A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a High school in Ninh Binh = Nghiên cứu về việc dạy kỹ năng đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp 10 ở mộ

ABSTRACT This research was aimed at finding out: 1 the students‟ background of English and their attitudes toward learning reading comprehension skill; 2 factors causing their difficulti

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THU THẢO

A STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO 10 TH FORM

STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NINH BINH

( Nghiên cứu về việc dạy kĩ năng đọc hiểu cho hoc sinh lớp 10 ở một

trường THPT, Ninh Bình)

MA MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Code: 60.14.10

Hanoi, 2013

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

PHẠM THU THẢO

A STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF READING SKILLS TO 10 TH FORM

STUDENTS AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NINH BINH

( Nghiên cứu về việc dạy kĩ năng đọc hiểu cho hoc sinh lớp 10 ở một

trường THPT, Ninh Bình)

MA MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10

Supervisor: Dr Huỳnh Anh Tuấn

Hanoi, 2013

DECLARATION

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled:

“A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a high school in Ninh Binh.” is the result of my research for the Degree of Master of Art

at University of Languages and International Studies, Ha Noi National University, and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution

Ha noi, September 2013

Student

Phạm Thu Thảo

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to take the chance to express my great gratitude to

my supervisor, Dr Huynh Anh Tuan for his helpful suggestions, valuable critical feedback, close guidance, as well as his generous assistance in the process of completing my thesis

Secondly, I owe a debt of gratitude to all the English teachers at Nho Quan C High School for providing me with precious knowledge from their practical and useful lectures

Special thanks must be also given to the beloved students at Nho Quan C high school for their responsible cooperation in the data collection process

Finally, I would like to thank my family for supporting me during my study Especially, I owe my deep thanks to my dear husband, my parents and my dear little daughter for their special care and encouragement, due to which my paper is able to

be finished in time

ABSTRACT

This research was aimed at finding out: (1) the students‟ background of English and their attitudes toward learning reading comprehension skill; (2) factors causing their difficulties and the problems the teachers might encounter in the teaching process of the reading comprehension skills; (3) suggested solutions The researcher carried out the study by three instruments: classroom observation, two survey questionnaires and informal interviews The research reveals that the students‟ lack of knowledge, including linguistic and cultural background knowledge, the teachers‟ teaching methods, some difficulties from the textbook all cause problems for the teachers in the teaching process Besides, the data from the study confirm the fact that the students‟ poor attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills in learning English contributes to the problems in teaching this skill In addition, the school‟s lack of conductive facilities is also made the situation worse From the results inferred in the analysis, the study suggests some feasible solutions to make teaching and learning English reading skills more effective

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES CHARTS

Chart 1: Students’ attitudes toward the importance of learning reading

skills……… 33

Chart 2: Students’ opinion on the reading text in the textbook……….33

Chart 3: Students’ activities in pre-reading………34

Chart 4: Students’ activities in while-reading………34

Chart 5: Students’ expectation in post-reading ……….35

Chart 6: Students’ way to overcome difficulties……….37

Chart 7: The way teachers ask their students to read………40

Chart 8: Teachers’ expectation of the students in the post-reading………… 41

TABLES Table 1: The results of classroom observations……… 29

Table 2: Factors affecting students’ comprehension of the text………33

Table 3: Students’ problems in acquiring reading skill……….36

Table 4: Students’ expectation of teachers’ solutions to their difficulties……37

Table 5: Teachers’ attitudes towards reading skill……….38

Table 6: Description of teachers’ opinions on the sections for reading in Englis………39

Table 7: Teachers’ perception of the students’ comprehension………40

Table 8: Description of teachers’ problems in teaching reading skills……….41 Table 9: Description of the teachers’ solutions to face with the difficulties …42

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION……….i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT……… ii

ABSTRACT……… iii

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES……… iv

TABLE OF CONTENT……… v

PART I: INTRODUCTION……….1

1 Rationale of the study……… 1

2 Aims and objectives of the study 3

3 Scope of the study……… 3

4 Research methodology 4

4.1 Research questions……… 4

4.2 Research approach………4

4.3 Data collection instrumnts………4

4.4 Data analytical units……….4

4.5 Data analysis methods……… 4

4.6 Data collection procedures……… 5

5 Significance of the study……….5

6 Organization of the study………5

PART II: DEVELOPMENT………5

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND AND LITERATURE REVIEW………6

1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension ……… 6

1.1 What is reading and reading comprehension? 6

1.2 Purposes of reading……… 8

1.3 The importance of reading……… 9

1.4 Effective Reading Comprehension and Reading Comprehension Skills… 11

1.4.1 What is Effective Reading Comprehension? 11

1.4.2 Reading Comprehension Skills……… 12

2 Teaching Reading Comprehension……… 12

2.1 Relationship between Reading and Other Skills………12

2.2 Factors in teaching reading lesson……….13

2.2.1 The Roles of the Teacher………13

2.2.2 The Role of the Students……….15

2.2.3 The role of reading material………16

2.3 The Three Stages of a Reading Lesson……… 16

2.3.1 Pre-reading Stage………17

2.3.2 While-reading Stage………17

2.3.3 Post-reading Stage 18

3 Difficulties in Teaching Reading 19

3.1 Reading Skill Problems……… 19

3.2 Language Problems………20

3.3 Cultural background knowledge………21

4 Previous studies relevant to the study……… 21

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY……… 23

2 Research methodology……… 23

2.1 Research questions……….23

2.2 Research approach……… 23

2.3 Research Instruments……….23

2.3.1 Classroom Observation……… 24

2.3.2 Questionnaire……… 24

2.3.3 Interview……….26

2.4 Data analysis methods………26

2.5 Data collection procedures……….26

2.5.1 The Participants……… 26

2.5.2 Teachers and Methods of teaching……… 27

2.5.3 Procedure……….28

2.6 Data analytical units……… 28

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS……… 29

3.1 Report the data analysis……… 29

3.1.1.Classroom observation……….29

3.1.2.Questionnaires ……… 32

3.1.2.1.Questionnaire for students……….32

3.1.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers ……… 38

3.1.3.Interview……… 44

3.2 Discussion of the findings……… 45

3.2.1 Research question 1 What are the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of reading? 45

3.2.2 Research question 2 What difficulties do the teachers meet/encounter when dealing with a reading lesson? 45

3.2.3 Research question 3 What are feasible solutions to overcome these difficulties? 46

CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS……….47

4.1 Adapting and re-designing the tasks in the textbook to be more suitable to students……… 47

4.2 Upgrading teaching aids……….48

4.3 Techniques for creating reading interest and enhancing motivation……… 48

4.3.1 Using visual aids……….49

4.3.2 Using brainstorming wed/ Networks……… 49

4.4 Techniques for enriching vocabulary ………50

4.4.1 Encourage students to have extensive reading habit……… 50

4.4.2 Using word games……… 50

4.4.3 Using word list………51

4.5 Techniques for improving students‟ background knowledge………51

4.6 Training students to become efficient readers………51

PART III: CONCLUSION……….53

1 Summary of the study……… 53

2 Limitations and suggestions for further study……… 53

3 Recommendations for further study……… 54

REFERENCES………55 APPENDICES………I

Appendix 1: Observation sheet……… I Appendix 2: Questionnaire for students (in English)……… III Appendix 3: Questionnaire for students (in Vietnamese)……… VI Appendix 4: Questionnaire for teachers……… IX Appendix 5: Interview question (for teachers)……… XII Appendix 6: Adaptation lesson………XIII Appendix 7: Adaptation lesson………XIV Appendix 8: Pre-teaching technique……….XV

PART I: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale of the study

Nowadays, English has become a global language and has been widely used

in many countries in the world In Vietnam, it plays an important role in the increasing development of science, technology, economics, politics, culture and international relation This leads to an increasing demand of learning English More and more people want to acquire the language proficiency in a higher level because

of the globalization trend Many people consider it as an inevitable factor in their work and life In most school throughout Vietnam, English is considered the most important foreign language and chosen to teach as compulsory subject

In teaching and learning as a foreign language in Vietnam, reading has always received a great deal of attention According to Erten & Razı (2003) Reading is often referred to as the most important of the four language skills for EFL learners, as it enables students to gain exposure to the target language and receive valuable linguistic input to build up language proficiency Sharing the same point of view, Carrell (1984:1) shows that “for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four macro-skills, particularly in English as a second or a foreign language” Therefore, Reading is always the first skill presented in each unit

in the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10” This proves the important role of reading This is also understandable because reading provides students with the abilities to understand the written materials Reading has become not only an important means

to gain and enrich the students‟ general knowledge but also a means to help them with their further study in the future

This is the fourth year I have taught the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10” to the

10th form students I have met a lot of difficulties The biggest challenges emerge from teaching reading comprehension My colleagues in my school have confronted

a number of difficulties, one of which was students‟ lack of motivation and opportunities to practice communicating in the target language Despite the teachers‟ efforts, the students‟ reading skills are unimproved If those difficulties are

not found out and no solution to reduce and overcome are given, reading lesson will become worst and students will be bored with learning English Recognizing the importance of teaching reading and reading comprehension, I decide on choosing

“A study on the teaching of reading skills to 10th form students at a high school

in Ninh Binh.” The study conducted at Nho Quan C High School which is located

in Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh province This small school with 24 classes has been in operation for only 5 years Like other high schools, its duty is to train students from the 10th form to the 12th form The class size is generally large with 40-45 learners in one The classrooms are equipped only with a chalkboard and desks for four students sharing one The school has only one projector which is occasionally used by teachers of all subjects in teaching festivals There is a library

at school but there are not many books for reference Moreover, English newspapers and magazines, which are good sources of current target language, are not available

In this school, Math, Physics and Chemistry are chosen by most of the students who wish to take the exams to colleges or universities English is one of the compulsory subjects at high school and in the school-leaving exam However, few students choose the colleges or universities which require an English exam

The grade tenth students at Nho Quan C High School are approximately 16 years old Lots of them come from comparatively poor families so their learning condition is low Their parents can hardly afford to pay extra expenses for their children‟s schooling such as a dictionary, a cassette player or even some English reference books Some of them do not take care of their children

Moreover, most of the students have low English level The majority of them have learned English for four years, a few of them have learned it for seven years (three years at primary school) However, their English background knowledge remains humble For some students, things they have learned at secondary school seem to be completely new at high school They cannot express their ideas even a very simple sentences For example, in unit 3 “people‟s

background”, some students cannot find the answer for the question: when and where was Marie Curie born?

In addition, their lack of awareness of the importance of English as well as motivation makes them not interested in English As a result, most of them do not have the habit of learning independently and tend to depend on the textbooks and on the teacher for knowledge

2 Aims and objectives of the study

This study aims to investigate the areas of difficulty that the teachers at Nho Quan C high school in Ninh Binh province are coping with in their daily teaching of reading comprehension to the 10th form students with the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10” and to suggest some possiple solutions to reduce and overcome these difficulties

To be more specific, the objectives of this study are:

-to investigate the teachers‟ and students‟ attitude towards reading comprehension skill

-to identify the teachers‟ major difficulties in teaching reading comprehension skills and examine the causes

- to suggest ways to reduce the difficulties

3 Scope of the study

This study is limited to:

- the 10th form students at Nho Quan C High School;

- the teachers of English at Nho Quan C High School; and

- reading comprehension in the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

The findings and suggested solutions most appropriately applied to the teachers

of English as well as 10th grade students at Nho Quan C High School That is, the teachers and the students will be able to find ways to improve their process of teaching and learning reading skills

In order to seek answers to the research questions, survey research is adopted

in this research Firstly, classroom observation was carried out to investigate the reality of difficulties the teachers confronted in their teaching reading skills Then, two types of survey questionnaire were conducted with informants of teachers of English and students selected randomly from 8 classes at Nho Quan C High School

In addition to questionnaire, the qualitative data has been employed/ obtained by informal interviews with some teachers to collect further information about the real situations of teaching reading comprehension at Nho Quan C high school

4.3 Data collection instruments

Classroom observation, two survey questionnaires and interview were used

in this study

4.4 Data analytical units

The data from questionnaire were keyed into the computer and analyzed by using Microsoft office excel 2007 Descriptive statistics including percentages was implemented in order to investigate the teacher‟s and students‟ attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills and difficulties the teachers meet/encounter when dealing with reading lesson Besides, information from classroom observation and interview was also synthesized

4.5 Data analysis methods

The study is designed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods (methods of data analysis) to achieve its aims

4.6 Data collection procedures

Firstly, classroom observations were conducted for four reading lessons for each class in seven weeks for five teachers Then, based on the classroom observations, the questionnaire was designed and delivered to 160 students of the tenth form and 10 teachers The researcher randomly selected the individual in classes for investigation All of the copies were returned and respectively used for analysis Lastly, to collect more information, four interview questions for teachers were designed All the answers to the questions were recorded to analyze

5 Significance of the study

This study has been carried out to search for a better and more effective way

to develop students‟ reading comprehension skills It is hoped that the result of this study may offer the English teachers at schools in general and the teachers of English at Nho Quan C high school in particular the ways to teach reading comprehension skills more effectively

6 Organization of the Study

The study is organized as follows:

Part I, Introduction, presents the rationale for the study, the aims and objectives,

scope and significance, research methodology and organization of the study

Part II, Development, consists of the following chapters:

Chapter 1, Theoretical background and literature review of reading comprehension

skills

Chapter 2, Research Methodology

Chapter 3, Data analysis and discussion of the findings, analysis and discusses the

data which was collected at the second term of the academic year 2012-2013 at Nho Quan C high school based on questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews

Chapter 4, Solutions, makes some pedagogical suggestions for teachers and

students at Nho Quan C high School

Part III, Conclusion, summarizes all the issues in the research and suggests some

ideas for further study

PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background of the research It is divided into three main sections The first section discusses the definitions of reading and reading comprehension The next one is about teaching reading comprehension Difficulties in teaching reading are the last one

1 Definitions of reading and reading comprehension

1.1 What is Reading and Reading Comprehension?

We often spend time reading books, newspapers, magazines, novels, picture books etc in the free time Reading helps people relax and reduce stress after the all day work Reading is a completely individual activity which takes place in all different ways We understand and analyze the text, find its meaning, give out meaningful information The ability to read is such a natural part of human beings that they seldom try to define reading Different researchers have given different points of view on the definition of reading Herein, I would like to mention some definitions of reading extracted from different sources on the theme

William (1984), Nuttall (1996), and Frank (1985) share the same view that reading accounts for understanding what has been written Also, Goodman (1971: 135), states that: “reading is psycholinguistic process by which the reader, language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by writer as

a graphic display”, and the act of reconstruction is viewed as “a cyclical process of sampling, predicting, testing and confirming ”

One more definition offered by Ur (1996: 138) showed us his simple definition “reading means reading and understanding” Harmer (1989: 190) seems

to be interested in the notion of reading He considers reading as a mechanical process that “eyes receive the message and the brain has to work out the significance of the message” Sharing the same view, Smith (1985: 102) defined

“reading is understanding the author‟s thought” It means that the readers “read the author‟s mind not the author‟s words”

Moreover, Rubin, and Thomson, (1994: 91) offers another definition of reading: “Reading is an active information-seeking process in which readers relate information in the text to what they already know” From this point of view, the reader‟s knowledge of the knowledge and knowledge of the world is of importance

to their reading success

It is clear that no definition can give all the ideas and features of what reading is Each author can have a different definition of reading we cannot tell which is better because each of them focuses on one important matter of reading However, what they all share is that they try to find out the nature of reading, and reading act, in which the readers, reading process, and reading message are emphasized We find that there is a close relationship between reading and understanding Therefore, being a language teacher, we must understand the nature

of reading thoroughly to help our students read effectively

Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension plays an important role in teaching and learning reading a foreign language It can be understood as the ability to obtain the information as required in the reading text as efficiently as possible There are three elements appearing in the reading process They are the text being read, the background knowledge of the reader and the contextual aspects relevant for interpreting the text In teaching reading, it is necessary to understand the nature of reading comprehension What the teacher understands about it will have a great influence on what he or she teaches in the class In fact, methodologists have been providing different definitions of reading comprehension

Swan (1975: 1) states that when we say “a student is good at comprehension

we mean that he can read accurately and efficiently, so as to get the maximum information a text with the minimum of understanding” Having the same point of

view, Richard and Thomas (1987: 9) claim that “Reading comprehension is the best described as an understanding between the author and the reader The emphasis is

on the reader understanding of the printed page based on the individual reader‟s unique background of experience.”

Having the same point of view with the authors above, Grellet (1981: 3) takes the point that “Reading comprehension or understanding a written text means extracting the required information from it as efficiently as possible.” The author means that reading comprehension is an activity which aims at decoding the meaning of word combination in the text in the most efficient way

It can be concluded that reading comprehension is a process of understanding what is conveyed in the text It does not mean that the readers need to understand every single word in the text but actively work on the text and extract the required information efficiently It is important for us to understand what reading comprehension is For the teachers teaching reading, a profound understanding about the nature of reading comprehension may help them find out the students‟ difficulties in learning reading and help them to overcome it

So far we have looked at some definitions concerning reading and reading comprehension which have been seen from different points of views It is more significant to have a more in-depth look at the reading process to make the bridge to the focus of the study

1.2 Purposes of reading

Because the nature of reading is “understanding”, the readers extract the

“message” of the author, interpret texts of the specialized subjects in order to get information for their further studies, their future work in the most appropriate way And obviously, various ways of reading are influenced by different reasons for reading due to the “relevance” features to the purposes Reading purposes determine the “what” and the “how” of the reading process, and consequently reading skills/

strategies need to be adopted appropriately

1.3 The importance of reading in learning a foreign language

Reading plays a significant role in building both linguistic and background knowledge for other language skill Hoang et al (2006) considers reading as the most effective means of improving students‟ language competence When there is a lack of the second language environment, reading becomes more significant because it helps enlarges students‟ background knowledge and vocabulary as well

as improves other skills

To master reading skill is always challenging task that requires students a number of factors: a good competence of English grammar, rich vocabulary, and reading techniques First of all, reading helps students learn to think in English, enlarge their English vocabulary, improve their writing Richard (1993:4) claimed that “reading may help to increase knowledge of the target language through exposure to new vocabulary and grammatical structures” There is a close relationship between reading and vocabulary knowledge, because while reading, the readers know most of the words in the text already, and they can also determine the meaning of many of the unfamiliar words from the contexts Therefore, the best way to acquire a large vocabulary is to read It is understandable that anyone who has a large vocabulary is usually a good reader

Besides, Richard (1993: 4) also stated that “reading in the new language is also an important way to learn about the target culture”, which means that reading provides the students with a wide range of interesting information, helps them understand the ways of life, behaviors, thoughts and other aspects of the native people and it is also a good way to find out about new ideas, facts and experiences Therefore, they can master vocabulary, grammar and the background knowledge or cross-cultural problems that they encounter

According to Byrne (1988:46) there are three reasons for the importance of reading as follows:

“It offers language learners another area of success We would accept that not all students will be good speakers and at least give them credit if they become god readers.”

“It gives the students a skill which they can use on their own (i.e it is a key

to self-access work)”

“It is likely to be one of the skills that most students will need in the long term Certainly, it is one that they will always be able to put to use That is, they can read even if they do not get any opportunities to speak”

Reading comprehension skills is very important Without comprehension, reading is simply following words on a page from left to right while sounding them out The words on the page have no meaning And while people read for many different reasons, the chief goal is to derive some understanding of what the writer

is trying to convey and make use of that information – whether for fact gathering, learning a new skill, or for pleasure That‟s why reading comprehension skills are so important Without them the reader cannot gather any information and use it to efficiently function and enjoy the richness of life General speaking, No one can deny that reading bring readers an ocean of knowledge of different areas They can learn more experience of life They have necessary benefits to avoid difficulties in mutual understanding in communication such as culture shock, language shock due

to different cultures, habits and languages Moreover, reading is also an important way of expanding students‟ receptive knowledge of language and stimulating students to talk and write

In other words, reading is very important to the foreign language learners because it widens their knowledge of language and life It seems to be the most important skill to the students of English since their main purpose is to understand the written texts

1.4 Effective reading comprehension and Reading comprehension skills

1.4.1 What is Effective Reading Comprehension?

According to Ur (1996), reading comprehension as a process combining such elements as: A clear purpose in mind; an enhanced motivation; appropriate reading comprehension strategies based on the purposes and motivation; good prediction; sufficient background information and vocabulary; close attention to the significant bits; and fairly high speed

Cook (1989), on the other hand, contends that effective reading comprehension would be best reflected if we bring distinct cognitive behaviors of good versus poor readers before, during and after reading an assignment into a comparison

Stage Good or mature readers Poor or immature readers Before reading - Active prior knowledge

- Understand task and set purpose

- Choose appropriate strategies

- Start reading without preparation

- Read without knowing why

- Read without considering how to approach the material During reading - Focus attention

- Are easily distracted

- Read to get done

- Do not know what to do when lack of comprehension occurs

- Do not recognize important vocabulary

- Do not see any organization

- Add on rather than integrate new information

occurring + knowing what is understood

- Do not realize they do not understand

After reading - Reflect on what was read

- Feel success is a result of effort

- Summarize major ideas

- Seek additional information from outside sources

- Stop reading

- Feel success is a result of luck

1.4.2 Reading Comprehension Skills

Nutall (1982) provides a list of reading skills which consist of macro-skills with word-attack skills and text-attack skills

Word-attack skills are composed of processing morphological information, distinguishing structural clues, inferencing (or guessing the meanings of unfamiliar words) from context, active, receptive and throw-away vocabulary, learning to ignore difficult words and using dictionary

Text-attack skills include two subgroups:

Significance and cohesion: understanding sentence syntax, recognizing and interpreting cohesive devices and interpreting discourse markers

Discourse: recognizing functional value, recognizing the presuppositions underlying the text, recognizing implications and marking inferences, and prediction

2 Teaching Reading Comprehension

2.1 Relationship between Reading and Other Skills

In the process of teaching and learning English, it is very crucial for learners

to realize the integration of language That is the possibilities of other aspects of foreign program Therefore, reading skill is closely related to writing, listening and speaking skills Understanding relations will help learners succeed

In the first place, reading is related to writing Reading and writing are inseparable skill for the second language classes For instance, when a person is exposed to an audible target language, he or she is expected to speak more fluently compared to those who are not exposed to the target language In the same way, students reading more can do better in the writing activities both as content and as form Besides, Reading and writing skill should be considered as integrated language skill Reading texts are model for the students who are intended to write

In doing so , the students will be able to see the examples of the reading texts and they will be exposed to these communication tools that are grammatically connected and logically linked

Secondly, reading is concerned with listening comprehension Students may listen to a story, a play…then read it or read first and “listening to a worthwhile reading or dramatic presentation of what they have read.” (Rivers and Temperly,1978: 259)

Lastly, that is integration of reading and speaking Reading materials serve as fundamental source for oral presentations as they can base on these ideas they have read, discuss or debate for their own purposes This is the best way for them to share what they have been reading with others

In other words, reading skill is not a single skill but an integrated-language skill Those combinations should be put into serious consideration when teaching and learning English as a foreign language

2.2 Factors in teaching reading lesson

2.2.1 The Roles of the Teacher

Discussing the roles of the teacher in teaching reading, Richard and Amato (1988) emphasize:

“The first role is to facilitate communicative process between all participants

in the classroom, and between these participants and the various activities and text The second role is to act interdependent within the learning teaching group.”

Besides, linguistics point out an essential element of the teacher‟s role-a model reader According to Nuttall (1982: 192) showing that “you are a reader means carrying books around with you, referring to books as you teach, reading out brief passages that may interest students, talking about what you are reading at the moment, and handling books as if you loved them” He also states that “teacher‟s job as providing, first, suitable texts and second, activities that will focus the students‟ attention on the texts”

Harmer (2001) gives an opinion that the teacher needs to create interest in the topic and task He also needs to work as an organizer, observer, feedback organizer and prompter

▪ An observer: While students are reading, the teacher can observe their progress since it will give him valuable information about how well his students are doing individually or collectively, and will tell him whether to give them extra time, or move to organize feedback more quickly than he has anticipated

▪ A feedback organizer: When the students have completed the given tasks The teacher can lead a feedback session to check if they have completed the tasks successfully or not

▪ A prompter: When students are reading the text, it is also necessary

to draw their attention to the language features in that text He may direct his students to certain features of the text construction clarify ambiguities and make them aware of issues of the text structure which they have not come across previously

Anderson (2003) and Hedge (2000) pointed out six major principles of teaching reading in the classroom as follows: exploit students‟ background knowledge; build a strong vocabulary base; teach for comprehension; teach reading strategies; encourage students to transform strategies into skills; set criteria to select reading texts

Broadly speaking, the teacher must be aware of what they need to do in a reading lesson Playing their roles well will certainly helps the teacher lead successful reading lessons

2.2.2 The Role of the Students

In communicative language teaching, the learners are regarded as the centre

of every reading lesson During the reading process, the students play the roles of an active and creative listener and as well as reader

In a reading lesson, students must take an active role as a listener They need listen to the teacher‟s instructions and explanation carefully to find out the way of recognizing information and the way of deducing new words or grammatical structures

The students must also be active and flexible readers, it is wise if they work

on their own during the reading process, make full use of the class time to read and

do the exercise to achieve a full understanding of the text It is necessary for them to find out suitable reading strategy and use their background knowledge to fulfill their tasks because the significance of the text as well as the information is not always directly stated in printed pages

Nuttall (2003) mentions several main roles for students in the reading lesson

as follows:

-taking an active part in learning: This is the first and foremost responsibility

of the learners They have to be active and take charge of what they do

-monitoring comprehension: students need to understand how texts work and what they do when they read

-learning to talk: it is clear that a good reader carries on a dialogue with the text Consequently, the students have to learn how to do this To talk about the text

in class is an effective way to promote this skill

-taking risks: Students have to take the risk of making mistakes because making mistake is an opportunity to learn

In short, teacher and students are interrelated to each other during the process

of teaching and learning reading skills

2.2.3 The role of reading material/ reading textbook

It cannot be denied that reading texts play a crucial role in teaching and learning reading because through them new grammar, phonetic and lexical items of the target language are introduced Furthermore, texts are also means to help students enrich their background knowledge and vocabulary as well In reading lesson, students are supposed to understand the texts correctly as much as possible, learn some new language items e.g words, structures, and use what they have got from the text through reading tasks and communication activities that follow Therefore, in teaching reading, the teacher should pay much attention to the following aspects such as language content, vocabulary and grammatical structures, types of reading activities, though it is not simple thing to do as what Buck, G (2001) states: “Providing suitable texts is not a simple matter It takes time, effort and some expertise”

Alright (1981) provides a model of the lesson which adds a further dimension to the role of the textbook in day to day use He characterizes the lesson

as an interaction between the three elements of teacher, learners and materials The learners see the textbook as a “framework” or “guide” that helps to organize their learning in both inside and outside the classroom while doing activities and exercises, doing homework, studying on their own and preparing for test Textbook enables them to learn better, faster and easier Teachers see managing their lesson as their greatest need They appreciate the facilitating role of the textbook It saves time, gives direction to lessons, guides discussions, facilitates giving homework and making their teaching easier and better

2.3 The three stages of a reading lesson

In the new textbook “Tieng Anh 10”, each reading lesson includes three stages: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading Each of these stages carries its

own features and purposes and requires different techniques (William, 1984:37) as follows

2.3.1 Pre-reading stage

This stage is very important because teachers are expected to create motivation and positive attitude for students to read, specifically by activating or building students‟ background knowledge of the subject and familiarizing them with some of the language needed in coping with the text This part often gives questions with clear and beautiful picture to lead in to the topic of the text Pre-reading phase often lasts from 10 to 15 minutes depending on each lesson Williams (1984) writes

The purposes of the pre-reading stage are:

-To introduce and arouse interest in the topic

-To motivate learners by giving a reason for reading

-To provide some language preparation for the text

Gebhard (1987) explains that “providing background information on a reading lesson is another way teachers can facilitate successful reading comprehension Providing information about a reading selection before students read provides them with the opportunity to gain new language, as well as recall their already existing knowledge, which they can take with them into their reading experience, and this knowledge facilitates successful comprehension”

In general, in the pre-reading stage, it is necessary to get a good preparation for students, provide them the sense of what they are going to do in their reading lesson Of course, not all these techniques will be relevant for all the texts The teacher can choose the suitable ones to motivate his learners

2.3.2 While-reading stage

While- reading stage is carried out when all students actually set their eyes

on the text and this stage is the main part of a reading comprehension lesson The aims of this stage focus on making the students anticipate in the process of

understanding the whole text, and interpreting exactly what the author wrote In addition, it helps the students break up the organization of the text; understand the text structures; classify the text content and recognize the writer‟s purpose and attitude This stage also trains the students to think about other ideas rising from the text and to form judgment and opinions on the basis of the fact presented Moreover, it helps the students improve their reading speed and techniques Besides, this stage offers an opportunity to apply effectively what they have learnt from the text to their purpose of study and communication Last but not least, this stage helps the students develop their decision - making and problem solving skills Because this stage plays a very important role in a reading lesson, it must be designed carefully

2.3.3 Post-reading stage

The post-reading stage is the final but not the less important stage of a reading lesson because it is time for students to apply what they have got from the text into real life communication In other words, it is the time for students‟ production What they produce will reflect how well they comprehend the text In William‟s view (1984: 39), “the post-reading stage is aimed at consolidating or reflecting upon what has been said and relating the text to the learners‟ own knowledge, interests or views” Normally, it takes ten or fifteen minutes to complete all activities at this stage

According to Durkin (1981:486), “one reason for post- reading discussion in class is to offer students the chance to see in what way their reading did or did not succeed and why” In fact, there is more than one purpose for post- reading stage which are of wide relevance and applied to all students, and which teachers who teach groups with mixed level should consider

One of the purposes of post-reading work is to check whether the students have understood the text or not The teacher can ask the students some questions about the texts which are not given in the book or require them to discuss in groups

or in pairs and so on Another purpose is to consolidate or reflect upon what the

students have read To achieve this, the teacher should help the students focus on the important points as writer‟s opinion, the main ideas of the text, the specific paragraph or phrase in the reading text The third purpose of post- reading work is

to expand on the topic or language of the reading text, and perhaps transfer things learned to another context Therefore, the students can relate the text to their background knowledge and interest and be able to express their personal opinion toward the text Moreover, post- reading activities also offer the students a real practice of using language Setting up and organizing post- reading work depend on all the objectives of the program as a whole Post- reading work should, thus, contribute in a coherent manner, to the writing, speaking and listening skills that the program aims to develop

In summary, the above-mentioned stages are essential for a reading lesson Each of the reading stage carries its own aims and activities However, it is not necessary to carry out all these stages mechanically on every occasion Depending

on the purposes of each reading lesson, the teacher may apply these stages as well

as allocate time for each stage appropriately

3 Difficulties in teaching reading

No one can deny the important role of reading skill However, it is uneasy for a language learner to be successful in learning reading because there are many factors affecting the success such as reader‟s reading habits, attitude, motivation, exposure to the target language, textual characteristics, the way reading skill is taught and the teacher‟s classroom techniques or learning environment, etc Jolly (1978), Coady (1979) and others grouped those factors into three types: reading skill problem, language problem, and cultural background knowledge

3.1 Reading skill problems

According to Jolly (1987), Coady (1979) and others, one‟s first language reading ability plays a more important role in reading success than his level of the target language does, because foreign language reading requires the transference of old skills, not the learning of new ones They believe that if the reader has a poor

reading ability in his mother tongue, then, he can not read well in a foreign language Also, Anderson(1984) states that the reason the students can not read adequately in English is that they can not read adequately in the native language Sharing the same view, Bernhardt and Kamil (1975:17) assume that “reading performance in a second language is largely share with reading ability in the first language”

Students‟ limited reading skills create many problems, such as reading slowly, failing to understand and summarize main ideas of the reading text, unable

to guess or predict the meaning of the words or phrases used in that context, etc Therefore, such students find it hard to be successful in their reading They cannot understand the text thoroughly and those are the reasons why they do not want to keep on reading

In addition, learner‟s motivation towards reading is also an important factor

in reading process It may affect on reading result such as good speed, enjoyment and comprehension Lack of motivation, the reader does not want to read any more

3.2 Language problems

Yorio (1971) argues that reading problems of foreign language learners are due largely to the imperfect knowledge of the target language and to mother tongue inference in the reading process Therefore, learners with limited knowledge of the target language might have considerable difficulties when reading in the target language

The first and foremost problem is that the readers may have to work with unfamiliar and difficult topics These are called “text problem” The content of the text might be rather strange to the students and the grammatical might be new Therefore, they can not understand it The readers will find the text very challenging and might not have any motivation left to keep on reading

The second but not less important kind of problem is the “vocabulary problem” As everyone knows, grammatical knowledge accounts for a great deal of

competence in reading However, knowledge of vocabulary is a great deal more important as a factor of reading comprehension than awareness of grammatical structures (O‟Donnel, 1961) Readers encounter a lot of difficulties in dealing with proverbs and idioms, synonyms and antonyms, poly-semantic and sub-technical vocabulary Metaphor, metonymy and other types of transference of meaning also cause great difficulties for readers

3.3 Cultural background knowledge

Apart from language problems and reading skill problems, cultural background knowledge can also affect students‟ ability as culture plays a central role for many topics And that comprehension of a culturally unfamiliar text is more difficult than comprehension of a culturally familiar text, because readers, facing up with unfamiliar context, may mistranslate or misinterpret the text according to their own cultural experience

For the text structure, the impact of culture is less outwardly evident but apparently still present They will greatly affect the reader‟s comprehension Sometimes, the implicit cultural knowledge presupposed by a text or from different assumption about meaning and comprehension held by the writer also causes difficulty to the reader

From what has been discussed, it can be concluded that there are three main factors that affect reading comprehension: reading skills, language knowledge, and cultural background knowledge Reading difficulties may be caused by a number of other factors Whatever kind of problems they are, great efforts must be made to overcome them

4 Previous studies relevant to the study

There are some research exists regarding the difficulties in teaching reading comprehension skills Sao (2008) studied on students‟ perceived difficulties in reading comprehension with reference to new Tieng Anh 10textbook- a survey interview study The finding of her study shown the most common difficulty is in

the areas of vocabulary There still existed the differences between teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards reading skills Another reseach which is also related to

reading comprehension skills is “Teaching and learning reading comprehension skills for grade 11 – Hong Quang High School: Difficulties and solutions” by

Nguyen Thi Huong (2011) The findings of the study revealed severals techniques used at the first stage of reading lessons with the textbook “Tieng Anh 11” The students‟ preferences for these techniques were also highlighted Then, basing on the teachers‟ and the students‟ comments, some suggestions to improve the situation

of teaching and learning at Hong Quang High School were made This study only use survey questionnaire to collect data Besides, Vu Thi Thu Ha (2007) investigated the difficulties of teacher and students in teaching and learning by the new textbook English 10 for students at natural science stream and basic stream at some school in Hai Duong The researcher hasn‟t shown out the similarites and differences between schools and between two streams

Summary

This chapter has been concerned with establishing the theoretical backgrounds and issues relating to the topic of the study First, it provides an overview of the nature of reading, in which the definitions of reading and reading comprehension are discussed Then, teaching comprehension is addressed Finally,

it provides an insight into reading difficulties

The next chapter will present research methodologies of teaching and learning reading in the textbook “Tieng Anh 10” at Nho Quan C High School, where the data is collected

CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2 Research methodology 2.1 Research questions

1 What are the teachers‟ and students‟ attitudes towards the teaching and learning

In order to seek answers to the research questions, survey research is adopted

in this research Firstly, classroom observation was carried out to investigate the reality of difficulties the teachers confronted in their teaching reading skills Then, two types of survey questionnaire were conducted with informants of teachers of English and students selected randomly from 8 classes at Nho Quan C High School

In addition to questionnaire, the qualitative data has been employed/ obtained by informal interviews with some teachers to collect further information about the real situations of teaching reading comprehension at Nho Quan C high school

2.3 Data collection instruments

In order to get information, various instruments of data collection were used They were classroom observation, questionnaires and interviews Classroom observations were carried out to investigate how teachers conducted a reading period, how the students worked in the periods and difficulties encountered Two survey questionnaires were used to collect data that related to teachers‟ and students‟ difficulties and attitudes towards the reading topic and reading tasks in the Textbook “Tieng Anh 10” Of these three methods, interviews were employed to get more information from the teachers

2.3.1 Classroom Observation

Observations are the most effective when approached as collaboration meant

to benefit all involved For the one being observed, an observation can provide useful feedback that might not be revealed by other assessment methods

In this research, the researcher carried out classroom observations by visiting

5 classes in reading periods and taking-note all activities occurred in each class: the teacher‟s presentation on the reading lessons, the teacher‟s questions and explanations, the students‟ performance in English The observation of reading class included five criteria: (see checklist)

In this study, questionnaire is designed in order to find out the prominent difficulties teachers and students faced with as well as obstacles that affect the effectiveness of the learning and teaching process These two types of questionnaire included both closed and open-ended questions Questionnaire for teachers was written in English, while the one for students was written in Vietnamese to make sure that the students properly understood the questions

Questionnaire for teachers aimed at seeking information of work experience, teachers‟ attitudes towards the reading sections in the textbook English 10, and the problems they confronted with in the process of teaching reading skills

Questionnaire for students tended to survey on their perception about the importance of reading comprehension skills in learning English as a compulsory subject at school, their evaluation of their current reading competence, and difficulties they encountered in learning reading skills

In this study, to make sure that the questionnaire had adequate reliability, the questionnaire for 160 students with 9 questions was delivered

 Questions 1, 2 (Part I) relate to English background of the learners

 Questions 1 and 2 (Part II) aim at finding out the students‟ attitude about the importance of reading skill and the sections for reading skills in the textbook

“Tieng Anh 10”

 Questions 3, 4, 5, 6 relate to the way the students often do in a reading lesson

 Questions 7, 8 aim at finding out the problems the students face in reading teaching process with the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

 Questions 9 focus on students‟ expectation of teachers‟ solutions to the difficulties

To elicit a reply for the difficulties the teachers at Nho Quan C High School encountered in teaching reading skills to 10th graders and solutions to overcome those difficulties, 9 closed and open-ended questions are formulated:

 Questions 1, 2, (part I) request the matter concerning the teachers‟ education and work experience

 Questions 1 and 2 (Part II) aim at finding out the teachers‟ opinions on the importance of reading skill and the sections for reading skills in the textbook

“Tieng Anh 10”

 Questions 3, 4, 5, 6 relate to the way the teachers often do in a reading lesson

 Questions 7 aim at finding out the challenges the teachers face in reading teaching process with the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

 Questions 8, 9 focus on teachers‟ suggested solutions to difficult situations they meet

2.3.3 Interview

Johnson B.& Christensen L.(2000:140) say that “Interview is a collection method in which an interviewer ask questions of an interviewee” Sharing the same view, Hussey & Hussey,(1997: 156)“Interview is a research method whereby selected participants are asked questions in order to find out what they think and feel.”

data-According to Sager.R (1993) when using interview to collect data, it is helpful to produce relevant information and insights Though an interview usually requires considerable time commitments from both interviewer and interviewee, it

is excellent way to collect data In other words, interview is an extremely useful and valuable way to get in-depth and comprehensive information They involve one person interviewing another person for personal or detail information

In this study, the interview, which were semi-structured and 15-20 minutes in length each, focused on the critical issues arising from the observed lessons as well

as issues related to teachers‟ difficulties in teaching reading skills

All the interviews were conducted in Vietnamese in order for the participants

to fully articulate their views without being constrained by the use of a second language They were then fully transcribed, translated and analyzed by the researcher to uncover the emerging themes

2.4 Data analysis methods

The study is designed to use both qualitative and quantitative methods (methods of data analysis) to achieve its aims

2.5 Data collection procedures

2.5.1 The Participants

The research was undertaken with the participation of 10 teachers and 160 students The two types of questionnaire were prepared to get information for the

research The first was administered to a sample of 10 teachers of English All of them had experience in teaching reading skills to tenth form learners with the textbook “Tieng Anh 10”

There were 8 classes of grade ten at the time of studying To have reliable variables, twenty students per each class should be included in the survey To be objective, judgmental sampling was not possible because the students in each class was not at the same level So, they must be picked by random sampling

2.5.2 Teachers and Methods of teaching

Nho Quan C high school has got ten teachers of English, aged from 26 to 36 Seven of them graduated from Vietnam National University, Hanoi - University of Languages and International Studies and three of them graduated from Thai Nguyen University of Education The oldest teacher has 12 years of teaching experience and the youngest has got two years All of them are enthusiastic with their career Each teacher has to teach at least 12 periods a week Each has the responsibility to teach four periods in each class

As far as the methodology is concerned, the teachers are aware of the new trend in teaching method nowadays: Learner-centered approach They try to give their students independence in studying by asking them to work through the text or discuss subject matters in groups or in pairs after giving them some instructions However, not all of the teachers can do that and the amount of time spent in such activities is not much Furthermore, most of the 10th form students cannot do these themselves Therefore, the teachers often employ the traditional method of teaching

in reading lessons Most of the time, the teachers play the key role in the classroom, being the main speakers working through the text The teachers explain new words, new structures, even give the answers to some difficult exercises Then the students are passive And the success depends on how flexible and adaptable the individual teacher is to respond to the requirement of the teaching situation

2.5.3 Procedure

As being described in the previous part, various instruments were designed Classroom observations were conducted for four reading lessons for each class in seven weeks for five teachers Because the teachers were not comfortable with their lessons being video- or audio- recorded, the researcher took extensive field notes of all the observed events in the classroom Then, based on the classroom observations, the questionnaire was designed for the students and teachers It is noted that in order to make it easy in analyzing data, 160 students of the tenth form were surveyed In stead of randomly selecting the class, the researcher randomly selected the individual in each class for investigation Totally 170 copies of the questionnaire were delivered to students and 10 teachers and all of the copies were returned and respectively used for analysis Lastly, to collect more information, four interview questions for teachers were designed All the answers to the questions were recorded to analyze

2.6 Data analytical units

The data from questionnaire were keyed into the computer and analyzed by using Microsoft office excel 2007 Descriptive statistics including percentages was implemented in order to investigate the teacher‟s and students‟ attitudes towards the importance of reading comprehension skills and difficulties the teachers meet/encounter when dealing with reading lesson Besides, information from classroom observation and interview was also synthesized

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS

3.1 Report of the data analysis

3.1.1 Classroom observation

Along with the questionnaires, the researcher also observed 5 teachers‟ classes in seven weeks at Nho Quan C high school with their permission The classroom observation results reflected the reality of the difficulties that the teachers encountered in teaching English reading skills

5 Games (Noughts and crosses, lucky number ) 40% 60%

II Teacher’s presentation

1 Language of instructions is clear and concise and students are

able to carry them on

3 Pronunciation, intonation, fluency are in appropriate and

acceptable use of language

III Teacher’s methods

IV Teacher’s personal characteristics

V Teacher-student interaction

Table 1: The results of classroom observations

In general, all the teachers‟ lesson I observed followed a basic step of the lesson: warm-up activities, presentation, practice and consolidation, and homework The lesson focused on language skills, there have always three stages: pre-, while- and post- Most of the lesson I attended was mainly student-centered Students got involved in various activities initiated by the teachers However, there were some remaining problems