Benefits and challenges while doing the reading log as perceived by first year students and their teachers a study in the fast track division felte ulis

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES WHILE DOIN

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES WHILE DOING THE READING LOG AS PERCEIVED BY FIRST- YEAR STUDENTS AND THEIR TEACHERS: A STUDY IN THE FAST TRACK DIVISION, FELTE,

ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI

TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

LỢI ÍCH VÀ KHÓ KHĂN KHI THỰC HIỆN

READING LOG TỪ QUAN ĐIỂM CỦA SINH VIÊN NĂM NHẤT VÀ GIÁO VIÊN: NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ HỆ CHẤT LƯỢNG CAO, KHOA SƯ PHẠM TIẾNG

ANH, ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ

Giáo viên hướng dẫn: Th.S Lương Quỳnh Trang Sinh viên: Nguyễn Diệu Linh

Khóa: QH2013.F1.E1

HÀ NỘI - 2017

ACCEPTANCE

I hereby state that I: Nguyen Dieu Linh, class QH2013.F1.E1 being a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s Graduation Paper deposited in the library

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 librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper

Signature

Nguyen Dieu Linh Hanoi, May 29th, 2017

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I want to express my sincerest gratitude to Ms Luong Quynh Trang, the supervisor for my thesis paper Without her invaluable guidance and tremendous support, I could never realize this project and carry it out to the end She has been a highly attentive and resourceful instructor, as well as a special person who shared efforts and enthusiasm with me throughout the research journey Second, I would like to send my great thanks to all research participants including first-year students and teachers of the English 1A* component in the Fast-track Program, FELTE, ULIS They have provided me with generous support in all phases

of the study, especially the data collection with questionnaire and interview Had it not been for their active participation, this research would have become entirely theoretical and offered no significance at all

Last but not least, I deeply appreciate the assistance of my family and QH2013.E1 classmates My family has been very supportive emotionally, and my classmates have assisted me very much in research methodology and data collection Their support has been a strong motivation for me to complete the study and strive for better academic achievements

ABSTRACT

Extensive reading has been an issue of great concern among researchers, educators and reading specialists for decades as it proposes a novel approach to teaching the reading skill In this study, the researcher aimed at (1) investigating the students and teachers’ perceptions of the benefits of doing an extensive reading assignment namely Reading log, and (2) identifying the difficulties that the students encountered when doing the assignment The research employed mixed methods of both quantitative and qualitative examination, using two instruments, namely semi-structured interview and questionnaire to collect data from a representative sample

of first-year students and their teachers of English course 1A* in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS The results indicated that vocabulary range, background knowledge and soft skills were the three most acknowledged benefits among the students and teachers In addition, students and teachers agreed that most of the students had difficulty understanding, analyzing and responding to the texts, which suggests that further assistance and guidance of teachers should be provided in time

to help their students accomplish the pre-determined learning goals of the

assignment

1.1 Statement of the problem and rationale for the study 1

2.4 Difficulties with extensive reading program 15

3.5.1 Interview 28

4.1 Research questions 1 - Benefits of doing the Reading log as perceived

by the first-year students and their teachers in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS 30

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CEFR: Common European Framework of Reference for Languages EFL: English as a Foreign Language

ESL: English as a Second Language

FELTE: Faculty of English language teacher education

ULIS: University of Languages and international studies

VNU: Vietnam National University

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 The differences between intensive reading and extensive

Table 5 Level of difficulty of doing different parts in the Reading log 35

Table 6 Problems in completing different parts in the Reading log 36-37

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

As an international language for various important aspects of social life, English has continually gained popularity among Vietnamese To promote the study

of English and to better the quality of English teaching and learning in Vietnam, Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) issued the national plan

“Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Formal Educational System in the period of 2008 - 2020” (Hoang, 2013) The project has brought about considerable changes to the teaching and learning of English in Vietnamese education system In essence, the teaching of English in Vietnam has slanted towards the view that places the learner at a focal point with the teacher seen in the role of a facilitator In accordance with this view, extensive reading has gradually gained popularity among Vietnamese scholars and teachers (Le, 2005)

Extensive reading has long been a matter of interest among ESL and EFL educators all over the world There has not been a fixed definition of extensive reading among researchers; however, most of them agreed that extensive reading involves the reading of a large number of different materials and the emphasis is on meaning rather than on form Smith’s (1994) idea that people “learn to read by reading” (p.76) and especially Krashen’s (1982) comprehensible input theory have been regarded as having considerable influence on extensive reading Evidence of concern over extensive reading is shown by a noticeable number of studies on different aspects of extensive reading In view of benefits of extensive reading to language learners, it is believed to have positive effects on reading comprehension (Bell, 2001; He, 2014; Mason & Krashen, 1997; Robb & Susser, 1989; Sheu, 2003; Taguchi, et al, 2004; Tanaka & Stapleton 2007), vocabulary acquisition (Horst et al, 1998; Kweon & Kim, 2008; Modirkhamene & Gowrki, 2011; Pigada & Schmitt, 2006) and writing performance (Mason & Krashen, 1997; Robb & Susser, 1989)

reading (Johnson, 2012; Shen, 2008) and their motivation (Apple, 2005; Takase, 2007) Extensive reading strategies are also investigated by several researchers such

as Mokhtari and Sheory (2002), and Burbuam, Charlton and Pette (2004) Conducted in different settings and involving a wide range of learners’ ages, these studies have provided valuable references for other investigations into the subject matter

As a leading university in Vietnam in the field of teaching and learning foreign languages, especially English, ULIS has made progress toward including extensive reading into its curriculum; nevertheless, the extent of implementation still remains insufficient According to Hoang (2007), as cited in Tran (2009), extensive reading project is restricted to second-year students in 2005-2006 academic year, to third-year students in 2007-2008 and to second-year English majors in 2008-2009 Despite the increasing interest in extensive reading, the number of studies in Vietnamese context, especially ULIS is rather limited Pham (2006) examined how first-year students at the English department exploited the internet for extensive reading materials, discovering students’ difficulties due to lack of guidance and practice Tran (2009) carried out a study into the practice of extensive reading among second year students in the Mainstream Division, giving

a comprehensive account of different aspects of extensive reading, including reading amounts, materials, purposes, strategies, difficulties and benefits Since it is highly original and rich in detail, it served as a primary reference for another study into extensive reading by Nguyen (2013) Unlike the previous study conducted by Tran, this one focused on investigating extensive reading among Mainstream freshmen at FELTE, ULIS She hypothesized that the result could be different since the target sample was new to the university learning environment and their academic abilities were not fully developed yet; nevertheless, the results were consistent with those of the previous study It is apparent that teachers’ viewpoints have not been involved in these studies, and the two researchers conducted research into students’

general practice of extensive reading only, not a specific assignment This paved the way for the researcher to carry out this study to discover the perceptions of both the first-year students in the Fast-track Division and their teachers of benefits as well as challenges that students encountered when doing the Reading log – an extensive reading assignment

The study aims at investigating the perceptions of the benefits of extensive reading, specifically the Reading log of first-year students and their teachers in the Fast-track Division, ULIS In addition, the researcher is interested in finding out students’ difficulties to propose some tentative solutions to deal with such challenges In order to achieve these aims, the study deals with the following questions:

1) What are the benefits of the Reading log as perceived by the first-year students and the teachers in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS? 2) What are the challenges encountered by the students as perceived by those students and those teachers?

In general, the study could be beneficial for students, teachers, policy makers and researchers

Firstly, as the study has finished, it will partly fill the research gap in ULIS and in Vietnam in general It can also be a reference source for further investigations into extensive reading or related issues

Secondly, the findings from this study can help teachers and policy makers

to better the Reading log for the succeeding academic years, and make more informed decisions regarding the reading course syllabi or other courses involving reading skills in the long run The similarities and differences between students’

and teachers’ perceptions of benefits and difficulties when students do the assignment can provide valuable ideas for teachers to adjust their teaching and to motivate students to study more effectively

The study aims to investigate the benefits and challenges while doing the Reading log from the viewpoints of students and their teachers To be more specific, students and teachers’ self-reports through interview and questionnaire were collected and analyzed In addition, the study only involved first-year students from three classes in the Fast-track Division and three teachers in charge of the reading

component in these classes

The research paper comprises five chapters, illustrating the standard procedure of a research project:

 Chapter 1: Introduction, providing background for the research and outlining the most basic features (aims, scope and methodology) of the research

 Chapter 2: Literature Review, examining related studies and constructing theoretical frameworks to be applied in this study In particular, this chapter offers

an overview on extensive reading (definitions, intensive reading vs extensive reading, benefits, and difficulties)

 Chapter 3: Methodology, describing the research design, research instruments and the procedure that the researcher aligned to in data collection and analysis

 Chapter 4: Results and Discussion, reporting major findings from data analysis and giving critical comments on significant ideas/patterns in comparison with the reviewed literature

 Chapter 5: Conclusion, summarizing salient findings of the research, presenting the limitations of the research as well as proposing several suggestions based on the discovery

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this study, the researcher investigated the benefits and challenges while doing the Reading log (an extensive reading program) as perceived by the students and teachers in the Fast-track Division This chapter is the review of related studies

as the background for better understanding of the current study It presents theoretical aspects of extensive reading including the definition of extensive reading, differences between extensive reading and intensive reading, benefits of extensive reading, and difficulties while implementing extensive reading in academic settings

As one of the four skills involved in learning any language, reading is often promoted as an effective way to improve learners’ language proficiency, especially

in input-poor environments From its beginning time, there have been various theories and approaches to teaching reading such as bottom-up, top-down or interactive, resulting in a number of changes to the way reading is viewed and studied One of the most popular approaches is constructivism which views the reading process as the reader’s practice of constructing his/her own message while reading (Morrow & Tracy, 2002) Krashen’s well-known comprehensible input theory (1987) whose notion is that receiving comprehensible input enables a learner

to acquire the target language has given rise to a new approach to reading - extensive reading

Despite a wealth of research into extensive reading, researchers, educators and reading specialists have not been in agreement about a single definition The earliest definition of extensive reading can be traced back to Palmer (1936), who defined extensive reading as “rapidly reading book after book where the reader’s attention should be on the meaning, not the language of the text” (p 111) Similarly, Richards and Schmidt (2002) have explained the term as reading in quantity in order

to gain a general understanding of what is read As can be seen from these definitions, extensive reading requires reading of a large number of books and other materials with the immediate focus on content rather than on form Besides mentioning these two characteristics, Bernard and Thomas (1990) have added three other ones including the nature of reading, material selection and classroom activity

in an attempt to comprehensively define extensive reading:

Extensive reading is reading (a) of large quantities of material or long text; (b) for global or general understanding; (c) with the intention of obtaining pleasure from the text; (d) reading is individualized, with student choosing the books they want to read, (e) the books are not discussed in class (p 165) These aforementioned definitions are consistent with top ten principles of extensive reading by Day and Bamford (2002):

1) The reading material is easy

2) A variety of reading material on a wide range of topics must be available 3) Learners choose what they want to read

4) Learners read as much as possible

5) The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information and general understanding

6) Reading is its own reward

7) Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower

8) Reading is individual and silent

9) Teachers orient and guide their students

10) The teacher is a role model of a reader

(p 137 - 140) The two researchers managed to address various aspects of extensive reading namely reading materials, reading amount, reading purpose, reading speed and the specific roles of teachers and learners Nevertheless, not all of these principles can

be realized in particular academic settings since input of foreign language can be limited and students may encounter various difficulties when choosing suitable materials to read

It is worth mentioning that learners can select their materials with the suggestions of their teachers, classmates and others (Jacobs & Farrell, 2012)

Learners are also allowed to stop reading and choose another material within their level if the materials seem boring or the language is too difficult for them

From various definitions available in literature, the researcher has come up

with a working definition for the specific context of this study Extensive reading is reading a large quantity of self-selected materials according to pre-determined requirements with the focus on meaning rather than language, and to gain information and to acquire a foreign language rather than merely to get pleasure from reading

While dealing with extensive reading, it is advisable to distinguish it from intensive reading According to Palmer (1968) as cited in Day and Bamford (1998), intensive reading can be described as below:

Intensive reading often refers to the careful reading (or translation) of shorter, more difficult foreign language texts with the goal of complete and detailed understanding, and the teaching of reading in terms of language skills by studying reading texts intensively in order to practice reading skills (p 56)

From this detailed description, it is apparent that the emphasis was placed on length and difficulty of reading materials, learning and teaching goals as well as the content to be covered in a lesson Meanwhile, Nutall (1995) as cited in Carell and Carson (1997) focused on the role of teacher, the study of language elements of the text and reading goals:

Intensive reading involves approaching the text under the close guidance of

a teacher, or under the guidance of a task which forces the student to pay close attention to the text The aim of intensive reading is to arrive at a profound and detailed understanding of the text: not only of what it means but also of how the meaning is produced The “how” is as important as the

“what”, for the intensive reading lesson is intended primarily to train students

in reading strategies (p 49-50)

From these two aforementioned definitions, intensive reading differs from

extensive reading in various aspects such as reading purposes and reading materials

Richards and Renandya (2002) have addressed that intensive reading refers to

reading a few books carefully to obtain detailed information while extensive reading

requires reading a large number of books for general understanding In intensive

reading, students focus more on analyzing short and difficult texts along with the

teacher, which is believed to aid students in knowing the detailed meaning of a text,

developing their vocabulary, reading skills and also grammatical knowledge In this

regard, Day and Bamford (1998) argued that intensive reading may produce all the

skills to be a good reader but it fails to create a skilled reader On the other hand,

the approach of extensive reading encourages learners to read for general

understanding, information, pleasure and enjoyment (Jacobs & Farrell, 2012)

Wang (2011) has stated that the slow and careful method of intensive reading allows

students to use a dictionary when they need so that they can develop better

understanding of the sentences; however, he claimed that the method of intensive

reading is not always useful as it requires students to read detailed information such

as grammar and vocabulary, which in turn may reduce students’ interest in reading

Overall, the distinctive features of each approach can be summarized as

Waring (n.d) has presented in his article “Getting an Extensive Reading Program

going”:

Table 1: The differences between intensive reading and extensive reading

Analysis of the language Linguistic focus Fluency and skill

forming

All learners study the

same material

Materials Learners read different

things (something interesting to them)

In class Where Mostly at home Checked by specific

In spite of the emphasis on pleasure from reading, extensive reading cannot

be fully realized without the post-reading activities Unlike intensive reading, extensive reading does not require students to demonstrate their understanding through comprehension questions, but it does involve some follow-up activities Several studies have highlighted that the success of extensive reading programs lies

in the implementation of these activities provided that they are undemanding (Pilgreen, 2000) Writing book reports and giving oral presentations (Bell, 2001), writing short summaries and keeping a personal reading log (Mason & Krashen, 1997), and discussing the reading and writing of two short essays (Lao & Krashen, 2000) are some common activities suggested by researchers and practitioners The use of these activities actually serve a wide range of purposes, which are to (1) reinforce what students have learned from their reading; (2) give students a sense of progress; and (3) help students share information about materials to read or to avoid (Richards & Renandya, 2002) Swain’s output hypothesis (1993) has further supported this approach by claiming that production of comprehensible output can

supplement the comprehensible input by pushing learners to notice features of the target language and to form and test hypotheses about the language

Many researchers have conducted research to investigate the effects of extensive reading on learners over decades, leading to the conclusion that benefits

of extensive reading are manifold and wide-ranging Developing reading comprehension, increasing reading speed, improving vocabulary acquisition, developing writing skills and positive attitudes toward reading are some benefits of extensive reading proved by researchers all over the world in different contexts

In a study on first-year students in a Hong Kong university, Lao and Krashen (2000) have found a close relation between extensive reading and students’ reading speed, vocabulary range and interest in reading In their study, six experimental classes were involved in an extensive reading program and two other classes received the traditional teaching of four skills After 14 weeks, the students in the experimental classes increased their reading speed from 235 to 327 words/minute, acquired an increase of 3,000 words and held more positive attitude towards reading

in English

Other investigations by Bell (2001) and Tanaka (2007) have not only proved positive effects of extensive reading on students’ reading speed as presented in Lao and Krashen’s study but also indicated improvement in reading comprehension Bell conducted a study on EFL learners at elementary level One group was subjected to

an extensive reading program using graded readers while the other studied an intensive reading program in which the students were required to read short passages and to complete follow-up tasks to learn vocabulary and grammar The students who participated in the extensive reading program demonstrated better results in both reading comprehension and reading speed than those studying intensive reading in a cloze test and comprehension test after one year of study In

Tanaka’s study (2007), approximately 113 students in their first year in high school

in Japan were involved in an extensive reading program in which they were provided with 39 short reading passages in accordance with their interests Eighteen students in this group were given extra graded readers As the course finished, the students in the experimental groups improved in their reading comprehension, especially those who read graded readers As regards reading speed, all the students performed considerably better than other students in this school regardless of their reading of graded readers or not

Pazhakh and Soltani (2010) administered a study to two groups of 40 upper intermediate and 40 lower intermediate students selected from a proficiency test to examine the effectiveness of extensive reading on vocabulary acquisition Participants in each group were further divided into experimental group and control group, and the experimental one received five more short stories for ten weeks After the experiment, experimental groups of both level scored higher in a vocabulary recognition test than those in control groups

Students also develop their writing ability by reading extensively 48 students from King Suad University were selected and divided into experimental and control group in Mansour and Shorman’s investigations (2014) The experimental group received extra classes on extensive reading while the other group was not exposed

to any extensive reading class Students’ performance in a written exam before and after the program clearly favored students participating in the extensive reading classes

A summary of studies on the benefits of extensive reading can be found in Day and Bamford’s (1998) study as below:

Table 2: Summary of international research on extensive reading benefits

Iwahori 2008 EFL; secondary; Japan Increase in reading rate & general

language proficiency Nishono 2007 EFL; secondary; Japan Increase in reading strategies &

motivation Horst 2005 ESL; adults; Canada Increase vocabulary

Kusanagi 2004 EFL; adults; Japan Increase in reading rate

Takase 2003 EFL; secondary; Japan Increase in motivation

Bell 2001 EFL; university;

EFL; university; Japan Increase in writing proficiency

Tsang 1996 EFL; secondary; Hong

Kong

Increase in writing proficiency

Masuhara et al

1996

EFL; university; Japan Increase in reading proficiency & rate

Cho & Krashen

1994

ESL; adults; USA Increase in reading proficiency, oral

fluency, vocabulary knowledge, & attitude & motivation

Lai 1993a, b EFL; secondary; Hong

Robb & Susser

1989

EFL; university; Japan Increase in reading proficiency &

attitude Pitts, White, &

Krashen, 1989

ESL; adults; USA Increase in vocabulary knowledge

Janopoulos 1986 EFL; university; USA Increase in writing proficiency

Elley &

Mangubhai

1981

EFL; primary; Fiji Increases in reading proficiency &

general language proficiency including listening & writing; increase in attitude & motivation

In the context of teaching and learning English in Vietnam, there has been

a modest number of studies investigating the benefits of extensive reading The research by Quach (2007) and Hoang (2007) as cited in Tran (2009) showed positive correlation between the implementation of extensive reading and students’ reading proficiency Both of these studies were carried out at university level, utilizing a combination of questionnaire and interview Tran (2009) conducted a highly original and rich in details study which was conducted solely on the grounds of self-reports of 110 second-year students in the Mainstream Division, ULIS It dealt with virtually all problematic aspects of extensive reading, including reading amount, materials, purposes, strategies, difficulties and benefits After distributing the questionnaire and interviewing five students based on their answers in the questionnaire, she found out that students highly appreciated the positive effects of reading extensively on their vocabulary, reading skill, pronunciation, background knowledge and pleasure for reading Her findings were further supported by the study by Nguyen (2013), which focused on the same research topic but involved different participants – first-year students in the Mainstream Division Despite this difference, the results were consistent, indicating positive correlation between reading extensively and students’ knowledge and skills Another research by Jacobs and his colleagues targeted at Vietnamese adult learners, although it was not carried out in the Vietnamese context After a two-month English course in Singapore with

the inclusion of extensive reading, the adult learners were reported to benefit from extensive reading just like the younger ones

From the above-mentioned research on the benefits of extensive reading, the researcher has concluded that these benefits can be divided into the following categories:

 Language skills (mostly reading and writing)

 Knowledge of language competence (vocabulary and grammar)

 Background knowledge

 Positive attitudes and motivation in reading and learning in general

For extensive reading brings about positive effects in various aspects of teaching and learning, it is apparently beneficial to integrate extensive reading into the curriculum As Day and Bamford (1998) have suggested, it can be included in the teaching process in four ways: as a separate course, as a part of an existing reading course, as a non-credit addition to an existing reading course, and as an extracurricular activity Each of the approaches has its own benefits and drawbacks; therefore, they might be suitable for a particular academic setting but not for the others

Although the benefits of extensive reading have been widely studied and supported by researchers and practitioners, the actual implementation of extensive reading poses myriad challenges to a wide number of parties, especially students and teachers who are directly involved in the process A number of studies have been carried out to examine the problems with implementation of extensive reading program in different contexts According to Grabe and Stoller (1997), there are five main reasons why extensive reading is not widely applied:

1 Fluent reading is not really the goal of a reading class or a reading curriculum

2 ER demands a lot of resources (class libraries, multiple copies of reading materials) and a lot of class time

3 The development of accurate, even if very slow, reading comprehension abilities is the real goal of many L2 reading curricula

4 Teachers are not prepared to radically rethink how reading should be learned and taught, or they do not have the language and reading skills to spontaneously respond to many types of questions when students need help

in class

5 Many administrators and teachers are uncomfortable with teachers not teaching, and students not preparing, for high-stakes exams while in class (p.312)

Teachers are also reported to encounter a lot of difficulties carrying out extensive reading programs As Richards and Renandya (2002) have stated, it is challenging for teachers to find the materials to suit the students’ reading tastes as well as provide a wide range of reading texts at different levels, especially where funding is insufficient In addition, teachers have to switch their roles in the classroom and it is not always easy Instead of being a traditional teacher in a teacher-centered classroom, he/she has to become the monitor, facilitator, motivator, enthusiast, administrator and supervisor (Ihejikira, 2014) He has suggested that the teacher is responsible for monitoring students’ progress, overseeing classroom procedures and being a role model of reading Many educators cannot easily accept such changes in their roles as extensive reading brings extra burden to them, who are already busy with the teaching process

Despite a wealth of research into extensive reading, there is limited reference

to the difficulties students have to deal with while doing extensive reading Based

on the available literature, this activity can be challenging for students for a number

of following reasons First of all, just like teachers, students have difficulty finding the suitable materials to read (Takase, 2003) Secondly, understanding the difficult words can also prevent students from reading extensively (Husin, 2014; Kanda, 2009) As the principle of extensive reading suggested, reading materials should be

at or slightly above students’ level so that students can easily understand and enjoy

the text When the text contains a lots of new words and students cannot use the dictionary to avoid interrupting their flow of thought, they may lose their motivation

to continue their reading Another problem is that students lack background knowledge, and the demanding post-reading activities can also be a burden for students Takase’s (2003) interviews with students revealed summary writing after reading was one negative factor in the extensive reading experience of reluctant students Last but not least, students may lack confidence in their reading ability For these type of learners, reading is a passive and frightening activity associated with countless unknown words, complex sentence structures and old-fashioned topics before they actually read the first book (He & Green, 2012) All of these difficulties that students experience will lessen their joy in reading and result in less

willingness to spend time reading

After reviewing the available literature, it can be concluded that teacher’s involvement in the investigation of extensive reading has been relatively restricted, especially with reference to the benefits of reading extensively to students Despite

an array of instruments utilized such as questionnaire, interview and experiment, most of the studies merely focused on students’ perceptions and performance, neglecting the viewpoints of teachers who directly teach and assess the progress of those students Their perceptions of the implementation of extensive reading should

be considered to provide more insights into the issue Regarding the specific context

in ULIS, the practice of extensive reading of students in the Fast-track Division is still an untouched field In addition, existing studies have only examined students’ general practice, and there has not been any research into extensive reading embedded in an assignment or a project For the above reasons, the researcher has decided to conduct a study on the benefits and challenges of extensive reading, specifically the Reading log, as perceived by the first year students and teachers in the Fast track division, FELTE, ULIS in an attempt to fill in the existing research gap

Summary of the chapter

In this chapter, overview of related literature has been presented First of all, after providing different definitions of extensive reading, a working definition for the present study has been decided Secondly, extensive reading is differentiated from intensive reading so ensure right of the term utilized throughout the paper Lastly, results of studies on benefits of extensive reading as well as challenges while implementing the program are also reviewed

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

The present study aims at answering the following questions:

1) What are the benefits of the Reading log as perceived by the first-year students and the teachers in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS? 2) What are the challenges encountered by the students as perceived by those students and those teachers?

In this chapter, the research methodology is described in detail, including the research context, sample and population, research design, data collection methods, research procedure and data analysis

- competent use of the knowledge in various communicative activities and;

- personal qualities such as teamwork, tolerance, confidence, and the ability for self and peer assessment

(Adapted from Nguyen et al, 2004)

As the requirements for students in the Fast-track Division are demanding, the reading log assignment is introduced to them in their first semester at university

to develop their language ability as well as other related knowledge and skills

3.1.1.2 Reading log overview

In term I of the first year, students of the Fast-track Program are supposed

to develop their language aptitude comprehensively through completing the two requisite courses: English 1A* for Reading and Writing and English 1B* for Listening and Speaking The English 1A* course occupies 15 learning weeks, two classes per week Reading log is one assignment in course 1A*, accounting for 20%

of the final score Through this task, students are expected to develop their reading competence to B1+ (CEFR), which is demonstrated through specific objectives presented in the course:

- understand the features of texts of certain genres and purposes commonly encountered in their daily life

- identify suitable reading strategies, style and speed for these texts

- demonstrate satisfactory comprehension of the main points of the texts

- demonstrate a reasonable degree of independence in reading these texts

In addition to these main learning targets, students are also required to accomplish supplementary objectives such as collecting information according to specific requirements, writing text analysis and delivering speech in class

In this assignment, students work individually to collect reading materials of certain genres and purposes then respond to the text in writing based on some guiding questions and make a glossary of the new language Every two or three weeks, students will have the opportunity to share their collection with the class After 15 weeks of the semester, students will finish three entries to put in their compiled reading log Throughout the semester, teachers have to monitor students

and assist them at any stages Teachers are responsible for providing the guidelines for collecting reading materials and analyzing the text, facilitating students’ performance in class sharing and marking the final products; therefore, they are undoubtedly aware of the benefits that the assignment can bring about and the difficulties that their students have to encounter while doing the assignment The marking scheme for reading log clearly indicates aspects to be assessed, grade allotted and instructions to mark each criterion as below:

Table 3: The reading log marking scheme

0 5 The entry has all the required components and are

pleasant to look at and easy to follow

Text selection 1 The selected texts are decent samples of the

assigned genres and purposes, following the requirements indicated in the guidance provided

by teachers

Source citation 0.5 The citation follows the APA formatting

guidelines

Comprehension 2.5 The written summary accurately reflects the main

ideas or message of the text without causing much strain on the reader

Text response 1 The personal thoughts on the content of the text

are genuine and easy to follow

Genre/ Purpose

analysis

2.5 The identified features and reading strategies for

the genres are reasonable and helpful

Glossary 1 The list of interesting language forms are worth

learning and students’ use of the language forms are accurate

0.5 only for absence

Students contribute to the in-class discussion of the text genres and purposes with useful ideas and generally good communication

Judging from the requirements of this assignment, it can be beneficial for students as it integrates four skills in one activity, assisting them in developing their language competence and accumulating background knowledge simultaneously Nevertheless, for the first year students who are new to the university academic setting, this kind of assignment can be challenging for them in a number of ways

As can be seen from the guidelines, students are required to complete a noticeable amount of workload, some of which such as source citation and critical reading are probably new to many students

3.1.2 Sample and population

The population of the study included 63 first-year students and three teachers

of the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS The students are from three classes, two majoring in English Language Teaching and one in Interpretation-Translation These three classes, whose majors are different, still take the same language/proficiency courses in their first year and the Reading log is applied to all three classes with the same requirements

Due to the diversity of the population, the researcher decided to utilize stratified random sampling method, which is effective when the population is diverse and can be divided into different groups sharing mutual characteristics (Creswell, 2014) Specifically, in the first phase of the study, six students from three classes and three teachers were involved in the interviews The students were

divided into three groups or stratas in accordance with their assigned class since the reading log activity’s requirements and teacher’s guidance are different for each class to some extents To be more specific, while the students in two classes majoring in English Language Teaching were required to do the assgnment individually, the teacher in charge of Interpretation-Translation asked the students

to work in groups Two students from each class were selected randomly and the teachers selected are responsible for the English 1A* lessons in the three classes Such differences in majors and instructors ensured that the varied sample could represent the whole population In the second phase of the study, the questionnaire was distributed to all 63 freshmen in Fast-track Division

For the student group, participants are all first-year students whose English proficiency is around A2 – B1 level (CEFR) and are expected to reach B1+ (CEFR)

at the end of semester I The English course 1A* and specifically the Reading log is learner-centered, requiring a high level of learners’ autonomy; therefore, it may be different from their previous learning experience since most Vietnamese high school adopt teacher-centered teaching approach which does not emphasise students’ independence in learning Concerning the teacher groups, they are responsible for the reading component in English course 1A* and they closely monitor students’ performance in the Reading log assignment Therefore, they are aware of the benefits of the assignment as well as several difficulties that students have to deal with when they do the assignment

In the first place, the researcher interviewed six representatives of students and three teachers in charge of English 1A* in Fast-track Division to get their perspectives on the benefits and challenges of students doing the reading log assignment Based on this qualitative data and related literature, a questionnaire was designed to deliver to the whole sample of the study At this phase, data was

compare and contrast between students’ and teachers’ opinions about the issue Based on the problems that students have to deal with, recommendations were drawn to improve the assignment in the succeeding years

In summary, the combination of qualitative and quantitative instruments ensured the effectiveness of data collection The qualitative approach supplied diverse, subjective and real-life opinions of the representatives among the participants while the quantitative approach provided a rather objective and general picture of what first-year students and their teachers perceived to be the benefits and challenges while the students did the Reading log Therefore, data gathered from this mixed method enabled the researcher to draw significant conclusions from students’ practice of extensive reading, and specifically their performance in the Reading log

3.3.1 Interview

In the first stage of the study, the researcher used interviews because they allow the researcher to investigate phenomena that are not directly observable (Mackey & Gass, 2005) In this particular study, the phenomenon was the self-reported perceptions of students and teachers about the benefits and challenges that students encountered while doing the assignment In addition, it is also noted that the interactive nature of interviews could get respondents to reveal extra valuable information if the initial answers are vague, incomplete or not specific enough (Mackey & Gass, 2005) Another advantage of interviews is that they can elicit data from respondents who are not comfortable in other modes For example, some respondents are more likely to provide answers in a conversational format

Since interviews were conducted first and acted as the basis for the questionnaire in the later phase, it was essential that the format, content and participants of the interviews be well-prepared The researcher chose a semi-

structured format, which meant she could ask spontaneous questions along with planned ones, on the ground that interviewers could both directly address the intended matter and freely probe for further clarification from interviewees The interviews focused on answering the two research questions, yielding opinions of students and teachers about the Reading log

The interviews were carried out in the participants’ first language (Vietnamese) to create a sense of comfort and optimize authenticity of the data, removing concern about the impact of language proficiency on the quality and quantity of the data provided (Mackey & Gass, 2005) The researcher tape-recorded all of the answers and took notes during the interviews to avoid loss of information, misunderstanding and bias These recordings and field notes also supplied raw materials for translation and analysis

3.3.2 Questionnaire for students

Based on the data collected from the interviews with sampled students and teachers, the researcher went on to the second phase of the study – questionnaire Despite various benefits that interviews brought about, it was challenging for the researcher - a novice one to conduct interviews without practice and training in drawing participants out, encouraging them to express themselves and gathering valuable data on the area of interest According to Hall and Rist (1999), the subjectivity of the researcher may also influence the quality of the data gathered In order to compensate for these limitations, questionnaire was utilized The first reason why the researcher chose the questionnaire was that it is a practical and economical tool to collect information from a group of participants, allowing some interesting comparisons between groups of participants (Mackey & Gass, 2005) These features of questionnaire proved to be exceptionally helpful for this study since the researcher wanted to yield a comprehensive picture of the perceptions of students and teachers of the Reading log, and figure out any mismatch between

students’ and teachers’ opinion In addition, possessing the data can also be fast and straightforward thanks to computer software

Despite such merits, questionnaires could be counterproductive if structured, and they may not be able to yield honest responses (Fredricks & McColskey, 2012) To avoid this problem, the researcher formed questionnaire items in both close-ended and open-ended forms There were two main sections in the questionnaire In each part, Likert scales for statements of benefits and challenges of students while dealing with Reading log were presented and an open-ended question at the end for any personal ideas about the topic other than what were listed The researcher expected that such free and extended sharing would help gain more understanding of the answers for close-ended questions

The data collection procedure embraced four main stages, which were specified in the following flowchart

Figure 1: Data collection procedure flow chart

The data collection procedure concentrated on nine interviews and one questionnaire Before any information could be retrieved, consent forms were sent

to the participants to ask for their assistance with the data collection

With reference to the interview, the researcher chose six students in three classes and three teachers who are responsible for the 1A* course in these classes Before actually conducting the interview, the researcher spent time establishing rapport with the participants and ensuring neutrality of the interview Then, the participants’ perspectives on the issue were noted down and tape-recorded for future transcription and translation following a list of tentative questions The researcher also asked some follow-up questions to go deeper into the interviewees’ responses when needed The whole process lasted for 3-5 minutes for each participant

PREPARATION

Design and revise instruments, make copies, obtain

consents and lesson plans

INTERVIEW (Qualitative)

Choose two students from each class as well as all

the three teachers to carry out interviews

QUESTIONNAIRE (Quantitative & Qualitative)

Give out copies of pre-designed questionnaires to students

After the interview, the responses of the students and teachers were divided into different categories according to the research questions Within each category, the data was grouped into particular theme based on the review of literature related

to the benefits and challenges while doing extensive reading The questionnaire was then formed and organized in accordance with the research questions with a pre-determined layout The questionnaire was administered to three classes in the Fast track division The survey contained both close-ended and open-ended questions,

so it took students around 10 -15 minutes to answer all The researcher was available

to remind the participants of the confidentiality of their profile and answer any questions during the process

When all types of desirable data had been collected, the researcher sorted out information and interpreted separately quantitative and qualitative data

3.5.1 Interview

Step 1: Preparing the data

After carrying out the interviews, the researcher transcribed all the tape recordings with close attention to relevant quotes to conduct a thorough and rigorous analysis in the later phase In addition, field notes were also organized to facilitate data analysis

Step 2: Classifying the data

First, the data was divided into two main groups: student response and teacher response Later, the data collected in each group was further classified according to the research questions that they answer; therefore, there were two main categories of answers corresponding to the benefits and challenges in doing the Reading log

Step 3: Interpreting the data

The data gathered from the interviews was divided into themes by summarizing the comments of the students and teachers so that it provided the framework for the researcher to design the questionnaire

3.5.2 Questionnaire

First and foremost, answers for close-ended questions were processed and converted into percentage for easier understanding and description Data from different parts of the questionnaire was calculated separately to answer different research questions Data from open ended questions in the survey was categorized into any pattern of thinking The researcher also looked for consistent or contrasting ideas with what the qualitative data suggested and drew well-grounded inferences from the materials

The two types of analysis were combined and matched in explanatory relationships, which means that facts and figures were visually displayed and verbally reported, including all related and authentic comments from the participants about the benefits as well as the challenges that students had to deal with while they did the Reading log assignment

Summary of the chapter

This chapter presented the research methodology starting with a description

of the research context and participants It then discussed the data collection

methods and research procedure The last section dealt with the data analysis for qualitative and quantitative data

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter reports and analyses the collected data via two instruments of the research (semi-structured interview and questionnaire) on the four research questions which focus on two main issues: benefits of Reading log and students’ difficulties while doing the project from the perspectives of students and teachers

The interviews were carried out with six students and three teachers in charge

of the reading component for three classes in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS Specifically, students A and B and teacher A were from Class 1, students C and D and teacher B from Class 2 and the rest from Class 3 Based on the data gathered from the interviews with students and teachers in charge of teaching the reading component in 1A* course together with the requirements for the Reading log specified in the syllabus, a questionnaire was designed to generalize the results to the whole population

the first-year students and their teachers in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS

4.1.1 Interview

The interviews were carried out with six students and three teachers in charge

of the reading component for three classes in the Fast-track Division, FELTE, ULIS

In the interviews, the respondents discussed a wide range of benefits of doing the Reading log In general, those benefits can be classified into the following groups: better reading skill, better writing skill, wider background knowledge, larger vocabulary and grammar, increased interest in reading and improved soft skills

- Better reading skill

When being interviewed, four out of six students agreed that their reading abilities have been improved as a result of the Reading log In order to complete this assignment, students were required to read and analyze the selected texts so that