Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International studies Faculty of post- graduate studies ***** NGUYỄN THỊ TRANG Adapting reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 12 for mixed-level students at Van Noi High School in Dong Anh, Hanoi (ĐIỀU CHỈNH CÁC NHIỆM VỤ ĐỌC TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 12 CHO PHÙ HỢP VỚI HỌC SINH CÓ TRÌNH ĐỘ KHÁC NHAU TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT VÂN NỘI, ĐÔNG ANH, HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: Methodology Code: 60 14 10 HA NOI, 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Vietnam National University, Hanoi University of Languages and International studies Faculty of post- graduate studies ***** NGUYỄN THỊ TRANG Adapting reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 12 for mixed-level students at Van Noi High School in Dong Anh, Hanoi (ĐIỀU CHỈNH CÁC NHIỆM VỤ ĐỌC TRONG SÁCH GIÁO KHOA TIẾNG ANH 12 CHO PHÙ HỢP VỚI HỌC SINH CÓ TRÌNH ĐỘ KHÁC NHAU TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT VÂN NỘI, ĐÔNG ANH, HÀ NỘI) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Phan Thị Hoàng Yến, M.A HA NOI, 2012 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CUP: Cambridge University Press OUP: Oxford University Press LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Table 3.: The students‟ awareness of the important role of reading comprehension Table 3.: The students‟ evaluation of reading lessons Table 3.: Elements affecting the students‟ reading comprehension Table 3.: The students‟ evaluation of the significant role of reading materials Table 3.: The students‟ perception of the important role of preparation before class Table 3.: The students‟ habit of doing reading tasks Table 3.: The students‟ opinions about working in groups Table 3.: The students‟ preference for the way of working in groups Table 3.: The students‟ opinions about the language in the reading texts Table 3.: The students‟ opinions about the content of the reading texts Table 3.: The students‟ opinions about the reading tasks Table 3.: The students‟ preferences for reading tasks Table 3.: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks and group work for Unit 12 Table 3.: The students‟ response to the adapted tasks and group work for Unit 14 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com v TABLE OF CONTENTS Declarations. iii List of Abbreviations. iv List of Tables and Figures. iv Table of Contents.
Rationale of the study. Aims of the study. Significance of the study. Scope of the study.
Methods of the study. Design of the study. 4 PART II: DEVELOPMENT. 5 Chapter One: Literature review.
Overview on reading theories, task, task adaptation, and group practice. Definition of reading comprehension. Role of reading in foreign language learning. Challenges of comprehending reading texts.
Cultural and background knowledge. Task adaptation as a type of support for the reading comprehension process. 8 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Purposes of adaptation.
Categories of adaptation. Benefits of grouping. Management of group work. Numbers of students in one group.
Leadership in one group. Monitoring of group work. Evaluation and assessment of group work. 12 Chapter Two: The study.
Setting of the study. Instrumentation and Procedures. Instrument 1: Preliminary survey. Instrument 2: Survey questionnaire.
Instrument 3: Class observation sheets. Instrument 4: Survey for response to adaptation and working in groups. The grouping of the students. The adaptation of reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 12.
16 Chapter 3: Data analysis. Data analysis of preliminary survey. Personal information of the students taking part in the survey. 21 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
The students‟ awareness of reading comprehension in general. The students‟ awareness of the important role of reading comprehension in learning English. The students‟ evaluation of reading lessons in terms of their interests. The students‟ perception of elements affecting their reading comprehension.
The students‟ evaluation of the important role of reading materials to their interests. The students‟ ways of learning reading lesson. The students‟ perception of the important role of preparing vocabulary and reading texts before class. The students‟ habit of doing reading tasks.
The students‟ opinions about working in groups. Data analysis of survey questionnaire. In terms of language. In terms of content.
In terms of reading tasks. The students‟ suggestions for the teacher‟s adaptation of reading tasks. Data analysis of survey questionnaire for response to adaptation and working in groups. Data analysis of response to task adaptation and group work of Unit 12.
Data analysis of response to task adaptation and group work of Unit 14. 34 Chapter 4: Major findings and suggestions 4. Major findings and discussion. 37 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
40 PART III: CONCLUSION. Limitations and recommendations for follow-up action. 45 REFERENCES APPENDIXES Appendix 1: Preliminary Survey. I Appendix 2: Survey Questionnaire.
III Appendix 3: Worksheets (delivered in class). V Appendix 4: Samples of Adapted Reading Tasks. VIII Appendix 5: Survey for Response to Adaptation and Working in Groups. XI Appendix 6: Reading passages and original reading tasks (Unit 12 & Unit 14).
XII LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 1 PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study In Exploring second language reading: issues and strategies by Anderson (1999: 1), he affirms that reading is indispensable to learning a second or a foreign language. Once a learner has acquired the skill, he/ she can achieve academic improvement. Despite that importance, the students at Van Noi High School, where the researcher has been teaching English for more than seven years, pay little attention to the skill as well as the reading texts and reading tasks in their textbooks.
From the result of a survey conducted by the researcher, the reasons for that problem include the students‟ depreciation of English, their poor knowledge of English, and their avoidance of learning English. What should be done to solve that problem has tormented the researcher and she has thought a lot to find out an answer. On the way of doing that, she has also taken into consideration one more fact that the students are not at the same level. With the same reading tasks, some feel bored as they are easy; some feel depressed because they are too difficult.
Therefore, she wonders whether she should make groups of similar-level students, and adapt the designed reading tasks in the textbook to make them more suitable for each group. It also means that each group requires a different reading technique to fully exploit one reading text to the most of their ability. That can be considered the best the author can do for her students as a teacher and within this minor thesis. Other solutions related to students‟ proficiency and personality, learning and teaching equipments are almost time-consuming and beyond the teacher‟s power of control.
All the things above have driven the researcher to doing this study with the hope that she can help the mixed-level students get more knowledge and improve their reading skill through the adaptation of reading tasks in their textbooks. Aims of the study The study was designed to help mixed-level grade-12 students work harder on reading texts, get more reading comprehension and improve their reading skill LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 2 through the adaptation of reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 12 for different groups of similar level. The study is aimed to achieve three objects: 1. To investigate how the students learn the reading text and do the reading tasks.
To make some suggestions of adapting reading tasks in the textbooks for groups of students. To investigate how the adaptation works for the students and whether group work is effective in learning reading. Research questions In order to achieve the above-mentioned aims, the following research questions guided the study: 1. How do the students often do the reading tasks in their textbooks? Why? 2.
In what way can the tasks be adapted to help them get more knowledge and improve their reading skill? 3. Does working in groups help them learn more effectively? 4. Significance of the study The study was carried out to encourage the students‟ assessment of reading tasks in the textbook. The unsuitable tasks were adapted to be more accessible for the mixed-ability students.
Pedagogically, the findings of the study are believed to bring about necessary changes in reading materials and teaching methodology to improve the students‟ reading comprehension at Van Noi High School. Furthermore, the suggestions for teaching reading based on the findings can be useful for concerned teachers to make reading lessons more interesting and effective. Scope of the study Materials adaptation is such a broad topic that it cannot be wholly discussed within the framework of this paper; therefore, only one specific aspect will be central to the reading tasks‟ adaptation. With the focus on reading tasks only in the textbook Tieng Anh 12 (the basic LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 3 textbook), the study was carried out to adapt those for groups of students of similar ability.
The study focuses on one class of grade-12 students, so the results of the study are not applied for all students at Van Noi High School. Methods of the study The study in fact is a mini action research. According to Nunan (1992: 19), an action research includes seven steps. They are: initiation, preliminary investigation, hypothesis, intervention, evaluation, dissemination and follow-up.
The applied steps in details are as follows: Step 1- Initiation: In the process of teaching the textbook Tieng Anh 12, the author observed that the students did not take reading lessons seriously, they often participated in those lessons inactively and inefficiently meanwhile reading comprehension was considered important to academic studies. What should be done? Step 2- Preliminary investigation: The author carried out the preliminary survey to find out how they often prepare and learn reading lessons. Step 3- Hypothesis: By collecting and reviewing the baseline data, the author came to the hypothesis that the students were reluctant to learn reading lessons because they often encountered problems with language, reading strategies, background knowledge and motive to learn. Step 4- Intervention: Before each new unit, the students were surveyed to find out their opinions about the topic and reading tasks in the coming lesson.
After collecting the results, the author grouped the students of similar ability and adapted suitable tasks for each group. The adapted tasks were delivered in the next lesson. The author observed the class and recorded the results. When the students finished the tasks, the author provided them with survey questionnaires for response to adaptation and group work.
Step 5- Evaluation: The students found the adapted tasks less challenging and achievable. They were more comfortable when doing those tasks in groups of LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com 4 similar-ability groups and took part in reading lessons more actively. However, there were some goof-offs in groups after three periods of working in groups. Step 6- Dissemination: The author discussed the effectiveness of adapted tasks and group work to the students.
Step 7- Follow-up: The author suggested more adapted activities and grouping to teach other reading lessons basing on the textbook Tieng Anh 12 to the students. Design of the study The study titled Adapting reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 12 for mixed-level students at Van Noi High School in Dong Anh, Hanoi consists of three main parts namely Introduction, Development and Conclusion. In the first part, Introduction, the reason for the research, aims, significance, scope and methodology of the study are mentioned. The second part, Development, contains four chapters.