Efl high school teachers practice of teaching reading comprehension in relation to communicative aproach a case study in phu yen province

i MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY MẠNH THỊ THUỲ DIỄM EFL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PRACTICE OF TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN RELATION TO COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH: A CASE STUDY IN PHU YEN PROVINCE MASTER THESIS IN THEORY AND METODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING Binh Dinh, 2022 ii MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING QUY NHON UNIVERSITY MẠNH THỊ THUỲ DIỄM EFL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS’ PRACTICE OF TEACHING READING COMPREHENSION IN RELATION TO COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH: A CASE STUDY IN PHU YEN PROVINCE Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code : 8140111 Supervisor: HA THANH HAI, Ph.D iii BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC QUY NHƠN MẠNH THỊ THUỲ DIỄM THỰC TẾ DẠY ĐỌC HIỂU CỦA GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH PHỔ THÔNG TRONG MỐI TƯƠNG QUAN ĐƯỜNG HƯỚNG GIAO TIẾP: MỘT TRƯỜNG HỢP NGHIÊN CỨU Ở TỈNH PHÚ YÊN Chuyên ngành: Lý luận phương pháp dạy học môn tiếng Anh Mã số : 8140111 Người hướng dẫn: TS HÀ THANH HẢI i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that the Master thesis entitled “EFL high school teachers’ practice of teaching Reading Comprehension in Phu Yen province in relation to Communicative approaches” is entirely the result of my own research, except where otherwise referenced or acknowledged This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or diploma at any other institutions Binh Dinh, 2022 Mạnh Thị Thuỳ Diễm ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ph Ha Thanh Hai for his patience, encouragement, valuable guidance and beneficial criticism throughout my research Without his great support, this thesis would not have been accomplished in time I am extremely grateful to all my lecturers who provided us with essential knowledge for this thesis Special thanks goes to my classmates who gave me their help during the time I conducted the study I would like to thank my school-board, my colleagues who spent their golden time encouraging me to this thesis Last but not least, I would like to express my special thanks to my family, especially my parents who gave me unconditioned love and support, which is very significant for me to fulfill this work iii ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate EFL high school teachers’ practice of teaching Reading Comprehension in Phu Yen province in relation to Communicative approach in order to help teachers have a better insight in teaching reading comprehension skill The qualitative and quantitative methods are applied to seek descriptive information of EFL high school teachers’ practice of teaching reading comprehension and produce numerical data Eighteen classroom observations of classes taught by nine teachers aim at identifying EFL high school teachers’ practice of teaching reading comprehension The results reveal that the traditional methods are used in teaching reading comprehension by most of the teachers In terms of the Communicative approach, a small number of the teachers use this method Therefore, the traditional methods are used more frequently by most of the teachers in the classroom than the Communicative approach Regarding the use of the strategies and disparities between the practice of teaching reading comprehension and the Communicative approach-based theory of teaching reading comprehension, the findings show that most of the teachers at Phu Yen seem to be strongly influenced by the grammar- translation methods which only concentrate on the ability of using grammar rules precisely Moreover, the biggest difference between the grammar-translation methods and the Communicative approach is the strategies that are used by the teachers at three stages, namely pre- reading, while- reading and postreading It is hoped that the results of this study will provide useful knowledge and contribute to the teaching and learning in reading comprehension skill, especially for those who want to improve this skill iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES vii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aim and objectives 1.2.1 Aim of the study 1.2.2 Objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Scope of the study 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Organization of the study CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Definition of Reading 2.1.2 Definition of Reading Comprehension 2.1.3 The Communicative approach 2.1.4 Procedures of teaching a reading lesson 20 2.1.5 The common teaching techniques used at three stages 21 2.2 Previous studies related to the study 26 2.3 Summary 30 v CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES 32 3.1 Research design 32 3.2 Research methods 32 3.3.1 Classroom observation 33 3.3.2 Interview 34 3.4 Participants 34 3.5 Research procedures 36 3.6 Data analysis 36 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 38 4.1 Findings 38 4.1.1 Findings from classroom observations 38 4.1.2 Findings from interview 44 4.1.3 Disparities between the practice of teaching reading and the Communicative approach 52 4.2 Discussion 54 CHAPTER CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 58 5.1 Conclusions 58 5.2 Implications 59 5.3 Limitations 59 5.4 Suggestions for further research 60 REFERENCES 61 APPENDIXES vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CLT: Communicative Language Teaching EFL: English Foreign Language CA: Communicative approach T: Teacher vii LIST OF TABLES Number Tables Page 3.1 The information about the participants 35 3.2 Teachers’ experience 35 4.1 Techniques of the traditional method used at pre- 39 reading stage 4.2 Techniques of the Communicative approach used at 40 pre- reading stage 4.3 Techniques of the traditional method used at while- 41 reading stage 4.4 Techniques of the Communicative approach used at 42 while- reading stage 4.5 Techniques of the traditional method used at post- 43 reading stage 4.6 Techniques of the Communicative approach used at 44 post- reading stage 4.7 Interview results from teachers 44 AP.38 Stages/Time Whilereading (12minutes) Teacher’s Activities Students’ Activities Activity – Multiple Choice (Task 2, P -Ss read the 164) reading -T asks Ss to read the reading carefully carefully -T asks Ss to work individuallyto choose the best option among A, B, C or D -T gets Ss to share their ideas in pairs -T invites some Ss to write their answers on the board -T make comments and gives feedback -Ss write their Answer – C 2–D 3–C – B answers on 5–A the board (12 minutes) Activity – Identify the best title (Task – P 165) -T asks Ss to look over activities and 2, then choose the best title for the text -T asks Ss to compare the answers with others -T asks some Ss to write their title on the board -T checks the answers with the whole class and gives feedback answer – Women’s rights PostWriting -T asks Ss to work individually to write a reading short paragraph about the typical life of a (10 minutes) Vietnamese woman -T goes around the class to control and give help if necessary -T checks the writings with the whole class and gives feedback Suggested ideas  Getting up (time) -Ss scan the reading and identify the best title -Ss give the answer - Ss work individually to write a short paragraph AP.39 Students’ Activities Teacher’s Activities Stages/Time  Shopping  Prepare meals  Do housework (washing, washing up, tidying )  Look after children  Teaching children  Taking children to school  Leave for work  Read books or surf Internet to improve knowledge Homework -T asks Ss to learn the new words by heart, Ss take notes (3 minutes) read again the passage and prepare for new lesson SPEAKING Observation 15 Week Instructor: Teacher Observer: Manh Thi Thuy Diem Date: April 8th , 2022 Time: 45 minutes Classroom observed: 12D Unit 15: WOMEN IN SOCIETY -Reading School year: 2021-2022 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities -T presents and explains grammatical structures in the text Warm-up (5 minutes) Pre-reading Pre-teaching vocabulary Students’ Activities new - Ss listen carefully - Ss work AP.40 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities -T elicits/teaches some new words relating to the reading + deep – seated (a)  deep – seated (10 minutes) cultural beliefs + involve someone / something in (doing) something  involvement (n) + intellectual (a): connected with a person’s ability to think logically and to understand things + discriminate (v): to treat one person /group worse than others + Age of Enlightenment (n)(translation) Activity – Checking -T asks Ss to work individually to the Task 1, P 163 for further understanding of the new vocabulary -T asks Ss to give their answers in front of the class -T gives feedback and makes comments Whilereading (12minutes) Students’ Activities individually and write down some new words - Ss practise reading the new words - Ss work individually to the Task -Ss give the answer - Ss make remark Activity – Multiple Choice (Task 2, -Ss read the P 164) reading carefully -T asks Ss to read the reading carefully -T asks Ss to work individuallyto choose the best option among A, B, C or D -T invites some Ss to write their answers on the board -T make comments and gives feedback -Ss write their Answer – C 2–D 3–C – answers on the B 5–A board (12 minutes) Activity – Identify the best title -Ss scan the (Task – P 165) reading and AP.41 Teacher’s Activities Stages/Time -T asks Ss to look over activities and 2, then choose the best title for the text -T asks Ss to compare the answers with others -T asks some Ss to write their title on the board -T checks the answers with the whole class and gives feedback answer – Women’s rights Students’ Activities identify the best title -Ss give the answer - Ss write a short -T asks Ss to write individually a short paragraph at paragraph about the typical life of a home (2 minutes) Vietnamese woman However, T doesn’t have enough time to write the paragraph Homework -T asks Ss to learn the new words by Ss take notes (3 minutes) heart, read again the passage and Postreading prepare for new lesson SPEAKING Observation 16 Week Instructor: Teacher Observer: Manh Thi Thuy Diem Date: April 22nd, 2022 Time: 45 minutes Classroom observed: 12A2 Unit 16: THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIANS NATIONSReading AP.42 School year: 2021-2022 Stages/Time Warm-up (7 minutes) Teacher’s Activities -T presents and explains new grammatical -Ss listen to T structures in the text Pre-reading Pre-teaching vocabulary -T elicits/teaches some new words relating to the reading + accelerate (v) (10 minutes) + diverse (adj): very different from each other + integrate (v): to join in and become part of a group + justice (n): the fair treatment of people + enterprise (n) +Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Activity – Gap filling -T asks Ss to work individually to the Task 1, P 174 for further understanding of the new vocabulary -T asks Ss to give their answers in front of the class -T gives feedback and makes comments answers justice GDP diverse integration Whilereading (12minutes) Students’ Activities accelerate - Ss write down -Ss work individually to the Task -Ss give their answers enterprises Activity – True or False (Task 2, P 174) -T asks Ss to read the reading carefully -T asks Ss to translate the text into Vietnamese and work individually to decide whether the statements are true or false -T gets Ss to share their ideas in pairs - Ss read the reading carefully - Ss work individually AP.43 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities Students’ Activities -T invites some Ss to write their answers on the board - Ss write -T make comments and gives feedback their answers Expected answers on the board 1–T 2–F 3–F 4–T 5–F 6-F (12 minutes) Activity – Questions and Answers (Task – P 175) -T asks Ss to work in pairs again to ask and answer the questions in Task -T asks Ss to compare the answers with others -T asks some Ss to write their title on the board -T checks the answers with the whole class and gives feedback answers The five original member countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand founded ASEAN The two main goals of the Association are to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development; and to promote peace and stability through respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region It was about US$ 1405 billion It was adopted in 1998 It includes trade, investment, industry, service, finance, agriculture, rural development, forestry, energy, - Ss work in pairs -Ss write their title on the board AP.44 Teacher’s Activities Stages/Time Postreading (2 minutes) Students’ Activities transportation and communication, science and technology, small and medium enterprises, and tourism -T doesn’t have enough time to the task in this stage and instructs Ss to answer the answer at home Homework -T asks Ss to discuss the questions (2 minutes) If you were a Vietnamese leader, what would you expect ASEAN for your country? -T asks Ss to learn the new words by heart, read again the passage and prepare for new lesson listening - Ss learn the new words and prepare for new lesson Observation 17 Week Instructor: Teacher Observer: Manh Thi Thuy Diem Date: April 23rd , 2022 Time: 45 minutes Classroom observed: 12A4 Unit 16: THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIANS NATIONSReading School year: 2021-2022 AP.45 Stages/Time Warm-up (7 minutes) Teacher’s Activities -T presents and explains new grammatical -Ss listen to T structures in the text Pre-reading Pre-teaching vocabulary -T elicits/teaches some new words relating to the reading + accelerate (v) (10 minutes) + diverse (adj): very different from each other + integrate (v): to join in and become part of a group + justice (n): the fair treatment of people + enterprise (n) +Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Activity – Gap filling -T asks Ss to work individually to the Task 1, P 174 for further understanding of the new vocabulary -T asks Ss to give their answers in front of the class -T gives feedback and makes comments answers justice GDP diverse integration Whilereading (12minutes) Students’ Activities accelerate - Ss write down -Ss work individually to the Task -Ss give their answers enterprises Activity – True or False (Task 2, P 174) -T asks Ss to read the reading carefully -T asks Ss to translate the text into Vietnamese and work individually to decide whether the statements are true or false - Ss read the reading carefully - Ss work individually AP.46 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities Students’ Activities -T gets Ss to share their ideas in pairs - Ss write their -T invites some Ss to write their answers answers on the on the board board -T make comments and gives feedback Expected answers 1–T 2–F 3–F 4–T 5–F 6-F (12 minutes) Activity – Questions and Answers (Task – P 175) -T asks Ss to work in pairs again to ask and answer the questions in Task -T asks Ss to compare the answers with others -T asks some Ss to write their title on the board -T checks the answers with the whole class and gives feedback answers The five original member countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand founded ASEAN The two main goals of the Association are to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development; and to promote peace and stability through respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region It was about US$ 1405 billion It was adopted in 1998 It includes trade, investment, industry, service, finance, agriculture, rural - Ss work in pairs -Ss write their title on the board AP.47 Teacher’s Activities Stages/Time Postreading Students’ Activities development, forestry, energy, transportation and communication, science and technology, small and medium enterprises, and tourism -T doesn’t have enough time to the task in this stage and instructs Ss to answer the answer at home (2 minutes) Observation 18 Week 10 Instructor: Teacher Observer: Manh Thi Thuy Diem Date: April 23rd , 2022 Time: 45 minutes Classroom observed: 12A3 Unit 16: THE ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIANS NATIONSReading School year: 2021-2022 Stages/Time Warm-up (7 minutes) Teacher’s Activities Students’ Activities -T presents and explains new grammatical -Ss listen to T structures in the text Pre-reading Pre-teaching vocabulary -T elicits/teaches some new words relating - Ss write down to the reading + accelerate (v) AP.48 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities (10 minutes) + diverse (adj): very different from each other + integrate (v): to join in and become part of a group + justice (n): the fair treatment of people + enterprise (n) +Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Activity – Gap filling -T asks Ss to work individually to the Task 1, P 174 for further understanding of the new vocabulary -T asks Ss to give their answers in front of the class -T gives feedback and makes comments answers justice GDP diverse integration Whilereading (12minutes) accelerate Students’ Activities -Ss work individually to the Task -Ss give their answers enterprises Activity – True or False (Task 2, P 174) -T asks Ss to read the reading carefully -T asks Ss to translate the text into Vietnamese and work individually to decide whether the statements are true or false -T gets Ss to share their ideas in pairs -T invites some Ss to write their answers on the board -T make comments and gives feedback Expected answers 1–T 2–F 3–F 4–T 5–F 6-F - Ss read the reading carefully - Ss work individually - Ss write their answers on the board AP.49 Stages/Time Teacher’s Activities (12 minutes) Activity – Questions and Answers (Task – P 175) -T asks Ss to work in pairs again to ask and answer the questions in Task -T asks Ss to compare the answers with others -T asks some Ss to write their title on the board -T checks the answers with the whole class and gives feedback answers The five original member countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand founded ASEAN The two main goals of the Association are to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development; and to promote peace and stability through respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries in the region It was about US$ 1405 billion It was adopted in 1998 It includes trade, investment, industry, service, finance, agriculture, rural development, forestry, energy, transportation and communication, science and technology, small and medium enterprises, and tourism -T doesn’t have enough time to the task Postin this stage and instructs Ss to answer the reading answer at home (2 minutes) Students’ Activities - Ss work in pairs -Ss write their title on the board AP.50 APPENDIX B- INTERVIEW QUESTIONS The following questions would be asked during the interview: Q Items Yes Do you often set specific learning aims? Do you skim the first paragraph for gist and then predict? Do students a quiz in pairs to find out what about the topic? What you present students related to the text during the pre-reading lesson? Do you find out keywords from the text? Do you encourage students to use keywords when discussing or answering questions? What kinds of learning activities you use in classroom at the while-reading stage? Do you use cooperative learning in your classroom? Do you ask students to find synonyms? 10 Do you ask students to read aloud in small groups? 11 Do you provide students with feedback regularly? 12 Do you discuss difficult vocabulary after reading the text? 13 Do you focus on fluency when students present? 14 Do students practice the interview activities and No Other answer AP.51 Q Items Yes orally represent from the text they have read? 15 Do you focus on sub-skills such as skimming, scanning, predicting, and guessing from context to help students develop their skills? 16 Do you explain the text structure while monitoring students? 17 Do you emphasize on the content form? 18 Do you intervene to correct students’ mistakes? 19 Do you provide an explicit explanation of the required reading comprehension skills? 20 Do you use Crossword Puzzle and Lucky Number activities? 21 Do you use a 'follow-up' speaking task related to the topic? 22 Do students often summarize the texts? 23 Do you encourage students to explain their opinions towards the reading topic and their critical judgments? 24 Do you link the topics of the reading text outside of the classroom? This is the end of the interview Thank you very much for your cooperation! No Other answer AP.52 Table: 3.1 The demographic information about the participants No Name Educational (pseudonym) Qualifications Teacher 1 Sex Age Teaching Experience Bachelor Degree in English Female 27 Female 30 Male 32 10 Male 37 15 Female 40 18 Male 42 20 Female 52 30 Female 55 33 Male 55 33 Masters in English Teacher 2 Bachelor Degree in English Masters in English Teacher 3 Bachelor Degree in English Masters in English Teacher Bachelor Degree in English Teacher Bachelor Degree in English Teacher Bachelor Degree in English Teacher 7 Bachelor Degree in English Masters in English Teacher Bachelor Degree in English Teacher Bachelor Degree in English