An investigation into reading strategies used by Vietnamese Non-English Major students at Kien Giang University

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI NGOC MINH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO READING STRATEGIES

USED BY VIETNAMESE NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT KIEN GIANG UNIVERSITY

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

1

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

NGUYEN THI NGOC MINH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO READING STRATEGIES

USED BY VIETNAMESE NON-ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS

AT KIEN GIANG UNIVERSITY

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

Code: 60 14 01 11

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD.)

Ho Chi Minh City, 2019

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that the thesis entitled “An Investigation into Reading Strategies Used by

Vietnamese Non-English Major Students at Kien Giang University” is my own work.

Except where reference is made in the text of the thesis, this thesis does not contain

material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which

I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text

of the thesis.

This thesis has not been submitted the award of any degree or diploma in any other

tertiary institution.

Ho Chi Minh, September 2019

Nguyen Thi Ngoc Minh

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The long journey of the study cannot be completed without the encouragement of

many people in a variety of ways.

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Ms.

Nguyen Thuy Nga (PhD) for her on-going support, invaluable feedback, and patience

throughout the study.

I am also thankful for my students at Kien Giang University for their contribution as

willing participants.

Lastly, my special thanks go to my family, friends, and colleagues who always love

and support me unconditionally during the time I conducted the study.

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ABSTRACT

The current research aimed at investigating the frequencies of reading strategies

employed by Vietnamese non-English major students while taking a reading

comprehension test at Kien Giang University. Furthermore, the study took into

consideration the correlation between students’ utilization of reading strategies and

their reading performance, as well as the difference between successful and less

successful students in terms of reading strategy use. Data was collected through a

reading comprehension test and a questionnaire from 117 sophomores who majored

in Economics, Accounting and Construction at Kien Giang University. The results

from the descriptive statistics showed that Vietnamese non-English majors were

medium strategy users. Of the three types of reading strategies, cognitive strategies

were the most frequently used, followed by metacognitive and support reading

strategies. As for their preference for individual reading strategies, students

reportedly used item number 14 “I read the text again for better understanding” at

the highest frequency while rating item number 2 “I determined what the type of the

text is” the least frequency. Besides, the Pearson correlation found that there was a

statistically significant correlation between students’ use of reading strategies and

their reading performance. While positive correlations were reported for

metacognitive and cognitive strategies, negative correlation was stated for support

strategies. Regarding strategies used by successful and less successful students, the

independent samples t-test revealed that significant differences were found in the use

of 20 reading strategies. Successful students scored highest in seventeen strategies

while less successful students scored higher than their counterparts in only three

strategies. Furthermore, students with a higher proficiency in English seemed to

preferred “top-down” strategies, whereas students with lower proficiency in English

appeared to favor “bottom-up” strategies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .............................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ..........................................................................................ii

ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................. iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................iv

LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................vii

LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS....................................................................................ix

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................1

1.1. Background of the study ......................................................................................1

1.2. Statement of the problem .....................................................................................2

1.3. Research aims.......................................................................................................4

1.4. Research questions...............................................................................................4

1.5. Significance of the study......................................................................................5

1.6. Definition of terms...............................................................................................5

1.7. Thesis structure ....................................................................................................6

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................7

2.1. The theory of reading ...........................................................................................7

2.1.1. Definition of reading ................................................................................7

2.1.2. Models of reading.....................................................................................8

2.1.2.1. Bottom-up model..........................................................................8

2.1.2.2. Top-down model...........................................................................9

2.1.2.3. Interactive model ........................................................................11

2.2. Reading strategies ..............................................................................................12

2.2.1 Definition of reading strategies...............................................................12

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2.2.2 Classification of reading strategies..........................................................13

2.3. Successful and less successful students.............................................................16

2.4. Previous related studies......................................................................................18

2.4.1. Studies on reading strategies used by ESL or EFL learners ..................18

2.4.2. Studies on the relationship between reading strategies use and reading

comprehension performance .....................................................................................20

2.5. The research model ............................................................................................24

2.6. Summary of chapter 2 ........................................................................................26

Chapter 3: METHODOLOGY ..............................................................................27

3.1. Participants.........................................................................................................27

3.2. Instruments.........................................................................................................28

3.2.1. Reading comprehension test...................................................................28

3.2.2. Questionnaire..........................................................................................29

3.3. Validity and reliability of instruments...............................................................30

3.3.1. Validity and reliability of the reading comprehension test ....................30

3.3.2. Validity and reliability of the questionnaire...........................................31

3.4. Data collection procedures.................................................................................31

3.5. Data analysis procedures....................................................................................32

3.6. A summary of chapter 3.....................................................................................34

Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ...........................................35

4.1. Results for research question 1 ..........................................................................35

4.2. Results for research question 2 ..........................................................................40

4.3. Results for research question 3 ..........................................................................45

4.4. Discussion of the findings..................................................................................51

4.4.1. Research question 1................................................................................51

4.4.2. Research question 2................................................................................53

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4.4.3. Research question 3................................................................................55

4.5. A summary of chapter 4.....................................................................................58

Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...........................................59

5.1. Conclusion..........................................................................................................59

5.2. Pedagogical implications ...................................................................................60

5.3. Limitations and suggestions for further research...............................................62

5.4. A summary of chapter 5.....................................................................................63

REFERENCES........................................................................................................64

APPENDIXES .........................................................................................................73

Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................73

Appendix 2 ................................................................................................................82

Appendix 3 ................................................................................................................85

Appendix 4 ................................................................................................................87

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 2.1. Bottom-up model......................................................................................9

Figure 2.2. Top-down model.....................................................................................10

Figure 2.3. The research model.................................................................................25

Figure 4.1. The number of strategies by level of use................................................40

Figure 4.2. The number of strategies by level of use between successful and less

successful students ....................................................................................................48