Methods to increase the english magazine project power in the study of the english written language for english major students at faculty of foreign languages,

VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** NGUYỄN THI ̣BÍ CH NGỌC METHODS TO INCREASE THE ENGLISH MAGAZINE PROJECT POWER IN THE STUDY OF THE ENGLISH WRITTEN LANGUAGE FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THAINGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Phương pháp gia tăng hiêụ quả của Đề án ta ̣p chí Tiế ng Anh viêc̣ học bút ngữ cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiế ng Anh ta ̣i Khoa Ngoa ̣i Ngữ, Đa ̣i ho ̣c Thái Nguyên) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410 HANOI-2011 VIET NAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES & INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES ***************** NGUYỄN THI ̣BÍ CH NGỌC METHODS TO INCREASE THE ENGLISH MAGAZINE PROJECT POWER IN THE STUDY OF THE ENGLISH WRITTEN LANGUAGE FOR ENGLISH MAJOR STUDENTS AT FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, THAINGUYEN UNIVERSITY (Phương pháp gia tăng hiêụ quả của Đề án ta ̣p chí Tiế ng Anh viêc̣ học bút ngữ cho sinh viên chuyên ngành Tiếng Anh tại Khoa Ngoại Ngữ, Đa ̣i ho ̣c Thái Nguyên) M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field : English Teaching Methodology Code : 601410 Supervisor: Phạm Thị Hạnh, M.A HANOI-2011 iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements………………………………………………………… (i) Abstract……………………………………………………………………… (ii) Table of contents…………………………………………………………… (iii) List of charts and tables……………………………………………………… (v) PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Background of the study …………………………………………… Problem identification………………………………………………… 3 Aims of the study…………………………………………………… Methodology………………………………………………………… Scope of the study…………………………………………………… Significance of the study……………………………………………… Structure of the study………………………………………………… Definitions of concepts ……………………………………………… Conclusion …………………………………………………………… PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Project-based learning ………………………………………………… 1.2 Different types of project in learning written language ……………… 11 1.3 The necessity of English Magazine Project to the study of written language……………………………………………………………… 12 1.4 Challenges of project-based learning …………………………………… 13 1.5 Portfolios in writing …………………………………………………… 15 1.6 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………… 16 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 17 2.1 Rationale for the use of an action research……………………………… 17 2.2 Background of the study………………………………………………… 20 2.3 Instruments……………………………………………………………… 22 2.4 Research program……………………………………………………… 24 v 2.5 Procedures……………………………………………………………… 25 2.6 Conclusion …………………………………………………………… 25 CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS 26 3.1 Possible problems for students and teachers which prevented the project from effective implementation …………………………………………… 26 3.2 Students‟ problems in the two first week magazine columns ………… 33 3.3 Comparison of the students‟ writing performance before and after using 35 portfolios.…………………………………………………….… ………… 3.4 Conclusion ……………………………………………….… ………… 36 PART C: CONCLUSION Discussion of research questions……………………………………… 37 Pedagogical implications……………………………………………… 37 Limitations of the study………………………………………………… 40 Suggestions for further study…………………………………………… 42 Conclusion……………………………………………………………… 42 43 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………… APPENDICES ………………………………………………………… 44 Questionnaire ………………………………………………………… I Interview ……………………………………………………… …… I Overview of the research program …………………………… …… II Group action plans …………………………………………… …… IV Writing collections …………………………………………… …… V XII vi LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES Table 1……………………………………………………………………… 18 Table 2……………………………………………………………………… 21 Table 3…………………………………………………………………… 26 Table 4……………………………………………………………………… 27 Table 5……………………………………………………………………… 28 Chart 1……………………………………………………………………… 29 Chart 2……………………………………………………………………… 30 Chart 3……………………………………………………………………… 31 Chart 4……………………………………………………………………… 32 Chart 5……………………………………………………………………… 33 Table 6……………………………………………………………………… 34 Table 7……………………………………………………………………… 35 Part A: INTRODUCTION This part will briefly state the background of the study, the problem initiating the study, the aims of the study, methodology of the study (including participants and procedures), its scope, significance and structure Background of the study Currently, project-based learning is applied in a rather large scale of language teaching worldwide and is considered to be a new effective approach to L2 learning and teaching The types of project can vary according to certain purposes of teaching, of which some popular ones are magazine project, excursion project, culture project and television show Among these, English Magazine project (EMA) is to develop students‟ four integrated skills but particularly focuses on written English (reading and writing) In this kind of project, students are required, in groups, to design their own magazines with typical columns as professional ones Topics are varied depending on the magazine themes and students‟ interests Students perform their ability and creativeness on the writing of different styles and topics The teacher acts as a guide for providing feedback and advice to students‟ work Over the last few years, there have been a number of studies on project-based learning Most of them focus on the benefits or advantages of PBL in teaching English as a second language (North, 1990; Vincent, 1990; Alan and Stoller, 2003; Yan Guo, 2007); others concern the steps in a project work (Stoller, 1995), Project-based learning and assessment (Mansoor, 1997) or Project-based Learning Activities (Foss, Carney, McDonald and Rooks, 2007) However, it is hard to know how many teachers have been tried out this approach and how they implement it in the actual context of classroom There are few studies on the implementation of certain project reported by language teachers and there are not many papers stating their satisfactions or their wishes to change the method of teaching The application of the EMA is not an exception since there seems not to have any paper discussing it in detail It is, therefore, necessary that the idea of looking into the actual experience of teachers in implementing projects in general and EMA project in particular needs further investigation English Magazine project has been applied as a part of the curriculum at Foreign Languages Faculty, Thai Nguyen University (FLF-TNU) for approximately five years The project was developed from the cooperation between Vietnam and Netherland in Education Eight selected universities in Vietnam have been taking part in the ProfessionOriented Higher Education (POHE) since 2005 The FLF-TNU was the first experiment of this Project It aimed at delivering better-trained graduates with a professional attitude Different from the old methods, this project focuses on students‟ competencies needed at workplace and takes them to be center of learning Therefore, it will provide students with a professional higher education necessary for their career During the time of taking part in the project, the students have to various compulsory projects in which they role-play different careers, such as actors, journalists, advisers, tour guides, and master of ceremony These projects help them improve their linguistic skills and the ability to produce English in real life The students are free to choose one of the obligatory projects to finish within a term or a school-year Beside some necessary skills, working-in-group competence was appreciated The teachers play as supervisors, observers and evaluators of the students‟ process and products At the end of the year, the students have to make presentations to introduce and convince the audience of their products EMA is one of the projects aiming at developing students‟ writing competence in English It has been officially included in the training program and students can register to take part in the course The prerequisite of the course is that students have completed their course in English Written Proficiency at intermediate level EMA is conducted at the same time with students‟ course in Advanced Writing The Project is done on registered groups of students within one semester of 15 weeks During the first two weeks, teachers will guide students to work together to decide on the themes and main content of the magazine as well as break down their work into weeks (See Appendix 3) During the following weeks, students work in their group to write the magazine columns They may set their group meeting time, go out to collect data and conduct peerfeedback within the group The class meets once a week so that teachers can give feedback to his/her students‟ writing The class consists of around 35 students broken down into five to seven smaller groups Therefore; the teacher would have at least seven drafts to revise each week The feedback is conducted during the class time of 100 minutes (2 periods) per week The teacher reads the drafts, detects students‟ problems in organization, punctuation, word choice, spelling and grammar He or she then suggests choices for better writing Problem identification Taking the role of an instructor for several groups of students during her three years of working with the project, the researcher has found some problems that prevent the project from taking its effectiveness One of the problems is that students‟ team work seems to be not quite effective They rarely group-editing as required and rely too much on teacher‟s feedback Some even commit plagiarism As a result, little improvement was displayed in their writing Another problem is time pressure on the part of teacher to give feedback to all groups of students The actual time for class contact seldom meets the need of editing The teacher, therefore, did a hard work not only in class but also at home so as to give essential feedback to students‟ articles Inspired by those obstacles, ideas for changes were outlined and an action research was done in the researcher‟s class A new teaching plan was designed to increase students‟ activeness and their effectiveness in group work The plan was intended to consist of two parts: increasing the students‟ group-editing before handing in the paper to teacher for feedback and controlling students‟ work of writing, editing and reading through weeks by portfolios Aims of the study The study on “Methods to increase the English Magazine Project (EMA) power in the study of English written language for English major students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University: An action reseach” was carried out with a view to: - Finding out the main obstacles toward the empowerment of the project for both teachers and students - Bringing the effective intervention to help improve students’ performance in the project The research focused on the following research questions: What problems teachers and students face when working with the project? What changes that might help enhancing the project revealed from the problems? Can the teacher‟s interventions help save her time and improve students‟ performance in EMA project? If yes, to what extend? Methodology 4.1 Participants The subjects of the study were 30 students of English major at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University They have all achieved the intermediate proficiency level after their two years at the college These 30 students were in the same class and the researcher was the guide of the group during the project work During the study, the researcher acts as a participant observer and other teachers cooperate with the researcher in the study 4.2 Procedures * Data collection: The full period of data collection covered the whole term The effect of interventions is viewed via the following instruments: - Classroom observation - Students‟ journals - A questionnaire - Informal interviews with students and teachers * Data analysis: Data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively Some parts of the questionnaire were converted into statistics, numbers and percentage in the form of tables and charts for the purpose of comparing and analyzing The number of errors in students‟ writings was also calculated for comparison and contrast Students and teachers‟ responses to interviews were collected in the form of notes; extracts from students‟ journal writings and collected readings were quoted as evidences for the analysis; classroom activities and students‟ reactions were observed and described by teacher‟s diary * Procedures: Initially, informal interviews and a questionnaire were delivered to students and teachers at the faculty to see their attitude towards the project and the problems they met during the first four weeks of the course Students‟ articles within the first two weeks were analyzed to find out further problems After changes were applied in the selected group of students, the interview was repeated among teachers and students Student‟s final drafts in their portfolios of the last two weeks were reviewed for comparison Scope of the study The study is limited to investigating the methods to increase the EMA project power in the study of English written language for English major students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University The study only focused on written language competence of students and the target population of the study, therefore, was students who have achieved their intermediate level – the required proficiency for them to the EMA project The study was carried out on the subjects of 30 intermediate students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen University Significance of the study The results of the study will bring about a successful implementation to the EMA project from which students could have their clear and logical plan for work, build up team spirit and group work skills and of course improve their writing competence Moreover, if the changes take positive effects, teacher‟s time work could be reduced and EMA project will be a truly interesting and practical field for students to practice Structure of the study This study consists of three parts Part A: Introduction This part provides an overview of the study, including the background, aims, the methodology, the scope, the significance, the structure of the study and the definitions of terms related to the research 43 The small size of the study and the gender-based factor are limitations of the research Therefore, it is almost impossible to generalize the effect of portfolios over a wider range of subjects Thus, it is highly recommended that the research be applied to a larger number of students with equal size of male and female participants so as to gain better input for the research Last but not least, because of the time limit, the effects of additional reading from authentic sources such as English magazines and newspaper on students‟ writing performance have not been ensured It is suggested that further study should be done on the aspect and over a longer period of time Conclusion The study provided an insight into the most common problems that students and teachers at Foreign Languages Faculty, Thai Nguyen University had in working with the English Magazine project It also justified the effectiveness of using portfolios on the students‟ group work and self reading The research was conducted on a group of 30 intermediate English major students and lasted for 15 weeks Overall, the results showed that there was a significant improvement regarding the writing performance of the participants The results of the study provided the base for some pedagogical implications, which would take more effort from the teachers in their teaching The study is hoped to bring about benefits to teachers of English in the fields of teaching written English and ESP Due to the limitation of time, the scope and the nature of the study, it was inevitable to avoid limitations like any methodological study of the type Therefore, suggestions for further studies were made with the hope that a better understanding of using portfolios to improve students‟ writing of magazine genres would be finally gained Also, constructive comments from those who are concerned, especially the teachers at FLF - TNU, would be highly appreciated 44 REFERENCES Alan, B., and Stoller, F L (2003) Maximizing the Benefits of Project Work in Foreign Language Classroom Retrieved October, 29, 2009 from http://exchanges state.gov/forum/vols/vol43/no4/p10.htm Bailey, J M., and Guskey, T.R (2011) Implementing student-led conferences Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Blumenfeld, P C., Krajcik, J S., Marx, R W., & Soloway, E (1994) Lessons learned: How collaboration helped middle grade science teachers learn project-based instruction Elementary School Journal, 94, 5, 539-551 In Thomas, J.W (2000) A review of research on project-based learning Retrieved May, 26, 2009 from: http://bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf Edelson, D C., Gordon, D N, & Pea, R D (1999) Addressing the challenge of inquirybased learning Journal of the Learning Sciences, 8, 392-450 In Thomas, J.W (2000) A review of research on project-based learning Retrieved May, 26, 2009 from: http://bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf Foss, P., Carney, N., McDonald, K., and Rooks, M (2007) Project-based Learning Activities for Short-term: Intensive English Programs Japan: Kwansei Gakuin University School of Science and Technology Retrieved October, 29, 2008 from http://www.asian-efl-journal.com/pta_Oct_07_ypf&nc&km&mr.php Fried-Booth, D (1986) Project Work Oxford: Oxford University Press (the eight edition in1997 Oxford: Oxford University Press.) Freeman, R and Lewis, R (1998) Planning and implementing Assessment London: Kogan Page Gallancher, L (n.d.) Project work with teenagers Retrieved June, 14, 2009 from British Council Teaching English Websites: http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/methodology/project_work.shtml Haines (1989) Project for the EFL classroom London: Nelson Hertzog, N B (1994) Impediments to a project-based and integrated curriculum: A qualitative study of curriculum reform Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans ED369185 Karoly, J (1996) Using portfolios to assess students‟ academic strengths: a case study Social Work in Education,18/3, 179-86 45 Kemmis, Stephen; and McTaggart, Robin, eds (1988) The Action Research Planner, third edition Victoria: Deakin University Kemp, J., and Topereff, D (1998) Guidelines for portfolio assessment in teaching English English Inspectorate Ministry of Education Available at kempj@netvision.net.il or debby01@attglobal.net Retrieved September, 25, 2009 Krajcik, J S., Blumenfeld, P C., Marx, R W., Bass, K M., Fredricks, J., & Soloway, E (1998) Inquiry in project-based science classrooms: Initial attempts by middle school students The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 7, 313-350 Marx, R W., Blumenfeld, P C Krajcik, J S., & Soloway, E (1997) Enacting projectbased science: Challenges for practice and policy The Elementary School Journal, 97, 341-358 In Thomas, J.W (2000) A review of research on projectbased learning Retrieved May, 26, 2009 from: http://bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf Mettetal, G Classroom Action Research Overview http://mypage.iusb.edu/~gmetteta/Classroom_Action_Research.html#Differences Moss, D., and Van Duzer, C (1998) Project-Based Learning for Adult English Language Learners ERIC Digest Washington, DC: National Center for ESL Literacy Education Retrieved October, 28, 2009 from http://www.cal.org/ caela/eslresources/digests/ ProjBase.html Nunan, D (1992) Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press Nunes, A (2004) Portfolios in EFL classroom: disclosing an informed practice ELT Journal, 58/4 Oxford University Press Stoller, F.L (2003) Project Work: A Means to Promote Language Content Retrieved October, 29, 2009 from http://exchanges.state.govforum/vols/vol35/no4/p2.htm Tal, R & Rishpi, O (1998) Developing writing skill via newspaper production: AMALAMIT joint project English Teachers‟ Journal, 52, 61-63 Thomas, J.W., et al (1999) Project-based learning: A handbook for middle and high school teachers Novato, CA: The Buck Institute for education Thomas, J.W (2000) A review of research on project-based learning Retrieved May, 26, 2009 from http://bobpearlman.org/BestPractices/PBL_Research.pdf I APPENDICES Appendix 1: QUESTIONNAIRE The following questionnaire is conducted to investigate issues relating to the English Magazine Project for advanced students at the Foreign Languages Faculty, Thai Nguyen University, Thai Nguyen Please tick the most appropriate options according to you Part 1: Personal Information What is your name? ………………………………………………… What is your GPA score? A 3.5 - 4.0 B 2.5 - 3.49 C 1.5 - 2.49 D 1.0 - 1.49 What is your average score in EWI 242 (English Written Proficiency – Intermediate 2)? A 8.5-10 B 7.0-8.4 C 5.5-6.9 D 4.0-5.4 How many credits have you registered for this semester? ………………………………………………… Part 2: Attitude and problems with the English Magazine Project How you think about the English Magazine Project in your study? A I think the project is important in comprehensively developing language competence B I think the project is interesting but not very important C I think the project does not bring much benefit and therefore unimportant to students Please choose the frequency of the problems you have encountered during your work in EMA project by circling the number 1, 2, 3, or in the column corresponding to the problems always usually sometimes rarely never II 6.1 I had troubles with group-work (work distribution, group 5 5 work effectiveness) 6.2 Technology caused me a lot of difficulties (I had troubles finding sources on the Internet; I was not very skillful in graphic design; I not have a computer or available internet connection, etc) 6.3 It was hard for me to deal with the language of magazine It was confusing and difficult for me to find suitable words/phrases to express my idea 6.4 The project brought me financial problems It required much expenditure and I found it difficult to handle this 6.5 I had trouble with time management to fulfill the project There were too much tasks to complete and I had to rush over the tasks Others:……………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your co-operation! Appendix 2: INTERVIEW (For students) SECTION 1 Specify the reason for your choice in question of the questionnaire Clarify the reasons for the frequencies you chose in question of the questionnaire What conditions you think will ensure a more effective implementation of the project? SECTION How was your group work distributed in order to complete weekly portfolios? III What benefits of portfolios you see during your work with EMA project? Are there any disadvantages or inconvenience of portfolios? (For teachers) What lesson procedures you often take while working with an EMA class? Do you think that the actual implementation of the project meets the requirements of the course? What obstacles you think are the most serious in preventing students‟ good performance? What problems you have in working with EMA classes? What suggestions you have for a better performance of students? IV Appendix 3: OVERVIEW OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAM Timeline Week Activities Course outline Introduction to the course Sts know what they are going to in this course Sts can answer questions: - What are the main parts of a magazine? - What are the possible designs of a magazine? What are the potential difficulties and benefits of making a magazine? Sts have a basic outline of their magazine: What is its name/theme? What are included? What activities are planned? - First draft of column - Teacher‟s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of column First draft of column - Teacher‟s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of column Sample magazines Week Choosing topics Week Final draft of Column Week Week Final draft of Column Final draft of Column Week Final draft of Column Week Final draft of Column Week … … Week 12 -Cover and Contents - Rehearsal - Proof-reading - Rehearsal Week 13 - First draft of column - Teacher‟s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of column - First draft of column - Teacher‟s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of column - First draft of column - Teacher‟s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of column … -Cover and Contents - A better presentation - A complete magazine A better oral presentation Research program - First drafts of the columns - Teacher‟s feedback - Final drafts and electronic page of the columns - Questionnaire Interview -First draft of the columns - Portfolios collected (first draft of the column, edited draft, sample magazine columns) -Ability to work in team and critical thinking - Teacher’s feedback - Final draft and electronic page of the columns V Week 14 Completion Week 15 Evaluation - A complete magazine A complete oral presentation - A complete magazine A complete oral presentation Portfolios of collected materials and first draft of the magazine - Interview Appendix 3: GROUP ACTION PLANS Group 1: ACTION PLAN Group members: Pham Thi Chien Nguyen Thi Dung Dinh Thi Huong Tran Thi Thu Huong Ngô Thị Băng Đặng Thanh H-ơng Magazine theme: BLUE SKY Magazine outline: Week No Columns Activities Course Introduction Magazine theme and Action Plan Introducing the winter-autumn fashion Fashion tendency Describing a cultural activity in normal Culture life Describing and narrating a festival Festival celebrated by students Narrating the music show in Christmas night of Foreign Language Faculty, Thai Nguyen University Introducing a good book Text types Descriptive article Descriptive article Descriptive and narrative article Art Book review Short story Food corner Famous persons 10 Interviewing an energy, well-learnt student Interviewing report Travel 11 Introducing a famous place in Thai Descriptive article Writing a story about unforgettable memories or feelings about life Introducing a cake favorite to students Narrative article Describing and free writing the own felling Literary article Descriptive and narrative article VI Nguyen 10 Girls corner 12 Sharing cooking experiences and way to a hand-made wind bell 11 Quizzes 13 Quizzes and crossword 12 Funny stories 14 Introducing some funny stories 15 Completing the magazine, preparing for the oral presentation of the magazine Group ACTION PLAN * Group member: Ma Thi Bong (leader) Luong Thi Tuyet Chinh Nguyen Thi Luan Nguyen Thi Huong Vu Thi Hanh Đàm NguyÖt HuÕ *Magazine theme: Sun flowers * Magazine outline: No Columns Activities Funny and Writing memories about our old short stories teachers and friends Composing some funny stories Fashion Culture Quizzes Sport Food corner Documentary Doing a survey among the students about fashion Describing a traditional festival or traditional custom Introducing a historical place in our country Creating some interesting questions Reporting some events of sport (tennis, football…) Instruction of making some foods, cakes Introducing a story about Text types Free writing Narration Real stories happening in our classes Report the survey Description Free writing Entertainment Report Giving Instruction VII Vietnamese culture * Work breakdown: Timeline Activities Weeks Collecting magazines 1+2 Choosing topic Products Finding out the main parts, the designs of a magazine We make the basic outline for our magazine Choosing the theme Make plan for our project Week Writing your own stories First draft of column Writing first and second draft of column Collecting materials related to the column Second draft of column Week Interviewing some students about Taking some photos fashion First and second draft of column Writing draft and of column Week Finding more materials about column Correcting drafts of column and and Week Continuing correcting and searching Collecting materials about culture information for column Week Writing draft and for column Finishing draft Taking some photos of historical places, festivals Week Creating and collecting some interesting Trying to finish this column in one questions week Draw some pictures for column Week Recording some news of sports and Writing draft reporting Week 10 Writing draft and correcting it Taking some photo related to sports Finish this column VIII Week 11 Find some methods to make cakes or Writing draft foods on Vietnamese newspaper Week 12 Correcting draft 1,finishing food corner Finishing column Search materials for column Week 13 Going around the city, going to the clothes shops, mobile phone shops and Writing advertisement Correcting and finishing this column find some necessary information Week14 Collecting all the writing Completing Edition the content, decorating the cover Week 15 Handing our newspaper to the teachers Group: Group members: evaluation ACTION PLAN Đinh Thị Hiền Hoàng Phương Trang Trần Thị Út Trâm Trần Thị Trang Nguyễn Thị Thương Đỗ Thu Dung Magazine theme: Channel 4Teen Magazine outline: Columns Activities Text types Food corner - Taking photographs and giving some methods to cook - Instruction Culture -Collecting information and writing an argument about students‟ life, students‟ way of life Fashion -Taking some photographs and introducing them -An argument article -Real story happening in class… -A report Short stories -Collecting and writing some stories -Real story happened Sport -Giving some sport events and commenting them - A comment article IX Festival -Describing some festivals of the students - A descriptive article Language learning and teaching - An interview with a teacher in foreign faculty - An interview article Entertainment corner -Giving some funny stories and quizzes - Mini stories Horoscope -Giving information about upcoming events relating to stars Work breakdown Timeline Week Activities - Introduction to the course - Building up the group - Collecting magazines - Choosing topics Products Sts know what they are going to in this course Sts can answer questions: -What are the main parts of a magazine? -What are the possible designs of a magazine? -What are the potential difficulties and benefits of making a magazine? Sts have a basic outline of their magazine: -What is its name/ theme -What are included? -What activities are planned? Week -First draft of column -Final draft of electronic page of column Week -First draft of column - Final draft of electronic page of column -Final draft of the column -Collected materials related to the column -Ability to work in team and critical thinking final draft and electronic page of column -First draft of the column -Collected materials related to the column -Ability to work in team and critical thinking final draft and electronic page of column Week 5, -First draft of column -Final draft of electronic page of column Week -First draft of the column -Collected materials related to the column -Ability to work in team and critical thinking final draft and electronic page of X Week -First draft of column -Final draft of electronic page of column Week -First draft of column -Final draft of electronic page of column Week … Week 13 Week 14 … -Editorial and decoration -Cover and contents -Completion Week 15 Evaluation column -First draft of the column -Collected materials related to the column -Ability to work in team and critical thinking final draft and electronic page of column -First draft of the column -Collected materials related to the column -Ability to work in team and critical thinking final draft and electronic page of column … -Editorial writing and decoration -Cover and contents A complete magazine Group 4: Action plan * Group members: Pham Bac Thanh Pham Van Vu Le Thi Hoai Thanh Nguyen Thu Thuy Do Thi Thuy Trang Ngun BÝch Diªp * Magazine theme: Vietnam - country and people Magazine outline: No Columns Vietnam, country and human Activities - National Day 2/9 - Uncle Ho's life Education - Study corner: The benefits of studying in groups - Interview the dean of Foreign Languages Faculty - Oriental robe, Vietnamese dress- Ao Dai - Vietnamese's festivals Culture corner Text types A story about Uncle Ho The report or argument article about the Independent Day free writing An interview report - A report or an article about the festival in Viet Nam (Tet holiday, mid- XI fall holiday) - free writing Fashion - dress collection - free writing Advertisements - Good address for student - Bookstore - Handmade and souvenir store for students Advertisement about student market and some another address for student An entertainment channel Music box Interview report Entertainment corner Foods corner - An interview with Mr Ng Duy Hung, the author of the song:"Vinh quy bai to" - Puzzles Traditional food : chung cake, pho, article report Famous landscape From the north to the south argument article Quiz Magazine Project Group 5: Group members: Nguyen Thi Thuy Be Thi Trang Nguyen Thi Yen Ngoc Hai Yen Nguyen Thi Thuy Nga Tran T Thu Trang Magazine theme: Thai Nguyen Students Action plan: No Columns Famous person Activities -Interviewing a student (K31) receiving the scholarship Horoscopes News in brief -Collecting materials, reading newspaper, magazines, finding the information on the Internet to help students guess the coming events -Collecting the information around students‟ life Text types - Interview report - Tip for learning and relax (giving advice) -Summary, list, news report XII Problem- solving -A survey about the thinking of “live test” in students‟ community -Real stories happening in the students‟ life -Report on the survey results -Give the solving ways and the advice -Collecting the information, survey - Report on the survey about students‟ sport‟s campaign results in this year - Tips for doing exercise Sport Short story Food corner Quizzes Advertisements 10 Fashion -Giving some questions for students trying one‟s force -Giving the latest information to introduce to students -A mini-survey among students to find out students‟ attitude toward modern fashion -Giving the fashion trends which are prevalent in the fall- winter 11 Language learning and teaching -Survey, giving the information of foreign language‟s center for the students chooses courses to attend -Recording and choosing good stories about the behavior culture, the lifestyle… -Collecting and giving some simple dishes -Express the feelings about these short stories -Giving the advice for reader -Give directions to cook -Artwork for the dishes -Tips to cook better -questions and answer‟s system - Report on the survey results - Artworks for fashion trends -Information report -Instruction for learning and giving advice ... of the study The study is limited to investigating the methods to increase the EMA project power in the study of English written language for English major students at Faculty of Foreign Languages,. .. study The study on ? ?Methods to increase the English Magazine Project (EMA) power in the study of English written language for English major students at Faculty of Foreign Languages, Thai Nguyen... view to: - Finding out the main obstacles toward the empowerment of the project for both teachers and students - Bringing the effective intervention to help improve students? ?? performance in the project