MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
---------------------------------

NGUYEN THI THU HIEN

EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF STUDENT TEAMS ACHIEVEMENT DIVISIONS TECHNIQUE ON EFL
STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION IN A
VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Tai Lieu Chat Luong

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Ho Chi Minh City, 2021


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY
------------------------------

NGUYEN THI THU HIEN

EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF STUDENT TEAMS ACHIEVEMENT DIVISIONS TECHNIQUE ON EFL
STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION IN A
VIETNAMESE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION

Major: TESOL
Major number: 8 140 111

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

Supervisor:
Dr. Nguyen Vu Phuong
Ho Chi Minh City, 2021


Md CQNG HdA XA HOI CHIT NGIIiA VI1TT NAM
THANH PH6 Hd CHi MINE
DOc IAp - Tu do - Hanh phfc
TRUONG DAI HQC

KHOA

DAoIAq r4qDAr

HQC

GIAY XAC NHAN
*^

0tuin....,{i{i .{'l',r,...Zfih............
Ngdy sinh:.. *o. f I a..1..4.9 9 J......... Noi sinh:......L9ng ...A*........
,
rdi

rdo Ia:.....

Nr.u


chuydn ngdrrh:

?.?

^l
LL,,.G.D..-!ir;q.*t{.
0

Ma hsc vion: ..4at|.LA h.

1.r:APA

:t4

Tdi ddng ! cung cAp todrr vdn th6ng tin luan 6nl luan vtu t6t nghiCp hAp

lC vA ban

quydn cho Thu viQn hudl1g dai hqc Md Them phii Hd Chi Minh. Thu viQn tnrong

dai hqc Md Thdnh ph6 Hd Chi

t6t nghiop vAo
ph6 H6

hC

Minl


sd kar

n6i todn van th6ng tin lu6n

rin-/

luin vdn

th6ng th6ng tin khoa h9c cira Sd Khoa hgc vd C6ng nghQ Thdnh

chi Minn.

Kj' t6n
(Ghi rd ho td tAn)

-') l,/--LLL
Cln @h*WN.,;.
"'0 "0 ."


CQNG HdA XA HQI CHU NGHIA VIPT NAM
DOc lip - T u do-H! nh uhfc

f

TIEN CHO PHEP BAO VE LUAN VAN THAC Si
C TA GIANG VITN HU6NG DAN

j


Y ki6n cua gilio viCn huong din vd vi€c cho ph6p hoc vidn
dugc bao vQ luin vin truric HQi ili)ng:

lta...k spnt,&. {

b' lkl
n

.t!]. /.1&-

,u.xlac:/zrl.

CPI

sr,k[.
.r.-8.

d*t..tfu.|/,ear

.Sq

1r*;s;',vrzfv:

Thdnh phri

Hi

Chi Minh,

-a*rt


ngiry/:lkfitlng lx1

ndm 2a .24

Nguoi tthdu x6t

Wql\/lffiev


i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify my authorship of this thesis entitled:
“Examining the impact of Student Teams-Achievement Division Technique on
EFL students’ reading comprehension in a Vietnamese Higher Education
Institution”
for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL), is the result of my own research.
This thesis has not been submitted for any certificates at other institutions. To the
best of my knowledge, the thesis contains no material previously published or
written by other people except where the reference is made in the thesis itself.

Ho Chi Minh City, 2021

Nguyen Thi Thu Hien


ii


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This thesis was made possible by the contribution of a lot of people.
Firstly, I would like to express my grateful appreciation to my supervisor, Dr.
Nguyen Vu Phuong for his strong motivation, assistance and support throughout the
stages of this thesis journey. His ideas, suggestions, and advice have been truly
invaluable and have given me great encouragement for my thesis work.
My genuine thanks go especially to all the lectures and staff at Graduate school- Ho
Chi Minh City Open University giving me valuable knowledge and necessary
assistance during my master study period.
I am especially indebted to CLC- Creative Language Center at Ton Duc Thang
University for agreeing and providing me with a chance to conduct my research at
the center. I feel deeply grateful to all my research participants- 16 students in class
English 1 who willingly took part in my research. Thank you so much for their
participation during the process of implementing the intervention.

The data

collection would not have been completed without their great contribution.
My gratitude is due to all of my colleagues, friends and students for their support
and sharing of the experiences, joys and sorrows during my teaching and learning
process.
Finally, I offer my deepest thanks to my family and relatives for their support and
encouragement that inspired me towards the successful completion of this thesis. I
am profoundly grateful to my parents and my twin sister who always love, support,
believe in me throughout the years.


iii

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of Student TeamsAchievement Divisions (STAD) – one of the strategies in cooperative learning on
EFL students’ reading performance in a Vietnamese Higher Education Institution.
A qualitative case study design was chosen to capture the impact of the
implementation of STAD on improving students’ reading comprehension as well as
their perceptions and the challenges under this practice. Data was collected through
multiple data collection methods, including tests and test reports, observation, semistructured interview and student diaries. Findings were explored through thematic
analysis of the data.
The findings indicated that STAD strategy as cooperative learning model
could improve the students’ reading achievement. The findings also indicated the
promoted reflection on students’ learning, the positive engagement in class
activities, the increase of students’ confidence, the enhancement of students’
friendship, interaction and motivation in learning. Moreover, it was clearly reflected
from the improvement of students’ score of reading test in groups and individuals as
well during the implementation of the intervention. However, there were several
challenges to the implementation of STAD, including the domination, conflicts,
arguments, unequal division of tasks in group discussion, the lack of cooperative
actvities and difficulty with controlling the class. The findings suggest that
cooperative activities should be promoted together with ensuring the safe, trusting
and well-organized learning environment and raising the awareness and knowledge
of using CL in the classroom. It is recommended that a revised framework should
be used for applying CL productively in academic setting. Further research should
focus on developing effective and beneficial CL strategies for the improvement of
language learning and communicative competence of EFL students.


iv

TĨM TẮT NGHIÊN CỨU
Mục đích của nghiên cứu này là để khảo sát tác động của Student TeamsAchievement Divisions (STAD) - một trong những chiến lược trong phương pháp
học tập cộng tác đối với hiệu quả đọc hiểu của sinh viên tại một trường Đại học ở

Việt Nam. Phương pháp nghiên cứu định tính đã được áp dụng để tìm hiểu tác động
của STAD đối với việc cải thiện khả năng đọc hiểu cũng như nhận thức của học
sinh và những thách thức trong quá trình thực hiện nghiên cứu. Dữ liệu được thu
thập bằng nhiều phương pháp thông qua các bài kiểm tra và báo cáo kiểm tra, quan
sát, phỏng vấn và nhật ký sinh viên. Các dữ liệu nghiên cứu sau đó được phân tích
theo chủ đề.
Kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy rằng chiến lược học cộng tác STAD có thể cải
thiện khả năng đọc của sinh viên. Nghiên cứu cho thấy sự thúc đẩy trong quá trình
phản ánh quá trình học tập của sinh viên, sự tham gia tích cực vào các hoạt động
trong lớp, tăng sự tự tin, nâng cao tình bạn, sự tương tác và động lực học tập cho
sinh viên. Hơn nữa, điều này còn được phản ánh rõ qua sự cải thiện về điểm số của
học sinh trong bài kiểm tra đọc theo nhóm và cá nhân cũng như trong q trình áp
dụng chiến lược STAD. Tuy nhiên, nghiên cứu còn gặp phải một số thách thức đối
với việc thực hiện STAD, trong đó có sự chi phối, thống trị của một vài sinh viên
cùng với những mâu thuẫn, tranh luận nảy sinh trong q trình thảo luận nhóm, việc
phân chia nhiệm vụ khơng đồng đều giữa các thành viên, bên cạnh đó cịn thiếu các
hoạt động cộng tác nhóm được tổ chức trong lớp học và khó khăn trong q trình
kiểm sốt lớp học của giáo viên. Các kết quả nghiên cứu cho thấy rằng việc tổ chức
các hoạt động học cộng tác trong lớp cần được thúc đẩy cùng với việc đảm bảo mơi
trường học tập an tồn, tin cậy, được tổ chức tốt và nâng cao nhận thức, kiến thức
về việc sử dụng phương pháp học cộng tác trong lớp học. Việc sửa đổi và xây dựng
một mơ hình lí thuyết được đề xuất để áp dụng phương pháp học cộng tác một cách
hiệu quả trong môi trường học thuật. Các nghiên cứu xa hơn nên tập trung vào việc
phát triển các chiến lược học cộng tác hiệu quả để cải thiện khả năng học ngôn ngữ
và giao tiếp của sinh viên.


v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ ii
ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... iii
ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................................................................ viii
LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... x
Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 1
1.1.

Background ....................................................................................................... 1

1.2.

Rationale for the study...................................................................................... 3

1.3.

The aim of the study ......................................................................................... 6

1.4.

Research questions ........................................................................................... 6

1.5.

Significance of the study .................................................................................. 6

1.6.

Overview .......................................................................................................... 7


Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 9
2.1.

Definitions ........................................................................................................ 9

2.1.1.

Reading and Reading Comprehension ........................................................... 9

2.1.2.

Cooperative Learning ................................................................................... 12

2.1.2.1. Definitions ..................................................................................................... 12
2.1.2.2.

Cooperative Learning Methods .....................................................15

2.1.2.2.1. Structured Team Learning Methods ............................................16
2.1.2.2.2. Informal Group Learning Methods ............................................17
2.1.3.

Student Teams - Achievement Divisions ....................................................... 19

2.1.3.1.

Definitions ......................................................................................19

2.1.3.2.Stages of Student Teams - Achievement Divisions Implementation ...20



vi

2.1.3.3.

Benefits and Challenges .................................................................21

2.1.3.4.

Conditions of applying STAD in the classroom .............................24

2.2.

The theoretical framework of the study.......................................................... 26

2.3.

Summary ......................................................................................................... 31

Chapter 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ............................................................... 32
3.1.

Research objectives and questions ................................................................. 32

3.2.

Choice of approach ......................................................................................... 32

3.3.


Research Context and Participants ................................................................. 33

3.4.

Data Collection ............................................................................................... 33

3.4.1.

Data Collection Method................................................................................ 33

3.4.2.

Data Collection Procedure ........................................................................... 37

3.5.

Data Analysis .................................................................................................. 42

3.6.

Ethics .............................................................................................................. 43

3.7.

Trustworthiness .............................................................................................. 43

Chapter 4: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY ..................................................................... 46
4.1.


Positive changes under STAD practice .......................................................... 46

4.1.1.

Promoted reflection on learning ................................................................... 46

4.1.2.

Improved reading comprehension ................................................................ 48

4.1.3.

Greater engagement in class activities ......................................................... 52

4.1.4.

Enhanced confidence in learning. ................................................................ 54

4.1.5.

Enhanced friendship and motivation for CL ................................................ 55

4.2.

Challenges to the implementation of STAD .................................................. 56

4.2.1.

The domination in group discussion ............................................................. 57


4.2.2.

The lack of willingness to work in groups .................................................... 58

4.2.3.

The happen of students’ arguments or conflicts ........................................... 58


vii

4.2.4.

Unequal assignment of tasks among group members .................................. 59

4.2.5.

The lack of the practice of cooperative learning in the classroom .............. 59

Chapter 5: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS .......................................................... 61
5.1.

Positive changes under STAD practice .......................................................... 61

5.1.1.

Promoted reflection in learning .................................................................... 61

5.1.2.


Improved reading comprehension ................................................................ 63

5.1.3.

Greater engagement in class activities ......................................................... 63

5.1.4.

Enhanced confidence in learning. ................................................................ 64

5.1.5.

Enhanced friendship and motivation for CL ................................................ 65

5.2.

Challenges to the implementation of STAD .................................................. 66

5.2.1.

The domination in group discussion ............................................................. 66

5.2.2.

The lack of willingness to work in groups .................................................... 67

5.2.3.

The happen of students’ arguments or conflicts ........................................... 67


5.2.4.

Unequal assignment of tasks among group members .................................. 68

5.2.5.

The lack of the practice of cooperative learning in the classroom .............. 68

Chapter 6: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 70
6.1. Summary of the findings.................................................................................... 70
6.2. Implications ....................................................................................................... 71
6.3. Limitations of the study ..................................................................................... 73
6.4. Recommendations for further research .............................................................. 74
6.5. Concluding remarks ........................................................................................... 75
REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 76
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 90


viii

ABBREVIATIONS
CL

Cooperative Learning

CIRC

Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition

DIA


Diary

EFL

English as a foreign language

ESL

English as a second language

GI

Group Investigation

LT

Learning Together

INT

Interview

OBS

Observation

RC

Reading Comprehension


STAD

Student Teams Achievement Divisions

ST

Student

TGT

Teams Games Tournament

TAI

Team-Assisted Individualization


ix

LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Data collection procedure
Table 4.1: The result of students’ changes through the test scores
Table 4.2: Participants’ test scores (Individual Tests)
Table 4.3: The Groups’ Scores


x

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1: Integration of theoretical perspectives on effects of cooperative learning
on learning
Figure 3.2: Theoretical framework for the study


1

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1.

Background

There is no doubt that education is a process of teaching and learning (Khan, 2008,
as cited in Endeshaw, 2015). Learning performance is the result of teaching
instruction outlining which any type of information that can be passed on. This
demands for encouraging and inspiring ways of teaching from the teacher who is
also the one provoking full students’ interest and motivation for learning.
English is considered as a global language which is used both as native language
by developed countries and as second language by other countries like Asian ones.
It is known as an international language for communication worldwide. Therefore,
attaining English language proficiency is very crucial through four language skills:
listening, speaking, reading, and writing. In English language learning, Alvermann
and Earle (2003) stated that reading comprehension was considered as the most
important for students since it was mostly the chosen instrument to widen their
knowledge in learning from the basis of instruction. Various English printed
materials especially for academic learning are available for Vietnamese students to
read while opportunities to speak, listen, and write are not common in their daily
life. Besides, reading is extremely essential for students in their learning
development, because they mostly find foreign language materials and sources of
science knowledge or information, especially in their own majored subjects

(McDonough & Shaw, 2013). As a result, reading is the foundation of advanced
studies which require reading abilities to access both textbooks and other reading
materials outside the classroom (Roe, Stoodt, & Burns, 1998).
It is widely known that reading comprehension is highly considered important in
learning English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) (Levine, Ferenz, & Reves, 2000). However, many students are
underprepared for reading comprehension when entering higher education due to
their low level of reading strategy knowledge and lack of metacognitive control


2

(Dreyer, 1998). This affects their studying at higher levels which require skillful
readers to understand various English textbooks and other materials. In addition,
there is an urge to earn knowledge from international sources available mostly
through English language. The conventional whole-class teaching method partly
caused of the low English capacity and the reducing interest of English learning
(Tsai, 1998; Wei, 1997). Thus, according to Cook (1990), to obtain reading and
comprehending skills regarding academic literature at the level equivalent with the
other learners of English all over the world, students are advised to put utmost
effort in improving and developing this skill as much as possible despite not being
native speakers of English. In what follow, cooperative learning is one of the
learning techniques that include the learners' active learning or learners-focused.
As expressed by Sharan (1994), cooperative learning is a group-centered and
students-centered way in teaching and learning process. In this way, it will
decrease the instructors' domination in teaching and assist learners with developing
their understanding by cooperating with their classmates and sharing information.
Slavin (1995) emphasized that CL created interactive atmosphere for learners’
learning as they have the chance to work in groups and evaluate on each other’s
learning, especially for reading comprehension.

Concerning Vietnamese EFL setting, English has been an obligatory subject in
schools and universities in Vietnam since the time of Vietnam's open-door policy in
1986 (Le, V.C., 1999), and when entrancing into the World Trade Organization
(WTO) in 2006. It ought to be featured that the National Foreign Language Project
2020 has set up the approach that particularly English has become a compulsory
subject in all types of educational institutions through the whole country of Vietnam
(Nguyen, T. N., 2008). CL has been applied in English as a Foreign Language
(EFL) in Vietnam education and in numerous Asian nations as well. Apparently,
according to Johnson and Johnson (2009), CL is particularly conspicuous in
language teaching, yet in addition general training, across most educational settings
around the world, additionally in EFL settings. Lee (2003) examined vocabulary


3

and reading learning in group work at a Vietnamese university and stated that
students learned new words and understood reading texts in cooperative groups
better than in conventional teaching and the process of discussing in groups helped
them remember and use English words better than control groups. In such situation,
cooperative learning is considered as favorable and beneficial for EFL teaching and
learning in Vietnamese context, especially in Vietnamese higher education
(Nguyen, T. B. T., 2003). Thus, the increasing number of studies, books, research
studies have been widely published to examine the effectiveness of CL in learning
language which mainly concentrated on the advantages and commitments to EFL
teaching and learning (Nguyen, T. B. T., 2017; Pham, T. H. T., 2012). Nevertheless,
as the results from those studies, there was no guarantee of effective cooperative
activities. As brought up by Nguyen, T. B. T. (2003), the utilization of CL in
Vietnam appears to be not to be truly effective. Numerous scientists and educators
investigated and found that challenges and constraints actually exist in
implementing CT in Vietnam. For instance, Pham, H. H. (2007) has distinguished

the obstacles regarding culture field with application of CL in Vietnam classrooms.
The author has additionally found numerous issues among students in their pair-and
team work in EFL classes in the findings. Moreover, there have been ideas showing
doubting the suitability of CL or pair/group-work for students in Vietnamese EFL
contexts (Nguyen, T. B. T., 2012) Subsequently, CL found its base and expansion
in English teaching and learning in Vietnamese educational institutions and in
Asian countries in general. Despite being applied in Vietnam for quite a long time,
there still remains a controversy about CL intervention and its effectiveness in
Vietnamese EFL settings (Pham, H. H., 2007).
1.2.

Rationale for the study

Mostly fields in Vietnamese society feel necessity for high skills and abilities in
English to exchange information and knowledge improvement, such as the travel
industry, health, finance, economy, science (Do, T. H., 2013; Nguyen, T. B. T.,
2013). Therefore, it comes to the importance of higher education in students’


4

learning development process. Especially, the ability to read and comprehend the
major materials is also considered vital as well. However, the problem worried by
numerous teachers is that the English ability of Vietnamese students, or even of
numerous graduates, is as yet restricted, especially in reading capacity, which has
been long reflected from several examinations in Vietnam ( Au, Doan & Tra, 2006;
Nguyen, T. B. T.; 2003; Pham, H. H., 2007). That comes to the main focus of his
study on reading comprehension of EFL students. The issue mentioned poses the
challenges to instructors or teachers to find the way to determine the difficulties,
then improve and reestablish English education. Previous researches additionally

recognized the absence of exploration in key idea about what really happened to
students working in groups during the learning session (Cheng, C., 2000).
Moreover, studies on the commonness of cooperative learning in EFL settings
indicates that this strategy has still been underutilized. Similarly, cooperative
learning does not have the spot it merits in EFL classrooms. Maybe, it has come to
diminish the discrepancy between what studies demonstrate to be successful and
what is practiced during the class time. Numerous investigations have been led in
various settings of education, utilizing different techniques of cooperative learning
strategy such as Learning Together (LT), Jigsaw Grouping, Teams-GamesTournaments (TGT), Group Investigation (GI), Student Teams Achievement
Division (STAD), and Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI). Those studies have
indicated the important connection between the high cognitive outcomes and
cooperative learning techniques (D. Johnson & R. Johnson, 2005; Tran, V. D.,
2014). In order for studying in groups to make sense, the group performance should
be based on the learning progress of individuals. In other words, the group’s success
counts on each member’s learning progress (Sharan, 2014). While trying to do as
such, this study explores the impacts of one model in cooperative learning strategy
–Student-Teams Achievement Division on the reading comprehension and find out
the perceptions of EFL students during the intervention implementation. STAD


5

was developed by Slavin (1978) as a technique of a student learning approach along
with other cooperative ones.
The purpose behind the decision of choosing STAD is positive collaboration among
students, improving uplifting attitude towards learning, improving certainty,
strengthening interpersonal skills. STAD likewise incorporates an extra wellspring
of learning inside the group work because some high achieved learners play the role
of tutoring the group mates, resulting in positive achievements. According to Gross
(1991), STAD is viewed as a favorable model in light of the fact that as one the CL

procedures, it can bring learners’ inspiration up in learning by discussing and
sharing ideas, motivating team members, providing responses ad feedback and
taking responsibility for their parts in assigned group work. STAD is an effective
technique using in teaching reading and improve comprehension of the students. In
addition, STAD technique is recommended in improving students’ reading
performance owing to the following reasons. First and foremost, under STAD, since
the process of teaching and learning reading asks the students to participate in group
work, they will have more opportunities to practice and discuss to achieve their
English understanding in reading passages, thus enhancing their reading ability
Kagan (1997). Besides, learning reading under STAD practice can assist students
with their vocabulary, helping them to grasp those English passages. It is
conceivable on the grounds that by utilizing STAD, learners are reminded to utilize
the specific words or expressions more than once until they accomplish familiarities
and they can help each other in getting the meaning of the words. At long last, the
fundamental idea of STAD is to motivate group members in discussion, so they can
share ideas and support each other for comprehending the reading materials. Kagan
(1997) found that student motivation increased since they are prevailing for their
self as well as for their group mates well in overall.
All of the issues mentioned above attract much concern from many teachers, and
researchers. This inspires the researcher’s wish to focus on the topic of EFL
Cooperative Learning- Student-Teams Achievement Technique implementation in


6

reading comprehension in Vietnamese higher education with the hope of making a
contribution towards the students’ perspectives and challenges facing of
intervention application.
1.3.


The aim of the study

There have been multitude of studies on effective reading comprehension
strategies to increase students’ reading ability. Stevens (2003) and Guthrie et al.
(2007) supported the idea that cooperative learning could actively engage students
in classroom learning activities and then fast achieve the learning goal. This study
particularly aims at examining how Cooperative Learning model STAD (Student
Teams-Achievement Divisions) impacts on EFL students’ reading performance.
1.4.

Research questions

The research questions of this study are:
1. To what extent does the STAD affect students’ reading comprehension
performance in EFL classroom?
2. What are EFL students’ perceptions of STAD supporting their learning of
reading?
3. What are the challenges perceived by EFL students in implementing
STAD?
1.5.

Significance of the study

The study was conducted to investigate the improvement of students’ reading
achievement by applying one of cooperative learning strategies namely STAD.
From then, during the research process, the research discovered and understood
students’ perceptions and some challenges when using STAD in the classroom.
Theoretically, the findings of this study redound to the discussion on cooperative
learning considering that it plays an important role in teaching and learning process.
The study contributes to an understanding of reflection during students’ learning in



7

groups which provides students with the view of their practice and plan for changes
to improve current and future learning. In addition, the study has also paid special
attention to the theory of motivation or engagement in cooperative learning setting.
The theoretical framework which was developed from the literature review was
relevant to inform the study but is also a contribution to the research field. There are
cognitive development and interdependence perspectives contributing to explicate
the positive effect of STAD in the classroom. Those are aspects positively
enhancing students’ perceptions towards to intervention and improving their own
learning and group performance.
Practically, the study helps improve and develop the conductive process to learning
reading of EFL students. The study contributes to promote the further
comprehension and understanding of one of the most promising academic
strategies for improving learners’ learning performance - Cooperative Learning.
The findings clarify what is necessary for effective cooperative environment and
challenges to the research implementation. This helps identify necessary and
sufficient conditions for the intervention to be effective. An effective learning
environment can facilitate students’ engagement and enhance their confidence and
motivation for learning from not only the teacher but also their classmates. The
findings from this study would support the employment of this cooperative
mechanism- STAD to the process of language teaching and learning. In addition,
the outcomes of the study also benefit the teachers who intend to use this
cooperative learning method and put those identified things from the study into
consideration to best achieve learning and teaching objectives.
1.6.

Overview


This study is designed to examine the impact of Student Teams - Achievement
Divisions Technique on EFL students’ Reading Comprehension in a Vietnamese
Higher Education Institution. This research work is structured into five chapters.
Chapter 1 includes the background information required to understand the purposes


8

and goals of the study leading to research questions that will be explored. Chapter 2
presents the literature review of related theories such as reading, reading
comprehension, cooperative learning and STAD. Chapter 3 describes the research
methodology of the study. Next, chapter 4 presents findings of the study.
Consequently, chapter 5 addresses the discussion of the findings. Finally, chapter 6
discusses

the

significance

of

the

recommendations and concluding remarks.

study,

its


implications,

limitations,


9

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.

Definitions
2.1.1. Reading and Reading Comprehension

Reading is considered as the most important skill for students because it is mostly
the chosen instrument to widen their knowledge and ensure success in language
learning. Reading is a cognitive process and requires effort on the readers to
understand effectively what they are reading. Roe, Smith, and Burns (2005) defined
perceiving reading as the complex communicative act in which the variables in
terms of text, context, and reader-base interlink to contribute to comprehension. As
described by Grellet (1998), reading is considered as a constant process which
involves guessing, analyzing and challenging the questions.
In relation to comprehension, more than simply decoding, this term was defined by
Grabe (2009) as perceiving the understanding of the message, grasping the aims and
expectations of the author, and taking in what explicitly and implicitly stated in the
passages. Tonijes (1999) stated that reading comprehension meant gaining content,
knowledge, experience and implication through reading the texts. In the process of
comprehending, comprehension was the last stage. That included the act of
guessing, translating, connecting ideas, determining the techniques and strategies to
achieve the specific purposes, checking and assessing the importance of the
messages from the passages.

Soden, et al. (2015) considered reading comprehension as a fundamental ability for
academic and occupational achievement, which was characterized as the capacity
to comprehend and utilize content for learning. By that, this was an educated skill,
subject to differences in guidance and in the context. For the students who are
experiencing the reading comprehension, it’s difficult for them not only to do the
good performance at school but also to encounter the bad effects of both
psychological issues like self-confidence lacking and educational issues like
dropping out of schools due to troubles of reading comprehension (Evelyn, Harriet,


10

Christopher, & John, 2013). As Taylor and Taylor (1990) emphasized, reading
comprehension was an interactive procedure that the readers must get a handle on
all the data in the content, recollect it and have ability to conclude significant ideas
from it. Pardo (2004) defined reading comprehension as the process that forced the
readers to collaborate with the content through both earlier information and past
experience, information in the material and the position the reader took in
relationship to the content. By these various definitions illustrated, there were
numerous translations of comprehending content.
Given by Snow (2010), in reading comprehension, readers combined what they
already knew such as code, context, vocabulary, and prior knowledge, and what
they found in the texts and appropriate learning strategies to fully understand the
texts. According to Kintsch (1998, as cited in Woolley, 2011), reading
comprehension could be considered as a process of extracting meaning from written
texts. Therefore, it is recommended obtaining an understanding of content described
from the text rather than from separated words or sentences. The ultimate purpose
of reading is to comprehend it, from then on; learners effectively construct mental
models and its interpretation from meaning of the text. However, another idea is
that reading is the process of interpreting meaning from written words, sentences,

and texts as well (Aarnoutse & Van Leeuwe, 2000). Reading will be tedious and
meaningless unless comprehension is obtained.
Reading comprehension is considered as a complicated process that demands a lot
of skills like vocabulary acknowledgement, main idea collection, main objective of
the content, content evaluation, conclusion (Moflih, 2005). This skill is essential for
readers, especially student during their study at school to pursuit of an education.
Those who realized the importance of reading comprehension skill can perform the
ability to figure out the meaning and key points to deal with difficult concepts
during reading (Broker, 2014). However, some researches show the drawback in the
acquisition of reading skills, especially in reading comprehension (Moflih, 2005).


11

There are three levels of reading comprehension defined by Karlin (1984). The first
level is the literal meaning understanding which requires the students to acquire the
text meaning including concentrating on the basic structure such as idea
determination, event sequence identification. The next is deductive level that shows
the student’s ability to figure out the indication that the writer does not mention in
direct way. That means the students can identify and predict the meaning, results,
quality of characters basing on the information given in the text. The assessment is
the third level of understanding where can demonstrate the student’s ability to
assess the events and perceptions from the text. The students who achieve this level
can discriminate the truth from imagination as well as identify the points of view
contained in the text.
From above, it might be inferred that reading comprehension means interpreting
and understanding the message from the passage. If the readers comprehend the text
well, they can systematize the basic knowledge, author’s intentions and know how
to choose the process used to obtain the reading goals. That process will help them
to understand the reading in a thorough, efficient way. Grabe (2009) classified

reading comprehension purposes into 4 main ideas. Firstly, it emphasizes the
importance of scanning and skimming the texts. They are considered as common in
any reading texts. The readers will find the specific information while reading the
text very quickly. Besides, to get the basic reading comprehension, here, readers can
manage to skim the text, which means getting the main and important ideas using
the strategy for this reading skill. Secondly, acquiring information from reading is
one of main purposes. Reading requires readers to identify the main ideas and
supporting details, then make a connection with their background knowledge,
conveying firmer inference in order to remember ideas and details surely. This
usually occurs in academic and expert setting. Thirdly, the readers combine
information, compose and critique the content. When they incorporate and choose
the information they need, they critique and evaluate the information. This process
includes writing, choosing and making assessment of the reading materials. Lastly,