Investigating how to enhance english reading comprehension for the vietnamese tenthgraders at high schools in Gia Lai province

INVESTIGATING HOW TO ENHANCE ENGLISH READING 
COMPREHENSION FOR THE VIETNAMESE TENTH-
GRADERS AT HIGH SCHOOLS IN GIA LAI PROVINCE 
Tran Van Phuoc1*, Phan Anh Dung2 
1University of Foreign Languages, Hue University; 2APC Gia Lai school 
Received: 09/01/2020; Revised: 12/03/2020; Accepted: 28/04/2020 
Abstract: Although the National Foreign Languages 2020 Project was launched in 2008 to improve the 
quality of ELT (English Language Teaching) at all levels of education in Vietnam, high school learners 
of English have encountered many difficulties in mastering communication skills, especially reading 
comprehension skill. The study examined and analyzed the result of applying speed reading strategies 
to treat a group of 20 tenth graders at Asian Pacific College School in Gia Lai Province who was 
involved in 15-week training course after having attended reading practice tests with another group. 
This experimental approach also showed that the application of fast reading strategies such as skimming 
and scanning did not only enhance learners' reading speed, confidence, and motivation but also forced 
them to concentrate better on doing comprehension questions as well. Hence, these strategies should be 
considered as a strategic choice to speed up reading comprehension skill for high school learners of 
English, which will surely help widen their knowledge as the foundation for mastering other 
communication skills in English. 
Keywords: Speed reading, strategies, reading comprehension skill, high school learners 
1. Introduction 
 Apart from speaking, listening, and writing, reading is considered to be one of the most important 
skills for accessing information and for communication. People can hardly deny the significant role of 
reading brought to human living. As Eskey (2005) pointed out, “many students of English as a Foreign 
Language (EFL), for example, rarely speak the language in their day-to-day lives but may need to read it 
in order to access the wealth of information recorded exclusively in the language” (p. 563). It is the fact 
that reading has played a vital part not only in people’s daily life but in school life as well. Reading 
comprehension is perhaps one of the most intensively studied fields in language teaching and learning. For 
the learners of English, fluent reading is of utmost importance, and one way to improve reading fluency is 
to do a speed reading course (Chung & Nation, 2006). Speed reading plays a vital role in reading 
comprehension. The value of reading connects closely to comprehension, not basing on how fast a reader 
can perform. In other words, speed reading without comprehension is considered as speed looking (Beale 
& Mullan, 2008). 
2. Theoretical framework 
 This section looks at the underlying theory on the speed reading and the review of the possible 
effectiveness of speed reading activities that improve reading speed and reading comprehension, then poses 
the research questions for this study. 
2.1. Reading and reading comprehension skills in learning EFL 
 The definition of reading is just traced correctly basing on what one intends to do or really can do in 
dealing with words or discourse. Reading intention might depend on various readers and on different things 
* Email: tvphuoc@hueuni.edu.vn 
they read (Nuttall, 1982). Hence, reading for meaning is the central goal of the reading process (Nuttall, 
1982). To EFL students, reading and reading comprehension offers them language input and improve their 
English proficiency. Good readers as EFL students become more autonomous and able to read not only in 
the classroom but also after leaving school to stay in touch with English. With reading comprehension 
activities, EFL students do not only improve in their reading abilities but also improve in using and 
increasing their English abilities and knowledge. Without getting much exposure to reading materials in 
class, EFL students are unlikely to make much progress (Nation, 2009). 
 As discussed in the previous section, reading skill plays an essential role in EFL learners to improve 
their English. For the learners of English, fluent reading is important, and one way to improve reading 
fluency is to do a speed reading course (Chung & Nation, 2006). Speed reading plays a vital role in reading 
comprehension. The value of reading connects closely to comprehension, not basing on how fast a reader 
can perform. In other words, speed reading without comprehension is considered as speed looking (Beale 
& Mullan, 2008). Therefore, to learn to speed read, the readers need to separate the reading comprehension 
from fast reading development, then improve the two processes with suitable strategies. The speed reading 
process comes about when the readers focus on important parts while ignoring less valuable or important 
parts of the text. To read effectively, readers have to identify and concentrate on the most important parts 
of the text with proper reading skills (Duggan & Payne, 2009). 
2.1.1. Speed reading strategies 
 Many studies have shown that increasing the reading rate will improve reading comprehension. As 
Samuels (1976) claims, it can be presumed that when a text is read fast, comprehension may become lower 
because attention is not involved in the reading process. That means despite the importance of automaticity 
in the process of fluent reading, attention should be paid on the meaning to comprehend the text. According 
to Carver (1982), the average reading rate for a college student is about 300 wpm for reading, 200 wpm for 
learning, and 138 wpm for memorizing. However, reading at a rate between 250 wpm and 350 wpm allows 
readers to comprehend a text most efficiently (Carver, ibid). Carver (1990) made a distinction between five 
types of reading: scanning, skimming, rauding (just to understand the message), learning (to acquire the 
information), and memorizing (to b ... on Cohen’s conventions (Cohen, 1988), effect size Cohen’s d of the post-test on the 
experimental group and control group was calculated as below: 
d =
M E. Group − M C. Group
SD pooled
 The pooled standard deviation was: 
𝑆𝐷 𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = √(𝑆𝐷2 𝐸. 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 + 𝑆𝐷2 𝐶. 𝐺𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝)/2 = 
𝑆𝐷 𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = √(5.672 + 5.452 )/2 = 5.5610 
And therefore: 
𝑑 =
96.00 − 78.25
5.5610
= 3.19 
 The d value was revealed “large” which tells that the difference of post-test results between the two 
groups is large enough and consistent enough. 
 Moreover, SMD value was 3.26 (SMD > 1.0) showed the treatment of speed reading strategies had 
a significant effect on the experimental group. 
𝑆𝑀𝐷 =
MEAN in posttest of E. group − 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 in posttest of C. group
Std. Deviation in posttest of C. group
𝑆𝑀𝐷 =
96.00−78.25
5.45
=3.26 
Figure 2. Effect of the treatment on the experimental group 
 The result also showed a high level of reading comprehension by the experimental group, which 
appears from the means of both experimental and controlled groups. It is obvious that there was a significant 
difference between the means of both groups due to the implementation of speed reading strategies. Because 
of that, the Null hypothesis was rejected at (p≤0.05). 
 The results also revealed that the students in the experimental group were better than the students in 
the controlled group. Apparently, the difference between the means was due to the implementation of speed 
reading strategies or timed reading activities. 
5. Discussion and implications 
5.1. Discussion 
 The study examined the improvement of students' reading comprehension through speed reading 
strategies. Buzan (2003, p. 21) stated that reading rate and comprehension are two areas (among the top 20 
areas) that commonly mentioned as requiring improvement. Accordingly, improving both reading rate and 
comprehension can be challenging. It is because improving the students' reading rate is not just about 
reading words faster than they read before. In general, the results showed that the experimental group 
improved in reading comprehension after 15 weeks doing 30 timed reading and paced reading practice tests. 
The results also indicated that although the intervention time is limited in 15 weeks, it can motivate students 
in reading and improve their reading confidence. More interestingly, there is a close relationship between 
reading speed and comprehension. For example, progress charts of individuals revealed that when their 
reading speed dropped, there was also a decline in their comprehension. 
 In other words, it seems that reading one-word-at-a-time inhibits reading for understanding. 
Conversely, comprehension is generally higher when readers learn to read faster. 
 First, the results of the study showed that there was a significant difference in reading comprehension 
by applying speed reading strategies. The result indicated that timed reading and paced reading practice 
tests were effective for the experimental group. When this study is compared with the previous one 
conducted by Chang (2010), regardless of the differences of scale, the learning context, there are some 
similarities between the two studies. The results of the present study revealed that including timed reading 
and paced reading activities in the regular reading texts of a standard school textbook; students could be 
better on comprehension skills to get the main idea as well as general information from reading texts after 
15 weeks of training through 30 speed reading texts. 
 Second, this study also looked at students' perceptions of speed reading strategies. Many students 
believed those speed reading strategies, as well as timed reading and paced reading activities, help them 
improve reading speed and reading comprehension at the same time. Besides, timed reading and paced 
reading also brought unexpected gain, such as language knowledge and feeling confident; moreover, they 
are reported to improve students' concentration, which seems to support research results of Walczyk et al. 
(1999). 
5.2. Implications 
 Some pedagogical implications also arise from the findings of solutions and suggestions already 
discussed. 
 First, speed reading strategies had some positive effects on improving students’ reading speed and 
reading comprehension after one applied academic semester at APC Gia Lai. Speed reading strategies need 
to be applied in English classes more regularly and flexibly. That is, without changing textbook contents, 
teachers should add to teach more strategies in reading comprehension sections or change the methods of 
conducting teaching reading with speed reading strategies to make students more motivated and dynamic 
in their learning. 
 Second, regarding the issue of applying speed reading strategies, teachers should deepen their 
knowledge and improve their skills by regular professional development activities related to selecting, 
training, and applying speed reading strategies in practical teaching implementation in EFL classes at high 
school. 
 The success of the English class requires not only teachers’ effort but students’ as well. That is the 
reason why, together with the supports from teachers, students should pay attention to their learning process 
to be active learners. Due to the quite large size classes and limited time for teaching and learning in class, 
students should manage for self-studying and training of speed reading strategies to obtain productive habits 
of effective reading. Therefore, such autonomy and responsibility will contribute to good reading 
comprehension. 
6. Conclusion 
 The findings of the study highlight the influence of speed reading strategies in enhancing English 
reading comprehension for the Vietnamese tenth-graders at APC school in Gia Lai Province. These findings 
are expectedto extend the understanding of the speed reading strategies in teaching and learning English as 
a foreign language in Vietnamese contexts. The results of this study, to some extent, are not conclusive; 
however, they supported findings by Maxwell (1972), Farstrup & Samuels (2005), Chung & Nation (2006), 
Chang (2010), Tran (2016) and Nguyen et al. (2018). It was found that the speed reading strategies can be 
used to train EFL tenth-graders, and they can help them improve their reading comprehension. The 
experimental results indicate that participants who had not been trained with speed reading strategies 
appearednot to gain reading speed and reading comprehension. In contrast, those who had been trained in 
speed reading courses could increase their reading comprehension. The finding may be useful for teachers 
and the tenth-grade students when they encourage EFL learners in APC school to read with ease and 
comprehend more in learning English. 
 This experimental research was conducted on a rather small scale with limited time and 
ability.Therefore, it is expected that further studies should be carried out to explore other factors that may 
affect EFL learners’ reading speed and reading comprehension, such ascognitive and psycholinguistic 
factors. Larger scale with more participants and facilities studies are also recommended so that the study 
results would be more conclusive and convincing. 
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NGHIÊN CỨU PHƯƠNG THỨC TĂNG CƯỜNG ĐỌC HIỂU 
TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH VIỆT NAM LỚP 10 
TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG Ở TỈNH GIA LAI 
Tóm tắt: Đề án Ngoại ngữ Quốc gia 2020 được tiến hành từ 2008 nhưng học sinh tiếng Anh vẫn gặp 
khó khăn khi sử dụng các kỹ năng giao tiếp nhất là kỹ năng đọc hiểu. Bài trình bày phân tích kết quả 
vận dụng các kỹ thuật đọc tốc độ trong khóa học 15 tuần rèn luyện nhóm 20 học sinh lớp 10 trường 
APC tại tỉnh Gia Lai sau khi họ tham gia kiểm tra đọc với 20 bạn khác. Thực nghiệm này chứng minh 
vận dụng các kỹ thuật đọc nhanh, đọc lướt, đọc sâu vừa tăng cường tốc độ đọc hiểu, sự tự tin; đồng thời, 
vừa bắt học sinh tập trung hơn vào câu hỏi đọc hiểu. Như vậy, các kỹ thuật này có thể là lựa chọn chiến 
lược tăng tốc độ đọc hiểu và giúp học sinh mở rộng kiến thức làm nền tảng cho những kỹ năng giao tiếp 
tiếng Anh khác. 
Từ khóa: Đọc tốc độ, kỹ thuật, kỹ năng đọc hiểu, tăng cường, học sinh phổ thông trung học