Teacher’s attitudes towards and practice in cognitive reading strategies instruction

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES -    - BÙI THỊ VÂN ANH TEACHER’S ATTITUDES TOWARDS AND PRACTICE IN COGNITIVE READING STRATEGIES INSTRUCTION (Nhận thức thực tiễn giáo viên chiến lược dạy đọc hiểu theo nhận thức) M A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Language Teaching Methodology Code: 601410 HANOI - 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages i ii iii iv vii viii Declaration Acknowledgements Abstract Table of contents List of Tables, Figures List of Abbreviations PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Aims and Objectives of the study Research questions Method of the Study Scope of the study Significance of the Study Organization of the thesis 3 4 PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE : LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Reading and reading models 1.2 Reading strategies 1.2.1 Definition of reading strategy 1.2.2 Reading strategies and reading comprehension 1.2.3 Cognitive strategies and metacognitive strategies 1.3 Teacher‟s beliefs and classroom practice 1.4 Reading strategy instruction 1.5 Review of related studies on teacher‟s reading strategy instruction 1.6 Summary CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 7 8 12 13 14 16 Context of the study Participants Research design Data collection instruments 17 17 18 18 iv 2.5 Data collection procedure 2.6 Data analysis procedure 2.7 Summary CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 21 22 23 3.1 Teachers‟ beliefs about cognitive reading strategies 3.2 Correspondence between teachers' beliefs and their self-reported instructional practices 3.3 Cognitive reading strategies teachers actually instruct at classrooms 3.4 Factors affecting teacher‟s instructional practice of cognitive reading strategies 3.5 Summary 24 28 31 35 38 PART III: CONCLUSION Summary of the main findings Pedagogical Implications Limitations of the study Suggestions for further study 39 41 44 44 REFERENCES 46 APPENDICES Appendix A: Questionnaire on Reading Strategies Appendix B: Observation Checklist Appendix C: Semi-structured Interview Questions Appendix D: Paired Sample Correlations Appendix E: Suggested Activities for Some Strategies v I IV V VI VII LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Pages Figure 3.1 Teachers‟ familiarity with the concept of reading 24 strategies Figure 3.2 Teachers‟ reasons for teaching reading strategies at class 25 Table 3.1 Teachers‟ beliefs about the importance of instructing pre- 26 reading strategies in reading comprehension Table 3.2 Teachers‟ beliefs about the importance of instructing 27 while-reading strategies in reading comprehension Table 3.3 Teachers‟ beliefs about the importance of instructing 28 post-reading strategies in reading comprehension Table 3.4 Teachers‟ beliefs and self-reported practices on reading 29 strategies Table 3.5 Most-instructed strategies in comparison with rank of 30 importance Table 3.6 Teachers‟ actual instruction of reading strategies 32 Table 3.7 Correlation between age and instruction of reading 35 strategies Table 3.8 Correlation between qualification and instruction of 36 reading strategies Table 3.9 Correlation between years of experience and instruction of reading strategies vi 36 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LVT Luong Van Tuy EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language L1 First Language L2 Second Language MOET Ministry of Education and Training M Means N Number of Cases or Subjects of the study p Probability of chance (indicator of significance) SD Standard Deviation SPSS Statistic Package for Social Science vii PART I: INTRODUCTION Rationale Reading is considered one of the most important skills which language learners should acquire, particularly as it helps to build vocabulary and leads to lifelong learning and improvement in second language skills (Bernhardt, 1991 as cited in Zhang & Guo, 2005, p 111) In Vietnam, students have historically studied English as a foreign language mainly through reading in classroom settings In most cases, their teachers are also users of English as an additional language, with all sharing Vietnamese as their mother tongue In the review of the current situation and issues of teaching English in Vietnam, Hoang (2010) stated that until recently, English textbooks in Vietnam were mainly grammar-based, taking the view that grammar could be taught systematically as a set of rules to be mastered and transferred by the learner into proficient language use (p 10) In other words, the grammar-translation method used to be widely accepted in which teachers tended to focus on teaching language points such as grammar and vocabulary However, in 2007, the Vietnamese government introduced into high schools a new standard curriculum which has required teachers to develop the students‟ ability to use language appropriately by integrating language teaching with non-linguistic teaching Examples of non-linguistic teaching consist of affective teaching, strategy teaching and inter-cultural awareness Approaches within the classroom began to shift from the predominately grammartranslation method to more communicative approaches which encourage students‟ interaction The innovative change in language approaches inclusively affects the teaching and learning of reading comprehension In reading lessons, rather than traditionally focus on the decoding of words and sentences, teachers are strongly recommended to foster both students‟ interpretive and productive skills, as well as to provide them with instruction on reading strategies It is proved by over 500 studies in the last twenty five years that reading strategy instruction greatly improves students‟ reading comprehension (Wellingham, 2007, p 39) In a lesson of reading strategy instruction, teachers guide the use of reading strategies, showing students how to utilize them in order to cope with texts in an unfamiliar language (Eskey, 1988) Helping students develop good reading strategies in particular and language learning strategies in general is considered to be the appreciated characteristics of a good language teacher (Lessard, 1997, p 3) Research in second language reading instruction in the last decades of the 1990‟s tended to focus on general explanations and descriptions of reading strategies employed by competent and incompetent readers Less attention was given to the actual implementation of reading strategies instruction from a teaching perspective as well as teachers‟ beliefs of the importance of these strategies (Hua & Kim, 2008) Furthermore, Borg (2003, 2006) explores that significant contributions to understanding the relationship between teachers‟ beliefs and their classroom practices of reading instruction have been primarily made in first language education contexts whereas there has been a little amount of research in the area of second and foreign language (cited in Kuzborska, 2011, p 103) Chou (2008) also contends this gap results into an unclear picture of teachers‟ beliefs construct in teaching reading in EFL contexts (p 192) Therefore, undeniably, it is essential to conduct more research on exploring teachers‟ beliefs and their actual instructional practices regarding reading strategies With the aim to contribute some “meaningful pieces” to the unclear picture, this survey research was carried out on the topic given, namely teacher‟s attitudes towards and practices in cognitive reading strategies instruction Aims and Objectives of the study The main aim of this study was to explore teacher‟s attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study were set as follows:  To find out beliefs teachers hold about cognitive reading strategies  To investigate to what extent teachers‟ beliefs correspond to their selfreported instructional practices  To examine which cognitive reading strategies teachers actually instruct at classrooms  To reveal factors affecting the teachers‟ instruction of cognitive reading strategies Research questions Based on the theoretical framework proposed, the researcher put forward the following research questions: What beliefs teachers hold about cognitive reading strategies? To what extent teachers' beliefs correspond to their self-reported instructional practices? Which cognitive reading strategies teachers actually instruct at classrooms? What factors affect teachers‟ instructional practice of cognitive reading strategies? Method of the study Because the purpose of the study was to reveal teachers‟ beliefs and the correspondence with their classroom practice, the survey research was adopted in the study with data collection instruments of questionnaires, observations, and interviews All ten English teachers of the targeted school were asked to express their opinions on the importance and practice of teaching cognitive reading strategies through questionnaires Later, in order to obtain direct information on actual teaching practices, each teacher was observed in three 45-minute lessons followed by semi-structured interviews Scope of the study The study was conducted to explore teacher‟s attitudes towards and practices in instructing cognitive reading strategies for mainstream students at a high school named Luong Van Tuy Gifted High School in Ninh Binh Province Therefore, no intention was made to generalize the findings Significance of the study The study is strongly hoped to provide teachers in the targeted school with useful insights into the situation of teaching cognitive reading strategies based on which some implications are made for more efficient reading comprehension lessons Although no generalization is intended, the findings of the study could inform other teachers of the effectiveness of reading strategies instruction on students‟ reading comprehension Organization of the thesis The thesis is organized in three parts Part I is The Introduction which presents the rationale for the research topic, its aims, scope, significance, as well as research methods Part II is The Development which consists of three chapters Chapter one provides a theoretical framework for the study, including definitions and types of reading, issues in teaching reading skills and reading strategies, teachers‟ beliefs and their classroom practices Chapter reports the methodology used in the research including research questions, participants, instruments and the procedures for data collection and analysis Chapter presents detailed discussion of the data given by questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews Part III is The Conclusion which discusses the major findings and limitations of the research, draws pedagogical implications and provides some suggestions for further study PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Reading and reading models Reading as a research area is an extremely large and complex field about which much has been written Substantial efforts to define and explain the process of reading have brought about various models and views of reading Through a very comprehensive review of many reading models, Barnett (1988) categorizes reading models into three basic types, namely “top-down”, “bottom-up”, and “interactive” models Bottom-up model The bottom-up model suggests that the meaning of the text is contained only in the text itself The reader merely receives information from the printed text, building up meaning by decoding the symbols (letters), words, phrases and sentences serially In this model, reading was viewed as the process of meaning interpretation in which the language is translated from one form of symbolic representation to another Therefore, the goals of the bottom-up model are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate The term of „text-based‟ is frequently used for this type of model The introduction of bottom-up model has provided justifications for the reading processes of poor or beginning readers who depend substantially on lower-level processing (Hassan, 1999) However, the notable limitation of the model is the inflexibility of the representation which, on the whole, is serial and linear As a result, the reader‟s creativity and ability to move from lower level processing to higher level processing and vice versa are not depicted (Rayner and Pollastek, 1989, p 477) Yigiter, K., Sariỗoban, A., & Gürses, T (2005) Reading strategies employed by ELT learners at the advanced level The Reading Matrix, 5(1), 124-139 Yurdaisik, A (2007) Teachers’ views about and approaches to reading instruction and reading strategies MA Thesis ÇUKUROVA University Retrieved 20th July 2012 from http://www.mitosweb.com/browse/5007/6488.pdf Zhang, L & Wu, A (2009) Chinese senior high school EFL students‟ metacognitive awareness and reading-strategy use Reading in a Foreign Language, 21(1), 37 -59 Zhang, X B., & Guo, S L (2005) The role of background knowledge in reading teaching Teaching English in China - CELEA Journal, 28(4), 111-116 50 □ To have students be aware of the language they are learning APPENDIX A □ To improve their enjoyment of the texts Questionnaire on Reading Strategies □ To save time while reading This questionnaire is designed to examine EFL teachers' attitudes □ To prepare students for the tests towards and practice in cognitive reading strategies instruction □ To enhance autonomy Please answer all of the questions as best as you can Your answers □ Others will be kept confidential Thank you for your cooperation Section I: Demographic background Age □ 20-29 □ 30-39 □ 40-49 Highest English qualification □ BA □ MA □ Ph.D Number of years teaching English □ less than years □ 5-9 years □ 10-20 years Section II: General attitudes towards teaching reading strategies How familiar are you with the concept of reading strategies? Please put a tick (v) in the appropriate box □ Very □ Somewhat □ Slightly □ Not at all What are your reasons for teaching reading strategies in class? (Please (v) tick all that apply)To help students understand texts better □ To develop sub-skills for developing overall reading skills I □ 50+ □ more than 20 years Section III: The importance of instructing cognitive reading strategies in the language classroom Circle only one option for each item Strongly Reading strategies disagree Disagree Not sure Agree Strongly agree 16 Activating already-known knowledge about the topic (eg Brainstorming) 17 Previewing the text (eg reading the title and subtitle, illustrations/pictures) 18 Predicting (eg the probable meaning of the text, the following paragraph, etc.) 5 20 Skimming to get the overall meaning of the text 21 Scanning to find specific information 22 Using context to guess meaning of unknown words 23 Taking notes or marking text (eg underlining, highlighting key words, phrases) 24 Making inferences 25 Mapping the text 26 Questioning while reading the text 27 Summarizing 28 Evaluating (eg express opinions, comment on the text) 29 Drawing conclusions 30 Extending comprehension in critical and creative ways in follow-up activities 19 Identifying the text structure (eg compare & contrast, problem-solution, causeeffect, chronological, sequence, etc.) Besides 15 strategies above, you find any other reading strategies important to be taught to students? If yes, please specify and state reasons ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Section IV: The practice of teaching cognitive reading strategies at classroom While answering the questions in this part, please consider what you actually in reading lessons Circle only one option for each item II Hardly ever Seldom Sometimes Often Almost always Activating already-known knowledge about the topic (eg Brainstorming) Previewing the text (eg reading the title and subtitle, illustrations/pictures) Predicting (eg the probable meaning of the text, the following paragraph, etc.) 5 Skimming to get the overall meaning of the text Scanning to find specific information Using context to guess meaning of unknown words 5 Making inferences 10 Mapping the text 11 Questioning while reading the text 12 Summarizing 13 Evaluating (eg express opinions, comment on the text) 14 Drawing conclusions 15 Extending comprehension in critical and creative ways in follow-up activities Reading strategies Identifying the text structure (eg compare & contrast, problem-solution, cause-effect, chronological, sequence, etc.) Taking notes or marking text (eg underlining, highlighting key words, phrases) Besides 15 strategies above, you teach any other reading strategies to students? If yes, please specify and state reasons III APPENDIX B Observation Checklist of Cognitive Reading Strategies Unit: _ Teacher: Content: Grade level: _ Reading strategies 31 Activating already-known knowledge about the topic (eg Brainstorming) 32 Previewing the text (eg reading the title and subtitle, illustrations/pictures) 33 Predicting (eg the probable meaning of the text, the following paragraph, etc.) 34 Identifying the text structure (eg compare & contrast, problemsolution, cause-effect, chronological, sequence, etc.) 35 Skimming to get the overall meaning of the text 36 Scanning to find specific information 37 Using context to guess meaning of unknown words 38 Taking notes or marking text (eg underlining, highlighting key words, phrases) 39 Making inferences 40 Mapping the text 41 Questioning while reading the text 42 Summarizing 43 Evaluating (eg express opinions, comment on the text) 44 Drawing conclusions 45 Extending comprehension in critical and creative ways in follow-up activities IV Check if observed APPENDIX C SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS (Vietnamese version) Mong cô chia sẻ kinh nghiệm dạy đọc hiểu cô Cô cho biết cách cô dạy đọc hiểu cho học sinh lớp Cô hiểu thủ thuật đọc hiểu? Cơ có thường dạy học sinh thủ thuật đọc hiểu không? Ðấy thủ thuật nào? Tại sao? Qua phiếu điều tra quan sát lớp học, thày cô hay hướng dẫn học sinh vài kĩ đọc hiểu thường xun kĩ khác Cơ cho biết lí có yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến lựa chọn khơng? Khi dạy cho học sinh thủ thuật đó, thấy hiệu nào? V APPENDIX D Paired Samples Correlations Pair Self-reported & actual practice activating already-known knowledge about the topic N Correlation Sig 10 667 035* previewing the text by reading the title and subtitle, illustrations/pictures 10 408 242 Pair make prediction about the probable meaning of the text 10 -.034 926 Pair finding the text structure 10 816 004* Pair skimming to get the overall meaning of the text 10 802 005* Pair scanning to find specific information 10 816 004* Pair using context to guess meaning of unknown words 10 802 005* Pair taking notes or marking text 10 645 044* Pair meaning inferences 10 677 032* Pair 10 using a concept map to recognize the relation among ideas 10 364 302 Pair 11 asking comprehension questions about the text 10 748 013* Pair 12 summarizing 10 559 093 Pair 13 evaluating (express opinions, comments on the text) 10 429 217 Pair 14 drawing conclusions 10 667 035* Pair 15 extend comprehension in critical and creative ways in follow-up activities 10 681 030* Pair * p < 05 VI APPENDIX E SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR PREDICTING STRATEGY Guisinger, P (2012) Predicting Retrieved August 17th, 2012 from http://www.ohiorc.org/adlit/strategy/strategy_each.aspx?id=000009 Around the Room In this interactive activity, students use their background knowledge to make predictions about what they are going to read Divide the students into groups Give each student one index card on which you have written a different phrase or sentence from the textbook passage the students are about to read Ask the students to circulate around the room and read their cards to as many of their classmates as possible but not to discuss them After five minutes, have them return to their home group and jointly write a prediction about what they think the passage will discuss Call on each group to read its prediction and explain the group‟s reasoning VII Three-Column Prediction List When? Where? Before reading, what you think this will be about? What clues did you use? After reading, how would you change your prediction? VIII Who? What? SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR MAKING INFERENCES STRATEGY A Read the text of Unit 3, English 10 Look at these statements about Marie Curie What evidence is there in the texts to support the statements? The first one has been done for you as an example Marie Curie was not French She went to Paris to study Her father was a scientist Her family was not rich Marie excelled at many scientific subjects The School of Physics was a member of the Sorbonne The Sorbonne was a university Many men had received PhD before Marie Pierre Curie taught in Sorbonne B What else can you infer about Marie Curie and her life from the text? Reading text Marie Curie was born on November 7th, 1867 She received general education in local schools and some scientific training from her father As a brilliant and mature student, Marie harbored the dream of a scientific career, which was impossible for a woman at that time To save money for a study tour abroad, she had to work as a private tutor, and her studies were interrupted Finally in 1891, Marie, with very little money to live on, went to Paris to realize her dream at the Sorbonne In spite of her difficult living conditions, she worked extremely hard She earned a degree in Physics with flying colors and went on to take IX another degree in Mathematics She met Pierre Curie and the School of Physics in 1894 and a year later, they got married From then on, they worked together on their research In 1903, Marie became the first woman to receive a PhD from the Sorbonne After the tragic death of Pierre Curie in 1906, she took up the position which her husband had obtained at the Sorbonne Thus, she was the first woman in France to be a university professor Soon after, she was awarded a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for determining the atomic weight of radium But her real joy was “easing human suffering” The founding of the Radium Institute in 1914 made her humanitarian wish come true X SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR MAPPING THE TEXT Students’ handout Mapping the text (Unit 4, English 11) Find words in the text to fill in the map below VOLUNTEER WORK Participants Activities Who are they? …………… …… Who are they? 2.……… ……… 3.1 ………………… ……… 3.2 Where & what volunteers do? .………… …… .…………… ……… Who are they? ……………… ……… 5.1 ………………… ……… 4.1 ………………… … 4.2 ………………… ………………… 5.2 ……… … …………………… 3.3 4.3 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR MAPPING THE……… TEXT ………………… ………………… ………… …… XI ……………… ……… 6.1 …………… …………… …… Suggested answers Mapping the text (Unit 4, English 11) VOLUNTEER WORK Participants Activities Who are they? High school Who are they? College students 3.1 Read books 3.2 Play games 3.3 Listen to problems Where & what volunteers do? In hospital In homes of sick, old people 4.1 Do shopping Who are they? In orphanages 5.1 Take boys to baseball games 4.2 Mow lawns 4.3 Clean up houses 5.2 Help to get to know things like from fathers TEMPLATE FOR EVALUATING & DRAWING CONCLUSIONS XII In mountainous areas 6.1 Provide education for children The text says… I think… Therefore… EVALUATING & DRAWING CONCLUSIONS Sample Response Unit (English 10) The text says her students are disabled I think this will cause great difficulties for her A TEACHER INXIII A SPECIAL CLASS Like other teacher, Pham Thu Thuy enjoys her teaching job However, her class is different from other classes The twenty-five children, who are learning how to read and write in The text says children‟s families are XIV