Differentiated effects of reformulation versus reconstruction task on EFL high school students writing performance within the context of genre based instruction a thesis submitted in parti

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I certify my authorship of the thesis submitted today entitled: DIFFERENTIATED EFFECTS OF REFORMULATION VERSUS RECONSTRUCTION TASKS ON EFL STUDENTS’ WRITING PERFORMANCE in terms of the statement of the Requirements for the Theses in Master’s Program issued by the Higher Degree Committee The thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other institutions Ho Chi Minh City, September 2016 NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC CHÂU i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS I hereby state that I, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Chau, being the candidate for the degree of Master of TESOL, accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the Library In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Library for the care, loan or reproduction of thesis Ho Chi Minh City, September 2016 NGUYỄN THỊ NGỌC CHÂU ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to express her sincere appreciation and gratitude to those who have advised and assisted throughout this research project First of all, I send my greatest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr Nguyen Thu Huong, for his encouragement and guidance throughout the research I owe him for his resources and time reading the drafts, helping with the statistical analyses of the data as well as discussing the results with me His kind support, explanation, and comments have encouraged me to complete this project Without his excellent academic guidance and support, my thesis would not have been possible Secondly, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all lecturers in the Ho Chi Minh City Open University who provided me with invaluable sources of knowledge during my study there and all the staff members of the Department of Post Graduate Studies for their help during the course Especially, I would like to express my great thanks to Dr Pham Vu Phi Ho as a devoted counsellor for my class TESOL7 whose advice, support and encouragement are significant to us Thirdly, I am very grateful to the Board of Directors of Nguyen Quang Dieu Gifted High School for creating all the best conditions for me to take this MA course and finish the thesis Also, I would like to thank all of my English-majored students from Cohort 4, who took part in this research, for their great efforts to complete various tests and questionnaires This thesis would not have been completed without their outstanding cooperation iii I also would like to acknowledge my colleagues and friends who directly or indirectly contributed to my thesis My deep gratitude goes to Mr Nguyen Dang Hoang Duy, for his invaluable supports in sharing the challenges at work so that I could devote time to completing the thesis I owe my thanks to Mr Nguyen Dang Hoang Duy, Mr Le Xuan Ho, Ms Mai Hong Ngoc who helped me with grading the post-tests Finally, I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to my parents, family members whose prayers, love and best wishes were a source of inspiration, encouragement and motivation for me as I was successfully completing this study iv ABSTRACT Written communication is an issue that EFL teachers have to address within the setting of internationalization Genre-based writing instruction has been suggested after some inadequacies have been found concerning the product and process-based approach to writing teaching Different methods of genre-based writing instruction have been introduced; however, few studies have focused on the effects of the application of reformulation and reconstruction tasks An experimental study was attempted to find out the differentiated impacts of the two types of tasks on EFL high school students’ writing performance on their attitudes to writing in the light of genre-based writing instruction A single group of students with a stratification of three levels of proficiency were conveniently selected to join two phases of the study The reformulation tasks were introduced in Phase 2, experimental time while reconstruction tasks were implemented in the control time in Phase The quantitative data from the pretest and the post-test of the two phases were analyzed to find out whether or not students made progress over ten weeks in their writing ability Also, the qualitative data acquired from a questionnairebased survey after the treatment and students’ written feedback were considered to get more insights into the extent of confidence and challenge experienced by the students when the tasks were applied The study shed light into the role of noticing in introducing the different aspects of discourse types (genres) in teaching writing to high school students v TABLE OF CONTENT CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii ABSTRACT v LIST OF TABLES, CHARTS AND FIGURES xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiv CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of the Problem 1.1.1 An overview of writing approaches proposed by theorists and practitioners 1.1.2 Writing Teaching and Curriculum in the Study Setting 1.2 Aims of the Study 1.3 Research Questions 1.4 Research Hypothesis 1.5 Significance of the Study 1.6 Organization of the Study 1.7 Definition of Terms CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 Views and Trends in Teaching Writing 10 2.2 Writing Approaches in the History of L2 Composition Teaching 11 2.2.1 Product approach 11 2.2.2 Process approach 12 2.2.3 Genre-based approach 15 2.2.3.1 The concept of genre in the SFL view 15 2.2.3.2 The properties of three approaches to genre 16 2.2.3.3 Characteristics of genre properties 18 vi 2.2.3.4 The positive and negative sides of the genre-based approach 20 2.3 A comparison of writing approaches 20 2.4 Reconstruction and Reformulation 23 2.4.1 Reconstruction 23 2.4.2 Reformulation 24 2.4.3 Properties of “Focus on Form” ( RF) and Focus on Forms (RC) 25 2.4.4 Studies on RC and RF 26 2.4.5 Explicit and Implicit Instruction 30 2.4.5.1 A distinction between implicit and explicit instruction 30 2.4.5.2 An overview of formal instruction from previous studies 31 2.4.5.3 The correlation among implicit and explicit instruction, implicit and explicit learning, implicit and explicit knowledge 33 2.5 The genre-based approach applied in the study 35 2.5.1 Writing teaching in the study setting 35 2.5.2 The Sydney School applied in the study setting 35 2.5.3 The argumentative essays in the study 38 2.5.4 The application of genre-based approach to teaching English writing at the study setting 39 2.6 The conceptual framework 40 2.7 Chapter summary 42 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 43 3.1 Research Design 43 3.2 Research Site 43 3.3 Teaching Materials 44 3.4 Research Participants 44 3.5 Data Types and Methods of data collection 45 3.5.1 Experiment 45 3.5.2 Tests 46 vii 3.5.2.1 Proficiency test 46 3.5.2.2 Writing post-test and post-test 46 3.5.3 Journals 47 3.5 Questionnaires 47 3.5 Reliability of the questionnaire 49 3.6 Experimental teaching process 50 3.6.1 Pre-treatment stage 52 3.6.2 Treatment stage 52 3.6.21 Reconstruction 52 3.6.2.2 Reformulation 52 3.6.2.3 Speaking-writing activities 53 3.6.3 Post-treatment stage 54 3.6.4 A comparison between RC’ s and RF’ s procedures 54 3.7 Data collection 56 3.8 Methods of analysis 56 3.8.1 Descriptive values 57 3.8.1.1 Frequency (f) 57 3.8.1.2 Percentage (%) 57 3.8.1.3 Mean 57 3.8.1.4 Standard deviation (S.D.) 58 3.8.1.5 Bivariate Correlation 58 3.8.2 Analysis of students’ essays 58 3.8.3 Descriptive data analysis of post-tests 59 3.8.4 Descriptive data analysis of questionnaire 60 3.8.5 Textual analysis of journals 60 3.9 Scoring criteria 62 3.9.1 Scoring for the OPT 62 viii 3.9.2 Scoring for writing post-tests 62 3.10 Chapter summary 63 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 64 4.1 Results in the writing tests 64 4.1.1 Statistical analysis of test results among the three groups 64 4.1.1.1 Statistical analysis on group High level during Post-test and Post-test2 65 4.1.1.2 Statistical analysis on group Middle level during Post-test and Post-test2 66 4.1.1.3 Statistical analysis on group Low level during Post-test and Post-test2 67 4.1.1.4 Statistical analysis of test results among the three groups 68 4.1.2 Statistical analysis of writing abilities among three groups 70 4.1.2.1 High level group 70 4.1.2.2 Middle level group 71 4.1.2.3 Low level group 72 4.1.2.4 Statistical analyses on three groups’ writing abilities after three tests 72 4.2 Results on the relationship between language proficiency and writing performance 78 4.3 Results from journals and questionnaire 81 4.3.1 Participants’ background 82 4.3.2 Students’ attitudes toward RC and RF 83 4.3.3 Students’ affection, confidence and challenges on RC phase 84 4.3.3.1 Students’ keenness and confidence on RC phase 84 4.3.3 Students’ anxiety and challenges on RC phase 86 4.3.4 Students’ affection, confidence and challenges on RF phase 88 4.3.4.1 Students’ keenness on RF phase 88 4.3.4.2 Students’ confidence on RF phase 89 ix 4.3.4.3 Students’ anxiety and challenges on RF phase 90 4.3.5 Reasons for students’ priority in Reconstruction phase 93 4.3.6 Reasons for students’ priority in Reformulation phase 94 4.4 Chapter summary 97 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS 98 5.1 Findings on research questions 98 5.1.1 Students’ writing achievement 98 5.1.2 The relationship between language proficiency and writing performance 99 5.1.3 Students’ reflection on the innovation 99 5.2 Findings on writing notification to teaching writing 103 5.2.1 The “ visibility” of the sample essays in RF tasks 103 5.2.2 The role of implicitness in RF tasks 103 5.3 Findings on the innovative roles 104 5.3.1 New teaching approach 105 5.3.2 New teacher’s role 105 5.3.3 New learners’ role and opportunity 106 5.3.4 New curriculum designer’s role 107 5.4 Chapter summary 107 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSIONS, LIMITATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 108 6.1 Summary of key findings 108 6.2 Implications 109 6.3 Limitations 111 6.4 Recommendations for further research 112 6.5 Chapter summary 112 REFERENCE 114 APPENDIX 1: MARKING SCALE FOR GRADERS’ EVALUATION 119 APPENDIX 2: A SUMMARY OF WRITING TASKS AND GENRES INVOLVED 122 APPENDIX 3A: PROFICIENCY TEST 124 APPENDIX 3B: PROFICIENCY TEST SCORES 132 x Read the text below, then answer the questions Questions: How many parts are there in the essay? What are presented in each part? Which are topic sentences? Which tense(s) are used? Are there any new structures to you? What are they? Note 169 Note Read the beginnings and endings then says which technique has been used in each one 5.Read the essay below and state the topic of each paragraph List the advantages and disadvantages mentioned Paragraph 1…………………………………………………………………………………… Paragraph To start with, pets can be great companions for those who live alone, such as the elderly What is more, having a dog around the house can give you a greater sense of security In addition, young children usually love animals and giving them the opportunity to look after a pet teaches them to care for living things and to be responsible Paragraph However, bring a pet into your home is not a decision to be taken lightly There are some expenses involved as animals need food, special cages, equipment and occasional veterinary treatment which can be costly They also need care and attention on a daily basis, which can be time-consuming Moreover, a pet ties you down to a certain extent You cannot just get up and go away for the weekend or for a holiday without first taking your pet’s needs into consideration This is not always easy and can be expensive if you have to pay for professional care Paragraph 4…………………………………………………………………………………… 170 Paragraph 2: +Topic: Pets can be great companions for those who live alone, such as the elderly + Argument for: *Having a dog around the house can give you a great sense of security *Young children have opportunity to look after a pet teaches them to care for living things and to be responsible Paragraph 3: +Topic: Bring a pet into your home is not a decision to be taken lightly +Argument against: *Some expenses involved as animals need food, special cages, equipment and occasional veterinary treatment * They also need care and attention on a daily basis, which can be timeconsuming * A pet ties you down to a certain extent (Justification: the weekend or holiday, sometimes not easy and expensive) Use your own words to write Paragraph &4 7.Work in pairs Give your feedback on your friend’ wring using checklist Check list a Does the first paragraph refer to a strange or situation? b Specify……………………………………………… b.Does it address the reader directly or ask a question to which no answer is expected? Specify……………………………………………… c.Does it start with a quotation? Specify……………………………………………… d.Does the last paragraph state a personal opinion? Specify……………………………………………… e.Does it give the reader something to consider? Specify……………………………………………… f.Does it end with a quotation? Or a rhetorical question? Specify……………………………………………… 171 7.Teacher’s feedback WEEK FOR AND AGAINST ESSAY Write T for true and F for false statements a “For and Against” essay discusses the advantages and disadvantages b The introductory paragraph talks generally about the topic without giving your opinion c There are only two paragraphs in the main body d You can use “ I believe”, “I think, etc” in the concluding paragraph which also includes either a balanced consideration of the points on the topic or your own opinion e Present tense is used in “For and Against” essay f You should make a list of the points for and against a topic before you start writing g Justification, i.e reasons or examples is required to make a well-developed paragraph h Informal style (e.g short forms, colloquial language, etc.) and strong language (e.g I firmly believe) can be used in this essay i A quotation relevant to the topic is necessary j Each paragraph should include a topic sentence to summarize what the paragraph is about Rearrange these linking words and phrases into the right column according to their functions One more advantage of, as was previously stated, for example, on the other hand, a further disadvantage, last but not least, such as, thirdly, one point of view in 172 favor of, what is more, all in all, especially, one point view of view against, taking everything into account, in particular, apart from this/that, to sum up To introduce points: To list points: To add more points to the same topics: To make contrasting points: To introduce examples: To conclude: Rewrite the following text by linking the sentences in each paragraph Use appropriate linking words and phrases “The advantages and disadvantages of being famous” People who are famous are usually financially secure They are often given free designer clothes, cars and jewelry by manufacturers who receive free advertising when these items are worn or used They receive first-class service wherever they go They have the power to influence other people and are even role models to many They have domestic help and employ staff to take care of their business They are confident and secure as they are successful professionals They seldom have privacy and often have to go out in public wearing a disguise so that they will not be recognized Many people take advantage of them and they often lead lonely lives as they never know who their real friends are Many end up having nervous breakdowns because of stress Some live in fear of being or having members of their family kidnapped People expect them to look glamorous and happy at all times, which is hard for celebrities to Put these jumbled sentences in the correct order Then write them in two separate paragraphs, one including all the advantages, the other all the disadvantages Then underline Linking words/ Phrases 173 Read the paragraphs below, then discuss what you are going to write for the main body “Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using mobile phones” Introduction The last decade witnessed the rapid development of mobile phones and their application in human life Although mobile phones are enjoyed by young and old alike, they also reveal several drawbacks for the users Arguments Justification For For For For .…………… ……………… ………………… ………………… ……………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ……………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ……………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ……………… ………………… ………………… ………………… 174 ……………… ………………… ………………… ………………… Against Against Against Against .………………… .………………… .………………… .………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… ………………… …………………… …………………… …………………… ………………… Conclusion All things considered, it seems to me that mobile phones are really useful despite some inconveniences The key point is that one should pay their concern to when, where and how to use to make them our good companion Write body paragraphs and for the topic above Feedback with checklist Style ( Formal/ Informal) Organization ( Well-developed paragraphs / one sentence paragraph) justification of arguments (yes/ no) 4.linking words/ phrases (yes/ no/ enough) 5.quotation (yes/no) generalization/ over generalization reference to statistics (specific/ blind use) opinion only in the last paragraph (yes/no) 175 Points to consider “What a successful argumentative essay (for and against) should or should not contain?” DO’s DON’Ts …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… ………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… …………………………………… 10 Homework Read the compositions and decide which of the two compositions is a good model, then give the paragraph plan 176 WEEK ( Phase of RF) OPINION ESSAY Work in pairs Reorder these paragraphs again, using linking words for the blanks then explain the reason for your order 177 A _, some people argue that it is necessary to dress fashionably in order to create the correct image for their careers This is particularly true of those who work with the public, as they reflect the image of their company This does not mean that the latest fashion are the most appropriate, however Simple but well-made clothes are almost always the best choice for business wear B , followers of fashion often give up their individuality for the sake of fashion They choose clothes which suit neither their figures nor their personalities This is unfortunate, as the way we dress should reflect who we really are C _, following the latest trends in fashion can be extremely expensive This is especially true for those who buy costly designer clothing There is also the risk of getting into debt in order to keep up with the latest fashions 2.Work in groups Read this Writing Task and underline the key ideas Then discuss the question below “ As a result of electronics inventions such as the computer and television, people less physical activity, and this is having a negative effect on their health To what extent you agree or disagree?” a Do you agree that people less physical activity than in the past? Why or why not? b What areas of people’s lives have modern inventions affected in this way? c If you agree that this has had a negative effect on their health? d Do you think people who physical work or a sport have better health than other people? e How might working with computers or watching television affect people’s health? Think about these things: eyes, weight, heart and muscles Work in pairs These sentences were written as part of students’ answer for body paragraphs for the writing task above Which sentences you think relevant (R) and which are irrelevant (I) Why? For young people, computers have become a popular form of entertainment than television 178 As far as work is concerned, office employees have always worked sitting down and the introduction of computers has not changed that Generally, people like working with computers, so they find their work more enjoyable However, people have also put on weight because they eat more food than in the past, so we should not blame modern inventions for everything For example, lifestyles have become more hygienic, people not catch so many infections and they live longer As a result, sportspeople have become fitter and they continue to break records 4.Read the sample introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph Can you write main body paragraphs? 5.Read the sample essay and answer the questions below Which paragraph: a summarizes the writer’s opinions? b introduces the subject and says what the writer agrees with and what she disagrees with? c mentions other factors which affect people’s health? d says to what extent the writer agrees with the idea that computers have changed the way people work? e Says to what extent the writer agrees that computers and television have changed the way people spend their free time, and how this has affected their health? Which words/ phrases can be used for words in italic? 179 6.Read the reformulated version Compare the differences between the first and the new draft Which would you prefer and why? 7.Write your body paragraphs in Task again, using techniques mentioned in Task to make your writing better 8.Work in pairs Read your friend’s draft, using the checklist given 9.Teacher-student conference: What are similarities and differences between “For and Against” essay and opinion essay? - Techniques used to begin and end essays - Where to put your opinion WEEK OPINION ESSAY Work in pairs Reorder these paragraphs again, using linking words for the blanks then explain the reason for your order D _, some people argue that it is necessary to dress fashionably in order to create the correct image for their careers This is particularly true of those who work with the public, as they reflect the image of their company This does not mean that the latest fashion are the most appropriate, however Simple but well-made clothes are almost always the best choice for business wear E , followers of fashion often give up their individuality for the sake of fashion They choose clothes which suit neither their figures nor their personalities This is unfortunate, as the way we dress should reflect who we really are F _, following the latest trends in fashion can be extremely expensive This is especially true for those who buy costly designer clothing There is also the risk of getting into debt in order to keep up with the latest fashions 2.Work in groups Read this Writing Task and underline the key ideas Then discuss the question below “ As a result of electronics inventions such as the computer and television, people less physical activity, and this is having a negative effect on their health 180 To what extent you agree or disagree?” f Do you agree that people less physical activity than in the past? Why or why not? g What areas of people’s lives have modern inventions affected in this way? h If you agree that this has had a negative effect on their health? i Do you think people who physical work or a sport have better health than other people? j How might working with computers or watching television affect people’s health? Think about these things: eyes, weight, heart and muscles Work in pairs These sentences were written as part of students’ answer for body paragraphs for the writing task above Which sentences you think relevant (R) and which are irrelevant (I) Why? For young people, computers have become a popular form of entertainment than television As far as work is concerned, office employees have always worked sitting down and the introduction of computers has not changed that Generally, people like working with computers, so they find their work more enjoyable 10 However, people have also put on weight because they eat more food than in the past, so we should not blame modern inventions for everything 11 For example, lifestyles have become more hygienic, people not catch so many infections and they live longer 12 As a result, sportspeople have become fitter and they continue to break records 4.Read the sample introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph Can you write main body paragraphs? 5.Read the sample essay and answer the questions below Which paragraph: f summarizes the writer’s opinions? g introduces the subject and says what the writer agrees with and what she disagrees with? h mentions other factors which affect people’s health? 181 i says to what extent the writer agrees with the idea that computers have changed the way people work? j Says to what extent the writer agrees that computers and television have changed the way people spend their free time, and how this has affected their health? Which words/ phrases can be used for words in italic? 6.Read the reformulated version Compare the differences between the first and the new draft Which would you prefer and why? 7.Write your body paragraphs in Task again, using techniques mentioned in Task to make your writing better 8.Work in pairs Read your friend’s draft, using the checklist given 9.Teacher-student conference: What are similarities and differences between “For and Against” essay and opinion essay? - Techniques used to begin and end essays - Where to put your opinion Sample essay for Task There is no doubt that modern electronic inventions have transformed people’s jobs and their leisure time, so that many people spend less time taking exercise However, it is not so certain that this has damaged their health As work is concerned, office employees have always worked sitting down, and computers have not changed that Computers have not affected physical 182 jobs such as farming or building either, and people still physical work like they did in the past In fact, other machines such as washing machines and tractors, not computers, have reduced the amount of physical work people On the other hand, the way people spend their free time has changed greatly People spend many hours watching television and playing with their computers, so they not so much physical exercise This is one of the things which has made more people overweight, and this affects their health when they are older However, people have also put on weight because they eat more food than in the past, so we should not blame modern inventions for everything What is more, new technologies have led to better medicine, and as a result people live longer In conclusion, I believe that generally people live more healthily now In my view, it is difficult to argue that modern inventions have had a harmful influence on our health On the other hand, we need to make sure that we still take a reasonable amount of exercise 183 ... and reconstruction tasks on EFL high school students? ?? writing ability within the context of genre- based writing instruction, (2) examining the relationship between language proficiency and writing. .. nature of writing as well as the social and cultural contexts and the constraints of the writing context In the teaching context of Vietnam, how widespread and significant any improvements in writing. .. Benefits weakening the case of zero option which advocates the abandonment of formal instruction, increasing accuracy and promoting natural language development rather than presenting an alternative