Luận văn ielts reading test taking strategies employed by high score candidates in academic training module

UNIVERSITY, HA NOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND LN TERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES, AARERAAGHAR ER ROAR ARE PHÍ THỊ MÙI IELTS READING TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES EMPLOYE

VIETNAM NATIONAT UNIVERSITY, HA NOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND LN TERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

AARERAAGHAR ER ROAR ARE

PHÍ THỊ MÙI

IELTS READING TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY HIGH

SCORE CANDIDATES IN ACADEMIC TRAINING MODULE

(Chiến thuật làm bài đọc IELTS được sử dụng bởi những thí sinh dạt điểm

cao trong kj thi hục thuật IELTS)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME TIIESIS

Kicld: English ‘caching Mcthodology

Code: 60140111

HANOL-— 2017

VIETNAM NATIONAT UNIVERSITY, HA NOT UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

Preerr reer irteeretrenyy

PHÍ THỊ MÙI

IELTS READING TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY HIGH

SCORE CANDIDATES IN ACADEMIC TRAINING MODULE

(Chiến thuật làm bài đọc IELTS được sử dụng bới những thí sinh đạt điểm

cao trong kỳ thỉ hục thuật IEI.T§)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr Duong Dic Minh

HANOI - 2017

I also horcby slale that I agree to the requirements of the University of Languages and International Studies in terms of using as well as preserving my M.A thesis This condition means thal auy access lo my thesis for study purpose

should be allowed

Hanoi, 2017

Phi Thi Mai

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research is one of the most challenging academic Lasks that T had Lo face

I could not have been able to complete without the wholchearted help and guidance

of my supervisor, my family, my friends, and my students

Firsk and foremost, T would like to express my heartfelt gratitude lo my supervisor Dr Duong Due Minh for his useful comments, remarks and engagement

throughout the process of researching and campleting my thesis With patience and

knowledge, he always steers m the night direction and encourages me to overcome many difficulties or problems when conducting the study

Furthermore, T would also bike to thank the participants in the research, who

contributed greatly to the success of the research and provided a great deal of useful

information during collecting data stage

Last but not least, my sincere thanks also go to my family and friends for always supporting me and giving me confidence when I needed most

ABSTRACT

This thesis aims to Wlusunatc how the successful TEI.TS takers perform their

IKLY'S reading test and provide a useful guidance for anyone conceming about IDLTS reading test This study is motivated by three research questions: (1) What

lest-taking strategies (requonlly used by Vietnam test lakers in performing TELTS

reading tasks? (2) How are those English test-taking strategies related to test takers” performance? (3) To what extent do the uses of English test-taking strategy of

successful candidates vary significantly with their gender and learning experience?

IE yes, what are the main pattems of variation? ‘The research employed multiple methods inchiding a broad survey questionnaire of 100 participants and a thorough

inlerview of 06 English language learners whe had taken the TELTS test and gained

at least 7.0 for reading skill to point out the common reading strategies used by high

score test takers and indicate the influence of them on the test takers’ performance

Moreover, [further suggestions on how the strategy use differs among successful

candidates are also concluded in the study I'he findings from the research illustrate

the variely in application of test-taking stralegies and the impact of slrategies on the results when taking the test The findings also prompt an encouragement to lcaIrL

and sharpen basic approach when taking the reading test, especially in IILTS reading which examine leamers’ proficient, kmguage skill

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The number of participant according to gender

Figure 2: English experience of participants

18 19

‘Table 3: LULT'S Reading test-taking strategies 25

Table 5: Reliability of Text-related Strategies 26 Table 6: Reliability of Question-related Strategie 27

27

Table 7: đeorge and Mallery’s cronbach a value range

‘Table 8 Means and Standard Deviations Indicating ‘l'est-taking Strategy Use .30 Table 9 Correlation between English Test-taking Strategy Use and Students’ Test

‘Table 10: Means and Standard Deviations Indicating ‘Test-taking Strategy Use of

Table 11: Conelatiơn bolween gender and TRLTS test score 38 Table 12: Means and Standard Deviations Indicating Test-taking Strategy Use

‘Table 13: ‘he correlation between English learning experience and LEL''S score 42

TABLE OF CONTE

DECLARATION, 1 -ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ò ìààiecoieereeo c1 B1: an 14 11 LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS iv LIST OF FIGURES 0 testes teresa tenes eersseeesneeen av LIST OF TABLES vi TABLE OF CONTENTS vn CUAPTER 1: INTRODUCTIOXN 1

1.2 Purpose of the shady

1.5 Expected outcome and significance of the study

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.3, Strategies of successful language learners

2.4, Reading comprehension and test-taking strategies

2.7 Sumrmary of previous studies

3.4.2 Data analysis procedte coi 23

4.1 Reading test-taking strategies used by TRI.TS candidates in performing

viii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Test-taking strategies have been playing a crucial role for language learners

as nowadays test is used as a roliable way of checking and evaluating learners’ knowledge The Intemational Inglish Language Testing System (IELTS), which is

the world’s leading English language proficiency test, with over 2.5 million IELTS

lests taken annually, has beon recognized as one of the most sceure, valid and reliable means in assessing Hnglish language proficiency for education, immigration and professional accreditation TRLTS lest, which is a Inigh stake lest, success or failure, can have a life changing impact on candidates As a result, smart and critical reading and thinking strategies need to be used sufficiently in order to be successful

or aghieve the best possible score m the test (Bachman & Palmer, 1996, Rogers &

Harley, 1999)

There are numerous factors affecting the candidates’ results except for knowledge and ability One of the most important factors is leaning and lest-taking

strategies (Bachman & Palmer, 1996, O° Malley & Chamot, 1990) ‘lest-taking

stralegies are simply defined as spevific actions or teckmiques Laken by users Lo aid

them overcome the test casier, faster and more accurate As Oxford defines,

learning strategies are “specific actions taken by the leamer to make learning easier,

faster, more enjoyable more self-directed and more transferrable to new situations”

(Oxford, 1990)

Reading is considered as a complex cognitive process of decoding, deriving

and receiving message [rom the writer It is a complicaled and meaninglul skill

of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information and ideas, which requires continuous practice, development, and refinement, especially

creativity and critical analysis

1.1 Statement of the problem

IELI'S test, which serves as a testimonial system, has been gaining its popularity in many countries around the world For many candidates, ISLTS plays

1

an important rele for their future carcer or further study IELTS is the test of language ability, it concerns with the capacity to use various aspects of language including vocabulary, structure, grammar ellicicnlly so having clear and strategic

skills to handle the task would certainly helpful

Test-taking strategies have been the focus of many studies In spite of many allemmpis have made towards learning and lesl-taking stralegivs, [ow was devoted to test-taking strategies used in reading modules of [KL'I'S while for many Vietnamese

candidates, reading is regarded as the most challenging one All of these reasons

stated have become the motivations that stimulate thc rescarcher te carry out the

study named “LELTS reading test-taking strategies employed by high score

candidates in academic training module”

1.2 Purpose of the study

Test taking strategics are considered as keys to success for not only researchers, teachers but also for leamers, especially test takers lor globally

difficult standardized test like IELTS, it is necessary to have clear strategies to deal

with the test best The study will examine the test taking strategies used by high

score candidates in the reading module of IULTS and evaluate the effectiveness of

those techniques, further indicate the differences in English test-taking strategies use among winning candidates he research will provide helpful guidance,

example and assistance for readers in order to achieve their greatest potential

1.3 Scope

The study is aimed to document the test-taking strategies of 100 Vietnamese Frglish foreign language (FFT) learners who had already aliended (he TRI-TS test and gained their latest ISLTS band score for reading module of at least 7.0 Furthermore, exclusive interviews among chosen candidates (06 people) who show

diversity in their reading suralegios are carried oul

bọ

1.4, Research questions

Th study is going to answer the following research questions

1 What test-taking strategies frequently used by Vietnam test takers in

performing TRLTS Reading tasks?

Pp How are thosc English test-taking strategics related to test takers’ performance?

3 To whal extent do the uses of Fnglish test-laking strategy of successful

candidates vary significantly with their gender and learning experience?

If yes, what are the main patterns of variation?

1.5 Expected outcome and significance of the study

By conducting this research, the researcher expects to find out the most commonly efficient used test-taking strategies among TELTS candidates and

evaluate the effectiveness of those techuiques Furthermore, an analysis of the

difference in test-taking strategy among users will be revealed to answer the

question how much is the variable?

Once finished the paper could serve as a good reference for those who wish to

have a closer view into the test-taking strategies employed by students in response

to some specific comprehension tasks Roth TELTS candidates and TELTS trainers

could refer to the findings of the study to have more effective using as well as teaching readirys TET.TS strategies.

CHAPTER TI: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Reading

2.1.1 Definition øĩ reading

According to Longman Dictionary of Applied Linguisties (1986) reading can

be defined as the process of “perceiving a written text in order to understand its contents Tins can be done silently The understanding thal reaull is called reading comprehension.” Collins English Leamer’s Dictionary describes reading as “an act

of looking at and understanding point” On the other hand, Anderson (1985)

considered reading as a complex process in which the reader had to construct the

meaning of the text and used various interconnected informative sources to understand the real meaning of the passage Moreover, skilled reading needed to be constructive, fluent, strategic, motivated and a hfelong pursuit Another interesting definition of reading is reading is an energetic interactive process of “the reader's existing knowledge; the information suggested by the text being read: and the

context of the reading situation” (Wixson, Peters, Weber, & Resber, 1987) Simply

defined, reading is a process of reducing the uncertainty about meanings a text

conveys and it can be understood as a negotiation of meaning between the text and

its reader The way the readers interact with the texts decided by the knowledge,

expectations and strategies the readers use Importantly, most texts are understood

in different ways by different readers

2.1.2 Purposes of reading

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Sindy (PIRLS) assessment framework indicates that there are two main purposes of reading: reading for literary purposes and reading for informational purposes

Grabe and Stoller (2002) devided the purposes ol reading into seven sublypes, including: searching for simple information; skimming quickly, learning from texts,

integrating information; writing or searching for information needed for writing:

4

criticizing text and gcting general comprehension Actually, the aims and objectives of reading depend greatly on the readers and different readers will have

diferent reading purposes

2.2 Language learning strategies

“Learning strategies” is a familiar term since it can be applied into varieties of fields regarding both content and context such as math, science, history, languages and other subjects According to Weinstem and Mayer (1986), broadly defined learning strategies are "behaviours and thoughts that a leamer engages in dunng learning" which are "intended to influence the leamer's encoding process" (Weinstein & Mayer, 1986) In 1988, Mayer developed the definition more specifically and described learning stralogios as "behavious of a learner thal are

intended to influence how the leamer processes information.”

Speaking of language learmng stalegies, there have been numerous definitions about this category Voreign or second language learning strategies are specific actions, behaviors, steps or techniques students use often consciously to

improve their progress in apprebending, interraliving, and using foreign language

(Oxford, 1990) Strategies are the tools for active, self-directed involvement needed

for developing foreign or second language communicative ability (C’Malley &

Chamot, 1990)

Many scholars have attempted to categorize language learning strategies including some famous linguists like Wenden and Rubin 1987, O'Malley et al 1985; Oxford 1990; Stem 1992: Ellis 1994, Wenden and Rubin in 1987 classified language leaming strategies into three main forms, consisting of learning strategies, communication strategies, and social strategies In contrasi, Oxford's (1990) taxonomy includes direct and indirect strategies,

In 1985, O'Malley and Chamot developed a classification of three types of

Innguage learning strategies

wu

* Metacognitive strategies that comprise of thinking about (or knowledge of)

the learning process, plarming for learning, moniloring learning while it is

taking place, and sclf-evaluating of learning after the task had been completed

» Cognilive stralegies, which mvolve mental manipulatmg or transforming of materials or tasks, it is intended to enhance comprehension, acquisition, or

retention

@ Social/affective strategies, as the name suggests, they concern with using

social interactions to assist in the comprehension, learning or retention of

information

Nevertheless, different scholars have proposed different categorizations [or lcaming strategics (Brown, 1987, 0’ Malley & Chamot, 1990) Most of them recommend that students develop the following strategies:

* Cognitive strategies’ Leamers emplay cognitive strategies to focus on the implant aspects of material to be learned, to comprehend input, lo store for future use what they have learned, and to develop facility in using the

leamed material

«Communication strategies: These strategies are developed to initiate

conversation, to maintain conversation, to negotiate meaning, and to

(enminale conversation

# Global stralogics: They are used (o read a paper in the second language, make friends whe speak the second language, to go to movies in the

language, metacognitive strategies, to plan for learning, to monitor learning,

and Lo check the outcome

2.3 Strategies of successful language learners

There have been many studies investigated the characteristics and styles of good language leamers as a way to improve and transfer them to less successful language learners Moreover, there have been many studies proved the close

relationship between stratcgics application and the possibility of success of students (Rubin (1975), Stem (1975) and Naiman, l'rolich, Stem, and odesco (1978)

According to Rubin (1975), it was œssenhml to cnlighton less proficient language learners by encouraging them to learn the strategies of those who were more talented and she listed seven strategies which good language learners often applied, including: guessing, counuunicaling, avoiding inhibilion, attending to form, practicing, monitoring and attending to meaning

Stern (1975) also proposed 7 longuage leaning strategies which he believed

to be characteristics of good language leamers, consisting of experimenting, planning developing the new language into an ordered system, revising progressively, using the language in real communication, developing the target language into a separate reference system and learning to think in the target language

Brown in 2007 described an account of good language learners’ personality and he emphasized the need for teachers to enhance students’ acquiring information

process instead of just delivering 1L

3, Ars erealive, developing a “Tool” for the language by experimenting with ils

grammar and words

@ Make their own opporlunilies for practice in using the language imside and

outside the language classroom

5, Use memories and other memory strategies to recall what has been learned

6 Make errors work for them and nol against them

7 Uke linguistic knowledge, including knowledge of their first language, m

leamnmg a sccond language

13.Leamn different styles of speech and writing and learn Lo vary their language

according to the formality of the situation

‘Table 1: Characteristics of good language learners (Brown, 2007: 259-260)

Generally, many writers such as O'Malley and Chamot, (1990), Oxford (1990), Wenden (1991), Cohen (1998), Cohen and Macaro (2007) and Griffiths (2008) have suggested that learners might be able to learn language more cllectively by the usc of language learning strategies and those language learning strategies differ from users to users

2.4, Reading comprehension and test-laking strategies

2.4.1, Reading comprehension strategies

Comprehension is always the foremost purpose of any readers with dilTerent proficient level and the defining factor to decide the degree of command is reading strategies Most of the previous sludies indicated thal using effective and appropriate reading strategies would certainly enhanee comprehension

Different leamers will have distinctive reading comprehension strategies

However, generally there exist two most popular ones, they are top-down and

bottom up strategies The top-down strategies facilitate readers to comprehend a

larger piece of text, such as paragraph This type of strategies help readers recognize

8

the whole meaning of the passage casier On the contrary, the bottom-up strategics deal with sentence-by-sentence, which means in order to understand the whole text,

readers necd (o read and understand cach sentenve first (Cohen, 1998; Phakili,

2003; Rogers & Harley, 1999)

2.4.2 Test-taking strategies

Hach test taker has favorite strong tactics to deal with the test and it is

important to explore and identify those strategies so that high-qualified ones should

be encouraged lo be adopted by test takers:

There have been a number of studies into this field since as Cohen (199%)

indicated, “In order to assess reading comprehension in a second or foreign

language, it is necessary to have a working knowledge of what that process entails.”

As a result, an approach to test-taking strategies is necessary to understand how test-takers handle the task Test lakers use different test-taking strategies, this 1s

demonstrated in many studies (Bachman & Palmer, 1996, Cohen, 1998, Phakiti,

2003; Roger & Harley, 1999) According to Rogers and Harley (1999), test-taking slrategies were processes which helped learners Lo use “the fealures and formal of a

test” to get more correct answers in a test-taking situation The test-taking strategies

might be talked about were: “reading the rubrics and instruction carefully planning

the allocated Line properly, making use of key words in the questions, delaying answering complex and difficult questions, and reading and evaluating the work in order to check the answers” Tn other aspects, Cohen (1998) claimed that test-taking stralogics involved language use stralogics and lostwiseness strategies To “keep”,

“retain”, “remind”, and “apply” the information for the test, there were four useful kinds of language use strategies, consisting of retrieval, rehearsal, cover and

communication strategies, meanwhile testwiseness strategies related more to test-

taking experience and knowledge (Cohen, 1998; Goh, 2002) Phakiti in his study in

2003 concluded that the use of metacognitive and cognitive strategies had

constructive association with the reading comprehension test performance.

Morcover, higher examinees tended to usc more metacognitive strategy than the

lower successful examinees

enerally speaking, tost-lakiry stralogios are skills which can be learned and acquired It is obvious that among candidates with the same proficiency, the one equipped with specific test-taking strategies will certainly get higher score than Icarners thal have not learned any test-laking strategies (Anderson, 2002; Bachinan

& Palmer, 1996, Cohen, 1998, Khaldieh, 2000, Phakiti, 2003, Rogers & Harley,

1999) Tn addition, the knowledge of how lo prepare for exams and take them can

have a significant impact on learners’ perceptions towards oxam, deorease their tost-

anxiety, increase their self-confidence, make a difference in exam scores, and

finally, help them to be more success [ul (Pour- Mchammadi & Abidin, 2012)

2.5 The IELTS test

Generally recognived as one of the most reliable lesling system, TELTS- the Intemational Lnglish Language ‘esting System is specifically designed to assess the language ability of candidates needing to study or work in English speaking countries TEI-TS certificate is the valuable ticket for those who wish Lo cuter to university in not only the UK but also in other countries in the world Moreover, it

is highly regarded by employers in many countries, including Australia, Canada,

Treland, New Zealand, the UK and the USA TFLTS is jomlly managed by the

University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations (Cambridge ESOL), British Council

and TDP: TEL.TS Australia TELLTS conforms to the highest international standards of language assessment

There are two forms of IBLTS testing: Academic and General Training

versions Fach lost includes 4 skills: Spoaking, listening, reading and writing This paper is going to focus on reading skill of Academic [raining module, which

measures English language proficiency needed for academic, higher educational

environment,

2.6 IELTS reading test

There is a distinctive difference between Academic and General Training

modules in reading and writing tasks, while listening and speaking are the same for both versions General Reading texts are mainly taken from notices, advertisements,

official documents, booklets and tend to focus on survival reading skills, which

aim at workers or employees On the contrary, Academe Reading, as ils raane

suggests, is targeted at those who want to enter undergraduate or postgraduate

courses or seeking professional registration This paper only concentrales om Reading test-taking strategies of Acadomic Training module that is of great concern

in recent years

The topic chosen in Academic Reading module are various, ineluding genoral science themes, the environment, health and social psychology, technological and

social developments, gender and other issues (Everett & Colman, 1999) All of

IELTS passages arc taken [rom authentic sources and are gonorally mlcrnalional bul

neutral (Brook-Hart, 2012) since “texts which may cause the reader offence or

auxiely, texts which require specialist knowledge, are loo specific im content or rely

on world knowledge or knowledge outside the texts would not conform to the

guidelines of an objective testing procedure” (Liverett & Colman, 1999, p23)

Tn the TEI.TS Readmyg Test (Academic Module), there are a number of types

of questions to compose the test, consisting of,

- Matching heading for identified paragraphs/ sections of the text

- Identification of information im the tex: truc, false or net given

- Classification

- Matching lists/ phrases Being familiar with reading strategies ig essential for test lakers as most of the reading texts in the IKLY'S test are complicated and challenging Moreover, a variety of question types is used in the reading passages so knowing certain techniques for each question type will be definitely helpful

2.7 Summary of previous studies

Cognitive process underlymg readers’ performance has been a controversial topic for many scholars ‘here have numerous studies related to this topic, some of the outstanding researches we can name, including Hosenfeld, 1977, Block, 1986, Nevo, 1989; Block, 1992: Farr, Prilchard ard Smitten, 1990; Sngirin, 1999; Ahmad and Asraf, 2004, Rupp, Feme and Choi, 2006, Stahopoulon and Nikaki, 2009, Karbalei, 2010

By using think-aloud protocol and follow-up oral interview, Hosenfeld (1977) illustrates clearly the close relationship between certain types of reading strategies and successful or unsuccessful readers He indicates thal poor readers or less advanced readers tend to process language according to Bottom-up model, which means the reading process is considered a text-driven decoding process wherein the

sole role of the reader is to reconstrucl meaning embedded in the smallest unil of the

text, They tend to focus on individual words or phrases, on sequential manner of language itself Whereas, good readers take an opposite position which considers

Imowledge, evaluating and paraphrasing As a result, there was a significant gap in the degree of comprehension and number of used strategies among LI'L readers

Tn late 1990s, Block (1986) compared native and nomative English-speaking college students using the similar procedure with the use of think-aloud protocols The outcomes were illuminating; all participants mentioned a variety of strategies, bul only a Lew wore successful in using them lo aid comprehension The findings also suggested that readers with higher reading scores employed top-down approach

by integrating new mformation in the lext with the old information, extracting main ideas from details, referring to ther background knowledge and focusing on textual meanings of the words Readers with low scores, on the other hand, hardly employed these strategies In another study carried ont i 1992, Block used the same method of collecting data to document the comprehension-monitoring process

of English readers who were then classified as proficient readers and non-proficient

readers The findings showed that proficient readers tend to assess their background

knowledge and made use of comext clues to figure out the meaning of the word while less proficient readers did not attempt to find out the ward’s meaning and

failed to identify the key words in the reading Lex

Aimed at investigating the relationship between the test-taking behaviours and

reading comprehension of a group of college students, Farr, Pritchard, and Smitten

(1990) employed introspective interviews and retrospective interviews after the participants completed a multiple-choice reading comprehension test The data analysis of the study revealed interesting patterns in the test-taking behaviors with three broad categories of reading comprehension behaviors which included an overall approach to the task, the specific reading strategies and test-taking strategies The findmyg of the study also reported difficullies encounlered by the test- takers during the process The rosults of the study indicated that the most commonly

used strategy utilized was using the questions to direct a search for relevant

information im the text, lo answer the questions Morcover, there were cerlaim tesl-

taking strategies that were shared among a number of language skills (test taker

13

prefered to read the questions first on both reading and listening comprehension tests administered in a multiple-choice format) Second, while reading strategies were generally used when readers ongaged in a reading activity and thus “are

related to text comprehension (Singhal, 2001, p1)}, test-taking strategies were only

used when dealing with a test and were thus more “driven by the test questions”

(Farr, Prichard, Smitten, 1990, p.218)

According to Nevo (1989), since reading test-taking represented a problem- solving silualion, Ingh proficiency Lest lakers terided 10 employ stralegies thal

increased their chance of getting question items correct to a greater extent when

compared to low-level test takers Llaving the same point of view, Bachman (1985) proposed that test takers who were highly proficient also exbibited skitlfuluesa ir using text-level comprehension Phakiti (2003) onee again, counted the proficiency level as another factor affecting strategy use Ile suggested that high-proficiency test takers tended to exhibit more automatic use of such strategies as checking or

monitoring than their low-proficiency counterparts did

Another research on the underlying strategies employed by second language leamors in comprehending both the soures text and target text was condueted in

2004 by Ahmad and Araf ‘Ihe author aimed at testing the hypothesis of whether there was a difference between good and average readers in their use of eight reading vomprehension sub-skills The result proposed that there were remarkable difference in strategies used by good and average readers as good readers were much more focused on each question type than average readers The researchers suggested that to foster the learners’ ability to react “critically to text”, reading comprehension skills and vocabulary learning skills should be equipped for

students

On the whole, there have been a great number of studies concentrate on reading strategies Most of those tried to differentiate the difference in approach used by high-proficient and low-proficient readers, However, little attention was

paid to studying the reading and test taking strategios in the IELTS Test For this reason, the researcher decided to conduct the study on the topic “LELT'S reading test-taking strategies employed by high score candidates in academic training module” with primary aim at seeking the most frequent and effective used

strategies to handle the test.

CHAPTER Ill: METHODOLOGY

This chapter is going to describe in details the subjects, instruments as well as the procedure of callecting data to answer the study’s questions

1 What test-taking strategies frequently used by Viemam test takers in performing TFI.TS Reading tasks?

2 ow are those Linglish test-taking strategies related to test takers” performance?

easful

3 To what extent de the uses of English test-taking strategy of suc

candidates vary significantly with their gender and learning experience’ If

yes, what are the main patterns of variation?

3.1 Participants and setting

Tn the context of TELTS test receives lots of allention of many Fnglisl leamers, who aim at achicving specific score to sorve different purposes such as institution’s requirement, studying abroad or academic pursue, studies about reading strategies are encouraged to serve as guidance for learners The researcher decided

to follow this approach

In order to select enough suitable participants the study was announced

widely to many subjects including teachers, students, Friglish foreign language leamers in many parts of Vietnam and having got at least 7.0 for Reading module in IELTS test taken placed at British Council or IDP centers The respondents were mainly researchers’ friends, colleagues, and students studying and working at University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University and School of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University The reason why 7.0 scorers are considered by researcher to be appropriate is according to British Council, 7.0 scorers are good users who have “operational command” of the

English but only some irregular random mistakes and they have ability to

comprehend complex argument

TELTS scere and interpretation

Expert user [las fully operational command of the language

appropriate, accurate and fluent with complete

understanding

Very good user Has fully operational command of the language

with only occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and

inappropriate words Misunderstandings may occur

in unfamiliar situations [landles complex detailed argumentation well

Goud user Has operational command of the language, though

with occasional unsystematic inaccuracies and inappropriate words Misunderstandings may occur

in unfamiliar situations Handles complex detailed argumentation well

Competent user Tlas generally effective command of the language

despite some inaccuracies, inappropriate words and misunderstandings Can use and understand fairly complex language particularly in familiar situations

complex language particularly in familiar situations

Basic competence is limited to familiar situations

Tlas frequent problems in understanding and

expression Ts not able Lo use complex language

Extremely imited

user Conveys and understands only general meaning in

very familiar situations Frequent breakdowns in

communication occur

2 Intermittent user | No real communication is possible except for the

most basic information using isolated words or

short formulae in familiar situations and to meet

immediate needs Has great difficulty understanding

spoken and written English

1 Non user Essentially has no ability to use the language

beyond possibly a few isolated words

Table 2: IELTS: Guide for Teachers (British Council, 2008)

The link to answer the survey’s questions on google form was sent to over 100

people; thus, only 100 received feedbacks were satisfactory overall due to

unqualified score As a result, the research sample was a group of 100 people at different aged groups and fields The primary requirements are meeting the score (at

least 7.0 for Reading module) and certainly having taken the IELTS test Of the

selected participants, 79 were female and only 21 were male

se

Figure 1: The number of participant according to gender

18

The participants also had diverse experience in English learning and

teaching, 50 respondents reported to be the most experienced language learners (>10 years), 22 are experienced ones (5-10 years ), and 28 are less experienced (<5

Figure 2: English experience of participants

Generally, all participants had some familiarity with the test as they prepared

to take the IELTS test Accordingly, a survey conducted widely on high score

TELTS Reading Academic module participants is revealed, lots of valuable

information about the degree of adopting some specific strategies in IELTS reading

skill can be gained thanks to carrying out this investigation After that, a thorough

interview on 06 participants coming from different groups to have a deep

understanding about why and how they followed those strategies were conducted Some key information about 100 participants consisting of English learning

experience in general and IELTS skill in particular were also concluded in the

survey,

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3.2 Research method

In this research, the researcher decided to choose survey and descriptive research methods lo explore Ihe tual-Laking strategies of 100 Vietnamese studying Tnglish foreign language, most of them concentrate on nglish language major As

a matter of fact, a mixed method study was applied At the beginning a survey questionnaire which consisls of two sections was conduvied Scclion 1 includes 04 personal questions about sex, English leaming experience, IKLI'S Reading score, and purposes of Laking the TRLTS Section 2 comprises of 26 listed Reading stratogics proposed by Farr, Pritchard and Smitten (1990), Rupp, Ferne and Choi (2006), Cohen & Upton (2007), and Dinh Phuong (2014) ‘The participants were required lo lick the box according 1o likert seale or the degree (al they follow from never to always After that, based on the results of the survey, participants were categorized into different typical groups and then selected to take part in an individual interview In this semi-structured interview, questions were designed to

ask how and why they chose to‘take on those approaches

3.3 Research Instruments

3.3.1 Survey questionnaire

A comprehensive survey questionnaire with items relating to the participants’ age, gender, and current level of English as well as their English learning experience in general and IGLTS in particular will be used to provide the researcher

wilh a wide-ranging knowledge of the parlivipanis’ experience in learning English

Furthermore, that survey contributes greatly to the success of the rescarch by providing an all-embracing view of the most and the least frequent strategies adopted by THI.TS test takers A great deal of interesting information can be

obtained thanks to that broad survey

At the beginning, survey questionnaire was used as the first and foremost loot lo identify the strategies applied by different users By applying this research

instrument, a huge amount of information concerning both general understanding of

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the subjects and specific traits of different users could be collected in a short period

of time Moreover, survey questionnaires, in this situation, facilitated researcher to collect three types of dala which were extremely important for the Findings of the study, including factual, behavioral and attitudinal information ( Domyei, 2003)

“Factual questions”, in other word, “classification” questions or “subject descriptors” im the shaly are questions related to Gender, Fnglish learning experience, IHL''S Reading score, purpose of taking the LEL''S test “Behavioral questions” are used to identify participants’ habits, in this case, are the frequency of

language learning stralegies concerns lest-Lakers’ altitudes,

“Altiludinal question

interest in specific reading strategies (Dornyei, 2003) Overall, survey questionnaire

is a perfect choice, especially in this research, which investigates frequency of

stralogies use ola group ol high score TEL.TS test takers Based on Domyci (2003)'s

framework, the questionnaire was designed into five parts: title, instructions,

questionnaires items, additional information and final thank Furthermore, all the

contents were examined with awareness in advance by asking for comments from

researcher’s supervisor and colleagues about the questiounaires, Some corrections

relating lo appearance and questions were made before armouncing lo parliciparits Apart from that, in order to ensure the quality of respenses, Cronbach's alpha is

applied to measure the reliability as well as “shared covariance” among

questions depend greatly on respondents’ strategies so there is no fix prompt of

interview Because some interviewees are far from the researcher, 04 of them were

interviewed through Skype, the rest are researelier’s colleagues, who were talked to

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dircotly In this situation, interviow was like a discussion section between test-takers and researcher [owever, still a prepared version with some basic questions and

guidelines were ne

ssary and arranged in advance

Some typical questions which appeared in most of the interview prompts

were

-Do you often use the reading test-taking strategies in LUL'T'S test? (this question aims at asking the degree of adopting the test-taking strategies of teat lakers)

-Can you describe in details some basic / familiar steps to do the IELTS

reading tasks in general? (This question aims at understanding the basic

steps of doing different tasks in LHL 1'S test of different users)

-Why do you follow the described sleps? (This question aims al

comprehending the reasons of taking the reading strategies)

- Do you think the reading strategies that you often follow affeot the results of the lest? Th not, why? (This question aims al recognizing the relationship

between test-taking strategies and test performance)

-In your opinion, what are the advantages of your reading strategies? (This

question ams al identifymg the benefils of employing reading strategies)

- In your opinion, what are the disadvantages of your reading strategies? (This question aims at identifying the drawbacks of omploying reading

strategies)

This follow-up interview part supposed to be a in-depth investigation mto the strategies of different test takers and would reveal a great deal of useful information which certainly could not be gained in the survey part

3.4 Data analysis procedure

3.4.1 Data collection procedure