Using graphic organizers to enhance 10th graders’ reading comprehension

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1. Rationale for the study
Regarded as an international language, English is spoken in most parts of the world - and is considered the principle means of communication among the trade, diplomatic, and airline communities. English has been a compulsory subject among Vietnamese students for many years. Teaching English in Vietnam will help our students take advantage of globalization, and teachers are always seeking ways to improve their techniques for more effective lesson plans and higher cognitive retention among their students at all levels. As a teacher of English at a high school, the author constantly faces the many problems inherent in helping students absorb and apply a foreign language. Of primary importance is teaching reading skills, which is a topic of much debate among researchers. In English textbooks for Vietnamese upper secondary school students, reading is the first skill to start a unit because, without understanding the material, further study is futile. Reading is a receptive skill, therefore, by reading the text, students can improve their vocabulary, understand the topic(s) of the unit, gain a more complete picture of the ways in which the elements of the language work together to convey meaning, and apply their improving language skills across many other life endeavors. The goal of reading comprehension instruction is to help students understand written language. When comprehension is successful, learners are left with a sense of satisfaction from having understood the meaning of a text. From this, they can comprehend, interpret, integrate critique, analyze, connect, and evaluate ideas in texts. However, among the passages in textbooks for Vietnamese secondary students that I have read, lessons are long and complicated, and contain needless repetition that is boring rather than inspiring to students. Therefore, many of the students seem not to be interested in the reading lessons. They have low motivation to study. This problem is the foundation of my thesis, and I address how to teach reading comprehension more attractively and effectively, so that more students will want to learn. In this thesis, the author demonstrated the use of graphic organizers, and examined their effectiveness in opening the textbook’s content in such a way as to increase 10th grade students’ motivation to read and enjoy English. Teacher observations and student surveys were collected to determine the effectiveness of using these new techniques. The results of this research will yield a new plan for using various kinds of graphic organizers to help teachers with teaching reading comprehension (with greater student enjoyment and retention). It is hoped that using graphic organizers will be an effective technique for teaching reading comprehension in high schools in Viet Nam and elsewhere.
For all the reasons mentioned above, I have decided to choose “Using graphic organizers to enhance 10th graders’ reading comprehension” as the topic of my initiative titled.
1.2. Purpose of the study and research questions
This study aims at examining the use of graphic organizers for 10th graders in reading comprehension lessons at Trieu Son 3 High school.
These are the two objectives of the study:
- To discover some problems students encouter as they develop their reading skill.
- To investigate the effectiveness of using graphic organizers to enhance 10th graders’ reading comprehension.
- To find out students and teachers’ attitudes towards using graphic organizers in exploiting the reading passages and give some recommendations
In an attempt to achieve the above-presented aims, the study should to answer the following research questions:
1. What difficulties do 10th graders at Trieu Son 3 High school encounter in learning reading comprehension skill?
2. How effective are graphic organizers in enhancing students’ reading comprehension?
3. What are students and teachers’ attitudes towards graphic organizers?
1.3. Scope of the study
Although there are many ways to motivate students to learn English, it is impractical to cover them all in this paper. Due to the limited time and length of a minor thesis, I chose to focus my research on utilizing graphic organizers as a way of improving 10th graders’ reading comprehension at Trieu Son 3 High school. The student focus group is comprised of 40 students of grade 10 at this school
1.4. Methods of the study
This study involves 40 students at Trieu Son 3 high school. The study employs reading comprehension (pre test and post test) (see appendix 3) as the principal method of data collection. Data are analyzed statistically, resulting in percentage of items. 
PART2: DEVELOPMENT
	2.1. Literature Review
	2.1.1. Reading skill
Reading is a mental or cognitive process which involves the writer (the creator of the ideas to be communicated), the reader, the text, and the interaction between the reader and the text. In this process the reader decodes written symbols- beginning with smaller units (individual letters) and transitioning to larger ones (words, clauses, and sentences) in order to extract meaning from the text.
	Reading is a vital link in the teaching learning process. The most essential purpose of reading is to transmit information to the students/readers. Jeremy Harmer (2010, p. 99) expanse on the essential purpose by offering several additional reasons why getting students to read English text is an important part of teacher’s job. In additional to just gaining information, students often desire to read texts in English to better their careers- or for the simple pleasure of learning. And not to be overlooked, there is the beneficial and continuing upward spiral of learning wherein reading leads to improved vocabulary, which, in turn, leads to improved spelling and writing abilities.
	2.1.2. Reading comprehension 
Reading comprehension has been identified as one of the major goals of reading instruction (Norton, 1997). Goudvis and Harvey (2000, p.9) stated that “Comprehension means that readers think not only about what they are reading but what they are learning. When readers construct meaning, they are building their store of knowledge”. “Reading without comprehension is meaningless” (Karlin and Kartin, 1982, p. 2).
According to Snow (2002, p. 22), reading comprehension is defined as “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language”. Extracting meaning from text is to understand what the author has explicitly or implicitly stated. Constructing meaning is to interpret what the author has written based on the reader’s background knowledge, experiences, capabilities, and abilities. 
Sharing this point of view, Klinger& Geisler (2008) reveal that “reading comprehension is the process of constructing meaning from a text and involves the complex coordination of several processes, including ‘decoding, word reading, and fluency along with the integration of background knowledge and previous experiences’.” It is a complex process that requires the activation of numerous cognitive skills (Kintsch, 1998).
Also, Richard and Thomas (1987, p.9) have pointed out “reading comprehension is best described as an understanding between the author and the reader”. Though these opinions are not exactly the same, they all show that reading comprehension is the process in which the readers, as they read, can recognize the graphic forms of the reading text and understand what is implied behind these forms. 
From the preceding scholarly studies and opinions, it can be seen that comprehension is the reason for reading. It encompasses the learning, growth, and evolution of ideas that occurs as one reads. Reading any language provides students with a variety of opportunities to learn and absorb new vocabulary, grammar, sentence structures and discourse structure, as they occur in a variety of contexts. Improving language-teaching text books will help promote students’ reading skills and, when integrated with other skills, will help student’s comprehension—that is, their ability to absorb the material they are studying. 
	2.1.3. Graphic organizers: 
There are many definitions about graphic organizers. Bromley, et al. (1995, p.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.
Sharing the same ideas, Amin (2004, p.3) claimed that “A graphic organizer is a visual and graphic display that depicts the relationships between facts, items, and ideas within a learning task”. In addition, Herley in Zwiers (2004, p.17) stated that graphic organizers are drawings that use geometric shapes or tables to show connections between 
2.1.4. Roles of graphic organizers in reading comprehension
Reading plays a very important role in almost every field of study. How to improve reading comprehension is a major concern for most teachers and researchers in education. Among the numerous reading strategies that have been created from this knowledge base, graphic strategies are one of the few approaches that can be applied to improve students’ reading comprehension,
	Reading plays a very important role in almost every field of study. How to improve reading comprehension is a major concern for most teachers and researchers in education. Among the numerous reading strategies that have been created from this knowledge base, graphic strategies are one of the few approaches that can be applied to improve students’ reading comprehension,
It is important to note that there are various functions of graphic organizers. In reading comprehension, they assist learners to clarify and organize information into categories (main idea, supporting details, topic sentence, and facts) and then to organize the information in a paragraph for better understanding. Cleveland (2005, p.3) states that:
Graphic organizers are great tools when you are reading - they can help you through a poem, a story, a biography or an informational article. Organizers help you analyze what you are reading. You can use them to recognize patterns in your reading, such as identifying main idea of a story or an article, and finding details that support the main idea. They can help you to compare and contrast things within a story or between two stories. They can even be useful after you read. You can use them to organize your notes and figure out the most important point. They are visual displays of key content information designed to benefit learners by graphically organizing the information. 
Also, Pang (2013) states that graphic organizers help learners in “classifying facts, analyzing problems, summarizing main points, and criticizing or evaluating the decisions made by authors” 
In reality, many current language textbooks emphasize product (answers to comprehension questions) over process (using reading skills and strategies to understand the text), providing little or no contextual information about the reading selections or their authors. As a result, students find the reading comprehension lessons boring and static. Looking at graphic organizers is less overwhelming than looking at a full text so “Students are expected to comprehend texts better when shown visually how information in the text is organized” (Jiang & Grabe, 2007, p. 39). Therefore, with graphic organizers, learners are likely to feel more motivated and encouraged when it is more understandable for them.
2.1.5. Graphic organizers in teaching reading activities
Graphic organizers can be used in three steps in teaching reading: Pre-reading, while-reading, and post-reading. Graphic organizers may be effectively applied during each step to enhance student’s reading comprehension and enjoyment of the texts.
Pre-reading:
	This vital step prepares the student to absorb the content to be studied during the while - reading phase. Jones (2004, p.149) stated: 
“Before you read, graphic organizers remind you of what you already know about a topic, and help you to think about what you want or need to know about the topic you will be reading. By asking you to use your background knowledge, you can connect or glue yourself to what you are reading, which makes the reading easier and more interesting” 
The primary purpose of graphic organizers is to pre - teach the main concepts and terms in a text. This will provide students with a mental framework on which to build new knowledge. Because graphic organizers are given to students before they begin reading, they provide a great springboard for pre-reading discussions that will elicit additional prior knowledge on the topic.
While - reading:
	This second step is where content is introduced and absorbed the actual learning that takes place during the allotted classroom or homework activity time.
Jones (2004, p. 149) stated:
“While you read, graphic organizers help you to keep your reading brain alert and awake and focused on what you are reading. They also help you fix up any confusing passage you come across. They may also ask you to predict or think about what is coming next, which helps to keep you glued to the reading”
	Graphic organizers help students construct meaning. The following learning tools can be used with any book and across all grade levels. Use them to assess students’ understanding of what they are reading, observe their thinking process on what they read as a class, as a group, or independently.
Post - reading
Using graphic organizers in the post-reading step reinforces what the students have read, and helps with their content-retention. Jones (2004) agreed that graphic organizers remind the readers of what they read after reading. Graphic organizers can help them to navigate through all the sounds of words they were introduced to, and to find the most important ideas in the reading (and to retain what they read). Graphic organizers in this research context means any graphic displays that help the readers obtain (or retain) the meaning of the text in terms of organizing and linking ideas by using visual aids as presented in the graphic organizer section. The purpose of using these graphic organizers is to help find the main idea, or explicit information, or implicit information and inference-and remember them. 
2. 2. Research context
	2.2.1. Setting and participants
The participants involved in the research were forty students in grade 10 in Trieu Son 3 high school in the 2017-2018 academic year. Most of the students in Trieu Son 3 high school are living in the surrounding rural areas—where their families are employed in the agriculture sector. Our students are required to study 13 compulsory subjects, so they spend little time learning English, and their verbal skills are weak. Though they have been studying English for many years, their focus has been on learning syntax and grammar so they can pass regular examinations.
Moreover, because their parents are farmers who never use English in their daily lives, the students receive little encouragement at home to develop vital communication skills. As a result, most of the students do not know what they are studying English for except to pass their exams. Although they know it is important to learn English in the modern life, they become bored with learning it. In each class, there are only a few students really learning English and it is those few who are interested in learning it! The majority of the students usually forget most the things they have learned as soon as their testing period is over. Once the students lose their motivation for learning, the quality of their classroom experience rapidly declines.. There were 20 students in each group and the students’ average age is sixteen.
Table 2.1: The numbers of the Students in the two groups
Group
Female
Male
Total
Control group
8
12
20
Experimental group
9
11
20
Total
17
23
40
	2.2.2. Materials
	Our school’s 10th Grade English Language textbook “Tieng Anh 10” (Van, Hoang Van et al, 2006). It is a traditional textbook structured with a priority towards theme-based or topic-based learning models. The textbook has desirable aims of providing students with a foundational knowledge of numerous fields, a favorable attitude towards the English Language, and the four skills generally recognized as building proficiency in language study: Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. 
	In order to achieve these objectives, the content of the book is designed to utilize themes with which all students will be familiar. Included are topics related to the student’s social lives, to sports, to work, and to leisure activities—universal experiences. For each topic, related vocabulary and word studies are presented communicatively. There are 6 themes: “You and me”, “Education”, “Community”, “Recreation”, “Nature and Environment”, and “People and places”. The book contains sixteen units, with each unit presenting five lessons with four different skills and a language focus. Reading is the first unit in each lesson, guiding students to key words and phrases of the related topic—which then become “building blocks” that enable them to learn additional skills. 
	Some tasks in the text book are difficult while some others are not really challenging. This disparity requires teachers to creatively motivate students by adapting exercises to their interest levels. Being effective at this adaptive skill is what sets teachers apart (average from excellent) worldwide. 
2.2.3. Kinds of graphic organizers applied in the research
	Graphic organizers can have various forms, from representations of objects to hierarchical and cyclical structures. No matter what the special name, a graphic organizer is a VISUAL representation of knowledge. 
	Mcgill, Murphy, and Freeman (2009) state that graphic organizers are generally labeled as conceptual, hierarchical, cyclical, and sequential. First, conceptual organizers help students show their learning or knowledge of central ideas such as concept maps, KWL charts or Venn diagram. 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. Third, a sequential graphic organizer such as Storyboards, T-charts, and cause and effect organizer, can be applied to explain the sequence of events. The last type, a cyclical organizer is known as the circle organizer or the circle diagram. 
	Graphic organizers have also been categorized by both structure and function. The structure category contains "Webbing, Concept Mapping, Matrix, and Flow Chart," whereas the function category consists of ‘‘Describing, Comparing & Contrasting, Classifying, Sequencing, Causal, and Decision Making’’ (Loretta F., 2008)
	Moreover, Bellanca (2007) supports and adds some graphic organizers. In his book entitled A Guide to Graphic Organizers, he puts graphic organizers in total twenty four types. They are KWL, Web, Sequence Chart, Starburst, Gathering Grid, 5+1 Newspaper, Jigsaw, Making Ladder, Scale, PMI, Venn Diagram, Spider map, Classification Grid, Agree-Disagree Chart, Prediction Tree, Decision Maker’ Flow Chart, Concept Map, Fishbone analyze, Problem Solving Chart, Two-Way Thinking Tower, Classification Flow Chart, Right Angle, Inference Funnel, and What is the big idea.
	Basing on the reading passages in the Vietnamese current text books for upper secondary students, the author chose four following types of graphic organizers to investigate and apply in the research.
	Timeline
	Using timeline helps student makes connections and understands complex events in chronological order. It can be used to record events from a story or a history lesson in a sequential format. But most important of all, it can also provide comp