An investigation into the relationship between reading strategies and reading achievements

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* HOÀNG THỊ HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN READING STRATEGIES AND READING ACHIEVEMENTS (Điều tra mối quan hệ chiến lƣợc đọc hiểu kết đọc hiểu) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Hanoi – 2019 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* HOÀNG THỊ HƢƠNG AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN READING STRATEGIES AND READING ACHIEVEMENTS (Điều tra mối quan hệ chiến lƣợc đọc hiểu kết đọc hiểu) M.A MINOR THESIS (Type I) Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Prof Hoàng Văn Vân Hanoi - 2019 DECLARATION I, Hoàng Thi Hương, hereby certify that the thesis ―An investigation into the Relationship between Reading Strategies and Reading Achievements" is the result of my own research and efforts I also declare that the material in this paper has not been submitted for any other purpose before Hanoi, 2019 Signature Hoàng Thị Hƣơng i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude and appreciation to my supervisor Prof Hoàng Văn Vân for his great support, guidance and helpful comments Without his precious guidance, this thesis could not have been completed Besides, I would like to thank all the lecturers and staff of faculty of Postgraduate studies for their lessons and help I also acknowledge the cooperation of lecturers and third-year students at Hanoi Pedagogical University They have been always willing to cooperate in every data collection procedure Last but not least, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family and friends for providing me with support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of fulfilling this thesis ii ABSTRACT The study was an attempt to find out the frequency of reading strategy use among students at Hanoi Pedagogical University II It also tried to figure out whether there is possible relationship between reading strategies use and reading achievements Seventy-two students participated in the study and reading strategy questionnaires were used to collect the required data The data were analyzed through SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) to determine the frequency of strategies employed by the learners and Pearson coefficient correlation was used to discover the association between reading strategy use and reading comprehension achievement Independent sample t-test was also employed to find out how the use of strategies varied according to readers‘ proficiency The results revealed that learners can be categorized as medium strategy users and the use of reading strategies had a strong positive correlation with reading comprehension achievements Also, there are significant differences exist between high-proficiency and low-proficiency in the use of reading strategies iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vii LIST OF FIGURE viii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Method of the study 1.5 Significance of the study .3 1.6 Scope of the study 1.7 Design of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Reading comprehension .5 2.2.1 The concept of reading and reading comprehension 2.2.1.1 The concept of reading 2.2.1.2 Reading comprehension .5 2.1.2 2.2 Models of reading comprehension Reading strategies iv 2.2.1 Definition of reading strategies 2.2.2 Classification of reading strategies 12 2.3 Previous related studies 14 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 17 3.1 Participants 17 3.2 Settings of the study 17 3.3 Data collection instruments 17 3.3.1 Questionnaires 18 3.3.2 Reading scores 20 3.4 Data collection process 22 3.5 Data analysis procedures 22 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 4.1 Research question 1: What is the frequency of reading strategies used by students when they read English academic materials? 25 4.1.1 The most frequently used strategies 26 4.1.2 The least frequently used strategies 27 4.1.3 Summary 27 4.2 Research question 2: To what extent is there the relationship between reading strategies and reading achievements? 28 4.2.1 Correlation between reading strategies use and reading comprehension achievements 28 4.2.2 Correlation between sub-strategies and the reading achievements 29 4.2.3 Summary 30 4.3 Research question 3: Are there any differences between higher-proficiency students and lower-proficiency students in terms of reading strategy use in their academic study? 30 v 4.3.1 Differences between high-proficiency and low-proficiency readers in reading strategies use 31 4.3.2 Differences between high-proficiency and low-proficiency readers in reading sub-strategies use 32 4.3.2.1 Differences in the use of Global reading strategies 33 4.3.2.2 Differences in the use of Problem solving reading strategies 35 4.3.2.3 Differences in the use of Support reading strategies 36 4.4 Summary .37 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS .38 5.1 Recapitulation of major findings 38 5.2 Implications 39 5.2.1 For learners 39 5.2.2 For teachers 40 5.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies 41 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES I APPENDIX 1: I APPENDIX 2: IV APPENDIX 3: VII vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS HPU2: Hanoi Pedagogical University GLOB: Global reading strategies PROB: Problem solving reading strategies SUP: Support reading strategies SILL: A strategy Inventory for Language Learning SORS: Survey of Reading Strategies SPSS: Statistical Package for Social Science EFL: English as a foreign language VSTEP: Vietnamese Standardised Test of English Proficiency vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Background of participants 17 Table 2: The questionnaire (adopted from Kouider Mokhtari and Ravi Sheorey, 2002) 20 Table 3: Score converter of VSTEP 21 Table 4: Range of students‘ achievements 21 Table 5: The frequency of reading strategies use (Oxford, 1990) 23 Table 6: Interpreting the correlation coefficient (Cohen, Manion, & Marrison, 2007) 24 Table 7: Students‘ mean frequencies of using all strategies and each category of strategies 25 Table 8: The most frequently and least frequently used strategies 26 Table 9: The least frequently and least frequently used strategies 27 Table 10: Correlation between reading strategies use and reading comprehension achievements .28 Table 11: Correlation between sub-strategies and reading comprehension achievements .29 Table 12: Frequency distribution of reading strategies used by high-proficiency readers low-proficiency readers 31 Table 13: Differences in the use of Global reading strategies 34 Table 14: Differences in the use of Problem solving reading strategies 35 Table 15: Differences in the use of Support reading strategies 36 LIST OF FIGURE Figure: Frequency distribution of sub-strategies 32 viii CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION As stated, the overarching aim of the study is to explore the relationship between reading strategies and reading comprehension achievements of third-year students at HPU2 In this part, the researcher summarizes the findings, points out some implications, limitations and makes suggestions for further study 5.1 Recapitulation of major findings This study has examined the relationship between reading strategies use and reading achievements The following findings are summarized in this study Firstly, the overall frequency of using reading strategies is medium According to the results of this study, the frequency scales of each category of strategies are also moderate, which indicates that students sometimes used reading strategies when they read academic materials Besides, the result of the study reveals that the frequency of using problem solving reading strategies is the highest, followed by support reading strategies and global strategies The strategy of taking an overall view of the text is the most frequently used one, while the strategy of analyzing and evaluating the information in the text is generally not used by the students Secondly, reading strategies are positively correlated to reading achievements and the correlation is strongly significant It was also concluded that the use of reading strategies had a positive and strong correlation with reading comprehension achievements among learners This correlation indicates that the frequent and wide use of strategies influences reading comprehension achievements In other words, students who employ more strategies and use them more frequently would show higher success in reading comprehension Specifically, strategies such as underlining information in the text, think about information in both English and Vietnamese, taking an overall view of the text are significantly positively correlated to reading achievements However, there are two strategies 38 namely reading aloud and translating are negatively correlated to reading achievements Thirdly, high-proficiency readers use reading strategies more frequently than low-proficiency readers The frequency scale of reading strategies used by highproficiency readers is high and medium, while it is medium and low for lowproficiency readers There are only two strategies (reading aloud and translating) which low-proficiency groups used more frequently than high-proficiency ones 5.2 Implications The study investigates the use of reading strategies, the relationship between reading strategies and reading achievements, and the differences in using strategies between two groups of students of third-year students at HPU2 Therefore, the findings of the study help teachers understand the current use of reading strategies among their students Also, some implications can be made to help language learners and teachers know how to use reading strategies effectively 5.2.1 For learners From the results of the study, several recommendations for learners can be revealed The finding of the study shows that reading strategies and reading comprehension have a positive relationship, which means that learners who use reading strategies frequently their comprehension scores increase as well Therefore, students should aware of the importance of using strategies while reading so as to improve reading comprehension Besides, they are suggested using reading strategies frequently to find out which strategies are not employed Especially, for low-proficiency students, there are some certain strategies that they need to employ effectively to deal with academic reading materials For example, identifying key information throughout using typographical features, analyzing and evaluating the information in the text, underlining or circling information are among strategies that low-proficiency need to develop while doing reading tasks 39 5.2.2 For teachers Firstly, it can be concluded from the findings of the study that reading strategies have positive influence on reading proficiency It means that reading strategies are necessary for learners to achieve reading comprehension Teachers should raise their awareness of the importance of teaching these reading strategies in class so as to improve the students‘ reading abilities In order to improve students‘ reading proficiency, teachers should attach much importance to instruct various kinds of reading strategies in the classroom They should not only teach their students the basic knowledge of various subcategories of global reading strategies, problem solving reading strategies and support reading strategies but also teach them how to use them Secondly, high-proficiency readers are reported to use reading strategies more frequently than low-proficiency groups There is a significant difference in the use of reading strategies between the two groups The frequency scale of reading strategies used by high-proficiency readers is higher than low-proficiency ones Therefore, teachers should instruct weak readers on reading strategies more than strong groups They should remind learners about the appropriate reading strategies while reading As Cunningham and Allington (1994) suggest that readers need to use necessary strategies when reading Weak readers can become skilled readers and develop their reading skills if they are provided with appropriate instruction about effective strategies and taught to check their comprehension while reading Lastly, strategies that are preferred by good readers can be advocated to be trained more in the classroom reading activities to help poor readers improve their reading comprehension proficiency For instance, the strategy of translation is usually adopted by low-proficiency readers; however, high-proficiency readers generally not use it It means that translation tends to make reading ineffective Therefore, teachers can tell weak readers not to use translation strategy while doing reading comprehension tests The strategies preferred by strong readers are taking 40 an overall view of the text, identifying key information, note-taking so these reading strategies can be encouraged to train and practice more in classroom reading activities 5.3 Limitations of the study and suggestions for further studies One limitation of this study is that quantitative data in reading strategy use of students came only from questionnaires, which can prevent the researcher from more valid data of reading strategies Therefore, a further study with different data collection instruments such as think-aloud protocols; observations and interviews while students are reading academic texts would be designed Secondly, this research may be subject to the risk of biased results What is more, the differences in students‘ backgrounds such as gender (as the surveyed participants were female-dominated with 65 females versus males), learning styles, years of English learning and cultural context may affect students‘ reading strategies use Also, these shortcomings might reduce the generalizability of the whole sample Therefore, a close investigation of reading strategies use in general teaching and learning contexts other than academic reading context would also be helpful to shed a considerable amount of light to find out how different readers use reading strategies in different contexts In addition, based on the findings of the study on the reading strategies use and reading proficiency, further studies on the differences between male and female in using reading strategies can be conducted Also, researchers may carry out further studies on finding out reading strategies and instructions of reading strategies that help to improve students‘ reading skill Similarly, action researches can be conducted to help instructors find out how effective reading strategies are used to improve reading skill of learners 41 REFERENCES Abbott, M L (2006) ESL reading strategies: Differences in Arabic and 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reading journal articles, etc.) Each statement is followed by five numbers, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, and each number means the following: ‗1‘ means that ‗I never or almost never this‘ ‗2‘ means that ‗I this only occasionally‘ ‗3‘ means that ‗I sometimes this‘ (About 50% of the time.) ‗4‘ means that ‗I usually this‘ ‗5‘ means that ‗I always or almost always this‘ After reading each statement, put an X on the box corresponding to the number (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) which applies to you Note that there are no right or wrong responses to any of the items on this survey Thank you so much IV No 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Statements I have a purpose in mind when I read I take notes while reading to help me understand what I read I think about what I know to help me understand what I read I take an overall view of the text to see what it is about before reading it When text becomes difficult, I read aloud to help me understand what I read I think about whether the content of the text fits my reading purpose I read slowly and carefully to make sure I understand what I am reading I review the text first by noting its characteristics like length and organization I try to get back on track when I lose concentration I underline or circle information in the text to help me remember it I adjust my reading speed according to what I am reading When reading, I decide what to read closely and what to ignore I use reference materials (e.g a dictionary) to help me understand what I read When text becomes difficult, I pay closer attention to what I am reading I use tables, figures, and pictures in text to increase my understanding I stop from time to time and think about what I am V reading 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 I use context clues to help me better understand what I am reading I paraphrase (restate ideas in my own words) to better understand what I read I try to picture or visualize information to help remember what I read I use typographical features like bold face and italics to identify key information I critically analyze and evaluate the information presented in the text I go back and forth in the text to find relationships among ideas in it I check my understanding when I come across new information I try to guess what the content of the text is about when I read When text becomes difficult, I re-read it to increase my understanding I ask myself questions I like to have answered in the text I check to see if my guesses about the text are right or wrong When I read, I guess the meaning of unknown words or phrases When reading, I translate from English into Vietnamese When reading, I think about information in both English and Vietnamese VI APPENDIX 3: Students’ average frequencies of using 30 reading strategies Descriptive statistics Categories Number Mean Level of use GLOB4 72 3.51 High GLOB1 72 3.50 High GLOB3 72 3.49 High PROB9 72 3.22 Medium SUP2 72 3.13 Medium PROB28 72 3.13 Medium PROB7 72 3.10 Medium PROB19 72 3.08 Medium PROB11 72 3.07 Medium SUP10 72 3.04 Medium GLOB12 72 2.99 Medium SUP30 72 2.96 Medium PROB14 72 2.93 Medium PROB16 72 2.93 Medium GLOB23 72 2.92 Medium SUP26 72 2.92 Medium GLOB24 72 2.89 Medium SUP18 72 2.89 Medium SUP5 72 2.88 Medium GLOB27 72 2.88 Medium SUP22 72 2.86 Medium SUP13 72 2.83 Medium PROB25 72 2.79 Medium VII Categories Number Mean Level of use GLOB17 72 2.79 Medium SUP29 72 2.78 Medium GLOB8 72 2.76 Medium GLOB20 72 2.58 Medium GLOB15 72 2.43 Low GLOB6 72 2.42 Low GLOB21 72 2.19 Low Valid N (list wise) 72 VIII