Learning environments and the use of vocabulary learning strategies: a case study of Chinese learners
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v4i1.1574Keywords:
vocabulary learning strategies, context, environment, EFL, ESLAbstract
This paper reports a survey study of how Chinese students use strategies when learning second language vocabulary. The focus of the study is on the effect of learning environments (EFL vs. ESL) on the use of vocabulary learning strategies. The subjects are Chinese secondary school students learning English in China (EFL context) and in Singapore (ESL context).The questionnaire used in the survey was a modified version of Gu and Johnson (1996). 450 secondary school students, aged from 16 to 19, from two secondary schools in Harbin, China, and one boarding school in Singapore participated in the survey. The profile of the students’ learning beliefs, sources and strategies was examined in relation to their learning environments. The t-test results showed that learning environment was significant factors in affecting vocabulary learning beliefs, sources and strategy use. The findings suggest that language environments can influence individuals’ vocabulary learning profile. Thus, the combined effects of the teaching emphasis and the amount of exposure to the target language in and out of the classroom should be considered closely in order to understand the strategy choice of Chinese EFL and ESL learners.
References
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Regan, V. (1995). The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms. Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 245-67). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Sanaoui, R. (1995). Adult learners’ approaches to learning vocabulary in second languages. The Modern Language Journal, 79, 15-28.
Stevick, E. (1976). Memory, meaning, and method. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House
Wang, D. K. (2006). Learning strategies and implications for second language teaching, Indonesian JELT, 2 (1), 72-82.
Wang, D. K. (2007). Learning environments and the use of vocabulary learning strategies: A case study of Chinese learners. Unpublished (Ed.), D. thesis, University of Leicester, U. K.
Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
Alderson, J. C. (1984). Reading in a foreign language: A reading problem or a language problem? In J. C. Alderson & A. H. Urquhart (Eds.), Reading in a foreign language (pp. 1-25). Harlow: Longman.
Bialystok, E. (1985) The compatibility of teaching and learning strategies. Applied Linguistics, 6, 255-62.
Clement, R., & Gardner, R. (2001). Second language mastery. In P. Robinson & H. Giles (Eds.), The new handbook of language and social psychology (pp. 489-504). New York: Wiley.
Cole, N.S. (1990). Conceptions of educational achievement. Educational Researcher, 19 (3), 2-7.
Cohen, A. D. (1991). Strategies in target-language learning: Insights from research. Journal of Applied Linguistics, 7, 43-64.
Djigunovie, J. M. (2001). Are language learning strategies motivation-specific? Orbis Linguarum, 18, 125-138.
Ellis, R. (1994). The study of second language acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Freed, B. (1995). What makes us think that students who study abroad become fluent. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 123-48). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Gan, Z., Humphreys, G., & Hamp-Lyons, L. (2004). Understanding successful and unsuccessful EFL students in Chinese universities. The Modern Language Journal, 88 (2), 229-244.
Goh, C., & Liu, X. L. (1999). Learning environments and metacognitive knowledge about language learning. Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics, 4 (2), 41-56.
Gu, Y., & Johnson, R. K. (1996). Vocabulary learning strategies and language learning outcomes. Language Learning, 46, 643-679.
Gu, Y. (2003a). Vocabulary learning in a second language: Person, task, context and strategies. TESL-EJ, 7 (2), A-4. Available at: http://www-writing.berkeley.edu/ TESL-EJ/ej26/a4.html.
Gu, P. (2003b). Learning Strategies: Prototypical Core and Dimensions of Variation. Unpublished manuscript, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zaeland.
Ho, W. K., & Wong, R. Y. L. (2003). English language teaching in East Asia today.
Huckin, T., & Bloch, J. (1993). Strategies for inferring word-meanings in context: A cognitive model. In T. Huckin, M. Haynes, & J. Coady (Eds.), Second language reading and vocabulary learning (pp.153-180). Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Huckin, T., & Coady, J. (1999). Incidental vocabulary acquisition in a second language: A review. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 21, 181-193.
Kojic-Sabo, I. & Lightbown, P. M. (1999). Students’ approaches to vocabulary learning and their relationship to success, Modern Language Journal, 83, 176-192.
Lessard-Clouston, M. (1996). ESL vocabulary learning in a TOEFL preparation class: A case study. Canadian Modern Language Review, 53, 97-119.
McCarthy, M., & O’Dell, F. (1994). English vocabulary in use. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McDonough, S. H. (1999). Learner strategies. Language Learning, 32, 1-18.
Milton, J., & Meara, P. (1995). How periods abroad affect vocabulary growth in a foreign language. ITL Review of Applied Linguistics, 107 (8), 17-34.
Nagy, W., & Herman, P. (1987). Breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge: Implications for acquisition and instruction. In M. G. McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds.), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 19-35). Hillsdale, N. J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Nation, P. (1993). Vocabulary size, growth, and use. In R. Schreuder & B. Weltens (Eds.), The bilingual lexicon (pp.115-134). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Nation, P. (Ed.) (1994). New ways in teaching vocabulary. Alexandria. AV: TESOL.
O’Malley, J. M. (1987). The effects of training in the use of learning strategies on learning English as a second language. In A.Wenden, & J. Rubin, (Eds.), Learner strategies in language learning (pp. 133-44). New York: Prentice-Hall International.
O’Malley, J. M., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Oxford, R. L. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. New York: Newbury House.
Regan, V. (1995). The acquisition of sociolinguistic native speech norms. Effects of a year abroad on second language learners of French. In B. Freed (Ed.), Second language acquisition in a study abroad context (pp. 245-67). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
Sanaoui, R. (1995). Adult learners’ approaches to learning vocabulary in second languages. The Modern Language Journal, 79, 15-28.
Stevick, E. (1976). Memory, meaning, and method. Rowley, Mass.: Newbury House
Wang, D. K. (2006). Learning strategies and implications for second language teaching, Indonesian JELT, 2 (1), 72-82.
Wang, D. K. (2007). Learning environments and the use of vocabulary learning strategies: A case study of Chinese learners. Unpublished (Ed.), D. thesis, University of Leicester, U. K.
Williams, M., & Burden, R. L. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge University Press.
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2008-05-31
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