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

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA-VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY THESIS HUỲNH THỊ CẨM HẰNG HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11 GRADE-STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING SOME WHILE–READING ACTIVITIES Ba Ria-Vung Tau - Year 2021 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA-VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY THESIS HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH-STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING WHILE-READING ACTIVITIES Submitted to the Postgraduate Institute in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL Course code: 17110051 By Huynh Thi Cam Hang Supervised by DR Bui Thi Kim Loan Ba Ria-Vung Tau -Year 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY - RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - ABSTRACT - LIST OF TABLES - LIST OF CHARTS - CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION - 1.1 The study's rationale - 1.2 Aims of the study - 1.3 Research questions - 1.4 Significance of the study - 1.5 Scope of the study - 1.6 Thesis organization - CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW - 11 2.1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension - 11 2.2 Types of reading - 13 2.3 Factors in teaching and learning reading - 18 2.4 Previous studies - 25 2.5 Summary - 28 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY - 29 3.1 Action Research: - 29 3.2 The aims of the study: - 33 3.3 The reading program for grade 11 grade- students at U Minh Thuong high school - 35 3.4 The current situation of teaching the textbook at U Minh Thuong high school - 39 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION - 44 - 4.2 The action research procedures - 44 4.3 Suggestions - 71 4.4 Summary .- 73 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .- 75 5.1 Conclusion .- 75 5.2 Implications for more effective reading instruction - 76 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further studies - 79 REFERENCES - 80 APPENDIX - 83 APPENDIX - 85 APPENDIX - 87 APPENDIX - 90 APPENDIX - 92 APPENDIX - 94 - -1- CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis submitted today entitled: HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING WHILE–READING ACTIVITIES In terms of the statement of requirements for Theses in Master’s programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Postgraduate Institute, Ba Ria-Vung Tau University Ba Ria-Vung Tau, July 2021 Huynh Thi Cam Hang -2- RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby declare that I, Huynh Thi Cam Hang, a candidate for the degree of TESOL, accept the University's requirements for the retention and use of Master's Thesis deposited in the Library In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my Master's Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for study and research purposes, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Librarian for thesis care, loan, and reproduction Ba Ria-Vung Tau, July 2021 Huỳnh Thị Cẩm Hằng -3- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To begin, I would like to express my appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Bùi Thị Kim Loan, for his insightful discussion, constructive criticism, and invaluable assistance in preparing and completing my thesis Without her continual guidance and encouragement, my thesis would never have emerged in its current shape My heartfelt gratitude also goes to the instructors of the post-graduate department for the lessons they taught me and the resources they provided for the completion of this thesis I'd also like to thank my colleagues for their helpful ideas and encouragement, as well as the instructors and grade11 students at U Minh Thuong High School for their active participation in my experimental testing Finally, I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to members of my family for their unwavering support, inspiration, and encouragement throughout the completion of this thesis -4- ABSTRACT An action research project was carried out to answer the following questions in order to help improve the reading comprehension of students at U Minh Thuong high school: 1) What difficulties teachers and students face when teaching and learning a reading lesson? 2) How can the use of while-reading activities in reading lessons improve the reading comprehension skills of U Minh Thuong eleven-grade students ? After that, a five-week action research project was carried out The subjects were 80 U Minh Thuong high school students from two classes (11A1 and 11A2) Data were gathered through the use of questionnaires (one for teachers and one for students) and class observations The preliminary data revealed that students' poor reading comprehension could be attributed to the inappropriate methods and techniques used by English teachers at U Minh Thuong high school Based on preliminary findings, it was hypothesized that “How to improve Reading Comprehension skills for the 11 grade Students at U Minh Thuong high school by using while–reading activities” The researcher implemented an action plan in which the students were explicitly trained in some while-reading activities The project evaluation revealed that all of the students have positive attitudes toward using while-reading activities in teaching reading lessons and that their reading comprehension skill could be improved using these tools; a large majority of the participants reported progress in their reading comprehension skill in the postimprovement questionnaire survey While-reading activities were beneficial in assisting students in completing their reading tasks more effectively Furthermore, they felt more confident in their reading abilities -5- LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Evaluating students' English reading competence Table 4.2: Students' expectations of teachers' reading techniques Table 4.3: The students are asked to participate in while-reading activities Table 4.4: The reasons the students aren't interested in participating in whilereading activities today Table 4.5: The teachers-related-problems cause the students to feel unmotivated in today's while-reading activity Table 4.6: The difficulties the teachers face when teaching reading Table 4.7: The reasons why the teachers don't usually use while-reading activities in teaching -6- LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: depicts the difficulties that students face when learning to read Chart 4.2: The students triumph over adversity Chart 4.3: depicts the students' reactions to the while-reading activities Chart 4.4: The use of while-reading activities in reading lessons has made English easier to learn - 81 - 15 Harmer, H (1989) The practice of English language teaching Harlow: Longman 16 Kemmis, S & Mc Taggart, R (1988) The Action Research Planner (3rd ed.) Geelong: Deakin University Press 17 Lewin, K (1946) Action research and minority problems Journal of Social Issues, 2, 34- 46 18 Lewis, M & Hill, J.C (1995) Practical Techniques for Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Nunan, D (1992) Research methods in language teaching, New York, Cambridge University Press 20 Nuttall, C (1982/2000) Teaching Reading skill in a Foreign Language London: Macmillan Heinemann 21 O’Brien, R (1998) an overview of the methodological approach of action research Faculty of information studies, University of Toronto 22 Swam, M (1975) Inside meaning Cambridge: CUP 23 Urquhart, S and Weir, C (1998) Reading in a second language: Process, product and practice London: Longman 24 Williams, E (1984) Reading in the language classroom London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd 25 Taglieber, L K., Johnson, L L., and Yarbrough, D B (1988) Effects of prereading activities on EFL reading by Brazilian college students TESOL Quarterly, 22(3), 455-472 26 Yeeding, S (2007) Using pre-reading activities to increase learners’ motivation in reading comprehension: A case of 2nd year vocational students enrolled in the Electrical and Electronic Certificate Program at Industrial Technology College, King Mongkut Pranakorn 27.D M Ogle (1986) K-W-L: A teaching method that promotes active reading of expository text 564–570 in The Reading Teacher 38(6) - 82 - 28.M Pressley (1977) Imagery and children's learning: Putting the picture into context Review of Educational Research, vol 47, no 5, pp 586–622 29.R J Tierney (1982), Essential considerations for developing basic reading comprehension skills, School Psychology Review 11(3), pp 299–305 30 Bộ Giáo Dục Đào Tạo (2007) Tài Liệu Bồi Dưỡng Giáo Viên Tiếng Anh 11 Nhà Xuất Bản Giáo Dục 31 Bùi Thị Mỹ Linh (2007) “Using While- Reading Techniques to Improve Reading Comprehension for the 11th Form Students at Phan Dang Luu High School.” 32 Chu Quang Bình (2007) Thiết Kế Bài Giảng Tiếng Anh 11 1st ed Nhà Xuất Bản Hà Nội 33 Hoàng Văn Vân, HoàngThị Xuân Hoa, ĐỗTuấn Minh, Nguyễn Thu Phương & Nguyễn Quốc Tuấn (2007) Tiếng Anh 11 Nhà Xuất Bản Giáo Dục 34 Nguyễn Thị Minh Hồng (2008) ―A study on some possible effective pre-reading activities to improve reading skills for the 2nd -year English Majors at the Military Science Academy‖ 35 Nguyễn Thủy Minh & Lương Quỳnh Trang (2007) Thiết Kế Bài Giảng Tiếng Anh 11 (2nd ed.) Nhà Xuất Bản Hà Nội 36 Nhữ Văn Lược (2005) “a study on the techniques for improving reading skills to non-major students of English at Haiphong Foreign Language Center, Haiphong University.” - 83 - APPENDIX PRE-TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS - 84 - - 85 - APPENDIX POST- TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS - 86 - - 87 - APPENDIX STUDENTS' PRE-TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE The English language (Translated for reference) This survey questionnaire was created as part of my thesis, "How To Improve The Reading Comprehension Skills Of Eleventh-Grade Students At U Minh Thuong High School Using Some While–Reading Activities." We sincerely appreciate your assistance in completing this form Please circle the options that you believe are the most appropriate, or write the correct response if necessary Question 1: How difficult is it for you to learn to read? A Inadequate motivation B Inadequate understanding of history C Limited vocabulary and grammatical structures D Inadequate reading comprehension E Time-constrained Question 2: How you overcome these challenges? A Pay attention to the appropriate response when the instructors correct you B Seek assistance from your professors C Seek advice from friends to determine the correct response Question 3: What you expect your teachers to to help you overcome your reading difficulties? A Motivating you to incorporate prior knowledge into your textual study B Creating a pleasant environment in which you can share knowledge prior to reading C Allowing you to read the text as many times as you want D Providing you with specific key phrases E Defining the reading contexts clearly - 88 - F Suggestions for important reading techniques that can be applied to a variety of reading assignments G Making use of a variety of reading resources appropriate for your reading abilities and interests Question 4: Do you enjoy learning to read through while-reading activities? A Yes B No Question 5: Is your teacher inviting you to join in on activities while you read today? A Yes B No Question 6: Do you enjoy the activities that occur while you are reading? Please proceed to the next question if you answered no to the previous one A Yes B No Question 7: Why don't you want to participate in today's activities while reading? A I am nervous about speaking in front of a large group of students B I'm not very knowledgeable about the subject of the reading C The topic is uninteresting D I believe I am not sufficiently motivated E.Others (the classroom is insufficiently pleasant because to the poor lighting, the image is too tiny to view, and the fans rotate slowly) Question 8: In addition to the reasons stated previously, which of the following teacher-related issues contributes to your lack of motivation for today's whilereading activity? A The teacher fails to properly manage the activities that take place while the student is reading B The instructor's instructions are not clear enough C You're unsure what to do) - 89 - D You can't hear the teacher's comments during the exercise E.Others: The subject is not adequately illuminated - 90 - APPENDIX TEACHERS' PRE-TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE This survey is for my thesis, "How To Improve The Reading Comprehension Skills Of The 11th Grade Students At U Minh Thuong High School Using While– Reading Activities." We sincerely appreciate your assistance in completing this form Please circle the options that you believe are the most appropriate for you, or write your response if necessary Question 1: What difficulties you face as a reading educator? A Students' motivational deficits B B Students' world knowledge C Students' prior knowledge D Time constraints E Students' vocabulary and grammatical structural limitations F Students' inability to effectively read Question 2: Do you frequently use while-reading activities in your reading instruction? If so, why or why not? A Usually B Occasionally C Never D.Please explain your reasoning: Question 3: Do you believe that using while-reading activities can help students improve their reading skills? A I believe so B not at all C I'm not certain Question 4: What you think should be done to address the issue of eighthgrade students' low level of English reading competence? - 91 ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! - 92 - APPENDIX POST- STUDENT TRYING-OUT QUESTIONNAIRE The English language (Translated for reference) Question 1: What are your thoughts on the lessons that use while – reading activities after learning? A too difficult B too easy C mediocre D intriguing and challenging E monotonous Question 2: Do you think the reading lessons with while-reading activities helped you learn English more easily? A strongly disagree B agree C strongly disagree D strongly agree E I'm not sure Question 3: Which of the teacher's changes were successful? A The instructor kept the students engaged in fun activities B The instructor introduced a sufficient number of effective and appropriate new vocabulary and sentence structures C The instructor moved quickly among the groups, encouraging less active students to work and providing assistance as needed, as well as allowing students to act in groups without interfering to change their performance D The instructor was clear in his communication E The aforementioned changes - 93 - Question 4: Have you noticed any changes in yourself as a result of today's reading activities? A I'm motivated to work because the instructor assigns a variety of enjoyable tasks B I am capable of completing the activities outlined in the textbook because the instructor introduces new vocabulary and sentence patterns that are appropriate and beneficial C Despite standing in front of the class, I am confident enough to perform in groups D Because I collaborate with my acquaintances, I am able to work more efficiently Question 5: Did you have any personal issues during the reading lessons where you used while-reading activities? A shyness (not used to speaking in front of others) B not speaking much English in class C There is no good relationship with the other members of the group, so group work is ineffective D nothing - 94 - APPENDIX UNIT 13: Hobbies Task 1: Find the words in the passage that can match with the definition on the right column …………………… Skillful or talent ………………… Playing guitar when somebody sing ………………… moderate ………………… eager or keen on ………………… throw away …………………… make someone busy ANSWERS: accomplished accompanying modest avid discarded keep me occupied indulge in Task 2: Working in pairs is the second assignment Please respond to the following What were the author's first interests? Is the author a guitarist of some renown? Why does the author regard his uncle with such admiration? What are the author's other interests? - 95 - How did he go about obtaining his catch? Who is the writer? Is he a stamp collector? Where does he amass his stamp collection? Which kind of stamps does the writer collect, domestic or foreign? What does the author with uncommon and common stamps? ANSWERS: 1.The author's primary pastime is guitar playing 2.He is not, indeed 3.As a result of his skill as a guitarist 4.The author's second passion is aquaculture 5.He purchased some from a store and gathered others from a rice field near his home 6.He is a connoisseur of stamps 7.He accumulates stamps from abandoned envelopes sent to him by family and acquaintances 8.He receives an increased number of local postage stamps 9.He preserves the rarer ones in a little book and distributes them to others ... for students 3.4 The current situation of teaching the textbook at U Minh Thuong high school 3.4.1 Introduction to U Minh Thuong high school and students U Minh Thuong high school is located...MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA-VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY THESIS HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH -STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING WHILE -READING ACTIVITIES. .. CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the Master? ??s Thesis submitted today entitled: HOW TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS FOR THE 11TH STUDENTS AT U MINH THUONG HIGH SCHOOL BY USING