Academic English vocabulary learning strategies: Reflections by university students

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ACADEMIC ENGLISH VOCABULARY LEARNING 
STRATEGIES: REFLECTIONS BY UNIVERSITY STUDENTS 
Le Pham Hoai Huong* 
Hue University, Hue University of Foreign Languages, Vietnam 
Received: 08/08 /2018; Revised: 20/09/2018; Accepted: 20/12/2018 
Abstract: The present study was set out to investigate EFL university students’ reflections 
on the strategies for learning academic English words. Fifty-five students’ vocabulary 
learning journals were collected for data analysis. Each student filled a journal entry every 
day in a period of six days. Data from 330 entries revealed that the sources where students 
encountered academic words included university lectures, course materials and reference 
materials. Besides, the journal entries indicated the strategies students used to understand 
the meanings of the academic words. All the students claimed to look up dictionaries to 
know the meanings of words. A majority of them used the lexical familiarization strategy to 
guess the meanings of words from context and social strategy by asking other 
classmates/friends for the meanings of the academic words. The students also reported the 
employment of cognitive strategy with both written and verbal repetition to remember 
vocabulary. 
Key words: Academic English vocabulary, learning journal, strategy 
1. Introduction 
Academic words are defined as “lexical items [that] occur frequently and uniformly 
across a wide range of academic material” (Coxhead, 2000, p. 218). Academic vocabulary is 
considered to comprise some 8%-10% of running words in academic texts (Nation, 2001) and 
accounts for a relatively high proportion of running words in all academic texts (Yang, 2014). 
An academic word includes a stem plus “all inflections and the most frequent, productive, and 
regular prefixes and suffixes” (Coxhead, 2000, p. 218). For example, the create family consists 
of other words that include the inflected forms creates and created and the derivatives creative 
and creation. Clearly, it is essential for students at university who have to read a lot of academic 
texts to know academic vocabulary. Besides, a good knowledge of academic words is likely to 
assist learners in succeeding in their studies as well as future careers. 
2. Academic vocabulary learning strategies 
Vocabulary learning strategies in general have been investigated by quite a number of 
authors. It can be said that the taxonomies compiled by Nation (2001) and Schmitt (2000) 
seem to be rather comprehensive. Nation (2001) focused on the separate aspects of 
vocabulary knowledge (what is involved in knowing a word) from sources of vocabulary 
knowledge, and learning process. The taxonomy by Nation (2001) describes the three major 
issues in learning academic words including planning, finding information, and establishing 
knowledge. When planning, learning look for words to learn and decide how to learn them. 
When finding information about the words chosen to learn, learners examine the words by 
analyzing the words, using context, consulting a reference source in the first language and the 
* Email: quangandhuong@gmail.com 
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second language. When establishing knowledge of words, learners find ways to retrieve and 
generate meanings of words. 
Schmitt (2000) however divided vocabulary learning process into such categories as 
determination, social, memory, cognitive and metacognitive strategies. With the 
determination strategy, learners discover a new word’s meaning without recourse to another 
person’s expertise” (Schmitt, 1997, p. 205). Social strategy refers to the process of interactions 
that learners act out with others in discovering a word. As for memory strategy, learners try to 
remember words and consolidate them for later use. For cognitive strategy, learners link new 
information with existing knowledge, as well as to analyze and classify it. In this way, learners 
focus more on repetition and using mechanical means to study vocabulary. Some examples are 
written and verbal repetition word lists and flash cards, and study aids such as notes and labels. 
Lastly, metacognitive strategy involves a conscious overview of the learning process and 
making decisions about planning, mentoring, or evaluating the best ways to study. Learners 
should make use of books, magazines, newspapers, and movies in English as well as interact 
with native speakers to increase language input. 
Besides the strategies for learning vocabulary in general as reviewed above, it is 
necessary to discuss the strategies proposed by Bramki and Williams (1984) and Williams 
(1980), which are more specific to academic vocabulary learning. These strategies include 
inferring from context, unchaining nominal compounds, searching for synonyms, word analysis, 
and recognizing lexical familiarization devices. More specifically, Williams (1980) pointed out 
lexical familiarization involves several strategies for working out the meaning of some 
unfamiliar words occurring in scientific texts. Williams (1980, p. 314) described lexical 
familiarization as, “the author’s intention to familiarize the newly-introduced lexical items to 
the target reader, by verbal, illustrative or numerical devices, or any combination of these 
means”. In other words, lexical familiarization is defined as a contextual aid, intentionally 
provided by the author for a specific reader (Bramki& Williams, 1984). According to Bramki 
and Williams (1984), lexical familiarization is a sub-set category of guessing from context and 
it is a vocabulary recognition strategy. 
According to Bramki and Williams (1984, p. 175), the strategy of lexical familiarization 
consists of exemplification, explanation, stipulation, definition, and illustration. Exemplification 
provide ... grated, convince, and posed from the news program.” (NK49) 
 Twenty-six students wrote that they learned academic words from the lectures. Below are 
some examples from their journal entries: 
 “I’ve learned the words emerges, criteria, consensus, and constitute from a lecture.” (NK 33) 
 “I’ve learned the words emerge, crucial, fundamental, immigrant, and framework from the class 
lectures.” (NK 30) 
“I’ve learned the words manipulate, correspond, denote, and consensus from the lectures at 
university.” (NK 03) 
 Nine students said that they studied vocabulary from listening to the presentations given 
by other students in class. 
 “I’ve learned the words intervene and item from a classmate’s presentation.” (NK11) 
 “I’ve learned the words definition, contribution, evaluating, and coherent from the presentation of 
a group of students.” (NK 13) 
 “I got to know the words availability, impact, category, contextual, and mental from the lecture of 
my friends.” (NK 39) 
5.2. Understanding the meanings of words 
Data from the learning journals show that 55 students claimed to consult dictionaries to 
know the meanings of words. Besides, 42 of them said that they tried to guess the meanings of 
the words from context: 
 “I guessed the meanings of the words acknowledge, revision and coherent from the context and 
examples.” (NK 13) 
 “I based on contexts to guess the meanings of the words dynamics, sequence and scheme.”(NK 28) 
 “Based on the context, I was able to know the meanings of the forthcoming, and contemporary.” 
(NK 54) 
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 In the journals, 24 students wrote that they asked other classmates/friends for the 
meanings of the academic words: 
 “In the lectures, there were the words such as functional, hierarchy, and facilitator. I asked my 
friends to know their meanings.” (NK 10) 
 “When I was reading, I came across the words dimension and scheme, I asked my friends for the 
meanings of these words.” (NK 16) 
 “I saw these words crucial, proceed, and enormous in a C1 practice test. I asked my friends to 
know the words.” (NK 32) 
 Seventeen students wrote in their journal entries that they asked their lecturers for word 
meanings. For examples, 
 “I heard the words hierarchy and facilitator from a lecture, and I asked the lecturer for their 
meanings.” (NK 10) 
 “Course materials have the words coherence, complementary and hence, I asked my lecturers for 
their meanings” (NK 27) 
 “I asked the lecturer for these words meanings: assessment, relevant and expose”. (NK 23) 
 Four other students wrote that they tried to guess the meanings of the words they did not 
know by looking at the words nearby. For example, journal 44 wrote that: 
“I saw the words acquisition, concensus and intervene, I read the nearby words to guess the 
meanings of the words that I did not know”. Similarly, journal 41 wrote, “When I was doing a test, 
I came across the words hypothesis and alters, I read the nearby words to guess the meanings.” 
Four other students wrote that they guessed the meanings of words via images and 
pictures: 
 “From the pictures, I could understand the words mediate, and output” (NK 01). “I watched some 
video clips, looked that the pictures and I understood the meanings of the words cooperation, and 
evidence.” (NK 09) 
There were two students who claimed to use analyzing strategies to know word 
meanings. A student wrote, “I tried to analyse the components ‘alter’ and ‘native’ of the word 
alternative and its affix ‘ly’ to understand the meaning of this adverb” (NK 07). In journal 53, a 
student wrote, “When I was reading a book, I met the words complementary and inevitable, I 
tried to analyse the components of the words. For example, the prefix ‘in’ means ‘no’ as in 
‘inexpensive.’” 
Another student (NK 45) wrote that she used some vocabulary learning applications to 
learn word meanings. Journal 34 recorded that readings usually have some footnotes to explain 
new words, which helped me to know the meanings of the words assess, flexible and derive.” 
5.3. Strategies to remember academic vocabulary meanings 
Thirty-eight students wrote that when they met academic words, they would write into 
vocabulary notebooks or new words books or write them on paper to review and to remember 
them. For examples, 
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“I knew the words cite, compile, implementation, and hierarchy from the lectures given by the 
teachers. I wrote the words on paper and review them often to remember how to pronounce the 
words and remember their meanings.” (NK 07) 
 “I came across the words interpret, comprises and criterion from group discussions, I wrote them 
in vocabulary notebook to remember them.” (NK 33) 
“I knew the words integrated, posed, controversial and hence when I read reference books and I 
wrote them in a notebook to review them every day.” (NK 47) 
 There were 27 students who wrote words a lot of times on paper to remember them. 
 “I met these words accessible, evaluation, irrelevant from the lectures of teachers and I wrote 
these words a lot of times to remember them.” (NK 19) 
 “I learned the words draft, flexible and granted from reference materials. I read them out loud and 
wrote the words many times to remember them.” (NK 26) 
 “When I met these words hypothesis, forthcoming, explicitly in class readings, I wrote them a lot 
of times to learn by heart.” (NK 46) 
Seven students claimed that they used vocabulary learning applications to remember the 
words. For example, journal 16 stated, “I stored the words retention, compensate, granted and 
perceived in a vocabulary learning application to remember them.” Similarly, journal 08 wrote, 
“I used a software to learn vocabulary and keep the words such as discrimination, immigrant 
and proceeding”. 
In general, the findings of this study show that the students reported a wide range of 
academic words from different sources including university lectures, course materials and 
reference materials. As for strategies used to understand the meanings of words and how to 
remember them, it could be said that the students in the current studies made use of the 
strategies proposed by Schmitt (2000). They employed the determination strategy because 
they tried to discover a new word’s meaning without recourse to another person’s expertise. 
Whether looking up in dictionaries or guessing from context, the students in the current 
study demonstrated their efforts in trying to understand the meanings of the academic words. 
Besides, the students also interacted with other students to figure out the meanings of the 
academic words that they did not know. To remember the words, they wrote the words a lot of 
time. Even though the strategies seem to be habitual, they reflected truly what Schmitt (2000) 
has proposed. The finding of this study is also quite similar to those of the studies by Lessard-
Clouston (2008), Akbari and Tahririan (2009). These studies found that the participants mostly 
used consolidating, dictionaries and repeating the words in learning and remembering 
academic words. As most students reflected that they tried to guess meanings from context 
when encountering new words, it can be said the finding of this study reiterates with the 
strategies found by Bramki and Williams (1984) and Williams (1980) which was inferring from 
context. The students in this study also made use of lexical familiarization or contextual aids, 
intentionally provided by the author to understand meanings of words (Bramki & Williams, 
1984). Besides, they reported to employ the cognitive strategy with more written than verbal 
repetition to remember words (Schmitt, 2000). 
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The findings of the current study also reveal that the students in this study only reflected 
to use the strategy of finding information in learning vocabulary as Nation (2001) pointed out. 
They referred to contexts and using reference materials, mainly dictionaries, to find the 
meanings of the words that they did not know the meanings. However, planning and 
establishing knowledge strategies were now reported in the students’ journals. 
6. Conclusion and implications 
The present study was set out to investigate EFL university students’ reflections on the 
strategies for learning academic English words. Data were collected from fifty-five students’ 
vocabulary learning journals. It was found that looking up dictionaries to know the meanings of 
words was used by all the students. They also made use of lexical familiarization or contextual 
aid to figure out the meanings of academic words. Social strategy and memory strategy were 
claimed to be used by the students in this study. They tended to ask friends or classmates for 
meanings of words and writing the words a lot of time to remember them. 
 From the findings, several implications for learning academic words can be drawn. First, 
even though students have employed the strategies reviewed in the literature of this study, they 
may not be aware of how these strategies should be used effectively. It is therefore necessary to 
teach students these strategies. Second, when students have understood the strategies, they 
should keep practicing them in daily study to enhance the effectiveness of learning academic 
words. Teachers should also know and learn how to integrate academic vocabulary learning 
strategies into classroom activities. In this way, they can help students develop and use the 
strategies effectively. 
Even though the findings from this study cannot be generalized, the application of the 
strategies for learning academic words in this study can be made use of at an individual level. 
However, learners should know their preferences in using which strategies to study more 
effectively. Further studies should focus on the effectiveness of the vocabulary learning 
strategies for academic words to provide more insight into the topic. Besides, it is worth 
investigating whether students are able to use the academic words that they claim they have 
learned later in different settings and for different purposes. 
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CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TỪ VỰNG TIẾNG ANH HỌC THUẬT: 
CHIÊM NGHIỆM CỦA SINH VIÊN ĐẠI HỌC 
Tóm tắt: Nghiên cứu này được thực hiện nhằm tìm hiểu chiến lược học từ vựng tiếng Anh 
học thuật của sinh viên đại học học tiếng Anh như là một ngoại ngữ. Năm mươi lăm nhật 
ký học tập đã được thu thập làm cứ liệu. Mỗi sinh viên tham gia vào nghiên cứu ghi nhật ký 
học tập từng ngày trong sáu ngày. Phân tích 330 lần ghi nhật ký học tập của sinh viên cho 
thấy sinh viên đã gặp từ vựng tiếng Anh học thuật chủ yếu từ các bài giảng ở đại học, tài 
liệu khoá học và tài liệu tham khảo. Ngoài ra, các nhật ký học tập cũng ghi lại các chiến 
lược mà sinh viên dùng để hiểu nghĩa của từ. Tất cả các sinh viên cho rằng họ tra từ điển để 
học nghĩa của từ. Phần lớn các em sử dụng chiến lược làm quen với từ để đoán nghĩa của từ 
từ bối cảnh và chiến lược xã hội bằng cách hỏi bạn cùng lớp về nghĩa của từ tiếng Anh học 
thuật. Các sinh viên cũng ghi lại việc sử dụng chiến lược nhận thức bằng cách lặp lại từ 
vựng theo hình thức viết và nói để nhớ từ. 
Từ khoá: Từ vựng tiếng Anh học thuật, chiến lược, nhật ký học tập