A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION OF VOCABULARY LEARNING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY EST STUDENTS
Keywords:
Vocabulary learning strategies, English for Science and TechnologyAbstract
Vocabulary learning strategies for the present investigation have been defined as any set of techniques or learning behaviours, which students studying English for Science and Technology (ST) reported using in order to discover the meaning of a new word, and to retain the knowledge of newly-learned words. The present investigation is a preliminary study which has been designed to explore vocabulary learning strategies reported to be employed by the 133 EST university students in Northeast Thailand. No variables have been taken into consideration. The subjects of the study were sampled on the basis of convenience and availability. An open-ended strategy questionnaire was used as the main instrument for the data collection. The data obtained were analysed qualitatively in response to the purpose of the investigation. The findings of the research show that two different emergent categories have been reported which include 1) the strategies to discover the meaning of a new word; and 2) the strategies to retain the knowledge of newly-learned vocabulary items. The former comprises 10 individual strategies and the latter 11 individual strategies.
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