IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

They were the following: - To provide students with the most effective strategies for English reading comprehension skills, and, - To study a range of different reading skills that help

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO

TRƯỜNG PT VÙNG CAO VIỆT BẮC

-–&— -

CHUYÊN ĐỀ TRẠI HÈ HÙNG VƯƠNG

IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS

AMONG HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

MÃ: A17B

Người thực hiện : Nguyễn Thị Yến

Bộ môn : Tiếng Anh

Tổ : Xã hội

, tháng 06năm 2015

I INTRODUCTION

Foreign language learning plays an important role in the global community since it is an essential tool for communication, further study, seeking for knowledge, career, good understanding for culture and worldwide vision Reading skill is an important factor in development of the quality

of human life Foreign language study broadens students’ vision and enables them to communicate with foreigners appropriately and confidently Learners who have good reading ability will progress

in their careers and their further studies For those who study English as a second language, ability

in English reading comprehension is a must Learners need reading comprehension to be able to continually increase their knowledge

Reading culture has to be promoted in a country in order to increase the human source This would make the country more qualified in every field Vietnam is one of development country which needs also reading culture for the society to increase the quality of the human source This effort has been designed by the government for every level of education in Vietnam Every Vietnamese student has to face reading lesson in English class Reading is also one of the competences of English that is considered as their final examination

However, the problems sometimes arise when people are getting difficulty in understanding the main idea of writing text They read the whole chapters of a book but they cannot reveal what contain of that book Many people have trouble with reading Reading is hard for some people and

it can take time Reading is a process of the brain where you look at symbols on a page, and your mind sees the patterns of characters and understands the meaning in them If you develop good reading skills, it'll be very helpful to your future Reference also found that many Vietnamese students did not succeed in their studies because of their deficient reading skills Also from this study, it was found that students’ other English language abilities were unsatisfactory and reading was the skill that most urgently required development Reading comprehension is the most important skill in language learning It is therefore essential for a leaner who studies English as a foreign language to acquire reading ability

Regarding with the above problems, the teacher should use a strategy to solve this problem The strategy to teach appropriately will help either the learners or instructor make the learning

process effectively

II OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study had two objectives They were the following:

- To provide students with the most effective strategies for English reading comprehension skills, and,

- To study a range of different reading skills that help students improve their reading skills

III CONTENTS

1 Effective strategies for reading comprehension

Theoretically speaking, if the daily reading curriculum uses research-proven methods, students should develop skills for comprehending the text But you may be wondering which strategies are the most beneficial That question was answered in 1997 by a 14-member panel appointed by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) The results

of their research, published under the title Teaching Children to Read (see resources below),

revealed that the eight most effective strategies are as follows:

- Comprehension monitoring

- Cooperative learning

- Graphic organizers

- Story structure

- Question answering

- Question generating

- Summarization

- Multiple Strategy

1.1 Comprehension monitoring

Reading activities can be divided into three categories, depending on when they take place: pre-reading, pre-reading, and post-reading

a Pre-reading:

Collecting and defining vocabulary terms from the text will assist students in understanding words that otherwise may interrupt their reading It will also help them increase their vocabulary in

a meaningful, relevant way Students can record the terms in a notebook or on flash cards Another strategy involves having students preview comprehension questions so that they can focus on answering those questions as they read

So, what are some ways of improving reading comprehension by creating that intent and priming the brain? Here are some examples of pre-reading activities and questions that we can offer students young and old to frame their reading for improved comprehension

- Before reading, take a look around

A book is much more than the words on its pages What is the title? What do we see on the cover? Who is the author and what kinds of stories and books does this person create? When was the book written? By taking a few minutes to focus on these elements, we can set up expectations in our minds - like a loose outline - that we will later fill in with the details

- Get a 30,000 foot view

Delving in a bit deeper, what can we learn about the story by reading the table of contents and flipping quickly through the pages? Tables of contents offer huge amounts of information to help readers further develop expectations and outlines

- Make it personal

Our brains are more likely to absorb information when it is directly applicable or related to our interests and our lives Thinking about the information we have just accessed by answering the above questions, what aspects of this book grab our interest on a personal level? What features of the book relate directly to our lives?

- Write it down

Now that we have a framework of expectations around what we are about to read, write down questions that have arisen about the story and its characters, and make some predictions about how the story might unfold

All of these pre-reading activities help the reader to create a mental framework that will later hold the details of the text Readers can then use these notes during and after reading to see where predictions were on target or where they might have gone off course

b While – reading

Students can interact with the text by asking questions about literary elements, presenting oral summaries of the plot, or collecting details or write observations on post-it notes If students have previewed comprehension questions, they can answer these questions as they read

c Post - reading

Comprehension questions are just one form of activity appropriate for post reading．

The teacher should also consider vocabulary study and ask students to identify the author’s purpose, discuss the author’s line of reasoning, examine grammatical structures and steer the students toward

a follow up writing exercise The last stage of the reading lesson is intended to review the content work on bottom-up concerns such as grammar, vocabulary and discourse features At this point it would be appropriate to put the students in pairs or small groups to compare and verify their responses to the questions or graphics and then check the results with the entire class．

Once the main ideas of the text have been reviewed, work on discrete elements of the passage can be undertaken Exercises could focus on grammar points, vocabulary in context or word roots, or discourse markers Of course we do not need to do all of these exercises with each reading for there is a real danger of murdering the text by dissection Judicious choices should therefore be made depending on the character of the text and the needs of the students． The final segment of the post-reading stage should be devoted to integrating the new inform action from the text with what the students already know In the context of College English course, the usual means

of doing this is through a writing assignment, but other techniques should also be used frequently

including discussions, debates, and role plays The choice in this case depends on the inclinations of the class and to some degree the need for variety．

The teaching reading can be divided into three stages namely the pre-reading stage, the while-reading stage and the post-reading stage In each stage a certain amount of activities can be applied Teaching reading in such a way can provide students with the skills and strategies needed

to become an efficient, effective and independent reader and in the mean while the teaching can also meet the requirement from the students

1.2 Cooperative learning

Cooperative learning is a strategy that maximizes student engagement, reduces class tensions, and promotes student learning Typically, students work in groups of four If you plan to use cooperative learning frequently in classes, consider arranging your classroom to facilitate learning in small groups

The following are examples of how students can work cooperatively to learn more about a narrative work of literature:

- Each group uses a plot diagram to locate and summarize a stage of plot development

- Groups conference briefly with the teacher to ensure their answers are correct

- Students reassemble into new groups comprising one "expert" from each of the previous groups

- These new groups pool their expertise to fill out every stage of the plot diagram

- The session concludes with a class discussion of the novel, short story, play, or narrative poem

1.3 Graphic organizers

Graphic organizers, which provide a visual map for the reader, can be placed next to the text

as learners read in groups or individually, aloud or silently They are particularly useful in helping readers to understand the structure of a narrative or of an argument Following are descriptions of three types of organizers:

- Comparison/Contrast: These organizers can help students consider the similarities and differences

between stories, plots, themes, and characters An example of such an organizer is a Venn diagram, which consists of interlocking circles or ellipses The area common to both circles shows similarities between two items, while the areas unique to each circle show differences between the items

- Hierarchy Diagram: This graphic organizer can assist students who are reading informational

texts of all kinds, whether related to language arts or to other content areas The hierarchy diagram offers the opportunity to apply literary terms to the reading, make connections between the parts of a concept, or analyze the author's craft For example, consider placing characterization at the top of the graphic organizer as the overarching concept The next level of this graphic organizer can then be assigned to characters, and the last level can deal with methods of characterization, including the use of dialogue, author description, and action

- Matrix Diagram: This organizer is effective in representing comparisons and contrasts For

example, students can use the matrix diagram to compare and contrast the styles of various authors

by entering key elements of style at the top and then filling in the lower cells with the similar or different approaches of the authors they are considering

Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and relationships between concepts in a text or using diagrams Graphic organizers are known by different names, such as maps, webs, graphs, charts, frames, or clusters Regardless of the label, graphic organizers can help readers focus on concepts and how they are related to other concepts Graphic organizers help students read and understand textbooks and picture books

Here are some examples of graphic organizers:

- Venn-Diagrams: Used to compare or contrast information from two sources (Appendix A)

- Storyboard/Chain of Events: Used to order or sequence events within a text (Appendix B)

- Story Map: Used to chart the story structure These can be organized into fiction and nonfiction

text structures For example, defining characters, setting, events, problem, and resolution in a fiction

story; however in a nonfiction story, main idea and details would be identified (Appendix C)

- Cause/Effect: Used to illustrate the cause and effects told within a text (Appendix D)

Graphic organizers help students see how ideas are organized within a text or concept Learners can then apply this structure to their own ideas Learners are thus better able to understand relationships between complex ideas or to arrange information to facilitate retention and recall Graphic organizers can:

- Help students focus on text structure "differences between fiction and nonfiction" as they read

- Provide students with tools they can use to examine and show relationships in a text

- Help students write well-organized summaries of a text

1.4 Question answering

completion of the selection, but questions can be a part of a reading lesson at many points

Questions can be effective because they:

- Give students a purpose for reading

- Focus students' attention on what they are to learn

- Help students to think actively as they read

- Encourage students to monitor their comprehension

- Help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know The Question-Answer Relationship strategy (QAR) encourages students to learn how to answer questions better Students are asked to indicate whether the information they used to answer questions about the text was textually explicit information (information that was directly stated in

the text), textually implicit information (information that was implied in the text), or information entirely from the student's own background knowledge

There are four different types of questions:

- "Right There": Questions found right in the text that ask students to find the one right answer

located in one place as a word or a sentence in the passage

Example: Who is Frog's friend? Answer: Toad

- "Think and Search": Questions based on the recall of facts that can be found directly in the text

Answers are typically found in more than one place, thus requiring students to "think" and "search"

through the passage to find the answer

Example: Why was Frog sad? Answer: His friend was leaving

-"Author and You": Questions require students to use what they already know, with what they

have learned from reading the text Student's must understand the text and relate it to their prior

knowledge before answering the question

Example: How do think Frog felt when he found Toad? Answer: I think that Frog felt happy

because he had not seen Toad in a long time I feel happy when I get to see my friend who lives far away

- "On Your Own": Questions are answered based on a student’s prior knowledge and experiences

Reading the text may not be helpful to them when answering this type of question

Example: How would you feel if your best friend moved away? Answer: I would feel very sad if

my best friend moved away because I would miss her

1.5 Question generating

Students can write questions about the story as a post-reading exercise These questions can then be integrated into formal tests or informal questioning games You might want to suggest that students generate questions by adapting sentences from the text Students can also generate questions to identify their own uncertainties about the text They can then try to answer these questions by consulting you or other students

By generating questions, students become aware of whether they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading Students learn to ask themselves questions that require them to combine information from different segments of text For example, students can be taught

to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text

1.6 Summarizing

This is an effective strategy for readers who have difficulty remembering and writing about what they have read A summary can take many forms, including travelogues, journals, double-entry journals, and letters For example, students can create a travel itinerary that summarizes the action of a narrative, can write a journal from a particular character's point of view, can set up a

double-entry journal about the theme of a work, or can summarize events in a letter that one character writes to another

Summarizing requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading and

to put it into their own words Instruction in summarizing helps students:

- Identify or generate main ideas

- Connect the main or central ideas

- Eliminate unnecessary information

- Remember what they read

1.7 Multiple Strategy

This strategy addresses individual learning styles by having students use different media - such as text, images, or video - to analyze or comment on a work of literature For example, readers can follow a procedure like this one:

- Begin analyzing a story by using a worksheet listing the elements to be identified

- Use word processors and instructional software to create and fill in graphic organizers with clip art and fields of text

- Refer to worksheets for definitions to be added to electronic graphic organizers

If students have access to video cameras and editing software, they can also create videos that offer commentary on a literary work

2 Improving your reading skills

Improving your reading skills will reduce unnecessary reading time and enable you to read

in a more focused and selective manner You will also be able to increase your levels of understanding and concentration This section shows you how to read with greater efficiency and effectiveness by using a range of different reading skills

2.1 Reading for study

You already use a range of reading styles in everyday situations The normal reading style that you might use for reading a novel is to read in detail, focusing on every word in sequence from start to finish If it is a magazine you are reading, you might flick through the pages to see which articles are of interest When you look in a telephone directory for a particular name, you purposefully ignore all other entries and focus your attention on spotting the name you want These everyday reading skills can be applied to your studies To improve your reading skills you need to:

- have clear reading goals;

- choose the right texts;

- use the right reading style;

- use note taking techniques

2.2 Reading goals

Clear reading goals can significantly increase your reading efficiency Not everything in print will be of use to you Use reading goals to select and prioritize information according to the task in hand Reading goals can be:

- an essay or seminar subject;

- a report brief;

- a selected subject area;

- a series of questions about a specific topic

Use your reading goals to help you identify the information that is relevant to your current task

2.3 Choosing a text

You will need to assess the text to see if it contains information that is relevant to your reading goals

- Check the date of publication Is the information up-to-date?

- Read the publisher's blurb at the back or inside sleeve for an overview of the content

- Check the contents page for relevant chapters

- Look up references for your topic in the index

Once you have selected a text you can use the following techniques of scanning and skimming to help you identify areas for detailed reading

a Scanning

Scanning is the technique you might use when reading a telephone directory You pass your vision speedily over a section of text in order to find particular words or phrases that are relevant to your current task You can scan:

- the introduction or preface of a text;

- the first or last paragraphs of chapters;

-the concluding or summarizing chapter of a text;

- the book index

b Skimming

Skimming is the process of speedy reading for general meaning Let your eyes skip over sentences or phrases which contain detail Concentrate on identifying the central or main points Use this technique to:

- pre-view a selection of text prior to detailed reading;

- refresh your understanding of a selection of text following detailed reading

2.4 Detailed reading and note taking

Once you have selected useful information, you can begin to read in detail Note taking techniques provide a useful aid to reading Use:

- underlining and highlighting to pick out what seem to you the most central or important words

and phrases Do this in your own copy of texts or on photocopies - never on borrowed texts;

- keywords to record the main headings as you read Use one or two keywords for each main point

Keywords can be used when you don't want to mark the text;

- questions to encourage you to take an active approach to your reading Record your questions as

you read They can also be used as prompts for follow up work;

- summaries to check you have understood what you have read Pause after a section of text and

put what you have read in your own words Skim over the text to check the accuracy of your summary, filling in any significant gaps

These techniques encourage an active engagement with the text as well as providing you with a useful record of your reading Avoid passively reading large amounts of text; it does not make effective use of your time Always use a note taking technique to increase your levels of concentration and understanding

2.5 Increasing your reading speed

It is more important to improve your reading skills than your reading speed Being focused and selective in your reading habits will reduce the time you spend reading If, in addition to using a range of reading skills you want to increase your reading speed, then the following technique will

be of use

The average reading speed is about 240-300 words per minute For the average reader, the eye fixes on each word individually

It is easy for your eye to recognize 4 or 5 words in a single fixation without a loss of understanding The key to increasing your reading speed is not to increase the speed at which your eyes move across the page, but to increase the word span for a single fixation A simple way of developing the habit of taking in more than one word per fixation is to take a page of text and divide

it length ways into three with two lines drawn down the page Using a pen or pencil as a pointer, read each line of text by allowing your eye to fall only in the middle of each of the three sections, as indicated by your pointer

2.6 Developing your reading speed

- Don't worry about how quickly you are reading but instead, concentrate on reading the line in only three fixations

- As this becomes more natural, practice without drawing lines

- Later, reduce the number of fixations to two per line

- Once this increased word span becomes a comfortable habit, an increase in your reading speed will occur

2.7 Summary

- Have a clear focus for your reading Set your reading goals