1 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXERCISES IN MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School Batangas State University Batangas City In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Major in English By: DUONG THI HOA LU (Laura) March 2015 i THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation entitled “INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXERCISES IN MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX ” prepared and submitted by Duong Thi Hoa Lu in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English has been examined and is recommended for oral examination MATILDA H DIMAANO, PhD Adviser PANEL OF EXAMINERS Approved by the Committee on Oral Examination with a grade of …………………… Chairman ………………… Member …………………… Member …………………… Member ………………… Member Accepted and approved in particular fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of f Philosophy English Comprehensive Examination:………… ……………… Dean ii BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam ABSTRACT Title : Integrative Learning Exercises in Morphology and Syntax Author : Duong Thi Hoa Lu (Laura) Course : Doctor of Philosophy Major : English Year : 2015 Adviser : Dr Matilda H Dimaano Summary This study aimed to determine the morphological and syntactic competencies of first year college students in English Language at Thai Nguyen University The study covered the level of morphological competency of student respondents in terms of meaning of root words, affixes, pre-fixes, suffixes, word derivation, word formation and compounding of words Part also of this study is the level of syntactic competency of student respondents relative to phrases, clauses, sentences and functions This also covered the assessment of teachers on the students‟ morphological and syntactic competencies, the significant difference on the level of this competency with the integrative language exercise as the output to enhance the students‟ English language competencies iii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines The study included the 400 first year college students and 70 teachers in Basic English Course in the Academic Year 2014-2015 in Thai Nguyen University This study tested the following hypothesis that there are no significant differences on the levels of morpho-syntactic competency of students and the assessment of the English language teachers It made use of the descriptive method of research with survey questionnaire and teacher-made test as the main data gathering instruments The data gathered were statistically treated with the use of percentage, weighted mean, standard deviation, independent t-test Findings of the study revealed that as regards levels of understanding of students in morphology particularly in meaning of root words result indicates that the students‟ level of understanding in this area of morphology is average with a fair number of students‟ demonstrating a reasonable degree of competence In prefixes, affixes and suffixes results showed that the total rating obtained by the students on this area is 59.12 percent which indicates that the students‟ performance in this area is average and is at par with the performance in the meaning of the root words As for word derivation the total rating obtained by the students on this area 63.25 percent which falls under the average level of classification which indicates that the freshman students‟ have developed a certain level of adeptness in word derivation iv THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines In word formation, the total rating obtained by students in this morphology skill component which is 52.85 percent with the verbal equivalent rating of average indicates that the slightly lower numerical value suggests that the students are finding some difficulties along this area In relation to compounding of words, findings revealed that the students‟ obtained a total rating of 61.15 percent with a verbal equivalent rating of average in this morphology skill component which indicates that the freshman students performed consistently and has developed skills in compounding Relative to the levels of students‟ performance in the use of syntax particularly in phrases, the total rating obtained for this component area is 51.95 percent or verbally equivalent to average which means that while the students demonstrate a certain degree of proficiency in this syntax skill, there are areas under this component that students not know or unfamiliar As for clauses, results showed that the total rating obtained by students is 47.30 percent or its equivalent of average which implies that the student performance on clauses are average but below the 50 percent cutoff value For sentences, the total rating students obtained is 60.50 percent or average which implies that the students find the test easier and have demonstrated more advanced skill and competency in sentences as compared to phrases and clauses As regards functions the total rating of v THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines the students‟ performance is 49.95 percent or average which implies that the students demonstrated some degree of proficiency on syntactic functions In relation to comparison of the levels of understanding in morphology and performance in syntax, results show that in 22 out of 28 mean comparisons, the p-values are less than 0.05 which means that the morphology and syntax performances corresponding to this means are significantly different and are therefore not related In six out of 28 mean comparisons, the p-values were greater than 0.05 which means that the morphology and syntax performances corresponding to this means are not significantly different and so they are related to each other which means that in general, no relationship exist among these linguistic skills With regards to teachers assessment of the morphological competencies and syntactic performance of students all the items obtained an agree score of 100 percent which means that the teacher respondents unanimously agree that the items raised are valid items that can be used for the assessment of the students‟ morphological competencies and syntactic performances According to the frequency of use of students‟ skills, 11 out of 12 items had mean scores close to 3.0 or equivalent to sometimes and only one had mean scores close to 4.0 or equivalent to often which means that the teachers observed the students not practice vi THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines and use these skills as often in the class For the assessment according to their degree of importance, result of assessment showed that all the 12 items had mean scores close to 4.0 or equivalent to moderately important which means that the teachers regarded the 12 items as only moderately important skills to be developed by the students as that there could be more important topic for teaching than those items In terms of the difference on the levels of morpho-syntactic competencies of the students and their performance as assessed by English teachers, results showed that eight out of 11 component items had a p-value that is below 0.05 which means that the teacher‟s assessment and students‟ morpho-syntactic competencies along these areas are significantly different which suggests that no relationship exist between the treatment means being compared Moreover, the integrative learning exercises on morpho-syntactic competencies designed are based on some criteria that are considered and used as concrete basis for the exercises to be included to address the needs of the students The study recommended that teachers may be encouraged to attend more trainings, seminars and workshops along the areas of morphology and syntax to further enhance their teaching techniques; that output must be reviewed and evaluated, and similar studies be conducted by future researchers vii BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author greatly acknowledges indebtedness to the following persons in their respective fields whose skills and competence contributed much to the completion of this study Dr Dang Kim Vui, Prof Dr Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, for his continuous effort to make this Cooperation Program successful; Dr.Matilda.H.Diamaano, her adviser for the whole hearted assistance, her encouragement and precious time enthusiastically reading, editing the manuscript, for having provided the researcher useful materials Without her guidance and assistance, this dissertation would probably still be incomplete; Dr Nguyen The Hung, Director of the International Training Center Thai Nguyen University, for his precious and whole hearted assistance and encouragement; The Teachers and the student-respondents of the study, for their active involvement and cooperation; All friends who in one way or another have their encouragement and remarkable support; Her affectionate parents and sibling, for innumerable blessings she had received through them, for being her greatest inspiration in pursuing this endeavor D.T.H.L viii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines DEDICATION With pride and honor, this piece of work is lovingly dedicated to her nice daughters and son, to her loving husband and to her family D.T.H.L ix THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines TABLE OF CONTENTS Page TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………… APPROVAL SHEET…………………………………………………………… i ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………….…vii DEDICATION………………………………………………………………… viii TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………… ix LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………….x LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………… xi CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction Statement of the Problem Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study II REVIEW OF LITERATURE 11 Research Literature 43 Synthesis 49 Theoretical Framework 51 Conceptual Framework 53 Hypothesis 55 Definition of Terms 55 152 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Appendix B Questionnaires Questionnaire on Teacher’s Assessment of the INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXERCISES IN MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX I Demographic profile of the teachers Respondents Name: _ Age: _ Gender: _ Place of origin: Civil Status: Educational qualification: Years of teaching experience: II Assessment of the INTEGRATIVE LEARNING IN MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX (Validation) Please indicate whether the following student skills are examples of MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX SKILLS of FRESHMAN STUDENTS Place a check-mark on the space corresponding to the rating of your choice Student Skills SKILLS IN MORPHOLOGY Root words The student is able to identify the meaning of the rootwords correctly Prefixes, Affixes, and Suffixes The student is able to correctly recognize prefixes The student is able to correctly recognize affixes The student is able to correctly recognize suffixes Word Derivation The student is able to correctly give the new word derived by adding affixes The student is able to correctly identify what part of speech is the newly derived word Word Formation The student is able to correctly form Do you agree or disagree that the following skills are Strategic competence skills? Agree (1) Disagree (2) 153 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam new words from a selection of affixes Compounding of Words The student is able to correctly form compound words from a selection of words SKILLS IN SYNTAX Phrases The student is able to correctly identify the different types of phrases in a sentence Clauses 10 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of clauses Sentences 11 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of sentences Functions 12 The student is able to correctly identify the functions of a given word in a sentence BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines 154 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines III Assessment of the MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX SKILLS of FRESHMAN STUDENTS (Frequency of use) Rate the frequency by which you think the students‟ use their MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX SKILLS of FRESHMAN STUDENTS Place a check-mark on the space corresponding to the rating of your choice Frequency of Assessment Student Skills SKILLS IN MORPHOLOGY Root words The student is able to identify the meaning of the rootwords correctly Prefixes, Affixes, and Suffixes The student is able to correctly recognize prefixes The student is able to correctly recognize affixes The student is able to correctly recognize suffixes Word Derivation The student is able to correctly give the new word derived by adding affixes The student is able to correctly identify what part of speech is the newly derived word Word Formation The student is able to correctly form new words from a selection of affixes Compounding of Words The student is able to correctly form compound words from a selection of words SKILLS IN SYNTAX Phrases The student is able to correctly identify the different types of phrases in a sentence Clauses 10 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of clauses Sentences 11 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of sentences Functions 12 The student is able to correctly identify the functions of a given word in a sentence Alway s (5) Often (4) Sometimes (3) Rarely (2) Not at all (1) 155 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines IV Assessment of the MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX SKILLS of FRESHMAN STUDENTS (Degree of importance) Rank the following students skills in terms of degree of importance Place a check-mark on the box corresponding to the rating of your choice Student Skills SKILLS IN MORPHOLOGY oot words The student is able to identify the meaning of the rootwords correctly Prefixes, Affixes, and Suffixes The student is able to correctly recognize prefixes The student is able to correctly recognize affixes The student is able to correctly recognize suffixes Word Derivation The student is able to correctly give the new word derived by adding affixes The student is able to correctly identify what part of speech is the newly derived word Word Formation The student is able to correctly form new words from a selection of affixes Compounding of Words The student is able to correctly form compound words from a selection of words SKILLS IN SYNTAX Phrases The student is able to correctly identify the different types of phrases in a sentence Clauses 10 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of clauses Sentences 11 The student is able to correctly differentiate the different types of sentences Functions 12 The student is able to correctly identify the functions of a given word in a sentence Very Important (5) Degree of Importance Moderately Slightly Less Important Important Important (4) (3) (2) Not Important (1) 156 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Appendix A Questionnaire on INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXERCISES UTILIZING MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX Guide in answering the questionnaire Welcome! You are currently participating in a descriptive research INTEGRATIVE LEARNING EXERCISES UTILIZING MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX Below you will find a list of questions that will test your skill on MORPHOLOGY AND SYNTAX Follow carefully the instructions for each test section Do not forget to fill in your personal data Do not leave any questions unanswered as this will invalidate your answer sheet If you need further clarification, not hesitate to ask your examiner Thank you! -I Personal Data Respondents Name: Age: _ Gender: Parent‟s Educational Attainment: Place of origin: _Type of High School: _ Exposure to English media: _ 157 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines II Morphology 1.1 Meaning of Root words Underline the root in each of the following words and write the letter of their correct meaning from the given options Reject : A to move B to throw C to hold Cognizance : A examine B to confine C know Indicate : A to say B to bring C yield Confine: A toward B end C off Benevolent: A around B care c well 1.2 Prefixes, Affixes, and Suffixes A Underline the prefixes in the following words and write the letter of their meaning on the space provided before each number Abolish: A with B outside C away _2 Misplace: A wron B alone C not _3 Transport: A between B partly C across _4 Disbelief: A to B apart C about _5 Protract: A forth B back C after B From the given meaning, form the word by choosing the correct affixes from the following options: 158 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam To make: Idol _ Around: _stance A ist A anti Together: _press B ize C ness B epi C circum B ad C post B ity C ate A over B un C ob A com In a certain way: harsh A ly Toward: ject C Underline the suffixes in the following words and write the letter of their meaning from the given options: Decorate: A operate B state of being C given to Amazement: A a person B practice C result or product of Laziness: A the action of B quality C marked by Terrorism: A practice B without C to cause to Tangent: A come B touch C forward 1.3 Word Derivation Write the new word derived by adding the correct affixes from the given options and write the letter of the correct parts of speech from where the word is derived on the space provided before each number Boy + _ A ess B ish C cis Word Derived: _ Parts of Speech: A noun to adjective B adverb to noun C verb to noun Length + A wise B ly C abl Word Derived: _ Parts of Speech: A verb to adverb B noun to adjective C adjective to adverb 159 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Confer + _A er B hood C ence Word Derived: _ Parts of Speech: A noun to verb B verb to noun Exact + A ly B ure C ly A adjective to adverb Word Derived: Parts of Speech: B noun to verb Alcohol + A iana C noun to adverb B ic C let Word Derived: _Parts of Speech: A verb to adverb B adjective to adverb 1.4 C noun to adjective C noun to adjective Word Formation Form new words by matching the affixes in Column A to that of the root words in column B Write the letter of your answer on the space provided before each number Column A Column B circum A com _2 In B ad _3 Per C file _4 Mit D spect _5 Pro E scribe 160 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam F mission 1.5 Compounding of Words Form compound words by matching the words in Column A to that of the other words in Column B Write the letter of the correct answer Column A Column B Wrap A phile Back B wad Tight C bleed Nose D state Audio E sliders 161 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines F around III Syntax 2.1 Phrases Underline the phrases in the following sentences and identify its kind Write PP if the phrase is a prepositional phrase, AP for adjectival Phrase, GP for gerundial phrase, IP for infinitive Phrase, or APP for appositive phrase Write the answer on the space provided before each number _ Billy wanted a dish of blueberries _ Belinda, studying for the test, was distracted by the loud music _ Asking questions is an effective way to learn _ Sue planned to telephone Chris _ The new girl, the one wearing a red blazer, looked remarkably comfortable 2.2 Clauses Underline once the independent clause and twice the subordinate clause Write AC if the subordinate clause is adjectival clause, AVC for adverbial clause, and NC for noun clause Write your answer on the space provided before each number When Pete lost his fortune, he found himself without friends _ If you want Sally‟s phone number, ask Sara for it 162 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines _ I have several friends who lived in Hanoi _ That Alberta won the prize seemed impossible _ We tried to explain, what we were doing there 2.3 Sentences Write S if the sentence is simple, C if it is compound, CX if the sentence is complex and CC for compound complex They are rich who have true friends I ran down the path to the spot where it divides, and then I turned back Ed and I checked and rechecked our answer Ben and Roy gobbled the oranges; they tasted very good after the hike If you arrive early, wait for me at the main entrance 2.4 Functions Identify the function of each underlined word Write whether it is used as a Noun, Pronoun, Verb, Adverb, Adjective, Conjunction, Preposition, and Interjection _, _ The garden hose should be near the rose garden _, _ I don‟t like either, but I must pick either one or the other _, _ Please turn the light on and put the groceries on the table _, The children comb their hair with the blue comb on the dresser , _ Bravo! You are a noble and intelligent boy 163 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Photographs For Questionnaires BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Asking Permission to Administrate Tests of Survey Thai Nguyen University of Education Thai Nguyen University of Economic and Business Administration Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry 164 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Thai Nguyen University of Science Administration Survey Questoinnaires for Teacher Respondents Thai Nguyen University of Education Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology Thai Nguyen University of Economic and Business Administration Thai Nguyen University of Science 165 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry Administration of Teacher – Made – Test to Students Respondents Thai Nguyen University of Education Thai Nguyen University of Science Thai Nguyen University of Economic and Business Administration Thai Nguyen University of Information and Communication Technology Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry 166 BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Republic of the Philippines THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam CURRICULUM VITAE PERSONAL DATA Name: DUONG THI HOA LU Nickname (English name): Laura Address: THAI NGUYEN CITY VIET NAM Date of birth: 08.02.1979 Place of birth: THAI NGUYEN City VIET NAM Nationality: VIET NAM Religion: None Civil Status: Married EDUCATION Graduate Studies: Laguna State Polytechnic University Laguna Philippines Master of Arts in English Tertiary: Vietnam National University Hanoi High School: Ngo Quyen Secondary: Thinh Duc Elementary Thinh Duc WORK EXPERIENCE: Teacher XII – Present finance Thai Nguyen College of Economics and Thai Nguyen Province ... achieve their long term study goals English is a compulsory subject from the elementary school up to senior school in today‟s Vietnam education system.It is considered a difficult subject for the... systematic way Clark, et al., (1997) pointed out that the field of psycholinguistics is concerned with discovering the psychological process that make it possible for humans to acquire and use... as social class, educational level, age, sex and ethnic origin as well as the study of language choice in bilingual or multilingual communities, language planning or language attitudes; stylistics,