Educational research

THE EFFECTS OF SKIMMING

AND SCANNING TECHNIQUES
ON
THE READING
COMPREHENSION
OF FLD
Lecturer: Dr. Nguyen Xuan Binh
MAJORS,
AT VINH UNIVERSITY
MEMBERS •
•
Nguyễn Hoàng Anh
Nguyễn Thị Sen

OF •
•
Nguyễn Thị Thủy Tiên
Trần Nguyễn Thanh Trà
•
GROUP 5 •
Mai Thị Tình
Ngũ Duy Vinh
 01. Introduction

TABLE 02. Literature review

03. Research methodology

of contents
04. Findings and discussion

05. Conclusion and implications

1. Introduction
1.1 Rationale
• Reading comprehension is a fundamental skill for foreign language learners, particularly for FLD
students (Foreign Language Education) who are immersed in language education programs. The ability
to effectively comprehend and interpret foreign language texts is crucial for their academic success and
future professional endeavors.
• Skimming and scanning, two widely recognized reading strategies, offer promising approaches to
enhance reading skills by enabling learners to extract information efficiently and quickly from a text.
1. Introduction

1.2 Objectives of the study

• This study aims to explore the effects of skimming and scanning techniques on the reading
comprehension of FLD majors at Vinh University.
• Investigating the effect on the reading comprehension of FLD majors at Vinh University as well as
informing the design and implementation of instructional, materials... for teaching reading
comprehension skills
1. Introduction
1.3. Research questions

Question 1. What is the impact of

Question 2. How can skimming and
skimming and scanning techniques
scanning techniques be taught and
on the overall reading
practiced effectively in the
comprehension levels of Vinh
classroom?
University students?
1. Introduction
1.4. Methodology

01. Mixed-methods 03. Instruments

02. Participants 04. Timeline

1. Introduction
1.4. Methodology 01. Mixed-methods

• Mixed methods are a way of combining quantitative and qualitative data to answer complex
questions that cannot be adequately addressed by one type of data alone. Scanning and skimming
are two different techniques that can be used to improve reading comprehension and efficiency.
Scanning is reading rapidly in order to find specific facts, while skimming is reading rapidly in
order to get a general overview of the material.

• It can be useful in studying the effects and processes of scanning and skimming techniques in
reading, because they can provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the
problem and the evidence.
1. Introduction
1.4. Methodology

This study focuses on FLD (Foreign Languages Department)

students majoring in English at Vinh University. The target
02. Participants participants for this research will be 40 students, with 10
participants selected from each of the four courses: 61, 62, 63,
and 64. Participants will be devided into two groups:
experimental and control.
1. Introduction
1.4. Methodology
Qualitative and quantitative methods

03. Instruments Participants: 40 FLD students majoring in

English at Vinh

Data collection instruments

1. Introduction
1.4. Methodology 04. Timeline

Select participants, design the

Verify research results Write a report
questionnaire

Week 1-2 Week 3 Week 4-5 Week 6-7 Week 8-9 Week 10-12

Collect and analyze

Read relevant literature and Experience hours
data
screen research questions
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Definition of Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension is the ability to understand and make meaning from written texts. It is an
intentional, active, interactive process that occurs before, during and after reading a particular piece of
writing. Reading comprehension involves various skills, such as decoding words, understanding
vocabulary, recognizing main ideas, drawing inferences, and interpreting the author's intended message.
It relies on two interconnected abilities: word reading and language comprehension.

2.2. The concept of skimming and scanning in reading comprehension.

• Skimming is a reading technique meant to look for main or general ideas in a text, without going into
detailed and exhaustive reading.
• Scanning is a reading technique that allows readers to quickly locate specific information in a text.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.2.1 Overseas studies

-Reading comprehension is the process of comprehending a text by extracting meaning from a text,
according to Partnership (Diaz & Laguado, 2013).

- We form a mental model of what the text describes by integrating the sense of the words and sentences
into a meaningful whole, like a film that plays in our head. (By Understanding and Teaching Reading
Comprehension: A handbook by Jane Oakhill, Kate Cain and Carsten Elbro (Routledge, 2014))

-Regarding scanning and skimming techniques, Hallows, et al (2013) highlight that skimming is the
reading technique in which the readers quickly read the passage to find the main idea of the text,
without thinking about specific details
2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.2.2. Domestic studies

- It suggests that strategies can be taught, which will help students improve their reading comprehension
ability. Moreover, teachers should be aware that one of the most important goals of teaching reading is to
help students develop as strategic and independent readers (Nguyen Thi Minh Ngoc,2015).

-A quick, superficial reading of a text to get the gist of it. Although there is some question about exactly
what readers do when they skim, it is a strategy for getting clues to the main ideas, divisions, points, or
steps in an argument.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.3. Subconclusion
Many people know skimming and scanning methods in reading because they save time and are
quite effective if we know how to apply them properly. However, many students of the foreign
language department of Vinh University still misunderstand and misapply, leading to unexpected
results. Therefore, we chose them as the research subject to see their true impact on Vinh
University’s students. Moreover, we want language students to understand better these 2 methods to
apply and be more effective in their reading comprehension skills.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1. Reseach design

QUAN qual
Collection, Collection, analysis Interpretation
Follow up with and interpretation
analysis and
interpretation

QUAN --> qual = Explain results

3.2. Participants
• This study focuses on FLD (Foreign Languages Department) students majoring in English at Vinh
University. The target participants for this research will be 40 students, with 10 participants selected from
each of the four courses: 61, 62, 63, and 64. Participants will be devided into two groups: experimental and
control
 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.3. Research techniques
3.3.1. The Activities of the Experimental Class
a. Pre-Test
The students took a pre-test. Its goal is to determine how well the students have previously understood the reading passages on the reading
comprehension exam.
b. Treatment
Apply “Skimming and Scanning” as a technique in teaching reading.
Use Project Based Learning (PBL) as a learning method. The writer used the following steps in teaching reading:
1) Read the passage and look at the title;
2) Find keywords;
3) Read the first sentence of every paragraph completely;
4) Identify main ideas of a certain paragraph;
5) Read the final paragraph completely;
6) Predict the meaning
7) Focus on the details
8) Find out implicit information of the reading text.
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.3. Research techniques
3.3.1. The Activities of the Experimental Class
c. Post-test
Hold after all treatments were given.
Skimming and scanning was used as the technique in reading. This test was used to assess the students’
achievement after the treatments were given. The result of the test was analyzed statistically.
3.3.2. The Control Group
In the control group, no treatment was applied. The students were given reading material based on the
textbook. They are asked to read a text and understand the content of the text.
 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.4. Instruments
3.4.1. Testing 1
The purpose of giving a pretest is to know the
students’ ability in mastering reading before
conducting this study. On the other hand, the
purpose of giving a posttest is to know the students’
ability in mastering reading after conducting this
study. There were 30 multiple-choice items tested.
pre-test post-test

Scan the QR codes to take the tests

 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.4. Instruments
3.4.2. Testing 2
We used two reading comprehension tests to
assess the effectiveness of the skimming and
scanning techniques. 20 people who were not
instructed to use the skim and scan strategy
will take Test 1. In Test 2, the remaining twenty
people will be given instructions from the
researchers on how to read the content using
test 1 test 2
the skimming and scanning techniques.

Scan the QR codes to take the tests

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.4. Instruments
3.4.3. Semi-structured interviews:
We designed 3 interview questions at
the end of test 2 to receive feedback
and advice from people who have used
skimming and scanning techniques in
reading comprehension. How can they
apply those techniques in learning,
teaching and online practicing.
 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.5. Data collection procedure: Mix-methods

Students answered the Answers were presented

question

01 02 03 04

Questionnaires were
Questionnares were collected, the data was
designed on Google Form analyzed
40 students
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.6. Challenges
3.6.1. Challenges for questionnaire implementation
• unsuitable for people with limited literacy or verbal skills
• susceptible to a nonresponse bias (most people invited may not complete the questionnaire)
• biased towards people who volunteer because impersonal survey requests often go ignored.

3.6.2. Challenges for interview implementation

• more difficult to analyze if you have qualitative responses
• likely to contain experimenter bias or demand characteristics
• likely to encourage social desirability bias in responses because of a lack of anonymity
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

Finding
The findings in this research consisted of
(1) the students’ score in the pretest in the experimental group,
(2) the students’ score in the posttest in the experimental group,
(3) the differences between pretest and posttest the students in the experimental group,
(4) the students’ score in the posttest in the control group,
(5) the comparison between the score of the experimental group and the control group.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(1) the students’ score in the pretest in the experimental group,

• The highest of correct answer, obtained was

20 achieved by one student and the lowest
of correct answer was 9 achieved by one
student.
• The result of pretest in the experimental
group showed that the highest score was 20
and lowest score 9, one students or 2.5% of
students who got score of 20, one students or
2.5% of students got score 9, five students or
12.5% of students got score was 15.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(2) the students’ score in the posttest in the experimental group,
• The highest of correct answer, obtained was 23
achieved by two students and the lowest of correct
answer was 18 achieved by one student.
• The result of posttest in the experimental group
showed that the highest score was 23 and lowest
score 18, two studenta or 5% of students who got
score of 23. One student or 2.5% student got
score 18, six the students or 15% of students got
score 21, four the students or 10% students got
score 20, and five students or 12.5% students got
score 22.
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(3) the differences between pretest and posttest the students in the experimental group,
 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(3) the differences between pretest and posttest the students in the experimental group,
Based on the pre-test and post-test scores in the The results of pre-test and post-test of Experimental group

experimental group, the average score in post-test was Pre-test Post-test

100 25
higher than average score in pre-test.
90

It can be seen that the experimental group had a significant

20.9
80 20

improvement in their scores from pretest to posttest. The 70

mean difference score was 4.5, which means that the average 15.8

score increased by 4.5 points on average. The standard

60 15
percentage %
point

deviation of the difference score was 2.1, which means that 50

90.8

there was some variation in how much each student 40 79 10

improved. 30

The differences between the mean of the posttest showed 20 5

that there was a significant improvement in students score 10

before and after the treatment. 0 0 0

Pre-test Post-test
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(4) the students’ score in the posttest in the control group,
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
4.1. Finding 1
(5) the comparison between the results of post-test the control group and the experimental group.
 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1.Finding 1
.After giving participants a test, here are the results we
received.
- For test 1, participants who did not received intructions
of these two methods achieved average points of 13.8 out
of 23 means 60%
- For test 2, those who were more proficient and had more
access to these two techniques, achieved better results 20.9
out of 23 points, with 90.08%.
=> Experimental group outweight control group by 30
percentage equivalent to 7,1 points
4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.1. Finding 2
The result suggests that the scanning and skimming techniques
help students locate the information quickly while making sure
the time wisely. When students were taught by applying
skimming technique, they could increase their achievement
in reading comprehension through this technique. As
consequence, most students could elicit prior knowledge and
find specific information from the reading text. Most students
were active in the class when there was teaching learning
process.
 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

4.2. Discussion
While doing this research, it is clear that sudents usually preferred to read the whole text before
answering the questions. As consequence, it makes them slower in answering the questions and taking
much time to complete the tasks. When skimming and scanning technique were implemented, it is
realized that skipping some words is not affect to their understanding of the text. And after much time
to do, it becomes better when applied skimming and scanning technique in reading comprehension.
However, it also raises concern that despite saving time, the students should concentrate highly when
using these techniques to to undestand the passage at all. To overcome, the teacher should control the
class with the great deal and the students have to be swiftly stopped and handle to get them back on
tract.
 5. CONCLUSION & IMPLICATIONS

5.1. Conclusion
Given that there are notable changes in students' pre- and post-treatment reading comprehension, it can
be inferred that the treatment of skimming and scanning strategies is beneficial. Students can decide more
rapidly whether or not to continue reading a paragraph in a book or article by using skimming reading
techniques. Moreover, students can utilize the scanning strategy to find specific information in readings
and articles. The satisfaction that comes from using skimming and scanning strategies can encourage kids
to read more independently from a variety of sources and can have an impact on the development of a
student's interest in writing. In all disciplines, it is necessary to continuously practice the skimming and
scanning reading strategies because they are very useful to support the achievement of scientific writing
and thesis preparation
 5.2 Implication
5.2.1 For students
Skimming Scanning

Preview the Text Have a Specific Goal:

• Look at the title, subtitles, headings, and any bold or italicized text. • Identify what information you are looking for before you start scanning.
• Read the introduction and conclusion to understand the main idea. • Formulate questions or pinpoint keywords related to your objective.

Focus on Keywords Use Headings and Subheadings:

• Identify keywords or key phrases that stand out. • Focus on headings and subheadings to find relevant sections.
• Pay attention to the first and last sentences of each paragraph. • Scan for keywords within these headings.

Use Your Finger or a Pointer: Utilize Text Formatting:

• Guide your eyes along the lines to maintain focus. • Look for bold, italicized, or underlined words.
• Avoid subvocalization (reading aloud in your mind) during skimming. • These may indicate key terms or important details.
 5.2 Implication
5.2.1 For teacher
Scanning
Skimming

Model Skimming: Set Clear Objectives:

• Demonstrate the skimming process to students using a sample text. • Clearly state the objectives of the scanning activity.
• Explain how to preview headings, subheadings, and key elements to grasp the • Specify the type of information students need to locate in the text.
main idea.

Provide Purposeful Tasks: Practice with Short Passages:

• Clearly define the purpose of skimming (e.g., understanding the structure, • Start with shorter passages to allow students to practice scanning without feeling
identifying main ideas). overwhelmed.
• Assign tasks that require students to quickly grasp the content without reading • Gradually increase the complexity and length of the texts.
every word.

Highlight Key Features: Create Scavenger Hunts:

• Emphasize the importance of titles, subtitles, and introductory/conclusion paragraphs. • Design scavenger hunt activities where students search for specific details in the text.
• Encourage students to use these elements to predict the content of the text. • This can make scanning more engaging and purposeful.
References
Díaz S, Laguado J. (2013). Improving Reading Skills through Skimming and Scanning
Techniques at a Public School.
Graetz, Naomi. (1978). An Experiment in Skimming and Scanning. I.A.A.L., Conference.
Megawati Basri, Nurlaila Daim , Jasmal Martora. (2022). Teaching reading
comprehension in narrative text through skimming and scanning.
Ngoc, N. T. (2015). Implemention of skimming and scanning techniques in teaching
reading comprehension.