Using reading portfolios as an assessment and learning activity to develop learners’ autonomy of freshmen in a college in hanoi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES LÊ THỊ BÍCH LIÊN USING READING PORTFOLIOS AS AN ASSESSMENT AND L

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ BÍCH LIÊN

USING READING PORTFOLIOS AS AN ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP LEARNERS’ AUTONOMY OF FRESHMEN IN A COLLEGE IN HANOI

(Sử dụng portfolio đọc như là một hoạt động học tập và đánh giá để phát triển khả năng tự học cho sinh viên năm nhất tại

một trường cao đẳng ở Hà nội)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

HANOI- 2018

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES

LÊ THỊ BÍCH LIÊN

USING READING PORTFOLIOS AS AN ASSESSMENT AND LEARNING ACTIVITY TO DEVELOP LEARNERS’ AUTONOMY OF FRESHMEN IN A COLLEGE IN HANOI

(Sử dụng portfolio đọc như là một hoạt động học tập và đánh giá để phát triển khả năng tự học cho sinh viên năm nhất tại

một trường cao đẳng ở Hà nội)

M.A Minor Programme Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 8140231.01

Supervisor : Dr Tran Thanh Nhan

HANOI- 2018

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

Signature

Le Thi Bich Lien Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Tran Thanh Nhan for her helpful guidance, critical comments, valuable suggestions and contributions in the preparation and completion of this minor M.A thesis

I hereby formally express my debt of gratitude to all staff members of the Post-Graduate Department for their valuable lectures, which laid the foundation of this thesis

I also owe my special thanks to English teaching staff and students at HaTay Teacher Training College for their kind help and great contribution to

my study

Last but not least, my heart-felt thanks go to my family and close friends whose support and encouragement has been especially significant to the success of my thesis

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii

ABSTRACT iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES viii

LIST OF CHARTS ix

PART I: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Objectives of the study 2

1.3 Scope of the study 2

1.4 Methods of the study 3

1.5 Design of the thesis 4

PART II: DEVELOPMENT 6

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

1.1 Assessment 6

1.1.1 Definitions of the concept of assessment 6

1.1.2 Functions of assessment 7

1.1.3 Characteristics of self- assessment 8

1.2 Learners‟ autonomy 8

1.2.1 Definition of learners’ autonomy 8

1.2.2 The roles of learners’ autonomy 9

1.3 Reading portfolio 10

1.3.1 Definition of portfolio 10

1.3.2 Types of portfolio 11

1.3.3 Characteristics of a portfolio 12

1.3.4 Reading portfolio 14

1.3.5 Using reading portfolio as an assessment tool to improve learners’

autonomy 15

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17

2.1 Participants 17

2.2 The course 17

2.3 Using reading portfolios as assessment tool in the college 20

2.4 Research Questions 22

2.5 Data Collection 22

2.5.1 Survey questionnaires 22

2.5.2 Students’ reflections 23

2.6 Research Procedures 24

2.7 Data Analysis 24

2.7.1 Pre – reading portfolio questionnaire 24

2.7.2.Post- reading portfolio questionnaire 25

2.7.3 The students’ perception of reading portfolio on learners’ autonomy questionnaire 25

2.7.4 Students’ reflections 25

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS 26

3.1 Data analysis of the students‟ survey questionnaire before the reading portfolio process 26

3.1.1 Students’ motivation in studying English 26

3.1.2 Students’ learning experience 28

3.2 Data analysis of the students‟ survey questionnaire after the reading portfolio process 31

3.2.1 Students’ attitudes towards the reading portfolios 31

3.2.2 Students’ preferences for tasks requirements on reading portfolios 35

3.2.3 Students’ difficulties in the reading portfolios process 37 3.2.4 Students’ suggestions to improve the reading portfolios contents 38

3.3 Data analysis of students‟ perception of impact of reading portfolio on

learners‟ autonomy questionnaire 39

3.3.1 The impact of teacher’s immediate feedback 39

3.3.2 Students’ views on their self- assessment skills 40

3.3.3 The role of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool 41

3.3.4 The role of reading portfolio assessment in promoting learner autonomy 42

3.4 Data analysis of students‟ final reflection for reading portfolio project 43

3.4.1 Reading portfolios as a learning tool to improve language ability 43 3.4.2 Reading portfolio as an assessment to develop learners’ autonomy 45

3.4.3 Difficulties in reading portfolio process 45

3.4.4 Suggestions in reading portfolio project 46

CHAPTER 4: MAJOR FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 47

4.1 Major findings and discussions 47

4.1.2 Students’ attitudes towards the effects of the reading portfolio activity 47

4.1.3 Students’ difficulties in implementing the reading portfolios 49

4.1.4 Students’ suggestions to improve the self- learning portfolio 49

4.2 Suggestions for applying the reading portfolio 49

4.2.1 Suggestion for the teachers 49

4.2.2 Suggestions for the students 51

4.3 Summary 52

PART III: CONCLUSION 53

1 Summary of the study 53

2 Limitations of the study 54

3 Suggestions for further studies 54

REFERENCES 56 APPENDICES I

APPENDIX 1 DESIGN OF READING PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT I

CLASSROOM PROCEDURES III APPENDIX 3 SAMPLES FOR WEEKLY DESIGNED READING PORTFOLIO IX APPENDIX 4 SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS‟ REFLECTIONS X

FOR STUDENTS BEFORE USING READING PORTFOLIOS XI APPENDIX 6: POST-PORTFOLIOS QUESTIONNAIRE QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS AFTER USING READING PORTFOLIOS XIV APPENDIX 7: POST-PORTFOLIOS QUESTIONNAIRE STUDENTS‟ PERCEPTION OF IMPACT OF READING PORTFOLIO ON LEARNERS‟ AUTONOMY XVII APPENDIX 8: STUDENTS‟ REFLECTIONS XX

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The impact of teacher‟s immediate feedback 39

Table 2: Students‟ views on their self-assessment skills 40

Table 3: The role of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool 41

Table 4: The role of reading portfolio in promoting the learners‟ autonomy 42

LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1 The students‟ motivation in studying English 27

Chart 2 The student‟s frequency of reading English 28

Chart 3 The students‟ self-studying materials in the reading skill 29

Chart 4 Reasons for difficulty in reading English texts 30

Chart 5 The students‟ knowledge of reading portfolios 30

Chart 6 Students‟ awareness of the importance of reading portfolios 32

Chart 7 Students‟ general assessment of the reading portfolio contents 32

Chart 8 Students‟ preferences for the benefits of reading portfolios in learners‟ autonomy 33

Chart 9 Students‟ most gained knowledge through reading portfolios 34

Chart 10 Students‟ preferences for task requirements on the reading portfolios 35

Chart 11 Students' preferences for contents of the reading portfolios 36

Chart 12 Students‟ difficulties in implementing the reading portfolio 37

Chart 13 Students‟ suggestions to improve the reading portfolio contents 38

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1.1 Rationale of the study

Not only recently, teacher and learners in advanced education have complained about serious shortcomings of traditional learning and testing, in which learning is only conceived as the accumulation of stimulus-response association Moreover, most testing systems used in Vietnamese universities consist of only written tests, and mainly focus on checking students‟ memorization of rules or concrete items of knowledge rather than assessing their effort, real understanding or ability to apply knowledge in real situations Meanwhile, the modern society and the labour market are requiring graduates

to acquire higher-order cognitive skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, analyzing data, and being able to present facts and opinions orally or

in written form (Dochy,2001; as cited in Birgin & Bakin, 2007) Those are particular skills that help employees fulfill their increasingly demanding jobs

in a competitive environment In short, there seems to be a gap between what the society requires and what the educational system offers

To bridge the gap mentioned above, it is necessary for university education to provide learners with realistic knowledge and practical skills Furthermore, assessment is required to measure both on–going efforts and learning outcomes More importantly, training students to be active and independent learners should be the ultimate educational aim In order to do so, the only way is letting students take responsibility for their own learning, design their own learning plan, seek out additional learning materials, assess their own progress, and cooperate with others in learning In this regard, portfolio is claimed to be a teaching and learning tool that creates such activeness and autonomy in learners

In the world, various kinds of portfolio have been used since early of 1990s in teaching foreign languages and have shown promising results In Vietnam, portfolio has gradually become a favourable teaching tool at many universities as it combines both instruction and assessment Moreover, portfolio focuses on various language and learning skill not just concrete language items However, this tool has been mainly applied to English major students as it requires much time, effort and higher- order cognitive skills

For the above-mentioned reasons, the researcher would like to carry

out the following research: “Using reading portfolios as an assessment and learning activity to develop learners’ autonomy of freshmen in a college in Hanoi”.

1.2 Objectives of the study

This study aims at investigating the implementation of reading portfolio and examining its effects on developing learners‟ autonomy of English-major freshmen in a college in Hanoi It is hoped to build up a feasible portfolio model and offer suggestions for teaching and learning English language Specifically, answers to the following research questions are sought:

1 What are the effects of reading portfolio on improving learners‟ autonomy?

2 What problems may emerge in the implementation process?

3 What are possible adjustments to tailor the common reading portfolio design and make it more suitable to English major freshmen?

1.3 Scope of the study

Portfolio, especially reading portfolio, can be used for various reasons- assessing learners‟ performance, teaching concrete language item, or assisting learners in improving their autonomy Within the scope of this study, reading portfolio is manipulated mainly as teaching and assessment tool to help

students build up and enhance their awareness of developing learners‟ autonomy in university education

As mentioned above, it has become common to apply reading portfolios to students of English major freshmen Consequently, the study selects a class of 30 English-major freshmen in Ha Tay teacher training college as the tentative subjects to examine the effectiveness of applying reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool to develop the learners‟ autonomy They can be altered to match specific teaching and learning conditions Selection of those adjustments is decided according to pedagogical theories of specialists and teaching experience of the writer of this thesis

1.4 Methods of the study

The study is carried out in form of an action research, conducted by the writer herself as a practitioner in EFL teaching and concurrent with the teaching and learning process Both quantitative and qualitative data are collected in order to get a full view of the effects that the designed reading portfolio brings to learners‟ autonomy

To collect desired data, two research instruments are made use of, namely survey questionnaire and portfolio analysis As for the first instrument, there are three questionnaires- the pre-portfolio questionnaire and two its post- portfolio versions They were conducted to gather information to answer three research questions In addition, teacher‟s notes and informal talks between learners and the teacher- mostly occurring during break time – are used to obtain detailed information about students‟ feedback and suggestions However, these data, merely students‟ opinions in students‟ reflections; thus, are quite subjective Accordingly, to improve the validity of

research results, submitted reading portfolios are analyzed from a pedagogical standpoint to reveal their effectiveness on developing learners‟ autonomy

1.5 Design of the thesis

The study consists of three parts:

Part I: Introduction

This part introduces the objectives, scope, and organization of the study

Part II: Development

This is the main part of the study It is divided into four chapters

Chapter 1: Literature Review

Theoretical background relevant to the topic and critical survey of related articles, books and other resources are presented

Chapter 2: Methodology

This chapter presents the detailed procedure of the study: the ESP course, population selection, and methodology for data collection and data analysis

Chapter 3: Data analysis

This chapter deals with the findings drawn out from the analysis of the data The information gained through the three questionnaires, students‟ reflections as well as the students‟ reading portfolios

Chapter 4: Major findings and suggestions for using reading portfolios

This chapter shows some major findings which lead to some suggestions for using reading portfolios

Part III: Conclusion

This chapter summarizes the main points discussed in the paper and some limitations of the study Besides, implication for English teacher and recommendations for further research are presented

LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS

TABLES

Table 1: The impact of teacher‟s immediate feedback

Table 2: Students‟ views on their self-assessment skills

Table 3: The role of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment Table 4: The role of reading portfolio in promoting the learners‟ autonomy

CHARTS

Chart 1 The students‟ motivation in studying English

Chart 2 The student‟s frequency of reading English

Chart 3 The students‟ self-studying materials in the reading skill

Chart 4 Reasons for difficulty in reading English texts

Chart 5 The students‟ knowledge of reading portfolios

Chart 6 Students‟ awareness of the importance of reading portfolios Chart 7 Students‟ general assessment of the reading portfolio contents Chart 8 Students‟ preferences for the benefits of reading portfolios in learners‟ autonomy

Chart 9 Students‟ most gained knowledge through reading portfolios Chart 10 Students‟ preferences for task requirements on the reading portfolios

Chart 11 Students' preferences for contents of the reading portfolios Chart 12 Students‟ difficulties in implementing the reading portfolio Chart 13 Students‟ suggestions to improve the reading portfolio contents

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE

As the study is centered on the effectiveness of using reading portfolio

as assessment and learning tool to develop learners‟ autonomy of English major freshmen, three key terms are clearly defined, namely assessment, learners‟ autonomy and reading portfolio This chapter is entirely distributed

to review relating theories and practical studies so that these terms are understood precisely and applied successfully to major English learners

1.1 Assessment

1.1.1 Definitions of the concept of assessment

A number of specialized books, journals, seminal articles, conference papers, currently defended theses and dissertations were scrutinized in an attempt to find a comprehensive definition of the concept of assessment These references and other day- to- day classroom practices exhibit a number of functions, forms, tools and techniques available to the teacher, as well as numerous terms, phrases, concepts and descriptions of assessment To demystify these concepts and other pertinent concepts and issues previously mentioned in this section, a brief overview of these concepts is presented below

To begin with, terms like evaluation, measurement and testing have been closely associated with and related to assessment They are even sometimes used interchangeably as means used to gather information on student learning According to Mundrake (2000), “Assessment, testing, and evaluation are terms used to describe the outcomes of the educational process” (p.45) Mundrake (2000) further notes “Assessment is the term currently used to describe all aspects of evaluation and testing” (p.45)

According to Bachman (2004), “The term “assessment” is commonly used with a variety of different meanings Indeed, the term has come to be used so widely in many different ways in the field of language testing and educational measurement that there seems to be no consensus on what precisely it means” (p.6) Brown (2004) defined assessment as “any act of interpreting information about student performance, collected through any of

a multitude of a means or practices” (p.304)

Furthermore, a number of other terms are frequently used more or less synonymously to refer to assessment Assessment is operationally defined as

a part of the educational process where instructors appraise students achievements by collecting, measuring, analyzing, synthesizing and interpreting relevant information about a particular object of interest in their performance under controlled conditions in relation to the curricula objectives set for their level

1.1.3 Characteristics of self- assessment

Good self- assessment should be characterized by four attributes It should be authentical, factual, should be higher informational value and should be motivational for pupils, however, it should be also mistake – oriented at the same time

1.2 Learners’ autonomy

1.2.1 Definition of learners’ autonomy

The concept of learner autonomy emphasizes the role of the learner rather than the role of the teacher It focuses on the process rather than the product and encourages learners to develop their own purposes for learning and to see learning as a lifelong process (Jacobs and Farrell, 2001) Teachers are expected to create environment where learners learn in their own way and hold responsible for their own learning through decision making about their own learning This idea first came into language teaching in the late 1960s and the early autonomous language learning projects were carried within the council of Europe‟s Modern Languages Project in the 1970s

Holec 1(1981: 3) defined learner autonomy as the “ability to take charge of

one‟s own learning This ability is not inborn but must be acquired either by „natural‟ means or (as most often happens) by formal learning To take charge of one‟s learning is to have the responsibility for all the decisions concerning all aspects of learning such as determining object, defining the contents, the progression, selecting method and techniques to be used, monitoring the procedure of acquisition, and evaluating what has been acquired

It is not a simple way to see autonomous learners as the students who have

responsibility for their own learning since many aspects should be taken into account of autonomous learning for instance it is a capacity or behavior, it is characterized by learners responsibility or learner control

There are some variations on the definition of learner autonomy For instance

autonomy is the „capacity‟ (Little, 1991), and the „ability‟ or „skill (Holec, 1981)‟

Benson (2001: 49) argues that „Little‟s definition is complementary to Holec‟s‟, it makes explicit the cognitive processes underlying effective self-management of learning Benson (2001: 47) prefers to use the term „control‟ over learning, because such a construct allows for easier investigation than

„charge‟ or „responsibility‟ Others define autonomy in terms of what it entails

or implies, „self-regulation‟ (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1998; Wenden, 2001) or

„self-direction‟ (Candy, 1991; White, 1999) In language teaching and learning, Little (2007) gave three basic pedagogical principles that characterized autonomous learners (a.) Learner involvement – engaging learners to share responsibility for the learning process (the affective and the metacognitive dimensions); (b.) Learner reflection – helping learners to think critically when they plan, monitor and evaluate their learning (the metacognitive dimensions); (c.) Appropriate target language use – using the target language as the principal medium of language learning (the communicative and the metacognitive dimensions)

1.2.2 The roles of learners’ autonomy

The autonomy of learners is considered as an important factor in making progress in learning According to Bonnet & Cuypers (2003, 2006), the learner‟s own thinking has to be respected in educational context

Specially, Jiao (2005: 28) gives four substantial reasons in support of learner autonomy for English learning:

(i) It enhances the learner‟s motivation and leads to more effective learning;

(ii) It provides learners with more opportunities for English communication in a non-native environment;

(iii) It caters to the individual needs of learners at all levels; and

(iv) It has a lasting influence

Thanasoulas (2000) points out that: “If learners labor under the misconception that learning is successful only within the context of the “ traditional classroom”, where the teacher directs, instructs, and manages the learning activity, and students must follow in the teacher‟s footsteps, they are likely to be impervious or resistant to learner-centered strategies aiming at autonomy, and success is likely to be undermined” (Thanasoulas,2000:9)

Strongly believing in the importance of learners‟ autonomy in learning, Austin (2006) emphasizes:,

“There is no magic solution and encouraging learner autonomy takes time and a lot

of patience on the part of the teacher as well as the learner In some cases it seems almost impossible to achieve and can leave both parties confused and frustrated However, as professionals it is our duty to remember that no matter how tempting it is to revert to spoon course in a manner that gives our learners every opportunity of developing their independence to the greatest extent possible.” (p.186 )

student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self- reflection.”

Simon and Forgette – Giroux (2000, p.36) define as “portfolio is a

cumulative and ongoing collection of entries that are selected and commented

on by the student, the teacher and/ or peers, to assess the student’s progress

in the development of a competency.”

In the article “The Use of Portfolio to Assess Student‟s Performance”, Birgin and Baki (2007) provide various definitions of portfolio Through their summary, it is revealed that many authors such as Arter and Spanel, 1991; Collins, 1992; De Fina, 1992 agree with Paulson, Paulson and Meyer when defining portfolio as collection of learners‟ work with specific purpose(s) through which their learning effort can be revealed However, differing viewpoints do exist Grace (1992) views portfolio as a means to understand students‟ learning process as a whole Sharing the same standpoint, Winsor and Ellefson (1995) add that portfolio provides information about not only the learning process but also what learners can produce with language

Those definitions not only clarify meaning of portfolio but also reveal its benefits In fact, both teachers and learners gain from portfolio as a useful teaching-learning activity and an effective assessment

1.3.2 Types of portfolio

There are different way to categorize portfolios:

Haladya (1997) classifies portfolios into five types that are ideal,

showcase, documentation, evaluation and class portfolio The ideal portfolio,

which contains students‟ all works, is not given to students a grade but they

have to self- assess their own portfolio The showcase portfolio only includes

the students‟ best works It, therefore, is not suitable to be assessed and

graded The documentation portfolio involves a collection of work over time

showing students‟ growth and improvement This portfolio contains quality

and quantity data The evaluation portfolio includes a standardized collection

of student‟s work and could be determined by the teacher or, in some cases,

by the student This type is suitable for grading students The class portfolio contains students‟ grade, teacher‟s view and knowledge about students in classroom

Charlotte and Leslye (1997) categorize portfolios into three major types: working portfolio, display portfolio and assessment portfolio The

working portfolio is an intentional collection containing both work in progress

and finished sample of work Its major purpose is to keep the students‟ work

The display portfolio is sometimes referred to as the showcase or best works

portfolio Its purpose is to showcase the students‟ highest achievement The

assessment portfolio documents a students‟ learning over time, based on

curriculum objectives

Venn (2000) groups portfolios into two types: product portfolio and process portfolio The product portfolio is used to document accomplishment while the process portfolio documents the stages of learning and provides a progressive record of students‟ growth In general, teacher prefer to use process portfolios because they are ideal for documenting the stages that students go through as they learn and progress (Venn, 2000, p.533)

In short, portfolios can be subdivided in various ways to serve different purposes Based on the aim of the instruction, teacher can select a proper type and apply it This study examined the progress students‟ autonomy by using reading portfolio as assessment tool

1.3.3 Characteristics of a portfolio

Paulson, Paulson and Meyer (1991) view portfolio as a concept with various realization depending on who creates it - the learner- as well as the

environment in which it is created – the classroom However, all portfolios still process a number of typical characteristics Following are three main features of a portfolio:

- Combining assessment and instruction: Hamps- Lyons (1994; as cited in Chen, 2006) considers portfolio both assessment and instruction tool through which teacher has a repertoire of evaluation techniques to make use

of Thus, learners can feel as ease as they have more chances to show their effort and improve the final scores Besides, the fear of being assessed may be reduced when assessment is interwoven into instruction Meanwhile, teacher guidance and instruction is undoubtedly necessary to avoid confusion for learners

- Focusing on learners‟ learning effort and progress: Chen (2006) quotes Dudley (2001) to argue that the real aim of portfolio is not assessing but revealing learners‟ effort and progress as well as giving them a sense of achievement Only in this sense, can portfolio show its value and result in maximum benefits In other words, portfolio is a learning tool rather than an assessing tool On the other hand, assessment – though not the most important role of portfolio- functions are a considerable source of motivation Thus, assessment criteria must encourage students to reach agreement on appropriate criteria Besides, these criteria should be clear and easy to understand Normally, they are in form of rubrics with detailed explanation

- Putting students at the center: According to Birgin and Baki (2007), a portfolio should be as student – centered as possible The students are the portfolio‟s real owners in the way that they select its components, contribute

in deciding assessment criteria, and assess it themselves In this process, teacher facilitates guides, offers choices rather than informs, directs, and predetermines priorities as in traditional teaching Lynch and Shaw (2005)

also emphasize learners‟ active participation in selecting the portfolio components, showing their reflection, and deciding evaluation criteria

Besides, Barton and Collins (1997, as cited in Birgin & Bakin, 2007) state that portfolios of any kind should be multi-sourced; flexible in terms of assessment; explicitly purposeful and multipurpose; corresponding to both the course and reality; and, most importantly, encouraging to learners‟ ownership Therefore, all portfolios should be outgoing so that they show students‟ effort, progress, and achievement over a period of time With the descriptions stated above, portfolios are not either the arbitrary collections or observation of student‟s works to be filled haphazardly It is important that the portfolio collections should be purposeful, systematic, with clearly determined evaluation criteria, and are taken over a period of time

Similarly, Lynch and Shaw (2005) propose seven key features that portfolios of any type must demonstrate, among which is the requirement that portfolio evaluation procedure must be through, i.e., both the final product and the process of creating the portfolio are assessed; and is multi- dimensional and gathered from various channels including teacher, peer, and self- assessment

In short, portfolio must interweave instruction into assessment The main purpose is to facilitate students‟ learning so that they have chances to use and then improve their language skills Students also have the right to raise their opinions in how to compose their own portfolios It is crucial for the teacher to preserve these features of portfolio to ensure maximum teaching and learning efficiency

1.3.4 Reading portfolio

A Reading portfolio is a showcase of a reader‟s growth, experiences, and achievement It consists of:

● Self- selected, representative samples of the student‟s work drawn from real reading and responses to reading

● Written justifications for those selections

● Formal presentation of the justified selections to peers, teachers, and parents

The main purpose of a reading portfolio should be to create an environment where students increasingly reflect upon, assess, and control their own reading growth according to program outcomes and goals To promote this, there must be collaboration between teachers and students, with teachers structuring the planning, establishment, and implementation of portfolios, and students taking responsibility for the particulars of their own portfolios Such a student involved classroom environment fosters student participation in the learning process Learning that is both personal and collaborative encourages critical thinking Students who are reading, writing, discussing, and interacting with a variety of learning materials in a variety of ways are more likely to become critical thinkers Critical thinkers are critical and active readers as well They question, confirm, and judge what they read throughout the reading process Students engaged in such activities are likely

to become critical thinkers and learners Since reading portfolios require students to be involved in activities as questioning, confirming, and judging what they read, it is likely that they will become critical readers as well as raise their level of autonomy at the end of the portfolio implementation

1.3.5 Using reading portfolio as an assessment tool to improve learners’ autonomy

The portfolio assessment of reading can show a student‟s growth in the area of reading To understand how this works one needs an understanding of what a portfolio is A reading portfolio is a collection of student work in the

area of reading, the most common type being work collected in a folder It is

an authentic method of assessment because it looks at a student‟s reading as it actually occurs in the classroom on a variety of assignments Reading portfolio shows the process of how a student is learning and focuses on the student‟s strengths as a learner

Throughout the year, the student and teacher collect items that show a student‟s progress in the area of reading The reading portfolio includes teacher observations

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

In this chapter, methodology applied to conduct the research is to be clarified Most important is information about the course in which the study was carried out, the participants, and adjustments made to tailor a suitable reading portfolio for those participants Data collection and data analysis instruments are also presented

2.1 Participants

This study was conducted from December 2017 to June 2018 in a class

at a college in Hanoi Thirty students with only two male students, aged from

19 to 34, participated in the study They mainly came from the countryside In general, they had learnt English for over 7 years However, their proficiency

is not high as revealed in their low entrance examination results, and their learning style is quite passive In addition, they hardly acquired any effective skills in reading, especially with long and complicated texts As a result, they were almost beginners in reading comprehension when entering the college

After a semester studying at this college, their language skills regarding listening, speaking, reading and writing had improved gradually In terms of reading skills, the students, after the first semester, had been accustomed to basic reading skills like reading for main ideas, reading for specific information, recognizing the reading structure and summarizing and had chances to practice on these skills

Besides, the researcher plays the role of the teacher in this study She is qualified to be an English teacher and has four year experience in English language teaching

2.2 The course

To understand the participants‟ background on English learning, it is necessary to describe briefly the time allocated for this language in my

college in general and the specific course within which the study was conducted in particular

At the time of conducting the research, the students had just finished the first semester and were entering the second semester The teaching of reading to the freshmen at the second semester had to meet basic requirements defined in the syllabus One major objective of reading program for students was that after the 15 week semester, their level of proficiency was at PET (Preliminary English Test) PET is one of five “Main Suite” examinations offered by Cambridge ESOL The level of PET is described as low- intermediate and is at B1 in the Common European Framework of Reference

In the reading syllabus for freshmen, students had a weekly 90 minutes lesson in 15 weeks This means that they would have about 22.5 hours of reading in the class, which is not sufficient for students to reach the targeted level of PET To enhance their reading proficiency as well as their reading comprehension ability, students need to do various extensive reading besides classroom activities Therefore, it required a supplementary program to facilitate and motivate student‟s reading

The main course book for first year English major student at my college is Active skill for reading Book 1 and 2 Its objective is to build and develop reading skills for learners Active skill for reading Book 1 is used for students in the first semester and Active skill for reading Book 2 is used in the second first semester

Active skill for reading Book 1 consists of the first thirteen units which introduce basic reading skills such as Predicting the text, Reading for main ideas, Recognizing titles and paragraph topics, Recognizing reading structure, Understanding explicit stated information and Reading Comprehension In this section, the reading texts are familiar topics such as student life, food,

inventions, money, language and communication, festivals and celebration, human achievements, Olympics Its objective is to help students to practice the reading skills they have learned and provides them with plenty of useful information in order to enhance students‟ linguistic competence and background knowledge

Active skill for reading Book 2 includes thirteen units The objective of this book is to deepen students‟ reading skills already acquired in the first semester In addition, two more advanced reading skills are introduced and practiced The language of reading texts in this section is more complicated The comprehension questions after each text not only check students‟ understanding of the text but also provide them with background knowledge about the world and complex language structures and vocabulary

Among the reading skills which are targeted at in the Active skill for reading Book 1 course book, five skills were sorted out as targeted skills in this paper They are:

- Finding main ideas

- Reading for specific information

- Understanding vocabulary from context

- Summarizing

- Making inferences

Five skills were chosen as main skills in the course for three reasons First, they are among the most common reading skills Second, from the researcher‟s experience these skills, especially understanding vocabulary from the context and making inference are perceived as difficult to students The last reason is that they are skills that readers “typically need to develop” (Alderson, 2000, p.1)

2.3 Using reading portfolios as assessment tool in the college

In this study, the teacher established the reading portfolio assessment procedures that was adapted from the frameworks of Johnson, Mins-Cox, and Doyle- Nichols (2009) and Delett, Barnardt and Kevorkian (2001) These procedures were presented step by step below

Step 1: Planning the reading portfolio

This is the initial and crucial step because it affects the success of the reading portfolio project There were four sub-steps in planning reading portfolio assessment: setting purpose, specifying the content of the reading portfolio, establishing criteria for assessment and planning classroom procedures

The first sub-step was setting purpose (See Appendix 1) This project was designed to help students develop five targeted reading skills, which were reading for main ideas, reading for specific information, summarizing, understanding vocabulary from the context and making inferences Besides, the self- assessment skills, self- study and active learning of students were encouraged Through finding materials, the ability of material searching skills was expected to develop well

The second step was determining the reading portfolio content (See Appendix 1) In this step, what to put in the portfolio and how to organize the information were decided The reading portfolio contents included five entries

of targeted reading skills in the second semester Normally, each portfolio entry had to contain:

(i) One sample of text chosen by students

(ii) Lists of new-words and idioms, phrase verbs that found out by students

(iii) Summarizing paragraph

(iv) Teacher‟s assessment and feedback

A students‟ final feedback indicating their reactions towards the whole reading portfolio project and advantages and disadvantages of reading portfolio assessment was attached in the final students‟ reflection

Step 2: Introducing the reading portfolio to the learners

The first week in the second semester, the teacher as the researcher met the learners and discussed the reading portfolio, its purposes, its requirements, the how of assessment and classroom procedures A number of samples and handouts including all necessary components in portfolio design were delivered A portfolio sample with an article with weekly topic, table with lists of three columns included new words, phrases , idioms, and a short summary the content of this article and teacher‟s assessment was given to learners

Step 3: Implementing reading portfolio as an assessment tool

After everything had been ready, the teacher (the researcher) implemented the reading portfolio project according to the reading portfolio design The students did the tasks they were assigned and submitted their reading portfolio entry as in the plan The teacher monitored the process of reading portfolio completion and gave continuous assessment in conferences/group meeting with learners and in learners‟ works to make sure that they went in the right direction

Step 4: Evaluating the reading portfolio process

In the final step of the reading portfolio as an assessment tool, the students were asked to exhibit their portfolio with a showcase of their work in the fifteenth week of the project It was the right time for the teacher (the researcher) to review the entire reading portfolio process and evaluate its

success The reasons for failure and success were aware of for the future improvement

2.4 Research Questions

This study is an action research as the teacher is also the researcher Being aware of her learners‟ difficulties in acquiring reading skill, she decided to use reading portfolio, which is highly recommended by both researchers and experienced teachers, to improve the teaching and learning results Thus, the study is actually the way she applies theory into practice and evaluate changes

by the designed portfolio In details, three research questions are:

1 What are reading portfolio‟s effects on improving learners‟ reading skill and learners‟ autonomy?

2 What are the problems emerging in the implementation process?

3 What are possible adjustments to tailor the common reading portfolio design and make it more suitable to English majors?

1 Students‟ learning experiences

2 Students‟ motivation and interests in learning the reading skill

3 Students‟ knowledge of reading portfolios

* The post- reading portfolio questionnaire consists of 8 questions and focused on:

1 Students‟ attitudes towards the use of reading portfolios

2 Students‟ preferences for working arrangement

3 Students‟ preferences for task requirement on reading portfolios

4 Students‟ difficulties in reading portfolio process

5 Students‟ suggestions to improve the reading portfolio contents

* The students’ perception of reading portfolio on learners’ autonomy

questionnaire includes twenty – four statements related to:

1 The impact of teacher‟s immediate feedback

2 Students‟ view on their self- assessment skills

3 The role of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool

4 The role of reading portfolio assessment in promoting learner autonomy

They are multiple choice questions to which the participants can choose more than one option and if necessary can supply other choices

2.5.2 Students’ reflections

The reflections were written in free style As part of the reading portfolio procedures, students‟ reflections had to be submitted after the final project for teacher‟s assessment These reflections provided the teacher (the researcher) with valuable source of information to judge students‟ progress and a deeper insight into students‟ attitudes towards the use of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool to improve learners‟ autonomy

Each reflection should reflect the thought about the following features:

● The impact of using reading portfolios on their English language level

● The impact of using reading portfolios on changing learners‟ autonomy

● The topics they have collected throughout fifteen weeks

● The tasks they had to complete in this project

● The difficulties things in doing reading portfolio project

● The things that should be changed in reading portfolios

2.6 Research Procedures

The research was carried out in the second semester of school year 2017-2018 At the very beginning of the second semester, the teacher as the role of the researcher chose participants in this study

First, the reading portfolio procedures were implemented in 15 weeks Before doing reading portfolio, the teacher gives the students to do the pre-reading portfolio questionnaire to collect the background information

Second, the reading portfolio plan, its objectives, contents, classroom procedure, home activities and methods of assessment were explained clearly

to the students in the first week From week 2 to 14, the reading portfolio assessment project was carried out During the project, the students‟ portfolio entries were collected, read and analyzed by the teacher

Third, the post- reading portfolio questionnaire and the self- reflection

at the end of the reading portfolio project were delivered to students in the last week of the semester to find out the students‟ views towards effectiveness of reading portfolio on students‟ learning English language skill and students‟ autonomy

2.7 Data Analysis

2.7.1 Pre – reading portfolio questionnaire

The pre- questionnaires gave to the students in the first week mainly got general information about the participants‟ background, information concerning learners‟ understanding, opinion around two key notions- reading skill and reading portfolio This questionnaire provided fundamental knowledge about participants so that appropriate adjustment may be made to design a suitable reading portfolio for English major freshmen

2.7.2.Post- reading portfolio questionnaire

The post- questionnaires delivered to the students at the end of the portfolio process aimed at investigating their perceptions of the effectiveness

of reading portfolio on their own learning as well as on their English language ability The data analyzed data provided useful information for the research questions

2.7.3 The students’ perception of reading portfolio on learners’ autonomy questionnaire

This questionnaire is also given to the students the same time with post- reading portfolio questionnaire focused on the effect of reading portfolio on fostering self-study by self- assessment skill thorough out teacher‟s feedback and the habit of doing portfolios The data collected had the important role to make clearly the research questions

2.7.4 Students’ reflections

As an important part of reading portfolio assessment project, the reflections served as valuable source information for the researcher to identify students‟ progress and benefits they gained from this project It also support a tool to help the researcher have a deeper insight into students‟ attitudes towards the use of reading portfolio as a learning and assessment tool to develop students‟ autonomy

To conclude, this chapter has described outstanding features of the course in which the study occurred, the participants, and data collection as well as analysis instruments Applying such instruments in the targeted participants, the researcher managed to come up with major findings, which will be discussed in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

In this part, the researcher will present the treatment of all data collected from the survey questionnaires conducted on 30 English major freshmen at a college as well as the final feedback reflections in the last time

Among interesting facts about thirty participants identified through this questionnaire, the most prominent ones can be described as follows:

3.1.1 Students’ motivation in studying English

In terms of awareness, the majority of the students (90%) emphasized that English was very important to them Besides, almost all of them, except for two students, have clear learning targets, ranging from short-term such as

to pass the final exam to long term such as to prepare for future jobs, from theoretical such as to widen knowledge to practical such as to get a good job Such positive attitude can be an advantage to the teaching and learning process as learners tend to try harder when they are well aware of the subject‟s importance and have definite learning objectives However, the learners did not perceive due importance of reading skill in particular when the most common order of increasing importance is speaking- listening- reading- writing Surprisingly, this perception differs from linguist‟s emphasis that reading is the most important skill to English majors Nevertheless, most

students acknowledge that reading is not an easy skill In fact, 26% think that reading is very difficult, while nearly three fourths claimed that the skill is difficult Thus, it is necessary for the teacher to raise the students‟ awareness

of the important role of reading skill and guide them to read effectively

Chart 1 The students’ motivation in studying English

The students take notice of the importance of the studying English and

it is shown apparently in chart 1 that 100% of students under investigation agree that the purpose of studying English is to make a successful communication and get high salary jobs in the future Getting high score in the subjects is also another purpose to work on learning English with 60% of the students Ten out of thirty students (30%) state that they study English to satisfy their hobby From the chart, it is presented that most of the student may not be actively responsible for their own learning, which urgently requires teachers‟ effort to reform the teaching methods

3.1.2 Students’ learning experience

About their background in English learning, 92% of all participants have learned English for years as a compulsory subject at school Thus, they are supposed to accumulate not a modest amount of English vocabulary and structure Besides, as far as the teacher knows, reading is the main skill trained at secondary and high school Accordingly, the participants‟ reading skill cannot be too bad

Besides, an interesting fact was revealed that not a small number of participants (42%) put extra time, effort and also money in extra classes for improving their English proficiency However, those classes may focus on roughly grammar not skills Accordingly, only 28% said reading skill was included in those extra courses To make the matter worse, most students do not spend much time reading English texts Nearly three fourths show low frequency

in English reading The chart below will illustrate that fact in details:

Chart 2 The student’s frequency of reading English

To improve reading ability, some participants share that they have been working hard on it outside class because of the short time limit of reading lessons each week As can be seen from the chart, 10% of the subjects admit

they read English materials very often and six out of thirty students state that they often practice the reading skill at home A great population of students (63%) claims that they rarely practice reading English texts after class Meanwhile, it is noticeable concerned that 7% of the students do nothing to improve their reading ability Teachers may wish to employ more appropriate teaching methods and encourage students‟ self- learning

Chart 3 The students’ self-studying materials in the reading skill

It is apparently shown in the chart that most of the students practice the reading skill throughout their course books To some extent, it is a duty, not extra effort in learning Another common kind of texts is those for entertainment accessed through the Internet such as pieces of advertisements, chat texts (50%) Not many students read new articles in English – only 4 in

30 students It is noticeable that only a negligible number of students ( 3 students, equivalent to 10%) read English books on a specific subjects Difficulty of the content and interest may be two main factors affecting students‟ selection of texts to read The habit of reading frequently and selecting mostly easy texts for entertainment as such may result in negative consequences including slow reading speed, limited vocabulary, etc Accordingly, it is understandable that reading was claimed to be difficult by most participants