Linguistic errors in writing a paragraph of 10th form students at Nguyen Trai high school in Hai Phong and some solutions Phạm Thị Bích Ngọc Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ Luận văn Thạc sĩ ngành: English teaching methodology; Mã số: 60 14 10 Người hướng dẫn: M.A. Cao Thúy Hồng Năm bảo vệ: 2012 Abstract. This thesis investigates the linguistic difficulties in writing a paragraph of 10th form students at Nguyen Trai High School (N.T.H.S). The result of the questionnaire and the analysis students’ writings reveal that 10th form students at N.T.H.S made many linguistic errors when writing a paragraph, and the most common errors are in verb tenses, spelling, meaning of linking words. Also, the study results show that students were aware of the errors they made, but with some specific types of linguistic errors, there was a conflict between students’ perceptions and the errors they made in writing. Based on the findings, the researcher provides some suggestions to help students to overcome their difficulties. With the findings and the suggestions, the researcher hopes that the teachers of English at N.T.H.S will apply a suitable way of teaching in order help students to improve their paragraph writing. Keywords. Kỹ năng viết; Lỗi; Phương pháp giảng dạy; Tiếng Anh; Kỹ năng viết văn Content 1. Rationale Teaching and learning a foreign language aims at providing the learners with means of communication. To acquire the communicative competence, four language skills (reading, speaking, listening and writing) are taught regularly at schools and universities, among which writing skill is very important because it helps learners to learn other skills better. “First, writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms, and vocabulary that we have been teaching our students. Second, when they write, they have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learned to say, to take risks. Third, when students write, they necessarily become very involved with the new language; the effort to express ideas and constant use of eye, hand and brain is the unique way of expressing their idea. They discover a real need for finding the right word and the right sentence. The close relationship between writing and thinking makes writing a valuable part of any language courses” (Raimes, 1938: 3). Due to the importance of writing skill, it is part of the English syllabus at high school. However, from the writer’s teaching-experience at Nguyen Trai high school, not enough attention has been paid to the teaching and learning of writing skill at high school. Writing is both dismal and neglected: many students never get a writing assignment, and many writing exercises in the textbook are abandoned. Besides that, teachers are also afraid of teaching writing skill. They think that teaching writing is really a challenge. The ignorance of writing skill at high school has resulted in students’ poor writing skill: they have a lot of mistakes and many of them are unable to write an understandable paragraph. One of the most serious problems that the writer has identified from her experience teaching paragraph writing to students is linguistic difficulties. For example students often use wrong verb tenses in a paragraph, they confuse the meaning of the words or they can’t create the coherence in the paragraph by linking words. Therefore, the researcher would like to do this research to find out common linguistic difficulties in writing a paragraph of 10th form students and suggest some solutions to help students to avoid the linguistic errors and improve their paragraph writing. 2. Objectives of the study As just mentioned, students at Nguyen Trai high school face many linguistic difficulties in writing a paragraph. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the research is to find out the real situation of students’ linguistic difficulties in writing. 3. Research questions Specifically, the research aims at finding out the answers to the following questions : - What are students’ perceptions of their linguistic errors in writing paragraph? - What are common linguistic errors (in terms of grammar, vocabulary and linking words) made by students in writing a paragraph? 4. Scope of the study The study is about paragraph writing of 10th form students at Nguyen Trai high school. However, due to the limited scope and time, it is confined to finding out the students’ linguistic errors in paragraph writing. Specifically, only mistakes in grammar, vocabulary and linking words will be taken into consideration. 5. Method of the study In this study, the writer adopted the quantitative research approach. Specifically, survey questionnaires and model analysis were two methods employed to collect data for the research study. Questionnaires were conducted among 60 students to find out students’ perceptions of their linguistic difficulties in writing a paragraph. Sixty paragraphs on three different topics from 60 students were collected. Mistakes were identified and classified into different categories. Statistical counting was carried out to bring about the real picture of students’ linguistic difficulties. 6. Organization of the study In order to achieve the above mentioned aims, this paper is divided into three parts: The first part is the Introduction, which points out the rationale, aims, and scope of the study. Research questions are also specifically defined to serve as guidelines for the whole paper. The second part is the Development. In this part, three chapters are presented. In chapter one, literature related to teaching writing, paragraph writing and writing errors is reviewed. In chapter two, the method of the study is presented. It includes careful descriptions of the subjects, sampling method, instrument and method of data collection and analysis. The last chapter presents data analysis and discussion. In this part, questionnaires and writing samples collected from 10 th form students at Nguyen Trai high school are analyzed to find out students’ typical errors in order to recommend effective strategies for teaching paragraph writing. The last part of the study is the Conclusion, which points out what has been addressed as well as what has not been completed and offers recommendations for further study. References 1. Batram. M., Walton.R. (2001), Correction: Mistake management: A positive approach for language teachers, Commercial Color Press. 2. 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(2002), Treatment of error in second language writing, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. 9. Harmer . J. (1998), How to Teach English, Longman. 10. Huong, T.T, Minh,N.T.T. etal (2007), ELT Methodology II-Course book, VNU: CFL. 11. Le Thi Huong (1999) , Written errors and mistakes made by the 12th form students. 12. Lee. N. (1990), Notion of errors and appropriate corrective treatment, Hong Kong paper in Linguistics and Language teaching 13. HongKong Baptist College. Retrieved June, 26, 2012 from the web http://www.eric.ed.gov/ 13. Lyons.L.H ,Heasley. B. (1992), Study writing, CU press. 14. Oshima. A , Hogue. A .( 1996) , Writing Academic English, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. 15. Raimes. A. (1938), Techniques in Teaching Writing, Oxford University Press. 16. Sally. W. (1999), Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary, Oxford university. 17. Tran Thi Hong, Bui Thi Duyen ( 2010) , Common grammar errors in Writing of first year students in Falcuty of English Language Teacher Education, Ha Noi. . writing paragraph? - What are common linguistic errors (in terms of grammar, vocabulary and linking words) made by students in writing a paragraph? 4. Scope of the study The study is about paragraph. exercises in the textbook are abandoned. Besides that, teachers are also afraid of teaching writing skill. They think that teaching writing is really a challenge. The ignorance of writing skill at. mentioned, students at Nguyen Trai high school face many linguistic difficulties in writing a paragraph. Therefore, the ultimate goal of the research is to find out the real situation of students linguistic