VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ TUỆ MINH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON READING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION FOR 11TH GRAGE STUDENTS AT AN DUONG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ HƯỚNG DẪN CHIẾN LƯỢC ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT AN DƯƠNG VƯƠNG) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ TUỆ MINH AN ACTION RESEARCH ON READING STRATEGY INSTRUCTION FOR TH 11 GRAGE STUDENTS AT AN DUONG VUONG HIGH SCHOOL (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ HƯỚNG DẪN CHIẾN LƯỢC ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT AN DƯƠNG VƯƠNG) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr, Đỗ Thị Thanh Hà Hanoi, 2014 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com THE CANDIDATE’S STATEMENTS I, hereby declare that this submission is my own work and to the best of my knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, or substantial proportions of material which have been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at ULIS or any other educational institutions. The thesis has not been submitted to any other examining body and has not been published.
Any contribution made to the research by others, with whom I have worked at ULIS or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis. The candidate Vũ Tuệ Minh i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Do Thi Thanh Ha, for supporting me from the proposal stage to the completion of my thesis. She helped me begin my project and provided guidance and suggestions throughout all of my drafts.
She spent a great deal of time working with me to help me through the multi-step research process by emails or in person. She tirelessly edited my thesis proposals, drafts and final thesis. I would also like to thank the staff and students at my school for their support. They assisted my goals by being flexible, lending resources and engaging in informal discussions about my challenges over the course of the project.
Most importantly, I wish to acknowledge my family, who has patiently allowed me the time to work on my thesis. They were invaluable to the success of this paper and I thank them for believing in my accomplishments. Vu Tue Minh ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This action research project was conducted to enhance students’ reading comprehension in a regular 11th grade classroom through their awareness and use of reading strategies. Data were collected through a number of instruments: pre and post assessment tests, the Metacognitive Strategy Index (MSI).
The results reveal the learners’ development in their use of reading strategies, better knowledge of the reading strategies. These results raise interesting issues related to the use of reading strategy instruction in the context of foreign language learning. This can help teachers think further what treatment should be conducted for the sake of the students' success in continuing their English learning. However, given certain limitations in teaching, teachers should moderate any expectations of achieving rapid success.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1- The Bottom- up and the Top- down Model Processing 10 Figure 2- The Interactive Model Processing 11 Figure 3- Percentage scores for the targeted 11th grade students of the Pre- 17 assessment Test Figure 4- Percentage of correct responses for MSI by the targeted 11 grade 18 students Figure 5- Percentage of correct responses for MSI by the targeted 11 grade 19 students Figure 6- Percentage of correct responses for MSI by the targeted 11 grade 20 students Figure 7- A comparison of percentages of pre-test and post-test responses 29 for the MSI for the targeted 11 grade students. Figure 8- A comparison of percentages of pre-test and post-test responses 30 for the MSI for the targeted 11 grade students. Figure 9- A comparison of percentages of pre-test and post-test responses 31 for the MSI for the targeted 11 grade students. Figure 10- Pre-test and post-test scores for the Assessment Test for the 32 targeted 11 grade students.
iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ULIS- University of Language and International Studies EFL- English as Foreign Language ESL- English as Second Language L1- The first language L2- The second language ELT- English Language Teaching ALPs- annual learning plans FL- Foreign Language MSI- Metacognitive Strategy Index PET- Preliminary English Test v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF APPENDICES Page Appendix A- Pre -Assessment Test I Appendix B- Post -Assessment Test VIII Appendix C- Metacognitive Strategy Index XIV Appendix D- Sample Lesson Plan XXI vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CANDIDATE’S STATEMENTS………………………………………………. iii LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………. v LIST OF APPENDICES……………………………………………………… vi TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………….
vii PART A - INTRODUCTION………………………………………………… 1 1. General Problem Statement…………………………………………………. Objectives of the Study………………………………………………………. The significance of the study………………………………………………… 2 4.
The scope of the study………………………………………………………. Methods of the study…………………………………………………………. Organization of the study……………………………………………………. 6 CHAPTER 1 – THE LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………….
The concept of Reading and Reading Comprehension……………………. Importance of Reading Strategies…………………………………………. Components of Reading Comprehension Improvement…………………. Reading Strategy Instruction…………………………………………….
9 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Cognitive Strategy Instruction……………………………………………. Previous Work on Reading Strategies in EFL……………………………. 14 CHAPTER 2 – RESEARCH METHODS……………………………………… 15 2.
The Research’s Context…………………………………………………… 15 2. Immediate Problem Context…………………………………………….National Context of the Problem………………………………………… 15 2. Methods of the Study………………………………………………………. The Action Research Approach………………………………………….
Project Action Plan……………………………………………………… 21 2. The Reading Strategy Instruction. Data collecting instruments……………………………………………. 26 CHAPTER 3 – DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION…………………….
The Findings of the Study…………………………………………………. Discussions………………………………………………………………… 32 PART C- CONCLUSION …………………. Limitations and suggestions for further research……………………………. I viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A INTRODUCTION This part is comprised of six sections including the general problem statements, the objectives and significance of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, the methods used in the study and the organization of the study.
General Problem Statements In this study the target groups were students in an eleven grade classroom. I, as the researcher, have seen them experience difficulty with the process of reading comprehension, which causes my great concern as an educator. During reading classes in the 2013 school year, I was annoyed by the moans and groans of students when reading assignments were given. I was astonished to find that students laboriously looked up every difficult word in the dictionary and were unable to draw inference or to guess the meaning of unknown words.
I finally realized that my students were quite unprepared to deal with longer reading texts without the ability to understand the main idea or knowledge of other reading strategies. Reading comprehension is an essential skill for learners of English. For most of learners it is the most important skill to master in order to ensure success in students’ personal and professional lives (Block & Israel, 2005, p. With strengthened reading skills, learners of English tend to make greater progress in other areas of language learning.
Reading should be an active, fluent process that involves the reader and the reading material in building meaning. Teaching students how to utilize the skills and knowledge they bring from their first language, develop vocabulary skills, improve reading comprehension and rate, and monitor students’ improvement are just some of the elements that teachers must consider in preparing for an English language reading class. Learning to read in a second or foreign language is a process that involves learning skills, learning new vocabulary and patterns, and cultivating the ability to transfer skills from the classroom to the real world, where English may be used. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Objectives of the Study The first and foremost aim of the study is to develop students’ awareness of reading strategies to improve their reading comprehension, so as to change their attitude to reading as well as to enhance the students’ participation in English reading classes of the 11th grade students at An Duong Vuong High School. The second is to propose some effective ways for teaching reading comprehension with a view to improve students’ reading comprehension. The Significance of the Study The research is likely to contribute to a thorough understanding of reading strategy training, which leads to appropriate application in ELT in Vietnam. Educators know that reading comprehension must improve to better students’ chances of future success (Block & Israel, 2005, p.
Currently, individual schools, school boards and Vietnamese Ministry of Education are interested in how junior- aged students can become effective readers. Today’s student must be standardized in English in order to “actively participate in the global community” (Vietnamese Ministry of Education, The decision No 1400/QĐ-TTg, 2008). The Project of Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System from 2008 to 2020 was formed in 2008 specifically to increase student achievement in these areas. Improving students’ English standard has become the mandate across all schools in Vietnam (Vietnamese Ministry of Education, The decision No 1400/QĐ-TTg, 2008 ).
I believe all teachers in schools can positively influence students’ achievement and can play a significant role in students’ reading development. My school may also benefit from my study because improving reading comprehension is my school-based objective in learning English. My action research focused on improving reading development and helped me identify practical strategies that I can use as a teacher to contribute to students’ reading development. Action research uses data to improve practice (Delong, Black & Wideman, 2005).
In my school board and across the province, teachers are encouraged to collect data to inform our practice. Since 2008, my school board has 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com required that annual learning plans (ALPs) incorporate data collection to measure movement towards our professional goals. Without a solid foundation of reading skills, students will struggle throughout their schooling and adult life. By learning the best comprehension strategies and how to best teach these strategies to the students, I hope to provide the solid foundation needed to succeed.
I have questioned if the scores decreased because the students’ reading strategies have not been developed or mastered. In the study, I hoped to incorporate reading strategies to increase reading test scores and develop a more meaningful reading experience for the students. As the teacher and researcher, I feel that I am constantly evaluating the lessons I teach to my students. Through this self-evaluation I have started searching for answers to areas of difficulty I see reoccurring in my classroom.
I chose the topic of improving reading comprehension through reading strategies because it is one of the problem areas that I see occurring year after year in my classroom. As a high school teacher, I feel one of the most important tasks I have is to help students develop strategies to comprehend the material they read. I am hoping that by using reading strategies in reading, my students would be able to transfer and make connections to reading. This is so important in order for them to be successful.
I feel very strongly about my students’ improving their reading comprehension and becoming life-long learners. And more important for me, my action research has afforded me some insights into successful reading strategies, which I will apply to my daily teaching in the future. I believe that a teacher has a role to play in supporting their students in the development of reading skills. This research project provides evidence to support this belief.
It is my hope that my action research can serve as a case study to support the value of professionally trained teachers in high schools 4.