HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - CHU THI HUONG THAO PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF TFLAT DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING BY FIRST-YEAR MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR USERS (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English) Supervisor: PHAM THI TUAN, M.A Hanoi, May 2018 Acknowledgements I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Pham Thi Tuan She is very enthusiastic to give me the valuable suggestion for the problems that I had during the process of doing the research Besides, I am indebted to all the lectures at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2, Hanoi Pedagogical University especially the lectures at Faculty of Foreign Languages for their help and support I also owe my special thanks to the first-year Major English students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University If I had had no their support, I would not have completed the research on time Last but not least, I am grateful to my close friends for their contribution to my study ABSTRACT Nowadays, English has become an international language and the most widely spoken language in the world One of the most important components of English language is English vocabulary This study is about the perceptions of fifty first-year Major English students towards the use of TFlat Dictionary in their English vocabulary learning The primary methods of this research were survey questionnaire and interviews The study focuses on the perceptions towards the use of TFlat Dictionary The research findings show that TFlat Dictionary has both benefits and drawbacks The research also gives some suggestions for the use of this application in their English vocabulary learning STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF TFLAT DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING BY FIRST-YEAR MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR USERS (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Arts in English) I certify that I have not copied study from any others’ reports without acknowledgment and this work is written by my best under the instruction from my supervisor Date of submission: May 2018 Student Supervisor Chu Thi Huong Thao Pham Thi Tuan LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES Tables: Table The frequency for studying the aspects of English vocabulary Table Ranks of groups of English vocabulary to be learned with TFlat Dictionary Table Students’ frequency for using TFlat Dictionary’s functions Table Ranks of aspects of English vocabulary based on the effectiveness of TFlat Dictionary Table Students’ opinions about the effectiveness of TFlat Dictionary Figures: Figure1 Students’ time spent on English vocabulary learning Figure Students’ interest in learning groups of English vocabulary Figure Students’ strategies in learning English vocabulary Figure Students’ time spent on English vocabulary learning with TFlat Dictionary Figure Students’ opinions on TFlat Dictionary’s drawbacks Figure Students’ reasons for not using TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning Figure Students’ expectations towards TFlat Dictionary LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HPU2 : Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 FFL : Faculty of Foreign Languages L2 : the second language AWL : Academic Word List TOEIC : Test of English for International Communication IELTS : International English Language Testing System TOEFL : Test Of English as a Foreign Language SA : Strongly Agree 10 A : Agree 11 U : Uncertain 12: D : Disagree 13 SD : Strongly Disagree TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ABSTRACT STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP LIST OF THE TABLES AND FIGURES LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS TABLE OF CONTENTS PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Aim of the study and Research Question The scope of the study Methods of the study The significance of the study Overview of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Vocabulary 1.1 Definitions of vocabulary 1.2 Aspects of Vocabulary Knowledge 1.2.1 Meaning 1.2.2 Pronunciation 1.2.3 Grammar 1.2.4 Word Formation 1.2.5 Collocations 1.2.6 Idioms 1.2.7 Connotation 1.2.8 Register 1.3 Four major groups of vocabulary 1.3.1 High-frequency words 1.3.2 Academic vocabulary 1.3.3 Technical words 1.3.4 Low frequency words Vocabulary learning strategies 2.1 Using Context Clues 2.2 Mnemonics 2.3 Word Part Analysis 2.4 Learning from Word Lists and Flashcards 10 2.5 Incidental Vocabulary Learning from Reading 10 2.6 Using dictionary applications 10 The use of dictionary applications in English vocabulary learning 11 3.1 The use of applications in English vocabulary learning 11 3.2 The use of dictionaries in English vocabulary learning 11 TFlat Dictionary 12 4.1 English- Vietnamese translation 12 4.2 Vietnamese- English translation 12 4.3 Quickly Translating Window 13 4.4 Text Translation 13 4.5 VIP Vocabulary 13 4.6 Your Vocabulary 13 4.7 Searched Vocabulary 14 4.8 Important Vocabulary 14 4.9 Other Applications 15 4.10 Setting 15 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 16 Participants 16 Data collection instruments 16 2.1 Questionnaire 16 2.1.1 Reasons for using Questionnaire: 16 2.1.2 Description of questionnaire 16 2.2 Interview 17 2.2.1 Reasons for using Interview 17 2.2.2 Description of interview 17 Data collection procedure 17 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 19 Findings and discussion 19 Implications 33 PART C: CONCLUSION 35 Major findings 35 Limitations of the study 35 Suggestion for further studies 36 REFERENCE 37 APPENDIX PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Nowadays, English has become an international language and the most widely spoken language in the world According to Crystal (2003), there are 320-380 million people whose first language is English and 300-500 million people whose second language is English Moreover, English is a foreign language in some countries such as Philippines and Spain The increasing popularity of English can be explained by the fact that having a good command of English gives better job opportunities or job promotion Since English is spoken in so many different countries, there are thousands of schools around the world that offer programmes in English If you speak English, there are many opportunities for you to find an appropriate school and course to suit your academic needs One of the most important components of English language is English vocabulary According to Luppescu and Day (1993: 266), "Building a large vocabulary is essential when learning English because people with large vocabularies are more proficient than those with limited vocabularies‖ In other words, when students have lots of vocabulary, they can communicate more competently than those who lack vocabulary Therefore, students should have enough English vocabulary to be able to undertake their studies successfully Having a wide range of English vocabulary is important for anyone to use the language in real life as well as in academic fields Vocabulary learning is considered ―central to language acquisition‖ (Decarrico, 2001), whether first, second, or foreign It means that learning vocabulary is the prior component that must be given to the students during their language learning However, English learners still find it hard to acquire new or unfamiliar words as well as memorize them of words and the games to review However; the games were not made use The two things this application did not include but students needed were English description and image The students would expand the English vocabulary by reading English description and image would encourage them to learn more and helped them to learn English vocabulary more effectively Implications 2.1 Strengths and Weaknesses of TFlat Dictionary Basing on the perceptions of the students, Strengths, and Weaknesses of TFlat Dictionary are revealed 2.1.1 Strengths TFlat Dictionary is equipped with Vietnamese instructions that can help students follow its items or functions easier and use this application more effectively, so that its instruction is respected Besides, TFlat Dictionary includes Vietnamese meanings of words that are useful for first-year students due to their need to expand their background knowledge in English vocabulary, and they use this application as a tool to translate English into Vietnamese TFlat Dictionary is also helpful to learn High-frequency words that are popular and appropriate the first-year students’ concerns TFlat Dictionary helps students to learn the correct pronunciation with its speaker icon This application supplies synonyms and antonyms that are useful for students to improve their English vocabulary TFlat Dictionary also has the Review function to help students enhance the new words they looked up 2.1.2 Weaknesses Vietnamese instructions and meaning can affect students’ improvement because the translation could change the expression TFlat Dictionary lacks for examples, idioms, and collocations The students would like to learn a word through examples and in context They need to learn English vocabulary in phrases instead of single words They also find it necessary to learn idioms that could help them improve their Speaking skills 33 2.2 Suggestions for the use of TFlat Dictionary in vocabulary learning From the perceptions of the students, there are some suggestions that learners can use to study English vocabulary Students should use TFlat Dictionary more than hour per day to learn English vocabulary effectively After looking up a word, they should listen to its pronunciation, then read the examples to understand the use of the word in some contexts At the same time, the students can read Synonyms/ antonyms to expand the range of English vocabulary At the same time, students should make use of examples, when using TFlat Dictionary and notice the words that are translated into the same Vietnamese meanings to prevent confusion in expressing The unique functions of TFlat Dictionary are Review and Games that students can consolidate English vocabulary with Your vocabulary and Searched words As for Review function, students can review new words when this application reminds students of its sound and the meanings on the phone’s screen Students can listen to the word’s pronunciation and read the meaning and they can set the times this application remind new words The students can play the jumping-word game, in other words, students choose available letters one by one to create a certain word that they knew the meanings After completing the word, students can tap the Speaker icon and listen to its pronunciation before moving to other words Basing on the results of the study, TFlat dictionary is not really good enough for students to use Meanwhile, students themselves can not anything to improve TFlat dictionary Therefore, the best way is that students should use other dictionaries simultaneously to expand their knowledge about English language Students can use Oxford dictionary or Cambridge dictionary These dictionaries can be used when students need more explanation for each word or more examples to understand looked up words That can help students think in English and use English vocabulary easier and more quickly 34 PART C: CONCLUSION Major findings The study focused on the perceptions of first-year Major English students towards the use of TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning (at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Hanoi Pedagogical University The perceptions of first-year Major English students towards TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning were various, about both benefits and drawbacks Almost students used this application as a strategy to learn English vocabulary Their time spent learning with TFlat Dictionary was 30 minutes per day Moreover, most of the students found it effective to use TFlat Dictionary to learn High-frequency words and Academic words The functions of TFlat Dictionary concerned most by students is EnglishVietnamese and most of the students involved in the function Your vocabulary and Searched vocabulary that helped them review the looked up words As for the aspects of English vocabulary, TFlat Dictionary nearly met the students’ needs about Meaning and Pronunciation Most of the students found it unsuitable to learn Idioms and Collocations with TFlat Dictionary The three main drawbacks of TFlat Dictionary were lacked example, idioms, and collocation They needed to learn English vocabulary in phrases instead of single words and they would like to understand more about the looked up words The Vietnamese meaning may also cause problems, it may restrict students’ development Limitations of the study This is the first time the study ―The perceptions towards using TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning of first-year English majors‖ has been conducted in the context of Hanoi Pedagogical University Due to the time constraints and limited scope, the study remains some inevitable mistakes and shortcomings 35 Firstly, the study was implemented with a small number of participants leading to limited findings Thus, the study would have been more objective and reliable if the number of students taking part in the research had been much larger Moreover, if the researcher had been better at academic language proficiency and had had more experience in carrying out the research, the study would have been more successful Suggestion for further studies There are some suggestions for further studies from the result of this research The researcher should research a large number of students to take a wider range of the result, which means the research will be more objective and reliable The researcher could focus on one of the functions of TFlat Dictionary to survey and find out the effectiveness of the function That could help students to use this application easily and effectively 36 REFERENCE BOOKS: Chung, T M & Nation, I S P (2004) Identifying technical vocabulary System, 32(2), 251- 263 Coxhead, A.（2000) A new Academic Word List, TESOL Quarterly Crystal, D (2003) English as a global language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Decarrico, J S (2001) Vocabulary Learning and Teaching In: Celce-Murcia, M (ed.) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, (3rd Edition) London: Heinle Heinle – Thomson Learning Folse, K (2004) Vocabulary myths: Applying second language research to classroom teaching Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press Halliday, F E (1964) A Shakespeare Companion: 1564-1964 Penguin Books Hatch, E., & Brown, C (1995) Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education New York: Cambridge University Press Kothari, C R (2004) Research Methodology India: New age international publisher Kulikova, O (2015) Vocabulary learning strategies and beliefs about vocabulary learning: a study of beginning university students of Russian in the United State Russia: University of Iowa Nagy, W E & Scott, J A (2000) ―Vocabulary processes,‖ in M L Kamil, P Mosenthal, P D Pearson, and R Barr (eds.), Handbook of reading research, Vol 3, Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Nation, I S P (2001) Learning Vocabulary in Another Language Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Roget (1980) Roget's thesaurus of synonyms and antonyms London: College Press 37 Schmitt, N., & Meara, P (1997) Researching vocabulary through a word knowledge framework: Word associations and verbal suffixes Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 20, 17–36 Syder, F H., Pawley & Andrew (1983) ―Two puzzles for linguistic theory: Nativelike selection and Nativelike fluency.‖ In: Jack J C Richards and Richard R W Schmidt (eds.), Language and Communication London: Longman Thompson I (1987) Memory in language learning In A Wenden & J Rubin (Eds.), Learner Strategies in Language Learning, 15–30 New Jersy: Prentice-Hall Thornbury, S (2000).How to teach grammar London: Pearson ESL Thornbury, S (2002) How to Teach Vocabulary Essex: Longman ARTICLES: Adejumo, A & Osunbade, N (2014) A practical approach to word formation processes in English Alfaki, I M (2015) Vocabulary input in English language teaching: assessing the vocabulary load in in SPINE five International Journal of English Language and Linguistics Research, 3(1), 1-14 Deng, Q & Trainin, G (2015) Learning Vocabulary with Apps: From Theory to Practice University of Nebraska – Lincoln Gilakjani, A P (2016) English Pronunciation Instruction: A Literature Review International Journal of Research in English Education, 1(1), 1-6 Klopfer, E & Squire, K (2008) Environmental Detectives-the development of an argumented reality platform for environmental simulations Educational Technology Research and Development, 56, 203-228 38 Lyons, J (1979) Introduction to Theoretical Linguistics Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Marwat, A (2010) Methods of data collection Pidaga, M & Schmitt, N (2006) Vocabulary acquisition from extensive reading: A case study Reading in a Foreign Language, 18(1), 1-28 Schmitt, N., Jiang, X & Grabe, W (2011) The Percentage of Words Known in a Text and Reading Comprehension The Modern Language Journal, 95 (1), 26-4 West, C M & West, R (2012) Aspects of Vocabulary Acquisition and Teaching: An Overview Kogakuin University bulletin, 50(1), 61-71 Laufer, B & Shmueli, K (1997) Memorizing new words: Does teaching have anything to with it? RELC Journal, 28, 89–108 Luppescu, S & Day, R R (1993) Reading, dictionaries and vocabulary learning Language learning, 43(2), 263-279 Mochizuki, M., & Aizawa, K (2000) An affix acquisition order for EFL learners: An exploratory study System, 28, 291–304 WEBSITES www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/using-dictionaries www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/how-use-learners-dictionaryacademic-English https://www.androidauthority.com/best-dictionary-apps-android-751290/ 39 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE This questionnaire is designed to support the study on “The perceptions of first-year Major English students towards the use of TFlat Dictionary in their English vocabulary learning” All the information you give will be used for research purposes only and your personal opinions will be kept strictly Thank you for your help!!! GENERAL INFORMATION Age: _ Gender: _ Major: I PERCEPTIONS ON ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING What you think about the importance of English vocabulary? A Important B Not important C Uncertain How much time you spend learning English vocabulary? A 30 minutes/ day B hour/ day C more than hour/ day Which groups of English vocabulary you concern about? (You can choose MORE THAN ONE item) ☐ High-frequency words (that are used frequently) ☐ Academic words (that appear in researches, newspaper, book, etc.) ☐ Technical words (that relate to certain fields, for example: technology, energy, medicines) ☐ Low-frequency words (that uncommonly occur in English) How often you learn the aspects of English vocabulary? (Please tick corresponding to the items) Aspects of English Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never vocabulary Meaning Pronunciation Word formation Idioms Synonyms/ Antonyms Collocation Which strategies you use to learn English vocabulary? (You can choose MORE THAN ONE item) ☒ Using Context Clues ☐ Mnemonics ☐ Word Part Analysis ☐ Learning from Word Lists and Flashcards ☐ Incidental Vocabulary Learning from Reading ☐ Using dictionary applications ☐ Others: (please specify) II THE PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS THE USE OF TFLAT DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING Have you ever used TFlat Dictionary to learn English vocabulary? A Yes B Not yet If your answer is “Yes”, please answer the questions from to14 If your answer is “Not yet”, please answer the questions from 15 to17 How much time you spend learning English vocabulary with TFlat Dictionary? A 30 minutes/ day B hour/ day C more than hour/ day (Rank the following from to in order of the usefulness) “TFlat Dictionary is useful for me to learn”: _ high-frequency words (that are used frequently) _ academic words (that appear in researches, newspaper, book, etc.) _ technical words (that relate to certain fields, for example: technology, energy, medicines) _ low-frequency words (that uncommonly occur in English) How often you use the functions of TFlat Dictionary? (Please tick corresponding to the functions) Functions of TFlat Always Often Sometimes Seldom Never Dictionary English- Vietnamese Vietnamese- English Quickly translating window Text Translation VIP Vocabulary Your vocabulary Searched vocabulary Important vocabulary Other applications Setting 10 (Rank the following from to in order of the effectiveness) “TFlat Dictionary helps me to learn more effectively:” _Meaning _Pronunciation _Synonyms/ antonyms _Idioms _Collocation _Word formation 11 (Please tick in the opinions that are close to you) SA: strongly agree A: agree U: uncertain D: disagree SD: strongly disagree SA A TFlat Dictionary helps me to look up the Vietnamese meaning of words more quickly TFlat Dictionary helps me to remember Vietnamese meanings of the looked up words better TFlat Dictionary helps me to learn correct pronunciation of a word TFlat Dictionary helps me to remember pronunciation of a word more easily and quickly TFlat Dictionary helps me to learn synonyms and antonyms of a word more easily TFlat Dictionary helps to study word formation of a word TFlat Dictionary helps me to study the meaning of a word via its formation U D SD TFlat Dictionary helps me to improve my English grammar via examples TFlat Dictionary helps me to learn some collocations via examples TFlat Dictionary gets me more interested in English vocabulary learning TFlat Dictionary improves my learner autonomy 12 What are the drawbacks of TFlat Dictionary? (You can choose MORE THAN ONE item) ☐ Vietnamese instructions ☐ Vietnamese meanings of words ☐ Meaning of word out of content ☐ Wrong pronunciation ☐ Inadequate examples for each word ☐ Lack of formation for each word ☐ Inadequate idioms for each word ☐ Inadequate collocation for each word ☐ Inadequate synonyms/ antonyms of words 13 Why not you use TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning? (You can choose MORE THAN ONE item) ☐ I have no idea about TFlat Dictionary ☐ TFlat Dictionary uses Vietnamese instructions ☐ The meanings of words in TFlat Dictionary are not correct ☐ The pronunciations of words in TFlat Dictionary are not correct ☐ The range of words in TFlat Dictionary does not meet my needs ☐ I have another dictionary application ☐ Others: 14 What strategies you use to learn English vocabulary instead of using TFlat Dictionary? And how? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… 15 If you have a chance to use TFlat Dictionary, what will you hope it has? ☐ Vietnamese meaning of words ☐ English descriptions ☐ Synonyms/ antonyms of words ☐ Images relating to words ☐ Games to review looked up words INTERVIEW QUESTIONS How much time you spend learning English vocabulary? What group of English vocabulary you concern most? (highfrequency words, academic words, technical words, low-frequency words) Why? What aspects of English vocabulary you learn often? What strategies you use to learn English vocabulary? How long have you used TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning? What groups of English vocabulary you learn effectively most with TFlat Dictionary ? What functions of TFlat Dictionary you find (the most) useful? What aspect of vocabulary you concern most when using TFlat Dictionary (Meaning, Pronunciation, Synonyms/Antonyms, Word formation, Idioms, Collocation)? Why? What are the drawbacks of TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning? 10.Vietnamese instructions cause some disadvantages of TFlat Dictionary? What are they? 11.What you think about TFlat Dictionary? Is it a good application to learn English vocabulary? ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………… ... out to investigate the perceptions of first- year Major English students towards the use of TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning and suggestions for users of TFlat dictionary 2. 2 Research... OF TFLAT DICTIONARY IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING BY FIRST- YEAR MAJOR ENGLISH STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY AND SUGGESTIONS FOR USERS (Graduation paper... learning? Q2: What suggestions can be made for users of TFlat dictionary? The scope of the study This study investigates the use of TFlat Dictionary in English vocabulary learning Due to the limited