SKKN The effect of using mind-mapping technique on enhancing Nguyen Huu Canh high school students’ reading skills

 1
 TRƯỜNG THPT NGUYỄN HỮU CẢNH
 Mã số: ................................
 SÁNG KIẾN
THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON ENHANCING 
NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS
 Người thực hiện: Nguyen Phan Van Anh
 Lĩnh vực nghiên cứu:
 - Quản lý giáo dục
 - Phương pháp giáo dục
 - Phương pháp dạy học bộ môn: Tiếng Anh☒
 - Lĩnh vực khác...........................................................
 Có đính kèm:
  Mô hình Đĩa CD (DVD) Phim ảnh Hiện vật khác
 Năm học:2019-2020 3
CONTENTS
1. Introduction5
2. Literature review6
2.1. Definitions of mind-mapping 6
2.2. Characteristics of mind-mapping 6
3. Methodology7
3.1. Research context 7
3.2. Participants 7
3.3. Research instruments 7
4. Some basic types of mind maps8
5. Stages of using mind map in teaching reading 11
6. Results 13
7. Discussion and Recommendation 15
8. Evaluation 16
8.1. The novelty of the research 16
8.2. The effectiveness of using mind-mapping technique on enhancing students’ 
reading skill 16
8.3. The applicable practices of the research 17
9. Conclusion 18
Appendices 19
References 20 5
THE EFFECT OF USING MIND-MAPPING TECHNIQUE ON 
ENHANCING NGUYEN HUU CANH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ 
READING SKILLS
1. INTRODUCTION
According to Barnett (1989), reading comprehension is considered as an essential 
part of the teaching and learning process in second language acquisition. Not only 
does it serve the important purposes in after the students’ completion language study 
at school, it also promotes the literacy skills later. Moreover, the ability to analyze 
and interpret written materials is an integral element of success at tertiary level 
(Ntereke & Ramoroka, 2017). Nevertheless, in high school’s context, study about 
reading comprehension suggests most students find it hard when dealing with 
reading texts. They almost do not understand the texts and cannot complete the tasks 
due to their ineffective and inefficient strategies (Wood, et al., 1998). L2 research 
also shows that one effective comprehension strategy is the use of mind-mapping 
(Liu, Chen & Chang, 2010). Generalizing the main ideas of the reading passage and 
vocabulary acquisition are somehow struggling for high school students. Teachers, 
conventionally, ask students to highlight new vocabulary and they will explain the 
meaning of the words, make students learn by heart. The students have to memorize 
new words immediately and follow the reading text, simultaneously. Therefore, I 
have thought of a new way to help students to not only memorize new words in 
context but have a thorough understanding of the reading text.
This study investigated whether mind-map is an effective learning tool to Nguyen 
Huu Canh High school students’ reading skills and their perception towards the use 
of mind-map.
Research objectives
The study is conducted to examine the effectiveness of mind-mapping on Nguyen 
Huu Canh High school students (Grade 12)’ reading skills, following are the two 
research questions: 7
which is believed to encourage the process of information recall. Finally, branches 
associated with a specific mind map will create a connected nodal structure. (p.59)
3. METHODOLOGY
Research context
I chose to work with students of grade 12 since they are not only in need of being 
equipped themselves with an effective learning technique before entering GCSE but 
acknowledging about mind mapping skill before they are university students. They 
also have a shortage of a good building repertoire of words. This is the reason why 
they might acquire new lexis through the use of mind mapping technique.
Participants
The subjects involved in the research include 73 grade 12 students from Nguyen 
Huu Canh High School. I chose class 12A2 and 12A10 for investigation. They are 
my students, so it was convenient for me to ask them to complete the questionnaires 
in class. All participants from class 12A2 and 12A10 are pre-tested to assure that 
90% of the target words are unknown.
Research instruments
In this study, the quantitative data is gathered through the pre-test, post-test and a 
questionnaire. Teacher piloted the test and selected the reading part only to have the 
final score in both tests. After finishing the test, the students are then distributed a 
questionnaire to ask about their attitude towards the given learning tool- mind-
mapping for the reading skills. The three subscales of the questionnaire are: The 
importance of mind-mapping in promoting students’ reading skills, The Students' 
Roles in mind-mapping, Students' responses related to their attitude towards mind-
mapping. In this study, the questionnaire is in both English as the original version 
and Vietnamese as translated version.
The qualitative data is to gain an insight towards the student’s attitude, and the 
questions of the interview are built based on these thee subscales. For the interview, 
3 students are chosen based on their academic performance from the test: 1 from the 9
Made by Nguyen Thi Quynh Nhu’s group- 12A10 (school year: 2019-2020)
4.3. Buzan maps
It is voted for not only its popularity but its flexible usage as well. By mapping out 
key words as well as colored pictures or lively photos for all the relevant knowledge 
about a specific topic, leaners could easily memorize the lesson.
For example, we can use this kind of mind map in unit 10: Endangered species or
unit 14: International organizations.
The following works are made by students from class 12A2 and 12A10 11
5. STAGES OF USING MIND MAP IN TEACHING READING
To accompany students with using mind map, teachers might follow the following 
steps
5.1. Step 1: Set up the topic/ theme/ key words
Teacher should build up the topic or key word since memorizing key words helps 
students to frame the content of the lessons. Moreover, key words / topic help 
students to avoid a wandering from the subject.
5.2. Step 2: Set up the location of the topic/ theme/ key words
Teacher and students should always put the key words in the center of the mind map 
no matter what shape it embraces; the main thought will be easier to discover if it 13
6. RESULTS
6.1. The research sites
This study is conducted in Nguyen Huu Canh High School in Bien Hoa City, Dong 
Nai Province, Vietnam.
6.2. Result
In the first research question, the researchers wanted to find out if there is a 
significant difference in the pre- and post- test score. The results indicate that there 
is a significant difference in the pre and post-test score, the null hypothesis is 
therefore rejected and mind-mapping is shown to have effects on students’ 
performance.
I have divided each class into two groups for the tests. Group 1 accessed to the 
reading in conventional way and Group 2 had to make some kinds of mind map 
before learning a new lesson. After every unit, a test was delivered to the students to 
check how much they could remember the lesson.
 Group Under Average Average Over Average 
 (0-5 mark) (6-7 marks) (8-10 marks)
 1 16,7 % 55,5% 27,8%
 2 0% 72,97% 27,03%
The table suggests that there is a higher mark for those who used mind map to 
systemize the lesson.
6.3 Further explanation in the questionnaire
The questionnaire emphasized on three main themes: The importance of mind-
mapping in enhancing students’ reading skills, students’ responses related to their 15
“I think I need more training on how to make mind-map more effectively. I cannot 
identify the keywords and how to take note.”
One student (higher-level) said that:
“I think mind-map is useful for learning vocabulary instead of reading skills. For 
reading, I think it just helps me memorize the gist, not the details. So, I still need to 
go back to read the text.”
7. DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION
In general, using mind-map in teaching reading can help to enhance student 
motivation in teaching reading. To be more specific, students can apply this method 
to summarize the ideas of the reading passage, and to acquire new vocabulary. 
Moreover, this application makes the lessons more exciting thus stimulating the 
students to emerge in the lessons. Hence, this technique is considered to be useful 
for students if they want to review their lesson later.
However, whether we should apply it in a team or individual remains unclear, as 
some students still do not prefer drawing mind-map in groups, as they do not know 
how to work effectively with their peers. Another drawback is that students do not 
know how to draw a mind-map effectively to remember the information in the 
reading passages.
From the above results, there are some implications that teachers should consider 
when applying this technique for their students in reading classes.
First, teacher should encourage students to draw mind-map for their reading texts, 
in order to remember the texts better as well as the new vocabulary presented in each 
lesson. This, therefor, can motivate students to read more.
Second, as one of the students’ concerns is the grouping method, it is better to be 
aware of group work. If teachers wish to let students work in groups, it is 
recommended that teachers should be the one to supervise and ask students to work 
together. Another method is to ask students to work in pairs or individual. In this 17
“Well, I think the texts are quite short and the information is easy to understand, so 
there is no need to use mind-map. For short simple texts, I think I have been used 
to the traditional method and I can learn better this way. I think mind-mapping is 
more suitable for longer and more condensed information-packed texts.”
In addition, one student (low-level) said that:
“I think mind map is useful but I found it difficult to identify keywords and which 
information I should note. I need more training on using mind-map.”
A few expressed that they did learn new vocabulary from their peers. One student 
(lower-level) said that:
“When I don’t understand the words, I ask my classmate for help. My friend also 
helps me how to make mind-map.”
On the other hand, most of the students raised concern about the idea of pair-
work/group-work in mind-mapping. One student (higher-level) stated that:
“I think it requires all the members to know how to work in groups. Otherwise, this 
is not effective - only one student does all the work while others are not involved.”
Similarly, one student (middle-level) expressed that:
“I think I work alone better than in group. I can look up words on the internet if I 
want to know the meanings. If the text is difficult, I will ask my friends for help.”
8.3. The applicable practices of the research
Mind-mapping technique can be applied for every field as well as every subject. 
Moreover, learners do not need any modern facilities but at least paper and pen. 
After applying this technique for Grade 12 in Nguyen Huu Canh High School, I find 
it effective for my students. They could memorize the reading easier and longer, 
which helps them do better in tests.