A STUDY ON USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAININGVINH UNIVERSITY ĐẶNG THỊ THANH THÙY A STUDY ON USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS Major: Tea

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

VINH UNIVERSITY

ĐẶNG THỊ THANH THÙY

A STUDY ON USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Code: 60.14.01.11

MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATIONSUPERVISOR: Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh

Nghệ An

This thesis could not have been completed without the help,encouragement and support of a number of people who all deserve my sinceregratitude and appreciation

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to mysupervisor Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh for her invaluable guidance, helpfulsuggestions, encouragement in writing this paper

I would like to thank all the teachers in the English group of Ben Thuysecondary School, for their help in answering surveys, direct interviews, theirsuggestions to this research, and their willingness to share their relevantproblems with me

I also wish to give my thanks to students at Ben Thuy secondary schoolwho have actively participated in doing the surveys and responding to myinterviews

I would like to send my thanks to my lecturers, my friends and myclassmates for their sincere comments and criticism

In the end, I would like to show my big gratitude to my beloved people,

my parents, who have constantly inspired and encouraged me to overcomedifficulties to complete this study

Finally, a special word of thanks goes to my readers for their interest andcomments on this study

i

The aim of carrying out this study were twofold: (1) using graphicorganizers helps to increase students’ reading comprehension (2) the graphicorganizers help to improve students’ motivation to learn reading skills

This research was conducted at the seventh grade of Ben Thuy secondaryschool in Vinh city The study involved 60 students in two classes of seventhgrade The instrument used were tests (pretest and posttest) and questionnaires

Based on the findings, it is recommended that the teachers need to usegraphic organizers to teach reading skills This study believes that using graphicorganizers can help students to concentrate on specific information and answerthe questions more detailed In addition, the teachers should use various graphicorganizers to motivate students and encourage students to read Moreimportantly, these strategies were extremely beneficial to classroom instruction.The thesis also provides implications for English language teaching

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i

ABSTRACT i

ABSTRACT ii

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims of the Study 4

1.3 Research questions 4

1.4 Scope of the study 4

1.5 Methods of the study 5

1.6 Organization of the study 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Reading and reading comprehension 6

2.1.1 Reading 6

2.1.2 Definition of reading comprehension 11

2.1.2.5 Techniques to teach reading 26

2.2 Graphic organizers 29

2.2.1 Definitions of graphic organizers 29

2.2.2 Roles of graphic organizers 29

2.2.3 Types of graphic organizers employed in the research 30

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 34

3.1 An overview of Ben Thuy secondary school 34

3.2 Learners and learning requirements 34

3.3 Teachers and teaching methods 34

3.4 Materials 35

3.5 Procedures 36

3.6 Tools for Data collection 36

3.6.1 The questionnaires 36

3.6.2 Tests 37

3.7 Data analysis 40

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 42

4.1 Findings 42

4.1.1 Students’ attitude towards the importance of learning reading comprehension at school 42

4.1.2.Student’s reading habits 43

4.1.3.Student’s difficulties when learning reading skill 43

4.1.4.Students’ opinions about teaching and learning reading 44

4.1.5 The frequency of using strategies designed by teachers 45

4.1.6 General English test results 45

4.1.7 Pre-test and post test result 46

4.2 Summary and discussion of the main findings 49

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION 53

5.1 Conclusion 53

5 2 Implications for more effective reading lessons 55

5.3 Limitations 55

5.4 Suggestions for further research 56

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale

Nowadays, English has become an international communicative language

It is widely used in many parts of the world Therefore, learning English hasbeen considered a very important duty of many students One of the mostimportant skills in learning English as well as other language is reading skill.Reading skill not only helps students get more information and widen their mindbut also enables them develop language skills such as speaking, listening,writing

Reading comprehension is one of the most important skills forunderstanding the content that is actually being read Reading is something thatyou can do on your own and that greatly broadens your vocabulary, thus helpingyou in speaking (and in listening and writing) Reading is therefore a highlyvaluable skill and activity, and it is recommended that English learners try toread as much as possible in English Having good reading comprehension skill

is also necessary for passing academic achievement tests and for being able toread effectively for one's career

On the other hand, having poor reading comprehension skills can make itdifficult for readers to understand the texts they read, identify themes in stories,associate what they read with prior knowledge and grasp the main idea of a text

Many teachers find that their teaching style does not match the learningstyle of some of their students The good step is that using graphic organizers toprepare and present lessons can have a powerful effect on the students Whilethe lesson presentation follows the natural teaching style, students can create agraphic organizers that matches their learning style Instead of trying to fit amould, they can take notes that feel natural, are easily remembered and suited to

their individual style This makes the best teacher in the world.

Many teachers and lecturers are already adapting graphic organizers tocreate powerful classroom presentations, innovative handouts, and anunforgettable experience for their students Others are using advanced graphicorganizers to tackle larger classroom projects like innovative long rangeeducational planning or weekly lesson management that really meets the needs

of individual students

It is undeniable that the English language has gained more and moresignificance in every aspect of society in general and in education in particular.Realizing the importance of English in education, many policies and renovationshave been promulgated in teaching and learning English during the recent years

In an attempt to innovate Vietnamese education to meet the demand of thesociety in the process of integration and development, the Vietnamese Ministry

of Education and Training has reformed English textbooks concentrating on thefour skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing for secondary schoolstudents since the school year 2006-2007, With this reform, both teachers andstudents have certain advantages and disadvantages in mastering the four skills

in the process of teaching and learning English

Of the four skills, reading, in general, is considered the most difficult notonly students but teachers to master In reading section in the textbook “English7”, students are asked to perform tasks of various kinds such as make out themain ideas, understand the main topic, sentence, paragraph, etc However, itseems that some of the reading tasks in the new textbooks have not supportedstudents’ language acquisition appropriately Besides, teachers also face certaindifficulties in teaching reading skills

For many years, teaching reading comprehension was based on a concept

of reading as the application of a set of isolated skills such as identifying words,

finding main ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing andcontrasting, and sequencing Teaching reading comprehension was viewed as amastery of these skills My students think that it is very difficult to learn readingskill I think one of the most powerful tools can be used to improve our readingcomprehension is graphic organizers Using graphic organizers that show therelationships between concepts visually and using group reading and tutoringcan also help students develop their reading comprehension skills

When I have graduated university, I applied for a job at Ben Thuysecondary school I teach English subject as a second language There are fourskills each lesson but my favorite skill is teaching reading because from the text,students can be easy to use words, structures, sentence to communicate withmany people There is some difficulty in the reading text, They do notunderstand how to answer the questions So this is a problem that I should worryand find out the way to help them I think that whenever reading, they alsounderstand all the information Some of them may not have had enough time toread, they read very quickly but little result I think it depends on the level ofreading They have not used right skill It made them get little information

Being a teacher of English at secondary school for eleven years, theresearcher has understood the reality of teaching reading in English Theresearcher realizes that the secondary school students in general and 7th formstudents in particular do not acquire reading skill efficiently They seem tofollow these requirements of reading tasks in each lesson in order withoutachieving the objectives of the lesson through completing the main tasks withappropriate skills Because of the practicality in teaching English reading, this

study was carried out, entitling “A study on using graphic organizers to improve reading comprehension skills for secondary school students” The

purpose of the study is to find out if graphic organizers can help students read

more effectively The study is intended to investigate types of activities teachersuse in their reading classes and the efficiency of these activities as well Inaddition, it also seeks to find out to what certain extent these activities haveinfluence on students’ study achievements Finally, through the study, somesuggestions are offered so that teachers can use graphic organizers for doingtasks in the textbook appropriately to improve students” reading skill Hopefullythat the results of this study would be shared with any colleagues who had thesame problem or anyone who is interested in this study

1.2 Aims of the Study

The study aimed to help students develop reading comprehension Wefind out the value of the students” comprehension reading level in the Text.There were some benefits of teaching comprehension by using graphicorganizers Graphic organizers provide an effective study technique whenapplied to written materials the value of level reading comprehension of studentswith the text (If there is any) Improving the motivation how the readingsections in the textbook “English 7” have been taught at secondary schools withparticular reference to use graphic organizers

1.3 Research questions

The study aimed to seek the answers to the following questions:

- Will the graphic organizers help to increase student’s readingcomprehension?

- Will the graphic organizers help to improve students’ motivation to learnreading skill?

1.4 Scope of the study

This study was carried out at Ben Thuy secondary school in Vinh City.The research focuses on how graphic organizers affect these students’ readingcomprehension in reading lessons From the findings of the research suggested

activities will be given to improve teaching English reading to 7th gradersstudents

1.5 Methods of the study

The main methods are questionnaires, pre and post tests

1.6 Organization of the study

The thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1: Introduction includes rationale of the study, the aims, scope,

methods, and organization of the study

Chapter 2: Literature Review

In this chapter, all the theoretical issues related to the topic of the studyare presented It is concerned with the issues relevant to the topic of theresearch: reading and reading comprehension, approaches and techniques toteach reading

Chapter 3: Methodology

This chapter presents the background information of the subjects of thestudy, the instrument used to collect the data, the procedure of data collectionand the procedure of data analysis

Chapter 4: Findings and Discussions

This chapter aimed at describing data analysis in detail and a thoroughdiscussion of the findings of the study Some explanations and interpretations ofthe findings are also presented in this chapter

Chapter 5: Conclusion

This part summarizes the main points based on the results of the study.This part will also introduce some suggested solutions to improve the Englishself-study of students Further research is also recommended in this chapter

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Reading and reading comprehension

2.1.1 Reading

2.1.1.1 Definition of reading

So far, the term reading has been defined quite differently according to its

various aspects such as criteria, features and functions For many learners,reading is a very essential skill, particularly in English as a second language

Concerning the role of reading, Carrell (1988, p.1) states that “Without solid reading proficiency, second language learners can not perform at levels they must in order to succeed” Reading plays such a significant part in the success of

second language learning and it is essential to understand what reading really is

Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols andgetting meaning from them When we read, we use our eyes to receive writtensymbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convertthem into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and ofsharing information and ideas Like all language, it is a complex interactionbetween the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge,experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and sociallysituated The reading process requires continuous practices, development, andretirement

Reading is an interactive process that goes on between the reader and thetext, resulting in comprehension The text presents letters, words, sentences,paragraphs that encode meaning The reader uses knowledge, skills, andstrategies to determine what that meaning is

As a skill, reading is clearly one of the most important instances around

the world, we may argue that reading is the most important foreign languageskill, particularly in cases where students have to read English material for theirown specialist subject but may never actually have to speak the language; Suchcases are

often referred to as ‘English as a library language’ Even though we arelooking at each language skill independently in these chapters, there is clearly anoverlap between reading and writing, in that a ‘text’ has to be written downbefore we can read it In many societies, literature is still seen as the primeexample of writing and therefore one of the first things a student is asked to do is

to read In classroom terms, one of the reasons for this is partly practical: it isoften thought to be easier to

supply a written text to be read than a spoken one to be understood Much

of the current thinking on reading tends to focus primarily on the purpose of theactivity; even if reading is done for pleasure it is still purposeful

Goodman (1988, p.135) declared that “reading is apsycholinguistics process by which the reader, language user reconstructs, asbest as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphicdisplay” From his point of view, readers not only get more knowledge or skillbut also understand the content of the text According to William, (1990, p.2)

“reading is a process whereby one looks at and understands what has beenwritten” In his opinion, in the reading process, there are two activities takingplace at the same time: looking and understanding Therefore, readers have to

“encode” meanings of a word decided by the context in which it is shown

Also, Harmer (1989, p.153) shares his ideas “reading is an exercisedominated by the eyes and the brain The eyes receive messages and the brainthen has to work out the significance of these messages” Readers encounter alot of difficulties in dealing with proverbs and idioms, synonyms metaphor,

metonymy and other types of transference of meaning also cause great difficultyfor readers Reading is an active skill, involving guessing and predicting It iscommon that there are new words, new structures and ideas in a reading text forevery language learner If he/she does not have a good guessing ability andcannot make full use of grammatical, logical and cultural clues, he/she will readthe text with less understanding than he/she might expect, and he/she will feelfrustrated at the text, and will not want to keep on reading However, teachingreading comprehension is the problem that teachers should interested becausethe students at high school learn English as the second language and they arepoor in knowledge, poor environment and they team English sometimes withoutmaterials.

Reading is a receptive skill with many sub skills just as those involved inlistening Reading is also very important in real life People always read forpleasure or for work Language learners can learn to use different reading styles.Some read and understand a text very quickly while others read slowly and fail

to understand what they read

Hence, clearly, ideas of reading have been diverse in exploiting words andexpressions but they all focus on two actions: studying with eyes andcomprehending with brains of which the latter is more significant The mostobvious thing in the latter is that the readers not only look at and understand themeaning of what is written but also read authors’ thinking

2.1.1.2 The role of reading in learning

Reading plays an inevitably important role in comprehending a text and

using the foreign language appropriately and fluently “A person’s future opportunities for success and prosperity will be even more entwined with skill

reading abilities It is therefore an important societal responsibility to offer every person the opportunity to become a skilled reader, and in many cases, this means becoming a skilled L2 reader” (Grabe, 2009, p 6).

It is possible for us to claim that reading has a very important role to play

in language learning as it can bring benefits to learners William (1984, p 13)suggests three advantages of reading to learners: First, learners can have furtherpractice in the language that they have learnt This means that learners will havemany opportunities to gain further knowledge of the target language Second,learners can practice language in order to reuse it in other skills such as speakingand writing Learners cannot understand anything if they cannot read Third,learners can learn how to get benefit from the texts to extract the informationthey need The more comprehension learners conceive, the more majorintelligence they receive

Reading has a large number of major benefits that help learners studylanguage faster and more successfully Reading is one of the most essentialskills for language learners When learners’ reading skill improve, theirlistening, speaking, and writing also advance There are some specific reasonswhy learners are encouraged to practice reading In the first place, the constantrepetition of words and patterns in reading helps you learn and remembervocabulary and grammar structures Reading plays an important part inproviding vocabulary and structure types Learners can understand the usage ofstructures better when they catch the meaning of sentences Secondly, reading issomething readers can do their own Learners can spend as much time as theywish on reading by themselves Language learners are able to practice readingskill whenever they want The skill does not extremely depend on others

2.1.1.3 The reading process

Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols in order to

construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension) It is a means of languageacquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas Like alllanguage, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which isshaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and languagecommunity which is culturally and socially situated The reading processrequires continuous practice and development.

Readers use a variety of reading strategies to assist with decoding (totranslate symbols into sounds or visual representations of speech) andcomprehension Readers may use morpheme, semantics, and syntax contextclues to identify the meaning of unknown words Readers integrate the wordsthey have read into their existing framework of knowledge or schema (schematatheory) Other types of reading are not speech based writing systems, such asmusic notation or pictograms Currently most reading is either of the printedword from ink or toner on paper, such as in a book, magazine, newspaper,leaflet, or notebook, or of electronic displays, such as computer displays,television, mobile phones or e-readers

The process of recording information to be read later is writing In thecase of computer and microfiche storage there is the separate step of displayingthe written text For humans, reading is usually faster and easier than writing.Reading is typically an individual activity, although on occasion a person willread out loud for the benefit of other listeners Reading aloud for one's own use,for better comprehension, is a form of intrapersonal communication Othermethods of teaching and learning to read have developed, and becomesomewhat controversial Reading is an intensive process in which the eyequickly moves to assimilate text Very little is actually seen accurately It isnecessary to understand visual perception and eyes movement in order tounderstand the reading process There are several types and methods of reading,

with differing rates that can be attained for each, for different kinds of materialand purposes: Rates of reading include reading for memorization (fewer than

100 words per minute [wpm]); reading for learning (100 -200wpm); reading forcomprehension (200 - 400 wpm); and skimming (4007700 wpm) Reading forcomprehension is the essence of the daily reading of most people Skimming isfor superficially processing large quantities of text at a low level ofcomprehension (below 50%) Advice for choosing the appropriate reading-rateincludes reading flexibly, slowing when concepts are closely presented andwhen the material is new, and increasing when the material is familiar and ofthin concept Speed reading courses and books often encourage the reader tocontinually accelerate; comprehension tests lead the reader to believe his or hercomprehension is continually improving; yet, competence-in-reading requiresknowing that skimming is dangerous, as a default habit Reading speed requires

a long time to reach adult levels

2.1.2 Definition of reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the act of understanding what you arereading Reading comprehension is an intentional, active, interactive processthat occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of writing

Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand what we read- wherewords have contexts have meaning, Reading comprehension skills allow us toread proficiently, learn effectively, problem, solve, strategize, conceptualize, andsucceed in life Without reading comprehension skills, many students are leftbehind Reading comprehension is the heart and gold of reading, since thepurpose of all reading is to gather meaning from the printed page If a studentsays words in a passage without gathering their meaning, one would hesitate tocall that reading

In order to comprehend written texts, the reader needs to have somebasic knowledge, strategies and awareness These include: the ability to decodeprint accurately and fluently, knowledge about language, including vocabularyand syntax, and strategies for applying that knowledge, knowledge andexperiences of the world, including life experiences, content knowledge,background knowledge and knowledge about texts, an awareness of their ownprocesses and strategies as they approach reading

Relevant processes and strategies include motivation and engagement,comprehension strategies, monitoring strategies and “fix-up” strategies

In addition, Silberstein (1994, p.10) elaborated that comprehension is anactive process and the reader must interact and be engaged with the text for it towork well It is also a strategic process which can be taught As comprehensiontakes place, words are decoded and associated with their meaning in the reader’smemory and phrases and sentences are processed rapidly or fluently enough sothat the meanings derived from one world, phrase, or sentence are not lostbefore the next is processed Yet, reading comprehension can be described asunderstanding a text that is read, or the process of constructing meaning from atext

Grellet (1981, p.3) has considered reading comprehension or

“understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it

as efficiently as possible” Reading comprehension is explained as the ability tounderstand what has been read Comprehending involves strategies that studentslearn to use when reading independently Teachers focus on several keycomprehension skills These are inferring, predicting, comparing andcontrasting, sequencing and summarizing Students usually learn how to usethese strategies in a small group guided by the teacher who demonstrates theiruse Students then practice comprehension techniques with a partner by discussing

what they read, making connections with prior knowledge and identifying themain ideas in the story.

Reading comprehension is very important because it may be tested by apassage which is to be translated into good English, or by question based on thecontent of a passage In this case, the passage is not translated, the questionsbeing asked in the foreign language and the student answering in English

At this level, the reader is able to go beyond the words on the page andinfer other details for example, to realize that the main character is angry fromwhat he says and what he does Being able to operate at the inferential levelmeans that the reader is using information effectively to deduce cause andeffect, and to anticipate what may come next At a more demanding level(critical reading), the reader is able to appraise what he or she is reading forexample, detecting good writing style from the author, recognizing when somestatements in the text are biased or incorrect, appreciating the writer’sviewpoint, comparing and contrasting information with other facts they haveread elsewhere, and reflecting upon the importance or otherwise of the opinionspresented Weak readers who are still struggling with word recognition haveenormous difficulty progressing beyond a literal level of comprehension becausemost of their cognitive effort is taken up in unlocking the print

In brief, reading becomes meaningless without comprehension since onlyreading comprehension can appreciate how much readers get the text

2.1.2.1 Reading Comprehension Process

The nature of reading comprehension process – how people learn toprocess textual information – has been researched by cognitive and behavioralscientists for many decades So far reading has sometimes been characterized as

“passive” or “receptive”

2.1.2.1.1 The Schema Theory

An important source of understanding about the nature of the knowledgethat informs comprehension is schema theory Schema theory is concerned withhow knowledge is represented and organized in long-term memory (as sets ofinformation, or schemas) and then brought to mind as new information comes

in The theory suggests that individuals relate all new information to what theyalready know or have experienced In the context of reading, schema theoryemphasizes the critical role of the reader’s prior knowledge in comprehension

A schema is a cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and

interpret information Schemas can be useful because they allow us to takeshortcuts in interpreting the vast amount of information that is available in ourenvironment However, these mental frameworks also cause us to excludepertinent information to focus instead only on things that confirm our pre-existing beliefs and ideas Schemas can contribute to stereotypes and make itdifficult to retain new information that does not conform to our established ideasabout the world

Researchers have identified different kinds of schema that are particularly

significant for reading Content schemas concern knowledge about the world,

ranging from the very personal and every day to broad and specialized

knowledge Textual schemas concern knowledge that readers (and writers) have

about the forms and organization of written texts, from word-level information

to complex information about structure and register

Schemas are activated when a reader sees and starts to read a text Thetextual schema will enable the reader to recall and interpret the text in the light

of what they already know about texts, for example, about text types or genres,vocabulary, different kinds of sentences, tone and register These schemas mayalso enable the reader to make predictions about the kind of text will be by

referring to their stored knowledge of text types Content schemas will beactivated as the reader engages with the words and any pictures in the text, fromthe title onwards For example, as a reader starts an article about rugby, they willbring to mind everything they already know about rugby If the reader knowsvery little about rugby, the article may be difficult to comprehend The morerelevant prior knowledge the reader has, the more they will comprehend whenthey read a text that connects with their existing content schema.

Readers from diverse cultural and language backgrounds will havediverse schemas, but for all learners, the more knowledge that is stored, themore that can be interpreted, understood and added to the store The implication

is that accessing the learner’s textual schema and building new languageknowledge is the key to increasing expertise in English Likewise, accessing thelearner’s content knowledge and helping them to relate it to new contexts willhelp them comprehend texts in English

2.1.2.1.2 Bottom – up and Top-down processing

There are two approaches to understanding the process of perception

These are the top-down processing and the bottom up processing down and bottom-up are both strategies of information processing andknowledge ordering, used in a variety of fields including software, humanisticand scientific theories , and management and organization In practice, they can

Top-be seen as a style of thinking, teaching, or leadership

Top-down processing is defined as the development of pattern recognitionthrough the use of contextual information For instance, you are presented with aparagraph written with difficult handwriting It is easier to understand what thewriter wants to convey if you read the whole paragraph rather than reading thewords in separate terms The brain may be able to perceive and understand thegist of the paragraph due to the context supplied by the surrounding words

In the bottom-up processing approach, perception starts at the sensoryinput, the stimulus Thus, perception can be described as data-driven Forexample, there is a flower at the center of a person's field The sight of theflower and all the information about the stimulus are carried from the retina tothe visual cortex in the brain The signal travels in one direction.

In short, there are two ways that readers can use to deal with a text: usingthe bottom – up processing to get detailed understanding of the text and usingthe top-down to understand main ideas about the text Readers may use one ofthe two ways to comprehend texts, however, readers usually need both of them

to deal with difficult texts As a result, this leads to interactive processing

According to Hayes (1996, p.7), “in interactive models, differentprocesses are thought to be responsible for providing information that is sharedwith other processes The information obtained from each type of processing iscombined to determine the most appropriate interpretation of the printed pages”

In short, the popularity of interactive processes shows that interactiveprocessing can maximize the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses of thebottom – up and top – down processing

2.1.2.2 Factors affecting the learning of reading comprehension

The comprehension goals of the intermediate grades address theseabilities as well as those required for independent study: skimming, using

reference materials, outlining, summarizing, altering reading rate and focus asthe purpose of reading changes, use of headings, note taking, and so on Formany spreading comprehension is a major problem There are mainly threecauses for poor reading comprehension.

Firstly, the person has a language problem Language plays a vital role inreading One cannot read a book in a language unless one knows that particularlanguage If a child’s knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also bepoor, and naturally also his reading comprehension

Secondly, if the foundational skills of reading have not been atomized Ifthe skill on the primary task is automatized, it will not be disrupted byconcurrent processing on the secondary task because automatic processing doesnot take up antinational resources If, on the contrary, the skill is notautomatized, it will be disrupted by concurrent processing of a second skillbecause two skills are then competing for limited intentional resources This alsoapplies to the act of reading The person, in whom the foundational skills ofreading have not yet become automatic, will read haltingly and with greatdifficulty The poor reader is forced to apply all his concentration to wordrecognition, and therefore has no concentration left’ to decode the written word,and as a result he will not be able to read with comprehension

Lastly, threaded is unable to decode the written word The decoding of thewritten word is a very important aspect of the reading act Without being able todecode the written word, reading comprehension is impossible This explainswhy some children can read without understanding what they are reading Manystudents do not realize how important it is to be able to fully comprehend whatyou read Being able to completely and accurately comprehend what you read isessential to your ability to learn, perform well on tests and ultimately succeed inschool and in a career Anyone who desires to acquire effective study techniques

would do well to improve his reading comprehension skills Developing readingcomprehension techniques is one of the two basic ways of improving readingskill, the other being developing reading speed However, rapid reading isvalueless unless what is read is understood

Experiences are another factor that greatly impact reading comprehension.If

you have many life experiences that you can draw upon from yourmemory bank, you may be more apt to follow along with a given readingselection, A story that does not make sense to you because you have not livedthat sort of experience before will not be able to hold your interest.Comprehending reading requires that you delve deep into the characters andplot, and allow your imagination to soar, transcending time and boundaries, thecreative aspect of your brain needs to be engaged in order to fully understanddifferent concepts and abstract reasoning A mastery of vocabulary is anessential factor that affects reading comprehension If you possess an expansivevocabulary, you are more likely to understand textual writing, and you will beless likely to become frustrated Knowledge of words is imperative to readingcomprehension, and this can make a written piece come alive for some people

If the writing is too difficult to understand, a person is more likely to put it down

or lose interest Soon, you have lost all understanding of the piece, and thereforeyour reading comprehension has been compromised Making connections is anessential factor that affects reading comprehension While you read, you should

be able to make connections to yourself, your surroundings, or yourenvironment The more that you are able to connect a written work to somethingpersonal, the more apt you are to fully understand Making connections can trulyallow you to establish and grasp a compelling hold on the written work, and themore you understand, the more insatiable your thirst for reading will become

2.1.2.3 Reading purposes and motivation

The problem addressed in this study is that many high school teachers areunaware of, or mistaken about, specific strategies and practices that actuallymotivate their students to read, and that What motivates one group of students

may not motivate another Content-area teachers are often unaware that although they may not have been trained in teaching reading strategy and may feel as though teaching reading is not their job, it is an expectation that could largely be met by the implementation of motivational strategies When teachers do not employ motivational strategies, they miss an opportunity to engage students in reading, ultimately contributing to the decreasing rates of literacy in schools The outcome, which is student performance or perception in a classroom setting, can be affected by the valence and consequence, both of which the teacher has

the power to highlight or alter depending on the preferences of his or her group

of students The study is significant because although research has been conducted to determine what motivates students to read, the vast majority of the literature focuses on elementary- and middle- grade students In addition, a disparity in teacher and student perceptions demonstrates a real problem that must be addressed in order to inform instructors in their delivery and practice regarding motivational strategies to read.

2.1.2.4 Approaches to Teach Reading

2.1.2.4.1 Grammar-Translation Approach

The Grammar Translation Method is a method which was originally used

to teach dead languages, which explains why it focuses mainly on the written

form at the expense of the oral form It was designed according to the faculty psychology approach which was very popular during the 18th and 19th century.

It contended that “mental discipline was essential for strengthening the powers

of the mind” The way to do this was through learning classical literature of theGreeks and Romans.

The main principles on which the Grammar Translation Approach arebased are the following:

Firstly, translation interprets the words and phrases of the foreignlanguages in the best possible manner

Secondly, the phraseology and the idiom of the target language can best

be assimilated in the process of interpretation

Thirdly, the structures of the foreign languages are best learned whencompared and contrast with those of mother tongue

Grammar-translation approach has some advantages Firstly, translation isthe easiest and shortest way of explaining meaning of words and phrases.Secondly, learners have no difficulties to understand the lesson as it is carriedout in the mother tongue Thirdly, it is a labor-saving method as the teachercarries out everything in the mother tongue

However, there are some drawbacks Firstly, what the method is good at is

“teaching about the language”, not “teaching the language” Secondly, speaking

or any kind of spontaneous creative output was missing from the curriculum.Thirdly, students lacked an active role in the classroom Fourthly, very littleattention is paid to communication and content Finally, translation is sometimesmisleading

2.1.2.4.2 Communicative Language Teaching Approach

Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) which is an approach to theteaching of second and foreign languages, emphasizes interaction as both themeans and the ultimate goal of learning a language

Most present-day practitioners would probably like to think that theirclasses are "communicative" in the widest sense of the word Their lessons

probably contain activities where learners communicate and where tasks arecompleted by means of interaction with other learners To this end there willprobably be considerable if not extensive use of pair, group and minglingactivities, with the emphasis on completing the task successfully throughcommunication with others rather than on the accurate use of form During theseactivities the teacher’s role will be to facilitate and then to monitor, usuallywithout interruption, and then to provide feedback on the success or otherwise

of the communication and, possibly, on the linguistic performance of thelearners in the form of post-activity error correction In terms of the organization

of the lesson, the classic present, practice and perform model, where carefulinput of a particular structure is typically followed by controlled, less controlledand freer practice is likely to have been replaced by a more task-based approach,possibly on the lines of test, teach, test, where the learners are given acommunicative task which is monitored by the teacher and then their languageuse while performing the task is fine-tuned by the teacher in a lesson stagewhich focuses on error correction or a particular form that is causing difficulties.This is typically followed by a further task-based stage, where the initial task isrepeated or a similar task is performed, ideally with a greater degree of linguisticaccuracy than during the first attempt

There are some advantages of communication Language Teaching

Firstly, the interaction between students and teachers Communicativeteaching is becoming increasingly clear feature is the change in the way as theinternship, students develop the subject, initiative and become increasinglyimportant Teacher- students relationship is an interactive, harmoniousrelationship, rather than the traditional education, the kind of master- servantrelationship

Secondly, Communicative teaching is good way to impart the basicknowledge and ability to skillfully combine the development Thecommunicative teaching emphasizes the learner’s cognitive ability andoperational capabilities, which allow the students themselves to think about andexpress their views, thus trained in real life the ability to use language tocommunicate.

Thirdly, Communicative teaching students to participate in, sometimesaccompanied by scenes or simulated scenarios, so that students more close tolife, the students became the main character, naturally they were interested in theEnglish language, to learn English as a pleasure

Communicative Approach is a new teaching methods to meet thedemands of the times, its emphasis on interpersonal skills, better than thetraditional method to stimulate students interest in learning, stimulate students tocommunicate their enthusiasm, it is than trying to teach the entire language ismore formal system of traditional law quick, but also save time and effort, but italso has its downside

First of all, using communicative approach to grammar teaching,grammar, learning systematic and progressive to a certain extent, be affected.Psycholinguistic experiments show that, regardless of language acquisition ofchildren, or adults in second language acquisition, their awareness of grammaracquisition and understanding of the project is carried out according to a certainorder Communicative grammar teaching practice is often used features anoutline of ideas to focus on teaching how to make the students in a specificcontext, in order to achieve specific communicative functions, such as: inquiry,instruction, order, refused the request and so on, the correct who graciously touse these linguistic forms In this system, the syntax of the systematic and

progressive to a certain degree of neglect, and sometimes give people withdisorderly feeling

Secondly, the communicative approach to grammar teaching, grammaritems account for a large proportion of the output, that is a lot of time forstudents to communicate in conversation to understand the consolidation

2.1.2.4.3 Content-Based

Content-based approach has some advantages Firstly, it can makelearning a language more interesting and motivating Students can use thelanguage to fulfill a real purpose, which can make students both moreindependent and confident In addition, Students can also develop a much widerknowledge of the world through content- based which can feed back intoimproving and supporting their general educational needs

Content based is very popular among EAP (English for AcademicPurposes) teachers as it helps students to develop valuable study skills such asnote taking, summarizing and extracting key information from texts

Taking information from different sources, re-evaluating and restructuringthat information can help students to develop very valuable thinking skills thatcan then be transferred to other subjects

The inclusion of a group work element within the framework given abovecan also help students to develop their collaborative skills, which can have greatsocial value

However, there are some disadvantages of content-based approach is notexplicitly focused on language learning, some students may feel confused ormay even feel that they are not improving their language skills They deal withthis by including some form of language focused follow-up exercises to helpdraw attention to linguistic features within the materials and consolidate anydifficult vocabulary or grammar points

Particularly in monolingual classes, the overuse of the students' nativelanguage during parts of the lesson can be a problem Because the lesson isn'texplicitly focused on language practice students find it much easier and quicker

to use their mother tongue Try sharing your rationale with students and explainthe benefits of using the target language rather than their mother tongue

It can be hard to find information sources and texts that lower levels canunderstand Also the sharing of information in the target language may causegreat difficulties A possible way around this at lower levels is either to use texts

in the students' native language and then get them to use the target language forthe sharing of information and end product, or to have texts in the targetlanguage, but allow the students to present the end product in their nativelanguage These options should reduce the level of challenge

Some students may copy directly from the source texts they use to gettheir information Avoid this by designing tasks that demand students evaluatethe information in some way, to draw conclusions or actually to put it to somepractical use Having information sources that have conflicting information canalso be helpful as students have to decide which information they agree with ormost believe

2.1.2.4.4 Task-based approach

Task-based learning offers the student an opportunity to do exactly this.The primary focus of classroom activity is the task and language is theinstrument which the students use to complete it The task is an activity in whichstudents use language to achieve a specific outcome The activity reflects reallife and learners focus on meaning, they are free to use any language they want.Playing a game, solving a problem or sharing information or experiences, can all

be considered as relevant and authentic tasks In task-based learning an activity

in which students are given a list of words to use cannot be considered as a

genuine task Nor can a normal role play if it does not contain a problem-solvingelement or where students are not given a goal to reach In many role playsstudents simply act out their restricted role For instance, a role play wherestudents have to act out roles as company directors but must come to anagreement or find the right solution within the given time limit can beconsidered a genuine task in task –based learning.

In the task-based lessons included below our aim is to create a need tolearn and use language The tasks will generate their own language and create anopportunity for language acquisition If we can take the focus away from formand structures we can develop our students’ ability to do things in English That

is not to say that there will be no attention paid to accuracy, work on language isincluded in each task and feedback and language focus have their places in thelesson plans We feel that teachers have a responsibility to enrich their students’language when they see it is necessary but students should be given theopportunity to use English in the classroom as they use their own languages ineveryday life

According to Brown (2001, p.50), task-based learning “puts task at thecenter of one’s methodological focus” It views the learning process as a set ofcommunicative tasks that are directly linked to the curricular goals they serve.”

In reading comprehension, tasks are especially important since they willguide the readers in a correct reading procedure and help them have thoroughunderstanding of reading texts

There are some advantages of task-based Firstly, task-based learning ismore student-centered, allows for more meaningful communication, and oftenprovides for practical extra-linguistic skill building Secondly, task-based islikely to be familiar to students who are more likely to be engaged, which mayfurther motivate them in their language learning Thirdly,

However, there are some drawbacks of task-based There have beencriticisms that task-based learning is not appropriate as the foundation of a classfor beginning students Others claim that students are only exposed to certainforms of language and are being neglected of others such as discussion ordebate.

2.1.2.5 Techniques to teach reading

2.1.2.5.1 In Pre-reading

This stage plays a decisive role in the whole process of teaching readingcomprehension so most experienced readers employ pre-reading and other

strategies to make reading easier Pre-reading aims at introducing the text to the

students and helps them make careful preparation before reading the text At thisimportant stage, teachers should make sure that students have the relevantschema for understanding the text This is achieved by having students think,write, and discuss everything they know about the topic, employing the mostcommon techniques such as prediction, semantic mapping and reconciled

reading.

Prediction is defined as “the prior elimination of unlikely alternatives”

Nunan (1999, p 19) According to him, predictions are questions readers ask theworld and comprehension is receiving the answers

Previewing occurs when students look at titles, headings, and pictures,

and read the first few paragraphs and the last paragraph; these activities can thenhelp students understand what texts are about by activating their formal andcontent schemata and making them be familiar with the topic before they beginreading

Semantic mapping is another pre-reading technique that describe as a

useful way to pre-teach vocabulary and to “provide the teacher with anassessment of the students’ prior knowledge or schema availability on the

topic” This activity asks students to brainstorm about the reading topic as theinformation is displayed on a graphic “map”.

Reconciled reading lesson reverses the sequence presented by many

textbooks where the text is followed by questions Instead, the teacher developspre-reading questions from the questions that appear at the end of the reading

2.1.2.5.2 In While-reading

While reading stage is carried out when all students actually set their eyes

on the text and this stage is the main part of a reading comprehension lesson.The aims of this stage focus on making the students anticipate in the process ofunderstanding the whole text, and interpreting exactly what the author wrote Inaddition, it helps the students break up the organization of the text, understandthe text structures, classify the text content and recognize the writer’s purposeand attitude This stage also trains the students to think about other ideas risingfrom the text Moreover, it helps the students improve their reading speed andtechniques This stages offers an opportunities to apply effectively what theyhave learnt from the text to their purpose of study and communication

This stage requires teachers to guide and monitor the interaction betweenreaders and texts One important skill teachers can impart at this stage is note-taking, which allows students to compile new vocabulary and importantinformation and details, and to summarize information and record their reactionsand opinion

Furthermore, during reading, readers’ minds repeatedly engage in avariety of processes, seemingly all at one Using top-down and bottom-upapproaches, readers use pre-reading information to make some predictions aboutthe text Using bottom-up approach, readers start by processing information atthe sentence level

2.1.2.5 3 In Post-reading

Post-reading is the implementation of various activities carried out afterthe students have read the text Some post-reading activities are extension of thework done at the pre-reading and while –reading stages

According to Bromley (2007, p.15), “ one reason for post-readingdiscussion in class is to offer pupils the chance to see in what way their readingdid or did not succeed, and why” In fact, there are more than one purpose forpost-reading stage which are of wide relevance and applied to all students, andwhich teachers who teach groups with mixed level should consider

One of the purposes of post-reading work is to check whether the studentshave understood the text or not The teacher can ask students some questionsabout the texts which are not given in the book or require them to discuss ingroup and in pair or so on Another purpose is to consolidate or reflect uponwhat the students have read To achieve this, the teacher should help thestudents focus on the important points as writer’s opinion, the main idea of thetext, the specific paragraph or phrase in the reading text

This stage offers the chance to evaluate students’ adequacy ofinterpretation, while bearing in mind that accuracy is relative that “readership”must be respected as long as the writer’s intentions are addressed

Post-reading aims at extending the understanding obtained from the reading and while-reading stages into writing tasks, such as summarizing,evaluating, synthesizing, commenting and reflecting

pre-By engaging students in pre-, while-, post-reading activities, teachers notonly support students’ understanding of content but also provide them withopportunities to hone their comprehension, vocabulary, and study skills withoutinterrupting content learning

2.2 Graphic organizers

2.2.1 Definitions of graphic organizers

A graphic organizer is a visual display that demonstrates relationshipsbetween facts, concepts or ideas A graphic organizer guides the learner’sthinking as they fill in and build upon a visual map or diagram They are alsoinformally used as a term to describe all visual learning strategies such asconcept mapping, webbing, mind mapping, and more

A graphic organizer is a tool or framework that allows you to collect,relate, and/or present information visually Graphic organizers take many forms,and include favorites such as the Venn diagram, story webs, and concept maps.Information presented in an easy-to-read format can enhance thinking, sparknew ideas, and maintain focus on the topic or task at hand A graphic organizer

is intended to provide structure to ideas or concepts, making it easy to collect oradd information Once the graphic organizer is complete, it serves as apresentation or study model

Graphic organizers are some of the most effective visual learningstrategies for students and are applied across the curriculum to enhance learningand understanding of subject matter content In a variety of formats dependentupon the task, graphic organizers facilitate students’ learning by helping themidentify areas of focus within a broad topic, such as a novel or article Becausethey help the learner make connections and structure thinking, students oftenturn to graphic organizers for writing projects They help readers organizeinformation so that it becomes more understandable and more memorable

2.2.2 Roles of graphic organizers

Graphic organizers include various kinds of graphs and diagrams thatorganize ideas visually They help readers to classify ideas and communicateeffectively They are of great help for teaching and learning for their feature of

visualization Use graphic organizer to empower your students, arouse theircuriosity and have fun in study.

Graphic organizers are tools that can be used to visualize and organizeinformation Because graphic organizers are often used as prompts for students

to fill in the blanks, graphic organizers provide many benefits to students whouse them including: helping students structure writing project, encouragingstudents to make decisions, making it easy for students to classify ideas andcommunicate, allowing students to examine relationships, guiding students indemonstrating their thinking process, helping students increase readingcomprehension, making it easy to brainstorm, encouraging students to organizeessential concepts and ideas, making it clear how to break apart a story into themain elements (intro, rising action, climax, etc.)

Numerous studies confirm the benefits of using graphic organizers in theclassroom in terms of helping students develop and process information.Graphic organizers are structures or templates that help students to understandthe relationships between concepts and vocabulary They are a quick andeffortless way to deliver effective instruction if used appropriately andresponsibly in the classroom

2.2.3 Types of graphic organizers employed in the research

Graphic organizers come in many different forms, each one best suited toorganizing a particular type of information With vivid shapes, symbols andconnectors, graphic organizers visualize the relationship between different parts.For example, Venn diagrams help students see and understand the commonpoints and differences of things Cause-and-effect diagrams help student find outthe causes and results of an event Mind map can boost students' creativethinking when they understand how different subtopics relate to the main

topic Flow charts presents the sequence relation clearly step by step In thispart, four types of graphic organizers were presented.

2.2.3.1 Mind maps

A mind map is an easy way to brainstorm thoughts organically withoutworrying about order and structure It allows you to visually structure your ideas

to help with analysis and recall

A mind map is a diagram for representing tasks, words, concepts, oritems linked to and arranged around a central concept or subject using a non-linear graphical layout that allows the user to build an intuitive frameworkaround a central concept A mind map can turn a long list of monotonousinformation into a colorful, memorable and highly organized diagram that works

in line with your brain's natural way of doing things

A mind map is a diagram, a graphic organizer that helps students visualizewhat they are reading and detect connections between individual pieces ofinformation In a classic mind map, students will always find the subjectprominently placed in the center of the map canvas, with all notes, ideas andkeywords arranged around the center in a radiant structure The use of mindmaps in class is useful to help students recognize relationships they may miss in

a more linear type of activity The act of mapping something out encourages theindividual to create an internal retelling of the story

2.2.3.2 The KWL

KWL is intended to be an exercise for a study group or class that canguide you in reading and understanding a text You can adapt it to workingalone, but discussions definitely help

K stands for Know

This first stage may surprise students: Think first about, then list, whatyou know about the topic before reading! This advanced organizer provides you

with a background to the new material, building a scaffold to support it Think

Engage your group in a discussion about what you wrote in the K column.

Organize the entries into general categories

W stands for Will or Want

The second stage is to list a series of questions of what you want to know

more of the subject, based upon what you listed in K.

Preview the text’s table of contents, headings, pictures, charts etc Discusswhat you want to learn

List some thoughts on what you want, or expect to learn, generally orspecifically

Think in terms of what you will learn, or what do you want to learn aboutthis

Turn all sentences into questions before writing them down They willhelp you focus your attention during reading

List the questions by importance

L stands for Learned

The final stage is to answer your questions, as well as to list what newinformation you have learned Either while reading or after you have finished

List out what you learn as you read either by section, or after the wholework, whichever is comfortable for you

Check it against the W column, what you wanted to learn

Create symbols to indicate main ideas, surprising ideas, questionableideas, and those you do not understand!

2.2.3.3 Venn diagram

A Venn diagram is an illustration of the relationships between and amongsets, groups of objects that share something in common Usually, Venn diagramsare used to depict set intersections (denoted by an upside-down letter U) Thistype of diagram is used in scientific and engineering presentations, in theoreticalmathematics, in computer applications, and in statistics

2.2.3.4 The “5 W’s”

Five W's diagrams are a type of graphic organizer that let the studentthink about and list the "Who, When, Where, What, and Why" of a story orevent in a simple visual way This activity will help students understand of whatthey have read, and they can see the relationship between all the information

This chapter has presented the issues relating to teaching reading in terms

of the role of reading in foreign language learning with both positive andnegative points Some approaches to teach reading have been presented Inaddition, the chapter reviews some theoretical issues of graphic organizers thatwere employed to improve students’ reading comprehension ability The nextchapter presents the research methodology employed in the study