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Research Problem
Investigating Malaysians' foreign language mastery among monolinguals and bilinguals in Malaysia is difficult as Malaysia is a multicultural country with Malay, Chinese and Indian as the three main ethnic groups. Usually, undergraduate students are offered four foreign language courses at university which are Mandarin, Japanese, French and Arabic.
Aim of study
Objectives of study
- Foreign language
- Vocabulary
- Vocabulary Mastery
- Bilingualism
- Multilingualism
- Undergraduates
- Motivation
- Proficiency
- Diagnostics Test
This definition provides a clear distinction between a foreign language and a second language, where a second language is a learned language spoken to learners. In foreign language courses at universities, students are exposed to the most elementary sets of vocabulary in the language that should allow everyday communication.
The advantages of bilingualism or multilingualism in language acquisition
A total of 90 Turkish-Persian bilingual, Armenian-Persian bilingual, and Persian monolingual EFL students (30 students each) were instructed to complete 18 productive items at the 2000- and 3000-word levels, each based on the Controlled Productive Aptitude Test (CPAT) as an indication of their knowledge levels (Nation, 1990). These claims actually contradict the results of Mohammad Hossein Keshavarz and Hamideh Astaneh (2004) and Barac and Bialystok (2012).
The role of vocabulary in language learning
This research provided evidence that age is a factor in increasing vocabulary size in both Mandarin and English. Other studies have also investigated the developmental rate of vocabulary size (Cobo-Lewis, Pearson, Eilers, & Umbel, 2002; Hammer, Lawrence, & Miccio, 2008) and lexical skills (Kohnert & Bates, 2002). It has been established how overall vocabulary size and reading and comprehension skills are correlated, especially in foreign languages (Nagy 1988).
Two significant results were shown: 1) vocabulary size positively affects FL students' vocabulary depth and 2) reading performance is influenced by the number of words students know and is improved when they know the words in depth.
The impact of L1/L2 on foreign language proficiency
Littlewood and Yu (2009) observed the use of the first language (L1) by foreign language (FL) teachers during instruction, in a study, namely "First language and target language in the foreign language classroom". Many researchers have previously held strong views that FL teachers should constantly and consistently use the target language (TL) – in this case foreign language in the FL class for reasons such as: Using TL in FL classes is how students will become exposed to more comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985), teachers are students' most important resource for building their FL foundation (Turnbull, 2001), and the interference of L1 in TL/FL learning can affect the level of acquisition. Littlewood and Yu also interviewed 50 2nd year tertiary students from Hong Kong (HK) and China (ML) about their English teachers' use of L1 (Cantonese or Putonghua) in class.
Each research participant completed the 2nd year of L2 by the end of the 10th grade.
The role of motivation in language acquisition and performance
A study conducted by Gonzales and Lopez (2015), “Foreign Language Learning Motivation Questionnaire: Further Examine of a Six-Factor Model,” examined the reliability and validity of the model to assess types of motives in FL learning. More than half of the sample has already been registered for a FL course for a year. With the help of the FL instructors, students who volunteered were assigned to answer both questionnaires during the FL course period.
The MUSIC Model of the Academic Motivation Inventory invented by Jones (2012) was used in another study, Measuring Student Motivation: Validity Evidence for the MUSIC Model of the Academic Motivation Inventory (Jones & Skaggs, 2016) for model validity and measuring students' beliefs about of the five components in the model, which are e-power, utility, success, interest and concern.
Theoretical framework of study
Factors Conditioning Cross Lexical Influence (Hall & Ecke, 2003)
To test validity, the researchers compared the models' inventories with the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ), Utility Value Scale, Perceived Competence Scale, Interest Scale, Classroom Life Instrument (CLI), Effort/Importance Scale and Instructor and course ratings. Analysis was conducted through two phases to assess the qualities of the MUSIC Inventory and examine the construct and predictive validity of the MUSIC Inventory by comparing the scores obtained with other previously mentioned instruments. The results showed that the model is valid, as a correlation was found between statements in the MUSIC Inventory and four additional statements that were used as references.
The MUSIC Inventory was also found to be a practical tool that can be easily used without losing the essence of the data/results to identify course motivation and engagement.
MUSIC Model of Motivation (Jones, 2009; 2015)
In the current research, the researcher will focus on three areas based on the model of Hall and Ecke (2003), which are learner, learning and language and their effects on vocabulary size.
Research design
Since Malaysians are at least bilingual, – if not multilingual – it would be impossible to find a group of monolinguals to compare with bilinguals and multilinguals. For this research, a purposive sampling will be conducted on only two groups of undergraduate students in a Malaysian university who are bilingual and multilingual. These two groups will then be limited to only bilingual and multilingual students are at second level of the foreign languages which are Mandarin second level and Japanese second level.
Before respondents are asked to answer the questionnaire on language attitudes and language backgrounds, a consent form will be distributed to obtain their agreements to use their information as part of the data.
Instruments
Diagnostics Test – Nation’s Productive Vocabulary 2000-word Level Test 1(ai) and Nation’s University Level Word List 1(aii)
After consenting, respondents will receive 3 diagnostic tests (see Appendix A) and 1 self-report questionnaire (see Appendix B). They are given clues based on the first few letters of the correct vocabulary that matches the context given by the sentence. This is important for the researcher to divide the participants into 2 different groups which are: a) less skilled group and b) skilled group.
Diagnostics Test (b) – Nation’s Vocabulary test
MUSIC Inventory (College student version) Questionnaire
Data will be collected by extracting Nation's Productive Vocabulary Level Test 2000-word, Nation's University Word List, Nation's Vocabulary Test (Mandarin .. amp; Japanese versions) and an adaptation of Jones's The Music Model of Motivation. The second part of the data collection will be obtained through an adaptation of the Nation's Vocabulary Test consisting of 20 words out of the first 1000 words. In the first process, data will be tested for authentication in three simple steps.
The research will compare the mean (μ), standard deviation (SD) and percentage (%) of FL, 2K and AWL VLT scores to answer the first research question which is: Does knowledge of more than 2 languages help learners increase their foreign language (FL) vocabulary faster.
Background
Findings
To answer questions 1a to c, students' scores were assessed on the Japanese and Mandarin versions of the VLT 1K words, the 2K level of the English VLT, and the AWL level of the English VLT. Specifically, the results suggest that in the case of Japanese students, when they have a higher vocabulary score for the 2K level in English, their vocabulary in FL increases. About 82% of students were proficient, while 18-19% of both Mandarin and Japanese students were weak in the subject.
The factors Empowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest and Caring from MUSIC model were found to have an effect on students' FL vocabulary development in the classroom.
Summary
The results of the experiment are as follows: Both bilingual and multilingual groups showed no significant differences in FL vocabulary size to indicate that knowing more than 2 languages will help students increase their FL vocabulary faster. However, this does not negate the fact that the multilingual group outperformed the bilingual group in FL vocabulary by a small margin. While research by Bialystok, Majunder, and Martin (2003) had shown an obvious advantage for bilingual children over monolingual children in vocabulary and language tasks, this research also found no difference between bilingual and multilingual students in the FL vocabulary test.
In addition to the results of a study conducted by Sparks, Patton, Ganschow, and Humbach (2009) on L1-L2 relationships that argued the importance of early first language in L2 skills, this study also established the importance of English as L2 or L3 in FL vocabulary aptitude.
Implications of Findings
Self on language performance (Dörnyei & Chan, 2013), - in this case it would be a factor of success and usefulness, the results of the study proved the effect of learner's interest and learning environment on FL vocabulary knowledge. In summary, the findings of the study further strengthen the results of past research, extend the scope to multilingual people, and add facts that demonstrate the importance of English as a foundation, interest, and concern as motivational factors for language learning among Malaysian undergraduate students. In addition, the results can also contribute to redesigning curricula in a more constructive way, taking into account vocabulary knowledge and classroom factors to improve foreign language learning and vocabulary teaching.
This study helps create awareness about the topic and provides insights on how to address easily overlooked foreign language proficiency issues.
Recommendation for Future Research
Future research may also consider comparing students' vocabulary levels at the beginning and end of the course to truly observe the effects and progress in foreign language vocabulary acquisition. In addition, the research in question specifically evaluated the student's acquisition of foreign language vocabulary, which limited only non-verbal performance. Therefore, it would be advisable to conduct this research among foreign language learners with intensive language exposure.
Increasing vocabulary size among foreign language teachers can also help strengthen awareness of effective teaching styles—addressing vocabulary size and its use and application in the learning process. Six Principles of Foreign Language Vocabulary Teaching: A Commentary on Laufer, Meara, and Nation's "Ten Best Ideas." Beyond competence: it is the journey to mastery that counts. solutionsmag.com/articles/930/beyondcompetence-its-the-journey-to-masterythat-counts.
