Đề tài An investigation into improving vocabulary for the Freshmen: Problems and solutions

Nội dung text: Đề tài An investigation into improving vocabulary for the Freshmen: Problems and solutions

1. 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 1
2. SUPERVISOR’S COMMENTS HCMC, / / Supervisor’s Signature 2
3. 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 3
4. 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 4
5. 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 supported for the research for me to complete our course. 5
6. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Academic years of participant Table 2: University attended by participants 6
7. 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 7
8. 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 to the research questions. In extremely simple terms, the mixed methods approach to social 8
9. 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? 4.2: What are the suggestions for improving their word power? 9
10. 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 Lexicon: (a list of) all the words used in a particular language or subject, or a dictionary 10
11. 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 understand written texts; hence language instructors should pay more emphasis on reinforcing 11
12. 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‟ VLS use. The findings showed that Chinese college students with positive attitudes towards 12
13. 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 paraphrasing the word‟s meaning. 13
14. 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; spelling errors in English writing exercises were less than expected. Moreover, Vietnamese is 14
15. 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 words or phrases of a language, technical field for working and studying. It is a core component 15
16. of language proficiency and provides much of the basis for how learners speak, listen, read and write. 16
17. 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 survey to collect details from research subjects for large volumes of numerical data. 17
18. 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 - Then, the data collected from the questionnaire will be classified using Microsoft Excel. 18
19. 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 Acacdemic Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior years Number of 68 0 0 0 participants Account for 100 0 0 0 percentage Table 1: Academic years of participant At University BUH Others Number of 68 0 participants Account for 100 0 percentage Table 2: University attended by participants 19
20. 2.91.5 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 different majors, Business English students are still the majority with 73.5%. 20
21. A. THE FIVE FIGURES IN PART A SHOW DIFFICULTIES THE BUH FRESHMEN FACE IN LEARNING ENGLISH DUE TO THEIR LACK OF VOCABULARY 18 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 vocabulary. 21
22. 12 4 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 they have learned clearly. 22
23. 32 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 finally is spelling. 23
24. 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, and the last problem is not being able to memorize the spelling. 24
25. 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 difficulties for freshman in learning English. 25
26. B. SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVING FRESHMAN WORD POWER CAN BE SEEN IN FIGURES BELOW 20 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 lowest with 20%. 26
27. 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 part of speech is the better way. 27
28. 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 Youtube videos. Only 24% want to learn by themselves. 28
29. 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 game, flashcard, music, and game. 29
30. 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 for this. 30
31. 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. Following the development of the questionnaire, it will be shared on Facebook groups 31
32. 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 different methods, the effectiveness for accquiring new words has disparities. 32
33. LIST OF REFERENCES „Nordquist, R. ( 2019 ). What is vocabulary in grammar. ThoughtCo. Viera,T, R. ( 2016 ). The importance of vocabulary knowledge in the production of written texts: a case study on EFL language learners.ResearchGate 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. 33
34. QUESTIONNAIRE PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION ( Please tick the appropriate boxes to indicate ) Your gender:  Male  Female Years  Freshman  Sophomore  Junior  Senior Major . . . . . University you are studying in: . . . . . 34
35. PART II: SURVEY ON LEARNING VOCABULARY ( Please tick  for the answer ) 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  A little bit  No 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 35
36. 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 36
37. 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 need and where to look for it, especially I will gain research skills that will also be useful later 37
38. 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 stepping-stone in other professional projects and my future career. 38