Applying task based language teaching (TBLT) method for improving reading comprehension skill of junior high students at UKA school in ba ria city

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA – VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY Thesis: Applying Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) Method for Improving Reading Comprehension Skill of Junior-High Students at UKA School in Ba Ria City Lecturer: Assoc Prof PHAM VU PHI HO, Ph.D Student: HO THI THUY NGA Class: MTESOL18K2 Vung Tau City, 2022 “Applying Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) Method for Improving Reading Comprehension Skill of Junior-High Students at UKA School in Ba Ria City” ABSTRACT Reading is a skill that will help students develop their ability to perceive language, especially English language This skill helps them to discover and memorize a lot of English sentences and words Then, their brain can imitate, and they can say what they think correctly, in terms of both grammar and word use If a student reads a lot, paying special attention to the words they often use, they will quickly apply new words or new structures to speaking and writing Moreover, it also helps students develop their intuition when learning the language Students will begin to feel which statements are right, what sounds wrong - just as they would be in their native language Learning English by reading English material seems to take longer, unlike grammar – based learning And teaching reading skills has not been as much concentrated as expected In Vietnam, reading exercise and skills usually happen after other skills (speaking, listening and writing) and students usually need more reading skills in their reading comprehension tests rather than when learning Therefore, this study aims at exploration of the effects of using Task-based language teaching method (TBLT) to improve reading comprehensive ability of students in the UKA Ba Ria School There are 50 students of classes selected to take part in this study and divided into two groups: one control and one experimental group The control group was exposed to textbook teaching between pre-test and post-test; however, the experimental one was taught using TBLT method This study helps us become more aware of the innovation of Task based language teaching method for students This project will contribute to future research on similar topics Keywords: Reading skills, learning English, reading comprehension, Task based language teaching method, TBLT method Page Table of contents ABSTRACT Table of contents Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Purpose of the Study 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Theoretical Concepts 10 2.1.1 Reading 10 2.1.2 Reading Skill 11 2.1.3 Definition of tasks 13 2.1.4 Definition of Task-based language teaching 17 2.1.5 Classification 19 2.1.6 Reading comprehension 22 2.1.7 Teaching Reading in TBLT 23 2.2 Previous Research Studies 26 2.3 Research Gap 36 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 37 3.1 Research context 37 3.2 Sampling methods 37 3.3 Design of the Study 38 3.3.1 Experimental group 39 3.3.2 Control group 42 3.4 Instruments 44 3.4.1 Pre-test and Post-test 45 3.4.2 Survey Questionnaires 46 3.4.3 Classroom Observation 48 3.4.4 Interview Questions 49 3.5 Procedure of the study 50 3.6 Data Collection 51 3.6.1 Tests 51 3.6.2 Questionnaire 52 3.7 Methods of analysis 52 Chapter 4: RESULTS………………………………………………………………… 54 4.1 Response to research question 54 4.1.1 Pretest and posttest result 54 4.1.2 Questionnaire result on Research question 58 4.2 Response to research question 64 4.2.1 Classroom observation result 65 4.2.2 Interview with teachers/students 69 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION 72 5.1 Summary of Research question 1’s results 72 5.2 Discussion on the results 72 5.3 Summary of Research question 2’s results 74 5.4 Discussion on the results 75 5.5 Limitation of the study 77 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………79 6.1 Summary of the findings 79 6.2 Conclusions 80 6.3 Implications for Instruction 81 6.3.1 For the teachers 81 6.3.2 For Students 83 6.3.3 For the UKA Ba Ria School 84 Appendix 1: Questionnaire Appendix 2: Observation sheet Appendix 3: Pre – test Appendix 4: Post – test 12 Appendix 5: Controlled group 16 Appendix 6: Experimental group 18 REFERENCES Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the Study Reading comprehension is one of four important skills that estimates English language proficiency and is an important foundation for developing self-study, self-working, identifying, and solving learners' problems However, it is considered a difficult skill by students, and most students not know which strategies to use and how to use them effectively Some of them not even think of a reading strategy In addition, education in Vietnam is more focused on grammar than other skills, students learn with the purpose of passing the exam only rather than learning to use Therefore, most students cannot apply the knowledge learned and also have difficulty in learning English; whereas, the most difficult part students are facing is reading comprehension There are many reasons, such as lack of vocabulary, being unfocused reading, being distracted by other thoughts or unattractive content that make the reading process unable go smoothly Thereby, reading comprehension ability of most English learners is very limited For the above reasons, this thesis studies about the subject "Applying Task-based language teaching (TBLT) method for improving reading comprehension skill of junior-high students at UKA Ba Ria School" and is aimed at improving students' reading comprehension of junior students at UKA Ba Ria School with the use of Task-based language teaching method to provide the most effective teaching and learning strategy for teachers and students 1.2 Statement of the Problem Listening, speaking, reading, writing, and translating are the main skills of the language, in which reading is a mental process to extract information from source texts and form new information There is no magic Page trick that can help poorly literate children become super readers and quickly grasp the meaning of texts themselves With patience, practice, and a few rules of thumb, however, every student can learn to read short and longer texts consciously and to understand the respective content It is important to recognize where a student's difficulties in understanding the text lie Disinterest, difficulty concentrating, or real inability can be the causes However, the world of writing is not easily accessible to all students That can change with a few simple reading aids In order to read faster and better, for example, a reading arrow or a reading ruler will help the student, not on the line to slip and see only the section of the text to be read It will be less distracted The reading arrow covers the lower lines, the reading window also covers the following words If a student keeps losing the line, he or she can try a colored foil that is simply placed over the text Some students benefit from the other color contrast, and they manage better to stick to the text Teachers can also help students to read by always reading quietly and only taking over difficult words This paired reading only intervenes in those places where a student gets stuck If one compares the two written language components of reading and writing with one another, students can easily imagine that reading is more of a passive-receptive activity, whereas writing is an active-productive activity In contrast to this intuitive everyday conception, however, cognitive psychology and experimental reading research assume that reading (or language reception in general) represents a highly active process of dealing with the respective content (Klicpera and Gasteiger-Klicpera, 1995; Artelt, Stanat, Schneider and Schiefele, 2001; Yeager et al, 2016) The task and at the same time the aim of the reader is usually to decode the information that was encoded by the writer in a text, i.e to decipher it (Christmann and Groeben, 1999) This process of reconstruction does not only consist in deciphering the meaning of the individual words, but also in a meaningful Page connection between the word meanings and the surrounding information the other words, sentences, and parts of the text Regardless of the different meanings assigned to the individual components in the various models, there is, however, a relatively high consensus as to which essential processes take actually place when reading At a lower level in the hierarchy, all those aspects can be subsumed that have to with deciphering the words and the syntax The information extracted from comprehensive reading is interpreted on the basis on individual prior knowledge - possibly with the help of strategic behavior - and may lead to conclusions that go far beyond the actual text (Cromley & Azevedo, 2007) In high school education, reading is considered one of the foundational concerns in English teaching and learning Thus, teachers should find effective teaching methods to enhance students’ reading to raise their interests and language competency in learning English So far, many researchers have provided various methods to help students to easily study and memorize vocabulary Of them, TBLT is regarded one of the most useful methods in teaching and learning vocabulary This is the reason why comprehensive reading is a challenge for most students For many students at UKA Ba Ria School, reading is the most important of the four language learning skills and is seen as an essential element of lifelong learning Students today need not only to acquire knowledge and theories from English reading materials, but also to read many books or magazines in English to absorb new knowledge and information Improving reading ability in English is essential for students to develop other language skills as well as acquire necessary professional knowledge Especially with students at UKA Ba Ria School, there are many factors that impact students' English reading comprehension ability such as type of text, school and social environment, students' intelligence, learning Page motivation, or teaching methods, and one of the important factors is the use of reading comprehension strategies by students To solve the problems mentioned above, this paper will study the effectiveness of applying Task-based language teaching on reading comprehension skill of junior students at UKA Ba Ria School to then find out best way for teachers to teach reading and for students to learn to read effectively 1.3 Purpose of the Study The main goal of the study is to investigate the impacts of Task-based language teaching methodology for improving reading comprehension skill of junior-high students at UKA Ba Ria School 1.4 Research Questions The present study answers the following questions: • Research question 1: Does applying TBLT in reading classes have any significant effect on junior-high students’ performance at UKA Ba Ria School? • Research question 2: What are students’ attitude toward the TBLT method in English class and reading comprehension skills learning? 1.5 Significance of the study It is undeniable that TBLT is beneficial for learners because it helps learners to acquire better knowledge, making learning more fun but it is not used much in schools in Ba Ria in general or in UKA Ba Ria School in particular The researcher expects that the study results will prove the utility of TBLT in enhancing reading skills of secondary school students in general and students in UKA Ba Ria School in particular Teachers change their teaching methods from being proactive in the classroom and forcing students to passively listen to students taking the initiative in the classroom Thanks Page Appendix 5: Controlled group Controlled group Students Pre-test Post-Test 10 9.5 9.5 9 9 9 8.5 7.5 8 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 10 7.5 11 7.5 12 7 13 7.5 7.5 14 7.5 7.5 15 7.5 16 7.5 7.5 Page 16 17 7.5 18 7 19 7.5 20 7 21 6.5 6.5 22 6.5 6.5 23 6.5 6.5 24 5 25 5 MEAN 7.4 7.5 Page 17 Appendix 6: Experimental group Experimental group Students Pre-test Post-Test 9.5 10 9.5 9.5 9.5 9 9 8.5 7.5 8.5 7.5 8.5 7.5 8.5 10 11 8.5 12 13 7.5 14 7.5 7.5 15 7.5 16 7.5 Page 18 17 7.5 18 7.5 19 7.5 20 7.5 21 6.5 7.5 22 6.5 23 6.5 7.5 24 5.5 25 5.5 7.5 MEAN 7.4 8.1 Page 19 Appendix 7: Questionnaires Affect learning and reading competence Totally disagreed Disagree No idea Agree Totally agree Mean 1 14 16 18 4.04 20 15 12 3.71 17 15 15 3.83 16 14 12 3.54 13 17 16 3.89 Have you got attracted to learn English reading by task-based language teaching method? With doing tasks in learning English, it can help you reading easily Doing tasks in English class help you improve your reading comprehension competence You feel creative to use new linguistic knowledge when doing tasks in English class Doing tasks in English class creates interactive environment for you to Page 20 learn and use new reading skills Doing tasks in English class help you change your sleeping vocabulary structures and into 14 16 18 3.99 4 16 14 12 3.51 active ones Doing tasks in English class is a good way to help you learn new vocabulary linguistic and knowledge quickly Feeling about doing tasks in English class on reading learning You feel easier in doing reading tasks compared to normal reading 19 14 14 3.79 16 13 14 3.63 comprehension exercise You feel comfortable in learning vocabulary, new English structures by tasks in English class Page 21 You love to learn new 10 reading skills, more English structures by 12 18 16 3.93 15 16 17 3.97 15 16 17 3.96 tasks in English class You feel more confident to detect the meaning of 11 word/sentences while reading by doing tasks in English class You get more energy to 12 learn English with tasks in the class Page 22 REFERENCES Salah, M et al., 2019 The Effectiveness of Task-Based Instruction on the Reading Comprehension Ability of EFL Students at the University of Tabuk Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics, 54(1), p 4-8 Ansari, K., & Shahrokhi, M (2014) Iranian teachers' conceptions of task-based language teaching: A case study of 40 English teachers in Gacsaran International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World, 7(3), 122-137 Artelt, C., Stanat, P., Schneider, W., & Schiefele, U (2001) Reading skills: test design and results In PISA 2000 (p 69-137) VS publishing house for social sciences Baliuk, N., Buda, F., Rösler, D., & Würffel, N (1981) Introductory text: Communicative approach Bartlett, F C (1932) Remembering Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Bausch, K.-R., Burwitz-Melzer, E., Königs, F G., & Krumm, H.-J (Hg.) 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"Applying Task- based language teaching (TBLT) method for improving reading comprehension skill of junior- high students at UKA Ba Ria School? ?? and conducted at the UKA Ba Ria School Juniorhigh students. ..? ?Applying Task- Based Language Teaching (TBLT) Method for Improving Reading Comprehension Skill of Junior- High Students at UKA School in Ba Ria City? ?? ABSTRACT Reading is a skill that will... of the Study The main goal of the study is to investigate the impacts of Task- based language teaching methodology for improving reading comprehension skill of junior- high students at UKA Ba Ria