Using mind mapping techniques to develop ly thuong kiet high school 11th grade students’ reading text summary skills

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************** PHẠM THỊ THÚY VÂN USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP LY THUONG KIET HIGH SCHOOL 11TH GRADE STUDENTS' READING TEXT SUMMARY SKILLS NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC ỨNG DỤNG BIỂU ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG TÓM TẮT BÀI ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT LÝ THƯỜNG KIỆT M.A MINOR THESIS Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 HANOI – 2012 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************** PHẠM THỊ THÚY VÂN USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP LY THUONG KIET HIGH SCHOOL 11TH GRADE STUDENTS' READING TEXT SUMMARY SKILLS NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC ỨNG DỤNG BIỂU ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỂ PHÁT TRIỂN KỸ NĂNG TÓM TẮT BÀI ĐỌC CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT LÝ THƯỜNG KIỆT M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60.14.10 Supervisor: ĐỖ BÁ QUÝ, M.Ed HANOI – 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS List of abbreviations iv List of figures and tables v Part A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale of the study Aims of the study Research hypothesis and questions Method of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Organization of the study PART B: DEVELOPMENT Chapter I: Literature review 1.1 Reading and reading comprehension 1.1.1 Definition of Reading 1.1.2 Definitions of reading comprehension 1.1.3 The stages of a reading lesson 1.1.3.1 The pre- reading stage 1.1.3.2 The while- reading stage 1.1.3.3 The post- reading stage 1.2 Reading text Summary 1.2.1 Definition of a reading text summary 1.2.2 Steps to writing a reading text summary 1.2.3 Types of reading text summaries 10 1.2.3.1 Descriptive summary 10 1.2.3.2 Informative summary 10 iv 1.2.3.3 Evaluative summary 11 1.3 Mind mapping 11 1.3.1 Definition of mind map 11 1.3.2 Steps to create a mind map 12 1.3.3 Definition of mind mapping techniques 13 1.3.4 The classification of mind mapping techniques 14 1.3.4.1 Network tree 14 1.3.4.2 Event chain 15 1.3.4.3 Cycle concept map 15 1.3.4.4 Spider concept map 16 1.3.5 Advantages and disadvantages of mind mapping techniques 17 1.3.5.1 Advantages of mind mapping techniques 17 1.3.5.2 Disadvantages of mind mapping techniques 17 1.3.6 Steps of summarizing the reading texts through mind mapping techniques 18 1.3.6.1 Skim 18 1.3.6.2 Read 18 1.3.6.3 Mind Map 18 1.3.6.4 Study 18 1.3.6.5 Personalise 18 1.4 Related studies of mind mapping 19 1.5 Summary 19 Chapter II: The study 20 2.1 The context of the study 20 2.2 Participants 21 2.3 Rationale for using quasi-experiment 22 2.4 Experiment design 23 2.5 Research Variables 24 v 2.5.1 Independent Variable 24 2.5.2 Dependent Variable 24 2.6 Data collection instruments and procedure 24 2.6.1 Data collection instruments 24 2.6.2 Data collection procedure 25 2.7 Data Analysis procedure 26 Chapter III: Data analysis and discussions 27 3.1 Data analysis 27 3.1.1 Tests 27 3.1.1.1 Comparison between pretest scores of experimental class and control class 27 3.1.1.2 Comparison between pretest and posttest scores of experimental class and control class 28 3.1.1.3 Comparison between posttest scores of experimental class and control class 29 3.1.2 Questionnaires 30 3.2 Discussion 33 3.2.1 The effectiveness of mind mapping technique in developing students' reading text summary skills at LTK high school 34 3.2.2 Students' attitudes towards using mind mapping techniques 34 3.3 Summary 34 PART C: Conclusion 35 Conclusions 35 Recommendations 36 Limitations 36 Suggestions for further research 37 References 39 Appendixes I Appendix I vi Appendix II Appendix3 VII Appendix IX Appendix X Appendix XII vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS LTKHS Ly Thuong Kiet high school C Control class E Experimental class S.D Standard deviation M Mean MM Mind Mapping MOET Ministry of Education and Training List of figures and tables Figure 1: Pretest and posttest scores of control and experimental group Table 1: Activities in the post - reading stage Table 2: Background information about the participants Table 3: The design of the study Table 4: Results of t-test for comparison between the pretest scores of experimental class and control class Table 5: Descriptive statistics for the pretest and posttest scores of the experimental and control groups Table 6: Results of t-test for comparison between posttest scores of experimental class and control class Table 7: Students‟ attitudes towards teaching reading text summary through mind mapping PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Nowadays, English is a compulsory subject in the school curriculum in Vietnam, and the teaching and learning of that international language has been recently paid great attention to Together with teachers‟ help and guidance, students have to try their best to master language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking in order to communicate in English successfully Among these four skills, reading skill is an essential skill for further learning Especially, reading text summary skills after reading is very beneficial to students to gain better understanding and memorizing of the text Thus, students can consolidate or reflect upon what has been read and relate it to their own knowledge In addition, reading text summary contributes enormously to develop writing, speaking and listening skills However, reading text summary is not easy for students to It needs more useful techniques to help students summarize texts easily Because there are still a large number of students having poor reading comprehension not only in rural areas but also in urban ones As a teacher of Ly Thuong Kiet high school (LTKHS), I find that teaching and learning reading comprehension here still focus on grammar, vocabulary and structures Hence, students always find it difficult to understand the content of the reading text, to find the main idea, synonym or antonym of the words, and general message of the text and most of them lack of motivation to read Beside that, there are still many teachers who seem not to pay enough attention to the importance of teaching reading text summary in post reading stage due to the limited time Consequently, Students can not remember and summarize the text after reading From the above reasons, I decided to choose: “Using mind-mapping techniques to develop LTK High school 11 th grade students‟ reading text summary skills” for my thesis of the MA course to help students read the text effectively and can summarize the text easily Hopefully, this study will make a small contribution to the application of teaching reading text summary approach in the post reading stage at Vietnamese high schools in general and at LTK high school in Hai Phong in particular Aims of the study The aims of this study are to find out the more useful teaching methods for improving students‟ reading text summary skills To be more specific, the primary objectives of the study were set up as follows: - To test the effectiveness of using mind-mapping techniques to develop 11 th grade students‟ reading text summary skills compared to conventional techniques - To investigate the experimental students‟ attitudes towards teaching reading text summary through using mind mapping technique Research hypothesis and questions To achieve the aims and objectives, the study was designed to test the hypothesis: Teaching reading text summary in post reading stage through mind mapping techniques is more effective to the development of students’ summary skills than the traditional approach which emphasizes the memorization of words and contents of the reading passage In order to find out whether the research hypothesis would be accepted or rejected, the following research questions were formulated and to be answered Why is using mind mapping techniques effective to improve students‟ reading text summary skills? What are the students‟ attitudes towards teaching reading text summary in post reading stage through mind mapping techniques after the experimental period? Method of the study This study was conducted based on quasi-experimental research with pretest, posttest, and questionnaire in order to determine the causal relationship between 28 Nuttall, C (2000) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language 2nd ed Oxford: Heinemann 29 Paul Emmerson (2010) in the article “Using Mind Map in BE-2010” 30 Roe, Stood & Burns (1987) The Content Areas Houghton Mifflin Company 31 Sarada M (2008) The Complete guide paragraph to essay writing An invaluable aid to master the art of writing for specific purposes rd edition Sterling publishers Rt Ltd, New Delhi 32 Suharsimi Arikunto (1998) Dasar-Dasar Evaluasi Pendidikan (Edisi Revisi) Jakarta: Bumi Aksara 33 Swales, John M and Christine B Feat (1994) Academic Writing for Graduate Students, Essential Tasks and Skills Ann Arbor: U Michigan P.105-130 34 Trianto, M.Pd (2009) Mendesain Model Pembelajaran Inovatif: Konsep, Landasan, dan Implementasinya pada Kurikulum Tingkat Satuan Dasar Pendidikan (KTSP) Jakarta Kencana 35 Troyka, L.Q (1995) Simon and Schuster Handbook for Writers (4th ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall 36 Williams, E (1984) Reading in the Language Classroom New York: Macmillan, 43 Appendix 1: THE TOPICS OF READING Schedule of the research in THE post reading stage Experimental group No Week 1st -2nd 3rd -4th 5th -6th 7th -8th 9th-10th ( Adapted from Tieng Anh 11, Van, Hoang Van et al, 2002) I Appendix SAMPLE Unit 11 : SOURCES OF ENERGY Lesson 1: Reading I Aims : By the end of the lesson , students will be able to : understand the passage identify the main idea guess the meaning in context express their own ideas about sources of energy II Method: - Communicative approach III Skills : Integrated skills ( Reading skill) IV Teaching aids : Flipchart, pictures, CD player V Teaching stages : Stages Review 5’ Before reading 10’ While you read 20’ II After you read 9’ 1’ Homework III Sample Unit 15 : SPACE CONQUEST Lesson1: READING I Aims : By the end of the lesson students can : scan read for specific ideas skim read for general ideas II Method: Communicative approach III SKILLS: Integrated skills ( especially reading skill) IV Teaching aid: Textbook, chalk, blackboard, cassette player V Teaching stages : Stages I.Warmer 5’ IV Before you read 10’ While you read 20’ After you read 8’ 2’ Homework VI Appendix 3: The pretest and posttest Pre-reading test (Time allowance: 15 minutes) Name:………………………… Class:…………………… I Fill each blank with a suitable word.(5 points) renewable fossil nuclear geothermal solar panel ………… energy is connected with the natural heat of rock deep in the ground … fuel was formed over millions of years from the remains of dead animals or plants A …… is a piece of equipment on a roof that uses light and heat energy from the sun to produce hot water and electricity We should pay more attention to……… sources of energy such as wind and solar power The Western countries are worried about Iran’ s…………… capacity II Write a summary paragraph (within 80 words) about sources of energy (5 points) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ………… Post reading test (Time allowance: 15 minutes) VII Name:………………………… Class:…………………… I Fill each blank with a suitable word.(5 points) weightlessness astronaut tension historical conquering Before Gagarin’ s _ flight, there were still enormous uncertainties Laughter can be a great release of _ After landing, the team members were greeted like heroes Neil Armstrong, an American , was the first man to step on the moon's surface The 27-year-old Soviet cosmonaut became the first person to eat and drink in II Write a summary paragraph (within 80 words) about Space Conquest (5 points) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……… Appendix 4: Results of the pretest and posttest Marks VIII 10 Appendix 5: The post program questionNaire for the experimental students This questionnaire is designed for my research into the use of mind mapping technique to develop students’ reading text summary at Ly Thuong Kiet high school Your assistance in completing the survey is highly appreciated All the IX information provided by you is solely for the study purpose, and you can be sure that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data Thank you very much for your cooperation Please tick (V) and write the answer where necessary Opinions I enjoyed mind maps because they were fun and easy to understand It is effective to summarize the text through mind mapping in post reading stage Mind maps help me understand the read texts quickly Using mind maps helps remind me more wh we learned Using mind maps helps me identify the main ideas in the reading Using mind maps helps me remember m vocabulary better Mind mapping requires me to look at th reading in more depth Using mind maps doesn‟t help me learn English better than the old method Using mind maps is difficult for me 10 Using mind mapping is only appropriate wit students who learn well 11 What you often after reading the texts? (You may choose more than one option)  summarize them  translate them into Vietnamese  ask students to discuss them  write a short paragraph related to the topic of the text X  others (give example) ……………………………………………………… 12 Are you more or less motivated to summarize the text through mind mapping than the conventional method? Why? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Do you like the teacher continue using mind mapping to help you summarize the reading texts? Why or why not? ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………… The end Appendix 6: Some students’ mind maps XI Unit 12: The Asian Games Unit 15: Space Conquest XII ... of Mind mapping technique in developing students’ reading text summary skills at LTK high school The study reported using mind mapping technique to develop LTK students‟ reading text summary skills. .. ********************** PHẠM THỊ THÚY VÂN USING MIND- MAPPING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP LY THUONG KIET HIGH SCHOOL 11TH GRADE STUDENTS' READING TEXT SUMMARY SKILLS NGHIÊN CỨU VIỆC ỨNG DỤNG BIỂU ĐỒ TƯ... decided to choose: ? ?Using mind- mapping techniques to develop LTK High school 11 th grade students‟ reading text summary skills? ?? for my thesis of the MA course to help students read the text effectively