Teaching integrated reading skills to english majors at an giang university

ABBREVIATIONS CLT Communicative language teaching IAs Integrated activities IST Integrated-skill teaching TIS Teaching integrated skills TIRS Teaching integrated reading skills TIRLs Tea

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

TEACHING INTEGRATED READING SKILLS

TO ENGLISH MAJORS

AT AN GIANG UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Submitted by TRAN THI BICH DUNG

Supervisor

Dr NGUYEN THANH TUNG

HO CHI MINH CITY, AUGUST 2011

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled “Teaching integrated

reading skills to English majors at An Giang University” as the statement of

requirements for thesis in Master‟s Programs at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, issued by the Higher Degree Committee

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma

No other person‟s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text

of the thesis

This thesis has not been submitted for any degree in any other tertiary institution

Ho Chi Minh City, August 2011

TRAN THI BICH DUNG

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Tran Thi Bich Dung, being the candidate for the degree of

Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master‟s Theses deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of theses

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to show my sincere and respectful thanks to those people whose kindnesses have helped to make this work possible

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my dear supervisor,

Dr Nguyen Thanh Tung, for his great enthusiasm and patient guidance, without which the barrier to the completion of this gigantic task could be hardly lifted Had he not helped inspire me with this direction from the very start, the interesting one today could not have been born and grown up Furthermore, his innumerable constructive comments and devoted guidance have helped raise me up to reach this present knowledge I have really learnt a lot from his intellectual and ultra-careful instruction

I owe all the instructors of the course of Master of Arts in TESOL of intake 2 at Ho Chi Minh City Open University, for their valuable sources of knowledge and teaching experiences

I am particularly indebted to the leaders of An Giang University for providing me with necessary permission and favorable conditions With the same feeling, let me reserve

my sincere thanks for those in the School of Graduate Studies of Ho Chi Minh City Open University for their lasting nice support

My heart-felt appreciation goes to all Reading-2 teachers for their kind-hearted cooperation in allowing my long-term classroom observations and in yielding meticulous interviewing answers and those first year English majors for their enthusiasm in giving informative responses to the questionnaires

Some of my close friends, classmates of M.A in TESOL of intakes 1, 2 and 3, and kind colleagues deserve my special thanks for their valuable share of materials, consultation, and irreplaceable emotion and experiences

Last but not least, I owe thousands of deep thanks to my loving parents and older brothers and sister, for their immense love for me throughout the steps of my life

ABSTRACT

Vietnam‟s economic growth indicated the urgency of promoting learners‟ communicative competence in English teaching As such, teaching integrated skills was stirred up and has been employed However, the reality of this teaching orientation revealed disunity among various educational institutions The need to explore how it has been put into real teaching practice is thus aroused

This study, thus, aims at experiencing the implementation of teaching integrated skills

in reading classes to discover issues around this teaching behavior, i.e its merits and demerits, to uncover the practicality of this teaching tendency in reading classes and then to facilitate its popularity

To approach this aim, the theory of teaching integrated reading skills was shaped first Its principles and implications for reading classroom practices were then considered

On such theoretical premise, the study was conducted at AGU from January 18th,

2010, to May 30th, 2010, to gather necessary data from three sources of 52 classroom visits to four Reading 2 classes, 4 interviews with teachers in charge of those classes, and 114 copies of questionnaire for students The data obtained were then analyzed and interpreted based on the analytical framework of textual and descriptive statistics

The findings showed that teaching integrated skills was not used very frequently during three reading stages More importantly, both teachers and students expressed positive attitudes towards its application and disclosed some merits and demerits to pursue this teaching tendency

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

ABSTRACT iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS v

LIST OF TABLES xi

LIST OF CHARTS xi

ABBREVIATIONS xii

CHAPTER 1:INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Problem of the study 3

1.3 Statement of purpose 4

1.4 Research questions 4

1.5 Significance 5

1.6 Overview of the thesis 5

CHAPTER 2: TEACHING INTEGRATED READING SKILLS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 6

2.1 Introduction 6

2.2 Integration of skills in language teaching and learning 6

2.3 The concept of integrated skills teaching 7

2.3.1 Definition of the term “integrated approach” 8

2.3.2 Types of skill integration 10

2.3.2.1 Integration of language skills 10

2.3.2.1.1 The first type of integration: partial integration 10

2.3.2.1.2 The second type of integration: total integration 11

2.3.2.2 Integration of language skills and linguistic knowledge 12

2.4 Skills integration in teaching reading 12

2.4.1 The effect of skills integration in teaching reading 12

2.4.1.1 Enhancement of students‟ positive attitude towards language learning

14

2.4.1.2 Enhancement of students‟ language learning 12

2.4.2 Research results of integrative teaching on teaching reading 15

2.5 Principles behind teaching integrated reading lessons 16

2.5.1 The involvement of skills integration 16

2.5.1.1 Pre-reading stage 17

2.5.1.2 While-reading stage 19

2.5.1.3 Post-reading stage 19

2.5.2 Models of integrated-skill teaching 20

2.5.2.1 Theme-based teaching 20

2.5.2.2 Content-based teaching 21

2.5.2.3 Task-based teaching 22

2.5.2.4 Experiential learning 22

2.5.2.5 Episode hypothesis 23

2.5.3 Guiding principles for integrative teaching 23

2.6 Implication for teaching integrated skills in a reading class 25

2.6.1 Stage 1: Pre-reading stage 25

2.6.2 Stage 2: While-reading stage 26

2.6.3 Post-reading stage 26

2.7 Summary of Chapter 2 27

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 28

3.1 Introduction 28

3.2 General research approach: An ethnographic study 28

3.3 Study setting 30

3.4 Participants 30

3.4.1 Teachers of reading 2 classes 31

3.4.2 Students of four Reading 2 classes 31

3.5 Data types and methods of data collection 32

3.5.1 Observation 33

3.5.2 Semi-structured interview with teachers 36

3.5.3 Questionnaire for students 37

3.5.4 Summary of adopted research measures and procedure 39

3.6 Analytical framework 39

3.6.1 Textual data analysis of observation and interview 39

3.6.2 Descriptive statistics data analysis of observation and questionnaire 40

3.6.2.1 Frequency 40

3.6.2.2 Percentage 40

3.6.2.3 Arithmetic mean 40

3.6.2.4 Standard deviation 41

3.7 Research reliability and validity from methodological perspective 41

3.8 Summary 44

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 45

4.1 Introduction 45

4.2 Analysis of data from classroom observation 45

4.2.1 About the real teaching practice in four Reading 2 classes 46

4.2.1.1 Teaching practice at pre-stage 46

4.2.1.1.1 The frequency of classroom activities used 47

4.2.1.1.1.1 Group of classroom activities used with high frequency 47

4.2.1.1.1.2 Group of classroom activities used with low frequency 48

4.2.1.1.2 Key teaching steps pursued and typical teaching illustration 50

4.2.1.2 Teaching practice at while-stage 56

4.2.1.2.1 The frequency of classroom activities utilized 56

4.2.1.2.1.1 Group of classroom activities used with high frequency 56

4.2.1.2.1.2 Group of classroom activities used with low frequency 57

4.2.1.2.2 Teaching steps and typical teaching illustration 58

4.2.1.3 Teaching practice at post-stage 61

4.2.1.3.1 The frequency of classroom activities employed 61

4.2.1.3.1.1 Group of classroom activities used with high frequency 61

4.2.1.3.1.2 Group of classroom activities used with low frequency 62

4.2.1.3.2 Teaching steps and typical teaching illustration 64

4.2.2 The constraints of teaching integrated skills 67

4.2.3 About the classroom atmosphere in integrated-reading skills classes 71

4.2.4 Summary of the results from observation 72

4.3 Analysis of data from interviews with teacher 73

4.3.1 The importance of reading in relation to the other skills 74

4.3.2 The significance of teaching with integration 74

4.3.3 The application of teaching with integration 75

4.3.3.1 The frequency of skills integration 75

4.3.3.2 Preference for stages to mix skills together 75

4.3.3.3 The usefulness of teaching reading with integration 75

4.3.3.4 The impediments to teaching integrated reading skills 77

4.3.3.5 Factors to successful integrated skills teaching 79

4.3.3.5.1 Preparation before teaching 79

4.3.3.5.2 Factors to notice while teaching 79

4.3.4 Summary of analysis of interview data 80

4.4 Analysis of data from questionnaire for students 82

4.4.1 Students‟ self-evaluation of language aspects 83

4.4.2 The importance of reading and method of teaching reading 83

4.4.2.1 The importance of reading 83

4.4.2.2 Method of teaching reading 84

4.4.3 The necessity of integrating skills and the application of TIS in RC 85

4.4.3.1 General understanding 85

4.4.3.2 The merits of integrative teaching in reading classes 86

4.4.3.3 The challenges of teaching integrated skills 88

4.4.3.4 Reading activities 89

4.4.3.5 The application of teaching with integration in real practice of RLs 91

4.4.3.5.1 Need for integration 92

4.4.3.5.2 Students‟ preference for the phase of integrating skills 92

4.4.3.5.3 Teaching reading with integration 93

4.4.4 Summary of questionnaire data 94

4.5 Overall summary 94

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION 95

5.1 Introduction 95

5.2 Discussion of the findings 95

5.2.1 General findings 95

5.2.2 Specific findings 98

5.2.2.1 Real teaching practice 98

5.2.2.2 Reflections on the application 100

5.2.2.2.1 The merits 100

5.2.2.2.2 The demerits 100

5.2.3 Summary 101

5.3 Conclusion 101

5.3.1 Answers to the research questions 101

5.3.2 Strengths and weaknesses of methodology 104

5.3.3 Recommendations for TIS in RC 105

5.3.3.1 For English instructors 105

5.3.3.2 For educational administrators 106

5.3.4 Suggestions for further research 107

5.3.5 Summary 107

5.4 Overall summary 107

REFERENCES 108

APPENDICES 116

Appendix 1: Classroom observation sheet 116

Appendix 2A: Summary of reading activities used in class 1 118

Appendix 2B: Summary of reading activities used in class 2 119

Appendix 2C: Summary of reading activities used in class 3 120

Appendix 2D: Summary of reading activities used in class 4 121

Appendix 2E: Summary of reading activities used in four classes observed 122

Appendix 2F: Summary of observed data 126

Appendix 2G: Handouts used by Reading 2 instructors 126

Appendix 3: Content of reading 2 course 138

Appendix 4A: Lesson 3 - The secrets of a very long life 139

Appendix 4B:Full transcript of audio-recordingfor reading lesson 3 145

Appendix 5: semi-structured interview questions for teachers 156

Appendix 6: Interview report sheet 158

Appendix 7: eliciting questionsto support semi-structured interviews 159

Appendix 8: Full transcription of a typical interview with F55 162

Appendix 9:Detailed interview summary 169

Appendix 10A: Questionnaire for students (English version) 174

Appendix 10B: Questionnaire for students (Vietnamese version) 183

Appendix 11: Summary of questionnaire results 192

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.4.2: Characteristics of the students involved in the study 31

Table 3.5.4: Summary of research instruments and data collection procedure 39

Table 4.2.1.1.1.1: Summary of pre-reading activities used with high frequency 48

Table 4.2.1.1.1.2: Summary of pre-reading activities used with low frequency 49

Table 4.2.1.2.1.1: Summary of while-reading activities used with high frequency 57

Table 4.2.1.2.1.2: Summary of while-reading activities used with low frequency 58

Table 4.2.1.3.1.1: Summary of post-reading activities used with high frequency 62

Table 4.2.1.3.1.2: Summary of post-reading activities used with low frequency 63

Table 4.2.2: The constraints of integrated-skill teaching 67

Table 4.2.3: The learning atmosphere at the three-stage reading procedure 71

Table 4.3.3.3: Teachers‟ opinions on students‟ performance in integrated reading lessons 77

Table 4.3.4: Brief summary of results from interviews with teacher 81

Table 4.4.2.2: Students‟ opinions on types of RLs employed by teachers 85

Table 4.4.3.1a: Students‟ answers on the term “teaching integrated skills” 85

Table 4.4.3.2: Students‟ opinions about the usefulness of IST 87

Table 4.4.3.3a: Students‟ difference in opinions on the challenges encountered 88

Table 4.4.3.3b: Students‟ opinions on the challenges encountered 88

Table 4.4.3.4: Students‟ opinions on RAs that inspire and trouble learners 90

Table 4.4.3.5.3: Students‟ opinions on teaching reading with integration 93

LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.4.1: Students‟ self-evaluation of English proficiency 82

Chart 4.4.2.1: Students‟ opinions about the importance of four language skills 84

Chart 4.1.3.1b: Students‟ opinions on the use of teaching with integration 86

Chart 4.4.3.5.1: Students‟ opinions about the application of IST in RCs 92

Chart 4.4.3.5.2: Students‟ opinions on favorite stages of skills integration 93

ABBREVIATIONS

CLT Communicative language teaching

IAs Integrated activities

IST Integrated-skill teaching

TIS Teaching integrated skills

TIRS Teaching integrated reading skills

TIRLs Teaching integrated reading lessons

SST Segregated-skill teaching

Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

English has become one of the most widely used languages in the world Truly, a big number of “1.5 billion” over the world population use this communicative medium as

a first, second, or foreign language (Crystal, 2000, as cited in Ya-Chen, 2007, p 27) It has also been acknowledged as “the international language for business and commerce, science and technology, and international relations and diplomacy” (Larsen-Freemen & Long, 1991, p 1) Undeniably, its current position as a global language has been proved via the popularity of this means of communication around the world

As Vietnam is entering the period of development, English is also of paramount urgency Indeed, since the government‟ decision to expand their relation with other foreign countries at the Sixth National Congress of Vietnamese Communist Party in

1986, the country has reached impressive development in many fields, especially in economy That has attracted many English-speaking foreigners to Vietnam for travel,

or business affairs, or commerce In this context, English is required as a language for

“broader communication and cooperation” and thus officially acknowledged (Do,

1999, p 1)

Resulted from such social needs, learning English boomed and was then intensified at

“an unprecedented speed” throughout the country (Do, 2006, p 8) For instance, hundreds of language centers have been established all over the country, with an overwhelming majority of learners studying English (Ministry of Education and Training, 1993, as cited in Do, 1999, p 2) Though it has not yet fully documented,

“around 90% of foreign language learners have been studying English” (ibid., p 8) Not only at language centers but also at schools, those who choose English as a foreign language “outnumber” those who choose Russian, French, Chinese, or other languages though they all have the right to choose the one they like (ibid., p 2) Remarkably, at

workplaces, since 1994, to any applicants, taking official foreign language exams or being able to communicate in English before being recruited has been made compulsory (Le, 1999, p 1)

To really track English training to the age of international communication, thus, teaching expectations for “competent English speaking people” (Le, 1999, p 1) in language classrooms was concurrently stirred It is because “traditional pedagogy which emphasizes the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence” failed to satisfy the requirements of English learning in

an era of integration and globalization (Pham, 2005, p 3) Evidently, since the early 1990s, communicative language teaching has quickly gained popularity in Vietnam (ibid., p 3)

Noticeably, as claimed by Richards and Rodgers (2001, p 67), the aim of CLT is to promote learners‟ CC and such competence was defined by Hymes (1967, as cited in Brown, 2001, p 246) as an aspect of learners‟ ability that “enables” them to “convey and interpret messages” and “to negotiate meanings interpersonally within specific contexts” To meet this goal, language learners‟ various knowledge aspects are involved Among them is the ability to use the language to communicate and it is, as noted by Winddowson (1978, pp 50-68), learners‟ capability to understand, speak, read, and write sentences”

As such, the relationship between CC and language skills is acknowledged Interestingly, Choudhury (2006, p 90) assumed above-mentioned ability can be built

“around the four skills”

On such premise, teachers‟ job to make their students “communicatively competent in L2” was identified Remarkably, such task will involve them in a common mission –

to facilitate their learners “more than being able to perform in each of the four skills separately” (McDonough & Shaw, 1993, p 202)

As such, that language skills need to be taught in an integrated manner gradually receives more recognition Indeed, involving the integration of skills during classrooms practices is considered as the “support of language learning”, as mentioned

Chapter 1 – INTRODUCTION

in Phan and Faulkner‟s research twelve years ago (1999, p 11) The necessity of such teaching way was also heightened by the newly documented English curriculum of Vietnam‟s Ministry of Education and Training which states that the goal of foreign language teaching is to “enable school pupils to communicate in English at the basic level in all modes of communication, namely listening, speaking, reading, and writing” (Canh & Barnard, 2009, p 23)

1.2 Problem of the study

However, despite the awareness of adopting integrative teaching and its importance, its application throughout the country is still confusing At first, the degree of integration is of listening and speaking as they are assumed to be the two key factors

of communicative process Thus, they are joined together as one subject in language

courses in some educational institutions For instance, at Can Tho University (Can Tho

University, 2009, p 1) and Binh Duong University (Binh Duong University, 2009, p 1), instead of being streamed along four separate sessions, language skills courses are organized in three as follows: listening-speaking, reading, and writing

However, besides that of listening and speaking, the extent of integration can be of any Thus, views on organizing integrated-skill oriented courses also varied For example, as Nguyen Hoang Bich Ngoc (personal communication, April 24, 2009) mentioned at AGU teachers are encouraged to engage TIS in skill-oriented classes To put it simply, teaching the four skills is managed in four separate subjects of listening, speaking, reading, and writing in each of which skill integration is devoted to and carried out as teachers‟ own wishes Apart from that, at Ton Duc Thang University, integrated-skill oriented classes are officially required in the curriculum beside segregated-skill oriented classes (Ton Duc Thang, 2008, p 1) This indicates that such two types of lessons are both involved in the same term at this place

Such variations in actual classroom practice of mixed skills prove that skills integration has been receiving interest and concern However, there still exists a situation in which regardless of teachers‟ consciousness of teaching language in integration, their real instructional practices keep resorting to SKT As mentioned by

Vo (2002, p 2) at Nha Trang Teachers‟ Training College, “there still remains the separate teaching of four language skills”

Concurrently, to glance through the research inventory on this teaching orientation in Vietnamese educational context, to the best of her knowledge the researcher discovers that until now there has not been any study carried out on this field to see how it has been practically exploited and worked, the merits and demerits it can bring about to language learning and teaching As a matter of fact, there was one conducted at Nha Trang Teachers Training College by Vo in 2002 However, it only focused on the discussions of designing sample integrated-skill activities which could help empower learners‟ communicative skills

However, in reality, there are various ways to mix skills That can be the integration of any of the four language skills with each of the other three or any combination of them, together with or without linguistic factor To deep dig into the issue, this work will thus minimize its scope to teaching integrated-skill in reading classes only

To what extent can integrated-skill teaching be applied into teaching reading?

This main question entails findings about teachers‟ teaching habit, educational values and potential obstacles Therefore, it embeds three sub-questions below:

1 How do teachers instruct their reading lessons in the light of IST?

3.1 What do teachers and students think about its merits?

3.2 What are the likely impediments?

1.5 Significance

The following contribution of the study to English teaching can be found First, teachers can know more about TIRS in terms of the value, hindrances, appropriate skill mixing stages, and skill integration techniques Second, as teachers are aware of the necessity and potential hindrances of IST, better administration of it will be involved in future teaching situations In this regard, learners are those who benefit most as they can experience useful instructions and authentic and interactive learning environment

1.6 Overview of the thesis

The thesis is composed of six chapters Chapter 1 introduces the problem, aim, research questions, significance and the structure of the thesis Chapter 2 deals with relevant theoretical framework of TIS, grounded in five main components of the definition, types of integration, implementation, roles in language pedagogy, and its implication Chapter 3 is about the methodology in terms of the setting, participants, data types and methods of data collection, and analytical framework Chapter 4 considers the data collected from classroom observation, interview with teachers, and questionnaire for students Chapter 5 discusses the findings in the light of the data previously analyzed and then concludes the thesis with main findings, recommendations for English teaching, and suggestions for further research

CHAPTER 2 TEACHING INTEGRATED READING SKILLS: A

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction

As articulated in the introduction chapter, due to its notable role in language learning and teaching and its marked variations in the application, a desire for an investigation into teaching integrated skills was aroused

Accordingly, as a must, this chapter will shape a theoretical framework of the issue under scrutiny To that end, the chapter, firstly, will consider the relation between skills integration and language learning Secondly, the conceptual definition of the term “integrated approach” and types of integration of skills will be explored respectively Thirdly, the role of this type of instruction in reading classes will be probed into Fourthly, the principles behind TIRS in respect of when to combine skills, how to facilitate skills integration, and what to notice will be discussed in rigorous detail Finally, the application of above grounded theories into real RLs is covered

2.2 Integration of skills in language teaching and learning

Up till now, there have been two contrastive views on the nature of language in terms

of the study of language

The first is the view by Chomsky He assumes learners‟ CC is also their grammatical competence (as cited in Sanchez, 2000, p 22) He equated “a theory of linguistic intuition” with “a grammar” (Chomsky, 1965, pp 3-19) Indeed, he defined learners‟ knowledge of the language system as their linguistic competence and this competence can ensure thier satisfactory language performance Obviously, two factors of the

“social context” of language use and “language learners‟ ability” were not included in Chomskian concept of “linguistic competence” Thus, in Chomskyan sense, once language learners are poured with enough grammar rules of the language, they might

Chapter 2 – TIRS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

be experts in communicative situations

Conversely, the second view believes that these two concepts are completely different notions and the study of language will be inefficient without one of them Therefore, in teaching a second language, teachers try to develop in their learners not just grammatical competence but also their CC (Richards & Rodgers, 2001, pp 67-85; Sanchez, 2000, p 22)

In this part, the second viewpoint will be reviewed as it receives a strong advocate of many researchers at different times and is related to the issue under scrutiny – language skills in conjunction

Indeed, Winddowson (1978) also agrees on this view He stated that language learning involves not merely acquiring the knowledge of the grammatical rules but also the ability to use them in communication (pp 50-78) To him, two types of competence mentioned above can help develop learners‟ ability to produce and understand grammatical utterances and distinguish grammatical from ungrammatical sequences

In this regard, successful communication can be achieved

Obviously seen, the mastery of these two components plays vital role to learners‟ exchanging messages and producing meaningful utterances In such communicative situations, all the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are engaged However, it is also claimed by Hinkel (2006, p 113) that in meaningful communication, skills are not employed in isolation but “in tandem”

It thus can be concluded that language learning requires learners‟ exposure to the four skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking in integration In other words, there is

a connection between language study and teaching skills in conjunction

2.3 The concept of integrated skills teaching

The relationship between IST and language learning has been identified To achieve a fuller understanding about IST, this part will explore issues around this concept in

greater depth by posing its working definition and types of skills integration

2.3.1 Definition of the term “integrated approach”

According to Choudhury (2006), Harmer (2007), Lucantoni (2002), and Peregoy and Boyle (2001), language skills are generally integrated but separately occured Thus, they need to be taught in association especially for the purpose of communication (Winddowson, 1978) Not only that, Chen (2002, as cited in Ya-chen, 2007, p 28) highlights the “possible benefits of implementing the integrated-skill approach” and assumes students can benefit from “practicing all of the language skills in integrated, meaningful, and communicative ways”

Thus, this part tries to propose the operational definition of the teaching method named

“Integrated approach” to shed light at her upcoming exploration Enlightenment on this term can be obtained in the following assumptions

In 1981, though the term integrated approach was not officially defined, skill integration in classroom was known and advocated for its prospect Furthermore, it was claimed the extent of integration much depends upon the activities or the tasks used As Byrne (1981) said, language classroom involves linking the skills in such a way that “what has been learnt and practiced is reinforced and extended through further language activities” (as cited in McDonough & Shaw, 1993, p 204) This belief, obviously, stresses the important role of classroom tasks to integration However, Byrne‟s perspective does not emphasize the essence of skill integration as to him, it occurs naturally when the lessons are instructed

Four years later, in 1985, Richards, Platt, and Webber (p 144) defined this term as the teaching of the language skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking in conjunction, as when a lesson involves activities that relate listening and speaking to reading and writing Though this definition of Richards, Platt, and Webber is composed of a completely different expression compared to what was mentioned by Byrne, it reveals unanimity in using classroom tasks to combine skills Evidently, four researchers all agreed on the key role of classroom activities to integrated skill

Chapter 2 – TIRS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

teaching habits Besides, McDonough & Shaw (1993, pp 203-225) supported this assumption about this classroom instrument

Inevitably, differences can be found beside such similarity in the acknowledgement of the role of classroom tasks Indeed, Byrne mentions to this device for mixing skill together and the positive effects it bring about whereas Richards, Platt, and Webber underline the inevitability of skill combination as the lessons proceed and focus on the pattern of integration which is of oral and written skills

Afterwards, in Scarcella and Oxford‟s definition in 1992, integrated approach is considered as “the linking of the main and subsidiary language skills for the purpose of real communication” and those subsidiary skills being mentioned are grammar and vocabulary (as cited in Kim, 1998, p 26) This claim, thus, makes modification to type

of skills to be mixed by the announcement of the combination between four skills and linguistic aspects On the contrary, previous assumptions about integration techniques and its outcome are ignored

As such, though addressed in different ways, above definitions reveal commonalities First, the integration of skills in language teaching is noticed Second, this teaching orientation is believed to be the destination of teaching procedure Lastly, skill integration is closely related to “communication” Therefore, by giving learners tasks which expose them to these skills in conjunction, it is possible that they will gain a deeper understanding of how communication works (McDonough & Shaw, 1993, p 202) Generally, the necessity of skill mixing in classroom context is acknowledged

Obviously, this instruction is contrary to segregated-skill approach and consistent with the communicative language teaching and whole language To be precise, the former promotes “teaching written and spoken language separately” whereas the two latter emphasize “meaningful and authentic language use” and “the connection of oral and written language development” (Oxford, 2001, p 20; Wilhelm, 1997, pp 1-5; Ya-chen, 2007, p 29)

To conclude, above definitions have made a considerable contribution to the overall

understanding of language instruction labeled integrated-skill approach It involves teaching of oral, written and subsidiary skills in combination and can be achieved via classroom activities used

In this manner, first, it has been known as “the only plausible approach” within the communicative, interactive framework (Brown, 1994, p 219) Second, in reality, it can limit the weaknesses of traditional segregated-skill one in a sense that it highly values the integrated performance of skills and the crucial possibility of connecting skills of learning tasks Finally, it aims at treating skills in an integrated manner, even in a single lesson As Oxford (2001, para 19) announced, “Even if a given course is labeled according to just one skill, remember that it is possible to integrate the other language skills through appropriate tasks”

2.3.2 Types of skill integration

As addressed in the first section, in language teaching and learning process, language skills should be chained to one another for the aim of communication In this part, two main ways of weaving language skills with one another will be taken into consideration They are the integration of language skills themselves and integration of language skills with linguistic knowledge

2.3.2.1 Integration of language skills

There are two main ways of chaining language skills to each other, namely partial and total integration

2.3.2.1.1 The first type of integration: partial integration

The first way of integrating skills is from receptive skills (listening and reading) to productive skills (speaking and writing) This pattern of integration is of the best method of unifying skills Indeed, skills can best be integrated in a model where the

“practice” of receptive skills of listening and reading leads into the “practice” of the productive ones of speaking and writing, as McDonough and Shaw (2003, as cited in

Chapter 2 – TIRS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Djibiti, 2008, p 19) asserted

More interestingly, Burgess (1994) also believed such mixture can be achieved via

“the use of a body of information the learner read or listen to, a discourse expressing the body of information and later reproduce at least some of its content in spoken and/

or written language” (ibid., p 19)

However, this type of integration can be carried out in various orders First, skills can

be integrated along the productive-receptive pattern (ibid., p 20; Celce-Murcia, 2001,

p 200) Second, they can be combined within the same medium of oral-written pattern Some typical combinations of two skills oriented to this pattern are those of listening and speaking, listening and reading, listening and writing, reading and speaking, speaking and writing, and reading and writing (El-Koumy, 2002, pp 61-135)

To sum up, partial integration involves a total of three integration patterns The next will be about a more complicated orientation to mix skills named total integration

2.3.2.1.2 The second type of integration: total integration

Total integration is the combination of all main skills together around certain tasks However, such integration is claimed to be successful only at tertiary levels as it challenges learners to “linguistic knowledge” on use level (El-Koumy, 2002, p 65)

For this pattern, some useful sequences proposed by Read (1985, p 73) are reading-writing-speaking (-writing), listening-writing-speaking-writing, reading-writing-listening-speaking (-writing), and listening-speaking-reading-writing

speaking-In a word, in the level of the integration of skills, two main patterns of partial and total integration are considered In the upcoming section, skill mixing at the level of language skills and linguistic knowledge will be discussed

2.3.2.2 Integration of language skills and linguistic knowledge

This part is about the integration of subsidiary skills with the main language skills The subsidiary skills, as mentioned by Kim (1998, p 26), are vocabulary and grammar For this level, language areas can be combined in two contrary directions The first is the integration of subsidiary with main skills and the second is that of main with subsidiary skills

In conclusion, the researcher has generally gone over the various trends in joining skills together There are two main ways of combining language aspects They are the integration of language skills themselves and of language skills and linguistics areas The first tendency is divided into two of partial and total integration

As such, basic understanding about integrated skills approach and patterns of integration are reviewed The upcoming part will concentrate on issues around IST in RCs

2.4 Integration of skills in teaching reading

The researcher‟s attention is drawn in two main sub-part of the usefulness of adopting integrated reading skill lessons (item 2.4.1) and the consideration of research results on this teaching field (item 2.4.2)

2.4.1 The effect of skill integration in teaching reading

IST is believed to be of crucial necessity due to the benefits it devotes to learners‟ attitudes and language learning Hence, the particulars of this focus will be considered

in terms of attitude and performance

2.4.1.1 Enhancement of students’ positive attitudes towards language learning

In addition to the students‟ considerable improvement in language learning, its application also brings about favorable effects to students‟ attitudes

Integrated-skill approach is believed to be able to nourish students‟ learning spirits as

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it exposed them to appealing lessons and engages them into learning process

McDonough and Shaw (1993, pp 201-202) asserted that students will become more motivated when they see the value of performing meaningful tasks and activities in the classrooms Indeed, skill-integration makes learning more meaningful and purposeful,

as stated by Sánchez (2000, p 24), in a way that:

The students can see that what they are learning or practicing leads to some other tasks It also introduces variety in the classroom dynamics and facilitates understanding of language areas and vocabulary fields to be dealt with in an oral or written passage at later stages

Likewise, via a diversity of integrated activities, learners, especially those of different learning styles, can be provided with “equal learning chances” (Davies & Pearse,

2000, p 75) or “maximum learning opportunity” (Harmer, 2007, pp 266-267; Nunan,

1989, as cited in McDonough & Shaw, 1993, p 206) For example, the extroverts prefer to speak, the introverts to write or read or listen, and the visually oriented ones

to see In this regard, learners can adequately deal with language in their favorite ways; thus, their learning inspiration is raised

Oxford (2001, para 19) assumed due to its innate appeal, the method, whether found

in “content-based or task-based language instruction, or some hybrid form, can be highly motivating to students of all ages and backgrounds” As a matter of fact, Davies and Pearse (2000, p 101) put forwards the reason why integrated lessons are very interesting, enjoyable, and satisfying for the learners It is because it exposes learners

to “authentic language” and “challenges them to interact naturally” in the language (Byrne, 1988, p 95; Oxford, 2001, para 19) Thanks to this, learners can be gradually accustomed to using language communicatively in classes and then employ it confidently in real life Moreover, “By integrating skills, instructors are providing a certain input that becomes a basis for further output, which in turn will be new input, and so on” (ibid., p 23)” In this regard, as Celce-Murcia (2001, p 201) asserted, “the resulting mastery of a topic and a sense of expertise” often motivate them to learn

more

2.4.1.2 Enhancement of students’ language learning

Positive impacts of IST on students‟ language learning are found in their improvement

in other skills and reading comprehension as a result of a raise in vocabulary stock

First of all, teaching language skills together helps trigger the most efficient language learning Specifically, it becomes more beneficial and authentic for the students in a sense that, in real life, when we communicate, one skill is often not performed without any other and, “if something is taken in through more than one channel, it is more likely to be learned well” (Baturay & Akar, n.d., pp 17-20) Additionally, Peregoy and Boyle (2001) stated that the integrated use of oral and written language for functional and meaningful purposes best promotes “the full development of second language proficiency” Specifically, skills integration profits learners‟ language proficiency in general and reading in particular in the way that:

Speaking and listening stimulate reading and writing, reading and listening supply material and information for speaking and writing and support them, while speaking and writing reinforce the language material to be used for further development of reading and listening skills (Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 2003, p 169)

Secondly, according to Krashen and Terrell (1983), the integration of skills provides the learners with a large amount of vocabulary, and with more vocabulary, there will

be more comprehension, and with more comprehension, there will be more acquisition (as cited in Meziani, 1987, p 18)

As such, IST in RCs helps contribute to students‟ development of other skills, vocabulary and reading comprehension

To sum up, by making the lessons more appealing to learners and reinforcing their engagement into learning cycle, this type of instruction helps facilitate second

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language learning

The next discussion will provide research results of TIRS

2.4.2 Research results of integrative teaching on teaching reading

Remarkable changes in students‟ language outcome and learning attitudes via the exposure to integrative teaching can be reflected in many works below

First, a pilot study on students of Business English in Ukraine by Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (2003, p 172-173) to check the efficiency of the suggested instruction labeled integrated-skill approach showed an improvement in students‟ test results

of group A1 and A2 Indeed, all four groups involved are in equal learning condition except the teaching method Group A1 and A2 received instruction with the use of video as a main tool for implementing this approach On the other hand, group C and D were instructed with the traditional method It means that, first, students read the texts given to them and either retell the content or answer teachers‟ questions about that content after that There were no discussions, brainstorming, simulations, reading individual texts, and exchanging information about them, or no writing essays on the subject matter of what was read Students, then, after the course had a 10-reading comprehension question post-test However, it is worth paying attention that such post-test had unfamiliar format and was higher in the level of difficulty compared to pre-test Amazingly, the test results of groups A1 and A2 were considerably higher than those of groups B and

C This means that those of group A1 and A2 could approach the text test more successfully or their reading ability was improved

Second, a case study on Business-major sophomores in Taiwan by Yachen (2006, pp 27-35) to discover their satisfaction with and views on integrated-skill instruction during the English course also indicated promising results To be specific, 90% of the students felt that the class was successful and appropriate for their foreign language and recommended the continued use of the integrated-skill approach in class in the next academic year The same percentage marked that they enjoyed reading, writing,

speaking, and listening in classes and favorite activities of 80% of them were watching and discussing movies or films with English subtitles and writing a play to perform All twenty interviewees said that they liked these activities as these tasks could increase their learning motivation and facilitate interactions among peers Thanks to those tasks employed, students could interact with texts and each other in a seamless integration of the four skills In contrast, before the study, more than 95% agreed that language instruction should focus on practicing linguistic form and more than half of them viewed reading, listening, speaking, and writing as separate and independent language processes

Third, research results from questionnaire surveys conducted in three high schools in Addis Ababa by Djibiti (2008, p.61) showed that learners felt motivated and interested

in integrated-skill oriented classes compared to separated-skill oriented ones Actually, 43.31 and 51.28 of them respectively confirmed that they had very high interest and motivation to learn language skills in integration while the minority of them accounted for 6.41 replied in contrast

Obviously, both the pilot study and the questionnaire survey indicate that exploiting IST in any language classrooms is inevitable as it can make positively amazing contributions to learners‟ language learning in general and their reading comprehension in particular In other words, it helps facilitate their language outcomes and learning atmosphere which is of primary demand in achieving the language

2.5 Principles behind teaching integrated reading lessons

Substantial effects of IST on students‟ improvements have been identified Therefore, this part tries to approach to necessary principles behind teaching integrated RLs To equip the audiences with enough information, three main accounts of stages to involve integration, models of integrative teaching, and some basic principles for successful IST will be disclosed in this part

2.5.1 The involvement of skill integration

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According to Brown (1994) and Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (1999, 2003), skills integration can be exploited at all three stages of the reading procedure

2.5.1.1 Pre-reading stage

At pre-reading stage, reading can be incorporated into speaking and listening However, the order and the extent may vary Actually, they are linked to one another in two main paths

The first integration is of reading with speaking and listening (Brown, 1994, p 220) However, this combination is built of two phases

At the first phase, reading is combined to speaking Usually, to achieve speaking integration, “a pre-reading discussion of the topic” is used (ibid., p 220) This mixture is to activate learners‟ schemata which are extremely important to aid their comprehension Specifically, it helps trigger and prepare their background knowledge of the content of the texts before starting their reading (Ur, 1996, as cited in Erten & Karakas, 2007, p 117) Additionally, having learners predict the content of the subject-matter can help stimulate their interest and engage them in the texts before actual reading takes place (Razi, n.d., para 21)

reading-In regard to the second phase of pre-reading stage, reading can be integrated into listening via teachers‟ having learners listen to a lecture or a series of informative statements about the topic of a passage to be read (Brown, 1994, p 220) This connection brings learners about an abundance of benefits For instance, learners‟ listening ability and other related aspects like pronunciation, vocabularies, and grammatical structures are elevated More importantly, learners can approach the content of the texts more easily due to the background information they have just achieved from previous listening (Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 1999, p 11)

However, such path of integration can trouble learners in some cases For instance, if the topics to be discussed are beyond learners‟ levels or experiences, they will fail to

fulfill the activities in terms of sharing opinions or discussing the contents Hence, as Krashen (1993, as cited in Al-Issa, 2006, p 45) advices, the texts to be read should

be of learners‟ choice and interests to help them overcome hindrances relating to unfamiliarity with the topics of the texts or be in their first language to help them accumulate enough knowledge for understanding materials in the second language Additionally, listening activities may really challenge low-level learners, especially those with bad listening ability

The second way of integrating skills, accordingly, is proposed to help eliminate above problems As suggested by Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (1999), at first, reading should be incorporated into listening, then into speaking (p 11) The reasons behind such suggestion may vary For instance, learners need to be introduced to the theme to be read to orient their attention at first (Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 2003, p 170) Next, this connection can equip learners with some background knowledge or activate their prior knowledge that will be extremely helpful to the next stage of reading procedure (Ya-chen, 2007, p 33); thus, it can facilitate reading comprehension For the second phase, discussion activities are of the center of attention, including teacher-student and student-student discussions (Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 1999, p 12) The discussions are to check learners‟ degree of comprehension or clarify what they fail to understand during listening process and share information obtained from the listening

Above combinations contribute to eliminate the difficulties caused by unfamiliarity with the topics or themes of the reading texts Moreover, this stage,

as a whole, makes it possible for students not only to guess fairly accurate the content of the texts to be read in the next stage and articulate their background knowledge to this content, but also to make further reading a reasoning task (Swaffar, Arens, & Byrnes, 1991, as cited in Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 1999, p 12)

Ideally, at pre-reading stage, the fundamental skills integration tracks to the path

of reading-speaking-listening or reading-listening-speaking since it helps arouse

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learners‟ interests in the topic about to read and build firm initial foundation for reaching reading comprehension

2.5.1.2 While-reading stage

If in pre-reading stage, reading is linked to oral skills, for this step, the basic orientation of integrating skills is the integration of reading into speaking In real practice, a series of discussion activities can be used to foster this connection Its aim is to compare what was achieved at pre-stage to what has just read

By this way, students can perceive some profits For example, their oral communication can be promoted (Degtiariova & Tarnopolsky, 2003, p 171) The texts are fully exploited and the content of the lesson is much enriched (Baturay & Akar, n.d., p 18)

Generally, while-phase should be devoted to speaking

2.5.1.3 Post-reading stage

In the third step of the reading cycle, reading is proposed to be integrated into writing or the other three skills Beside the improvement of language skills resulted from above connections, other related micro-skills will be enhanced For example, at first, in order to make a good summary, learners must extract the content, make use of key words and structures, or writing styles, and improve skills of summarizing the text in fewer amounts of sentences and words Then, learners may be aware of “cohesive devices” or “transitional words” used in the reading texts They, then, more or less, take advantage of them to write more smoothly or deal with similar readings successfully (Grabe, 2001, as cited in White, Berg, Quintana, Grayson, & Weng, 2007, p 45) Finally, this post-activity can be used as a basis for achieving profound interpretation of the texts as it “leads them to a deeper analysis of the text” (Barnett, 1988, as cited in Erten & Karakas,

2007, p 118)

Clearly, an efficient post-reading stage must provide an opportunity for the integration of reading with writing or the other three skills to help learners achieve the real content of the texts

In summary, it is worth noticing that integrative instruction can be carried out during the three-stage reading procedure and is really beneficial to learners‟ comprehension in some ways It first helps raise students‟ interest in the topic for reading and activate their background knowledge for latter real reading Then the learners can approach the text more easily to thoroughly achieve its real content

Though the method is well-known for its advantages, how to best capitalize its potential benefits is of great demand That mainly depends on the instructional models teachers adopt and the guiding principles they follow while instructing the lessons The upcoming sections will consider sort of integrative teaching models in respective

2.5.2 Models of integrated-skill teaching

Obviously integrative teaching plays significant role in language learning process However, how to successfully track the lessons along an integrated manner is of crucial concern The following subparts, based on the ways the lessons are organized

in the classrooms, will propose five models of language instruction through which skill integration can be promoted They are labeled theme-based teaching, content-based teaching, task-based teaching, experiential learning, and episode hypothesis

2.5.2.1 Theme-based teaching

Usually, for theme-based teaching, the learning process is structured around various

themes or topics While building the lessons around certain themes, instructors can create many chances of integrating skills For instance, to conduct a reading lesson which reflects language skill integration around a certain theme, teachers can have students read articles or chapters, view video programs, discuss issues, propose solutions, and carry out writing assignments on such a theme (Brown, 1994, pp 220-

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224; Yachen, 2007, pp 29-36)

The values of such organization of the lessons around certain topics are in the enhancement of not only learners‟ language skills but also their linguistic knowledge and the satisfaction of their multiple interests as well, via exposing to a variety of topics of their likes or real-life issues at the same time In other words, with theme-based courses, learners can enjoy intrinsic motivation of learning and perceive complete integration of skills

2.5.2.2 Content-based teaching

Content-based teaching mainly focuses on learning content through language For this

type of instruction, instructors, thus, use the language to transmit informational content

to learners In other words, it is the content, but not language, the center of learning and teaching

It is believed that this teaching model is the strong form of the previous one (Brown,

1994, p 223) They, thus, share the same way of instructing students around the content of the lessons For instance, it leads learning process basing on major principles such as “automaticity”, “meaningful learning”, “intrinsic motivation”, and

“communicative competence” Moreover, this type of teaching can be useful to learners of all levels of language ability, but the nature of the content may differ from learners to learners Specifically, for beginners, the content often involves basic social and interpersonal communication skills, but past this level, it can become increasingly academic and complex (Oxford, 2001, para 14)

However, following this teaching model, teachers must suffer from some challenges as follows (Brown, 1994, pp 222-223; Oxford, 2001, para 13) First, they must be an expert on a variety of the subject areas beside the profound language knowledge Additionally, contrary to the traditional curriculum, this type of instruction requires teachers to orchestrate the lessons in a completely different way It means that they have to persuade and enjoy the new teaching philosophy

2.5.2.3 Task-based teaching

This instruction is contrary to the second model in term of its teaching focus Actually, this one emphasizes tasks that require communicative language use In other words, the aim of teaching is not language, but rather the functional purposes for which language is used

This model brings learners an abundance of benefits (Brown, 1994, pp 230-232; Oxford, 2001, paras 14-16) Specifically, during task-based instruction, several language skills are involved while learners fulfill communicative tasks Moreover, students‟ interaction and collaboration in the form of group work and pair work are enhanced More importantly, like content-based teaching, this type of teaching is suitable to learners of all language levels but the content or the requirements for each task may vary For instance, beginners might be asked to introduce each other and then share their information with peers More advanced students might do more intricate and demanding tasks such as taking a public opinion poll at school, the university, or a shopping mall

The strength of this instruction is that it can intrinsically motivate learners to learning since they can make up and tell about their own stories rather than just deal with those

of other people Thus, they can talk about things of their interests and enrich their language knowledge Additionally, via real and concrete experiences, language is

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discovered and reinforced and utilization of multiple skills is involved

This way of teaching benefits learners in a sense that learning process will involve learners in the new content of the episodes Moreover, via the interaction between cognitive process and language knowledge form, “expectancies” which may be very useful for deeper understanding of such episodes are formed

In brief, the five models of integrated-skill approach above are in common use once

teachers want to vary the way to maintain integrated-skill focus in teaching However,

to really take advantage of this teaching orientation, its guiding principles should be taking into consideration The next writing will rest on this

2.5.3 Guiding principles for integrative teaching

Despite the variations of tracking the lessons to integrated purpose and the benefits integrated-skill oriented courses bring about, the implementation of this teaching tendency is believed to be really a challenge to any language teachers Instructors, therefore, need to notice leading factors below for carrying out integrated skills teaching successfully

First, the tasks or the topic of learning used to link skills to one another should be relevant to learners “interest” and “language proficiency level” (Nunan, 1989; Richards, 2001, as cited in Djibiti, 2008, p 55) They should not be too difficult or too easy and interest learners since, as Sánchez (2000) proclaimed, “only when the students are able to understand or express the language they need or want, can we

think there is a sense of achievement, which is vital in the learning process” (p 24)

Second, teachers should provide learners with maximum chances of working in pairs

or in groups as “pair and groupwork offer many more opportunities for integrating skills” (Byrne, 1976, p 130) Some activities used to serve this purpose are

“questionnaires, quizzes, describe and note, draw the picture, how much can you remember?, and project work” (ibid., pp 132-133) or “listening and note-taking using audio and video-based materials, making oral presentation, role play or simulation activities, project work” (McDonough & Shaw, 1993, pp 214-220), or discussion (Davies & Pearse, 2000, p 83), and drawing a mind map (Celce-Murcia, 2001, p 200) However, working in pairs or groups can make students feel irksome or even demotivated to learning, especially when they are streamed inappropriately or in unsatisfying way Hence, it is proposed after letting students experience in pairs and groups, teachers should encourage individual reflections in various language form (Harmer, 2007, pp 165-174)

Third, teachers have to spend lots of time preparing various appropriate activities or tasks which can help facilitate maximum skill integration For instance, the tasks should be of different levels and elicit various levels of performance or comprehension (Harmer, 2007, pp 127-131; Ur, 1996, p 151) Then, they need to be aware of the students‟ “different skill levels” to select suitable types of integration (El-Koumy,

2002, pp 17-19; Jing, 2006, p 5) Specifically, instructors can offer chances of integrating subsidiary skills with main language skills at the primary level, or main language skills with subsidiary at the preparatory levels, or total integration of all language skills at university level This is due to the fact that accuracy is the first essential element in the development of communication skills Talking about this, Kyriacou (1991, as cited in Baturay & Akar, n.d., pp 19) points out that to integrate skills, those activities chosen should be appropriate so that the transition between activities would be smooth

Fourth, instructors should make a balance between integration and separation since segregated-skill teaching can also help accelerate students‟ language learning

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(Brown, 2001, p 233) Actually, a course on separate skills provides learners with basic linguistic knowledge which is extremely crucial for the first stage of language learning and chances for high intermediate and advanced levels to improve more specialized skills and knowledge (such as phonological, morphological, syntactic, lexical, semantic, and discourse elements)

In short, such realization of above principles sets its role as useful guidelines for real classroom practice It can be considered as potential remedies to barriers to successful IST Once they are satisfied, the method is best exploited

Generally, to run integrated-skill oriented classes successfully, consideration towards choosing appropriate integrative teaching model, designing and adapting integrated activities should be given

2.6 Implication for teaching integrated skills in a reading class

The essence of pursuing integrated-skill-oriented reading lessons is sharpened and reinforced Grounded on the theoretical framework for such teaching style, a detail description of a three-stage reading lesson is going to be addressed in the next subparts

2.6.1 Stage 1: Pre-reading stage

As claimed by Brown (1994), before reading, instructors can have learners discuss the topic to be read at first To diversify such discussion activities, teachers can exploit, as Araham (2002, as cited in Erten and Karakas, 2007, p 117) proposed, the discussion of titles, subheadings, photographs, or identifying text structure, or previewing Then, they can let their learners listen to a lecture or a series of informative statements about the topic of a passage to be read

Alternatively, teachers, based on Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (1999), can begin the RLs by first of all letting their learners listen to teachers‟ short oral presentation of the topics or recordings or video fragments and video episodes of the same

contents Students‟ discussion of what was failed to understand when listening or what was achieved from the listening tasks and sharing-opinion activities in pairs

or groups are carried out right afterwards, and then followed by the presentations

of the summaries of all the discussions in each groups To end this stage, a new teacher-fronted discussion based on previous presentations is involved

No matter which order of pre-stage activities the instructors pursue, reading is always devoted to listening and speaking Besides, writing can also be involved in this stage As suggested by El-Koumy (2002, p 115), teachers can ask students to write their own experiences about the theme of the texts before they read

2.6.2 Stage 2: While-reading stage

Since learners have already been prepared for reading process and this is the core

of a reading procedure, the first main activity exploited at this stage is reading As proposed by Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (2003), the reading texts may be approached in two different manners They are the reading of the same texts by all the students and that of separate texts or passages by different students At the same time, as El-Koumy (2002) advised, students are required to take notes while they read After reading, learners are asked to work in small groups of three or four discussing the main ideas of the texts, or giving their personal opinions about what has been read, or exchanging information obtained from individual texts just read or comparing what was achieved at pre-stage to what has just read

Though while-reading stage is to reinforce learners‟ reading comprehension, such ways of organizing reading activities still enable learners to engage speaking and listening, and even writing in form of note-taking experiences into this phase

2.6.3 Post-reading stage

After reading, to help readers fully achieve the real contents of the texts, some more activities are utilized As suggested by Brown (2001), Cunningsworth (1995), Degtiariova and Tarnopolsky (2003), and El-Koumy (2002), after approaching the

Chapter 2 – TIRS: A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

contents, learners are required to carry out simulation activities on the basis of information achieved in the previous stage Alternatively, instructors can have their students paraphrase a section of the reading passage based on their understanding about the text, or write something based on what they have read, using different information or giving information in a different form Then, the results from these writing activities are utilized for peer reviewing and discussing Teachers can also have their students summarize, synthesize, and criticize about what they have read By this way, the other three skills are thereby involved into this period

In summary, thanks to those activities namely discussion, listening to the texts, giving presentation, expressing opinions, paraphrasing, summarizing, reflecting, teachers can create many chances for learners to link reading to speaking, listening, and writing

2.7 Summary of Chapter 2

In short, Chapter 2 has carefully described the theoretical foundation of IST In this regard, a discussion about the link between skill integration and language teaching was considered first Emerge from that is the assumption on the necessity of combining skills Second, the concept of IST is covered by its definition and ways of combining reading to other skills Two tendencies of partial and total integration are then presented Third, it continues with discoveries of teaching reading in association with the other skills Built up from that is the principles for IST Finally, the chapter ends with the application of integrative teaching into real practice of RL

As such, the next step the researcher tries to pursue is to develop her own research plan in order to approach the answer and problem identified in the previous chapter

To that end, the next chapter - chapter 3 - will specify how the study was set up