Nghiên cứu khoa học bằng tiếng Anh

zed, because it would be more accurate to use both analysis and observation. To seek the textbook’s problems easily and quickly, some aspects of the reading lessons were selected and analyzed such as shape of the lesson, the tasks’ requirements, and the tasks’ orders. The details are mentioned in chapter four. 3.6.2 Questionnaires procedure 204 the same copies of the questionnaire designed in Vietnamese were given to 5 classes of grade 10 in Thanh Binh-1 High School from February 16th, 2009 to February 21st, 2009 in class and collected after 15 minutes. However, there were 197 acceptable ones were analyzed. 3.6.3 Observation procedure During the time of teaching performance in the school, the researcher was going to participate in reading classes of grade 10 students and observe how well the students and the teacher performed in teaching and learning reading. The researcher chose some certain criteria to help her find out how the teachers dealt with the problems that the researcher found in the textbook such as redesigning the textbook. Via observation and teaching, the common problems in reading classes were taken note and then analyzed to find out students’ common problems in reading and the real causes of these problems. Thanks to the causes, some solutions to the problems were suggested. CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Chapter three has mentioned the three data collection instruments – questionnaires, observation and material analyzing. Therefore, this chapter will go on with the information collected from the three above instruments and discus the results of the study in detail. 4.1 Results This section will report the results of data analysis; it includes three main parts such as results of textbook analysis, questionnaires analysis and observation analysis. 4.1.1 Results of textbook analysis Before the researcher’s teaching performance in Thanh Binh-1 High School, she analyzed some reading lessons in the textbook English 10, which were observed or taught during the study. The results via analyzing them are showed below. Unit 10: CONSERVATION Lesson A: Reading (English 10, p.104-p.106) Shape of the lesson Activities/Tasks Comments “Before you read” Look at the pictures and then answer the questions. - The task is for introducing the topic, the new lesson, not for pre-reading. - Use task 2 as pre-reading activity. “While you read” - Task 1: Match the word in A with a suitable definition in B. - Task 2: Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). - Task 3: Choose the most suitable main idea for each paragraph - The orders of the tasks are not suitable. - Change the orders: task 1, task 3 and task 4. “After you read” - Task 4: Answer the following questions. - Change the task: Talk about the role of the environment, using the given cues. Unit 12: MUSIC Lesson A: Reading (English 10, p. 124-p.126) Shape of the lesson Activities/Tasks Comments “Before you read” Work in pair. Discuss and match each of the descriptions to a type of music. - The task is for introducing the topic, the new lesson, not for pre-reading. - Add pre-reading activity: pre-reading activity. “While you read” - Task 1: The words / phrases in the box below all appear in the reading passage. Use them to complete the sentences. - Task 2: Answer the questions. -The tasks are in correct orders. - Add the questions of task 3 to task 2. “After you read” - Task 3: Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions below. - The task is the same as task 2. It is quite simple and boring. -Change the task: Talk about the role of music in your lives. Unit 13: FILMS AND CINEMA Lesson A: Reading (English 10, p. 132-p.134) Shape of the lesson Activities/Tasks Comments “Before you read” Work with a partner. Answer the questions. - The task is for introducing the topic, the new lesson, not for pre-reading. - Add pre-reading activity such as true/false statements prediction, or predict what the text will say. “While you read” - Task 1: Find the word in the passage that can match with the definition on the right column. Task 2: Work in pairs. Answer these questions. - Task 3: Decide which of the options below is the best title for the passage. - The orders of the tasks are not proper. - Change the orders of the tasks: task 1, task 3, and task 2. “After you read” - Task 4: Work in groups. Talk about the passage, using the cues bellow. - The task is suitable. UNIT 14: THE WORLD CUP Lesson A: Reading (English 10, p. 142-p.144) Shape of the lesson Activities/Tasks Comments “Before you read” Work with a partner. Answer the following questions. - The task can be used for pre-reading. However, it is better to add more questions. “While you read” - Task 1: The words in A appear in the reading passage. Match them with their definitions in B. - Task 2: Scan the text and complete each of the following sentences with a word or a number. - Task 3: Read the text again and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones. - The orders of the tasks are not proper. - Use task 3 as pre-reading activity. - Maybe, add some questions as Task 4: Answer questions. “After you read” - Task 4: Work in groups. Talk about the events mentioned in the passage, using the following figures as cues. - The task is proper. Unit 15: CITIES Lesson A: Reading (English 10, p. 156 – p. 158) Shape of the lesson Activities/Tasks Comments “Before you read” - Work in pairs. Below are some well-known places in New York. Match the names to the pictures. - Answer the questions. - The task is for introducing the topic, the new lesson, not for pre-reading. - Use task 2 for pre-reading activity. “While you read” - Task 1: The words in A appear in the reading text. Match them with their definition in B. - Task 2: Decide the whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). - Task 3: Answer the questions. - The orders are not proper. -Change the orders: Task 2, task 1, and task 3. “After you read” - Task 4: Work in groups. If you could visit New York, which place(s) of interest there would you like to see? Why? - The task is not easy for the student do well because New York is not familiar to the students. - Change the task: Talk about a city in Vietnam that you want to visit. Via analyzing some Reading lessons of the textbook English 10, something wrong was found as following: - The shape of the reading lessons often has no pre-reading activity. - The suggested activities are not very plentiful. - The orders of the tasks are not very proper. - Some tasks are over students’ ability. 4.1.2 Results of questionnaires 4.1.2.1 Questionnaire for students Table 4.1.1 The students’ habit of reading Question 1 Every day Once to twice Never Other ideas CNotes: count / number of responses % percent C % C % C % After class, how often do you read a week? 41 20.8 63 32.0 93 47.2 0 0 The number of the students who read everyday is much less than the others who rarely read. It is the fact that a large amount of the student (79.2%) has no habit in reading. Table 4.1.2.a The students’ interest in reading Question 2 Yes No C % C % Do you like reading? 151 76.6 46 23.4 The answers to the questions reveal that the number of students who like reading is more than those who do not like reading three times. It means the students may still like reading. Table 4.1.2.b The students’ interest in reading Question 3 The content is poor The topic is useful The topic is not interesting Other ideas - The text is good - The topics are new C % C % C % C % When you read, you feel… 29 14.7 37 18.8 46 23.4 105 53.3 More than half of the students support the content and the topics of reading text in the textbook. However, the others (38.1%) do not agree, they maybe want the text to be changed. Table 4.1.2.c The students’ interest in reading Question 4 Difficult Easy Very difficult Very easy C % C % C % C % In your opinion, learning reading is… 91 46.2 21 10.7 28 14.2 57 28.9 Over half of the students feel reading is difficult, and a few of them (39.6%) feel reading is not difficult. This may be the problems of reading classes because the negative feelings can prevent the students from reading. Table 4.1.3.a The students’ preparation vocabulary for reading Question 5 Every reading lesson Sometimes Never Other ideas C % C % C % C % How often do you prepare new words for reading lessons? 49 24.9 52 26.4 96 48.7 0 0 The table shows that 26.4% of the students “sometimes” prepare vocabulary for reading, and 48.7% of them “never” do. It means 75.1% of them do not prepare well and 24.9% of them do well. After all, there is no doubt that the students do not prepare for their reading lessons may be one of the problems in reading. Table 4.1.3.b The students’ preparation vocabulary for reading Question 6 Every day Sometimes Never Other ideas C % C % C % C % How often do you learn new words at home? 84 42.6 87 44.2 26 13,2 0 0 The table also reflects there are less than half of the students (42.6%) learn the vocabulary “everyday”. It means many the students do not learn the vocabulary at home. This problem can make the students lack vocabulary for better reading. Table 4.1.4.a The students’ memory in learning vocabulary Question 7 More than 70% 50% - 70% Less than 50% Nothing C % C % C % C % How many percents of new words you can learn by heart in class? 21 10.7 86 43.6 79 40.1 11 5.6 According to the result, there are only 10.7% of the students learn the vocabulary well in class as soon as the reading class finishes. It is possible to say that most of them are not able to remember the words quickly. Table 4.1.4.b The students’ memory in learning vocabulary Question 8 More than 80% 60% - 80% About 50% Less than 50% Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % You can remember about … of the words, you learn. 12 6,1 7 3.6 86 43.6 92 46.7 0 0 As we have known, the number of the words can be taught is more than 5 and less than 8 words. It is not too much. However, there are only 6.1% of the students are able to remember the words they learn quite well. It means many students are not able to remember well. Via the results of question (7) and question (8), it is possible that the students have no good memory in learning vocabulary. Table 4.1.5 The teachers’ using techniques in teaching vocabulary Question 9 Always Often Sometimes Rarely Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % How often does your teacher elicit the words in reading lessons? 31 15.7 57 28.9 68 34.6 41 20.8 0 0 Whether the teacher uses techniques to elicit the words is very important, because images, actions, and explanations can make impression on the students. They help the students remember the words more easily and better. However, it is the fact that the teachers do not often use techniques for eliciting vocabulary. 54.4% of the students admit their teachers “sometimes” or “rarely” teach new words with techniques. Therefore, it is not doubtful; the teachers do not often use techniques to elicit the words for their students to guess. This can make the students remember the words difficultly. Table 4.1.6.a The students’ skills in reading Question 10 What you have already known about the topic Vocabulary related to the topic Predict what the text will give you Nothing C % C % C % C % Before reading, what do you think of? 41 20.8 96 48.7 46 23.4 24 12.2 To prepare for reading, the students also have to use proper skills. However, the result reflects that the students have no skills for pre-reading. Half of them still think very highly of vocabulary in reading texts and approximately 1/8 of them think nothing about the topic. And 44.2% of the students seem to have skill to prepare for reading. However, frankly speaking, more than half of the students have no skills for preparing reading. This is also obstacle of reading. Table 4.1.6.b The students’ skills in reading Question 11 Read the text carefully and try to know the meaning of all the words to understand the text. Move your eyes quickly through the whole reading. See the titles, the headings, the illustrations and the photos. Other ideas C % C % C % C % If you want to get the main idea, you will 137 69.5 47 23.9 13 6.6 0 0 Question 12 Move your eyes quickly over the reading until you find the specific piece of information that you want. Read the text carefully and try to know the meaning of all the words to understand the text. See the titles, the headlines, the illustration and the photos, and so on. Other ideas C % C % C % C % If you want to get specific information, you will 36 18.3 109 55.3 52 26.4 The students’ answers to the two questions above show that there are not so many students having skill to get the main idea of the reading text, while, 7/10 of them lack the skill. There is no doubt that most of the students have no primary skill for reading – skimming. A large percentage of students do not know how to get the specific information from the reading text. There are fewer than 19% of the students being able to get the scanning skill. Table 4.1.6.c The students’ skills in reading Question 13 The main idea The detailed information Other ideas Have not known C % C % C % Scanning helps you find out…of the text. 37 18.9 78 39.6 82 41.5 Question 14 The main idea The detailed information Other ideas Have not known C % C % C % Skimming helps you find out...of the text. 71 36.1 41 20.8 85 43.1 The two next questions were used to check the problems again. It is not doubtful that most of the students have not known what skimming or scanning is. They do not know when they have to use skimming and when they have to use scanning. There are fewer than 40% of the concerned students know two these primary skills. Table 4.1.7.a The students’ reasons for not being good at reading Question 15 The reading contains many new words You forget some words that you learned You forget the use of some grammatical structure The previous tasks are not useful for you to do the after tasks Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % You cannot do the tasks well when you read because 79 40.1 41 20.8 59 30.0 18 9.1 0 0 The question was designed to seek the reasons why the students cannot do the tasks better. According to the students’ answers, the main reasons are that the students have no enough vocabulary for understanding the reading texts - 60.9% of them revealed, and that the students do not know some grammatical structures – 30.0% of them admitted. In addition to, most of the students do not consider so much about the connection between the tasks - 9.1% of them agreed that the previous tasks do not help them to do the next ones more easily. Table 4.1.7.b Using activities in reading Question 16 Yes No Other ideas C % C % C % Does your teacher use some activities outside the textbook to make difficult tasks easier? 51 25.9 146 74.1 0 0 The teachers also contribute to the students’ success in doing the tasks, because the teachers can make the tasks simpler, use different activities to make the tasks more attractive or new to the students. However, the students’ answers to the question tell us that the teachers may often use the tasks designed in the textbook without redesigning. Table 4.1.8.a The students’ dealing with the tasks/activities Question 17 More than 80 % About 60% - 80 % About 50 % - 60 % Less than 40% Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % While you read, you can do…of the tasks. 22 11.2 34 17.2 62 31.5 79 40.1 0 0 We cannot deny that how well the students do the tasks reflect their abilities in reading. However, the amount of students who can do the tasks well is low. As we can see, many students cannot do the tasks well is more than the students who can do the tasks at acceptable level. In addition, the numbers of students who do the tasks rather well more than the number of them who do the tasks better. It means the students cannot do the tasks, in spite of reading. Table 4.1.8.b The students’ dealing with the tasks/activities Question 18 Yes No Other ideas Sometimes C % C % C % After a Reading class, can you summarize the main idea of the text? 69 35.0 116 58.9 12 6.1 According to the results, there is no doubt that most of the students are not able to understand what the reading text about, they have no skill of restating the text’s content – 65% of the students revealed. Table 4.1.9.a Students’ using reference book in reading Question 19 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % How often do you use reference book to do the tasks in Reading? 76 35.6 91 46.2 18 9.1 12 6.1 0 0 The results also show that more than 1/3 of the students “always” use reference books in reading, and 15.2% of the students “rarely” and “never” use them. It means that the fact the students use reference books is very popular and that the students can do the tasks well is not perfectly true. Table 4.1.9.b Students’ using reference book in reading Question 20 Compare with your answers to know your ability in English To get the correct answer only Other ideas To translate the texts and the correct answers C % C % C % If you use the reference book, you use it to… 47 25.4 126 68.1 12 6.5 As mentioned above, the students use reference books popularly. However, the results reflect that about 74.6% of the students who use reference books just to get the correct answers and translate the reading text into Vietnamese. It means the students do not know how to use reference books effectively. In brief, via analyzing the questionnaire for the students, some common problems were found as follows: - The students have no habit of reading after class. - The students do not well prepare vocabulary for reading. - The students do not remember well the words they learnt. - The students have no enough primary skills for reading to do the tasks well. - The students use reference books in reading. - The teachers do not often use techniques to elicit vocabulary. - The teachers do not redesign the tasks more proper. 4.1.2.2 Questionnaire for teachers Table 4.2.1.a Teachers’ dealing with vocabulary Question 1 Yes No Other ideas C % C % C % Is it easy for you to select vocabulary for pre-teaching vocabulary? 0 0 10 100 0 0 Table 4.2.1.b Teachers’ dealing with vocabulary Question 2 From 6 to 8 words Less than 6 words More Other ideas C % C % C % C % How much vocabulary do you often provide 10 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 The results tell us that the teachers can select the words for pre-teaching vocabulary. Table 4.2.2 Amount of vocabulary for reading Question 3 Enough Not enough Sometimes enough Other ideas Students’ preparation The text’s complexity C % C % C % C % The amount of vocabulary you provide is…for the students to read well. 0 0 4 40 6 60 7 70 It is common that the teachers think very highly of the students’ preparation for vocabulary and the text’s complexity. The number of the words they teach is not still enough for the students. Table 4.2.3 Teachers’ using techniques to elicit vocabulary Question 4 All words Never A little Rarely Other ideas Sometimes / Usually C % C % C % C % C % How often do you elicit the words in reading lessons? 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 100 As we can see, most of the teachers do not use techniques to elicit vocabulary. It can imply that the teachers usually teach the words constantly – the teachers write all the words and the meanings on the words and then the students copy down. This problem really prevents the students from remembering the words. Table 4.2.4 Teachers’ ability in linking the tasks Question 5 Easy Normal Difficult Other ideas Sometimes difficult C % C % C % C % It is … for you to make the stages in reading lessons relate to the others. 0 0 7 70 0 0 3 30 The teachers’ answers to the question reflect that most of the teachers can link the tasks. However, a small percentage of them find it difficult to do the job. It means linking the tasks is not too difficult for the teachers to perform. Table 4.2.5.a Teachers’ ability in making reading interesting Question 6 Easy Normal Difficult Other ideas It is up to the topic C % C % C % C % It is … for you to make reading lessons interesting. 0 0 10 100 0 0 7 70 According to the results of the question, it is not doubtful that making reading interesting is not both easy and difficult to the teachers. It is up to the topic of the reading text given to the students. Therefore, redesigning the text to make reading more interesting is an essential job. Table 4.2.5.b Teachers’ ability in making reading interesting Question 7 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas Not enough time C % C % C % C % C % How often do you give information out of the texts for the students? 2 20 4 40 1 10 3 30 8 80 Question 8 Yes No Other ideas Usually use the tasks in the textbook C % C % C % Do you use different reading activities in each stage of reading lessons? 10 100 0 0 3 30 Table 4.2.6 Teachers’ ability in redesigning the tasks Question 9 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas - The tasks are designed to get the aims of the lesson. - It is compulsory. C % C % C % C % C % How often do you remove some tasks in reading lessons? 0 0 2 20 2 20 6 60 0 0 Question 10 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas Not enough time C % C % C % C % C % How often do you add some tasks in reading lessons? 0 0 2 20 4 40 4 40 8 80 Question 11 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas To help students practice skills C % C % C % C % C % How often do you change difficult tasks in reading lessons to make them easier for the students? 1 10 3 30 6 60 0 0 7 70 Question 12 Always Sometimes Rarely Never Other ideas C % C % C % C % C % How often do you change some tasks’ orders in reading lessons? 8 80 2 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 According to the results of four questions above (see the table 4.2.6), it is the fact that firstly the teachers may not often add and remove the tasks; second, they also do not often make difficult tasks less difficult to the students; finally, they often change the tasks’ orders. Their reasons for the jobs may be that the textbooks are designed as model for the teachers and the students to follow, or a 45-minute lesson is not enough to do other tasks; however, removing the tasks do not seem to be supported. Therefore, the thing they often do is reorder the tasks. Table 4.2.7 Teachers’ integrating skills in reading classes Question 13 Yes No Other ideas - Not so many - Sometimes C % C % C % Do you integrate other skills in reading classes? 10 100 0 0 3 30 The results reflect that most of the teachers integrate reading skill with the other skills in reading classes. They also reveal that the job is not used often. However, as we know, it is beneficial to integrate receptive skills – reading and listening and productive skills – speaking and writing because the students must be allowed to show off what they learn. The job - integrating is used during the lessons and most in post- stage of the lessons. Therefore, it can help teachers check how well the students in reading and establish the report between students and teachers. Reading is usually integrated with speaking because it is naturally that teachers often let the students talk as much as possible; and because via speaking, students can show what they obtain after reading quickly and speaking can make the class more exciting. Table 4.2.8 Reasons for students problems in reading classes Question 14 Answers According to your experiences, why are not the students very good at reading? - Students are used to reading word by word. - They translate the text into Vietnamese in their mind and they cannot understand the text. Therefore, there is no time for doing the tasks. Table 4.2.9 Teachers’ difficulties in teaching reading Question 15 Answers What are your difficulties in teaching reading? - The students are weak in reading comprehension. - They have not enough skills for reading comprehension. - The students do not prepare for the lesson. Table 4.2.10 Teachers’ solutions to common problems in reading classes Question 16 Answers What can you do to solve the problems in reading classes? - Check students ‘ preparation to enable it become their habits - Remove or simply some tasks - Redesign the tasks Table 4.2.11 Teachers’ solutions to improving students’ reading skill Question 17 Answers What can you do to improve your students’ English reading skill? - Ask the students to use English-English dictionary. - Ask the students not to read loud and translate everything. - Elicit the words for the students to guess. - Make the reading lessons more interesting. In general, through teachers’ answers to the questions and the ideas to the problems, some common problems were found from teachers as following: - The teachers may not very often elicit the words. - The teachers may not often redesign the tasks. - The teachers may not use activities outside the textbook for reading. - The teachers may find it not easy to make reading more interesting. - The students may not prepare well for reading. - The students have no skills for reading - The students are used to translating every word from English into Vietnamese. 4.1.3 Results of observation Observation was employed during the study to check the results of textbook analysis and questionnaires analysis. In observation, some aspects was taken note such as whether the teachers solve the problems in the textbook, whether the teachers use techniques to elicit the words, etc. TEACHER OBSERVATION SHEET Teacher’s name: Duong Duy Linh Observer: Chau Lan Phuong School : Thanh Binh-1 High School Date: February 27th, 2009 Grade : 10cbA1 Type of lesson: Reading Time Content/ activities Comments 5’ 9’ 15’ 15’ 1’ Unit 11: NATIONAL PARKS 1. Warm-up: Game: Brainstorming The game is not interesting 2. Pre-reading 2.1 Pre-teach vocabulary (all the words in task 1, p.113) : Matching - Checking vocabulary (Rob out & Remember) - The students could guess the words quite quickly. -The activity helped the teacher save time. - The lesson lacked pre-reading activity. 3. While reading - Task 2: Answer the following questions (p. 114) -Game: Lucky flowers (9 flowers, including 3 lucky flowers) - The teacher added 3 questions: 1. How many national parks does Vietnam have? 2. Why does Nairobi National Park make the visitors surprised? 3. Why is Everglades National Parks special? - The activity was exciting. However, most of the students could not find out the answers quickly. - Some of the students write the answers in the textbooks before. - The teacher should not ask the students to write down the answers on the board. - The teacher should add more activities. 4. Post-reading Discuss in groups. (p. 114) - The teacher gave some guiding questions: 1. What do you want to know? 2. What can you learn from the park? -The task was done rather well. 5. Homework - Learn by heart vocabulary. - Prepare the next lesson. -Write what you talk in notebooks. - The task was proper. * Good points: - The teacher used matching activity to help the students guess the words easily. - The teacher used game to make the lesson more interesting. - The teacher helped the students to talk easily by giving some guiding questions. * Can improve: - The teacher should add pre-reading activity such as True/False statements prediction or predict what the text will mention. - The teacher should spend time for activities, not for writing on the board. It should for homework. - The teacher should use more pictures of these national parks and the others and share more information about the topic with the students, TEACHER OBSERVATION SHEET Teacher’s name: Vo Thi Linh Observer: Chau Lan Phuong School : Thanh Binh-1 High School Date: March 4th, 2009 Grade : 10A2 Type of lesson: Reading Time Content/ activities Comments 5’ 10’ 4’ 5’ 10’ 10’ 1’ Unit 12: MUSIC 1. Warm-up: Game: Matching singers’ pictures and the songs - The game is interesting. 2. Pre-reading 2.1 Pre-teach vocabulary - emotion = felling - convey = express -integral = very important -funeral (picture) -mournful (situation – the funeral) -solemn (situation) -lull (picture) Checking vocabulary (Task 1, p. 125) 2.2 True/False statements prediction - The techniques were used to elicit the words. However, some techniques were repeated. - Teacher added pre-reading activity: True/False? 1. Music can make humans different from the other animals. 2. We cannot use music to communicate with the others. 3. Music is a billion-dollar industry. 4. We can live without music. - The task was easy for the students to do. - The teacher robed out “before you read” (p.124), but the lesson was still easy for the students. 3. While reading 3.1 Checking pre-reading activity 3.2 Task 2 (p. 126): Answer the questions. -Game: Lucky flowers (8 flowers, including 2 lucky flowers) - The task was done smoothly. - The teacher added the first question of task 3 to task 2. - The activity was quickly done orally. - The activity was exciting and successful. - Some students used references to do the task or write the answers in books before. 4. Post-reading - Work in pairs. Ask and answer the question. (p. 126) - The task was proper. 5. Homework - Learn by heart vocabulary. - Prepare the next lesson. -Write what you talk in notebooks. - The task was proper. * Good points: - The teacher used different techniques to elicit vocabulary. - The teacher used game to make the lesson more interesting - The teacher added pre-reading activity. - Teacher redesigned the tasks more proper. * Can improve: - The teacher let the students scan the text and find out the meanings of the words in task 1. Moreover, the teacher should choose other words to teach. - The teacher can share her knowledge or experiences in the topic music with the students. In brief, the teachers: - Sometimes redesign the tasks and sometimes do not. - Use task practicing guessing the meaning of the words to teach vocabulary. - Add and remove some tasks. Through the results of all data collection instruments, some problems arise. What the teachers and the students revealed in the questionnaires is partly different from what the researcher observed. In observed lessons, the activities and the techniques re used more. 4.2 Discussions Based on the results of data analyzing of the previous section, this section focuses on the discussions relating to the two targeted research questions. 4.2.1 Research question (1) “What are the problems of improving Reading skills?” Thanks to various data collection instruments – observation, questionnaires, and material analyzing, the answer to the research question (1) was found as following: - From the textbook: (1) The shape of the reading lessons often has no pre-reading activity. (2) The suggested activities are not very plentiful. (3) The orders of the tasks are not very proper. (4) Some tasks are over students’ ability. - From the teachers: (1) The teachers do not very often elicit the words. (2) The teachers do not often redesign the tasks. (3) The teachers find it not easy to make reading more interesting. (4) The students do not prepare well for reading. (5) The students are used to translating every word from English into Vietnamese. - From the students: (1) The students have no habit of reading after class. (2) The students do not well prepare vocabulary for reading. (3) The students do not remember well the words they learnt. (4) The students find it difficult in reading – they cannot do all tasks very well. (5) The students have no enough primary skills for reading. (6) The students use reference books in reading commonly. All these problems affect the progress of both teaching and learning reading. Therefore, to improve students’ reading, all these problems must be done with accurate solutions. 4.2.2 Research question (2) “What are the solutions for improving Reading skills?” Based on the problems found, some solutions were found out. (See chapter five) CHAPTER FIVE  CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS The chapter provides the conclusion of the study. It consists of two sections as following: Conclusion Recommendations for improving students’ reading skill Some limitations of the study 5.1 Conclusions EFL reading learning and teaching are challenges for both students and teachers. And it is quite a demanding job for teachers to better students’ reading skill. It is concerned by many Vietnamese teachers of English and in particular the present researcher – a student of pedagogical field. It is this profound concern that motivated the researcher to conduct the study. The study took place in Thanh Binh-1 High School to find out grade 10 students’ common problems in reading. It was carried out during 6 weeks with the help of about 200 students and 10 teachers of English. The data was collected via two questionnaires, researcher’s observation, and material analyzing. The following are the main findings of the study. First, the problems come from the teachers, the students and the material. Second, these problems have not been solved perfectly. 5.2 Recommendations Based on the findings – the problems in reading classes, some recommendations are suggested for the textbook, the teachers, and the students. 5.2.1 For the textbook (1) To solve the first problem - The shape of the reading lessons often has no pre-reading activity - the textbook should be redesigned. Pre-reading activities should be added, the tasks’ orders should be rearranged, and the aims of the tasks should be though of more to make them more practical. (2) To solve the second problem - the suggested activities are not very plentiful – the textbook still should be redesigned. In the textbook, after the reading text is a task for vocabulary such as matching, scanning, and guessing. These tasks are useful for learning vocabulary; however, it is very constant. In practice, many teachers use all words in these tasks for pre-teaching vocabulary and use the tasks to check vocabulary. The job really save time for the teachers to do the other tasks and carried out successfully. However, the job should be applied in all reading lessons because the teachers should give the students opportunities to practicing guessing and scanning skill. (3) To solve the third problem - the orders of the tasks are not proper - the tasks should be reordered. The principle for doing the tasks is the tasks are from less difficult to difficult and controlled to less controlled, however, some tasks in the textbook are not. Some difficult tasks are designed to be done before the orders that are less difficult. This job can make the students do the tasks less successfully. Therefore, the textbook should be redesigned or the teachers should do the job. (4) To solve the fourth problem - some tasks are over students’ ability - the textbook also should be designed. The tasks should be designed based on students real abilities, however, it seems to be difficult to make the tasks suitable with all students’ level. Therefore, this job seems to be for teachers because via teaching, the teachers know the students’ ability. In general, the common solutions for the textbook’s problems is redesigned the tasks at some aspects. Moreover, at the present, this job seems to be the teachers’ job. 5.2.2 For teachers (1) To solve the first problem - the teachers do not very often elicit the words. It is simply teachers should use techniques to elicit the words when teaching vocabulary. We cannot deny the role of vocabulary in reading – students have to get a certain amount of vocabulary to understand the reading texts and lack of vocabulary really prevent students from better reading. Via pictures, mimes, words, examples, and examples, the students can remember the words better. Alternatively, in warm-up, use the games relating to vocabulary such as Jumble words, Cross words, Kim’s game, Slap the board, What and where, and Brainstorming. (2) The teachers do not often redesign the tasks. As mentioned above, redesigning the textbook and connecting them logically, especially the tasks orders and the requirements is teachers’ jobs. Teachers can desgn the tasks more difficult or less difficult to make them be at students’ level. This job help the students do the tasks better and the reading lessons’ aims are achieved. (3) The teachers find it not easy to make reading more interesting. To solve the problem, teachers should update information about the topic and share it with students. The job can make reading more interesting and new or teachers can use games in reading lessons that make students eager in doing the tasks. (4) It is a principle that when teaching reading text, it is beneficial to state a purpose for reading a text. Tell students why they are reading the text. Is it to skim for the main idea? Is it to scan for specific information? The purpose of a reading task should be stated to the students before they read. The principle can help students do the tasks easily, because they are told the right ways to do the tasks. (5) Do not ask the students to write their answers to comprehensions questions on the board. It should be for homework. The teachers should give opportunities for the students to practice speaking English. 5.2.3 For students (1) The students have no habit of reading after class. Give the students a text relating to the topic. At home, ask them to do some tasks to improve their reading skills. Moreover, this can help the students establish their habit of reading. (2) The students do not prepare well for reading. The teachers should ask students’ preparation for reading. For instance, teachers ask students to prepare new words for reading. To ensure students have to do the task, teachers can ask them use a notebook for taking note and preparing what the teachers ask. In each lesson, the students can check some students’ works. Teachers should do the job often to make it become students’ habit. (3) The students do not remember well the words they learnt. The teacher should teach vocabulary actively. When teaching reading, the first thing the teacher should do is to make some decisions about which words the students should actively learn, which words they should guess from context and which words they should ignore. What to do with the new words depends on two things: how essential the word is (is it the key word?) for understanding the passage and how difficult the word is. If the new word is essential for understanding the passage and at the students’ level, it should be taught actively. If the word is essential for understanding the passage but it is above the students’ level, it should be taught passively: the teacher should explain or translate it as quickly as possible. If the word is not essential for understanding the passage but not too difficult, the students should guess its meaning from context. If the word is both non-essential and difficult, the students should ignore it. If the word is at the students’ level above the students’ level Essential for understanding the text Pre-teach actively Pre-teach passively (translate quickly) Not essential for understanding the text Students guess from the text Ignore it To succeed in elicit the words, some ways are suggested. - Provide a context for words. There are different kinds of contexts such as grammatical or semantic. Have a look at the below examples. No context: Orangutan Here, we can see that by looking at the word, it is very difficult to know the meaning of this word. Because there are no context clues to help us, and guessing the meaning of it is also difficult, too. Grammatical context: The orangutan walked over its mate. From this context, we can infer several features of a word. First, it is a noun, following the determiner “the” and preceding the verb “walked”. Second, we can see that it is capable of moving because it “walked”. In addition, we can guess it is an animal because it has “a mate”. Those prove that we know more abut the word from context given. According to Forseth, R et all (1998) ,using and presenting words in context helps these students to guess the meaning of the words and to remember them better. - Teach the students skills for guessing new words. The meanings of words can be inferred from different types of contexts, and from looking at the affixes of the words. So, when reading or present vocabulary, the teacher should mention some extra knowledge. - Avoid translation as much as possible. As the result abstained above, the students are not very confident in speaking English. Therefore, the teachers use too much mother tongue to present the vocabulary. If the students are always having words translated, they will communicate in their own language not in English. Also, according to Mr. Ron Forseth and Carol Forseth, Mr. Ta Tien Hung, and Mr. Nguyen Van Do, the students do not usually remember the vocabulary that has been translated. Only use translation as the last resort. Use it to present the vocabulary if the words are essential for understanding the text but they are too difficult to be elicited, and they are above the students’ level. - Definition We can explain a word by using a different word, words, or a definition. Have a look at the following examples. Examples: A boy is a male child. A car is a vehicle that carries people. A jacket is also called coat. - Drawing On the black board, we can draw pictures or words that will quickly convey the meaning. Body parts, for instance, such as nose, leg, eyes, and so on, a map of the world or parts of the world, animal such as dog, cat, bird, horse, and the like. Certain actions such as touching, hitting, and kissing, and prepositions of location such as under, beside, in, on, and above are drawn easily, as well. - Realia or objects Not only are they for seeing, touching, holding or passing around, but they are also for remembering better. - Flash Cards On cards, the teacher can have a picture on one side and the word on the other. - Mime Especially for actions, we can act out the word to demonstrate its meaning. Examples: Home activities: sleeping, waking up, eating, and showering. School activities: reading, listening, and writing. Sports: volleyball, basketball, tennis, and hockey. However, some actions are very difficult to be demonstrated such as - Pictures Using photos, prints, or paintings, the teacher can communicate many types of words. Examples: Photos from magazines Personal photos Prints or pictures of Vietnam culture As my observation when I taught a reading class, the students are very excited with pictures of the new words. They have been easy to guess the meaning of the words. They really make the students feel interested in learning vocabulary. - Synonym/Antonym It is very easier to teach the adjectives. If the students do not know the new words, but they know the opposite, the teachers can give the antonym. And against. - Semantic Field To show words in relation to other words, the teacher can present words in semantic field. Examples: School – classroom, blackboard, teacher, student, study, books. Animal – dog, cat, horse, cow, sheep, tiger, lion. - Guessing from context or Stems and Affixes It is the fact that students are not be able to guess the meaning of words from context, although guessing meaning is an important skill in reading. Therefore, the teacher, firstly, must encourage the students to guess by give them some clues in the sentence that contains the word or perform a word. Then, gradually, get students have the skill. The meaning of words can be guessed by reading the whole sentence or understood through affixes. Examples: deny ability not Undeniable: un deni able write self life Autobiography: auto bio grapy look at again Review: re view - Translation It will save much time, the teacher or a student may give a similar word in the students’ first language. However, this way is not as good as the others. These techniques have been used to make vocabulary impress to the students and to help the students memorize the meaning of the words more easily and better. As the problems stated above that the students have no good memorizing ability of vocabulary and the teachers use techniques to elicit the words not very often. Therefore, first, the teachers should apply the techniques more often. To establish memorizing ability, in my opinion, the teachers should use more activities relate to vocabulary. In Warmer activity, for instance, the teachers can use Jumble words, Matching, Cross words, Kim’s game, Slap the board, What and where, Brainstorming, etc. Beside teaching vocabulary, in my opinion, the teachers should teach the especial structures or idioms when reading. The teacher can teach passively by giving its use if the structure will be taught in the lesson later and essential for understanding the text. Traditionally, the teachers have only taught vocabulary in pre-reading stage. I think it is not very good for my weak students to read well. In some phrases or idioms, the students may understand all words, but they still do not know the meaning. For example, the reading of Unit 14: Recreation contains the idiom “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. The students certainly do not its meaning that “It is not healthy to spend all your time working”. I have seen that my students have been very nervous when seeing the idioms. However, it is better to let the students guess the meaning of the idioms, as well as, structures, then teach them quickly. Otherwise, not much time should be spent on running through the idioms. (4) The students have no enough primary skills for reading. Tell the students the use of primary reading skills such as skimming, scanning, predicting, guessing, inferring, and tell them how to use the skills. Day by day, tell the students which skill they can use to do the tasks or ask them how they do the tasks. Gradually, the skills will be established. (5) Students always read out and translate all words into Vietnamese. Have students read silently without whispering the words or moving their lips. This will help them read more quickly and focus on the more important words. Reading silently helps them focus on meaning rather than the letters and the sounds. (6) The students use reference books in reading. When discussing the answers to comprehension questions, be sure to refer back to the text often. This will help the students practice finding the answers by themselves. If the teacher always says the answers, the students may get into the habit of ignoring what they are reading. Ask them where in the text the answer is. 5.3 Limitations of the study The findings of the study are quantitatively based, thus it is difficult to control all variables affecting the results of the study. Research on opinions is highly subjective. Through the researcher made her best to provide an accurate analysis, some things occurred during the study, which was beyond the researcher’s control. (1) The time of the study was not long enough – just 6 weeks. During the time, there were too many things having to be done. The researcher had to teach, observe, and analyze data, thus there was not enough time to make the study perfect. (2) The study could applied 5 classes of grade 10 in Thanh Binh-1 High School, so the number of the concerned students may be quite small. (3) The results of observation may be not perfectly correct because the teachers had known the schedule and prepared. (4) The researcher has no experiences in research as well as in designing questionnaire, and analysis. Therefore, the methodology of the study, the questionnaires, analysis, and the content of the study still contains some unexpected mistakes. Frankly speaking, the thesis makes real contributions in teaching and learning English. REFERENCES - Le Hong Phuong Thao, (2008). Portfolio in the Efl Writing Course, Hanoi, Vietnam, (p.38-39). - Ngo Ai Tuong, (2001). Methodology course (2) – Teaching Language Components & Skills. Dong Thap, (p.37 –p. 41). - Hoang Van Van, (2006). English 10 textbook. Education Press. Vietnam, (p.112-114), (p. 124-126), (132-134), (p. 1142-144), (p.156-158). - Alderson, J.C. (2003). Assessing Reading. 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