Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal

Ho Chi Minh City Open University

Graduate School Graduate School
97 Vo Van Tan. Dist.3, HCMC, Vietnam
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AN RE!ORT
TESO" #
Na$e o% candidate& VUONG UT 'ACH "AN
Student No& TESO"#()
E$ail address&levuon*n*oclan+*$ail,co$
Na$e o% course-or. su/0ect& Research Methodolo*y
Title o% this ite$ o% -or.& A study on the importance of learning styles and
strategies in learning English to non-major students of English at Social and
Affairs University
Na$e o% lecturer& TUNG THANH NGU1EN
Ed in TESO" 2Mel/Uni3 Australian4
!h in "in*uistics 2HCMC USSH3 Vietna$4
ue date& April 5(3 ()5(
STATEMENT O6 AUTHORSHI!&
I certify that the above assignment is my original wor! it is base" on my own
research an" reflection. #ll so$rces $se" by me have been "oc$mente". %o other
&erson's wor has been $se" witho$t "$e acnowle"gement. This &iece of wor
has not &revio$sly been s$bmitte" for assessment in this or any other s$b(ect or
co$rse at this )niversity or elsewhere.
*t$"ent's *ignat$re+++++++++++++++Date+++++++++
,
Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
Table of Contents
CH#-T./ 01 I%T/2D)CTI2%..........................................................................................3
0.0. 4acgro$n" of the st$"y..........................................................................................3
0.3. /esearch 5$estion....................................................................................................3
0.3 *ignificance of the st$"y........................................................................................3
CH#-T./ 31 6IT./#T)/. /.VI.7................................................................................8
3.0 Definition.....................................................................................................................8
3.3 /esearch con"$cte" in the #rea of 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an" *trategies............9
3.3 /esearch on #sian an" Vietnamese 6earning *tyles an" *trategies............................:
3.8 #n .m&hasis on 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an" *trategies.........................................9
CH#-T./ 31 M.TH2D262;<........................................................................................00
3.0 *$b(ects......................................................................................................................00
3.3 /esearch instr$ments..................................................................................................00
3.3.0 The s$rvey 5$estionnaire....................................................................................03
3.3.3 Data Collection -roce"$re..................................................................................03
3.8 *$mmary....................................................................................................................03
/.=./.%C.+++++++++++++++++++++++++..03>08
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
CHA!TER 5& INTROUCTION
!! "ac#ground of the study
#s a saying goes, ?;ive a man a fish an" he eats for a "ay. Teach him how to
fish an" he eats for a lifetime@. This can be a&&lie" to lang$age teaching an"
learning. 4eing &rovi"e" with an answer for a &roblem, the learner can only "eal
with an instant sit$ation, b$t fail in the long>term goal. 2n the other han", if a
lang$age learner has their own learning styles an" is ta$ght s$itable learning
strategies in or"er to wor o$t the &roblem by their own, they are em&owere" to
achieve lang$age ac5$isition. Hence, lang$age styles an" strategies &lay an
im&ortant role in the secon" lang$age ac5$isition. These iss$es have also been &ai"
m$ch attention on "oing e"$cational research in the scholar worl". This &a&er is to
show my interest in these iss$es. 7e teachers wo$l" lie to investigate o$r st$"ents
learning styles an" strategies in learning .nglish. If they "o not realiAe the
im&ortance an" infl$ence of learning styles an" strategies on learning, it is o$r "$ty
to aware them! If they "o not now the s$itable strategies in their learning, we
teachers nee" to hel& them with that.
7ith this in min", I wish to raise awareness these among the st$"ents, an" as a
res$lt, the thesis title goes as1 A study on the importance of learning styles and
strategies in learning English to first year students of English at University of
Labour and Social Affairs.
!$! Research %uestion
I am con"$cting a research name"1 &A study on the importance of learning
styles and strategies in learning English to first year students of English at
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
University of 'a(our and Social Affairs. To eB&lore the matter, the research
will mae a great attem&t on investigating the following 5$estions1
1. Ho do learning styles and strategies influence on learning English!
". Ho do strategy instructions help first year students learn English better!
!)* Significance of the study
The st$"y highlights the im&ortance of learning styles an" strategies to the
.nglish learning. Moreover, the fin"ings of the st$"y are tho$ght to be $sef$l for
teachers of .nglish to be aware of the essential role of the strategy instr$ctions to
the first year st$"ents in learning .nglish better.

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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
CHA!TER (& "ITERATURE REVIE7
$! +efinition
It is really hel&f$l for lang$age teachers to consi"er the learning styles of their
st$"ents so that they can incor&orate into their teaching a&&roach to have the highest
effect on teaching an" learning a lang$age. Hence, what is ?learning style@C
#ccor"ing to 6e=evel, it is a way in which a &erson sees or &erceives things best
an" then &ossesses or $ses that has been seen@ D0999, &.07E. In more "etails, Feefe
G Henin D0997, &.3,E consi"er learning style a constr$ct that lins &erce&t$al
res&onse ten"encies, cognitive control sills an" st$"y an" instr$ctional &references.
They also state that learning styles are characteristic cognitive, affective, an"
&sychological behavio$rs that serve as relatively stable in"icators of how st$"ents
&erceive, interact with, an" res&on" to the learning environment D0997, &.8:E. 2r in
other wor"s, the fo$n"ation of learning styles is cognitive behavio$rs. *haring the
same iss$e, .hrman G 2Bfor" D0990, &.300E in"icate that learning styles are
&referre", nat$ral an" habit$al &atterns of mental f$nctioning an" "ealing with new
information s$ch as absorbing, &rocessing or retaining. Tra"itionally, there are three
main learning channels1 vis$al, a$"itory, an" inesthetic. More s&ecifically,
-ritchar" D3,,:, &.93E shows the lin between learning styles an" m$lti&le
intelligences. #ccor"ing to his theory, learners are "ivi"e" into eight categories
incl$"ing ling$isticIverbal, logicalImathematical, s&atialIvis$al, m$sical,
inter&ersonal, intra&ersonal, an" nat$ralistic learner.
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
The secon" term nee"s clarifying is ?learning strategy@. #ccor"ing to 2Bfor"
D0993I0993, &.0:E, learning strategies are consi"ere" &roce"$res, em&loye" by the
learners in or"er to mae their own lang$age learning as s$ccessf$l as &ossible.
They also refer to s&ecific actions, behaviors, ste&s, or techni5$es that st$"ents $se
to im&rove their &rogress in "evelo&ing 63 sills. These ste&s an" behaviors are
conscio$s to facilitate ac5$isition, storage, retention, recall, an" $se of new
information D.hrman G 2Bfor", 099,, &.303E. In 2'Malley G Chamot view&oint
D099,E, there are three main ty&es of strategies $se" by 63 leaners1 metacognitive,
cognitive an" social strategies.
The $se of s$itable learning strategies is really im&ortant an" necessary for a
learner in ac5$iring a secon" lang$age. The fact is that learning styles may not
easily be change" lie we change o$r learning strategies. Hence, if learning
strategies are change" into the s$itable ones, the res$lts are m$ch better.
$!$ Research conducted in the Area of 'anguage 'earning Styles and Strategies
Many researchers have con"$cte" st$"y on learning styles. #ccor"ing to
4ernice McCarthy Das cite" in 6e=ever, 0999, &.09>3,E, each learner has their own
learning style. *he &oints o$t fo$r main ty&es1 imaginary, analytic, common sense,
an" "ynamic. %one of these styles is the best for all learners. .ach learner has one
&artic$lar or a miBe" style that fits them most. Imaginary learners can learn best
when inter&ersonal relationshi&s are "evelo&e". They ten" to see the overview of a
&roblem rather than its "etails. 6earning by listening an" sharing the i"ea together
with feeling, sensing an" watching is the characteristic of this style. Meanwhile,
analytic learners learn by watching an" listening. They ($st sit, listen an" eval$ate
information they receive from their teacher. This in" of learners is the best of the
tra"itional way. 2&&osite to this style, learners who "o not learn by theory only, b$t
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
want to test what they have learnt in the real life an" &$t theory into &ractice are
calle" common sense learners. Therefore, the combination of theory an" &ractice
can easily fit their style. *imilarly, "ynamic learners &refer action an" &ractice in the
lang$age learning &rocess. #n" more a"vance", they follow their feelings an"
sensing to fin" o$t the new "irections an" sol$tions to the &roblem.
In a""ition, Hale>.vans states his own i"ea when he re&orts that %eil D.
=leming an" Colleen Mills "evelo&e" the V#/F system D3,,J, &.98>99E. V#/F is
$se" to "escribe the way learners absorb information. They are Vis$al, #$ral,
/ea"ingI7riting, an" Finesthetic. =irst, vis$al learners learn best by seeing
materials s$ch as ma&s, charts, &ict$res, "iagrams, vi"eos, an" other non>verbal
formats. *econ", a$ral learners absorb information by hearing from lect$res an"
"isc$ssion as they fin" it easy to remember what it so$n"s lie. %eBt,
rea"ingIwriting learners lie wor"s or teBts. They are intereste" in rea"ing an"
writing the s$mmary for what they have ($st rea". 6ast, inesthetic learners refer to
learners who can ac5$ire lang$age better thro$gh actions relate" to their bo"y.
Together with learning styles, learning strategies are in concern. .hrman G
2Bfor" re&ort that lang$age learners at all level $se strategies! however, they may
be $naware of what strategies they are $sing. # more &roficient lang$age learner
a"o&ts a variety of "ifferent strategies in "ifferent sit$ations to get more self>
"irecte" an" hel& im&rove their &erformance.
In a""ition, %aiman et al. D097:, as cite" in 2'MalleyG Chamot, 099,, &.JE
"ivi"es learning strategies into five broa" categories incl$"ing an active tas
a&&roach, realiAation of lang$age as a system, realiAation of lang$age as a means of
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
comm$nications an" interaction, management of affective "eman"s an" monitoring
of secon" lang$age &erformance.
Consi"ering this iss$e at another view&oint, 2Bfor" D099,, &. 37E "ivi"es
learning strategies into two categories1 "irect an" in"irect ones. Direct strategies
are "efine" as the ones that "irectly involve the target lang$age. This category
re5$ires mental &rocessing of the lang$age, b$t each element in this category has
"ifferent f$nctions an" serves for "ifferent &$r&oses. It incl$"es memory, cognitive
an" com&ensation strategies. Moreover, 2Bfor" D099,, &.039E also foc$ses on
in"irect strategies which incl$"e metacognitive, affective an" social strategies. He
believes that these strategies "o not "irectly involve the target lang$age b$t can
hel& s$&&ort an" manage lang$age learning.
The im&ortance of learning strategies is increasingly &ai" attention. =iel"
D3,,,, &.39E states that nowle"ge of comm$nication an" lang$age strategies nee"s
to be seen, an" is increasingly being seen, as the central of =6 learning. To some
eBtent, learning strategies has been com&are" with st$"y sills. 6earning strategies
ten" to be $nobservable mental &rocesses, while st$"y sills are more overt
techni5$es D;raham, 0997, &.37E. In a""ition, .llis G *inclair Das cite" in ;raham,
0997, &.37E assert that learning strategies are &rocess oriente" whereas st$"y sills
are &ro"$ct oriente". Teachers teach st$"y sills to hel& st$"ents &ass eBternal
eBaminations! while the aim of learning strategies is basically one of self>
eBamination an" insight into an" control over oneKs learning.
$!* Research on Asian and ,ietnamese 'earning Styles and Strategies
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
It is believe" that in most .ast #sian co$ntries, lang$age teaching is
"ominate" by a teacher>centere", boo>centere", grammar>translation metho" an"
an em&hasis on rote memory D6i$ G 6ittlewoo", 0997E. *haring this i"ea, M$r&hy
Das cite" in 4erry, Dasen G *acraswathi, 0997, &.0J3E also states that #sian st$"ents
are often criticiAe" of being &assive learners, showing heavy "e&en"ence on rote
learning. They often em&loy low>level of learning strategies foc$se" on &assing
eBams. Moreover, #sian learners $s$ally $se" learning strategies that wo$l" lea" to
low aca"emic achievement.
7hat "o the 7esterners thin of this iss$eC *$&&orting the same i"ea,
4allar" G Clanchy, 4iggs, *am$elowicA Das cite" in 7atins, /eghi, G #stilla,
0990, &.30E claim that there still is a very strong &erce&tion by aca"emics in
co$ntries lie the )nite" Fing"om an" #$stralia that #sian st$"ents are more
liely to rely on rote learning than their 7estern &eers. In a""ition, Dimmoc
D3,,,, &.0J,E states that 7esterners consi"er #sian st$"ent as ?a rote learner,
&assive, com&liant, failing to s&ea $&, a"o&ting $n5$estioning attit$"es towar"
their teachers@.
2n contra"ict to the aforementione" belief, many researchers fin" o$t
interesting that may change the &revio$s &oint of view. Fember D3,,,, &.99>0,0E
&roves that st$"ents from Hong Fong an" other &arts of #sia were liely to be high
achievers in aca"emic worl". #gain, -illay an" his co>worers come to a
concl$sion that their fin"ings &rovi"e evi"ence against the common negative belief
abo$t #sian learners Das cite" in DTan, McInerney, 6iem, G Tan, 3,,:, &.378E. In
a""ition, /amb$r$th an" McCormic Das cite" in *alili G Hoosain, 3,,3, &.30E
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
raise their interesting fin"ing that ?#sian st$"ents combine s$rface strategies with
intrinsic or "ee& motivation whereas #$stralian st$"ents combine" eBtrinsic, or
s$rface, motivation with "ee& strategiesL.
$!) An Emphasis on 'anguage 'earning Styles and Strategies
4elonging to #sian, Vietnamese learners share the same c$lt$re &atterns that
may infl$ence their learning styles an" strategies. It is arg$e" that Vietnamese
st$"ents' &assive learning styles an" strategies are the res$lts of e"$cational system
which enco$rages st$"ents to learn by listening, taing notes or co&ying their
teachers. They are not familiar with active class &artici&ation an" "isc$ssion in
gro$&s. They may get conf$se" when teachers as them to wor in gro$&s or
eB&ress their i"eas in front of the class D/ao, 3,,8, &.0:,E.
In a""ition, /ossi>6e, 0999 Das cite" in ;riffiths 3,,:, &.90E fin"s o$t while
*&anish s&eaers &referre" a$"itory learning, Vietnamese learners eB&resse" a
strong &reference for vis$al learning.
Moreover, 4ris D3,,J, &.:9E states that Vietnamese st$"ents are eB&ecte" to
show their res&ect by following an" agreeing with everything their teachers say.
Vietnamese st$"ents are infl$ence" by #sian c$lt$re. Therefore, m$ch or little, they
are infl$ence" some c$lt$re &atterns>they "o not lie eB&ressing their i"eas an"
often say <es to 5$estions or re5$ests even tho$gh they "o not really $n"erstan" or
want to "o.
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
However, in the &ast few years, Vietnamese e"$cational systems have
change" a lot in c$rric$l$m an" learning materials lie the co$rse boo, as well as
teaching an" learning metho"ology DDang, 3,,JE. 6earner centere"ness is &ai"
m$ch attention an" is the tren" of Vietnamese e"$cation. Hence, st$"ents will be
more active an" less "e&en"ent on their teachers.
CHA!TER 8& METHOO"OG1
0,
Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
This section, which is s&lit into smaller &arts, "escribes the metho"ology em&loye"
in the c$rrent research. The first &art &resents the research s$b(ects. The neBt one
will contin$e to "isc$ss instr$ments.
*! Su(jects
The s$rvey was con"$cte" with the &artici&ation of 0:, st$"ents Dage" 09E in
)niversity of 6abo$r an" social #ffairs an" 00 teachers from De&artment of
=oreign 6ang$age. The st$"ents are chosen from 3 classes of "ifferent
"e&artments1 #cco$nting, H$man an" /eso$rces an" Management De&artment1
#H$%11& #H'L11& and #H(%11. .ach class com&rises of J, st$"ents who share
"ifferent e"$cational bacgro$n"s an" &$r&oses of st$"ying the target lang$age>
.nglish an" have been learning .nglish for seven years. .nglish is ta$ght as a
re5$ire" s$b(ect "$ring two years at $niversity. =or each school semester, .nglish
taes five cre"its in total. These fig$res show that the "ata collecte" from the
s$rvey will s$rely be reliable beca$se the learners are well aware of their mission,
an" have eno$gh nowle"ge of .nglish to answer the 5$estions given.
The &artici&ation of all s$b(ects in o$r st$"y was vol$ntary. Most of them
were com&letely willing to coo&erate with the ho&e to contrib$te their &references
of their learning styles an" strategies in learning .nglish at $niversity.
*!$ Research instruments for +ata -ollection
In or"er to realiAe the aims of the st$"y, 5$antitative metho" was $se". Two
s$rvey 5$estionnaires were $se" to collect information an" evi"ence for the st$"y.
> The first s$rvey 5$estionnaire was for 0:, first year st$"ents.
> The secon" one was for 00 .nglish teachers of De&artment of =oreign
6ang$ages.
#ll comments, remars an" recommen"ations given in the st$"y were base" on the
"ata analysis.
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
*!$! The survey %uestionnaire
To arrive at the reliable "ata s$rvey was con"$cte" an" 5$estionnaires were
a"ministere" to 0:, first>year st$"ents an" 00 .nglish teachers. The 5$estionnaire
$se" as instr$ment for "ata collection was "esigne" to get information relate" to the
to&ic raise" above. It is &ilote" an" then "elivere" for st$"ents an" teachers.
*t$"ents an" teachers will chec in the boB neBt to their answer. They can give their
own answer if necessary.
*!$!$ +ata -ollection Procedure
=irstly we gave the 5$estionnaire an" interview to some o$r teachers an"
some st$"ents. #fter finishing, they gave fee"bac to hel& $s to im&rove an" e"it it.
Then we s$rveye" st$"ents an" teachers with the following 5$estions! an" for each
5$estion, we constr$cte" a table to show the main an" &ercent of the choice then
trie" to fin" the eB&lanations for the fin"ings base" on "oc$ment review, theory,
reality. 7e will $se *-** to mae the "ata analysis more eBactly.
*!) Summary
This &art has "escribe" the metho"ology $se" in the &ro&osal to get
information an" "ata relate" to learning styles an" strategies from the st$"ent an"
teachers. The 5$estionnaire $se" as the instr$ment to get information! *-** $se"
as tool to hel& analyse the "ata.
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
Re%erences
4erry, H.7., Dasen, -. /., G *acraswathi, T.*. D0999E. Han"boo of Cross>C$lt$ral
-sychology, Vol$me 31 4asic -rocesses an" H$man Develo&ment D3n" e".E.
4oston1 #lly an" 4acon.
Dang, H.V. D3,,JE 6earner>centere"ness an" .=6 instr$ction in Vietnam1 # case
st$"y. )nternational Education *ournal, 7 D8E, 99:>J0,.
Dimmoc, C. D3,,,E. #esigning the Learning+centered School, A -ross+cultural
.erspective. 6on"on1 /o$tle"ge=almer.
.hrman, M. .. G 2Bfor", /. 6. D099,E. #"$lt 6ang$age 6earning *tyles an"
*trategies in an Intensive Training *etting. %he /odern Language *ournal,
78D3E1 300>337.
=iel", F. D3,,,E. )ssues in /odern 0oreign Language %eaching. 6on"on1
/o$tle"ge=almer.
;raham, *. D0997E. Effective Language Learning. Cleve"on1 M$ltiling$al Matters
6t".
;riffiths, C. D3,,:E. Lessons form 1ood Language Learners. Cambri"ge1
Cambri"ge )niversity -ress.
Hale>.vans, /. D3,,JE. /ind .erformance Hac2s. California1 2'/eilly.
Feefe, H. 7., G Henins, H. M. D0997E. )nstruction and Learning Environment. %ew
<or1 .ye on ."$cation.
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Research Methodology Tesol 6 Proposal
Fember, D. D3,,,E. Misconce&tions abo$t 6earning #&&roaches, Motivation an"
*t$"y -ractices of #sian *t$"ents. Higher Education& 8,, 99>030.
6e=ever, M. D. D0999E. Learning Styles, 3eaching Everyone 1od 1ive 4ou to
%each. Colora"o1 Davi" C. Coo.
2'Malley, H.M., G Chamot, #.). D099,E. Learning Strategies in Second Language
Ac5uisition. Cambri"ge
2Bfor", /. D0993I0993E. 6ang$age 6earning *trategies in a %$tshell1 )&"ate an"
.*6 *$ggestions.T.*26 Ho$rnal. 3D3E.0:>33.
-richar", #. D3,,:E. 7ays of 6earning. Learning %heories and Learning Styles in
the -lassroom.
/ao, V.F. D3,,8E. Special Education. %ew Delhi1 #.-.H. -$blishing Cor&oration.
*alili, =., G Hoosain, /. D3,,3E. %eaching& Learning and /otivation in a
/ulticultural -onte6t. )*1 Information #ge -$blishing.
Tan, 2.*., McInerney, D.M., 6iem, #.D., G Tan, #.;. D3,,:E. 7hat the 7est -an
Learn the East, Asian .erspectives on the .sychology of Learning and
/otivation. )*1 I#->Information #ge -$blishing.
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