Reading performance and reading interests of college freshman students of Thai Nguyen University: basis for supplementary integrative reading materials

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

READING PERFORMANCE AND READING INTERESTS OF

COLLEGE FRESHMAN STUDENTS OF THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY:

BASIS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY INTEGRATIVE READING

MATERIALS

A Dissertation

Presented to

The Faculty of Graduate School

Batangas State University

Batangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major in English

By:

DINH THI HUONG (LILAC)

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

ABSTRACT

Title : READING PERFORMANCE AND READING INTERESTS

OF COLLEGE FRESHMAN STUDENTS OF THAI

NGUYEN UNIVERSITY: BASIS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY

INTEGRATIVE READING MATERIALS

Author : Dinh Thi Huong (Lilac)

Course : Doctor of Philosophy

Major : English

Year : 2015

Adviser : Dr. AMADA BANAAG

Summary

The study looked into the reading performance and reading

interests of College Freshmen of Thai Nguyen University as basis for

developing college supplementary integrative reading materials.

Reading materials on music, literature, food and health, sports and

games and science were the main concerns in assessing students’

interest on the mentioned materials. A total of 400 college freshmen

were included in the survey conducted in College of Education,

College of Agriculture & Forestry, College of Information Technology,

College of Science and College of Economics & Business

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

Administration. The study tested the following hypothesis that there is

no significant relationship between demographic profile and level of

reading performance of students and there is no significant relationship

between reading performance and reading interests of students.

To gather the needed data, reading test was administered and

a researcher-made questionnaire were utilized. Content validity was

established by submitting the instrument to the adviser for the

comments and suggestions and to the experts in the field. The data

generated by the test and the questionnaire were analyzed using

percentage, weighted mean, chi-square test and Pearson-r.

Findings of the study revealed that in terms of gender, one

hundred forty-nine of the student respondents are males, while two

hundred fifty-one are females. As to type of school graduated from,

seventy-nine are from private schools, while three hundred twenty-one

are from public schools. In terms of living accommodation, one hundred

thirty-seven owned their accommodation, while two hundred sixty-three

are only renting their places. In terms of family income, ninety-six come

from high earners, while one hundred forty-three are with their families

who fall under average earners. Meanwhile, one hundred sixty-one of

the students come from low earner families. In terms of educational

qualification of parents, one hundred one of the respondents’ mother

obtained college degree; two hundred eighty-eight finished high school

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

diploma; while eleven respondents reported that their mothers only

completed the elementary curriculum. On the other hand, one hundred

thirty of the respondents’ father obtained college degree; two hundred

sixty-six finished high school diploma; while four respondents reported

that their fathers only completed the elementary curriculum

Moreover, in the students’ reading performance in English, one

hundred forty of the respondents fall under average reading

performance followed by moderately good gotten by one hundred fifteen

of the respondents. Meanwhile, only six fall under good reading

performance. Overall mean performance indicates that the students fall

under average reading performance

In the relationship between demographic profile and reading

performance of the students, the computed p-value for type of school

graduated from shows that there is a significant relationship on reading

performance. However, the computed value of gender; living

accommodation; family income; educational qualification of father; and

mother which are all greater than 0.05, indicate that reading

demographic profile has no significant relationship on the reading

performance of the students.

In addition, the reading interests of students relates music,

musical reviews got the highest weighted mean with verbal

interpretation of interesting. This was followed by The Life Story of

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

Beethoven with a weighted mean verbally interpreted as interesting.

However, The Birth of a New Tenor obtained the lowest weighted mean

with less interesting verbal interpretation.

In terms of literature, Diaries of Famous People in Vietnam is

interesting as compared to Historical Novels which according to the

respondents was less interesting.

In terms of food and health, health journals got the highest weighted

mean with less interesting verbal interpretation. It was followed by Fitness

and Wellness Magazines. Lastly, the Recipe Books obtained the lowest

weighted mean.

In terms of sports and games, basketball Tips got the highest

weighted mean; followed by Journals of Great Athletes and sharing on

the last rank are Biographies of Football Stars and Sports Reviews.

In terms of science, Issue on Ebola Virus got the highest weighted

mean, followed by Discoveries on Space and Astronomy and lastly,

Reading on Stem Cell Therapy.

In the relationship between reading performance and reading

interests, the computed p-value for music; literature; food and health;

sports and game; and science which are all greater than 0.05, indicate

that reading interest has no significant relationship on the reading

performance of the students.

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

Therefore, reading performance is not affected by students’

reading interest.

The study therefore recommends that literary works and musical

reading materials, as mostly appreciated by the respondents to aid their

reading performance, must be enhanced.

Integrative simple musical literary pieces may be given to

students together with a follow-up study giving emphasis on other

factors aside from the reading interest which could improve reading

performance such as language difficulty, level of fluency and reading

rate. Supplementary reading materials are hereby proposed for

implementation.

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The writer extends her sincerest thanks and appreciations to those

people who in one way or another have helped make this piece of work

a reality.

Dr. Dang Kim Vui, President of Thai Nguyen University, for

establishing the international cooperation relationship between BSU and

TNU.

Dr. Hoang Bich Thao, Director for International Training Center, for

his assistance and for supporting the researcher a chance to gain

professional growth through completion of this study.

The Panel of Examiners, for their honest and meaningful

comments and recommendation to go on with this research work.

Dr. Amada Banaag, her adviser and mentor, who drained all her effort

and her best during the entire preparation and revision of this study.

To the Rectors of the University, for his permission to conduct the

research at Thai Nguyen Universities.

To the students who served as her respondents for their

assistance and collaboration in providing information necessary for the

completion of the study.

To her family and her children, for inspiring her to fulfill her dream.

To her ever dearest friends, and relatives who in one way or

another, gave her encouragement and remarkable support.

D.T.H

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

APPROVAL SHEET

This dissertation entitled READING PERFORMANCE AND READING

INTERESTS OF COLLEGE FRESHMAN STUDENTS OF THAI

NGUYEN UNIVERSITY: BASIS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY

INTEGRATIVE READING MATERIALS

prepared and submitted by DINH THI HUONG in partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy major in

English has been examined and is recommended for Oral Examination.

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT..............................................................................................i

ACKNOWLEDGMENT...........................................................................vi

APPROVAL SHEET .............................................................................vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS.......................................................................viii

LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................x

CHAPTER

I. THE PROBLEM

Introduction.....................................................................1

Statement of the Problem...............................................6

Scope, Delimitations and Limitations of the Study .........7

Significance of the Study................................................7

II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Conceptual Literature...................................................10

Research Literature......................................................25

Synthesis......................................................................31

Theoretical Framework.................................................34

Conceptual Framework ................................................36

Hypothesis....................................................................38

III. RESEARCH METHOD AND PROCEDURE

Research Environment.................................................40

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

Research Design..........................................................42

Subjects of the Study ...................................................43

Data Gathering Instrument...........................................45

Data Gathering Procedure ...........................................47

Statistical Treatment of Data........................................48

IV. PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND

INTERPRETATION OF DATA

V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary ....................................................................139

Findings......................................................................141

Conclusions................................................................144

Recommendations .....................................................145

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDIX

A. Questionaire for student.........................................156

B. Letter Of request To Conduct Study ......................170

C. Documentation for dry-run .....................................175

E. Photographs of the Research Sites .......................176

F. Photographs of the Approval Test Administration..177

G. Photographs of the Student Respondents ............178

CURRICULUM VITAE

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page

1 .Distribution of Subjects...............................................................43

2. Scale of Reading interests of students........................................46

3. Scale of Reading performance of students .................................47

4. Gender Profile of Student Respondents .....................................50

5. Type of High School Graduated from Profile of Student

Respondents ...............................................................................51

6. Living Accommodation Profile of Student Respondents .............52

5. Monthly Family Income Profile of Student Respondents ............52

8. Educational Attainment of Parents Profile of Student

Respondents ...............................................................................53

9. Level of the Students’ Reading Performance in English .............55

10. Relationship between Demographic Profile and Reading

Performance of the Students.......................................................57

11. Reading Interests of Freshman Students with Regards to

Literature .....................................................................................59

12. Reading Interests of Freshman Students with Regards to Science....60

13. Reading Interests of Freshman Students with Regards to Sports

and Games..................................................................................61

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

14 .Reading Interests of Freshman Students with Regards to Music ...63

15. Reading Interests of Freshman Students with Regards to Food

and Health ...................................................................................64

16. Summary Table on the Reading Interest of the Students ...........66

17. Relationship between the Reading Performance of the Students

and Reading Interests of Freshman Students.............................67

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Title Page

1. The Conceptual Model of the Study Using the

Input-Process-Output Approach…………………………………..……37

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

CHAPTER I

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

The importance of education cannot be underestimated for it is

not the quality alone that most educators are after, but most of all, an

effective English language teaching instruction especially in non-native

English speaking countries like Vietnam. The world today is very

competitive where teaching college English emphasizes not only theory

but more on practice in order to compete rigorously with other countries.

It is now the concern of English teachers to apply language learning into

useful, meaningful and worthwhile classroom engagements and create

career advantage in life.

As English is the language of academic instruction, the success

of students depend on their communication ability which is anchored on

their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills in English. But in the

recent times, the performance of the college students have fallen short

of the standard output expected while there is an increasing complaint

of the college professors that most college students are disabled

readers. Most of the college students are no longer fluent in speaking,

reading, and writing the English language.

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THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY

Socialist Republic of Vietnam

BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY

Republic of the Philippines

With the advent of new technology, students nowadays spend

more of their free time enjoying with their gadgets, mostly for games

rather than with their reading materials. No matter how hard educators

push the campaign of reading among students, most of them would

prefer not to participate

One of the most important skills being taught to students today is

reading. This is the foundation for which the individual builds new skills,

expands knowledge, and drives great satisfaction. Perhaps, the most

complex process the students experience is the skill in reading. The

teacher, whether in elementary, secondary or even in college, needs to

guide the students properly in the acquisition of basic skills to be able to

read with understanding.

Development of reading skills is vital most especially for students.

Reading is a multifaceted process that develops only with practice.

There are certain aspects of reading, such as fluency and word

recognition, which can be learned in a few years. These basics must be

mastered but at the same time reading comprehension should be

emphasized in the process.

Nowadays, in Vietnam, English is considered as a basic subject. It

is being taught in most of the universities, including Thai Nguyen

University. In doing so, the University is doing its best to keep the students

at par with their other Asian counterparts in terms of English studies. This