VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYỄN HOÀNG PHI

USING MIND-MAPS TO IMPROVE THE
STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS
AT DONG NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

HANOI, 2019


VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

NGUYỄN HOÀNG PHI

USING MIND-MAPS TO IMPROVE THE
STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS
AT DONG NAI TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

Field: English Language
Code: 8220201
Supervisor: Bùi Thị Thục Quyên, Ph.D.

HANOI, 2019


DECLARATION BY AUTHOR


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
DECLARATION BY AUTHOR ...................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................... iii
ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ..........................................................................................vi
LIST OF FIGURES........................................................................................vii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................. 1
1.1 Rationale of the study................................................................................. 1
1.2 Aims of the study ....................................................................................... 3
1.3 Research questions ..................................................................................... 3
1.4 Scope of the study ...................................................................................... 3
1.5 Significance of the study ............................................................................ 4
1.6 Research Methods ...................................................................................... 4
1.7 Structure of the study ................................................................................. 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................... 6
2.1 Theoretical review. ..................................................................................... 6
2.1.1 Reading........................................................................................... 6
2.1.2 Reading skills ................................................................................. 9
2.1.3 The mind map technique .............................................................. 13
2.2 Previous studies ........................................................................................ 18
2.3 Chapter summary ..................................................................................... 20
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY.............................................................. 22
3.1 The research settings ................................................................................ 22
3.2 Research Design ....................................................................................... 22
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ABSTRACT

This is an experimental research about reading skills at Dong Nai
Technology University. Its objective are to find out students’ perception about
reading and mind maps as well as find out whether mind maps can help
students in improving their reading skills or not. The data were collected
through test and questionnaire. The test included pre-test and post-test were
delivered before and after the experimental teaching for both control class and
experimental class. The questionnaire was delivered only to experimental class
before and after the treatment. The results of this study showed that mind maps
technique really helps in improving the students’ reading skills.

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1.1.1: The results of pre-test score ....................................................... 29
Table 4.1.1.2: The results of post-test score ..................................................... 31
Table 4.1.1.3: The results of gained score ........................................................ 34
Table 4.1.2.1: The t-test of Pre-test ................................................................. 345
Table 4.1.2.2: The t-test of Post-test ............................................................... 347
Table 4.1.2.3: The t-test of Gained scores ...................................................... 348

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 4.2.1.1: Reading habit before the experimental teaching .................... 39
Figure 4.2.1.2: Reading habit after the experimental teaching ................ Error!

defined.
Figure 4.2.12.1: Getting genaral idea ability before the treatment ................. 56
Figure 4.2.12.2: Getting genaral idea ability after the treatment ............. Error!
Bookmark not defined.
Figure 4.2.13.1: Confident feeling before the experimental teaching ............ 58
Figure 4.2.13.2: Confident feeling after the experimental teaching ........ Error!
Bookmark not defined.9

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale of the study
English is an international language and it plays an important role in our
daily life nowadays. In Vietnam, English is used as a foreign language and it
is taught as a compulsory subject at all levels of educational system from
kindergarten to university.
As we know, there are four skills taught in English teaching and learning
process. They are reading, speaking, listening and writing. Reading is one of
the essential skills that need to be mastered when learning English as Nunan
(2003, p.69) states that “Reading is an essential skill for learners of English as
a second language. For most of these learners it is the most important skill to
master in order to ensure success not only in learning English, but also in
learning in any content class where reading in English is required. With
strengthened reading skills, learners will make greater progress and
development in all other areas of learning”.
In addition, reading is not an easy skill to master because it cannot be
separated from comprehension. If the learners do not understand the text, they
cannot achieve the information from the text they read. The reading activity
requires the learners’ knowledge in identifying the structure and the main


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1.2 Aims of the study
In line with the purposes of this study is to find out whether mind-maps
have any effectiveness on improving the reading skills on the students. The
main aim of this study is to find out the attitude of the students toward reading
and mind maps technique as well as to explore whether the mind map
technique can improve the students’ results in reading tests at Dong Nai
Technology University.
1.3 Research questions
Based on the main objectives, this research is mainly answer for the
following questions:
1. To some extend does the mind maps technique improve the reading
skills of students at Dong Nai Technology University?
2. What are the attitudes of the students toward reading and mind maps
technique?
1.4 Scope of the study
The focus of this study is on using mind maps to improve the students’
reading skills at Dong Nai Technology University. After teaching at this
university for more than 3 years the researcher recognized that the students
usually have difficulties in learning English, especially their reading skills.
They are not very interested in reading lessons, they often get bored with long
reading text since they do not really understand what the text about. They may
not have sufficient vocabularies to understand the text or reading strategy to
comprehend it easily. So the researcher would like to find a good way to help
them overcome those problems.
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o Chapter 1: Consisted of rationales, aims, research questions,
scope, the significance, the methods and the structure of the study.
o Chapter 2: Provides the definition of reading, reading skills, the
mind mapping technique and the previous studies.
o Chapter 3: This chapter describes the research setting, research
design, population and sample, data collection instruments and
data analysis procedures.
o Chapter 4: “Findings and Discussions”, offers the data analysis
from test, questionnaire and discussions.
o Chapter 5: “Conclusion”, wraps up the study, followed by the
summary, limitation and recommendations for further study.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Theoretical review.
2.1.1 Reading
2.1.1.1. Definition
As Nunan (2003) stated that reading is a fluent process of readers
combining information from a text and their own background knowledge to
build meaning. The goal of reading is comprehension. He also defined two
vital elements of reading activity: Strategy and fluency.
According to him, strategic reading is defined as the ability of the
reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for
reading. Good readers would know what to do when they faced difficulties in
reading. Fluent reading is the ability to read at an appropriate rate with
adequate comprehension. Meaning does not rest in the reader nor does it rest
in the text. The reader’s background knowledge integrates with the text to
create the meaning.

It is an important skill for

learners. Hence, who is not engaged in reading activity, they will miss new
information.
Although there are various definitions of reading, the researcher
follows the definition of Grabe & Stoller “Reading is the ability to draw
meaning from the printed page and interpret this information appropriately.”
After reading, the learners must comprehend what the paper mean.
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2.1.1.2 Types of classroom reading performance
It is stated by Brown (2001, p. 312): “Variety of reading performance
in the language classroom is derived more from variety of the texts to which
you can expose to students than from the variety from overt types of
performance. There are two types of reading performance: oral reading and
silent reading.”

Figure 1: Types of classroom reading performance of Brown (2001)
1) Oral reading
During the teaching and learning process, the teacher may ask the
students to read orally. Oral reading brings many benefits for the basic to
higher levels as Brown (2001, p. 312) stated in his book.
 Serve as an evaluative check on bottom-up processing skills.
 Double as a pronunciation check.
 Serve to add some extra student participation if you want to highlight a
certain short segment of a reading passage.
However, this oral reading still has some disadvantages as stated by Brown
(2001, p.132)
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c) Process writing at an efficient rate of speed to suit the purpose
d) Recognize a core of words, and interpret word order patterns and
their significance
e) Recognize grammatical word classes (nouns, verbs, etc.) systems
(e.g., tense, agreement, pluralization), patterns, rules, and elliptical
forms.
f) Recognize that a particular meaning may be expressed in different
grammatical forms
g. Recognize cohesive devices in written discourse and their role in
signaling the relationship between and among clauses.
The list of macro skills are presented below:
a. Recognize the rhetorical forms of written discourse and their
significance for interpretation.
b. Recognize the communicative functions of written texts, according
to form and purpose.
c. Infer context that is not explicit by using background knowledge.
d. Infer links and connections between events, ideas, etc., deduce
causes and effects, and detect such relations as main idea, supporting
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idea, new information, given information, generalization, and
exemplification.
e. Distinguish between literal and implied meanings.
f. Detect culturally specific references and interpret them in a context
of the appropriate cultural schemata.
g. Develop and use a battery of reading strategies such as scanning and
skimming, detecting discourse makers, guessing the meaning of words
from context, and activating schemata for the interpretation of text.
There are also another expert proposes reading skills. That is Mikulecky

very rapidly.

Recognizing topics

Students are able to find out what the text tells
about after reading and comprehending the
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text.
Locating the topic
Sentences

Students are able to find out a topic sentence in
a text.

Making inference by using
evidence

Students are able to infer main ideas of the text
and can show the evidence that supports their
inference.

Guessing the meaning of
unknown words from the
context

Students are able to guess the meaning of
unknown word from the context.


Reading faster

Students are able to read fast enough to allow
the brain to process the input.

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The researcher couldn’t agree more with Suriyani (2014) when she
said: “Having a skill makes the students can solve any problem in reading a
written text. The reading skills also can increase pleasure and effectiveness of
reading activity.” Indeed, when the students master those skills, they can be
helped in not only subjects at school but in their daily life as well. However,
being a skillful reader is not easy at all. It requires a hard serious practice in a
long time.
2.1.3 The mind map technique
2.1.3.1 Definition
According to Buzan (1994, p.59) “The Mind Map is an expression of
Radiant Thinking and is therefore a natural function of the human mind. It is a
powerful graphic technique which provides a universal key to unlocking the
potential of the brain. The mind map can be applied to every aspect of life
where improved learning and clearer thinking will enhance human
performance. The mind map has four essential characteristics:
1) The subject of attention is crystallized in a central image.
2) The main themes of the subject radiate from the central image as
branches.
3) Branches comprise a key image or key word printed on an associated
line. Topics of lesser importance are also represented as branches
attached to higher level branches.
4) The branches form a connected nodal structure.


4) Use symbols, colors, words, or pictures mainly in the mind mapping.
5) Make it as interesting as possible.
6) Make it full of colors.
7) Repeat again two or three times to make it perfect.
8) Do it by yourself.
In the way suggested by DePotter and Hernacki (2004), there were some
points that were the same with Rose and Nicholl above.
1) Make a circle of main idea in the middle of paper.
2) Make branch from the main idea to make key points. Do not forget
to use a color pen to make it.
3) Write the keywords or phrases in every branch and then develop
them with details.
4) Give additional symbols and illustrations.
5) Do not forget to use capital letters.
6) Write down the main ideas with the bigger letter.
7) Be creative and express it freely.
8) Use the unique form to show the points or ideas.
9) Do not forget to make it horizontally to make a wider space.

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