An evaluation of the material english written proficiency intermediate 1 for first year students of foreign languages faculty, thainguyen university

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************** TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL “ENGLISH WRITTEN PROFICIENCY – INTERMEDIATE 1” FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY, THAINGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Đánh giá giáo trình “English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 1” dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ khoa Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Thái Nguyên ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Hanoi - 2011 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES **************** TRẦN THỊ THU TRANG AN EVALUATION OF THE MATERIAL “ENGLISH WRITTEN PROFICIENCY – INTERMEDIATE 1” FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY, THAINGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Đánh giá giáo trình “English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 1” dùng cho sinh viên năm thứ khoa Ngoại Ngữ, Đại học Thái Nguyên ) M.A Minor Thesis Field: English Teaching Methodology Code: 60 14 10 Supervisor: Vũ Thị Thu Thuỷ, M.A Hanoi - 2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CANDIDATE'S STATEMENT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vi CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the thesis 1.3 Significance of the thesis 1.4 The research questions 1.5 Scope of the thesis 1.6 Methods of the thesis 1.7 Organization of the thesis CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Textbook, Course book, and Materials 2.1.1 Definitions 2.1.2 The roles of teaching materials in a language program 2.2 Materials evaluation 2.2.1 Definitions of materials evaluation 2.2.2 Types of Materials Evaluation 2.2.3 Purposes of Materials Evaluation 2.2.4 Materials Evaluators 10 2.2.5 Models for Materials Evaluation 11 2.2.6 Criteria for Materials Evaluation 14 2.3 The Writing Skill 14 2.3.1 Components of the Writing Process 14 2.3.2 Approaches to Teaching and Learning Writing 19 CHAPTER 3: THE STUDY 23 3.1 The Current Teaching and Learning Situation at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, TNU 23 3.2 Research methods 24 3.2.1 The questionnaire 24 3.2.2 The interview 25 v 3.3 The data collection procedure 25 Chapter 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 27 4.1 The Course Objectives 27 4.2 Data collation and analysis 27 4.2.1 Organization 27 4.2.2 Content 30 4.2.3 Methodology 33 Chapter 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS 37 5.1 Recommendations 37 5.2 Conclusions 38 5.2.1 Results obtained 39 5.2.2 Suggestions for further study 39 APPENDIX I APPENDIX V APPENDIX IX APPENDIX X APPENDIX Error! Bookmark not defined vi LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: The materials evaluation process (by Tom Hutchinson & Alan Waters (1987:98) 12 Figure 2: Producing a piece of writing by Raime A (1983:6) 16 Figure 3: Martin’s model of genre 21 Figure 4: The data of organization content 28 Figure 5: The data of content criteria 31 Figure 6: The data of methodology criteria 35 Table 1: Example of holistic scale for writing ability (Harris, M & McCann, P., 1994: 13) 18 Table 2: Example of analytic scale for writing ability (Hedge, 1988: 55) 19 Table 3: The data of organization criteria 28 Table 4: The data of content criteria 30 Table 5: The data of methodology criteria 35 CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale English language teaching materials in general and textbooks in particular, together with students, teachers, teaching methods and evaluation, are the five important components in language instruction Although some scholars argue that textbooks limit teachers and students’ creativeness, few teachers entering a classroom without a textbook which provides them with contents and learning activities to be conducted in the class According to Hutchinson and Torres (1994), a text book is “an important means of satisfying the range of needs that emerge from the classroom and its wider context.” Since English was introduced in Vietnam, it has played an undeniably vital role in the society and become a compulsory subject at schools and universities Together with this fact, English textbooks and materials have made a big business for publishing houses However, not many attentions have been paid to the evaluation of such textbooks and materials Unlike the situations in high schools, where a textbook is used nationwide, university lecturers often compile teaching materials of their own by referring to different sources of English books; this leads to a fact that for the same objectives of the course, different universities use different learning and teaching materials It is believed that in so doing, students will study at their best levels Nevertheless, investigations on how and why materials are selected by lecturers are surprisingly little Most of the teachers are subjective in the materials selection process and they may be unaware of how to judge which texts best suit their situation This has inspired me to choose materials evaluation as the theme for my master thesis The second reason for this option lies in the fact that the material I choose to evaluate, “English Written Proficiency Intermediate 1”, has been in use for two years for freshmen of English in the Faculty of Foreign Languages (FFL), Thainguyen University, but there have been no feedbacks from both teachers and students on its effectiveness Meanwhile, students’ scores in the final exam on writing skills in previous years were way lower than their teachers’ expectations with myriad mistakes found on students’ exam papers It is essential, therefore, to establish and apply a wide variety of relevant and contextually appropriate criteria for the evaluation of the material to assess its appropriateness and effectiveness 1.2 Aims of the thesis The thesis is aimed at evaluating the material of current use at FFL in terms of organization, contents, teaching methods commonly used in classroom and at deciding whether the material is suitable for the students of the faculty with regards to their real level of English Hopefully, the findings of this research will provide useful data so that the researcher can make some decisions on whether to continue using the material for other generations of students or to make some changes to improve its effectiveness 1.3 Significance of the thesis Despite some scholar’s arguments on the usefulness of textbooks to be employed as instructional material in language learning and teaching, their enormous popularity still undeniably maintains The language teachers will then have to assure that “the material selected closely reflects [the needs of the learners and] the aims, methods, and values of the teaching program” (Cunningsworth, 1995: 7) However, such a task will not be fulfilled if there is no thorough evaluation on the material Under theoretical significance, this thesis will cater for the methods to evaluate a teaching material effectively The researcher will move from subjective assessments to objective ones Furthermore, this is the first time a teaching material used in FFL has been evaluated, so the theoretical background of the thesis will be of some help for other teaching materials evaluations in the future Besides, “even though teachers will not evaluate to adopt materials, they may well be interested in evaluation as a useful process in its own right, giving insight into the organizational principles of the materials and helping them to keep up with developments in the field” (Mc Donough and Shaw, 1993: 65) Under practical significance, the findings of this study will be beneficial to both the researcher, the teachers who are teaching writing skills for first year students and the students themselves in FFL All the strengths and weaknesses of the “English written proficiency 1” are identified so that optimum use can be made of such strong points, whilst the weaker areas can be strengthened through adaptation 1.4 The research questions This thesis is to find out the answers to the following questions: Does the material “English written proficiency – intermediate 1” for first year students at FFL meet the requirements of the course in terms (i) Content and the suitability with students’ real level of English? (ii) Methodology and the suitability with students’ real level of English? Is the material attractively and logically designed? What should be done to help improve the material? 1.5 Scope of the thesis The focus of this thesis is the criteria set up for evaluators to assess the teaching material It includes criteria of format/organization, content and methodology The subjects of this thesis are the freshmen of English who have finished their first term at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thainguyen University The subject also includes the material called “English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 1”, which consists of four units – each unit is subdivided into two main parts: the reading part and the writing part The reading part aims at not only improving students’ reading skills and widening their vocabulary but also assisting the writing part by providing it with relevant input The writing part helps learners develop their competence in writing paragraphs of three types namely descriptive, narrative and expository 1.6 Methods of the thesis In order to achieve the objectives of this thesis, the researcher applies qualitative research methods Data are collected through questionnaires and interviews with both teachers and students Questionnaires are an important factor in the process of having an objective evaluation The questions are designed to gather data about the teachers’ and students’ ideas on the intended criteria Information gained from interviews will be recorded, analyzed and used for reference in making recommendations to improve the quality of the material 1.7 Organization of the thesis The thesis comprises five chapters: Chapter one gives general introduction about reasons for choosing the topic of study, aims, significance, research questions, scopes, methodology and organization of the thesis Chapter two is devoted to the literature review on materials evaluation Firstly, a clear distinction among textbook, course book and materials are made Then, it discusses the role of teaching materials in language programs In the next part, some major issues in the evaluation of teaching materials, including definitions of materials evaluation, approaches to materials evaluation, types of materials evaluation and the roles of evaluation in materials development are presented The chapter also mentions methods to evaluate materials and some criteria to be applied in materials evaluation In addition, as the book is mainly used to develop students’ writing skills, aspects such as components of the writing process and approaches to teaching and learning writing are also discussed Chapter three presents an overview of the current teaching and learning at FFL, Thainguyen University and describes the methodology employed in this study, research methods, data collection procedure, participants, setting as well as data analysis Chapter four expounds the collected data, analyzes them and discusses the findings of the study Chapter five offers conclusions on the results obtained and highlights some recommendations for developing the material CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical background to the research It is divided into three sections The first section, as the background to the study, briefly discusses the concepts as well as the distinctions among the term “textbook, course book and materials”; it also mentions the roles of teaching materials in a language program These are the initial steps that help the researcher get to know where to start The second section gives an overview of materials evaluation to provide the fundamental basis and important factors for the researcher to conduct this study The last section states the components of the writing process and some approaches to teaching and learning writing 2.1 Textbook, Course book, and Materials 2.1.1 Definitions The terms textbook, course book and materials are most commonly found in learning and teaching Authors, teachers and learners use them interchangeably; however, are these terminologies the same? Oxford Advanced Learners’ English-Vietnamese Dictionary explains textbook as books giving instruction in a subject This term is also defined by Microsoft Encarta (2005) as a book that treats a subject comprehensively and is used by students as a basis for study For many teachers, textbooks are the instruments that help them to explain and express their teaching ideas In most courses, there is a single textbook used as the core, while teachers can supply other materials at their wishes The term “course book” is used to refer to a textbook on which a course is based In English language teaching, it is defined more specifically by Tomlinson (1998) as: a textbook which provides the core materials for a course It aims to provide as much as possible in one book and is designed so that it could serve as the only book which the learners necessarily use during a course Such a book includes work on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, functions and the skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking (Tomlison, 1998: ix) 39 5.2.1 Results obtained In this study, literature on materials evaluation and the writing skill has been reviewed referring to many authors in this research area such as Cunningsworth (1984), Hutchinson and Waters (1987), Mc Donough and Shaw (1993), etc Based on the reality of teaching and learning situation at FFL, the model and criteria set by Hutchinson and Waters were chosen A survey using questionnaire was conducted among 90 first-year students and 10 teachers to gather information After analyzing the data, strong points as well as weak points of the material were revealed These attained results of the survey have left us with ample remarks for adjusting the material in terms of format and organization, specific content and methodology 5.2.2 Suggestions for further study Materials evaluation, a component of program evaluation, seems to be an undiscovered area in FFL Teachers selecting a textbook or designing their own materials for use will be well aware of the multiplicity of factors that will need to be taken into account when gauging the effectiveness of the materials in the teaching and learning process The model suggested in this thesis may be multiplied or modified in order to evaluate other textbooks, other target students in other contexts Where the time and expertise are available, there is value in extending the evaluation process into a further stage, involving techniques of in-depth analysis such as evaluation of the learning/teaching strategies incorporated in the texts On the other hand, evaluation of materials may focus on how lessons are planned based on the materials, the effects they have on learning outcomes, or what the teachers with the materials The more avenues of information the teacher-authors have available, the greater their chances of developing a rich context for the information presented From the released results, the teachers may make informed judgment on whether the material actually addresses the learning goals set in the course objectives It has an immense pedagogical potential if being appropriately conducted The focus of this study is on teachers’ and students’ evaluation only on the learning of writing skill However, to help improve students’ communicating abilities and satisfy 40 their needs for their future jobs, a comprehensive research on a larger scale can be conducted, focusing on other skills apart from writing The results of such research may lead to positive changes in learning and teaching English at FFL in long terms 41 REFERENCES Akin, A.R & Guceri, M (2001) A Macro-materials Evaluation: for Better or for Worse Retrieved from: http://www.eltnewsletter.comprehension/back/April2001/art562001.htm Alderson, J.C & Beretta, A (1992) Evaluating Second Language Education Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Alderson, J C & Scott, M (1992) Guidlines for the Evaluation of Language Education Glasgow: Cambridge University Press Allwright, R.L (1982) What Do We Want Teaching Materials for? ELT Journal Volume 36/1 October 1981 Brown, H.D (1994) Teaching by Principles London: Prenitice Hall Press Cunningsworth, A (1995) Choosing Your Coursebook Heinemann Cunningsworth, A (1984) Evaluating and Selecting EFL Teaching Materials London: Heinemann Educational Books Dubin, F & Olshtain, E (1986) Course Design: Developing Programs and Materials for Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Dudley-Evans, T & St John, M J (1998) Development in English for Specific Purposes: A multidisciplinary approach Cambridge: CUP 10 Ellis, R (1997) The Empirical Language Teaching Materials ELT Journal, Volume 51, Issue 1: January 1997, pp 36-42 11 Flowerdew, J (1993) Concordancing as a Tool in Course Design Hongkong: Language Centre, Hongkong University of Science and Technology 42 12 Galbraith, D., & Rijlaarsdam, G (1999) Effective strategies for the teaching and learning of writing Learning and Instruction Amsterdam: University Press 13 Harmer, J (1996) The Practice of English Language Teaching Longman 14 Harris, M & McCann, P (1994) Assessment Oxford: Macmillan Heinemann 15 Harwood, N (2010) English Language Teaching Materials: Theory and Practice Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 16 Hedge, T (1988) Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press 17 Hutchinson, T & Torres, E (1994), The Textbook as Agent of Change ELT Journal Volume 48/4 18 Hutchinson, T & Waters, A (1987) English for Specific Purposes A Learningcentered Approach Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 19 Kitao, K & Kitao, S K (1997) Selecting and Developing Teaching/Learning Materials Retrieved from: http://iteslj,org/Articles/Kitao-Materials.htm 20 Kumar, R (1996) Research Methodology Hong Kong: Longman 21 Lynch, B.K (2003) Language Assessment and Programme Evaluation Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press 22 Mc Donough, J & Shaw, C (1993) Materials and Methods in ELT Oxford: Blackwell Publishers 23 Mc Grath, I (2002) Materials Evaluation and Design for Language Teaching Edinburgh: Edinburgh Press 24 Nunan, D (1991) Research Methods in Language Learning Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 43 25 Patton, M.Q (2002) Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods London: Sage Publications 26 Pincas, A (1982) Teaching English Writing London: Macmillan 27 Raimes, A (1983) Techniques in Teaching Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press 28 Rea-Dickins, P & Germaine, K (1992) Evaluation Oxford: Oxford University Press 29 Richards, J (2001) Curriculum Development in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 30 Sheldon, L (1988) Evaluating ELT Textbooks and Materials ELT Journal, 42 (4), 237-246 31 Swales, J (1990) Genre Analysis: English in Academic and Research Settings Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 32 Tanner, R & Green, C (1998) Tasks for Teacher Education Harlow: Longman 33 Tomlinson, B (2003) Developing Materials to Develop Yourself London: Continuum Press 34 Tomlinson, B (1998) Materials Development in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 35 Tribble, C (1996) Writing Oxford: Oxford University Press 36 Ur, P (1996) A Course in Language Teaching Cambridge: Cambridge University Press 37 William, D (1983) Developing Criteria for a Textbook Evaluation ELT Journal vol 37/3 Oxford University Press I APPENDIX QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This questionnaire is designed to collect ideas of lecturers of English, who have been teaching the writing skills, at the Faculty of Foreign Languages on the current-used English teaching material “English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 1” The information obtained from this survey will be of great value in the evaluation research and the adjustment in the selection of materials for future use Your goodwill and cooperation in truthfully completing the survey are of great value to us How to complete the questionnaire: - Please put a tick in the most appropriate box for each statement - If you have any other comment, please write down in the space provided for you at the end of each part II SECTION I: ORGANIZATION OPINIONS ORGANIZATIONAL CRITERIA Strongly Partially Mostly Complete- disagree agree agree -ly agree There are tables of contents, glossary and appendix in the book Each unit starts with clear and easyto-understand introductions There are consolidations The book is colorfully designed and eye-catching The table of contents reveals a logical development of the writing subject All units are uniformed in terms of contents included The print size and font are easy to read Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… III SECTION II: CONTENT OPINIONS CONTENT CRITERIA Strongly Partially Mostly Completely disagree agree agree agree The content is interesting The content logically matches the objectives of the course The content is suitable for students’ real level of English Exercises are designed from easy to difficult The book contains good model structures and texts Vocabulary is both familiar and challenging There are lead-in tasks in each unit The activities are appealing to a wide range of students’ abilities, interests, and, learning styles The content provides knowledge to certain extend in students' future career 10 There are suggestions for further reading at the end of each unit Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… IV SECTION III: METHODOLOGY OPINIONS METHODOLOGY CRITERIA Strongly Partially Mostly Completely disagree agree agree agree The book helps improve students’ communicative abilities The activities offers students opportunitiess to work in pairs and groups The time for interaction between teachers and students is less than for students and students The book helps create a classroom environment in which students are actively involved in the teaching and learning process The book contains tasks that focus on comprehension rather than repetition and memorization The textbook allows students to be more aware of their weaknesses while developing language skills (reading and writing) The book can be studied at home by students without teachers’ instructions Other comments: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… V ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX CÂU HỎI KHẢO SÁT DÀNH CHO SINH VIÊN Phiếu khảo sát đưa nhằm thu thập ý kiến đánh giá sinh viên năm thứ chuyên ngành cử nhân tiếng Anh khoa Ngoại Ngữ - Đại học Thái Nguyên giáo trình “English written proficiency 1” Những thơng tin chúng tơi nhận vô quan trọng cần thiết đề giúp chúng tơi tìm điểm phù hợp chưa phù hợp giáo trình; từ chúng tơi đề xuất điều chỉnh hợp lí giúp cho việc dạy học kĩ viết sinh viên năm thứ hiệu năm học Bạn vui lòng đánh dấu vào ô bạn chọn cho câu bảng tiêu chí Chúng tơi xin chân thành cảm ơn cộng tác nhiệt tình bạn! PHẦN I: THÔNG TIN VỀ SINH VIÊN Bạn học tiếng Anh bao lâu? ……………… Bạn thường dành thời gian ngày cho việc học kĩ viết tiếng Anh nhà? ……………… Trình độ tiếng Anh bạn?  Tiền trung cấp  Trung cấp  Cao cấp Bạn mong đợi từ việc học kĩ viết tiếng Anh năm thứ nhất? - củng cố nâng cao vốn ngữ pháp tiếng Anh - biết loại văn viết khác - mở rộng vốn từ vựng - giao tiếp hiệu thông qua ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh viết - ý kiến khác: ………………………………… ……………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………… Bạn nghĩ 45 tiết học cho kĩ viết tiếng Anh kì là:  Quá nhiều  Nhiều  Đủ  Khơng đủ  Q Bạn hồn thành tập giáo trình mức độ nào?  < 50%  50% - 70%  70% - 90%  > 90 % VI Bạn cho 40 sinh viên lớp học kĩ viết là:  Ít  Bình thường  Nhiều  Quá nhiều PHẦN II: TỔ CHỨC/ ĐỊNH DẠNG CUỐN SÁCH Ý KIẾN TIÊU CHÍ TỔ CHỨC/ĐỊNH DẠNG Hồn tồn Đồng khơng phần ý Tương đối Hoàn toàn đồng ý đồng ý đồng ý Cuốn giáo trình cung cấp phần mục lục, giải, phụ lục hữu ích Mỗi có lời đề dẫn rõ ràng dễ hiểu Có ơn tập Cuốn sách trơng hấp dẫn mặt hình thức Mục lục thể phát triển logic nội dung giáo trình Hình thức nội dung giáo trình thống Cỡ chữ phơng chữ dễ đọc Các ý kiến khác: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… VII PHẦN II: NỘI DUNG Ý KIẾN TIÊU CHÍ NỘI DUNG Hồn tồn Đồng khơng đồng ý Nội dung giáo trình cập nhật hấp dẫn Nội dung bám sát mục tiêu khóa học cách logic Nội dung phù hợp với trình độ tiếng Anh thực sinh viên Các tập thiết kế từ dễ đến khó Nội dung có bao gồm đọc cấu trúc mẫu hữu ích Từ vựng bao gồm từ quen thuộc từ khó Mỗi có tập nhằm trang bị hiểu biết chung cung cấp vốn từ vựng cần thiết Các tập hấp dẫn sinh viên có khả năng, sở thích phong cách học khác Nội dung đáp ứng yêu cầu nghề nghiệp tương lai sinh viên phần ý Khá đồng ý Hoàn tồn đồng ý VIII 10 Cuối có phần hướng dẫn tự đọc thêm (cả tài liệu sách in tài liệu điện tử) PHẦN III: GIÁO HỌC PHÁP Ý KIẾN CÁC TIÊU CHÍ VỀ GIÁO HỌC PHÁP Hồn tồn Đồng khơng đồng ý Giáo trình giúp phát triển khả giao tiếp sinh viên Các tập thiết kế dạng làm việc theo cặp theo nhóm Thời gian tương tác giáo viên với sinh viên thời gian tương tác sinh viên với sinh viên lớp Giáo trình góp phần giúp sinh viên chủ động, tích cực tham gia vào q trình học tập Các tập chủ yếu tập trung vào hiểu vận dụng sinh viên học thuộc lòng nhắc lại Cuốn sách giúp sinh viên nhận thức rõ điểm yếu việc rèn luyện kĩ (đọc viết) Cuốn giáo trình dùng để tự học nhà mà khơng cần có hướng dẫn giáo viên Ý kiến khác: phần ý Khá đồng ý Hoàn toàn đồng ý IX ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… APPENDIX Questions for interviewing teachers At which level you think your students are before the course? Please specify your steps of conducting a unit in the material How many students’ pieces of writing can you correct per class? What are your students’ difficulties in studying the writing subject? How often you provide extra materials for your students to study at home? Do you think that three periods per week for the writing subject is enough? X APPENDIX Questions for interviewing students (Translated from the Vietnamese version) How much you think the writing genres you have learnt are useful in your future jobs? Please specify your normal steps of producing a piece of writing? Are you satisfied with the classroom activities? - If Yes, please specify - If No, please specify In your opinion, how many periods are suitable for the writing subject per week? What are your difficulties in learning the subject? ... PROFICIENCY – INTERMEDIATE 1? ?? FOR FIRST YEAR STUDENTS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES FACULTY, THAINGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Đánh giá giáo trình ? ?English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 1? ?? dùng cho sinh viên năm... both the researcher, the teachers who are teaching writing skills for first year students and the students themselves in FFL All the strengths and weaknesses of the ? ?English written proficiency 1? ??... subjects of this thesis are the freshmen of English who have finished their first term at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thainguyen University The subject also includes the material called ? ?English Written