Tài liệu How to improve reading comprehension skills for the 11 grade students at u minh thuong high school by using while reading activities master of tesol

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA-VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------THESIS HUỲNH THỊ CẨM HẰNG HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11 GRADE-STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING SOME WHILE–READING ACTIVITIES Ba Ria-Vung Tau - Year 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA-VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY --------------THESIS HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH-STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL Course code: 17110051 By Huynh Thi Cam Hang Supervised by DR. Bui Thi Kim Loan Ba Ria-Vung Tau -Year 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ................................................... - 1 RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ......................................... - 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................... - 3 ABSTRACT ............................................................................................. - 4 LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................. - 5 LIST OF CHARTS ................................................................................. - 6 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .......................................................... - 7 1.1 The study's rationale ..................................................................... - 7 1.2. Aims of the study .......................................................................... - 8 1.3. Research questions ....................................................................... - 8 1.4. Significance of the study .............................................................. - 9 1.5. Scope of the study ......................................................................... - 9 1.6. Thesis organization ...................................................................... - 9 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.............................................. - 11 2.1. Definitions of reading and reading comprehension .................. - 11 2.2. Types of reading ........................................................................... - 13 2.3. Factors in teaching and learning reading .................................. - 18 2.4. Previous studies ........................................................................... - 25 2.5 Summary ........................................................................................ - 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY......................................................... - 29 3.1. Action Research: .......................................................................... - 29 3.2. The aims of the study: .................................................................. - 33 3.3. The reading program for grade 11 grade- students at U Minh Thuong high school ............................................................................. - 35 3.4. The current situation of teaching the textbook at U Minh Thuong high school............................................................................................ - 39 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................... - 44 - 4.2 The action research procedures ...................................................- 44 4.3. Suggestions ....................................................................................- 71 4.4. Summary .......................................................................................- 73 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ...............................................................- 75 5.1. Conclusion .....................................................................................- 75 5.2 Implications for more effective reading instruction ..................- 76 5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further studies ........................- 79 REFERENCES ........................................................................................- 80 APPENDIX 1 ...........................................................................................- 83 APPENDIX 2 ...........................................................................................- 85 APPENDIX 3 ...........................................................................................- 87 APPENDIX 4 ...........................................................................................- 90 APPENDIX 5 ...........................................................................................- 92 APPENDIX 6 ...........................................................................................- 94 - -1- CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING WHILE–READING ACTIVITIES In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria-Vung Tau University. Ba Ria-Vung Tau, July 2021 Huynh Thi Cam Hang -2- RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby declare that I, Huynh Thi Cam Hang, a candidate for the degree of TESOL, accept the University's requirements for the retention and use of Master's Thesis deposited in the Library. In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my Master's Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for study and research purposes, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for thesis care, loan, and reproduction. Ba Ria-Vung Tau, July 2021 Huỳnh Thị Cẩm Hằng -3- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To begin, I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor, Dr. Bùi Thị Kim Loan, for his insightful discussion, constructive criticism, and invaluable assistance in preparing and completing my thesis. Without her continual guidance and encouragement, my thesis would never have emerged in its current shape. My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the instructors of the post-graduate department for the lessons they taught me and the resources they provided for the completion of this thesis. I'd also like to thank my colleagues for their helpful ideas and encouragement, as well as the instructors and grade11 students at U Minh Thuong High School for their active participation in my experimental testing. Finally, I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to members of my family for their unwavering support, inspiration, and encouragement throughout the completion of this thesis. -4- ABSTRACT An action research project was carried out to answer the following questions in order to help improve the reading comprehension of students at U Minh Thuong high school: 1) What difficulties do teachers and students face when teaching and learning a reading lesson? 2) How can the use of while-reading activities in reading lessons improve the reading comprehension skills of U Minh Thuong eleven-grade students ? After that, a five-week action research project was carried out. The subjects were 80 U Minh Thuong high school students from two classes (11A1 and 11A2). Data were gathered through the use of questionnaires (one for teachers and one for students) and class observations. The preliminary data revealed that students' poor reading comprehension could be attributed to the inappropriate methods and techniques used by English teachers at U Minh Thuong high school. Based on preliminary findings, it was hypothesized that “How to improve Reading Comprehension skills for the 11 grade Students at U Minh Thuong high school by using while–reading activities”. The researcher implemented an action plan in which the students were explicitly trained in some while-reading activities. The project evaluation revealed that all of the students have positive attitudes toward using while-reading activities in teaching reading lessons and that their reading comprehension skill could be improved using these tools; a large majority of the participants reported progress in their reading comprehension skill in the postimprovement questionnaire survey. While-reading activities were beneficial in assisting students in completing their reading tasks more effectively. Furthermore, they felt more confident in their reading abilities. -5- LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Evaluating students' English reading competence Table 4.2: Students' expectations of teachers' reading techniques Table 4.3: The students are asked to participate in while-reading activities Table 4.4: The reasons the students aren't interested in participating in whilereading activities today Table 4.5: The teachers-related-problems cause the students to feel unmotivated in today's while-reading activity Table 4.6: The difficulties the teachers face when teaching reading Table 4.7: The reasons why the teachers don't usually use while-reading activities in teaching -6- LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: depicts the difficulties that students face when learning to read. Chart 4.2: The students triumph over adversity. Chart 4.3: depicts the students' reactions to the while-reading activities. Chart 4.4: The use of while-reading activities in reading lessons has made English easier to learn. -7- CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter establishes the study's rationale, outlines the objectives, research questions, and methodologies, as well as the scope and relevance of the study, as well as prior studies and design. 1.1 The study's rationale Reading is regarded as one of the most important skills for language learners to develop because it contributes to the development of a wide range of linguistic expressions and structures, broadens general knowledge, and promotes lifelong learning and the improvement of first and second language skills. "Reading is a necessary skill for students of English as a second/foreign language (SL/EFL); and for many, reading is the most critical ability to acquire," writes Anderson (1999, p. 14). According to Carrell (1989, p.3), "for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four abilities in a second language, particularly English as a second or foreign language." "There are other important factors to consider when teaching and learning to read." It's possible that it's because the instructional materials aren't appropriate. It's possible that this is due to an unsuitable attitude on the part of instructors and students toward the subject. It's possible that this is due to the ineffectiveness of the instructors' instructional methods and classroom tactics. Reading is more important in upper secondary school than the other three abilities of speaking, listening, and writing because students must take grammar and reading-based exams. Nonetheless, even after implementing the new textbook, students' reading ability remains deficient.U Minh Thuong high school, established in 2003, is one of the institutions chosen. They face five significant reading barriers, including word-by-word reading habits, an overemphasis on forms rather than meaning, an overemphasis on details rather than key concepts, a limited vocabulary, and a lack of prior knowledge. In this scenario, teachers must examine the teaching and learning of English in -8- general, and reading skills in particular, in order to provide more effective methods for teaching and learning reading comprehension in high schools. I hopes to contribute to the promotion of reading abilities among 11-year-old students as an English teacher at U Minh Thuong high school. This fact gave her the opportunity to conduct research on "How to Improve Reading Comprehension Skills for 11 Grade Students at U Minh Thuong High School Using Specific While-Reading Exercises." I chose to conduct action research in order to determine the problems that instructors and students encounter while delivering a reading lesson, as well as the importance of while-reading activities to English teachers at U Minh Thuong high school. Certain modifications and enhancements should be made based on the findings of this action study. At U Minh Thuong High School, the majority of students have studied English for 7 years but they cannot speak English fluently, their English high school graduation exam scores are very low, about 17% of the year for many years 20172018. and close, but the students failed to do the reading comprehension part. They just randomly selected to complete the test. The second reason I chose to conduct research in grade 11 is because in this class students learn a lot of new knowledge, new topics, vocabulary and grammar. The third reason is, forming for students learning and practicing reading skills for students, students will know how to read and do exercises, which is very helpful for students. students form good habits and practice good reading comprehension skills to participate in their graduation exams. 1.2. Aims of the study The goal of this study is twofold: first, to identify the issues that upper secondary teachers and students face when delivering reading courses. - Investigating whether incorporating while-reading exercises into reading courses can help upper secondary students improve their English reading skills. - Helping teachers and students have a more effective teaching and learning reading comprehension skills process. 1.3. Research questions To achieve these two objectives, the research questions were set for the study: -9- 1) What difficulties do teachers and students face when teaching and learning a reading lesson ? 2) How can the use of while-reading activities in reading lessons improve the reading comprehension skills of U Minh Thuong eleven-grade students ? For data collection and analysis, the study employed action research and mixed methods. Two questionnaires (one for teachers and one for students) and class observation are used to collect data. 1.4. Significance of the study Reading has always been an important part of language education. Nonetheless, effectively teaching and learning to read presents significant challenges for both teachers and students. Reading is a difficult skill to teach in high school, according to English teachers. The majority of traditional, test-oriented language teachers frequently focus on teaching English vocabulary and grammar, as well as exam-oriented grammatical exercises. Nothing, on the other hand, is difficult unless we, as educators, make it so. Hopefully, the variety of options presented in this study for effectively integrating while-reading activities into reading classes will encourage instructors to implement them. 1.5. Scope of the study Due to time and knowledge constraints, this thesis investigated the use of while-reading activities in teaching reading lessons to eleventh-grade students at U Minh Thuong high school during the second term of the 2019-2020 school year. 1.6. Thesis organization The dissertation is organized into five chapters, which are as follows: Chapter I: Introduction, establishes the purpose of the study, outlines the objectives, scopes, methods, and significance of the investigation, as well as the research questions, and study design. Chapter II: Theoretical foundations - discusses the current state of knowledge about reading comprehension and teaching reading comprehension. - 10 - Chapter III: Methodology -The action research and reading curriculum for students in the 11th grade at U Minh Thuong high school are discussed and methodology apply in teaching to improve students’ reading comprehension skill. Chapter IV: Action Procedures The rationale for conducting action research and the procedures for conducting action research are described in research. Chapter V: Conclusion and recommendations - this is the final section, and it includes a summary and recommendations for more successful reading activities, as well as some limitations and recommendations for future research - 11 - CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter defines reading in general and reading comprehension in particular, as well as the various types of reading and teaching strategies for reading comprehension, previous study. 2. 1. Definitions of reading and reading comprehension 2.1.1. Definitions of reading Reading is a completely personal activity that occurs in a variety of contexts, such as newspapers, magazines, written texts, phone directories, medication bottle labels, and notifications. Reading is so ingrained in human beings that it is rarely attempted to be described. However, opinions on what constitutes reading continue to differ. Reading, according to Goodman (1970, p. 135), is a psycholinguistic process in which the reader, or language users, reconstructs a message encoded by a writer as a graphic display to the best of their ability. Reconstruction is seen as a cyclical process of sampling, predicting, testing, and confirming. Goodman's perspective on reading, particularly the process of reconstruction, was shared by William (1984, p.3). He believes that "written texts frequently contain more information than is required to comprehend them." The astute reader takes advantage of this to extract only what he needs to understand." Reading, according to Harmer (1989, p.153), is a mechanical process in which the eyes receive information and the brain decodes it. He is concerned not only with the two actions controlled by the eyes and the brain, but also with the rate at which the process occurs. A reading text moves at the reader's pace, which means that the reader determines how quickly the text is read. Reading is also defined by Urquhart and Weir (1998, p.22) as "the act of acquiring and understanding information stored in linguistic form via the medium of print." Reading is critical to the success of second language acquisition, and while understanding what reading is essential, it is difficult to do so succinctly and accurately. - 12 - Reading is defined broadly as "an active, fluid activity in which both the reader and the reading materials participate in the construction of meaning; meaning does not exist solely on the printed page or in the reader." Other researchers have generally agreed with Anderson's [8, p.1] definition of reading. According to those viewpoints, reading is defined as the process by which a reader examines and comprehends what has been written. 2.1.2. Definitions of reading comprehension When teaching reading, it is critical to understand the nature of reading comprehension. The instructor's knowledge of it will have a significant impact on what is taught in class. He'd know what to teach and how to run a successful reading session. Reading comprehension has been defined in a variety of ways by methodologists. Swam (1975, p.1) defined comprehension as "a learner's ability to read correctly and effectively in order to extract the greatest amount of information from a book with the least amount of comprehension." Furthermore, Grellet (1981, p.3) defined "reading comprehension or comprehension of a written text" as "extracting the necessary information from it as effectively as possible." Reading comprehension, according to the author, is an activity that entails deciphering the meaning of word combinations in a book in the most effective way possible. Reading comprehension, according to the aforementioned authors, entails more than just comprehending what is written; it also serves as a catalyst for students to recall their own experiences. That knowledge is then used to extract meaning not only from the written page, but also from the minds of the readers, which includes not only facts or information, but also emotion, belief, and critical evaluation. As a result of these points of view, it is possible to define reading comprehension as the process of comprehending the information contained in a text. This does not imply that the reader must understand every word in the text, but rather - 13 - that the reader must actively engage with the text and effectively extract the necessary information. 2.2. Types of reading One of the most important things to remember when teaching and learning reading comprehension is that there are many different types of reading, depending on the reader's intended purpose for reading. Students will never become competent readers unless they can adapt their reading skills to their reading objectives. When evaluating the reading process, it is critical to distinguish reading activities based on their modalities and goals. 2.2.1. According to manners of reading There are two types of reading: aloud reading and quiet reading. 2.2.1.1. Reading aloud Reading aloud is an unnatural activity because most people do not read aloud in everyday life, and it is difficult for the speaker to concentrate on the meaning of the text while reading aloud. Indeed, for those who teach and learn foreign languages, reading aloud is primarily an oral activity, and thus is closer to "pronunciation" than "comprehension"those who teach and learn foreign languages." "Asking a pupil to read aloud unseen also implies that he may focus so intently on pronouncing the words that he is unable to focus properly on their content," Lewis and Hill (1995, p.110) write. He may be able to read correctly, but he will be unable to recall what he has read." This type of activity appears to be more common in language classes. It is more concerned with how words in the text are pronounced than with comprehension. Students come across many unfamiliar terms and phrases while reading a text. In this case, the instructor may help his students pronounce words by reading the book aloud. As a result, reading aloud is frequently used with beginners and is restricted in higher courses for a variety of reasons. To begin with, it takes a long time because students frequently read slowly while concentrating on pronunciation. As a result, they lack the time required to infer the meaning of the - 14 - text or complete comprehension tasks. Second, because students are preoccupied with pronunciation, they have difficulty comprehending the text's content. According to Doff (1988, p.67), "reading aloud" entails "seeing at a text, comprehending it, and then speaking it." Its purpose is not simply to comprehend a text but to communicate its implication to another.‖ This is why, at least during the early stages of foreign language learning, reading aloud should become an established part of a lesson to assist beginners in reading words, phrases, and sentences with proper stress and intonation. 2.2.1.2. Silent reading The most authentic type of reading is silent reading. Because only by reading quietly can readers gain a thorough understanding of the written contents in the shortest amount of time. Silent reading can be used effectively to teach and learn reading comprehension texts because it helps students focus on the meaning of the text. According to Lewis and Hill, "it is the method we typically use with our native language, and is usually the quickest and most efficient" (1995, p.110). We can better understand reading materials when we read silently because we are not required to read every word in the text; we can read at our own pace and, if we do not understand what we are reading, we can read it again or slow down for intensive reading. Quiet reading is beneficial to instructors in maintaining control of the class. When students read silently, they are concentrating on the material, deciphering its meaning and extracting what they require. The depth and detail of our knowledge and comprehension improve as we progress through the various methods of silent reading. Overall, silent reading is a beneficial method for students to use in their reading lessons, as well as a fantastic way for instructors to maintain control of the class. 2.2.2. According to purposes of reading Reading is classified into four types based on its function: skimming, scanning, significant reading, and intensive reading. - 15 - 2.2.2.1. Skimming Skimming is a common strategy in reading comprehension. It is one of the most advanced reading techniques available, and it is required for fast and effective reading. Skimming is a technique for quickly obtaining the most important information, or 'gist,' of a document. "We skim to absorb the core of the reading material, to comprehend how it is organized, or to get a sense of the writer's tone or intent," writes Grellet (1981, p.19). Skimming is defined by Nuttal (2000, p.36) as "rapidly reading the text to determine the relevance of a research paper to our own work or to keep oneself superficially informed on trivial subjects." Thus, the key to encouraging students to skim is to present them with a series of texts and ask them to select appropriate titles from groups of one. Furthermore, in order to effectively teach skimming, the teacher should have students read the beginning or end of a text or paragraph, as this may contain a relevant comment. Students can predict the passage's objective, main topic or message, and possibly some of the passage's developing or supporting ideas by skimming. When children begin, they will have a "head start" on more focused reading. Furthermore, skimming assists students in organizing their thoughts and identifying the information they want to obtain from a book, thereby increasing retention. Finally, skimming is an important reading comprehension technique that allows readers to absorb the book's core concepts without being distracted by minor details. As a result, skimming should be used at the start of the reading instruction process to familiarize children with the content they will read. And there is no doubt that they will eventually comprehend the entire text. As a result, skimming should be included in reading instruction to assist students in getting a sense of what they are reading. - 16 - 2.2.2.2. Scanning Scanning is when a reader quickly skims the text in search of specific information or to determine whether the content is appropriate for a specific reading objective. Brown (2001, p.308) defines scanning as the process of quickly searching within a text for a specific item or pieces of information. Scanning is a technique for retrieving specific information without having to read the entire text." Grellet (1981, p.19) provides a more detailed definition of scanning: "when we scan, we are trying to find information and frequently deviate from the passage's linearity; scanning is much more limited in scope, because it involves collecting only the information pertinent to our goal." All of these authors make the same point: a scanning reader does not need to read a book from cover to cover; instead, they seek information by quickly scanning the lines. It can be applied to a wide range of products, such as dictionaries, maps, advertisements, and labels. This reading style is ideal for selective reading. Skimming and scanning are both effective reading techniques in general. It is suggested that they be used to help students enrolled in reading courses improve their reading comprehension skills. 2.2.2.3. Intensive reading Furthermore, reading lessons frequently include intensive reading. It is a highly effective method for delving into the text's substance and structure. Intensive reading "involves approaching the book with the guidance of a teacher or completing a task that requires students to focus entirely on the text." Nuttall (2000), p.38. Brown defines intensive reading as "an in-class activity in which students concentrate solely on the grammatical or semantic details of a book" (Brown, 1990, p.297). The goal of intensive reading is to gain a thorough understanding of the material, not only of what it means but also of how it is understood. The reader must gain a complete and comprehensive understanding of