Sử dụng các hoạt động trước khi viết để dạy những bài viết tiếng anh cho học sinh lớp 10 ở trường trung học phổ thông Mai Thúc Loan

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN THI QUYET USING PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH WRITING LESSONS FOR THE 10th GRADERS AT MAI THUC LOAN HIGH SCHOOL MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2013 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN THI QUYET USING PRE-WRITING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH WRITING LESSONS FOR THE 10th GRADERS AT MAI THUC LOAN HIGH SCHOOL (SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG TRƯỚC KHI VIẾT ĐỂ DẠY NHỮNG BÀI VIẾT TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG MAI THÚC LOAN) FIELD: CODE: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 60.14.10 MASTER THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof Dr TRUONG VIEN Nghệ An – 2013 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP i I hereby acknowledge that this study entitled “Using pre-writing activities to teach English writing lessons for the 10th graders at Mai Thuc Loan High School" is my original work The data and the findings discussed in the thesis are true The study is submitted in partial fulfilment for the Master degree of Theory and Methodology of English Language Teaching at Vinh University and has not been submitted elsewhere in any other form for the fulfilment of any other degree or qualification Signature Tran Thi Quyet Acknowledgements Firstly, I would like to express my deepest thanks and gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof Dr Truong Vien, who has provided me with the constant encouragements and invaluable guidance and support during the time I wrote the study Secondly, I am grateful to all lectures at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Vinh University, College of Foreign Languages, University of Languages and International Studies, VNU for their endless ii enthusiasm, valuable teaching and assistance that have enlightened my research path Thirdly, my special thanks go to all English teachers and students th of 10 classes at Mai Thuc Loan High School in which my study was conducted for their devoted help and participation during my study Last but not least, my deep gratitude is for my beloved family, especially my husband and my daughter whose care and support are very important for the fulfillment of this thesis ABSTRACT This study aimed at investigating how Pre-writing activities are taught in English writing lessons for the 10th graders at Mai Thuc Loan High School The study addresses issues of teachers’ and students’ attitudes towards Pre-writing activities, students’ favorite activities, problems the teachers encounter when designing and conducting Pre-writing activities in teaching writing lessons, teachers’ and students' assessments on the benefits of Pre-writing activities and finding out some suggested Pre-writing activities applied to teach English writing lessons with the aim to make teaching and learning writing more effective The participants of the study include 10 English teachers and 160 students of 10th form at Mai Thuc Loan High School The data were collected by means of questionnaires and class observations, but the main one is the questionnaires Both of iii the quantitative and qualitative research methods were employed in this study Data analysis is mainly based on quantitative method The researcher analyzed, compared, synthesized, commented, and presented the collected information under the forms of tables and charts The result of the study provided encouraging evidence to indicate that most of the teachers and students at Mai Thuc Loan high School appreciate the role of Prewriting activities in teaching and learning writing lessons However, the survey revealed that there were a number of difficulties that hinder the teachers and students in exploiting Pre-writing activities Such reasons as class size, handing activities sometimes is out of control, difficulties in designing, students’ learning style, etc have negative influences on using Pre-writing activities in teaching writing skill Some detailed suggestions are recommended within the wish to contribute to the improvement of the teaching and learning of writing skill with the current textbook “English 10” Besides, some suggested lesson plans of Pre-writing activities are also offered to provide teachers as a reference in order to promote the success of writing classes The study suggests that the teachers should use various pre-writing activities to motivate students and encourage them to write and teachers’ responsibility is to devise their own techniques and implementation of Pre-writing activities to suit the needs of different groups of students, especially the students with negative attitudes towards learning writing skill iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page SUB COVER PAGE i More importantly, these major findings enable the author to provide some suggested implications for teachers, students and text book designers in the last chapter as well as some particular examples of lesson plans of Pre-writing activities appiled in real classes They are very useful for teachers in their teaching process and they can motivate students in the writing lessons Therefore, the teachers should choose suitable activities to improve writing skills of the students 71 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS CLT Communicative Language Teaching EFL English as a Foreign Language ESL English as a Second Language N Number of Informants % percent LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1: The differences between Process writing and Product writing Table 3.1: Checklist of writing tasks in the current Textbook “English 10” Table 3.2: Summary of the students’ questionnaire Table 3.3: Summary of the teachers’ questionnaire Table 4.1: Students’ attitude towards the teachers’ ways of teaching Pre-writing stage Table 4.2: Students ’opinions about the importance of Pre-writing activities Table 4.3: Students’ opinions about the frequency of using Pre-writing activities by the teachers Table 4.4: Students’ favorite ways for taking part in Pre-writing activities Table 4.5: Benefits that Pre-writing activities bring to students Table 4.6: Teachers’ opinions of three main stages in the current text book “ English 10” Table 4.7: Teachers’ ways of teaching Pre-writing stage Table 4.8: Teachers’ opinions on Pre-writing activities LIST OF CHARTS Chart 4.1: Students’ opinions on the four skills in learning English Chart 4.2 : Students’opinions on writing sections in the current textbook “English 10” Chart 4.3: Students’ favorite Pre-writing activities Chart 4.4: Students’ attitudes towards carrying out Pre-writing activities Chart 4.5: Teachers’assessments towards writing sections in current textbook “ English 10” Chart 4.6: Teachers’ frequently used activities at Pre-writing stage Chart 4.7: Teachers’ opinions about the importance of Pre-writing activities Chart 4.8: Teachers’ conduct of Pre-writing activities in teaching Writing Chart 4.9: Teachers’ difficulties in designing and carrying out Pre-writing activities in writing lessons Chart 4.10: Teachers’ opinions about the benefits of using Pre-writing activities CHAPTER : INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Nowadays, no one can deny the importance of English for international interaction English has been learnt and used in many countries in the world It is also undeniable that English is a means of international communication in most of the fields from daily life to politics, science, healthcare, etc As Pham (2006) confirms: “English has been used by more and more countries and people as a vehicle of communication in business, science, technology, education and entertainment” and it has become “the most global of languages” In the late 20th century linguistis, teachers and learners have witnessed the " birth" of a new way in teaching foreign language, the so-called " communicative language teaching" By recognizing the role of English in education, governments have promulgated many policies and renovations in teaching and learning English during the recent years In an attempt to innovate Vietnamese education to meet the demand of the society in the process of integration and development, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has reformed English textbooks concentrating on the four skills: speaking, listening, reading and writing for secondary school students since the school year 2006-2007 With this reform, There are some certain advantages and disadvantages for both teachers and students when teaching and learning English Writing skill is important for creating and communicating information that makes it a really important aspect of our teaching too Students need to know how to take notes as well as how to write essays and letters, which makes this basic skill as important as speaking or listening Writing is also one of the basic skills because it is a good way to reinforce what a student has learned as they will benefit from seeing new vocabulary in written form Writing, in general, is considered the most challenging one for not only students but teachers to master In writing section in the current textbook “English 10”, students are asked to various tasks such as descriptions, narratives, letters, etc However, it seems that some of the writing tasks in the current textbooks have not Hoàng Văn Vân (2006) ,Tiếng Anh 10, Sách giáo khoa –Nhà Xuất Bản Giáo Dục In English Abisamra, N S (2001) Teaching Writing Approaches and Activities America: American University Nguyen Thi Tu Anh (2011), M.A Thesis: Pre-writing activities used to teach 12th form students at Hong Linh high school in English writing lessons, Vinh University Nguyen Bang et el ( 2003), BA Upgrade English Language Teaching methodology , NXB Van Hoa Thong Tin Bell, J (1993).Doing your research project.Buckingham: Open University Press Brown, H D (2001), Teaching by Principle: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy (Second Edition), Essex, Longman Burns, R.B (1997) Introduction to research methods Malaysia: Longman 10 Byrne, D (1988) Teaching Writing Skills Longman 11 Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Marrrison, K (2000) Research methods in Education, (5th ed) London and Newyork: RoutledgeFalmer 12 Duy Khang Nguyen, Phan Thi Tuyet Van and Ly Thi Anh Nguyet (2011) The Effectiveness of Activities for Teaching EFL Writing in a Context of Vietnam Journal of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association 13 Edge, J.(1993), Essentials of English Language Teaching, London: Longman 14 Harmer, J.(1998) How to Teach English Malaysia: Longman 15 Harmer, J (2001) The Practice of English Language Teaching (3rd ed) Essex: Longman 89 16 Do, Thi Huong Hoa (2011) , M.A Thesis: Students' perception and attitudes towards prewriting activities at Ngo Quyen High school, University of Languages and International Studies-VNU 17 Huong, T.T, Minh,N.T.T etal ELT Methodology II- Course book VNU: CFL, 2007 18 Lannon, J.M ( 1989) The Writing Process A concise rhetoric 19 Nguyen Thi Van Lam and Ngo Dinh Phuong (2007) Language Teaching Methodology,Vinh University 20 Leki,I.(1976) Academic Writing, Techniques and Tasks: ST.Martin Press, New York 21 Miller, L.(2004).Teachers as Researchers Modern English Teachers.2(1): 30 22 Markee, N (1997) Issues and Definitions In Managing Curricular Innovation (pp.42-70) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 23 Nation, I S P (1990), Language Teaching Techniques, English Language Institute, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand 24 Nguyen Phuong Ngoc (2008), M.A Thesis: An action research on the effects of pre-writing activities on the grade-11 non- major English students’ motivation in writing at Nguyen Binh Khiem high school -Ha Noi, University of Languages and International Studies-VNU 25 Nunan, D 1991 Language Teaching Methodology London: Prentice Hall 26 Omit Tabatabaei (2012) The Effect of Reading-Based Pre-Writing Activities on the Writing Performance in an EFL Setting.Najafabad, Iran 27 Pham,H.H.( 2006) The global spread of English: ethical and pedagogic concerns for ESL/ EFL teacher.The Tournal of Asia TEFL,21-37 28 Raimes, A (1983), Techniques in Teaching Writing, Oxford University Press 29 Richmond,E.M.(1985).Composition and Grammar 11 Laidlaw Brothers 30 Rivers, W M (1981) Teaching foreign-language skills (2nd ed.) Chicago: 90 The University of Chicago Press 31 Robinson, P (1991) ESP today: a Practitioner's Guide Hemel Hemstead: Prentice Hall 32 Sokolik, M Writing In D Nunan (Ed) Practical English Language Teaching China: McGraw-hill Companies, Inc and Higher Education Press, 2003 33 Steele, V (2004) Product and process writing, retrieved from http://www.englishonline.org.cn/en/teachers/workshops/teachingwriting/teaching-tips/product-process 34 Smith,W(1989).The Act of Writing Random House, New York 35 Tribble, C (1996), Writing, Oxford University Press, Oxford 36 Ur, P (1996), A Course in Language Teaching, Cambridge University Press 37 White, R.V (1981), Approaches to Writing: Guidelines for Writing Activities, A Magazine for Language Teachers, RELC 38 Wilson, N and McLean, S (1994) Questionnaire Design: a Practical Introduction.Newtown Abbey, Co.Antrim : University of Ulser Press 39 Zang, Liru, Vukelich,Carol (1998) Prewriting Activities and Gender: Influences on the Writing Quality of Male and Female Students Malaysia: University Utara Malaysia Press APPENDIX 1a QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS This survey questionnaire is designed for the study on “Using pre-writing activities to teach English writing lessons for the 10 th graders at Mai Thuc Loan high school” Your assistance in completing the following questions is highly appreciated and greatly contributes to the success of the study All the information received is 91 solely for the purpose of the study, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of data So please respond to each question and complete all of them as honestly and accurately as possible Thank you in advance for your cooperation! Part 1: Personal information - Age: ………………… Your class…………………… Part 2: Please circle your choice in answering each of the following questions ( more than one option is acceptable in question and 9) Among the four language skills, which is the most difficult one to you? Please rank from (most difficult) to (least difficult) □ reading □ speaking □ listening □ writing How you find the writing tasks in the current textbook “English 10”? A interesting B boring C suitable D unsuitable Before asking you to begin a writing lesson, What does your teacher often do? A use some pre-writing activities B no preparation What you think about the importance of Pre-writing activities in a writing lesson? A very important B.important C quite important D.not important Which of the following activities does your teacher ask you to in Prewriting stage? Put a tick (√) in the column you choose Pre-writing activities always often 92 sometimes rarely never 1.List making Brainstorming 3.Grids/ table Warm- up activities 5.Giving questions 6.Oral picture description exploiting a model 8.Listening to music Observing with all senses 10.Reading How much you like each kind of activities? Put a tick (√) in the column you choose Pre-writing activities very much much Not much List making Brainstorming Grids/ table Warm- up activities Giving questions .Oral picture description exploiting a model 93 very Not at all Listening to music Observing with all senses 10.Reading Which way you like to take part in Pre- writing activities? A individually B in pairs C in groups D none of them How you feel when carrying out the pre-writing activities given by your teachers in writing lessons? A.confident B.motivated, interested C.unsuitable for students’ needs D.bored E.others Your opinions on the benefits from the Pre-writing activities used in writing lessons? A making the writing tasks easier to carry out B helping you have interest in learning writing sections C helping you improve your writing skill D helping you remember the forms of different types of writing better E others benefits 94 APPENDIX 1b QUESTIONNAIRE FOR STUDENTS (VIETNAMESE VERSION) PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Câu hỏi nghiên cứu thiết kế để phục vụ cho đề tài “ Sử dụng hoạt động trước viết để dạy viết Tiếng Anh cho học sinh lớp 10 Trường Trung Học Phổ Thông Mai Thúc Loan” Câu trả lời bạn cho câu hỏi quan trọng với thành công đề tài nghiên cứu Vì vây, mong bạn trả lời câu hỏi cách trung thực xác Cám ơn hợp tác bạn! Phần 1: Thông tin cá nhân học sinh Tuổi……… Lớp…… Phần 2: Trả lời câu hỏi: 95 Vui lòng trả lời câu hỏi sau cách khoanh tròn phương án mà bạn lựa chọn ( Ở câu bạn chọn nhiều phương án phù hợp) Theo bạn, kỹ kỹ sau khó học Tiếng Anh? Hãy đánh số thứ tự từ (khó nhất) đến (ít khó nhất) □ Đọc □ Nói □ Nghe □ Viết Bạn thấy tập phần Viết Sách Giáo Khoa Tiếng Anh 10 nào? □ thú vị □ nhàm chán □ phù hợp □ không phù hợp Giáo viên bạn thường làm trước yêu cầu bạn bắt đầu tiến hành viết A Sử dụng số hoạt động trước viết B Không sử dụng hoạt động Bạn nghĩ tầm quan trọng hoạt động trước viết viết? A quan trọng B quan trọng C quan trọng D không quan trọng Những hoạt động sau giáo viên thường yêu cầu bạn làm giai đoạn trước viết? Bạn đánh dấu (√) vào cột mà bạn lựa chọn Các hoạt động trước Luôn Thường Thỉnh Hiếm Không viết xuyên thoảng 1.Lập danh sách Hoạt động động não Lập biểu đồ/ bảng Các hoạt động khởi động 96 Đưa câu hỏi Miêu tả tranh Khai thác mô hình mẫu Nghe nhạc Quan sát giác quan 10 Đọc Bạn cảm thấy thích hoạt động sau nào? Bạn đánh dấu (√) vào cột mà bạn lựa chọn Các hoạt động trước viết Rất nhiều Nhiều Không Không thích nhiều tí 1.Lập danh sách Hoạt động động não Lập biểu đồ/ bảng Các hoạt động khởi động Đưa câu hỏi Miêu tả tranh Khai thác mô hình mẫu Nghe nhạc Quan sát giác quan 10 Đọc Cách sau bạn muốn tham gia hoạt động trước viết? 97 A Cá nhân B Theo cặp C Theo nhóm D Không thích cách Bạn cảm thấy tham gia hoạt động trước viết học Viết? A tự tin B động viên, hứng thú C không phù hợp với nhu cầu học sinh D.buồn tẻ E ý kiến khác Trong học Viết có sử dụng hoạt đông trước viết đem lại cho bạn lợi ích gì? A làm cho viết dễ thực B tạo hứng thú để học kỹ Viết C giúp bạn cải thiện kỹ viết D giúp bạn nhớ cấu trúc dạng viết tốt E lợi ích khác 98 APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is designed for the study on “Using pre-writing activities to teach English writing lessons for the 10 th graders at Mai Thuc Loan high school".” Your assistance in completing the following questions is highly appreciated and greatly contributes to the success of the study All the information received is solely for the purpose of the study, and you can be confident that you will not be identified in any discussion of data So please respond to each question and complete all of them as honestly and accurately as possible Thank you in advance for your cooperation! Part 1: Personal information - Age: ………………… years of teaching:………………………… - Participating in workshops on teaching English organized by Ha Tinh Department of Education and Training: □Yes □ No Part 2: Please circle your choice in answering each of the following questions ( more than one option is acceptablein question and 7) 99 What you think of the writing section in the current textbook “English 10” in term of teaching? A very difficult B difficult C.easy D.boring Are the three main stages of teaching writing in the current text book “ English 10” clear and easy to follow? A Yes, very clear, and easy to follow B No, not clear, and not easy to follow Before asking your students to begin a writing lesson, What you often do? A use some pre-writing activities B nothing Which of the following ways you often use for Pre-writing stage? □ Brainstorming □ Oral picture description □ List making □ Exploiting a model □ Grids / table □ Listening to music □ Warm-up activities □ Observing with all senses □ Giving questions □ Reading □ Others activities Do you think it is important to organize Pre-writing activities in writing lessons? A very important B important C quite important D not important How often you always conduct Pre-writing activities in a teaching writing ? A always B often C sometimes 100 D seldom Which problems you often encounter when designing and carrying out Pre-writing activities for a writing lesson? A Limitation of time for teaching these activities B Some activities can not motivate the students C Handing them sometimes is out of control D Unsuitable class size for the activities E Difficulties in designing them F Students passive learning style G Others… 8.Your opinions on the benefits of using Pre-writing activities in teaching a writing lesson? A motivating students’learning B creating comfortable atmosphere for the writing lesson C providing background knowledge on the writing topics D helping students to the writing tasks easier E teaching new, difficult vocabulary or structures in the writing tasks F developing students’ writing skill G others What are your opinions on the pre-writing activities used in writing lessons? A interesting B suitable for students’need C unsuitable for students’interest D unable to increase the students’motivation Thank you very much for your cooperation! 101 APPENDIX OBSERVATION SHEET Class……………………………… Teacher…………… Date……………………………… Lesson……………… Part/section… ………………… Time allotted……… Number of students……………… Observation objective…………… Does the teacher use prewriting activities ………………………………………………………… …………………………………… ………………………………………………………… Names of activities ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… Time ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… Work arrangement ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… 102 The students’ attitude ………………………………………………………… towards the teachers’ ………………………………………………………… activities ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… The students’ involvement ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… The students’ preferences ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ……………………………… Comment ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………… 103 [...]... the study The purposes of the study are: - Investigating what the 10th graders and teachers at Mai Thuc Loan high school perceive of pre -writing activities in writing lessons - Discovering strategies to solve some common problems that students and teachers may encounter when learning and teaching writing lessons - Giving some suggested pre -writing activities used to teach the 10 th graders at Mai Thuc. .. Scope of the study The study mainly focuses on how to develop pre -writing competence for the 10th graders at Mai Thuc Loan high School In addition, some strategies to help them improve their pre -writing skill From the findings of the research, some suggested prewriting activities will be given to improve teaching English writing to 10 th form students 7 1.5 Organization of the study Beside the abstract,... writing their final draft The purposes of the pre -writing activities are to establish the who, the what, and the why, and to make use of words and structures needed for the writing task (Nguyen Bang et el 2003) 2.4.3 Some common Pre -writing activities applied to teach English writing lessons at High School There are a wide variety of Pre -writing activities that can help students move forward from their... preparation for writing When teaching writing skill to the 10 th graders at Mai Thuc Loan high School the researcher found out that pre – writing stages are very important in teaching writing and it also has significant effects on the students’ writing performance If students do not prepare well enough they can not write well, they can not even write anything in their notebooks Therefore, Pre -writing activities. .. and class observations Chapter 5, “Conclusion and implications”, presents an overall conclusion of the study, implications for teachers, students and textbook designers, some suggested lesson plans of Pre -writing activities applied to teach English writing lessons for the 10th graders at Mai Thuc Loan High School, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND... Thuc Loan high school 1.3 Research questions In order to fully achieve these aims, the study answers the following questions: 1.3.1 What are teachers’ attitudes towards teaching Pre -writing and Pre -writing activities? 1.3.2 How are Pre -writing activities presented in the current textbooks and implemented in writing classes? 1.3.3 Which Pre -writing activities do students at Mai Thuc Loan high school. .. essential for both teachers and students If Pre -writing activities are used in teaching writing lessons effectively, teachers can help their students feel more motivated, self-confident and of course they will become better writers Because of the practicality in teaching English writing, we wish to conduct this research, entitling Using pre -writing activities to teach English writing lessons for the 10th graders. .. Being an English teacher at upper-secondary school for nine years, the researcher has understood the reality of teaching writing in English The researcher realizes that the upper-secondary school students in general and 10 th form students in particular do not acquire writing skill efficiently Besides, the researcher find that writing lesson is the most challenging one to both the teachers and the students... possitive attitudes towards these activities They liked pre -writing activities asthese activities helped them do the actual writing more easily However many of the students did not participate in the activities actively because of their low level of proficiency and the teacher’s unmotivated ways of conducting these (iii) When doing pre -writing activities, students would rather perform these activities in... Review of previous studies The theoretical background of writing deals with the definition of writing, why teach writing, The nature of writing process and the roles of writing In the part of teaching writing, there are: Approaches to teaching writing, Principles of teaching writing and Stages of teaching writing Besides, What is Pre -writing is presented in the next part The last part is Review of ... TRƯỚC KHI VIẾT ĐỂ DẠY NHỮNG BÀI VIẾT TIẾNG ANH CHO HỌC SINH LỚP 10 Ở TRƯỜNG TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THÔNG MAI THÚC LOAN) FIELD: CODE: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING 60.14 .10 MASTER THESIS... EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN THI QUYET USING PRE -WRITING ACTIVITIES TO TEACH ENGLISH WRITING LESSONS FOR THE 10th GRADERS AT MAI THUC LOAN HIGH SCHOOL (SỬ DỤNG CÁC HOẠT ĐỘNG TRƯỚC... Pre -writing activities applied to teach English writing lessons for the 10th graders at Mai Thuc Loan High School, limitations of the study and suggestions for further research CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL