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Abstract:
Even with the increasing focus on learner-directed methods within English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education, vocabulary pedagogy in higher education has largely remained conventional, particularly with its dependence on memorization and decontextualized modes of teaching. Although research-based learning is well known to support active engagement and deeper learning, its use in vocabulary learning in higher education is still underexplored; this is particularly true at the university level. Such a mismatch severely constrains knowledge on how this approach might be supportive of or enhance students’ vocabulary development. This study seeks to explore university students’ perceptions of research-based learning and its implications for vocabulary learning in the EFL context at FPT University. It looks specifically at how students perceive the effectiveness, benefits, and challenges regarding research-based learning in vocabulary learning. We will utilize a mixed-methods design. To ensure general trends in perceptions, quantitative data will be collected using a questionnaire developed for use by undergraduate college students. The process of qualitatively understanding students’ experiences using semi-structured interviews and open-ended questions integrated in structured questionaire will be conducted. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used to analyse this quantitative data, whereas thematic analysis will be applied to qualitative data. The study aims to empirically investigate students’ perceptions of how research-based learning is related to vocabulary acquisition and to develop pedagogical implications for more effective (and student-centered) vocabulary instruction in EFL higher education.
Key words: Research-based learning; vocabulary acquisition; EFL students; students’ perceptions; higher education
