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

LÊ THỊ HỒNG VÂN

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF PREREADING SKILLS TO THIRD-YEAR NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR
STUDENTS USING NEW HEADWAY PRE-INTERMEDIATE
TEXTBOOK AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI
( Nghiên cứu thăm dò về việc dạy kĩ năng tiền đọc hiểu theo giáo trình New
Headway Pre-intermediate cho sinh viên năm thứ ba không chuyên tiếng
Anh tại một trường đại học ở Hà Nội)

MA. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

Hanoi, 2014


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

LÊ THỊ HỒNG VÂN

AN EXPLORATORY STUDY ON THE TEACHING OF PREREADING SKILLS TO THIRD-YEAR NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR
STUDENTS USING NEW HEADWAY PRE-INTERMEDIATE
TEXTBOOK AT A UNIVERSITY IN HANOI
( Nghiên cứu thăm dò về việc dạy kĩ năng tiền đọc hiểu theo giáo trình New

whom I am profoundly indebted.
First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn,
my supervisor, for his great encouragement, constant guidance and enthusiastic support
during all the stages of this study. Without his advice and tireless persistence, I would not
have been able to finish this paper.
My sincere thanks are also sent to my colleagues as well as students at the HAUI who are
willing to help me complete the survey questionnaires and classroom observations.
Last but not least, I am really grateful to my family and friends for their continual
encouragement during the time I conducted the research. Especially, I would like to give
my thanks to my boyfriend who is always beside me, takes care of me and willing to help
me solve IT problems.

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ABSTRACT
In most cases a common problem students experience in reading classes is the feeling that
they have inadequate knowledge about the subject they are reading about. However, this
feeling may be more complex than generally thought. The problem may not be the lack of
background knowledge, but rather the failure to activate that knowledge. Some researchers
state that pre-reading activities provide a reader with necessary background to organize
activities and to comprehend the material. Owing to the obvious awareness of the great
importance of pre-reading activities to the teaching and learning of reading, the researcher
decided to have a study on this issue. Firstly, she will take effort to explore what prereading activities are often applied by the teachers to teach third-year non-English-major
students at the HAUI using the textbook New Headway Pre-Intermediate. Moreover, she
would like to present her suggestions of some appropriate pre-reading activities with the
hope of helping students have motivation in learning reading and improve their reading
skills.

iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART A: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 1
1. Rationale ........................................................................................................................ 1
2. Objectives of the study .................................................................................................. 2
3. Scope of the study: ......................................................................................................... 2
4. Significance of the study: ............................................................................................... 3
5. Research methodology ................................................................................................... 3
5.1. Participants: ............................................................................................................. 3
5.2. Research instruments: .............................................................................................. 3
6. Design of the study......................................................................................................... 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ............................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND .... 6
1.1. Theoretical background of reading ............................................................................. 6
1.1.1. Definitions of reading and reading comprehension .............................................. 6
1.1.2. Classification of reading ....................................................................................... 7
1.2. Teaching and learning reading skills......................................................................... 12
1.2.1. The importance of reading in foreign language learning ................................... 12
1.2.2. Factors in teaching and learning reading ............................................................ 13
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................... 20
2.1. The setting of the study ............................................................................................. 20
2.2. Participants ................................................................................................................ 20
2.2.1. Teachers of English ............................................................................................ 20
2.2.2. Students .............................................................................................................. 21
2.3. Material ..................................................................................................................... 21
2.4. Data collection instrumentation ................................................................................ 22
2.4.1. Survey questionnaires ......................................................................................... 22
2.4.2. Classroom observations ...................................................................................... 23
2.5. Data analysis methods ............................................................................................... 24
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS .................................................................................... 25
3.1. Data analysis of the students’ survey questionnaire ................................................. 25

(question 13) ................................................................................................................. 49
3.3. Data analysis of classroom observations................................................................... 49
3.4. Discussion of data analysis ....................................................................................... 51
CHAPTER 4: DISCUSSION OF MAJOR FINDINGS AND SUGGESTIONS OF
SOME POSSIBLE PRE-READING ACTIVITIES EMPLOYED TO TEACH
READING

TEXTS

USING

THE

TEXTBOOK

vi

NEW

HEADWAY

PRE-


INTERMEDIATE TO THE THIRD-YEAR NON-ENGLISH-MAJOR STUDENTS
AT THE HAUI ................................................................................................................... 53
4.1. Discussion of major findings .................................................................................... 53
4.1.1. Teachers’ and students’ awareness of the role of using pre-reading activities to
the third-year non-English majors at the HAUI ........................................................... 53
4.1.2. Frequency of using pre-reading activities in reading lessons ............................. 53

fact, in most EFL situations, the ability to read in a foreign language is all what students
ever want to acquire. Secondly, written texts serve various pedagogical purposes. The
process of language acquisition can be enhanced by extensive exposure to linguistically
comprehensible written texts. Reading texts with good quality also provide good models
for writing and provide opportunities to introduce new topics, to stimulate discussion.
Therefore, students and teachers alike highly value this skill.
Reading has always been received a great amount of attention from both teachers and
students in the process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam
in general and at the Hanoi University of Industry (HAUI) in particular.
In most universities in Vietnam, students are taught in non-native English environment.
That is why they meet many difficulties in learning the four English skills effectively in
general and the reading skill in particular.
“For many students, reading is by far the most important of the four skills in a second
language, particularly in English as a second or foreign language” as Carrel (1981:1)
stated. This is true to the students at the HAUI, where learners usually have to do exercises
and tests including many reading texts. Futuremore, after graduating they would probably
have to work with many English written materials related to their majors, so reading skill
plays an important role in helping them work with those materials. It is essential for them
to acquire the ability to read English effectively and efficiently. Nevertheless, although
teachers and students have taken strenuous efforts, students still often claim to have a lot of
difficulties in reading English textbooks or English materials, and therefore, they
sometimes find it inefficient when reading them.
For third-year university students learning English as a non-major, although they have
been learning English for at least several years, it is still often so difficult for them to
understand a text or a passage in English, since they usually lack vocabulary, grammar,
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reading skills and possess poor background knowledge. Besides, the teachers from time to
time have to confront with difficulties in dealing with the students’ learning demand and

HAUI, and to suggest some possible activities that can be applied in the Pre-reading stage
so as to help students have motivation in reading lessons as well as help them become good
and successful readers.
4. Significance of the study:
Once having been completed, the research would provide an exploration of the teaching of
pre-reading skills to third-year non-English-major students. In addition, the importance of
motivation to the reading skills in general and to the pre-reading stage in particular will be
highlighted be the study. Furthermore, thanks to the useful findings of the study, teachers
of English can be aware of the vital role of the pre-reading activities to the students’
motivation and effectiveness in reading lessons.
5. Research methodology
5.1. Participants:
5.1.1. Students:
100 third-year non-English-major students from five different classes of the HAUI will be
selected to participate in the research.
5.1.2. Lecturers:
30 lecturers from teaching non-English-major group 2 will be chosen to take part in the
research because they are the lecturers who directly teach the third-year non-English-major
students.
5.2. Research instruments:
To achieve the research objectives, the data collection process is a combination of using
survey questionnaires and classroom observations.
5.2.1. Questionnaires:
Survey-questionnaires were chosen because “questionnaires can provide data economically
and in a form that lends itself perfectly to the purposes of the study if well-structured”
(Mallick, 1999:24). By designing and delivering a questionnaire, a large amount of
information can be gathered from a great number of participants in a short time. Moreover,
when using survey questionnaires with both students and lecturers to collect the data, the
researcher hopes that she can find out their attitudes towards pre-reading techniques and
their comments and suggestions for these activities.

The research includes three main parts. Part A is the Introduction, which is aimed at
clarifying the rationale, aims, objectives, research questions, scope, research methodology
and design of the research. Part B is the Development which contains 4 chapters: Chapter
1 is the Literature Review which presents theoretical background reading and reading
comprehension, the importance of reading in foreign language learning, the factors affecting
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teaching and learning reading have been mentioned, and the organization of reading
comprehension text is also mentioned in this chapter. Chapter 2 is the Methodology in
which the researcher presents the setting of the study, the participants under the investigation,
the assessment of reading material, and data collection instrumentations including survey
questionnaires for teachers and students, and classroom observations. Chapter 3 is the
Analysis of the data collected from the questionnaires and classroom observations to state
what was found, and to analyze and explain why the results came out as they did, and how
they helped to achieve the objectives of the study as well as to answer the two research
questions. Chapter 4 presents major findings and the author’s suggestions of some
possible pre-reading activities which can be applied to teach the third-year non-Englishmajor students at the HAUI using the textbook New Headway Pre-Intermediate. Part C is
the Conclusion, which summarizes the study and gives some limitations of the study and
suggestions for further study.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
In this chapter, the author will focus on the concepts of reading and reading
comprehension. The review consists of the definitions of each concept. Besides, the
classification of reading, the importance of reading in foreign language learning, factors in
teaching and learning, organization of reading comprehension text, the importance of prereading stage and pre-reading activities in learning readiny are mentioned. Finally, the literature

reading comprehension is the understanding of a written text which means extracting the
required information from the text as efficiently as possible. (Grellet, 1981: 3)
Moreover, 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.” Indeed, reading comprehension is the level of understanding of a
text/message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are
written and how they trigger knowledge outside the text/message to the readers.
From these ideas above, we can conclude that reading comprehension is the act of
understanding what you are reading. While the definition can be simply stated the act is not
simple to teach, learn or practice. Reading comprehension is an intentional, active,
interactive process that occurs before, during and after a person reads a particular piece of
writing. Besides, reading comprehension is so important because without comprehension,
reading is nothing more than tracking symbols on a page with your eyes and sounding
them out. In addition, the words on the page have no meaning. They are simply symbols.
People read for many reasons but understanding is always a part of their purpose. Reading
comprehension is important because without it reading doesn’t provide the reader with any
information.
1.1.2. Classification of reading
1.1.2.1. According to manner
1.1.2.1.1. Silent reading
Lewis and Hill (1992:110) defined the silent reading as follow: “the simplest method of
reading, frequently forgotten by language teachers is silent reading. It is the method we
normally uses with our native language, and on the whole the quickest and most efficient”.
Sharing the same idea, Doff (1988:23) also defined silent reading or reading for meaning
that “is the activity we normally engage in when we read books, newspapers, road signs,
etc.; it is what you doing as you read this text. It involves looking at sentences and

7

do not have to do anything or they will so something else not related to the reading lesson
because they have to wait for their turns to read the text. This means that it will be a waste
of time and it has a bit valuable in helping students improve their reading skill. However, it
cannot be denied that reading aloud also have some benefits in some expects. Reading
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aloud is a wonderful tool to help students learn to read smoothly and build fluency skills,
continuity and confidence. It will also allow readers to listen back for their voice.
Furthermore, reading aloud helps improve the readers’ diction and expression, which they
will then transfer into their speaking voice and writing voice. In short, reading aloud has
both advantages and disadvantages.
1.1.2.2. According to purpose
It is obvious that different kinds of reading skills meet different purposes. Therefore,
according to the purposes, there are four main kinds of reading skills: skimming, scanning,
extensive and intensive reading.
1.1.2.2.1. Skimming
According to Grellet (1981: 19) skimming was defined 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 the intention of the writer.” Sharing the same
point of view, Nuttall (1982: 36) stated that “By skimming, we mean glancing rapidly
through a 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”.
Indeed, speed reading is a good way to absorb a lot of printed information quickly, but
sometimes you just need to get the gist of what is being written about, without all the
details. That's when knowing how to skim text can be helpful. When you skim a page, you
take the main ideas from the reading material without reading all the words. Readers skim
when time is short or when they need to understand the general ideas but not the particulars
of an article or book. Moreover, main ideas are usually found in the first sentences of each

1.1.2.2.3. Extensive reading
Brown (1989) explains that extensive reading is carried out "to achieve a general
understanding of a text." Sharing the same idea, Long and Richards (1971, p.216) identify
extensive reading as "occurring when students read large amounts of high interest material,
usually out of class, concentrating on meaning, "reading for gist" and skipping unknown
words." Besides, by “reading for fluency”, it means students have general understanding of
the text without understanding every word (Lewis, 1992). Therefore, it is a very good way
for students to widen their knowledge by reading extensively (Nuttall, 1982).
Actually, in extensive reading, reading is in quantity and in order to again a general
understanding of what is read. It is intended to develop good reading habits. To build up
knowledge of vocabulary and structure also encourage a like for reading. Dalman, M
(1978: 115) stated the extensive reading is a fluency activity mainly including global
understanding of longer reading text. Extensive reading activities are usually done for
10


one’s pleasure/ enjoyment for example, in daily life our reading objective constantly
varies, when planning exercises.
Extensive reading is considered to be useful for students’ self-learning. Their reading
habits and passion for reading are also formed through extensive reading. Students can
choose what they want to read based on their interests, what materials they like and read
for their own purpose for pleasure or entertainment. Getting the extensive reading
programme off to a good start is also vital. The aim is for an initial successful experience
so that students discover they can read in English and that they enjoy it. This positive
experience should stimulate them to read more, increasing motivation, enjoyment and a
desire to read. However, it is more effective if students’ extensive reading is followed an
instructional program with the help of the reading teacher. Indeed, the teacher plays an
important role in encouraging and assisting the students with their reading, which the
students undertake during and after class.
1.1.2.2.4. Intensive reading

away in their minds. The only tragedy is that, as time goes on, people have lost their skill
and passion to read. There are many other exciting and thrilling options available, besides
books. And that is a shame because reading offers a productive approach to improving
vocabulary and word power.
Reading helps in mental development and is known to stimulate the muscles of the eyes.
Reading is an activity that involves greater levels of concentration and adds to the
conversational skills of the reader. It is an indulgence that enhances the knowledge
acquired, consistently. The habit of reading also helps readers to decipher new words and
phrases that they come across in everyday conversations. The habit can become a healthy
addiction and adds to the information available on various topics. It helps us to stay intouch with contemporary writers as well as those from the days of your and makes us
sensitive to global issues. The teaching and learning of reading are always received much
attention in the process of teaching and learning a second or foreign language with the
reason that it is considered as one of the most important major skills as what Carrell (1971:
1) stated: “for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four macro skills,
particularly in English as a second or foreign language”.
Furthermore, reading a foreign language in general, reading English in particular seems to
be pretty necessary to everyone nowadays. At current time, human has entered the 21st
century, an era of intellectual economy or rather the Internet .Peoples' knowledge is
increasing at an astonishing speed. By the way of reading ,a learner can master these hightech and cultural knowledge concerning English -speaking countries. As reading is the
only time-saved way to absorb foreign advanced technology, by reading, we can learn

12


more and make contributions to the construction of our motherland .In that case, reading
becomes necessary and urgent.
By reading a lot, one can advance their English background knowledge and broaden his or
her vision, inspire his thought, build the values, train the creative performance and develop
his intelligence. If a person master the English reading skills and form a good reading
habit, she or he can master English forever.

history etc which are very useful for them to improve their other language skills.
Therefore, the students can get effectiveness in applying what they have learnt from a
reading text to different purposes of language study and communication. Thus, it is
apparent to conclude that the reading texts possess great educational values.
1.2.2.2. The role of teacher
It is generally accepted that the teacher plays a major role in determining the effectiveness
of a reading instructional program. Duffy-Hester (1999: 492) perhaps stated it best when
she noted the role the teacher played in helping children learn to read: “I am convinced that
the teacher is more important and has a greater impact than any single, fixed reading
program, method, or approach”. In addition, it is clear that in a reading class, it is not easy
for students to be efficient readers without the teacher’s facilitation and orientation
according to Firochiaro’s opinion (1969:23): “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”.
In the light of Nuttal’s suggestion (1982): “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”, we can see
that providing students with opportunities to apply their reading skills and strategies in
meaningful content areas appears to be extremely important; however, teachers must be
sure to use materials that students can handle. In addition, students must be willing to read
the materials because they find them interesting and at a level where they can succeed.
To sum up, reading is an interactive process, which consists of multiple interactions
between variables such as the reader’s background, the classroom context, reading
materials, developmental levels, teachers’ instructional style, and learning goals. Teachers
must use a variety of classroom teaching strategies, because no one single method can
teach all readers successfully. The effective teacher of reading must be flexible enough to
meet the individual needs of their learners. Effective teachers of reading work hard for
their success and know where to put their time and effort.
1.2.2.3. The role of students
In the viewpoint of Nuttall (2000:33), several major roles of students in a reading lesson

increase students' interest in a text.
Moreover, three strategies are suggested to be used in this stage as follow:
- Establishing a purpose for reading. In the pre-read stage, the teacher establishes a purpose
for students’ reading. That is, the teacher takes into account the students’ language and
proficiency levels and determines the appropriate tasks for them to complete.

15


- Activating and building background knowledge. Reading comprehension research tells us
that the students benefit in three main ways from having an introduction to the topic of an
informational text before they begin to read. First, an introduction helps students to recall
any information that they may already know about the topic. Second, getting the students
to start to think about the topic should increase their interest in the topic and thereby
motivate them to read the text. Third, if the introduction activity is conducted in English, it
will also review or introduce the relevant vocabulary for that topic.
- Previewing the text to build expectations. Previewing the text is a useful preparation
activity (Dole et al. 1991) which enables students to establish their own expectations about
what information they will find in the text and the way that information will be organized.
1.2.3.2. While-reading stage
This stage mainly focuses on the exploitation of the text. It aims to help the reader
understand the content and structure of the text, as well as the author’s purpose in writing
it. Not all reading is simply extensive or global reading. There may be certain facts or
rhetorical devices that students should take note of while they read. Give students a sense
of purpose for reading rather than just reading because you order it. During the whilereading stage, the teacher’s job is to help students to understand the specific content and to
perceive the rhetorical structure of the text.
We can also use series of statements, instructions, and/or questions that leads students
through the assigned reading and indicates what information is important, how a paragraph
or section is organized, and what is to be learned. These are useful in guiding the students
through the text, but considerably more work for the teacher. Pattern study guides, which