Nghiên cứu về nhận thức và thực tế tư duy phê phán trong đọc hiểu tiếng anh của sinh viên trường đại học ngoại ngữ, đại học quốc gia hà nội

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES HUỲNH NGỌC TUYỀN A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND PRACTICES OF CRITICAL THINKING IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC TẾ TƯ DUY PHÊ PHÁN TRONG ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI ) M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 HANOI – 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY- HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES ̀ HUỲNH NGỌC TUYÊN A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION AND PRACTICES OF CRITICAL THINKING IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC TẾ TƯ DUY PHÊ PHÁN TRONG ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI) M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60140111 Supervisor: Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyêñ Xuân Thơm HANOI - 2017 DECLARATION I certify that this minor thesis entitled “A study on students’ perceptions and practices of critical thinking in English reading comprehension at the University of Languages and International studies” is the study of my own research and the substance of this research has not been submitted for a degree to any other university or institution Ha Noi, March , 2017 Signature Huỳnh Ngọc Tuyền i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have given me great assistance in the completion of my research work In the first place, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Assoc.Prof.Dr Nguyen Xuan Thom, who has provided me with insightful discussion, helpful comments, valuable support in the preparation and completion of this thesis Without his guidance and help, this work would not have been accomplished Secondly, my sincere thanks also go to all lecturers and staff of the department of Post- Graduate studies for their valuable lessons and precious helps Thanks to their lessons as well as needed helps, I could overcome enormous obstacles when doing the study I also wish to acknowledge the cooperation of lecturers and the third year students at the University of Languages and International Studies in contributing to the data collection presented in this study Last but not least, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my dear family and friends for their encouragement and great support during my time of fulfilling this thesis ii ABSTRACT The purpose of the present study was to explore the perceptions of the third year students about critical thinking and their practices of critical thinking skills in English reading comprehension The intent was to discover if undergraduate students realize the importance and significance of critical thinking This study advances our understanding of critical thinking through a thorough review of literature and from perspectives of learmers The study was conducted with an deductive approach with the participation of 40 students from the faculty FELTVNU of the ULIS university They were both male and female students of Business Administration and Economic classes Data was collected through interviewing and questionnaire papers The findings of the study revealed that there were cognitive skills, reflection and criteria that students perceived to relate to critical thinking Most of the surveyed students realize and believe in the value of critical thinking as an academic competency that is crucial for their future success and progress Most students practice these skills of critical thinking to their English reading comprehension The results also shed light on students‘ perceptions on the developing of critical thinking in the process of enhancing their own critical reading This study also provides some suggestions for for teaching and learning about the strategies, techniques and practices of effectively reading comprehension to undergraduate students iii TABLES OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ABSTRACT TABLES OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATION PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale Statement of the problem Aims of the research Objectives of the study Research questions Scope of the research Significance of the research Structural organization of the thesis PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER REVIEW OF LITERATURE 1.1 Review of models of Critical Thinking in academic research 1.2 Reading comprehension in a foreign language 1.2.1 Definition 1.2.2 Importance of Reading Comprehension 1.2.3 Types of reading 1.3 Review of relevant studies on the field CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 2.1 Context of the study 2.2 Methods of the study 2.3 Research approach 2.4 Participants iv 2.5 Recruitment of participants and ethical consideration 40 2.6 Data collection instrument and Analysis 41 2.6.1 The questionnaires 41 2.6.2 Interviews 42 2.6.3 Methods of Data analysis 44 CHAPTER RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 45 3.1 Students‘ perceptions of Critical Thinking 45 3.1.1 Critical thinking in relation to the ability to boost up a deeper understanding level 47 3.1.2 Perception of critical thinking with regard to provide an outcome 50 3.2 Students‘ practices of Critical Thinking skills in English Reading 51 3.2.1 The frequency of students‘practices focusing on sub skills of Analysis in English reading comprehension 51 3.2.2 The frequency of students‘ practices focusing on sub skills of Interpretation in English reading comprehension 52 3.2.3 The frequency of students‘ practices focusing on sub skills of Evaluation in English reading comprehension 53 3.2.4 The frequency of students‘ practices focusing on sub skills of Inference in English reading comprehension 54 3.2.5 The frequency of students‘ practices focusing on sub skills of Explanation in English reading comprehension 55 3.2.6 The frequency of students‘ practices focusing on sub skills of Self-regulation in English reading comprehension 56 Participant interviews 57 3.3 Perceptions regarding to developing critical thinking skills 62 3.4 Main findings and Discussions 63 CHAPTER4:SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHING OF READING COMPREHENSION 69 4.1 Balanced instruction comprehension 69 v 4.2 Introducing students critical thinking skills applied for reading comprehension72 4.3 Enhancing students‘ application of critical reading at home 73 4.4 Making students want to read 73 4.5 Guiding students to choose and share good materials 73 4.6 Using reading reflection to enhance undergraduate students‘ critical reading ability 74 4.7 Building a Comprehension Curriculum to encourage critical thinking 75 PART C:CONCLUSION 79 REFERENCES 83 APPENDIX : I vi LIST OF ABBREVIATION CT: Critical Thinking FELTE: Faculty of Language Teaching Education ULIS: University of Languages and International Studies VNU: Vietnam National University vii PART A INTRODUCTION Rationale The world operates at a swift pace No longer is one country isolated from another With the internet and information being attainable in a split second, the need for thinkers who can think about their thinking and synthesize information is imperative for the world to grow into a cohesive community of thinkers In a smaller context of an academic world at universities where information is abundant, it is important for students to be able to critically evaluate information and understand their own thoughts and biase Hence, one of the significant aims of every education is to produce learners who are well informed, that is to say, learners should understand ideas that are important, useful, beautiful and powerful Another is to create learners who have the appetite to think analytically and critically, to use what they know to enhance their own lives and also to contribute to their society, culture and civilization On the other hand, the study of assessing the use of these skills is essential in a world where information and decisionmaking is key to the future success of people around the world Just as it is in other areas of education that are necessary for creating engaged learners, so is learning to think critically The continued need for critical thinking to be taught, interpreted and studied remains evident Critical thinking skills can solve world - wide problems, bond cultures, traditions, and generations by opening meaningful conversations This shows that critical thinking has an important role in education The notions of critical thinking are constantly refered in documentation incorporating desired learning outcomes, benchmark statements and quality indicator at almost all university education Therefore, it is imperative that citizens of the 20th and 21st centuries think critically and the need for critical thinking skills has been identified as a national and international priority Critical thinking has been mentioned From Socrates to contemporary scholars There have been continuous requirement of educated citizens and qualified 35 Ku, K Y (2009) Assessing students‘ critical thinking performance: Urging for measurements using multi-response format Thinking Skills and Creativity, Vol 4, pp 70–76 36 Krashen, S (2004) The power of reading: Insights from the research: Insights from the research ABC-CLIO 37 Legard, R., Keegan, J., & Ward, K ( 2003) In-depth interviews In J Ritchie & J Lewis (Eds.), Qualitative research practice: A guide for social research students and researchers (pp 138-169) Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE 38 Limbach B ,Waugh W (2010), Developing higher level thinking, Journal of Instructional Pedagogies, Vol 3, pp 1–9 39 Linda Dale Bloomberg & Marie F Volpe (2008) Completing Your Qualitative Dissertation: A Roadmap From Beginning to End Los Angeles, London: Sage Publications 40 Lipman, M (2003) Thinking in Education 2nd ed Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 41 Mason, J (2002) ‗Qualitative Interviews: Asking, Listening and Interpreting‘ in T May (ed.) Qualitative Research in Action, London: Sage 42 McNeil, J.D., 1992 Reading Comprehension: New Directions for Classroom Practice, third ed HarperCollins Publishers 43 Meneghetti, C., Carretti, B., & De Beni, R (2006) Components of reading comprehension and scholastic achievement Learning and Individual Differences, 16, 291–301 44 Nguyen, Le, Lai and Hoang (2006) Phát triển tư phê phán cho sinh viên năm thứ khoa Anh thơng qua bốn kĩ nămg nghe-nói-đọc-viết Hanoi: English Department, CFL-VNU 45 Norris, S P., & Phillips, L M (2008) Reading as inquiry In R A Duschl, & R E Grandy (Eds.), Teaching scientific inquiry: Recommendations for research and implementation (pp 233–262) Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense 46 Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching Reading in a Foreign Language Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann English Language Teaching 86 47 Orbea, J., Villabeitia, E., 2010 The teaching of reading comprehension and metacomprehension strategies A program implemented by teaching staff Anales de Psicologia 26 (1), 112–122 48 Pratt, D D (1992) Conceptions of teaching Adult Education Quarterly, 42(4), 203- 220 49 Paul, R.W (2011) The Critical Thinking Movement: 1970 -1997 Available from: http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-movement-3waves/856 50 Paul, R.W and Elder, L (2008) the Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools 51 Paul, R.W and Elder, L (2012) Critical Thinking: Tool for Taking Charge of Your Learning and Your Life Third Edition ed Upper Saddle River: New Jersey: Pearson Education 52 Paul, R.W and Elder, L (2002) Critical Thinking: Tool for Taking Charge of Your Professional and Personal Life Upper Saddle River: New Jersey: Pearson Education 53 Phillips, V and Bond, C (2004) Undergraduates' experiences of critical thinking Higher Education Research & Development [online] 23 (3), pp.277-294 54 Richards, Platt, J and Platt, H (1992) Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics London: Longman 55 Rumelhart D E (1984), Understanding understanding, J Flood (Ed.), Understanding Reading Comprehension, International Reading Association, Newark, DE (1984) pp 1–20 56 Renandya, W A., & Jacobs, G M (2002) Extensive reading: Why aren't we all doing it? In J C Richards & W A Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice (pp 295-302) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 57 Richards, J C & Renandya, W A (eds.) (2002) Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 58 Scherer, M (2008) The thinking teacher Educational Leadership, 65(5), 87 59 Sng, B B (2011) Cultural Perceptions of Critical Thinking Skills of Asian Theological College Students Journal Of Adult Theological Education, 8(2), 153-165 60 Stanovich, K E., & Cunningham, A E (1993) Where does knowledge come from? Specific associations between print exposure and information acquisition Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 211–229 61 Swartz, R J., Costa, A., & Beyer, B (2007) Thinking-based learning: Activating students' potential Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc 62 Tierney, R.J., Pearson, P.D., 1986 Schema theory and implications for teaching reading: a conversation Reading Education No 67 UrbanaChampaign, IL: University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Reading (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED 281 140) 63 Tran, H (2006) A Study on How to Enhance Critical Reading Skills for First year Students Hanoi: English Department, CFL-VNU 64 Van Gelder, T (2005) Teaching critical thinking: Some lessons from cognitive science College Teaching, 53(1), 41–48 65 Wersma, W (2000) Research Methods in Education: An introduction Needham Heights, MA: A Pearson 66 Yousefi S & Mohammadi M (2016), Critical Thinking and Reading Comprehension among Postgraduate Students: The Case of Gender and Language Proficiency Level, Journal of Language Teaching and Research, Vol 7, No 4, pp 802-807 67 Yu-hui, L., Li-rong, Z., Yue, N., 2010 Application of schema theory in teaching college English reading Canadian Social Science (1),59–65 68 Zabit M N., (2010), Problem-based learning on students‘ critical thinking skills in teaching business education in Malaysia: a literature review American Journal of Business Education, Vol 3, No 6, pp 19–32 88 APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRE Do you take the critical thinking module □ Yes I □ No Your perceptions about critical thinking Place a check-mark opposite the item statement corresponding to the rating of your choice Please complete all of them Statements Critical skills of the higher order thinking (analysis, synthesis, evaluation) Critical thinking enables me see the significance in ideas Critical thinking enables me to see things from many angles Critical me to identify gaps in your knowledge information on it Critical thinking will allow me a better understanding of topics Critical always component I Critical thinking encourages me to be aware of multiple answers to questions I feel confident in expressing my own ideas Critical thinking encourages me to be tolerant of different vews that contradict them 10promote critical thinking What you understand critical thinking skills to be? To me critical thinking …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… II II Practices of Critical Thinking skills in English reading comprehension Please put a tich in the box which is likely to be true to you Please all of them In your Reading comprehension, how Never often you the following activities Analysis Pick out the main claim made in a reading and trace back the various reasons the author offers in support of that claim conclusion and the various reasons given to support or criticise it Sketch the relationship of sentences or paragraphs to each other and to the main purpose of the passage Find the assumptions the author is making in his or her reasoning Interpretation Try to understand the author‘s point of view from different persectives as much as possible Paraphrase people‘s ideas in a reading using your own words Identify the author‘s purpose, theme or point of view III Rarely Sometimes Often Always Distinguish a main idea from subordinate ideas in a text constructing a tentative categorization or way of organizing something you are reading Evaluation Judge if the evidence at hand supports the conclusion being drawn Judge the accuracy of the statements 10 claimed by the author of the reading Evaluate 11 if the argument consistent and logically convincing (looking at the evidence and assertions that the author makes) Evaluate the intellectual or practical value 12 of a reading Inference 13 Make some predictions about a reading from the title Confirm the predictions after having 14 almost finished a reading Draw out or construct meaning from the 15 elements in a reading Draw on background knowledge to 16 understand a reading Explanation 17 Cite the evidence that led you to accept or IV reject an author‘s position on an issue in a reading Represents 18 superordinate relationship among concepts or ideas Use evidential consideration to justify the 19 reasoning in a reading Restate the information in different ways 20 Self-regulation 21 Separate your personal opinions and assumptions from those of the author of a passage or text Monitor and correct an interpretation you 22 have offered Vary your reading speed and method 23 according to the type of material and your purpose for reading Change your conclusion in view of the 24 realization that you had misjudged the importance of certain factors when coming to my earlier decision Please add your own reading activites (if 25 any) and evaluate how often you it ……………………………… V III Students’ views toward developing critical thinking Please put a tich in the box which is likely to be true to you Please all of them Aspects I want to develop further I want to understand the benefits tical thinking I want ng skills I want to know what is meant by of reasoning I want onents parts of an argument for al thinking I want to distinguish argument disagreement I want to distinguish argument summaries, nations I want to pick out the key points background information I want to be able to analyse the ure of an argument I want ents are internally consistent I want VI to en the lines I want to recognise underlying ptions in a reading I want to recognise when an ent is based on false premises 1I want to recognise flawed ning I want to be able to evaluate e materials THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION!!!! VII APPENDIX II: Semi-structured interview guide Question 1: What role, in your opinion, does critical thinking skills play in your English reading comprehension? Question 2: What are some comprehension strategies you often employ in your reading?‖ Question 3: How much successful you think is your application critical thinking in your reading comprehension, after you finish the critical thinking module? Question 4: Could you please states some instructional strategies your teachers used to guide your reading comprehension? VIII APPENDIX III: Consent letter of the participants I am presently in the process of writing a thesis which is the final requirement of a Masters of Education in Teaching and Learning for the University of Languages and International Studies The thesis is being supervised by Assocc Prof Dr Nguyen Xuan Thom I am doing a study on students' perceptions and practice of critical thinking kills in English reading comprehension The study involves applying questionnaires and interviews with the third years English Teacher students I will tape the interviews with around to students, which should take 20 to 40 minutes each, and transcribe them Transcripts and research results will be available to subjects upon request Transcripts will be destroyed upon completion of the study, to ensure confidentiality Participation of students is strictly on a volunteer basis Participants have the right to withdraw from the study without prejudice at any time and/or refrain from answering whatever questions he or she prefers to omit Confidentiality of all participants in the study will be strictly kept and at no time will individuals, or universities be identified Arrangements will be made to have the students' tapes erased upon the completion of the study IX ... NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHẬN THỨC VÀ THỰC TẾ TƯ DUY PHÊ PHÁN TRONG ĐỌC HIỂU TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ, ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI) M.A COMBINED PROGRAMME... model is distinct in that it defines critical thinking with a strong sense and a weak sense of critical thinking To explain these strong and weak senses of critical thinking, it is necessary to... thought Each level is associated with a particular level of skill, reflectivity and the weak or strong sense For example, lover order thinking (level 1) is often unreflective; it requires low and