Abstract
This study is intended as an action research project to improve the vocabulary learning practice of the second-year non-English majors at Hai Phong Medical University by means of an explicit strategy training programme of three strategy sets, namely dictionary-related strategies, recording vocabulary and studying affixes. A ten-week strategy training programme, which was divided into three phases, was designed for a class of 27 students. In the first phase, pre-treatment questionnaires were used to study the students’ problems in learning vocabulary. Then the students attended three strategy teaching lessons. In the second phase, the students are given weekly guided vocabulary exercises. In the last phase, they practised vocabulary self-study in a free-style diary. By the end of the semester, post-treatment questionnaires were distributed. The results from the study showed that (1) the learners’ biggest difficulty in learning vocabulary was “not knowing how to learn”; (2) the students used all the three strategies more frequently after having participated in the training programme. (3) dictionary-related strategies were assessed as the most useful and most frequently-used, then recording vocabulary strategy came second, and the last position was for studying affixes. The study also shows an example of how learning strategies can be incorporated in a Vietnamese educational setting