Vocabulary Learning Strategies: The Case of Mandarin Learners in Sarawak
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Published:
Sep 19, 2019
Keywords:
Mandarin as a Foreign Language, vocabulary, learning strategies, Chinese characters, elementary Mandarin
Main Article Content
Abstract
The frequency of using different kinds of vocabulary learning strategies by Mandarin learners was assessed at the University of Malaysia, Sarawak to illustrate popular ways under each vocabulary learning strategy. One hundred and thirty-six respondents completed a five-point Likert-scale questionnaire in the twelfth week of their learning. The results of the study indicated that the learners employed cognitive strategies the most and metacognitive strategies the least. The most popular strategy included taking notes, studying the sound and stroke order of a word, asking classmates, and reviewing vocabulary regularly. The results suggested that teachers could make use of the learning strategy preferred by learners through the provision of appropriate language activities and assignments to support more effective learning. Future studies may include studying the specific strategies employed by learners in the four language skills, looking at how they employ vocabulary-learning strategies at higher language levels, and studying real-life examples of instructional activities conducted by language instructors for each strategy.
Article Details
Section
Research Articles
Copyright: Asia-Pacific International University reserve exclusive rights to publish, reproduce and distribute the manuscript and all contents therein.
References
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Sung, K. (2014). Novice learners’ Chinese-character learning strategies and performance. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11(1), 38–51.
Tan, T., & Hoe, F. (2010). Vocabulary learning strategies of students learning Mandarin as a foreign language. UPENA: Journal of Language Studies, 6(1), 35–48.
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Wu, W. (2005). Use and helpfulness rankings of vocabulary learning strategies employed by EFL learners in Taiwan. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(2), 7–13.
Yeşilbursa, A., & İpek, Ö. (2013). Why it is necessary to validate SILL? Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 70, 887-893.
Yeung, S. (2009). Is student-centered pedagogy impossible in Hong Kong? The case of inquiry in classrooms. Asia Pacific Education Review, 10(3), 377–386. doi: 10.1007/s12564-009-9028-x
Yin, J. (2003). Methods used by American college students in memorizing Chinese characters. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 38(3), 69–90.
Zare, P. (2012). Language learning strategies among EFL/ESL learners: A review of literature. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(5), 162–169.
Zarrin, S., & Khan, Z. (2014). A study of vocabulary learning strategies among undergraduate learners of A.M.U. US-China Foreign Language, 12(1), 75-82. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 319887743_The_Use_of_Vocabulary_Learning_Strategies_by_Thai_EFL_Learners_Studying_Vietnamese_as_a_Third_Language
Zimmerman, B., & Schunk, D. (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Asgari, A., & Mustapha, G. (2011). The type of vocabulary learning strategies used by ESL students in University Putra Malaysia. English Language Teaching, 4(2), 84–90.
BBC (2014). Languages of the world - Revealing facts about languages. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/ languages/guide/languages/
Çelik-Korkmaz, Ş. (2013). Third language learning strategies of ELT learners studying either German or French. Hacettepe University Journal of Education, 28(1), 92–104.
Debevec, K, Shih, M, & Kashyap, V. (2006). Learning strategies and performance in a technology integrated classroom. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(3), 293–307.
Han, Y. (2014). Foreign language vocabulary learning strategies: Patterns of use among college students (Doctoral thesis). Auburn University, Alabama. Retrieved from https://etd.auburn.edu/bitstream/handle/10415/ 4304/Final%20Submission%20Yi%20Han.pdf?sequence=2
Hsu, J. (2012). Learning Chinese characters: A comparative study of the learning strategies of western students and eastern students in Taiwan (Master’s thesis). Colorado State University, Colorado. Retrieved from http:// hdl.handle.net/10217/67308
Huang, S. (2018). Language learning strategies in context. The Language Learning Journal, 46(5), 647–659.
Jie, K. (2018). Chinese language included in foreign college entrance exams. Retrieved from http://en.people.cn/ n3/2018/1130/c90000-9523972.html
Key laboratory of big data mining and knowledge management. (2018, 24 August). Zhongkeyuan Dashuju Zhongdian Shiyanshi Fabu “Haiwai Zaixian Shao’er Zhongwen Xuexi Baipishu” [Key Laboratory of Big Data Mining and Knowledge Management, Chinese Academy of Sciences, released “White Paper on the Learning of Mandarin by Overseas Online Kids”]. Retrieved from http://bdk.ucas.ac.cn/index.php/yjs-3/ xshdt/2747-2018-08-24-03-30-39
Lam, K., & Hoe, F. (2013). Mandarin classroom materials for Malay-speaking students – A case in UNIMAS. Overseas Chinese Education, 68(3), 284–289.
Lam, K., Ang, L., Kuan, W., & Hoe, F. (2018). Character recognition through wild association: An alternative in learning Chinese script for beginners. Issues in Language Studies, 7(1), 1–11.
Lau, W. (2018). International students’ responses to explicit instruction on vocabulary learning strategies: Implications for EAP courses (Master’s thesis). Seattle Pacific University, Washington. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.spu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=tesol_etd
Liu, X. (2013). Investigation into vocabulary learning strategies by learners of Chinese as a foreign language in United States institutions of higher education (Doctoral dissertation). Boston University, Massachusetts. Retrieved from https://open.bu.edu/handle/2144/12808
Mushangwe, H., & Chisoni, G. (2015). A critical analysis of the use of Pinyin as a substitute of Chinese characters. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 6(3), 685–694.
Mustapha, A., & Hatta, S. (2018). The use of vocabulary learning strategies by pre-diploma students in UITM. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 3(2), 65–76.
Nayan, S, & Krishnasamy, H. N. (2015). A preliminary study on vocabulary learning strategies used by the students from the Faculty of Accountancy. International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, 1(1), 10–14.
Ou, K., Tarng, W., & Chen, Y. (2018). Vocabulary learning through picture- viewing and picture- drawing on tablets. International Journal of Distance Education Technologies (IJDET), 16(3), 64-80.
Oxford, R. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle Publishers.
Oxford, R., & Scarcella, R. (1994). Second language vocabulary learning among adults: State of the art in vocabulary instruction. System, 22(2), 231–243.
Perfetti, C., & Tan, L. (1998). The time course of graphic, phonologic, and semantic activation in Chinese character identification. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 24(1), 101–118.
Rabadi, R. (2016). Vocabulary learning strategies employed by undergraduate EFL Jordanian students. English Language and Literature Studies, 6(1), 47-58.
Ridge, B. (2004). Bangsa Malaysia and recent Malaysian English language policies. Current Issues in Language Planning, 5(4), 407-423. doi: 10.1080/14664200408668266
Rogers, J. (2018). Teaching/Developing vocabulary through metacognition. The TESOL Encyclopaedia of English Language Teaching, 1-6. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ZkCR0WEAAAAJ&hl=en
Rohsenow, J. (2006). The present status of digraphia in China. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2001(150), 125–140. doi: https://doi.org/10.1515/ijsl.2001.029
Schmitt, N. (1997). Vocabulary learning strategies. In D. Schmitt, & M. McCarthy (Eds.), Vocabulary: Description, Acquisition and Pedagogy (pp. 199–227). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schmitt, N. (2000). Vocabulary in language teaching. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Shan, G. (2018). Feature: Qualified Chinese language teachers in demand as number of learners soars in U.S. Retrieved from http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/21/c_137195269.htm
Shen, H. (2005). An investigation of Chinese-character learning strategies among non-native speakers of Chinese. System, 33(1), 49–68.
Spencer-Oatey, H. (1997). Unequal relationships in high and low power distance societies - A comparative study of tutor - student role relations in Britain and China. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 28(3), 284–302. doi: 10.1177/0022022197283005
Steingart, S., & Glock, M. (1979). Imagery and the recall of connected discourse. Reading Research Quarterly, 15(1), 66–83.
Sung, K. (2014). Novice learners’ Chinese-character learning strategies and performance. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11(1), 38–51.
Tan, T., & Hoe, F. (2010). Vocabulary learning strategies of students learning Mandarin as a foreign language. UPENA: Journal of Language Studies, 6(1), 35–48.
Vo, T., & Jaturapitakkul, N. (2016). The use of vocabulary learning strategies by Thai EFL learners studying Vietnamese as a third language. LEARN Journal: Language Education and Acquisition Research Network, 9(2), 105–121.
Wang, Y. (2018). Vocabulary-learning strategies of students learning Chinese as a foreign language in an intensive-training setting (Unpublished doctoral thesis). University of San Francisco, California.
Wu, W. (2005). Use and helpfulness rankings of vocabulary learning strategies employed by EFL learners in Taiwan. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 1(2), 7–13.
Yeşilbursa, A., & İpek, Ö. (2013). Why it is necessary to validate SILL? Procedia-Social and Behavioural Sciences, 70, 887-893.
Yeung, S. (2009). Is student-centered pedagogy impossible in Hong Kong? The case of inquiry in classrooms. Asia Pacific Education Review, 10(3), 377–386. doi: 10.1007/s12564-009-9028-x
Yin, J. (2003). Methods used by American college students in memorizing Chinese characters. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 38(3), 69–90.
Zare, P. (2012). Language learning strategies among EFL/ESL learners: A review of literature. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 2(5), 162–169.
Zarrin, S., & Khan, Z. (2014). A study of vocabulary learning strategies among undergraduate learners of A.M.U. US-China Foreign Language, 12(1), 75-82. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/ 319887743_The_Use_of_Vocabulary_Learning_Strategies_by_Thai_EFL_Learners_Studying_Vietnamese_as_a_Third_Language
Zimmerman, B., & Schunk, D. (2001). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.