utilizing metacognitive awareness of reading strategies to overcome reading comprehension problems among efl learners at nguyen tat thanh university

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY PHAN NGOC HUY UTILIZING METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS OF READING STRATEGIES TO OVERCOME READING COMPREHENSION PROBLEMS AMONG EFL LEARNERS AT NGUYEN TAT THANH UNIVERSITY MASTER OF ART IN TESOL Ho Chi Minh City, June 2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled “Utilizing Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies to Overcome Reading Comprehension Problems among EFL Learners at Nguyen Tat Thanh University” is my own work Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis contains material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of the thesis This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution Ho Chi Minh City, June 2019 PHAN NGOC HUY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Master of Arts in TESOL thesis is the result of a fruitful collaboration of all the people who have kindly contributed with an enormous commitment and enthusiasm in my research Without the help of those who supported me at all times and in all possible ways, it would not have been feasible for me to complete my M.A thesis First of all, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr NGUYEN DINH THU, from Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, whose compassion, encouragement and guidance throughout the research have helped in the completion of this thesis I have truly learned from the excellence of his skills and from his wide experience in research; no words are adequate to describe the extent of my gratitude I am also sincerely grateful to all lecturers of the Open University in Ho Chi Minh City for providing me with invaluable sources of intellectual knowledge during my study there This knowledge was very useful when I conducted this research Besides, a big thank you goes to my family for their financial and spirit support during my thesis completion process I owe a great debt of gratitude to the anonymous participants who contributed data to this thesis Without them the data collection for this study could not properly been carried out ii ABSTRACT Reading is a complex information processing skill in which the readers interact with the text in order to create meaning discourse; therefore, most Vietnamese EFL students can hardly avoid reading comprehension problems In addition, metacognitive strategies have been proved as a potential way to heighten EFL readers’ meaning construction, reading comprehension and help them to avoid reading problems Hence, the prominent purpose of the present research was to discover the university learners’ reading problems, along with their perceptions and actual utilization of metacognitive reading strategies during their reading process To achieve this purpose, a body of literature on reading comprehension, reading problems and metacognitive strategies were reviewed in the theory chapter to shape the theoretical framework of the study Based on this conceptual framework, the study was conducted at the Nguyen Tat Thanh University with the sample of 78 EFL fourth-years Data were collected through three instruments of a 48-item questionnaire, a reading comprehension test and an interview Quantitative results from the questionnaire and the test were analyzed by SPSS 20.0 while qualitative results from the interview were thematically analyzed The findings of the study indicated that most of the target sample often encountered reading problems apropos of linguistic knowledge, background knowledge, motivation and reading strategy use In addition, although most of them agreed on the great merits of metacognitive reading strategies, which would help them self-plan, self-monitor and self-evaluate their reading process, their actual use frequency of these strategies was at a low level Moreover, problem-solving strategies were remarkably utilized among the EFL learners rather than other groups including global strategies and supporting strategies Based on the research findings, the paper concluded with some pedagogical implications and a recommendation for further study in the line of research on metacognitive reading strategies to tackle reading breakdowns and improve reading comprehension iii TABLE OF CONTENT Page STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENT iv viii LIST OF TABLES LIST OF CHARTS, FIGURES x Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Educational and Social-cultural Background of the Study 1.2 Rationale for the Study 1.3 Problem Statement 1.4 Research Objectives 1.5 Research Questions 1.6 Structure of the Thesis Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Background of Reading Comprehension 2.1.1 Definitions of Reading Comprehension 2.1.2 Reading Comprehension Models 2.1.2.1 Bottom-up Model 10 2.1.2.2 Top-down Model 11 2.1.2.3 Interactive Model 12 2.1.3 Reading Comprehension Problems 13 2.1.3.1 Language Knowledge-related Problems 13 2.1.3.2 Background Knowledge-related Problems 14 2.1.3.3 Reading Strategy-related Problems 15 2.1.3.4 Reading Motivation-related Problems 15 2.2 Background of Metacognitive Reading Strategies 2.2.1 Reading Strategies 16 16 2.2.1.1 Definitions of Reading Strategies 16 2.2.1.2 Classifications of Reading Strategies 18 iv 2.2.2 Metacognitive Reading Strategies 18 2.2.2.1 Metacognitive Awareness or Metacognition 18 2.2.2.2 Definition of Metacognitive Reading Strategies 19 2.2.2.3 Types of Metacognitive Reading Strategies 20 2.2.3 Knowledge Source Necessitating Metacognitive Awareness in Strategic 23 Reading 2.2.3.1 Declarative Knowledge 23 2.2.3.2 Procedural Knowledge 24 2.2.3.3 Conditional Knowledge 24 2.2.4 Metacognition in EFL Reading Strategies among Skilled and Unskilled Readers 25 26 2.3 Previous Studies 2.3.1 Outside Vietnamese Context 26 2.3.2 Inside Vietnamese Context 27 2.3.3 Research Gaps 28 2.4 Chapter Summary 33 Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY 34 3.1 Overall Approach 34 3.1.1 Case Study 34 3.1.2 Mixed Methods Design 35 3.1.3 Research Sampling Technique 36 3.1.3.1 Phase 1: The Sample of Questionnaire Piloting 36 3.1.3.2 Phase 2: The Sample of Questionnaire and Test Main Study 37 3.1.3.3 Phase 3: The Sample of Interview Involvement 37 37 3.2 Research Context and Participants 3.2.1 Research Context 37 3.2.2 Overview of the EFL Curriculum of the Current Research Context 38 3.2.3 Research Participants 40 3.3 Data Collection Instruments 41 3.3.1 Questionnaire 42 3.3.1.1 Rationale for Questionnaire 42 3.3.1.2 Description of the Questionnaire (See Appendices A.1, A.2) 43 3.3.1.3 Piloting the Questionnaire 45 v 3.3.1.4 Collecting Data from the Questionnaire 3.3.2 Reading Comprehension Test 46 46 3.3.2.1 Rationale for Test 46 3.3.2.2 Selecting and Piloting the Test 47 3.3.2.3 Description of the Utilized Test (See Appendix B) 48 3.3.2.4 Collecting Data from the Test 48 3.3.3 Interview 49 3.3.3.1 Rationale for Interview 49 3.3.3.2 Justifying the Interview 49 3.3.3.3 Description of the Final Version of Interview (See Appendices C.1 and 50 C.2) 3.3.3.4 Collecting Data from the Interview 51 52 3.4 Analytical Framework 3.4.1 Descriptive Analysis of the Questionnaire 52 3.4.2 Statistical Analysis of the Test 53 3.4.3 Thematic Analysis of the Interview 53 54 3.5 Methodological Issues 3.5.1 Reliability and Validity 54 3.5.1.1 For the Questionnaire 54 3.5.1.2 For the Reading Comprehension Test 55 3.5.1.3 For the Interview 55 3.5.2 Ethical Considerations 55 3.5.2.1 Consent Form 55 3.5.3.2 Anonymity and Confidentiality 56 3.5.3 Triangulation of the Study 56 56 3.6 Chapter Summary Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 57 57 4.1 Data Analysis 4.1.1 Data Analysis of the Questionnaire 57 4.1.1.1 Reliability Value (Cronbach’s Alpha) 57 4.1.1.2 Theme 1: Students’ Reading Problems 58 vi 4.1.1.3 Theme 2: Students’ Perceptions on the Benefits and Challenges of 61 Utilizing Metacognitive Reading Strategies 4.1.1.4 Theme 3: Students’ Actual Practice on Using Metacognitive Reading 63 Strategies 4.1.2 Data Analysis of the Test 71 4.1.3 Data Analysis of the Interview 73 4.1.3.1 The Interviewees’ Reading Comprehension Problems 73 4.1.3.2 The Interviewees’ Perception on Using Metacognitive Reading 80 Strategies 4.1.3.3 The Interviewees’ Actual Utilization of Metacognitive Reading Strategies 84 88 4.2 Discussion 4.2.1 Research Question 88 4.2.2 Research Question 91 4.2.3 Research Question 93 95 4.3 Chapter Summary Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS 96 5.1 Conclusion 96 5.2 Implications 98 5.2.1 For the Learners 98 5.2.2 For the Teachers 99 5.3 Limitations 100 5.4 Recommendations for Further Study 100 5.5 Chapter Summary 101 REFERENCES 102 APPENDIX A.1: QUESTIONNAIRE (ENGLISH VERSION) 110 APPENDIX A.2: QUESTIONNAIRE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 114 APPENDIX A.3: SURVEY OF READING STRATEGY (ORIGINAL VERSION) 118 APPENDIX B: READING COMPREHENSION TEST SAMPLE 119 APPENDIX C.1: INTERVIEW PROMPTS (ENGLISH VERSION) 128 APPENDIX C.2: INTERVIEW PROMPTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 129 APPENDIX D.1: CONSENT FORM FOR DEAN 130 APPENDIX D.2: CONSENT FORM FOR STUDENT PARTICIPANTS 131 vii APPENDIX E.1: TRANSCRIPT SAMPLE (ENGLISH VERSION) 132 APPENDIX E.2: TRANSCRIPT SAMPLE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) 134 LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1 A Recap of Reading Strategy Definitions 16 Table 2.2a A Periodic Classification of Metacognitive Strategy Groups 21 Table 2.2b A Functional Classification of Metacognitive Strategy Groups 22 Table 2.2c A Nature-driven Classification of Metacognitive Strategy Groups 23 Table 2.3 A Recap of Previous Studies 29 Table 3.1a General Learning Outcomes of the EFL Curriculum 39 Table Specific Learning Outcomes of the EFL Curriculum 39 Table 3.2 Demographic Information of the Participants (N=78) 41 Table 3.3 The Links between Research Questions and Research Instruments 42 Table 3.4 Description of the Questionnaire Content 44 Table 3.5 Reliability of the Piloted Questionnaire 45 Table 3.6 Description of the Test Structure 48 Table 3.7 Description of the Interview Content 50 Table 3.8 Description of the Interview Sessions 51 Table 3.9 IELTS Reading Marking Scheme (Academic) 53 Table 4.1 Reliability of the Student Questionnaire for Total Items (Items 1-48) 58 Table 4.2 The Participants’ Reading Comprehension Problems 58 Table 4.3 Students’ Perceptions on the Benefits and Challenges of Utilizing 61 3.1b Metacognitive Reading Strategies Table 4.4 Students’ Use of Global Group of Reading Strategies 64 Table 4.5 Students’ Use of Problem-solving Group of Reading Strategies 66 Table 4.6 Students’ Use of Support Group of Reading Strategies 68 Table 4.7 Students’ Overall Use of Reading Strategies 70 Table 4.8 The Mean Value of the Test Scores 71 viii Table 4.9a The Interviewees’ Linguistic-related Problems 74 Table 4.9b Table 4.9c The Interviewees’ Background Knowledge-related Problems 76 The Interviewees’ Motivation-related Problems 77 Table 4.9d Table 4.10 The Interviewees’ Reading Strategy-related Problems 78 The Interviewees’ Perceptions on Utilizing Metacognitive Reading Strategies 81 Table 4.11 The Interviewees’ Actual Utilization of Metacognitive Reading Strategies 85 ix leave 45 mg of caffeine in your nervous system at ten o’clock that evening It is essential that, by the time you are ready to sleep, your body is rid of all traces Evenings are important for winding down before sleep; however, dietician Geraldine Georgiou warns that an after-five carbohydrate-fast is more cultural myth than chronobiological demand This will deprive your body of vital energy needs Overloading your gut could lead to indigestion, though Our digestive tracts not shut down for the night entirely, but their work slows to a crawl as our bodies prepare for sleep Consuming a modest snack should be entirely sufficient Questions 1–7 YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this Chronobiology is the study of how living things have evolved over time The rise and fall of sea levels affects how sea creatures behave Most animals are active during the daytime Circadian rhythms identify how we different things on different days A ‘night person’ can still have a healthy circadian rhythm New therapies can permanently change circadian rhythms without causing harm Naturally-produced vegetables have more nutritional value Questions 8–13 Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D What did researchers identify as the ideal time to wake up in the morning? A 6.04 B 7.00 C 7.22 D 7.30 In order to lose weight, we should A avoid eating breakfast B eat a low carbohydrate breakfast C exercise before breakfast D exercise after breakfast 10 Which is NOT mentioned as a way to improve supplement absorption? A avoiding drinks containing caffeine while taking supplements 122 B taking supplements at breakfast C taking supplements with foods that can dissolve them D storing supplements in a cool, dry environment 11 The best time to stop drinking coffee is A mid-afternoon B 10 p.m C only when feeling anxious D after dinner 12 In the evening, we should A stay away from carbohydrates B stop exercising C eat as much as possible D eat a light meal 13 Which of the following phrases best describes the main aim of Reading Passage 1? A to suggest healthier ways of eating, sleeping and exercising B to describe how modern life has made chronobiology largely irrelevant C to introduce chronobiology and describe some practical applications D to plan a daily schedule that can alter our natural chronobiological rhythms SECTION Read the text below and answer Questions 14-26 A Book Review – Dog Will Have His Day by Fred Vargas (Translated By Sian Reynolds) This is another crime thriller from the prize-winning novelist Fred Vargas Despite the misleading first name and Spanish surname, the author is actually a French woman – Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau She adopted her nom de plume from the Ava Gardner character, the Spanish dancer Maria Vargas, in the 1954 film The Barefoot Contessa Although a writer of crime fiction, Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau is primarily a medieval historian and archaeologist Her detective books are immensely popular: over 10 million copies have been sold worldwide and they have been translated into 45 languages She is a little mystified by her success – after all, it is just a hobby – and finds it quite amusing As an archaeologist specializing in epidemiology, she produced the definitive study on the transmission of the bubonic plague – a book that she says “after seven years of intensive work trying to find the real vector of the plague” sold only a thousand copies It is even more paradoxical to learn that she wrote each of her novels in three weeks flat, during her annual summer holidays Even when she 123 took a break from archaeology to work full-time on her fiction, the first draft was still finished within the same time frame She uses the ensuing months to polish and tidy the prose Perhaps by virtue of Vargas’ archaeological background, Dog Will Have His Day starts with a bone It turns out to be the top joint of a woman’s big toe, found by chance in Paris by Louis Kehlweiler, a former special investigator for the Ministry of Justice He presents his find to the local police, who decline to anything about it However, Louis, convinced that a murder has taken place, decides to focus on finding the body to which the toe belongs Most of Vargas’ characters are eccentrics in some way and Louis is no exception He carries a toad named Bufo around in his pocket and consults it on matters of importance, although Louis says: “You have to keep it simple with Bufo, just basic ideas … He can’t cope with anything else Sometimes I try a bit harder, a bit of philosophy even, to improve his mind He was much more stupid when I first got him.” Louis recruits the assistance of Marc Vandoosler, one of the ‘evangelists’ of a previous novel The Three Evangelists The evangelists, actually unemployed historians, share a rundown house and Marc is the medieval researcher among them Later, another of the evangelists, Mathias, the hunter-gatherer (a prehistoric specialist), joins the undertaking As the bone fragment had obviously passed through a dog’s digestive system, Louis’ first mission is to track down the dog in question Ringo, a pit bull, is eventually identified as the culprit and his owner is tracked to a tiny Breton fishing village There, Marc and Louis establish that the corpse of an old woman missing her big toe had been discovered on the beach a few days earlier The investigation takes in some interesting characters, including a collector of antique typewriters Although initially suspecting just one murder, Louis, with the help of Marc and Mathias, manages to solve three homicides and unmask a wouldbe mayoral candidate who is in fact wanted for crimes against humanity dating from the Second World War As an aficionado of crime fiction, I find Vargas’ prose far from conventional It is original, enthralling and witty, occasionally whimsical and surreal, but always with a delightful simplicity The main characters have their little catchphrases such as “I could with a beer” (Louis) which makes them endearingly human She has a cast of quirky provincial characters expertly portrayed; far removed from the darkly humorous, brutally violent, hard-edged Scandinavian realism which is so widely admired these days Vargas definitely swims against the tide of realism – there is a lack of elaborate description – no detailed depictions of the meals eaten, clothes worn, music listened to or cars driven This is enormously refreshing: frankly, how essential is it to know the make of a vehicle or the brand of beer? Unless, of course, it is inextricably linked to the unraveling of the plot 124 Comparatively speaking, the plot of this book appears at first to be a little on the light side although her bizarre characters and inventiveness keep the reader well entertained However, the story suddenly becomes convoluted towards the end and the denouement rapidly ensues, leaving the reader feeling short-changed It is not as ingenious or inspired as The Three Evangelists – one of her finest novels and a hard act to follow – but the well-judged inclusion of Marc leaves the reader wanting to see more of the other two evangelists Despite some shortcomings, it is still a brilliant read and I remain a steadfast fan Question 14-22: Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER from the text for each answer Fred Vargas is the 14 …………… of Frederique Audoin-Rouzeau She has two main professions, and writing crime novels is her 15 …………… She thinks it is funny that her fiction is so popular, in contrast to her academic writing, which does not sell so well It took many years of research before she published her book about the 16 …………… whereas she can write the first draft of a detective story in just 17 ……………, although it takes quite a bit longer to correct and change the 18 …………… Dog Will Have His Day is a story about a piece of human bone, and Louis Kehlweiler’s attempts to solve a murder mystery Kehlweiler is a typical example of Vargas’ heroes, many of whom are 19 …………….; in his case, he has a pet toad who he chats to regularly He enlists the help of Marc and Mathias, both 20 …………… who had featured as evangelists in an earlier Vargas novel They end up in a small 21 …………… where they learn that a woman’s body had recently been found on the beach In the course of their investigation, they uncover more murders and 22 …………… a war criminal Question 23-26 YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 23 Vargas’ style of writing is typical of crime fiction 24 The style has much in common with Scandinavian crime novels 25 Detailed descriptions are only useful to the reader when they develop the storyline 26 The Three Evangelists is Vargas’ best-selling novel SECTION 125 This is the third section of your IELTS Academic Reading test You should spend about twenty minutes on it Read the passage and answer questions 27-40 Helium’s future up in the air A) In recent years we have all been exposed to dire media reports concerning the impending demise of global coal and oil reserves, but the depletion of another key non-renewable resource continues without receiving much press at all Helium – an inert, odorless, monatomic element known to lay people as the substance that makes balloons float and voices squeak when inhaled – could be gone from this planet within a generation B) Helium itself is not rare; there is actually a plentiful supply of it in the cosmos In fact, 24 per cent of our galaxy’s elemental mass consists of helium, which makes it the second most abundant element in our universe Because of its lightness, however, most helium vanished from our own planet many years ago Consequently, only a miniscule proportion – 0.00052%, to be exact – remains in earth’s atmosphere Helium is the by-product of millennia of radioactive decay from the elements thorium and uranium The helium is mostly trapped in subterranean natural gas bunkers and commercially extracted through a method known as fractional distillation C) The loss of helium on Earth would affect society greatly Defying the perception of it as a novelty substance for parties and gimmicks, the element actually has many vital applications in society Probably the most well-known commercial usage is in airships and blimps (non-flammable helium replaced hydrogen as the lifting gas du jour after the Hindenburg catastrophe in 1932, during which an airship burst into flames and crashed to the ground killing some passengers and crew) But helium is also instrumental in deep-sea diving, where it is blended with nitrogen to mitigate the dangers of inhaling ordinary air under high pressure; as a cleaning agent for rocket engines; and, in its most prevalent use, as a coolant for superconducting magnets in hospital MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scanners D) The possibility of losing helium forever poses the threat of a real crisis because its unique qualities are extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible to duplicate (certainly, no biosynthetic ersatz product is close to approaching the point of feasibility for helium, even as similar developments continue apace for oil and coal) Helium is even cheerfully derided as a “loner” element since it does not adhere to other molecules like its cousin, hydrogen According to Dr Lee Sobotka, helium is the “most noble of gases, meaning it’s very stable and non-reactive for the most part … it has a closed electronic configuration, a very tightly bound atom It is this coveting of its own electrons that prevents combination with other elements’ Another important attribute is helium’s unique boiling point, which is lower than that for any other element The 126 worsening global shortage could render millions of dollars of high-value, life-saving equipment totally useless The dwindling supplies have already resulted in the postponement of research and development projects in physics laboratories and manufacturing plants around the world There is an enormous supply and demand imbalance partly brought about by the expansion of high-tech manufacturing in Asia E) The source of the problem is the Helium Privatization Act (HPA), an American law passed in 1996 that requires the U.S National Helium Reserve to liquidate its helium assets by 2015 regardless of the market price Although intended to settle the original cost of the reserve by a U.S Congress ignorant of its ramifications, the result of this fire sale is that global helium prices are so artificially deflated that few can be bothered recycling the substance or using it judiciously Deflated values also mean that natural gas extractors see no reason to capture helium Much is lost in the process of extraction As Sobotka notes: "[t]he government had the good vision to store helium, and the question now is: Will the corporations have the vision to capture it when extracting natural gas, and consumers the wisdom to recycle? This takes longterm vision because present market forces are not sufficient to compel prudent practice” For Nobel-prize laureate Robert Richardson, the U.S government must be prevailed upon to repeal its privatization policy as the country supplies over 80 per cent of global helium, mostly from the National Helium Reserve For Richardson, a twenty- to fifty-fold increase in prices would provide incentives to recycle F) A number of steps need to be taken in order to avert a costly predicament in the coming decades Firstly, all existing supplies of helium ought to be conserved and released only by permit, with medical uses receiving precedence over other commercial or recreational demands Secondly, conservation should be obligatory and enforced by a regulatory agency At the moment some users, such as hospitals, tend to recycle diligently while others, such as NASA, squander massive amounts of helium Lastly, research into alternatives to helium must begin in earnest Questions 27–31 Reading passage has six paragraphs, A–F Which paragraph contains the following information? 27 a use for helium which makes an activity safer 28 the possibility of creating an alternative to helium 29 a term which describes the process of how helium is taken out of the ground 30 a reason why users of helium not make efforts to conserve it 127 31 a contrast between helium’s chemical properties and how non-scientists think about it Question 32-35 YES if the statement agrees with the views of the writer NO if the statement contradicts the views of the writer NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this 32 Helium chooses to be on its own 33 Helium is a very cold substance 34 High-tech industries in Asia use more helium than laboratories and manufacturers in other parts of the world 35 The US Congress understood the possible consequences of the HPA Questions 36–40: Choose no more than two words from the passage for each answer Sobotka argues that big business and users of helium need to help look after helium stocks because 36 ……………… will not be encouraged through buying and selling alone Richardson believes that the 37……………… needs to be withdrawn, as the U.S provides most of the world’s helium He argues that higher costs would mean people have 38 ……………… to use the resource many times over People should need a 39 ……………… to access helium that we still have Furthermore, a 40 …………should ensure that helium is used carefully GOOD LUCK! APPENDIX C.1: INTERVIEW PROMPTS (ENGLISH VERSION) Question 1: Which linguistic problems affect your reading comprehension ability? Question 2: How you encounter background knowledge-related problems when reading? 128 Question 3: In which cases you have your low motivation level when reading? Question 4: What problems related to reading strategies hamper your reading comprehension? Question 5: According to your perception, what benefits metacognitive reading strategies bring to your reading comprehension? Question 6: What difficulties or challenges you meet with when using metacognitive reading strategies? Question 7: How often you utilize metacognitive strategies in your reading? Question 8: Which are the most frequently used strategies? Specify your answer Question 9: Which are the least frequently used strategies? Specify you answer APPENDIX C.2: INTERVIEW PROMPTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) Câu 1: Những vấn đề liên quan đến mặt ngôn ngữ ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu bạn? Câu 2: Bạn gặp phải vấn đề liên quan đến kiến thức đọc? 129 Câu 3: Trong trường hợp nào, động lực đọc bạn thấp? Câu 4: Những vấn đề liên quan đến chiến lược đọc ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu bạn? Câu 5: Theo ý kiến bạn, chiến lược đọc siêu nhận thức mang lại lợi ích lực đọc hiểu bạn? Câu 6: Bạn gặp phải khó khăn hay thách thức sử dụng chiến lược đọc siêu nhận thức? Câu 7: Bạn thường sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức cho việc đọc mức độ nào? Câu 8: Những chiến lược bạn sử dụng thường xuyên nhất? Cho ví dụ minh họa Câu 9: Những chiến lược bạn sử dụng nhất? Cho ví dụ minh họa APPENDIX D.1: CONSENT FORM FOR DEAN Dear Mrs LE THI KIEU VAN, Dean of Faculty of Foreign Languages of Nguyen Tat Thanh University, 130 I am PHAN NGOC HUY, a postgraduate candidate of TESOL Intake 10 (2015- 2019), Ho Chi Minh City Open University I am carrying out a research study as a part of my Master’s Degree in TESOL In this study, I explore reading problems that EFL learners face during reading process, the perceptions and practice of using metacognitive reading strategies among the readers The current study that I am conducting requires the participation of the four-year EFL students at your faculty I would like to ask for your permission to carry out the research on this student group If you agree to let these students participate in my students, they will fulfill a questionnaire and nine of them will join in semi-structured interviews You must be assured that the students’ responses will be CONFIDENTIAL and their names will not be used in the report of the results The students’ participation in the survey is VOLUNTARY If you agree to permit the students to take part in the study, the consent form is signed by you The people who will have an access to the data will only be the researcher and my thesis supervisor, Dr NGUYEN DINH THU All possible steps will be taken to protect the students’ identity Besides, there is NO risk to the students when participating in this study For any additional information, you can contact me, Phan Ngoc Huy, email: huypn.158t@ou.edu.vn; mobile phone: 0914.112.204, or Dr Nguyen Dinh Thu, the language lecturer at Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education, email: ndthu@hcmute.edu.vn Thank you for your precious collaboration and assistance in this research I have read the material above, and any questions that I asked have been answered to my satisfaction I understand a copy of this form will be made available to me for relevant information and phone numbers Name: ………………………………… Signature: ………………… Date: …………………… APPENDIX D.2: CONSENT FORM FOR STUDENT PARTICIPANTS Research Title: Utilizing Metacognitive Reading Strategies to Overcome Reading Comprehension Problems among EFL Learners at Nguyen Tat Thanh University 131 Researcher: PHAN NGOC HUY Email: huypn.158t@ou.edu.vn Supervisor: NGUYEN DINH THU (Doctor of Education, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology and Education) Email: ndthu@hcmute.edu.vn Level of Education: Master of Arts in TESOL (Institution: Ho Chi Minh City Open University) I, …… …………………………, have read and understood the information provided by the researcher concerning this study, and any questions I have asked have been answered to my satisfaction a I agree to answer the questionnaires b I agree to interviews being audio-recorded c I agree that the research data collected for the study may be published or provided to other researchers on the condition that my name is confidential d I agree to participate in the study, realizing that I may physically withdraw from the study at any time during the data collection period and may request that no data arising from my participation are used e A copy of the information sheet for this research and this form has been provided to me to keep Signature: ………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX E.1: TRANSCRIPT SAMPLE (ENGLISH VERSION) Question 1: Which linguistic problems affect your reading comprehension ability? 132 Q1-F1: Sometimes I confront a few difficult words in the text, which makes me slow in grasping the meaning of the text Question 2: How you encounter background knowledge-related problems when reading? Q2-F1: In some cases, I meet with a few strange topics and of course I not have much knowledge on these topics Hence, I must concentrate on linguistic features of the texts and use reading strategies to conquer the texts Question 3: In which cases you have your low motivation level when reading? Q3-F1: When I meet a really difficult passage, I feel demotivated since I am afraid that I cannot finish the reading tasks well Question 4: What problems related to reading strategies hamper your reading comprehension? Q4-F1: Sometimes, I not know the most suitable strategy in one situation Therefore, I expend much time to seek and define the best one Question 5: According to your perception, what benefits metacognitive reading strategies bring to reading comprehension? Q5-F1: These strategies, according to my perception, enable readers to be aware of reading objectives, how to select reading strategies appropriately to tackle reading tasks Accordingly, metacognitive strategies help readers more engaged into reading behaviors Question 6: What difficulties or challenges you meet with when using metacognitive reading strategies? Q6-F1: Sometimes, I am hesitant to decide the appropriate and effective strategies to tackle the reading tasks in the short time Question 7: How often you utilize metacognitive strategies in your reading? Q7-F1: I usually use metacognitive strategies in my reading because they are helpful Question 8: Which are the most frequently used strategies? Specify your answer 133 Q8-F1: I often establish reading purposes before reading in order to read what to be read Besides, when misunderstanding or not uncomprehending the texts, I usually read them again and read slowly Question 9: Which are the least frequently used strategies? Specify you answer Q9-F1: I seldom summarize and paraphrase during reading since this may cost a lot of time APPENDIX E.2: TRANSCRIPT SAMPLE (VIETNAMESE VERSION) Câu 1: Những vấn đề mặt ngôn ngữ ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu bạn? 134 Thỉnh thoảng em gặp phải số từ ngữ khó đọc, khiến em hiểu đọc chậm Câu 2: Bạn gặp vấn đề liên quan đến kiến thức ảnh hưởng đọc? Trong số trường hợp, em số chủ đề đọc lạ đương nhiên em khơng có nhiều kiến thức chủ đề Chính vậy, em phải tập trung vào đặc điểm ngôn ngữ đọc sử dụng chiến lược đọc để hiểu chúng Câu 3: Trong trường hợp bạn có động lực thấp đọc? Khi gặp phải đọc thật khó, em cảm thấy động lực em sợ khơng thể hồn thành tập đọc cách tốt Câu 4: Những vấn đề liên quan đến chiến lược đọc ảnh hưởng đến khả đọc hiểu bạn? Thỉnh thoảng, em khơng biết chiến lược thích hợp Do đó, em thường nhiều để tìm kiếm xác định Câu 5: Theo nhận biết bạn, lợi ích mà chiến lược siêu nhận thức mang đến cho khả đọc hiểu bạn? Theo em, chiến lược giúp người đọc nhận biết mục tiêu đọc, cách lựa chọn chiến lược đọc phù hợp để hoàn thành tập đọc Theo đó, chiến lược siêu nhận thức giúp người đọc tập trung vào hành vi đọc Câu 6: Những khó khăn hay thách thức bạn gặp phải sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức? Thỉnh thoảng, em dự việc định chiến lược phù hợp hiệu để giải tập đọc thời gian ngắn cho phép Question 7: Bạn thường xuyên sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức trình đọc không? Em thường xuyên sử dụng chiến lược siêu nhận thức việc đọc bì chúng thực hữu ích Câu 8: Những chiến lược siêu nhận thức bạn sử dụng thường xuyên nhất? Hãy làm rõ 135 Em thường thiết lập mục đích đọc trước đọc để đọc cần đọc Bên cạnh đó, hiểu sai hay không hiểu đọc, em thường đọc lại đọc cách chậm rãi Câu 9: Những chiến lược siêu nhận thức bạn sử dụng thường xuyên nhất? Hãy làm rõ Em tóm tắt viết lại đọc chúng thời gian 136 ...STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this thesis entitled ? ?Utilizing Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies to Overcome Reading Comprehension Problems among EFL Learners at Nguyen Tat. .. metacognitive strategies during their reading process? RQ.3: What is the actuality of utilizing metacognitive awareness of reading strategies among the EFL learners at Nguyen Tat Thanh University. .. the EFL learners? ?? reading comprehension capacity at Nguyen Tat Thanh University? RQ.2: How the EFL learners at Nguyen Tat Thanh University perceive the benefits and challenges of utilizing metacognitive