The Exploitation of Case Studies in Developing Critical Reading Skills

• Main Author: Vũ, Hải Hà
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: H. : ĐHQGHN 2015
• Subjects: Critical reading; case studies; reading skills; authenticity
• Online Access: http://repository.vnu.edu.vn/handle/VNU_123/986
• Institution: Vietnam National University, Hanoi

Revised 26 February 2015; Accepted 22 June 2015 Abstract: Despite the significance of critical reading in the new information age in general and English language teaching in particular, the demonstration of critical reading skills among the English language teacher trainees at the University of Languages and International Studies leaves much to be desired. As among the first attempts to enhance these vital skills, this article hypothesizes that the use of case studies would be beneficial for the development of critical reading skills in the Faculty of English Language Teacher Education. Adopting the action research design, the article reports the ratings and feedback of 80 participants on these early initiatives. The findings suggest that case studies could foster critical awareness, critical reading skills as well as the authenticity of classroom texts and tasks. However, test washback, a lack of recency and coherence across the curriculum stood out as the major obstacles to improving the efficiency of this activity.