an analysis of cohesive devices in reading texts in textbook “tiếng anh 10” at an upper secondary school in binh thuan province

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Đức Hòa AN ANALYSIS OF COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN TEXTBOOK “TIẾNG ANH 10” AT AN UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN BINH THUAN PROVINCE MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE HO CHI MINH CITY, 2020 VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Đức Hòa AN ANALYSIS OF COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN TEXTBOOK “TIẾNG ANH 10” AT AN UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN BINH THUAN PROVINCE Field: English Language Code: 8220201 Supervisor: Lê Hương Hoa, Ph.D HO CHI MINH CITY, 2020 DECLARATION BY AUTHOR I, the undersigned, hereby declare that the thesis entitled “an Analysis of cohesive Devices in Reading Texts in Textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” at An Upper Secondary School In Binh Thuan” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language The thesis has not be submitted for any other degree or professional qualification to any other universities or institutions Except for reference made, this thesis contains no material previously written or published by another person Author’s Signature Lê Đức Hòa Approved by SUPERVISOR Lê Hương Hoa, Ph.D Date:…………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis is accomplished with great effort and is contributed by a great deal of enthusiasm and assistance from many people I would like to express my special thanks to the people who made it possible First and the foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and high appreciation to my supervisor, Dr Lê Hương Hoa for her helpful support If it had not been for her advice, and comments from her, I would have not completed this thesis Second, I would like to send my special thanks to all of the teachers at Nguyen Van Troi upper secondary school for all their help and suggestions during the progress of completing this thesis In addition, I am so grateful for all of the assistance from my colleagues and friends whose support and encouragement help me to get this thesis accomplished The last sincere gratitude goes to my dear family It is their endless love, support and enthusiasm that have motivated me to complete this thesis ii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT vi LIST OF TABLES .vii LIST OF CHARTS viii LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aim(s) and objectives of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Scope of the Study 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Research Methods 1.7 Structure of the Study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Discourse 2.1.2 Discourse analysis 2.1.3 Cohesion 2.1.3.1 Grammatical cohesion 2.1.3.2 Lexical cohesion 14 2.2 Previous studies on cohesive devices 17 2.3 An overview of the English Textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” 19 2.3.1 The concept of the textbook .19 2.3.2 Description of the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” 19 iii 2.3.3 The role of the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” in teaching and learning English 20 2.4 Chapter Summary 20 CHAPTER 3: GRAMMATICAL COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN TEXTBOOK “TIẾNG ANH 10” 22 3.1 Reference 22 3.1.1 Anaphoric reference 22 3.1.2 Cataphoric reference 25 3.1.3 Exophoric reference 27 3.2 Conjunctions 30 3.2.1 Additive conjunction 32 3.2.2 Temporal conjunction 33 3.2.3 Adversative conjunction 33 3.2.4 Causal conjunction .35 3.3 Substitution 36 3.4 Ellipsis 37 3.5 Grammatical cohesive devices in textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” 40 3.6 Chapter summary 42 CHAPTER 4: LEXICAL COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN TEXTBOOK “TIẾNG ANH 10” 43 4.1 Reiteration 43 4.2 Collocation 46 4.2.1 Lexical collocation .47 4.2.2 Grammatical collocation 49 4.3 Lexical cohesive devices in textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” 51 4.4 A Comparison of grammatical and lexical cohesive devices in textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” 52 4.5 Chapter summary 52 iv CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .54 5.1 Recapitulation 54 5.2 Concluding remarks 55 5.3 Implications 57 5.4 Limitations of the study 60 5.5 Suggestions for further study 61 REFERENCES 62 APPENDIX 1: List of References in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” I APPENDIX 2: List of Conjunction in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” VI APPENDIX 3: List of substitution in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” IX APPENDIX 4: List of ellipsis in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” X APPENDIX 5: List of reiteration in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” XI APPENDIX 6: List of collocation in the reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” XIX APPENDIX 7: Exercises for teaching cohesive devices XXX APPENDIX 8: Answer keys for suggested exercises XXXIX v ABSTRACT This research focuses on the types and the functions of cohesive devices which are used in the reading tests in the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” written by Hoàng Văn Vân, et al (2016) Cohesive devices are made up of reference, substitution, ellipsis, conjunction, reiteration and collocation The reason for taking the textbook is because during the teaching process, the researcher comes to realize that Students have a tendency to misinterpret ideas conveyed in the texts due to lack of grammatical and lexical knowledge of English language Furthermore, the textbook ‘Tiếng Anh 10’ is first used to teach at the researcher’s school this year Therefore, the researcher wants to have an overall viewpoint on cohesive devices used in the book and then makes some suggestions for teaching and learning English with the book effectively The data sources are taken from ten reading tests in the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” In the study, the descriptive, statistical and analytical methods are used to dealt with the data, based on Halliday & Hasan’s (1976) theory of cohesion After analyzing the data, the author found out that the occurrence frequency of both lexical and grammatical cohesive devices almost have the equal percentage of 51.9% and 48.1% respectively Moreover, among six types of cohesive devices, reference, conjunction, reiteration and collocation have a relatively high frequency of occurrence On the other hand, substitution and ellipsis are found in a small number in these ten reading texts Based on the findings, some suggestions are made for the teaching and learning of reading skill in the textbook for grade 10 students vi LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The percentage of different types of anaphoric reference 23 Table 2: The percentage of different types of cataphoric reference 26 Table 3: The percentage of different types of exophoric reference 28 Table 4: The percentage of different types of reference 29 Table 5: The percentage of different types of conjunction 31 Table 6: The percentage of different types of substitution 36 Table 7: The percentage of different types of Ellipsis 37 Table 8: The percentage of different types of Grammatical cohesive devices .41 Table 9: The percentage of different types of reiteration 43 Table 10 The percentage of different types of collocation 47 Table 11: The percentage of different patterns of lexical collocation 48 Table 12: The percentage of different patterns of grammatical collocation 49 Table 13: The percentage of different types of lexical cohesive devices 51 vii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: The percentage of different types of reference 30 Chart 2: The percentage of different types of conjunction 31 Chart 3: The percentage of different types of substitution 36 Chart 4: The percentage of different types of ellipsis 38 Chart 5: The percentage of different types of Grammatical cohesive devices 41 Chart 6: The percentage of different types of reiteration 43 Chart 7: The percentage of different types of collocation 47 Chart 8: The percentage of different types of lexical cohesive devices 51 Chart 9: The percentage of different types of cohesive devices 52 viii Some diseases Quant + N + Most people Quant + N + Types of N + Prep Air pollution N+N + Soil pollution N+N + Water pollution N+N + Noise pollution N+N + Results from V + Prep Fossil fuels N+N + Motor vehicles N+N + Acid rain N+N + Damages water, soil, and V+N + + + vegetation Contributes to V + Prep Greenhouse effect N+N Lead to V + Prep Environmental problems Adj + N + Global warming Adj + N + Polar ice melting Adj + N + Sea levels N+N + Loss of land N+N + Inorganic waste Adj + N + In the ground Prep + N Chemical fertilizers Adj + N In agriculture Prep + N Long-term effects Adj + N + Contaminated vegetation Adj + N + Soil fertility N+N + Dumping pollutants V+N + In rivers Prep + N Rubbish blockages N+N XXVII + + + + + + + + Cause pollution V+N + Loud and annoying sounds Adj + N + Jet engines N+N + Factory machinery N+N + Musical instruments Adj + N + Cause stress and psychological V+N + and health problems Increased heart rate Adj + N + Hearing damage Adj + N + Increasingly serious Adv + Adj + For the sake of Prep + N 10 Mass tourism N+N 10 Contributed to V + Prep 10 Destruction of the environment N+N + 10 A lot of waste Quant + N + 10 Is discharged into V + Prep 10 Solve this problem V+N + 10 Enjoying nature V+N + 10 Relatively new Adv + Adj + 10 Is growing rapidly V + Adv + 10 Goes back to V + Adv + 10 Local governments Adj + N + 10 National parks Adj + N + 10 Species of fauna and flora N+N + 10 Tour guides N+N + 10 Travel brochures Adj + N + 10 Educate tourists V+N + 10 The protection of the environment N+N + 10 Local families Adj + N + 10 Ecotourism destinations N+N + 10 Beautiful beaches Adj + N + XXVIII + + + + 10 Rain forests N+N + 10 Exciting volcanoes Adj + N + 10 Exotic wildlife Adj + N + 10 Way of life N+N + 10 Entertain tourists V+N + 10 Usual foods Adj + N + 10 Suit their tastes V+N + 10 Adapt dances V+N + 10 Suit their needs V+N + XXIX APPENDIX EXERCISES FOR TEACHING COHESIVE DEVICES REFERENCE EXERCISES Exercise 1: Name the references numbered in the passage (The first one has been done for you as an example) According to psychologists, most people not realise the (1) enormous benefits that come to a family when husbands and children share some housework Children who share the (2) housework with their (3) mums and dads better (4) at school, become more sociable (5), and have better (6) relationships with their (7) teachers and friends They (8) learn good skills, are more responsible (9), and tend to be overall good people When men share the (10) housework, they tend to have better (11) relationships with their (12) wives Women often feel happy when they (13) see their (14) husbands doing housework because it (15) says, ‘He (16) cares about me (17) and he (18) doesn’t want to put all of the housework on me (19).’ Women whose husbands not contribute to the household chores are more vulnerable (20) to illness and tend to think more (21) about divorce (unit 1, page 9, Tiếng Anh 10) (1) (8) _ (15) _ (2) _ (9) _ (16) _ (3) _ (10) _ (17) _ (4) _ (11) _ (18) _ (5) _ (12) _ (19) _ (6) _ (13) _ (20) _ (7) _ (14) _ (21) _ Definite article XXX Exercise 2: Underline the reference words in the passage (The first one has been done for you as an example) One way is to download free digital lessons and put them in your media player or other similar mobile devices Then you can listen and study anywhere because these devices are portable Many devices offer apps which use voice recognition technology This technology allows the use of speaking electronic dictionaries You can see words on the screen and hear them spoken Other devices may have word lists, exercises, tests and games (unit 8, page 29, “Tiếng Anh 10”) Exercise 3: Reading the passage and then choose the correct answers (The first one has been done for you as an example) People often use the natural world as inspiration for their inventions By observing animals and plants, they design new products to serve humans Here are some examples Animals can many things humans cannot, like flying or staying underwater for a long time The aeroplane, with its wings and shape imitating those of a bird, is one of the greatest inventions in our history Thanks to it, people can travel long distances in the air This has helped to develop trade and tourism The submarine, which can travel underwater, imitates a dolphin’s shape Submarines are very useful for scientists to learn about the undersea world (unit 5, page 51, “Tiếng Anh 10”) Question 1: What does “they” in line refer to? A inventions B animals and plants C people Question 1: What does “it” in line refer to? A bird B aeroplane XXXI C shape Exercise 4: Underline all pronouns and draw lines to join these pronouns with their references (The two ones has been done for you as examples) Many people who volunteer think that they are very fortunate to live the way they and want to give something back to society, as a way of balancing the scales Many people choose to volunteer because of the personal benefits that volunteering has on their character Indeed, a volunteer often says that the experience has made him or her a better person In most cases, volunteers also become more concerned and aware of the problems facing the world and many feel that they were ignorant or narrow-minded before Exercise 5: Fill in the blanks with appropriate references (The first one has been done for you as examples) She_ often reads comics (Ann) is listening to the radio in his room (Tom) is green (the apple) are on the opposite wall (the pictures) is running after the cat over there (the dog) are playing football in the schoolyard now (my sister and I) are blossoming in the garden (the sunflowers) is fixing his grandfather’s old car (John) comes from London (Liza) XXXII CONJUNCTION EXERCISES Exercise 6: Name the conjunctions underlined in the sentences (The first one has been done for you as examples) Women whose husbands not contribute to the household chores are more vulnerable to illness and tend to think more about divorce I think ecotourism can help to solve this problem because it is sustainable and done for the purpose of enjoying nature Some people may argue that being superstitious has no place in today’s society However, superstitions have existed in all human societies throughout history A lot of Vietnamese people choose a favorable date for occasions such as weddings, funerals, or house moving days Originally, there were 365 acupoints, but this has increased to more than 2000 nowadays Care is also needed in acupuncture so that inner body parts are not touched by the needles As for traditional beliefs, Vietnamese people strongly believe in life after death Although there are unanswered questions, acupuncture appears to work and: additive conjunction But: because: so that: However: after: such as: Although: XXXIII Exercise 7: Choose the correct conjunctions in the sentences (The first one has been done for you as examples) Give me something to eat (and / so / but / or else ) I will die of hunger My grandfather had died (before / because / although / yet) I was born Velcro was invented (before / since / while / after) a Swiss engineer observed how the seeds of a plant clung to his clothing Success comes to those who have enough courage (but / or /and / so) will They stay with local families (because of / instead of / despite / thanks to) hotels and get to know their culture and lifestyle Exercise 8: Using the given conjunctions to fill in the sentences (The first one has been done for you as examples) when since namely Even though while Despite Thanks to and There are four types of pollution, namely, air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution and noise pollution tourists come here, there are more jobs for us, and I can earn more the invention of aeroplane, people can travel long distances in the air its general safety, acupuncture isn’t for everyone she was a marathon runner, she failed the physical test The mother is usually the homemaker the father is the breadwinner By observing animals _ plants, they design new products to serve humans The Idol programme has been on the top ten rating lists of most countries it was first launched in the UK XXXIV Exercise 9: Filling in the blanks with appropriate conjunctions (The first one has been done for you as examples) Pay attention to your work so that / in order that you will not make mistakes _ she wins first place, she will receive a valuable prize I could not get a seat, _ I came quite early My car has a CD player _ a radio Mike wanted to drive to Colorado, _ Ann insisted that they fly Carol doesn’t like to drive, _ she takes the bus everywhere REITERATION EXERCISES Exercise 10: Pay attention to the words / phrases in bold and find out the main idea of the text Environmental pollution is one of the impacts of human activities on the earth It is also one of the biggest problems of the world today The environmental pollution is the cause of some diseases that most people not know about There are four types of pollution, namely, air pollution, soil pollution, water pollution and noise pollution Most of the air pollution results from the burning of fossil fuels, motor vehicles, factories, aircraft and rockets This can cause acid rain which damages water, soil, and vegetation Air pollution also contributes to the greenhouse effect which can lead to a series of environmental problems such as global warming, polar ice melting, rise of sea levels and loss of land Soil pollution is a result of dumping plastic or other inorganic waste in the ground and the overuse of chemical fertilizers in agriculture The long-term effects of soil pollution are contaminated vegetation and the decrease of soil fertility Water pollution is a result of dumping pollutants such as detergents, pesticides, oil, and other chemicals in rivers, which makes the water unclean or contaminated Rubbish blockages in rivers can also cause pollution The XXXV effects of water pollution include the destruction of ecosystem of rivers, lakes and the pollution of groundwater, surface water and seawater Noise pollution is caused by loud and annoying sounds of motor vehicles, railway, aircraft and jet engines, factory machinery and musical instruments It can cause stress and psychological and health problems for humans such as increased heart rate and hearing damage Environmental pollution is becoming an increasingly serious problem or threat that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible, not only for the sake of the environment, but also for the people that live in it Exercise 11: read a text and find words/phrases in the text that have the closest meaning with given words/phrases (The first one has been done for you as examples) Acupuncture is one of the oldest medical treatments in the world It originated in China more than 2,500 years ago The practice of acupuncture is rooted in the idea of promoting harmony between humans and the world around them and a balance between yin and yang Although there are unanswered questions, acupuncture appears to work Scientific studies offer evidence that it can ease pain and treat from simple to complicated ailments (unit 2, page 19, “Tiếng Anh 10”) No Words/phrases in the test Promote Given words/phrases Stimulate Relieve Disease Proof Come from / derive Complex Remedy XXXVI Exercise 12: Read the text and match words/phrases provided in the box with their definitions (The first one has been done for you as examples) People travel a lot more nowadays Mass tourism has contributed to the destruction of the environment More and more hotels are built while forests and beaches are destroyed A lot of waste from hotels and vehicles is also discharged into the water and air I think ecotourism can help to solve this problem because it is sustainable and done for the purpose of enjoying nature Although relatively new, ecotourism is growing rapidly The money from ecotourism goes back to nature How does this happen? Local governments use the money for the preservation of their national parks, and the different species of fauna and flora found there Tour guides and travel brochures educate tourists about the protection of the environment Tourists enjoy the beauty of wildlife without harming it They stay with local families instead of hotels and get to know their culture and lifestyle (unit 10, page 51, “Tiếng Anh 10”) destruction ecotourism waste preservation discharge harm Definitions The act of protecting something it words from being damaged preservation or destroyed To hurt someone or damage something The act of sending out waste liquid or gas The act of destroying something, or the fact of being destroyed Unwanted material of any type is thrown away after use Holidays and travel that involve causing less damage to the environment than usual and that make people aware of the need to protect the environment XXXVII COLLOCATION EXERCISES Exercise 13: match the phrases with their appropriate patterns of collocation (The first one has been done for you as examples) Collocational phrases Types of pattern Answer make an effort a N + N c work very hard b Adj + N Scientific studies c V + N feel happy d V + Adv many people e V + Adj side effects f Adv + Adj increasingly serious g Quant + N Exercise 14: Add prepositions to the words to make meaningful grammatical collocation (The first one has been done for you as examples) lead to _ responsible _ apply _ According _ relate _ 10 contribute _ aware _ 11 Attachment _ critical _ 12 prevent _ dream _ 13 result _ believe _ 14 discharge _ Exercise 15: Rearrange the jumbled words to make meaningful sentences As a young girl / he / dreamt / becoming / a firefighter / always / of she / In / applied / at / a / firefighter’s position / 1977 / for /the Fire Department learning / English / will make /and /more effective / New technology / faster in / originated / more than / China /2,500 years /Acupuncture / ago Many / mobile devices/ cameras / work / electronic / as / recorders /can / or XXXVIII APPENDIX ANSWER KEYS FOR SUGGESTED EXERCISES Exercise 1: Name the references numbered in the passage (1) Definite article (9) comparative adjective (17) Personal pronoun (2) Definite article (10) Definite article (18) Personal pronoun (3) personal determiner (11) comparative adjective (19) Personal pronoun (4) comparative adverb (12) personal determiner (20) comparative adjective (5) comparative adjective (13) Personal pronoun (21) comparative adverb (6) comparative adjective (14) personal determiner (7) personal determiner (15) Personal pronoun (8) Personal pronoun (16) Personal pronoun Exercise 2: Underline the reference words in the passage Them This Your The Other You Similar The You Them These Other Exercise 3: Reading the passage and then choose the correct answers They  people  aeroplane It Exercise 4: Underline all pronouns and draw lines to join these pronouns with their references they  many people him /her  volunteer they  volunteers Exercise 5: Fill in the blanks with appropriate references She He It They We They He She Exercise 6: Name the conjunctions underlined in the sentences And : additive conjunction XXXIX It Because : causal conjunction However : adversative conjunction Such as : additive conjunction But : adversative conjunction So that : causal conjunction After : temporal conjunction Although : adversative conjunction Exercise 7: Choose the correct conjunctions in the sentences or else Before after And instead of Exercise 8: Using the given conjunctions to fill in the sentences namely When Thanks to Despite Even though While And since Exercise 9: Filling in the blanks with appropriate conjunctions so that / in order that If / provided / providing / supposing / as long as although / though / even though / … and but / whereas so Exercise 10: Pay attention to the words / phrases in bold and find out the main idea of the text Main idea: Environment pollution XL Exercise 11: read a text and find words/phrases in the text that have the closest meaning with given words/phrases Promote Ease Ailment Originate Complicated Treatment Evidence Exercise 12: Read the text and match words/phrases provided in the box with their definitions preservation Harm Discharge Destruction Waste Ecotourism Exercise 13: match the phrases with their appropriate patterns of collocation c d b g a f e Exercise 14: Add prepositions to the words to make meaningful grammatical collocation lead to apply to/for relate to aware of critical of dream of believe in responsible for According to 10 contribute to 11 Attachment to 12 prevent from 13 result in/from 14 discharge into Exercise 15: Rearrange the jumbled words to make meaningful sentences As a young girl, Brenda Berkman always dreamt of becoming a firefighter, In 1977, she applied for a firefighter’s position at the New York City Fire Department New technology will make learning English faster and more effective Acupuncture originated in China more than 2,500 years ago Many electronic mobile devices can work as recorders or cameras XLI ... ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Đức Hòa AN ANALYSIS OF COHESIVE DEVICES IN READING TEXTS IN TEXTBOOK “TIẾNG ANH 10” AT AN UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL IN BINH THUAN PROVINCE. .. List of ellipsis in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” X APPENDIX 5: List of reiteration in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” XI APPENDIX 6: List of collocation in the reading texts in “Tiếng Anh. .. List of References in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” I APPENDIX 2: List of Conjunction in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10” VI APPENDIX 3: List of substitution in reading texts in “Tiếng Anh 10”