A Study On The English Vocabulary Learning Strategies Of Students In Senior High Schools

Vocabulary is the basic element of a language and of critical importance to language learners. Nevertheless, the teaching and learning of vocabulary have been undervalued in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). "SLA researchers and teachers have typically prioritized syntax and phonology as'more serious candidates for theorizing'." (Zimmerman,2001:5) Vocabulary learning is challenging and time-consuming for most second language learners. The newly-issued Senior High School English Curriculum Standards (2003) has raised greater demand for vocabulary:the senior students are required to master 3,300-4,500 words in addition to a quantity of useful expressions. Considering that millions of high school students in China are eager to achieve this goal and enlarge their vocabulary size, it is necessary to make researches on vocabulary learning strategies.The author investigated the current situation of vocabulary learning strategies in a senior high school in Tianjin. The instruments are one questionnaire which is designed based on the framework of O'Malley and Chamot and two vocabulary test papers. The study tries to address the following questions:1. What are the subjects'beliefs on vocabulary learning?2. What is the subjects'overall pattern of vocabulary learning strategies?3. Are the vocabulary learning strategies used by male subjects different from those used by female subjects?4. Are the vocabulary learning strategies used by high-proficiency subjects different from those used by low-proficiency subjects?5. What is the correlation between the subjects'adoption of vocabulary learning strategies and their vocabulary achievement?Several findings are revealed from the present study. Firstly, most senior high school students believe that words should be learnt in use and context. Secondly, students employ various strategies to learn English vocabulary, but most use them at medium level. The more frequently used strategies are note-taking, guessing, imitating and repetition strategies; and the least used strategies are grouping strategies. Thirdly, male and female students differ greatly in the use of cognitive strategies. Fourthly, high proficient students use almost all the strategies more frequently than low proficient students. Finally, many vocabulary strategies have high correlation with the students'vocabulary achievement.