Header Page 1 of 27.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRIỆU THỊ HOÀI THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS CAUSING THE 10TH STUDENTS’
ANXIETY IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION CLASSES AT
TAM ĐẢO HIGH SCHOOL

(Tìm hiểu về các yếu tố gây ra sự lo lắng của học sinh lớp 10 trong các giờ học
đọc hiểu tiếng Anh ở trường THPT Tam Đảo)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016

Footer Page 1 of 27.


Header Page 2 of 27.

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES


2. Aims of the study ................................................................................................. I
3. Research questions .............................................................................................. II
4. Scope of the study ............................................................................................... II
5. Methodology ....................................................................................................... II
6. Significance of the study .................................................................................... II
7. Organization of the study.................................................................................... II
PART B: DEVELOPMENT .................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1. Reading ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.1. Definition of reading? .............................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.2. Definition of reading comprehension ....... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.1.3. The importance of reading ....................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2. Types of reading .......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.1. Skimming ................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.2. Scanning ................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.3. Extensive reading ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2.4. Intensive reading ...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3. Stages of a reading lesson ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.1. Pre-reading ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3.2. While-reading ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

i
Footer Page 3 of 27.


Header Page 4 of 27.

1.3.3. Post- reading ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4. Anxiety............................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4.1. Definition of anxiety ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.

Header Page 5 of 27.

3.3. Reading anxiety caused by each reading factors .......... Error! Bookmark not
defined.
3.3.1. Anxiety caused by reading text factors .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.2. Anxiety caused by personal factors .......... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.3.3. Anxiety caused by time constraint ........... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.4. Students’ opinions on teachers’ teaching method ........ Error! Bookmark not
defined.
3.5. Teaching methods in helping students overcome anxiety in reading ..... Error!
Bookmark not defined.
3.6. Discussion ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3.7. Summary ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS ............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.1. Raise students’ self - awareness of anxiety .... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.2. Increase student’s self-confidence .................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.3. Improve students’ background knowledge ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.4. Apply appropriate reading strategies .............. Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.5. Develop supplementary reading materials ..... Error! Bookmark not defined.
4.6. Create a pleasant and comfortable classroom atmosphere .. Error! Bookmark
not defined.
4.7. Summary ......................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
PART C: CONCLUSION ......................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1. Summary of the study ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
2. Limitations of the study ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
3. Recommendations for the further study ............ Error! Bookmark not defined.
REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... IV
APPENDICES........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.

iii

The main aim of this study is to investigate the effect of students’ anxiety on
reading comprehension and then suggests some solutions to reduce their reading
anxiety.

I
Footer Page 6 of 27.


Header Page 7 of 27.

3. Research questions
To achieve the aims mentioned above, the following research questions are
proposed:
1) . What are the causes that affect students’ anxiety at Tam Dao high school
in reading lessons?
2) . What are some suggested solutions to reduce students’ anxiety on reading
comprehension?
4. Scope of the study
This study focuses on students’ anxiety on reading comprehension. Due to
the limitation of page numbers of the minor thesis, the research only involves the
10th form students at Tam Dao high school.
5. Methodology
To achieve the aims of the study, qualitative method is employed. The data
was collected by means of survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.
After the data is collected, analyzed and discussed, some conclusions will be drawn,
and some suggestions will be made in the thesis.
6. Significance of the study
This study investigates the causes of anxiety on students’ reading
comprehension. It could be of some help to teachers and students at Tam Dao high
school to improve both teachers and students’ awareness of causes of reading

limitations and suggestions for further studies.

III
Footer Page 8 of 27.


Header Page 9 of 27.

REFERENCES
1. Aebersold, J. A., & Field, M. L. (Ed.). (1997). From reader to reading teacher:
Issues and strategies for second language classrooms. New York, NY:
Cambridge University Press.
2. Anderson, N. (1999). Improving reading speed: Activities for the classroom.
English teaching forum, 37, 2-5.
3. Brown, H. D. (2001). Principles of Languagr Learning. Beijing: Foreign
Language Teaching and Research Press, 141-142.
4. Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education
(6th ed.). Abingdon: Routledge.
5. Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed
methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
6. Draper, A.K. (2004) The Principles and Application of Qualitative Research.
Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 63, 641-646. doi:10.1079/PNS2004397
7. Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student's contributions to secondlanguage learning. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26(1), 1-11.
8. Gebhard, J. G. (1987). A successful Comprehension: What Teachers can do
before students read. English Teaching Forum, 25 (2).
9. Goodman, K. S. (1976). Reading: A Psycholinguistic Guessing Game. In Singer,
H., & Ruddell, R.B. (Eds.), Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading (2nd
ed.), 497-508.
10. Grabe, W. (1991). Current developments in second language reading research.
TESOL Quaterly, 25(3), 375-406. doi:10.2307/3586977

21. Nunan, D. (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge: CUP
22. Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T. J. (1999). Foreign language reading
anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 83, 202 -218.
23. Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: a review of
the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28, 128-142.
24. Snow, C. E., & Sweet, A. P. (2003). Reading for comprehension. In A. P. Sweet
& C. E. Snow (Eds.), Rethinking reading comprehension, 1-11. New York:
Guilford Press.
25. Um, S., Tubsree, C., & Surasin, J. (2014). Perception on English Reading
Comprehension Anxiety of Third Year EFL Students at the Institute of Foreign
Languages, Cambodia. HRD JOURNAL, 4(1), 34-46.

V
Footer Page 10 of 27.


Header Page 11 of 27.

26. Williams, E. (1984). Reading in language classroom. London: Macmillan
Wu, H. J. (2011). Anxiety and reading comprehension performance in English as a
foreign language. Asian EFL Journal, 13(2), 273−307.
27. Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does
language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75, 426439. doi:10.2307/329492
Internet websites:
28. Al-Shboul, M., Ahmad, I., Nordin, M., & Rahman, Z. (2013). Foreign Language
Reading Anxiety in a Jordanian EFL Context: A Qualitative Study. English
Language Teaching, 6 (6). Retrieved from
/>29. Brantmeier, C. (2005). Anxiety about L2 reading or L2 reading tasks? A study
with advanced language learners. Reading Matrix, 5, 67-83. Retrieved from
/>30. Bricki, N & Green, J. (2007). A Guide to Using Qualitative Research

research projects (3rd ed.). Maidenhead: Open University Press. Retrieved from
/>_research_guidebookfi-org.pdf
35. Deyuan, B., & Yufen, G. (2006). Reading in three stages. CELEA Journal. 29
(4), 124-126. Retrieved from />36. Lien, H. Y. (2011). EFL learners’ reading strategy use in relation to reading
anxiety. Language Education in Asia, 2(2), 199-212. Retrieved from
/>L_Learners_Reading_Strategy_Use_in_Relation_to_Reading_Anxiety.pdf
37. Loucky, J.P. (2005). Combining Intensive and Extensive Reading Strategies
with Co-operative and Communicative Learning Activities. Retrieved from
/>38.

Macleod,

M.

(n.d.).

Types

of

Reading.

Retrieved

from

/>39. Shao, X. (2014). A Study of Chinese College Students’ English Reading
Anxiety. American Journal of Educational Research, 2(5), 299-303. Retrieved
from />40. Susser, B., & Robb, T. N. (1990). EFL Extensive Reading Instruction: Research
and