An Investigation Of Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used By High School Students

It is no doubt that substantial vocabulary knowledge is a prerequisite to the performance of language skills. A large amount of research in the area of vocabulary has been done to identify the various strategies used by different groups. However, little research has been done to study the vocabulary learning strategies employed by high school students. It is hypothesized that students in high schools may differ from those in universities or other types of schools in that they may have different learning beliefs and strategies in vocabulary learning. Therefore, the present study aimed at making an investigation of vocabulary learning strategies used by high school students in the Chinese context, and providing some suggestions for improving English vocabulary teaching and learning in high schools.Using the questionnaire adapted from Gu and Johnson's (1996) Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire (VLQ Version 3), the present study first examined the students'use of vocabulary learning strategies, and then the relationship between their strategies and English learning outcomes. 163 students from three high schools were selected to complete the questionnaire. Then the scores on a vocabulary size test and students'mid-term and final-term examinations were calculated to present students'learning outcomes. To analyze the data, four statistics instruments of SPSS 11.5were used. First, descriptive statistics analysis on the data were obtained to show the overall pattern of high school students'vocabulary learning beliefs and strategies. Second, nonparametric correlations were done to see the relationship between strategies and both English learning outcomes—vocabulary size and learning proficiency. Third, two multiple regressions were applied to investigate the predictor of strategies on the two dependent variables. Finally, a cluster analysis was assumed to identify the strategies use by different groups of high school students.Several findings were revealed from the present study. First, most students believed that they can acquire vocabulary through top-down (learned and put to use) and bottom-up (acquired in context) processing. As far as concrete strategies were concerned, Selective Attention, Dictionary Strategies, Note-taking Strategies, and Guessing Strategies were frequently used. Unlike other studies, results from this study showed that high school students used more Repetition Strategies, but used word lists to memorize new words less frequently. Strategies such as Semantic Encoding and Activation Strategies were also less frequently used. Second, in the correlation analysis, the strategies correlated positively with learning outcomes were: Selective Attention, 2 Guessing Strategies (Using background knowledge∕wider context and Using linguistic cues∕ immediate context), Extented Dictionary Strategies, 2 Note-taking Strategies (Meaning-oriented and Usage-oriented), Oral Repetition, and 3 Encoding Strategies (Auditory Encoding, Word-structure, and Semantic Encoding). Thirdly, the data from multiple regressions indicated that the best positive predictors of both vocabulary size and proficiency were Immediate Context and Usage-oriented Note-taking. However, Activation Strategies emerged as negative predictor of both dependent variables. Finally, results of a cluster analysis helped identify four approaches to learning. They were identified as"Active Strategy Users","Frequent Strategy Users","Memorization-oriented Strategy Users", and"Passive Strategy Users". It is suggested that different strategy choice may influence students'performance on English learning.The findings from the study revealed some pedagogical implications. First, classroom teaching with explicit strategy training can promote students'vocabulary learning skill. Students can benefit from awareness of their own strategies use since explicit attention may be an excellent way to meet the word, and to gain some initial information about it. At the same time, teachers must take into account students'specific learning environment and their cognitive development when presenting and training strategies. Facing to insufficient access to learn and practise words, teachers should help students use words in authentic setting as much as possible. Human matures in a dynamic way, both cognitively and affectively. It seems impossible that certain strategy fits one well all the time. Teacher should keep in mind that some strategies are effective for students while some are no longer. Students can try many strategies according to task requirement and their personal characteristic. Also, it is more important to help students develop independent learning strategies. Doing various exercises, developing a personal plan for vocabulary learning and using self-assessment can help students become autonomous learners.