Self study activities to improve reading skills of students at sam son ethnic pre university

MINITRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY LE THI HUYEN SELF-STUDY ACTIVITIES TO IMPROVE READING SKILL OF STUDENTS AT SAM SON ETHNIC PRE-UNIVERSITY Field: Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching Code: 60140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, Ph.D Nghệ An, 2017 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify this entitled Self-study activities to improve reading skill of students at Sam Son Ethnic Pre-university is my own work Nghe An, 2017 Le Thi Huyen i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my thesis supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thi Kim Anh, for the wholehearted guidance she gave me while I was doing this thesis Her insightful instructions, helpful comment, considerate assistance and valuable criticism as well as her kindly encouragement and correction help me a lot for the completion of my dissertation Secondly, I would like to thank the teachers at the Foreign Languages Departments of Vinh University who have given me useful advice and suggestions for accomplishment of the study Thirdly, my sincere thanks also go to my colleagues and students at Sam Son Ethnic Pre-University, who provided me with inspiration for the research topic and helped me with the research data Lastly, I am in debt to my beloved family and friends who are always by my side with their constant help and spiritual support during my thesis process ii ABSTRACT With conducting this study at Sam Son Ethnic Pre-university, the purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of self-study activities to improve reading skill, especially such as reading sub-skills as reading for specific information, finding the main ideas, guessing vocabulary from context, and making inferences The results of the questionnaires show students’ awareness and assessment of English reading comprehension skill, their difficulties in learning reading skill and their desire to improve it Additionally, the study applied self-study activities and sub-skills to enhance students’ learning autonomy in reading skill There were 60 students participating in the study They were non-English majors at the beginning level in grade A and C The instrument used was survey questionnaires and three tests including a general test and two reading tests A pre-test and a post-test for reading comprehension were administered and students’ scores in the experimental group were compared with those in the control group The result revealed that the effectives of applying self-study activities in reading comprehension are clearly shown in the experimental group It is hoped that the result of this study will help students and teachers at Sam Son Ethnic pre-university learn and teach reading skills in general, reading comprehension in particular more effectively iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP ……………………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ……………………………………………………… ii ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………………… iv LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES…………………………………………… viii ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………… ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………… 1.1 Rationale ……………………………………………………….…… 1.2 Aims of the study …………………………………………………… 1.3 Scope of the study …………………………………………………………… 1.4 Method of the study …………………………………………………………… 1.5 Organization of the study …………………………………………… …… CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW…………………………………………….6 2.1 The definitions of reading …………………………………………………… 2.2 Models of reading process …………………………………………………… 2.2.1 Bottom-up model …………………………………………………………… 2.2.2 Top-down model …………………………………………………………… 2.2.3 Interactive model …………………………………………………………… 10 2.3 Reading comprehension ……………………………………………………… 11 2.3.1 The definitions of reading comprehension ………………………………… 11 2.3.2 Factors involve reading comprehension …………………………………… 13 2.3.3 Some sub – skills of reading comprehension…… ………………………….14 2.3.3.1 Reading for specific information.………………………………………….14 2.3.3.2 Finding the main ideas …………………………………………………… 15 2.3.3.3 Guessing vocabulary from the context ……………………………………16 iv 2.3.3.4 Making inferences …………… ………………………………………… 18 2.3.4 Types of questions in reading comprehension ……………….…… …… 19 2.3.4.1 Types of questions in reading for specific information.………………… 19 2.3.4.2 Types of questions in finding the main ideas …………………………… 20 2.3.4.3 Types of questions in guessing vocabulary from the context …………….20 2.3.4.4 Types of questions in making inferences ………………………………….21 2.4 The self – study activities .21 2.4.1 The self – study or learner autonomy ……………………………………….21 2.4.2 Roles of learner autonomy ………………………………………………… 22 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY………………………………………………… 25 3.1 Research setting …………………………………………… .…… 25 3.1.1 An overview of Sam Son Ethnic Pre-university ………………………… 25 3.1.2 The teachers of English ……………………………………………………….25 3.1.3 The students …………………………………………………….…… …… 25 3.1.4 The textbook ………………………………………………………………… 26 3.1.5 The teaching and learning conditions ……………………… ………………26 3.2 The study ……………………………………………….………………………27 3.2.1 Research questions ………………………………………… ………………27 3.2.2 Participants ………………………………………………… …… 27 3.2.3 Instruments …………………………………………….…………………… 28 3.2.3.1 Survey questionnaires …………………………………….…… .28 3.2.3.2 Tests ……………………………………………………………………… 29 3.2.4 Procedure …………………………………………………………………… 31 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION…………………………………….33 4.1 The findings from questionnaire ……………………………………………….33 4.1.1 Students’ awareness of English reading comprehension skill ……………… 33 4.1.2 Students’ assessment of their reading comprehension skill…………………35 v 4.1.3 Students’ difficulties in learning reading skill ……………… 37 4.1.4 Students’ desire to improve reading skill ……………………………………39 4.2 The findings of the tests ……………………………………………………… 42 4.2.1 The general English test ……….…………………………… … 43 4.2.2 The results of students’ scores after conducting self-study activities in reading comprehension ……………….…… 46 4.2.3 The comparison between the average score of the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill ………………… ………………… 48 4.2.4 The comparison between students’ improvement of sub-skills in the pre and post reading tests of both groups in reading comprehension skill ……………………………………………………………………………………….51 4.2.4.1 Reading for specific information ………………………………………… 52 4.2.4.2 Finding the main ideas …………………………………… …………… 53 4.2.4.3 Guessing vocabulary from the context ……………………………………54 4.2.4.4 Making reference ……………………………………………………………55 CHAPTER CONCLUSION……………………………………………………….57 5.1 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………57 5.2 Limitations ……………………………………………… 58 5.3 Suggestions for further research ……………………………………………… 58 REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………….… 60 APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………………….i APPENDIX A: ………………………………………………… ……….………… i APPENDIX B: ………………………………………………………………………iv APPENDIX C: ………………… ………………………………………………… vii APPENDIX D: ………………………….………………………………………… x APPENDIX E: ………………………… ………………………………………….xiv APPENDIX F: ……………………………………………………… …………….xviii vi APPENDIX G: ……………….……………………………………………………xxviii APPENDIX H: …………………………………………………………………… xxx APPENDIX I: …………………………………………………………………… xxxii vii LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Questions in tests for reading sub-skills Table 2: Students’ difficulties in learning the reading skill Table 3: Students’ desire to improve the reading skill Table 4: The experimental and control group’s score in general English test Table 5: The average total scores and standard deviations of general English test in the experimental group and the control group Table 6: Scores of all participants for both groups Table 7: Means and standard deviations of students’ scores in the pre-test and the posttest of both groups Table 8: Students’ correct answers of reading for specific information Table 9: Students’ correct answers of finding the main idea Table 10: Students’ correct answers of guessing vocabulary from the context Table 11: Students’ correct answers of making reference Figure 1: The important of reading skill Figure 2: Learning the reading comprehension in English Figure 3: Students’ assessment of their four sub-skills in reading comprehension Figure 4: Progress chart of participant A5/ fluctuated increase Figure 5: Progress chart of participant A28/ gradual increase Figure 6: Progress chart of participant A20/ plateau increase Figure 7: The pre and post- tests mean’s score for both groups viii ABBREVIATIONS SSEP: Sam Son Ethnic Pre-university N: Number of students %: percentage ix C Hotels are all poor in Mexico D The hotels in Mexico are pretty expensive Activity 2: Read the passages and answer the follow up questions according to the readings Passage 1: Dear Melissa, I hope you are well Guess what! I am having a big party next week at my house and I am inviting all my close friends The theme of the party is going to be Harry Potter, so all must dress accordingly You would make a great witch! I need to let everyone know by Wednesday since I am throwing the party next Saturday Sam is going to decorate the house and my mother is going bake a cake and make lots of food There is going to be music and dancing as well John is going to be the DJ You can stay over at my house It’s going to be great! I hope to see you then Love, Sarah What kind of an organization is it? A It is a slumber party B It is a costume party C It is about making cake D It is a dance party 2.When is the party? A It is a fancy dress party B On Wednesday C It is next Saturday D There is going to be music and dancing Whose party is it? A It is Sarah’s party xix B It is Judy’s party C It is Sarah’s mother’s party D It is Harry Potter’s party Passage 2: Hi, my name’s Andriy I love football I am a great fan of AC Milan I have also been interested in cars since I was a child I’m crazy about driving and I also enjoy fixing cars When I was ten, I had many toy cars I would play with them; repair the ones my friends broke I also used to help my dad fix his car So, eventually I decided to become a mechanic and open up my own shop My parents are happy with my choice, too Because they think it’s important that I pursue a carrier that I like I have a bright career now and I really enjoy it I’m planning to get married soon My girlfriend is also interested in cars Who knows, maybe we can run the car shop together with our kids in the future Which of the following could best replace for the word “eventually”? A finally B luckily C usually D firstly What would be the best "title" for this paragraph? A Andriy’s career choice B Cars in our life C Andriy and AC Milan D Andriy and his friends Which of the following statements is wrong? A Andriy likes AC Milan football club B Andriy's friends would break his toys xx C Andriy's girlfriend likes cars D Andriy is a football player Activity 3: Read the passages and answer the follow up questions according to the readings Passage My best friend Selena Hi, my name is Tina I am thirteen years old and today I want to talk about my best friend Selena She is my classmate and she is thirteen years old too We attend a very big school near Scotland We share the same desk and love the same school subjects Our favorite lessons are Arts and Physical Education I am very good at tennis and she is very good at volleyball She plays volleyball at our school team We both have a busy life We always get up at a half past six and at seven o’clock her father takes us to school by car They live next door to us, so after school we always our homework, walk our dogs and play together Our classes start at half past seven and finish at p.m Her mother is a nurse My mother is a nurse too and they work at the same hospital Our fathers are both engineers but they work at different companies On Mondays, Selena has violin class and I have piano class On Tuesdays and Thursdays she practices volleyball at the school’s gym and I play tennis in our school court Friday is my favorite day because Selena stays overnight with us On the weekends, we usually go to the movie theater or have a picnic if the weather is good I am the only child, I don’t have a sister but she is like a sister to me What is Selena’s favorite day of the week? A Sunday B Monday C Tuesday D Friday 2.Which one of the following questions you cannot answer? xxi A What time does Tina get up on weekdays? B Which school subjects does Tina like? C What music types does Tina like? D How does Selena go to school? What is incorrect about Tina? A Her mother is a nurse B She has a busy life C She walks her dog on Saturdays D She spends time with her best friend Passage 2: Nichole’s Summer Vacation Every summer Nichole goes to the countryside for a month She stays at her uncle’s farm and helps him She works very hard but she likes it because she loves to spend time with her cousin Macy Every morning she wakes up at six o’clock, first she collects the eggs and feeds the chickens, then she has breakfast at 6:30 and after breakfast, she helps her aunt with the house chores for an hour She can't wait to spend time with her cousin Macy They always have a great time together They climb trees, pick fruits and flowers They love being outdoors They come back home before dark and get ready for dinner After dinner, they go out and feed the animals Before they go to bed they watch TV for a little bit or read books They are always very tired at the end of the day and usually fall asleep watching TV or reading Where does Nichole go in summer? A She goes to a big city B She goes to her uncle’s farm C She goes to her cousin’s hotel D She goes camping Which one of the following questions you cannot answer? xxii A How long does Nichole stay at her uncle’s farm? B How does Nichole help her uncle and aunt? C What does Nichole before she goes to bed? D What’s her favorite food? Which of the followings isn't true about Macy and Nichole? A Macy and Nichole can climb trees B They have a good time together C They live together D They feed the animals Activity 4: Read the passages and answer the follow up questions according to the readings Passage My Day Hi, my name is Joshua I am a financial adviser Yesterday I had a very busy day I woke up at half past six Waking up was so hard that I needed to wash my face with cold water to open my eyes Then I went to the kitchen and had a cup of coffee and toast for breakfast I brushed my teeth, took the trash out, ironed my clothes and finally I got dressed and left home around seven o’clock I got on the bus at half past seven to downtown I arrived at work at ten to eight I needed to finish up six reports before noon At twelve o'clock I had half an hour lunch with my colleagues After lunch we had a meeting until two o’clock Then I visited one of my clients at three o’clock to talk about his financial plans I came back to work at around four o'clock and prepared three more reports Finally at six I was able to leave my office and I was exhausted by the time I got home Which of the following questions you cannot answer? A Why was Joshua so sleepy? B How many reports did he finish? xxiii C What time did he have his lunch? D Why did he visit his client? The underlined word “exhausted” is closest in meaning to which of the following? A excited B interested C tired D impressed What you think his job is? A An engineer B A doctor C An accountant D A teacher Passage The Moon The Moon is the satellite of the Earth It is about the quarter size of the Earth It goes around the Earth approximately in one month It is about 384,000 kilometers away from the Earth There is no air or atmosphere around it, so there is no life on the Moon It has about 13 and a half days daylight and 13 and a half nights of darkness Temperature on the Moon is 120 °C during the lunar day and -150 °C during the lunar night Because there is no air or atmosphere, there is also no sound as the sound waves travel through the air So, The Moon is very silent Why there is no life on the Moon? A Because it is so far away B Because it has only 13 days of daylight C Because there is no atmosphere or air D Because there is no sound Which of the followings is incorrect? xxiv A The Moon turns around the Earth B The Moon is hotter than the Earth in daytime C The Moon is bigger than the Earth D It takes one month for the Moon to go around the Earth Which of the following options cannot complete the sentence "Because there is no air or atmosphere on the Moon, ."? A There is no sound B There is no life C We cannot cook there D It is the satellite of the Earth Activity 5: Read the passages and answer the follow up questions according to the readings Passage Dear Daniel, If you'd like to improve your English, one thing you can is to build up your vocabulary In order to this, you have to practice a lot I’m afraid there is not a short cut for this But there are many effective ways First of all, you should read a lot You can read short stories, comics, newspapers, magazines etc depending on your English level As you read, you can try to guess the meanings of unknown words from the context of the sentence If you cannot, then look up the definition in a dictionary English to English dictionary should be your first choice and keep the translator as last Another way of building vocabulary is to watch movies in English which will also help with pronunciation Try to be involved with the language as much as you can Keep a vocabulary notebook and write down a few words each day Keep in mind that you have to revise them regularly In my opinion, to communicate with people all you need is words Even if you just say the words one after another, people most likely will understand what you mean regardless of the order of the words and grammar xxv What is the main point of this e-mail? A What can we to improve our English B Difficulties of learning English C Problems of learning a second language alone D What's the best way of learning English Which of the following could best substitute for the word “revise”? A rewrite B repair C retype D review What is the most important thing to communicate with people according to the writer? A Grammar B Vocabulary C Order of the words used D Advanced English course Passage Dear Matilda, It’s been a month I haven’t heard from you I hope you are well I had a terrible day at school yesterday My friends and I were playing volleyball in the school yard when I suddenly fell and twisted my ankle At first I didn’t feel much pain, but later on it started hurting badly I had difficulty walking so my friends helped me around They took me to a hospital and stayed with me until my mom and dad arrived The doctor said it was broken and I needed to rest for a month We came home last night and I feel better now This incident also made me realize how valuable friendships are I don't know what I would without them So I want to say I feel very happy to have such good friends like you xxvi Why does the girl feel happy? A Because she was at school B Because she fell and injured herself C Because her friends helped her D Because the ambulance arrived on time Which of the followings is incorrect? A She hurt her arm B She injured her ankle C Her friends helped her get to a hospital D She won't be able to go to school for a month What does the girl want to emphasize in her e-mail? A The importance of friendship B She should stop playing volleyball C The terrible day she had D The importance of school xxvii APPENDIX G THE RESUL OF STUDENTS’ SCORES AFTER CONDUCTING SELF-STUDY ACTIVITIES IN READING COMPREHENSION P Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week Week 10 A1 7 7.5 7.5 7.5 8 8 A2 5 5.5 6 6.5 7 7.5 A3 5.5 6 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A4 4 4.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 A5 7 6 7.5 7.5 A6 5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A7 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A8 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A9 5 7 7 7 A10 6.5 6.5 7.5 8 8 8.5 A11 7 6 7.5 7.5 A12 5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A13 5.5 5.5 6 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 A14 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A15 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8 8 8.5 A16 5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A17 7 6 7.5 7.5 A18 6.5 7 7.5 8 8 8.5 A19 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A20 5 7 8 8 xxviii A21 7 7.5 7.5 7.5 8 8 A22 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A23 5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A24 7 6 7.5 7.5 A25 6 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 8.5 A26 5.5 5.5 6 7 A27 7 6 7.5 7.5 A28 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 A29 5 5.5 5.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 7 7.5 A30 7 7.5 7.5 7.5 8 8 xxix 7.5 APPENDIX H THE RESUL OF STUDENTS’ SCORES IN THE PRE-TEST P Experimental group P Control group A1 C1 A2 C2 A3 C3 A4 C4 A5 C5 A6 C6 A7 C7 A8 C8 A9 C9 A10 C10 A11 C11 A12 C12 A13 C13 A14 C14 A15 C15 A16 C16 A17 C17 A18 C18 A19 C19 A20 C20 A21 C21 xxx A22 C22 A23 C23 A24 C24 A25 C25 A26 C26 A27 C27 A28 C28 A29 C29 A30 C30 xxxi APPENDIX I THE RESUL OF STUDENTS’ SCORES IN THE POST-TEST P Experimental group P Control group A1 C1 A2 C2 A3 7.5 C3 A4 6.5 C4 A5 C5 A6 C6 6.5 A7 C7 7.5 A8 C8 A9 C9 A10 7.5 C10 A11 C11 A12 6.5 C12 A13 C13 A14 C14 A15 C15 A16 C16 A17 6.5 C17 A18 C18 6.5 A19 C19 A20 C20 A21 7.5 C21 A22 C22 xxxii A23 C23 A24 C24 A25 6.5 C25 6.5 A26 C26 A27 C27 A28 C28 A29 C29 7.5 A30 C30 6.5 xxxiii ... this study at Sam Son Ethnic Pre- university, the purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of self- study activities to improve reading skill, especially such as reading sub -skills as reading. .. aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of self- study activities practiced by ethnic minority students at SSEP in studying English reading skill The study aims to investigate students? ??... students at Sam Son Ethnic Pre- university? ?? that can apply some selfstudy activities in order to measure students? ?? improvement in reading skill in English learning process 1.2 Aims of the study The