VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ HÀ LAN UET IT SOPHOMORES’ENGLISH LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR READING SKILLS: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH NGHIÊN CỨU CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. THESIS MINOR THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 HANOI - 2010 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ HÀ LAN UET IT SOPHOMORES’ENGLISH LEARNING STRATEGIES FOR READING SKILLS: AN EXPLORATORY RESEARCH NGHIÊN CỨU CHIẾN LƯỢC HỌC TIẾNG ANH DÀNH CHO KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CÔNG NGHỆ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI M. THESIS MINOR THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: DƯƠNG THỊ NỤ, Ph. D HANOI - 2010 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iii TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgements i Abstract ii PART ONE – INTRODUCTION 1 1.
Purpose of the study 2 3. Methods of the study 2 5. Scope of the study 3 6. Significance of the study 3 7.
Design of the study 3 PART TWO – DEVELOPMENT 5 CHAPTER 1 – LITERATURE REVIEW 5 I. Language learning strategies 5 I. Definitions of language learning strategies 5 I. Features of language learning strategies 7 I.
Importance of language learning strategies 7 I. Types of language learning strategies 8 I. Language learning strategies for reading skills 13 I. Direct learning strategies 13 I.
Indirect learning strategies 19 I. Social strategies 23 CHAPTER 2 – THE STUDY 25 II. The setting of the study 25 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv II. The study 25 II.
Research approach 26 II. Data collection 27 II. Data analysis 28 II. Awareness and attitudes towards English learning strategies 28 for reading skills II.
Learning strategies for reading skills used by sophomores of IT 32 Faculty II. Findings 36 CHAPTER 3 – RECOMMENDATIONS 37 III. Raising students’ awareness 37 III. Selecting strategies 37 III.
Integrating strategies into reading syllabus 38 III. Focusing on indirect strategies 38 III. Self-educating 39 PART III – CONCLUSION 40 References 41 Appendices Appendix A I Appendix B V Appendix C IX Appendix D XIII Appendix E XIV Appendix F XVI Appendix G XVII LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART I - INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale English is a compulsory subject to students of Information Technology Faculty (IT Faculty), University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Vietnam National University (VNU).
Any student who wants to earn an IT degree needs to take four English courses with 14 credits. Though the required level of English courses is only pre-intermediate, a lot of students find it hard to pass the courses, not to mention to have high grades. It is even more surprising to find that the majority of students attending Information Technology Faculty, University of Engineering and Technology have learnt English for at least three years at high school before going to college. One of their problems with learning this language is that all they have tried to do is memorization instead of having appropriate English learning strategies.
These strategies are not only essential to students while learning English at college but also useful for their own self-study once they graduate. It is no doubt that Information Technology students need English for their future jobs. Among all the English skills Information Technology students learn at college, reading skills is the one that is paid much attention within the course syllabus. IT students spend more than a quarter of their time in class learning reading skills among all the language skills and elements.
Reading skills also accounts for 50% of the grades students may get in English exams. Reading skills is also the skills that IT students use the most after graduation. Besides, it is widely believed among teachers that knowledge is immense (IT is an ever-changing field) and thus, there is no point in trying to teach students everything. More importantly, teachers should motivate them to learn and teach them how to learn so that they can study by themselves and for themselves.
Accordingly, during the teaching and learning process, special emphasis is placed on creating a positive learning environment, developing students‟ autonomy and creativity, teaching study skills, and building students‟ confidence. That is why teachers of English for Information Technology Division, English Faculty, University of Languages and International Studies wish to introduce students with English learning strategies for reading skills. But before introducing those skills, it is necessary to investigate what IT students already know and what they do not. This exploratory research is done for that intention.
LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Purposes of the study The ultimate purpose of this study is to explore the English learning strategies for reading skills that sophomores of Information Technology Faculty, University of Engineering and Technology have already used. It wishes to achieve the three primary aims: (i) to know IT sophomores‟ awareness and attitude towards English learning strategies for reading skills (ii) to explore the learning strategies that sophomores of IT Faculty have already used in their reading process. (iii) to propose some suggestions to the teachers on integrating the introduction and practice of English learning strategies for reading skills into the syllabus.
Research questions The exploratory research is intended to answer the following questions: (i) Research question 1: What are the attitudes of Information Technology sophomores, University of Engineering and Technology, towards English learning strategies for reading skills? (ii) Research question 2: What are English learning strategies for reading skills that Information Technology sophomores, University of Engineering and Technology, have already used? 4. Methods of the study In view of the exploratory nature of the study, the source which is used to collect the data is from a survey conducted on sophomores of Information Technology Faculty, University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, who are currently in their third term of learning English at college, to investigate students‟ awareness, attitudes towards English learning strategies for reading skills, as well as the strategies they have been using so far. Therefore, this exploratory takes a quantitative approach. Besides, online general guide interviews are also done on some randomly selected subjects to know the underlying reasons for their attitudinal and behavioral answers in the survey.
Basing on the results obtained, the researcher will propose some suggestions on integrating the introduction and practice of those strategies into the reading syllabus. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Scope of the study The present study operates within the following scope: (i) English learning strategies for reading skills include both direct strategies (which involve the English language in the reading process) and indirect ones (which support the business of acquiring reading skills). Therefore, this study will investigate sophomores‟ awareness, attitude and usage of both types.
(ii) Even though the students in the Faculty of Information Technology, University of Engineering and Technology have to attend four semesters of English, the subjects chosen for this research are in the their third semester. As the students have experienced two semesters learning English at college and have developed self-study competence, their responses will better reflect the reality. The study will, therefore, have more practical implications as well as applicable suggestions. Significance of the study Despite the fact that the research only explores the learning strategies for reading skills that students have been using, its significance is remarkable.
Theoretically, it touches upon the issue of learning strategies which is normally overlooked in the process of learning and teaching in Vietnam while self-study is presently having great impacts on the society, especially in education, and is currently drawing lots of attention from educators and ELT professional. Particularly, it is carried out in the context of a university – an academic institution where learners are supposed to make full use of self-study competence and teachers are increasingly encouraged to play the role of a facilitator. Practically, its results are hoped to provide teachers with a picture of students‟ learning strategies, therefore, teachers of English for Information Technology Division, English Faculty, University of Languages and International Studies can base on that to integrate the introduction and practice of English learning strategies into the teaching syllabus. Design of the study This study consists of three parts: introduction, development, and conclusion.
The introduction presents the rationale, purpose, research questions, scope, significance, and design of the study. The development comprises three chapters: LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 - Chapter I reviews the theoretical background to English learning strategies for reading skills. - Chapter II details the setting, the methods, data analysis, and findings of the study. - Chapter III is centered around the author‟ suggestions on integrating the introduction and practice of English learning strategies into the learning and teaching syllabus for students of Information Technology Faculty, University of Engineering and Technology.
The conclusion, apart from summarizing the main issues so far touched upon in the study, proposes directions for future research. LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 5 PART II – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I – THEORETICAL BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY I. Language learning strategies I. Definitions of language learning strategies Over the past thirty years, there has been a growing amount of research into learning strategies.
What is considered by many to be the pioneering work in the field of language learning strategies was carried out in the mid seventies of the twentieth century by such researchers as Rubin (1975) or Stern (1975). However, despite the current interest in learning styles and strategies, investigations into the effect of learner strategy training are relatively uncommon, and results are rather mixed. That is why, the language learning strategy field continues to be characterized by “no consensus” (O‟Malley et al., 1985:22) and the concept of language learning strategies itself remains “fuzzy” (Ellis, 1994:529). In other words, up to now, there is no consensus on the definition of the term "language learning strategies." Early on, Tarone (1983) defined language learning strategies as "an attempt to develop linguistic and sociolinguistic competence in the target language.
In a helpful survey article, Weinstein and Mayer (1986) defined learning strategies broadly as "behaviors and thoughts that a learner engages in during learning" which are "intended to influence the learner's encoding process" (p. Mayer (1988) more specifically defined learning strategies as "behaviors of a learner that are intended to influence how the learner processes information" (p. Before that, Rubin (1987) wrote that language learning strategies are "strategies which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and affect learning directly. They could be any sets of operations, steps, plans or routines used by learners which affect the language learning process.
In other words, language learning strategies are what learners do to learn and regulate their language learning. Wenden and Rubin (1987) pointed out that language learning strategies have to consider different aspects of the language learning process. She identified three areas in particular that language learning strategies refer to: the actual behavior of learners (what learners do to learn a language), strategic knowledge (what learners know about the strategies they use), and knowledge about aspects (other than strategies) (p. Later, in their study on LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 6 second language acquisition, O'Malley and Chamot (1990) regarded language learning strategies as "the special thoughts of behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn or retain new information.
Building on work for teachers, Oxford (1990) referred to language learning strategies as "specific actions, behaviors, steps or techniques students use - often intentionally - to improve their progress in developing language skills. These strategies can facilitate the internalization, storage, retrieval or use of new language. Strategies are tools for the self-directed involvement necessary for developing communicative ability.