(LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ) The benefits and limitations of a genre - based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students in Tan Trao high schoool, Tuyen Quang province

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDY – VNU POST – GRADUATE FACULTY  BÙI THỊ THU HUYỀN THE BENEFITS AND LIMITATIONS OF A GENRE – BASED APPROACH TO TEACHING WRITING TO GRADE 10 STUDENTS IN TAN TRAO HIGH SCHOOL, TUYEN QUANG PROVINCE (Những lợi ích hạn chế đường hướng dựa vào thể loại việc dạy viết cho học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Tân trào, Tuyên Quang ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Methodology Code: 601410 Ha Noi - 2012 TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTENTS PAGE Acknowledgements i Abstract ii Table of contents iii,iv,v,vi Lists of abbreviations vii Lists of tables and figers viii INTRODUCTION Rationale Purposes of the Study 1-2 Research Questions Scope of the Study Research Method Design of the Study 2-3 Summary DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1.LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical Backgrounds of Writing 1.1.1 Definitions 3-4 -5- TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 1.1.2 Role of writing skill in Foreign Language Learning 1.2 Theoretical Backgrounds of Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A) 4-5 1.2.1 Why choose a genre based approach to teaching writing ? 6-7 1.2.2 Definitions 7-8 1.2.3 Genre-Based Approach (G.B.A) 1.2.4 Basic Principles of G.B.A 8-9-10 1.2.5 The curriculum cycle of G.B.A 10-11 1.2.5.1 Building knowledge of the field 11-12 1.2.5.2 Modeling of the Text 12 1.2.5.3 Join Construction of the Text 13-14 1.2.5.4 Independent construction of the Text 1.3 Theoretical backgrounds of narrative text 14-15-16-17 17-18 19-20-21 1.4 Benefits and limitations of GBA 1.4.1 Benefits of GBA 19-20 1.4.2 Limitations of GBA 20 1.5 Conclusion 21 CHAPTER 2.THE STUDY 21 2.1 The setting of the study 21 2.1.1 The context 21 -6- TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 2.1.2 The writing program of the grade 10 students 21 2.1.3 The participants 22 2.2 The Experimental program 23 2.2.1 Materials 23 2.2.2 Activities 23 2.2.3 Role of the teacher and the students 23-24 2.3 Data collection 24 2.3.1 Data collection Instruments 24 2.3.1.1 Pre-test and Post-test 24 2.3.1.2 Pre- and –Post Questionnaires 24 2.3.1.3 Teacher‟s and students‟ observation 25 2.3.2 Data collection Procedures 25 2.3.2.1.Before the experimental treatment 25 2.3.2.2.During the experimental treatment 25 2.3.2.3.After the experimental treatment 25-26 2.4 Data Analysis 26 2.4.1 Data Analysis of Pre -and - Post Tests 26 2.4.1.1 The two groups‟ writing performance before the experiment 26-27 -7- TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 2.4.1.2 The two groups‟ writing performance after the experiment 27-28 2.4.1.3 The experimental groups‟ improvement in writing proficiency 29-30 30 2.4.2 Data Analysis of Questionnaires 2.4.2.1 Students‟ attitude to writing before and after the experiment 2.4.2.2 Students‟ participation before and after the program 30-31-32-33 33-34-35 2.5 Summary 35 CHAPTER 3.DICUSSION THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS 35 3.1 Discussion of the Research Questions 35 3.1.1 Benefits of G.B.A on students‟ writing proficiency 35-36-37 3.1.2 Limitations of G.B.A to teaching writing 37-38 3.2 Summary 38-39 39 CONCLUSION 1.The benefits and limitations of the genre-based approach in teaching 39-40 writing to my own students 2.Limitations of the study 40 3.Implications for further research 40-41 I, II, III References Appendix 1: Sore writing , rating scale IV, V, VI Appendix 2: Pre-questionnaire VII, VIII -8- TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Appendix 3:Post-questionnaire IX, X Appendix 4: Lesson Plan XI,XII,XIII, XIV,XV LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS L2: Second language GBA: Genre based approach ELL: English language learning X: Mean SD: Standard deviation N: Number case D f: Degree of freedom α : Probability -9- TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1.The activities done in the teaching learning using GBA Table Checklist of writing tasks in English textbook 10 Table 3.Pre-test descriptive statistics Table 4.Post-test descriptive statistics Table 5.Pre-post test descriptive statistics of experimental group Table 6.Students‟ interest in writing skill Table 7.Students‟ opinions of writing in English Table Students‟ preferences for form of activities Table 9.Students‟ participation in writing lessons Figure 1: Pre-test results of both groups Figure 2: Post-test results of both groups Figure 3: Pre- post test results of experimental group - 10 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com INTRODUCTION Rationale Many language teachers in Vietnam are aware that teaching writing is more difficult than teaching other language skills This is cultural interference due to the difference in the style of literacy and rhetorical patterns of expression in their native language and the target language Consequently, when students write in English, they not create the text themselves; they only translate their thoughts word by words from their native language into English, often with grammatically incorrect results In my school, both teachers and students are faced with many difficulties in teaching and learning the writing skills First, according to the curriculum of the MOET, there are three English lessons per weeks for the students in high school, and the level of the students is pre-intermediate when entering high school but in fact, many of them are not good at the four skills, especially writing Second, each of the lessons lasts 45 minutes The students have to read the model, study the text type and write their writing in such a short time so they cannot practice well Another important reason is the fact that in the final examination, the students always MCQs instead of writing sentences Therefore in teaching and testing, the teachers usually use MCQs to measure their knowledge and skills In writing lessons, the students are helped with vocabulary, model, grammar but they encounter great difficulty in applying them in their writing as well as using the correct text type in their work Besides, the opportunity of self-correction and classmates‟ evaluation is also lacked This causes students‟ failure to improve their skill For these reasons, the students can rarely produce a good piece of writing In order to solve these obstacles, I‟ll try to introduce a genre-based approach in teaching writing for the grade 10 students at Tan Trao High School in Tuyen Quang province, where I have been teaching Although it is new to Vietnamese teachers and learners, the approach has been proved an effective method in improving learners‟ writing abilities Purposes of the Study - 11 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com The purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits and limitations of using a genre-based approach on improving the students‟ writing skill and motivating students to write a narrative text and to explore their attitudes towards learning to write with this approach Research Questions In order to find out the fact whether a genre-based approach improves students‟ writing proficiency and motivates them to learn, this study was designed with the following questions: What are benefits of a genre-based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ? What are limitations of a genre-based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ? Scope of the Study The study was carried out only the grade 10 students of Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province These students were measured their writing narrative proficiency in correlation to the application of an experimental GBA Research Method The first method applied in this study is a quasi-experimental which involves the three components of experiments according to Selinger and Shohamy (1989): the population (the grade 10 students at Tan Trao High school), the treatment (GBA activities), and the measurement of the treatment (t-test) In addition, pre and post-questionnaires were delivered to students who took part in the Genre based approach class as a supporting tool to obtain their change in attitude towards writing What is more, observation was also employed during the teaching time to recognize the participation of students in the control group and the experimental group Design of the Study - 12 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com The study is composed of three main parts: Introduction, Development which consists of three chapters, and conclusion The Introduction gives an overview of the study with the rationale for the research, the aims, and the research hypothesis and research questions of the study It also narrows the scope, presents the research methods and outlines the content of the study The Development includes three chapters: Chapter one presents the literature review relevant to the study including the theoretical background of wring and a genre-based approach Chapter two contains the setting of the study, the experimental program, the collection and analysis of the data for the research Chapter three discusses the research questions The Conclusion presents a discussion of the major findings It also provides some limitations and suggestions for further study Summary The first part has given an overview of the study including the background, the purpose as well as the research hypothesis and questions of the study Also all research method employed to get data and the designs of the study have been presented In the next part, a theoretical framework for the study will be discussed - 13 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com students‟ writing skills That is the reason why I choose this new method to teaching writing for grade 10 students at Tan Trao High School First, the implementation of teach writing narrative by using a genre-based approach The students‟ progress during the teaching and learning activity by using this method was good The students‟ achievements in writing narrative improved It was proved with increasing result of the students‟ scores in the pre-test and post-test Second, the use of the genre-based approach influences the students‟ attitude to learn writing The students‟ activities become more active than before the treatments The students‟ participation and their motivation increased They felt more confident when they discuss with their friends Teaching writing using Genre based approach was very useful for the improvement of the students‟ ability in writing a narrative text As the average of the result, the students‟ progress during the treatment was good enough Based on the finding, all of students found that the use of Genre based approach could help them improve their ability in writing narrative text More over, it could increase the students‟ motivation in learning writing Genre-based teaching approaches are finding their place in writing courses for developing students‟ sensitivity or awareness to diverse genres and their facilitating students‟ writing tasks of different genres Genre-based approach to teaching students how to write can sensitize students to the move structure of writings and the motivations behind it, which make it possible for students to exploit linguistic resources creatively to achieve their personal goals in their writing It is hoped that the research‟s findings will help to improve the teaching and learning writing, especially writing narrative text Limitations of the study Although the study has offered some insightful findings; like many other studies, there are still some limitations The first limitation originates in the sample size of the study which was restricted to only 90 students of the grade 10 Thus, only 45 students who were not randomly chosen received the experimental programme - 51 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Secondly, Regarding of time, the thesis was carried out within weeks which was not enough to have an incentive overview of the real problem To conduct this study and apply the expected findings to the whole school population demands much greater time and efforts of both teachers and students Implications for further research In the adoption of the curriculum cycle in the classrooms, I believed that the classroom practice of the curriculum cycle should be flexible An important factor that should be considered in adopting the curriculum cycle is the time allocation for each stage of cycle We have to give different time frame to that level stage Although this research deals exclusively with the application of the Genre-Based Approach for teaching English writing skills, the implications of this research could also be important to the application of the approach for teaching other language skills of speaking, listening and reading to look for a better way of teaching and learning English as a foreign language More over, further studies on more participants are recommended in order to get more evidence on the effects of the genre-based approach - 52 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com REFERENCES Tiếng Việt 1.Tài liệu Nghiên cứu ứng dụng sư phạm ứng dụng-Dự án Việt-Bỉ 2.Nguyễn Thị Thúy (2000), Một số khó khăn việc dạy kỹ viết theo sách giáo khoa tiếng anh 10 (cơ bản) thực tiễn giáo viên học sinh lớp 10 trường THPT Kinh Môn ,Hải Dương, Luận văn Thạc sỹ, trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, Hà Nội Tiếng Anh Anderson, K & Anderson, M (1995) Text Types in English Australia: Macmillan Education Badger, R and White, G (2000) A process genre approach to teaching writing ELT Journal Volume 54/2 Oxford: Oxford University Press Bruce, I (2008) Academic Writing and Genre London: Continuum Byrne, D.(1988) Teaching writing Skills.London: Longman Canh, LV (2004).Understanding Foreign Language TeachingMethodolody Hanoi: Hanoi national university Publishing House - 53 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Callaghan,M.,&Rotherry,J (1988) Teaching factural writing: A genre based approach.Marrickville,N.S.W:DSP literacy project,Metropolitan East region Chandrasegaran, A and Kum, K T (2008) Teaching Expository Writing Singapore: McGraw-Hill Education Cope, B., & Kalantizis,M (Eds) (1993).The powers of literacy: A genre approach to teaching writing London: Falmer Press Freedman, A., & Medways, P (1994) „‟Do as I say‟‟: The relationship between teaching and learning new genres In A Freedman (Ed), Genre and the new rhetoric London: Taylor & Francis 10 Gorlach, M (2004) Text Types and the History of English,[online] Available: books.google.com sg/books?isbn=3110132168 11 Greetham, B (2001) How to Write Better Essays New York: Palgrave 12 Hyland, K (2003).Genre-based pedagogies: A social response to process Journal of second Language Writing, 12(1),17-29 13 Heaton, J.B.(1988).Writing English Language Tests New York:Longman 14 Jordan-Henley, J.(1988) A Brief Guide to Writing Narrative Essays [online] Available: www.roanestate.edu /owl &writing center / / narration.html 15 Kay, H.,& Dudley-Evans, T.(1998).Genre: What teachers think? ELT Journal,52(4 ),303-313 16 Leki, I (1998) Academic Writing: Exploring Processes and Strategies Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Narrative writing definition, (online).Available: www.units.muohio.edu/technologyandhumanities/nardef.htm - 54 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 17 Nunan, D.(1995).Language Teaching Methodlody.A textbook for Teachers.New York: PhoenixELT 18 Nunan, D.(2001) Reseach methods in language teaching.Cambridge:CUP 19 Nation, I.S.P (2009).Teaching ESL/ EFL Reading and Writing New York: Routledge .20 Narith, K C (2000) Teaching narrative writing at the Royal University of Phnom Penh RELC Regional Language Centre 21 Paltridge, B (1996) Genre , text type, and the language learning classroom ELT Journal 22 Paltridge, B (2001) Genre and the language learning classroom Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press 23 Paltridge, B (2007) Approaches to Genre in ELT In J Cummins & C Davison (Eds), International handbook of English language Teaching, Vol 15,springer US 24 Swale, F (1990) Genre Analysis Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Tribble,C.(19960.Writing.Oxford: Oxford University Press 25 Wendy, B and Ostrom, H (1997) Genre and Writing Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook Publishers 26 Website: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/05/ - 55 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com APPENDIX SCORING WRITING (Adapted from „Writing English Language Test‟‟ by Heaton,JB) Score Level Features 10 Excellent Natural English, minimal errors, complete realization of the task set 8-9 Very good Good vocabulary and structure, above the simple sentence level Errors non-basic Good Simple but accurate realization of task Sufficient naturalness, not many errors 5-6 Pass Reasonably correct if awkward OR natural treatment of subject with some serious errors 3-4 Weak Vocabulary and grammar inadequate for the task set 0-2 Very poor Incoherent Errors showing lack of basis knowledge of English - 56 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Rating scale Content Exellent: to very good: knowlegeable -substantive-etc Good to average: some knowledgeable of subject-adequate range-ect Fair to poor: limited knowledgeable of subject-little substance-ect Very poor: does not show knowledge of subject-non substantive-ect Organization Exellent to very good: fluent expression-ideas clearly sated - ect Good to average: somewhat choppy-loosely organized but main ideas stand out - ect Fair to poor: not-fluent-ideas confused or disconnected - ect Very poor: does not communicate - no organization - ect Vocabulary Exellent to very good: sophisticated range-effective word/ idom choice and usage-etc Good to average: adequate range- occasional errors of word/ idom form, choice, usage but meaning not obscured - ect Fair to poor: limited range- errors of word/idom form, choice, usage - ect Very poor: essentially translation- little knowledge of English vocabulary-ect Language use Exellent: to very good: effective complex constructions-etc - 57 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com Good to average: effective but simple constructions –ect Fair to poor: major problems in simple/ complex constructions-ect Very poor: virtually no mastery of sentence constructions-ect Machanics Exellent to very good: demonstrattes mastery of conventions-etc Good to average: occasional errors of spelling, punctuation -ect Fair to poor: Fluent errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization - ect Very poor: no mastery of conventions-dominated by errors of spelling, punctuation, capitalization - ect - 58 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com APPENDIX PRE_QUESTIONAIRE This questionnaire is designed to find out your attitude towards writing in English and your participation in writing lessons Your answers will be kept confidential Thank you A General information Instruction: Please circle or give short answers for the following questions What is your gender? A Male B Female What is your age? ………………………………………………………… Where are you from? A.Town B.T he countryside C.The remoted area How long have you been learning English? A Less than years B years C More than years B Attitude towards writing Instruction: Please read the following statements very carefully, and then put a(v) in the appropriate column which indicates the extents to which you agree with statement Level of agreement Statements Strongly agree Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly disagree - 59 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com 1 I like writing in English I like the writing lessons at school I like writing activities at school I think writing activities at school are various I think writing activities at school are very interesting I think it is not easy to write I don‟t have confidence in writing 8.I like to be given lots of guidance from the teacher 9.I like to work and share my opinions with classmates Thank you very much for cooperation - 60 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com APPENDIX POST_QUESTIONAIRE This questionnaire is designed to find out your attitude towards writing in English and your participation in writing lessons Your answers will be kept confidential Thank you Instruction: Please read the following statements very carefully, and then put a (v) in the appropriate column which indicates the extents to which you agree with statement A.Attitude towards writing Level of agreement Strongly agree Statements Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly disagree 1 I like writing in English I like the writing lessons at school I like writing activities at school I think writing activities at school are various I think writing activities at school are very interesting - 61 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com I think it is not easy to write I don‟t have confidence in writing 8.I like to be given lots of guidance from the teacher 9.I like to work and share my opinions with classmates B Participation in writing lessons Level of agreement Always Often Sometimes Never Statements 1.I nothing in writing lesson 2.I only listen to the others and note down I ask my classmates for their opinions 4.I share my opinions with my classmates 5.I answer the teacher‟s questions 6.I ask the teacher for what I am not sure Thank you very much for cooperation - 62 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com APPENDIX LESSON PLAN Unit 1: A day in the life of… Period : Writing Writing a narrative Topic Date Duration August 20th 2011 45 minutes Class profile - Students‟ age: 16 Students‟ level: Grade 10(pre-intermediate) Number of students:40 Aims - Students learn about what a narrative is - Students know about the structure and language features to write a narrative Pre-requisite knowledge - Pupils have some knowledge of the following language features:  Past tenses for past events  Verbs as action words  Adverbs of frequency, place, time and manner  Personal pronouns such as I, my  Third personal pronouns such as we, he, she, it  Adjectives  Conjunctions such as “and” and “but”  Time words Genre product A narrative Materials and Teaching aids Textbook, pictures, power point, computer, internet - 63 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com - 64 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com - 65 - TIEU LUAN MOI download : skknchat@gmail.com ... following questions: What are benefits of a genre- based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ? What are limitations of a genre- based approach. .. Principles of Genre- Based Approach Genre- Based Approach as mentioned earlier is a kind of approach to teaching language It has several basic principles According to Emilia ( 2005 ) the basic of GBA involves... genre- based approach to teaching writing to grade 10 students in Tan Trao High school in Tuyen Quang province ? Scope of the Study The study was carried out only the grade 10 students of Tan Trao High school