A study on grade 10th students’ perceptions towards learning to read English at a high school in the North of Vietnam

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ THÚY A STUDY ON GRADE 10TH STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS LEARNING TO READ ENGLISH AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NORTH OF VIETNAM NGHIÊN CỨU NHẬN THỨC CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG THPT Ở MIỀN BẮC VIỆT NAM M.A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI–2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FALCUTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ĐỖ THỊ THÚY A STUDY ON GRADE 10TH STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS TOWARDS LEARNING TO READ ENGLISH AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN THE NORTH OF VIETNAM NGHIÊN CỨU NHẬN THỨC CỦA HỌC SINH LỚP 10 ĐỐI VỚI VIỆC HỌC ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH Ở MỘT TRƯỜNG THPTỞ MIỀN BẮC VIỆT NAM M A Minor Programme Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Hoàng Thị Hạnh, PhD HANOI – 2014 DECLARATION I certify that all the material in this study which is not my own work has been identified and acknowledged, and that no material is included for which a degree has already been conferred upon me Hanoi, September, 2014 Đỗ Thị Thúy i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs Hoàng Thị Hạnh, for giving effective instructions and invaluable advice during the preparation and completion of this graduation paper I also wish to acknowledge my debt to all the teachers of Faculty of Postgraduate Studies at Vietnam National University, Hanoi – University of Languages and International Studies, whose lectures and ideas have inspired my thesis My appreciation also goes to the teachers and students at Hai Hau A high school for their valuable assistance in completing my survey questionnaire and interview, and providing me with a lot of useful information Finally, I would like to send my great thanks to my family, my friends who have directly or indirectly helped me with their encouragement and advice ii ABSTRACT Pleasure reading has greatly affected reading achievements There have been some studies investigating students‟ pleasure reading habits and their attitudes towards reading in English such as Camiciottoli (2001); Ro and Chen (2014) However, few are found investigating high school students in the context of Vietnam Therefore, this study will focus on high school students‟ pleasure reading habits and their attitudes towards reading in English A set of survey questionnaire and interview are used to explore the 10th students‟ pleasure reading frequency and their attitudes towards reading in English for pleasure at a high school in the North of Vietnam Besides, factors that may have influenced pleasure reading and students‟ attitudes are also examined The findings show that most students not have good reading habits, and “lack of time” is the reason limiting their reading The study also finds out that reading frequency and students‟ attitude have strongly positive relationship In addition, “past access of English books” and “L1 reading habits” are correlated with pleasure reading frequency and students‟ attitude towards reading in English The recommendations, limitations and suggestions for further studies are mentioned carefully in this study iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS vi LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF GRAPHS viii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale Scope of the study Aims of the study Research questions Methods of the study Significance of the study Structure of the report PART B: THE BODY Chapter 1: Literature review 1.1 Extensive reading and pleasure reading 1.1.1 Reading 1.1.2 Extensive reading 1.1.3 Pleasure reading 1.2 Pleasure reading habits 1.3 Reading attitudes 10 Chapter 2: The study 13 2.1 Setting 13 2.2 Participants 13 2.3 Instruments 14 2.4 Procedures 16 iv Chapter 3: Data analysis and findings 17 3.1 Coding and Analysis 17 3.2 Results 19 Part C: Discussion/Conclusion 31 Summary of major findings 31 Pedagogical implications 33 Limitations and recommendations for further studies 35 References 36 Appendix A …………………………………………………………… …….I Appendix B V Appendix C IX v LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L1: First Language L2: Second Language ER: Extensive Reading ESL: English as Second Language EFL: English as Foreign Language CEP: Community English Program JFL: Japanese as Foreign Language vi LIST OFTABLES Table 3.1: Pleasure Reading Frequency in English Table 3.2: Types of Reading Materials Table 3.3: Number of Books Read in the last 12 Months Table 3.4:Reasons Limiting Pleasure Reading Frequency in English Table 3.5: Ranking of Reasons Limiting Pleasure Reading Frequency in English Table 3.6:Reasons for Reading in English for Pleasure Table 3.7: Ranking Reasons for Reading in English for Pleasure Table 3.8: Reasons Why Reading in English for Pleasure Important Table 3.9: Gender and Frequency of English Pleasure Reading Table 3.10: Gender and Attitude towards Pleasure Reading in English Table 3.11: Factors that may have influenced on Pleasure Reading Habit and their Attitudes (Pearson correlations (r)) vii LIST OF GRAPHS Figure 3.1: Pleasure reading habit and preference scores Figure 3.2: Reading attitudes scores Figure 3.3: Reading habits and attitudes relationship viii Sanacore, J (2002) Struggling literacy learners benefit from lifetime literacy efforts Reading Psychology, 23, 67–86 doi:10.1080/027027102760351007 Scales, A M., & Rhee, O (2001) Adult reading habits and patterns Reading Psychology, 22(3), 175–203 Smith, M C (1990) A longitudinal investigation of reading attitude development from childhood to adulthood Journal of Educational Research, 83, 215–219 Takase, A (2007) Japanese high school students‟ motivation for extensive L2 reading.Reading in a Foreign Language, 19, 1–18 Taylor, A M (2014) How effective can extensive reading be? Comments on Robb and Kano (2013) Reading in a Foreign Language, 26(1), 195–198 Waring, R., &Takaki, M (2003) At what rate learners learn and retain newvocabulary from reading a graded reader? Reading in a Foreign Language, 15(2) Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/rfl/October2003/waring/waring.html Yamashita, J (2004) Reading attitudes in L1 and L2, and their influence on L2 extensive reading Reading in a Foreign Language, 16, 1–19 Yamashita, J (2007) The relationship of reading attitudes between L1 and L2: An investigation of adult EFL learners in Japan TESOL Quarterly, 41, 81–105 doi: 10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00041.x Yamashita, J (2008) Extensive reading and development of different aspects of L2 proficiency System, 36, 661–672 Yamashita, J (2013) Effects of extensive reading on reading attitudes in a foreign language Reading in a Foreign Language, 25, 248–263 Yang, A (2001) Reading and the non-academic learner: A mystery solved System, 29, 451–466 39 Appendix A Phiếu khảo sát Phiếu điều tra thiết kế để khảo sát thói quen đọc sách để thư giãn quan niệm học sinh THPT việc đọc sách tiếng Anh Câu trả lời em có đóng góp lớn cho đề tài nghiên cứu tơi Các số liệu thông tin em đưa sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu, ngồi khơng mục đích khác Xin chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác em Hãy trả lời tất câu hỏi sau cách đánh dấu viết vào chỗ trống Phiếu điều tra gồm 17 câu hỏi Phần I: Thông tin cá nhân liệu sở Giới tính: Nam _Nữ Trong trình học, em có đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư giãn khơng? _có, thường xun _hiếm _thỉnh thoảng _khơng Em có giáo viên khuyến khích đọc sách Tiếng Anh để thư giãn không? _thỉnh thoảng _không _hầu không _có, nhiều 4.Khi đọc sách Tiếng Anh để thư giãn, em đánh giá khả đọc hiểu nào? _kém (sử dụng từ điển nhiều) _tốt _trung bình _rất tốt (không sử dụng từ điển) Khi đọc Tiếng Anh, em nghĩa tất từ, em hiểu ý em đọc khơng? _có, luôn hiểu _hiếm _thỉnh thoảng _không, em cần sử dụng từ điển I Mục đích em học tiếng Anh gì? _để học cao _bị bắt phải học _mục đích khác (nêu rõ) Phần II: Thói quen đọc thư giãn: tần số sở thích Lúc rảnh rỗi, em có thường đọc sách tiếng Việt khơng? _ít tuần lần (hoặc thường xuyên hơn) _một hai tháng lần _thỉnh thoảng (chỉ đọc vào kỳ nghỉ hè) _khơng bao giờ, em thích làm việc khác vào thời gian rảnh rỗi (bỏ qua câu hỏi 8) Trong 12 tháng gần đây, em đọc sách Tiếng Việt để thư giãn? _1-2 _3-5 _6-8 _nhiều Em có thường đọc tiếng Anh để thư giãn khơng? _ít tuần lần (hoặc thường xuyên hơn) _một hai tháng lần _thỉnh thoảng (chỉ đọc vào kỳ nghỉ hè) _không bao giờ, em thích làm việc khác vào thời gian rảnh rỗi (trả lời tiếp câu 12) 10 Em thường đọc tiếng Anh vào thời gian rảnh rỗi? Hãy xếp theo thứ tự em đọc thường xuyên Viết cho tài liệu em thường xuyên đọc nhất, cho tài liệu thứ 2, cho tài liệu thứ _lời hát nhạc pop nhạc pop _báo _tạp chí truyện tranh _sách (tiểu thuyết truyện có thật) 11 Trong 12 tháng gần đây, em đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư II giãn? _ _ 1-2 _ 3-4 _ nhiều Phần III: Đọc tiếng Anh để thư giãn: Động lực quan điểm 12 Em có thích đọc nhiều sách tiếng Anh để thư giãn không? _chắc chắn có _có thể có _không biết _không, em không thích đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư giãn (bỏ qua câu 13) 13 Tại em đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư giãn? Trong danh sách đây, xếp lý theo mức độ quan trọng Viết cho lý quan trọng nhất, cho lý thứ cho lý thứ a _em tự tin vào đọc sách tiếng Anh b _em thấy đọc sách tiếng Anh bổ ích cho thân c _ em thấy thú vị đọc sách tiếng Anh d _em tiếp cận với sách tiếng Anh dễ dàng e _lý khác (viết rõ) _ 14 Tại em không đọc nhiều sách tiếng Anh để thư giản? Trong danh sách đây, xếp lý theo mức độ quan trọng Viết cho lý quan trọng nhất, cho lý thứ cho lý thứ a _sách tiếng Anh q khó mức độ đọc hiểu em có hạn b _vì học trường nên em khơng có thời gian c _em nên đọc sách d _thiếu thời gian (cơng việc, việc gia đình, …) e _em tiếp cận với sách tiếng Anh f _em khơng thích đọc sách tiếng Anh vào thời gian rảnh rỗi g _lý khác (viết rõ) III 15 Nếu em có sách thú vị tiếng Anh phù hợp với trình độ em, em dành tuần để đọc nó? _0 _1-2 _2-3 _nhiều 16 Em có nghĩ đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư giãn quan trọng khơng? _có, quan trọng _khá quan trọng _không biết (bỏ qua câu 17) _không (bỏ qua câu 17) 17 Tại em nghĩ đọc sách tiếng Anh để thư gian quan trọng? Trong danh sách đây, xếp lý theo mức độ quan trọng Viết cho lý quan trọng nhất, cho lý thứ cho lý thứ a _nó có ích cho mơn học khác b _để tăng vốn từ vựng c _nó hữu ích cho khóa học tiếng Anh d _để hiểu biết văn hóa khác e _nó hữu ích cho nghề nghiệp sau f _để nâng cao hiểu biết em g _lý khác (viết rõ) _ Cảm ơn giúp đỡ em Phiếu điều tra thiết kế dựa phiếu điều tra nghiên cứu “Pleasure reading behavior and attitude of non-academic ESL students” Ro and Chen (2014) IV Appendix B Survey questionnaire (for students) The survey questions aim to find out high school students‟ pleasure reading habits and their attitudes towards reading English Please respond to all the following questions and statements Your help will be highly appreciated The information you provide will be used on the purpose of research You can be positive that you are not going to be addressed in any discussion Thank you for your cooperation Instructions: Please answer the following questions and mark the space before the option that applied to you The questionnaire has 17 items Part – GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASELINE DATA Gender: _M _F During your previous studies, did you have access to books in English to read for pleasure? _yes, often _rarely _sometimes _no, never In the past, were you ever encouraged to read for pleasure in English by a teacher? _no, never _sometimes _hardly ever _yes, very much In reading for pleasure in English, how would you rate your comprehension level? _low (wide use of dictionary) _good _average _very good (little use of dictionary) V If you not know the meaning of all the words when reading in English, are you able to understand the gist of what you read? _yes, almost always _rarely _sometimes _no, I always need to use a dictionary What was (or is) the purpose of your study? _further study _forced to learn _other (write your answer) Part – PLEASURE READING HABITS: FREQUENCY AND PREFERENCE In your leisure time, how often you read books in your own language? _at least once a week (or more often) _once every 1-2 months _sometimes (for example, during vacation periods) _never, I prefer to other things during my leisure time (skip to question n.9) In the last 12 months, how many books have you read for pleasure in your own language? _1-2 _3-5 _6-8 _more than How often you read something in English for pleasure? _at least once a week (or more often) _once every 1-2 months _sometimes (for example, during vacation periods) _never (skip to question n 12) 10 What you usually read in English during your leisure time? VI Rank according to what you read most frequently Write for the type of reading material you read the most frequently, for the second type and for the third _lyrics of pop, rock songs _newspapers _magazines or comics _books (novels or non-fictions) - others…………………………………………………… 11 In the last 12 months, how many books in English have you read for pleasure? _ _ 1-2 _ 3-4 _ more than Part – READING FOR PLEASURE IN ENGLISH: MOTIVATIONS AND OPINIONS 12 Would you like to read more books in English for pleasure than you now? _definitely yes _probably yes _not sure _no, I‟m not interested in reading more in English (skip question n 13) 13 Why you (or would you) read books in English for pleasure? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance, Write for the most important reason, for the second, for the third a _I have confidence in reading English books b _I find reading in English personally rewarding c _I find reading in English fun d _I have easy access to English books e. _Other reason (write here) VII 14 Why don‟t you read more books in English for pleasure? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance, Write for the most important reason, for the second for the third a _it‟s too difficult because of my limited level of comprehension b _lack of time due to university studies c _I don‟t know which books to read d _lack of time (work, family commitments, etc.) e _I don‟t have access to books in English f _I don‟t want to read in English during leisure time g _other reason (write here) 15 If you had access to interesting books that were suitable to your comprehension level, how many hours per week would you be willing to dedicate to reading in English? _0 _1-2 _2-3 _more than 16 Do you think reading books for pleasure in English is important? _yes, very important _fairly important _not sure (skip question n 17) _no (skip question n 17) 17 Why you think reading books for pleasure in English is important? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance Write for the most important reason, for the second and for the third a _could be useful also in other academic subjects b _to acquire a wider range of vocabulary c _could be useful for the English course VIII d _to learn more about other cultures e _could be useful for my career f _to enhance my knowledge and literacy on a general level g _other reason (write here) IX Appendix C Four-point response scale for survey questionnaire The survey questions aim to find out high school students‟ pleasure reading habits and their attitudes towards reading English Please respond to all the following questions and statements Your help will be highly appreciated The information you provide will be used on the purpose of research You can be positive that you are not going to be addressed in any discussion Thank you for your cooperation Instructions: Please answer the following questions and mark the space before the option that applied to you The questionnaire has 17 items Part – GENERAL INFORMATION AND BASELINE DATA SCORING AREA Gender : _M F During your previous studies, did you have access to books in English to read for pleasure? _yes, often _sometimes _rarely _no, never In the past, were you ever encouraged to read for pleasure in English by a teacher? _no, never _hardly ever _sometimes _yes, very much 4 In reading for pleasure in English, how would you rate your X comprehension level? _low (wide use of dictionary _average good very good (little use of dictionary) If you not know the meaning of all the words when reading in English, are you able to understand the gist of what you read? _yes, almost always _sometimes _rarely _no, I always need to use a dictionary What was ( or is) the purpose of your study? _further study _forced to learn others Part 2: PLEASURE READING HABITS: FREQUENCY AND PREFERENCE In your leisure time, how often you read books in your own language? at least once a week ( or more often) once every 1-2 months _sometimes (for example, during vacation periods) _never, I prefer to other things during my leisure time ( skip to question no.9) In the last 12 months, how many books have you read for pleasure in your own language? _1-2 XI _3-5 6-8 _more than How often you read something in English for pleasure? _at least once a week ( or more often) once every 1-2 months sometimes ( during vacation periods) never (skip to question no.12) 10 What you usually read in English during your leisure time? Rank according to what you read most frequently Write for the type of reading material you read most frequently, for the second, and for the third _lyrics of pop, rock songs _newspapers _magazines _books _others………………………… 11.In the last 12 months, how many books in English have you read for pleasure _0 _1-2 _3-4 _>4 Part – READING FOR PLEASURE IN ENGLISH: MOTIVATIONS AND OPINIONS 12.Would you like to read more books in English for pleasure than you now? XII definitely yes probably yes not sure no, I‟m not interested in read more in English (skip to question 14 13.Why you (would you) read books in English for pleasure? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance, write for the most important reason, for the second, for the third _ I have confidence in reading English books _ I find reading in English useful I find reading in English fun I have easy access to English books Others reasons………………… 14 Why don‟t you read more books in English for pleasure? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance, write for the most important reason, for the second, for the third a. it‟s too difficult because of my limited level of Type A comprehension b lack of time due to university studies Type B c I don‟t know which books to read Type A d lack of time (my work, my family) Type B e I don‟t have access to books in English Type A f I don‟t want to read in English during leisure time Type B g. other reason ………………… 15 If you had access to interesting books that were suitable to your comprehension level, how many hours per week would you be willing to dedicate to reading in English? XIII a. _0 b. _1-2 c. _3-4 d. more than 4 16 Do you think reading books for pleasure in English is important? a. yes, very important b. fairly important c. not sure ( skip question n.17) d _ no (skip question n.17) 17.Why you think reading in English books for pleasure in English is important? From the list below, rank at least three reasons in order of importance, write for the most important reason, for the second, for the third a. _ could be useful in other academic subjects Type B b. _ to acquire a wider range of vocabulary Type A c. _could be useful for the English course Type B d. _ to learn more about other culture Type A e. _ could be useful for my career Type B f. _ to enhance my knowledge and literacy on a general level Type A g. other reason ……………… XIV