(Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm) improving the learners reading skill when taking the exams of level a certified in english

PART I INTRODUCTION I.1 Rationale of the study Learning English is important because it is the most common language in the world Almost 60% people in the world use English regularly Learning English is very important because it improves one’s chance of getting a good job, helps one communicate in foreign countries, and broadens one’s social networking First, learning English improves the chance of getting a good job Companies which deal with international clients and suppliers rely on Englishspeaking employees to interpret for them with the day-to-day operations The requirements for the position consists the ability to speak English Therefore, learning English improves one’s chance of getting this position Secondly, people who understand English can travel much more countries by themselves than people who not speak English A lot of countries are using English aaround the world Even if one enters countries whose main languages not include English, one would probably see signs such as “OK”, “Yes”, and “No.” Understanding English helps tremendously when traveling because one can communicate and understand better Finally, learning English broadens one’s social networking For example, people who speak English have a better chance at being accepted into training programs or colleges in English-speaking countries They can make friends easier if they know English They can also make friends all around the world just by using instant messengers online Knowing English broadens one’s social networking because they can communicate with people around the world In conclusion, learning English is necessary today English is the most common language in the world Knowing English improves one’s chance at getting a good job One has a better chance at getting the job than the one who doesn’t As young children, we first learn to read; and then around mid-elementary school, we start reading to learn Some children who are proficient at oral reading can experience difficulty at this time, in terms of comprehending what they read Comprehending what one reads is imperative for a child to be successful in school Children must be able to understand the context of the words in individual sentences and also understand multiple concepts when reading longer passages In fact, many Vietnamese students have good knowledge, they can’t use English well At the Nong Cong Continuing Education Center,  students often have many difficulties in reading when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English Therefore, in this study I present some model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English I.2 Aims of the study I wish to supply some model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English I.3 Scope of the study The study investigates using some model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English I.4 Methods Observation method Survey method Experimental method I.5.New points in Innovation When taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English at Continuing Education Centers in Thanh Hoa province from schoolyear 2013-2014 to 20172018, the students’ reading skill has improved significantly by practising some model reading exercises throughout techiques to teach reading          Deducing the  meaning of unfamiliar lexical items    .     Recognizing indicators in discourse    .     Extracting salients points to summarize1    .       Using basic reference skills    .       Skimming to get general information    .      Scanning to locate specifically required information    .  Distinguising main concepts    .  Understanding application    .     .  Grammar referencing Understand text structure Therefore, in this study I continuously present some reference exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English at Continuing Education Centres PART II DEVELOPMENT II.1 LITERATURE REVIEW II.1.1 Why we read? You probably know that even in your own language reading is regarded as important because it can be entertaining and educational, can open up new worlds and enrich your life, and can improve hand-eye co-ordination and enhance social skills But for learning a foreign language, in this case English, reading in that language has additional important benefits that can help you learn the language faster and more completely Reading is an essential skill for language learners When your reading skills improve, your listening, speaking and writing skills improve too Here are some of the specific reasons why English learners are encouraged to read in English:        The constant repetition of words and patterns in reading helps you learn and remember vocabulary and grammar structures Reading helps you become familiar with the rhythm of English Over time it will start to feel natural and you will notice when a sentence or phrase doesn't seem right Unlike conversation, reading is something you can on your own Reading is not expensive, often free Good reading skills can improve your other language skills You need to learn to read before you can write Reading is the best way to learn and remember the proper spelling of words Listening as you read along can help you improve your pronunciation skills If you want to improve your English, learn to love reading in English The best readers often get the best grades, jobs and opportunities II.1.2, Reading skills consist of : - word recognition skills -word meaning skills - comprehensive skills - study skills - appreciation skills II.1.3 Reading difficulty Many of the reading problems students encounter are related to the five components of reading (phonological and phonemic awareness, word decoding and phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension) covered in Target the Problem! For some students, however, the problem may be the result of a combination of factors – weakness in one or more of the five components and difficulty with some form of processing For other students, there may be a secondary complicating problem, such as attention, memory, or the challenge of learning English as a second language Some additional sources of reading difficulties are defined below They include: Processing Successful reading and writing requires that a student is able to process several types of information Some students may have difficulty with auditory, phonological, and/or language processing Processing difficulties may co-exist with other difficulties, such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorders Auditory processing Auditory processing refers to a set of skills related to how the brain recognizes and interprets information presented orally This includes not just speech, but also the processing of non-speech auditory stimuli like music and environmental noise Some people say auditory processing is "what we with what we hear." Humans hear sounds through the ear and then sounds are changed into electrical information that is interpreted by the brain Phonological processing Phonological processing refers specifically to the processing of speech sounds (phonemes) Many poor readers have a specific weakness in phonological processing even through their other processing skills (auditory and language processing) are strong This is often the case for students with reading disabilities Readers with phonological processing difficulties usually have problems decoding words Language processing Language processing includes a variety of language abilities including reading and writing It is a broader term than phonological processing The research on language processing clearly shows us how important it is for parents and early caregivers to provide stimulating environments full of interesting experiences and new vocabulary words The daily joys of reading to and talking with babies and toddlers much to develop later language skills Children with fewer language-based experiences are typically behind their classmates when they start school in terms of vocabulary and ability to process language Children with a broad language processing deficit may have problems with comprehension even when they can decode words accurately Children with severe language disorders will almost certainly have difficulty reading and writing Memory In order to read, children must be able to place information into their memories and retrieve it when needed What helps children understand vocabulary and comprehend what they read is being able to efficiently move back and forth between what they see in print and what is stored in their memories There are different types of memory, including short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory Attention Children must be able to focus their attention in order to decode words, maintain reading fluency, and understand what they read II.2 REAL SITUATIONS Many students haven’t determined the importance of English in the current period, so they aren’t aware of their own learning Some students have a limited vocabulary so they can’t finish their reading exercises when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English sucessfully II.3 RECOMMENDATIONS AND SOLUTIONS II.3.1 RECOMMENDATIONS According to those difficulties and real situations I use some following model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill Form Read the passage and choose the best answer Form Read the passage and decide whether the statement are True ( T ) or ( False ) Form Read the passage carefully and answer the questions below Form Fill each of numbered blanks in the following passage Form Arranging sequences of an event II.3.2 SOLUTIONS I use some following techiques to teach reading skill when supplying the model exercises    .      Deducing the  meaning of unfamiliar lexical items    .     Recognizing indicators in discourse    .     Extracting salients points to summarize1    .       Using basic reference skills    .       Skimming to get general information    .      Scanning to locate specifically required information    .  Distinguising main concepts    .  Understanding application    .     .  Grammar referencing Understand text structure II.3.3: EXAMPLES Example of using some model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English At the Nong Cong Continuing Education Center Example: Read the pasage carefully and answer the questions One warm spring day, Mrs Baker went to the park near her house She sat down on a park bench and started to read a letter from her daughter, Karen Karen and her husband, John and their two children, Ken and Kathy, were on Florida on vacation for two weeks Karen said that they were having a wonderful time, and she sent some postcards in the letters The postcards showed pictures of Plorida Mrs Baker smilled as she read the letter again She was happy that they were having a good time While she was reading, a man came and sat down at the other end of the bench He opened his newspaper and began to read Suddenly the postcards blew out of Mrs Baker's hand and fell on the ground They started to blow away Mr Marks quickly reached down and helped Mrs Baker pick them up Mrs Baker thanked him and showed him the postcards They introduced themselver It was the beginning of a very pleasant friendship Mrs Baker was A- At home reading her letter B- In the park reading her letter C- In the park reading her newspaper D- In the park reading her book Mrs Baker was happy because A- They were having a good time B- They were gone C- She was alone D- She read about / of her daughter What happenned? A- The Letter blew onto the ground B- The newspaper blew onto the ground C- The postcards blew onto the ground D- Her hat blew onto the ground What did Mr Marks do? A- He got up and went home B- He continued reading his newspaper C- He reached down and helped Mrs Baker pick up the postcards D- He picked them up and looked at them After Mr Marks helped Mrs Baker pick up the postcards A- they went to the movie B- she thanked him, and then she went home C- they introduced themselves, and they began talking D- He continued reading his newspaper Suggested exercise Exercise 1: Read this passage carefully and then choose the best answer to questions below: A clever old man Mrs Brown's grandfather lived with her and her husband Every morning he went for a walk in the park and came home at half past twelve for his lunch But one morning, a police car stopped outside Mrs Brown's house at twelve o'clock, two policemen helped Mr.Brown to get out One of them said to Mrs Brown: " The poor old gentleman lost his way in the pack and tetephoned us for help, so we set a car to bring him home" Mrs Brown was very surprised, but she thanked the policemen and they left " But grandfather", she then said, " you have been to that park nearly everyday for twenty years How did you lose your way there?" The old man smiled, closed one eye and said: " I didn't quite lose my way I just got tired and I didn't want to walk home!" 1- What did Mrs Brown's old grandfather go to the park for? A- For pleasure B- For a walk C- For amusement C- For recreation 2- What happenned to him one morning? A- He lost his way B- He was too tired to walk home C- He came home for lunch D- He wanted to stay in the park 3- How did Mrs Brown feel? A- Very surprised B- Normal C- Calm D- Interesting 4- What did the two policemen do? A- They received Mr Brown's call for help B- They helped Mr Brown to get out of the park C- They sent a car to bring him home D- All above are correct 5- Which of the following statements is not true? A- Poeple walk in the park for fresh air B- Mr Brown didn't quite lose his way C- He didn't want to go home on foot D- Is was the first time he had been to the park Exercise 2: Read the passage then you must choose one that you think fits best to the sentence above One day a well-know singer was invited by a rich lady to her house His name is Corney He was asked to sing to the guests But he was not invited to have dinner with them Dinner was ordered for him downstairs together with lady’sservants He had a good dinner and after it he said to the sevants: “Well,now my good friends” he said “I want to sing to you” The sevants were, of course, very glad and so he sang to them There were no piano, but he sang for half an hourevent without it At ten o’clock the singer was asked to come upstairs to the lady’s guests Coney went there All the guests were already waiting for him “We are already” said the lady “Ready for what?” asked Corney “For your songs” she answered “But I sang only an hour ago and I can not sing twice in the evening” “It’s impossible! Where did you sing?” exclaimed the lady “Iam sorry that you were not there” said Corney “but you know, I always have dinner with the company which I sing” And with these words he left the house Corney was………………………………………………… A a rich lady B the lady’s guest C a famous singer D the lady’s sevant The singer had a good dinner ith……………………………………… A a rich lady B the lady’s guests C his good friends D the lady’s sevants The sevants were very happy when………… A they heard Corney sing B they sang together C he was asked to come upstairs D Corney had a good dinner The singer said that……………………………… A He sang for an hour B he only sang to those he had dinner with C he could not sing in the evening D he was sorry that he was not there The word”company” used in the story means…… A bussiness firms B poor sevants C group of people D lady’s guests Exercise 3: Read the passage below and choose the best answer for each questions People usually sing because they like music or because they feel happy They express their happiness by singing When a bird sings, howerever, its song usually means much more than that the bird is happy Birds have many reasons for singing They sing to give information Their songs are their languages The most beautiful songs are sung by cock birds They sing well because they want to attract female birds It’s their way of saying that they are looking for a wife Birds also sing to tell other birds to keep away To a bird, his tree or even a branch of tree, is his home He does not want strangers to come near him, so he sing to warn them If a bird can not sing well, he usually has some other means of giving important information Some birds dance, spead out their tails or made other signs One bird has the most usually way of finding a wife It build a small garden of shells and flowers 1.Why people usually sing? A.They like birds B They feel happy C They want to tell a story D They like studying music 2.What is one of the chief reasons why birds sing? A They are happy B.They are in a good temper C They want to tell something D.They can sing many songs 3.Which birds sing the most beautiful songs? A Birds in a good temper B Cock birds C Hen birds D Female birds attract male birds What warning does a bird sometimes sing? 10 A A warning to keep away B A warning to come quickly C A warning about the proach of people D A warning to stop singing 5.What most birds usually if they can not sing well? A Warn other birds to go away B Give there information in another way C Find a wife D Fly high in the sky Exercise 4: Read the passage and answer the following questions The first few days after getting home from college were okay but then I began to feel rather bored and lonely My parents were busy working and most of my friends were either away on holiday or else had holiday jobs I had tried to grt a job myself but without success I was beginning to wish I had not come home when I saw an advertisement for holiday courses in the local newspaper For a small fee you could try lots of different activities organized by the town’s youth club Each activity lasted half a day I had not expected the courses to be very interesting but they were excellent I also met new people as many of the tourists saying in the town joined in You could things like painting, acting, play-writing or computing I met some students from Bulgaria who invited me to visit their country next year You can imagine how excited Iam, in fact it was one of the best summer holidays I’ve ever had 1.What is the writer trying to in the passage? A To describe a holiday in the country B To explain how she spent a holiday C To describe her new holiday home D To explain why she couldn’t go on holiday 2.Why would somebody read the passage? A To find out about holiday courses B To discover the writer’s news C To make contact with Bulgarian students D To read about the advertisement How did the writer feel when she arrived home? A She was pleased to have time to herself B She felt nervous about being alone C She was delighted to see her friends 11 D She almost regretted coming back 4.Why is the writer looking forward to next year? A There will be new holiday courses B She has found a holiday job C She is planning to go to Bulgaria D Her friends will visit her Which of these advertisement did the writer see? A A week free course on an activity of your own choice B A small fee holiday course Each activity lasted half a day C A course throughout summer holiday D During the summer holiday period all courses are half price II.4 RESULT In conclusion, using model exercises is an efficient way to finish students’ reading exercisesl when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English sucessfully I can see that : - students can the exercise well - Students feel excited when learning reading skill - students can get the higher marks when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English PART III: CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION III.1 CONCLUSION This study has given me a chance to know more about my students, about what goes wrong with them when they get bad marks when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English At the Nong Cong Continuing Education Center 12 In the study, I also have chance to access a number of researches of many experienced language educators and teachers, from which I obtain new knowledge of reading teaching and learning III.2 SUGGESTION Despite television, cell phones, and Web “twitter,” traditional reading is still an important skill Whether it is school textbooks, tech manuals at work, or regular books, people still read, though not as much as they used to One reason that many people don’t read much is that they don’t read well For them, it is slow, hard work and they don’t remember as much as they should Students, for example,may have to read something several times before they understand and remember what they read For all those who missed out on good reading skills, it is not too late I summarize below what I think it takes to read with good speed and comprehension Read with a purpose Skim first Get the reading mechanics right Be judicious in highlighting and note taking Think in pictures Rehearse as you go along Stay within your attention span and work to increase that span Rehearse again soon The Headmaster’s identification Thanh Hoa, the tenth of May, 2018 I ensure that this study has been written by me The writer Ngo Thi Hanh REFERENCES Brunei C (1984) Communicative methodology in teaching Cambridge University press 13 Brown, J.D (1994) Research methods for Applied Linguistics: Scope, characteristics, and standards In A Davies & C Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp 476-500) Oxford: Blackwell 60A- level English exam papers in listening-speaking-reading- writing.(Dong Nai Informatics and Foreign Language Centre) 14 ... II.3.3: EXAMPLES Example of using some model exercises to improve the students’ reading skill when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English when taking the exammination of Level A Certified. .. the beginning of a very pleasant friendship Mrs Baker was A- At home reading her letter B- In the park reading her letter C- In the park reading her newspaper D- In the park reading her... them when they get bad marks when taking the exammination of Level A Certified in English At the Nong Cong Continuing Education Center 12 In the study, I also have chance to access a number of