VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THU THẢO A STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO 10TH FORM STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NINH BINH ( Nghiên cứu về việc dạy kĩ năng đọc hiểu cho hoc sinh lớp 10 ở một trường THPT, Ninh Bình) MA. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.10 Hanoi, 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES PHẠM THU THẢO A STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO 10TH FORM STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NINH BINH ( Nghiên cứu về việc dạy kĩ năng đọc hiểu cho hoc sinh lớp 10 ở một trường THPT, Ninh Bình) MA. MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn Hanoi, 2013 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled: “A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a high school in Ninh Binh.” is the result of my research for the Degree of Master of Art at University of Languages and International Studies, Ha Noi National University, and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution.
Ha noi, September 2013 Student Phạm Thu Thảo i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to take the chance to express my great gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan for his helpful suggestions, valuable critical feedback, close guidance, as well as his generous assistance in the process of completing my thesis. Secondly, I owe a debt of gratitude to all the English teachers at Nho Quan C High School for providing me with precious knowledge from their practical and useful lectures. Special thanks must be also given to the beloved students at Nho Quan C high school for their responsible cooperation in the data collection process.
Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me during my study. Especially, I owe my deep thanks to my dear husband, my parents and my dear little daughter for their special care and encouragement, due to which my paper is able to be finished in time. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This research was aimed at finding out: (1) the students‟ background of English and their attitudes toward learning reading comprehension skill; (2) factors causing their difficulties and the problems the teachers might encounter in the teaching process of the reading comprehension skills; (3) suggested solutions. The researcher carried out the study by three instruments: classroom observation, two survey questionnaires and informal interviews.
The research reveals that the students‟ lack of knowledge, including linguistic and cultural background knowledge, the teachers‟ teaching methods, some difficulties from the textbook all cause problems for the teachers in the teaching process. Besides, the data from the study confirm the fact that the students‟ poor attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills in learning English contributes to the problems in teaching this skill. In addition, the school‟s lack of conductive facilities is also made the situation worse. From the results inferred in the analysis, the study suggests some feasible solutions to make teaching and learning English reading skills more effective.
iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES CHARTS Chart 1: Students’ attitudes toward the importance of learning reading skills…………………………………………………………………………….33 Chart 2: Students’ opinion on the reading text in the textbook……………….33 Chart 3: Students’ activities in pre-reading……………………………………34 Chart 4: Students’ activities in while-reading…………………………………34 Chart 5: Students’ expectation in post-reading ……………………………….35 Chart 6: Students’ way to overcome difficulties……………………………….37 Chart 7: The way teachers ask their students to read…………………………40 Chart 8: Teachers’ expectation of the students in the post-reading………….41 TABLES Table 1: The results of classroom observations……………………………….29 Table 2: Factors affecting students’ comprehension of the text………………33 Table 3: Students’ problems in acquiring reading skill……………………….36 Table 4: Students’ expectation of teachers’ solutions to their difficulties……37 Table 5: Teachers’ attitudes towards reading skill…………………………….38 Table 6: Description of teachers’ opinions on the sections for reading in Englis……………………………………………………………………………39 Table 7: Teachers’ perception of the students’ comprehension………………40 Table 8: Description of teachers’ problems in teaching reading skills……….41 Table 9: Description of the teachers’ solutions to face with the difficulties …42 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION………………………………………………………………….iii LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES…………………………………………….iv TABLE OF CONTENT…………………………………………………………. Rationale of the study…………………………………………………………. Aims and objectives of the study. Scope of the study…………………………………………………………….
Data collection instrumnts……………………………………………………4 4. Data analytical units…………………………………………………………. Data analysis methods………………………………………………………. Data collection procedures………………………………………………….
Significance of the study………………………………………………………. Organization of the study………………………………………………………5 PART II: DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………………5 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………………………………6 1. Definitions of reading and reading comprehension …………………………. What is reading and reading comprehension?.
Purposes of reading…………………………………………………………. The importance of reading…………………………………………………. Effective Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Skills….11 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. What is Effective Reading Comprehension?.
Reading Comprehension Skills…………………………………………. Teaching Reading Comprehension…………………………………………. Relationship between Reading and Other Skills……………………………12 2. Factors in teaching reading lesson………………………………………….
The Roles of the Teacher…………………………………………………13 2. The Role of the Students…………………………………………………. The role of reading material………………………………………………16 2. The Three Stages of a Reading Lesson…………………………………….
Pre-reading Stage…………………………………………………………17 2. While-reading Stage………………………………………………………17 2. Post-reading Stage. Difficulties in Teaching Reading.
Reading Skill Problems……………………………………………………. Cultural background knowledge……………………………………………21 4. Previous studies relevant to the study……………………………………….21 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……………………………. Data analysis methods………………………………………………………26 2.
Data collection procedures…………………………………………………. Teachers and Methods of teaching……………………………………….27 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Data analytical units……………………………………………………….28 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS……………………………………………………………………. Report the data analysis…………………………………………………….Questionnaire for students……………………………………………….
Questionnaire for teachers ……………………………………………. Discussion of the findings…………………………………………………. What are the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of reading?. What difficulties do the teachers meet/encounter when dealing with a reading lesson?.
What are feasible solutions to overcome these difficulties?.46 CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS…………………………………. Adapting and re-designing the tasks in the textbook to be more suitable to students…………………………………………………………………………. Upgrading teaching aids……………………………………………………. Techniques for creating reading interest and enhancing motivation……….
Using visual aids…………………………………………………………. Using brainstorming wed/ Networks……………………………………. Techniques for enriching vocabulary ………………………………………50 4. Encourage students to have extensive reading habit…………………….
Using word games………………………………………………………. Using word list……………………………………………………………51 4. Techniques for improving students‟ background knowledge………………51 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Training students to become efficient readers………………………………51 PART III: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………….
Summary of the study………………………………………………………. Limitations and suggestions for further study………………………………. Recommendations for further study………………………………………….54 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………55 APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………I Appendix 1: Observation sheet………………………………………………….I Appendix 2: Questionnaire for students (in English)………………………….III Appendix 3: Questionnaire for students (in Vietnamese)…………………….VI Appendix 4: Questionnaire for teachers……………………………………….IX Appendix 5: Interview question (for teachers)……………………………….XII Appendix 6: Adaptation lesson………………………………………………XIII Appendix 7: Adaptation lesson………………………………………………XIV Appendix 8: Pre-teaching technique………………………………………….XV viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale of the study Nowadays, English has become a global language and has been widely used in many countries in the world.
In Vietnam, it plays an important role in the increasing development of science, technology, economics, politics, culture and international relation. This leads to an increasing demand of learning English. More and more people want to acquire the language proficiency in a higher level because of the globalization trend. Many people consider it as an inevitable factor in their work and life.
In most school throughout Vietnam, English is considered the most important foreign language and chosen to teach as compulsory subject. In teaching and learning as a foreign language in Vietnam, reading has always received a great deal of attention. According to Erten & Razı (2003) Reading is often referred to as the most important of the four language skills for EFL learners, as it enables students to gain exposure to the target language and receive valuable linguistic input to build up language proficiency. Sharing the same point of view, Carrell (1984:1) shows that “for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four macro-skills, particularly in English as a second or a foreign language”.
Therefore, Reading is always the first skill presented in each unit in the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10”. This proves the important role of reading. This is also understandable because reading provides students with the abilities to understand the written materials. Reading has become not only an important means to gain and enrich the students‟ general knowledge but also a means to help them with their further study in the future.
This is the fourth year I have taught the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10” to the 10th form students. I have met a lot of difficulties. The biggest challenges emerge from teaching reading comprehension. My colleagues in my school have confronted a number of difficulties, one of which was students‟ lack of motivation and opportunities to practice communicating in the target language.
Despite the teachers‟ efforts, the students‟ reading skills are unimproved. If those difficulties are 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com not found out and no solution to reduce and overcome are given, reading lesson will become worst and students will be bored with learning English. Recognizing the importance of teaching reading and reading comprehension, I decide on choosing “A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a high school in Ninh Binh.” The study conducted at Nho Quan C High School which is located in Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province. This small school with 24 classes has been in operation for only 5 years.
Like other high schools, its duty is to train students from the 10th form to the 12th form. The class size is generally large with 40-45 learners in one. The classrooms are equipped only with a chalkboard and desks for four students sharing one. The school has only one projector which is occasionally used by teachers of all subjects in teaching festivals.
There is a library at school but there are not many books for reference. Moreover, English newspapers and magazines, which are good sources of current target language, are not available. In this school, Math, Physics and Chemistry are chosen by most of the students who wish to take the exams to colleges or universities. English is one of the compulsory subjects at high school and in the school-leaving exam.
However, few students choose the colleges or universities which require an English exam. The grade tenth students at Nho Quan C High School are approximately 16 years old. Lots of them come from comparatively poor families so their learning condition is low. Their parents can hardly afford to pay extra expenses for their children‟s schooling such as a dictionary, a cassette player or even some English reference books.
Some of them do not take care of their children. Moreover, most of the students have low English level. The majority of them have learned English for four years, a few of them have learned it for seven years (three years at primary school). However, their English background knowledge remains humble.
For some students, things they have learned at secondary school seem to be completely new at high school. They cannot express their ideas even a very simple sentences. For example, in unit 3 “people‟s 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com background”, some students cannot find the answer for the question: when and where was Marie Curie born? In addition, their lack of awareness of the importance of English as well as motivation makes them not interested in English. As a result, most of them do not have the habit of learning independently and tend to depend on the textbooks and on the teacher for knowledge.