Khóa luận A study on the difficulties in studying toeic reading of non-English majors at elementary level at haiphong private university

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on the difficulties in studying toeic reading of non-English majors at elementary level at haiphong private university

1. HAI PHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE o0o GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON THE DIFFICULTIES IN STUDYING TOEIC READING OF NON-ENGLISH MAJORS AT ELEMENTARY LEVEL AT HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVERSITY By : TRAN LAN HUONG Class: NA1002 Supervisor: NGUYEN THI HOA, M.A HAI PHONG - JUNE 2010 BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO 1
2. TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG o0o KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG 2010 Table of content 2
3. PART I: INTRODUCTION 1 I. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY: 7 II. AIM OF THE STUDY: 7 III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY: 8 IV. METHOD OF THE STUDY: 8 V. DESIGN OF THE STUDY: 8 PART II Development: 10 Chapter 1: Literature view: 10 I. Reading skills 10 1.What is reading? 10 2.TOEIC reading overview 11 3.Types of TOEIC reading comprehension text 13 3.1. Letters & emails 13 3.2. Forms 14 3.3. Faxes & Notes 14 3.4. Memos 15 3.5. Articles 15 3.6. Maps 16 3.7. Advertisements 16 3.8. Graphs, charts, tables, schedules 18 3.9. Double passages 18 4.Type of TOEIC Reading activities 20 4.1. Underlining and highlighting 20 4.2. Note key words 20 4.3. Summaries 20 4.4. Questions 21 II. Teaching reading skill 22 1.What is reading skill? 22 2.Styles of reading skill in TOEIC test 22 2.1.Scanning 22 3
4. 2.2.Skimming 23 2.3.Contextual reference 23 2.4.Contextual guessing 23 3.Linguistic features of Reading texts in TOEIC tests 24 Chapter 2: A study on the difficulties in studying TOEIC Reading of non- English majors at Elementary level at Haiphong Private University 27 I.Context: 27 1.The institution 27 2.Teachers :27 3.Students : 27 4.Materials: 28 II. Survey: 29 1.Introduction 29 1.1.The University 29 1.2.Class size, time available 29 1.3.Participants 29 1.4.Method of survey questionnaire 29 2.Purpose of the survey questionnaire 29 3.Data analysis 30 III. Findings and discussion findings 39 1.The difficulties in TOEIC reading of non - English majors students at elementary level at Haiphong Private University 39 1.1.Vocabulary 39 1.2.Grammar 41 1.3.Kind of TOEIC Reading exercises 42 1.4.Reading comprehension skills 43 1.5.Teaching and learning styles 43 1.6.Test environment 45 2.The possible solutions: 46 2.1.For students 46 2.2.For teachers 47 4
5. Chapter 3: Implication in learning and teaching 49 1.Suggestions for learning 49 2.Suggestions for teaching 50 PART III CONCLUSION 53 PART IV REFERENCES 54 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 55 5
6. Acknowledgement During the process of doing this study, I have received useful help from my teachers, my friends, my family, my colleague. First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my lecturer Nguyen Thi Hoa who has help me much in choosing the title of this study and giving me valuable suggestions as well as guidance so that I can fulfill this graduation paper. In addition, I owe a particular debt of gratitude to all the teachers in Foreign Language Department of Haiphong Private University for their lectures in which the knowledge has help me accomplish this task. Last but not least, I am really in debt to my family and my friends for their all useful help and great encouragement during the time I has done this paper. 6
7. PART I: INTRODUCTION I. RATIONALE OF THE STUDY: When you want to understand clearly about costume and culture of any country, first of all, it is necessary to know about the language of that country. As you know, today about 2/3 countries in the world use English as their mother tongue. So English does not only become popular but it is also a main international language. In recent years, our economy is standing on the common development to integrate with countries all over the world. So that English is getting more and more popular. It has been taught in many general- educational schools. We know that teaching English is very important, many teachers, doctors have been researching to find out the teaching methods. Which are the best for learners? To the teachers, in general and the English teachers in particular choosing appreciate methods suitable for the abilities of students are very important. TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) has been the Global standard for measuring English language skills of business. Nowadays, More than 4.5 million people each year take TOEIC to advance their careers. And, for more than 25 years, TOEIC test scores have helped thousands of Corporations, educational institutions and governments throughout the world recruit, hire, and promote the most qualified candidates. So the studying English for taking TOEIC is very important and necessary, at least the beginners (elementary level) who often get difficulties in one of all kinds of TOEIC skills like Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. As this paper will show the study on the difficulties in studying TOEIC Reading of non - English majors at elementary level at Haiphong Private University II. AIM OF THE STUDY: As above introduction, I carry out this study with the hope to find out 7
8. the difficulties perceived by the non - English majors at Haiphong Private University in TOEIC reading at elementary level; the ways to improve Reading skills, and also to support students who are learning English to pass the difficulties in Reading easily follow 3 steps: Step 1: To find out difficulties perceived by the non - English majors students at Haiphong Private University in TOEIC reading at elementary level. Step 2: To improve the difficulties perceived by the non - English majors students at Haiphong Private University in TOEIC reading at elementary level. Step 3: To develop and enhance skills in TOEIC reading. III. SCOPE OF THE STUDY: There are many different material resources and researches while my personal experience is limited. Therefore, in this graduation paper, I would like to focus on finding the difficulties in studying TOEIC Reading of non - English majors at elementary level at Haiphong Private University and some implications while teaching and studying this skill. IV. METHOD OF THE STUDY: Some methods comprise reading reference and resource books using calculations to analyze and make comparisons. The discussions with my supervisor are via email and exchange directly those help me much with my graduation paper. Survey questionnaire: A survey was conducted for the non - English majors at elementary level at Haiphong Private University about their attitudes, evaluations about theirs matters and the difficulties that they have to cope with when studying TOEIC reading. V. DESIGN OF THE STUDY: The study is arranged in 3 parts: Part one is mainly concerned with the introduction which includes the rationale, the design, the aims and the scope of the study. Part two with the development , the main part of the study ,there are three chapters: chapter 1: Literature view of the study; Chapter 2: A study on 8
9. the difficulties in studying TOEIC Reading of non- English majors students at elementary level at Haiphong Private University; Chapter 3: Implication in learning and teaching Part three will deal with conclusion Part four is the references 9
10. PART II Development: Chapter 1: Literature view: I. Reading skills 1. What is reading? Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print. (By Diane Henry Leipzig (2001) Reading is making meaning from print. It requires that we: Identify the words in print – a process called word recognition Construct an understanding from them – a process called comprehension Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate – an achievement called fluency Most of us think of reading as a simple, passive process that involves reading words in a linear fashion and internalizing their meaning one at a time. But reading is actually a very complex process that requires a great deal of active participation on the part of the reader. To get a better sense of the complexity of reading, read what some experts in the field have said about the reading process:  What do we read? The message is not something given in advance or given at all but something created by interaction between writers and readers as participants in a particular communicative situation. - Roy Harris in Rethinking Writing (2000), p 254.  Reading is asking questions of printed text. And reading with comprehension becomes a matter of getting your questions answered. - Frank Smith in Reading Without Nonsense (1997), p 41. Reading is a psycholinguistic guessing game. It involves an interaction between thought and language. Efficient reading does not result from precise 10
11. perception and identification of all elements, but from skill in selecting the fewest, most productive cues necessary to produce guesses which are right the first time. The ability to anticipate that which has not been seen, of course, is vital in reading, just as the ability to anticipate what has not yet been heard is vital in listening - Kenneth Goodman in Journal of the Reading Specialist (1967), p 126. As you can see, reading involves many complex skills that have to come together in order for the reader to be successful. For example, proficient readers recognize the purpose for reading, approach the reading with that purpose in mind, use strategies that have proven successful to them in the past when reading similar texts for similar purposes, monitor their comprehension of the text in light of the purpose for reading, and if needed adjust their strategy use. Proficient readers know when unknown words will interfere with achieving their purpose for reading, and when they won't. When unknown words arise and their meaning is needed for comprehension, proficient readers have a number of word attack strategies available to them that will allow them to decipher the meaning of the words to the extent that they are needed to achieve the purpose for reading. Reading is also a complex process in that proficient readers give to the text as much as they take. They make meaning from the text by using their own prior knowledge and experiences. Proficient readers are constantly making predictions while reading. They are continuously anticipating what will come next. Their prior knowledge and experiences with texts as well as with the world around them allow them to do this. It is this continuous interaction with the text that allows readers to make sense of what they are reading. 2. TOEIC reading overview The TOEIC test (Test of English for international communication) is an English language proficiency test for people whose native language is not English. It measures the everyday English skills of people working in an international environment. The scores indicate how well people can 11
12. communicate in English with others in business, commerce, industry, etc. The test does not require specialized knowledge or vocabulary beyond that of the person who uses English everyday work activities. What is the format of TOEIC test? The TOEIC test is a two-hour multiple-choice test that consists of 200 questions divide into two sections:  Listening comprehension section: there are 100 listening comprehension questions administered by audiocassette .There are four types of questions. You will listen to a variety of statements, questions, short conversations and short talks recorded in English, and then you will answer the questions. Approximately time is 45 minutes  Reading section: there are 100 reading questions, consisting three types of questions. You will read a variety of materials and respond at your own pace to questions based on the content of the materials. Total time is 75 minutes TOEIC Reading Format: The reading section of the TOEIC Listening and Reading Test consists of three parts, which vary slightly, depending on whether you are doing the old or new version of the test, as shown below: Old Test New Test Incomplete Sentences Incomplete Sentences 40 questions 40 questions Error Recognition Text Completion 20 questions 12 questions Reading Comprehension Reading Comprehension 40 questions 48 questions Incomplete Sentences In this multiple-choice section, you need to choose the best answer to complete a sentence. Your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary are both 12
13. important in helping you understand the correct context of the sentence and in choosing the right answer. For example, you must be familiar with word forms such as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. to know which one fits the sentence correctly. Error Recognition (Old or Classic TOEIC Test) This part has been eliminated in the New TOEIC Listening and Reading Test, but still remains in the older version, used in many parts of the world. It is the section which tests your knowledge of grammar and its impact on the meaning of the sentence. Text Completion (New TOEIC Test) Here, you will be asked to fill in the blanks, as in the incomplete sentences section above. The difference is that the blanks are part of longer pieces of writing such as a letter. 3. Types of TOEIC reading comprehension text 3.1. Letters & emails Sample of letters & emails: 13
14. 3.2. Forms Sample of form: Hawaii Bills of Sale Combo Package You know that it is crucial to protect your rights and your property. Even after you sell a car or other piece of personal property, your ability may not end. One important way to protect yourself and your assets is to put the sale in writing. This easy to use, attorney-prepared packet will help you protect your assets. Why pay more to buy forms one-by-one when you can get everything you need for a fraction of the cost? Our attorney-prepared packet contains all of the most popular Bills of Sale Forms for Hawaii. With this attorney-prepared packet you will: Avoid Headaches: Know that you have all the forms you need Save Money: You won't pay expensive attorney's fee, and you won't pay for each form individually Gain peace of mind: Know that your forms are up-to-date and comply with the laws of Hawaii Do not sell anything without putting the sale in writing. Protect yourself, your family, and your property with our Bills of Sale Combo Package. 3.3. Faxes & Notes Sample of fax: 14
15. 3.4. Memos Sample of memo: To: Supervisors From: Judy Linquiest, Human Resource Manager Sub: Probation periods As of January 1st all new employees will be subject to a 3 month probationary period. Medical, holiday, and flextime benefits will not apply to new staff members until the full 3 months have expired. After the three months have been completed, please contact your employees and inform them that their probationary period has ended. The HR department will contact you by email 2 days in advance to remind you of the date. Thank you for your cooperation. 3.5. Articles Sample of article: The Top Functional Foods of 2010 As the new year unfolds, functional foods are on target to be hotter than ever. The functional food industry got its start in the 1980s, and it’s been growing steadily since then with a projected growth rate of 56 percent from 2008 to 2011. What do functional foods mean? According to the April 2009 position on functional foods by the American Dietetic Association (ADA), all foods are functional at some level, because they provide nutrients that furnish energy, sustain growth, or maintain and repair vital processes. While the "functional food" category, per se, is not officially recognized by the Food and Drug Administration, the ADA considers functional foods to be whole foods and fortified, enriched, or enhanced foods that have a potentially beneficial effect on health. Thus a list of functional foods might be as varied as nuts, calcium-fortified orange juice, energy bars, bottled teas and gluten-free foods. While many functional foods—from whole grain breads to wild salmon—provide obvious health benefits, other functional foods like acai berry or "brain development" foods may make overly optimistic promises. Thus, it’s important to evaluate each functional food on the basis of scientific evidence before you buy into their benefits. 15
16. 3.6. Maps Sample of map: 3.7. Advertisements Sample of advertisement: FREE SUNGLASSES AND CASE Purchase a 12 month subscription to Vacation the Nation today and receive a free pair of Sunnies Sunglasses with your very own soft leather case.* To get your free Sunnies follow these 3 easy steps. 1 Purchase a copy of Vacation the Nation, New York's #1 Travel magazine. . 2 Fill out the application card (found in the center of the magazine) . 3 Mail the card and $21. 95 US to the address provided . *This is a limited time offer only. Application and funds must be received no later than Dec 1st 2004. Canadian residents should add $3 US for shipping. Offer not available 16
17. for residents outside of North America. 17
18. 3.8. Graphs, charts, tables, schedules Sample of chart: 3.9. Double passages Sample of double passages: E-mail and Letter To: "The Shoe People" Cc: From: "John Trimbald" Subject: Customer Complaint To Whom it May Concern, I have trusted the Shoe People to protect the feet of my employees for over ten years now. I recently purchased a few pairs of boots from your company for my crew. Though my men were initially satisfied with the boots, the soles began to fall apart on them after just twelve weeks. This was extremely surprising considering they came with a six year warranty. The boots are unsafe to wear because my men are pouring hot concrete. Please respond as soon as possible with instructions on how I can return the boots and receive a refund. Thank you, John Trimbald John Trimbald, Foreman, JT Construction 18
19. The Shoe People 22 Circular Rd. Castlerock, Northern Ireland BT51 6TP John Trimbald JT Construction 22 Mark Lane Rd. London, England EC3R 4BT January 3rd, 2008 Dear Mr. Trimbald Thank you for your e-mail concerning the poor quality of our rubber soled black work boots. A representative will be by your office next week to pick up the damaged boots. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused you and your crew. Along with five new pairs of work boots for your crew (we included one extra pair); we have enclosed a free year's supply of sole protector spray. In our retail stores, this spray is always recommended to buyers who work on heated floors. This should have been brought to your attention at the time of your initial order (received by telephone on October 12, 2007). Please excuse our oversight. To date we have had no complaints about these work boots from customers who have used the protector spray. However, should you use the spray and find that you are still unsatisfied with the boots, please return the boots and spray for a full refund. Thank you for supporting The Shoe People. Have a Happy New Year. Sincerely, Stan Mason, President 19
20. 4. Type of TOEIC Reading activities 4.1. Underlining and highlighting Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading. Do this with your own copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed books. If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colors to highlight different aspects of what you're reading. Mark only the main points: Look for topic sentences - usually the first or the last sentences. As you identify and highlight main ideas look for facts, statistics or examples that support them. Be selective about underlining examples or details. Underline phrases: Highlight as few words as possible in a sentence. Just make the key parts (nouns, verbs). Rereading the marking should give you a short accurate summary of the text. Sample of Underlining and highlighting: “The government says the average American man eats ten grams of salt a day. The American Heart Association advises no more than three grams for healthy people. It says salt in the American diet has increased fifty percent since the nineteen seventies, while blood pressures have also risen. Less salt can mean a lower blood pressure ” 4.2. Note key words Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each point. When you don't want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make while reading. Sample of note keyword: “The Titanic had sixteen lifeboats and four collapsible boats which could carry just over half the number of people on board her maiden voyage and only a third of the Titanic’s total capacity. Regulations for the number of lifeboats required were based on outdated British Board of Trade regulations written in 1894 for ships a quarter of the Titanic’s size, and had never been revised. ” 4.3. Summaries Pause after you've read a section of text. Then: a. Put what you've read into your own words; 20
21. b. Skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and c. Fill in any gaps. Sample of summary: “A pilot cannot fly a plane by sight alone. In many conditions, such as flying at night and landing in dense fog, a pilot must use radar, an alternative way of navigating. Since human eyes are not very good at determining speeds of approaching objects, radar can show a pilot 5 how fast nearby planes are moving. The basic principle of radar is exemplified by what happens when one shouts in a cave. The echo of the sounds against the walls helps a person determine the size of the cave. With radar, however, the 10 waves are radio waves instead of sound waves. Radio waves travel at the speed of light, about 300,000 kilometers in one second. A radar set sends out a short burst of radiation waves. Then it receives the echoes produced when the waves bounce off objects. The word "radar," in fact, gets its name from the term "radio detection and ranging." "Ranging" is the term for detection of the distance between an object and the radar set. Besides being of critical importance to pilots, radar is essential for air traffic control, 20 tracking ships at sea, and for tracking weather systems and storms.” This passage is about the nature of radar. The radar can detect speed besides location of objects. Radar use radio as type of waves. Radar has improved navigational safety. 4.4. Questions Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book, prepare for your reading by noting down questions you want the material to answer. While you're reading, note down questions which the author raises. Sample of question: “On the morning of 26 December 2004, villagers in Thailand noticed something strange. A herd of cows grazing on the beach lifted their heads, pricked their ears and looked out to the sea, then turned and ran to the top of nearby hill. For the puzzled villagers who close to follow them, it was life-saving move. Minutes later, the tsunami struck. Since then, there have been hundreds of reports of animals’ seemingly foretelling the catastrophe-not just minutes but sometimes hours and even days before it occurred. ” Can animals predict the earthquake? 21
22. II. Teaching reading skill 1. What is reading skill? Ask yourself this question: Do I read every word in your own language when I am reading a schedule, summary, or other outlining document? The answer is most definitely: No! Reading in English is like reading in your native language. This means that it is not always necessary to read and understand each and every word in English. Remember that reading skills in your native language and English are basically the same. All reading depends on reading ability; and reading is a cognitive process. It starts with perception. It requires perceptual learning of many things and it ends up as a conceptual process. This means that reading is more than reconstruction of the author’s meanings. It is the perception of those meanings within the total context of the relevant experiences of the reader - a much more active and demanding process. Reading is also a psycholinguistic guessing game. It involves an interaction between thought and language. Efficient reading does not result from precise perception and identification of all elements but from skills in selecting the fewest, most productive cues necessary to produce guesses that are right the first time. The ability to anticipate what has not been seen is vital in reading, just as the ability to anticipate what has not been heard in listening. 2. Styles of reading skill in TOEIC test 2.1. Scanning Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information. Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece of information you need. Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific details you require. If you see words or phrases that you don't understand, don't worry when scanning. Examples of Scanning The "What's on TV" section of your newspaper. A train / airplane schedule 22
23. A conference guide 2.2. Skimming Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or 'gist'. Run your eyes over the text, noting important information. Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation. It's not essential to understand each word when skimming. Examples of Skimming: The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day) Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more detail) Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed) 2.3. Contextual reference Contextual references are words which substitute for other words (to avoid using the same word over and over). They refer back to words that have been used. Also they may refer forward to ideas that will be stated. Example of contextual references: A computer, like any other machine, is used because it does certain jobs better and more efficiently than humans. Being able to recognize and identify contextual references will help you understand the passage you are reading. You must pay attention to reference words when they occur in the text you are reading You can find the meaning of references by searching the text and using your common sense and knowledge of the text. 2.4. Contextual guessing Contextual guessing is the most important skill used by most readers in attacking new words. It is closely related to comprehension and this is one of the most practical skills students learn. Context clues have several uses in reading. The four uses named below are of special importance to readers of foreign languages: 23
24. First, context clues help readers to derive the pronunciation and meaning of a known word from its uses in a sentence. Second, context clues also help to determine the pronunciation and meaning of an unknown word from its use in a sentence. When context is used for this purpose, a student reads around an unknown word, gets the general meaning of the sentence and then guesses at the pronunciation and meaning of the unfamiliar word from the way it is used. Third, context determines how the accentuation of similar words used in different contexts or with different grammatical usages affects their meanings. Fourth, context provides clues to the meanings of words that vary according to the subject area in which they are used. 3. Linguistic features of Reading texts in TOEIC tests Linguistic features of TOEIC reading comprehension texts are described, by referring to their text types, text structure, and question types. Text types The TOEIC reading comprehension is composed of reading passages to assess ability to read texts in business-world contexts, including manuals, reports, forms, notices, advertisements, periodicals, and memorandum (Wilson, 2000). According to Wilson letters, news and magazine articles are also used in the reading section. Given these text types in the TOEIC reading comprehension section, Razenberg (2003) suggests the classroom application of text-based syllabus for teaching TOEIC reading comprehension. The types of texts for TOEIC reading comprehension indicated by Razenberg are forms, tables charts, indexes, advertisements, faxes, memos, bulletins, letters, and miscellaneous. Text structures In addition to the types of text, text structures should be considered for TOEIC reading comprehension. For the patterning of TOEIC reading passages, Muller (2007) explains that TOEIC reading comprehension might 24
25. effectively be taught by using the implications from discourse analysis. By referring to the analytical approach suggested by researchers such as McCarthy (1991) and Holland and Johnson (2000), Muller defines the four major text patterns in TOEIC reading passages: Text patterning attempts to describe written discourse at a level beyond the grammatical sentence. Prominent patterns in English discourse include problem/solution, general/specific, claim/counterclaim, and question/ answer these four text patterns are briefly explained in the following manner (McCarthy 1991; Hoey, 2001; Muller, 2007). Problem/Solution The problem/solution pattern is analysis of a problem in a given context and proposition of a solution to the problem. The four phases in this pattern are situation, problem, solution and evaluation. General/Specific The general/specific pattern is a text with general statements in the introduction proceeding to more specific details that help to further clarify general statements and the writer’s intention. The text concludes with a summary of the passage. Claim/Counterclaim The claim/counterclaim pattern is an approach to incorporating argumentation into a passage, by providing a claim or assumption, and subsequently adding the counterclaim, or actual observed findings. Question/Answer The question/answer is a question in the beginning of a text, followed by an answer to the question in the text. Muller refers to the merits of the text- based approach as it allows learners to understand the larger text patterns and to efficiently and appropriately read part of the text. Muller adds the following: After students understand the context and components of a passage, answering the test questions about it may be simpler because they understand 25
26. where they should look for the correct answer, be it at the beginning, middle, or end of the passage Question types The reading comprehension question types used in the TOEIC reading also need to be clarified as a part of the framework. Enright et al. (2000) define three types of questions for the reading comprehension reading for basic comprehension and reading to learn. While TOEFL and TOEIC are different, the tests have a number of similarities. Consequently the question types of TOEIC reading are considered in light of the model of task types given by Enright et al. These three task types of reading comprehension test suggested by Enright et al. are defined in ―TOEFL IBT tips‖ (2008) as follows: Reading to find information - Effectively scanning the text for key facts and important information. - Increasing reading fluency. Reading for basic comprehension - Understanding the general topic or main idea, major points, important facts, and details, vocabulary in context, and pronoun references. - Making inferences about what is implied in a passage. Reading to learn - Recognizing the organization and purpose of a passage. - Understanding relationships between ideas. - Organizing information into a category chart or a summary in order to recall major information and important details. - Inferring how ideas throughout the passage connect. 26
27. Chapter 2: A study on the difficulties in studying TOEIC Reading of non- English majors at Elementary level at Haiphong Private University I. Context: 1. The institution With dynamism and creativity, knowledge and wisdom, humanism and social responsibility Haiphong Private University will strive continuously to provide learning opportunities with the best quality help students develop a comprehensive intellectual, physical and personality. Graduates who understand themselves, owning and using innovative knowledge to service community and social. 2. Teachers: Foreign Language Department has 28 lecturers, including two lecturers are PhD students are 90% of lecturers have master's degrees with high professional qualifications, expertise, have graduated at leading universities in Vietnam and foreign countries. Department also invites lecturers from the famous universities in the country participating in teaching. Besides the Department are always welcomed volunteer teachers of English, Australia, Japan, China from organizations GAP, VJCC, Phuc Kien University, and so on. Every year, the Department lecturers participate in workshops on methods of teaching foreign languages with the support of the Fulbright Organization. The workshop attracted the attention of the faculty from the University of Haiphong, Cantho and Hanoi. Most teachers are participating in training English International IBT, TOEFL and IELTS. 3. Students : The University has more than 8000 students enrolled in from 22 different Departments. Currently, non – English majors are nearby sixty classes with studying TOEIC program. TOEIC classes are distributed into 5 levels: 27
28. Level 1 has 26 classes (Beginner) Level 2 has 15 classes (Pre-intermediate) Level 3 has 5 classes (Intermediate) Level 4 has 2 classes (Post-intermediate) Level 5 has 1 class (Advanced) 4. Materials: The Department of foreign language of Haiphong Private University currently uses many learning materials which include VERY EASY TOEIC Second Edition for non-English majors in learning TOEIC. VERY EASY TOEIC Second Edition is designed for beginning level students of English as an introduction to the TOEIC. Each of the twelve units deals with one of the main grammatical points seen in the TOEIC. Each unit provides grammatical and listening exercises based on the specific points dealt with in that unit. There is also a mini test at the end of each unit, which reinforces these grammar points and allows focused practice of each TOEIC question type. A full practice test is also provided. VERY EASY TOEIC Second Edition is extremely accessible to lower level students and provides an excellent foundation for the new TOEIC test format. Besides, students are received the photo papers of learning materials from teachers and Department of Foreign Language select and edit the typical TOEIC exercises from TOEIC books at elementary in reading lesson for students practice. Teachers also select the various kinds of reading texts for training reading comprehension skills and vocabulary; incomplete exercises and error recognition for training grammar structures. 28
29. The typical TOEIC exercises from TOEIC books at elementary in reading lesson for students practice are the clear and detail kind of exercises which students can approach easily and simply. And give answer key for checking again after completing. II. Survey: 1. Introduction 1.1. The University Haiphong Private University was founded in 24 September 1997. It is the youngest non – state owned University in Vietnam. However, it has built its reputation through qualified teaching and glamorous infrastructure ―Training is of vitality‖. It has cooperated with many organization as well as institution in the world like GAP for teacher exchange program. 1.2. Class size, time available The University has 26 classes of non – English majors at elementary level at the moment. Each class has about 25- 40 students. Each week, there are periods of Reading lesson in 50 minutes/period. 1.3. Participants The participants of this study were 100 non- English major students at elementary level attending Haiphong Private University in Haiphong. 1.4. Method of survey questionnaire Quantitative research method was used, including questionnaires. 2. Purpose of the survey questionnaire With a view to providing thorough insight into the real situation of learning TOEIC Reading of non- English majors at elementary level, survey within the scope of the study was conducted in Haiphong Private University. The major aim of the study is to collect and analyze data regarding the recognition and utilization of TOEIC Reading. This chapter designed for the following purposes: To find out the belief and attitude of students to TOEIC Reading lesson 29
30. To concern the non – English majors’ aware of the importance of Reading skills To investigate situation of teaching TOEIC Reading lesson as well as Reading skill To study how TOEIC Reading is improved The findings are served as the cornerstone the technique suggestion in the next chapter. 3. Data analysis Question 1: The time students have learnt English 70% 60% 60% 50% 40% 30% 18% 20% 12% 10% 10% 0% 7 years 12 years 3 years 6 months- 1 year The table above indicates the time students learnt English subject. Surprisingly, you can see the difference among the time of years, almost students have been learning English subject for 7 years is 60 %, occupies highest of four columns. And next to this, the number of students have been learning for 12 years, ranks the second position with 18 %. The third position is the number of students, who have been learning for 3 years with 12 %. The smallest numbers of students have just begun their English for 6 months - 1 year. Question 2: The pie chart below illustrates the favorite skills the students are interested in. It cannot be tried that, prominent among the four subjects is Reading, with 52 %. More hafts of them are fond of Reading. Listening seems 30
31. to be attracting a certain number of students 21 %, 19 % were asked to answer that they like Speaking, whereas Writing occupies the smallest percentage according to student’s opinion. In conclusion, it might be possible that, because of studying English for the secondary school, many students concentrated in Reading as test lesson and also regarding as their favorite skill. The skills students like most 19 21 8 Listening Reading Writing 52 Speaking Question 3: What do you think of the learning materials? 70% 64% 60% 50% 40% 30% 24% 20% 12% 10% 0% Very interesting Interesting Not interesting The thoughts of students about their learning materials are shown by the table above. The number of students think of their learning materials interesting is 64%, this opinion is about students are interested in their book which they are learning. Some students against that their learning materials 31
32. not interesting, maybe it begins from the lack of caring of book or because of the quality of materials which they are learning. Students voted for this opinion is 24%. The smallest students say that they think of their learning materials very interesting with 12 %.Perhaps, they are fond of and interested in their book too much. Question 4: Learning materials 48% 50% 40% 40% 30% 20% 11% 10% 1% 0% Very difficult Difficult Normal Easy The table above illustrates the degree of learning materials follow students at elementary. According to almost students say that their learning materials difficult with 48%. At the elementary level, for students their learning materials are difficult, maybe they have adapted with program at University yet. Another high part says that their learning material normal with 40 %, perhaps some students consider their materials are suitable with their level. The degree of learning materials very difficult is ranked at third position by a few of students. This opinion occupies 11%. Only 1 % students say that their materials are easy. In short, most of students are interested in their learning materials. 32
33. Question 5: Comparison 56% 60% 53% 48% 50% 39% 40% 36% 30% 25% 22% 20% 13% 8% 10% 0% Vocabulary Grammar Reading skills Very difficult Difficult Normal The table above indicates the comparison among 3 titles which students often have the difficulties. Those are: Vocabulary, Grammar, and Reading skills. Firstly, the percentage of very difficult degree in Vocabulary is shown clearly with 56 %, which is the highest number when comparing among 3 titles. Seemingly, students have the most difficulties in Vocabulary. Besides, students comment that Grammar occupies 48 % at very difficult degree, ranks the second position. The last position at very difficult degree is Reading skills. Secondly, the percentage of difficult degree in reading skills is highest with 53 %. Grammar ranks the second with 39 %. And 36 % are the percentage of Vocabulary. The last is comparison among 3 titles at normal degree; the highest is Kind of reading text with 22 %. Next is Grammar with 13 % and Vocabulary with 8 %. Luckily, students are interested in Grammar and Vocabulary; and value carefully. Finally, the table above shows the comparison among Vocabulary, Grammar and Reading skills. By comparing, students’ thoughts are commented. 33
34. Type of reading comprehension texts The table below shows the thoughts of students about type of reading texts. Nearly haft of students consider reading comprehension texts very difficult, with 47 %. Next is difficult degree with 35 %. And the last as students say that reading comprehension texts are normal, with18 %. In the type of TOEIC reading texts which students are studying include letters and emails, announcements, memos, faxes and double passages. Almost students complain that the double passages type is the most difficult in of the types. They also comment announcements, memos and faxes are difficult; letters and emails are normal. Should teacher and Department change program if the double passages type suitable with elementary students? Type of reading comprehension texts Very difficult Difficult Normal 22% 18% 15% 34% 44% 43% 24% 28% 42% 27% 31% 43% 54% 61% 36% 39% 26% 13% Question 6: Letter, email, fax, note Advertisement Anouncement, Memo, schedule Article Double passages Chart, table, graph 34
35. The length of TOEIC reading exercises is illustrated by the table above. According to students, they consider that TOEIC reading exercises long. TOEIC reading exercises is various so they probably short or long depend on the request of exercises. Students say that the length of their TOEIC reading exercises long with 52%. Near a third of number students say that TOEIC reading exercises too long, with 29 %. Perhaps, some students think that the program is too long for beginners. 10 % and 9 % are the percentages of students think that the exercises for them are normal and short. This idea shows the exercises for students have not been match with the level of students, especially is the beginners. Question 7: The teacher's method 47 50 45 40 35 30 22 25 16 20 15 15 10 5 0 Very interesting Interesting Not interesting Boring To research the situation of TOEIC reading learning by students at elementary level, I also make survey questionnaire about the method of teacher. The teacher’s method is shown by the table above. Because of TOEIC program is new for students and teachers, the method to teach this subject is not easy, especially for beginners. So nearly half of students say that the method of teacher not interesting. 22 % is the number of students says the method of teacher interesting. Rank at the third position is the number of says the method of teacher boring with 16 %. And the smallest is 15 % of students consider their teacher’s method very interesting. This table above shows the assessment of students about the method of teacher; it may 35
36. objective or subjective opinions. Question 8: The pie chart below shows the number of practice exercises in syllabus for elementary students. There are four choices for students comment about the number of practice exercises in the syllabus: too many, many, normal and few. The students say that their practice exercises in the syllabus too many with 11 %. Nearly a third of students comment that their exercises many with 34 %. And the highest percentage value that the number of practice exercises is normal. This idea shows the good signal, students seem to need much more quantity of exercises. Moreover, only 3 % asses the exercises for practicing few, they want their syllabus will be supplemented amount practice exercises. The number of practice exercises in the syllabus 3% 11% Too many 34% 52% Many Normal Few Question 9: Kinds of TOEIC reading exercises students learn most difficultly 7% 37% Incomplete sentences Error recognition 56% Reading comprehension 36
37. The table above indicates some kinds of TOEIC reading exercises which students learn most difficultly: Incomplete sentences, Error recognition, Reading comprehension. As can be seen from the table surprisingly, most of students admit Error recognition is the most difficultly with 56%. Maybe students this kind requires knowing many grammar structures. Perhaps non – English majors have not experienced whole kind of TOEIC reading comprehension texts due to Reading comprehension ranks the second position with 37% and Incomplete sentences are smallest with 7%. This result is received by the survey of from non – English majors at elementary at Haiphong Private University. Question 10: The ability to complete your TOEIC reading exercises by yourself at home 70% 60% 60% 50% 40% 30% 23% 20% 17% 10% 0% Good Normal Bad The ability to complete TOEIC reading exercises at home by student’s selves is illustrated by the table above. The percentage of good ability to complete TOEIC reading exercises is 17 %. The percentage of bad ability to complete TOEIC reading exercises is 23 %. And the last is the highest percentage of normal ability to complete TOEIC reading exercises with 60 %. This research shows that the independent ability to complete exercises at home of students is quiet. These numbers are built by survey questionnaire with the attending of 100 non – English majors at Haiphong Private University. 37
38. Question 11: The table below shows the frequencies of reading lesson preparation by students before goes to university. The hard working students who are very frequently prepared reading lesson seem to be smallest with 5%. The percentage of students who have no preparation for reading lesson at home occupies 13%. Students often prepare reading lesson accounts for the relative numbers, with 24%. Maybe most of students interested in other lesson so they are very frequently prepare reading lesson, they occupy the highest percentage with 58%. In short, the frequencies of reading lesson preparation by students before goes to university are not expected. Question 12: The conception about the final test of 100 non - English majors is indicated by the pie chart below. But these opinions are only expected because 100 non - English majors have not experienced the final test, yet. They are all first years. So the result of this question in the survey questionnaire is all the ideas of students which are valued subjectively. Surprisingly, 28 % students think that their final test very difficult. And almost students comment that their final test difficult with 68%. The number student’s value that the final test is normal too small with only 4 %, this number is negligible. Is the way to build the final test is trustily suitable with level of students? Should we estimate this factor? 38
39. Final test 4% 28% Very difficult Difficult 68% Normal III. Findings and discussion findings 1. The difficulties in TOEIC reading of non - English majors students at elementary level at Haiphong Private University As the survey to 100 students, surely the result cannot reflect the whole real situation of learning TOEIC reading of non – English majors at Haiphong Private University. Nevertheless, it is hoped that the findings can give useful information to some extents. 1.1. Vocabulary The table above illustrates the highest percentage of part which students learn most difficultly is vocabulary. The vocabulary for elementary level includes: Nouns Adjective Adverb Verb Preposition Conjunction Pronoun Reading has universal properties that can be seen across the world's writing systems. All the reading texts in the learning materials are collected 39
40. from those systems. Students can approach to Reading by the learning materials which photo papers are taken from the TOEIC books with kinds of three main exercises including incomplete sentences, error recognitions and reading comprehension texts. And Reading comprehension text is major in type of exercises which have a lot vocabulary. This requires students aware of the word quantity to understand and answer questions. But, students often too focus on the vocabulary instead of grammar or main content in reading texts. Students said that any texts have many new words, they are all difficult. Therefore they are often afraid of reading long texts. When I give them the survey questionnaire which contains the table question: what do you think about: Vocabulary, Grammar, Kind of reading skills and Type of reading comprehension text? Students seriously admit that Vocabulary is very difficult with 56 %. The table of Vocabulary includes: Nouns, Adjective, Adverb, Verb, Preposition, Conjunction, Pronouns. As the answer of students, they say Nouns (58 %), Preposition (64 %) and Pronouns (69 %) are the most difficult. Nouns have some kinds such as countable and uncountable nouns; plural nouns and single nouns; collective nouns; etc. students often reluctant before choosing which type of nouns for their answers. Many nouns make them confused and may get difficulty in remembering. Besides, pronouns are similar to nouns; they have many kinds, for example, personal pronoun, subjective personal pronoun, objective personal pronoun, possessive personal pronoun and etc. Moreover, there are many types of preposition with many ways in using. For example, preposition of time and place. Students themselves ―limited perceptual span‖, it means they still use word-by-word reading; they depend on too much in Vocabulary. If the quantity of theory is more than the quantity of practice, it is hard to students gain. Teacher should give students quantity of exercise for 40
41. students practicing match with theory. Students are mentioning about Vocabulary; the level of learning material must be suitable with the elementary students. Teacher should make variety of kind exercises both old and new kind of exercises from easy to difficult for students gain as much as possible in learning. 1.2. Grammar After Vocabulary matter, students must deal with some problems with Grammar. The number of students comment that grammar is very difficult occupies 48 %, ranks the second position. Almost students recognized that they often have difficulties in grammar structures using. Whether because of their basic knowledge of grammar structure or the grammar structure is too hard for this result. The grammar program in the TOEIC learning materials for non – English majors at elementary level consists following some structures: Present simple Present continuous Future simple Past simple Articles Conjunctions Verb pattern (V - ing / To V form) Pronouns Count and non-count Nouns Students value that pronouns (57 %); count and non – count nouns (63 %), past simple (56 %) and conjunctions (55 %) which they must face with difficulties in using. Because of being beginners, students often meet some problems with types of exercises related to Grammar structures. Step by step teacher should give students the suitable using way and exercises for practicing. These structures are not too difficult but students who come from non – 41
42. English majors at elementary; their English are lower because of some factors: they are not major students; English is not foreign language in their secondary school; short of learning materials. Reading lesson has a quite high requirement the same Writing lesson about grammar structure. Hence, the learning and using of grammar structure in Reading lesson is not simple for student. It is raised the opinion that we should asses again the TOEIC Reading teaching: Is teaching method interesting? And, how should we improve this situation? The teacher should make learning grammar interesting, not daunting. They should dip in and out of the grammar books, selecting various subjects relevant to students’ level and stage of learning. 1.3. Kind of TOEIC Reading exercises TOEIC reading exercises includes three main kinds: Incomplete sentences, Error recognition, Reading comprehension text. And, Error recognition is the most difficultly with 56% by the result of the survey. This kind requires knowing many grammar structures, a part of vocabulary. If students did not train a lot grammar both theory and exercises frequently, it is difficult for doing the Error recognition exercises. Quantity of this kind exercise is not relatively various. The learning materials need to add more and more to practicing. Perhaps, non – English majors have not experienced whole kind of TOEIC reading comprehension texts due to this title ranks the second position with 37 %. This kind request student carry out the skills in reading such as scanning, skimming, guessing, contextual reference; answer questions and train a lot with all type of texts. Not the same English majors, non – English majors have very few chances for practicing Reading skills. First reason is a little. Students have not enough time for completing when they practicing exercises. Other hand, some students say it is too complicated when must face to all four skills in reading. Actually, they do not know how to apply four skills effectively in reading text. 42
43. Beside of two kind of reading exercises above, incomplete sentences only occupies the smallest percentage with 7 %. Seemingly, this type requests fewer Vocabulary, so the difficulty which students get in, not much as others. Type of TOEIC Reading texts As students mention, double passages type is the most difficult in all type TOEIC reading texts. Perhaps, this type often is longer and more complicated than others. Letters & emails and faxes are difficult. They also say that announcements and memos are types they often practice so these types are normal. The type of TOEIC reading texts exercise photos are given by teacher and Foreign language Department. 1.4. Reading comprehension skills Because of beginning from lowest level so almost students has no full of English skills such as listening ,writing, speaking as well as reading comprehension skills. Consequently, students get some problems in this sector. The skills are not used expertly in a reading text. Students have not a thorough grasp of methods and skills during reading comprehension texts. They only focus on new words not keep in mind content of reading text. They agreed that reading comprehension skills are important but they do not know how to learn and use in reading comprehension exercises. Students often do not focus on skills such as scan, skim and guess correct or incorrect choices. They interested in only vocabulary, according to them, as much new words as hard. In short, they need the method to learn and train skills in reading to gain a good effective. 1.5. Teaching and learning styles Teachers often make decisions and implement practices based on their preserves training experiences and what they believe to be effective. Accordingly, instructional practices may vary greatly from teacher to teacher, even though they may share similar instructional goals, district guidelines, and state education agency standards. Teaching style: 43
44. Teaching style is new due to students not ready to receive. Not like being in high school, at university teachers who may not interested in their all students. Each teacher also has individual method or characteristic. Teaching method is valued partly due to students’ expressions. Nearly haft of students say that their English teacher’s method is not interesting (47 %), this number shows the teaching method has not been suitable, yet, not attract students to lesson and students not keen on. Maybe, the teacher teach too quickly or too slowly; the old or classic kind of reading exercises train again and again; quantity of practicing exercises is too much or too few; level of exercises is too hard or too easy; etc. Should teachers value again their methods? Should students comment as much as possible for teachers? Teaching new program, especially TOEIC is more difficult for non – English majors’ students. Basic knowledge approached to students is not already. Moreover, teachers often supply homework and only check correct answers, they do not explain why correct or incorrect; or why that unless students ask them how. This way is not effective when teachers give them a lot exercises. Should we overcome this problem? Learning style: Learning style is a biologically and developmentally imposed set of personal characteristics that make the same teaching method effective for some and ineffective for others. The students have not a more in depth involvement with the TOEIC reading process as well as TOEIC reading activities. The most important thing of learning TOEIC Reading is to have patience. Not keeping working steadily day after day and constantly practicing TOEIC Reading exercises are obstacles for students who want to learn TOEIC Reading well, those are the difficulties by themselves. Students have not found out by themselves the types of TOEIC reading 44
45. texts for practicing, they are afraid of vocabulary and complicated structures. Moreover, they spend very little time for learning new words by reading TOEIC materials; they have not made variety of ways to learn by themselves, yet. Besides, their ability to complete TOEIC reading exercises at home by themselves with good ability is not high according to the survey. It is too difficult to learn and complete TOEIC reading exercises at home independently. There will be some kind of texts or exercises which make students confuse and do not know how to do. All of these ideas, they are the difficulties for students when they learn TOEIC Reading lesson. 1.6. Test environment Mark requirement due to students is too important; they have to deal with some difficulties when taking TOEIC tests as well as other tests. Non – English majors’ students at elementary level begin their low TOEIC scores. Students always are uncomfortable atmosphere in the test and learning because of affection of scores. They feel reluctant when they face higher level test for them such as kind of reading comprehension texts, they are unable to complete, for, the structures and words they have not seen before yet. Students say that their final test is very difficult with 28 %, difficult with 68% and 4 % normal. This result got from the survey questionnaire by attending of 100 non – English majors at elementary at Haiphong Private University. These numbers show that, students do not dare to value lowly their final test. Perhaps, 28% students say the final test very difficult, for, their knowledge is middle level; the test is higher than their standard. Almost students mention the test because it decides they can go to next level. For, the final test is the time to check the quality and level of English language by nearly two third students estimate difficult. Besides, the feeling also affect students when they are before and 45
46. during in the test. They are nervous, stressful and puzzled. The measures of feelings make an affective of the test quality. Therefore, the test environment also plays an important role in gaining good TOEIC scores. 2. The possible solutions: The changes in studying styles and teaching methods at university today create many differences in educational systems between high schools and university. Those differences become challenges for non - English majors’ students because they have not adapted themselves to new studying environment. This study focuses on investigating the challenges in studying which non - English majors’ students of Foreign Language Department at Haiphong Private University encountered when entering university. How do students overcome the difficulties and their expectations to quickly get used to new studying environment are presented in this study. The study also put forward some suggestions for students, teachers in order to help students quickly overcome the difficulties. 2.1. For students Students will not be better if they have not trained a lot. They should require teacher supply as well as find out by themselves the learning materials for practicing. For, almost students deal to the difficulties in Vocabulary (56 % student say Vocabulary very difficult and 36 % say difficult) and Grammar (48 % students comment Grammar very difficult and 39% say difficult), so they should supplement quantity of both Vocabulary and Grammar structures for doing the kinds of TOEIC reading exercises. Practice reading activities such as summary and remember what is read to make more effectively. Students should practice the reading skills frequently with TOEIC Reading comprehension texts and all types of text by themselves at home. Make independently for themselves by preparing new lessons before go to school. Make interesting by yourselves when learn reading by collect the 46
47. variety kind of TOEIC reading texts, always refresh and change exercises prevent you from boring. Ask teacher anytime you can for what you worry about and wait for reasonable helping after a lecture. For the unfamiliar terminology students should try to understand it in context at that point; otherwise, read on and return to it later. Slow down difficult sentences and paragraph structures enough to enable students to untangle them and get accurate context for the passage. Students should be more active in learning TOEIC reading, when students are active; the effect of learning is improved as much as possible. Train all kinds of exercises instead of only most difficult one. Train the sample TOEIC tests and practice some other tests. Concentrate during reading and taking test, especially final test. 2.2. For teachers Focus on the subjective as students who need the suitable teaching methods for improve the elementary level. Because of the beginners, students are worried about asking the difficult knowledge, as well as always passive in learning, teacher should be take care more about them. Actively, teacher may supply and guide students necessary learning materials for learning and enhancing. Give students the learning materials which match with their standard. Do not supply the too many or too few material as well as too difficult or too easy ones; especially, prevent students from bored grammar structures. Simplify and diversity all kind of TOEIC reading exercises because 29 % students say that the length of TOEIC reading exercises too long and 52 % students comment that long for beginners. Always refresh class in reading lesson by related games make comfortable atmosphere instead of too much exercises. Supply the quantity of knowledge just enough to avoid stress and bored. 47
48. Because 47 % students comment that teaching method is not interesting, so teacher should add more games and new methods for teaching. The games for students, who can learn fastest vocabulary and grammar structures such as quizzes, cross word, puzzle. Moreover, teacher often gives homework to students training day by day. After that, teacher gives answer and explains for students check correct again. Besides, make conditions for students to learn at the moment full of theory and practice exercises. Contact students and clear up queries after a lecture. Teacher and Foreign Language Department should estimate again the TOEIC program for non – English majors at elementary level in the syllabus if they are suitable. For, almost students comment that double passages exercise is the most difficult, they are not able to complete whole this exercise well. And, teacher and Foreign Language Department should change double passages exercise to intermediate level. Due to the percentage of students whose good ability can complete their exercises at home with 17 %, not very much, teacher should encourage students practice exercises at home by themselves to improve the ability complete independently. By these ways above we hope teacher and students will find out the confusions and overcome all of them for develop next level. 48
49. Chapter 3: Implication in learning and teaching 1. Suggestions for learning Improvement of Reading Rate It is safe to say that almost anyone can double his or her speed of reading while maintaining equal or even better comprehension. In other words, you can improve the speed with which you get what you want from your reading. The average college student reads between 250 and 350 words per minute on fiction and non-technical materials. A "good" reading speed is around 500 to 700 words per minute, but some people can read 1000 words per minute or more on these materials. What makes the difference? There are three main factors involved in improving reading speed: (1) the desire to improve, (2) the willingness to try new techniques and (3) the motivation to practice. Learning to read rapidly and well presupposes that you have the necessary vocabulary and comprehension skills. When you have advanced on the reading comprehension materials to a level at which you can understand college-level materials, you will be ready to practice speed reading in earnest. The Role of Speed in the Reading Process Understanding the role of speed in the reading process is essential. Research shows a close relation between speed and understanding—although it is the opposite of what you might expect! Among thousands of individuals taking reading training, in most cases an increase in rate was accompanied by an increase in comprehension and a decrease in rate brought decreased comprehension with it. It appears that plodding; word-by-word analysis inhibits rather than increases understanding. Assign homework Assign homework at or near the struggling learner’s independent reading level. At this level struggling learners can correctly and easily read 99% or more of words and correctly answer 90% or more of items. Success is 49
50. immediately apparent. Avoid assigning homework at the struggling learner’s instructional level. At this level, successful completion requires immediate teacher guidance and assistance, which is unavailable. Without prompt help, struggling learners often practice and strengthen errors. Simple materials Simple materials with few ideas are new to you. Move rapidly over the familiar ones; spend most of your time on the unfamiliar ideas. Use necessary examples and illustrations, since, these are included to clarify ideas, move over them rapidly when they are not needed. And detailed explanation and idea elaboration you do not need during reading. Broaden ideas and generalized ideas which are restatements of previous ones. These can be readily grasped, even with scan techniques. 2. Suggestions for teaching Teachers should first understand students’ positive or negative attitude towards reading and also take in consideration their attitude toward reading in general, their previous experiences with reading Syllabus design must based on the need analysis. First, the reading class can either be a part of an integrated skills’ instruction or a separate one, combining extensive reading, intensive reading, strategic reading or a combination of them. The goals of the reading curriculum may vary from focusing on fluency development to the analysis of text structure coherence. Second, depending on the reading goals many researchers suggest different ways of planning the reading curricula. On the other hand, pay more attention to extensive reading curriculum. They recommend 4 ways of incorporating extensive reading into the reading curriculum: As a separate stand-alone course; As part of an existing reading course; As a non-credit addition to an existing course; 50
51. As an extracurricular activity. Selecting appropriate text materials and supporting resources After planning the reading curricula teachers have to choose the appropriate reading materials. The appropriate reading materials should complement students’ linguistic and cultural level. Only appropriate instructional materials and tasks involve learners in elaborating the new knowledge. The use of simplified graded readers is especially for beginner level students and less skilled students. Teachers should encourage students to read several simplified graded readers rather than a single passage. In this case they promote extensive reading by reading one simplified graded reader per week. Furthermore, simplified texts for beginners offer optimum conditions for new vocabulary learning. Moreover, if the thematic based textbook is accompanied with modeling and high or low level scaffolding the reading instruction will be much more effective. Diversify students’ reading experience One of the goals of effective reading is to make use of a variety of activities. Reading activities can be done not only in a formal setting but also in the library, at home, or in a lab. They also add that the most important fact to bear in mind is to encourage students to do as much reading in the amount of time available. Particularly interesting is the fact that most researchers base the diversity of activities on students’ interests. Students should choose their own books to read for the extensive reading either in the class or at home. Furthermore, several reading activities which not only diversify the reading experience but them also build reading. The uses of the reading activities that make students work against themselves rather than compete with other students. These activities would include the sustained silent reading, which is considered suitable for any linguistic level and reading 51
52. ability. A reading class should devote 15-20 minutes to silent reading as it is highly motivational because it encourages meaningful reading as opposed to reading as an academic subject, and it is not interrupted, evaluated or instructed. The uses of more pre and post reading activities in order to tap into students’ personal response and world knowledge: organizing pre reading excursions and hands-on-activities, writing book reviews, mixed reaction reports and summaries for a more personalized activity, giving oral reports, organizing wall displays, rave reviews, and reading fairs. These activities not only monitor and evaluate students’ reading but also turn individual reading into a common collaborative event. Vocabulary is crucial to effective fluent reading development Teachers should encourage the creation of a vocabulary rich environment by promoting techniques of explicit vocabulary teaching like analysis of word parts, associations, flashcards, mnemonic techniques, games, synonyms and antonyms, the use of graphic organizers, glosses, word family exercises, and illustrations, drawings. Awareness of text structure and discourse organization will help students develop stronger comprehension skills Paying more attention to grammar processing for text and discourse coherence Students should be trained to read a text carefully and pay attention to main ideas, supportive information, explore inferences and embedded definitions, examine headings/subheadings Teach students how to learn (self-study) Time management strategies for improving reading skills. Increasing materials and books for learning at home. Increasing vocabulary and grammar structures by training frequently. Strategies for improving concentration and memory. PART III 52
53. CONCLUSION The purpose of this paper is to give some insights into the difficulties in learning TOEIC Reading at elementary at Haiphong Private University. The findings and solutions to improving TOEIC Reading comprehension skills for students and what all the findings consider as the most important factor that develops reading ability and reading fluency is reading a lot. According to several of the guidelines to take in consideration when teaching TOEIC reading include: planning the reading curricula, selecting appropriate reading materials, diversifying students’ reading experience and promoting meaningful instruction through the development of vocabulary, extensive reading, strategic training, students’ motivation, and awareness of text structure and discourse organization. It is very important that the teachers focus more on students’ needs and motivations. I hope with my graduation paper can help non – English majors overcome their difficulties in TOEIC reading learning and develop their English to next level as good as possible. 53
54. PART IV: REFERENCES Day, R., & Bamford, J. (2004). Extensive reading activities for teaching language . New York: Cambridge University Press. Day, R., & Bamford, J. (1998). Extensive reading in the second language classroom. New York: Cambridge University Press. Grabe, W. (2004). Research on L2 reading instruction. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 24. 44-69. Grabe, W. (2005) The role of grammar in reading comprehension. In J. Frodesen & C. Holton (Eds.), The power of context in language teaching and learning (pp. 268-282). Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Grabe, W., & Stoller, F. (2001). Reading for academic purposes: Guidelines for the ESL/EFL teacher. (with F. Stoller). In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.) Methods in teaching English as a second or foreign language. (pp. 187-204). Boston: Heinle & Heinle. Guthrie, J., & Wigfiewld, A., & Perencevich, K (Eds.). (2004). Motivating reading comprehension: Concept Oriented Reading Instruction. Mahwah, NJ: L .Erlbaum. Horst & Robb (2005). Learning L2 vocabulary through Extensive Reading: A measurement study. Canadian Modern Language Review, 61, 355- 382. Koda, K. (2005). Insights into second language reading. New York: Cambridge University Press. Glendinning, E. and Holmstrom, B. Study Reading: A Course in Reading Skills for Academic Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, (2004). Jordan, R. English for Academic Purposes: A Guide and Resource Book for Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, (1997). Kamijo, T. TOEIC Target Reading. Tokyo: ALC Publishing Corporation, (2008). McCarthy, M. Discourse Analysis for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Pres, (1991). Muller, T. Innovating the Longman Preparation Series for the TOEIC Test: Advanced Course with Discourse Analysis. The Asian ESP Journal, 3(1), (2007). Razenberg, J. Reading Strategies for the TOEIC Test. (retrieved from ELT News Feature/Teaching ideas on 10th November) Celce-Murcia, M. and Olshtain, E. Discourse and Context in Language Teaching: A Guide for Language Teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 54
55. SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE Dear, students This survey questionnaire aims is to find out your attitudes and your expectation toward TOEIC reading lesson. Your answers will be used for research purposes of my graduation paper entitle ―the study on the difficulties in TOEIC reading learning of Non – English majors at elementary at Haiphong Private University‖ Please answer the following questions by ticking ( ) where appreciate. 1. How long have you been learning English? 2. Which skill do students like most?  Reading  Speaking  Writing  Listening 3. What do you think of the learning material?  Very interesting  Interesting  Not interesting 4. Is the learning material difficult?  Very difficult  Difficult  Normal  Easy 5. What do you think about? Very Difficult Normal difficult Nouns Adjective vocabulary Adverb Verb 55
56. Preposition Conjunction Pronoun Simple present Present continues Simple Future Simple past Grammar Article Pronouns Count and non-count noun Conjunctions V-ing /To V Skimming Reading Scanning skills Guessing Context Letters, emails, faxes, notes Advertisements Types of Articles TOEIC Menus, schedules forms Double passages Announcements, Memo Tables, charts, graphs 6. What do you think about length of the TOEIC reading texts?  Too long  Long  Normal  Short 7. What do you think about teacher’s method?  Very interesting 56
57.  Interesting  Not interesting  Boring 8. What do you think about the number of practice exercises in the syllabus?  Too many  Many  Average  Few 9. Which kind of TOEIC reading exercises do student learn most difficultly?  Incomplete sentences  Error recognition  Reading comprehension 10. The ability to complete your TOEIC Reading exercises at home by yourself is:  Good  Bad  Normal 11. Do you often prepare your English reading lesson before go to university?  Never  Sometimes  Usually  Very frequently 12. What do you think about final test?  Very difficult  Difficult  Normal Enjoy your summer holiday! 57