The effects of skimming technique in improving grade 12 students’ reading comprehension at muong lat high school

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING MUONG LAT HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE INITIATIVE THE EFFECTS OF SKIMMING TECHNIQUE IN IMPROVING GRADE 12 STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AT MUONG LAT HIGH SCHOOL The author: Nguyễn Thị Thoa Job position: Teacher Experience initiative about: English THANH HOÁ – 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………… 1.1 The reason of selecting the topic …………………………………… 1.2 Objectives of the study ……………………………………………… 1.2.1 For the students……………………………………………………… 1.2.2 For the teachers……………………………………………………… 1.3 Research tasks ……………………………………………………… 1.4 Scope of the study ……………………………………………… … 1.5 Methodology ………………………………… …………………… 2 CONTENTS ………………………………………………………… 2.1 Theoretical background ……………………………………………… 2.2 Reality ……………………………………………… ……………… 2.3 Measure implementation ………………………….……………… … 2.3.1 Skimming technique and its importance ………….………………… 2.3.2 Steps in skimming ……………………………….……………… 2.3.3 Skimming with reading comprehension questions ………………… 2.3.4 The adaptation of the textbook ………………………………… 2.3.5 Extra practised exercises …………………………………… …… 2.4 The result of researching ……………………………………… 13 CONCLUSION AND PROPOSAL …………………………… … 14 3.1 Conclusion ………………………………………………………… … 14 3.2 Proposal…………………………………………………………….… 15 3.2.1 To teachers…………………………………………………… … 15 3.2.2 To students………………………………………………………… 15 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………… 16 PREVIOUS STUDY……………………………………………………… 17 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The reason of selecting the topic Vietnam is a developing country, in the process of globalization, it is implementing the opening policies which attract thousands of foreign investments; the cooperating relationship between Vietnam and other countries in the world seems to be much stronger Especially, when Vietnam becomes one members of WTO, the use of English to communicate and to improve science and technique levels has become far more necessary than ever before This requires the youth to be good at foreign languages particularly at English since it is the most spoken official language in the world and it is the primary language used in international affairs From above reasons, teaching and learning English become even more essential than ever In learning English, students have to master four basic language skills of the target language Those basic skills are listening, speaking, reading, and writing Speaking and writing are language production, while listening and reading belong to language comprehension Among those four skills, reading is vital in language comprehension It is one of the most significant skills to learn a foreign language and to be successful in academic tasks (Anderson, 2003) According to Carrell (2003) efficient reading is essential for long-term learning objectives and critical for students to pursue their academic goals So, it is important to find out problems that readers face while reading Lau (2006) and teach them how to use reading strategies to improve their reading skills effectively In the GCSE examination for graduation and higher education, it is reading skill that is tested and it accounts for 36 percent of the entire marks That is to say having a good reading skill is very necessary After some years of teaching English at Muong Lat High School, I have found that the students have not actively learnt English Their English competence is very low They always say that learning English is the most challenging subject for them especially when reading a passage Normally, when students are required to the reading comprehension exercises, most of them often read the whole passage, decode the meaning of the passage by translating words by words whereas the passages are too long with a lot of new words, so they not have enough time to finish the tasks Moreover, other the students the reading comprehension questions by circling the options randomly without applying any reading strategies As a result, students often get low mark when doing this kind of exercises Thus, there is a need to find out effective way to help students enhance their reading situation The above reasons have inspired me to conduct my initiative with the title "The effects of skimming technique in improving grade 12 students’ reading comprehension at Muong Lat high school” 1.2 Objectives of research 1.2.1 For the students This study set out to provide students with skimming technique to deal with the reading comprehension exercises; helped students identify some kinds of questions and how to deal with them and apply skimming to the reading comprehension exercises well 1.2.2 For the teachers The study was to help teacher find out an effective method to improve students’ reading skill and know how to stimulate students to improve their reading skills 1.3 Research tasks - Find out the reason why most of students cannot reading comprehension tasks well - Apply my research to teaching practices, then compare, contrast the implementation of the topic - Evaluate and conclude the effectiveness of topic 1.4 Scope of study The study was designed to investigate the technique to improve reading comprehension skill The finding obtained from this study was to help improve teaching and learning reading English at Muong Lat High School 1.5 Research methodology I wrote this topic based on: - The method of studying theory - The method of investigating and observing - Applying the topic to real teaching reading at Muong Lat high school - Comparison, collection and summary of the result, effect of the topic CONTENTS 2.1 Theoretical background Reading is one of the most important means of obtaining information for many students (Anderson, 2003) Reading, as an important language skill, raises students’ awareness; it is also useful for employment and recreational purposes (Grigg & Mann, 2008) The use of reading strategies is necessary for successful reading comprehension According to Richards and Renandya (2002), reading strategies are plans for solving problems that readers encounter when constructing meaning out of the text they read That is to say, to have good reading comprehension skills is very important For 12 th graders, it is more important because having good reading skills is one of the core factors to help them achieve higher marks in the national GCSE examination 2.2 Reality During learning process, students at Muong Lat high school said that doing reading comprehension is extremely difficult because this skill not only asks students to read the text but also processes it and understands its meaning In fact, observing students doing reading comprehension, when they were delivered the reading tasks, they all read the passage words by words trying to decode the meaning of all the words, then they asked the teacher the meaning of the questions After that, they looked back the text again to find the answer This was really time consuming and less effective Some of them chose the answers randomly without reading the passages at all Thus, most of them got bad results The results of a small survey conducted by researcher at the beginning of the school year 2018-2019 lies behind the reasons why the students got low results in reading as shown in the table below (The survey was conducted with the participation of with 70 students in intact classes – 12A and 12C - to find out the ways they had done the reading tasks and why a lot of them got bad marks) The reasons I try my best to identify each question, then scan and skim the passage to find out the answer I read the whole passage and stop at every word The passage is too long in comparison with the time allotted I asked teacher the meaning of the questions There are too many new and unfamiliar words in the passage I spend time reading and translating all the words into Vietnamese I don’t know how to answer each kind of questions I choose the answer randomly I don’t understand the passage at all and the kinds of exercise are unfamiliar to me 10 I can identify the key words in the questions 11 I try to apply some reading tips 12 I can control my reading speed Percentage 4.3% 92.9% 92.9% 94.3% 86.7% 88.6% 91.4% 85.7% 92.3% 5.7% 4.3% 2.9% It can be seen from the above table that the majority of the students did not have good reading skill Most of them seemed very daunting when facing with reading comprehension questions One reason might have come from the teacher was that students were not taught how to apply the reading techniques whereas they may save reading time and improve the scores 2.3 Measure implementation The first task of my study was to make students understand what the skimming means, what kinds of questions in the reading comprehension can be answered by using skimming Then, I adapted the reading passages in the textbook to make them familiar to students as well as gave them extra-exercises to practise 2.3.1 Skimming technique and its importance Skimming is one of strategies that require readers to read quickly in order to get an overview or the general idea or gist of a section Djuwarsih (2006) stated that skimming is a skill of getting general idea of a text It means that we need only short time to read the text It is because general idea of the text usually is located at certain lines or certain sentences of the text In other word, we only need to read certain parts or lines of the text quickly It is also supported by Djuharie (2008) who claimed that skimming refers to look at the text quickly for getting the main idea from the text It may be true that by using skimming, readers don’t need to read the whole text They only need to look at the text quickly and find the main idea of the text So, they wouldn’t waste their time when they are reading the text In addition, Hanckock in Simanjuntak (1989: 58) also says that in preview skimming a reader reads the introductory information, the heading and subheading, and the summary, if one is provided After skimming, decide whether to read the material more thoroughly, and select the appropriate speed which to read Skimming to get an overview is an important skill for students By skimming to get the “gist” of the material, the students are able to cover all of it According to Liao (2011) in Hong (2013: 2), skimming is done at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited amount of time 2.3.2 Steps in skimming Skimming involves not reading every word, but instead moving the eyes quickly over the text and allowing the main ideas to become obvious Keep opening eyes, and move them deliberately quickly across the options, to see which words are repeated, the main words in each option, and gain an idea of what the text is overall going to be about Come to a mental conclusion Thus, in order to the skimming effectively, keep in mind the following steps: - Read the titles of the passage first This is the shortest summary of the contents Generally, titles will give readers the most important idea of the text - Read the introductory paragraph - Then read the sub-headings (if any) of the text It will give a basic idea about the text and what’s in it - Look at any illustrations or graphic features - If there is no sub-heading, read the first line or first few lines of the text or even the first paragraph of the passage It will give the gist of the text + The main idea is often at the first sentence + If the author starts with a question or introducing sentence, the main idea may be at the last sentence - For further skimming, read the first lines of all the paragraphs and focus on the emphasized (bolded & italicized) words, proper names, listing, quantity words (best, most, worst ), picture or diagrams…in them to get more ideas about the text - Read the whole last paragraph 2.3.3 Skimming with reading comprehension questions Reading comprehension questions are classified in to main categories namely questions for main ideas, questions for details and inferences and vocabulary questions In this study, the author mainly focused on helping students how to answer the questions for main ideas by using skimming technique Most of the reading passages in GCSE examination contain at least one question for main idea This type of question can be asked in different ways Students can identify it base on different words such as “topic”, “title”, “subject”, “primary idea”, “main idea”, “main point”, “main concern”, or “main purpose” and the organization of the passage It can be shown clearly in the table below: Main idea questions Organizations + What is the topic of the passage? + What is the subject of the passage? + What is the main idea of the passage? + What is the author's main Identifying point in the passage? general + With what is the author questions primarily concerned? + Which of the following would be the best title? +What is the author’s main purpose in the passage? + The best title for the passage is… - Normally at the beginning or at the end of each paragraph - At the first paragraph or at the last paragraph in a reading passage + Time order/ chronological order + Cause and effect + Definition- example + Comparison and contrast + Problem-solution Answers How to find the answers + Firstly, secondly, finally, next, then… + Because, since, as, lead to, due to, as a result, consequently… + Define, mean, indicate, show… + On the one hand, on the other hand, more, less, least, most… + Cause, result in, deal with, solution… + Read the first sentence of each paragraph + Find out the common ideas between these first sentences and their relationship + Pay attention to repeated words + Quickly skim the whole text to confirm the main idea + Eliminate the wrong answers, choose the correct one, the answers are not too general, too specific or not mentioned + Students should leave this question last after answering other questions to save time because of its difficulty 2.3.4 The adaptation of the textbook During my teaching process, I have adapted reading passages in the textbook - especially textbook Tieng Anh 12 – Basic - to make them similar to the ones appearing in the State’s high school graduation examination Take the reading passage in Unit – Ways of socializing – Tieng Anh 12 – Basic as example number 1: To attract someone's attention so that we might speak to that person, we can use either verbal or non-verbal forms of communication Let us look at nonverbal communication in English Probably the most common way of attracting someone's attention is by waving For example, if we are at a noisy party and see a friend come in the door about 20 metres away, we might raise our hand and wave to her as a signal that we see her But how hard can we wave in a situation like this? Suppose you are at the airport, and you see your brother get off the plane and begin walking toward you If you are excited, you might jump up and down and wave as hard as you can to attract his attention This is the instance where big, obvious non-verbal signals are appropriate There are, however, some social situations where smaller non-verbal signals are more appropriate In a restaurant, for example, if we want to attract the attention of our waiter, we have several choices We can wait until he passes near us, catch his eye, and nod slightly to let him know we would like him to come to our table Or we can raise our hand slightly to show that we need assistance We not whistle or clap our hands to get the person's attention That is considered impolite and even rude In most social situations where some informality is allowed, a brief raise of the hand and a small wave is fine For instance, if you are walking across the schoolyard and see your teacher approaching you, a small friendly wave to attract his or her attention is appropriate Once you've got your friend's attention, you shouldn't point at the person or thing you want her to look at A slight nod will Pointing at someone is usually considered rude Of course, there are times when pointing is perfectly acceptable, such as when a teacher wants to get someone's attention in class The teacher often points to the student and says, "David, would you read the next sentence, please?" Pointing here is not impolite; it's simply a way to get someone's attention Task 2: Which of the following would be the best title for the passage? A Attracting Attention in normal ways B Attracting Attention by Waving C Attracting Attention: Non-verbal Cues D The Best Ways of Attracting Attention (Answer: C) Example 2: The reading passage in Unit 10- Tieng Anh 12 Basic, page107 Endangered species are plant and animal species which are in danger of extinction Over 8,300 plant species and 7,200 animal species around the globe are threatened with extinction, and many thousands more become extinct each year before biologists can identify them The primary causes of species extinction are habitat destruction, commercial exploitation and pollution The drainage of wetlands, cutting of forests, urbanization and road and dam construction have destroyed or seriously damaged natural habitats Since the 1600s, worldwide commercial exploitation of animals for food and other products has seriously reduced the number of rare species Toxic chemicals in the air and land, contaminated water and increased water temperatures have also driven many species to the verge of extinction Plant and animal extinction leads to a loss of biodiversity Maintaining biodiversity is important for us in many ways For example, humans depend on species diversity to have food, clean air and water, and fertile soil for agriculture In addition, we benefit greatly from the many medicines and other products that biodiversity provides Different conservation efforts have been made in order to save endangered species The Red List - a global list of endangered and vulnerable animal species - has been introduced to raise people's awareness of conservation needs Governments have enacted laws to protect wildlife from commercial trade and overhunting A number of wildlife habitat reserves have been established so that a wide range of endangered species can have a chance to survive and develop Task Choose A, B, C or D to complete the following sentences about the reading passage The best title for the passage is……………… A Endangered Species and Conservation Measures B Endangered Species and their Benefits C The Global Extinction Crisis D Endangered Species Extinction: Causes and Conservation Measures (Answer: D) Example 3: The reading passage in Unit 15 – Women in society – Tieng Anh 12 – Basic, page163 Throughout much of the history of human civilization, deep-seated cultural beliefs allowed women only limited roles in society Many people believed that women’s natural roles were as mothers and wives These people considered women to be better suited for childbearing and homemaking rather than for involvement in the public life of business or politics Widespread doubt about women’s intellectual ability led most societies to deny education, employment and many legal and political rights to women It was men who controlled most positions of employment and power in society The struggle for women’s rights - the rights that establish the same social, economic, and political status for women as for men - began in the 18 th century during a period known as the Age of Enlightenment During this period, political philosophers in Europe began to argue that all individuals, male or female, were born with natural rights that made them free and equal These pioneer thinkers advocated that women should not be discriminated against on the basis of their sex Today, although their status varies in different countries, women in most parts of the world have gained significant legal rights The most important of these are: the right to have equal work opportunities and pay to men, the right to vote, and the right to formal education Task 3: Choose the best title for the passage A Intellectual Ability B The Age of Enlightenment C Women’s Rights D Women’s Role in Education (Answer: C) 2.3.5 Extra practised exercises This section provides the readers with some of the extra exercise that the author gave her students to practise using skimming technique Example 1: The reading passage in “Ôn tập chủ điểm ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh 12- Thư viện Sen Vàng, page 159” The forests of the tropics produce a magnificent growth of trees, but commercial lumbering is inhibited by problems that increase the cost of removal The proliferation of species that is common to all tropical forests creates difficulties because many species are worthless The lumberman combs the forests, therefore, removing the valuable trees that are convenient to waterways, and floating them downstream to a saw-mill Unfortunately, tropical hardwoods tend to grow slowly; an area once cleared needs substantial time to recover, forcing the saw-mill to become mobile Distance to market tends to be considerable, raising costs of the high costs associated with production Other trees are left untouched Question 46 What is the main topic of the passage? A The growth rate of hardwoods B The transportation difficulties C The number of useless trees D The high costs of commercial lumbering in the tropics 10 (Answer: D) Example 2: The reading passage in “ĐỀ THI THAM KHẢO MÔN TIẾNG ANH- 2019- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO” Visitors to London are struck by the proud splendor and glamour of one of the world’s oldest capitals, admiring iconic sites like Big Ben, the Palace of Westminster and Buckingham Palace However, visitors seeking a glimpse in to the city’s everyday life should not miss Portobello Market, which is the most visited market in London This vibrant market has been featured in a number of films, documentaries and best-selling books, the most famous being the film “Notting Hill” starring Hugh Grant and Julia Robert, which bought Portobello Market to the attention of audiences all over the world Portobello Market is divided into different sections selling second hand items, clothing, jewellery, souvenirs and vegetables The most sought-after area is devoted to antiques Visitors may feel overwhelmed as there are over 1000 booths manned by antique dealers from throughout England It is a great fun to browse through antique cameras, watches, pottery and paintings that date back 300 years They are sold at different prices, so it is possible to find a new goods bargains It seems that both buyers and sellers look forward to the weekends when they can meet and escape from the city’s fast pace at Portobello Market When tired from exploring the market, visitors can drop into the nearby food courts to savour an Indian curry, Italian pizza or sandwiches from Europe It is a great pleasure to drink a cappuccino while listening to street performers These represent the lively fun of Portobello Market, offering exciting experiences that keep people coming back (Adapted from “Heritage”- Vietnam Airline in flight magazine) Question 30: What is the passage mainly about? A The film “Notting Hill” B The city of London C Portobello Market D European cuisine (Answer: C) Example 3: The reading passage in “ĐỀ THI THAM KHẢO MÔN TIẾNG ANH- 2019- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO” Cambridge University is considering axing compulsory written exams, allowing students to use laptops or iPads instead, after tutors complained that students’ handwriting is becoming illegible Academics say the move, which would bring an end to over 800 years of tradition, has come about because students rely too heavily on laptops in lectures and are losing the ability to write by hand Dr Sarah Pearsall, a senior lecturer at Cambridge University, said handwriting is becoming a “lost art” among the current generation of students She added, “It is increasingly hard for our examiners to read students’ scripts 11 Those with illegible writing are forced to come back to their college during the summer holidays to read their answers aloud in the presence of two university administrators It is extraordinarily commendable that the University is considering reforms to its examination practice.” Sir Anthony Seldon, vice-Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, said it is inevitable that universities will move to computers as handwriting deteriorates in the coming years “We have to accept the reality Handwriting has now become an optional, not a necessary part of education There simply isn’t the same time in the curriculum for learning elegant, beautiful handwriting Life is so quick now Everybody writes as if they were a doctor writing a prescription,” he said “Handwriting is not necessary for great thought, great English, or great intelligence Some of our finest wordsmiths today write using laptops, and we have to fight to preserve what is really important, such as the use of great English or great sentence structures” Others, however, were not very positive about the move Tracey Trussell, a handwriting expert, argued Cambridge to ensure that students continue to write by hand She said, “It is vital that people continue to write by hand Writing by hand improves memory and equates to a higher rate of comprehension and information retention.” There is also concern that schools could follow Cambridge’s example by moving away from handwriting Dr Jane Medwell, associate Professor of Education at University of Nottingham, is concerned that scrapping handwritten exams in universities could prompt “downward curriculum pressure” on primary and secondary school to follow suit Question 35: which of the following best serves as the title for the passage? A Cambridge University in an attempt to improve students’ handwriting B Cambridge University pondering Changes to its Exam practice C Cambridge University attacked again for Abolishing Written Exams D Cambridge University to replace Written with oral Exams (Answer: B) Example 4: The reading passage in “ĐỀ THI THỬ THPTQG 2018- THPT CẨM GIÀNG” The hippopotamus is the third largest land animal, smaller only than the elephant and the rhinoceros Its name comes from two Greek words which mean “river horse” The long name of this animal is often shortened to the easier to handle term “hippo” The hippo has a natural affinity for the water It does not float on top of the water, instead, it can easily walk along the bottom of a body of water The hippo commonly remains underwater for three to five minutes and has been known to stay under for up to half an hour before coming up for air In spite of its name, the hippo has relatively little in common with the horse and instead has a number of interesting similarities in common with the whale When a hippo comes up after a stay at the bottom of a lake or river, it releases air through a blowhole, just like a whale In addition, the hippo resembles the 12 whale in that they both have thick layers of blubber for protection and they are almost completely hairless Question29 What is the topic of this passage? A The largest land animal B The derivations of animal names C The characteristics of the hippo D The relation between the hippo and the whale (Answer: C) Example 5: The reading passage in “ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC MÔN TIẾNG ANH- 2018- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO” A letter of application is a sales letter in which you are both salesperson and product, for the purpose of an application is to attract an employer’s attention and persuade him or her to grant you an interview To this, the letter presents what you can offer the employer, rather than what you want from the job Like a résumé, the letter of application is a sample of your work and an opportunity to demonstrate your skills and personality If it is written with flair and understanding and prepared with professional care, it is likely to be very effective While the résumé must be factual, objective, and brief, the letters is your chance to interpret and expand It should state explicitly how your background relates to the specific job, and it should emphasize your strongest and most relevant characteristics The letter should demonstrate that you know both yourself and the company The letter of application must communicate your ambition and enthusiasm Yet it must be modest It should be neither aggressive nor compliant: neither pat yourself on the back nor ask for sympathy It should never express dissatisfaction with the present or former job or employer And you should avoid discussing your reason for leaving your last job Finally, it is best that you not broach the subject on salary, indeed, even if a job advertisement requires that you mention your salary requirement, it is advisable simply to call them “negotiable.” However, when you go on an interview, you should be prepared to mention a salary range For this reason, you should investigate both your field and, if possible, the particular company You not want to ask for less than you deserve or more than is reasonable Question 36: what is the passage mainly about? A Advice on how to find good job B Things to avoid during a job interview C Tip for writing an effective letter of application D Differences between a résumé and a letter of application (Answer: C) Example 6: The reading passage in “ĐỀ THI THỬ MÔN TIẾNG ANH2019- THPT QUANG TRUNG” 13 Carbohydrates, which are sugars, are an essential part of a healthy diet They provide the main source of energy for the body, and they also function to flavor and sweeten foods Carbohydrates range from simple sugars like glucose to complex sugars such as amylose and amylopectin Nutritionists estimate that carbohydrates should make up about one-fourth to one-fifth of a person's diet This translates to about 75-100 grams of carbohydrates per day A diet that is deficient in carbohydrates can have an adverse effect 10 on a person's health When the body lacks a sufficient amount of carbohydrates it must then use its protein supplies for energy, a process called gluconeogenesis This, however, results in a lack of necessary protein, and further health difficulties may occur A lack of carbohydrates can also lead to ketosis, a buildup of ketones 15 in the body that causes fatigue, lethargy, and bad breath Question 29 What is the main idea of this passage? A Carbohydrates are needed for good health B Carbohydrates prevent a build-up of proteins C Carbohydrates can lead to ketosis D Carbohydrates are an expendable part of a good diet (Answer: A) Example 7: The reading passage in “KHẢO SÁT CHẤT LƯỢNG LỚP 12 THPT NĂM HỌC 2018-2019, MÔN TIẾNG ANH, SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO THANH HÓA, MÃ ĐỀ 001” In most discussion of cultural diversity, attention has focused on visible, explicit aspects of culture, such as language, food, religion, music, and social rituals Although they are important, these visible expressions of culture, which are taught deliberately and learned consciously, are only the tips of the iceberg of culture Much of culture is taught and leant implicitly, or outside awareness Thus, neither cultural insiders nor cultural outsiders are aware that certain “invisible” aspects of their culture exist Invisible elements of culture are important to us For example, how long we can be late before being impolite, what topics we should avoid in a conversation, how we show interest or attention through listening behavior, what we consider beautiful or ugly These are all aspects of culture that we learn and use without being aware of it When we meet other people whose invisible cultural assumptions differ from those we have learned implicitly, we usually not recognized their behavior as cultural in origin Differences in invisible culture can cause problems in cross-cultural relations Conflicts may arise when we are unable to recognize other’s behavior differences as cultural rather than personal We tend to misinterpret other people’s behavior, blame them, or judge their intention or competence without realizing that we are experiencing cultural rather than individual differences 14 Formal organizations and institutions, such as school, hospital, workplaces, governments and the legal system are collection sites for invisible cultural differences If the differences were more visible, we might have less misunderstanding For example, if we met a man in a courthouse who was wearing exotic clothes, speaking a language other than ours, and carrying food that looked strange, we would not assume that we understood his thoughts and feelings or that he understood ours Yet when such a man is dressed similarly to us, speaking our language and does not differ from us in other obvious ways, we may fail to recognize the invisible cultural differences between us As a result, mutual misunderstanding may arise Question 8: what is the main purpose of the passage? A To point out that much of culture is learned consciously B To describe cultural diversity C To explain the importance of invisible aspects of culture D To explain why cross-cultural conflict occurs (Answer: C) 2.4 The result of researching To have a basic comparison, give out the exact conclusion for the studying process and applying the topic to teach reading skill Muong Lat high school, I carried out a quasi-experiment 70 students in two intact classes 12A and 12 C were invited to take part in this experiment The students in experimental group (12A) were taught how to use skimming technique to deal with reading comprehension questions in the textbook as well as practised more exercises Students in control group (12C) were not applied the topic At the end of this semester, I asked the students to the following exercise in 15 minutes then I collate the result of class 12A and 12C Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C to indicate the correct answer to each of the question While fats have lately acquired a bad image, one should not forget how essential they are Fats provide the body’s best means of storing energy, far more efficient energy sources than either carbohydrates or protein They act as insulation against cold as cushioning for the internal organs, and as lubricants Without fats, energy would be no way to utilize fat soluble vitamins Furthermore, some fats contain necessary growth factors and help with the digestion of other foods An important consideration of fat intake is the ratio of saturated fats to unsaturated fats Saturated fats, which are derived from dairy products, animal fats and tropical oils, increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood 15 Cholesterol may lead to coronary heart disease by building up in the arteries of the heart However, unsaturated fats, derived from vegetable oils, tend to lower cholesterol if taken in proportion twice that of saturated fats The consumption of a variety of fats is necessary, but the intake of too much fat may lead to a variety of health problems Excessive intake of fats, like all nutritional excesses, is to be avoided Question The main idea of the first paragraph is A Fats have bad image B Fats serve important functions in the body C Fats store food more efficiently than protein or carbohydrates (Answer: B) Question What is the main idea of the second paragraph? A Unsaturated fats may reduce cholesterol levels B The consumption of any type of fat leads to heart disease C Fats taken in the proper proportion may reduce serum cholesterol (Answer: A) Question The main idea of the third paragraph is that A People are eating less and less fats today B Fats should be gradually eliminated from the diet C Excessive consumption of fats may be dangerous to one’s health (Answer: C) Question With which of the following is the whole passage primarily concerned? A The role of fats in human health B The danger of cholesterol C The benefits of fats in the diet (Answer: A) Through the assessment in class 12A with 34 students of my charge, I achieved the following result: Clas Good Above Average Weakness Poverty s (10) average (5) (2.5) (0) sizes (7.5) 34 = 11.8% 18 = 52.9% 10 = 29.4% = 5.9% = 0% And the achieved result of class 12C: Clas Good Above Average Weakness Poverty s (10) average (5) (2.5) (0) sizes (7.5) 36 = 0% = 16.7% 13 = 36.1% 15 = 41.7% = 5.5% It can be shown from the two above tables that, students who were trained skimming technique got higher average marks significantly It means that they could identify the questions and knew how to find the answers effectively than those who were not By this way, they had enough time to finish their task in advance 16 After a long time of studying and applying skimming technique while teaching reading comprehension for grade 12th students at Muong Lat I found that most students became more interested in the reading period The atmosphere of the reading time seemed less boring and less pressure Students felt more confident of doing reading exercises They took part in the lessons more actively and more effectively The results of the reading tests showed their reading improvement clearly This became true when it affirmed the fact that a good teacher is one who gives students a fishing-rod not the fish CONCLUSION AND PROPOSAL 3.1 Conclusion Skimming technique is effective to improve students’ comprehension in the reading tasks The increase of scores in experimental group indicates that treatments given to the group are proved being better to enhance reading comprehension than the control group Besides, the experimental group showed stronger intrinsic motivation, greater interest in the topic, and more involvement They were more involved and more interested in the material after they knew how to use this technique To conclude, skimming technique is efficient to minimize time consuming in the tasks of reading Consequently, the researcher may speculate based on this finding that the faster students’ performance in reading the better their comprehension in completing reading tasks 3.2 Proposal 3.2.1 To teachers: - Try to adapt reading passages in textbook as well as provide students with as many extra exercises to practise as possible which help students develop their reading skills - have students use skimming technique more often to improve reading comprehension competence - Combine different methods in teaching reading for students to encourage them to participate in the lesson 3.2.2 To students: Use the taught technique to as many reading comprehensions as possible to improve reading skills Beside this, spend more time learning vocabulary and other reading techniques as many as possible to the reading exercises more effectively Due to the time limitation, I cannot avoid errors It would be great if I could receive feedback from other colleagues, especially those who teach English to make my initiatives more complete and widely applied in the teaching process Confirmed by Chief Officer Thanh Hóa, the nineteenth of May, 2019 I assure that this experience initiative was written by me without copying others 17 Trần Anh Văn Nguyễn Thị Thoa REFERENCES Anderson, N J (2002) The role of metacognition in second/foreign language teaching and learning ERIC Digest Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics Anderson, N J (2003) Scrolling, clicking, and reading English: Online reading strategies in a second/foreign language The Reading Matrix, 3(3), 1-33 Djuharie, O S, (2008) Intensive Reading Bottom-up Reading Penerbit Yrama Widya.Bandung Djuwarsih, (2006) Learning and Teaching Strategies Penerbit Wijaya Saputra Jakarta ĐỀ THI CHÍNH THỨC KỲ THI THPT QUỐC GIA MÔN TIẾNG ANH2018- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỀ THI THAM KHẢO MÔN TIẾNG ANH- 2019- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO Grigg, N & Mann, R (2008) Promoting excellence: An international study into creating awareness of business excellency models” The TQM Journal, 20(3), 233-248 Harmer, J 2005 How to Teach English Cambridge: Longman Nunan David: Language Teaching Methodology, a textbook for teachers Longman, 2000 10 Hong, Ng Chiew (2013) “Teaching of Skimming at Tertiary Level: Theoretical and Pedagogical Issues” Published on International Journal of Bilingual & Multilingual Teachers of English.Vol.1, No.1 University of Bahrain 11 Ôn tập chủ điểm ngữ pháp Tiếng Anh 12, thư viện Sen Vàng 12 Rèn luyện kỹ đọc hiểu môn Tiếng Anh, Vũ Mai Phương, 2015 13 Simanjuntak, E G (1989) Developing Reading Skill for EFL Students Jakarta: P2LPTK 14 Tieng Anh 12- basic, nhà xuất giáo dục 18 DANH MỤC CÁC ĐỀ TÀI SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM ĐÃ ĐƯỢC HỘI ĐỒNG ĐÁNH GIÁ XẾP LOẠI CẤP PHÒNG GD&ĐT, CẤP SỞ GD&ĐT VÀ CÁC CẤP CAO HƠN XẾP LOẠI TỪ C TRỞ LÊN Họ tên tác giả: Nguyễn Thị Thoa Chức vụ đơn vị công tác: Trường THPT Mường Lát T T Kết Cấp đánh đánh Năm học giá xếp loại giá xếp Tên đề tài SKKN đánh giá xếp (Phòng, Sở, loại (A, loại Tỉnh ) B, C) Improving grade 12 students’ Sở Giáo 2017-2018 dục Đào C reading comprehension tạo Thanh through scanning technique Hóa at Muong Lat High School 19 ... conduct my initiative with the title "The effects of skimming technique in improving grade 12 students’ reading comprehension at Muong Lat high school 1.2 Objectives of research 1.2.1 For the students... one of the core factors to help them achieve higher marks in the national GCSE examination 2.2 Reality During learning process, students at Muong Lat high school said that doing reading comprehension. .. understand what the skimming means, what kinds of questions in the reading comprehension can be answered by using skimming Then, I adapted the reading passages in the textbook to make them familiar