Vĩnh Phúc Education and Training Department    Helping Students Deal with Reading Comprehension Exercise in Examination Researcher Group School : Nguyen Thanh Thuong : History, Geography, Foreign Language : Yen Lac High School March, 2014 TABLE OF CONTENTS Content Page CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I Reason for choosing the research .4 II Aim of the study III.Scope and objective of the study CHAPTER 2: CONTENT I Difficulties students may encounter while doing reading comprehension exercise Poor vocabulary Lack of reading skills II Suggested solutions Dealing with unknown words .5 1.1 No need to understand the whole word .5 1.2 A capital letter or the word is in italic 1.3 The word is explained in the text .6 1.4 Deduce the meaning of the word from other words 1.5 Guess the meaning from the general context 1.6 Recognize a part of word 1.7 Know the type of word 1.8 Practice suggestion- read extensively 2 Strategies to solve questions and improve poor reading skills 2.1 Main idea questions 2.2 Detailed questions 11 Other tips while doing reading comprehension exercise 12 3.1 Read actively 12 3.2 Do not run pens under the lines .12 3.3 Read in the phrase 12 3.4 Do not utter the word in mind or reading aloud 13 CHAPTER 3: CONCLUSION .14 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION I REASON FOR CHOOSING THE RESEARCH As far as we know, English is by far the most widely used among other thousands of living languages all over the world It is English that has been used in various fields such as education, business, commerce, technology, and so on Language learning is a complex and long process Effort is required at every moment and must be maintained over a long period of time Students studying English as a foreign language still encounter a lot of difficulties doing some kinds of exercises such as vocabulary test, error finding, synonym, antonym and specially reading comprehension While undergoing an exam, most of the students find it very difficult to deal with reading comprehension In almost all the exams reading comprehension is one of the tools to test the knowledge of English It sounds very difficult as this is the most time consuming test We can easily prepare for grammar or error finding examination but reading comprehension exercises need special attention because we hardly get any guidelines to prepare them In this research the writer would like to work out some main problems students deal with while doing comprehension exercises and she also would like to suggest some strategies to help them deal passages easily in limited time II AIMS OF THE RESEARCH This research aims at working out some main problems students deal with while doing reading comprehension exercises and suggesting some strategies to help them deal passages easily and in limited time III SCOPE AND OBJECTS OF THE RESEARCH This study focuses on the strategies of doing reading comprehension exercises in the English examination in order to help students get the best mark This study is applied to students in grade twelve to examination to enter university CHAPTER CONTENT I DIFFICULTIES STUDENTS MAY ENCOUNTER WHILE DOING READING COMPREHENSION EXERCISES Poor vocabulary Since we are studying English as a foreign language, a big problem is we are short of vocabulary While reading a passage what hampers our speed is a term or word which we are not acquainted of We waste most of our time in guessing what could be the meaning of this particular word in a particular passage Lack of reading skills If students spend too much time in solving reading comprehension part then surely it gives them a shortage of time for other questions If students read slowly and try to understand every word, they are reading in the wrong way II SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS Dealing with unknown words This part looks at a key reading skill- the ability to deal with unknown vocabulary It’s a vital skill because you are almost certain to find unknown or unfamiliar words in any reading text The skill is not necessarily to “know” the words, but to understand enough about them so that you can read and understand the whole text Here I suggest several different ways you can this 1.1 No need to understand the word at all The first point to understand is that you not need to understand every word in a reading passage in order to get the answer Indeed, a major reading skill is the ability to read through words and understand what the general meaning of a sentence or paragraph is without knowing what every word means Students should not spend minutes reading and re-reading a sentence just because they don’t understand one word There are questions that are difficult for native speakers too 1.2 A capital letter or the word is in italics If the word starts with a capital letter, it is in all probability a proper name In this case, we should waste no time in trying to understand what the word means Likewise, if the word is in italics, it is also almost certainly a scientific/technical term that we not need to understand Example: The tulip was introduced to Europe in the mid-16th century from the Ottoman Empire, and became very popular in the United Provinces which are now the Netherlands Tulip cultivation in the United Provinces is generally thought to have started in earnest around 1593 after the Flemish botanist Charles de l’Écluse had taken up a post at the University of Leiden and established the hortus academicus This is a phrase that we should learn to ignore because it is in italics and is therefore a technical term 1.3 The word is explained in the text Sometimes, we will find that the meaning of an unfamiliar word is given to us in the text In this case, what we need to is keep on reading the sentence and not stop the moment you find an unfamiliar word Typically, the way this words is that we have a phrase in commas immediately after the unfamiliar word: Example: This lobotomy, an extremely dangerous medical procedure, ultimately cost him his life Here students should understand that “lobotomy” is a medical procedure 1.4 Deduce the meaning of the word from other words This is an excellent skill to learn What you here is look at other words which relate to that word and work out what it must mean These words may be either synonyms (words with a similar meaning) or opposites Example: The fossils were originally dug up in Kazakhstan by a group of German archaeologists who were looking for evidence of prehistoric culture Sometimes later the bone fragments were taken to Belgium to be exhibited in a museum specializing in natural history Here you can work out the meaning of “fossils” by close synonym “bone fragments” All you need to is read the next sentence and think of meaning 1.5 Guess the meaning from the general context This is a more advanced skill This time you think about the general meaning of the sentence and make a guess at the probable meaning of that word While you are only guessing, it is a skill that does improve with practice: the more you guess meanings, the more correct you are Skin cancer is a common disease According to Cancer Research UK, around 100,000 cases of non-melanoma were diagnosed in the UK in 2008, and just under 12,000 cases of the more dangerous malignant melanoma were also registered of which 25% proved fatal “Non-melanoma” is a highly technical term However, if you read the short paragraph above, it should be obvious that it must be some form of medical term and probably relates in some way to “skin cancer” Likewise, you can guess that “malignant” is in some way related to “dangerous” and “proved fatal” gives you more evidence of its meaning 1.6 Recognize a part of the word This is another advanced skill What you here is recognize parts of words and relate them to other words you know Again, this will mean you are “guessing” and sometimes you may make mistakes, but you should be correct more often than not The archaeologists unearthed the bones in Kazakhstan, while looking for evidence of prehistoric civilizations “Unearthed” may be a new word to you, but you can guess here that it has some connection with “earth” and from the context you should see that it means to take out of the ground 1.7 Know the type of word This is the weakest skill in that it gives you the least amount of information about the word However, it can sometimes help to know whether you are looking at a verb, noun, adverb or adjective Example: In five years time the skills for conducting fundamental science in the UK will not be here, because everyone will be chasing money to work on the widget the EPSRC thinks will solve societal problems In this text, we have an unusual word “widget” You can tell the word must be a noun as it follows “the” and this helps you understand that it must be a thing of some sort In fact, all “widget” means is “thing” 1.8 Practice suggestion – read extensively Reading extensively means reading for quantity In practice, this also means • • reading without a dictionary reading for general meaning If you this, you will find yourself reading through unfamiliar words and making intelligent guesses about what they might mean If you are uncertain about this, I can confidently tell you well over 50% of the words you know you will have learned in this way – passively reading or listening Strategies to solve questions and improve poor reading skills There are some types of exercises in the reading comprehension * Main idea question * Detailed question Stated detail question Unstated detail question Vocabulary question Inference question 2.1 Main idea question This is the question to check the skimming skill of the reader and the main idea of the passage Therefore, students should not focus on details or any new words, they should notice the structure of the passage and key words A reading text may be organized as follows: • • • • Time order Cause-Effect Definition – Example Comparison-contrast In order to find out the structure of the text, students need to focus on some signs: For example: The time order structure often has words such as at first, then, after that The Cause-effect structure has connectors such as because, since, as, lead to, as a result The key word is often repeated exactly as the one before or it may also be replaced by a synonym Students can work out the main idea of the text base on these key words There are some common ways of giving this kind of question For example: What is the topic of the passage? ? What is the subject of the passage? What is the main idea of the passage? What is the author's main point in the passage? With what is the author primarily concerned? Which of the following would be the best title? Students should follow some steps to solve this question quickly: • • • Read the first sentence of the passage Try to find out the relationship among the first lines of the passage Skim the rest sentence to check if the main idea in the first lines is correct with the rest ones Reject the wrong answer which is: Not mentioned in the text Opposite in meaning with the information given in the text Too detailed ( Information about time, place) For example: Basketball was invented in 1891 by a physical education instructor in Springfield, Massachusetts, by the name of James Naismith Because of terrible weather in winter, his physical education students were indoors rather than outdoors They really did not like the idea of boring, repetitive exercises and preferred the excitement and challenge of a game Naismith figured out a team sport that could be played indoors on a gymnasium floor, that involved a lot of running, that kept all team members involved, and that did not allow the tackling and physical contact of American* style football Question: What is the topic of this passage? A The life of James Naismith B The history of sports C Physical education and exercise D The origin of basketball The first sentence of the passage mentions “ basketball was invented”, so the main idea of the passage could be related to basketball We continue to read the rest sentence and see some other words related to sport such as “ game, physical contact, running” 10 Students should also have a look on the rest answer choice A The life of James Naismith B The history of sports C Physical education and exercise D The origin of basketball A is not correct because James Naismith is only mentioned as the inventor of basketball There is no information about his life or career B is not correct because only basketball is mentioned in the text, there is no information of other sport, it can not be “history of sport” C is not correct because Physical education is mentioned only once and there is no supporting idea for it So, D is exactly correct 2.2 Detailed question This type of question is very common in the test and it accounts for about 50 percent of all the questions Detailed question focuses on specified information in each paragraph, such as time, place, person, thing, cause or effect Students can recognize the detailed questions base on following ways of asking: - According to the passage… It is stated in the passage The passage indicates that… Which of the following is true ? Example: Students can find out how fast they read by a simple method First, they should count all the words on a page of a book Then, they read the page as they time themselves After finishing reading, they should divide the number of words read by the number of minutes spent reading 11 According to the passage, what is the first step in determining your reading speed? a Timing yourself as you read the page of a book b Dividing the number of words read by the number of minutes used c Counting the number of words on a page d Determining if you need to read faster Detailed question often follows the order of the reading text The answer may be expressed in a different way using synonym or antonym compared to that in the text Example: Flutes have been around for quite some time, in all sorts of shapes and sizes and made from a variety of materials The oldest known flutes are, about 20,000 years old, they were made from hollowed-out bones with holes cut in them In addition to bone, older flutes were often constructed from bamboo or hollowed-out wood Today flutes are generally made of metal, and in addition to the holes they have a complicated system of keys, levers, and pads The instrument belonging to well-known flautist James Galway is not just made of any metal, it is made of gold Question: According to the passage, the oldest flutes A had holes cut in them B were made of metal C were made 200,000 years ago D had a complicated set of levers and pads We can find information about “The oldest flutes” in the second sentence of the passage “The oldest known flutes are, about 20,000 years old, they were made from hollowed-out bones with holes cut in them.” The correct answer should be A B&D are incorrect because there is no relationship between them and “the oldest flutes” C is also incorrect because “The oldest flutes are 20,000 years old”, not “200,000 years old.” 12 Other tips while doing reading comprehension exercise 3.1 Read actively It helps students remember the thing and makes the mental pictures 3.2 Do not run pens under the line Running pens or fingers under the lines will decrease the reading speed 3.3 Read in the phrase While reading, move your eyes on the whole phrase or as much as you can see at once Do not just focus in one word only 3.4 Do not utter the word in mind or reading aloud Pronouncing the word or reading loudly can slow down your speed 13 CHAPTER CONCLUSION The main purpose of this study is to provide a good way to help students improve their reading skills as well as give them some tips in doing reading comprehension exercises in the exam This study is really helpful if students know how to apply them correctly in their daily practice and in the examination as well Using these techniques can help students overcome the unfamiliar words to understand the whole text and find out the answer quickly in limited time The researcher herself is contented with these techniques and she is applying it in her classes to help students the reading comprehension exercises effectively in a limited time In order to get perfect score of this exercise, each student need practice doing this exercise regularly and continuously enrich their source of vocabulary as well as grammar structures every day 14 15 [...]... way to help students improve their reading skills as well as give them some tips in doing reading comprehension exercises in the exam This study is really helpful if students know how to apply them correctly in their daily practice and in the examination as well Using these techniques can help students overcome the unfamiliar words to understand the whole text and find out the answer quickly in limited... run pens under the line Running pens or fingers under the lines will decrease the reading speed 3.3 Read in the phrase While reading, move your eyes on the whole phrase or as much as you can see at once Do not just focus in one word only 3.4 Do not utter the word in mind or reading aloud Pronouncing the word or reading loudly can slow down your speed 13 CHAPTER 3 CONCLUSION The main purpose of this... first step in determining your reading speed? a Timing yourself as you read the page of a book b Dividing the number of words read by the number of minutes used c Counting the number of words on a page d Determining if you need to read faster Detailed question often follows the order of the reading text The answer may be expressed in a different way using synonym or antonym compared to that in the text... the answer quickly in limited time The researcher herself is contented with these techniques and she is applying it in her classes to help students do the reading comprehension exercises effectively in a limited time In order to get perfect score of this exercise, each student need practice doing this exercise regularly and continuously enrich their source of vocabulary as well as grammar structures... passage… It is stated in the passage The passage indicates that… Which of the following is true ? Example: Students can find out how fast they read by a simple method First, they should count all the words on a page of a book Then, they read the page as they time themselves After finishing reading, they should divide the number of words read by the number of minutes spent reading 11 According to the passage,... made from hollowed-out bones with holes cut in them.” The correct answer should be A B&D are incorrect because there is no relationship between them and “the oldest flutes” C is also incorrect because “The oldest flutes are 20,000 years old”, not “200,000 years old.” 12 3 Other tips while doing reading comprehension exercise 3.1 Read actively It helps students remember the thing and makes the mental pictures... no supporting idea for it So, D is exactly correct 2.2 Detailed question This type of question is very common in the test and it accounts for about 50 percent of all the questions Detailed question focuses on specified information in each paragraph, such as time, place, person, thing, cause or effect Students can recognize the detailed questions base on following ways of asking: - According to the.. .Students should also have a look on the rest answer choice A The life of James Naismith B The history of sports C Physical education and exercise D The origin of basketball A is not correct because James Naismith is only mentioned as the inventor of basketball There is no information about his life or career B is not correct because only basketball is mentioned in the text, there is no information... system of keys, levers, and pads The instrument belonging to well-known flautist James Galway is not just made of any metal, it is made of gold Question: According to the passage, the oldest flutes A had holes cut in them B were made of metal C were made 200,000 years ago D had a complicated set of levers and pads We can find information about “The oldest flutes” in the second sentence of the passage... Flutes have been around for quite some time, in all sorts of shapes and sizes and made from a variety of materials The oldest known flutes are, about 20,000 years old, they were made from hollowed-out bones with holes cut in them In addition to bone, older flutes were often constructed from bamboo or hollowed-out wood Today flutes are generally made of metal, and in addition to the holes they have a complicated ... antonym and specially reading comprehension While undergoing an exam, most of the students find it very difficult to deal with reading comprehension In almost all the exams reading comprehension is... strategies of doing reading comprehension exercises in the English examination in order to help students get the best mark This study is applied to students in grade twelve to examination to enter... research aims at working out some main problems students deal with while doing reading comprehension exercises and suggesting some strategies to help them deal passages easily and in limited time