Nghiên cứu phản ánh chiêm nghiệm về quá trình học viết bằng email bằng tiếng anh của học sinh khối 11 trường trung học phổ thông gio linh tỉnh quảng trị

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI TO A STUDY ON 11TH GRADERS’ REFLECTIONS ON THE PROCESS OF EMAIL WRITING IN ENGLISH AT GIO LINH HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Hue University of Foreign Languages HUE, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HUE UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES TRAN THI TO A STUDY ON 11TH GRADERS’ REFLECTIONS ON THE PROCESS OF EMAIL WRITING IN ENGLISH AT GIO LINH HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING CODE: 60.14.01.11 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr LE PHAM HOAI HUONG HUE, 2018 i BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ TRẦN THỊ TƠ NGHIÊN CỨU PHẢN ÁNH CHIÊM NGHIỆM VỀ QUÁ TRÌNH HỌC VIẾT EMAIL BẰNG TIẾNG ANH CỦA HỌC SINH KHỐI 11 TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG GIO LINH, TỈNH QUẢNG TRỊ LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH MÃ SỐ: 60.14.01.11 NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC: PGS TS LÊ PHẠM HOÀI HƯƠNG HUE, 2018 ii STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP This work has not previously been submitted for a degree or diploma in any university To the best of my knowledge and belief, the thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the thesis itself Hue, 24/ 11 / 2018 Trần Thị Tơ iii ABSTRACT This study aims to explore how students learnt to write emails in English, their reflections on the process of learning to write emails in English and the difficulties that they faced during their learning to write emails Questionnaire, reflective journal and interview were employed to collect data The questionnaire was delivered to 100 students After this, 20 of these students were invited to write reflective journals and then ten of them were invited to participate in the interviews The data from the questionnaire were analyzed quantitatively and presented in tables and charts, while information from the reflective journals and interviews was quoted and analyzed qualitatively The study found that students had good awareness about email writing skills in the classroom They shared their viewpoints on the process of learning to write emails in English both negatively and positively, with positive opinions outweighing negative ones The students always tried their best to cooperate with their teacher in email writing activities and participated in the lessons with high enthusiasm Mostly, they showed their satisfaction on the process of how they were taught to write email in English and stated that they felt comfortable with learning environment at school The findings also indicated that students at this high school had positive attitudes toward email writing skills and tended to accept their difficulties as a motivation in their language classes Based on the findings of the study, implications were put forward to how to teach and learn to write emails in English effectively iv This study would not be done without the encouragement and assistance of many people I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to people who have advised and supported me, and made constructive criticism during the research First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Le Pham Hoai Huong for her insightful advice, professional guidance and warm encouragement She has always been tolerant providing me with helpful suggestions, feedback, and directing me to resolve all the problems Without her assistance and constant support, this thesis could never have been accomplished I sincerely thank the students at Gio Linh high school for completing the questionnaires, reflective journals and interviews with valuable information for this research Also, I am very grateful to the teachers at this high school who spent their time listening to and supporting me during the time of data delivery and collection I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Board of Director, the Library Staff, and my appreciation goes to all my coursework instructors at Hue University of Foreign Languages, who generously contributed to my academic experiences and demonstrated to me how to be a good teacher I would like them to know how their concern and involvement were valued and appreciated This thesis project would not be also completed without the warm support from my dear family and friends My parents’ support has provided me with the strength to deal with the challenges of being an undergraduate, a full-time teacher, a wife and a mother all at the same time Finally, I want to express my deepest gratitude to my kind husband for all his understanding, faith, and sacrifice during the time I was conducting this research Thank you all: my beloved supervisor, my parents, my friends, my husband and my son Without their support, all of this work could not have been completed v TABLE OF CONTENTS STATEMENT OF ORIGINAL AUTHORSHIP iii ABSTRACT iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v TABLE OF CONTENTS vi LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Research aims 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research scope 1.5 Research significance .4 1.6 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction .5 2.2 What is writing? 2.3 English writing teaching in the Vietnamese context 2.4 Email writing teaching in the context of Gio Linh high school .7 2.4.1 What is Email? 2.4.2 The importance of emails 2.4.3 The practice of teaching email writing at Gio Linh high school 2.4.4 Difficulties of teaching and learning email writing in English at Gio Linh high school 12 2.5 Learning how to write emails in English 13 2.5.1 Characteristics of emails 13 vi 2.5.2 Structure of an email 14 2.5.3 Issues in learning to write emails in English 15 2.6 Factors influencing email writing in EFL classes 16 2.6.1 Linguistic knowledge 16 2.6.2 Teaching techniques of Email writing 17 2.7 Students’ reflections .17 2.7.1 Definition of reflection 17 2.7.2 The process of reflection 19 2.8 Review of related studies 20 2.9 Summary 23 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 24 3.1 Introduction .24 3.2 Research approaches .24 3.3 Research Participants 24 3.4 Data collection 25 3.4.1 Questionnaire 26 3.4.2 Students’ reflective journals 28 3.4.3 Interviews 27 3.4 Procedures of the study 29 3.5 Data analysis 29 3.6 Research reliability and validity .30 3.6.1 Research reliability 30 3.6.2 Research Validity 31 3.7 Summary 31 CHAPTER FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 32 4.1 Analysis of data from the questionnaire 32 4.2 How students learn to write emails in English .33 vii 4.2.1 Students’ perceptions of teacher’s efforts in encouraging students to learn email writing in English 33 4.2.2 Students’ perceptions of teacher’s methods in teaching students how to write emails in English 37 4.2.3 Students’ ways of learning to write emails in English in their writing classes 43 4.2.4 Students’ perceptions of teacher’s feedback on students’ email writings 47 4.3 Students’ reflections on learning to write emails in English 49 4.4 Students’ difficulties in learning to write emails in English 55 4.4.1 Students’ perceptions of teacher’s methods in the email writing classes 56 4.4.2 Students’ perceptions of their language knowledge in learning email writing 59 4.4.3 Students’ worries when receiving feedback 63 4.5 Summary 66 CHAPTER CONCLUSION, IMPLICATION, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDIES 67 5.1 Summary of the key findings 67 5.2 Implications for teaching practice 68 5.3 Implications for student learning 70 5.4 Limitations of the study 71 5.5 Suggestions for further studies .71 REFERENCES 72 APPENDICES 83 viii LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS Table Table 4.1: The reliability of the questionnaire 32 Table 4.2 Mean score of questionnaire for students 32 Table 4.3: Teacher’s efforts in encouraging students to learn email writing in English .34 Table 4.4: One-Sample Test 34 Table 4.5 Teacher’s effort in encouraging students to learn email writing in English 35 Table 4.6: Teacher’s methods in instructing students how to write emails in English .38 Table 4.7: Students’ ways of learning to write emails in English 43 Table 4.8 Teacher’s feedback on students’ email writings 47 Table 4.9: Descriptive Statistics 56 Table 4.10 Teacher’s methods in the email writing classes: 56 Table 4.11 Descriptive Statistics 60 Table 4.12 Students’ worries when receiving feedback 64 Chart Chart 4.1 Teacher’s methods in teaching students how to write emails in English 38 Chart 4.2 Students’ ways of learning to write emails in English .44 Chart 4.3 Teacher’s feedback for students’ email writings .47 Chart 4.4 Teachers’ methods in the email writing classes .57 Chart 4.5: Students’ language proficiency in learning email writing .60 Chart 4.6 Students’ worries when receiving feedback .64 ix APPENDICES Appendix 1: Book Map 83 Appendix 2: Writing section (From Book Map) Unit Topic Writing Global Warming Write an essay about the causes and effects of global warming, and the possible solutions Unit Further Education Write an email asking for information about higher education opportunities Unit Our World Heritage Writing an essay about the reason why Trang Sites An scenic Landscape Complex was recognized as a World Heritage Site Review Unit Cities of the Future Writing an email to a friend about city life in the future Unit 10 Healthy Lifestyle and Writing a story about how young people Longevity have changed their lifestyle to overcome a problem 84 Appendix 3: QUESTIONNAIRE (For EFL students) This questionnaire aims to collect data for the study “A STUDY ON 11TH GRADERS’ REFLECTIONS ON THE PROCESS OF LEARNING TO WRITE EMAILS IN ENGLISH AT GIO LINH HIGH SCHOOL IN QUANG TRI PROVINCE” Data collected in this questionnaire will be used for the research purpose only The researcher assures that all information collected will be kept confidential Your real name will not be revealed in the thesis and any publications Your assistance in completing the following questionnaire is highly appreciated Please provide your personal information Sex: Male (M)…………… Female (F)…………… PART 1: HOW STUDENTS LEARN TO WRITE EMAILS IN ENGLISH Direction: For each of the following statements, please indicate your agreement by putting a cross (X) in the appropriate column according to the following scales: = Strongly Agree = Agree = Disagree = Strongly Disagree No = Neutral Items The teacher often discusses directly with us the importance of emails writing in the class activities The teacher starts the lesson with interesting pre-email writing activities to stimulate our participation The teacher provides some supplementary information or appropriate strategies for us to write emails The teacher often requires us to participate in pair and group work activities during email writing lesson I learn email writing with technology such as active board, computer, PowerPoint 85 The teacher often brings humor into the classroom The teacher scaffolds the questions related to email writing from simple to more complex The teacher often explains new/more vocabulary for us before we write an email The teacher often supplies more/correct grammars for us before we write an email 10 I learn the organization of an email before I write it 11 I figure out the purpose of an email before I write it 12 I write draft emails before the final one 13 I employ lexical knowledge related to emails for my writing 14 I read the instructions in the textbook about email writing 15 The teacher explains to us how to write an email and then we practice writing 16 I examine the email sample in the textbook 17 After writing an email, I seek help from the teacher and classmates to revise it 18 The teacher should give me feedback by a grade or mark only 19 The teachers give me feedback by a grade or mark first, then comments 20 The teacher gives me feedback by comments first, then a grade or mark 21 The teacher gives me feedback by comments only 22 The teacher often takes time to celebrate students’ success in email writing lesson 86 PART 2: STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING TO WRITE EMAILS IN ENGLISH Direction: For each of the following statements, please indicate your agreement by putting a cross (X) in the appropriate column according to the following scales: = Strongly Agree = Agree = Disagree = Strongly Disagree No = Neutral Items 23 Teachers’ teaching method makes me feel bored 24 The activities for email writing are boring 25 Teachers are so strict and in a bad temper for students’ mistakes in emails 26 I am fearful of criticism or losing face when receiving feedback from teacher on your email writing 27 I have no motivation to express yourselves in an email 28 I am not confident in your English competence in email writing 29 There are not enough reference materials to write emails 30 I face difficulties in preparing and choosing language to express ideas 31 I not have enough vocabulary to write emails in English 32 There are not enough time for writing an email because of 45-minute limitation 33 The students have few chances to practice writing emails in class and out of school 34 Teachers not correct carefully your email writing 35 I have no enough time to discuss and share ideas with my classmates about email writing 87 Appendix 3: BẢNG CÂU HỎI (For EFL students) Các câu phát biểu sau dùng để phục vụ cho nghiên cứu phản ánh học sinh khối 11 trình học viết email Tiếng Anh trường trung học phổ thông Gio Linh Các liệu thu thập sử dụng cho mục đích nghiên cứu Tôi xin đảm bảo thông tin bảo mật Tên thật bạn không bị để lộ luận văn hay xuất Chúng đánh giá cao tham gia tích cực nghiêm túc bạn để nghiên cứu đảm bảo tính khách quan, trung thực đáng tin cậy Thơng tin cá nhân Giới tính: Nam (M)…………… Nữ (F)…………… PHẦN 1: CÁC BẠN ĐÃ HỌC VIẾT EMAIL BẰNG TIẾNG ANH NHƯ THẾ NÀO Các bạn học sinh vui lòng đánh dấu () vào can ô để bày tỏ thái độ 22 phát biểu bên tương ứng với mức độ sau: = Rất đồng ý = Đồng ý = Không đồng ý = Rất không đồng ý Phát biểu Stt = Trung lập/ khơng có ý kiến Thầy thường thảo luận trực tiếp với tầm quan trọng viết can loại email can hoạt động học viết Thầy, cô bắt đầu giảng can hoạt động thú vị trước viết emails để khuyến khích tham gia học Thầy ,cô cung cấp thông tin hỗ trợ chiến lược phù hợp cho để viết emails Thầy, cô thường yêu cầu hoạt động theo cặp theo nhóm hoạt động học viết emails 88 Tôi học viết emails cách sử dụng công nghệ bảng tương tác, máy tính, phần mềm powerpoint Thầy cô thường mang hài hước vào học lớp Thầy, cô thường hướng dẫn câu hỏi liên quan đến học viết email từ dễ đến khó Thầy, thường giải thích thêm từ, ngữ cho trước viết emails Thầy, cô thường cung cấp cho thêm cấu trúc ngữ pháp trước viết emails 10 Tôi học cấu trúc email trước viết 11 Tơi định hình mục đích email trước viết 12 Tơi thường viết nháp trước hồn thành email cuối 13 Tơi sử dụng kiến thức ngơn ngữ có liên quan đến email để viết 14 Tôi đọc hướng dẫn cách viết email sách giáo khoa để viết email 15 Thầy, giải thích cho chúng tơi cách viết email sau chúng tơi tập viết 16 Tôi thường nghiên cứu email mẫu sách giáo khoa để viết 17 Sau viết xong email, thường nhờ thầy cô bạn lớp kiểm tra lại cho 18 Thầy, nên nhận xét bạn cách cho điểm 19 Thầy, cô nên nhận xét bạn cách cho điểm trước, 89 sau cho số lời khuyên 20 Thầy, cô nên nhận xét bạn cách đưa số lời khun, sau cho điểm 21 Thầy, nên nhận xét bạn cách cho cho số lời khuyên 22 Thầy, cô thường dành thời gian để khen ngợi thành mà học sinh đạt hoạt động học viết emails PHẦN 2: MỘT SỐ KHÓ KHĂN CỦA HỌC SINH TRONG HOẠT ĐỘNG HỌC VIẾT EMAIL BẰNG TIẾNG ANH Các bạn học sinh vui lòng đánh dấu () vào ô để bày tỏ thái độ 13 phát biểu bên tương ứng với mức độ sau: = Rất đồng ý = Đồng ý = Không đồng ý = Rất không đồng ý Phát biểu Stt = Trung lập/ khơng có ý kiến Phương pháp dạy học giáo viên làm cảm thấy không hứng thú Các hoạt động học viết email Tiếng Anh nhàm chán Thầy, cô nghiêm khắc có thái độ tiêu cực với lỗi viết email học sinh Tôi cảm thấy sợ bị phê bình bị mặt nhận nhận xét chưa tốt viết email từ thầy,cơ Tơi khơng có động lực để nêu ý kiến viết email 90 Tôi không tự tin vào khả ngôn ngữ Tiếng Anh viết email Tơi chưa có đầy đủ tài liệu tham khảo để viết email Tiếng Anh Tơi gặp khó khăn việc chuẩn bị lựa chọn ngôn ngữ để mô tả ý kiến cuả Tơi chưa có đủ từ ngữ để viết email Tiếng Anh 10 Bởi có 45 phút tiết học nên bạn khơng có đủ thời gian để viết email 11 Học sinh có hội để luyện tập viết email hay ngồi lớp học 12 Thầy, khơng sửa viết emai cho bạn cách kĩ 13 Tơi khơng có đủ thời gian để thảo luận hay trao đổi ý kiến với bạn khác hoạt động viết email 91 Appendix 4: PART 1: HOW STUDENTS LEARN TO WRITE EMAILS IN ENGLISH Direction: For each of the following statements, please indicate your agreement by putting a cross (X) in the appropriate column according to the following scales: = Strongly Agree = Agree = Disagree = Strongly Disagree No = Neutral Items The teacher often discusses directly with us the importance of emails writing in the class activities The teacher starts the lesson with interesting pre-email writing activities to stimulate our participation The teacher provides some supplementary information or appropriate strategies for us to write emails The teacher often requires us to participate in pair and group work activities during email writing lesson I learn email writing with technology such as active board, computer, PowerPoint The teacher often brings humor into the classroom The teacher scaffolds the questions related to email writing from simple to more complex The teacher often explains new/more vocabulary for us before we write an email The teacher often supplies more/correct grammars for us before we write an email 10 I learn the organization of an email before I write it 11 I figure out the purpose of an email before I write it 92 12 I write draft emails before the final one 13 I employ lexical knowledge related to emails for my writing 14 I read the instructions in the textbook about email writing 15 The teacher explains to us how to write an email and then we practice writing 16 I examine the email sample in the textbook 17 After writing an email, I seek help from the teacher and classmates to revise it 18 The teacher should give you feedback by a grade or mark only 19 The teachers give you feedback by a grade or mark first, then comments 20 The teacher gives you feedback by comments first, then a grade or mark 21 The teacher gives you feedback by comments only 22 The teacher often takes time to celebrate students’ success in email writing lesson 93 Appendix 5: STUDENTS’ DIFFICULTIES IN LEARNING TO WRITE EMAILS IN ENGLISH Direction: For each of the following statements, please indicate your agreement by putting a cross (X) in the appropriate column according to the following scales: = Strongly Agree = Agree = Disagree = Strongly Disagree No = Neutral Items 23 Teachers’ teaching method makes you feel bored 24 The activities for email writing are boring 25 Teachers are so strict and in a bad temper for students’ mistakes in emails 26 I am fearful of criticism or losing face when receiving feedback from teacher on your email writing 27 I have no motivation to express yourselves in an email 28 I am not confident in your English competence in email writing 29 There are not enough reference materials to write emails 30 I face difficulties in preparing and choosing language to express ideas 31 I not have enough vocabulary to write emails in English 32 There are not enough time for writing an email because of 45-minute limitation 33 The students have few chances to practice writing emails in class and out of school 34 Teachers not correct carefully your email writing 35 I have no enough time to discuss and share ideas with your classmates about email writing 94 Appendix 6: Teacher’s methods in instructing students how to write emails in English Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std Deviation 3,7914 0,54914 Mean of theme 100 2,57 5,00 Q 4,5,7,8,9,10,15 95 Appendix Ten of twenty students’ reflective journals were attached in this appendix STUDENTS’ REFLECTIVE JOURNAL_ GUIDING QUESTIONS This journal is to collect students’ reflections on the process of learning to write emails in English You are invited to write how you learn to write emails in English and what you think about email writing periods in English classes The following questions help you to focus on what you will write Your enthusiastic and serious participation is highly appreciated How did you learn to write emails in English today? ( Em học viết emails Tiếng Anh nào?) What you think about the process of writing emails in English? ( Em nghĩ trình viết emails Tiếng Anh Ví dụ cách học, cách viết, trình tự để có email logic, hồn chỉnh ) How did the teacher guide you? Please describe clearly (Thầy , cô hướng dẫn em viết email lớp Em mơ tả tả cụ thể) How did you get help from classmates in email writing? ( Em nhận hỗ trợ từ bạn lớp học viết emails Tiếng Anh) What difficulties did you face in writing email learning today? ( Hãy nêu số khó khăn em gặp phải học viết emails Tiếng Anh) You can add more ideas related to email writing process at school if necessary Thank you so much! 96 Appendix STUDENT INTERVIEW This interview is to collect students’ reflections on the process of learning to write emails in English You are invited to answer the following questions about writing emails in English and what you think about email writing periods in English classes Your enthusiastic and serious participation is highly appreciated How you learn to write emails in English at school? What you think about the process of writing emails in English? How does the teacher guide you? How you get help from classmates in email writing? What difficulties you often face in writing email learning today? Thank you so much! Appendix Reliability Statistics Cronbach’s alpha N of items 0.790 35 Appendix 10 Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 0.713 13 Appendix 11 Reliability Statistics Cronbach's Alpha N of Items 0.794 22 97