BANKING UNIVERSITY OF HO CHI MINH CITY
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE
RESEARCH PAPER
An investigation into improving vocabulary for the Freshmen: Problems and solutions.
Student’s name: Vương Bảo Liên Student’s code: 030435190098
Supervisor’s name: Huỳnh Thị Bích Phượng
HO CHI MINH CITY, May 5th, 2021
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SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS
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HCMC, …../……/………
Supervisor’s Signature
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Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................................................................... 5
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................................................... 6
LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................................... 7
CHAPTER I ................................................................................................................................................ 8
INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 8
1.
Background to the study................................................................................................................................................. 8
2.
Statement of the problem .............................................................................................................................................. 8
3.
Aims and objectives of the study .................................................................................................................................... 9
4.
Research questions ......................................................................................................................................................... 9
5.
Scope of the study ........................................................................................................................................................ 10
6.
Significance of the study ............................................................................................................................................... 10
7.
Definitions of key terms................................................................................................................................................ 10
CHAPTER II ............................................................................................................................................. 11
LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 11
1. Importance of English Vocabulary Learning ...................................................................................................................... 11
2. What make learning vocabulary so difficult. ..................................................................................................................... 12
3. Factors affecting Vocabulary Learning ............................................................................................................................... 12
a)
Learner Individual Difference Factors ...................................................................................................................... 12
b)
Social and Situational Factors................................................................................................................................... 13
4. The problem of learning English vocabulary for freshman university students in Vietnam. ............................................. 14
Vietnamese is a tonal language ................................................................................................................................ 14
English is a transformation language ....................................................................................................................... 15
5. Definition of Vocabulary .................................................................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER III ........................................................................................................................................... 17
METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 17
1.
Research design ............................................................................................................................................................ 17
2.
Research site ................................................................................................................................................................. 17
3.
Sample and sampling procedures ................................................................................................................................. 17
4.
Research instruments ................................................................................................................................................... 17
5.
Data collection procedures ........................................................................................................................................... 18
6.
Data analysis procedure ............................................................................................................................................... 18
CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................................. 19
FINDING AND DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................ 19
CHAPTER 5 ............................................................................................................................................. 31
CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................... 31
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LIST OF REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................... 33
QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................................................................................. 34
PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION .............................................................................................. 34
PART II: SURVEY ON LEARNING VOCABULARY...................................................................... 35
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CORPORATION .................................................................................... 36
PERSONAL REFLECTION .................................................................................................................... 37
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
A completed study would not be done without any assistance. Therefore, the author who
conducted this research gratefully gives acknowledgement to their support and motivation
during the time of doing this research as a requirement of completing Writing 4 course.
First of all, I would like to express my endless thanks and gratefulness to my supervisor Ms.
Huynh Thi Bich Phuong. Her kindly support and continuous advices went through the
process of completion of our research. Her encouragement and comments had significantly
enriched and improved our work. Without her motivation and instructions, the research
would have been impossible to be done effectively.
As a part of research: An investigation into improving vocabulary for the Freshmen:
Problems and solutions, our research has been done by contribution of all group members
and relevant student. So far, we would like to thanks to group members who took charge in
the process of data collection and data entry for doing this research.
I also acknowledge my thankfulness to Banking University of Ho chi Minh City where
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supported for the research for me to complete our course.
LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Academic years of participant ............................................................................................
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Table 2: University attended by participants ....................................................................................
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Gender of the participants ......................................................................................
Figure 2: Major of participants ..............................................................................................
Figure 3: Difficulties freshmen find in learning English vocabulary ....................................
Figure 4: Memorizing after learning vocabulary ...................................................................
Figure 5: Aspects in learning vocabulary that students have trouble with ............................
Figure 6: Difficulties first-year students meet when learning English vocabulary ...............
Figure 7: Poor vocabulary leads to many problems ...............................................................
Figure 8: Regularity in learning vocabulary ..........................................................................
Figure 9: Strategies frequently used in learning English .......................................................
Figure 10: The activities that give inspiration for cultivating vocabulary .............................
Figure 11: Methods to improve word power .........................................................................
Figure 12: How first-year students found the way to develop vocabulary ............................
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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1. Background to the study
One of the most important skills required for teaching and learning a foreign language is
vocabulary. It serves as the foundation for the development of all other skills such as reading
comprehension, listening comprehension, speaking, writing, spelling, and pronunciation.
Vocabulary is the most important tool for students to use in order to communicate effectively in
English Statements of the problem. Students would still need to work with words when faced
with a native English Speaker, when watching a movie or listening to a favourite track, when
reading a text or writing a letter to a friend. However, English vocabulary is not an easy subject,
students especially freshmen who just attend to university find it very difficult to learn.
2. Statement of the problem The quantitative approach is rooted in the philosophy of rationalism; follows rigid structured
and predetermined set of procedures to explore; aims to quantify the extent of variation in a
phenomenon; emphasizes the measurement of variables and the objectivity of the process; B
believes in substantiation on the basis of a large sample size; gives importance to the validity
and reliability of findings; and communicates findings in an analytical and aggregate manner,
drawing conclusions and inferences that can be generalized.
The qualitative approach, on the other hand, is embedded in the philosophy of empiricism;
follows an open, flexible and unstructured approach to enquiry; aims to explore diversity rather
than to quantify; emphasizes the description and narration of feelings, perceptions and
experiences rather than their measurement; and communicates findings in a descriptive and
narrative rather than analytical manner, placing no or less emphasis on generalizations.
The mixed methods approach uses the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research. It
aims to select the best methods, regardless of the qualitative-quantitative divide, to find answers
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to the research questions. In extremely simple terms, the mixed methods approach to social
research combines two or more methods to collect and analyze data pertaining to the research
problem. These methods could be either a mix of quantitative and qualitative or belong to only
one paradigm. The approach is based upon the rationale that for certain situations qualitative
techniques are better and for some others the quantitative. Hence, to get the best outcome for a
research study you need to combine both approaches or use more than method.
Our research subjects are all freshmen of Banking University in Ho Chi Minh City. The reasons
for why we want to cover these subjects is many freshmen find it is difficult to learn English
vocabulary. Firstly, English is totally difference from Vietnamese. Secondly, there are too many
vocabularies to remember. Finally, students do not know when and how to use vocabulary
logically. These are the causes why freshmen struggle in learning vocabulary.
3. Aims and objectives of the study
Learning English vocabulary is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks in the process of
learning the international language: English. This is even more challenging for freshmen at
universities. Therefore, we hope that via this paper, first and second-year students at universities
nation-wide generally and Banking University freshmen and sophomores specially, will have a
chance to be exposed to effective vocabulary learning methods and strategies and from that
enhancing their chances of improving their English levels.
4. Research questions
4.1: Which difficulties do the BUH freshmen face in learning English due to their lack of
vocabulary?
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4.2: What are the suggestions for improving their word power?
5. Scope of the study The research was conducted on all freshmen studying at BUH. For the students, English is a
subject that causes quite a lot of difficulties for learners because it requires a lot of factors, both
knowledge and skill, in which vocabulary is extremely important. However nowadays, the lack
of vocabulary is becoming problematic and is the most concern because it negatively affects
other skills so much. For that reason, this study will highlight the most common challenges
students face when learning vocabulary. Besides, researchers will also suggest the best learning
methods to help students improve and develop their vocabulary.
6. Significance of the study
The research results will bring many benefits to freshman because vocabulary is an
extremely important and indispensable factor for a person who is good at English. But to
become a fluent and good English speaker, students will surely encounter many difficulties in
the learning process. Therefore, the research results will help students grasp the weaknesses as
well as difficulties that they often encounter in order to determine the correct learning methods.
In addition, from those research results, students can also find suitable, correct and effective
self-study methods.
Consequently, for freshmen, the proposed results-based approach of this study will
students better. For teachers, the survey will uncover important aspects of the educational
process that many researchers have not yet to discover. Therefore, difficulties and methods of
how to learn vocabulary can be answered.
7. Definitions of key terms
Vocabulary: the body of words used in a particular language.
Methodology : a system of ways of doing, teaching, or studying something
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Lexicon: (a list of) all the words used in a particular language or subject, or a dictionary
CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
1. Importance of English Vocabulary Learning
As you all know, in many countries, learning English is important means of
communication to lift your chance of getting an ideal job in multinational corporation in land or
abroad. It‟s also the language of international communication, the media and the internet.
According to global research, English is spoken as a first language in almost 53 countries and as
a second language in over approximately 118 countries, learning the language makes it much
easier to travel anywhere, even reading harsh scientific paper. However, not everybody knows
that their English skills will be ameliorated if they highly charge an enormous amount of
vocabulary. Vocabulary is one of most essential sub-skills for teaching and learning a foreign
language. Vocabulary is the main part that brings conclusive factors the semantics in sentences.
It is the basis for the development of all other skills such as Listening, Speaking, Reading,
Writing, and even sub-skills including spelling and pronunciation.
By the research studies of Francis & Kucera (1982), Hwang (1989), Hirsh & Nation
(1992), Hwang & Nation (1995) and Nation (2001), just to name a few, recognize the
importance of the lexical profile and report remarkable conclusions, they gave some evidences.
Although, each research study has analyzed different types of written corpora, the aim was to
determine learners‟ lexical profile and the percentage of coverage provided by high and
low-frequency words in different texts. The results revealed that while the words of terms have
had the highest percentage of occurrence in the corpora, the academic words have reached the
lowest percentage, behind the off-list words. The research analyses conclude in the necessity of
looking for specific strategies and methodologies to teach vocabulary in order that learners can
improve both comprehension and production of the target language. That is, the mastery and
knowledge of vocabulary directly influence in learners‟ language performance. In fact, it is
estimated that second language learners need more than 95% of the vocabulary to
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understand written texts; hence language instructors should pay more emphasis on reinforcing
the learning of vocabulary in language learners rather than on grammar structures of the
language. Thus, language learning should „focus on form‟ and not „focus on forms‟.Viera
(2002).
2. What make learning vocabulary so difficult
Vocabulary in English has thousands of words with the different way to use. In each case,
even those native speakers of the language do not know all the words of that language. There are
just too many to learn such as pronunciation, meaning of words, the place and manner of the
words in sentences,... It will be hard challenge in the beginning period study English, the
learners don't know how to remember the meaning of vocabulary, how to pronounce new words
and use new words correctly. The results reveal that the English majors face some problems
such as restrict the clean-headed thinking in English. There are about 800 common words that
you must know to converse in English so that list is too long to display here. The issue when
learning language is accent, dialect and someone doesn't know how to use vocabulary.
3. Factors affecting Vocabulary Learning
a) Learner Individual Difference Factors
Belief has been singled out as one of the clear factors affecting learners‟ Vocabulary
Learning Strategy‟s (VLS) use. A study done by Gu and Johnson (1996) found that Chinese
university students devalued rote memorization strategies and they employed more meaning-
oriented strategies than rote strategies. Recently, Sixiang and Srikhao (2009) discovered that
Miao students (an ethnic group in China) who believed that words should be studied and put to
use, employed a wide range of VLSs
Among different factors, attitude do appear to positively correlate with learners‟ VLS use.
Apart from belief, Wei (2007) took attitude into account as another factor influencing learners‟
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VLS use. The findings showed that Chinese college students with positive attitudes towards
vocabulary learning employee VLSs more frequently than those with negative attitudes in four
categories, i.e. dictionary, activation, guessing and management
Motivation seems to positively correlate with their VLS. For example, Fu‟s (2003) study
revealed that inherent interest motivation (learners‟ inherent interest in vocabulary learning)
positively correlated with student‟s VLS use. The other research work that confirms the
relationship between motivation and learners‟ VLS use is Marttinen‟s (2008), indicating that
Finnish ESL students with high motivation employed a wider range of VLSs than those with
low motivation.
b) Social and Situational Factors
Considerable evidence supports the relationship between learners‟ field of study and their VLS
use. For example, Mingsakoon (2002), discovered that science students employed VLS
differently from the arts students. The VLS use of English and non-English major students are
also examined. For example, Liao (2004) found that students studying in English and non-
English employed VLS differently. The results were consistent with Chiang‟s (2004) and
Zhang‟s (2009) studies.
Class level emerges as a clear factor affecting the way the VLSs are used. For example,
Doczi‟s (2011) findings indicated that as the level of Hungarian ESL students improved the
number of strategies to practice on regular basis and use word lists for consolidation decreased,
strategies like skipping a new word were used more when students became more advanced.
Along the same line, Mongkol‟s (2008) findings revealed that the second year Thai EFL
university students tended to use VLS to analyze affixes and roots to understand the meaning of
words more as compared to the first year students. In the same study, however, the first - year
students used VLSs more when learning new words by remembering parts of speech or
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paraphrasing the word‟s meaning.
4. The problem of learning English vocabulary for freshman university students in
Vietnam.
Vocabulary plays an important role in the learning of languages. Vocabulary is also an
essential skill for learning how to read, speak, write and listen. Without sufficient vocabulary,
people cannot effectively communicate and express their feelings in both spoken and written
form. The greater one's vocabulary, the more freely one can speak, write, read, and listen.
Wilkins in Thornbury (2004) states that without grammar very little can be conveyed, without
vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. It means that even someone has good grammar but it will
be useless if they do not know many vocabularies. In addition, Ur (1996) argues that vocabulary
is one of the most important things to teach when learning a foreign language because it will be
impossible to speak without a variety of words. These statistics mean the importance of teaching
vocabulary.
In line with the teaching of English vocabulary, English vocabulary differs from Asian
vocabulary, especially Vietnamese vocabulary viewed from form, including pronunciation and
spelling, meaning and word usage. In addition, the way in which the word is pronounced is quite
different from writing. People, particularly students who learn English, often find it difficult to
learn vocabulary. Thus, this research will show students' difficulties and factors causing
difficulties in learning English. Here are some reasons why learning English is problematic for
Vietnamese students:
Vietnamese is a tonal language
The Vietnamese language consists of short words which can have as many as different
meanings depending on the tone of the pronunciation. A word may be spelt with the same
letters, but the differences in tone are indicated by the diacritical marks placed above and below
the vowel. Most words in Vietnamese have only three or four letters, and almost none has more
than six, so one might expect spelling of English words, which is often much longer and with
irregular spelling, to present a major challenge. Surprisingly enough, this wasn't a big problem;
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spelling errors in English writing exercises were less than expected. Moreover, Vietnamese is
not a transformation language. It does not change with tense like English, it just add additional
words to express the time, the events, etc. happen in the past, the present or the future such as
“đã” for things in the past or “sẽ” for things in the future.
English is a transformation language
There are many difficulties with the tenses of English verbs. They changes based on the
time which the events happen. English verbs when they change to fit the situation, they can be
transformed into new verb forms. Vietnamese verbs do not decline, nor do they change with
tense. Past, future and continuous tenses are simply indicated by an additional word in front of
the verb. So, for a Vietnamese student, learning English verbs is an area of great complexity.
Not only are more tenses used in everyday speech and writing, but many verbs are irregular and
must be mastered individually. Students were found to have been thoroughly prepared by their
native school teachers, and to be able to recite or write verbs in tables, but to use them correctly
in free speech or writing was a much greater challenge. Moreover, English is not a tonal
language, but when you speak a word in English, you accendentally add some tones it can turn
that word into an inappropriate one.
These are the reasons why English is difficult for students in Vietnam, especially freshmen,
who have to face with many aspects of English like phonology, syntax, or morphology.
5. Definition of Vocabulary
Many of us define vocabulary is “word of a language”. But vocabulary is more than just a
single word. In Latin “Vocabulary” means "name,", it‟s also called lexicon, and lexis.
Vocabulary refers to all the words in a language that are understood by a particular person or
group of people.Nordquist ( 2019 ). There exist two main types of vocabulary: active and
passive. An active vocabulary consists of the words we understand and use in everyday speaking
and writing. Passive vocabulary is made up of words that we may recognize but don't generally
use in the course of normal communication. Vocabulary can also be a list or collection of the
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words or phrases of a language, technical field for working and studying. It is a core component
of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how learners speak, listen, read and
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write.
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
1. Research design
Both quantitative and qualitative study case will be used in the increate for the research.
Qualitative research and quantitative is used to get numerical data and gain an understanding of
reasons, opinions, and motivations for freshman in BUH. Furthermore, both study case will
determine good elements on improving vocabulary.
2. Research site
The research will be occurred at Banking University BUH with fresh man who is the main
object group. The school year for the research is 2020-2021.
3. Sample and sampling procedures
The method used in the research was simple random sampling.
With a simple random sampling, every member of Banking University has an
equal opportunity of being selected to survey.
To conduct this type of sampling for this research, the random number generators
or other techniques as assistant that are based entirely on chance.
4. Research instruments
Our research aim is to find out difficulties that BUH Freshman meets in learning vocabulary
and then point out ways to help improving vocabulary. So, to study deeper about this, we use
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survey to collect details from research subjects for large volumes of numerical data.
Questionnaire is created with two parts, part A has five questions and part B also has 5
questions. Questionnaire was sent to 50 freshmen in 3 days to collect data.
5. Data collection procedures
After create questionnaire with closed ended questions, we will handout it for freshmen in
BUH. They will do the questionnaire and then we will collect the data.
6. Data analysis procedure
- The questionnaire will be checked for validity and accuracy after the survey is complete
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- Then, the data collected from the questionnaire will be classified using Microsoft Excel.
CHAPTER 4
FINDING AND DISCUSSION THE FIGURES AND TABLES BELOW SHOWS SOME INFORMATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS
Gender
20.6
79.4
Male
Female
Figure 1: Gender of the participants Freshman Sophomore
Junior
Senior
0
68
0
0
0
100
0
0
Acacdemic years Number of participants Account for percentage
Table 1: Academic years of participant
BUH 68
Others 0
100
0
At University Number of participants Account for percentage
Table 2: University attended by participants
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2.9 1.5
8.8
2.9
10.3
73.5
English
Finance
Marketing
Accountant
Business Administration
International Economy
Figure 2: Major of participants
The above figures and tables show that most of the participants are female with
79.4% and they all come from Banking University. Because the research
subjects that were mentioned in our research were freshman, it can be seen that
there is only freshmen took the survey. Although there are freshmen with
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different majors, Business English students are still the majority with 73.5%.
A. THE FIVE FIGURES IN PART A SHOW DIFFICULTIES THE BUH FRESHMEN FACE IN LEARNING ENGLISH DUE TO THEIR LACK OF VOCABULARY
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36
46
Yes
A little bit
No
Figure 3: Difficulties freshmen find in learning English vocabulary
Learning vocabulary is necessary for university students, many still find it hard
to strengthen word power. For example, a survey has been conducted on
freshmen of BUH and then synced in this figure showed that there are 46% of
the freshmen in Banking University found it a little bit hard to learn
vocabulary. Moreover, there is 18% of students have no problem learning
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vocabulary.
4
12
72
Very well. Iremembered the word clearly
Not much. I remembered some of the words
Very bad. i do not remember the wod after studying
Figure 4: Memorizing after learning vocabulary
Since the vocabulary students have learned has not been used much, it could be
easily forgotten. As it can be seen, the data in this figure has given the
information about the problem which is students only remembered haft amount
of words or less than they have learned with 72% of choice. There is only a
small amount of choice of 4% showed that they can remember all the words
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they have learned clearly.
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42
26
Pronunciation
Spelling
Word form
Figure 5: Aspects in learning vocabulary that students have trouble with
The pie chart shows the aspects in learning vocabulary that students have
trouble with. It can be seen clearly that students have difficulty with
pronunciation when it accounted for 42% Another feature which students have
to face with is word form accounting for 32% in the chart, 10% less than the
first aspect. The remaining 26% of the chart is spelling the last aspect students
have trouble with. To sum up, pronunciation is the main aspect in learning
vocabulary that students have trouble with, followed by the word form, and
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finally is spelling.
20
34
46
I cannot remember the Literal meaning Using word in the right contact
I cannot remember the spelling
Figure 6: Difficulties first-year students meet when learning English vocabulary
The pie chart illustrates the difficulties first-year students meet when learning
English vocabulary. At first glance, it is clear that using word in the right
content was the main difficulty in learning English vocabulary This issue
accounted for up to 40% of the chart Another problem that made up 34% of the
graph is that students cannot remember the literal meaning of words. Last
trouble which accounted for 20% of the chart is that first-year students cannot
mount the spelling of word. In conclusion, the main difficulty first-year
students meet when learning English vocabulary is using the word in the right
content, the next struggling is not being able to remember the literal meaning,
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and the last problem is not being able to memorize the spelling.
24
46
30
Losing all enthusiastic in English
Not understand Academic English documents
Limited knowledge of words
Figure 7: Poor vocabulary leads to many problems
Poor vocabulary leads to many problems 46% of the freshmen agreed that the
lack of vocabulary limited their knowledge of words. On the other hand, 30%
the lack of vocabulary causes the ignorance in academic English documents.
While the proportion of freshmen who have no interest in learning words as
English was lowest 24%. In general, the leak of vocabulary brings many
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difficulties for freshman in learning English.
B. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING FRESHMAN WORD POWER CAN BE SEEN IN FIGURES BELOW
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38
42
Everyday
Sometimes
When I need
Figure 8: Regularity in learning vocabulary
Regularity in learning vocabulary for freshmen normally don‟t spend much
time learning new words. The figure showed 42% of students learn vocabulary
sometimes. Besides, looking at the figure in more detail, 38% of the hard-
working students always learn new vocabulary, they try to enlarge their words
everyday. The proportion of students who improve words when they need was
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lowest with 20%.
32
40
28
Repeating the word verbally
Analyzing the parts of speech
Keeping a vocabulary notebook
Figure 9: Strategies frequently used in learning English
It is important to find suitable method in learning English vocabulary. 40% of
freshmen pointed out that writing new words in a notebook is the best way to
learn vocabulary. Moreover, 32% agree that repeating those new words is also
necessary to memorize the words while 28% thought that analyzing words in
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part of speech is the better way.
24
38
38
Being able to learn words well by yourself
Using English learning apps to have a wider range of vocabulary
Improving word power through Youtube wwith mutiple topics
Figure 10: The activities that give inspiration for cultivating vocabulary
Inspiration is needed when you learn new vocabulary. 38% of students
admitted that using apps to learn words will help increase the amount of
vocabulary and also increase enjoyment. The same percentage of students
believed that they will receive inspiration in learning new words through
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Youtube videos. Only 24% want to learn by themselves.
34
36
30
Choose a specific method for building vocabulary
Improving vocabulary through reading book, newspaper, magazine
Learning in a fun way such as game, flash card, music, video
Figure 11: Methods to improve word power
The pie charts illustrate the method that they can advance their word power. At
first glance, it is clear that the main technique was to choose a specific method
for building vocabulary. Having choose a specific method accounted for 36%
to have a better word power. Another method to improve vocabulary was
reading a book, newspaper or magazine accounted for 30%, it lower than
option one 6%. Last method with 30% left for learning in fun ways such as a
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game, flashcard, music, and game.
8
48
44
I found it online
I got the methods from my friends
Others
Figure 12: How first-year students found the way to develop vocabulary
The pie chart illustrates the way that freshmen used to improve their
vocabulary. It turned out that they found method online accounted for 48%.
That means more freshmen tend to seek and learn vocabulary on the internet
than finding it through friends or someone else.
Another way was found through their friends accounted 44% in the chart.
However, freshmen got methods from others only a small minority, 8%, left
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for this.
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, keeping good vocabulary is one of most imperative factors to remain a vital
skill that will help you communicate more clearly to further your career. An investigation
into improving vocabulary in English with the research subject - BUH freshman who have
not found the effective solutions in learning words yet. Taking everything into
consideration, the research was contributed as a goal confirm about thr problem and
solutions in improving new vocabulary. There are many research about difficulties in
learning vocabulary, by reading those reference, we have synthesized the problems
students face when learning English vocabulary around the world in general and in
Vietnam in particular. In Vietnam, students especially freshmen meet many problems
when learning English vocabulary. Vietnamese and English have nothing in common. One
is a tonal language which depends on the tones, different tone will give different meaning,
and it do not change its form when using either in the past or in the future. Another one is
a transformation language which change its form when using in the past or in the future,
and if you have mistaken with the pronunciation, it will give totally different word. To do
this study, we have combined two methods of research, qualitative research and
quantitative research. Qualitative research and quantitative is used to get numerical data
and gain an understanding of reasons, opinions, and motivations for freshman in BUH.
Furthermore, both study case will determine good elements on improving vocabulary. The
study will take place at Banking University of Hong Kong (BUH), with freshmen as the
primary subject category in the 2020-2021 academic year. Our research goal is to identify
the challenges that BUH Freshmen face while learning vocabulary and to suggest ways to
help them improve their vocabulary. So, in order to learn more about this, we used a
survey to gather information from research participants for vast amounts of numerical
data. Part A of the questionnaire has five questions, and part B has five questions as well.
31
Following the development of the questionnaire, it will be shared on Facebook groups
where suitable test subjects can be found. The information gathered from the
questionnaire will then be organized using Microsoft Excel. After finishing calculating,
we create pie charts and learn the problems and methods that students use. Between the
choice a specific method for building words, improvement them through traditional ways:
reading book and magazines etc. or integrate advancement of technology by learning
vocabulary through game, video, music, they are believed that not define clearly. With
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different methods, the effectiveness for accquiring new words has disparities.
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Viera,T, R. ( 2016 ). The importance of vocabulary knowledge in the production of written
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Gairns, Ruth and Redman, Stuart. 1986. Working with Words. Cambridge:Cambridge
University Press
Hatch, Evelyn and Brown, Cheryl. 1995. Vocabulary, Semantics, and Language Education.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
John (2016), Vietnamese Students' Problems With English, Retrieved 02/03/2021
R Rohmatillah (2014), A Study On Students’ Difficulties In Learning English.
Thornbury, Scott. (2002). How to Teach Vocabulary. London: Longman
Ur, Penny. (1996). A Course in Language Teaching, Practice and Theory. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Rohmatillah, R. (2014).A study on students’s difficulties in learning vocabulary. Ejournal
Schmitt, Norbert and McCarthy, M (1997). Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy. Nation, I. S. P (1993). Vocabulary size, growth, and use.
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Female
QUESTIONNAIRE PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION ( Please tick the appropriate boxes to indicate ) Your gender: Male Years Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior Major ….………………………….………………….………………………….…………… …….……………………… University you are studying in: ….………………………….………………….………………………….…………… …….………………………
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PART II: SURVEY ON LEARNING VOCABULARY ( Please tick for the answer )
No
A little bit
A. WHICH DIFFICULTIES DO THE BUH FRESHMEN FACE IN LEARNING ENGLISH DUE TO THEIR LACK OF VOCABULARY? 1. Do you find it difficult to learn English vocabulary? Yes 2. How well do you remember the word you have learned? Very well. I remembered the word clearly Not much. I remembered some of the words Very bad. I do not remember the word after studying 3. What aspect of learning vocabulary that you find difficult? Pronunciation Spelling Word form 4. Which difficulties do you face in learn English vocabulary? I cannot remember the lteral meaning Using word in the right contact I cannot remember the spelling 5. What are some implications of poor vocabulary? Losing all enthusiastic in English Not understand Academic English documents Limited knowledge of words
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B. WHAT ARE THE SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING THEIR WORD POWER? 1. How often do you learn vocabulary? Everyday Sometimes When I need 2. What is the most frequently used Strategies in learning English ? Repeating the word verbally Analyzing the parts of speech Keeping a vocabulary notebook 3. What activities give your inspiration for cultivating vocabulary? Being able to learn words well by yourself. Using English learning apps to have a wider range of vocabulary Improving word power through Youtube with multiple topic 4. Which of the following methods would you choose to improve your word power? Choose a specific method for building vocabulary Improving vocabulary through reading book, newspaper, magazine Learning in a fun way such as game, flash card, listening to music, video 5. How do you develop your vocabulary? I found it online I got the methods from my friends Other:…………………………………………………………………..
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CORPORATION
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PERSONAL REFLECTION
Nowadays, knowledge and technology are directly mentioned as fundamental factors in modern
contemporary society. The knowledge is not only cumulative, it grows exponentially. It is likely
to solve the problems - problems in daily life which can be handled of the power of knowledge.
Moreover, the technology has expanded considerably to make our lives way without difficulty.
In the similar methods, the research paper is suggested a chance to synthetize real-life
experience and get something new. By means of the above research paper, an investigation into
improving vocabulary in English with statistics, evidences throughout collect documents was
ascertained accurately. It is believed that the core of producing a research paper.
The research probably has complete categories which are in the assignment of doing research.
The new knowledge about your area should be selected particularly. From that point, you will
apprehend more something new and motivating about the discipline that you can use for work
later. The success of study depends on how effective are efforts and productivity in teams.
Working in team allows to consider how my ideas are connected to each other, then start the
writing research process. Teams are often beneficial in attempting complex and important
problems. It is worth considering that submits diverse research method and brings
complementary understanding on ambition projects. A further improvement in my research
project is the opportunity for all members to learn forte and get experience from each other.
Another points worth noting, the individual creativity is encouraged in team. All team members
were fully trained on the study protocol, objectives, and research activities. Increasingly, doing
investigation with team can be challenged including disagreements in data clarification and lack
of clearness of roles. The process of researching and doing research paper provided me a mean
opportunity to just understand the research topic.
My process lasts for a period of time that is enough to understand how to find the information I
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need and where to look for it, especially I will gain research skills that will also be useful later
for my future career. Technical supporting from the supervisor, together with confidentiality
among team participants, I assure definitely that my research will be able to find more good
quality articles, literatures and make a large-scales project. Moreover, they will be used
thoroughly for studying, connect with sources of information and networks of professional
support.
On the whole, research is a methodical and systematic investigation or inquiry especially
through search for new facts in any branch of knowledge. The purpose core of this paper is to
understand the importance of research in long-term investing for vocabulary. The thrust area of
this research paper - learning more words power is also characteristics, purposes of research in
education. On the other hand, doing research is regarded as the aggregate of all the processes by
which a person develops abilities, attitudes and other forms of education of practical values in
the society in which she or he lives. Getting the whole-hearted guidance Ph.D. Phuong and
working in team strictly, the project gave me many valuable experiences for improving my
English writing skills. In addition, it is clear that the process of doing research will be stable
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stepping-stone in other professional projects and my future career.
