To improve reading comprehension skill for the grade 12 students by utilizing graphic organizers

The problems faced by students and teacher in learning and teaching reading comprehension at Le Loi high school.. One of the possible solutions for such problems is using graphicorganize

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

LE LOI HIGH SCHOOL - -

A RESEARCH PAPER FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH

THO XUAN, 2019

1 The scope of the research 4

2 The objectives of the research 4

3 The method of the research 4

1 The nature of reading comprehension 4

2 The factors influencing reading comprehension 5

1 Definition of Graphic Organizers 6

2. Types of Graphic Organizers 6

3 The Benefits of Graphic Organizers to reading comprehension 9

4 Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Activities 9

1 The background of the study 10

2. The problems faced by students and teacher in learning and

teaching reading comprehension at Le Loi high school

10

2.1 The problems faced by the grade 12 students in learning

reading comprehension

10

2.2 The problems faced by teachers in teaching reading

1 The Purposes of the Solutions 12

2 The Time & the Participants of the Study 13

4 The Procedures of the study 13

5 Technique of Collecting Data 17

6 Techniques of Analyzing Data 17

A INTRODUCTION

I REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH

It is widely recognized that reading is one of the most important skills forEnglish as a foreign language students to master English is thought to be one ofthe decisive factors for people's success at the period of globalization InVietnam, in recent years teaching methods have been more and more improved.There have been a lot of activities organized in order to enhance theeffectiveness and help students be more active and self-confident in learningEnglish in general and reading skills in particular To students, nowadays,English is not only a core subject in the curriculum at school but also key to gainaccess to the information world that proves of great value to all of them

Of four language skills, reading is believed to be the most important andalso most difficult skill to students According to the time allocation, the schooltime for English lessons is limited with only 3 periods a week, each lasts 45minutes In an academic year, students complete 16 units, in which there are 16reading lessons

Through classroom observations at Le Loi schools, I find that in readinglesson, my students often have difficulties in identifying explicit information in

a text, and comprehending the text as they lack of vocabulary; they are alsounable to find main idea in a paragraph as well as to infer the meaning of thetext Moreover, they feel scared when doing a long and difficult reading taskbecause the reading lessons are not exciting enough to get students involved intheir learning The reality poses a question to teachers about how to encouragestudents to learn and improve their reading skills so that they will be able to passthe English paper in the coming national examination in which reading skillacomplishes large proportion

One of the possible solutions for such problems is using graphicorganizers because these organizers can help students clarify and organizeinformation into categories (main idea, supporting details, topic sentence,facts, opinion, etc), organize information in a paragraph for betterunderstanding, construct meaning of difficult words and sentence dividing intolexis and understand the context by associating with prior knowledge.Furthermore, graphic organizers are considered as wonderful techniques to makestudents actively engaged in their learning Because organizers include words,

visual images, illustrative shapes, meaningful labels and logical displays, theyare effective for a variety of students with different language levels and differentmultiple intelligences, especially for those with a visual modality preference

For the aforementioned reasons, the author decided to choose the study

entitled “ To improve reading comprehension skill for the grade 12 students by

utilizing graphic organizers”

II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH

The study aimed at seeing whether the graphic organizers are beneficialfor my students Specifically, the aims include:

To identify whether and to what extent Graphic Organizers can improve grade

12 students’ reading comprehension skill in identifying the main idea, dealingwith vocabulary, fact and opinion, and making inferences

To describe the situation when Graphic Organizers are used in readingclasses

III SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD

1 The scope of the research.

Based on the background and identification of the theme, the study islimited on teaching reading comprehension to the students in grade 12th byusing using graphic Organizers The research was conducted at my workplace-

at Thieu Hoa high school, Thieu Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province The subjectconsists of 46 students who come from class 12A, school year 2015-2016 All

of them are at the age of seventeenth years old They have to take every skill ineach period; learning time is 3 periods per week

2 The object of the research.

The research study is organized into three parts as followed:

Part 1 provides basic information including the rationale, objectives,method, scope and design of the study

Part 2 reviews the related literature on reading comprehension presentsthe effectiveness of using graphic Organizers in teaching and learning readingcomprehension as well as deals with some difficulties faced by teachers andstudents before applying the technique

Part 3 involves the result analysis as well as the discussion of the data anddraws the conclusion, implication on the subject matter and suggestions forfurther research

3 The method of the research.

When conducting this paper, I have employed these following methods

- Collecting information about the theme

- Practicing teaching

- Observing and assessing

- Exchanging experience with colleagues

B DEVELOPMENT PART I THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I Reading Comprehension.

1.The nature of reading comprehension.

Reading is an activity of inferring meaning out of written symbols withthe collaborative work of cognitive behaviors and psycho-motor skills(Demirel, 1992) Reading is described as the process of perception in terms ofwritten and published words with the help of senses, comprehension of theseafter building meaningful connections; intellectual and spiritual acquisition,active and communicative involvement with the written and publishedsymbols, reception consisting of a number of perceptive and cognitiveprocesses, an interpretation and also a reaction According to Alderson (1984),most scholars would suppose that reading is one of the most important skills foreducational and professional success In highlighting the importance ofreading comprehension Rivers (1981) stated that ― reading is the mostimportant activity in any language class, not only as a source of informationand pleasurable activity but also as a means of consolidating and extendingone‘s which are knowledge of the language.

As Karakas (2002) pointed that the real objective of reading is fast and rightgrasp of the meaning Especially, reading at high speed along with fullcomprehension is a critical factor affecting the success of the students Studentswho can read at a high speed, understand what is being read, have a rich verbalrepertoire and have a good master of the language, learn more easily and havehigher rates of success The level of reading can be designated by askingquestions about the reading text being read and evaluating the related answers

in verbal or written way (Çalışkan, 2004)

According to Eskey (1988) in advanced levels of second language the ability

to read the written language at a reasonable rate and with good comprehensionhas long been recognized to be as oral skills if not more important

From the theories above, it can be concluded that reading comprehension is acomplex process in which the reader interacts with the text and employs his/herprevious knowledge, experience and information to extract the significantinformation/important information, understand the intentions of the writer, andgoes beyond what is written to guess at hidden, unstated or implied meaning onthe text

2 The Factors Influencing Reading Comprehension

Dallman (1982: 165) points out the factors influencing the readingcomprehension as follows:

2.1 External Factors:

- Difficulty of material: difficult material that is beyond the students’ level

is one of the major causes of lack of comprehension

- Intelligence: a students’ ability to comprehend in reading is sometimeslimited by his mental ability enabling him to carry The intelligence of the readerwill influence the capacity of the reader in comprehending passage

- Teacher’ s method: method of teaching that concentrate on therecognition of individual words without neglecting attention to meaning assiststhe students’ quality in comprehending the text

2.2 Internal Factors:

- Motivation is one of the important factors of learners in reading

- Self-esteem has important role in developing reading comprehension It is

a human being personality that is active, highly confident

3 Reading Comprehension Skill

Spears (2000: xxvi) states there are eight important reading comprehensionskills that help learners to read more systematically They are comprehendingthe main idea, determining the author’s purpose, distinguishing between themain idea and supporting details, making inference, distinguishing facts andopinion, analyzing structure, annotating, paraphrasing and summarizing

The main concern of the research is about how to find the main idea, explicitinformation, vocabulary, and inference Therefore, I would like discussingfurther on those aspects:

3.1 Main Idea

Spears (2000: 17) defines main idea as the author’s main point, asentence, or perhaps two that state what the whole thing is about The main ideamay take place in the beginning of the paragraph, the end of the paragraph,combination between the beginning and the end of the paragraph, or evenomitted from the entire paragraph

3.4 Inference

McNeil (1992: 77) defines inference as the derivation of some idea that is notdirectly stated To infer, Caroll in McNeil suggests that there are three importantways to infer They are from subtleties of verbal expression, reasoning, makinginvolvement of the reader’s experience to determine how the character in thetext might feel

II Graphic Organizers

1 Definition of Graphic Organizers.

There are many definitions about graphic organizers Among them are fromBromley et al, Sousa, and Zwiers

Bromley, et al (1995:7) define graphic organizer as a visual representation ofknowledge It is a way of structuring information, of arranging importantinformation aspects of a concept or topic into a pattern using label Besides,Sousa (2005:192) states that graphic organizers as valuable tool for organizingand representing knowledge and for illustrating relationship between concepts

In addition, Herley in Zwiers (2004:17) states that graphic organizers are

drawings that use geometric shapes or tables to show connections betweenpieces of information.

2 Types of Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers come in many different forms, each one best suited toorganizing a particular type of information Mcgill, Murphy, and Freeman(2009) state that graphic organizers are generally labeled as conceptual,hierarchical, cyclical, and sequential

The first, conceptual organizers help students show their learning orknowledge of a central idea Concept maps, KWL charts, and Venn diagramsare only a few conceptual graphic organizers KWL charts will help the studentorganize his or her prior knowledge and the information that he or she wants tolearn before new learning begins Then, after learning has taken place thestudent will chart what he or she has learned Venn diagrams are used tocompare and contrast two objects, topics, characters, etc

Second, a hierarchical organizer is used when a student needs to break downbroad concept into sub concepts Some of these organizers include the branchingdiagram, classifying chart, and topic/subtopic web Students could use this type

of graphic organizer to explain the food chain

Third, the student will use a sequential graphic organizer when he or sheneeds to explain the sequence of events Storyboards, T-charts, and cause andeffect organizers are all sequential This type of organizer could be used whentelling the beginning, middle, and end of a story

The last, there are times when it would be best to use a cyclical organizer.These organizers may be better known as the circle organizer or the circlediagram These could be used to show life cycles or the water cycle

In Figures 1 to 5, examples of some graphic organizers that are used forinterpreting a text with a specific objective are shown Figure 1.1 is a graphicorganizer that could be used to classify the author’s purpose in a readingcomprehension passage This could be further developed based on therequirements for different passages Figure 2 is a graphic organizer that could beused to classify the main idea and supporting details in a passage Figure 3 & 4are graphic organizers that could be used for classifying information in apassage as fact or opinion and comparison or contrasting respectively Finger 5

is used to remember the event easily

Figure 1 Author’s purpose

Figure 2 Main Idea & Supporting Details

Figure 3 Fact and Opinion

Figure 4 Compare and Contrast

Figure 5 Remember event.

An event map is another great tool that focuses on one event, such as a majorconflict The chart asks students to follow the W+H model of thought (who,what, when, where, why, how)

3 The Benefits of Graphic Organizers to reading comprehension.

In terms of reading comprehension, graphic organizers can be effectivelyused in all lessons for students of all ages to check not only students’understanding but also to motivate and enhance their thinking skills Krasnic(2011, p.24) claims that students are able to clear their thoughts and sharpentheir thinking by organizing and connecting key concepts related to what theyare reading from the text This process can help the students to improve theircritical thinking, a kind of cognitive activity that appears in many categories ofthe cognitive process dimension

Graphic organizers are wonderful tools to get students actively engaged intheir learning Because these visual representations include words, images andsymbolic patterns such as conceptual, hierarchical, cyclical and sequential, theyseem to be effective with students with verbal, visual and logical learning styles.Students who are good at their merits feel easier to demonstrate their readingunderstanding by using graphic organizers instead of answering comprehensionquestions in verbal languages

Reading researchers point out that in an English reading lesson, if theteacher uses graphic organizers that appropriately go with the organization ofthe passage being read, he or she will enhance and facilitate studentunderstanding and develop their full potentials For example, if the text ispresented in a sequential manner, a list or a timeline will be best, or if written in

a compare/contrast mode, a 2-column chart or Venn diagram might be better Ifthe reading passage is related to a central theme and followed by paragraphs thathave a relationship to the controlling point, a mind map or a network tree should

be used to brainstorm the topic and become a great strategy for students

With the mentioned benefits, teachers should use graphic organizers tohelp students prepare themselves for reading, to explore the text with a deeperunderstanding, to externalize their thinking, and to promote effective learning

Appropriately use, graphical organizer instructions can significantlyreduce the amount of time required to achieve the objective of a reading lessonfor both the teacher and learners However, the appropriate choice of organizersfor the reading lesson depends on the teacher’s knowledge of the topic presented

in the passage, knowledge of pedagogical content that requires the teacher toplan and conduct an effective lesson with a supportive learning environment,and knowledge of language learners in order to develop students’ creativity andcritical thinking – the essential 21st Century skills

4 Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Activities

In 1992, Jay McTighe in his book, Graphic Organizers: Collaborative

Links to Better Thinking outlined three main ways teachers may use graphic

organizers in their teaching and a number of ways that students can use them toaid their learning process In the reading process, graphic organizers can beused at three levels: Before instruction, during instruction and after instruction

Before instruction, graphic organizers are used to understand the level of

the students in terms of the content Pre- reading graphic organizers areconstructed by teachers to help structure the lesson and material to be learned,pre-teaching vocabulary and activate prior knowledge This strategy aims toprepare learners to begin thinking about the material they will be reading.

During instruction, graphic organizers allow students to approach thecontent cognitively because they assist thinking It also allows students toconstruct maps that are appropriate to their learning styles

After instruction, they help students as a summarization tool ortechnique and they help the students to understand their improvement in terms

of understanding passage If a student can connect prior knowledge with whatwas learned and identify relationships between those ideas, it means graphicorganizers have successfully assisted them in the course of their learningprocess

Graphic organizers in this research means any graphic displays that help the readers obtain the meaning of the text in term of organizing and linking ideas

in purpose of finding main idea, explicit and implicit information

PART 2: PRACTICAL BACKGROUND

1 The background of the study.

I have responsibility for teaching English to class 12A2, at Le Loi highschool, which is located in Tho Xuan town, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoaprovince In this school year 2018-2019

The participants of the study were 45 students in class 12A2 from everycorner of Tho Xuan district, by this I mean they are both from town and ruralareas 40 of them are females and they are 17 years old They have been learningEnglish for more than 7 years According to their school report when they were

at grade 11 5 of them were ranked as very good, 11 as good, 19 as average, and

10 as poor at using English

2 The problems faced by students and teacher in learning and teaching reading comprehension skill at Le Loi high school.

2.1 The difficulties faced by the grade 12 students in learning reading comprehension

It is clear that the students in my school have encountered many difficulties

in learning reading comprehension and they are often bad at it

In the first place, the majority of the students have trouble with readinglessons because of their low level of English proficiency Their vocabulary andsentence structures are poor Besides, their low background knowledge alsomakes them feel stressed when reading Many of the students said they found ithard to identify explicit information in a text; to comprehend the text; and theywere also unable to find main idea in a paragraph, or to infer the meaning of thetext