THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS 1.. METHODOLOGY Research context I chose to work with students of grade 12
Trang 18.2 The effectiveness of using mind-mapping technique on enhancing students’
Trang 2THÔNG 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%
Trang 3THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS
1 INTRODUCTION
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 it serve the important purposes in after the students’ completion language study
at school, it also promotes the literacy skills later Moreover, the ability to analyze and interpret written materials is an integral element of success at tertiary level (Ntereke & Ramoroka, 2017) Nevertheless, in high school’s context, study about reading comprehension 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 their ineffective and inefficient strategies (Wood, et al., 1998) L2 research also shows that one effective comprehension strategy is the use of mind-mapping (Liu, Chen & Chang, 2010) Generalizing the main ideas of the reading passage and vocabulary acquisition are somehow struggling for high school students Teachers, conventionally, ask students to highlight new vocabulary and they will explain the meaning of the words, make students learn by heart The students have to memorize new words immediately and follow the reading text, simultaneously Therefore, I have thought of a new way to help students to not only memorize new words in context but have a thorough understanding of the reading text
This study investigated whether mind-map is an effective learning tool to Nguyen Huu Canh High school students’ reading skills and their perception towards the use
Trang 41 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 summarize information while people are learning (Hillar, 2012) The fathers of mind-mapping, Buzan and Buzan, (1995) defined the Mind Map as an expression of Radiant Thinking and is therefore a natural function of the human mind They claim that mind map is an influential graphic technique which can provide people with a unique key to unlocking the potential of the human brain (Buzan & Buzan, 1995)
In general, those definitions consider mind mapping to be the application of graphic
or visual images to help our brains capture knowledge effectively Mind map’s rules are based on the fact that human beings can memorize the graphic or visual information much more easily than the information presented in the form of words
or numbers
2.2 Characteristics of mind-mapping
Buzan and Buzan (1995) described mind-mapping to be a powerful graphic technique which 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 life where 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 concisely reflects the theme of the whole mind map Secondly, the main subject matters radiate from the central picture like tree branches Thirdly, on these branches or associated lines 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,
Trang 5which 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 being equipped themselves with an effective learning technique before entering GCSE but acknowledging about mind mapping skill before they are university students They also have a shortage of a good building repertoire of words This is the reason why they might acquire new lexis through the use of mind mapping technique
Participants
The subjects involved in the research include 73 grade 12 students from Nguyen Huu Canh High School I chose class 12A2 and 12A10 for investigation They are
my students, so it was convenient for me to ask them to complete the questionnaires
in class All participants from class 12A2 and 12A10 are pre-tested to assure that
90% of the target words are unknown
Research instruments
In this study, the quantitative data is gathered through the pre-test, post-test and a questionnaire Teacher piloted the test and selected the reading part only to have the final score in both tests After finishing the test, the students are then distributed a questionnaire to ask about their attitude towards the given learning tool- mind-mapping for the reading skills The three subscales of the questionnaire are: The importance of mind-mapping in promoting students’ reading skills, The Students' Roles in mind-mapping, Students' responses related to their attitude towards mind-mapping In this study, the questionnaire is in both English as the original version and Vietnamese as translated version
The qualitative data is to gain an insight towards the student’s attitude, and the questions of the interview are built based on these thee subscales For the interview,
3 students are chosen based on their academic performance from the test: 1 from the
Trang 6low level, 1 from the average level and 1 from the advanced level The interview
questions were developed based on the questionnaire with detailed questions to
gather in-depth information from the students for the effectiveness of
mind-mapping
4 SOME BASIC TYPES OF MIND MAP
4.1 Venn maps
A Venn map is used to describe the possible logical relationship among different
components and compare the information It might include two or more circles,
depending on the content Teachers might use this kind of map for unit 2: Culture
Diversity or unit 12: Water sports For instance, as it can be seen from unit 2, there
are 2 different points of view about marriage between Asian and American
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, especially
numbers and events
- 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
Trang 7Made 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 out
key words as well as colored pictures or lively photos for all the relevant knowledge
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
Trang 95 STAGES OF USING MIND MAP IN TEACHING READING
To accompany students with using mind map, teachers might follow the following
steps
5.1 Step 1: Set up the topic/ theme/ key words
Teacher should build up the topic or key word since memorizing key words helps
students to frame the content of the lessons Moreover, key words / topic help
students 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
Trang 10lays 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
a way 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 we have 5 main branches which are the top-level themes We should start with the big items, 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 the
“WH-palaces of memory
5.4 Step 4: Sub-branches and notes
This is where teacher and students outline the smaller details of the reading by answering the abovementioned questions in details Teacher and students should add more 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 the main 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 should involve her students ‘ideas in the lesson and then compare their own ideas with the paragraph
in the textbook
When students are asked to make a mind map, a representative of each group will make a presentation in front of the class, which helps the students to better their public speaking skills After that, the other students will discuss and comment on the presentation with teacher’s support
Trang 116 RESULTS
6.1 The research sites
This study is conducted in Nguyen Huu Canh High School in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam
I have divided each class into two groups for the tests Group 1 accessed to the reading in conventional way and Group 2 had to make some kinds of mind map before 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
Trang 12mind-attitude towards mind mapping and their roles in mind-mapping According to the data collected after the questionnaire, the majority of respondents show positive attitude towards mind-mapping as it is a useful tool for them to acquire the reading skills easier and more thoroughly in terms of organizing the ideas and summarizing the reading content
6.4 Findings in qualitative data
The findings from questionnaire were supported and clarified by using a structured interview The interviews were conducted with three students as samples In this part, the discussion of the data is about students’ perceptions and attitude towards the use of mind-mapping in learning reading skills Based on the interview, most of the students generally had positive perceptions and attitudes towards the use of mind-mapping in improving their reading skills The specifically analyzed elaborations, based on the students’ proficiency level, are as follows:
The first question related to the importance of mind-mapping in promoting students' reading skills The students were asked whether they found mind-mapping an effective tool to improve their reading skills and whether it helps motivate them to further practice reading skills Most of the students generally had positive perceptions towards the use of mind-mapping while some of them also raised a few
concerns
The second question is about the students' roles in mind mapping The students were asked whether they interacted with other group members and whether this
interaction 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 more interesting to learn besides the traditional teaching method of translation and “ask and answer question” style Nevertheless, a few have expressed their negative attitudes Specifically, one student (lower-level) said that:
Trang 13“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.”
7 DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In general, using mind-map in teaching reading can help to enhance student motivation in teaching reading To be more specific, students can apply this method
to summarize the ideas of the reading passage, and to acquire new vocabulary Moreover, this application makes the lessons more exciting thus stimulating the students to emerge in the lessons Hence, this technique is considered 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, as some students still do not prefer drawing mind-map in groups, as they do not know how to work effectively with their peers Another drawback is that students do not know how to draw a mind-map effectively to remember the information in the reading passages
From the above results, there are some implications that teachers should consider when 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 in each lesson This, therefor, can motivate students to read more
Second, as one of the students’ concerns is the grouping method, it is better to be aware of group work If teachers wish to let students work in groups, it is recommended that teachers should be the one to supervise and ask students to work together Another method is to ask students to work in pairs or individual In this