Trang 1 THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES NONG THANH THUY AN APPLICATION OF BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES TO DEVELOP ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS FOR 11TH GRADE STUDENTS AT A HIGH
INTRODUCTION
Rationale
Nowadays English has become an international language because it is widely used in many parts of the world In the tendency of integration of the global economy English is one of the effective communicative tools for everybody The role of English is very important in the fields of economics, politics, science, culture and education
Writing has played an important part in English language courses ( Frauziati: 2010:45) In a writing work, teacher has always found different techniques to help student develop their abilities of presenting ideas, thinking, and emotion on various subjects Techniques are an implementation which takes place in a classroom Robert
(2009) stated that writing is an efficient learning process which is utilized to communicate information, clarify thinking, and learn new concept It is generally agreed that writing is the most difficult skill to master for foreign language learners Although there have been many techniques that can help students in writing, brainstorming techniques are appropriate for students at high school
Most of students are afraid of English writing skills even though this is a skill that synthesizes how to use a language such as vocabulary, grammatical structure English writing skill is considered one of the most difficult skills It requires learners have an understanding about the topic, relevant sector as vocabulary and structure of a paragraph or essay
Teachers have looked for different methods in teaching English writing skills to improve students’ writing ability Brainstorming techniques have applied in many schools around the world and achieved significant results in teaching and studying skills in foreign languages To help 11 th grade students to improve writing English abilities, brainstorming techniques in writing English lessons were taken in class
In some high schools, students do not know how to make outlines and write paragraphs The reasons why students cannot write even a paragraph in English writing lessons is that they lack ideas of writing topics, general knowledge, vocabulary, and grammar structures The students just focus on practice grammar
2 structure and pay no attention to the topics or themes Students who do not know about the tips in learning English writing lessons Because students approach English writing skills slower in the learning process, the results are not high Moreover, the high school curriculum requires students to write complete paragraphs and articles, however the level of awareness and implementation is not appropriate and lead to the results that the English writing lessons are passed in silence and are almost unsatisfactory
Although English is taught from Primary to High School, many High School, especially in remote and mountainous area, graduates are in low level in English writing skill It is believed that there are several reasons causing the students’ difficulties in writing Some of the reasons are due to the methods which were less effective In previous years the methodology was teacher-centered and focused only on reading and doing exercises Grammar was considered as primary importance and was often taught most thoroughly This also caused a common problem: The Grammar –Translation method was mainly used Teachers usually taught grammar rather than other skills Moreover, most of the activities were of the traditional modes, such as reading the dialogues, reciting texts and doing written exercises There were few examinations which have written tests, which caused both the teachers and students to neglect English writing skill
To recover from the challenge, High schools’ teachers in general, my school in particular has used the new English textbook by the Ministry of Education for three years The new textbook focuses mainly on four different skills Moreover, all tests and examinations are required to have writing skills and after each term students must take part in written tests Therefore, students must spend more time practicing writing English than before In addition, each unit includes a project part at the end of the last lesson However, teachers still can’t avoid the fact that each class has a lot of students with different levels Obviously, there are some students that can’t take part in integrated activities and understand the lesson as well Furthermore, the knowledge in the new textbook is relatively difficult with a lot of new words and each period has many activities
Most students are not good at English writing skills therefore teacher needs to apply brainstorming activities in teaching writing lessons In reality, the cognitive ability of students of different classes are not the same, and they do not have many opportunities to practice writing at school and at home Their English writing outcomes are not qualified as their grade, so teacher needs to use different flexibly types of attractive activities to encourage them to write
Such problems mentioned above lead to the essential of the thesis: Action research into applying Brainstorming techniques would be carried out to solve the given problems.
Aims of the study
The aim of the study was to identify the effectiveness of applying brainstorming techniques in teaching English writing for 11 th grade students at a high school and to access students’ attitude toward brainstorming techniques used in English writing practice
Based on the background of the research, the research would answer the following questions about teaching, learning, and applying Brainstorming techniques in English writing lessons
1 To what extend do the brainstorming techniques develop students’ writing ability in English writing lessons for 11 th grade students at a high school?
2 What are the students’ attitudes toward the use of brainstorming techniques in English writing lessons at high school?
Scope of the study
This study was carried out in an English class with 40 students in class 11 grade at Vo Nhai high school in the first semester of the year 2021-2022 The research focused on how the brainstorming techniques to help students create ideas, make outline for English writing lessons in pre-writing stage of English writing lessons This was an opportunity for students to work out actively their ideations and confidently performed their outcome products as well as cooperated working in group The period of the study was last for a maximum of two months At the end of this period, students were asked to complete a short questionnaire to evaluate any changes in their attitude toward English writing lessons, and brainstorming techniques
The significance of the study
The research provided students with practical advantages, which played an important role in the formation and development of English writing skills for students Research helped teachers in teaching foreign languages, specifically English writing skills, with more techniques and solutions to problems in the process of teaching at high school The study would help students at high school to improve English writing ability base on brainstorming activities in English writing lessons It was possible for the researcher to find out the difficulties and challenges during research process, to evaluate the attitude of students toward brainstorming techniques in learning English language and gave a general knowledge of improving students’ writing ability and the foundation for the next study.
Organization of the study
This study is composed of five following chapters:
Chapter 1 “Introduction” presents the background, aims, research question, the significance, the scope and the design of the study
Chapter 2 “Literature review” conceptualizes the framework of the study through the discussion of issues and ideas on theories of teaching and learning writing skills and the implementation of the research
Chapter 3 “Methodology” presents the context, the methodology used in this study including the context, the subject, the data collection instruments, data collection procedure and data analysis
Chapter 4 “Findings and Discussions” consists of a comprehensive analysis of the data and a discussion on the findings of this study
Chapter 5 “Conclusion” offers a summary of the findings, implications, limitations of the study and future directions for further study
In summary, this chapter provides the overview of the study including rationale of the study, aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, and significance of the study and design of the study The following chapter will present the theoretical framework of the study
LITERATURE REVIEW
Definition of writing
In teaching a language, writing is one of the four language skills (speaking, listening, reading, and writing) that a learner is expected to master Writing is the process in which the writer expresses his thoughts or ideas in the form of handwriting Writing is a way of communication Leki (1976) states that a good article brings the author's idea to the reader without losing or distorting those ideas To understand thoroughly the nature of writing, some more academic definitions of writing should be studied
According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (1989), writing is to make letters or other symbols on a surface (usually paper), especially with a pen or pencil People can write on computer or cellphone Writing, in Davies’s point of view, involved two kinds of skills The first ones were low-level skills such as handwriting or typing, spelling, constructing grammatical sentences, punctuating and the second ones were high-level cognitive skills such as gathering ideas, organizing, and sequencing, structuring, drafting, and editing Byrne (1988) gave a long and complex definition which might be summarized as follows: writing is the act of forming graphic symbols (letters or combinations of letters) which were arranged according
6 to certain conventions, to form words, and words which were arranged to form sentences, and we produced a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together in certain way, on a flat surface of some kind
In conclusion, Byrne’s definition can be considered one of the most complete definitions of writing because it covers all the features of writing given by three above-mentioned authors.
Writing skills
Writing skills include all the knowledge and abilities related to expressing ideas through the written word Knowing what situations call for different styles of writing and being able to set an appropriate tone over text are both important writing skills that any person can use at work Some of the best writing skills include research, outlining, editing, reading comprehension, time management (by Indeed Editorial Team, February23, 2021)
Writing can be considered a necessity in a larger context of life beyond the classroom, not just another section that will come up in the context of a standardized national examination Riswanto and Putra (2012) stated that writing is one of the language skills that will never become obsolete in education It is not only essentially important in language class, but also in other classes of other subjects Ahangari and Behzady (2011) mentioned that writing is one of the best ways to keep track of learning Writing is also one of the most difficult skills for the students to acquire as writing requires a number of skills and conventions like organizing and developing ideas and information, choosing the right vocabulary accurately to eradicate the ambiguity of meaning and also the practice of accurate grammatical devices to focus and emphasize ideas (Nik et al., 2010, Yunus et al., 2013) Furthermore, writing demands the writer to choose the choice of vocabulary carefully and have a comprehensive knowledge of grammatical patterns in order to be able to write sentence structures that are pertinent to the subject matter (Ali &Yunus, 2004) Therefore, ESL students should have frequent practice on writing rather than having knowledge of skills and conventions of writing
Kinds of writing skills
In general, there are four tyles of writing by Ineed Editorial Team updated July
26 th , 2021 They are descriptive writing style, narrative writing style, persuasive writing style and expository writing style
First, descriptive writing style, descriptive writing is writing that takes the reader to a story by creating a colorful picture of the setting, characters, and events that happened The tools used in this article are usually simulations and metaphors The purpose of the descriptive writing style is to make the reader feel like they have experienced the events for themselves Most of the article descriptions are not too long For example, poems, personal diaries, and lyrics To introduce a character in a workplace or study, you can include a short story, brief biography or autobiography of the character to introduce
Second, narrative writing style, narrative writing is a way of writing that describes and tells an entire story with a clear three-part layout: the beginning, the main part, and the ending Narrative writing needs to follow a clear plot that has events, characters, climax, and end of the story For example, a fictional novel, film script, or memoir Narrative, flashback, or predictive writing is used as a literary tool in narrative writing
Third, persuasive writing style, persuasive writing is a way of writing to convince or influence the reader to believe or do what the writer wants Persuasive writing style requires the writer to have knowledge, research, and logical reasoning connected with emotions to convince the reader to accept the author's personal opinions and beliefs Examples include cover letters, cover letters, promotional materials, and proposals to convince the intended audience
The last one, expository writing style, narrative is a way of writing to announce, explain, or describe something to the reader One of the most typical writing styles is the Narrative Writing Style, which answers the reader's questions such as:
"What", "Why", and "How" In this writing style, writers need to separate their subjective opinions from the truth they are sharing
Examples include how-to guides, educational articles, and newsletters that provide accurate information, insights, and facts about a particular topic.
Process of teaching and learning writing skills
Early research around embedding the writing process into classroom practice (Graves, 1994; Calkins, 1994) highlights high levels of student engagement with writing when their interests are legitimated, and their topic choices are honored Student writing process should be done daily based on student activities Each article has its own purpose and depends on the authors The writer needs to clearly define the purpose, form, style, and language used in the work No matter what the purpose of the article, or who the reader is, the article is involved from ideation to implementation and publication There are different types of methods for teaching the writing process such as: approximately using the teaching and learning cycle, or the more process-oriented approach of the writing workshop, which incorporates education about the writing process as students compose texts
As noted by Christie (2016,), “As teachers and students together initiate writing activities in school, so too they engage in writing processes, shaping meanings, working towards purposes and creating different texts, or ‘products’”
In the parts of the text that the author wants the reader to read, the writing process usually takes the form by https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources,last updated on
11 th January,2021 Planning and practicing; The formation, selection and arrangement of ideas for writing, consideration of purpose and vertical will influence the choice of writing style and organization of the article Composing and drafting is about recording ideas with attention to meaning, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and handwritten or typed form Text revision is the review of text, often as a result of feedback from teachers, colleagues, or friends to improve and enhance the quality of the text In addition, editing and proofreading are the stages of finalizing the manuscript in the most complete and complete way for publication Editing includes correcting spelling, text layout, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation Finally,
9 publishing, the work of preparing documents to share with readers, it is necessary to pay attention to the form and how to attract readers
The students’ role in the writing process is necessary and the writing classroom needs to be a supportive environment for students to experiment, innovate and attempt new and different forms of writing Therefore, while mindfulness of an audience necessitates attention to conventions around grammar, spelling and punctuation, students must feel they have license to learn through a process of trial and error Newkirk and Kittle (2013), reflecting on the legacy of Donald Graves, note that a successful writing classroom is one where students feel a sense of audience, agency, and purpose Students need to know that their writing choices will be respected, and that feedback will be offered respectfully and sensitively In addition to these rights, they also need to know that they have responsibilities in what they write—and that sensitivity to the reality of student diversity needs to be carefully considered as students embark on writing that will entertain, inform and engage.
Writing abilities
The definitions of writing are variously stated by some experts According to Rivers (1981: 294), writing is conveying information or expression of original ideas in a consecutive way in the new language Brown, (2001: 336) also claimed that writing is a thinking process
Yi, Jyi-yeon (2009) There are different definitions of high school students' writing ability These definitions are used to define, evaluate, and approach students in the class Writing ability is accepted among researchers as uniform and comprehensive Each approach and definition has its own advantages and disadvantages depending on the main aspect and area it focuses on
Approaches are classified differently by researchers However, the approaches are reduced to three main ways: product/text oriented, process/cognitive and reader oriented Approaches to teaching writing can be grouped into two main groups The product approach and the process approach Three approaches are as important as in Hyland (2002), based on factors such as audience and social context
There are four steps to practice writing English https://vnexpress.net/bon- buoc-cai-thien-ky-nang-viet-tieng-anh-4353384.html updated last time on 9 th September,2021 The first step is choosing a genre Based on the English writing patterns as essay, academic writing, business writing, letter and email, creation, and others, choose the one that are most interested in and want to imitate For example, if someone is in need of an academic paper, refer to related articles and choose the one you like, from which to learn how to write
The second step is reading carefully and take notes Select and highlight the important parts, outline the main idea Copying someone else’s work is accepted as this is the learning step; the following steps will help writer edit and develop the article.Writer can repeat these two steps by selecting multiple texts of the same genre, to create a better experience and language exposure
The third step is writing a short paragraph Taking advantage of online exercises and apps, start writing short paragraphs based on learning styles from existing ones Writer should use simple structures and common words first, then technical terms Some online writing platforms like blogs, academic forums, even a post on social media accounts Try to maintain this habit every day, write little by little to get used to using English The last step is editing the post After having finished the writing keep it and review in one or two weeks At that time, writer will discover many mistakes and come up with new ideas to improve the writing Writer can also ask people with better skills to help, get their suggestions to improve faster Writer should not feel embarrassed or bad about asking for help, because even professional writers need someone to see a manuscript before it is published Receiving feedback will bring more ideas and help writer improve writing skills better.
Brainstorming techniques
Dr Darin Eich, Ph.D (2015) stated that when students and their friends work together to solve a problem in learning or find out solution to a trouble is often called brainstorming It is a group creativities technique that efforts are made to find a conclusion by gathering a list of ideas contributed by members or to deal with in a short time effectively Large or small group activity that encourages students to focus
11 on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas The teacher may begin a brainstorming session by posing a question, or a problem, or by introducing a topic Students then express possible answers, relevant words, ideas, and structures as well Techniques have numerous benefits; quickly generate ideas and support for a piece of writing, correct the errors in the first draft of a piece of writing, target the audience and purpose of a piece of writing, and create a detailed outline for a piece of writing It involves breaking down ideas into areas of thought
When you need to solve a problem that is not so easy, you need to brainstorm to come up with a solution Specifically, brainstorming is a method used to develop creative solutions to a problem Everyone will come together to come up with ideas that focus on the main issue And going through the process of exchange and discussion will give the best answer This method is suitable for working in groups together When everyone is creative, there will be more unique ideas Everyone in the group doesn't hesitate to give their own opinion, the more the better After analyzing and agreeing with each other, there will be an appropriate opinion on the problem There are some basic principles of brainstorming according to Dr Darin Eich, Ph.D (2015)
In a language classroom, students should write more with real life situations, Beside learn other skills For things that are most interesting, and learners really care about, they can read more books, watch movies, listen to music, take notes to promote inspiration The important thing is to relax, limiting the stress on the body that will affect the brain
Brainstorm the right way: It is impossible to want to be able to brainstorm right away and come up with the right solution to a problem Brainstorming is a method that takes time, with students even more need to adapt For those who do not have much brainstorming experience, try doing it alone, if you have any ideas, write them all down on paper and compare them with each other When you get used to it, try to do it with others, work in groups regularly
Limit criticism: The essence of brainstorming is creativity to come up with original ideas So, with any idea anyone should not criticize sarcasm or criticize
Apply mind map to support effective brainstorming: Instead of using cumbersome writing, everyone should apply the way of drawing diagrams to connect ideas This helps the brain to absorb information more easily and remember it for longer This creative note-taking method will make brainstorming even easier Learn to focus: Concentration is essential to brainstorming effective ideas If learners are easily distracted, learn to focus Stay away from electronic technology devices; find a quiet enough place to help learners work well
Teaching students do brainstorm in writing skills, they may apply in different fields in their real life They usually practice thinking, doing, and dealing with the problems or find solutions quickly The main purposes of brainstorming are to quickly generate ideas and support for a piece of writing, to correct the errors in the first draft of a piece of writing, to target the audience and purpose of a piece of writing, and to create detailed outline for a piece of writing
Jenna Wilson (2019) states that there are ten effective team brainstorming techniques on the website
To generate team brainstorming sessions more effectively there are also five tips for running Firstly, to allow people to prepare, it means that learners need some minutes to prepare before giving ideas Secondly, to set a clear intention, learners want a very feasible ideas for their outcomes Thirdly, to invite new people, if learners work in the same group, they may change the members or add more ones from
13 different group to get new ideas, and views Next, to foster an inclusive, supportive environment and let learner’s product their information, and viewpoints as they wish Finally, to follow up, and make sure the solutions focus on the given problems Mogahed M Mogahed (2022) stated that most problems are not solved automatically by the first idea that comes to mind To get to the best solution it is important to consider many possible solutions One of the best ways to do this is called brainstorming Brainstorming is a useful way of getting started or generating new ideas Once students are familiar with the process, they can use this activity on their own when they are stuck, revising their work, or moving on to a new phase Bobb-Wolff (1996) argues that brainstorming can be a useful and enriching tool in the EFL classroom and a means of showing students that they are collectively capable of generating far more ideas to improve their learning process than they believed possible This in turn, leads to an increase in their autonomy of learning and self- responsibility But most importantly, it improves the quality of student participation and student production in class Brainstorming is the act of spontaneously jotting down ideas in preparation for various aspects of writing Some prove to be useful; others can be discarded (Ledbetter, 2010: 18)
In addition, McDowell (1999:5) defines brainstorming as " the act of defining a problem or idea and coming up with anything related to the topic – no matter how remote a suggestion may sound All of these ideas are recorded and evaluated only after the brainstorming is completed." Tomlinson (1998) agrees with McDowell that brainstorming is a pre-writing activity in which a writer jots down everything he can think of on a set subject without judging the ideas; after that the writer looks at the result for patterns or other useful information about the subject The important point about brainstorming is that there should be no pressure on the writer Students should simply open their minds to whatever pops into them There are several ways to organize brainstorming for ideas; Individual brainstorming, from individual to the whole class, and group brainstorming Bobb-Wolff (1996) responds that from individual to whole class brainstorming is most suitable when we want students to clear up ideas individually before sharing or comparing them with others On the
14 other hand, from the small group to the whole class brainstorming is most useful when small group discussions will help students generate more ideas Unfortunately, in whole-group brainstorming, the tendency is for contributions from only a few with the majority sitting passively To encourage greater participation, switching to one or the other of the two alternatives can well be a solution.
Benefits of brainstorming
To produce and concept new ideas, and the benefits of brainstorming can be extended beyond ideation The first benefits of brainstorming is boosts group moral All the members of a group work for a main goal in a creative and supportive ways They together must find out the best and effective solution in a short time
The second is to bring together diverse ideas There are numerous ideas for the member to consider, which can yield better results than one because their outcomes are from different backgrounds
Next, yield a large quantity of ideas, the sheer number of ideas produced in a group brainstorm makes a strong case for its effectiveness Every idea won’t be a winner, but among the ideas that the team comes up with, a handful will be worth pursuing That is why it is important to follow up each brainstorm with a planning session to push those ideas into reality
Finally, promoting creative thinking, the learners are allowed to give ideas flow freely without hesitation or distraction The topic or the requirement related to their lives may create feasible solutions When people walk into a traditional class lesson, they are expected to be prepared and have the answers to questions Brainstorms take that pressure off and allow people to contribute half-baked ideas, even if those ideas are not fully thought through or the perfect solution Those ideas can help trigger new ideas from other people in the room, and the ideas build off one another
Large or small group activity that encourages students to focus on a topic and contribute to the free flow of ideas The teacher may begin a brainstorming session by posing a question or a problem, or by introducing a topic Students then express possible answers, relevant words, ideas, and structures
Brainstorming, By Dr Mahmoud M S Abdallah (2015), is often used to create new products, improve existing ones, or solve problems By brainstorming for a class paper, learners can find a topic, narrow it, and discover details to develop it Learners might start by listing down possible topics then jotting down ways to narrow or to branch off For a group, using a chalk-board is helpful to record ideas and trigger more The secret of successful brainstorming is to think fast and forgot criticism All ideas are respected, no matter how wild or irrelevant they might be Remarks such as "That won’t work!" dampen enthusiasm and dam the stream of ideas.
Brainstorming activities
In this part, some brainstorming activities were carried out in writing lessons, which helped demonstrate and support for the applying these techniques
A mind map is a useful organizational technique that involves creating a visual diagram to capture and structure information, ideas, or concepts
To apply mind map to support effective brainstorming, teachers may use template gallery on the Internet to give their students Teachers can use mind map maker or access website https://creately.com/diagram-type/mind-map for more templates Think of a mind map as a more interesting way of brainstorming ideas rather than the traditional method of taking notes to generate and organize ideas, a mind map is a graphical method of laying out ideas and organizing information in an easy-to-recall manner
When creating a mind map, there are some key elements that make for an effective mind map
What is a mind map? (2019).22/03/2022https://www.edrawmind.com
A main/central idea: This is the core reason for a mind map The central idea represents the main subject that learners want to focus on when creating a mind map
Branches: These are the sub-ideas or information that emanate from the central idea Branches are usually ordered in different levels Sub-ideas that directly branch
16 out from the central idea are known as first-level associations More branches are created to capture information and add more details
Keywords: In mind maps, information is simplified, condensed, and captured in keywords The keywords represent the idea behind each branch in the mind map
Color: Each connection in a mind map is represented with a related color and this enables easy memory recollection
Mind mapping is a versatile productivity-boosting technique that finds application in various fields Mind maps are created by mimicking the brain's thought process, and because this technique has been shown to stimulate both brain hemispheres, mind mapping has grown popular and has been adopted for use in several fields
Find solutions to problems: Need to understand a problem and come up with solutions and action points Mind maps allow users to cut through the mental chaos that arises when one is confronted with a problem Using a mind map to explore a problem brings you into a relaxed, uninhibited mental state where you are more prone to focus and critically look at a problem to come up with solutions and actionable steps
Improve study: Mind mapping is a great way to supercharge study time and derive more value when students sit down to learn the material With mind maps, students can take notes, identify core concepts in the material and the underlying points that support the core concepts in an easy-to-recall manner Students can make the most of their study time and fully grasp elements by using mind maps because it fosters critical thinking and aids retention of absorbed information
Generate ideas: Mind mapping fosters mental creativity and is an effective technique for coming up with ideas during a brainstorming session The way a mind map is structured with a central focus point connected to many different branches helps to spur the creative process, making it easy to enumerate ideas and capture useful information
Teachers should decide beforehand whether to create a mind map on paper or draw one using the software Drawing a mind map on paper has some limitations, and
17 it is best to create one with mind mapping software like EdrawMind.com Digital mind maps are shareable and great for professional presentations EdrawMind is an excellent cross-platform drawing tool that allows users to create mind maps across all devices, from PC to Web to Mobile They can sign up for a free account and start generating unlimited mind maps across all platforms While teachers were teaching online, they assessed this and asked students to do online
Clustering, devised by Gabriele Rico (2015), called mind mapping or idea mapping It is a strategy that allows learners to explore the relationships between ideas Put the subject in the central of a page, circle or underline it As learners think of other ideas, link the new ideas to the central circle with lines, add to those in the same way The result of mind mapping process will look like a web on the page Locate clusters of interest to learners and use the terms they attached to the key ideas as departure points for the paper
Like brainstorming, brainwriting is a great way to share new ideas, encourage creativity, and develop innovative ideas It was designed by Bernd Rohrbach in 1969, Brainwriting overcomes the limitations of shy or introverted team members by allowing them to write down their ideas and giving everyone an equal opportunity to participate in group work
Learners may use both brainwriting online by downloading templates or using a pen-and-paper exercise To generate brainwriting, there are six steps to run a brainwriting session according to Bernd Rohrbach (1969) as follow
2.8.2.1 Appoint someone to be the moderator
The moderator ensures that everyone stays on track throughout the session First, they should hand out copies of the brainwriting template and ask participants to fill in the date and the focus of the session This is a good way to ensure that everyone knows what needs to be achieved
2.8.2.2 Decide on the length and number of rounds
Aim to give people enough time to come up with their own ideas, and to respond to other people's However, it does not spend too much time to run on things, teacher
18 considers how long people will likely be able to concentrate for and make each round quick enough to keep everyone focused and energized
The moderator starts the timer and tells everyone to write down three ideas in the three spaces provided for round 1 No discussion needs to take place at this stage
The moderator collects all the brainstorming worksheets when the time is over and redistributes them at random The worksheets need to be numbered to avoid getting the same worksheets repeatedly
2.8.2.5 Repeat the process, round by round
Each round, participants write down three more ideas and brand-new ideas can be built on ideas that other people have already suggested on the worksheets After each round, the worksheets are swapped around again to a different person each time
After the final round, the moderator collects everyone's worksheets, then displays and talks through all the suggestions that have been made Use a whiteboard to do this or, if you're meeting online, try out an online collaboration tool like Mural or Jamboard Everyone can then discuss the ideas raised and make a group decision about which ones to take forward According to Bernd Rohrbach (1969), brainwriting sessions can also be hosted online in a remote or virtual meeting First, teachers should email everyone an electronic copy of the brainwriting template Label each one that teachers send out with a different number in the file name ("Brainwriting Worksheet 1," for example) Then, ask participants to type their ideas into the boxes provided for each round
Table 2.1 An example of Brainwriting worksheet
An example of brainwriting worksheet designed by Bernd Rohrbach in 1969
At the end of each round, each person needs to save their worksheet and label it clearly ("Brainwriting Worksheet 1 After Round 2," for instance), before sending it back to the teachers These can then be redistributed among participants again, ready for the next round Running a brainwriting session in this way will likely take more time Teachers may even need to consider running the activity over several days, to enable students in different locations and time zones to put forward their ideas It may also be harder to keep everything anonymous, and to prevent students from getting the same worksheet more than once But, as long as the teachers give out clear instructions and helps everyone to stay on track, this can still be an effective way to work through a creative problem virtually
Attitude in language learning
A person’s perception is the beliefs, thoughts, and views toward object or other people Picking up students’ positivity in the study is extremely important It plays a decisive role in the success of a lecture, motivating students as well as teachers However, if students’ awareness of learning a foreign language is not positive, it will be a big obstacle for teachers Maio and Haddock (2009) (p.4) noted that an attitude as an overall evaluation of an object that is based on cognitive, affective, and behavioral information
In this study, the researcher adopted the definition of Maio and Haddock
(2009) because the researcher found that this definition offers the most comprehensive and useful definition of attitude It provides three components model of attitude that are cognitive, affective, and behavioral components Although the feeling and belief components of attitude are internal to a person, we can view a person’s attitude from his or her resulting behavior
2.9.1 Student’s attitude towards using brainstorming in writing
Assessment of learning outcomes according to the competency approach should focus on the ability to creatively apply knowledge in different application situations In other words, competency-based assessment is the assessment of knowledge, skills and attitudes in meaningful contexts Evaluating students' learning outcomes for subjects and educational activities according to the learning process or at each learning stage is the main measure to determine the level of realization of the teaching and learning objectives of knowledge skills, attitudes and competencies, and play an important role in improving student learning outcomes.On the other hand, capacity assessment is not completely based on the educational program of each subject such as knowledge and skills assessment, because capacity is a generalization and crystallization of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and emotions, values, ethical standards, are formed from many different subjects and fields of study, and from the natural social development of a person.
Previous studies
There are many studies confirming the effectiveness of applying brainstorming techniques in teaching writing for different learners Below are some of the studies that have benefited learners from applying these techniques
Instructional implications are provided as well according to Melor Md Yunus, Chan Hua Chien (2018).The study aims to investigate SMK Oya Pre-U students’ perceptions on the use of mind mapping strategy in their MUET (Malaysian University English test) writing To achieve the aim of the study, a questionnaire was used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data The analysis of the data indicated that majority of the students had positive perceptions of the use of mind mapping strategy in enhancing their English writing skills The use of mind mapping helps students in planning their writing, adapting a deeper level of understanding of the writing topics and promoting creativity in writing The findings of the study are hoped to provide insights to the students, teachers, and curriculum designers to integrate mind mapping strategy in ESL (English as a Second Language) writing classes
The Impact of Brainstorming Strategies Iranian EFL Learners Writing Skill Regarding Their Social Class Status Journal of language and linguistics M
Maghsoudi, J Haririan (2013), aimed at investigating the effect of using brainstorming and its subcategories (listing, question, and answer, outlining) as a pre- writing strategy Instruments of the study were pretest, instruction, posttest, and a questionnaire at the end of the treatment to measure the attitude of students toward instruction Result of the study revealed that there was not any significant relationship between brainstorming, its subcategories and EFL learners writing development In addition, findings showed that there was not any significant difference between males and females in term of using brainstorming and three subcategories ZHashempour,
M Rostampour, F Behiat The effect of brainstorming as a pre- writing strategy on EFL advanced learners’ writing ability
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of concept mapping and brainstorming on the lexical and grammatical accuracy and writing anxiety of Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative essays An essay writing test and the second language writing anxiety inventory (SLA) were used both as pre- and posttest The results showed that both experimental groups did better than the control group In lexical accuracy, the two experimental groups had almost the same mean scores, but in grammatical accuracy and writing anxiety, the concept mapping group obtained the highest mean followed by the brainstorming group The findings of the study can have useful implications for teachers, students, material designers, and language assessors Abbas Ali Zarei, Behnam Feizollahi (2018) Concept Mapping and Brainstorming Affecting Writing Anxiety and Accuracy)
Finally, a thesis by Abedianpour, S., &Omidvari, A (2018) imply that the impact of employing brainstorming strategy, as a pre-writing strategy, on advanced EFL students' writing ability Moreover, the study sought to investigate the attitudes of the participants in terms of the efficacy of brainstorming for developing writing performance Based on the results of the pretest and posttest, learners that were treated with brainstorming made significant progress in writing Furthermore, questionnaire scores indicated that the majority of the learners found brainstorming a useful strategy in enhancing their writing skills The results of the current study
25 highlight the effectiveness of employing brainstorming as a pre-writing strategy in developing EFL students’ writing skill
These studies show the effectiveness of brainstorming and some prompts in teaching, learning writing, which provide students with numerous chances to improve their writing skills in context and real life The findings of these studies may bring good suggestions for educators, teachers, and students
In short, this chapter provides theories and theorical background of related activities conducted in the research There were definition and the role of English writing skill conceptualizes techniques in terms of definition, significance, factors for successful communicative activities, benefits, and types of brainstorming techniques The definition of attitude and previous studies in the application of Brainstorming techniques were presented
METHODOLOGY
Research method: Action research
The researcher adopted the action research to detect the effect of using Brainstorming activities for teaching and learning writing lessons at high school in
Vo Nhai in the first term of the school year 2021-2022
The researcher conducted action research in this study because it helps teachers identify the problems in educational situations to solve possibly The researcher focusses on resolving practical problems that occur in the classroom according to a detail plan Teachers also know what aspects of the classroom they need to concentrate to develop their teaching writing and organize the activities in writing lessons more effectively Moreover, the purpose of this action research was to improve students’ English writing ability, and the attitude of students toward using Brainstorming techniques in English writing lessons
According to Jerry G Grebhard (1999), the concept of action research originated in the work of Kurt Lewin (1948, 1952) He was a social psychologist who brought together experimental approaches to social-science research and the idea of
“social action” to address social issues Stephen Corey (1952, 1953), a Columbia University professor, was among the first to use action research in the field of education He argued that formal research following a scientific method had little impact on educational practice Through action research, he states that changes in educational practice were possible Action research was one of the best ways to address the issues that teachers faced
In Stephen Corey’s definition Action research is a way in which teachers try to study their own problems scientifically or evaluate, guide and correct their procedure
Tsui’s definition was more detailed and simpler: Teachers can use action research in their professor to deal with the issues in teaching (Tsui, 1993)
In another way, action research was mentioned at two levels by Grebhard and Oprandy:
In the first level, action research shows that teachers identify and detect the problems in each educational situations and find the relevant factors to solve possibly They must carry out a routine of activities as set a goal, begin a detail plan of actions, and make sure that the plan will work well
In the other one, action research focusses on resolving practical problems that occur in the classroom according to Grebhard and Oprandy, 1999
In the “Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics” Richards, J.C and Platt, J H gave the following definitions of action research:
In the general meaning, it is how to find solution for the problems, which bring about social changes or practical action in respectively discover scientific principles or develop general laws and theories
In teacher education, it is the way that teachers do something to improve their understanding of classroom teaching and learning and to bring about advances in classroom practices
In brief, action research is a kind of scientific study which is often carried out by a teacher or an educator to solve a practical problem in a classroom As it was named, it focuses mainly on the actions of both students and teachers So, it can solve the problems which are related to all actions and activities in a classroom The problems which are solved by action research are often practical and useful for teachers
Action research is also for a teacher’s professional developments He/she will become a better teacher because he/she knows how to find out and solve his/her problems in teaching scientifically on his/her own This also shows his/her dynamic, activeness and imagination in his/her teaching job
Other authors such as Kemmis and Mc Taggart (1988), Andy Curtis (1988) and Nunan (1989) also recommended the similar steps in doing action research in a
28 classroom Different from Tsui, in the step of “Collecting data and identifying the problem’, Nunan (1992) suggested that teachers should observe and make notes on what their learners and themselves said and did in class, and then, based on these observations, identified positive ways to bring about this change
A necessary component of action research is collaboration among different people They are teachers, their colleagues, and students, who should be willing to talk with each other about the problems and find out the solutions together, as well as help each other in implementing classroom-centered action research projects It also needs the collaborative efforts of students who participate in the action research project Students’ collaboration plays an important role in the success of the action research project
Action research is a kind of scientific study carried out by a teacher which solves the practical problems in a classroom The teacher needs action research to adapt theory (findings of conventional research) to practice (his/her own problems) According to Dornyei 2007 states that action research consists of three stages Teacher identifies the problem in teaching job in class He/she observes by himself/herself or asks somebody to observe or has his/her lessons video-taped in class to get data to prove the problem The study also proves the problem by conducting a survey to get information from students
Teacher tries to find out the causes of the problem from professional books or journals, colleagues, and teacher designs the strategies for improvement and tries them out in some lessons
Next, a lesson is observed or video-taped to get data to illustrate the changes and improvements
Teacher reflects on the reasons for the changes and improvements To ensure the success of the applied strategies in action research a survey is necessary to get the evaluation from students From the results of the action research some conclusions and comments will be made
According to (Burns,2010), there are four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting
Action research conducted by or in cooperation with teachers, has its purpose of gaining a better understanding of their educational environment and improving the effectiveness of their teaching according to Arun Joseph (2016) He states that action research is a disciplined process of inquiry conducted by and for those taking steps for the action
Identification of a problem area ; There are several criteria to consider before investing the time and effort “researching” a problem It should be a higher order question, concise, meaningful
Collection and organization of data : What action needs to be taken? Multiple sources of data are used to better understand the scope of happenings in the classroom or school There are vehicles for collecting data; pretest, posttest (performances of students’ work), questionnaire
Interpretation of data ; Analyze and identify major themes The research use classroom data, individual and group data Some of the data are quantifiable and can be analyzed without the use of statistics or technical assistance Opinions, attitudes, or checklists may be summarized in table form
Action research model
A four-step process involving cycles of planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Burns,2010), as shown in Figure 1 was carried out in the study
Figure 3.1 Cyclical action research model (Burns, 2010, p 9)
Planning in the first step or planning the action the researcher identify a practical problem which was students’ English writing skills at Vo Nhai High School Researcher used brainstorming techniques to help students develop ideas, vocabularies, and grammar structures for a topic in English writing lessons The study proceed in a four-step cycle: planning, implementing, observing, and reflecting, thereby investigating the level of application of brainstorming techniques to high school students, and the attitudes of high school students toward this technique used during the time of conducting the research The researcher planned the details activities for the study and carried out the research in two months
In acting step, teacher based on the problem of the students and the purposes of the study designed different kind of activities for each lesson and tests Pretest was taken place in the first week, posttest 1 happened after four weeks and posttest 2 was occurred in the last week of the study Teacher collected the results of the tests and
31 used two ways to analyze; SPSS and excel The collected data was presented in the charts
Observing the results of the plan and analyzing, synthesizing the data and making sense of the various types of information the researcher has collected during the activities
In the last step of the first cycle, teacher reflected, evaluated the results of the process, and adjusted their activities in the second cycles of action research that the researcher has followed.
Participants
The participants of the research are 40 students in grade 11 th (Class A1) academic year (2021- 2022) at High School, Thai Nguyen province The research was carried out during the academic year 2021-2022 at High School The students come from different regions with different levels There are 18 schoolboys, 22 schoolgirls and most of them are ethnic minority Some students are good at learning English, but some others find hard to learn English In general, most students do not know how to write even a short paragraph, they have no ideas or grammar structures in writing.
Teaching materials
English book 11 “Tiếng Anh 11” expertised by Ministry of Education and Training, which is academic teaching and learning material used as the main document in research Notes taking from the process of researching, lectures, worksheets, were used during the research In the syllabus, there were four periods of English per week, and each period lasted 45 minutes The researcher selected eight English units from the textbook, from unit 2 to unit 9 According to Vietnamese Standard Level of English Proficiency for Secondary and High School Education by the Ministry of Training and Education in Viet Nam, high school students at grade 11A1 have the ability of getting the level of Proficiency in English in level Pre- intermediate A2 for the beginning of high school education Teacher used papers, posters about the topic and encourage students to call out the words, phrases related to the topic, as well as using structures to make sentences Teacher used the
32 standardize of writing assessment criteria (paragraph) and four criteria for grading English essays according to Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP): Task fulfillment, organization, vocabulary, and grammar to evaluate the writing of the students
Table 3.1 The schedule of the brainstorming activities
Mind mapping Students work in group of 5, teacher delivers students hand out, students write down the problems, (eg; parents work far from home, parent(s) died, alone at home, feeling lonely, think of dropping/leave out school, broke up with friend, addicted games online,) SS create ideas to deal with or find solutions for these problems,
Each group chooses a topic to support by their vocabulary, structures
Students choose one topic from their discussion to write an online posting about the relationship
2 Caring for those in need
Brain writing/ Star bursting Students work in group of 5 (randomly) in 5 minutes to brain who is/ are the people in need, may be their classmates, friends, relatives, neighbor,
Write down their ideas and giving everyone an equal opportunity to share, SS choose to discuss the person whom they have known
Person (who, where, what, how, why), Problems (disability, various visual, hearing, physical and cognitive impairments, blind, deaf, dump, poor,) how can help ( base on the situation), to reduce or ease the disability, bring joy/happiness to them, listen to their problems
Free writing Student work individually then discuss with friends in group of three
Teacher chooses 8 countries in the region, delivers the group of students with a country, Students write down information related to the country: attractions, cultures, population, economy, sports, sciences of beauty, traditions, customs, …
Mind mapping (watch a short video about global warming) Students work in group of 3, discuss and write down: causes, effects, and solutions of global warming
SS are required to write about a university that they want to enter,
SS work in group of three, answer 5 questions relating; when, where, how, students access further education, what/ what for, and the reasons why Based on each situation that the students are encouraged to write about their wish university
Teacher provides help if necessary
SS work in group of 5, one moderator, there are three rounds (write information related to Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex), round 1 SS write down three ideas in the three spaces in a paper Number the worksheets, exchange, redistribute the worksheets randomly, repeat the process, after the final round, collect worksheets, display and talk through the ideas, discuss ideas raised (can do online)
SS work in group of three, giving opinions about the importance of the skills needed for being independent
Finding information, getting around on your own, coping with loneliness, general housekeeping, health and hygiene, problem solving, interpersonal communication
SS have 2 minutes to write about these skills, exchange and add some ideas that needed SS discuss and write an essay to discuss the given ideas
SS work in group of three, 1 write down the name of the city (imaginary/desire city) 2 geographical features (location, area, population, weather condition) 3 Infrastructure (mean of transport, environmental conditions, treatment of waste.4 People life and work (education, health care, working hours)
Data collection instruments
To collect data for the study, the following instruments were employed, including pretest, posttest one, posttest two, and questionnaires To know students’ opinion and attitude toward Brainstorming activities, students answered questions, discovered inspiration, and created a better understanding, improved in writing lessons
In the first week teacher asked students to do a writing test They were asked to write an essay from 160 to 180 words about the topic in the curriculum of the academic year in English book 11 (Writing about problems that happened among your friends or your relationships) Students worked in forty-five minutes then submit the essays
Posttest 1 was taken place after one month, teacher asked students to do the writing performance using the topic (Writing an essay about the causes and effects of
35 global warming, and the possible solution) The researcher used the collected results to compare with the score of the first and the second test for data analysis and adjust the techniques to suite each type of writing lessons
Posttest 2 occurred at the last week of the research (week 8) The results were used to compare the students’ writing ability after two months After the treatment period was finished, the learners took the writing posttest In writing posttest 2, the learners were asked to write an essay on a given topic (Writing an essay about the reasons why Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex was recognized as a World Heritage Site) According to writing rubric the standardize of writing assessment criteria (paragraph) and four criteria for grading English essays according to Vietnamese Standardized Test of English Proficiency (VSTEP): Task fulfillment, organization, vocabulary, and grammar to evaluate the writing of the students.
Research procedure
The research was carried out in eight weeks and followed two cycles and four steps There are two cycles with the same model and four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (Burns, 2010) The first cycle took place during the first four weeks, and the second one happened the next four weeks after operating brainstorming activities and some integrated activities
Pretest was the first part to do in the research to state the student’s writing ability before applying brainstorming techniques Students was asked to do a writing test and the researcher evaluated the students’ performance at school for their pretest results In the first week the results of the writing test were collected and used for analyzing for the first cycle and help the researcher make some changes for the next cycle
Secondly, the research was continued by carrying out on the second data collection instrument (students’ performance writing products) of the first posttest The writer noted down steps by steps, from the beginning to the end of the research During the data collection process, the first week’s students were asked to perform tasks, pretest that corresponds to the purpose of the study Apply brainstorming techniques to help students create ideas quickly and develop writing ability in writing lessons
Posttest one occurred at the end of week four, and the results of this were used to compare with the pretest ones In the next weeks, the researcher based on the results of posttest one to adjust and integrate Brainstorming activities into different techniques in the next writing lessons to help students gain effective outcomes Posttest two took place in the last week of the research (week 8) after operating the brainstorming techniques with some interpretations The products of this test were used to compare with pretest and posttest one, the results of the survey question would access students’ attitudes toward brainstorming techniques, which helped the study find out the differences of students’ results
Questionnaire was carried out at the last week of the research with all information about students’ attitude toward brainstorming techniques and their interest in writing lessons The researcher summed up the results from these three research instruments that were pretest, posttest one and posttest two, and questionnaires These data helped researcher adjust methods in teaching process and helped students aware of the writing skills.
Data collection procedure
The present study adopted action research procedure including four stages: planation, action, observation, and reflection (Burns, 2010) The author examined a problematic aspect of the own teaching, introduced changes, and evaluated the results of the changes, which would be detailed described
The first stage involved teaching and learning planning This step included the problems and situation analysis identified in the previous teaching and learning process and the preparation of the instruments to collect the data The researcher planned the implementation of brainstorming activities to teach writing in the relevant class Then, the teaching and learning procedure, guidelines, and instruments to collect the data were prepared
In acting step, the teacher implemented the teaching and learning activities as planned in the first step, that is, the teacher used brainstorming activities in teaching writing to the students In the first cycle, the teacher explained the material to the students Then, they were assigned in groups to brainstorm for the ideas and do the
37 writing task After that, their products were presented in front of the class to share the advantages among students
The third stage was observing In this stage, the research data were collected with various tools The tools to observe included a checklist, field note, and written The last step was reflecting in which the teacher recalled all the materials delivered in class
All the data collected were analyzed and discussed by the researcher to find out whether the students got an improvement in each cycle.
Questionnaire
This research instrument consists of a series of questions and other prompts to gather information from participants Moreover, they can help researchers save a lot of time since “They are self-administered and can be given to large groups at the same time” (Seliger & Elana, 1989) In this study, the participants given questions include
40 students of grade eleven at high school They were completed the questions after finishing posttest two and summited to the teacher
Questionnaire is aimed to find out the attitude of students toward this method by using Likert Scales Examples for Survey by Sorrel Brown, ANR Program Evaluation State University Extension sorrel@iastate.edu Dec 2010 (Strongly Disagree, Disagree, Neutral, Agree, and Strongly Agree)
Data analysis
The comparative scores between pretest and posttest1, posttest 2 and posttest
1, posttest 2 and pretest were used to evaluate results of students’ improvement The results of questionnaire were used to access students’ attitudes towards the techniques This information was presented in tables and charts
The data collection was analyzed based on the aims of the study to find out how effective the brainstorm techniques on students’ writing ability skills and their attitude toward these techniques The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to analyze the data collection
This chapter provided a detailed description of the methodology employed in this study, the steps of the two cycles, the model of the study, the research procedure, how to collect data and related theories on writing skills The results of data analysis, the evaluation of the research was presented in the next chapter
RESULTS OF THE STUDY
Results
Pretest and questionnaire were the first method to do in the study because it helped teacher gather information about student before applying the techniques The teacher made survey for students at school After one week, all respondents were collected
In the first week, students were asked to perform tasks that correspond to the purpose of the topic writing Students wrote about the topic in limited time (40minutes) at school Students were asked to do like the guides from the textbook
To find out the students' English writing academic results, I used pretest (Appendix
1) The results are as follows:
Figure 4.1 Frequency of the pre-test scores
Excellent Very Good Good Average Below Average Low
As the information from the table and chart, the percentage of students achieving excellent results was zero and 5 % with very good grade, good ones with 12,5% while the majority of students classified as low and below ones approximately 60% There are more than 20% students who have average scores Therefore, improving the quality of learning English in general and writing skill in specific for high school students is urgently needed
As the result of the pretest and the number of students who had average, below average and low which were higher than those with very good and good scores the teacher applied brainstorming activities in the next writing lessons
4 1.2 The results of posttest one
Posttest one was used to collect the data for analysis after had operated brainstorming activities for four weeks The teacher summed up the results from pretest and posttest one, which got from students of class 11A1- academic year 2020-
2021 In the fourth weeks, the teacher asked students to make self- request to compare with the original The results of the pretest and posttest one and the results of the students might help the author adjust the techniques to suit the students’ need and evaluate students’ ability in writing lessons
Figure 4.2 Frequency of the posttest 1 scores
Excellent Very good Good Average Below Average Low
The chart 4.2 shows that there were no students achieve excellent score, although the percentage of students who had very good and good academic results raised slightly from 7,5 % to 17.5% The percentage of below average and low was quite high with approximately 50% Students had average scores remained 27 % The data in the table and the chart above illustrated the improvement in students’ writing ability However, the results of the below average and low ones were higher than very good grade and good with (23,5 %) Therefore, teachers should apply and adapt brainstorming activities in order to help students to gain higher achievement
4.1.3 The results of posttest two
After having analyzed the result from posttest1, some experiences were found, and the mistakes were corrected The teacher paid more attention to the students with poor grade, asked them to cooperate with their partner whose had higher scores In the pre-stage of the lessons, asked the students with higher grade provided help to the poor ones, whenever they stacked Understanding the reasons why they could not gain results as their classmates summed up from posttest one
To show the benefits of using Brainstorming techniques to enhance students’ writing ability, posttest two was taken place after pretest one four weeks, teacher asked student to write an essay around 160 or 180 words Teacher chose the topic randomly from 11 th English Textbook and asked student to use Brainstorming techniques to do a written test within 40 minutes The teacher collected the results to compare and contrast with the score that they had before The results from posttest one with pretest, posttest two with pretest were used to evaluate the student’s writing ability
The researcher used Brainstorming for class 11A1 to enhance students’ writing ability after students had studied for four weeks in English writing lessons, and here are some results that the researcher got from students of class 11A1- academic year 2021-2022 In the next fourth weeks, the teacher asked students to make self- request to get the results to compare with the original The results of the pretest and posttest one and the result of the students might help the author adjust the techniques to suit the students’ need and evaluate students’ positive attitudes about brainstorming techniques
Figure 4.3: Frequency of the posttest 2 scores
Figure 4.4 The scores between posttest one and posttest two
As can be seen from the chart 4.4, The majority of students had average and below average in the posttest one 47,5% was higher than student’ scores of the posttest two Moreover, the students gained very good and good scores increased sharply from 17 % in the posttest one to 45 % in the posttest two In both pretest one and posttest two, the percentage of students achieving average had almost the same
Excellent Very Good Good Average Below Average Low
Excellent Very good Good Average Below
42 scores (27,5% in the pretest one and 25% in the posttest two) However, the number of students who had below, and low scores decreased dramatically from 40% to 7,5
% and there was no student whose score classified as low ones Therefore, the data in the chart above illustrates the improvement in students’ writing ability It is clearly that applying brainstorming techniques in teaching writing skills was effective
Figure 4.5 The results among three tests
As can be seen the data in chart 4.5, the percentage of students who had very good grade and good grade increased significantly up to 45% in the posttest two, the students’ scores good grade raised four-time in comparison with the scores in the pretest (12,5 % to 45 %) However, the students who had below, and low scores decreased The most significant change was that there was no student who had low scores in the posttest two The results of three tests showed that students’ writing ability was improved from the pretest, posttest one, posttest two in the scores of averages, good, and very good, brainstorming activities can support and improve students’ writing
Excellent Very good Good Average Below
4.1.4 Results of questionnaire on learners’ attitudes:
After operating the Brainstorming techniques for two months, the researcher provided students with questionnaire questions The questionnaire questions were adapted from brainstorming strategy and writing performance by Soheila and Arezoo,
Teacher delivered the handout contained fifteen questions to students after operating brainstorming activities for two months Teacher asked students to complete the questionnaire that could evaluate students’ attitude toward brainstorming techniques Three components model of attitude that are cognitive, affective, and behavioral components Students finished and submitted hand out in thirty minutes and teacher selected data from the questionnaire questions
The percentage of students who showed normal attitude reduce 10% from 27.5
% to 17,5% This situation could be due to many reasons such as: appropriate teaching
Discussion
To what extend do the brainstorming techniques develop students’ writing ability in writing lessons for 11 th grade students at a high school?
As can be seen from the results of the study, the score of students improved it means that Brainstorming activities helped students improve vocabulary, ideas and grammar structures in English writing lessons They were confident in English
47 writing skills at any topic and could speech up their writing performance Students were more creative and cooperative in working with their groups in the first stage of writing and this helped produce first draft as well as completed writing They had more opportunities to experience during group work, they shared, learned from other students in the group
Through analyzing the data collected from the tests, it could be seen that using brainstorming activities in English writing lessons had positive effect on the students’ writing performance There was a significant difference in the distribution of marks in the pre-test and post-test This indicated that the students’ writing ability improved after had learned English writing lessons by using brainstorming activities During the intervention of the study, students’ progress in their achievements of English writing skills was the ways they could use in English writing lessons The students’ results in English writing skills improved dramatically day by day with the high average score in the posttest two The findings of the study proved that brainstorming activities could improve students’ writing ability significantly
Like other previous studies, the results of the tests proved that applying brainstorming techniques in the improvements of the students’ writing had positive effects As on the use of brainstorming techniques - mind mapping strategy in wiring according to Melor Md Yunus, Chan Hua Chien (2018) M Maghsoudi, J Haririan (2013), the effect of using brainstorming and its subcategories (listing, question, and answer, outlining) as a pre-writing strategy has the equivalent value with the present study Abbas Ali Zarei, Behnam Feizollahi (2018) Concept Mapping and
Brainstorming Affecting Writing Anxiety and Accuracy) was to investigate the effect of concept mapping and brainstorming on the lexical and grammatical accuracy and writing anxiety of Iranian EFL learners’ argumentative essays In these studies, the researcher carried out their studies at university and used mind mapping as one of the activities for brainstorming However, in the present study, the researcher operated different brainstorming activities for different topics and the students were at a high school in remote area As the thesis by Abedianpour, S., & Omidvari, A (2018) imply that the impact of employing brainstorming strategy, as a pre-writing strategy, on
48 advanced EFL students' writing ability Moreover, the study sought to investigate the attitudes of the participants in terms of the efficacy of brainstorming for developing writing performance Based on the results of the current study the pretest and posttest, learners that were treated with brainstorming made significant progress in writing Furthermore, questionnaire scores indicated that the majority of the learners found brainstorming a useful strategy in enhancing students’ writing skills The results of the present study highlighted the effectiveness of employing brainstorming activities as a pre-writing strategy in developing EFL students’ writing skill
In addition, the progress of the students during eight weeks had influence in their writing ability in English writing lessons There were some reasons to explain the effects of the brainstorming application in improving the students’ writing ability in this study Firstly, the application of brainstorming activities in the students’ improvements of English writing skills in English writing lessons was effective Students could use difference activities in pre-stage to create mass ideas in a short time, noted down vocabulary that related to the topics and used these words and phrases in a suitable structure This helped students speed up and wrote logically during the writing process and produced good products Secondly, students had great opportunities to work with their classmates in different barnstorming activities based on the topics of the lesson The finding of the questionnaire indicated that they were concerned in writing lessons and had great interest in writing Moreover, the application of different brainstorming activities made students feel confident give their ideas base on the topics
In conclusion, the findings of the current study revealed positive outcomes of students’ improvement of writing ability by using brainstorming activities in English writing lessons Moreover, the students in the experiment class were participated in different activities, which helped students achieve high scores in writing skills
What are the students’ attitudes toward the use of brainstorming techniques in writing lessons at high school?
Based on the results from students’ questionnaire, brainstorming activities should be used more as a means in promoting learners’ English writing It is more effective to practice brainstorming activities with partners than working alone in writing Brainstorming activities in each writing lesson could improve students’ writing ideas and vocabulary Brainstorming techniques was an easy application for students in writing skills The results from the questionnaire proved that students were interested in using brainstorming activities in writing lessons and their desires to practice brainstorming in the next writing lessons it could be stated that the participants had positive attitudes towards using brainstorming in the writing lessons in learning English writing skills as the results conducted by Melor Md Yunus, Chan Hua Chien (2018) Concerning the opinions of the students towards using brainstorming activities in learning English writing skills, most of the students participating in the study agreed that using brainstorming activities in the enhancement of writing skills in English in particular and in learning English, in general, could help the students improve their work attitude as well as class participation, enhance motivation, and have an easier learning experience in creative and technology conditions in class Furthermore, the positive effects in using brainstorming activities in the writing lessons assessed by a great deal of students who were the participants for the study with the key points of the understanding of brainstorming activities influences on students’ attitudes and ability in English language acquisition in the previous studies
In conclusion, the findings of the present study demonstrated that the students’ attitude toward the use of brainstorming activities as practical techniques in English writing classrooms at Vo Nhai high school was positive The use of brainstorming activities was highly recommended in teaching and learning writing lessons.
Summary
In this chapter, the findings of the study had been analyzed, discussed and compared with the results of the previous studies The pre-test and post-test results proved that brainstorming activities in writing lessons helped students enhance the students’ writing ability The scores of students’ writing improved after the treatment,
50 which showed that brainstorming activities affected the students positively The result of the questionnaire indicated that the students had positive attitudes towards the use of brainstorming activities in the writing lessons Although there are firmly successful, the research had some limitations Some solutions will be suggested for these limitations in the next chapter
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
The study “ An application of brainstorming techniques to develop writing skills for 11 th grade students at a high school” focused on the use of Brainstorming activities in the English writing lessons for the purpose of enhancing the students’ writing ability and exploring the students’ attitude towards the model of using brainstorming activities in the writing classrooms
Forty students of grade 11 at Vo Nhai high school in Thai Nguyen province were chosen The data was collected by a writing test of the pre-test and post-test 1, post-test 2, and a questionnaire to answer the two research questions as follows
- To what extend do the brainstorming techniques develop students’ writing ability in English writing lessons for 11 th grade students at a high school?
- What are the students’ attitudes toward the use of brainstorming techniques in English writing lessons at high school?
The results of this study found that brainstorming activities develops writing performance of learners The findings of the present study proved that the brainstorming activities effected on the learners’ writing ability The brainstorming activities stimulated the thinking process of the learners and helped students analyze topics, improve ideas, and organize their essay in a logical manner Also, the results of this study were benefits particularly students who showed evidence of poor writing The use of brainstorming activities could enhance learning opportunities for all students, and created learning environment for language use, ae well as developed ideas for the topics Through the questionnaire, it could be seen that most of the students expressed positive attitude towards applying brainstorming activities in the English writing lessons and their interest in writing activities through the reality situations in the lessons
Implication
Brainstorming activities provided multiple opportunities for input-output treatment whereby students receive repeated input and feedback from a variety of sources through teacher presentation and group work Brainstorming activities enabled the participants in the experimental group to discover their classmates' perspectives and developed a range of ideas Activating students' background knowledge in the pre-writing stage strengthened students’ thinking skills and thus developed their writing performance The other fact is that through brainstorming, teachers equalized learners' involvement in the writing task and encouraged ideas regarding the content and structure of the compositions particularly for lower performers In addition, The researcher could share some experiences of practical teaching foreign languages, specifically English writing skills, with colleagues and those who are interested.
Limitations of the study
In this research the author examined the effects of brainstorming activities on the writing outcomes of learners in eight weeks although the results of the study corroborate the idea that if the brainstorming activities was employed thoroughly and systematically, it could significantly improve the students’ English writing skills Despite these results, the researcher thinks that the number of the participants was less (40 students), the researcher focused on the below and low grade, the results were not popularized for every student at grade 10 or grade 12 The study should be conducted in a long time and practiced with grade 10 and grade 12.
Recommendations for further research
Based on the limitation of the study, as discussed above, the recommendations were raised for further research as the time of the study, the number of the students and application of brainstorming activities in speaking and listening skills This present study remains shortcomings that the researcher needs to continue to study and find out modern and active teaching, learning techniques and methods help students to improve writing skills in writing lessons Some further research should be taken on applying project-based learning to improve the students’ writing through projects
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PRETEST (For students before applying Brainstorming techniques)
Students choose one topic from their discussions (parents work far from home, alone at home, feeling lonely, think of dropping/leave out school, broke up with friend, addicted games online,) to write an online posting of 160- 180 words about relationship problems
POSTTEST1 (For students after applying Brainstorming techniques for four weeks)
Choose one of the following problems and write an article of 160- 180 words,
1 Many students with visual impairments in regular schools; cannot fully participate in school activities; often left behind
2 No pedestrian facilities for people with visual impairments in my neighborhood
POSTTEST 2 (For students after applying Brainstorming techniques for eight weeks)
Write an essay of 160- 180 words about the causes and effects of global warming, and the possible solutions
This survey questionnaire is designed for my research using Brainstorming techniques in teaching and learning writing skills for students at grade 11, Vo Nhai High School I would be grateful if you could spend some of your precious time completing this questionnaire All the information provided by you is mostly for the study purpose and you will not be identified in any discussion of the data
Statements Scale for each statement
I like brainstorming activities in each writing lesson
I enjoy discussing with classmates during brain storming activities
I am interested in finding different ideas
Brain storming activities should be used more as a means in promoting learners’ English writing ability
Using brain storming activities are useful technique in writing
I think brainstorming activities are very interesting
It is effective to practice brainstorming activities with partners
I could improve my writing ideas, vocabulary when practice brainstorming activities
Brain storming activities are useful and fun
I think I could learn more grammar points through working individually while writing using brainstorming activities
I can practice variety kinds of writing tasks in different topics
I can improve writing skills; become more active, more interactive with my teacher and classmates through discussion
I am interested in using brainstorming activities in writing practice introduced by the teacher
Brainstorming technique is an easy activity for students in writing skills
I am expecting to use brainstorming activities to learn writing skills in next semesters
Thank you very much for your cooperation!
UNIT 8: OUR WORLD HERITAGE SITES
By the end of the lesson,
- To know about heritage site in Vietnam
- To learn words and phrases related to heritage sites, the beauty of the country
- For word formation, that is to write and correctly pronounce the words and phrases related to the topic
- The present simple, past tense, simple futures, participle, to-infinitive clause and structures
- To help Ss improve the skill of working individually, and group while completing the tasks assigned
- Improve writing, speaking, listening and reading skills
- Students write an essay about Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex
- Ss get to understand the heritage site with the topic "Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex"
- Motivate, encourage students write about the heritage site
- Students have a chance to know more about Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, and raise their awareness about how to protect our culture and preserve natural beauty
4 Competency: Develop collaborative, problem-solving and communicative competences
III Teaching Aids: Board, chalk, textbook, CD
Some students may lack vocabulary, knowledge to understand the heritage site Teacher provides students a video about the heritage side and asks them to take note
Teacher’s and students’ activities Contents
-Make SS familiar with the topic and lead in the lesson
-Teacher plays a short video about
Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, asks students to watch, listen and take note
- Students noted taking while they were listening Students learned both listening skill and writing skills
Well-preserved Ancient houses Relics
Intact Unique construction techniques Grottos, caves masterpiece
Teacher’s and students’ activities Contents
- Prepare for students with vocabularies, phrases, structures
- Teacher asks students to work in group of five write as much as possible the vocabularies, phrases, and structures that they can use to write about Trang An
Natural scenic landscape Ecological site
Pagodas Places of worship Archeological discovery
- Teacher divides class into 8 groups of students (randomly), and delivers each group a paper
- Students work in group of 5, one moderator, there are three rounds (write information (words, phrases, structures) related to Trang An Scenic Landscape
- Round 1 students write down three ideas in the three spaces in a paper
- Number the worksheets, exchange, redistribute the worksheets randomly,
- Repeat the process, after the final round, collect worksheets, display and talk through the ideas, discuss ideas raised (can do online)
Cultural value Natural beauty Geological value Preservation Ecotourism S1: Trang An – Tam Coc -Bich Dong natural scenic landscape and ecological site
S2: There are many grottos and caves in Trang An S3: I have never visited such a magnificent landscape
Teacher’s and students’ activities Contents
- Practice using the raised vocabularies, ideas, structures to write an essay
- Teacher asks student work individually
Asks students to use these words, ideas, appropriate structures to write an essay about Trang An Scenic Landscape
Students write for their first draft, after discussing with friends in the group
Teacher’s and students’ activities Contents
- Teacher collects students’ first draffs and note down the common mistakes, asks students write the essay again and submit on the next period
- What have you learned in the lesson?
- Would you like to visit Trang
S: I have learned about one of the heritage sites in Vietnam
S: I want to visit Trang An because I want to see with my own eyes the magnificent landscape
Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 2020, Vol.18, 1–20
Writing Rubric (FIPSE Project) Retrieved from http://web.roanoke.edu/Documents/Writing%20Rubrics.July%2007.doc
Below Basic Basic Proficient Advanced
Shows minimal engagement with the topic, failing to recognize multiple dimensions/ perspectives, lacking even basic observations
Shows some engagement with the topic without elaboration; offers basic observations but rarely original insight
Demonstrates engagement with the topic, recognizing multiple dimensions and/or perspectives; offers some insight
Demonstrates engagement with the topic, recognizing multiple dimensions and/or perspectives with elaboration and depth; offers considerable insight
Paper lacks focus and/or a discernible thesis
Some intelligible ideas, but thesis is weak, unclear, or too broad
Identifiable thesis representing adequate understanding of the assigned topic; minimal irrelevant material
Clear, narrow thesis representing full understanding of the assignment; every word counts
Evidence Little to no evidence
Some evidence but not enough to develop argument in unified way
Evidence accurate, well documented, and relevant, but not complete, well
Evidence is relevant, accurate, complete, well integrated, well documented, and inaccurate, irrelevant, or inappropriate for the purpose of the essay integrated, and/or appropriate for the purpose of the essay appropriate for the purpose of the essay
Organization is missing both overall and within paragraphs
Introduction and conclusion may be lacking or illogical
Organization, overall and/or within paragraphs, is formulaic or occasionally lacking in coherence; few evident transitions
Introduction and conclusion may lack logic
Few organizational problems on any of the
Introduction and conclusion are effectively related to the whole
Organization is logical and appropriate to assignment; paragraphs are well- developed and appropriately divided; ideas linked with smooth and effective transitions Introduction and conclusion are effectively related to the whole
Multiple and serious errors of sentence structure; frequent errors in spelling and capitalization; intrusive and/or inaccurate punctuation such that communication is hindered
Sentences show errors of structure and little or no variety; many errors of punctuation, spelling and/or capitalization
Errors interfere with meaning in places
Effective and varied sentences; some errors in sentence construction; only occasional punctuation, spelling and/or capitalization errors
Each sentence structured effectively, powerfully; rich, well-chosen variety of sentence styles and length; virtually free of punctuation, spelling, capitalization errors
APPENDIX 7: STUDENTS’ SCORES IN PRETEST, POSTTEST 1,