HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY ĐÀO THỊ DIỄM THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GRADED READERS AS EXTENSIVE READING MATERIALS BY SECOND YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY (SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH) B.A THESIS IN ENGLISH SUPERVISOR: DO THI THANH DUNG HA NOI, 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Do Thi Thanh Dung for her unwavering patience, guidance and support throughout the semesters, without whom this project would not have been completed I would like to thank all the lecturers for their guidance and advice I would also like to thank students for the cooperation given for the research I am also grateful to my family and friends who gave me the courage, support and assistance throughout my course A final note of heartfelt gratitude to for their loving support, patience and encouragement which made it possible for me to sail the boat smoothly throughout this amazing and educational journey Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents who taught me the value of education i ABSTRACT This current study investigates the impact of graded readers on student‟s reading skills The study in detail explores the effectiveness of graded readers by seeking to answer if it helps to promote comprehension and positive attitude among students precisely in reading The study is based on comprehensible input theory where students were engaged in large quantity of reading to achieve better comprehension and enhanced reading speed with positive attitude The sample in this study consisted of four students of K41B English Language Teaching Education, who are of intermediate level The graded readers programme was conducted for seven weeks The results of the data analysis indicated that graded readers helped to improve the reading comprehension and reading speed mong the students This was proven in terms of the marks obtained in the post-test Graded readers have also helped to promote positive attitude toward reading which was seen through the descriptive analysis of the attitude interview ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: THE EFFECTIVENESS OF USING GRADED READERS AS EXTENSIVE READING MATERIALS BY SECOND YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY (Graduation paper submitted in particular fulfilment 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 by me under instructions of my supervisor Date submitted: April 2017 Student Supervisor Dao Thi Diem Do Thi Thanh Dung iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS FLF Foreign Language Faculty HPU2 Hanoi Pedagogical University L Level P Page wpm word per minute iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES vii PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE II OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH 10 III SCOPE OF THE STUDY 10 IV RESEARCH QUESTIONS 10 V METHODS OF THE STUDY 11 VI SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 11 VII DESIGN OF THE STUDY 12 PART TWO DEVELOPMENT 13 CHAPTER ONE LITERATURE REVIEW 13 I.1 Teaching reading comprehension 13 I.2 Reading Speed 14 I.3 Reading and Vocabulary 16 I.4 Reading and Other Language Competences 17 I.5 Extensive reading 18 I.5.1 Authentic Material 22 I.5.2 Created Material 23 I.5.3 Graded readers 23 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY 26 II.1 Participants 27 II.2 Graded readers project 28 II.3 Data collection instruments 30 v II.3.1 Interview 30 II.3.2 Tests 32 II.3.2.1 Classification test 32 II.3.2.2 Comprehension test 33 II.3.3 Reading Speed Reports 34 II.4 Data Analysis Methods 35 II.5 Data Collection and Analysis Procedure 36 CHAPTER THREE FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 38 III.1 Results 38 III.1.1 Finding of the tests 38 III.1.1.1 Pre-test and post-test 38 III.1.1.2 Reading comprehension 39 III.1.1.3 Reading speed 40 III.1.2 Interview 42 III.1.2.1 Students‟ perspectives on reading skills 42 III.1.2.2 Students‟ perspectives on graded readers 43 PART THREE CONCLUSION 49 I Conclusion 49 II Limitations and suggestions for further studies 49 REFERENCES 51 APPENDIX A 59 APPENDIX B 60 APPENDIX C 62 vi LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table Total New Words and Word Families at Each Oxford Bookworms Level 26 Table Grading System of the OBW Graded Readers 27 Table Description of participants 28 Table 4: Planning of graded reader project 28 Table 5: List of book title 29 Table 6: Scores to evaluate level of graded readers 33 Table 7: Results of pre-tests and post-tests 38 Table Reading Speed of the participants at Level 41 Figure 1: Results of comprehension tests 39 Figure 2: Results of the reading speed Level 41 vii PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE There is no doubt that the role of English in the life of any society in the world today has been becoming more and more important The widespread need for English as an international language puts a considerable pressure on the education resources of any countries In case of our country, since our government carried out the open door policy to attract foreign investment and co-operate with other countries, teaching and learning English has become necessary Moreover, it is the English that is used as an effective medium of international communication It is the language of trade, science, technology, tourism, sport, music and many other fields of life That is the reason why at present, learning English is not only the interest but also the great and practical demand for many people, especially for student who always want to assess the modern world Therefore, English is now taught as a compulsory subject to all students at university in our country In many second or foreign language teaching situations, reading receives a special focus There are a number of reasons for this First, many foreign language students often have reading as one of their most important goals They want to be able to read for information and pleasure, for their career, and for study purposes In fact, in most EFL situations, the ability to read in a foreign language is all that students ever want to acquire Second, written texts serve various pedagogical purposes Extensive exposure to linguistically comprehensible written texts can enhance the process of language acquisition Good reading texts also provide good models for writing and provide opportunities to introduce new topics, to stimulate discussion and to study language Reading, then, is a skill which is highly valued by students and teachers alike In process of teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam in general, and at Hanoi Pedagogical University in particular, reading has always been offered a great deal of attention both from the teachers and the students Like many others universities in Vietnam, English at HPU2 is learnt and taught in non-native environment, therefore, reading is not only considered as a means to gain knowledge but also a means by which further study takes place In other words, learners “read to learn” (Burns, 1988:11) According to Carrel (1981:1), “for many students, reading is by far the most important of the four skills in a second language, particularly in English as a second or foreign language” This is especially true to the students at HPU2, where learners are mostly future interpreters, translators, or teachers of English, whose desires are to be able to handle subjects related to written materials in English and to work with their English-speaking colleagues and partners It is essential for them to acquire the ability to read English effectively and efficiently However, despite the teachers‟ and students‟ effort, students still often claim to have a lot of difficulties in reading English textbooks or English materials, and therefore, they sometimes read them inefficiently For the secondyear students of English, although they have been learning English for at least several years, it is still often difficult for them to understand a text or a passage in English, since they still lack vocabulary, grammar, reading skills and poor background knowledge When they encounter unfamiliar words or unfamiliar concepts, they feel discouraged and resort to wild guessing to construct the text meaning Some students not understand the main idea of a text even when they have translated every word into their mother tongue Almost students deliberately look at the title of a text to think about its topic before reading Fewer students use their background knowledge to facilitate their comprehension They are completely dependent on the decoded messages from the text Many reading lessons makes the learners bored while taking part in the reading process and their reading skills still keep stable Besides, the teachers sometimes have to face with difficulties in dealing with the students‟ learning demand and newly introduced sources 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Why? Do you like studying reading skills? Why? How are you taught in reading lessons? Does your teacher use extensive materials in teaching reading lesson? Do you know about Graded Readers before taking part in this research? Graded Reader Questions: What important achievements in reading have you accomplished since beginning reading Graded Readers? Do you feel that you receive encouragement from appropriate level reading? How satisfied are you while reading Graded Readers? When did you spend time to read Graded Readers? 10 Have any obstacles prevented you from accomplishing your work task? If so, in what areas? 59 APPENDIX B Classification Test : Choose the correct answer Mr Harris opened his book again, but he didn't read it He watched Carl's face, with its hungry eyes and its cold smile “What beautiful, beautiful diamonds!” Carl said “I can get a lot of money for these” “Give them back to me, Carl” Elena whispered 'My husband's going to kill me You're my brother Please help me Please!” Carl laughed again, and Mr Harris ( asked, liked, wanted, felt) … to hit him “Go home, little (brother, sister, husband, wife) ”, Carl said “I'm not going to (give, take, bring, put) the diamonds back to you Go (house, home, live, up) to your angry husband” Suddenly there (is, are, were, was)… a knife in the young woman's (hand, leg, foot, arm)… A long, bright knife Mr Harris (saw, looked, watched, told) , with his mouth open He couldn't (eat, drink, hear, speak) or move “Give the diamonds back (in, for, at, to) me!” Elena cried Or I'm going (for, to, now, want) kill you! Her hand on the (bag, train, man, knife)… was white Carl laughed and laughed “ (How, Why, Where, What) … a sister!” he said “What a (kind, old, new, dead)… sweet sister! No, they're my diamonds (not, then, look, now) Put your knife away, little sister.” the knife in the white hand (went, came, looked, moved) quickly: up, then down There was (a, to, too, the)… long, terrible cry, and Carl's body (sat, fell, was, then)… slowly on to the seat The (colour, back, train, knife)… of the seat began to change (for, at in, to) red…, and the diamond necklace fell (into, at, for, from)… Carl's hand on to the floor 60 (Elena‟s, Carl‟s, Mr Harris‟s, His)… face was white “Oh no!” she (sang, smiled, whispered, laughed)… “Carl! Come back come back! I (did, didn‟t, was, wasn‟t)… want to kill you!” But Carl (wasn‟t, was, didn‟t, did)… answer, and the red blood ran (onto, early, late, slowly)… over the floor Elena put her (arm, hair, head, brother)… in her hands, and again in (a, this, the, our)… carriage there was a long, terrible (wait, sleep, man, cry)… Mr Harris's face was white too (They, She, He, When)… opened his mouth, but he couldn't speak He stood up, and carefully moved to the door The young woman was quiet now She didn't move or look up at Mr Harris 61 APPENDIX C Comprehension test On the day after Christmas, what did Bob Cratchit tell his wife when he went home after work? Choose the best words complete their conversation (one word for each gap) WIFE: You‟re home…, Bob! It‟s only three o‟clock! What‟s happened? Was Mr Scrooge… because you were … this morning? BOB: No, not at all In fact, he… my hand and wished me a… Christmas! WIFE: But Mr Scrooge never says that He … Christmas! BOB: I know At first I thought he had gone…! He always used to say that Christmas was… He was always… and cross, but now he‟s happy and…… WIFE: But why has he…… , Bob? BOB: He said that he learnt a……… last night that he will never…… I don‟t know what happened to him, but I know that he sent the big…… that arrived yesterday! WIFE: Mr Scrooge……… for our Christmas dinner? Oh my! BOB: But the…… news is this, my dear He‟s going to pay me thirty……… a week instead of fifteen! WIFE: But that‟s……… as much! Oh my, oh my! BOB: And he wants to…… us with the family, and be a second……… to Tiny Tim WIFE: Oh my, oh my, oh my! Well, God…… Mr Scrooge! Match the characters’ names with their descriptions Bob Cratchit Belle Ebenezer Scrooge Mr Fezziwig Scrooge‟s nephew, Fred Tiny Tim Scrooge‟s sister Jacob Marley 62 Ghost of Christmas Past Ghost of Christmas Present Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come  A large, kind- looking old gentleman  A tall, silent figure in a black robe  A little boy who could not walk  A young man with a happy laugh  A clerk with a long white scarf  A spirit who had been unable to rest for seven years  A figure with long brown hair and a warm, friendly smile  An old man with red eyes, white hair, and a cross voice  A warm- hearted little girl  A beautiful young girl who loved a cold- hearted man  A figure with long white hair, but soft, young skin Which of these characters belong to Scrooge’s past life, and which to his present life? Make two lists Dick Wilkins Belle Jacob Marley Fred Tiny Tim Bob Cratchit Scrooge‟s sister Mr and Mrs Fezziwig Perhaps Scrooge’s sister sent a letter to her son, Fred, just before she died Put the sentences in the right order to make her letter My dear Fred, Before I die, there‟s one thing I want to ask you- try to be a good friend to your uncle Ebenezer Take care of yourself, my dear boy, and think of me sometimes, when I am gone I don‟t think I have long left to live now, so this will probably be my last letter to you You see, our father as a cold, hard man, who didn‟t love Ebenezer at all 63 But when she realized that he would always love money more than her, she married another man When he was older and started work, he began to show an unhealthy interest in money, and that was the reason why he never married I know he seems to hate people, but remember that he had a difficult life when he was younger Poor Ebenezer! I know that you, with your warm heart, will eel sorry for him, now that I‟ve told you this And so, as a child, Ebenezer too became cold, and spent a lot of time alone 10 There was a girl who love him once, a beautiful young woman called Belle Your loving mother What is the message of this story? Complete the sentences to explain your ideas You should always try…………… Nobody likes………… The most important thing in life is……… It is never too late……… What you think about this story? Can people change that easily? Complete this passage to make a different ending for the story (Use as many words as you like.) Ebenezer Scrooge did not everything that……… He did pay Bob Cratchit thirty shillings a year, but poor Bob had to……… It was too late for Scrooge to…… , and soon he became as……… There was no extra wood…… , and Scrooge never become……… Sadly, Tiny Tim……… The Cratchit family were very unhappy, but they……… Scrooge‟s heart grew colder and colder, until one day he……… Now he lies in the graveyard, in the cold, hard ground, and nobody…… 64 Here are some different titles for the sorry Some are better than others Can you say why? A Cheerful Man Mr Ebenezer Scrooge The Ghosts of Christmas Eve Humbug! Tiny Tim Time to Change Merry Christmas The Wing of the Night 65 ... inspired the writing of a study on possible effective reading activity as The effectiveness of using graded readers as extensive reading materials by second year English majored students at Hanoi Pedagogical. .. READING MATERIALS BY SECOND YEAR ENGLISH MAJORED STUDENTS AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY (Graduation paper submitted in particular fulfilment of the Degree of Bachelor of Pedagogy in English) ... sources of materials To find out the areas of students difficulty at the Hanoi pedagogical university and the causes of their unsuccessful reading comprehension is necessary These reasons have