CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS
The present study aims to explore the vocabulary learning strategies used by vocational high school students and find out the relationship between vocabulary learning strategies and learners’ reading proficiency levels. In addition, high and low reading proficiency students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies is compared. The results are reported in terms of quantitative analysis. This chapter contains four main sections. The first section provides information on vocational high school students’
use of vocabulary learning strategies. Descriptive statistics for the use of overall strategies and the five categories are presented. Most frequently and least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies are also investigated. The second section reports the findings on the relationship between vocational high school students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies and their reading proficiency. The third section describes the results of the difference between high and low reading proficiency students in their use of vocabulary learning strategies. The fourth section summarizes the overall results in this chapter.
Vocabulary Learning Strategies Used by Vocational High School Students
This section reports the results for Research Question 1: What vocabulary learning strategies are used by Taiwanese vocational high school students?
Descriptive statistics such as means, standard deviations, and rank orders are reported to show the frequency of overall strategy use, the frequency of each strategy category use, and frequency of individual strategy use. To present the frequency level of use of strategies, Oxford’s (1990, p. 300) key to understanding mean scores on SILL is adopted.
Table 5
Key to Understanding SILL Averages
Frequency Range Description
4.5 to 5.0 Always or almost always used High Use
3.5 to 4.4 Usually used
Medium Use 2.5 to 3.4 Sometimes
1.5 to 2.4 Generally not used Low Use
1.0 to 1.4 Never or almost never used
Note. From “Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know,” by R.
Oxford, 1990, p. 300.
As presented in Table 5, a mean in the range of 3.5-5.0 on a strategy item is considered to be high frequency use, 2.5-3.4 medium frequency use, and 1.0-2.4 low frequency use.
The Frequency of Use of Overall Vocabulary Learning Strategies
The mean, standard deviation, and frequency level of overall strategy use reported by participants are presented in Table 6.
Table 6
The Frequency of Use of Overall Vocabulary Learning Strategies
N Mean SD Frequency Level
Overall Strategies 106 2.59 .41 Medium Use
As shown in Table 6, the frequency of use of overall vocabulary learning strategies is at the lower end of the “medium use” range (M=2.59). This suggests that participants in this study reported that they did not use vocabulary learning strategies very often. They only “sometimes” employed vocabulary learning strategies.
The distinction of discovery and consolidation vocabulary learning strategies is further investigated and their frequencies of use are presented in Table 7.
Table 7
The Frequency of Use of Discovery and Consolidation Strategies
Strategy Group N Mean SD Frequency Level
Discovery 106 2.76 .46 Medium Use
Consolidation 106 2.54 .42 Medium Use
As shown in Table 7, the uses of discovery strategies and consolidation strategies are both at the level of medium frequency use. The mean score of the discovery strategies use (M= 2.76) is slightly higher than that of the consolidation strategies use (M= 2.54). This suggests that participants investigated in the present study reported that they used more vocabulary learning strategies to discover the meaning of a new word than to consolidate what they had learned.
The Frequency of Use of Individual Strategies
Besides presenting the general picture of the use of overall strategies, the use of individual strategies is also examined. The average scores of individual strategies range from a low of 1.33 to a high of 4.26. Eleven out of the 60 strategies (18.33%) fall in high frequency use, 24 out of 60 (40%) in medium frequency use, and 25 out of 60 (41.67%) in low frequency use. Individual strategy items in the three frequency levels are listed in Table 8, and the mean scores, standard deviations, and rank orders of all sixty vocabulary learning strategies are presented in Table 9.
Table 8
Strategy Items in the Three Frequency Levels
Frequency Item Total
High 4, 7, 8, 13, 30, 31, 34, 41, 42, 45, 46 11
Medium 1, 2, 3, 10, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 35, 36, 38, 39, 43, 51, 52, 56, 57, 58, 60,
24 Low 5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 26, 29, 33, 37, 40,
44, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 59,
25
Table 9
The Frequency of Use of Individual Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD Rank
1 I’ll analyze the word’s part of speech such as nouns or verbs. 3.20 1.04 13 2 I’ll analyze the word’s affixes and roots. For example, a word
beginning with “dis” may comprise negative meaning; a word ending with “er” may indicate a person.
3.18 1.09 14 3 I’ll see if related pictures or actions are available where the
new word appears in its written form or verbal form. 3.16 1.12 15 4 I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context. 3.73 1.00 6 5 I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed bilingual dictionary. 2.41 1.09 36 6 I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed monolingual
dictionary. 1.52 .77 56
7 I’ll look up the word in an electronic dictionary. 3.52 1.09 9
8 I’ll check the word lists if available. 3.54 1.10 8
9 I’ll write down the word on my flash cards. 2.24 1.06 39 10 I’ll ask my teacher the Chinese translation of the word. 2.68 1.00 27 11 I’ll ask my teacher to paraphrase the word or provide a
synonym of the word. 2.25 .93 38
12 I’ll ask my teacher to provide a sentence including the word. 1.69 .74 52 13 I’ll ask my classmates or friends the meaning of the word. 3.51 1.04 10 14 I’ll discover the word’s meaning through group work activity
such as group discussion. 2.73 1.13 23
15 I’ll ask my family members the meaning of the word. 1.99 1.12 45 16 I’ll study and practice in a group to remember words. 1.63 .73 53 17 I’ll practice with my family members to remember
words. 1.38 .67 57
18 I’ll ask my teacher to check my flash cards or notes for
accuracy. 1.33 .60 60
19 I’ll interact with native speakers to practice learned
words. 1.37 .71 58
20 I’ll study words with a pictorial representation of its meaning. For example, I’ll connect the word “star” with the picture “☆”to remember the word
2.00 1.00 44 21 I’ll image the word’s meaning to help me remember it.
For example, when I learn the word “sun,” I’ll image a sun in the sky in my mind.
2.69 1.14 25 22 I’ll connect the word to my personal experience. For
example, when I learn words that are related to Internet, I’ll think of my experience of surfing the Internet.
3.02 1.13 20 23 I’ll associate the word with its coordinates. For example,
when learning the word “dog,” I’ll think of other animals such as cats, elephants, and tigers.
2.66 .96 28 24 I’ll connect the word to its synonyms and antonyms.
For example, when learning the word “sad,” I’ll think of its synonym, “upset,” and its antonym, “happy.”
2.47 .97 35 25 I’ll use “scales” for gradable adjectives. For example,
when learning the word “good,” I’ll remember it with
“better” and “best.”
2.75 1.05 22
Table 9 (Continued)
26 I’ll group words together to study them. For example, I’ll group words into the weather group or the fruit group which consist of related words.
2.20 .92 40 27 I’ll memorize words according to their location in the
article or on a page. 3.14 1.00 16
28 I’ll use the word in a sentence to understand its meaning. 3.10 .90 18 29 I’ll group words together within a storyline. 1.92 .86 48 30 I’ll study the spelling of the word. 3.51 1.14 10
31 I’ll study the sound of the word. 3.91 1.05 3
32 I’ll say the word aloud when studying 3.12 1.04 17 33 I’ll image the shape of the whole word. For example,
when learning the word “landscape,” I’ll think of the word shape as the scenery with high and low “views.”
1.98 .95 46
34 I’ll underline the word. 3.80 .98 5
35 I’ll remember affixes and roots of words. 3.10 1.19 18 36 I’ll remember part of speech of a word. 3.34 1.04 12 37 I’ll paraphrase the word’s meaning. For example, when
learning the word “postman,” I paraphrase the word as “a person who delivers letters.”
1.93 .93 47 38 I will use a Chinese word with similar sound to
remember the word. 2.72 1.22 24
39 I’ll learn the word together with an idiom. 2.79 .81 21 40 I’ll use physical action when learning a word. 2.08 .93 43 41 I’ll read the word over and over again. 3.82 .96 4 42 I’ll write the word over and over again. 3.92 1.00 2
43 I’ll make a word list for reviewing. 2.61 1.08 29
44 I’ll write down the word on my flash cards. 2.39 1.11 37
45 I’ll take notes in class. 4.26 .91 1
46 I’ll use the vocabulary section in the textbook. 3.58 1.08 7 47 I’ll listen to tape or CD of word lists. 1.89 .97 49 48 I’ll put English labels on physical objects.
For example, I put the word “door” on the door. 1.34 .69 59
49 I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook. 1.79 .93 50
50 I’ll search for related information or books about the word. For example, when learning the word “Christmas,”
I’ll search for related cultural background and activities.
1.62 .77 54
51 I’ll listen to English songs. 2.59 1.10 30
52 I’ll watch English movies. 2.56 1.10 32
53 I’ll listen to English broadcasting. 1.79 .95 50
54 I’ll watch English news. 1.59 .83 55
55 I’ll read English magazines. 2.15 1.07 41
56 I’ll test my self with word tests. 2.58 1.15 31
57 I’ll skip or pass the word. 2.49 .80 34
58 I’ll continue to study the word over time. 2.69 .80 25 59 I’ll arrange reviewing schedule. For example, memorize
10 words every day. 2.10 .91 42
60 I’ll check for my own vocabulary learning strategies. 2.55 1.11 33
The Frequency of Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategy Categories
The means, standard deviations, rank orders, and frequency levels of the five strategy categories are shown in Table 10.
Table 10
The Frequency of Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategy Categories
Strategy Category N Mean SD Rank Frequency Level
Determination 106 2.94 .51 1 Medium Use
Memory 106 2.77 .52 2 Medium Use
Cognitive 106 2.72 .48 3 Medium Use
Metacognitive 106 2.31 .58 4 Low Use
Social 106 2.06 .46 5 Low Use
As shown in Table 10, three of the five strategy categories (determination, memory, cognitive) were reported to be of medium frequency use, and two of them (metacognitive and social) were of low frequency use. The score range is from 2.06 to 2.94, which falls in between low and medium frequency use. The most frequently used strategies reported are determination strategies (M=2.94), followed by memory strategies (M=2.77), cognitive strategies (M=2.72), metacognitive strategies (M=2.31), and lastly, social strategies (M=2.06). It is interesting that determination strategies were reported of the highest frequency of use, which is different from Oxford’s (1990) claim that the most popular strategies for language learners are cognitive strategies.
Detailed information about the frequency of use of individual strategy items in each strategy category is presented in the following sections.
Determination Strategies
Participants in the present study reported that they used determination strategies most frequently. The means, standard deviations, and frequency level of use of the nine determination strategies are shown in Table 11. Also, rank orders within determination strategy category and in overall vocabulary learning strategies are presented.
Table 11
The Frequency of Use of Determination Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD
Rank in Det.
(Frequency)
Rank in Overall 4 I’ll guess the word’s meaning from
context. 3.73 1.00 1 (H) 6
8 I’ll check the word lists if available.
3.54 1.10 2 (H) 8
7 I’ll look up the word in an electronic
dictionary. 3.52 1.09 3 (H) 9
1 I’ll analyze the word’s part of speech
such as nouns or verbs. 3.20 1.04 4 (M) 13
2 I’ll analyze the word’s affixes and roots. For example, a word beginning with “dis” may comprise negative meaning; a word ending with “er”
may indicate a person.
3.18 1.09 5 (M) 14
3 I’ll see if related pictures or actions are available where the new word appears in its written form or verbal form.
3.16 1.12 6 (M) 15
5 I’ll look up the word in a
paper-printed bilingual dictionary. 2.41 1.09 7 (L) 36 9 I’ll write down the word on my flash
cards. 2.24 1.06 8 (L) 39
6 I’ll look up the word in a
paper-printed monolingual dictionary. 1.52 .77 9 (L) 56 Note. H=high frequency use; M=medium frequency use; L=low frequency use
As shown in Table 11, each frequency level comprises three of the nine determination strategies. The average scores of the determination strategies fall between a low of 1.52 to a high of 3.73. The most frequently used determination
strategy reported is Item 4 “I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context” (M=3.73), which is ranked number six among all sixty vocabulary learning strategies. Strategies such as Item 8 “I’ll check the word lists if available” (M=3.54) and Item 7 “I’ll look up the word in an electronic dictionary” (M=3.52) also belong to the high frequency level of use. This indicates that when participants encountered a new word, they tended to guess from context, look for word lists, or consult an electronic dictionary to look up its meaning.
Besides, strategies related to analyzing word parts (Item 1 “I’ll analyze the word’s part of speech such as nouns or verbs,” Item 2 “I’ll analyze the word’s affixes and roots,”) and analyzing resources around the word in use (Item 3 “I’ll see if related pictures or actions are available where the new word appears in its written form or verbal form”) were generally used at medium frequency levels, which means participants “sometimes” analyzed word parts or analyzed resources around the word in use to help them discover the meaning of a new word.
As for the use of dictionary, vocational high school students investigated in the present study preferred electronic dictionaries to paper-printed dictionaries. As shown in Table 10, the use of an electronic dictionary (Item 7) is ranked number nine among all 60 strategies. However, participants in the present study reported that they generally didn’t consult a “bilingual dictionary” (Item 5, M=2.41) or a “monolingual dictionary” (Item 6, M=1.52). The uses of these two kinds of dictionaries receive low frequency levels and are ranked number 36 and number 56 respectively among all 60 vocabulary learning strategies.
Another low frequently used strategy is Item 9 “I’ll write down the word on my flash cards” (M=2.24), which is ranked number 39 among all the vocabulary learning strategies. Compared to the use of word lists (Item 8), which is ranked number 2
within the category and number 8 among all, participants in the present study seem to prefer looking for available word lists to making their own flash cards.
Social Strategies
Participants in the present study reported that they used social strategies least frequently. The means, standard deviations, and frequency levels of use of the ten social strategies are shown in Table 12. Also, rank orders within social strategy category and in overall vocabulary learning strategies are presented.
Table 12
The Frequency of Use of Social Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD Rank in Soc.
(Frequency)
Rank in Overall 13 I’ll ask my classmates or friends the
meaning of the word. 3.51 1.04 1 (H) 10
14
I’ll discover the word’s meaning through group work activity such as group discussion.
2.73 1.13 2 (M) 23
10 I’ll ask my teacher the Chinese
translation of the word. 2.68 1.00 3 (M) 27
11
I’ll ask my teacher to paraphrase the word or provide a synonym of the word.
2.25 .93 4 (L) 38
15 I’ll ask my family members the
meaning of the word. 1.99 1.12 5 (L) 45
12 I’ll ask my teacher to provide a
sentence including the word. 1.69 .74 6 (L) 52
16 I’ll study and practice in a group to
remember words. 1.63 .73 7 (L) 53
17 I’ll practice with my family
members to remember words. 1.38 .67 8 (L) 57
19 I’ll interact with native speakers to
practice learned words. 1.37 .71 9 (L) 58
18 I’ll ask my teacher to check my
flash cards or notes for accuracy. 1.33 .60 10 (L) 60 Note. H=high frequency use; M=medium frequency use; L=low frequency use
It should be noted that social strategies are used as both discovery strategies (Items 10 to 15) and consolidation strategies (Items 16 to 19). As shown in Table 12, most of the social strategies were generally used at low frequency level; only one
strategy (Item 13) was reported at high frequency use, and two strategies (Items 14 and 10) were at medium frequency use. The three strategies mentioned above are all discovery strategies. All the consolidation social strategies were reported at low frequency level. Besides, strategies ranked number 1 to number 6 are all used as discovery strategies while those ranked number 7 to number 10 are all used as consolidation strategies. This result shows that participants in the present study seem to have no habit of consolidating their vocabulary by way of interacting with others but deemed other people as resources for discovering the meaning of a new word. The most frequently used social strategy is Item 13 “I’ll ask my classmates or friends the meaning of the word” (M=3.51), which is ranked number 10 among all 60 strategies, followed by two medium frequently used strategies, Item 14 “I’ll discover the word’s meaning through group work activity such as group discussion” (M=2.73) and Item 10 “I’ll ask my teacher the Chinese translation of the word” (M=2.68). This indicates that when social strategies are concerned, vocational high school students often directly asked their classmates who knew the meaning of a new word. Sometimes they worked out the meaning of a new word through group work or asking their teacher for L1 translation.
When the teacher’s role is concerned, participants reported they favored strategy Item 10 “I’ll ask my teacher the Chinese translation of the word” (M=2.68) rather than Item 11“I’ll ask my teacher to paraphrase the word or provide a synonym of the word” (M=2.25) or Item 12 “I’ll ask my teacher to provide a sentence including the word” (M= 1.69). From this perspective, vocational high school students investigated in the present study just want to know the “L1 translation” of a new word. They seldom think of getting better understanding about the “usage” of a new word.
Strategy items used below the mean score of 1.5, which means participants
“never or almost never used” the strategy, include Item 17 “I’ll practice with my family members to remember words” (M=1.38), Item 19 “I’ll interact with native speakers to practice learned words” (M=1.37), and Item 18 “I’ll ask my teacher to check my flash cards or notes for accuracy” (M=1.33). These three strategies are all consolidation strategies. As presented previously in the result of the determination strategy category, since participants in the present study reported that they seldom made their own flash cards, they were not very likely to ask their teacher to check their flash cards for accuracy. Besides, it seems that participants investigated in the present study did not have many opportunities to interact with foreigners to use their vocabulary in an authentic situation.
Memory Strategies
Memory strategies are the second most frequently used strategy category reported by the participants in this study. The means, standard deviations, and frequency levels of use of the 21 memory strategies are shown in Table 13. Also, rank orders within the category and in overall vocabulary learning strategies are presented.
As shown in Table 13, among all the 21 memory strategies, only 3 strategies were employed by participants at high frequency level, 12 strategies in medium frequency use, and 6 strategies in low frequency use. Participants in the present study focus on word’s orthographical or phonological features most frequently. The three memory strategies in high frequency use include Item 31 “I’ll study the sound of the word” (M= 3.91), Item 34 “I’ll underline the word” (M= 3.80), and Item 30 “I’ll study the spelling of the word” (M= 3.51). These three strategies are ranked number 3, 5, and 10 among all vocabulary learning strategies tapped in this study.
Table 13
The Frequency of Use of Memory Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD
Rank in Mem.
(Frequency)
Rank in Overall 31 I’ll study the sound of the word. 3.91 1.05 1 (H) 3
34 I’ll underline the word. 3.80 .98 2 (H) 5
30 I’ll study the spelling of the word. 3.51 1.14 3 (H) 10 36 I’ll remember part of speech of a word. 3.34 1.04 4 (M) 12 27 I’ll memorize words according to their
location in the article or on a page. 3.14 1.00 5 (M) 16 32 I’ll say the word aloud when studying 3.12 1.04 6 (M) 17 28 I’ll use the word in a sentence to
understand its meaning. 3.10 .90 7 (M) 18
35 I’ll remember affixes and roots of words. 3.10 1.19 7 (M) 18 22 I’ll connect the word to my personal
experience. 3.02 1.13 9 (M) 20
39 I’ll learn the word together with an idiom. 2.79 .81 10 (M) 21 25 I’ll use “scales” for gradable adjectives 2.75 1.05 11 (M) 22 38 I will use a Chinese word with similar
sound to remember the word. 2.72 1.22 12 (M) 24 21 I’ll image the word’s meaning to help me
remember it. 2.69 1.14 13 (M) 25
23 I’ll associate the word with its coordinates. 2.66 .96 14 (M) 28 24 I’ll connect the word to its synonyms and
antonyms. 2.47 .97 15 (M) 35
26 I’ll group words together to study them. 2.20 .92 16 (L) 40 40 I’ll use physical action when learning a
word. 2.08 .93 17 (L) 43
20 I’ll study words with a pictorial
representation of its meaning. 2.00 1.00 18 (L) 44 33 I’ll image the shape of the whole word. 1.98 .95 19 (L) 46 37 I’ll paraphrase the word’s meaning. 1.93 .93 20 (L) 47 29 I’ll group words together within a
storyline. 1.92 .86 21 (L) 48
Note. H=high frequency use; M=medium frequency use; L=low frequency use
On the other hand, strategies related to association, grouping, and imagery were used at medium or low frequency level. Association strategies such as Item 22 “I’ll connect the word to my personal experience” (M= 3.02), Item 23 “I’ll associate the word with its coordinates” (M=2.66), and Item 24 “I’ll connect the word to its synonyms and antonyms” (M=2.47) were all used at medium frequency level. This result indicates that participants in the present study “sometimes” paid attention to related words to help them memorize target words.
As for strategies related to grouping, two are used at low frequency level and one is used at medium frequency level. The two strategies used at low frequency level are Item 29 “I’ll group words together within a storyline” (M=1.92), which is the least frequently used strategy, and Item 26 “I’ll group words together to study them”
(M=2.20). The grouping strategy used at medium frequency level is Item 27 “I’ll memorize words according to their location in the article or on a page” (M= 3.14).
The result indicates that when grouping is concerned, participants investigated in the present study reported that they “sometimes” grouped words together spatially on a page, but they “generally didn’t” group words together within a storyline or group words together to study them.
Imagery strategies are also reported by participants of low or medium frequency use. For example, Item 33 “I’ll image the shape of the whole word” (M=1.98) and Item 20 “I’ll study words with a pictorial representation of its meaning” (M=2.00) are reported to be of low frequency use, and Item 21 “I’ll image the word’s meaning to help me remember it” (M=2.69) is reported to be of medium frequency use. The results indicate that participants “sometimes” pictured the meaning of a word in their head, but they “generally” didn’t visualize the orthographical form or the meaning of a word.
Cognitive Strategies
Cognitive strategies are the third most frequently used vocabulary learning strategy category in this study. As presented earlier in Table 10, the mean score of participants’ use of cognitive strategies is 2.72, which is slightly below the mean score of memory strategies (M=2.77). The means, standard deviations, and frequency levels of use of the 10 cognitive strategies are shown in Table 14. Also, rank orders within the category and in overall vocabulary learning strategies are presented.
Table 14
The Frequency of Use of Cognitive Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD
Rank in Cog.
(Frequency)
Rank in Overall
45 I’ll take notes in class. 4.26 .91 1 (H) 1
42 I’ll write the word over and over again 3.92 1.00 2 (H) 2 41 I’ll read the word over and over again. 3.82 .96 3 (H) 4 46 I’ll use the vocabulary section in the
textbook. 3.58 1.08 4 (H) 7
43 I’ll make a word list for reviewing. 2.61 1.08 5 (M) 29 44 I’ll write down the word on my flash
cards. 2.39 1.11 6 (L) 37
47 I’ll listen to tape or CD of word lists. 1.89 .97 7 (L) 49 49 I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook. 1.79 .93 8 (L) 50 50 I’ll search for related information or
books about the word. 1.62 .77 9 (L) 54
48 I’ll put English labels on physical
objects. 1.34 .69 10 (L) 59
Note. H=high frequency use; M=medium frequency use; L=low frequency use
As shown in Table 14, of all the 10 cognitive vocabulary learning strategies, 4 strategies are of high frequency use, 1 strategy of medium frequency use, and 5 strategies of low frequency use. The range of distributions of mean scores and rank orders among the 60 vocabulary learning strategies are very wide, from a high of 4.26 (number 1) to a low of 1.34 (number 59). The most frequently used cognitive strategy is Item 45 “I’ll take notes in class” (M=4.26), which is also ranked number 1 among all 60 strategy items reported by the participants. The high mean of this strategy indicates that participants “usually” take notes in class.
The other three strategies of high frequency use are Item 42 “I’ll write the word over and over again” (M=3.92), Item 41 “I’ll read the word over and over again.”
(M=3.82), and Item 46 “I’ll use the vocabulary section in the textbook” (M=3.58), which are ranked number 2, number 4, and number 7 respectively among all the vocabulary learning strategies. These highly frequently used cognitive strategies
prove participants’ preferences for cognitively “shallower” strategies, i.e., take notes, write the word repeatedly, repeat saying the word, and use the vocabulary section in the textbook, while learning vocabulary.
As for the level of low frequency use, the least used strategy is Item 48 “I’ll put English labels on physical objects” (M=1.34). It is reasonable that vocational high school students seldom put English labels on physical objects because more abstract words are learned than concrete words. Besides, the use of study aids is not popular among the participants. For example, strategies such as Item 44 “I’ll write down the word on my flash cards” (M=2.39), Item 47 “I’ll listen to tape or CD of word lists”
(M=1.89), Item 49 “I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook” (M=1.79), and Item 50 “I’ll search for related information or books about the word” (M=1.62) are of low frequency use. This indicates that participants neither made their own flash cards when they first encountered a new word, which has been mentioned in the determination strategy section, nor did they utilize flash cards to help them review or consolidate what they had learned. In addition, seldom did they search for related information or listen to tape or CD even when it was available, as their English textbooks came with a disk of CD.
Despite the low frequency use of flash cards, strategy Item 43 “I’ll make a word list for reviewing” was used at medium frequency level (M= 2.61). This means that participants “sometimes” utilized word lists to learn vocabulary. According to the researcher’s observation, third-year vocational high school students do use the word list section in their textbooks or make their own word lists to review vocabulary.
Metacognitive Strategies
Metacognitive strategies are the second least used strategies reported by the participants in this study. The means, standard deviations, and frequency levels of use of the 10 metacognitive strategies are shown in Table 15. Also, rank orders within the category and in overall vocabulary learning strategies are presented.
Table 15
The Frequency of Use of Metacognitive Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD
Rank in Met.
(Frequency)
Rank in Overall 58 I’ll continue to study the word
over time. 2.69 .80 1 (M) 25
51 I’ll listen to English songs. 2.59 1.10 2 (M) 30 56 I’ll test my self with word tests. 2.58 1.15 3 (M) 31 52 I’ll watch English movies. 2.56 1.10 4 (M) 32 60 I’ll check for my own vocabulary
learning strategies. 2.55 1.11 5 (M) 33
57 I’ll skip or pass the word. 2.49 .80 6 (M) 34 55 I’ll read English magazines. 2.15 1.07 7 (L) 41 59 I’ll arrange reviewing schedule. 2.10 .91 8 (L) 42 53 I’ll listen to English broadcasting. 1.79 .95 9 (L) 50 54 I’ll watch English news. 1.59 .83 10 (L) 55 Note. H=high frequency use; M=medium frequency use; L=low frequency use
As shown in Table 15, individual metacognitive vocabulary learning strategies were used in low or medium frequency level. Of the 10 metacognitive strategies, no strategy falls into the high frequency use, 6 strategies are of medium frequency use, and 4 are of low frequency use. The range of the mean scores is from 1.59 to 2.69, which means the participants “sometimes” used or “generally didn’t use”
metacognitive strategies when learning vocabulary.
The most frequently used metacognitive strategy is Item 58 “I’ll continue to study the word over time” (M=2.69), which is at medium frequency level. As for the self-planning strategy such as Item 59 “I’ll arrange reviewing schedule” (M=2.10), it is generally not used. The results show that participants in this study sometimes made efforts to study vocabulary over time but they didn’t think too much about arranging their own reviewing schedule. The other four strategies of medium frequency use include Item 51 “I’ll listen to English songs” (M= 2.59), Item 52 “I’ll watch English movies” (M= 2.56), Item 60 “I’ll check for my own vocabulary learning strategies”
(M=2.55), and Item 57 “I’ll skip or pass the word” (M=2.49).
When the use of English-language media is concerned, English songs (Item 51, M= 2.59) and movies (Item 52, M= 2.56) were reported to be used more often than English magazines (Item 55, M= 2.15), broadcasting (Item 53, M= 1.79), and news (Item 54, M=1.59). English news is even the least used resource for learning vocabulary. According to the results reported above, participants “sometimes” used English-language media such as English songs or movies to learn vocabulary, but they
“generally didn’t use” English-language media such as magazines, broadcasting, or news to help them learn vocabulary.
The Eleven Most Frequently Used Vocabulary Learning Strategies
The eleven most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies are listed in Table 16. The last two strategies, Item 30 “I’ll study the spelling of the word” and Item 13 “I’ll ask my classmates or friends the meaning of the word,” are ranked number ten simultaneously because of the same mean. The mean scores of the 11 most-used vocabulary learning strategies reported by participants are from 3.51 to 4.26, which means that all of the 11 strategies are of high frequency use.
Table 16
The Eleven Most Frequently Used Vocabulary Learning Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD Rank Category
45 I’ll take notes in class. 4.26 .91 1 COG
42 I’ll write the word over and over again. 3.92 1.00 2 COG 31 I’ll study the sound of the word. 3.91 1.05 3 MEM 41 I’ll read the word over and over again. 3.82 .96 4 COG
34 I’ll underline the word. 3.80 .98 5 MEM
4 I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context. 3.73 1.00 6 DET 46 I’ll use the vocabulary section in the
textbook. 3.58 1.08 7 COG
8 I’ll check the word lists if available. 3.54 1.10 8 DET 7 I’ll look up the word in an electronic
dictionary. 3.52 1.09 9 DET
30 I’ll study the spelling of the word. 3.51 1.14 10 MEM 13 I’ll ask my classmates or friends the
meaning of the word. 3.51 1.04 10 SOC
Note. DET=determination strategies; SOC=social strategies;
Mem=memory strategies; COG= cognitive strategies
DET 27.27%
SOC 9.09%
MEM 27.27%
COG
36.36% DET
SOC MEM COG
Figure 1. Percentage of strategy categories of the eleven most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies
As shown in Table 16, most of these 11 most-used vocabulary learning strategies are consolidation strategies, only four strategies (Items 4, 8, 7, 13) are discovery strategies. When strategy categories are concerned, four strategies (Items 45, 42, 41, 46) belong to cognitive strategy, three (Items 31, 34, 30) belong to memory strategy, three (Items 4, 8, 7) belong to determination strategy, and one (Item 13) belong to social strategy. All five strategy categories are included except the metacognitive strategy category. Figure 1 presents the percentage of strategy categories of the 11 most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies.
The four discovery vocabulary learning strategies among the 11 most frequently used strategies are Item 4 “I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context” (M=3.73), Item 8 “I’ll check the word lists if available” (M=3.54), Item 7 “I’ll look up the word in an electronic dictionary” (M=3.52), and Item 13 “I’ll ask my classmates or friends the meaning of the word” (M=3.51). The results suggest that when facing a new word, participants in this study tended to guess from the context, search for word lists if available, look up the target word in an electronic dictionary, or ask their classmates for meaning.
As for the other seven consolidation strategies, Item 45 “I’ll take notes in class”
(M=4.26) was reported the most frequently used vocabulary learning strategy, followed by Item 42 “I’ll write the word over and over again” (M= 3.92), Item 31 “I’ll study the sound of the word” (M=3.91), Item 41 “I’ll read the word over and over again” (M=3.82), Item 34 “I’ll underline the word” (M=3.80), Item 46 “I’ll use the vocabulary section in the textbook” (M=3.58), and lastly, Item 30 “I’ll study the spelling of the word” (M=3.51). It is obvious that mechanical skills such as note taking and underline the word, and rote learning such as written and verbal repetition were reported most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies. Besides, the
orthographic form and phonological form of the target word are also the focus of vocabulary learning, which is proved by participants’ reported use of “study the sound of the word” (Item 31) and “study the spelling of the word” (Item 30).
When strategy categories are considered, as shown in Figure 1, cognitive strategy category takes up the largest part of the most-used strategies while social strategy category takes up the smallest part. Although determination strategy category as reported previously is of the highest frequency of use of the five vocabulary learning strategy categories, cognitive strategies are the most in number among the eleven most frequently used vocabulary learning strategies.
The Eleven Least Frequently Used Vocabulary Learning Strategies
The eleven least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies are listed in Table 17. They are ranked according to the mean scores in ascending order. The last two strategies, Item 53 “I’ll listen to English broadcasting” and Item 49 “I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook” are ranked number ten simultaneously because of the same mean.
As shown in Table 17, the mean scores of the 11 least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies reported by participants are from 1.33 to 1.79, which means that all of the 11 strategies are of low frequency use. Most of these 11 least-used vocabulary learning strategies are consolidation strategies; only two strategies (Items 6, 12) are discovery strategies. When strategy categories are concerned, five of the strategies belong to social strategy (Items 18, 19, 17, 16, 12), three belong to cognitive strategy (Items 48, 50, 49), two belong to metacognitive strategy (Items 54, 53), and one belongs to determination strategy (Item 6). Memory strategies are not included. Figure 2 clearly shows that almost half of the 11 least frequently used strategies are social strategies while determination strategies take up the smallest portion.
Table 17
The Eleven Least Used Vocabulary Learning Strategies
Item Descriptions Mean SD Rank Category
18 I’ll ask my teacher to check my flash cards
or notes for accuracy. 1.33 .60 1 SOC
48 I’ll put English labels on physical objects. 1.34 .69 2 COG 19 I’ll interact with native speakers to practice
learned words. 1.37 .71 3 SOC
17 I’ll practice with my family members to
remember words. 1.38 .67 4 SOC
6 I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed
monolingual dictionary. 1.52 .77 5 DET
54 I’ll watch English news. 1.59. .83 6 MET
50 I’ll search for related information or books
about the word. 1.62. .77 7 COG
16 I’ll study and practice in a group to
remember words. 1.63 .73 8 SOC
12 I’ll ask my teacher to provide a sentence
including the word. 1.69 .74 9 SOC
53 I’ll listen to English broadcasting. 1.79 .95 10 MET 49 I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook. 1.79 .93 10 COG Note. DET=determination strategies; SOC=social strategies;
COG= cognitive strategies;MET=metacognitive strategies
DET 9.09%
SOC 45.45%
COG 27.27%
MET 18.18%
DET SOC COG MET
Figure 2. Percentage of the strategy categories of the 11 least frequently used
As shown in Table 17, the five least frequently used vocabulary learning strategies are Item 18 “I’ll ask my teacher to check my flash cards or notes for accuracy” (M=1.33), Item 48 “I’ll put English labels on physical objects” (M=1.34), Item 19 “I’ll interact with native speakers to practice learned words” (M=1.37), Item 17 “I’ll practice with my family members to remember words” (M=1.38), and Item 6
“I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed monolingual dictionary” (M=1.52). The mean scores of these five least frequently used strategies are around or below 1.5, which means that participants “never or almost never” used these strategies. Besides, three of the five least-used strategies are related to social strategies (Items 18, 19, 17), which indicates that participants “never or almost never” thought of learning vocabulary by means of social interaction, especially with their teachers, native speakers, or family members.
Strategies ranked number 6 to number 10 of the least-used vocabulary learning strategies are Item 54 “I’ll watch English news” (M=1.59), Item 50 “I’ll search for related information or books about the word” (M=1.62), Item 16 “I’ll study and practice in a group to remember words” (M=1.63), Item 12 “I’ll ask my teacher to provide a sentence including the word” (M=1.69), Item 53 “I’ll listen to English broadcasting” (M= 1.79) and Item 49 “I’ll keep a vocabulary notebook” (M=1.79).
The results indicate that participants “generally didn’t” watch English news or listen to English broadcasting; neither did they search for related information or books.
They didn’t keep a vocabulary notebook, either. Besides, they generally didn’t ask the teacher for a sample sentence of the new word or study or practiced the learned words in groups.
Vocabulary Learning Strategies Use and Reading Proficiency
This section reports the results for Research Question 2: Is there any relationship between Taiwanese vocational high school students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies and their English reading proficiency? Pearson correlation coefficients are reported to show the relationship between strategy use and reading proficiency.
Correlation in the present study is significant at the 0.05 level, two-tailed.
Correlation Between Overall Strategy Use and Reading Proficiency
As shown in Table 18, the overall strategy use is correlated significantly with reading proficiency (r = .213, p< .05). The result suggests that there is a positive correlation between overall strategy use and reading proficiency. In other words, participants who used vocabulary learning strategies more frequently tended to score higher on their reading proficiency test.
Table 18
Correlation Between Overall Strategy Use and the Reading Proficiency Test
Overall Strategy Use
Reading Proficiency Test .213*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
The reading proficiency test employed in this study consists of three sub-sections:
vocabulary and structure section, cloze section, and reading comprehension section.
These three sub-sections were further analyzed to investigate their correlations with overall strategy use. As shown in Table 19, the overall strategy use is correlated significantly with the reading comprehension section (r = .256, p< .05) while there are no significant correlations with the vocabulary/structure section and the cloze section.
The detailed correlation between vocabulary learning strategies use and the reading comprehension section will be presented later.
Table 19
Correlations Between Overall Strategy Use and the Sub-sections in the Reading Proficiency Test
Vocabulary and
Structure Cloze Reading
Comprehension
Overall Strategy Use .050 .131 .256*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
It should be mentioned that the vocabulary/structure section tests not only the examinee’s vocabulary knowledge but also their knowledge about sentence structure, most of which are related to grammatical concepts. Thus it is understandable that the use of vocabulary learning strategies is not correlated with the vocabulary/structure section.
Correlations Between Strategy Categories Use and Reading Proficiency
The correlations between the five strategy categories and reading proficiency are presented in Table 20.
Table 20
Correlations Between Strategy Categories Use and Reading Proficiency Determination
Strategies
Social Strategies
Memory Strategies
Cognitive Strategies
Metacognitive Strategies Reading
Proficiency .315* -.019 .198* .079 .225*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
As shown in Table 20, three of the strategy categories are significantly correlated with the reading proficiency test. They are determination strategies (r = .315, p< .05), memory strategies (r = .198, p< .05), and metacognitive strategies (r = .225, p< .05).
On the other hand, social strategies (r = -.019) and cognitive strategies (r = .079) are not significantly correlated to the reading proficiency test. The results suggest that participants who used determination strategies, memory strategies, and metacognitive strategies more frequently tended to score higher on the reading proficiency test.
Correlations Between Individual Strategies Use and Reading Proficiency Among the 60 vocabulary learning strategies, 19 strategies were analyzed to be significantly correlated to reading proficiency as shown in Table 21.
Table 21
Significant Correlations Between Individual Strategies Use and Reading Proficiency
Reading Proficiency 1 I’ll analyze the word’s part of speech such as nouns or
verbs. .301*
2 I’ll analyze the word’s affixes and roots. .224*
4 I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context. .275*
5 I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed bilingual
dictionary. .235*
16 I’ll study and practice in a group to remember words. - .240*
23 I’ll associate the word with its coordinates. .198*
24 I’ll connect the word to its synonyms and antonyms. .272*
31 I’ll study the sound of the word. .265*
34 I’ll underline the word. .192*
36 I’ll remember part of speech of a word. .331*
39 I’ll learn the word together with an idiom. .240*
41 I’ll read the word over and over again. .212*
45 I’ll take notes in class. .219*
46 I’ll use the vocabulary section in the textbook. .220*
53 I’ll listen to English broadcasting. .236*
54 I’ll watch English news. .283*
55 I’ll read English magazines. .280*
57 I’ll skip or pass the word. - .230*
58 I’ll continue to study the word over time. .272*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
As presented in Table 21, strategies related to analyzing (Items 1, 2, 39), guessing (Item 4), utilizing study aids (Item 5 and Item 46), association (Items 23 and Item 24), studying word forms (Items 31, 34, 36), verbal repetition (Item 41), note taking (Item 45), using language media (Items 53, 54, 55), and practice continuity
(Item 58) are positively correlated to reading proficiency. The results indicate that the more frequently a participant used strategies mentioned above, the higher score was received on the Reading Proficiency Test.
On the other hand, strategies such as Item 16 “I’ll study and practice in a group to remember words” (r = - .240, p< .05) and Item 57 “I’ll skip or pass the word” (r = - .230) are correlated negatively to reading proficiency, which means that the more frequently a participant used these two strategies, the lower score was received on the Reading Proficiency Test
Correlation Between Vocabulary Learning Strategies Use and Reading Comprehension
Among the three sub-sections of the reading proficiency test, i.e., vocabulary and structure section, cloze section, and reading comprehension section, it is confirmed that the reading comprehension section is correlated significantly with overall strategy use. In this part, the relationship between vocabulary learning strategies use and reading comprehension is further examined.
Strategy Categories Use and Reading Comprehension
The correlation between the five strategy categories use and the reading comprehension section in the reading proficiency test is presented in Table 22. As shown in Table 22, three of the strategy categories are significantly correlated with the reading comprehension test. They are determination strategies (r = .266, p< .05), memory strategies (r = .243, p< .05), and metacognitive strategies (r = .249, p< .05).
The results suggest that participants who reported using determination strategies, memory strategies, and metacognitive strategies more frequently tended to score higher on the reading comprehension test.
Table 22
Correlations Between Strategy Categories Use and Reading Comprehension Determination
Strategies
Social Strategies
Memory Strategies
Cognitive Strategies
Metacognitive Strategies Reading
Comprehension .266* .093 .243* .107 .249*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Individual Strategies Use and Reading Comprehension
With regard to the individual strategy items, the correlation between individual strategies use and reading comprehension was analyzed and the items that show significant correlations are presented in Table 23.
Table 23
Significant Correlations Between Individual Strategies Use and the Reading Comprehension Test
Reading Comprehension Test 1 I’ll analyze the word’s part of speech such as nouns or
verbs.
.314*
2 I’ll analyze the word’s affixes and roots. .234*
4 I’ll guess the word’s meaning from context. .255*
5 I’ll look up the word in a paper-printed bilingual dictionary.
.223*
23 I’ll associate the word with its coordinates. .252*
24 I’ll connect the word to its synonyms and antonyms.
.224*
31 I’ll study the sound of the word. .202*
35 I’ll remember affixes and roots of words. .239*
36 I’ll remember part of speech of a word. .311*
37 I’ll paraphrase the word’s meaning. .233*
39 I’ll learn the word together with an idiom. .202*
41 I’ll read the word over and over again. .265*
46 I’ll use the vocabulary section in the textbook. .194*
52 I’ll watch English movies. .227*
54 I’ll watch English news. .218*
55 I’ll read English magazines. .225*
56 I’ll test my self with word tests. .248*
58 I’ll continue to study the word over time. .226*
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
As shown in Table 23, there are 18 strategies correlated significantly with the reading comprehension test. Strategies related to analyzing (Items 1, 2, 39), guessing (Item 4), utilizing study aids (Item 5 and Item 46), association (Item 23 and Item 24), studying word form (Items 31, 35, 36), paraphrasing (Item 37), verbal repetition (Item 41), using language media (Items 52, 54, 55), self testing (Item 56), and practice continuity (Item 58) are positively correlated with the reading comprehension test.
The results indicate that the more frequently a participant employed strategies mentioned above, the higher she scored in the reading comprehension section in the reading proficiency test. These strategies are similar to those which are correlated to reading proficiency test except that strategies related to “paraphrasing” and “self testing” are added and “note taking” is deleted. This suggests that the ability to paraphrase the meaning of a word and the ability to monitor one’s own vocabulary learning are especially correlated to the reading comprehension test.
High and Low English Reading Proficiency Students’ Use of Vocabulary Learning Strategies
This section reports the results for Research Question 3: Is there any difference between high and low English reading proficiency students in their use of vocabulary learning strategies? A series of comparisons were made to find the differences in strategy use between high and low English reading proficiency students. High English reading proficiency students in this study were those whose scores on the Reading Proficiency Test were among the top 20% of the participants whereas low English reading proficiency students were those among the bottom 20%. As a result, high English reading proficiency learners were made up of 22 students who scored 63 or above out of the total score 120, and low English reading proficiency students consisted of 21 students who scored 36 or below.
Table 24
High and Low Reading Proficiency Students’ Scores on the Reading Proficiency Test
High Proficiency (N=22)
Low Proficiency (N=21)
Mean SD Mean SD t P
Reading Proficiency
Test
71.86 9.00 32.29 3.78 18.949* .000
*p< .05
Table 24 summarizes the means, standard deviations, and the t-test results of high and low English reading proficiency students’ scores on the Reading Proficiency Test. It is confirmed that these two groups of students are significantly different in their scores on the Reading Proficiency Test.
This section is further divided into four parts. The first part presents the comparison of overall strategy use between high and low proficiency students. The second part reports the comparison of strategy category use between these two groups of students. The third part reports the top ten most and ten least frequently used strategies by high and low English reading proficiency students. The fourth part reports strategies which are used significantly different by high and low English reading proficiency students.
Overall Strategy Use Between High and Low Reading Proficiency Students
As shown in Table 25, the average frequency of the high reading proficiency students’ use of vocabulary learning strategies is 2.75, which falls in the range of medium use level (M= 2.5-3.4), while that of the low reading proficiency students is 2.49, which almost falls in the lower end of medium use level.
Table 25
Overall Strategy Use Between High and Low Reading Proficiency Students
High Proficiency (N=22)
Low Proficiency (N=21)
Mean SD Mean SD t P
Overall
Strategy Use 2.75 .38 2.49 .40 2.179* .035
*p< .05
A t-test is conducted to compare the frequencies of the overall strategy use between high and low reading proficiency students and finds that there is a significant difference in the average frequencies of overall strategy use between high and low reading proficiency students. This indicates that high English reading proficiency students used vocabulary learning strategies significantly more often than low English reading proficiency students.
Strategy Categories Use Between High and Low Reading Proficiency Students
Table 26 presents the result of the comparison of the use of strategy categories between high and low reading proficiency students. It is found that there are two strategy categories reported to be used significantly differently between high and low English reading proficiency students. As shown in Table 26, determination strategies and metacognitive strategies are found to be significant. On the other hand, there are no significant differences in the use of the other three strategy categories between high and low reading proficiency students. This indicates that high and low English reading vocational high school students investigated in the present study differ in their choice of vocabulary learning strategies to discover the meaning of a new word (determination strategies) and to control and evaluate their own learning (metacognitive strategies).
Table 26
Strategy Categories Use Between High and Low Reading Proficiency Students Strategy
Category Proficiency N Mean SD Mean
Difference t P
Determination Strategies
High Low
22 21
3.27 2.79
.55
.42 0.48 3.243* .002
Social Strategies
High Low
22 21
2.03 2.06
.40
.43 -0.03 -0.236 .815 Memory
Strategies
High Low
22 21
2.94 2.63
.49
.53 0.31 1.992 .053
Cognitive Strategies
High Low
22 21
2.77 2.66
.48
.53 0.11 0.750 .457
Metacognitive Strategies
High Low
22 21
2.60 2.20
.75
.46 0.04 2.107* .041
*p< .05
Individual Strategies Use Between High and Low Reading Proficiency Students In addition to the comparison of the use of overall strategies and the five strategy categories, the use of individual strategies is also compared. The average scores of high reading proficiency students’ reported use of individual strategies range from a high of 4.32 to a low of 1.27. Among the 60 strategies, 15 fall in high frequency use (25%), 22 in medium frequency use (36.7%), and 23 in low frequency use (38.3%).
On the other hand, the average scores of low reading proficiency students’ reported use of individual strategies range from a high of 3.86 to a low of 1.29. Among the 60 strategies, 5 fall in high frequency use (8.3%), 27 in medium frequency use (45%), and 28 in low frequency use (46.7%). Individual strategy items reported to be used by the two groups of students are summarized in Table 27 in terms of frequency levels.
Percentages of strategies in different frequency levels are also presented.
