skkn using context to improve high school students’ vocabulary

According to JoAnn Miller 2009:31, Main idea questions ask students to identify the "primary purpose" or "main point" of the passage.. To find the main idea of any paragraph or passage,

1 INTRODUCTION

As an international language, English offers a source of benefits to youngpeople First and foremost, English assists young people to acquire moreknowledge As more and more materials namely books, lectures and videos aswell are printed or constructive in English As a result, people with Englishproficiency tend to stand a chance of exploring deeper anything without beingprevented by language barrier Secondly, reading and speaking English fluently

is the best advantage for people who want to go abroad They will have nointerference of language in communicating with foreigners Besides, learningEnglish will help young people find good jobs Almost all companies enquireemployees to be knowledgeable about some languages, especially English

Of course, more and more people want to use it as a means ofcommunication at work, in business and tourism As a teacher, the researcher isaware that English has been one of the compulsory subjects in secondaryschools and high schools in Vietnam English is also one of the subjects for theEntrance Examination of some national and international university However,

in teaching and learning English as a foreign language, reading has alwaysreceived a lot of attention Therefore, how to teach and learn reading skillseffectively requires many efforts from both teachers and learners

Many students in Tri An High School confronted five major obstacles inreading such as: the habits of word-by-word reading, excessive focus on detailsrather than main ideas, poor vocabularies and limited background knowledge Alack of receptive vocabularies is big obstacles for them to understand longpassages with too many difficult words Most of the students feel scared andworried when they have to read long and difficult passages Although theliterature so far has pointed out so many methods that can be applied in thereading class, this research exclusively focused on some questions that may help

students understand the passage and choose the suitable answers This matterhas inspired the research to carry out the research with the hope that throughthis study, the researcher will have better teaching approaches so as to improvestudents’ reading skills.

2- LITERATURE REVIEW

2 1- Definition of reading and reading comprehension

Reading is an important skill to help people learn from human knowledgeand experience Through reading, knowledge has greatly contributed to thegrowth of mankind Reading is the fastest and simplest way to raise people’seducational level

To help students derive meanings from a text, the teacher has tounderstand the process of reading Reading can easily be defined as the process

in which a person receives and interpretes a message from printed materials.Reading is a process of how information is processed from the text intomeanings, starting with the information from the text, and ending with what thereader gains Goodman (1976) and Smith (1973) indicated that reading is alanguage process, not merely the sum of various decoding and comprehensionsubskills

As Goodman (1976) described “Reading is a psycholinguistic guessinggame, in which the reader actively interacts with the text to construct meaning.”

Ur (1996:38) defines “Reading means reading and understanding”.According to Harmer (1989:153), “Reading is an exercise dominated by theeyes and the brain The eyes receive messages and the brain then has to workout the significance of these messages.”

2.2- Purposes for doing reading

There are so many different reasons for doing reading and that we read indifferent ways for different purposes (Nuttall 2000:2) These different purposes,generalized into the following two main categories: We read for pleasure andfor information in order to find out something or in order to do something withthe information you get（Grellet 2001:4) are to get information, to respond tocuriosity about a topic, to follow instructions to perform a task, for pleasure, amusement, and personal enjoyment （ to keep in touch with friends andcolleagues, to know what is happening in the world, and to find out when andwhere things are（Hedge 2000:195)（

2 3- Classification according to purpose

According to purpose, reading is categorized into four types: skimming,scanning, extensive reading and intensive reading

2.3.1- Skimming, scanning

Skim-read and scan-read are necessary reading techniques for

general sense or the gist of a reading text

Nuttall (1982:36) says “By skimming, we mean glancing rapidly throughthe text to determine whether a research paper is relevant to our own work or inorder to keep ourselves superficicially informed about matters that are not ofgreat importance to us”

Grellet (1981:19) states that “When skimming, we go through the readingmaterial quickly in order to get its main points or the intention of the writer, butnot to find the answer to specific questions When scanning, we only try tolocate specific information and often we do not even follow the linearity of thepassage to do so.”

Through the two reading techniques are important for quick and effectivereading, they should not be selected separately because a text can be best

tackled by a combination of strategies So after skimming and scanning,students need to have the products of critical reading, which would be “chewedand digested” as stated in Francis Bacon (1992:386) that “Some books are to betasted, others to be swallowed and some few to be chewed and digested.”

2.3.3- Extensive reading

Extensive reading is generally associated with reading large quantitieswith the aim of getting an overall understanding of the material Lewis and Hill(1992:109) point out that “Extensive reading means students have a generalunderstanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word” Thistype of reading is suitable for students’ self-learning in order to train them toread directly and fluently in the foreign language for their own enjoymentwithout the aid of the teacher However, extensive reading can be best achievedonly through an instructional program Extensive reading sometimes involvesskimming and scanning as strategies to gain general sense of a text, skimmingfor the gist and scanning for some key details

In short, for second or foreign language learners, both intensive andextensive reading are of great importance as they act as a means to gainknowledge but also to develop learners’ language skills

2.4- Types of reading comprehension questions

According to GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test), there are 4

types of reading comprehension questions

According to JoAnn Miller (2009:31), Main idea questions ask students

to identify the "primary purpose" or "main point" of the passage In order toanswer these questions correctly, students must be able to identify the thesis ofthe passage and those ideas that support this thesis

The main idea is the central, or most important idea in a paragraph orpassage It states the purpose and sets the direction of the paragraph or passage.The main idea may be stated or it may be implied When the main idea of aparagraph is stated, it is most often found in the first sentence of the paragraph.However, the main idea may be found in any sentence of the paragraph Themain idea may be stated in the first sentence of a paragraph and then be repeated

or restated at the end of the paragraph The main idea may be split The firstsentence of a paragraph may present a point of view, while the last sentencepresents a contrasting or opposite view

To find the main idea of any paragraph or passage, ask these questions:

1 Who or what is the paragraph about?

2 What aspect or idea about the ‘who’ or ‘what’ is the author concernedwith?

Common question stems

• Which of the following most accurately states the main idea of thepassage?

• The primary purpose of the passage is to

• The passage is primarily concerned with which of the following?

• The author of this passage is primarily concerned with

• The main point made by the passage is that

• What is the topic of this passage?

• What is the main idea of this passage?

• Which title best reflects the main idea of the passage?

How to identify correct answer

Main point questions ask students to identify the importance of theauthor's point Students must identify which ideas in the passage play asupporting role and which idea is being supported In many ways, this is similar

to identifying the premises and conclusion to a critical reasoning argument Thecorrect answer to a main point question is often a paraphrase of the conclusion

or thesis statement of the passage Common incorrect answer choices are thosethat feature supporting ideas These answer choices are appealing to many test-takers because the material presented in them is true and based upon thepassage

Ex 1:

distinguished work in chemistry, physic,

physiology or medicine, literature and

international peace, were made

available by a fund established for

that purpose by Swedish

philanthropist, Alfred Bernhard Nobel

The prizes, awarded since 1901, are administered by the Nobel Foundation inStockholm In 1969, a prize for economics endowed by the Central Bank ofSweden was added Candidates for the prizes must be nominated in writing by aqualified authority in the field of competition Candidates are judged bySwedish and Norwegian academies and institutes on the basis of theircontribution to mankind The awards are usually presented in Stockholm onDecember 10, with the King of Sweden officiating, an appropriate tribute toAlfred Nobel on the anniversary of his death Each prize includes a gold medal,

a diploma, and a cash award of about one million dollars

(Retrieved from http://engleza-fse.edu.ro/?q=content/test-reading-1)

Choose the best option (A, B, C or D) which contains the main idea of the following paragraph.

A The Nobel prizes B Great contribution to mankind

Explanation: (A) is the correct answer After skimming reading the passage,

the readers think about the meaning of the whole text They identify the ideasabout the Nobel Prizes in the passage which play a supporting role

Ex 2: Soccer players learn many skills when

playing soccer Soccer players learn how to

dribble and pass the ball They also learn how to

control the ball so they can eventually score Most

importantly, soccer players learn how to work

together with their teammates

What is the main idea?

A They also learn how to control the ball so they can eventually score

B Soccer players learn how to dribble

C Soccer players learn many skills when playing soccer.

2.4.2- Supporting idea

Supporting idea questions are often prefaced by "according to the

passage" or "the passage states that" Most of the questions that fit into thiscategory could be called "find the fact" as they rely on your ability to find aspecific piece of information, often contained in two or three sentences

These questions tend to be more difficult than main idea questionsbecause they require a more detailed recollection of the test If necessary,students can return to the text and quickly re-read a few sentences

Unlike main idea questions which are more generic in their questionstem, these questions tend to incorporate an idea specific to the passage in the

question stem

Factual and negative factual questions ask about specific details and factsthat are often provided in a single line of text Sometimes students will bedirected to the paragraph that contains the answer

Common question stems:

1 Factual questions:

+ According to the passage, why did ?

+ According to the information in paragraph 2, where did ?

+ Which of the following is true, according to the passage?

+ The author uses as an example of

+ The author mentions in the third paragraph because it was

2 Negative factual questions:

+ The author mentions all of the following in the passage EXCEPT + In the passage, the aothor does NOT provide a specific example of + According to the information in paragraph 3, which of the following isNOT

3 Vocabulary questions:

+ Which of the following could best be substituted for the word “ _” inline 9?

+ The expression “ ” in line could best be replaced by + The word “ _” in line is closest in meaning to which of thefollowing?

How to identify correct answer

In trying to identify the correct answer, it is extremely important that studentsstick quite close to the text The words "according to the passage" should betaken seriously Answers that seem logical but are not directly supported by thetext should be avoided

Ex 1: Sally went shopping after school Friday

and all day on Saturday and she bought a lot of

new outfits On Sunday her mother took her to

the outlet mall so she could finish buying

clothes for the new school year She also

bought school supplies so she would be

prepared for her classes

What is the main idea of this paragraph about Sally?

The main things that this paraghragh is about is the fact that Sally spent theweekend shopping

What are supporting details?

Supporting details are examples and extra information that help youunderstand the main idea

What are some supporting details in this paraghraph?

- Sally bought new outfits

- Sally bought school supplies

Ex 2: (1) Due to increasing costs, there will be two changes in the tuition

reimbursement program that will significantly reduce employee benefits (2)

First, reimbursement has been reduced from 100 percent to 60 percent of tuitioncosts for each course in which the student earns a “C” or better (3) Forexample, if you pay $1,000 for a course, and earn at least a C in that course, youwill be reimbursed in the amount of $600 (4) Second, employees will now belimited to $2,000 in reimbursement expenses per year (5) Thus, if your tuitionper course equals $1,000, you will be reimbursed $600 per course for each ofyour three courses but only $200 for the fourth course because you will havereached the $2,000 limit (6) Any additional courses in that year will not bereimbursed.

Explanation: This paragraph follows a very common pattern It starts

with the topic sentence (sentence 1) Then it offers support for that topic

sentence in the form of details and examples Sentences 2 and 4 give the details

of the change in the tuition reimbursement program Sentences 3, 5, and 6 givespecific examples of those changes Thus, the organization looks like this(sentence numbers are in parentheses):

Common question stems

• The word in the second paragraph refers to

• The pronoun “it” in line 5 refers to

• The phrase in paragraph 4 refers to

How to identify correct answer:

• Before the readers check to answer such a question, they have toremember two things:

1 The referent almost always comes after the reference word (highlightedword) in the passage

2 The referent isn't always the closest word to the reference word

• Here are some of the reference words (highlighted words) they might be asked about:

1 Personal pronouns/adjectives: he, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its, they, them, theirs

2 Reflexive pronouns: himself, herself, itself, themselves

3 Demonstrative pronouns/adjectives: this, that, these, those

4 Other reference words: some, few, any, none, several, both, here, there,most, many, one, ones, another, other, others, the former, the latter

Example:

A survey is a study, generally in the form of an interview or a questionnaire,

people think and act In the United States,

the best-known surveys are the Gallup

poll and Harris poll As anyone who

watches the news during campaigns

presidential knows, these polls have

become an important part of political life in the United States

North Americans are familiar with the many “person on the street”interviews on local television news shows While such interviews can behighly entertaining, they are not necessary an accurate indication of public

opinion First, they reflect the opinion of only those people who appear at a

certain location Thus, such samples can be biased in favor of commuters,middle-class shoppers, or factory

workers, depending on which area the

news-people select Second, television

interviews tend to attract outgoing

people who are willing to appear on

the air, while they frighten away others

who may feel intimidated by a camera

A survey must be based on a precise, representative sampling if it is togenuinely reflect a broad range of the population

Question: The word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to

A North Americans B interviews

Explanation: (B) is the correct answer Pronoun “they” refer to “interviews”

because of the idea in the sentence “While such interviews can be highlyentertaining, they are not necessary an accurate indication of public opinion” inparagraph 2

2.4.4- Inference

The inference type can be recognized by the word "infer", or "imply" or

"suggest" in the question prompt Inference means something that is onlysuggested in the text, it is not something that is directly stated The readers need

to be able to understand all the concepts in the reading passage and from them

be able to logically see what else the author is trying to imply

The readers will have to make connections and assumptions to answerthis style of question Unlike factual questions, answers will not often be found

in a single line of text

Common question stems

• It can be inferred from the passage that

• In paragraph 4, the author implies that

• Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?

• In the last paragraph, the author suggests that

How to identify correct answer

The correct answer to these questions is usually an obvious logicalconsequence of a sentence in the text The logical consequence will beextremely clear The difficulty in these questions resides in finding the specificsentence in the passage that provides the premise for the conclusion in thecorrect answer Stay away from answer choices that do not directly and closely

follow from a statement in the passage, even if this statement seems plausiblebased upon the general idea of the passage or commonly accepted knowledge.

Example: Read the passage Then answer the question below

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has 150

member countries They are looking to

improve trade Trade means the buying

and selling goods The WTO provides a

place where these countries can talk

about what they need The goal of the

between countries

The WTO helps trade in several ways First, it asks countries to treat eachother equally They should not give special trade deals to one country and not toanother Also, these countries should not try to stop foreign products from anyone country The idea is that goods and services should be able to cross borders

easily A second way to improve trade is to lower tariffs These are special taxes

for things bought and sold A third way to strength trade is to make sure that therules will stay the same In order for people to invest their money, they need tofeel secure for the future A fourth way is to allow greater competitions betweencountries The central belief is that competitions make for a stronger economy

The last way to improve trade is to help countries that are poor The needhelp coming up to the level of modern countries They can be helped byallowing them extra time to get their systems in order They can be given

priority in making deals with other countries.

Free and easy trade is the WTO’s goal It supports rich countries andhelps poor ones get ahead It is one way of improving the lives of more people

in the world It asks countries to make laws that help this process Every year,more countries apply to be in the WTO They see membership as a good thing.

Question: It can be inferred from the passage that

A the WTO helps remove political barriers between countries

B the WTO’s goal is to trade with other organizations

C the WTO is a multi-national organization.

D few countries want to become a member of the WTO

Explanation: This question belongs to the inference one (C) is the correct

answer Because WTO has 150 member countries (A) is incorrect because thegoal of the WTO is to make trade grow by removing legal barriers betweencountries (B) is incorrect because the last way to improve trade is to helpcountries that are poor (D) is incorrect every year, more countries apply to be inthe WTO

2.4.5- Tone & Style

Tone & Style questions ask students to identify the attitude or mood of a

specific part of the passage or of the entire passage A common characteristic ofthis question type is answer choices that are marked by one to three wordphrases containing adjectives Tone questions test students’ ability to recognize

an attitude or disposition of the author, which is signaled by the use of a handful

of trigger words Never base students’ guess about the author's tone on a singleword-this is not enough to define the tone of the entire passage

Tone & Style questions tend to be among the more infrequent questiontypes

Common question stems

• Why does the author mention in paragraph 2?

• The tone of the author is best described as

• The author refers to to indicate that

• What is the author’s opinion of ?

• Which of the following most accurately reflects the author’s opinionof ?

Example:

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer.

Ocean water plays an indispensable

hold about 300 million cubic miles

of water From this vast amount, about 80,000 cubicmiles of water are sucked into the

atmosphere each year by evaporation and

returned by precipitation and drainage to the

ocean More than 24,000 cubic miles of rain

descend annually upon the continents This vast amount is required to replenishthe lakes and streams, springs and water tables on which all flora and fauna aredependent Thus, the hydrosphere permits organic existence

The hydrosphere has strange characteristics because water has propertiesunlike those of any other liquid One anomaly is that water upon freezingexpands by about 9 percent, whereas most liquids contract on cooling For thisreason, ice floats on water bodies instead of sinking to the bottom If the icesank, the hydrosphere would soon be frozen solidly, except for a thin layer of

surface melt water during of warm and cold currents, which moderate climate,would be notably absent.

Another outstanding characteristic of water is that water has a heatcapacity which is the highest of all liquids and solids except ammonia Thischaracteristic enables the oceans to absorb and store vast quantities of heat,thereby often preventing climate extremes In addition, water dissolves moresubstances than any other liquid It is this characteristic which helps makeoceans a great storehouse of minerals which has been washed down from thecontinents In several areas of the world, these minerals are being commerciallyexploited Solar evaporation of salt is widely practised, potash is extracted fromthe Dead Sea, and magnesium is produced from sea water along the AmericanGulf Coast

Question: The author’s tone in the passage can best be described as

A Dispassionate B speculative C biased D dogmatic

3 FURTHER PRACTICE

Methods: Firstly, the teacher asks the students to skim through the

reading material quickly in order to get its main points or the intention of thewriter Secondly, before students answer each question, try to determine whattype of question is being asked Importantly, they find out the paragraphs whichhave the suitable information to answer the questions Then the students scanthe passage slowly and carefully in order to find the answers Especially, theyunderline the ideas in the paragraph which are close to the requirements of thequestions

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.

Although most universities in the United States are on a semester system,which offers classes in the fall and spring, some schools observe a quartersystem comprised of fall, winter, spring, and summer quarters The academicyear, September to June, is divided into three quarters of eleven weeks eachbeginning in September, January, and March: the summer quarter, June toAugust, is composed of shorter sessions of vary length.

There are several advantages and disadvantages to the quarter system Onthe plus side, students who wish to complete their degrees in less than the

customary four years may take advantage of the opportunity to study year round

by enrolling in all four quarters In addition, although most students begin theirprograms in the fall quarter, they may enter at the beginning of any otherquarters Finally, since the physical facilities are kept in operation year round,the resources are used effectively to serve the greatest number of students Butthere are several disadvantages as well Many faculty complain that eleven-

week term is simply not enough for them to cover the material required by most

college coursed Students also find it difficult to complete the assignments insuch a short period of time

In order to combine the advantages of the quarter system with those of

the semester system some colleges and universities have instituted a three-term

trimester system In fourteen weeks, faculty and students have more time tocover material and finish course requirements, but the additional term providesoptions for admission during the year and accelerates the degree programs forthose students who wish to graduate early

1 Where would this passage most probably be found?

The factual question

A In an American newspaper

B In a dictionary published in the United States