Using some techniques in teaching reading skill in english 9

This fact gives rises to the need for nationwideinnovation in the teaching methodology in the light of communicative approach.Among various learning strategies, Reading is the most impor

PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Resolution No 29-NQ/TW of November 04, 2013, on “fundamental and comprehensive innovation in education, serving industrialization and modernization in a socialist-oriented market economy during international integration” ratified in the 8th session

Party and State identify the targets of innovation is to create chagesfundamentally, strongly in quality and efficency of education and training.Vietnamese people are educated comprehensive development and promote eachindividual's potential and creativity To improve comprehension education, to

focus on ideal, traditional, ethnic education To educate lifestyle, foreign languages, informatic technology, abitity and skills To develop creativity, self-

learning, encourage lifelong learning

Thus, the content of this innovation, the Party and the State has focused

on teaching - learning a foreign language in general education programs,especially the English-language professional English has become the commonlanguage of the world It plays a very important role in the formation andconstruction of new people to meet the requirements of industrialization -modernization in conditions of market economy socialist orientation andinternational integration Learning English can help students communicate withfriends in the world, master of knowledge of mankind [1]

In Vietnam, English has been taught as an important foreign language for along time but due to grammar-translation method of teaching, Vietnamesestudents seem to be better at grammar than communicative competence.Therefore, according to a large project to investigate the English teaching reform

in northern parts of Vietnam, only 5% of students are able to communicate inEnglish after graduation [2] This fact gives rises to the need for nationwideinnovation in the teaching methodology in the light of communicative approach.Among various learning strategies, Reading is the most important skill inEnglish language from other language skills in acquiring language If studentsare good in reading, they will be good in other language skills (writing,speaking, and listening) For this reason teachers of English language shouldfocus on this skill

All the aforementioned conditions drive the author to carry out the

research “Experiences in using some techniques to teach reading skill lessons in English 9 at Quang Phong secondary school” Hopefully, this study will make a

small contribution to improving reading skills for grade 9th students at QuangPhong secondary school

2 Aim and objectives

The aim of this study is to explore the exploitation of using techniques toenhance students’ reading skill In order to achieve the aim, the writer focuses onfinding out the benefits of applying techniques in reading lessons for grade 9thstudents.

3 Scope of the study

Acquiring reading skill is a vast issue in language learning However, due

to the limit of time, experiences and knowledge, this study touches upon onlysome techniques which are used in teaching reading skill and cannot cover allthe eading techniques in teaching and learning

4 Methodology

The major method which was used in study is qualitative All comments,remarks, assumptions and conclusions of the study were based on the data andanalysis Data collections for analysis in the study were gained through thefollowing resources: survey questionnaire, observations, tests for students, aswell as reference books After the data were collected, they were categorizedand analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively to obtain the realistic results

To end with, based on analysis of survey results and references, somepedagogical implications and suggestions in order to improve teaching andlearning English reading using some techniques will be proposed

PART 2: CONTENTS

1 Theory background.

It is widely accepted argument that reading and listening go hand-in-hand

in any language learning, because reading provides a wide span of vocabularyand listening helps to form exact utterance of words This can be helpful forforeign language learners who encounter hurdles in finding suitable words todescribe the situation This problem is more a cute with the infrequent readers.According to Bright and Mc Gregor (1970, p52), ‘where there is a little reading,there will be little language learning The students, who want to learn English,will have to read unless they move onto speaking track’ [3] Thus, it is clear thatreading not only develops writing skill but also helps in improving speakingwith speech fluency and sentence accuracy It creates a sound understanding ofsemantic and grammatical structure of the language It is also believed that thestudents who read a lot are likely to speak well This is because ‘A text is usuallyregarded as authentic if it is not written for teaching purposes but for a real-lifecommunicative purpose, where the writer has a certain message to pass on tothereader ‘An authentic text is one that possesses an intrinsicallycommunicative quality’ (Lee, 1995:324) With such advantages of reading inimproving and developing language skills, particularly speaking skills, thispaper investigates the relationship between reading habit and improving

speaking proficiency as reading enriches much needed vocabulary in EFLcontext and also offers practical language in use with interesting examples fromvarious genres.

By raising students' awareness of reading as a skill that requires activeengagement, and by explicitly teaching reading strategies, Teachers help theirstudents develop both the ability and the confidence to handle communicationsituations they may encounter beyond the classroom In this way they give theirstudents the foundation for communicative competence in the new language.Therefore, teachers have very important role to improve reading skills to theirstudents to improve other language skills They can follow some stages andstrategies when teaching reading text Reading strategies are defined as themental operations involved when readers approach a text effectively and makesense of what they read

2 The current situation of teaching and learning reading comprehension at Quang Phong secondary school

2.1 The problems of teaching and learning reading skills at the school

Some teachers complain that most students are not able to understand whatthey read Students hate to read, they only read the required textbook in order to

be able to set for the achievement routine exams They lacked motivation toread, even if they read, they show negative attitudes For most of the learners,reading is an extremely difficult task that requires integrated body of skills,which also does not get easier with the passage of time and the accumulation ofexperience

In the first place, materials have been considered an important tool forteaching and learning English In secondary schools in Vietnam, the textbooksare designed for all students of different grades Among them, this study stressesthat using the same textbooks for all students in different regions is problematic

In the other hand, the failure of students in reading may also originatedfrom the fact that the teaching and learning process of reading is not conductedeffectively and the inappropriate teaching method is applied by the teacher Inother words, the students may find the strategies which the teachers use notinteresting and effective enough to develop their reading comprehension

2.2 The school

This study was conducted at Quang Phong secondary school in QuangXuong district, Thanh Hoa province In the school year 2017-2018, the schoolhad 8 classes with more than 300 students, among which there were 81 ninthgrade students divided into two classes, so there were about 40 students in eachclass One thing worth to note here is that the level of students at Quang Phong

secondary school is not very high They mostly come from rural areas whereEnglish teaching and learning has not been paid much attention to Besides, theschool shares common features with classrooms elsewhere in Vietnam: largesize, students sitting in rows of four each and irremovable furniture

2.3 The students

Students under this investigation are 39 students of class 9B of QuangPhong secondary school within the second semester from the 1st February to theApril 29, 2018 There were 17 girls and 22 boys They were the same age andhad the same total years of learning English with the same curriculum fromprimary school to secondary school Most of them could do grammar very wellbut they have difficulties in comprehending the spoken language, especially inone - way reading situations

Difficulties are created by the students’ limited knowledge of the languagesystem and their lack of vocabularies This is due to the inappropriate learningstrategies in reading, and the time limitation for teachers of English in class.Each week, they had three forty - five minute English lessons and one moreselective lesson

Since education reform, Students have loved leaning English but mainlyadvanced students And weak students who understand the lesson slowly learnpassively They wait for the teacher's or other students' answers Many of themhave no oppotunities or they don't dare to practise speaking English in class.They are afraid that they will speak wrongly Many can not read, speak, listenand write, even they ignore paying attention to the lessons In fact, we can seethese students have no love for English Therefore, the teaching qualities ofEnglish do not live up to our expectations

Following is the convey on the quality of English of two classes: 9B ofQuang Phong secondary school at he beginning of the first term in school year2017-2018

3 CONTENTS AND SOLUTIONS.

The stages and strategies of reading that teachers should promote for theirstudents are : Pre-reading, While reading and Post-reading stages They arevery important when teaching any reading text Each of these stages has its own

characteristics, although they are related to one another That is, the pre-readingstage leads to the while-reading stage and finally to the post-reading one Thesestages make the students understand and comprehend text reading.

Instruction in reading strategies is not an add-on, but rather an integralpart of the use of reading activities in the language classroom Teachers can helptheir students become effective readers by teaching them how to use strategiesbefore, during, and after reading

Teachers can use the following teaching techniques in teaching readingskill, especially in each stage: Pre – reading, While-reading and Post- readingwhich make students get knowledge actively and creatively

3.1 Pre- Reading stage.

In order to improve reading comprehension, students should beencouraged to complete pre-reading activities before reading text Familiaritywith the text improves understanding and leads to reading success Establish apurpose for reading This should be done with every piece of text read Teachershave students determine what the primary outcome of reading the text should be

To provide information? To provide entertainment? To gain understanding as tohow something works? It is helpful if the teacher establishes the purpose forreading and then guide your students to that outcome

The pre-reading stage also helps to make the next stages of reading moreeasily adaptable for the reader This is a plan for the reading task, so teachershould show the students :

There are three steps in this stage: They are Lead-in, Read through andteach some new words In each step we can use different techniques to lead inthe reading task These are some techniques which are used in this stage to helpand encourage many learners to sustain their interest and work.'[5]

3.1.1 Discussion.

In this part, teacher sets the scene to let students pay much attention to thetopic of the text

Example 1: Unit 1-READ (page 9, 10) SGK English 9

Before reading a passage about the country Malaysia, Teachers let studentsdiscuss these questions:

How many countries are there in Asean?

What are they?

- Let Students do the task Matching the name of country to their capital city

4 The Philipines D Darussalam 4-F

3.1.2 Pre- questions

Example 1: Unit 1-READ (page 9, 10) SGK English 9

Step 2 Read through.

- Let students read the text in silently in order to help them to approach thetopic and create the first impression on the topic, events, ….Then ask them somequestions about the text:

1 Where is it?

- It’s in Malaysia

2 What is the capital of Malaysia?

3 What is its population?

4 How big is Malaysia?

5 What language is spoken in this

country?

- These questions will be answered at the end of the lesson

Step 3 Teach some new words.

Using some techniques to teach these new words: divide (v); separate (v);comprise (v); tropical country; religion; compulsory (a); official (a)…

Example 2 Unit 2 – READ (page 17) Text book: English 9

- The teacher shows the picture in page 17 and ask students somequestions which refer to the topic of the reading:

a What do they do?

b What are they wearing?

c Are they nice? handsome?

d Are jeans fashionable?

e Do you like jeans?

- Call students to answer these questions

- Let’s start to read a passage about the origin of jeans

3.1.3 Brainstorming:

- Divide class into 2 groups and let the play the game “ Brainstorming”.Ask student to call out or write the words refer to the topic of the text Let them

2 or 3 minutes to write the words on the board

Example Unit 2 – READ (page 17) Text book: English 9

Step 1: Lead - in

Before reading a passage about the origin of jeans, teacher let studentsplay a game called Brainstorming to remind the types of clothings.[4]

Step 2 Teach some new words.

- Using techniques to introduce some new words: material, wear out,embroidered, generation, sailor, sale…

Example 2 Unit 4 – READ ( page 36) Text book: English 9

Types of clothing

Plaid skirt Jeans

Step 2 Teach some new words.

3.1.4 True/False statement prediction.

Teacher prepares some statements refers to the text Some are true andsome are not true Ask student to work in pairs/ groups to predict whichstatement is true or false? Then call some pairs or groups to give theirprediction, write on the board and let the students check after reading the text

Step 3 Read through.

Example 1 Unit 2 – READ (page 17) SGK English 9

- Let students read through the text in silently in order to help them to approach the topic and create the first impression on the topic, events, …

- Give them some statements and ask them to predict which sentence is True or False

key

1 Jeans was made in Europe

2 In the 19th century, Jean cloth was made completely

from cotton

3 In 1960s, A lot of university and college teachers

wore jeans

4 Jeans became more expensive so many people

began wearing jeans in the 1970s

5 Jeans became high fashion clothing in the 1980s

6 The sale of jeans stopped going up in 2000s

Example 2: Unit 9: READ (page 78,79) SGK English 9.

- Give them some statements refer to some natural disasters and askthem to predict which sentence is True or False

Statements Predict Answer

3- A huge tidal wave traveled from California to Alaska

and hit Anchorage in the 1960s

4- Typhoon, hurricane and tropical storm are

different words for the same natural disaster

5- The eruption of Mount Linatubo is the worlds

largest ever volcanic eruption

6- A tornado looks like a funned shape

3.1.5.Ordering statements.

- Teacher prepares 6 or 8 sentences which refer to the content of the text Jumple the orders of these sentences and ask the students to rearrange them in the correct order

Example : Unit 3: A trip to the countryside - READ (page 25,26)

Give some jumble sentences and ask student to rearrange these sentencesinto the correct order Teacher can give 6-8 sentences

1- He often does chore after school.

2- Van is living with the Parker family in America.

3- He will stay there till the beginning of October.

4- He feeds the chickens and collects their eggs.

5- Van is an exchange students from Ho Chi Minh city

6- The Parker are nice so Van feels like a member of their family.

The correct order is: 5 - 2- 1 – 4 – 3- 6

3.2 While- reading stage.

While-reading strategies can help the students to improve his ability tobecome more fluent in English, especially in the areas of speaking and reading.The while-reading activities I use in the classroom vary according to my aim inusing a particular text Hopefully, such strategies will help them cope withproblematic and grayer areas of the text, such as identifying the main ideas of atext, which are also problematic for them in their native or first language

While-reading strategies are challenging and sometimes difficult to teachand learn because different students need different strategies and not everystudent can acquire the same proficiency level I am not always sure whichstrategies students need the most in the classroom and those which require morepractice at home Hopefully, I will gain more insight as to which activities arealso suitable for each task.[5]

In this stage, teacher should monitor comprehension:

- Verify predictions and check for inaccurate guesses

- Decide what is and is not important to understand

- Reread to check comprehension

- Ask for help

There are two steps used in this stage: Read for main idea ( gist) and Readfor detail In each step we can also use different techniques to help students to

do the task reading

3.2.1.Grids or forms

Teacher asks students to read the text in silent and complete the grids or forms

Example: Unit 1 : A visit from a penpal – Read

Step 4 Read for main idea (Gist)

Ask students to read the passage then fill in the table withthe right information about Malaysia

language………….

3.2.2 Checking True/False statements.

Example Unit 2 - READ (page 17) SGK English 9

Step 4 Read for main idea (Gist)

In this step, Let students to read the text silently and check True/False statement prediction

2 In the 19th century, Jean cloth was made completely

from cotton

F

In the 18 th century

3 In 1960s, A lot of university and college teachers

wore jeans

T

4 Jeans became more expensive so many people

began wearing jeans in the 1970s

F Cheap

5 Jeans became high fashion clothing in the 1980s T

1990s

3.2.3 Multiple choice.

Example Unit 2 - READ (page 17) SGK English 9

Teacher can also design a multiple choice exercise in this step

1- More and more people started wearing Jeans in ………….

a- 1960s b- 1970s c- 1980s

2- The word Jean comes from a kind of meterial that was made in ……