Discovering advanced education programme students’ preferences for classroom activities in reading class at national economics university

890 DISCOVERING ADVANCED EDUCATION PROGRAMME STUDENTS’ PREFERENCES FOR CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES IN READING CLASS AT NATIONAL ECONOMICS UNIVERSITY MA. Van Thi Thu Huong Thuhuongnn@neu.edu.vn Faculty of Foreign Language Studies National Economics University, Hanoi, Vietnam Abstract Four fundamental language skills interact with each other. Developing reading skills will also develop listening, speaking, and writing skills. Reading comprehension, using what is understood on new subjects and learning new words during reading can influence listening comprehension as well as oral and written self-expression. Increasing love for reading in students can only be possible by determining the interests and needs of those students and guiding the students towards those needs and interests. Moved with the conviction that learners and learners’ preferences are of crucial importance in the development of learner autonomy, I asked approximately 300 students of Advanced Education Programme at National Economics University, to state their views as to how they prefer learning Reading skills. The data obtained reveals significant results suggesting the preferred activities in the Reading classroom. Hopefully it should be helpful for teachers who are wondering about how learning activities should be arranged and implemented in the Reading skill classes. Keywords: class activities, reading skills, reading classes, students’ preferences. 1. Introduction Nowadays, English is an international language and as been widely used in many countries in the world. In Vietnam, English is also considered the most important foreign language and taught as a compulsory subject in most schools throughout the country. It has also become an important need of the Vietnamese as a means of communication. As a result, there have been a lot of changes in English teaching in order to meet the need, which also cause a lot of challenges for teachers of English. Reading is one of the most important skills in learning a second language. The success of language learner is largely influenced by his/ her reading practice. “Reading is useful for language acquisitionthe more they read, the better they get. 891 Reading also has a positive effect on students’ vocabulary knowledge, on their spelling and their writing” (Harmer, 2007, p.99). Therefore, teacher must develop reading habit in students in order to help them enhance target language efficiency. This can be done by motivating students to read, especially by giving them reason to read. Neyman (2002), states that instead of waiting until later grade, extensive reading should be provided as early as possible so that they can use the facility that children have up to certain age. As a matter of fact, learners must feel the need of reading only then they can read on their own. In short, reading stands as bedrock for learners’ success in learning a second language, therefore it is language teachers’ responsibility to cultivate reading culture in students. Reading Types Developing reading comprehension levels of individuals has brought development of various strategies, methods, and techniques that could be used before, during, and after reading. Topuzkanamış (2009: 30) explained reading strategies under three topics: Strategies before reading: These strategies are related with determining reading purpose, analysing general structure of text, remembering preliminary information about text, trying to guess the topic from headers and images in text, and deciding which points to focus. Strategies during reading: Reader will evaluate the text according to pre- determined purposes at before reading stage, controls comprehension level, and tries to correct mistakes or deficiencies if the reader is unable to understand. Strategies after reading: Reader audits whether reading occurred according to reading purposes, if there are things are missed in text, and how accurate were guesses about text. Prior Studies on Preference for Activities Research regarding activities has explored preferences of communicative or traditional activities as well as students' and teachers' perceptions of usefulness, preference, or even importance of activities in the learning process. For instance, Falout, Murphey, Elwood, and Hood (2008) conducted research with 440 Japanese university students exploring preference of communicative and traditional activities. Results indicated that learners preferred communicative activities instead of traditional grammar-centered activities. Sullivan (2016) discovered that learners not only liked but also wanted opportunities to communicate and create relationships with their classmates and their English teachers. Kang, Son, and Lee (2006) investigated the perceptions and preferences for English language teaching among EFL pre- 892 service teachers. Concerning the use of certain teaching and learning activities in the classroom, respondents reflected on their teaching style by selecting studentto- student conversation, playing language games, and pronunciation drills as the most preferred ones. In contrast, they perceived traditional activities such as translation exercises and grammar exercises as the least preferred ones. Peacock (1998) examined teachers' and learners' perceptions of the usefulness of different activities and suggested that perceived usefulness was a considerable predictor of course satisfaction and student motivation. He found that students preferred traditional learning activities to communicative activities. On the one hand, results indicated that students rated grammar exercises, pronunciation, and error correction more useful than teachers did. On the other hand, teachers believed that pair and group work plus communicative tasks were more useful. Peacock suggested that this mismatch might have a negative consequence not only on the learners' progress, but also on their satisfaction with the class and their confidence in their teachers. Similarly, Rao (2002) conducted research on the perception of communicative language teaching (CLT) and communicative activities for Chinese university students. These students reported that CLT activities were difficult to perform. Liu and Littlewood (1997) claim that the teaching of EFL in most Asian countries is dominated by a teacher centered, book-centered, grammar-translation method, and an emphasis on rote memory. In some social contexts, teachers' and students' roles are so strict that it is not considered that students should take part in deciding what processes or methods teachers should follow in the classroom. Harshbarger, Ross, Tafoya, and Via (1986) argued that Japanese and Korean students are quiet, shy, and reserved in language classrooms and this might be an aspect in students' perception for activities. Learners' preference and interests vary from culture to culture and context to context (Dörnyei & Ushioda, 2011) and preference and perception of activities varies as well. Prior studies have reported mismatches in learners' and teachers' perceptions and preferences. Both teachers and learners see activities differently. It can be difficult to please students' preferences for activities; however, teachers' expertise and knowledge about their classes can help in choosing activities that can create an environment where most learners feel motivated to participate and learn. Having been teaching Reading skills for almost ten years, I have perceived that reading is more than just picking up words, phrases, and sentences written in the text; it requires students to obtain a certain vocabulary, background knowledge, and reading skills and strategies. I have always faced some problems: 1. Are they interested in the reading activities I designed for them? 2. What reading activities else would they like to take part in? 893 Therefore, a survey on Advanced Education Programme Students’ Preferences for Classroom Activities in Reading Class at National Economics University was carried out to answer my above questions. Hopefully my research would be a good help for teachers of English to design activities in their reading classes. Description of the course Advanced Education Programme Students at National Economics University have to study reading skills in 3 terms. The course book is Reading for Business. - Term 1: pre-intermediate level, study in 15 weeks, 2 periods/week. - Term 2: intermediate level, study in 15 weeks, 3 periods/week. - Term 3: intermediate level, study in 15 weeks, 4 periods/week. I did my survey at the last week of the 3rd semester in a hope that my students would give me the most certain answers to the questions in the survey. Description of the subjects: I did my survey on approximately 300 Advanced Education Programme Students at National Economics University who were in the 3rd semester. The subjects were evenly distributed on 10 AEP classes. 2. Method Method of the survey: The data for this study were collected through 3 questionnaires focused on three stages of reading which are: pre-reading, while – reading, post-reading. The survey items in each questionnaire reflects the activities frequently used in my reading classroom. The questions asked in the questionnaire Which activities do you like in the pre -reading stage? Activities 3 agree 2 neutral 1 disagree Using pre-reading questions Pre-teaching new vocabulary in the texts Explaining the instructions of the texts Giving a brief introduction of the text Making students ask questions about the text Using games to introduce the topic of the text Making students predict the content of the text Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text Making students brainstorm words, ideas related to the topic of the text 894 Others: Which activities do you like in the while -reading stage? Activities 3 agree 2 neutral 1 disagree Reading and looking for new words and terms Discussing the topic with partners Predicting the main information based on the context Having a quick look at the exercises Others: Which activities do you like in the post -reading stage? Activities 3 agree 2 neutral 1 disagree Summarizing the text Translating it into Vietnamese Learning by heart new words, terms and structures in the text Discussing about the text Others: Data collection procedure After the collection of the questionnaires, the data on which activities liked by students were compiled and calculated. 3. Results Activities students like in the pre -reading stage The followings are the activities ordered from the most-liked to the least – liked by my students 1. Using games to introduce the topic of the text: 73,15% 2. Making students brainstorm words, ideas related to the topic of the text: 61,11% 3. Explaining the instructions to the text: 55,56% 4. Giving a brief introduction of the text: 54,63% 5. Using pre-reading questions: 51,85% 6. Pre-teaching new vocabulary in the text: 50% 6. Making students predict the content of the text: 50% 7. Using visual aids to introduce the topic of the text: 47,22% 8. Making students ask questions about the text: 42,59% 895 Activities students like in the while -reading stage Similarly, my students also expressed their different interest and priority in the activities in my reading class as follows. 1. Reading and looking for new words and terms: 60,19% 2. Discussing the topic with partners: 51,85% 3. Predicting the main information based on the context: 49,07% 4. Have a quick look at the exercises:46,30% 896 Activities students like in the post-reading stage In the last questionnaire, my students did not show much interest and concern to the activities that are used in the class. 1. Summarizing the text: 50% 2. Discussing about the text: 50% 2. Translating it into Vietnamese: 42,59% 3. Learning by heart new words, terms and structures in the text: 38,89% 4. Discussions The findings obtained from this research provide some significant value, suggesting that:  Contrary to my prediction about the reckless of pre-reading activities before this study was carried out, my students showed a big interest in the tasks before reading. Most of them preferred the fun and vivid activities like word games to introduce the topics. However, this is also a difficult work for the teachers because the contents of the reading texts are all about business. The teachers have to design the word game in the business circumstances.  They also showed a need for being prepared for the language and the content in the reading text. Over 60% of students wanted to brainstorm words, ideas related to the topic of the text with the teacher. It was not difficult to understand why my students like this activity because there are business terms and concepts in the reading text that can cause trouble for students when they do the exercises later on in the class. That can also explain why more than half of them need the teacher’s help by instructions, brief introduction of the text, guiding questions and pre-teaching vocabulary. 897  Less than half of my students preferred using visual aids, which is a big surprise for me. They may prefer teacher speaking English or communicating with them.  Many of them do not like to be asked questions about the content of reading text before the teacher actually presents what the text is about.  Most of them concerned about how much vocabulary and knowledge can be absorbed in while reading stage (more than 60%) individually or team work (51,85%). Therefore, teachers should pay equal attention to individual and team work tasks.  They also showed their dislike to post reading activities used in my reading classrooms. It may indicate the poor in the exercise types and tasks designed for them. Effective language teaching and learning can only be achieved when teachers are aware of their leaners’ needs, capalities, potentials, and preferences in meeting these needs. In this study, I have only dealt with the preferences. The results obtained here call for a step forward towards a teacher- student cooperation in designing syllabuses, and activities for students. References 1. Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (2011). Teaching and researching motivation (2nd ed.). Harlow: Longman. 2. Erdogan Bada & Zuhal Okan (2000). Students’ language learning preferences. Retrieve from 3. Falout, J., Murphey, T., Elwood, J., & Hood, M. (2008). Learner voices: Reflections on secondary education. In K. Bradford Watts, T. Muller, & M. Swanson (Eds.), JALT 2007 Conference Proceedings. Tokyo: The Japan Association for Language Teaching. 4. Gülnur Aydın & Bilge Bağcı Ayrancı (2018). Reading Preferences of Middle School Students. Retrieve from https://files.eric.ed.gov/ 5. Hammer, J. (2007). 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