SKKN improving the 11th students’ english writing skills more efficiently by using games at ha van mao upper secondary school

1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale of the study The application of the new English textbooks at high school level in the year 2006 has made Vietnamese teachers and students more familiar with four skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, especially writing one However, there come two trends when teachers respond to the task of teaching writing to their students Some may think, “Wow, this is an easy class to teach!” or some may feel, “Boy, this is going to be boring!” Both of these responses are common ones, but actually they not reveal how difficult it is for students to write and comprehend a foreign language, nor how challenging it can be for a teacher to help them “Writing which is one of the four skills of learning English can be one of the most enjoyable and satisfying activities for teachers and students to together in a classroom, especially in a foreign language classroom But writing skill which includes language, private knowledge and skill, emotion and the interaction of personal opinion is difficult and challenging to learn and develop for many students in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular In Vietnam, there are many teachers of English who even believe that teaching writing skill to learners is more complex than teaching other communicative skills” ( Mazdayasna &Tahririan, 2001) At Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School, my students often see writing skills as hard work, boring, unrewarding, and not a lot of fun Therefore, bearing in mind, I decide to the research with title “Improving the 11thstudents’ English writing skills more efficiently by using games at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School” In this study I present some games which I have used successfully during the school year with classes of different sizes and levels to improve the students’ writing skills Most of the games have a clear purpose and often involves a clear sense of audience (the rest of the class, for instance) Games have a great educational value and it can be used in the classroom to make learners use the language instead of just thinking about learning the correct forms Games encourage learners to interact, cooperate, to be creative and spontaneous in using the language in a meaningful way Learners want to take part in activities; to play games and are generally quite competitive Games also encourage learners to keep interested in the work Feedback is quick, so students get a sense of progress If students are motivated and involved in games, then there is little need for discipline, but as the games involves a lot of speaking and information exchanging, these writing lessons will not necessarily be quiet ones to be done in the school library 1.2 Aims of the study This study aims to: - Improve my students’ English writing skills through using some games Wish my experience to be widely applied to students throughout the school Know about the fact of teaching and learning writing skills at Ha Van Mao High School more clearly 2 -Investigate whether the games can have positive impact on writing process among students and can develop their writing skill or not 1.3 Scope of the study This thesis is also carried out on 81 students of classes which I was in charge for English in the school year 2020-2021 at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School Class: 11A4 ( 38 students) Class: 11A7 ( 43 students) 1.4 Methodology of the study In this study, I use some research tools to collect and analyze the needed data: -Recording is used to record the process of using games -The next tool used in this study is interviews with students -Surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation of teaching and learning English writing skills DEVELOPMENT 2.1 Theoretical background 2.1.1 Background of writing skills Lannon (1989) claims that writing is a process delivering meaningful messages and including its own specific goal This process requires students to work hard instead of regarding it as an uncomplicated act (Byrne, 1988) However, in language teaching and learning process, Tribble (1996, p.3) defines writing as a language skill that involves “not just a graphic representation of speech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way” This means writers need to arrange their ideas logically and systematically Some of the difficulties associated with the teaching of writing in foreign language classes come from the nature of writing itself Writing is an artificial activity in a way that speech is not; while every normal human being on this planet learns, eventually, to talk and to listen, far fewer people become literate, able to write Writing is learned, while speaking is acquired as part of growing up Writing is indeed difficult, for several reasons Firstly, the writer has to decide what information the reader needs, and how best to express this So there is a psychological difficulty, in that the writer cannot consult the reader- the audience is not immediately present, in contrast with most conversations Writer has no immediate feedback to let them know how they are doing and whether they should change their approach There is no immediate interaction between the producer and receiver Secondly, there is a linguistic difficulty, in that the language used in written language is different in most ways from that used in speech It is either simplified (lists, telegrams, notes, etc.) or more elaborate, more formal In our mother tongue we have to learn an elaborate network of conventions and rules before we become “good writer” In a foreign language this process is all the more difficult as there may be interference on a cultural level, not just the linguistic, between mother tongue and the foreign language 3 Thirdly, there is a cognitive difficulty, in that students have to organize thoughts on paper In schools, writing is taught partly as a vital part of literacy program, but also in order to show that work is being done Writing is often associated, particularly in weaker students’ minds, with “chores” or even with discipline (the traditional writing lesson is quite quiet, so the teacher is easily able to keep control) This “homework syndrome” can lead to students making less and less progress because they are poorly motivated, perform badly, receive low grades, and end up disliking writing more and more 2.1.2 Games and their impact on developing the students’ writing skills Games are used as methods or techniques to involve students in learning Well-chosen and designed games are invaluable as they give students a break and at the same time allow learners to practice language skills The benefits of games range from cognitive aspect of language learning to more co-operative group dynamics and as a result games are highly motivating since they are amusing and at the same time challenging Firstly, Games can play an important part in the language learning process generally When thinking about the teaching of writing, it is important to have a reason for writing As People know from bitter experience, there are few things more difficult than trying to write a letter when the students have no real reason to so, or trying to answer an exam question when they have nothing really to say Secondly If, in the artificial world of the classroom, teachers are to encourage their students to write, and expect them to be enthusiastic about this lengthy, tire some business They must at least provide a motivating reason to start writing Games provide a clear short term achievable aim for students, and by incorporating games into the writing process teachers help the students to overcome one of the difficulties mentioned above Thirdly, If there is a clear aim in sight, students will find the writing process easier (that is not to say they will necessarily write better, but they will find it easier to get the words onto paper) and they will then commence to find it more enjoyable Fourthly, Games can also provide an audience for the writer Classmates will often be the readers of the texts produced as part of these activities, and the vital process of feedback is made more immediate Lastly, but not least, games of any kind are usually fun Students who are having fun are always motivated, so they will find writing made more interesting and more enjoyable, and will begin to improve as a result Fun is a vital ingredient in the fight against the “homework syndrome” 2.2 The situations of teaching and learning English writing skills at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary school * Advantages: For students in general and at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School, teaching and learning have been received the attention of teachers, administrators and the whole students’ parents because most of them have realized the importance of mastering English Therefore, more and more equipments for foreign language teaching and learning have been gradually improved English teachers are fostered to improve their teaching quality and reference books for this subject are also rich and diverse * Difficulties: As far as disadvantageous aspects are concerned the teaching and learning English writing skills in my school have some common difficulties: -There are many structures which confuse students -Some students are not really aware of the importance of English, so they have not worked hard and their background knowledge is not good -Teachers have not yet encouraged students self-study, and students’ learning at school doesn’t receive lots of attention from the students’ parents -Teaching and learning facilities are limited -The reference books also not fully systemize the writing skills Therefore, teachers and students have difficulties in exercising the tasks Below is the survey of the practical situation of learning English writing skills at Ha Van Mao High School of the academic year 2020-2021 Survey Practical Situation of learning English writing Skills at Ha Van Mao High School of the academic year 2020-2021 Questions for students Which of these four following English language skills you think the most difficult to learn? What is your idea about learning English writing at your school? What you think of your writing classes at Ha Van Mao High School? What you think of the materials used for writing skill at Ha Van Mao High School? Does your teacher use games in writing classes? A B Reading 10% Very essential 12% C Speaking 20% Esse ntial 16% D Listening 25% Writing 45% Not very essential 47% Not essential at all 25% Really boring 49% Really interesting 3% Interesting 7% Boring 41% Difficult and boring 51% Difficult but interesting 8% Interesting and stimulating 9% Always 2% Sometimes 4% Rarely 22% Easy and boring 32% Never 72% From the survey number 1, we can see that writing is often done silently at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School This may not make it attractive to learners as a classroom activity The students often see writing as hard work, boring, unrewarding Moreover, students are poorly motivated so they dislike being involved in writing activities In addition to this, one problem in the writing classes is that some teachers feel lazy to hold several extra-activities for students They often complain that they not have enough time to prepare the games Surely, some games need preparation and time If a game needs some stationery (such as some cardboard, paste crayons, etc.), it really takes some time On the other hand there some easy games that not need any preparation If the teachers have an archive with instructions of games in their personal file, they not have to look for games when they need 2.3 Practical solutions to improve the students’ English writing skills 2.3.1 Planning a writing lesson 2.3.1.1 For teachers: During the teaching process, solutions are integrated continuously and used whenever possible to bring the best results in each lesson For a good writing lesson, I the following steps: * Studying the content of the lesson from textbooks and teachers' books: -Textbooks and teachers' books are an important basis for me to plan my teaching lessons - The careful study of textbooks and teachers' books will help me organize and control the writing lesson with the right focus and allocate time for steps and activities in a scientific manner * Researching the required purpose of the lesson: - The purpose and requirements of the lesson are the goals that both my students and I need to achieve after the lesson For writing lessons, usually the purpose and requirements of the lesson are to help students practice and develop writing skills * Selecting and coordinating writing techniques flexibly and appropriately: The selection of writing teaching techniques must be determined on the basis of the content of the lesson, the characteristics and capabilities of the class, and the stages in the process of teaching writing, including three stages: Pre-writing, While-writing, and Post-writing Each stage has specific writing techniques suitable for each stage * It is necessary to make a reasonable and scientific lesson plan: I need to clearly plan my activities, students' activities, time for activities, requirements of each exercise, the students’ options *Discussing teaching plans: The effectiveness of the writing lesson will be enhanced if the teaching plan is discussed with colleagues before teaching Doing this not only brings positive results to the writing lesson, but applying it to other skills also brings the same results 2.3.1.2 For students: I ask my students to prepare well for the next class: - Set up a system of prompting questions about the lesson that my students are about to learn so that they have time to think, study materials… - Ask my students to some exercises related to the content of the lesson - Encourage and motivate them to raise issues and questions related to the lesson confidently, proactively and creatively 6 2.3.2 Well implementing the progress of teaching English writing skills: In a lesson, there are the following stages: Pre-writing, While-writing and Postwriting 2.3.2.1 Pre-writing : At this stage, I introduce to my students the topic of the lesson and create them the motivation to learn Since writing is a productive skill, it requires fairly complete source data Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the students with certain new words and structures; Design or prepare minigames to keep them interested in learning: Types of games * Postcards Type of activity -Audience and context: matching -Imaginative stimulus: pictures Functions practiced: - Describing places - Describing actions - Describing scenes Useful language: Adjectives for describing places, present continuous, present simple, past simple Lexical areas: places, historic features, customs and traditions, holiday activities Applied lessons: - Unit - English 11 (describe a friend) - Unit 10- English 11(write a description of Cat Ba National Park) How to use the activity Collect a large number of holiday postcards (real ones as cities or towns in Vietnam, Cat Ba National Park) and prepare them in advance by sticking a clean piece of paper, cut to size, very lightly at the corners with glue You should aim to have from one to three times as many postcards as there are students in your class Open a discussion about postcards: What kind of things you write on postcards about the places Bring in a couple of examples and ask the students to contribute examples, too Distribute one pre- prepared postcard to each student Ask them to imagine where the place is and to write the name of the place Ask them to write something about the place such as founding year, population, location, features, etc When students have written the postcards, invite them to walk around the room, reading the writing to each other and match them to the pictures * Diamond poems Type of activity: -Formula poem -Brainstorming Functions practiced: Describing characteristics, personalities, preparations, celebration’s activities 7 Useful language: Physical characteristics (height, hair, eyes, face, clothes, etc); personalities (helpful, sincere, honest, etc.); some celebration activities, etc Applied lessons: - Unit 1- English 11 (write about a friend) - Unit 8- English 11 (Describe a celebration’s activities) - Unit 12- English 11 (Describe the preparation for coming Asian Games) How to use the activity: This activity probably works best in groups of three or four, but can also be done in pairs or individually if the teacher and students prefer Copy and cut up the Titles so that there is at least one for every group/pair/individual Put them in a hat or bag Divide the board into three sections With the whole class, brainstorm nouns, adjectives and verbs to with the word (title) in the middle of the first section of the board and ask for suggestions for nouns connected with the word Write these above the central word Then ask for verbs and write them below the central word Ask for adjectives and write on the right and left of the word The end result might look something like this: Winter Bare cold Freezing raining snowing Frost fog flowers leaves Blooming singing playing Sunny green Spring Ask if anyone has any improvements to suggest the text Finally, pass the bag/ hat around the class and ask each group/ pair/student to take one title out of the bag Ask them to write their own diamond poem * Film/Book shots Type of activity: Imaginative stimulus: music/pictures Function practiced: - Describing scenes - Describing places - Describing actions - Describing people Useful language: Present simple/continuous; adjectives for describing people and places; adverbs: Lexical areas Places, scenery; people’s appearance/ personalities; actions How to use the activity: You will need a cassette recorder and five or six extracts of very different kinds of music ( or you will need many different pictures of the film/book) Introduce the idea of the film music/picture: ask students which films/books they have seen with particularly memorable music/picture Explain that they are going to see a film/read a book, but it will be their own private film/book Tell them that you are going to play some music/ hang on some pictures While it is playing/ they are showing, you will ask them to think about the main characters, what is happening, etc It is only a short extract/ picture from the film/book – they need not worry about the whole story Play your first piece of music for 2-3 minutes Encourage students to relax and imagine the film/ book After each piece of music, allow 2-3 minutes for students to jot ideas in note form on pieces of paper When you have played all the pieces and students have had time to take notes, ask them each to choose one: their favorite or the piece which gave them the most ideas Now they should write two or three paragraphs to describe the film/book * Café Portraits Type of activity: Imaginative stimulus: poem/ pictures Function practiced: -Describing people -Describing actions -Describing places Useful language: Present simple/ continuous; Adjectives for describing people and place Lexical areas: Actions; adjectives for describing appearance, character, behavior How to use the activity: Prepare magazine pictures of different people or use the photographs in the Games material section Try to get pictures that focus on a single person, rather than a group, and try to get a range of different types: old, young, happy, sad, etc Pin the pictures up around the classroom before the lesson begins Read the poem “Café portraits” to the students Ask them to close their eyes and imagine the people described in the poem, as the teacher read Stop after each verse and ask them to discuss with a partner: What the person looks like What they are wearing What the person is like Then ask the students to walk around the room and look at the pictures This activity can be done individually or in pairs as the teacher or students prefer They should choose a face that appeals to them and imagine (or discuss, if in pairs): Who the person is Where they live How old they are 9 What they like doing When you met each other They should find three adjectives to describe their appearance and three adjectives to describe their character Then ask them to go back to their seats and imagine that the person they have chosen is in a café Ask them to write a verse of a poem consisting of eight lines: Line 1: When you met each other Line 2, 3, and 5: Describe the person (appearance and character) Line 6: The time you met him or her Line 7: The things he or she always does for everyone Line 8: The things you and she or he usually share with Then put the students into groups of four or five Try to arrange it so that students who have chosen different faces are working together Ask them to organize their verses into a poem, to be displayed or read aloud *Moral tales Type of activity: -Imaginative stimulus: story -Audience and context: matching Function practiced: narrating Useful language: past tenses, time clauses Lexical areas: everyday activities How to use the activity: Copy the half proverbs so that there is one half proverb for every student in the class Ensure that as far as possible every half proverb can be matched with its other half Read a fable or two with the students, and ask them for suggestions as to what the moral might be Then give every student half a proverb and ask them to find the person with the other half When they have found each other, pairs should sit down together and write a short fable to illustrate the proverb They should write the story on one piece of paper, and the proverb on another When pairs have finished, collect up the stories, give each story a number and pin them to the wall Collect the proverbs and redistribute them Ask the students to go round the class, reading the stories until they find the one which illustrates the proverb they have just been given * Circle writing Type of activity: Fast writing Creative gap: lucky dip Functions practiced: various Useful language: unspecifiable Lexical areas: unspecifiable How to use the activity: 10 This activity works on the “consequences” or “heads, bodies, and Leg’s principle”: one student starts by writing a line of dialogue and then passes it on for others to complete It can be used in conjunction with a drama activity or to help students think about intonation patterns Prepare a number of script sheets for the students to write on The teacher will need as many script sheets as there are students in the class (let students work in pairs or groups if the teacher prefers) Examples of script sheet beginnings are in the Games material section Write each beginning at the top of a sheet of paper, leaving the rest of the paper blank Seat the students in circles Give out one script sheet to each student in each group Ask them to write the next line of the dialogue Explain that they should write only one line of dialogue on each sheet of paper as it comes to them, and that they should read what has been said already before they write their line Each line may be as long or as short as they wish Each student, after writing the line, passes the sheet to their immediate righthand neighbor, and waits for the next to arrive from their left-hand neighbor If, as sometimes happens, a student get a “block” and cannot think what to write, tell them not to worry, but to pass the script on anyway and try with the next one Stop the activity either after a certain time limit has elapsed or when the dialogues reach the bottom of the script sheets Ask students to read the sheets Through the process of teaching and watching colleagues, I found that the activity involved in a game to get information relevant to my school's students Using games based on some types of activities Types of activities There are six basic types of activities which I have used successfully: - Audience and context: Activities where writing develops out of a context or has a clearly defined audience * Exchange and Reply * Guessing and Matching activities * Role play - Imaginative stimulus: Using poems, music, pictures, objects as a fuel or stimulus to imaginative work - Formula poems or stories: Using simple linguistic pattern to build up a poem or story - Describe what you see - Brainstorming: Collecting from a group as many ideas in a topic as possible within a short specified time - Fast writing: Reacting and writing spontaneously and quickly to a given stimulus Note: In many of the games, two or more of the above six types of activity are combined 11 Organization of these activities: The activities can be organized in different ways: Whole Class activities: Such as brainstorming for associations, where everyone is thinking and providing ideas for one person to write up on the board or on the overhead projector Individual activities, where students are asked to write alone for a set time Pair work, where students write together, or to each other Group work, where a group discuss what they are writing together, helping each other as they go To get away from the boring writing lessons with their possible negative effects, it is important to try to vary these ways of organizing the writing class as much as the teachers can 2.3.2.2.While-writing Help my students write correctly, I have to give clear, concise instructions, specific and easy to understand Some techniques for imperative writing: - Questions and answers: I give the students a string of questions and guide them to answer in complete form, questions may not be in order so students have to self-organize the structures of the passage and make the writing more coherent - Transformation writing: I show the students a short text from handout and ask them to rewrite the form in another way such as: change clauses, grammar change fact sand change semantics - Write it up: Students use information from reading, listening, and speaking activities in the stages of the preparation for writing and rewriting in their vocabularies individually, pairs or groups - Recall: This technique applies in the last part of the lesson After writing or reading a story, my students are asked to rewrite it in their own words Whilewriting is the central stage of the lesson, so the amount of time is distributed more than the other steps In this step I am the controller, supporters and helpers 2.3.2.3 Post-writing This is the stage when students have finished their writing, I and my students proceed to the last task Techniques such as: -Exhibition -Correction -Sharing and comparing Finally, comment on the advantages and disadvantages for students to overcome in the following topic and have students rewrite their writing at home 2.3.3 Motivation: Encourage my students to use all their vocabularies, grammatical structures, and ideas related to the writing topic that they have just participated in through activities in the pre-writing section I also integrate English learning activities in the form of “studying while playing” 2.3.4 Some practical examples of using games in the writing lessons at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School Example 1: Using “Diamond poems” in Unit 1- English 11 Type of activity: 12 -Formula poem -Brainstorming Functions practiced: Describing characteristics, personalities Useful language: Physical characteristics (height, hair, eyes, face, clothes, etc); personalities (helpful, sincere, honest, etc) Applied lessons: - Unit 1- English 11 (write about a friend) How to use the activity: Applied lesson: Unit 1- English 11 (write about a friend) Applying the game for the pre-writing stage The 1st Group’s discussion I ask students to work in groups of six or seven Copy and cut up the Name/pictures of people so that there is at least one for every group Put them in a hat or bag With the whole class, brainstorm nouns, adjectives and verbs to with the Name in the middle of the first section of the board and ask for suggestions for nouns connected with the word Write these above the central word Then ask for verbs and write them below the central word Ask for adjectives and write on the right and left of the word Finally, pass the bag/ hat around the class and ask each group/ pair/student to take one title out of the bag They were listing the adjectives to Ask them to write their own describe a friend diamond poem 13 The eleventh graders ( 11A7, school year: 2020-2021) were discussing writing about a friend Example 2: Using “Circle writing” in Unit 8- English 11 Type of activity: Fast writing Creative gap: lucky dip How to use the activity: Applying the game for the while-writing stage s many script sheets as there are students in the “How to operate the remote control” ne of dialogue on each sheet of paper as it comes ch line may be as long or as short as they wish r, and waits for the next to arrive from their left- m not to worry, but to pass the script on anyway the bottom of the script sheets The 4th group’s script sheet 14 The eleventh graders (11A4, school year: 20202021) were discussing how to write about a celebration’s activities Le Nhat Huyen (11A4) was reporting her group’s 15 writing 2.4 Results of the teaching experience Using games is an efficient way to teach English in the classroom This way I get the best results in the classroom It arises students’ motivation Games prepare students for life and they acquire positive social attitudes Games teach sharing, helping each other and working as a team A student learns by doing, living, trying and imitating So this kind of learning is lasting During games some feelings such as the pleasure of winning and the ambition of losing may arise This gives to the teacher an idea about student’s character So games are must-have activities for hardworking teachers The following is the result charts of classes 11A4 and 11A7 in the academic year 2020-2021 Chart 1: Teaching writing skills before applying the study (at the beginning of the school year 2020-2021) Class Number of students Good Moderately good Average Weak 11(28.9%) 11A4 38 0(%) 5(13.2%) 22(57.9%) 11A7 43 1(2.3%) 6(14%) 23(53.5%) 13(30.2%) Chart 2: Teaching writing skills after applying the study ( at the end of the school year 2020-2021) Class Number of students Good Moderately good Average Weak 11A4 38 (7.9%) 7(18.4%) 23(60.5%) 5(13.2%) 11A7 43 4(9.3%) 9(20.9%) 22(51.2%) 8(18.6%) 16 These suggested games have been applied in my writing teaching to the 11 grade students at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School and they seem to be useful to students Most of them find it easier and more comfortable with writing lessons This is shown through their high motivation and interest in learning writing, their active participation in activities and many students at low levels can carry out writing tasks by themselves As a result, students’ writing skills, to some extent, has been improved during the school year CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS 3.1 Conclusion To sum up, the research has brought to me some important lessons of English writing teaching and learning in general and of working with my students in particular Teaching writing is not a simple task, but it can be quite rewarding if we find ways to help our students improve, and help them see for themselves what their progress has been In some ways we are helping them cope with vocabulary and grammar, as we in other subjects, but there are also many unique aspects of the writing process that we can help them grasp When our students understand how to write and what to write for, the foundation for continued improvement in writing will be set Our own ability to teach writing will also improve as we work to better grasp the strategies and skills our students need 3.2 Suggestions For teachers: The teachers should encourage children to regularly read books, newspapers and documents in both Vietnamese and English to get ideas, vocabularies and structures Besides, we also guide students to prepare lessons at home and actively occupy the knowledge The most important thing the English teachers should is to apply the study to their teaching to improve English writing skills for the students at Ha Van Mao High School It is necessary that the teacher should not always pay attention to the students’ mistakes Instead, the teacher should encourage them to use English as much as possible during the lesson and create a friendly learning environment so that the students will be more confident and be ready to receive the new knowledge With students: The students should be aware of the importance of learning English; Try to self-study, self- improve knowledge, self-search to supplement vocabularies, structures to enrich English writing skills; It is necessary to have a habit of studying at home, preparing lessons, studying and completing all assignments before going to class; Actively participate in activities designed by the teachers during the learning process For students’ parents: More attention should be paid to their children’s learning at school as well as self-study at home For the School Boarding: Supplying more reference materials and books to support English teaching and learning ; Annually organizing training courses for teachers to improve their knowledge, access to new teaching methods and new tricks in teaching; Investing in facilities to create good conditions for English learning and teaching such as subject classroom, speakers… th 17 Above, I have just presented and shared the experiences that I have been, and will be implementing in the process of teaching writing skills at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School I genuinely look forward to the contribution of the Administrators, teachers and colleagues to make the study effective and replicated I sincerely thank The Headmaster’s identification Ha Van Mao High School, April, 2021 I ensure that this study has been written by me The writer Hoang Thi Nhung REFERENCES Brown, J.D (1994) Research methods for Applied Linguistics: Scope, characteristics, and standards In A Davies & C Elder (Eds.), The handbook of applied linguistics (pp 476-500) Oxford: Blackwell Byrne, D (1988) Teaching writing skills Longman: London Creswell, A (2000) Self-monitoring in student writing: developing learner responsibility ELT Journal, 54(3) Frankenberg – Garcia, A (1999) Providing student writer with pretext feedback ELT Journal, 53 (2) Gipps, C (1994) Beyond Testing: Towards a Theory of Educational Assessment London: The Falmer Gabe, W & Kaplan, RB (1996) Theory and practice of writing The USA: Long Man Charles Hadfield and Jill Hadfield.(1990) Writing games Longman 18 Chastain, K.1988 Developing Second Language Skills: Theory and Practice.3rd edition.Harcourt Brace Jovanovich 8.Richard-Amato,P.1996 Making It Happen: Interaction in the Second Language Classroom: From Theory to Practice 2nd edition Longman 9.Nunan, D.2003 Practical Engish Language Teaching McGraw-Hill 10.Nunan, D.1991 Language Teaching Methodology – A textbook for teachers, Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd CONTENTS INTRODUCTION……………………………………………… 1.1 Rationale of the study…………………………………………… 1.2 Aims of the study………………………………………………… 1.3 Scope of the study…………………………………………… 1.4 Methodology of the study…………………………………… DEVELOPMENT……………………………………………… 2.1 Theoretical background……………………………………… 2.1.1 Background of writing skills…………………………………… 2.1.2 Games and their impact on developing the students’ writing skills…………………………………………………………………… PAGE 1 2 2 19 2.2 The situations of teaching and learning English writing skills at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary school …………………………………… 2.3 Practical solutions to improve the students’ English writing skills………………………………………………………………… 2.3.1 Planning a writing lesson…… ………………………………… 2.3.2 Well implementing the process of teaching English writing skills…………………………………………………………………… 2.3.3 Motivation……………………………………………………… 2.3.4 Examples of using games in the English writing lessons at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School…………………………………… 2.4 Results of the teaching experience……………………………… CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS…………………… 3.1 Conclusion………………………………………………………… 3.2.Suggestions………………………………………………… REFERENCES 5 10 11 14 15 15 16 20 THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HA VAN MAO UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCE IMPROVING THE 11TH STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS MORE EFFECTIVELY BY USING GAMES AT HA VAN MAO UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL Researcher: Hoang Thi Nhung Occupation: Teacher Organization: Ha Van Mao High School Researching Subject: English 21 THANH HOA, APRIL 2021 ... learning English writing at your school? What you think of your writing classes at Ha Van Mao High School? What you think of the materials used for writing skill at Ha Van Mao High School? Does... THANH HOA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HA VAN MAO UPPER SECONDARY SCHOOL INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCE IMPROVING THE 11TH STUDENTS’ ENGLISH WRITING SKILLS MORE EFFECTIVELY BY USING GAMES AT HA. .. to apply the study to their teaching to improve English writing skills for the students at Ha Van Mao High School It is necessary that the teacher should not always pay attention to the students’