Teachers and students perceptions of effective reading comprehension tasks with reference to tieng anh textbook 12 a survery study at dai mo high school

1 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NHUNG TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVE READING COMPREHENSION TASKS WITH REFERENCE TO TIENG ANH TEXTBOOK 12: A SURVEY STUDY AT DAI MO HIGH SCHOOL Khảo sát quan điểm giáo viên học sinh nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu hiệu sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 12 Trường THPT Đại Mỗ M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 HANOI – 2010 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG NHUNG TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF EFFECTIVE READING COMPREHENSION TASKS WITH REFERENCE TO TIENG ANH TEXTBOOK 12: A SURVEY STUDY AT DAI MO HIGH SCHOOL Khảo sát quan điểm giáo viên học sinh nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu hiệu sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh 12 Trường THPT Đại Mỗ M.A MINOR THESIS FIELD: METHODOLOGY CODE: 601410 SUPERVISOR: NGUYỄN BÀNG, M.A HANOI – 2010 LISTS OF TABLES Table Students‟ perceptions of what teachers should to make the reading lessons effective Table Students‟ perceptions of the roles of various stages of an effective reading comprehension lesson Table Students‟ perceptions of effective classroom reading activities Table How teachers should exploit the textbook effectively Table Students‟ perceptions of effective assessment of Reading Comprehension Table Teachers‟ perceptions of what teachers should to make the reading lesson effective Table Teachers‟‟ perception comprehension lesson Table Teachers‟ perceptions Table How teachers should Table 10 Teachers‟ perception TABLE OF CONTENTS Declaration …………………………………………………………………………… i Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………… ii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………… iii Lists of tables………………………………………………………………………… iv Table of contents …………………………………………………………………… v PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale……………………………………………….…………………… 2.The scope of the study………………………………,,,,,……………… Aims of the study……………………………………………………… Research questions……………………………………………………… Methods of the study………………………………………………… Significance of the study……………………………………………… Design of the study……………………………………………………… PART TWO CHAPTER : LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Definition of Reading……………………………………………………… 1.2 The role of reading in foreign language learning………………………… 1.3 Good Readers vs Bad Readers…………………………………………… 1.4 Approaches to teach reading comprehension……………………………… 1.5 Effective reading comprehension tasks…………………………………… 1.6 Teaching Procedures……………………………………………………… CHAPTER 2: THE STUDY 2.1 Setting and background…………………………………………………… 2.1.1 The school…………………………………………………………… 2.1.2 Participants…………………………………………………………… 2.2 Data collection instrument………………………………………………… CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Data analysis……………………………………………………………… 3.1.1 Data analysis of the students‟ survey questionnaire………………… 3.1.2 Data analysis of the teachers‟ survey questionnaire………………… 3.2 Discussion and findings………………………………………………… PART THREE: CONCLUSION Summary of the major findings…………………………………………… Recommendations for Classroom Practice……………………………… Limitations and recommendations for further study……………………… Summary………………………………………………………………… REFERENCES APPENDICES 10 PART ONE: INTRODUCTION Rationale Reading is an essential skill for English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) For many, reading is the most important skill to master With strengthened reading skills, ESL/ EFL readers will make greater progress and attain greater development in all academic areas In Vietnam, English is taught and learned in a non – native environment so reading is not only an important means to gain knowledge but also a means by which further study takes place According to Carrell (1984:1): - for many students, reading is by far the most importance of the four macro skills, particularly in English as a second or a foreign language Reading is one of the most important language skills in academic settings It is also one of the most complex skills to develop strong second language (L2) fluency Unlike speaking and writing, the reader is not able to control the message or the language used It is also a skill that, like listening, must be carried out under the real time pressure if it is done fluently However, unlike listening, there are no opportunities to ask for clarification or additional information Moreover, the range of vocabulary encountered in reading is much greater than is typically used in speaking and listening settings (Stanovich, 2000, p 252-258) Given this starting point, it is fairly clear that the development of L2 reading abilities represents a serious challenge for both the learners and the teachers Aware of the importance of teaching reading skill, all the teachers of Dai Mo uppersecondary school are trying their best to make the reading lessons effective The teachers themselves always try to find out the best approach to apply in teaching However, the quality of English learning and teaching still remains very low Although a great number of attempts have been made by the teaching staff in order to improve the situation such as applying various teaching approaches and techniques, adapting textbooks to make the lessons suitable for the students to learn, their efforts seem not effective at all The students cannot improve their English competence For all of these reasons, it would be 11 necessary to have an investigation into teachers„ and students‟ perceptions of effective reading comprehension tasks and the mismatch between teachers and students‟ perceptions of effective learning It is hoped that this study will reveal issues concerning teaching and learning reading comprehension tasks to help teachers have a deep understanding about the reading strategies to make decisions on how and what they should to keep their students much more involved in the reading process The scope of the study Having effective reading comprehension lessons is one of the biggest concerns of both the teachers and the learners of English In this study, focus is mainly put on investigating the teachers and students‟ perceptions of effective reading comprehension tasks and the mismatch between teachers and students‟ perceptions of effective learning The study is conducted in only one high school of Dai Mo upper-secondary school on 182 students in four classes in twelfth grade and teachers in the school Aims of the study The study aims to investigate three things: 1) Teachers‟ and students' perceptions of effective reading comprehension tasks 2) Differences between teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of effective reading tasks 3) To give some recommendations for the improvement of the reading lessons Research questions: This study seeks to answer the following research questions: What reading tasks are perceived as effective by the students? What reading tasks are perceived as effective by the teachers? 12 Are there any differences between teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions of effective reading tasks? Methods of the study In order to find out the answers to the above research questions, a survey research was adopted for this study Significance of the study Results of the study will help the teachers and students have a more comprehensive look at the present situation of teaching and learning English reading comprehension tasks And then, teachers will have appropriate and interesting ways to make the reading lessons more effective Design of the study The study is organized around three parts Part one: - Introduction – provides rationale for the study, states what the study is aimed at and what specific tasks it resolves, specifies the scope of the study, and sketches the general structure of the study Part two: - Development – consists of three chapters: Chapter 1: - Literature Review – mentions the theoretical background of the topic with a definition of reading, an overview of the roles of reading in foreign language learning, good readers vs bad readers, approaches to teaching reading comprehension, effective reading comprehension tasks and teaching procedures 13 Chapter 2: - The study – provides information about the study This includes the setting of the study, the participants and the research instruments used for this study Chapter 3: - Data analysis and findings – gives the discription of the students and teachers survey questionnaie This chapter also gives the discussion of the results and suggestions for teachers and students at Dai Mo Uppersecondary school and provides some suggestions for further study Part three: – Conclusion – gives a summary of the whole study, its implicaions for the improvement of the classroom practice, its limitations and suggestions for future research 14 PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background of the research 1.1 Definition of Reading Reading is defined as being composed of four elements: the text, the reader, fluency and reading strategies Reading can be seen as an “interactive” process between a reader and a text, which leads to automaticity or (reading fluency) In this process, the reader interacts dynamically with the text as s/he tries to elicit the meaning and where various kinds of knowledge are being used: linguistic or systemic knowledge (through bottom-up processing) as well as schematic knowledge (through top-down processing) Since reading is a complex process, Grabe argues that “many researchers attempt to understand and explain the fluent reading process by analyzing the process into a set of component skills” (Grabe: 1991, p 379) According to Anderson (1999: 1), “Reading is an active, fluent process which involves the reader and the reading material in building meaning Meaning does not reside on the printed page, nor is it only in the head of the reader A synergy occurs in reading which combines the words on the printed page with the reader‟s background knowledge and experiences.” I think this definition is comprehensive since it describes fully not only the nature of reading comprehension but also process of reading comprehension Reading competence is composed of the following components or sub skills (Grabe, 1991): Automatic recognition skills Vocabulary and structural knowledge Formal discourse structure knowledge Content/world background knowledge Synthesis and evaluation skills/strategies Metacognitive knowledge and skills monitoring 47 REFERENCES Anderson, N.J (1991: 1) 'Individual differences in Strategy Use in Second Language Reading and Testing' Modern Language Journal, 75, 460-472 Anderson, N J (1999) Exploring second language reading: Issues and strategies Boston: Heinle & Heinle Bernhardt, E.B (1986) Reading in the foreign language In B H Wing (Ed.), "Listening, reading, and writing: Analysis and application." Middlebury, VT: Northeast Conference Carrell, P.L (1987) Content and formal schemata in ESL reading "TESOL Quarterly" 21 (3), 461-481 Carrell, P.L., Devine, J., & Eskey, D.E (Eds.) (1988) "Interactive approaches to second language reading." Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carrell , Patricia L., Pharis, B G., & Liberto, J C (1989) Metacognitive strategy training for ESL reading TESOL Quarterly, 23(4), 647-678 Eskey, D.E and Grabe, W (1988) "Interactive Models for Second Language Reading: Perspectives on Instruction," in Carrell, P.L., Devine, J and Eskey, D.E (eds) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading Cambridge: CUP Goodman, K.S (1967) ‘Reading: a psycholinguistic guessing game‟ Journal of the Reading Specialist, Grabe, W & F L Stoller (2001) Reading for Academic Purposes: Guidelines for the ESL/EFL Teacher In M Celce-Murcia (ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (3rd edition), 187-203 Boston: Heinle & Heinle 10 Guthrie, J.T., McGough, K., Bennett, L., & Rice, M.E (1996) Conceptoriented reading instruction: An integrated curriculum to develop motivations and strategies for reading In L Baker, P Afflerbach, & D Reinking (Eds.), Developing engaged readers in school and home communities (pp 165-190) Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum 48 11 Guthrie, J T & Humenick, N M (2004) Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase reading motivation and achievement In P McCardle & V Chhabra (Eds.) The voice of evidence in reading research (pp 329-354) Baltimore: Brookes Publishing 12 Hayes, S C., Kohlenberg, B K., & Hayes, L J (1991) The transfer of specific and general consequential functions through simple and conditional equivalence classes Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 56, 119-137 13 Hedge, Tricia (2003) Teaching & learning in the language classroom UK: OUP 14 Hoang et al (2005) Nghiên cứu đổi phương pháp giảng dạy Tiếng Anh trường trung học phổ thông thuộc số tỉnh đồng Bắc Bộ Đại học Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Quốc Gia, Hà Nội 15 Hoang et al (2006b) Đổi phương pháp dạy Tiếng Anh trung học phổ thông Việt Nam Hà Nội: NXB Giáo Dục 16 Hosenfeld, C (1979) Cindy: A learner in today's foreign language classroom In: W.C Born, (Ed.), "The foreign language learner in today's classroom environment." Northeast Conference Reports (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED 185 834) 17 Krashen, S D & Terrell, T.D (1983) The Natural Approach: Language Acquisition in the Classroom Oxford and San Francisco: Pergammon, Almany 18 Moorman , Kenneth & Ram, Ashwin (1994) Integrating Creativity and reading: A functional approach Proceedings of the Sixteenth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society: Cognitive Science Program Georgia Institute of Technology Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 19 Nunan, D (1991b) Language Teaching Methodology New York: Prentice Hall 20 Nunan, D (1991c) Methods in second language classroom research: a critical review Studies in Second Language Acquisition 13/2, 249-274 49 21 Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching reading skills in a foreign language Oxford: Heinemann English Language Teaching Chapter 8: An extensive reading programme” (pp 127-148) 22 Plaister, T (1968) Reading Instruction For CollegeLevel Foreign Students TESOL Quarterly (3), pp164-168 23 Revell, R & Sweeney, S (1993) In Print: reading business English Cambridge Cambridge University Press 24 Rivers,W(1964).The Psychologist and The Foreign LanguageTeacher Chicago: University of Chicago Press 25 Rumelhart, D.E (1977) "Toward an interactive model of reading." (CHIP Technical Report No 56) Paper presented at the Attention and Performance VI International Symposium, Stockholm, Sweden, July 1975) (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED 155 587) 26 Smith, F (1978) Reading Cambridge Cambridge University Press 27 Stanovich, K E (1988) Explaining the differences between the dyslexic and the garden-variety poor reader: The phonological-core variable-difference model Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 175-190 28 Stanovich, K (2000) Progress in understanding reading New York: Guilford 29 Samuels, S J and Kamil, M L (1988) 'Models of the Reading Process' In Carrell, P; Devine, D, and Eskey, E (eds.), Interactive Approaches in Second Language Reading 30 Ur, P 1996 A course in language teaching: Practice and theory Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 31 Yorio C (1971) ‘Some Sources of Reading Problems for Foreign Language Learners.’ Language Learning, 21, 107-115 50 APPENDIX A Bảng điều tra (dành cho học sinh) Bảng điều tra thiết kế để khảo sát quan niệm giáo viên học sinh nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu có hiêu sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh lớp 12 Trường THPT Đại Mỗ Câu trả lời em đóng góp to lớn với đề tài 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 đánh dấu vào ô trống khung viết câu trả lời ngắn Thơng tin cá nhân Giới tính: Nam Học tiếng Anh …………………… năm Học kĩ đọc hiểu …………… năm Giáo viên cần dạy tất từ đọc để học sinh hiểu đọc Giáo viên cần dạy cho học sinh nắm nội dung đọc mà không thiết phải dạy hết từ Giáo viên cần kích hoạt kiến thức liên quan đến đọc để giúp học sinh hiểu học Giáo viên cần dịch đọc tiếng Việt để giúp học sinh hiểu đọc Giáo viên cần giúp học sinh biết cách đoán từ đọc mà khơng cần phải giải thích từ 51 Giáo viên cần cho học sinh đọc hiểu đại ý đọc trước hiểu chi tiết Giáo viên cần giúp học sinh hiểu câu đọc em hiểu Ngoài nội dung đọc giáo viên cần giúp học sinh hiểu cấu trúc trọng tâm đọc Nếu nội dung đọc xa lạ với học sinh giáo viên cần cung cấp cho em thông tin cần thiết trước cho em học 10 Giáo viên khơng nên yêu cầu học sinh đọc nhanh 11 Khi dạy đọc hiểu, giáo viên cần cho học sinh đọc to cho lớp nghe đọc 12 Khi dạy đọc hiểu, giáo viên cần yêu cầu học sinh đọc làm hết tập sách giáo khoa 13 Khi dạy đọc hiểu giáo viên cần kết hợp dạy đọc hiểu với kỹ khác nói, nghe, viết 14 Một học sinh trả lời câu hỏi lựa chọn sách, điều chứng tỏ em hiểu 15 Khi dạy đọc hiểu giáo viên không nên dùng lại chỗ đọc trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa 16 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần trước đọc (before you read) quan trọng 17 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần đọc (while you read) quan trọng 18 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần sau đọc (After you read) quan trọng 19 Các hoạt động phần đọc (While you read) đọc trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa 20 Nếu học sinh không trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa giáo viên nên chỉnh lại câu hỏi cho phù hợp với học sinh 21 Theo ý kiến bạn cách dạy đọc hiểu trường có hiệu khơng? Vì Sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 52 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Theo bạn để giúp học sinh học đọc hiểu tốt giáo viên cần có thay đổi phương pháp dạy? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! 53 APPENDIX B Bảng điều tra (dành cho giáo viên) Bảng điều tra thiết kế để khảo sát quan niệm giáo viên học sinh nhiệm vụ đọc hiểu có hiêu sách giáo khoa Tiếng Anh lớp 12 Trường THPT Đại Mỗ Câu trả lời thầy,cô đóng góp to lớn với đề tài tơi Các số liệu thông tin thầy, cô đưa sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu, ngồi khơng mục đích khác Xin chân thành cảm ơn hợp tác thầy, cô Hãy đánh dấu vào ô trống khung viết câu trả lời ngắn Thông tin cá nhân  Giới tính: Nam Thầy dậy tiếng Anh …………………… A năm B năm C 10 năm D nhiều 10 năm Giáo viên cần dạy tất từ đọc để học sinh hiểu đọc Giáo viên cần dạy cho học sinh nắm nội dung đọc mà không thiết phải dạy hết từ Giáo viên cần kích hoạt kiến thức liên quan đến đọc để giúp học sinh hiểu học Giáo viên cần dịch đọc tiếng Việt để giúp học sinh 54 hiểu đọc Giáo viên cần giúp học sinh biết cách đoán từ đọc mà khơng cần phải giải thích từ Giáo viên cần cho học sinh đọc hiểu đại ý đọc trước hiểu chi tiết Giáo viên cần giúp học sinh hiểu câu đọc em hiểu Ngồi nội dung đọc giáo viên cần giúp học sinh hiểu cấu trúc trọng tâm đọc Nếu nội dung đọc xa lạ với học sinh giáo viên cần cung cấp cho em thông tin cần thiết trước cho em học 10 Giáo viên không nên yêu cầu học sinh đọc nhanh 11 Khi dạy đọc hiểu, giáo viên cần cho học sinh đọc to cho lớp nghe đọc 12 Khi dạy đọc hiểu, giáo viên cần yêu cầu học sinh đọc làm hết tập sách giáo khoa 13 Khi dạy đọc hiểu giáo viên cần kết hợp dạy đọc hiểu với kỹ khác nói, nghe, viết 14 Một học sinh trả lời câu hỏi lựa chọn sách, điều chứng tỏ em hiểu 15 Khi dạy đọc hiểu giáo viên không nên dùng lại chỗ đọc trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa 16 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần trước đọc (before you read) quan trọng 17 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần đọc (while you read) quan trọng 18 Trong đọc hiểu hoạt động phần sau đọc (After you read) quan trọng 19 Các hoạt động phần đọc (While you read) đọc trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa 20 Nếu học sinh không trả lời câu hỏi sách giáo khoa giáo viên nên chỉnh lại câu hỏi cho phù hợp với học sinh 55 21 Theo ý kiến thầy (cơ) cách dạy đọc hiểu trường có hiệu khơng? Vì sao? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Theo thầy (cô) để giúp học sinh học đọc hiểu tốt giáo viên cần có thay đổi phương pháp dạy? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! 56 APPENDIX C Survey questionnairs (for teachers and students) The survey questions aim to find out teachers and students‟ perceptipon of effective reading comprehension tasks with refererence to English 12 at Dai Mo High School Please respond to all the following questions and statements Your effort in completing this questionnaire would be highly appreciated and of great use to my study You can be positive that you are not going to be identified in any discussion of data Thank you for your cooperation For all the questions, please answer by ticking or writing in the given spaces Statements Teachers must teach all the new words in the reading text Teachers needn‟t teach all the new words but students can understand the main ideas of the text Teachers need to activate students‟ background knowledge to help them understand more Translation is required to help students comprehend the lesson Students are helped to guess the unknown words Students should be let to read and get the general ideas before coming to the text detail Teachers must help students understand every single sentence in order to comprehend the whole text Q8 Teachers need to help the students know the discourse of the text If the topic of the reading text is unfamiliar to the students, teachers need to provide them with necessary information before the lesson 10 Teachers shouldn‟t ask students to read the text at a high speed 57 11 Reading aloud the text is needed 12 Students are required to read and complete all the tasks in the textbook 13 All the skills such as speaking, listening and writing should be integrated when teaching reading skill 14 Students show that they understand the lesson if they could give all the correct anwsers in the multiple choice in the textbook 15 Teachers should not finish at reading and answering the questions mentioned in the textbook 16 The pre-reading activities are the most important part in the reading lesson 17 The while-reading activities are the most important part in the reading lesson 18 The post-reading activities are the most important part in the reading lesson 19 The main activities in the while-reading part are to read and answer all the questions in the reading text 20 If the students could not anwer the questions in the text, teachers need to adapt the questions to the students‟ level of proficiency 21 Are the reading lessons effective at your school? Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 22 Please give some recommendations for the improvement of the reading lessons? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 58 ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you very much for your help! ... the data analysis and findings 29 CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 3.1 Data analysis 3.1.1 Data analysis of the students? ?? survey questionnaire (i) Students? ?? perceptions of what teachers. .. integrating reading tasks with other language skills and reading at a reasonable speed as the most effective reading comprehension tasks Interestingly, only half of them agreed that reading and. .. and reading at a reasonably slow speed as the most effective reading comprehension tasks Also, reading aloud was not regarded as an effective reading task Most of teachers shared these ideas with