An investigation into the effect of vocalabury on reading comprehension and suggested solutions to improve vocabulary for the first year English-Major student at IUH

GRADUATION THESIS

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF VOCABULARY ON

READING COMPREHENSION AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO

IMPROVE VOCABULARY FOR THE FIRST YEAR

ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS AT IUH.

STUDENT’ NAME: NGUYEN THI NGA

STUDENT ID NUMBER: 13030861

CLASS: DHAV9A

COURSE: 2013- 2017

SUPERVISOR: LE PHAM THIEN THU, M.A.

HCMC, June 2017

MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY AND TRADE

INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

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Date of submission: 12/06/2017

Student Name: NGUYỄN THỊ NGA

Supervisor’s Name: LÊ PHẠM THIÊN THƯ, M.A.

“I certify that this work is entirely my own and has not been accepted as part of a submission

to another purpose else where.”

Signed: ……………………………………………………

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STUDENT DECLARATION

I am Nguyen Thi Nga, hereby declare that the graduation thesis submitted by me is an

original work completed under my supervision and has not previously submitted for any

assessment.

I also confirm that the information incorporated in this thesis is truthful and unique. It

does not involve plagiarism or collusion. Sources were mentioned in this thesis following

copyright law.

I further declare that the report is only prepared for my academic requirement not for

any other purpose.

Signature

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................... 2

1.1 Rationale................................................................................................................................ 2

1.2 Aims of the study................................................................................................................... 3

1.3 The scope of the study. .......................................................................................................... 3

1.4 The significance of the study................................................................................................. 3

1.5 Methods of study. ................................................................................................................. 3

1.6 Research questions. .............................................................................................................. 4

1.7 The limitations of the study.................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................... 6

2.1 Definition............................................................................................................................... 6

2.1.1 What is vocabulary? ....................................................................................................... 6

2.1.2 Reading and reading comprehension.............................................................................. 6

2.2 The importance of vocabulary and reading comprehension.................................................. 8

2.2.1 The importance of vocabulary in learning the second language. ................................... 8

2.2.2 The importance of reading comprehension. ................................................................. 10

2.3 The mutual relationship between vocabulary and reading comprehension......................... 11

2.3.1 Vocabulary is an essential aspect of reading comprehension....................................... 11

2.3.2 The impact of reading on vocabulary development. .................................................... 13

2.4 The effect of vocabulary on reading ability......................................................................... 14

2.4.1 Awareness of learners to difficulties in learning the reading skill. .............................. 14

2.4.2 The influence of vocabulary on predicting new words. ............................................... 15

2.4.3 The influence of vocabulary on reading comprehension.............................................. 16

2.4.4 The influence of vocabulary on reading speed............................................................. 16

2.5. Some suggested methods to study vocabulary effectively. ................................................ 17

2.5.1 Studying English vocabulary through demonstration picture. ..................................... 17

2.5.2 Studying English vocabulary through mass media....................................................... 18

2.5.3 Studying English vocabulary through the funny games............................................... 20

2.5.4 Studying English vocabulary from the Internet such as English programs, English

websites. ................................................................................................................................ 21

2.5.5 Studying English vocabulary through books such as English books, dictionaries,

and English novels................................................................................................................. 22

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................. 24

3.1 Research design. .................................................................................................................. 24

3.2 Participants. ......................................................................................................................... 24

3.3 Data collection instruments. ................................................................................................ 24

3.4 Data collection procedures. ................................................................................................. 25

3.5 Data analysis procedures. .................................................................................................... 25

Chapter 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .............................................................................. 27

4.1 Specific information of the participants. ............................................................................. 27

4.2 Students’awareness about of learning vocabulary.............................................................. 27

4.3 The frequency of learning vocabulary................................................................................ 29

4.4 The role of vocabulary in students’viewpoint. ................................................................... 30

4.5 Vocabulary affects many skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing. ............... 31

4.6 Students’awareness about the importance of vocabulary on reading comprehension. ....... 32

4.7 Students’opinion about the relationship between vocabulary and reading. ........................ 33

4.8 The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension...................................................... 35

4.9 The vocabulary problem which students encounter when reading a text............................ 36

4.10 How students overcome difficulty in reading the text....................................................... 37

4.12 Reading ability would be improved when the knowledge of words increase. .................. 40

4.13 The problem which learners encounter in learning vocabulary. ....................................... 41

4.14 The method which students often use to improve vocabulary. ......................................... 42

4.15 Some suggested methods to study vocabulary effectively. ............................................... 43

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS................................................... 46

5.1 Conclusion........................................................................................................................... 46

5.1.2 The effect of vocabulary on reading comprehension. .................................................. 46

5.1.3 The good method for improving vocabulary................................................................ 46

5.2 Recommendations. .............................................................................................................. 47

5.2.1 Recommendations for the teachers............................................................................... 47

5.2.3 Suggestion for further research. ................................................................................... 49

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 50

APPENDIX .................................................................................................................................. 54

TABLE OF FIGURES

Table 1: Specific information of the participants

Table 2: Students’feeling of learning vocabulary

Table 3: The frequency of learning vocabulary

Table 4: Vocabulary affects many skills

Table 5: The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension

Tabe 6: How students overcome difficulty in reading the text

Table 7: Reading ability would be improved through increasing vocabulary

Table 8: The method which students often using to improve vocabulary

Figure 1: Students’feeling of learning vocabulary

Figure 2: The frequency of learning vocabulary

Figure 3: The role of vocabulary in students’viewpoint

Figure 4: Vocabulary affects many skills

Figure 5: The importance of vocabulary on reading comprehension

Figure 6: The relationship between vocabulary and reading

Figure 7: The factors affecting ability of reading comprehension

Figure 8: The vocabulary problem which students encounter when reading a text

Figure 9: How students predict the meaning of new words correctly

Figure 10: Reading ability would be improved through increasing vocabulary

Figure 11: The problem which learners encounter in learning vocabulary

Figure 12: The effective ways to study English vocabulary