VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES VU THU GIANG A STUDY ON READING STRATEGIES USED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE IELTS READING TEST IN A LANGUAGE CENTER IN HANOI tại một trung tâm ngoại ngữ tại Hà Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi — 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES VU THU GIANG A STUDY ON READING STRATEGIES USED BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN THE IELTS READING TEST IN A LANGUAGE CENTER IN HANOI (Một nghiên cứu về chiến lược đọc của học sinh trung học cho bài thi đọc IELTS tại mot trung tâm ngoại ngữ tại Ha Nội) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi — 2024 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I declare that the minor thesis "A study on reading strategies used by high school students in the IELTS reading test in a language center in Hanoi” is the result of my own work and has not been submitted in any form for a second degree or diploma in any educational institutions. I am fully aware that if this report is found to be dishonest, disciplinary actions and penalties may be applied in accordance with the Rules and regulations of the University.
Hanoi, 2024 The researcher Vu Thu Giang Approved by SUPERVISOR Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quynh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Quynh, for her invaluable guidance, feedback, and support throughout this research project. Her insights and direction were instrumental in the completion of this thesis.
I am also deeply grateful to my students for their participation and cooperation in this research so that I could collect the valuable data to complete my thesis. Their time and openness in taking part made this research possible. I am thankful to my manager for granting me the flexibility to have a customizable work schedule, enabling me to devote my time and energy to this endeavor. Also, I take this opportunity to send special thanks to my closest friends for their constant encouragement and moral support during my MA program and thesis writing process.
Most importantly, I wish to thank my family - my pillars of strength. Their unconditional love and care have sustained me every step of this journey. I could not have accomplished this milestone without them. ABSTRACT IELTS is increasingly used as a gatekeeper for university admission in Vietnam.
As such, test preparation courses have become commonplace for students seeking high scores. This study aimed to investigate the reading strategies employed by high school students from a language center, with reading band scores of 6. The participants completed part or all of an IELTS reading test and wrote 10 diary entries in response to the following prompts: “What were the difficulties that you encountered while doing the test, and how did you deal with those challenges?” Semi-structured interviews also elicited their common strategies. The data were coded and analyzed thematically and inductively.
The findings revealed the utilization of diverse strategies to tackle the difficulties encountered during the test. These findings have pedagogical implications for IELTS test preparation. Further research could expand the sample size and compare strategy use between students with and without test preparation. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTT.- - G9 TH TT HH HH nh nh nh nh 1 n1 )ý.
11 LIST OF TABLESS117. Rationale for the 27. Aims Of the Study. Research QU€SfIOTNS.
Scope Of the SEUY. -- G1 TH HH HH HH kh 2 1. Significance of the SfUy. óc TT HH HH TH nh Tnhh 3 CHAPTER 2.
Sàn HH HH HH HH tt nh4 2. Reading and reading Strategies. TH TH vn rệt 4 QL. HH HH nh 4 2.
Language learning SfTAf€ĐICS.-- G1111 SH 1H TH Hệ 5 2. What is [EL/TS. 2G sọ Tu TH Hà HH Tư nh nh ng 8 2. IELTS Academic Reading.
Reading skills teSt€C.- --- 5 5 kg TT TH TH TH Hành rệt 10 2. Review of previous Studies. Gaps 1n PLEVIOUS SfUI€S.-- Ả Q11 1T HH kg krry 12 CHAPTER 3.- 6 6222319119119 1 91 11 vn ng gưkp 13 11 3.- - - c9 TH HH re 13 3.Ỏ G1 HH Họ Họ 14 3.- 2G ng nh TH nu ng HH Hết 15 E he ii hố. - 5 (5c 1E 9 TH HH nh nến 20 CHAPTER 4.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIƠN. The most common difficulties .- TH HH HH HH HH, 22 4. Lack of advanced knowledge of ØTaIIMAT. Low reading speed nan.
The reading strategies. Time DT€SSUTC. G2 TH HH HH nh 25 4.- 0 TT HH ng HH Hư 31 4. Lack of advanced knowledge of ðTaITINAT.
Low reading Speed 000. Learning strategies used for practicing reading,. Language f€aC€TS. -- --- + HH HH HH tre 41 5.- -ó- 5 + TH TH HH TT Thu nh HH Hà Hà Hư 42 5.
IELTS Test Takers? .-- G5 111 HH TH TT HH ghế 43 iv 5. Ill LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Phases of thematic annaÏVS1S.- - 5 1 E113 1 9111 911 19 11 9v ng rry 16 Table 3. Reading strategies by Mokhtari and Sheorey (2002). Rationale for the study In the context of globalization and integration, teaching and learning English is of paramount importance.
Specifically, language testing and assessment has played a crucial role in language education all over the world over the past few decades. Recent years have witnessed the rise in the popularity of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), especially the academic module. According to IELS handbook by University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2007, p.2), the academic module of IELTS is “designed to assess the language ability of candidates who need to study or work where English is the language of communication”. This test is also recognized by universities and employers in many English speaking countries and other organizations as well.
In Vietnam, along with the National English Exam, the IELTS test is recently used by universities as a high-stake gate keeping test to screen applicants for language proficiency. It can be seen that performance on the test may have profound impacts on the life chances of test takers. As a result, there is a tendency that students take up some courses to prepare for this test. Hence, the IELTS test is expected to exert a strong influence on learning practices of students, especially those who are in senior year in high school.
When it comes to learning a foreign language, reading is, no doubt, one of the most important language abilities to acquire since it serves as the foundation for the development of other language skills and being able to read well is of paramount importance for all levels. Cates and Swaffar (1979) wrote “the aim of reading is not simply about lexical identification; understanding the meaning of the text must also entail identification of sentence type and crucial relations among individual sentences, recognition of the type or genre of the text, making reasonable inferences about the implications of the text and so on.” (cited in Rajab et al. Therefore, when reading texts in a second or foreign language, readers may employ effective strategies to aid their comprehension. Utilizing such strategies can help learners not only to quickly grasp the overall meaning of the reading material, but also to retain new vocabulary encountered in the text.
Understanding the strategies these students use, as well as any challenges they face, can help language centers in Hanoi and similar settings optimize their IELTS preparation programs. Aims of the study In the field of language education, comprehensive comprehension of the impact assessments have on learning practices holds significant importance for educational progress. With a specific focus on reading, this study was to explore strategies used by high school students in the International English Language Testing System (IELTS). The aim of this study is to offer valuable insights to educators and learners, aiding them in the development and implementation of effective reading strategies.
Research questions In accordance with the aforementioned aims, the present study examined two research questions: 1) What are the difficulties perceived by learners in reading IELTS passages? 2) What strategies are used to cope with these difficulties? Through a thorough exploration of these research questions, a deeper understanding of the dynamic relationship between the IELTS reading test and the reading strategies utilized by high school students can be gained. Scope of the study Research on reading strategies in the Vietnamese context has been conducted on the international standardized tests such as TOEIC (Do & Phan, 2021), IELTS (Dung & Ha, 2019; My et.al 2023) to national ones such as National English Exam (Phuc, 2020). Additionally, studies on reading strategies in Vietnam context have predominantly targeted university students, both English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) students, of different language proficiency levels (Thuy, 2018; Ha, 2019, Thuy, 2021; Do & Phan, 2021; My et. Phuc (2020) conducted research on reading strategies employed by high school students in Thai Nguyen province.
However, it is important to highlight that the participants in Phuc's study were preparing for the National Entrance Exam rather than the IELTS test. Notably, Mui and Quyen (2021) carried out research on high-scoring candidates from different age groups, who had taken the IELTS test and achieved a reading band score of 7.0 in the Academic module. This study explored and analyzed the use of reading strategies of five high school students who have attended at least one preparation course in a language center in Hanoi and have obtained IELTS band score for reading Academic module at 6. Significance of the study The findings of this study are expected to yield practical contributions with regards to the reading strategies used by high school students.
Firstly, schools and other educational institutions can gain valuable insights into the learning strategies of students who have undergone preparation courses for the IELTS test. This understanding can enable them to make necessary adjustments in their syllabus and teaching methodologies, ensuring alignment with the specific reading strategies required for success in the IELTS examination. Secondly, both IELTS candidates and trainers can refer to the study's findings to enhance their teaching and learning approaches, particularly in the context of reading strategies for the IELTS test. The research outcomes can serve as a valuable resource from which students can acquire the essential reading skills necessary to excel in the IELTS examination.
Reading and reading strategies 2. Reading Reading is “the process of receiving and interpreting information encoded in language form. Moreover, it is a dynamic and engaging process that involves “the reader's prior knowledge, the information conveyed by the text, and the context in which the reading occurs. The extent to which the meaning of a text is recreated, and how it is done, depends primarily on how the reader, as a language user, understands and interprets the text.
(Goodman, 1967) Reading is an essential component of learning in general, and it is particularly important for language learning. It aids in the development of various skills, and is considered the most important language skill for those learning English as a second or foreign language. This is due to the fact that reading is an effective means of not only gaining knowledge, but also enhancing one's language proficiency. Reading processes Grabe (2009) expounds on the intricacies of reading processes, highlighting that they comprise a combination of bottom-up and top-down strategies.
Bottom up processing involves reading as a mechanical process in which the reader decoded the ongoing text letter-by-letter, word-by-word, sentence-by-sentence. This mechanical processing translates information in the text piece-by-piece with little interference from the reader’s background knowledge. In contrast, top-down processing depicts the reader as actively controlling the comprehension process, directed by readers’ goals, expectations, and strategic processing.