An investigation tinto the reality of teaching reading to the second - Year students at national Economics university

he Military Political Academy” and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL) is the result of my own work, except where otherwise acknowledged, and that this minor thesis or any part of the same has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution. The Hanoi University of Foreign Studies approved the research procedures reported in this thesis. Signed : Dated : TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my thanks to many people who have assisted my research work. To my supervisor Mr Le Quoc Hanh, M.A. (TESOLT), a senior lecture at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies. I am grateful to him for his valuable guidance and great insight into my thesis writing. His guidance was indispensable to the design and completion of the study. I am also grateful to him for his comments, correction and for his kindly encouragement and enthusiasm during the development of this study. My special words of thanks also go to the Management Board of the Post-Graduate Department of the Hanoi University of Foreign studies for their consideration and enthusiasm in helping me to pursue the course. My particular thanks go to Ms. Nguyen Thai Ha, M.A. (TESOLT), a senior lecture at Hanoi University of Foreign Studies, the Deputy Dean of post graduate Department for her useful advice, criticism and support while the research was being done. I would also like to thank my collueges at Military Political Academy and my students in the two classes of BT4A, BT4B for their participation and support. Finally, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my husband and my children for their love, great encouragement and support to me to fulfill this thesis. ABSTRACT This study is an investigation into reading strategies of different groups of learners in reading classes at the Military Political Academy. It purposes to find out the reading strategies used by different groups of MPA learners in their reading comprehension, especially while they do reading tasks, and look at the factors influencing their reading strategy choice. The participants of this study were forty-eight students at varied levels of English proficiency. An experimental method was chosen as the methodological approach underpinning this study.. Test, questionnaire and interview were used to gather data, which then analysed. The findings indicate first, learners at the Military Political Academy used six groups of reading strategies that offered by Oxfords (1990) at different degrees in their reading comprehension. Among them, metacognitive strategies rank first, next come social strategies. Second, the effective and ineffective learners’ uses of reading strategies vary across the six reading strategy groups. The former tended to use metacognitive, social and cognitive strategies at higher degree than did ineffective ones while they do reading tasks. Final, MPA learners are most strongly motivated by instrumental motivation although they were also influenced by integrative and intrinsic motivation and they are not fully aware of the use of reading strategies despite the fact that they used some kinds of reading strategies in their reading. As for the implications of the study, some suggestions are recommended for strategy training to MPA learners such enhance the learners’ conception of the use of reading strategies in their learning reading comprehension and implication for classroom learning and teaching. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL : English as a foreign language ESL : English as a second language SIIL : Strategy inventory for language learning LSs : Learning strategies LS : Learning strategy RSs : Reading strategies RS : Reading strategy MPA : Military Political Academy LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 : Summary of the analysis of the SILL. Table 4.1 : A Comparison of the use of RSs between effective and ineffective learners across six groups of RSs. Table 4.2.1 : The reading strategies used by two groups of sample at the pre- reading stage. Table 4.2.2 :The reading strategies used by two groups of sample at the while-reading Table 4.2.3 : The reading strategies used by two groups of sample at the post-reading stage. Table 4.3 : Summary of the analysis of informants’ reasons for learning English CHAPTER i: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background to the thesis English is one of the most important of Vietnam’s foreign languages. It is used not only by Vietnamese to communicate with native speakers of English but also as an important international language in communicating with people from non-native English countries. Although English functions as a foreign language, Vietnamese who are likely to be in contact with foreigners in various areas, for example, education, politics, tourism, industry, business and in general social contexts, need considerable proficiency in English. In fact, many people nowadays realize that a command of English has become essential for their future occupations, since it is a pre-requisite for success in both the public and private sectors. Of the four macro skills in language (listening, speaking, reading and writing), there has been growing and justified concern about reading in Vietnam. This concern is due to the increasing amount of printed English material in the society. Various sources of modern knowledge and technology needed in developing the country at large are usually reported in English. Proficient readers in English are high demand. In connection with the matters, in recent years, together with the increasing needs for English learning at colleges or universities in the Army in general and at the MPA in particular, great efforts have been made to improve the quality of the teaching reading. To meet the demand of the state military, every year, the MPA trains about one thousand political officers at different levels, who are not only expected to be competent at their specialties but also have good knowledge of foreign language. Every year, about a thousand officers at different levels, hundreds of potential teachers and many post-graduate students of different social sciences and humanities are trained here. Foreign language is a compulsory subject at the MPA, because it is very important and necessary for the learners’ future work. After the course, they will have to read different materials written in English such as academic texts from their specialist subjects, newspapers, reports, the world’s military information, politics and economics, etc, from a number of different sources. In teaching and learning English as a foreign language at the MPA, reading has always received a great deal of attention. Teaching English at the MPA provides the students with the abilities to understand the written materials and to communicate in English. Furthermore, English is taught and learnt in a non - native environment. That is why reading is not only an important means to gain knowledge but also a means by which further study takes place. According to Carrell (1988:1), “if we consider the study of English as a foreign language around the world - the situation in which most English learners finds themselves - reading is the main reason why students learn the language”. This is particularly true to the students of the English Department at the MPA. It is crucial for them to acquire the ability to read English efficiently and effectively. However, students at the MPA do not seem to be good at reading. In the past, at the MPA, English teachers focused only on the teaching of grammatical rules, ignoring how sentences were used in the performance of communicative acts. In teaching reading, teachers paid too much attention to the explanation of language points, but failed to help students analyze the connection between sentences, or to find out the main ideas of a text. Consequently, what the students gained was just a little knowledge about language. As the result, the students had no ability to understand the text as a whole. Most learners complain that there are too many new words and complicated sentences throughout the whole English reading texts. However, reading does not only involve the understanding of what words or sentences mean on the surface, but it also involve the logic and value relations between sentences. Some other learners think that it is difficult to understand the English text because of lacking background knowledge. And some students say their reading skills are very poor only because they do not know how to get the meaning of some new words which appear in the texts. In this sense, they even cannot understand “skills” very well. The notion of “skills” in learners’ minds is limited. All the above show that learners focus too much on the texts, while they ignore their own abilities to infer the meaning. Actually, reading is a cognitive process “whereby the meaning of a text is recreated or reconstructed by the reader” (Shi, 2000: 28). Therefore, it is necessary to arouse learners’ awareness of their own ways to read and help learners get some ideas of how to read. From the experiences in learning and teaching English as a foreign language, the researcher finds it necessary to study learning strategies, which can help MPA learners, especially in learning reading comprehension. 1.2. The aims of the study The aim of the study is to examine what reading strategies are used by the third year students at MPA in their learning reading comprehension and look at the factors affecting their reading strategies choice. And the research aims to arouse the awareness of the learners’ own way to read and to get some new ideas to improve their reading skills. 1.3. Research questions The research was carried out to answer the following questions: What reading strategies are used by different learner groups at the MPA in their reading comprehension? What reading strategies do the effective and ineffective learners use while they are doing reading tasks? What factors influence the learners’ reading strategy choice? 1.4. Outline of the thesis This thesis is divided into five chapters below. Chapter I, the Introduction, states the research problem, the aims and the outline of the thesis. Chapter II, Literature Review, presents briefly some general theories related to reading and reading strategies, terminological definitions, classification systems and major characteristics of learning strategies. This is followed by a discussion of factors affecting the reading strategy choice of the learners at the MPA. Chapter III discusses the methodology and the procedures by which the study had been carried out such as selections of samples, instruments for data gathering, and methods of data analysis. In Chapter IV analyses the results obtained from the investigation. The data collected are quantitatively and qualitatively analysed. The differences in the use of reading strategies in students’ learning reading comprehension between the two learner groups and the factors influencing their reading strategy choice are compared and analyzed. In Chapter V, the conclusion mentions some applications of the study for strategy training to students at the MPA, the limitation of the work, and makes suggestions for further studies, and conclusion. CHAPTER ii: LITERATURE REVIEW In the field of second language acquisition, language learning strategies are attracting a great number of language teachers and researchers’ consideration. Language learning strategies investigations attempt to identify, describe and classify specific language learning strategies used by second or foreign language learners to facilitate their own learning (Oxford, 1985b). This chapter will begin by reviewing important background theory on reading model and reading strategies as a basis for the present research and relevant literature related to learning strategies, which contain terminological definitions, classification systems and major characteristics of language learning. This is followed by a discussion of factors affecting the language learning strategy choice of language learners such as motivation and personality traits. Finally, it provides an overview of previous studies that involved language learning strategies used for improving reading competence. This review is done with the purpose of providing a theoretical foundation for an investigation into reading strategies used by students at the Military Political Academy, especially the strategies that help them to improve their reading competence. 2.1. Definition of reading Reading has been defined in various ways. Smith (1982) stated that “reading is an imprecise, hypothesis-driven process, and the reader contributed more than did the visual symbols on page”. Goodman (1985: 815) mentioned that “there is an essential interaction between language and thought in reading. The writer encodes thought as language and the reader decodes language to thought”. The reader’s thought and behavior play an important role in reading. Later Grabe (1991: 37) argued that “reading is flexible, the reader employs a range of strategies to read efficiently”. Recently, there has been a shift in attention from a focus on the product of reading to emphasis on determining the strategies that readers use in reading context. In the present study, the argument is that reading strategies play an important role in the whole reading process. With regard to reading processes, three general descriptions of reading: bottom- up, top-down, or interactive, have been developed over years. Bottom-up models have not been favored by second language researchers, but they provide some insights into the second language reading research. In bottom- up reading models, the reader begins with the written text, and constructs meaning from the letters, words and phrases. “Following an information-processing approach to comprehension, bottom-up models analyze reading as a process in which small chunks of text are absorbed, analyzed, and gradually added to the next chunks until they become meaningful” (Barnett, 1989: 13). Goodman (1982) and Smith (1982) challenged this view, and argued that reading was a top-down models, the reader uses his or her expectations and previous understanding to guess about text content. Although top-down models have given way to interactive models, they have made a great contribution to second language reading theory. Interactive models of reading were developed over time. According to Anderson & Pearson’s (1984), the interactive model was namely a schema- theoretic model: Readers may compensate for insufficient knowledge in a particular area, such as word recognition of syntactic knowledge (bottom-up skills), by relying heavily on other knowledge sources, such as topic recognition or use of genre or content schemata ( top- down skills) in order to comprehend texts. (Stanovich, 1980: 35) The schema-theoretic model focuses on “how the reader’ schemata, or knowledge already stored in memory, function in the process of interpreting new information and allowing it to enter and become a part of the knowledge store” (Carrell, 1988: 10). Background knowledge really plays an integral role in reading comprehension. 2.2. Language learning strategies 2.2.1. Reading strategies Strategy derives from the ancient Greek word “strategia” and means generalship or art of war. In general, strategy means a plan, step, or conscious action toward the achievement of an object (Oxford, 1990: 8). Nowadays, the term strategy is used widely in language learning teaching and learning methodology to refer to procedures used in learning, thinking, etc. which serve as a way of reaching a goal. In language learning, strategies are those conscious or unconscious processes which language learners make use of in learning and using a language (Richards, 2000: 445). Second language reading is a process of how the mind functions during reading rather than the product of reading. The focus on individual readers’ abilities to cope with specific texts and textual elements makes readers’ strategies integral to a study of the second language reading process. Readers use strategies in varying ways to activate appropriate schemata, to guess meaning of unknown words, to follow unfamiliar syntax, to decide what to glean from the text. An explicit definition of the term “reading strategy” is provided by Olshavsky as “a purposeful means of comprehending the author’s message” (1977: 656). Block stated that “reading strategies indicate how readers conceive a task, what textual cues they attend to, how they make sense of what they read, and what they do when they do not understand”. In fact, the interest in reading strategies is part of a wider interest in language learning strategies, especially in L2 contexts. So as to understand more about reading strategies and language learning strategies, relevant literature of language learning strategies will be presented in the next section. 2.2.2. Definition of language learning strategies In her study, Tarone (1981) described language learning strategies as a part of learner strategies that refer to what the learner does to learn and to adjust his / her own learning of second or foreign language such as steps, plans, any sets of preparations, even employing their customs to facilitate the selecting, storage, retrieval and use of information. In another her research, Tarone (1981) proposed that it is possible to divide learner strategies into three types: learning strategies, communicative and production strategies. Although all these strategies can contribute directly or indirectly to the language learning process, the former relates to second language learning, the later two involve using second language learning. In other word, while learning strategies are the means by which the learner deals with the second language input in order to develop linguistic knowledge, communication and production strategies pertain to output, because these strategies allow the learner to employ second language knowledge they have already acquired efficiently, clearly with minimum effort, and communicate meaning for which they lack the essential linguistic knowledge (Ellis, 1986; Brown, 1994). O’Malley and Chamot (1993:1) depicted learning strategies as “the special thought or behaviors that individuals use to help them comprehend, learn, or retain new information.” In this way, learning strategies are also conceivable as techniques, approaches or deliberate actions that students take in order to facilitate the learning and recall of both linguistic and content area information. These authors have also extended the sphere of description of learning strategies, which may include: ... focusing on selected aspects of new information, analyzing and monitoring information during acquisition, organizing or elaborating on new information during the encoding process, evaluating the learning when it is completed, or assuring oneself that the learning will be successful in order to allay anxiety (O’Malley and Chamot, 1993: 43). Similarly, this view is also advocated by Oxford (1990). She has expanded this definition by saying that learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective and transferable to new situations. Perhaps, the best way to understand what is meant by learning strategies is to look at major characteristics of language learning strategies. 2.2.3. Characteristics of language learning strategies Researchers of learner strategies have confirmed that language learning strategies may play a significant role in their language learning process (e.g. Oxford, 1990; Wenden and Rubin, 1987). Studies show that strategies contribute to stimulating learners’ development of communicative competence in general and those strategies themselves may work in specific ways to foster aspect of that competence. For instance, social strategies help learners increase interaction and develop a more empathetic understanding to attain communicative competence. Such strategies consist of cooperative learning with others, asking questions and becoming culturally aware and may powerfully enhance learners’ discourse and sociolinguistic competence and encourage greater amounts of authentic communication (Oxford, 1990). Wenden and Rubin (1987) found that adult learners who use effective strategies are better able to make their own opportunities for practice in using the language inside and outside the classroom. In addition, learning strategies also allow learners to become more self - directed and to have a better understanding of and control of their own learning process so that they can learn inside and outside the classroom and accomplish their goals in language learning process. O’Malley and Chamot (1993) suggested that less successful learners can use successful strategies consciously to accelerate their own learning and can promote the use of learning strategies in practice. The role of language teachers in classroom are also expanded ranging from identifying students’ learning strategies, conducting on learning strategies to helping learners become more independent in their learning process. 2.2.4. Classification of language learning strategies In studies of language learning, overall strategies that appear to contribute to learning have been identified largely from teachers and students’ reports, interviews and classroom observations in language learning contexts. Then these strategies are classified according to different functions of specific strategy groups. The classification scheme proposed by Oxford (1990), for example is both comprehensive and practical. Language learning strategies are distinguished into two major classes, direct and indirect strategies. These two classes are subdivided into six strategy groups such as memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, affective and social. Oxford (1970: 37) also pointed out in her study that the first major strategy class is learning strategies that directly refer to the purpose of learning language and are called direct strategies. They all require mental processing of the language, but in different ways and different purposes. This type is subdivided into three groups: memory strategies, cognitive strategies and compensation strategies. The first group contains memory strategies that enable language learners to store and retrieve new information needed for communication. The second group of cognitive strategies facilitates learners “understanding and production of new language by many different means.” The third group of compensation strategies helps learners to overcome their knowledge limitations in language use. The second major strategy class is all learning strategies that “support and manage language learning without directly involving the target language”, Oxford (1990:135) called indirect learning strategies. They are separated into three groups: metacognitive strategies, affective strategies and social strategies, which are discussed below. Firstly, metacognitive strategies are actions, which provide a way for learners to co-ordinate their own learning process. In other word, these strategies helps learners overcome puzzlement in their language learning due to “unfamiliar vocabulary, confusing rules, different writing system, inexplicable social customs and other newness” Oxford (1990: 136). Secondly, affective strategies are actions that assist learners regulate their motivation, attitude, as well as significantly influence their learning success or failure. Lastly, social strategies are actions helping to create and maintain language communication between and among people. Moreover, Oxford (1990) maintains that the six strategy groups above fall into smaller LS sets, which cover some specific strategies that can be applied to develop language skills. Oxford (1990:14) also claims that there is an interrelationship between direct and indirect strategies and among the six strategy groups. They not only support one another but also each strategy group is able to connect with and aid any other strategy group to help learners achieve more success in their own language learning. 2.3. Factors influencing reading strategies choice of language learners Based on the observation and analysis of her different data types, oxford (1990) as well as other scholars (Wenden and Rubin, 1987) contended that the use of different strategies in language learning is influenced by a variety of factors. Those given by them were items such as degree of awareness, proficiency, attitudes, stage of learning, task requirement, teacher expectation, age, sex, nationality, general learning style, personality traits, motivation level, and purpose for learning the language. At this point, I will discuss only some of those factors that have been demonstrated to most affect language adult learners’ learning strategies choice: proficiency and motivation. 2.3.1. Proficiency The study of proficiency has attracted the attention of researchers and teachers. According to Honsenfeld, C. (1977), the term “proficiency” can be understood as “knowledge, competence or ability in the use of a language, irrespective of how, where, or under what condition it has been acquired”. Some studies have investigated the reading strategies used by proficient and less proficient readers and revealed that more proficient readers tend to use a wider range of learning strategies in a greater number of situations than do less proficient learners although some studies reported more learning strategies used by unsuccessful learners than their successful ones. For example, Hosenfeld (1977) used think-aloud procedure to identify relations between certain types of reading strategies and successful or unsuccessful readers. The proficient reader, for example, kept the meaning of the passage in mind while reading, read in broad phrases, skipped inconsequential or less important words, and had a positive - concept as a reader. The non-proficient reader on the other hand, lost meaning of the sentences when decoded, read in short phrases, seldom skipped word as unimportant, and had a negative self-concept. It is generally agreed that “strategic reading is not only a matter of knowing which strategies to use, but in addition, the reader must know how to apply strategies successfully. This may be one factor contributing to the relationship between proficient level and reading strategies uses by readers” (Anderson, 1991, p.25). Olshavsky’s (1977) study was designed to identify reader strategies and to relate their usage to three factors: interest, proficiency and writing styles. A 2x2x2 design was used with two types of reader interest, high and low; two types of reader proficiency, good and poor; and two types of writing styles, abstract and concreate. The subjects included fifteen boys and nine girls enrolled in a tenth grade English class. Each subject was asked to read a short story and to stop at various points in order to answer questions. At predetermined stopping points in the story, they were asked to talk about what happened in the story and about what they were doing and think as they read. Olshavsky’s (1977) study showed that readers do use strategies. This study seemed to indicate that a reader identifies problem and applies strategies to sole those problems. Although the types of strategies do not change with the situation, the frequency of use of strategies does change. In conclusion, most strategies were applied when readers were interested in material, with readers that were proficient, and when they were faced with abstract material. 2.3.2. Motivation Language learning motivation is considered as to be the function that most affects not only language learners’ success or failure, but also the frequency of learners’ language strategies use (Oxford,1990). Harmer (1991:3) calls language learning motivation “some kind of internal drive that encourages somebody to pursue a course of action.” He observed that when the student perceives a goal that is something s/he desires to accomplish and if that goal is sufficiently attractive, s/he will be strongly motivated to do whatever is necessary to reach that goal and will succeed in whatever the circumstances even in unfavourable conditions. It is obvious that students study a language because they have an idea of something that they have wish to achieve. However, a question that has aroused considerable interest is whether they have the same kind of motivation. To answer this, Harmer (1991) divided language learning motivation into two types: the extrinsic concerning with factors outside the classroom, and the intrinsic, relating to activities in the classroom. In their study of extrinsic motivation, Wenden and Rubin (1987) distinguished between integrative and instrumental orientations of the learners. The students who have instrumental motivation need the second language as means to attain a particular goal such as better jobs, position or status, etc. Motivation in this case is the reflection of an external need, not of what the learners want. The students who have integrative motivation wish to integrate themselves into the culture of the target language group or desire to know as much as possible about the target culture. A number of studies, nevertheless (e.g. Spolsky,1969) indicate that integrative motivation is a more significant influence on language proficiency than instrumental motivation, but other studies (Lukami,1972) show that instrumental motivation sometimes results in better language learning than does integrative motivation. It is suggested that the two types of motivation are not necessarily mutually exclusive and most situations involve a mixture of both types o._.f motivation. O’Malley and Chamot’s (1993:19) empirical research findings enlarge this definition of second language learning motivation in which, a taxonomy based on an interaction between two motivational characteristics, internal and external. Their model of motivation is subdivided into seven aspects such as 1) interests in second language rely on existing attitudes, experience, and background knowledge on the learner’s part; 2) awareness of relevance; 3) expectancy of success or failure; 4) perception of rewards; 5) decision to choose; 6) pay attention to and engage in second language learning, persistent learning behavior; 7) maintain of a high activity level. Research reported by Oxford and Shearin (1994) has also offered another angle on a broad class theory of language learning motivation. According to them motivation involves learner’s needs that are influenced by the elements of psychological security. Learners’ needs may regress if their requirements for psychological security are unsatisfied. These authors pointed out that some second language students feel the need to achieve, but others feel the need to avoid failure and they argued that “students must believe that doing the specified task will produce a positive result and that these results are personally valuable” (p.18). Stear and Porter (1975) have also revealed that satisfaction of students with a high need for achievement is positively correlated with their language proficiency whereas, satisfaction of students with low achievement desires is negatively correlated with their language proficiency. Oxford and Shearin (1994: 22) found that language learning motivation is affected by social cognition factors such as students’ self-efficacy and attribution for success or failure as well. A plausible suggestion, these researchers propose is that motivation goal must be clear, challenging, and reachable, and that there must be feedback on goal achievement, supported by a master learning mode in which all students are encouraged to reach intrinsically goals which might be more motivating for many students than a norm-referenced mode or a setting in which all rewards are external. 2.4. Reading in second and foreign language Reading is one of the most important skills in language learning. Especially, second or foreign language learning has aroused much attention among many researchers for many years. All the researchers have been working on how to read and how to help readers make reading easier to achieve. According to Grabe’s (1991) view, reading involves fours factors: knowledge of the language, ability to remember the previous cues, and ability to make the necessary associations between the different cues that have been selected. Far from being a “passive” skill, reading is, in fact, an active process in which readers relate information in the text to what they already know. Knowledge of the language allows readers to identify the printed words and sentences. Knowledge of the world allows them to comprehend these words and sentences. Good readers read for meaning. They do not decode each letter or each word. Instead, they take in chunks of the text and relate it to what they know. In fact, reading involves a variety of skills, and mastering reading skills can lead to the least time-consuming and the most cost- effective reading. According to schema theory (Goodman, 1985), the main reading skills are listed bellow: a. Word-attack skills consist of: - Morphological information: attention should be paid to free and bound morphemes (prefixes, suffixes, derivational and inflectional morphemes, roots, and word formation, clipping, abbreviation) - Structural clues: structural clues establish not exactly the meaning but at least the type (grammatical category) of word represented by the new item. - Inference (or guessing the meaning of unfamiliar words) from the context active, receptive, and throw-away vocabulary. Inference of meaning from context will give students a powerful aid to comprehension. - Learning to ignore difficult words. - Learning to use a dictionary: any students reading for a serious study purpose will need to be able to look up key word. b. Text-attack skills: - Understanding sentence syntax: when a sentence is not understood although the vocabulary is known, it is often because it is long and difficult to unravel syntactically. Syntactic complexity coupled with unfamiliar vocabulary doubles the problems. There are numbers of reasons why a sentence may be difficult to unravel syntactically; five of them are as follows: complex noun groups, nominalization, co-ordination, subordination, and participial and prepositional phrases as modifiers. 2.5. Previous studies on reading strategies One of the principal concerns of language learning strategy theorists is not identification, description and classification of learning strategies used by second or foreign language learners for global language skills, but also for particular language learning tasks. Especially to help language learners develop their academic reading skills. Unlike the form of spoken language in which a speaker’s speech is often expressed by incomplete and sometimes ungrammatical utterances, and by frequent false starts and repetition, in the reading language, no such assumptions can usually be made. Because reading is a mechanical process that “eyes receive the message and the brain then has to work out the significant of the message”. (Harmer, 1991: 153).That means Harmer not only focuses on two actions dominated by the eyes and the brain but also the speed of the process “ a reading text moves at a speed of the reader”, which means that the reader who decides how fast he wants to read the text. In addition, while reading readers not only want to know how to read, to master the symbols, the sound, the language, the grammar etc., used in the text but also to understand the ideas, the information expressed in that text or to develop the ability of reconstructing its content in own words. For these reasons in a number of recent reading studies, researchers have attempted to identify the different kinds of strategies and cognitive activities that learners carry out when reading and the effectiveness of the reading strategies they employ. In other words , instead of focusing on the ability to read the text or products, reading researchers became much more concerned with the process that include the strategies their students used to go through in reading passage. Olshavsky (1977) observed a short story reading of twenty - four 10th grade students of native English background. The purpose of the study was to identify their reading strategies. He used readers’ verbal protocols as an observation procedure. The students were told to verbalize their reading behaviour during the reading. This behaviour was audio-taped. Then the readers’ protocols were transcribed and analyzed in order to infer their strategies. This study identified ten strategies which were then classified into three main categories. These can be summarized as follows: Word-related strategies: these comprise using context to define a word, synonym substitution and stating failure to understand a word. Clause-related strategies: these comprise re-reading, inference, addition of information, personal identification, hypotheses and stating failure to understand a clause. Story-related strategies: these comprise strategies to “using information about the story”. The use of strategies at each of these levels is seen to contribute to understanding the whole text. Further study conducted by Harmer (1991) has attempted to reveal the reading strategies of ESL students. The sample in the study consisted of eighty-two students randomly selected from Hispanic ESL students in the 3rd, 4thand 5th grades. The students were assigned to read a text for comprehension and answered comprehension questions at the end of the passage. Performance on the questions was used to classify good and poor readers. Afterwards, the students were asked to fill in a Reading Strategies Questionnaire about what they did when they read the text. It was found that seven types of reading strategies could be considered negatively related to students’ reading achievement. These were: thinking about something else while reading, writing down every word, skipping the parts that are hard to understand in the story, looking up words in the dictionary, reading as fast as you can, saying every word over and over, saying the main idea over and over. Seven strategies considered to be positively related to students’ reading achievement were: summarizing in writing, underlining important parts of the story, self-generated questions, checking through the story to see if you remember all of it, asking questions about the parts of the story you don’t understand, taking notes and imagining or picturing the story in your mind. These finding are limited in how much they reveal of actual ESL students’ reading strategies because the research methodology used was not an observation procedure. It was large- scale research survey questionnaire. However, the study is useful for this thesis because it showed what strategies poor and good ESL students thought they used when they read ESL text. This might also reflect the teaching approaches by which they were taught. 2.6. Conclusion Reading strategies play an importance role in reading comprehension. They reflect what readers do to achieve successful reading. In this chapter, I have looked at important background theory on reading strategies and the reading process, in which bottom-up and top-down approaches are emphasized. The main section mentioned is language learning strategies, which include terminological definitions, classification systems and major characteristics of language learning strategies. Moreover, the use of different reading strategies in language learning is influenced by a variety of factors such as proficiency and motivation. This is followed by a discussion of essential goal of the approaches to teaching academic reading. Finally, this chapter gives an overview of previous studies that involved reading strategies used for improving reading skills in particular. I have seen that learners at MPA may have different points of view about reading strategies, and they may possibly use combine different strategies for their specific reading tasks. Competence readers seem to produce a good reading product because they may use reading strategies more appropriately in reading comprehension. In other word, their successful strategies used in pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading stages give them better control of the content of the reading texts. This literature review has served as the theoretical basis of the study, which will be presented in the next chapter. CHAPTER iii: METHODOLOGY The study aims to examine the reading strategies used by the learners at the MPA in their reading comprehension. The purpose of the study is to raise the learners’ awareness of their ways to read and to encourage lecturers at the MPA in teaching appropriate strategies for better reading comprehension. The major research questions raised in this study are as follows: 3.1. Research questions What reading strategies are used by different learner groups at the MPA in their reading comprehension? What reading strategies do the effective and ineffective learners use while they are doing reading tasks? What factors influence the learners’ reading strategies choice? 3.2. Description of variables There are two variables observed in this study. The dependent variable: reading strategies preferred (chosen) by the students, which is measured by the questionnaire and interviews. The independent variable: students’ reading proficiency, which is measured by test. 3.3. The setting of the study The study was conducted at the Military Political Academy (MPA). The questionnaire was distributed to the students and collected at the Academy during the survey. The interviews were carried out in small groups with two or three subjects at a time; each interview usually took place during students’ free time and lasted about fifteen minutes. This study was conducted at MPA with the subjects of two classes BT4A and BT4B, therefore the researcher would like to give a detailed description of English course of these students. The course is divided into two stages: General English (GE) in 240 lesson periods and ESP in 60 lesson periods. The first stage is from term one to term three. During the first stage (including of the first two years), the students study GN and the four language skills in 240 lesson periods. The textbooks used for them are Headway Pre- Intermediate and Intermediate (John & Soar, 1993) and Cause and Effect (Ackert, 1986). The second stage is only term four. The students study ESP in 60 lesson periods. The textbook used for them is Command English (Arnold & Sacco, 1998). At the end of each semester, the students have to take a test. As usual, only one teacher is in charge of a class, and he or she is responsible for teaching English of this class from the beginning to the end of the course, therefore the teacher herself has more opportunities to understand clearly her students. 3.4. Data collection instruments This section describes the data collection instruments that were used in the study.. According to Oxford (1990), there are different data collection instruments that can be used to collect data for an investigating language learning strategies such as: questionnaire, tests, checklist, interview, observation. In this study, test, questionnaire and interview have been chosen as the main instruments. Of these three methods, questionnaire was the main instrument. Seliger and Shohamy (1995:172) define questionnaire as an attractive mean of collecting data on phenomenon, which are not easily observed such as attitudes, motivation and awareness of subjects-informants towards learning English and reading strategies use for improving their academic reading skills in particular. These authors show that the questionnaires have a number of advantages. Firstly, they are self-administered and can be given to large groups of subjects exactly at the same time; therefore the data are more uniform and standard. Secondly, when anonymity is assured, subjects tend to share information of a sensitive nature more easily and thirdly, since they are usually given to all subjects of the research at exactly the same time, the data are more accurate. That is the reason why questionnaire was the main instrument used in this study and it was judged to be the best way to determine the reading strategy use in our own context. According to Dudley- Evans (1998), interviews are useful in investigation as they can provide in-depth and valuable information. There are three types of interviews: The informal conversational interview (the unstructured interview): in this interview there is no set of questions but the questions arise more or less spontaneously. The standardized open-ended interview (the structured interview): in this interview, the exact wording and order of questions to be asked is determined in advance. The interview guide (semi-structured): in this type of interview the interviewer can specify a range of questions to be coved in advance, but they can also formulate the wording of the questions as well as the order of the questions as the interview progress. Test is also a good data collection instrument to get information from the students. 3.4.1. Test The purpose of the test used in the study was to get information about the students’ English reading proficiency. To achieve the purpose mentioned above, in the present study, the reading comprehension test is based on the IELTS-type of reading test in order to measure the students’ reading comprehension. The test is taken from “IELTS Practice Now” (Carol Gibson, Wanda Rusek and Anne Swan, 1996). This test consists of 3 sections with 40 questions. Section I has a short text of about 350 words. The question types in section I are: (1) write the answer in the space provided, (2) True (T), False (F), insufficient evidence (IE), (3) matching heading with paragraphs, (4) selecting the best title for the entire passage. (Section 1 includes 15 questions to answer). Section II has a long text of about 500 words. The question types in section II are: (1) choosing the best theme of the entire passage, (2) completing the sentences,(3) choosing the most suitable opposite meaning of the word. (Section 2 consist of13 questions to answer). Section III has a longer text of about 700 words with more difficult language and structure. The question types in section III are: (1) choosing the best answer, (2) completing the sentences by adding one word from the passage for each space, (3) short answer (only two words). The reading test is objectively marked. As mentioned above, the test is used not only to check the students’ reading proficiency but it is also used to divide the students into effective and ineffective reader groups. All the readers who had an average of 7 marks are considered effective readers. Ineffective readers are the ones who had an average of under 7 marks. Basing on the results of the reading test, twenty three subjects with a 7 point average on the test and twenty five subjects of under 7 marks on their test were selected and divided into effective and ineffective reader groups and these two learners groups participated in my study. 3.4.2. Questionnaire The purpose of the questionnaire in this study was to obtain the informants’ background information and to investigate (or determine) the reading strategy uses in students’ reading context. To achieve the purpose mentioned above, the questionnaire used in this study was adapted from Oxford (1990). It consists of two parts. The first part included six questions, aimed at obtaining the informants’ background information such as age, gender, motivation and awareness toward learning English and reading strategy use for improving their reading skills. In this part, there were six items that related to subjects language learning motivation (question 5) (Appendix 2.1). The second part, the sheet of Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL), was designed on the basis of “The SILL for Speakers of Other Language Learning English” proposed by Oxford (1990). It is a list of 50 specific learning strategies (LSs) categorized into six groups corresponding to six main LSs groups, which were presented in the previous chapter. The table 3.1 below summaries the analysis of the SILL. Table 3.1. Summary of the Analysis of the SILL Learning Strategies (LSs) Specific LSs in the SILL Total of LSs in the SILL % Groups of LSs Parts in the LSs Memory A 9 50 18 Cognitive B 14 28 Compensation C 6 12 Metacognitive D 9 18 Affective E 6 12 Social F 6 12 The participants were asked to identify each statement that related to their learning academic reading on a five-point scale from (1) never or almost never true; (2) usually not true; (3) somewhat true; (4) usually true; to (5) always true. Beside the SILL sheet, there were worksheets for the informants to answer and score while completing the questionnaire. In addition, the Profile of the Results on the SILL was used to decode the average score on each part of the SILL. The informants’ background questionnaire, the SILL and the Profile of Results on the SILL are shown in Appendix 2.1. (p.64). The background questionnaire and the SILL were translated into Vietnamese and pre-tested on a group of 10 learners at the intermediate levels of English proficiency at the MPA. The purpose of the pilot test was to find out if the question items and the instructions were understandable and whether the questionnaires could be completed within the expected time. 3.4.3. Interview In this study, the interview was used with the aims to get further information concerning informants’ reading experiences, which were not stated in the SILL questionnaire. The interview questions were prepared in advanced and students were asked the same questions such as to describe any reading strategies or tricks they used in their reading. They were also asked to provide information about the other factors that influenced their reading strategy choice. The interviews were conducted in small groups with two or three subjects at a time; each interview usually took place during students’ free time and lasted fifteen minutes or longer. All interviews were designed as a conversation with one another and carried out in Vietnamese to enable the subjects to perform easily and freely. 3.5. Analyzing data 3.5.1. Coding scheme for the use of reading strategies in students’ reading comprehension Reading strategies used by subjects in their reading comprehension were collected from the SILL questionnaire. According to a scheme adapted from Oxford’s (1990) scheme the students’ responses to the items (statements), that represent particular kinds of language learning behaviors on the SILL questionnaire were coded and put into groups in keeping with their nature, characteristics and functions. For example: RS group LS sub-group Reading strategy Item (Statement) Memory Creating mental linkages Placing new words into a context. I use new English words in a sentence so I can remember them. The reading strategy groups were coded as A (memory strategy), B (cognitive strategy), C (compensation strategy), D (metacognitive strategy), E (affective strategy) and F (social strategy). The frequencies showing how often a reading strategy to be used by different groups of subjects- informants were calculated by counting the number of responses to the questionnaire items according to a rating on five- point scales suggested by Oxford (1990): always used (4.5-5), usually used (3.5-4.4), sometime used (2.5-3.4), generally not used (1.5-2.4), and never use (0.0-1.4). In addition, Oxford (1990) worked out a three-point scale for showing the degree of LS use: high use (5.0-3.5), medium use (3.4-2.5) and low use (2.4-0.0). This framework can provide a categorization basis for analyzing strategies follow three stages of reading: pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading. 3.5.2. Coding scheme for the use of reading strategies while doing reading tasks Students’ reactions in reading tasks and interviews were an important part in this analysis, because they reflected the categories of reading strategies used by learners while they are doing reading tasks. These tasks included reading passages and instructions, which appropriate to subjects’ level of English proficiency and most of them come from their reading books Cause and Effect (Ackert, 1986). Basing on this, the researcher used the strategy definition that was developed by Oxford (1990) to identify specific reading strategies performed by the students in their reading tasks and interviews. Then those reading strategies were identified and coded in terms of classification system, which offered by Oxford (1990) for reading skills. For example, repeating was classified as cognitive strategy in Oxford’s (1990:71) classification system. The strategy of repeating might mean reading a passage more than once to understand it more completely. A profitable technique is to read a passage several times, each time for different purposes: for example, to get the main ideas, to predict, to read for detail, to write down question and so on. Students’ reactions in their reading tasks and the interviews were also classified at three stages of reading from generally not used (1), sometime used (2), to usually used (3) in which high use (3.0-2.5), medium use (2.4-1.5) and low use (1.4-0.0). These reading strategies were analysed at each stage of reading. The analysis result of these strategies will be presented in the next chapter. 3.5.3. Coding Scheme for factors influencing MPA learners’ reading strategy choice The factors affecting students’ reading strategy choice such as proficiency and motivation toward the use of learning strategies in their reading comprehension in general and while they doing reading tasks in particular, were obtained from the questionnaire. The items that deal with the subjects, learning motivation were coded in term of classification system of learning motivations. In this study four items of extrinsic motivation were coded as Einterl = interested in language, Einterc = interested in English culture, Eintert = travel, Einstrua = advancement, while two other one of intrinsic motivation were coded as Instrh = having friends speaking English, and Instrio = other. In addition, informal talks with students to gain more information about their own experiences, motivation toward reading strategies used in reading that were not expressed in the formal interviews. The analysis results of these documents helped me with in-depth understanding about the potential difficulties and influence of other factors on the implementation of reading strategies to improve the students’ reading skill. 3.6. Conclusion In this chapter, I have attempted to describe and explain the methodology used in this study. First, the decision on the research questions and the choice of an experiment as the method of the study. Then the research procedures including the setting of the study, the data collection instruments and the data gathering procedures used for analyzing reading strategies used by the learners in their reading comprehension, and the factors affecting their reading strategy choice were described. The interpretation of the results of analyses these data will be discussed in next chapter. The suggestions of the study about the use of reading strategies in learning and teaching English reading comprehension in this one particular context at the MPA also will be provided in chapter 5.  CHAPTER iv: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION This chapter describes and interprets the results of the study. The discussion shows some findings in relation to the literature reviewed in chapter 2. The discussions are carried out to provide answers to the three major research questions presented earlier in chapter 3. 4.1. What reading strategies are used by different learner groups at the MPA in their reading comprehension? Table 4.1. A Comparison of the Uses of RSs Between Different Learner Groups Across Six Groups of RSs Scales LS Groups Total N Always used (5.0-4.5) Usually used (4.4-3.5) Sometime used (3.4-2.5) Generally not used (2.4-1.5) Never used (1.4-0.0) Mean Std.D F-value P N % N % N % N % N % A1 23 0 0.00 3 13.04 16 69.57 4 17.39 0 0.00 2.98 .397 8.625 .005 A2 25 0 0.00 0 0.00 17 68.00 8 32.00 0 0.00 2.73 .470 A1+A2 48 0 3 33 12 0 2.98 .470 B1 23 0 0.00 9 39.13 14 60.87 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.40 .382 6.509 .014 B2 25 0 0.00 4 16.00 18 72.00 3 12.00 0 0.00 3.09 .478 B1+B2 48 0 13 32 3 0 3.38 .462 C1 23 0 0.00 9 39.13 12 52.17 1 4.35 1 4.35 3.15 .520 .501 .483 C2 25 0 0.00 7 28.00 14 56.00 4 16.00 0 0.00 3.03 .762 C1+C2 48 0 16 26 3 1 3.22 .644 D1 23 4 17.39 12 52.17 7 30.43 0.00 0 0.00 3.72 .576 4.818 .033 D2 25 1 4.00 8 32.00 16 64.00 0.00 0 0.00 3.40 .529 D1+D2 48 5 20 23 0 0 3.71 .578 E1 23 0 0.00 8 34.78 11 47.83 2 8.70 2 8.70 2.89 .535 .006 .940 E2 25 1 4.00 6 24.00 14 56.00 3 12.00 1 4.00 2.98 .660 E1+E2 48 1 14 25 5 3 3.06 .591 F1 23 1 4.35 17 73.91 4 17.39 1 4.35 0 0.00 3.81 .620 4.945 .030 F2 25 0 0.00 8 32.00 14 56.00 3 12.00 0 0.00 3.12 .712 F1+F2 48 0 25 18 4 0 3.60 .695 TOS1 23 0 0.00 10 43.48 13 56.52 0 0.00 0 0.00 3.42 .309 6.020 .018 TOS2 25 0 0.00 4 16.00 18 72.00 3 12.00 0 0.00 3.09 .342 TOS1+TOS2 48 0 14 31 3 0 3.39 .343 Analysis of Uses High Medium Low Key words: 1 = effective readers; 2 = ineffective readers; A (the memory strategy), B (the cognitive strategy); C (the compensation strategy); D (the metacognitive strategy); E (the affective strategy) and F (social strategy). TOS = total summary of reading strategies groups. N = number students. Table 4.1 presents the use frequency of each category of reading strategies applied by different group of students at the MPA in their learning reading comprehension. In each group, the reading strategies use of effective and ineffective learners was compared. The number of members in each group was not equal because this group category was based on the score of their reading test result before carrying out this study. From the subjects’ responses to the SILL questionnaire, the result of descriptive statistic in table 4.1 indicated the use frequency of each category of reading strategies used by students at the MPA in their reading comprehension. First, group A (memory strategies) did not receive much attention from both groups of students. The statistical data in the table shows that students in this study are not aware of the importance of memory in solving reading tasks. The numbers of effective students usually use these strategies only three, account for 13.04 %. On the contrary, none of students from the ineffective group uses it (M = 2,98 v. M = 2.73). Second, strategy groups B (cognitive strategies) and E (affective strategies) were usually used by the two learner groups at a medium degree (M = 3.40 v M = 3.09). It proved that a great number of military learners at the MPA in this study do not know how to use mental processes to operate their missing knowledge and manage their emotion in their own learning. Third, group C (compensation strategies). Fr._.c và chính xác nhất. Chúng tôi đánh giá cao sự giúp đỡ của các bạn. Hãy đánh dấu vào những câu trả lời phù hợp với bạn 1. Bạn đã học Tiếng Anh trong thời gian ……………………………………………... A. 0 – 3 năm B. 4 – 5 năm C. 6 – 8 năm D. hơn 10 năm 2. Theo bạn, bạn sẽ sử dụng kỹ năng Tiếng Anh nào nhiều nhất trong công việc của bạn sau khi tốt nghiệp? A. nghe B. nói C. đọc D. viết E. dịch 3. Khi học đọc Tiếng Anh Kinh Tế bạn thường tập trung sự chú ý chủ yếu vào (Bạn có thể có hơn một sự lựa chọn) A. ngữ pháp trong bài đọc B. ý của bài đọc C. từ vựng D. kiến thức liên quan đến chuyên nghành Kinh Tế E. kiến thức về ngôn ngữ 4. Bạn thường sử dụng kỹ năng nào khi học đọc? A. đọc lướt để lấy ý chính E. đọc chậm từ đầu đến cuối bài để hiểu từ, cấu trúc câu và ý toàn bài F. phỏng đoán G. suy luận H. tham chiếu I. trả lời các câu hỏi đọc hiểu 5. Bạn gặp khó khăn ở loại bài đọc nào nhiều nhất ? A. bài hội thoại B. các bài báo về Kinh tế C. bài giảng về Kinh tế D. báo cáo về Kinh tế E. tờ rơi, quảng cáo F. thư tín thương mại 6. Bạn thích loại bài đọc nào nhất? A. bài hội thoại B. các bài báo về Kinh tế C. bài giảng về Kinh tế D. báo cáo về Kinh tế E. tờ rơi, quảng cáo F. thư tín thương mại 7. Trước khi đọc bài khoá, bạn mong muốn biết Rất muốn biết Muốn biết Không cần biết A. ý chính của bài đọc B. từ vựng và thuật ngữ sẽ được sử dụng trong bài đọc C. một số thông tin mới D. cách diễn đạt bằng tiêng Anh những điều đã học trong chuyên nghành Kinh tế 8. Bạn cảm thấy dễ nhớ từ vựng nếu giáo viên giải thích chúng A. trước khi bạn học bài khoá B. trong khi bạn học bài khoá C. sau khi bạn học bài khoá 9. Bạn cảm thấy dễ nhớ nhất nếu giáo viên giải thích từ vựng và thuật ngữ bằng cách A. dịch sang Tiếng Việt B. đặt chúng vào ngữ cảnh C. yêu cầu bạn đoán nghĩa của từ từ ngữ cảnh trong bài đọc D. sử dụng từ đồng nghĩa và từ trái nghĩa E. đưa ra định nghĩa trong từ điển F. sử dụng các giáo cụ trực quan 10. Khi học đọc, bạn hiểu bài nhất khi A. giáo viên dịch hết ra Tiếng Việt B. bạn hiểu nghĩa của tất cả các từ mới trong bài. C. bạn đã có kiến thức về chuyên nghành Kinh Tế D. bạn được đọc thêm tài liệu bổ trợ 11. Sau khi đọc, bạn thường A. tóm tắt bài khoá B. dịch bài khoá ra tiếng Việt C. học thuộc từ mới và cấu trúc trong bài đọc D. thảo luận về các vấn đề đã học trong bài 12. Bạn thấy hình thức luyện tập nào hiệu quả nhất khi học đọc? A. luyện tập cùng cả lớp B. luyện tập theo nhóm nhỏ C. luyện tập theo cặp D. từng cá nhân 13. Bạn có ý kiến gì về các bài đọc trong giáo trình bạn đang học? Bài đọc 1 2 3 Khó Hay Dài Phù hợp với chuyên nghành bạn học (1: không khó; 2: khó; 3: rất khó) (Sắp xếp theo trình tự như trên đối với các từ: hay, dài, phù hợp) 14. Bạn có thường đọc các tài liệu khác ngoài sách không? A. thường xuyên B. thỉnh thoảng C. không bao giờ 15. Tại sao bạn lại chọn nhữmg tài liệu này để đọc? (Bạn có thể có hơn một sự lựa chọn) A. vì tôi muốn mở rộng thêm từ vựng về chuyên nghành Kinh tế B. vì tôi thấy chúng hay C. vì loại bài đọc này không có trong giáo trình mà tôi đang học D. vì tôi muốn biết thêm kiến thức liên quan đến chuyên nghành Kinh tế Appendix 1 Strategy Classification System (Oxford, 1990) (* = Specific strategies to be applied to the reading skill) Strategy group Strategy Sub-groups Specific Strategies Memory strategies (Direct) A.Creating mental Linkages 1.* Grouping 2.* Associating/Elaborating 3.* Placing new words into a context B. Applying images and sounds 1.* Semantic maping 2.*Using key words C. Reviewing well 1.* Structure reviewing D. Employing action 1.Using physical response or sensation Cognitive strategies (Direct) A. Practicing 1.* Repeating 2.Formally practising with sound and writing systems 3.*Recognizing and using formuslas and patterns 4.recombining 5.*Practicing naturalistcally B. Receiving and sending messages 1.*Getting the idea quikly 2.*Using resources for receiving and sending messages 3.*Coping with unfamiliar word C. Analyzing and reasoning 1.*Reasoning deductively 2.*Analyzing expressions/analyzing contrastively 3.*Translating 4.* Transferring D. Creating structure for input and output 1.*Taking notes 2.* Summarizing 3.* Highlighting Compensation Strategies (Direct) A. Guessing intelligently 1.* Using linguistic clues and other clues and other clues B.Overcomimg limitations in speaking and writing Metacognitive Strategies (Direct) A. Centering your learning 1.* Overviewing and linking with already known material 2. Paying attention B. Arranging and planning your learning 1.*Finding out about language learning 2.* Setting goals and objectives 3.* Identifying the purpose of a language task 4.* Planning for a language rask C. Evaluating your learning 1.* Self- evaluating and self-monitoring Affective strategies (Indirect) A.Lowering your anxiety B. Encouraging yourself C.Taking your emotianal temprature 1.*Discussing feeling with someone else Social Strategies ( Indirect) A. Asking qustions 1.*Asking for clarification or verrification B.Cooperating with others 2.*Cooperatingwith proficient users of the new language. c. Empathizing others 1.*Developing cultural understanding 2.*Becoming aware of others' thoughts and feelings. Appendix 2.1 (English version) Questionaire The purpose of this questionnaire is collect data to our investigation into reading strategies of learnerrs at the MPA, and affective factors their reading strategies choices. Your respones to the question will be studied. If they are frank and accurate, they will be an invaluble help in our research. You can be sure that you will not be identified in any case. Please do not dscuss any of the questions with your friends. Section 1: Informants' Background Questionnaire Please tick (v) in the appropriate square (tick ONLY ONE that true of you most) or provide brief answers to certain queations. 1. Name: ......................... Age:............................ 2. Future job: ......................................... 3. How long have you studied English? 4. Have you ever been taught reading strategies and how to use the? Yes No 5. Why do you want to learn English? (tick all that are true of you) interested in the language Have friends who speak this language interested in the culture Need it for future career Need it for travel Other (list) 6. To you, should reading strategies be taught to MPA learners? Yes, (Why).......................................................... No, (Why)........................................................... Section 2: Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) Direction Different people have different ways of learning English as a foreign language. You will find the following statements describe your English learning ways. Please read each statement carefully, on a separate worksheet, write the response (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) that tells how true the statement is according to the scale below: Never or almost never true ............................. very rarely true of you. Occasionally true ............................... true of you less than half the time. Sometimes true..................................true of you about half the time. Usually true ............................... true of you more than half the time. Always or always almost true ................................ very true of you. We are interested in the way you learn English. Answer in term of how well the statements described you. Do not answer how you think you should be, or what other people do. Remember there are no right or wrong answers to these statements they are just different. Work as quickly and frankly as can without being careless. Your answers will be studies and, if they are frank and accurate, they will be an invaluable help in our research. Please make no mark on the items. Example: 1. Never or almost never true 2. Occasionally true. 3. Sometimes true. 4. Usually true. 5. Always or always almost true. Read the item, and choose a response (1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 as above) and write it on the worksheet e.g.I actively seek out opportunities to talk with native speakers: .... 1 .... (on the worksheet) Strategy inventory for Language Learning (SILL) 1. Never or almost never true 2. Occasionally true. 3. Sometimes true. 4. Usually true. 5. Always or always almost true. (Write answers on the worksheet) Part A 1. i think of relationship between what i already know and new things i learn in English. 2. i use new English words in a sentence so I can remember them. 3. I connect the sound of a new English word and an image or picture of the word to help me remember the word. 4. i remember a new English word by making a mental picture of a situation in which the word might be used. 5. i use rhymes to remember new English words. 6. i use flashcard to remember new English words. 7. I physically act out new English words. 8. i review English lessons often. 9. i remember new English words or phrases by remembering their location on the page, on the board, or on a street sign. Part B 10. i say or write new English words several times. 11. i tried to talk like native English speakers. 12. i practice the sound of English. 13. i use the English words i know in different ways. 14. i start conversation in English. 15. i watch English language TV shows spoken in English or listen to the spoken English on tapes or radio broadcasts. 16. i read for pleasure in English. 17. i write notes, messages letters or keep my diary in English. 18. i first skim an English passage (read over the passage quickly) then go back and read carefully. 19. i look for words in my own language that are similar to new words in English. 20. i try to find patterns in English. 21. i find the meaning of an English words by dividing it into parts that i understand. 22. i try not to translate word-for-word. 23. i make summaries of information that i hear or read in English. Part C 24. To understand unfamiliar English words, i make guesses. 25. When i can't think of a word during a conversation in English, i use gestures. 26. i make up new words if i do not know the right ones in English. 27. i read English without looking up every new word. 28. i try to guess what the other person will say next in English. 29. If I can't think of an English word, i use a word or phrase that means the same thing. Part D 30. I try to find as many as i can to use my English. 31. i notice my English mistakes and use that information to help me do better. 32. I pay attention when someone is speaking English. 33. i try to find out how to be a better learner of English. 34. i plan my schedule so i will have enough time to study English. 35. i look for people i can talk to in English. 36. i look for opportunities to read as much as possible in English. 37. I have clear goals for improving my English skill. 38. i think about my progress in learning English. Part E 39. i try to relax whenever i feel afraid of using English. 40. i encourage myself to speak English even when i am afraid of making a mistake. 41. i give myself a reward of treat when i do well in English. 42. i notice if i am tense of nervous when i am studying or using English. 43. i write down my feeling in a language learning diary. 44. i talk to someone else about how i feel when i am learning English. Part F 45. if i do not understand something in English, i ask the other person to slow down of say it again. 46. i ask English speakers to correct me when i talk. 47. i practice English with other students. 48. i ask for help from English speakers. 49. i ask questions in English. 50. i try to learn about the culture of English speakers. Strategy Inventory for Language Learning Worksheet for Answering and Scoring the SILL Direction 1. The blanks (............) are numbered for each item on the SILL. 2. Write your response to each item (that is, write 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5) in each of the blanks. 3. Add up each column. Put the result on the line marked SUM. 4. Divide by the number under SUM to get the average for each column. Round this average off to the nearest tenth. 5. Figure out your overall average. To do this, add up all the SUMS for the different parts of the SILL. Then divide by 50. 6. When you have finished, copy your averages (for each part and whole SILL) from the Worksheet to the Profile of Result (on a separate sheet). SILL Worksheet Part A 1 ...... 2 ..... 3 ..... 4 ..... 5 ..... 6 ..... 7 ..... 8 ..... 9 ..... Part B 10 ..... 11 ..... 12 ..... 13 ..... 14 ..... 15 ..... 16 ..... 17 ..... 18 ..... 19 ..... 20 ..... 21 ..... 22 ..... 23 ..... Part C 24 ....... 25 ....... 26 ....... 27 ..... 28...... 29 ...... Part D 30 ...... 31 ....... 32 ..... 33 ...... 34 ..... 35 ..... 36 ..... 37 ..... 38 ...... Part E 39 ..... 40 ..... 41 ..... 42 ..... 43 ...... 44 ..... Part F 45 ....... 46 ....... 47 ....... 48 ..... 49 ..... 50 ...... SUM part A … SUM part B … SUM part C … SUM part D … SUM part E … SUM part F … SUM ____ SUM____ SUM____ SUM____ SUM____SUM____SUM___ (Overall average) Strategy inventory for Language Learning Profile of Results on the SILL This profile will show your SILL Results. These results will tell you the find of strategy you use in learning English. There are no right or wrong answers. To complete, transfer your average for the whole SILL. These averages found on the worksheet. Part What strategies are covered Your average on this part A Remembering more effectively ................................... B Using all your mental processes ................................... C Compensating for missing knowledge ................................... D Organizing and evaluating your learning ................................... E Managing your emotions ................................... F Learning with others ................................... Your overall average: ................................... Thank you very much for your cooperation! Appendix 2.2 (Vietnamese version) Bản điều tra khảo sát Bản câu hỏi dưới đây nhằm thu thập dữ liệu cho đề tài nghiên cứu của chúng tôi về các phương pháp để học tốt tiếng Anh của học sinh cua Hoc Vien chinh Tri Quan Su, các yếu tố ảnh hưởng đến việc lựa chọn và sử dụng các phương pháp đó ở các nhóm người học khác nhau. Các câu trả lời của bạn rất quan trọng với sự thành công của đề tài. Các dữ liệu này chỉ được dùng vào mục đích nghiên cứu chứ không nhằm mục đích nào khác. Xin vui lòng trả lời các câu hỏi sau đây: I. Về bản thân (chỉ chọn một câu trả lời đúng với bạn) 1. Họ và tên: Tuổi:............................................ 2.Nghề nghiệp tương lai: 3. Bạn học tiếng anh được bao lâu: 4. Bạn có được dạy các phương pháp học đọc trong quá trình bạn học đọc hiểu không? 5. Tại sao bạn học tiếng Anh? (có thể chọn một hoặc nhiều lí do phù hợp với bạn) Vì yêu thích ngôn ngữ này Để kết bạn với những người bản xứ Để tìm hiểu văn hoá, phong tục tập quán của các nước nói tiếng Anh Để đi du lịch Muốn một công việc tốt cho tương lai. Lí do khác (xin hãy liệt kê) ..................................... 6. Theo bạn có nên dạy các phương pháp đọc hiểu cho sinh viên không? II. Phương pháp học tập II.1. Hướng dẫn: Mỗi người có những phương pháp học ngoại ngữ khác nhau. Chúng tôi rất quan tâm tới những cách bạn học tiếng Anh. Lưu ý trong bản điều tra dưới đây không có câu trả lời đúng hay sai, bạn sẽ thấy các câu mô tả các cách học tiếng Anh khác nhau. Xin hãy đọc kỹ từng câu, chọn mức độ được đưa ra dưới đây mô tả đúng nhất trường hợp của bạn và viết câu trả lời đó vào bảng câu trả lời ( không viết câu trả lời vào các mục): 1. Không đúng với bạn 2. Đúng rất ít với bạn 3. Đúng một nửa với bạn 4. Đúng với bạn 5. Rất đúng với bạn Đọc từng câu và chỉ chọn một câu trả lời (1,2,3,4 hoặc 5 như trên) và điền vào chổ trống trong bảng trả lời phía sau. Ví dụ: Tôi chủ động tìm cơ hội để nói chuyện với những người bản xứ ….1…. (trong bảng trả lời) II.2. Mô tả phương pháp học 1. Không đúng với bạn 2. Đúng rất ít với bạn 3. Đúng một nửa với bạn 4. Đúng với bạn 5. Rất đúng với bạn (Viết câu trả lời vào bảng) Phần A 1. Khi học tiếng Anh tôi luôn liên hệ những điều đã biết với những cái mới học. 2. Tôi sử dụng các từ mới trong câu để tôi có thể nhớ chúng. 3. Tôi liên kết âm thanh với hình ảnh hoặc sự kiện liên quan đến từ mới để giúp tôi nhớ từ. 4. Tôi nhớ từ mới bằng cách tạo ra hình ảnh đáng nhớ của một sự việc trong đó từ có thể được sử dụng. 5. Tôi sử dụng vấn đề để nhớ từ mới. 6. Tôi dùng các tờ tranh có chữ để nhớ từ mới 7. Tôi hoạt động thể dục ngoài trời để nhớ từ mới 8. Tôi thường xuyên ôn từ mới 9. Tôi nhớ các từ, cụm từ mơi bằng cách nhớ vị trí của chúng trong trang, bảng hoặc dấu iệu trên phố. Phần B 10. Tôi nói hoặc viết các từ mới một vài lần 11. Tôi cố gắng nói chuyện giống người bản ngữ 12. Tôi luyện âm tiếng Anh 13. Tôi sử dụng các từ tôi biết theo nhiều cách khác nhau 14. Tôi bắt đầu cuộc nói chuyện bằng tiếng Anh 15. Tôi xem các chương trình ti vi nói bằng tiếng Anhhoặc các bộ phim bản Tiếng anh 16. Tôi đọc truyện, sách báo Tiếng anh yêu thích 17. Tôi ghi chép tin tức, viết báo cáo, thư bằng tiếng Anh 18. Trước tiên tôi đọc lướt một trang tiếng Anh (đọc thật nhanh) sau đó trở lại đọc một cách cẩn thận 19. Tôi tìm các từ giống với từ mới bằng ngôn ngữ của tôi 20. Tôi cố gắng tìm các cấu trúc, mẫu câu bằng tiếng Anh 21. Tôi tìm nghĩa của từ bằng cách phân tách chúng theo những phần tôi biết 22. Tôi không dịch theo từng từ một 23. Tôi tóm tắt thông tin tôi nghe được, đọc được bằng tiếng Anh Phần C 24. Để hiểu tôi thường đoán nghĩa của những từ không biết 25. Khi không tìm ra một từ nào đó trong cuộc nói chuyện bằng tiếng Anh tôi dùng điệu bộ để diễn tả 26. Tôi lập các từ mới nếu tôi không biết một từ thích hợp 27. Tôi đọc Tiếng anh mà không cần tra nghĩa của tất cả các từ mới 28. Tôi cố gắng đoán xem những gì người khác sẽ nói tiếp theo bằng tiếng Anh 29. Nếu tôi không tìm ra một từ nào đó tôi dùng một từ hoặc cụm từ khác có ý nghĩa tương tự để thay thế. Phần D 30. Tôi cố gắng tìm mọi cách để được sử dụng bằng tiếng Anh 31. Tôi chú ý tới các lỗi hay mắc phải và dùng các thông tin đó giúp tôi học tốt hơn 32. Tôi để ý khi ai đó đang nói chuyện bằng tiếng Anh 33. Tôi cố gắng tìm hiểu xem làm thế nào để trở thành người học tiếng Anhtốt hơn 34.Tôi lập chương trình cho mình như vậy tôi sẽ có đủ thời gian để học tiếng Anh 35. Tôi tìm những người tôi có thể nói chuyện bằng tiếng Anh 36. Tôi tìm thật nhiều cơ hội để đọc bằng tiếng Anh 37. Tôi có mục đích rõ ràng cho việc trau dồi các kỹ năng sử dụng tiếng Anh của mình 38. Tôi quan tâm đến sự tiến bộ của mình trong việc học Tiếng anh Phần E 39. Tôi cố gắng nghỉ ngơi thư giãn bất cứ khi nào tôi cảm thấy ngại dùng tiếng Anh 40. Tôi tự khích lệ bản thân nói tiếng Anh ngay cả khi tôi sợ mắc lỗi 41. Tôi tự dành cho mình một phần thưởng hoặc một niềm vui khi tôi học tốt tiếng Anh 42. Tôi chú ý nếu tôi cảm thấy căng thẳng, hồi hộp khi tôi học hoặc sử dụng Tiếng anh 43. Tôi ghi lại những suy nghĩ của mình trong nhật ký học 44. Tôi nói với người khác tôi cảm thấy thế nào khi tôi học tiếng Anh Phần F 45. Nếu không hiểu điều gì bằng tiếng Anh, tôi yêu cầu người nói chuyện nói chậm hoặc nói lại điều đó 46. Tôi yêu cầu người nói tiếng Anh sữa lỗi cho tôi khi tôi nói chuyện 47. Tôi thực hành tiếng Anh cùng với các sinh viên khác 48. Tôi yêu cầu người nói tiếng Anh giúp đỡ 49. Tôi đặt các câu hỏi bằng tiếng Anh 50.Tôi cố gắng tìm hiểu nền văn hoá của những người nói tiếng Anh Bảng câu trả lời và số điểm ghi được từ phần mô tả phương pháp học Hướng dẫn: 1. Các chỗ trống (…..) được đánh số theo từng mục trong phần mô tả phương pháp 2. Viết câu trả lời cho từng mục (đánh số 1, 2, 3, 4 hoặc 5) vào mỗi chỗ trống 3. Cộng từng cột sau đó ghi kết quả vào dòng đã gạch sau SUM 4. Chia kết quả trên cho số dưới SUM để có số trung bình cộng của từng cột. Làm tròn các số gần 10. 5. Cộng tất cả các SUM của từng phần sau đó chia cho 50 để có tổng trung bình cộng 6. Sau khi hoàn thành bạn hãy viết các số trung bình cộng của từng phần vào kết quả Bảng câu trả lời: PhầnA 1 ....... 2 ....... 3 ....... 4 ....... 5 ....... 6 ....... 7 …… 8 …… 9 …… Phần B 10 ....... 11 ....... 12 ....... 13 ....... 14 ....... 15 ....... 16 ....... 17 ....... 18 …… 19 …… 20 …… 21 …… 22 …… 23 …… Phần C 24 ….. 25 ….. 26 ….. 27 ….. 28 …... 29 …... Phần D 30 …... 31 …... 32 ….. 33 …... 34 ….. 35 ….. 36 ….. 37 ….. 38 ….. Phần E 39 …… 40 …… 41 …… 42 …… 43 ……. 44 ……. Phần F 45 ….. 46 ….. 47 ….. 48 ….. 49 ….. 50 ….. Tổng phần A…. Tổng phần B…. Tổng phần C…. Tổng phần D…. Tổng phần E…. Tổng phần F…. Tổng ___ Tổng ___ Tổng___ Tổng ___ Tổng ___ Tổng ___ Tổng ___ á 9 = á14 á 6 = á9 = á 6 = á 6 = á 50 = (Tổng trung bình cộng) Bảng kết quả mô tả phương pháp Bảng kết quả này sẽ chỉ ra phương pháp bạn sử dụng khi học tiếng Anh. Không có câu trả lời đúng, sai. Hãy viết lại các số trung bình cộng của từng phần số tổng trung bìng cộng của các phần ở trên vào bảng sau: Phần Các phương pháp học Số trung bình cộng của bạn ở phần này A Nhớ hiệu quả hơn .................................. B Quá trình vận dụng trí tuệ của bạn .................................. C Bù đắp các kiến thức bị thiếu .................................. D Tổ chức và đánh giá việc học của bạn .................................. E Điều chỉnh các cảm xúc của bạn .................................. F Học cùng với những người khác .................................. Xin chân thành cảm ơn sự hợp tác của bạn! Appendix 3 Coding scheme for factors influencing subjects’ learning strategies choice ( MOTIVATION) SILL File N0 Motivation Extrinsic Intrinsic Intergrative Instrumental EInterl EInterc EIntert Einstrua Instrih Instrio Eintel = Interested in English; Eintec = Interested in English culture; Eintet = Travel; EInstra = Advancement; Intrih = Having friends speaking english; Intrio=Others; Appendix 4 SAMPLE OF THE CODING PROCEDURE (For data collected from interviews and reading tasks) Reading tasks Greenpeace 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 The environment is everything around us, both natural and made by humans. A major problem in the world today is the destruction of the natrural environment. This is a complicated problem. We burn fuel, and this causes air pollution. We throw away millions of plastic bags, containers, toys, and other objects. These stay in the environment; they are not like paper or wood that slowly disappear. We have made thousands of new chemicals. Factories that make or use chemicals always have chemical wastes. These are often poisonous, and they stay in the environment. Since 1945, several countries have been testing nuclear bombs in the air and underground. The explosions in the air cause nuclear fallout. The fallout causes cancer and kills animals and people. Now there are nuclear power plants to make electricity. These produce dangerous wastes and have accidents that can be vary dangerous. The increase in the world's population means that we need more food. We also use more wood, metals, and other natural resources. Individuals, governments, and international organizations worry about this problem and try to find solutions. Greenpeace is one nongovernmental, international organization that works to save the environment. Green peace was organized in 1971 in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada. It was organized because the United States was testing bombs on Amchitka Island in Alaska. These were American tests, but they were very near Canada. When Greenpeace protested the tests, other people bacame interested. A year later, the tesing was stopped bacause of the protests. Next, members of Greenpeace sailed to the South Pacific to protest where France does nuclear testing on Moruroa, an island halfway between Chile and Australia. In 1973, the French stopped testing, but they started again in the 1980s. In 1985, a Greenpeace ship was in NewZealand on its way to Moruroa again. Someone working for the French government put a bomb on the ship, and it sank. The explosion killed one man. Greepeace also tries to save animals. Every year hunters kill thousands of baby seals in Norway and Canada and sell the skins to make coats. Members of Greenpeace sail to the area and stand between the hunters and the seals. When ships hunt whales, Greenpeace sails to the area, and then the members go in small boats between the whaling ships and the whales. Many cotries put their chemical and nuclear wastes in the sea. Although the seas and oceans are huge, we are beginning to pollute them with our wastes. Greenpeace is trying to protect the seas. Greenpeace believes that all forms of life on earth depend on each other. All the forms of plant and animal life fit together in the envirronment. We need all of them. Greenpeace also believes that there is a limit to all of our natural resourcers. We need to take care of them and use them carefully. We need to protect the earth for our children. Greenpeace works in two ways. It uses direct action, that is, it sends a ship directly to where people are hunting whales or seals. It sails into the area where France is testing bombs. Its actions are always nonviolent; Greenpeace never fights or kills or hurts anyone. It always works in a peaceful way. When other people hear about this direct action from newspapers, magazines, or television, they become worried about the problem too. Then some of them try to make their government take action to solve the problem. Greenpeace also uses indirect action. It does research on chemicals, pollution, and nuclear wastes. It uses this research to try make governments chage their laws. Greenpeace also tries to educate people. It works with other organizations and shares its research and information. It makes films about environmental problems. It gives lectures in schools. Where does Greenpeace get its money? Ordinary people in Eurpope, North America, Australia, and New Zealand give money. Some people also work for Greenpeace withouut receiving any pay. Greenpeace believes that we must all lear to live in peace, not just with other humans, but with all the beautiful animals on earth. We must wort now to protect the future of the earth, or it may be too late. Date……3rd November, 2005…… Interview Participants : 1)….Subject 2 (S2)…….. 3) Class: ... Interviewer : Dong Thi Thanh Ha Line CONTENTS 1 I: Good morning S2 2 S2: Good morning Mrs Ha 3 I: Could you tell me what do you think about your English reading ability? 4 S2: I like this subject. When I was a pupil I often read short stories in English. 5 And now when I am a student I still read English texts, newspapers, magazines 6 and short stories in English or sometimes when I have free time I try to 7 translate some simple English short stories in Vietnamese. I think it is a good 8 way to improve my English. 9 I: How do you practice this subject? 10 S2: Reading English texts and materials is my every day activity. As I said 11 above, I like to read English texts, English story, magazine, newspaper,… and 12 I often pay attention to needed information and I often take note good English 13 sentences that I like or strange English proverb, idioms in my notebook.. Then 14 I translate them into Vietnamese, or look for equivalent one in Vietnamese. I 15 think it is very useful to me because I can improve my knowledge of both 16 English and Vietnamese. 17 I: Do you discuss your experience of learning to read or reading texts with 18 your friends or teachers? 19 S2: Yes, I do. I think it is necessary for me. In class or at home we often 20 discuss about difficult or interesting English sentences, ask each other the 21 contents of the texts that we read to make sure what we don’t understand. I 22 also ask my friends and my teachers to explain some new words and the 23 instructions that I don’t understand. 24 I: Have you made summary? 25 S2: I sometimes write down my summary of the text on paper. 26 I: Can you tell me about the things, which you often do while you read? 27 S2: First, I think about the topic (what do I know about the topic, what 28 information do I expect to find in the text), then I think about the organization 29 of the text, for example: look at the title, the format, the illustrations of the 30 texts. During my reading I often look at enumerators (in the first place, in the 31 second place), chronological markers (at first, then), contrast indicators 32 (however, on the other hand), and summarizers (in short, finally)…and I try to 33 keep on reading, I read the key parts of the text. As you know, in English 34 academic writing the key parts of the texts are usually in the introductory and 35 concluding sections and the first sentence of all the other paragraphs in the 36 text. These key parts provide a valuable sample of the text. I should use this 37 sample to predict what information the text contains and where in the text that 38 information will be located. I don’t reach for the dictionary as soon as I see an 39 unfamiliar word. Read the whole sentences. The meaning of the unfamiliar 40 word may become obvious from context. 41 I: Thank you for your attention. Goodbye 42 S2. Thank you. Goodbye ._.