HANOI METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

BA RESEARCH PROPOSAL
DIFFICULTIES OF IMPLEMENTING EXTENSIVE
READING TO IMPROVE READING SKILLS OF
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDENTS AT
HA NOI METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

NHỮNG KHÓ KHĂN CỦA VIỆC ÁP DỤNG ĐỌC RỘNG

ĐỂ CẢI THIỆN KĨ NĂNG ĐỌC CỦA SINH VIÊN NGOẠI
NGỮ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC THỦ ĐÔ HÀ NỘI

Student: DƯƠNG PHƯƠNG NGÂN

Major: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
Supervisor: PHẠM LAN ANH

Hanoi – 2024
Contents
A, Introduction...............................................................................................................................3
I, Rationale.................................................................................................................................3
II, Aim of the study....................................................................................................................3
III, Objective of the study.........................................................................................................3
IV, Research question................................................................................................................4
V, Significance of the study.......................................................................................................4
VI, Structure of the proposal....................................................................................................4
B, Research proposal.....................................................................................................................4
I, Literature review....................................................................................................................4
1, Theories about Extensive Reading..................................................................................4
2, Difficulties in implementing Extensive Reading.............................................................4
II, Methodology..........................................................................................................................5
1, Research methodology.......................................................................................................5
2, Research setting.................................................................................................................5
3, Data collection....................................................................................................................5
a,Data collecting instruments..........................................................................................6
b, Research procedure.......................................................................................................6
4, Data analysis.......................................................................................................................6
C,References...................................................................................................................................6
D, Appendix....................................................................................................................................7

A, Introduction
I, Rationale
Reading is one of the most important English skills, which provides fundamental
knowledge for productive skills( Speaking and Writing ). Although this skill does not
require students too many techniques to excel in it, students still need to expand their

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lexical range and enhance their reading speed , which is arduous. One way to meet the
aforementioned demands is using Extensive Reading technique .However, faculty of
foreign languages students at Ha Noi Metropolitan University do not take a keen
interested in Extensive Reading . Very few students who are major in English apply
Extensive Reading regularly . Therefore a study about the difficulties of implementing
this method is crucial to encourage students apply it and boost their reading skills .
II, Aim of the study
The study aims to find out the difficulties that students and teachers who learn and teach
English at Ha Noi Metropolitan University may have while implementing Extensive
Reading .
III, Objective of the study
The research aims to investigate the difficulties that students and teachers of Faculty of
Foreign Languages at Ha Noi Metropolitan University have while implementing
Extensive Reading to improve reading skills. The researchers also investigate the factors
which lead to these difficulties.
IV, Research question.
1, What difficulties do students and teachers of faculty of foreign languages have while
applying Extensive Reading
2, What factors result in the difficulties in question 1
V, Significance of the study
This study is conducive to the enhancement of English teaching and learning at Ha Noi
Metropolitan University. This study is the precursor of studies which aims to find out
methods to encourage the implementation of Extensive Reading in the university, helping
boost the reading skills of students who major in English at Ha Noi Metropolitan
University
VI, Structure of the proposal
1, Instruction
2, Research proposal
a, Literature Review
b, Methodology
3, References
4, Appendix

B, Research proposal
I, Literature review
1, Theories about Extensive Reading
a,What is Extensive Reading
ER is stems from implicit learning. According to Ellis (2008), implicit learning means
that learners will acquire knowledge without conscious awareness. It is crucial in

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enhancing reading processes that automatic lexical and syntactic processing and fluency
in reading (Grabe, 2009). In order to implicit learning have a positive effect on reading
enhancement, long-term and massive amounts of input are important (Grabe, 2009),
which means that learners need to dedicate a lot of time to reading. Rob Warning(2011)
stated that reading extensively means that readers just concentrate on the main idea of the
text they are reading
b,Effectiveness of Extensive Reading
Rob Warning 2011 stated “ The main aims of extensive reading, by contrast, are to build
the learners’ fluency, reading speed and general comprehension of reading texts as well
as practicing the skill of reading itself. Similarly, Horst, Cobb and Meara (1998) also said
that extensive reading can help readers boost their lexical resources, enhance reading
speed, and establish a system of words or groups of words.
2, Difficulties in implementing Extensive Reading
In 2007, Faiza Habib and Peter Watkin conduct an investigation about attitudes and
challenges to Extensive Reading Project in Saudi Female English as a Foreign Language
Preparatory Year Program Students and Teachers. The participants of this research were
111 Saudi female EFL students and the research method was survey. They concluded that
there are some barriers which make students reluctant to employ Extensive Reading
namely the materials, students, teachers, program, and culture. Among these factors, lack
of awareness of Extensive Reading’s benefits was the fundamental reason. In researcher
“Challenges in Implementing Extensive Reading (ER) Programs: Voices from English
Teachers at Indonesian Secondary Schools”, AnikN.Wulyani, Utami Widiati, and
Niamika El Khoiri stated that despite profound knowledge of ER some teachers did not
apply Extensive Reading due to challenges namely lack of knowledge about Extensive
Reading, insufficient support from the government and school leaders, the intense
curriculum, and low student’s motivation. In the e-book “Extensive reading-Top Ten
Implementation” Willy A. Renandya, Maria Hidayati & Francisca M Ivone(2020) stated
“The goal of this paper is to explore some of the main reasons that teachers might have
about ER, which can range from teachers being concerned about the amount of time that
ER may eat into the already crowded curriculum, lack of knowledge about ER, low
student motivation to lack of resources or support from school leaders and administrators.
II, Methodology
1, Research methodology
This research will employ quantitative methodology. That is to say, researchers will focus
on collecting and measuring numerical data by asking a group of students. They then
analyze the data using statistical analysis and comparisons. This methodology is chosen
because it can help researchers acquire more reliable data. To be more specific, the
answers will be analyzed to give outcomes based on numbers rather than subjective
judgment. Moreover, this also helps save time because researchers can employ statistical
analysis programs to have the data they need.

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2, Research setting.
This study will focus on data collected at Ha Noi Metropolitan University. To be more
specific, The participants of the research will be 50 students who major in English and 5
English lecturers at this University. Regarding the students, they are students who have
fundamental knowledge about Extensive Reading and have employed this method for at
least 6 months. By using this method for a long time, these students can have an insight
into the problems of employing Extensive Reading, contributing to the quality and
effectiveness of the research. As for the teachers, they are also people who have profound
knowledge about Extensive Reading and are integrating Extensive Reading activities into
the lectures. This also means that these teachers also have profound knowledge about
difficulties in employing Extensive Reading.
3, Data collection
Survey Research is the most suitable and effective type of research for this topic. The
reason is that via questions in an interview and questionnaire, researchers can gather in
significant amount of information about what hinders students from employing Extensive
Reading and the reason for these impediments. More importantly, Considering the fact
that researchers do not have to spend much on buying equipment, this method also costs
less money to conduct than the other methods. This is a huge advantage to researchers
who have tight budgets. Last but not least, this kind of research also does not require
many techniques to carry out, and analyzing data from surveys is not intricate. Therefore,
survey research is suitable for researchers who do not have much experience in
researching.
a, Data collecting instruments
*Questionnaire: The research will gather data from a questionnaire. The questionnaire is
a collection of open-ended, multiple-choice, and Yes-No questions. This questionnaire
includes three parts. The first part include greeting, a thank -you and general
instruction ,the second part is related to the participant’s personal background such as
age, gender, and years of studying English and the last part is the question. Question 1
and question 2 help answer whether the students lack understanding about Extensive
Reading or not. The next two questions will aim to find out the attitude of students
toward Extensive Reading, which is also a reason why students do not apply this method.
The questions from 5 to 10 are to find out whether lack of time is another problem of
using Extensive Reading and investigate the reason for this barrier. These reasons can
range from an intense workload at school to being busy with their part-time jobs. The
next question will help answer whether the students receive adequate instruction. The last
questions will ask about the problem of support from school and lack of motivation
* Interview: Data is also gathered via interviews with 5 teachers. Two first question is to
record the personal information of the teacher if there are any necessary discussions in
the future. This information will be ensured to be confidential. Question 4 and question 5
will help assess the understanding of teachers about Extensive Reading. The next

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question aims to find out the attitude of the teachers towards Extensive Reading, which
affects the motivation of the teachers to implement Extensive reading in lectures. The
others will help find out specific problems of application Extensive Reading among the
teachers
b, Research procedure.
The first stage is gathering data. 50 copies of the questionnaires written in English will
be handed out to 50 students as described in part 1.They will fill out these
questionnaires, which will take 5-7 minutes. In the next days of this stage, 5 semi–
structured interviews will be conducted with five teachers. Initially, the researcher will
contact with the teachers who are suitable for the aim of the researchers. Then, if the
teachers agree to engage in the interview, researchers will make an appointment after that.
Because this phase is based on the availability of the teachers and students , the time for
this phase is not fixed.
The next stage is analyzing data. The data gathered from the survey questionnaire
and interview will be analyzed to find out what are the common barriers to the
implementation of Extensive Reading and the reason for these barriers
4, Data analysis
The data used in this study will be analyzed quantitatively
To be more specific, researchers will employ Excel to convert the answers of teachers
and students into percentages and present them in form of tables or bar charts
C, References
1, U.S. Department of Education. Eun-Young Jeon & Richard R.Day.(October,2016).
The effectiveness of ER on reading proficiency: A
meta-analysis.https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1117026.pdf

2,ResearchGate.Rob Waring .( January,2011).Extensive reading in English language

teaching.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281941558_Extensive_reading_in_English_language_t
eaching

3, U.S. Department of Education. AnikN.Wulyani et al. Challenges in Implementing

Extensive Reading (ER) Programs: Voices from English Teachers at Indonesian Secondary
Schools

4, Extensive reading-Top ten implementation.Willy A Renandya et

al.(2020).https://drive.google.com/file/d/17ZL44y1gynUEWH3KfkTmYeIFeHO3DXjO/view

D, Appendix
Timeline

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 No. Things to do Time Expected outcomes

1 Choosing and contact with 2-3 days Knowing who will participate
participants the survey and interview

2 Conducting interviews and surveys 3-5 days All the of participant answers
the questions sincerely,
comfortable , and usefully

3 Analyzing data 1-2 days Draw a conclusion about the

difficulties

Questionnaire about the implementation of extensive reading

Dear people,
Thank you for doing this questionnaire. With the consent of the dean of the Faculty of Foreign
Languages, we carry out this questionnaire to find out the difficulties that foreign language
students at Ha Noi Metropolitan University often encounter while implementing extensive
reading to enhance their proficiency in English Reading skills. This questionnaire is essential to
help students enhance their proficiency in English via extensive reading. So we hope that you
give your answers sincerely to guarantee the success of the investigation. This is not a test so
there are no wrong or right answers, just give your personal opinion. We commit that all of the
information you provide is kept confidential
I, Personal details
First name Surname
Email Telephone number
You are a first-year/second-year/ third-year/final-year student
II, Attitude toward extensive reading
1, What do you think it is the most important aim of reading extensively?
a, Understand all of the content of the material
b, Understand the main idea of the material
2, Do you think it is essential to know the meaning of all of the words in the material while
reading extensively?
Yes No
3, Do you think extensive reading is an interesting and useful method? ( Tick V on the square
before the answer you choose)
Yes No
4, If you, tick “ No”, please write the reason why you think so
5, How many days do you spend on extensive reading per week( Circle the answer you choose)
A, 1-2 days B, 3-4 days C, Others
6, How much time do you spend on extensive reading per day
A, Less than 30 minutes B, 30 minutes- 1 hour C,1hour-2 hours D, Other

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7, If you think Extensive Reading is useful but you still spend less than 30 minutes per day, what
made you not spend more time than that
A, You are too busy B, You can’t find materials which is suitable for you C, Others
8, If you tick “ Others” please write your reason
9, If you choose you are too busy, what do you busy with
A, Part-time jobs B, Assignments at school C, Others
10, If you tick “Others”, please write your reason :
11, Do your teachers instruct you on how to practice extensive reading effectively or conduct
Extensive Reading activities in the classes?
Yes No
12, Do your school
Yes No
13, Have you ever you ever feel discouraged because your reading skills enhanced too slowly?
Yes No

Interview guilines
Good morning Mr/Mrs…, Thank you for taking part in this interview. As I informed you
before the interview, this interview is conducted to find out the difficulties of teachers
while applying Extensive Reading. Because your answers are essential to help students
enhance their proficiency in English via extensive reading, I hope that you give your answers
sincerely to guarantee the success of the investigation. This is not a test so there are no wrong or
right answers, just give your personal opinion. I commit that all of the information you provide
is kept confidential. So, can we start? First of all, I will ask you some questions about your detail,
is it OK?
1, What is your phone number
2, What is your e-mail address
1, What do you think is the most important aim of reading extensively?
a, Understand all of the content of the material
b, Understand the main idea of the material
2, Do you think it is essential to know the meaning of all of the words in the material while
reading extensively
3, What do you think about Extensive Reading
a, It is really helpful in enhancing student’s reading skill
b, It does not help much in improving reading skill
c, It does not show any positive impact on developing reading skill
4, Why do you think Extensive Reading is not effective
5, What are the factors that hinder you from applying Extensive Reading
a, Lacking of time
c, Can not find suitable materials
d, The differences in student reading
b, Students do not take a keen interest in these activities
c, Do not know how to apply it
d, The University does not offer the necessary help

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5, Can you say more specifically about difficulties in finding support from the
University’s leaders?
Word count : 2570

……, ….. ,2024 19th, March,2024

Supervisor Student
(Signature and full name) (Signature and full name)

Certified by Faculty of Foreign Languages