HUE UNIVERSITY

HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES



A STUDY ON
HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

SOPHOMORES’ READING HABITS

GROUP: 09

1. Bùi Quang Hương Chức 20F7510591

2. Nguyễn Thị Ánh Tuyết 20F7510454
3. Trần Nguyễn Hoàng Thông 20F7511154

Lecturer: TÔN NỮ NHƯ NGỌC

Hue, 2022
 I – INTRODUCTION
(Chức, Tuyết, Thông)
I.1 CONTEXT:
Reading is a major factor in people's success. In ancient times, our ancestors recorded all
their experiences by writing on stone, wood and bamboo. Later, thanks to the invention of paper,
people collected a lot of notes and made books to help them jot down every event or every
lesson, not only for their lives, but also for the next generation to know what happened in the
past. In the digital age, with the development of technology, people can obtain the latest
information through the Internet and newspapers. In a matter of seconds, they can receive all
kinds of news. Therefore, reading is the most useful way for people to acquire knowledge and
experience.
A habit is an activity that people perform on a regular basis and it becomes almost a part
of everyday life. Habits are seen as a learning process, not innate. One of the most popular
habits is reading because it is the secret to success. Today, easy access to the Internet is a major
challenge to reading habits. It has noticeable effects on everyone, especially students. Of course,
students have become reliant on technological devices such as smartphones, laptops, and the
Internet, and they may spend a lot of time online instead of reading good news. They no longer
have the habit of reading like their previous parents.
Regardless of the era, the habit of reading is as valuable as ever. The learning period is
the most important stage of education, and the period when young people should read and need
to read the most. In addition, there are many studies on students' attitudes towards reading
habits, but few studies mention the reading habits of second-year students at Hue University of
Foreign languages
In the light of aforementioned reasons, it is necessary to do this research in order to find
out the reality of the sophomores’ reading habits and have suitable solutions to encourage them
to develop it.
I.2 TOPIC
A STUDY ON HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SOPHOMORES’
READING HABITS.

I.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS:

The study's goal is to learn more about sophomores' attitudes on reading as well as their reading
habits. Therefore, it attempts to answer the following questions:
1. What are students’ attitudes towards reading?
2. What are students’ reading habits?
 II – LITERATURE REVIEW
(Chức, Tuyết, Thông)
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This section aims at presenting the theoretical framework of reading habits. From
different viewpoints of researchers, it consists of not only definitions but also the role of these
habits in education, and the advantages and disadvantages of reading books compared with other
forms of gaining knowledge.
II.1 DEFINITIONS OF THE TERM “READING”
The concept of reading can be universally understood as the skill or activity of getting
information from books, according to Cambridge dictionary. In relation to humanity, reading
can be a vital academic skill, rather than human’s instincts because this skill is trained when
people start their education.
Reading is defined as an active attempt on the part of the reader to understand a writer’s
message, which involves cracking the code and analyzing, reasoning, thinking, imagining, and
judging (Smith & Robinson, 1980). Toit (2001) stated, reading is a process of thinking, recalling
and relating ideas under the functioning of written words. It is the ability to comprehend what is
seen in the text, which is the ability of the reader to capture before processing that information
and acquire meaning from it (Adetunji, 2007).
Reading, which has been defined as “the process of the brain evaluating and making
sense of signs and symbols perceived through the eyes”, Ozbay, M (2007), is a complex process
that consists of various stages of development. Above all, it is a process of perceiving where
symbols are recognized. That reading becomes a habit throughout life is among the basic
objectives of education.
II.2 DEFINITIONS OF HABITS
The definition of habits in general, and reading habits in particular can vary regarding the
subjects who read. Generally, reading habit is an activity oriented skill. It involves the
mechanics of the brain and the combination of other organs before comprehension occurs. This
activity becomes a habit when it is frequently carried out. Reading habit stimulates the
promotion of one’s personal development and social progress in general. This habit is usually
considered in relation to the amount of materials read, the frequency of reading and also the
average time spent on reading (Wagner, 2002)
Fundamentally, reading habit refers to the behavior which conveys the likeness of
reading of individual preference of reading materials and tastes of reading (Sangkaeo, 1999). A
good reading habit is very much needed for one’s healthy intellectual growth as it provides the
reader with a sense of values which help him to gradually develop the capability to understand.
II.3 FACTORS OF READING HABITS
Habit cannot come instantly since it needs a long process to be built. Factors influencing
habit such as: interests, motivation, and environment. The factors are integrated so that is they
cannot be separated. To build a reading habit, for instance, if someone wants to read, he can start
reading by choosing interesting and knowledgeable resources such as book, article, newspaper
or magazine he/she will try to spend his/her time to read. If this activity is done regularly,
automatically, a reading habit can be achieved. In building the habit we need longer time
because the interest and motivation have rule in it. There is no interest and motivation,
generally, the habit will never exist.
II.4 BENEFITS OF READING HABITS
Overall, research has shown that second-year students' reading habits can be very
beneficial.
1. Reading strengthens your brain
o A growing body of research indicates that reading literally changes your mind.
o Using MRI scans, researchers have confirmed that reading involves a complex network
of circuits and signals in the brain. As your reading ability matures, those networks also
get stronger and more sophisticated.
o In one study conducted in 2013, researchers used functional MRI scans to measure the
effect of reading a novel on the brain. Study participants read the novel “Pompeii” over a
period of 9 days. As tension built in the story, more and more areas of the brain lit up
with activity.
o Brain scans showed that throughout the reading period and for days afterward, brain
connectivity increased, especially in the somatosensory cortex, the part of the brain that
responds to physical sensations like movement and pain.
 2. Increases your ability to empathize
o And speaking of sensing pain, research has shown that people who read literary fiction –
stories that explore the inner lives of characters – show a heightened ability to understand
the feelings and beliefs of others.
o Researches call this ability the “theory of mind” a set of skills essential for building,
navigating, and maintaining social relationships.
o While a single session of reading literary fiction isn’t likely to spark this feeling, research
shows that long-term fiction readers do tend to have a better-developed theory of mind..
3. Moreover, Builds your vocabulary
o Reading researchers as far back as the 1960s have discussed what’s known as “the
Matthew effect” a term that refers to biblical verse Matthew 13:12: “Whoever has will be
given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they
have will be taken from them.”
o The Matthew effect sums up the idea that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer — a
concept that applies as much to vocabulary as it does to money.
o Researchers have found that students who read books regularly, beginning at a young
age, gradually develop large vocabularies. And vocabulary size can influence many areas
of your life, from scores on standardized tests to college admissions and job
opportunities.
o A 2019 poll conducted by Cengage showed that 69 percent of employers are looking to
hire people with “soft” skills, like the ability to communicate effectively. Reading books
is the best way to increase your exposure to new words, learned in context.

 To summarize, HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES SOPHOMORES'

READING HABITS brings many benefits for students, it greatly affects the thinking and
expanding knowledge of students at the school.

II.5 HOW TO DEVELOP A READING HABIT AND STICK TO IT

1. Set aside time for reading

o If you do not make reading a habit, you will not persist with it for long. Set aside a small
amount of time which does not demand too much of your schedule. You can start with 10
minutes a day. Feel free to skip the weekends if you want to.
 o As much as possible, try to stick to the same time every day. You can read before you
start your day before bed or after lunch. Since 10 minutes is all you need, you won’t have
to change anything to accommodate your new habit.
o If you follow an irregular schedule of travelling and working ad-hoc routines every day,
feel free to use 10 minutes whenever you find them. Whenever you tell yourself, “I am
busy today to read” you are only making an excuse.
2. Target pages per day
o When you plan to read a book, you hold it across, check the thickness and place it back
on the shelf. The thought of reading those many pages seems like an uphill task. By
reading 10 pages a day, completing a book would take forever, you think.
o Do you know how many books would you finish if you read 10 pages a day? Most people
can easily read 10 pages in half an hour. An average book personal development book
consists of 200 pages. At that reading pace, you will gobble up 18 books in a year.
o In 3 years, with over 50 books under your belt, your knowledge and awareness will
skyrocket.

 Conclusion, learning how to develop a reading habit is a great investment of time. Most
successful people acknowledge how their reading habits added value throughout their
careers. Now that does not mean that reading alone will make you a billionaire, but it
does assist you in becoming a better version of yourself. Most people give up reading the
day they step out of college. Without reading, you will take a long time to improve
yourself. Reading speeds up your expertise and knowledge. Among the two people with
the same years of experience in a field, the one who reads more tends to have an edge.
Cultivating the habit of reading isn’t that hard. All you need is the will to begin.

RESEARCH GAPS
It can be seen from the literature and research done on the benefits of reading habit. For
example, when we have a reading habit, it will create more learning inspiration and improve
learning outcomes compared to a negative one.
Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of reading habits on the results
of students, especially students at Hue University of Foreign Languages. This study was
conducted to review and recognize the contributions of students to effectively improve the
quality of their learning and training at their schools.
 III. METHODOLOGY
(Chức, Tuyết, Thông)

III.1 SUBJECTS:

The current study was conducted with second-year students' perspectives on reading and
reading habits.
The participants are Hue University of Foreign Languages sophomores. 100 randomly
selected students were asked to respond to the items in the questionnaire. Sophomores are
objects of study because they are adjusting to university life and are beginning to appreciate
the value of expanding their knowledge by reading books. Additionally, we are also
sophomores, so it is certainly easier for us to find and contact a number of classmates and
others to participate in this research.

III.2 DATA OF COLLECTION

It is well known that the questionnaire is a reasonably well-liked data collection method.
It is clear that this approach has the potential to gather a lot of data from a large number of
people. It consists of two main parts: the first part was eight questions to ask the participants
to do some quizzes. And the second part was four questions demanding students to write
their answer on the questionnaire form.
The study questions served as the primary inspiration for the questionnaire's content. To
increase the validity of the survey, participants were urged to provide their own responses.
III.3. QUESTIONNAIRE
 IV. LIST OF REFERENCES
Cambridge online dictionary, <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/reading>, June
16th 2022.
Benefits of Reading Books: How It Can Positively Affect Your Life.
Retrieved from: https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-reading-books
Dsouza, M. How to Develop a Reading Habit.
Retrieved from: https://productiveclub.com/how-to-develop-a-reading-habit/
Ozbay, M. (2007). Turkish special teaching methods II, Ankara: Turkey.
Sangkaeo, S. (1999). Reading Habit Promotion in ASEAN Libraries. Bangkok, Thailand
Smith, N. & Robinson, H. (1980). Reading Instruction for Today’s Children, Prentice-Hall Inc.,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Toit, C. M. (2001). The Recreational Reading Habits of Adolescent Readers: A Case Study.
Wagner, S. (2002). The reading habits of teams. Journal of Reading Today (46) 3-4.