Quynh Le

Read about the research being undertaken by Quynh Le, a PhD student in Applied Linguistics

Thesis title

Supervisors

Prof Averil Coxhead and A/Prof Irina Elgort

Abstract

Vocabulary knowledge has been recognized as crucial for language learners to fulfill academic tasks at English-medium universities. Therefore, developing vocabulary for academic use is a high-priority goal for those who study English for Academic Purposes (EAP). A growing body of qualitative research is zooming in on EAP students’ and teachers’ perceptions of vocabulary-related matters, such as incorporating vocabulary into academic writing (e.g., Coxhead, 2008, 2012), or vocabulary learning in academic contexts (Moir & Nation, 2002; Therova, 2021). Such studies have provided profound insights and implications for EAP programme planners and teachers to support vocabulary learners in a more targeted way.

Following this research direction, the proposed study aims to explore the metacognitive knowledge that underlies individual student’s vocabulary learning decisions and how this knowledge might be affected by the teacher and course materials. Metacognitive knowledge refers to beliefs and knowledge a person has about the nature of vocabulary learning, about themselves as a vocabulary learner and vocabulary learning strategies at their disposal (Wenden, 1998). In addition, the study will also examine the teachers’ beliefs on vocabulary teaching in an EAP programme and how these beliefs affect their classroom practices. Data will be gathered from interviews, classroom observations and document analysis (including course materials analysis) over a ten-week EAP programme. The study hopes to gain an in-depth understanding of language learners’ and teachers’ perspectives on important facets in lexical development for academic use.

Biography

Quynh Le is currently a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. She completed her M.A. degree programme in Applied Linguistics from the same university. Quynh Le previously worked as an IELTS instructor and lecturer in different universities and language institutes in Vietnam. She has been awarded the Victorial Doctoral Scholarship in the March 2019 round. Her research interests include vocabulary teaching and learning for academic purposes, metacognition in vocabulary learning and teacher cognition. More specifically, she is interested in researching language learners’ metacognition that guide their vocabulary learning strategies and how this metacognitive-level awareness might change as learners interact with course materials and classroom teaching throughout a language course.