Limitations are inevitable in any research project. This minor thesis has got a number of drawbacks.
Firstly, the suggestions in this chapter are likely to be subjective for they are mainly based on the author‟s limited practical experience and professional knowledge in teaching reading. Secondly, because of the limitation of time and knowledge, the study cannot focus on other aspects related to teaching reading comprehension in the new textbook. They can be the techniques to motivate students and improve their vocabulary, how to make full use of the strengths of the textbook, supplementary reading materials for students, etc. These need further study.
Finally, the study merely concentrates on problems in teaching reading at YTHS. In order to have a full picture of teaching English according to the new curriculum, further research
REFERENCES
1. Anderson, R. C.& Pearson, P.D. (1984). Handbook of reading research. New York:
Longman.
2. Brown, H. D. (1990). Principles of teaching and learning. Prentice Hall Regents, New Jersey.
3. Dao Thu Huong (2007). How to improve reading comprehension of the 10th –form students at Le Hong Phong High School. Unpublished MA thesis, VNU-CFL.
4. Doff, A. (1998). Teaching English: a training course for teachers. Cambridge: CUP.
5. Doukus, E .K. (1996). Using Attitudes Scale to Investigate Teacher’s attitudes to the Communicative Approach. ELT Journal, 50/3,187-98.
6. Eskey, D. (1998). Holding in the Bottom: An Interactive approach to the Language problems of second language readers. In P. Carnell, J. Devine, & D. Eskey (edt), Interative Approaches to Second Language Reading (pp.223-38). New York: CUP.
7. Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social Psychology and Second Language Learning. The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. London: Edward Arnold.
8. Gibb, B. (1998). A Comparative Study of Attitudes towards Varieties of English held by Professionals and Tertiary Level Students in Korea. http:www.survey.ac.uk/ ELT/
gibbn.pdf.
9. Goodman, K. S. (1971). Reading a Psycholinguistic Guessing Games. In Harry Singer and Robert B. Ruddell (Edt)
10. Grade, W. (1991). Current Developments in second language reading research.
TESOL Quarterly 25(3).375-406.
11. Grellet, F. (1981). Developing Reading Skills. Cambridge: CUP.
12. Harmer, J. (1991). The Practice of English Language Teaching. Logman.
13. Harmer, J. (1998). How to Teach English. Harlow, UK: Longman.
14. Hedge, T. (2000). Teaching and Learning in Language Classroom. Oxford: OUP.
15. Lee, J. F and Vanpatten, B. (1985). Practical Techniques for Language Teaching.
London: Language Teaching Publications.
16. Mahon. D. (1986). Intermediate Skills: Focusing on Reading Rate Development. In F.
17. Mowla, S (Foreword Ghosh., R.N). 2004. Techniques of Teaching English. New Delhi: Education Publishers. Mikulecky, B.S. 1990. A Short Course in Teaching Reading Skills. The United States of America: Addison- Wesley Publishing Company.
18. Nguen Thi Huyen (2006). An Investigation into the Reality of Teaching Reading to the 2nd Year Students at National Economics University. Unpublished MA thesis, Hanoi University.
19. Nuttal, C. (1996). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. Oxford:
Heinemann.
20. Nuttal, C. (2000). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. 2nd ed. Oxford:
Heinemann.
21. Rubin, J. & Thompson, I. (1994). How to be a Successful Language Learner.
Boston: Heinle & Heinly Publishers.
22. Slopskey, B. (1992). Conditions for Second Language Learning. OUP.
23. Smith, F. (1971). Understanding Reading. New York: Holt, Rinchart and Winston.
24. To et al. (2006). ELT Methodology II (Course book). Unpublished course book.
College of Foreign Languages, Vietnam National University.
25. Tran Thi Ha (2003). An Investigation into the Strategies for Developing Reading Skills to Final year Army Office Trainees of English at the Military Academy of Science. Unpublished MA thesis, VNU-CFL.
26. Wajnryb, R. (1992). Classroom Observation Tasks. Great Britain: Cambridge University Press.
27. Wallace, M. J (1993). Reading. Oxford University Press.
Williams, E. (1984). Reading in the Language Classroom. New York: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.
APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS AT YEN THE HIGH SCHOOL
This survey questionnaire is designed for the study on “An investigation into the reality of teaching reading comprehension to the grade 11th students at Yen The High School, Bac Giang province”. Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated.
You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data.
Male
Female
Age:
English teaching experience (for example: 6 years):
1. What are your comments on the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook?
(Please tick appropriate boxes)
Reading topics are ….
e. Various
f. Closed to real situation g. Boring
h. Unfamiliar with students
The length of reading texts is…
d. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level e. Too long
f. Too short
The language knowledge (vocabulary and structures) in the reading texts is…
a. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level
b. Too difficult for the majority of students in mountainous areas c. Easy
The reading tasks designed are …
d. Too difficult for grade 11th students
e. Various and suitable to most of the grade 11th students f. Take too much time to do
Various visual aids (pictures, charts, and tables) are provided in reading sections to raise students’ interests in the topic. Do you agree?
Formatted: Bullets and Numbering
c. Yes d. No
2. Please rate the frequency of methods you use in teaching reading.
No. Teaching methods are used in
three stages Frequency
Pre-reading usually sometimes rarely never
1 Giving a brief introduction
2
Presenting and explaining all new words in the reading text
3 Making students predict the con tent of the text
4
Presenting and explaining new grammatical structures in the reading text
5 Asking students to survey the reading text‟s title and heading for the topic
6
Asking lead-in questions to elicit discussion about the reading topic of the text
7 Using group discussion about topic of the text
8 Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text
9
Making students brainstorm words, structures or ideas related to the topic of the text
10 Making students ask questions about the text
Others (specify):
While –reading
1 Teachers reading aloud
2 Asking students to read aloud the reading text
3 Asking students to translate the reading text into Vietnamese
4 Asking students to read the reading text intensively and answer the questions
5
Asking students to read the questions first and scan the reading text to find the answer
Post-reading
1 Asking students to summarize the text 2 Asking students to have discussion 3 Asking students to find out more about
the topic on their own
4 Asking students to translate it into Vietnamese
5 Doing nothing because of the limited time
Others (specify):
3. What do you often pay attention to when teaching reading in English? (Please rank in order of importance) 1- not important at all, 2- not really, 3- so so, 4- important, very important.
Items Levels of importance
1 2 3 4 5
New structures
Detailed content of the text Vocabulary
Main ideas and topics
Other (please specify)……….
4. What problems do you have to face with in teaching reading?
Students‟ lack of motivation
Students‟ lack of background knowledge and world knowledge
Time limit
Students‟ limited vocabulary and grammatical structures
Students‟ lack of appropriate reading strategies
Others (please specify)………
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS AT YEN THE HIGH SCHOOL
This survey questionnaire is designed to find out grade 11th students‟ attitudes toward the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11. It also helps to investigate your attitudes toward reading teaching methods used by teachers and the difficulties you have in learning reading comprehension. Your assistance in completing the questionnaire is highly
appreciated.The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for other purposes.
1. What are your comments on the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook?
(Please tick appropriate boxes)
Reading topics are ….
i. Various
j. Closed to real situation k. Boring
l. Unfamiliar with students
The length of reading texts is…
g. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level h. Too long
i. Too short
The language knowledge (vocabulary and structures) in the reading texts is…
d. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level
e. Too difficult for the majority of students in mountainous areas f. Easy
The reading tasks designed are …
g. Too difficult for grade 11th students
h. Various and suitable to most of the grade 11th students i. Take too much time to do
Various visual aids (pictures, charts, and tables) are provided in reading sections to raise students’ interests in the topic. Do you agree?
e. Yes f. No
3. Please rate the preference towards the teaching methods that teacher used in reading lessons. (Put a tick in an appropriate box)
No. Items Most
favorite
Next favorite
Least favorite Pre-reading
1 Giving a brief introduction
2 Presenting and explaining all new words in the reading text
3 Making students predict the con tent of the text 4 Presenting and explaining new grammatical
structures in the reading text
5 Asking students to survey the reading text‟s title and heading for the topic
6 Asking lead-in questions to elicit discussion about the reading topic of the text
7 Using group discussion about topic of the text 8 Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text 9 Making students brainstorm words, structures or
ideas related to the topic of the text
10 Making students ask questions about the text Others (specify):
While –reading
1 Teachers reading aloud
2 Asking students to read aloud the reading text 3 Asking students to translate the reading text into
Vietnamese
4 Asking students to read the reading text intensively and answer the questions
5 Asking students to read the questions first and scan the reading text to find the answer Post-reading
1 Asking students to summarize the text 2 Asking students to have discussion
3 Asking students to find out more about the topic on their own
4 Asking students to translate it into Vietnamese Others (specify):
3. What problems do you have to face with in learning reading? you can tick more than one option)
Your lack of motivation
Your lack of background knowledge
Time limit
Your limited vocabulary and grammatical structures
Your lack of appropriate reading strategies
Others (please specify)………
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
APPENDIX 3: PHIẾU KHẢO SÁT Ý KIẾN HỌC SINH
Phiếu khảo sát này nhằm tỉm hiểu đánh giá của học sinh về phần đọc hiểu trong SGK Tiếng Anh lớp 11. Ngoài ra nó còn giúp tìm hiểu thái độ của các em đối với các phương pháp dạy đọc được giáo viên áp dụng và khó khăn các em gặp phải khi học đọc hiểu.
Những thông tin này sẽ được dùng cho nghiên cứu chứ không nhằm mục đích gì khác.
1. Các em nhận xét như thế nào về phần đọc hiểu trong SGK Tiếng Anh lớp 11? Hãy đánh dấu tích() vào phương án các em lựa chọn.
Chủ đề của các bài đọc thi…
Đa dạng
Gần gũi với đời sống hàng ngày
Nhàm chán
Không quen thuộc với học sinh
Độ dài của các bài đọc là…
Phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh lớp 11
Quá dài
Quá ngắn
Kiến thức ngôn ngữ trong mỗi bài đọc ( bao gồm từ vựng và cấu trúc ngữ pháp) la…
Phù hợp với trình độ của học sinh lớp 11
Quá khó đối với phần lớn học sinh ở miền núi
Dễ
Các nhiệm vụ (tasks) được thiết kế trong các bài đọc la………
Quá khó với học sinh lớp 11
Đa dạng và phù hợp với học sinh lớp 11
Mất quá nhiều thời gian để hoàn thành
Những hình ảnh trực quan như tranh anh, bảng biểu được cung cấp trong mỗi phần đọc đã nâng cao hứng thú cho học sinh đối với chủ đề bài đọc. Các em có đồng ý không?
Có
Không
2. Hãy thể hiện sự yêu thích của các em đối với các phương pháp dạy đọc được giáo viên áp dụng bằng cách đánh dấu tích () vào ô phù hợp.
Các phương pháp được giáo viên áp dụng Thích nhất Thích Không thích Trước khi đọc
1 Gv giới thiệu qua về bài đọc 2 Gv dạy các từ mới có trong bài đọc
3 Gv yêu cầu học sinh đoán nội dung của bài đọc 4 Gv dạy các cấu trúc ngữ pháp mới có trong bài
đọc
5 Gv yêu cầu học sinh tìm hiểu về chủ đề bài đọc thông qua các tiêu đề
6 Gv đặt các câu hỏi mào đầu để gợi ý học sinh thảo luận về chủ đề bài đọc
7 Gv yêu cầu học sinh thảo luận theo nhóm về chủ đề bài đọc
8 Gv sử dụng những hình ảnh trực quan để giới thiệu chủ đề
9 Gv yêu cầu học sinh tìm hiều những từ, cấu trúc hoăc các ý có liên quan đến chủ đề
10 Gv yêu cầu học sinh đặt câu hỏi về bài đọc Các phương pháp khác:
Trong khi đọc
1 Gv đọc to bài khóa
2 Gv yêu cầu học sinh đọc to bài khóa
3 Gv yêu cầu học sinh dịch bài khóa sang tiếng Việt
4 Gv yêu cầu học sinh đọc kĩ bài khóa trước rồi trả lời câu hỏi
5 Gv yêu cầu học sinh đọc câu hỏi trước sau đó đọc quét bài khóa để tìm câu trả lời
Sau khi đọc
1 Gv yêu cầu học sinh tóm tắt bài đọc 2 Gv yêu cầu học sinh thảo luận
3 Gv yêu cầu học sinh tự tìm hiểu thêm về chủ đề của bài đọc
4 Gv yêu cầu học sinh dịch bài đọc sang tiếng Việt Các phương pháp khác:……….
Các em gặp phải những khó khăn gì khi học đọc? (các em có thể chọn nhiều lựa chọn)
Các em thiếu động lực học
Các em thiếu kiến thức nền
Các em không có đủ thời gian để đọc
Vốn từ vựng và cấu trúc của các em rất hạn chế
Các em thiếu các kĩ thuật đọc phù hợp
Các khó khăn khác:……….
Rất cảm ơn sự cộng tác của các em!
APPENDIX 4: CLASSROOM OBSERVATION SHEET General information:
Instructor:………..…
Observer:………...
Date:………..…
Time:………..…
Classroom observed:………..…
Focus of the observation:
I. Teaching methods utilized by teachers in three stages of a reading lesson
No. Items Frequency
Pre-reading
1 Giving a brief introduction
2 Presenting and explaining all new words in the reading text 3 Making students predict the con tent of the text
4 Presenting and explaining new grammatical structures in the reading text
5 Asking students to survey the reading text‟s title and heading for the topic
6 Asking lead-in questions to elicit discussion about the reading topic of the text
7 Using group discussion about topic of the text 8 Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text
9 Making students brainstorm words, structures or ideas related to the topic of the text
10 Making students ask questions about the text Others :
While –reading
1 Teachers reading aloud
2 Asking students to read aloud the reading text
3 Asking students to translate the reading text into Vietnamese 4 Asking students to read the reading text intensively and answer
the questions
5 Asking students to read the questions first and scan the reading text to find the answer
Post-reading
1 Asking students to summarize the text 2 Asking students to have discussion
3 Asking students to find out more about the topic on their own 4 Asking students to translate it into Vietnamese
5 Doing nothing because of the limited time Others:
II. How does the teacher teach generally? Using what methods?
III. What are students‟ attitudes towards each method employed by their teacher in the reading lesson?
APPENDIX 5: POST-OBSERVATION INTERVIEWS 1. Can you tell me something about your educational background (University you graduated from) and your teaching experience?
2. As you know one of the textbook goals is to develop students‟ communicative ability. Is it clear and easy to follow? If not, why not?
3. What is the most challenging for you in implementing reading tasks in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook?
4. How often do you use the teaching methods listed in the questionnaire (show the teacher the questionnaire)? Why and why not?
5. In reading lessons, did you take much time teaching new vocabulary and grammatical structures? Why? And why not?
APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS AT YEN THE HIGH SCHOOL
This survey questionnaire is designed for the study on “An investigation into the reality of teaching reading comprehension to the grade 11th students at Yen The High School, Bac Giang province”. Your assistance in completing the following items is highly appreciated.
You can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of the data.
Male
Female
Age:
English teaching experience (for example: 6 years):
1. What are your comments on the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook?
(Please tick appropriate boxes)
Reading topics are ….
e.m. Various
f.n. Closed to real situation
h.p. Unfamiliar with students
The length of reading texts is…
d.j. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level e.k. Too long
f.l. Too short
The language knowledge (vocabulary and structures) in the reading texts is…
a.g. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level
b.h. Too difficult for the majority of students in mountainous areas c.i. Easy
The reading tasks designed are …
d.j. Too difficult for grade 11th students
e.k. Various and suitable to most of the grade 11th students f.l. Take too much time to do
Various visual aids (pictures, charts, and tables) are provided in reading sections to raise students’ interests in the topic. Do you agree?
c.g. Yes
d.h. No
2. Please rate the frequency of methods you use in teaching reading.
No. Teaching methods are used in
three stages Frequency
Pre-reading usually sometimes rarely never
1 Giving a brief introduction
2
Presenting and explaining all new words in the reading text
3 Making students predict the con tent of the text
4 Presenting and explaining new grammatical structures in the reading
text
5 Asking students to survey the reading text‟s title and heading for the topic
6
Asking lead-in questions to elicit discussion about the reading topic of the text
7 Using group discussion about topic of the text
8 Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text
9
Making students brainstorm words, structures or ideas related to the topic of the text
10 Making students ask questions about the text
Others (specify):
While –reading
1 Teachers reading aloud
2 Asking students to read aloud the reading text
3 Asking students to translate the reading text into Vietnamese
4 Asking students to read the reading text intensively and answer the questions
5
Asking students to read the questions first and scan the reading text to find the answer
Post-reading
1 Asking students to summarize the text
2 Asking students to have discussion 3 Asking students to find out more about
the topic on their own
4 Asking students to translate it into Vietnamese
5 Doing nothing because of the limited time
Others (specify):
3. What do you often pay attention to when teaching reading in English? (Please rank in order of importance) 1- not important at all, 2- not really, 3- so so, 4- important, very important.
Items Levels of importance
1 2 3 4 5
New structures
Detailed content of the text Vocabulary
Main ideas and topics
Other (please specify)……….
4. What problems do you have to face with in teaching reading?
Students‟ lack of motivation
Students‟ lack of background knowledge and world knowledge
Time limit
Students‟ limited vocabulary and grammatical structures
Students‟ lack of appropriate reading strategies
Others (please specify)………
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
APPENDIX 2: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS AT YEN THE HIGH SCHOOL
This survey questionnaire is designed to find out grade 11th students‟ attitudes toward the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11. It also helps to investigate your attitudes toward reading teaching methods used by teachers and the difficulties you have in learning reading comprehension. Your assistance in completing the questionnaire is highly
appreciated.The data collected are used in the research paper only, not for other purposes.
1. What are your comments on the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook?
(Please tick appropriate boxes)
Reading topics are ….
i.q. Various
j.r. Closed to real situation k.s. Boring
l.t. Unfamiliar with students
The length of reading texts is…
g.m. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level h.n. Too long
i.o. Too short
The language knowledge (vocabulary and structures) in the reading texts is…
d.j. Suitable to grade 11th students‟ level
e.k. Too difficult for the majority of students in mountainous areas f.l. Easy
The reading tasks designed are …
g.m. Too difficult for grade 11th students
h.n. Various and suitable to most of the grade 11th students i.o. Take too much time to do
Various visual aids (pictures, charts, and tables) are provided in reading sections to raise students’ interests in the topic. Do you agree?
e.i. Yes f.j. No