A study on students’ perceptions and attitudes towards teachers’ written feedback on their writing in grade 9 classes at dinh tien hoang secondary school in quang tri

LE ANH DONG MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LE ANH DONG  MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHERS’ WRITTEN FEEDBACK ON THEIR WRITING IN GRADE CLASSES AT DINH TIEN HOANG SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG TRI MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING  HUE - 2014 HUE, 2014 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES LE ANH DONG A STUDY ON STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS TEACHERS’ WRITTEN FEEDBACK ON THEIR WRITING IN GRADE CLASSES AT DINH TIEN HOANG SECONDARY SCHOOL IN QUANG TRI MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: ASSOC PROF DR LE PHAM HOAI HUONG HUE - 2014 -i- BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ LÊ ANH ĐÔNG NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ NHẬN THỨC VÀ THÁI ĐỘ CỦA HỌC SINH ĐỐI VỚI PHẢN HỒI VIẾT CHO CÁC BÀI VIẾT CÁC LỚP KHỐI TẠI TRƢỜNG TRUNG HỌC CƠ SỞ ĐINH TIÊN HOÀNG TẠI QUẢNG TRỊ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƢƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60140111 NGƢỜI HƢỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC PGS.TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƢƠNG HUẾ, 2014 - ii - STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby acknowledge that this study is mine The data and findings discussed in the thesis are true, used with permission from associates, and have not been published elsewhere LE ANH DONG - iii - ABSTRACT This study was carried out to investigate students’ perceptions and attitudes towards teachers’ written feedback on their writing in grade classes at Dinh Tien Hoang Secondary School in Quang Tri A combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches was used in this study Data collection tools include 30 students’ writing samples, questionnaires to 60 students and interviews with 10 students The findings of this study show the high appreciation of students towards teachers’ written feedback and the importance of teachers’ written feedback It is found that teacher written feedback helps students see their weaknesses and strengths and rewrite based on what was required by teachers With regards to students’ attitudes towards the actual feedback they received, the students thought that their teachers’ comments really motivated them to write and enabled them to avoid making errors in the future writing However, the students faced some difficulties in receiving teachers’ written feedback as they had to wait for it for too long From the findings of the study, some pedagogical implications for teachers and students were made with regards to written feedback - iv - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to gratefully acknowledge my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong I owe a debt of gratitude for her warm support and expert guidance from the very beginning to the end of my research I doubt that this thesis would ever have become a reality without her outstanding suggestions, insightful comments on various drafts and sharp eyes in finding mistakes I wish to express my deep appreciation to the teachers who have given me invaluable instructions during my two years MA course at Hue College of Foreign Languages My thanks are also sent to the teachers and students at Dinh Tien Hoang Secondary School in Quang Tri, who cooperated in my interviews and answering the questionnaire I thank the students who let me collect at their writings Finally, I am truly indebted to my parents, my wife and my sons for their constant love, patience and support throughout the entire writing process -v- TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Pages SUB COVER PAGES i,ii STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES ix CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study 1.2 Research aims 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research significance 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Structure of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Feedback 2.3 Purposes of feedback 2.4 Types of feedback to students’ writing 2.4.1 Self- editing 2.4.2 Peer feedback 2.4.3 Teacher feedback 2.5 Forms of teacher feedback 10 2.5.1 Oral feedback 10 2.5.2 Written feedback 10 2.6 Techniques of teachers’ written feedback 11 2.6.1 Kinds of teachers’ written feedback 11 2.6.2 Methods of giving written feedback 11 - vi - 2.7 Forms of teacher written feedback 12 2.8 The effects of teachers’ written feedback 13 2.9 Teaching and learning writing at Dinh Tien Hoang Secondary School 13 2.10 Previous studies 14 2.11 Summary 15 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 16 3.1 Introduction 16 3.2 Research methodology 16 3.3 Participants 16 3.4 Data collection 17 3.4.1 Students’ writings 17 3.4.2 Questionnaire 17 3.4.3 Semi-structured interviews 18 3.5 Data collection procedure 18 3.6 Data analysis 19 3.7 Summary 19 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 20 4.1 Introduction 20 4.2 Students’ perceptions of teachers’ written feedback 20 4.3 How teachers give written feedback 20 4.3.1 The frequency of giving written feedback 21 4.3.2 Usefulness of teacher feedback 22 4.3.3 Teachers’ responding to students’ written work 24 4.3.4 Methods of giving written feedback 25 4.3.5 Error corrections 29 4.4 Students’ attitudes towards the actual feedback 32 4.4.1 Students’ opinions of teachers’ written feedback 32 4.4.2 Students’ evaluation of the actual written feedback they received 33 4.5 Summary 36 - vii - CHAPTER CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 37 5.1 Summary of the key findings 37 5.2 Implications 38 5.2.1 For administrators 38 5.2.2 For teachers 39 5.2.3 For students 40 5.3 Limitations of the study 40 5.4 Suggestions for further research 41 5.5 Conclusion 41 REFERENCES 42 APPENDICES 46 - viii - LIST OF TABLES Table 4.1: Frequency of teachers’ written Feedback 21 Table 4.2 Helpfulness of teacher feedback forms 22 Table 4.3.3 Students’ evaluation 24 Table 4.3.4a Teachers’ comments on students writing papers 26 Table 4.3.4b: Teachers’ positive and negative comments on students’ writing samples 27 Table 4.3.5a Teachers’ indication of an error in students’ writing 29 Table 4.3.5b Students’ expectations of teachers’ corrections in their writings 30 Table 4.4.1: Students’ opinions about teachers’ written feedback on their writing 32 Table 4.4.2 Students’ evaluation of teachers’ feedback 34 Table 4.4.3: Students’ responses when receiving teachers’ feedback 35 - ix - Thai, T.P.D (2007) A study on teacher’s written feedback on third- year English majors’ academic writing at Hue college of foreign languages Unpublished MA thesis, Hue University Truscott, J (1996) The case against grammar correction in L2 writing classes Language Learning, 46, 327-369 Ur, P., (1996) A Course in language teaching: Practice and theory Cambridge University Press Vu, T.M.C (2007) An Investigation in to written errors and how they are corrected in classes of English at Hue College of Foreign Languages Unpublished MA thesis, Hue University - 45 - APPENDIX A QUESTIONNAIRE (For students) This questionnaire is to collect data for my research “A study on students’ perceptions and attitudes towards teachers’ written feedback on their writing in grade classes at Dinh Tien Hoang secondary school in Quang Tri” Please read the questions carefully and give your answers Thank you for your cooperation I Personal information: *Your gender: Male: Female: *Your age: ………………… *How long have you been learning English? ………… year(s) II Your perceptions and attitudes towards teachers’ written feedback on the writing you received Please put a tick (V)in the appropriate box or give short answers in the space provided How important is teacher feedback to your writing?  a not important  b important  c very important How often does your teacher respond to each of your written work?  a never  b almost never  c sometimes  d often  e very often  f other (please specify):………………………………………… - 46 - How helpful is the teacher feedback in the following forms to your revision? Not helpful at all Forms of feedback Helpful Questions (example:what you mean?) Statement (example: this is a bad statement) Imperative (example: use another word/ rewrite) Exclamation (example: clear! / a good sentence!) Do you find it is easy to understand your teacher feedback?  YES  NO If NO, can you give the reason(s) why?  a Feedback is too ambiguous  b Teachers use new vocabulary and structures in feedback  c Teachers’ including hedges in feedback that confuse me (e.g., perhaps, may be…)  d Other …………………………………………………… - 47 - Very helpful Read each statement and then decide if you: (1) strongly agree, (2) agree, (3) neither agree nor disagree, (4) disagree, (5) strongly disagree Please tick (V) according to your response in the table When responding to your written work, teacher should always: Items strongly agree agree Point out errors in grammar (verb tenses, subject/verb agreement, article use…etc.) Point out errors in spelling Point out errors in punctuation Point out errors in vocabulary choice Make comments on the organization of the paper Make comments on the ideas expressed in the paper Use a set of correction proofreading symbols Use a red – colored pen Give praises to good points in the writing Give suggestions how to revise the writing Other: …………………… - 48 - neither Disagree strongly agree disagree nor disagree What kind of feedback would you prefer to receive?  a negative feedback (example: your writing is very bad, rewrite it)  b positive feedback (example: your writing is rather good, you should try better )  c both of them How you want your teacher to indicate an error in your written work?  a By crossing what is incorrect and writing the correct word or structure  b By showing where the error is and giving clue about how to correct it  c By only showing where the error is  d By ignoring the errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation…etc., and only paying attention to the ideas expressed  e Other (please specify): ………………………………………… If there are many errors in a paper, what you want your English teacher to do?  a Correct all errors, major and minor  b Correct all errors the teacher considers major, but not the minor ones  c Correct most but not necessary all of the major errors if there are many of them  d Correct only a few of the major errors no matter how many there are  e Correct all repeated errors whether major or minor  f Correct no errors and respond only to the idea expressed What you think about teachers’ written feedback on your writing?  a Teachers’ comments motivate me to write  b I usually feel discouraged and even hurt with teachers’ comments  c Waiting time for receiving teachers’ written feedback is too long  d I not benefit much from teachers’ error corrections  e Others: …………………………………………… - 49 - 10 What did you when you received your teacher feedback ?  a I corrected the errors pointed out by the teacher  b I revised my writing  c I read my writing again, revised it and rewrote  d I did nothing  c Others: …………………………………………… 11.How did you feel when receiving your teacher feedback ?  a The feedback was valuable to me because it helped me revise my writing  b It helped me avoid making errors in future writing  c It did not help at all I kept making mistakes again  d Other: …………………………………………………………… - 50 - PHỤ LỤC B BẢNG HỎI (Dành cho học sinh) Câu hỏi để thu thập liệu cho nghiên cứu "Nghiên cứu nhận thức thái độ học sinh phản hồi viết cho viết khối lớp khối Trường Trung Học sở Đinh Tiên Hồng Quảng Trị" Xin vui lịng đọc câu hỏi trả lời Cảm ơn hợp tác bạn I Thông tin cá nhân : * Giới tính bạn: Nam: ……………… Nữ: ………………… * Tuổi bạn: *Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? năm Hãy đánh (V) vào thích hợp đưa câu trả lời ngắn khoảng trống Các thông tin phản hồi giáo viên quan trọng nhƣ viết bạn?  a Không quan trọng  b Quan trọng  c Rất quan trọng Giáo viên có thƣờng xuyên phản hồi lại viết bạn hay không?  a Không  b Gần không  c Thỉnh thoảng  d Thường xuyên  e Rất thường xuyên  f Trường hợp khác (xin ghi rõ): ……………………………………… - 51 - Việc phản hồi giáo viên hữu ích nhƣ hình thức sau? Các hình thức thơng tin phản hồi Khơng hữu ích Hữu ích Rất hữu ích Câu hỏi (ví dụ:ý có nghĩa gì?) Câu trần thuật (ví dụ:đây ý kiến sai) Bắt buộc (ví dụ:sử dụng từ khác / viết lại) Cảm thán (ví dụ: câu tốt ) Bạn có thấy dễ dàng để hiểu thơng tin phản hồi từ giáo viên khơng?  Có  Khơng Nếu khơng, bạn cho biết lý sao?  a Thông tin phản hồi mơ hồ  b Giáo viên sử dụng từ vựng cấu trúc thông tin phản hồi  c Những từ ngữ mơ hồ giáo viên gây học sinh nhầm lẫn (ví dụ, có lẽ, …)  d Trường hợp khác: ……………………………………………………… - 52 - Vui lịng đọc câu hỏi sau chọn trả lời thích hợp: (1) đồng ý tuyệt đối, (2) đồng ý, (3) vừa đồng ý vừa không đồng ý, (4) không đồng ý, (5) tuyệt đối không đồng ý Vui lòng đánh (V) vào bảng Khi phản hồi viết bạn giáo viên nên luôn: Các mục Đồng ý tuyệt đối Đồng ý Chỉ lỗi ngữ pháp (các động từ, chủ đề / động từ, viết sử dụng vv) Chỉ lỗi tả Chỉ lỗi dấu chấm câu Chỉ lỗi lựa chọn từ vựng Nhận xét viết Nhận xét ý tưởng thể viết Sử dụng chửa lổi thích hợp Sử dụng bút đỏ - bút màu Đưa lời khen hay viết Đưa gợi ý làm để sửa lại viết Khác …………… - 53 - Vừa đồng ý vừa không đồng ý Không đồng ý Rất không đồng ý Những loại thông tin phản hồi bạn muốn nhận đƣợc?  a Phản hồi phê bình (ví dụ: viết sai, viết lại)  b Phản hồi khen ngợi (ví dụ: viết tốt cần cố gắng hơn)  c Cả hai Bạn muốn giáo viên lỗi viết bạn nhƣ nào?  a Bằng cách gạch bỏ sai viết lại từ cấu trúc  b Bằng cách lỗi sai đưa gợi ý sửa  c Bằng cách lỗi  d Bằng cách bỏ qua lỗi ngữ pháp, tả, dấu câu, vv… ý đến ý tưởng thể  e Trường hợp khác (xin ghi rõ) ………………………… Nếu có nhiều lỗi viết, bạn muốn giáo viên tiếng Anh bạn làm gì?  a Sửa chữa tất lỗi, lớn nhỏ  b Sửa chữa tất lỗi mà giáo viên trọng, là lỗi nhỏ  c Sửa lỗi cần thiết tất lỗi  d Sửa chữa số lỗi  e Sửa chữa tất lỗi lặp lặp lại cho dù lớn hay nhỏ  f không sửa lỗi trọng đến ý tưởng Bạn nghĩ phản hồi giáo viên viết bạn?  a Nhận xét giáo viên động viên học sinh viết  b Bản thân thường cảm thấy nản lịng chí bị tổn thương với lời nhận xét giáo viên  c Chờ phản hồi giáo viên lâu  d Bản thân không hưởng lợi nhiều từ lỗi giáo viên sửa  e Trường hợp khác: (vui lòng ghi cụ thể )…………….……………… - 54 - 10 Bạn làm nhận đƣợc phản hồi giáo viên ?  a Tôi sửa lỗi sai mà giáo viên  b Tôi xem lại viết  d Tôi đọc, xem lại viết viết lại  e Tơi khơng làm  f Trường hợp khác: …………………………………………………… 11 Bạn cảm thấy nhƣ nhận đƣợc phản hồi giáo viên viết bạn?  a Các thơng tin phản hồi có ích với tơi giúp ơn lại kỹ viết  b Nó giúp tơi tránh lỗi viết sau  c Nó khơng giúp ích Tơi tiếp tục mắc lỗi - 55 - APPENDIX C List of semi-structured interview questions for students Do you think teachers’ feedback is important in improving your writing? Why or Why not? What you think about teachers’ error corrections? What types and forms of teachers’ feedback you often receive? What features of writing (e.g grammar, spelling, punctuation, vocabulary choice, organization of the paper, the ideas expressed…) often you receive on teachers’ feedback on your writing? How often does your teacher give feedback on your writing? How you think about teachers’ comments? What you when receiving teachers’ written feedback? - 56 - PHỤ LỤC C Danh sách câu hỏi vấn dành cho học sinh Bạn có nghĩ thơng tin phản hồi giáo viên quan trọng việc cải thiện kỹ viết bạn? Tại có khơng? Bạn nghĩ lỗi sai giáo viên sửa? Những loại hình thức thơng tin phản hồi giáo viên mà bạn thường nhận được? Những yếu tố viết (như ngữ pháp, tả, dấu câu, cách chọn từ vựng, cách xếp báo cáo, ý tưởng thể hiện) bạn nhận từ việc phản hồi giáo viên viết bạn? Giáo viên có thường xuyên đưa thông tin phản hồi cho học sinh không? Bạn nghĩ lời nhận xét giáo viên? Bạn làm nhận phản hồi giáo viên? - 57 - - 58 - - 59 -