Reading strategies to improve reading comprehension of students at thai nguyen college of economics and technology

and how efficiently they are used in an ESF/EFL classroom to improve reading comprehension skills of students at TNCET.. Aims of the thesis The aims of the study are:  To investigate th

NGUYỄN THỊ LẬP

READING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION OF STUDENTS AT THAI NGUYEN COLLEGE OF ECONOMICS AND TECHNOLOGY

Chiến lược đọc nhằm cải thiện kỹ năng đọc hiểu của sinh viên

Trường Cao đẳng Kinh tế - Kỹ thuật Thái Nguyên

M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10

HA NOI - 2010

Chiến lược đọc nhằm cải thiện kỹ năng đọc hiểu của sinh viên

Trường Cao đẳng Kinh tế - Kỹ thuật Thái Nguyên

M.A MINOR THESIS

FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60 14 10

SUPERVISOR: ĐINH HẢI YẾN, M Ed.

HA NOI - 2010

PART I: INTRODUCTION ……….1

1. Rationale of the Thesis ……….1

2. Aims of the Thesis ………2

3. Significance of the Thesis ……….2

4. Scope of the Thesis ……… 2

5. Research Methods used in the Thesis ……… 2

6. Design of the Thesis ……… 3

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT ……….4

Chapter 1: Literature Review………4

II.1.1 Definitions of Reading………4

II.1.2 Reading Comprehension……….4

II.1.2.1 Definitions……… 4

II.1.2.2 Reading Comprehension Models……….5

II.1.2.2.1 Bottom-up Model……… 5

II.1.2.2.2 Top-down Model……… 6

II.1.2.2.3 Interactive Model……… 7

II.1.2.3 Characteristics of an Effective Reader……….7

II.1.2.4 Teaching Reading Comprehension Skills……… 8

II.1.3 Reading Strategies……… 9

II.1.3.1 Defining Strategies……… 9

II.1.3.1.1 Metacognitive Strategies ………10

II.1.3.1.2 Cognitive Strategies ……… 10

II.1.3.1.3 Social/Affective Strategies ……….11

II.1.3.2.The Importance of Strategies in the Learning Process ……… 11

II.1.3.3 Strategies in Teaching Second Language Reading Comprehension ………… 12

II.1.4 Summary ……… 14

Chapter 2: Research Methodology ……….16

II.2.1 Research Questions ……….16

II.2.2 Participants and Settings of the Study ……….16

iv

II.2.3 Instruments ………17

II.2.3.1 Tests ……… 18

II.2.3.2 Questionnaires ………19

II.2.4 Data Collection Procedures ……… 20

II.2.5 Coding of Questionnaire Data ……… 20

II.2.6 Summary ……… 22

Chapter 3: Data Analysis and Discussion ……… 24

II.3.1 Test Results ……… 24

II.3.1.1 Metacognitive Strategies ……….24

II.3.1.2 Cognitive Strategies ………25

II.3.1.3 Social/Affective Strategies ……… 26

II.3.2 Results of Questionnaires ……… 26

II.3.2.1 Readers’ Attitudes to Reading Comprehension ……… 27

II.3.2.2 Reading Strategies ……… 29

II.3.2.2.1 Metacognitive Strategies ……… 29

II.3.2.2.2 Cognitive Strategies ……….30

II.3.2.2.3 Social/Affective Strategies ……… 31

II.3.3 Discussion and Recommendations ……….31

II.3.4 Summary ……… 34

PART 3: CONCLUSION ……….35

1. Summary of Previous Parts ……… 35

2. Conclusions ……… 35

3. Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study ……… 36

REFFERENCES ……… 37

APPENDIXES……… I Appendix 1 ……… I Appendix 2 ……… V Appendix 3 ……… XVII Appendix 4 ……… XX

v

vi

Page Tables

Table 2.1: Background information about the participants………16

Table 2.2: Questionnaire: Reading strategy coding categories ……….20

Charts Chart 3.1: Test Results – Metacognitive Strategies ……… 24

Chart 3.2: Test Results – Cognitive Strategies ……… 25

Chart 3.3: Test Results –Social/Affective Strategies ………26

Chart 3.4: Questionnaire Results: Question 1 ……… 27

Chart 3.5: Questionnaire Results: Question 2 ……… 27

Chart 3.6: Questionnaire Results: Question 3………28

Chart 3.7: Questionnaire Results: Metacognitive Strategies……….29

Chart 3.8: Questionnaire Results: Cognitive Strategies ……… 30

Chart 3.9: Questionnaire Results: Social/Affective Strategies ……….31

vii

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the thesis

It is obvious that English language has been widely used in many areas such as politics,economics, tourism, telecommunication, culture, science and technology, and sinceVietnam carried out the open door policy towards the regional and global integration,English language has become more and more important Therefore, it is necessary forVietnamese students to have a good command of English to satisfy the growingrequirements in a developing country like Vietnam

In the process of teaching and learning English as a second or foreign language(ESL/EFL), reading is an essential skill For many people, reading is the most importantskill to gain the knowledge and the only means by which learners can access to furtherstudy So with well-developed reading skills, ESL/ EFL readers will have a chance to makegreater progress and achieve greater development in all academic areas

Because under Vietnam circumstances, English language is taught and learnt in a native environment, reading is both a means to gain knowledge and a means by whichfurther study takes place According to Carrell (1984:1): “for many students, reading is byfar the most important of the four macro skills, particularly in English as a second or aforeign language” This is really true to the students at Thai Nguyen College of Economicsand Technology (TNCET) They find that reading not only gives them a wide range ofinteresting information but also offers them chances to enlarge their vocabulary, structuresand language expressions which are useful for developing other skills

non-Nevertheless, students at TNCET often have difficulties in reading lessons because of thelack of appropriate reading strategies which are essential for them – ESL/EFL readers.Researchers believe that effective readers are aware of the strategies they use and that theyuse strategies flexibly and efficiently Therefore, teachers should consider and chooseeffective reading strategies to teach students, and help them develop the given strategieseffectively

In the present process of teaching methods innovation in Vietnam generally, and at TNCETparticularly, equipping students with learning strategies can help them be more active, takecharge of their own learning, and have more positive learning spirit

For these reasons, it would be necessary to have an investigation into reading strategiesand classroom practice Through the study, we could recognize useful reading strategies

and how efficiently they are used in an ESF/EFL classroom to improve reading

comprehension skills of students at TNCET

2 Aims of the thesis

The aims of the study are:

 To investigate the reading strategies and equipping students with these reading strategies to improve students‟ ability of reading in English at TNCET

 To examine how efficiently the reading strategies are used in reading classes

3. Significance of the thesis

The findings of the thesis will be useful not only to the researcher, but also to the teachingstaff and especially to the students at TNCET in learning reading skills Besides, the studywill make a great contribution to improve the quality of teaching and learning English atTNCET Further more, it will offer the theoretical basis for the application of readingtechniques in classroom

4 Scope of the thesis

In teaching and learning a language as an ESL/EFL, there are many factors that influencethe learners‟ success or failure A part from reading, there are also other main skills inlanguage learning including speaking, listening, and writing However, due to the limitedscope of a minor thesis, this study only focuses on the investigation of readingcomprehension needs of students at TNCET in the process of teaching methods innovation,the limitation and difficulties of their reading activity, and the application of readingstrategies in classrooms

5 Research methods used in the thesis

To achieve the aims mentioned above, the author would like to employ tests and surveyquestionnaires to investigate how efficiently the reading strategies are used and analyzethem through data collection instruments

6 Design of the thesis

There are three main parts in this thesis: introduction, development, and conclusion

The introduction provides the rationale, the aims, the significance, the scope, the methods,and the design of the thesis

The development consists of three chapters:

Chapter 1 presents a review of literature including definitions of reading comprehensionand reading processes, reading comprehension models, teaching comprehension skills, and

reading strategies It discusses the three reading strategies: cognitive, metacognitive, andsocial/affective strategies; the importance of strategies in learning process; and strategies inteaching SL reading comprehension.

Chapter 2 focuses on the methodology employed in this thesis including researchquestions, participants and instruments The instruments consist of tests and classroomobservation

Chapter 3 reports the results of tests and classroom observation This chapter discusses inthe three strategies

The conclusion provides a brief summary of main parts being present in the study, theconclusions drawn out and the limitations of the study It also suggests directions forfurther study

PART 2: DEVELOPMENT Chapter 1: Literature Review

This chapter reviews theories related to reading, reading comprehension, and readingstrategies All of these serve as a basis for the aim of the thesis which is to use readingstrategies to improve reading comprehension skills of students at TNCET

II.1.1.Definitions of reading

The act of reading is not easily understood and described In the most general terms we

may say that reading involves the reader, the text, and the interaction between reader and

the text (Rumelhart 1977).

The process of reading has been intensively studied, and there have been many differentapproaches to it, and the term „reading‟ has been given many interpretations

Mitchell has a basic definition of reading:

Reading can be defined loosely as the ability to make sense of written or printed symbols The reader uses the symbols to guide the recovery of information from his

or her memory and subsequently uses this information to construct a plausible interpretation of the writer’s message.

(Mitchell 1982:1)Goodman (1971:35) defines reading as

a psycholinguistic process by which the reader, a language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a writer as a graphic display.

Simply and clearly, Eddie Williams (1984: 2) defines reading as “a process whereby one

looks at and understands what has been written” This definition of reading does not mean

that a reader needs to understand everything in text Reading can be a struggle afterunderstanding, especially where language learners are concerned He emphasizes that part

of the teacher‟s job is therefore to develop within the learner strategies that will help them

Reading comprehension plays a very important part in teaching and learning reading aforeign language It is the ability to obtain the information as required in the readinglessons as efficiently as possible Thus, three elements – reading text, backgroundknowledge of the reader, and the contextual aspects relevant for the interpretation of thetext – are involved in the reading process.

Research on ESL/EFL reading comprehension, there are some definitions of readingcomprehension from researchers

Richard and Thomas, (1987:9), state: “Reading comprehension is best described as an

understanding between the author and the reader”.

According to Swam, (1975: 1)

A student is good at comprehension we mean that he can read accurately and efficiently so as to get the maximum information of a text with the minimum of understanding.

In line with Swam, Grellet, (1981:3) accepts that

Reading comprehension or understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively as possible.

The definitions of reading comprehension above are general ones In order to understandmore about reading comprehension, it is necessary to take a closer look at actual processthat really takes place in the reader‟s mind So far, several models of reading have beenproposed to describe this process The next section is going to present these models ofreading and their strengths and weaknesses

II.1.2.2 Reading comprehension models

In looking for ways to describe the interaction between the reader and the text, researchershave created models that describe what happens when people read According to theresearchers, there are three main models of how reading occurs

II.1.2.2.1 Bottom-up model

With the bottom-up model, reading was viewed as “the process of meaning interpretation”

in which “the language is translated from one form of symbolic representation to another”(Nunan, 1991)

According to Carven, bottom-up model describes reading as being a linear process fromgraphic symbols to meaning responses, and the readers check words individually, andsound them out phonetically With this type of reading, the readers passively perceive

input which progresses from the lowest level of reading – the interpretation of symbols – tothe higher levels such as the assigning of meaning.

According to Gough (1972), reading should be bottom-up He believes readers shouldfollow five stages: eye fixation, absorption of the visual stimulus, letter identification,phonological representation, and understanding of words serially from left to right

Gough specifically assumes that the reader is not a guesser However, many researchershave shown his bottom-up explanations are not adequate

Rumelhart (1977a) showed that bottom-up models fail to allow for the fact that thecomprehension of letters, words, and sentences are all affected by higher level processing

In most cases, higher level processes are not suitable to lower level input It is clear that theprocess of reading can not be a simple linear progression from lower processes upwards.Having the same opinion with Rumelhart, Samuel and Kamil (1988: 31) pointed out theshortcomings of these models as follows:

Because of the lack of feedback loops in the early bottom-up models, it was difficult to account for sentence – context effects and the role of prior knowledge of text topic as facilitating variables in word recognition and comprehension.

Due to this limitation, the bottom-up model of reading fell into disfavor

II.1.2.2.2 Top-down model

In this model, reading has been seen as the process in which reader moves from the top, thehigher level of mental stages down to the text itself This theory focuses on thereconstruction of meaning rather than the decoding of form, the interaction between thereader and the text than the graphic forms or printed pages

Top-down theory argues that readers bring a great deal of knowledge, expectations,assumptions, and questions to the text and, given a basic understanding of vocabulary, theycontinue to read as long as the text confirms their expectations (Goodman, 1967).Goodman also suggests that reading is driven by hypotheses – the readers follow a cyclicalprocedure of sampling the text, predicting what will come next, testing predictions, andadjusting of confirming them (Goodman, 1975)

In this model, the reader, far from being a passive receiver, plays an active part in the textinterpretation, using background knowledge to form inferences, and only decodingsymbols when it is necessary for comprehension

Having the same ideas with Goodman, Smith (1998) assumes that “Readers can go straight

to meaning in the text by means of prediction Reading is not a matter of identifying wordsafter words.”

Clearly, the strong points of top-down model are that it proves the readers‟ active role andthe readers‟ center position of reading process However, for some researchers, top-downmodels still reveal certain weak points According to Stanovich (1980), Goodman andSmith‟s top-down theory is on a belief that the actual decoding process is slow, and that istherefore faster and more economical for the reader to get to know what the text willcontain next, so that the slow decoding process can to some extent be avoided He acceptsthat the readers do form inferences while reading, and the background knowledge has apowerful effect on comprehension, but assumes that it is false to imply the generation ofhypotheses concerning subsequent words in a text is quicker than processing the wordsaccording to purely visual information

Due to limitations of both bottom-up and top-down models, a new and more insightfulreading process has been proposed under the name of interactive model

II.1.2.2.3 Interactive model:

Interactive theorists appreciate both the role of knowledge and the prediction, and at the same time emphasize the importance of rapid and accurate processing of the actual words

of the text According to Grabe (1988), the expression “interactive” is sometimes

interpretered to refer to the interaction between the text and the reader, and sometimes to the interaction between top-down and bottom-up reading processes According to Hayes (1991:7),

In interactive models, different processes are thought to be responsible for providing information that is shared with other processes The information obtained from each type of processing is combined to determine the most appropriate interpretation of the printed pages.

With the strong points of the interactive model, the reading teachers can develop it in theirreading classrooms The teachers also need to develop the ability to take the advantages ofthese models and therefore can anticipate the types of processes and potential problemsthat the students will experience

II.1.2.3 Characteristics of an effective reader

This concept from Eddie Williams (1984) will begin with characteristics of an effective reader:

The effective reader knows the language of the text he is reading He knows the content words and what they mean (through perhaps not all of them) He also knows the syntax (or grammar) of the language, that is to say the operation and effect of structural words, or word form, or word order He may not be able to talk about or explain these issues but he can use this knowledge to help him read the text.

Eddie Williams (1984:4)

In other words, many researchers have generally shown that an effective reader knows how

to use reading strategies that work for himself/ herself According to Wassaman and Rinsky(1993:5), an effective reader needs „an understanding of the reading process and anunderstanding of how to go about reading different types of printed information‟ In thisway, if a second or foreign learner wants to become an effective reader, he/ she canpractice techniques that will help him/ her succeed Besides, they also assume that thereare two ingredients for an effective reader The first is the willingness to change readinghabits that limit the learner‟s reading ability and the second is the willingness to practice.Apart from these, there are other factors that can help the readers to become effective such

as organize properly for reading and study, improve the concentration, and maintainconfidence

II.1.2.4 Teaching reading comprehension skills

According to Day and Bamford (1998:124-141), there are at least four distinctiveapproaches to the teaching EFL/ESL reading around the world These are given below:

- Grammar – translation: Under this approach, students may be taught to read texts written

in a foreign language by translating them into a native language As a result, meaning istaken at the sentence level with less attention paid to the meaning of the text as a wholeand meaning is constructed via the native language, not directly from the foreign language

- Comprehension questions and language work: This approach focuses on teaching a

textbook, containing short passages that demonstrate the use of foreign language words orpoints of grammar These texts, short enough to encourage students to read them word byword, are followed by comprehension questions and exercises

- Skills and strategies: In this approach, the teacher has to prepare for students to read one

or two – page passage from a textbook by providing or activating any backgroundknowledge needed for comprehension This preparation may include pre-teachingvocabulary that appears in the reading passage Then students read the passage silentlywhile keeping in mind two or three while reading questions

- Extensive Reading: This approach‟s goal is for students to become willing and able

readers in a second a foreign language Students individually read books and othermaterials at their own speed mainly for homework

The four reading teaching approaches with the characteristics above should be usedflexibly in each case of reading classrooms The teachers also need to distinguish anddevelop the ability to take the advantages of these and therefore can use them efficiently tohelp students in their reading comprehension

II.1.3 Reading strategies

II.1.3.1 Defining strategies

The study of learning strategies has been contributed for over the last two decades.According to R.Ellis, 1994, the study of learning strategies has seen an „explosion ofactivity‟ There have been many contributions from well-known researchers such asTarone (1981), Weinstein and Mayer (1986), Rubin (1987), O‟Malley and Chamot (1990),Oxford (1990) and Cohen (1998) Their studies have helped figure out a comprehensiveoverview of learning strategies

Concerning the definition of learning strategies, there have been some considerabledifferences Rubin (1987:23) gave a general definition of learning strategies:

Learning strategies are strategies which contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and effect learning directly.

According to Oxford (1990: 5)

Learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self directed, more effective and more transferable to new situation

These definitions are judged as quite comprehensive because they cover both cognitive andaffective aspects of learning strategies

The definition that has been widely accepted to date was proposed by O‟Malley and Chamot (1990) They assumed that learning strategies are “the special thoughts or

behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn or retain new information”(1990: 1) Although the definition is short, it covers the most important aspects of learningstrategies that is learning strategies are both mental and behavioral, and learning strategiesare individually characterized Because their definition is comprehensive, the present studyutilizes it as the key direction in its investigation.

Language Learning Strategies have been classified by many scholars But the frameworkthat has been most widely welcomed and useful is the framework of O‟Malley andChamot (1990) In O‟Malley and Chamot‟s framework, three major types of strategiesnamed as metacognitive, cognitive, and social/affective are distinguished in accordancewith the information processing model, on which their research is based The threecategories of language learning strategies will be presented in the three following parts

II.1.3.1.1 Metacognitive strategies

Metacognitive strategies are “higher order executive skills that may entail planning or,monitoring, or evaluating the success of a learning activity” (1990:44) The metacognitivelearning strategies identified into seven categories by O‟Malley and Chamot (1990:119)and all of them are applicable to a variety of learning task Among the strategies that would

be used as metacognitive strategies for language reading comprehension tasks are:

1. Planning: previewing the main ideas and concepts of the material to be learnt, often by skimming the text for the organizing principle

2. Monitoring: Checking one‟s comprehension during listening or reading checking theaccuracy and/ or appropriateness of one‟s oral or written production while it is taking place

3. Self-evaluation: Checking the outcomes of one‟s own language against a standard after

it has been completed

II.1.3.1.2 Cognitive strategies

Cognitive strategies are “more directly related to individual learning tasks and entail directmanipulation or transformation of the learning material” (1990: 8) According to O‟Malleyand Chamot (1990:119), the cognitive learning strategies are identified in fourteencategories However, those cognitive strategies may be limited in application to thespecific type of task in the learning activity Typical strategies that have been discussed inthe cognitive category for reading comprehension are:

1 Repetition: Imitating a language model, including overt practice and silent rehearsal

2. Grouping: Classifying words, terminology or concepts according to the attributes or meaning.

3. Deduction: Applying rules to understand or produce the second language making up rules based on language analysis

4. Imagery: Using visual images (either mental or actual) to understand or remember new information

5. Elaboration: Relating new information to prior knowledge, relating different parts ofnew information to each other, or making meaningful personal associations with the newinformation

6. Transfer: Using previous linguistic knowledge or prior skills to assist comprehension or production

7. Inferencing: Using available information to guess meaning of new items, predict

outcomes or fill in missing information

8. Summarizing: Making a mental, oral or written summary of new information gained through listening and reading

II.1.3.1.3 Social/ Affective strategies

Finally social/ affective strategies are referred to as “a broad grouping that involves eitherinteraction with another person or ideational control over affect” (1990: 45) The social/affective strategies and their definitions are as follow:

1. Questioning for clarification: Eliciting from a teacher or peer additional explanations rephrasing, examples or verification

2. Cooperation: Working together with one or more peers to solve a problem, poolinformation, check a learning task, model a language activity, or get feedback on oral orwritten performance

3. Self-talk: Reducing anxiety by using mental techniques that make one feel competent to

do the learning task

Generally, the given affective strategies are considered applicable to a wide variety oftasks However, they would be used in listening comprehension task rather than in readingcomprehension one

II.1.3.2 The importance of strategies in the learning process

In the field of second language acquisition research, focus has been shifted away from finding teaching methodologies to investigating why some learners are very successful in

their language learning while others are not successful though they have made much effortlearning the language Many researchers such as O‟Malley and Chamot (1990), Nunan(1991), Rubin and Thompson (1994) and Cohen (1998) have shown that one of the mostimportant factors that distinguish successful learners from unsuccessful ones is theirlearning strategies In other words, successful learners do use some effective learningstrategies to deal with problems that emerge during their learning process whileunsuccessful ones employ inappropriate or ineffective strategies resulting in their failure intheir language learning.

Therefore, knowledge of strategies is very important because if a learner is conscious ofthe processes underlying the learning, he/she will be more effective in language learning.The fact showed that learners who are taught learning strategies are more highly motivatedthan those who are not However, not all learners automatically know which strategieswork best for them On the other hand, learning strategies in Vietnam in general and inTNCET in particular have also become a topic of interest in recent years when the concepts

of “self-learning”, “life-long learning”, and “teaching methods innovation” have beenfamiliar to the ears of both teachers and students For these reasons, explicit strategytraining and experimenting with different strategies can lead to more effective learning.Oxford (1990:1) assumes that strategies are important for two reasons In the first one,strategies “are tools for active, self-directed involvement, which is essential for developingcommunicative competence” The second one is that learners who have developedappropriate learning strategies have greater self-confidence and learn more effectively.According to Oxford, language learning strategies:

-contribute to the main goal, communicative competence

-allow learners to become more self-directed

-expand the role of teachers

-support learning both directly and indirectly

1.3.3 Strategies in teaching second language reading comprehension

Much attention has been paid to the study of reading in general and reading strategies inparticular The current explosion of research in second language reading has begun tofocus on reader‟s strategies Reading strategies are of interest for what they reveal aboutthe way readers manage their interaction with written text and how these strategies arerelated to text comprehension Research in second language reading suggests that learners

use a variety of strategies to assist them with the acquisition, storage, and retrieval ofinformation (Rigney, 1978) Reading strategies, on the other hand, indicate how readersconceive of a task, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when theydon‟t understand Reading strategies enhance reading comprehension and overcomecomprehension failures.

Many researchers have similarities in categorizing reading strategies For example,Anderson (1999), Brantmeier (2002), Almasi (2003) and Sugirin (1999) emphasized therole of prior knowledge in reading Brantmeier (2002) and Brown (1990) introducedskimming, scanning and guessing as effective strategies in reading However, there havebeen some differences in their classification

According to C.R Adler (2004), comprehension strategies are conscious plans – sets ofsteps that good readers use to make sense of text He gives seven strategies to have a firmscientific basis for improving text comprehension: monitoring comprehension,metacognition, graphic and semantic organizers, answering questions, generatingquestions, recognizing story structure, and summarizing

Brantmeier (2002) summarizes reading strategies as follow: “The strategies may involveskimming, scanning, guessing, recognizing cognates and word families, reading formeaning, predicting, activating general knowledge, making inferences, followingreferences, and separating main ideas from supporting ideas” (2002: 1)

Furthermore, reading strategies can consist of evaluating content, such as agreeing, making

an association with prior knowledge or experience, asking and answering questions,looking at the key words, using sentence structure analysis such as determining the subject,verb or object of the sentences, skipping and rereading (Almasi, 2003; Sugirin, 1999) It isclear to see that not all strategies are equal effectiveness due to the different types ofreading texts and tasks, and reading strategy use by each reader

Brown (1990: 3) gives five strategies that can help students read more quickly andeffectively: previewing, predicting, skimming and scanning, guessing from context, andparaphrasing

Anderson (1999: 4) introduces six strategies for consideration when teaching reading: A Active prior knowledge, C - Cultivate vocabulary, T - Teach for comprehension, I -

-Increase reading rate, V - Verify reading strategies, and E - Evaluate progress.

Based on O‟Malley and Chamot‟s (1990), reading strategies can be understood as thespecial thoughts and behaviors that individuals use to help them to comprehend, learn andretain new information from the reading text These strategies are both observable andunobservable and individually different According to O‟Malley and Chamot, readingstrategies can be classified into three main types including the metacognitive, cognitiveand social/affective strategies A categorization scheme of these strategies has beenprovided in section II.1.3.1.

II.1.4 Summary

This chapter has reviewed related theories on reading, and reading comprehension ingeneral, and reading strategies in particular Some of the main points can be summarized asfollows

In the first two parts of this chapter, some important definitions of reading and readingcomprehension have been reviewed Reading is considered to be a complex process whichinvolves a triangular interaction between the reader, the write, and the text It is highlyagreed with J.A Aebersold and M.L Field‟s point of view that reading is an interactionbetween purpose and manner of reading, and it is an interaction through reading strategies.Concerning reading comprehension definitions, some researchers see readingcomprehension as an understanding between the author and the reader, and extracting therequired information from a text as effectively as possible These researchers view readingbased on the three reading models namely bottom-up, top-down, and interactive ones Theinteractive model, which most researchers currently endorse, assumes that both top-downand bottom-up processes occur in reading, either alternative or at the same time depending

on the type of text as well as the reader‟s background knowledge, language proficiency,motivation, and strategy use

It has also been mentioned that characteristics of an effective reader and teaching readingcomprehension skills in this part Wassaman and Rinsky (1993) assume that an effectivereader needs an understanding of the reading process and how to go about reading differenttypes He/She is willing to change reading habits and practice, improve the concentrationand maintain confidence In order to help students to be more effective in reading, Day andBamford (1998) give the four reading teaching approaches which should be used in eachcase of reading classrooms

The last part of the chapter discusses reading strategies, the focus of the thesis, in details.Before emphasizing the importance of strategies in the learning process in Vietnam ingeneral and in TNCET in particular and reviewing some prominent studies on readingstrategies that have been conducted so far, this part presents some definitions of learningstrategies by some researchers It reviews the classification of learning strategies fromO‟Malley and Chamot‟s schemes Their framework has been most useful and generallyaccepted to date In O‟malley and Chamot‟s framework, there are three major typesincluding metacognitive, cognitive, and social/ affective strategies The detailed strategiesand classification of learning strategies in part II.1.3.1 and appendix 1 is going to beadopted for the investigation of reading strategies for this study.

The next chapter is study on reading strategies used by TNCET students, which will beconducted in the light of the theories discussed above

Chapter 2: Research Methodology

The previous chapter has presented a literature review on theory of readingcomprehension, learning strategies in general and reading strategies in particular It hasalso provided a theoretical background for the present study This chapter presents themethodology and analysis of the study

II.2.1 Research questions:

This study seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. What are effective reading strategies that help students improve their ability of reading comprehension in English at TNCET?

2. How efficiently the reading strategies are used in reading classes?

II.2.2 Participants and setting of the study

II.2.2.1 Participants

The participants in this study are 30 first-year non-English majors specializing inEconomics and Business Management at TNCET Of them there are twenty-two femalesand eight males, who mostly come from the countryside and mountainous area Only twostudents are twenty years old and the other twenty-eight students are nineteen years old.All of them spent between 3 – 10 years learning English (two students learnt English for 3years, twenty-one students learnt English for 7 years, and seven students left learnt Englishfor 10 years) Their English proficiency levels were generally reported to be at pre-intermediate Table 2.1 summarizes the background information about the participants such

as the genders, ages, number of years learning English and their self-assessed proficiency

Total number of participants

30

Table 2.1.Background information about the participants

These students belong to the Department of Economics and Business Management Theyhad high scores in the entrance exam to college, which means they are excellent inMathematics, Physics, and Chemistry At TNCET the English course, which is designed

for these students, lasts from the first year to the third year of training at the college Thecourse includes the GE (General English) course, which is delivered in two terms of thefirst year and the ESP course (English for Economics) delivered in the third year.Therefore, for these students, English is not a minor subject but plays an important role intheir study at the college.

There are some reasons for choosing the first-year Economics and Business Managementstudents as the participants of this study The first is that the training quality of thesestudents is always of great concern to both college administrators and teachers at TNCET.The findings of this study would provide essential information for teachers of English tohelp students improve their reading comprehension in particular and contribute to theoverall training quality of these students in general Especially, it also makes a greatcontribution on the present process of teaching methods innovation at TNCET Secondly,the first-year Economics and Business Management students are suitable participants forthe study because they had the higher entrance exam scores than the remaining students atTNCET and they are considered to have quite good reading abilities Last but not least,these students are the ones who I have been directly teaching and I understand theirstrengths and weaknesses, I will have favorable conditions to carry out all the steps of thestudy process

II.2.2.2 Settings of the study

This study was conducted from early February to mid May 2010 when the students were inthe second term of the first year Up to the time of the study, they had been studyingEnglish at the college for more than half a year with 150 periods They had finishedlearning a series of units in New Headway – Elementary by Liz and John Soars and someother materials adapted to suit their proficiency levels such as Inside Out – Elementary bySue Kay & Vaughan Jones, and Know How 1 by Angela Blackwell & Therese Naber Atthis time of the study, they were learning the last units in New Headway – Elementary byLiz and John Soars All of the textbooks and materials aimed at providing the students withbasic knowledge of English and skills which serves as a foundation for the ESP course to

be delivered in the third year

II.2.3 Instruments

The present study includes tests and questionnaires to collect data on the reading strategiesemployed by the first-year Economics and Business Management students Firstly, the

reading comprehension tests were given to the students in order to identify their readingproficiency before and after introducing reading strategies Then, the questionnaires wereadministered to identify their reading strategies and examine how efficiently the readingstrategies were used in reading comprehension tasks.

The reason why I chose tests and questionnaires to collect data is that different types ofinstruments may lead to the conclusions about reading strategies employed to improve thestudents‟ reading comprehension This combination of instruments would providecomprehensive overview of reading strategies used by my students Following is a detaileddescription of the given research instruments

II.2.3.1 Tests

A test is a procedure used to collect data on subjects‟ ability or knowledge of certaindisciplines In a second language acquisition research, tests are usually used to collect dataabout the subjects‟ ability in and knowledge of the second language in areas such asvocabulary, grammar, reading, metalinguistic awareness and general proficiency In thisstudy, two reading comprehension tests were given to the first year Economics andBusiness and Management students in two months The first reading comprehension testwas given to the students to investigate their reading strategies and the second one wasgiven after equipping them the reading strategies The reason for using tests and test scores

as a main data collection instrument for my study was that the investigation and theequipment of the reading strategies among the students was very important to the success

of the study and the only way to do it was by using tests and test scores

As the tests and the test scores play such an important part in this study, I had to choosegood reading comprehension tests that can help me identify the reading strategiesappropriate for my students When deciding the tests for my students, I had to take intoconsideration their reading abilities At the time of the study, their English proficiency was

at the pre-intermediate level Thus the reading comprehension tests chosen for them should

be suitable for this proficiency level

The two reading comprehension tests were taken from Insights for Today by Lorraine C.Smith and Nancy Nici Mare (1993) The two reading tests are included in Appendix 2 Thereason for selecting them as the reading tests for my study is that all of these can beregarded as standardized tests They are high-beginning reading skill texts and they are