the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving reading comprehension among english majors evidence and implications khóa luận tốt nghiệp đại học

ABSTRACT The present research aimed to assess the effectiveness of the morphology course within the Bachelor’s program and its influence on the reading comprehension of 194 third-year En

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION THESIS

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MORPHOLOGY COURSE IN IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION AMONG

ENGLISH MAJORS: EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS

MAJOR: BUSINESS ENGLISH

UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR CODE: 7 22 02 01

NGUYEN NHI HAI

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

GRADUATION THESIS

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MORPHOLOGY COURSE IN IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION AMONG ENGLISH MAJORS: EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS

Major: Business English

Undergraduate major code: 7 22 02 01

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MORPHOLOGY COURSE IN IMPROVING READING COMPREHENSION AMONG ENGLISH MAJORS: EVIDENCE AND IMPLICATIONS

by

NGUYEN NHI HAI

A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for The Bachelor of Arts in Business English Degree

HO CHI MINH UNIVERSITY OF BANKING November 17, 2023

ABSTRACT

The present research aimed to assess the effectiveness of the morphology course within the Bachelor’s program and its influence on the reading comprehension of 194 third-year English majors during the academic year 2023 - 2024 at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, Ho Chi Minh University of Banking

To achieve comprehensive insights, the researcher employed a blend of quantitative and qualitative research methods, including pre-tests, post-tests, and a questionnaire The analysis data obtained from pre-test and post-test results was conducted using the SPSS software (version 26.0) The findings demonstrated that the morphology course significantly contributed to the students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

Additionally, a qualitative survey was conducted to gather participants’ opinions on the morphology course The results unveiled that third-year English majors highly valued the course’s impact on both their morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

This research aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the pivotal role played by morphological knowledge in L2 reading comprehension This will help teachers be more assured of its benefits, and learners can be better informed about the practical strategies they may adopt for their independent study, thereby achieving better performance in reading comprehension This study also sets the stage for future research to explore in-depth the role of these courses on reading comprehension over a more extended period and with a larger sample population

Keywords: morphology course, morphological knowledge, reading comprehension,

third-year English majors

STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP

The author of this graduation thesis is Nguyen Nhi Hai, a senior student majoring in Business English, DH36AV05 class, at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking I, the author, hereby declare that the thesis entitled “The Effectiveness of the Morphology Course in Improving Reading Comprehension among English Majors: Evidence and Implications” is my study

I confirm that this thesis is entirely original, with no content that has been accepted for the conferral of any other academic degree or diploma at any educational institution Furthermore, it does not include any previously published or authored material by any other individual unless proper citations are provided within the reference of the graduation thesis

The information used for this research was obtained through transparent, reliable, accurate, and unbiased procedures

Member of the thesis committee

(Signature)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my deep acknowledgement and appreciation for the following people who have supported and directed me along the way Without their empathy and encouragement, I would never have finished writing this graduation thesis and might have endured more hardship or even quit my research

First and foremost, I would like to express my profound gratitude and heartfelt appreciation to my academic advisor, Mrs Le Thi Minh Thuy, for her continuous guidance, advice, and invaluable suggestions Her expertise in language and linguistics, coupled with her thoughtful questions and reflections on my work, propelled me to delve deeply into my research Throughout the research, she taught me, and shared her immense knowledge, allowing me to increase my research skills while at the same time steering me in the right direction

I am also enormously grateful to Mr Le Nguyen Bao and Mrs Nguyen Hong Oanh for their incredible support and warm encouragement from the very outset to the completion of this study Furthermore, I express my sincere thanks to Ms Vo Thi Bao Chau for a week of collaboration, during which I learned valuable lessons on the execution of her research project, how she contacted participants, and how she handled this project

Special thanks to third-year English-majored students who voluntarily participated in this research and wholeheartedly supported me in reaching the research objectives They were at the core of my successful completion of the graduation thesis To all who piloted, responded to the survey, and showed interest in the thesis, your contributions have left an indelible mark, and I am deeply grateful for the vibrant picture painted in my mind

I acknowledge that the Department’s permission was crucial for the thesis’s successful completion I am sincerely thankful to the Department Dean Board for granting me the opportunity to undertake this study and for providing a conducive environment They were very supportive and extended a warm welcome to facilitate the research

My special thanks would be sent to Ngan Nguyen, Tham Nguyen, and Hau Phan for their constant support and motivation To all my friends, whom I cannot mention one by one, who played a crucial role in deliberating my problems and findings, as well as bringing joy to my life and helping me to rest my mind beyond my research

My beloved parents and two brothers always give me uncountable love, care, advice, and support Endless appreciation to my family for their continuous prayers, encompassing material and spiritual realms, which propelled me through the journey of completing this thesis and for

unwavering belief in and encouragement of my dreams Thank you for believing in me more than I believe in myself Thank you for encouraging me to make life decisions that have made me wiser and more grateful than ever before

To conclude, it is imperative to acknowledge that nobody is perfect, and I am fully aware that there are still several weaknesses in my graduation thesis Constructive critiques and suggestions to enhance the quality of this study would be highly beneficial Acknowledging these limitations marks the initial step toward refining the thesis Seeking input from peers, supervisors, and experts in the field is an effective approach to address these issues and upgrade the thesis to a higher standard Therefore, I firmly believe that this process is an integral part of the pursuit of academic excellence, ensuring that the final result offers a comprehensive and well-informed exploration of the study My heartfelt thanks for your understanding, and support, and for being such a great companion along the way in finishing this journey

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Rationale of the study 2

1.3 Research objectives 2

1.3.1 General objective 2

1.3.2 Specific objectives 2

1.4 Research questions 3

1.5 Significance of the study 3

1.6 Structure of the thesis 3

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 The concept of morphology 5

2.1.1 Definition of morphology 5

2.1.2 The concept of morphemes 5

2.1.2.1 Definition of morpheme 5

2.1.2.2 Classification of morpheme 6

2.1.2.2.1 Free and bound morphemes 6

2.1.2.2.2 Derivational and Inflectional morphemes 6

2.1.2.2.3 Lexical and Functional morphemes 7

2.2 Morpheme analysis and synthesis 7

2.2.1 Morpheme synthesis 7

2.2.2 Morpheme analysis 8

2.3 Reading comprehension 8

2.3.1 Definition 8

2.3.2 Classification and its characteristics 9

2.3.3 Reading comprehension assessment 10

2.4 Significance of morphology knowledge in improving reading comprehension 12

3.5 Data collection instruments 21

3.5.1 The Morphological Knowledge Test 23

3.5.1.1 The Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme Synthesis) 23

3.5.1.2 The Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme Analysis) 24

3.5.2 Reading Comprehension Test 25

3.5.3 Qualitative survey 25

3.6 Data analysis tools 26

3.7 Criteria of scientific quality 27

3.8 Ethical considerations 27

CHAPTER 4 – DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 29

4.1 Interpretation of quantitative data 29

4.1.1 Effects of the Morphology course on morphological knowledge 29

4.1.2 Effects of the Morphology course on reading comprehension 32

4.2 Interpretation of qualitative data 33

4.2.1 Students’ opinions of the effect of the Morphology course on morphological knowledge 35

4.2.2 Students’ opinions of the effect of the Morphology course on reading comprehension 38 4.3 Discussion of data analysis 41

4.4 Summary of the answers to three research questions 43

CHAPTER 5 – CONCLUSIONS 44

5.1 Implications 44

5.1.1 For teachers 44

5.1.2 For students 44

5.4.1 For the FFL teachers and students at HUB 48

5.4.2 For future research 49

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Descriptive statistics on the Morphological Knowledge Test (MKT) aspects between pre-test and post-test results (N=194)

29

Table 4.5 Descriptive statistics on the Reading Comprehension Test (RCT) aspects between pre-test and post-test results (N=194)

32

Table 4.10 Results of qualitative analysis of the first open-ended question among 32 respondents

35 Table 4.11 Results of qualitative analysis of the second open-ended question among

32 respondents

38

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.2 Scoring of the Morpheme Identification Test (Analytic aspect) 25

Test as a Post-test

60 Appendix C The answer key for the Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading

Comprehension Test pre-test and post-test

65

Appendix D Analyzing quantitative data (pre-test and post-test) from the SPSS

software

66

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the study

Among essential linguistic and cognitive competencies for English proficiency, knowledge of morphology stands out as a critical factor It is synonymous with one’s comprehension of the rules governing word formation in a given language, as highlighted by Kuo and Anderson (2008) The direct correlation between morphology knowledge and English reading comprehension is evident, given that morphologically complex words constitute a substantial portion of 60-80% of new vocabulary encountered in English reading texts (Nagy & Anderson, 1984; Guz, 2010)

In third-level education, students should be equipped with essential language skills to enhance their academic performance Vocabulary plays a pivotal role in achieving proficiency in the English language since it forms the foundation for various language competencies The acquisition of vocabulary is a gradual process, placing emphasis on practical application rather than theoretical understanding English learners’ knowledge of morphology may have been obtained unofficially during their previous learning processes Only at the university stage do English majors have an opportunity to delve into the theory of word formation rules and come closer to acquiring knowledge of morphology through official courses

There has been broad consensus among researchers on the essential contribution of morphological knowledge to improving students’ reading comprehension (Nagy & Anderson, 1984; McBride-Chang et al., 2008; Guz, 2010; Zhang & Koda, 2012) As a result, recognizing the importance of morphology in teaching and learning English, many Bachelor programs for English majors in EFL universities incorporate a morphology course into their official curriculum A morphology course aims to equip students with a nuanced understanding of word structures, exploring how morphological elements contribute to vocabulary usage and reading comprehension

The morphology course is obligatory in the bachelor programs of Ho Chi Minh University of Banking (HUB) for English majors Spanning 18 periods, which is equivalent to participating in class five sessions, the course primarily uses “An Introduction to English Morphology: Words and Their Structure (2nd ed.)” by Carstairs-McCarthy (2018) as the textbook which focuses on the structure and formation of words in the English language Additionally, “Introduction Morphology (2nd ed.)” by Lieber (2015) serves as a valuable supplementary material that offers students additional examples and exercises to enhance their grasp of morphological concepts

The HUB morphology course aims to help students decipher words’ structural aspects and origin, encompassing prefixes, suffixes, and roots, and how these components combine to convey

coherent meanings The course aims to equip students to understand word formation rules, enrich vocabulary, develop word analysis skills, and enhance reading comprehension Additionally, students are encouraged to apply their morphological knowledge in authentic language contexts, reinforcing their ability to wield the language adeptly in practical situations Consequently, the morphology course is expected to help students to be able to enhance their language proficiency, effectively navigate the intricacies of word formation, and employ language judiciously within the target language

1.2 Rationale of the study

Empirical findings in language learning and pedagogy emphasize the significant role of morphological knowledge in contributing to L2 reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition (McBride-Chang et al., 2008; Zhang & Koda, 2012) However, existing research on this subject has predominantly focused on native learners and children, with only a limited number of studies examining university students Additionally, very few studies have been conducted on the effects of morphology knowledge on university students’ reading comprehension

A morphology course at EFL universities, in general, and at HUB, is expected to provide students with the theory of morphology knowledge and its applicability in using language skills However, whether the results are consistent with these expectations has not yet been investigated by any scholar Therefore, researching the topic “The Effectiveness of the Morphology Course in Improving Reading Comprehension among English Majors: Evidence and Implications” is an essential research topic to evaluate and determine the effectiveness of the morphology course on third-year English majors’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension at HUB Because of a bachelor thesis’s time and scope limitations, the researcher only focused on the knowledge provided in that course and how it impacts students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

1.3 Research objectives 1.3.1 General objective

The study is to determine and assess the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving reading comprehension among the third-year English majors at HUB

1.3.2 Specific objectives

First, the study investigates the impact of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension through the pre-test and post-test Second, the study explores the opinions of third-year English majors toward the morphology course at HUB Finally,

the study aims to provide empirical evidence and implications for educators (teachers) on the importance of incorporating morphological knowledge in teaching language skills

1.4 Research questions

This study aims to provide answers to the following three questions:

1 What is the effect of the morphology course on the morphological knowledge of the

third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?

2 What is the effect of the morphology course on the reading comprehension of the

third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?

3 What are the opinions of the third-year English majors toward the morphology course at

Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?

1.5 Significance of the study

Through the comprehensive exploration of this study on third-year English-majored students at HUB, the influence of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension will be analyzed and evaluated Additionally, this study will elucidate students’ opinions on the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving their reading comprehension From a theoretical point of view, this research hopes to make contributions to those people

For the author as a novice researcher, this study offers valuable insights into the pivotal role of morphology in English proficiency It enhances personal knowledge by unraveling the intricate connections between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Furthermore, this research is expected to provide empirical evidence and realistic information on the influence of the morphology course on students’ reading comprehension The findings can be utilized by educators and learners in the field, providing a new method to enhance their quality of teaching and learning, along with improved learning strategies This study is also expected to be beneficial for researchers who are interested in morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, and in turn, potentially prompting more in-depth analyses

1.6 Structure of the thesis

This thesis consists of five chapters Chapter 1 has described the background of the study, the rationale of the study, the research objectives, the research questions, and the significance of the study

Chapter 2 presents the review of related literature in which the thesis is grounded In this chapter, the researcher synthesized prior studies to elucidate the theoretical framework related to

morphological knowledge and reading comprehension and clarify the correlation between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, thus filling the research gap

Chapter 3 provides and explains the methodology employed in this study It includes the research process, the research setting, the sample of the study, the research design, the data collection instruments, the data analysis tools, criteria of scientific quality, and ethical considerations

Chapter 4 indicates the data analysis and discussions of the study, relying on the results obtained from the pre-test and post-test calculations performed using IBM SPSS software Besides, participants’ responses to the qualitative data will be synthesized and coded

Chapter 5 discusses the implications for teachers, students, and researchers and outlines some limitations of this study The chapter then summarizes the main conclusions from the data analysis and discussion Furthermore, the chapter offers suggestions for future research

CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW

The chapter is at the core of this thesis since it offers a literature review In this chapter, the researcher has synthesized prior studies to shed light on several interconnected facets of the research topic The literature review clarifies the relationship between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension by focusing on their respective aspects By drawing upon these studies, Chapter 2 not only provides a deeper understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of the research but also establishes a contextual framework for empirical investigation It plays a crucial role in guiding the research's direction and substantiating its rationale, thereby addressing the gap for the present study

2.1 The concept of morphology 2.1.1 Definition of morphology

Morphology is derived from the Greek word “morph” which means form or shape, and

“-ology” which means the study of something According to Bauer (1988, pp 248), morphology is

the study of how words are formed from smaller components and the changes made to those smaller components in constructing lexemes and word forms Linguists describe morphology as the study of the internal composition of words McCharty (2002, pp 16) characterizes it as the grammatical branch concerned with the arrangement of words and the relationships between words and their constituent morphemes Similarly, morphology is the study of words’ hierarchical and relational aspects of words, studying how lexical items operate according to word formation rules to generate other lexical items, as noted by Leong & Parkinson (1995, p 237)

Twain (2013) emphasizes that a proficient language user possesses morphological knowledge, which is crucial for understanding unfamiliar word formations and complex texts Morphological analysis involves identifying the smallest grammatical units, including morphemes, roots, and affixes, and arranging them to form words through derivation or inflection

From the provided definitions, it can be concluded that morphology is the study of word formation, with a specific emphasis on morphemes, the smallest meaningful units of language, and the combinations of morphemes to form new words

2.1.2 The concept of morphemes 2.1.2.1 Definition of morpheme

According to Haspelmath (2002), morpheme can be defined as the smallest meaningful constituents of a linguistic expression Lieber (2009, p 32) indicated that morphemes are the minimal units of meaning or grammatical function used to form words Based to Haspelmath and

Sims (2010), stated that morpheme is the smallest significant unit of linguistic phrase that can be distinguished by segmentation, a frequently occurring subtype of a morphological pattern A morpheme can be established as a minimal meaningful unit that can not be subdivided any further (Kolanchery, 2015) In conclusion, a morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning, the smallest piece of a word that contributes meaning to a word

2.1.2.2 Classification of morpheme 2.1.2.2.1 Free and bound morphemes

Coates (1999) identified three essential criteria for defining a morpheme A morpheme should have a meaning or function, recur in other words with a related meaning, and be involved in a pattern of interchange Based on these criteria, morphemes can be broadly classified into free morphemes or bound morphemes because of their own characteristic distribution

Yule (2010) defined that free morpheme can stand on its own as a single word Fromkin et al (2011) also added that free morphemes are words that can stand alone Furthermore, according to O’Grady and Archibald (2016), free morpheme is a morpheme that can stand by itself Therefore, it can be said that free morpheme is an independent morpheme that can be free standing without being attached to other morphemes The examples of free morphemes are boy, house, man, book, etc

According to Yule (2010), he stated that bound morphemes are morphemes that cannot stand alone and must be bound to a morpheme or other word Fromkin et al (2011) noted that bound morphemes are never able to operate independently but are always a part of words Furthermore, as O’Grady and Archibald (2016) indicated, bound morphemes are morphemes that must be bound to other elements From the definition above, it can be said that bound morphemes as morphemes that are dependent

Some linguists argued that elements like o in speed-o-meter and bar-o-meter, in

sister-in-law or mother-in-sister-in-law, and a in now-adays can be considered infix-like in English (Çelik, 2007, pp

95-96; Trask, 2000), true infixes are exceptionally rare in this language, so they are not always mentioned in morphology studies

2.1.2.2.2 Derivational and Inflectional morphemes

Yule (2010, p 69) made a further distinction within the set of bound morphemes in English, with derivational morphemes used to create new words or to “make words of a different grammatical class from the stem” Derivational morphemes are not words on their own However, they possess semantic content since every derivational morpheme attached to a base adds meaning

to the derived word (Fromkin et al., 2011) The second type of bound morphemes is inflectional morphemes, which are used to illustrate information on the grammatical function of a word Learners use inflectional morphemes to signify whether a word is singular or plural, whether it is past tense or not, and whether it is a comparative or possessive form (Fatmawaty & Angrayni, 2019)

Certain derivational affixes can create a lot of new members for a given class of words In contrast, inflectional affixes are always added to available members of a given class of words According to Fatmawaty and Angrayni (2019), inflectional morphemes do not change parts of speech or meaning With only eight inflectional morphemes in English, their roles tend to be shaded away by the dominance of derivational morphemes However, it is essential to study inflectional morphemes alongside derivational morphemes in language research as they contribute to the grammatical meaning of words (Yule, 2010; Fromkin et al., 2011; O’Grady & Archibald, 2016)

2.1.2.2.3 Lexical and Functional morphemes

Free morphemes, on the other hand, can be broadly categorized into lexical morphemes (content or open-class words) and functional morphemes (grammatical or closed-class words) Lexical morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone and receive an affix, either a suffix or a prefix Lexical morphemes in English encompass nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, which transmit the core content of the messages speakers intend to convey (Çelik, 2007, p 94; Lems et al., 2010)

Functional morphemes are morphemes that can stand alone but cannot receive affixes, both suffixes and prefixes Functional morphemes, on the other hand, primarily constitute functional words in English, such as articles, prepositions, conjunctions, quantifiers, and pronouns (O’Grady & Archibald, 2016) Due to the difficulty in creating new functional morphemes in the language, these morphemes are considered a closed class of words English learners can grasp the meaning of lexical morphemes independently, but comprehending the meaning of functional morphemes typically requires their occurrence alongside other words within a sentence (Haspelmath & Sims, 2010)

2.2 Morpheme analysis and synthesis 2.2.1 Morpheme synthesis

Morpheme synthesis focuses on the productivity of morphological structure, involving assembling the smallest components (morphemes) to create words This aspect assumes that

learners possess knowledge of these components in order to be able to construct new meanings within words (Arnoff & Fudeman, 2005; McBride-Chang et al., 2005)

The affixation process unquestionably stands as the most prevalent method for creating new words in the English language However, the expansive and ingenious nature of human language exceeds the bounds of affixation, giving rise to diverse methods of word generation Speakers frequently employ these innovative approaches to create new words, and, under the right conditions, these may be adopted by the larger linguistic community, integrating them into the language” (Akmajian et al., 2010, p 27)

However, as highlighted by Öz (2014), there are irregularities or exceptions in English morphology, such as irregular plurals or irregular past forms of verbs, which can be traced back to historical factors or the incorporation of borrowed words As a result, it is almost impossible for learners to apply morphological rules to decipher the words for meaning For this reason, language studies on morphology should not include irregularities or exceptions (De Belder, 2021)

Another concern is that alongside affixation, other fundamental processes contribute to the creation of new words, including coinage, borrowing, blending, clipping, backformation, conversion, acronyms, and eponyms (Akmajian et al., 2010)

However, as these processes depend on social factors and lack of stabilities and make fewer contributions to the new word formation as affixation (Akmajian et al., 2010; De Belder, 2021), they were planned to be excluded from the study

2.2.2 Morpheme analysis

Morpheme analysis identifies morphemes or breaks words down into meaningful components (McBride-Chang et al., 2005; Magg, 2007) Similarly, Amiljalili and Jabbri (2018) claim that awareness of the analytic aspect of morphological knowledge is the essential understanding that words have internal structure and that words that share a common base morpheme also share some aspects of meaning Furthermore, morpheme analysis assists learners in gaining a deep understanding of word knowledge, enabling them to recognize word recognition and word definitions easily (Magg, 2007; Ahmed, 2017; Rabadi, 2019; Asaad et al., 2022)

2.3 Reading comprehension 2.3.1 Definition

According to Graesser (2007) and Shang (2010), achieving excellence in reading involves mastering various components, and considering them across different levels Additionally, Grabe (2009), “Reading is a strategic process in that a number of the skills and processes are needed on

the part of the reader to anticipate text information, select key information, organize and mentally summarize information, monitor comprehension, repair comprehension breakdowns, and match comprehension output to reader goals" (p 15) Therefore, fostering expertise in students and cultivating strategic readers should be a significant objective in reading instruction (Janzen & Stoller, 1988) The term for the ability to process the text and grasp its meaning is known as reading comprehension

According to the Da Vinci Collaborative (2023), comprehension denotes the capacity to effortlessly understand, process, and interpret written text which is one of the main pillars of reading Furthermore, McNamara (2007) asserts that comprehension involves surpassing the literal words to comprehend the ideas in a text and the relationships among those ideas This process encompasses analyzing, synthesizing, understanding, and interpreting written pieces of text from various sources such as books, articles, or essays Similarly, according to van den Broek and Espin (2012), reading comprehension is a sophisticated interaction among automatic and strategic cognitive processes, allowing the reader to form a mental representation of the text Comprehension relies on the reader’s characteristics, including prior knowledge and working memory, as well as language processes like basic reading skills, decoding, vocabulary, sensitivity to text structure, inference, and motivation Effective comprehension also necessitates the use of strategic processes like metacognition and comprehension monitoring As readers advance in their comprehension skills, they can transition efficiently from the initial stage of learning to read to the ultimate goal of reading to learn (Yovanoff et al., 2005)

2.3.2 Classification and its characteristics

According to Oakley (2011, p 279) reading comprehension is the ability to derive meaning from text and it is the ultimate goal of reading activity Besides, Baier (2005, p.1) suggested that reading comprehension is a skill that is critical to the educational success of all individuals He added, that without any adequate reading comprehension, a learner will struggle in many areas Reading comprehension is needed for all areas in the school such as science, math, and social In short, the researcher can conclude that reading comprehension is a product of reading activity while reading activity is the process It means that reading comprehension is an active process, not a passive one, and it requires a deep level of engagement with the text, as well as a deeper level of understanding

Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand a written passage of text Effective reading is essential for a rich academic, professional, and personal life Reading fluency is a very

important part of reading comprehension as readers who spend their time decoding words tend to lose the understanding of what is being read

There are eight features that should be involved in assessing the learners' reading comprehension (Brown, 2004) They include main idea, expression/ idioms/ phrases in context, inference, grammatical features, detail (scanning for a specifically stated detail), excluding facts not written (unstated details), supporting idea, and vocabulary in context

According to Cash and Schumm (2006), the comprehension process involves an understanding of words and how these words are used to create meaning Comprehension entails three elements that are discussed below:

The reader who is doing the comprehending: To comprehend, a reader must have a wide range of capacities and abilities These include cognitive capacities, motivation, and various types of knowledge

The text that is to be comprehended: The features of the text have a large effect on comprehension Comprehension does not occur by simply extracting meaning from text Texts can be difficult or easy, depending on the factors inherent in the text When too many of these factors are not matched to readers’ knowledge and experience, the text may be too difficult for optimal comprehension to occur

The activity in which comprehension is a part: A reading activity involves one or more purposes, some operations to process the text at hand, and the consequences of performing the activity The consequences of reading are part of the activity Some reading activities lead to an increase in the knowledge a reader has Another consequence of reading activity is finding out how to do something

Examples of this process are the reader making sense of the written text in order to get information and knowledge from the text and respond to the ideas of the author in order to make the messages or information

2.3.3 Reading comprehension assessment

In the context of reading, there are five types of reading from simplest to most complex, including perceptive reading, selective reading, interactive reading, intensive reading, and extensive reading (Educational Research Techniques, 2017)

Perceptive reading: Understanding something or figuring things out is the main activity in perceptive reading This activity usually involves the identification of words, punctuations, and others or matching pictures Perceptive reading tasks deal with the elements of a unit of language,

such as letters, words, word, punctuation, and other graphemic symbols (Brown, 2004) The focus of perceptive reading lies on the form such as recognizing the words, sentences, and punctuation rather than the meaning

Selective reading: Selective reading requires the students to recognize word, grammatical, or discourse features of language within a very short sentence or short paragraph (Brown, 2004) The focus of selective reading is the form of the words and grammatical aspects of language This activity involves the process of sorting things out or selecting the important information by careful choice

Interactive reading: Using both knowledge of word structure and existing knowledge to interpret the text they read is what interactive reading activity is Interactive reading can require students to read several paragraphs to one page of text or more and psycho-linguistically interact with the text (negotiate meaning) to identify relevant features and retain information that is conceptually processed (Brown, 2004) One such example entails a paragraph about chocolate and multiple-choice comprehension-check questions following the passage

Intensive reading: Intensive reading involves studying the text carefully in every word and grammatical by contrasting, examining, decoding, and maintaining every expression that has been found in the text (Pang et al., 2003) This activity involves the reader’s concentration in order to comprehend the detailed information in the text It may be the sentence, the paragraph, and the whole text The focus of intensive reading is the language and the grammatical features

Extensive reading: In order to review the ideas related to the text, a summary is often used The focus of extensive reading is usually the message which is conveyed by the writer The purpose of learning reading through extensive reading was studying the language not the content, not only seeking information but also could be for pleasure purposes (Richard & Julian, 1998) In contrast to intensive reading, extensive reading is an activity that involves the reader’s own pleasure because the focus of this activity is the content of the text, not the language

Based on the explanation above, there are five types of reading, namely perceptive reading, selective reading, interactive reading, intensive reading, and extensive reading The researcher chose to focus specifically on intensive reading due to its alignment with the study’s objectives The majority of questions in reading comprehension were explored and linked to the vocabulary in context The students were required to read two texts within a limited time and select the correct answer containing words related to morphological knowledge in these passages Therefore, in this study, the reading comprehension test of the pretest and posttest was designed to correspond with

the intensive reading All multiple-choice questions were connected with vocabulary in context to clearly demonstrate the relationship between morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

2.4 Significance of morphology knowledge in improving reading comprehension

The exploration of morphological knowledge’s pivotal role in enhancing reading comprehension has garnered consistent attention from scholars Morphological knowledge, as

highlighted by Schreuder and Baayen (1995), is integral in revealing the intricacies within a word

It involves learners deducing word forms, accessing morphemes, and cultivating generic vocabulary knowledge, ultimately enhancing their reading comprehension abilities Similarly, as Nagy et al (1993) pointed out, students could improve their lexical resources thanks to morphological knowledge of prefixes, roots, and suffixes Other studies also suggested that morphological knowledge plays an indispensable role in the processes of comprehending, storing, and retrieving words (Bowers & Kirby, 2006; Kucan, 2012; Templeton, 2009, 2010; Akbulut, 2017; Goodwin et al., 2015)

This consistency across studies suggests that learners equipped with a more solid foundation of morphological knowledge are likely to achieve a deeper understanding of English words and language use, especially in the context of reading comprehension McBride-Chang et al (2005) and Wang et al (2006) further elaborated on how morphology knowledge empowers readers can determine and comprehend new meanings by deconstructing unfamiliar abstract words into their constituent morphemes Carlisle (2010) also suggested that word analysis, which involves identifying and manipulating morphemes, deciphering complex terms, constructing new meanings, and comprehending the meaning of words, is helpful in expanding vocabulary and enhancing text understanding

Sandra (1994) confirmed that morphological processing is a determinant of lexical access at the word level (vocabulary knowledge), contributing to text-level understanding (reading comprehension) Leong (1999) also suggested that word formation rules of synthesis and analysis play an indispensable role in students' reading comprehension As defined by Cash and Schumm (2006), the reading comprehension process involves an understanding of words and how these words are used to create meaning Oakley (2011, p 279) also described that reading comprehension is the ability to derive meaning from text, which is the ultimate goal of reading activity

In the process of learning English, students frequently come across words they are not familiar with They can understand word manipulation through the study of morphology since morphology involves the study of word formation Within the realm of morphology, learners learn how to form words into new words and understand the two aspects related to morphological knowledge

Several studies have consistently shown that morphological knowledge plays an indispensable role in reading comprehension (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2007; Karimi, 2012; Amirjalili & Jabbari, 2018) The conducted on morphological knowledge and reading comprehension indicated that L2 learners who can break words into meaningful parts not only increase their vocabulary but also have an extended enhanced comprehension of reading in the target language That is because being aware of derivational morphemes often offers students a reference to successfully inferred word meaning, which works as a guide to better comprehension of words and texts (Kieffer & Lesaux, 2012)

According to Kuo and Anderson (2006) and Crosson et al (2018), morphological knowledge and reading comprehension have a reciprocal and directional relationship In the reciprocal relationship, both morphological knowledge and reading comprehension contribute to improving each other Otherwise, morphological knowledge may lead to reading proficiency, but the opposite is impossible Based on what Graves et al (2013) stipulated, research revealed that the ability to diagnose and recognize morphological word families can be a skill in reading As Nagy and Anderson (1984) claimed, 60% of the unknown words a reader encounters in a text have meanings that can be imagined based on their constituent parts Through better comprehension of word formation processes, a reader will be more empowered to guess the meanings of these words, read longer words more accurately and fluently, and then manage to work out the text (Nagy et al., 2003)

Further, according to Carlisle and Stone (2003), the morpheme refers to a word usually made up of smaller recognizable units It means a morpheme to helps one to understand or guess the meaning of new words The students’ morphological knowledge helps decode words, include their meaning, and facilitate both word reading and understanding of words in texts (Lam et al., 2012) Word recognition is a critical part of reading (Adams, 1990) The faster one recognizes the words, the more fluent the reader s/he becomes (YucelKoc, 2015) Automatic word recognition could help their synthetic and analytic aspects of morphological knowledge The words less often like academic words can be accessed by segmenting them into morphemes When the students have

morphological knowledge aspects, they should be able to access words with decoding So the students can help to recognize the words more easily and quickly Levesque et al (2017) state that direct and indirect relationships exist between two aspects of morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Morphological knowledge contributes to morphological decoding which can influence reading comprehension Weak morphological knowledge may be a limiting factor in the acquisition of new vocabulary Morphological knowledge could help students find out the new meanings of words and morphologically complex words when they read a text According to Jiang et al (2015), there is an important difference between successful and less successful readers when they apply morphological information Successful readers are worth synthetic and analytic morphology whilst less successful readers underestimate it

Ku and Anderson (2003) conducted a study to investigate whether morphological knowledge plays a significant role in vocabulary acquisition and reading proficiency among second, fourth, and sixth American and Chinese graders of English and Chinese languages and it was found that morphological knowledge is indispensable for English vocabulary acquisition and reading proficiency

Moreover, Zhang and Koda (2013) contended that the distinct impact of morphological knowledge on reading comprehension can be elucidated through three reasons Initially, it aided in deducing the meaning of intricate words while reading, subsequently facilitating vocabulary acquisition This, in turn, assisted learners in overcoming vocabulary gaps during reading, thereby enhancing overall comprehension Secondly, learners utilized the syntactic cues offered by suffixes in derived words to parse complex sentences, ultimately contributing to improved comprehension Lastly, morphological knowledge could enhance comprehension by influencing fluency in decoding morphologically intricate words

Nevertheless, there is a scarcity of research on the morphological knowledge of L2 learners as a central area of focus, and the limited relevant research sometimes yield conflicting findings on the potential contribution of morphological knowledge to L2 reading comprehension (Zhang & Koda, 2013) According to Kieffer and Lesaux (2008), the synthetic and analytic aspects of morphological knowledge among Spanish English as a Second Language (ESL) learners uniquely influenced reading comprehension, alongside oral vocabulary and word reading ability As Zhang and Koda (2012) study, it was observed that advanced Chinese EFL learners’ synthetic and analytic knowledge indirectly contributed to reading comprehension through the mediation of lexical inferencing ability and vocabulary knowledge Additionally, Zhang and Koda (2013)

underscore the significance of word formation rules and morphological knowledge in the EFL curriculum and pedagogy Their findings suggest that morphology training could enhance L2 reading, not only for Chinese learners but also for those of other backgrounds

Furthermore, an understanding of morphemes appears to play a crucial role in learners’ comprehension of text Logan (2010) posited that a conscious grasp of morphological rules contributes to the understanding of syntactically intricate academic English sentences He emphasized the significance of recognizing the morphological structure of word construction for English language learners (ELLs) Moreover, morphemes serve various functions, including inflection, derivation, and compound processes in synthetic and analytic aspects In a three-year longitudinal study, Logan observed significant distinctions between native and non-native English-speaking learners in terms of comprehension, vocabulary, and word reorganization measures The study indicated that native English speakers consistently outperformed their counterparts Consequently, morphological knowledge, word reading, and vocabulary exhibited similar relationships with each other and with reading comprehension for both English-only speakers and ELLs In line with these findings, Gomez (2009) suggested that students should receive explicit and systematic training on morphological rules, derivational and inflectional roots, as well as suffixes

According to Ahmed (2017), the research investigates students’ morphological knowledge via tests The findings revealed that the average score for morpheme analysis was higher when compared to morpheme synthesis Additionally, there was a strong positive correlation between students’ overall scores on the analytic aspect section of the morphological knowledge test and their scores on the reading comprehension test Similarly, a strong positive correlation was observed between students’ overall scores on the synthetic aspect section of the morphological knowledge test and reading comprehension test, although it was somewhat weaker than the correlation observed in the first section of the test

2.5 Research gaps

Although morphological knowledge plays a crucial role in L2 learning, it has not received extensive attention in international research literature While research on morphology has been prominent in studies on first language and the native mental lexicon, it has largely been overlooked in the context of L2 learning context (Sandra, 1997) Only a few studies have been done on the topic worldwide

Moreover, most researchers focused on morphological knowledge or learning reading comprehension The effects of morphology knowledge provided in the course on both morphological knowledge and their effects on reading comprehension remain unexplored

Whether these aspects are susceptible to instruction in the EFL context remains unanswered It is still being determined if providing instruction in these for EFL learners can improve their reading comprehension Furthermore, the relative contribution of each aspect to enhanced reading comprehension needs to be better defined

To address these gaps, the current study aims to investigate how the morphology course effects third-year English majors at an upper-intermediate level in the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking By concurrently examining the effects on morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, the study seeks to provide realistic information for those who are interested in English teaching and learning in an EFL context

The purpose of this literature review was to investigate the significance of morphological knowledge on learners’ reading comprehension which was researched before Scholars have made many findings, but not all of them can be readily applied in practice This review establishes the foundation for the researcher’s study to explore the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving the reading comprehension of third-year English majors at HUB Therefore, the discussed literature provides a sufficient theoretical background for the methodology investigated in the next chapter

CHAPTER 3 – METHODOLOGY

The study aims to assess the effectiveness of the morphology course in improving the reading comprehension of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking In order to achieve this, an appropriate research methodology needs to be carefully chosen This chapter presents the research process, the research setting, the research participants, the research design, the data collection instruments, the data analysis tools, and the methods to ensure trustworthiness Simultaneously, the researcher justifies the choice of those methods

3.1 Research process

According to StudySmarter (2023), the research process constitutes a systematic series of steps that a researcher follows to guarantee the thorough completion of all aspects of an investigation Adhering to this research process enabled the researcher to address all facets comprehensively, ensuring the reliability and effective presentation of the gathered information

The research process in this study typically unfolded in a systematic and structured approach that involved several key stages Firstly, the researcher identified a research problem by observing problems at HUB Once the problem was defined, a thorough review of related literature was undertaken to establish a foundation of existing knowledge and fill in the gaps in the field

Following the literature review, the researcher addressed the research objectives and formulated research questions that guided this study This step helped the researcher clarify the scope and purpose of the research Subsequently, the researcher chose research methods that aligned with the research objectives In other words, quantitative (pre-test and post-test) and qualitative design were employed to determine the objectives of this study

After collecting data, the analysis stage began, where quantitative data and qualitative data were employed to interpret the findings The results were then organized and reported After that, the researcher drew conclusions based on the analysis data and discussions, highlighting some implications for the chosen field These implications were expected to provide valuable insights for instructors, students, and future researchers, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge within the given domain The researcher also provided recommendations for individuals in the field, contributing to the ongoing development of knowledge In this study, the research process was summarized in Figure 3.1

Figure 3.1 Research process

3.2 Research setting

The research setting refers to the place where the study was conducted and the data were collected This study took place at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking, located in Thu Duc, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam The researcher selected the English majors from the Faculty of Foreign Languages to collect the necessary data for addressing the research questions The detailed timeline of the research is presented in Table 3.1

4 Examination and revision of thesis

Table 3.1 The time of the research

Undertaking a research study on morphology in six different classes has been quite challenging for the researcher Each class has its timetable and is taught by other instructors As a result, conducting a comprehensive research study became a complex task because it was hard for the researcher to organize a space with all participants who could participate in the research simultaneously within a limited time Due to these constraints, the researcher could only carry out pre-tests and post-tests within the timeframes of each class The lecturers in charge of the morphology subject gave specific timeframes Detailed information about the date and time allotted to conduct research in each class is shown in Table 3.2

3 D03 07/09 (9:00 - 9:30 a.m.) 12/10 (8:00 - 8:30 a.m.) 4 D04 07/09 (2:30 - 3:00 p.m.) 12/10 (2:30 - 3:00 p.m.) 5 D05 08/09 (9:00 - 9:30 a.m.) 13/10 (8:00 - 8:30 a.m.) 6 D06 08/09 (2:00 - 2:30 p.m.) 13/10 (2:30 - 3:00 p.m.)

Table 3.2 Date and time allotted to conduct research

3.3 Sample of the study

The study was conducted on 194 third-year students majoring in Business English enrolled in morphology-syntax classes in the first semester of the academic year 2023 – 2024 at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking All the participants are FFL students, and their first language is Vietnamese To collect the relevant data, the researcher emailed morphology-syntax teachers for permission to conduct in-class tests for students The researcher went to the six classes, introduced the research objectives, and invited all students in the six classes to participate, and 100% of students agreed to participate voluntarily

Before starting each pre-test and post-test in different classes, the researcher announced that the results of this survey did not affect the student’s academic performance Therefore, the researcher hopes students can perform the test and answer the questions In the pre-test, the total number of tests issued is 194, and the total number received is 194 In the post-test, the total number of tests administered is 194, and the total number received is 194 All accepted tests are valid, resulting in a 100% acceptance rate of pre-tests and post-tests

In the qualitative data, the researcher received 33 responses from respondents through Google Forms within five days Even though the instructions requested answers in English instead of Vietnamese, one response did not meet the requirement and was discarded As a result, the researcher received 32 valid responses for analysis and assessment

3.4 Research design

This research used mix-methods, including both quantitative and qualitative designs Firstly, the researcher wanted to determine the effectiveness of the morphology course on the results of students’ Morphological Knowledge Test and Reading Comprehension Test through the pre-test and post-test Secondly, the researcher sought to explore the third-year English majors’ opinions toward the morphology course at HUB

In the quantitative design, the researcher employed a longitudinal study to examine how a phenomenon unfolds over time, specifically at two distinct times This was achieved through panel studies, given the participants underwent consecutive measures at various intervals This research design was deemed optimal since it facilitated the collection of detailed information regarding changes on a small scale Its application allowed for comparing the participants’ pre-test and post-test outcomes

In the qualitative design, a cross-sectional design was utilized for its ease of participant recruitment and cost and energy efficiency The chosen methodology was ethnographic, as the

researcher sought to explore the opinions of the third-year English majors regarding the effectiveness of the morphology course Through this approach, the researcher delved into participants’ opinions on the effect of the morphology course on improving their morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

3.5 Data collection instruments

The instruments the researcher used were tests (a piece of paper) to obtain objective results The aims of both tests evaluated the effect of the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension The pre-test and post-test comprised two sections, namely the Morphological Knowledge Test and the Reading Comprehension Test, each containing 35 questions The first section assessed students' morphological synthetic and analytic word formation rules, and one section assessed students' reading comprehension The assessment items for students' morphological synthetic and analytic knowledge encompass gap-filling, checklist, and multiple-choice selections In contrast, reading comprehension evaluation involved two different passages with two multiple-choice To ensure the discriminability and difficulty of the pre-test and post-test, these instruments went through testing for reliability and validity

In order to achieve the objective of the study, the researcher conducted the pre-test and test by personally distributing and collecting the assessments in the classroom with the permission of lecturers and participants This hands-on approach ensured direct engagement with participants and maintaoned consistency in the process, contributing to the reliability of data collection for the study

post-These instruments for quantiative design can be categorized into two main groups: the Morphological Knowledge Test - to measure the independent variables, and the Reading Comprehension Test - to measure the dependent variables A comprehensive list of all materials is provided in Table 3.3, with detailed explanations of the measurement, source, and format examples

Variable type Measurement Quantitative design

Morphological Knowledge Test

Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme synthesis)

Pre-test & test

et al., 2005

Individual, written (gap-filling)

Morpheme Identification Test

(Morpheme analysis)

Word Familiarity

(Yes-No) Word Recognition

multiple-choice Word Definition

multiple-choice

Reading Comprehension Test

Vocabulary questions

Reading comprehension

comprehension passage 2

English Anderson, 2008 Individual, written, multiple-choice

Table 3.3 Summary of Instruments

The pre-test and post-test instruments were used to address the two first research questions:

“What is the effect of the morphology course on the morphological knowledge of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?” and “What is the effect of the morphology course on the reading comprehension of the third-year English majors at Ho Chi Minh University of Banking?” The Morphological Knowledge Test with two sections includes the Morphological

Structure Test (Morpheme synthesis) (Mc-Bride-Chang, Wagner, Muse, Chow, & Shu, 2005) and the Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme Analysis) (Magg, 2007); the Reading comprehension test adapted from Active Skills for Reading by Anderson (2008) These tests were selected due to their consistent and reliable performance, as well as the ease with which the results can be scored and interpreted

3.5.1 The Morphological Knowledge Test

The Morphological Knowledge Test, adapted from Chang et al (2005) for the Morphological Structure Test and Magg (2007) for the Morpheme Identification Test, was applied to assess the student’s ability to deduce the word forms and access the morphemic units in English This test is of interest to the researchers as it encompasses both the morpheme analysis as well as morpheme synthesis of word formation rules In this study, the test is utilized to gauge students' knowledge of the relationship between words and their correlation within a sentence The Morphological Knowledge Test consisted of two parts: The Morphological Structure Test and the Morpheme Identification Test, which are discussed below

3.5.1.1 The Morphological Structure Test (Morpheme Synthesis)

The Morphological Structure Test, which was adapted from Chang et al.'s (2005) test battery, was used to measure the subjects' ability to synthesize morphemes to create new words that align with the context of the sentences This test aimed to assess learners' knowledge of the lexical structure and the relationships among morphemes or word parts This morphological structure requires students to combine morphemes in a quite productive manner The number of questions for pre-test and post-test consisted of 10 items, five items for each test The items included two inflectional affixes, two derivational affixes, six compound words, and 16 stems Each morpheme in both tests was assigned one point, resulting in a total score of 5 for both the pre-test and post-test morphological structure The participants were provided with a frame sentence containing the usage of the target morpheme and were asked to complete another sentence In other words, the test task requires test takers to use the frame sentence to complete the next sentence The response required morpheme compounding or syntactic manipulation

3.5.1.2 The Morpheme Identification Test (Morpheme Analysis)

The Morpheme Identification Test was adapted from Magg (2007) for measuring the learners’ morphology skills This section has three mini-parts, including Word Familiarity, Word Recognition, and Word Definition Each part necessitated a response to the same set of five morphologically complex words Consequently, the questions for the pre-test and post-test consisted of a total of 30 items, with 15 in each test All the words in this section were chosen at the upper-intermediate level (B2 high), determined based on word frequencies as outlined in the Word Frequency Book (Carroll, Davies, & Richman, 1971) It is worth noting that compound words were deliberately avoided in this section to prevent ambiguity in choosing a root word

For Part 1, Word Familiarity, participants were given a list of 10 complex words (five complex words for the pre-test and five for the post-test) and instructed to mark the words they knew The instructions specified, “check yes if you could use the word in a sentence.” In common language, familiarity with a word implies recognizing its meaning, and the primary purpose of Part 1 was to elicit a yes-or-no response indicating this level of acquaintance with each word However, a less apparent objective was to access a deeper level of knowledge in the subsequent stages of the test Comprehensive knowledge of a word involves understanding its associations with derivationally related words While this knowledge is typically implicit, the sequence of Part 1 (Word familiarity) followed by the second part aimed to make this knowledge explicit

For Part 2, Word Recognition, participants were tasked with identifying the simpler word that is morphologically linked to each complex word The participants had to recognize these words’ root (base) The score of Part 2 would reflect the student’s fundamental understanding of general derivational word-formation processes However, considering the results of Part 2 exclusively for the words identified as “known” in Part 1, it captured the particular, frequently implicit understanding of the derivational relationships associated with those specific test words This approach contributed to calculating the morphological knowledge (MK) score

For Part 3, Word Definition, a standard-format, multiple-choice vocabulary test was administered, requiring participants to select the definition of the target word Word Definition serves as a straightforward gauge of knowledge regarding word meanings Analyzing Part 3 responses for words identified as known in Part 1 enables the assessment of metacognitive skills This comparison, termed Accuracy, helps determine whether students comprehend the meanings of the words they believe they know

Figure 3.2 Scoring of the Morpheme Identification Test (Analytic aspect)

3.5.2 Reading Comprehension Test

“Active Skills for Reading” by Anderson (2008) is a widely recognized tool employed for both research endeavors and the assessment of reading progress in educational and clinical contexts (Mojtaba et al., 2015) In this study, “Active Skills for Reading” by Anderson (2008) was utilized to gauge participants’ reading comprehension The Reading Comprehension Test was the pre-test and post-test, featuring two upper-intermediate reading passages with 15 multiple-choice questions These questions aimed to assess participants’ understanding of prefixes and suffixes, with all questions in both passages focusing on vocabulary knowledge The passages were age- and level-appropriate, and students were instructed to read the passages and choose the most suitable alternatives Each test question carried a score of 1, resulting in a maximum score of 15 The allotted time for this section was 15 minutes

This pre-test comprises two reading passages with 15 questions, each offering two options The post-test was complied with parallel-form with the pre-test The post-test items are intentionally set to the same difficulty level as those in the pre-test Again, the researcher used to measure the effect of the morphology course on participants’ reading comprehension

3.5.3 Qualitative survey

To address the final research question, a qualitative survey questionnaire was employed to gather the third-year English majors’ opinions toward the morphology course at HUB The research design of this qualitative inquiry involved three open-ended questions through Google

Forms, prompting students to respond to at least 20 words for each question The qualitative survey questionnaire asked participants to answer questions related to students’ opinions regarding the effectiveness of the morphology course on improving their morphological knowledge and reading comprehension Respondents completed the survey anonymously at their convenience, with no specific instructions provided regarding expectations The survey questions are detailed in the appendices section (See Appendix E)

3.6 Data analysis tools

In this research, both quantitative and qualitative data analyses were undertaken to address the three research questions aimed at assessing the effect of the morphology course on improving morphological knowledge and reading comprehension, and the researcher attempts to explore students’ opinions regarding the morphology course at HUB

In the quantitative data, the student’s test results (both pre-test and post-test) were analyzed using the software package SPSS (version 26.0), a widely utilized tool in applied linguistics and educational research The researcher systematically coded the data by assigning unique codes to each student, created a data file, and subsequently inputted the coded data In this study, the researcher mainly uses descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-test to statistic the general situation and analyze differences between the morphology course on students’ morphological knowledge and reading comprehension

In the qualitative data, the researcher scrutinized each respondent’s responses in the ended questions survey During the coding phase, the researcher highlighted extracts of the participants’ responses for easy identification Subsequently, in the precoding phase, the researcher thoroughly reviewed responses, reflecting on them and documenting thoughts in a journal In the initial coding phase, keywords extracted directly from the responses were incorporated to enhance the authenticity of preliminary codes These codes were then transformed into percentages, representing the proportion of respondents who shared similar opinions To interpret the data, the researcher followed an iterative approach Initial interpretations commenced during the coding process, progressing as the researcher continued to read, re-read students’ responses, and documented reflections along the way This iterative process allowed the researcher to grow familiarity with the data, leading to revealing underlying meanings As a result, the coding process facilitated a more profound understanding of the opinions of the third-year English majors toward the morphology course at HUB