To improve reading comprehension skill for grade 12 students at le loi high school by utilizing graphic organizers

THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
LE LOI HIGH SCHOOL
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A RESEARCH PAPER FOR HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS OF ENGLISH
TITLE: 
TO IMPROVE READING COMPREHENSION SKILL FOR GRADE 12 STUDENTS AT LE LOI HIGH SCHOOL BY UTILIZING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS 
 The writer: Phạm Thị Lý
Position: Teacher
Experience Initiative: English
THO XUAN, 2019
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Trang
A. INTRODUCTION
3
I. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH
3
II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
3
III. SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD
4
1. The scope of the research
4
2. The objectives of the research
4
3. The method of the research
4
B. DEVELOPMENT
4
PART1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
4
I. Reading Comprehension
4
1. The nature of reading comprehension
4
2. The factors influencing reading comprehension
5
2.1. External factors
5
2.2. Internal factors
5
3. Reading comprehension skill
5
3.1. Main idea
6
3.2. Explicit information
6
3.3. Vocabulary
6
3.4. Inference
6
II. Graphic Organizers
6
1. Definition of Graphic Organizers
6
Types of Graphic Organizers
6
3. The Benefits of Graphic Organizers to reading comprehension
9
4. Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Activities
9
PART 2: PRACTICAL BACKGROUND
10
The background of the study
10
The problems faced by students and teacher in learning and teaching reading comprehension at Le Loi high school.
10
2.1. The problems faced by the grade 12 students in learning reading comprehension 
10
2.2. The problems faced by teachers in teaching reading comprehension
11
The method employed in teaching reading comprehension skill to the grade 12 students at Thieu Hoa high school.
11
PART 3: THE SOLUTIONS
12
The Purposes of the Solutions.
12
The Time & the Participants of the Study
13
Reading Materials
13
The Procedures of the study
13
Technique of Collecting Data
17
Techniques of Analyzing Data
17
Result and discussion.
17
1. Results of the study.
17
Discussion
18
 2.1. The strength
18
 2.2. The weaknesses
18
C. CONCLUSSION
19
I. Conclusion
19
II. Suggestion
19
For English teachers
19
For the students
20
For the school
20
A. INTRODUCTION
I. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH
It is widely recognized that reading is one of the most important skills for English as a foreign language students to master. English is thought to be one of the decisive factors for people's success at the period of globalization. In Vietnam, in recent years teaching methods have been more and more improved. There have been a lot of activities organized in order to enhance the effectiveness and help students be more active and self-confident in learning English in general and reading skills in particular. To students, nowadays, English is not only a core subject in the curriculum at school but also key to gain access to the information world that proves of great value to all of them. 
Of four language skills, reading is believed to be the most important and also most difficult skill to students. According to the time allocation, the school time for English lessons is limited with only 3 periods a week, each lasts 45 minutes. In an academic year, students complete 16 units, in which there are 16 reading lessons. 
Through classroom observations at Le Loi schools, I find that in reading lesson, my students often have difficulties in identifying explicit information in a text, and comprehending the text as they lack of vocabulary; they are also unable to find main idea in a paragraph as well as to infer the meaning of the text. Moreover, they feel scared when doing a long and difficult reading task because the reading lessons are not exciting enough to get students involved in their learning. The reality poses a question to teachers about how to encourage students to learn and improve their reading skills so that they will be able to pass the English paper in the coming national examination in which reading skill acomplishes large proportion. 
One of the possible solutions for such problems is using graphic organizers because these organizers can help students clarify and organize information into categories (main idea, supporting details, topic sentence, facts, opinion, etc), organize information in a paragraph for better understanding, construct meaning of difficult words and sentence dividing into lexis and understand the context by associating with prior knowledge. Furthermore, graphic organizers are considered as wonderful techniques to make students actively engaged in their learning. Because organizers include words, visual images, illustrative shapes, meaningful labels and logical displays, they are effective for a variety of students with different language levels and different multiple intelligences, especially for those with a visual modality preference. 
For the aforementioned reasons, the author decided to choose the study entitled “ To improve reading comprehension skill for the grade 12 students by utilizing graphic organizers”. 
II. AIMS OF THE RESEARCH
 The study aimed at seeing whether the graphic organizers are beneficial for my students. Specifically, the aims include:
To identify whether and to what extent Graphic Organizers can improve grade 12 students’ reading comprehension skill in identifying the main idea, dealing with vocabulary, fact and opinion, and making inferences.
	To describe the situation when Graphic Organizers are used in reading classes.
	III. SCOPE, OBJECT AND RESEARCHING METHOD
	1. The scope of the research.
Based on the background and identification of the theme, the study is limited on teaching reading comprehension to the students in grade 12th by using using graphic Organizers. The research was conducted at my workplace- at Thieu Hoa high school, Thieu Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province. The subject consists of 46 students who come from class 12A, school year 2015-2016. All of them are at the age of seventeenth years old. They have to take every skill in each period; learning time is 3 periods per week. 
2. The object of the research.
The research study is organized into three parts as followed:
Part 1 provides basic information including the rationale, objectives, method, scope and design of the study.
Part 2 reviews the related literature on reading comprehension presents the effectiveness of using graphic Organizers in teaching and learning reading comprehension as well as deals with some difficulties faced by teachers and students before applying the technique.
Part 3 involves the result analysis as well as the discussion of the data and draws the conclusion, implication on the subject matter and suggestions for further research.
3. The method of the research.
When conducting this paper, I have employed these following methods.
- Collecting information about the theme.
- Practicing teaching
- Observing and assessing.
- Exchanging experience with colleagues
B. DEVELOPMENT
PART I. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I. Reading Comprehension.
The nature of reading comprehension.
Reading is an activity of inferring meaning out of written symbols with the collaborative work of cognitive behaviors and psycho-motor skills (Demirel, 1992). Reading is described as the process of perception in terms of written and published words with the help of senses, comprehension of these after building meaningful connections; intellectual and spiritual acquisition, active and communicative involvement with the written and published symbols, reception consisting of a number of perceptive and cognitive processes, an interpretation and also a reaction. According to Alderson (1984), most scholars would suppose that reading is one of the most important skills for educational and professional success. In highlighting the importance of reading comprehension Rivers (1981) stated that ― reading is the most important activity in any language class, not only as a source of information and pleasurable activity but also as a means of consolidating and extending one‘s which are knowledge of the language.
As Karakas (2002) pointed that the real objective of reading is fast and right grasp of the meaning. Especially, reading at high speed along with full comprehension is a critical factor affecting the success of the students. Students who can read at a high speed, understand what is being read, have a rich verbal repertoire and have a good master of the language, learn more easily and have higher rates of success . The level of reading can be designated by asking questions about the reading text being read and evaluating the related answers in verbal or written way (Çalışkan, 2004).
According to Eskey (1988) in advanced levels of second language the ability to read the written language at a reasonable rate and with good comprehension has long been recognized to be as oral skills if not more important.
From the theories above, it can be concluded that reading comprehension is a complex process in which the reader interacts with the text and employs his/her previous knowledge, experience and information to extract the significant information/important information, understand the intentions of the writer, and goes beyond what is written to guess at hidden, unstated or implied meaning on the text.
The Factors Influencing Reading Comprehension
Dallman (1982: 165) points out the factors influencing the reading comprehension as follows:
2.1. External Factors:
Difficulty of material: difficult material that is beyond the students’ level is one of the major causes of lack of comprehension.
Intelligence: a students’ ability to comprehend in reading is sometimes limited by his mental ability enabling him to carry. The intelligence of the reader will influence the capacity of the reader in comprehending passage.
Teacher’ s method: method of teaching that concentrate on the recognition of individual words without neglecting attention to meaning assists the students’ quality in comprehending the text.
2.2. Internal Factors:
Motivation is one of the important factors of learners in reading comprehension.
Self-esteem has important role in developing reading comprehension. It is a human being personality that is active, highly confident.
Reading Comprehension Skill
 Spears (2000: xxvi) states there are eight important reading comprehension skills that help learners to read more systematically. They are comprehending the main idea, determining the author’s purpose, distinguishing between the main idea and supporting details, making inference, distinguishing facts and opinion, analyzing structure, annotating, paraphrasing and summarizing.
The main concern of the research is about how to find the main idea, explicit information, vocabulary, and inference. Therefore, I would like discussing further on those aspects:
	 3.1. Main Idea
Spears (2000: 17) defines main idea as the author’s main point, a sentence, or perhaps two that state what the whole thing is about. The main idea may take place in the beginning of the paragraph, the end of the paragraph, combination between the beginning and the end of the paragraph, or even omitted from the entire paragraph.
3.2. Explicit information
Spears (2000: 12) defines explicit information is a single piece of information or fact about something.
3.3. Vocabulary
According to Schwartz and Raphael (1985: 39) vocabulary is the knowledge of words and words meaning. Knowledge of words is critical to reading comprehension, because it support to comprehension. Students are expected to learn the meaning of new words. They acquire these words by reading books, magazine, newspaper or hearing them read aloud from books by other.
3.4. Inference
McNeil (1992: 77) defines inference as the derivation of some idea that is not directly stated. To infer, Caroll in McNeil suggests that there are three important ways to infer. They are from subtleties of verbal expression, reasoning, making involvement of the reader’s experience to determine how the character in the text might feel.
 II. Graphic Organizers
1. Definition of Graphic Organizers.
There are many definitions about graphic organizers. Among them are from Bromley et al, Sousa, and Zwiers.
Bromley, et al. (1995:7) define graphic organizer as a visual representation of knowledge. It is a way of structuring information, of arranging important information aspects of a concept or topic into a pattern using label. Besides, Sousa (2005:192) states that graphic organizers as valuable tool for organizing and representing knowledge and for illustrating relationship between concepts. In addition, Herley in Zwiers (2004:17) states that graphic organizers are drawings that use geometric shapes or tables to show connections between pieces of information.
2. Types of Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers come in many different forms, each one best suited to organizing a particular type of information. Mcgill, Murphy, and Freeman (2009) state that graphic organizers are generally labeled as conceptual, hierarchical, cyclical, and sequential.
The first, conceptual organizers help students show their learning or knowledge of a central idea. Concept maps, KWL charts, and Venn diagrams are only a few conceptual graphic organizers. KWL charts will help the student organize his or her prior knowledge and the information that he or she wants to learn before new learning begins. Then, after learning has taken place the student will chart what he or she has learned. Venn diagrams are used to compare and contrast two objects, topics, characters, etc.
Second, a hierarchical organizer is used when a student needs to break down broad concept into sub concepts. Some of these organizers include the branching diagram, classifying chart, and topic/subtopic web. Students could use this type of graphic organizer to explain the food chain.
Third, the student will use a sequential graphic organizer when he or she needs to explain the sequence of events. Storyboards, T-charts, and cause and effect organizers are all sequential. This type of organizer could be used when telling the beginning, middle, and end of a story.
The last, there are times when it would be best to use a cyclical organizer. These organizers may be better known as the circle organizer or the circle diagram. These could be used to show life cycles or the water cycle.
In Figures 1 to 5, examples of some graphic organizers that are used for interpreting a text with a specific objective are shown. Figure 1.1 is a graphic organizer that could be used to classify the author’s purpose in a reading comprehension passage. This could be further developed based on the requirements for different passages. Figure 2 is a graphic organizer that could be used to classify the main idea and supporting details in a passage. Figure 3 & 4 are graphic organizers that could be used for classifying information in a passage as fact or opinion and comparison or contrasting respectively. Finger 5 is used to remember the event easily.
 Figure 1. Author’s purpose
 Figure 2. Main Idea & Supporting Details 
 Main idea
Supporting detail
....
...
..
Supporting detail
....
...
..
Supporting detail
..
...
 	Figure 3. Fact and Opinion
 Figure 4. Compare and Contrast
 Figure 5. Remember event.
An event map is another great tool that focuses on one event, such as a major conflict. The chart asks students to follow the W+H model of thought (who, what, when, where, why, how)
3. The Benefits of Graphic Organizers to reading comprehension.
 	In terms of reading comprehension, graphic organizers can be effectively used in all lessons for students of all ages to check not only students’ understanding but also to motivate and enhance their thinking skills. Krasnic (2011, p.24) claims that students are able to clear their thoughts and sharpen their thinking by organizing and connecting key concepts related to what they are reading from the text. This process can help the students to improve their critical thinking, a kind of cognitive activity that appears in many categories of the cognitive process dimension.
Graphic organizers are wonderful tools to get students actively engaged in their learning. Because these visual representations include words, images and symbolic patterns such as conceptual, hierarchical, cyclical and sequential, they seem to be effective with students with verbal, visual and logical learning styles. Students who are good at their merits feel easier to demonstrate their reading understanding by using graphic organizers instead of answering comprehension questions in verbal languages. 
Reading researchers point out that in an English reading lesson, if the teacher uses graphic organizers that appropriately go with the organization of the passage being read, he or she will enhance and facilitate student understanding and develop their full potentials. For example, if the text is presented in a sequential manner, a list or a timeline will be best, or if written in a compare/contrast mode, a 2-column chart or Venn diagram might be better. If the reading passage is related to a central theme and followed by paragraphs that have a relationship to the controlling point, a mind map or a network tree should be used to brainstorm the topic and become a great strategy for students.
With the mentioned benefits, teachers should use graphic organizers to help students prepare themselves for reading, to explore the text with a deeper understanding, to externalize their thinking, and to promote effective learning.
Appropriately use, graphical organizer instructions can significantly reduce the amount of time required to achieve the objective of a reading lesson for both the teacher and learners. However, the appropriate choice of organizers for the reading lesson depends on the teacher’s knowledge of the topic presented in the passage, knowledge of pedagogical content that requires the teacher to plan and conduct an effective lesson with a supportive learning environment, and knowledge of language learners in order to develop students’ creativity and critical thinking – the essential 21st Century skills.
4. Graphic Organizers in the Classroom Activities 
In 1992, Jay McTighe in his book, Graphic Organizers: Collaborative Links to Better Thinking outlined three main ways teachers may use graphic organizers in their teaching and a number of ways that students can use them to aid their learning process. In the reading process, graphic organizers can be used at three levels: Before instruction, during instruction and after instruction. 
Before instruction, graphic organizers are used to understand the level of the students in terms of the content. Pre- reading graphic organizers are constructed by teachers to help structure the lesson and material to be learned, pre-teaching vocabulary and activate prior knowledge. This strategy aims to prepare learners to begin thinking about the material they will be reading.
During instruction, graphic organizers allow students to approach the content cognitively because they assist thinking. It also allows students to construct maps that are appropriate to their learning styles. 
After instruction, they help students as a summarization tool or technique and they help the students to understand their improvement in terms of understanding passage. If a student can connect prior knowledge with what was learned and identify relationships between those ideas, it means graphic organizers have successfully assisted them in the course of their learning process.
Graphic organizers in this research means any graphic displays that help the readers obtain the meaning of the text in term of organizing and linking ideas in purpose of finding main idea, explicit and implicit information
PART 2: PRACTICAL BACKGROUND
1. The background of the study.
I have responsibility for teaching English to class 12A2, at Le Loi high school, which is located in Tho Xuan town, Tho Xuan district, Thanh Hoa pr