A survey on applying cooperative activities in writing lessons to improve writing skills of non – english major first year students at a college in ha noi

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THI BÍCH NGOC A SURVEY ON APPLYING COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS OF NON-ENGLISH MAJOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT A COLLEGE IN HA NOI (Nghiên cứu khảo sát thực trạng sử dụng hoạt động cộng tác học viết nhằm mục đích cải thiện kỹ viết sinh viên khối không chuyên trường Cao Đẳng Hà Nội) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 HANOI – 2018 ơ VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES VŨ THI BÍCH NGOC A SURVEY ON APPLYING COOPERATIVE ACTIVITIES IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS OF NON-ENGLISH MAJOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS AT A COLLEGE IN HA NOI (Nghiên cứu khảo sát thực trạng sử dụng hoạt động cộng tác học viết nhằm mục đích cải thiện kỹ viết sinh viên khối không chuyên trường Cao Đẳng Hà Nội) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 8140231.01 Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Phạm Thị Thanh Thùy HANOI – 2018 ơ DECLARATION I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “A Survey on Applying Cooperative Activities in Writing lessons to Improve Writing Skills of non – English major first year Students at a College in Ha Noi” is the result of my own research for the Degree of Master of Arts at University of Languages and International Studies – Vietnam National University, Hanoi and that this thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution Hanoi, 2018 Signature Vũ Thị Bích Ngọc i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Pham Thi Thanh Thuy, Assoc Prof for her enthusiastic guidance, critical feedback, and valuable encouragement during the implementation of the study I am immensely grateful to the lecturers in the Faculty of Post-Graduate Studies who gave me broad background and precious knowledge What they taught me is really plentiful resources for my study Last but not least, I want to thank my family, my friends, my colleagues and my students for their supporting and encouraging me during the completion of this paper Without the enthusiastic assistance of those people, this M.A minor thesis could have been hardly completed ii ABSTRACT Writing has a unique position in language teaching and language learning because it’s involved practice and knowledge of three other language skills: reading, speaking and listening Moreover, it is not easy to become a good writer even if you are a good speaker, reader or listener Learners always try the best to think or plan carefully, to set the objective and to write drafts for the writing In order to have perfect writing, learners should learn the way to write and find out the suitable method This study is the relation between cooperative learning and teaching writing skill at class This work will show the importance of using cooperatives activities at a college in Ha Noi as well as the attitude of teachers and students toward this method After all, some suitable activities will be proposed so that teachers can use to help their students improve writing skill iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF FIGURES vii LIST OF TABLES viii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix PART 1: INTRODUCTION .1 Rationale of the study Objectives of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Method of the study Organization of the thesis PART 2: DEVELOPMENT .5 CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Theoretical background of writing .5 1.1.1 Definition of writing 1.1.2 The writing process 1.1.3 The factors affecting student’s motivation to writing skill .8 1.2 Theoretical background of Cooperative learning .10 1.2.1 Definition of Cooperative learning 10 1.2.2 Types of Cooperative learning 14 1.2.3 Elements of Cooperative learning 19 1.2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of Cooperative learning 21 1.2.5 Group formation 24 1.2.6 Cooperative Activities .27 1.2.7 Cooperative activities in teaching and learning English 29 iv CHAPTER 2: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 33 2.1 Settings .33 2.1.1 The context 33 2.1.2 Learners 33 2.1.3 Teachers 34 2.1.4 Syllabus 35 2.1.5 Textbooks 35 2.1.6 Equipment .35 2.2 The participants 36 2.3 Data collection instruments 36 2.3.1 Questionnaires 36 2.3.2 Interviews 37 2.3.3 Class observation 37 2.4 Data collection procedure 37 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 39 3.1 Cooperation and Cooperative activities .39 3.1.1 Students’ and teachers’ understanding about cooperation 39 3.1.2 Types of Cooperative activities .40 3.1.3 The frequency of using Cooperative activities in writing periods 41 3.2 Students’ attitudes to Cooperative activities and materials 42 3.2.1 Students’ attitudes to writing periods .42 3.2.2 Students’ attitudes to Cooperative activities 43 PART 3: CONCLUSION .52 Conclusion 52 Recommendations 54 Limitations 54 Suggestions for further study 55 REFERENCES 56 APPENDICES I v APPENDIX I: QUESTIONNAIRES I APPENDIX 2: OBSERVATION SHEETS IX APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW WITH TEACHERS XXIX vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The writing process approach Figure 2: The relationship between cooperative and collaborative learning Figure 3: Type of cooperative learning Figure 4: The roles of teachers in formal cooperative learning Figure 5: Cooperative learning elements by Johnson, D.W., et al Figure 6: Illustration of Random-grouping Figure 7: Homogeneous and heterogeneous groups Figure 8: Cooperative activities Figure 8: Frequency of using cooperative activities in writing periods Figure 10: Student’s preferences for Cooperative activities Figure 11: Group division in cooperative activities Figure 12: Group forming in cooperative activities Figure 13: Students’ preferences for materials Figure 14: Time distribution for Cooperative Activities in writing class vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The difference between cooperative learning and competitive learning Table 2: Roles of teachers in CL and traditional learning Table 3: Changes in Characteristics in Group Dynamics Table 4: Students’ cooperation in cooperative activities Table 5: Students’ attitudes to writing periods viii APPENDIX 3: INTERVIEW WITH TEACHERS (The tapescripts were transferred from recorded materials) Teacher T: (class 1) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing class? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? I have you been teaching English at this university for years R: How many students in your class? Over 40 students R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? They are not very good at writing Because they didn’t more chances to practice writing in particular and language skills in general R: Are they interested in writing? No Of course not Writing is considered as a language skill which is difficult for my students to acquire R: What you think about their problems in your class? - Students with poor grammar - Narrow vocabulary - Bad idea organization - Lack of background knowledge - Teachers’ uncareful guidance R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? I think cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals Then they work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it XXIX - It also is the way the teacher divides the students into groups to accomplish a writing task together R: And what are the reasons? - Enhancing students’ social skills (interact with each other) - Promoting peer interaction - Increasing students’ participation - Increasing motivation and positive attitude toward learning R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? - Jigsaw - Think- pair- share - Project R: Which one interests the students most? - Think- pair- share: A question posted by the teacher Individuals pair up and discuss their thoughts Then, the pairs share their responses with other pairs, other teams, or the entire group R: Can you tell me how you group your students? I have my students work as a team to solve a problem or accomplish a task Next, the teams break into pairs and students work on either the same problem, or a related one Finally, the pairs break up and the students work individually to complete the same or a related task R: Is there any problem? Some students not participate in working in groups  To the uncooperative members, I give them low marks However, this is not the best way R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? XXX I always consider about the group size I often ask students to work in group of 4- members I think it is an ideal group R: Is it effective? Yes, Students have chances to work and discuss with others R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? I think 4- mins, because they don’t want to work together R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? I not use any supplementary materials R: Thank you very much for your cooperation! XXXI Teacher A: (class 2) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing class? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? years R: How many students in your class? 40 students R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? Pre - intermediate R: Are they interested in writing? No R: What you think about their problems in your class? They lack of academic vocabulary and they are not good at grammar R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? Cooperative activities is an effective way for students to improve their learning I often use it in the writing lessons R: And what are the reasons? They tend to learn harder and develop their social skills and self – efficacy because they have to work together to achieve the best results R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Pair work and group work R: Which one interests the students most? Group work is preferred R: Can you tell me how you group your students? Low – ability with high – ability students with the same learning styles XXXII R: Is there any problem? The number of high – ability students and low – ability students are not equal R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Games and awards are the good way to make them active in class R: Is it effective? Yes R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? or less than 10 mins I think it’s suitable for them to work in their group R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? Sample writings Vocabulary list for given topic R: Thank you! XXXIII Teacher N: class R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing class? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? Not at all R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? I have been teaching E since 2016 R: How many students in your class? 45 R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? They are mostly in the pre-immediate level R: Are they interested in writing? No, they aren’t They feel bored, not want to any tasks R: What you think about their problems in your class? Poor writing skills, listening skills, vocabulary They are not interested in English, accept some of them They lack of confidence R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? Ss work together on common tasks or learning activities I not remember much about some types of CA I usually ask Ss to work in group of 3, 4, or 10 Ss to finish a task from teacher R: And what are the reasons? To motivate Ss To help bad Ss To help them closer R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Pair works XXXIV Group works Jigsaw R: Which one interests the students most? Jigsaw R: Can you tell me how you group your students? Randomly Bad Ss with good atudents Girls and boys R: Is there any problem? Noise in the class and some Ss are very lazy R: How you control this noise? Minus stars or points for student who makes noise R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Give mark R: Is it effective? Sometimes it is effective, sometimes it is not really R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? Less than 10 mins, I think R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? From internet R: Many thanks to you! XXXV Teacher D: (class 4) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? 5years R: How many students in your class? 45sts R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? Not very good R: Are they interested in writing? Some of them are interested R: What you think about their problems in your class? They are lack of vocab, grammar structures They are lazy to think of the ideas for the topic R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? C.A is an interesting activity because it provides Ss opportunities to work in pairs, groups to help each other improve vocab, grammar structures… in writing I sometimes use it because it wastes a lot of time, bad sts may be talk to each other or other work when C.A R: And what are the reasons? R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Individually brainstorm ideas and write After that, peer-check R: Which one interests the students most? May be, brainstorming or mind map R: Can you tell me how you group your students? XXXVI Random, tables next to tables R: Is there any problem? No answer R: How you control this noise? Go around and observe R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Give marks and limit time or deadline R: Is it effective? Yes R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? – 10 mins It doesn’t take a long time to organize R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? Pictures, videos, about the topic R: Thank you very much for your help! XXXVII Teacher Ng: (class 5) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing class? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? No R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? I have been teaching E since 2017 at this university R: How many students in your class? There are 50 Ss R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? They are not good Their levels are pre-immediate They only study E in their schools R: Are they interested in writing? No, they not want to write anything R: What you think about their problems in your class? They are not keen on writing They are not confident in speaking They are poor at listening, vocabulary, grammar R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? CA are good way to motivate Ss in class Cooperation is working together to accomplish shared goals There are many types of activities: think – pair – share, partners, jigsaw, number heads together I usually use in my class R: And what are the reasons? To motivate students To help them understand faster R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Think-pair-share, jigsaw and sometimes I use number heads together XXXVIII R: Which one interests the students most? They are the same R: Can you tell me how you group your students? In group of tables Count number randomly Boys and girls Good students with bad students R: Is there any problem? Noisy, some not work R: How you control this noise? Remind them all the time R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Good students will get good marks R: Is it effective? Yes R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? I think or more than mins Because I want to spend time for another parts R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? From internet and other writing related books R: Thank you very much! XXXIX Teacher Nh: (class 6) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing class? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? years R: How many students in your class? 55Ss R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? They studied E from secondary school But now they are in pre-immediate levels R: Are they interested in writing? No R: What you think about their problems in your class? Lack of vocab, poor grammar, not confident, not good at speaking, writing skills R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? CA help motivate students Yes but not much Cooperation means work together to finish a task I sometimes use R: And what are the reasons? To change the way to learn E To motivate Ss R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Discuss in pair or group R: Which one interests the students most? They always not want to work R: Can you tell me how you group your students? XL Group of tables Boys and girls Random R: Is there any problem? They are not interested in working R: How you control this noise? High mark for good student R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Mark for good students R: Is it effective? Yes but not much R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? Less than 10 mins R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? Internet XLI Teacher Th: (class 7) R: I am conducting a research on incorporating cooperative activities in writing class to motivate the non – major fist – year students in writing? Would you mind if I asked you some questions? R: How long have you been teaching English at this university? Over year R: How many students in your class? 45sts R: How about your students’ proficiency level in writing skill? Pre – intermediate R: Are they interested in writing? Generally speaking, most of ss are not R: What you think about their problems in your class? Some Ss are not friendly and cooperative enough to work with their friends Some lack of knowledge about the topic, some are bad at grammar and writing R: What you think about cooperative activities ? Can you specify? What are they? Do you often use them in the writing lessons? C.A is an interesting activity which motivates Ss in class and inspires them to cooperate in groups to achieve common results I usually use it in my writing class R: Could you please tell me what activities you often use in class? Brainstorming, peer – check, reports, games, R: Which one interests the students most? May be, game is the most interesting activity and they didn’t like making reports R: Can you tell me how you group your students? Random, sometimes let them choose their groups R: Is there any problem? It causes a lot of noise and conflicts XLII R: How you control this noise? Mark and sometimes, I ask a leader to control the groups in class R: What you to motivate them to take part in activities or cooperate with their partners? Give marks or give motivation R: Is it effective? Yes R: How long you spend on Cooperative activities in class? 10 mins is too long – mins is suitable R: Which supplementary materials you use in the writing period? Pictures, videos, supplmentary from internet and referential materials They are really effective for my teaching R: Thank you very much for your help! XLIII ... situation of using cooperative activities in writing classes for non – English major first year students at Hanoi College of Pharmacy  Identifying students? ?? attitudes and teachers’ ones towards... now has main branches located in Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hai Phong provinces Because of the distance, this research will focus on data collected at the branch in Hanoi Hanoi College of Pharmacy cooperated... towards cooperative activities in writing classes  Suggesting some recommendations for applying these cooperative activities to motivate non – English major first year students at Hanoi College of