VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY
A STUDY ON THE USE OF TOP-DOWN APPROACH TO IMPROVE
READING SKILL FOR LEARNERS AT EQUEST ENGLISH CENTRE

(NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ VIỆC SỬ DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP TOP-DOWN ĐỂ
NÂNG CAO KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC CHO HỌC VIÊN TRUNG TÂM ANH
NGỮ EQUEST) M.A. Minor ProgrammeThesis

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014


To the best of my knowledge and belief, this minor thesis contains no material
which has previously been submitted and accepted for any other degree in any
university. The thesis is my own work and based on my own research. It involves
no material previously published or written by any other person, except where due
reference is made in the paper.
Hanoi, 2014

Nguyê
̃
n Thi
̣
Thuy
́ ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


knowledge on the target language.
The above has inspired the writing of this study as an attempt to apply top-
down approach in teaching reading to improve reading skills for learners at Equest
Centre.
This study consists of three parts. Part one presents the rationale, aims,
research questions, scope and methods of the study. Part two includes three
chapters. Chapter one sets up theoretical background that is relevant to the purpose
of the study. The following chapter shows the setting, the subjects, the methods, the
way to collect data and the effects of using top-down approach in teaching and
learning reading skill at Equest English Centre. The last chapter in this part focuses
on the findings, discussion and suggestions for improving reading skill to learners at
Equest English. Part three summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the
limitations and provides some suggestions for further study. iv
LISTS OF TABLES AND CHARTS
1. Tables
Table 1.1. Descriptive statistics for the pre-test of the experimental and control
groups
Table 1.2. Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for pre-test of the
experimental and control groups
Table1.3. Descriptive statistics for the post-test of the experimental and control
groups
Table 1.4. Comparison of mode, mean, median and SD for post-test of the
experimental and control groups
Table 1.5. Comparison of mean and standard deviation between the experimental

5. Methods of the study 3
6. Design of the study 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
1.1. Theory on Reading 4
1.1.1. Definitions of Reading 4
1.1.2. Reading comprehension 5
1.1.3. Types of reading 7
1.2. Teaching Reading skill 9
1.2.1. Principles of teaching reading 9
1.2.2. Stages of a reading lesson 11
1.3. Top-down approach 14
1.3.1. Definition 14
1.3.2. Top-down versus Bottom-up processing 14
1.3.3. Top-down approach in reading 15
1.3.4. Top-down techniques in teaching reading 17
1.4. Summary 20
CHAPTER 2: 22
vi
METHODOLOGY 22
2.1. Setting of the study 22
2.1.1. Subjects‟ background information 22
2.1.2. The teachers and teaching methods 23
2.1.3. Materials 23
2.2. Subjects 24
2.3. Methods 24
2.3.1. Test 24
2.3.2. Questionnaire 25
2.4. Procedures 25
2.4.1. Data collection 25

PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
It is undeniable that English in the life of any society in the world today has
been becoming more and more important. The widespread need for English as an
international language puts a considerable pressure on the education resources of
any countries. In case of our country, since our government carried out the open
door policy to attract foreign investment and co-operate with other countries,
teaching and learning English has become necessary. Moreover, English is a means
of international communication in the fields of science, technology, culture,
education, economy and so on. That is the reason why at present, learning English is
not only the interest but also the great and practical demand for many people,
especially for people who always want to assess the modern world. Therefore,
learning English at a lot of English Centre is becoming popular.
Understanding the importance of English, all teachers at Equest English
Centre have an attempt to satisfy the learners‟ need. At Equest English is the foreign
language dominating the teaching and learning programs for 10 years. Despite a
prejudice that learning English at a center is less effective than that at some
universities, colleges, or international schools, learners at Equest, regardless of their
ages, always strive for a good command of English as they are well aware of their
learning purposes. Through 10 years of development, Equest has provided a number
of learning English programs. Therefore, there are 38 000 learners learning English
at Equest in 2013.
However, to master English learners need to grasp a lot of different skills
such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among these skills, reading is an
important one because it does not only help student develop other language skills,
but also provides them knowledge on the target language. According to Byrne
(1986), “reading is an important way of expanding the students’ receptive
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knowledge of the language and in terms of classroom activities, it is an effective
way of simulating students to talk and write”.

- Pre-test and post-test
- Survey questionnaires
6. Design of the study
This minor thesis consists of three parts:
Part A: Introduction which presents the rationale, aims, research questions, scope
and methods of the study.
Part B: Development which is divided into 3 chapters:
- Chapter 1: “Literature review”, sets up theoretical background that is
relevant to the purpose of the study.
- Chapter 2: “Methodology”, shows the setting, the subjects, the methods, the
way to collect data and the effects of using top-down approach in teaching
and learning reading skill at Equest English Centre.
- Chapter 3: “Findings, Discussion and Implication”. In this chapter, the
findings and some discussions are shown. The implication of the study also
includes some suggestions to improve reading skills for learners at Equest
English Centre.
Part C: Conclusion which summarizes the key issues in the study, points out the
limitations and provides some suggestions for further study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
Chapter 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter is primarily concerned with the theory on reading, including
some definitions of reading as well as reading comprehension and types of reading.
This will be followed by a review of teaching reading skill, consisting of principles
of teaching reading, common methods of teaching reading and stages of a reading
lesson. The next part presents a review of definition of top-down approach, the

According to Anderson (2003: 68), reading can be defined as “a fluent
process of readers combining information from a text and their own background
knowledge to build meaning. The goal of reading is comprehension…The text, the
reader, fluency and strategies combined together define the act of reading”.
In brief, each researcher has a different definition of reading. From my point
of view, the idea of Anderson is quite clear and easy to follow. Reading is a process
that the readers understand meaning by combining information of the text and their
own background knowledge.
1.1.2. Reading comprehension
In teaching and learning a foreign language in general and teaching reading
in particular, reading comprehension plays an important part. It can be understood
as the ability to draw attention to the required information from the text as
efficiently as possible. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the definition of
reading comprehension.
According to Richard and Thomas (1987: 9), “Reading comprehension is
best described as an understanding between the author and the reader”. This point
of view concentrates on the reader‟s understanding of the message based on the
individual‟s background knowledge. They stated that “reading is much more than
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just pronouncing words correctly or simply knowing what the author intends: it is
the process whereby the printed pages stimulate ideas, experiences and responses
that are unique to an individual”.
Moreover, Abbott (1981:82) gives out a research on the nature of reading
comprehension. According to him “there are two broad aspects or levels. Firstly,
there is basically visual task that of deciphering the marks on the page, the brain
receiving signals from the eyes. Secondly, there is cognitive task that of interpreting
the visual information, so one is not simply barking at point”.
Study the nature of reading comprehension, Grilled (1981: 3) indicated that
“Reading comprehension or understanding written text means extracting the
required information from it as effectively as possible”. This means that the student

a general understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word”.
It is obvious that when reading extensively, readers do not need to have intense
concentration on the content of a long text and total comprehension because the
objective of extensive reading is to cover the greatest possible amount of text in the
shortest possible time. In other words, extensive reading can be compared to the
activity of ploughing through the text in a uniform fashion. Extensive reading is
therefore regarded as means of entertainment and pleasure.
According to Carrell et al. (1997), extensive reading often, such as in an EAP
(English for academic purpose) setting, involves rapid reading of large amounts of
material or longer contents, such as a whole book, for getting a gist or a focus
generally on the meaning of what is being read. Especially, this pattern of reading
gets the reader to focus on reading itself rather than mastering the particular
structure of a skill.
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Moreover, the aim of extensive reading is to encourage readers to cover a
large amount of material in a comparatively short time and to gain a general
understanding of what is read instead of analyzing the detailed information.
Basing on the importance of extensive reading, Nuttal (1982:168) shows that
“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.”
In short, this kind of reading is necessary for students because it actively
promotes reading outside the class and gives them an opportunity to use their own
knowledge of the language for their own purposes. Moreover, this kind of reading is
regarded as pleasure and interest. That is why extensive reading is highly
motivating.
1.1.3.2. Intensive reading
The remaining two kinds of reading activity, content study reading and
linguistic study reading are also often grouped together and called intensive reading.
Different from extensive reading – reading for fluency, readers can read
without the aid of the teachers and without understanding the text in detail –

Background knowledge can affect reading comprehension. Students‟
background knowledge includes all of the experiences that a reader brings to a text:
life experiences, educational experiences, knowledge of how texts can be
organized rhetorically, knowledge of how one‟s first language works, knowledge
of how the second language works, and cultural background and knowledge.
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The teacher can significantly enhance students‟ comprehension if he or she
activates their background knowledge by setting goals, asking questions, making
predictions, teaching text structure, and so on.
1.2.1.2. Build a strong vocabulary base
Vocabulary can facilitate successful reading. The teacher should explicitly
teach basic vocabulary and teach students how to use context to effectively guess
the meaning of less frequent vocabulary.
1.2.1.3. Teach for comprehension
Besides testing comprehension, it is necessary to teach students how to
comprehend. A technique the teacher can employ to help students in the process of
constructing meaning from a text is questioning the author. This activity should be
done during the reading process. It requires the teacher to model the reading
behavior of asking questions to make sense of that is being read. Students learn to
engage with meaning and develop ideas rather than retrieve information from the
text. In the process of reading, students should ask themselves some questions such
as “What is the author trying to say here? What is the author‟s message? What is the
author talking about? What does the author mean here? Does the author explain this
clearly?” (Beck et al., 1997: 34, 37).
1.2.1.4. Teach reading strategies
To achieve success in reading, students should know how to use a range of
strategies that match their purposes for reading. Teaching them how to do this
should be a prime consideration in the reading classroom. A technique the teacher
can use to help students identify reading strategies is to get them talk about their
thought processes as they read. The students can listen to their own verbal report or

comprehension, so most experienced readers employ pre- reading and other
strategies to make reading easier. Pre- reading aims at introducing the text to the
students and helps them make careful preparation before reading the text. It is
advisable for the teacher to create a reading motivation and a positive attitude
towards reading for students so that they can achieve a high level of success and
become confident that they can read effectively.
As for Doff (1988), there are many activities a teacher to carry out so as to
help students before they start reading such as introducing the text briefly,
presenting new vocabulary, revising grammatical structures or giving guiding
questions.
Moreover, in my opinion, the teacher should activate the students‟
background knowledge and provide some information about the text. This is aimed
to help the students to predict the content of the text they are going to read.
Prediction is an important ability that the students should develop in order to
comprehend various kinds of texts, especially the texts that the students are not
familiar with.
1.2.2.2. While-reading stage
While- reading stage is carried out when all students actually set their eyes
on the text and this stage is the main part of a reading comprehension lesson. The
aims of this stage focus on making the students anticipate in the process of
understanding the whole text, and interpreting exactly what the author wrote. In
addition, it helps the students break up the organization of the text; understand the
text structures; classify the text content and recognize the writer‟s purpose and
attitude.
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Moreover, it helps the students improve their reading speed and techniques.
Besides, this stage offers an opportunity to apply effectively what they have learnt
from the text to their purpose of study and communication.
Because this stage plays a very important role in a reading lesson, it must be
carefully designed.

As to top-down teaching strategy, the learner‟s prior knowledge is activated,
which is capable of enhancing learner‟s language learning, and making possible
reading comprehension. In other words, in top-down strategy, “content schemata”
are to be activated; prior knowledge plays a major role in learner‟s comprehension.
Carrell (1988) argued that a lack of content schemata activation would lead
to insurmountable processing difficulties with second language readers. Hudson
(1982) has even argued that a high degree of background knowledge can overcome
linguistic deficiency.
In addition to prior knowledge as a key point, top-down model is actually a
whole-language teaching approach, in which readers focus on the context, and
manage to construct meanings in the text (Treiman, 2001). In this sense, top-down
reading strategies contain predicting, inferring, and focusing on meanings (Grabe,
1991). Reading is actually “a psychological guessing game”, in the words of
Goodman (1970).
1.3.2. Top-down versus Bottom-up processing
Bottom-up processes are those that take in stimuli from the outside world -
letters and words, for reading - and deal with that information with little recourse to
higher - level knowledge. With top-down processes, on the other hand, the uptake
of information is guided by an individual‟s prior knowledge and expectations.
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Bottom-up approach focuses on the text as the convergence of encoded
messages to be deciphered. Instructors who uphold bottom-up processing focus
on how learners extract information from the printed page, and on whether or not
learners deal with letters and words in a systematic fashion. Therefore, the goals of
the bottom-up approach are automatic word recognition and rapid reading rate. To
reach the aims, explicit instruction in phonics and spellings is crucial; students
should not be “word-bound” in bottom-up processing (Grabe, 1991).
In most situations, bottom-up and top-down processes work together to
ensure the accurate and rapid processing of information. However, theories about
the cognitive processes involved in reading differ in the emphasis that they place on

There is an agreement among reading specialists that a reader should be an
"active participant" in the process of comprehending a text. Simply explained, the
meaning is constructed by the reader, who creates connections between what s/he
encounters in the text and what s/he knows about the world as well as about the
language (Grabe, 1991; Hudson, 1998). The key element here is the emphasis on
the reader's background knowledge. The importance of the prior knowledge has
been investigated through psycholinguistics and schema theory. On the other hand,
top-down processing leads readers use their background knowledge to comprehend
the text. Thus, this processing should be more often introduced to English reading
instruction because it has tended to be neglected. Teaching top-down process will
enable the students to read actively, or interact with text.
As was mentioned before, reading is an interaction between text and the
readers, in which the readers use not only their decoding skills but also other kinds
of knowledge. Mikulecky (1990) explained it citing the passage used by Branford
and Johnson: