An investigation on the effectiveness of l1 l2 glossing in reading comprehension lessons of the first year non english major students at food industry college

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** TRẦN THỊ THU NGA AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF L1-L2 GLOSSING IN READING COMPREHENSION LESSONS OF THE FIRST YEAR NONENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT FOOD INDUSTRY COLLEGE Nghiên cứu tính hiệu lời giải ngôn ngữ thứ ngôn ngữ thứ hai đọc hiểu sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Cao đẳng Công nghiệp Thực phẩm M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Hà Nội- 2015 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** TRẦN THỊ THU NGA AN INVESTIGATION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF L1-L2 GLOSSING IN READING COMPREHENSION LESSONS OF THE FIRST YEAR NONENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT FOOD INDUSTRY COLLEGE Nghiên cứu tính hiệu lời giải ngôn ngữ thứ ngôn ngữ thứ hai đọc hiểu sinh viên năm thứ không chuyên trường Cao đẳng Công nghiệp Thực phẩm M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Dr Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà Hà Nội- 2015 DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “An investigation on the effectiveness of L1-L2 glossing in reading comprehension lessons of the first year non-English major students at Food Industry College.” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at the University of Languages and International Studies, Viet Nam National University, and that this thesis has not been submitted for any other degrees Ha Noi, October 2015 Tran Thi Thu Nga i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like primarily to thank Dr Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà for helping me complete this study This paper would not have been possible without her constant support and encouragement Her patience and helpful criticism helped me confidently express my ideas into this paper I regard myself extremely fortunate in having her as my dissertation supervisor I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all my lecturers at the Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies for their valuable lectures which have helped me a great deal in gaining a lot of theoretical as well as practical knowledge My special thanks go to my colleague at the English Group, Department of Basic Sciences and Technique Studies at Food Industrial College (FIC) who has helped me enthusiastically teach reading lessons by applying L1-L2 glossing technique and collect data through the interview I never forget to express my thanks to 40 first-year students in the class K8TP at Food Industrial College Finally, I would also like to express my deep gratitude and love to my devoted parents, my sister, my husband and my lovely daughter who gave me time and encouraged me to complete this study ii ABSTRACT Some researchers (e.g., Anderson, 2003 & Carrell, 1988) claim that reading is one of the most essential and important skills which language learners need to master However, the majority of students at FIC express that reading in English is a challenging problem for them because most of the reading texts in English contain a lot of unknown words; whereas their amount of vocabulary is limited This causes students‟ reading comprehension to decrease sharply Accordingly, it is necessary to find out an effective way to increase the students‟ reading comprehension This study is aimed at investigating the effectiveness of L1-L2 glossing in reading comprehension lessons of the first year non-English major students at Food Industry College and the students and the teacher‟s attitudes toward using this technique The participants included one English teacher and 40 non-major English students from the class K8TP The participants took part in the intervention stage in an action research project which L1-L2 glossing technique was applied in the second semester of the first academic year The data were collected through classroom observation, survey questionnaire for students and interview for the teacher The results showed that L1-L2 glossing improved considerably students‟ reading comprehension in three aspects: students‟ reading comprehension ability, motivation and vocabulary extension In addition, the study also indicated that the teacher and most of the students had positive attitudes toward this technique Some pedagogical implications, limitations and suggestions for further studies were included in this study iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS vi LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS vii PART I: INTRODUCTION .1 Rationale of the study .1 Aims of the study .3 Research questions of the study .3 Scope of the study .3 Methods of the study .4 Significance of the study Design of the study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW Reading and reading comprehension 1.1 Definition of reading 1.2 Definition of reading comprehension The roles of vocabulary in reading comprehension .9 The overview of glossing .10 3.1 Definition of glossing 10 3.2 Types of vocabulary glossing .11 3.3 Positions of vocabulary glossing 12 3.4 The importance of vocabulary glossing in reading comprehension 13 Related previous studies on the effect of glossing on reading comprehension 16 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY 18 2.1 Context of the study .18 iv 2.1.1 Setting of the study 18 2.1.2 Participants .19 2.1.3 Reading materials 20 2.2 Research method 21 2.3 Research procedure .22 CHAPTER III: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 26 3.1 The effectiveness of L1-L2 vocabulary glossing in reading comprehension lessons 26 3.1.1 Improvement in terms of students‟ reading comprehension ability 26 3.1.2 Improvement in terms of students‟ motivation 27 3.1.3 Improvement in terms of vocabulary extension 29 3.2 Students’ attitudes in the lessons using L1-L2 glossing 31 3.2.1 Findings from survey questionnaire for students 32 3.2.2 Findings from classroom observation and interview for the teacher 35 3.3 The teacher’s attitudes when using L1-L2 glossing in reading lesson 36 3.4 Concluding remarks 37 PART III: CONCLUSION .38 Summary of the study 39 Pedagogical implications 39 Limitations and suggestions for further research 40 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES I APPENDIX I APPENDIX III APPENDIX 3A V APPENDIX 3B VI APPENDIX IX APPENDIX X v LIST OF ABBRIVIATIONS ESP: English for Specific Purposes FIC: Food Industry College GE: General English L1: First language L2: Second language OHP: Overhead Projectors vi LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figure 1: Action research cycle…………………………………………………….22 Table 1: Students‟ attitudes toward the benefits of L1-L2 glossing …………… 32 Chart 1: Students‟ improvement in reading comprehension ability……………….26 Chart 2: Students‟ improvement in motivation…………………………………….28 Chart 3: Students‟ improvement in vocabulary extension…………………… .29 Chart 4: Students‟ interest in L1-L2 glossing….………………………………… 32 Chart 5: Students‟ attitudes toward the benefits of L1-L2 glossing… 34 Chart 6: The learners‟ view on the use of L1-L2 glossing in the future… .35 vii PART I: INTRODUCTION In this part, the researcher will present the rationale of the study, the aims and objectives, the research questions, the scope, the methods, the significance, and the design of the study Rationale of the study In today‟s world, the importance of English cannot be denied and ignored since English is used as an effective medium of international communication With the help of developing technology, English has been playing a major role in many sectors including education, trade, science, technology, tourism, sport, music and many other fields of life To master English, the students need to grasp all the four skills that are closely related to one another: listening, speaking, reading and writing Among these skills, reading is considered one of the most important skills which language learners should master, particularly when it helps build a variety of language expressions and structures; widen general knowledge and leads to lifelong learning and improvement in the first and second language skills According to Anderson (2003:2), "reading is an essential skill for learners of English For most of learners it is the most important skill to master in order to ensure success in learning With strengthened reading skills, learners of English tend to make greater progress in other areas of language learning” Carrell (1988:1) also argues that “for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four skills, particularly in English as a second or a foreign language” For many university and college students in Vietnam who study English as a part of their general education requirement, reading has long been considered an essential skill For them; however, reading in English can be an ordeal, often because of the great amount of unknown vocabulary that makes it difficult or even impossible to get the main ideas or specific details of a text One of the common techniques many researchers used to make L2 reading more effective is to gloss unfamiliar words or APPENDICES APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For students) The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain the information about your attitude towards using L1 (Vietnamese) - L2 (English) glossing in reading comprehension lessons The information is strictly confidential and used for research only Please indicate your (dis)agreement with each statement by putting a tick (V) in the appropriate column.s 1= Strongly disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral 4= Agree ITEMS 1 I am interested in reading lessons when the teacher uses L1-L2 vocabulary glossing L1-L2 glossing improves my reading comprehension ability L1-L2 glossing increases my motivation in activities in reading lessons L1-L2 glossing extends my vocabulary in English while reading L1-L2 glossing helps me understand and answer questions in reading texts more quickly and more easily L1-L2 glossing helps me save time and allows me to follow the text without much interruption because I not have to guess or look up the meaning of new I 5= Strongly agree words in the dictionary very often L1-L2 glossing makes me more autonomous in my reading activities because I not have to depend on the teacher to supply the meanings of unknown words in reading texts L1-L2 glossing should be used for reading lessons in the future (Adapted from Win, 2012) Thank you for your answers! II APPENDIX 2: THE DATA ON SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE (For students) The purpose of this questionnaire is to obtain the information about your attitude towards using L1 (Vietnamese) - L2 (English) glossing in reading comprehension lessons The information is strictly confidential and used for research only Please indicate your (dis)agreement with each statement by putting a tick (V) in the appropriate column 1= Strongly disagree 2= Disagree 3= Neutral ITEMS 4= Agree 5= Strongly agree I am interested in reading lessons when the teacher uses L1-L2 vocabulary 0% 5% 5 17 12.5% 42.5% 16 40% glossing L1-L2 glossing improves my reading comprehension ability 5% L1-L2 glossing increases my motivation in activities in reading lessons L1-L2 glossing extends my vocabulary 17 13 7.5% 12.5% 42.5% 32.5% 2.5% 2.5% 10% 17 17 42.5% 42.5% 2 5% 5% 10% L1-L2 glossing helps me understand and 3 18 14 answer questions in reading texts more 5% 7.5% 7.5% 45% 35% L1-L2 glossing helps me save time and 2 15 18 allows me to follow the text without 5% 5% 7.5% 37.5% 45% in English while reading 5 15 17 37.5% 42.5% quickly and more easily much interruption because I not have III to guess or look up the meaning of new words in the dictionary very often L1-L2 glossing makes me more 2 19 16 5% 5% 47.5% 40% 16 20 0% 2.5% 7.5% 40% 50% autonomous in my reading activities 2.5% because I not have to depend on the teacher to supply the meanings of unknown words in reading texts L1-L2 glossing should be used for reading lessons in the future (Adapted from Win, 2012) IV APPENDIX 3A: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THE TEACHER What you think about the technique (L1-L2 vocabulary glossing) that you have applied in reading comprehension lessons? What you think about your students‟ attitudes towards this technique? Do you think that this technique benefits your students? Does L1-L2 vocabulary glossing increase students‟ motivation in activities in reading lessons? How is students‟ reading comprehension ability different from using no glossing? Do students extend and improve their vocabulary through L1-L2 glossing? Does L1-L2 glossing help you save more time to explain new words for students? In the future, you want to apply this technique in reading comprehension lessons? Thank you for your cooperation V APPENDIX 3B: TRANSCRIPTS OF THE TEACHER INTERVIEW Interviewer: Good morning As you know, I am conducting a research on the effectiveness of L1-L2 glossing in reading comprehension lessons And you have applied this technique in your reading lessons in the last semester So could I ask you some questions? Teacher: Yes, of course Interviewer: What you think about the technique (L1-L2 vocabulary glossing) that you have applied in reading comprehension lessons? Teacher: You have been teaching English at FIC for years, as you know, our students‟ English level of proficiency is quite low Therefore, I encounter many difficulties during the process of my teaching, especially when teaching reading skill Reading is difficult skill which requires students to have a large of vocabulary knowledge However, our students possess limited amount of vocabulary This makes students unmotivated in reading lessons Therefore, I think that using L1-L2 glossing in reading lessons is a useful and effective technique in order to assist vocabulary for students during the process of while–reading Interviewer: What you think about your students‟ attitudes towards this technique? Teacher: When I began using this technique in the first two reading lessons, students seem to have no different attitudes from before But their attitudes have changed significantly since the third reading lesson They have more positive attitude toward L1-L2 glossing because I realize that they participate in activities more actively and more excitingly Interviewer: Do you think that the technique benefits your students? Teacher: Yes, of course It brings a lot of benefit to my students VI Interviewer: Oh, really Does L1-L2 vocabulary glossing increase students‟ motivation in activities in reading lessons? Teacher: Yes, needless to say, students are motivated much more in activities in reading lessons They expressed their own ideas much more Furthermore, they did not sit quietly and did nothing but participated in activities more actively and more enthusiastically Interviewer: How is students‟ reading comprehension ability different from using no glossing? Teacher: Before using L1-L2 glossing in reading lessons, students‟ reading comprehension ability is quite low Most of them found it difficult to catch and find the main ideas of the text They rarely fulfilled reading exercises in due time In addition, when answering the questions related to the text, they could not give the answer or they copied the whole sentence or passage containing the answer key However, with the assistance of L1-L2 glossing during the process of while – reading, students‟ reading comprehension ability increases considerably It helps students understand more the text or the passage they read From that, students can answer the questions more easily and more exactly Interviewer: Do students extend and improve their vocabulary through L1-L2 glossing? Teacher: Yes, I am sure I frequently check new words before and after each lesson to see whether my students remember and increase any more words they have learnt or not Fortunately, most of them gain a large amount of vocabulary during the process of reading learning Because L1- L2 glossing not only provides the meaning of target words in first language but also their definitions, synonyms or antonyms in second language With looking at glossing again and again many times when reading the text, students acquire a large amount of vocabulary in mind incidentally As a result, they feel more confident in learning English as well as learning reading skill with their vocabulary knowledge VII Interviewer: Does L1-L2 glossing help you save more time to explain new words for students? Teacher: Certainly, in the past, whenever students encountered new words or structure in the text, they asked for my help I wasted my time explaining and giving the meaning of these words There was no much time for other activities But with L1-L2 glossing in reading lessons, students can be more autonomous in their reading activities and I also save more time I can spend the time organizing some more useful activities for students Interviewer: In the future, you want to apply this technique in reading comprehension lessons? Teacher: With above benefits, I think that there are no reasons for me not to continue to apply this technique in my reading teaching It is possible that I will suggest our other colleagues using this technique to motivate students in reading lessons Interviewer: That is a good idea I hope that they are able to and willing to apply it in the future Thank you for your cooperation VIII APPENDIX 4: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET In-class Observed Component Observation The was  Students‟ improvement in reading comprehension class observed in ability reading lessons  Students‟ vocabulary extension Each lesson was 50  Students‟ motivation minutes - Students‟ involvement in the reading activities - Students‟ persistent attention to reading activities - Students‟ concentration on the reading lessons - Students‟ activity level in reading lessons - Others:  Students‟ attitudes - Students‟ enjoyment of L1- L2 glossing in reading lessons - Degree of appropriateness of L1-L2 glossing in reading lessons - Degree of challenge of L1-L2 glossing - Students‟ degree of interest in reading activities using L1-L2 glossing - Others: IX APPENDIX 5: THE SAMPLE READING MATERIAL UNIT 14: WORK READING: HEROIC, BRAVE OR JUST CRAZY? You're near the front line of a battle Around you shells are exploding People are shooting You from aren‟t carrying a a house behind you What are you doing there? a soldier You aren't even gun You're standing in front of a camera and you're telling the TV viewers what is happening Sandy Gall, respected reporter It's all in a day's work for a war correspondent, and Kate Adie dressed for action it can be very dangerous In the first two years of the conflict in former Yugoslavia 28 reporters and photographers were killed Hundreds more were injured, including the BBC's Martin Bell What kind of people put themselves in danger to bring pictures to our TV screens and stories to our newspapers? Why they it? 'I don't know whether we're macho or masochists,' says UN's Michael Nicholson 'I think it's every young reporter's dream to be a foreign correspondent - that‟s where you find the excitement So when the first opportunity comes, you take it even if it is a war.' Jeremy Bowen from the BBC agrees 'I don't think we like the danger, but it gives you a certain thrill After a while other stories become a bit dull.' Although they work for different organizations, war reporters help each other 'As a war reporter,' says Michael Nicholson, 'you become' a member of a very exclusive club and you depend on each other.' One of the most respected members of that club is Sandy Gall He‟s reported on several conflicts including the Suez Crisis of 1956, Vietnam, Afghanistan and the Gulf War Sandy says, 'We're all a bit mad If not when we start, then certainly by the end They all think that their job is important "I don't like the danger at all,' says Penny Marshall, 'but it's the only way to get an X honest report We aren't brave, because you don‟t really think about the danger when you‟re in it, but you have to be calm.” For Kate Adie the danger isn‟t the important thing She describes her job as a privilege ‟You're seeing history in, the making.' she says But there are moments of terror Jeremy Bowen again: 'Yes When you're lying on the ground and bullets are flying past your ears, you think: „What the hell am I doing here? I'm not going to this again.” But that feeling goes after a while and when the next war starts, you'll be there.' „None of us believes that we‟re going to die,' adds Michael Nicholson But he always carries a lucky charm with him It was given to him by his wife for his first war It's a card which says 'Take care of yourself.' Does he ever think about dying? 'Oh, many times, and every time it happens you look to the sky and say to God "If you get me out of this, I promise I'll never it again” You can almost hear God laughing, because you know he doesn't believe you.' Target words L2 (English) glossing L1(Vietnamese) glossing Front line (n) /frʌnt laɪn/ an area where the enemies are Tiền tuyến facing each other during a war and where fighting takes place Battle (n) /ˈbætl/ a fight between armies, ships or Trận đánh, planes, especially during a war; a chiến đấu violent fight between groups of people Shell (n) /ʃel/ To explode (v) a metal case filled with explosive, Quả đạn to be fired from a large gun ( súng cối) - synonym: blow up Nổ XI /tu ɪkˈspləʊd/ - to burst or make something burst loudly and violently, causing damage To shoot (v) to kill or wound a person or an Bắn /tu ʃuːt/ animal with a bullet, etc Soldier (n) a member of an army, especially Người /ˈsəʊldʒə(r)/ one who is not an officer lính, nhân Correspondent a person who reports news from a Phóng viên (n) particular country or on a particular /ˌkɒrəˈspɒndənt/ quân subject for a newspaper or a television or radio station Conflict (n) /ˈkɒnflɪkt/ a situation in which people, groups Cuộc xung đột or countries are involved in a serious disagreement or argument Macho (adj) male in an aggressive way Đại trượng phu /ˈmætʃəʊ/ Masochist (n) /ˈmæsəkɪst/ a person who enjoys something that Kẻ liều lĩnh most people would find unpleasant or painful Riêng biệt, độc nhất, Exclusive (adj) - antonym: inclusive /ɪkˈskluːsɪv/ - only to be used by one particular person or group; only given to one particular person or group Crisis (n) a time of great danger, difficulty or Cuộc khủng hoảng confusion when problems must be XII /ˈkraɪsɪs/ solved or important decisions must be made Privilege (n) /ˈprɪvəlɪdʒ/ a special right or advantage that a Đặc quyền, đặc ân particular person or group of people has Terror (n) a feeling of extreme fear sợ /ˈterə(r)/ Bullet (n) /ˈbʊlɪt/ Sự kinh hãi, khiếp a small metal object that is fired Đạn (súng trường, súng lục) from a gun Lucky charm (n) a small object worn on a chain or Bùa may mắn /ˈlʌki tʃɑːm / bracelet, that is believed to bring good luck Look at the picture and read the first two paragraphs, then answer the following questions? Where is he standing now? What is happening around him? What is his responsibility? Who is the author talking about? What is the characteristic of the job? Was Martin Bell killed in the conflict in former Yugoslavia? Read the rest of the article and decide if the statements are True or False Every young reporter wants to become a foreign correspondent Michael Nicholson is from BBC XIII War correspondents work for the same organizations They are interdependent Sandy Gall was a reporter in Vietnam War All war reporters are a bit crazy Penny Marshall like the danger at all All correspondents believe that they are going to die Michael never thinks about dying 10 God doesn‟t believe in what he says Read the article again a Which correspondents are mentioned? b These statements are similar to what the correspondents say in the article Write the correspondent's initials next to each statement Sometimes when it‟s really dangerous I wonder why I it You can't really show what's happening if you don't take some risks Every reporter wants to be a foreign correspondent I often promise that I'll stop, but know that I won't I always carry a good luck message from my wife I feel very proud that can see important world events as they happen Do excitement and danger always go together? Can you think of other jobs that are exciting but not dangerous, or dangerous but not exciting? Work in groups Write an article about another job and why people it The article can be serious or humorous, about a real or an imaginary job a First make notes on • a typical activity in the job XIV • the problems or difficulties of the job • why people it • what qualities people need to it b Write your article, using this format: Paragraph 1: You’re You're going to (Set the scene of someone about to the job.) Paragraph 2: That's all in a day's work for a (Say what the job is and give the problems and difficulties of it.) Paragraph 3: So why people it? (Give quotes from people about why they the job.) Paragraph 4: Could you be a ? (Give the qualities you need for the job.) XV ... investigating the effectiveness of L1-L2 glossing in reading comprehension lessons of the first year non-English major students at Food Industry College and the students and the teacher‟s attitudes... words in the native language L2 glossing Definition, synonym or antonym of unknown words in the second language L1-L2 glossing The combination of both translation of unknown words in the native language... reading comprehension; the role of vocabulary in reading comprehension; the overview of glossing including definition, types and positions of glossing, the importance of glossing in reading comprehension;