1486 EFFECTS OF EXTENSIVE READING ON STUDENTS'' READING COMPREHENSION AND ATTITUDES AT DONG THAP VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY Ze HUYNH TAN HIEU EFFECTS OF EXTENSIVE READING ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AND ATTITUDES AT DONG THAP VOCATIO

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

Ze HUYNH TAN HIEU

EFFECTS OF EXTENSIVE READING ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AND ATTITUDES

AT DONG THAP VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

Major: TEACHING ENGLISH TO SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES Major code: 60140111

TRUONG DAI HOC MO TP.HCM

THU VIEN MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr NGUYEN THANH TUNG

HO CHI MINH City, 2014 -

ABSTRACT This study aims to measure the effects of extensive reading on students’ reading comprehension and attitudes in the learning context of Dong Thap Vocational College

The study took place in 15 weeks with the participation of two classes with 58 students from the Faculty of Economy in which one class of 29 students was the experimental group and the other the control group The experimental group received intensive reading from the course book in class and extensive reading of graded readers as a supplementary reading activity at home while the control group had only intensive reading in class Both groups received the same pre- and post-test at the beginning and end of the semester The experimental group was invited to fill out a set of questionnaire about the effects of extensive reading after the post-test

The results of the test scores reveal that in comparison to intensive reading, extensive reading helped the students gain a significant improvement in their reading comprehension Furthermore, the results of the questionnaire show that a majority of the participants in the extensive reading program had positive attitudes towards its effects.

TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP 0 G G9 SH c0 2e i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTTS d (Gì HH HH H00 0000900804 ii RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ou ccssssssssssscessssecnssecsesssssscsssssonsessees iii ABSTR.ACCTT cọ Họ TH 0.00 0.0 0000060050080 6014004609606 0 90 iv TABLE OF CONTENT csccssssssssssscsssssccsscsecssseccescsssessessessososssscsonsessosssssosenesssesee V LIST OE TABSL,EEỀ 0 GÌ Họ Họ 00.00006004000600000100 x LIST OF FIGURES cssscsscscssssessssscssscescnssssssssesssssssnessessessscsessssseesessassccsessessessoes xi LIST OF ABBREVLA TIONS 0G 0n TH HH HH 0g 01g06 06 xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

L.1 Rationale of the StUỦY Q LH ng ng KT re 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 2.0.0.0 eeeeeesseeeeeesessneceeceesssnneeeeees tk ket 3 1.3 Aim of the study and research questiOnS - cccn ng tre, 3 1.4 Significance of the Study .cccccsscssccsesseseseesesseseseceesecseseescsesseeseesessesessenees 4 1.5 Structure of the thesis eee eesscecssneeeeeeseeessseeessssneeeeessaeessesneeesssateseesaees 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

10:1 6 2.1.1 Definition of E ch HH ng ng ki re 6

2.2.1 Much reading outside the ClaSsrOOM 0 cccceccceeeseeeesseeseessnnennaeeeeneeeeeceeeess 9 2.2.2 Materials on a wide range of topics and within the students’ linguistic

COID€{€TCC .Q Q1 00010 66 kh 9 2.2.3 Students’ own choice of what to read chen ng, 10 2.2.4 Reading for pleasure, information and general understanding 11 2.2.5 Few follow-up aCfIVIEIS cv ng nh vế 11 2.2.6 Individual and silent reading .cccccceeeeecceeneeeeeenueeeceeeneeceeaeeesesennes 12 2.2.7 Reading faster rather than SÏỈOW€T LH HH ng nha 12

2.2.8 Teachers’ roles .ccccccccsecsscnscsccuccscescaseeesnscsceseecescaseeseecuscuceesteseseuns 13

2.4 Graded readers as ER materials cee ecceeeseeeeeeeeceeeneetetereceeenea _— 14

3.3.3.2 QUESTIONMAITE 00.0 cesecccccseeeeceeeeaeseececneneeecenuaeseeauacessuaeeersneeseess 35 3.3.4 Analytical framework .ccccccecseeeeceneeeeeceenesececneeeseaseneeceuaseeeeanegs 36 3.3.4.1 Tes( SCOT€ anẠYSIS -Q nh ng kg kh cha tre 36 3.3.4.1.1 Distribution of scores of the control and experimental group 36 3.3.4.1.2 Meann ch nh ni KH vn 36 3.3.4.1.3 Independent-samples †-t€Sf c-c HH nhe ườ 37 3.3.4.2 Questionnair€ anaÌySIS - sssn ng Tn nn ng 37

SP VĂ0 mẽ .Ắ aaa 37 3.3.4.2.2 FT€QU€TCY -QQQQ Y nnn nnnn n c ckkvưy 37 3.3.4.2.3 P€rC€n{AĐ€S QQ HT ng ng TT nen ch 37 3.3.5 Reliability and validity of the instrumenIs .‹ . +- 38 3.3.5.1 Reliability and validity of the reading comprehension tests tk ky 38 3.3.5.1.1 Internal Consistency eeeeeeeecceceenaeeeeeececeenaeeeeteeeeeenaaees 38 3.3.5.1.2 Assessing the normal distribution of the test scores 39 3.3.5.2 Reliability and validity of the questionnaIre€ -.‹-‹ <>: 39 K90) 0ì)0()0((lạGrididiiiadi 39 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Students” reading comprehensSIOn - ng nh vn 40

4.1.2 Pre-t€S{ r€SỤfS 1c SH TT ng kh kh 4I 4.1.2.1 Comparison of scores for the two øroups in the pre-tesf 4I 4.1.2.1.1 Distribution OŸSCOF€S .-Q ngư 41 4.1.2.1.2 Comparison of means for the tWwO øTOUpS ào 42 4.1.2.1.3 Independent-samples f-f€S Ăn nh ng vn 42 4.1.2.2 Reliability and validity for the pre-fesf S212 43 4.1.2.2.1 Internal COnSISf€TICY QQQQQQ ng kg ki ren 43 4.1.2.2.2 Assumption about normal distribution in the pre-test scores 44 4.1.3 POSf-f€S{ r€SỤ{S - - Q.QG TT ng ng tk nọ 45

4.1.3.1 Comparison of scores for the two groups In the post-test 45 4.1.3.1.1 Distribution OŸ SCOT€S SH ng ngư 45 4.1.3.1.2 Comparison of means for the two ØTOups He 46 4.1.3.1.3 Independent-samples f-test .- - ‹ CỐ HH1 1911118 xee 46 4.1.3.2 Reliability and validity for the pOsf-f€Sf cà neo 47 4.1.3.2.1 Internal CO'ISISI€TICY 1H ng Tnhh 47 4.1.3.2.2 Assumption about normal distribution in the post-test scores 48 4.2 Studen(s” af{ItU€S - - c LH HH Tà gà 49 4.2.1 Reliability of the sCaÌ€ HH TH HH HH tru 49 4.2.2 Students” perceptions of the effects of EÌ -. Ă Tnhh 49 4.2.2.1 ER and reading comprehenSiOr: -cĂ chen re, 51

4.2.2.3 ER and vocabulary developImen[ - cư 53 4.2.2.4 ER and grammar SfFUCẦUT€S < S 1S ng ng re 54 4.2.2.5 ER and general knowledge developmerIt - «<< s++++ 55 4.2.2.6 ER and reading srat€1©S - chờ 56 4.2.2.7 ER and affective reading attitudes cà ng veere, 57 4.2.3 Summary of the questionnaIre r€SuÏ( - cv vn nrikp 38

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS OF FINDINGS

Š,1 Findings on students” reading comprehension Improvemert .- 60 3.2 Findings on students” affItU€S Ặ HH ng ke 62 3.3 Chapf€T SUITITAFY - 7G 3 ng KT kee 64 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

6.1 Research questions explicitly ansWe€r€d HH ng kg 65 6.2 Strengths and weaknesses in the methodology .cscccccssseceeseneeeetesseeeeeenaes 66 J68:C vui 2i19.)ï10: Tố 67 6.4 Suggestions for further res€arCh - ‹ HH ng nh 69

h0) 000i) 01007088 e. 69 REFERENCES HH HH no ng Họ KH HH ch 70 APPENDICES nh» ng ng ng ng nh tk kg tre 77 Appendix |: Reading comprehension f€sf c2 và ket 77 Appendix 2: Pretest and DOS{-f€S( SCOT€S -Q HH HH ng ng vn 84 Appendix 3: Item Total Statistics of the pre-f€Sf SCOF€S nhe 85 Appendix 4: Iem Total Statistics ofthe pOSf-f€SỈ SCOT€S neo 86 Appendix 5: em Total Statistics of the questionniạre sec s2 87 Appendix 6: Questionnaire about the students’ attitudes towards the effects of ER 88 Appendix 7: Graded readers used in the Study .ceescccesssseceesseeessereeeeessneeeeeens 94 Appendix §: Book repOrf ÍOT - 19299 ng vn ng nh 99 -Appendix 9: Book reading record fOr csessscsssssvsessssssssseseseseseeseseneese thà ket 100 Appendix 10: Typical reading lesson pÌ4T - c5 SH ng vế 101

EXPeriMental QrOUP 0 ecrecsescseecssecsseersescseecseecstecseeeseesaseavasseessessveeaseesseesersseeaterseeesees 43 Table 4.4 Reliability statistics of the pre-test 0.0.0 cscs cccceseeseeseesseeeneeseesneesseesseseeeenes 43 Table 4.5 Test of normality in the pre-test scores for the control and experimental

ĐTOUD HH HH HH HH HH HH 00 111110112110 1x 44 Table 4.6 Mean scores of the control and experimental group in the post-test 46 Table 4.7 Independent-samples t-test in the post-test between the contro] and

experimenfaÌÏ QIOUN ou eseecsesssecsessscsneeceecseccsecssecsecsecsesseessscsesseeseceuencaueeaeessecseeseeensesee 46 Table 4.8 Reliability statistics of the pOS{-f€SỂ 0 HH HH nhện 47 Table 4.9 Test of normality in the post-test scores between the control and

9.40980019011820) 1n 48 Table 4.10 Reliability statistics of the quesfiOnniạre - co cv setssere 49 Table 4.11 Frequency and percentage of the students’ responses to the questionnaire 50

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.1 Comparison of the pre-test scores for the experimental and control group 41 Figure 4.2 Comparison of the post-test scores for the experimental and control group 45 Figure 4.3 ER and reading comprehension cssssssecssssssseccneessesecssesssecessecsssecsneessvecensssssecssseesene 51 Figure 4.4 ER and word reCogmition ccsessssssssssssessnsecssecssecssssssesstecsesssesssscsarersesssessnsesscesecsseessessss 52 Figure 4.5 ER and vocabulary development .c cssssesssesssccsesssessssesssssssesssessecssessssssseessecsesenseense 53 Figure 4.6 ER and grammar Structures .ssssssscsssssssssecssecssserecsssceesssscsnseceassecsscessuscesnsccesneecsassessnees 54 Figure 4.7 ER and general knowledge development ssssssssssssscsssssscsessseeessesseseessssseeessesssnsees 55 Figure 4.8 ER and reading strategics cessessssccssssssesssssssecseecssccssssavssnsccssssssessecseesseecsecaseesseeanecsscenss 56 Fipure 4.2 ER and affective reading attitudes eeeiiiiiiiiieriiierirrrioo 57

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Dong Thap Vocational College

English for general purposes

English as foreign language

English for specific purposes

Extensive reading

Intensive reading

Oxford University Press

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This chapter provides a background of the research which includes the rationale, aim, research questions, a statement of the problem, ‘significance, and structure of the study

1.1 Rationale of the Study

Reading has been the skill most emphasized in teaching English as foreign language (EFL) (Susser & Robb, 1989, p 239) because it has a lot of benefits for the development of learners’ language proficiency It is also a good way to help them develop other language skills, such as writing and speaking Harmer (1999, p 63) states that reading texts provide good models for English writing because in teaching writing to students we need to show them a model of what we encourage them to do Reading texts provide them with opportunities to acquire language knowledge such as vocabulary, grammar and punctuation, and the way we build sentences, paragraphs and texts In addition, these texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulate discussion and excite imaginative responses, thus helping them speak and write well Similarly, Nuttall (1982, p 168) states that except from living among the native speakers of the target language, the best way to acquire its proficiency is to read extensively Regarding this point, Harmer (1999, p 63) assumes that any exposure to English is a good thing for language students because, after reading English texts, some of the language, at the very least, sticks

in their minds as part of the process of language acquisition Soliman (2012, p 26) agrees on the importance of reading and say that it is a source of learning English and through it students can learn much new information It plays such an important role in foreign language learning that it is essential for teachers of English to find

an effective way to help their students learn it well

Dong Thap Vocational College (DTVC) is a college specializing in vocational training All DTVC students have to take two 60-period courses of English for general purposes (EGP) and one course of English for specific purposes (ESP) For the former, students mainly study the language knowledge of

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vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation, and language skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing In particular, for reading, they mainly read short texts related

to such topics as people, travelling, fashion, and sports from the course book

‘Lifelines Elementary’ by Hutchison (2009) For the latter, students mainly read materials related to their majors for comprehension Specifically, they read short texts of their specialty and lists of English words together with their meanings translated into Vietnamese by their teachers The type of reading approach applied

at DTVC for both EGP and ESP is intensive reading (IR) which has both advantages and disadvantages in teaching and learning this skill

According to Huynh (2008, p 16), IR is good for introducing new language items or new vocabulary of certain topics to students Hoang (2007, p 2) adds that grammar structures are introduced to them through it Furthermore, they are often asked to do exercises to train reading skills such as scanning a text for particular bits of information or skimming it for main ideas Reading strategies, such as guessing the meanings of words from the context and making inferences, are also taught in IR Therefore, this kind of reading is considered as a good way to help students build reading skills and reading strategies (Huynh, 2008; Nuttall, 1996; Robb & Susser, 1989)

Nevertheless, IR is not a perfect way of learning to read According to Huynh (2008, p 16), as they only read very short texts on certain topics within the course books and school syllabus under the teacher’s guidance, students feel unconfident to read outside the classroom without his/her help He also assumes that this type of reading is not practical enough because in real life they certainly have to face with longer materials and unfamiliar topics In addition, Sheu (2004,

p 214) states that IR does not provide students with enough practices of reading This author argues that the lack of reading practice has hampered reading development, and they have not developed an ability to read outside the classroom

As IR implies a close study of a short passage including grammar and vocabulary analyses and translation into LI to understand its meaning (Susser & Robb, 1990, p 161), it is in fact a language lesson and is not a reading one at all

(Alderson & Urquhart, 1984, as cited in Susser & Robb 1990, p 161) Similarly, Haider and Akhter (2012, p 128) argue that as IR focuses on language manipulation rather than reading development, it tends to inhibit reading improvement among learners at a low proficiency level With it, students put all the effort and concentration into the passages they read They carefully read the passage word by word When encountering an unfamiliar word in the reading process, they look up its meaning in a dictionary As a consequence, they read slowly and find reading in English very difficult (Hoang, 2007, p 2) Although IR has certain advantages in introducing new structures and vocabulary of certain topics to learners and helping them build reading skills and reading strategies, it is not sufficient to offer them reading practice to improve their reading comprehension and motivate them to learn to read by reading (Huynh, 2008, p 17) 1.2 Statement of the problem

IR has been applied as the main approach in the teaching and learning of reading for both EGP and ESP at DTVC so far It should be acknowledged that this reading instruction method has certain good effects on helping learners build their reading skills and reading strategies In addition, it is a good way to introduce new structures and vocabulary of certain topics to them However, it is not sufficient for them to improve their reading ability because it neither provides them with abundant practices nor offers them chances to read a variety of longer reading texts other than those stipulated from the course book Furthermore, they read short texts with the help of the teacher or a dictionary Therefore, they usually read very slowly and do not feel confident in reading This is not good for them to gain their reading comprehension and fluency From these points, this study is conducted with a hope to find out if extensive reading (ER) can make up for the disadvantages of the current reading instruction method applied at DT VC

1.3 Aims of the study and research questions

This study thus aims to measure the effect of ER on students’ reading comprehension and attitudes To achieve this aim, the study tries to find the information to answer the following research questions:

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1 To what extent can students at DTVC improve their reading comprehension after being exposed to ER?

2 What are their attitudes towards ER?

To achieve those aims above, the study was designed to test the hypotheses:

1 There is a significant difference in reading comprehension scores of students exposed to ER compared to those exposed only to IR

2 Students have positive attitudes towards ER after being exposed to it

1.4Significance of the study

IR, which has been used as the only reading instruction approach for students at DT VC up to the present time, has been proved to have both advantages and disadvantages by both domestic and foreign researchers in the field of teaching and learning English reading skill In addition, there has not been an effective method recommended by English teaching staff at DITVC to compensate its disadvantages Therefore, the result of this study will be a good referential source for English teaching staff at DTVC in case ER is found to have positive effects on students’ reading comprehension and attitudes ER may be then considered to be used as supplementary reading homework outside the classroom or even integrated

in the school reading course and used in the classroom beside IR

1.5 Structure of the thesis

This thesis consists of six chapters Chapter 1 introduces background information of the study including the rationale, a statement of the problem, aim of the study and research questions, and the significance of the study Chapter 2 presents the literature review relevant to the study It provides ER definitions, characteristics, amount of reading suggested for it, as well as materials Most importantly, empirical studies on its effects on learners’ reading comprehension and attitudes are critically discussed Chapter 3 is a detailed description of methodology used in the study It provides information about the site, participants, data types and methods of data collection, analytical framework, and validity and reliability Chapter 4 analyzes and interprets data collected from tests and a questionnaire Chapter 5 discusses the findings based on the data analyzed and

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interpreted in the previous chapter Chapter 6 concludes the thesis with main conclusions, an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the study, pedagogical implications, and recommendation for further studies.

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The previous chapter has presented background information of the study This chapter reviews relevant literature on the topic of the study It includes definitions of

ER, its characteristics and benefits Materials used for ER and the mount of ER are discussed in this chapter as well Finally, previous empirical research on ER focusing on reading comprehension and attitudes is reviewed and gaps in these research studies are isolated as reasons for this study

2.1ER

2.1.1 Definition of ER

ER has been studied and applied in English language teaching in the context of

a second or foreign language for many years Therefore, there are a great number of definitions of this reading instruction approach

The term ER has been called differently by various researchers Palmer first mentioned the term ER in 1921 (as cited in Day & Bamford, 2005, p 5) West (1955,

as cited in Day & Bamford, 2005, p 6) calls it ‘supplementary reading’ Mikulecky (1990) uses the phrase ‘pleasure reading’ for it and Krashen (1993) names it ‘free voluntary reading’ Besides, ‘silent sustained reading or uninterrupted silent reading is its other names (McCracken, 1971, as cited in Chow, P & Chow, C., 2000, p 1) in which reading is done daily in class in a designated period of time (Wiesendanger & Birlem, 1984, p 197) or in which students with the teacher’s help select the materials

by their interest and read quietly within 15 minutes in class (Day & Bamford, 2005, p 7) Although different terms for ER are made, they share certain common basis in theory

Palmer (1968, p 137) defines ER as rapidly reading book after book where the reader’s attention should be on the meaning, not the language of the text Palmer’s (1968) term of ‘ER’ is used to distinguish with IR by which students take a text and study it carefully line by line, referring regularly to dictionary and grammar, comparing, analyzing, and translating every expression it contains, or, in other words,

the careful reading of shorter and more difficult foreign language texts with the goal

of complete and detailed understanding This author’s point of view of ER assumes that a large quantity of texts is a prerequisite for this reading approach That is why it

is also called “book flood’ by Elley and Mangubhai (1981) Although texts are still read for the purpose of language study, the focus is now on the content or global understanding, but not the language and grammar of the texts

According to Susser and Robb (1990, p 163), ER is reading large quantities of material or long texts for global or general understanding with the intention of experiencing pleasure from the text Further, because reading is an individual activity

in which students choose the books they want to read, no book discussions are carried out in class This definition summarizes the general characteristics of ER, including the issues related to the amount of and primary purpose of reading and the role of learners in doing such an activity

Walter (2003) defines ER as the reading of large number of unproblematic texts that are chosen by the students themselves, with a purpose of getting information and enjoyment She pays attention to the free choice of books that is one of the most important features of ER because they only enjoy reading what they are really interested in She also takes interest in readers’ ability They are keen on reading only when they understand what they read Therefore, this author says that the texts are not normally problematic This means that they must be within the reader’s language competence The same as Palmer’s (1968) and Susser and Robb’s (1990) definition, Walter emphasizes the abundant printed materials that students read as well as the purpose of reading for information and pleasure Helgesen (2005) shares this idea as

he says that ER means reading a lot of easy, enjoyable books for general information

and fun However, this definition, as well as that by Helgensen, does not mention

where, when and how students read

Clarity (2007) defines ER as reading a lot and reading for pleasure It should be

at a comfortably ‘easy’ level for students and the main goal is to read They should not read with a reference to a dictionary for every sentence or even every paragraph The goal is to gain fluency and enjoyment in the reading process This author emphasizes

the purpose to read or why to read, the amount of reading or how much to read, and

the level of the material or how easy the materials should be However, where to read

and what follow-up activities are not mentioned

Day and Bamford (2005, p 12) define ER as generally associated with reading large amounts with the aim of getting an overall understanding of the material Readers pay more attention to the meaning of the text than the meaning

of individual words or sentences These authors’ definition has the same focus as those of Palmer (1968) and Susser and Robb (1990) on the amounts of reading and the emphasis on the global meaning of the text However, their point of view in ER is more generalized and sufficient and seems to integrate all core meanings of other definitions They assume that ER can be done in and out of the classroom and that there are few or no follow-up activities They also share the same opinion as Helgesen (2005), Susser and Robb (1990) and Walter (2003) in that students are free to choose what to read and that they read for pleasure and information (Day & Bamford, 2005,

p 8)

2.1.2 Working definition

There are a great number of definitions on ER However, considering various definitions and the context and purpose of the present study, the researcher of this study puts forward the following working definition with six main characteristics It is

a supplementary reading activity with large quantity of graded readers (1) at students' own level of proficiency (2) and upon their free choice of texts (3) for general or global understanding (4) with primary intention of obtaining pleasure and information from the materials (5) and is done mainly out of class with few follow-up activities (6)

To conduct an ER program successfully, Day and Bamford (2002) suggest its main principles which are also its characteristics Therefore, the next section will present these characteristics

2.2 ER characteristics

The characteristics of ER relate to Day and Bamford’s (2002) main principles Many researchers, such as Hitogusi and Day (2004), Hoang (2008),

Huynh (2008), Powell (2005), Robb & Susser, (1989), Sandom and Macalister (2009), Tamrackikun (2010), Tanaka and Stapleton (2007), and Yamashita (2006) draw on these principles to set up ER programs for their studies of foreign language teaching

2.2.1 Much reading outside the classroom

It is the large quantity of texts required to read that is the key characteristic

that almost all ER definitions have in common (Clarity, 2007; Day & Bamford,

2002; Elley & Mangubhai, 1981; Helgesen, 2005; Mikulecky, 1990; Palmer, 1968; Susser & Robb, 1990; Walter, 2003) Students are encouraged to read as much as

‘possible to gain the benefits of ER as well as to establish a reading habit (Day & Bam ford, 2002, p 138) For this reason, Day and Bamford (2002) emphasize that

fhe amount of time students actually spend on reading is the most critical element

E learning to read They suggest that it should be a realistic target for learners of

a proficiency levels to read at least a book a week as books written for beginners

` d low-intermediate learners are very short One of the aspects of ER is reading For pleasure (Mikulecky, 1990) or free voluntary reading as defined by Krashen 11993) Therefore, it is possible and feasible for EFL readers to read anywhere and

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5, texts should be varied and based on the purposes for which students want to

: They should include books, magazines, newspapers, fiction, non-fiction, texts

h provide students with information, texts that really offer them pleasure ding, and those that are general, specialized, light, and serious (Day & Bamford,

2, p 137) A variety of reading materials encourage both reading and a flexible broach to reading because students read for different reasons and in different bys, e.g., skimming for general information, scanning for specific ideas, and fore careful reading (Day & Bamford, 2002, p 138)

Reading materials should be well within students’ linguistic competence in

s of vocabulary and grammar (Day & Bamford, 2002, p 138) because all the

k ding is done by them, without their teacher’ help In addition, they are required dot to use a dictionary According to Tamrackikun (2010, p 35), dictionaries

h ould be rarely used while reading because the constant stopping to look up words

h akes fluent reading difficult To make sure that students are able to read on their pwn, Day and Bamford (2002, p 138) recommend that texts must be well within

; eir reading competence in the foreign language According to them, for beginning readers, more than one or two unknown words per page might make the Htext too difficult for overall understanding; for intermediate learners, there should

be no more than five difficult words per page Hu and Nation (2000) assume that learners must know at least 98% of the words in a fiction text for assisted understanding Therefore, they suggest that beginner readers should begin reading easy materials

2.2.3 Students’ own choice of what to read

What book to read is self-selected Many researchers agree on the definition that ER should be reading for pleasure (Clarity, 2007; Day & Bamford, 2005; Helgesen, 2005; Huynh, 2008; Krashen, 1993, Mikulecky, 1990; Susser & Robb,

1990; Walter, 2003) Therefore, students read what they really enjoy in order to be

motivated to read They should be free to select what they want to read According

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Day and Bamford (2002, p 138) and Hitosugi and Day (2004, p 2), self- : tion of reading material is the key to ER as it is a flexible reading approach

k ents can choose texts as they do in their first language, that is, they can select

, they expect to understand, to enjoy, or to learn from They are free to stop

iding material that is boring, too easy, or too difficult (Day & Bamford, 2002, p

2244 Reading for pleasure, information and general understanding

These purposes are determined by the nature of the material and students’

; erests In an ER approach, learners are encouraged to read for the same kinds of

be ons and in the same ways as the general population of first language readers This ets ER apart from usual classroom practice, and reading for academic purposes The

b e hundred percent comprehension or any particular objective level of fomprehension is not a goal In terms of a reading outcome, the focus shifts away

i om comprehension achieved or knowledge gained towards the reader’s personal

fexperience (Day & Bamford, 2002, p 138)

| 2.2.5 Few follow-up activities

‘up exercises to be completed after reading Many other researchers also share their

view that there should be few or no follow-up activities (Hafiz & Tudor, 1989; Hitogusi & Day, 2004; Huynh, 2008; Maley, 2007; Susser & Robb, 1990) because

the purpose of ER is for pleasure, general comprehension, and formation of a reading habit Follow-up activities can be burdensome and make learners lose interest in reading However, they may not read the materials if there are no follow-up activities (Tanaka & Stapleton, 2007, p 119) Hitosugi and Day (2004,

p 2) assume that though the goal of ER is for students to experience reading, so they are not required to show their understanding by answering comprehension questions The teacher may need to ask them to engage in follow-up activities after reading for these reasons: (1) to discover what students understood and experienced from reading; (2) to keep track of what they read; (3) to monitor their

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F 2.2.6 Individual and silent reading

In ER, students read at their own pace, and in most of the cases, it is often Bone outside class, as homework, in their own time, when and where they choose Day & Bamford, 2002, p 139; Hitosugi & Day, 2004, p 2) That is students } emselves control their reading in terms of what, when, where, and how to read

h his helps them feel free and comfortable in their reading, thus creating positive hotivation to read for them

: 2.2.7 Reading faster rather than slower

j Students can read faster because the materials are easy and understandable (Tamrackikun, 2010, p 36) According to Day and Bamford (2002, p 139), when Heamers are reading material that is well within their language competence, for

| personal interest, and for general rather than specific information, it is an incentive

“to reading fluency Now they move from word-by-word decoding to fluent reading

“They are advised against using dictionaries as reading like this interrupts the reading process, making fluent reading impossible If they encounter unknown words, they should ignore them or guess their meanings (Hitosugi & Day, 2004, p 4) For this point, Maley (2007, p 149) also assumes that dictionaries should not

be used as the whole point of ER is defeated if glosses have to be used because these glosses interrupt the flow of rapid, natural reading, whereas the focus of attention should be on the story, not on the items that get in the way of telling it Slow reading is not good for comprehension (Day & Bamford, 2002; Kitao,

K & Kitao, S., 1986; Nuttall, 1996) According to Kitao, K and Kitao, S (1986, p 5), if a reader reads too slowly, it is more difficult to relate ideas in a passage, and understand the passage Smith (1982) assumes that short term memory does not retain information for long, and it is impossible to relate previous information with new information Thus reading slowly hinders comprehension (as cited in Kitao, K

& Kitao, S., 1986, p 5) Nuttall (1996, p 127) notes that speed, enjoyment and comprehension are closely linked with one another She described the vicious

12

Bcle of the weak reader as someone who “reads slowly, doesn’t enjoy reading,

Besn’t read much, doesn’t understand ” ER can help readers “enter instead the

le of growth On the contrary, a good reader is the one who “reads faster, reads bore, understands better, enjoys reading ”

! 2.2.8 Teachers’ roles

To ensure students’ participation in the ER program, teachers need to give

h explanation of the methodology, keep track of what students read, and guide

; dents in getting the most out of the program (Day & Bamford, 2005, p 8) : itosugi and Day (2004, p 4) assume that students may not be accustomed to the

P eedom of making choices at school; they need to be introduced to the practice of IER The teacher could begin by explaining its benefits — that is it helps them gain hocabulary knowledge, reading, writing, and oral fluency The choice of easy

h aterials, self-selection and reading for overall understanding should be discussed Teachers may point out that there are no tests or comprehension questions Nevertheless, in order to direct students during the course to ensure they benefit the most out of the ER experience, Day and Bamford (2002, p 138) recommend

"hat teachers need to keep track of what and how much their students read, and

‘their reaction of what was read Teachers also encourage them to read the books they previously found too difficult to read

During the ER program, the teacher’s role is an active member of the classroom reading community, demonstrating what it means to be a reader and the rewards of being a reader (Day & Bamford, 2005, p 8) If he/she reads the same

material that they read, and talks to them about it, this gives them a model of what

it is to be a reader and also makes it possible for him/her to recommend reading material to individual students (Day & Bamford, 2002, p 138; Hitosugi & Day,

2004, p 4)

2.3 The amount of reading

How much reading students should do in an ER program has been debated

by researchers Day and Bamford (2002, p 138) emphasize that the amount of time

‘students actually spend on reading is the most critical element in learning to read

13

psuggest that it be a realistic target for learners of all proficiency levels to read

kí a book a week as books written for beginners and low-intermediate learners jery short However, it is really difficult to reach an agreement on how much

k g should be done in ER (Tanaka & Stapleton, 2007, p 118) Laufer-Dvorkin

hi, as cited in Robb & Susser, 1989, p 240) considered 1-3 pages as IR and 7- pages as ER, but the amount of time is not mentioned Mason (1987) let her

h nts read about 200 pages in her ER program, while in another academic bester her students read about 1,000 pages or two to four books (as cited in

bb & Susser, 1989, p 240) More examples of the disagreement on how much dents should read in an ER program can be found in Susser and Robb’s (1990, 264) article: five hours by a specified date (Bowen et al., 1985), 30 minutes per

h for 5 stories or essays per week (Dalle, 1988), a chapter per week (Hansen, 85), thirty pages an hour (Hill & Thomas, 1988), an hour per evening (Krashen, NI), at least 15 pages per week (Paulston & Bruder, 1976), and so on According

; Susser and Robb (1990, p 264), the quantity of reading is not an absolute

1 bers of hours or pages but depends on teacher’s and students’ perceptions of

k w ER differs from other reading classes, e.g IR ones

H Graded readers as ER materials

: 2.4.1 Graded readers

F

Ệ

graded reader as a book that is written to a grading scheme They say that it can be

a simplified version of a previously written work or an original work written in simple language Similarly, Nation and Wang (1999, p 358) define graded readers

as simplified materials that are either texts adapted from first language originals or original texts written for L2 learners These simplified materials can be graded according to language by using higher frequency vocabulary, simplified phrasing and sentence structures Hill (2008, as cited in Claridge, 2011, p 45) defines them

as books written for learners of English using limited lexis and syntax, and they increase the permitted lexis and syntax in stages from beginning to advance In

14

bon, Hedge (1985, as cited in Peham, 2009, p 15) says that graded readers are

Bified texts controlled in lexis, structures and information

} There are many definitions of graded readers However, they all have the

3 implication That is they are simplified texts The structures and lexis in

bu readers are controlled to suit specific levels of English (Claridge, 2011, p

| They can be fictions or non-fiction books written or adapted for language

P ers of various ability levels Grading means that the texts are simplified in

Rs of vocabulary, phrasing, sentence structures, and information

Simensen (1987, as cited in Susser & Robb, 1990, p 165) distinguishes

Ke types of graded readers: (1) authentic readers, not written for language

F ers and published in the original language; (2) pedagogic readers, especially : en for EFL/ESL students; and (3) adapted readers, usually adapted from

| 2.4.2 Graded readers as best choice for ER

There are many types of materials that can be used for ER programs, such as lewspapers, magazines, graded readers, children’s books, and novels Anything pat students can read can be used for ER However, many of the TESOL Ipecialists who recommend it assume that they should read graded readers (Susser

h Robb, 1990, p 165) In fact, many researchers (for example, Al-Homoud and behmitt, 2009; Bell, 2001; Elley, 1991; Elley and Mangubhai, 1981; Hafiz and Tudor, 1989; Huynh, 2008; Lai, 1993; Nguyen, 2008; Tamrackikun, 2010; Tanaka and Stapleton, 2007; Yamshita, 2006) successfully used graded readers in their ER

15

Kitao and Shimatani (1988, as cited in Susser & Robb, 1990, p 265) argue ' reading can be studied more effectively and enjoyably when students use easy : erial that they can understand and enjoy, instead of being obligated to analyze

‘i translate texts hopelessly beyond the abilities Therefore, graded readers are

E best choice for ER programs Hill (2001, p 300) considers graded readers as “a ben source for learning and teaching English” According to Day and Bamford R05, p 8), reading for pleasure and reading to form the reading habit are one of

k purposes of ER It is only when learners read graded readers with simplified

à ts and within their language proficiency levels in terms of lexis, structures and

F ormation that they can really understand and enjoy reading, thus forming a hading habit Hedge (1985, as cited in Claridge, p 46) assumes that graded faders often contribute to the realization of reading for pleasure, keep the interests

pf learners and motivate them to go on reading

B.S Benefits of ER

| 2.5.1 ER and automatic word recognition

Many scholars have proved ER can help students improve their ability to recognize vocabulary Grabe (1991) and Paran (1996) emphasize that it provides them with abundant practice with automaticity of word recognition (as cited in Taguchi, Takayasu-Maass, & Gorsuch, 2004, p 72) Elley and Mangubhai (1983) revealed students’ gains in their word recognition after a year of exposure to ER in their famous “book flood” program in Fiji where they were provided with high-interest storybooks In a summer reading program in Hong Kong, Lai (1993) also confirmed that ER does help learners of English to obtain a quick and automatic word recognition ability Day and Bamford (2005) assume that through ER, L2 readers are ziven an opportunity to encounter words repeatedly and become familiar to them The

16

beds automaticity’(Day & Bamford, 2005, p 16)

F 2.5.2 ER and vocabulary growth

: In ER, learners have an opportunity to encounter vocabulary repeatedly in any different contexts As a result of this, they can widen their sight vocabulary Day & Bamford, 2005, p 16) According to Nagy and Herman (1987), it can result in

e students’ incidental learning of words, which will promote long-term vocabulary

b owth Wodinsky and Nation (1988) assume that learners at all levels can learn ocabulary incidentally through the means of ER Coady (1997) adds that the

steady incremental growth of vocabulary knowledge Pitt, White and Krashen

h 1989), after conducting two experiments to examine the gains in vocabulary of ESL learners in the United States, reported that second language learners could lacquire vocabulary incidentally Day, Omura and Hiramtsu (1991) reported that tincidental vocabulary learning took place in both cases of high school and

‘university Japanese students during their silent reading for entertainment in class 2.5.3 ER and grammar knowledge development

ER has been reported to have a positive effect on grammar development (e.g Al-Homoud, 2011; Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Hafiz & Tudor, 1989; Isik, 2000; Lee,

Krashen & Gribbons, 1996; Stokes, Krashen & Kartcher, 1998)

Isik (2000) compared one group of students with 25% explicit instruction plus 75% ER to another group with 80% explicit grammar teaching and 20% speaking After a 1000 hours’ experiment, this author found the former made a greater improvement in their knowledge of grammar structure than the latter In another learning context, Hafiz and Tudor (1989) found a more correct use of syntax in the second language through a three-month ER program with Pakistani primary-level students in England In addition, Stokes, Krashen and Kartcher (1996) reported that university students of Spanish made a greater improvement in the ability to use subjunctive structures after a free reading program in Spanish Lee, Krashen and

17

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ TP.H0M

THƯ VIỆN

Bobons (1996) stated that 49 adult learners of English as a second language were

; to gain better ability to use restrictive relative clause after exposure to ER Elley

; Mangubhai (1983) found that primary students in their “Book Flood” program proved their grammar structure knowledge after 8 months, They emphasized that

» students’ grammar structure improvement was the most outstanding result because

B participants in the experimental groups spent less time on explicit grammar

h ing, but made greater gain

2.5.4 ER and general knowledge development

ị ER is an effective means to enrich one’s background knowledge (Day &

b ford, 2005) Day and Bamford (2005, p 19) assume that it provides students ith the best possible chance to widen their general knowledge because in it, they Bad fluently and concentrate on only the meaning of what they read Maley (2007)

h es a similar opinion to Day and Bamford as he states that it helps readers of a ond language enrich their general, world knowledge Similarly, Harris and Sipay

: 990, cited in Day & Bamford, 2005, p 18) point out that ER not only helps students

crease word-meaning knowledge but also enables them to widen their topical and orld knowledge

F 2.5.5 ER and reading strategy development

| There have been a few studies on the effect of ER on the development of

| ading strategies; however, they all show that it helps learners gain better reading

lrategies (Hayashi, 1999; Nishino, 2007; Sandom and Macalister, 2009)

` Hayashi (1999) investigated the effect of ER on language development and Jrategies used by 100 Japanese EFL students This researcher reported that both beginning- and intermediate-level students participating in the experiment decreased heir frequency for the use of a dictionary and translation to Ll, and that they increased their strategy of guessing words from the contexts Hayashi assumes that

ER may indirectly develop their reading strategies, as their reading ability improved hrough ER Nishino (2007) carried out a case study to investigate how two secondary school students dealt with unknown words during a long period of two and a half

years of ER This author found that, at first, the students counted on the regular use of tlosses, but they became less dependent on them over time In addition, this

18

: In brief, ER has been shown to have benefits in improving students’ vocabulary

› ledge, grammar structure knowledge, reading strategies, general knowledge, as ' as word recognition ability Its two other important effects which are the main

; s of the study will be discussed in the next part

j ER effects on students’ attitudes and reading comprehension

2.6.1 ER and attitudes

_ Attitude is a disposition to respond favorably or unfavorably to an object,

h on, institution, or event (Ajen, 1998, as cited in Day & Bamford, 2005, p 22)

h ilarly, Eagly and Chaiken (1993, as cited in Day & Bamford, 2005, p 22) state

at ‘attitude is a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular btity with some degree of favor or disfavor’ Day and Bamford (2005, pp 22-23)

È int out that attitudes are subject to change Poor attitudes can be changed as long as Avorable teaching and learning conditions are created They assume that:

second language reading attitudes include first language reading attitudes; previous experiences with learning to read other second language (if any); attitudes towards the second language, culture and people; and the second language classroom environment which includes the teachers, classmates, approach and the support for second language reading (p 23)

ER has been reported to have a positive impact on students’ reading attitudes in barge body of empirical studies (e.g Aranha, 1985; Davis, 1995; Elley; 1991; Hoang,

2008; Le, 2011; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Maxim, 2000; Robb and Susser, 1989;

Tamrackikun, 2010; Valeri-Gold, 1995, as cited in Chow, P & Chow, C., 2000, p 2; Wiesendanger & Birlem, 1984) Wiesendanger and Birlem (1984) noted that 9/11 research studies they analyzed presented evidence that students develop more positive attitudes towards reading in schools with silent sustained reading Robb and Susser (1989) found that students expressed positive attitudes towards effects of ER on their reading ability, reading speed, and positive effects towards the class work and homework of the ER program Valeri-Gold (1995) incorporated silent sustained

19

b ited States Al-Homoud and Schmitt (2008) found that students noticed an

k provement in their reading skills, reading comprehension, reading fluency,

i abulary knowledge, and self-confidence to read Tran’s (2008) study showed that

e participants in her ER program evaluated their reading comprehension, vocabulary

bd grammar knowledge as well as their ER program positively Similarly, Hoang’s 008) study at the University of Labor and Social Affairs reported a positive change

P the students’ evaluation of the effects of ER on their reading comprehension, focabulary, general knowledge, and grammar Nguyen (2008) revealed that her

Ỉ dents, after being exposed to an ER for 4 months, recognized an improvement in heir reading comprehension and felt that ER was relaxing and interesting to do Jamrackikun (2010) stated that most students participating in ER positively evaluated

Is effects on their reading comprehension, reading strategies, background knowledge, feading speed, vocabulary, and grammar structure knowledge Le (2011) found that grade 11 students at Cay Duong High School appreciated the ER benefits on their reading comprehension, reading speed, vocabulary, and positive affects towards the

ER program

2.6.2 ER and reading comprehension

ER has been proved to have a positive effect on reading comprehension by a great number of educators and researchers in the context of EFL, both in the world (e.g., Al-Homoud & Schmitt, 2009; Bell, 2001; Elley & Mangubhai, 1981; Hafiz &

Tudor, 1989; Lai, 1993, Mason & Krashen, 1997; Petrimoulx, 1988, as cited in

Chow & Chow, 2000, p 5; Susser & Robb, 1989; Tamrackikun, 2010; Yamashita,

20

ị 06), and in Vietnam (e.g Hoang 2007; Huynh, 2008; Nguyen, 2008; Quach,

Ee There are studies in which the effect of ER alone is compared with that of

IR (Bell, 2001; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Susser & Robb, 1989), and there are also cases where the effect of ER integrated with a traditional reading approach is compared with that of a traditional reading approach alone which is usually IR (Al- Homoud & Schmitt, 2009; Elley & Mangubhai, 1983; Hoang 2007; Huynh, 2008; Petrimoulx, 1988, as cited in Chow & Chow, 2000, p 5; Quach, 2008; Tamrackikun, 2010) Furthermore, some studies only investigate the impact of ER

on the development of reading comprehension as well as other linguistic areas such

as lexical knowledge and grammatical structures (Lai, 1993; Nguyen, 2008;

Yamashita, 2006)

Empirical evidence showing that ER helps the development of reading ability is abundant in the international literature Perhaps one of the most famous and earliest experiments on the effects of ER in EFL is that of Elley and Mangubhai (1983) in Fijian primary schools The researchers found that ER could help the young readers improve their reading, listening comprehension and grammatical structures in comparison with other traditional instruction methods However, in their study, they did not mention the amount of reading that the learners had read as well as the learners’ exposure to English outside the experiment

Petrimoulx’s (1988, as cited in Chow & Chow, 2000, p 5) fifteen-week study on three groups of 16 students from ten different countries in the International Language Institute of the University of South Florida showed a significant gain in the students’ reading comprehension and vocabulary between the pre- and post-test scores of the experimental group However, the researcher found no significant gains in the post-test scores between the experimental group and the two control ones Hafiz and Tudor (1989) found gains in reading and writing in their three-month experiment on three groups of EFL Pakistani students

in the U.K However, seemingly there were other factors affecting students’ reading comprehension in both Petrimoulx’s and Hafiz and Tudor’s cases than ER

21

ause their experiments were conducted in the contexts where students had a lot

fchances of exposure to English outside the classroom

Robb and Susser (1989) carried out a study with 125 Japanese college : hmen majoring in English to compare the effect of ER and IR on reading bility The results of the study showed that there were no significant differences : een the groups regarding ‘getting the main idea’ and making inferences’ fowever, in ‘understanding the important facts’, ‘guessing vocabulary from bntext’ and ‘reading speed’, the experimental group scored significantly higher that of the control group These researchers concluded that ER was as

ff ective as or even better than IR

Lai’s (1993) four-week summer reading program on 226 secondary students in long Kong secondary schools revealed that the experimental sưbjects made an mprovement in reading comprehension Their reading speed was also increased while : ey still maintained global comprehension However, one problem of Lai’s } periment is that there was no control group Therefore, we cannot know if ER is better than other traditional reading instruction approaches Furthermore, tontamination which affected the results might have occurred because the students

Ỳ

lived in a rich-input environment

The three experiments on the effects of ER in EFL by Mason and Krashen (1997) highlighted the effects of ER on students’ reading performance All the three experiments indicated that ER was superior to the traditional approach, IR, on measures of reading comprehension The experimental students received ER with graded readers while the controlled students had IR In the first experiment, ER helped 20 non-English majored reluctant students at a women university in Osaka

in Japan improved their reading comprehension and attitudes In the second experiment, gains were found in the students’ reading comprehension after two semesters exposed to ER The participants came from the English literature department at a four year university, and a junior college In the third experiment, a similar result was found although the way to implement the experiment was a bit lifferent Three groups of students at a women university in Osaka in Japan were

22

fided in the study, one control and two experimental groups The two

b test exercises extensively The results of the post-test scores showed that

ị experimental groups performed significantly better than the control group and

` e were not significant differences between the two experimental groups To put : other way, ER had positive effects in helping English majored students and

k -English majored students, even the weak ones, develop their reading tmprehension

conducted by Bell (2001) on two groups of 26 EFL learners at the British Council

h glish Language Center in Yemen over a period of two semesters The result of the

k scores showed that learners in the ER group made greater gains in reading

È prehension than the intensive group Bell recommended that ER program based

; graded readers was much more beneficial in reading comprehension compared bith traditional reading lessons based on the close study of short texts However, this

h searcher found a low reliability of the tests in his research

Yamashita’s (2006) 15-week study on 38 Japanese first year university students

| ajoring in agricultural studies displayed a significant improvement in reading ability

by comparing the pre-test and post-test scores However there might be certain fontamination in the result of the study because the researcher found that 29/38 students participating in the study had chances to expose to English other than the ER such as listening to English songs, speaking English to overseas students, reading English magazines, teaching English to secondary students, and reading a biology textbook in English The researcher of the study did not include a control group Therefore, it is not known if ER is better than other reading instruction approaches Al-Homoud and Schmitt (2009) carried out a study in a situation called a

“challenging condition” where the students’ level of English proficiency was very low

to compare the effects of ER against IR The participants of the study were 70 male students in the professional Intensive Course at the College of Languages and

23

h ards reading, their class and their learning than the participants in the IR group Tamrackikun (2010) carried out a study on 284 non-English majored students

h ajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi in Thailand for four months to

° pare the effects of ER and IR on students’ reading comprehension and attitudes

‘ results of ANOVA showed positive effects of ER on improving reading : prehension within the experimental groups in the post-test However, there was no

‘ ificant difference in the mean scores between the control groups and the

r erimental groups in the post-test

In the Vietnamese context of teaching EFL, there are a-few studies to vestigate the effects of ER on reading comprehension and other aspects Quach

$007) found gains in students’ reading proficiency after a one-semester experiment two groups of 25 first-year English majored students at the College of Foreign

h guages in Hanoi Hoang’s (2008) 6-week study with 80 non-English majored

h dents chosen from two classes in the Faculty of Insurance at the University of Eabor, Invalid and Social Affairs in Hanoi also revealed that students, even the weak

h es, developed their reading comprehension after exposure to an ER program

F owever, there seems to be a doubt in Hoang’ study that students can really improve bheir reading comprehension in only six weeks Huynh (2008) conducted a study on English majored freshmen at Can Tho University and found both the control and pxperimental groups showed a significant difference in the pre- and post-test scores However, in comparison of the posttest scores between the control group and the

k xperimental groups, this author found no significant difference This means than ER

is not much better in improving students’ reading comprehension than IR Nguyen (2008) carried out a four-month study on two classes of 90 students in Tinh Bien High School to investigate the effect of ER on the students’ reading comprehension She found that it helped them make great improvement in their reading comprehension However, this researcher did not include a control group with IR Therefore, we

24

In sum, there is a lot of empirical evidence to show that ER has positive

H ects on reading comprehension as well as other aspects in different kinds of bbjccts, from young learners to university students, and from English majored to

bn-English majored learners However, all the studies summarized in this section

kem to have different things from the study conducted in the situation of DTVC

; ese differences will be pointed out in details to show that the study at DT VC houid be done

| 7 Research gaps

A large number of research studies about effects of ER on reading tomprehension and attitudes were conducted, and the results indicate positive pains in reading comprehension and attitudes as well However, there are research gaps between these studies and the present study, and there are also some problems among the above mentioned studies that need to be considered

Firstly, the above studies reported the effectiveness of ER on comprehension

development or attitudes in their own situations However, it is unknown whether it

really produces a similar outcome in the situation at DTVC where vocational students’ level of language proficiency is very low

The second factor is “the context of an already input-rich environment”

‘Hafiz & Tudor, 1989, p 9) where the study was conducted (e.g Hafiz & Tudor

1989; Lai, 1993; Petrimoulx, 1988; Yamashita, 2006) The subjects in these cases

night have been exposed to English through other means such as reading the

lewspapers, advertisements, signs in the street, or textbooks in English, and

hrough listening and speaking to their friends outside the classroom and so on The third factor is that some of the studies were carried out with English najored university students (Huynh, 2008; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Quach, 2007) [he level of reading comprehension ability of English majored students is surely setter than that of non-English majored ones Apart from this, contamination may

25

Fourthly, some researchers did not include a control group in their

kriments with other current reading instruction approaches used in their titutions like IR (e.g Lai, 1993; Nguyen, 2008; Yamashita, 2006) Therefore, it

4 possible for us to compare the effects of ER and other reading instruction roaches

The final factor that might affect the result of the previous studies is the pdents’ level of language proficiency Many of the participants in the previous bdies were university students (Hoang, 2008; Mason & Krashen, 1997,

Ỉ rackikun, 2010; Yamashita, 2006); therefore, their language proficiency level

h perhaps better than that of the students at DTVC

x Chapter summary

This chapter provided a critical and relevant literature overview of different

ppects of ER which, when taken together, can serve as a theoretical framework used

) conduct this study The vital issues presented above include definitions of ER, its

haracteristics and materials, and empirical studies about its effect on reading

omprehension and attitudes The first issue introduces information of different efinitions and names for ER, from which the working definition of the present study ras coined The second issue provides its main characteristics and materials suggested

yr it by researchers The last and most important one provides discussion of the revious empirical studies from which research gaps are isolated as the reasons for

ls study

26

b alytical framework It also deals with the issues of reliability and validity

H esearch site

This study took place at DTVC located at 02 Tran Phu Street, Ward 3, Sa

& City, Dong Thap Province The college offers students vocational training on a ety of majors such as accounting, information technology, construction,

È tronics, electricity, and mechanical engineering There are 25 college classes ith the total number of 999 students The English teaching staff consists of five pachers, of whom two are male and three female English is taught as a bmpulsory subject Students have to complete three 60-period courses of English

e first 2 courses (i.e English 1 and 2) are for EGP and the third one (namely, Bnglish 3) is for ESP The course book for the first two modules is Lifelines

ì ementary by Hutchison (2009) This study was conducted after the students had finished their first module

§.2 Participants of the study

According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1996, p 93), there are two main types of

b pling methods in educational research: random and nonrandom However, it Was infeasible and impossible to select the sample randomly at DT VC because it might cause a lot of confusion to the organization of classes in the institution and might not be accepted by its authorities Therefore, convenience sampling, one of the nonrandom sampling methods, was applied to select the sample for the study A vonvenience sample is a group of individuals who are available for the study Fraenkel & Wallen, 1996, p 99)

This study dealt with two classes of 29 students from the Faculty of iconomy in the academic course of 2011-2014 after they had finished their first nodule They are all non-English majored students whose major is accounting The

27

h ts’ scores of English I final test were used to select the sample The two

es which had relatively the same scores in this test were selected This proved Bhe students in the two classes had the same levels of language proficiency was then randomly selected as the experimental group (to be taught with ER)

e other the control group (to be taught without IR) Both groups were taught

he researcher

» The main background information about participants in terms of gender, age

‘English proficiency is presented in Table 3.1 below

Table 3.1: Background information of the control and experimental

` aracteristics Frequency | Percentage | Frequency | Percentage

There are equal numbers of the students in the two groups with 29 for each

urthermore, the numbers of males and females are almost the same: six males and

3} females in the experimental group as compared to 5 males and 24 females in the yntrol group Similarly, the participants of both groups have relatively the same

28

' ge: 26 students at the age of 18-19 and three 20-22 in the control group as

k ed to 25 at the age of 18-19 and four 20-22 in the experimental group Most : antly, the average scores of their first module are not much different ben the two groups: 5.38 for the control group and 5.34 for the experimental

To conclude, both control and experimental groups have relatively similar

b ound information of gender, age, and English proficiency as well as size esearch methodology

B.1 Research design

h As the aim of the research is to find any causal relationship between ER and

fents’ reading comprehension and attitudes, an experimental design is suitable : hieve it According to Fraenkel and Wallen (1996, p 262), experimental bịch is the most conclusive of scientific methods because its effects are likely bao to the most clear-cut interpretations It is production-oriented and it is the } design that can truly test hypotheses regarding causal relationship (Calmorin, : Calmorin, M., 2001, p 52) In a truly experimental design, each participant in articular population has an equal and independent opportunity for selection lackey & Gass, 2005, p 146) However, this study applied the convenient

k pling without random assignment of the students into the two groups herefore, it can be said that this study followed a quasi-experimental design

cause Kidder (1980, as cited in Tran, 2008, p 18) states that even without

barticipants’ random assignment, a causal relationship can be analyzed Generally bocaking, the research design in this study is associated with the quantitative paradigm because data collected from instruments including the pre-test, post-test

h d questionnaire were quantifiable

Ì In this study, ER was hypothesized to have positive effects on students’ reading comprehension and attitudes The cause was ER and the effect was the students’ improvement in reading comprehension and attitudes Of the nine types

of experimental designs (Calmorin, L & Calmorin, M., 2001, p 58) a pre-test - post-test one was selected for this study There were 2 identical groups of participants, one of which was experimental group which received the treatment or

29

file the other one was the control one which did not receive the treatment of

The total time to conduct the study was 15 weeks and the time for the ' s to read extensively was 14 weeks because the first week was used to

i ce the course: ER program, principles and benefits The teacher also helped fto find the levels of graded readers that would be compatible with their level start, the following three graded readers — Starter, 1 and 2 ~ were introduced

4 1 Lindop, C (2009) The girl with red hair Hong Kong: Oxford University

k a page and marked no, or just one or two unknown words, then the book of

k level was suitable to their language proficiency and was the right level for ER

by & Bamford, 2005, p 109) To encourage them to read, bonus marks were bed to the achievement test for those who had read more than seven books ] ing the ER program Both groups were given a pre-test at the beginning of the ester on July 15", 2013 and a post-test at the end of the semester on November

2 2013 so that the differences in the scores of both groups with ER and without ould be compared

After taking the post-test, the students of the experimental group were Wited to fill out a questionnaire which included questions related to the ER nefits, The crucial feature in the study was to consider if the experimental group fould change in scores of the pre-test and post-test in comparison with the control roup, and if experimental students had positive attitudes towards ER effects

30