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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

STRATEGIC, LEXICAL AND SYNTACTIC COMPETENCIES IN ENGLISH OF
FRESHMAN STUDENTS IN THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY:
BASIS FOR DRILL EXERCISES

A Dissertation
Presented to
The Faculty of Graduate School
Batangas State University
Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Of Doctor of Philosophy
Major in English

By:

NGUYEN THI THANH HONG
April 2015


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

APPROVAL SHEET
This dissertation entitled “STRATEGIC, LEXICAL AND SYNTACTIC
COMPETENCIES IN ENGLISH OF FRESHMAN STUDENTS IN THAI
NGUYEN UNIVERSITY: BASIS FOR DRILL EXERCISES” prepared and
submitted by NGUYEN THI THANH HONG in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English has
been examined and is recommended for Oral Examination.

AMADA G. BANAAG, Ph.D.
Adviser
PANEL OF EXAMINERS
Approved by the committee on Oral Examination with a grade of ________.

DR. MATILDA H. DIMAANO
Chairman
DR. MARIA LUISA A. VALDEZ
Member

DR. FELIX M. PANOPIO
Member

DR. MYRNA G. SULIT
External Representative
Accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English.
PASSED
Comprehensive Examination: ____________

_____________
Date

MATILDA H. DIMAANO, Ph.D.
Dean, Graduate Studies
College of Arts and Sciences


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

ABSTRACT
Title:

Strategic, Lexical and Syntactic Competencies in English of
Freshman Students in Thai Nguyen University: Basis for
Drill Exercises

Author:

Nguyen Thi Thanh


Degree:

Doctor of Philosophy

Major:

English

Year:

2015

Adviser:

Amada G. Banaag

Summary
English as an international language is spoken in many countries both
as native and as a second or foreign language. It is the world’s dominant
language because aside from being designated as an official among sixty
two nations, it has the greatest number of speakers. In most international
organization, English is the official and working language aside from being
the most taught foreign language across the globe. People with knowledge
in English language have better career and pay as well as communication
with the outside world.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

In globalization where English language and communication play a
crucial role, the ability to communicate in English is now a necessity. People
with different linguistic background believe that if one communicates in
English fluently and proficiently he has an edge over the other since English
as the language of the global village serves as a neutral language to all.
This study aimed to assess the strategic, lexical and syntactic
competencies in English of Freshman students in Thai Nguyen University.
The subjects of the study comprised of 382 college students selected through
random sampling out of 8,540 total population and 57 teachers of the five
universities in Thai Nguyen City. Descriptive method of research was utilized
with teacher made test and survey questionnaire as instruments used in
gathering data.
Results of the study indicate that majority of the freshman students of
Thai Nguyen University employed strategic competencies to cope and
promote their communication skills. In terms of lexical competencies,
freshman students have poor performance in the areas of vocabulary, idioms
and word formation but have better performance in synonyms and antonyms.
As regards to syntactic competencies, freshman students demonstrate poor
performance in the areas of verb tenses, direct and indirect speech, but have


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

better or remarkable performance in the areas of subject verb agreement,
pronoun references and phrases and clauses.
Further, there is no significant relationship that exists between students’
lexical and syntactic competencies. Teachers’ assessed that freshman
students did not frequently used or practice their lexical and syntactic skills
as indicated by their mean score of 3.0. There exists a relationship between
teachers’ assessment and the level of students’ lexical and syntactic
competencies. The drill exercises formulated contains activities geared
towards improving freshman students’ lexical and syntactic competencies.
The study recommended that English teachers handling the subjects maybe
given more trainings and workshops in teaching content areas of the course;
that the proposed drill exercises maybe presented to school administrators
for review, suggestions and evaluation; and that follow up studies maybe
conducted on aspects related to the variables of the study.


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researcher would like to express her profound gratitude to the
following persons who in one way or another help to make this humble work
a reality.
Dr. Matilda H. Dimaano, Dean of the Graduate Degree Studies of
Batangas State University and chairman of the panel for oral defense, for her
intellectual suggestions and meaningful recommendations;
Dr. Amada G. Banaag, her adviser, for the genuine concern, guidance
and encouragement that led the completion of this research;
Dr. Myrna G. Sulit, external representative, for her very insightful
suggestions;
Dr. Felix M. Panopio, statistician, for his kindness in sharing his
mathematical expertise;
Dr. Maria Luisa A. Valdez, panel member for her comments and
encouragement;
Dr. Remedios Magnaye, recording secretary, for writing down all the
suggestions of the panel for the improvement of this work;
To the participants in this study and colleagues at Thai Nguyen
University, who rendered help in the collection of data for this study;


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

To her family whom she selflessly and unconditionally love; her mother
for believing that she can accomplish anything she sets out to do; her sisters,

who have always given her a lot of encouragement and her beloved husband
for his steadfast love, patience and support for making sure that she could
devote all her time to this research endeavor.
Finally, the researcher is entirely indebted to all her friends for their
generosity. Thank you!


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

DEDICATION
This humble work is wholeheartedly dedicated to my loving and ever
supportive husband, my sons, to my family and to all my colleagues in Thai
Nguyen University.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hong


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE............................................................................................i
APPROVAL SHEET................................................................................ii
ABSTRACT.............................................................................................iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT............................................................................vi
DEDICATION..........................................................................................viii
TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................ix
LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................xii
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................xiv
CHAPTER
I. THE PROBLEM
Introduction.............................................................................1
Statement of the Problem ......................................................8
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study.....................9
Significance of the Study .....................................................10
II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Literature ..........................................................13
Research Literature ……………………………………….......51
Synthesis …………………………………………………….....59


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines


Theoretical Framework……………………………………. .....62
Conceptual Framework …………………………………….....68
Hypothesis …………………………………………………. .....69
Definition of Terms ………………………………………… ....69
III. RESEARCH METHOD AND PROCEDURE
Research Environment.........................................................71
Research Design ……………...............................................76
Subjects of the Study …………………..................................77
Data Gathering Instrument ……………………………….......78
Data Gathering Procedure …………………………...............80
Statistical Treatment of Data ……………………………….....81
IV. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF
DATA……………………………………………………………..82

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Summary of Findings.. ..……………………………………..153
Conclusions………………………………………………… ...163
Recommendations ……………………………………… ......164
BIBLIOGRAPHY………………………………………………………… ..165


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BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines


APPENDICES
A. Questionnaire for Students………………………………….173
B. Questionnaire for Teachers…............................................184
.

C. Validation Letters……………………………………………..198
D. Request Letters...................................................................201
E. Documentations
(1) Validation of Questionnaires in
Batangas State University ......................................205
(2) Photographs of the Research Sites .........................206
(3) Photograph of the Researcher with the
Heads of Institutions for the Approval for the
Conduct of the Study ................................................207
(4) Photographs of the Teacher Respondents ..............208
(5) Photographs of the Student Respondents ...............209
.

F. Psychrometric Conversion Table ……………...…...............210

CURRICULUM VITAE


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BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines


LIST OF TABLES
Table

Title

Page

1

Distribution of the Respondents of the Study........................77

2

Student Skills Evaluated as to Strategic Competencies.........83

3

Student Skills According to the Frequency of Use……..........86

4

Student Skills According to the Degree of Importance...........88

5

Performance of Student Respondents
on Lexical Competence..........................................................90

6


Performance of Student Respondents
on Syntactic Competence.....................................................94

7

Relationship Between Each Pair of Students’ Lexical
Competence..........................................................................100

8

Relationship Between Each Pair of Students’ Syntactic
Competence..........................................................................101

9

Relationship Between Each Pair of Students’ Lexical
and Syntactic Competence..................................................103

10

(a) and (b) Student Skills on Lexical and Syntactic
Competencies................................................................................105

11

Students’ Lexical and Syntactic Skills According to the
Frequency of Use..........................................................................109



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BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Students’ Lexical and Syntactic Skills
According to the Importance..............................................110

13

Bases for the Design of Drill Exercises..............................113


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure
1


Title

Page

Research Paradigm on Strategic, Lexical
and Syntactic Competencies in English
of Freshman Students............................................68


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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY
Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Introduction
English language is considered a significant tool for communication in
the 21st century as the world becomes global business.

It is also the

language that plays an important role in government diplomacy, science,
medicine and other profession.

In the world also connected by bits and


bytes, English language is also important as it emerged as a common vehicle
for communication.
In globalization where English language and communication play a
crucial role, the ability to communicate in English is now a necessity. People
with different linguistic background believe that if one communicates in
English fluently and proficiently he has an edge over the others since English
as the language of the global village serves as a neutral language to all.
In many countries, English has become the language of power and
prestige. As a gatekeeper to social and economic progress, many countries
give importance to English language as it serves as a pathway towards
progress and learning. Understanding and communicating English is a factor
for a person to learn and progress faster because most of the information is
available in the English language and for that reason to be globally competitive,


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

communicating effectively in that language is a must.
As an international language, English is spoken in many countries both
as native and as a second or foreign language. It is the world’s dominant
language because aside from being designated as an official language
among sixty two nations, it has the greatest number of speakers. In most
international organization, English is the official and working language aside
from being the most taught foreign language across the globe. People with

knowledge in English language have better career and pay as well as
communication with the outside world.
Further, often referred to as the world’s language, English is spoken
widely. In a number of jobs, professions and fields, a working knowledge of
English becomes a need.

Knowledge also of the English language to

enhance educational attainment through improved communication ability is
also important.
English as the lingua franca of the modern times of business and of
popular culture is also the language of computers and internet aside from
being the language of globalization of international business, politics and
diplomacy.

It enables people of different countries to converse and do

business with each other. As a language that serves as a common link for
international and inter cultural communication in a global society, its use


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

minimizes cultural diversity and expands cultural convergence.

The narrowing of cultural linguistic diversity, expansion of cultural and
linguistic divergence as well as information and media advancement are
some of the contribution of English language to globalization. One of the
biggest advantages of a country in a global job market is the proficiency of
the skilled workers in the English language.

In the field of education,

proficiency in the English language also improves academic performance of
students.
Proficiency in the English language has been identified as a requisite in
the globalized economy with countries having a large number of its
population capable of communicating in English being rewarded with
economic advantages. In Asian countries, this trend has been realized by
both governments and individuals and are thus pushing the wide interest in
English language study in the last ten years. Vietnam is no exemption to this
trend considering that it is one of the non-native speakers of the English
language. In the 2011 study of the organization EF Education First Ltd.,
Vietnam was shown to have an EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) of
44.32 or very low proficiency close to Thailand that is 39.41.
This EF EPI is the first of its kind index comparing the English
proficiency of non-native English speaking countries calculated from


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

2,368,730 test takers across 42 countries and two territories, accumulated
from 2007 to 2009. In the following year that is in 2012, Vietnam showed and
EF EPI of 52.14 or low proficiency, an improvement from the previous year in
comparison with Thailand which got a value of 44.36 or very low proficiency.
Vietnam issued the Government Decision 1400 in 2008 whose goal is
to renovate thoroughly the tasks of teaching and learning foreign languages
within the national educational system and through its Ministry of Education
and Training (MoET) National Foreign Language 2020 Project, or Project
2020 which aims to embark on an ambitious education reforms where all
school levels will be required to have a minimum level of English by 2020.
Under this program, Vietnam does not only want majority of its students
to be able to use a foreign language especially English confidently in their
study, daily communication and work by 2020, but demands that its high
school teachers are competent on the second highest skill level (C1), the
elementary school teachers on the fourth highest level (B1) and middle
school educators the third-highest (B2).
According to Dr. Diana l. Dudzik, a senior fellow at an education ministry
project on foreign language improvement, students who have studied English for
seven years beginning in grade six are often not able to use English beyond

simple greetings and questions. This problem is magnified when the students


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam


BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

enter the tertiary level as freshman students

when they definitely will be

handicapped to tackle more advanced tasks in learning the English language
but also in other subjects such as Science and Mathematics where English is
the medium of instruction. Second language learners (L2) undergo
developmental stages in their language process and are characterized to be
longitudinal and sequential in nature.

Only when the L2 leaner had

completely passed the stages and undertook the maturation process that
communicative competence emerged.
As an applied component of language, communicative competence is
the ability of the speakers to use different functioning rules of the system. It
involves speaker’s grammatical knowledge of syntax, morphology and
phonology.

It also includes the social knowledge of the speaker in the

appropriate use of language. Knowing English involves speaking, writing,
listening and reading. Producing the language correctly as well as using the
language for a particular purpose is part also of communication in English.
When speakers are able to perform the needed communicative functions,
they achieve communicative competence in the language.
A person’s knowledge of the language and his ability to use that

language in order to interpret and produce meaningful texts appropriate to
the situation in which they are used manifests that person’s language


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

competence. This can be developed through activities or tasks utilized in real
situations or practical applications. In the case of students, they can develop
their language competencies through meaningful classroom activities and
language use in contexts based on their needs, interests, and experiences.
As students are involved in various aspects of the task itself not in
isolation, it is necessary to teach practice and assess the vocabulary,
grammatical structures, text forms, and social conventions important to carry
on this task. Thus, the objective of the Vietnamese L2 learners is to achieve
a certain level of communicative competence in the areas of grammatical,
socio linguistic, strategic competence and discourse competence.
Thai Nguyen University (TNU) is known as one of the three regional
universities in Vietnam, and a unique university in the Northern Mountainous
Area of Vietnam. Since its establishment in 1994, TNU has become one of
Vietnam’s leading regional Universities. It is a conglomeration of colleges
which were established earlier as separate institutions of learning. The
unification of these colleges into a university system continues the long
history of Thai Nguyen being a center of learning in the region.
For 20 years, TNU has grown and blossomed in the performance of its

functions with a vision to move towards the future with dynamism in the
pursuit of excellence. TNU has seven universities with more than twenty


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

thousand students coming from different remote provinces in the North of
Vietnam. Under the program of the national foreign language 2020 project,
TNU also becomes one of the centers for human resource development for
foreign language studies and has to face a lot of difficulties and challenges in
improving quality of English teaching and learning to enhance the language
proficiency of the students. Those difficulties come from both teachers and
students, and sometimes from some other factors such as, government’s
policy on English in school education or facilities for English teaching and
learning.
In Thai Nguyen University most of the students who are hailed from
rural areas consider English always as a really difficult subject and they do
not often like English lessons. Although they have different background
knowledge and different level of learning, students learn English in large and
mixed ability classes normally with 60 or even up to 80 students in a class.
Moreover, according to the policy of the Vietnamese Ministry of
Education and Training even though English has become a `compulsory
subject in high schools and has been one of the three main subjects beside
mathematics and literature, students have no competence for a simple

conversation in English because students learn basic grammar at school
level for the purpose of passing a test or examinations and not to face any


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

real life situations. They pay more attention on subjects for entrance
examination to be admitted in the universities.
Based on the researcher’s observation and as an English teacher
teaching the subject for several years, most of the students encounter
difficulties along grammar and vocabulary as well as their inability to use
varied communication strategies.

Through this study, student problems

along these areas would be identified and remedied through drill exercises
designed to enhance their strategic, lexical and syntactic competencies.
Statement of the Problem
This study assessed the strategic, lexical and syntactic competencies
in English of Freshman students in Thai Nguyen University.
This sought answers to the following questions:
1. What are the strategic competencies of Freshman students?
2. What is the level of students’ lexical competence relative to:
2.1 vocabulary;

2.2 idioms;
2.3 word formation; and
2.4 antonyms/synonyms?
3. What is the level of students’ syntactic competence in terms of:
3.1 subject verb agreement;
3.2 verb tenses;


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

3.3 direct and indirect speech;
3.4 phrases and clause; and
3.5 pronoun references?
4. Are there significant relationships between pairs of students’ lexical
competencies?
5. Are there significant relationships between pairs of students’ syntactic
competencies?
6. Are there significant relationship between students’ lexical and syntactic
competencies?
7. How do teachers assess the students’ lexical and syntactic
competencies?
8. What drill exercises may be prepared toward improving the students’
communicative competence?
Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study

The study assessed the strategic, lexical and syntactic competencies of
the 382 freshman students selected randomly from five different universities
in Thai Nguyen as well as the responses of 57 English teachers who
experienced teaching freshman students. The lexical competencies tested
were

in

the

areas

of

vocabulary,

idioms,

word

formation,

and

antonyms/synonyms while the syntactic competencies included were in the


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

areas of subject- verb agreement, verb tenses, direct and indirect speech,
phrases and clause, and pronoun references. Significant relationships were
also

compared

between

pairs

of

students’

lexical,

and

syntactic

competencies. Teacher respondents made also assessments along these
two competencies.
Out of these data analyses drill exercises were the output of the study
for freshman students’ communicative competence improvement. The
responses of the students to the validated test and teachers’ responses to

the validated questionnaire were gathered and statistically analyzed. The
study was conducted in an urbanized setting covering a period of six months
from July to December 2013. The students and teachers demographic
background were not included in this study nor the identity of the
respondents were gathered. Stratification of the students and teacher
respondents was not done nor their genders considered. The respondents
included freshman students who are currently enrolled in an English course
in the University. The teacher respondents also include those who are
currently teaching freshman English courses.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant to the following: Freshman students, English
teachers, administrators and policymakers, current and future researchers.


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Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Freshman Students.

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY
Republic of the Philippines

Being one of the respondents of this study,

students will largely benefit from the findings of this work as it will establish
their current level of lexical and syntactic competencies and thus identify their
areas of handicap which will be used as basis for the design of remedial
strategies.

English Teachers. They will be provided with a rationale and
understanding regarding the students’ language performance and would
instill in them a deep appreciation of the remedial strategies that will be
designed. This is also important to both the students and the teachers as this
will generate awareness and sensitivity to the specific lexical and syntactic
standards of the English language.
Administrators and Policymakers. This study is important to them as
they will appreciate the need to institute teaching reforms and insure the
implementation of innovative strategies towards the improvement of English
language teaching that is geared towards generation of personal benefit. The
college leaders, college managers of the universities in Thai Nguyen in
general and in the foreign languages departments in particular may refer to
the results of this study to enhance the training quality of faculty and improve
the students’ competencies in English to meet the demands of the National
Foreign Language 2020 Project.
Current and Future Researchers: Result of this study may motivate
researchers to develop other form of exercises that will improve students’