VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ NGA STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION – AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE Nhận thức về tính tự chủ và thực tế thực hiện của sinh viên trong học tập kỹ năng đọc hiểu tiếng Anh – Nghiên cứu tại một trường đại học dân lập tỉnh Bắc Ninh M. MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ NGA STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION – AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE Nhận thức về tính tự chủ và thực tế thực hiện của sinh viên trong học tập kỹ năng đọc hiểu tiếng Anh – Nghiên cứu tại một trường đại học dân lập tỉnh Bắc Ninh M. MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Dương Thi Nu ̣ ̣ HANOI – 2017 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I, the candidate, hereby certify that the thesis submitted for the Master of Art degree at the University of Languages and International Studies is a presentation of my own research and has not been previously submitted at any other universities for any degrees.
Wherever contributions of other researches are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussion. The work was done under the guidance of Doctor Duong Thi Nu, at University of Languages and International Studies. Hanoi, 2017 Nguyễn Thi Nga ̣ i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to those who have contributed to the completion of this dissertation. First of all, I would like to send special thanks to my supervisor, Dr.
Duong Thi Nu, for the guidance and support that I have received from her in this research. I am also deeply grateful for the support of the University, of which I was a member of the teaching staff, and the enthusiastic participation of its students and teachers in this research project. This study would not have been possible without the valuable data they provided. Last but not least, I owe my family wholehearted thanks for the everlasting support and encouragement I received.
I might not have gone that far on my academic path without them. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT Learner autonomy has been considered as a desirable goal of learning and teaching practice, especially in the field of language learning for it benefits learners in numerous ways and enhances learners‟ chance for success in learning a language. In Vietnam, a considerable amount of research projects has been devoted to investigate different aspects of learner autonomy; however, few of them involve the learner‟s perceptions of the concept. This study, therefore, is an attempt to explore the extent to which the students in a provincial private university understand the concept of learner autonomy and the extent to which their beliefs about the construct are manifested in their learning of English reading comprehension.
With the nature of an exploratory research, the current study employed questionnaire survey, learners‟ learning diaries, and focus group as the main data collection methods. The findings from the study has revealed that the major perception of learner autonomy in this context relates to „taking the initiative‟ in learning, especially in self-study and the students are highly dependent on their teachers in learning English reading comprehension. In addition, there is an alignment between the students‟ understanding of the concept and the realization of learner autonomy in their actual practice of English reading comprehension with few autonomous activities performed. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.
iii TABLE OF CONTENTS. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. vii LIST OF TABLES. viii LIST OF FIGURES.
ix PART A - INTRODUCTION. Rationale for the study. Objectives and significance of the study. Scope and subjects of the study.
Structure of the report .5 CHAPTER I - LITERATURE REVIEW. Reading and Reading comprehension. Definitions of reading and reading comprehension. Models of reading comprehension.
Reading comprehension strategies. Studies on improving reading comprehension in EFL contexts. Definitions of Learner Autonomy. Types and Levels of autonomy .13 iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.
Characteristics of autonomous learners. Fostering LA in EFL/ESL contexts. Obstacles to fostering LA in EFL contexts in Vietnam. Learner Autonomy and Reading Comprehension .23 CHAPTER II - METHODOLOGY.
Research Objectives and Research Questions. Exploratory study using mixed methods. Rationale for using mixed methods research in the study. Data collection methods.
Description of the context .40 CHAPTER III - DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING DISCUSSION. Data management and coding. Quantitative data analysis. Data management and coding.
Qualitative data analysis. Discussion of the findings .67 v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART C - CONCLUSION. Summary of the study. Significance of the study.
Limitations of the study. Implications for fostering LA. Suggestions for further research projects. XVI vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LA: Learner Autonomy ERC: English Reading Comprehension ESL: English as a Second Language EFL: English as a Foreign Language PPLAQ: Perceptions and Practice of Learner Autonomy Questionnaire SPLAQ: Students‟ Practice of Learner Autonomy Questionnaire vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Coding table for the questionnaire .42 Table 2: Student‟s perceptions of LA .44 Table 3: Responsibilities of teachers and students for ERC learning and teaching issues .48 Table 4: Students‟ practice of LA in English reading comprehension .50 Table 5: Emerging themes from qualitative data .54 viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: A Heuristic for Thinking about Reading Comprehension.
6 Figure 2: Levels of processing in reading. 7 Figure 3: Mixed methods design matrix. 30 Figure 4: Sequential mixed methods design. 31 ix LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com PART A - INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale for the study In the context of Vietnam, while the development of science, technology, ecomomy and other fields lags behind that of developed countries, the goverment has been encouraging citizens to learn from other countries through science and technology transfer. In that case, the ability of reading and comprehending materials written in English is a key to knowledge acquisition for the fact that most knowledge today is transferred in written form and available in English. In addition, reading has been claimed as to be able to enhance the process of language acquisition and indirectly improve other language skills (Funnel & Morgan, 1995; Rivers, 1988). Consequently, more emphasis should be put on reading comprehension as a primary target of English language learning among learners of English in Vietnam.
In recent years, the shift from teacher - centered to learner - centered approach in Vietnam‟s educational system has put more emphasis on the role of learners in every aspects of education including teaching methods and methodology, material development and leaners‟ proficiency assessment. It can be said that understanding of learner‟s characteristics is one of the keys to the success of our educational cause. Within the credit-based educational system, which has been adopted recently, the time alloted to classes is reduced and students are given more independence as well as responsibility to their own learning. As a result, students with better autonomy will be more likely to be successful in their learning.
This is even much truer to English language learning. First defined by Holec as the “ability to take charge of one‟s own learning” in 1981, learner autonomy (LA) has gained much of interest of linguistic researchers and practitioners as a promising field yielding positive findings to improve the efficacy of English language learning among learners for nearly four decades to date. There have been numerous research projects on LA exploring different aspects of the concept such as language teachers‟ and learners‟ perceptions, teachers‟ beliefs, 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com teachers‟ practices, and ways and strategies to foster LA for language learners carried out in different contexts. Since the perception of autonomy changes according to different cultural and educational conditions, before making any attempt to promote learner autonomy, we should investigate students‟ readiness for autonomous learning.
That is, we should shed light on how ready students seem to take on the autonomous learning conditions and opportunities (Chan, 2003). Promoting learner autonomy involves responsibility change between teachers and learners, and researchers state that prior to this responsibility change, we should investigate learners‟ readiness for this change by investigating their perceptions of responsibility in the language learning process, and their actual autonomous language learning practices (Cotterall 1995; Spratt, Humpreys, & Chan, 2002; Chan, 2003). However, most studies of LA in Vietnamese context focused on the perceptions of language teachers of the concept, their beliefs of LA as well as methods to improve LA in classes (Hue, 2008; Le, 2009; Van, 2011; Thao, 2012; Tan, 2012; Nga, 2014). To the best knowledge of the researcher, there has been no official work on the perceptions of the learners themselves of LA in ERC learning, whereas the demand for better understanding of LA to improve the proficiency of English language learners has never been low, both in general and specific contexts.
Therefore, the researcher is convinced that there is a need for an exploration into this field, i. it is necessary to carry out a study on the learners‟ perceptions of LA in ERC learning at the University. Objectives and significance of the study This study is carried out with the expectation of giving the English teaching staff better understanding of students‟ perceptions and practices of LA in ERC learning. Therefore, two major objectives have been set, which aim at exploring: (i) the extent to which the students at the University perceive the concept of LA in learning ERC, and 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com (ii) the extent to which they practice LA in their ERC learning process.
Accordingly, two research questions have been formulated as follows. To what extent do students at the University perceive LA in English reading comprehension learning? RQ2. To what extent do the students practice LA in their English reading comprehension learning process? The findings from the study are expected to provide the University‟s English teaching staff with better understanding of the students and their learning process so that they might find and apply suitable and effective teaching methods and strategies to improve the quality of teaching and learning English there as well as foster autonomy among students of the University. Scope and subjects of the study For LA can be manifested in different aspects of the process of English language learning including determining the objectives of the courses, choosing materials, deciding learning methods and strategies, and assessing learning outcomes, the current study investigates the perceptions of the students of LA in the abovementioned aspects and the learners‟ realization of their perceptions in learning and practicing ERC.
The study involved both students and teachers of the University. In particular, 120 students of three cohorts participated in the questionnaire survey; ten of them were asked to keep their learning diaries in 8 weeks and six of them were invited to talk in a focus group. In addition, five teachers of English working at the University were also invited to answer the questionnaire survey for teachers. Research methods In order to answer proposed research questions, a sequential mixed methods approach is employed in the study.