Nghiên cứu việc điều chỉnh các bài tập tronng sách tiếng anh 12 để dạy đọc hiểu gao tiếp hơn tại các trường thpt tỉnh quảng trị

TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages Sub cover page Statement of Authorship i Acknowledgements ii List of Abbreviations and Symbols iii List of Tables iv List of Charts v List of Figure v List of Appendices vi Table of Contents Abstract .4 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Research 1.2 Purposes of the Research .7 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Research 1.5 Significance of the Research 1.6 Overall organization of the research CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Overview 2.2 Prior Studies Related to the Research 2.3 Theoretical Background .11 2.3.1 The Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) 11 2.3.1.1 Definitions of CLT .11 2.3.1.2 Some Features of Communicative Language Teaching 12 2.3.1.3 Principles of CLT 13 2.3.1.4 Roles of Teachers and Learners in CLT 14 2.3.2 Communicative Activities .15 2.3.2.1 Definitions of Communicative Activities 15 2.3.2.2 Characteristics of Communicative Activities 16 2.3.2.3 Types of Communicative Activities in EFL Classrooms 17 2.3.3 The Nature of Teaching Reading in EFL 21 2.3.3.1 Definitions of Reading 21 2.3.3.2 Kinds of Reading 22 2.3.3.3 Principles for Teaching Reading 22 2.3.3.4 Teaching Reading in a Communicative Way 23 2.3.4 Textbooks and the Role of Textbooks in a Language Program 24 2.3.4.1 What is a Textbook? 24 2.3.4.2 The Role of Textbook in a Language Program 25 2.3.5 Textbook Adaptation .26 2.3.5.1 What is Textbook Adaptation? 26 2.3.5.2 Why Adapt a Textbook? 27 2.3.5.3 Techniques of Adaptation 29 2.3.5.4 Framework for Adaptation 32 2.4 Summary 33 CHAPTER RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Overview 34 3.2 Research Subjects .34 3.3 Research Methods 36 3.4 Instruments of Data Collection 36 3.4.1 Questionnaires 36 3.4.2 Classroom Observation 37 3.4.3 Interviews 37 3.5 Procedures of Collecting Data 38 3.6 Data Analysis .38 3.7 Summary 38 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39 4.1 Overview 39 4.2 Findings and Discussion 39 4.2.1 Teachers' Difficulties in Teaching Reading Communicatively with Tieng Anh 12 39 4.2.1.1 Teachers' Opinions on the Reading Texts and Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 .39 4.2.1.2 Teachers' Opinions on the Teaching Time to Reading Activities 42 4.2.1.3 Problems in EFL Classrooms Constraining Teachers from Teaching Reading Communicatively 43 4.2.1.4 Teachers' Perception on Using Communicative Activities to Promote .46 Communication in Reading Lessons 46 4.2.2 Students' Difficulties in Learning Reading Communicatively with Tieng Anh 12 47 4.2.2.1 Students' General Perception on the Reading Texts and Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 47 4.2.2.2 Students' View on the Time to Finish Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 49 4.2.2.3 Problems Students Face in Reading Lessons .51 4.2.2.4 Students' Frequency of Speaking English in Reading Class 53 4.2.3 Teachers' Perception on the Necessity of Adapting Tieng Anh 12 for Teaching Reading More Communicatively 55 4.2.4 Teachers' Adaptation of Tieng Anh 12 for Teaching Reading More Communicatively 58 4.2.4.1 Frequency of Adapting the Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 58 4.2.4.2 Ways of Adapting the Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 60 4.2.5 Teachers' Difficulties in Adapting Tieng Anh 12 for Teaching Reading More Communicatively 65 4.3 Results from Pilot Teaching of Adapted Reading Lesson Plan 67 4.4 Summary 68 CHAPTER CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATION 70 5.1 Conclusion 70 5.2 Implications 72 5.2.1 For Teachers 72 5.2.2 For Educational Authorities 74 5.3 Limitation 76 5.4 Suggested Further Research .77 REFERENCES 78 APPENDICES ABSTRACT This research studies the adaptation of "Tieng Anh 12" for teaching reading more communicatively at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri Province The research addresses issues of EFL teachers and students' opinions on the difficulties in teaching and learning reading communicatively with "Tieng Anh 12" and teachers' perception on what part of the textbook needs adapting The paper also finds out how EFL teachers adapted reading tasks of "Tieng Anh 12" and problems faced by teachers during adapting process In this research, both qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to collect data of real teaching context, teachers' attitudes towards adapting "Tieng Anh 12" and the practicality of teachers' adaptation The data in this research were collected from 20 EFL teachers and 200 students at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri Province via the research instruments such as questionnaires, interviews and class observations The findings of the research indicates that a majority of EFL teachers and students encountered many difficulties from "Tieng Anh 12" such as long reading tasks and texts, unsuitable and less communicative tasks, difficult tasks and reading passages to students and so on Besides, the finding results reveal that teachers' perception on adapting “Tieng Anh 12” was positive Many problems faced by teachers during their adaptation were also talked about in this project Such troubles as lack of facilities, limitation of materials, lack of time for preparation and financial problems directly affected teachers' adaptation The research also conducts a pilot teaching and gets a feasible result Hence, together with the research results, the implications contributed to the improvement of teaching and learning reading with "Tieng Anh 12" have already been reflected in the conclusion of this research CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH Together with the present trend of globalization, the government of Vietnam has been implementing the “open-door policy” to integrate into the world community in many fields such as economics, politics, commerce, education and so on By the same token, many great changes in the educational system of Vietnam have brought about a lot of chances for Vietnamese people to learn English to meet the urgent demands required by their work This practice requires the English teaching staff of Vietnam to apply Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) approach to promoting language communication for learners In the article about “Imported” Communicative Language Teaching: Implications for Local Teachers, Doctor Pham Hoa Hiep [37:3] writes: “In Vietnam, for example, teachers of English recognize that traditional pedagogy, emphasizing the acquisition of grammar and vocabulary rather than communicative competence, does not meet the requirements of English learning in an era of integration and globalization.” Being aware of the important role of CLT in enhancing communicative competence for English learners, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) of Vietnam has compiled various types of textbooks with the communicative approach aiming at helping students to develop their speaking skill Since 2000, the MOET has co-operated with Vietnam’s English Teacher and Trainer Network (VTTN) program sponsored by British Council to help Vietnamese Teachers of English (VTOE) apply CLT to creating more communicative activities in classes The VTTN has held many seminars and workshops to attract VTOE from different provinces with the aim at applying communicative activities to classes and changing teachers' attitudes towards teaching methodologies That is, it needs to shift the traditional methodology to communicative approach in teaching all skills such as listening, speaking, reading, writing and so on However, this is still a great challenge for many VTOE Currently, the MOET has issued the English textbooks for general education in which the exercises are primarily task-based Besides communicative tasks, some tasks are not very communicative Others are very difficult for students to interact or communicate well during their learning Therefore, it is necessary for VTOE to adapt the current English textbooks to promote communication As Cunningsworth [11] said, even the "best" coursebook requires adaptation Practically, the purpose of the current English textbooks of MOET is to train students with such skills as reading, listening, speaking and writing Amongst them, reading is, initially, an important skill that lays the basic foundation for other skills Thus, it requires VTOE to equip students with the communicative competence right from reading lessons To reach this aim, reading lessons should be adapted to give students more chance to interact and communicate with each other As a VTOE at Gio Linh upper secondary school in Quang Tri province, the researcher has witnessed that students encountered a lot of difficulties in learning reading with the current English textbooks and they could not communicate well in reading classes The majority of my grade 12 students had few chances to interact or communicate with each other in reading lessons and sometimes they talked in Vietnamese or worse, they did not talk at all (M P Tran, personal communication, September 20th, 2009) This makes the author wonder if teaching reading is actually difficult Why cannot students have a good competence of communication in English? Are the tasks in the current English textbooks difficult to them in learning reading communicatively? What should VTOE adapt for promoting communication in reading lessons? Personally, adapting these textbooks might be one of the solutions to these problems Regarding what mentioned above as the matters of prime concern, the researcher has decided upon the implementation of the research entitled “A Study on Adaptation of "TIENG ANH 12" for Teaching Reading More Communicatively at Upper Secondary Schools in Quang Tri Province” With this study it is hoped to find out how high school teachers of English in Quang Tri have adapted the current English textbook for teaching reading and whether their adaptation is effective or not Also, some appropriate solutions and suggestions for VTOE at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri province to adapt the textbook "TIENG ANH 12" for teaching reading more communicatively are expected to be drawn out from this research 1.2 PURPOSES OF THE RESEARCH From the aforesaid reasons, the specific aims of the research are as follows:  To find out difficulties that teachers and students meet in teaching reading communicatively with the current English textbook "TIENG ANH 12"  To find out what need to be adapted in terms of promoting communication in reading lessons  To discover how teachers have adapted "TIENG ANH 12" for promoting communication in reading classes  To discover the difficulties that teachers have encountered in adapting the current English textbook "TIENG ANH 12" for teaching reading more communicatively  To draw out some possible solutions and suggestions to overcome the difficulties and improve teaching and learning reading communicatively with "TIENG ANH 12" 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS In order to serve the above-mentioned aims, this research tries to seek the answers to the following questions: 1) What are the difficulties teachers and students meet in teaching and learning reading communicatively with the current textbook “TIENG ANH 12”? 2) What need adapting in terms of teaching reading more communicatively in the currently used English textbook “TIENG ANH 12”? 3) How teachers of English at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri adapt “TIENG ANH 12” for teaching reading more communicatively? 4) What are the difficulties teachers of English at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri encountered in adapting “TIENG ANH 12” for teaching reading more communicatively? 1.4 SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH This research focuses on investigating teachers' adaptation of Tieng Anh 12 for teaching reading more communicatively at four upper secondary schools in Quang Tri: Dong Ha, Quang Tri, Gio Linh, and Cua Tung Due to the limitation of time and constraint of the research, this research is only limited to 20 teachers of English chosen at random and 200 students of grade 12 at schools mentioned earlier 1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH The result of this research will bring about some possible solutions, meaningful suggestions and pedagogical implications which are very beneficial for teachers to overcome difficulties mentioned previously and improve English language communication for grade 12 students through reading lessons Furthermore, after having conducted this research, I myself can develop knowledge, skills and experiences for improving my teaching quality 1.6 OVERALL ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH The research consists of five chapters as follows: Chapter 1, the introduction, presents the background of the research including the rationale, the purposes of the research, the research questions, the scope of the study, the research significance and the overall organization of the research Chapter 2, the literature review, describes fundamental and theoretical concepts which are relevant to the study Chapter 3, the research methodology, addresses the subjects, methods to implement the study, research instruments to collect data such as questionnaires, class observation sheets and interviews The chapter also presents the data analysis and the procedures for conducting the research Chapter includes the findings and discussion about the results of the investigation Chapter briefly presents the conclusion of the study, pedagogical implications, limitations, and suggestions for further studies CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 OVERVIEW This chapter, first, addresses a brief summary of the prior studies related to textbook adaptation conducted by the educators and researchers both inside and outside Vietnam Some studies on the application of CLT and communicative activities for teaching reading communicatively with the English textbooks for general education are also mentioned Second, the theoretical background relating to the fields of the research such as the Communicative Language Teaching, communicative activities, the nature of teaching reading, textbook, the role of textbook and techniques for adapting a textbook are also mentioned or defined clearly basing on the viewpoints of various researchers around the world The chapter finally concludes by highlighting the necessity of conducting the research 2.2 PRIOR STUDIES RELATED TO THE RESEARCH So far, there have been many researches related to the fields of textbook adaptation and teaching reading skill Lee et al.[25] conducted the research on coursebook implementation in Hong Kong The result of the research has raised various difficulties faced by teachers in using Target-Oriented Curriculum English textbooks and it requires adaptation to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning Chunmei Yan [54] researched on English teaching materials of Chinese teachers The study implies a need of institutional support for teachers in material development and reveals some advantages and disadvantages of teaching materials O'Neill [36] pointed out that textbooks can provide the framework for classroom teaching and no textbooks can expect to appeal to all teachers and learners Richards [43] argued that teachers should approach textbooks with expectation that deletion, adaptation, and extension will be usually necessary for the materials to work effectively with their class Dvora et al [12:6-7] conducted a research on adapting English curriculum The research focused on discovering difficulties that challenge students with disabilities in the schools in the Arap and Druze sectors and suggesting ways of adapting the English curriculum to suit students' needs and abilities and implement it appropriately and effectively Lamie [23:3] implemented a research on adapting for making the textbook more communicative The scope of the reasearch was in junior and senior high schools in Japan In the research Lamie emphasized that textbook adaptation is essential to encourage communication and interaction between the teacher and the students and the students themselves Apart from the aforementioned researches, Wright [52:3] also researched on adapting materials for distance learning in Canada In the research he mentioned about adapting content, activities, resource materials, assessments and so on With this, teacher's adaptation could help facilitate learning and provide learning quality Researches on textbook adaptation and reading skill are also paid much attention to in Vietnam Laura et al [24:13] pointed out that our textbooks are full of reading texts These need not be dull and uncommunicative lessons By adapting tasks, we can make reading lessons a lot more interactive and communicative Phan Thi Thanh Huong [40] carried out a study on adapting the current ESP coursebook for computer science students at Vinh University The major findings in her research indicated some problems in the coursebook that must be adapted to fit the learners' needs and English levels Regarding to teaching reading skill, many researchers have also addressed in their researches Cai Ngoc Duy Anh [7] studied the reality of teaching reading at high schools In the research, he mentioned the communicative activities used in teaching reading skill to high school students Pham Thi Ha [38] pointed out some disadvantages of implementing communicative activities at high schools in Quang Binh Province and the requirement for designing communicative activities in reading classes In terms of CLT application, Nguyen Thi Lan Anh [30] studied the difficulties that teachers encountered in teaching grammar communicatively at Quang Binh Junior Teachers’ College The research focused on teaching grammar at Quang Binh Junior Teachers’ College only Nguyen Van Dinh [31] implemented 10 APPENDIX 10 PICTURES FOR WARMER AND LEAD-IN A teacher a singer An engineer a farmer A doctor a speaker / an MC P17 APPENDIX 11 PICTURES FOR PRESENTING VOCABULARY Dress neatly and formally interview Certificate P18 APPENDIX 12 UNIT OF TIENG ANH 12 USED FOR PILOT ADAPTATION P19 P20 P21 P22 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby warrant that this research is mine The data and findings discussed in this thesis are completely true, used with permission from associates, and have not been published elsewhere yet Hue, 2010 Hoang Xuan Quy i Above all, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Associate Professor Doctor Luu Quy Khuong, my supervisor, for his enthusiastic and careful guidance during the time I conducted this research His detailed reading of the thesis, devotion and kind encouragement have been precious and highly appreciated I am also grateful to all of my teachers at Hue College of Foreign Languages for their valuable teaching and advice Especially, I am grateful to Associate Professor Doctor Tran Van Phuoc for his first suggestion of implementing this research topic, Associate Professor Doctor Truong Vien for his ii enthusiasm and advice, and Doctor Pham Hoa Hiep for his precious ideas and advice via telephone communication Finally, I wish to express my sincere thanks to my colleagues and students at upper secondary schools in Quang Tri province for supporting me during the time I collected the data for this research ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS CA : Communicative Activities CLT : Communicative Language Teaching EFL : English as a Foreign Language MOET : Ministry of Education and Training VTOE : Vietnamese Teachers of English VTTN : Vietnam's English Teacher and Trainer Network N : Number of Informants UK : United Kingdom % : Per cent iii LIST OF TABLES Pages Table 3.1: Teacher's Background Information 34 Table 2: Students' Background Information 35 Table 4.1: Teachers' Opinions on the Reading Texts of Tieng Anh 12 39 Table 4.2: Teachers' Evaluations on the Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 .40 Table 4.3: Teachers' Evaluations on how Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 Motivate Students 41 Table 4.4: Teachers' Perception on Classroom Communicative Activities 46 Table 4.5: Students' General Perception on Reading Texts 48 Table 4.6: Students' Perception on Reading Tasks 49 Table 4.7: Students' General Problems in Reading Lessons .51 Table 4.8: Students' Difficult Reading Activities .52 Table 4.9: Reasons for Adapting Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 57 Table 4.10: Teachers' Frequency of Adapting the Reading Tasks 58 iv Table 4.11: Teachers' Ways of Adapting the Reading Tasks of Tieng Anh 12 60 Table 4.12: Students' Opinion on the Adapted Reading Lesson FromTieng Anh 12 68 v LIST OF CHARTS Pages Chart 4.1: Teachers' Opinions on the Time to Teach Reading Activities 42 Chart 4.2: Problems in EFL Classrooms Hindering Teachers' Teaching Process 43 Chart 4.3: Students' Opinion on In-class Time for Reading Tasks 50 Chart 4.4: Students' Frequency of Speaking English in Reading Class 53 Chart 4.5: Teachers' Perception on Which Parts of Tieng Anh 12 Need……………55 Chart 4.6: Teachers' Difficulties in Adapting Tieng Anh 12 65 LIST OF FIGURE Pages Figure 2.1: Framework for Adaptation 32 vi LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix 1: Questionnaire Appendix 2: Questionnaire Appendix 3: Vietnamese Version of Student Questionnaire Appendix 4: Questions for Teacher Interview Appendix 5: Questions for Student Interview Appendix 6: Vietnamese Version of Questions for Student Interview Appendix 7: Observation Sheet Appendix 8: Sample Adapted Lesson Plan Appendix 9: Questions for Interviewing Piloted Students Appendix 10: Pictures for Warmer and Lead-in Appendix 11: Pictures For Presenting Vocabulary Appendix 12: Unit of Tieng Anh 12 Used for Pilot Adaptation vii MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES HOANG XUAN QUY A STUDY ON ADAPTATION OF "TIENG ANH 12" FOR TEACHING READING MORE COMMUNICATIVELY AT UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE FIELD OF STUDY: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE : 60.14.10 MA THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: ASSOC PROF DR LUU QUY KHUONG HUE, 2010 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ HOÀNG XUÂN QUÝ NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC ĐIỀU CHỈNH CÁC BÀI TẬP TRONG SÁCH “TIẾNG ANH 12” ĐỂ DẠY ĐỌC HIỂU GIAO TIẾP HƠN TẠI CÁC TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG TỈNH QUẢNG TRỊ CHUYÊN NGÀNH : LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ : 60.14.10 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ GIÁO DỤC HỌC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PHÓ GIÁO SƯ, TIẾN SĨ LƯU QUÝ KHƯƠNG HUẾ, 2010