The influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, Hai Phong.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULITY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES    NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY MINH THE INFLUENCE OF READING TOPICS ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO READ AT VINH BAO HIGH SCHOOL, HAI PHONG Ảnh hưởng chủ đề đọc tới động lực học kỹ đọc hiểu học sinh trường THPT Vĩnh Bảo, Hải Phòng M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI - 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULITY OF POST- GRADUATE STUDIES    NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY MINH THE INFLUENCE OF READING TOPICS ON STUDENTS’ MOTIVATION TO READ AT VINH BAO HIGH SCHOOL, HAI PHONG Ảnh hưởng chủ đề đọc tới đô ̣ng lưc̣ học kỹ đọc hiểu học sinh trường THPT Vĩnh Bảo, Hải Phòng M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: Nguyễn Thị Mai Hữu, M.A HANOI - 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION…………………………………………………………….i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ivii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Aims of the study Research questions Scope of the study Significance of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Overview of motivation 1.1.1 Definitions of motivation 1.1.2 Types of motivation 1.1.2.1 Integrative vs instrumental motivation 1.1.2.2 Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation 1.1.2.3 Global, situational and task motivation 1.1.2.4 Resultative motivation 1.1.3 Motivation in second language learning 1.2 Overview of reading 1.2.1 Definitions of reading iv 1.2.2 Types of reading 1.2.2.1 According to manners of reading 1.2.2.2 According to purposes of reading 11 1.2.3 Reading in foreign language learning 12 1.3 Motivation in learning reading 13 1.3.1 The importance of motivation in learning reading 13 1.3.2 Common factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading skill 14 1.3.2.1 The students 14 1.3.2.2 The teachers 15 1.3.2.3 The reading materials 15 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Research methods 17 2.2 Research setting 17 2.2.1 The context of the study 17 2.2.2 Reading sections in TIENG ANH 10, 11 textbook 18 2.3 Participants of the study 19 2.4 Data collection instruments 19 2.4.1 Survey questionnaires for the teachers 19 2.4.2 Survey questionnaires for the students 20 2.4.3 Interview 20 2.5 Data collection procedures 21 2.6 Data analysis procedures 21 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 23 3.1 Students’ attitude towards reading skill 23 3.2 Types of students’ motivation in learning reading 24 v 3.3 The students’ attitudes towards the current reading topics and their preferences for reading topics ………………………………………………26 3.4 The influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read 29 PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………33 Conclusions……………………………………………………………….33 Implications……………………………………………………………….34 Limitations and suggestions for further studies………………………… 35 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………… 36 APPENDIXES……………………………………………………………… I APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS….I APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE TEACHERS V APPENDIX 3: QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW …………………….VIII vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES I LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Students’ reasons for learning reading skill Table 2: Students’ opinions on the current reading topics Table 3: Students’ preferences for the current reading topics in English 10 textbook Table 4: Students’ preferences for the current reading topics in English 11 textbook II LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Student’s attitudes towards the importance of learning English reading Figure 2: Students’ interest in learning reading skill Figure 3: Students’ attitudes towards the role of reading topics to the motivation for learning reading skill Figure 4: Teacher’s attitudes towards the role of reading topics to motivate their students in learning reading skill vii PART A: INTRODUCTION This part presents the rationale for choosing the topic, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope, the methods, the significance and the design of the study in order to help readers have a general view on the research Rationale for the study Krashen & Terrel (1983:131) state that “Reading may contribute significantly to competence in a second language There is good reason, in fact, to hypothesize that reading makes a contribution to overall competence, to all four skills” Reading is one of the major skills of learning a second or foreign language and it has a prominent position in the design of a foreign language teaching program Reading skill helps the students to increase their knowledge of English through exposure to language expressions, and structures, and language contents as well Therefore, teaching reading is gaining more attention from both language teachers and language teaching materials developers However, in Vietnam, many English learners complain that reading always makes them feel bored and stressful They seem to lack motivation to read In fact, motivation is an essential element in learning in general and in learning reading in particular, but creating a motivated atmosphere for students in a reading lesson is a challenging task For the above reasons, I would like to carry out “The influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, Hai Phong” to investigate the role of reading topics in learners’ motivation to learn reading skill and to study their interests in reading topics It is hoped that the study will be helpful for English teachers in general and those at Vinh Bao high school in particular to stimulate their students in a reading lesson Aims of the study The study is aimed at: - Identifying students’ motivation in learning reading skill at Vinh Bao high school; - Identifying students’ interests in the reading topics; - Studying the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to learn reading skill Research questions The study was carried out in order to find out answers to the following research questions: What is students’ attitude towards learning reading skill? What types of motivation they have in learning reading? How interesting the students find the current reading topics? What is the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to read? Scope of the study With the limitation of the time, I will focus on the 11th - form students’ attitudes at Vinh Bao high school towards learning reading skill, the types of motivation possessed by students, the students’ attitudes on current reading topics and the influence of the reading topics on students’ motivation to learn reading skill Needless to say, it is necessary for the teachers to know what their students like to read Significance of the study The study highlights the influence of reading topics on the motivation in learning reading skills The findings of the study are believed to be useful for English teachers to be aware of the essential role of reading topics in the students’ motivation to learn reading Hopefully, it can help them to motivate students in learning reading skills Methods of the study The theoretical background of the study mainly is developed basing on the references of and analysis on relevant theories about motivation and reading The study is carried out on the basis of survey questionnaires Firstly, for the theoretical basis, a lot of reference materials on motivation and reading have been gathered, analyzed and synthesized thoroughly with the clue consideration on the teachers’ and students’ teaching and learning situations Secondly, interviews and questionnaires are carried out with teachers and students of English to gather the most reliable data for the thesis Design of the study The study is organized in three parts: Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, the significance of the study, the methods of the study and the design of the study Part B: Development consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: Literature review provides theoretical background for the study Its focus is on introducing important relevant concepts, discussions of issues and ideas on theories for motivation, nature of reading and motivation in learning reading as well as factors affecting motivation in learning reading Chapter 2: Methodology presents the methods used in the study including research methods, research setting , participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis procedure Chapter 3: Data analysis and major findings shows the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires and the interview Part C: Conclusion presents the conclusions, implications, limitations and the suggestions for further study In brief, the chapter has presented the data analysis to find out the answers to the research questions All the data were obtained from the survey questionnaires and interviews conducted on both the teachers and the students In the chapter, students’ attitude towards reading skill, types of students’ motivation in learning reading, the students’ attitudes towards current reading topics and the influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read have been discussed in details 32 PART C: CONCLUSION In this part, conclusions, implications, limitations and suggestions for further study will be presented Conclusions With the aim of studying the influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, the researcher has reviewed relevant literature on motivation and reading theories of many different authors in the first chapter The literature review provides theoretical backgrounds for the study Its focus is on introducing important relevant concepts, discussions of issues and ideas on theories for motivation, nature of reading and motivation in learning reading as well as factors affecting motivation in learning reading In chapter 2, the researcher has presented the methods used in the study including research methods, the setting of the study, participants of the study, data collection instruments, data collection and data analysis procedures In chapter 3, the detailed results together with a comprehensive analysis on the data collected from the survey questionnaires have shown The major findings of the study are summarized as below: Firstly, the majority of the students highly appreciated the value and the importance of reading to their process of learning English but the students’ interests in learning reading skill are different Secondly, the major reasons for most of the students learning English reading skill are that reading helped them to meet the requirement of future jobs and to be better qualified Besides, their desire of learning English was to broaden their knowledge about the world Only a small percentage of the students claimed that they had been learning English to pass the exams at 33 school Therefore, it could be affirmed that the main types of motivation that the students possessed in learning reading comprehension skills are integrative and instrumental ones Thirdly, students and teachers in the survey and the interview show their approval of the importance of reading topics to the students’ motivation and show their opinions about how the reading topics affects the learners’ motivation If the reading materials have interesting and familiar topics, the students will be more excited to read and vice versa Both groups agreed that the topics of the reading lessons in English 10 and 11 textbooks are relatively appropriate They also suggested some other topics providing updating information Implications The findings of the study implicate that: In learning reading comprehension, the students seem to possess two main types of motivation, instrumental and integrative ones These students wanted to get jobs in future and to be better qualified Their desire was to broaden their knowledge about people and culture of many countries in the world The combination of the two types of motivation had been a good support in the second language acquisition Therefore, in the reading lessons, teachers should make proper responses to different types of motivation possessed by the students Among the main factors affecting students’ motivation in learning reading comprehension, reading topics would have an impact on the students The students’ preferences reveal that they enjoy reading for fun, rather than for academic purposes This is evidenced by their choice and suggestion of the preferred topics which includes Hobbies, Music, Films and cinema, 34 Holidays and Festivals while topics of benefits to their study and future career like History, World politics, Civil rights were less chosen So, the reading topics should be updated regularly with necessary and suitable information for the students’ learning and for their future career In addition, the reading topics should provide interesting reading texts helping the students to upgrade not only their language knowledge but also their background knowledge of culture and customs of English speaking countries Besides, teachers should raise the students’ awareness of developing reading skills for their future learning, rather than for entertainment or for satisfying their curiosity It is necessary that teachers should exploit different aspects of the reading topics and give related games, visual aids, short discussion before and after reading to attract students to reading lessons Limitations and suggestions for further studies Because of the limitation of time and ability of the author, this study has some limitations The study cannot cover many other factors affecting the students’ motivation in learning reading such as reading materials, reading techniques, students’ interest in learning reading,… These problems need to be addressed so as that appropriate measures can be developed to improve the quality of English language learning in general in the studied school Topics for further studies could be: The influence of reading materials on students’ motivation to read The important role of textbook in motivating students The relationship between motivation and learning English results 35 REFERENCES Abbott G., Wingard P (1985), The Teaching of English as an International Language, Collins, London Aebersold, A J & Field, L M (1997), From Reader to Reading Teacher, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Bright J A., McGregor G P (1977), Teaching English as a second language, Longman, London Brown, H D (2000), Principles of Language Teaching and Learning, Prentice Hall Regents, Englewood Cliffs NJ Brown, H D (1994), Teaching by principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy, Prentics Hall Regents, New Jersy Do Thi My Dung (2005), How to motivate the third - year English majors to learn reading skill at Haiphong University , Unpublished MA Dissertation, CFL – VNU Doff, A (1995), Teach English, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Dornyei, Z (2001), Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Ellis, R (1997), Second Language Acquisition, Oxford University Press, Oxford Ericksen, S C (1978) "The Lecture." Memo to the Faculty, no 60 Ann Arbor: Center for Research on Teaching and Learning, University of Michigan 36 Gardner, R.C & W.E Lambert (1972), Attitudes and Motivation in Second Language Learning, Newbury House, New York Gardner, R.C (1985), Social psychology and language learning: The role of attitude and motivation, Edward Arnold, London Girard, D (1977), Motivation: The responsibility of the teacher, ELT Journal Hoang Thi Ha (2011), A study on students’ motivation in reading skills at Quang Dinh lower secondary school, Unpublished MA Dissertation, CFL – VNU Kleinginna, P J & Kleinginna, A (1981), Motivation and Emotion, Crown Publishers, New York Krashen, S D & Terrell, T.D (1983), The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom, Pergammon, Almany Revell, R, Oxford and San Francisco Luc Thi My Binh (2011), Developing motivation in learning English reading skills of students at Thieu Hoa high school, Thanh Hoa province, Unpublished MA Dissertation, CFL – VNU Moore, K D (1992), Classroom Teaching Reading Skills, Mcgraw-Hill, Inc Nuttall C (1982), Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Heinemann, London Paul, R Pintrich & Dale H Schunk (2002), Motivation in Education, Merrill, USA Petty W T., Petty D C., Salzer R T (1989), Experiences in Language, Allyn and Bacon, London 37 Rebeccal & Jill Sheorin (1996), Language Learning Motivation in a New key, Inr Oxford Robinson R., Good T L (1987), Becoming an Effective Reading Teacher, Harper & Row Publishers, London Ur P (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Wlodkowki, R J (1995), Enhancing Adult Motivation to learn, Jossey – Bass Publishers, Sanfancisco 38 APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR THE STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is to study the influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, Hai Phong Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you for the study purpose So please answer the questions as honestly as possible Thank you very much! Instructions: * The questionnaire is in two parts, please put a tick (v) in the appropriate boxes or give short answers in the provided spaces I Personal information  * Your gender: Male  Female * Your age:………………………… * How long have you been learning English? ………………… year (s) II Your opinions on learning reading How you find the role of reading English to your learning English? □ a Very important □ b Important □ c Not very important □ d Not important at all Why you learn reading skill? □ a Results in reading are better than those in other skills □ b Interest in English people and culture I □ c To be better qualified □ d For future jobs □ e To pass exams □ f Reading is a compulsory subject What you think about the current reading lessons? □ a Very boring □ b Boring □ c So-so □ d Interesting □ e Very interesting How you find the role of reading materials to your motivation for learning reading skill? □ a Very important □ b Important □ c Not very important □ d Not important at all How you find the role of reading topics to your motivation for learning reading skill? □ a Very important □ b Important □ c Not very important □ d Not important at all What you think about the current reading topics? □ a Various □ b Interesting □ c Boring □ d Unfamiliar II The following topics are included in the reading syllabus of English 10, 11? How you like reading about them? Topics in English 10 Dislike Like Much like Dislike Like Much like textbook A day in the life of … School talks People’s background Special education Technology and you An excursion The mass media The story in my village Undersea world Conservation National parks Music Films and cinema The World Cup Historical places Topics in English 11 textbook Friendship Personal experiences A party Volunteer work III Competitions World population Celebrations The post office Nature in danger Sources of energy The Asian Games Hobbies Space conquest The wonders of the world Would you suggest other topics (currently not available in the course books) which are of your interest? ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………….………………………………………………………………… …………………………….…………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………… Thank you very much! IV APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is to study the influence of reading topics on students’ motivation to read at Vinh Bao high school, Hai Phong Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the information provided by you for the study purpose So please answer the questions as honestly as possible Thank you very much for your cooperation! Instructions: * The questionnaire is in three parts, please put a tick (v) in the appropriate boxes or give short answers in the provided spaces * The “reading” used in this questionnaire means “reading in English in EFL classroom” I Personal information  * Your gender: Male  Female * Your age:………………………… * How long have you been teaching English? ………………… year (s) * How long have you been teaching reading in English?…………… year (s) II Your opinions on teaching reading What you think of the importance of reading to your students (you can tick as many as appropriate)?  a Reading helps students to broaden their knowledge of the world  b Reading helps students to improve other language skills, vocabulary as well as language linguistic knowledge  c Reading can bring the pleasure/ enjoyment to the students V  d All the above mentioned opinions  e Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… ………… What are your problems in teaching reading (you can tick as many as appropriate)?  a The lack of appropriate and interesting reading materials  b The lack of students’ motivation  c The difficulty in designing appropriate and interesting activities  d Others (please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………… How you find the role of reading materials to motivate your students in learning reading skill? □ a Very important □ b Important □ c Not very important □ d Not important at all How you find the role of reading topics to motivate your students in learning reading skill? □ a Very important □ b Important □ c Not very important □ d Not important at all What you think about the reading topics in English 10 + 11 textbook? VI Teachers’ opinions on reading topics Very bad No % Bad No Ok % No Good % No % Very good No % ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………….….…………………………………………………………… Would you suggest other topics (currently not available in the course books) which are necessary to motivate learners to read? (Food, Holidays and Festivals, History, New inventions and discoveries, World politics, Transport, Travelling, … or others) ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………….………………………………………………………………… …………………………….…………………………………………………… III Your opinions on the textbook What you think we should to improve the textbook? (You can tick as many as appropriate)  a Provide with more updated and interesting topics  b Adapt more readings at the appropriate level of challenging  c Add more various kinds of activities and exercises  d Illustrate it with more beautiful pictures  e Reduce or simplify some tasks  f Other ideas (please specify) ………………………………………………………………………………… ……………….……………………………………………………………… Thanks for your cooperation! VII APPENDIX QUESTIONS FOR INTERVIEW Em có thích học Tiếng Anh không? Em thấy học môn Tiếng Anh dễ hay khó? Theo em kỹ đọc tiếng Anh có quan trọng khơng? Tại sao? Em có nhận xét chủ đề đọc SGK tiếng Anh 10 11? (Đã thật lôi làm cho em cảm thấy hứng thú chưa?) Trong số chủ điểm đọc SGK, chủ điểm em thích khơng thích? Tại sao? Những chủ đề đọc mà em thích ảnh hưởng đến hứng thú học kĩ đọc hiểu em nào? (về việc tham gia vào tiết học kết học kĩ đọc) Những chủ đề đọc mà em khơng thích ảnh hưởng đến hứng thú học kĩ đọc hiểu em nào? (về việc tham gia vào tiết học kết học kĩ đọc) VIII