VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT =================== NGUYỄN THANH TÂM UNMARKED PLURAL NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES FOR THE 1 ST YEAR STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY OF TOURISM, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE (Danh từ số nhiều không có dấu hiệu nhận dạng trong tiếng Anh và những khó khăn của sinh viên năm thứ nhất khoa Du Lịch Đại học Văn hóa Hà Nội) M.A. MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS CODE: 60.22.15 H NI- 2011 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT =================== NGUYỄN THANH TÂM UNMARKED PLURAL NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES FOR THE 1 ST YEAR STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY OF TOURISM, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE (Danh từ số nhiều không có dấu hiệu nhận dạng trong tiếng Anh và những khó khăn của sinh viên năm thứ nhất khoa Du Lịch Đại học Văn hóa Hà Nội) M.A. MINOR THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS CODE: 60.22.15 SUPERVISOR: DAO THI THU TRANG, M.A H NI- 2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Certificate of originality of study project report………………………………………… i Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract……………………………………………………………………… ………… iii Table of contents……………………………………………………………………….….iv List of tables and charts……………………………………………………………… .vii PART I- INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… 1 1. Rationale…………………………………………………………………… ….1 2. Aims of the study…………………………………………………………… 1 3. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………… 2 4. Methodology……………………………………………………………… … 2 The subjects……………………………………………………….…… …2 The instruments……………………………………………….…… 3 The procedures…………………………………………….……………….3 Data analysis…………………………………………………………… …4 5. Design of the study…………………………………………………………… 4 PART II- DEVELOPMENT………………………………………………………….… 5 Chapter 1- Literature Review………………………………………….…………….… 5 1.1. Definition of English nouns………………………………….…………….… 5 1.2. Classification of nouns…………………………………………………… … 5 1.2.2. Proper nouns……………………………………………………… 6 1.2.2.1. Definition……………………………… ………………… 6 1.2.2.2. Classification……………………………….…………… 6 1.2.3. Common nouns…………………………………………………… 7 1.2.3.1. Definition…………………………………………………….7 1.2.3.2. Classification…………………………………………… 7 1.3. Grammatical categories…………………………………………………… ….7 1.3.1. Number…………………………………………………………… 7 1.3.1.1. Definition……………………………………………… …. 7 v 1.3.1.2. Classification of nouns in terms of number…………….……8 1.3.2. Case………………………………………………………………… 8 1.3.2.1. Kinds and choice of genitives…………………………… . 8 1.3.2.3. Genitive meanings……………………………………….… 8 1.3.3. Gender………………………………………………………… ……9 Chapter 2- Grammatical features of plural nouns in English…………………… ….10 2.1. Definition……………………………………………………………….…….10 2.2. Classification…………………………………………………………… … 10 2.2.1. Marked plural nouns…………………………………………… ….11 2.2.1.1. Definition……………………………………….………… 11 2.2.1.2. Classification……………………………….…………… ….11 (a) Invariables…………………………………….…………… …….11 (b) Variables……………………………………….…………… … 12 2.2.2. Unmarked plural nouns……………………………………… ……13 2.2.2.1. Definition……………………………… ……………… … 13 2.2.2.2. Classification…………………………………………… …. 14 (a) Unmarked plural nouns which are always used with plural verbs 14 (b) Unmarked plural nouns which refer to groups of people or things………………………………………………………………….15 (c) Unmarked plural nouns which are formed by ‘the + adjective’… 18 (d) Invariable nouns which can be singular or plurals…………….… 19 2.2.2.3. Subject-Verb agreement………………………………… … 20 Chapter 3- Findings 21 3.1. Data analysis results…………………………………………………… ……21 3.1.1. The mid-term test……………………………………………….… 21 3.1.2. The students’ questionnaires…………………………………… …22 3.1.3. The teachers’ interview……………………………………… ……27 3.2. Findings……………………………………………………….………… … 30 3.2.1. No inflectional distinction with singular form… …………… … 30 3.2.2. Subject-Verb agreement…………………………………… …… 30 Chapter 4- Some suggested solutions…………………………………………… …… 32 4.1. Towards the students…………………………………………………… … 32 vi 4.1.1. Using dictionary……………………………………………… … 32 4.1.2. Self-access materials…………………………………………….… 33 4.1.3. Making a vocabulary notebook………………………………… …34 4.1.4. Group work…………………………………………………… … 34 4.2. Towards the teachers………………………………………………………….34 4.2.1. Using effective teaching techniques………………………… …….35 4.2.2. Using vocabulary consolidation as warm-up activities……… ……35 4.2.3. Guiding students’ home revision and give them feedback…… … 36 PART III- CONCLUSION………………………………………………………… … 38 1. Summary of the study……………………………………………………… 38 2. Limitation of the study……………………………………………………… 39 3. Suggestion for further study………………………………………………… 39 References…………………………………………………………………………………41 Appendixes……………………………………………………………………………… I 1 PART I- INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale Learning to master a language is a lengthy and effortful process including both learning the language knowledge: grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc. and language skills: reading, speaking, writing and listening. As the final aim of learning language in general and learning English in particular is communicative, vocabulary is one of the most essential goals to achieve. However, how to learn a language, especially its vocabulary effectively is really a problem. At Hanoi University of Culture (HUC), the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism often report to have a lot of difficulties in learning vocabulary, especially the number category. Surprisingly, a number of plural nouns in English have no plural endings (unmarked plural nouns). This is a big problem for students because they cannot realize these nouns as plural by their forms. It arises even more challenges for students when they often make mistakes in making the subject and the verb of the sentence agree. Up to now, no study on this matter has been carried out at HUC. Therefore, the situation encouraged the author to do a research on ‘Unmarked plural nouns in English and their difficulties for the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, Hanoi University of Culture’. It is the author’s hope that this study will be really useful for both teachers and students in teaching and learning vocabulary in general and unmarked plural nouns in particular. 2. Aims of the study - to provide learners with grammatical features of unmarked plural nouns in English - to specify difficulties which unmarked plural nouns in English cause to the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC - to suggest some solutions for students to overcome the difficulties in their using unmarked plural nouns in English 3. Scope of the study This study is limited to provide learners with grammatical features of unmarked plural nouns in English such as definition, classification, agreement with verbs, some usage notes, etc. More importantly, it tries to serve the purpose of finding out the difficulties in using unmarked plural nouns in English faced by the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC and seeking for possible solutions to the problems. 4. Methodology 2 The theoretical background in this study is based on the theoretical frameworks by different linguists. The presentation of these linguists’ theory is to give the readers features of plural nouns and especially grammatical features of unmarked plural nouns in English. Additionally, in order to find out the difficulties of unmarked plural nouns in English for the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC, this study adopts quantitative and qualitative methods. Below is a description of the subjects, the instruments, and procedures for the study. 4.1. The subjects There are two types of subjects participating in the study. The first type is the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC, and the later is the teachers who have been working with these students for years. 4.2. The instruments In order to ensure the validity and reliability of the study, different tools were used, namely written test, questionnaires, and interview. Instrument 1: The mid-term test was used as a tool to investigate the difficulties of unmarked plural nouns in English which the 1 st year students have to encounter in their vocabulary learning. Instrument 2: Survey questionnaires on the 1 st year students were employed to find out what difficulties unmarked plural nouns in English cause to them in their vocabulary learning, what teaching methods used by their teachers they would enjoy, and what they have done to improve their knowledge of unmarked plural nouns in English. (see appendix 1) Instrument 3: An interview was organized with 10 teachers who are teaching English to the 1 st year students at the Faculty of Tourism at HUC to find out what teaching methods they are using when dealing with unmarked plural nouns in English, what difficulties they find from their students in their learning unmarked plural nouns in English, and some recommendations made by them. (see appendix 2) 4.3. The procedures 4.3.1. The mid-term test 4.3.2. Questionnaires 4.3.3. Interviews 4.4. Data analysis As above mentioned, the data for this study is collected by the mid-term tests, students’ questionnaires, and teachers’ interview. With the mid-term tests, students’ acquisition of 3 unmarked plural nouns in English can be accurately assessed. Information provided from students’ questionnaires will be categorized, tabulated and converted to percentages for the convenience of analysis. Moreover, information collected during teachers’ interview is added to assist interpretation. 5. Design of the study This study is divided into three main parts: Part I: Introduction Part II: Development Part III: Conclusion 4 PART II- DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, an overview of English nouns is examined to help learners get general ideas about the matter studied. This part consists of 3 sections: (1) definition of English nouns, (2) classification of English nouns, and (3) grammatical categories of English nouns. 1.1. Definition of English nouns In Gerald’s view (2001), nouns denote both concrete objects and abstract entities. Tran (2008:15) defines a noun as ‘a word used to name person, thing, animal or abstract concept’. From my point of view, Tran’s concept of English nouns is more concrete. Therefore, the definition of English nouns by Tran (2008) is mentioned in this paper. 1.2. Classification of English nouns Let’s look at the diagram to see the classification of English nouns in Tran’s point of view. Nouns Proper nouns Common nouns (unique reference) (generic/specific reference) Tom, John, Mr. Smith, etc. Count noun Non-count noun man, boy, people water, oil, independence Concrete Abstract man, boy, water peace, war, independence The two types of nouns (proper nouns and common nouns) will be discussed hereafter. 1.2.1. Proper nouns 1.2.1.1. Definition of proper nouns According to Collins (1992:448), names of people, places, organizations, institutions, ships, magazines, books, plays, paintings, and other unique things are proper nouns. For example: Mozart, Romeo and Juliet, the President of the United States, the Seine, etc. 1.2.1.2. Classification of proper nouns (a) Personal names: Tom, John, Mr. Smith, Bill Clinton, Sir Jones, etc. (b) Geographical names (including names of continents, countries, counties, states, cities, towns, lakes and mountains): America, Brazil, Arkansas, Boston, Silver Lake, Mount Everest, the Nile, etc. (c) Names of institutions or organizations: London University, FAO, UNICEF, etc. 5 (d) Name + common noun: Park Lane, Kennedy Airport, etc. (e) Calendar items: January, Monday, Christmas, etc. 1.2.2. Common nouns 1.2.2.1. Definition of common nouns If proper nouns usually refer to unique individuals, places or events in the calendar, all other nouns are common nouns. 1.2.2.2. Classification of common nouns According to Tran (2008:16), the most important classification of common nouns is the distinction between (a) count and (b) non-count nouns. 1.3. Grammatical categories Grammatical categories of nouns can be another aspect which needs to be mentioned when dealing with nouns. Accordingly, grammatical categories of nouns consist of number, case and gender. 1.3.1. Number 1.3.1.1. Definition Regarding Tran’s view (2008), number is the grammatical category that divides count nouns into singular and plural. 1.3.1.2. Classification of nouns in terms of number Tran (2008:17) classifies nouns in terms of number into invariables and variables which can be seen clearly through the below diagrams. 1.3.2. Case 1.3.2.1. Kinds and choice of genitives Quirk (1987) and Tran (2008) state that there are 2 genitives: ‘s genitives and of - genitives. 1.3.2.2. Genitive meanings 1.3.3. Gender Gerald (2001:38) states that nouns in English are not in themselves either masculine or feminine. They do not have grammatical gender, though they may refer to male or female people or animals. CHAPTER 2- GRAMMATICAL FEATURES OF PLURAL NOUNS IN ENGLISH This chapter covers the following issues of English plural nouns: (1) definition, (2) classification. For the purpose of this study which focuses on grammatical features of unmarked plural nouns in English, the other grammatical features of plural nouns, such as spelling rules, pronunciation, rules of plurality making, agreement with verbs, etc. will be discussed in other studies. [...]... What kind of task do you find most difficult in you last examination? 3.1.3 Teachers’ interview 1 What difficulties do you find from your students in their learning unmarked plural nouns in English? 2 What techniques and activities do you often use to present unmarked plural nouns in English? 3 Specifically what kinds of exercises on unmarked plural nouns do you think interesting and effective for students. .. grammatical features of plural nouns in general and unmarked plural nouns in particular Findings from the study urge the researcher to seek some suggested solutions to the discovered difficulties in order to reduce them, and to promote the effectiveness of vocabulary teaching and learning at the university The statistics from the students tests and the questionnaires indicates that unmarked plural nouns. .. explored the difficulties caused by internal factors of unmarked plural nouns for the 1st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC Future researcher can further investigate problems and causes on learning English unmarked plural nouns in particular and English plural nouns in general by looking at learners’ internal factors like learners’ intelligence, aptitude, personality, motivation and attitudes,... in learning English plural nouns is unmarked plural nouns 3 How do you usually practice unmarked plural nouns at home? 4 Which way of presenting unmarked plural nouns do you like? 5 What difficulties unmarked plural nouns in English cause to you? 6 What kinds of vocabulary consolidation are you most interested in when learning unmarked plural nouns? 7 Which way of practicing unmarked plural nouns do... sheep, deer, etc They have the same spoken and written form in both singular and plural Thus, we can say ‘a fish’ or ‘those fish’ 8 CHAPTER 3- FINDINGS The issues mentioned in the previous chapters only belong to the theoretical category To seek for an insight into the difficulties of unmarked plural nouns for the 1st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC both theoretically and practically,... plural nouns in English cause some difficulties to a considerable number of the 1st year students at the Faculty of Tourism, HUC The difficulties are identified in two categories: no inflectional distinction between singular and plural, and Subject-Verb agreement For the first one, unmarked plural nouns have the same form as singular, which causes so many difficulties for students since students cannot... SOLUTIONS Based on the results obtained from the study, herein after are some solutions suggested by the researcher, with a hope to partly overcome the difficulties of unmarked plural nouns in 10 English for the 1st years at the Faculty of Tourism at her university in particular, and to improve the English learning and teaching at the university in general 4.1 Toward students 4.1.1 Using dictionary 4.1.2... nouns, especially in word use and in communication Also, some recommendations are made by the teachers which focus on diversifying the teachers’ presentation and consolidation of unmarked plural nouns, designing exercises, and regularly checking to increase effectiveness in students learning unmarked plural nouns Finally, based on the study’s findings, and to the best understanding of the researcher,... as singular or plural by means of –s (and other markers such as voicing, -en endings, vowel changes or foreign plural) or Ø respectively Unfortunately, a great number of nouns in English have no plural markers To put it in another way, they have the same form as singular This causes so many difficulties for students since students cannot realize these nouns as plural by their forms Consequently, they...6 2.1 Definition Naturally, the concept of plural nouns is based on that of plural That is plural nouns refer to more than one person or thing or consist of different kinds of people or things.’ (English Language Dictionary) 2.2 Classification From the author’s point of view, plural nouns in English can be classified into 2 major groups: marked plural nouns and unmarked plural nouns The first group . VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES POST-GRADUATE DEPARTMENT == == = == = == = == = == = == NGUYỄN THANH TÂM UNMARKED PLURAL NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES. == == = == = == = == = == = == NGUYỄN THANH TÂM UNMARKED PLURAL NOUNS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR DIFFICULTIES FOR THE 1 ST YEAR STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY OF TOURISM, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE. DIFFICULTIES FOR THE 1 ST YEAR STUDENTS AT THE FACULTY OF TOURISM, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF CULTURE (Danh từ số nhiều không có dấu hiệu nhận dạng trong tiếng Anh và những khó khăn của sinh viên