A study on the use of pre reading activities in english reading classes at vo nguyen giap gifted high school in đồng hới city

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY *** - LAM THI THANH THUY A STUDY ON THE USE OF PRE-READING ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH READING CLASSES AT VO NGUYEN GIAP GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN ĐỒNG HỚI CITY MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2019 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY *** - LAM THI THANH THUY A STUDY ON THE USE OF PRE-READING ACTIVITIES IN ENGLISH READING CLASSES AT VO NGUYEN GIAP GIFTED HIGH SCHOOL IN ĐỒNG HỚI CITY Major: Theory and Methodology of Teaching English Code: 8.14.01.11 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION ACADEMIC SUPERVISOR Assoc Prof Le Pham Hoai Huong, Ph.D Nghe An, 2019 i STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true and have not published elsewhere Author Lam Thi Thanh Thuy ii Abstract The present study aimed at investigating the attitudes of students towards prereading activities in English reading classes at Vo Nguyen Giap Gifted high school, the use of these activities and the difficulties in using them The participants of this research were ten teachers of English and 100 students of the 12th graders at this school Data were collected by means of questionnaire, interview and observation The results revealed that the majority of the students expressed positive attitudes towards the pre-reading activities used in English reading classes In general, most of the participants had distinct perception of these activities Nearly all the students were fond of pre-reading activities and fully aware of the importance and benefits of these activities The majority of the students also recognized the usefulness of each prereading activity, took real interests, had high motivation, enjoyed considerable pleasure and agreed about the advantages in the implementation of these activities The investigation indicated that the majority of the participants learned with a variety of pre-reading activities in the textbook effectively Those pre-reading activities are “discussion”, “pre-teaching vocabulary”, “true or false prediction”, “pre-questions” and “brainstorming” Sometimes, “visual aids”, “games”, “guessing from pictures/objects/words/sentences” were added Types of communicative arrangement and patterns of meaningful interaction were used to these activities in class Despite facing some difficulties, the teachers and students tried to surmount them so that the learners could develop their interests in pre-reading activities, feel motivated and facilitate these activities Besides, they could access the new reading lessons better in cooperation Based on the findings, implications were put forwards for teachers and students in using pre-reading activities in English reading classes iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would be eternally grateful to a number of people who helped to bring my study to fruition, which is known as a milestone in all my personal and professional endeavours My thanks first would go to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Le Pham Hoai Huong, Ph.D., for her constant support, professional expertise, guidance and encouragement, valuable advice and suggestions throughout this long journey despite her many other academic and professional commitments and busy schedule I truly appreciate her constructive feedback, which leads to an enhancement and improvement in the writing of this research I wish to send my appreciation to my dear lecturers of Department of Foreign Languages, Vinh University who dedicated teaching efforts to us in all the subjects Their passionate devotion has provided me with sufficient knowledge and skills to complete this thesis I would like to thank the ten English teachers and 100 students who were kind and enthusiastic enough to participate in my surveys with constructive ideas.They all offered their candid answers and great comfort in sharing their ideas with the researcher They have made significant contributions to the nature of the study I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my director board of Vo Nguyen Giap Gifted high school who gave me favourable conditions during my study Additionally, I would like to thank my classmates during courses for the thesis I really enjoyed what I have experienced with all of you I wish all the best and success for all of you, too Lastly, I would like to show my deep gratitude to my beloved family, who shared all of the ups and downs of my academic endeavours with their boundless love, patience, tolerance and continuous support-both materially and spiritually, directly and indirectly while I was away from home and busy with my work throughout the course of my study iv TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES .ix LIST OF FIGURES .x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale .1 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Significance of the study .3 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Previous studies related to the study 2.3 Definitions of key terms 13 2.3.1 Reading 13 2.3.2 Pre-reading 15 2.3.3 Pre-reading activities 15 2.4 Nature of reading comprehension 16 2.5 Factors affecting students‟ reading learning and teaching 16 2.5.1 Cultural background knowledge 16 2.5.2 Reading motivation 17 v 2.5.3 Reading anxiety 17 2.5.4 Working memory 18 2.5.5 Authenticity of reading materials 18 2.6 Key models of reading 19 2.6.1 Bottom-up model of reading 19 2.6.2 Top-down model of reading 20 2.6.3 Interactive model of reading 20 2.7 Schema theory of reading and background knowledge 21 2.8 Classroom procedures in teaching reading 22 2.8.1 Pre-reading phase 23 2.8.2 While-reading phase 26 2.8.3 Post-reading phase 28 2.9 Pre-reading activities 28 2.9.1 The importance of pre-reading activities 29 2.9.2 Kinds of pre-reading activities 29 2.10 Difficulties related to pre-reading activities 33 2.11 Summary 35 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 37 3.1 Introduction 37 3.2 Research approach 37 3.3 Research site and participants 39 3.3.1 Research Site 39 3.3.2 Participants 39 3.4 Data collection instruments 40 3.4.1 Survey questionnaires 40 3.4.2 Interviews 42 3.4.3 Observations 44 vi 3.5 Procedures 44 3.5.1 Pilot study 44 3.5.2 Main study 44 3.6 Data analysis 45 3.6.1 Quantitative data 46 3.6.2 Qualitative data 46 3.7 Summary 47 CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 48 4.1 Introduction 48 4.2 Students‟ attitudes towards the use of pre-reading activities in English reading classes 48 4.2.1 Students‟ interests in pre-reading activities in English reading classes 48 4.2.2 Students‟ perception of the importance of pre-reading activities in English reading classes 50 4.2.3 Students‟ opinions on benefits of pre-reading activities in English reading classes 50 4.2.4 Students‟ perception of the usefulness of each pre-reading activity in English reading classes 52 4.2.5 Discussion 57 4.3 The use of pre-reading activities in English reading classes 59 4.3.1 Reality of using pre-reading activities based on the tasks in the pilot textbook 59 4.3.2 Types of arrangement for pre-reading activities 60 4.3.3 Time spent on pre-reading activities and pre-reading techniques 61 4.3.4 Frequency of using pre-reading activities 62 4.3.5 Discussion 71 4.4 Difficulties in using pre-reading activities in English reading classes 73 vii 4.4.1 Difficulties in using pre-reading activities 73 4.4.2 Discussion 82 4.5 Summary 83 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 84 5.1 Introduction 84 5.2 Summary 84 5.3 Implications 86 5.4 Contribution of the study 90 5.5 Limitations of the study 91 5.6 Further research 92 REFERENCES 93 APPENDIX A: TIMELINE OF THE STUDY 99 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS 100 APPENDIX C: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS 106 APPENDIX D: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS 106 APPENDIX E: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET 107 APPENDIX F: SAMPLE OF THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT 109 viii LIST OF TABLES Table 4.2.1 Students‟ interests in pre-reading activities in reading classes Table 4.2.2 Students‟ perception of the importance of pre-reading activities Table 4.2.4 Students‟ perception of the usefulness of each pre-reading activity Table 4.3.4 Participants‟ reported frequency of using pre-reading activities 96 Harris, T., & Hodges, R (Eds) 1981 A Dictionary of Reading and Related Terms Newark DE: International Reading Association Hayes, David A and Robert J Tierney "Developing Readers Knowledge through Analogy." Reading Research Quarterly 17(2), 1982, 256-80 [EJ 257 814] Head, M H., Readence, J E., & Buss, R R (1989) An examination of summary writing as a measure of reading comprehension Literacy Research and Instruction, 28(4), 1-11 Hedge, T (2000) Teaching and learning in the language classroom Oxford: Oxford University Press Hiep, P H (2005) University English classrooms in Vietnam ELT Journal, 59(4), 336 Hoi, V N (2017) Learning English beyond the classroom: perception and practice in a Vietnamese context The journal of Asia TEFL.14 (2), 364-372 Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.18823/asiateft2017.14.2.13.364 Howart, A.P.R 1984 A history of English language teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press Kader, C C C (2008) Teaching reading in the foreign language classroom VIDYA, 28(1), Karakaş, M (2005) The effects of pre-reading activities on ELT trainee teachers‟ comprehension of short stories Journal of Theory and Practice in Education, 1(1-2), 25-35 Khabiri, M., & Pakzad, M (2012) The effect of teaching critical reading strategies on EFL learners‟ vocabulary retention Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 31(1), 73-106 Kirk, J., & Miller, M.L (1986) Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research Qualitative Research Methods Series (1st Ed.) Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications 97 Larsen-Freeman, Diane (2000) Techniques and principles in language teaching New York: Oxford University MacIntyre, P D., & Gardner, R C (1991) Language anxiety: Its relationship to other anxieties and to processing in native and second languages Language learning, 41(4), 513-534 Mahbub, T (2008) Inclusive Education at a BRAC School-perspective from the Children British Journal of Special Education, 35 (1), 33-41 Marinaccio, J (2012) The most effective pre-reading strategies for comprehension Mihara, K (2011) Effects of pre-reading strategies on EFL/ESL reading comprehension TESL Canada Journal, 28, 51-73 Retrieved December 10, 2013, from http://www.teslcanadajournal.ca/te sl/index.php/tesl/article/ view /1072/891 Morrow, K (1977) Authentic Texts in ESP In S Holden (Ed.), English for specific purposes London: Modern English Publications Nunan, D (2004) Task-Based Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nuttall, C (1996) Teaching reading skills in a foreign language Heinemann, 361 Hanover Street, Portsmouth, NH 03801-3912 Samuels, S J., & Kamil, M L (1988) Models of the reading process Interactive approaches to second language reading, 22-36 Saricoban, A (2002) Reading strategies of successful readers through the three phase approach The Reading Matrix, 2(3) Savignon, S (2001) Communicative language teaching for the Twenty-first century In M Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language (pp 13-28) Boston: Heinle & Heinle Shipstead, Z., Redick, T S., & Engle, R W (2012) Is working memory training effective? Psychological bulletin, 138(4), 628 Smith, F 1985 Reading Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 98 Snow, Catherine E., Ed.: Burns, M Susan, Ed.: Griffin, Peg, Ed 1998 Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children Washington: National Academy of Sciences Stevens, Kathleen C "Can We Improve Reading by Teaching Background Information?" Journal of Reading 25(4) January 1982, 326-29 [EJ 257 791] Tang, H N., & Moore, D W (1992) Effects of cognitive and metacognitive pre‐reading activities on the reading comprehension of ESL Learners Educational Psychology, 12(3-4), 315-331 Tierney, Robert J and P David Pearson "Learning to Learn from Texts: A Framework for Improving Classroom Practice." In H.S Singer and R.B Ruddell, Eds Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading (860-78) Newark, DE: International Reading Association, 1985 [ED 262 389] Tunmer, W E., & Hoover, W A (1993) Components of variance models of language-related factors in reading disability: A conceptual overview In Reading disabilities: Diagnosis and component processes (pp 135-173) Springer, Dordrecht Vacca, R T., & Vacca, J.L (1989) Contentarea reading (3rd ed.) New York: Harpe Collins Publishers Wallace, C (2003) Reading New York:Oxford University Press William, E 1984 Reading in the Language Classroom London: Macmillan Publisher Ltd Zhang, S (2009) The role of input, interaction, and output in the development of oral fluency English Language Teaching, 2(4), 91–100 99 APPENDIX A TIMELINE OF THE STUDY Writing up the proposal and submit Reading, generalizing and synthesizing the references for the section Literature Review Designing survey questionnaire, interview questions and observation sheet Sending the questionnaire to the participants; get the questionnaire from the participants Observing classrooms Analyzing data Writing up the report t Augus July June May April Feb Jan Dec Nov Oct Contents March 2018-2019 100 APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS Vinh Unversity, Faculty of Foreign Languages Master Thesis of Education-Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) By Lam Thi Thanh Thuy: lamthithanhthuy@chuyen-qb.com Dear Students, I am presently doing a study on the use of pre-reading activities in English reading classes of grade 12 at Vo Nguyen Giap Gifted High School in Đồng Hới City The following questionnaire is therefore designed to gather relevant data for the study As a result, your responses will have much contribution to the success of the intended study So please read each item in the questionnaire carefully and give your genuine responses With regard to the information you give me in the questionnaire, I would like to assure you that all of them would be kept confidential and used only for the research purpose You are not required to write your name Thank you very much for your cooperation Full name: (optional) Sex: Male Female Age: Grade: Please read carefully and check /√ / the appropriate column 101 Questionnaire items 1.I like pre-reading activities in English reading classes The pre-reading activities I like best are games and have visual aids 3.Pre-reading activities play an important role in English reading lessons 4.The 12th graders should pre-reading activities in English reading classes because of the benefits of these activities 5.Pre-reading activities help students to build, activate background knowledge and anticipate the topic of the reading With different types of pre-reading activities, students can actively prepare themselves for vocabulary, and even grammar that might be used in the reading text The activities in the pre-reading phase will have positive influence on students‟ motivation and give them pleasure in Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 102 practising reading skill 8.Pre-reading activities can enable students to enjoy more interaction and communication in English reading classes 9.Pre-reading activities aim at helping learners engage in a process of discovery and feel confident to master the content of the reading text 10 How useful are pre-reading activities? Please read carefully and check /√ / the appropriate column Pre-reading activities Discussion Brainstorming Conceptual related readings Guessing from words/ sentences Guessing from pictures/objects Previews Pictionary How many words you know? Speed chatting Visual aids Pre-questions Very useful Useful Neutral Not useful Not useful at all 103 True or false prediction Pre-teaching vocabulary Know-Want-Learned charts Games Please read carefully and check /√ / the appropriate column Questionnaire items 11 My teachers often use pre-reading activities in the pilot English 12 for English reading classes 12 My teachers sometimes add other prereading activities besides the one(s) in the textbook 13 My teachers sometimes adapt prereading activities in the textbook 14 Teachers use various pre-reading activities in English reading lessons 15 All the types of class arrangement used for prereading activities include individual work, pair work, group work and whole-class work 16 The types of class arrangement commonly used for pre-reading activities are pair work and group work 17 The amount of time spent on pre-reading activities is from to 10 Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 104 minutes 18 The different techniques are used for pre-reading actvities 19 How frequently are these pre-reading activities carried out in English reading classes? Please read carefully and check /√ / the appropriate column Pre-reading activities Very often Often Sometimes Discussion Brainstorming Conceptual related readings Guessing from words/ sentences Guessing from pictures/ objects Previews Pictionary How many words you know? Speed chatting Visual Aids Pre-questions True or false prediction Pre-teaching vocabulary Know-Want-Learned charts Games 20 Please read carefully and check /√ / the appropriate column Rarely Never 105 Difficulties Large class size Time limitation Different learning styles Different learning purposes Multi-level students Lack of background knowledge and words to express ideas by students Weakness of grammar of students Being afraid of making mistakes and fear of communication of students Students‟ low motivation, uneven participation and negative behaviour Students‟ little confidence and laziness Lack of authentic materials Uninteresting documents Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 106 APPENDIX C SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR STUDENTS Do you like pre-reading activities in reading classes? If yes, why, if no, why not? What types of pre-reading activities you like the most? Why? What types of pre-reading activities you like the least? Why? Do you think the 12th graders benefit a lot from pre-reading activities? Why? What kinds of pre-reading actvities are the most useful? Why? How much time you need to spend on pre-reading activities? How many pre-reading activities are often used in English reading lessons? What are they? What types of class arrangement are commonly used for pre-reading activities? What difficulties you encounter when using pre-reading activities in English reading classes? 10 What should be done to overcome these difficulties? APPENDIX D SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS What pre-reading activities you use before students the reading in the classroom? Why you use these pre-reading activities? How often you use pre-reading activities? Do you add other pre-reading activities besides the one(s) in the textbook? If yes, what are they? Do you sometimes adapt pre-reading activities in the textbook? How much time you spend on pre-reading activities? Which type of class arrangement you usually use for pre-reading activities? What techniques are used for pre-reading activities? What challenges you encounter when you teach pre-reading activities? 10 What have you done to overcome these difficulties? 107 APPENDIX E CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET LESSON: …………………………………………… DATE: …………………………….TIME: ………… SCHOOL: …………………………………………… TEACHER: …………………………………………… CLASS: …………………………………………… NO STUDENTS: ……………………………………… AIMS: To have an overall observation on students‟ attitudes to using pre-reading activities in English reading classes, how teachers use pre-reading activities and difficulties in using these activities Contents Yes No Notes (√) Pre-reading activities HOW TEACHERS USE PREREADING ACTIVITIES Discussion Brainstorming Conceptual related readings Guessing from words/ sentences Guessing from pictures/ objects Previews Pictionary Speed chatting Visual aids Pre-questions True or false prediction Pre-teaching vocabulary Know-Want-Learned charts Games Teacher sets purposes for taskbased activities of pre-reading phase Teacher assigns students to their own work for required pre-reading activities effectively Teacher engages the students in pair/group discussion in prereading activities and creates an active atmosphere of learning Teacher encourages students to have communication and (X) 108 interaction Teacher moves from group to group to observe and check the students‟ performances Teacher gives proper feedback and necessary guidance on the students‟ pre-reading activities Teacher uses the suitable time and varying techniques for pre-reading activities Teacher conducts the correction, offers ideas and comments and gives advice when necessary Teacher acts as a guide, advisor, coordinator and facilitator Students are intrinsically motivated in pre-reading activities STUDENTS‟ Students pay much attention to preATTITUDES AND reading activities PARTICIPATION Students choose or create their IN PRE-READING groups and the leaders to work on ACTIVITIES pre-reading activities Students have pair/group discussion to give various interpretations to the pre-reading tasks rather than one correct answer only Multi-level students Lack of background knowledge and words to express ideas by students Weakness of grammar of students Being afraid of making mistakes DIFFICULTIES and fear of communication of students Students‟ low motivation, uneven participation and negative behaviour Little confidence and laziness of students Lack of authentic materials 109 APPENDIX F SAMPLE OF THE INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT Interviewee: Student A Interviewer: Lam Thi Thanh Thuy Date of interview: 9/4/2019 Location of interview: Vo Nguyen Giap Gifted high school Interviewer: Hello, A Now, I‟d like you to tell me more about the use of prereading activities Do you like pre-reading activities in reading classes? Student A: Yes, of course Interviewer: Can you tell me the reasons why? Student A: I like pre-reading activities in English reading lessons because I can practise speaking English with my friends Besides, reading is more interesting and text information is understood and recalled better when reading is purposefully driven Interviewer: What types of pre-reading activities you like the most? Student A: The ones are related to games and visual aids Interviewer: And why? Student A: Well, I think they provide opportunities for student-student interaction; besides, they make us excited, relaxed and motivated Interviewer: How many pre-reading activities are often used in English reading lessons? What are they? Student A: There are often two pre-reading activies used in English reading lessons They are pre-reading vocabulary and discussion or preteaching vocabulary and T-F prediction However, pre-reading actvities of various kinds are introduced in reading classes during the second-term term 110 Interviewer: What difficulties you encounter when using pre-reading activities in English reading classes? Student A: There are some dificulties we face in using pre-reading activities such as large class size, different learning styles, uninteresting documents and lack of authentic materials Being afraid of making mistakes and fear of communication of students are common among students Interviewer: What else? Student A: In addition, little confidence and laziness and time limitation are included Other problems are lack of background knowledge and words to express ideas and their different learning purposes Mmm, weakness of grammar of students as well as students‟ low motivation, uneven participation and negative behaviour are also considered Interviewer: According to you, which difficulty is the most serious ? Why? Student A: Large class size You know, as classes are crowded, most of us not have enough practice of pre-reading activities in English although our teachers try to help us reply quickly I find it effective to use them when class size is small, from 12 to 16 students, the same number as in the language centres Interviewer: Thank you for sharing your ideas ... present study aimed at investigating the attitudes of students towards prereading activities in English reading classes at Vo Nguyen Giap Gifted high school, the use of these activities and the difficulties... formulations in this study: 1) What kinds of prereading activities that are used by Basic Reading II teacher in the English Language Education Study Program of Sanata Dharma University? 2) How is the. .. such as pre- reading and pre- reading activities and how 36 activities can be utilized in English reading classes It was clear in the literature that pre- reading activities for reading classes