INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Writing is considered a complicated and multifaceted task Good writing involves thinking that may lead the writer to express himself/herself in a more effective way For learners of English, writing is a vital skill, one of the main criteria to measure a learner‟s second language proficiency Unfortunately, writing is a difficult skill which is not easy to be improved Therefore, various approaches to teaching writing have been recommended to help cope with this problem Of all, self-monitoring is a technique the effectiveness of which is a controversial issue among many researchers As a matter of fact, there exists some research on self-monitoring in teaching However, little attention has been paid to self-monitoring in writing teaching In Vietnam, self-monitoring remains a totally new concept which has not been researched in academic papers
Hopefully, this thesis will help shed light on the effect of self-monitoring in writing class in the specific context of a university in Vietnam
The context chosen by the researcher to conduct this research is English Department of a Hanoi-based university The participants all are first-year majors Of the four language skills taught here, writing is regarded as not only challenging but also boring by the mainstream first-year major students The students encounter numerous difficulties when being asked to produce in-class texts It is actually hard for them to produce a high quality text due to such reasons as language incompetence, lack of motivation and a traditionally passive way of learning They tend to ignore writing and pay more attention to the three other language skills As a result, the students have fewer opportunities of success at academic writing when they move to higher levels in the later years despite adequate oral communication skills This long term consequence is serious and worth being taken into consideration How to teach the first year English-major students to write well is a question posed in the many past years drawing a lot of attention from the teachers
With the desire for enhancing the quality of writings produced by major freshmen as well as developing learners‟ autonomy, the researcher decides to carry out the thesis “Experimental Research on the Effect of Self-Monitoring
Technique on Improving Writing Skill among English-Major Freshmen at a University in Hanoi” by applying the self-monitoring technique in practice in two writing classes This study is hoped to be successful and bring about feasible applications towards upgrading the learning and teaching writing for English-major freshmen at this university as well as at other universities.
Aims and objectives
The research aims at investigating the effect of self-monitoring technique on improving writing skill among English-major freshmen at a university in Hanoi
This fundamental aim can be achieved when the two following objectives are met The first objective of the study is to find out the effects of self-monitoring technique on the students‟ writing improvement Next, the researcher wishes to explore the students‟ attitudes towards self-monitoring technique.
Scope of the study
“Experimental research on the effect of self-monitoring technique on improving writing skill among English-major freshmen at a university in Hanoi.”
Firstly, the research focuses on “self-monitoring technique in writing.” To be more specific, it refers to the process in which students write notes or annotations on their writings before handing it to the teacher This will help students place themselves in the position of readers, not only writers As for teachers, self-monitoring technique gives them an opportunity to offer feedback not only on the finished draft but also on the queries which emerge during the writing process
Secondly, it is noteworthy that the subjects of the study are restricted to first- year students at Faculty of English of a university in Hanoi Therefore, all the generalizations just serve to apply to the direct context.
Research questions
This research focuses on answering the following questions:
1 What are the effects of self-monitoring technique on English-major freshmen‟s writing performance?
2 What are these students‟ attitudes towards self-monitoring technique?
Method of the study
As can be seen from the title, this research is an experimental one which is participated by 58 English-major freshmen equivalent to an experimental group and a control group at a university in Hanoi, Vietnam and implemented within five months The findings are reported based on the students‟ scores on pre-test, post-test, the number of annotations obtained from four writing tasks in combination with the students‟ responses in the semi-structured interview
Besides these main instruments, classroom observation is made use of to get further information In the last place, constant discussions with the supervisor and colleagues are of great significance
6 Design of the study The study is divided into three main parts:
Part I (Introduction) includes the rationale, the aims and objectives, the scope, the research questions, the method and the design of the study
Part II (Development) consists of chapters as follows -Chapter 1 (Literature review) presents the theoretical background of the study and the review of the previous studies
- Chapter 2 (Methodology) describes in detail the research methodology which consists of the context of the study, the information of the subjects, instruments of data collection, procedures of data collection and methods of data analysis
- Chapter 3 (Results and Discussion) reports the statistical results and the analysis of the data
Part III (Conclusion) closes the study by summarizing the whole study with concluding remarks and offering some limitations and suggestions for further studies.
DEVELOPMENT
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter has an overview of the literature on the filed of writing and self- monitoring It consists of definition of writing, the roles of writing in a second language, approaches to teaching writing in ESL classes, the reasons that make writing difficult to master, definition of self–monitoring and self-monitoring technique: annotation Review of the previous studies self-monitoring and drawbacks of self-monitoring technique have also been presented with both studies on the efficacy of self-monitoring and drawbacks of self-monitoring technique
Writing is a significant and essential in the development in a native language and in a second language; therefore, there have been numerous definitions of writing According to Byrne (1991:1) writing can be regarded as the “act of forming graphic symbols” or the “making marks on the flat surface of some kinds” while Brannon, Knight and Neverow-Turk (1982:2) pointed out that
“writing is a creative art, not as an assembly line operation of locking words together into sentences and bolting sentences together into paragraphs in accordance with a predefined plan.” Byrne does not seem to share the same view with Brannon, Knight, Neverow-Turk in stating that “writing is a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and link together in a certain way.”
Rozakis (1997:4) also defined that “writing is a way of communicating a message to a reader for a purpose.” Her emphasis is on the communicative function of writing as what Leki (1976:4) wrote “writing is a communication
Good writing gets your ideas out of your head and into the reader’s head without losing or distorting these ideas.” From another view of writing, Murray
(1978:29) and Perl (1979:43) defined writing as “a creative discovery procedure characterized by the dynamic interplay of content and language: the use of language to explore beyond the known content.”
However, writing, in language teacher‟s opinions, is “a language skill which is difficult to acquire” (Tribble, 1996: 3) It is “a process that occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take into account the sometimes extended periods of thinking that precede creating an initial draft” (Harris, 1993:10)
1.1.2 The roles of writing in a second language
To master a language, obviously it is impossible for learners not to learn writing skill well As a basic productive skill, writing provides students with a chance to put all the language elements they have learnt into practice Emphasizing the significance of writing, White (1991:1) wrote: “Through writing we are able to share ideas, arouse feelings, persuade and convince other people We are able to discover and articulate ideas in ways that only writing makes possible.”
According to Raimes (1983: 3), writing is very important since it helps students learn in some ways:
First, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that we have been teaching our students Second, when our students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risks Third, when they write, they necessarily become very involved with the language; the effort to express ideas and the constant use of eye, hand and brain is a unique way to reinforce learning As writers struggle with what to put down next or how to put it down on paper, they often discover something new to write or a new way of expressing their idea They discover a real need for finding the right word and the right sentence The close relationship between writing and thinking makes writing a valuable part of any language course
1.1.3 Approaches to the teaching of writing in ESL classes
In order to produce a good piece of writing, learners have to deal with a lot of elements The following diagram demonstrates these elements clearly:
Stylistic choices, etc logic, etc
Rules for verbs, getting ideas Agreement, articles, getting started
Paragraphs, vocabulary the reason for writing Topic and support, idiom, tone
Chart 1.1: Producing a Piece of Writing (Raimes, 1983:6)
Raimes (1983:5) states that on the basis of stressing different features of this diagram and combing them with how teachers think writing is learnt, a variety
Clear, fluent and effective communication of ideas of approaches to the teaching of writing have been developed Accordingly, Raimes classifies approaches to the teaching of writing into six types, namely:
(i) The Controlled-to-Free Approach, (ii)The Free-Writing Approach, (iii) The Paragraph-Pattern Approach, (iv) The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach, (v) The Communicative Approach and (vi) The Process Approach
1.1.3.1.The Controlled-to-Free Approach
In the 1950s and early 1960s, the most popular approach used in ESL classes was the audio-lingual The controlled-to-free approach was a product of the audio-lingual period with its emphasis on step-by-step learning and formal correctness This approach stresses three features of the diagram above: grammar, syntax and mechanics It emphasizes accuracy rather than originality
In this approach, students are taught how to write by variously doing sentence, paragraph and manipulation exercises such as changing questions to statements, present to past, changing words or clauses or combing sentences With these controlled compositions, it is relatively easy for students to write a great deal with limited opportunity to make mistakes so the teacher‟s job of marking paper is quick and easy Gradually, the amount of control is reduced And when students reach an advanced level of proficiency, they are allowed to try some free compositions, in which they can express their own ideas
Byrne (1991) regards the controlled-to-free approach as “accuracy-oriented approach” that “produces many useful ideas on how to guide writing” although it is no longer fashionable
In contrast with the controlled-to-free approach, the free-writing approach encourages students to write as much as possible and as quickly as possible without worrying about making errors Teachers in this approach have stressed quantity of writing rather than quality by assigning vast amounts of free writing on given topics with only minimal correction of errors The important thing is that students can write down all their ideas on paper Grammatical accuracy, organization and the rest will gradually follow In this way, students feel that they are actually writing, not merely doing exercises of some kind so they can write what they want to write and as a result they find writing an enjoyable experience Thus in this approach, concern for “audience” and “content” in the diagram are taken into consideration Byrne (1991:22) also supports the free- writing approach, a fluency-approach, for the cause that “many students write badly because they do not write enough and for the same reason they feel inhibited when they pick up a pen Most of us write less well if we are obliged to write about something A fluency-approach, perhaps channeled into something like keeping a diary, can be a useful antidote.”
1.1.3.3 The Paragraph-Pattern Approach Different from two approaches above, the paragraph-pattern one highlights the importance of organization, another feature of the diagram This approach is mainly concerned to teach students how to construct and organize paragraphs
Students simply copy paragraphs, analyze the form of model paragraphs and imitate model passages Their concrete tasks are putting scrammed sentences into paragraph order, identifying general and specific statements, choosing or inventing an appropriate topic sentences and inserting or deleting sentences
This approach has its own advantages pointed out by Byrne (1991:23) “this approach identifies and tries to overcome one of the central problems in writing: getting students to express themselves effectively at a level beyond the sentence.”
1.1.3.4 The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach From the viewpoint that writing cannot be seen as composed of separate skills which are learned one by one, this approach stresses the necessity to work simultaneously on more than one of the features in the composition diagram: grammar, syntax and organization Teachers give students writing tasks that lead them to pay attention to organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and syntax For instance, to write a clear set of instructions on how to operate a washing machine, students need more than the appropriate vocabulary
METHODOLOGY
The research method plays a vital role in any study since it determines the reliability and validity of the study Consequently, the following is an effort towards the methods that best suit the aims and objectives of the study
With careful consideration, this study has employed an experimental method to find the answers to research questions The selection method was cluster sampling as it brought a lot of benefits to the researcher First, the students had been allotted into each group before they began the second semester; therefore, the researcher could not rearrange the groups By selecting two assigned groups, the researcher could save a lot of time The students come from different backgrounds so the degree of representatives can be improved Two groups were chosen with 29 students in each (1male and 28 females)
This chapter presents the reasons for the choice of method employed in this study This chapter also discusses setting of the study, data collection instruments and the procedures for data collection and data analysis methods
Moreover, it offers the design of the used pretest and posttest, the self- monitoring program in writing as well
2.1 Rationale for using experimental method This study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between self-monitoring technique and students‟ writing performance; therefore, it is best assisted by an experimental research method There are a number of reasons for the choice of this method According to Nunan (1992:24), this method is carried out to explore the strength of relationships between variables A variable, as the term itself suggests, is anything which does not remain constant which may include language proficiency, aptitude, motivation and so on Cohen, Manion, Morrison
(2007) define the method as follows:
The essential feature of experimental research is that investigators deliberately control and manipulate the conditions which determine the events in which they are interested, involves making a change in the value of one variable-called the dependent variable
An independent variable is the input variable, whereas the dependent variable is the outcome variable (p 272)
In this case, the researcher wants to look at the relationship between 2 variables, a teaching method and test scores on a formal test of language proficiency In other words, the author wants to investigate the effects of the independent variable, the self-monitoring technique in writing, on the dependent variable, the students‟ writing improvement
The study was conducted at English Department of a university in Hanoi The English Department was originally founded in 1956, and took current official name in 2012 This university is one of the leading educational institutions which provide full-time undergraduate programs of English for science and technology In the first three semesters, English-major students work mostly on language skills including reading, writing, listening and speaking In the following semesters, students study translation and interpreting skills and take some ESP courses such as English for Information Technology, English for environmental science, etc
This particular site was chosen for two main reasons First, the researcher could get approved access to the department Secondly, the researcher received significant support from the teachers in the English writing skill group in her research
The participants included two groups of English-major freshmen at a university in Hanoi Each group was constituted with 29 students in each (one male and 28 females) They were selected after having finished the first semester Two groups that had the most similar writing test results were chosen The students were chosen in the second semester, they had had some time to get familiar with the new learning environment, teachers, friends and accommodation They were aware of their difficulties in language learning and they were willing to take a program for overcoming their problems
Most of the participants were at the age of 19 Only some of them were slightly older, about 20 years old They come from Hanoi and neighboring provinces in the northern region of Vietnam Before entering the university, the majority of the participants had studied English as a foreign language at their secondary schools and high schools for seven years The first-year students at the research site were assumed to reach pre-intermediate level The previous standard tests indicated that most of the students in both groups met this requirement and a few of them even performed better They might have been at intermediate level The level-based distribution of the students was comparatively egalitarian between 2 groups When taking part in this study, the participants had studied sentence writing and basic paragraph writing in the first semester of the academic year
The intervention lasted for 12 weeks which included initial two weeks for training and another 10 weeks for practice
Cresswell (2000: 236) indicated that when applying self-monitoring technique, the students‟ concentration was mainly put on language problems This led them to pay less attention to the appropriateness of content as well as the organization of their compositions Another concern about the application of this technique is that students may not be able to clearly describe their problems through their annotations Thus, the efficacy of this technique greatly depends on whether the students can be trained to use it skillfully
The training sessions each of which lasted for 90 minutes followed the following format
In the first session, the teacher gave a brief introduction to self-monitoring and asked the students to make annotations on their pre-test compositions
The students were divided into groups of four each, and each group was required to select one of their papers to discuss During the process of feedback and response they could disagree with each other on certain points, and they were asked to annotate the paper with what they could not agree on
In the next session, one group‟s essay was chosen by the teacher to present to the class for discussion: whether the annotations were clear in meaning, whether they were able to express the intentions of the author, and if not, how they could be revised During this process, the teacher asked some questions regarding the content, organization, and form of that essay, and gave some examples to illustrate how to make annotations
The students were required to re-annotate their own essays, to exchange them with their neighbors, and to respond to each other‟s annotations When they were not able to understand some of their friends‟ annotations, they asked the author for clarification, and they read each other‟s feedback to see the extent to which their annotations succeeded in discussing their problems When the feedback did not relate to their intentions of making the annotations, they discussed why that happened, and how they could revise those annotations
During the discussion, the teacher remained available to help
Once the training had completed, it was time for the students to apply self- monitoring in practice The students learned how to write some specific genres of academic paragraph writing such as comparison-contrast paragraph, cause- effect paragraph and argument paragraph The teacher presented the theory through analyzing the structure of models so as to work out the structure and elicit useful language needed for each paragraph genre The students were required to produce in-class writing tasks and then they had to make annotations on their drafts They marked, underlined or circled the parts of the test with which they were dissatisfied They then clarified their problems by noting down comments or questions below the draft text The teacher read the students‟ writings and offered comments for both students‟ compositions and students‟ annotations This self-monitoring application maintained from the beginning to the end of the writing semester
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents the results of the study from the collected data The data was synthesized from three sources: (1) the number of annotations made by the students in the experimental group during the four writing tasks, (2) the students‟ scores in the pretest and posttest of both groups, (3) the responses of the students in the experimental group in the interview The software SPSS was taken advantage of to deal with the students‟ test scores in order to measure the difference of both groups accurately and objectively
3.1 Evaluation of the annotations made by the experimental group students in the four writing tasks
As mentioned above, after completing the in-class writing tasks, the students in the experimental group were requested to make annotations on their first drafts while those in the control group were not The annotations had to relate the writings to such aspects as content (the most important feature), organization and language form Moreover, the students were expected to ask the teacher for further explanation by posing questions that reflected their doubts, uncertainty or confusion about any parts in their compositions This is the sharp difference between two groups in the study
The annotations made by the students in the experimental group were calculated and analyzed in percentage These annotations were grouped into three categories: those on content, those on organization and those on language form The result is illustrated by the following pie chart
Chart 3.1: Annotations made by the students in the experimental group during the four writing tasks
As can be seen from the chart, nearly half of the annotations were concerned with language forms (49.1%) It appears that finding the language problems in their compositions is the least challenging task when they review their writings The content annotations makes up a striking rate (40.5%) and the fewest annotations were related to organization The data from the chart contributes to state that the students were able to make use of self-monitoring efficiently The obvious evidence is that when making annotations, the students invested much effort on content and they did not forget to keep an eye on organization even though the majority of annotations fall on the category of language form The topmost fear and anxiety of the researcher about self-monitoring application was the students‟ inability to annotate their draft on aspects of content and organization, especially content but spend most of time finding grammar and spelling mistakes, which would lead the research to a serious failure After the result was revealed, the researcher could sigh with relief due to the effective utilization among the students
The researcher was satisfied with not only the quantity but also the quality of the annotations In the first writing task, the students found self-monitoring hard to carry out The number of annotations was rather limited because the participants did not know what to express, yet a notorious progress was seen from the second the improvement in the students‟ written language Some typical annotations below serve as a source of persuasive proof
I think the conclusion does not focus on the topic of the paragraph After clarifying the main differences between two jobs: tutor and shop assistant, I come to the conclusion that overall, tutor job is more suitable for students I suppose this conclusion is so subjective and irrelevant? Do you think it is better to replace with
“in general, the two jobs, tutor and shop assistant are distinct from each other in many aspects”
Because the topic is an argumentative paragraph, I present my own viewpoint right at the beginning of the paragraph In the following sentences, I discuss the advantages of living in a house for rent Is my writing really an argumentative text?
I feel it sounds like describing the advantages of living in a rented house In the lecture, you mention “counter-argument” and “refutation” Honestly, I don’t understand these two terms clearly Could you give me further information on them?
The requirement is to write a paragraph discussing the causes of teenage pregnancy I already mention three main points I wonder, however, whether I should give some suggestions for teenagers to prevent themselves from teenage pregnancy to upgrade the quality of my writing
It can be seen from the annotations that the students greatly benefit from self- monitoring training course They were able to take advantage of this technique quite effectively The annotations aimed at improving the content of their compositions which the teacher expected Besides, the annotations were detailed enough for the teacher to understand exactly their intentions Therefore, the teacher was able to return the desired answers
3.2 Comparison of the experimental and control groups’ writing performance
3.2.1 Comparison of the experimental and control groups’ writing performance in the pretest
Table 3.2: Descriptive statistics for the pretest score of the two groups
Table 3.3: Independent samples t-test of the pretest score between the two groups
The tables show the statistic values of the pretest score of the experimental and control groups including the means, standard deviation, t and p-value It is clear to
Levene‟sTest For Equality of Variances
T-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
,168 ,683 -,107 56 ,915 -,138 1,294 -2,730 2,454 see from the tables that the mean scores of the control group and the experimental group were 64.97 and 65.10 respectively with the p-value of 0.915 An obvious conclusion can be drawn that both groups were not different at the beginning of the course They were at the same proficiency level This is the firm basis for the researcher to provide treatment so as to measure exactly the difference made afterwards
3.2.2 Comparison of the experimental and control groups’ writing performance in the posttest
Table 3.4: Descriptive statistics for the posttest score of the two groups
Table 3.5: Independent samples t-test of the posttest score between the two groups
It is easy to witness the difference in the statistics of the posttest result based on the figures in the tables Both groups had higher means in the posttest than the ones in the pretest despite distinction of increase degree The mean score of the experimental group rose from 65.10 to 72.66 while the control group made smaller improvement from 64.97 to 67.79 When contrasting the posttest result between the two groups, it goes without saying that both groups made broad distinction because mean difference was equal to 3.71 and the p value was below 0.05 From the same starting point in the pretest, a big gap was formed in the posttest result in which the prominence belonged to the experimental group This progress may be explained by the implication of self-monitoring technique
Levene‟sTest For Equality of Variances
T-test for Equality of Means
95% Confidence Interval of the Difference
The semi-structured interviews were employed as a means for the researcher to find out the experimental group students‟ reflections on self-monitoring The students‟ answers were recorded for the researcher to analyze later The students‟ answers were grouped into 5 categories
Category 1: The importance of writing skill to the students’ study and career Question 1: How important is English writing skill to your present study and future jobs?
This question aimed at exploring the students‟ evaluation of the role of the writing skill for their study and future jobs It‟s this key question that determines the success of every technique used by the teacher in the writing class Only when the students see the significant importance of writing, they can strengthen motivation for their writing learning Fortunately, most of the students claimed that writing was very important for their study (88%) due to numerous reasons They needed it to complete the written assignments of many other subjects taught in English such as Translation, American studies, Cross-cultural communication, English Literature and especially the graduation paper Many students had the intention of sitting IELTS test for overseas study in which writing is an indispensable skill With regard to career orientation, a wide range of students considered becoming translator or teacher of English Language In order to perform well at work, mastering writing was an obligatory requirement
Three students (12%) did not appreciate the role of writing They considered it less important for their future jobs because they were studying the second major at the same time Their future jobs would not require much writing, only oral communication skills
Category 2: Students’ difficulties with English writing Question 2: What are your difficulties when writing English?
CONCLUSIONS
Major findings
The students in this sample could be trained to use self-monitoring effectively In their annotations made in the four writing tasks, they asked questions concerning not only the language of their compositions but also content and organization The statistic result shows that the number of annotations concerning content accounted for 49.1% while the number of annotations regarding organization and language form made up 10.4% and 49.1% in total The number of annotations collected gradually grew not only in quantity but also in quality In the first writing task, the students did not get accustomed to self-monitoring immediately They found it hard to do practice despite having been trained beforehand As a result, the produced annotations heavily focused on language form such as spelling or grammar mistakes even though all of the students learned that they had better devote attention to content and organization when making annotations Remarkable progress was observed from the second writing task though The student annotations were made with the aim of improving content and organization, especially content Their intentions were presented clearly enough for the teacher to understand Also, the student annotations themselves demonstrate the student progress in writing skill
The evidence is that the students were able to write down more complex sentences with academic words for their annotations All of the above advancements help affirm the enormous contribution of the training course
Self-monitoring was seen as an effective tool in improving the students‟ writing performance In pretest, both groups were at the same level of proficiency (t = -0, 107; p = 0.915), yet the posttest witnessed the clear distinction between two groups
(t = -3.576; p = 0.001) in which the prominence belonged to the experimental group when mean difference was equal to -4.862 The rationale explanation for this discrepancy may be the application of self-monitoring technique throughout the semester
When asked to show attitudes towards self-monitoring, most of the students adopted positive attitudes The students believed that they enjoyed merits self-monitoring brought about They were conscious of the vitality of content and organization to the success of their works Self-monitoring technique allowed them to place themselves in position of readers They had chance to review their texts, find out language problems and express uncertainty about any parts of the text and pose important questions They grew more independent and responsible for anything that was written The teacher gave comments not only on the draft but also on the questions raised by the students Therefore, the teacher feedback became more detailed and intensional, reflecting thorough understanding of the students‟ problems Two-way interaction was maintained through the writings and strengthened throughout the semester The students were certain to receive intensive care from their teacher In the end, the students were capable of improving their proficiency to a certain degree
In spite of enormous benefits, difficulties are inevitable in every experimental process The students admitted this was a challenging technique at the beginning of the course They performed unwell at the first draft with very little annotations on content and organization although they had already learned that content and organization were of critical importance Gradually, they got used to it, felt excited about it and tried to apply it as professionally as possible
Although there existed difficulties in the first time, benefits outnumbered them A large number of students approve of the continuation of self-monitoring for English- major freshmen of the next year To alleviate difficulties in practicing self- monitoring technique, they recommended that more time should be spent on training and the teacher should prepare more self-monitoring models to facilitate the training.
Pedagogical implications
Based on the research findings and the students‟ responses in the semi-structured interview, some pedagogical implications may be drawn out as follows:
The study results indicate that self-monitoring is effective in improving the student writing proficiency The teacher should consider applying this new technique in the writing class so as to motivate students, develop learner autonomy and ameliorate student writing skill
Due to the strangeness of self-monitoring, training must be incorporated in the course at the initial stage to make sure the students acquire enough comprehensive knowledge of the technique The time needed for training should be flexible, largely depending on the acquisition of the students
Typical samples of self-monitoring may serve as straightforward examples for what and how to do
Teachers of writing ought to raise students‟ awareness of the vitality of content and organization to the success of the writing Adequate attention needs devoting to content and organization to annotate the writings fully.
Limitations of the study
The limitations are present in any research and this one is not an exemption This is the first time self -monitoring has been introduced Some limitations might have affected the result
One limitation of the study is the small sample size (58 English-major students at a Hanoi-based university) which affects the external validity, “the extent to which the results can be generalized from samples to populations” (Nunan, 1992, p 15)
The results might not stay the same if the research is conducted at another setting with other subjects
Another limitation is that the scoring of the pretest and posttest might be somehow subjective in spite of measures taken Meantime, the markers are non-native EFL teachers and they share the same first language with the students To some extent, these limitations reduce the objectivity of the scoring.
Suggestions for further studies 45 REFERENCES I APPENDICES IV APPENDIX 1: THE SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS IV APPENDIX 2: THE PRETEST V APPENDIX 3: THE POSTTEST VI APPENDIX 4: SOME TYPICAL SAMPLES OF STUDENTS’S
Anyway, self-monitoring is a new concept Research on the use of this technique is still insufficient As mentioned above, the limitations of the study lie in the limited number of participants and limited time Consequently, the writer strongly recommends a similar study which employs a larger number of participants as well as invests more time to increase the validity of data and conclusion to confirm the findings in this research
In this study, the researcher applies self-monitoring technique to English-major freshmen in two writing classes at a university in Hanoi Further studies may investigate the effect of self-monitoring technique on student writing improvement with different participants such as non-English major students to contrast the result when the subjects vary
The primary purpose of self-monitoring application in this paper is to enhance student writing performance – a subcomponent of language proficiency Therefore, the last but not least suggestion is that future researchers should carry out experimental research on the effect of self-monitoring technique in reading or listening class with the ultimate aim of developing student language proficiency
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APPENDIX 1: THE SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
Category 1: The importance of writing skill to the students’ study and career Question 1: How important is English writing skill to your present study and future jobs?
Category 2: Students’ difficulties with English writing Question 2: What are your difficulties when writing English?
Category 3: The efficacy of self- monitoring Question 3: Do you think that self-monitoring in this semester is helpful to you in writing English paragraphs? If yes, in what way do you think self-monitoring helps you make progress? If no, why do you think self-monitoring is not necessary for paragraph writing?
Question 4: To what extent do you benefit from teacher feedback after using self- monitoring?
Category 4: The students’ difficulties when administering self-monitoring Question 5: Do you have any difficulties when applying self-monitoring?
If yes, what are your troubles?
Category 5: The students’ recommendations for further enhancing the teaching of self-monitoring Question 6: Should self-monitoring be maintained for the students of next year in writing course, in your opinion? If yes, do you have any specific recommendations to enhance the quality of the course? If no, could you explain the reasons for your disapproval?
APPENDIX 2: THE PRETEST Choose one of the following topics and write a paragraph
1 What are the qualities of a good teacher?
2 What do you think people should do to stay healthy?
3 What are the benefits of living in the city?
APPENDIX 3: THE POSTTEST Choose one of the following topics and write a paragraph
1 Contrast men’s and women’s attitudes toward shopping
2 Discuss some causes of school violence
3 “Happiness directly relates to economic success.”
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
APPENDIX 4: SOME TYPICAL SAMPLES OF STUDENTS’S ANNOTATIONS MADE IN THE FOUR WRITING TASKS