Sử dụng tài liệu chân thực ngoài giáo trình nhằm thiết kế nhiệm vụ đọc thêm dùng để dạy kỹ năng đọc trong chương trình dạy học tiếng Anh chuyên ngành cho sinh v

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATES STUDIES

LÊ THỊ HƯƠNG GIANG

DESIGNING READING TASKS USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
AS SUPPLEMENTARY READING MATERIALS FOR THE
TEACHING OF READING SKILLS ON ESP PROGRAM TO THE
SECOND YEAR NURSE STUDENTS AT NAMDINH UNIVERSITY
OF NURSING
(SỬ DỤNG TÀI LIỆU CHÂN THỰC NGỒI GIÁO TRÌNH NHẰM
THIẾT KẾ NHIỆM VỤ ĐỌC THÊM DÙNG ĐỂ DẠY KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC
TRONG CHƯƠNG TRÌNH DẠY HỌC TIẾNG ANH CHUYÊN NGÀNH
CHO SINH VIÊN ĐIỀU DƯỠNG NĂM THỨ HAI TẠI TRƯỜNG ĐẠI
HỌC ĐIỀU DƯỠNG NAM ĐỊNH)

M.A THESIS

Training course: MA. in TEFL No 1
Code: 60. 14.10
Supervisor: Nguyễn Bàng, M.A

HA NOI, 2010


4

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Page

List of tables:
Table 1- Types of reading tasks

15

List of figures
Chart 1: Supplementary materials in use

24

Chart 2: The frequency of using supplementary reading materials

25

Chart 3: Types of supplementary reading materials normally used

25

Chart 4: Ways of using supplementary reading materials

26

Chart 5: Students' self-evaluation of progress
27

Chart 6: Students' expectation to the ways of using supplementary

27

reading materials

Figure 1: />
37

Figure 2: />
38

Figure 3: />
39

Figure 4: />
39


5

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ESP: English for Specific Purposes
EFL: English as a Foreign Language
GE: General English
ESL: English as a Second Language
NDUN: Namdinh University of Nursing
L2: Second language


6

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declarations

i

Acknowledgement

ii

Abstract

iii

List of tables and figures

iv

List of abbreviations

v

A. INTRODUCTION

1

1. Rationales

1

2. Objectives of the study

3

3. Scope of the study

3

4. Methods of the study

3

5. Design of the study

3

B. DEVELOPMENT

5

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW

5

1.1. Features of ESP in general and English for nurses in particular

5

1.1.1. ESP in general

5

1.1.2. Characteristics of English for medical purposes in general and nursing in

particular

6

1.1.2.1. Characteristics of English of medical terminology

6

1.1.2.2. Grammatical features of English for medical purposes

7

1.2. Overview on teaching reading

10

1.2.1. Definition of reading

10

1.2.2. The place of reading skills in teaching ESP

11

1.2.3. Reading tasks

12

1.2.4. Stages in teaching reading

17

1.3. Authentic materials

18

1.3.1. Definition of authentic materials

18

1.3.2. How authentic materials have been used in language teaching

19

1.3.3. Reasons for using authentic materials in teaching reading skills

19


7
1.3.4. Limitations of authentic materials and some solutions
CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY

20
22

2.1. Selection of participants

22

2.2. Methods of data collection

22

2.3. Data analysis

23

2.3.1. Findings from the questionnaire

23

2.3.2. Findings from the interviews with teachers

28

2.3.2.1. The aims of the teachers when using authentic materials as supplementary
reading materials

28

2.3.2.2. The advantages and drawbacks of using authentic materials

29

2.3.2.3. Ways of making use of authentic materials

30

2.3.3. Interpretations of the findings

31

2.3.3.1. Situation

31

2.3.3.2. Benefits of using authentic reading materials

31

2.3.3.3. Ways of using supplementary reading materials

32

2.3.3.4. Problems

33

CHAPTER 3: DESIGNING READING TASKS USING AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
AS SUPPLEMENTARY READING MATERIALS FOR THE
TEACHING OF READING SKILLS FOR 2ND-YEAR NURSE
STUDENTS AT NDU

35

3.1. Suggested activities to exploit supplementary for teaching reading skills
35
3.1.1. Organizing a lot of pair/group work

35

3.1.2. Getting supports from students

36

3.1.3. Using a lot of role-plays, and simulations

36

3.2. Samples of reading tasks using online materials

37

3.3. Some recommendary sources

37

3.3.1. The Internet

37

3.3.2. Magazines and journal

39

3.3.3. Academic books

40

C. CONCLUSION

42

REFERENCES

43

APPENDICES


8
A. INTRODUCTION
1. RATIONALES
The emergence of ESP, which began in the late 1960s, and its sequent
development explained by three phenomena (Hutchinson and Alan Waters, 1987)
namely:


The enormous expansion in scientific, technical and economic activity on
an international scale since the Second World War;



The shift of attention in linguistics away from the formal features of
language structure to the ways in which language is actually used for
communication in real situation;



The new development in educational psychology, which emphasizes the
central importance of learners and their attitudes to learning (Rodgers,
1979; Oller and Richards, 1973).

As a result, the effect of all this development has become a strong demand for the
English Language Teaching profession to meet the needs of a new generation of learners
who want to learn English to “gain access to the required knowledge that is available,
either exclusively or most readily, in English” (Munby, 1978:3) or to serve other
different specific purposes.
In Vietnam, since the implementation of the “open door policy”, which started in
1986, its economy has gradually transferred from a command economy to a state
regulated market one. To meet the requirements of the economic renovation, the national
system, particularly health care education, including Namdinh University of Nursing
which is one of the leading centers in training nurses in Vietnam must reform its training
objectives, curriculum design as well as its pedagogical and training methodologies. Only
by doing so, can the university provide society with high quality „products‟, that is,
nurses who are not only well qualified but also active, creative, flexible and adaptable to
the rapidly changing health care system.
Since the academic year 2004, English for Nurses has been included as a
compulsory subject in the curriculum of training students for a bachelor of nurse at
Namdinh University of Nursing (NDUN). It is aimed at providing the nurse students with
background knowledge and a system of terms related to the topic resource, which help


9
them develop their communicative competence in English about health care areas in
general and about nursing in particular.
As English for Nurses is newly taught at our department, we share an agreement
that it is vital to design interesting classroom activities which can motivate the students‟
enthusiasm and involvement in an EFL classroom, and particularly for the nurse students

and such activities should be useful and related to their future jobs. Being aware of
English serving as a bridge to connect Vietnam‟s nursing to the world‟ advanced nursing;
much attempt has been made to improve the teaching and learning of English for Nurses.
The main purpose is to help students cope with materials on Nursing in English, thus
they can read medical books, journals and other related reference materials for further
study for their work after graduation.
However, after some years, the materials, which has been used revealed failure to
meet students‟ needs and not very motivating them. The materials so do not appear
helpful enough to assist students to improve their English for Nurses. They have
difficulties in memorizing and using the language due to the short diversity of grammar
structures and system of contents. Thus, students are not usually engaged in the reading
activities, or they do not concentrate on or involve in the reading tasks because the
materials are out of date. This existing fact caused a headache to all teachers and some
solutions have been applied such as giving them some extra reading materials from some
other sources, but the situation has not been significantly improved.
In an effort to find out a solution to this situation, the writer has found out that
many authors have asserted that authentic materials have positive effect on learners‟
motivation and their language acquisition in foreign language classroom. For the time
being, several teachers at the department are employing available materials to teach
reading skills on ESP to the students. However, the use of authentic materials in
designing reading tasks is done spontaneously without any formal guidance, thus, a study
on designing reading tasks with authentic materials would be valuable. It is hoped that
the thesis would bring about some benefits to teachers who teach reading skills on
English for Nurses.


10
2. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Significantly, the main objectives in carrying out this study are as follows:


Theoretically, it aims at providing a literature review that should be taken
into consideration when reading skills on English for Nurses is taught.



It places focus on investigating how reading skills on English for Nurses
is taught to the 2nd year nurse students at Namdinh University of Nursing
with the supplementary materials.



Practically, it outlines possible prospects to use authentic materials from
different sources as supplementary materials to teach reading skills on
English for Nurses to the 2nd year nurse students at Namdinh University of
Nursing. It also suggests some techniques for designing reading tasks
using authentic materials to teach reading skills, including how to choose
authentic materials, what reading activities to design and how to design
them.

3. SCOPE OF THE STUDY
As this is a small-sized scale study, a number of issues would be beyond the
scope of the study and would be best dealt with in a further study, for example a research
of the whole process of teaching reading skills or conducting reading skills in class. It
would be focused on the ways to develop the use of supplementary reading materials on
nursing for the second year nurse students.
4. METHODS OF THE STUDY
First of all, intensive and extensive reading would help equip the author with
sufficient knowledge and gain data for the literature review. Secondly, survey,
questionnaires, class observation as well as interview would be made among the second

year nurse students and their teachers at Namdinh University of Nursing.
5. DESIGN OF THE STUDY
This part has introduced rationales, objectives, scope and methods of the study
Chapter one deals with theoretical back ground concerning the features of ESP in
general and English for Nurses in particular, authentic materials, reading and reading task
design.


11
Chapter two studies in the use of authentic materials in teaching reading skills on
English for Nurses to the second year nurse students.
Chapter three introduces some ways to exploit supplementary materials for
teaching reading. Also from the information in chapter 3, implications for reading task
design will be presented.
The conclusion presents the review of the study, recommendations for further
study


12
B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. FEATURES OF ESP IN GENERAL AND ENGLISH FOR NURSES IN
PARTICULAR
1.1.1. ESP in general
ESP has been defined differently by different authors. Some regard is as “an
approach to language teaching in which all decisions as to content and method are based
on the learner‟s reason for learning” (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987:19). Dudley Evans
and St. John (1998: 4-5), in a more recent study, have modified Strevens‟ definition and
exposited their review in the essence of ESP from the following two perspectives:
absolute and variable characteristics of ESP, which differentiate them from General

English (GE).
Absolute characteristics


ESP is defined to meet specific needs of the learners;



ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the discipline
it serves;



ESP is centered on the language (grammar, lexis and register), skills,
discourse and genres appropriate to the activities.

Variable characteristics


ESP may be related to or designed for specific disciplines;



ESP may use in specific teaching situation, a different methodology from that
of General English;



ESP is likely designed for adult learners, either at the tertiary level institution
or in a professional work situation. It could, however, be for learners at the

secondary school level;



ESP is generally designed for intermediate or advanced students;



Most ESP courses assume some basic knowledge of the language system, but
it can be used with beginners.”

The absolute characteristics refer to the teaching methodology as well as the
language elements. ESP makes use of an underlying methodology and activities of the


13
discipline it serves. Both the methodology and activities used in the ESP classroom,
therefore, are different from those of GE. However, an important feature, which
characterizes ESP as being different from other general language courses, is that the
domains not only relate to distinctive content, but also to discipline-specific lexis, genres,
and registers (Munby, 1978; Gibbs, 1991)
1.1.2. Characteristics of English for medical purposes in general and nursing in
particular
1.1.2.1. Characteristics of English of medical terminology
(i) English medical terms derived from Greece and Latin, especially derivatives and
compound words. Quite a few elements forming word originated from Greece such
as:
Prefixes: pre (in front); later (after); homo (same); multi (many), etc.
Suffixes: algia (pain), -pathy (disease), -oid (resemble), etc.
(ii) Medical terms are compound nouns of Latin origins:

Noun + noun: ilio-costal, laterro – abdominal
Adj + noun: mal; mal-practice
(iii) Medical terms are French origins
E.g: poison, physician, malady, plaque
(iv) Besides, some other English medical terms that originate from Italian, Spanish,
German, etc. can be found.
E.g.: influenza, epidemic, malaria, mosquito, Fahrenheit, etc.
(v) Medical terms are derivatives that consist of one, two, three, four or even five
affixes
E.g.: endocardium; three affixes included: endo, cardi, um
Pneumohemopericardium; 5 affixes included: pneumo, hemo, peri,
cardi, um
(vi) Medical terms are compound nouns
E.g.: sore-throat, cross-yes, out-patient.
(vii) Medical terms are syntactic groups of noun without prepositions
E.g. Noun + noun: lungs congestion, health condition, blood transfusion
Adj + noun: spinal cord, hepatic abscess


14
Ordinal number + noun: first aid, first labor
P1 + noun: whooping cough, dry heating sterilization
Adv + P2 + noun: badly fed children, sexually transmitted diseases
(viii) Medical terms are syntactic groups of noun with preposition
E.g.: resistance against medicine, confinement to bed, vaccination against
the smallpox
(ix) Medical terms in abbreviation
E.g. SARS, AIDS, DOA (dead on arrival), FUO (fever of unknown
origin)
1.1.2.2. Grammatical features of English for medical purposes

Grammatical items which are dominantly employed in medical English
(i) Tenses
According to the time axis, tenses in English include past tense, present tense and
future tense. Tenses show the time of the actions. In the other words, tenses indicate that
the actions happen with time.
ESP in medicine in general and in nursing in particular, present simple, present
perfect and progressive are commonly used to describe diseases, medical history and
medical/nursing procedures. To describe diseases such as present simple is used like this
“cholera is a serious bacterial disease spread through food and water which has been
infected by Vibrio cholerae” (Collin, 2004:71). To ask for medical history of a woman
who is in the family planning clinic, a sentence “How long has the coil been fitted?” is
used. And to describe nursing procedures, nurses often say to the doctors these sentences
“He has had his medication and is feeling sleepy or I have taken Mr. Pool’s temperature,
but I haven’t checked his blood pressure yet.”
(ii) Mood
Mood is a set of contrasts which are often shown by the form of the verb and
which express the speaker‟s or writer‟s attitude to what is said or written. Three moods
have often been distinguished: indicative, imperative, and subjunctive.


15
Indicative mood is the form of the verb used in declarative sentences or questions.
In English for Nurses, declarative sentences or questions are commonly used in
conversations between nurses and patients for example:
Nurse (N): How are you feeling?
Patient (P): I feel hot. What does the thermometer say?
N: Yes, you do have fever. Your temperature is a little over 38. Have you got sore
throat?
P: Yes, it hurts when I talk
N: I can see spots. Any redness?

P: Yes, my chest and my back are all red.
N: And do you feel tired?
P: Yes, constant tiredness. And my legs feel achy, too.
Imperative mood is the form of the verb in imperative sentences which are mainly
used in giving medical orders or instructions such as doctor asks a nurse to take her
patient to lab to do some tests or she/he instructs her/his patient when performing a
physical examination, for instance, doctor often says “Put your tongue out and say Ah
ah!” to a patient or “Take her/his temperature, please!” to a nurse.
Subjunctive mood is the form of the verb often used to express uncertainty,
wishes, describes, etc. In contrast to the indicative mood, the subjunctive usually refers to
non-factual or hypothetical situation. In English, little use of the subjunctive forms
remains. Therefore, in medical English subjunctive sentences are hardly used due to its
mature.
(iii) Voice
According to Richards and Platts (1992:402), voice is the way in which a
language expresses the relationship between a verb and the noun phrases which are
associated with it. Two sentences can differ in voice and yet have the same basic
meaning; active voice and passive voice. However, there may be a change in emphasis
and one of sentence may be more appropriate. Passive voice appears the most
predominant grammatical item found in medical English. It can be seen in treatment;
patient-care procedures, prevention, disease description or diagnosis.


16
(iv) Syntax
Syntactically, English includes basic noun phrases and complex noun phrases,
simple sentences and complex sentences, super - ordinate clause and sub – ordinate
clause and main clause which consists of clause of time, of cause and effect and so on.
Basic noun phrase and complex noun phrase are discussed in the following part.
Simple sentence which covers all seven structures is employed in English for

medical purpose: (i) SVO; (ii) SVC; (iii) SVA; (iv) SVOO; (v) SVOC; (vi) SVOA; (vii)
SV.
Examples: (i) SVO
-

Today’s strict rules for drug-testing owe a great deal to Thalidomide.
(Nursing 1)

-

The technology of modern medicine has prolonged human life and reduced
human suffering.
(ii) SVC

-

Shock is a life-threatening condition.
(iii) SVA

-

The patient is wheeled into the operating room (English for nurses)
(iv) SVOO

-

Can you prescribe something for me?
(v) SVOC (positions)

-

She is taking the patient to the E.N.T ward (English for nurses)
(vi) SVOA

-

The surgeon corrected a heart valve defect with a tiny balloon-catheter
(vii) SV

-

He is recovering
Kinds of complex sentences are commonly used in English for medical purposes
According to Cob Build (1990) conditional clause is used to talk about possible

situation and its consequences. Sentences containing conditional clauses are called
conditional sentences and usually begin with if or unless. These clauses are often used to
give instructions or warning in medical English. “If you have fever, unexplained weight
loss, nigh sweats and a persistent cough, see the doctor immediately or If you have a
parent or sibling with type one diabetes, your chance of developing the disease
increases.”


17
Reason clause are as, because, in case, just in case or since, etc. are often used to
give explanations on causes of diseases such as “lack of insulin results in diabetes
because insulin plays important role in making glucose-the body’s fuel available to
cells.” Time clauses are used to say when something happens by referring to a period of
time or to another event. Such adverbs of time as when, while, after, before, until, etc. are
often used to describe symptoms or nursing, treating procedures or development of

diseases. For example, one or two days after the fever begins, painful sores develop in
the mouth (Pagina 2000), when they qualify, they start working on a middle grade (Tony
Grice)
1.2. OVERVIEW ON TEACHING READING
1.2.1. Definition of reading
In order to give the answer to the question “What is reading”, many people say
that they know what reading is but they cannot find the right words to define it.
Meanwhile, there are a lot of authors giving the definitions of reading on their own
viewpoints as follows:
-

reading means “reading and understanding” (Ur, 1996:138)

-

reading means (1) perceiving a written text in order to understand its content and
(2) saying a written text aloud (Richard; Platt, J and Platt, H. 1992: 306)

-

reading is an exercise dominated by the eyes and the brain. The eyes receive
messages and the brain then has to work out the significance of these messages
(Harmer, 1989: 153)

-

reading is the process of acquiring information from a written or printed text.
(Eskey: 5)
In short, different authors define the term reading in different ways. Reading can

be understood as the interactive process between the reader and the writer, the reader not
only reads the writer‟s words but the writer‟s thought as well.
1.2.2. The place of reading skills in teaching ESP
Reading comprehension means interpreting the author‟s intended meaning
through efficiently processing the required information from the text by applying
different strategies suitable to dissimilar text-types. Therefore, developing skills and
strategies to deal with different text-types is a pressing necessity to readers in general


18
since in real life, they usually apply various ways of reading in stead of one individual
way and learners of a reading course in particular.
Apparently, reading is a language skill essential to any language learners not only
for their academic study but also for their future profession. Reading is even more crucial
and significant to ESP learners if it is agreed that the most fundamental purpose of
learning ESP is to process a tool that enables learners to deal with the enormous bulk of
literature in their career life.
From Strevens‟(1980) perspective, “ ESP may be restricted as to the language
skills to be learnt (e.g. reading only). This pinpoints the significance of reading skills in
facilitating the learning of general English and especially ESP. Hutchinson and Waters
(1987) favored a learning-centered approach in teaching ESP materials with its
underlying processes of reasoning and interpreting are decisive and helpful in the
extraction of meaning from discourse despite the surface form such as word
arrangements, visual layout of a text or equivalent between the mother tongue and the
target language, etc. In other words, due to the underlying interpretive strategies, the
learner can cope with the surface firm, for example guessing the meaning of words from
context, using visual layout to determine the type of text, exploiting cognates (i.e words
which are similar in the mother tongue and the target language). It is parent that the
reasoning and deducing processes involved in the learning process of ESP are associated
with the reading process. They are common and essential to any learner of any language

to be successful in their learning. “It is argued that learning skills are not languagespecific but universal and that there is a core of language (for example, certain structures
of arguments and forms of presentation) which can be identified as “academic” and
which is not subject-specific.” (Chivavelu, 1980, quoted in Hutchinson and Waters,
1987: 13)
Thus, reading strategies are what language learners in general and ESP learners in
particular should develop because they are fundamental part of any learning progression,
these strategies are not simply decoding the written symbol into corresponding speech
forms, but they are exploration, inference and extension of the concepts represented by
the written symbols. In other words, reasoning process should be developed properly and
systematically to grasp nursing materials. Where the reading goals are realistic and the
ESP students are competent in reading English for Nurses, they can expand certain
nursing concepts as a basis for them to move on along the nursing knowledge highway.


19
For each purpose of reading, it is necessary to employ a suitable type of reading.
In other words, learners should be given opportunities to improve and practice various
sub-skills in reading in order that they can deal with different topics and text-types in
their academic study, their future career and their social life.
1.2.3. Reading tasks
(i) Definition of task
The idea of “task” is not as simple as it might seem. Many definitions and
perspectives on the concept of task exist, as shown by the list below
Task as

- An imposed tax, duty, or piece of work
- An everyday piece of work
- A job responsibility
- A general activity or exercise for second language (L2)
- An outcome-oriented L2 instructional segment

- A behavioral framework for research
- A behavioral framework for classroom learning

(quoted from Task-based language teaching and learning: An overview.
Asian EFL Journal, 8(3), 2006)
There are many viewpoints about definitions of task. In this part, I adopt
Willis‟(1996, p.23) position, according to which “tasks are activities where the target
language is used by the learner for communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve
an outcome”. Thus, activities that focus learners‟ attention on linguistics aspects
(grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions, and discourse) are not considered as
tasks in our view. Rather they are called exercises. In similar way, activities that requires
some attention to meaning but do not involve communicating new messages to others
(e.g. “question and answer” practice) are also not considered as tasks
A task usually involves real-world processes of language use. In other words, it
engages learners in a language activity that is normally found in the real world, for
example, completing a form, or that at least resembles those activities occurring in realworld communication, for example in drawing pictures learners engage in asking and
answering questions to clarify and negotiate meaning. In this way, learners function


20
primarily as language users rather than language learners and thus their communication is
more purposeful and authentic.
As for me, the author of this thesis, gives a more simple definition of task; task is
a meaning-focused activity that a teacher asks his/her students to do to achieve a
particular learning goal during a limited time.
Finally, it should be noted that learning cannot occur without tasks. By
completing meaningful and authentic tasks learners can improve their language
proficiency.
(ii) Types of task
There are different types of task, which can be information gap activities, jigsaws,

ordering and sorting activities, problem solving activities, conversation grid activities,
and discussions can foster interaction in the classroom. Willis (1996) classifies them into
different groups:
-

Listing tasks include brainstorming and fact-finding. The outcome is a

completed list of fact or ideas.
- Ordering and sorting tasks include sequencing, ranking, categorizing, and
classifying. The outcome is a set of information ordered and sorted according to specified
criteria.
- Comparing tasks include matching, finding similarities and differences. The
outcome could be items that are appropriately matched and the identification of
similarities and/or differences.
- Problem solving tasks include analyzing real situations, analyzing hypothetical
situations, reasoning, and decision making. The outcome is solution to the problem,
which can then be evaluated.
- Sharing personal experience tasks include narrating, describing, exploring and
explaining attitudes, opinions, and reactions. The outcome is largely social.
- Creative tasks include brainstorming, fact-finding, ordering and sorting,
comparing, problem-solving and others. The outcome is an end product which can be
appreciated by a wider audience.


21
(iii) Types of reading tasks
The table 1 below exemplifies the types of reading tasks that can be developed
within Davies‟ and Green‟s model. Within this model, there are two different task types:
reconstruction activities and analysis activities. Reconstruction activities require a reader
to reconstruct a text. Analysis activities require a reader to transform the information in

the text in some way.


22
Reconstruction activities

Analysis activities

(Using text modified by teachers)

(Using straight/authentic text)

Pupils task: Pupils complete text or Pupils
diagram, reconstruct meaning

task:

categorize

Pupils

and

information

text

locate

by

marking and labeling. Use marked text
as basis for summary (diagrammatic
or note form)
Text completion
-

Text marking

Word completion (selected words

-

deleted from the text)
-

Phrases

completion

Locating and understanding
parts

(selected

of

text

representing

certain meaning of information

phrases/clauses deleted from the

targets.

text)
-

Sentence

completion

(selected Labeling

sentences deleted from the text)

-

labels provided by the teacher

Sequencing
-

Pupils label parts of text using

Selected segments of text arranged
in logical/time sequence (text cut Segmenting
into segments representing steps,

-

Pupils break text into meaning

event, etc.)
-

or

information

units

and

Segments of text classified (text cut

label/annotate segments of text

into segments representing certain
categories of information)
Prediction
-

Table construction
-

Pupils construct and complete

Pupils predict next events/steps or

diagram

appropriate

stage after reading segments of text

for

particular text

(text segments presented a section
at a time)
Table completion
-

Pupil-generated questions
-

Pupils read text and generate

Pupils fill in cells of table using row

questions

and column headings and text as

they

still

need

answers to

sources of information (teacher Summary
provides row and column headings)
-

Pupils devise row and column
headings using texts and cells of
matrix as sources of information
(teacher fills in cells)

-

Pupils produce headings and
summarize information


23
Table 1- Types of reading tasks
Practically, the reading tasks above are really useful in teaching reading skills as
it can cultivate teachers as well as student‟s knowledge and skills.
(iv) Criteria of a good reading task
In “Second Language Teaching and Learning” (1999:262) Nunan extracts Davis‟
arguments for good reading tasks that are characterized by the following features:
-

typically make use of authentic and challenging texts

-

provide students with a rhetorical or topical framework for processing and
analyzing the text

-

frequently involve an oral reading of the text by the teacher or a student followed
by silent reading and rereading of the text

-

involve students in direct analysis of the text instead of indirect question
answering

-

frequently involve the transfer of information from the text to a visual or
diagrammatic representation.
In order to make a good reading task for English for Nurses, the teacher should

take these criteria into consideration.
(v) Guidelines for designing reading tasks
Notably, different language learners have different language proficiency. Apart
from all which are already mentioned, task designers should pay attention to some
characteristics of a task that may affect the appropriate difficulty level.
-

Tasks that require processing less information tend to be easier than tasks which
require processing more information.

-

Tasks that require processing information from just one location in the text tend
to be easier than tasks which require integrating information scattered throughout
the text.

-

Tasks that require recalling exact content tend to be easier than tasks which
require extracting the gist or making a summary.

-

Tasks that require simply selecting information tend to be easier than tasks which
require separating fact from opinion.


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-

Tasks that require information relevant to the main theme tend to be easier than
tasks which ask for irrelevant details.

-

Tasks that require immediate responses tend to be easier than tasks which require
a delayed response.

Those are the guidelines for the tasks designed by the teachers. They can take

these guidelines as the basic for different levels of learners.
1.2.4. Stages in teaching reading
It is common that a reading lesson concludes three main stages; pre-reading,
while-reading, post-reading


Pre-reading stage

Before reading a text, this stage is carried out. It plays a vital role in the whole
process of reading a lesson as it is hard for students to read unseen text without
preparation such as pre-reading questions, pre-reading vocabulary. According to William
(1984: 37), the purposes of the pre-reading stage are: to arouse students‟ interests in the
topic, to motivate learners by giving a reason for reading, to provide some language
preparation for the text, etc.
Pre-reading stage often lasts for about one-sixth of the time allocation for the
whole lesson. However, depending on different lesson, it can be longer or shorter.


While-reading stage

William (1984: 38) states that while-reading stage is the main part of a reading
lesson as it helps to understand the writer‟s purpose, the text structure and clarify text
content.
During this stage, the teacher needs to help their students comprehend the text
thoroughly while the students have to apply their best reading skills like skimming,
scanning, guessing, etc. to understand the text as well as the author‟s purposes. As a
result, time allocation for this is nearly two-third of the whole lesson.


Post-reading stage

This is the last phrase of a reading lesson so it is the time of students‟ production.
What they produce will reflect how well they understand the text. “The post-reading
stage is aimed at consolidating or reflecting upon what has been read and relating the text


25
to the learners‟ own knowledge, interests or views” (William (1984: 39)). Normally, it
takes ten or fifteen minutes to complete all activities at this stage.
All above stages are important; however, it is not necessary to go through all of
them on every occasion. Depending on the aims of the lesson, the teacher may apply
these stages as time allocation for each section appropriately.
1.3. AUTHENTIC MATERIALS
1.3.1. Definition of authentic materials
The term “authentic materials” has been defined in a number of ways. Authentic
materials are the kind of materials designed for native speakers of English used in the
classroom in a way in similar to the one they are designed for. For example, a radio news
report brought into the class so that students discuss the report on pollution in the city
where they live.
Nunan (1989:54) describes authentic materials as any materials which are not
specifically produced for the purposes of language teaching. Also, authentic materials
can be understood as anything a native speaker of English would hear or read or use.
Authentic materials can be theater programs, newspapers, magazines, poems, songs,
brochures, information leaflets, menus, new broadcasts, films, or videos and so on.
(Bang, Nguyen & Ngoc, Nguyen, 2002).
Generally speaking, authentic language is used by native speakers communicating
in spoken form or in written form.
1.3.2. How authentic materials have been used in language teaching

The use of authentic materials in EFL classroom is what teachers are involved in
foreign language teaching, which has discussed in recent years.
Authentic materials are “created to fulfill some social purpose in the language
community in which it was produced” (Little et all, 1988, p.27). Authentic materials are
introduced into language classrooms generally to help bridge the gap between classroom
knowledge and a “student‟s capacities to participate in real world events” (Wilkins 1976,
p.79). However, while using authentic materials is one of the mainstays of an imaginative
and motivating higher level language course, it rarely features at levels lower than
intermediate. There are several reasons for this, primarily a kind of fear that students will


26
panic when faced with language that is largely unfamiliar, and a feeling that to prevent
this the language should be edited to the students‟ level. This is an unnecessary fear, as
using authentic materials can be rewarding and stimulating for both teacher and students.
Studies show that learners working with authentic materials will gain valuable
practice in the specific skill of making sense of natural speech without necessarily
understanding every word in the text; then, an increase in reading comprehension is a
natural consequence of this practice. The challenge for teachers, therefore, is to identify
authentic materials of potential interest to learners and to prepare learners for dealing
with these texts in a meaningful way.
In general, there has been a trend towards bringing classroom reading practice as
close to real world reading as possible. However, the question of when and how authentic
materials should be introduced to an EFL classroom is still in conflict and will be
discussed later in this study.
1.3.3. Reasons for using authentic materials in teaching reading skills
There have been a number of books and journals containing the explanation of
why authentic materials should be included in the lessons, and how they should be
selected and used or best exploited. Authentic materials should be included as Martinez
(2002) suggests a list of advantages of authentic materials used in language teaching in

general and reading skills in particular.
-

Students are exposed to real discourse, because authentic materials
provide close contact with the language (Kaprova, 1999). In addition,
language change is reflected in the materials so that students and teachers
can keep abreast of such changes.

-

Authentic materials keep students informed about what is happening in
the world, so they have an intrinsic educational value. As teachers, we are
educators working within the school system, so education and general
development are part of our responsibilities.

-

Authentic materials provide Ls with a wide selection of everyday
vocabulary which textbooks do not often include.

-

The same piece of material can be used under different circumstances if
the task is different.


27
-

Language change is reflected in the materials so that students and teachers

can keep abreast of such changes.

-

Reading texts are ideal to teach/practice mini-skills such as scanning, e.g.
students are given a new article and asked to look for specific information
(amounts, percentages, etc). Students read to news reports and they are
asked to identify the names of countries, famous people, etc (ability to
detect key words).

-

Books, articles, newspapers, and so on contain a wide variety of text
types, language styles not easily found in conventional teaching materials.

-

They can encourage reading or listening for pleasure because they are
likely to contain topics of interest to Ls, especially if students are given
the chance to have a talk about the topics or kinds of authentic materials to
be used in class.

In general, there has been a trend towards bringing classroom reading practice as
close to the real world reading as possible, especially for the teaching of English for
Nurses. The need for and the usefulness of authentic materials has been increasingly
acknowledged.
1.3.4. Limitations of authentic materials and some solutions
Although authentic materials have numerous advantages, they still disclose some
disadvantages. One common complaint is that authentic materials ate more difficult than
non-authentic materials. Here are some possible shortcomings. In the first place, they

may be too culturally biased and required good knowledge of cultural background.
Secondly, too many structures are mixed so lower level learners have a hard time to
decode the texts. Thirdly, aural texts may have too many different accents. Finally, the
materials can become outdated easily, eg. news. The vocabulary might be irrelevant to
Ls‟ immediate needs.
However, the writer would suggest some solutions to the above disadvantages.
For the first limitation, teacher should choose suitable topics which are not very
demanding and also provide learners with more background knowledge. With the second
shortcoming, teacher could pre-teach the structures or choose less challenging texts. The
solution to the third limitation is selecting suitable aural texts from easy level to difficult