The effects of teacher reading aloud on students reading comprehension an experiment at vic submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements of the degree of master in tesol

M INISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THINGHIA THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER READING ALOUD ON STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION AN EXPERIMENT AT VIC SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER IN TESOL SUPERVISOR: DOAN THI MINH NGUYET, MA Hanoi, 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S A B S T R A C T a L IST OF A B B R E V IA T IO N S 4,i L IST OF T A B L E S » LIST O F F IG U R E S v C H A PT E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N 1.1 B ackground to the stu d y 1.2 Aim s and research questions 1.2.1 A im s o f the stu d y 1.2.2 R esearch Q uestions 1.3 Scope o f the s tu d y 1.4 Significance of the study 1.5 O rganization o f the th e s is C H A PTE R 2: LITER A TU R E R E V IE W 2.1 D efinitions o f the te r m s 2.2 R oles o f T eacher R eading A loud in language teaching 2.2.1 R oles o f Teacher Reading A loud in enhancing literacy for native-speaking children 2.2.2 Roles o f Teacher Reading Aloud in enhancing students’ reading com prehension in L2 learning s itu a tio n s .9 2.2.2.1 C ontroversies about Teacher Reading A lo u d .9 2.2.2.2 Benefits o f reading aloud to EFL s tu d e n ts 11 2.3 Im plem entation o f TRA in previous studies 12 2.3.1 Im plem entation o f TRA in LI learning situations 12 2.3.2 Im plem entation o f reading aloud in second language learning situations 14 2.3.3 Suggested activities for im plem enting Teacher Reading A loud 16 2.3.4 Im plem entation o f Teacher Reading Aloud in the present s tu d y 21 2.4 Types o f reading texts used for read-aloud lesso n s 22 2.5 S u m m a r y 24 C H A PTER 3: M ETH O D O LO G Y 25 3.1 R esearch q u estio n s 25 3.2 S u b jects 25 3.3 D escription o f variables 26 3.4 Data collection in stru m en ts 26 3.4.1 T ests 27 3.4.2 Q uestionnaire 29 3.5 T he reading m aterial and T eacher R eading Aloud im p lem en tation 30 3.5.1 Reading m aterial 30 3.5.2 Im plem entation o f Teacher Reading A loud in the study 30 3.6 D ata collection procedures 31 3.6.1 Data collection procedure before the experim ent 31 3.6.2 The procedures o f im plem enting T eacher Reading A lo u d 31 3.6.3 Data collection procedure after the experim ent .34 3.7 D ata a n a ly sis 34 3.7.1 Q uestionnaire data an a ly sis 34 3.7.2 Test data analysis .34 3.8 C oding the d a ta 34 S u m m a r y 35 C H A P T E R 4: RESU LTS A ND D IS C U S S IO N 36 4.1 The results o f the reading com prehension t e s t 36 4.1.1 T est results w ithin groups 37 4.1.1.1 Test results o f the control g ro u p 37 4.1.1.2 Test results o f the experim ental g ro u p .38 4.1.2 Test results between groups 40 4.1.2.1 Test results between experim ental and control group 40 4.1.2.2 Test results between w eak-experim ental and w eak-control group 41 4.1.2.3 Test results between average-control and medium -experim ental g ro u p 42 4.1.2.4 Test results between good-control and good-experim ental group 44 4.1.3 Test results o f types o f text within experim ental g ro u p 45 4.1.3.1 Test results o f literary text (T l) between pre and posttest o f experim ental g ro u p .45 4.1.3.2 Test results o f the journalistic text (T2) between pre and posttest o f experim ental g ro u p .46 4.2 D iscussion o f the test resu lts 47 4.3 R esults o f the feedback q u estio n n a ire 49 4.4 D iscussion o f the results o f the feedback questionnaire 50 4.5 S u m m a r y 52 C H A P T E R 5: IM PLIC A TIO N S A ND C O N C L U S IO N S .54 5.1 Im p lica tio n s 54 5.1.1 E nhancing the teachers’ aw areness o f the im plem entation o f the T R A 54 5.2.2 TR A im plem entation 55 2.3 T ypes o f text used for reading a lo u d 55 5.2 L im itations o f the study and recom m endations for further resea rch 55 5.2.1 Lim itations o f the stu d y 55 5.2.2 R ecom m endations for further research 56 5.3 C o n c lu sio n 57 R E F E R E N C E S A P P E N D IX 1: P re-test on reading com prehension A P P E N D IX 2: Post-test on reading com p reh en sion A P P E N D IX 3: Participant B ackground Q uestionnaire A P PE N D IX 4: Feedback q u estio n n a ire A PPE N D IX 5: Sam ple Lesson plan for the teacher reading aloud in stru ction A P PE N D IX 6: M aterials for sam ple plan for reading aloud by the tea ch er A PPE N D IX 7: T he results o f the te sts A PPEN D IX 8.1: Results o f the Participant Background Q u estion n aire A PPEN D IX 8.2: The results o f the feedback questionnaire ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my thanks to all who helped my and encouraged me to continue the present study and com plete it First, I w ould like to thank my supervisor, Doan Thi Minh Nguyet, M.A for her scholarship, encouragem ent and insightful com m ent throughout my research I would also like to express my appreciation to my teacher, N guyen Thai Ha M ed for giving m e her kind assistance I also wish to thank the staff m em bers o f Post G raduate D epartm ent and o f the Library at Hanoi U niversity for giving me a supportive environm ent during my research My special thanks are also extended to my students at Viet Hung Industrial College who are w illing to participate in my study and help me In addition, I w ould like to express my gratitude to my friend, M rs Tran Thi Thu Hang and my colleagues who gave me insightful suggestions and encouraged m e to fulfill this study Finally, I w ould like to express my deep appreciation and love to my family m em bers for their love, support and encouragem ent throughout my study ABSTRACT This present study aim s at investigating the effects o f T eacher R eading A loud w hich was not encouraged in EFL settings Specially, the researcher attem pts to (1) identify w hether the TRA affect the reading com prehension proficiency o f second-year non-E nglish m ajor students at VIC or not; If ‘y e s’, w hich group o f students w as m ost affected; and w hat types o f text reading aloud by the teacher affect stu d en ts’ reading com prehension ability, (2) explore how the students in the experim ental group appreciate the TRA T he results o f the second research questions also aim to identify the reliability o f the test results In order to identify the reading com prehension proficiency o f the 43 participants in the study before and after 10 w eeks o f providing the reading lessons w ith TR A , the researcher decided to use the tw o tests - pre- and post reading com prehension tests as m eans o f data collection instrum ent The results from pre-and post tests w ere com puted and analyzed by m eans o f t-tests, using paired-sam ple and independent- sam ple t-tests, SPSS version 15.0 The conclusion from the te sts’ analysis show s th at the TR A has a positive effect on the reading com prehension proficiency o f the students in the experim ental group T he results clearly show that only the students in the experim ental-m edium group w ere m ost positively affected by the TRA In addition, they also state that the TR A helps students read both literary text and jo urnalistic text better In order to identify w hether the 20 students in the experim ental group appreciate the TRA or not, the researcher em ployed the feedback questionnaire adapted from N elson (1995) The adapted feedback questionnaire consists o f 10 statem ents focusing on the effectiveness o f TR A to identify the students’ opinions about the TRA T he results collected from the feedback questionnaire prove that the student appreciate the TRA Based on the finding o f the study, som e discussion and im plications w ere m ade along with recom m ended suggestions for further research VIC: V iet-H ung Industrial C ollege TR A: T eacher R eading Aloud L I: First Language L2: Second Language SE: Student o f experim ental group SC: Student o f control group T l: Literary text T2: Journalistic text M : M ean P: Probability value SD: Standard D eviation LIS I OF TABLES Table 3.1: Background inform ation o f inform ants o f the experim ent Table 4.1: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Control Group Table 4.2: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Experim ental group T able 4.3: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Experim ental Group and Control Group Table 4.4: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the W eak-Experim ental and W eak-Control Group T able 4.5: Pre & Posttest Results o f A verage-Control and A verage-Experim ental Group Table 4.6: Pre-and Posttest Results o f Good-Control and G ood-Experim ental Group Table 4.7: Test results o f literary text (T l) betw een pre & posttest o f experim ental Group Table 4.8: Test results o f journalistic text (T2) between pre & posttest o f experim ental G roup Table 4.9: R esults o f the feedback questionnaire Figure 4.1: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Control Group Figure 4.2: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Experim ental Group Figure 4.3: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the Control Group and Experimental group Figure 4.4: Pre-and Posttest Results o f the W eak-Control and W eak-Experim ental Group Figure 4.5: Pre & Posttest Results o f A verage-Control and A verage-Experim ental Group Figure 4.6: Pre-and Posttest Results o f G ood-Control and G ood-Experim ental Group Figure 4.7: T est results o f literary text (T l) betw een pre& posttest o f experim ental group Figure 4.8: T est results o f journalistic text (T2) betw een pre & posttest o f experim ental group A P P E N D I X 3: P A R T I C I P A N T B A C K G R O U N D Q U E ST IO N N A IR E Please answer the following questions The information gathered from this questionnaire will be used to identify various characteristics of the entire participant group Your answers will not be personally identified in the research report Please tick (V) in the appropriate square (tick one or more than one if they are all true o f you) or provide brief answers to certain question N am e: Sex: □ Male □ Female A ge: School: C lass: Did you learn English before you entered this College? □Yes □ No ( I f ‘yes’) How long? □3 years □ years □ years □ O ther.(months) (years) Where did you learn English? □ Secondary school □ High secondary school □ Evening English course □ University □ College □ Other (specify) Which of the following areas did your English learning course(s) focus on? □ Grammar □ Speaking □ Writing □ Reading □ Listening □ Nothing □ Other (list) Why did you learn English? □ To pass the exams □ Interested in English U Need it for current study/ future job □ Because it was an obliged subject in my curriculum □ Other (list) Was English one o f the formal tests in your College's entrance examination? □ Yes □ No Why you want to learn English now? □ To pass the exams □ Interested in English □ Need it for current/ future job □ To study abroad □ Because it was an obliged subject in my curriculum □ Other (list) 10 What areas o f your English learning you want to improve now? □ Vocabulary □ Grammar □ Writing □ Listening comprehension □ Reading comprehension □ Speaking □ Other (list) 11 Which o f the following reasons you think they lead to your poor reading comprehension? □ Too much new words □ Complicated structures □ Your reading habits □ Teacher’s teaching method □ Boring reading texts □ Other (specify) 12 Do you agree if your teacher apply another teaching approach in teaching reading? □ Yes □ No A P P E N D I X 4: F E E D B A C K Q U E S T I O N N A I R E (1) The feedback questionnaire that you are going to fill in contains questions about your appreciation to the Teacher Reading Aloud Your responses were rated as follows: 1: Strongly agree 2: Agree 3: Neutral 4: Disagree 5: Strongly Disagree Choose whether strongly agree, agree, remain neutral, disagree or strongly disagree the following statements about your experience with the Teacher Reading Aloud I liked ‘reading while listening’ Strongly agree agree Neutral disagree Strongly disagree was more attentive when listening to Teacher Reading Aloud S tro n g ly u g ro o u g ro c Ncutiul di.K tg l c c Siiongly üi.sdgicc Teacher Reading Aloud taught me to read in meaningful sense groups rather than adopting a word-for-word strategy □ Strongly agree agree □ Neutral □ disagree Strongly disagree Teacher Reading Aloud helped me to associate sound with symbol Strongly agree agree Neutral disagree Strongly disagree Teacher Reading Aloud helps me to recognize the pronunciation o f certain words, and the stress and intonation o f sentences Teacher Reading Aloud helped me to understand the overall meaning o f the text better □ Strongly agree agree Neutral disagree Strongly disagree Teacher reading helped me to read better and faster by following the teacher Strongly agree agree Neutral disagree Strongly disagree TRA helps me to deal with complicated words or structures that I couldn’t deal on my own □ Strongly agree □ agree I Neutral disagree Strongly disagree Tcachcr Reading Aloud cncouragcd m y extensive reading at hom e □ Strongly agree agree Neutral disagree Strongly disagree 10 I find it is effective to read aloud any type o f text to the students at any level o f English proficiency □ Strongly agree agree Thank you for your participation (1) Adapted from Nelson (1995) Neutral disagree Strongly disagree Textbook: New Headway Pre-Intermediate by John and Liz Soars (2000) Reading lesson: Unit 15, Reading section (page 114-115) Date o f the lesson: Time allowed: 90 minutes For: Second-year English non-major students Teaching aids: Blackboard, course book, lesson plan and pictures Objectives: By the end o f this lesson, the students comprehend the content o f the story perfectly The lesson plan consists o f phases Phase 1: Before TRA • This phase aims - To interest students’ attention and interest in the story ““The tale o f two silent brothers” - To help students guess the content o f the story and deal with complicated words and structures before hearing teacher reading aloud • In order to rcach the aim s o f this phase, the teacher needs involve students to the following activities Circle of readers - Teacher leads into the topic by reading aloud the introduction o f the story “two silent brothers” - T asks students a question for discussion “Sometimes in families there are arguments and family members don’t speak to each other for a long time Has this ever happened to anyone you know?” - Groups students in pairs to think o f the reasons that family feuds might start For example: two people in love with the same person, money, a disagreement over the w ill, - T asks students to look at the pictures and predict why the two men aren’t speaking - After each group member has had a turn to speak, students can take turns for another round, with each group member again having a turn to speak Alternatively, they can hold a general discussion - The teacher calls a number and a group, and the student with that number shares with the class what they heard from their groupmate(s) Brainstorming or semantic mapping in groups - Brainstorms the interesting vocabulary area involved and the expressions, e.g argue, quarrel, have a quarrel, have an argument, take revenge, and explains clearly the words or phases that are in the story after students’ discussion - establishes and tells students their purpose(s) o f reading Phase 2: While teacher reading aloud • The aim o f this phase is to help students discover units o f meaning that should be read as phrases rather than word by word During Teacher Reading aloud, the teacher also encourages students to actively interact with their peers, their teacher as well as the content o f the story • In order to reach the aims above, the following activities will be carried out - Teacher reads aloud the story with as much expression as possible At certain places teacher might speak louder or softer, faster or slower than normal Students are asked to follow and read silently while listening to teacher oral reading (see Appendix 6: prepared material fo r reading aloud) - While teacher read aloud, she asks students to mark every teacher’s pauses, stress and intonation - At the marked points for pause, the teacher stops and asks students to recap what they’ve heard - The steps for Tell and Check activity can be done as follows + The teacher pauses at selected points + Students work in pairs At each pause, one member o f the pair takes a turn to tell their version o f what they heard thus far This group member is the Teller + Their partner checks the recount for anything that had been left out or recalled incorrectly This group member is the Checker + The teacher calls on a couple o f the Checkers to recount what their Teller said, incorporating any improvements made by the Checker + The roles o f Teller and Checker rotate after each pause by the teacher - After few minutes for Tell and Check, the teacher continues to read aloud This activity may be repeated more than one time during TRA Phase 3: After Teacher Reading Aloud • This phase aims to encourage students in effective silent reading so that they could deepen their understanding about the reading text This helps them answer comprehension questions successfully • In this phase, students involve in the two following activities Silent reading by students: when the read aloud session is over, students get their own books and read silently in some time allowed Questions and Answers: This activity focuses on checking students’ reading comprehension ability through their ability to generate and answer questions The following steps are for this activity - After the teacher finishes reading, both members ot a pair write questions related to what they’ve heard These may be o f many types, including review questions for which the answers can be retrieved directly from what the teacher has read aloud or questions that encouraged going beyond what the teacher has read to deeper thinking - Students write answers to their own questions - Students exchange questions - but not answers - with a partner and answer each other’s questions - Students compare answers Part o f this comparison involves stating the evidence for their answers Students work in pairs to make decision on an ideal answer The same procedure was applied in the control class with no oral reading by the teacher provided A L O U D BY T H E T E A C H E R Preparation phase This phase shows how some parts o f the story are read aloud by the teacher Introduction There were once/ two brothers,/ John and Robert Hessian./ John was 52 years old,/ Robert 49./' They had never married/ and they lived together in a house/ in Oldcastle/ in the north of England./(pause) They lived together,/ they ate meals together/ but they never spoke a single word to each other./ They hadn’t spoken to each other for ten years, /ever since they had had a quarrel./ Whenever they wanted to communicate they wrote notes./(pause) PART ONE: A death in the family One evening / the brothers were sitting together after supper./ They were both wearing black/ because their older sister,/ Mary,/ had recently died./ John wrote a note to Robert:/ Mr Liversage is coming to visit./ (Mr Liversage was their solicitor./) Robert wrote: /W hy?/ John wrote: /1 don’t know./ He phoned and said that he wanted to see us./ (pause) At that moment/ there was a knock at the door./ It was the solicitor./ Mr Powell Liversage./ He had been to school with the brothers/ and was an old friend./ He too was unmarried./ ‘How are you, /Powell?/ asked Robert./ ‘Very w ell,’/ he replied./ ‘I’ve come to tell you about your sister’s will./ Did you know that /she had left a will?’/ ‘N o,’ answered John and Robert together./ ‘How much did she leave?’/ ‘£12,000./ But let me read you the w ill’/ (Pause) At some pauses, teacher asks students to recap what they’ve heard or instructs students to follow the steps in the Tell and Check activity Handout for discussion in groups or pairs Discuss with your partners in the your group the following questions before you are hearing TRA the first part of the story- The death in the family ■ Before TRA I What are the reasons o f family feuds? What was the reason why the two brothers hadn spoke to each other fo r many years? ( Students might guess from looking at the pictures) Semantic mapping in groups Match the verbs and phases in the box then put them in to the following semantic map You are the Teller Please write down the version o f what you heard thus far then tell to your partner You are the Checker Please write down anything that your partner left out or recalled incorrectly ■ After TRA Please write questions related to what you’ve heard Then exchange the questions with your partner C ocie Ti si: i SE2 SE3 SE4 SE5 SE6 SE7 SE8 SE9 SE 10 SE 11 SE12 SE 13 SE 14 SE 15 SE 16 SE 17 SE 18 SE 19 SE20 8 7 6 6 5 5 4 S Sum KMean 110 5.5 Experimental group Test Results ’re-test *ost-test T2 Tota TI Tota T2 1 17 19 10 9 16 17 8 15 16 14 8 16 13 15 13 8 16 14 12 12 15 11 7 14 11 15 11 15 11 14 7 11 13 10 14 10 6 12 7 10 13 10 12 8 7 4 121 6.0 231 11.5 143 7.1 132 6.6 275 13.7 ocl c SC1 SC2 SC3 SC4 SC5 SC6 SC7 SC8 SC9 SC10 sen SCI SCI SC14 SCI SCI SCI SCI SCI SC20 SC21 SC22 SC23 TI Pre-test 12 8 6 6 5 5 3 122 5.30 7 6 6 5 5 136 5.91 Control group Test Results Post-test '12 Total T 16 16 15 14 13 13 12 12 11 11 11 11 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 259 11.26 8 7 6 6 6 5 4 134 5.8 8 7 5 6 5 5 4 133 5.7 Total 17 16 16 14 14 13 14 13 10 11 10 12 11 10 11 10 13 10 9 267 11.6 Experimental group Control group (N = 20) (N = 23) Male = 35% 8= Female 13 = 13 = Gender Age Mean 18.56y 17.45y Did you learn English before you entered this College? Yes = 5% = 8,6% No 19 = 95% 21=91,4% 3-1 y 2.91 y (If ‘yes’) How long? Mean Where did you learn English? (tick the appropriate box(es)) Secondary school 14 = 70% 19 = 83% High secondary school 17 = 85% 21 = 91% Evening English course = 45% = 17% College or university = 100% 23=100% Other 0=0% 0=0% Which of the following areas did your English learning course(s) focus on? (tick the appropriate box(es)) Grammar 15 = 75% 14 = 60% Reading =15% = 17% Speaking = 20% = 26% Writing 1=5% = 0% Listening = 10% = 17% Nothing = 0% = 0% Other = 0% 0=0% Why did you learn English? (tick the appropriate box(es)) To pass the exams 12 = 60% 15 = 62% Interested in English = 45% = 34% 10 = 50% = 22% To study abroad = 0% = 4% Because it was an obliged 15 = 75% 19 = 87% = 0% = 0% Need it for current/ future job or study subject in my curriculum Other Was English one of the formal tests in your College’s entrance examination? Yes = 0% = 0% No = 100% 23 = 100% Why you want to learn English now? (tick the appropriate box(es)) To pass the exams = 25 % 6= 26% Interested in English = 45% 12=52% Need it for current/ future 12 = 60% 15 = 62% = 30% = 34% = 0% = 0% job Because it was an obliged subject in my curriculum Other 10 What areas of your English learning you want to improve now? Vocabulary 15 = 75% 10 = 50% Grammar - 25% 7= 30% Reading comprehension 19 = 95% 17 = 70% Writing = 10% = 0% Speaking 10 = 50% 15 = 62% Listening comprehension = 15% = 0% Other = 0% = 0% 11 Which o f the following reasons you think they lead to your poor reading comprehension? Too much new words = 20% = 13% Complicated structures = 20% = 26% Your reading habits 10 = 50% 12 = 53% Teacher's teaching method 12 = 60% 10 = 50% Boring reading texts = 10% =0% Other = 0% = 0% 12 Do you agree if your teacher apply an o th er teaching approach in teaching reading? Yes 20 = 100% 23 = 100% No = 0% = 0% A P P E N D I X : T H E R E S U L T S O F T H E F E E D B A C K Q U E ST IO N N A IR E Strongly agree Agree neutral Disagree Strongly disagree I liked listening to TRA 3=15% 12 = 60% 0=0% 3= 15% 2=10% i was more attentive when listening to TRA 5=25% 10=50% 10% 2=10% 2=15% TRA taught me to read in meaningful sense groups rather than adopting a word-for-word strategy 4=20% 12=60% 2= 10% 1=5% 1=5% TRA helped me to associate sound with symbol 1=5% 10=50% 5=25% 1=5% 3=15% TRA helped me to recognize the pronunciation o f certain words, and the stress and intonation of sentences 6= 30% 9=35% 2=10% 3=15% 2=10% TRA helped me to deal with complicated words o f structures that couldn’t deal on my own 2=10% 13=55% 2=10% 3=15% 2=10% 1- % 14-60% -10% 2-10% -15% TRA helped me to understand the overall meaning o f the text better 1=5% 14=60% 3=15% 10% 10% Teacher Reading Aloud encouraged my extensive reading at home 2=10% 10=50% 3=15% 3=15% 2=10% 10 find it effective to read aloud any type of text to the students at any level o f English proficiency 3=15% 4=20% 4=20% 7=35% 2=10% Statements TRA h e lp e d me to re a d better and faster by following the teacher ...M INISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY NGUYEN THINGHIA THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER READING ALOUD ON STUDENTS? ?? READING COMPREHENSION AN EXPERIMENT AT VIC SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT. .. American children were involved and the reading teacher usually begins the lesson by reading the title and the name o f the author (and illustrator) on the front cover While reading aloud, the teacher. .. major findings As stated in chapter I and chapter 3, the study was aimed at investigating the effect of the Teacher Reading Aloud technique on students' reading comprehension ability and the students? ??