VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ NGA STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER[.]
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ NGA STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION – AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE Nhận thức tính tự chủ thực tế thực sinh viên học tập kỹ đọc hiểu tiếng Anh – Nghiên cứu trường đại học dân lập tỉnh Bắc Ninh M.A MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ NGA STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES OF LEARNER AUTONOMY IN LEARNING ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION – AN EXPLORATORY STUDY AT A PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN BAC NINH PROVINCE Nhận thức tính tự chủ thực tế thực sinh viên học tập kỹ đọc hiểu tiếng Anh – Nghiên cứu trường đại học dân lập tỉnh Bắc Ninh M.A MAJOR PROGRAMME THESIS Major: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Dương Thi Nu ̣ ̣ HANOI – 2017 DECLARATION I, the candidate, hereby certify that the thesis submitted for the Master of Art degree at the University of Languages and International Studies is a presentation of my own research and has not been previously submitted at any other universities for any degrees Wherever contributions of other researches are involved, every effort is made to indicate this clearly, with due reference to the literature, and acknowledgement of collaborative research and discussion The work was done under the guidance of Doctor Duong Thi Nu, at University of Languages and International Studies Hanoi, 2017 Nguyễn Thi Nga ̣ i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to those who have contributed to the completion of this dissertation First of all, I would like to send special thanks to my supervisor, Dr Duong Thi Nu, for the guidance and support that I have received from her in this research I am also deeply grateful for the support of the University, of which I was a member of the teaching staff, and the enthusiastic participation of its students and teachers in this research project This study would not have been possible without the valuable data they provided Last but not least, I owe my family wholehearted thanks for the everlasting support and encouragement I received I might not have gone that far on my academic path without them ii ABSTRACT Learner autonomy has been considered as a desirable goal of learning and teaching practice, especially in the field of language learning for it benefits learners in numerous ways and enhances learners‟ chance for success in learning a language In Vietnam, a considerable amount of research projects has been devoted to investigate different aspects of learner autonomy; however, few of them involve the learner‟s perceptions of the concept This study, therefore, is an attempt to explore the extent to which the students in a provincial private university understand the concept of learner autonomy and the extent to which their beliefs about the construct are manifested in their learning of English reading comprehension With the nature of an exploratory research, the current study employed questionnaire survey, learners‟ learning diaries, and focus group as the main data collection methods The findings from the study has revealed that the major perception of learner autonomy in this context relates to „taking the initiative‟ in learning, especially in self-study and the students are highly dependent on their teachers in learning English reading comprehension In addition, there is an alignment between the students‟ understanding of the concept and the realization of learner autonomy in their actual practice of English reading comprehension with few autonomous activities performed iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF FIGURES ix PART A - INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study Objectives and significance of the study .2 Scope and subjects of the study Research methods Structure of the report PART B – DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I - LITERATURE REVIEW .5 1.1 Reading and Reading comprehension 1.1.1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension 1.1.2 Models of reading comprehension .7 1.1.3 Reading comprehension strategies .8 1.1.4 Studies on improving reading comprehension in EFL contexts 1.2 Learner Autonomy 10 1.2.1 Definitions of Learner Autonomy 10 1.2.2 Types and Levels of autonomy 13 iv 1.2.3 Characteristics of autonomous learners 15 1.2.4 Fostering LA in EFL/ESL contexts 17 1.2.5 Obstacles to fostering LA in EFL contexts in Vietnam 22 1.3 Learner Autonomy and Reading Comprehension 23 CHAPTER II - METHODOLOGY .25 2.1 Research Objectives and Research Questions 25 2.2 Research Design .25 2.2.1 Exploratory study using mixed methods 25 2.2.2 Rationale for using mixed methods research in the study 33 2.2.3 Data collection methods 34 2.3 Description of the context .38 2.4 Participants 39 2.4.1 Students 39 2.4.2 Teachers 39 2.5 Procedures .40 2.6 Data analysis 40 CHAPTER III - DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDING DISCUSSION 42 3.1 Quantitative data .42 3.1.1 Data management and coding 42 3.1.2 Quantitative data analysis 44 3.2 Qualitative data .52 3.2.1 Data management and coding 52 3.2.2 Qualitative data analysis 54 3.3 Discussion of the findings 67 v PART C - CONCLUSION 71 Summary of the study 71 1.1 Research questions 71 1.2 Research Methods .71 1.3 Conclusions 71 Significance of the study 72 Limitations of the study .73 Implications for fostering LA 73 Suggestions for further research projects 74 REFERENCES 75 APPENDIXES I APPENDIX A - PPLAQ I APPENDIX B - SPLAQ IX APPENDIX C XIII APPENDIX D XV APPENDIX E XVI vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LA: Learner Autonomy ERC: English Reading Comprehension ESL: English as a Second Language EFL: English as a Foreign Language PPLAQ: Perceptions and Practice of Learner Autonomy Questionnaire SPLAQ: Students‟ Practice of Learner Autonomy Questionnaire vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Coding table for the questionnaire 42 Table 2: Student‟s perceptions of LA .44 Table 3: Responsibilities of teachers and students for ERC learning and teaching issues 48 Table 4: Students‟ practice of LA in English reading comprehension .50 Table 5: Emerging themes from qualitative data 54 viii ... reviewing what have been learned about reading and reading comprehension Discussing reading and reading comprehension, Alderson and Bachman (2000) mark a contrast between the process of reading and. .. 3.1 Quantitative data .42 3.1.1 Data management and coding 42 3.1.2 Quantitative data analysis 44 3.2 Qualitative data .52 3.2.1 Data management and coding... (2008), a mixed methods design is capable of providing an in- depth understanding of research problems by combining quantitative and qualitative data, and explaining the quantitative results in more