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AN INVESTIGATION INTO TEACHING WRITING SECTIONS IN ENGLISH 1! TEXTBOOK AT TRAN HUNG DAO HIGH SCHOOL
IN MY THO CITY - THEN GIANG PROVINCE
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Arts (TESOL)
Trang 2With the objectives of helping teachers and students achieve expected goals in teaching and learning writing skill, many methods of teaching writing skill have appeared during the revolution in teaching methodology Each kind of those methods in reality has both advantages and disadvantages, depending on different teaching situations Therefore, this study was conducted not only to determine if the current teaching writing methods were appropriate but also to discover the factors affect teaching writing skill, which helped teachers find out some measures to meet the demand of teaching and learning English’s quality at Tran Hung Dao High School in My Tho city, Tien Giang Province
Trang 3Contents Page 0, )0i1068i0949)9)6 96819))001152535534 1 1.1 Background of the study - G2 S0 HH 9n ng ng re l IV co luôn 3 1.3 Research Questions 8 n 4 1.4 Significance of the Study ce ceesesseesscccstecceesseeseecesceesseeeretsnseetsesseeeseneeens 4 1.5 Scope of the Study 5 1.6 Overview of thesis ChapẨ€T -G SH TH HH ng ng 5 Chapter 2: LƯTERATURE REVIEW Ặ << th tt rHrrrrerree 7 2.1 The roles of teaching and learning writing skill ` c1 g1 kg hy 7 2.1.1 The importance of wrifing skiÏÏ s- < cxntH HnH gnH ng c 7 2.1.2 Teaching writing skill at Vietnamese high school context 8 2.2 Some approaches of teaching writing in EFL cÌÏa§s «25 <+<+ 10 2.2.1 The product approach - - s9 g9 ng ng và 10 2.2.2 The process approach - - -‹ ch ng ng T0 ng ng 13 2.2.3 The genre approachh - - - «cv TH ng nu ng và 16 2.2.4 The process-penre approach - - - -< cv HH ng ng và 19 2.3 Factors affecting teaching writing in cÍassroOm - -s«+++ 23 VN NET ác ¿oan na e 23 VY 9u ái i00 15c 01 24 2.3.2.1 Topics for writing in fexXfÐOOK - - cv ng, 24 2.3.2.2 Tasks designed In writing sections of the text book 24 2.3.2.3 The current English 11 textbook -5+c< 2< sssssses 26 „XS N) nh 27 2.3.3.1 Teacher°s knowledge and attitude -c server 28 2.3.3.2 Teachers technique 1n teaching - - cv ng ng 29 2.3.4 The students ¬—— 32
Trang 4-iv-“ho 34 V03 v20 i02 j0 .e 34 2.5 Summary of chapter nh 37 Chapter 3: METHODOLOOY .- -Á Án HH HH gu 38 SN non 38 3.2 Research Site 39 3.3 Research DarfiCIDATIẢS - che 39 E=an ii 39 3.3.2 TeaCH€FS - càng HH HH ngư S139 1191 1101k 40
Trang 54.1.1.4 Summary of class obs€rVAfÏOTS 5S Sen gseeseeereree 69 4.1.2 Questionnaire ao nh 72 4.1.3 Questionnaire fO stUd€nS - Gc SH ng 1 1g ng 78 4.1.4 Semi-structured Interview tO teaCh€rS - ng re 86 VI (9ì a0 1n hố 90 4.2.1 The way of teaching writing sections in English 11 textbook at THD 012i: 200110777 90 4.2.2 The factors affect teaching and learning writing skill at THD High h9; 200 L1 KH vn nh 92 4.2.2.1 Material for teaching 1n 92 4.2.2.2 Teachers” techniqu€S - - - G1 x1 9 1 999 111g ng vn 94 4.2.2.3 Teachers” and studenfs” affItude . «ss+sss+.xEssesee 96 4.2.3 The solutions to the problems in teaching and learning writing skill at THD High School 0 97 4.3 Summary Of ÍindiT8S - - sọ TH Tưng re 98 4.4 Summary Of chapter 4 - - <0 vớ 100 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION AND ITMPLICATIONS - << cccsseeeesee 101 5.1 Some SUØBĐ€SẨÏOTS Q5 HH ng TH ng ngờ 101 5.1.1 Suggestions ÍOr sfUd€TI{S - sọ ng HH ng ng 101 5.1.2 Suggestions for t€aCH€TS 5 sọ ng xe 102 5.2 Some Ïimitations and recomrmnendafiOnS . «5s s+sesseeseesee 104 hÝVÄ Noo T0 104 5.2.2 Recommendations for further sfudies - se 105 5.3 CONCIUSIONS - - GĂ G0 Họ gi TH ng 105 (015421 0P 7e 107 Appendix A:, Topics for writing in English 11 textbook «<< x<s« 113 Appendix B: Class observation sh€et - HH ng ng re 115
Trang 7Figure 1 Model of product approach - -<- «s1 my 11
Figure 2 Model of process approach ce esesssceceseeesesereesseesasseesesseeeeeeseeeeeteaee 14
Figure 3 Model of genre approac - - << s00 tàn 18 Figure 4 Model of process-genre appTOaclh - «+ s s9 v19 1x ke 21 Figure 5 The success of l8 activities In 26 class obserVafIOnS - -<«<- lại Figure 6 Comparison of teaches and students’ view on the writing topics and
ey ee
: 9.040E)58i0810sli2.4ïi099 (0đ 93 hạn 7 The frequency of use of writing techniques in writing lessons 95 Figure 8 Comments of students on the techniques used by teachers 95
Trang 8-TRE SERIE BEEBEGE GREY SM SHE LIST OF TABLES
oe 3.1 Summary of research InstrUrm€TIS - 5< xxx 91 9 19 3 re 50 thi 3.2 Summary of class ObS€TVAfIOTNS - - LG SH ng ng ng 52 Mable 3.3 Summary of data collectIlon procedUr€S - «se 54 Table 4.1 Class observations results in the first semester of eight classes with
: eight different teachers cccssesccssseccessccseesscecesecseeesseeseneseeeesesessseees 57
Table 4.2 Class observations results in the second semester of eight classes with ; eight different t€ac€fS - - cà tt 11141111 11111131111 1s 60 Table 4.3 Classroom observation results in eight different classes with four
: {CACH€TS HH HH HH HH 000100011111 63 Table 4.4 Comments from many teachers on Teacher 1’s class
(in the 1 semester) c.cccccccsssssssscesssssscsescscsssssssscsesssssssssessessesssseeeeseseeess 66
Table 4.5 Comments from many teachers on Teacher 8’s class
(in the 2"4 semester) ccsccsssccssssesssssssssessessssssssssssesssessessessesssesssensesneessess 68
Trang 9CLT EFL GCSE Ll L2 MOET : R.Q TBLT
Communicative Language Teaching English as Foreign Language
The General Certificate of Secondary Education First language
Second Language
Ministry of Education and Training Research Question
Trang 10Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
English is now used in many aspects of our lives such as economics, culture, politics, education, tourism, science, technology and telecommunication It is also
considered as a powerful tool to interact among people, transact views, and create a
sense of community Therefore, more and more people rush to learn and explore English In Vietnam, in the trend of English as global language, English plays an extremely important role in the life of many Vietnamese, and accordingly English has just regained its role as the main foreign language taught and used in Vietnam Therefore, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has been put in pressure of comprehensively innovating English teaching and learning in order to equip students with good communication skills in English English has been taught compulsorily from Grade 6 through to Grade 12 (or from Grade 3 to Grade 12 in some provinces where there are enough teachers and facilities) as a main foreign language and has been chosen as one of core subjects in the national curriculum for students to take in the GCSE examination (the General Certificate of Secondary Education) for many years in Vietnam
Trang 11would be available to them Moreover, when comparing writing with other fundamental skills such as listening, speaking and reading, Tagermpoon (2008) emphasizes writing is the most difficult because it requires a great deal of lexical and syntactic knowledge as well as principle of organization in L2 to produce perfect writing Teaching writing skill is a really difficult task for high school teachers because developing this skill takes a long time to see the improvement
According to the MOET, the current high school English textbooks were designed to teach four basic skills in learning EFL, which aims to enable school students to communicate in English at the basic level in all modes of communication; to master the English language; to have general knowledge of, and a positive attitude towards the cultures of English-speaking countries The documented curriculum also states that communicative skills are the goal of the teaching of English at the secondary school while formal knowledge of the language serves as the means to the end (MOET, 2006)
To respond the importance of English writing skill, the MOET has carried out ‘a renovation in designing new English textbooks since 2006 The new textbook English 11 composed by Van, H.V et al (2007) has been in use since 2007 as the official textbook to learn general English at grade 11 The book consists of 22 units in which there are 16 studying units and 6 revision units As the book is theme-
based and skill-based, each unit is relevant to a specific theme and has the following
consistent 5 parts: reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus Six revision units were designed in the form of test yourself so that students can test their ability and knowledge with four sections: listening test, reading test, writing test and grammar & vocabulary test after the completion of every two or three units
Since this textbook has been used in high schools, many educators and teachers are
Trang 12School” and in 2011 MOET cut off two units among sixteen units in English 11 textbook in order to reduce the heavy workload of this compulsory curriculum
According to MOET, evaluating the student achievement in their learning means evaluating their improvement in four skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing) and their knowledge of language (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar) It’s clear that writing skill is equal in teaching and testing in comparison with other skills and it is required in the exam for high school students at the end of the school year with the weighting of 20% total scores
Writing skill is considered as an extremely difficult skill for EFL students in the language learning (Richards, 1990) With the aim of-helping teachers and students achieve expected results, many approaches of teaching writing skill have appeared during the revolution in teaching methodology Each approach in reality has both facets of advantages and disadvantages, depending on different teaching situations In order to fully exploit the benefits of the methods to help find out some measures to meet the demand of the teaching and learning English’s quality in high
school nowadays, understanding the effectiveness of different methods of teaching
writing skill in particular teaching circumstance is necessary for teachers while they take the cognitive learning style of their students into consideration
1.2 Purpose of the study
Accordingly, the study reported in this thesis has been conducted in an attempt to meet the obvious need for more research on teaching writing It actually helped the teachers have a critical look on their current teaching and then timely have applicable regulations of their English writing teaching methods The purposes of this study are:
Trang 13- To identify the factors that affect the process of teaching writing at Tran Hung Dao High School, and
- To explore the problems they meet when teaching and learning writing skill at THD High School and their suggested solutions to these problems
1.3 Research questions
The above mentioned issues have let me carry out this study for answering the following research questions:
1) How are writing sections in English 11 textbook currently taught at Tran Hung Dao high school?
2) What are the factors that affect teaching and learning writing skill at Tran Hung Dao High School?
3) What are the teachers’ and students’ solutions to the problems they meet in teaching and learning writing skill at Tran Hung Dao High School?
1.4 Significance of the study
As Harmer (1998) points out, the writing skill has finally been recognized as an important skill for language learning He lays stress on the essentiality of the writing skill saying that the reasons for teaching writing to students of English as a foreign language include reinforcing and developing their language, their learning style, and most importantly, their writing skill
This study is desired to give insight into how writing sections in English 11 textbook are currently taught and the factors affecting the ways of teaching writing The findings of this study have significant pedagogical implications for language
teachers
The success of this study can help not only the teachers but also the students to improve the strength and overcome the weakness for the benefits of English
Trang 14-4-teaching and learning at THD High School in private and other Vietnamese high schools in general This source of data additionally would be very helpful for teachers to adjust their English writing teaching methods and create a balance between preparing students for the standardized examinations and for life-long language skills The result of this study can be useful for the teachers in finding the ways to promote students’ interest in learning writing, and later to promote their performances in teaching writing skill
1.5 Scope of the study
This study aims to investigate into how writing sections in English 11 text book are currently taught at THD High School and some: factors affect their teaching All students at grade 11 and 8 teachers in charge of grade 11 were delivered questionnaire in this study Due to time, only 26 class observations in fifteen classes were carried out in six writing lessons among 20 writing lessons in English 11 textbook (14 lessons in 14 units and 6 lessons in Test Yourself) with 8 different teachers and the interview conducted with 8 teachers The finding of the study should therefore be interpreted in the context
The study was conducted during the school year 2011 - 2012 from October 2011 to March 2012 It only focused on grade 11 at THD High School, thus the generalization and recommendations would be limited to other grades there and also to other high schools in Vietnam
16 Overview of thesis chapters The thesis contains five chapters:
Trang 15Chapter 2 provides the review of teaching writing skill: some approaches to teaching writing; and factors affecting teaching and learning (in term of learning
environment, materials, teacher and students)
Chapter 3 gives the methodology including research methods, research site, participants, data collection instruments and procedures
Chapter 4 reports the results of the research and gives some discussions
Trang 16Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
Writing is one of the central pillars of language learning and of major interests and concerns of teachers, students and researchers This chapter will focus on the importance of writing skill in language learning; how to teach writing skill and some factors that affect the process of teaching and learning writing skill
2.1 The role of teaching and learning writing skill 2.1.1 The importance of writing skill
Writing skill is significant in the whole language development and learning Writing is the final of language skills and determines to the success of students in both interna] and external examinations Writing skill helps the learners become independent, comprehensible, fluent and creative These important abilities help learners put their thoughts in a meaningful form
One way to acquire knowledge about writing is through reading The contents in which students are required to write should focus mainly on reading, and when students write, they can make use of their knowledge of the world and of their experience as readers Most teachers want to provide their students with comprehensible input or with models for their writing tasks Engaging students in writing activities has also been shown to improve reading ability
Trang 17words and structures, and it also helps to focus students’ attention on what they are learning (Doff,1988) Grammar patterns are also improved by writing When learners write, they have to make decisions on the most appropriate patterns, sentences, tenses, among other features required for their writing We output thoughts, ideas and feeling by speaking with other learners The process of speaking out what we have arranged in mind is the process of organizing ideas for writing It is a link between thinking and writing Writing is a complex task which involves many thinking skills such as generating ideas, organizing ideas and expressing ideas Since writing is an active and productive skill, language learners may face multiple challenges when learning it
The current high school English textbooks in Vietnam, writing skill is compiled as separate skills; writing material is presented and constitutes a system of teaching contents which are required in the program Short essay writing covers the wide range of specific writing tasks that students are required to write According to MOET, evaluating the student achievement in their learning means evaluating their improvement in four skills (reading, speaking, listening, writing) and _ their knowledge of language (pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar) It is obviously recognized that writing skill is equal in teaching and testing in comparison with other skills and it is required in the exam for high school students especially in Grade 10 and Grade 11 at the end of the school year with the weighting of 20% total scores; therefore, teaching writing skill is a must to do in Vietnamese high schools
2.1.2 Teaching writing skill at Vietnamese high school context
Trang 18Due to the growth in the status of Vietnam when it became an official member of many international organizations such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASIAN) in 1995, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 1998 and the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2006, Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has been put in pressure of comprehensively innovating English teaching and learning in order to equip students with good communication skills in English Writing skill began to gain an attention and recognition from
MOET as a skill for students in high schools to master Since 2006, with the new
English text books, writing skill has been taught as a separate skill in parallel with teaching reading, listening and speaking skills At present, teaching writing skill at high school includes in two parts: improving the intensive writing skill and developing the extensive writing skill
AS an intensive writing skill, writing is still considered mostly as a supporting skill which often emphasizes the grammatical points More kinds of grammar exercises such as gap-filling, building sentences, sentence transformation, putting jumbled sentences in order to form a letter, a paragraph or a short essay, etc are taught in the type of writing in the language focus sections or in the first or second tasks designed in writing sections in each unit of the new English textbooks
(MOET, 2007)
AS an extensive writing skill, students write an essay on topics which usually follow by the themes of the unit or the topic introduces in reading sections of each unit The objectives of this extended writing exercise which have been designed in writing sections of the English textbooks are to practice and develop the students’ ability in creating, organizing the ideas and putting them into the final products with respects to vocabulary, grammar and text organization suitably for each unit in the
Trang 19However, when learning writing skill, the majority of high school students may not have many difficulties in doing language-based writing exercises which require a mastery of vocabulary and grammar structures but they find it rather difficult to write an essay It is clear that when students are asked to write an essay in English, they face with many problems in generating the ideas, organizing the ideas, expressing ideas and putting them into logical texts, which prevent them from producing successful and effective essays in English In order to solve these difficulties of students in learning to write an essay, high school teachers often try their best to find out their own suitable approaches to teach their students depending upon their view of how writing should be taught and learned and what features are important in an essay Obviously, approaches to teaching writing can play an important part in stimulating students to write Therefore, finding out the best approach to teaching writing skill is a big question for most teachers in Vietnamese high schools
2.2 Some approaches to current teaching writing in EFL classes
Writing is a complex task which involves many thinking skills such as generating ideas, organizing ideas and expressing ideas Up to dates, there are several ways to approach writing in the classroom It should be said that there is not necessarily any 'right' or ‘best’ way to teach writing skill The best practice in any situation can be depend on the kind of student, the text type being learnt, the school system and a lot of other factors In recent years, there have been four major approaches: the product-based approach, the process-based approach and the genre- based approach, the process genre approach which can be used to teach writing skill in most EFL classes
2.2.1 The product-based approach
With the product approach, teachers focus on what a final piece of writing will be and measure it against criteria of “vocabulary use, grammatical use, and
Trang 20-10-mechanical considerations such as spelling and punctuation,” as well as “content and organization” of a piece of writing (Brown, 1994, p.320) This approach focuses on providing learners with enough knowledge of grammar and vocabulary through a model text provided and analyzed by the teachers in order that learners can produce grammatically correct texts through practicing such intensive writing skill
According to Vanessa Steele (2004), the product approach is a traditional approach, in which students are encouraged to imitate a model text, which is frequently presented and analyzed at the first stage in the process of writing A model for this approach can be outlined below:
Stage 1: Model texts are read, and then features of the genre are highlighted Stage 2: This consists of controlled practice of the highlighted features, usually in individual
Stage 3: Organizing ideas This stage is very important It is believed that organizing ideas is more important than the ideas themselves and as important as the control of language
Stage 4: The result of the learning process Students by themselves use skills, structures and vocabulary they have learnt to produce the product; to show what they can do as fluently and proficiently as users of the language
Robinson (1988) claims that the product approach to writing usually involves the presentation of a model text which is analyzed and the basis of a task that leads to the writing of an exactly similar text According to Robinson (1988), product approach can be summarized in the following figure
Model text ——> comprehension/analysis/ manipulation ——>NEW INPUT
— > PARALLEL TEXT
Figure 1: Model of Product Approach (Adapted from Robinson, 1988)
Trang 21
The product approach shows that the teacher provides the models and learners are asked to underline or circle the thesis statement, topic sentences, supporting ideas in the models Then they have to identify the kind of grammatical structures that follows the essay organization of whether logical division, cause and effect or compare contrast signals They also build paragraphs even a sentence from frames, tables and guides, and then produce an essay by answering a set of questions Small changes and substitutions are also added to an outline or summary Moreover, learners are taught how to combine sentences, develop complex sentences following various rules of combination, and how to use transitional which is applied through the course The major limitation of the product approach is that learners are very passive and less creative in learning writing All their knowledge of writing skill is based on the teacher and textbooks In addition, they spend most of their time working alone with their own thinking that may be enough but not diversified and creative If they discuss with their partners in groups or in pairs, they may discover new ideas that seem to be good for their learning situation They can be more motivated and confident to express their own ideas in writing down for their draft Moreover, in product-based approach mistakes are corrected seriously during the writing, which leads to some extent discouragement for students to write more Most of learners are worried about making mistakes that are considered common in writing for beginners
However, there are some strong points of the product-based approach that many teachers cannot deny First, it can be easier for beginners of writing to know how to write a good sentence, how to combine good sentences into a good paragraph to how to connect paragraphs into a good essay, their last product by reproducing what the teachers and the textbooks show because a lot of learners cannot write a good essay as soon as they begin the course They should do step-by- step with imitation and repetition from textbooks or from their teacher Second, the teacher still teaches learners the basic knowledge of writing including grammatical
Trang 22-12-structures, word choices, how to vary the content, how to organize the essay so that the teacher knows how to handle or lose his or her control in the writing class
In short, teacher’s guidance and knowledge of writing theory is the good base for beginners of writing to use in their writing practice However, if learners gain their knowledge and skill of writing only from the teacher’s guide and textbook strictly, they will not be active and often meet obstacles when they face a new topic or a new kind of essay Because of many limitations of this approach, it is not popularly used in teaching writing
2.2.2 The process-based approach
Writing is a complex process that allows writers to explore thoughts and ideas, and make them visible and concrete Writing encourages thinking and learning for it motivates communication and makes thought available for reflection When thought
is written down, ideas can be examined, reconsidered, added to, rearranged, and
changed Process of writing is a powerful strategy to help students think about what they are doing as they are writing
Nunan (1991) clearly says that the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work and the process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect, but a writer will get closer to excellence by producing, reflecting on, discussing and reworking successive drafts of a text Fowler (1989) acknowledges that process writing evolved as a reaction to the product approach, in
that it met the need to match the writing processes inherent in writing, and
Trang 23PREWRITING COMPOSING/ DRAFTING ) REVISING ) EDITING |! PUBLISHING
Figure 2: Model of process approach (Adapted from Badger and White, 2000)
Moreover, according to Ghaith (2002), the process of writing involves pre- writing, planning, drafting, and post-writing activities Teachers should help students realize the importance of each writing stage equally and provide them with a chance to self-correct their own writing mistakes to raise their awareness in writing Among these writing stages, pre-writing has been recognized as especially relevant to successful writing at the beginning
(1) Pre-writing stage
This stage is sometimes called the ‘planning stage’ of writing and it is argued that this is the most important part of writing an essay With well-prepared planning, writing processes may be much easier for learners Pre-writing engages students in activities designed to help them generate or organize ideas for their composition Engaging students in such activities before they write a first draft can help to improve the quality of their writing products Pre-writing activities consist
Trang 24-14-of gathering possible information through reading or developing a visual representation of their ideas before starting to write At this stage, teachers can conduct various activities for students to generate writing ideas, brainstorming, or making an outline of their writing
Within the classroom, pre-writing activities can be integrated into the writing process as frame by teachers to help students generate ideas for their writing and to practice their thinking skills inherent in the activity Pre-writing activities give students a place to start and make them become aware of places from which to get ideas in the future and they will be more motivated to continue developing their ideas and their own writing Pre-writing activities have a positive and small to moderate impact on the quality of students’ writing
(2) Planning - organizing for drafting
Once students have generated ideas and considered an_ organizational structure, they need to draft Students develop an initial plan for the product they will compose When they do that, they must think about the purpose, the readers’ point of view, and the format of their writing because these things can have implications for both the planning and the drafting of the written product To build up an initial plan for drafting, students have to organize the information they have
generated in the pre-writing stage
(3) Drafting
Trang 25this stage, students focus on getting their ideas written on paper and do not pay
much attention to their errors because they can make corrections later
(4) Post-writing stage
This stage is sometimes called ‘editing’ or ‘proof reading’ The important thing to remember is that no one gets it right the first time The final stage in the process of writing an essay is editing the final draft and this stage is a significant one Thorough editing not only helps to minimize embarrassing spelling mistakes and grammar, it also provides you with an opportunity to identify any breakdown in logic in your argument
The process approach lets students manage their own writing by giving students a chance to think as they write (Brown, 2001) That is, students convey their messages to the readers in written form through the complex writing process; prewriting, drafting, revising, and editing Brown (2001) also claims that the process approach is advantageous to students in language learning because students are the creators of language They must center on content and message and their own basic motives are appreciated This approach focuses on revision, and feedback from others, so students may make many drafts with crossing out of sentences and moving around paragraphs The checking and correcting of spelling and punctuation is not necessary in the early stage of writing Caudery (1997) points out that the process approach is in many instances potentially extremely motivating to teachers and students alike
2.2.3 The genre-based approach
In the 1980s the genre approach became popular along with the notion that student writers could benefit from studying different types of written texts As Nunan (1999) explains, different genres of writing are typified by a particular structure and by grammatical forms that reflect the communicative purpose of the
Trang 26-16-genre By using various genres, students can find out the differences in structure and form and apply what they have learnt to their own writing
Hammond and Derewianka (2001) define the genre-based approach as the way to language and literacy education that combines an understanding of genre and genre teaching together in the writing class Genre-based approaches come with the whole text as the unit in focus rather than the sentence (Derewianka, 2003) In addition, genre-based approaches are concerned with the social purposes of language, and not the semantic functions of individual words and sentences The genres are commonly defined according to the broad social purposes of communication Finally, the focus on whole texts implies recognition that there is a higher level of order and patterning in language than just the sentence -grammar Genre-based teaching helps students participate effectively not only in the school curriculum but also in the wider community This approach shows the view that learning a language is a social activity and the process of learning a language is a series of scaffold developmental steps that address different aspects of language
Rothery (1985) suggestion for a genre-based approach to teaching writing includes the following steps: (1) introducing a genre: modeling a genre by reading to the whole class, (2) focusing on a genre: modeling a genre explicitly by naming its stages, (3) jointly negotiating a genre: teacher and class jointly composing the genre under focus, (4) researching: selecting material; assessing information before writing, and (5) independent construction: students individually construct the genre However, Dudley- Evans (1997) identifies three stages in genre approach to writing First of all, a model of a particular genre is introduced and analyzed, students then carry out exercises which manipulate relevant language forms and finally, students create texts To write in a particular genre, students must be aware of the formal
patterns that shape a text Genre analysis, therefore, can provide the vocabulary and
concepts to explicitly teach the text structures teachers would like their students to produce The approach also offers students a relatively fixed discourse model that
TRUONG OAI HOC MO TP.HCM
Trang 27they can use for reference, thus students will gain confidence in producing texts that serve their intended purposes
Badger & White (2000) contrast the product, process and genre approaches and argue that “An effective methodology for writing needs to incorporate the insights of product, process, and genre approaches.” (p 157) Their model offers a number of opportunities for possible input from teachers, learners and texts A process genre mode! Possible input ot writing Ge Situation a ` Y_ we ee * ^^ Am , Purpose aoe Sara: sew ee = Teacher Ử | ` TC .“ * _—_ ¢ Consideration of mode field Se ẤN tenor > ~~ = Leamers et eee P + 4:77 7 ¬ Drafting wae oxts Publishing * 7" L4 oo” } * a” * ” eo Tet Ấc””
Figure 3: Model of genre approach
(Adopted from Badger and White, 2000, p157)
The genre approach is claimed to be prescriptive rather than descriptive, therefore, adopting such an approach will lead to the lack of creativity in the learners In addition to this, students may feel this teaching approach is rather boring and their final products sometimes may be found stereotyped When using the process genre approach, teachers take up the role of assistant and guide and work closely with students to support them and offer helpful feedback and suggestions because writing is not easy
Trang 28-2.2.4 The process-genre approach
Today many teachers have recognized that the teachers should not rigidly adopt just one approach all the time in the writing classroom The process-genre approach allows students to study the relationship between purpose and form for a particular genre as they use the recursive processes of prewriting, drafting, revision, and editing Using these steps develops students’ awareness of different text types and of the composing process The different activities included in this approach ensure that grammatical and vocabulary items are taught not in isolation, but in meaningful, interactive situations and derived from the particular genre
According to Badger and White (2000), the teaching procedure for the process-genre approach is divided into the following six steps: (1) preparation, (2) modeling, (3) planning, (4) joint constructing, (5) independent constructing, and (6) revising
(1) Preparation
The teacher begins preparing the students to write by defining a situation that will need a written text and introduce it within a specific genre This permits students to expect the structural features of the genre
(2) Modeling
During this step the teacher introduces a model of the genre and makes students think about the main purpose of the text Next, the teacher presents how the text is structured and how to develop its organization to accomplish its purpose
(3) Planning
Trang 29students increase their interest in the topic by connecting it to their experience Because they have to participate and contribute in the classroom, students will
discover the activities interesting and entertaining (4) Joint constructing
While the teacher and students are working together to write a text, the teacher can use the writing processes of brainstorming, drafting, and revising The
students put in their information, ideas and thoughts, and the teacher writes the
generated text on the board The last draft provides a copy for students to refer to when they work on their individual compositions It is collaborative writing and the teacher can offer a very caring and sharing environment This-step can give students an opportunity to write in a group and get ready for individual work
(5) Independent constructing
Students have discovered model texts and have jointly constructed a text in the genre They now carry out the task of composing their own texts on a related or similar topic Students can write independently and the teacher is willing to help, clarify, or consult about the process Because of time limitation in classroom, the writing task can also be continued as a homework assignment The teacher has to explain what students should do for writing homework
(6) Revising and editing
Students finally have a draft that go through last revising and editing This does not mean that teachers have to collect all the papers and give marks one by
one Students can check, discuss, and evaluate their work with other students, as the
teacher again guides and assistants The teacher may try to issue the students’ work, which reports an achievement and motivate the students to learn better Their last
Trang 30-achievement will help to improve confidence among students as they have created something
Guo Yan (2005) drew a diagram, which is adapted from Badger and White (2000), illustrates how these six steps interact in a recursive way with themselves and with other writing skills
Si PREPARATION
C Providing the situation ao |
_ Indentifying the purpose é— 7 MODELING & REINFORCING x -j C i the genre _—” PLANNING Brainstorming , clustering, | \ eG JOINT CONSTRUCTING | Drafting \ INDEPENDENT Editing, responding & evaluating CONSTRUCTING ) TT Text J TEXT
Figure 4: Model of Process Genre approach (Adopted from Guo Yan, 2005, p.21)
Trang 31draws from the genre approaches such as knowledge of the context, the purpose of writing and certain text features but also retains the process approach such as writing skill development and learners’ response It not only lets the learners create thinking and acting of how writers form text, but also knows linguistic features where a particular genre performs
There are many approaches in teaching writing Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses In the product approach, the focus is on the final product which should be a rational, error-free text and students will initiate, copy and transform models provided by textbooks or by teachers while the process approach tend to focus more on the varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use: brainstorming, group discussion, re-writing Therefore, the process-based approach seems to be more effective than the product- based approach, since it allows the student to explore and develop personal approach to writing Moreover, the genre approach encourages students to
participate in the real world around them, to understand writing as a tool that they
can make use of, and to recognize how writers deal with content to promote logical organization Meanwhile, using the process-genre approach to writing allows teachers to help students recognize the steps they go through to create a written text which should lead to less stressful and motivated writing and learners are
encouraged to discuss, asses, and analyze their own writing, which made them feel more confident and less threatened
It is clear to say that the newer approach has several advantages over previous approach Therefore, when teaching writing, the teachers often apply the latest approach or use the combination of many approaches Using the integrated approach in the classroom has the main purpose of enabling students to transfer the skills, they have gained from each approach and thus to produce their writing tasks efficiently
Trang 32-22-2.3 Factors affecting teaching writing in classroom
According to Madrid (1995), there are some internal and external factors in language teaching and learning: external factors are learning environment and
teaching material; and internal factors are the teacher and the students
2.3.1 Learning environment
Educators should be responsible to create a conducive learning environment
that includes these factors:
(1) a low affective environment in which the learners learn to use the language in a non-threatening and fun way;
(2) provision of various types of input which is auditory, visual, sensory, verbal and non-verbal in nature and which is comprehensible or a little beyond the
level of the learner;
(3) a supply of a continuous and consistent exposure to the language being
learned;
(4) an environment where the teachers and the students are supportive and encouraging and
(5) having access to situations in which students can use the language as a natural means of communication (Little Wood, 1995)
Trang 332.3.2 Teaching material — Textbook
According to Jack C Richard (2001), textbooks are a key component in most programs They serve as a basic for much of language inputs receive and the language practice that occurs in the classroom They may provide the basic for the content of the lesson, the balance of skills taught and the kind of language practice the students take part in
Therefore, textbooks play an important role in many language classrooms and have influences on the quality of teaching and learning Two important things that make English textbooks useful for writing are (1) topics for writing; and (2) tasks or activities designed for students to participate in classroom ~~
2.3.2.1 Topics for writing in textbook
Writing becomes more difficult if there is no mastery of the topics that have been chosen for an essay When the difficulty level of writing topic is corresponding to students’ writing abilities, students will be more productive Therefore, topics play an important role in the effectiveness of teaching and learning writing
Moreover, the topics must be suitable for age groups For teenagers, the topics may range from their real-life situations about their family, their friends and themselves, to their adventure about the world around them Diversity and suitability of topics can serve students many educational purposes Students can enrich and widen their knowledge and experiences or stimulate to reflect and have opportunities to exchange ideas, thoughts and feelings through writing
2.3.2.2 Tasks designed in writing sections of the textbook
Using writing tasks to learn content offers students opportunities to expand their knowledge of vocabulary; to support not only the planning process but also the
Trang 34-evaluating and revising process; and to practice grammar, spelling, punctuation and technical writing (Yore, 2003)
Within the task-based framework of the current English textbook, students are expected to engage with each other in meaningful interaction and negotiation of meaning within a specific context Writing tasks may not remain mere ‘compulsory’ tasks that just have to be done by both students and teachers as well It is only the task to draw the student’s attention and to raise the student’s interest towards writing Students need to be able to write all type of tasks and writing activities can turn into challenging, interesting, creative moments of the teaching-learning process
One issue in the teaching of writing surrounds the question of how much of our classroom writing is real writing Task authenticity reflects the purpose to which language input is put It is clear that the chosen tasks can involve the students not only in real communication with texts but also with other students in the classroom Hedge (2000) indicates that writing can be authentic if they reflect the relevant criteria for task design and also mirror the real world purposes and situations in which and for which language is used
" Guided-writing
Guided-writing is an essential tool in a balanced writing syllabus, providing an extra supported step to free writing Through guided- writing, learners are supported during the different stages of the writing process Guided-writing would normally follow on from shared writing The aim of guided-writing task is to provide support that is going to help learners to improve their writing and to work with increasing independence
Trang 35for the writing, giving some guidelines or some guided WH- questions Teaching takes place during the session to intervene to improve the learners’ writing performance
« Free-writing
Free-writing has been recognized as especially relevant to successful writing This kind of task provides more opportunities for students to produce writing with no examples given It is important to make students be willing to write something without fear and improve their writing attitudes After participating free-writing tasks, students become more positive in writing attitudes
Free-writing is a vehicle for developing students’ self-respect, for helping students understand their own ability Elbow (1998) suggested the use of free- writing exercises, where writers could initially write quickly without censoring in any way, to help develop the writer’s ‘voice’
2.3.2.3 The current English 11 textbook
The current English 11 textbook was written by Hoang Van Van (chief editor), Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa, Dao Ngoc Loc, Vu Thi Loi, Do Tuan Minh and Nguyen Quoc Tuan in 2007 with sixteen units for two semesters
Since the book is theme-based and skill-based, each unit is relevant to a
specific theme and has the following consistent 5 parts: reading, speaking, listening, writing and language focus Six revision units are designed in the form of test yourself so that students can test their ability and knowledge with four sections: listening test, reading test, writing test and grammar & vocabulary test after the completion of every two or three units
Writing sections in English 11 textbook provides students with a variety of writing topics (see Appendix A for details) Some of the topics may be familiar to
Trang 36-the students such as in unit 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 13, 15 The o-ther topics are
unfamiliar and quite difficult for the students to write These topics are in unit 7, 9,
10, 11, 16
Most of the writing lessons are designed basing on tasks Task-based language teaching (TBLT) offers the student an opportunity to do exactly The main focus of classroom activities in the task is the tool which the students use to complete their writing The task is a useful activity in which students can use language to attain a specific outcome TBLT gives a natural context for using target language in classroom It also gives the opportunity to the students to explore their ideas and to choose their own words and encourage students to be active learners In task-based language teaching, the teachers have a lot of chances to build up various activities in
class
2.3.3 The teacher
Harmer (2007) expresses that teachers play an important role in teaching a language and one of the principle roles of the teacher in teaching writing is a motivator Teachers motivate the students by creating the right conditions for the generation of ideas, persuading students of the usefulness of the activity and encouraging them to make as much effort as possible for benefit
Teachers will also be a resource especially during more guided writing tasks Teachers are ready to supply information and language where necessary, offer advice and suggestions in a constructive and tactful way
Trang 372.3.3.1 Teacher”s knowledge and attitude to teaching writing
One of the most important factors affecting teaching and learning is the teachers Top of their roles is their good attitude A teacher will not do his/her job well without his/her good attitude as well as enthusiasm Loving the profession as a foreign language teacher is the basic premise of teaching well The teacher really enjoying his/her job would make the lessons more interesting
In Macmillan books for teachers, Scrivener (2005) stated that no learners coming to class to learn a language would wish their lesson to be boring It is important that the lesson is given in an enjoyable atmosphere where the teacher actually leads to real learning The teacher's humor serves as“a Spice to make a soup taste better if it is used properly Students thought that teachers’ enthusiasm in giving feedback helped them see their development and weaknesses, which can make students feel motivated to learn It is important that teachers are aware of their roles and set up a vision of the ideal classroom
Along with teachers' vision and awareness of their roles, their keenness in teaching also builds up the achievement of the class Teachers cannot carry out the workload unless they do not have enough enthusiasm and effort in teaching The teachers’ constructive attitudes towards their students and their teaching and the fairness in evaluation also greatly affected their students' involvement The teachers are open-minded, friendly and close to their students Spending time with the students and involving them in the learning process is necessary in understanding the students’ interests and in co-operating those interests into the learning process
Moreover, one of the most important qualities for a teacher is to have
knowledge A good teacher should understand the central concepts and have an understanding of the subject that they teach and can demonstrate a vast knowledge of the subject matter Knowledge can help students to approach directly the topics at hand and bring into view from those topics a variety of perspectives, interests and
Trang 38-points of view When a teacher has the required knowledge, this becomes beneficial in the success of the student’s learning (Paltridge, 2000) The qualifications and
experiences of the teachers in teaching, an awareness of their roles, and their vision of the ideal classroom, their fairness, enthusiasm and constructive attitudes towards students and teaching, all contribute to the success in students’ learning
2.3.3.2 Teacher’s techniques in teaching writing
A research done by Septiasari (2004) at Natya Language Service and Program in Surabaya shows that the method of teaching and learning can help learners to create good interaction between themselves and also between students-teacher To stimulate an interest in learning, there are several techniques that the teacher may
use as follows:
(1) Raising interest in learning writing and encouraging students in
classroom activities
The teachers organize classroom activities and provide guidance so that students participate in communicative activities actively, creatively and cooperatively in the learning process through individual, pair and group work and they can be responsible for their learning (Van et al, 2006) Students were more motivated to learn when they were given opportunities to actively participate in the lesson (Mitsoni, 2006)
Trang 39(2) Providing enough material for writing
Providing enough material for students before they write is necessary to the success of learning writing skill among students The teachers need present enough vocabulary related to the topics of the writing They should explain how to conduct a sentence and a paragraph to their students clearly and even give and analyze samples to them or help them to make an outline so that the students are well- prepared for their writing
(3) Using visual aids and modern technology in teaching writing
The use of visual aids such as charts, objects, maps and drawings are very helpful devices in a communicative language classroom: Charts and graphs are often used to clarify grammatical or wordy relationships and also useful for understanding sociolinguistic and discourse constraints (Brown, 2001)
Using modern technology to teaching and learning English not only helps teachers save their time but also makes learners access to their lessons easier When the teacher applies Microsoft PowerPoint to making lesson plans, teaching grammar supports both teachers and students in teaching and learning grammar interestingly Gadgets in the classroom can create a more interesting and interactive situation that students are mostly familiar with outside classroom If schools can afford to keep current with technological trends and budget their priorities, learning may become more relevant and meaningful to students Computer literacy and understanding of main software programs is no longer reserved for educational systems in today's society (Lam Nguyen, 2004)
(4) Correcting errors - peer correcting
There are many things to be gained from peer correction Students learn by both giving and receiving feedback It is necessary for students to talk to a friend
Trang 40-30-more often than talk to the teacher in some cases Peer correction also helps develop students’ ability to analyze and revise not only their own work, but also other
students’, and adds to students’ self esteem (Ferris, 2004)
(5) Designing suitable communicative activities
The purpose of learning language is to develop four skills, so the teachers need to design many communicative activities in classroom Moreover, communicative activities are very useful for the teacher to create students’ creativity, for example project work Group projects foster team-building experiences, making consensus, encouraging communication, sharing skills and expertise among team members, and
to be creative in their ideas and solutions to the given problems Project based
learning is suggested as a means for increasing skills, as well as applying theoretical material, which forces students to confirm their understanding (Dougherty, 2002)
Working in teams or pairs gives a person an opportunity to share himself deeply, meaningfully with others and have access to the vast resources and potential of other human beings Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping each other learn, thus creating atmosphere of accomplishment By working in groups or in pairs, students can improve their writing from their partners’ and instructors’ comment and also develop their critical thinking skills
Activities that require writers to collaborate and interact in groups are also seen to enhance writing development (Bruffee, 1987; Lunsford, 1987; Bryan 1996;
Clark & Ivanic, 1997), and encourage the empowerment of learners (Robinson,