOPING VOCABULARY – LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR THE SECOND-YEAR STUDENTS AT HAI PHONG MEDICAL UNIVERSITY Presenter: Tran Thi Hoa, M.A. Hai Phong Medical University

2. RATIONALE • Enlarging vocabulary is especially important for learners of pre-intermediate level • The practice of learner training in Vietnamese classrooms is still open to question • The local context of Hai Phong Medical University calls for the idea of developing learning strategies

3. AIMS OF THE STUDY • Improve Ss’ vocabulary learning through a training program of learning strategies • Evaluate the strategy training program through Ss’ perception

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS • What are the problems that the students encounter in their independent vocabulary learning? • How effective is the strategy training programme in helping the students learn vocabulary, as perceived by the students?

5. SCOPE OF THE STUDY • The research focuses on the explicit teaching of learning strategies. • Three strategy sets, namely Dictionary-related strategies, Recording vocabulary and Studying affixes, are taught.

6. METHODOLOGY • Method: Action Research • Participants: + 27 second-year students + The teacher – researcher

7. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION RESEARCH • Conducted for 10 weeks during the second term of school year 2009 – 2010 • Divided into three phases

8. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION RESEARCH • Phase One (Week 1-4) _ Week 1: The students were explicitly introduced to the vocabulary-learning strategy training programme. Pre-treatment questionnaires were distributed _ Week 2 – 4: The students were given a strategy teaching lesson each week. _ Three strategey sets were adapted from the taxonomy of vocabulary learning strategies suggested by Schmitt (1997)

9. IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION RESEARCH • Phase Two (Week 5 – 7) _ Phase Two provided the students with guided practice by means of weekly word-learning records. • Phase Three (Week 8 – 10) _ The students kept a free-style vocabulary diary for their independent learning. _ Post-treatment questionnaire survey was conducted

10. INSTRUMENTS OF DATA COLLECTION • Pre-treatment questionnaires • Post-treatment questionnaires

11. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. Research question 1: Students’ problems in independent vocabulary learning .

12. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 1. Research question 1: Students’ problems in independent vocabulary learning. Ss’ biggest problem is “not knowing how to learn vocabulary effectively”

13. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program

14. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program The students used the taught strategies more frequently after they had participated in the strategy training

15. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program

16. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program Dictionary-related strategies were considered themost useful, then vocabulary-recording, and finally affix-studying strategies

17. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program

18. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program The majority considered the training programme highly effective

19. 2. Research question 2: Students’ perception of the effectiveness of the strategy training program • 100% of Ss wanted to get further strategy training. • Reasons:- Know how to learn vocabulary effectively- Feel more motivated and interested in learning- Help to develop the four skills- Important role of vocabulary in language learning

20. PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS • Introduce Ss to the strategies of using a bilingual dictionary and recording vocabulary as early as possible. • Take account of the characteristics of each strategy. • Conduct strategy instruction in a most explicit way

21. LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY • 10 weeks might be a relatively short time for strategy training. • Future research into other vocabulary-learning strategies is still much needed.