nghiên cứu việc dạy kỹ năng đọc hiểu cho sinh viên năm thứ nhất không chuyên anh tại trường đại học tài nguyên và môi trường hà nội sử dụng giáo trình new cutting edge - elementary

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ------ MAI THỊ HIỀN A STUDY ON TEACHING READING SKILLS TO T

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

- -

MAI THỊ HIỀN

A STUDY ON TEACHING READING SKILLS

TO THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT HANOI UNIVERSITY FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

USING THE TEXTBOOK “NEW CUTTING EDGE –ELEMENTARY”

(NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC DẠY KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG

CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TÀI NGUYÊN VÀ MÔI TRƯỜNG HÀ NỘI SỬ DỤNG

GIÁO TRÌNH NEW CUTTING EDGE - ELEMENTARY)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

- -

MAI THỊ HIỀN

A STUDY ON TEACHING READING SKILLS

TO THE FIRST YEAR NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT HANOI UNIVERSITY FOR NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT

USING THE TEXTBOOK “NEW CUTTING EDGE –ELEMENTARY”

(NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC DẠY KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC HIỂU CHO SINH VIÊN NĂM THỨ NHẤT KHÔNG

CHUYÊN ANH TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TÀI NGUYÊN VÀ MÔI TRƯỜNG HÀ NỘI SỬ DỤNG

GIÁO TRÌNH NEW CUTTING EDGE - ELEMENTARY)

M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111

Supervisor: Dr.Tran Thi Thu Hien

Mai Thi Hien

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to show my deep gratitude to all the lecturers

at University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi for the invaluable lectures, which laid the foundation for my thesis

I would like to register my deep gratitude to Ms Tran Thi Thu Hien for her ever-enthusiasm, responsibility and devotion Thanks to her critical feedbacks, invaluable suggestions and constant encouragement the study has been timely completed

My special thanks also go to my colleagues who are also teachers of Hanoi University for Natural Resources and Environment I wish to express my thankfulness to all the first year students at the University for their cooperation and support for my data collection, providing me with insights into reading skills learning, reading texts and their teachers‟ performance

Last but not least, I would like to delicate to my family and friends for their constant assistance and encouragement during the time I carry out the research Without them I believe the study could not be completed

ABSTRACT

This study is an attempt to investigate factors affecting teaching reading skills

to the first year non-English major students at Hanoi University for Natural

Resources and Environment (HUNRE) using the textbook “New Cutting Edge –

Elementary” The main purposes of the study are (i) to understand more fully the

nature of reading and reaffirm the importance teaching reading skills to the first year non-English major students at HUNRE then (ii) to investigate the real situation of the practical teaching reading skills at the University and find out the positive factors and problems that affect the quality of teaching reading skills to the first year non-English major students of the University, and (iii) to provide some suggested techniques to help the teachers and students of the university teach

reading skills in the “New Cutting Edge – Elementary” course book more

effectively

The study shows that teaching English reading skills at HUNRE appears to possess a combination of both positive and negative statistics Positive discovery is the fact that most of the teachers and students at HUNRE are aware of the importance of reading skills: they expressed their positive attitudes to learning and teaching reading skills as well as developing reading skills All of the students also have clear purpose in reading Many of them read for different purposes such as pleasure, gaining information and background knowledge, improving language skills supplementing grammar, enriching vocabulary and improving pronunciation

In contrast, the negative findings are related to the number of students in a

classroom; the demotivating reading texts in the course “New Cutting Edge –

Elementary”, technical aids, the lack of background knowledge; and the

inappropriate, ineffective and out of date methods being used in teaching reading skills of the teachers at HUNRE On the basis of the data collection and analysis, the author has provided some suggestions on training students to become efficient readers, improving teachers‟ teaching skills and developing reading materials

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT III LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS VII LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES VIII

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

1 Rationale 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Methods of the study 3

5 Scope of the study 3

6 Design of the study 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

1.1 Definitions of reading skills 5

1.2 Reading skills 7

1 3 Reading texts 9

1.3.1 Different kinds of reading texts: 9

1 3.2 Informational text features: 10

1.4 Principles for teaching reading skills to elementary learners 13

1.4.1 Selecting appropriate reading materials 13

1.4.2 Focusing on vocabulary development skill 13

1.4.3 Providing both intensive and extensive reading instruction 14

1.4.4 Explicit teaching reading sub-skills 14

1.5 Reading sub-skills 15

1.5.1 Scanning and skimming skills 15

1.5.1.1 Scanning skills 15

1.5.1.2 Skimming skills 16

1.5.2 Intensive and extensive reading skills 17

1.5.2.1 Intensive reading skills 17

1.5.2.2 Extensive reading skills 20

1.5.3 Critical reading skills 22

1.5.3.1 Previewing 23

1.5.3.2 Annotating 23

CHAPTER 2: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS 25

2.1 Overview on teaching reading skills at HUNRE 25

2.1.1 Overview of HUNRE 25

2.1.2 Reading skills in New cutting Edge-Elementary 27

2.1.3 Reading proficiency scales of students at A2 level 30

2.2 The data collection and analysis 30

2.2.2 Participants 30

2.2.3 Data collection instruments 31

2.2.4 Data collection procedure 32

2.2.5 Data analysis 32

2.2.5.1 Survey questionnaire for students 32

2.2.4.2 Survey questionnaire for teachers 39

CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS 45

3.1 Findings 45

3.2 Suggestions 47

3.2.1 Suggestions for teachers 47

3.2.1.1 Making students aware of the nature of reading process 47

3.2.1.2 Promoting students to be fully aware of their reading purpose 47

3.2.1.3 Encouraging students to have extensive and reading habit 48

3.2.1.4 Recommendation for the course book adaptation 49

3.2.2 Suggestions for the university 53

3.2.2.1 Improving teachers‟ professional knowledge 53

3.2.2.2 Improving teaching methodology 53

3.2.2.3 Developing reading materials 54

PART C: CONCLUSION 56

1 Conclusion : 56

2 Limitations and recommendations for further studies: 56 REFERENCES 58 APPENDIX I: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS I APPENDIX II: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS IV

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

1 CEFR : Common European Framework of Reference

2 ESL : English as a Second Language

3 HUNRE : Hanoi University for Natural Resources and Environment

4 NFL 2020: National Foreign Language 2020

5 SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review

LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Definition of reading (Anderson) 5

Figure 2: The rhetorical triangle (Devine & Eskey) 7

Figure 3: Reading activities performed by skilled readers (Royer &Wise) 8

Figure 4: Informational Text Features (Calvert, R) 12

Figure 5: Reading text description in “New Cutting Edge – Elementary” 30

LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students‟ evaluation on the reading texts in the course book 32

Table 2: Students‟ attitude toward reading English, purposes of their reading and their difficulties in reading 34

Table 3: Students‟ responses to the teacher‟s teaching reading skills 36

Table 4 The teachers‟ evaluation towards reading texts in New Cutting Edge-Elementary 39

Table 5: Evaluation of students‟ ability and the importance, purposes of teaching reading skills 40

Table 6: Teaching how to recognize reading texts to students 41

Table 7: Teaching reading skills to students 42

Table 8: The teachers‟ using supplementary materials 43

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Understanding the importance of English, Vietnam Government has approved the Vietnam‟s National Foreign Language 2020 Project (NFL2020) (Vietnamese government‟s Decision 1400) to build national foreign language capacity The overall objectives of Project is to comprehensively renew foreign language teaching and learning in the national education system, to implement new foreign language teaching and learning programs at different education levels and training levels in order to remarkably improve human resources' foreign language proficiency, especially in a number of prioritized domains, by 2015; by 2020, most young Vietnamese graduates of professional secondary schools, colleges and universities will have a good command of foreign language which enables them to independently and confidently communicate, study and work in a multilingual and multicultural environment of integration; to turn foreign languages into a strength of Vietnamese to serve national industrialization and modernization English is now taught as a compulsory subject to all students at university in our country

All students at Hanoi University for Natural Resources and Environment (HUNRE) have tried their best to gain good knowledge of English To master English, they need to grasp all four skills that are closely related to one another: listening, speaking, reading and writing Among these skills, reading is important because it not only helps student develop other language skills, but also provides them knowledge on the target language As we read, we go back to the time, pass across the oceans and barriers of language, religions and cultures Through reading,

we can escape into the mind of a philosopher, observe with a scientist, stay with a scholar, analyze with a critic and live through a novel or a play As graduates, reading skills can help them get information to the fullest, and that providing them with useful techniques will motivate them in reading more and more about the other subjects they have to deal with in the next studying years at universities

After two years of using the “New Cutting Edge - Elementary” to teach

reading skills to the first year non-English major students at HUNRE, the author realizes that both the teachers and the students still have difficulties in finding effective ways of teaching and learning reading skills That is the reason why the

author chooses the title “A study on teaching reading skills to the first year

non-English major students at HUNRE using the textbook New Cutting Edge – Elementary” for her thesis

2 Aims of the study

For the above mentioned reasons the thesis aims at:

-understanding the nature of reading and reaffirming the importance of teaching reading skills to the first year non-English major students at HUNRE -investigating the real situation of the practical teaching reading skills at the University and finding out the positive factors and problems that affect the quality

of teaching reading skills to the first year non-English major students of the University

-suggesting possible techniques to help the teachers and students of the

university teach and learn reading skills in the “New Cutting Edge – Elementary”

course book more effectively

3 Research questions

To reach the aims mentioned above, the two research questions below will be addressed:

1 How are reading skills in New Cutting Edge – Elementary taught to first

year students at HUNRE?

2 What should be done to improve the teaching and learning reading skills

using New Cutting Edge – Elementary at HUNRE?

4 Methods of the study

In order to get the most exact information for the study, both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed with the following instruments:

-Survey questionnaires for first year and non-English-major students and for English teachers at HUNRE

-Informal interviews with teachers of English

5 Scope of the study

The study focuses on teaching reading skills to the first year non-English

major students at HUNRE using the textbook “New Cutting Edge - Elementary”

Any attempts to study the teaching of other language skills to students of other years using other textbooks at other Universities would be beyond the scope of this thesis

6 Design of the study

The thesis is divided into three parts:

Part A introduces the reason for the choice of the study, aims of the study, the research questions as well as the scope and methodology of the study

Part B comprises three chapters

Chapter 1 presents an overview of the theoretical background of the research

It is concerned with various linguistic concepts relevant to the research topic including definitions of reading skills, principles for teaching reading skills to beginning levels, reading texts and reading sub-skills

Chapter 2 is a close look at current teaching and learning reading skills at HUNRE as well as shows the context, description of instruments, data collection and analyzes the results

Chapter 3 draws the findings and proposes some suggestions to improve reading skills to the first year non-English major students at HUNRE

Part C summarizes what is addressed in the study, presents recommendation for improvements and some suggestions for further research

PART B: DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

In this chapter, the theoretical backgrounds for the study are provided The chapter focuses on introducing important relevant concepts, discussions of issues and ideas on theories for definitions on reading comprehension as well as reading skills The author will also give four principles for teaching reading skills to elementary level learners To make the point clear, the reading texts and reading sub-skills are also mentioned

1.1 Definitions of reading skills

Anderson (1996) says that “Reading can be defined simply as making meaning from print Four key elements combine in the process of making meaning from print: the reader, the text, reading strategies, and fluency Reading is a process of readers combining information from a text and their own background knowledge to build meaning” Meaning does not rest in the reader nor does it rest in

the text The reader's background knowledge integrates with the text to create the meaning The goal of reading is comprehension Fluent reading is defined as the ability to read at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension Strategic reading is defined as the ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading Good strategic readers know what

to do when they encounter difficulties The text, the reader, strategies, and fluency together define the act of reading as follows

Figure 1: Definition of reading (Anderson)

Notice that the intersection of all four circles represents reading This is the point where meaningful reading happens Grabe (1991:378) points out the

complexity of even defining reading by stating that "a description of reading has to account for the notions that fluent reading is rapid, purposeful, interactive, comprehending, flexible, and gradually developing" Meaning is at the

core of what reading is If no meaning is communicated then something other than reading is happening There is an expectation that when we read, we will do something with what we have read For example, we will place a phone call to the correct telephone number because we have found the number in the telephone book Or we will talk to a family member or a friend about something that we have read We will write a report based on information we have collected through reading We will simply read to receive pleasure We should remember that there

is a reason why we are reading

In brief, we find that there is a close relationship between reading and

understanding as Devine and Eskey (1988:13) state “reading is a process in that it starts with linguistic surface representation encoded by a writer and ends with meaning, which reader constructs There is, thus, an essential interaction between language and thought in reading The writer encodes thought in language and the reader decodes language to thought” In this definition, we can see clearly the

interrelationship between the writer, the reader and the text illustrated by a triangular interaction between the reader, the writer and the text that we call rhetorical triangle as follows:



Figure 2: The rhetorical triangle (Devine & Eskey)

The triangle has lines with arrows going in various directions The point of this diagram is that the reader has (more or less) five things to consider when

looking at a text: the communicator(s), audience(s), the message(s), immediate context, and larger context (sometimes called "background") The arrows go in

all sorts of different directions because all those things influence one another This triangle reflects the nature of reading we must understand thoroughly to help our students read effectively

1.2 Reading skills

Strong cognitive skills can make reading easy There are two reasons First, it

is difficult to focus on the material being taught if learners are using all their energy

to read the textbook or manual that is telling you about what you should learn Second, learners who have a hard time reading tend to get frustrated and give up It

is also generally known to everyone that reading is a skill that comes from experience and needs to be constantly improved through different types of reading material However, that efficient reading involves many skills that need to be fostered in a classroom Here we have a diagram about what a skilled reader can obtain:

Figure 3: Reading activities performed by skilled readers (Royer &Wise)

Strategic reading activities refer to the fact that readers need to change how they read depending on what they are reading Good readers read novels differently than chemistry textbooks When a good reader reads a chemistry textbook they slow down and place a lot of emphasis on monitoring whether they understand what they are reading In contrast, a poor reader will often read a romance novel and a chemistry textbook in the same way, without realizing the importance of changing what readers do depending on the demands of the reading activity

Language teachers are often frustrated by the fact that students do not automatically transfer the skills they use when reading in their native language to reading in a language they are learning Instead, they seem to think reading means starting at the beginning and going word by word, stopping to look up every unknown vocabulary item, until they reach the end When they do this, students are relying exclusively on their linguistic knowledge, a bottom-up strategy One of the

most important functions of the language instructor is to help students move past this idea and use top-down strategies as they do in their native language

Effective language teachers show students how they can adjust their reading behavior to deal with a variety of situations, text genres, and reading purposes They help students develop a set of reading skills and match appropriate strategies

to each reading situation

1 3 Reading texts

1.3.1 Different kinds of reading texts:

A text can come in any form and be any kind of writing Letters, advertisements, user-guides, e-mails, postcards, notes and magazine articles are all different types of text When reading something, it helps to know what type of text

it is It also helps to know why it has been written For example:

-Persuasive texts: A persuasive text tries to encourage you to do something

It may use capital letters, exclamation marks, questions and repeated words to catch your attention It usually uses adjectives to make something sound attractive Maybe

it gives only one side of an argument It takes the form of an advert; but it may also

be a letter from a friend trying to persuade you to go to a class

-Informative texts: An informative text should give facts, information or news in a clear, step-by-step way

-Instructive texts: An instructive text tells you how to do something It will often use commands and pictures It will be direct, without extra words, like adjectives

-Descriptive texts: A descriptive text tells you what something is like The writer is trying to help you imagine or „see‟ a person, place or thing Describing words, such as adjectives and adverbs are used, as well as descriptions of the five senses: look, sound, smell, touch, taste

-Letters: Texts such as letters often look the same but can have different purposes For example, a personal letter from a friend can be set out in whatever way the writer wishes and will often describe a person, place or thing A circular letter is sent to many people and, like an advertisement will often try to persuade the

reader to buy something

1 3.2 Informational text features:

Texts categorized as "informational text" usually have key points organized

in a way that make it easier for readers to find information Authors of informational text employ a variety of structures to assist the reader in finding information quickly and efficiently These might include a table of contents, an index, bold or italicized text, glossaries for specialized vocabulary, embedded definitions for specialized vocabulary, realistic illustrations of photos, captions and other labels, and graphs and charts Unlike narratives that tell a story across time in

a linear fashion, informational text is often (though not always) non-linear It is popular with skillful and non-skillful readers as it is usually topical and readers can locate a text on nearly any topic of interest Some examples of types of informational text include cause and effect books, “all about…” books, question and answer books, and most reference texts; we will examine the texts with an eye on

the following categories:

Figure 4: Informational Text Features (Calvert, R)

1.4 Principles for teaching reading skills to elementary learners

According to Nunan (2008), there are four principles when teachers prepare to teach reading to beginning proficiency level learners The teachers should consider each of these principles and how they can guide language teachers in the teaching of reading The four principles are:

1.4.1 Selecting appropriate reading materials

Languages teachers should highlight the importance of choosing material that is of our students‟ interest Drawing upon their interests will encourage reading The selection of appropriate reading material is very important for the teacher We want to make sure that the material that we are using helps us achieve our instructional goals and is not a roadblock in the development of good readers

To select text that matches a student‟s reading level you need to consider several interacting factors The general guidelines/suggestions to consider include the following three factors:

- Make sure that the reading material selected matches the theme and outcomes of the unit

- Choose reading materials that are appropriate and relevant for the audience

- The vocabulary in the text should be familiar to the learners So, they don‟t need

to decode new vocabulary, and can concentrate on reading and reading comprehension

- The grammar should also be familiar to the learners (If your learners are working

on present continuous, then the entire text should be in present continuous)

1.4.2 Focusing on vocabulary development skill

Beginning level readers need a clear focus on vocabulary-development skills Readers at this level consider their lack of vocabulary There are very simple steps that teachers can take in order to assure that vocabulary development happens in an organized fashion There are high-frequency words that beginning level readers

should be familiar with A useful copy of the 1,000 and 2,000 most frequently words used in English can be found at the personal website of ESL professor John Bauman, http://3bauman.com/gs1.html On this site, the actual words with their frequency numbers are provided

1.4.3 Providing both intensive and extensive reading instruction

The third principle for teaching reading to beginning level readers directs teachers‟ attention to teaching both intensive and extensive reading Textbooks written for classroom instruction will focus on intensive reading instruction The challenge is designing a reading program that links both intensive reading instructions with extensive reading Very few language programs are designing in such a way as to provide the explicit link between the two

1.4.4 Explicit teaching reading sub-skills

The final principle is strategy instruction It is extremely important for readers, especially those at the beginning level of language proficiency Nunan (1996, 1997) provides that a good rationale for integrating explicit instruction of

language learning strategies into the classroom curriculum “Language classrooms should have a dual focus, not only teaching language content but also on developing learning processes as well" (Nunan1996:41) The primary purpose of

instruction is to raise learners' awareness of strategies" and then allow each to select appropriate strategies to accomplish their learning goals

According to Nunan (2008), appropriate reading strategies to consider in teaching beginning level readers include:

- Scan for specific information

- Skim for the main ideas

- Intensive reading

- Extensive reading

- Critical reading: Activate prior knowledge, ask questions, make predictions

1.5 Reading sub-skills

There are different views on reading sub- skills, but according to Munby (1968), Nunan (2008), Long, Michael (1987) & Richards, Bamford (1997), these sub- skills in reading comprehension are divided as follows:

1.5.1 Scanning and skimming skills

1.5.1.1 Scanning skills

According to Nuttall (1982) scanning is a quick reading, focusing on locating specific information It involves quick eye movements, not necessarily linear in fashion, in which the eyes wander until the reader finds the piece of information needed It is used when a specific piece of information is required, such as a name, date, symbol, formula, or phrase, is required The reader knows what the item looks like and so, knows when he has located what he was searching for It is then assumed, that very little information is processed into long-term memory or even for immediate understanding because the objective is simply matching

Scanning is used often with technical, scientific or professional materials to locate specific information It is a valuable skill for second language learners to develop because often they do not require a detailed read of a text There are many everyday uses for scanning, relevant to a purpose, such as reading a schedule The teacher selects passages that do include specific information He may use authentic materials that are commonly scanned in real life, such as the telephone directory, menus, bus schedules He may ask students before they scan a text to note how the information is organized in the text He needs to remind students that as they read carefully to find the required information, they should pay particular attention to titles and keywords

The student forms questions before reading What specific information are they looking for? Then he looks for contextual clues He tries to anticipate what the answer might look like and what sorts of clues would be useful He is aware of the

graphic form that the answer may take, such as a numeral, a written number, a capitalized word or a short phrase that includes key words

Activities may include exercises that are devised by the teacher in which students scan for a single word or specific text Exercises are often carried on as a competition so students will work quickly They may make predictions and guesses, use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of what a passage is about, activate prior knowledge about the topic of the passage by answering some questions or performing a quiz, anticipate what they want to learn about the top, use titles, pictures, and prior knowledge to anticipate the contents of the text, use key words, that may have been given to them by the teacher, that do not appear in the text, that allude to the main idea

1.5.1.2 Skimming skills

general meaning of a passage, to know how the passage is organized, that is, the structure of the text, to get an idea of the intention of the writer Skimming is a more complex task than scanning because it requires the reader to organize and remember some of the information given by the author, not just to locate it Skimming is a tool

in which the author's sequence can be observed, unlike scanning in which some

predetermined information is sought after

Skimming is used when reading some general question in mind, in making decisions on how to approach a text such as when determining if a careful reading

is deserving, to build student confidence and an understanding that it is possible to gain meaning without reading every word in a text It is used as part of the SQ3R method of reading, often for speed reading This method involves the student in surveying, questioning, reading, reviewing and reciting Skimming is used for the initial survey and for review The student may want to develop this skill if they are

planning to continue with academic studies It is often used in reviewing for a test

Before the students start reading, the teacher should guide students to ask themselves the following questions: What kind of audience was the text written for? Was it, for example, the general public, technical readers, or academic students? What type of text is it? Is it, for example, a formal letter, an advertisement, or a set

of instructions? What was the author's purpose? Was it, for example, to persuade, to inform or to instruct? The teacher should make clear the purpose of the exercise,

how deeply the text is to be read to students before assigning a skimming exercise:

Students should read the title if any, the introduction or the first paragraph, the first sentence of each of the following paragraphs, any headings or sub-headings They also need to look at any pictures or phrases that are in boldface or italics and read the summary or last paragraph Students must locate facts that are expressed in sentences, not single words Although speed is essential and the teacher often sets a time limit to the activity, skimming should not be done competitively Students should be encouraged individually to better themselves To improve skimming, readers should read more and more rapidly, to form appropriate questions and predictions and then read quickly Pugh (1978:70) suggests that to assess skimming, after the students have read and completed the assigned questions,

further questions may be asked, "beyond the scope of the purpose originally set” If

students can answer these questions correctly, it indicates they have read the text

too closely

1.5.2 Intensive and extensive reading skills

1.5.2.1 Intensive reading skills

Brown (1989:172) explains that intensive reading "calls attention to grammatical forms, discourse markers, and other surface structure details for the purpose of understanding literal meaning, implications, rhetorical relationships, and the like." He draws an analogy to intensive reading as a "zoom lens" strategy

Long and Richards (1987: 115) say it is a "detailed in-class" analysis, led by the teacher, of vocabulary and grammar points, in a short passage Intensive reading

may involve students reading selections by the same author or several texts about the same topic When this occurs, content and grammatical structures repeat themselves and students get many opportunities to understand the meanings of the

text The success of "Intensive reading" on improving reading comprehension is

based on the premise that the more familiar the reader is with the text, either due to the subject matter or having read other works by the same author, the more comprehension is promoted

The intensive reading is usually classroom based The reader is intensely involved in looking inside the text The students focus on linguistic or semantic details of a reading and focus on surface structure details such as grammar and discourse markers They identify key vocabulary and may draw pictures to aid them (such as in problem solving) The texts are read carefully and thoroughly, again and again in order to build more language knowledge rather than simply practice the skill of reading This kind of reading is seen more commonly than extensive reading

in classrooms

The activities of intensive reading exercises may include: looking at main ideas versus details, understanding what is implied versus stated, making inferences, looking at the order of information and how it effects the message, identifying words that connect one idea to another, identifying words that indicate change from one section to another Munby (1979:117) suggests four categories of questions that may be used in intensive reading These include:

- Plain Sense - to understand the factual, exact surface meanings in the text

- Implications - to make inferences and become sensitive to emotional tone and figurative language

- Relationships of thought - between sentences or paragraphs

- Projective - requiring the integration of information from the text to one's own background information

The kind of reading should be used when the objective of reading is to achieve full understanding of logical argument, rhetorical pattern of text, emotional, symbolic or social attitudes and purposes of the author, linguistic means to an end and for study of content material that are difficult

In term of materials with demands for both simplicity and authenticity, the teacher must choose Texts on the same topic because reading more than one text on the same topic allows students to bring more background knowledge to each new text read Authentic materials such as newspapers, magazines are related to the second language culture or web resources These should be chosen from suggestions by the teacher so that students do not choose those that are too overwhelming

We can combine this kind of reading with a speaking or writing component For example, they may interview each other about their reading, after reading the newspaper, students may be asked to write a newspaper report Class time may be included for book exchange, if there is an in-class library Students may set their own goals for their next session Students may progress from reading graded reading material to authentic text It should be expected that students will "slow down" in their reading then, it becomes more challenging Students may complete a reading log (recording number of pages read and at what level) or a reading journal (reflections on the text read), a reflection on what they noticed about their own reading, a book report or summary, a retelling of part of the text or a book project

The teacher gives recommendations on reading materials, based on student's interests He guides students in choosing appropriate levels of material, beginning with easy books by choosing a variety of materials of their interest This may especially be necessary for students that choose the same type over and over The teacher guides students in setting specific goals for amounts read Then he can provide modeling if class time is given for reading, the teacher reads at the same time If students are not aware of the exact meaning of each word, the

teacher should not jump in and explain The teacher leads pre-reading activities to build interest in the text, such as in the characters, places, themes, and actions The teacher must be careful to provide just enough to stimulate curiosity but not so much that the need to read is removed

The student assumes total responsibility for developing reading ability He reads without the use of a dictionary In order to show greater progress, he usually chooses his own material and moves along at his own pace but must push himself

With this kind of reading, the students may develop a "reading habit", gain

more confidence in reading, improve their attitude towards reading and become more motivated to read, feel more autonomous over his own learning and more

likely to take more initiative, become more "independent readers", being able to

read for different purposes and being able to change reading strategies for different kinds of texts He also become more aware of what's available to him to read and

how to access materials, expand sight vocabulary, acquire "incidental" grammatical

competence, build background knowledge, increase reading comprehension, improve overall language competence and be more prepared for further academic courses because they have read large quantities

1.5.2.2 Extensive reading skills

According to Brown (1989:87) the extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a general understanding of a text." Long and Richards (1971:216) identify extensive reading as "occurring when students read large amounts of high interest material, usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, "reading for gist" and skipping unknown words." The aims of extensive reading are to build reader

confidence and enjoyment Extensive reading is always done for the comprehension

of main ideas, not for specific details If the conditions of first language acquisition are approximated by extensive second language reading, the second language learner can achieve native like competence in a classroom Rumelhart (1980:110)

proposes an "interactive model" of the reading process in which reading is a

complex task of simultaneously combining "bottom-up" processes (in which the reader analyzes text in small pieces and builds meaning from these) and "top-down" processes (in which the reader makes "guesses" about the content of a passage)

Extensive reading may appear as a complement to an intensive reading program or an extra-curricular activity where students read out of class or the main focus of a reading course where students work with a class set of books, individual reading of material, of their own choice, with follow-up activities such as reading logs, reading journals, book reports or projects The extensive reading has been carried on in many countries, at varying levels of education from Elementary School to College, and in different languages

Day and Bamford (1980:173) put forward ten characteristics of successful extensive reading including (i) students read as much as possible; (ii) A variety of materials on a range of topics is available; (iii) Students select what they want to read; (iv) The purposes of reading are usually related to pleasure, information and general understanding; (v) Reading is its own reward; (vi) Reading materials are well within the linguistic competence of the students in terms of vocabulary and grammar; (vii) Reading is individual and silent; (viii) Reading speed is usually faster than slower; (ix) Teachers orient students to the goals of the program; (x) And the teacher is a role model of a reader for the students

The role of the teacher is to choose suitable text, tasks and activities to develop skills, to give direction before, during and after reading, to prepare students

to work on their own and to encourage them through prompts, without giving answers

We have many advantages of this reading like: It provides a base to study structure, vocabulary and idioms, a base for students to develop a greater control of language and for a check on the degree of comprehension for individual students However it has some disadvantages: There is little actual practice of reading because of the small amount of text In a class with multi-reading abilities, students

may not be able to read at their own level because everyone in the class is reading the same material The text may or may not interest the reader because it was chosen by the teacher There is little chance to learn language patterns due to the small amount of text Because exercises and assessment usually follow intensive reading, students may come to associate reading with testing and not pleasure

1.5.3 Critical reading skills

Critical reading is an analytic activity The student rereads a text to identify patterns of elements - information, values, assumptions, and language usage- throughout the discussion These elements are tied together in an interpretation, an assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole

The initial step of critical reading involves recognizing a text as a presentation in its own right This step is concerned with identifying such elements as: the existence of a beginning, middle, and end; The use of illustrations to explicate remarks; The use of evidence to support remarks; The use of stylish language to portray topics; Organization, or a method of sequencing remarks – such

as whether chronological, different aspects of the topic, steps in a logical sequence

The next step involves describing the nature of these aspects of the text, of classifying the nature of the material within the text including the nature of the examples (what the examples are); the nature of the evidence (what kinds of authorities are invoked, what types of evidence are provided); The nature of the choice or terms (what types of terms are applied to what topics)

The final step involves inferring the underlying assumptions and perspectives

of the discussion, taking into account of all of the elements of the text being as they are throughout the text as a whole This step is concerned less with sequential development and more with recognizing patterns of elements interwoven throughout the presentation as a whole: What is achieved by describing topics a certain way and what is assumed by selecting certain types of evidence

Throughout, critical reading relies on abstracting and on classifying the nature

of things, such as the nature of the structure of the text, the nature of the language employed, the nature of the examples invoked, the nature of the illustrations brought

to bear, and the nature of the thinking that would explain all aspects of the text being

as they are

In the end, readers must take control of the text, not just repeat its assertions Explain that college educators usually expect students to study texts to read for understanding and retention Key points of teaching critical reading skill are:

1.5.3.1 Previewing

Encourage students to preview their reading assignments so they have a clear sense of the nature of what they will be reading Previewing helps students be better prepared to follow references, anticipate arguments, and understand the topic under discussion They gain a sense of the whole, which will help them better understand the parts and how they relate to one another Before actually reading an assignment, students should use both skimming and scanning strategies to look over: Chapters, sections, subheadings, illustrations, introduction, and conclusion

1.5.3.2 Annotating

Tell students that highlighting books is not a particularly useful strategy and that they should instead annotate what they read Highlighting does not really require much thought, and students often forget why they highlighted a passage when they go back over the text in preparation for an assignment Annotation requires active engagement with the text Here are some techniques that students can use to annotate text: Underline important terms, circle definitions and meanings, write key words and definitions in the margin, signal where important information can be found with key words or symbols in the margin, write short summaries in the margin at the end of sub-units, write the questions in the margin next to the section where the answer is found, and indicate steps in a process by using number in the margin

1.5.3.3 Being actively engaged

Especially with first-year students, explain that you are asking them to read in

a way that is quite different from how they probably read in high school For example: They should not merely accept as true everything they read or they should seek to understand the author‟s purpose in writing or they should engage in a dialogue with the author by annotating, asking questions, noting the shape of the author‟s argument, and so on or they should read for a thorough understanding of the text

1.5.3.4 Summarizing/Reflecting

When they have completed the reading assignment, students should summarize what they read in their own words This can be in outline or sentence form If they realize that they are not completely clear on any points, they should go back and reread until they can make the points in their own words They also can reflect on their reading Students should think or write about the implications of what they have read, and in particular they should think about how what they read connects with their own prior knowledge, other concepts they have learned in the course, concepts they learned in other courses or the “real” word involves becoming the author of one's own understanding

In conclusion, this chapter has given a comprehensive view on teaching reading skills It is related to the nature of reading, the learners, the texts and the reading sub-skills In the next chapter, the real situation of teaching reading skills at HUNRE will be presented in the next chapter

CHAPTER 2: DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

This chapter will give a brief overview on the real situation of the study concerning about the University, the English learners in general, the demand of curriculum (A2 English level in Reading) and the reading texts in the course book The end part of chapter works with the data collection and analysis and discuss of the findings

2.1 Overview on teaching reading skills at HUNRE

2.1.1 Overview of HUNRE

The establishment of the Hanoi University for Natural Resources and Environment was announced in Hanoi on January 23, 2011 The University was to provide sufficient human resources of high quality for the sector‟s development HUNRE gives priority to training managers and fundamental surveying specialists It focuses on such fields as remote sensing, meteorology, maritime and island management, geology and minerals, and cartography In addition, the school offers courses in natural resources and environment economics, environmental management, and natural resources management English has been considered as an extremely important subject in the University program because it serves an integral means for international communication that is to communicate with foreign partners The University has always created the best possible conditions for English teaching and learning In 2013, the Faculty of Environmental studies agreed to divide into small groups of 30 at the same English level through an English entrance examination This is the first time students at HUNRE learn English in that way, which is suitable for learning a foreign language providing the students with opportunities to practise English However, there have been many problems that should be solved There are twelve faculties at HUNRE and their students have to learn in large classes of over 60, even 100 The facilities at the University are still poor, for example, the library cannot provide enough books, especially English books

as references Furthermore, the students do not have a lot of opportunities to practice English with native speakers to improve their language skills

There are seventeen teachers of English at HUNRE Most of them are young and have graduated from University just for some years They are energetic and are willing

to devote their time and energy to teaching Half of them have acquired M.A degree or are following a post graduate course at University of Foreign Languages and International Studies or Hanoi University However, these teachers do not have much experience They usually employ the traditional methods of teaching that is Grammar-Translation method, especially in reading lessons This method focuses on accuracy, the detailed analysis of grammar rules, not on the acquisition of language skill It is characterized by the use of the mother tongue as a medium of instruction and communication in the classroom The teachers speak most of the time, explain new words and translate the text into Vietnamese Students often listen and take note passively They raise questions only when they encounter new words or structures in the text Therefore, this method leads to the lack of motivation and a few chances for students to practice speaking English, in other words, improve their communicative competence

Learners are first year students at HUNRE, aged from 18~20,who have learnt English for several years before entering the university However, it is difficult for

most of them to approach the difficult and long texts in course book “New cutting edge-Elementary” Many students come from different areas in Vietnam

Consequently, problems arising during the course are due to individual difference in ability, learning styles, attitudes, motivation, etc Their attitude towards learning is also a matter to be considered They are a bit lazy and hardly ever try their best They are not students of English major, so they do not devote themselves to learning English and they do not know the best way to learn a foreign language Moreover, majority of the students do not have appropriate learning strategies or have the habits

to learn independently or creatively, the fact is that they never prepare the lesson at home or review the lesson regularly

2.1.2 Reading skills in New cutting Edge-Elementary

“New Cutting Edge–Elementary” has a multilayered, topic-based syllabus

which includes thorough and comprehensive work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and skills of reading, speaking and writing It takes Elementary students from A1 to A2 level of the CEFR It consists of 15 modules with 15 different topics relating to our life such as greetings, family, hobbies, jobs, favorite things, etc The course book is one of the most popular books used in Vietnam because it not only has a multilayered, topic-based syllabus which includes thorough and comprehensive work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation and skills of reading, speaking and writing but also adopts communicative approach and provides opportunities for students to interact with each other through engaging in authentic activities

In terms of content, the course book is set to achieve the following points Firstly, the book equip students with a variety of communicative situations, so that students can involve in different topics to practice using their English in daily activities such as greetings, buying a ticket, talking about family, shopping, etc In addition, in each module, the book always provides the students with topic –based vocabulary which serves as the key factor to help them communicate successfully Besides, there are various kinds of grammar exercise so that students can practice language forms and structures effectively and four skills seem not to be equally paid attention to

There is a wide range of reading material in the book, including factual/scientific texts, stories, quizzes, forms, notes and emails These texts are integrated in different ways: -Extended texts specifically to develop reading skills

- Texts which lead into grammar work and language analysis

- Texts which provide a model or stimulus for tasks and a model for writing activities

Reading texts in the book are presented with simple language and comprehension questions such as picking up familiar names, words and basic phrases and rereading as required are suitable for elementary level All parts of reading in the book are as follows:

Text description

Modules

Types of reading skill to develop

(depend on the activities)

Module 1 General

knowledge quiz

A quiz Scanning to match names with pictures

Hanna‟s employee card

Personal data - a form

Scanning to find information from documents

Module 2 My favorite

thing

A story Scanning to answer questions

Skimming to get general idea to talk about each person‟s favorite thing

Module 3 Life in Britain A factual text Skimming and scanning together to complete the text

with a word or a phrase

Module 4 An American

star in London and a British star in Hollywood

A story Scanning to check the words in bold

Skimming to answer questions

Teresa‟s email

An email Scanning to get some specific information

Module 5 Transport A list Scanning to match photos with correct vocabulary

Transport facts!

A note Scanning and skimming together to guess correct

numbers going with the gaps