Studies on learning strategies
Much of the research into vocabulary learning strategies has been aimed at determining the most
effective vocabulary memorization techniques, developing taxonomies of strategy usage, and at
identifying the vocabulary learning strategy (VLS) usage that distinguishes good and poor
language learners.
A number of significant research studies have investigated how learners use
vocabulary learning strategies. Some of these have attempted to determine which
strategies learners use (or claim to use) and which they consider helpful. Others have
focused on relationships between strategy use and success in language learning
according to various measures. There have also been attempts to develop taxonomies
of vocabulary learning strategies on the basis of empirical research. Several of those
studies are summarized here. As will be seen, many of the authors refer in some way
to the need to address strategy training in the language classroom.
ÇALIŞKANa and SÜNBÜL ( 2011) investigated the effects of learning
strategies instruction on metacognitive knowledge, metacognitive skills,
and achievement. An experimental pre-test/post-test control group design
was used in the research. The study was conducted in the 2008-2009
school year on 6th grade students at Orgeneral Tural and Dikmeli
Primary Schools located in the city center of Konya. Forty-two students
participated in the study, 21 in the experimental group and 21 in the
control group. Groups were qualized on the basis of the Learning
Strategies Scale, Turkish Lesson Metacognitive Knowledge Interview
Form, and pre-test results of Turkish Lesson Achievement Test. In the
experimental group, strategy instruction was given by the researcher
himself for 15 weeks, using a direct instruction approach. At the end of
the study, it was found that learning strategies instruction increased
awareness of strategy and metacognitive knowledge and it was effective
in using metacognitive skills. It was also found that using metacognitive
skills increased achievement.
TULUHONG (2006) conducted a study whose purpose was to describe the vocabulary
learning strategies of proficient and less proficient Malaysian Chinese ESL tertiary
learners. Two hundred and twenty-three Chinese students from thirteen Faculties at
Universiti Putra Malaysia were involved in this study. A questionnaire of Vocabulary
Learning Strategies and a semi-structured interview were used to collect the data. The
interviews were audio taped. Data was analyzed quantitatively using the Statistical
Package for Social Science. The interview data was analyzed qualitatively by identifying
patterns in the responses.
iii
The analysis revealed that Malaysian Chinese ESL learners do make use of a variety of
learning strategies in English vocabulary learning. Learners most actively use metacognitive strategies, such as use of English language media (internet, newspaper, TV
etc.). Cognitive and memory strategies are also actively used in learning English
vocabulary. However, social strategies are the least used strategies type. In learning
English vocabulary, Chinese ESL learners commonly use English-language internet, take
note in/out of class, guess from textual context in reading, use a bilingual dictionary and
use English-language media. Both proficient and less proficient Chinese ESL learners
most actively use more meta-cognitive strategies while least actively use social strategies.
In addition, less proficient learners use a less number of strategies in learning English
vocabulary. Factors that affecting choice of Chinese ESL learners’ vocabulary learning
strategies are learner’ proficiency level, gender, age, programme (major) that learners
enrolled in, and their first language.
Erten and Tekin (2008) reported on a study which investigated the effect on
vocabulary recall of introducing new words via two different methods. A one-group
quasi-experimental research design with alternating time series measures was
employed. A group of 60 fourth graders were taught 80 carefully selected words
either in semantically related sets or semantically unrelated sets. Also under
investigation was the effect of these methods on test completion. The statistical
analysis revealed that learning words in semantically unrelated sets yields better
results than learning vocabulary in semantically related sets. The difference persisted
in the long term. Further, test completion time was much longer for the semantically
related vocabulary items, indicating a slower recall of vocabulary. The study indicated
that, contrary to frequent practice in many course books, presenting new vocabulary
that belongs to the same semantic set together may cause interference due to crossassociation and may even hinder vocabulary learning. Such practice needs to be
questioned and alternative methods that involve presenting vocabulary in unrelated
sets need to be developed to facilitate vocabulary teaching and learning.
Erten,I. and Tekin,M. (2008). Effects on vocabulary acquisition of presenting
new words in semantic sets versus semantically unrelated sets. System, 36 ,407–422
The present investigation aims to examine what types of vocabulary learning
strategies and how often vocabulary learning strategies were reported being used by
undergraduate English major and non-English major students. It also aims to explore
how five independent variables, namely, the student’s gender, major field of study,
previous language learning experience, type of academic programme of study, and
level of vocabulary proficiency, relate to vocabulary learning strategies. Specifically,
the purposes of the present investigation are:
1. to investigate types and frequency of vocabulary learning strategies which
undergraduate English major as well as science-oriented and non science-oriented
students at Rajabhat Universities reported employing to discover the meaning of new
vocabulary items, to retain the knowledge of the newly-learned vocabulary items, and
to expand the knowledge of vocabulary;
2. to investigate the relationships between frequency of students’ use of
vocabulary learning strategies and five independent variables: gender, major field of
study, previous language learning experience, type of academic programme of study,
and level of vocabulary proficiency; and
3. to examine patterns of significant variation in the frequency of students’ report
of vocabulary learning strategy use at different levels with reference to the five
independent variables mentioned. The
research subjects under the present investigation were 1,481 undergraduate students
studying at 12 Rajabhat Universities in academic year 2006, obtained through the
multi-stage sampling. Semi-structured interviews and a strategy questionnaire were
used as the main methods for data collection. The findings reveal that three main
vocabulary categories: the discovery of the
meaning of new vocabulary items (DMV), the retention of the knowledge of
newlylearned
vocabulary items (RKV), and the expansion of the knowledge of vocabulary
(EKV), were discovered and examined. The findings
also reveal that frequency of students’ overall reported use of strategies varied
significantly according to the examined variables. The factor analysis results show
that seven factors were found strongly related to four examined variables, including
gender of the students, major field of study, previous language learning experience
and level of vocabulary proficiency. No factors were found to be related to type of
academic programme of study.
Lai 's (2005) study investigated the awareness, beliefs, and instructional practices with
respect to vocabulary learning strategies of Taiwanese EFL teachers in senior high school
contexts. Over the past two decades, vocabulary learning strategies have appeared to be
of much concern in that the pressing need of building up a repertoire of lexical words at
hand is readily seen by L2 learners and vocabulary acquisition has revived to play a
central role in the language classroom. However, the fact that the majority of L2 learners
have traditionally been taught by methods paying insufficient attention to vocabulary
might lead on to an unfavourable scenario whereby vocabulary acquisition continues to
be neglected, since language teachers themselves have been mostly instructed toward
grammar-oriented language learning. Studies on teachers’ beliefs and practices have
suggested that the “13,000-hour apprenticeship of observation” in the classroom plays a
significant role in teachers’ underlying assumptions and beliefs in language learning,
which then exerts considerable influence on their teaching practices. Thus, the present
study attempted to elicit information about teachers’ awareness and beliefs based on
individual learning experience, and further examine the correlations between teachers’
beliefs and their teaching practices. A questionnaire was implemented to collect data on
the issues involved. The results have suggested that the English teachers studied were
aware of a range of vocabulary learning strategies, including both direct and indirect
approaches to vocabulary acquisition. Nevertheless, some teaching practices seemed not
to conform to research-informed orientation, implying the gap between the reality in the
language classroom and implications from empirical research. Overall speaking, there
existed positive correlations between the teachers’ beliefs and their instructional
practices. Some minor discrepancies involved might be attributable to various contextual
factors. Thus, a need is seen to incorporate awareness-raising activities in pre-service or
in-service teacher education programs to inform language practitioners of the state-of-theart vocabulary pedagogy based on empirical research, as well as some practicable
approaches to dealing with contextual dilemmas.
Lai,Y. (2005).Teaching Vocabulary Learning Strategies: Awareness, Beliefs, And
Practices. A Survey Of Taiwanese Efl Senior High School Teachers. MA in English
Language Teaching ,Department of Language & Linguistics ,University of Essex
In Liao's study, university freshmen in one university located in central Taiwan
were surveyed on their use of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) adopting a revised
version (Alpha= .91) of Schmitt’s (1997) vocabulary learning strategy questionnaire.
Totally, 625 freshmen were surveyed. Four research questions are: (1) What are the
most frequently used VLS by freshmen? (2) What are the least frequently used VLS
by freshmen? (3) What are the differences between males and females in their use of
VLS? (4) Are there any differences in their use of VLS between English-majors and
non-English majors? The results have shown that metacognitive and social
strategies are two least used strategy categories used by the subjects. Female
freshmen used more vocabulary learning strategies than male ones. Also,
English-majored students use VLS more frequently than non-English majoring ones.
Pedagogical implications for English teachers, textbook designers, and learners are
provided.
Using Oxford's SILL (1990 Version 7.0), Liu (2004) investigated EFL learning
strategy use among a group of 428 technological institute English majors in China and
6 factors affecting their strategy choice. The paper here focused on the frequency of
EFL learning strategy use and its two affecting factors: gender and language
proficiency. Descriptive statistics indicate that the Chinese technological institute
English majors were medium strategy users (Overall strategy use M = 3.25, SD=.53);
the most frequently used strategies were Metacognitive strategies (M =3.74, SD=.64)
and the least frequently used were Memory strategies (M=2.91, SD= .61).
Independent Sample T-test shows that learners with better EFL proficiency reported
using the overall strategy and each of the six categories of strategy significantly more
frequently than learners with lower EFL proficiency did. The study also revealed
significant gender differences among Overall strategy use, Memory strategies and
Affective strategies with females surpassing males in each case. In light of the
previous research, the findings were discussed and recommendations provided.
Liu,D. (2004) . Efl Proficiency, Gender And Language Learning Strategy Use Among
A Group Of Chinese Technological Institute English Majors. Annual Review Of
Education, Communication And Language Sciences, Volume 1,
Chang et al (2007) designed a study to investigate the influence of gender and major
on college EFL learning strategy use in Taiwan. A total of 1758 Taiwanese college
EFL learners took part in this research study. The participants completed the two sets
of self-reported questionnaires, including Background Characteristics and Strategy
Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1989). The collected data were
computed and analyzed via descriptive statistics, t-test, and one-way ANOVA. The
findings of the study were generalized as follows: (1) There was not a great difference
among the frequency of each strategy that Taiwanese college EFL learners report
using, all in medium-use level. (2) Statistically significant differences were found in
the use of cognitive strategies, metacognitive strategies, social strategies and overall
strategies with regard to gender. (3) Statistically significant differences were found in
the use of six subcategories of language learning strategies and overall strategies with
regard to major. In the end of this study, the pedagogical implications were provided.
Chang, C. & Liu, S. & Lee, Y. ( 2007). A Study of Language Learning Strategies
Used by College EFL Learners in Taiwan
Zhi-liang1's (2010) paper has investigated the pattern of English vocabulary learning
strategies used by the non-English major students in Chinese Independent Colleges:
their attitudes to vocabulary learning; the strategies they usually use; the problems of
vocabulary learning in English study; the most effective vocabulary learning strategies
they assume; differences among the students with different grades, genders, English
proficiency and so on. The survey has been done on the non-English majors from grade
1 to 3 in Beihai College of Beihang University. The aim of the paper is to help English
learners to improve their ability of vocabulary learning and develop their English
proficiency by providing some practical suggestions to both teachers and learners.
Zhi-liang1's (2010) A Study on English Vocabulary Learning Strategies for NonEnglish Majors in Independent College. Cross-Cultural Communication , Vol. 6, No.
4, 2010, pp. 152-164.
Nemati (2009) attempted to compare the impacts of teaching through memory
strategies on experimental group comparison to control group, where students were
taught the meaning of new vocabulary items through giving synonyms and minicontexts. The results are reflected in the students' short-term and long-term retention.
The participants of the study comprised 310 Indian pre-university females. The results
indicated that the students of experimental group outperformed both in short-term
and long-term scores, portrayed the superiority of memory strategies in short-term and
long-term retention. As many learners do not develop sufficient mastery of the
vocabulary explicit instruction of memory strategies and giving strategy awareness
can facilitate them to store and retrieve new vocabulary items. Also, it was shown that
being over-dependent on survey tools are open to question, in spite of being widely
used.
Nemati ,A. (2009). Memory vocabulary learning strategies and long-term Retention.
International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education Vol.1 (2), pp. 014-024.
Prevost's (2009) investigated a vocabulary instructional strategy in a high
school biology class. The research questions focused on understanding
the vocabulary instructional strategy and student perception of the
strategy. This was an evaluative case study using a convenience sample
of a college preparatory biology class of special education students.
Participants included eight males and two females who were identified as
having learning, emotional or health disabilities with average to low
average intelligence. Informal interviews, observations, school records,
student and teacher artifacts and rich description were used for data
triangulation. Analysis involved coding and grouping data by category,
and identification of relationships between categories. Three themes
emerged from this study:
Students believed the strategy helped them to learn vocabulary, the
strategy gave direction to instruction, and the strategy can be difficult to
implement. The skill level of our future work force and the health of our
society is linked to our nation’s high school graduation rate. Development
of instructional strategies that result in student academic success will
improve our high school graduation rate which will result in positive
social change.
Prevost , J.K. (2009). A Case Study of a Vocabulary Strategy in a High School Class
of Special Education Students. PH.D. thesis , College Of Education Walden
University
Gidey (2008) conducted a study to investigate vocabulary-learning strategies
used by high and low achiever students. The focus was to see similarities and
differences between high and low achiever students in using vocabularylearning strategies. To this end, a questionnaire was designed using Schmitt
(1997) model. The questionnaire was administered to 30 students (15 high
achievers and 15 low achievers) from Gondar College of Teacher Education.
The frequency and t-test were used to analyze the data.The frequency was used
to describe the information taken from the questionnaire. The t-test (with
significant difference level P<0.05) was applied to check if there was a
statistically significant difference between “high’ and ‘low’ achievers in using
each sub-category of vocabulary learning strategies. The finding shows that
there was a relationship between vocabulary learning strategy use and language
learning achievement. The more successful language learners (i.e.high
achievers) use more vocabulary learning strategies than the less successful
learners (i.e. low achievers).
Gidey G. (2008). Vocabulary–Learning Strategy Use: The Case Of
High And Low Achiever Students In Gondar College Of Teacher Education. MA
thesis , Institution Of Language Studies, Addis Ababa University.
Sanaoui (1995) carried out a study to demonstrate the relationship
between vocabulary strategies use and success in acquiring and
retaining vocabulary items. The study demonstrates that adult learners
of second language vocabulary were likely to fall into two categories:
Those who adopted a structured approach to their vocabulary and those
who did not. Learners in the first group took control of their vocabulary
learning. They did not merely rely on what the language course
provided with them. They used their own initiative in regular creating
opportunities for vocabulary learning by listening to the radio, watching
movies, reading and using selfstudy. They kept systematic record of
vocabulary they learned by using vocabulary notebooks and lists. They
reviewed what they had done several times a week. However, the
learners in the second group who followed unstructured approach relied
mainly on course material. If they made lists of vocabulary items, they
did not review them and they occasionally lost them. Sanaoui (1995)
concluded that students who had a structured learning approach were
more successful in retaining the vocabulary items taught in their
classrooms than learners who had an unstructured approach
Sanauoi, R. (1995). Adult Learners Approaches Learning Vocabulary in
Second Languages. The Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 15-28)
Xhaferi's (2008) study is to find out what types of vocabulary learning
strategies are used by female and male students at South East European
University in learning high-frequency and low-frequency words. This is
an attempt to provide some insights in the strategy use among female and male
students studying at SEEU and to find out if the students who have received
any strategy training are more effective users that those who did not.
The study also aims to investigate the teachers' attitude towards teaching
vocabulary in their regular instruction and what approaches they use with
students in their classes. This could enable the researchers and teachers to find
out if there is any difference in strategy use between learners of different
genders and the data drawn from the research will enable teachers to find out
more about the preferred strategies used by their students and help them design
more attractive vocabulary activities. The purpose of the present study is to
find out what types of vocabulary learning strategies are used by female and
male students at South East European University in learning high-frequency
and low-frequency words. This is an attempt to provide some insights in the
strategy use among female and male students studying at SEEU and to find out
if the students who have received any strategy training are more effective users
that those who did not. The study also aims to investigate the teachers' attitude
towards teaching vocabulary in their regular instruction and what approaches
they use with students in their classes. This could enable the researchers and
teachers to find out if there is any difference in strategy use between learners of
different genders and the data drawn from the research will enable teachers to
find out more about the preferred strategies used by their students and help
them design more attractive vocabulary activities. The first instrument is a
background questionnaire, which aims to obtain some background information
about the participants and their English learning experiences (Appendix 1).
The second instrument is a student survey which includes thirty vocabulary
learning strategies, and to add four more if they use but they are not included in
the list. The third instrument is a teacher questionnaire and the aim is to find
more information about the teachers' attitudes that they hold about teaching
vocabulary and what techniques they use
XHAFERI ,B. and XHAFERI ,G. (2008). Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used
By Students At Seeu In Terms Of Gender And Teachers' Attitudes Toward
Teaching Vocabulary. See University.
Noor and Amir (2004) conducted a study to explore the strategy use of vocabulary
learning among a group of EFL learners. A sample of 35 respondents participated in the
study. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires. The results revealed that
there were distinctive strategy uses to vocabulary learning among the learners. To
conclude, the paper will discuss the implications of the findings and some pedagogical
considerations for the teaching and learning of vocabulary within an EFL context.
RANALLI (2003)The purpose of this study is to consider how vocabulary learning
strategies are treated in one area of endeavor in the field of ELT; namely,
coursebooks. The goal is to determine to what degree, if any, current coursebooks
contribute to the development of learners’ skilled use of vocabulary learning
strategies. Which strategies are in evidence in current coursebooks? Are they
presented implicitly or explicitly? Are they integrated into language-learning
activities, or treated in one-off supplementary sections? Are the steps involved in
using the strategy spelled out for learners, or is a more general approach adopted? To
answer these questions, a review of the literature of vocabulary learning strategies, as
well as general learning strategies and learner training, was conducted and a subset of
‘key’ strategies was identified. Next, an analytic framework was developed on the
basis of this review. Three popular upper-level commercial coursebooks were selected
and analyzed according to this framework. The findings are presented here and their
implications for teachers, materials writers and others involved in ELT are discussed.
RANALLI,J.M. (2003). The Treatment Of Key Vocabulary Learning Strategies
In Current Elt Coursebooks: Repetition, Resource Use, Recording. MA Thesis,
School of Humanities , University of Birmingham
Schmitt (1997) investigated the vocabulary learning strategies of 600
Japanese learners in four different age groups, using a questionnaire to
determine which strategies they saw as helpful and which they actually
used. The results showed a trend away from form-based strategies and
towards meaning-based strategies as learners got older. One striking
finding was a strong preference for bilingual dictionaries, which was the
most commonly used strategy and also considered the most helpful. In
several other cases, however, a strategy which a majority of learners
perceived as helpful was actually used by less than half the sample,
leading Schmitt to conclude that “learners may be willing to try new
strategies if they are introduced to them and instructed in them”
(1997:221).
Sananoui, R. (1995). 'Adult learners' approaches to learning vocabulary in second
languages'. Modern Language Journal 79: 15-28.
Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary learning strategies. In Vocabulary: Description,
Acquisition and Pedagogy. N. Schmitt and M. McCarthy. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
In a study, Bernardo & Gonzales (2009) attempted to compare the strategies used by the
subjects across disciplines and to uncover if significant differences existed as regards the
category and frequency of the VLS. A researcher-designed inventory using Schmitt’s (1997)
taxonomy was used to gather pertinent data. The data on the frequencies of use of the five
identified VLS namely: Determination, Social, Memory, Cognitive, and Metacognitive were
compared to explore apparent differences .Findings revealed statistically significant
differences in the use of determination and social VLS across the disciplines. Another
finding exhibited non-significant differences in the employment of memory, cognitive, and
metacognitive VLS. The results also showed that the identified vocabulary learning
strategies converged with each other. Correlation analysis also showed significant positive
association between the VLS. This research could be best used by language faculty as
means to improve students’ vocabulary learning and acquisition.
. Bernar, A. S & Gonzales, H. (2009).Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Filipino
College Students across Five Disciplines , TESOL Journal Vol. 1, pp. 17-27
Tao (2006) conducted a study in which he investigated vocabulary
learning strategies used by non－English majors at North－West
Minorities University. The statistical results showed that rote learning
strategies were most co m m only used by the
students ,while most metacognitive strategies and context -oriented
cognitive strategies were seldom used．
Tao ,Z. (2006). An Investigation Into Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used By Non
－English Majors . CELEA Journal（Bim Onthly）Vol．29 No2
Nemati's (2009) study was an attempt to compare the impacts of teaching through
memory strategies on experimental group comparison to control group, where
students were taught the meaning of new vocabulary items through giving synonyms
and mini-contexts. The results are reflected in the students' short-term and long-term
retention. The participants of the study comprised 310 Indian pre-university females.
The results indicated that the students of experimental group outperformed both in
short-term and long-term scores, portrayed the superiority of memory strategies in
short-term and long-term retention. As many learners do not develop sufficient
mastery of the vocabulary explicit instruction of memory strategies and giving
strategy awareness can facilitate them to store and retrieve new vocabulary items.
Also, it was shown that being over-dependent on survey tools are open to question, in
spite of being widely used.
Nemati ,A. (2009). Memory vocabulary learning strategies and long-term
Retention. International Journal of Vocational and Technical Education .Vol.1 (2), pp.
014-024,