VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY VÂN AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS ON THE INTERNET TO IMPROVE 12th FORM STUDENTS' EXTENSIVE READING AT B PHU LY HIGH SCHOOL ( Nghiên cứu hành động về hiệu quả việc sử dụng tư liệu nguyên gốc trên Internet để nâng cao kĩ năng đọc mở rộng của học sinh lớp 12 trường THPT B Phủ Lý, Hà Nam) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 HANOI, 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES -----***----- NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY VÂN AN ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS ON THE INTERNET TO IMPROVE 12th FORM STUDENTS' EXTENSIVE READING AT B PHU LY HIGH SCHOOL ( Nghiên cứu hành động về hiệu quả việc sử dụng tư liệu nguyên gốc trên Internet để nâng cao kĩ năng đọc mở rộng của học sinh lớp 12 trường THPT B Phủ Lý, Hà Nam) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: PROF. HOÀNG VĂN VÂN HANOI, 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that the minor thesis entitled “An action research project on the effectiveness of using authentic materials on the Internet to improve 12th form students' extensive reading at B Phu Ly High School” submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts at Faculty of Post- Graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi is my own study, and that it has not been submitted for any degree to any other universities or institutions. Where other sources of information have been used, they have been identified and acknowledged. Signature Nguyen Thi Thuy Van i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful help.
First and foremost, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to my respectable supervisor, Prof. Hoang Van Van for his restless and sympathetic encouragement, and critical feedback, without which my thesis would be far from completion. I would also like to acknowledge a particular debt to Assoc. Le Van Canh for his valuable advice and patient guidance though he is not my supervisor.
My sincere thanks also go to my dear colleagues at B Phu Ly High School for all their help, supports and encouragement when I encountered difficulties. I wish to acknowledge my thankfulness to classes 12A2 and 12A3 at B Phu Ly High School for their enthusiastic participation in the experiment. Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends who were willing to help me during the course. In particular, I find myself indebted to my family especially my husband for their love, care and tolerance during the process of writing this thesis.
ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Extensive reading is believed to develop good reading habits, to build up knowledge of vocabulary and structures, and to encourage a liking for reading. Materials for extensive reading are available everywhere but Internet-based materials seem to be the most suitable for high school students because the World Wide Web now is easily accessible with an endless supply of authentic materials in the target language where students can start on their own. The use of authentic materials in extensive reading is appropriate since they relate directly to the real world. Other aspects which prove positive when using authentic materials are that they are highly motivating, giving a sense of achievement when understood and encourage further reading.
However, there has been insufficient research to explore the effects of extensive reading that utilizes authentic materials. Thus, this study is conducted, adapting action research approach, to investigate the impact of authentic materials as the main source of extensive reading and students' attitudes toward these materials. The findings indicate a positive effect of authentic materials on students’ language competence and favorable opinions from students. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vi LIST OF TABLES. vii PART A: INTRODUCTION.
Rationale of the study. Aims of the study and research questions. Scope of the study. Method of the study.
Organization of the study .5 CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW. The roles of extensive reading in language education. The use of online authentic materials in improving extensive reading comprehension. Advantages and disadvantages of using authentic materials.
The effects of attitude in second language learning .15 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Some related studies .16 CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. An overview of action research. Rationale for the use of an action research.
Description of the research. Data collection instruments. The action procedures. Data collection procedures.
Data analysis procedure .28 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Students’ attitudes towards authentic materials. Students’ suggestions for future program. Limitations of the study .43 APPENDIX I: PRE-QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS.
I v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ANCOVA: Analysis of Covariance EFL: English as a Foreign Language ESP: English for Special Purposes GCSE: General Certificate of Secondary Education L2: Second Language SPSS: Statistical Packages for Social Sciences vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Advantages & Disadvantages of Authentic Materials Table 2: Range of students' attitudes to target language Table 3: An overview of an extensive reading program: Table 4: The levels of students’ interest in reading lessons, their needs and their attitudes toward reading skills Table 5: Significant difference between the pretest mean scores of the students taught using traditional method and that of those using authentic materials in the teaching of extensive reading. Table 6: Significant difference between the post-test mean scores of the students taught using traditional method and that of those using authentic materials in the teaching of extensive reading. Table 7: Significant effect of authentic materials in the teaching of extensive reading. Table 8: Students’ attitudes towards authentic material program Table 9: Students’ suggestions for future program Table 10: Summary of the Research Findings vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A: INTRODUCTION This is a study on the influence of authentic materials on learning reading skills.
This chapter starts with the rationale of the study. Then the aims, hypothesis, scope, significance and method of the study will be presented. Rationale of the study Reading is an activity that can be considered as a crucial aspect of one's language ability because this skill helps to develop other language skills and provides knowledge on the target language. However, many students experience difficulties in comprehending the reading texts.
These difficulties appear because the students have low motivation and possess limited vocabulary. Students today have become more passive and reluctant in regard to reading, doing no more than what is required. Educators are concerned about students' disinterest and therefore, are endeavoring to find ways and sources to encourage students to read. Textbooks are widely adopted in classroom teaching but perhaps because textbook materials often break down language to discrete linguistic points, it may be too formulaic for students.
Additionally, textbooks are never enough, especially for those who are going to take the 2 in 1 GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) exams in which English is a compulsory subject. Moreover, time for reading lesson at high school is limited. There are three English lessons every week and in five or six lessons, there is only one for reading which means there is not enough time for reading - the most important language skill. That is the reason why teachers have to find ways to enhance students to read more.
That means students have to read extensively. Additionally, most of the coursebooks used in language classrooms are perceived as traditional materials because they serve a pre-planned goal, so texts are simplified and exercises are adapted, which sometimes seems impractical to learners. Therefore, a new concept, "authentic materials" has been established. Most linguists agree that in language teaching, the use of authentic materials is quite useful to the learning process because as Baddock (1981) stated, learners find 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com genuine materials or realia more motivating and interesting since one day they will use their surviving English in the foreign culture.
Morton (1999) also claimed that authentic materials make students familiar with "real" English and they are also supposed to motivate students. Nunan (1998) argued that the outside world should be reflected through the materials and this authenticity ought to be related to the source of the materials, student activities and tasks. In other words, these materials should include the language and its sociocultural context in which the language is used together. From this suggestion and above initial problems, the author decided to do an action research project on the effectiveness of using authentic materials on the Internet to improve 12th form students' extensive reading at B Phu Ly High School.
Aims of the study and research questions In conducting this study, the researcher expects to discover the effects of using authentic materials in the teaching of extensive reading to 12th graders at B Phu Ly High School. It is hoped to improve students' extensive reading as well as their language proficiency. In addition, this paper will be carried out to find out students' attitudes towards the use of authentic materials in extensive reading activity. Specifically, two main research questions will be addressed: - To what extent do authentic materials help to improve EFL high school students' extensive reading ability? - What are the students' attitudes towards authentic reading materials? 3.
Hypothesis: A hypothesis in this study is that using authentic materials will help EFL high school students improve their extensive reading ability and these students will take positive attitudes towards these materials. Scope of the study The study was conducted on 90 volunteer students from classes 12A2 and 12A3 at B Phu Ly High School during the first semester and restricted to the first semester of 2015-2016. The study concentrates on whether authentic materials fits the needs 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com of enhancing 12th form students’ extensive reading skill. As a result, the teachers at B Phu Ly High School are persuaded to adopt this kind of materials in their teaching not only reading but other language skills.
Significance of the study Once completed, the study will provide an insight into the effects of using authentic materials on EFL high school students' extensive reading achievement as well as their attitudes towards using these materials. What will be achieved in this research may help teachers consider utilizing authentic materials to improve students' reading comprehension. Moreover, this study will be much beneficial to students who wonder how to develop their reading skills as well as their language proficiency. Method of the study This study is conducted as an action research because action research is the best choice for the purpose of improving the current state of affairs within educational context in which the research is carried out.
In order to get data, a combination of different instruments, namely pretest and posttest, and questionnaire, is used. The data collected through the questionnaire and the two tests will be analyzed by quantitative method, using an ANCOVA (Analysis of Covariance) through SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Science).