PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. RATIONALE
Nowadays, English is the most popular language in the world. Demand
for learning English gets stronger when Vietnam fosters its international
relation. As an effective means of international communication, it is used as
the official language in many fields of life such as economics, politics,
science, technology, sports and many others. People learn and English with
different purposes, but there is a fact that they are trying to learn English with
the hope that they can use it effectively.
In Vietnam, English has been brought into school curriculum as a
compulsory subject and the learning of that international language recently
has been paid great attention to. The students, naturally and obviously, have
to try their best to master 4 language skills: reading, writing, listening and
speaking. Among these four skills, reading is an important one during the
English learning process and plays a role in enriching the student’s general
knowledge and in helping them with their further study later. Reading
comprehension is important not only at school, but also afterwards. That is
reading helps students as readers develop their language ability in general and
comprehension skills in particular at school as well as gives them other
benefits to avoid cultural and language bias, etc in daily communication.
In the Foreign Language Department, Hai Phong University (HPU),
there is a fact that many 1 st year English majors do not pay proper attention to
basic reading techniques to do IELTS reading tasks. Thus, it leads to the
situation that many of them get the poor exam results. From this fact, I decide
on choosing “A study on application of some reading techniques to doing
IELTS reading comprehension tasks for the 1st – year English majors in the
Foreign Language Department, Hai Phong University”.

1



2


experienced by these students then suggest some certain techniques to help
them better their reading comprehension skill.
5. DESIGN OF THE STUDY
The study is divided into three parts: the introduction, the development
and the conclusion.
The introduction provides the basic information such as: rationale, aims
of the study, methods of the study, scope of the study and design of the study.
The development is the main part which consists three chapters:
- Chapter 1: “Literature review” presents the definitions and types of
reading, the importance of reading skill, stages of a reading lesson, definitions
and techniques for reading comprehension, factors in teaching and learning
reading as well.
- Chapter 2: “Methodology” investigates the situation analysis and
instrumentation of the study.
- Chapter 3: “Data analysis and class observation” focuses on data
collection, findings and discussion.
- Chapter 4: “Major findings and some suggested techniques to
improve reading comprehension to the 1st – year English Majors in the
Foreign Language Department, Hai Phong University” offers major findings,
recommendations and some technique suggestions for doing reading
comprehension tasks.
The conclusion is a review of the study, future directions for further
research and limitation of the study.

3




Harmer (1989:153) views reading from a different perspective. He
considers reading as a mechanical process that “Eyes receive the message
and the brain has to work out the significance of the message.”
Moreover, according to Ramelan(1990:i), “Reading is a very important
part in our life. Through reading we can explore the world, countries that
have never been visited before and the minds and ideas of great people in the
past, all of which will enrich our experience and knowledge and broaden our
horizon.”
Though definitions of reading are numerous, none can certainly capture
all the ideas and features of what reading is. However, what they all share is
that they try to find out the nature of reading, and reading act, in which the
readers, reading process, and reading message are emphasized.
I.1.2. The importance of reading skill
Learning a foreign language is a process which requires learners to
integrate many language skills. It is generally accepted nowadays that reading
is a key skill for most students learning a foreign language and that it should,
therefore, take place alongside the development of oral ability in the school
program. From time to time, reading itself has proved its importance in daily
life as well as in learning a foreign language. And from our experience in real
life, we find reading quite important. Its importance is also confirmed by
linguistics.
Byrne (1988:46) provides three reasons for the importance of reading:
- It offers language learners another area of success. We should accept
that not all students will be good speakers and at least give them credit if they
become good readers
- It gives the students a skill which they can use on their own (i.e. it is a
key to self- access work)
- It is likely to be one of the skills that most students will need in the
long term. Certainly, it is one that they will always be able to put to use. That

his students pronounce words by reading the text orally and loudly. However,
in the classroom, only the reading student is active at a time, others are either
6


not listening at all or listening to a bad model. In addition, some students’
speed of reading is very slow so it takes a lot of time in class. Students are
concerned with pronunciation so it is hardly for them to understand the
meaning of the text as Lewis and Hill (1995:110) mention: “Asking a student
to read aloud also means that he may concentrate inadequately on their
meaning. He may read correctly but afterward will not be able to tell what he
has read”. Therefore, it must be admitted that the usefulness of reading aloud
is limited.
In short, reading aloud should be applied for those who are beginners to
establish the connection between sound and spelling of letters and words, and
assists the teachers to check learner’s pronunciation. But for the 1 st English
major students, the purpose of reading is more than connecting the
pronunciation.

They

focus

on

understanding

the

text

understand its details thoroughly to answer the questions, and finally the
teacher can check his/her learners’ understanding easily and add reading
materials and exercises suitable to their ability.
In sequence, silent reading is a useful technique in a reading
comprehension process applied to students to exploit reading lessons and it is
also a good way to help teachers control the class.
I.1.3.2. According to purpose
According to purpose, reading is categorized into four main types:
skimming, scanning, extensive reading and intensive reading.
I.1.3.2.1. Skimming
Skimming is commonly used in reading comprehension because it is
one of specific reading techniques necessary for quick and efficient reading
and sometimes skimming may be the prerequisite of reading for full
understanding. There have been many definitions of reading as follows:
According to Wood (1984:92), “Skimming occurs when the reader
looks quickly at the content page of a book, or at the chapter headings,
subheading, etc. This is sometimes called previewing”.
Grellet (1981:19) states that “when skimming, we go through the
reading material quickly in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is
organized, or to get an idea of the tone or intention of the writer.”
Besides, Nuttal (1982:36) says “By skimming, we mean glancing
rapidly through the text to determine whether a research paper is relevant to
our own work or in order to keep ourselves superficially informed about
matters that are not of great importance to us.”
In this term, Douglas Brown has the same opinion but it is clearer than
those of above authors. He wrote:“Skimming consists of quickly running eyes
8


across the whole text for its gist. Skimming gives readers the advantage of


Scanning is the technique you use when you read maps, charts, tables, or
graphs. It is the main skill that the researchers use when they examine
various sources to locate information about a specific topic”.
These authors have the same point that while scanning reader does not
need to read from cover to cover, they only look for the information they want
by running their eyes rapidly along the lines. Scanning requires two skills of
the reader. One of them is that they recognize the specific type of word that
identifies the item. The other is the use of a different eye movement pattern,
vertical vision. Nearly all the background reading required for the presenting
of a topic to the class by a group calls for proficiency in this type of reading.
There is a great range of text suitable for scanning – indexes, dictionaries,
maps, advertisements, labels, reference material, etc., so this kind of reading
is very useful in reading selectively.
In general, both skimming and scanning are effective techniques for
quick and efficient reading, and they should not be selected separately
because a text can be best tackled by a combination of strategies.
I.1.3.2.3. Extensive reading
Extensive reading is a fluency activity, mainly involving general
understanding. It provides valuable reinforcement of the language already
presented and practiced in the class as well as giving students useful practice
in inferring meaning from the context of the text. The students read long texts
to have general understanding, to develop fluency in reading or to relax.
Carrell and Carson (1997:297) defined: “Extensive reading generally
involves rapid reading of large quantities of material or longer readings”.
What is more, “Extensive reading means students have a general
understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word”,
(Lewis and Hill, 1985:1099).
And to Nuttal (1982:168), this kind of reading is also a very useful skill
for students to widen their knowledge as he wrote: “The best way to improve

understanding of the text: not only of what is means but also of how the
meaning is produced.”
11


The concern of such reading is for detailed comprehension of very
short texts, according to Broughton (1980:93), “The objective of intensive
reading is to achieve full understanding of the logical argument, the
rhetorical arrangement or pattern of the text, of its symbolic, emotional and
social overtones, of the attitudes and purposes of the author, and of linguistic
means that he employs to achieve his ends.”
Intensive reading recalls student’s attention to grammatical forms,
discourse markers and other surface structure details for the purpose of
understanding literal meaning implications, rhetorical relationships and the
like. In other words, it’s clear that the aim of intensive reading is to arrive at a
profound and detailed understanding of the reading text means as well as of
how the meaning is produced.
In short, intensive reading is a basic classroom activity. It is really
effective if the teacher and his students know how to fully exploit this activity
in class with the help of reading exercises.
I.1.4. Reading process
A reading lesson can be divided into three stages: Pre-reading stage,
while-reading stage and post-reading stage. Each of these stages carries its
own features and purposes and requires different techniques and strategies.
I.1.4.1. Pre-reading stage
Pre-reading stage is carried out before the students begin reading the
text. It plays a decisive role in the whole process of teaching reading
comprehension, so most experienced readers employ pre- reading and other
strategies to make reading easier.
According to Williams (1984:37), the purposes of the pre-reading stage are:

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. Without this stage, the students will lose the chance to deal with
the text to understand the writer’s purpose and clarify the text’s content in
detail. Williams (1984:38) points out the aims of the while- reading stage as
follows:
- To help understanding if the writer’s purpose
- To help understanding of text structure
13


- To clarify text content
He also gives the teacher some questions to ask himself in order to deal
with the above- mentioned aims:
- What is the function of this text?
- How is the text organized or developed? (e.g.: a narrative, an
explanation with various examples, an argument and counter argument)
- What content or information is extracted from the text?
- What may the reader anger or deduce from the text?
- What language may be learned from the text?
- What reading styles may be practiced?
The answers to these questions will be a guide for the teacher in this
stage. Depending on their answers, the teacher will choose suitable activities
for students which focus them on exploiting the meaning of the text, and
develop their reading skills.
At this stage, the students try to break up the organization of the text;
understand the text structures; classify the text content and recognize the
writer’s purpose and attitude. In addition, this stage helps the students develop
their decision – making and problem solving skills. Apparently, time

READING

COMPREHENSION

AND

READING

COMPREHENSION TECHNIQUES
I.2.1. Definition of Reading comprehension
Reading comprehension plays a key role in learning reading a foreign
language. It is necessary for both teachers and students to have a deep
understanding about the definition of reading comprehension. If reading is
simple mechanical movements of the eyes, reading comprehension includes
mechanical and mental activities. There are many definitions of reading
comprehension as follows:
Richard and Thomas (1987:143) state that “Reading comprehension is
a mental process that in the final analysis, only the reader fully understands.
Comprehension is what simulates readers to remember their past experience.
That knowledge is, then, used in trying to get meaning out of print. Meaning
does not reside in the printed page but rather in the mind of the reader.”
In addition, Swam (1975:1) proposes “A student is good at
comprehension we mean that he can read accurately and efficiently so as to
get the maximum information of a text with the minimum of understanding.”
Grellet (1981:3) considers “Reading comprehension or understanding
a written text means extracting the required information from it as effectively
as possible.”
Also concerning the reading comprehension, Richard and Good (1978:9)
provide a clearer point of view: “Reading comprehension is best described as
an understanding between the author and the reader. The emphasis is on the

2. Improving reading speed
3. From skimming to scanning
- Predicting
- Previewing
- Anticipation
- Skimming
- Scanning
Nuttal (1982) provides a list of reading skills which consist of macroskills with Word-attack skills and Text- attack skills. While the former
17


compose of morphological information, structural clues, inference (or
guessing the meanings of unfamiliar words) from context, active, receptive
and throw-away vocabulary, learning to ignore difficult words, and using
dictionary, the latter include two subgroups: significance and cohesion with
understanding sentence syntax, recognizing and interpreting cohesive
devices, interpreting discourse markers, and discourse with
functional

value,

tracing

and

interpreting

rhetorical

recognizing

Discussing the roles of the teacher in teaching reading, Richard and
Amato (1988) emphasize: “The first role is to facilitate communicative
process between all participants in the classroom, and between these
participants and the various activities and text. The second role is to act
interdependent within the learning teaching group”.
In addition, Firochiaro (1989:23) points out that “In a reading class, a
teacher should help the students comprehend printed materials and provide
them with the knowledge and the ability to enable them to read other
materials out of class”.
Moreover, Nuttal (1982) suggests that “there are two main things that
a teacher should always remember in helping students. The first is to provide
the students with suitable materials, and the second is to provide them with
suitable teaching activities”.
In general, the role of the teacher is to provide students with knowledge
and the best methods for learning effectively. They must be aware of what
they need to do in a reading lesson. Playing their roles well will certainly help
the teacher lead successful reading lessons. It will help students understand
the text efficiently, and at the same time improve considerably their reading
skills.
I.3.2. The role of students
The students are centre factors in learning reading. The teacher cannot
teach without students and vice versa. During the reading lesson, the students
play the role of an active and creative listener as well as the reader. They need
to listen to the teacher’s instructions and explanations carefully to find out the
way of recognizing information and way of deducing new words or
grammatical structures.
19


In fact, students can deal with some problems when doing reading

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY
2.1. THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
The survey of the study is carried out in order to find out student’s
difficulties in doing IELTS reading comprehension texts, to investigate the
reason for these difficulties and to research opinions and attitudes of the
students of using some useful reading techniques and tips that help students
do IELTS reading comprehension tasks well. It is conducted with the
assistance of the 1st year English majors, Foreign Language Department,
HPU. Survey questionnaires are given to 50 students studying at two English
majors classes at Foreign Language Department, HPU.
2.2. OBJECTS OF THE STUDY
The study is designed for the 1st – year English majors: They are from
18 to 20 years old, both male and female students, at the first year of
university. When doing this survey, they are in the mid 2 nd term at HPU. At
this stage, they have learned about some techniques applied in reading
comprehension and practiced some types of IELTS reading texts.
2.3. INSTRUMENTATION
2.3.1. Survey questionnaires
In this study, the researcher applied questionnaire as a main means of
data collection because of some advantages. Firstly, this method can give the
researcher the need data in quantitative form. Secondly, all informants have
chance of expressing their attitudes. As a result, researcher can have more
uniform and accurate data.
The survey questionnaires were administered to get information
concerning:
- Student’s difficulties in doing reading comprehension tasks
- Student’s attitudes towards reading comprehension techniques
- Student’s methods of doing reading comprehension tasks
- Student’s using supplementary materials
2.3.2. Sample texts

students had more than one and different difficulties. As from the chart, we
can see that student’s difficulties in reading are so various. A large number of
the students (92%) agree that their motivation when dealing with reading
tasks is affected by limited vocabulary because there are too many new words
in each text so that their motivation for reading will be decreased. 40% of
them find it difficult to understand the text quickly because they lack of
grammatical structures, and using inappropriate reading techniques are the
problems to a not small number (70%).
3.1.2. Question 2
23


A.
B.
C.
D.

Very important
Important
Quite important
Not important at all

Chart 2: The role of reading techniques to students’ reading
The second question is designed to investigate students’ attitude to the
role of reading techniques in a reading comprehension text. It is not surprising
to find that 100% of the students are aware of the importance of reading
techniques for doing reading comprehension. 32% of them find that reading
techniques play a very important role to their reading and the rest (68%) agree
that reading techniques are important.
3.1.3. Question 3