The Challenges and Strategies in Acquiring English Vocabulary among University Students

Abstract

In this modern era, English language is widely used in most sectors such as Engineering, Medicine, Tourism, Entertainment, Business, including Education. Numerous studies, especially in the Malaysian context, have reported that ESL learners specifically at the tertiary education level, are yet to achieve the standard university vocabulary level. In exploring learners’ challenges in acquiring English vocabulary and vocabulary learning strategies, quantitative methods were employed, involving a survey using a set of questionnaires that consists of close-ended and open-ended questions. 40 Graphic Design and Digital Media students participated in this study. Findings from the study indicate that the most prominent challenges are allocating enough studying/learning time, learning technical terms, and learning homophones. The most used discovery strategies are learning new words when working with others in the class, asking classmates for meaning, and analysing pictures/gestures accompanying the new words. As for consolidation strategies, referring to a pictorial representation of the meaning, connecting them with personal experiences, and using English social media are the top three most used strategies. Hence, educators could use the data as a reference in exploring and practicing the highlighted vocabulary learning strategies in bettering their pedagogical practices in language classrooms.