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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

*** *** ĐANG THI UT
AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE REALITY OF TEACHING READING
COMPREHENSION TO THE 11
TH
– FORM STUDENTS AT YEN THE
HIGH SCHOOL, BAC GIANG PROVINCE

(TÌM HIỂU VỀ THỰC TẾ DẠY ĐỌC HIỂU CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 11
TẠI TRƯỜNG THPT YÊN THẾ, TỈNH BẮC GIANG)
Minor Programme Thesis
Field : English Methodology
Code : 60. 14. 10
HANOI, 2010

2.2.2.2. While- reading stage .9
2.2.2.3. Post- reading stage 10
2.2 3 Some common teaching methods utilized at three stages of a reading lesson10
2.2.3. 1 Pre-reading 10
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2.2.3.2 While-reading .12
2.2.3.3 Post- reading .13
2.3. Attitudes and their impacts in teaching and learning 14
2.4. Previous Studies 15
2.5. Sub-conclusion 16
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY 17
3.1. Subjects of the study 17
3.2. Reading sections in TIENG ANH 11 textbook 17
3.3. Data collection instrument 18
3.3.1. Questionnaire for teachers 18
3.3.2. Questionnaire for students 18
3.3.3. Classroom observation 18
3.3.4. Post- observation interviews 19
3.4. Procedures. 19
CHAPTER IV: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 20
4.1. Data analysis 20
4.1.1. Findings from Questionnaire for teachers 20
4.1.2. Findings from Questionnaire for students 25
4.1.3. Findings from classroom observation and post-observation interviews 30
4.2. Major findings 32
CHAPTER V: LIMITATIONS AND CONCLUSION 36
5.1. Suggestions 36
5.1.1. Reading section adaptation 36
5.1.2. Training different reading skills for students 38
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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Teachers‟ assessment of the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook
Table 2: Methods used at pre- reading stage
Table 3: Methods used at while- reading stage
Table 4: Methods used at post- reading stage
Table 5: Teachers‟ opinions on the importance of reading text components
Table 6: Problems teachers face with in teaching reading
Table 7: Students‟ assessment of the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11 textbook
Table 8: Students‟ preference of teaching methods used by the teachers at pre-reading
stage
Table 9: Students‟ preference of teaching methods used by the teachers at while -reading
stage.
Table 10: Students‟ preference of teaching methods used by the teachers at post -reading
stage
Table 11: Problems students face with in learning reading.
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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Statement of the problems
Being aware of the importance of teaching and learning English in high schools, the
Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has recently introduced a new series of

speaking and writing teaching are far worse. Rarely can students say or write a complete
and grammatically correct sentence in English. Instead of developing students‟
communicative ability, teachers sometimes have to change speaking and writing lessons
into grammar and vocabulary ones. Besides, reading lessons seem to be a burden for
teachers and boring to students. Within 45 minutes, teachers often cannot help students compete
the post-reading sections as most of the time is spent on pre- and while- reading. Students complain
that there are too many new words and grammatical structures in a long text, which prevents them
from understanding the reading passage thoroughly.
In such conditions, teaching and learning English in general and teaching reading in particular
according to the new curriculum has actually become a great obstacle for both teachers and
students at YTHS. However, reading has still been the focus of teaching because it is not only an
important means to gain knowledge but also the means by which students can obtain more new
words and structures used in certain contexts.
After looking critically into the reality of teaching and learning reading at YTHS, discussing the
topic with colleagues and reflecting on her own teaching experience, the researcher realizes that
teaching methods greatly influence the effectiveness of teaching reading skill. Limited success of
reading lessons may be due to teachers‟ inflexibility, their lack of teaching experience, intensive
employment of the grammar- translation method and the lack of training in the communicative
approach. Also, teachers‟ domination in the language classroom should be blamed for. YTHS
students are often passive during English lessons and do not have effective skills in learning
reading. As a result, they fail to get the main ideas as well as the details of each reading passage. So
as to have a better understanding of the situation and find solutions to the problems her colleagues
and herself face with, the researcher decided to investigate the reality of teaching reading to grade
11 students at YTHS.
1.2. Aims of the study and research questions
This study aims:
1. To find out teachers‟ and students‟ comments on the reading section in TIENG ANH 11
textbook.
2. To investigate the reality of teaching reading to grade 11 students and their attitudes towards the
teaching of reading utilized by teachers

data collection instruments and procedures are presented.
Chapter Four discusses the outcome of the data analysis.
Chapter Five is the conclusion to the thesis.

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CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Reading and reading comprehension
2.1.1. Definitions
What is reading?
Reading is a popular activity of human beings. It takes place in every aspect of daily life as
well as in scientific areas. Therefore, there exist many different points of view on the
definition of reading.
Goodman (1971:135) defines reading is “a psycholinguistic process by which the reader, a
language user, reconstructs, as best as he can, a message which has been encoded by a
writer as a graphic display”, and the act of reconstruction is viewed as “a cyclical process
of sampling, predicting, testing and confirming ”. Another view on reading is shared by
Nuttal (1982:4) “Reading is getting a message from a text”. She states “the meaning is not
lying in the text waiting to be passively absorbed; on the contrary, the reading is actively
involved and often has to work out to get the meaning out”. It is clear that she rejects the
views in which reading is regarded as a rather passive and receptive skill.
Grellet (1981:3) also says reading is understood as extracting required information from a
written text as efficiently as possible. Besides, according to Harmer J. (1989:190) reading
is “an exercise dominated by the eyes and the brain. The eyes receive message and the
brain then has to work out the significance of the message”. Sharing the same view, Smith
(1985:102) points out “reading is understanding the author’s thought”. According to the
ideas presented above, reading can be considered as a communicative process in which we-
the readers - read the author‟s mind, not the author‟s words. Reading, viewed from a
different perspective, is “an active information- seeking process in which readers relate

knowledge of the world and knowledge of language, especially the topic mentioned in the
reading text.
2.1.2. Kinds of reading
We read different texts in different ways, depending on our manner and our purpose.
Reading, according to manner, is classified into reading aloud and silent reading.
2.1.2.1. Reading aloud
Doff (1988:70) assumes “reading aloud involves looking at the text, understanding it and
also saying it”. Reading aloud can be used inside classroom as a technique to check
students‟ pronunciation. As it helps them to associate the spelling of the words and the
pronunciation and improve their fluency. However, as for Doff (1988:58), reading aloud is
not a very useful technique for some reasons. First, only one student is active at a time, the
others either not listening at all or listening to a bad model. Second, students‟ attention is
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focused on pronunciation, not understanding the text. Next, it is an unnatural activity; most
people do not read aloud in real life. Finally, students usually read slowly, it takes up a lot
of class time.
2.1.2.2. Silent reading
Silent reading is the activity we often use in real life, for example reading books,
newspapers, texts, road signs etc. Silent reading, as mentioned by Doff (1988:67) “involves
looking at sentences and understanding the message it conveys”. It has become more and
more preferable because it is comprehension and its focus is on the meaning of the text.
Learners do not need to read all the words in the text and they can read at their own speed.
If they do not understand a sentence, they can go back and read it again. Reading aloud
tends to reduce the speed of reading and formation of correct reading habits. Silent reading
helps one to develop speed and comprehension. Good silent reading skills prepare students
for library reading on their own. It is also an effective skill for teaching and learning
reading comprehension.
According to purposes, reading is categorized into skimming, scanning, extensive reading
and intensive reading.

pleasure in reading is expected as reading fruits”. Nutall (1982:168) emphasizes “the best
way to improve one’s knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its
speakers. The next best way is to read extensively in it”. It is clear that extensive reading is
of great importance to students‟ self-study. Through extensive reading, their reading habit
and passion can be formed. And it is more effective if students‟ extensive reading is
followed by an instructional program with the help of a reading teacher. For example, the
teacher should give her students lists of graded books for purpose. Articles, reports, books
bearing on the subjects of the curriculum may also be suggested for reference.
To summarize, in teaching and learning a foreign language, reading plays an important role
compared to other skills: listening, speaking and writing. It is a useful skill to help students
obtain their knowledge. Readers, according to their manner or purpose, can choose
different kinds of reading including reading aloud, silent reading, skimming, scanning,
intensive reading or extensive reading.
2.2. The teaching of reading
2.2.1. Factors in teaching and learning reading
2.2.1.1. Teacher’s roles in teaching reading
The teacher is a person who applies methods in teaching reading. Therefore, no one can
deny the vital role of the teacher in a reading lesson. Mahon (1986:98_99) says that the
teacher is the most important element in a reading class, for her attitude influences students
and their performance. Nuttal (2000:32_33) specifies some roles of the teacher as choosing
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reading texts, designing tasks, facilitating reading process and monitoring process. What is
more, the teacher is responsible for exploiting students‟ knowledge; building a strong
vocabulary base; teaching for comprehension; teaching strategies; encouraging students to
transform strategies into skills and finally setting criteria to select reading texts. (Anderson.
2003 and Hedge. 2003 cited in To et al., 2006:153-154). To sum up, the teacher, by using
appropriate techniques, can make students get involved in learning. It becomes the
responsibility of the teacher to train students to determine their own goals and strategies for
a particular reading.

Different text types require different teaching methods. For example, grammar- translation
and Audiolingualism methods are often used with TALO and communicative approach fits
well with TAVI and TASP. Besides, when teaching reading and designing reading tasks,
the teacher should take the points that Grellet (1981:20) suggests into consideration:
language of the text; the content of the text and its vocabulary and grammatical structures.
2.2.2. Stages of teaching a reading lesson
In the light of the recent and widely accepted communicative approach, it is common
practice that a reading lesson consists of three stages: pre- reading, while- reading and
post- reading. Each stage, of course, has its own characteristics and time allocation that
will be discussed in details as follows:
2.2.2.1. Pre- reading stage
Various things should be done before reading a text, which makes it easier for students to
understand the text and help them focus attention on it as they read. Williams (1984:37)
suggests three purposes of the pre- reading stage. Firstly, it aims at introducing and
arousing interest in the topic. Secondly, it supports to promote the learners by giving a
reason for reading. The last aim is to provide some language preparation for the text.
Normally, pre- reading phase lasts from two to ten minutes depending on each lesson. Pre-
reading activities may include presenting some of new words in the text, giving a brief
introduction to the text and giving guiding questions. Such techniques as using pictures,
predicting from the titles, guessing and brainstorming can also be applied to see what
students have already know.
2.2.2.2. While- reading stage
According to Williams (1984:38), while- reading stage is the main part of a reading lesson. The
first aim of this stage is to help understanding the writer‟s purpose. The second is to help
understanding the text structure and the last aim is to clarify the text content. Teachers, at the
while- reading stage, need to help their students comprehend the text thoroughly while students
have to apply to the best their reading skills like skimming, scanning, guessing, etc. to understand
the text as well as the writer‟s purposes conveyed through the reading text. And time allocation
for this stage is nearly two thirds of the whole lesson.
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for the students to understand the text. However, it is unnecessary to present all the new
words in a text since the students can guess the meaning from the context- an important
skill when dealing with reading. According to Nutall (1998), when introducing the text, the
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teacher needs to present key language items in the context of the introduction as it is more effective
than presenting them as isolated items. To present the new items in the text, the teacher can use
visual aids, language games, synonyms, antonyms and definition or explanation.
Using a brainstorming web
It is a kind of group work activity. Each group must take a brainstorming web and write the
title of the article in the center. Then a group leader must be appointed so as to complete
the following duties: make sure everyone speaks English only; make sure everyone
contributes (speaks); be the writer for the group in filling the brainstorming web.
Asking pre-reading questions
Pre-reading questions or guiding questions are comprehension questions raised orally or
given on the board before students read the text. It is evident that these questions are
necessary to the students because “they give students a reason to read and lead them to the
main points of the text” (Doff, 1998:61). Guiding questions should be concerned with
general meaning or with the most important points of a text and not focus on minor details.
More importantly, pre-reading questions should be fairly easy to answer and not too long.
When these questions are given, students need to make use of their guessing ability to
answer. It is one way of motivating them to read the text and making the reading more
purposeful. Pre-reading questions can be multiple-choice, yes/no or “wh” questions.
Predicting the content of the text
It is good for students to make a prediction about the content of the text before being asked
to read the passage. It stands to reason that prediction assists the students to activate their
background knowledge relevant to the topic and give them reason for reading.
Consequently, the students‟ motivation is created. The teacher can make the students
anticipate the content by posing questions, setting the tasks, using the title or pictures
available in the text and using key words and phrases from the text.

Teachers can ask their students to translate the text into Vietnamese at while-reading stage.
This method can help students understand the text thoroughly. It makes extensive use of
the students‟ knowledge of the mother tongue. English is taught with the help of the
mother tongue. Words, phrases and sentences are freely translated into Vietnamese. This
can help make both teachers and students feel at home and comfortable. However, it takes
too much time, especially with a very long and difficult text and it cannot develop
students‟ reading skills like guessing, skimming and scanning.
Using comprehension questions
These are the questions related to the main ideas or the details of the reading passage to
check students‟ comprehension. Students work individually or in pairs, in groups to answer
the questions from the teacher or from the textbook. Students are encouraged to check and
compare the answers with each other before the teacher gives feedback. Comprehension
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questions can show the teacher how well students have understood the text and what needs
to be more fully explained. These questions focus the students‟ attention on the main
points and lead them to think about the meaning of the text. There are two ways of using
comprehension questions. The teacher can ask the students to read the text intensively first
and then answer the questions or the teacher asks students to read the questions first and
scan the reading text to find the answer. In everyday reading situations, readers have a
purpose for reading before they start. That is, they know what comprehension questions they are
going to need to answer before they begin reading. To make reading assessment in the language
classroom more like reading outside of the classroom, therefore, the teacher should allow
students to review the comprehension questions before they begin to read the passage.
2.2.3.3. Post- reading
After the students have understood the text completely, the teacher can use the following
methods at post- reading stage to help students consolidate their reading and further
practice.
Summarizing the reading text
It is common practice for the teacher to ask students to summarize the text. This method is

motivation which refers to the combination of effort plus desire to achieve the goal of learning
and language plus favorable attitudes toward learning the language. According to him, the
motivation to learn a foreign language is determined by basic predisposition and personality
characteristics such as the learners‟ attitudes towards foreign people in general, and the target
group and language in particular, motives for learning and generalized attitudes.
 The impacts of attitudes in learning and teaching
Gardner and Lamber (1972) point out “success in mastering a foreign language would
depend not only on intellectual capacity and language aptitude, but on one‟s attitudes
towards representatives of that language as well”. Attitudes influence learning: positive
attitudes are likely to result in students‟ motivation, which leads to better learning; and the
students‟ learning will suffer from negative attitudes (Edwards, 1982 cited in Gibb, 1998).
Slopsky (1989:211) claims that attitudes “influence the development of motivation and
have more specific effects, so attitudes appear to carry into particular motivation”.
Obviously, the more motivation a learner has, the more time s/he will spend learning an
aspect of the language.
Similarly, the approach that teachers use in the classroom depends on their attitudes
towards it. Doukas (1996) assumes that teachers‟ educational attitudes and theories,
although unconsciously held, have an effect on their classroom behavior, influence what
students actually learn and are a potent determinant of teachers‟ teaching style. He also
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emphasizes that teacher‟ attitudes are seen to play crucial role in determining the
implementation of an approach. If teachers hold positive attitudes to a theory of teaching,
they are considered being good for both language learning and teaching. They will be
better and help students‟ learning very much.
2.4. Previous Studies
There have been many studies on teaching English in general and teaching reading in
particular. Follows are some of the studies focusing on reading activities and the teaching
of reading that the researcher has found and used as the models for her study.
Dao Thu Huong (2007) carried out a study on “How to improve reading comprehension of

stages of a reading lesson. What is more important is that some common teaching methods
utilized at three stages of a reading lesson, attitudes as well as their impacts in teaching and
learning were mentioned. Finally, some previous studies used as the models for this study
were presented. This literature review will serve as theoretical basic for the study which
will be presented in the next chapters.

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CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY This chapter deals with the research methodology including the description of the subjects,
data collection instruments and procedures.
3.1. Subjects of the study: There are two groups of subjects in this study:
 English teachers
YTHS has totally 8 English teachers (2 males and 6 females) including the researcher, aged
from 25 to 52. Only two of them graduated from VNU,CFL, two others were trained in Thai
Nguyen College of Education. The eldest one used to be a teacher of Russian and the rest
attended in- service ELT training courses. None of them has master degree. All of them have
ever taught TIENG ANH 11 textbook and four are teaching grade 11 (2009-2010).
 The grade 11 students

while- reading and 4 items in post- reading. Question 3 was to get information on teachers‟
opinions towards the importance of reading components. Question 4 aimed to find
teachers‟ difficulties in teaching reading.
3.3.2. Questionnaire for students
In order to investigate the students‟ assessment of the reading section, their attitudes
towards the teaching methods utilized by teachers and their difficulties in reading lessons,
the questionnaire for students was designed (see appendix 2). It has three questions.
Question 1 is to investigate the students‟ assessment of the reading section. Question 2
asks students to rate their preference towards teaching methods used by teachers using a
scale of 1 to 3 (1 being most favorite, 2 being next favorite and 3 being least favorite). And
question 3 aims to identify the students‟ difficulties in reading lessons. This questionnaire
was administered to 124 grade 11 students at YTHS.
3.3.3. Classroom observation
According to Wajryb (1992), classroom observation is a means of collecting data about
what is going on in the classroom, a complex arena with many processes co-occurring and
overlapping. The researcher has chosen classroom observation to collect on what reading
teaching methods used by teachers and how often these teaching methods were used. The
information from teacher questionnaire was used as the framework for classroom
observation. (See appendix 4). Classroom observation would provide the researcher
information on the students‟ attitudes towards teaching methods and if there was
congruence between what teachers‟ self- reported information and what they actually did
in the classroom. Observations of reading lessons delivered by 4 different teachers were
done in classes 11A1, 11A2, 11A4 and 11 A8, two 45-minute periods for each class in 5
weeks from February 22 to March 27, 2009, which makes a total of 8 reading periods. Due
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to the lack of audio recording and camera, the researcher had to take notes during the
observations. The classroom observation sheet (see appendix 4) helps the researcher to
follow the procedures of the reading lessons.
3.3.4. Post- observation interviews

4.1. Data analysis
4.1.1. Findings from Questionnaire for teachers
 Teachers’ assessment of the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11
textbook
Data from the teachers‟ questionnaire shows that teachers highly appreciate the reading
topics and visual aids provided in the new textbook in term of diversity and closeness to
real situation (see table 1)
options
N of teachers
Reading topics are various
5
Reading topics are closed to real situation
3
The length of reading texts is too long
8
The language knowledge (vocabulary and structures) in the reading
texts is too difficult for the majority of students in mountainous areas.
8
The reading tasks designed are too difficult for grade 11 students and
take too much time.
8
Various visual aids (pictures, charts…) are provided in reading sections
to raise students‟ interests in the topic.
8

Table 1: Teachers’ assessment of the reading section in the new TIENG ANH 11
textbook (N=8)
However, all the English teachers at YTHS have negative attitudes towards reading tasks
and the difficulty level of language knowledge in the reading texts. They agreed that the
reading tasks are too difficult for their students and takes too much time to complete.