Application of task-based language teaching in teaching writing to non-major English students at Namdinh industrial college = Áp dụng phương pháp dạy học theo đ

“A reading strategy can be described as any interactive process that has the goal of obtaining meaning from connected text, and reading skills operate within the context of such reading

ABSTRACT

Reading is considered the first skill - a complicated skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information taught in each unit as it is the input of language which is also the process of constructing meaning from the written texts “A reading strategy can be described as any interactive process that has the goal of obtaining meaning from connected text, and reading skills operate within the context of such reading strategies” (Hudson, 2007: 107)

This study investigated what reading strategies the students are trained in the reading lessons and the teachers’ and students’ perceptions of reading strategies training The population of this study was composed of the teachers and grade ten students at Le Quy Don High School, Hanoi Three different methods including questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews were used to collect data A questionnaire consisting of 20 items was administered to 10 teachers and 80 students Classroom observations conducted with four teachers and their seven classes Interviews were conducted with 4 teachers teaching at ten grade classes Reading strategies employed in the three stages of a reading lesson: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading were investigated

The results reveal that the students and teachers used more pre-reading strategies such

as making use of pictures, titles and warm-up questions than post-reading strategies As for the while-reading phase the most effectively employed strategies were underlining key words and/

or phrases and guessing /predicting the meaning of unknown words The teachers did have the

knowledge of reading strategies However, teachers and students' perceptions were not perfectly matched Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed statistically and recommendations are made to deal with the problems in training reading strategies in English

reading skill lesson for grade10 students at Le Quy Don High School

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: Pre-reading Strategies……… 25

Chart 2: While-reading Strategies ……….26

Chart 3: Post-reading Strategies ……….28

Chart 4: Pre-reading Strategies………29

Chart 5: While-reading Strategies ……… 30

Chart 6: Post-reading Strategies ……… 32

LIST OF FIGURE Figure 1 Inter-relationships among perception, practice and progress………14

Figure 2: Teacher cognition, schooling, professional education, and classroom practice……15

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Pre- reading Strategies……33

Table 2: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) While- reading Strategies…33 Table 3: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Post- reading Strategies… 34

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ………i

ABSTRACT ii

LIST OF CHARTS, FIGURES ,TABLES ……… …….iii

PART A INTRODUCTION……….…1

1 Rationale… ……….…….1

2 Aims of the study ……… 3

3 Scope of the study ……… 3

4 Significance of the study ……….…3

5 Research method used in the study ……….3

6 Organization of the thesis ……… 3

PART B DEVELOPMENT ……….5

CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW……….5

1.1 The theory of reading……….5

1.1.1 Definition of reading……… …………5

1.1.2 Models of reading process.……… … 5

1.1.2.1 Bottom- up model……….……… …… 5

1.1.2.2 Top-down model……….………6

1.1.2.3 Interactive models……… 7

1.2 Reading strategies……….8

1.2.1 Language learning strategies……… …………8

1.2.1.1 Definition………8

1.2.1.2 Classification……….…… 9

1.2.1.3 The importance of strategies in the learning process… 10

1.2.2 Reading strategies/ Strategies in teaching second language reading……….……… …….11

1.2.2.1 Definition……… 11

1.2.2.2 Teaching reading skills ………12

1.3 Teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training………13

1.3.1 Definition of perception……….……….… 13

1.3.2 Teachers and students’ perception in language strategies……….14

1.4 Review of reading strategy research……… 16

CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY………21

2.1 Research methodology………21

2.1.1 Research questions……… 21

2.1.2 Informants………21

2.1.2.1 The teachers and grade 10 students at Le Quy Don High School… 21

2.1.2.2 The syllabus and textbook design……….21

2.1.2.3 Text types in reading lessons in English 10 and methods used………22

2.2 Instruments……… 22

2.2.1 Questionnaire……… 23

2.2.2 Classroom observation……… 23

2.2.3 Interview……… 23

2.3.Procedure……… ……… 24

CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25

3.1 Reading strategies trained in the reading lessons……… 25

3.1.1 Questionnaires ……….25

3.1.1.1 Questionnaires for teachers……… 25

3.1.1.1.Questionnaires for students……….……… 28

3.1.2 Classroom observation……….33

3.1.3 Interview……… 35

3.2 The teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training……… 37

3.2.1 Questionnaire……… 37

3.2.2 Questionnaire, classroom observation and interview……… 38

CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 40

4.1 Summary of the finding……… 40

4.1 1 Research question 1………40

4.1 2 Research question 2………41

4.2 Some pedagogical implication of the study……… … 41

4.3 Limitation………42

4.4 Suggestions for further study……… 42

REFERENCES……….44 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1 .I APPENDIX 2 .IV APPENDIX 3 .VI APPENDIX 4 .XI APPENDIX 5 .XIX APPENDIX 6 .XXV APPENDIX 7 .XXVII APPENDIX 8 .XXX

A INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English is one of the most important core subjects in many schools in Vietnam English classes have been systematically introduced to elementary schools from grade 3 Vietnamese students study English for at least 10 years: three years in elementary school, four years in lower secondary school, and three years in upper/ high school In spite of the enthusiasm for studying English, the profile of Vietnamese students’ strategies for learning English in general and reading strategies in particular is not well researched Likewise,

“learning strategy” and “reading strategies” are still quite a vague concept to both Vietnamese EFL teachers and learners, although such strategies could definitely help them learn English more efficiently if they knew and employed such strategies consciously

Traditionally, researchers have agreed that reading was a passive or receptive process in which the reader attempted to decode the intended meaning of the author through recognizing the letters and words as meaningful units, the reader was merely a recipient of information from the printed pages and brought nothing to the text ( Barnett, 1988) However, modern research on reading has found the reading process active rather than passive as well as individualized and complicated (Grabe, 1991; Wallace, 1992)

Many studies such as “Teaching How To Learn- Learning Strategies in ESL” (Willing, 1989), “Teaching Second Language Reading” (Hudson, 2007), “New Ways in Teaching Reading” (Day, 1993) and Reading Through Context: How Real and Perceived Strategy Use Affects L2 Comprehension (Barnett, 1988) have indicated that the use of appropriate strategies may improve reading comprehension Studies have also suggested that readers could

be trained to learn and use reading strategies, which raised the need to incorporate reading strategy instruction into school curriculum Reading strategy instruction is making its way into regular classrooms The integration of reading strategy instruction with cooperative learning has changed the traditional pattern of reading as an individual activity Group efforts, peer cooperation, and teacher-student interaction become an important part of the new reading strategy instruction approach As English is taught and learned in a non – native environment, reading is an important means to gain knowledge Reading is an essential skill for English as a

second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) With strengthened reading skills, ESL/ EFL readers will make greater progress and attain greater development in all academic areas This is also true to the students at Le Quy Don High School since reading skills provide them with a variety of language expressions, structures and a wide range of information, knowledge It is not incidentally when the reading lesson in the new text book is introduced in the initial period

of each unit Furthermore reading is tested in the two most important English examinations in Vietnam which are the school final examination and the university entrance examination for students enrolling in D diviation Both are administered at the end of grade 12, and neither has

a Listening and Speaking component

When dealing with reading lessons, students, especially grade 10 students often experience the lack of reading strategies which are essential for them to overcome the challenges in the classroom Many researchers indicate that EFL students find it difficult to comprehend the texts and achieve their goal of reading success (Rumelhart, 1977; Stanovic, 1980) Recent researchers have also found that becoming more aware of what readers do when they read, becoming conscious of their own reading processes, it is a power tool for improving reading efficiency (Carrell 1989) To become better readers, students need to become aware of how they are reading and what they could do to improve comprehension They need to develop their level of metacognitive awareness (Aebersold & Field 1997) Therefore, teacher should consider teaching students effective reading strategies Teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategies will, with no doubt, influence their constructions of the teaching and learning environment, even though learners are the focus of the teaching activities Learner-centered does not mean that learners are "loners" They are in the social community of learners and teachers who help and foster each other in the co-constructions of the learning and teaching environment

This research into training reading strategies in English reading lessons for grade 10 students provides a particular view of how students are trained reading strategies to do reading comprehension tasks and the teachers and students’ perception of reading strategy training It

is also hoped that this study will reveal issues concerning training reading strategies and provide the teachers and students with an in – depth understanding about reading strategies

2 Aims of the study

The major purposes of this study are:

* To investigate what reading strategies students are trained in the reading lessons

* To examine teachers’ and students’ perception of reading strategy training

In order to achieve the above aims of the study, the following major research questions addressed:

- What reading strategies are the students trained in the reading lessons ?

- What are the teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategies training?

3 Scope of the study

The study investigates the teaching and learning reading strategies of teachers and grade

10 students at Le Quy Don High School The study of learning strategies in other English skills would be beyond the scope

4 Significance of the study

The study is the first one to be carried out in the field of reading strategies at Le Quy Don High School, Hanoi It highlights the important factor of training reading strategies to students, especially grade 10 students More importantly, it provides not only the classification scheme for these reading strategies, but also a thorough analysis of the frequency in the reading strategies utilized by teachers and students and their perceptions of reading strategies training

5 Research methods used in the study

This study is conducted as a descriptive study To achieve the aims mentioned above it utilizes both qualitative and quantitative approaches employing questionnaire, class observation and interview to collect information on reading strategies training in English reading skill lessons for grade 10 students

6 Organization of the thesis

Three parts will be presented in the thesis:

Part A Introduction: includes a rationale of the study, aims of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study as well as organization of the thesis

Part B Development: consists of three chapters: literature review, methodology and finding and discussion

Part C Conclusion: summarizes the finding, points out the limitations and suggests further study

B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter reviews theories related to training strategies in general and reading strategies in particular It also reviews current research on reading strategies and summarizes some studies

on teachers and students’ perception of reading strategies training research that have been conducted so far All of these serve as a basis for an investigation into training reading strategies in English reading skill lessons

1.1 The theory of reading

1.1.1 Definition of reading

Reading is an essential skill for English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) students to master Anderson (1999) confirms that “the more exposure student has to language through reading, the greater the possibilities that overall language proficiency will increase”

In a general term Anderson (1999:1) defines reading as “an active, fluent process which involves the reader and the reading material in building meaning” Aebersold & Field (1997:15) share the same view on reading as reading is what happens a text is looked at and meaning is assigned to the written symbols in that text The text and the reader are the two physical entities necessary for reading process to begin It is, however, the interaction between the text and the reader that constitutes the actual meaning Rumelhart (1977) also considers reading involving the reader, the text and the interaction between the reader and the text However, there are still different points of views on what reading is So far, these views are often grouped under three models which have been proposed to describe this process

1.1.2 Models of reading process

Understanding the process of reading has been the focus of much research and attempts

to describe the interaction between reader and text have been numerous Models of reading

process can be divided into three categories: the bottom-up models, the top-down models, and the interactive models

1.1.2.1 Bottom- up model

Bottom-up models depend primarily on the information presented by the text Anderson, (1999:2) refers bottom-up model as “lower level” reading processes These lower level processes indicated in Silberstein (1993:7) occur when linguistic input from the text is mapped against the reader’s previous knowledge According to Nunan (1991), bottom-up models as

“the process of meaning interpretation” in which “the language is translated from one form of symbolic representation to another” Bottom-up reading requires language processing at all levels: word, sentences, and discourse However, due to the basic of bottom-up processing – the linguistic knowledge of the reader, it is likely that the reader play a relatively passive role Bottom-up processing can be considered as a corrective to ‘tunnel vision’ seeing things only from our own limited point of view (Nuttall, 2000:17).The weak point of bottom-up models is that the readers are not aware of how the process operates because of its constructing the text from those small units becomes so automatic (Eskey ,1988 and Stanovich 1990, cited in Aebersold & Field 1997:18) A bottom-up theory suggests the idea that readers build meaning

as they draw on the individual letters and works as they read According to Eskey (1986), a reader proceeds by moving his/her eyes from left to right across the page, firstly to take in letters, secondly to combine these to form words and then to combine to form the phrase, clauses, and sentences of the text.( cited in Anderson, 1999: 39)

The limitation of these models is also pointed out by Samuel and Kamil (1988:31) as follows: “Because of the lack of feedback loops in the early bottom-up models, it was difficult

to account for sentence-context effects and the role of prior knowledge of the text topic as facilitating variables in word recognition and comprehension”

1.1.2.2 Top-down model

In contrast to bottom-up models, information processing in top-down models occurs when prior knowledge is used to make predictions about the data the readers will find in a text (Silberstein, 1993:7) This kind of processing is used when assumptions are interpreted and interferences are drawn by the reader (Nuttall, 2000:16) Top-down models are diametrically opposed to these lower-level processes and “all have in common a viewing of the fluent reader

as being actively engaged in hypothesis testing as he proceeds though text” (Stanovich, 1980:

34) In top-down models “higher processes … direct the flow of information through level processes” (Anderson, 1999:3)

Top-down models have a lot of strong points in comparison to bottom-up models, however, these models still have certain weak points as a reader would simply spend too much time processing all visual cues (Anderson,1999:2) Readers have to fit the text into knowledge they have already processed, then check back when new or unexpected information appears These models

“tend to emphasize such higher-level skills as the prediction of meaning by means of context clues or certain kinds of background knowledge at the expense of such lower skills as the rapid and accurate identification of lexical and grammatical form That is,

in making the perfectly valid point that fluent reading is primarily a cognitive process, they tend to deemphasize the perceptual and decoding dimension of that process” (Eskey, 1988: 93)

Due to the limitations of both bottom-up and top-down models, the models that are currently accepted as the most comprehensive description of the reading process are interactive models

1.1.2.3 Interactive model

Grabe (1991: 378, cited in Aebersold & Field 1997:18) focuses on two conceptions of interactive approaches The former relates to the interaction that occurs between the reader and the text The latter relates to the interaction between bottom-up and top-down processes They are occurring, either alternatively or at the same time, which depend on the type of text, the reader’s background knowledge, language proficiency level

Interactive models combine elements of both bottom-up and top-down models Murtagh (1989: 102, cited in Anderson, 1999:3) stresses that the best second language readers are those who can “efficiently integrate” both bottom-up and top-down processes

In practice, in order to check whether that is really what the writer says, a reader continually shifts from one focus to another, now adopting a top-down approach to predict the probable meaning, then moving to the bottom-up approach(Nuttan, 1996: 17) Successful reading requires skill not only in top-down but also in bottom-up processing (Silberstein,

1993: 8) With the same opinion, when Anderson (1993: 3) observed his students in the reading class and reflected on these three models “I can see that an interactive model is the best description of what happens when we read”

An interactive model supports the idea that good readers use both processes, top-down and bottom-up, when they encounter text in order to comprehend Grabe (1991: 378) illustrates this nicely when he points out that : reading is interactive, firstly, the reader makes use of information from his/her background knowledge as well as information from printed page Secondly, in the sense that many skills work together simultaneously in the process

To sum up, interactive model is the best one that can truly reflect the reading process that takes place in reader’s mind In this process the reader constantly shuttles between bottom-up and top-down processes without which he can not be successful in reading comprehension Interactive model can maximize the strengths and minimizes the weaknesses

of both bottom-up and top-down models

of choice is important here because this is what gives a strategy its special character These are also moves which the learner is at least partially aware of, even if full attention is not being given to them (Cohen, 1998: 4) Language learning strategies are the conscious thoughts and behaviors that learners use with the explicit goal of improving their knowledge and

understanding of a target language (Cohen, 1998: 68) It can be seen that these definitions are emphasized the learners’ intention and awareness of using language strategies

The studies of learning strategies by such well-known researchers as Cohen (1990), Cohen (1998), O’ Malley and Chamot’s (1990), McDonough (1995) and Karlin& Karlin (1987), Oxford (1990) and (Scarcella & Oxford, 1992) have figured out a comprehensive overview of learning strategies

All these definitions above show that the weight in foreign language teaching and learning is changing from teacher centered to learner centered instruction

In fact, there is hardly any definition that can work in all contexts Because of the comprehensive features of the definitions by Oxford (1990) and O’Malley & Chamot (1990), the present research utilized these as the key directions in its investigation

Oxford (1990: 9) divided language learning strategies into direct and indirect The strategies used directly in dealing with a new language are called direct strategies Direct strategies consist of memory, cognitive, and compensation Metacognitive, affective, and social strategies belong to indirect strategies which are used for general management of learning

However, learning strategies may be grouped in other ways According to O’Malley & Chamot (1990: 119) learning strategies are typically divided into three categories, which are cognitive, metacognitive and social effective (See appendix 1)

1.2.1.3 The importance of strategies in the learning process

Language learning strategies are believed to play a vital role in learning a second language, according to Bialystok (1979), learners may be assisted by the language learning strategies in mastering the forms and functions required for reception and production in the second language and thus affect achievement (cited in Yang, 2007: 35) Weinstein and Mayer (1986: 315) say that the goal of strategy use is “affect the learner’s motivational or affective state, or the way in which the learner selects, acquires, organizes, or integrates new knowledge” (cited in O’Malley, Chamot 1990: 43)

Oxford, who has authored or edited a number of books on learning strategies, motivation, and language education, also gives her own evaluation on learning strategies based

on two reasons Firstly, for language learning strategies are especially important because they are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developing communicative competence Secondly, having developed appropriate learning strategies learners have greater self- confidence and learn more effectively (Oxford, 1990: 1) In her opinion, language learning strategies:

- contribute to the main goal, communicative competence

- allow learners to become more self-directed

- expand the role of teachers

- are problem-oriented

- are specific actions taken by the learners

- involve many actions taken by the learner, not just the cognitive

- support learning both directly and indirectly

- are not always observable

- are often conscious

- can be taught

- are flexible

- are influence by a variety of factors (Oxford ,1990: 9)

1.2.2 Reading strategies/ Strategies in teaching second language reading

1.2.2.1 Definition

Reading strategies are the comprehension processes used by readers to make sense of what they read In other words, readers utilize reading strategies to accomplish the reading skills such as understanding main ideas, making inferences, predicting outcomes and guessing vocabulary from the context (Anderson, 1999:1) Anderson introduces six strategies when teaching an ESL/EFL reading class: 1 Activate prior knowledge 2 Cultivate vocabulary 3 Teach for comprehension 4 Increase reading rate 5 Verify reading strategies 6 Evaluate progress (Anderson, 1999:4)

Many researchers such as Anderson (1999), Brantmeier (2002) and Brown (2001) define the similarities in categories reading strategies They emphasize the role of prior knowledge in reading and introduced skimming, scanning and guessing as effective strategies

in reading

According to Barnett (1988), reading strategies are the comprehension processes,

“This process may involve skimming, scanning, predicting, activating general knowledge, making inferences, following references, and separating main ideas from supporting ideas” (cited in Brantmeier 2002:1)

Furthermore, for most second language learners who are already literate in a previous language, reading strategies can consist of : 1 identifying the purpose in reading; 2 using graphemic rules and patterns to aid in bottom-up decoding; 3 using efficient silent reading techniques for relatively rapid comprehension; 4 skimming the text for the main ideas; 5 scanning the text for specific information; 6 using semantic mapping or clustering; 7 guessing when you aren’t certain; 8 analyzing vocabulary; 9 distinguishing between literal

and implied meaning; 10 capitalizing on discourse makers to process relationships (Brown 2001: 306-310) In Brown’s opinion, each of the above ten strategies can be practically applied to classroom techniques

Finally, these strategies are considered to be effective as they help learners enhance the reading ability

1.2.2.2 Teaching reading strategies in the classroom

Strategies can be taught and because of their specificity, there are at least four different approaches that can be taken to teaching strategies in the language classroom: strategies can be taught through interactive techniques, using compensatory techniques, administering a strategy inventory and making use of impromptu teacher-initiated advice.(Brown 2001: 217-219) Winograd and Hare (1988, cited in Anderson 1999: 70) define strategies as deliberate action that is selected and controlled by learners to achieve desired goal or objectives

Researchers have suggested that teaching students how to use strategies is a prime consideration in the reading classroom While teaching L2 readers how to use a given strategy, teachers must also teach their students how to determine if they are successful in their use of that strategy Students need guided practice if strategy training is to be successful Such training can emphasize the “when” and “why” of strategy use at least as much as the “what” (Anderson 1999: 71)

1.2.2.3 Teaching reading skills:

According to Day and Bamford (1998: 124-141, cited in Nguyen, T T N., 2007: 8-9) there are at least four distinctive approaches to the teaching of foreign or second language reading: grammar-translation, comprehension questions, skills and strategies and extensive reading

Grammar-translation: Under this approach, students may be taught to read texts written

in the foreign language by translating them into the native language As a result, meaning is taken at the sentence level with less attention paid to the meaning of the text as a whole and meaning is constructed via the native language, not directly from the foreign language

Comprehension questions and language work: This approach focuses on teaching a

textbook containing short passages that demonstrate the use of foreign language words or

points of grammar These texts, short enough to encourage students to read them word by word, are followed by comprehension questions and exercises

Skills and strategies: to follow sills and strategies approach, the teacher has to prepare

for students to read a one or two- page passage from a textbook by providing or activating any background knowledge needed for comprehension This preparation may include pre-teaching vocabulary that appears in the reading passage Students then read the passage silently while keeping in mind two or three while reading questions

Extensive reading: The goal of this is for students to become willing and able readers in

a second or foreign language Students individually read books and other materials at their own speed mainly for home work

1.3 Teachers and students’ perception of reading strategies

1.3.1 Definition of perception

Perception refers to the recognition and understanding of events, objects, and stimuli through the use of senses (sight, hearing, touch, etc.) (Richards, Platt, & Platt, 1992: 268) Likewise, in the Dictionary of Psychology, perception is defined as “the process of knowing objects and objective events by means of the senses” (Chaplin, 1981:376) Perception is our sensory experience of the world around us and involves both the recognition of environmental stimuli and actions in response to these stimuli In this study, perception refers to teachers and students’ perception towards reading strategies As Grabe (1991: 377, cited in Alyousel 2005: 143) describes Goodman’s perception of reading which is seen as an active process of comprehending [where] students need to be taught strategies to read more efficiently (e g., guess from context, define expectations, make inferences about the text, skim ahead to fill in the context, etc.)

1.3.2 Teachers’ and students’ perception in language learning strategies

Teachers' perceptions of what is meant by L2 learning, and what affects learning will influence everything they do both within and beyond classroom situations In order to make informed decisions in their day-to-day teaching, teachers must be consciously aware of what their beliefs about learning and teaching are They must heighten their "perspective-consciousness" to make them more aware of the other individuals' or groups' perspectives,

which might be justifiably different from their own They must make their own personal sense

of their implicit and explicit ideas/theories and practices Finally, they must increase their tolerance and understanding of diverse opinions and viewpoints in order to make the language classroom a more welcoming environment encompassing dignity and respect for both students and teachers alike (Williams & Burden, 1997, cited in Yu G (2004)

In a sociocultural view of language learning, learners are seen as "active constructors"

of their own learning environment (Mitchell & Myles, 1998, p.162, cited in Yu, 2004 ) In this sense, learners are trustworthy, and responsible for their own learning environment Actually, teachers are to some extent also "learners." They are also active constructors of their own teaching environment Teachers' perceptions of language learning will, with no doubt, influence their constructions of the teaching environment, even though learners are the focus

of the teaching activities The inter-relationships among teachers' perception, practice, and progress are illustrated in figure 1

Teachers' perceptions "construct" their practices which in turn lead to whatever progress both the learners and the teachers achieve Practice and progress in language learning and teaching will re-construct teachers' perceptions of L2 development The progress to be achieved is, to certain extent, determined by teachers' perceptions and practices, which however does not mean learners do not have right to construct their own learning environment In fact, this is one of the reasons why there are very often silent or sometimes overt "style wars" between teachers and some learners while constructing their own teaching and learning environments respectively The "style wars" reflect the urgent needs of teachers'

"appropriate" perceptions of L2 development illustrated in figure 1

Figure 1 Inter-relationships among perception, practice and progress (Yu, 2004)

According to Brog (2003), teachers have cognitions about all aspects of their work Teachers’ experiences as learners can inform cognitions about teaching and learning Extensive experience of classrooms has an important influence on schooling, which defines early cognitions and shapes teachers perception of initial training Figure 2 represents a schematic conceptualization of teaching within which teacher cognition plays a pivotal role, teacher cognition and practices are mutually informing, with contextual factors playing an important role in determining the extent to which teachers are able to implement instruction congruent/ appropriate with their cognition

Figure 2: Teacher cognition, schooling, professional education, and classroom practice

(Borg 1997, cited in Borg 2003)

1.4 Review of reading strategies research

A considerable number of studies examine the comprehension strategies that second language readers utilize to process a text It is evident that in these studies, the participants are quite diverse, some from elementary, secondary, and university levels, some from remedial reading classes, some enrolled in courses taught at non-university language centres, and others teacher-colleagues Obviously, the participants are of many different ages and backgrounds Furthermore, the investigators use a variety of research methods and tasks to examine strategies type and frequency of strategy use including think-aloud reports, interviews, questionnaires, observations and written recalls (Brantmeier 2002:1)

In an early qualitative second language reading study, Hosenfield (1977) examines successful and unsuccessful readers to find out what types of cognitive operations they used to process written texts Participants were ninth grade students who were learning French Before conducting the study, she classified readers based on a test of L2 reading She selected twenty native English speaking students who scored high on the MLA Cooperative Test of Reading Proficiency, a standard test of native language reading, and twenty unsuccessful students with low scores on the same test In an oral interview participants were asked to read a text and think-aloud reports, that is, she directed the students to say in their first language whatever came to their mind while processing each sentence in the text Hosenfield (1977) concluded that the successful readers kept the meaning of the passage in mind while reading; skipped words unimportant to the meaning of the sentence; read in “broad phrases”; use context to determine word meaning; and had a positive self-concept as a reader By contrast unsuccessful readers: forgot the meaning of sentences as soon as they decoded them; read in short phrases; seldom skipped words as unimportant, viewing words as ‘equal’ in terms of their contribution

to total meaning; and had a negative self concept as a reader While these results clearly described the strategies students used to process the text, they did not link the strategy use to comprehension of specific paragraphs or to the text as a whole The data only focused on sentence level comprehension so the results of the study did not reveal overall comprehension

of the entire text ((Hosenfield 1997: 233-234 cited in Brantmeier 2002: 2- 5)

Barnett (1988) investigated the relationships among reading strategies and perceived strategy use on reading comprehension in a two-part study, the first looking at strategy use, and the second looking at the effect of a teaching intervention designed to help students develop more effective reading strategies before, during, and after reading The subjects were

272 college-level students in fourth-semester French classes Fifteen of the course sections were taught with a standard four skills approach, and four of the classes were taught with a strategy-training orientation that focused on skimming, scanning, guessing, and predicting She used a “text-level” and “word-level” coding scheme By text level she referred to the processes used to read the passage as a whole, such as utilizing background knowledge, predicting, reading the title, skimming and scanning When students used word-level strategies they used context to guess word meanings, identified grammatical categories of words used reference word, and identified word families Barnett (1988) utilized two different groups of students: one group was taught reading strategies and the other was not The students answered questions on background knowledge before reading the passages She asked both groups to read unfamiliar passage in French, and all students wrote a recall in English They completed a multiple choice comprehension questionnaire where they chose the best continuing sentence According to Barnett (1988), the strategy-use questionnaire consisted of many effective and less effective text-level and word-level strategies

Effective Strategies:

- reader pays most attention to what the reading passage means

- reader pays most attention to what the form or grammatical function of the words are

- reader reads the whole passage once and rereads it

- reader finds the topic interesting

- reader thinks about what s/he knows about the topic of the passage

- reader often hypothesizes about what might come next

- reader reads the title first and imagines the passage might about

- reader guesses what some words mean

Less Effective Strategies:

- reader pays most attention to what individual words mean

- reader pays most attention to what the structure of the passage is

- reader recalls only the difficult sections

- reader reads only because it has been assigned

- reader never hypothesizes about what might come next

- reader reads each paragraph by itself

- reader reads the title but does not think much about it

- reader thinks that it is a mistake to skip any words

Results revealed higher scores as both effective strategy use and perceived effective strategy use increased Barnett concluded that students who were taught strategy use did show

a greater ability to read through context than did their more traditionally taught peers, and that

“students who think that they use those strategies considered most productive actually do read through context better and understand more than do those who do not think they use such strategies” (Barnett 1988:156) Finally, Barnett found out that there is a relationship between strategy use and reading comprehension level The students who considered the text while reading, a classified effective strategy, comprehended more than those who did not use this strategy Likewise, students who perceived they used productive strategies scored higher on the comprehension task than those who did not An important component in the research methods of this study is that some students were directly taught effective strategies Most studies do not test the effect of instruction (Barnett 1988:150-162)

Raymond (1993) examined the effects of structure strategy training on the comprehension of expository prose with native English speaking students learning French as a second language Raymond compared two groups of participants: a group that was taught five top level structure strategies and a group that received no training The strategies were: (1) description; (2) collection; (3) causation; (4) problem solution; and (5) comparison These particular strategies were chosen because they occur frequently in the reading of prose Participants were asked to read a text, complete a questionnaire, and then do a written recall (in English) Results revealed that after treatment, the experimental group outperformed the control group by recalling more idea units from one text For a second text, there was a loss in the number of idea units from the pre- to the post-text The author contributes this loss to the

short time allotted for training the L2 readers Nonetheless, the results revealed that structure strategy use is a characteristic of skilled second language readers Raymond states that researchers need to examine more than the effects of particular strategy use on L2 reading (cited in Brantmeier 2002: 4- 12)

Anderson’s (1999) teacher-colleagues and their students expressed experiences, attitudes and cognition about teaching reading - a series of personal life experiences that had influenced his thinking about teaching, learning reading in a second language His teacher – colleagues commented candidly on the effectiveness of these teaching strategies for their own learners He also outlined the theoretical bases of the teaching strategy and its importance in the reading program for second language learners He added a treasure trove of teaching suggestions and activities for each of recommended strategies The teaching strategies instructed learners quite explicitly on the purpose and value of the reading strategy or skill, supported learners as they applied it, and helped hem to evaluate its effectiveness for themselves As for learners:

“This seems to indicate that strategic reading is not only a matter of knowing what strategy to use, but also reader must know how to use strategy successfully and orchestrate its use with other strategies It is not sufficient to know about strategies; a reader must also be able to apply them strategically” (Anderson, 1999: 71)

The issues discussed in his book are appropriate for secondary level ESL/EFL as well

as teachers working with adults in higher education or adult education The issues are discussed for teaching second language reading to individuals working towards improved reading in English The book provides us with opportunities to read comments from other ESL/EFL teachers Anderson’s intent is to get us to think about the process he had gone through and to have us go through a similar process so that we can develop our own strengths

as a reading teacher As in the classroom second language reading teachers face many challenges, such as teaching students how to use the skills and knowledge they bring from their first language, improving reading comprehension, teaching students how to successfully orchestrate the use of strategies….are some elements that teachers must consider in preparing for an ESL/EFL reading class (Anderson 1999: 1)

In the studies mentioned above the researchers used a variety of research methods with diverse populations to examine the reading strategies of second language learners and teachers The subjects performed different tasks while reading text that varied in type, length, content, and difficult level Even though there were many diverse aspects to these investigations, the common thread is that most viewed successful readers as ones who used top-down strategies rather than bottom-up However, there has been little research into teachers and students’ perception about teaching reading strategies This is the gap that the current thesis study tries to bridge by using O’Malley and Chamot’s (1990) scheme to investigate training reading strategies in English reading skill lessons for grade 10 students, which has been conducted in the light of the theories discussed above

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1 Research methodology

2.1.1 Research questions

This study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1 What reading strategies are the students trained in the reading lessons ?

2 What are the teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training?

2.1.2 Informants

2.1.2.1 The teachers and grade 10 students at Le Quy Don High School

The study was carried out to investigate ten teachers of English at Le Quy Don High school One of them has been teaching English for over 20 years Eight of them have been teaching English for more than 10 years Only one of them has been teaching English for 4 years Three of them graduated from Russian Department and they got English as the 2ndDegree Others graduated from English Department Two of them have just got an MA degree Only one of them never attended any workshops or postgraduate studies on teaching methodology Nine others attended two workshops on teaching reading and writing by British Council and the Department of Education and Training, Hanoi The teachers are numbered from 1 to 10 based on their age Four out of ten teachers are now teaching grade 10 students (teachers 4, 5, 8, 9).( See appendix 8 for background information about the teachers)

The study is also carried out with the participation of eighty 10 grade students, aged

16, both male and female They were randomly selected by choosing every ten students in each class, I hope to receive a participation of 5 students Thus from 16 classes my total students will be 80 All students were taught English 9, and all are using English 10 to learn English

2.1.2.2 The syllabus and textbook design

From 2006, in Vietnam the syllabus is designed on the topic and the communicative approach The syllabus focuses on learner-centre approach, in the learning process learners are actively participated in the process of forming and developing communicative skills The syllabus considers the textbooks as fundamental means of teaching and learning process

The textbook English 10 designed following up English 9 consists of 16 units Each unit is a topic (See appendix 2 for tasks designed following up the reading texts) The summary of the textbook content is as follows:

Unit1: A day in the Life of Unit 9: Undersea World

Unit 3: People’s background Unit 11: National Parks

Unit 5: Technology and You Unit 13: Films and Cinema

Reading in three units (Unit 14, 15, 16) in English 10 will be used in this study

2.1.2.3 Text types in reading lessons in English 10 and methods used

READING is chosen to begin a unit in English 10 to provide linguistic input , the linguistic content, through reading students can be familiar with the topic, the reading skills such as skimming, scanning, reading for specific, main ideas etc These will help students in their later periods: speaking, listening and writing In the textbook, a reading is a passage

consisting of more than 200 (200- 230) words

In English 10, two popular approaches: the learner- centre and the communicative are followed, because these approaches view the learners as the centre of the teaching and learning process and aim to enhance the learners’ creativity and activeness

The reading lesson which is put in the initial period of each unit is considered the

departure of each unit of which the topic is expressed by the reading content In English 10

the reading lessons are designed on three stages: the pre stage (BEFORE YOU READ), the while stage (WHILE YOU READ) and the post stage (AFTER YOU READ)

2.2 Instruments

The present study utilized both quantitative and qualitative methods including questionnaires, interviews and classroom observation First, the questionnaires were administered to identify the strategies the teachers are training in the classroom and teachers

and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training Then, classroom observations were followed by the interviews which were individually conducted to determine the particular reading strategies that teachers used to train in reading lessons and their perceptions Most of the interviews lasted 20 – 25 minutes The interviews were conducted in Vietnamese and then were translated into English for analysis

2.2.1 Questionnaire

The questionnaire allowed gathering information not only about teachers’ perception and understanding of reading strategies, the purpose for teaching them but also students’ perception of reading strategy training The questionnaire was adopted by Salli (2002, cited in Cabaroglu & Yurdaisik, 2008: 151-152) The questionnaire for teachers consists of two parts The first part of the questionnaire is constructed with the purpose of investigating whether the teachers are aware of reading strategies and reasons why they feel teaching reading strategies

is necessary The next section which consists of 20 questions aims to investigate whether the teachers teach reading strategies to the students and to identify their preferred reading strategies For the research purposes, ten English teachers of Le Quy Don were selected as the research subjects The teachers vary in terms of age and teaching experience The questionnaire for students is divided into two parts The first part requires the subjects to give information about their ages, genders and their self-evaluated English proficiency levels The second part contained 20 questions mainly about the subjects’ perception of reading strategies training

2.2.2 Classroom observation

As only four teachers (teachers number 4, 5, 8, and 9) of the ten subjects above are now teaching grade 10 students, three observations of reading lessons (Unit 14, 15, and 16) were conducted for each of the four teachers Data were collected via classroom observation to get

an actual fact on what reading strategies students are trained in the reading lessons (see Appendix 6 for the observation scheme) During the observations, the researcher was an observer and did not take part in classroom activities To collect the data, field notes were used The researcher shared the observation notes and interpretations with the teacher to check

if the researcher’s interpretations were accurate after each observation

of reading strategies training

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 3.1 Reading strategies trained in the reading lessons

3.1.1 Questionnaires

3.1.1.1 Questionnaires for teachers

The questionnaire that was administered to 10 teachers included 20 questions Reading strategies were employed in the three stages of a reading lesson: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading

Chart 1: Pre- reading Strategies

Note:

Item1 Asking students to read the titles, look at the illustration/ pictures to predict what the

text is about

Item 2 Having the students quickly look over the text before reading

Item 3 Asking students warm-up questions related to the text before reading

Item 4 Teaching vocabulary before students read the text

Item 5 Asking students to relate the text/ topic to their experience

The questionnaire results reveal that, teachers tended to use pre-reading strategies such as “making use of pictures, titles and warm-up questions” Chart 1 presents the results for the items that are considered as pre-reading strategies The general impression is that the

teachers do most of pre-reading activities before they have students read the text It is clearly seen that 80% of the teachers usually or always “asked students to read the titles, look at the illustrations/ pictures to predict what the text is about” and “ask students warming up questions” related to the text As for “teaching vocabulary before students read the text”, 60%

of the teachers chose “always” and “usually” options In terms of “having students quickly look over the text before reading”, the percentage for “always” and “usually” responses was 50% “Relating topic to experience” is less popular (frequently utilized by only 40%) It can

be assumed that pre-reading strategies was trained by the teachers but varied in terms of frequency

Chart 2: While- reading Strategies

Note:

Item 6 Asking students to note down key words while reading

Item 7 Setting time limit for reading in class

Item 8 Telling students to read carefully and slowly

Item 9 Allowing students to use dictionary

Item 10 Asking students to guess /predict the meaning of unknown words

Item 11 Telling students to skip the unknown words

Item 12 Stressing the importance of reading every word

Item 13 Asking students to underline key words and/ or phrases

Item 14 Telling students to make guesses about up-coming information in the text

Item 15 Teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully

Considering these results, while-reading strategies are applied in the reading instructions with some strategies being more popular than others The results show that the most popular reading strategies are “asking students to underline key words and/ or phrases” (employed usually or always by 100% of respondents), “asking students to guess/ predict the meaning of unknown words” (usually or always used by 80% of respondents) As for “setting time limit for reading in class” 70% of the teachers “always” and “usually” taught students It shows that the teachers placed emphasis on forcing the students to adjust their reading speed when they taught reading to students The reading strategy which was frequently utilized by only about 50% of respondents is “telling students to skip the unknown words” These strategies have been found to be effective and teachers should utilize to teach the students to use them in their reading, in reading instructions

Less popular strategies are “taking notes”, “making guesses about up-coming information” which are frequently utilized by only 40% of respondents Item 9, related to

“dictionary use” was being frequently used by only 20% of the teachers “Stressing the importance of reading every word” is the least popular strategy (10% of the population chose

“usually” and sometimes) Hence, it can be said that teachers neglect teaching some of the important while-reading strategies that can actually help the students become better learners or readers

Chart 3: Post- reading Strategies

Note:

Item 16 Asking comprehension questions about the text

Item 17 Asking students to discuss the text after reading

Item 18 Asking students to summarize the text (written or oral)

Item 19 Assigning students tasks to do using the information in the text

Item 20 Asking students to interpret the text

This part of the questionnaire was designed to understand what reading strategies the teachers were using during the post-reading phase From the result it can be seen that the most popular post-reading strategy is “asking students to summarize the text” (90% of respondents chose this option) “Asking students to answer comprehension questions” and “asking students

to discuss after reading” employed usually or always by 80% of the teachers However, less popular strategy is “assigning students tasks to do using the information in the text” (30% of participants chose “always” and “usually” options) The last strategy is considered the least popular one only 10% of the teachers “asking students to interpret the text” This shows that most teachers did not take the effort to make students aware of other reading strategies that can be utilized to help students improve their reading skills

3.1.1.2 Questionnaires for students

The first part of the questionnaire for students was designed to gather the information about their age, gender and students’ self-evaluated English proficiency The data show that all the students aged 16; 50 students are female (62.5%), 30 students are male (37.5%) The percentage of the students rated themselves good and fairly good at English was 60% and 32 students (accounting for 40%) considered themselves at average level of English None of them rated under average level The second part related to what students were trained to do while dealing with a reading text through three stages: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading

Chart 4: Pre- reading Strategies

Note:

Item1 I am asked to read the titles, look at the illustration/ pictures to predict what the text is about/ to get the main ideas of the text

Item2 I am asked to look over the text before reading quickly

Item3 I am asked warm-up questions related to the text before reading

Item4 I am taught vocabulary before reading the text

Item5 I am asked to relate the text/ topic to my experience

The first strategy is “using the title” to anticipate the text content, “relating pictures illustrations to the text content” allows the students to have an idea about what the text is about Despite the fact that students stated that they perceived the importance of this strategy,

only 65% of the respondents chose options “always” and “usually” Another strategy which helps students to understand what the text is about is “quickly looking over the text before reading”, 60% of the participants perceived that they were trained In term of “answering warming-up questions related to the text before reading” the percentage for “always” and

“usually” responses is 23.75% for the students whereas 80% of the teachers did “ask students warming-up questions” “Relating the topic to students’ experience” was claimed to be used

by the participants but, in low percentage (37.5%) However, “being taught vocabulary” was perceived by the highest percentage 68.75% of the students choosing “always” and “usually” The reason for the participants’ using some of these strategies not very effectively might be that they do not want to spend their time on them but they directly start to read the text instead

It is essential that the students relate the topic to their experience and form some expectations about the topic in order for full comprehension to take place (Anderson, 1991, p 462)

Chart 5: While- reading Strategies

Note:

Item 6 I am asked to note down key words while reading

Item 7 I am set time limit for reading in class

Item 8 I am told to read carefully and slowly

Item 9 I am allowed to use dictionary

Item 10 I am asked to guess /predict the meaning of unknown words

Item 11 I am told to skip the unknown words

Item12 I am asked to stress the importance of reading every word

Item 13 I am asked to underline key words and/ or phrases

Item 14 I am told to make guesses about up-coming information in the text

Item15 I am taught to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully

Chart 5 shows the data on the use of reading strategies during while-reading phase The responses to question 6 related to taking note while reading indicate that only 30% of the subjects chose “always” and “usually” 70% of the students “always” and “usually” were set time limit for reading That is the reason for reading slowly and carefully 35% of the students chose “always” and “usually” However, for “allowing students to use dictionary while reading”, 20% of the teachers chose “usually” option, 52% of students admitted of using dictionary while reading It indicates that the teachers in this study perceived they had a little time to use dictionary during 45 minute reading lesson As the percentage of the students

“using dictionary” is 52%, only half of them “tried to guess or predict the meaning of unknown words” In responses given to “skipping the unknown words” 37.5% of the participants “always” and “usually” skipped unknown words while reading As for the 13 question, 100% of the teachers “asked students to underline key words and, or phrases”, whereas the responses in chart 5 shows that only 28.75% of the students used this strategy at

“always” and “usually” level That the teachers neglected teaching some of the important while- reading strategies can be seen clearly in the responses given to the last two strategies in questionnaires for teachers, as a result, for question 13 the students stated that they “always” (3.75%) and “usually” (12.5%) “made guesses about up-coming information in the text”, 21.25% of the subjects “always” and “usually” “read the first and last paragraphs more carefully”

Chart 6: Post- reading Strategies

Note:

Item16 I am asked comprehension questions about the text

Item 17 I am asked to discuss the text after reading

Item 18 I am asked to summarize the text (written or oral)

Item 19 I was assigned tasks to do using the information in the text

Item 20 I am asked to interpret the text into Vietnamese

From the result it can be seen that the two most popular strategies are “answering the teacher’s comprehension questions about the text” and “summarizing the text after reading”, probably since the text-book provides comprehension questions for students to work on, 53.75% of respondents chose these options Less popular strategies are “interpreting the text” and “discussing the text”, (frequently used by 37.5% and 11.25% of the students respectively) The least popular strategy is “doing assigned tasks using the information in the text” The results of the questionnaires reveal that the teachers made less use of the post-reading strategies; this may be because they are less familiar or place less value on post-reading strategies Almost all of the teachers reported asking comprehension questions and summarizing the text in the post-reading stage The results also show that most teachers do not

take the effort to make the students aware of other reading strategies that can be utilized to help the students improve their reading skills

3.1.2 Classroom observation

Table 1: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Pre- reading Strategies

1 Having the students quickly look over the

2 Having the students quickly look over the

text before reading

3 .Asking students warm-up questions related

to the text before reading

Table 2: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) While- reading Strategies

7 Setting time limit for reading in class 3 3 3 3

10 Asking students to guess /predict the

meaning of unknown words

11 Telling students to skip the unknown words 3 3 3 3

13 Asking students to underline key words and/

or phrases

Table 3: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Post- reading Strategies

Tables 1 shows the use of pre-reading strategies by four teachers in three periods of their classes As the tables show, pre-reading strategies were taught quite frequently All the four teachers observed taught all listed pre-reading strategies, such as “predicting what the text was about by making use of the pictures or titles” provided in the textbook, “relating the text

to the background knowledge” of the students or teaching vocabulary The less popular strategy was “having students quickly look over the text before reading” (only in unit 15)

As for while-reading strategies, (table 2) it can be concluded that while-reading strategies are in the actual reading classes with some strategies being more popular than the others They used most popular while-reading strategies, such as “setting time limit for reading”, “asking students to guess/ predict the meaning of unknown words”, “telling students

to skip the unknown words” and “asking students to underline key words phrases” in stead of

“telling students to guesses about up-coming information in the text”, “asking students to note down key words”, “telling students to read slowly and carefully, teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully” and “allowing students to use dictionary” None of the subjects “allowed their students to use dictionary while reading” The reason also might be that they tried their students to employ other strategies such as guessing the meaning of words from the context or skipping unknown words

Hence, it can be said that teachers neglected teaching some of the important while reading strategies, “telling students to guesses about up-coming information in the text”,

“teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully”, which can actually help students become better learners or readers

In their actual classes the two specific strategies in post-reading strategies are

“answering the questions and summarizing” Only two teachers (teachers 8, 9) used

“interpreting strategy”

3.1 3 Interview

It seems that outcome of the interviews is consistent with the results gathered from the questionnaires Most of the teachers were aware that reading strategies help students understand texts better, students are aware of the language they are learning

All the four teachers reported that students faced difficulties while reading because of limited knowledge of vocabulary, lack of knowledge of grammar However, the four teachers gave solutions to the problems were quite diverse: one simplified the text by making explanatory sentences (teacher 8), another simplified the text by giving examples (teacher 9), the two others used both Vietnamese and English to explain (teachers 4,5)

To ensure that students understand the reading material, all the participants shared the same opinions They asked comprehension questions about the text, required students to discuss the text after reading and they also asked students to summarize the main ideas of the text after reading

When the researcher wanted to know whether the teachers used reading strategies in their reading lessons, they replied they followed the tasks given by the textbook such as visuals, questions or strategies suggested to guide students The participants relied on the strategies suggested by the textbook All the four teachers emphasized that they did teach reading strategies in their reading instruction as they were important to students One of teachers stated that:

“…students face difficulties when they are not aware of reading strategies while dealing with a long text or a text with many new words.” (teacher 4)