Application of task based language teaching in teaching writing to non major english students at namdinh industrial college

ii ABSTRACT Reading is considered the first skill - a complicated skill requiring the coordination of a number of interrelated sources of information taught in each unit as it is the input of language which is also the process of constructing meaning from the written texts “A reading strategy can be described as any interactive process that has the goal of obtaining meaning from connected text, and reading skills operate within the context of such reading strategies” (Hudson, 2007: 107) This study investigated what reading strategies the students are trained in the reading lessons and the teachers’ and students’ perceptions of reading strategies training The population of this study was composed of the teachers and grade ten students at Le Quy Don High School, Hanoi Three different methods including questionnaire, classroom observations and interviews were used to collect data A questionnaire consisting of 20 items was administered to 10 teachers and 80 students Classroom observations conducted with four teachers and their seven classes Interviews were conducted with teachers teaching at ten grade classes Reading strategies employed in the three stages of a reading lesson: pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading were investigated The results reveal that the students and teachers used more pre-reading strategies such as making use of pictures, titles and warm-up questions than post-reading strategies As for the while-reading phase the most effectively employed strategies were underlining key words and/ or phrases and guessing /predicting the meaning of unknown words The teachers did have the knowledge of reading strategies However, teachers and students' perceptions were not perfectly matched Data collected from the questionnaire were analyzed statistically and recommendations are made to deal with the problems in training reading strategies in English reading skill lesson for grade10 students at Le Quy Don High School iii LIST OF CHARTS Chart 1: Pre-reading Strategies……………………………………………………… 25 Chart 2: While-reading Strategies …………………………………………………….26 Chart 3: Post-reading Strategies ……………………………………………………….28 Chart 4: Pre-reading Strategies…………………………………………………………29 Chart 5: While-reading Strategies …………………………………………………… 30 Chart 6: Post-reading Strategies ……………………………………………………… 32 LIST OF FIGURE Figure Inter-relationships among perception, practice and progress………………………14 Figure 2: Teacher cognition, schooling, professional education, and classroom practice……15 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Pre- reading Strategies……33 Table 2: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) While- reading Strategies…33 Table 3: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: (Unit 14, 15, 16) Post- reading Strategies… 34 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGEMENTS ……………………………………………………………………i ABSTRACT .ii LIST OF CHARTS, FIGURES ,TABLES ………………………………………… …….iii PART A INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………….…1 Rationale… ………………………………………………………… …….1 Aims of the study ………………………………………………………… 3 Scope of the study ………………………………………………………… Significance of the study ………………………………………………….…3 Research method used in the study ………………………………………….3 Organization of the thesis ………………………………………………… PART B DEVELOPMENT …………………………………………………………….5 CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………………….5 1.1 The theory of reading……………………………………………………………………….5 1.1.1 Definition of reading………………………………………… …………5 1.1.2 Models of reading process.……………………………………… … 1.1.2.1 Bottom- up model……….…………………………………… …… 1.1.2.2 Top-down model…………………………………….…………………6 1.1.2.3 Interactive models…………………………… .7 1.2 Reading strategies………………………………………………………………………….8 1.2.1 Language learning strategies………………………………… …………8 1.2.1.1 Definition………………………………………………………………8 1.2.1.2 Classification…………………………………………………….…… 1.2.1.3 The importance of strategies in the learning process… 10 1.2.2 Reading strategies/ Strategies in teaching second language reading……………………………………………….………………… …….11 1.2.2.1 Definition…………………………………………………………… 11 1.2.2.2 Teaching reading skills ………………………………………………12 v 1.3 Teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training…………………………13 1.3.1 Definition of perception………………………………….……………………….… 13 1.3.2 Teachers and students’ perception in language strategies…………….14 1.4 Review of reading strategy research…………………………………………………… 16 CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………21 2.1 Research methodology……………………………………………………………………21 2.1.1 Research questions…………………………………………………… 21 2.1.2 Informants………………………………………………………………21 2.1.2.1 The teachers and grade 10 students at Le Quy Don High School… 21 2.1.2.2 The syllabus and textbook design…………………………………….21 2.1.2.3 Text types in reading lessons in English 10 and methods used………22 2.2 Instruments……………………………………………………………………………… 22 2.2.1 Questionnaire………………………………………………………… .23 2.2.2 Classroom observation……………………………………………… 23 2.2.3 Interview……………………………………………………………… 23 2.3.Procedure……………………………………………………………………… ……… 24 CHAPTER III: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25 3.1 Reading strategies trained in the reading lessons……………………………………… 25 3.1.1 Questionnaires ………………………………………………………….25 3.1.1.1 Questionnaires for teachers………………………………………… 25 3.1.1.1.Questionnaires for students……………….………………………… 28 3.1.2 Classroom observation………………………………………………….33 3.1.3 Interview……………………………………………………………… 35 3.2 The teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategy training…………………… 37 3.2.1 Questionnaire………………………………………………………… 37 3.2.2 Questionnaire, classroom observation and interview………………… 38 CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION 40 4.1 Summary of the finding………………………………………………………………… 40 4.1 Research question 1……………………………………………………40 vi 4.1 Research question 2……………………………………………………41 4.2 Some pedagogical implication of the study………………………………………… … 41 4.3 Limitation…………………………………………………………………………………42 4.4 Suggestions for further study…………………………………………………………… 42 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………….44 APPENDICES APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX APPENDIX A INTRODUCTION Rationale English is one of the most important core subjects in many schools in Vietnam English classes have been systematically introduced to elementary schools from grade Vietnamese students study English for at least 10 years: three years in elementary school, four years in lower secondary school, and three years in upper/ high school In spite of the enthusiasm for studying English, the profile of Vietnamese students’ strategies for learning English in general and reading strategies in particular is not well researched Likewise, “learning strategy” and “reading strategies” are still quite a vague concept to both Vietnamese EFL teachers and learners, although such strategies could definitely help them learn English more efficiently if they knew and employed such strategies consciously Traditionally, researchers have agreed that reading was a passive or receptive process in which the reader attempted to decode the intended meaning of the author through recognizing the letters and words as meaningful units, the reader was merely a recipient of information from the printed pages and brought nothing to the text ( Barnett, 1988) However, modern research on reading has found the reading process active rather than passive as well as individualized and complicated (Grabe, 1991; Wallace, 1992) Many studies such as “Teaching How To Learn- Learning Strategies in ESL” (Willing, 1989), “Teaching Second Language Reading” (Hudson, 2007), “New Ways in Teaching Reading” (Day, 1993) and Reading Through Context: How Real and Perceived Strategy Use Affects L2 Comprehension (Barnett, 1988) have indicated that the use of appropriate strategies may improve reading comprehension Studies have also suggested that readers could be trained to learn and use reading strategies, which raised the need to incorporate reading strategy instruction into school curriculum Reading strategy instruction is making its way into regular classrooms The integration of reading strategy instruction with cooperative learning has changed the traditional pattern of reading as an individual activity Group efforts, peer cooperation, and teacher-student interaction become an important part of the new reading strategy instruction approach As English is taught and learned in a non – native environment, reading is an important means to gain knowledge Reading is an essential skill for English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) With strengthened reading skills, ESL/ EFL readers will make greater progress and attain greater development in all academic areas This is also true to the students at Le Quy Don High School since reading skills provide them with a variety of language expressions, structures and a wide range of information, knowledge It is not incidentally when the reading lesson in the new text book is introduced in the initial period of each unit Furthermore reading is tested in the two most important English examinations in Vietnam which are the school final examination and the university entrance examination for students enrolling in D diviation Both are administered at the end of grade 12, and neither has a Listening and Speaking component When dealing with reading lessons, students, especially grade 10 students often experience the lack of reading strategies which are essential for them to overcome the challenges in the classroom Many researchers indicate that EFL students find it difficult to comprehend the texts and achieve their goal of reading success (Rumelhart, 1977; Stanovic, 1980) Recent researchers have also found that becoming more aware of what readers when they read, becoming conscious of their own reading processes, it is a power tool for improving reading efficiency (Carrell 1989) To become better readers, students need to become aware of how they are reading and what they could to improve comprehension They need to develop their level of metacognitive awareness (Aebersold & Field 1997) Therefore, teacher should consider teaching students effective reading strategies Teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategies will, with no doubt, influence their constructions of the teaching and learning environment, even though learners are the focus of the teaching activities Learner-centered does not mean that learners are "loners" They are in the social community of learners and teachers who help and foster each other in the co-constructions of the learning and teaching environment This research into training reading strategies in English reading lessons for grade 10 students provides a particular view of how students are trained reading strategies to reading comprehension tasks and the teachers and students’ perception of reading strategy training It is also hoped that this study will reveal issues concerning training reading strategies and provide the teachers and students with an in – depth understanding about reading strategies Aims of the study The major purposes of this study are: * To investigate what reading strategies students are trained in the reading lessons * To examine teachers’ and students’ perception of reading strategy training In order to achieve the above aims of the study, the following major research questions addressed: - What reading strategies are the students trained in the reading lessons ? - What are the teachers and students’ perceptions of reading strategies training? Scope of the study The study investigates the teaching and learning reading strategies of teachers and grade 10 students at Le Quy Don High School The study of learning strategies in other English skills would be beyond the scope Significance of the study The study is the first one to be carried out in the field of reading strategies at Le Quy Don High School, Hanoi It highlights the important factor of training reading strategies to students, especially grade 10 students More importantly, it provides not only the classification scheme for these reading strategies, but also a thorough analysis of the frequency in the reading strategies utilized by teachers and students and their perceptions of reading strategies training Research methods used in the study This study is conducted as a descriptive study To achieve the aims mentioned above it utilizes both qualitative and quantitative approaches employing questionnaire, class observation and interview to collect information on reading strategies training in English reading skill lessons for grade 10 students Organization of the thesis Three parts will be presented in the thesis: Part A Introduction: includes a rationale of the study, aims of the study, scope of the study, significance of the study as well as organization of the thesis Part B Development: consists of three chapters: literature review, methodology and finding and discussion Part C Conclusion: summarizes the finding, points out the limitations and suggests further study XX 11 Telling students to skip the unknown words 12 Stressing the importance of reading every word 13 Asking students to underline key words and/ or phrases 14 Telling students to make guesses about upcoming information in the text 15 Teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully Table 6: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to Post- reading Strategies No Items 16 Asking comprehension questions about the text 17 Asking students to discuss the text after reading 18 Asking students to summarize the text (written or oral) 19 Assigning students tasks to using the information in 20 Asking students to interpret the text Unit 15: CITIES Table 7: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to Pre- reading Strategies No Items Asking students to read the titles, look at the illustration/ pictures to predict what the text is about/ to get the main ideas of the text XXI Having the students quickly look over the text before reading Asking students warm-up questions related to the text before reading Teaching vocabulary before students read the text Asking students to relate the text/ topic to their experience Table 8: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to While- reading Strategies No Items Asking students to note down key words while reading Setting time limit for reading in class Telling students to read carefully and slowly Allowing students to use dictionary 10 Asking students to guess /predict the meaning of unknown words 11 Telling students to skip the unknown words 12 Stressing the importance of reading every word 13 Asking students to underline key words and/ or phrases 14 Telling students to make guesses about upcoming information in the text 15 Teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully XXII Table 9: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to Post- reading Strategies No Items 16 Asking comprehension questions about the text 17 Asking students to discuss the text after reading 18 Asking students to summarize the text (written or oral) 19 Assigning students tasks to using the information in 20 Asking students to interpret the text Table 10 Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to Pre- reading Strategies No Items Asking students to read the titles, look at the illustration/ pictures to predict what the text is about/ to get the main ideas of the text Having the students quickly look over the text before reading Asking students warm-up questions related to the text before reading Teaching vocabulary before students read the text Asking students to relate the text/ topic to their experience XXIII Table 11: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to While- reading Strategies No Items Asking students to note down key words while reading Setting time limit for reading in class Telling students to read carefully and slowly Allowing students to use dictionary 10 Asking students to guess /predict the meaning of unknown words 11 Telling students to skip the unknown words 12 Stressing the importance of reading every word 13 Asking students to underline key words and/ or phrases 14 Telling students to make guesses about upcoming information in the text 15 Teaching students to read the first and last paragraphs more carefully Table 12: Teachers’ actual classroom practices: Items related to Post- reading Strategies No Items 16 Asking comprehension questions about the text 17 Asking students to discuss the text after reading XXIV 18 Asking students to summarize the text (written or oral) 19 Assigning students tasks to using the information in the text 20 Asking students to interpret the text XXV APPENDIX 6: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS Xin cho biết khó khăn mà học sinh gặp phải học đọc Theo cô đâu giải pháp cho vấn đề đó? Cơ làm để biết học sinh hiểu bài? Cơ có sử dụng thủ thuật đọc thường xun khơng? Cơ có dạy học sinh thủ thuật đọc không? Tại sao? Tại không? Với hoc sinh thủ thuật đọc có quan trọng khơng? Cơ thường u cầu học sinh phải chuẩn bị cho học đọc Theo cô đâu yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc dạy thủ thuật đọc? Cơ có hài lịng với dạy khơng? Tại sao? XXVI APPENDIX 6: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS What are the difficulties that your students face in the reading lessons? What kind of solution you suggest for the problems? What you to ensure your students understand the reading material? Do you often use reading strategies in your reading lessons? Do you train reading strategies in your reading lessons? Why/ why not? What your students have to to prepare for a reading lesson? What factors have influence on training students reading strategies? Are you satisfied with this lesson? XXVII APPENDIX 7: Interview tran Question Content Lead – in M: Mọi người nói đọc cho học sinh lớ H: Học sinh lớp 10 M: Sao vậy? Các em vấn đề ngữ pháp lại H: Đúng vậy, nhưn vào cấp 3, không ch tiếng Anh, n với giáo viên M: Đối với H: Với em k bạn trả lời, đặt c yêu cầu em t cho lớp Còn với bạn phần pre M: Nếu lớp k hỏi, tóm tắt ý b H: Không hẳn gắng hướng dẫn hiểu đoạn kh M: Theo cô làm H: Tôi đặt câu hỏi v bài, thảo luận H Tuy nhiên lớp học đ tơi giao n gọi hai em m XXVIII lên bảng tóm M: Kết H: Các em hào tốt M: Cơ có thường xu H: Tơi nghĩ có, n M: Cụ thể H: Ví dụ 14, sử dụng thủ thu đọc lướt, tóm tắt bà M: Cơ có dạy thủ th H: Có khơng cịn l lớp c đọc cụ thể với nhữn M: Ví dụ cụ thể H: Ví dụ với kiểu b thận, đọc đốn nghĩ học sinh lớp tham gia thi khối D chủ yếu M: Còn với l H: Những lớp ng vài thủ thuật nh học sinh không M: Theo cô học sin H: Như đề cập pháp Trước XXIX từ phần cuối đọc học sinh tìm hiểu th sinh trình bày nhữn M: Cơ thấy có hiệu H: Hiệu ạ, tơi cho điểm T học sinh M: Theo đâu H: Nhiều chị ạ, thứ task yêu cầu, m M: Còn lớp H: Ở lớp h học tự chọn nân lớp ban A M: Cơ có hài lịng H: Cũng tàm tạm M: Tại sao? Tôi th H: Đây lớp ban A nên em M: Vậy xin phép c H: … XXX APPENDIX 8: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THE TEACHERS Teachers Gender female female male female female female female female female 10 female ... the need to incorporate reading strategy instruction into school curriculum Reading strategy instruction is making its way into regular classrooms The integration of reading strategy instruction... so far All of these serve as a basis for an investigation into training reading strategies in English reading skill lessons 1.1 The theory of reading 1.1.1 Definition of reading Reading is an... order to direct their own learning According to her there are three general categories of self-directing strategies: (1) knowing about language (relating to what language and language learning involves,