A Comparative Study on Vocabulary Learning Strategies by Chinese English Majors and Non-English Majors

Abstract

The present study aims to explore English vocabulary learning beliefs and strategies employed by English majors and non-English majors. A questionnaire was administered to 210 students (105 English majors and 105 non-English majors) from two universities to explore English vocabulary learning beliefs and strategies employed by English majors and non-English majors in China. The questionnaire is adapted from Gu and Hu [1]. Statistical descriptions and independent samples t-test are undertaken to process the data collected. The analyses of the data reveal both Chinese English and non-English majors are interested in learning vocabulary. They report adopting a number of learning strategies in their vocabulary learning processes. They appear to use metacognitive strategies more often when they learn vocabulary, especially self-initiation. At cognitive level, they are both inclined to adopt dictionary use, guessing, note-taking and activation strategies very often, while encoding and rehearsal are less used. English majors' strategy use frequencies seem all higher than non-English majors, except note-taking strategies. English majors show significant differences from non-English majors in some vocabulary learning strategies like: self-initiation, dictionary use and contextual guessing. The study suggests that teachers should encourage students to hold a positive belief on vocabulary learning and to employ both metacognitive and cognitive strategies in learning vocabulary. Students should pay as much attention to cognitive strategies as to metacognitive strategies.