(SKKN 2022) self study activities to improve reading skill of students grade 10

SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HÓA TRƯỜNG THPT TĨNH GIA - SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM SELF-STUDY ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE THE 10th GRADERS’ READING SKILLS Người thực hiện: Lê Thị Huyền Chức vụ: Giáo viên SKKN thuộc lĩnh vực ( môn ) : Tiếng Anh THANH HÓA NĂM 2022 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale ……………………………………………………….…… 1.2 Aims of the study …………………………………………………… 1.3 Scope of the study …………………………………………………………… 1.4 Method of the study ……………………………………………………………… CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background ………………………………………………………… 2.2 Practical background…………………………………………………………… … 2.3 Contents…………………………………………………………………………… 2.3.1.Definitions………………………………………………………………………… 2.3.2.The reading sub-skills…………………………………………………………… 2.3.2.1 Reading for specific information……………………………………………… 2.3.2.2 Finding the main ideas ……………………………………………………… 2.3.2.3 Guessing vocabulary from the context………………………………………… 2.3.2.4 Making inferences………………………………………………………….…… 2.3.3 Types of questions in reading comprehension…………………………………… 2.3.3.1 Types of questions in reading for specific information ………………………… 2.3.3.2 Types of questions in finding the main ideas …………………… …………… 2.3.3.3 Types of questions in guessing vocabulary from the context ………………… 2.3.3.4 Types of questions in making inferences ……………………………………… 2.3.4 Practice …………………………………………………………………………… 2.3.4.1 Self-study activities in reading comprehension ………………………………… 2.3.4.2 Keys …………………………………………………………………………… 2.4 Results …………………………………………………………………………… 2.4.1 The comparision between the average score in the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill ………………………………………… 2.4.2 The comparison between students’ scores of sub-skills in the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill …………… …………… CONCLUSIONS ………………………………………………………………… 3.1 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………… 3.2 Recommendations………………………………………………………………… 3 4 4 5 5 7 7 8 15 15 16 16 19 19 20 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………… 21 APPENDICES ………………………………………………………………………… 22 2 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, English has played a prominent role in the world where most people use it as a means of communication with the world in the trend of globalization In teaching and learning English, the curriculum as the guidance of English teachers involves reading, writing, speaking and listening And every skill needs to be practised intensively Learners of English, naturally and obviously, want to become the masters of all the four skills to communicate in English successfully Among these four skills, reading plays an important role in widening the students’ background knowledge about different cultures all over the world and useful information in the society Many experts and methodologists have come to understand that reading skill is necessary not only at schools but also afterwards It helps students as readers develop their language ability as well as give them other benefits to avoid cultural and language bias Thus, the more students recognize the importance of reading skill, the more self-study activities to improve reading skill they should take part in effectively Learning in an active and creative way is considered as an important element of the teaching process This issue has been interested in and determined to be one of the innovation-oriented teaching methods in schools The orientation of education has shown the essential role of selfstudying of students in their learning process Self-study activities have every intention of improving students’ independent thinking and problem - solving in learning process To achieve the most effective self-study, students should be provided useful techniques and various activities to have an opportunity to update, supplement and enrich their knowledge However, most of the students in grade 10 are weak on reading comprehension skill, such as the great number of new words/ phrases and structures, lack of background knowledge and reading techniques Many students are not interested, become afraid and not have enough efforts to learn and practice this skill In addition, the students have not known about sub-skills in reading skill or really understood the purpose of reading comprehension In fact, there are not sufficient material resources which are suitable to students’ low level to practice by themselves For the abovementioned factors, I conducted a study entitled “self-study activities to improve reading skill of students grade 10” that can apply some self-study activities in order to measure students’ improvement in reading skill in English learning process I have already been applying my own experience on teaching students in grade 10 in the school year 2021-2022 Initially, students have been improving their reading skills They have had the opportunity to have more access to the format of reading passages in the National high school exam They also gained better results in periodic tests at school 1.2 Aims of the study The aim of this research is to investigate the effectiveness of self-study activities in studying English reading skill Furthermore, I want to gain deeper insight into the benefit of using self-study activities in reading comprehension This research is conducted with hope to provide teachers and students with activities needed to satisfy students’ self-study styles 1.3 Scope of the study 3 I only focus on some self-study activities to improve reading skills for students in grade 10 Furthermore, it should be taken into consideration that they are not gifted students and not experienced in applying sub-skills in English reading skill However, all reading sub-skills are too broad for a study of this size Therefore I only provide sub – skills of reading comprehension as reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from the context and making inferences Moreover, some self-activities can be applied to practice these sub-skills in order to motivate students in reading lessons as well as help them to become good and effective readers 1.4 Method of the study To achieve the aims mentioned, the main method used is experimental method In addition, I used the assistance of a quantitative instrument which is a set of survey questionnaires for students with the hope to find out their attitudes towards reading skills, their difficulties in learning reading lessons and their comments and desire for self-study activities CONTENT 2.1 Theoretical background Reading has been defined differently by linguists, psychologists, educators and second language researchers, but an exact definition of reading really causes much confusion Different authors define the term in different ways Each person can have a different definition of reading and we cannot tell which is better because each of them focuses on one important matter of reading However, we find that there is a close relationship between reading and understanding and reading is a selective process and characterized as an active process of comprehending Therefore, being a language teacher, we must understand the nature of reading thoroughly to help our students read effectively 2.2 Practical background As far as we know, most of students in grade 10 are not familiar to sub-skills in reading Especially, difficult sub-skills as finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from the context and making inferences are so much challenging for them Thus, it is essential and better to teach reading skill and supply self-study activities for the students in grade 10 to practice more Moreover, their tests often focus on grammar, reading skill and writing skill Therefore, it can be said that English reading comprehension skills are very important to the majority of students 2.3 Contents 2.3.1 Definitions In teaching reading, it is necessary for both teachers and students to have a deep understanding about the definition of reading comprehension Reading comprehension can be understood as the ability to obtain the information as required in the reading text as efficiently as possible Grellet (1981: 3) states: “reading comprehension or understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively as possible” In this sense, reading comprehension simply means reading and understanding It should be noted that reading comprehension is composed of two equally important components Self studying, which involves studying without direct supervision or attendance in a classroom, is a valuable way to learn, and is quickly growing in popularity among parents and students By complementing formal education with home study, students can see a drastic improvement to grades, material understanding, and confidence Thus, many students study at home 4 to supplement their class-based learning Self-studying is a useful tool to enhance any learning experience, and when mastered, students can achieve the benefits In higher education, some argue that it is especially important for students to be assigned projects and material suitable for selflearning, so that they may exercise and develop intellectual independence and explore subject matter they personally find interesting 2.3.2 The reading sub-skills It can be seen that there are various sub-skills of reading comprehension by different authors However, I focus on the four sub-skills of reading comprehension such as reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from the context, and making inferences are considered basic reading skills to understand the author’s thought Therefore, the study would focus on the four reading sub-skills 2.3.2.1 Reading for specific information Reading for specific information is the way we read the passage and only pay attention to the relevant parts or information needed We not need to take care of all printed words on the page We are suggested to skip unnecessary information or irrelevant parts in the passage With respect to reading for specific information, readers are advised to run their eyes very quickly and only stop reading when they find the information wanted Hence, the reading sub-skill is close to scanning It is also realized that reading for specific information requires readers to understand the text at their literal comprehension level, which is the lowest reading comprehension level Readers only find a piece of information already in the text and then give answers Therefore, the tasks focused on the skill are considered to be easier than others by students 2.3.2.2 Finding the main ideas Finding the main ideas requires readers to gain their reading comprehension at both literal and inferential level If the main information is directly stated in the paragraph or in the passage, readers only understand the text at their literal reading comprehension level, if not, they have to infer the main ideas and readers must gain their reading comprehension at inferential level In a paragraph, the main idea usually lies in the first or in the last sentence, and the main idea of the text is usually in the introductory or in the concluding paragraph On occasion, the main ideas of paragraphs are not stated explicitly but have to be inferred In this case, readers should decide what the topic is and determine the main ideas from the details Finding the main ideas is related closely to skimming because “skimming gives readers the advantage of being able to predict the purpose of the passage, the main topic or message, and possibly some of the developing or supporting ideas Thus, in skimming, readers have to find the general and overall ideas of the whole text in order to catch the gist of it In short, when dealing with finding the main ideas, it is suggested to recognize the topic(s) first, and then distinguish the important ideas from supporting details The term “topic” regards to the subject while the term “main idea” is the “key concept” being expressed or is the most important information in a piece of discourse Supporting details are less important information which tells how, what, when, where, why, how much or how many, etc, to support more information to the main idea 2.3.2.3 Guessing vocabulary from the context 5 It cannot be denied that vocabulary plays an essential role in reading Vocabulary is, in fact, an essential component in reading comprehension Studies by different investigators show that knowledge of word meaning is the most important single factor that accounts for variability in reading comprehension Hence, the more number of vocabulary a reader knows, the better he/she can gain reading comprehension However, it is the fact that no readers can know all English words while dealing with reading materials In the case they deal with unfamiliar words, they are suggested to make a guess at the meaning of the words they not know rather than look them up in a dictionary When readers guess meaning of an unknown word, they must gain their reading comprehension at inferential level In order to guess meaning of an unknown word, we should put it in its context The context is the setting- the sentence and paragraph- in which a word appears The meaning of a word in context is its meaning in the particular sentence and paragraph in which it is used A single English word can give many different meanings Its precise meaning always depends on the context it is used Contextual clues are used to make a good guess at the word’s meaning Learning how to use context clues to figure out the meaning of unknown words is an essential reading strategy and vocabulary-builder Types of context clues: In order to guess or infer meaning of an unknown word from context, readers must have clues Nation (1983) suggests some clues as follows The first clues are structural ones that are used to determine the type of grammatical category of the new word They consist of morphology, synonyms and antonyms, hyponyms, restatement, definitions, reference words, punctuation, and alternatives The second clues are inference ones that require a higher level of analytical skill and practice than the previous type For these types of clues the same method of practice can be used- recognizing elements and obtaining meaning from the elements They comprise summary clue, comparison and contrast, cause and result, and cohesion 2.3.2.4 Making inferences An inference is making meaning out of an idea suggested in a text that is not stated directly by the writer It is sometimes called “reading between the lines” Making inference in reading is a crucial skill that must be mastered for a reader to have real comprehension Making inferences helps readers recognize the author’s purpose to see whether the author offers any personal messages without actually stating them When inferring, on one side, readers use clues from the text to figure out something that the author does not tell them, another side, they draw upon prior knowledge to make judgments about upcoming events in the passage From that they can draw a logical conclusion about what might happen next Hence, reading for inference involves reading the text and recalling prior experience Once readers make inferences from the text, it means they gain their reading comprehension at inferential level Types of Inference: There are different types of inference one can draw from written discourse They are explained below in terms of bridging inference, contextual inference and structural inference 6 The first type is the bridging inference which is drawn to establish coherence between a present piece of information and a preceding piece of information Here, we have to infer the relationship or link between these two pieces of information The second type is the contextual inference which is drawn to infer the implied idea or suggestion in a text It concerns expectations about what events will take place in the world described by the text, not about what events will actually be stated explicitly in the text In order to infer the implied idea, the reader has to use several types of information in the text The third type is the structural inference which refers to the reader using his implicit knowledge of text structures to facilitate his comprehension of texts Text structure refers to how the ideas in the text are organized by the writer To sum up, the relevant literature review to the purpose of the thesis is presented It starts with definitions of reading and reading comprehension, reading process, context and the role of context, schema theory, reading comprehension levels, and reading comprehension skills 2.3.3 Types of questions in reading comprehension There are various types of questions in reading comprehension However, in this scope of this research, four types of questions based on four main sub-skills in reading comprehension are focused on, such as types of questions in: reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from the context, making inferences 2.3.3.1 Types of questions in reading for specific information There are two types of common questions in reading for detail information Firstly, factual questions require students to identify important information and facts in the passage Locating a piece of information in the passage is important to solve fact questions Typical questions met in the test are: - According to the passage, why/when/where/what/how did….? - According to the information in paragraph 1, what did…….? - Which of the following is true, according to the author? - The author mention ……………as an example of……… ? - According to the passage, which of the following is true about……? Secondly, negative factual questions include the expressions “NOT “or “EXCEPT” This means students need to recognize incorrect or not mentioned information in the passage The three answer choices are true and one is false Students are supposed to find the false one Typical questions met in the test are: - All of the following are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT…… - According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? - The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT…… - In the passage, the author does NOT mention…… - According to the information in paragraph 2, which of the following is NOT true? 2.3.3.2 Types of questions in finding the main ideas This type of question asks students to choose the correct sentence that indicates correctly the main idea of the whole passage of the main one of each paragraph Typical questions met in the test are: - What is the topic of this passage? 7 - What is the main idea expressed in the passage? - Which title best reflects the main idea of the passage? - What is the paragraph/ passage mainly about? - Which of the following statements best summarizes the main idea of the passage? 2.3.3.3 Types of questions in guessing vocabulary from the context This type of question measures students’ word power, but they also evaluate an essential reading comprehension skill, which is students’ ability to determine the meaning of a word from its context The sentences that surround the word offer important clues about its meaning: Typical questions met in the test are: - Which of the following could best substitute/ replace for the word….? - The expression “… ” in line … could best be replaced by……? - The word “……” in line ….is closest in meaning to which of the following? 2.3.3.4 Types of questions in making inferences This type of question requires students to perceive ideas suggested in a passage, draw conclusions, or determine logical implications based on information given in a passage The correct answer is not directly stated but suggested in a passage Making an inference involves using what readers know to make a guess about what they not know, or reading between the lines Readers who make inferences use the clues in the text along with their own experiences to help them figure out what is not directly said, making the text personal and memorable Typical questions met in the test are: - Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph …./ the passage? - Based on the information in paragraph…./ the passage, which of the following can be inferred? - It is implied in the passage/ paragraph… that - According to the passage/ paragraph… …which statement you think the author would most probably agree? - It can be concluded from the information in paragraph……that…… - In the (second, last…) paragraph, the author suggests that…… 2.3.4 Practice 2.3.4.1 Self-study activities in reading comprehension Activity 1: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions The dustbin is full to the top with coloured plastic In fact, it is so full that it is difficult to put the lid on But the Strauss family, who own this dirty, old dustbin, are very proud of it Why? Because it contains all the family’s rubbish for a whole year! Two years ago, this family read an article about plastic bags and how they cause pollution and harm sea creatures They decided to stop using plastic bags completely Now, when they buy ffood, they reuse their own bags each time They recycle as much as they can - glass bottles, paper, cardboard, cans - and they simply not buy things if they cannot recycle the packaging 8 The family are keeping a record of their lifestyle on their website They hope that other people will read it and reduce their waste If everyone recycled a bit more, it would make the environment better (Adapted from Solutions by Falla and Davies) Question 1: What is the passage mainly about? A A lifestyle that is harmful to the environment B A lifestyle that is good for the environment C An article about pollution D An old dustbin full of rubbish Question 2: The word “contains” in paragraph is closest in meaning to _ A keeps B gives C uses D throws Question 3: According to paragraph 2, the Strauss family read an article about _ A plastic bags and how to produce them B plastic bags and how they save sea animals C plastic bags and how to make the environment clean D plastic bags and how they harm the environment Question 4: According to paragraph 2, which of the following is NOT mentioned as the thing the Strauss family recycle? A food B paper C bottles D cans Question 5: The word “it” in paragraph refers to _ A record B environment C waste D family Activity 2: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions Green pass: how are Covid vaccine passports working for Israel? As the UK and other governments consider whether to give Covid-vaccinated people a certificate that allows entry to bars, hotels, and swimming pools, one country, Israel, has already deployed its “green pass” The state of million, which has administered jabs to half its population, released an app a week ago that shows whether people have been fully inoculated against the coronavirus or if they have presumed immunity after contracting the disease Malls and museums have reopened for all, but green pass holders get exclusive access to gyms, hotels, theatres, and concerts, albeit with some limits Indoor dining in restaurants and bars is due to be included in the green pass scheme next week Life has not got “back to normal”, but it appears to be on its way Street-side shops are reopening; hotels are accepting bookings; even live music is reemerging from its long slumber And while masks remain mandatory, many older people who have already been vaccinated have stopped wearing them outdoors (Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/28/green-pass-how-are-vaccine-passportsworking-in-israel) Question 6: Which of the following is the best title for the passage? A Lifts of lockdowns in EU’s cities B Green pass issued in EU’s cities 9 C Green pass in Israel D Curfews imposed in Israel Question 7: According to the passage, all people in Israel have access to which of the following? A Gyms and hotels B Malls and museums C Museums and concerts D Theatres and concerts Question 8: Which of the following information is NOT mentioned in the passage? A Israel’s population B Lists of current places accessible to green pass holders C Planned addition of places accessible with green pass D Reasons for the reopening of museums Question 9: The word “certificate” in paragraph is closest in meaning to _ A license B book C signature D address Question 10: The word “they” in paragraph refers to _ A jab B people C coronavirus D states Activity 3: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions Some doctors think that you should drink a glass of water each morning You should drink this water first thing, before doing anything else The temperature of the water should be similar to body temperature; neither too hot nor too cold Why should you drink this water? Water helps your body in many ways It helps clean out your kidneys It prepares your stomach for digestion Water can also help your intestines work better After drinking water, the intestines can more easily take out nutrients from our food Water also helps us go to the bathroom more easily Scientists suggest that people take in 1,600 milliliters of water each day But don’t drink all of that water in one sitting If you do, your kidneys will have to work much harder to eliminate it It’s better to drink some in the morning and some in the afternoon Some people think it’s better to drink between meals and not during meals They think water dilutes the juices produced in our stomachs This can interfere with normal digestion Are you drinking enough water every day? Check the color of your urine If it is light yellow, you are probably drinking enough If your urine is very dark yellow, you probably need to drink more water A little more water each day could make you much healthier Question 11 What is the main idea of the passage? A The importance of water B The advice of the doctors C How to drink water correctly? D The best amount of water to drink Question 12 According to the passage, water is good for the following organs of the body, EXCEPT A kidneys B stomach C intestines D livers Question 13 The pronoun “it” in paragraph refers to A your body B your kidney C water D your stomach Question 14 The word “eliminate” in paragraph is closest in meaning to A preserve B remove C absorb D process 10 10 Question 15 According to paragraph 4, you are probably drinking enough water if your urine is _ A dark yellow B dark color C dark light D light yellow Activity 4: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions The first thing to when you have a trip abroad is to check that your passport is valid Holders of out-of-date passports are not allowed to trawl overseas Then you can prepare for your trip If you don’t know the language, you can have all kinds of problems communicating with local people Buying a pocket dictionary can make a difference You'll be able to order food, buy things in shops and ask for directions It's worth getting one Also, there’s nothing worse than arriving at your destination to find there are no hotels available The obvious way to avoid this is to book in advance This can save you money, too Another frustrating thing that can happen is to go somewhere and not know about important sights Get a guide book before you leave and make the most of your trip It's a must Then, when you are ready to pack your clothes, make sure they are the right kind It's no good packing sweaters and coats for a hot country or T-shirts and shorts for a cold one Check the local climate before you leave In addition, think carefully about how much you pack in your bags It's easy to take too many clothes and then not have enough space for souvenirs But make sure you pack essentials (Adapted from Pearson Test of English General Skills) Question 16: What is the passage mainly about? A Tips for travellers overseas B Things to avoid when you go abroad C Getting a guide book D How to find ATMs in big cities Question 17: According to the passage, you should all of the following before leaving EXCEPT _ A checking that your passport is valid B taking money from an ATM C getting a guide book D preparing suitable clothes Question 18: The word “This” in paragraph refers to _ A finding there are no hotels available B booking hotels in advance C asking for direction D saving money Question 19: According to the passage, holders of out-of-date passports _ A should ask for help from local people B cannot travel to other countries C should buy a pocket dictionary D cannot communicate with foreigners Question 20: The word “essentials” in paragraph mostly means _ A everything B souvenirs C necessities D.valuables Activity 5: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions 11 11 The relationship between Britain and the US has always been a close one Like all close relationships it has had difficult times The US was first a British colony, but between 1775 and 1783 the US fought a war to become independent The US fought the British again in the War of 1812 In general, however, the two countries have felt closer to each other than to any other country, and their foreign policies have shown this During World War I and World War II, Britain and the US supported each other When the US looks for foreign support, Britain is usually the first country to come forward and it is sometimes called “the 51st state of the union” But the special relationship that developed after 1945 is not explained only by shared political interests An important reason for the friendship is that the people of the two countries are very similar They share the same language and enjoy each other's literature, films and television Many Americans have British ancestors, or relatives still living in Britain The US government and political system is based on Britain's, and there are many Anglo-American businesses operating on both sides of the Atlantic In Britain some people are worried about the extent of US influence, and there is some jealousy of its current power The special relationship was strong in the early 1980s when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister in Britain and Ronald Reagan was President of the US (Adapted from Background to British and American Cultures) Question 21: What is the passage mainly about? A The strong friendship between the UK and the US B The close relationship between Britain and the US C A special relationship the UK developed during the World Wars D A special influence the US had on the UK during the World Wars Question 22: The phrase "come forward” in paragraph mostly means _ A be willing to help B be able to help C be reluctant to help D be eager to help Question 23:The word “They” in paragraph prefers to A countries B people C political interests D British ancestors Question 24: Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a reason for the special relationship between Britain and the US? A The people of the two countries are very similar B Many Americans have British ancestors C British Prime Minister and the US President are close friends D Many Anglo-American businesses are operating in the two countries Question 25: Britain and the US are close to each other NOT because of their _ A foreign policies B power C political interests D language Activity 6: Read the following passage and indicate the correct answer to each of the questions The Importance of Water Plastic is a material we use every day The first plastics were made more than 100 years ago from parts of plants Plastics are now made from oil, coal and natural gas We are using up these things so fast that the Earth’s supplies may run out Because of this, scientists are investigating new ideas for making plastics from plants such as sweet potato, bamboo and flax Things made from plastic can be useful for people but bad for the planet Some plastics can last for a long time without wearing out, and can be difficult to get rid of when they are not needed They 12 12 can remain in rubbish dumps called landfill sites for hundreds of years Landfills can be smelly, ugly, and harmful to our planet Recycling is a good way to get rid of unwanted plastics Recycled waste materials can be used again to make new products This can be difficult as different types of plastic need to be recycled in different ways Some kinds of plastics can be melted down and used to make new things such as bags and bottles Others can be made into fibers (strands of material) for clothing Another way to protect the environment is to use canvas bags for shopping rather than plastic ones A lot of plastic objects can also be reused Plastic bottles can be refilled many times, rather than throwing them away once they are empty Unwanted plastic goods such as CDs and toys can be sold or given away to charity shops (Source: https://www.esolcourses.com) Question 26 What is the passage mainly about? A Materials that plastic is made of B Reducing the harm of plastics on the environment C The history of plastic and its usefulness D Plastic: Its effects on the environment and solutions Question 27 The phrase “get rid of” in paragraph is closest in meaning to A remove B create C keep D make Question 28 According to the pasage , things made from plastic are bad for our environment because A they are very convenient for people to use in different purposes B they are a danger to marine life such as whales, turtles and so on C plastics can exist for a long time without decomposing D people make plastics from plants Question 29 According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE ? A Recycled materials can’t be used again to make new products B Plastics were made from oil, coal and natural gas 100 years ago C Plastics and plastic objects can’t be recycled or reused D Plastic objects are useful for people but harmful to the environment Question 30 The word “They” in paragraph refers to A Plastics B Landfills C People D Rubbish dumps Activity 7: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the answer to each of the question Zoo officials say that they are concerned about animals However, most zoos remain "collections" of interesting "items" rather than protective habitats Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals in captivity However, animals in zoos are bored, limited, lonely, and far from their natural homes Zoos claim to educate people, but in fact, visitors don't learn anything meaningful about the natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty of animals Most zoo areas are quite small, and visitors can rarely observe animals’ normal behavior in these unnatural spaces The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental stimulation or physical exercise This results in abnormal and self-destructive behavior called zoochosis A worldwide study of zoos found that zoochosis is common among animals in small 13 13 spaces or cages For example, Bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth These are all signs of distress Zoos also claim to save animals from extinction However, zoos that breed endangered animals, such as big cats and Asian elephants, often not release them to the wild Ultimately, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats We also need to stop people from killing them Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals and preserve their homes in the wild (Adapted from www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/zoo) Question 31 What is the passage mainly about? A The natural homes for zoos’ animals B The suffering zoos bring captured animals C The things zoo officials concern D The comfort for zoo visitors Question 32 The word “observe” in paragraph is closest in meaning to A watch B feed C raise D touch Question 33 According to the passage, zoochosis is popular among animals in A the wild B natural homes C cages D large spaces Question 34 The word “them” in paragraph refers to A signs B their habitats C endangered animals D zoos Question 35 Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? A Zoos educate people by showing them animals’ natural behavior B Zoos remain animals’ protective habitats C Zoos always release endangered animals to the wild D Zoos keep animals in small spaces Activity 8: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions The Singapore Science Centre is located on a six-hectare site in Jurong At the centre, we can discover the wonders of science and technology in a fun way Clap your hands and colorful bulbs will light up Start a wheel spinning and it will set off a fan churning It is a place to answer our curiosity and capture our imagination The centre features over four hundred exhibits covering topics like solar radiation, communication, electronics, mathematics, nuclear energy and evolution It aims to arouse interest in science and technology among us and the general public The centre is the first science one to be established in South East Asia It was opened in 1977 and it now receives an average of one thousand, two hundred visitors a day The exhibits can be found in four exhibition galleries They are the Lobby, Physical Sciences, Life Sciences and Aviation These exhibits are renewed annually so as to encourage visitors to make return visits to the centre Instead of the usual “Hands off” notices found in exhibition halls, visitors are invited to touch and feel the exhibits, push the buttons, turn the cranks or pedals This is an interesting way to learn science even if you hate the subject A Discovery Centre was built for children between the ages of three and twelve This new exhibition gallery was completed in 1985 Lately this year a stone-age exhibit was built It shows us about the animals and people which were extinct (Adapted from Language123.blogspot.com) 14 14 Question 36: What can be the best title of the passage? A Singapore Science Centre B Science Centre C Discovery Centre D Physical Sciences Question 37 : The word “It” in paragraph refers to A the centre B the general public C evolution D solar radiation Question 38: The word “extinct”in paragraph mostly means A still alive up to now B no longer in existence C still active D in danger of disappearing Question 39 : According to the passage, visitors coming to the centre A can only see exhibits without touching them B can see and touch exhibits C are not allowed to touch exhibits D can find it boring to learn science without touching exhibits Question 40 : Which of the following is NOT true about the Singapore Science Centre? A Visitors are encouraged to return to the centre B The centre was not opened until 1977 C The exhibits in the centre cover a wide range of topics D The centre is the first one established in the world 2.3.4.2 Keys: Activity 1: Activity 2: Activity 3: Activity 4: Activity 5: Activity 6: Activity 7: Activity 8: B C 11 A 16 A 21 B 26 D 31 B 36 A A B 12 D 17 B 22 A 27 A 32 A 37 A D D 13.C 18.B 23 B 28 C 33 C 38 B A A 14 B 19 B 24 C 29 D 34 C 39 B A 10 B 15 D 20 C 25 B 30 A 35 D 40 D 2.4 Results This research was conducted in the second semester of the school year 2021 – 2022 During four months in the second semester, 30 participants in the experimental group intensively focused on doing trial self-study activities in reading comprehension skills at home In order to control students’ self-study activities in the most effective way, the researcher divided the experimental group into three groups of 10 students In each group of 10 students, there was a leader to stimulate their members in practicing self-study activities seriously and then report the results to the research First of all, all of the participants took the general English test This test found no statistically significant difference between two groups These scores of general English test of two groups are illustrated in detail in the results section Secondly, the pre-test was given to the participants and encouraged to complete it as fast as possible During this test, no dictionary was allowed and any discussion among them was also 15 15 forbidden to make sure that the scores they got were at the accurate level of their reading comprehension competence Thirdly, three groups of students in the experimental group were provided self-study activities and kinds of common questions in the reading comprehension focused on four sub-skills: reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from context, and making inferences They were guided to all the reading activities in the shortest of time at home week by week by themselves The experimental group conducted self-study activities in reading comprehension during ten weeks The leaders of each group had responsibility collecting sets of selfstudy activities every week to the researcher The researcher gave marks for each participant in pilot process Forthly, at the end of the second semester, all participants received the post-test and they were expected to finish within controlled time The test was under the investigator’s observation Finally, the results from two tests were collected and analyzed 2.4.1 The comparision between the average score in the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill To investigate the results of students’ reading comprehension after conducting self-study activities, the comparability of all students in the two groups was assured by analysing the students’ score in the pre-test and the post-test In order to make it easily to see and understand these scores were listed into a table which consists of five columns: The first column was group, the second was the scores over 7.0, the third was scores from 6.0 to 7.0, the third was scores from under and the last was scores under They were shown in the following table Average scores Experimental group Control group ≥ 7.0 Pre-test Post-test Pre-test Post-test 22 (73%) 10 (33%) 6.0 to under 7.0 (20%) (30%) 5.0 to under 6.0 (7%) (20%) Under 5.0 (0%) (17%) Table 1: Scores of all participants for both groups The data shows that of all 30 participants in the experimental group practiced self-study activities in reading comprehension in the course; there was a slight change in their scores after in the course In pre-test, there were participants (20%) who had their scores over or 7.0, participants (27%) had their score from 6.0 to equal 7.0, and 8participants’ scores were from 5.0 to under 6.0 Finally, participants’ ones were under Meanwhile, in post-test, 22 participants (73%) had their scores over or 7.0 and only participants (20%) had their score from 6.0 to equal 7.0, and only two participants had their score from to equal 6.0 There were no participants with scores under 5.0 Meanwhile, the scores of participants in control group seem to remain equal Among 30 participants, 10 students got scores over 7.0 (33%), participants (30%) gained the scores from 6.0 to under 7.0 and participants (20%) had their scores from 5.0 to lower than 6.0, finally, participants had their scores under These results demonstrate that when the participants conducted self-study activities to improve their reading comprehension skill better than those who did not use these activities 16 16 2.4.2 The comparison between students’ scores of sub-skills in the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill The study investigated the effectiveness of self-study activity to improve such four sub-skills of reading comprehension as reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from context, and making inferences Students’ correct answers of each reading sub-skill were analyzed separately to find out some changes after carrying out the pilot Reading for specific information Pre-test Post-test Students’ correct Q1 Q2 Q3 Q6 Q7 Q8 Q1 Q3 Q6 Q7 answers N 16 22 15 18 12 14 22 25 20 27 53 73 50 60 40 47 73 83 67 90 Experimental % % % % % % % % % % % group N 17 21 13 20 21 19 12 20 19 22 57 70 43 67 70 63 40 67 63 73 Control group % % % % % % % % % % % Table 2: Students’ correct answers of reading for specific information Table presented the number of students’ correct answers in the pre-test and post-test of both groups on the reading sub-skill of reading for specific information Firstly, of 30 participants in the experimental group, the result of the pre-test indicated that 53% of the number of students responded correctly to question 1, 73% chose correct answer in question 2, 50% got good choices in question 3, 60% answered well in question 6, 40% selected exact answer in question7 and 47% showed their good answer in question Thus, in the pre-test, the number of students’ correct answers is from 40% to 73% on the reading sub-skill of reading for specific information And relevance to the post-test, in general, the students’ scores in reading for specific information were more better than those from the pre-test 73% of the respondents gave correct answers in question 1, 83% responded incorrectly to question 3, 67% expressed their thought in question 6, and 90% succeeded with question It can be seen that there was a remarkable difference in the number of students’ correct answers which were from 67% to 90% However, students’ correct answers of 30 participants in control group seem to remain equal in both tests In the pre-test, students responded most correctly to question and question (21 participants account for 70%), and least correctly to question (13 participants account for 43%) Meanwhile, in the post-test, the number of students’ correct answers changed from 40% to 73% (with question and question 7) In general, students were quite confident to this sub-skill because it was relatively familiar with them They only scan for the sentences in the passage with the given specific information to find out the correct answer They did not need to understand the total meaning of the passage Their main duty is just to scan sentences in the passage quickly and stop reading when they find the information needed Moreover, these results of the experimental group and control group demonstrate that the participants who used self-study activities achieved better scores on the reading sub-skill of reading for specific information Finding the main ideas 17 17 Students’ correct answers Pre-test Post-test Q9 Q2 Q10 Experimental group N % 10 33% 22 73% 18 60% Control group N % 11 37% 12 40% 14 47% Table 3: Students’ correct answers of finding the main idea Table revealed the number of students’ correct answers of finding the main ideas As we can see from the table, in the pre-test, the percentage of correct answers in question in the experimental group (33%) was less than that in the control group (37%) However, in the post-test, students in the experimental group increased their correct answers to 60% in question 10 and 73% in question Meanwhile, students in the control group only reached for 40% of correct answers in question and 47% in question 10 That is to say, the number of students’ correct answers of finding the main ideas in the experimental group after the pilot are higher than the control group without the pilot From the data of students’ correct answers of finding the main ideas in reading comprehension, it can be seen that students had difficulties in conducting this reading sub-skill They had their problems on recognizing topic sentences, identifying the most important information and making connections among ideas in a paragraph or in a passage Beside, some factors such as the length of the text, topic and sentence structures also affect the process of finding the main ideas of reading Thus, students need to practice self-study activities to have more experience and techniques in finding the main ideas of reading skill Guessing vocabulary from the context Students’ correct answers Pre-test Post-test Q5 Q4 Q9 Experimental group N % 11 37% 23 77% 20 67% Control group N % 12 40% 15 50% 12 40% Table 4: Students’ correct answers of guessing vocabulary from the context Table indicated the number of students’ correct responses to guessing vocabulary from context The results of both groups in two tests were rather different In the pre-test, 37% of participants in the experimental group did well in question and 40% of participants in the control group had correct answers And relevance to the post-test, 77% of participants in the experimental group gave correct answers to question and 67% had good choices in question Meanwhile, in the control group, 50% did question well, and 40% did not make errors in doing question The 18 18 percentage also indicated that the students’ ability in guessing meaning of unknown word from context in the post-test of the experimental group was better than that of the control group It can be seen that the results from two tests of both groups revealed that many students suffered from vocabulary problems They expressed their inadequate knowledge of vocabulary and their weaknesses in using contextual clues and structure analysis to guess word meaning from the context It is better for students to have more chances to access synonyms or words with different meaning in different contexts in order to improve the reading sub-skill of guessing vocabulary from the context Making reference Pre-test Post-test Q4 Q10 Q5 Q8 Students’ correct answers N 18 20 % 27% 30% 60% 67% Experimental group N 10 11 % 26% 33% 37% 30% Control group Table 5: Students’ correct answers of making reference Table indicated the number of students’ correct answers in making inferences As we can see from the table, more than half of participants in both group failed to give correct answers In the pre-test, there were from 26% to 27% of correct answers in question and from 30% to 33% of best choices in question 10 in both groups These numbers were not high Making a comparison with students’ correct answers in the post-test, the number was on the increase That was 60% in question and 67% in question in the experimental group However, the unremarkable increase of students’ correct answers in the control group There was 37% in question and 30% in question This result proved that participants in the experimental group made a progress in making inferences of reading skill In conclusion, making inferences is a difficult skill It required students to understand the text at their inferential reading comprehension level The students’ performance in this study revealed their weak ability in reading for inference The comparison between students’ correct answers in both groups help to prove that self-study activities made significant difference in improving reading skill for students during the ten-week treatment period CONCLUSIONS 3.1 Conclusions From the result of conducting self-study activities in reading comprehension in ten weeks, it can be seen that there was a statistically significant difference in means score and standard deviations for both control group and experimental group who had started at the same level as the general test score indicated This means that the participants who practiced self-study activities regularly made more significant improvement in their reading comprehension compared to those who did not use this technique Most of the 10th students had obstacles regarding new words and grammatical structures in reading comprehension lessons Thus, the students were taught sub-skills in reading comprehension skill and encouraged to learn reading with the use of self-study activities The students started to use 19 19 four sub-skills including reading for specific, finding the main idea, guessing vocabulary from context and making inferences Based on the findings, some pedagogical implications are suggested as follows: As for teachers, they should help their students know how to use as many sub-skills in the reading skill in their learning as possible Additionally, the teacher provides suitable activities for the students to focus their attention of specific skills necessary for efficient reading To make the learner more interested in the reading activity, teachers are advised to select the reading texts that were in the range of interest, or topics related to their everyday life In conducting the reading class, teachers are suggested to give a clear explanation before starting to each step of the reading comprehension activity It will help students understand the text efficiently, and at the same time improve considerably their reading skills As for students, it cannot be denied that students are the key factor to decide the success of a reading lesson and they must take an active role as listener They need to listen to the teacher’s instructions and explanations carefully to find out the way of recognizing information and way of deducing new words or grammatical structures They must also be active and flexible readers to work on their own during the reading process, make full use of both the class time and self-study time at home to read and the exercises to achieve a full understanding of the text Furthermore, it is necessary for them to find suitable sub-skills in the reading skill and use their background knowledge to fulfill their tasks because the significance of the text as well as the information is not always directly stated in printed pages 3.2 Recommemdations I would like to recommend that the Ministry of education together with Teaching and Training Departments in Vietnam provide students with more activities in the textbooks grade 10 with subskills in reading comprehension so that they will have more chances to improve their reading skill I also recommend that teachers will never stop finding out teaching methods creatively to encourage students’ study LEADER’S CONFIRMATIONS (Xác nhận thủ trưởng đơn vị) Thanh Hóa, June, 2nd 2022 I strongly ensure this is my own work (Tôi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, khơng chép nội dung người khác) Writer Lê Thị Huyền 20 20 REFERENCES Aebersold, J.A & Field, M.L (1997) From Reader to Reading Teacher Cambridge: CUP Cambourne, B (1979) “How important is theory to the reading teacher?” Australian Journal of reading, 2, 78-90 Grellet, F (1981) Developing Reading Skills: A practical guide to reading comprehension exercises Cambridge: CUP Harris, A.J (1962) Effective Teaching of Reading David McKay Company, Inc.: New York Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language Macmillan Publishers Limited Richard, D.R., Thomas, L.G., & Jere, E.B (1987) Becoming an Effective Reading Teacher New York: Harper & Row Publishers Smith, F (1985) Reading Cambridge: CUP William, E (1984), Reading in the Classroom, London Nad Basing Stoke, Macmillan 21 21 APPENDICES APPENDIX A SAMPLE OF PRE-TEST Time allowance: 30 minutes Passage 1: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions Every summer Nichole goes to the countryside for a month She stays at her uncle’s farm and helps him She works very hard but she likes it because she loves to spend time with her cousin Macy Every morning she wakes up at six o’clock, first she collects the eggs and feeds the chickens, then she has breakfast at 6:30 and after breakfast, she helps her aunt with the house chores for an hour She can't wait to spend time with her cousin Macy They always have a great time together They climb trees, pick fruits and flowers They love being outdoors They come back home before dark and get ready for dinner After dinner, they go out and feed the animals Before they go to bed they watch TV for a little bit or read books They are always very tired at the end of the day and usually fall asleep watching TV or reading Question 1: According to the passage, where does Nichole go in summer? a She goes to a big city b She goes to her uncle’s farm c She goes to her cousin’s hotel d She goes camping Question 2: All of the following are mentioned in the passage EXCEPT: a How long Nichole stays at her uncle’s farm b How Nichole helps her uncle and aunt c What Nichole does before she goes to bed d What her favorite food is Question 3: According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true about Macy and Nichole? a Macy and Nichole can climb trees b They have a good time together c They live together d They feed the animals Question 4: Which title best reflects the main idea of the passage? a Nichole’s farm b Nichole’s hobby c Nichole’s cousin d Nichole’s Summer Vacation Question 5: Which of the following can be inferred from the passage? a Nichole has unforgettable memories with Macy on farm b Nichole gets up at 6:30 to feed the chickens 22 22 c Nichole and Macy ride bikes on the road d After dinner, Nichole goes to bed immediately Passage 2: Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions Education is an art of life which makes our life easy and better We can also term education as another form of knowledge A child is born ignorant but he learns various skills and techniques, all are different types of education Evidence of education in India can be seen from the Vedic period In Hinduism, children used to start their education when they were five years old, whereas in Buddhism they began their education at the age of It is an education that inspires us well and helps us to brighten our future Our mother is called our first teacher, she teaches us for day to day activities Bookish knowledge only applies to our tests, and we must have some practical knowledge to live a meaningful life Everything can be learned at home, at school or from anywhere So, we can say that learning is education and age should never be an obstacle in our learning Source: https://www.teachingbanyan.com Question 6: Which best serves as the title for the passage? A The term of education B The best way to learn C Lifelong learning D Our first teacher Question 7: The word “ignorant” in paragraph is closets in meaning to _ A intelligent B aware C educated D uninformed Question 8: According to paragraph 2, I Buddhism children started their education when _ A they were years old B they were years old C someone motivated them to study D people helped them to better their lives Question 9: According to paragraph 3, which of the following is seen as the most important factor for a meaning full life? A We must read books to the test well B We must learn everything at school C We must have practical knowledge D Everything should be learned at home Question 10: The word “she” in paragraph refers to A the teacher B the mother C both parents D knowledge - The end – 23 23 APPENDIX B SAMPLE OF POST-TEST Time allowance: 30 minutes Read the passages and answer the questions below: Passage 1: Hi, my name’s Andriy I love football I am a great fan of AC Milan I have also been interested in cars since I was a child I’m crazy about driving and I also enjoy fixing cars When I was ten, I had many toy cars I would play with them; repair the ones my friends broke I also used to help my dad fix his car So, eventually I decided to become a mechanic and open up my own shop My parents are happy with my choice, too Because they think it’s important that I pursue a carrier that I like I have a bright career now and I really enjoy it I’m planning to get married soon My girlfriend is also interested in cars Who knows, maybe we can run the car shop together with our kids in the future Question 1: According to the passage, when has Andriy been interested in cars? a Since he was born b Since his started driving c Since very young age d Since his marriage Question 2: Which title best reflects the main idea of the passage? a Andriy’s career choice b Cars in our life c Andriy and AC Milan d Andriy and his friends Question 3: According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true? a Andriy likes AC Milan football club b Andriy's friends would break his toys c Andriy's girlfriend likes cars d Andriy is a football player Question 4: The underlined word “run” in line is closest in meaning to which of the following? a buy b take part in a race c manage d use a machine Question 5: According to the passage, which statement you think the author would most probably agree? a Andriy fixed his father’s car when he was a child b Andriy’s girlfriend knows how to fix a car c Andriy wants to open up his own shop d Andriy’s parents strongly support his career 24 24 Passage 2: If you'd like to improve your English, one thing you can is to build up your vocabulary In order to this, you have to practice a lot I’m afraid there is not a short cut for this But there are many effective ways First of all, you should read a lot You can read short stories, comics, newspapers, magazines etc depending on your English level As you read, you can try to guess the meanings of unknown words from the context of the sentence If you cannot, then look up the definition in a dictionary English to English dictionary should be your first choice and keep the translator as last Another way of building vocabulary is to watch movies in English which will also help with pronunciation Try to be involved with the language as much as you can Keep a vocabulary notebook and write down a few words each day Keep in mind that you have to revise them regularly In my opinion, to communicate with people all you need is words Even if you just say the words one after another, people most likely will understand what you mean regardless of the order of the words and grammar Question 6: According to the passage, what can we to build up my vocabulary? a You only should read stories b You only should watch movies c You can read words in the dictionary d You have to practice a lot Question 7: Which of the followings is incorrect? a We should use a translator for all the unknown words b We should read a lot c We should take notes when we learn new words d We should practice as much as we can Question 8: In the paragraph, the author suggests that the most important thing is: a Grammar b Vocabulary c Order of the words used d Advanced English course Question 9: The underlined word “regardless of” in the last line could best be replaced by? a in spite of b because of c in any case d so as to Question 10: What is the main idea of the passage? a What we can to improve our English b Difficulties of learning English c Problems of learning a second language alone d Interest of English learners - The end – 25 25 ... suitable to students? ?? low level to practice by themselves For the abovementioned factors, I conducted a study entitled ? ?self-study activities to improve reading skill of students grade 10? ?? that... and better to teach reading skill and supply self-study activities for the students in grade 10 to practice more Moreover, their tests often focus on grammar, reading skill and writing skill Therefore,... Scope of the study 3 I only focus on some self-study activities to improve reading skills for students in grade 10 Furthermore, it should be taken into consideration that they are not gifted students