Nghiên cứu nhận thức của giáo viên và học sinh về việc sử dụng những bài tập mang tính thực tế để nâng cao kỹ năng đọc hiểu của học sinh lớp 11 ở thành phố pleiku

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- HUA THI HOAI THANH AN INVESTIGATION INTO: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE USE OF AUTHENT

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-

HUA THI HOAI THANH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO:

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

OF THE USE OF AUTHENTIC TASKS TO FACILITATE GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

SKILLS IN PLEIKU CITY

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

-

HUA THI HOAI THANH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO:

TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS

OF THE USE OF AUTHENTIC TASKS TO FACILITATE GRADE 11 STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION

SKILLS IN PLEIKU CITY

FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

MA THESIS IN EDUCATION

SUPERVISOR: PHAM THI HONG NHUNG, D.Ed

HUE, 2011

BỘ GIÂO DỤC VĂ ĐĂO TẠO

ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

-

HỨA THỊ HOĂI THANH

NGHIÊN CỨU NHẬN THỨC CỦA GIÁO VIÊN

VAÐ HỌC SINH VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG NHỮNG BAÐI TẬP

MANG TÍNH THỰC TẾ ĐỂ NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU CỦA

HỌC SINH LỚP 11

Ở THAÐNH PHỐ PLEIKU

CHUYÍN NGĂNH: LÝ LUẬN VĂ PHƯƠNG PHÂP

DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ GIÂO DỤC HỌC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC

TS PHẠM THỊ HỒNG NHUNG

HUẾ, 2011

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates and have not been published elsewhere

Author

Hua Thi Hoai Thanh

of doing this research

I wish to thank Ms Truong Thi Nhu Thuy for her invaluable comments in revising my thesis

I would like to express my thanks to teachers and students at Hoang Hoa Tham high school, Pleiku high school and Nguyen Chi Thanh high school for their enthusiastic help, cooperation which contributed greatly to this study

My particular thanks go to the lecturers at the Department of English- Hue Foreign languages college for their valuable teaching materials that has enlightened

my research path

Special thanks go to my MA 08-11 classmates, my friends, and my parents for their help, encouragement and untiring love

Finally, I owed much to my mother for her love and for taking good care of

my new born baby during the process of the study

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS II

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 3

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES 4

ABSTRACT 6

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION 7

1 1 Background of the study 7

1.2 Rationale 9

1.3 The aim of the study 10

1.4 The scope of the study 10

1.5 Significance of the study 11

1.6 Structure of the study: 11

Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW 12

2.1 Definition of key terms 12

2.1.1 Attitude 12

2.1.2 Authenticity 12

2.1.3 Task 15

2.2 Classifications of tasks 19

2.3 Characteristics of authentic tasks 20

2.3.1 Characteristics 20

2.3.2 Text authenticity versus Task authenticity 24

2.4 Reading 29

2.4.1 Reading comprehension 29

2.4.2 Reading skills of English 30

2.4.3 Authentic reading tasks 31

2.5 An overview of the research context 34

2.5.1 Learners‟ motivation 34

2.5.2 Learners‟ learning styles 34

2.5.3 Learners‟ English proficiency 34

2.6 Coursebook adaptation in EFL reading classes 35

2.6.1 A sketch of Tieng Anh 11 35

2.6.2 Coursebook adaptation 36

2.7 Previous related studies 38

Chapter III: METHODOLOGY 40

3.1 Research questions 40

3.2 Research methods 40

3.3 Participants 40

3.4 Research instruments /Methods of data collection 41

3.4.1 Textbook analysis 42

3.4.2 Questionnaires 42

3.4.3 Interviews 43

3.5 Pilot study 44

3.6 Data analysis 46

Chapter IV: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 47

4.1 Teachers and students‟ viewpoints on authentic reading tasks 47

4.1.1 Teachers‟ opinions on a good reading comprehension task 47

4.1.2 The necessity of authentic (reading) tasks 49

4.1.3 Teachers and Students‟ preference for authentic reading tasks 50

4.1.4 Benefits students gain from authentic tasks 53

4.1.5 Teachers‟ opinion on the impact of authentic tasks on students‟ reading comprehension skills 55

4.1.6 Adaptation of reading tasks in terms of authenticity 57

4.1.7 Teachers and students‟ opinions on the current reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 11 58

4.2 Teachers and students‟ opinions on types of tasks currently used in reading comprehension classes 71

Chapter V: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 77

5.1 Conclusion 77

5.2 Pedagogical implications 78

5.2.1 For teachers 79

5.1.2 For students 80

5.1.3 For textbook innovation 80

5.3 Limitations 82

5.4 Suggestions for further research 82

REFERENCES 84

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLES

Table 2.1 Facets of authenticity according to Taylor (1994) and Breen (1985)… 14

Table 2.2 Key concepts of Tasks 18

Table 2.3 Characteristics of authentic task types 22

Table 2.4 Differences between text authenticity and task authenticity 28

Table 3.1 Participants by age 41

Table 3.2 Participants by the length of teaching experience 41

Table 4.1 Teachers‟ preference for authentic reading tasks 50

Table 4 2 Students‟ preference for authentic reading tasks 51

Table 4.3 Consideration of the level of authenticity when teaching reading comprehension skills 55

Table 4.4 Frequency of Adapting Reading Tasks 58

Table 4.5 A summary of English 11 (Basic) Evaluation (adapted from Textbook Evaluation (2009)) 59

Table 4.6 Assessing Reading Comprehension Tasks in Textbook Tieng Anh 11 (Basic) in Terms of Authenticity According to Characteristics of Authentic Tasks provided by Reever & Oliver (2002) and Authentic Reading by Byrnes (1998) 59

Table 4.7 Frequency of authentic reading tasks in textbook Tieng Anh 11 62

Table 4.8 Students‟ attitude towards reading tasks in Tieng Anh 11 69

Table 4.9 A summary of task types currently used in reading comprehension classes 71

Table 4.10 Frequency of Task Types in the textbook Tieng Anh 11 71

FIGURES Figure 2.1: Interaction of users, situations and texts in authenticity 13

Figure 2.2 Characteristics of authentic tasks 21

Figure 4.1 Teachers‟ opinions of a good reading comprehension task 47

Figure 4.2 Teachers‟ opinions on the necessity of authentic (reading) tasks 49

Figure 4.3 Teachers‟ Opinions on Benefits of Authentic Tasks 533

Figure 4.4 The impact of authentic tasks on students‟ reading comprehension skills 555 Figure 4.5 Teachers‟ opinions on the frequency of authentic reading tasks in textbook Tieng Anh 11 633 Figure 4.6.Teachers‟opinions on reading tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 11 (basic) 66 Figure 4.7 Students‟ views on reading tasks 68 Figure 4.8 Reasons that teachers avoid using authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes 744

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to explore teachers and students‟ perceptions of the use

of authentic tasks to facilitate grade11 students‟ reading comprehension skills in Pleiku The study employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods Based on the results from textbook analysis, questionnaires and interview data analysis, two issues of the study were addressed: (1) Teachers and students‟ attitude towards the use of authentic tasks to facilitate grade-11 students‟ reading comprehension skills; (2) Types of tasks currently used in the reading comprehension classes The overall findings of the study show that most of the teachers of English and students in Pleiku have positive attitude towards using authentic tasks However, there exist some negative views on this From what has been found, some implications are proposed for using authentic tasks more effectively

Chapter I: INTRODUCTION

1 1 Background of the study

In the age of integration and globalization, the breakthrough of information technology especially the spread of the Internet, the need for using English as a means of communication and a key to access the world of science and technology has been increased remarkably Therefore, to have a good command of English to keep up with the rapid pace of this age, there has been a revolution on the teaching and learning English nowadays With the view of focusing on development of learners‟ communicative competence, educators in general and language teachers in particular follow the principles of communicative approach which has really given great contribution to changing the environment of teaching and learning English in Viet Nam

For decades, the notion of authenticity has played a key role in the communicative language teaching (CLT) In order to bring real-life materials to the classroom, many authentic materials have been introduced into English as foreign languages (EFL) classroom, many of these new teaching materials that are designed

in the communicative orientation reflect a change from passive to active approaches

CLT, classroom activities should, thus, as far as possible mirror the real world and use real world or “authentic” sources as the basis for classroom learning (Richard,n.d) In addition, Clarke and Silberstein (1977, p.51) argued that classroom activities should parallel the “real world” as closely as possible In other words, the push for authenticity in EFL classroom is therefore as strong as ever

Besides speaking, listening and writing, reading is considered to be one of the most important skills for accessing information and for communication No one can deny the significant role of reading brought to our living As Eskey (2005, p.563) points out “many students of English as a foreign language rarely need to speak the language in their day-to-day lives but many need to read it in order to access the wealth of information” Obviously, reading has played a very important

schools in Pleiku in particular, reading skills are tested in the entrance and final examination Such important role of reading has led to the fact that it has long been received much attention in Vietnamese high school English teaching and there have been a numerous approaches as well as techniques for enhancing students‟ reading comprehension skills, teaching reading strategies, for instance Moreover, to help students develop reading comprehension skills, extensive research has been done among which the use of authentic materials in the teaching of reading has been much discussed throughout the world Grellet (1981) proposed using authentic text

as one of the hints to develop reading skills or Berardo (2006) claims that authentic materials are highly motivating, giving a sense of achievement when understood and they encourage further reading Apparently, the use of authentic materials in the classroom has been received much attention so far whereas little research has been conducted on the use of authentic tasks in teaching reading As Nunan (1989, p.60)

states that while there is general acknowledgement that authentic materials have a place in the classroom, the issue of activity authenticity is less widely recognized In

other words, research that probes EFL teachers and students‟ perceptions of the use

of authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes in particular, is limited

To Vietnamese context of English teaching and learning, there seems to be very little research on the teaching of reading in terms of text authenticity and task authenticity In Linh‟s (2007) study, she states the necessity of designing real-life tasks for authentic text and points out the close relationship between text and tasks

in the teaching process Yet, less attention was given to teachers and students‟ attitudes towards using authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes What is more, most of Vietnamese teachers of English comprehend the use of authentic text but the use of authentic tasks seems to be less recognized

To find satisfactory answers for questions such as whether authentic tasks are important in reading comprehension classes; is it necessary to use authentic reading tasks; what types of tasks are most commonly used in reading comprehension classes, the study aims to investigate teachers and students‟ understandings of

authentic reading tasks and to study types of tasks currently used in the reading comprehension classes

1.2 Rationale

The research is conducted for the following reasons:

Firstly, in communicative language teaching, authenticity can be seen as a

“key concept” In other words, nowadays authenticity has played a very important role in a language classroom Bringing real-life situations into class in which task authenticity is important because it provides meaning and motivation for learning (Harris & Marx, 2009) However, as for Vietnamese teachers of English, the concept of authentic task is still quite new and perhaps it is not an exaggeration to say that they are doubtful about the effectiveness of using it in the language class

Secondly, it seems that the reality of teaching and learning reading for communication in many high schools in Pleiku city is not actually effective It has yet not met the students‟ needs When dealing with a reading comprehension lesson, teachers often ignore or pass so-called “authentic tasks” due to some reasons such

as lack of time or students‟ low English background or so on In fact, students‟ English reading proficiency at some high schools in Pleiku particularly is not very satisfactory This largely reflects in the poor performance of the students in reading comprehension leading to the fact that students lose their proficiency in reading skills Are students interested in authentic tasks? Are teachers‟ attitudes towards using authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes positive? Does the use of authentic tasks help to enhance grade 11 students‟ reading comprehension skills? It

is, therefore, essential to have an investigation into teachers and students‟ perceptions of the use of authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes

Thirdly, in light of communicative approach, the Ministry of education and training (MOET) have modified and revised high school English curriculum which puts emphasis on developing students‟ communicative competence by introducing into EFL classroom with the textbook and teaching materials which are designed in the communicative orientation They are supposed to be authentic in terms of goals,

texts and activities Yet, some of them are still artificial or inauthentic texts Besides, some reading tasks in particular may not be authentic and they need changing or replacing to be more interesting and authentic For the sake of teaching reading, it is necessary for teachers to select authentic tasks in daily life to supplement textbooks and give students chances to cultivate their reading comprehension skills How teachers and students in Pleiku perceive the use of authentic reading tasks?

For all of these reasons, it would be necessary to have an investigation into teachers and students‟ perceptions of the use of authentic tasks to facilitate grade 11 students‟ reading comprehension skills in Pleiku city

It is hoped that this study will provide EFL teachers and learners with an depth understanding about authentic reading tasks to make decision on how and what they should do to facilitate students‟ reading comprehension skills

in-1.3 The aim of the study

The study aims to look at how teachers and students perceive the use of authentic tasks to facilitate grade 11 students‟ reading comprehension skills in Pleiku city with a view to give some recommendations on how to use authentic tasks for reading classes effectively The specific aims of the research are as follows:

- to investigate EFL teachers and learners‟ attitudes towards using authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes

- to find out what types of authentic tasks are currently used to teach reading comprehension skills to 11 grade students

1.4 The scope of the study

This study was conducted in a small scale with 20 teachers and 150 students

perceptions of using authentic tasks for reading comprehension classes at grade 11

to facilitate students‟ reading comprehension skills

1.5 Significance of the study

Developing students‟ reading skills for communication at present can be affected by many factors Among them, using authentic tasks should be taken into consideration Therefore, the study highlights the perceptions of teachers and students of the use of authentic reading tasks in general More importantly, it offers recommendations for handling authentic tasks in reading comprehension classes to facilitate grade 11 students‟ reading comprehension skills

1.6 Structure of the study:

Chapter 1: Introduction clarifies the background, the aims, the scope of the study, its significance and the structure of the thesis

Chapter 2: Literature Review presents the definitions of key terms and the literature relevant to the field of study

Chapter 3: Methodology chapter describes the research methods and the data collection process

Chapter 4: This chapter reports the results of the study, describing the data collected

in relation to the research questions

Chapter 5: Conclusion and implications/ suggestions for further research are made

Chapter II: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides a critical review of theoretical backgrounds fundamental to key terms including attitude, authenticity and task It also discusses major theories of classification and characteristics of authentic tasks Then, influential theories on reading comprehension in general and skills of reading in particular are explained in detail Furthermore, this chapter goes into an overview of research context and coursebook adaptation in EFL reading classes The chapter concludes with a review of previous relevant studies on authentic tasks in EFL classroom

2.1 Definition of key terms

Attitude in Oxford Advanced Learners‟ Dictionary is defined as “the way you think and feel about something/ somebody or the way you behave towards something/ somebody that shows how you think and feel”

Added, Eagly & Chaiken (1993) defines “Attitude is a psychological

tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of

In language teaching, teachers and students‟ perceptions or teachers and students‟ attitudes refer to their point of views on language teaching and learning

2.1.2 Authenticity

The term “authenticity” in the language classroom has been much discussed

in the field of linguistics, material design and language teaching Yet authenticity is not an easy concept to pin down McDonough & Shaw (1999, p.45) note, "The issue

of 'authenticity' has been somewhat controversial." Different researchers and educators have different views about authenticity

From Oxford Advanced learner‟ dictionary, authenticity is defined as the quality of being genuine or true

Widdowson (1978) claims that authenticity itself is a social construct In other words, authenticity is created through the interaction of users, situations and the texts (see Figure 2.1)

Figure 2.1: Interaction of users, situations and texts in authenticity

Moreover, Rogers & Medley (1988) claim that the terms- “authenticity” or

“authentic” are often used to describe language samples- both written and oral- that reflect the naturalness of form, the appropriateness of cultural and situational context

In addition, according to McDonough and Shaw (1993, p.43), authenticity can be described as “a term which loosely implies as close an approximation as possible to the world outside the classroom, in the selection both of language material and of the activities and methods used for practice in the classroom.”

What is more, following Breen‟s ideas about authenticity, Taylor‟s (1994, p.1) first point was that authenticity facets consisted of “authenticity of language, authenticity of task, or authenticity of situation”

We can summarize Breen and Taylor‟s views about authenticity in the table 2.1

Table 2.1 Facets of authenticity according to Taylor (1994) and Breen (1985)

• Authenticity of language

• Authenticity of text used as input data for learners

• Authenticity of the learners‟ own interpretation of such texts

(a) Authenticity of text used as input data for learners

This refers to the authentic qualities of a given text Authentic texts for language learning are any sources of data which serves as a means to help the learner to develop an authentic interpretation including both spoken and written authentic materials such as films, news items, airport and station announcement, radio talks, recipes, articles, train timetables, advertisements, brochures, poems,

(b) Authenticity of the learners‟ own interpretation of such texts

Learner authenticity means that the learner must discover the conventions of communication in the target language which will enable him or her to gradually come to interpret meaning within the text in ways which are likely to be shared with

(c) Authenticity of the tasks conductive to language learning

Task authenticity reflects the purpose to which language input is put It means that the chosen tasks should involve the learners not only in authentic communication with texts and others in the classroom, but also in learning and the purpose of learning

(d) Authenticity of the actual social situation of the language classroom

The authenticity of the classroom is a special social event and environment wherein people share a primary communicative purpose that is learning The authentic role of the language classroom is the provision of those conditions in which the participants can publicly share the problems, achievements and overall process of learning a language together as a social activity

2.1.3 Task

The definition of a task has evolved for a long time There are different definitions of tasks in terms of pedagogic tasks and real-world tasks (target tasks) This distinction between pedagogic tasks and real-world tasks is drawn by Nunan (2004) Real– world (target) tasks refer to uses of language in the world outside the classroom Pedagogic tasks are those that occur in the classroom

To have an overview of definition of a task, we need to examine some perspectives on a task as follows

Long (1985, p.89 cited in Nunan, 1989) defines a task as “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some reward Thus, examples of tasks include painting a fence, dressing a child, filling out a form, buying a pair of shoes, making an airline reservation, borrowing a library book, taking a driving test, typing a letter, weighing a patient, sorting letters, taking a hotel reservation, writing

a cheque, finding a street destination and helping someone across a road.”

In Long‟ s definition of task, tasks here are very close to the real world, that

is everything people do in daily life So, they do not necessarily involve language use

In order to develop communicative abilities, tasks which are used in language classroom need to be represented as a bridge to real world tasks

From pedagogical perspective, task is defined as an activity or action which

is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language (i.e as a response) For example, drawing a map while listening to a tape, listening to an instruction and performing a command, may be referred to as tasks Tasks may or may not involve the production of language A task usually requires the teacher to specify what will be regarded as successful completion of the task The use of a variety of different kinds of tasks in language teaching is said to make language teaching more communicative since it provides a purpose for a classroom activity which goes beyond the practice of language for its own sake (Richards, Platt and Weber, 1986, p.289) In this definition, tasks are defined in terms of what the learner will do in the classroom rather than in the outside world

In addition to the above definition, Breen (1987, p.23) gives a definition of task as follows

…any structured language learning endeavour which has a particular objective, appropriate content, a specified working procedure, and a range of outcomes for those who undertake the task „Task‟ is therefore assumed to refer to a range of workplans which have the overall purposes of facilitating language learning from the simple and brief exercise type, to more complex and lengthy activities such as group problem-solving or simulations and decision making.”

We can see that this is a broad view of task According to Breen, all kinds of activities relating to language learning can be tasks This definition reveals that tasks here involve communicative language use It means that they focus on meaning rather than linguistic structure In other words, these tasks can be seen as communicative tasks

Sharing the ideas with Breen, Nunan (1989, p.10) considers the communicative task as a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while

Following the definition of tasks of Candlin (1987), Nunan (1989), Long (1989) and others, Skehan (1998) gives a definition a task as an activity in which:

(a) meaning is primary

(b) there is some communication problem to solve

(c) there is some sort of relationship to comparable real-world activities

(d) task completion has some priority

(e) the assessment of the task is in terms of outcome

Along with the above views, Willis (1996) maintains that tasks (1) do not give learners other people‟s meaning to regurgitate; (2) are not concerned with language display; (3) are not conformity-oriented; (4) are not practice- oriented (5) do not embed language into materials so that specific structures can be focused upon Stressing both on meaning and form, Ellis (2003, p.16) also defines a task as:

“ a workplan that requires learners to process language pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome that can be evaluated in terms of whether the correct or appropriate propositional content has been conveyed.” To this end, it requires them

to give primary attention to meaning and to make use of their own linguistic resources, although the design of the task may predispose them to choose particular forms A task is intended to result in language use that bears a resemblance direct or indirect to the way language is used in the real world Like other language activities,

a task can engage productive or receptive, and oral

This definition is very comprehensive because it puts an emphasis on meaning, linguistic aspects such as grammar, pragmatic properties, the use of authentic language and cognitive process In other words, Ellis‟s definition of task

is in a pedagogical way which stresses both on meaning and form

Lastly, once again Nunan (2005, p.4) offers a definition of task as:

“ a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language while their attention is focused on mobilizing their grammatical knowledge in order to express meaning, and in which the intention is to convey meaning rather than to manipulate form The task should

also have a sense of completeness, being able to stand alone as a communicative act

in its own right with beginning, middle and an end.”

This definition may be the most comprehensive one as Nunan emphasizes the involvement of the pedagogical tasks in communicative language use in which the user‟s attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical structure It does not mean that Nunan neglects the role of form but he states that form and meaning are interrelated The exist of grammar to help the user enable to express language communicatively

In short, the definitions of tasks have varied from different contexts in which tasks are used Table 2.2 summarizes the key concepts of definitions of tasks discussed above

Table 2.2 Key concepts of Tasks

Richards, Platt and Weber

(1986)

what learners do in classroom rather than outside world

activities in language instruction

real-world and outcome

outcome

language pragmatically in order to achieve an outcome

learners in conveying meaning rather than manipulating form

2.2 Classifications of tasks

From the point of view of task-based instruction (TBI), two kinds of tasks can usefully be distinguished:

Pedagogical tasks are specially designed classroom tasks that are intended

to require the use of specific interactional strategies and may also require the use of specific types of language (skills, grammar, vocabulary) A task in which two learners have to try to find the number of differences between two similar pictures

is an example of a pedagogical task The task itself is not something one would normally encounter in the real world However the interactional processes it requires provides useful input to language development

Real-world tasks are tasks that reflect real-world uses of language and

which might be considered a rehearsal for real-world tasks A role play in which students practice a job interview would be a task of this kind

Willis (1996) proposes six types of tasks as the basis for TBI:

1 Listing tasks: For example, students might have to make up a list of things they

would pack if they were going on a beach vacation

2 Sorting and ordering: Students work in pairs and make up a list of the most

important characteristics of an ideal vacation

3 Comparing: Students compare ads for two different supermarkets

4 Problem-solving: Students read a letter to an advice columnist and suggest a

solution to the writer‟s problems

5 Sharing personal experience: Students discuss their reactions to an ethical or

moral dilemma

6 Creative tasks: Students prepare plans for redecorating a house

With respect to activity/ task types, Prabhu (1987) provides three principal activity types including information gap, reasoning gap and opinion gap Added, Pattison (1987) also proposes seven activity types (1) questions and answers; (2) dialogues and role-plays; (3) matching activities; (4) communicative strategies; (5) pictures and picture stories (6) puzzles and problems; (7) discussions and decisions

In recent years, there has been a lot of discussion on authentic tasks Although authentic tasks have been discussed for a long time in domain of education such as medicine, engineering, aviation and so on, until 1992 the term

„authentic‟ first formally used in the context of learning

In order to have a broad view of authentic tasks, the following section will discuss characteristics of authentic tasks

2.3 Characteristics of authentic tasks

2.3.1 Characteristics

The notion of task is a somewhat fuzzy one, though various attempts have been made to define it So it‟s necessary to view some of the key characteristics of a task first

(i) It is something that learners do or carry out using their existing language resources

(ii) It has an outcome which is not simply linked to learning language, though language acquisition may occur as the learner carries out the task

(iii) It involves a focus on meaning

(iv) In the case of tasks involving two or more learners, it calls upon the learners‟ use of communication strategies and interactional skills

Talking about characteristics of authentic tasks, according to Reever & Oliver (2002), there are ten characteristics of authentic tasks which are useful for teachers to select and design authentic activities They are

1 Authentic tasks have real-world relevance

2 Authentic tasks are ill-defined, requiring students to define the tasks and tasks needed to complete the activity

sub-3 Authentic tasks comprise complex tasks to be investigated by students over a sustained period of time

4 Authentic tasks provide the opportunity for students to examine the task from different perspectives, using a variety of resources

5 Authentic tasks provide the opportunity to collaborate

6 Authentic tasks provide the opportunity to reflect

7 Authentic tasks can be integrated and applied across different subject areas and lead beyond domain-specific outcomes

8 Authentic tasks are seamlessly integrated with assessment

9 Authentic tasks create polished products valuable in their own right rather than as preparation for something else

10 Authentic tasks allow competing solutions and diversity of outcome

In addition, Mueller (2006) on the website called Authentic Assessment Toolbox reports characteristics of authentic tasks by distinguishing them from traditional ones These distinctive attributes are shown in the figure 2.2

Figure 2.2 Characteristics of authentic tasks

Indirect Evidence -Direct Evidence

Moreover, in Mueller‟s website, he also supplies types of authentic tasks described below along with some examples of each which are summarized in the table 2.3

Table 2.3 Characteristics of authentic task types

Typically, no new knowledge is constructed;

information required to select the appropriate response

Multiple-choice tests

True-false Matching Fill-in-the-blank Label a diagram

Constructed-

Response

In response to a prompt, students construct

an answer out of old and new knowledge

Since there is no one exact answer to these prompts, students are constructing new knowledge that likely differs slightly or significantly from that constructed by other students Typically, constructed response prompts are narrowly conceived, delivered at

or near the same time a response is expected and are limited in length However, the fact that students must construct new knowledge means that at least some of their thinking must be revealed As opposed to selected response items, the teacher gets to look inside the head a little with constructed response answers

(product-like): Short-answer essay questions

"Show your work" Concept maps Figural

representation (e.g., Venn diagram) Journal response

(performance-like): Typing test

Complete a step of science lab

On demand, construct a short musical, dance or dramatic response

On demand, exhibit an athletic skill

Product

In response to a prompt (assignment) or series of prompts, students construct a substantial, tangible product that reveals their understanding of certain concepts and skills and/or their ability to apply, analyze, synthesize or evaluate those concepts and skills It is similar to a constructed-response item in that students are required to construct new knowledge and not just select a response However, product assessments typically are more substantial in depth and length, more broadly conceived, and allow more time between the presentation of the prompt and the student response than constructed-response items

Essays, stories or poems

Research reports Extended journal responses

Art exhibit or portfolio Lab reports Newspaper Poster

Performance

In response to a prompt (assignment) or series of prompts, students construct a performance that reveals their understanding

of certain concepts and skills and/or their ability to apply, analyze, synthesize or evaluate those concepts and skills It is similar to a constructed-response item in that students are required to construct new knowledge and not just select a response

However, performances typically are more substantial in depth and length, more broadly

Conducting an experiment Musical, dance or dramatic

performances Debates Athletic competition Oral presentation

conceived, and allow more time between the presentation of the prompt and the student response than constructed-response items

Apparently, from Figure 2.2 and Table 2.3, we can see that Mueller‟s (2006) viewpoint of authentic tasks is different from traditional ones By this way students can synthesize, analyze and apply what they have learnt and even create meaningful activities by their own in the learning process When performing authentic tasks, students have the chance to do with real life and meaningful tasks

As already mentioned, the characteristics of authentic tasks have been stated clearly Nevertheless, there are still some misconceptions about text authenticity and task authenticity Therefore, the relevant literature regarding the differences between text authenticity and task authenticity will be clarified in the following section

2.3.2 Text authenticity versus Task authenticity

Text authenticity and task authenticity are two different terms What are the differences between them?

In recent years, text authenticity – one of the four types of authenticity has been much discussed by many researchers Some writers think of text authenticity

as the authenticity of input and of data while others think of text authenticity as the authenticity of texts or teaching materials which may be used as input for learners Therefore, it is necessary to have a look at some definitions of authentic texts or authentic materials

Traditionally, according to Nunan (1988, p.99) authentic materials have been defined, "as those which have been produced for purposes other than to teach language"

Nunan (1999) continues defining authentic materials as spoken or written language data that has been produced in the course of genuine communication, and not specifically written for purposes of language teaching In fact, from his

definition, Nunan encourages students to bring into the classroom their own samples of authentic language data from real-world context outside of the classroom such as different sources from TV and radio broadcasts, magazines, brochures and

so on

And Lee (1995, p.324) states that "a text is usually regarded as textually authentic if it is not written for teaching purposes, but for a real-life communicative purpose."

In addition, Little et al (1988, p.27) offer an authentic text as “created to fulfill some social purpose in the language community in which it was introduced”

It means that the use of authentic texts will help to bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and „a student‟s capacity to participate in real world events‟ (Wilkins 1976, p.79)

An authentic text is also defined as a stretch of real language produced by a real speaker or writer for real audience and designed to convey a real message of some sort and as those (either written or spoken) which are designed for native speakers; they are real texts designed not for language students but for the speakers

of the language in question (Harmer, 1983)

Moreover, authentic texts have been defined as “…real-life texts, not written for pedagogic purposes” (Wallace, 1992, p.145) They are, therefore, written for native speakers and contain “real” language They are “…materials that have been produced to fulfill some social purpose in the language community.” (Peacock, 1997) In contrast to non-authentic texts that are especially designed for language

learning purposes; the language in non-authentic texts is artificial and unvaried, concentrating on something that has to be taught and often containing a series of

“false-text indicators” that include:

- perfectly formed sentences (all the time);

- a question using a grammatical structure, gets a full answer;

- repetition of structures;

- very often does not “read” well

In addition, according to Guariento and Morley (2001) authentic materials can be frustrating, confusing and de-motivating because they are too difficult for lower level learners to comprehend Thus "the question is not whether authentic texts should be used, but when and how they should be introduced" (Guariento & Morley 2001, p 348) or as Cardew (2006, p.15) puts it, "just because the materials are authentic, this is no guarantee that the lesson will be successful Will the materials be taught 'well' by the teacher? Will the learners respond positively to the materials?"

The provision of authentic materials is not enough Materials cannot be truly authentic for language learners if they are not introduced with the help of authentic tasks The following section addresses authentic tasks

With respect to “task authenticity”, Breen (1985, p 66) points out:

“An authentic learning task in the language classroom will be one which requires the learners to communicate ideas and meanings and to meta- communicate about the language and about the problems and the solutions in the learning of the language”

By this definition, we can see that, the most authentic kind of activities in the language classroom is the ones which are conductive to both learning and communication

Moreover, (Ellis, 1990, p.195) defines authentic tasks as

„control over linguistic knowledge is achieved by means of performing under real operating conditions in meaning –focused language activities‟

It is apparent that from the idea of Ellis, „authenticity‟ lies not only in the genuineness of text, but has much to do with the notion of task In fact, there is growing evidence that input for the development of proficiency in the target language is necessary but insufficient by itself Focusing on form together with learner production is considered important for language learning development Pedagogic tasks provide a means of giving learners opportunities for production (Swain, 1985) and opportunities to draw attention to aspects of form in the target

language (Willis, 1996 & Skehan, 1998) If this is the case, it is important to see whether authenticity in the language classroom can be applied to pedagogic tasks

Authentic Assessment Toolbox

„An authentic task is a task that native speakers of a language would do in everyday life When learners do an authentic task they are doing something that puts real communicative demand on them.‟ Examples include phoning for information, preparing a party, planning a holiday, answering e-mail, preparing reports, holding a meeting and filling in application forms

In addition an authentic task is „an assignment given to students designed to assess their ability to apply standard: given knowledge and skills to real-world challenges.‟ In other words, a task is considered to be authentic when (1) students are asked to construct their own responses rather than select from one presented and (2) the task replicates challenges faced in the real world For instance, supposing that you teach students how to play golf, you would let students construct their own responses in the face of real-world challenges

Regarding to task authenticity, Guariento and Morley (2001) discuss four aspects as follows (1) authenticity through a genuine purpose (2) authenticity through real world targets (3) authenticity through classroom interaction (4) authenticity through engagement

The first crucial aspect of task authenticity is whether the language has been used for a genuine communicative purpose Willis (1996) distinguishes tasks and activities Activities are the ones in which the emphasis is on particular linguistic form whereas tasks emphasize on meaning and communication In this kind of interaction, Willis (1996) claims that students have the chance to interact naturally

in real time to achieve a particular communicative goal

With regard to the second aspect of task authenticity, Long & Crookes (1992) argue that pedagogic tasks must relate to real-world target tasks From this

perspective, a task might be said to be authentic if it has a clear relationship with real world needs

Then, classroom interaction between the teacher and the learner relating to the negotiation of the choice and sequence of tasks all provide sufficient authentic potential for communication (Breen, 1985) So students work in pairs or groups

Finally, Guariento and Morley (2001) state that the most crucial type of authenticity is whether or not students are engaged by the tasks It means that unless students are genuinely interested in the topic and purpose, other types of authenticity cannot be activated In other words, for a task to be authentic and meaningful to the students, it should cater to students‟ needs and interests To do this, it is suggested that students should select and present tasks By this way, the role is heavily put on learners

To summarize, the differences between text authenticity and task authenticity will be illustrated in this table

Table 2.4 Differences between text authenticity and task authenticity

1 input for learners

2 spoken or written language data

3 a stretch of real language produced

by a real speaker or writer for real

As already mentioned, there are distinguishes between text authenticity and task authenticity Considering task authenticity in reading comprehension classes next section will review some theories of reading comprehension and skills of reading English Then it discusses the characteristics of authentic reading tasks As Nuttall (2000) states that “we use the term authentic to mean reasons that are

concerned not with language learning but with the uses to which we put reading in our daily lives outside the classroom” Everyday we have to read a great deal of materials such as newspaper articles, English news, and so on Reading comprehension, thus, becomes an essential part of language teaching

2.4 Reading

2.4.1 Reading comprehension

Notions of reading comprehension have changed dramatically over the decades

According to Grellet (1981, p.3), reading comprehension is considered as

“understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible It means that readers can identify basic information

In addition, Alderson & Urguhart (1984, p 95) point out “the reading comprehension process focuses on three elements: The text being read, the background knowledge possessed by the reader, and contextual aspects” He suggests that background knowledge is a helpful tool when a person confronts a text since he can reorganize his knowledge and put it together better To comprehend a reading it is necessary that the reader can extract the key words in order to capture the whole sense of the text”

Sheng (2001) asserts that “Reading is the process of recognition, interpretation, and perception of written or printed material Comprehension is the understanding of the meaning of the written material and covers the conscious strategies that lead to understanding The process of reading deals with language form, while comprehension, the end product, deals with language content”

Partnership for Reading (2005) defines „Reading comprehension is understanding a text that is read, or the process of "constructing meaning" from a text Comprehension is a "construction process" because it involves all of the elements of the reading process working together as a text is read to create a representation of the text in the reader's mind "

It‟s essential to take the following elements into consideration

According to Grellet (1981, p.3), there are main text-types which we usually read such as novels, short stories, poems, letters, newspapers and magazines, textbooks, recipes, advertisements, and so on There are many different reasons for reading and that we read in different ways for different purposes Yet there are generally two main reasons: we read for pleasure and we read for information

Firstly, Reading for pleasure is an activity that is commonly taken for granted By this way, teachers may introduce their students to ranges of experiences including fiction and non-fiction, travel writing and so on while reading for information is an activity that we read to find out something or in order to do with the information you get for example, to follow instructions to perform a task

Grellet (1981, p.4) also states four major ways to read as follows

- skimming: quickly running one‟s eyes over a text to get the gist of it

- scanning: quickly going through a text to find a particular piece of information

- extensive reading: reading longer texts, usually for one‟s own pleasure This is a fluency activity, mainly involving global understanding

- intensive reading: reading shorter texts, to extract specific information This is more an accuracy activity involving reading for detail

Moreover, Grellet (1981) claims that reading comprehension should not be separated from the other skills In other words, it is important to link the different skills through the reading activities for developing integrated skills

- Reading and listening, for example, listening to several summaries of the same text prepared by the learners with a purpose to enable them to focus on the main points in the text and listen to their classmates

- Reading and writing, for example, summarizing a text to one third of its original

- Reading and speaking, for example, discussion, appreciation after reading a text

2.4.2 Reading skills of English

Developing reading skills is very essential to readers to read a text more

quickly

In Hollas (2002)‟s opinion, a reading skill is a helpful tool that a student practices in order to improve reading Thus, in order to develop reading skills, teacher teaches students various skills

As Grellet (1981, p.4) states that reading involves a variety of skills and the main ones are recognizing the script of a language, deducing the meaning and use of unfamiliar lexical items, understanding explicitly stated information, understanding information when not explicitly stated, understanding conceptual meaning, understanding the communicative value (function) of sentences and utterances, understanding the relations within the sentence, understanding relations between the parts of a text through lexical cohesion devices, interpreting text by going outside it, recognizing indicators in discourse, identifying the main point or important information in a piece of discourse, distinguishing the main idea from supporting details, extracting salient points to summarize (the text, an idea etc.), selective extraction of relevant points for a text and the basic reference skills, skimming, scanning to locate specifically required information, and transcoding information to diagrammatic display

Among the above skills, skimming a text for the gist of a text and scanning the text for particular bits of information are the basic reading skills students need to acquire Reading skills need to be fostered so that learners can cope with more and more sophisticated texts and task and deal with them efficiently: quickly, appropriately and skillfully (Ur, 2000, p.147) To foster our learners‟ reading skills

is the objective for English teachers to teaching reading, though it is not so easy to reach it Thus, while teaching reading language teachers should not only persuade our students of the advantages of skimming and scanning but also make them see

that the way they read is critically important (Harmer, 2003, p 69)

2.4.3 Authentic reading tasks

Authentic Reading is reading a variety of texts for real purposes Authentic reading is most like that which occurs in everyday life In a language class students usually read a text to answer comprehension questions but this is not an authentic

reason for reading In order to make it authentic or near-authentic, we have to take into account why we read such texts in real life For instance, we usually read the

TV programme in order to choose something interesting to watch If we ask our students to complete such a task in the foreign language, the purpose for reading will be an authentic one

Specifically, Authentic Reading must be:

Firstly, reading that is meaningful, relevant, and useful to the reader In other words, the reading that has a purpose, make sense and be appropriate to every reader

Secondly, supporting readers with a print-rich environment A print-rich environment offers students opportunities to make use of print and practice literacy habits and skills Print-rich classroom are filled with visuals such as charts as teaching tools that engage students in reading An environment rich in print becomes meaningful to students when the teacher uses the print as an instructional tool The teacher uses print within the classroom as a scaffold to extend learning experiences and engage students in the interactive process of learning to read and write

Thirdly, providing choice within a variety of forms and genres; reading that

is authentic when students have opportunities to choose different types of text or different ways of using language to orient particular communicative situations

Fourth, having the opportunity to interact with others in response to the text

It means that learners have chances to work on the text provided cooperatively

Fifth, focusing on communicating ideas or shared understandings Learners work with each other and share their ideas and opinions on a text

Lastly, providing authentic meaning-making experiences: for pleasure, to be informed, or to perform a task

In addition, to develop communicative competence in reading for students, classroom and homework reading activities must resemble (or be) real-life reading tasks that involve meaningful communication They must therefore be authentic in

1 The reading material must be authentic: It must be the kind of material that

students will need and want to be able to read when traveling, studying abroad, or using the language in other contexts outside the classroom

When selecting texts for student assignments, remember that the difficulty of a reading text is less a function of the language, and more a function of the conceptual difficulty and the task(s) that students are expected to complete Simplifying a text

by changing the language often removes natural redundancy and makes the organization somewhat difficult for students to predict This actually makes a text more difficult to read than if the original were used

Rather than simplifying a text by changing its language, teachers make it more approachable by eliciting students' existing knowledge in pre-reading discussion, reviewing new vocabulary before reading, and asking students to perform tasks that are within their competence, such as skimming to get the main idea or scanning for specific information, before they begin intensive reading

2 The reading purpose must be authentic: Students must be reading for

reasons that make sense and have relevance to them

To identify relevant reading purposes, teachers ask students how they plan to use the language they are learning and what topics they are interested in reading and learning about Moreover, teachers give them opportunities to choose their reading assignments, and encourage them to use the library, the Internet, and foreign language newsstands and bookstores to find other things they would like to read

3 The reading approach must be authentic: Students should read the text in a

way that matches the reading purpose, the type of text, and the way people normally read This means that reading aloud will take place only in situations where it would take place outside the classroom, such as reading for pleasure The majority of students' reading should be done silent

(Teaching reading, 2004)

2.5 An overview of the research context

A new series of English textbooks for students has been used in schools in Viet Nam for some years and there has been a lot of feedback from teachers who have used them The problem here is that they are not satisfied with their teaching

of reading because of many reasons Many teachers have stated that new textbooks which contain a large amount of knowledge (vocabulary, information, etc), hinder students‟ learning Others stated that it is because of students‟ poor background of English Most of the students live in the mountainous areas They lack vocabulary, grammar knowledge So their English proficiency is low Many teachers claim that they cannot finish their lesson plan on time or cannot teach all reading activities that they designed if they teach in a class with many weak students

To make it clearer, it is essential to understand Vietnamese learners of English in terms of motivation, learning styles and their English proficiency

2.5.1 Learners’ motivation

With respect to motivation, Le (2000, p.73-75) affirms that Vietnamese learners obviously differ in their purpose for learning English Most of the students learn English just because it is a compulsory subject at school Other students learn English to pass the final examination They focus mainly on grammar rules, so their communicative competence is not well-developed

2.5.2 Learners’ learning styles

As far as learning styles are concerned, it can be said that some students are passive and recipient In class, they sit in silence and only do what they are asked to

do They dare not give their own opinion Le (2000, p.77) also asserts “the claim that Vietnamese students are passive is misleading because their passiveness in learning is the product of traditional teaching If the teaching methods are changed more radically, students‟ learning styles will change accordingly”

2.5.3 Learners’ English proficiency

In terms of English proficiency, Hoang et all (2006, p.103) conclude that