Thursday, December 18, 2014

Article 4 - Improving Vocabulary Skills through Reading

Improving Vocabulary Skills through Reading in English

Suggestions on an approach to using reading by topic



Extensive reading in English with the help of a good English dictionary on a variety of real life topics is one of the ways to learn English vocabulary. Since there is an enormous amount of reading material in English, a learner of English has to prioritise reading in subjects according to learner's needs for using English to encompass first the most necessary, relevant and frequently used vocabulary. Day-to-day topics ought to come first in reading. 
Reading materials can be arranged by level of difficulty of vocabulary - for learners at beginning, intermediate and advanced levels. Learners can master the most important English vocabulary by reading thematic texts (materials), first of all on everyday topics with important content, for example: Practical Tips and Advice to Make Everyday Life Easier and Better (practical solutions for everyday problems). Such self-help books on settling everyday matters are available at book stores.

In addition to thematic informative texts (materials), learners can read thematic dialogues (samples of real life conversations between people), narrative realistic stories, fine literature, newspapers, magazines, Internet materials, books in various subjects, general thematic English dictionaries, etc.

Good general thematic English dictionaries arrange vocabulary by subject matter (topics) and provide clear word usage explanations and also a few usage sentences for each word meaning, which is especially important. English synonym dictionaries provide usage explanations and usage examples for words with similar meaning. Thematic general English dictionaries combined with English synonym dictionaries are a valuable tool for mastering English vocabulary logically, comprehensively and intensively for real life needs of learners.

Good public libraries have a wide selection of English reading materials.
It is better for learners to write down unknown vocabulary in whole sentences to remember word meanings easier. It would be a good speaking practice for learners telling the content of the texts that they have read. Learners can write key words and phrases, or main ideas as a plan, or questions on the text that require long answers to make easier for learners to tell the content of the text. I believe it is a good idea to read each logical chunk or paragraph of a text and to narrate each paragraph separately, and then the whole text. As people say, practice makes perfect.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Final class - reflection

Time flies real fast till we did not realize that yesterday happened to be the final class with our dearest Dr. Teoh. I've learnt a lot from this class and I would never thank her enough for her passion, effort and guidance that she has offered throughout this semester.

Yesterday also happened to be a day that scares us the most. We sat for our final test that I have been studying for days (not to mention that I had sleepless nights caused by the stress and nervousness!). So, I have tried my very best eventhough I wasn't really sure about my answers. Still, I got my finger crossed, wishing for an 'A' for this course =)

After we have finished with the test, we then continued with the last presentation on reliability and validity presented by our friend. 
By the way, I like how this picture shows the example of validity and reliability:


Before I end, this is for you, Dr. Teoh..

thank-you-quotes-for-teachers-21

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Presentation.. done!

We had a class with Dr. Teoh yesterday (28th Nov 2014). I was a bit nervous and worried as I need to present an article review in the class. First off, I wasn't really sure if I did it right (I've never done any article review in my life! - Or maybe once but I can hardly remember). 
Secondly, to review an article I must be a MASTER in this research methodology subject! Obviously, I will need to explain and criticize another person's theses. 


The research that  have chose was entitled:

A study of stereotypes about language and gender - Investigating the views of University students, by Helen White, supervised by Paul Baker from LAMEL Lancaster University

I was the last presenter of the day. Even though  I was quite nervous at the beginning but it ended up to be as smooth as I wanted and I had no trouble to explain about it at all. I was very happy when Dr Teoh personally said to me that the presentation was good! (ofcourse there were a few things that I need to improve). Pheeww! I felt so relief. Overall, everyone did very good in their presentations. I've learnt a lot of things from their presentations as well. With some explanations and guides from Dr Teoh, I am now more confident to do my own research =)




Men vs Women conversation - F.R.I.E.N.D.S 

 

Men Vs Women - REALITY!!


Thursday, November 20, 2014

Video input

I have came across this video which has helped in giving me more ideas on my topic!



by Rob Waring, Notre Dame

Sunday, November 16, 2014

5th class (Reflection)

Yesterday we had our class with Dr. Teoh. This time we've learnt about questionnaires, and some other topics presented by my friends. They have done very well in their presentation. I'd given a 100% of my attention in the class (although the ice-freezing aircond distracted me a lot) as for me the topics are vital.




Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Progress 3 - Background of the study

Background of the study

In Malaysia, reading has been recognized positively by the local educators as beneficial especially in terms of developing pupils’ language acquisition. One of the earliest reading programmes was the English language Reading Programme (ELRP) which began in 1976. This programme was aimed to promote reading in English, improves students’ reading and encourages language development. (Parkash Kaur, 2000). Similarly, there is a variety of reading programmes such as Class Reader Programme (CRP) and ‘Nadi Ilmu Amalan Membaca (NILAM)’. They were introduced by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and it was believed that reading can enhance target language learning in a context, help to build the confidence of pupils’ language usage and also encourages extensive reading programme. In the year 2000, MoE has introduced new curriculum by integrating literature into the English language syllabus for primary school, which mainly focused on reading skills. Extensive reading gives a pleasure, tension free situation; it requires no dictionary and examination. It helps and motivates the pupils in their learning activity.

At the beginning, the programme has involved only a few selected residential schools in urban areas. These schools were provided with reading labs that were equipped with a large amount of graded reading materials. By the year 1983, about two hundred public schools were provided with reading labs. At the same time, campaigns on extensive reading and attempts to make Malaysia a literate society began voraciously (Parkash kaur, 2000). The year (1988) was made the reading year with the theme “Reading as a Bridge to Knowledge”. Many reading camps, books exhibition, campaign and talks were held in state libraries, schools and the universities.

Even many activities were also carried out throughout the year to instil the reading habit among Malaysians; yet, the issue of English acquisition has always been a concern among Malaysian teachers, academicians, and the officials from the Ministry of Education because student’s lack of vocabulary in English deprives them the opportunities to use the language well. The rural school students’ failure rate in national standardized English examination is twice that of their urban counterparts (Mohd. Asraf, 2004). Many rural school students have difficulty in understanding English and some pupils avoid communicating in English. This is a study on Extensive Reading improves student’s vocabulary acquisition by having plenty of appropriate reading materials for them.

The problem of having poor readers is that the student who have adequate word recognition skills, but who do not understand what they read is a global concern. Research conducted by Sloat, Beswick and Willams (2007) proved that poor vocabulary knowledge is still a major problem as students fail to learn reading during primary level. In Malaysia, the problem remains the same. Reading is a major component of the English curriculum of Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Binjai. More class time is allotted to it than to the other components such as listening, speaking and writing.

Despite the emphasis that has been given on reading, the problem continues to plague the teachers as more and more students got low scores in the school and national achievement tests in English. One of the variables responsible for this problem is that students have limited access to reading materials (Greaney, 1996). Most of them come from poor families whom cannot afford to buy reading materials. Beside this, students’ motivation to read is low because they feel only extrinsic needs for English such as passing exams, getting a degree and getting a job later. This type of motivation according to Gardner and Lambert (1992) is less effective because it is not rooted on the personality of the learner.

Another cause of low proficiency in reading is failure to incorporate extensive reading in the curriculum. While intensive reading develops skills and strategies in reading, it by itself, is inadequate (Ellis and McRae, 1991). Public exam, formative and summative tests pressure in Malaysia poses another obstacle to extensive reading implementation, especially when exam measure only discrete skills such as writing, neglecting consideration of students’ attitude towards reading. For extensive reading to be effective it must be incorporated in the curriculum and adequate class time should be allotted to it. To regard it as an “optional extra” is to deprive the students of the treasures of knowledge and wisdom which can only be gained through extensive reading of books, magazines and newspapers (Yu, 1993).

According to Yu (1993), if extensive reading is part of the curriculum and class periods are devoted to it, students will take it more seriously. They will no longer regard reading as a passive, boring extra-curricular activity. Furthermore, if it is part of the curriculum, teachers can help the students to acquire the ability to read and work independently by monitoring their progress, advising on books and by giving them encouragement and feedback. Therefore, they should be given time to read to overcome the reading problems. Allotting library hours to read is not enough. Yu stresses that without a reading program in the curriculum, many students reading tends to be haphazard and unrewarding, which result in them giving up reading eventually. On the other hand, a good reading program implemented under the guidance of the teachers in the class will help the students to gradually progress towards individualized and independent reading and learning.

Apart from that, the solutions for above problems are the ESL teacher must be well equipped about Extensive reading and its benefits. The government should play its role by providing training to ESL the teacher. For this, it enables the teacher to have a better understanding on how extensive reading works and able to perform his or her job well. Moreover, using of dictionary during English lessons should be less to help pupils’ to understand better the meaning of the insight vocabularies by the pupils. The teacher should play their role by making it is a reality and this can be done by selecting a text which linking to schemata knowledge. Another solution for this problem is that pupils should clear their mentality that English is for the sole purpose of passing exams, getting a degree, etc.

Pupils need to be reminded that English is a universal language and the purpose of using this language goes beyond reasons mentioned above. To overcome limited reading materials, parents and government should play their role. This can be done by providing affordable books to all categories of pupils. Based on the education system of Malaysia, we are very exam orientated. Therefore, extensive reading is difficult to accomplish due to this reason. In order to overcome this problem, we should be more flexible in our education system. So, the pupils will not simply read books to pass exams but to enjoy the language and gain knowledge from their reading. The government should not stress too much on exams and instead make learning enjoyable.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Progress 2 : Purpose of the study, research objectives and research questions


Purpose of the study

The major goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of extensive reading program in developing English vocabulary acquisition among the year 4 students at SK Sungai Binjai, Klang.  This study is also conducted to help educators to find different ways for expending their students’ vocabulary size and knowledge, and seeks more systematic and effective ways of learning vocabulary through extensive reading. Many students have difficulty understanding English words and sentences whereas a few are able to use English in simple conversation (Mohd. Asraf,2002). This may cause them to lose interest in reading process. So here, instead of providing the pupils will good reading materials, the teachers too need to find ways to support and encourage them in their reading process.

Specifically, by implementing an ER program, this study tries to find out whether involving students in an extensive reading program in an ESL context will lead to a better vocabulary acquisition, and whether supplementing incidental learning with intentional one will make the former more efficient. In other words, whether incorporating extensive reading with vocabulary activities will result in better vocabulary acquisition.

Motivated by the continued growth of research on ER, this investigation aims to achieve the following objectives:

          To investigate the impact of extensive reading on L2 vocabulary acquisition.
      To provide valuable insights and pedagogical implications for educators who want to implement extensive reading in their classrooms.
          To find out the students’ perceptions toward extensive reading program(ER).

The major themes of the study are imbedded in the following questions which the study seeks to answer:

1.         Does extensive reading lead to L2 vocabulary acquisition?
2.         Does extensive reading enhance positive attitudes toward reading?
3.         What are the pupils’ perceptions on extensive reading?