Using task based approach to improve student’s reading comprehension for grade 10 students at viet tri industrial high school

HUNG VUONG UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES PHUNG THI THANH TAM USING TASK-BASED APPROACH TO IMPROVE STUDENT’S READING COMPREHENSION FOR GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT VIET TRI INDUSTRIAL HIGH SCHOOL (Sử dựng phương pháp dạy học dựa nhiệm vụ thực tế nhằm cải thiện kỹ đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp 10 Trường THPT Cơng Nghiệp Việt Trì) B.A GRADUATION PAPER Field: English Methodology Supervisor: DANG LUU NGOC HOA, M.A PHU THO, 2021 ACKNOWLEGGEMENT I would like to express my sincerest thanks to those who helped me to complete this graduation paper First of all, I would like to thank M.A Dang Luu Ngoc Hoa for her help and guidance, helping me to complete my research paper She guided and gave insightful comments to make my research more complete I would like to acknowledge my thank to all lecturers of the Foreign Lnaguage Department at Hung Vuong University for their useful materials, guidance during my research My special thanks also go to Viet Tri Industrial high school‟s teachers and students who helped me a lot in my experiment With their support, my study completed successfully I also extend my sincere thanks to my family and friends It was their love and encouragement that gave me more confidence and the will to complete the research The writer realizes that this thesis is still far from being perfect The writer will accept every comment and suggestion Hopefully, this thesis will give benefit to everyone who concerns with action research Viet Tri, May 2021 Phung Thi Thanh Tam ii ABSTRACT The research was set out in the attempt to overcome the reading comprehension of the students in grade 10 at Viet Tri Industrial high school The research is also aimed to know whether or not the task- based approach can improve the students‟ reading comprehension and the students‟ attitude toward the use of task-based approach in improving their reading comprehension The participant includes 74 students in class 10A and 10G at Viet Tri Industrial high school The data were collected from survey questionnaire, pre-test and pro-test for students Based on the result above, the researcher recommended some suggestions for teachers and students to help them apply task-based approach in teaching and learning reading comprehension more effectively The study includes three main parts: Part 1: Introduction, Part 2: Content, Part 3: Conclusion The result of the study showed that task-based learning can improve students reading comprehension Using task-based learning has raised students‟ interest in reading They were also actively involved in the teaching and learning process Most of them were able to engage in activities that either helps them to recall words and phrases that will be useful during the performance of the main task or to learn new words and phrases that are essential to the task Their group work also enhanced since the researcher gave them group work project to finish their works There was significant improvement of the mean scores of their reading comprehension from pre-test, post-test, task-based learning also improved the class situation, such as more enjoyable class environment, increasing students‟ participation, reducing teacher‟s domination, providing more chance for students to work in group Based on the result of the study, the researcher concluded that the students‟ reading comprehension and classroom situation can be improved by implementing the task-based learning Therefore, it is recommended that the teacher should apply the task-based learning in teaching reading skill iii Table of Contents ACKNOWLEGGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES .vii LIST OF FIGURES viii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Previous studies 2.1 In the world 2.2 In Viet Nam Research purposes Research questions Research method 6 Significance of the research 6.1 Scientific significance 6.2 Practical significance Research scope PART B CONTENT CHAPTER THEORETICAL BACKGROUND Theoretical background of reading skill 1.1 Definition of reading skill 1.2 Types of reading 1.3 Reading process 11 1.4 Stages of teaching reading skill 13 1.5 What is reading comprehension? 14 1.5.1 Definition of reading comprehension 14 1.5.2 Strategies on Reading Comprehension 15 1.6 Factors affecting reading comprehension 16 An overview of task-based approach 19 2.1 Definition of task 19 2.2 Definition of task-based approach 21 2.3 The task framework 22 2.4 The advantages of Task-based approach in teaching reading 26 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 28 iv 2.1 Research setting 28 2.2 Participants of the research 29 2.3 Data collection instruments 30 2.3.1 Survey questionnaires 30 2.3.2 Tests: Pre-test, Post-test 31 2.4 Data collection procedure 32 2.5 Data analysis 34 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 37 3.1 To what extent can task-based approach improve students‟s reading comprehension? 37 3.1.1 General opinions of students on reading 37 3.1.2 General opinions of students on task-based approach on reading comprehension 43 3.2 What are the students‟ attitude toward the use of task-based approach in improving their reading comprehension? 46 3.2.1 The pre-test results of the experimental group 46 3.2.2 The post-test results of the experimental group 47 3.2.3 The comparison of the pre-test and post-test result in experimental group 49 3.3 The test results between the control and experimental groups 50 3.3.1 The results of pre-test between the control and experimental group 50 3.3.2 The results of post-test between the control and experimental group 51 CHAPTER SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS 53 PART C CONCLUSION 55 Summary of major findings 55 Limitations of the Study 55 Implications for Further Research 56 REFERENCES 57 APPENDICE 60 APPENDIX 1A 60 APPENDIX 1B 62 APPENDIX 2A PRE-TEST 64 APPENDIX 2B POST-TEST 68 APPENDIX 3A LESSON PLAN 71 APPENDIX 3B LESSON PLAN 75 APPENDIX 4A: Results of pretest and posttest for Group A (Control group) 80 APPENDIX 4B: Results of pretest and posttest for Group B (Experimental group) 81 v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CBLT: Content-based language teaching EFL: English as a Foreign Language ELT: English language teaching T: Teacher TBL: Task-based learning TBLT: task-based language teaching Ss: Students vi LIST OF TABLES Table The comparison between extensive reading and intensive reading Table The System of Scores Category Table In your opinion, what are the benefits of using TBL activities in reading lessons? vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure Structure of task-based approach (Nunan 2004) Figure Interactive Mode of Data Analysis (Miles and Huberman, 1992) Figure Do you think that reading skill in important? Figure What best describes the atmosphere in reading lessons? Can you clarify? Figure When you read, what are the difficult things for you? Figure What you while you are reading a text? Figure How you rank your participation in reading lessons? Figure What difficulties did you encounter in TBL activities? Figure The pre-test results of the experimental group Figure 10 The post-test results of the experimental group Figure 11 The comparison of the pre-test and post-test result in experimental group Figure 12 The results of pre-test between the control and experimental group Figure 13 The results of post-test between the control and experimental group viii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale Today, English is one of the most popular languages all around the world It is used and spoken in almost all countries including Viet Nam In some ways, English is an effective means of communication to help connect all people in the meetings of global leaders Accordingly, we can see the importance and popularity of English in the contemporary context For Viet Nam – a national integration and development, English is a foreign language with special attention Understandingly, the Vietnamese education system has made English a compulsory subject in school since elementary years English is also a compulsory graduation exam at all levels To become a fluent language proficiency, one of the most important skills is reading skill Reading is a receptive language process It is the process of recognition, interpretation, and perception of written or printed materials Reading proficiency plays a great role in understanding a written statement accurately and efficiently Reading serves as an important tool in every field of professional service In many situations reading is considered to be the indispensable channel of communication in an ever-widening world Because it makes vocabulary richer and more vivid The reader may not need to use the dictionary and guess the meaning of the new words in the context of the whole article In this way, we will not only learn new words but also learn how to use them in specific contexts Besides, textbooks are a great source of writing material When reading an article in English, we can learn about the structure and expressions in the article to use in your writing Reading is a skill that needs to be cultivated most frequently and in the longest term so that each individual can form and develop a sustainable learning capacity Because of the importance of reading skills, finding a teaching method to improve student's reading comprehension is an issue of special concern for teachers of English Accordingly, the appearance of many new teaching methods has brought to teachers a lot of options to help students improve their knowledge, especially the taskbased teaching method It is generally known that reading is a skill that comes from experience and needs to be constantly improved through different types of reading material However, it is a new idea that efficient reading involves many skills to be fostered in the classroom To elucidate this point, some task-based reading activities have been suggested for teachers of English to point out ways to inculcate independent reading habits in the students In the article of British Council, task-based approach offers an alternative for language teachers In a task-based lesson, the teacher doesn't pre-determine what language will be studied, the lesson is based around the completion of a central task, and the language studied is determined by what happens as the students complete it The lesson follows certain stages The goal of the method is to be learner-centered and developing the necessary skills The application of this method has yielded positive results Viet Try Industrial high school is one of the leading units in the education of Viet Tri city Established in 1973, continuing its glorious tradition, Viet Tri Industrial high school has been training generations of students with both virtue and talent, dedicating themselves to the development of the country Moreover, the school is constantly innovating to improve the quality of teaching and learning for teachers and students, especially in English Students are always given the best conditions in learning with modern support equipment and participated in activities to improve their skills However, for 10th graders of Viet Tri Industrial High School, because of being new students of high school, they have just been exposed to a new learning environment, they still have many difficulties in learning English Most of them find it extremely difficult to learn reading comprehension in finding information and understanding the text…One of the reasons may be that students not have access to an effective learning method For the above reason, I chose the study “Using task-based approach to improve student‟s reading comprehension for grade 10 students at Viet Tri industrial high school” for my research proposal Previous studies In the last decades, a large number of studies have been conducted on application of the task-based approach in teaching and learning reading comprehension in both Viet Nam and others countries in the world 2.1 In the world Reading is a part of our daily lives It is performed both for pleasure and information Reading skills are important for the individuals since they foster The Chinese zodiac is used in countries that historically have had a lot of cultural exchange with China, such as Viet Nam, Japan, and Korea Most Western cultures use the Greek Zodiac, not the Chinese Zodiac Nevertheless, the Chinese zodiac and the Greek zodiac have a lot of similar points For example, they both use animals as symbols What are Rats like? _ What jobs are suitable for Oxen or Bulls? _ What are Monkeys like? _ How are Roosters described? _ What is an example of similarities between the Greek zodiac and the Chinese zodiac? _ 67 APPENDIX 2B POST-TEST I Match the word with its definition Write your answers (A, B, C, D, or E) in the provided spaces Word Definition eco-friendly A not harmful to the environment destination B chemicals to kill insects pollutant C manures or substances that support plant growth pesticides D things that make the air, water and soil unclean fertilizers E a place to which somebody/something is going or being sent II Use the words/phrase in the box to complete the following questions You can use each word/phrase ONCE only ecological sustainable deforestation preserve fossil fuels We need to reduce the impact of tourism Land use and _are destroying rare animals and wildlife _ tourism attempts to reduce the negative impact on the environment and local culture Scientists have been looking for solutions for decades to protect the Earth‟s limited from depletion To _is to keep and protect something from damage, change or waste III Read the text about Earth Hour and answer the questions that follow Earth Hour is an annual global campaign that encourages people and businesses around the world to switch off electricity at the same time for one hour at the end of March Held by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007 when 2.2 million people in the city of Sydney turned off all nonessential lights for 60 minutes Since then it has grown to a massive global event In 2013, more than 7,000 cities and towns worldwide participated in this campaign Every year landmarks and well-known buildings around the world such as the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, the Petronas towers in Malaysia, the UK Parliament, Buckingham Palace and the Empire State Building take part and “go 68 dark”for Earth Hour Therefore, Earth Hour has been a symbolic event to make people think about the problems of climate change and show their commitment to protect the planet What are people and businesses encouraged to during Earth Hour? A Encourage people and businesses around the world to go out at the same time B Encourage people and businesses around the world to switch off electricity at the same time C A&B Who organises Earth Hour? A Every people in over the world B The manager of the World Wide Fund for Nature C The World Wide Fund for Nature How many urban areas in the world took part in Earth Hour in 2013? A 7000 B 700 C 2.2 milions What does the term “go dark” in the fifth sentence mean? A turn off non-essential lights B turn on non-essential lights C switch on electricity Which environmental issue does Earth Hour help raise awareness about? A Deforestation B FIood C Climate change IV Read a text about Rainforests and answer the questions that follow 69 Rainforests are valuable habitats for species of wild animals and vegetation They are also important because the huge number of plants and trees there provide oxygen (O2) through a process called photosynthesis, and help to regulate the world's climate and atmosphere This is why the rainforests are often referred to as the ‛lungs' of the Earth Despite their value, worldwide rainforests have been gradually destroyed This is called deforestation Trees are cut down for materials such as wood and paper, and the use of farming land and crops such as soya and palm oil Soya is used as human food and animal feed Palm oil is used to process food, and as a bio-fuel alternative to petrol and diesel Everyone can help reduce deforestation and save rainforests, or on a broader scale, the ecosystems around the world The following steps can be abbreviated as TREES: • Teach others about the importance of the environment and how they can help to save rainforests • Restore damaged ecosystems by planting trees on land where forests have been cut down • Encourage people to live in a way that doesn't hurt the environment • Establish parks to protect rainforests and wildlife • Support companies that operate in ways that minimize damage to the environment Why are rainforests important? _ What are rainforests compared with? _ What are trees cut down for? _ Why are soya and palm oil grown? _ 70 What does TREES mean? APPENDIX 3A LESSON PLAN Planning date: 04/03/2021 Teaching date: / /2021 Class: 10A PERIOD 74: UNIT 8: NEW WAYS TO LEARN LESSON 3: READING I OBJECTIVES: Knowledge: - Knowledge: By the end of the lesson, Ss will be able to: + Use words and phrases related to electronic devices that can help us learn English + Get information about new ways to learn English + Be provided with new ways to learn English - Skills: Integrated skills (to promote students to develop the skill of getting to know the new materials) Ability: - Students can use the language for practice correctly in order to develop students‟ language competence, collaborative competence - Students know how to reading skills Quality: - Students have serious learning attitude; love learning English, energetically and actively participate in learning activities - Students know the importance of studying English II TEACHING EQUIPMENT AND LEARNING MATERIALS: On the teacher‟s part: Appliances for studying (textbooks, references, teaching aids: laptop, smartphone, projector, …) On the students‟ part: Read the text, look up the new words and prepare the tasks following III TEACHING PROCEDURES: - Stabilization (2ms) 71 - Formerly assigned assignments check-up (4ms) - Classroom activities: ACTIVITY 1: WARM UP ACTIVITY: (5ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work To get students to - Ask Ss look at the pictures in - Listen questions and look at know the lesson textbook and ask Ss answer the pictures objectives: questions: - Discuss the T‟squestion scanning a text “Who are they? And what are they - Give the answers and for specific doing?” opinions information and - Elicit the answers from students carefully reading - Let Ss guess the topic They are students, and they for more detailed - Write the title: “Digital English” and are using smart phones, comprehension explain the meaning if necessary tablets and laptops to learn - Expected answers: in classroom ACTIVITY KNOWLEDGE FORMATION ACTIVITIES (5ms) Match each of the words or phrases with its meaning (5ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work To make students - Checks if Ss know the meaning of - Work in pairs, discussing get familiar with the words on the left, explain these the meaning of each word and words related the words if necessary choosing the correct one for topic - Has Ss match each of the words each sentence with its meaning first then check with - Some Ss give answers a partner - Listen and take notes - Goes over the answer to make sure Suggested answers: Ss have done correctly c 2.d a e f 6.b ACTIVITY 3: PRACTICE ACTIVITIES a Quickly read the text Choose the best title (5ms) 72 Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work Helps Ss develop - Ask Ss to read the text quickly in - Work individually read the scanning skill by minutes and choose the best title for it text quickly and choose the choosing the best individually best title - Listen T and apply T‟s title suggestion - Give answer - Check and correct the answer Expected answer: b New ways to learn English b Read the text again and answer the questions (10ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work Enables Ss to - Ask Ss to read all the text and - Work in invidually to scan develop reading answer the questions from to in the text to find the answers skill by getting the textbook - Check and correct detail information Expected answers: for We can download them in comprehension mobile devices and study questions anywhere We can see words on the screen and hear them spoken We can choose to practise with native English speakers of different accents and 73 genders They can use them to record real-life English speechs, lessons, or song of English language films from television or the internet Because it will make learning English easiser, faster, more effective and more enjoyable ACTIVITY APPLICATION AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES (10ms) Discuss with a partner (5 ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work Enhances - Has Ss summarise the conversation speaking skill and - Calls some Ss to share their ideas review what Ss have learnt IV.HOMEWORK: ( 2ms) -Asks Ss to: + learn new words by heart and the tasks again + Prepare the next lesson 74 - Present the conversations APPENDIX 3B LESSON PLAN Planning date: 04/03/2021 Class: 10G PERIOD 74: UNIT 8: NEW WAYS TO LEARN LESSON 3: READING (Apply task-based approach) I OBJECTIVES: Knowledge: - Knowledge: By the end of the lesson, Ss will be able to: + Use words and phrases related to electronic devices that can help us learn English + Get information about new ways to learn English + Be provided with new ways to learn English - Skills: Integrated skills (to promote students to develop the skill of getting to know the new materials) Ability: - Students can use the language for practice correctly in order to develop students‟ language competence, collaborative competence - Students know how to reading skills Quality: - Students have serious learning attitude; love learning English, energetically and actively participate in learning activities - Students know the importance of studying English II TEACHING EQUIPMENT AND LEARNING MATERIALS: On the teacher‟s part: Appliances for studying (textbooks, references, teaching aids: laptop, smartphone, projector, …) On the students‟ part: Read the text, look up the new words and prepare the tasks following III TEACHING PROCEDURES: - Stabilization (2ms) - Classroom activities: ACTIVITY 1: WARM UP ACTIVITY: (5ms) 75 Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work To get students to - Task-based activity: Brainstorm with - Listen questions and look at know the lesson the wordweb the pictures objectives: + Give student wordweb: “ Electronic - Discuss the teacher‟s scanning a text devices in learning” question for specific + Students list names of them and who - Give the answers information and can not read the name, have to sing a carefully reading song after finishing the lesson for more detailed - T checks and gives feedback comprehension ACTIVITY KNOWLEDGE FORMATION ACTIVITIES Revise some words and match each of the words or phrases with its meaning (7ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work To make ss get - Give Ss word in task and help - Work in pairs, discussing familiar with them to guess the meaning if the meaning of each word and words related the necessary choosing the correct one for topic - Then give them memory game (task- each sentence based activites) to check understand Suggested answers: all words in task c 2.d a + Give Ss words and meaning of e f 6.b this and mix all of them and students‟s misson is match each word based on their memory - T checks and gives feedback ACTIVITY 3: PRACTICE ACTIVITIES a Quickly read the text Choose the best title (5ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work Helps Ss develop - Ask Ss to read the text quickly in 76 - Work individually read the scanning skill by minutes and choose the best title for it text quickly and choose the choosing the best individually best title title - Tell Ss that they should find - Listen T and apply T‟s repeated words and their collations suggestion Explain to the Ss that repeated words in a text may imply its main idea or title - Have Ss skim the text to choose the - Give answer best title - Check their answer and correct -Check and correct the - T checks and gives feedback answer Expected answer: b New ways to learn English b Read the text again and answer the questions (10 ms) Aims of the Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & activity organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work Enables Ss to - Task-based activity: - Work in group to scan the develop reading + Divide class into groups and each text to find the answers skill by getting group discuss about one question and - Work in groups and give detail information find out the answer answer for - Check and correct - T checks and gives feedback comprehension Expected answers: questions We can download them in mobile devices and study anywhere We can see words on the screen and hear them spoken We can choose to practise with native English speakers of different accents and genders 77 They can use them to record real-life English speechs, lessons, or song of English language films from television or the internet Because it will make learning English easiser, faster, more effective and more enjoyable ACTIVITY APPLICATION AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES Discuss with a partner (14 ms) Aims of the activity Develops Lesson content & techniques for Expected products & organising students‟ learning activities assessment of student work - Task-based activity: Sharing -Give possible answers students‟ critical personal experience: How can school Suggested answer: thinking I have an old mobile phone of students use personal electronic problems related devices to learn English? I use it for communication to use personal - Asks Ss to work in group of six to only Some of my classmate electronic devices present their answers in group have more modern to learn English - Then one member of group share smartphones and laptops ideas of group to whole class So they uso these devices to -Encourages Ss to ask further record materials, look up questions and share their ideas new words, download and - T checks and gives feedback store digital lessons and practice The devices help them improve their pronunciation and vocabulary IV.HOMEWORK: ( 2ms) -Asks Ss to: + learn new words by heart and the tasks again + Prepare the next lesson 78 V Questions/ Exercises for testing and assessment follow Competency-based Orientation Knowledge + What have you learnt today? Comprehension + List some electronic devices which can help you study well Low application + Talk about a device that suits your learning style High application + Write a passage of 140 words about a device that suits your learning style 79 APPENDIX 4A: Results of pretest and posttest for Group A (Control group) Pre-test Post-test No Students Out of 10 Out of 10 SA1 7.6 SA2 5.4 5.2 SA3 7.4 SA4 5.2 5 SA5 5.4 SA6 8.5 SA7 4.2 SA8 4 SA9 5.7 10 SA10 6.7 11 SA11 6 12 SA12 6 13 SA13 6.8 14 SA14 5.5 6.5 15 SA15 5.5 6.7 16 SA16 6 17 SA17 9.4 8.6 18 SA18 7.8 19 SA19 5.2 20 SA20 5.6 21 SA21 5.6 22 SA22 5.2 23 SA23 4 24 SA24 7.5 25 SA25 2.8 26 SA26 5.5 5.8 27 SA27 7.6 28 SA28 2.8 29 SA29 6.2 6.4 30 SA30 3.4 31 SA31 6 32 SA32 7.2 7.8 33 SA33 5.5 34 SA34 6.2 35 SA35 5.5 5.8 36 SA36 6.7 6.8 37 SA37 7.4 7.4 38 SA38 7.1 7.2 80 APPENDIX 4B: Results of pretest and posttest for Group B (Experimental group) Pre-test Post-test No Students Out of 10 Out of 10 SB1 7.5 7.8 SB2 5.2 6.3 SB3 7.6 SB4 6.2 SB5 5.4 6.4 SB6 9 SB7 SB8 4.4 SB9 5.5 10 SB10 6.6 11 SB11 12 SB12 13 SB13 6.7 7.8 14 SB14 6.4 7.5 15 SB15 6.2 6.4 16 SB16 6.2 6.4 17 SB17 9.2 9.4 18 SB18 6.2 7.2 19 SB19 5.4 20 SB20 5.6 7.2 21 SB21 5.6 22 SB22 5.6 6.2 23 SB23 4.2 24 SB24 7.1 25 SB25 3.8 26 SB26 5.8 27 SB27 7.5 8.4 28 SB28 3.4 3.9 29 SB29 6.3 7.6 30 SB30 3.6 31 SB31 6.4 32 SB32 7.3 8.6 33 SB33 6.4 7.5 34 SB34 5.8 6.2 35 SB35 5.6 36 SB36 6.8 7.4 81 ... above reason, I chose the study ? ?Using task- based approach to improve student‟s reading comprehension for grade 10 students at Viet Tri industrial high school? ?? for my research proposal Previous... in grade 10 at Viet Tri Industrial high school The research is also aimed to know whether or not the task- based approach can improve the students? ?? reading comprehension and the students? ?? attitude... attitude toward the use of task- based approach in improving their reading comprehension The participant includes 74 students in class 10A and 10G at Viet Tri Industrial high school The data were