skkn using pre reading activities to help students feel more interested in reading

1 SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI Đơn vị : Trường THPT NGÔ QUYỀN _ Mã số: ………………… (Do HĐCNSK ghi) SÁNG KIẾN USING PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TO HELP STUDENTS FEEL MORE INTERESTED IN READING Người thực hiện: BÙI PHÚ XUÂN Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu: - Quản lý giáo dục - Phương pháp giáo dục - Phương pháp dạy học môn: Tiếng Anh - Lĩnh vực khác: …………………………… (Ghi rõ tên lĩnh vực) Có đính kèm: Các sản phẩm khơng thể in sáng kiến Mơ hình Đĩa CD (DVD) Phim ảnh (các phim, ảnh, sản phẩm phần mềm) Năm học: 2019-2020 *** Hiện vật khác SỞ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐỒNG NAI Đơn vị : Trường THPT NGÔ QUYỀN _ SÁNG KIẾN USING PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TO HELP STUDENTS FEEL MORE INTERESTED IN READING Người thực hiện: BÙI PHÚ XUÂN Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu: - Quản lý giáo dục - Phương pháp giáo dục - Phương pháp dạy học môn: Tiếng Anh - Lĩnh vực khác: …………………………… (Ghi rõ tên lĩnh vực) Năm học: 2019-2020 *** TABLE OF CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION ………………………………………… Background ………………………………………… Reasons for choosing the topic …………………………… 3 The scope of the research …………………………… 4 The objective of the research …………… ……………… CONTENTS ………………………………………………… I RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH …………………… II RESEARCH CONTENTS …………………………………… Procedure ……………………………………………… Activity 1: Mind-mapping …………………………… Activity 2: Matching ……… ………….…………… Activity 3: Competition Game - Hangman ……… 14 Activity : Discussion … …………….…………… 15 Activity 5: Word Sort ………………… …… …… 17 Advantages and disadvantages of applying these Pre- 19 reading activities in the class …………………… Evaluation ……………………………………………… 19 a Novelty of the research ……………………………… 19 b Evaluation of the research ………………………… 19 c Applicability of the research ……………………… 20 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………… 21 REFERENCES ………………………………………………… 22 Appendix …………………………………………………… 23 Appendix …………………………………………………… 24 THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ SÁNG KIẾN Tên sáng kiến: Using Pre-Reading Activities to Help Students Feel More Interested in Reading Lĩnh vực áp dụng sáng kiến: Phương pháp dạy học môn Tác giả: - Họ tên: BÙI PHÚ XUÂN Nam (nữ): Nam - Trình độ chuyên môn: Thạc sỹ Giảng dạy Tiếng Anh - Chức vụ, đơn vị cơng tác: Phó Hiệu trưởng – Trường THPT Ngô Quyền - Điện thoại: 0918191335 Email: bphuxuannq@gmail.com - Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo sáng kiến (%): 100% Đồng tác giả (nếu có): khơng - Họ tên: …………… .…… Nam (nữ): - Trình độ chun mơn: … - Chức vụ, đơn vị công tác: … - Điện thoại: …… .……… Email: … -Tỷ lệ đóng góp tạo sáng kiến (%): TOPIC: USING PRE-READING ACTIVITIES TO HELP STUDENTS FEEL MORE INTERESTED IN READING INTRODUCTION Background N owadays learning English is considered to be very essential in our modern society because it is an international language which is necessary for many different kinds of activities including education, politics, and socio-economics Knowing English also gives you golden chances to get a good job in a multinational company in Vietnam or finding work abroad What is more English is one of the core subjects in all Vietnamese secondary schools, high schools, colleges and universities Therefore, classroom teaching is really a demanding job Most Vietnamese teachers have to work with a class of forty five students or more and there is usually a wide variety of abilities in each class In reading class, it is common that teachers always play the centred roles and explain everything to students while students nothing As a result, they find no pleasure or interest in reading lessons Reasons for choosing the topic Through discussions with some of the teachers and students’ in my school I have found out some problems in teaching and learning reading Most teachers choose the teaching career with the hope that they could spark the joy of learning in their students However, classroom teaching is a demanding job Teachers sometimes recognize that their students find no pleasure in the act of reading Being an English teacher, what should we to draw students’ attention and to engage them in reading lessons as well as give them as many opportunities as possible to take part in active activities in the classroom? This requires both students’ and teacher’s efforts However, it is our own job to make the classroom a lively and communicative place How can we create such a classroom? My experience has taught me that Pre-reading activities are very important for helping students to understand the background of the text and help students feel more interested in reading periods They can spark students’ curiosity and promote a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom As a result, students will get more involved in the lesson and a better learning process will take place Before you play a sport or some physical activities it is advisable to warm up and prepare your body for the upcoming task It is the same way with reading It is better for teachers to give students a chance to warm up and prepare their mind for reading so that they can perform well and increase their comprehension in reading lessons Allwright (1984) also believes that we can design some activities to attract students' attention, to help them put aside distracting thoughts and to get them ready for whatever activities that follow The scope of the research The application of these activities was carried out among a class of forty 12-graders at Ngo Quyen High School in some lessons in both first and second semester of the school year 2019-2020 These Pre-reading activities finish in about minutes of lesson time, but some can be even shorter and others can be lengthened Objective of the research Among the four skills of learning English, reading is paid much attention to by the teachers at high schools, however the students feel uninterested in reading classes because they lack motivation from the beginning of the lessons The main objective of the research is to help students feel more interested in reading lessons by using Pre-reading activities CONTENTS I RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH The importance of reading: Carrell (1984, p.1) states “reading is by far the most important of the four macro skills, particularly in English as a second or a foreign language” Reading is one important way to improve your general language skills in English for the following reasons:  Reading can improve your English vocabulary and communication skills  Reading can help you improve your writing vocabulary  Reading helps you expand your knowledge and make you smarter  Reading is a good way to enhance your critical and analytical thinking skills  Reading will also offer you a chance to travel and use your imagination in ways you have never imagined Sookchotirat (2005) suggests that reading skill is the most important skill as it is the basis of all the success in one’s life Good readers can gain more knowledge of any kind from reading Reading makes the reader more knowledgeable, and reading makes the reader have wider perspectives and vision Reading helps the reader get new ideas leading to cognitive development When the reader transfers what they read to apply with their own idea a new perspective or idea is created Harmer (1998: 68) also makes clear that reading is useful for many purposes Reading texts provides opportunities to study a language: vocabulary, grammar, punctuation, and the way we construct sentences, paragraphs and texts Reading texts also provides good models for English writing Lastly, good reading texts can introduce interesting topics, stimulate discussion, excite imaginative responses and be the springboard for well-rounded, fascinating lessons Yeeding (2007) investigated the effects of pre-reading activities on learners’ motivation and reading comprehension ability Results showed that the activities subjects were highly motivated, enthusiastic to read After the experiment, they scored significantly higher The teaching should accommodate learners’ development of the language skills Reading skill, in particular, is the most important skill in second or foreign language learning (Carrell, 1988) Reading skill plays such an important role in learning English, however, through discussions with some of the teachers and students’ in my school I have found out some problems in teaching and learning reading Students usually feel tired and bored at the beginning of the lesson, they study passively and find no pleasure in the act of reading Some of them just try to struggle with the text (e.g.: unknown words and complicated grammar rules) to find the answers to comprehension questions It was also very surprising to find out that most of them did not understand the purpose of reading They spent nearly 80% of the time on translating the text word by word into Vietnamese, even a simple one Because they thought that they could only understand the text completely if they translated the text Besides, some of the students also translate comprehension questions about the text before giving answers to the teacher Through the observation in my classes for many ages I also realized the same problem that my students did not show much interest in the reading lessons therefore I decided to design some Pre-reading activities such as Mind-mapping; Matching; Competition Game – Hangman; Discussion and Word Sort, etc to see whether they really help me draw students’ attention to the content of the new lessons and feel more interested in the reading class II RESEARCH CONTENTS  This contains some activities that teachers can use in class and I used the Units in “English books 11 & 12” as examples in my activities Procedure: Step 1: Getting started From the beginning of the research I had a lot of informal discussions with some of the teachers and students’ in my school in order to get some initial reflections on learning and teaching reading in the school Step 2: Preparations Since the innovation involved in variety of activities, the teacher had to concentrate on selecting and designing the activities based on the topic of each Unit Step 3: Implementing the innovation Some of the units in English 11 & 12 books were chosen during the innovation process Activity : MIND-MAPPING Al-Jarf (2011) defines mind-mapping as “a graphic organizer in which the major categories radiate from a central idea and subcategories are represented as branches of larger branches” (p.4) He also asserts that, this visual tool can be used to assist learning because it helps students “to generate ideas, take notes, organize thinking and develop concepts” This activity is used to: - attract the students’ attention to the content of the new lesson - present concepts in the classroom - deliver an overview of the topic without superfluous information - give students a chance to review and widen their vocabulary Before teaching the new lesson, the teacher takes a key word in the reading passage and asks the students to suggest all the words which associate with it Write each suggestion on the board with a line joining it to the original word in a circle, so that you get a “sunray” effect  Let’s take Unit 1: HOME LIFE (English 12) as an example: Teacher writes down the word FAMILY on the board and has students brainstorm all the words they can think of: FAMILY The word FAMILY may produce something like the sketch below respect close-knit family father grandparents household chores join hands FAMILY secure responsible take care of  Let’s take Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY - English 11 as another example: Teacher writes down the word ENERGY on the board and has students brainstorm all the words they can think of: ENEGRY The word ENERGY may produce something like the sketch below electricity geothermal solar windmill Non-renewable heat ENERGY fuel renewable petroleum  Variation: The teacher may divide the class into groups of four, give them some handouts The groups will work together to identify from the given list as many words related to the word ENERGY as possible in minutes After minutes, the teacher invites the representative of each group to come to the board and write their list One point is given for the correct answer The group gets the highest points wins the game  For example in Unit 11: SOURCES OF ENERGY - English 11 List: Wildlife, power, habitat, fuel, fog, nuclear, extinction, solar, erosion, wind, water, heat, sewage, geothermal, moon, renewable, Mars, biodiversity, nonrenewable, fertilizer, earthquake, windmill, oil, creature, coal, famine, gas, rainforest, electricity, petroleum, climate, urbanization, pesticide Answers: power, fuel, nuclear, solar, wind, water, heat, geothermal, renewable, nonrenewable, windmill, oil, coal, gas, electricity, petroleum Activity 2: MATCHING Matching games improve language, concentration and memory We can use this kind of activity to introduce the new lesson as well as draw students’ attention on the theme of the unit 10 KEY volleyball shooting weightlifting wrestling fencing table tennis Let’s take Unit 3: WAYS OF SOCIALIZING – English 12 as another example: The teacher has students look at the pictures showing facial expressions and match the pictures with suitable expressions Crying Smiling Angry Unhappy Surprising Staring 11 12 KEY Crying Smiling Picture Picture Angry Picture Unhappy Picture Surprising Picture 6 Staring Picture  Let’s take Unit 5: TECHNOLOGY AND YOU (English 10) as another example: The teacher has students work in groups of four and asks them to look at the picture of different parts of a computer and match each picture with the word or phrase in the box The group that gives the correct answers first is the winner 13 printe r mous e keyboard speakers A Central Processing Unit (CPU) visual display unit (VDU) or computer screen Floppy disks CD ROMS KEY Picture 1: visual display unit (VDU) or computer screen Picture 2: mouse Picture 3: printer Picture 4: keyboard Picture 5: A Central Processing Unit (CPU) Picture 6: speakers Picture 7: Floppy disks 14 Picture 8: CD ROMS Activity 3: COMPETITION GAME – HANGMAN As Hadfield (1998) points out that one of the strategies to teach English is by using games A game is an activity with rules, a goal and an element of fun Wright, Betteridge and Buckby (2005) also agree that language learning is very hard and efforts are required over a long period of time Games help the teacher to create contexts in which language is useful and meaningful, therefore; they help and encourage students to sustain their interest and work The use of Hangman game really helps teachers to motivate students and create fun atmosphere in the classroom before the new lesson is presented In this activity students are shown a set of blank letters that match a word or phrase and they have to guess what these letters are reveal the hidden word The teacher divides the class into two groups A & B and draws each of them a gallows on the board Team A Team B The teacher explains to students that they are going to play a “Hangman” game The teacher explains the rules of the game: students are given a secret word and the groups will take turn to guess it by telling what letters they think there are in this word If students choose a letter that appears one or more times in the secret word the letter(s) will be revealed from the blank letters and students can keep on guessing the next letter On the other hand, if students guess a letter that is not in the secret word, then a piece of the man being hanged will be added to the gallows and they will lose their turn Students will get one point for each letter they can guess correctly When the game is over, teacher will count how many points each group has collected and the group with more points will win the game Students will have fun playing this game, feel more excited to start the new lesson and also improve their English at the same time  Let’s take Unit 6: COMPETITIONS – English 11 as an example: 15 In this lesson, the secret word is “COMPETITIONS” teacher draws the same number of dashes as the number of letters in this word For this word, teacher would need 12 dashes like this: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Let’s take Unit 4: SCHOOL EDUCATION SYSTEM – English 12 as another example: In this lesson, the secret word is “EDUCATION” teacher draws the same number of dashes as the number of letters in this word For this word, teacher would need dashes like this: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Activity 4: DISCUSSION  We use “Discussion activities” to - give students an opportunity to talk about the things they really care about - encourage students to think more critically and actively participate in the classroom - increase students’ interests and engagement in reading lessons - arouse students’ curiosity about a certain topic - help students process the information rather than simply receive - help develop students’ habits of collaborative learning  Let’s take Unit 11: BOOKS– English 12 as an example: The teacher has students work in groups of four and discuss some of the questions relating to the topic of the reading lesson The teacher invites some students to report their ideas in front of the class, gives comments and then starts the new lesson Do you like reading? Why or why not? Which is your favourite book? Do you usually read for leisure or for study purposes? What you think are the benefits of reading in general? Do you think there is a difference between reading habits in the past and in the present day? What kinds of books did you read when you were a child? Which book has affected or influenced you the most so far? Do you think people don’t read enough books these days? What is the impact of e-books on reading habits? 10 In your opinion, will paper books disappear completely in future? 16  Let’s take Unit 1: HOME LIFE (English 12) as another example: Students are asked to work in groups of four and discuss some of the questions relating to the topic of the reading lesson The teacher invites some students to report their ideas in front of the class, gives comments and then starts the new lesson How much time you manage to spend with members of your family? In what way is your family important to you? Did/Do you get well with your family? Why? Who are you closest to in your family? Should we rely heavily on our families or is it better to try to be independent? What sorts of things you like to together? What is your responsibility in the family? Which are more important to you: your family or your friends?  Let’s take Unit 13: HOBBIES (English 11) as another example: The teacher has students work in groups of four discuss some of the questions relating to the topic of the reading lesson and share their opinions about various leisure activities The teacher invites some students to report their ideas in front of the class, gives comments and then starts the new lesson Do you have any hobbies? What you like to in your free time/spare time? Do you require any special equipment for your hobby? What hobbies are popular in Viet Nam? Is it important to have a hobby? Is it harmful to spend too much time on a hobby? What sort of hobbies would you like to try in the future? 17 Let’s take Unit 14: INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (English 12) as another example: The questions that are related to the topic of the reading passage help arouse students’ curiosity and students are eager to read the reading passage to satisfy their curiosity about the topic Do you know anything about the Red Cross? What is its mission? Where is its headquarters? Who initiated the Red Cross? Does The Red Cross provide medical aid and other help to victims of natural disasters? How many colours does the symbol of the Red Cross have? Activity 5: WORD SORT The use of Word Sort is very helpful for all kinds of students It is an interactive activity providing students with oral language development opportunities and also arousing students’ interests in the new lesson  Let’s take Unit 12: WATER SPORTS– English 12 as an example: The teacher has the class work in groups of The teacher writes the headings on the board (jobs, animals, water sports and kinds of books) The teacher asks the students to look at the words in the box and put each word under the correct heading The teacher gives an A0 sheet of paper to each group to write the words on, and then stick these sheets of paper on the board The group with the most correct words wins the game 18 Teacher Dictionary Dentist Scuba Diving Pilot Giraffe Whale Tiger Accountant Hairdresser Comic Romance Fairytale Synchronized Swimming Wind Surfing Canoeing Craft book Swimming Monkey Water Polo Cookery book Designer EncyclopediaThriller Engineer Historical novel Rhinoceros Actress Leopard Bear Surfing Water Skiing Elephant Sailing Fox Science fiction Lion Jet Skiing Suggested answers: Jobs Animals Water sports Kinds of books Teacher Dentist Leopard Tiger Surfing Sailing Comic Dictionary Pilot Lion Swimming Romance Engineer Monkey Wind Surfing Thriller Designer Giraffe Jet Skiing Craft book Accountant Elephant Water Skiing Fairytale Hairdresser Rhinoceros Scuba Diving Science fiction Synchronized Swimming Cookery book Actress Fox Businessman Whale Water Polo Historical novel Carpenter Bear Canoeing Encyclopedia 19 Advantages and disadvantages of applying these Pre-reading activities in the class Advantages:  It is beneficial to use these activities before teachers start the new lessons in order to draw students’ attention on the theme of the unit as well as arouse students’ curiosity about reading topic  Pre-reading activities give students a chance to interact with each other as a result they study more actively and feel more interested in the lesson  The use of these Pre-reading activities does help teachers review and widen students’ vocabulary, develop students’ habits of collaborative learning and also increase students’ interests and engagement in reading lessons Disadvantages:  Designing these activities places heavy demands on teachers in planning and organizing time beforehand  If these activities are not well-prepared they may take too much time away from reading Evaluation a) Novelty of the research These activities can be applied for all levels of students and not very timeconsuming for the teachers to prepare and carry out in reading classes They are also very essential for the teachers to attract students’ attention on the theme of the unit, which stimulates them to study better and more effectively The use of these Pre-reading activities creates opportunities for students to interact and share their opinions with each other, which arouses their interests in the reading periods b) Evaluation of the research A questionnaire (see Appendix 1) and a class observation form (see Appendix 2) were used to evaluate the innovation The questions given to 40 students aimed at exploring the students’ feeling and attitudes to reading lessons and the class observation form conducted by the two teachers observing the class The results are presented in the table below: 20 Table 1: Students’ attitudes and feelings to reading classes Levels of agreement Number of students Percentage of levels Disagreement 17.5% Neutral 2.5% Agreement 32 80.0% As shown in the table above, most of the students 32/40 (80.0%) have positive attitude and are interested in reading lessons Table 2: A general evaluation of class atmosphere Levels of Number of periods evaluation Percentage of class atmosphere Negative 12.5% Neutral 0.0% Positive 14 87.5% The table reveals that the class atmosphere became more enjoyable, more dynamic and friendlier As a result of this, many students are enthusiastic in contributing their ideas to the lessons as well as expressing their opinions in front of the class c) Applicability of the research The study of using activities before reading to help students feel more interested in reading is really essential in my teaching reading for the following reasons First of all, my students have a chance to interact with each other from the beginning of the lesson thanks to the above mentioned activities Second, the researcher wishes to create a more relaxing and enjoyable atmosphere in the classroom as well as build students’ confidence in practicing reading skill Last but not least, the success of this research will also provide the teachers of English in my school as well as in other high schools in Dong Nai Province with some new ideas and suggestions in their teaching English 21 CONCLUSION In conclusion I strongly believe that the above designed activities help teachers enable high school students feel more interested in and actively get involved in reading periods The interest may be, in my opinion, very useful for learning a foreign language in many ways Just at the beginning of the lesson, these activities more or less force students to take part in their lesson They have no fear and no longer consider reading lessons a burden These various activities can also make students feel more motivated to read, and the reading itself becomes more purposeful, because of the challenge of finding out whether they have got their answers right or not Probably at least some of their answers are in fact right I hope the feeling of enjoyment will be with them throughout the lesson, helping them grasp the meaning of the lesson more effectively Like my colleagues, I expect my students not to fear of my lessons for any reason Đồng Nai, ngày 12 tháng năm 2020 HỘI ĐỒNG CÔNG NHẬN SÁNG KIẾN TẠI CƠ QUAN, ĐƠN VỊ NƠI TÁC GIẢ CÔNG TÁC TÁC GIẢ SÁNG KIẾN (Ký, ghi rõ họ tên) (Xác nhận: công nhận sáng kiến) (Ký tên, đóng dấu) Bùi Phú Xuân 22 REFERENCES _ Al-Jarf, R (2011) Teaching spelling skills with a mind-mapping software Asian EFL journal professional teaching articles, 53, doi: ISSN : 1738-1460 Allwright, R (1984) The importance of interaction in classroom language learning Applied Linguistics, 5(2), 156-171 Carrell, P (1984) The effects of rhetorical organization on ESL readers TESOL Quarterly, 18(3), 441- 469 Carrell, P L., Devine, J., and Eskey, D., E 1988 Interactive approaches to second language reading Cambridge: CPU English Book 11 Education Publishing House English Book 12 Education Publishing House Hadfield, J (1998) Elementary Vocabulary Games Longman Harmer, J (1998) How to Teach English: An Introduction to the Practice of English Language Teaching England: Longman Sookchotirat , M (2005) Reading: Learning sooner, teaching well Nanmee, Bangkok, Thailand Yeeding, S (2007) “Using pre-reading activities to increase learners’ motivation in reading comprehension”: A case of 2nd year vocational students enrolled in the Electrical and Electronic Certificate Program at Industrial Technology College, King Mongkut Pranakorn Wright, A., Betteridge, D., & Buckby, M (2005) Games for language learning (3rd ed.) New York: Cambridge University *** 23 APPENDIX SURVEY (Student Survey) Questionnaire Dear students, The purpose of this survey is to find out about your achievements in reading classes, your feelings and attitudes to the reading lessons you have studied Your responses help us to improve your English learning Do not write your name on the questionnaire Please take time to fill out every single item in the questionnaire Thank you very much for your co-operation (Please indicate your attitudes towards the following things by circling the most appropriate number.) How far you agree with the following statements? strongly disagree disagree neutral agree strongly agree I feel more confident to read with joy, and 5 5 without fear or anxiety in the class The atmosphere in my reading class is more relaxing and enjoyable I feel more excited and engaged in reading lessons I have more chance to interact with my friends in reading periods I like reading more if I have free time after class 24 APPENDIX CLASS OBSERVATION FORM Name of high school: Name of class observed: Date of observation: Time of observation: The class observation includes rating scales which vary as follow: not at all slightly neutral very completely Please circle the most appropriate number  Class atmosphere: The atmosphere in class is very enjoyable 5 The students show their confidence when expressing their ideas 5 There is a great deal of laughter in the class The students raise their ideas in a very friendly way 5 The students are willing to exchange ideas with their friends The students are kept actively involved in the lessons Many questions are asked in the class Students feel comfortable and safe in the class ... using activities before reading to help students feel more interested in reading is really essential in my teaching reading for the following reasons First of all, my students have a chance to. .. (%): TOPIC: USING PRE- READING ACTIVITIES TO HELP STUDENTS FEEL MORE INTERESTED IN READING INTRODUCTION Background N owadays learning English is considered to be very essential in our modern... is to help students feel more interested in reading lessons by using Pre- reading activities CONTENTS I RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH The importance of reading: Carrell (1984, p.1) states “reading