Workbook on english language micro skills for first year college students in selected universities in thai nguyen province vietnam

ii THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation entitled “WORKBOOK ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines

APPROVAL SHEET

This dissertation entitled “WORKBOOK ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE MICRO-SKILLS FOR FIRST YEAR COLLEGE STUDENTS IN SELECTED UNIVERSITIES IN THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE, VIETNAM” prepared and submitted by DANG THI THU HUONG in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in English has been examined and is recommended for Oral Examination

Date Dean, Graduate Studies

College of Arts and Sciences

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ABSTRACT

Title : Workbook on English Language Micro-skill for First Year

College Students in Selected Universities in Thai Nguyen Province, Vietnam

Author : Dang Thi Thu Huong

Course : Doctor of Philosophy

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relations skills, discourse coherence skills and information transfer skills

This study also determined which among the four modes of language performance the students find most difficult and which among the English micro skills students find difficult as assessed by faculty respondents The output of the study is a proposed supplementary workbook to enhance the students micro skill needs

The study covered the four (4) Thai Nguyen Universities in Thai Nguyen Province with three hundred eighty (380) freshman students and 53 English language teachers as respondents of the study It made use of descriptive research and utilized the survey questionnaire and the teacher- made- test as the data gathering instruments

Results of the study as to the level of students’ proficiency in the four modes of English language performance, students generally have an average proficiency in all the test areas in the performance in reading with an average correct rating of 65.26 percent and a verbal equivalent of average with the highest proficiency was observed in the areas on context clues and fact and inference with 82.05 percent, and topic sentence and main idea with a percent correct scores of 69.26 percent and 68.86 percent respectively; and summary statements with a percent correct score of 42.32 percent and interpreted as

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For speaking, students generally showed an average performance with

a percent correct rating of 49.11 percent which means the students were performing at an average level in the modality of speaking Numerically, the performance in speaking was lower and below 50 percent The students showed the lowest numerical proficiency value in this language mode indicating this area to be the weakest In listening on the other hand, the students generally showed an average proficiency with an average correct rating of 59.28 percent Though this value appears to be high and above 50 percent, only the items on sentence constituents and grammatical word class contributed to the high values which mean that the students were proficient in

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grammatical areas of listening and less proficient in vocabulary and main idea finding

In terms of faculty assessment of the students’ English language skills, all of the 20 items obtained an agree score of >84.91 percent with six items that recorded a score of 84.91 percent which means that the list presented are valid language micro-skills that can be used to assess students’ linguistic proficiency The micro-skill with the highest agree score is perceptual- communicative skills while the lowest is the conceptual skills According to the frequency of use, findings revealed that all of the items got ratings >3.6 which

micro-is verbally equivalent to often which means that the teachers generally perceived all the micro-skills to be practiced often by the students The item with the highest score is a tie between perceptual- communicative skills and intrasentencial structure and semantic relations skills both with a mean frequency score of 4.0

The teacher respondents also rate the micro-skill items according to their degree of importance Results indicate that all of the items had ratings

>4.4 which means that the items could range from moderate to very important The item with the highest rating in terms of degree of importance is a tie between perceptual- communicative skills and intonation skills The lowest

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scoring item is intrasentential structure and semantic relations skills

In the aspect of difficulties encountered by students in the four modes of language, seven out of the 17 test areas on the four modes of language, students got the proficiency rating below 50 percent These areas are punctuation and modifier placement in riting, word order and use of stress in speaking, meaning of words and topic sentence in listening, and summary statements in reading There were two difficult component items each for writing, speaking, and istening and only one item for reading This means that reading in spite of being the most advance skill, difficulties are still encountered

by students in this modality, particularly in making summary statements

Relative to the teachers’ assessment of the students’ micro-skills in the four modes of language according to the frequency of use, results showed that all the items got ratings of >3.7 which is verbally equivalent to often which indicates that all the micro-skills are used often by the students The item with the highest mean frequency score is the item that pertains to the use of correct words, a writing micro-skill followed by the item on fact and inference, a reading micro-skill, and the item on form of words, a speaking micro-skill

According to their degree of importance, all of the items had ratings >4.4 which means that the items could range from moderate to very important This

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indicates that the teacher respondents generally perceived all the micro-skills

to be of a high degree of importance and thus, must always be included in the teaching scheme and competency assessment of freshman students The item with the highest rating in terms of degree of importance is a tie between perceptual-communicative skills and intonation skills The lowest scoring item

is intrasentential structure and semantic relations skills

As to the relationship of teacher’s assessment and students’ performance in the three language modalities, results indicate that 14 out of 17 micro-skill items compared showed significant differences The significantly different label indicates that the students’ proficiency scores are not related to the teachers’ frequency assessment and are independent of each other which mean that in majority of the micro-skills evaluated, no relationship could be established between the students’ performance and the teachers’ assessment

For the proposed supplementary workbook to address the micro-skill deficiencies of the students in four modes of language, criteria were made as bases The study recommended that the proposed supplementary workbook

be reviewed, tried out and evaluated; that teachers need to be given series of trainings along language teaching; and that this study may be replicated along this area in other universities

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ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The researcher would like to convey her sincere gratitude to the following persons whose valuable contributions lead to the completion of this academic work

Dr Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam for the opportunity given to be included in the Ph.D English Program in partnership with Batangas State University, Philippines

Dr.Matilda H Dimaano, Dissertation Adviser, for the valuable inputs, critical comments, suggestions and recommendations that greatly improved this study Her expertise in research, guidance and encouragement contributed much in the completion of this study

The Panel of Examiners, Dr Corazon B Cabrera, , Dr Felix M Panopio, Dr Amada G Banaag, Dr Maria Luisa A Valdez, Dr Myrna G Sulit, for their insights, and commendable suggestions;

Dr Remedios P Magnaye, Recording Secretary, for sharing her time in encoding the minutes of the oral defense and for her assistance;

Dr Nguyen Tuan Anh; Dr Nguyen The Hung, Former Directors, and Dr Hoang Thi Bich Thao, Director of the International Training Center, Thai Nguyen University, for their support and encouragement;

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The Rectors of the four selected universities of Thai Nguyen University for their permission to conduct the study;

The Teachers and the Student respondents of the study, for their active participation and cooperation;

All her friends, her parents and relatives for their encouragement and support

Dang Thi Thu Huong

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY Socialist Republic of Vietnam Republic of the Philippines

DEDICATION

This dissertation is lovingly dedicated to my husband and children

Dang Thi Thu Huong

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL SHEET ii

ABSTRACT iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ix

DEDICATION xi

TABLE OF CONTENTS xii

LIST OF TABLES xv

LIST OF FIGURES xvii

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction 1

Statement of the Problem 9

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study 10

Significance of the Study 11

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE Conceptual Literature 14

Research Literature 49

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Synthesis 57

Theoretical Framework 60

Conceptual Framework 63

Hypothesis 65

Definition of Terms 65

III RESEARCH METHOD AND PROCEDURE Research Environment 68

Research Design 69

Subjects of the Study 70

Data Gathering Instrument 72

Data Gathering Procedure 76

Statistical Treatment of Data 77

IV PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA 78

V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION Summary of Findings 151

Conclusions 163

Recommendation 165

BIBLIOGRAPHY 166

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APPENDICES……… 174

A Questionnaires on English Language Micro Skills 175

B Questionnaire on Teacher’s Assessment of the English Language Micro Skills 184

C Validation Letters 199

D Letters of Request to the Head of the Institutions 202

E Photographs of the Study Sites 206

F Photographs of the Test Questionnaire Dry Run 207

G Photographs of the Heads of Four Universities where Letters of Requests were Forwarded for Signature to Conduct the Study 208

H Photographs of Students Respondents 209

I Photographs of Teacher Respondents 210

J Psychrometric Conversion Table 211

CURRICULUM VITAE……… 213

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LIST OF TABLES Table Title Page

1 Distribution of the Respondents ……… 71

2 Levels of Proficiency of Students in the

6 English Language Micro-Skills of Students Utilized

in the Basic English Course 89

7 English Language Micro-Skills of Students as to

Frequency of Use 91

8 English Language Micro-Skills of Students as to

Degree of Importance 94

9 Comparison of the Student's Language Performance

and Teachers’ Assessment of Students’ Language

Micro-Skills Performance 97

10 Difficulty of the Student Respondents in the

Four Modes of Language 100

11 Performance of Students’ in the Four Modes of

English Language and their Frequency of Use 103

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12 Performance of Students’ in the Four Modes of

English Language and their Degree of Importance 107

13 Bases in the Design of Workbook on Micro-Skills

of the Four Modes of Language 110

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page

1 Research Paradigm of the Study 64

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CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction

Language is a very important tool of communication that an individual must possess In every aspect and interaction in life, language cannot be absent Language is used to inform the people around as to what one thinks, feels and desires as well as questions and understands the world around Language is expressed by words, gestures, tone, and voice in varied situations

in communication Through the use of language, thoughts and experiences can make sense and people can also be connected Thus, there should be a warm and comfortable environment where one could learn the complexities of language as person who possesses strong language skills may have an asset that will promote a lifetime or effective communication

There are four macro-skills in language namely reading, writing speaking and listening These macro-skills may be learned separately although they interdependently contribute to the development and maturation of communication skills Within these language macro-skills are the so-called micro-skills Micro-skills refer to specific competencies that aid in effective communication Thus, micro-skills for reading, writing, listening and speaking exist and have been the focus of several language practitioners as areas for

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exist and have been the focus of several language practitioners as areas for attention and refinements in English language learning

A number of micro-skills have been listed for the different modes of language For Reading, these are being able to discriminate among the distinctive graphemes and orthographic patterns of English, being able to retain chunks of language of different lengths in short-term memory, being able

to recognize a core of words, and interpret word order patterns and their significance, being able to recognize grammatical word classes such as nouns and verbs, systems like tense, agreement, and pluralization, patterns, rules, and elliptical forms

In writing, micro-skills include being able to produce an acceptable core

of words and use appropriate word order patterns, being able to use acceptable grammatical systems, being able to use cohesive devices in written discourse, and being able to use the rhetorical forms and conventions of written discourse For listening, the following are considered microskills like being able to retain chunks of language in short-term memory, being able to discriminate between the distinctive sounds of English, being able to recognize reduced forms of words, as well as being able to process speech at different rates of delivery

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Similarly in speaking, the micro-skills include the ability to produce chunks of language of different lengths, being able to produce English stress patterns, being able to use an adequate number of words to accomplish purpose, be able to monitor oral production and use strategic devices such as pauses, fillers, self- corrections, and backtracking to enhance the clarity of the message

These micro-skills however may be clustered into more specific skills of which eight are listed These are motor-perceptual skills for spoken and written media; intonation skills concerned with understanding and conveying meaning especially attitudinal meaning; deductive skills which is deducing meaning/use of unfamiliar lexical items such as reducing recourse to use of dictionary; perceptual or communicative skills; conceptual skills which include understanding and expressing conceptual meaning; intrasentencial structure and semantic relations skills; discourse coherence skills, and information transfer skills These micro-skills can cut across the four modes of language as the latter are in most instances linked and related in content and differs only in the medium and form of delivery

In teaching the concept of reading, sub-skills is very important as it serves as basis for planning of the syllabi, course materials and description of

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student’s competencies of the language For teachers to be effective in performing their tasks of helping the students develop their skills, they are required to conduct a needs analysis of their students to identify their micro skills and construct language tests afterwards

It is stated that word comprehension in reading has a strong relation to students’ knowledge aside from the importance of structural knowledge Students’ should have long exposure to print words for them to develop automaticity in using the information from grammatical structures to facilitate reading The teachers on the other hand, must provide students with more opportunities to encounter English passages to enhance their automaticity in reading

In reading, it is stated that enjoyment is the key to success and so in teaching, teachers must provide students with content area reading materials which students would find interesting and increase their motivation for improving their reading skill Reading ability can be developed in association with other skills, since it is one of the components of the overall English proficiency Therefore, language teachers should provide students with reading activities related to listening, speaking and writing if reading ability is to

be improved through activities related to other skills

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Writing is an essential skill that can also benefit students Activities like introducing and practicing writing with engaging formats can foster confidence and lifelong love for writing This is important for students’ continued learning, communication and self-expression In the academic setting, writing exercises can develop the student’s critical and problem-solving skills Students’ learnings in the process of writing can translate into other parts of learning and could impact on vocabulary and reading development as well

As a great tool in helping students know about what others are thinking, writing can solidify ideas and thoughts and allow for a reflection of ideas revolving around their minds Writing skills can support learners with other language tools like learning how to communicate effectively, spell, put together

a plot, make logical statements and gain persuasiveness in writing Varied writing problems are encountered by students learning the second language These problems include grammar-related writing problems, stylistic writing problems, word use writing problem, punctuation problems and social networking writing problems

To understand the learner’s strengths and weaknesses to ensure success of the a learning program, teachers and parents must work hand in hand One way of monitoring the learner’s program is through collecting a

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portfolio of learner’s work over time Identifying early problems may help teachers develop effective teaching strategies to help address writing problems

Speaking problems are those learning difficulties experienced by students in the course of speaking These include inhibition of students to speak because of wordiness, fear about committing mistakes, and being shy to face the audience Ideally, speaking requires some degree of exposure to an audience so that students develop self-confidence Another speaking problem

is when students have nothing to say in a situation because they cannot think

of anything to say and lack the drive to express themselves

In the case of a large group, problems arise when there is little time allocated for students to speak and where only one student has the opportunity

to be heard Further, there are classes who are dominated by some learners who speak well the language in class while others do not speak at all Another problem is on the use of the mother tongue where students tend to speak on their native language rather than using the second language There is also this problem where students seem not disciplined in the use of the target language

Language teachers in this situation must try to motivate students to use

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the target language often, and create a small group where each student can engage in conversation and check other’s errors This can also give them opportunity to have learning of new vocabulary and make use of videos, music

or authentic conversation in English as an exposure for student in speaking English

Listening on the other hand plays a vital role in communication and students listen for varied purposes like entertainment, academic purposes and obtaining information Listening is important because it provides language inputs Without listening, no communication can be achieved Students who are non-native speaker or are learning their second language find it difficult to acquire good listening skills Students’ failure to accurately listen leads to poor communication result such as poor comprehension

Students’ problems in listening are accompanied by the following factors: the message, the speaker, the listener and the physical setting Other identified problems in listening include speech rate, vocabulary and pronunciation To help students improve their listening skill, language teachers must identify first their listening problems and the cause of such difficulties

Thai Nguyen University is the main education system in Vietnam

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consisting of more than ten member universities and faculties TNU has an active English teaching program aimed at providing the basic academic competency in the English language among its students and faculty TNU faces a serious challenge to upgrade the level of its teaching competency as the Vietnamese government demands for more competent English teachers

As part of an ambitious initiative by the Ministry of Education to ensure that all young people leaving school by 2020 have a good grasp of the language, more than 80,000 English language teachers in Vietnam's state schools are expected to be conﬁdent, intermediate-level users of English, and to pass a test to prove such

Teachers are required to be B2 level competent in English while the students they graduated have to reach B1 level, one step lower following the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for English language competency measurement Thus, a research aimed to upgrade the English micro-skills will be particularly relevant in supporting the prevailing needs of the TNU system

With this scenario, as College English language teacher handling Basic English courses, the researcher is interested to know and identify the First year college students’ micro skill needs with the end view of proposing a workbook

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to enhance first year college students’ micro skill needs

Statement of the Problem:

This study determined the English language micro skill needs of students among selected universities of Thai Nguyen, Vietnam

Specifically, it sought to answer the following questions

1 What is the level of English language proficiency among students in the four modes of language ?

1.1 reading;

1.2 writing;

1.3 speaking; and 1.4 listening?

2 How do faculty respondents assess the students’ English language micro-skills performance relative to:

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2.7 discourse coherence skills; and 2.8 information transfer skills?

3 Are there significant differences between students’ language performance in the teacher- made test and teachers’ assessment of students’ language micro-skills performance?

4 In which among the four modes of language do student respondents find difficulties?

5 What is the faculty assessment on the students’ modes of English language performance relative to:

5.1 frequency of use; and 5.2 degree of importance?

6 What supplementary workbook in English may be proposed to improve students’ micro skills performance?

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation of the Study

This study focused on the assessment of the English Language Micro skill needs of Thai Nguyen students It covered the level of English language proficiency among students in the four modes of language performance in reading, writing, speaking and listening The faculty assessed the students English micro skills relative to motor-perceptual skills for spoken and written

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media, intonation skills which concerned with understanding and conveying meaning especially attitudinal meaning, deductive skills which pertained to deducing meaning or use of unfamiliar lexical items such as reducing recourse

to use of dictionary, perceptual or communicative skills, conceptual skills such

as understanding and expressing conceptual meaning, intrasentencial structure and semantic relations skills, discourse coherence skills and information transfer skills

This study also dealt with the identification of which among the four modes of language performance students found most difficult as well as which among the English micro skills they also found difficult as assessed by faculty respondents The output of the study was in the form of a workbook on English language micro skills to enhance the students language performance

The study covered the four (4) Thai Nguyen Universities in Vietnam Three hundred eighty-two (382) freshman students were used as respondents

of the study during the Academic Year 2013-2014.This study was limited on the result of the data gathered by the researcher

Significance of the Study

The study is deemed beneficial to the administrators of Thai Nguyen University, English teachers, First Year students, parents, present researcher

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and future researchers

Administrators of Thai Nguyen This study can guide them in

improving their English curriculum by evaluating the different English proficiency enhancing activities This study will serve as a guide for the enhancement of the existing Basic English curriculum to meet their institutional goals and objectives

English teachers This study will serve as a tool for English teachers

as they may become aware of the present level of English Language proficiency of their students in the four modes of language performance This will provide them insights on what innovative learning activities will be appropriate to enhance the Language proficiency of their students

First Year students The findings of this study will make them aware of

their level of English language proficiency in the four modes of language and their English language micro skills This will be an instrument for them to improve their weak points and enhance their overall performance in Basic English

Parents Parents of the first year students will become aware of the

English performance of their children which will make them more supportive and cooperative in school activities especially on the improvement of the

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performance in Basic English skills of their children

Present Researcher Results of the study will serve as basis for her to

design other instructional materials that will help students improve their language proficiency

Future researchers This study will serve as reference for their

undertaking

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CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the relevant conceptual and research literature which have bearing to the present study The literatures included are found substantial to the study and gives the necessary background to understand the present research Further, the theoretical and conceptual frameworks, synthesis, and hypothesis drawn from the literature reviewed and definition of terms are also presented

Conceptual Literature

The concepts on four modes of language, English language micro skills, evaluation of students’ performance and instructional materials development were reviewed to substantiate the study

Four Modes of Language A system of arbitrary vocal symbols used by

members of a society to communicate with one another is termed language according to Clifford Prator, the head of the Second Language Teaching Department of the University of California As system of communication using sounds or symbols that enables a person to express his feelings, thoughts, ideas and experience (Goldstein, 2008) a language consists of symbols that can be used to generate as infinite variety of messages (Weiten, 2007) Language has four characteristics and these are the following: it is primarily a

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speech; it is not a list of words but a tri-dimensional system of sound, structure and vocabulary; different languages have different system and language is constantly changing through time and in various geographical regions

Peng (2005) stated that language is also a behavior which utilizes body parts such as the vocal apparatus and the auditory system, the brachial apparatus and the visual system for sign language where such body parts are controlled by none other than the brain for their functions As a human system that uses arbitrary signals such as voice, sounds gestures or written symbols, Sapir (1921) emphasized that language is purely human and non-instinctive method of communicating ideas, emotions, and desires by means of voluntary produced symbols It is a system of rules, unconsciously present in the mind, that enables humans to relate sounds and meanings (Delahunty,1994)

There are four language modes which are also referred to as language modalities or language skills These include listening, speaking, reading and writing Listening according to Morley (1984) is the most frequently employed skill in daily language use, yet seemingly it is the most neglected area of concern, because listening, unlike other skills is an internal process that cannot be directly observed In second language instruction, there were several factors for lack of attention to listening These include focus on

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speaking a language; listening was used as a tool to teach speaking but not as

an instructional goal in itself; a long standing assumption that listening was a passive skill; and few listening comprehension models from first language instruction

Yagang (1993) stated that listening is the ability to identify and understand what others are saying and this involves understanding of a speaker’s accent or pronunciation, his grammar, and his vocabulary, and grasping his meaning There are several characteristics of spoken language which are attributed to good listening These include redundancy, untidiness and environmental interference

Nunan, (1998) pointed out that it has been claimed that over 50 percent

of the time that students spend functioning in a foreign language is devoted to listening, and that it is the natural precursor to speaking where the early stages

of language development in a person’s first language are dependent on listening Several writers and researchers in the 1980’s suggested that listening had a very important role (Winitz, 1981) It is a way of learning the language and it gives the learner information from which to build up knowledge necessary for using the language (Nord, 1980)

There are three specific communicative listening modes according to

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Murcia et a.l, (2006) These are the bidirectional, directional and directional Further, in the psychosocial functions of listening, Brown and Yule (1983) suggests dividing language into two major divisions namely; language for transactional purposes which is used for giving instructions, explaining, describing, giving directions, ordering, inquiring, requesting, relating, checking

auto-on the correctness of details and verifying understanding, and language for interactional purposes which is a social- type talk or person oriented more than message oriented Establishment and maintenance of cordial social relationship is the objective of this language function Identifying with the other person’s concerns, being nice to other person, and maintaining and respecting face are some important features of interactional language

As one among the language modes, speaking or speech communication

is that process which occurs when speaking/listening agents interact by transmitting and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages in communication contexts (Scheidel, 1976) It is a two-way process by which information is exchanged between or among individuals through a common system of symbols, signs and behavior Oral communication helps a person discover and identify himself to achieve greater self-realization, gives bigger room to improve interaction among people in a group, increases professional and

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economic efficiency and enables him to serve the community and nation and

be globally competitive(Go, 1997)

There are five types and levels of communication These are intrapersonal communication which refers to communicating with oneself; interpersonal communication, the second level of communication which deals with communicating with another person; small group discussion, the third level of communication that happens when one shares ideas and information with three to 15 persons usually in order to come up with a decision or help to solve problems; public communication, the fourth level of communication which requires a speaker to address an audience either to inform, persuade, entertain or do all the three; and mass communication which refers to an entirely large audience and usually mediated by audio, and/or visual means

Brown (1978) calls interactional speaking as opposed to transactional speaking The following ways supported interactional speaking where this support enables learners to produce what they would not normally be able to produce Holmes and Brown (1976) stated that learners can be taught conversational strategies that can help keep the conversation going Having supportive partner in conversation can make speaking much easier Learners can be trained to provide support to other speakers Supplying unknown

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words, completing sentences that the speaker has begun, and asking helpful questions to provide language and content support are involved in the kind of support given to learners

Another way considered to provide good support is repeated tasks With repetition, difficulty in speaking may become easier Retelling techniques can provide this kind of repetition Since most speaking is informal, attention should be given in the classroom

As regards formal speaking, Biber (1989) stated that it helps language learning in the following ways: it represents a new use of English for most learners and thus require them to focus on language items that are not as well represented in other uses of the language In formal speaking, it is required to have control of content, awareness of a largely passive audience, and being focus of attention Learners are also required to use language under difficult and demanding circumstances, which will stretch the boundaries of skill development

Brown (1981) pointed out that speaking as a part of work or academic study may involve presenting reports or presenting a viewpoint on a particular topic and that formal speaking has the following important features: it is transactional; it involves taking a long turn; and it is influenced by written

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language Further, the speaking is done in the learner’s careful style in a clear and deliberate way with opportunity for the speaker to monitor the production, and it often needs teaching as it is a skill that is not a part of typical language use

Reading on the other hand is a key to success in school, to the development of out-of-school interests, to the enjoyment of leisure time and to personal and social adjustment (Smith and Dechant ,1961) It helps students

to adjust to his age mates, to become independent of parents and teachers, to select and prepare for an occupation and to achieve social responsibilities According to Anderson (1985) reading is the process in which information from the text and the knowledge possessed by the reader get together to produce meaning

Villamin (1984) considers reading as the key that unlocks the door to the world of enlightenment and enjoyment and the basic tool for learning in the content field It is a very important skill that without it or lack of it will greatly affect an individual adjustment in life (Tejero et al, 2004) Reading involves much more than recognition of the graphic symbol; it includes even more than the arousal of meaning or the gaining of meaning from printed symbols The reader is stimulated by the author’s words with his own meaning The reader

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must select one specific meaning from the numerous meaning that he has acquired (Burton, 1961)

Reading as explained by Bernardez (2007) is not merely an individual’s act of reciting something written but also a decoding process in which one orally interprets the meaning of a word, a phrase, a clause or a sentence It is the practice of knowing and of understanding the meaning of printed words or written symbols Bernhardt (1991) viewed reading as an interactive, socio-cognitive process involving a text, a reader, and a social context within which the activity of reading takes place

As pointed out by Hudelston (1994) in reading, an individual constructs meaning through a transaction with written text that has been created by symbols that represent language The transaction involves the reader’s acting

on or interpreting the text, and the interpretation is influenced by the reader’s past experiences, language background, and cultural framework, as well as the reader’s purpose for reading

There are six general component skills and knowledge areas within the complex process of reading according to Grabe (1991)

These include automatic recognition skills, a virtually unconscious ability, ideally requiring little mental processing to recognize text, especially for word

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identification; vocabulary and structural knowledge, a sound understanding of language structure and a large recognition vocabulary; formal discourse structure knowledge, an understanding of how texts are organized and how information is put together into various genres of texts

Moreover, in content/world background knowledge, this is the prior knowledge of text-related information and a shared understanding of the cultural information involved in text; while in synthesis and evaluation skills/ strategies, it’s about the ability to read and compare information from multiple sources to think critically about what one reads, and to decide what information

is relevant or useful for one’s purpose, and metacognitive knowledge and skills monitoring, an awareness of one’s mental processes and the ability to reflect

on what one is doing and the strategies one is employing while reading

According to Horn (1961) reading typically brings meaning to rather than gaining meaning from the painted page, It is the most fundamental part of education as it opens the door to a number of opportunities for growth and development aside from being the foundation of most learning

The fourth mode of language is writing It is one of the basic skills of the English language According to Nunan (2003) the nature of writing can be defined as both physical and mental activity that is aimed to express and

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impress It is categorized as the physical activity because a writer is required to

be able to do the act of committing words or ideas As a mental work, the activities of writing are focused more on the act of inventing ideas, thinking how to organize them into clear statements and paragraphs that enable a reader in understanding the ideas of the written work

As an act of communication, writing suggests an interactive process which takes place between the writer and the reader via the text White and Arndt (1971) view writing as a complex, cognitive process that requires sustained intellectual effort over a considerable period of time There are six recursive procedures involved in producing a text These include drafting, structuring, focusing, generating ideas, reviewing, and evaluation These procedures can be realized a number of different ways in the classroom

According to Halliday (1985) writing emerged in societies as a result of cultural changes that created new communicative needs The following are the purposes of the written language which include for action, for information and for entertainment Raimes (1985) stated that it is important to remember that in the ESL/EFL context, writing, like the other language skills, needs to be dealt with at the particular level of linguistic and discourse proficiency that the intended students have reached

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