the effect of using mind mapping technique on enhancing nguyen huu canh high school students’reading skills

SÁNG KIẾN THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS Người thực hiện: Nguyen Phan Van Anh... SÁNG KIẾN THE EFFECT OF USI

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SÁNG KIẾN THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS

Người thực hiện: Nguyen Phan Van Anh

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SÁNG KIẾN

THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS

Người thực hiện: Nguyen Phan Van Anh

8.2 The effectiveness of using mind-mapping technique on enhancing students’

THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN

1 Tên sáng kiến: THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE

STUDENTS’READING SKILLS

2 Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến: Ngoại ngữ

3 Tác giả:

- Họ và tên: Nguyễn Phan Vân Anh Nam (nữ): Nữ

- Trình độ chuyên môn: Cử nhân

- Chức vụ, đơn vị công tác: Giáo viên Tiếng Anh-Trường THPT Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh

- Điện thoại: 0933095858 Email: vananh@nhc.edu.vn

Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo ra sáng kiến (%): 100%

THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS

According to Barnett (1989), reading comprehension is considered as an essential part

of the teaching and learning process in second language acquisition Not only does itserve the important purposes in after the students’ completion language study atschool, it also promotes the literacy skills later Moreover, the ability to analyze andinterpret written materials is an integral element of success at tertiary level (Ntereke &Ramoroka, 2017) Nevertheless, in high school’s context, study about readingcomprehension suggests most students find it hard when dealing with reading texts.They almost do not understand the texts and cannot complete the tasks due to theirineffective and inefficient strategies (Wood, et al., 1998) L2 research also shows thatone effective comprehension strategy is the use of mind-mapping (Liu, Chen &Chang, 2010) Generalizing the main ideas of the reading passage and vocabularyacquisition are somehow struggling for high school students Teachers,conventionally, ask students to highlight new vocabulary and they will explain themeaning of the words, make students learn by heart The students have to memorizenew words immediately and follow the reading text, simultaneously Therefore, I havethought of a new way to help students to not only memorize new words in context buthave a thorough understanding of the reading text

This study investigated whether mind-map is an effective learning tool to NguyenHuu Canh High school students’ reading skills and their perception towards the use

of mind-map

Research objectives

The study is conducted to examine the effectiveness of mind-mapping on NguyenHuu Canh High school students (Grade 12)’ reading skills, following are the tworesearch questions:

1 Does mind-mapping have an effect on students of Grade 12’s reading skills?

2 What’s students’ attitude towards the use of mind-mapping on reading skills?

2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Definitions of mind-mapping

Mind-mapping refers to a cognitive tool which can be used to organize or summarizeinformation while people are learning (Hillar, 2012) The fathers of mind-mapping,Buzan and Buzan, (1995) defined the Mind Map as an expression of Radiant Thinkingand is therefore a natural function of the human mind They claim that mind map is aninfluential graphic technique which can provide people with a unique key tounlocking the potential of the human brain (Buzan & Buzan, 1995)

In general, those definitions consider mind mapping to be the application ofgraphic or visual images to help our brains capture knowledge effectively Mindmap’s rules are based on the fact that human beings can memorize the graphic orvisual information much more easily than the information presented in the form ofwords or numbers

2.2 Characteristics of mind-mapping

Buzan and Buzan (1995) described mind-mapping to be a powerful graphic techniquewhich provides a universal key to unlocking the potential of human brain Moreover,they also have emphasized that the Mind Map can be applied to every aspect of lifewhere improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human performance.According to Buzan and Buzan (1995), mind-mapping has four important features.Firstly, the subject of attention is crystallized in a central image This image conciselyreflects the theme of the whole mind map Secondly, the main subject matters radiatefrom the central picture like tree branches Thirdly, on these branches or associatedlines grow various phrases carrying information directly relating to the central image.Information of lesser importance will be presented on branches radiating from high-level ones The Buzan brothers also noted that mind maps’ liveliness and beauty can

be enhanced by adding pictures, signs or colors,

which is believed to encourage the process of information recall Finally, branches associated with a specific mind map will create a connected nodal structure (p.59)

3 METHODOLOGY Research context

I chose to work with students of grade 12 since they are not only in need of beingequipped themselves with an effective learning technique before entering GCSE butacknowledging about mind mapping skill before they are university students Theyalso have a shortage of a good building repertoire of words This is the reason whythey might acquire new lexis through the use of mind mapping technique

The qualitative data is to gain an insight towards the student’s attitude, and thequestions of the interview are built based on these thee subscales For the interview, 3students are chosen based on their academic performance from the test: 1 from the

low level, 1 from the average level and 1 from the advanced level The interviewquestions were developed based on the questionnaire with detailed questions togather in-depth information from the students for the effectiveness of mind-mapping.

- Think that it is unwise to share

all the thoughts.

- Agree that women should

sacrifice more in marriage.

- Wife can demand a record of her

husband's activities.

American's viewpoint

- Believe in romantic marriage.

- Much concern with physical attractiveness.

- Think that husband and wife should share all the thought.

- Agree that marriage is a partnership

of equal.

- Wife trusts her husband to do the right things because he loves her

4.2 Tree maps

A tree map, with its branches, stimulate readers to move from general information

to the specific one, systematically It starts with one central element and branches

out more information till the lines are exhausted We can use this tree map in unit 16: The association of Southeast Asian nations.

According to author, it helps learners easily memorize the information, especiallynumbers and events

Made by Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu’s group- 12A10 (school year: 2019-2020)

4.3 Buzan maps

It is voted for not only its popularity but its flexible usage as well By mapping outkey words as well as colored pictures or lively photos for all the relevantknowledge about a specific topic, leaners could easily memorize the lesson

For example, we can use this kind of mind map in unit 10: Endangered species or unit 14: International organizations.

The following works are made by students from class 12A2 and 12A10

To accompany students with using mind map, teachers might follow the followingsteps

5.1 Step 1: Set up the topic/ theme/ key words

Teacher should build up the topic or key word since memorizing key words helpsstudents to frame the content of the lessons Moreover, key words / topic helpstudents to avoid a wandering from the subject

5.2 Step 2: Set up the location of the topic/ theme/ key words

Teacher and students should always put the key words in the center of the mind map

no matter what shape it embraces; the main thought will be easier to discover if it

lays at the core The central idea should be represented visually (using short phrases

in extensive mind maps or replacing words with symbols, emoji or illustrations) in away that grabs attention and makes it clear what you want to describe/ present

5.3 Step 3: Add top-level themes (Set up the content of the reading)

Top-level themes mean the main information we have to remember from the text.For example, in Unit 1 Friendship, there are 5 characteristics of friendship so wehave 5 main branches which are the top-level themes We should start with the bigitems, and then move into the detail

Generally, the users might take advantage of question” in mind maps question” helps to build, memorize and connect information much easier in thepalaces of memory

“WH-5.4 Step 4: Sub-branches and notes

This is where teacher and students outline the smaller details of the reading byanswering the abovementioned questions in details Teacher and students should addmore colorful pictures or drawing as well as sketch notes to illustrate the mind maps.Curvilinear branches are recommended to use

5.5 Step 5: Presentation and Comment

A finished mind map should be outlined in the way the audiences could obtain themain content of the reading, especially new vocabulary at the center of the map.When teacher draws a mind map to present a content of a reading, she shouldinvolve her students ‘ideas in the lesson and then compare their own ideas with theparagraph in the textbook

When students are asked to make a mind map, a representative of each group willmake a presentation in front of the class, which helps the students to better theirpublic speaking skills After that, the other students will discuss and comment onthe presentation with teacher’s support

6 RESULTS

6.1 The research sites

This study is conducted in Nguyen Huu Canh High School in Bien Hoa City, DongNai Province, Vietnam

I have divided each class into two groups for the tests Group 1 accessed to thereading in conventional way and Group 2 had to make some kinds of mind mapbefore learning a new lesson After every unit, a test was delivered to the students

to check how much they could remember the lesson

6.3 Further explanation in the questionnaire

The questionnaire emphasized on three main themes: The importance of mapping in enhancing students’ reading skills, students’ responses related to their

mind-attitude towards mind mapping and their roles in mind-mapping According to thedata collected after the questionnaire, the majority of respondents show positiveattitude towards mind-mapping as it is a useful tool for them to acquire the readingskills easier and more thoroughly in terms of organizing the ideas and summarizingthe reading content.

6.4 Findings in qualitative data.

The findings from questionnaire were supported and clarified by using a structuredinterview The interviews were conducted with three students as samples In thispart, the discussion of the data is about students’ perceptions and attitude towardsthe use of mind-mapping in learning reading skills Based on the interview, most ofthe students generally had positive perceptions and attitudes towards the use ofmind-mapping in improving their reading skills The specifically analyzedelaborations, based on the students’ proficiency level, are as follows:

The first question related to the importance of mind-mapping in promotingstudents' reading skills The students were asked whether they found mind-mapping an effective tool to improve their reading skills and whether it helpsmotivate them to further practice reading skills Most of the students generally hadpositive perceptions towards the use of mind-mapping while some of them alsoraised a few concerns

The second question is about the students' roles in mind mapping The studentswere asked whether they interacted with other group members and whether thisinteraction benefited them

The last question is concerned with the students’ attitudes towards mind-mapping.Most of the students affirmed that mind-mapping made reading lessons moreinteresting to learn besides the traditional teaching method of translation and “askand answer question” style Nevertheless, a few have expressed their negativeattitudes Specifically, one student (lower-level) said that:

“I think I need more training on how to make mind-map more effectively I cannot identify the keywords and how to take note.”

One student (higher-level) said that:

“I think mind-map is useful for learning vocabulary instead of reading skills For reading, I think it just helps me memorize the gist, not the details So, I still need to

go back to read the text.”

In general, using mind-map in teaching reading can help to enhance studentmotivation in teaching reading To be more specific, students can apply thismethod to summarize the ideas of the reading passage, and to acquire newvocabulary Moreover, this application makes the lessons more exciting thusstimulating the students to emerge in the lessons Hence, this technique isconsidered to be useful for students if they want to review their lesson later

However, whether we should apply it in a team or individual remains unclear, assome students still do not prefer drawing mind-map in groups, as they do not knowhow to work effectively with their peers Another drawback is that students do notknow how to draw a mind-map effectively to remember the information in thereading passages

From the above results, there are some implications that teachers should considerwhen applying this technique for their students in reading classes

First, teacher should encourage students to draw mind-map for their reading texts,

in order to remember the texts better as well as the new vocabulary presented ineach lesson This, therefor, can motivate students to read more

Second, as one of the students’ concerns is the grouping method, it is better to beaware of group work If teachers wish to let students work in groups, it isrecommended that teachers should be the one to supervise and ask students to worktogether Another method is to ask students to work in pairs or individual In this

way, they can create their own mind-map with their own choice and at their own pace.

Last but not least, as how to draw a mind-map can pose some difficulties for

students, it is suggested that teachers should train students on how to draw a map To be more specific, they should instruct students the basic notions andorganizations of a mind-map Then they encourage students to select the essentialinformation drawn on the mind-map Doing this can erase the initial confusion whenstudents encounter mind-maps and helps them to be more confident when employingthis technique in their reading lessons

8.1 The novelty of the research

Mind-mapping technique has been applied on every field, especially on education

by many teachers and I am not an exception No matter how hard the topic is, mindmap helps to systemize the ideas, which enable my students to see a bigger andclearer picture This is the first time my students have experienced using mind map

in enhancing reading skills

8.2 The effectiveness of using mind-mapping technique on enhancing students’ reading skill

Regarding the effectiveness of mind-mapping on reading skill and motivation, 3students from all levels agreed that mind-mapping has effectiveness in theirstudying reading skills One student said that:

“Using mind map helped me get the overall understanding of the text It made it easier for me to remember the main points and learn new words.”

They also expressed that their motivation in reading has improved thanks to mapping One student stated that:

mind-“It helps me to review the lesson much faster and I like this about mind map I can also be creative in the way I design my mind-map, so it helps me remember the information much longer.”

Nevertheless, a few students are uncertain of the effectiveness of mind-map andthus are not strongly motivated Two students (one from higher- and one frommiddle-level of proficiency) expressed that: