SOME STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS IN READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH FACULTY, HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF ENGLISH AND MODERN LANGUAGES GRADUATION PAPER B.A Degree in English SOME STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS IN READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH FACULTY, HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY Supervisor ề Le Phuong Thao, M.A Student : Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy Date of birth: 29/09/1988 Course : 2006 - 2010 KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U Hanoi, May 2010 DECLARATION Title: SOME STRATEGIES FOR DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS IN READING COMPREHENSION FOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH FACULTY, HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY (Graduation Paper submitted in Partial Fulfillment for B.A Degree in English) I certify that no part of the above report has been copied and reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance of my supervisor Date submitted: May 15th, 2010 Student: Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy Supervisor: Lê Phương Thảo ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am so glad to have a good opportunity of doing this graduation paper It KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U helps me much in collecting and classifying my knowledge which I have studied To finish paper, I have worked under extremely high responsibility I received many supports from teachers and friends I cannot accomplish this task without tìieừ help First of all, I would like to express my appreciation to all the teachers of English faculty, Hanoi open University for teaching me to be a well-educated student I have learnt so many tilings from what they taught me They have made favourable conditions for me to study at school during my precious four years here Secondly, I would like to give special thanks to Ms Le Phuong Thao, my supervisor, for both her positive response to my ideas for this paper and her advice that helped me to complete it I would not complete my graduation paper without her enthusiastic instructions and correction Besides, I also would like to thank my friends and all the students who helped me implement my study Finally yet important, I am very thankful to my family and my boyfriend for their spữitual and financial supports to help me finish my course in Hanoi Open University Hanoi, May 2009 Nguyễn Thị Thu Thủy CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION lẵl Rationale: Reading is an important tool for people of many societies allowing them to access information or knowledge Everyone needs reading skills for various purposes as survival, broadened knowledge and pleasure Reading is a basic skill not only every school requires but every job expects It is the fact that skills of reading and KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U analyzing documents or a variety of data sources are major factors which affect a person’s work results and his salary as well Therefore, improving reading skill is very important for undergraduate students of English in general and English faculty at Hanoi open University in particular Reading is not just pronouncing words but requires understanding However, the first tiling students learning English as a foreign language meet when they are reading is the vocabulary Many students probably consider that tìieừ mam problem in reading is not having a big enough vocabulary Most students who meet an unfamiliar word they cannot interpret are first likely to ask what it means If they not find out the word’s meaning, they cannot go on reading and comprehending the text College material contains unfamiliar words and specialized or technical vocabulary that students must learn Also, college textbooks in general are written at a higher level than other materials, so some effective strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension are necessary In studying process, the author of this paper and other students of English faculty at Hanoi open University have met many difficulties made by unfamiliar words in reading comprehension Therefore, the author would like to present some reading compehension and unfamiliar word knowledge and propose some effective sừategies for dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension for students of English faculty at Hanoi open University lế2 Aims of the study: It is obvious that reading plays an important role in our life No worker can work well without reading documents and no student can study without reading books Yet, we always have trouble with unfamiliar words in reading The objective of the study is to bring out some strategies which are helpful in dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension for students of English faculty, Hanoi open University In this study, the author would like to focus on finding what difficulties students usually meet when encountering unfamiliar words in reading and from that point, the author would like to bring out some effective strategies to help students learning English as a foreign language in general and the students of English faculty at HOU in particular to overcome tìieừ difficulties To help students deal with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension, this study focused on the following main KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U points: • Overview of basic knowledge on reading comprehension and unfamiliar words in reading • Difficulties made by unfamiliar words in reading comprehension for students • A survey to get what exactly students find hard in encountering unfamiliar words in reading comprehension and their habit of dealing with this • Proposed effective strategies of dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension based on the result drawn from the survey Hopefully, this research will be a good source for students in general, especially the students of English faculty at HOU in particular 1Ệ3 Scope of the study: English reading comprehension is a wide field for research In the scope of this study, due to the limited time and knowledge, the author mainly focuses on difficulties made by unfamiliar words in reading comprehension and some effective strategies for dealing with it The research aimed at English learners, especially students at Faculty of English, Hanoi Open University 1Ệ4 Method of the study: In order to accomplish this thesis systematically and adequately, the author has acquired all the literature resources from many sources of data such as the internet, newspapers and linguistic books in the Library of Faculty of English and Modem Languages, HOU and the Vietnam National Library The author implemented a survey with subjects who are students of English faculty, Hanoi Open University Personal observation consulted and discussed by the supervisor in the process of researching also contributed much to the completion of this thesis 1Ệ5 Design of the study: The study is divided into five chapters: KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U • Chapter I: Introduction • Chapter II: Literature Review • Chapter III: The study • Chapter IV: The finding and discussion • Chapter V: Conclusion CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2ềl Reading Comprehension: 2.1.1 Definition of Reading: Joe Cortina and Janet Elder (2000) defined reading as a form of thinking in Opening Doors - Understanding college reading: “It is your brain that does the reading, not your eyes Your eyes merely transmit images to the brain for it to interpret” (12,75) To understand this, we consider a blind person reading Braille, a system of printing for the blind, in this case, the finger - tips transmit input to the brain Thus, Joe and Janet highly preciate the importance of brain or thinking in reading It also means that meaning resides in the reader’s mind, not in symbols printed on a page It is the readers who construct meaning by associating theữ knowledge and experience with what is on the printed page Different readers, therefore, with their own knowledge and experience have different understanding about the written text In Deanne’s view (2000), reading term is defined as follows: “Reading is a complex cognitive process of decoding symbols for the intention of deriving meaning (reading comprehension) and/or constructing meaning” (6,65) According to Deanne, reading is a process of getting a message from a written text The writer encodes his thought or ideas as language and the reader decodes the language to understand author’s message This can be understood that reading refers to receiving the writer’s knowledge and thought It is an activity that connects the reader and the written material or the writer When reading, obviously, readers interact with the writer in some ways and this will be influent on the reading effectiveness of readers Another noticeable definition on reading given by John, L (2002) is that: KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U “Reading is the motivated and fluent coordination of word recognition and comprehension” (14,89) In his study, he shows that “Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency and motivation” Reading is making meaning from print It requires: identifying the words in print (word recognition), constructing an understanding from it (comprehension), coordinating identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate (fluency) Reading in its fullest sense involves weaving together word recognition and comprehension in a fluent manner These three processes are complex, and each is important Leipzig, also, gives a considerable idea on reading: if reading is not pleasurable or fulfilling, readers will not choose to read, and they will not get the practice they need to become fluent or efficient readers Therefore, reading also means developing and maintaining the motivation to read In general, reading, like other terms, is defined in many different ways depend on each person’ view and his/her study purpose Hence, it is not easy to give a completely exact definition on this term However, a definition can be summarized basing on above definitions is that: Reading is a complex process in which written or printed material is decoded by readers in order to get writer’s message 2.1.2 Definition of Reading Comprehension: The term “comprehension” is offered in Webster’s College Dictionary (2008) is “the capcity of the mind to perceive and understand” or “power to grasp ideas ” from the written text In other words, reading comprehension is a highly interactive process that takes place between a reader and a text Individual readers will bring variable levels of skills and experiences to these interactions These include language skills, cognitive resources and world knowledge Any act of reading occurs within a particular sociocultural and emotional context This consists of elements such as the readers’ home culture, theữ previous experiences of reading and being read to, their expectations that reading should carry meaning, their motivation, their view of themselves as a reader, the purpose for reading the text, the cultural value placed on reading and the reading environments the reader experiences According to Hulstijn (1993), the word comprehension has its roots in Latin: comprehendere means to seize In the Latin derived language of French, from which many English words come, the verb comprendre means to KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U understand Thus, reading comprehension denotes the ability to read words and grasp (seize) the meaning of these individual words as well as to understand the meaning of the groups of these words.While many students can read aloud, calling out the individual words with the coưect pronunciations, some of them not comprehend what they read That is, they can say all the words, but they not understand what the combined words all mean On the other hand, those who can read aloud or silently and understand what they have read, have reading comprehension Reading comprehension, therefore, can be defined as “the level of understanding of a writing” Reading comprehension can be known as the result of effective reading as well as the ability to understand and interact with the written materials in a meaningful way For students, comprehension refers to understanding college textbook by reading for ideas Reading comprehension is the crucial link to effective reading, a sừong factor in our educational and professional lives Reading comprehension can be known as the heart and goal of reading, since the purpose of all reading is to gather meaning from the printed page 2ễlễ3 The importance of Reading Comprehension: One of the mam benefits of reading is that it helps to build our vocabulary When reading books, magazines, websites, etc we sometimes encounter new words Even if we not completely understand the word, we will be able to figure it out through association or the use of a dictionary This not only allows our vocabulary to grow but deepens our level of understanding We see and remember new words and are given examples of how they are used, this means that vocabulary is expanded through reading process Reading keeps our brain working and keeps us up to date with language and modem vocabulary and slang It is well - known fact that too many people today don’t read regularly and they also suffer difficulties from their limited vocabulary in communication Each person’ vocabulary is the foundation of his ability to think and his ability to share his thought with other people The more we read the more effectively we use language in daily life Another great benefit of reading is that it provides us a wonderful time to relax and de-stress for both children and adults Reading can transport people to different countries and cultures, or it can take us on a great adventure Reading KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U should be viewed as a pleasurable activity - as a source of entertaining tales and useful and interesting factual information If we need a few moments to relax after a hard day, reading is a wonderful way to so Through books, besides, children can also learn about people and places from other parts of the world, improve their understanding of and concern for all of humanity Reading can provide children with endless hours of fun and entertainment Stories can free up imaginations and open up exciting new words of fantasty or reality They allow children to dream and may give them a good start on the road to viewing reading as a lifelong source of pleasure It is also found that another reading benefit that shows the importance of reading is that reading can actually help to enhance our brain power Not only is reading a required skill to complete school and then university it is also a needed skill in adult hood The ability to read and learn new things through out our life keeps our brain young and health As we read, we stimulate the brain, and there are some studies that even show that people who read on a regular basis are less likely to end up dealing with problems like Alzheimer’s Disease It is also observed that children and teengagers who love reading have comparatively higher IQs The ability to learn about new subjects and find helpful information on anything from health problems to more academic research into science or the arts depends on the ability to read Recent researches has shown that good readers stand out from the rest because of theữ improved cognitive abilities They can think creatively It improves theữ grasping power It makes them analyse and solve problems better Reading helps a person be successful in life Reading on a regular basis can also have the added benefit of improving our spelling as well The more we read, the more we see the proper spelling and it will help us to make sure that we are spelling tilings correctly as well, which is definitely very important People who start reading from an early age are observed to have good language skills, and they grasp the variances in phonics much better Especially, for children, reading out loud exposes them to proper grammar and phrasing It enhances the development of tìieừ spoken language skills, their ability to express themselves verbally, clearly and concisely After all, there are many great benefits of reading and they all show the importance of reading today There are so many ways in which reading continues to KetKetnooi.com Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U be both a vital skill for students to master, and an important source of knowledge and pleasure Reading is like providing the mind with nourishment Knowledge is the food for the mind and soul Apart from giving us the basic information about the world around us, it also encourages us to think Therefore, the key to improving weak reading comprehension is to promote our reading habbit and skills through understanding main benefits of reading completely 2ễlễ4 Types of reading and Reading rates: Scanning type of reading: This type is used to look for some printed materials quickly or find a particular piece of information such as a name, date, or phone number.Take an example, we read a telephone book, we know exactly what we are searching for (key words and names) We “see” every item on the page, but we don’t necessarily read the pages We ignore anything we are not looking for Thus, when we discover the key words being searched for, we will be unable to recall the exact content of the page Approximate rate of scanning type of reading is 1,500 wpm (words per minute) or more Skimming type of reading: Skimming is a reading skill used to get an overview of the highlights of the material We read the material quickly to gain a general impression and it is not necessary to search for a specific item and key words Skimming method is useful to look at chapter/section headings, summaries and opening paragraphs The two purposes of skimming are: checking relevance of text and settting the scene for the more concentrated effort that is to follow, if the text is useful A person who uses skimming type of reading has the reading speed at between 800 to 1,000 wpm Light type of reading: Reading for leisure tends to be light reading This refers to reading at a pace which feels comfortable, reading with understanding, and skimming the boring, iưelevant passages An average light reading speed is 100 200 words per minute This form of reading does not generally require detailed concentration Word by word type of reading: This type of reading is time consuming and demands a high level of concentration Some material is not readily understood and so it requừes a slow, careful and analytical reading People use this type of reading 10 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U Part II: APPENDIX 2: ANSWER KEYS - A: oppose - A: a noun - C: an adjective 10 - C: lum Which method did you use to solve the questions in exercise I? A Using a dictionary B Asking other people c Guessing word’s meaning by making use of context clues Did you use your knowledge of parts of speech to guess the meaning of words in exercise II? GRADUATION PAPER DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION lẵl Rationale: lế2 Aims of the study: 1Ệ3 Scope of the study: 1Ệ4 Method of the study: 1Ệ5 Design of the study: CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 2ềl Reading Comprehension: 2ẵ2 Unfamiliar words: 2ẵ3 Some strategies for dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension: 2.3.1Ignoring the unfamiliar words: 2.3ếlếl Skimming skill: 2.3ếlế2 Scanning skill: 2.3.2Recalling the word’s meaning by pronunciation: 2.3.3Guessing the word’s meaning: 2.3Ệ3Ệ1 Analyzing structural formation: The grammar function of the word: The morphology of the word (Roots, Prefixes and Suffixes) Ways of making use of context clues: 53 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U 2.3.4Looking the unfamiliar words up in the dictionary: APPENDIX 2: ANSWER KEYS 2.3.4.1Way to choose a good dictionary: 2.3ế4ế2 Way to use the dictionary quickly and effectively: 2ế4 Summary: CHAPTER III: THE STUDY 3Ế1 Survey on ways senior students use to deal with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension: 3.1.1The subjects: 3.1.2Data collection: 3.1.3Exercise description: 3.3Summary: CHAPTER IV: THE FINDING AND DISCUSSION CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION REFERENCES: Books: Internet sources: TABLE OF CONTENT APPENDIX 4: What you think about reading comprehension? A Favorite B Interesting c Average D Boring E Very boring How often you read for broadening knowledge? A Always B Often c Sometimes D Never What is effective reading comprehension? A Reading fast without comprehension 54 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U B Reading slowly but understand entừe text c Reading both quickly and APPENDIX 2: ANSWER KEYS effectively Which difficulties are made by unfamiliar words in your reading comprehension? A Being impossible to understand the whole text B Reading slowly due to interruption c Becoming tired of reading D All above answers Which method you use most for dealing with unfamiliar words in reading comprehension? A Ignoring the unfamiliar words B Recalling the word’s meaning by pronunciation c Guessing the word’s meaning D Looking the unfamiliar words up in the dictionary E Asking friends or teacher Skimming skill is used to read only the most important information to get general idea of the content by glancing rapidly over a text How often you use skimming skill in reading comprehension? A Always B Often c Sometimes D Never What you often when reading a long text? A Read it word-by-word B Read the first sentence of each paragraph c Pay attention to the title, subtitles, subheading and illustrations D Focus on proper names and figures E All above answers, except A Scanning skill is used to find a particular piece of information by moving your eyes quickly down the page seeking specific words and phrases How often you use scanning skill in reading comprehension? A Always B Often c Sometimes D Never 10.What you often when using scanning skill in reading comprehension? A Look for the author’s use of organizers such as: numbers, letters, steps, or the words: “first”, “second”, or “next” B Look for words that are bold faced, italics or in different font size, style or color c Look for key ideas in margin if there is one D All above answers 11.How often you use the dictionary to look the unfamiliar words up in your reading comprehension? A always B often c sometimes D never 12.Which dictionary you consider the best one? A monolingual dictionary (English - only dictionary) 55 Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy - K13U B bilingual dictionary c online dictionary APPENDIX 2: ANSWER 13.The method you are using to deal with KEYS unfamiliar words in reading comprehension is effective or not? A Effective B Not effective 56 APPENDIX 4: SOME COMMON PREFIXES AND ROOTS COMMON PREFIXES: PREFIX MEANING Bi Prefixes that reverse two the Word’s meaning: MEANING Cent PREFIX hundred Deca Contra ten against De Magna large,reverse great Dis negation Micro small not Milli In, im thousand Ir Mono one not Poly Non many not Un Quad four not Number or Size: Semi Prefixes that indicate half, twice Tri three Uni one quadrangle, quadruplets semiannually, semifinal Prefixes that indicate positioi tricycle, triple uniform, PREFIX MEANING unity A without, not Ad to, toward Anti against EXAMPLE atypical, amoral Circum around advertise, advocate Co, con, com with, together antagonize, antifreeze cừcumference, circumstance En into committee, cocaptain Epi upon,over entrance, enact epidermis, Ex, e out of epoxy exit, eject immerse, Im, in into Inter between inspect intermediary, intercept intrastate, Intra within (places) intramurals introspective, Intro within (people) introvert overdue, Over excessive overwhelm EXAMPLE contradict, contrast decompose, deactivate disbelief, disenchanted invalid, immature irreversible, irrelevant noncombatant uncertain, unpaid EXAMPLE bicycle, bigamy century, centennial decade, decimal magnify, magnificent microscope, microbe million, millimeter monopoly, monorail polygamy, polynomial Peri around Post after Pre before Prim first Sub under Super above Tele distant Trans across, beyond Additional prefixes: PREFIX MEANING Ambi both Auto self Bio life Civ citizen Geo earth Hetero other Homo same Manu hand Mis wrong, hatred Omni all Physic relating to the body Pop people Pro forward Psycho mind Re again Sequi following Sym, syn same )MMON ROOTS: ROOT Animus Anni, ernii Anthropo Aqua Aud Belli Bene Cap, cep Cede Chrono Corp Cred Cura Cycle MEANING spirit year human water hear warlike good, well take, receive yield time body believe care circle perimeter, periscope postscript, postpone prenatal, prefix primary, primer subway, submit superfund, superhuman telephone, television transport, transmit EXAMPLE ambidextrous, ambiguous automatic, autonomous biology, biography civic, civil geology, geography heterogeneous, heterosexual homogeneous, homosexual manual, manicure misspell, mistake omnipotent, omniscient physiology, physician popular, population promote, propel psychology, psychic reconsider, restore sequel, consequence synonym, sympathy EXAMPLE animated, magnanious anniversary, perennial anthropology, misanthrope aquarium, aquanaut audible, audience rebellion, belligerent benefactor, benefit reception, capture recede, secede chronological, chronometer corporation, corporal credible, credit cure, manicure bicycle, cyclical Derm Diet Dorm Due Equi Fac, fic Fer Fide Fin Fug Gene Graph, gram Juv Labor Leg, legis Loc Luc, lum Mai Meter Mis, mit Mort Naut Nov Nym, nom Ology Pathos Ped Phil Phobia Phono Port Pos Poten Scope Scrip, scrib Spec Sphere Temp Theo Tox Ven Vers, vert View skin say, speak sleep lead equal make, producing trust end flee produce, create written young work related to law place light bad measure send death related to the sea new name study of feeling foot or child love of fear sound carry place power see write look ball time God poison come turn see, look at dermatologist, epidermis dictation, diction dormitory, dormant conductor, induct equality, inequities factory, fiction fertilizer, infertility confide, fidelity finish, infinite refugee, fugitive generate, genetics telegraph, monograph juvenile, rejuvenate collaborate, laborious legal, legislator location, locomotive illuminate, lucid malignant, malicious kilometer, thermometer transmit, mission postmortem, morgue nautical, nautilus novelty, novice nominate, pseudonym psychology, sociology sympathy, antipathy pedal, pediatrician philosophy, philanthropy claustrophobia, acrophobia phonograph, telephone transport, import position, posture potential, potent telescope, microscope scribble, script spectator, spectacle atmosphere, hemisphere temporary, tempo theology, polytheism toxin, nontoxic convention, inventory reverse, convert prview, viewer Vis, vid observable Vita life Voc call television, video vitality, vitamin vocation, vocal APPENDIX SOME COMMON SUFFIXES SUFFIXES MEANING Suffixes that indicate a person: -er, -or, -ist One who (does what the root word indicates) Suffixes that indicate a noun: -ance, -ence, -tion, -sion, State of, quality of, condition -ment, -ness, -ity, -ty, - of, act of tude, -hood, -age -itis -ology -ism Inflammation of (whatever the root indicates) Study or science of (whatever the root indicates) Philosophy of or belief in Suffixes that indicate an adjective: -al, -ic, -ish, -ical, -ive Pertaining to (whatever the root indicates) -less Without, lacking (whatever the root indicates) -ous, -fill Full of (whatever the root indicates) -able, -ible Able to or be (whatever the root indicates) Suffixes that indicate a verb: -ify, -ate, -ize, -en To (whatever the root indicates) Suffixes that indicate an adverb: -ly In the manner (indicated by the root) -ward In the dừection of (whatever the root indicates) EXAMPLES Banker, inventor, scientist, pacifist Tolerance, permanence, retention, vision, government, happiness, maturity, beauty, gratitude, statehood, marriage Sinusitics, tonsillitics Psychology, microbiology Terrorism, Buddhism, pacifisim Normal, hormonal, psychic, selfish, magical, defective, pacific Homeless, toothless Harmonious, colorful Comfortable, comprehensible Pacify, meditate, criticize, enlighten Slowly, heavily, peacefully Estward, homeward, backward