EFL students' attitudes towards automony in vocabulary learning and their vocabulary learning strategies - A case study at Nguyen Huu Cau High School

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

LUC TIEU HOANG LINH

EFL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS AUTONOMY

IN VOCABULARY LEARNING AND THEIR VOCABULARY

LEARNING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY AT NGUYEN HUU CAU

HIGH SCHOOL

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

LUC TIEU HOANG LINH

EFL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS AUTONOMY

IN VOCABULARY LEARNING AND THEIR VOCABULARY

LEARNING STRATEGIES: A CASE STUDY AT NGUYEN HUU CAU

HIGH SCHOOL

Major: Teaching English to speakers of other language

Major code: 60140111

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: TRAN QUOC THAO, PhD

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted entitled, “EFL students’

attitudes towards autonomy in vocabulary learning and their vocabulary

learning strategies: a case study at Nguyen Huu Cau High School” as the

statement of requirements for thesis in Master’s Programs at Ho Chi Minh Open

University, issued by the Higher Degree Committee.

This thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in

whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another

degree of diploma, except where reference is made in the text of the thesis.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the

main text of this thesis.

The thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary

institution.

Ho Chi Minh, July 2019

LUC TIEU HOANG LINH

ii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Luc Tieu Hoang Linh, being a candidate for the degree

of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the

retention and use of Master’s Theses deposited in the Library.

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis

deposited in the Library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research,

in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for the care,

loan, and reproduction for theses.

Ho Chi Minh City, July 2019

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to those who have greatly helped

and encouraged me to complete my research. Without their support, my research

would be far from being completed. Hence, I am deeply indebted to the individuals

that provided support for the completion of this study.

First and foremost, my sincere and special appreciation goes to my

supervisor, Dr. Tran Quoc Thao, with my greatest gratitude for his valuable

guidance, advice and encouragement. He has supervised my entire thesis, and, most

importantly, given me a lot of helpful comments to get over the most problematic

period when I was stuck in finding solutions for my thesis. Undoubtedly, without

his enthusiastic support, it would be very difficult for me to complete this study.

Next, I would like to send my deep thank to all the lectures of TESOL

course, who oriented and inspired me to put the first step on the path of scientific

research.

Furthermore, I would like to thank to the Head of Nguyen Huu Cau High

School and the Head of English subject for facilitating best conditions for my

research. Particularly, I would also like to acknowledge all colleagues and 200

grade twelfth students at Nguyen Huu Cau High School for their contribution to the

completion of data collection. Without their willingness and generous help, my

research could not have been accomplished.

Last but not least, I would like to express my thankfulness to my adorable

brothers, sisters and friends for the love and encouragement gave me during my

study time. Especially, I am deeply grateful to my honorable parents for dedication,

support and sharing of feelings to help me overcome all the difficulties and to

become a better me now.

iv

ABSTRACT

Learner autonomy has been considered as a determining factor of success in

their own study. However, there are a limited number of papers on this issue in the

context of Vietnamese High School. The present study aimed at (1) investigating

EFL high school students’ attitudes towards autonomy in English vocabulary

learning, (2) identifying the strategies used by a group of 200 twelfth-grade students

studying at Nguyen Huu Cau High School in enriching English vocabulary

knowledge autonomously and (3) examining whether there is a difference in

vocabulary learning strategies use in terms of gender. The researcher employed a

mixed-methods design, involving both quantitative and qualitative approaches with

two research instruments: a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The

findings revealed that EFL high school students expressed positive attitudes towards

autonomy in English vocabulary learning. The results also demonstrated that EFL

high school students employed English vocabulary learning strategies at an average

frequency level when they encountered with vocabulary items. This current

investigation revealed six English vocabulary learning strategies used with high

frequency by the students. In other words, Nguyen Huu Cau High School 12th

students often utilized six following English vocabulary learning strategies, namely,

“Use a bilingual dictionary to find out the meaning of the word”, “Study words

through English songs”, “Ask teachers for L1 translation”, “Ask classmates for

meaning”, “Highlight new words” and “Say new word aloud when studying” in

order to enrich their knowledge of English vocabulary autonomously. Furthermore,

female students reported using vocabulary learning strategies more frequently than

their male counterparts. Based on these findings, some recommendations were

made for EFL students, EFL teachers and school administrators.

Keywords: autonomy; attitudes; case study; EFL students; vocabulary learning

strategies

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP......................................................................... i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS.......................................................... ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................................................................iii

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................. iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ ix

LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION........................................................................... 1

1.1 Background to the Study .................................................................................. 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................. 3

1.3 Purposes of the Study....................................................................................... 6

1.4 Research Questions.......................................................................................... 7

1.5 Significance of the Study ................................................................................. 7

1.6 Definitions of Key Terms................................................................................. 7

1.7 Overview of Thesis Chapters........................................................................... 8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................... 9

2.1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 9

2.2 Learner Autonomy ........................................................................................... 9

2.2.1 Definition of Learner Autonomy............................................................... 9

2.2.2 The Importance of Learner Autonomy in Language Learning................ 10

2.3 Learner Attitude and Their Role in Language Learning ................................ 11

2.3.1 Definition and Domains of Learner Attitude........................................... 11

2.3.2 The Importance of Attitude in Language Learning ................................. 13

2.4 Vocabulary and Its Importance in Language Learning.................................. 14

2.4.1 Definition of Vocabulary......................................................................... 14

2.4.2 The Importance of Vocabulary in Language Learning ........................... 14

2.5 Vocabulary Learning Approaches.................................................................. 14

vi

2.6 Vocabulary Learning Strategies..................................................................... 15

2.6.1 Definition of Vocabulary Learning Strategies......................................... 15

2.6.2 The Importance of Vocabulary Learning Strategies................................ 15

2.6.3 The Classification of Vocabulary Learning Strategies............................ 16

2.7 The Difference of Learner Autonomy and Vocabulary Learning by Gender 20

2.8 Previous Studies............................................................................................. 21

2.9 Research Gaps................................................................................................ 25

2.10 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................ 26

2.11 Chapter Summary......................................................................................... 29

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ................................................ 30

3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 30

3.2 Research Setting............................................................................................. 30

3.2.1 Research Location ................................................................................... 30

3.2.2 Research Participants............................................................................... 32

3.3 Research Design............................................................................................. 36

3.3.1 Case study................................................................................................ 36

3.3.2 Research Method ..................................................................................... 36

3.4 Research Instruments ..................................................................................... 38

3.4.1 Questionnaire........................................................................................... 38

3.4.2 Interview.................................................................................................. 41

3.6 Data Analysis Procedure ................................................................................ 44

3.6.1 Procedure of Analyzing Questionnaire.................................................... 44

3.6.2 Procedure of analyzing Semi-structured Interview ................................. 46

3.7 Reliability and Validity .................................................................................. 47

3.7.1 Questionnaire........................................................................................... 47

3.7.2 Semi-Structured Interview....................................................................... 48

3.8 Chapter Summary........................................................................................... 48

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ................................................... 50

4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 50

vii

4.2 Results............................................................................................................ 50

4.2.1 EFL High School Students’ Attitudes towards Autonomy in English

Vocabulary Learning ........................................................................................ 50

4.2.2 EFL High School Students’ Use of Autonomous English Vocabulary

Language Learning Strategies .......................................................................... 54

4.2.3 Differences in Vocabulary Learning Strategies Use in terms of Gender 65

4.3 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 66

4.3.1 EFL High School Students’ Attitudes towards Autonomy in English

Vocabulary Learning ........................................................................................ 67

4.3.2 EFL High School students’ Use of Autonomous English Vocabulary

Language Learning Strategies .......................................................................... 69

4.3.3 Differences in Vocabulary Learning Strategies Use in terms of Gender 73

4.4 Chapter summary ........................................................................................... 74

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................... 75

5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 75

5.2 Conclusions.................................................................................................... 75

5.3 Implications.................................................................................................... 76

5.3.1 For EFL Teachers.................................................................................... 76

5.3.2 For School Administrators....................................................................... 78

5.3.3 For EFL Students..................................................................................... 78

5.4 Limitations of the Study................................................................................. 79

5.5 Recommendations of Further Research ......................................................... 79

REFERENCES....................................................................................................... 81

APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ 89

APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE (English Version) ...................................... 90

APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE (Vietnamese Version)................................ 94

APPENDIX C: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL (English Version) .......................... 99

APPENDIX D: INTERVIEW PROTOCOL (Vietnamese Version).................. 102

viii

APPENDIX E: A SAMPLE OF THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH

STUDENT 2 (English Version)......................................................................... 106

APPENDIX F: A SAMPLE OF THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT WITH

STUDENT 2 (Vietnamese Version) .................................................................. 111

ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

COG: Cognitive

DET: Determination

EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

L1: First Language

L2: Second Language

MEM: Memory

MET: Metacognitive

SOC: Social

VLS: Vocabulary Learning Strategy

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1: Schmitt’s (1997) VLS classification....................................................... 16

Table 2.2: Intaraprasert’s (2005) VLS classification ............................................... 19

Table 3.1 Research Participants’ General Information............................................ 35

Table 3.2: Reliability Coefficient of the Questionnaire........................................... 40

Table 3.3: Methods of Data Analysis in Relation to the Research Questions and

Instruments............................................................................................................... 46

Table 4.1: EFL High School Students’ Attitudes towards Autonomy in English

Vocabulary Learning................................................................................................ 51

Table 4.2: Significance of Self-Learning English Vocabulary................................ 52

Table 4.3: Interest of Self-learning English vocabulary .......................................... 53

Table 4.4 Frequency of students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies................. 55

Table 4.5: Students’ use of DET vocabulary learning strategies............................. 56

Table 4.6: Students’ use of SOC vocabulary learning strategies............................. 57

Table 4.7: Students’ use of MEM vocabulary learning strategies........................... 59

Table 4.8: Students’ use of COG vocabulary learning strategies............................ 60

Table 4.9: Students’ use of MET vocabulary learning strategies............................ 61

Table 4.10: Frequency Category of students’ vocabulary learning strategy use ..... 63

Table 4.11: Independent samples T-test: Differences in vocabulary learning

strategies use in terms of gender.............................................................................. 66