MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ VO THI THANH TAM INTEGRATING SHORT STORIES INTO TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION TO THE THIRD YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT HUE UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING HUE, 2013 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES ------------ VO THI THANH TAM INTEGRATING SHORT STORIES INTO TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION TO THE THIRD YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT HUE UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc. LUU QUY KHUONG HUE 2013 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ ---------------------------------- VÕ THỊ THANH TÂM KẾT HỢP NHỮNG CÂU CHUYỆN NGẮN VÀO DẠY KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ BA TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS. LƯU QUÝ KHƯƠNG HUẾ, 2013 ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that the information reported in this paper is the result of my own work, except where due reference is made. The data and findings are true and with permission from associates.
The thesis has not been submitted for any other degree or diploma or appeared in any other media. Author Vo Thi Thanh Tam iii ABSTRACT This study examined the effectiveness of integrating short stories into teaching reading comprehension to the third year English majors at Hue University, College of Foreign Languages. It also addressed the issues of perceptions of students and teachers about integrating short stories into teaching reading comprehension. The data collection tools consisted of questionnaire and interview.
Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to the data analysis, processed with SPSS software. The results from quantitative and qualitative data indicated that the third year English majors agreed with the advantages of using short stories in learning reading comprehension. More importantly, how English teachers use this method to improve their teaching quality. Thanks to interview, some advantage and disadvantage factors in integrating short stories were found out.
These English teachers also gave their ideas to solve the difficulties when using short stories in teaching reading comprehension. Based on the findings of the study, suggestions were made to help students as well as teachers to integrate short stories into teaching and learning reading comprehension in more effective ways. iv First and foremost, I am greatly indebted to my supervisor, Assoc. Dr Luu Quy Khuong for his warm support and excellent insights throughout the current study.
He has spent a great deal of his valuable time correcting and giving comments to my work. Without his experienced guidance, this research would not have been done with a correct direction. Second, my great thankfulness goes to Ms Nguyen Thi Lai, MA and the whole third- year students in two reading classes. They helped me finish questionnaire to find out the data.
Also, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Superior Buddhist Monk Thich Chon Te who gave me a lot of useful encouragements to support my spirit. Moreover, I would like to thank English teachers in Hue College of Foreign Languages who took part in my questionnaire and interviews. Finally, my deepest gratitude goes to my parents, my younger sister, my friends who are always by my side, give me spiritual support and most importantly, more inspirations to finish the thesis after a lot of difficulties. v v TABLE OF CONTENTS SUB COVER PAGE 1 .i SUB COVER PAGE 2.
ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .v TABLE OF CONTENTS .vi LISTS OF CHARTS .ix LISTS OF TABLES .x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION. Background of the Research. Reasons for Doing the Research. Scope of the Research.
Significance of the Study. Structure of the Research .5 CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW. Previous Studies Related to the Research. Reading and Its Importance.
What is ―Reading‖?. The Importance of Reading. Definition of Reading Comprehension. The Levels of Reading Comprehension.
Stages of a Reading Lesson. Definition of Literature and Its‘ Importance. The Reader and the Text. Value of Short Stories.
Concept of Short Stories. The Benefits of Using Short Stories in Teaching Reading. The Teacher‘s Role in Teaching Reading Skills through Short Stories .20 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY. Participants in the Questionnaire.
Data Collection Procedure .24 CHAPTER 4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Results from the Questionnaires. Students‘ Overview towards Short Stories. Selection of Students toward the Short Stories Genres in Teaching Reading Skills.
The Advantages of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Skills. Advantage in Social Knowledge. Student‘s Difficulties in Using Short Stories into Teaching Reading Skills. Students‘ Attitude towards Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Skills.
Teacher‘s Attitude towards Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension. The Teachers‘ Idea about Advantages of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension. The Teachers‘ Idea about Difficulties of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension .45 CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH. Summary of the Key Findings.
The Reality of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension to the Third Year English Majors at HUCFL. Students‘ Attitudes towards Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension. Teachers‘ Attitudes towards Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension. Contributions of the Study.
Implications of the Study. Limitations of the Study. Suggestions for Further Research .54 APPENDIX Appendix 1 Questionnaire On Teachers’ Perceptions And Integration Short Stories In Teaching Reading Skills Appendix 2 Teacher Interview Questions Appendix 3 Questionnaires For Students Appendix 4 Some Model Short Stories Appendix 5 Reliability Of Questionnaire viii LISTS OF CHARTS Chart 4. Students‘ Preference towards Certain Genres of Literature Chart 4.
The Students‘ Interest about Short Stories Chart 4. Selection of Students towards the Short Story Genres in Teaching Reading Chart 4. The Mean Scores of Advantages of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Chart 4. Short Stories Give Student Chances for Enriching Cultural Knowledge Chart 4.
Short Stories can Improve Learning Environment Chart 4. Students‘ Difficulties in Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Chart 4. Students‘ Attitude towards Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Chart 4. Teachers have ever Integrated Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Chart 4.
The Mean Score of Teachers‘ Idea about Advantages of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension ix LISTS OF TABLES Table 4. The Reliability of the Students‘ Questionnaire in a Pilot Study Table 4. The Reliability of the Students‘ Questionnaire Table 4. Students‘ Preference towards Certain Genres of Literature Table 4.
Selection of Students toward the Short Story Topics in Teaching Reading Table 4. The Reliability of the Teachers‘ Questionnaire in Study Table 4. Teachers‘ Attitude towards Creating Useful Activities from Short Stories in Teaching Reading Comprehension Table 4. The Teachers‘ Idea about Advantages of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Table 4.
The Teachers‘ Idea about Difficulties of Integrating Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension Table 4. The Reason Teachers Do not Integrate Short Stories into Teaching Reading Comprehension x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS - EFL: English as a Foreign Language - HUCFL: Hue University College of Foreign Languages - SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Sciences xi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Background of the Research About one hundred years ago, many educated people learned and spoke French when they met people from other countries. Today most people speak English when they meet foreigners.
There are more people who speak English as a second language than people who speak English as a first language. Why has English become the new international language? One of the reasons is that English is considered as the language job business used for communicating in the world. Another important reason is that popular American culture (like movies and music) has quickly spread throughout the world. It has brought its language with it.
Therefore, English plays an important part in our life in every field. English is compared with ―the bridge‖ to help human life approach modern science, advanced technology, new education, society and culture all over the world. According to Riyadi (2010), English is the key to face the globalization era. The teaching English as a second and foreign language becomes a major international enterprise.
So, it is very important to teach English to children as early as possible in order to prepare them for facing the new era. Vietnam is a developing country; the role of English in society is highly evaluated. Being aware of its importance, Ministry of Education and Training in Vietnam announced the decision that English has been a compulsory subject in schools from the primary level upwards. But ―how do we create an effective classroom in teaching English?‖ There are many factors that make students like learning English.
The most outstanding factor is the method of teachers. English in Vietnam is a foreign language. So, every English teacher must have effective methods to enhance the abilities of students in learning English. According to Richards and Rodgers (in Brown: 48), the method is an umbrella term for the specification and interrelation of theory and practice.
For example, in teaching English to children the teacher should pay attention not only to how the 1 right implementation of the techniques used but also on how these techniques are suited to the elementary students (Riyadi, 2010). The main purpose of teaching English of schools in Vietnam is to help students to be good at four basic language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Every skill is very necessary for students. But among four skills, reading is the most interesting subject at school.
In teaching, students have to learn reading extracted information from various sources of English. For this reason, Ziauddin (1980) claims that reading proficiency plays a great role in understanding a written statement accurately and efficiently. Reading serves as an important tool in every field of professional service (Khand, 2004). Therefore students who succeed in their studies are often found to be proficient readers.
Also, people who are literate and like reading will improve and progress in learning more quickly. This agrees on the idea of Pang, Muaka, Bernhardt & Kamil (2003) that learning to read is an important educational goal. Reading relaxes the body and calms the mind. This is an important point because these days we seem to have forgotten how to relax and especially how to be silent.
The constant movement, flashing lights and noise which bombard our senses when we are watching TV, looking at a computer or playing an electronic game are actually quite stressful for our brains. When we read, we read in silence and the black print on a white page is much less stressful for our eyes and brains (Lindsay, 2011). But learning reading is not very easy for students. Reading comprehension is not an easy task and still constitutes (Basel Al-Sheikh Hussein, 2011).
To be good at reading skills, students have to try their best in a long time. In reading comprehension, students must combine many skills such as vocabulary, grammar, cultural knowledge. The third year English majors at Hue College of Foreign Languages are taught English through short stories of foreign literature to widen knowledge in many fields such as culture, politics, language, society. And teaching reading skills through short stories will help students more interested and more active in learning.
Using literature in the classroom leads the learners to become better readers (Ghasemi and Hajizadeh, 2011). Reasons for Doing the Research I graduated from English department of Hue College of Foreign Languages last year. So, I clearly understand the difficulties in learning reading skills of the third year English majors in my college.