MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY ====== M.A THESIS USING PQRST (PREVIEW, QUESTION, READ, SUMMARIZE, TEST) STRATEGY TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE TENTH-GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HANOI (Sử dụng chiến lược PQRST nhằm nâng cao năng lực đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp 10 tại một trường THPT ở Hà Nội ) HOANG THI THUY Field: English language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga Hanoi – 2024 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, at this moment, certify my authority of the study project report entitled USING THE PQRST STRATEGY TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE TENTH-GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN HANOI submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English Language. Except where the reference is indicated, no other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the text of the thesis. Hanoi, 2023 Hoang Thi Thuy Approved by SUPERVISOR Nguyen Thi Viet Nga Date: …………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the completion of this thesis, I have received great assistance and support from many people without whom the work could not have been fulfilled.
To begin, I would like to express my most sincere appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga. Throughout the process of completing this thesis, Dr. Nguyen Thi Viet Nga has supported me, generously supplied me with insightful direction, and provided me with helpful criticism; without her, the thesis would be a long way from being done.
Without her, the thesis would not be nearly as complete as it is now. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to every one of the presenters. Second, I would like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of the English Faculty at Hanoi Open University. Their academic expertise, insightful lectures, and clear directions were all really helpful to me as I worked to finish the assignment.
Thirdly, I would like to express my gratitude to the teachers at the Library Department of Hanoi Open University. They made it much simpler for me to search the resources needed for this thesis and borrow them. Finally, I would like to give my deepest gratitude to my family, my seniors, and my instructors for your consistent support and encouragement throughtout my training course. ii ABSTRACT The objectives of this study were to find out the significant improvement in 10th-grade students‟ reading comprehension before and after being taught utilizing the PQRST strategy at Tran Thanh Tong High School and the significant difference in students‟ reading comprehension between the students who were taught by using the PQRST strategy and those who were not.
The research was carried out at Tran Thanh Tong High School during the Academic Year 2022-2023. The study utilized a quasi-experimental design in conducting quantitative research. The population consisted of tenth-grade students from Tran Thanh Tong High School, and the sampling method used for this research was cluster random sampling. The sample consisted of class 10A1 as the experimental group and class 10A2 as the control group.
Each of them comprised a total of 30 students. This study employed a test to gather the data, and the statistical analysis of the data was conducted using the t-test in SPSS version 23. The research findings indicate that the experimental class achieved a better score in the post-test (84.28) compared to the control class (77. The computation of the t-test shows that the t-value (3.436) is greater than the t-table value (2.
The calculated t-value exceeds the critical t-value from the t-table, leading to the rejection of the null hypothesis (Ho) and acceptance of the alternative hypothesis (Ha). The effectiveness of the PQRST Strategy in teaching reading comprehension at Tran Thanh Tong High School is indicated. The research findings demonstrated the efficacy of the PQRST strategy in enhancing reading performance. The results are evident from the average scores obtained from the questionnaire administered to students, which reached 63%, and are further confirmed by the average score achieved in the reading activity, which reached 75%.
iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Df Degree of freedom M Mean PQRST Preview, Question, Read, Summarize, Test SD Standard Deviation TESOL Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. TTT Tran Thanh Tong % Percentage iv LIST OF TABLES Table 3. The Population of the Study. The Sample of the Study.
Specification of Pre-test. Specification of Post-test. The Result of Validity Calculation. The Result of the Reliability Test.
Test Item Reliability. The Likert Scale for Positive Statements. The Experimental Class Schedule (10A1). The Control Class Schedule (10A2).
The Pre-Test Score of Learners‟ Reading Ability Test in Experimental Class. The Categorization of Learners‟ Pre-Test in Experimental Class. The Post-Test Score of Learners‟ Reading Ability Test in Experimental Class. The Categorization of Learners‟ Post-Test in Experimental Class.
The Pre-Test Score of Learners‟ Reading Ability Test in Control Class. The Categorization of Learners‟ Pre-Test in Experimental Class. The Post-Test Score of Learners‟ Reading Ability Test in Control Class. The Categorization of Learners‟ Post-Test in Control Class.
Result Normality Test. Test of Homogeneity of Variances. The Result of T-test Calculation. Students‟ Observation Checklist.
Students‟ perspectives towards using the PQRST strategy to improve Reading Comprehension Skills at Tran Thanh Tong High School. The percentage of All indicators .67 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 4. Histogram of the Pre-test Experimental Class. Histogram of the Post-test Experimental Class.
Histogram of the Pre-test Control Class. Histogram of the Post-test Control Class .57 vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY. iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. iv LIST OF TABLES .v LIST OF FIGURES.
vi TABLE OF CONTENTS. vii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION. Aims and objectives of the study. Methods of the study.
Scope of the study. Significance of the study. Structure of the study .6 CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW.32 CHAPTER III: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. Population and sample.
Data collection instruments. Technique of data collection. Technique of data analysis .43 vii CHAPTER IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION. Description of the data .69 CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION.
Limitation of the study. Recommendations and suggestions for further research.76 viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale The global significance of English as a widely spoken language has a profound impact on global communication and collaboration among individuals. English has become an integral component of the national education system in Vietnam.
The language skills encompassed in this context may include the domains of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. To achieve proficiency in the English language, individuals should strive to enhance their proficiency in the four fundamental language abilities. Mastering the talent of reading is often considered challenging. According to Richards (2013), reading is seen as a dynamic activity where the reader is actively engaged with the text throughout the entire reading experience.
Reading has a crucial role in education, especially in supporting the process of teaching and learning. The act of reading involves cognitive processes such as critical thinking, comprehension, and interpretation, which enable individuals to delve into the underlying significance of a written work. This statement suggests that to acquire knowledge and information from a written text, readers must engage in a cognitive process of explanation and comprehension. Reading includes the cognitive process of comprehending the text and integrating what is learned with existing knowledge.
Increasing one's knowledge helps improve language ability, which is especially important for students. Therefore, there is a direct relationship between reading and the improvement of students' ability to understand written information. This suggests that the process of reading entails the gradual improvement of students understanding of the various components of reading, so enabling them to comprehend and effectively employ vocabulary, grammar, and spelling. Reading comprehension requires students to actively engage with the text in order to construct meaningful interpretations of the material.
Reading comprehension is the cognitive process by which a student acquires a knowledge of the concepts offered in a text. However, students have not yet achieved a complete 1 comprehension of the significance of reading. Despite possessing fluent reading skills, a considerable proportion of students nevertheless face difficulties in grasping the subject. The potential source of this problem might be attributed to the inadequate grammatical and vocabulary proficiency demonstrated by students.
Unfortunately, this problem has also been noticed among students who are currently attending Tran Thanh Tong High School, specifically those in the tenth grade. Reading includes a variety of abilities and procedures that readers utilize to actively interact with the text. These abilities include the capacity to forecast information, recognize crucial features, organize and compress knowledge, supervise comprehension, handle challenges in comprehending, and coordinate comprehension with personal goals. Reading can be defined as the cognitive process of understanding and extracting meaning from written material.
During this process, readers rely on their linguistic skills, including vocabulary and language structure, to comprehend the information presented in the text. To develop proficient comprehension skills, students must engage in extensive practice. English teachers face challenges when teaching reading due to numerous barriers students face in understanding the text. Implementing a range of reading comprehension strategies is essential for improving students‟ reading skills.
English teachers should aim to recognize and utilize effective strategies that can enhance their students' understanding of reading content. According to Staton, as reported by Simatupang and Sihombing (2012), the utilization of the PQRST strategy has the potential to enhance readers' comprehension and assist them in effectively prioritizing information in a manner that aligns with its practical application. This strategy has demonstrated its efficacy in enhancing students' reading comprehension skills, as evidenced by the studies done by Haeryanto (2012), Susanti (2013), and Septiari (2013). The goal of teaching reading comprehension is to enhance students capacity to comprehend and interpret the intended significance of a provided text.
In order to achieve success in reading education, teachers must take into account several 2 aspects that may potentially impact the development of reading proficiency. The elements can be categorized into two main groups: internal factors and external influences. Internal variables are related to the processes of recognizing and understanding words. External effects consist of several elements that have a crucial impact on supporting the learning process, such as the teaching methodology utilized by the teacher.
Proficient educators possess the capacity to discern the most advantageous tactics that will facilitate their students in attaining their objectives. According to the researcher's initial assessment before to starting the study, it was noted that the teacher at a high school in Hanoi mainly employed testing methods instead of a teaching strategy while teaching reading comprehension. The teacher specifically asked the students to offer answers to the questions related to the content they had read. Regrettably, a significant number of students exhibited a lack of motivation in completing the task due to their inadequate comprehension of the reading material.
Consequently, the students exhibited a lack of motivation to engage with the material and make an effort to understand its content. The PQRST Strategy is a cognitive framework that can provide students with a systematic approach to enhance their reading comprehension skills. According to Thomas and Robinson (1982), it was suggested. The PQRST strategy serves as a learning technique that assists students in resolving challenges related to reading comprehension through the implementation of a structured five-step process.
Individuals are engaging in the activities of previewing, questioning, reading, summarizing, and evaluating. The PQRST strategy consists of multiple stages that aim to enhance instructional and cognitive processes, with a specific focus on improving students' reading comprehension abilities. The PQRST Strategy is widely acknowledged as a highly successful strategy for enhancing students' reading comprehension. The PQRST approach is a reading strategy specifically developed to improve study results.
Researchers have found value in adapting its concepts and metrics for educational purposes, particularly for advanced readers in school settings.