Trang 1 --- GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS ASTUDYONMETHODSTOIMPROVEREADINGSKILLFORTHESECOND-YEARENGLISHMAJORSTUDENTSATHUNGYENUNIVERSITYOFTECHNOLOGYANDEDUCATIONNGHIÊN CỨU VỀ
HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON METHODS TO IMPROVE READING SKILL FOR THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG ĐỌC CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH CỦA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KĨ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet M.A Student: Nguyen Thuy Linh Student number: 11317096 Hung Yen – 2021 HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES - GRADUATION PAPER FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS A STUDY ON METHODS TO IMPROVE READING SKILL FOR THE SECOND-YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT HUNG YEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY AND EDUCATION (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CÁC PHƯƠNG PHÁP CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG ĐỌC CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ HAI CHUYÊN NGÀNH NGÔN NGỮ ANH CỦA TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC SƯ PHẠM KĨ THUẬT HƯNG YÊN) Student: Nguyen Thuy Linh Student number: 11317096 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet M.A (ký tên) Hung Yen – 2021 i DECLARATION I certify my authorship of the study report entitled “A study on methods to improve reading skill for the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education.” This graduation paper is the result of my own work and effort, and that it has not been submitted anywhere for my award Where other sources of information have been used, they have been acknowledged Hai Duong, June, 2021 Signature Nguyen Thuy Linh ii ACKNOWLEDEMENTS The researcher is so glad to have a good opportunity of doing this graduation paper It helps me collect and classify knowledge which I have studied Arranging this thesis, the researcher finds many difficulties, however, thanks to the advices, suggestions and support from my supervisor and lecturers, therefore this thesis can be accomplished I would like to express my gratitude to all of them First of all, I would like to give special thanks to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Thi Anh Tuyet, MA of Foreign Language Department at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, who has always been willing to give me valuable advises, supports and suggestions in order that the researcher can complete this study successfully Secondly, I would like to say thanks to all my lecturers in the Faculty of Foreign Languages who have given motivation, support and precious knowledge to me during four years learning at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education Besides, I am also grateful to three second- year English major classes at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education who were willing to complete the survey questionnaire and the interview questions Last but not least, I would like to thank my family, my friends who give me support and encourage me during the time the study was carried out iii ABSTRACT This is a study that aims to investigate the difficulties faced by the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education in learning reading skill and to suggest methods that will help students enhance their knowledgement Mastering in reading skill is very important for students in learning English as well as their future job Many students of Faculty of Foreign Languages are having a lot of problems when they learn reading skill Therefore, it is very vital to find the solutions which help students improve reading skill The participants of this study consists of 87 students of three seondyear English major classes at campuses of Hung Yen University of Technology and Education The author uses quantitative and qualitative method through interview and survey questions After collecting and analyzing data, the findings will be illustrated through charts and some recommendations will be given for the further use of those activities in the way, which help the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education boost their reading skill iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION … i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ….ii ABSTRACT …iii TABLE OF CONTENTS …iv LIST OF ABBEVIATIONS vii LIST OF THE CHARTS viii CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ….1 1.1 Rationale of thestudy ….1 1.2 Aims of the study ….2 1.3 Research questions ….3 1.4 Scope of the study ….3 1.5 Methods of the study ….3 1.6 Design of the study ….3 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ….5 2.1 Definition of reading ….5 2.2 The importance of reading ….6 2.3 Difficulties in learning reading ….9 2.3.1 Vocabulary ….9 2.3.2 Grammar …10 v 2.3.3 Poor comprehension 11 2.4 The strategies to promote the student’s reading skill 12 2.5 Summary 15 CHAPTER III: THE STUDY 16 3.1 Introduction 16 3.1.1 Methodology 16 3.1.2 Setting of the study 16 3.1.3 Participants of the study 16 3.1.4 Data collection instruments 17 3.1.5 Survey questionnaire for students 17 3.1.6 Interview questionnaire for students 17 3.1.7 Procedure of data collection 18 3.2 Data analysis 18 3.2.1 Questionnaire for students 18 3.2.1.1 Students’s attitude toward learning reading skill 18 3.2.1.2 Students’s difficulties in learning reading skill 27 3.2.1.3 Solutions for promoting English reading skill 28 3.2.2 An analysis of interview questions 29 3.2.2.1 Question 29 3.2.2.2 Question 29 vi 3.2.2.3 Question 30 3.2.2.4 Question 30 3.3 Findings and discussion 31 3.4 Recommendations to promote English reading skill 32 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION 35 4.1 Summary of the study 35 4.2 Limitations of the study 35 4.3 Suggestions for further study 36 REFERENCES 37 APPENDICES …I APPENDIX …I APPENDIX V APPENDIX .VI vii LIST OF ABBEVIATIONS FFL: Faculty of Foreign Languages M.A: Master of Arts UTEHY: Hung Yen University of Technology and Education viii LIST OF THE CHARTS AND TABLES LIST OF CHARTS Chart 3.1: Students’ current reading level Chart 3.2: Students' perspectives on the importance of reading skill Chart 3.3: Students' level of interest in reading Chart 3.4: Students’ time allocation for reading skill Chart 3.5: Students’ frequency in reading reference materials Chart 3.6: Students’ favorite reading topics Chart 3.7: Students' perspectives on e-book and traditional book LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1: Benefits that reading supplies Table 3.2: Students’ difficulties in learning reading skill Table 3.3: Students’ strategies to improve their English reading 29 3.2.2 An analysis of interview questions 3.2.2.1 Question 1: What is your current level of English reading skill? According the data from the interview, researcher found that all students have general knowledge of reading skill Students and have average reading skill, but they have not focused much on English and had little practice so reading and pronunciation are facing many difficulties, their source of vocabulary is not much due to lack of practice The third student have a good ability to read very well, have a good comprehension, have an interest in learning English and have an English background since very young age She stated that English gradually became a part of her life In addition, she practices reading very often Therefore, her reading skill has been improved very fast.The last student has weak reading skill due to poor basic knowledge She said “I don't spend a lot of time on this skill because I don't find it interesting” Furthermore, poor self-study leads to infrequent practice As a consequence, her reading skill are not improved much.In general, the reading skill of these students have a significant difference 3.2.2.2 Question 2: How important is practing reading every day? Based on the collected data from the interview, all students share the same answer: "Practicing reading every day is very important.” The researcher interviewed different students All of them realize the importance of practice They are all English-major students, so the reading passages in the curriculum as well as in the exams are quite difficult Therefore, daily reading practice is inevitable if they want to master English reading skill Although the actual abilities of participants are different, but they all have a clear awareness of the importance of daily practice As a student specializing in English, the number of new words in the academic reading is innumerable They provide enormous amounts of amazing information to learners So, practicing reading every day makes learning reading skill much easier Second student said: “Each reading article contains a large amount of new words that make me easily get frustrated In addition, I not have a habit of reading newspapers, so my ability to process information is not really good” They all believe that reading skill help expand your knowledge effectively When reading, students have the opportunity to be 30 exposed to grammatical structures as well as new words Reading news is also a great way to practice It also helps learners update worldwide news while learning It creates lots of excitement for students In addition, reading skills also affect a lot on writing skill Articles from reputable sites or academic exams are of very good quality, suitable for students to improve writing skill Through regular reading, they believe that their ability to reason and present opinions increases greatly Lastly, all of four students joined the interview all show concerns if they not practice reading regularly They believe that later work will require a lot of reading skills, especially desk jobs The first student emphasizes “ Practicing reading everday creates a foundation for us to have a certain amount of knowledge for the” Documents need to be carefully checked before a transaction, so they have to master reading skill to be able to work well In short, the importance of reading skills is undeniable 3.2.2.3 Question 3: What difficulties you encounter while learning English reading skill? All students answered that they have at least difficulty with reading skill Depending on the strengths of each person, the difficulty encountered is also different The first student said that they had difficulty with he length of the reading There are really interesting English contents but the length of them makes the reader feel bored and not want to continue reading In addition, too many new words in reading is also the cause of depression She told that she often got confused and had to re-read “This is really boring some strange grammatical structures also can confuse me a lot” The second student has the same problem with the first one When they meet a specialized word, this greatly affects the reader's thinking The remaining students have difficulties with comprehension For short readings, they can handle it quite well But with long readings, they often get confused and often have to reread This takes up a lot of their time when taking the test The last student stated “Because I don't practice reading regularly, my reading comprehension is quite poor I often have to re-read it because I can’t get the gist of passages” Finally, all student said they have trouble reading English news because of grammar problems When grammar is not good, they will not be able to fully understand the content of the context 31 3.2.2.4 Question 4: What solutions can help you to learn English reading skill more effectively? All four student have awareness of his or her own shortcomings in reading and have different ways to enhance it The first student said that she spent a lot of time on practicing reading every day In addition, joining the school clubs facilitates the exchange of information and materials with others “When joining the school clubs, we can discuss this issue together”she said The second student stated that she uses social media to improve reading skill because she has a lot of different topics to choose and e-book is convineient and quite cheap compared to traditional book Besides, improving knowledge is also an issue that needs attention She believes that students should cultivate the knowledge of culture, education, life, economy,… to better understand the content The other students have similar views They have their own schedules to enhance vocabulary and grammar All students have their own way of learning vocabulary and grammar such as taking notes, highlighting in books, According to the statistics, they all have different study plans depending on each person's abilities and strengths 3.3 Findings and discussion This chapter discusses the findings of the study in order to answer three research questions proposed in the introduction Firstly, the survey questionnaires show the students are aware of the important of reading skill Researcher also asks questions to better know about the learning abilities as well as the passion that students have for this skill In general, most of the students have quite good reading ability, some students have excellent reading skill but this number is not high Survey about the level of liking, the answers of the students also showed a positive attitude to this skill Data shows that students have certain interests and are also knowledgeable about their own strengths and abilities Secondly, students encounter many difficulties when reading They are often face with popular difficulties such as vocabulary, grammar, difficult topics, limitation knowledge, length of news and news sources There are students who have few difficulties, but there are also 32 students who have many difficulties This depends on the learning force as well as the initiative in the learning process Therefore, in the questionnaire, researcher allowed students to choose many answers when asking questions about the difficulty of learning to read in order to have the most accurate data for the research Finally, there are some suggestions recommended in order to ease students' difficulties All students need a lot of efforts Most students thought that planning the study vocabulary, grammar, improving knowledge about society, economy, talking part in English clubs at school were the good ways Besides, summary content and recount is good idea for improving reading All students have their own options to suit their English proficiency and level 3.4 Recommendations to promote reading English skill The research shows some difficulties in reading skill experienced by the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education Many students are interested in reading, but not many of them really know how to learn it effectively Moreover, most of the students joined the survey agreed that reading skill is very important Besides, the study also pointed out some difficulties that students often encounter in the process of learning reading skill Almost all second- year English major students at UTEHY have problems with grammar and vocabulary This is also due to lack of extensive knowledge on many social topics Not understanding the content is because the students’ source of vocabulary about specific topic is too scanty, not enough for students to grasp the main idea and fully understand the information that the writer wants to convey Students also face some other challenges such as having poor comprehension, dealing with length of articles and lack of reading sources With these findings, researchers will be able to make some recommendations to help students improve their English reading skill For the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education, there are a number of methods given to them to overcome difficulties and improve their English reading skill 33 Setting up a plan to be proactive in self-study is the first strategies that research proposes to students Improving vocabulary and grammar should be included in this plan Students should spend at least to hours a day for this skill Students should allocate appropriate time to achieve the highest efficiency For example, spend an hour and a half to supplement vocabulary and grammar; an hour and a half to read newspapers and exercises This will help students memorize faster and help increase their reading skill Besides, it is necessary to practice reading English daily Taking tests with answers is also a way that students can apply in the process of self-study This can help students self-assess their level and choose the right learning path Furthermore, spending time to read on a regular basis is also suggested widely Never give up even though it is really difficult for you For students who have difficulty in learning reading skills, they should spend at least 30 minutes per day reading their favorite contents to make a reading habit Secondly, students should also spend time to supplement their knowledge of other aspects of life by reading books, newspapers or magazines With the help of social networks, students can easily find readings that are suitable for their ability This not only helps students stay up-to-date with the latest news, but also gives them a lot of exposure to specialized vocabulary Some famous websites such as BBC, Times, VOV world, are reputable websites that provide information about domestic and foreign situations With a high level of prestige, they supply specialized vocabulary that are evaluated and selected carefully This will be essential tool for students in using vocabulary and grammar when writing essays Another solution is taking part in English clubs Because of the limitation of time reading at school, student should take part in the English clubs after school, if possible, so they will have more opportunities to discuss This is an ideal place to study and exchange knowledge Joining a school club can also improve not only reading skill but also speaking and listening skill Students can also join online groups about reading skills Social media is used commonly by students to communicate nowadays Facebook is a website that allows people to access large amounts of information as well as join study groups It will create an 34 ideal learning environment for students Another advantage of online groups is that even shy, introverted students also have the opportunity to express themselves Last but not least, recounting the articles is an effective way for students to consolidate their knowledge of grammar, review new words, and simultaneously improve comprehension This method is suitable for those who have steady basic knowledge and high patience Students should start with short passages for inspiration before moving on to longer or specialized readings This method requires a lot of patience as it can take a lot of time and efforts But in return, the benefits it brings are undeniable In short, there are some recommendations for helping second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education overcome difficulties to improve their English reading skill in the most effective way 35 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 4.1 Summary of the study The aim of thesis is to find out difficulties faced by second- year English major students at UTEHY Basing on the findings, the author offers some solutions to help the students become more advanced in learning English reading skill To achieve this aim, the researchers conduct the survey research with the participation of 87 students of second- year classes of Faculty of Languages at UTEHY Specially ,the author studied the issues : 1) The attitude of the students towards learning reading skill,2) Difficulties they encountered in learning reading skill and 3) Some suggestions that help students improve reading skill Basing on the data analysis, the researcher concludes that there are many problems which make students feel difficult in learning reading skill The study consists of six issues such as poor vocabulary, lack of grammar, difficult topics, poor comprehension, length of reading passages, lack of new sources Having a poor source of vocabulary, lack of grammar are two main hindrances faced by most of them in learning reading skill Moreover, the number of students have difficulties such as difficult topics, poor comprehension, length of reading passages also accounts for a pretty high percentage The participants are also given some useful solutions to overcome challenges such as planning the study of vocabulary, grammar, etc,…, improving knowledge about society, culture, science, economy,…, using social media (e-book, radio, TV,…) to read, taking part in English clubs, spending time to read on a regular basis and ummary content and recount Depending on the strengths and weaknesses of each student, they will apply different strategies 4.2 Limitations of the study Although the author makes effort toward carrying out this study such as the data collection methods, survey questionnaires and interview students Due to limitation of time, lack of resources and the researchers’abilities, shortcomings are unavoidable 36 The first limitation is the extent of research The number of participants in the study is not sufficient for abroad generalization Secondly, subjects of the study are only students at Faculty of Languages, not all students at UTEHY Therefore, further studies should investigate students studying other majors In spite of these limitations, the study has been successful in providing the secondyear English major students at UTEHY some useful strategies to help students learn reading skill more effectively 4.3 Suggestions for the further study The following directions should be taken into consideration in the future research: - The study on the role of skimming and scanning in learning reading skill to students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education - The study on effects of e-books in learning reading skill for second year English major students at UTEHY 37 REFERENCES Applebee, Arthur N., Judith A Langer, Martin Nystrand and Adam Gamoran 'DiscussionBased Approaches to Developing Understanding: Classroom Instruction and Student Performance in Middle and High School English' Source: American Educational Research Journal, Vol 40, No (Autumn, 2003) published by: American Educational Research Brunan W.K (1989) Reading aloud and silent (Academic writing) Cain & Oakhill (1999) Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 11, 489-503 Charles W Eliot Inspirational quotes Collins English Learner’s Dictionary Daneman & Carprenter (1983) The expertise reversal effect in reading comprehension a case of english as a foreign language D.A.Wilkins Linguistics in Language Teaching Dr David Lewis, a neuropsychologist at Mindlab International at Sussex On-Minute Stress Management – How to safeguard your heart and your sanity in sixty seconds a day Dr Steven Dowshen, MD's Specialties First Steps in Helping Troubled Teens from Home Before Seeking Other Treatment (2017) 10 Emory University (2013) How reading reduces stress: Read for stress relief 11 Longman Language Dictionary (Unique Idea English Production Dictionary) 12 Manset-Williamson &Nelson, 2005 Reading Comprehension Difficulties After Year Four: Actioning Appropriately 13 NCU blog The importance of reading books 14 Rohani Ariffin (1992:1) Anthropology of Poetry for Young People 15 Smith (1973) Reading aloud and silent (Academic writing) 16 Stallfter (1969) Impact of online reading on skills of Professionals by Hira Ashfaq, Librarian, Fatima Jinnah Dental College and Hospital hiraashfaq01@gmail.com and Dr Munira Nasreen Ansari Associate, Professor, Dept of Library and Information Science University of Karachi muneeran6@gmail.com 17 Williams (1984) Developing reading comprehension by readingEnglish newspaper I APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for my research into “A study on methods to improve reading skill for the second- year English major students at Hung Yen University of Technology and Education.” Your assistance in completing this survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you only serves the study porposes and you can be confident that your identification will not be revealed in discussion of the data Please complete the following questions by circling your chosen options, write youranswer in the provided blanks Gender: A Male B Female How old are you? …………………………… How long have you been learning English? Thank you very much for your cooperation! PART I: Attitude of the second- year English major students toward learning reading skill How is your English reading skill? a Terrible b Not bad c Quite good d Good e Very good What you think about the importance of English reading skill? II a Very important b Important c Quite important Do you like learning reading English? a A lot b Normal c Not really d Dislike d Not important How many hours per day you spend learning reading ? a hours b hours c Under hour d Other (give your answer in detailed)……………………………… Do you often read extra documents to improve your reading skill? a Very often (…… per ….) b Quite often (…… per ….) c Not very often d Rarely e Never Which topics you often read? a Health b History c Science d Space e Medicine f Culture g Others (……………………………………………… ) Do you prefer e-book to traditional book ? Why? III Yes No Give explaination:…………………………………………………………………… What benefits does reading bring you? a Expanding knowledge b Enhancing memory and better focus c Reducing stress d Improving sleep quality e Supplying source of new words f Giving you stronger analytical thinking skill g Improving writing skill h Others (…………………………………………………………………… ) PART II: Difficulties in learning reading skill What are the difficulties that you encounter in learning reading ? No Difficulties Poor vocabulary Lack of grammar Difficult topics Poor comprehension Length of reading passages Lack of new sources Yes No PART III: Solutions for promoting English reading skill 10 Which of the followings helps you to improve your English reading skill? (You can choose more than one) IV Method Yes No Planning the study of vocabulary, grammar, etc,… Improving knowledge about society, culture, science, economy,… Using social media (e-book, radio, TV,…) to read Taking part in English clubs Spending time to read on a regular basis Summary content and recount This is the end of the questionnaire Thanks for your time! V APPENDIX 2: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Question 1: What is your current level of English reading skill? Question 2: How important is practing reading every day? Question 3: What difficulties you encounter while learning English reading skill? Question 4: What solutions can help you to learn English reading skill more effectively? VI APPENDIX 3: THE TAPE SCRIPT