Applying blended learning to enhance english reading comprehension for students at a secondary school in thai nguyen city

Trang 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES –––––––––––––––––––– TRAN PHUONG THAO APPLYING BLENDED LEARNING TO ENHANCE ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS AT A SEC

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

In Vietnam, the English boom began in 1986 with the “Doi Moi” economic reform policy that was issued at Six National Congress by the Vietnamese government regarding the opening door of Vietnam to the world English thus becomes the first (and almost the only) compulsory foreign language in the Vietnamese education system It is one of the core subjects that students have to pass if they want to get the Secondary School Education Certificate and is a compulsory subject for both undergraduates, graduates at the tertiary level, as well as primary graduation (Van V., 2010)

The English Language Teaching (ELT) in Vietnam has been renewed many times to improve the quality of teaching and learning English, focusing on the four fundamental skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing Among these crucial skills, reading skills play a role in deciding whether learners understand the content of the language Furthermore, as the majority of learning materials in libraries around the world are conducted in English, thus reading ability is crucial for learners when pursuing higher education (John, 2021) Moreover, when students can read effectively, other relevant factors will be improved such as grammar usage, vocabulary improvement, and writing fluency (John, 2021) Therefore, reading skill improvement is one of the essential goals in many ELT educational programs (Fahim & Saeepour, 2011)

At Tan Lap Secondary School, in grade 6, students are familiar with short texts in reading skills The passages of reading lessons in grades 7, and 8 are usually longer with many new vocabularies, thus it is difficult for students to practice reading tasks In English reading lessons, most students always avoid reading long texts with many new words They have difficulties, such as lacking vocabulary and reading skills, therefore they are not being able to effectively comprehend the text

In addition, students only focus on translating the meaning of new word, and they cannot apply the reading skills in the reading practice Furthermore, the short English lesson time at secondary is also one of the barriers for students in practicing reading With the 03 lessons per week schedule and the massive new vocabulary in each lesson, students need more time to practice reading in class with suitable studying strategy and effective reading skills

According to Thorne (2003), blended learning is one of the most effective solutions, logical and natural evolution of the learning agenda Blended learning helps boost the self-study spirit, and learning engagement, thus improving the study efficiency of the students

Blended learning is considered as the method of combining face-to-face instruction with technology-mediated instruction or online learning that reached the most popular among the 21 st -century skills in contemporary education (Bolandifar,

2017) Blended learning helps ELL students to improve their reading efficiency by enabling them to self-study and discovering the wider-reading, developing reading passion and improving English vocabulary (Rahimi and Behjat, 2011; Asadzadeh Maleki and Ahangari, 2010; Behjat, 2011)

Based on the benefits of blended learning, the researcher applied Blended learning to enhance English reading comprehension for students at a secondary school in Thai Nguyen City.

Aims of the study

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of blended learning in English reading comprehension for grade 7 students at Tan Lap secondary school and the students' attitudes towards the blended learning: preferences, their expectations

This study was conducted to answer the following questions:

1 To what extent is blended learning effective in enhancing students' reading comprehension?

2 What are the students' attitudes toward the use of blended learning in their English reading comprehension?

Scope of the study

This study was conducted in grade 7A1 at Tan Lap Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City, including 42 students, 15 students are female, and the rest are male, at the age of 12 The objective of the study is to investigate the application of the enriched virtual blended learning model that is effective in learning English reading comprehension In this study, the researcher used Google Classroom and Quizlet as the tool to help students to overcome difficulties and to improve English reading comprehension skills The teachers can make use of students’ available electronic device, and Google Classroom and Quizlet’s applications to deliver exercises for students to practice reading comprehension.

The significance of the study

The research results are expected to help students improve their reading skills using the BL model, supporting teachers in teaching process Through the findings of this study, the researcher was able to determine the effectiveness of using a rich virtual blended learning model on students' reading comprehension Therefore, for other teachers who are trying to improve their students' English reading skills and motivate them, the research aims to find a specific method in improving English reading comprehension skills of students at the secondary level

In addition, the results will be able to offer students a positive attitude towards BL Furthmore, for further researchers the findings can be used as references on teaching.

Methodology of the study

The study was conducted using action research methods using the questionnaire survey methods The tests and questionnaire were designed to support the researcher’s evaluation more objective The questionnaires were given to 42 students with the hope to find out the effectiveness of blended learning in enhancing students' reading comprehension and the students' attitudes toward the application of blended learning in reading comprehension Analyzing statistics from the survey questionnaire were conducted with the cooperation of 42 students, recommendation assumptions and conclusion provided in the study were based on the data analysis.

Structure of the thesis

This study is composed of five following chapters:

Chapter 1: “Introduction” presents the background, aims, research question, the significance, the scope and the design of the study

Chapter 2: “Literature review” Presents concepts within the framework of the research, thereby discussing issues and theories in teaching and learning English reading comprehension from previous studies, applying the combined learning method in teaching reading comprehension skills and online study management software (Google classroom and Quizlet) application

Chapter 3: “Methodology” describes the method of research, the analysis of data in the study as well as the procedure of the research to conduct the study

Chapter 4: “Findings and Discussions” consists of reports of the results from data analysis and discusses the topics, which relate to the study

Chapter 5: “Conclusion” summarizes the major findings of the study and discusses the limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies

In summary, this chapter provides an overview of the research including: reason for the research, objectives of the research, research questions, scope of the research, significance of the research and design of the research rescue The following chapter will present the results of the study and discuss the two research questions again.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definitions of Reading

Reading is one of the important skills of language learning and it has become the subject of interest of many researchers It cannot be separated from other skills of English language learning including writing, speaking, and listening skills

Duri (2019) argued that reading is an important language skill, because it helps students access and grasp the ideas and content of the text conveyed by the authors different places and eras, which gives them different opportunities to broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge of languages and areas of interest Reading foreign languages not only promotes personal development and students' thinking and awareness, but also enhances, improve their educational and employment prospects in a globalized society

John (2021) stated that reading in English is an essential part of language learning because it helps you develop other related skills such as grammar, vocabulary, and writing Reading makes language learners explore more of the topics they love, the stories that engage them Reading more and more widely also develops their ability to speak and write English (and is really a central part of learning any foreign language)

Anderson et al (1985) stated that reading is the process of decoding meaning from written texts Reading refers to the interactive process between the readers and the writers that lead to reading fluency (Alyousef, 2005) Reading fluency is influenced by the reader’s self-knowledge and experience and their interpretation of text meanings

Teixeira (2012) explained that reading has an important place in foreign language teaching and learning This skill gives students access to diverse ideas conveyed by many people in different places and times, providing the opportunity to broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge Furthermore, reading in a foreign language not only promotes students' personal cognitive development, but also improves their academic and employment prospects in a globalized society

Therefore, reading is the process of decoding information through the process of not only exact identification of letters, words, and ultimately sentences leading to comprehension built from letter to word to phrase to sentence But also involves decoding the passage by using existing background knowledge (schemata) to make predictions about what is coming next in the text and about how some new, unfamiliar piece of information relates to what is already known.

Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the interpretation of the meaning of a written or spoken communication by exchanging ideas between the interpreter and the message in a specific communication context In other words, in addition to mechanical reading skills and the use of readers' prior knowledge, they need to understand exactly what to do with the information provided If the reader

"understands all the words and sentences but does not understand the main idea of the text", he or she will only understand the perfunctory content of the written text That's because the reader has no prior knowledge about the main topic of the passage and cannot memorize it to deeply understand the written passage (Mohseni

When readers know that they will be tested on their ability to remember words and sentences, they will spend more time deeply understanding and memorizing written text; Therefore, they can remember old information (Mohseni

Somadayo (2011) defined reading comprehension as a thinking processes include two main abilities such as the ability to master word meanings and the ability to think about concepts in sentences This opinion sees that reading comprehension occurs in both directions in the reader's mind

Mikulacky (2007) stated that reading comprehension is more than just recognizing and understanding words To really understand what you're reading, the readers need to be able to make sense of it and connect the ideas to their existing knowledge It also means remembering what they have read and constantly thinking and using what they read to complete reading tasks

According to Snow (2002), reading comprehension is the process of continuously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language Reading comprehension involves the ability to investigate main ideas, specific information, and word meaning It includes of three elements: the reader, the text, and the activity or purpose for reading

Ahmadi and Hairul (2012) stated that reading comprehension is not an easy process because students need to have the skills to read text, interpret the meaning of words, and determine its meaning in the text Reading comprehension is one of the important skills in learning English for all learners because it provides a great foundation of knowledge for learning in education

In summary, reading comprehension is the act of understanding what readers are being read It is an intentional, active, interactive process that occurs prior, during and after a learner reads a particular piece of English writing, which requires self-learning from the student in order to be able to comprehend the information By the time of reading process, students become autonomous in learning as well as in doing other duties Besides, students have more chances to interact with friends and teachers in discussion If you don't understand the text you're reading, reading is no different from following the characters on a page with your eyes and naming them Learners read English or other materials for many reasons, but understanding is always part of their purpose Reading and comprehension are most important because without it, reading alone does not provide the reader with any information

The basic reading comprehension skills needed are the ability to understand the meaning of a word in a specific context, the ability to follow the formation of a paragraph, identify premises and references therein, and the ability to draw inferences from a passage about its content, determining the main idea of the passage, the ability to answer questions asked in the passage, the ability to recognize the grammar or clause structure used in the passage and determine its tone, understanding the mood of the situation (agent, object, temporal and spatial reference point) , accidental or deliberate fluctuations, etc.) are conveyed to negate, affirm, question, command, anger, etc and finally the ability to determine the writer's purpose, intention, and perspective, and to draw inferences about the writer (discourse semantics).

Teaching reading comprehension

In learning English, Reading Comprehension is one of the important skills for all learners because it provides the foundation of knowledge for the majority of learning in education The learner becomes an enthusiastic participant in creating interaction with the author of the text through the exercises of the learning through reading process However, building such a connection between the reader and the text's written information is complex and for those learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) ), they may have quite a bit of difficulty doing different types of reading This shows that teachers need to clearly understand this skill and always update effective teaching methods and correct strategies during the teaching process Good reading teaching strategies will help promote students' reading skills

To teach reading comprehension skills, teachers can use many strategies According to Setiyadi (2006), some strategies are created and used by using materials, comprehension questions, reading aloud in class, using pre-reading activities to prepare students for reading, and taking tests difficulty level of the text In addition, teachers can also use other strategies such as developing children's vocabulary, not continuing to read without understanding, grasping the core of the problem, using contextual clues, teaching strategies reading, visualizing written content, providing a variety of reading purposes, identifying texts and tasks, and more

Carrell and Eisterhold (1983) argued that for the beginning reader, the Language Experience Approach (LEA) proposed by Rigg in 1981 is a great way to control vocabulary, structure, and content The basic LEA technique uses the students’ ideas and the students’ own words in the preparation of beginning reading materials The students decide what they want to say and how to say it, and then dictate to the teacher, who acts as a scribe LEA works because students tend to be able to read

Friesen (2012) stated that blended learning is the effective method of teaching reading comprehension for students Blended learning is the combination of the Internet and digital media with face-to-face classroom forms between teachers and students A blended learning model, including instructor-provided content, e-learning, webinar, call, online session with an instructor , for example: Facebook, e-mail, chat rooms, blogs, podcasting, Twitter, YouTube, Skype and web boards The use of blended learning in teaching reading comprehension includes using online text, storybooks, and the most commonly used types of reading strategies in online discussions and storybook reading is prediction, search, and decision making.

Attitude in language learning

According to Maio, Haddock and Verplanken (2018), attitude can be defined as the large assessment of a problem that is based on cognitive, affective, and behavioral information” The cognitive component includes the conventions, thoughts or opinions about the object of the state of mind The affective one refers to the individual's feelings and emotions towards an object, whether he/she likes or dislikes The behavioral one involves the tendency to adopt particular learning behaviors

Eagly and Chaiken (1993) characterized a state of mind is that “A mental propensity that is communicated by assessing a specific substance with a few degree of favor or disfavor” Inborn in this definition is thought that the expression of an evaluative judge around a boost question In other words, reporting an attitude involving in making a decision concern liking verse disliking, approving verse disapproving or favoring verse disfavoring a particular issue, protest or individual

In this research, the definition of Maio, Haddock and Verplanken (2018) will be used as this definition offers the most comprehensive and treasurable concept of attitude It illustrates the factors of attitude that relates to cognitive, affective and behavioral components Although the feeling and belief components of state of mind come from the internal state of an individual Nevertheless, we can obverse a person’s attitude from his or her coming behavior

2.4.2 Student’s attitude toward using Blended learning in language learning

Students' attitude towards learning language is one of the leading factors if they want to be successful in learning English Therefore, educators and teachers should consider and evaluate motivational and attitudinal factors when designing English teaching and training programs (Hall, 2009) Attitude is considered an important concept to understand human behavior and is defined as a mental state that includes emotions and beliefs (Latchanna & Dagnew, 2009) In learning, the relationship with beliefs is one of the essential points (Ajzen, 1988) When students do not have confidence, their fear that they cannot learn a new language successfully is a major obstacle (Lennartsson, 2008) Learning a language can be hindered by negative attitudes A good start to learning a language is having a positive attitude towards it As Kramsch (2006) pointed out, “language learners are not only communicators and problem solvers, but also whole people with heart, body and mind, with memories, and imagination image, loyalty and identity”

According to the study conducted by Akbarov, Gửnen and Aydoğan (2018) that investigated the 162 English language learners’ attitudes toward Blended learning in EFL context using questionnaires method, most of the EFL students prefer blended learning over the classroom approach of English teaching because it enhances their motivation to learn which resulted in improving of the learning process Another study by Banditvilai (2016) discovered attitudes toward blended learning among 60 college English majors The results show the effectiveness of using blended learning to improve learners' self-study ability and motivation Students can actively learn and practice their language whenever and wherever they want, and that's what makes blended learning more suitable for language learners Similarly, a study conducted by Liu (2013) examined the effectiveness of blended learning in an academic English writing course at a large university in Beijing. Similarly, a study conducted by Liu (2013) examined the effectiveness of blended learning in an academic English writing course at a large university in Beijing Based on teacher comments and student evaluations of the course, students appreciate using the blended learning strategy because it has many advantages such as eliminating anxiety when communicating, promoting learning practice self- control, increase interaction in class and improve learners' academic writing ability

In short, that maximizing learning and teaching output much depends on students’ attitude and it is one of the main factors influencing the success of second language learning.

Blended leaning in English reading comprehension

There are several definitions of Blended Learning (BL)

Rovai and Jordan (2004) stated that BL is a flexible approach to course design This flexibility is demonstrated in “a combination of different locations and times to study, providing some of the benefits of fully online courses without the complete loss of face-to-face contact.” ”, Rovai and Jordan explain

Friesen (2012) stated that blended learning is the combination of the Internet and digital media with face-to-face classroom forms between teachers and students

A blended learning model, including instructor-provided content, e-learning, webinar, call, online session with an instructor , for example: Facebook, e-mail, Google Classroom, Twitter, YouTube, Skype and web boards

In reality, there is no single accepted definition of BL among researchers; However, it can be generally understood that the design of this course is a harmonious combination of online learning and applications and direct interactive learning between teachers and students Blended learning model is a combination of e-learning method (e-Learning) with current teaching and learning methods in order to improve training effectiveness and quality of education In which E-Learning is a form of learning in which learners can self-study anytime, anywhere through multimedia electronic documents (lectures, voiceovers, audio, video, smartphones…) Blended learning is considered an effective solution and an inevitable development trend of society

Figure 2 2 Blended Learning Framework adapted from (Lalima & Dangwal, 2017) 2.5.2 Essential keys in Blended Learning

According to Carman (2005), there are 5 keys in Blended Leaning that can be listed as below:

Live events are face-to-face live learning events led by instructors and all students participate face-to-face in the same time Live events can occur in offline classroom as well as virtual classroom Live events are used to create an engaging and practical learning experience that can achieve learning goals

2) Self-learn with Virtual Content

The self-learning experience can be occur without any limit of time and location with online content The learning process can be performed using text - based or multi-time based (video, animation, simulation, images, audio, or a combination of such media), which can be accessed online (via the web or mobile device in the application: audio streaming, video streaming, e-book, which can be accessed by students anytime and anywhere, to be accessed offline in CD form, and print

Educators or instructors will be able to design BL models through communication tools implemented in the form of chat rooms, discussion forums, such as emails, discussions, online chats, websites and social media, to dig deeper into documents, solve problems or project tasks With this model and resources, it is expected that students' scientific understandings will be broader because it involves many different actors with diverse learning resources

An educator in improving BL can combine several types of assessments, i.e tests or non-tests, or authentic tests can be poured in the form of projects or products that can be done both online and offline until the assessment is followed by students to be more flexible Students must review because it is very important to measure knowledge The pre-assessment was administered before face-to-face and independent learning to determine initial experience, and the post-assessment was administered by following an online learning schedule to measure learning transfer

References are critical to improving student retention and learning outcomes in blended learning models The researcher must prepare instructional materials that are digital and accessible to research participants both offline and online to support students' ability to master the material

Figure 2 3 Different models of Blended learning (Stake and Horn, 2011)

Staker and Horn (2011) proposed four major models in the BL classroom, including the Rotation model, the Flex model, the Self-blend model, and the enriched-virtual model

❖ Rotation – Students switch between different learning methods They can alternate between face-to-face learning in a traditional classroom and an online environment Rotations include different methods such as station rotation models, laboratory rotation models, flipped classroom models, and individual rotation models

❖ Flex model – Content is delivered to learners largely through online platforms Learners can flexibly choose between different methods Teachers will provide support as needed, including individual tutoring and small group study sessions

❖ Self-blend model – A teacher is a person who guides and supports students in learning one or more topics using an online platform, which will complement traditional learning Students integrate by learning online individually no matter where they are and studying with teachers at school directly

❖ Enriched-virtual model – Students take offline traditional face-to-face learning and learn the content and instructions alone using online learning They divide the self-study time on their own In general, it is the most popular English teaching in Vietnam due to its advantages of boosting the self-study consciousness and study motivation of students, while still providing teachers the chances to deliver knowledge face-to-face and monitor student performance (Nguyen et al, 2020)

With the advantages of time flexibility, self-study consciousness improvement, and better control of learning contents for teachers (Ayob et al,

2020), the Enriched-model was applied in this study The table below will propose the key elements of Enriched-virtual model

Table 2 1 The Enriched-virtual model framework (Ayob et al, 2020)

Setting Whole school experience (Staker, 2012; Ayob, 2020)

Rotation Students divide their time between offline traditional F2F learning and contentndelivery via remote online learning (Staker, 2012; Ayob, 2020)

Learning method It starts with a fully online learning method, then becomes a blended learning method (Staker, 2012; Ayob, 2020)

Activities Students rarely study directly with teachers every day This only happens when necessary (Powell, 2015; Ayob, 2020)

For education in Vietnam, students study with teachers for 3 periods/week according to the school's schedule, the rest of the time students study at home, with online study support 1 session/week with teachers

Station Students will learn directly with their teachers and proactively complete remaining work remotely (Powell, 2015; Ayob,

2020) According to Staker (2012), the enriched-virtual model can be defined as a whole-school experience in which within each course (e.g., math), students divide their time between attending an offline campus and learning remotely using virtual delivery of content and instruction

Many programs began as full-time online schools and then developed blended programs to provide students with brick-and-mortar school experiences In this program, students rarely attend the brick-and-mortar campus every weekday

Figure 2 4 Types of Enriched virtual model Staker (2012)

Example: Teachers meet face-to-face with students in grades 8 through 12 in their first course at Albuquerque eCADEMY They can take the course online with the rest of the curriculum, if they wish, provided they achieve and maintain at least a “C” grade in the sections Figure 2.4 illustrates eCADEMY's Enriched-Virtual model (Staker 2012)

2.5.5 Benefits of blended learning in English reading comprehension

Previous studies

Recently, the topic of utilizing blended learning to improve students’ reading skills has received great concern from researchers

Kim's (2014) research showed that in blended learning, the use of mobile technology significantly affected college students' reading comprehension skills Participants included 44 people, who were divided into an experimental group (n#) and a control group (n!) Using cell phones outside of class each week was required of those in the experimental group to discuss reading topics, while those in the control group were not required to do so The comparison results between the pre-test and post-test showed that the development of reading comprehension skills of the experimental group was significantly improved compared to the control group Furthermore, after the post-test, a survey was conducted, the majority of students said that to learn English, using mobile devices is extremely useful and highly useful The findings of this study contribute to creating useful implications and insights for the use of mobile technology as a valuable and flexible learning tool that is practical for learners

Ghazizadeh and Fatemipour (2017) explored how EFL learners' reading levels were impacted by blended learning 60 Iranian EFL students with intermediate level were the participants, who were randomly assigned to two groups An experimental design was implemented in which the control group received regular classroom instruction and the experimental group received a combination of regular classroom instruction and blended learning Both groups were given a pre-test and post-test using the reading section of the Preliminary English Test (PET); Finally, their scores are compared through individual tests using SPSS software The final results show that blended learning has a significant positive impact on the reading proficiency of Iranian EFL learners

Alnoori and Obaid (2017) examined the effective use of applying the 50-50 blended learning method in teaching reading skills to high school students Fifty students studying English as a second language at a high school in Al-Rusafa, Iraq were the participants The study found significant improvements in reading practice scores, including pronunciation and word comprehension, concluding that the implementation of blended learning has had positive developments

Menggo and Darong's (2022) study investigated the impact of blended learning on the use of English as a second language (ESL) or foreign language (EFL); The participants were 198 students from the Department of Primary Education, Katolik University Indonesia Santu Paulus Ruteng By random method,

74 people were selected to participate Next, the data were analyzed using a software program called SPSS 22.0 Learners practice 12 combined learning sessions, including six face-to-face sessions and six sessions conducted online via the Zoom application The results showed that blended learning improved students' English proficiency (average score in the post-test = 82.57), IT competency (71.43%), and learning motivation (80%), autonomy in learning (88.57%)

According to the research of Banditvilai (2016) that explored the case of a class of the second year undergraduate English majors at the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Science, Kasetsart University, Thailand The participants are 60 students, 8 males and 52 females Before starting this course, they did not have much experience using blended learning In this research, a pre-test was taken by 60 students (TOEFL test) to determine the uniformity of language ability in English The researcher placed the students into two groups, based on the pretest scores used

Each group consisted of 30 students Group 1 (control group) studied Business English Communication in a classroom environment; At the same time, Group 2 (experimental group) studied in class and supplemented online learning processes Results from the study showed that group 2 who practiced online had direct benefits in improving language learning skills; Nevertheless, it promotes learning motivation as well as learner autonomy.

Summary

In conclusion, various studies by Alnoori and Obaid (2017), Ghazizadeh and Fatemipour (2017), Hamdan et al (2017), and Kim (2014) suggest that the use of blended learning materials in ESL teaching is proven to be a significant method to improve student reading ability in terms of reading comprehension, keyword confidence, pronunciation, and meaning comprehension However, the majority of the researches are focused on university context Finally, previous studies on BL applications to improve and enhance students' reading comprehension have been reviewed from many aspects, in an effort to find the most appropriate method to collect data in research and support researchers in comparing and contrasting their research results with the results of the literature review In the next chapter, the research questions, study design, instruments, subjects, procedures, and data analysis will be presented.

METHODOLOGY

Research design

The study was designed according to the framework from Stake and Horn (Figure 2.2) and the Enriched-virtual model framework from Ayob (2020) The blended learning model in the study is the enriched-virtual model.

Action research

There are many explanations of AR in the field of English language teaching According to Lari (2019), AR is defined as the way teachers try new strategies in teaching and learning to improve students' proficiency, collect data for measurement, and analyze their research Mills (2011) states that action research often focuses on local issues and takes place in the natural state of the classroom, lab or school Unlike traditional research, action researchers are “committed to taking action and making positive educational changes in their classrooms and schools based on what is discovered.” Through the above, the researcher used action research to improve the educational situation in the teaching process

Anne Burn (2019) stated that an action research is the superordinate term for a set of approaches to research which systematically examine a given social situation and promote democratic change and collaborative participation at the same time Critical action research (CAR), Participatory action research (PAR), action learning, practitioner inquiry, participant inquiry and cooperative inquiry are all definitions broadly embodied in action research.

Action research model

Figure 3 1 The action research cycle, Burn, A (2010)

Sagor (2000) developed a seven-step model for action research These are: choosing the main focus, clarifying relevant theories, identifying two research questions, synthesizing data, analyzing data, reporting results, and taking action

Meanwhile, Nunan (2016) suggests that the seven steps in the action research cycle are:

Gay and Airasian (2003) suggest a simpler way of basic steps in action research like after:

● Step 1: Identify topics to be researched;

● Step 2: Collect data related to topic

● Step 3: Analyze and explain data collected

There are many action research models proposed by scholars, for my research, Burn (2010) model was applied There are four phases of this research cycle:

(1) Planning - problem identification and action planning,

(2) Action - intervention into the teaching context for a certain period of time,

(3) Observation - observing the results of the plan,

(4) Reflection - reflecting and evaluating the impact of the action

In phase 1- The researcher identifies the research problem, difficulties in teaching practice The researcher then devises actions to implement solutions to the problem outlined in step 1 Teachers often think about what to observe at this step

At this step, teachers need to think about teaching activities and classroom teaching situations Phase 3 is the observation – observing the results of the plan In this step, the teacher will collect specific information, then analyze it to determine if the solution is really effective The final step is reflection Process evaluation is a cross- cutting process, from planning, implementation to observation Every plan and every action is evaluated continuously and thoroughly to find effective methods to help students improve reading comprehension skills In summary, Burn's research model is most suitable for this study

This research was performed at a secondary school in class 7A1, Tan Lap Secondary School in Thai Nguyen city English is the compulsory subject prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Training for all secondary schools in Vietnam There are a total of 42 students, 15 students are girls, and the rest are boys, at the age of 12 All participants had studied English for 5 years They face many difficulties such as low vocabulary, limited class time, and poor reading skills so they cannot understand text effectively Most students spend less time to practice reading and are worried about getting bad scores on reading comprehension tests

The teaching materials are based on the content of the Global Success English 7 Textbook The topics of 8 units are Hobbies, Healthy living, community services, Music and Arts, Food and drink, A visit to a school, Traffic and Films were selected from the textbook as the studying topics for the 8 - weeks researching period

The English Grade 7 workbook is used as a document to apply BL in students' reading comprehension, as well as in teacher's assignments on Google classroom In each lesson, the researcher will teach vocabulary, sentence structure, grammar, reading techniques, reading tasks.

Data collection instruments

The following instruments were used to collect data for the study, including a pre-test, a post-test 1, a post-test 2, and a questionnaire

Data collection was conducted over 8 weeks The research process is shown in Table 3.1 In the first week, students are introduced to online learning platforms and took pre-test After 4 weeks, a post-test was taken by the students to check whether their reading comprehension ability had improved or not The results of the tests are analyzed and compared After the results are available, the learning materials will be adjusted by the researcher to suit the student's level The researcher gave the students a post-test 2 to evaluate their progress At the end of week 8, the questionnaire was completed by the students Finally, all the data were collected for analysis, evaluation and discussion

Table 3 1 The procedures of the study

Week 1 - Introduce Google Classroom and Quizlet to students

Train students on how to use the online learning platforms

- Set up learning activities for students and gave students a pre-test to evaluate students' reading ability

Week 2 - The researcher designed hands-on learning content on

Google Classroom Through Google Meet and Google Drive, students complete reading skills exercises on the system (Appendix 1)

- Vocabulary sets and assigned vocabulary learning exercises on Quizlet to students Vocabulary sets can be shared for students through a wide range of methods and forms, including printing, embedding, URL link, and QR code (Appendix 2)

Week 3 - Teach the content of the week in-class

- Students read and do homework online on Google class

Week 6 -Teach the content of the week in-class

-Students read and do homework online on Google class

- Students read and do homework online on Google class Unit 8:

- Reading for specific information about hobby

Quizlet, prepare vocabulary sets for in- class group work activities

- Redo reading tasks in notebooks

- Do the exercises in Google Classroom

- Guessing meaning of words in context

- Identifying main idea of the text

- Reading for specific information about acne

- Reading for specific information about community services at a school

Music and Arts Part A: Reading

- Reading for specific information about a traditional art form

Food and Drink Part A: Reading

- Reading for specific information about a traditional food

- Reading for specific information about a famous school

- Reading for general and specific information about traffic rules

- The reading for specific information about one’s favorite film

The pre-test was created to test students' reading comprehension level before applying the BL method to English lessons Most of the questions in the pretest were taken from the reading section of The English Grade 7 workbook The pretest (see Appendix 3) was performed before the intervention and no special techniques in teaching reading comprehension were previously applied In this test, teachers asked students to answer 20 questions within 25 minutes to test their reading comprehension ability The pre-test is divided into 4 parts, 20 questions Each correct answer is worth 0.5 points and the maximum score is 10 And then students will be graded according to the total score achieved Achievements are classified as low (from 0.5 to 3.4 points), below average (from 3.5 to 4.9 points), average (from 5.0 to 6.4 points), good (from 6.5 to 7.9 points), very good (from 8.0 to 8.9 points) and excellent (from 9.0 to 10 points) The results will be presented in tables and graphs

Post-tests was designed to evaluate students' reading comprehension results after applying two applications Google Classroom and Quizlet in English lessons at the final of week 4 Post-tests is constructed based on level A2 with 20 questions for

25 minutes Students' scores on the post-tests were compared with the pre-test at the same level to determine the effectiveness of using Google Classroom and Quizlet in teaching reading comprehension The post-tests were conducted in week 8 with the same design as the pre-test, with the purpose of measuring students' reading comprehension ability after intervention The results of the two post-tests were collected and accessed into Excel software for analysis and comparison After that, based on the statistical description, the researcher can find out whether there are differences and changes in students' reading comprehension ability before and after applying the blended learning method

Questionnaire is a useful tool for collecting information in research because it is effective in terms of cost, effort and time for the researcher In this study, 9 questions in the questionnaire were developed to evaluate learners' attitudes toward using online learning software The 5-point Likert scale used in the student questionnaire includes “agree”, “strongly agree”, “neutral”, strongly disagree” and “disagree”,

The questionnaire was given to 42 students, the researcher instructed participants how to respond to the questionnaire The questionnaire was translated into Vietnamese to make it more accessible for the participants Because the many participants were in low level of English, they might not understand all the content in English clearly, so if the questionnaire was written in their mother tongue, it helped them complete the questionnaire more easily During the process, the researcher only gave instructions, if necessary, she did not interfere anything to affect participants’ selection In the final, the questionnaire was collected to analyse 3.5 Data analysis

The test and questionnaire data were collected during 8 weeks After that, quantitative and qualitative are two methods for analysis Firstly, to show the difference between posttests and pre-test, the results of these tests were imported into Excel for data analysis The researcher can draw conclusions about whether students' reading comprehension ability is improved or not based on the results collected In addition, data collected from tests and questionnaires are also presented in the form of bar graphs and figures with the support of Excel program Finally, analyzes of the questionnaire data provided information about the effects that blended learning had on learners as well as learners' attitudes towards using online learning platforms in learning reading comprehension.

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Research findings

42 students were given a pre-test at the end of the first week to understand the current situation of their reading comprehension skills before applying the blended learning method to English lessons

The pre-test results are showed in table 4.1 below

Table 4 1 Descriptive statistics of pre-test

It can be seen in table 4.1.1 that the variation range reaches 7.5; standard deviation reaches 5.303; Students's scores in the pre-test are still low and have not achieved satisfactory results

Figure 4 2 Conclusions of the pre-test scores

The information of Figure 4.1 and table 4.1 show that the scores of students on the reading comprehension test ranged from 0.5 points to 8.0 points The majority of students got low and below average marks with the total percentage of 59.5% (consisting of 33.3% low and 26.2% below average) There were only 2.4% students got the very good results and no student achieved excellent results In general, the data of the pre-test results reported that the students’ reading comprehension was below the average level

The post-test was used to collect analytical data after blended learning was applied with Google Classroom and Quizlet for the first four weeks with reading lessons Table 4.2 showed the following results:

Table 4 2 Descriptive statistics of post- test one

N Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std

After post-test 1, the scores and mean values changed However, in table 4.1.2, the mean value and standard deviation didn’t change, at values of 7.5 and 5.303 respectively This shows that progress in students' reading comprehension has occurred, but not significantly

Figure 4 3 The results of post- test one

Figure 4.2 presents the results of post –test 1 after 4 weeks applying blended learning with Google Classroom and Quizlet in reading comprehension The researcher discovered that the number of students got average results is 36 % and that of good and very good results accounted for respectively 18.1% and 15.5% There were two students gaining excellent scores (3%) From the information of the figure, it can be found that the rate of students in average scores was the highest The second group was of good scores and the smallest one was excellent scores and low scores The percentages of students got low and below average scores were 12.7% and 14.7% There were changes among students as presented in figure 4.3

Figure 4 4 The comparison results of pre-test and post-test one

The results of the post-tests proved that before the intervention, the students’ reading comprehension in English was at low levels with 59.5% of the scores belonged to the low and below average marks However, this number significantly dropped 27.4% after the treatment According to Figure 4.3, the majority of students in the post-test 1 got the average to good scores with the total percentage of 18.1% Compared to the pre-test, in the post-test 1, the students in average increased from 23.8% to 36%, and the good scores rose 3.8% from 14.3% to 18.1% Furthermore, the very good scored increased 13.1% In addition, whereas in the pre-test, there was 1 student got excellent scores in the post-test 1 It was a positive improvement considering no student got excellent score in the pre-test Therefore, it can be seen clearly that applying blended learning in teaching is effective to students, especially students had poor scores in low and below average From the comparison of the results of pre-test and post-test one above, it helped the author adjust the contents and techniques in the coming weeks to suit the students’ level and motivate students’ ability in reading comprehension lessons

Table 4 3 Descriptive statistics of post- test two

N Range Minimum Maximum Mean Std

The descriptive statistics results after post-test 2 are shown in table 4.4.1, the variation reached 7.5; standard deviation is 4.455; This shows that students' scores have had positive changes in the reading process

The resufts of post-test 2

Low Below Average Average Good Very good Excellent

Figure 4 5 The results of post- test two

According to Figure 4.5, the data on the chart showed that students' weak and below average scores decreased to 15.9% Especially, the majority of students in the post-test 2 belong to the good and very good scores with total percentage of 44%, with respectively 25.4% good and 18.6% very good Furthermore, the excellent scores increased 0.8% compared to the post-test 1

Figure 4 6 The comparison of the post-test one and post-test two

The data in the table and the chart above illustrated the improvement in students’ reading ability This result demonstrated that applying blended learning in teaching reading comprehension skills was effective

To access the improvement of students with applying BL, the researcher compared the results of pre-test one and posttest two The information is described in Figure 4.7 below

Figure 4 7 The comparison of pre-test and post-test 2

As can be seen from figure 4.7, it is clear that the majority of students have good results compared with that before treatment The percentage from average and more increased from 40.5% to 84.1% and the percentage of below and low average decreased 43.6% (from 59.5% to 15.9%) in comparison with the beginning Especially, at the first test, no student gained an excellent result but there were 02 students who gaining excellent results at the last test The data in the table and the chart above illustrated the improvement in students’ reading comprehension ability This result demonstrated that applying BL in teaching reading comprehension skills was effective

All the items adapted from Alqahtani, Bhaskar, & Abumelha (2018) The items in this section emphasize the improvement of students’ reading comprehensionskills, motivation and attitude towards learning English language

A 5-point Likert scale including the questionnaire “strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree and strongly disagree” was used in this study The questionnaire is divided into three sections Six questions related to the cognitive component are in part A Regarding the affective component, part B included two questions and part

C included one question related to the behavioral component All entries are adapted from Alqahtani, Bhaskar, & Abumelha (2018) The items in this section endicated the issue of improving students' reading comprehension skills, motivation, and attitudes toward learning English

Table 4 4 The results of students' perceptions on the use of online learning platforms to improve reading comprehension

Statements Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

1 It is easy to use Google Classroom and Quizlet both at home and at school

2.Learning reading comprehension is more interesting through Google Classroom and Quizlet

3.Google Classroom and Quizlet improve your reading comprehension skills

4 Learning reading comprehension via Google Classroom and Quizlet is easier than using books

5 You can pick up a large range of vocabulary and learn new vocabulary more quickly

6 Learning tasks are various and suitable with students’ level

7 You enjoy practicing reading tasks on Google

Classroom and vocabulary on Quizlet

8 You become more autonomous in learning reading

Classroom and Quizlet assist you develop a more positive attitude towards learning

The first aspect of students’ attitude is the cognitive component which is shown from their responses to 6 statements in Figure 4.7 According to Figure 4.7, it can clearly be seen that the BL had positive impacts on the cognitive components of the student There was 92.5% of students agreed and strongly agreed that “It is easy to use Google Classroom and Quizlet both at home and at school” Respectively, the percentage for “Learning reading comprehension is more interesting through Google Classroom and Quizlet”, “Google Classroom and Quizlet improve your reading comprehension skills”, “Learning reading comprehension via Google Classroom and Quizlet is easier than using books”,

“You can pick up a large range of vocabulary and learn new vocabulary more quickly”, and “Learning tasks are various and suitable with students’ level” are 92.5%, 65%, 85%, 65%, and 78% In summary, students' overall perception component of using Google Classroom and Quizlet to improve their reading comprehension was positive They also show interest in these new learning methods because they found that applying appropriate learning methods can help them improve their ability to learn new knowledge, and increase motivation receptive ability as well as scores in reading comprehension lessons in class

The second aspect of students’s attitude is the affective component, which is shown from their responses to 2 statements in Figure 4.8 According to Figure 4.8, it can clearly be seen that the BL had positive impacts on the affective components of the student There was 88% of students agreed and strongly agreed that they like to practice reading on Google Classroom and vocabulary on Quizlet Respectively, the percentage agreeing with the current situation: Learners become more independent in learning to read is 77.5% In summary, the overall emotional component of students towards using Google Classroom and Quizlet was positive According to the results of this report, students's attitudes towards using blended learning in reading lesson have a positive impact on improving their language skills as well as their ability to learn independently Their learning motivation is promoted through proactively performing tasks in reading comprehension

Discussion

Based on the research results and survey data obtained, two research questions were able to be answered The first question is that to what extend is blended learning effective in enhancing students' reading comprehension and what the students' attitudes toward the application of online learning platforms in improving English reading comprehension are

4.2.1 Research question 1: Effective of blended learning on students' reading comprehension

The results of the 8-week test and analysis are the data to answer research question 1 Based on the results of the general data, the researcher determined that blended learning substantial improved the students' reading comprehension ability

According to the results of pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2; It can be clearly seen that the reading comprehension scores of students in class 7A1 at Tan Lap school have improved rapidly The results of this study are in accordance with the conclusion of Al-Jarf (2007) as measured by tests, showing that reading skills are improved by online instruction

According to the action research model of Burn (2010), in cycle 1, in the pre- test, the majority of the students’ performance belong to the low and below average scores (59.5%) After 4 weeks of applying blended learning, the low and below average declined to 11.9% After the post-test 1, the majority of the students got average and good scores (64.3%)

In cycle 2, after the post-test 2, which is after the 8-weeks of BL, the percentages of average and good scores dropped to 38.1% Toward the end of the research, the students mostly achieved good and very good scores (64.3%) Furthermore, according to the results from the questionnaires, 65% of the student consented and strongly consented that learning with Google Classroom and Quizlet improves their reading comprehension skills

Therefore, from the score improvement and the agreement of students, it can conclude that blended learning is successful in enhancing students' reading comprehension

4.2.2 Research question 2: Students' attitudes toward the use of blended learning in their English reading comprehension

The students’ attitude toward the application of online learning platforms in English reading comprehension was investigated using the questionnaires of the cognitive components, affective components, and behavioral components

According to the results, there was 92.5% of students consented and strongly consented that “It is easy to use Google Classroom and Quizlet both at home and at school” Respectively, the percentage for “Learning reading comprehension is more interesting through Google Classroom and Quizlet”, “Google Classroom and Quizlet improve your reading comprehension skills”, “Learning reading comprehension via Google Classroom and Quizlet is easier than using book”, “You can pick up a large range of vocabulary and learn new vocabulary more quickly”, and “Learning tasks are various and suitable with students’ level” are 92.5%, 65%, 85%, 65%, and 78% In conclusion, the overall cognitive component of students on the usage of Google Classroom and Quizlet to improve their reading comprehension was positive

There was 88% of students agreed and strongly agreed that they enjoy practiced reading tasks through Google Classroom and Quizlet Respectively, the percentage for “You become more autonomous in learning reading comprehension” is 77.5% In conclusion, the overall affective component of students on the usage of Google Classroom and Quizlet to improve their reading comprehension was positive

Furthermore, there was 68% students strongly agreed and agreed that Google Classroom and Quizlet assisted them develop a more positive attitude toward learning English Thus, the behavioral component of students was positive

In general, the findings show that applying BL in improving English reading comprehension has caused students to have quite positive attitudes

Summarizing this chapter, two research questions are answered based on the research results of the tests: pre-test, post-test 1 and post-test 2 and questionaires We also discussed some of the implications of those findings

In summary, the pre- and post-test results show that students' reading comprehension ability has been improved when applying BL The second research question was answered by the results of questionaires, which clearly showed that students had a cooperative attitude towards using BL in their reading comprehension skills Several important conclusions were drawn in the study In the literature review, a comparison with previous studies was presented Nevertheless, the findings encounter unavoidable limitations The author will give some advice and suggestions for further research, which will be presented in the next chapter to overcome the limitations of this study.

CONCLUSION

Concluding remarks

The study investigated the efficacy of the blended learning using BL in the English class of grade 7A1 at Tan Lap Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City In the

BL, homework is assigned to students after online classes Coordination is a role that teachers must perform In the classroom, exchanging ideas and discussions is encouraged After 8 weeks of applying BL, the results of 42 students showed a certain improvement in reading comprehension skills; Data analysis shows differences in reading levels, which means that the changes introduced in grade 7A1 were beneficial This finding is consistent with the conclusion of Hamdan Mohamad & Shaharuddin (2017) that BL develops English reading skills, improve reading skills, learn vocabulary and reading strategies

Secondly, according to the questionaire, the students demonstrated that Blended learning helps them to have more time to practice English reading skills, improve their vocabulary, improve the ability to ideas in reading passage, and connect generally improve their English reading comprehension Conclusion students generally have positive attitudes toward online learning platforms A positive attitude can foster better self-belief, thus improve student’s studying results Latchanna & Dagnew (2009); Lennartsson (2008); Kramsch (2006) Therefore, we can conclude that the model of Blended learning, in this case is the enriched virtual model using Google Classroom and Quizlet in grade 7A1 at Tan Lap Secondary School, Thai Nguyen City, is an effective method to enhance English reading comprehension for secondary students in Thai Nguyen city.

Suggestion

Within the limited scope of this study, the author does not aim to find solutions to all the problems that other teachers may encounter when using this method in their own teaching contexts In this section, the author only gives some suggestions for English teachers to apply in reading comprehension lessons After administering the questionnaire and tests, the researcher had a better understanding of the students' wishes and attitudes towards applying BL, but the effectiveness of applying BL still needs to be discussed In fact, all teachers know how to apply effective learning methods; they have adapted or expanded exercises in textbooks to suit their students

Teachers use Google Classroom and Quizlet as accessibility applications to provide learning materials to students, which students can access to study flexibly in their time Research shows that teachers can place confidence in the application of Google Classroom and Quizlet in the teaching and learning process, because these applications can build students' efforts in learning reading comprehension and increase efficiency Complete assigned homework tasks Teachers can apply other software such as Memrise, FluentU, to help add diversity in the learning process and create interest for students in reading, creating interest and autonomy in the process study

Students use Google Classroom and Quizlet properly so that reading comprehension is supported in a convenient way That makes reading comprehension more effective and more vivid, helping students focus and be more proactive in learning The researcher wants students to be able to make detailed plans, communicate well with teachers and classmates, participate in enthusiastic discussions on the application, and discuss enjoyable experiences reading books with friends Students need to complete the course completely and on time, find effective methods for learning to read, and refer to other self-study reading applications such as Moodle, Edmodo, etc

Based on the research results, the next researcher can use this study as a reference to conduct similar research for other 7th grade students Further researchers should integrate BL in teaching and learning listening skills, writing skills, speaking skills and other suitable applications to improve efficiency and create a passion for learning for students

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REVIEW EXERCISES ON GOOGLE CLASSROOM

I Read the passage and answer the questions (Đọc đoạn văn và trả lời câu hỏi.)

Hi, my name is Nam My hobby is playing football I often play football with my friends We play twice a week at a football field near my house, and I usually play as a striker Playing soccer helps me train my fitness and team spirit My friends and I get closer after every football match We buy the same sportswear together We usually have small parties after each game In short, I like football and you should find yourself a favorite sport to practice too

2 Who does he often play football with?

3 Does he play as a defender?

4 Where does he and his friends play football?

5 Does playing soccer help him train his fitness and team spirit?

6 What does he and his friends usually do after each game

II Choose the best option A,B,C or D (Chọn phương án đúng nhất A,B,C hoặc D)

7 He usually jogging for half an hour before breakfast

8 Playing sports is very good for our _

9 You should wear a hat and put on suncream to avoid

10. _is good for our eyes

11 She exercises regularly to keep _

12 He doesn’t eat meat or fish.He is a _

VOCABLARY ON QUIZLET

1 aerobics (n) : thể dục nhịp điệu

2 arrange (v) : sắp xếp, sắp đặt

4 chat with friends : nói chuyện với bạn

5 collect (v) : sưu tầm, lượm nhặt

10 play computer games : chơi game

13 take up (v) : bắt đầu (một thói quen, sở thích)

14 walk the dog : dắt chó đi dạo

READING PRE- TEST

(Chọn đáp án A, B hoặc C để điền vào mỗi chỗ trong trong đoạn văn dưới đây.)

Mark has a lot of hobbies and interests He usually (1) _up early, so he can jog before school After school, Mark olen (2) _ a horse af the riding club near his home Sometimes he goes riding on Sunday afternoons He also (3) _ music He goes to choir practice on Wednesday and Saturday evenings (4) _ Saturday mornings, he usually waters the plants and trees in the garden with his mum He seldom watches TV because he likes doing things (5) _

He has a lot of friends and he plays football with them twice a week He’s a happy boy!

PART 2: Read the passage and choose the correct answer A, B, or C

(Đọc đoạn văn và chọn câu trả lời đúng A, B hoặc C.)

In 2019, Spain was the healthiest country in the world The secret is their Mediterranean diet This diet focuses on healthy fats and proteins This includes cold tomato soup, plenty of seafood (especially fish), and veggies Spanish people say that they have some of the most delicious salads in the world Due to the Mediterranean diet, the Spanish suffer from fewer diseases than the rest of the world

Physical health is important, but mental health is important too Eight out of ten Spanish people are happy Why? A major reason is the weather Spain has beautiful weather all year round Another reason is that Spain is home to a lively and relaxing culture The Spanish enjoy the simple pleasures of life

6 In 2019, Spain was number in health

A have more diseases than the rest of the world

B have fewer diseases than the rest of the world

9 Beautiful makes the Spanish happy

PART 3: Read the passage and answer the questions by circling A, B or C

(Đọc đoạn văn và trả lời các câu hỏi bằng cách khoanh tròn A, B hoặc C.)

Choosing to volunteer takes up some of your time Some people say that they do not have time to help others, so they don’t volunteer But scientists say giving time to help others benefits us

The first benefit of volunteering is that it helps us learn to be flexible Volunteers have to be ready for changes and stay flexible when solving problems Second, volunteering can improve our health because it requires us to be active A report found that Americans who volunteer 100 hours or more a year are the healthiest people in the country Third, volunteers have opportunities to develop more relationships They often work in teams, and team members get to know each other and sometimes even become friends Moreover, volunteers often help needy people, so they may feel thankful for what they have For these reasons, volunteers are generally positive and are less likely to become depressed

So if you have not joined a volunteer activity yet, think about it You are likely to benefit from doing so

11 What is the main idea of the passage?

A There are different types of volunteer activities

B What to expect when you do volunteer work

C There are some good reasons why you should do volunteer work

12 Which is NOT true about volunteers?

A They are the strongest and most active

C They are generally more positive

13 Which is a benefit of doing volunteer work?

A You will have a happier family

B You can have more friends

C You will never feel unhappy

14 Why are volunteers often more positive?

A They are the healthiest people in the country

C They often feel they are luckier than others

15 How many benefits are mentioned in the passage?

Part 4 Fill in each blank in the passage with a word from the box

(Điền các từ trong hộp vào mỗi chỗ trống trong đoạn văn.)

I’m sure that you have heard the name Trinh Cong Son many times He was one of the most famous 16) and songwriters of Viet Nam in the 20th century He was born in 1939 in Dak Lak Province As a child he grew up in Hue Later he went to Sai Gon to study He began to 17) songs and became well- known in 1958 He continued to 18) music all his life He wrote about 600 songs in all Among his best songs are Noi vong tay lon (Circle of Unity), Ha trang (White Summer) and Cat Bui (Dust) His 19) are mostly about love, human condition, and nature He died in Ho Chi Minh City in 2001 His songs remain 20) among the Vietnamese all over the world today Many have been translated into English, French, Japanese, and other languages

READING POST – TEST 1

(Đọc blog về món ăn Việt Nam Chọn câu trả lời đúng nhất (A, B hoặc C) cho mỗi câu hỏi.)

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT VIETNAMESE FOOD

➪Viet Nam is the second largest rice exporter in the world (only smaller than

➪People in Viet Nam eat the largest quantity of instant noodles in Asia They even eat more instant noodles than people in Japan, where instant noodles came from

➪Viet Nam has many kinds of noodles, such as pho, bun (vermicelli), mien

(glass noodles), and banh da (rice noodles)

➪Nem ran (spring roll) is the most popular dish in Viet Nam It isn't usually served as an everyday dish but mostly at a family gathering or an anniversary party

➪Viet Nam has a large variety of che (sweet soup) with more than 100 kinds

➪Viet Nam has nearly 200 kinds of cakes with various shapes and tastes Some of them are not made from butter and flour, like banh chung or banh gai

A is the largest rice exporter

B has the smallest rice production

C is the second largest rice exporter

A the largest quantity of instant noodles in Asia

B more instant noodles than the Vietnamese

C a smaller quantity of instant noodle than the Vietnamese

3 In Viet Nam, spring roll is served _

4 The word “them” in the text refers to _

5 Which of the following is NOT true according to the text?

A There are more than 100 kinds of che in Viet Nam/

B Viet Nam has a large variety of noodles and che

C The Vietnamese always make their cakes from butter and flour

PART 2: Read the conversation and then circle the best option (A, B, or C) to complete each of the sentences

(Đọc đoạn hội thoại rồi khoanh tròn vào lựa chọn đúng nhất (A, B hoặc C) để hoàn thành mỗi câu.)

Mai and Phong: Good morning, Mr Lam

Mr Lam: Good morning Welcome to Hung Vuong Lower Secondary

School Mai: Mr Lam, can you tell us something about the school?

Mr Lam: Well, it was founded in 1957 So it's one of the oldest lower secondary schools in the city

Phong: How many students are there? And what are they like?

Mr Lam: More than two thousand students Most of them are intelligent and hard-working They're very active too They do lots of outdoor activities

Phong: Sounds really interesting I wish I could study here

Mr Lam: Well, to attend the school, you have to pass an entrance exam Phong: Yes, I understand And

6 Hung Vuong Lower Secondary School is one of the _ lower secondary schools in the city

7 The number of students in the school is _

8 Most of the students are _

9 The students not only study but also do _

10 To attend the school, students have to pass _

PART 3: Read the following passage and decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F)

(Đọc đoạn văn sau và quyết định xem câu nào đúng (T) hay sai (F).)

Who are the best drivers? According to a recent survey, young and inexperienced drivers are the most likely to have an accident Older drivers are more careful Young men have the worst accident record of all They often drive faster cars with bigger engines One of the most interesting findings in the survey is that passengers can affect the driver When young male drivers drive their friends, their driving becomes worse When their wives or girlfriends are in the car; however, their driving improves But this is not true for women Their driving is more dangerous when their husbands or boyfriends are in the car However, if their children are riding in the car, they drive more slowly and safely

11 According to the survey, young and inexperienced drivers are the most likely to have an accident

12 Generally, older men are likely to drive fast cars with big engines

13 Passengers have an effect on the driver

14 When men have their wives or girlfriends in the car, they drive worse

15 Young people drive very carefully

16 When children are in the car, mothers drive more slowly and safely

PART 4: This is Nick's letter to his friend telling him about his favourite film Put the following paragraphs in the correct order

(Đây là bức thư của Nick gửi cho người bạn của anh ấy kể cho anh ấy nghe về bộ phim yêu thích của anh ấy Đặt các đoạn văn sau theo đúng thứ tự.)

A Titanic is a romantic film, which was directed by James Cameron It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet The film is about the sinking of the ship Titanic on its fi rst voyage The main characters are Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater Although they are from different social classes, and Rose is already engaged, they fall in love I won’t tell you what happens in case you want to watch it!

B What about you? What type of films do you like? Have you been to the cinema lately? What did you see? Write back and tell me

How are you? I’m writing to tell you about the great film I saw last Saturday t at the cinema I went to see Titonic with some friends

D Titanic received a lot of positive reviews because the plot is moving and, the acting is excellent The special effects, visuals, and music are also incredible I think it is worth watching

Part 1 Complete the passage with the words in the box (Hoàn thành đoạn văn với các từ trong hộp.) students talking experience visit learnt activities

Last month, we had a visit to Nguyen Dinh Chieu Special High School for blind students Before the (1) _, we spent time finding out about what outdoor (2) _ the students do there

During our visit, we were surprised to found that the (3) _ could interact with us easily They enjoyed (4) _ with us while painting pictures, drawing, some of making fruits using clay, and folding paper animals They even

(5) _ some of the English words for means of transport

Although it was a short visit, we had a meaningful experience working with the blind students in our community

Part 2 What does each sign mean? Choose the correct answer

(Mỗi dấu hiệu có ý nghĩa gì? Chọn câu trả lời đúng.)

1 Choose the correct word (A, B, or C) to fill in each blank in the

Part 3: Choose the correct word (A, B, or C) to fill in each blank in the following passage (Chọn từ đúng (A, B hoặc C) để điền vào mỗi chỗ trống trong đoạn văn sau)

My school has a number of volunteer activities every summer The activities include donating books to village children, (1) kids in the neighbourhood, teaching English to primary students, reading books or cooking food for the (2) Our school started this programme five years ago Every student can join one or two activities

In the beginning, we thought about (3) we should join in these activities We then thought about what (4) we wanted to do Those who like reading could choose to collect and donate (5) Those who are good at English could (6) primary students Finally, we signed up for the activities we chose Our teachers often encourage us to

(7) committed They also help us when we need it We have a lot of fun and learn many things from (8) the activities

QUESTIONNAIRE

Statements Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly

It is easy to use Google Classroom and Quizlet both at home and at school

Learning reading comprehension is more interesting through Google Classroom and Quizlet

Google Classroom and Quizlet improve your reading comprehension skills

Learning reading comprehension via Google Classroom and Quizlet is easier than using books

You can pick up a large range of vocabulary and learn new vocabulary more quickly

Learning tasks are various and suitable with students’ level

You enjoy practicing reading tasks on Google Classroom and Quizlet

You become more autonomous in learning reading comprehension

Google Classroom and Quizlet assist you develop a more positive attitude towards learning English

APPENDIX 7: SCORES OF STUDENTS IN THE PRE-TEST AND THE

POST-TESTS OF THE INTERVENTION Student Pre-test Post – test one Post-test two

Student Pre-test Post – test one Post-test two

APPENDIX 8: SAMPLE LECTURE PREPARATION Period: 46

By the end of this lesson, Ss will be able to:

- Develop reading skill about a famous school

- Develop speaking skill: Talking about one’s school

- Develop communication skills and creativity

- Be collaborative and supportive in pair work and teamwork

- Actively join in class activities

- Computer connected to the internet

- Projector/ TV/ pictures and cards

Notes: In each activity, each step will be represented as following:

* Deliver the task Implement the task Discuss Give comments or feedback

( Pre – reading ) Aim: - To introduce the topic of reading

- To enhance students’ skills of cooperating with teammates

* Content: Review the previous lesson or have some warm-up activities to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere to inspire Ss to warm up to the new lesson

* Outcome: Having a chance to speak English and focus on the topic of the lesson

* Teacher divides the class into 2 teams

- Members from each team take turns to the board to write the correct school

GAME: WHO IS FASTER? facilities under the posters

- The team with more correct answers will be the winner

* Teacher and students discuss the answers

* Teacher confirms the answers and gives feedback

* Students play the game in team mode

To lead in the reading skills

To provide students with some lexical items before reading the text

* Content: discuss the following questions

* Outcome: Ss learn more community activities at school

* Teacher asks students to get the meaning in context and try to make up sentences with the following words:

* Teacher and students discuss the answers

* Teacher confirms student’s answers and checks their pronunciation and gives feedback * Teacher asks students to work in pairs, look at the pictures and answer the questions Encourage them to focus on the details / ideas of the photos (color of the buildings, locations, surroundings, …)

* Teacher and students discuss the questions and answers

* Teacher accepts all students’ questions

TASK 1: LOOK AT THE PICTURES

AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS (Ex 1, p 66)

4 projector (n) students work in pairs, look at the pictures and answer the questions

1 What can you see in the picture?

2 What do you know about them?

* Students work in pairs, look at the pictures and answer the questions

To develop the reading skill for specific information

* Content: match the underlined words in the text with their meanings

* Outcome: Ss can get some specific information related to community activities;

Tiêu đề	Applying Blended Learning to Enhance English Reading Comprehension for Students at a Secondary School in Thai Nguyen City
Tác giả	Tran Phuong Thao
Người hướng dẫn	Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai, Ph.D
Trường học	Thai Nguyen University, School of Foreign Languages
Chuyên ngành	English Linguistics
Thể loại	M.A Thesis
Năm xuất bản	2023
Thành phố	Thai Nguyen

Định dạng
Số trang	87
Dung lượng	1,4 MB

Applying blended learning to enhance english reading comprehension for students at a secondary school in thai nguyen city

INTRODUCTION

Rationale

Aims of the study

Scope of the study

The significance of the study

Methodology of the study

Structure of the thesis

LITERATURE REVIEW

Definitions of Reading

Reading comprehension

Teaching reading comprehension

Attitude in language learning

Blended leaning in English reading comprehension

Previous studies

Summary

METHODOLOGY

Research design

Action research

Action research model

Data collection instruments

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Research findings

Discussion

CONCLUSION

Concluding remarks

Suggestion

REVIEW EXERCISES ON GOOGLE CLASSROOM

VOCABLARY ON QUIZLET

READING PRE- TEST

READING POST – TEST 1

QUESTIONNAIRE

The online learning applications of the study