Luận văn teacher’s attitudes towards and practice in cognitive reading strategies instruction

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class ‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importan

BUI TI VAN ANIL

TEACHER’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS AND PRACTICE IN COGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION

(Nhận thức và thực tiễn của giáo viên vẻ chiến lược dạy

đọc hiểu theo nhận thức)

M A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Cade: 601410

HANOI - 2012

Method of the Study

Scape of the sludy

Significance of the Study

IAA

Organization of the thesis

PART U: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE : LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1, Reading and reading morkals

1.2 Reading stratogies

Definition of reading strategy 1.2.2 Reading strategies and reading comprehension

1.2.3 Cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies

1.3, Teacher’s beliefs and classroom practice

1.4, Reading strategy instruction

1.5 Review of related stuches on teacher’s reading strategy instruction

1.6 Summary

CHAPTER TWO: TUE STUDY

2.1, Context of the study

2.5, Data collection procedure

2.6 Data analysis procedure

2.7, Summary

CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Teachers’ beliels aboul cognitive reading strategies

3.2 Correspandence between teachers! beliefs and their self-reported

3, Limitations of the study

4, Suggestions for further study

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Questionnaire on Reading Strategies

Appendix B: Observation Checklist

Appendix C: Semi-structured Interview Questions

Appendix D; Paired Sample Correlations

Appendix E: Suggested Activities for Some Strategics

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no

intention was made to generalize the findings

6 Significance of the study

‘The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more clliciont reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students’ reading

comprehension

The thesis is organized in three parts

Part Tis The Eroduction which presents the rationale for the research Lopic, ils aims, scope, significance, as woll as rescarch methods

Part LL is ‘The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theorctical framework for the study, including defititions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter 2 reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter 3 presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews

Part TT is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and imitations of the

research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading

slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- reading stralegies in reading comprehension

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing

posl-teading strategies in reachng comprehension

Teachers’ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no

intention was made to generalize the findings

6 Significance of the study

‘The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more clliciont reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students’ reading

comprehension

The thesis is organized in three parts

Part Tis The Eroduction which presents the rationale for the research Lopic, ils aims, scope, significance, as woll as rescarch methods

Part LL is ‘The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theorctical framework for the study, including defititions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter 2 reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter 3 presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews

Part TT is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and imitations of the

research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading

slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- reading stralegies in reading comprehension

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing

posl-teading strategies in reachng comprehension

Teachers’ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no

intention was made to generalize the findings

6 Significance of the study

‘The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more clliciont reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students’ reading

comprehension

The thesis is organized in three parts

Part Tis The Eroduction which presents the rationale for the research Lopic, ils aims, scope, significance, as woll as rescarch methods

Part LL is ‘The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theorctical framework for the study, including defititions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter 2 reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter 3 presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews

Part TT is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and imitations of the

research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study were sct as follows

To find oul beliefs teachers hold aboul cogmiive reading stralegies:

To imvestigale to whal extent teachers’ beliefs correspond to their self-

reported instructional practices

To examme which cogrilive reading strategies teachers actually instruct at

classrooms

To reveal factors affecting the teachers’ instruction of cognitive reading

strategies

3 Research questions

PRased on the theoretical framework proposed, the researcher pul forward the

following rescarch questions:

1

2

What beliefs do teachers hold about cognitive reading strategies?

To what extent do teachers! beliefs correspond to them selfreporied

4 Method of the study

PRecauss the purpose of the study was to reveal icachers’ behels and the

comespondence with their classroom practice, the survey research was adopted in

the study with dala colleclion instruments of questionnaires, observalions, and

interviews All ten English teachers of the targeted school were asked to express their opinions on the importance and practice of teaching cognitive reading

siralegics through quesliormaires Later, in order to obtain dircel, information on

actual teaching practices, each teacher was observed in three 45-minute lessons followed by semi-structured interviews.

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

11, Reading and reading models

Reading as 0 research area is an extremely large and complex field about which much has been written Substantial efforts to define and explain the process of reading have brought about various models and views of rcading, Through a very comprehensive review of many reading models, Bamett (1988) categorizes reading models into three basic types, namely “top-down”, “bottom-up”, and “interactive” models,

Bottom-up modet

‘The bottom-up model suggests that the meaning of the text is contained only in the text itself The reader merely receives mformalion from the printed lexl, building up meaning by decoding the symbols (letters), words, phrases and scutcnces serially In this model, reading was viewed as the process of meaning interpretation in which the language is translaled from one form of symbole represerlalion to another

‘Therefore, the goals of the bottom-up model are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate The term of ‘text-based’ is frequently used for this type of

model

‘The introduction of bottom-up model has provided justifications for the reading processes of poor or beginning readers who depend substantially on lower-level

processing (Hassan, 1999) However, the notable Jinitation of the model is the

inflexibility of the representation which, on the whole, is serial and linear As a

result, the reader’s creativity and ability to move from lower level processing to

ligher level processmg and view versa are not depicted (Rayner and Pollasick, 1989,

p.477)

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no

intention was made to generalize the findings

6 Significance of the study

‘The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more clliciont reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students’ reading

comprehension

The thesis is organized in three parts

Part Tis The Eroduction which presents the rationale for the research Lopic, ils aims, scope, significance, as woll as rescarch methods

Part LL is ‘The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theorctical framework for the study, including defititions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter 2 reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter 3 presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews

Part TT is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and imitations of the

research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

11, Reading and reading models

Reading as 0 research area is an extremely large and complex field about which much has been written Substantial efforts to define and explain the process of reading have brought about various models and views of rcading, Through a very comprehensive review of many reading models, Bamett (1988) categorizes reading models into three basic types, namely “top-down”, “bottom-up”, and “interactive” models,

Bottom-up modet

‘The bottom-up model suggests that the meaning of the text is contained only in the text itself The reader merely receives mformalion from the printed lexl, building up meaning by decoding the symbols (letters), words, phrases and scutcnces serially In this model, reading was viewed as the process of meaning interpretation in which the language is translaled from one form of symbole represerlalion to another

‘Therefore, the goals of the bottom-up model are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate The term of ‘text-based’ is frequently used for this type of

model

‘The introduction of bottom-up model has provided justifications for the reading processes of poor or beginning readers who depend substantially on lower-level

processing (Hassan, 1999) However, the notable Jinitation of the model is the

inflexibility of the representation which, on the whole, is serial and linear As a

result, the reader’s creativity and ability to move from lower level processing to

ligher level processmg and view versa are not depicted (Rayner and Pollasick, 1989,

p.477)

To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study were sct as follows

To find oul beliefs teachers hold aboul cogmiive reading stralegies:

To imvestigale to whal extent teachers’ beliefs correspond to their self-

reported instructional practices

To examme which cogrilive reading strategies teachers actually instruct at

classrooms

To reveal factors affecting the teachers’ instruction of cognitive reading

strategies

3 Research questions

PRased on the theoretical framework proposed, the researcher pul forward the

following rescarch questions:

1

2

What beliefs do teachers hold about cognitive reading strategies?

To what extent do teachers! beliefs correspond to them selfreporied

4 Method of the study

PRecauss the purpose of the study was to reveal icachers’ behels and the

comespondence with their classroom practice, the survey research was adopted in

the study with dala colleclion instruments of questionnaires, observalions, and

interviews All ten English teachers of the targeted school were asked to express their opinions on the importance and practice of teaching cognitive reading

siralegics through quesliormaires Later, in order to obtain dircel, information on

actual teaching practices, each teacher was observed in three 45-minute lessons followed by semi-structured interviews.

Luong Van Tuy

Lnglish as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language

First Language Second Language

Munistry of Education and ‘Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the study

Probability of chance (indicator of significance)

Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science

vii

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

5 Scope of the study

The study was conducted to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no

intention was made to generalize the findings

6 Significance of the study

‘The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more clliciont reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students’ reading

comprehension

The thesis is organized in three parts

Part Tis The Eroduction which presents the rationale for the research Lopic, ils aims, scope, significance, as woll as rescarch methods

Part LL is ‘The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theorctical framework for the study, including defititions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter 2 reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter 3 presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews

Part TT is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and imitations of the

research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study

Luong Van Tuy

Lnglish as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language

First Language Second Language

Munistry of Education and ‘Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the study

Probability of chance (indicator of significance)

Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science

vii

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

11, Reading and reading models

Reading as 0 research area is an extremely large and complex field about which much has been written Substantial efforts to define and explain the process of reading have brought about various models and views of rcading, Through a very comprehensive review of many reading models, Bamett (1988) categorizes reading models into three basic types, namely “top-down”, “bottom-up”, and “interactive” models,

Bottom-up modet

‘The bottom-up model suggests that the meaning of the text is contained only in the text itself The reader merely receives mformalion from the printed lexl, building up meaning by decoding the symbols (letters), words, phrases and scutcnces serially In this model, reading was viewed as the process of meaning interpretation in which the language is translaled from one form of symbole represerlalion to another

‘Therefore, the goals of the bottom-up model are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate The term of ‘text-based’ is frequently used for this type of

model

‘The introduction of bottom-up model has provided justifications for the reading processes of poor or beginning readers who depend substantially on lower-level

processing (Hassan, 1999) However, the notable Jinitation of the model is the

inflexibility of the representation which, on the whole, is serial and linear As a

result, the reader’s creativity and ability to move from lower level processing to

ligher level processmg and view versa are not depicted (Rayner and Pollasick, 1989,

p.477)

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

Luong Van Tuy

Lnglish as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language

First Language Second Language

Munistry of Education and ‘Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the study

Probability of chance (indicator of significance)

Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science

vii

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CIIAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

11, Reading and reading models

Reading as 0 research area is an extremely large and complex field about which much has been written Substantial efforts to define and explain the process of reading have brought about various models and views of rcading, Through a very comprehensive review of many reading models, Bamett (1988) categorizes reading models into three basic types, namely “top-down”, “bottom-up”, and “interactive” models,

Bottom-up modet

‘The bottom-up model suggests that the meaning of the text is contained only in the text itself The reader merely receives mformalion from the printed lexl, building up meaning by decoding the symbols (letters), words, phrases and scutcnces serially In this model, reading was viewed as the process of meaning interpretation in which the language is translaled from one form of symbole represerlalion to another

‘Therefore, the goals of the bottom-up model are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate The term of ‘text-based’ is frequently used for this type of

model

‘The introduction of bottom-up model has provided justifications for the reading processes of poor or beginning readers who depend substantially on lower-level

processing (Hassan, 1999) However, the notable Jinitation of the model is the

inflexibility of the representation which, on the whole, is serial and linear As a

result, the reader’s creativity and ability to move from lower level processing to

ligher level processmg and view versa are not depicted (Rayner and Pollasick, 1989,

p.477)

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading

slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- reading stralegies in reading comprehension

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing

posl-teading strategies in reachng comprehension

Teachers’ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading

twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students’ readmg comprehension (Wellmgham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy

imstruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students haw Lo

utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Lskey, 1988) Ilelping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a

good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p, 3)

Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990's tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading stralegies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective

a3 woll as (eachers* beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kum, 2008)

Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to

understanding the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their classroom

practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language

education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of

second and foreign language (ciled in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachors’ beliefs construct in teaching reading m LL contexts (p 192) ‘Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to

conduct more research on exploring teachers’ beliefs and their actual instructional

practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher’s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading

strategies instruction

2 Aims and Objectives of the study

The main aim of this study was to explore teacher's attitudes towards and practices

in instructing cognilive reading stralegies for mainstream siudents al Luong Van

‘Tuy Gifted High School,

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading

slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- reading stralegies in reading comprehension

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing

posl-teading strategies in reachng comprehension

Teachers’ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language leamers should acquire, particularly as it helps lo build vocabulary and leads lo lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bermhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English

as a foreign language mainly hrough reading in classroom setLings Tn most «

grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a

sel of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepled in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language pois such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Victnamese government

introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers

to develop the students’ ability to usc language appropriately by integrating language teaching, with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness

Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammar-

translation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students’ interaction

The irmovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and

learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended

to loster both students” inlorprotive and productive skills, aa well as Lo provide thera

with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the Jast

1

Luong Van Tuy

Lnglish as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language

First Language Second Language

Munistry of Education and ‘Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the study

Probability of chance (indicator of significance)

Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science

vii

Luong Van Tuy

Lnglish as a Foreign Language English as a Second Language

First Language Second Language

Munistry of Education and ‘Training

Means

Number of Cases or Subjects of the study

Probability of chance (indicator of significance)

Standard Deviation

Statistic Package for Social Science

vii

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Teachers’ familiarity with the concept of reading

slralegies Teachers’ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- reading stralegies in reading comprehension

‘Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Teachers’ beliefs about the importance of instructing

posl-teading strategies in reachng comprehension

Teachers’ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading