The article explores how Chinese university students learn English vocabulary and how their strategies affect their language learning outcomes. The researchers surveyed 850 sophomore non-English majors at Beijing Normal University and found that using certain strategies like self-initiation and selective attention positively impacted their English test scores. Other effective strategies included contextual guessing, using dictionaries skillfully, and paying attention to word formation. However, visually repeating new words was found to be a negative predictor of vocabulary size and general proficiency. The study identified 5 different approaches to learning vocabulary, with specific combinations of strategies being more effective than individual ones.