Topic DIFFICULTIES IN READING COMPREHENSION OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT ASIAN INTERNATIONAL high school

The reading comprehension skill is considered as one of the four fundamental language skills that an EFL learner must perform. Actually, it is not an easy skill since most of learners have many reading issues. The purpose of this present work is to investigate on these reading difficulties that grade 10 students at the Asian International Highschool face, and to identify their reading problems and the reasons behind their weaknesses in performing the reading task. The questionnaire and interview have been used as research instruments which are addressed, respectively, to thirdyear learners and teachers at Asian International highschool. The results reveal that most of the learners have difficulties in reading comprehension at the level of ambiguous words, reading strategies, as well as the nature of the selected materials.

Hochiminh City – 2017 …………………………………… GRADUATION THESIS Major English Language Topic DIFFICULTIES IN READING COMPREHENSION OF GRADE 10 STUDENTS AT ASIAN INTERNATIONAL HIGHSCHOOL Instructor Nguyen Thanh Tuan,MA Student Luu Khanh Quyen ID: 97011501055 i DECLARATION The thesis entitled “Difficulties in reading comprehension of grade 10 at the Asian International Highschool” is conducted under the supervision of M.A Nguyen Thanh Tuan an instructor of English at English Department, Saigon International University I declare that the information reported in the current paper is a result of my own work, except where due to reference is made The thesis has not been accepted for any degree and is not concurrently submitted to any candidature for any other degree or diploma Ho Chi Minh, Signature ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the process of doing this study, I have received useful help from my teachers, my family, my friends First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my instructor Mr Nguyen Thanh Tuan who has help me much in choosing the title of this study and giving me valuable suggestion as well as guidance so that I can fulfill this graduation thesis paper He gave me encouragement at all the stages of completing my study During the process of my research, I am not only instructed carefully by him, but also learn many valuable things from method of doing research, the way to consider and solve problem independently Without his guidance, help and support, I would not have completed my study Beside the support of Mr Nguyen Thanh Tuan, I am very grateful to my parents for their metal support and encouragement They are the biggest motivation for me to overcome all the difficulties to completing the study In addition, I would like to say “Thank you” to my friends, thank you for their support and being side by side with me I am really in debt to my family and my friends for their all usefull help and great encouragement during the time I has done this paper iii INTRUCTOR’S COMMENTS …………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………… , Date Month Year Mark: …………………………………… Sign: ……………………………………… iv ABSTRACT The reading comprehension skill is considered as one of the four fundamental language skills that an EFL learner must perform Actually, it is not an easy skill since most of learners have many reading issues The purpose of this present work is to investigate on these reading difficulties that grade 10 students at the Asian International Highschool face, and to identify their reading problems and the reasons behind their weaknesses in performing the reading task The questionnaire and interview have been used as research instruments which are addressed, respectively, to third-year learners and teachers at Asian International highschool The results reveal that most of the learners have difficulties in reading comprehension at the level of ambiguous words, reading strategies, as well as the nature of the selected materials v TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION…………………………………………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT………………………………………………………………… ii SUPVERISOR’S COMMENT…………………………………………………………… iii ABSTRACT………………………………………………………………………………….iv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTENT OF THE THESIS………………….1 1.1 Statement of problem…………………………………………………………………… 1.2 The significance of the study………………………………………………………………2 1.3 Scope of the study…………………………………………………………………………2 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW……………………………………………………4 2.1 Definition of key-terms ………………………………………………………… …… 2.1.1 What is reading? ……………………………………………………………………….4 2.1.2 Comprehension …………………………………………………… 2.1.3 Reading comprehension……………………………………………………………… 2.1.4 Types of reading comprehension…………………………………………………… 2.1.4.1 Oral reading …………………………………………………………………….…6 2.1.4.2 Silent reading …………………………………………………………………… 2.1.4.3 Intensive reading………………………………………………………………… vi 2.1.4.4 Extensive reading ……………………………………………………………… 2.1.5 Skills of reading comprehension…………………………………………………… 2.1.5.1 Scanning………………………………………………………………………… 2.1.6.2 Skimming……………………………………………………………………… 10 2.1.6 Difficulties ……………………………………………………………………………11 2.1.6.1 Difficulty in understanding long sentence……………………………………… 12 2.1.6.2 Difficulty in using reading strategies………………………………………………13 2.1.6.3 Losing your place………………………………………………………………….13 2.1.6.4 Losing your focus………………………………………………………………….13 2.1.6.5 Not getting the point ………………………………………………………………13 2.1.6.6 Forgetting what you have read…………………………………………………….13 2.1.7 Solutions…………………………………………………………………………… 14 2.1.8 Strategies for reading comprehension …………………………………………….…15 2.1.8.1 Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Narrative Text………………………… 17 2.1.8.2 Strategies for Reading Comprehension: Expository Text…………………………19 2.1.9 Method in teaching reading………………………………………………………… 21 2.2 Preview previous work ………………………………………………………………….22 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………… 24 vii 3.1 Research method……………………………………………………………………… 24 3.2 Research questions………………………………………………………………………25 3.3 Description………………………………………………………………………………25 3.4 Participants…………………………………………………………………………… 26 3.5 Tools to collect data…………………………………………………………………… 26 3.6 Procedure……………………………………………………………………………… 27 CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION……………………………………………28 4.1 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………………… 28 4.1.1 Opinions about reading materials…………………………………………………….29 4.1.2 The purpose of reading…………………………………………………………… 30 4.1.3 Opinions about the effective and essential of reading strategies…………………… 31 4.1.4 Difficulties and time sufficiency…………………………………………………… 33 4.1.5 Students’ strategies………………………………………………………………… 36 4.1.6 The essential of vocabulary and grammar……………………………………………39 4.2 Discussion of the results…………………………………………………………………42 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………… 45 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND CONTENT OF THE THESIS 1.1 Statement of problem Nowadays, English does not only become popular but it is also a main international language When you go to another country, or communicate with foreigner, you have to understand their language but be side that you can use English to communicate with them As you know, today about 2/3 countries in the world use English as their mother tongue or as a second language English has been taught in many general- educational schools We know that teaching and learning English are very important Which are the best learning methods and strategies for students who learn English at Asian International High school? What difficulties that students have when they learn English ? The Asian International School’s International English program is designed according to American Education Reaches Out (AERO) and Common Core State Standard – United State The school curriculum is drafted and evaluated by the Science Council of the school Students of the Asian International School benefit from an advanced education program with a diverse knowledge base However, not all students of the Asian International High school can keep up with the international English program Some students had problem with English skills in the learning process and most students had difficulties in reading skill The biggest obstacle for grade 10 students at Asian International High school is that they have no methods and strategies in reading comprehension This topic is great interest in studying it 2 So this is the reason make me want to find out the cause and understand more about these to find some solutions 1.2 The significance of the study As above introduction, I carry out this study with the hope to find out the difficulties received by the grade 10 students at Asian International high school in reading comprehension, the way to improve reading comprehension, and also support students of grade 10 at the Asian International Highschool who are learning English to pass the difficulties in reading comprehension easily follow three steps: Step : To find out difficulties perceived by grade 10 students at Asian International High school in reading comprehension Step : To improve the difficulties perceived by grade 10 students at Asian International High school in reading comprehension Step : To develop and enhance skills in reading 1.3 Scope of the study Nowadays, English is a language that plays an important role in learning and work In order to learn and use English well, leaners must grasp English skills and it takes a lot of time and wisdom English as well as English skills is a very wide field of knowledge but due to the time to complete a research is short It is only in months and personal knowledge is still limited so I just emphasize English skills especially reading comprehension in Asian International Highschool 3 This study aimed at investigating the problems in English reading skill as perceived by 115 students who are learning English program at Asian International Highschool 4 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Definition of key-terms 2.1.1 What is reading ? Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency and motivation Learn how reader integrate these facets to make meaning from print ( by Diane Henry Leipzig 2001 ) Reading is making meaning from print It require that we : a Construct an understanding from them - a process called comprehension b Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate - an achievement called fluency Most of us think of reading as a simple, passive process that involves reading words in a linear fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time But reading is actually a very process that requires a great deal of active participation on the part of he reader To get a better sense of the complexity of reading, read what some experts in the field have said about the reading process: What we read ? The message is not something given in advance or given at all - but something created communicative situation - Roy Harris in Rethinking Writing (2000:254) Reading is asking questions of printed text And reading with comprehension becomes a matter of getting your questions answered - Frank Smith in Reading With Nonsense (1997:41) Reading is a psycholinguistic guessing game It involves an interaction between thought and language Efficient reading does not result from precise reception and identification of all elements, but from skill in selecting the fewest, most productive cues necessary to produce guesses which are right the first time The ability to anticipate that which has not been seen, of course, is vital in reading, just as the ability to anticipate what has not yet been heard is vital in listening - Kenneth Goodman in Journal of the reading Specialist (1967:26) Reading involves many complex skills that have to come together in order for the reader to be successful Proficient readers recognize the purpose for reading, approach the reading with that purpose in mind, use strategies that have proven successful to them in the past when reading similar texts for similar purposes, monitor their comprehension of the text in the light of the purpose for reading When unknown words arise and their meaning is needed for comprehension, proficient readers have a number of word attack strategies available hat will allow them to decipher the meaning of the words Reading is also a complex process in that from the text by using their own prior knowledge and experiences Proficient readers are constantly making predictions while reading It is this continuous interaction with the text that allows readers to make sense of what they are reading 6 2.1.2 Comprehension Hornby (2008) defines understanding as knowing the meaning of importance or cause of something According to Crowell (2000), comprehension involves understanding the words on the page together with understanding of ideas being expressed by the writer 2.1.3 Reading comprehension It is the process of using syntactic, semantic and rhetorical information found in printed text to reconstruct in the reader’s mind, using the knowledge of the word he or she possesses, plus appropriate, cognitive skills and reasoning ability (Devine:1986) 2.1.4 Types of reading comprehension Several types of reading may occur in a language classroom One way in which these may be categorized, as suggested by Brown (1989:216) can be outlined as follows: 2.1.4.1 Oral Reading: Oral reading means reading aloud The oral translation of printed or written material, often used as measure of a student’s overall reading performance to examine aspects of reading accuracy, fluency 2.1.4.2 Silent Reading: Silent reading is complex set of skills The purpose of silent reading is to enable the learners to comprehend the meaning of what they read 7 2.1.4.3 Intensive Brown, D.S (1989) explains that intensive reading “calls attention to grammatical forms, discourse markers, and other surface structure details for the purpose of understanding literial meaning, implications, rhetorical relationships, and the like It sometimes called “Narrow Reading”, may involves students reading selections by the same author or several texts about the same topic The success of “Narrow reading” on improving reading comprehension is based on the premise that the more familiar the reader is with the test, either due to the subject matter or having reading other works by the same author, the more comprehension is promoted Intensive reading is used to teach or practice specific strategies or skills The text is treated as an end in itself Intensive reading on the other hand, involves reading of large quantities of material, direct and fluently It may include reading simply for pleasure or reading technical, scientific or professional material 2.1.4.4 Extensive Brown, D.S (1989) explained that Extensive reading is carried out “to achieve a general understanding of a text.” Long and Richards (1971,p.216) identified Extensive Reading as “occurring when students read large amounts of high interest material, usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, “reading for gist and skipping unknown words.” 8 The aims of Extensive Reading are to build reader confidence and enjoyment Extensive Reading is always done for the comprehension of main ideas, not for specific details ‘Extensive reading means reading in quantity and in order to gain a general understanding of what is read’ (Richards, 1992) Extensive reading is often reading for pleasure With respect to the importance of extensive reading, Grable (1995) has drawn up on the work of, among other, Elley (1991); Krashen (1989, 1993); Stanovich and Cunningham (1993) that extensive reading can or may contribute to effective reading According to Grable (1995), extensive reading helps develop ability in word recognition both in quantity and quality The more extensively students read, the larger and more automatic recognition vocabulary students will gain 2.1.5 Skills of reading comprehension As in all reading comprehension exercises, a variety of skills are required to deduce the right answer These include skimming, scanning, paraphrasing, and understanding vocabulary in context You must be able to identify synonyms and implied information A clue is that the order of the questions follows the order to the information in the reading passage This should save time when scanning for specific details Make sure the answer you choose answers the question, as many of the answer choices may simply repeat information in the reading passage Lastly, you might prefer reading the questions before skimming the passage, to give you a better idea of what's to come.- by Catherine Snow (2012:10) 2.1.5.1 Scanning Scanning is a skill that requires that you read quickly while looking for specific information Scanning is used when a specific piece of information is required, such as a name, date, symbol, formula, or phrase, is required The reader knows what the item looks like and so, knows when he has located what he was searching for It is assumed then, that very little information is processed into long-term memory or even for immediate understanding because the objective is simply matching Generally, scanning is a technique that is helpful when you are looking for the answer to a known question When it is used ? Scanning is used often with technical, scientific or professional materials to locate specific information Scanning is a valuable skill for second language learners to develop because often they not require a detailed read of a text There are many everyday uses for scanning, relevant to a purpose, such as reading a schedule Activities Learners use skills of prediction and anticipation They may make predictions and guesses or use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of what a passage is about activate prior knowledge about the topic of the passage by answering some questions or 10 performing a quiz Besides that, use keywords is also very important in reading comprehension It is an accepted view today that efficient readers are not passive They react with a text by having expectations and ideas about the purposes of the text as well as possible outcomes They reflect on expectations as they read, anticipate what will come next In other words, they "interact with the text" 2.1.5.2 Skimming Skimming is the most rudimentary type of reading Its object is to familiarize you as quickly as possible with the material to be read Skimming is a quick reading to get the general meaning of the passage, how the passage is organized, that is the structure of the text and to get an idea of the intention of the writer Skimming is a more complex task than scanning because it requires the reader to organize and remember some of the information given by the author, not just to locate it It is a tool in which the author's sequence can be observed, unlike scanning in which some predetermined information is sought after When it is used ? Skimming is used as part of the SQ3R method of reading, often for speed reading This method involves the student in surveying, questioning, reading, reviewing and reciting Skimming is used for the initial survey and for review It is used in making decisions on how to approach a text such as when determining if a careful reading and deserving 11 By determining text, learners able to understand that it is possible to gaining meaning without reading every word in a text Activities Leaners must locate facts that are expressed in sentences, not single words Leaners should read rapidly, to form appropriate questions and predictions and then read quickly Pugh (1978) suggests that to assess skimming, after the students have read and completed the assigned questions, further questions may be asked, "beyond the scope of the purpose originally set" (p.70) If students can answer these questions correctly, it indicates they have read the text too closely 2.1.6 Difficulties Difficulty is something that complicated to (Richard 2007) It will be seen from students’ mistake or error learning process In fact, many senior high school students often find the difficulties in reading comprehension These difficulties result the student’s poor performance in reading test Thus, from these factors arise some difficulties in reading comprehension There are some internal factors that influence the students in reading comprehension that are generally found by the reader during reading, namely; difficulty in understanding long sentence and text, difficulty that is caused by limited background knowledge, difficulty in using reading strategies and difficulty in concentration (Fajar: 2009)  ... 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