HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY ====== TRUONG QUOC DAT USING GRADED READERS TO IMPROVE GRADE 11th STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY AT NGUYEN GIA THIEU HIGH SCHOOL (SUBMITED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF PEDAGOGY IN ENGLISH) SUPERVISOR: DANG NGOC NAM, M.A HA NOI, 2016 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my greatest gratitude to my supervisor, Mr Dang Ngoc Nam, M.A., for his invaluable advice, instruction and comments while I was doing this thesis Also, I would like to express my particular thanks to all the lecturers of Foreign Languages Faculty whose lectures have enriched my academic knowledge of English in the past Especially, I would like to show my sincere thanks to Mrs Phung Thuy Oanh who gave me the opportunity and autonomy to carry out the research at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school Besides, I am thankful to my lovely students in class 11A4 for their enthusiastic participation as well as precious effort in the tests, and questionnaires My special thanks are expressed to my aunt, Mrs Pham Hong Thuy, Ph.D., lecturer at Hanoi University for her ideas, comments and instructions, as well as encouragement and constant support Last but not least, I owe a debt of gratitude to my family and my friends for their support, encouragement and love, which were extremely important for the completion of this thesis i ABSTRACT Vocabulary is an important key in teaching and learning language In fact, there are many ways of teaching vocabulary such as semantic mapping, language games, music and so on However, many EFL teachers are too dependent on the translation method when teaching vocabulary, which is boring and somehow ineffective Therefore, the main goal of this research is to improve vocabulary learning and attitudes towards reading among the eleventh graders of class 11A4 at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school An action research with thirty-eight students in class 11A4 was carried out in about three months The data was collected using questionnaires and tests (pre-test and post-test) The study shows that graded readers is of great benefits for students‟ vocabulary learning It not only helps students learn the vocabulary incidentally but also better their attitudes towards reading ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: USING GRADED READERS TO IMPROVE GRADE 11th STUDENTS’ VOCABULARY AT NGUYEN GIA THIEU HIGH SCHOOL (Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English) I certify that no part of the above report has been copied from any other person‟s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under instructions of my supervisor Date submitted: May 2016 Student Supervisor Truong Quoc Dat Dang Ngoc Nam iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE .1 II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES IV RESEARCH SCOPE .2 V RESEARCH METHODS VI RESEARCH TASKS VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY .2 VIII DESIGN OF THE STUDY PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I.1 LITERATURE REVIEW I.2 AN OVERVIEW OF READING I.2.1 Reading I.2.1.1 The Role of Reading I.2.1.2 Definition of Extensive Reading I.2.1.3 Extensive Reading versus Intensive Reading I.2.2 Vocabulary .8 I.2.2.1 The Importance of Vocabulary I.2.2.2 The Role of Vocabulary in Second and Foreign Language Learning and Reading I.2.2.3 Vocabulary Acquisition I.2.3 Graded Readers 10 iv I.2.4 Previous Research 11 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY II.1 Action Research .14 II.1.1 Rationale for the Research Design 14 II.1.2 Procedure of Action Research 14 II.2 Subjects 16 II.3 The Graded Readers Project 16 II.4 Data Collection Instruments 18 II.4.1 Vocabulary Test 18 II.4.2 Survey Questionnaire 18 II.5 Data Analysis 19 II.5.1 The Mean Score Method of Descriptive Statistic .19 II.5.2 T-tests 20 CHAPTER THREE THE RESULTS III.1 Results 22 III.1.1 The Tests 22 III.1.2 The Pre-Test and the Post-Test 23 III.1.3 The Questionnaire 25 III.2 Recommendations 26 PART THREE CONCLUSION I Conclusion 27 II Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 27 v REFERENCES 29 APPENDIX A Attitude Questionnaire 32 APPENDIX B Vocabulary Test 33 APPENDIX C Reading Test 38 APPENDIX D The Reading Worksheet 40 vi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AR Action Research EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language ER Extensive Reading SPSS Statistical Package for the Social Sciences M Mean P Probability value SD Standard deviation TOEIC Test of English for International Communication VKS Vocabulary Knowledge Scale GRs Graded Readers vii PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE The English language has been making a considerable contribution to the increasing development of various fields in modern life such as economy, politics, culture, science, education and international relations As a result, English learning and teaching are essential needs in many parts of the world English has become a compulsory subject not only in many countries in the world but also in Vietnam Therefore, to meet the demands for the development and integration of Vietnam into the greater English-speaking world, over the last two decades, English language teaching and learning have been carried out at every educational level Learning a language is a lifelong process Whenever a language is learnt or acquired, one is faced with the problem of learning vocabulary It cannot be denied that vocabulary plays an important role in the language learning process and in language use To mention the important role of vocabulary in language acquisition, Wilkins (1972) has also claimed that “without grammar, very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed” In other words, students need to enlarge their vocabulary if they want to enhance the overall English proficiency However, for students at high schools in Vietnam, eleventh graders have to learn three or four periods per week, each period lasts 45 minutes In each reading lesson, students have a chance to read two reading texts of about 180 words It means that they only read about 360 words in one to two weeks Thus, it is not enough time for the eleventh graders at high schools to develop reading skills and vocabulary knowledge In addition, the vocabulary in the school English text book is limited As a result, the students often complained that they could not understand and answer the reading comprehension questions or reading comprehension exercises Furthermore, students often learn new words passively, they usually write down new words in their notebooks Through my observation, I have found out that the students often learn new words by writing each English word with its Vietnamese meaning without other kinds of practice Then they leave it there with little revision or without revision Hence, they can quickly forget the words that they learned From the above analysis, it can be seen that students get difficulty in learning the English due to the lack of vocabulary All the reasons mentioned above motivated me to conduct the study „Graded readers to improve grade 11th students‟ vocabulary at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school‟ II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION Through using action research, some questions are raised:  To what extent can graded readers improve the students‟ vocabulary learning?  What are the students‟ attitudes towards graded readers in improving vocabulary? III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The research focus on thirty-eight students at 11A4 class in Nguyen Gia Thieu high school The study aims to improve vocabulary and change their attitudes towards reading IV RESEARCH SCOPE This study‟s scope is limited to students at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school There are thirty-eight eleventh grade students taking part in this study V RESEARCH METHODS To obtain the results of this study, the following instruments are applied: • Vocabulary test was conducted to evaluate the students‟ vocabulary meaning learning through the given pre-test and post-test • The attitude questionnaire was designed to measure two aspects of reading-affect (feeling) and cognition-affect (thinking) VI RESEARCH TASKS The study involves completing the following tasks:  Giving some persuasive reasons for choosing graded readers as the tool for vocabulary acquisition improvement  Giving an overview of the definition of ER and graded readers, the benefits of ER to English vocabulary learning or acquisition  Testing the effects of graded readers on vocabulary acquisition and readers‟ attitudes  Discussing and analyzing effects of graded readers as identified through the above mentioned action research method VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY After the research, it is hoped that the results will be helpful:  To contribute additional evidences that graded readers can well improve students‟ vocabulary knowledge generally did not feel comfortable but anxious when reading However, in the postquestionnaire, the mean score of the Comfort Value increased by 0.5 while that of the Anxiety Value decreased by 1.3 It can be inferred that reading graded readers increased the students‟ feelings of comfort and reduced anxiety towards reading in English That finding also parallels with Yamashita‟s results that reading extensively changed readers‟ feelings towards reading Regarding the cognitive components, reading graded readers had a positive effect on all the three test values The mean score of Intellectual value, Practical value and Linguistic value all rose and had a positive score (>3) in the post-questionnaire Notably, the mean score for Intellectual Value increased dramatically from 2.3 to 3.2 (by 0.9) Obviously, reading extensively changed much of the students‟ thinking of reading in English, especially had a very good impact on the intellectual benefits and made them realise more about the values that extensive reading provides The results of the questionnaire proved that reading graded readers has such a positive effect on the students‟ attitudes towards reading in all five investigated categories Dornyei (2000) states that attitude is one of the critical factors determining the success in a learning process Therefore, this finding supports the findings on the post-test results This leads to the conclusion that having the students read the graded readers outside the classroom might be a good way in English vocabulary teaching at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school III.2 Recommendations After completing this project, the researcher would like to make some recommendations for implementing extensive reading in schools As GRs are widely available on the internet, and can be accessed for free and printed for only the cost of the ink and paper, there should be a substantial amount of GRs provided for students at the high school level Teachers should introduce extensive reading to their high school classes and monitor student progress through discussions with students, written or oral summaries from students Besides, teachers should try to create a relaxing atmosphere with plenty of color when students are reading extensively Lastly, it is important that teachers provide students with some websites which are targeted toward language learners where students can access GRs so that they can easily find suitable materials to read outside of the classroom 26 PART THREE CONCLUSION I Conclusion The results showed significantly improvement in some investigated aspects and helped the researcher address the questions of the research First, incidental vocabulary acquisition occurred through reading graded readers outside the classroom, which led to the significant increase in the students‟ vocabulary knowledge It can be concluded that graded readers helped broaden the students‟ vocabulary knowledge and improve their vocabulary learning This is also the answer to the first research question Besides, vocabulary was acquired and retained thanks to reading graded readers, regardless of the word classes The students acquired verbs preferentially over the other two word classes However, word retention decreased, especially when students stopped reading for a period of time Next, the results showed that reading graded readers had such a positive effect on the students‟ attitudes towards reading, which is the answer to the second research questions These findings proved that the Graded Readers project was advantageous to English vocabulary teaching and learning among eleventh graders at Nguyen Gia Thieu high school From the major findings, it can be realised that reading graded readers benefits students‟ vocabulary and attitude towards reading Graded readers are such as effective kind of materials to enhance students‟ vocabulary By reading graded readers, students can learn new words incidentally and develop a positive attitude towards reading in English Therefore, reading graded readers is one of the solutions to the problem of vocabulary shortage In short, reading graded readers not only helps broaden students‟ vocabulary knowledge but also improves their attitudes towards reading in English II Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies In spite of the significant findings that validated the acceptance of the hypothesis of the effect of reading graded readers on students‟ vocabulary acquisition, it should be admitted that the study still has some unavoidable limitations The results of the Graded Readers project may also lead to a great deal of suggestions for other studies on this issue First, it is suggested that graded readers is a good way to tackle the problems of vocabulary shortage and negative attitudes towards reading Further studies may look at other benefits of this kind of material Other researchers can also compare the effectiveness of graded readers with other materials to see the differences between them It is also recommended that extensive reading should be one of the programs at school because of the effectiveness it brings to language learning 27 One of the limitations of the study may be due to time constraint This project, which took place from Feb 23th to Apr 13th, could not last longer because the students had to focus on their examinations If the project lasted longer, there would be more obvious benefits The second limitation of the study is that due to financial limit, it was impossible to build a library with various kinds of books for the students to choose freely in such condition of this research project That is a real shortcoming because one of the key principles of a good ER project by Day & Bamford (2002) requires a variety of reading material on a wide range of topics Although, the researcher of this study elicited the students‟ general ideas about the materials they want to read, it would be much better if a library had been built Therefore, it is suggested that further research on this subject should try to build a library for students so that they can have more options to choose what they want to read The third limitation is attributed to the size of the study As presented in Chapter 3, the study involved only one group of 38 participants in total Although their scores that were used for analysis proved to be normally distributed, this narrow range of students prevented the researcher, to some extent, from getting full idea of the effect of reading graded readers at varying levels of proficiency Therefore, we not know yet whether the same ER project could solve the same problem with different subjects or not It is suggested that further studies on the same issue the research on a larger subjects so that the results will be more reliable Finally, although the students in this study were asked not to translate the words using the dictionary when reading, it was hard to be sure that they did not use it since all of the reading was done at home It would be better if other future studies would have time for reading in class to develop food reading habits such as reading without using the dictionaries 28 REFERENCES Bamford, J (1984) Extensive Reading by Means of Graded Readers Reading in a Foreign Language, 2(2), 218-260 Cho, K.-S (2005) Light Reading for Intermediate ESL Students: Adult ESL students react enthusiastically to “teen romances” The International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 1(3), 113-115 Constantino, R., Lee, S.-Y, Cho, K.-S., & Krashen, S (1997) Free Voluntary Reading as a Predictor of TOEFL Scores Applied Language Learning, 8(1), 111-118 Day, R R., & Bamford, J (1998) Extensive reading in the second language classroom Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Day, R.R., & Bamford, J (2002) Top Ten Principles for Teaching Extensive Reading Reading in a Foreign Language, 14(2), 136-141 Dornyei, Z (2000) Motivational Strategies in the Language Classroom The Modern Language Journal, 78(3), 273-284 Ellis, R (1997) Second language Acquisition Oxford: Oxford University Press Gradman, H L., & Hanania, E (1991) Language learning background factors and ESL proficiency The Modern Language Journal, 75(1), 39-51 Guo, S.-C (2012) Using Authentic Materials for Extensive Reading to Promote English Proficiency English Language Teaching, 5(8), 195-196 Hill, D.R (1997) Survey review: Graded readers ELT Journal, 51(1), 57-58 dol:10.1093/elt/51.1.57 Hill, D.R., & Thomas, H.R (1988) Survey review: Graded readers ELT Journal, 42, 44-52, 124-136 Hirsch, E (2003) Reading comprehension requires knowledge of words and the world American Educator, 27(1), 10-13 Horst, M (2005) Learning L2 vocabulary through extensive reading: A measurementstudy Canadian modern language review, 61(3), 355-382 Hung S S., (2011) Extensive Reading for Undergraduate EFL Learner: Multimodal Text Vs Linear Text Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy thesis: Washington State University Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R (1998) The Action Research Planner Geelong, Victoria: Deakin University Press Krashen, S (2005) Free voluntary reading: New research, applications, and controversies SEAMEO RELC, 46(1) 29 Kweon, S.-O., & Kim, H.-R (2008) Beyond Raw Frequency: Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition in Extensive Reading Reading in a Foreign Language, 20(2), 191-215 Laufer, B (1988) The development of passive and active vocabulary in a second language: same or different? Applied Linguistics, 12, 255-271 Lee, Krashen, S D., & Gribbons, B (1996) The effect of reading on the acquisition of English relative clauses ITL Institut voor Togepaste Linguistik (113-14), 263-273 Lee, S Y (2001) What makes it so difficult to write Taipei, Taiwan: Crane Publishing Company McBride, R., & Schostak, J (1991) Action Research Retrieved on January, 2014 from the World Wide Web: http://www.enquiryleanring.net/ELU/Issues/Research/Res1Ch4.html Nation, I S P (1990) Teaching and learning vocabulary New York: Newbury House Nation, I.S.P., & Ming-Tzu, K.W (1999) Graded readers and vocabulary Reading in a Foreign Language, 12(2), 355-380 Nunan, D (1992) Research methods in language learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Nuttall, C (1982) Teaching reading skills in a foreign language Oxford: Heinemann Plass, J L., & Chun (1996) Multimedia learning in second language acquisition The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning, 467-488 Richard, J C & Schimidt, R (Eds) (2002) Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics (3rd ed.) London: Longman Richard, J.C & Schimidt, R (Eds) (2002) Longman dictionary of language teaching and applied linguistics (3rd ed.) London: Longman Richards, J C., & Renandya, W A (2002) Methodology in language teaching: An anthology of current practice: Cambridge University Press River, W M (1987) Foreign language skills Chicago: University of Chicago Press Simensen, A.M (1987) Adapted readers: How are they adapted? Reading in a Foreign Language, 4, 41-57 Stokes, J., Krashen, S., & Kartchner, J (1998) Factors in the acquisition of the present subjunctive in Spanish: The role of reading and study ITL Institut voor Togepaste Linguistik (121-22), 19-25 Susser, B., & Robb, T N (1990) EFL extensive reading instruction: Research and procedure Jalt Journal, 12(2), 161-185 Wallace, M J (1998) Action research for language teachers Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 30 Waring, R (2001) Guide to the Why and How of using graded readers Tokyo: The Oxford University Press Wilkins, D.A (1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching London: Edward Arnold Wodinsky, M & Nation, P (1988) Learning from graded readers Reading in a Foreign Language, 5(1), 155-161 Yamashita, J (2004) Reading Attitudes in L1 and L2, and Their Influence on L2 Extensive Reading Reading in a Foreign Language, 16(1), 1-19 Yamashita, J (2013) Effects of extensive reading on reading attitudes in a foreign language Reading in a Foreign Language, 25(2), 31 APPENDIX A Attitude Questionnaire By Yamashita (2013) 1: strongly disagree, 2: disagree, 3: neutral, 4: agree, 5: strongly agree Items I can become more sophisticated if I read English I can get various kinds of information if I read English Reading English is troublesome Reading English is useful for my future career I feel anxious if I don‟t know all the words I can acquire vocabulary if I read English Reading English is useful to get a book grade in class I can acquire broad knowledge if I read English I feel relaxed if I read English 10 I sometimes feel anxious that I may not understand even if I read 11 I can develop reading ability if I read English 12 Reading English is useful to get credit for class 13 Reading English is dull 14 I get to know about new ways of thinking if I read English 15 I can improve my sensitivity to the English language if I read English 16 I feel tired if I read English 17 I feel anxious when I‟m not sure whether I understood the book content 18 I feel refreshed and rested if I read English 19 Reading English is useful to get a job 20 I not mind even if I cannot understand the book content entirely 21 Reading English is enjoyable 22 I get to know about different values if I read English 32 APPENDIX B Vocabulary Test Adapted from Horst (2005) Do you know these words? Tick on your choice (Yes = I know this word, Not sure = I‟m not sure about this word, No = I don‟t know this word) List of words advisor (n) against (prep) amazed (adj) attendant (n) attention (n) awful (adj) bare (adj) bear (v) beat (v) 10 bleed (v) 11 branch (n) 12 bride (n) 13 burnt (adj) 14 call out (v) 15 calmly (adv) 16 carriage (n) 17 castle (n) 18 clap (v) 19 cloak (n) 20 coachman (n) 21 coffin (n) 22 colored (adj) 23 complete (adj) 24 confirm (v) 25 cry out (v) 26 curious (adj) YES (Y) NOT SURE (NS) NO (N) 33 27 cut off (v) 28 deceive (v) 29 deceiver (n) 30 deck (n) 31 delight (n) 32 considering (adj) 33 disappear (v) 34 disappointed (adj) 35 drop (v) 36 dust (v) 37 dusty (adj) 38 elegant (adj) 39 embarrassed (adj) 40 hedge (n) 41 envious (adj) 42 eventually (adv) 43 exclaim (v) 44 fabric (n) 45 take out of (v) 46 fall off (v) 47 fantastic (adj) 48 feast (n) 49 fiery (adj) 50 finest (adj) 51 float (v) 52 dip down (v) 53 foam (n) 54 fool (n) 55 funeral (n) 56 gentle (adj) 57 well (n) 58 grab (n) 59 granny (n) 34 60 heaven (n) 61 humble (adj) 62 run across (v) 63 immediately (adv) 64 impatient (adj) 65 impossible (adj) 66 in a flash (adv) 67 in pain (adv) 68 instead (adv) 69 journey (n) 70 joyful (adj) 71 lean down (v) 72 loom (n) 73 loving (adj) 74 loyal (adj) 75 magic (adj) 76 marvelous (adj) 77 match (n) 78 medicine (n) 79 mermaid (n) 80 mermen (n) 81 minister (n) 82 moonlight (n) 83 mouth-watering (adj) 84 nod (v) 85 painful (adj) 86 palace (n) 87 paradise (n) 88 pass by (v) 89 pass over (v) 90 afterwards (adv) 91 perfume (n) 92 pretend (v) 35 93 prince (n) 94 princess (n) 95 purpose (n) 96 put away (v) 97 return (v) 98 rise (v) 99 roast (v) 100 roll toward (v) 101 rub (v) 102 run across (v) 103 sail (v) 104 sailor (n) 105 scold (v) 106 search (v) 107 shadow (n) 108 remarkable (adj) 109 shell (n) 110 shine (v) 111 show off (v) 112 silk (n) 113 sink (v) 114 smoothly (adv) 115 snap (v) 116 soldier (n) 117 sorrow (n) 118 sparkle (v) 119 splendid (adj) 120 squid (n) 121 stare at (v) 122 statue (n) 123 storm (n) 124 daisy-chain (n) 125 strike (v) 36 126 suck into (v) 127 suddenly (adv) 128 suit (n) 129 sunrise (n) 130 swim up (v) 131 terribly (adv) 132 thread (n) 133 throw out (v) 134 tiny (adj) 135 turn over (v) 136 underclothes (n) 137 undress (v) 138 unfortunately (adv) 139 warmth (n) 140 wave (n) 141 peep into (v) 142 weave (v) 37 APPENDIX C Reading Test Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (written by Lewis Carroll) Chapter one: Down the Rabbit-hole Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, „and what is the use of a book,‟ thought Alice „without pictures or conversation?‟ So she was considering in her own mind (as well as she could, for the hot day made her feel very sleepy and stupid), whether the pleasure of making a daisy-chain would be worth the trouble of getting up and picking the daisies, when suddenly a White Rabbit with pink eyes ran close by her There was nothing so very remarkable in that; nor did Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, „Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!‟ (when she thought it over afterwards, it occurred to her that she ought to have wondered at this, but at the time it all seemed quite natural); but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoatpocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on, Alice started to her feet, for it flashed across her mind that she had never before seen a rabbit with either a waistcoat-pocket, or a watch to take out of it, and burning with curiosity, she ran across the field after it, and fortunately was just in time to see it pop down a large rabbit-hole under the hedge In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down a very deep well… I Underline all the new words you find in the text II Count the underlined words How many new words are there? Write the number: … III Comprehension quiz: Alice thought the book her sister was reading was boring because … A It didn‟t have any pictures or conversations B It was a true story C She hates reading When Alice left her sister in the garden, she went ……… A into the house B into a rabbit hole C into the river 38 What ran by Alice as she sat with her sister? ………………… What did the Rabbit take out of his waistcoat? ……………… Alice along with her sister is sitting in the house Alice had looked at the book her sister was reading Alice chased White Rabbit when her sister T F T F T F T F was reading to her She always thought herself before falling the deep hole 39 APPENDIX D The Reading Worksheet Full name: Story: Chapter: Date: (You can write either English or Vietnamese/ Em viết Tiếng Anh tiếng Việt) What I like the most about the chapter: (Điều em thích đọc xong phần câu truyện) What I expect or predict in the next part: (Em dự đoán hy vọng truyện diễn biến phần tiếp theo) 40