The effects of questioning the author strategy on efl young learners reading comprehension

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS & LITERATURE THE EFFECTS OF QUESTIONING-THE-AUTHOR STRATEGY ON EFL YOUNG LEARNERS’ READING COMPREHENSION A thesis submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL By NGUYEN MAI TRAN Supervised by NGUYEN THU HUONG, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, OCTOBER 2021 ACKNOWLEDMENT This thesis would have not been completed without the encouragement, suggestion and assistance from many members First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thu Huong, who has supported me and guided me through the thesis, and forgiven me for my occasional tardiness during the thesis He has given me the greatest encouragement and stimulation, and I deeply appreciate his wholehearted and professional guidance Next, I would like to extent my grateful thanks to SEAMEO RETRAC Kiddy Programs for authorizing me to conduct my experiment at the center In addition, I would like to express my special thanks to my beloved colleagues, who gave me many valuable suggestions, who took time to correct my questionnaire and frequently asked me about the progress so that I could feel a great sense of warmth and care Hence, I was strongly motivated to fulfill the thesis I would also like to send my thanks to my students, who accompanied with me during the thesis Last but not least, I would like to send my thanks to my family for their continuous support during the time I completed thesis i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify my authorship of the thesis entitled “THE EFFECTS OF QUESTIONING-THE-AUTHOR STRATEGY ON EFL YOUNG LEARNERS’ READING COMPREHENSION” I hereby declare that this thesis has not been submitted, either in full or in part to any institutions for any purposes Ho Chi Minh City, October 6th, 2021 NGUYỄN MAI TRÂN ii RETENTION AND USE OF MY THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Mai Tran, being the candidate of the degree of Master in TESOL, accept the requirements of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities regarding the retention and use of my thesis deposited in the library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis should be made accessible to individuals for the purpose of research and study in accordance with the conditions established by the University’s library for the care, loan or reproduction of the thesis Ho Chi Minh City, October 6th, 2021 NGUYEN MAI TRAN iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDMENT i STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY ii RETENTION AND USE OF MY THESIS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS viii LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF TABLES x ABSTRACT xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study 1.2 Aims of the study .3 1.3 Research questions .3 1.4 Research hypotheses 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Outline of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 A brief overview of reading skills 2.1.1 A description of reading 2.1.2 Reading comprehension 10 2.1.2.1 Definition of RC 11 2.1.2.2 Components of reading comprehension 12 2.2 Teaching English reading comprehension .16 2.2.1 Reading comprehension strategies 16 iv 2.2.2 Teaching RC strategies in reading class 19 2.2.3 Young learners in EFL classroom 20 2.2.4 The use of L1 in foreign language classroom 23 2.3 Questioning-the-Author reading strategy 24 2.3.1 Definition of QtA 24 2.3.2 The development of QtA 26 2.3.3 The main steps of QtA in reading classroom 28 2.3.4 Queries in QtA strategy 30 2.3.5 Discussion in QtA 33 2.4 Related study on the implementation of QtA 34 2.5 Conceptual framework .41 2.6 Chapter summary .42 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 44 3.1 Research questions 44 3.2 Research design 44 3.3 Research site 45 3.4 Participants .46 3.5 Research instruments 48 3.5.1 The tests 48 3.5.2 The questionnaire 49 3.5.2.1 The content of the questionnaire on queries of QtA 51 3.5.2.2 The content of the questionnaire on discussion of QtA 52 3.5.2.3 The content of the questionnaire on influence of QtA 54 3.5.2.4 The content of the questionnaire on overall preference and willingness to use QtA 55 v 3.5.2.5 The content of the questionnaire on students’ difficulty 56 3.5.2.6 The content of the questionnaire on improvement 57 3.6 Data collection procedure 58 3.7 Data analysis procedure 61 3.8 Summary of Chapter .62 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS 63 4.1 Testing of the difference between the test results of the experimental class and the comparison class 63 4.1.1 Testing of the difference of academic achievement between classes with QtA strategy and classes without QtA strategy 63 4.2 Testing the difference in learning outcomes before and after applying the QtA strategy 64 4.3 Students’ perception analysis of QtA strategy 66 4.3.1 Understanding level of queries in QtA 66 4.3.2 Students’ perception of the queries in QtA 67 4.3.3 Evaluation of students’ participation in QtA strategy discussion 70 4.3.4 Students’ perception of the influence of QtA strategy 72 4.3.5 Evaluation of students after experiencing QtA strategy 75 4.3.6 Students’ Difficulties in QtA strategy 76 4.3.7 Students’ expectations for improving QtA strategy more effectively 79 4.4 Discussion 81 4.4.1 Discussion on RQ1 81 4.4.2 Discussion on RQ2 83 4.5 Chapter summary .89 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .90 5.1 Summary and contribution .90 vi 5.2 Implications 91 5.2.1 Implications for EFL learners 92 5.2.2 Implications for EFL teachers, syllabus designers and textbook writers 92 5.3 Limitations of the study 94 5.4 Recommendation for further studies 96 REFERENCES APPENDIX vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language RC reading comprehension QtA Questioning-the-Author viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1 The definition of Reading (Anderson, 2003) Figure 2.2 Figure of comprehension (Perdo, 2004) 12 Figure 2.3 A Heuristic for Thinking About RC (Snow, 2002) 12 Figure 2.4 QtA strategy in detail (Beck et.al, 1997) .26 Figure 2.5 Three main steps in QtA (Beck & McKeown, 2002) 29 Figure 2.6 Question-Driven and Query-Driven discussion (Beck & McKeown, 2002) 33 Figure 4.1 Test results of experimental group and comparison group 66 Figure 4.2 Understanding level of queries in QtA 66 Figure 4.3 Students’ perception of the queries in QtA 67 Figure 4.4 Students’ perception of discussion part in QtA strategy 69 Figure 4.5 Participation in QtA strategy discussion 71 Figure 4.6 Students’ perception of the influence of QtA strategy 73 Figure 4.7 Overall preference and willingness to use QtA .75 Figure 4.8 Students’ Difficulties in QtA strategy 77 Figure 4.9 Students’ expectations for improving QtA strategy more effectively 79 ix 4.6 Other opinion(s) (please specify: ) How can Questioning the Author strategy help you in English reading class? Put a tick  in the items that you agree No Items 5.1 I understand more clearly main ideas of the text 5.2 I understand more clearly details of the text 5.3 I understand more clearly the connection of ideas in Thanks to Thanks to the the queries discussion the text 5.4 I understand more clearly ideas that the author does not say directly the text 5.5 I see the sentence(s) or phrase(s) that the author needs to make clear 5.6 I find it easier to ask a person-the author 5.7 I feel more excited when I discuss with other students 5.8 Other opinion(s) (please specify: ) After the experience of QtA in English reading classroom Tick  on the suitable answer (1) Totally agree No (2)Agree (3) No opinion (4) Disagree (5)Totally disagree Items 6.1 I like QtA strategy 6.2 I can use QtA in class 6.3 I can use QtA at home Scale 6.4 I will use QtA in class in the future 6.5 I will use QtA at home in the future 6.6 I want teacher to use in class in the future What are your difficulty when teacher uses QtA in class? Tick  on the suitable answer (1) Totally agree No (3)Agree (2) No opinion (4) Disagree (5)Totally disagree Scale Items 7.1 I am not familiar with this strategy 7.2 I am not familiar with the Queries 7.3 I am not familiar with the discussion in reading class 7.4 I not understand the questions when teacher speaks English 7.5 I not understand the instruction when teacher speaks English 7.6 The pace of teaching and learning is too fast for me 7.7 I not have chance to talk in the discussion 7.8 I not have any difficulty 7.9 Other opinion(s) (please specify: ) How can the use of QtA be improved in class ? Tick  on the suitable answer (1) Totally agree No 8.1 (3)Agree (2) No opinion (4) Disagree (5)Totally disagree Items Teacher gives more instruction in Vietnamese on the Scale steps of QtA 8.2 Teacher uses more Vietnamese to help students during the class with QtA 8.3 Teacher gives more questions for students to understand the text better 8.4 Teacher teaches and use QtA at a slower pace 8.5 Teacher arranges good and bad students equally into groups so that they can help each other 8.6 Teacher gives more clues for students to answer the question 8.7 Other opinion(s) (please specify: ) THE END OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE Thank you very much for your help and cooperation! APPENDIX D Bảng khảo sát dành cho học sinh Thân chào em học sinh, Bảng câu hỏi nhằm thu thập liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu khoa học “Tác động phương pháp Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả lên việc đọc hiểu học sinh lớp đọcTiếng Anh” Rất mong em vui lòng dành thời gian tham gia trả lời câu hỏi sau Những câu trả lời em quan trọng thành công đề tài Vì vậy, trân trọng câu trả lời em Câu trả lời Anh/ Chị bảo mật không dùng cho mục đích khác Cảm ơn tham gia nhiệt tình em Phần A: Thơng tin cá nhân Tên (không bắt buộc): ……………………………….……… Tuổi: ……………………………….……… Giới tính:  Nam  Nữ Phần B: Câu hỏi khảo sát Em hiểu phần trăm câu hỏi phần “Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả”? Đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp  0%20%  21%-40%  41%-60%  61%-80%  81%-100% Em nghĩ câu hỏi phần “Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả” Đánh dấu  vào phù hợp (1) Hồn tồn đồng ý (2) Đồng ý (3) Khơng có ý kiến (4)Khơng đồng ý (5)Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý STT 2.1 Ý kiến Em thích câu hỏi phần đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả Thang đo 2.2 Các câu hỏi phần đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả khó em 2.3 Các câu hỏi phần đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả thú vị em 2.4 Các câu hỏi phần đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả khác với câu hỏi em thường gặp đọc 2.5 Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ: ) Trong tiết học đọc tiếng Anh với phương pháp “Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả”, em cảm thấy phần thảo luận lớp giáo viên học sinh nào? Đánh dấu  vào phù hợp (1) Hồn tồn đồng ý (2) Đồng ý (3) Khơng có ý kiến (4)Khơng đồng ý (5)Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý STT Ý kiến Thang đo 3.1 Thú vị 3.2 Nhiều thử thách 3.3 Khó theo dõi 3.4 Mất thời gian 3.5 Hữu ích việc hiểu 3.6 Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ: ) Trong phần thảo luận phương pháp “Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả”, em tham gia nào? Đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp (1) Luôn (2) Thỉnh thoảng (3) Thường xuyên (4) Hiếm (5) Chưa STT Ý kiến Thang đo 4.1 Đưa câu hỏi 4.2 Giải thích ý kiến 4.3 Cho ví dụ 4.4 Đưa câu trả lời 4.5 Trao đổi với học sinh khác 4.6 Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ: ) Phương pháp Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả giúp em học đọc tiếng Anh? Đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp Có thể chọn nhiều đáp án STT Ý kiến 5.1 Em hiểu rõ ý đọc 5.2 Em hiểu rõ chi tiết đọc 5.3 Em hiểu rõ cách tác giả liên kết ý Nhờ vào câu Nhờ vào phần hỏi thảo luận 5.4 Em hiểu rõ ý mà tác giả khơng nói trực tiếp 5.5 Em nhận câu từ mà tác giả cần làm rõ 5.6 Em thấy dễ đặt câu hỏi cho người cụ thể tác giả 5.7 Em thấy hứng thú thảo luận với bạn bè 5.8 Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ: ) Sau buổi học môn đọc tiếng Anh với phương pháp Đặt câu hỏi cho tác giả, em có ý kiến với phương pháp này? Đánh dấu  vào phù hợp (1) Hồn tồn đồng ý (2) Đồng ý (3) Khơng có ý kiến (4) Khơng đồng ý (5) Hồn tồn khơng đồng ý STT Ý kiến Em thích phương pháp Em sử dụng phương pháp lớp Em sử dụng phương pháp nhà Em sử dụng phương pháp lớp tương lai Em sử dụng phương pháp nhà tương lai, Em muốn giáo viên sử dụng phương pháp Thang đo tương lai Tại em thấy khó GV sử dụng phương pháp lớp? Đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp (1) Luôn (2) Thường xuyên (3) Thỉnh thoảng (4) Hiếm (5) Chưa STT Ý kiến 7.1 Em không quen thuộc với phương pháp 7.2 Em không thuộc với kiểu câu hỏi 7.3 Em không quen thuộc với việc thảo luận học đọc tiếng Anh 7.4 Em không hiểu câu hỏi GV nói tiếng Anh 7.5 Em khơng hiểu lời hướng dẫn GV nói tiếng Anh Thang đo 7.6 Tốc độ dạy học lớp q nhanh với em 7.7 Em khơng có hội nói phần thảo luận 7.8 Em khơng gặp khó khăn 7.9 Ý kiến khác (vui lịng ghi rõ: ) Em muốn phương pháp cải thiện để đem lại hiệu tốt cho em? Đánh dấu  vào ô phù hợp (1) Luôn (2) Thỉnh thoảng (3) Thường xuyên (4) Hiếm (5) Chưa STT 8.1 Ý kiến Thang đo GV hướng dẫn kĩ tiếng Việt bước áp dụng phương pháp 8.2 GV sử dụng thêm tiếng Việt để hỗ trợ em hiểu trinh sử dụng phương pháp 8.3 GV đặt nhiều câu hỏi để em hiểu rõ 8.4 GV dạy sử dụng phương pháp tốc độ chậm 8.5 GV chia nhóm với HS giỏi để HS hỗ trợ 8.6 GV đưa nhiều gợi ý để giúp em trả lời câu hỏi 8.7 Ý kiến khác (vui lòng ghi rõ: ) KẾT THÚC BÀI KHẢO SÁT Cảm ơn hỗ trợ em! APPENDIX E PRETEST FOR STUDENTS Read the story Choose a word from the box Write the correct word next to numbers -5 There is one example Example museum opened dinosaurs traffic walking dark show turned excited old Last Wednesday, Michael went to the toy museum with his mum He wanted to see some (1) robots because robots are his favourite toy When they arrived at the museum, Michael felt very (2) But the museum was closed “Oh no,” said Michael Then a woman opened the door of the museum and asked, “What are you doing here?” “We wanted to visit the museum, but it’s closed,” explained Mum She said, “I look after the museum and I can (3) you some toys if you are interested.” “Yes please!” said Michael and his mum together They walked inside slowly The museum was dark and Michael felt afraid Then the woman (4) on the lights and suddenly Michael saw lots of beautiful old toys “Look at the amazing robots!” he said The woman let Michael play with some toy trains and (5) He had a great afternoon and didn’t want to go home (6) Now choose the best name for the story Tick () one box Michael’s favourite toy  Michael’s exciting afternoon at the museum  Michael plays with trains  Look at the picture and read the story Write some words to complete the sentences about the story You can use I, 2, or words What a clever dog! Last Saturday, Harry and his sister Emma went for a walk up a mountain near their house because it was a beautiful sunny day They took their dog, Jack, with them On the way up, they sang songs together and they were very happy At the top of the mountain, they ate their picnic, which was sandwiches, cake and lemonade After lunch, they decided to go home As they were walking down the mountain, Emma fell over and hurt her foot She couldn’t walk any more “Oh dear,” she said “What are we going to do?” Harry said, “Don’t worry, Emma Jack’s a clever dog and he can go for help.” Harry turned to Jack, pointed down the mountain and said loudly, “Jack, go home, go home and get help.” Jack looked at Harry and then he looked at Emma Then he suddenly understood and he ran down the mountain as fast as he could Harry stayed with Emma and held her hand After two hours, it began to get dark and the children were very afraid Then they heard the sound of people talking and saw torch lights coming up the mountain Emma cried, “Dad, it’s you!” Dad said, “I’m so happy to see you both When Jack came back without you, we knew something was wrong What a brave dog!” Dad picked Emma up and carried her down the hill When they got home, everyone was very tired but happy Examples Harry and Emma have .a dog called Jack Last Saturday, it was sunny, so Harry and Emma decided to go for a walk up a mountain Questions Harry and Emma Jack with them on their walk They had for their picnic As they were going home, and hurt her foot Emma any more Harry sent to get help They waited on the mountain for .before help arrived Dad Emma home APPENDIX F POSTTEST FOR STUDENTS Read the story Choose a word from the box Write the correct word next to numbers -5 There is one example Example chickens ride showed played hungry ate milk difficult eggs wool Last Saturday, Emma and David visited a farm with their mum They arrived early in the morning and first they went to see the …… chicken……… “Look at the eggs,” said Emma “I can see four.” “I’m (1) now I want to eat some eggs,” said David Then they went to see the cows “Look at all the (2) that they have made!” said Emma “Amazing! I’m thirsty now I want to drink some milk,” said David “You’re always hungry and thirsty, David!” said Mum “Let’s have our picnic now then.” They (3) egg sandwiches and drank two bottles of milk “Amazing! I’m happy now!” said David After lunch, David went for a (4) on an enormous horse and Emma (5) with some black and white puppies Then the children gave some bread to the ducks in the river “What an excellent day!” said the children (6) Now choose the best name for the story Tick () one box A great visit to a farm  David is always hungry  An excellent ride on a horse  Look at the picture and read the· story Write some words to complete the sentences about the story You can use I, 2, or words Daisy finds treasure One day, Daisy was helping her grandmother to tidy the basement of her house ”Put all those old boxes in the………………big bin across the street, please Daisy,” said Grandma Daisy carried six boxes to the bin It was hard work The bottom of the last box was broken and when she picked it up, everything inside fell on the floor Daisy was picking up all the pieces of paper when she found an interesting old green book She opened it and saw it was a diary, which was more than 50 years old She went upstairs and showed the diary to her grandmother “I don’t believe it!” said Grandma “Where did you find this?” “It was in one………………of those boxes, Grandma,” said Daisy ”You’re very clever - I thought this was lost.” “But what is it, Grandma?” asked Daisy “This is your grandfather’s diary You know that he was a famous artist, don’t you?” “Yes, I do…………… I’ve seen his paintings in the………………museum in town,” said Daisy The next day, Daisy and her Grandma took the diary to the museum When the man who worked at the museum saw the diary, he was very excited “This is a great treasure!” he said “Please could you give it to the museum so that lots of people can see it?” Grandma was sad to lose the diary again but happy that it was in the museum where lots of people could read it Examples Daisy helped her grandmother to tidy … the basement… of her house Daisy took … six boxes… to the bin Questions The the last box was broken so everything fell on the floor Daisy found an……………………book Daisy’s grandmother told her that the book was ………………… Daisy’s grandfather was The next day, Daisy and her grandmother took the book to in town The man at the museum was……………… because he thought that the diary was a great treasure Daisy’s grandmother to the museum so lots of people could read it