Skkn cấp tỉnh applying cooperative learning activities (clas) to improve students’ reading skills at do luong 3 high school

Having applied cooperative learning activities CLAs in reading lessons for 10th and 11th graders, we find that our students have studied more actively and effectively.. Majority of stude

PART A: INTRODUCTION

I Reasons for choosing the study

English has become the most popular language all over the world and it is considered as the officially international language Although English is not the largest number of native or first language speakers, it is widely used by many people as their second language to communicate with others from different cultures There are more than 700 million English users in the world, which is an enormous number to prove the importance of English In addition, English is an essential language for all kinds of professional and personal goals Mastering English really can change our life Though learning English can be challenging and time-consuming, we can see that it is also very valuable to learn and not only provides access to information but also opens a world of opportunities, especially for the young Nowadays, learning English has become easier with everything around our life We can study with Internet which helps us chat with foreign friends and search information We can also walk the park and exchange with foreign travelers A crucial reason for people to travel to English speaking countries for learning English is that learning from native speakers will enable them to acquire the level of proficiency required to clear international English tests Subsequently,

a good level of English helps people to acquire a resident status in the first world countries For example, students who want to go abroad to study need the IELTS certificate with the different levels from 5.5 to 7.0 In Vietnam, some universities require students having this IELTS certificate will be admitted to directly

Because of its essential role, English has not only been gradually taught in every school from primary level to higher education but also become the core and compulsory subject in the National Examinations in Viet Nam and many different countries in the world With such a trend of development, learning English is important than ever before

Among four language skills, reading is considered the most crucial of the primary abilities required for a student to be an effective English communicator However, many Vietnamese high school students regard reading as the most boring and difficult one The reason behind this is that, in Vietnamese classrooms, teaching English reading skills to high school students is still mostly controlled by the teacher-centered approach Specifically, in a typical English reading lesson, the reading process occurs repeatedly as the teacher asks students to read the entire passage, answer a few questions, or complete some reading comprehension exercises available in the textbook The main task for the students is to read over and over until they understand the passage thoroughly and complete all the textbook tasks This method of teaching and learning easily makes students find reading lessons monotonous and depressing, especially for weak students They often feel stressed while learning and neglect the lessons As a result, majority of students find it difficult and challenging to make good progress in this skill To

make reading more dynamic, engaged, and productive process, more emphasis should now be placed on communication and interaction in reading classrooms to compensate for this issue In this spirit, developing students’ cooperative and supportive skills to work together in reading classes becomes a demand

Unlike grammar-based approach, communicative language teaching (CLT) method covers the training of all four core skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing And the success of communicative English instruction through this approach hinges entirely on the practice of these skills To achieve this, it is now necessary

to take into consideration the application of a typical technique of CLT, the cooperative learning (CL), for its utility in encouraging students from diverse groups to cooperate and support one another, as well as assist teachers in overcoming the difficulties in teaching method and organizing classroom activities

CL is described as a broad category of instructional practices in which students collaborate to achieve a common goal Its effectiveness has been well documented and now widely recognized as one of the most promising practices in educational field CL proves to be a successful teaching technique at all levels, from pre-school

to post-secondary education, and as a peer-centered pedagogy that can promote academic achievements and build positive social relationships As a result, it is reasonable to believe that CL provides a supportive atmosphere for both the best and the least capable students to practice English, as well as a tool to help Vietnamese students reach their goal of becoming competent English communicators

Having applied cooperative learning activities (CLAs) in reading lessons for 10th

and 11th graders, we find that our students have studied more actively and effectively They are more excited to access the reading lessons They no longer feel stressful and bored during classes Majority of students after involving in these activities admit that CLAs have positive effect on their language competence in general and reading skills, especially in terms of broadening their vocabulary and helping them use appropriate strategies to access the reading text Therefore, the effectiveness of the lessons is much higher In addition, these activities also develop necessary soft skills for students such as interaction, collaboration, sense

of responsibility and autonomy in learning As English teachers, we truly believe that this study would be a great contribution to our current teaching

We would like to recommend some CLAs in teaching English so that our colleagues can apply them to improve their students’ learning process The topic is

“Applying Cooperative Learning Activities (CLAs) to improve students’

reading skills at Do Luong 3 High School”

We hope that these experiences contribute to complement and enrich the teaching methods of our colleagues

II Aims of the study

- To give a brief overview on CLAs and introduce samples of helping improve students’ reading skills through these activities in reading lessons

- To increase students’ creativity and autonomy in learning language

- To help students learn in free and flexible ways

- To boost students’ confidence and help develop a learner-centered dynamic

- To create a friendly and supportive learning environment

- To examine the effects of CLAs activities on students’ reading skill

- To suggest some solutions for teachers’ application to utilize CLAs to enhance their students’ language learning abilities in general and especially students’ reading skill

- To raise students’ awareness of cooperating and supporting each other during the lessons

III Methods of the study

- Base on our personal teaching experience

- Study a variety of documents and share experience with our colleagues

- Design two reading tests (pre-test and post-test) before and after applying the method to confirm the result

- Carry out surveys among students of the two experimental classes after applying the method about the effectiveness of the application

- Conduct an interview with 5 students from the two experimental classes after applying the method to get a deeper insight of the benefits and the challenges of the method

- Apply and adapt some essential knowledge from the workshops and classes

we have participated in before

- Read reference books, discuss with other teachers, apply in teaching and getting experience from the teaching in the class

IV Scope of the study

In this study, we just focus on the 10th and 11th grade students (The general education program 2018) at Do Luong 3 High School, especially students of the two experimental classes (10D6, 11D3) and the two control classes (10D5, 11D2)

V The meaning and effect of the new solution

Students will improve their reading skills, raise their awareness of cooperating and supporting each other during the lesson Besides, they can facilitate the four language skills: speaking, reading, listening, writing and even the international testing systems

PART B: CONTENT

I THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BACKGROUND

1 Theoretical background

1.1 Cooperative Learning (CL)

1.1.1 Definition of Cooperative Learning

Slavin (1992), one of the founders of CL, states that CL refers to instructional methods involving small heterogeneous group working together, usually toward a common goal Kagan (1988) describes cooperative work as a task that is accomplished by dividing it among participants, where each person is responsible for a portion of the problem solving

1.1.2 Cooperative Learning vs Group Learning

Traditionally, high school teachers group students by putting four or five students

in a row in class and asking them to complete a task without further assistance or careful organization In fact, tasks need to be planned to ensure students’ interdependence and individual accountability because students are seated together in groups does not mean they will work cooperatively together

Without a careful structure for group learning, students will most likely work independently and compete with one another They do this by splitting down their task into smaller chunks and assigning each piece to each group member To become cooperative, however, group members must discuss the assigned task with one another and assist one another in achieving the common goal

According to Arends (2007, p 138), CL lessons are characterized by four features as follows:

- Students work in teams to master learning goals

- Teams are made up of low-, average-, and high- achieving students

- Whenever possible, teams include a racial, cultural, and gender mix

- Reward systems are oriented to the group as well as the individual

1.1.3 Elements of Cooperative Learning

According to Johnson and Johnson (1999) there are five basic elements of a successful CL activity which includes (1) positive interdependence, (2) individual accountability, (3) promotive face-to-face interaction, (4) explicit teaching of interpersonal and small group skills, and (5) group processing

the others It is a sense of working together for a common goal and caring about each other’s learning When positive interdependence is clearly understood, each group member’s efforts are required and indispensable to the group success and each of them has a unique contribution because of his or her role and responsibilities

1.1.3.2 Individual Accountability

Together with positive interdependence, this element is the second essential concern among teachers when they organize students to work cooperatively This requires each student in the group to develop a sense of personal responsibility to learn and to make the rest of the group to learn It is important for the teachers to have a way to determine what individual has learned as well as what the group has accomplished The ways are various from random selection of students’ papers to see if they are working in the groups to random oral quizzes of students,

or written quizzes or examination at the culmination of the work

1.1.3.3 Promotive Face-to-Face Interaction

The third element of CL requires face-to-face interaction among students within which they promote each other’s learning and success Johnson (1999) suggests that it is necessary to maximize the opportunities for them to help, support, encourage, and praise each other In fact, the quality of interaction depends on several factors such as the grade and frequency of students cooperating in their academic tasks, in sharing learning experiences, and in supporting and engaging among themselves in their feelings and educational expectations Moreover, a positive classroom environment is closely associated with the quality of such a face-to-face interaction

1.1.3.4 Interpersonal and Small Group Skills

Simply placing students in groups and asking them to work together does not guarantee that they have ability to cooperate Students, instead, must learn the social skills that help to maintain the group activities to run smoothly According

to Arends (2007), social skills are those behaviors that “promote successful social relationships and enable individuals to work effectively with others” In addition, other skills such as leadership, trust-building, decision-making, communication, and conflict resolution skills should be explicitly taught to the students so that they could work among themselves cooperatively

1.1.3.5 Group Processing

Group processing refers to the assessment and remarking of the capabilities and actions of each group Group members should think about how well they have cooperated as a team and how to enhance their future cooperation Some of the keys to successful processing are allowing sufficient time for an activity to take place, emphasizing positive feedback, maintaining students’ involvement in processing These five essential components must be present for small group

learning to be truly cooperative Furthermore, there needs to be an accepted common goal on which the group will be rewarded for their efforts

1.1.4 Structuring Cooperative Learning Classes

Johnson and Johnson (1999) suggested a basic model that focuses on a set of decisions a teacher must make before the class, how to set the cooperative goal structure, and the instructor's role throughout the period when students are working The following is a description of this model:

Step 1: Decide on the most appropriate group size for the lesson The size

of the group will depend on the nature of the task, the length of time available, the students’ skills, and the resources required to accomplish the assignment

Step 2: Assign students to groups Researchers state that heterogeneous

groups tend to be more powerful than homogeneous ones The reason is that in mixed groups, good students can assist their less capable peers In that way, the less able students have an opportunity to practice language skills in a learning environment where their more capable partners can function as supervisors

Step 3: Arrange the classroom so that group members are close enough to

each other and able to see the materials, converse with each other easily and exchange materials and ideas

Step 4: Explain the task and cooperative goal structure to the students It is

important to give a clear and specific description of the task as well as an explanation of the group goal Establishing rules for group work and criteria for success is also necessary for a CLA to happen Students must have a clear definition of what cooperation is, why they must work cooperatively and what they benefit from such cooperation so that they build good motivation in working

in group

Step 5: Monitor the groups as they work The teacher needs to monitor

carefully how the groups are functioning; determine what skills are lacking, both related to the subject matter and to the interaction; set up a way for the groups to process how well they functioned and discuss how to do even better; and intervene where problems are serious to help groups work out their own problems It is probable that some specific instruction will need to be focused on interpersonal skills as students will not have necessarily learned how to work with others effectively

1.2 Reading and the Traditional Way of Teaching Reading Skills

1.2.1 Reading and its importance

According to Nunan (2003), “reading is a fluent process of readers combining information from a text and their own background knowledge to build meaning” Reading is perceived as a complex act of communication in which several textual, contextual, and reader-based variables interact to produce comprehension

Of the four language skills, reading is a very important skill It helps students improve all parts of the English language – vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and writing In a second language classroom, reading plays a significant role in building both linguistic and background knowledge for other language skills It is even considered as the most effective means of improving students’ language competence Particularly, when there is a lack of language environment, reading

is even more significant since it helps enlarge students’ background knowledge and vocabulary as well as supports other skills

1.2.2 Teacher-centered Methods and the Traditional Ways of Teaching Reading Skill

Teacher-centered methods were popular in the last centuries, which rooted from the three theories: Social Learning, Behavior, and Information-Processing Theories Lessons organized around Teacher-centered models are generally characterized by task-structures and aim at predetermined standards and goals (Arends, 2007) These goals and reward structures are most often based on individual competition and effort Another characteristic is teacher’s dominance

of the class and students’ passive role in listening to teachers or reading, even practicing teacher-specified skills

The traditional way of teaching reading underwent the same method In accordance with the teacher-centered models, the individualized reading method was developed and became popular in reading classes at the time Following it, students were expected to work independently and to compete for good grades Students have no chance to hear, read, share and respond to what they read Besides this, most reading tasks are answering questions, deciding on true/false statements or finding Vietnamese meaning of words or phrases, so “students have less chance to interact or exchange ideas” (Hoang Xuan Quy, 2010)

1.3 Cooperative Learning Activities (CLAs) in Teaching and Learning Reading Skills

1.3.1 Benefits of CLAs in Teaching and Learning Reading skills

While the aims of CL are to increase students’ interest thanks to the quick pace of cooperative tasks, to improve critical thinking ability, and the opportunity to practice both the productive and receptive skills in a natural context, CLAs - in which students work in teams or groups - is “an ideal environment that gives students opportunities to work with each other in collaborative work” (Perogy & Boyle, 1993)

Nelson (2003, as cited in Nunan, 2003) claims that in reading comprehension classes, learners must monitor their comprehension processes and be able to discuss with the teacher and their fellow readers what strategies they use to comprehend Among the six classroom techniques and tasks Nelson proposed, including activating prior knowledge, cultivating vocabulary, increasing reading

rate, verifying strategies, and evaluating progress, teaching for comprehension is

an important one With this technique, the teacher can model with the class how comprehension is related instead of simply asking students comprehension questions after they read a passage And instead of waiting to be tested the comprehension by answering the questions after reading, the class can read together and discuss how they understand what is written

A large body of study supports the positive effects of CL on student achievement When summarizing the results of studies on the benefits of students working cooperatively, Slavin (1987) states that “when CL methods provide group goals based on the learning of all members, the effect on student achievement are remarkably consistent”

Collaborative tasks prove successful in improving students’ motivation for learning (Ning & Hornby, 2014) Accordingly, integrating CL into English language teaching can help students, especially those at an advanced level of proficiency who are supposed to be less motivated than low-level students, to be more motivated from positive interdependence in collaborative tasks To put it another way, working together with peers generates an assistive learning environment in which social interactions take place As a result, learning is facilitated To ensure the learning outcomes, individual responsibility may be the first to be concerned about Finally, CL may make students more active and engaged in the learning process CL encourages students’ involvement in group work, and their meaningful engagement improves students’ dynamics and reasoning ability

In addition, CL not only brings benefits to students, but teachers can also benefit from CL as well Adams and Hamm (2005) note that the teachers who begin using

CL “become more cooperative in their own professional interactions and more willing to collaborate with their peer” Furthermore, teachers who use CL may feel that their time is spent more effectively with a reasonable contribution between less time for lecture but more time moving in the class and interacting with their students Besides, paper to evaluate is less, so stress will be reduced Finally, researchers propose that teachers may feel teaching and classroom management become easier because most of activities are initially designed at home

In short, the great advantages of CL are undeniable for it creates a supportive and cooperative learning environment to better students’ language learning as well provides teachers with a useful technique to effectively organize communicative activities in class

1.3.2 Challenges of implementing CLAs in Teaching and Learning Reading skills

For the learning process, Strom and Strom (2002) uncovered two main

weaknesses of CL Specifically, it is difficult to assure a fair assessment and evaluation of students’ work The accomplishment of a group work is the result

of the group members’ contributions and principles which all the group members are committed to The recognition of individuals’ contributions may be difficult

to integrate into the assessment and evaluation of the whole group’s work

Secondly, students with different backgrounds may demonstrate diversity in culture, ethics, perceptions, and experiences This is the source of potential conflict among group members in close contact Heffron and Erma Wati (2018) concluded from their study that CL is time-consuming Teachers need time to prepare, and students need time to interact and assist each other in the same group Group members who are not good at time management may not complete the assigned task on schedule Also, it is hard for the teacher to group students when they belong to different backgrounds as they may hesitate to get involved in group discussions

Reading limitation is another factor keeping Vietnamese students away from independent learning Materials are generally in short supply at all Vietnamese education institutions Almost all Vietnamese universities have so far used textbooks as the unique information resource Therefore, students perceive that the required text for a particular subject by the lecturer is the definitive written resource for that subject, and they do not need to consult any other information resource Material limitations create two chances for students to become rote and surface learners As the readings are very limited (one or two textbooks for a subject), teachers usually tell students exactly what to read and what needs more attention, if not memorized carefully, as these sections are likely to be questioned

in the exams

2 Practical background

2.1 Overview of reading lessons in Global Success textbooks

The reading materials used in the study consist of selected texts from Global Success textbooks published by Vietnam Education Publishing House This is the first school year that students have accessed to 11th grade Global Success textbook and the second school year students have accessed to 10th grade Global Success textbook In each textbook, there are 10 units with diverse topics related to 4 themes: Our lives, Our society, Our environment and Our future Eight lessons are included in one unit namely: Getting started, Language, Reading, Speaking, Listening, Writing, Communication and Culture/ CLIL, Looking back and Project Of the four skills, reading is the first one to be taught In general, Global Success textbooks are interesting, but the lessons in it, especially reading ones, are rather difficult for students in rural areas The texts are rather long with a variety of new and academic vocabulary Therefore, it is challenging for students

to complete themselves without support In these cases, CLAs are necessary to help deal with the situation

2.2 Students’ attitude towards reading lessons

Reading is considered as basic skill to develop others Moreover, reading comprehension is main and compulsory part in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and international certification exams such as IELTS, FCE, TOFEL…as well Despite the fact that reading skill is one of the most crucial in learning language, many students tend to ignore this skill in class It is partly because of long and difficult texts in textbooks as mentioned above Another reason is that they find reading lessons boring and stressful due to lack of interaction Their tasks are often working individually, reading the text again and again, even sometimes they do not understand the content of the text at all This makes them sleepy and seem to neglect the lessons As a result, reading skill of majority of high school students is not very good, which can be clearly seen through the results of the pre-test Therefore, it is essential to increase students’ interaction during reading lessons to make the lessons less monotonous as well as bring students more motivation to actively take part in learning activities

2.3 Teachers’ application of CLAs in teaching reading skills

CL is not a new approach to language teaching and most teachers admit the benefits that it brings in teaching and learning process Although CLAs are gradually employed in English lessons, but often in speaking and listening skills and rarely in reading ones Teaching method applied in reading lessons is normally teacher-centered one, with very little interaction among students

Regarding the importance of reading as well as the attitude towards reading lessons, it is necessary that teachers should change the traditional way of teaching reading and replace it with more interactive methods There are some samples based on Global Success textbooks in which such common CLAs are appropriately applied It is hoped that English teachers will have a better insight into CLAs and become confident to integrate these effective activities into their reading classroom practice and gain success

II THE SOLUTIONS

1 Common types of CLAs in reading classes

In Vietnamese teaching and learning context, due to certain obstacles such as large-sized classes, teachers’ and students’ unfamiliarity with communicative activities, lack of conductive facilities, these CLAs have not been fully implemented The detailed descriptions of some useful CLAs below would provide teachers with more information for their better implementation of CL in classroom practice

1.1 Jigsaw Activity

In this strategy, each student in a five or six-member group is given unique information on a topic or a portion of a reading text This group is called home group After reading their material, the students meet in “expert group” with their counterparts from other groups to discuss and master the information Home groups are often arranged heterogeneously by ability or gender so that students can help each other to learn the information Expert groups are arranged homogeneously by ability to allow each member to share his or her ideas with others who share a common perspective In this way, all students could present their findings about what they have read and listen to and learn from other students

1.2 Paired Reading

Paired reading is described as a reading strategy that students can share roles (one

is a “caller” and the other is a “listener”) when reading a short passage The caller recalls the passage from memory, and the listener interrupts only to ask for clarification Then the listener corrects ideas summarized incorrectly and adds important ideas from the text material that the re-caller did not mention During the time the listener is clarifying, the re-caller also can add clarification In this manner, the two students work together to reconstruct as much as possible of what they read Students can alternate the roles of re-caller and listener after each part

re-of the reading text Wood (1987) agrees that paired reading succeeds because for

middle and high school students, during the process of reading, “without sufficient

reinforcement and practice, some students have difficulty monitoring their own comprehension” (p.13)

concept map based on the ideas they believe to be important in the reading material Such concept maps are “low risk” activities for even the most limited students and can be an unobtrusive way for students to summarize what they learned in the reading

1.5 Think-Aloud

Researchers have shown that this technique is particularly effective as a diagnostic tool to assess students’ ability to use inferences as they read To carry out a think-aloud, the teacher can model the following five reading comprehension techniques:

- Forming hypotheses about a text’s meaning before beginning to read

- Producing images about the new topic

- Linking prior knowledge with a new topic

- Monitoring comprehension

- Identifying active ways to fix comprehension problems

After the teacher models think-aloud a few times, students can work with partners

to practice the strategy, taking turns in reading orally and sharing thoughts This strategy can become an excellent cooperative study technique

1.6 Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (CIRC)

Slavin (2001) describes a way of teaching reading and writing for upper elementary and high school students through cooperative group In CIRC, teachers use basal reading texts and traditional reading groups but assign pairs of students from different reading groups to meet and work on specialized tasks These tasks include students in pairs making predictions about the reading, summarizing, writing responses, working together on getting the main ideas of the text, etc The key point of the strategy is that students’ reading and writing skills are combined and even cooperated effectively

2 Samples of the application of CLAs to teach reading lessons in Global

Success Textbooks at Do Luong 3 High School

In reading lessons, CLAs can be efficiently used in all lessons for students of all ages not only to make the lessons more interesting but also motivate and keep students more involved in reading process Below are some samples extracted from our studying process

2.1 Tieng Anh 10 - Student Book – Global Success

Sample 1: Unit 1 – Family life, page 11 (with the use of Think aloud activity) Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- Read for specific information in a text about the benefits of doing

housework for children

- Recognize the benefits of doing housework for children

- Help students use the ideas and language in the reading to talk about

themselves

Stage: Post – reading (Task 4)

Time allowed: 10 minutes

Procedure:

- Ask students to work in groups and brainstorm the ideas with the

questions: “What benefits do you think you can get from sharing housework?”

- Ask students to read, research, and discuss the topic

Students of class 10D6 are taking part in Think aloud activity

Sample 2: Unit 8 – New ways to learn, page 89 (with the use of Paired reading activity)

Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- Develop reading skills for general ideas and for specific information about online and face-to-face learning

- Understand more about advantages and disadvantages of online and face learning, therefore, students can make use of the strong points of each method

face-to-Stage: While – reading (Task 3)

Time allowed: 12 minutes

Procedure:

- Ask Ss to work in pairs (one plays the part of Kim and one plays the

part of Laura) Kim retells her attitude towards online and face-to-face

learning, and the listener (Laura) interrupts only to ask for clarification Then

the listener (Laura) corrects ideas summarized incorrectly and adds important

ideas from the text material that Kim did not mention After that, Laura does

the work as Kim has finished

- Ss cooperate and support each other to restrict what they have read and

discuss to identify which option is best to express Kim/ Laura’s opinion

Students of class 10D6 are taking part in Paired reading activity

Sample 3: Unit 9 – Protecting the Environment, page 103 (with the use of Jigsaw activity)

Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- List out some environmental problems mentioned in the text

- Raise their awareness of protecting the environment

Stage: While-reading

Time allowed: 10 minutes

Procedure:

- Divide students into groups of 4 (home group) with mixed abilities of students

to read the text Each student is responsible for each environmental problem

Student 1: Global warming Student 2: Cutting of forests Student 3: Air pollution Student 4: Endangered animals

- Students discuss and support each other to complete their task

- After reading their material, the students change and form new group (expert group) with students who have the same tasks from home groups

Group 1: Global warming Group 2: Cutting of forests Group 3: Air pollution Group 4: Endangered animals

- They discuss their answers and correct each other’ mistakes and add

missing information if necessary to complete the answers

- Ask students to present their ideas

- Encourage students to raise questions for other’s groups

- Give comment and feedback

Students of class 10D6 are applying Jigsaw activity in their reading lesson

2.2 Tieng Anh 11 - Student Book – Global Success

Sample 1: Unit 1 – A long and healthy life, page 11 (with the use of Jigsaw activity)

Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- Develop reading skills for general ideas and for specific information about healthy lifestyle habits

- Acknowledge and be able to apply the tips on how to develop healthy lifestyle habits in their own life

Stage: While-reading (Task 4)

Time allowed: 10 minutes

Procedure:

- Divide students into groups of 3 (home group) with mixed abilities of students to read the text Each student is responsible for each environmental problem

Student 1: Eat better Student 2: Exercise regularly Student 3: Sleep well

- Students discuss and support each other to complete their task

- After reading their material, the students change and form new group (expert group) with students who have the same tasks from home groups

Group 1: Eat better Group 2: Exercise regularly Group 3: Sleep well

- They discuss their answers and correct each other’ mistakes and add

missing information if necessary to complete the answers

- Ask students to present their ideas

- Encourage students to raise questions for other’s groups

- Give comment and feedback

Students of class 11D3 are applying Jigsaw activity in their reading lesson

Sample 2: Unit 5 – Global Warming, page 55 (with the use of Paired reading activity)

Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- Identify the main idea of the text about The UN Climate Change

Conference

- Raise their awareness of protecting the environment

Stage: While-reading – Task 2

Time allowed: 6 minutes

Procedure:

- Ask Ss to work in pairs (one is “re-caller” and one is “listener”) The

re-caller recalls the passage from memory, and the listener interrupts only to

ask for clarification Then the listener corrects ideas summarized incorrectly

and adds important ideas from the text material that the re-caller did not

mention

- Ss cooperate and support each other to restrict what they have read and

discuss to identify which option is best to expresses the main idea of the text

Students of class 11D3 are involving paired reading activity

Sample 3: Unit 7 – Education options for school-leavers, page 79 (with the use of Think aloud activity)

Objectives: By the end of this activity, students will be able to:

- Develop reading skills for general ideas and for specific information

about options for school-leavers

- Acknowledge and understand options for school-leavers

Stage: While – reading (Task 4)

Time allowed: 10 minutes

- Ask students to work in groups and help students brainstorm the ideas

about Higher education and Vocational education

- Record what students already know about the topic and what students

expect to know about the topic from the text

- Ask students to read, research, and discuss the topic

Students of class 11D3 are taking part in Think aloud activity

3 Finding and Evaluation

3.1 Results of the questionnaire and the interview

3.1.1 Results of the questionnaire

The results gained from the questionnaire show that many students of the two experimental classes after applying CLAs in their reading lessons are in favor of these activities They agree that CLAs have positive effects on their attitude toward reading and significantly improve their reading skills

Students’ responses to the perceptions of applying CLAs in reading classes and the effect of CLAs on their reading competence are presented in table below

Table 3.1 Results of the questionnaire

CLAs encourage students to

give effective support to each

other while learning

reading skills

3

CLAs increase student – student

interaction during reading

lessons

4

CLAs establish a friendly

learning environment in reading