VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE An investigation into the relationship between students’ perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension at a high school in Ho Chi Minh city A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master's degree in TESOL By Phùng Xuân Cường Supervised by Nguyễn Thuý Nga, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2024 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY - HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE An investigation into the relationship between students’ perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension at a high school in Ho Chi Minh city A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master's degree in TESOL By Phùng Xuân Cường Supervised by Nguyễn Thuý Nga, Ph. HO CHI MINH CITY, FEBRUARY 2024 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to those who have offered their support and assistance throughout this journey. First and foremost, I express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms.
Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD.), whose guidance, insightful advice, and continuous encouragement were pivotal to the success of my research. I am equally thankful to my professors at the Faculty of English Linguistics and Literature at Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences and Humanities for their invaluable consultation and support during my studies. I am also grateful to the students at Vinh Vien High School for their willingness to participate in this research. Moreover, my profound thanks go to my family, friends, and colleagues for their support and motivation during the research phase.
Their belief in me has been a great source of strength and inspiration. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I declare that the thesis titled “An investigation into the relationship between students’ perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension at a high school in Ho Chi Minh city” is the result of my own research and effort. Except for the references cited in the text, this thesis does not include any material that has been published or submitted elsewhere. This study has not been used for the award any other degree or diploma in any other educational institution.
Ho Chi Minh city, February 2024 Phung Xuan Cuong ii RETENTION OF USE I, Phung Xuan Cuong, as a candidate for the master's degree in TESOL, acknowledge and agree to the University's requirement regarding the retention and utilization of my master's thesis stored in the library. I consent to have the original version of my thesis made available for study and research purposes under the standard regulations of the library concerning the handling, borrowing, or copying of theses. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY.
ii RETENTION OF USE. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. viii LIST OF TABLES.
ix LIST OF FIGURES .1 Background to the study .2 Statement of the problem .3 Aims of the study .5 Significance of the study .6 Scope of the study .7 Organization of thesis chapters .1 Cohesion and coherence .3 Summary of cohesive devices .3 Definition of reading comprehension.1 The reading process .2 Factors that impede reading comprehension .1 Definition of perception .2 Classification of perception .3 Factors influencing perception .5 Previous studies about the relationship between perception of cohesive devices and reading comprehension .1 EFL learners’ perception of cohesive devices in other countries .2 EFL learners’ understanding of cohesive devices in Vietnam .3 Relationship between perception of cohesive devices and reading comprehension in other countries .4 Relationship between perception of cohesive devices and reading comprehension in Vietnam .5 Implications for the current study.6 The theoretical framework .7 Summary of chapter 2 .2 Context of the study.2 English curriculum for grade 12 at Vĩnh Viễn high school .3 Participants of the study .4 Sample and sampling procedures .1 Cohesive devices perception test .2 Reading comprehension test .6 Data Collection Procedure .7 Data analysis scheme .1 Students’ perception of cohesive devices .2 The relationship between the students' perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension performance .8 Summary of chapter 3. 43 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .1 Reports on the findings .1 Findings from cohesive devices perception test .2 Findings from reading comprehension test .3 Normality analysis of the data .4 Summary of the findings .2 Discussion of the findings .1 Students’ perception of cohesive devices .2 The relationship between the students’ perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension performance .3 Summary of chapter 4. 64 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION .1 Conclusion to research question 1 .2 Conclusion to research question 2 .2 Pedagogical implications and recommendations .3 Contribution of the study .4 Limitations of the study .5 Recommendations for further study .6 Summary of chapter 5. 82 COHESIVE DEVICES PERCEPTION TEST.
89 ANSWER KEY FOR THE COHESION PERCEPTION TEST. 90 READING COMPREHENSION TEST. 99 ANSWER KEY FOR THE READING COMPREHENSION TEST. 99 vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESL: English as a Second Language viii LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Description of the items in the perception of cohesive devices test .1: Students' perception of grammatical and lexical cohesive device .2: Pearson correlation coefficient between perception of cohesive devices and reading comprehension .3: Pearson correlation coefficient between perception of grammatical cohesive devices and reading comprehension .4: Pearson correlation coefficient between perception of lexical cohesive devices and reading comprehension .5: Descriptive statistics for the cohesive devices perception test.6: Tests of normality.
56 ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1: The relationship between reading and writing .1: The theoretical framework of this study .1: Students' perception of reference .2: Students' perception of substitution .3: Students' perception of ellipsis .4: Students' perception of conjunction .5: Students' perception of reiteration .6: Students' perception of collocation .7: Students' reading comprehension performance .8: Histogram of scores distribution for cohesive devices perception test.9: Normal Q-Q Plot of cohesive devices perception test scores. 57 x ABSTRACT This study investigates the relationship between high school students' perception of cohesive devices and their reading comprehension at Vĩnh Viễn high school in Tân Phú district, Hồ Chí Minh city, highlighting the importance of cohesive devices in reading comprehension and English language instruction. The study employs a correlational design on a sample of 56 participants. The participants are from two grade 12 classes, selected with convenient sampling technique.
The research instruments used in this study are a perception of cohesive devices test and a reading comprehension test. The research aims to uncover how students' perception of cohesive devices affects their reading abilities. The research found that students generally had a stronger grasp of grammatical cohesive devices than lexical ones, with specific challenges identified in understanding substitution and collocation. A moderate positive correlation between the recognition of cohesive devices and reading comprehension was observed, suggesting that a better understanding of these devices can enhance reading skills.
The study underscores the need for explicit teaching of cohesive devices within language curricula and suggests pedagogical strategies to improve students' comprehension and use of these devices. Keywords: cohesive devices perception; reading comprehension; correlation xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter is the introduction of this study. Firstly, it introduces the importance of reading comprehension and the role of cohesive devices. Secondly, it describes the context of Vĩnh Viễn high school and highlights the challenges the school encountered.
Then it presents the research questions, accompanied by the discussion of the significance and the scope of the study.1 Background to the study Reading comprehension is a crucial aspect of language acquisition and development (Sadeghi et al., 2012) with numerous benefits that enhance the language skills of learners. Reading comprehension is important in the improvement of vocabulary and understanding of words as it enables language learners to learn new words in context, which is essential for language development (Alahirsh, 2014). Reading comprehension also plays a vital role in enhancing critical thinking skills, according to Tung, Chi-An & Chang, Shu-Ying (2009), and improve learners’ productive skills, as stated by Sreena & Ilankumaran (2018). Reading comprehension also plays a crucial role not just in a person's educational development and their personal growth (Mckee, 2012).
This is because it keeps the readers informed, stimulates thought and offers pleasure. It is a fundamental skill necessary for success in life. Despite the many benefits of reading comprehension, the process is not always easy. As Cook (1989) pointed out, reading is a complex and actively thinking mental activity that requires the reader to interact with the writer through the text and experience, predict, verify and acknowledge information based on the reader's previous information, knowledge and experience.
This complex process can sometimes result in the reader failing to grasp the relationship among sentences in a reading passage. 1 Cohesive devices are traditionally stressed in writing (Nindya & Widiati, 2020; Tian et al., 2021; Ludji et al. They are pivotal in ensuring a written piece is coherent and logically structured. When employed correctly, cohesive devices bridge disparate ideas, ensuring the content remains unified, aiding reader comprehension.
However, the role of cohesive devices in reading is profound. Connor (1984) asserts that the proper use of cohesive devices allows the reader to grasp the connection between different language elements in the text. In the wrttien text reception framework proposed by (McCarthy, 1991), cohesion is a component of language knowledge in bottom-up processing, which in turn is a component of the whole reading comprehension process. In the field of pedagogy, the theories of cohesion have been found to be of great help in improving understanding and interpretation of reading passages (Fu, 2021).
Multiple studies have shown that texts with high cohesion are easier to read and comprehend compared to those with low cohesion (Tsai et al., 2023; Yang et al. Consistent with these findings, eye-tracking data indicates that cohesive sentences can significantly enhance reading comprehension. When a sentence is more cohesive, readers tend to make fewer fixations per word, suggesting that the content is more straightforward to grasp (Acarturk et al. Bo (2018) highlights that direct teaching of cohesive devices can significantly improve students' reading comprehension skills.
When readers are acquainted with these devices, they can more proficiently understand the relationships within different parts of a text, a skill indispensable for foreign language learners. On top of that, sharpened reading capability, with the help of a profound understanding of cohesive devices, invariably leads to improved writing. As learners become proficient in discerning these devices during reading, they can harness this knowledge in their writing, as demonstrated by Lubelska (1991).1: The relationship between reading and writing In the Vietnamese context, EFL learners face several challenges in reading comprehension. Studies reveal that students often struggle with vocabulary, grammar, and the effective use of reading strategies (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2017).
Bui (2016) highlights the role of implicit and explicit grammatical knowledge in understanding texts, indicating a need for grammatical competence. A significant intervention, cognitive reading strategy training, has shown promise in improving reading performance by addressing reading anxiety and comprehension barriers (Lạc et al. These challenges underscore the importance of cohesive devices in reading comprehension. Cohesion instruction emerges as a potential solution, facilitating a deeper understanding of texts and enhancing learners' ability to navigate complex grammatical structures and vocabulary effectively.
This calls for more research to explore the roles of cohesive devices and suitable teaching methods to integrate them into EFL curricula effectively.2 Statement of the problem During my teaching experience at Vĩnh Viễn High School, I observed that many students struggle with reading comprehension. They often resort to translating texts word by word, which make them only able to understand only isolated sentences without connecting them into a coherent narrative or argument. Consequently, students struggle across various text types including narrative, expository, descriptive, persuasive, instructional, etc. and with different comprehension questions like identifying the main ideas, evaluating and synthesizing information, making inferences, or understanding the writer’s purpose.