Luận văn a study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a high school in ninh binh languages

background of English and their attitudes toward leaning reading comprehension skill; 2 factors causing their difficulties and the problems the teachers might encounter in the leaching p

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PUAM THU 'THẢO

A STUDY 0N THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO 10™ FORM

STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NINH BINH

( Nghiên cửu vỀ việc đạy kí nững đọc hiéu cho hoc sink lứp 10 ở một

trường THPT, Ninh Hình)

MA MINOR THESIS

Vield: English ‘leaching Mcthodology

Hanoi, 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, LLANOL UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES,

PHIẠM TIIU THÃO

ASTUDY ON THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO LU™ FORM

STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCIIOOL LN NINU BINT

(Neghién citn vé viéc day kf năng đọc biểu cho hoc sinh lớp 10 ở một

trường THPT, Ninh Hình)

MA MINOR THESIS

Fielu: English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor: Dr Huynh Anh Tuan

Hanoi, 2013

DECLARATION:

Thereby cortify that the thesis ontilled:

“A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10" form students at a high school in Nink Binh.” is the result of my research for the Degree of Master of Art

al University of Languages and International Studies, Ha Noi Nalional University, and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firat of all, T would like to lake the clue to express iy greal gralilude to

iy supervisor, Dr Huynh Anh Tuan for his helpful suggestions, valuable critical feedback, close guidance, as well as his generous assistance in the process of

complcting my thesis

Secondly, | owe a debt of gratitude to all the English teachers at Nho Quan C High School for providing me with preciaus knowledge from their practical and

useful lectures

Special thanks must be also given to the beloved students at Nho Quan C

high schoo! [or their responsible cooperation in the data collection process

Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me during my study Fspecially, Towe my deep thanks Lo my dear husband, my parents and my dear litte daughter for their special care and encouragement, due to which my paper is able to

be finished in time.

ABSTRACT This research was aimed at (nding oul: (1) the students? background of English and their attitudes toward leaning reading comprehension skill; (2) factors causing their difficulties and the problems the teachers might encounter in the leaching process of the reading comprehension skills; (3) suggested solutions The researcher cartied out the study by three instruments: classroom observation, two survey questionnaires and informal interviews The research reveals that the students’ lack of knowledge, including linguistic and cullural background Imowledge, the teachers” teaching methods, some difficulties from the textbook all cause problems for the teachers in the teaching process Besides the data from the study confirm the faet thal the students’ poor altitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills in learning English contributes to the problems in teaching this skill In addition, the school’s lack of conductive facilities is also made the situation worse From the results inferred in the analysis, the study suggests some feasible solutions to make teaching and learning Hnglish reading skills more

effective

iii

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES CHARTS Chart 1; Students’ attitudes toward the importance of learning reading

‘Table 4: Students’ expectation of teachers’ solutions to their difficulties 37 Table 5: Teachers’ attitudes towards reading shill 38

Table 6: Description of teachers’ upinions on the sections for reading in

Englis

Table 7: Teachers’ perception of the students’ comprehension

‘Table 8: Description of teachers’ problems in teaching reading skills 4 Table 9: Description of the teachers’ solutions to face with the difficulties .12

2 Aims and objectives of the study - - 3

4 Research rnetlodologY T110 cee 4

4.2 Research approach 4

6 Organization of the study - - - 5

CHAPTER 1: THEURETICAL BACKGRUUIND AND LITERATURE

REVIEW

1.1 What is reading and reading comprehension? 6

1.4 Effective Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Skills 11

v

1.4.1 What is Effective Reading Comprehension?

1.4.2 Reading Comprehension Skills

2 Teaching Reading Comprehension

2.1 Relationship between Reading and Other Skills

2.2 Factors in teaching reading lesson

2.2.1 The Roles of the Teacher

‘The Role of the Students

3.3.3 The role of reading material

2.3 The Three Stages of a Reading Lesson

3.3.1 Pre-reading SiaE€ v.v cuc cuc or,

2.3.2 While-reading Stage

2.3.3 Posl-reading Slage

3, Difficulties in Teaching Reading,

3.1, Reading Skill Problems

3.2 Language Problerns

3.3 Cultural background knowledge

4 Previous studies relevanl to the study

CHAPTER 2; RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2.4 Dala analysis methods

2.5 Data collection procedures

2.5.1 The Participants

2.5.3 Teachers and Methods of leaching

vi

Ea ah 2.6, Data analytical units

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE

FINDINGS

3.1, Report the data analysis sc scecescssssecesessseeseeeesensee es —-

Eb nsốẽốốố ố ốốốốốốsa

3.2.1 Research question 1 What are the teachers’ and stuclents’ altitudes lowarcls

the teaching and learning of reading7 0s c2 2121k AS

3.2.2 Research question 2 What difficulties do the teachers meet/encounter

when dealing with a reading lesson? - - - 45

3.2.3 Research question 3 What are feasible solutions to overcome these

CHATTER 4: SUGGESTED 8QI.UTIONS

4.1 Adapting and re-designing the tasks in the textbook to be more suitable to

4.3 Upgrading teaching aids deste etter eee ee AB

4.3 Techniques for creating reading interest and enhancing motivation 48 4.3.1 Using visual aids 49

4.3.2 Using brainstorming wed/ Networks SH he ereoce c0,

4.4, Techniques for enriching vocabulary 50

4.4.1 Fncowage students to have extensive reading habit 50

4.4.2, Using Word gam68 và các dc nn nh nh nu ren ke 50)

4.5 Techniques for improving students’ background knowledge 51

vii

4.6 Training students to become ctfticient readers

PARTY 1D: CONCLUSION

1 Summary of the study " 4

2 Limitations and suggestions for fiuther study 93

3 Recommendations for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Ohservation sheet " I

Appendix 2: Questionnaire [or studerts (ia English) _ TT

Appendix 3; Questionnaire for students (in Vietsamese) V1

Appendix 4: Questionnaire for teachers Ix Appendix 5: Tnterview question (ior teachers) XI

Appendix 6: Adaptation lessơn cà cào cà XITT

Appendix 7: Adaptation lesson - XIV Appondix 8: Pre-(eaching technique - XV

vill

PARTT: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationalc of the study

Nowadays, English has become a global language and has been widely used

in many countries in the world In Vietnam, it plays an important role in the increasing development of science, technology, economics, politics, culture and

international relation This loads lo ant inercasing demand of learning English More

and more people want to acquire the language proficiency ina higher level because

of the globalization trend Many people consider it as an inevitable factor in their

work and life Tn most school throughoul Vietnam, English is considered the most

important foreign language and chosen to teach as compulsory subject

In teaching and leaming as a foreign language in Vietnam, reading, has

always received a groal deal of allention According lo Erion & Raza (2003)

Reading is often referred to as the most important of the four language skills for

EFL leamers, as it enables students to gain exposure to the target language and

yoeuive valuable linguistic input to build up language proficiency Sharing the same

point of view, Carrell (1984:1) shows that “for many students, reading is by far the

most itportant of the four macro-skills, particularly in English as a second or a

foreign language” Therefore, Reading is always the first skill presented m cach wut

in the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10”, bis proves the important role of reading This is also understandable because reading provides studenls with thie abiliues to understand the written materials Reading has become not only an important means

to gain and enrich the students’ general knowledge but also a means to help them

with their further study in the future

This is the fourth year | have taught the new textbook “Lieng Anh 10” to the

10® form students I have mei a lot of difficulties The biggest challenges emerge

from teaching reading comprehension My colleagues in my school have confronted

a number of difficulties, one of which was students’ lack of motivation and

opportunities to practice communicating in the target language Despite the

teachers’ efforts, the students’ reading skills are unimproved If those difficulties are

1

not found out and no solution to reduce and overcome are given, reading lesson will become worst and students will be bored with learning Linglish, Recognizing the importance of teaching reading and reading comprehension, I decide on choosing

“A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10™ form students at a high school

in Ninh Bink.” The study conducted at Nho Quan C Iligh School which is located

in Nho Quan distriel, Ninh Bink provinee This sriall school with 24 classes has been in operation for only 5 years Like other high schools, its duty is to train students from the 10th form to the 12th form The class size is generally large with 40-45 learners in one The classrooms are equipped only with a chalkboard and desks for four students sharing one ‘he school has only one projector which is occasionally used by teachers of all subjects in teaching festivals There is a library

al school bul there are nol many books for reference Moreover, English newspapers and magazines, which are good sources of current target language, are not available

In this school, Math, Physics and Chemistry aro chosen by most of the students who wish to take the exams to colleges or universities Linglish is one of the compulsory subjects at high school and in the schoo!-leaving exam However,

fow siudenis choose the colleges or universities which require ant English exarn

The grade tenth students at Nho Quan C! Iligh School are approximately 16 years old Lots of them come from comparatively poor families so their learning condition is low Their parents can hardly afford to pay extra expenses for their children’s schooling such as a dictionary, a cassette player or even some English reference books Some of them do not take care of their children

Moreover, most of the students have low English level The majority of them have learned English for four years, a few of them have learned it for seven years (three years at primary school) Lowever, their Iinglish background Imowledge remains humble For some students, things they have leamed at secondary school seem to be completely new at high school ‘they cannot express their ideas even a very simple sentences For example, in unit 3 “people’s

ba

background”, some students cannot find the answer for the question: when and where was Marie Curie born’?

Tn addition, their luck of awareness of the importance of English as well as motivation makes them not interested in English As a result, most of them do not

have the halnt of learning independently and lend to depend on Ihe lextbooks and on

the teacher for knowledge

2 Aims and objectives of the study

‘This study aims to investigate the areas of difficulty that the teachers at Nho Quan C high school in Ninh Binh province are coping with in their daily teaching of

reading comprehension Lo the 10" form students with the new textbook “Tieng Ach

10” and to suggest some possiple solutions to reduce and ovcreome these difficulties

To be more specific, the objectives of this study are

-to investigate the teachers’ and students’ attitude towards reading comprehension skifl

-to identify the teachers’ major difficulties in teaching reading

comprehension skills aud examine the causes

- to suggest ways to reduce the difficulties

3 Scope of the study

This study is limited to

- the 10" form students at Nho Quan C High School:

- the teachers of English at Nho Quan C High School; and

reading comprehension in the lextbook “Tieng Anh T0”

The findings and suggested solutions most appropriately applied to the teachers

of English as well ax 10" prade students af Nho Quan C High School That is, the teachers and the students will be able to find ways to improve their proccss of teaching and leaming reading skills

In order to seek answers to the research questions, survey research is adopted

in this research Firstly, classroom observation was carried out to investigate the reality of difficulties the teachers confronted in their teaching reading skills Then, two types of survey questionaire were conducted with informants of teachers of English and students selected randomly from & classes at Nho Quan € Iligh School

In addition to questionnaire, the qualitative data has boon employed! obtained by informal interviews with some teachers to collect further information about the real situations of teaching reading comprehension at Nho Quan C high school

4.3 Data collection instuments

Classroom observation, two survey questionnaires and interview were used

in this study

4.4, Data analytical units

The data from questionnaire were keyed into the computer and analyzed by using Microsoft office excel 2007, Descriptive statistics including percentoges was implemented in order to investigate the teacher's and students’ attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills and difficulties the teachers mecVencounler when dealing with reading Tesson Besides, information from classroom observation and interview was also synthesized

45, Dala analysis methods

The study is designed lo use both qualitative and quantitative methods (methods of data analysis) to achieve its aims

4

4.6 Data collection procedures

Firstly, classroom chservations were conducted for four reading lessons for

each class in seven weeks for five teachers Then, based on the classroom

observations, the questionnaire was designed and delivered to 160 students of the

tenth form and 10 teachers The researcher randomly selected the individual in

classes for investigation All of the copies were returned and respectively used for

analysis Lastly, to collect more information, four interview questions for teachers

were designed All the answers to the questions were recorded lo analyze

5, Significance of the study

This study has been carried out to search for a better and more effective way

to develop students’ reading comprehension skills It is hoped that the result of this study may offer the English teachers at schools in general and the teachers of

Fuglish al Nho Quan C high school in particular the ways lo teach reading

comprehension skills more effectively

6 Organization of the Study

‘The study is organized as follows

Part I, Introduction, presents the rationale for the study, the aims and objectives,

scope and significance, research methodology and organization of the study

Part I, Development, consists of the following chapters

Chapter 1, Yheoretical background and literature review of reading comprehension skills

Chapter 2, Research Methodology

Chapter 3, Dala analysis and discussion of the findings, analysix and discusses the data which was collected at the sccond term of the academic year 2012-2013 at Kho Quan C high schoot based on questionnaire, classroom obsorvations and interviews Chapter 4, Solutions, makes some pedagogical suggestions for teachers and students at Nho Quan C high School,

Part III, Conclusion, summarizes all the issues in the research and suggests some

ideas [or further staucly

ww

PART IE: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

‘This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background of the

research It is divided into three main sections The first section discusses the definitions of reading and reading comprehension ‘The next one is about teaching, reading comprehension Difficulties in teaching reading are the last one

1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension

1.1 What is Reading and Reading Comprehension?

We often spend time reading books, newspapers, magazines, novels, picture

books etc in the free time Reading helps people relax and reduce stress after the

all day work Reading is a completely individual activity which takes place in all different ways We understand and analyze the text, find its meaning, give out

meaningful information The ability to read is such a natural par! of human beings

that they seldom try to define reading Different researchers have given different

points of view on the definition of reading Herein, I would like to mention some

definitions of reading extracted from different sources om the theme

William (1984), Nuttall (1996), and Frank (1985) share the same view that

reading accounts for understanding what has been wrillen Also, Goodman (1971

135), states that: “reading is psycholinguistic process by which the reader, language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by writer a3

a graphic display”, and the acl of reconstruction is viewed as “a cyclical process of

sampling, predicting, testing and confirming *

One more definition offered by Ur (1996: 138) showed us his simple definition “reading means reading and understanding” Llarmer (1989; 190) seems

to be interested in the notion of reading, He considers reading as a mechanical

L4

process tha

significance of the message” Sharing the same view, Smith (1985: 102) defined

‘eyes reecive the message antl the brain has lo work out the

6

“reading is understanding the author’s thought” It means that the readers “read the author’s mind not the author's words”

Moreover, Rubin, and Thomson, (1994: 91) offers another definition of

reading: “Reading is an active information-seeking process in which readers relate

information im the text lo what they already know” From this point of view, the

yeader’s knowledge of the knowledge and knowledge of the world is of importance

to their reading success

it is clear that no defmition can give all the ideas and features of what reading is Each author can have a different definition of reading we cannot tell

which is betier because each of them focuses on one important malier of reading

However, what they all share is that they try to find out the nature of reading, and

reading act, in which the readers, reading process, and reading message are

emphasized We find that there is a close relationship belween reading and understanding ‘[herefore, being a language teacher, we must understand the nature

of reading thoroughly to help our students read effectively

Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension plays au important role in teaching and leaming yeading a foreign language It can be understood as the ability to obtain the information as required in the reading text as efficiently as possible There are three elements appearing in the reading process They are the text being read, the background knowledge of the reader and the contextual aspects relevant for

interpreting the text In teaching reading, it is necessary to understand the nature of

yeading comprehension Whal the tcacher underslands aboul it will have a great

influence an what he or she teaches in the class In fact, methodologists have been

providing different definitions of reading comprehension

Swan (1975: 1) states that when we say “a student is good at comprehension

we mean that he can read accurately and efficiently so as to get the maximum information a text wilh the mitrimum of understanding” Having the same point of

view, Richard and Themas (1987: 9) claim that “Reading comprehension is the best described as an understanding between the author and the reader ‘he emphasis is

on the reader understanding of the pred page based on the individual reader’ s

unique background of experience.”

Having the same point of view with the authors above, Grellet (1981: 3)

takes the point that “Reading comprchension or understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible.” The author

means thal reading comprelcnsion is an activity which aims al deceding the

meaning of word combination in the text in the most efficient way

Ti can be concluded thal reading comprehension is a process of understanding

what is conycyed in the text It docs net mean that the readers nced to understand

every single word in the text but actively work on the text and extract the required

information efficiontly Tt is important: for us to understand what reading comprehension is Kor the teachers teaching reading, a profound understanding

about the nature of reading comprehension may help them find out the students’

dilTicullies in Jearning reading andl help them to overcome it

Sa far we have looked at some definitions conceming reading and reading comprehension which have been seen [rom different points of views Tl is more

significant to have a more in-depth look at the reading process to make the bridge to

the focus of the study

1.2 Purposes of reading

Bevause the nature of reading is “understanding”, the readers extract Ube

“message” of the author, interpret texts of the specialized subjects in order to get information for their further studies, their future work in the most appropriate way And obviously, various ways of reading are influenced by different reasons for reading due to the “relevance” features to the purposes Reading purposes determine

the “what” and the “how” of the reading process, and consequently reading skills/ stralogies need lo be adopted appropriately

1.3 The importance of reading in learning a foreign language

Reading plays a significant role in building both linguistic and background

knowledge for other language skill Hoang of al (2006) considers reading as Ihe most effective means of improving students’ language competence When there is a

lack of the second language environment, reading becomes more significant

because it helps cnlarges students’ background knowledge and vocabulary as well

as improves other skills

Yo master reading skill is always challenging task that requires students a

number of factors: a good competence of English prammar, rich vocabulary, and

reading teclniques Firs of all, reading helps students leam Lo think in English,

enlarge their English vocabulary, improve their writing Richard (1993:4) claimed

that “reading may help to increase knowledge of the target language through

exposure La new vooabulary and grammatical structures” There is a close relationship between reading and vocabulary knowledge, because while reading, the

readers know most of the words in the text already, and they can also determine the

meaning of many of the unfamiliar words (rum the contexts Therefore, the hest

way to acquire a large vocabulary is to read It is understandable that anyone who

has a large vocabulary is usually a good reader

Besides, Richard (1993: 4) also stated that “reading in the new language is

also an important way to leam about the target culture”, which means that reading

provides the sludenls with a wide range of interesting information, helps them

understand the ways of life, behaviors, thoughts and other aspects of the native

people and iL is also a good way tu find oul aboul new ideas, facts and experiences Therefore, they can master vocabulary, grammar and the background knowledge or cross-cultural problems that they encounter

According to Byme (1988-46) there are three reasous for the importance of reading as follows:

9

“Tt offers language leamers another arca of success We would accept that not all students will be good speakers and at least give them credit if they become

god readers.”

“It gives the students a skill which they can use on their own (Le it is a key

to self-access work)”

“Tt is likely to be one of the skills that most students will need in the long

term Certainly, it is one that they will always be able to put to use That is, they can

xead even if they do not get any opportunities to speak”

Reading comprehension skills is very imporlard Without comprehension, reading is simply following words on a page from left to right while sounding them out The words on the page have na meaning And while people read for many

different reasons, the chief goal is to derive some understanding of what the writer

is trying to convey and make use of that information whether for fact gathering, learning a new skill, or for pleasure That’s why reading comprehension skills are so

important Withoul them the reader carmol gather any tmformation and use iL to

efficiently function and enjoy the richness of life General speaking, No one can

deny that reading bring readers an ocean of knowledge of different areas They can

learn more experience of life They have necessary bonelits to avoid difficulties in amutual understanding in communication such as culture shock, language shock due

to different cultures, habits and languages Moreover, reading is also an important

way of expanding studenls’ receptive knowledge of language and stimulating

students to talk and write

Tn other words, reading is very important to the [oreign language learners because it widens their knowledge of language and life It seems to be the most

important skill to the students of English since their main purpose is to understand

the writlen Lexis

10

1.4, Effective reading comprehension and Reading comprehension skills

1.4.1 What is Effective Reading Comprehension?

According to Ur (1996), reading comprehension as a process combining such elements az: A clear purpose in mind: an enhanced motivation: appropriate reading comprehension strategies based on the purposes and motivation, good prediction, sufficient background information and vocabulary; close attention to the significant bits; and fairly high speed

Cook (1989), on the other hand,

comprehension would be besl reflected if we bring dislinel cognitive behaviors of

contends that effective reading

good versus poor readers before, during and after reading an assignment into a

comparison

Stage Good or mature readers Poor or immature readers

Before reading ~ Active prior knowledge

- Understand task and set

- lai reading — without

preparation

purpose ~ Read wilhoul knowing why

- Choose appropriate - Read without considering shialegies how Lo approach the malerial

‘During reading - Foous attention ~ Are easily distracted

- Anticipate predict - Read to get done

- Use fix-up strategies when

lack of understanding occurs

- Use contextual aralysis to

assist comprehension

- Sclfmonitor comprehension

by

+ knowing comprehension is

- Do not know whal to do when

lack of comprehension occurs

- De nol recognize important

vocabulary

- Do not sce any organization

- Add on rather than integrate

new information

eccuming, - De nol realize they do not

+ knowing what is understood understand

‘After reading Reflect on what was read —_- Stop reading

- Feel success is 2 result of - Feel success is a result of luck

effort

~ Summarize major ideas

- Seek additional information

1.4.2 Reading Comprehension Skills

Nutall (1982) provides a list of reading skills which consist of macro-skills with word-attack skills and text-attack skills

Word-attack skills are composed of processing morphological information,

distinguishing structural clues, inferencing (or guessing the meanings of unfamiliar

words) frou conlext, active, receplive and throw-away vocabulary, learmng 1œ

ignore difficult words and using dictionary

Text-allack skills include two subgroups:

Significance and cohesion: understanding sentence syntax, recognizing and

interpreting cohesive devices and interpreting discourse markers

Discourse: recognizing functional value, recognizing the presuppositions

underlying the text, recognizing implications and marking inferences, and

prediction

2 Teaching Reading Comprehension

2.1 Relationship between Reading and Other Skills

In the process of teaching and learning Unglish, it is very crucial for leamers

to realize the integration of language That is the possibilities of other aspects of foreign program Therefore, reading skill is closely related to writing, listerring and speaking skills Understanding relations will help learners succeed

12

In the first place, reading is related to writing Reading and writing are inseparable skill for the second language classes I’or instance, when a person is exposed lo an audible targel Janguage, he or she is expecled La speak more uenlly compared to those who are not exposed to the target language In the same way, students reading more can do better in the writing activities both as content and as form Besides, Reading and writing skill should be considered as inlegraicd language skill Reading texts are model for the students who are intended to write

In doing so , the students will be able to see the examples of the reading texts and

they will be exposed lo these communication tools thal are granumatically cormected

and logically linked

Sceondly, reading is concerned with listening comprebension Sludents may listen to a story, a play then read it or read first and “listening to a worthwhile reading or dramatic presentation of what they have read” (Rivers and Temperly,1978: 259)

Lastly, that is integration of reading and speaking Reading materials serve as

fimdarnental source [or oral prescntalions as they ean base on these ideas they have yead, discuss or debate for their own purposes ‘This is the best way for them to

share what they have been reading with others

in other words, reading skill is not a single skill but an integrated-language

skill, Those combinations should be put into serious consideration when teaching

and learring English as a forcign language

2.2 Factors in teaching reading lesson

2.2.1 The Roles of the Teacher

Discussing the roles of the teacher in teaching reading, Richard and Amato

(1988) emphasize:

“The first role is to facilitate comucative process between all parlicipants

in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activitics and text

‘The second role is to act interdependent within the leaming teaching group.”

13

Besides, linguistics point out an essential clement of the teacher’s role-a model reader According to Nuttall (1982: 192) showing that “you are a reader

means carrymg books around wilh you, referring to books as you teach, reading out

Harmer (2001) gives an opinion tbat the teacher necds to create interest in

the topic and task He also needs to work as an organizer, observer, feedback

organizer and prompter

= An observer: While students are reading, the teacher can observe

their progress since it will give him valuable information about how well his

students are doing individually or collectively, and will tell him whether to give

them extra time, or move to organize feedback more quickly than he has

anticipated

= A feedback organizer: When the students have completed the given

tasks The teacher can lead a feedback session ta check if they have completed the

tasks success(ully or not

» A prompter: When students are reading the text, if is also necessary

to draw their attention to the language features in that text, He may dircet his students to certain features of the text construction clarify ambiguities and make

them aware of issues of the text structure which they have not come across

previously

Anderson (2003) and Hedge (2000) pointed ont six major principles of teaching reading in the classroom as follows: exploit students’ background imowledge; build a strong vocabulary base; teach for comprehension; teach reading

strategies; encourage students to transform strategies into skills, set criteria to select

reading texts

Broadly speaking, the teacher must be aware of what they need to do in a reading lesson Playing their roles well will certainly helps the teacher lead

successful reading lessons

2.2.2 The Role of the Students

Jn communicative language teaching, the learners are regarded as the centre

of every reading lesson During the reading process, the students play the roles of an

active and creative listener and as well as reader

in a reading lesson, students must take an active role as a listener ‘'hey need

listen to the teachers instructions and explanation carclully to find out the way of recognizing mứormahon and the way of deducing new words or grammatical

structures

The students must also be active and flexible readers, it is wise if they work

on their own during the reading process, make full use of the class time to read and

do the exervise to achieve a full umderstanding of the lext Tt is necessary [or thơm tò

find out suitable reading strategy and use their background knowledge to fulfill their

tasks because the significance of the text as well as the information is not always

dirovily stated in printed pages

Nuttall (2003) mentions several main rales for students in the reading lesson

as [ollows:

-taking an active part in leaning: This is the first and foremost responsibility

of the learmers They have to be active and take charge of whal they do

-monitoring comprehension: students need to understand how texts work and what they do when they read

-leaming to talk: it is clear that a good reader carries on a dialogue with the text Consequently, the sludents have to Icarn how to do this To talk about the text

in class is an effective way to promote this skill

staking risks: Students have to take the risk of makitig mistakes because snaking mistake is an opportunity to learn

15

In short, toacher and students are interrelated to cach other đurïng the procoss

of teaching and leaming reading skills

2.2.3 The role of reading material/ reading texthook

It cannot be denied that reading texts play a crucial role in teaching and

leaming reading because through them new grammar, phonetic and lexical items of the target language are introduced Furthermore, texts are also means to help

students enrich their background knowledge and vocabulary as well Tn reading

lesson, students are supposed to understand the texts correctly as much as possible, learn some new language items e.g words, structures, and use what they have got

from the text through reading lasks and communtcation achivilies Lal follow

Therefore, in teaching reading, the teacher should pay much attention to the

following aspects such as language content, vocabulary and grammatical structures,

types of reading activitics, (hough il is not simple thing 1o do as whal Buck, G

(2001) states: “Providing suitable texts is not a simple matter It takes time, effort

and some expertise”

Alright (1981) provides a model of the lesson which adds a further

dimension to the role of the textbook in day to day use He characterizes the lesson

ag an interaction between the dee clements of teacher, learners and matenals The

leamers see the textbook as a “framework” or “guide” that helps to organize their

learning in both inside and outside the classroom while doing activities and

exercises, doing homework, studying on their own and preparing for last Textbook enables them to learn better, faster and easier ‘Teachers see managing their lesson as

their greatest need They appreciate the facihtatmg role of the lexthook It saves

time, gives direction to lessons, guides discussions, facilitates giving homework and making their teaching easier and better

2.3 The three stages of a reading lessan

In the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10”, each reading lesson includes three stages: pro-sreading, while-reading and post-reading Rach of those slages carries ils

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own features and purposes and requires different techniques (William, 1984:37) as

follows

2.3.1 Pre-reading slage

This stage is very important because teachers are expected to create iuotivation and positive attitude for students to read, specifically by activating or

‘building students’ backgroumd knowledge of the subject and familiarizing them

with some of the language needed in coping with the text This part often gives

questions with clear and beautiful picture to lead in to the topic of the text Pre- reading phase often lasts from 10 to 15 minutes depending on each lesson Williams

(1984) writes

The purposes of the pre-reading, stage are:

-To introduce and arouse interest in the topic

-To molivale leamers by giving a reason for reading

-To provide some language preparation for the text

Gebhard (1987) explains that “providing background information on a reading lesson is another way teachers can facilitate successful reading

comprehension Providing information aboul a reading selection before studonis

sead provides them with the opportunity to gain new language, as well as recall their already existing knowledge, which they can take with them into their reading experience, and this knowledge facilitales suecosstul comprehension”

In general, in the pre-reading stage, it is necessary to get a good preparation for students, provide them the sense of whal they are going to do in heir reading

lesson Of course, not all these techniques will be relevant fer all the texts The

teacher can choose the suitable anes to motivate his learners

2.3.2 While-reading stage

While- reading slage is carried out when all siudents actually set cir cycs

on the text and this stage is the main part of a reading comprehension lesson ‘the aims of this stage focus on making the students anticipate in the process of

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understanding the whole text, and intxproting exactly what the author wrote, In addition, it helps the students break up the organization of the text; understand the

text, slructures, classilly (he text eonlenl and recognize the wriler’s purpose and

attitude This stage also trains the students to think about other ideas rising from the text and to form judgment and opinions on the basis of the fact presented

Morcover, it helps the students improve their reading speed and techniques

Besides, this stage offers an opportunity to apply effectively what they have leamt from the text to their purpose of study and communication Last but not least, this

stage helps the students develop their decision - making and problem solving skills

Because this stage plays a very important role in a reading lesson, it must be designed carefully

2.3.3 Post-reading stage

The post-reading stage is the final but not the less important stage of a xeading lesson because it is time for students to apply what they have got from the

text into real life communication In other words, it is the time for students’

production What they produce will reflect how well they comprehend the text In

William's view (1984: 39), “Ihe post-reading slage is aimed al consolidating or

reflecting upon what has been said and relating the text to the learners’ own imowledge, interests or views” Normally, it takes ten or fifteen mimutes to complete

ail aclivilics al this stage

According to Durkin (1981:486), “one reason for post- reading discussion in

class is to offer students the chance to see in what way their reading did or did not

succeed and why” In fact, there is more than one purpose for post- reading stage

which are of wide relevance and applied to all students, and which teachers who

{each groups with mixed level should consider

One of the purposes of post-seading work is to check whether the students

have understood the Lext or nol The teacher can ask the students some questions

about the texts which are not given in the book or require them to discuss in groups

or in pairs and so on, Another purpose is to consolidate or reflect upon what the

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students have read To achicve this, the teacher should help the students focus on the important points as writer’s opinion, the main ideas of the text, the specific paragraph or phrase in the reading text The third purpose of post- reading work is

to expand on the topic or language of the reading text, and perhaps transfer things leamed to another context Therefore, the students can relate the text to their background knowledge and interest and be able to express their persunal opinion toward the text Moreover, post- reading activities also offer the students a real practice of using language Setting up and organizing post- reading work depend on all the objectives of the program as a whole Posl- readiry work should, thus, contribute ina coherent mammer, to the writing, speaking and listerung skills that the propram aims to develop

Tn summary, the above-mentioned stages are essential for a reading tesson Tach of the reading stage carries its own aims and activities However, it is not necessary to camry out all these stages mechanically on every occasion Depending

on the purposes of cach reading lesson, thw teacher may apply these stages as well

as allocate time for each stage appropriately

3 Difficulties in teaching reading

No one can deny the important role of reading skill [lowever, it is uneasy

for a language learner to be successful in learning reading because there are many factors affecting the success such as reader’s reading habits, attitude, motivation, exposure to the target language, textual characteristics, the way reading skill is taught and the teacher’s classroom techniques or learning environment, ete Jolly (1978}, Coady (1979) and others grouped those factors into three types: reading

skill problem, language problem, and cultural background knowledge

3.L Reading skill problems

According lo Jolly (1987), Coady (1979) and others, one’s first language reading ability plays a more important role in reading success than his level of the

targel language does, because foreign language reading requires the transference of

old skills, not the Ieaming of new ones They beliove that if the reader has a poor

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reading ability in his mother tonguc, then, he can not read well in a forcign language Also, Anderson(1984) states that the reason the students can not read

adequate!

Sharing the same view, Herbardt and Kamil (1975:17) assume that “reading

in English is thal they can not read arlequaicly in the nalive language

performance in a second language is largely share with reading ability in the first language”

Students’ limited reading skills create many problems, such as reading slowly, {ailing to understand and summarize main ideas of the reading text, unable

to guess or predict the meaning of the words or phrases used in that context, etc Therefore, such students find it hard to be successful in their reading They cannot understand ihe text thoroughly and those are the reasons why they do nol want te keep on reading

Tn addition, leamer’s motivation towards reading is also an important factor

in reading process It may affect on reading result such as good speed, enjoyment and comprehension Lack of motivation, the reader does not want to read any more 3.2 Language problems

Yorio (1971) argues thal reading problems of foreign language learners are due largely to the imperfect knowledge of the target language and to mother tongue inference in the reading process Therefore, leamers with limited knowledge of the targct language might have considerable difficultics when reading in the target language

The first and foremost problem is Guat the rcaders may bave to work with unfamiliar and difficult topics ‘These are called “text problem” ‘lhe content of the text might be rather strange to the students and the grammatical might be new Therefore, they can not understand it The readers willl find the text very challenging and might not have any motivation left to keep on reading,

The sccond but not less important kind of problem is the “vocabulary problem” As everyone knows, grammatical knowledge accounts for a great deal of

20

competence in reading However, knowledge of vocabulary is a great deal more important as a factor of reading comprehension than awareness of grammatical

structures (O’Donnecl, 1961) Readers encounter a lot of difficultics in dealing with

proverbs and idioms, synonyms and antonyms, poly-semantic and sub-technical vocabulary Metaphor, metonymy and other types of transference of meaning also

cause great difficullics for readers

3.3, Cultural background knowledge

Apart from language problems and reading skill problems, cultural background knowledge can also affect students’ ability as culture plays a central

vole for many topics And thal comprehension of a culturally unfamiliar text is more

difficult than comprehension of a culturally familiar text, because readers, facing, up

with unfamiliar context, may mistranslate or misinterpret the text according to their

own cullural experience

For the text structure, the impact of culture is less outwardly evident but

apparently still present They will greatly affect the reader’s comprehension

Sometimes, the implicit cultural knowledge presupposed by a text or from different assumption about meaning and comprehension held by the writer also causes

dilTiculty to the reader

From what has been discussed it can be concluded that there are three main

factors that affect roading comprehension: reading skills, language knowledge, and cultural background knowledge Reading difficulties may be caused by a number of

other factors Whatever kind of problems they are, great efforts must be made ta overcome ther

4 Previous studies relevant to the study

‘There are some research exists regarding the difficulties in teaching reading

comprehension skills Sao (2008) studied on sludents’ perceived difficulues in

reading comprehension with reference to new Tieng Anh 10tcxtbook- a survey

interview study ‘The finding of her study shown the most common difficulty is in

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the areas of vocabulary There still existed the differences between teachers’ and

students’ attitudes towards reading skills Another reseach which is also related to reading comprehension skills ix “Teaching and learning reading comprehension skills for grade 11 Hong Quang High School: Difficulties and solutions” by Nguyen Thi ITuong (2011) The findings of the study revealed severals techniques

used ai Ihe [si stage of reading lessons with the textbook “Tieng Anh 11” The

students’ preferences for these techniques were also highlighted ‘hen, basing, on the teachers’ and the students’ comments, some suggestions to improve the situation

of teaching and learning at Hong Quang High School were made This siudy only

use survey questionnaire to collect data Besides, Vu Thì Thu Ha (2007)

investigated the difficulties of teacher and students in teaching and learning by the

new loxtbook English 10 for students al natural science stream and basic stream al

some school in I]ai Duong The researcher hasn't shown out the similarites and

differences between schools and between two streams

Summary

This chapter has been concerned with establishing thơ [heorctical

backgrounds and issues relating to the topic of the study Kirst, it provides an

overview of the nature of reading, in which the definitions of reading, and reading,

comprehension are discussed Then, teaching comprehension is addressed Finally,

it provides an insight into reading difficulties

The next chapter will prescrt research methodologies ol teaching and

leaming reading in the textbook “Iieng Anh 10” at Nho Quan C High School,

where the dala is collected

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CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2, Research methodology 2.1 Research questions

1 What are the teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning

In order to seek answers to the research questions, survey research is adopted

in this research Firstly, classroamn observation was carried oul to invesligaie the reality of difficulties the teachers confronted in their teaching reading skills ‘Then, twa types of survey questionnaire were conducted with informants of teachers of

English and students sclected randomly from 8 classes at Nho Quan C High School

In addition to questionnaire, the qualitative data has been employed/ obtained by

informal interviews with some teachers to collect further information about the real

situations of teachirys reading comprehension at Nho Quan C high school

2.3 Data collection mstrrmenfs

in order to get infonnation, various instruments of data collection were used

They were classroom observation, questionnaires and interviews Classroom

observations were carried oul to investigate how teachers conducted a reading

period, how the students worked in the periods and difficulties encountered ‘Iwo

survey questionnaires were used io collect data thal related to teachers’ and

students’ difficultics and attitudes towards the reading topic and reading tasks in the

‘Textbook “Tieng Anh 10° Of these three methods, interviews were employed to

get more information from the teachers

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2.3.1 Classroom Observation

Observations are the most effective when approached as collaboration meant

to benefit all mvolved For the one being observed, an observation can provide

useful feedback that might not be revealed by other assessment methods

Jn this research, the researcher carried out classroom observations by visiting

5 classes in reading periods and taking -note all activities occurred in each class: the

teacher’s presentation on the reading lessons, the teacher's questions and

explanations, the students’ performance in Knglish ‘he observation of reading class

included five criteria: (see checklist)

According to Brown,( 2001: 6)“Questionnaires are any written instruments

that present respondents with a series of questions or statements to which they are to

Tenot cither by writing out (heir answers or selecting from among existing answers”

In this study, questionnaire is designed in order to find out the prominent

diMficulties teachers and students faced with as well as obstacles that affect the

cffeotivencss of the learning and teaching proccss These two types of questionnaire included both closed and open-ended questions Questionnaire for teachers was

wnitlent in English, while the one for students was written im Vielomnesc to make

sure that the students properly understood the questions

Questionnaire for teachers aimed al seeking information of work experience, teachers’ attitudes towards the reading scctions in the textbook English 10, and the problems they confronted with in the process of teaching reading skills

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Questionnaire for students tended to survey on their perception about the importance of reading comprehension skills in learning linglish as a compulsory

subject al school, their evaluation of their current reading competence, and difficulties they encountered in learning reading skills

Tn Ibis study, lo make sure that the questionnaire had adequate reliability, the

questionnaire for 160 students with 9 questions was delivered

* Questions 1, 2 (Part 1) relate to English background of the learners

® Questions 1 and 2 (Part II) aim at finding out the students’ attitude about the importance of reading skill and the sevlions for reading skills in the textbook

“Tieng, Anh 10”

* Questions 3, 4, 5, 6 relate to the way the students often do in a reading lesson

* Questions 7, 8 aim at finding out the problems the students face in reading

leaching process with the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

® Questions 9 focus on students’ oxpeclation of teachers’ solutions to the

difficulties

To chieil a reply for the dilficullies the Leachers at Nho Quan C High School

encountered in teaching reading skills to 1ữ° graders and solutions to overcome

those difficulties, 9 closed and open-ended questions are formulated:

» Questions 1, 2, (part 1) request the matter concerning the Leachers’ education

and work experience

* Questions 1 and 2 (Part LL) aim at finding out the teachers’ opinions on the importance of reading skill and the sections for reading skills in the textbook

“Tieng Anh 10”,

* Questions 3, 4, 5, 6 relate to the way the teachers often do in a reading lesson

* Questions 7 aun at finding out the challenges the teachers face m reading teaching process with the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

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® Questions 8, 9 focus on teachers’ suggested solutions to difficult situations they

Teel

2.3.3 Interview

Johnson L.& Christensen L.(2000:140) say that “Interview is a data-

collection method in which an interviewer ask questions of an interviewee” Sharing

the same view, Husscy & Hussey,(1997: 156)“Tnlerview ts a research method

whereby selected participants are asked questions in order to find out what they think and feel.”

According to Sager (1993) when using interview to collect data, it is helpful ta produce relevant information and insights Though an interview usually

requires considerable time commibmnents {rom both interviewer and interviewee, if

is excellent way to collect data In other words, interview is an extremely useful and valuable way to get in-depth and comprehensive information They invalve one parson interviewing another person for personal or detail information,

In this study, the interview, which were semi-structured and 15-20 minutes in

length cach, focused on the critical issues arising from the observed lessons as welt

as issues related to teachers’ difficulties in teaching reading skills

All the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese in order for the participants

to fully articulate their views without being constrained by the use of a second

language They were then fully transcribed, translated and analyzed by the

researcher to uncover the emerging themes

2.4 Data analysis methods

The study is designed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods

Gmelhiods of data analysis) lo achieve ils aims

2.5, Data collection procedures

2.5.1 The Participants

The research was undertaken with the participation of 10 teachers and 160

students The lwo types of queslionnaire were prepared to gel information for the

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research The first was administered to a sample of 10 teachers of English All of them had experience in teaching reading skills to tenth form leamers with the

textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

There were 8 classes of grade ten at the time of studying To have reliable variables, twenty students per each class should be included in the survey To be objective, judgmental sampling was not possible because the students in cach class was not at the same level So, they must be picked by random sampling

2.5.2 Teachers and Methods of teaching

Nho Quan C high school has gol lon teachers of English, aged from 26 to 36 Seven of them graduated from Vietnam National University, Hanoi - University of Languages and International Studies and three of them graduated from Thai Neuyen

University of Fducation The oldest teacher has 12 years of teaching experience and

the youngest has got two years All of them are enthusiastic with their career Each teacher has ta teach at least 12 periods a week Bach has the responsibility to teach

four periuds in each class

As far as the methodology is concerned, the teachers are aware of the new

trend in Wwaching method nowadays: Learner-cenlered approach They try lo give their students independence in studying by asking them to work through the text or discuss subject matters in groups or in pairs after giving them some instructions

However, not all of the teachers can do that and the amount of time spent in such activities is not much l'urthermore, most of the 10th form students cannot do these

themselves Therefore, the teachers often employ the traditional method of teaching

in reading lessims Most of the lime, the teachers play the key role in the classroom, being the main speakers working through the text The teachers explain new words,

new structures even give the answers to some difficult exercises Then the students

are passive And the suvcess depends on how flexible and adaptable the individual

teacher is to respond to the requirement of the teaching situation

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3.8.3 Procedure

As being described in the previous part, various instruments were designed Classroom observations were conducted (or four reading lessons (or each class in seven weeks for five teachers Because the teachers were not comfortable with their lessons being video or audio- recorded, the researcher took extensive field notes of all thc observed events in the classroom Then, based on the classroom observations, the questionnaire was designed for the students and teachers It is noted thal it order to make il cay in analyzing data, 160 sturlents of the tenth form were surveyed In stead of randomly selecting the class, the researcher randomly selected the individual in each class for investigation Totally 170 copies of the questionnaire were delivered to students and 10 teachers and all of the eapies were retuned and respectively used for analysis Lastly, to collect more information, four interview questions for teachers were designed All the answers to the questions wore recorded to analyze

2.6 Data analytical units

The dala from questionpire were keyed into ihe computer and analyzed by using, Microsoft office excel 2007, Descriptive statistics including percentages was implemented in order to investigate the teacher's and students’ attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills and difficultics thơ teachers meet/encounter when dealing with reading lesson Vesides, information from

classroom observation and interview was also synthesized

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CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 3.4 Report of the data analysis

3.4.1, Classroom observation

Along with the questionnaires, the researcher also observed 5 tcachers classes in seven weeks at Nho Quan C high school with their pemmission ‘the

classroom observation results reflected the reality of the difficulties that the lcachers

encountered in teaching English reading skills

L Language of instructions is clear and concise and students are 80% | 20%

able to carry them on

2 Clarity, fone and audibility of voice 40% | 60%

3 Pronunciation, intonation, fluency are in appropriale and 40% | 60%

acceptable usc of language

Teacher’s personal characteristics

1 Patience in eliciting students’ responses 80% =| 20%

V Teacher-student interaction

4, ffective individual, pair, and group work 40% | 60%

Table 1: The results of classroom observations

In general, all the teachers’ lesson I observed followed a basic step of the

lesson: warm-up activilies, prescrtation, practice and consolidation, and homework

The lesson focused on language skills, there have always three stages: pre-, while- and post- Most of the lesson { attended was mainly student-centered, Students got

ivolved m various aclivilics imbaled by the teachers However, there were some

remaining problems

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