VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES o0o DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEMORY STRATEGIES TRAINING ON STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY RETENTION: AN ACTION RESEARCH AT PHUONG DONG UNIVERSITY Hiệu quả của việc đào tạo những chiến lược ghi nhớ đối với việc lưu nhớ từ vựng của sinh viên: Nghiên cứu hành động tại trường Đại học Phương Đông M.A. COMBINED PROGRAM THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc. Prof. Le Van Canh, PhD Hanoi, 2015 PART A: INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the statement of the problem, rationale as well as aims and objectives of the study reported in this thesis. It also presents the research questions and the scope of the research. Finally, the chapter ends with an outline of structure of the thesis. 1. Statement of the problem and rationale for the study Vocabulary is considered an essential part of language learning. According to Knight (1994, cited in Gu, 2003), learning words is the most important aspect of language acquisition. Learning vocabulary is regarded as the basis of obtaining other skills. Vocabulary deficiency can result in weakness in reading comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking competence, writing performance and grammatical accuracy. Therefore, learning vocabulary is an indispensable step of L2 acquisition. However, how recently learners have learnt something is not important, but in fact, the depth of processing. In other words, students must be taught on how to process information deeply. This view confirmed the role of understanding and applying Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) in teaching and learning vocabulary. Studying VLS has been an interest for a great deal of psychologists, linguists and language teachers for a long time. There are numerous studies conducted about VLS, their effectiveness in learning vocabulary and these researchers almost have attempted to develop a framework of category of VLS (e.g O’Malley & Chamot 1990, Oxford 1990; Gu & Johnson 1996, Schmitt 1997, Nation 2001) Vocabulary retention is one of the prolems of vocabulary learning. Students have not known how to use memory strategies. Thus the training of memory strategies is esential. However, there are many memory strategies so each study focuses on a group of Memory strategies. 2. Aim of the study. The study aims at finding out the extent to which the training of memory strategies help the students to retain the learned words better. The training in this study is limited to four strategies as introduced in Oxford(1990)’s taxonomy. These are structured reviewing, using mechanical techinques, using imagery and placing new words into a context. 3. Research questions. In an attempt to achieve the above-presented aim, the study was designed to answer the three following research questions: 1 1. What are the problems second language learners have with vocabulary retention? 2. Why do they have those problems? 3. To what extent does applying the 4 selected strategies, i.e, structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context help to improve students' vocabulary retention? 4. Scope of the study This action research is an investigation into the effectiveness of the training of Memory Strategies on students’ vocabulary retention. However, the training does not cover all the memory strategies. In an attempt to make this study more managable, the study focuses on the effectiveness of the training of 4 memory strategies: structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and placing new words into a context on a group of students (n=28) who were studying English as a minor in Phuong Dong university curriculum. 5. The organization of the thesis The thesis is composed of three parts: Part A, Part B, and Part C. Part A – Introduction - introduces the rationale, aims and objectives as well research questions of the study. Part B labelled as Development is composed of two chapters: Chapter 1- Literature review - introduces the theoretical foundations for the whole study and Chapter 2 – Methodology - elaborates on the participants, the method used, the instruments, the date collecting and processing procedure from the tests, questionnaires, interviews and learners’ diaries. Part C – Conclusion - summarizes all the major points in the study, reveals the limitations of the study and proposes some suggestions for further research. 2 PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides an overview of the literature related to the study: from vocabulary learning strategies, next, memory strategies and last four sub-memory strategies. Besides, this review also reveals some critical analysis about the systems of classifying vocabulary learning strategies as well as the research gap, thus motivating to carry out the study. 1.1. Language learning strategies 1.1.1. Background of language learning strategies 1.1.2. Definition of language learning strategies 1.1.3. The importance of language learning strategies in language learning and teaching. 1.1.4. Classification of learning strategies 1.1.5. Strategies Training 1.1.5.1. Why training? 1.1.5.2. How to train? 1.2. Vocabulary and Vocabulary Learning Strategies 1.2.1. Definition of vocabulary 1.2.2. The importance of vocabulary in second language learning 1.2.3. Factors affecting vocabulary learning and acquisition 1.2.4. Retention and factors affecting vocabulary retention 1.2.4.1. Memory 1.2.4.2. Language exposure 1.2.4.3. Effective Vocabulary learning strategies 1.2.5. Vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) 1.2.6. Classification of VLS 3 1.2.7. Oxford’s taxonomy 1.3. Memory strategies 1.3.1. Definition of memory strategies 1.3.2. Why memory strategies? 1.3.3. Oxford’s classification of Memory Strategies 1.3.3.1. Structured reviewing 1.3.3.2. Using mechanical techniques 1.3.3.3. Using imagery 1.3.3.4. Placing new words into a context 4 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY The following chapter depicts in detail the methodology of this research paper. It includes first the background of the study, the size and characteristics of the sample, the materials used then the implementation of an action research as well as the description of data collection instruments. Furthermore, an elaborate report on the procedures of data collection and data analysis is also incorporated. 2.1. The rationale of using Action Research Action research is initiated and conducted by the teacher with his or her own students in his or her classroom. The purpose and function of Action Research is to help the teacher to improve his or her own teaching practices (Nunan, 1992). This study is aimed at solving one particular problem that the teacher-researcher of the study was encountered with: how to help her students retain words better. The assumption is that the training of memory strategies may lead to better word retention. This purpose and nature fit well with how action research is documented in the literature. 2.2. The background to the study The study was conducted at Phuong Dong university, situated in Hanoi capital, Vietnam. For 4 years of studying (8 semesters), students have to take 2 different courses: General English (GE) from semester 2 to 5 and English for Specific Purpose (ESP) for semester 6. With GE courses, lecturers aim at providing students with genenal knowledge, essential grammar, vital range of vocabulary for communicative English. Four sub-courses are carried out to serve this demand. General English 1 (GE1) makes use of the book “Starting skills 1” (Unit 1-9). GE2 and GE3 exploit “Starting skills 2” respectively first half and second half of the book. In GE4, students are studying first 5 units of “Starting skills 3”. GE1 is designed to help students reach A1-1 level. GE2 is for A1-2 level. Accordingly, after finishing GE4, students are expected to get A2 level according to CEFR. The class was chosen for this study was all at beginning level, which means all the students had little knowledge about English. They all met three times a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon from 12.30 p.m to 4.15 p.m) for the lessons. 5 In terms of schedule and objectives of the course, this course was conducted in 45 sessions (15 weeks). Each session lasted 100 minutes. As the name of the class (GE1), this course aimed at providing students with a system of grammar points and basic vocabulary for general communication. The main textbook of the course was “Starting Skills 1”. For each session, the teacher managed to help students cover one out of four skills or grammar points or vocabulary part which had been clarified in the schedule (See Appendix 2). The study room was about 20 square meters for about 30 students with such essential facilities as tables, desks and a board. All the students were arranged into two rows of desks facing the teacher with an aisle which allowed the teacher to move backwards and forwards to give lectures or to be a participant with students’ group activities. 2.3. The research process A typical action research needs to go from one step to another. As suggested by Ferrance (2000), an action research cycle will be as follows: Figure 1: Action Research circle As can be seen from the above cycle, there are six main steps to conduct an action research. The first is to identify the research problem. Then, data must be collected through means of interviews, questionnaires, etc. Next, the data is analyzed to find out the problems. The fourth step is to design a plan of action so that the research can make a change and study that change. After the intervention has been carried out, it is the researcher’s task to evaluate its effects to justify whether the action worked or not. Then, if it had not been effective as expected, another method should be considered in order to improve the situation. This circle of action research was adopted for this study. The whole process of carrying out this action research is described below. 6 2.3.1. Identify the problems Fifty words included in this first VKS were taken from the book: “Tiếng Anh 12”. It was assumed that the students had learned all these words before their entry into the university. Twenty-five minutes was the time the teacher allowed her students to complete this kind of test. Following the VKS, a follow-up interview was conducted with all 28 students, who had participated in the VKS survey. A group interview was chosen instead of individual interviews because the number of interviewees was relatively great (n=28). Regrading the format, a semi-structured interview format was chosen so that more in-depth information about the students’ problems of word retention could be obtained. 2.3.2. Gather data 2.3.2.1. Results from VKS The results showed that the students seemed to be weak at retaining the words that they have learned. They could see the words familiar, that they had seen them somewhere before, but they could not give out the meanings or gave out the meanings indecisively. The semi- interview was used in the next lesson helped to find out whether what students did in the test was the same as what they said in the interview. Furthermore, an interview also helped the teacher to go insight the problems that her students were having when learning vocabulary. 2.3.2.2. Results from the interview The interview results showed that the number one reason for students’ weaknesses at vocabulary retention is lack of memory strategies (100%). The second considerable obstacle is limited opportunities for using words productively (66.7%). Next come the two causes with the same score 33%: problems with skills in using dictionaries and misbeliefs about vocabulary knowledge. The final reason involves insufficient time on vocabulary learning and teachers’ approaches to vocabulary teaching. 2.3.3. Interprete data The results from the VKS test revealed the fact that the students seemed to be weak at retaining the words that they have learned. “What were the reasons for this?” was the question set for the researcher. It could be the insufficiency in time, input, output, 7 techniques for remembering, and knowledge of a word. These were the problems that the researcher could collect from the interview. Due to the time for the study, the teacher just tried her best to help students with the biggest reason: lack of memory strategies. This could be done by equipping students with strategies to retain vocabulary items. Among ten, four sub-memory strategies were chosen and applied as techniques in meaningful practice in class to help improve students’ vocabulary learning, namely: structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery and put the word into its context. 2.3.4. Act on evidence 2.3.4.1. Participants The participants of this study were 28 university students studying general English course that students of non English major at Phuong Dong University. These were the students who had participated in the questionnaire and interview survey. 2.3.4.2. Materials All the vocabulary being taught in this course was taken from the book “Starting Skills 1”. There were nine big topics of vocabulary included in the course, namely: Education, Daily Life, Work and Business, Science and Nature, the Physical World, Culture and Civilization, Technology, Art and Literature, Sports and Leisure. Based on the schedule of the course, teacher was in charge of designing handouts for students to study: in- class handouts and at-home handouts. In the in-class handouts, teachers explained and helped students to approach the ways to study the words using four sub memory strategies in turn. At-home handouts were delivered to students after in- class handouts as a small practicing part with normal gap-filling, word family exercises and a self-learning and expanding strategies part. Specially, this self- learning part would be reported in students’ learning diaries. 2.3.4.3. Training and data collection procedure 8 Figure 2: Data collection procedure 2.3.5.Evaluation 2.3.5.1. Data analysis methods and procedures The data collected were categorized under the three research questions. To be specific, the VKS test served to answer the first research question, the semi-structured interview the second and the learners’ diaries, the test scores addressed the last question. Regarding to the first question, in the VKS test, the students would mark the given word from Level 1 to Level 5. The teacher then counted the number of each mark for each student, expressed the figure as a percentage and illustrated in form of a bar chart. For the second question, in the interview, the data was collected and generalized into different groups of reasons. The teacher then calculated and illustrated data in a table. By this way, the researcher and readers could easily see the outstanding problem that students encountered when retaining vocabulary. With reference to the last research question, all the learners’ diaries were collected. There were totally 9 entries for each students, so 252 for all 28 students. The teacher then checked each entry and calculated the number of each strategy used in each entry. These figures were then converted to percentage and illustrated under the format of a pie-chart. Moreover, the data collected from the extra column in the post-test 1 was also analyzed here to answer the last question. The researcher would count the number of each four sub-memory strategies used in the test, describe and compare with the results from the diaries. Next, for data from tests, all the test scores were first recorded. Mean scores in each test were then calculated. Both the performances of the total group and each student were then indicated by comparing mean scores between the pre-test and the two other post-tests. By this way, the improvement of students’ vocabulary retention in short term and long term could be revealed. 9 [...]... short-term and delayed post-test which was the sign of better retrieval in the long-term retention The better performance has not only occurred with the whole group but with almost all members of the group as well (28/28 for short term retention and 27/28 for long term retention) 14 2 Limitations of the study There must be a number of limitations discerned in the study due to the time constraints and the researcher’s... revealed the fact that students have mastered at somehow the ways to use sub- strategies taught in their independent learning and which strategies were the most popularly used among them Moreover, through the data collected from the pre-test and two post-tests, the application of four memory strategies were proved to have positive improvement in both students vocabulary short term and long-term retention. .. would be a great help for the future researchers to save time and conduct their research more effectively PART C: CONCLUSION 13 As the conclusion of the whole research, this chapter will first review significant research findings of the study Afterwards, it will pinpoint some limitations of the study, based on which suggestions for further studies will be offered 1 Major findings of the study Firstly,... four strategies were given a comparatively equal concern from the students, among them using imagery was the most popular used by students with the percentage of 29.4%, placing the word into a context ranked the second using mechanical techniques stood at the third position and structured reviewing numbered the fourth The percentage difference was not so much among all four strategies Thirdly, the research. .. deviation between two points: post-test 1 and post-test 2) The improvement was not blown away but kept moving (in spite of slight rate: about 0.17) Summary Through thorough analysis of the collected data, the research has discovered that the biggest problem that almost students encountered in their independent vocabulary learning was the lack of memory strategies The analysis of data from the students ... ideas from each other and sometimes lack of control from teacher In addition, the biggest limitation from this study can be the deficiency of a control group In case of a control group, the results got from the tests would be more persuasive and the way to deal with data would be easier for the teacher Despite the shortcomings mentioned above, the effort of the researcher and the participants as well as... proved that applying the four memory strategies in teaching and learning vocabulary has improved students vocabulary retention Although, there was no control group to make a comparison; however, the consistent training during the scheme helped to prove the results from the tests The improvement that students displayed in the immediate post-test (post-test 1) showed better storing of material in the short-term... lack of memory strategies seemed to take the highest consideration and worry from students Secondly, based on the results from the initial step: identifying the problems, the teacherresearcher conducted a teaching plan, in which she provided her students with four submemory strategies, namely structured reviewing, using mechanical techniques, using imagery, and placing a new word into a context These strategies. .. herself ineffectiveness in strategy training scheme in former classes when just focusing on teaching and introducing strategies without motivating and forcing students to study on their own Together with a lot of above mentioned things, namely necessary knowledge for conducting a strategy training scheme, the application of four memory strategies in teaching and learning four language skills; and suggested... in data collection phases could assure the reliability and validity of the research 3 Suggestions for further study Other researchers who develop interest in the same topic may find the following recommendations useful for their future works Firstly, arranging another control group in the research will be a good idea for researchers if they do not want to add so many methods to ensure the validity and . NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES o0o DISSERTATION ABSTRACTS THE EFFECTIVENESS OF MEMORY STRATEGIES TRAINING ON STUDENTS . the description of data collection instruments. Furthermore, an elaborate report on the procedures of data collection and data analysis is also incorporated. 2.1. The rationale of using Action. investigation into the effectiveness of the training of Memory Strategies on students vocabulary retention. However, the training does not cover all the memory strategies. In an attempt to make