luận văn thạc sĩ using mind maps to improve the students reading skills at dong nai technology university

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NGUYỄN HOÀNG PHI

USING MIND-MAPS TO IMPROVE THESTUDENTS’ READING SKILLS AT DONG

NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

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VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYỄN HOÀNG PHI

USING MIND-MAPS TO IMPROVE THESTUDENTS’ READING SKILLS AT DONG

NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Field: English LanguageCode: 8220201

Supervisor: Bùi Thị Thục Quyên, Ph.D.

HANOI, 2019

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor,Bùi Thị Thục Quyên, Ph.D who gave me precious guidance, assistance andencouragement during the time of conducting this study.

I also want to express my sincere thanks to all my students at Dong NaiTechnology University for their contribution in completion this research.

Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my beloved family forsupporting me during the time of my study.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iiTABLE OF CONTENTS iiiABSTRACT vLIST OF TABLES viLIST OF FIGURES viiCHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Scope of the study 3

1.5 Significance of the study 4

1.6 Research Methods 4

1.7 Structure of the study 5

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3.3 Population and Sample 23

3.4Data collection instruments 24

3.4.1Test 24

3.4.2Questionnaire 25

3.5Data analysis procedures 25

3.5.1The analysis of test 25

3.5.2The analysis of questionnaire 26

3.6Chapter summary 26

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 27

4.1Data analysis of Test 274.1.1Data description 274.1.2Data Analysis 344.2Analysis of Questionnaire 394.3Discussion 594.4Chapter summary 60CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 625.1Recapitulation 625.1Concluding Remarks 625.3Implications 635.4Limitations and suggestions for further studies 63REFERENCES 65Appendix 1: Questionnaire IAppendix 2: PRE-TEST and POST-TEST V1 Pre-test V

2 Post – test VIII

Appendix 3: Lesson Plans XI

iv

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1.1.1: The results of pre-test score 29

Table 4.1.1.2: The results of post-test score 31

Table 4.1.1.3: The results of gained score 34

Table 4.1.2.1: The t-test of Pre-test 345

Table 4.1.2.2: The t-test of Post-test 347

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.2.1.1: Reading habit before the experimental teaching 39

Figure 4.2.1.2: Reading habit after the experimental teaching Error!Bookmark not defined.Figure 4.2.2.1: Student’s excitement before the treatment 41

Figure 4.2.2.2: Student’s excitement after the treatmentError! Bookmark notdefined.Figure 4.2.3.1: Reading’s importance before the experimental teaching 42

Figure 4.2.3.2: Reading’s importance after the experimental teaching Error!Bookmark not defined.Figure 4.2.4.1: Getting main idea before the treatment 44

Figure 4.2.4.2: Getting main idea after the treatment Error! Bookmark notdefined.5Figure 4.2.5.1: Comprehension ability before the treatment 45

Figure 4.2.5.2: Comprehension ability after the treatment Error! Bookmarknot defined.Figure 4.2.6.1: Reviewing the material habit before the treatment 47

Figure 4.2.6.2: Reviewing the material habit after the treatment 48

Figure 4.2.7.1: Before applying Mind maps 48

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Figure 4.2.8.1: Color and images effectiveness before the treatment 50Figure 4.2.8.2: Color and images effectiveness after the treatment 51Figure 4.2.9.1: Information organizing before the experimental teaching 51

Figure 4.2.9.1: Information organizing after the experimental teaching Error!

Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4.2.10.1: Vocabulary improvement before the experimental teaching 53Figure 4.2.10.2: Vocabulary improvement after the experimental teaching

Error! Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4.2.11.1: Saving time opinion before the treatment 54

Figure 4.2.11.2: Saving time opinion after the treatmentError! Bookmark not

defined.

Figure 4.2.12.1: Getting genaral idea ability before the treatment 56

Figure 4.2.12.2: Getting genaral idea ability after the treatment Error!

Bookmark not defined.

Figure 4.2.13.1: Confident feeling before the experimental teaching 58

Figure 4.2.13.2: Confident feeling after the experimental teaching Error!

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1.1 Rationale of the study

English is an international language and it plays an important role in ourdaily life nowadays In Vietnam, English is used as a foreign language and itis taught as a compulsory subject at all levels of educational system fromkindergarten to university.

As we know, there are four skills taught in English teaching and learningprocess They are reading, speaking, listening and writing Reading is one ofthe essential skills that need to be mastered when learning English as Nunan(2003, p.69) states that “Reading is an essential skill for learners of English asa second language For most of these learners it is the most important skill tomaster in order to ensure success not only in learning English, but also inlearning in any content class where reading in English is required Withstrengthened reading skills, learners will make greater progress anddevelopment in all other areas of learning”.

In addition, reading is not an easy skill to master because it cannot beseparated from comprehension If the learners do not understand the text, theycannot achieve the information from the text they read The reading activityrequires the learners’ knowledge in identifying the structure and the maintopic of the text.

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After three years of teaching at Dong Nai Technology University, theresearcher realized that the reading skills of the students here are still low.Most of them supposed that the reading lessons are the most boring part inEnglish They are not very patient with the texts, especially the long texts.The first things they do when are asked to do a reading task is looking up allthe new words to make sure that they understand the meaning of all wordsand doing the tasks then It often takes them a lot of time to do such a task Sothey usually feel bored with the texts or even they fear for reading texts.

Based on the facts above, the researcher would like to find a better wayto make students more interested and motivated in reading activity Thus, theycan comprehend the text easily and gradually improve their skills in reading.In this case, the researcher chooses mind maps technique because when usingmind maps, the learners can speed up their think rapidly and develop theirthink quickly Moreover, mind maps gives easy way for the students to plan,communicate, be creative, arrange, and explain the ideas quickly It alsofacilitates the students to understand a complicated system or structurebecause mind map delivers the students to be focused on the ideas (Indrayani,2014).

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1.2 Aims of the study

In line with the purposes of this study is to find out whether mind-mapshave any effectiveness on improving the reading skills on the students Themain aim of this study is to find out the attitude of the students toward readingand mind maps technique as well as to explore whether the mind maptechnique can improve the students’ results in reading tests at Dong NaiTechnology University.

1.3 Research questions

Based on the main objectives, this research is mainly answer for thefollowing questions:

1.To some extend does the mind maps technique improve the reading

skills of students at Dong Nai Technology University?

2.What are the attitudes of the students toward reading and mind maps

technique?

1.4 Scope of the study

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The subjects of this study are 61 second year students come from twoclasses that the researcher is teaching They are going to participate in doingthe test and respond to the survey questionnaire.

1.5 Significance of the study

At Dong Nai Technology University, the students have to self-study a lotto do the assignment that the lectures gave They have to read books from thelibrary or on the internet As mentioned before, the reading skills of thestudents at this university are quite low so this study was expected to providesome advantages for both students and teachers in teaching and learningprocess.

For the students, this study is hoped that it would figure out the benefit ofmind maps to help the students feel more interested and active in readingclassroom activity Therefrom, they can take the most advantages of mindmaps technique to motivate themselves in joining the teaching and learningprocess so that they can improve their reading skills to comprehend the texteasier.

To the teachers, this research is expected to be helpful in improving theteachers’ teaching skills in order to create an exciting atmosphere during theclass time to gain the best results of reading teaching and learning activity.

1.6 Research Methods

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1.7 Structure of the study

The study will be divided into five chapters:

o Chapter 1: Consisted of rationales, aims, research questions,scope, the significance, the methods and the structure of the study.

oChapter 2: Provides the definition of reading, reading skills, the

mind mapping technique and the previous studies.

oChapter 3: This chapter describes the research setting, research

design, population and sample, data collection instruments and data analysisprocedures.

oChapter 4: “Findings and Discussions”, offers the data analysis

from test, questionnaire and discussions.

oChapter 5: “Conclusion”, wraps up the study, followed by the

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Theoretical review.

2.1.1 Reading

2.1.1.1 Definition

As Nunan (2003) stated that reading is a fluent process of readerscombining information from a text and their own background knowledge tobuild meaning The goal of reading is comprehension He also defined twovital elements of reading activity: Strategy and fluency.

According to him, strategic reading is defined as the ability of thereader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose forreading Good readers would know what to do when they faced difficulties inreading Fluent reading is the ability to read at an appropriate rate withadequate comprehension Meaning does not rest in the reader nor does it restin the text The reader’s background knowledge integrates with the text tocreate the meaning.

He emphasized “the text, the reader, fluency, and strategies combinedtogether define the act of reading.” Nunan (2003, p.68).

According to Grabe and Stoller (2011, p.3), “Reading is the ability to

draw meaning from the printed page and interpret this informationappropriately.” It means that reading activity is the interaction between the

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In another book of Grabe (2009, p.14) “Reading in a second

language-moving from theory to practice” he cited some definitions of reading as the

following:

“Reading is the process of receiving and interpreting information

encoded in language form via the medium of print” or “Comprehensionoccurs when the reader extracts and integrates various information from thetext and combines it with what is already known”.

Rubin (1982) supposed that reading is the bringing of meaning to andgetting of meaning from the printed page It means that reading is an activeactivity, the readers have to do something to get the meaning of the text.

Nuttall (2005) also agreed with the role of the reader in reading activitywhen he stated about the meaning of the text According to him, it is not lyingin the text waiting to be passively absorbed On the contrary, the reader isactively involved and often has to work to get the meaning out.

Harmer (2007) as cited by Indrayani (2014, p.16) stated that reading isuseful for language acquisition; the more the students read, the better they getat it In addition, reading also has positive effect on students’ vocabularyknowledge, on their spelling, and on their writing Reading is the skill oractivity of getting information from books It is an important skill for learners.Hence, who is not engaged in reading activity, they will miss newinformation.

Although there are various definitions of reading, the researcher

follows the definition of Grabe & Stoller “Reading is the ability to draw

meaning from the printed page and interpret this information appropriately.”

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2.1.1.2 Types of classroom reading performance

It is stated by Brown (2001, p 312): “Variety of reading performancein the language classroom is derived more from variety of the texts to whichyou can expose to students than from the variety from overt types of

performance There are two types of reading performance: oral reading and

silent reading.”

Figure 1: Types of classroom reading performance of Brown (2001)1) Oral reading

During the teaching and learning process, the teacher may ask thestudents to read orally Oral reading brings many benefits for the basic tohigher levels as Brown (2001, p 312) stated in his book.

Serve as an evaluative check on bottom-up processing skills.

Double as a pronunciation check.

Serve to add some extra student participation if you want to highlight a

certain short segment of a reading passage.

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Oral reading is not a very authentic language activity

While one student is reading, others can easily lose attention (or be

silently rehearsing the next paragraph!)

It may have outward appearance of student participation in reality it is

mere recitation.

2)Silent reading

According to Brown (2001, p.312), silent reading may be categorizedinto intensive and extensive reading “Intensive reading the students mainlyfocus on the linguistic or the semantic details of a passage Intensive readingcalls students’ attention to grammatical forms, discourse markers, and othersurface structure details for the purpose of understanding literal meaning,implications, rhetorical relationship, and the like.”

While “extensive reading is carried out to achieve a generalunderstanding of a usually somewhat longer text (book, long article, or essay,etc.) Most extensive reading is performed outside of the class time.” Brown(2001, p.313)

2.1.2 Reading skills

As Brown (2004, p.187) wrote in his book, there are two major skills ofreading They are micro-skills and macro-skills.

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a)Discriminate among the distinctive graphemes and orthographic patterns of English

b)Retain chunks of language of different lengths in short-term memory

c)Process writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose

d)Recognize a core of words, and interpret word order patterns and

their significance

e)Recognize grammatical word classes (nouns, verbs, etc.) systems

(e.g., tense, agreement, pluralization), patterns, rules, and elliptical forms.

f)Recognize that a particular meaning may be expressed in different

grammatical forms

g Recognize cohesive devices in written discourse and their role in signaling the relationship between and among clauses.

The list of macro skills are presented below:

a Recognize the rhetorical forms of written discourse and their significance for interpretation.

b Recognize the communicative functions of written texts, according toform and purpose.

c Infer context that is not explicit by using background knowledge.d Infer links and connections between events, ideas, etc., deduce causes and effects, and detect such relations as main idea, supporting

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idea, new information, given information, generalization, andexemplification.

e Distinguish between literal and implied meanings.

f Detect culturally specific references and interpret them in a contextof the appropriate cultural schemata.

g Develop and use a battery of reading strategies such as scanning andskimming, detecting discourse makers, guessing the meaning of wordsfrom context, and activating schemata for the interpretation of text.There are also another expert proposes reading skills That is Mikulecky(1990) as cited by Suriyani (2014, p.12) The details can be seen in thefollowing table:

SKILLSPURPOSES

Automatic decodingStudents are able to recognize a word at a

glance.

Previewing and predictingStudents are able to guess what the text is

about by looking at the text a quick once over.

Identifying purposesStudents are able to predict what the form and

context of the text will be.

Specifying PurposesStudents are able to know why the text is being

read.

Students are able to find out the specific

Scanninginformation in a text by looking at the text

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text.

Locating the topicStudents are able to find out a topic sentence in

Sentencesa text.

Making inference by usingStudents are able to infer main ideas of the text

and can show the evidence that supports theirevidence

inference.Guessing the meaning of

Students are able to guess the meaning ofunknown words from the

unknown word from the context.context

Students are able to process a text rapidly at

Skimmingmany levels in order to get an overall picture of

it.

Students are able to paraphrase the text to help

Paraphrasingthem understand the text by using their own

words.

Students are able to shorten the text by

Summarizingretaining and re-stating the main idea by

leaving out details.

Students are able to put together the

Drawing conclusioninformation from several parts of the text

and induce new or additional ideas.

Students are able to judge the accuracy of the

Reading criticallytext with respect to what the reader already

knows and distinguish facts or opinions.

Reading fasterStudents are able to read fast enough to allow