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Mã số: ................................

SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM

TEACHING STUDY SKILLS IN A HIGH
SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASS
(DẠY KĨ NĂNG HỌC TẬP TRONG LỚP HỌC TIẾNG ANH Ở TRƯỜNG
PHỔ THÔNG)

Người thực hiện: ĐINH THỊ PHƯƠNG THOA
Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu:
- Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn: TIẾNG ANH

Năm học: 2011 - 2012


2

SƠ LƯỢC LÝ LỊCH KHOA HỌC
I. THÔNG TIN CHUNG VỀ CÁ NHÂN
1. Họ và tên: ĐINH THỊ PHƯƠNG THOA
2. Ngày tháng năm sinh: 19 - 05 - 1983
3. Nam, nữ: Nữ
4. Địa chỉ: 54D/12, KP 2, Trảng Dài, Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai
5. Điện thoại:

(CQ)/

(NR); ĐTDĐ: 0938023960

1. Conducting a small survey
2. Holding a short study skills quiz
3. Finding out students’ learning styles
4. Teaching study skills in English lessons
4.1. General study skills
4.1.1. Time management
4.1.2. Memory improvement
4.1.3. Note-taking
4.2. Substantial study skills for learning English
4.2.1. Dictionary skill
4.2.2. Guessing meaning of words
4.2.3. Distinguishing content words and function words
4.2.4. Rhythm and intonation
4.2.5. Skimming and scanning
4.2.6. Building sentences
III. RESULTS
IV. IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING
V. REFERENCES


TEACHING STUDY SKILLS IN A HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH CLASS
I. RATIONALE
It is undeniable that Vietnamese high school students are overwhelmed with
their school work. Faced with poor student performance on tests and assignments,
teachers often recognise that the root of the problem lies not only in the material or
in how it is taught, but also in how students choose to study it. Some students lack
experience with effective methods of study; they measure the effectiveness of their
studying by the length of time they spend in front of a book - not in their
comprehension of it. Harsh reality sets in when grades are dispensed!
Study skills are some of the most important lessons that a teacher can give a

•
•

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Methods based on condensing information, summarising and the use of
keywords
Methods based on visual imagery
Methods based on acronyms and mnemonics
Methods based on exam strategies
Methods based on time management, organization and lifestyle changes

Effective study skills include figuring out one’s learning style, learning time
management skills, studying in short bursts, blocking out distractions, not
cramming, revising, doing the hard stuff first, doing homework, taking good
notes, and so on.
As for study skills in English, a large numbers of books can be found in various
bookstores and libraries. It is easy to find such books if one looks at book covers
with the title “How to…” or “Preparation Course for…” Each book is appropriate
a certain purpose or a certain student, but in general, one must practise the
language regularly, manage his/her time wisely, and train his/her memory.
B. METHODOLOGY
 Subjects
The subjects of the study are students of class 10 English 2, Luong The Vinh
Specialised High School in the school year 2011-2012. Generally speaking, all the
30 students are rather good at English. However, when it comes to how to study
effectively, not all of them have good answers.
 Research instruments: survey, quiz, questionnaire, experimental
teaching, observation.
 Procedures
1. Conducting a small survey

Drink a lot of caffeine
How can I pay attention in class when it seems so boring sometimes?
Connect the material to other information
Bring your Ipod
Sit in the back and get some shuteye
Doodle in your notebook
How can I stop procrastinating?
Make a schedule and follow it
Watch all your TV shows until you're tired of watching TV
Just wait until the last minute because eventually you'll stop
Watch movies that have smart people in them
(Adopted from )
Here are the results:
Number of correct
answers
5
4
3
2

Number of students Percentage
5
7
10
7

16.67
23.33
33.33
23.33

•
•

•
•
•
•

LOGISTICAL

•

•

VISUAL

•
•

QUESTIONS
Do you like playing on the sound of
words like tongue twisters or on the
meaning of words?
Do you always try to find out meaning
for new words?
Do you remember names, places and
dates well?
Do you wish to discuss about the topics
that you have learnt recently with our
friends?

•

•
•
•
•
•

INTERPERSONAL

•
•

•
•
•
•

INTRAPERSONAL/
SOLITARY

•
•

•

Do you like to draw pictures?
Do you have a great sense for colors?
Do you imagine how objects would
appear in various angles?

Do you prefer working in a quiet
atmosphere?
Do you like to plan and set objectives?

The results show that the majority of them (27 out of 30 students) have a
mixed learning style – the combination of several learning styles. Only 3 of them
have the solitary learning style. This means most of them will benefit from a
variety of teaching and learning techniques:


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Visual learning style: taking detailed notes from textbooks, creating pictures in
your mind.
Auditory style: saving information in audio tapes and listening to them; reading
the lessons aloud or discussing the information with classmates to gain better
understanding.
Verbal learning style: using audio tapes of lessons for repetition; making use of
some word based techniques like scripting or assertions; reading the key points in
the lessons aloud; connecting the words and forming a memorable sequence;
changing voice modulations to keep the content interesting while reading aloud.
Physical learning style: moving your hands or playing with the physical parts;
using hands-on work and movement in your learning process; using physical
objects, flash cards; writing and drawing pictures.
Logical style of learning: attempting to understand the reasons behind the
contents.
Solitary learning style: clarifying your doubts with an instructor, creating a
personal interest on your lessons.
Social style: sharing your views and scripts with others in your group and listening
to their comments.
4. Teaching study skills in English lessons

___Laundry/Cleaning
___________________
___Grocery Shopping/Cooking
___________________
___Exercise
___________________
___Extracurricular Clubs/Activities ___________________
___Spiritual/Religious Activities
___________________
___Seeing Friends & Socializing
___________________
___E-mail
___________________
___Talking on the Phone
___________________
___Watching TV
___________________
___Attending Classes
___________________
___Study Time Class #1
___________________
Reading __________
Research __________
Other: __________

Working Problems __________
Writing __________
Other: __________

___Studying Class 2

___________________
4.1.2. Memory improvement

Building a powerful memory is an essential part in learning everything, not
just English. In order to help the students to memorize better, the author put them
into groups to discuss ways to remember things. This was done as an extra activity
for the post-listening section of unit 2 where students talk about their problems at
schools.
When giving feedback, the teacher provided her students with other ideas for
building a good memory by delivering handouts (Adapted from Langan, 2002:
207, and from ). They were


11
asked to read the handout more carefully at home and try to apply some
mnemonics to other lessons.
Handout:
• How to develop your memory? – By:
1. Organizing the material to be learnt
2. Intending to remember
3. Testing yourself repeatedly
4. Using several memory techniques
5. Spacing memory work over several sections
6. Overlearning
7. Studying before sleep
• Memory techniques:
Mnemonics: clues of any kind that help us remember something, usually by
helping us associate the information we want to remember with a visual image, a
sentence, or a word.
Mnemonic

remember the names of the
Acronym letters of all the key words or
Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario,
ideas you need to remember and
Michigan, Erie, and Superior.
creating a new word out of them.
Rhymes, alliteration (a repeating The rhyme “Thirty days hath
Rhymes sound or syllable), and even
September, April, June, and
and
jokes are a memorable way to November” to remember the
alliteration remember more mundane facts months of the year with only 30
and figures.
days in them.


12
Mnemonic
device

Technique

Example

Chunking breaks a long list of
numbers or other types of
Chunking
information into smaller, more
manageable chunks.



•

Write in short hand. Write short words or phrases, not complete
sentences.

•

Write in an organized manner. Use a new line for each point and make an
outline by using numbers and letters.

The teacher can also remind them how to take notes in general:
•

Use a notebook. Use a notebook of some kind when taking notes in class.
Use a different book for each class.

•

Review your work. After class review the notes that you took. At this
time you can add dates, people, and information you may have missed in
class. This will also give you a chance to add any additional words or
phrases to help you later.

•

Use your notes. Take out your notes when completing assignments,
homework, and when studying for tests. Some teachers will also allow you
to use notes when taking tests.


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This technique is very common in reading passages in the textbook. When students
do this kind of exercises, teachers can remind them that there are many ways to
help them guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from the context, and help them
focus on specific techniques for each task. For example, they can guess meaning
from:
• Definition: The writer will use key words, or signal words to identify a
definition.
Key words: is/are, means/mean, is/are called, what this means is, is/are known as,
consist of, is/are defined as, refer to, is/are described as, may be seen as
• Restatement: The writer may use other words, phrases, or sentences to
provide the meaning of difficult words
Key words: or, that is to say, in other words, i.e. or that is
• Punctuation marks: The writer will write unfamiliar words and then use
punctuation, words, phrases, or sentences to explain the meaning of the new
words.
Key words: , commas, , , appositive, ( ) parentheses, - - dashes, ; semicolon, :
colon
• Examples:
Key words: such as, like, for example, for instance, is / are
• Contrast:
Key words: but, instead of, even though, in contrast to, yet, in spite of, although,
as opposed to, unlike, despite, however, on the other hand, whereas, fond of, still
provided that
• Similarity
Key words: like, similarly, in the same way, as the same as, just as
•
•
•
•



17
fundamental in speaking, listening as well as in reading. Knowing this will help
students in their listening (listen to the content words first), speaking (where to put
the stress in a sentence) better. And in reading, it helps with skimming (direct their
eyesight to the content words first).
This skill should be taught in the first listening periods as most students have
difficulty in listening. They tend to try their best to catch every word the speaker
says, resulting in the fact that they do not understand the main ideas. Besides, it is
worth teaching them the strong and weak forms in speaking and in listening.
4.2.4. Rhythm and intonation
Rhythm: English is a stressed-time language, which means there is a tendency for
stressed syllables to occur at regular intervals.

The term intonation refers to the way the voice goes up and down in pitch when
we are speaking.
Rhythm and intonation are essential in speaking naturally. Teaching this
requires much time, but the teacher can choose to teach a specific common
intonation pattern in English in each lesson. This can be done in speaking lessons
when the teacher prepares students to speak.
Below are some common intonation patterns in English (O’Connor &
Fletcher, 1989).
 Fall on complete, denote statement


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 Wh-questions
The voice often falls in questions beginning with ‘When, Where, Why,

2. to query what the other person said, ask for further explanation
e.g. A: Every cook should have a computer.
B:
A: Yes, to keep a record of menus and recipes.
3. because he/she did not hear or understand or believe what was said
e.g. A: The new manager is coming tomorrow. His name is Sprot.
B:
 Correcting
1. The voice falls on the correct word, to emphasise it.
e.g. A: Her birthday is on the tenth of December.

2. The voice falls and rises on the incorrect information, then falls on the correct
information, to emphasise it.

 Listing
The voice rises on each item of the list, until the final one, where it falls.

 Polite rise
Because a rise sounds less definite than a fall, it can be used to sound polite,
especially when beginning a conversation. It is common when answering the
phone.

 Yes/No short answers

The voice often falls on ‘Yes’, which could be a complete answer, and also on ‘it
was’, which is also a complete, definite statement. The speaker often goes on to
give a more detailed answer, also with a fall. W


21

Below are basic sentence structures in English.
Sentence structure


22
The parts of a sentence are the subject, verb, object, complement and
adverbial. A statement begins with the subject and the verb. There are five main
structures which we can use to make a simple statement.
1. SUBJECT - VERB
My arms are aching.
Something happened.
2. SUBJECT - VERB - OBJECT
I need a rest.
Five people are moving the piano.
The subject and object can be a pronoun (e.g. I) or a noun phrase (e.g. the
piano).
3. SUBJECT - VERB - COMPLEMENT
This piano is heavy.
It was a big problem.
The complement can be an adjective (e.g. heavy) or a noun phrase (e.g. a
big problem).
The complement often comes after be. It can also come after appear,
become, get, feel, look, seem, stay or sound.
4. SUBJECT – VERB - ADVERBIAL
It is on my foot.
Their house is nearby.
An adverbial can be a prepositional phrase (e.g. on my foot) or an adverb
(e.g. nearby).
5. SUBJECT - VERB – OBJECT - OBJECT
It’s giving me backache.

could guess the meaning of more words.
• Students’ pronunciation, including their intonation, was much better.
• Students found it less difficult to learn listening.
• Their reading speed increased, and they made fewer mistakes in writing.
However, the change in the students’ ways of study varied. Some students
could adapt well to the learning environment, and benefit a lot from study skills.
But there are some who could not manage their time wisely and are still on the way
of finding their suitable studying techniques.
IV. IMPLICATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING
Having good study skills is an invaluable asset in all areas of life, not just
school. They help students to save time, get better grades and have less stress
because when given any topic, students will know how to approach learning the
material. Therefore, it is advisable to bring study skills into English lessons and
make them an integrated part of the lessons.
Teachers should pay more attention to teaching study skills explicitly by
adapting, modifying or adding new tasks with the focus on a specific skill in each
lesson. This requires that teachers become more resourceful and flexible in
designing suitable tasks. It is surely time-consuming but rewarding as it provides
students with ‘survival skills’ for their school work and their lives in the future.
Equipped with good study skills, students will have more time left to pursue
extracurricular activities. Not only will they have extra time, but they will be stress
free since they won't be worrying about all the things they have to do.
When teaching study skills in English lessons, teachers can design tasks that
incorporate some specific skill(s) into the topic of the lesson, or just simply remind
students of the skills if it they are included in the tasks in the textbook. Whatever is
applied, it must be made sure that students see the point of how the skills help
them in their studying, and that the techniques of introducing the skills are varied
to avoid boredom so that the skills can be exploited to the full.



Available
at
retrieved on September 1, 2011.
11.Mahidol University. (2011). “Unit 2 Guessing Meaning of Vocabulary from
Context”.
Available
at
/>retrieved
on
September 1, 2011.
12. McCarthy, M. & O’Dell, F. (1999). English Vocabulary in Use UpperIntermediate & Advance. Cambridge: Cambridge University.


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Biên Hòa, ngày

tháng

năm

PHIẾU NHẬN XÉT, ĐÁNH GIÁ SÁNG KIẾN KINH NGHIỆM
Năm học: 2011 - 2012
–––––––––––––––––
Tên sáng kiến kinh nghiệm: TEACHING STUDY SKILLS IN A HIGH SCHOOL




2. Hiệu quả (Đánh dấu X vào 1 trong 4 ô dưới đây)
-

Hoàn toàn mới và đã triển khai áp dụng trong toàn ngành có hiệu quả cao 

- Có tính cải tiến hoặc đổi mới từ những giải pháp đã có và đã triển khai áp dụng
trong toàn ngành có hiệu quả cao 
-

Hoàn toàn mới và đã triển khai áp dụng tại đơn vị có hiệu quả cao 

- Có tính cải tiến hoặc đổi mới từ những giải pháp đã có và đã triển khai áp dụng tại
đơn vị có hiệu quả 
3. Khả năng áp dụng (Đánh dấu X vào 1 trong 3 ô mỗi dòng dưới đây)
- Cung cấp được các luận cứ khoa học cho việc hoạch định đường lối, chính sách:
Tốt 
Khá 
Đạt 
- Đưa ra các giải pháp khuyến nghị có khả năng ứng dụng thực tiễn, dễ thực hiện và
dễ đi vào cuộc sống:
Tốt 
Khá 
Đạt 
- Đã được áp dụng trong thực tế đạt hiệu quả hoặc có khả năng áp dụng đạt hiệu quả
trong phạm vi rộng:
Tốt 
Khá 
Đạt 