Một số thủ pháp trong việc giảng dạy bộ môn đọc hiểu cho sinh viên năm thứ hai trường đại học quản lý và kinh doanh hà nội

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PART 1: INTRODUCTION
I.1. Reasons for the choice of the study
There is no doubt that the role of English in the life of any society in the world
today has been becoming more and more important. The widespread need for English as an
international language puts a considerable pressure on the education resources of any
countries. In case of our country, since our government carried out the open door policy to
attract foreign investment and co-operate with other countries, teaching and learning
English has become necessary. Moreover, it is the English that is used as an effective
medium of international communication. It is the language of trade, science, technology,
tourism, sport, music and many other fields of life. That is the reason why at present,
learning English is not only the interest but also the great and practical demand for many
people, especially for student who always want to assess the modern world. Therefore,
English is now taught as a compulsory subject to all students at university in our country.
Understanding the importance of English, all students at HUBM have tried their
best to gain the first objective to become the economists with good knowledge of English.
Therefore, English has become one of the main subjects at this university. To master
English, the students need to grasp all four skills that are closely related to one another:
Listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among these skills, reading is an important one
because it does not only help student develop other language skills, but also provides them
knowledge on the target language. According to Byrne, “reading is an important way of
expanding the students’ receptive knowledge of the language and in terms of classroom
activities, it is an effective way of simulating students to talk and write”. As we read, we go
back to the time, pass across the oceans and barriers of language, religions and cultures.
Through reading, we can escape into the mind of a philosopher, observe with a scientist,
stay with scholar, analyze with a critic and live through a novel or a play.
However, through the time of using the “English-File 3” to teach reading
comprehension for the second year students of HUBM, I realize that both the teachers and
the students still have difficulties in finding the effective way of teaching and learning the
reading texts in this book. That is the reason why I choose the title “Some techniques in
teaching reading comprehension to the second year students at HUBM” for my thesis.

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I.2. Aims of the study
For the above mentioned reasons the main objectives of my thesis are:
- To understand more fully the nature of reading and reaffirm the importance
teaching and learning reading comprehension for the second year students at HUBM.
- To investigate the real situation of the practical teaching and learning reading
comprehension texts of the teachers and the students at this university and find out the
positive factors and problems that affect the quality of teaching and learning reading
comprehension texts for the second year students of the university.
- To provide some suggested techniques to help the teachers and students of the
university teach and learn reading comprehension in the “English file 3 Intermediate”
course book more effectively.
I.3. Methods of the study
To bring in full presentation of the thesis, firstly, I spend time reading books and
materials available on teaching reading to get knowledge of the subject.
The main method used in this thesis is the quantitative one which consists of the
following tasks:
- Collecting data and information from the students and the teachers at HUBM to
exchange the experience.
- Assessing the real situation of learning and teaching reading comprehension of the
second year students and teachers at HUBM.
- Evaluating the techniques that best fit the teachers and the second year students at
HUBM.
Besides, this thesis is also carried out through a variety of methods such as class
observation, informal interview and discussion with the teachers and students at HUBM.
I.4. Scope of the study
Teaching and learning reading comprehension is an immense study. Because of
limitation of time, the study mainly focuses on some useful techniques that are used in
teaching reading comprehension to the second year students at HUBM. Research on
teaching at other levels would be beyond the scope of this thesis.

I.5. Design of the study
The thesis is divided into three parts:
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Part 1: Introduces the reason for the choice of the study, aims of the study as well as the
scope and methodology of the study.
Part 2: Comprises four chapters
Chapter I presents an overview of the theoretical background of the research. It is
concerned with various linguistic concepts most relevant to the research topic such as the
nature of reading, classification of reading, the importance of reading, etc.
Chapter II is a close look at present teaching and learning reading comprehension at
HUBM.
Chapter III shows the context, description of instruments, data collection and analyzes the
results to draw the findings and recommendations.
Chapter IV offers some suggested techniques to improve reading comprehension to the
second year students at HUBM.
Part 3: Summaries what is addressed in the study, presents recommendation for
improvements and some suggestions for further research.
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part 2: development
Chapter I. Literature review
I.1. An overview on the Nature of reading.
I.1.1.Definition of reading
People, besides the activities of eating to live and to exist, also have a demand for
reading to widen their minds. Only by reading a lot, can people grasp what is happening all
over the world and get in touch with the civilization of mankind, because book is the
quintessence of the historical development of mankind. Nowadays, with the explosion of
information, reading has become more important.
However, most people usually read naturally so that they can not give exact
definition of reading. Each definition only can reflect some aspect of reading. Some people
think that reading consists of two elements: the reader and the text. Nor they are all. In any

mature act of reading there is also an interaction between the reader and, the writer. True
reading, thus, involves a triangular interaction between the reader, the writer and the text.
According to Carell Devine and Eskey (1988:13), “reading is a process in that it
starts with linguistic surface representation encoded by a writer and ends with meaning,
which reader constructs. There is, thus, an essential interaction between language and
thought in reading. The writer encodes thought in language and the reader decodes
language to thought”. In this definition, we can see clearly the interrelationship between
the writer, the reader and the text. Moreover, Harmer (1983:153) also thought that
“reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and the brain. The eyes receive massages
and the brain then has to work out the significance of those massages”. Sharing this
opinion, William (1984:2) pointed out that “reading is a process whereby one looks at and
understands what has been written”. It means that “merely reading aloud without
understanding doesn’t count as reading”. However, Hafner and July (1982:4) did not think
that understanding is known what the writer implied although they also mentioned the
understanding between the author and the readers. According to their opinion, “reading
involves the identification and recognition of printed and written symbols which serve as
stimuli for the recall of meanings built up through past experiences and further
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construction of new meanings through the readers’ manipulation of relevant concepts
already in his possession”.
In brief, each person can have a different definition of reading and we can not tell
which is better because each of them focuses on one important matter of reading. However,
we find that there is a close relationship between reading and understanding. Therefore,
being a language teacher, we must understand the nature of reading thoroughly to help our
students read effectively.
I.1.2 Reading comprehension
If reading is simple mechanical movements of the eyes, reading comprehension
includes mechanical and mental activities. In teaching reading, it is necessary for both
teachers and students to have a deep understanding about the definition of reading
comprehension. The students who study reading should evaluate continually what they are

learning about the reading process in the light of their current definition of reading
comprehension. Many people have done some research to define reading comprehension.
Richard and Thomas (1987:143) state that “reading comprehension is a mental
process that in the final analysis, only the reader fully understands. Comprehension is
what simulates readers to remember their past experience. That knowledge is, then, used
in trying to get meaning out of print. Meaning does not reside in the printed page but
rather in the mind of the reader.” On the other hand, reading comprehension is best
described as an understanding between the author and the reader. The emphasis is on the
reader’s the printed page based on the individual’s unique background experience. Reading
is much more than just pronouncing words correctly or simply knowing what the author
intends. It is the process whereby the printed pages stimulate ideas, experiences and
response that are unique to an individual.
Moreover, Abbott (1981:82) gives out a research on the nature of reading
comprehension. According to him “there are two broad aspects or levels. Firstly, there is
basically visual task that of deciphering the marks on the page, the brain receiving signals
from the eyes. Secondly, there is cognitive task that of interpreting the visual information,
so one is not simply barking at point”.
From these above ideas, we can understand that reading comprehension consists of
two processes: perceiving and understanding. Perceiving process is one by which we can
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master all grammatical matters, pronunciation, and vocabulary in the text. Understanding a
text means working in the text actively and extracting the required information efficiently.
In conclusion, in reading comprehension, the reader not only reads written graphic
forms in the text but also recognizes the intention of the writer. They are opinions and
point of views which the writer had in mind when they wrote. Therefore, readers can
master the structures, vocabulary presented in the real situations.
I.2. Classification of Reading
I.2.1. According to manner
1.2.1.1 Reading aloud
Doff (1988:67) states that “reading aloud involves looking a text, understanding it

and also saying it. Its’ purpose is not just to understand the text to convey the information
to some one else”. In fact, it must be recognized that reading aloud is primarily an oral
matter so that for those who teach and learn foreign languages, it is closer to
“pronunciation” than it is to “comprehension”. While it is perfectly proper to try to
develop the skill of reading aloud, it clearly can not be done using an unfamiliar text the
content and language of which stretches the linguistic capabilities of the learners to the
utmost. Therefore, it must be admitted that the usefulness of reading aloud is limited. First
of all, “reading aloud is not an activity we engage in very often outside the classroom”.
(Doff, 1988:67). Actually, in the daily life, few people are required to read aloud as a
matter of daily routine, radio newscaters, clergymen, perhaps actors. To the huge majority,
its importance is minimal. Secondly, “the readers is often merely mouthing meaningless
language because of lack of rehearsal and time to comprehend what he has to read aloud”
( Abott and Wingard, 1981: 82). It means that when reading aloud, the readers’ attention is
focused on the pronunciation, not on the understanding of the text. Moreover, in the
classroom, only the reading student is active at a time, others are either not listening at all
or listening to a bad model. In addition, some students’ speed of reading is very slow so it
takes a lot of time in class.
In short, reading aloud can be applied for those who begin learning a foreign
language to establish the connection between sound and spelling. But for the second year
students, their purpose of learning reading is more than connecting the pronunciation. They
focus on understanding the text and doing comprehension exercises which can not be
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completed by reading aloud because asking a student to read aloud means that he may lack
concentration on the meaning. He may read correctly but after that he will not be able to
tell us what he has read. It is very difficult to read aloud and understand the text at the
same time of reading. So reading aloud might be a good way to practise pronunciation.
I.2.1.2. Silent reading
It is obvious that by far the greatest amount of reading that is done in the world is
silent. A reading room is silent room. Silent reading is the interpretation which is most
likely for the term “reading”. It is perhaps the nearest approach to the essence of reading.

Silent reading can be applied effectively to teaching and learning a reading comprehension
text because reading a text silently helps students concentrate on understanding its
meaning.
In Doff’s opinion (1988:67), silent reading or reading for meaning “is the activity
we normally engage in where we read books, newspapers, road signs, etc. It involves
looking at sentences and understanding the message they convey, in other words, ‘making
sense’ of a written text. ”
According to Doff, we know that silent reading is of great help in developing
reading skills. Students do not have to pay attention to the exact pronunciation of words,
they will try their best to focus on the ideas of the texts. Therefore, they can cover the
greatest possible amount of the text in a shortest possible time. Furthermore, through silent
reading, students can all read at their own speed. If they do not understand the sentence or
an idea, they can go back and read it again. So silent reading is a very effective in the
reading comprehension process.
Lewis and Hill (1985:110) find out that: “the simplest method of reading,
frequently forgotten by language teachers is silent reading. It is the method we normally
uses with our native language, and on the whole the quickest and most efficient”.
However, the nature of silent reading skill is far from uniform. It varies according
to the use to which it is being put.
In sequence, the depth and detail of understanding, of comprehension increase as
we go though the ways of doing silent reading. In all, silent reading is a useful technique in
a reading comprehension process applied to students to exploit reading lessons and it is
also a good way to help teachers control the class.
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I.2.2. According to purpose
Efficient reading consists of clearly identifying the purposes in reading something.
By doing so you know what you are looking for and can weed out potential distracting
information. Certainly, different purposes require different kinds of reading skills.
Therefore, according to the purposes, there are four main kinds of reading skills:
skimming, scanning, extensive and intensive reading.

I.2.2.1. Skimming
Skimming differs from general rapid reading in that the readers go through the text
extremely quickly, merely dipping into it or sampling it at various points. Skimming is the
technique that is used widely in reading comprehension. Skimming may sometimes be the
prerequisite of reading for full understanding. There are many definitions of skimming.
Grellet (1981:19) states that “when skimming, we go through the reading material quickly
in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is organized, or to get an idea of the tone or
intention of the writer”. It means that the purpose of skimming is simply to see what a text
is about. The reader skims in order to satisfy a very general curiosity about the text.
According to Wood (1984:92), “skimming occurs when the reader looks quickly at the
content page of a book, or at the chapter headings, subheading, etc. This is sometimes
called previewing”. Therefore, the key that actually encourages learners to skim is to give
them a series of texts and ask them to select appropriate titles from groups of ones.
Moreover, in order to teach skimming effectively, the teacher should have the students
read the beginning or end of a text or a paragraph because it may provide students with a
statement relating to the topic. Skimming gives students the advantage of being able to
predict the purpose of the passage, the main topic or message, or possibly some of the
developing or supporting ideas. This gives them a “head start” as they embark on more
focused reading. Skimming also helps student organize their thoughts and specify what
information they can get from a book so that the subsequent reading will become more
efficient.
In conclusion, skimming is understood as a necessary technique for reading
comprehension which enables readers to get the main points of the text without being
concerned with the details. Therefore, skimming should be applied at the first stage of
teaching reading to help student have an overview of what they are going to read. And it is
sure that they will understand the whole text later. However, Skimming sometimes proves
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too difficult for younger learners, or beginners because they generally lack confidence and
the knowledge of the language they are learning.
I.2.2.2. Scanning

Like skimming, scanning is also one of two most valuable reading strategies.
However, scanning is far more limited than skimming since it only means retrieving what
information is relevant to our purpose. Scanning occurs when a reader goes through a text
very quickly in order to find a particular point of information. It is a useful skill worth
cultivating for its own sake, if it has been cultivated systematically from the earliest point
in the course at which it can be attempted, co- operative work on the study of texts can be
greatly expected and made easy. Francois (1981:19) understands that “when scanning, we
only try to locate specific information and often we do not even follow the linearity of the
passage to do so. We simply let our eyes wander over the text until we find what we are
looking for, whether it is a name, a date, or a less specific piece of information”. With the
same opinion, Mabel states that “scanning is the speed technique that helps you locate a
bit of specific information very rapidly. It could involve finding a name, date, place or
statistic. Or it might involve identifying a general setting in a short story. Scanning is the
technique you use when you read maps, charts, tables, or graphs. It is the main skill
researchers use when they examine various sources to locate information about a specific
topic”.
Scanning requires two skills of the reader. One of them is that they recognize the
specific type of word that identifies the item. The other is the use of a different eye
movement pattern, vertical vision. Nearly all the background reading required for the
presenting of a topic to the class by a group calls for proficiency in this type of reading.
There is a great range of text suitable for scanning – indexes, dictionaries, maps,
advertisements, labels, reference material, etc.
In short, the key to scanning is to decide exactly what kind of information we can
look for and where to find it. The purpose of scanning is to extract certain specific
information without reading through the whole text.
I.2.2.3. Extensive reading
Extensive reading is a fluency activity, mainly involving general understanding. It
provides valuable reinforcement of the language already presented and practiced in the
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class as well as giving students useful practice in inferring meaning from the context of the

text.
Lewis and Hill (1985:109) state that “extensive reading means students have a
general understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word”. It is
obvious that when reading extensively, readers do not need to have intense concentration
on the content of a long text and total comprehension because the objective of extensive
reading is to cover the greatest possible amount of text in the shortest possible time. In
other words, extensive reading can be compared to the activity of ploughing through the
text in a uniform fashion. Extensive reading is therefore regarded as means of
entertainment and pleasure. And the reason why this kind of reading is essentially needed
is that it can promote reading out of class. Students can read directly and fluently in the
foreign language for their own enjoyment without the aid of teacher. Furthermore, it is by
pursuing the activity of extensive reading that the volume of practice necessary to achieve
rapid and efficient reading can be achieved. It is also one of the means by which a
foreigner may be exposed to a substantial sample of the language he may wish to learn
without actually going to live in the country to which that language is native.
Basing on the importance of extensive reading, Nuttal (1982:168) shows that “the
best way to improve one’s knowledge of a foreign language is to go and live among its
speakers: The next best way is to read extensively in it.”
The practice of extensive reading needs little justification. It is clearly the earliest
way of bringing the foreign learner into sustained contact with a substantial body of
English.
Broughton (1980:111) suggests that “there appear to be basically three ways the
extensive reading may be encouraged, first by having class sets of title, second by
operating a class library system, and the third by using the school library”.
In short, this kind of reading is necessary for students at University because it
actively promotes reading out the class and gives them opportunity to use their own
knowledge of the language for their own purposes. Moreover, this kind of reading is
regarded as pleasure and interest. That is why intensive reading is highly motivated.
I.2.2.4. Intensive reading
The remaining two kinds of reading activity, content study reading and linguistic

study reading are also often grouped together and called intensive reading.
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Different from extensive reading – reading for fluency, readers can read without the
aid of the teachers and without understanding the text in detail – intensive reading is
regarded as reading for accuracy. It “involves approaching the text under the close
guidance of the teacher or under the guidance of a task which forces the students to pay
great attention to the text in order to arrive at a profound to detailed understanding of the
text not only of what it means, but also of how the meaning is produced. The “how” is as
important as the “what”, for the intensive reading lesson is intended primarily to train
students in reading strategies”. (Nutall, 1982:23)
Sharing this opinion, Lewis (1985:109) states that “intensive reading means
students understand everything they read and be able to answer detailed vocabulary and
comprehension questions”. The concern of such reading is for detailed comprehension of
very short texts. “ The objective of intensive reading is to achieve full understanding of the
logical argument, the rhetorical arrangement or pattern of the text, of its symbolic,
emotional and social overtones, of the attitudes and purposes of the author, and of
linguistic means that he employs to achieve his ends” (Broughton, 1980:93). In other
words, the aim of intensive reading is to obtain the fullest possible response in the
student’s head to the black mark in his book. Response can not be achieve by instruction
about what he ought to see and feel, or by repetition of what others see and feel, although
knowledge of what can be seen by others sometimes helps us to see for ourselves.
In general, in real life, our reading purpose constantly vary therefore we can use
different ways of reading to obtain information. Teachers should be active and flexible in
each situation to choose the type of reading to help students become independent and
efficient readers.
I.3. The importance of reading in foreign language learning
Learning a foreign language is a process which requires learners to integrate many
language skills. It is generally accepted nowadays that reading is a key skill for most
students learning a foreign language and that it should, therefore, take place alongside the
development of oral ability in the school program. From time to time, reading itself has

proved its importance in daily life as well as in teaching and learning a foreign language.
And from our experience in real life, we find reading quite important. Its importance is
also confirmed by many linguistics.
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According to Bright and Gregor (1970:52), “books provide most pupils with the
situation in which learning takes place. Where there is little reading, there will be little
language learning”. It is obvious that reading is a means by which further learning takes
place. Reading is, in addition, an important way of expanding the students’ receptive
knowledge of a language, and in terms of classroom activities, it is an effective way of
stimulating students to talk, write and listen. Being well informed by reading, learners can
have stable background knowledge, wide vocabulary and much information so that they
will feel self- confident to share opinions and communicate with others. Moreover,
listening will be easier if learners listen to the topic they have read because when listening,
learners have to face up with many new words of a certain topic. Only by reading can they
enrich their vocabulary so that they will not be stuck with new words, and they can
understand the listening easily. What is more, through reading, learners can practise
language in order to reproduce it in their own writing because many reading passages can
be regarded as models to practise writing. Learners can learn how to make sense of the text
in order to extract the information they need from them to make their writing more various
and interesting. Furthermore, learners are also able to learn the way of expressing ideas and
using new words, especially they can be familiar with the writing style of great writer as
well as native speakers. In short, reading plays a vital role in teaching and learning a
foreign language.
I.4. Factors in teaching and learning reading
I.4.1. The role of reading text
One of the chief purposes of learning a foreign language is to bring near what is
distant, to get information which is inaccessible in the home language; we seldom read a
book to find out about what we already know. Therefore, Billows (1982:55) thinks what “
the role of the textbook is to stand for the distant and hardly accessible delights that lie
behind the forbidding barriers of strangeness of language, the imaginative life of the child

as well as its craving for knowledge “. It is not to present, and give a foretaste of all those
books which the learner aspires to read and master.
It is obvious that reading text plays an important role in teaching reading process. It
is both the means to introduce phonetics, lexical, and grammatical items of the target
language and the means to develop other three language skills (especially the two
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productive ones: writing and speaking). The importance of reading texts is shown clearly
by Grettet (1981:20). According to him, “it is obvious that being aware of the function of a
passage is vital to its comprehension. Therefore, one of the very first things students
should be led to do is to find out whether the text aims at convincing the reader, giving him
information, asking him for something, etc.”
Through reading, students can enrich their knowledge of the world. They can be
aware of the precise cultural value of verbal expression of the country whose language is
learnt. In addition, reading text also brings into classroom what is otherwise beyond it. It
can contain further uses, in an unfamiliar setting of words and sentence patterns which
have been learnt and practised in the familiar setting, it can bring into classroom what
otherwise would remain out –side. Furthermore, by reading a text, student are also aware
of the author’s attitude and purpose whether he is writing ironically, or which his tongue in
his cheek, or whether he is writing light- headedly or with humorous intent. Especially,
through the texts, students can broaden their horizon in different fields such as science,
society, economy, technology, etc which are very useful for them to improve their other
language skills. That is to say, the students can effectively apply what they have learnt
from a reading text to different purposes of language study and communication. Therefore,
the text is of great educational value.
On other hand, for teachers, reading text also helps them make directions to teach
their students, because there are a lot of things that students have to learn. However,
textbooks will help teachers know what they should concentrate on teaching. Without
textbooks, not only students but also teachers do not know what and how to learn and
teach.
I.4.2. The role of teacher

Together with students, the teacher is one of the two main necessary elements
which create the teaching process. In general, the role of the teacher is to provide students
with knowledge and the best methods for learning effectively. The teacher is a means to an
end, that is, an instrument to see that learning takes place. Besides this general function,
teacher also has specific roles in teaching reading comprehension process. Although the
success in a reading class is how far the students learn without the teacher’s help, it does
not mean that there is nothing for teacher to do in a reading class. In fact, there is a great
deal. Without help from the teacher, it is difficult for the students to be efficient readers.
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Firochiaro (1989:23) points out that “in a reading class, a teacher should help the students
comprehend printed materials and provide them with the knowledge and the ability to
enable them to read other materials out of class”. Obviously, in a reading class, the teacher
acts as a helper, and the students work actively. Therefore, according to Smith (1985), the
role of the teacher is to help students achieve three following purposes:
- Understanding the functions of print.
- Gaining familiarity with written language.
- Getting the chance to learn.
In addition, Nuttal (1982) suggests that “there are two main things that a teacher
should always remember in helping students. The first is to provide the students with
suitable materials, and the second is to provide them with suitable teaching activities”.
The teacher sometimes finds it difficult to select suitable reading material, because
the first thing they have to do is to select a text which is at the right level of difficulty for
the students. A text which is too difficult will make them bored. Secondly, selecting texts
that interest the students is another important point to remember. If the text provided is
interesting, and the students enjoy reading it, they will be motivated to read more, and vice
versa. Thirdly, there should be variety in the range and the type of exercises. A text with
many kinds of accompanying exercises probably covers many different skills.
Besides, suitable activities the teacher provides can focus the students’ attention of
specific skills necessary for efficient reading. Normally, there are three main activities in a
reading comprehension text which are called pre-reading stage, while – reading stage, and

post- reading stage. Thus, the role of the teacher is closely related to these stages. At pre-
reading stage, the teacher has to make students be aware of what they are going to read and
do during the lesson. At while- reading stage, the teacher’s main function is to offer help to
students if necessary. And at post- reading stage, the teacher is considered as a guide or an
adviser to help the students express their own ideas through their understanding of the text.
To sum up, the two main duties of the teacher in helping the students to be efficient
readers are to provide suitable reading materials and suitable reading activities. To fulfill
his role, the teacher should know the reading skill that students need for reading.
I.4.3. The role of students
Like the teacher, the student is also one of two main factors of teaching and
learning process. This process can only be carried out when there are both of them. The
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students are not only the subject but also the object of teaching and learning process. In
particular, in a reading lesson, the students play the role of the readers. The role demands
that the students should make sense of the text for themselves. It is the fact that the student
is the heart of the reading lesson and the element which determines the success of a reading
lesson. That is to say, the students must be very active in the lesson from the beginning in
reading texts to get the right meaning of the texts. Moreover, they also have to do other
exercises and maybe they have to encounter and solve the difficulties by themselves.
Thanks to this, the students can accumulate a large amount of knowledge from the reading
texts and understand them thoroughly. On the other hand, the understanding from the
reading text is the chance for the students to improve other language skills, because only
when they really master the knowledge by themselves, can they apply it flexibly.
In fact, very frequently, the students deal with some problems which are beyond
their ability, for example proverbs, idioms, polysemantics, or background understanding
and so on. In this case, to get the target reading, the students have work under the direction
of the teacher and take part in guided activities actively and attentively. However, the
teacher should only act as the guide and give the students some suggestions to help them
think and understand the reading texts on their own. Therefore, the teacher can stimulate
the students’ creativity as well as their imagination. If not, the students will be passive and

the reading lesson will not be successful.
In addition, the students can be the important element that helps teacher fullil his
duties. The teacher can not teach without the students. On the other hand, the students are
the providers of feedback to the teacher through their expression and understanding of the
reading texts. Without the students’ feedback, the teacher does not know how to make the
reading lesson become most effective. Moreover, because the student is the heart of a
reading lesson, all the teacher’s activities are to provide the students with as much
knowledge as possible. If the teacher does not know how much knowledge his students can
receive from his reaching, he can not have appropriate method for his students to study
effectively. Therefore, the student may negotiate with the teacher to find out the suitable
method of study as well as select appropriate reading materials and activities. Furthermore,
through the students’ reflections, the teacher may find out his mistakes and draw up his
own experience to teach better and perfect himself.
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To sum up, in teaching and learning process in general, and in a reading lesson in
particular, the teacher and the students have the interdependent relationship. The students
need to be active to take part in the activities that the teacher provides to understand the
reading texts and do the exercises. On the other hand, the teachers need to be aware of
problems facing students to help them overcome their difficulties and assess the students’
ability correctly to have appropriate teaching method. Lacking one of the two elements –
the teacher and the students, the teaching and learning process can not be carried out.
Therefore, the relationship between the teacher and the students also makes them become
co-participants.
I.5. Organization of reading comprehension text
I.5.1. Pre-reading stage
This stage plays a decisive role in the whole process of teaching reading
comprehension, so most experienced readers employ pre- reading and other strategies to
make reading easier. Pre- reading aims at introducing the text to the students and helps
them make careful preparation before reading the text. It is advisable for the teacher to
create a reading motivation and a positive attitude towards reading for students so that they

can achieve a high level of success and become confident that they can read effectively.
As for Doff (1988), there are many activities a teacher can carry out to help
students before they start reading as following:
- Introducing the text briefly
- Presenting new vocabulary
- Revising grammatical structures
- Giving guiding questions,
Moreover, in my opinion, the teacher should activate the students’ background
knowledge and provide some information about the text. This is aimed to help the students
to predict the content of the text they are going to read. Prediction is an important ability
that the students should develop in order to comprehend various kinds of texts, especially
the texts that the students are not familiar with. Gebhard (1987:21) explains that
“providing background information on a reading lesson is another way teachers can
facilitate successful reading comprehension. Providing information about a reading
selection before students read provides them with the opportunity to gain new language, as
17
well as recall their already existing knowledge, which they can take with them into their
reading experience, and this knowledge facilitates successful comprehension”.
Of course, not all these techniques will be relevant for all the texts. The teacher can
choose the suitable ones to motivate his learners.
I.5.2. While – reading stage
While- reading stage is carried out when all students actually set their eyes on the
text and this stage is the main part of a reading comprehension lesson. The aims of this
stage focus on making the students anticipate in the process of understanding the whole
text, and interpreting exactly what the author wrote. In addition, it helps the students break
up the organization of the text; understand the text structures; classify the text content and
recognize the writer’s purpose and attitude. This stage also trains the students to think
about other ideas rising from the text and to form judgement and opinions on the basis of
the fact presented. Moreover, it helps the students improve their reading speed and
techniques. Besides, this stage offers an opportunity to apply effectively what they have

learnt from the text to their purpose of study and communication. Last but not least, this
stage helps the students develop their decision – making and problem solving skills.
Because this stage plays a very important role in a reading lesson, it must be
designed carefully.
I.5.3. Post – reading stage
Post- reading is the implementation of various activities carried out after the
students have read the text. Some post- reading activities are extension of the work done at
the pre- reading and while- reading stages. Some relate only loosely to the reading text
itself.
According to Durkin (1981:486), “one reason for post- reading discussion in class
is to offer pupils the chance to see in what way their reading did or did not succeed, and
why”. In fact, there are more than one purpose for post- reading stage which are of wide
relevance and applied to all students, and which teachers who teach groups with mixed
level should consider.
One of the purposes of post-reading work is to check whether the students have
understood the text or not. The teacher can ask the students some questions about the texts
which are not given in the book or require them to discuss in group and in pair and so on.
Another purpose is to consolidate or reflect upon what the students have read. To achieve
18
this, the teacher should help the students focus on the important points as writer’s opinion,
the main ideas of the text, the specific paragraph or phrase in the reading text. The third
purpose of post- reading work is to expand on the topic or language of the reading text, and
perhaps transfer things learned to another context. Therefore, the students can relate the
text to their background knowledge and interest and be able to express their personal
opinion toward the text. Moreover, post- reading activities also offer the students a real
practice of using language.
Setting up and organizing post- reading work depend very much on all the
objectives of the program as a whole. Post- reading work should, thus, contribute in a
coherent manner, to the writing, speaking and listening skills that the program aims to
develop.

In conclusion, the three stages offer the teacher a frame work to conduct a reading
lesson in general but they do not need to follow rigidly. Obviously, this three phrase
approach is not to be carried out mechanically on every occasion. Sometimes the teacher
may wish to cut out the pre-reading stage and get learners to work on the text directly.
Sometimes port- reading work may not be suitable. However, the advantage of the three
phase approach is twofold. Firstly, it respects and makes use of the students’ own
knowledge of language and of the world and uses this as a basis for involvement,
motivation, and progress. Secondly, the three phase approach leads to integration of the
skills in a coherent manner, so that the reading session is not simply isolated. Separating
each from the others is like somebody warming up for a race and then running the race
itself some days later.
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Chapter II. An investigation into the current situation
of teaching and learning reading comprehension at
Hanoi University of Business and Management
II.1. An Overview of Hanoi University of Business and Management
Hanoi University of Business and Management (HUBM) is an independent
University which was founded in 1994. As its name suggests, the subjects like finance,
accounting, corporate administration, foreign trade, microeconomics, macroeconomics, etc
are the main and compulsory ones in the training program at the University. In other
words, the aim of the University is to train successful businessmen who are equipped with
specialized knowledge. English has been considered as an extremely important subject in
the program because it serves an integral means for international communication that is to
communicate with foreign partners. Focus on English and informatics is strength of the
University in comparison with other private ones.
As professor Tran Phuong, the Rector of HUBM said, teaching and learning
English at HUBM is of great importance, the University has always created the best
possible conditions for English teaching and learning. Each group has 30 students, which is
suitable for learning a foreign language providing the students with opportunities to
practise English. To help students to improve listening and speaking ability effectively, ten

modern multimedia labs, overhead projectors (OHP) and video are available, which enable
the students to learn English in a new way.
However, there have been many problems that should be solved. The facilities at
the University are still poor, for example, the library cannot provide enough books
especially English books as a reference. Furthermore, the students do not have a lot of
opportunities to practise English with native speakers to improve their language skills.
II.2. Teachers and teaching methods
Teachers play a key role in a successful implementation of curriculum changes.
Exceptional teachers can often compensate for the poor quality resources and materials
they have to work from. But inadequately trained teachers may not be able to make
effective use of teaching materials no matter how well they are designed.
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There are seventy teachers of English at HUBM. Most of them are young who have
just graduated from University for several years. They are energetic and are willing to
devote their time and energy to teaching. Half of them have acquired M.A degree or are
following a post graduate course at Vietnam National University, Hanoi, College of
foreign languages or Hanoi University of Foreign Studies.
However, these teachers do not have much experience. They usually employ the
traditional methods of teaching that is Grammar- Translation method, especially in reading
lessons. This method focuses on accuracy, the detailed analysis of grammar rules, not on
the acquisition of language skill. It is characterized by the use of the mother tongue as a
medium of instruction and communication in the classroom. The teachers speak most of
the time, explain new words and translate the text into Vietnamese. Students often listen
and take note passively. They raise questions only when they encounter new words or
structure in the text. Therefore, this method leads to the lack of motivation and a few
chances for students to practise speaking English, in other words, improve their
communicative competence.
II.3 Students at Hanoi University of Business and Management and their background
Learners are the key participants in curriculum development projects and it is
essential to collect as much information as possible about them before the project begins.

The relevant learner factors include the learners’ backgrounds, expectations, beliefs and
preferable learning styles. Nunan (1989: 176) comments: “The effectiveness of a language
will be dictated as much by the attitudes and expectations of the learners as by the
specifications of the official curriculum…Learners have their own agendas in the
language lessons they attend. These agendas, as many as the teacher’s objectives,
determine what learners take from any given teaching/ learning encounter”.
The 2
nd
year students at HUBM are aged from 19~20 who have learnt English for
one year at the university. In the first two semesters, they only focus on some
grammatically rules and short and easy reading texts. Therefore, it is difficult for them to
approach the difficult and long texts in course book “English File 3”. Another fact is that
students come from different areas in Vietnam, some have learnt English for many years,
others have learnt English for a short time. Consequently, problems arising during the
course are due to individual difference in ability, learning styles, attitudes, motivation, etc.
21
In addition, the attitude towards learning of the students at HUBM is also a matter
to be considered. They are a bit lazy and hardly ever try their best. They are not students of
English, so they do not devote themselves to learning English and they do not know the
best way to learn a foreign language. Moreover, majority of the students do not have
appropriate learning strategies or have the habits to learn independently or creatively, the
fact is that they never prepare the lesson at home or overview the lesson regularly.
II.4. Material and assessments
Materials are anything used to teach languages to learners. Material can be in the
form of a text book, a work book, a cassette, a photocopied hand out, a newspaper, a
paragraph written on a board, etc.
It is known that there are two kinds of resources of materials in teaching and
learning English at HUBM. They are G.E and ESP materials. At the third term, the book
“English File 3 – intermediate” by Clive Oxenden and Christina Latham- Keonig is used. It
consists of 8 units, which are covered in 180 periods (each period lasts 45 minutest).

This book is designed as a textbook so four skills are at the same time emphasized.
However, each skill is set in each particular part. Therefore, it is easy for both teachers and
students to teach and learn. For example, each unit consists of the following parts: Build
your vocabulary, read better, listen better, better pronunciation, grammar analysis, make
conversation and write better. For the reading texts, they are challenging but accessible
reading tasks which build students skills and confidence.
Being a textbook, “English File 3 – Intermediate” provides reading texts of various
topics based on the theme of each unit. For example, the theme of unit 2 is “the time of
your life”, and the magazine article in reading part is “a time for life”, etc. Seemingly,
various topics given in the reading texts are beneficial for reading comprehension
development. However, these are not designed for reading skill improvement, so it hard for
the teachers to foster their students’ reading ability if they do not set task for reading and
employ suitable reading techniques.
Furthermore, reading texts in this course book are not designed specially for
teaching reading so reading activities are not set: no pre-reading activities, no while-
reading activities and post-reading activities. What are given at the end of the reading texts
are some exercises. In addition, all the reading texts are presented in form of a narrative.
Thus, the students will not have chance to get access to varied forms of text presentation.
22
Chapter III. The study
III.1. The setting of the study
The study was conducted at HUBM. Here, English is taught in formal setting with
too stages. During the first stage, which consists of the first three terms, the students study
general English with four language skills mainly: speaking, listening, reading and writing.
The materials chosen are English File 1, English File 2 and English File Intermediate. In
the second stage students study ESP (such as English in Economics or English in
Informatics). However, in reality, the four language skills are not regarded as different
subjects. They are only parts of each unit. The students are supposed to have acquired
these skills at the first stage.
To work out the problems in teaching and learning reading comprehension of the

teachers and the second year students at HUBM, it is important to refer to data gathering
techniques through survey questionnaires, then come up with certain finding on reading
skills and the source English File Intermediate as perceived by the second year students
and teachers at HUBM.
III.2. The subject
The study was carried out with the participation of 20 full –time teachers and 100
second year students at HUBM.
- The students under investigation are in the third term at HUBM. Both male and
female students’ ages are from 19 to 22. Their level of English proficiency does not vary a
lot. At this stage, they are supposed to be at intermediate level of English.
- Of the 20 teachers, all of them have to least 5 years’ experience of teaching
English. They all have B.A. degree in English and seven of them have M.A. degree.
III.3. Instrumentation
In this study, the researcher applied questionnaire as a main means of data
collection because of some advantages. Firstly, this method can give the researcher the
need data in quantitative form. Secondly, all informants have chance of expressing their
attitudes. As a result, researcher can have more uniform and accurate data.
The two sets of survey questionnaires were administered to get information
concerning:
- Students’ attitudes towards reading comprehension.
23
- Students’ ways of learning.
- Students’ responses to the techniques used by the teacher.
- Students’ difficulties.
- Learning conditions.
- The teachers’ attitude towards teaching reading comprehension.
- The teachers’ methods of teaching reading comprehension.
- The teachers’ using supplementary materials.
III.4. Data analysis
In this part, the collected data will be illustrated on tables. Each table is followed by

an analysis of the data
Table 1: Students’ attitudes towards reading comprehension
Variables a b C d e f
N % N % N % N % N % N %
Frequency of English
language skills (1)
12 12 45 45 32 32 8 8 3 3
Texts in the course book (2) 27 27 20 20 50 50 10 10
Purposes of reading (3) 23 23 37 37 98 98 12 12 52 52 2 2
Preparation (4) 0 0 15 15 64 64 21 21
Frequency of reading
supplementary material (5)
2 2 22 22 57 57 19 19
The table indicates that the majority of the students consider speaking the most
important for their future job which account for 45% , then come reading (32%) and
translation is thought to be least important (only 3%). The reason for this may be that for
the trend of regional and global integration in Vietnam, the students hope to work for
foreign companies or deal with foreign customers and partners after graduation.
When being asked about their opinions of the texts in the course book, a large
number of students think that they are difficult (47%) while 22% of them are interested in
these text, 27% say that they are normal. Only 8% consider these ones boring.
The results of question 3 show that the students’ purposes of reading are not the
same. Being asked about the motivation, the majority say that they read the texts to enrich
their vocabulary and improve their pronunciation (98%), to improve language skills (52%).
The number of the student who reads for gaining information and background knowledge
is 37%. Some students say that they like reading texts for pleasure (23%). The minority
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(12%) consider reading as a way of supplementing grammar, and only 2% read the texts
for other purpose ( for example: because of the obligation).
Question 4 deals with the preparation before going to class. It is a pity that no one

prepares the lesson very carefully, 15% prepare the lesson carefully while many students
do not prepare the lesson carefully (64%) and even 21% go to class without preparing the
lessons.
Nowadays, these are many kinds of reading materials. The students can use many
of them to improve their reading skills. However 19% of the students never read
supplementary materials, only 2% always use them and the number of the students
sometimes or usually use these materials are 57% and 23% respectively.
Table 2: Students’ ways of learning
Variables a b C d e
N % N % N % N % N %
The way to read the text (6) 13 13 87 87
Activities before reading (7) 11 11 73 73 9 9 7 7 1 1
Dealing with new words (8)
Activities after reading (9) 5 5 2 2 83 83 7 7 3 3
The way to improve reading
skill (10)
23 23 12 12 57 57 8 8 0 0
Mode of doing exercises (11) 62 62 36 36 12 12 22 22
In order to know the students’ ways of learning, five questions are designed.
The ways to read the texts have a great influence on the results of reading. The data
shows that 13% of the students usually read the text aloud while 7% of them use silent
reading. Obviously, reading aloud is not the suitable way for the students at University
who have to read long texts with difficult levels.
From the results getting from question 7, we can know some activities students are
often told to do before reading. Only 11% of them are often told to answer the questions
raised by the teachers. Most students (73%) look for new words and grammatical items to
ask the teachers to explain. 9% discuss the topic of the text with their friends and there is a
minority (7%) doing other activities such as predicting the content of the text through its
title. These results show that the teachers have not made the students know that pre-
reading is an attractive stage.

While- reading, if meeting unknown words, a large number of students have a habit
of finding their meaning in the dictionary (30%) or ask their teachers for help (47%).
25
Besides, there are also some students guessing the meanings by context clues, and some of
them ignore the new words and continue reading (12%).
Post- reading is the stage that helps the students consolidate what they have learnt.
Statistically, most students (83%) use the activity of translating the text into Vietnamese.
There is a minority of the students (7%) writing a short paragraph, 5% summarize the text
and only 3% do other activities such as learning by heart some interesting sentence, etc.
Besides what they have learnt at university, the students have to practise by
themselves to improve their reading skills. The data indicate that to do this, many students
think that they have to enrich their vocabulary as much as possible (57%) and read a lot
(23%). There are some students (12%) answering that they usually improve their reading
skill by doing many kinds of exercises, 8% say that they have to try to get better
understanding of grammar.
When doing exercises, many students do independently (62%) and do in pains
(36%) only 12% do in groups.
In short, the students’ ways of learning may suggest us finding some appropriate
methods to help students read more effectively.
Table 3: Students’ responses to the techniques used by the teacher
Variables a B c d e f
N % N % N % N % N % N %
The students’ responses to
the teacher’s methods (12)
14 14 10 10 6 6 45 45 17 17 8 8
The student’s suggested
technology (13)
29 29 27 27 35 35 9 9 0 0
The student is the centre of teaching and learning process so that the teachers
should listen to the students’ ideas about their teaching methods to apply suitable ones for

different students.
In question 12, the survey would like to deal with students’ feedback towards the
teachers’ method. There is a majority of students do not like their teachers’ method
because of some reason: the teachers never provide them with interesting activities (17%)
and 8% do not like their teachers’ attitudes. Besides, some students like their teachers’
methods because they often set interesting tasks for them to exploit the text (14%), 10%
also like because their teachers always vary way of teaching and 12% of them are attracted
by other reasons such as their teachers’ voice, etc.