THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI ANH HONG EFFECTS OF WHOLE LANGUAGE APPROACH ON TENTH GRADE STUDENTS' READING ACHIEVEMENT MASTER'S THESIS OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION THAI NGUYEN - 2022 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NGUYEN THI ANH HONG EFFECTS OF WHOLE LANGUAGE APPROACH ON TENTH GRADE STUDENTS' READING ACHIEVEMENT English language teaching methodology Code: 8.11 MASTER'S THESIS OF SCIENCE IN EDUCATION Supervisor: Vu Kieu Hanh, Ph. THAI NGUYEN - 2022 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby declare that my MA thesis entitled “Effects of whole language approach on tenth grade students’ reading achievement” that I have submitted to the Faculty of Foreign Languages Education - Thai Nguyen University of Education, Thai Nguyen University, is entirely original work that I have conducted on my own. According to the references section, I used a few sources. The data and results in the thesis have not been published in any other research.
Thai Nguyen, 2022 Signature Nguyen Thi Anh Hong i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I want to express my gratutyde in particular to those who supported and encouraged me throughout the study. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the administratiors of the Faculty of Foreign Language of Education in Thai Nguyen University of Education for giving me a chance to conduct this MA thesis. Second, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Vu Kieu Hanh, who has always inspired and motivated me to do the right things. He gave me excellent guidance and assistance, especially for this MA thesis.
Next, I want to thank my students at a high schol in the province of Thai Nguyen for helping me accomplish my thesis. Finally, my friends and family's intellectual input is greatly valued. I also want to thank everyone of them individually because without them, this paper might not have been able to achieve its objective. Thai Nguyen, 2022 Nguyen Thi Anh Hong ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP.
ii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iii LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES. Rationale of the study. Objectives of the study.
Scope of the study. Definition of terms. Significance of the study. Organization of the study.
8 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW. The Nature of Reading. Teaching Reading Comprehension. Whole Language Approach.
17 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS. Data collection instruments. Data Collecting Procedures and Analysis. 35 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION.
Characteristics of reading passages in English textbook Tieng Anh 10. Results from interviews. Results from a Focus Group discussion. The results of a pre-test and a post-test.
41 iii CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS. Characteristics of reading passages in English textbook Tieng Anh 10 gave favorable conditions for teachers to implement the whole language approach. Three typical reading problems of the tenth-grade students at Cao Bang high school. The root causes for reading problems of the tenth-grade students at Cao Bang high school.
Applicability of the Whole language approach for improving the tenth- grade students‟ reading skills at Cao Bang high school. Effectiveness of the Whole Language approach on the improvement of the tenth-grade students‟ reading skills at Cao Bang high school. 81 iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figures: Figure 3.1: Action research design in one cycle .1: The results of the pre-test .2: The results of the post-test. Characteristics of reading passages in English textbook Tieng Anh 10.
Mean pre-test score and post-test score of the group. 42 v Abstract This research aimed to firstly identify common challenges experienced by teachers and students at Cao Bang High School when teaching and learning reading English skill. After determining the fundamental reasons for students' reading challenges, the second goal of the research was to evaluate if the Whole Language method could be used to improve the reading skills of tenth-grade students at Cao Bang high school. Finally, this study aimed to determine how effective the Whole Language strategy was in increasing the reading skills of tenth-grade students at Cao Bang High School.
In order to achieve these objectives, a participatory action research with the participation of 40 students in Grade 10 at Cao Bang high school was implemented focusing on providing change and improvement of students‟ reading skills. Also, in-depth analysis, interviews, face-to-face meeting focus groups, pre-tests and post-tests all employed effectively as instruments for data collections and interpretations. The research findings showed the top three problems that the tenth-grade students had difficulty with when they did the reading tasks in the text book. Noticeably, the root cause for those problems was not only the lack of lexical resources or the core language knowledge, but also the lack of motivation to learn to read and practice reading skills, especially the low level of interest in reading due to the current traditional language approach.
The Whole Language approach versus the traditional language approach could be introduced as an instructional intervention to increase the level of motivation to learn to read and practice reading for the tenth- grade students at Cao Bang high school. Finally, there was evidence to show a positive effect of the Whole language Approach on teaching and learning reading skill of students at Cao Bang high school. 1 Thesis Statement The root cause for English reading problems of Grade 10 students at Cao Bang high school was not only the lack of lexical resources or the core language knowledge, but also the lack of motivation to learn to read, especially the low level of interest in reading due to the current traditional language approach. The introduction of Whole Language approach versus and instead of the traditional one could make a positive change.
Rationale of the study English is a global language used for communication, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio, and diplomacy. English is currently incorporated in every school in Vietnam, exceptionally high schools, focusing on developing the four abilities of reading, listening, writing, and speaking. Reading is one of the critical abilities, and it is regarded to be the most efficient approach to learning about the culture of the language. It is helpful in everyday life and in teaching and learning English.
However, several issues have arisen throughout the teaching and learning of English in general and reading skills in particular. According to reading professionals, many pupils cannot become effective readers because they have bad reading habits and no reading ability. They are usually people who have a jumbled mess of irrelevant, unorganized, and unfinished words floating in their memories. As a result, they cannot concentrate on the reading materials and frequently fail to read even accessible texts in class.
Furthermore, most students who study English, even those who major in it, struggle to communicate in English. They cannot read English literature for enjoyment since they only decode at the sentence level. People can never perform something well until they completely comprehend its conditions and settings. Suppose teachers want to be successful in developing teaching methods and strategies.
In that case, teachers must first understand both the advantages and limits of teaching and learning and the existing competency of pupils at school. There are numerous difficulties in the process of learning and teaching English in Vietnam in general and in Cao Bang province in particular. Firstly, English language teachers are subject teachers whose responsibility is to provide students with the knowledge about the English language and to help them develop that knowledge in the most effective possible way. In the contemporary mindset of the Vietnamese, certificates seem important than competence.
Failure in exams is viewed as an academic incompetence, and, therefore, a face-losing misfortune. Not only do 3 students find it critical to pass the examinations, teachers are also very much concerned about the passing rate of their students, since they are assessed on their students‟ performance in public examinations, rather than on the quality of their teaching. As a result, no matter what the learning purpose of the students might be, teachers have to make sure that their students achieve a high passing rate in the examinations. Secondly, English reading are considered as the most boring skills among the four basic language ones especially in Cao Bang high school for several reasons.
Due to the limitation in the levels of language background of the students such as understanding very simple sentences and frequently used expressions, communicating in very simple and routine tasks requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters, normally the traditional language approach has been adopted. The traditional teachers used to convey the prepared content to the students in the process of phonemes → letters → words → sentences → stories. Consequently, phonic signals are too complicated to acquire, letters and words are too difficult to memorize separately without a specific context, and finally practical sentences are too hard to be made. All of these have accumulated over the reading lessons, which led an ineffective approach and killed the motivations of learning and teaching reading skills.
Although there had been a number of projects as well as papers on teaching reading in English, they usually focused on teaching reading in general or as an integrated skill. This research paper is different in the sense that it aimed to concentrate on finding and applying whole language approach, in which the four skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing) are NOT taught separately BUT in total, to obtain their reading achievements. One of the main approaches to teaching English reading skills is Whole Language Reading, widely used in teaching and learning a foreign language. According to Goodman (1980s-1990s), the method grew in popularity substantially and became a fundamental educational paradigm in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Despite its popularity at the time, educators who thought skill training was essential 4 for students' development and sure educational researchers were suspicious of whole language claims. The entire language is seen as an educational viewpoint, philosophy, and belief system. It is a research-based and practice-based educational theory. The entire language might be described as a student-centered "constructivist" vision of learning, focusing on literacy development in particular.
Students are more inspired and motivated to learn since the entire language is relevant and necessary to them. Whole language learning is undeniably productive and successful, allowing learners to grasp and acquire the language more naturally. Furthermore, it provides them with the possibility to function and perform better. The findings show that the entire language is meaningful for the learners since the instructor and the print-rich environment stimulate and push them to study and take risks.
However, it is essential to realize that making errors is acceptable and is part of the learning process. Objectives of the study Cao Bang High School receives around 400 new students each year from various sections of Cao Bang Province, resulting in various English levels and abilities. As a result of their pupils' lower level of competency in reading English, English teachers have several obstacles in teaching the language, particularly reading abilities. Therefore, long-term solutions are required to remedy the problem and discover good techniques for teaching reading skills to students.
Furthermore, the teacher cannot use the same teaching style for every student. Instead, they must be adaptable and actively use various instructional strategies. As an English teacher, the author was constantly conscious of the necessity of increasing students' reading ability. This research aimed to identify common challenges experienced by teachers and students at Cao Bang High School when teaching and strengthening students' reading English abilities.
Second, after determining the fundamental reasons for students' reading challenges, the second goal of the research was to evaluate if the Whole Language method could be used to improve the reading skills of tenth-grade students at Cao Bang high school. Finally, 5 this study aimed to determine how effective the Whole Language strategy was in increasing the reading skills of tenth-grade students at Cao Bang High School.
