The effects of mind - Mapping on Vietnamese efl students’ reading skills

THE EFFECTS OF MIND-MAPPING ON VIETNAMESE EFL 
STUDENTS’ READING SKILLS 
Duong Thi Van Anh1*; Nguyen Phuong Thao2; Hoang Kim Mai Khoi2; La Thao Quynh3 
1Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance; 2Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology 
(HUTECH); 3Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics and Finance 
Received: 01/06/2020; Revised: 02/07/2020; Accepted: 25/08/2020 
Abstract: This study investigates whether mind-map is an effective learning tool to facilitate 
Vietnamese EFL undergraduate students’ reading skills and students’ perception towards the use of 
mind-map. The result indicates a positive attitude of students towards mind-map in generalizing the 
main ideas of the reading passage and vocabulary acquisition. Findings reveal that using mind-map in 
reading can help students grab the general idea of the reading text, review the text and new words as 
well as enhance motivation in reading. However, using mind-map as teaching reading raises some 
problems for students, such as idea selection and creativity when creating a mind-map. The application 
of this technique is considered to be useful, yet the fact that whether we should apply it in a team or 
individual remains unclear, which keeps teachers aware of this issue when applying this technique. 
Keywords: Mind-map, motivation, reading skills, vocabulary acquisition 
1. Introduction 
The ability to decode, analyze, and interpret written materials is an essential component of success 
at the tertiary level (Ntereke & Ramoroka, 2017). According to Barnett (1989), reading comprehension is 
considered as an integral part of the teaching and learning process as its role in second language acquisition. 
Not only does it serve important purposes after the student's complete language study at school, but it also 
promotes literacy skills later on. Nevertheless, in the EFL context of Vietnam, research into reading 
comprehension shows that most Vietnamese students meet with great challenges when dealing with reading 
texts. They usually do not understand the texts and cannot complete the tasks due to their ineffective and 
inefficient strategies (Wood et al., 1998). Second and foreign language research also suggests that one 
effective comprehension strategy is the use of mind-mapping (Liu, Chen & Chang, 2010). However, in 
Vietnam, there seems to be a paucity of research into the use of mind-mapping in reading among first-year 
Vietnamese undergraduates. This is the motivation for the current study to be conducted to examine the 
effectiveness of mind-mapping on EFL students’ reading skills. 
 The study seeks answers to the following research questions: 
1. Does mind-mapping have an effect on Vietnamese freshman students’ reading skills? 
2. What’s the students’ attitude towards the use of mind-mapping on reading skills? 
There are two hypotheses following the first research question: 
Null hypothesis: There is no significant difference in the pre- and post-test score in students’ reading 
skills. 
Alternative hypothesis: There is a significant difference in the pre- and post-test scores in students’ 
reading skills. 
* Email: Anhdtv@uef.edu.vn 
2. Literature review 
Mind-mapping is referred to as a cognitive tool that can be used to organize or summarize 
information while people are learning (Hillar, 2012). The fathers of mind-mapping, Buzan and Buzan 
(1996) defined the Mind Map as an expression of Radiant Thinking which refers to associative thought 
processes that proceed from or connect to a central point and is, therefore, a natural function of the human 
mind. They claimed that mind map was an influential graphic technique that can provide people with a 
universal key to unlocking the potential of the human brain (Buzan & Buzan, 1996). Murley (2007) 
described mind mapping as a nonlinear visual outline containing complicated information. She claimed that 
this visual technique has the ability to facilitate “creativity, organization, productivity and memory” (p.175). 
Krasnic (2011) referred to mind-mapping with a different name – visual mapping, which is connected to a 
diagrammatic tool employed to gather, generate, control, and exchange information. 
In general, those definitions consider mind-mapping to be the application of graphic or visual images 
to help our brains capture knowledge effectively. Mind-mapping rules are based on the fact that human 
beings can retain graphic or visual information much more easily than the information presented in the form 
of words or numbers. 
According to Buzan and Buzan (1996), mind-mapping had four important features. Firstly, the subject 
of attention was crystallized in a central image. This image concisely reflected the theme of the whole mind 
map. Secondly, the main subject matters radiate from the central picture like tree branches. Thirdly, on these 
branches or associated lines grew various phrases carrying information directly rela ... h question, the researchers wanted to find out if there is a significant difference in 
the pre and post-test scores. The results indicate that there is a significant difference in the pre and post-test 
scores, the null hypothesis is therefore rejected and mind-mapping is shown to have effects on students’ 
performance. 
Table 1. Descriptive Statistics 
Sample N Mean StDev SE Mean 
Pre-test 40 8.418 1.457 0.230 
Post-test 40 7.185 1.498 0.237 
To be more precise in terms of data, Table 1 is included to demonstrate the mean scores of two sets 
of tests together with their standard deviations and standard error means even though they have been 
summarized in the table above. It can be observed that all figures of the post-test scores are higher than 
those of the pre-test. 
Table 2. Estimation for Paired Difference 
Mean StDev SE Mean 95% CI forμ_difference 
1.233 1.984 0.314 (0.598, 1.867) 
µ_difference: mean of (Pre - Post) 
 Test 
Null hypothesis H0: μ_difference = 0 
Alternative hypothesis H1: μ_difference ≠ 0 
T-Value P-Value 
3.93 0.000 
As illustrated in Table 2, it was found that there was a statistical difference between the pretest and 
posttest scores as the results have shown that t=3.93, p2-tailed value=.000 which is smaller than p=0.05. 
4.2. Findings from qualitative data 
The findings from the questionnaire were supported and clarified by using a structured interview. 
The interviews were conducted with six students as samples. In this part, the discussion of the data is about 
students’ perceptions and attitudes towards the use of mind-mapping in learning reading skills. Based on 
the interview, most of the students generally had positive perceptions and attitudes towards the use of mind-
mapping in improving their reading skills. The specific elaborations, which are analyzed based on the 
students’ proficiency level, are as follows: 
The first question related to the importance of mind-mapping in promoting students' EFL reading 
skills. The students were asked whether they found mind-mapping an effective tool to improve their reading 
skills and whether it helps motivate them to further practice reading skills. Most of the students generally 
had positive perceptions towards the use of mind-mapping while some of them also raised a few concerns. 
Regarding the effectiveness of mind-mapping on reading skills and motivation, 4 students from all 
levels agreed that mind-mapping has effectiveness in their studying reading skills. This finding was 
consistent with Hoffland’s (2007) and Salvador’s (2007) studies, which both concluded that the use of 
mind-map helped EFL learners to memorize the content much better. One student said: 
Using mind-maps helped me get an overall understanding of the text. It made it easier for me to remember the 
main points and learn new words. 
They also expressed that their motivation in reading improved thanks to mind-mapping. One student 
stated that: 
It helps me to review the lesson much faster and I like this about mind map. I can also be creative in the way 
I design my mind-map, so it helps me remember the information much longer. 
 Nevertheless, a few students were uncertain of the effectiveness of mind-map and thus were not 
strongly motivated. Two students (one from higher - and one from middle-level of proficiency) expressed 
that: 
Well, I think the texts are quite short and the information is easy to understand, so there is no need to use a 
mind-map. For short simple texts, I think I have been used to the traditional method of note-taking and I can 
learn better this way. I think mind-mapping is more suitable for longer and more condensed information-
packed texts. 
In addition, one student (low-level) said: 
think mind-map is useful but I found it difficult to identify keywords and which information I should note. I 
need more training on using mind-map. 
The second question is about the students' roles in mind mapping. The students were asked whether 
they interacted with other group members and whether this interaction benefited them. A few expressed 
that they did learn new vocabulary from their peers. One student (lower-level) said that: 
When I don’t understand the words, I ask my classmate for help. My friend also helps me with how to make 
mind-map 
On the other hand, most of the students raised concerns about the idea of pair-work/group-work in 
mind-mapping. One student (higher-level) stated that: 
I think it requires all the members to know how to work in groups. Otherwise, this is not effective - only one 
student does all the work while others are not involved. 
Similarly, one student (middle-level) expressed that: 
I think I work alone better than in a group. I can look up words on the internet if I want to know the meanings. 
If the text is difficult, I will ask my friends for help. 
The last question is concerned with the students’ attitudes towards mind-mapping. Most of the 
students affirmed that mind-mapping made reading lessons more interesting to learn besides the traditional 
teaching method of translation and the “ask and answer question” style. This was in line with the study 
conducted by Fiktorius (2013), who supported that mind mapping was more appealing than the traditional 
note-taking style. Nevertheless, a few expressed their negative attitudes. Specifically, one student (lower-
level) said that: 
I think I need more training on how to make mind-map more effectively. I cannot identify the keywords and 
how to take notes. 
One student (higher-level) said that: 
I think mind-map is useful for learning vocabulary instead of reading skills. For reading, I think it just helps 
me memorize the gist, not the details. So, I still need to go back to read the text. 
4.3. Discussion 
The questionnaire emphasized three main themes: The importance of mind-mapping in promoting 
EFL students’ reading skills, students’ responses related to their attitude towards mind mapping, and their 
roles in mind-mapping. According to the quantitative data collected after the questionnaire, the majority of 
respondents showed a positive attitude towards mind-mapping as it is a useful tool for them to acquire the 
reading skills easier and more thoroughly in terms of organizing the ideas and summarizing the reading 
content. To gain an insight into students’ opinions towards mind-mapping, the team of researchers also 
conducted an interview in which its explanation is presented accordingly. 
 In general, using mind-maps in teaching reading can help enhance student motivation in teaching 
reading. To be more specific, students can apply this method to summarize the ideas of the reading passage 
- correlating with Salvador (2007) and the study also found out its benefits from students’ opinion towards 
mind-mapping in acquiring new vocabulary. Moreover, this application makes the lessons more exciting, 
thus stimulating the students to emerge in the lessons which are considered to correlate favorably well with 
Budd (2004), Green and Reid (2009) support the role of mind mapping in teaching. Hence, this technique 
is considered to be useful for students if they want to review their lessons later. 
 Also, from the qualitative result of the study, the fact that whether we should apply it in a team or 
individual remains unclear, as some students still do not prefer drawing mind-map in groups, as they do not 
know how to work effectively with their peers. Another drawback is that students do not know how to 
effectively draw a mind-map to remember the information in the reading passages. 
5. Conclusion and implication 
In conclusion, the mind-mapping technique was proved to be effective in teaching English reading 
skills as the students could memorize the new vocabulary easily, and they can remember themain ideas of 
the reading after classor it is easy for them to review the reading passages. The technique also engaged their 
excitement and encourage them to develop creativity skills. However, it depends on the students’ preferred 
learning styles to apply the teaching technique as some do not prefer group work for mind-mapping 
activities. Before introducing the technique, teachers are necessary to have thorough instructions so that 
students can engage and know how to make a mind-map from selecting the right main ideas from the given 
readings. 
There are some implications that teachers should consider when applying this technique for their 
students in reading classes. First, teachers should encourage students to draw mind-map for their reading 
texts, to better remember the texts as well as the new vocabulary presented in each lesson. This, therefore, 
can motivate students to read more. Second, as one of the students’ concerns is the grouping method, it is 
better to be aware of group work. If teachers wish to let students work in groups, it is suggested that teachers 
should be the one to supervise and ask students to work together. Another method is to ask students to work 
in pairs or individually. In this way, they can create their mind-map with their own choice and at their own 
pace. Thirdly, the fact that how to draw a mind-map can pose some difficulties for students, it is suggested 
that teachers should train students on how to draw a mind-map. To be more specific, they should instruct 
students on the basic notions and organizations of a mind-map. Then they encourage students to select the 
essential information to be drawn on the mind-map. Doing this can erase the initial confusion when students 
encounter mind-maps and help them to be more confident when employing this technique in their reading 
lessons. 
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ẢNH HƯỞNG CỦA SƠ ĐỒ TƯ DUY ĐỐI VỚI CÁC KỸ NĂNG ĐỌC CỦA 
SINH VIÊN VIỆT NAM KHI HỌC TIẾNG ANH 
Tóm tắt: Một số nghiên cứu tập trung vào tính hiệu quả của sơ đồ tư duy đối với các kỹ năng đọc. Kết 
quả của những nghiên cứu này chỉ ra rằng việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy có mối tương quan tích cực với 
việc sinh viên đọc hiểu. Nhằm nỗ lực để cung cấp thêm bằng chứng cho những phát hiện trước đó, 
nghiên cứu này điều tra xem liệu sơ đồ tư duy có phải là một công cụ học tập hiệu quả để tạo điều kiện 
cho các kỹ năng đọc của sinh viên đại học học tiếng Anh tại Việt Nam và nhận thức của sinh viên về 
việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy. Kết quả cho thấy sinh viên có thái độ tích cực đối với sơ đồ tư duy trong việc 
khái quát các ý chính của các bài đọc và thu thập từ vựng; tuy nhiên, cũng rút ra được một số nhược 
điểm nhất định. Các phát hiện cho thấy rằng việc sử dụng sơ đồ tư duy trong môn đọc hiểu có thể giúp 
học sinh nắm bắt ý tưởng chung về bài đọc, xem lại văn bản và từ mới cũng như tăng cường động lực 
trong việc đọc. Nói cách khác, việc áp dụng kỹ thuật này được coi là hữu ích. Tuy nhiên, thực tế là liệu 
chúng ta nên áp dụng trong một nhóm hay đối với cá nhân vẫn còn chưa rõ ràng. Hơn nữa, sử dụng sơ 
đồ tư duy trong việc dạy môn đọc tạo ra một số vấn đề cho học sinh, chẳng hạn như lựa chọn ý tưởng 
và tính sáng tạo khi thiết kế sơ đồ tư duy. Vì vậy, giáo viên cần lưu ý về vấn đề này khi áp dụng kỹ thuật 
này. 
Từ khóa: Sơ đồ tư duy, động lực, kỹ năng đọc, tiếp thu từ vựng