Application of genre based approach in teaching writing to 10th form students action research at sơn dương high school, tuyen quang province

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN ANH APPLICATION OF GENRE-BASED APPROACH IN TEACHING WRITING TO 10 TH FORM STUDENTS: ACTION RESEARCH AT SƠN DƢƠNG HIGH SCHOOL, TUYÊN QUANG PROVINCE Nghiên cứu hành động áp dụng phƣơng pháp dạy viết dựa vào thể loại cho học sinh lớp 10, trƣờng THPT Sơn Dƣơng, Tỉnh Tuyên Quang M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 Hanoi, 2014 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ********************* NGUYỄN THỊ VÂN ANH APPLICATION OF GENRE-BASED APPROACH IN TEACHING WRITING TO 10TH FORM STUDENTS: ACTION RESEARCH AT SƠN DƢƠNG HIGH SCHOOL, TUYÊN QUANG PROVINCE Nghiên cứu hành động áp dụng phƣơng pháp dạy viết dựa vào thể loại cho học sinh lớp 10, trƣờng THPT Sơn Dƣơng, Tỉnh Tuyên Quang M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS FIELD: ENGLISH TEACHING METHODOLOGY CODE: 60140111 SUPERVISOR: Assoc Prof., Dr LÊ HÙNG TIẾN Hanoi, 2014 DECLARATION I certify that this thesis entitled: “Application of genre-based approach in teaching writing to 10 th form students: action research at Sơn Dương High School”, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, is the result of my own work I have provided fully documented references to the work of others The material in this thesis has not been submitted for any other formal course of study Signature Nguyễn Thị Vân Anh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor, Assoc Prof., Dr Le Hung Tien for his crucial advice, critical comments, invaluable suggestion and also his devoted lessons I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of the Post Graduate Faculty of University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their scholarly knowledge and amazing lectures that have helped to increase my interest for English Methodology and my teaching job I would like to take this opportunity to thank the library staff for being so helpful and supportive Especially, I wish to express my appreciation to my students of Group 10A1 at Sơn Dương High School, who have been really helpful and cooperative in the implementation of the study Finally, I would like to thank my family and my friends for their emotional support, without which doing the thesis would have been a much more difficult experience for me ii ABSTRACT th When teaching writing skill to 10 form students at Sơn Dương High School, the author of this research found that most of the students did not seem interested in writing lessons and their writing performance was unacceptable In an attempt to solve the problems of students‟ poor writing performance, a hypothetical solution –the use of genrebased approach to teaching writing – was tested in this study through a small-scale action research project This research focuses on improving students‟ writing skill by applying genre-based th approach to teach writing to the 10 form students at Sơn Dương High School In order to achieve the aim, Action Research was employed to measure the influence of genre-based approach on the students‟ writing performance The action research was conducted with five main steps: Problem identification, Preliminary investigation, Hypothesis, Intervention and Evaluation The data was collected via a number of instruments including a preliminary questionnaire, a post questionnaire, a pre-test and a post-test After a preliminary investigation had been carried out, writing course applied genre-based approach was designed, and then implemented in the second semester of the school year 2013 - 2014 with the participation of 38 students from Group 10A1 at Sơn Dương High School The findings from the tests and the questionnaires revealed that students did make progress in their writing, and students‟ opinions were positive about the treatment iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .iv LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS vi PART A: INTRODUCTION 1 Rationale for the study .1 Aims and objectives of the study .2 Research questions Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the thesis PART B CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW .4 1.1 Overview of writing 1.1.1 What is writing? .4 1.1.2 Approaches to teaching writing .4 1.1.2.1 The product approach 1.1.2.2 The process approach 1.2 Why choose a genre-based approach? 1.2.1 Definition of a genre 1.2.2 Genre-based approach: Related studies 11 CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 12 2.1 Rationale of the using action research 12 2.2 Research setting 14 2.2.1 Overview 14 2.2.2 Writing tasks in the textbook Tieng Anh 10 14 2.2.3 Selection of participants 14 2.3 Data collection instruments 15 2.4 Data analysis procedure 16 iv CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 17 3.1 Problem identification 17 3.2 Preliminary investigation 17 3.2.1 Analysis of students’ preliminary questionnaire 17 3.2.1.1 Students‟ attitudes towards writing skill 17 3.2.1.2 Students‟ self assessment of their writing competence 19 3.2.1.3 The difficulties students had encountered .20 3.2.2 The results of the students’ pre-tests 21 3.3 Hypothesis 21 3.4 Intervention 21 3.5 Evaluation 23 3.5.1 The results of the students’ post-test 23 3.5.1.1 The performance of students in the content of the writing test .24 3.5.1.2 The performance of students in the organization of the writing test 25 3.5.1.3 The performance of students in using the vocabulary 26 3.5.1.4 The performance of students in using the language 26 3.5.1.5 The performance of students in using the mechanics 27 3.5.2 The results of the questionnaire for students after taking part in action research 27 3.5.2.1 The students‟ self-assessment of the genre-based approach 28 3.5.2.2 The changes the students had after participated in action research 29 PART C: CONCLUSION .31 Summary of the findings 31 Concluding remarks .32 Limitations of the study 32 REFERENCES .34 APPENDICES I v LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES AND CHARTS Figures Figure 1: Martin‟s models of genre .8 Figure 2: Steps in the action research cycle .13 Figure 3: Steps in the action research cycle in the current research 13 Tables Table 1: Students‟ difficulties in learning writing skill .20 Table 2: The overall results of students‟ writing tests .21 Table 3: The overall results of students‟ post- tests 23 Table 4: The students‟ attitude towards post-improvement lessons 28 Table 5: The students‟ self-assessment of their writing performance 28 Charts Chart 1: Students‟ attitudes towards writing skill 18 Chart 2: Students‟ self assessment of their writing competence 19 Chart 3: Comparison of the results from pre-test and post-test 24 Chart 4: Students‟ performance in the content 25 Chart 5: Students‟ performance in the organization of the writing tests 25 Chart 6: Students‟ performance in using the vocabulary 26 Chart 7: Students‟ performance in using the language 27 Chart 8: Students‟ performance in using the mechanics 27 Chart 9: Students‟ responses on changes they had from new approach 29 vi PART A: INTRODUCTION Rationale for the study Nowadays, English has played a remarkable role in the fields of economics, politics, science, culture and education In Vietnam, it is regarded as one of the most important subjects at all levels of education Especially, since Decision 1400/QĐ-TTg dated 30 September, 2008 of the Prime Minister on the Approval of the Project entitled “ Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, period 20082020” (National Foreign languages 2020 project) was implemented, English has become one of the most important subjects in general education curriculum The teaching and learning of English in our country has changed from the grammar translation method (GTM) to the communicative language teaching (CLT) As a result, our English textbook series were compiled under the impact of the communicative approach which focuses on four skills: reading, speaking, listening and writing Compared to the other three skills, writing is considered to be challenging skill to master Students find it too difficult to write well while teachers feel frustrated At Sơn Dương High School, the dominant approach to teach writing is process approach which focuses only on process of writing As the teacher of English at Sơn Dương High School, when teaching her students in writing lessons, the author of this study realized that her students did not seem to be interested in learning writing and had some difficulties to learn writing better It appears to her that she needs to make some changes And the question was raised that “How can teacher help students to make an improvement in learning writing?” Through reading the literature, the writer of this study was impressed with the idea of teaching writing through a genre-based approach However, through finding and reading the materials related to topic the writer realized that this approach to writing was little researched in Vietnamese high schools So, she decided to experiment this approach to her teaching writing to her own students in her school The aim of this action research is to examine whether a genre-based approach to writing is helpful to her students or not Aims and objectives of the study This study is designed with an aim to improve students‟ writing performance of English by applying genre-based approach to teach writing skill to students In order to achieve this aim, the following objective was set out for the study: - To examine how genre-based approach to teaching writing affected students‟ writing performance Research questions In order to achieve the aim and objective the study was designed to find out the answer to the following question: How does the genre-based approach affect the 10 th form students’ writing performance? Scope of the study Because of the limitation of a minor study, the research is only conducted at Sơn Dương High School in order to recognize the problems in learning writing skills of the 10 th form students with the textbook “Tiếng Anh 10” The study mainly focuses on applying genre-based approach to teaching writing in helping students work well in writing lessons Methods of the study Given that this study was implemented in the hope of improving the students‟ English writing skill, the researcher decided to adopt action research because this type of research is aimed at improving a situation After a preliminary investigation had been carried out, a writing instruction course was designed, and then implemented in the second semester of the school year 2013-2014 with the participation of 38 students from Group 10A1 at Sơn Dương High School The data was then collected through survey questionnaires Questionnaire responses were analyzed by means of descriptive statistics In addition to the questionnaires, students‟ writing were collected through pre-test and post-test and analyzed to measure the students‟ progress in their writing performance APPENDIX PRE-TEST on Writing Time allotted: 45 minutes Student’s name: ……………………………………… Class: ……………………… School: ……………………… Date: ………………………… Marks Write a story a bout one of your school activities You may use the word cues below Get up late/ alarm clock not ring/ hurry to cycle/ fall out of your bike/ dirty shirt/ a big hold on you knee of your jeans / get to school 15 minutes late/ some teachers and the principal were attending your class/ very embarrassed II Student’s name: …………………………………………… Class: ……………………… School: ……………………… Date: ……………………… Marks Write a story related to your school life or your first day in high school Your story may begin with the following words: I always remember my first day at…… III APPENDIX Marking Scale for Graders’ writing Evaluation (The scale consists of aspects with levels for each) MECHANICS LANGUAGE USE VOCABULARY ORGANIZATION CONTENT ASPECTS SCORE (adapted from Jacobs et al.‟s (1981) cited in Assessing Writing by Sara Cushing Weigle (2002) ) Very good ≥ 90, good ≥80, average ≥ 70, bad ≥ 60 IV APPENDIX PHIẾU ĐIỀU TRA Các em thân mến! Phiếu điều tra nhằm thu thập thông tin phục vụ cho đề tài “ Nghiên cứu hành động áp dụng phƣơng pháp dạy viết dựa vào thể loại cho học sinh lớp 10 trƣờng THPT Sơn Dƣơng, tỉnh Tuyên Quang” Đây kiểm tra khơng có câu trả lời “đúng” hay “sai” Các em đưa câu trả lời chân thực có đảm bảo thành công nghiên cứu Tác giả mong hợp tác em để hoàn thành phiếu điều tra Dữ liệu thu thập cho nghiên cứu này, khơng mục đích khác Hãy chọn phương án với em viết tóm tắt câu trả lời Trân trọng! Giới tính em: Nam Em học Tiếng Anh lâu rồi: ………………năm Theo em kỹ viết có quan trọng khơng? a, Rất quan trọng b, Quan trọng c, Không quan trọng d, Hồn tồn khơng quan trọng Em thích có thích học học viết khơng a, Rất thích b, tương đối thích c, Bình thường d, Hồn tồn khơng thích Em đánh giá kỹ viết mức độ nào: a, Rất tốt b, Tốt c, Bình thường d, Kém e, Rất V Trong trình học kỹ viết, em thường gặp phải khó khăn (Em khoanh vào nhiều phương án) a, Em cách diễn đạt ý cách lôgic b, Vốn từ vựng em hạn chế c, Em thiếu cấu trúc ngữ pháp cần thiết d, Em cách kết nối câu đoạn văn e, Em bố cục văn f, Em khơng biết để viết g, Em thường sử dụng sai động từ VI APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONAIRES FOR STUDENTS AFTER INTERVENTION STEP Các em thân mến! Sau học xong số tiết dạy viết theo phương pháp dựa vào thể loại, tác giả mong muốn nhận ý kiến đánh giá em độ phù hợp phương pháp Tất thông tin thu thập nhằm phục vụ cho đề tài “ Nghiên cứu hành động áp dụng phƣơng pháp dạy viết dựa vào thể loại cho học sinh lớp 10 trƣờng THPT Sơn Dƣơng, tỉnh Tuyên Quang” Đây kiểm tra khơng có câu trả lời “đúng” hay “sai” Các em đưa câu trả lời chân thực có đảm bảo thành công nghiên cứu Tác giả mong hợp tác em để hoàn thành phiếu điều tra Dữ liệu thu thập cho nghiên cứu này, khơng mục đích khác Trân trọng cảm ơn em! Hãy lựa chọn ô tương ứng đánh dấu (X) cho phù hợp Question 1: What you think of the writing lessons in which genre-based approach was implemented? (Em nghĩ học viết có áp dụng phƣơng pháp dạy viết dựa vào thể loại ?) A, Very boring B, Boring C, So so D, Interesting & challenging E, Very interesting Question 2: What you think of your writing performance after taking part in action research? (Em nghĩ viết em sau đƣợc tham gia vào chƣơng trình nghiên cứu?) A, Extremely unsatisfied B, Unsatisfied C, Satisfied D, Good E, Very good VII Question 3: In your opinion, what are your own changes after intervention step? ( Em thay đổi thân sau học phƣơng pháp mới?) 1.I know how to express my ideas logically I know the right way to use the connectors 3.I write the correct grammatical sentences 4.My vocabulary is enriched 5.My writing ability is improved VIII APPENDIX Model text to teach the aspects of a narrative MODEL A narrative th 14 July 1995 is a day I shall never forget On that day, I stared death in the face Our flight was due to leave at 11a.m, and I arrived at the airport quite early We got on the plane at 10:30 and the plane took off on time The air-hostesses were just beginning to serve our lunch when the plane began to shake At first we thought we were flying in bad weather We were told to stay seated and fasten our seat belts Then suddenly the plane seemed to dip We realized we were in danger Many people screamed in panic We all thought we had only minutes to live The just when we had given up all hope, we felt the plane slowly gained height A few minutes later the pilot announced that everything was all right We were all overjoyed and relieved One hour later we landed safely It was the most frightening experience of my life MODEL I had dreamed of this moment for years, and now I wanted to show that I deserved the chance I could hard believe it – I was playing for the school football team at last! As I ran out onto the pitch, the sun was shining brightly and the crowds were cheering loudly The whistle blew, and the game began At first I felt very nervous, but I soon began to relax, and I knew I was playing very well Both teams were trying hard, but no one could get near the goal The just before half time, Jordan headed the ball to me, I passed it to Wesley, and he scored! The crowd went wild, and I was proud that my pass had helped to put us in the lead I was still feeling pleased with myself at the start of the second half A minute or two later, though I was running towards the ball when I slipped and fell It was embarrassing- but worse than that, after I tried to stand up, I realized I had twisted my ankle and I couldn‟t walk As the trainer helped me off the pitch, I felt like crying It took me a few days to see the funny side of the story Now I look back and laugh It‟s true what they say- pride comes before a fall! IX APPENDIX ACTIVITIES TO BUILD THE FIELD Activity Vocabulary a) The following adjectives or adverbs can be used instead of other simplistic ones Put them in the correct box, as in the example Slight, great, evil, highly, happily, massive, delightful, extremely, successfully, horrible, miniature, tiny, remarkably, gigantic, satisfactorily, absolutely, fabulous, pleasant, huge, terrific, terrible, wicked, enormous, attractive BIG SMALL slight BAD GOOD/NICE VERY WELL b) Replace the words in the extract below with suitable ones from the boxes above Melisa stepped out into the fresh and 1) nice April morning Her 2) good mood brightened her 3) nice face as she walked 4) well to her new workplace Upon reaching the 5) big skyscraper, she looked up and felt 6) small As she entered the building, she was nervous but 7) very excited This job was a dream comes true for her Activity 2: Underline the correct adverb Ellen screamed angrily / politely at the bus driver to move out of her way Billy spoke rudely / casually to the headmaster, so he was suspended from school for a week The thief crept noisily / silently through the house, hoping that no one would hear him The young man‟s hands shook nervously / confidently as the policeman asked to see his driving license Before the plane took off, the passengers chatted excitedly / miserably about their holiday James calmly / hurriedly grabbled his sandwich box, kissed his mum goodbye and ran to school bus which was already waiting outside X Activity 3: Join the sentences using present or past participles He closed the door, he heard someone screaming Closing the door, he heard someone screaming She was worried She decided to call the local hospital Worried, she decided to call the local hospital He fell to his knees He started crying They were whispering They walked up the stairs He was frightened He realized no one would help him He stood at the edge of the cliff He watched the magnificent sunset She was covered with a warm blanket She finally felt safe She was annoyed She gathered her things and left the room Activity 4: Read the extract below and underline the correct past tense At first, I 1) wasn’t/ hadn’t been frightened by the noise as I 2) was thinking/ thought it 3) had been/ was just the wind which 4) was rattling/ rattled the windows Then I 5) was freezing/ froze when I 6) heard/ had heard the wooden stairs creaking outside my bedroom door I 7) was deciding/ decided to be brave and 8) went/ was going downstairs to see if it 9) had been/ was really a burglar A few minutes later, I 10) had stood/ was standing terrified at the bottom of the stairs, looking round for a burglar It was then that 11) was seeing/ saw that the „burglar‟ 12) was/ had been my little brother, who 13) was getting/ had got up to get a class of water XI APPENDIX MODELING Activity Read the model and then, find out about the structure and language features Structure Introduction (Set the scene: who, where, when, what) Language features I stood on the deck, staring at the huge waves From the moment we had left port and sailed into the English Channel, the weather had got worse and worse Now, lightning flashed across the sky, which was covered in dark clouds Suddenly, the noise of the engines stopped The ship Main body Record of events Use of proper nouns, conjunctions & connectives was slowing, rolling heavily in the rough sea A voice over the loud speakers told us to remain calm – then added that a fire had started in the engine room, and said that all passengers must go immediately to the nearest lifeboat station verbs in past tense We all ran onto the deck, following the signs to the lifeboats The ship‟s officers arrived; made sure we had lifejackets and showed us how to put them on I looked again in horror at the wild, stormy sea The thought of being out there in a tiny boat was terrifying Minutes passed like hours, until at last the voice announced that everything was under control and the danger was over We all cheered as the engines started Conclusion again and the ship moved forward into the waves (refer to I still couldn‟t believe it was over, though – not until moods, feelings, we had reached port and I had stood on solid ground comments again! ) Activity 2: Read the plot line below and put the sentences into the correct order  A woman stopped me  I waved goodbye and left XII  I arrived too late for the correct  I saw the woman I had helped at the entrance of the concert hall  I helped her change the tyre  She got me a front-row seat  I was driving to a correct  After the concert I met the band  She was the band‟s manager Activity 3: Now use the plot line to complete the sentences below Then retell the story in your own words  One night last year, I was on my way to see my favorite rook band Suddenly ………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………  The woman thanked me, then got in her car and drove away  I ……………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………  When I arrived at the concert hall, the doors were closed I was about to leave when I saw …………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………  When it finished, the woman took me backstage to meet ………………… …………………………………………………………………………… XIII ... When teaching writing skill to 10 form students at Sơn Dương High School, the author of this research found that most of the students did not seem interested in writing lessons and their writing. .. thesis entitled: ? ?Application of genre- based approach in teaching writing to 10 th form students: action research at Sơn Dương High School”, which is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements... small-scale action research project This research focuses on improving students? ?? writing skill by applying genre- based th approach to teach writing to the 10 form students at Sơn Dương High School In