Effective Vocabulary Learning Strategies used by English Learners

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Table 1. Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire V.6.4

Categories Sub Items 1 2 3 4 5
categories
Beliefs about Words 1. Once the English words of all
vocabulary should my native language meanings
learning be have been remembered, English
memorized is learned.
2. The best way to remember
words is to memorize word lists
or dictionaries.
3. The purpose of learning a word
is to remember it.
4. A good memory is all you need
to learn a foreign language well.
5. Repetition is the best way to
remember words.

6. You can only learn a large

vocabulary by memorizing a lot
of words.
Words 7. The meanings of a large
should be amount of words can be picked
learned up through reading.
through 8. Learners should pay attention
use to expressions (e.g., pick up) and
collocations
(e.g., heavy rain; strong wind)
that go with a word.
9. Learners can learn vocabulary
simply through reading a lot.
10. The least a learner should
know about a word is its spelling,
pronunciation, meaning, and its
basic usage.
Metacognitive Selective 11. I know whether a new word
strategies attention is important in understanding a
passage.
12. I know which words are
important for me to learn.
 13. When I meet a new word or
phrase, I know clearly whether I
need to remember it.

Self-initiation 14. Besides textbooks, I look for

other readings that fall under my
interest.
15. I wouldn’t learn what my
English teacher doesn’t tell me to
learn. (Reversed
value)
16. I only focus on things that are
directly related to examinations.
(Reversed
value)
17. I wouldn’t care much about
vocabulary items that my teacher
does not explain in class.
(Reversed value)
Inferencing Guessing 18. I make use of the logical
strategies development in the context (e.g.,
cause and effect) when guessing
the meaning of a word.
19. I use common sense and
knowledge of the world when
guessing the meaning of a word.
20. I check my guessed meaning
in the paragraph or whole text to
see if it fits in.
21. When I don’t know a new
word in reading, I use my
background knowledge of the
topic to guess the meaning of the
new word.
22. I look for explanations in the
reading text that support my
guess about the meaning of a
word.
23. I make use of the grammatical
structure of a sentence when
guessing the
meaning of a new word
24. I make use of the part of
speech of a new word when
guessing its meaning
Using Dictionary 25. When I see an unfamiliar
dictionary strategies word again and again, I look it up.
26. When not knowing a word
prevents me from understanding
a whole sentence or even a whole
paragraph, I look it up.
27. I look up words that are
important to the understanding
of the sentence or paragraph in
which it appears.
28. I pay attention to the
examples when I look up a word
in a dictionary.
 29. When I want to have some
deeper knowledge about a word
that I already know, I look it up.
30. When I want to know more
about the usage of a word that I
know, I look it up.
31. I check the dictionary when I
want to find out the similarities
and differences between the
meanings of related words.
Taking Choosing 32. I make a note when I think
notes which the meaning of the word I’m
word to put looking up is commonly used.
into 33. I make a note when I think
notebook the word I’m looking up is related
to my personal
Interest

34. I make a note when I see a

useful expression or phrase.
Deciding 35. I write down the English
what in explanations of the word I look
formation up
goes 36. I write down both the
into notes meaning in my native language
and the English explanation of
the word I look up.
37. I note down examples
showing the usages of the word I
look up
Rehearsal Use of word 38. I go through my vocabulary
lists list several times until I
remember all the words on the
list.
39. I make vocabulary cards and
take them with me wherever I go.
40. I make regular reviews of
new words I have memorized.
Oral 41. When I try to remember a
repetition word, I say it aloud to myself.
42. When I try to remember a
word, I repeat its pronunciation
in my mind
43. Repeating the sound of a new
word to myself would be enough
for me to remember the word.
Visual 44. When I try to remember a
repetition word, I write it again and again.
45. I memorize the spelling of a
word letter by letter.
46. I write both the new words
and their translation in my native
language again and again in order
to remember them.
Encoding Visual 47. I act out some words in order
encoding to remember them better (e.g.,
jump).
48. I create a picture in my mind
 to help me remember a new
word.
49. To help me remember a word,
I try to “see” the spelling of the
word in my mind.
Auditory 50. I put words that sound
encoding similar together in order to
remember them.
51. When words are spelled
similarly, I remember them
together
52. When I try to remember a
new word, I link it to a sound-
alike word that I
Know
Use of word- 53. When I learn new words, I
structure pay attention to prefixes, roots,
and suffixes (e.g.,
inter-nation-al)
54. I intentionally study how
English words are formed in
order to remember
more words
55. I memorize the commonly
used roots and prefixes.
Contextual 56. When I try to remember a
encoding word, I also try to remember the
sentence in which the word is
used.
57. I put words in set expressions
or sentences in order to
remember them
58. I remember a new word
together with the context where
the new word appears
Activation Activation 59. I make up my own sentences
using the words I just learned
60. I try to use the newly learned
words as much as possible in
speech and writing
61. I try to use newly learned
words in real situations
62. I try to use newly learned
words in imaginary situations in
my mind.