Using writing process oriented approach to improve 12th graders’ writing skill at quang xuong i high school

PART I : INTRODUCTION ( Phần I : Đặt vấn đề) English has become the most popular foreign language in Vietnam The number of people learning and using English for different purposes has been unceasingly increased day by day This has resulted in changing the outlook of the Ministry of Education and Training for teaching and learning English at upper secondary school It has become a compulsory subject in the state examination and it is one of three subjects for some universities’ entrance exam However, both of teaching learning of English are still far from being satisfaction Both teachers and learners have faced many difficulties in English teaching and learning, especially in teaching and learning writing In Vietnam in general, teaching writing has not paid much attention as it deserves, which is really a problem in teaching and learning a foreign language Therefore, educationists should take this into consideration At Quảng Xương High School, the problem of teaching and learning writing skill is rather difficult The main reason is that the class size with 45-50 students and learners’ proficiency of English is rather low Another reason is the course book with a large number of new words and structures Therefore, learners are often confused and find difficult to remember all of them which are necessary for them to write a composition The reason for choosing this theme ( Lý chọn đề tài ) : As a teacher of English at the upper-secondary school, the author has realized the reality of teaching writing for English language learners English is a required subject for high school students in Vietnam nowadays Theoretically, the curricula and teaching philosophy are communicatively oriented with four skills equally developed In practice, writing is a largely ignored area due to the washback of examinations Most of important tests including graduation and university entrance exams not have a writing component As a result, students only focus on learning grammar and vocabulary They have considerable difficulty in learning the writing skill Writing was traditionally considered as a product, which means that students write a composition and the teacher provides comments and gives correction and the students not have to rewrite the draft The present trend regards writing as a process That is, students write multiple drafts before the completing final draft The ability to write well is not a naturally acquired skill; it must be practiced and learned through experience Writing is a complex combination of skills that is best taught by breaking down the process The writing process involves a series of steps to follow in producing a finished piece of writing By breaking down writing step-by-step, the mystery is removed and writer’s block is reduced Most importantly, students discover the benefits of constructive feedback on their writing, and they progressively master, and even enjoy writing Although this idea is not new in theory, how to apply it in practice is not easy Being a teacher of English at a secondary school, I see the reality of teaching writing skill in my setting I have, therefore, decided to conduct a study on this area to improve the teaching practice in my school The study deals with the use of writing process to improve 12 th graders’ writing skill at Quang Xuong I high school It focuses on the students’ revising and editing the drafts after they receive feedback from teacher and the changes made to each paper between first and final drafts The text type was descriptive text The aim of the theme (Mục đích đề tài ): The aims of the study are: - To investigate the impact of process writing on 12th graders’ composition skill - To find out effective methods of teaching English writing skill to 12th graders The scope of the theme ( Phạm vi đề tài ): The study is narrowed down to the area of teaching and learning writing for grade 12 students at Quảng Xương High School with the textbook English 12 Specifically, this theme deals with the present situation in teaching and learning writing skill Accordingly, the study deals with the use of writing process to improve 12th graders’ writing skill at Quang Xuong I high school The study focuses on the students’ revising and editing the drafts after they receive feedback from teacher and the changes made to each paper between first and final drafts The text type was descriptive text The method of the study ( Phương pháp nghiên cứu ) : The study employs a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods It involves the analysis of students’ writing, interviews, reflexive journals, and statistical data Multiple drafts approach is used for error treatment and content development Interviews and reflective journals provide in-depth information that supplements the analysis of writing drafts PART II : DEVELOPMENT ( Phần II: Giải vấn đề ) Reasoning basis (Cơ sở lý luận ): Nowadays, Vietnam opened its doors to the world, beginning a new period of scientific, educational and commercial cooperation with many countries English has become an essential means for Vietnamese people to enter into international communication In this context, new approaches and methods of language teaching have been introduced and considered by a large number of Vietnamese teachers and educators In an attempt to innovate Vietnamese education to meet the demand of the society in the progress of integration and development, the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training has reformed English textbooks concentrating on four skills: reading, speaking, listening, and writing Of the four skills, many teachers and students alike consider writing to be most difficult and complicated to teach and to learn In fact, there are a variety of reasons for this problem, and therefore finding appropriate techniques and methods for teaching writing effectively to students requires long serious research The actual subject before applying new methods to teaching: (Thực trạng vấn đề trước áp dụng sáng kiến kinh nghiệm) At Quảng Xương High School, the problem of teaching and learning writing is rather difficult There are 36 classes in this school The class size is generally large with 40-45 learners in one The classroom are equipped only with a chalk board and desks for four students sharing one Moreover, some of the teachers of English at Quảng Xương High School find it difficult to teach writing successfully because of the students’ language level Furthermore, the majority of the teachers were trained under the strong influence of the Grammar-Translation method, which impedes them from teaching writing successfully Besides,the introduction of the new textbook “English 12” in 2006 has marked real renovation in language teaching and learning from the traditional approach-grammar translation method Writing is the last skill in each unit It is presented after three skills of reading, speaking and listening These skills help prepare vocabulary, sentence structures and ideas for writing tasks.Writing skill on different kinds of texts such as: writing a letter of request, writing a report, describing a book, etc helps students practice writing with real-life situations on text However , students are still fed up with writing because nowadays all English tests they have to at exams are multiple-choice tests They have not been aware of the fact that writing is also an effective way to pracice English grammatical structures and new words, which helps them to the tests better The results of my students’writing in Unit 10 , English 12, part D ( Writing) in 12T1 and 12C3 before applying the new method: Class Results Mark 9-10 Mark 7-8 Mark 5-6 Mark