Vocabulary Learning Strategies In Chinese College EFL Program

The present research attempts to explore the overall pattern of vocabulary learning strategies used by Chinese college students: What strategies they use and how helpful the strategies they feel. 253 second-year non-English major students from two colleges participated to fill in a questionnaire, which was adapted from Norbert Schmitt (2002). The questionnaire included a list of vocabulary learning strategies which students might employ to obtain the meaning of a new word and consolidate the words they have leaned, what's more, they were also required to rate the helpfulness of the strategies as well.The results reveal the following findings:First, a variety of vocabulary learning strategies are employed by college students to deal with the words. And students may have either the same or different preference for choosing of vocabulary learning strategies. Besides the common strategies listed, Chinese students offered several new strategies which they used but unlisted in the questionnaire, such as using flash cards, using peg method, grouping words together within a storyline, grouping words together spatially on a page, and underlining initial letter of the word.Second, the survey shows us the top ten most-used strategies. They are: (1) bilingual dictionary, (2) verbal repetition, (3) written repetition, (4) guess from the textual context, (5) ask classmates for meaning, (6) study the spelling of a word, (7) study the sound of a word, (8) take notes in class, (9) say new words aloud when studying, (10) word lists. And the last five least-used strategies are: (1) use semantic feature grids, (2) teacher checks students'flash cards, (3) check for L1 cognate, (4) associate the word with its coordinates,(5) use keyword method.Third, students also rate ten most-helpful strategies. They are: (1) Bilingual dictionary, (2) written repetition, (3) say new word aloud when studying, (4) connect word to its synonyms or antonyms, (5)continue to study word over time, (6) study the spelling of a word,(7)take notes in class,(8)ask teacher for paraphrase or synonym of new word,(9)use new word in sentences,(10)verbal repetition. And the least-helpful strategies are: (1) use semantic feature grids, (2) check for L1 cognate, (3) skip or pass new word, (4) image word form, (5) test oneself with word tests, (6) use keyword method. At the end of the questionnaire, students are required to rate the top five most-helpful vocabulary learning strategies used for discovering a new word's meaning and consolidating the new word once it has been encountered respectively. And the results show similar findings to the previous.At last, the pedagogical implications of the research are suggested.