THE EFFECTS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS ON STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT AT LE HOAN HIGH SCHOOL

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* DƯƠNG THI ̣THU HIỀN THE EFFECTS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS ON STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT AT LE HOAN HIGH SCHOOL Hiệu việc sử dụng tài liệu thực thành tích học tập kỹ đọc hiểu học sinh - nghiên cứu trường Trung ho ̣c phổ thông Lê Hoàn M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* DƯƠNG THI ̣THU HIỀN THE EFFECTS OF USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS ON STUDENTS READING COMPREHENSION ACHIEVEMENT AT LE HOAN HIGH SCHOOL Hiệu việc sử dụng tài liệu thực thành tích học tập kỹ đọc hiểu học sinh - nghiên cứu trường Trung ho ̣c phổ thông Lê Hoàn M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Hoàng Thị Xuân Hoa, Ph.D HANOI – 2017 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis “ The effects of using authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement at Le Hoan High School” is submitted for the partial fulfillment of the Degree of Master of Arts at the Faculty of Post Graduate Studies – University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi I also declare that this thesis is result of my own research and efforts and that it has not been submitted for any other purposes Hanoi, 2017 Signature Dương Thị Thu Hiền i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to show my deep gratitude to all the lecturers at University of Language and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi for the invaluable lecturers, which laid the foundation for my thesis I would also like to express my sincerest gratitude to Dr Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa, my respected supervisor for her precious guidance, critical comments and constructive supervision throughout my research My gratitude also goes to the students and colleagues at Le Hoan High Schools who enthusiastically participated in the research procedure Without their help, this project could not be fulfilled Last but not least, I am indebted to my beloved family and friends who have unfailingly inspired me to complete this study ii ABSTRACT The study was conducted with the hope that the result gained could clarify the effects of using authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement at Le Hoan High School In order to achieve the goals, quasi-experimental research design was employed Subjects of the study were two groups of 30 students each of 10 th grade – students at Le Hoan High School One group was assigned as the experimental group and the other as the control group The students of both groups were taught with the same teaching techniques, the same teaching topics and did the same tests but with different types of teaching materials in an 8-week-period While the experimental group used authentic materials provided by the teacher, the control group only used materials in the course book - English 10 published by the Ministry of Education and Training A pretest and a posttest were used to measure the improvement in the reading skill of the students in the two groups The research results showed that the reading skill of the students who worked with authentic materials was better improved than that of the students working with only course book The former seemed to be able to avoid some typical mistakes about vocabulary which the students in control group often made Therefore it is suggested that authentic materials be used in teaching reading skill for high school students in order to get the highest results English teachers also need to be creative in selecting, developing and providing teaching materials to their students iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi LIST OF CHARTS vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale .1 The research question and objectives of the study .3 The scope of the study Significance of the study Methods of the study Design of the study .4 PART B: DEVELOMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Theoretical background 1.1 Overview on reading skill 1.1.1 Definition of reading .5 1.1.2 Reading comprehension 1.1.3 Reading comprehension achievement 1.1.4 Types of reading comprehension question .8 1.2 Overview on authentic materials .10 1.2.1 Definition of authentic materials 10 1.2.2 Types of authentic materials 11 1.2.3 Advantages of authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement .11 iv 1.2.4 Disadvantages of authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement 14 Literature review 16 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 19 Methodology .19 1.1 The applied methodology in the research 19 1.2 Quasi-experimental design .19 Research design 19 2.1 The subjects of the study 20 2.2 Selecting teaching materials 20 2.3 Teaching procedure 23 2.4 Measuring participants’ competence 24 2.4.1 Data collection instrument 24 2.4.2 Procedures of data collection 25 2.4.3 Procedure of data analysis .26 CHAPTER III: RESULT ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 27 Result analysis 27 1.1 Pretest result analysis .27 1.2 Post-test result analysis 29 1.3 Analysis pre-test and post-test results within each group 33 Discussion 35 PART C: CONCLUSION 37 Conclusion 37 Implications 38 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further research 39 REFERENCES 40 APPENDICES I v LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Description of Pre-test Result 28 Table 2: Description of post-test result 30 Table 3: Independent Sample T-test for Post-test result 32 Table 4: Paired Sample T-test for pre-test and post-test 33 vi LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Pretest scores 27 Chart 2: Post-test results 29 Chart 3: Control group’s results 34 Chart 4: Experimental group’s results 34 vii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale The study is based on the current situation of teaching and learning English reading skill of students at Le Hoan High School Having been working as an English teacher at Le Hoan High School for years, the writer realizes an issue that utilizing only reading materials in the course books is not enough to help students improve their reading skill They find it difficult to learn vocabulary as well as the structures in these texts because of their unfamiliarity in real life Therefore, they have low motivation in learning reading and their reading comprehension cannot ameliorate over a long time This fact has been shown clearly in the results of entrance examinations at high school in the recent years since the form and structure of English test was changed Most of students at Le Hoan High School can not the reading section well whereas this section takes account for approximately 50 percentages of the total scores Therefore the proportion of the students who get high mark in the exams at Le Hoan High School is very low And the only way to increase the number of high marks is improving students’ reading comprehension competence Although the English teachers at Le Hoan School have tried their best to encourage their students to learn reading skill and improve their achievement by using different positive teaching techniques, it seems not to bring about much effectiveness Moreover, reading skill is one of the most important skills to each of students during their foreign language learning procedure To feature the importance of reading comprehension, Rivers (1981:147 ) asserted that “ Reading is the most important activity in any language class, not only as a source of information and a pleasurable activity, but also as a means of consolidating and extending one's which are knowledge of the language” In What part of the body releases endorphins? A the eyes B the stomach C the brain D the heart Who is Robin Dunbar? A co-author of the research B.a drug addict C a movie star D a documentary maker What might trigger the endorphin system? A painkillers B distress from tragedy C action movies D research How many people took part in the experiment? A 169 B 196 C 961 D 619 What country's geology did a group of people watch a documentary on? A Panama B Lesotho C Britain D Japan By how much did the pain tolerance of sad movie watchers increase? A 13.1% b 13.2% C 11.3% D 31.1% What happened to the pain tolerance of those who watched the documentary? A it halved B it increased C it stayed the same D it went down by 4.6% 10 What natural thing did a doctor say we get from the endorphins? A sleep B a side C a high D a low II Read the passage and choose the best answer to fill in each blank Authorities in Hawaii are (1) _ a ban on the popular tourist activity of swimming with dolphins off the Hawaiian coast The dolphins have served as a (2) for tourists over the past few decades However, federal officials say the increasing tourism is harmful to the dolphins because they are supposed to (3) resting and socializing The National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration proposes to VIII prohibit swimming with, or approaching (4) _ 50 metres of, Hawaii's spinner dolphins That would (5) _ an end to many tour group activities, which involve sailing alongside the (6) _ in a boat and snorkeling with them Ann Garrett, a spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said she didn't think the ban would have a big (7) on the tourist trade in Hawaii Ms Garrett said: "We think that (8) _ identifying 50 metres as the minimum distance, there still can be a (9) tourist industry in Hawaii." Tour operators disagreed with Garrett's assessment Tour company owner Kevin Merrill warned: "It would be the end of legitimate dolphin swimming We couldn't offer the people the quality interaction that they (10) ." Dolphins (11) are most active at night and sleep and relax (12) _ the day, which is when the tourists interact with them Garrett said the interaction disrupts the dolphins' health and fitness A proposal B proposing C proposition D prosperi A magnolia B magenta C magic D magnet A be B being C been D bee A writing B wither C within D without A take B put C give D have A creatures B screechers C creatives D craters A impulse B import C impact D implant A by B As C to D at A viable B voluble C vocal D valiant 10 A exist B exact C extend D expect 11 A typing B typically C typical D typify 12 A before B after C within D during IX READING TEXTS Topic 1: Women not get enough sleep It will come as no surprise to know that a lack of sleep isn't good for us A new report suggests sleep deprivation can result in long-term health issues and even death It also says that women are more likely to experience difficulties sleeping than men The report is based on a survey of 4,100 British adults and is called 'Reclaim Your Sleep' It is from a British group called the Sleep Apnoea Trust Association Apnoea is the temporary cessation of breathing, especially during sleep Almost half of the women surveyed (43 per cent) said they did not get enough sleep This compared to 36 per cent of men who said they did not sleep well Women were also more prone than men to waking up during the night Health experts have warned that feeling exhausted due to a lack of sleep could be a sign of a serious underlying medical condition However, many women are unaware of the dangers, with only a quarter seeinging a doctor about sleeplessness Professor John Stradling of Oxford University said: "Often women think that feeling exhausted is just part of modern life when in fact it could be something more serious." He added that not treating sleep deficiency, "leaves women at risk of reduced quality of life and serious health conditions" In more severe cases, when left untreated, conditions like sleep apnoea can kill people because it can bring on heart attacks and strokes Topic 2: Half of world population will be short-sighted Researchers predicted in a new report published in the journal Opthalmology that by 2050, half of the world's population will be shortsighted The medical term for this condition is myopia It is also known as near-sightedness It is when we have difficulty focusing on objects that are far away from us The researchers say that around 4.8 billion people will X suffer from myopia This is a seven-fold increase in cases from 2000 to 2050 Sixty years ago, around 15 per cent of the Chinese population was short-sighted Now, almost 90 per cent of Chinese teenagers and young adults have trouble seeing faraway objects A recent survey found that up to 95 per cent of teenagers in South Korea are near-sighted The researchers said they could not pinpoint definite reasons for this phenomenon and say it could be a combination of factors They did say that looking at computer screens and mobile phones could be a leading cause Researchers said the sudden rise in myopia may be linked to "lifestyle changes resulting from a combination of decreased time outdoors and increased near-work activities" Science journalist Sarah Zhang said, "Spending time outdoors, especially in early childhood, reduces the onset of myopia" Professor Kovin Naidoo, a co-author of the report, offered some advice He said: "You could spend a long time reading computers and screens, but also spend two hours outdoors." Topic 3: Plants can make intelligent decisions Plants are a lot smarter than we thought According to researchers, they are capable of making intelligent decisions regarding risk Scientists have discovered that one plant, the humble pea, can make decisions regarding how to survive best, even though it does not have a brain Researchers from the UK's Oxford University and Israel's Tel-Hai College grew several pea plants that had their roots separated between two pots Each pot contained differing amounts of nutrients One pot always had the same amount, while the other pot varied between a lot and a little The plants turned out to be remarkably consistent at diverting their roots to the pot with the most nutrients The research paper will be published this week in the 'Current Biology' journal Researcher Alex Kacelnik said the experiment "raises a question, XI not about plants, but about animals and humans" He wondered whether the pea plant might be more efficient in using its limited decision-making resources than humans He said: "We have a very fancy brain, but maybe most of the time we're not using it." Professor Kacelnik said he did not think that pea plants were intelligent in the human sense, but that they exhibited complex behaviours to efficiently take advantage of natural opportunities It would be interesting to see how our lives would be different if we adopted similar strategies Topic 4: Study shows there are two divorce seasons Couples might want to put a little extra effort into their marriage just before March and August every year Sociologists have identified annual spikes in the number of divorces filed in these two months Researchers from the University of Washington analysed data for divorces filed in the U.S state of Washington between 2001 and 2015 There were almost 25,000 divorces filed in the state in 2014 alone The scientists found that over the 14-year period of the study, divorce rates peaked in August, after the summer holidays, and in March, after the Christmas and New Year holidays Some researchers said the divorces could be due to financial problems caused by the winter and summer holidays Researcher Julie Brines suggested that the anti-climax felt after the build-up to holidays, and the holidays themselves, may leave couples feeling stressed and deflated She said: "People tend to face the holidays with rising expectations, despite what disappointments they might have had in years past." She added: "[Holidays] represent periods in the year when there's the anticipation or the opportunity for a new beginning, a new start, something different, a transition into a new period of life It's like an optimism cycle." Couples generally spend more time in closer proximity to each other during XII holidays, which may actually exacerbate tensions rather than rekindle romance Topic 5: Cats are just as clever as dogs, says study For whatever reason, people assume dogs are more intelligent creatures than cats This notion has been called into question by scientists in Japan, who have said that cats are as smart as dogs at certain memory tests Cat lovers, of course, have always known this Researchers at Kyoto University conducted tests on how well 49 cats could recall or relate to an event from the past – known as an episodic memory The Japanese team got the felines to eat from one of two bowls Fifteen minutes later, the cats were tested on their ability to remember which bowl they had eaten from and which remained untouched The team found the cats could recall what they ate and where, suggesting they had episodic memory The scientists also said that cats were as good as dogs on a whole variety of mental tests, including responding to the gestures, facial expressions and emotions of humans Researcher Saho Takagi told reporters that she believed cats think about past events similar to the way humans She said: "An interesting speculation is that they may enjoy actively recalling memories of their experience, like humans." She added: "Episodic memory is viewed as being related to an introspective function of the mind Our study may imply a type of consciousness in cats." Ms Takagi said the research is good news for pet owners, saying: "Understanding cats more deeply helps to establish better cat-human relationships." Topic 6: Astronauts' brains change shape during spaceflight Researchers from the University of Michigan in the USA have found that the brain of astronauts changes shape during spaceflight It is the first study to look into how the brain changes on the journey into space Researchers looked at pictures of the brains of 26 astronauts who spent time in space The photos were taken by high-tech medical machines called MRIs Twelve of the XIII astronauts spent two weeks as Space Shuttle crew members, and 14 spent six months on the International Space Station All of them experienced increases and decreases in the size of different parts of the brain The researchers said that the longer an astronaut spent in space, the bigger the differences in size were The research produced some interesting findings The researchers explained that, "gravity is not available to pull fluids down in the body" This means there is a shift in the position of the brain inside the skull The brain becomes either more squashed or bigger in size The findings could help doctors in the future to treat problems that affect the brain's function One possibility is to treat people who develop problems caused by long-term bed rest Another possibility is to treat those who have a build-up of fluid in the brain, which can lead to brain damage The researchers also say we will understand more about how neurons in the brain make connections In addition, the findings will help future space travelers on their journey to Mars Topic 7: Online gaming may improve school test scores Maybe kids playing online video games is not such a bad thing after all A new study shows that teenagers who regularly played games online improved their test scores at school However, the same study found that social media use was damaging to exam results The study was conducted by professor Alberto Posso at Australia's RMIT University Researchers analysed data on the online activities of more than 12,000 15-year-olds across the globe It looked at their maths, reading and science scores Professor Posso concluded that: "It is possible that a number of skills associated with online gaming correlate positively with general knowledge and skills tests in maths, reading, and science." Critics of the study suggest the findings may not be relevant today as the games are now outdated Education expert Nicola Johnson said: "I think technology practices move so quickly, even within a year….While [this study] should make headlines, you have to say it's not really a reflection XIV of current practice." However, she did admit that children could learn useful skills while gaming She said: "Many games involve a lot of strategising, problem solving, goal setting and regular practice in order to obtain more skills That kind of mindset would of course seemingly correspond with achievement and learning." Conversely, the study found that students who used social media a lot scored 20 points lower on maths tests Topic 8: Sitting may be dangerous for your health If you spend most of your days sitting at school, work, at a computer or stretched out on a couch at home, you may be taking up to two years off your life It is common knowledge that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of heart disease, type diabetes, cancer and obesity, and can result in premature death Many people think they can compensate for sitting around by walking, playing sports or going to the gym Unfortunately, this might not be so A new study just published in the journal 'Annals of Internal Medicine' suggests the effect on our longevity from sitting for long periods of time cannot be reversed through exercise Even 60 minutes of daily exercise may not be enough The study is from Dr David Alter and his colleagues at Toronto University Dr Alter and his team analysed 47 studies that tracked different groups of people, who kept notes on how long they sat down each day and how much they exercised They found that the most sedentary groups had a 24% increased chance of dying during the course of the study than the least sedentary ones This remained the case even though those who sat a lot also did 60 minutes of daily exercise Dr Alter writes: "Reducing your sit-down time by 2-3 hours each day by standing up at your desk, taking frequent breaks to stretch and walk, or watching TV…on your feet may be better than an expensive, crowded, smelly gym and be just what the doctor ordered." XV SAMPLE LESSON PLAN LESSON : WOMEN DO NOT GET ENOUGH SLEEP READING SKILL I Objectives: Educational aim: By the end of the lesson Ss will be able: + To get Sts to read the text to understand some information about women’s lask of sleep + Sts understand and use the new words to some types of reading tasks Knowledge: - General knowledge: discovery about the fact that women not get enough sleep - Language: Common knowledge of lack of sleep to women - New words: Surprise; issues; temporary; cessation; prone; experts; sign; underlying; severe; bring on *Grammar: the present simple Skills: Guessing meaning in context, answering questions III Preparation: Teacher: handouts Ss: learn the old lesson & prepare for the new one IV Procedure: Teacher’s / Ss' activities Content WARM-UP Aims: to introduce the topic of the lesson and to raise students' interest T: divide the whole class into Activity: Work in groups and write down groups the things which make someone unable to S: Sit in groups sleep T: ask students to work in groups, Suggested answers XVI discuss and write down as many Exhaust; studyingpressure, working things which make someone unable pressure; unhappy family life; worries to sleep as possible about children; … S: Work in groups as required and list the things T: After minutes, call the representative of each group to come to the board and write their answers The group which has more suitable answers will be the winner II BEFORE READING Activity 1: Getting to sleep T: Ask students to work in Work in pairs and complete this table with your pairs, ask their partner about partner(s) Change partners often and share what her/ his opinion about the you wrote suggested things in the table Good Bad things Why? and write down things S: Look at the table, ask his/ TV her friend’s opinion about the Counting suggested things to complete sheep the table Exercise T: Call on some students to Studying stand up and share the English information they have noted Drinks down in the table Music S: Do as teacher’s requirement Activity 2: Pre-teachvocabulary T may ask Sts to skim the text Vocabulary quickly and T may elicit some new sleep deprivation (n): ngủ words and phrases from Sts or give Apnoea (n): ngừng thở them (for worse students) Cessation (n): ngừng lại, chấm dứt XVII Ss : Skim the text quickly Ss: Listen and write down some words and phrases Prone (a): dễ xảy Temporary (a): tạm thời Sleeplessness (n): khó ngủ III WHILE READ ING Aims: To help Ss read the passage and the tasks given as well as to develop their reading skills TASK 1: SYNONYM MATCHING Individual & class work T - Ask Sts to read the text Task 1: Match the following synonyms individually and match the words from the article in column A with suitable words in A B Surprise a End column B Issues b Hidden + Ask them to compare the answers Temporary c Problems with their partners Cessation d Specialists + Call on some Sts to present the Prone e Shock answers Experts f Cause Ss :Read the text again and then Sign g Acute Underlying h Liable choose the best answers Severe i Indication Some present their answers 10 Bring on j Brief T:give remarks & correct answers, Suggested answers 1.e 2.c 3.j 4.a 5.e 6.d 7.i 8.b 9.g 10.f TASK 2: Choose the best answers Pair & class work T- Introduces the task and explain Task 1: Read the statements and decide the way to deal with the task whether the statements below are true - Asks Sts to read the text again, (T) or false (F) and then decide whether the The article says it is a surprise that a lack statements are true or false based of sleep isn't good for us on the information in the reading Researchers questioned 4,100 British text people about sleep XVIII - Walks round the class to give help if necessary - Gives suggested words, phrases or useful suggestions - Corrects the students’ work Ss - Listen to the teacher then the task - Works in pairs and give out their answers Over half of women in a survey said they did not sleep well Men woke up more during the night than women Feeling exhausted could signal a serious medical problem Over a third of women see a doctor about not sleeping enough A doctor said women thought a lack of sleep was a part of modern A lack of sleep can kill people Suggested answers 1.F 2.T 3.F 4.F 5.T 6.F 7.T 8.T TASK 3: Answering the questions Individual work T: Ask students to read the Task 3: Read the pasage and answer the questions carefully questions below - Ask students to read through the What else can sleep deprivation cause passage again besides long-term health issues? - Call some students to give the How many people took part in the answers survey? - Ask others students to correct What is the name of the survey? - Give the true answers What percentage of men said they did Ss: Work individually to read the not sleep well? text then choose the words and What are women more prone to doing at phrases in the passage: night than men? - Share the key with other students What could feeling exhausted be a sign of? How many women go to see a doctor about sleeplessness? What many women think feeling exhausted is a part of? XIX What does sleep deficiency leave women at risk of reducing? 10 What can sleep apnoea cause besides heart attacks? Suggested answers Death 4,100 Reclaim Your Sleep 36% Waking up Something serious A quarter Modern life Their quality of life 10 Strokes Task 4: Multiple-choice questions Method of teaching and learning: Pair work T: + Introduces the task Choose the best answer for each of the + Provides students with some tips question below to this type of task What else can sleep deprivation cause + Asks students to work in pairs besides long-term health issues? and the task A Illiteracy B death S: + Listen to teacher’s C disease D poverty requirement How many people took part in the + Take notes survey? + Do the task as required A 40,100 B 41,000 T: Calls on students to give out C 4,101 D 4,100 their answers and explain What is the name of the survey? S: Give out their answers and A Reclaim Your Sleep explain B Relive Your Sleep T: Check the answers with the C Relieve Your Sleep whole class D Receive Your Sleep What percentage of men said they did XX not sleep well? A Half B 43 C 36 D quarter What are women more prone to doing at night than men? A having nightmares B waking up C sleepwalking D talking in their sleep What could feeling exhausted be a sign of? A over-exercising B the need for a diet C something serious D too much studying How many women go to see a doctor about sleeplessness? A two-fifths B a third C a half D a quarter What many women think feeling exhausted is a part of? A modern life B their job C being a woman D thinking too much What does sleep deficiency leave women at risk of reducing? A their quality of life B their weight C their life span D their friendships 10 What can sleep apnoea cause besides heart attacks? A Absentmindedness B strokes C Obesity D migraines Suggested answers XXI 1.B 6.C 2.D 7.D 3.A 8.A 4.C 9.A 5.B 10 B IV AFTER READING Pair work T - Asks students to work in pairs Work in pairs and discuss what the best to discuss what the best thing to fall thing to fall asleep is? Listening to music, a asleep is and tell their friend three good bed or drinking milk? Tell the others reasons three reasons why you choose it? - Asks some students to report Ss - Listen to the teacher then discuss in pairs - Some students stand up to report their discussions - T :Give remarks and suggested answers V HOMEWORK (2mins) T - Assign homework - Reread the passage and learn new words Ss - Listen to the teacher by heart - Write down the homework to at - Summarize the passage and submitted in home the next lesson XXII ... cover all the issues related to the problem discussed The paper mainly focuses on the effects of using authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement at Le Hoan High School, ... conducted with the hope that the result gained could clarify the effects of using authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement at Le Hoan High School In order to achieve the. .. effects of using authentic materials on students reading comprehension achievement at Le Hoan High School To accomplish the objectives, the research mainly concentrated on answering the following