Effects of concept maps on reading comprehension of grade ten students at tri duc high school a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY EFFECTS OF CONCEPT MAPS ON READING COMPREHENSION OF GRADE-TEN STUDENTS AT TRI DUC HIGH SCHOOL A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) Submitted by LE THUY VY Supervisor Dr NGUYEN THUY NGA Ho Chi Minh City, September 2016 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled, “Effects of Concept Maps on Reading Comprehension of Grade-Ten Students at Tri Duc High School” is my own work Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree in any other tertiary institution Ho Chi Minh City, 2016 Le Thuy Vy i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My thesis would not be done without any assistance and contributions of many people Thus, this is an opportunity for me to express my gratitude to all of them First and foremost, I would like to give my deep gratitude to my supervisor – Dr Nguyen Thuy Nga, who always helped and spent her limited time reading and giving advice for my thesis as well as showed me how to the thesis better Secondly, I would like to give my thanks to Ho Chi Minh City Open University for giving me chance to finish my study to get a Master degree in many different ways Thirdly, to my colleagues in Tri Duc High School, who gave me permission and chance to complete my thesis within the school year 2015-2016, I appreciated their contributions and encouragement during the time I did the research I am also grateful to some of my friends of TESOL They spared their time to help me and share their experience in doing the thesis Finally, I would like to send my deep love to my family They always encouraged me to well and to keep moving forwards to complete what I had started It was they who were with me through difficulties and supported me when I needed help so that I had enough energy to complete my thesis ii ABSTRACT English nowadays is considered as an international language that is widely used around the world English language skills have become a topic for studied by many researchers, including reading comprehension Besides, concept maps are also believed to help improve students’ reading comprehension A study was conducted with two classes of 10 graders in Tri Duc High School in Ho Chi Minh City to measure the effects of concept maps on students’ reading comprehension in a private high school setting The two classes were named control group and experimental group They learnt reading with the same approach – Communicative Language Teaching- but with one difference that is the intervention, i.e concept maps in the experimental group Before that, the students of the two groups took a pretest on reading comprehension and an independent t-test was used to analyze the results to ensure the same level of reading comprehension performance of the two groups After inconsecutive periods of reading lessons, they took a reading comprehension posttest The students of the experimental group were asked to a questionnaire to investigate their attitudes towards the use of concept maps on reading comprehension The data were collected, coded by computer software and analyzed The results revealed a statistically significant difference in the posttest scores of the two groups after the treatment Besides, the students of the experimental group appeared to have better posttest scores than those of the control group Most of the students of the experimental group also showed their agreement in the use of concept maps in reading lesson Therefore, concept maps had positive effects on Tri Duc grade-ten students’ reading comprehension and most of them showed positive attitudes towards this new strategy iii TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES .viii ABBREVIATIONS x Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Problem statement 1.3 Research aims 1.4 Research questions 1.5 Research significance 1.6 Overview of thesis chapters Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical Background to the Research 2.1.1 Reading comprehension 2.1.2 Concept maps 12 2.1.3 Benefits of concept maps to reading comprehension 20 2.1.4 Applications of concept maps in reading lessons 22 2.2 Summaries of previous studies on effects of concept maps on reading comprehension 24 2.3 Implications for the present study 31 2.4 Chapter summary 33 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Research setting 34 3.2 Participants 35 3.3 Research design 36 3.4 Material and teaching procedures 37 3.4.1 Material 37 iv 3.4.2 Teaching procedures 38 3.5 Measurement instruments 42 3.5.1 Pretest and posttest 42 3.5.2 Questionnaires 43 3.6 Procedures of data collection 48 3.7 Data analysis 49 3.7.1 Research question 1: To what extent concept maps have effects on students’ reading comprehension? 49 3.7.2 Research question 2: What are students’ attitudes towards using concept maps in learning reading? 50 3.8 Chapter summary 50 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 52 4.1 Information of the participants 52 4.2 Research question 1: To what extent concept maps have effects on students’ reading comprehension? 54 4.2.1 Before the treatment 54 4.2.2 After the treatment 56 4.3 Research question 2: What are students’ attitudes towards using concept maps in learning reading? 60 4.3.1 Section A: attitudes towards the use of concept maps 60 4.3.2 Section B: attitudes towards the effects of concept maps on reading comprehension 61 4.3.3 Section C: the future use of concept maps in students’ learning 65 4.4 Discussion of the findings 67 4.4.1 Summary of the findings 67 4.4.2 Discussion 67 4.5 Chapter summary 72 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 73 5.1 Conclusion 73 5.2 Contributions and limitations 74 5.2.1 Contributions 74 v 5.2.2 Limitations 75 5.3 Recommendations 76 5.4 Suggestions for further studies 78 5.5 Chapter summary 79 REFERENCES 80 APPENDIX A 89 APPENDIX B 95 APPENDIX A 99 APPENDIX B 105 APPENDIX A 110 APPENDIX B 117 APPENDIX A 122 APPENDIX B 128 APPENDIX A 133 APPENDIX B 138 APPENDIX 142 APPENDIX 146 APPENDIX 151 APPENDIX 154 APPENDIX 10 157 APPENDIX 11 158 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure An example of concept maps (Novak & Cañas, 2008) 12 Figure 2 An example of typical mind map (Duffill, 2013) 13 Figure An example of Spider map (Assessment and Instructional Alignment, 2007) 15 Figure An example of Hierarchical map (Kinchin, 1998) 15 Figure An example of Flowchart map (Create a Basic Flowchart, 2016) 16 Figure System map of a health center appointments system (A System map, 2007) 17 Figure Relationships between concept maps and reading comprehension 32 vii LIST OF TABLES Table The advantages and disadvantages of four kinds of concept maps 18 Table 2 Summary of previous studies on reading comprehension and concept maps 30 Table Selected reading texts 37 Table Summary of teaching procedures 38 Table 3 Summary of teaching stages 40 Table Summary of selected reading texts for pre and posttest 43 Table Summary of demographic information of the participants 53 Table Group Statistics on reading comprehension pretest scores of the control group and the experimental group 54 Table Results of Independent sample t-test on reading comprehension pretest scores of the control group and the experimental group 55 Table 4 Pair sample statistics on the pretest and posttest scores of the control group 56 Table The pair sample t-test results on the pretest and posttest scores of the control group 57 Table Pair sample statistics on the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group 57 Table The pair sample t-test results on the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental group 58 Table Group Statistics on reading comprehension posttest scores of the control group and the experimental group 58 Table Results of Independent sample t-test on reading comprehension posttest scores of the control group and the experimental group 59 Table 10 Presentation of students’ views on the use of concept maps 61 Table 11 Presentation of students’ attitudes toward learning reading with concept maps 62 Table 12 Presentation of students’ attitudes towards using concept maps in prereading stage 63 viii Table 13 Presentation of students’ attitudes towards using concept maps in whilereading stage 64 Table 14 Presentation of students’ attitudes toward using concept maps in postreading stage 65 Table 15 Presentation of students’ attitudes towards the future use of concept maps in their learning 66 ix b SPORTS CENTRE: join a holiday course! We are offering half-day courses in a variety of water sports During the summer holiday period all courses are half price c TOWN HALL: Throughout the summer holiday we are offering cheaper entry to the town’s sports and leisure facilities Special low prices for tourists Don’t miss this opportunity! d YOUTH CENTRE: We welcome everyone to join in our holiday programme A wide range of sports and activities is available on a morning or afternoon timetable Passage 3: Read the text and questions below For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, C or D for your answer Orbis is an organisation which helps blind people everywhere It has built an eye hospital inside an aeroplane and flown it all over the world with an international medical team Samantha Graham, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl from England, went with the plane to Mongolia Samantha tells the story of Eukhtuul, a young Mongolian girl 'Last year, when Eukhtuul was walking home from school, she was attacked by boys with sticks and her eyes were badly damaged Dr Duffey, an Orbis doctor, said that without an operation she would never see again I thought about all the everyday things I that she couldn't, ·things like reading schoolbooks, watching television, seeing friends, and I realised how lucky I am.' 'The Orbis team agreed to operate on Eukhtuul and I was allowed to watch, together with some Mongolian medical students I prayed the operation would be successful The next day I waited nervously with Eukhtuul while Dr Duffey removed her bandages "In six months your sight ·will be back to normal, he said Eukhtuul smiled, her mother cried, and I had to wipe away some tears, too!" "Now Eukhtuul wants to study hard to become a doctor Her whole future has changed; thanks to a simple operation We should all think more about how much our sight means to us." 16 What is the writer's main purpose in writing this text? 144 a to describe a dangerous trip b to report a patient's cure c to explain how sight can be lost d to warn against playing with sticks 17 What can a reader learn about in this text? a the life of schoolchildren in Mongolia b the difficulties for blind travellers c the international work of some eye doctors d the best way of studying medicine 18 After meeting Eukhtuul, Samantha felt………………… a grateful for her own sight b proud of the doctor's skill c surprised by Eukhtuul's courage d angry about Eukhtuul's experience 19 What is the result of Eukhtuul's operation? a She can already see perfectly again b Mter some time she will see as well as before c She can see better but will never have normal eyes d Before she recovers, she will need another operation 20 Samantha was given permission to observe the operation a because she was a medical student b since she was able to help the doctors c as a result of her friendship with Eukhtuul d with some medical students from Mongolia THE END 145 APPENDIX POST-READING COMPREHENSION TEST Name: _ Class: 10 _ Time allotted: 30 minutes Passage 1: Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, C or D for your answer BIRTH OF THE MOVIES Did you know that cinema is more than 100 years old? Moving pictures (0) ………… invented by the brothers Louis and Auguste Lumière The first showing of a moving picture or ‘movie’ (1) ………… place in a cinema in Paris on 28th December 1895 On that day Lumière brothers showed movies (2) ………… their newly-invented machine, called the Cinematographe The audience saw a funny film in (3) ………… a gardener spilt a lot of water on (4) ………… by accident Everyone really loved it! Cinema very (5) ………… became popular all over the world In 1907 the first film studios were built in a (6) ………… of Los Angeles called Hollywood (7) ………… the 1920s, Hollywood had become the centre of the world film (8) ………… To begin with, the movies had no sound Words (9) ………… on the screen from time to time to (10) ………… the story a were b did c had d got a found b took c went d gave a doing b making c setting d using a where b who c which d what a yourself b himself c themselves d itself a quickly b immediately c fast d early a place b site c location d district a to b at c for d by a industry b company c trade d firm a developed b happened c appeared d displayed 10 a prove b explain c direct d advise 146 Passage 2: Read the text and questions below For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, C or D for your answer JAZZ By Katie Atkins, aged 14 I play the trumpet in my school jazz band Last month we held a jazz competition with bands from local high schools – and our band won! Each band had their own costumes, ranging from black school uniforms like my band wore, to brightly- coloured T-shirts We didn’t look much like adult professional bands, but all of us were used to performing in competitions, so the quality of playing was amazing, especially considering everyone was so young Players from each band even created new tunes right there on stage It was exciting to watch – but even better when my band played on stage! We have a great jazz band at my school, but not everyone who wants to play in it gets accepted –only about half, in fact But anyone who’s keen to play goes to jazz practice before school, and we often spend time together after school, listening to jazz and learning its language There are also trips to jazz summer camps across the country – I’ve been to a couple and learnt a lot Adults are often surprised that young people are getting interested in jazz My music teacher thinks it’s because pop music isn’t challenging enough for people like me who are serious about music But I find it exciting because it’s both new and old at the same time – you can create your own music, but you also feel you’re part of its history, as you’re playing on stage in the same way as great jazz performers before you My school’s really lucky because we have great teachers, and parents who’ve supported us all the way Without them, we’d never get anywhere with our music! 11 What is Katie trying to in the text? a encourage young people to try to listen to more jazz b explain how jazz is becoming popular with young people c advertise young people’s jazz events in her area d give advice on how to create great jazz music 147 12 Katie says the bands in her school’s jazz competition………… a played music they’d written themselves before they came b had little experience of playing in public c played at a high level despite their age d were dressed to look like professional jazz bands 13 Most people at Katie’s school who are interested in jazz…………… a attend early jazz sessions at school b join the school jazz band c learn about jazz in after-school classes d go to jazz summer camps at the school 14 Why does Katie enjoy playing jazz so much? a she finds it easier to learn than other forms of music b she thinks it is more serious than pop music c she likes the chance to perform with others on stage d she feels in touch with jazz players of the past 15 Which of the following would Katie write to a friend? a The competition was great, but I think I preferred being in the audience to playing – I was nervous! b My mum and dad always all they can to help with my trumpet playing–I couldn’t this successfully without their help c One band wore really colourful clothes, but we chose dark costumes Maybe that’s one reason why they won instead of us d One music teacher left a while ago and no one’s replaced him yet We just haven’t got anyone good to help us now Passage 3: Read the text and questions below For each question, cirlce the correct letter A, B, C or D for your answer 148 MARIA MUTOLA Former 800 metres Olympic Champion In 1988, Maria Mutola was playing football as the only girl in an all-boys team in a local competition in Mozambique ‘We won,’ she said ‘At first no one thought it was a problem that I was a girl But then the team we eat complained.’ The story appeared in a local newspaper and Jose Craveirinha, who had encouraged other African athletes, learnt about Maria He went to meet her and found her kicking a ball around outside the football club He realized immediately that she was fast ‘He talked to me about athletics I had no idea what he meant The only sport I knew about was football Then he bought me running shoes and took me training It was such hard work and my legs really ached.’ But Jose visited her parent and persuaded them she could be successful and this would help end their poverty They agree to let him take her away to train In 1991, she finally accepted an invitation to train in the United States She had refused previously because she knew she would miss her family Her background was unlike those of the girls she met in the US She explains, ’They were good athletes but, while I worried about my parents having enough to eat, they worried about dresses and make-up They knew very little about me and even less about my problems But I knew very lucky to be there The trainers were brilliant and I learnt a lot Today, Maria still runs and for most of the year she lives happily in South Africa with mother 16 What is the writer trying to in the text? a persuade more Africans to take up athletics b describe how Maria became a top athlete c give information about Mozambique d explain how Maria manages to stay fit 17 Jose Craveirinha found out about Maria when …… a he went to watch a local football competition b she was blamed for her team losing a football competition c he saw an article about her role in a football match 149 d people complained about another member of her football team 18 When Jose first introduced Maria to athletics, she ……… a didn’t know what was involved b was worried about being injured c was keen to learn everything he knew d didn’t think her family would approve 19 What does Maria say about the girls she met in the United States? a They did not make full use of their abilities b Their training programs were less demanding than hers c They did not show enough respect for the trainers d Their experiences of life were very different from hers 20 What would Maria say about her life a José has made all my dreams possible From the first day we met I was certain I wanted to become a top athlete b My life hasn’t always been easy but I’ve had many opportunities Running is important to me and so is my family c I regret becoming involved in athletics It was horrible leaving Mozambique and my parents I’d like to go back to football d The US has some wonderful training facilities, so I’m glad that I agreed to go when I was first offered the chance THE END 150 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE (English Version) I am conducting a research into the effects of concept maps on reading comprehension of 10 graders Please spend some valuable time to read and answer the following statements by ticking () in the box/column you choose Your responses will greatly contribute to the success of the study Your personal information will be kept confidentially and used ONLY for the sake of the research PART I: PERSONAL INFORMATION Please fill in the blanks and tick () at the suitable box Your full name:…………………………………………………… Class:………… Gender: Male  Female  Learning English (you can choose more than one)  At school  At an English center  At home with tutor PART II: STUDENT’S ASSESSMENT Please mark a tick () in the column that best represent your level of agreement for each item below No Strongly Content disagree Disagree Not sure A THE USE OF CONCEPT MAPS Using concept maps was a new experience for me I had no difficulty understanding instructions on how to draw a map I had no difficulty understanding links shown in the maps It was helpful to see how concepts are organized 151 Agree Strongly agree B EFFECTS ON READING COMPREHENSION Concept maps provide me with learning opportunities that I have never tried before in usual reading classes I think concept learning maps is with an interesting new way of learning reading Learning with concept maps arouses my interest in the topic Concept maps help me grasp the main idea of the text Concept maps help me relate my previous knowledge to the new topic It is easier for me to 10 comprehend read what through I’ve concept maps than without them When I use concept maps 11 for a reading passage, I’m able to solve reading tasks in the book better 12 Concept maps help me to have better reading 152 comprehension When looking at concept 13 maps, I can summarize easily the reading text I 14 can remember the lessons longer thanks to concept maps C THE FUTURE USE OF CONCEPT MAPS I would like mapping 15 lesson to be used for many subjects at my school I would like to be able to 16 use concept maps for my study at home THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION! 153 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE (Vietnamese Version) PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG SƠ ĐỒ KHÁI NIỆM TRONG TIẾT HỌC ĐỌC Tôi thực đề tài nghiên cứu tác động việc dùng sơ đồ khái niệm lên khả đọc hiểu học sinh lớp 10 Xin bạn dành chút thời gian quý báu đọc đưa đánh giá cho câu phát biểu sau cách đánh dấu () vào ô/khung bạn chọn Những đánh giá bạn đóng góp vào thành công nghiên cứu Thông tin cá nhân bạn giữ bí mật hoàn toàn sử dụng cho nghiên cứu PHẦN I: THÔNG TIN CÁ NHÂN Điền vào chỗ trống đánh dấu () vào ô phù hợp Họ tên:…………………………………………………… Lớp:………… Giới tính: Nam  Nữ  Học tiếng Anh (bạn chọn nhiều lựa chọn)  Tại trường  Tại trung tâm Anh ngữ  Tại nhà với gia sư PHẦN II: ĐÁNH GIÁ VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC TRONG THỜI GIAN QUA Bạn vui lòng đánh dấu () vào mức đánh bạn thấy phù hợp THANG ĐÁNH GIÁ Hoàn Nội dung Stt toàn Không Phân Đồng không đồng ý vân ý đồng ý A Việc sử dụng sơ đồ khái niệm Sử dụng sơ đồ khái niệm trải nghiệm Tôi không gặp khó khăn việc hiểu cách vẽ sơ đồ 154 Hoàn toàn đồng ý Tôi không gặp khó khăn việc hiểu kết nối sơ đồ Thật hữu ích hiểu cách thành lập sơ đồ khái niệm B EFFECTS ON READING COMPREHENSION Sơ đồ khái niệm cho hội học tập mà từ trước đến học đọc chưa thử qua Tôi nghĩ sơ đồ khái niệm cách đọc thú vị Học với sơ đồ khái niệm khơi dậy thích thú chủ đề Sơ đồ khái niệm giúp nắm ý đọc Sơ đồ khái niệm giúp tạo liên kết kiến thức sẵn có kiến thức Hiểu đọc 10 qua sơ đồ khái niệm dễ dàng sơ đồ Khi dùng sơ đồ khái 11 niệm cho việc đọc đoạn văn, giải tập tốt 12 Sơ đồ khái niệm giúp đọc hiểu tốt 155 Khi nhìn vào sơ đồ khái 13 niệm, dễ dàng tóm tắt đọc 14 Tôi nhớ học lâu nhờ sơ đồ khái niệm C THE FUTURE USE OF CONCEPT MAPS Tôi muốn học sơ đồ 15 khái niệm sử dụng nhiều môn học trường Tôi muốn sử dụng sơ 16 đồ khái niệm cho việc học nhà XIN CHÂN THÀNH CẢM ƠN! 156 APPENDIX 10 THE CONTROL GROUP’S RESULT No Pretest score Posttest score 8.0 7.6 6.6 6.8 6.0 6.4 6.0 5.4 8.4 7.6 7.8 6.4 6.0 7.2 5.8 6.8 5.6 5.2 10 6.0 6.8 11 4.4 5.6 12 4.8 5.8 13 4.8 6.8 14 3.8 6.4 15 7.4 6.0 16 5.0 3.2 17 6.6 6.0 18 7.4 9.2 19 4.4 5.2 20 7.0 7.4 21 5.4 7.6 22 5.2 5.2 23 7.0 9.0 24 4.0 5.0 25 7.0 8.4 26 3.0 3.0 157 APPENDIX 11 THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP’S RESULT No Pretest score Posttest score 7.0 7.6 6.4 7.8 4.0 6.2 4.6 6.4 6.8 9.6 5.8 6.2 7.2 9.2 8.4 7.4 5.2 6.2 10 4.4 6.8 11 5.2 8.6 12 5.8 5.4 13 5.0 6.0 14 8.8 9.0 15 6.4 8.2 16 4.0 6.0 17 6.2 6.6 18 7.8 6.6 19 5.8 5.8 20 5.4 7.4 21 5.6 8.8 22 4.8 8.0 23 5.2 6.2 24 5.4 6.0 25 6.6 8.4 26 6.2 7.2 27 3.0 5.0 158 ... General Certificate of Secondary Education L2 Second Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training NAEP National Assessment of Educational Progress PET Preliminary English Test QRCS Quiz of Reading. .. useful for learning reading a foreign language text Due to the lack of research on the effects of concept maps on reading comprehension in Vietnam, especially on high school students reading comprehension, ... brainstormed about the topic in the pre -reading stage so that they can add some new information in the text and eliminate what is irrelevant The post -reading stage is the stage in which students reading