Using mindmapping to check efl students reading comprehension

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LÊ THỊ NGÂN USING MIND-MAPPING TO CHECK EFL STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION Chuyên ngành: Lý luận phương pháp giảng dạy môn Tiếng Anh Mã số: 60.14.10 LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ KHOA HỌC GIÁO DỤC NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC Supervisor: Dr.Trần Thị Ngọc Yến Nghệ An, năm 2013 i ABSTRACT Mind- mapping has been considered an effective method to check students’ reading comprehension and its technique helps improve students’ motivation to learn reading skills This study investigates how the reading sections in the textbook “English 12’ are taught at some upper-secondary school in Nghe an with references to designing and utilizing activities To achieve the aims of the study, a treatment for 80 students were designed and used as the data collection tools Both qualitative and quantitative methods were employed to analyze collected results and create a detailed description of the real teaching context The purpose of treatment interventions in higher education is to develop students’ competencies with the reading skill of their academic studies One such competency is mind mapping The literature provides strong arguments that mind mapping provides students with valuable organizational and heuristic tools and offers guidelines on how to draw mind maps Post‐test results showed significant differences between the experimental and control groups as a result of using the mind‐mapping to check students’ reading comprehension and its technique to improve students’ motivation to learn reading skills Finally, the thesis looks at the effects of using mind-mapping to check EFL students’ reading comprehension such as increase in getting points, develop the reading skill through mind-mapping the students can complete main ideas of texts easily Experimental students, who used mind-mapping, made higher gains in reading than control students who did not use mind-mapping The thesis also seeks to determine the development if reading skill if mind-mapping development in the course leads to increase rate in reading text The result of treatment was recognized by six tests and 80 questionnaires which were done by students With respect to reading rate the experiment found that the difference between the control groups and the experimental groups was statistically significant And the result also compared to show correctly in the number of the tables and charts ii The findings of the research indicate that most of the students appreciate the role of activities learning reading However, the scope is still limited, and there exist certain difficulties that hinder the teachers and students in exploiting reading activities Such reasons as class size, students’ different levels of proficiency, curriculums, the textbook, time limit From the outcome of the research, other studies on issues related to teaching and learning writing as well as other skills can be carried out Such researches can improve material mind-mapping, curriculum design, and classroom activities in the real contexts of teaching Hopefully, this study has made a small contribution to these fields iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis would not have been possible without the support of many people First, and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Dr.Tran Thi Ngoc Yen, my supervisor, who allowed me to ‘jump from high bridges’ Her support and guidance made it possible for me to not only complete this thesis, but also to develop a theoretically guided understanding for approaching the complexity of reading comprehension Her expertise in both the reading and comprehension components of reading comprehension have allowed me to bridge two fields that traditionally have been examined separately She opened the door for me to work with teachers in improving literacy outcomes for adolescent students She showed me the importance of acquiring both depth and breadth in my knowledge base This is a chance for me to express my deep gratitude to many people, without whom this study would not have come into being I would like to thank all my teachers at the Post Graduate Faculty, College of Foreign Languages, Vinh University, Hanoi, for their useful knowledge conveyed via interesting lectures Finally, I should like to express the warmest gratitude to my colleagues, friends, students, especially my beloved family I feel greatly indebted to them for their essential help and encouragement iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page ABSTRACT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS .v Content Page v LIST OF FIGURES viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION .1 1.Rationale Aims of the Study 3 Scope of the Study Methods of the study .3 The Design of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW Reading Reading comprehension 12 The teaching and learning of reading 25 Mind- mapping 31 CHAPTER THE STUDY 38 3.1 Research questions .38 3.2 Participants 38 The research participants were eighty members of two classes of twelve year students at high school Class A was the experimental group and Class B was the control group Both classes were at the same school and both classes consisted of 80 students 38 3.5.4 The progress pattern that the two groups make 49 Fully developed patterns were investigated Ideally, sample patterns have developed from a real process Before this recognizer can be put into application, it needs to be trained and tested Since this study used the supervised testing approach, each pattern presentation was tagged with its respective label 49 CHAPTER CONCLUSION .63 .63 65 REFERENCES .66 APPENDIX A APPENDIX B APPENDIX C APPENDIX D v APPENDIX E LIST OF TABLES Table1 The general test result of two groups 43 Table 1.1 Means and standard deviations of comprehension scores for two groups 45 Table1.2 Numbers of participants in each group were counted comparing to increases by the last two sessions minus in the first two sessions 47 Table 1.3 Means and standard deviations of average score increases on the first and last two sessions of texts for the experimental groups and control group .48 Table1.4 Means and standard deviations of average score increases on the first and last three sessions of texts for the experimental groups and control group 49 Table 1.5: The Content of using mind-mapping Activities 50 Table 1.6 Numbers of participants for different change patterns………………… 50 Table 1.7: The result of questionnaires in motivation of two groups 55 vi Table 1.8 Percentage of improved items in the motivation tests 56 Table1.9 The learners’ satisfaction on reading comprehension after using mindmapping technique 57 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figures 1.1 A sample of gradual increase pattern – participant A3 50 Figures 1.2 A sample of fluctuate increase pattern – participant B12 51 Figures1.3 A sample of substantial increase pattern – participant A39 51 Figures 1.4 A sample of plateau pattern – participant A1 .52 viii CHAPTER INTRODUCTION “If you want to find your way, get a map!” (Kathleen M Fisher saying) Rationale Teaching is one of the most difficult tasks in the world It’s no secret that there is a range of learning styles Many teachers find that their teaching style doesn’t match the learning style of some of their students The good step is that using Mind-mapping to prepare and present lessons can have a powerful effect on the students While the lesson presentation follows the natural teaching style, students can create a mind map that matches their learning style Instead of trying to fit a mould, they can take notes that feel natural, are easily remembered and suited to their individual style This makes the best teacher in the world Many teachers and lecturers are already adapting mind mapping to create powerful classroom presentations, innovative handouts, and an unforgettable experience for their students Others are using advanced mind maps to tackle larger classroom projects like innovative long range educational planning or weekly lesson management that really meets the needs of individual students It is undeniable that the English language has gained more and more significance in every aspect of society in general and in education in particular Realizing the importance of English in education, many policies and renovations have been promulgated in teaching and learning English during the recent years In an attempt to innovate Vietnamese education to meet the demand of the society in the process of integration and development, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has reformed English textbooks concentrating on the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing for secondary school students since the school year 2006-2007 With this reform, both teachers and students have certain advantages and disadvantages in mastering the four skills in the process of teaching and learning English Of the four skills, reading, in general, is considered the most difficult one for not only students but teachers to master In reading section in the textbook “English 12”, students are asked to perform tasks of various kinds such as make out the main ideas, understand the main topic, sentence, paragraph, etc However, it seems that some of the reading tasks in the new textbooks have not supported students’ language acquisition appropriately Besides, teachers also face certain difficulties in teaching reading skills For many years, teaching reading comprehension was based on a concept of reading as the application of a set of isolated skills such as identifying words, finding main ideas, identifying cause and effect relationships, comparing and contrasting, and sequencing Teaching reading comprehension was viewed as a mastery of these skills My students think that it is very difficult to learn reading skill I think one of the most powerful tools can be used to improve our reading comprehension is Mind-mapping When I have graduated university, I applied for a job at Dien Chau high school I teach English subject as a second language There are four skills each lesson but my favorite skill is teaching reading because from the text, students can easy use words, structures, sentence to communicate with many people There is some difficulty in the reading text They don’t understand how to answer the questions So this is a problem that I should worry and find out the way to help them I think that whenever reading, they also understand all the information Some of them may not have had enough time to read, they read very quickly but little result I think it depends on the level of reading They haven’t used right skill It made them get little information Being a teacher of English at upper-secondary for eleven years, the researcher has understood the reality of teaching reading in English The researcher realizes that the upper-secondary school students in general and 12 th form students Question 26: “If I were you I would study harder,” Mai said to me A Mai said that I were you I would study harder B Mai advised me to study harder C Mai told me that if she were me she would study harder D B and C are correct Question 27: “ Be here at 7: 30 am tomorrow” the boss said to Mai A The boss asked Mai to be there at 7:30 am the follwing day B The boss promised Mai to be there at 7:30 am tomorrow C The boss called Mai to be here at 7:30 am tomorrow D A and B are correct Question 28: She has cooked for dinner for two hours A She didn't start cooking for dinner until it was two B She started cooking for dinner two hours ago C She has two hours to cook for dinner D Cooking for dinner took her two hours Mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to show the underlined part that needs correction Question 29: Tom likes taking part sports, so he will join the football team of his school A B C D Question 30: Mai’s birthday party was held at home in evening A B C D Question 31: Travelling to other parts of the country making you love your country more A B C D Question 32: The money will help us repair the old school building and build a new block A B C of flat for the handicapped students D Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word for each of the blanks from 33 to 36 FRIENDS “ My best friend, Kathy and I (33) _ different in many ways, but we have one important thing in common Whenever I have the urge to go (34) _, I can always count on Kathy to go with me Our friendship shows that people who are very different can still be good friends Kathy is an artist who loves to take photographs and draws pictures of the interesting things she sees I am a sales (35) _ for a pharmaceutical company, 70 and I spend most of my time talking to doctors Kathy is a very organized person, but am very impulsive She’s very quiet, but I’m very (36) _ ” Question 33: A were B was C am D are Question 34: A new everywhere B new anywhere C nowhere new D somewhere new Question 35: A volunteer B representative C judge D fireman Question 36: A good - natured B talkative C studious D hospitable Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C, or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 37 to 40 If you plan your visit in October, don’t miss the Harvest Festival The festival offers a variety of activities for all age groups and interests Children will enjoy listening to traditional stories and learning folk dances Adults will enjoy the anique show and crafts fair Other attractions include a celebration of musical heritage and demonstrations of traditional skills such as candle making, butter churning, bee keeping The festival is held at the County Fairgrounds, ten miles outside of town on Highway 64 West Space is available for you to park your car at the festival at no extra charge The admission fee of $2 for adults and $1 for children is donated to the Preserve Our History Fund 37 What does this notice describe ? A A lecture B A festival C A school D A parade 38 What activity is available for children ? A Dancing B Painting C Ball playing D Singing 39 Which of the following activities is not mentioned in the notice ? A Butter churning and bee keeping B Candle making C Cooking D Dancing 40 What happens to the admission fee ? A It is used to rent the fairgrounds B It pays for the performers C It pays for supplies D It is donated to charity 71 APPENDIX B SAMPLE LESSON PLAN FOR THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP School: Dien Chau high school Class: 12A10 Place: room number: 308 Teacher: Lê Thị Ngân Period 13 Unit Lesson: WAYS OF SOCIALIZING READING I Objectives: By the end of this lesson, students will be able to: - Read and understand the passage about ways of socializing - Guess the meaning in context II Language Focus: - Grammar: revision - New words: attract, verbal, non-verbal, informal, nod, approach III Teaching Aids: pictures, handouts IV Procedures: stages and Teacher’s Activities time Game: Getting through -T asks Ss to play the game in groups of four or five -T asks Ss, in turn, to make gestures The others guess the Warm-up (5 minutes) meanings * Expected: students’ activities teacher and students That sounds crazy! Come here Be quiet Peace Be careful We won Hello 9.I can’t hear you teacher and students teacher and Lead-in: -Do you often use these gestures to communicate? -Do other people understand you? 72 students Today, you get to know about ways of socializing through the reading passage Pre-teaching vocabulary -T elicits/teaches some new words relating to the reading + attract somebody’s attention (v) (synonym): draw Prereading minutes somebody’s attention + verbal (a) (explanation) + non-verbal (a) (antonym) + informal (a) (antonym) + nod (v) (miming) + approach (v) (synonym): come near Checking -Teacher reads the English words and has students say the Vietnamese meanings and vice versa Activity 1: What’s the title? (Task 2, p 32) -Teacher asks Ss to read the passage and decide which Whilereading option is the best title for the passage - asks students to compare the answers in pairs - Teacher makes comments and gives feedback * Expected answer: A Attracting Attention: Non-verbal Cues Unit 3: WAYS OF SOCIALIZING -Teacher divided in to two groups making sentences in the text - Teacher draw mind-mapping on the board for students follows it writing sentences - The ideas must follow the text 73 teacher and students teacher and students Verbal communication Group work 20 minutes Whistle/ clap Work in To attract one’s attention group Non – verbal communication Waving: most common way Nod slightly Raise hand slightly Point at - Teacher delivers the handouts with gapped sentences about the content of the reading passage - Teacher gets students to read the passage again and close their books -Teacher asks to fill in the blanks with suitable words/phrases, then compare the answers in pairs - Teacher invites some Ss to give their answers to the class - Teacher checks the answers with the whole class We can use either verbal or _ communication to attract someone’s attention _ and waving are considered to be big, obvious non-verbal signals If we want to _ , we wait until he passes us, catch his eyes, and nod slightly to let him know we want him If you are _ the school yard and see your teacher approaching, you can use a _ to attract his or her attention _ someone is usually considered rude 74 * Expected answers: non-verbal Jumping up or down attract the waiter’s attention / a small friendly wave Pointing at Postreading 12 minutes Comprehension questions -Teacher asks students to work in groups of four to the test -Teacher provided comprehension questions Students had to on a piece of paper then teacher handed on There were the What can we when we want to attract someone’s attention? What are considered to be big, obvious non-verbal signals? What can we if we want to attract the waiter’s attention? If you are walking across the schoolyard and see your teacher approaching you, what can you to attract his or her attention? Why shouldn’t you point at the person or thing you want your friend to look at once you’ve got his or her attention? If you are walking at the school yard and see your 75 Work in group teacher approaching, what can you use to attract his or her attention? What will you and /or say if you need to ask someone a question, but they are busy talking to someone else? What shouldn’t you at the person or thing you want her to look at? What signal can you use to communication? How many forms of communication can we use? 10 What does teacher often point to and say the students? Homework -Teacher asks students to find the different meanings of listen whistling and hand-clapping in British culture minutes APPENDIX C THE EXPERIMENTAL AND CONTROL GROUP’S SCORE IN GENERAL ENGLISH TEST S Experiment group S Control group A1 B1 A2 B2 A3 B3 76 A4 B4 A5 B5 A6 B6 A7 B7 A8 B8 A9 B9 A10 B10 A11 B11 A12 B12 A13 B13 A14 B14 A15 B15 A16 B16 A17 B17 A18 B18 A19 B19 A20 B20 A21 B21 A22 B22 A23 B23 A24 B24 A25 B25 A26 B26 A27 B27 A28 B28 A29 B29 A30 B30 A31 B31 A32 B32 77 A33 B33 A34 B34 A35 B35 A36 B36 A37 B37 A38 B38 A39 B39 A40 B40 APPENDIX D Questionnaires for motivation and using mind-mapping It is part of my teacher’s job s instructor to provide motivation for me to want to assignments for class A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree Mind- mapping technique has been most effective in your class in encouraging you to read A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree I think reading the texts waste of time that the texts are difficult A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree If the reading assignments in my class not interest me, I am unlikely to read them A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree I consider reading a waste of time unless my teacher makes some techniques for mind-mapping 78 A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree I am more likely to read the texts when the teacher is enthusiastic about the content or the assignment A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree When my teacher demonstrates specific strategy for reading comprehension, I am more likely to read than when specific strategies are not demonstrated A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree I …… using mind-mapping technique in reading the texts A Like B Normal ideas C Dislike Do you want the teacher using mind-mapping technique for teaching reading ? A Like B Normal ideas C Dislike 10 Do you want to encourage your brain from mind-mapping? A Like B Normal ideas C Dislike 11 The teachers used mind-mapping when students read the text twice A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree 12 When my teacher used mind-mapping in reading the texts I am a famous person A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly C Disagree D Strongly Disagree 13 It is very easy to draw mind-mapping A Strongly Agree B Agree Disagree 14 When you read you 79 A guess what will happen before you read the story? B guess what will happen next, at different places throughout the story? C remember the sentences D draw mind-mapping to read and remember 15 Teacher often draws many pictures on the board for learning reading texts A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree 16 I ……draw mind-mapping on the board A Like B Normal ideas C Dislike 17 Mind-mapping makes me confident in finding the main ideas of topic A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree 18 Teacher often successful in teaching reading the texts A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree D Strongly Disagree 19 I think my teacher ………using mind-mapping to teach reading A Like B Normal ideas C Dislike 20 Motivation plays an important role in learning A Strongly Agree B Agree C Disagree 80 D Strongly Disagree APPENDIX E THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP’S SCORES IN THE 6-SESSIONS experimental group 12a12 N P 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 A12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17 L1 6 6 7 6 7 L2 7 8 8 7 8 81 Test number L3 L4 8 8 8 7 8 9 8 8 7 8 9 8 L5 8 8 9 8 8 8 9 L6 8 8 9 9 9 8 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 A18 A19 A20 A21 A22 A23 A24 A25 A26 A27 A28 A29 A30 A31 A32 A33 A34 A35 A36 A37 A38 A39 A40 6 6 7 6 6 7 6 6 7 6 7 7 7 6 7 82 8 7 8 8 8 8 6 8 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 8 7 8 8 9 8 8 8 9 9 7 APPENDIX E THE CONTROL GROUP’S SCORES IN THE 6-SESSIONS control group 12a10 Nr P 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 A10 A11 B12 A13 A14 A15 A16 A17 A18 A19 A20 A21 L1 7 6 7 7 7 7 L2 7 6 7 7 6 7 5 83 Test number L3 L4 6 7 6 7 7 7 6 7 7 6 6 6 L5 7 7 6 7 7 8 7 L6 6 7 6 7 7 8 22 23 24 A22 A23 A24 7 7 6 7 8 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 A25 A26 A27 A28 A29 A30 A31 A32 A33 A34 A35 A36 A37 A38 A39 A40 7 7 8 6 7 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 7 6 7 6 7 6 7 7 8 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 7 8 84 [...]... information to note Students need to learn that they need to adapt their reading and techniques to the purpose of the reading ” 2 Reading comprehension Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand what we read- where words have contexts have meaning Reading comprehension skills allow us to read proficiently, learn effectively, problem, solve, strategize, conceptualize, and succeed in life Without reading. .. Study The study aimed to help Students develop and checking students understanding reading comprehension We find out the value of the Students comprehension reading level in the Text There were some benefits of teaching comprehension by using Mind-mapping Mind maps provide an effective study technique when applied to written materials the value of level reading comprehension of students with the text... desires to acquire effective study techniques would do well to improve his reading comprehension skills Developing reading comprehension techniques is one of the two basic ways of improving reading skill, the other being developing reading speed However, rapid reading is valueless unless what is read is understood Thus, comprehensions the vital factor in efficient reading by Bobby Coles According to Bobby... encourage students to monitor their comprehension and help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what students already know The fourth strategy is generating questions because of generating questions, students become aware of whether students can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading Students learn to ask themselves questions that require them to combine... to do is to read In classroom terms one of the reasons for this is partly practical: it is often thought to be easier to supply a written text to be read than a spoken one to be understood Much of the current thinking on reading tends to focus primarily on the purpose of the activity; even if reading is done for pleasure it is still purposeful According to Jolly (1978, p 67) “one’s first language reading. .. acquire reading skill efficiently They seem to follow the requirements of reading tasks in each lesson in order without achieving the objectives of the lesson through completing the main tasks with appropriate skills Because of the practicality in teaching English reading, this study was carried out, entitling Using mind-mapping to check EFL students reading comprehension The study is intended to investigate... example, students can be taught to ask main idea questions that relate to important information in a text The sixth strategy is recognizing story structure In story structure instruction; students learn to identify the categories of content (characters, setting, events, problem, and resolution) Often, students learn to recognize story structure through the use of story maps Instruction in story structure... researchers divide comprehension into two components: comprehension and interpretation Comprehension involves what the reader utilizes according to his reading aims Interpretation concerns the differences between people who read the same text, or within one person when reading different texts These differences may be due to such factors as background knowledge and cultural presuppositions Reading comprehension. .. important aspect of the reading act Without being able to decode the written word, reading comprehension is impossible This explains why some children can read without understanding what they are reading Many students don’t realize how important it is to be able to fully comprehend what you read Being able to completely and accurately comprehend what you read is essential to your ability to learn, perform... and succeed in life Without reading comprehension skills, many students are left behind Reading comprehension is the heart and gold of reading, since the purpose of all reading is to gather meaning from the printed page If a student says words in a passage without gathering their meaning, one would hesitate to call that reading Comprehension depends on knowledge Comprehension as defined by Bernhardt ... check students reading comprehension and its technique to improve students motivation to learn reading skills Finally, the thesis looks at the effects of using mind-mapping to check EFL students ... appropriately to improve students reading skill Aims of the Study The study aimed to help Students develop and checking students understanding reading comprehension We find out the value of the Students ... note Students need to learn that they need to adapt their reading and techniques to the purpose of the reading ” Reading comprehension Reading Comprehension is the ability to understand what