VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** VŨ QUỲNH HOA DEVELOPING PRE-READING TASKS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH-MAJOR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, VINH PHUC COLLEGE: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ VIỆC PHÁT TRIỂN HOẠT ĐỘNG GIAI ĐOẠN TRƯỚC KHI ĐỌC CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CỦA TỔ NGOẠI NGỮ, KHOA XÃ HỘI, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG VĨNH PHÚC) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2016 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 QUỲNH HOA DEVELOPING PRE-READING TASKS FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH-MAJOR DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, VINH PHUC COLLEGE: AN ACTION RESEARCH PROCESS (NGHIÊN CỨU HÀNH ĐỘNG VỀ VIỆC PHÁT TRIỂN HOẠT ĐỘNG GIAI ĐOẠN TRƯỚC KHI ĐỌC CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT CỦA TỔ NGOẠI NGỮ, KHOA XÃ HỘI, TRƯỜNG CAO ĐẲNG VĨNH PHÚC) M. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr. Vũ Thị Thanh Nhã HANOI – 2016 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com DECLARATION I certify that the work contained in this thesis is the result of my own research, and this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or institution.
Hanoi, January 2016 Signature Vũ Quỳnh Hoa i LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indeed thankful to my supervisor, Dr. Vũ Thị Thanh Nhã, whose sympathetic guidance has been the source of inspiration and knowledge for my research. I am also grateful to other teachers of the Department of Post-Graduate Studies for their encouragement and valuable advice. I have profound regards for all the teachers of English-major Division of Vinh Phuc College and for all of the English-major freshmen of the class 18 who spent their precious time on completing my survey questionnaire.
Without their enthusiastic cooperation, my thesis would not have been completed. My great thanks are also given to my family and my friends who have constantly supported, inspirited and encouraged me during the process of my study. ii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com ABSTRACT This action research focused on finding out the primary problem related to using pre-reading tasks; hence, the major purpose of the study aimed to develop pre-reading tasks for improving students‟ reading performance. The research was conducted with first-year students of English-major Division, Department of Social Science, Vinh Phuc College.
Data were collected through 4 observed lessons and two sets of survey questionnaire delivered to 32 freshmen of the class 18 English after the lessons. The research findings revealed the problem of ineffective use of pre-reading tasks in reading lessons as well as its causes and effects on students‟ reading performance. Finally, I also presented suggestions for developing pre- reading tasks that the teachers have used in their reading lessons for improving students‟ reading performance. iii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AR: Action Research No: Number of students Ss: Students iv LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com LISTS OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Action research procedure Figure 2: Simple action research model (Kemmis & McTaggart, 2008, p.278) Figure 3: Detailed Action Research Model (Susman, 1983) Table 1: Students‟ assessment on the first lesson Table 2: Students‟ assessment on pre-reading tasks used in the first lesson Table 3: Reasons for effectiveness and ineffectiveness of pre-reading tasks provided by the students Table 4: Students‟ assessment on exercises and tasks at the while and post reading stages in the first lesson Table 5: Students‟ suggestions about efficient pre-reading tasks in the next reading lesson Table 6: Students‟ assessment on the first try-out lesson Table 7: Students‟ assessment on pre-reading tasks used in the first try-out lesson Table 8: Reasons for effectiveness of pre-reading tasks provided by the students Table 9: Students‟ assessment on exercises and tasks at the while and post- reading stages in the first try-out lesson v LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION.
iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. iv LISTS OF FIGURES AND TABLES. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION.
Aims of the Study. Significance of the Study. Scope of the Study. Method of the research.
Design of the study .3 CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND. Theoretical background of reading. Definitions of reading. Types of reading.
Teaching and learning reading skills. The importance of reading in foreign language learning. Stages of a reading lesson. Theoretical background of pre-reading tasks.
Overview of pre-reading tasks. Pre-reading Tasks .16 vi LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 3: THE METHODOLOGY. Setting of the study. The observed students.
The researcher’s assistants. Data Collection Instruments. Methods of Data Analysis. Research Method – Action research (AR).
Definitions of AR. Action research model .40 vii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Employing pre-reading tasks suitable for students’ interests 40 5. Varying pre-reading tasks.
Pedagogical use of pre-reading tasks. Improving the pre-reading tasks in the text book. Limitations and suggestions for further study. I viii LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.
Rationale In colleges, English has been a compulsory subject in the curriculum. Attention is given to all of the four English skills including reading, listening, speaking and writing. However, reading plays an important role in enriching the student‟s general knowledge and in developing their further study later. In highlighting the importance of reading, Langer (1981, p.153) stated that “reading is the most important activity in any language class, not only as a source of information and pleasurable activity, but also as a means of consolidating and extending one‟s knowledge of the language.” Moreover, reading helps students learn other skills better.
Reutzel (1985), for example, acknowledge that anyone who reads more has various vocabularies and receives marks better for grammar and writing tests.1) confirms that, by far, for numerous students, in English as a second language, reading plays the most crucial role of the four skills. Teaching reading, consequently, has attracted greater attention. However, in reading classes, it is common that students do not absolutely know about topic of the text they are reading about. Thus, pre-reading stage in each reading lesson becomes indispensable for introducing and for arousing interest in the topic; for motivating learners by giving a reason for reading and for providing some language preparation for the text (Williams, 1986, p.
At Vinh Phuc College, where I work, teaching reading is extremely essential in developing all of the four basic English skills for students. As a teacher of English here, I am teaching reading skill to first-year students of English-major division, Department of Social-Science. I realize pre-reading stage in each lesson has significant effects on the students‟ reading performance. However, using pre- reaching tasks in each pre-reading stage is far from satisfactory.
In other words, pre- reading tasks I used in each reading lesson had not led to effective performance. These tasks were so not only simple but also ineffective that they could not motivate students for reading, provide prior knowledge or build necessary background for comprehending the text. Therefore, I decided to carry out the action research to develop pre-reading tasks for first-year students of English-major Division, Department of Social-Science, Vinh Phuc College. Based on the findings of this action research, some changes and improvements can be applied in my lessons, and some appropriate strategies need to be designed with the hope that students will work more effectively in a reading lesson.
I hope that the findings of this study will be shared with other teachers who have experienced similar problems. 1 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail. Aims of the Study The main purpose of the study is to develop pre-reading tasks in reading lessons for English-major freshmen at Vinh Phuc college. Specifically, it aims at: finding out the problems the first-year English-major students at Vinh Phuc College encountered in pre-reading tasks.
giving the teacher‟s solutions for these problems and emphasizing on the effects of the intervention on the students. providing the implications for developing pre-reading tasks to improve students‟ reading performances. Research questions The above aims of the study can be realized by the following research questions: 1. What problems did the first-year English-major students at Vinh Phuc College encounter in pre-reading tasks? 2.
What could the teacher do to solve these problems? What were the effects of the intervention on the students? 3. What were the implications for developing pre-reading tasks to improve students‟ reading performances? 1. Significance of the Study Theoretical significance of the study: The study synthesized the problems related to using pre-reading tasks in reading lessons and their effects on students‟ performance. Furthermore, the research suggested how to effectively develop pre-reading tasks to improve students‟ reading performance.
Practical significance of the study: The study is expected to improve using pre-reading tasks in reading lessons at Vinh Phuc College. Based on some findings of the study, some suggestions of developing effective pre-reading tasks are given for teachers and students to enhance students‟ reading performances. Scope of the Study Although there are various factors that influence the students‟ reading performance in reading lessons, I only focus my study on one of these factors – i. 2 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com developing pre-reading tasks effectively to improve students‟ reading performance in reading lessons.
The study was conducted at course 18 English in 4 lessons. Each lesson lasted 4 periods (45minutes/ period). Method of the research The research method I used is the action research. The study was carried out with the process adapted by Tsui (1993) including five concrete steps: identifying problems, finding causes of the problem, designing strategies for improvement (plan for action) and writing a proposal for action research, trying out the strategies (action) and evaluating the try-out.
These steps were grouped into four phases in the following figure (1) DIAGNOSING Identifying the problem & its causes (2) ACTION PLANNING (4) EVALUATING designing strategies for improvement evaluating the try-out writing a proposal for action research (3) TAKING ACTION trying out the strategies Figure 1: Action research procedure These steps were described more concretely in the chapter 3 on methodology 1. Design of the study The main body of this thesis consists of five chapters: Chapter 1: Introduction: presents the rationale, the aims, the significance, the scope, the method and the design of the study. Herein, the research questions are also raised. Chapter 2: Theoretical background: provides the definition of related concepts and reviews the related works that compose the theoretical background of the study.
3 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com Chapter 3: The Methodolody: presents situation analysis, identifies the research method and gives detailed descriptions of the data collection tools (survey questionnaire and classroom observation), methods of analysis as well as the participants of the study. Chapter 4: Findings: presents, analyzes the findings of the research. Chapter 5: Conclusion: summarizes the discussion of research findings, gives some teaching implications, and discusses the limitations of the study as well as suggestions for further research. 4 LUAN VAN CHAT LUONG download : add luanvanchat@agmail.com CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.
Introduction This chapter reviews the theoretical issues of pre-reading tasks divided into three sections: the theoretical background of reading, teaching and learning reading skills and the overview of pre-reading tasks. The first one discusses the theoretical background of reading including definitions of reading, types of reading. The second section focuses on teaching and learning reading skills consisting of importance of reading in foreign language learning and stages of reading lesson. The third one emphasizes on the theoretical background of pre-reading tasks which comprises an overview of pre-reading tasks and a classification of these tasks.
Theoretical background of reading 2.