SKKN Applying retelling technique in teaching post - Reading in Tieng Anh 10 (Global success) at Dien Chau II High School

engthen the story, add science, technology, history, geography and so 
on, even extend to the retelling of video materials to enhance the diversity of 
content, in order to adapt to different students English leaning with different levels 
39 
 (5) Correct students ‘mistakes at the right time and give them confidence 
properly When students make mistakes in the process of retelling, teachers should 
not interrupt students until they finish retelling, otherwise their thinking will be 
terminated. Teachers must give students proper praise. What ‘s more, it is better to 
use euphemistic way to correct students ‘mistakes in case of hurting their passion 
and enthusiasm. Thus, every student has confidence in taking part in activity and 
feels free to express himself or herself. 
(6) Pay attention to the cooperation among students and improve their efficiency 
Effective teaching must be based on a harmonious relationship between teachers 
and students. In this way, students ‘imagination and creativity can be dug out. 
Actually, retelling is a complex task. Therefore, teachers should focus on students 
‘performance when retelling. Thus, students can express their views and explore 
their own talent. When students encounter difficulties, teachers should give timely 
guidance to help. Finally, in the process of retelling, teachers should teach students 
how to make notes and help them develop a good habit of remembering keywords 
(7) Post-test results 
After four weeks of the experiment, the class was given a post-test which was the 
same as the pre-test. The students’ scores have been transferred into percentages 
and analyzed for comparison. 
Table 7: Post-test results 
 No. 
(student) 
% 
Weak 
(0-3) 
20 22 
Medium 
(4-6) 
40 45 
Good 
(7-10) 
25 33 
Total: 85 100 
Chart 2: Post-test results 
33% 22% 
45% 
weak 
scores 
medium 
40 
In Table 7 indicate that an improvement appeared in the results of the post-test of 
the class. The number of weak students are 20 students (22%). The number of 
good students are 25 students (33%). The medium scores are 40 students (45%). In 
general, the test results after 4 weeks have changed. 
Chart 3: Comparison between pre-test and post-test 
pre-test post-test 
60% 
50% 
40% 
30% 
20% 
10% 
0% 
 weak scores medium scores good scores 
Looking at Chart 3, its shows that the results of the pre-test and post-test have 
marked changes, the post-test results better than the pre-test results. The number of 
weak students decreased (from 40% to 22%). Besides, the number of good students 
increased, the pre-test only 5students achieved good scores (11%), after 4 weeks 
increased 15 students (33%), equivalent to 22% difference- a big number. The 
number of medium students also decreased (from 49% to 44%). In conclusion, 
reading strategies had a positive effect on the students’ reading ability. In other 
words, what can be inferred from those findings above at the end of the 
experiment. 
4.2 Questionnaire results 
As mentioned in Chapter Three, the questionnaire included 9 questions and was 
designed in the form of multiple-choice questions. Below were the answers of the 
students from the 2 classes to each question. 
Table 8: Student's feeling about learning a reading skills 
 Number of mentions Percentage(%) 
Difficult 25 56 
Normally 15 33 
Easy 5 11 
49% 
45% 
40% 
33% 
22% 
11% 
41 
As clearly shown in Table 8, most of the students feeling about English reading 
skill is difficult (56%) which is a higher than the number of students feeling 
normally, equivalent to the difference of 23%. And only 11% of students realize 
that English reading comprehension is not necessarily a serious and difficult 
problem. Thus, it indicates that the students have differences in feeling about 
English reading comprehension skill. 
42 
PART III: CONCLUSION 
The evidence in this study suggests that the retelling as a reading strategy did aid 
literacy growth, particularly reading, as well as their confidence in reading for 
English language learners in the same way the technique has been shown to be 
effective for mainstream English-speaking students. This technique which 
encourages students to put their mental and creative abilities to work also helps the 
teacher to encourage and foster these abilities in the students. 
From the study details above, we may say that story retelling is an important 
strategy which will enable students comprehend texts, retell information they get 
from the text and also improve their writing proficiency. The study also shows that 
if students acquire the retelling competence, they will perform better in their 
academic pursuits and especially in examinations, not just in English language but 
in content area subjects. The retelling technique helps and equips students to 
exercise their use of language and since they must rewrite or recreate passages 
which they have read, their weaknesses are brought to the fore and the teacher is 
therefore able to identify and address these weaknesses. This technique which 
encourages students to put their mental and creative abilities to work also helps the 
teacher to encourage and foster these abilities in the students. 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
Given the foregoing, it will be helpful if policy makers, teachers and other 
stakeholders in the education sector consider the adoption of story retelling 
strategy and other aspects of the literature-based instruction in the teaching of 
reading and writing at all levels of the school system, especially in the primary and 
secondary schools. This will help to improve the performance of students as they 
will be in a better position to comprehend texts, and become better readers and 
writers. 
43 
REFERENCES 
1. Aebersold, J. A. & Field, M. L. (1997). From Reader to Reading 
Teacher. Cambridge: CUP. 
2. Alderson, J.C & Urquahart, A.H. (1984). Reading in a Foreign 
Language. Essex: Longman Group Limited. 
3. Clarke, M.A. (1980). “The short circuit hypothesis of ESL reading – 
or when language competence interferes with reading performance”, 
Modern Language 
Journal 64, pp.203-209. 
4. Coady, J.A. (1979). Psycholinguistic Model of the ESL Readers in 
a Second Language: Hypothesis, Organization and Practice. 
Rowley, Mass, Newbury House. 
5. Cook, L. & Mayer, R. (1989). Teaching Readers about the Structure of 
Scientific Text. Journal of Educational Psychology. 
6. Doff, A. (1988). Teaching English: a Training Course for Teachers. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
7. Douglas, D. (2000). Assessing Language for Specific Purposes. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
8. Jolly, D. (Oct, 1978). The establishment of a Self-access Scheme for 
Intensive Reading. Paper presented at the Goethe Institute, Brishtish 
Council Colloquium on Reading, Paris. 
9. Lewis, M. & Hill, J. (1985). Practical Techniques for Language 
Teaching. London Commercial Color Press. 
10. Munby, J. (1978). Communicative Syllabus Design. Cambridge: CUP. 
11. Nuttal, C. (1982). Teaching Reading Skill in a Foreign Language. 
Hong Kong: Macmillan Publishers Lmited. 
12. Nuttall, C. (1996). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. 
(New Edition). Hong Kong: Macmillan Publishers Lmited. 
13. Nutall, C. (2000). Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. 2nd 
ed. Oxford: Heinemann. 
14. Richard and Thomas. (1987). Being an Effective Teacher. 
Harper and Row Publishers. 
15. Rivers, W. & Templey, M. (1978). A Practical Guide to the Teaching 
of English as Second or Foreign Language. OUP. 
16. Ur, P. (1996). A course in Language Teaching. Cambridge: Cambridge 
University Press. 
17. Van, Hoang Van. Hoa, Hoang Thi Xuan. Minh, Do Tuan. Phuong, 
Nguyen Thu. & Tuan, Nguyen Quoc. (2006). Tieng Anh 10. Nha Xuat 
Ban Giao Duc. 
18. William, E. (1984). Reading in the Language Classroom. New York: 
Macmillan. 
19. Yorio, C.A. (1971). “Some sources of Reading Problems for Foreign 
Language Learners”. Language Learning, 21, 
44 
APPENDIXIES 
APPENDIX 1 
Questionnaire 2 (For Students) 
Questionnaire: 
1.What is the effectiveness of post-reading activities? 
Circle all the statements that are true for you 
After reading, I like to read more books by the same author 
After reading, I like to share my ideas and thought by writing them down 
After reading, I like to share my ideas and thought by talking to a friend. 
 After reading, I like to share my ideas and thought by taking part in online 
chats 
 After reading, I like to share my ideas and thought by taking part in 
literature circles 
 After reading, I like to share my ideas and thought by taking part in class 
discussion 
 Others (please specify) 
.... 
1. What post-reading activities do you prefer to take part in? 
Rank these activities in the order of your favor 
 Role play 
 Retelling the story 
 Character studies 
 Which character? 
 Continue the story 
 Others.. 
2. What difficulties do you face when taking part in post-reading activities? 
 I find it hard to express my ideas in English. 
 I find it hard to understand the plot of the story (cultural aspect). 
 Some reading passages are too difficult for me to fully understand 
(vocabulary, structure). 
 Others (please specify)  
3. What do you do to overcome these difficulties? 
Ask teachers and peers for help. 
 Study more about some Western culture 
 Others (please specify) 
45 
APPENDIX 2: 
PRE-TEST FOR STUDENTS 
Read the passage and choose the best answer: 
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany, in 1770. His childhood was unhappy. His father 
drank too much. Beethoven's musical talent was obvious from childhood. He quickly 
became a talented performer on the piano. In 1792, he moved to Vienna, Austria, to study 
with Austrian composer Joseph Haydn. Soon Beethoven was playing music that he wrote 
himself. Many people admired his powerful, dramatic music. 
Beethoven was often ill or depressed. He was unable to find a woman who would marry 
him. Just as he was becoming very successful, he started to lose his hearing. Deafness is 
the worst fate for a musician. Beethoven's performing career was over. 
Despite Beethoven's hearing loss, he still wrote music. The music he wrote became even 
better. His music was richly expressive and revealed feelings such as joy and sadness. He 
created one bold masterpiece after another. Besides piano music, Beethoven wrote string 
quartets (pieces for four stringed instruments) and other kinds of chamber music. 
Chamber music is written for small groups, and people can play it in their homes or in 
small halls. Beethoven also wrote songs, two masses, an opera, and nine outstanding 
symphonies. 
1. Which of the following best describes Beethoven's life according to the passage? 
A. talented, powerful and challenging B. emotional, dramatic, and outstanding 
C. unhappy, stressful, but successful D. talented, outstanding, and successful 
2. The phrase "was over" in the passage mostly means ____. 
A. finished B. completed C. started D. remained 
3. What happened after Beethoven lost his hearing according to the passage? 
A. He became a famous talented performer on the piano. 
B. He started writing music for his own performance only. 
C. His music became more and more impressive and emotional. 
D. His music was better, more impressive and varied in types. 
4. Which of the following is true about Beethoven's music according to the reading? 
A. It was strongly affected by that of other famous musicians. 
B. It helped Beethoven enjoy a life with luxuries and comforts. 
C. It expressed ideas and emotions, praised freedom and equality. 
D. It set a standard by which all other composers measured their work. 
5. What did Beethoven write? 
 A. songs 
 B. two masses 
 C. An opera 
 D. All are correct 
46 
APPENDIX 3: 
POST- TEST FOR STUDENTS: 
Read the passage and choose the best answer: 
Music can be happy, sad, romantic, sleepy, spine-tingling, healing - all kinds of things. 
But what is it? Some people define it as an artful arrangement of sounds across time. Our 
ears interpret these sounds as loud or soft, high or low, rapid and short, or slow and 
smooth. The sounds need to continue for a time in some sort of pattern to become music. 
Music, like language, is a uniquely human form of communication. As with language, 
there are many different kinds. In North America, people listen to jazz, rock, classical, 
folk, country, and many other kinds of music. Each kind of music has its own rules and 
“speaks” to us in its own way. 
What we think of as music depends on where we live. What Americans are used to 
listening to might sound strange to someone from another culture, and vice versa. It 
might not even sound like music. In Indonesia, gamelan orchestras play music on gongs, 
drums, and xylophones. These aren't the instruments you'd find in a typical orchestra in 
North America. Today, modern communications make it possible for us to listen to music 
from all over the world. Music from one part of the world influences music from another 
part. For example, gamelan music from Indonesia influenced 20th-century American 
composers such as John Cage. 
1. Which of the following is given a definition in paragraph 1? 
A. music B. sounds C. patterns D. arrangement 
2. The word "interpret" in the passage is closest in meaning to ____. 
A. understand B. refuse C. treat D. explain 
3. What has enabled music of one nation to influence that of another? 
A. Languages B. Modern communications 
C. Typical rules D. Original instruments 
 4. Why is John Cage mentioned in last paragraph ? 
A. To show how he has an influence on Indonesian music 
B. To represent famous music composers in the 20th century 
C. To illustrate how music from one region can influence that of another 
D. To suggest that Indonesian music is related to American music 
5. Which is the best title for last paragraph? 
A. Music depend on where we live. 
B. Music plays an important role in life. 
C. Music from one part of the world influences music from another part. 
D. Music from Indonesia 
47 
APPENDIX 4 
SURVEY THE URGENCY AND FEASIBILITY 
OF PROPOSED SOLUTIONS 
 ( for students ) 
School:. 
Name:.. 
Class: 10... 
Read carefully and answer the following questions correctly by ticking (X) 
uniquely in the box of the selected option. 
 Questions Degree 
Question 1 
In your opinion, is it really 
necessary to adjust post-reading 
activity to make the lesson livelier 
and more attractive in Tieng 
Anh10? 
Not urgent 
Less 
urgent 
Urgent 
Very 
urgent 
Question 2 
In your opinion, is it feasible to 
apply the retelling technique in 
teaching post- reading stage in 
Tieng Anh 10? 
Not 
feasible 
Little 
feasible 
Feasible 
Very 
feasible