Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chapter 1
Introduction
Page
1.1 Background of the study 2

1.2 The rationale of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Statement of purpose 4

1.5 Significance of the study 5

1.6 The overview of thesis chapters 5

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

This chapter provides a general introduction as well as the rationale of the

study. In addition, it shows the statement of purpose and research questions which
focus on the ways to build vocabulary for fast reading improvement, and finally it
gives an overview of the significance and thesis chapters of this study.
1.1 Background of the study
Globalization is an element that brings about change in the world. One of
the remarkable aspects is language. English is the most widespread of the world’s
language today. It has been estimated that there are 300 million native speakers
and 300 million who use English as a second language and a further 100 million
use it as a foreign language. It is the language of science, aviation, computing,
diplomacy and tourism.
According to the website “Exforsys Inc Execution for System” addressed
http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/english-vocabulary/importance-of-english-
in-international-business, English is considered as an ideal language for
governments around the world, it is also prominent in business, education, world
news and education. Half of all business deals are conducted in English. Two
thirds of all scientific papers are written in English. Over 70 % of all post or mail is
written and addressed in English. Most international tourism, aviation and
diplomacy are conducted in English. Hence, learning English is extremely
important.
It is said that language is the words and phrases people use to communicate
with each other. Each language in the world may have tens of thousands of words,
if not hundreds of thousands. The more words that students know out of their
language, the more eloquently they will be able to communicate their ideas to other
people. They can open up a number of doors, especially when it comes to their
study and career.
Besides that, vocabulary is an element that educators will judge one’s
intelligence. When English learners speak to the others, and they properly use
words that are not spoken daily by the average person, they will convey the

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impression because they are learners who are educated and well - read. They will
also show that that they are great at carrying on a conversation. However, it must
be emphasized that having a good vocabulary involves more than just being able to
use fancy words when they speak. Vocabulary is very crucial and it is directly
related to a language.
What experts say about vocabulary and success :
“English vocabulary level has been shown to be strongly related to
educational success. In addition, it is related to the level of occupation attained”.
(Bowker, R.,1981).
“A rich vocabulary is a valuable asset and important attribute of success in
any walk of life….” ( Elley, W.B., 1988)
“ An extensive knowledge of the exact meanings of English words
accompanies outstanding success in this country more often than any other single
characteristic we have been able to isolate and measure” (O’ Connor, J., 1934 )
From the above mentioned issues, this thesis named “Suggested ways to
build vocabulary for fast reading improvement” is conducted. Hopefully, this
thesis is beneficial to E-major’s reading skills and academic performance at
university.
1. 2 The rationale of the study:
There are many underlying reasons why English majors seek to improve
their vocabulary. It could be a work situation or perhaps for social reasons.
However, the most important reason for building vocabulary in this study is that
students easily achieve the power of reading – they can read fast and effectively
thanks to their good vocabulary knowledge. Whatever the rationale behind
increasing word knowledge, English major students should be aware of general
obstacles they might confront. These obstacles are not very difficult to overcome.
It is important that they are aware of the difficulties, so they will not feel
inadequate as they begin the journey of improving their vocabulary.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Besides that, the rationale behind developing their vocabulary could be a

number of reasons. On a positive aspect, it does not matter who they are and what
they do, if they are determined to build their vocabulary, they can do it. Some of
the outstanding reasons E – majors should increase their word knowledge include:
 The message will be conveyed clearly and accurately;
 One’s overall communication is enhanced
 Reading comprehension is increased ;
 A rich vocabulary can help E-majors read fast and effectively;
 Often, a learner with a rich vocabulary is held in higher esteem and regard;
 A well – developed vocabulary increases your ability to solve problems
( Edgier, 1999).
1.4 Research questions
This research is carried out revolving around 3 fundamental questions as
follows:
 Are English majors at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking
University Ho Chi Minh City fully aware of the necessity of building
vocabulary for fast reading?
 What are the common obstacles which prevent English – major students
from reading fast? What is the correlation between vocabulary and fast
reading?
 What are the effective strategies for English majors to build their
vocabulary for fast reading improvement?
1. 5 Statement of purpose
There are 3 objectives in this research:
 Collecting E-major students’ opinions about issues regarding building
vocabulary for fast reading improvement.

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 Investigating the common difficulties students usually have to face with

when they read as well as affirm the important role of vocabulary on fast
reading.
 Proving that a rich vocabulary is very essential for E-major students at
Faculty of Foreign Languages, Banking University Ho Chi Minh City to
acquire fast reading and the practice and effectiveness of suggested ways for
enhancing new vocabulary.
1. 6 Significance of the study
 Learning how to build a better vocabulary can be a profitable investment of
both English majors’ time and effort. Effective methods for building
vocabulary can bring a rapid improvement in English - major students’
vocabulary skills and result in better fast reading.
 Acquiring a large vocabulary can benefit E-major students at university and
at work as well. It will enable to understand others’ ideas better and have
the satisfaction of getting thoughts across more effectively.
1. 7 The overview of thesis chapters
Chapter 1 discusses the background and rationales of the study, identifies its
objectives of finding ways to build vocabulary for improving students’ fast
reading.
Chapter 2 gives an insight into the recent views, claims and studies relating
to the relationship between vocabulary and fast reading in language acquisition.
Chapter 3 defines methodology utilized in the thesis, including a statement
of the research subjects, instrument and data collection procedure.
Chapter 4 starts with the results from questionnaires as well as the
background of further analysis. After that it reports and discusses the results related
to hypothesis which highlight the relationship between vocabulary and fast
reading.

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Chapter 5 deals with the overall conclusion to be drawn from this study. It
presents suggested ways to build vocabulary for E-majors in order to obtain better
fast reading.

Chapter 2:
Literature Review
Page
2.1 Introduction of Vocabulary 7
2.1.1 Definition of vocabulary 7
2.1.2 Different types of vocabulary 8
2.1.3 Definition of fast reading 9
2.1.4 The necessity of building vocabulary for fast reading
improvement 10
2.2 Previous researches related to this study 12

2.3 Summary 13

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In this chapter , all the recent views and studies revolving vocabulary and
fast reading as well as building vocabulary is a necessity for fast reading
improvement is mentioned.
2.1 Introduction of Vocabulary
2.1.1 Definition of vocabulary
According to linguistics definition, vocabulary has four basic concepts.
Firstly, it is defined as a listing, either selective or exhaustive, containing the words
and phrases of a language such as vocabulary of arm in 1862, vocabulary of new
denomination in 1821, vocabulary of dishes in 1825 and vocabulary to the
understanding in 1662, with the meaning or translation into another language or
glossary. Secondly, it is also the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of
a specified person, class and profession. Thirdly, it is all the words contained in a
language. Fourthly, it is a range or system of symbols, qualities, or techniques
constituting a means of communication or expression, as any of the arts or crafts
wide vocabulary of textures and colors.
Vocabulary is differently named from nation to nation. Some illustrations of
this are from Old French, vocabulary was called vocabulaire, or from Medieval
Latin we had vocabularium and vocabulary was also named vocabulum by Latin
language. Some famous quotes about vocabulary are: “Short words are the best and
old words when short are best of all” ( Churchchill, W., 2008); “ Prose, words in
their best order. Poetry, the best words in the best order” (Coleridge, S.T., 1827);
“The adjective is the banana peel of the parts of speech” (Fadiman,C., 2005); “
Man is a creature who lives not upon bread alone, but principally by catch words” (
Stevenson, R.L., 1850 – 1895 )

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There is no doubt that vocabulary plays an essential role in human life. An

extensive vocabulary aids expressions and communication. Vocabulary size has
been directly linked to reading comprehension. Particularly, it makes a significant
effect on the speed of reading. On the other hand, linguistic vocabulary is
synonymous with thinking vocabulary. It can be easily see that a learner may be
judged by others based on his or her vocabulary.
2.1.2 Different types of vocabulary
According to Pikulski and Templeton, there are four types of vocabulary. It
is thought that vocabulary is simple words, it is, however, delving a little deeper
than that. In order to develop vocabulary knowledge, students need to be aware of
four main different types of vocabulary (see Chart 2. 1)

Receptive
Vocabulary

Listenin
Speaking
g
Expressive Meaning/Oral
Vocabulary Vocabulary

Writing Reading

Literate/Written
Vocabulary

Chart 2.1: TYPES OF VOCABULARY

( Pikulski & Templeton , 2004, p.2).

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Expressive vocabulary consists of words that we can use when we speak or

write. Receptive vocabulary, on the other hand, refers to words we confront when
we listen or read (Allen, 2006). Most often, English students require their
expressive vocabulary knowledge to be far greater than their receptive vocabulary.
With receptive vocabulary, English learners are receiving information and do not
require as much understanding. This is, they can often comprehend the gist of what
another person is saying without understanding every word in a sentence or
conversation. This is especially true because they understand a spoken message
with non verbal language and context clues. On the other hand, both listening and
speaking are referred to oral vocabulary (Pikulski & Templeton, 2004). Apart from
word meanings, oral vocabulary particularly relies upon correct pronunciation.
Confusion and misunderstanding can result when words are pronounced
incorrectly. Hearing a word said wrongly, or listening to a word that is not spoken
by the way it is spelt, is often one of the largest issues for non – English speakers.
This study is about “Suggested ways to build vocabulary for fast reading
improvement”, therefore it mainly focuses on Receptive, Literate/ Written
Vocabulary.
2.1.3 Definition of fast reading
According to the website Wikia Education addressed “http://
psychology.wikia.com/wiki/”, fast reading refers to a way of reading rapidly by
assimilating several words or phrases at a glance or by skimming, or reading at
speed significantly faster than normal. Fast reading is also a collection of reading
methods which attempts to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing
comprehension or retention. There is an absolute distinction between “normal
reading” and “fast reading”. Fast reading needs less time but more effort than
normal reading; however, fast readers need to understand the content profoundly,
too. Fast reading is also characterized by an analysis of trade-offs between
measures of speed and comprehension rates, and that those rates can be improved
by practice. Much controversy is raised over this point. This is mainly because a

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reading comprehension level of 50% is deemed unable by some educationalists

(Carver, 1992).
Fast reading advocator claimed “It is great success” and even stated that “It
is a demonstration of good comprehension for many purposes” (Buzan, 2000). The
trade-off between speed and comprehension must be analyzed with respect to the
type of reading that is being done, the risks associated with mis-understanding due
to low comprehension, and the benefits associated with getting through material
quickly and gaining information at the actual rate it is obtained.
It is easy to read at a rapid rate when the readers are coming across familiar
territory _ familiar words. In fact, students can slow down their speed when they
face with difficult material. Words, difficult passages, and a lack of adequate time
are estimated three of the most common reading obstacles. When coming across a
word which makes the readers hardly understand, slow down and then pick up the
pace again and continue to accelerate reading speed. As moving on, the meaning of
the word either becomes apparent when taken in the context. As readers’ brain
processes the paragraph, they can usually gain the meaning that is at first,
completely unknown to them. Learning to adjust fast reading, slow down for
important elements and difficult materials, and then speed up over familiar words.
Fast reading bases on the content, time available and readers’ intention or purpose
in reading.
2.1.4 The necessity of building vocabulary for fast reading improvement
Vocabulary is considered as one of the most important components which
leads to the improvement and effectiveness of fast reading. The need to build
vocabulary is not limited to generalized social groupings. Vocabulary development
is required by a wide cross section of society. The groups that often find the need
to increase their vocabulary are college students and university students. Despite
possessing a large number of vocabulary and gaining the contextual knowledge
that assist understanding, college students and university students, particularly E –
major students still find that they are required to improve their vocabulary.

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The benefits of acquiring a rich vocabulary:

 E-major students are able to communicate and express their concepts and
thoughts in a clearer and more accurate manner.
 A million vocabulary will help the readers excel and make college and
university students stand out.
 Reading important documents becomes easier, faster and more enjoyable;
Moreover , general communication is improved.
Reading can be difficult to carry on at a rapid speed if a reader keeps on
coming across words that he or she does not understand or know what the
meanings are. That is the reason why it is so important for English learners who
want to improve speed reading skills is to improve their vocabulary knowledge.
Improving vocabulary is one of the factors that E-major students need to make a
continual effort on improving instead of just doing it one time and getting over it,
because for example E-major students would not get very much value out of sitting
down and reading dictionary before they begin to learn to speed read. The best
benefit the learners will get from increasing their vocabulary is that they can also
increase their reading speed at the same time. It is believed that the bigger their
vocabulary is, the faster they will be able to read.
Basically, vocabulary is important in word recognition – readers use
pronunciation and meanings of words in their oral vocabulary to help them
recognize words they see in print. They use trial pronunciation – if they find a
match and it makes sense, they resume reading. Vocabulary is important to reading
comprehension. Understanding individual words supports general understanding
of passages.
Vocabulary is also essential for reading to learn as well as learning to read.
Vocabulary acquisition is crucial to academic development. Students need good
word knowledge to succeed in basic skills, they need specialized vocabulary to
learn the content of material.

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2.2 Previous researches related to this study

According to Tunar and William (2007) studies revealed that students’
knowledge of vocabulary can predict their achievement rate. Some ideas for
improving vocabulary include:
Practicing and repeating (verbal and written); Thinking about the word,
what it does mean, and how can readers use it; Constructing a library of new
words. This should consist of index cards with the word and variations (such as
simple and past tense, meaning and sentence use).
Besides that, according to McAndrews (2008), some techniques for
developing receptive vocabulary include:
 Being surrounded with rich vocabulary;
 Actually hearing words from the context;
 Having access to English and family language models;
 Actively responding to words; and being able to classify sounds.
McAndrews (2008) also suggested to build vocabulary, learners should:
 Surround and immerge themselves in rich vocabulary;
 Being around limited vocabulary will not provide the scope that is needed to
develop;
 It is better if the learners hear words in context so they can learn the
different meanings and how they are used;
It is beneficial if students hear and also have the opportunity to respond.
This reinforces knowledge and provides a greater understanding. Being able to

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hear, comprehend, analyze, and then produce a word in the form of reply will
improve vocabulary.
Turner and Williams (2007) suggested that practice and repetition in both
verbal and written forms of vocabulary assist in improvement. Even in its spoken
form, vocabulary knowledge involves knowing the different meanings of a word;
how to use the word properly; fundamental forms and derivations; associations
with other words; and any associated rules (Tekman & Daloglu, 2006).
Knowing a word can be broken down into two types:
 Receptive – the students have the ability to identify a word when they hear
it spoken or read; and
 Productive – the students can produce the word when they write and speak
it ( Tekman & Daloglu, 2006 )
Vocabulary knowledge can also refer to the number of words a person
knows and the depth at which the word is known (Tekman & Daloglu, 2006). It is
common to hear and read words that English learners recognize but do not possess
a thorough understanding. This is where context clues assist comprehension in
both the written and spoken environment.
2. 3 Summary
This chapter provides a review of the literature relating vocabulary and fast
reading. It also points out the reasons why building vocabulary is a necessity for
improving fast reading. The next chapter will describe the research methodology
used to conduct this study.

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Chapter 3:
Research Methodology
3.1 Research Subject 15

3.2 Methodology 16
3.2.1 Survey 16
3.2.2 Statistical analysis 17
3.3 Research Instrument 18

3.4 Data collection procedures 19

3.5 Possible outcomes 19

3.5.1 The necessity of improving vocabulary 19
3.5.2 Several obstacles E – major students have to confront when
reading 20
3.5.3 The drawbacks derived from students’ studying style 21

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3.6 Limitations of the study 21

3.7 Summary 22

In this chapter, the tools and techniques generated in the research as well as
the ways to analyze all kinds of information are carefully explained.
3.1 Research Subject
The subjects of this study consist of 100 students of Foreign Languages
Faculty, Banking University HCM City. They major in English for Banking and
Finance. Their age is at a range of 18 to 23. Most of them started to learn English
when they were at secondary school. In their curriculum, they mainly focus on four
skills in English such as speaking, reading, writing and listening. Besides that, they
are also trained with translation, interpretation, American and English culture,
American and English literature. Moreover, they are taught several subjects related
to Banking and Finance. Some illustrations of this are: English for Bank
Accounting, English for Stock Market, English for International Payment, etc…To
make a good academic performance at university, students need to have knowledge
of English, especially it is essential for them to master vocabulary. Hence, they
easily access to difficult materials and they can learn from these materials if they
have a large number of vocabulary.
Table 3.1 The profile of subject
Class The number of students
25AV 20
24AV 20
23AV 30
22AV 30

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The subjects are randomly chosen from each above class. It can be easy to
see that the amount of time each class spent on learning English is very different
due to different syllabuses. The results which collected from the survey are
expected to be diversified. Therefore, the findings from the survey are much more
accurate and useful to this thesis.
In this study, the main subjects this thesis focuses on are students from 23
AV and 22 AV. It can be easily understood because most of third – year students
and fourth – year students have to deal with a variety of English material with lots
of unforeseen words or the level of difficulty is much more than those of first –
year and second – year students. The subjects are very important for the writer’s
study because through their responses, the researcher can evaluate their progress
within a couple of years at Faculty of Foreign Languages and the ways they
enhance vocabulary for fast reading.
3.2 Methodology
There are two main methods utilized in order to achieve the set goals of this
thesis.
3.2.1 Survey
According to the website It’s About.com : Psychology addressed
http://psychology.about.com/od/researchmethods/f/survey, a survey is defined as a
data collection tool used to gather information about individuals. Surveys are
commonly used in psychology research to collect self – report data from study
participants. A survey may focus on factual information about individuals, or it
may aim to collect opinions of the survey takers.
A survey can be conducted in a couple of different ways. In one method
known as a structured interview, the researcher asks each participant the questions.
In other method known as questionnaire, the participants fill out the survey on their
own.

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Survey generally standardized is also important to ensure that it has

reliability and validity. Standardization is also important so that the results can be
generalized to the larger population.
Some significant benefits that survey brings to the researcher:
 Survey allows the researcher to collect a large amount of data in a relatively
short period of time.
 Survey is less expensive than any other data collection techniques.
 Survey can be created quickly and administered.
 Survey can be used to collect information on a wide range of things,
including personal facts, attitudes, past behaviors and opinions.
The research applied this methodology by using one instrument. It is questionnaire
for students to collect their opinions about the importance of vocabulary on fast
reading as well as ways to build vocabulary for improving fast reading. Details of
this instrument will be presented in the next chapter
3.2.2 Statistical analysis
During this phase, the researcher tried to analyze data collected from the
survey participants applying statistical methods, mainly descriptive statistics.
According the website Research Methods Knowledge Base addressed
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/kb/statdesc.php, descriptive statistics are
used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. They provide a simple
summary about the samples and the measures. Together with simple graphic
analysis, they form the basic of virtually every quantitive analysis of data.
Descriptive statistics are used to present quantitive descriptions in a manageable
form. In a study, the researcher may have lots of different measures or may have
measure a large number of participants on any measure. Descriptive statistics help
the researcher simplify large amounts of data in a sensible way. Each descriptive
statistic reduces lots of data into a simpler summary. Every time the researchers try
to describe a large set of observations with a single indicator they can take the risk
of distorting the original data or losing important detail. Even given certain

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limitations, descriptive statistics provide a powerful summary that may enable

comparisons across people or other units.
According to the website Wikipedia _ The Free Encyclopedia addressed
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descriptive_statistics, descriptive statistics are used to
describe main features of a collection of data in quantitive terms. Descriptive
statistics are distinguished from inductive statistics in which they aim to
quantitively summarize a data set, rather than being used to support statements
about the population that the data is thought to represent. Even when data analysis
draws its main conclusions using inductive statistical analysis, descriptive statistics
are generally presented along with more formal analysis, to give the audience an
overall sense of the data being analyzed. The current study’s findings discovered
by using descriptive statistics will help answer the research questions raised in
chapter one.
3.3 Research instrument:
Questionnaire is defined as an effective way to gather data from a
potentially large number of respondents. Often it is the only feasible way to reach a
number of reviewers large enough to allow statistically analysis of the results. A
well- designed questionnaire that is used effectively can collect information on
both the overall performance of the test system as well as information specific
components of the system.
It is important to remember questionnaire should be viewed as a multi –
stage process beginning with the definition of the aspects to be examined and
ending with interpretation of the results. Every step needs to be designed carefully
because the final results are only as good as the weakest link in the questionnaire
process.
The questionnaire used in this study can help to build up the valuable
information as well as clarify the facts for this study. The questionnaire consists of
two main parts: (1) information of the research participants’ background together
with their English levels, and (2) the participants’ opinions and attitudes about

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issues concerning vocabulary and fast reading as well as ways to build up

vocabulary for fast reading improvement. The questionnaire for English majors has
thirteen questions. Some of the questions in the questionnaire are designed to be
open – ended to serve the purpose of expanding responses. Questionnaire is the
main instrument aiming to obtain the set goals of this study. The findings of the
questionnaires will be discussed and analyzed in the next chapter.

3.4 Data collection procedures

Data collected for this study came from questionnaire survey. Data was
collected for over 6 weeks from the beginning of April to the middle of May. After
the gist of the study was conducted and all revisions were set up, the researcher
began to hand out the questionnaires to survey participants. The procedures of data
collection are all recorded in the Table 3.2 below:
No Time Time to complete People to contact
1 Week 1 Contact supervisor Supervisor
2 Week 2 Obtain permission Head of Foreign
for the study Languages
Department
3 Week 3 – 4 Carry out the gist 100 students of the
of the study, Faculty of Foreign
administer the Languages
questionnaire
4 Week 5 – 6 Data analysis
End of the study

Table 3.2 Procedure of data collection

3. 5Possible outcomes
3.5.1 The necessity of improving vocabulary
Vocabulary plays an important part in learning to read. Vocabulary is also
very essential for reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand what they are

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reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As students learn to read
more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of
their oral vocabulary.
It is thought if a language is a house, vocabulary will be as construction
material to build up that house. Furthermore, knowing vocabulary of a language is
a minimum self – requirement for those who want to learn a foreign language.
Hence, it is definite that building vocabulary is very necessary for fast reading.
The students at the Faculty of Foreign Languages themselves recognize that
vocabulary is one of the most important elements that may affect the speed of
reading significantly. Moreover, students hardly understand the passage well with
their poor vocabulary knowledge. In this thesis, fast reading not only indicates the
speed of reading but also refers to the way of understanding the passages.
If students have a large number of vocabularies in their mind, they can
easily adapt to difficult materials. Additionally, they can increase their reading
speed. Therefore, vocabulary is considered to be very important for students who
want to read well and have good academic results at university.
3.5.2 Several obstacles E – major students have to confront when
reading
Words, difficult passages as well as a lack of adequate time are expected 3
common obstacles that students have to deal with when they carry out reading
texts. Among them, unforeseen words or new vocabularies are considered the
most common one because vocabularies totally carry the meaning of the passages.
One of the most persistent findings in reading research is that the extent of
students’ vocabulary knowledge relates strongly to their reading comprehension
and overall academic success (Backer, 1977; Davis, 1942; Whipple, 1925). The
relationship seems logical; to get meaning from what they read, students need both
good knowledge of vocabulary and the ability to use various strategies to find out
the meaning of new words when they encounter them.

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However, in this study students do not have very large vocabularies or

effective words as well as learning strategies to achieve comprehension.
Thus, an extensive vocabulary is the bridge between the word – level
processes of phonics and the cognitive processes of comprehension (Kamil &
Hiebert, in press).

3.5.3 The drawbacks derived from students’ studying style

The obstacles which most of students have to face with during the time they
are reading derived from themselves. Particularly, it is their self – evaluation and
learning style. It can be an active style or a passive style. They learn the words
when they come across or they learn it in advance. They enhance their vocabulary
every day or some times a week. The time they read English material is enough or
not.
Although students recognize the importance of vocabulary, it is estimated
that most of them do not spend much time on word – learning. Also, the time
students spent on reading is not much. If students who study vocabulary every day,
they can easily improve their rate of reading or they can understand the content of
passage within a short time of reading.
3.6 Limitations of the study
Although the researcher made her best effort to carry out this study, it still
has several limitations. Firstly, this research has been based on the aspect of
interest only – The students’ interest toward building vocabulary for improving
fast reading. Additionally, a lot of related studies are necessarily conducted to get
more convincing findings.
Secondly, the instrument used in this study is only questionnaire. It lacks of
interview or other different instruments such as telephone, mail and etc… If there
are more instruments employed in this study, the results could be more persuasive.
Thirdly, it is quite limited that the 100 participants in this study were
selected from the Faculty of Foreign Languages, BU HCM City, the samples are

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not extensive, consequently the results cannot be over – generalized. If the

examination was extended to a larger number of students and to a broader range,
the feasibility and probability of the study would be higher.
The researcher is also English – major student who belongs to the same
faculty of the participants; therefore, in order to avoid the subjective results, the
recommendation for the future research can be conducted by triangulation, i.e.…,
various resources, instruments and methods.
As a result, the researcher would like to conduct more background
variables, that are years of study English, whether they spend their time on
studying English or English vocabulary, whether they are aware of motivation and
targets in learning English, and their self – evaluation of suggested ways for
improving fast reading.
3.7 Summary
This chapter discusses the methodology for this study. Besides that,
research instrument, research subject as well as data collection procedures are also
presented clearly in this study. Finally, the researcher presents the possible
outcome and limitations after carrying out the survey.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chapter 4:
Results and Discussion
4.1 Results 24

4.2 Discussion 39

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

This chapter is going to analyze and discuss the responses to the survey
questionnaires from E – major students. On the modest scale of a Bachelor’s thesis,
descriptive statistics will be mainly employed to demonstrate the correlation
between vocabulary and fast reading, and to find out the opinions and attitudes of
E – majors at the Faculty of Foreign Languages about the correlation between
vocabulary and fast reading, strategies for deriving word meanings as well as ways
to build vocabulary for fast reading improvement.
4.1 Results
Survey questionnaire comprises 13 questions aiming to find out the figures
about the following issues:
(1) Students’ English background as well as their input and output English levels
(2) Surveyed students’ attitudes towards the crucial role of vocabulary in reading
comprehension
(3) Students’ opinions about fast reading issue and its related common obstacles
(4) The common reasons resulting in students’ obstacles when reading and
elements that affect the students’ rate of reading
(5) Students’ evaluations on some suggested strategies for deriving word
meanings to obtain fast reading and several ways to build vocabulary for fast
reading improvement
The analysis of results collected from the survey is presented below:

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

 Students’ English background as well as their input and output

English levels

Points of time E - majors began to study English

4%
14%

Primary School
Secondary School
High School

82%

Chart 4.1 : Points of time E- majors began to study English

Most of E – major students started learning English when they were at
secondary school. Strongly over three – fourths of students (82%) learned English
at secondary school as it is a compulsory subject at most of Vietnamese national
secondary school. In particular,10 first – year students, 16 second – year students,
26 fourth – year students and all of third – year students (30 students) began
learning English at secondary school. The data also shows that only 4 fourth- year
students ( equal to 4%) began studying English at high school because English was
not taught at their secondary school at that time. The other proportion - 14 %

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

consists of 10 first – year students and 4 second year students who studied
English at primary school. This is illustrated in chart 4.1

Students' English input levels

Advanced 10

Upper - Intermediate 20
Level

Intermediate 70

Pre - intermediate 0

Elementary 0

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
The number of students

Chart 4.2 Students’ English input levels

Students' English output levels

Advanced 30

Upper - Intermediate 30
Level

Intermediate 40

Pre - intermediate 0

Elementary 0

0 10 20 30 40 50
The number of students

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chart 4.3 Students’ English output levels

The charts 4.2 and 4.3 clearly present the English input and output levels of
the surveyed E – majors. There is a considerable difference between chart 4.1 and
chart 4.2. As can be seen from the charts, there is a variety of English proficiency
of students taking part in this study. Basically, students at the Faculty of Foreign
Languages are very good at English because it is a fact that their major at
university is English and they are also taught other subjects related to English, so
they must have a good knowledge of English for their pathway to be well –
performed English students at BU. The data above can prove for this. It is easy to
see the highest number of students’ English input levels generated by intermediate.
It accounts for 70 students, equivalent to 70 %. The other 20 students have upper -
intermediate level, equivalent to 20 %. Just 10 students are advanced English
learners.
The English levels of students change profoundly after a certain time. An
illustration of this is the number of intermediate English students decreases to 40
students whereas the number of upper – intermediate students increases to 30
students, 10 students in difference. Moreover, the number of advanced English
students rises dramatically. The amount of advanced English learners accounts for
30%, increased by 20 students, equal to 20% compared to the chart 4.2 Students’
English input levels. Both of the charts show that there is no student who is
elementary English learner.
Actually, the levels here are evaluated by the English major students
themselves. As for English major students, the findings here are considerably
accurate as there is a regulation on the standard of English proficiency set by
Foreign Languages Faculty. Students specializing in English have to accomplish
the intermediate proficiency in the first and second year, the upper intermediate

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

level in the third year and advanced level in the last year. Before being students of
Foreign Languages Faculty, at least 7 years of acquiring English, a compulsory
subject incorporated into national curriculum from grade six to grade twelve, the
students can obtain a considerably basic knowledge in this field. Additionally, after
being equipped with a professional English program delivered by whole – hearted
and enthusiastic lecturers at university, English students achieve more fluency in
this subject. However, with a limited academic time at school, they are not
provided enough practice time for what they have study in theory. For instance,
when students attend reading lesson, all the time they spend on reading but not
usually spend time on figuring out the element leading to read fast and effectively.
Thus, it would be interesting to conduct the study to find out the ways to build
vocabulary for improving fast reading.
 Students’ attitudes towards the crucial role of vocabulary in reading
comprehension
The figures from the survey show that most of English students have a deep
understanding about the linguistic definition of vocabulary. Importantly, the charts
4.4 and 4.5 below present students’ thoughts about the crucial role of vocabulary in
reading comprehension and its levels of importance.
Most of students think that vocabulary plays an important role in reading
comprehension. Eighty five percent of students strongly agree with this. Ten
percent of students agree and just five percent of students is neutral. They cannot
decide whether vocabulary is crucial for reading comprehension or not. This is
presented clearly in the chart 4.4 below.
.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

The students' attitudes about the crucial role of

vocabulary in reading comprehension
90 85
80
70
60
The number of 50
students 40
30
20
10
10 5
0 0
0
Strongly Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly
agree disagree
Students' attitudes

Chart 4.4: The Students' attitudes about the crucial role of vocabulary in
reading comprehension
In order to clarify the crucial role of vocabulary in reading comprehension,
the survey also aims to investigate students’ evaluation about the level of
importance of vocabulary in understanding a reading comprehension. The data is
presented in detail in the pie chart 4.5.

10%

15%

very important
48%
important
fairly important
a little bit important

27%

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chart 4.5 The students' evaluation about the importance of vocabulary in

understanding a reading comprehension
Based on the pie chart, nearly half of students (48%) recognize the very
important role of vocabulary in understanding a reading comprehension. A large
vocabulary is thought to be an asset to readers. In fact, we have known for many
decades that vocabulary is a strong indicator of reading comprehension (Anderson
&Freebody, 1981; Davis, 1944; Singer, 1965 ). The other students also think
vocabulary is important but it is possible that the other factors are more important
than vocabulary to understand reading comprehension.
From the analysis above, most of students think that vocabulary plays an
essential role in reading comprehension. However, it is an interesting issue whether
students’ English vocabulary levels are good enough to understand a
comprehension deeply and quickly or not.
Surprisingly, the data shows that nearly 90% of English students are not
satisfied with their vocabulary knowledge. It means they have intention to enhance
their English skills as well as English vocabulary for the convenience of reading.
 Students’ ideas about fast reading issue and its related common
obstacles
It is certain that vocabulary has a strong relationship with reading
comprehension. If readers have large vocabulary, it is easier for them to understand
a reading comprehension. However, the survey partly aims to explore the
respondents’ opinions about fast reading – a considerably new academic concept in
English major students’ curriculum.
Definition SA A N D SD

Reading at speed significantly faster 46 43 11 0 0

than normal

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Fast reading needs less time but more 51 40 9 0 0

effort than normal reading

Table 4.1 The definition of fast reading

The data from the table 4.1 implies most of English majors understand the
definition of fast reading correctly.
It can be seen from the table 4.1 that most of students have the correct
responses to the definition of fast reading. If they understand what fast reading
means, they will get better results when reading than the others.
Fast reading seems to be not a new issue with students. However, it is not
easy for ESL students to read fast because words are born everyday. Each word
can have different meanings when put in different contexts. Therefore, students
possibly face with several common obstacles which prevent them from reading at a
rapid rate. The data from the pie chart 4.6 will illustrate for this.

8% 0%
Words

Difficult passages
22%
A lack of adequate
time
50%
Complex grammar

Other

20%

Chart 4. 6 The obstacles that students have to face when reading

fast
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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

It can be easily seen that “words” is the striking factor that results in English
students’ obstacles when they read. It accounts for 50% - considerably high
proportion. The other two elements are difficult passages and a lack of adequate
time, accounting for 20 % and 22 % respectively. The final one is complex
grammar. Some of students think complex grammar prevents them from reading
fast and effectively. It just accounts for 8%. Hence, three common obstacles which
students have to face when they read fast are words, difficult messages and a lack
of adequate time.
 The common reasons resulting in students’ obstacles when reading fast
and elements that affect the students’ rate of reading
The two pie charts 4.7 and 4.8 clarify the reasons why most of English
students get into trouble when reading at a rapid rate.
In order to better fast reading, students should have reading English material
frequently besides their learning at university. However, English students do not
spend much time on reading English material regularly. The chart 4.7 illustrates
students’ frequency of reading English materials.

6%
14%
30%

1 - 3 times

4 - 6 times

7 - 9 times

10 times or
more
50%

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chart 4.7 The frequency of reading English material

The data presents English students do not read English materials regularly.
It is expected they should spend more time on reading. The statistics are shown in
the chart 4.7 clearly. 30% of students read for 1 to 3 times per week. It makes up
a high proportion. The less time they read, the more obstacles they will have when
they read because it is not easy to find out the meaning of the passages. Half of the
students read English material from 4 to 6 times every week. Just 14 % of students
read from 7 to 9 times a week. Only 6 percent read for 10 times or more weekly.
They are supposed to read more as they are English majors and the time they read
is expected much more than the other students. The less they read, the more
difficulties they could get when reading is a certainty.

9% 10%

14%
Less than 1 hour
23% 1 - 2 hours
3- 4 hours
5 - 6 hours
More than 6 hours

44%
Chart 4.8: The amount of time students spent on studying vocabulary per week

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Based on the chart 4.8, the time students spend on vocabulary learning per
week is not high. Just 9% of students spend more than 6 hours on studying.
Unexpectedly, 10 % of surveyed students spend less than 1 hour for studying
vocabulary. Additionally, 23% of students study from 1 to 2 hours per week.
Around half of surveyed students – 44% spend from 3 to 4 hours on vocabulary
learning. It means that E – majors do not often study vocabulary. If they spend
more time on enhancing their vocabulary, they will meet less obstacles while they
are reading than the others who do not.
Summarily, both chart 4.7 and 4.8 give deep insights in the reasons why
most of students have difficulties in fast reading. There are two considerable cases.
Firstly, it is shown that English do not often spend time on reading English
material whereas reading brings us countless benefits. Reading broadens our mind
and certainly, our vocabulary can also increase. It could be at first students read a
difficult passage with lots of new vocabulary and cannot guess the meaning;
however, the other next times they read, these words can be familiar with them, so
they can guess the meaning and save time getting stuck in these difficult words.
Secondly, English students do not usually spend time on learning vocabulary
weekly. When they were the English beginners, they usually learned new words.
Some of them wrote down on their notebook and reviewed these words everyday.
They spent time on learning vocabulary considerably. However, the learning time
has decreased significantly when their English levels are higher.
Regarding this issue, the chart 4.9 below presents clearly the elements that
affect the students’ rate of reading. The results indicate that the content of the
passages is the most important factor, accounting for more than 50 % of students,
the next common factor is time available. The percentage is up to 27% and the last
one is readers’ purposes or intention to read (23%).

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

The content of the

27% passages

Time available

53% Readers' purposes

or intention in
reading

20%

Chart 4.9 The elements affecting student rates of reading

 Students’ evaluations on some suggested strategies for deriving word

meanings to obtain fast reading and several ways to build vocabulary
for fast reading improvement

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Another aim of the survey is to investigate students’ evaluation on the

feasibility of below recommended strategies for deriving word meanings.

the meaning words from the context

The comparison among three suggested ways for
deriving the word meaning from the context

70 66
58
60
52
50

The number 40
28 30
of students 30
24
20 14
10 8
Excellent 10
Good 0 0 0
0
Fair Look Reread Read
Poor within the previous ahead for
sentence sentences more
clues
Three suggested ways

Chart 4.10: The comparison among three suggested ways for deriving the word
meaning from the context
The chart 4.10 demonstrates that the three suggested ways are evaluated
from fair to excellent. The rates of judgement fluctuate among these strategies. To
have a deep analysis, we break it into small issues:
The data shows that looking within the sentence is favored by most of
students. 66 % of students think it is an excellent way to know the meaning of the
words. The other strategies are also favorized by many students, 58 % and 52%
respectively.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

The comparison among three suggested ways for deriving the

meaning words by looking in the word

60 56
Excellent
50 46
42 Good
40
32 Fair
The number of 30
30 26
students 24 24 Poor
20
20

10

0
Look for Look for base Look for root
prefixes and words words
suffixes
Students' attitutes

Chart 4.11: The comparison among three suggested ways for deriving the
meaning words by looking in a word
The figures show that all three suggested strategies for deriving the meaning
of the words by looking in the words give the clear evidence of their effectiveness.
Among three suggestions, deriving the meaning of the words by “look for base
words” and “look for root words” are chosen by most of students.
Finally but importantly, the questionnaire also includes some ways to build
vocabulary for fast reading improvement. The survey can find out the level of
effectiveness and practice of suggested ways for building vocabulary by students’
self – evaluation.

Ways to build vocabulary VE ME SE SI MI VI

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

(%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)

Learning associated word together 25 16 10 17 18 17
Using picture and diagram 21 25 17 18 19 0
Organizing a vocabulary notebook 20 27 26 13 14 0
Expanding vocabulary through 17 28 19 14 15 7
analogies
Guessing the meaning from the context 26 49 8 8 9 0
Learning from dictionary 22 31 9 17 14 7
Using flashcards 25 48 16 6 5 0

Table 4.2: The effectiveness of suggested ways to build vocabulary for fast
reading improvement
According to the data from table 4.2, we can see easily that each of the
recommended ways prove its different degree of practice and effectiveness. Each
way is favored differently by students. They apply them in their studying strategies
for vocabulary enhancement. However, it is interesting to find out among the seven
suggested ways, “guessing the meaning from the context”; “organizing a
vocabulary notebook”; and “using picture and diagram” are the most effective
studying methods evaluated by surveyed students. In contrast, the other ways such
as “Learning associated word together”; “Expanding vocabulary through
analogies” and “ Learning from dictionary” are evaluated less efficient than the
other methods. In reality, every above mentioned ways can help the learners to
build their vocabulary efficiently if they know how to study and how to
incorporate these methods because each method has its own advantages and
disadvantages.

4.2 Discussion:
To check the anticipated hypotheses, a variety of statistical analysis is
computed. The results indicate that vocabulary is very essential for fast reading
improvement. It is definite that rich vocabulary knowledge is an efficient tool to

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approach the way of reading fast. The data also gives the evidence of the
effectiveness of several suggested ways to build vocabulary for fast reading. Major
findings from this study are summarized as follows:
First of all, data from the survey also proves that most of students have a
deep understanding about the definition of vocabulary and fast reading. They
recognize that vocabulary has a closed – knit relationship with fast reading. It can
be shown via the three most popular obstacles students have to face when they
read. Half of students supposed vocabulary is the most common reason preventing
them from reading fast. Without rich vocabulary knowledge, they hardly read fast
and efficiently. Indeed, for many decades, vocabulary is a strong indicator of
reading comprehension (Anderson & Freebody, 1981; Davis, 1944; Singer, 1965).
Therefore, it is easy to get stuck in a reading comprehension because of poor
vocabulary. It takes them more time to read than the others who have good
vocabulary knowledge. The only way to obtain fast reading is spending time on
enhancing their size of vocabulary.
Secondly, the survey also finds out the following reasons that lead to their
difficulties in reading fast:
 Most of E – major students do not spend most of their time on reading
English material, therefore the writer finds it very difficult for them to be
adaptive to a reading comprehension with lots of new words.
 Although many students do study vocabulary every week, the amount of
time for word learning is not an impressive number. The amount of time
differs from one student to other students because of their study at
university. This reason also results in their common obstacles when they
want to read fast.
From the above drawbacks, the survey recommends several ways for
students to limit the obstacles and approach to fast reading. Most of students agree
that the suggested ways can be effective and beneficial for them to improve their
vocabulary.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

It is easy to see that the seven ways to build vocabulary, all of them are
evaluated to be efficient. However, different methods have different level of
effectiveness through the evaluations of English major students. Students can
choose a specific way to enhance their vocabulary but if they want to improve their
vocabulary efficiently they can apply different ways, not just a way. It can bring
them an exciting environment when they study and help them have a long term
memory of words. The same way all the time will cause boredom and finally they
will give up their target.
Among the seven suggested way, “guessing the meaning from the context”
is evaluated as the best efficient way. The students think that it can help them learn
easily and remember longer. “Learning associated words together” and
“Expanding vocabulary through analogies” are assessed as less effective ones.
They are thought to be surprising figures. Expanding vocabulary through analogies
is possibly an effective way; however, it is not very common way used by English
students. It seems to be very new and some of students have not heard about this
way before. If English students take notice about this way, they will recognize the
numerous advantages of this way in the curriculum of second academic year at
university. If the students know how to apply this method in their vocabulary
strategy they will have a great success in studying vocabulary for fast reading.
Besides that, the other five ways are effective, too. However, how to apply and
how to study efficiently for improving fast reading are outstanding issues which
students should pay more attention to. This can be shown specifically in the last
chapter.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Chapter 5
Recommendations and Conclusion
5.1 Recommendations 42
5.2.1 English Vocabulary Builder 42
5.2.2 Strategy for deriving word meanings 43
5.2.3 Suggested ways to build vocabulary for fast reading
improvement 46
5.3 Conclusion 56

5.1 Recommendations:
5.1.1 English Vocabulary Builder: An Important Element for
Successful Learning

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Building English vocabulary is feasible and effective with suitable learning

tools and strategies. There are a number of general techniques that are used by
those enhancing vocabulary and act as an English vocabulary builder.
Implementing these within learners’ approach and they will definitely achieve the
results.
To enhance vocabulary development, there are four elements in learning
strategy that will improve your vocabulary knowledge: active learning; purpose;
context; and scaffolding (McCaffery et al. , 2007 ).
Active learning can be seen as the opposite to passive learning. As an
English vocabulary builder, it increases long – term retention. Rather than sitting
back and passively taking in vocabulary, students should interact with the words
and words exercises. It is one of the most effective ways to increase vocabulary
knowledge.
Learning for a purpose is another learning strategy that enhances vocabulary
development (McCaffery et al, 2007). Prior to beginning, learners should be
mindful of their goal. What do they want to take away from their learning? Do they
want to learn a specialized vocabulary or a general level of vocabulary? Learning
with a purpose in mind will help them focus on their intended goals and increase
their learning.
Context is also important as an English vocabulary builder. Learning within
an environment where the vocabulary is used can greatly assist English learners’
learning experience. Placing importance on surrounding content and sentences also
enhances students’ learning.
Scaffolding is another technique that can be used to develop English
vocabulary. Scaffolding occurs within a structured environment (McCaffery et al,
2007). It uses additional learning aids to reach a specific goal. In other words, it is
planned and structured learning. To assist learning, scaffolding can involve the
usage of questioning. Learners are asked to define words using their own
descriptions or in presentations.

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

It is also extremely important that learners incorporate knowledge they

already possess to act as an English vocabulary builder (Manyak, 2007). That is,
drawing upon past life experiences and their knowledge of similar groupings of
words to assist learning.
Manyak (2007) suggests that existing vocabulary skills in one language
should not be considered as an impediment to learn English vocabulary. Instead,
they should be viewed as helpful. Students can heavily rely upon existing
knowledge and life experience. They can put it in good usage when learning
English vocabulary.
5.1.2 Strategies for deriving word meanings
“To read and not understand is not to read at all” is considered as a very
famous saying by Mathews (1966).
To acquire a speed of reading and a deep understanding of a passage or a
comprehension, it is very crucial that English major students have a good reading
background as well as vocabulary. Improving one’s vocabulary is thought to be a
necessary part of life. Sometimes a difficult passage or a comprehension leaves
ESL learners a sense of awkwardness or confusion as to what they read with their
poor vocabulary. On an optimistic aspect, there are methods for working out
words’ meaning and to improve vocabulary. They are not difficult to apply band E
– majors as well as ESL learner can put them into practice.
One of the certain ways to develop vocabulary is to actively work out word
meanings. Students should not try to rush to the reference material, analyze the
word and discover meanings on their own first. Not only will this give them self –
confidence, but it also enhance long – term retention. This process is called active
learning. It contrasts to passive learning where the student sits back and it is
essentially a sponge.
Active learning will allow us to obtain richer vocabulary knowledge in a
less period of time. It will equip us with the tools required to work out word
meanings without actually having knowledge of the word. Chart 5.1 will

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demonstrate an excellent strategy for deriving unknown words’ meaning to

improve vocabulary.

Chart 5. 1
Strategies for Deriving Word Meanings

Look careful at the word; decide how to pronounce it

Look around the word for context

Look in the word
clues
Look for prefixes and suffixes
Look within the sentence
Look for base words
Reread previous sentences
Look for root words
Read ahead for more clues

Make your best guess of the word’s meaning

If you do not have a good idea as to If you think you have figured out
the word’s meaning and if the word the meaning of the word and if the
seems important, use a dictionary or word does not seem important ,
a glossary. keep reading.

Taken from Pikulski and Templeton (2004, p.8)

As we can seen from chart 5.1, in order to work out an unknown word
meaning, firstly examine the word and look for what are known as context clues
(Pikulski & Templeton, 2004 ). These can include words in sentences that exist
around the unknown word. They offer hints as to what the word may mean.
Sentences that surround the unknown word are useful in providing meanings.
Another type of clue that will help us actively work out the meaning of an
unknown word is that of prefixes, suffixes and roots ( Pikulski & Templeton,

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

2004). There is a consideration that whether English learners are knowledgeable of

any word part that the unknown word might be based upon or not. Greever and
Bachelor (1922) in The Century Vocabulary Builder refer to “verbal families” and
although words from the English or Germanic – Scandinavian – English are
relatively easily identifiable, those of Latin or Greek origin are more likely to be
unknown to us. Students who have knowledge of the basic words in these families
will be greatly assisted in building their vocabulary (Greever & Bachelor, 1922 ).
All these offer important hints to improve vocabulary and to work out what a word
might mean.
Once learners have considered these methods, make a guess about the
word’s meaning and write it down. They can then use reference material, such as
dictionary, to look up the meaning. One suggestion offered by Pikulski and
Templeton (2004) is to keep reading if the word does not seem significant or if
English students have worked out the meaning correctly. This is a great technique
for English major students if they are reading a book, are at the library or in a
social gathering. If in an appropriate setting, however, don’t proceed. Make sure
learners look up the word to find out if they are right. If not, note where they went
wrong and learn from it.
Summarily, whenever E – majors come across a word they do not know the
meaning and have not enough time to reach for reference material, refer to these
methods when working out word meanings and it might just save their time and
their reading rate are speeding up.

5.2.3 Suggested ways to build vocabulary for fast reading

The purpose of vocabulary learning should include both remembering
words and the ability to use them automatically in a wide range of language

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context when the need arises (McCarthy, 1984). In fact, evidence suggests that the
knowledge aspect (both breadth and depth) require more conscious and explicit
learning mechanisms whereas the skill aspect involves mostly implicit learning and
memory (Ellis, 1994). Vocabulary learning strategies, therefore, should include
strategies for “using” as well as “knowing” a word.
Those in need of improving their vocabulary can be from very different
walks of life or in every different fields of study. Those seeking strategies for
improving vocabulary skills can be from both English and non – English speaking
background. The main aim of this study is to find out several efficient ways to
build vocabulary for improving fast reading which is regarded to be very beneficial
to English learner. If English students can master vocabulary well, they have
numerous advantages in learning English. Basically, English students are good at
English. However, the need of vocabulary enhancement is a certainty. Actually,
each student has his or her own ways to build vocabulary. The following
suggestions for building vocabulary are based on the study’s findings and
hopefully they can help English major students improve their reading rate through
their rich vocabulary.
• Learning associated words together
Building vocabulary word by word is considerably difficult to remember
and apply the meanings into reading test to have an in – depth understanding about
the reading comprehension. Definitely, when a student learns a new word and
remember the meaning at that moment, but several days later he or she may forget
it, the word hardly made a deep impression on the learner’s mind in case he or she
does not learn other words related to the first word. Additionally, if students can
apply this way to build their vocabulary, their vocabulary will increase in size
significantly. They not only remember that word but also keep an image in their
mind of the other words, too. Therefore, English majors should master a word’s
meaning as well as the other related words’ meaning.

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When mentioning the method “learning associated words together”, the

learners can think of learning words relating to three aspects: (1) meaning, (2)
grammar and (3) the same root. English major students can decide which method is
the most suitable for them to apply relying on their excitement as well as learning
style.
 Learn words with associated meanings together
Learning words that are associated in meaning is a popular and useful way
of organizing vocabulary study. Students can organize their vocabulary charts. It
can be any kind of chart which students find it easy to enhance vocabulary.
Certainly, they can randomly choose a main word or topic, then think of the other
words which are related to the main word or topic.
The spider chart below can illustrate for the way students can use to learn
vocabulary:

draft
list paymen
price t

MONEY cash
net flow
profit MATTERS

wages credit
bad debt

 Learn words with a grammatical association together

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

It is said that vocabulary is an unlimited source. However, it is divided into

different categories. They could be words related to same word forms such as
nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs or the grammar. To enhance vocabulary
quicker, English major students are suggested to improve vocabulary through
categories especially grammatical association.
Study sample:
 Child, tooth and mouse are all singular noun ; They are words with
irregular plurals ( children, teeth, mice )
 Foot, goose and ox are also singular words with irregular plurals
( feet, geese, oxen )
 Information, furniture and luggage are all uncountable nouns
 Milk, money and work are also all uncountable nouns
 Learn together words based on the same root
A word indeed can create several words with different meanings base on its
root word. If English major students can understand a word root’s meaning, it is
not difficult for them to master other words based on the same root.
Take a look at the following example:

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Pricey

Underpriced

Priceless

PRICE

Price index

Market price

Price controls

• Using picture and diagram

Learning vocabulary through pictures is not very often used by university
students. As a nature, English beginners such as elementary students or secondary
students prefer to use picture to illustrate the words they study whereas most of
English materials which E – major students are provided at university or they have
found themselves, actually lack of pictures. It is true that the English curriculum is
very professional but the learners who have right method in acquiring English can
acquire the knowledge as well as vocabulary. It is very hard and confusing to learn
the word in book with full of words. They are recommended to buy picture books

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to build vocabulary. A book with full of colorful pictures makes the learners feel
excited to begin their vocabulary enhancement journey.
Words that can be grouped under a heading or a more general word can be
drawn as a tree – diagram. It is a fact that improving vocabulary through pictures
and diagram is thought to be an effective way. In reality, pictures might help
learners remember vocabulary deeply and profoundly. Learners can definitely
recognize the words easily when they come across the words that they have spent
time on studying.

Word tree can be useful

Students are encouraged to study vocabulary by drawing a tree which contains
lots of words relating to a specific topic. It is much possible than just studying
words simply by writing down paper. There is a tendency that students prefer
learning by pictures and diagrams because it is an impressive way.

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 Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

 Another tool to enhance vocabulary is by tables. It can help clarify collocations.

Sample table is designed to illustrate the studying way:
a car a motorbike a train a horse a plane
T fly +
to drive + +
to ride + +

• Organizing a vocabulary notebook

It is said that improving vocabulary by a vocabulary notebook is a
traditional way. In the era of modernization, most of students can study and
improve their vocabulary by lots of English software which provide them a
variety of exercises; however, to some extent it also shows its feasibility and
effectiveness. This study suggests E – major students keep their personal
vocabulary notebook. When English students come across any new words, take
note of those words and find out the definition of those words, then write down
in notebooks. Student can remember the words easily and deeply if they write
down the words in notebooks. It is easy for them to review the words again. In
spite of considering as a traditional way to learn vocabulary, many students use
this method to enhance their vocabulary.
There is not any specific way to organize a vocabulary notebook. It’s up
to the ideas of learners. They can organize or note to make them feel easy and
comfortable to study and review their notebook.
Some suggested ways for them to organize their own vocabulary notebook
 Organizing words by meaning :
Students can divide notebook into different broad sections, with sections
for words for feeling, words to describe places, words for movement, words for
thinking, etc. In each section they can build families of words related in
meaning
 Using various types of diagrams

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Words can be grouped under a heading or a more general word can be

drawn as different diagrams to easily remember words. The sample diagram
below helps to clarify the way of study

coach rail pass

road rail
motorway single/ return

TRAVEL
ferry Charter fight

sea air
cruise apex fare

• Expanding vocabulary through analogies

Analogy is one of the most powerful ways to expand vocabulary. This is
because analogies force learners to think carefully about the words, which helps
them retain what they have learnt about the word:
“A thread of thought operates in analogies and true learning takes place,
whereas in exercises that deal with disparate bits of information, retention is
limited because thinking is not involved.” (Ignoffo, 519)
An analogy, in this context, is an abbreviated form of a sentence completion
exercise in which test takers must provide some of the sentence. Analogies
often appear in GRE vocabulary questions (Graduate Report Examination).
For example, consider the following analogy:
Pilot: airplane : : sailor : boat
Analogies like this are read as “pilot is to airplane as sailor is to boat”.
Analogy tests and exercises typically take the following form:
Novice: connoisseur : : expert

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

The students are asked to fill in the blank. Often, they are given multiple
choices. In this example, their choices may be:
• Neophyte
• Demagogue
• Epicure
• Virtuoso
To get the right answer _ neophyte _ learners need to reason that novice
and neophyte mean the same thing and are opposites of connoisseur and expert.
Thus, the exercise forces them to use a logical comparison – contrast mental
pattern ( Ignoffo, 520)
Other types of analogies force learners to use other thought processes,
such as thinking about degrees and proportions, logical order, relationships
between parts of speech, and grammar. The amount of thinking and elaboration
that goes into answering analogy questions and makes analogies an even more
powerful way to expand vocabulary than other methods, such as word lists,
matching, and synonym – antonym exercises.
It is a fact that building vocabulary by analogies is a new way. It is not
preferred by most of students. However, students who have an in – depth
understanding about analogies can expand their vocabularies easily and
quickly.
• Learning from dictionary
Good dictionaries, especially learners’ dictionaries, can tell them a lot more
about one than just its meaning, including:
 Word – class ( usually abbreviation n : noun, adj: adjective,
etc. ), whether a noun is countable or uncountable, and
whether a verb is normally transitive ( needs an object ) or
intransitive ( does not need an object )

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

 Synonyms and their differences, e.g. friend is opposed to

enemy / foe
 Collocations ( how words go together), e.g. living is often
used in these those collocations : cost of living, make a living,
standard of living, do something for a living
 Pronunciation: this will mean learning some symbols which
are different from the letters of English alphabet.
 Word stress: often shown by a mark before the syllable to be
stressed or by fold type. Make sure you know how your
dictionary marks stress.
 Usage: how a word is used and any special grammatical
pattern that goes with it, e.g. suggest + clause (not an
infinitive ) – I suggest you bring her right away.
It is sure that dictionary proves its usefulness and effectiveness on both
reading comprehension and vocabulary learning. Dictionary provides definition
and related information, but students have to apply words to real life settings
and experience to maintain a long – lasting vocabulary memory.
• Inferring the meaning from the context
There are a number of clues which ESL learners may be able to use to
help them work out the meaning of an unfamiliar word
 Visual clues: a picture in a book or film footage in a TV news broadcast
may help the learners make a wide guess about the unfamiliar words
 The immediate context (other words around the unfamiliar word): these
may make the meaning absolutely clear: ‘Suzanne picked one tall yellow
gladiolus to put in her new crystal vase.’ Even if ESL learners have
never seen or heard the word ‘gladiolus’, it will probably be obvious to
them from the context that is a type of flower.
 Grammatical clues in the context: it is not difficult to understand that
“superstitious’’ must be an adjective in the sentence ‘Marsha is very

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superstitious’ or that ‘gingerly’ is an adverb in ‘Jackie tiptoed gingerly

down the stairs’.
• Using flashcard
Flashcard is defined as a card printed with words or numbers and briefly
displayed as part of a learning drill.
Creating flashcards helps English major students study effectively and
remember not only deeply but also significantly.
 Do not make flashcard too small, 4 x 6 are the best
 Carry them whenever
 Review them often
 Break into small groups for easier learning
Advantages of using flashcard
 Chunking information into smaller categories to aid memory
 Noun – person , places, things
 Verbs – plural / singular or tenses
 Phrases – common usage
 Using color signal categories
 Different colored cards
 Highlighters
 Using either written or visual information
 Easily rearranged and sorted
 Can be used for different purposes
 Lists of items
 Grammar rules
 Quiz prep – questions / answer
 Size and portability
 Easy to carry

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

 Use for short, frequent reviews

 Review in spare time that is often wasted like waiting in line or
between classes
 Physically moving and manipulating the cards incorporate tactile learning
 Writing down the material on cards aids learners’ memory in itself
Ways to study new words by flashcard
 A least once a day, go through pack of index cards, spend 10 – 15 minutes
each time
 Sort the cards into two stacks – those learners do not know
 Periodically review the entire set of words to keep them fresh in mind.
It is definitely there are a lot of ways to build vocabulary for reading fast
and effectively. Specially, every learner can hire his or her own strategies which
are suitable for him or her. Vocabulary is not very difficult to study. Importantly,
learners should have their own effort and patience to study and achieve their goal.
The several recommended ways above can be applied in English learners’
vocabulary enhancement strategies. Many students who joined the survey agree
that actually the suggested strategies are practical and can be applied in their
vocabulary improvement. Some of them also use such strategies to build their
vocabulary. This study recommends that English learners should consider the
feasibility and effectiveness of the above ways. Additionally, they can apply one
main way to build vocabulary together with other ways because each way has its
strong and weak points. We are E – major students, hence we should study in an
active and feasible environment. As a result, we can achieve our goals, and the
pathways to fast and efficient reading is obtainable.
5.3 Conclusion:
The study has discussed how important vocabulary is to reading
comprehension, especially concerning the aspect of fast reading. It is said that
vocabulary is considered as a heart of any language. If a language is a house,

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vocabulary will be material to build up that house. As a result, if learners can

master vocabulary well, they will have countless advantages when they study a
foreign language.
This study also gives a deep insight in the relationship between vocabulary
and reading fast. Additionally, it clarifies the essential role of vocabulary on fast
reading. This study also shows that learners have to face with lots of obstacles
when they carry out reading comprehension, it is definite that reading at a rapid
speed is not easy for English major students. However, the strategies a learner uses
and the effectiveness of these strategies certainly depend on the learners
themselves (e.g., attitudes, motivation and prior knowledge), the learning task
(type, complexity, difficulty and generality) and the learning environment (e.g., the
learning culture, the richness of input and output opportunities). Hence, it can be
possible and feasible if they can find themselves several suitable ways to enhance
their vocabulary knowledge, and have learning method to limit the ineffective time
when they read. This thesis helps learners overcome the obstacles in reading thanks
to several suggest ways which are thought can bring the readers as well as English
– majors the speed and effectiveness in reading. Hopefully, this study is beneficial
to the English learners and brings them to the world without difficulties when they
read. They easily obtain a deep understanding in the passage as well as their
reading speed they read. As well as learners become better and faster readers, they
will learn more words and build up the vocabulary they have. This is a very closed
- knit relationship between vocabulary knowledge and fast reading.
In summary, if a learner can master fast reading, it is a great way to enhance
his or her knowledge and education individually. Learning vocabulary for
improving fast reading is an excellent choice. Taking the time to learn the art of
vocabulary and fast reading will benefit English learners in their personal life as
well as their life at work, and it can also help them as they pursue a higher
education as well.

Student: Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung 57

Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bower, R. ( 1981 ). What Experts Say About Vocabulary and Success. Retrieved
April 14th, 2010, from http://phaariz.wordpress.com/2009/09/23/improve-your-
english-vocabulary-with-ultimate-vocabulary-2009/

Cornelsen Verlag. (2006). A Strategy to Improve Your Vocabulary. Retrieved

April 16th, 2010, from http://www.write-better-english.com/vocabulary-flash-
cards.aspx

Curtis, M.E. & Kruidenier, J.R. (2005). A summary of Scientifically Based

Research Principles – Teaching Adults to Read. National Institution for Literacy.

Ediger, M. ( 1999 ). Reading and Vocabulary Development. Journal of

Instructional Psychology. Retrieved April 6th, 2010, from http://www.write–better-
english.com/Million-Dollar-Vocabulary.aspx

Hartmann, P. ( 2002). Interaction 2. McGraw – Hill Contemporary

Holcomb, Z.C. ( 1998 ). Interpreting Basic Statistics – A guide and Workbook

Based on Excerts from Journal Articles, 2nd edition. Pyrczak Publishing.

Greever, G & Bachelor, JM. (1922 ). The Century Vocabulary Builder. The
Century Co. New York.

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Ignoffo, M.F. ( 1980 ). The Thread of Thought – Analogies as a Vocabulary

Building Method. Journal of Reading, 519.
Kirn, E. & Hartmann, P. ( 2002). Interaction 2 – Reading, 4th edition. The
McGraw – Hill Companies, Inc.

Long, M.H. & Richard, J.C.(1987 ). Methodology in TESOL. U.S.A. Heinle &
Heinle.

Mc Andrew, S.L. (2008). Language and Vocabulary Development -

Understanding Language Development. Diagnostic Literacy Assessments and
Instructional Strategies - A Literacy Specialist’s Resource. International Reading
Association.

McAndrew (2008). Proven ways to increase vocabulary. Retrieved April 14th,

2010 from http://www.ultimatevocabulary.com.blog/category/vocabulary-research/

Michael McCarthy Felicity O’Dell ( 2001 ). English Vocabulary in Use.

Cambridge University Press.

Patten, M.L. ( 2004 ). Understanding Research Methods - An Overview of the

Essentials, 4th edition. U.S.A. McNaughton and Gunn Inc.

Pattern, M.L. (1998 ). Questionnaire Research Methods – A Practical Guide.

U.S.A Pyrczak Publishing.

Pikulski, J.J. & Templeton, S. (2004). Teaching and Developing Vocabulary –

Keys to Long – Term Reading Success, Houghtong Mifflin Company.

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Psychology website. Retrieved April 16th, 2010, from

http://psychology.about.com/researchmethods/f/survey

Pikulski & Templeton (2004). A Method for Working Out Words Meaning.
Retrieved April 9th, 2010, from http://www.write-better-english.com/improve-
vocabulary.aspx

Read Naturally, Inc.(2008). Take Aim at Vocabulary – Research and Rationale.

Retrieved May 1st, 2010, from http://www.write-better-english-vocabulary.aspx

Research Methods Knowledge Base website. Retrieved April 4th, 2010, from
http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/statdes.php

University of Alabama. ( 2009 ). Building a College Level Vocabulary – How to

Remember New Words . Retrieved April 21st, 2010, from http://www.write-better-
english.com/College-Matter.aspx

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Appendix
Questionnaire 62

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APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
Dear participants,
Please spend some of your time completing the questions in the questionnaire.
They will be used as data for my study entitled “ Suggested ways to build
vocabulary for fast reading improvement” , applying to English majors at the
Department of Foreign Languages – Banking University, HCM City
The answers you give are very valuable to me and help my study become more
accurate and reliable. I promise all of they are confidentially analyzed and used
for research purposes only.
Notes: It is committed that your participations are voluntary and your answers are
completely subjective and accurate.

Part I: Background information:

Class:  25AV1  24AV1  23AV1  22AV1
 25AV2  24AV2  23AV2  22AV2
Gender :  Male  Female

Question 1: When did you begin study English?

 Primary school  Secondary school  High school

Question 2: Please self - assess your English level at two following points of
time
When you entered the university At the present time
 Elementary  Elementary

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 Pre - Intermediate  Pre - Intermediate

 Intermediate  Intermediate
 Upper- Intermediate  Upper- Intermediate
 Advanced  Advanced

Part II: Students’ opinions and attitudes about issues relating to the correlation
between vocabulary and fast reading as well as ways to build vocabulary for
improving fast reading :

Question 3: Vocabulary is defined as:

 a listing containing the words and phrases of a language
 the aggregate of words in the use or comprehension of a specified person, class
and profession
 all the words contained in a language
 a range or system of symbols, qualities, or techniques constituting a means of
communication or expression, as any of the arts or crafts wide vocabulary of the
textures and colors
 all of the above

Question 4: Vocabulary is considered as one of the most important

components of reading.
 Strongly agree
 Agree
 Neutral
 Disagree
 Strongly disagree

Question 5: How important is vocabulary in understanding a reading

comprehension?

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

Very important
 Important
 Fairly important
 A little bit important

Question 6: You are satisfied with your vocabulary level

 Very satisfied
 Moderately satisfied
 Somewhat satisfied
 Somewhat dissatisfied
 Moderately dissatisfied
 Very dissatisfied

Question 7: Fast reading is defined as:

Definition SA A N D SD
Reading at speed significantly faster
than normal
Fast reading needs less time but more
effort than normal reading
( Note: SA = strongly agree; A = agree; N = Neutral; D = disagree; SD = Strongly
disagree )

Question 8: Have you ever experienced obstacles in fast reading ? If yes,

please indicate which causes below prevent you from reading fast? ( You can
check one or more )
 Words ( new vocabulary )
 Difficult passages
 A lack of adequate time
 Complex grammar

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Graduation Thesis Supervisor: Hoang Anh Thu, M.A.

 Other ( Please specify:…………………………….)

Question 9: During an average week, how many times do you spend on

reading English materials such as newspaper, magazine, fairy tale, e-book and
so on?
 1-3 times  4-6 times  7-9 times  10 times or more

Question 10: On average, how much time do you spend on studying

vocabulary every week?
 Never studying  less than 1 hour  1-2 hours
 3-4 hours  5-6 hours  more than 6 hours

Question 11: Rank the importance of each of following items that affects the
rate of reading. Write “1” next to the most important one; write “2” to the
next important and “3” for the least one.
 The content of the passages
 Time available
 Readers’ purposes or intention in reading

Question 12: Here are some suggested strategies for deriving word meanings
to obtain fast reading. Can you please rate it as following suggestions?
Item 1: Looking around the word for context clues:
Rating Excellent Good Fair Poor
Look within the sentence
Reread previous sentences
Read ahead for more clues

Item 2: Looking in a word

Rating Excellent Good Fair Poor
Look for prefixes and suffixes
Look for base words

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Look for root words

Question 13: How effective are the following ways to build vocabulary ?

VE = Very effective
ME = Moderately effective
SE = Somewhat effective
SI = Somewhat ineffective
MI = Moderately ineffective
VI = Very ineffective

Ways to build vocabulary VE ME SE SI MI VI

Learning associated word together
Using picture and diagram
Organizing a vocabulary notebook
Expanding vocabulary through
analogies
Guessing the meaning from the context
Using from dictionary
Using flashcards

Thank you so much for your kind support and cooperation !

Student: Nguyen Thi Thuy Dung 66