nủm 2O.í.b Trang 5 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “The effects of the Read – Ask – Paraphrase RAP strategy on students’ reading comprehension at Thanh Cong
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ TRINH THI MY DUYEN THE EFFECTS OF READ-ASK-PARAPHRASE (RAP) STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AT THANH CONG ENGLISH CENTER MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY ∞0∞ TRINH THI MY DUYEN THE EFFECTS OF READ-ASK-PARAPHRASE (RAP) STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AT THANH CONG ENGLISH CENTER Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Major code: 14 01 11 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL Supervisor: PHAM HUU DUC, Assoc Prof Dr HO CHI MINH CITY, 2023 i TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC MỞ CỘNG HÒA Xà HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM THÀNH PHỐ HỒ CHÍ MINH Độc lập – Tự – Hạnh phúc KHOA ĐÀO TẠO SAU ĐẠI HỌC GIẤY XÁC NHẬN Tôi tên là: Trịnh Thị Mỹ Duyên Ngày sinh: 18/10/1993 Nơi sinh: Ninh Thuận Chuyên ngành: TESOL Mã học viên: 1881401110009 Tơi đồng ý cung cấp tồn văn thơng tin luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh kết nối tồn văn thơng tin luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học Sở Khoa học Cơng nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Ký tên Trịnh Thị Mỹ Duyên ii CỘNG HÒA Xà Hộ! CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM Độc lập - Tư - Hạnh phúc Ý KIÉN CHO PHÉP BÁO VỆ LUẬN VĂN THẠC sỉ CỦA GIẨNG VIÊN HƯỚNG DẢN Giàng viên hướng dẫn:R^7S.P.H/^lVl UlJU ^.lỉQ Học viên thực hiện: J^Í.WíENLỚp: Mr.L$QL(Z4fiở Ngảy sinh: JbMQltâ9.ĩ> Nơi sinh: Nùứk.lỉìưạtl Ijtótt£ỗmISỊẼãA5Z5jĩẨmtósLíẤđ£MÌTÊãy ORL AW£MÌ ẨEAPlNá íQ^££.jtt£hlStóN 4LJttâNH XứBJG E.Nâ.Li.Stí .CENIE& x Ý kiến cũa giảo viên hướng dẫn vè việc cho phép học viên IK.lMrt mi Mi W.y£N dược báo vệ luận vân trước Hội đồng: Pxrn^ Aj í.kAĩ p.^xL -ÍAix w?.ek ẨẸùx ^jị y£ À+.iírị ẩĩv.r ^ Thành phổ Hồ Chi Minh, ngày ZL.tháng Oĩ nủm 2O.í.b Người nhận xét iii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “The effects of the Read – Ask – Paraphrase (RAP) strategy on students’ reading comprehension at Thanh Cong English Center” is my own work No materials of other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the thesis This thesis has not been previously submitted in any other tertiary institution in order to gain any degree Ho Chi Minh City, 2023 TRINH THI MY DUYEN iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First, I would like to express my deep appreciation to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Pham Huu Duc, for his encouragement, dedicated instruction and valuable comments to complete this research Next, I would like to express my gratitude to forty-three beloved students who agreed to take part in this research Then, I am really grateful to all my instructors who have taught me in class MTESOL018A with their valuable lessons and my MA classmates at Ho Chi Minh Open University for their support Finally, I would like to give a big thank to my beloved family members who always support and encourage me during my study I am especially thankful to my beloved mother and my kind husband for looking after my newborn boy so that I could have time to complete my thesis v ABSTRACT Nowadays, learning a foreign language is indispensable for the worldwide integration of almost all nations, including Viet Nam For Vietnamese students, learning a foreign language is required and beneficial to their future careers Reading comprehension plays a crucially important role in learning a foreign language However, learners at Thanh Cong English Center encountered several problems in learning reading and lacking the motivation to read This study, therefore, was conducted to investigate whether the application of the Read – Ask – Paraphrase (RAP) strategy had any impacts on learners’ reading comprehension ability and their perceptions after the period of twelve weeks The study employed the two key data collection instruments of tests and questionnaire The data were collected from 43 students who attended PET courses at Thanh Cong English Center The researcher used an independent samples t-test to prove that the disparity between the mean values of the pre-tests and post-tests of both the control group and the experimental group was statistically significant while the questionnaire was used to determine the students’ attitudes The study findings demonstrated that the participants experienced remarkable changes in the implementation of the RAP strategy The students of the experimental group made a considerable progress in their reading comprehension after the treatment while those of the control group did not show the improvement Additionally, the results showed the participants’ positive perceptions on the application of the RAP strategy in the reading lessons Key words: reading comprehension, the RAP strategy vi TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv ABSTRACT .v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF FIGURES AND CHARTS .x LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF ABBREVIATION xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study .1 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Statement of the problem 1.4 Research Questions 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Overview of thesis chapters CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Reading comprehension 2.1.1 Definition of reading comprehension 2.1.2 Assessment of reading comprehension .5 2.1.3 The factors affecting reading comprehension in EFL context 2.2 Attitudes .7 2.3 The RAP strategy .8 2.3.1 Definition of the RAP strategy 2.3.2 The procedures of the RAP strategy 2.3.3 Benefits of the RAP strategy to reading comprehension 12 2.3.4 The use of the RAP strategy in reading comprehension 13 2.3.4.1 As a while-reading activity 14 2.3.4.2 Facilitating knowledge acquisition .14 vii 2.3.4.3 Enriching vocabulary mastery 15 2.3.4.4 A communicative and interactive activity 16 2.3.4.5 An interactive approach in reading comprehension 17 2.3.5 The application of the RAP strategy in a reading lesson 17 2.3.5.1 Pre-reading stage 18 2.3.5.2 While-reading stage .19 2.3.5.3 Post-reading stage 20 2.3.6 Summaries of previous studies 21 2.3.6.1 The RAP strategy’s effects on reading comprehension .21 2.3.6.2 The RAP strategy’s effects on learners’ attitudes .24 2.3.7 Research gap 25 2.3.8 Conceptual framework 26 2.3.9 Chapter summary 28 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 29 3.1 Research site .29 3.2 Research design 29 3.3 Participants 31 3.4 Training procedures 32 3.5 Research instruments 34 3.5.1 The measurement instruments 34 3.5.1.1 Pretest and posttest .34 3.5.1.2 Questionnaire .36 3.5.2 Research Procedures 38 3.5.2.1 Data collection .38 3.5.2.2 Data analysis 39 3.5.3 Analytical framework 40 3.5.3.1 Descriptive data analysis of tests 40 3.5.3.1.1 Grouping marks .40 3.5.3.1.2 Comparing means 41 viii 3.5.3.2 Descriptive data analysis of questionnaires 41 3.5.4 Validity and Reliability 42 3.5.4.1 Validity 42 3.5.4.2 Reliability 43 3.5.5 Summary 43 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 44 4.1 Research Question 1: To what extent does the RAP strategy affect students’ reading comprehension? 44 4.1.1 Resemblance of the two groups before the treatment 44 4.1.1.1 Distribution of pre-test scores 44 4.1.1.2 Comparing means 45 4.1.2 Difference between the two groups after the treatment .48 4.1.2.1 Distribution of post-test scores 48 4.1.2.2 Comparing means 49 4.1.3 Comparing the improvement in reading ability of the two groups 51 4.1.4 Summary 52 4.2 Research Question 2: What are students’ attitudes towards the use of the RAP strategy in reading lessons at Thanh Cong English Center? 52 4.2.1 Checking reliability of the questionnaire 52 4.2.2 Students’ self-evaluation of their reading skills 54 4.2.2.1 Pre-reading skills 55 4.2.2.2 While-reading skills .55 4.2.2.3 Post-reading skills 56 4.2.3 Students’ attitudes towards the RAP strategy 57 4.2.3.1 Students’ feelings of the application of the RAP strategy 57 4.2.3.2 Students’ opinions about the implementation of the RAP strategy 57 4.3 Discussion of the findings 58 4.3.1 Findings on the students’ improvement in reading ability 58 4.3.2 Findings on the students’ attitudes towards the strategy implementation 60