Using pair and group work to improve students’ letter writing at a high school in nghe an

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN CONG KHANG USING PAIR AND GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LETTER WRITING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION Nghe An, 2018 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN CONG KHANG USING PAIR AND GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LETTER WRITING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Code: 60140111 MASTER’S THESIS IN EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Huynh Anh Tuan, Ph.D Nghe An, 2018 I ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To accomplish this study, I am indebted to many people for their thoughtful helps First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge my thanks to supervisor Huynh Anh Tuan, Ph.D for his valuable guidance, critical feedbacks and enormous encouragements, without which my thesis would be far from completion I am also grateful to all the lecturers of the Posted-graduate Department at Vinh University for their guidance and enthusiasm during my course My sincere thanks go to all my colleagues and my students at the High School where the study was conducted Finally, I would like to express my thanks to my friends who were willing to help me during the course In particular, I find myself indebted to my family especially my wife for their love, care and tolerance when I was in the process of writing this thesis Nghe An, July, 2018 Tran Cong Khang II ABSTRACT This study was carried out to investigate the benefits of using pair work and group work to improve high school students’ letter writing The participants of the study are 31 high school students Questionnaires for students, interviews, observation, diaries and students’ writings were collected and analyzed to find answers to the three research questions Major findings of the research revealed the benefits of using pair work and group work activities in letter writing lessons for high school students The reason was that these two techniques strongly increased students’ participation and interest in class activities The students found working in pairs and in groups interesting, which made them participate more in the lessons In addition, thanks to pair work and group work, the interaction among students was closer However, there were some problems the teachers should consider when conducting these activities such as group size, the way of grouping, students’ level of proficiency, and so on It is hoped that this study will help other teachers of English be aware of the usefulness of pair work and group work techniques in letter writing lessons and apply them in their teaching III ABBREVIATIONS MOET: Ministry of Education and Training UCAS: Universities and Colleges Admissions Service SS: Students TABLES AND CHARTS Tables Table 2.1: The syllabus of letter writing Table 2.2: Students’ profiles Table 3.1: The result of the ss’ writing of the lesson before the study Table 3.2: The result of the ss’ writing of the lesson in the middle of the study Table 3.3: The result of the ss’ writing of the lesson at the end of the study Table 3.4: Students ‘preference of classroom activities Table 3.5: The attitude of students toward letter writing Table 3.6: The impact of pair work and group work techniques Table 3.7: Factors causing difficulties Table 3.8: Students’ recommendation for the things the teacher should Table 3.9: Group size preferred by students Table 3.10: How students would like to be grouped Charts Chart 3.1: Students’ attitude to pair work and group work Chart 3.2: The frequency of difficulties Chart 3.3: How much students like the writing course Chart 3.4: How useful the course is Chart 3.5: How easy the course is Chart 3.6: How effective the ‘useful phrases’ is Chart 3.7: How useful the ‘useful phrases’ is Chart 3.8: How easy the ‘useful phrases’ is IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements…………………………………… …….……… … ….I Abstract…………………………………………… ……… ….…….… ….II Abbreviations…………………………………… ……….……….…….…….III Tables and charts……………………………………… … ……… …….…IV Chapter 1: Introduction Rationale……………………………………………… ……………….……1 Aims and objectives of the study…………………………………… …… Scope of the study………………………………………… …….………… Design of the study…………………………………………… …….……….2 Chapter 2: Literature Review Action research……………………………………… … ……… …………4 1.1 What is action research? …………………… ………….… ………………4 1.2 Why does a teacher need action research? …………………… ………….5 1.3 How does a teacher carry out action research in a language classroom? …6 1.4 Summary…………………………………… ……………………… ……7 Pair work and group work………………………… … ……………….……8 2.1 Definition of pair work and group work…………………… …… …….…8 2.2 Organization of pair work and group work………………… ……… ……9 2.2.1 Formation………………………………… ………………………… 2.2.2 Group ……………………………………… ……………… …… … 11 2.2.3 Procedures of pair work and group work.……… …………… .…… …11 2.3 Some common activities for pair work and group work ……….…… …13 2.4 Some problems in conducting pair work and group work……….… .….…14 Writing……………………………… … ………………… …………….….15 3.1 What is writing? 15 3.2 What is writing accuracy? .15 3.3 What is writing fluency? 16 3.4 What is letter and letter writing? .16 V Pair work and group work in teaching writing…………… …… ….…….… 17 Pattern of letter organization 18 5.1 Formal letter organization .18 5.2 Informal letter organization 20 Chapter 3: Methodology Setting of the study .25 Research questions 25 The writing program for grade 12th English students at the High School where the study was conducted ………… 25 Action research procedure 26 4.1 Stage 1: Planning: .26 4.2 Stage 2: Acting 27 4.3 Stage 3: Observing 27 4.4 Stage 4: Reflect …… 27 Data collection methods 27 5.1 Participants 27 5.2 The participants for the interview 28 5.3 The questionnaire for students …… 28 5.4 Interviews …… 28 5.5 Diaries 29 5.6 Students’ writings …… 29 Data collection procedure 29 Chapter 4: Data analysis and findings The potential effects of applying pair and group work in letter writing lessons 31 1.1 Data analysis of the ss’ writings 31 1.2 Comments from observations and diaries of writing lessons…………… 36 1.3 Data analysis of students’ questionnaire and direct interviews……… ….….63 1.3.1 Techniques students like doing in their English class…………… ……… 63 1.3.2 The attitude of students toward letter writing….……… …… ……… ….64 VI 1.3.3 Students’ response to pair work and group work activities ………… 66 1.3.4 The impact of pair work and group work techniques…………… ……… 66 1.3.5 Difficulties students have when working in pairs and groups…… …… .67 1.3.6 Students’ recommendation for better pair work and group work activities 69 1.3.7 Students’ ideas about the writing course the teacher designed…………… 71 1.3.8 Students’ ideas about the ‘useful phrases’ the teacher gave students…… 73 Findings………………… ………………………….…………………….….….75 Research question 1…………………… …………………… .……75 Research question 2……………………… ……… ……………….….75 Research question 3……………………………… ………….……………… ….76 Chapter 5: Conclusions and recommendations Summary of the study 78 Recommend for future research 79 References 81 Appendices 83 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Rationale Since Vietnam has started its open door to the world and to foreign investment, the English language has gained more significance At the Central Party Committee meeting on education in December 1996, English was confirmed as the first language to be taught at schools in Vietnam The government of Vietnam has stressed the importance of English as it is considered to play a significant role on the country’s path of modernization and industrialization The command of English may offer learners an entrance to the world of academy, trade, aviation, music, sports and so on The English language has rapidly become the most popular first foreign language among Vietnamese people, especially at schools, colleges and universities For learners of English, the English language surely brings about a better career prospect Needless to say, writing is one of the most important skills in language teaching and learning Success in studying a language can be measured by learners’ ability to write something in the language being learned The ability to use the language as a means of communication often judges one’s successfulness in writing class or when the students can use the language to express their ideas, feelings, thoughts, and wishes and so on For that reason, how to help students improve writing skill in general and letter writing skill in particular is very important There are several techniques teachers often use when teaching writing skills such as individual, pair work and group work However, which one is better at helping students improve their letter writing skill is controversial In my observation, letter writing skill is necessary for students in their daily lives because they know how to communicate with people around, which is helpful for their future jobs and their sociable activities as well Therefore, I decided to a research project entitled “Using pair and group work to improve students’ letter writing at a High School in Nghe An” because I think that pair work and group work is one of activities in teaching writing skill at high schools Besides, teachers of English at my school get stuck in organizing pair work and group work to improve writing skill effectively I hope that the research will make a contribution to confirming the advantages of pair work and group work techniques in teaching and learning English and it can help other teachers of English be aware of these advantages and apply pair work and group work activities in their teaching Aims and objectives of the study This study is aimed at investigating the potential effectiveness of using pair and group work in improving students’ letter writing at a high School in Nghe An To be specific, the objectives of the study are: - To see how effective it is to use pair work and group work activities to improve students’ letter writing - To find out the problems the students and the teacher encountered when using pair and group work activities in letter writing lessons - To investigate the attitude of the students when using pair work and group work activities in letter writing lessons Scope of the study There are a variety of techniques to encourage students to participate in letter writing lessons However, it is not my intention to cover all of them because of the time and the length of the study, only two techniques, group work and pair work are investigated in letter writing lessons The participants of the study were 31 students of a class The advantages of these two techniques were found out mainly by interviewing, surveying students and students’ writings Yet, the study results cannot be true to all Vietnamese learners Thus, my suggestions for letter teaching writing might work well only for my colleagues and for the ones who are teaching at such schools which is the same to my school Design of the study The study includes five chapters as follows: 16 Lewis, M and J.(1992), Hill Practical Techniques for Language Teaching Language Teaching Publications 17 Nunan, D (1989) Understand Language Classroom: A guide for Teacher Initiated Action New York: Prentice- Hall 18 Nunan D (1992), Research Methods in Language Learning, Cambridge University Press 19 Ngoh S G (1991), Small Group Work in the Classroom, Guidelines Vol.14 no.3, 22-27 20 Periodical for Classroom Language Teachers, Vol 13 No June 1991, SEMEO Regional Language Center 21 Potter E and Spratt P (1995), Questionnaire design, Dakin University 22 Richards, J.C and Platt, J.H (1992) Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics Longman 23 Sagor, R (1992) How to Conduct Collaborative action Research USA: Association Supervision and Curriculum Development 24 Tsui, A B (1993) Helping Teacher to Conduct Research in their classrooms In D Freeman, with S Cornwell (Eds) New Ways in Teacher Education Alexandra VA: TESOL 25 Formal letter Retrieved from https://goo.gl/HnCxMh 26 Informal letter Retrieved from https://goo.gl/jheaxY 27 Format of letters Retrieved from https://goo.gl/W8VBh1 28 Types of letter Retrieved from https://goo.gl/8moRFj 82 APPENDICES Appendix Useful phrases a) Writing formal letters generally: Greetings: • Dear Sir • Dear Madam • Dear Sir/Madam • Dear Mr Brown • Dear Ms Jones etc Reason for writing: • I am writing in response to your article/advertisement/letter • I am writing with regard to your article/advertisement/letter • I am writing regarding your article/advertisement/letter • I am writing on behalf of Ending the letter: • I look forward to receiving your reply • I look forward to your reply • I look to hearing from you • I am, yours faithfully (if you don't know the name of the person you are writing to) • I am, yours sincerely (if you know the name of the person you are writing to) • Yours faithfully • Yours sincerely b) Writing formal letters to request information Reason for writing: • I am writing to receive further information about • I am writing to enquire about 83 • I am writing to receive more detailed information about • I am writing to receive further details about Requesting first piece of information: • The first thing I would like to know is • First of all I would like to know • I wonder if you would mind telling me first of all….? Requesting further information: • Could you also tell me….? • Could you also inform me….? • Would you also mind informing me….? • Would you also mind telling me….? • Do you know….? • I would also like to know if • I would also like to know whether • I hope you might also let me know about … Thanking for information: • I would like to thank you in advance for this information • Thanking you in advance for this information • Thanking you in advance Appendix Letter of application Useful phrases : Referring to the source of information - In yesterday’s/today’s issue of … (name of paper/magazine) you advertised the post/position of … - I was interested to read your advertisement in last week’s edition of the … Starting an unsolicited letter of application - I am writing to inquire if there is an opening in your company for a/an 84 - I am writing to inquire whether you have a vacancy in your firm Applying for a vacancy I wish to apply for the advertised post I would like you to consider my application for the advertised post Giving information I am currently attending … (school) I am computer-literate I speak fluent English and have a basic knowledge of French I had year(s) experience as a/an in (name of the place where you worked) Motivation for the job I hope to be able to use/apply my skills/experience in … in the advertised post I am confident that I will be able to use/apply my skills/experience in … in the advertised post Closing sentences I enclose my CV/résumé with this letter I am available for an interview at any time I look forward to hearing from you Appendix Writing formal letters to give information Useful phrases: Reason for writing: • I am writing to inform you about • I am writing to provide you with information about • I am writing to let you know that Providing first point: • The first thing I would like to inform you of is • The first thing I would like to tell you is • The first thing I wish to inform you of is 85 • I would like to begin by informing you Providing further points: • I would also like to let you know that • I would also like to inform you that • You might also find the following information useful • It might also be useful for you to know that • Another piece of information that might be useful Ending the letter: • If you require further information, please not hesitate to as • If I can be of further assistance, please not hesitate to ask • I will willingly provide further information on request • I am at your disposal should you require further information • I am at your disposal should you need further assistance • Please not hesitate to ask should you require further information Appendix Writing formal letters to make suggestions Useful phrases: Reason for writing: • I am writing to suggest • I am writing to arrange • I am writing to offer suggestions • I am writing make arrangements Making first suggestion: • My first suggestion is • First of all I suggest • I would like to suggest Making further suggestions: • Another possibility is 86 • A further possibility is • I further suggest • I would further suggest • Secondly Offering a choice: • Would you therefore mind choosing between….? • Either……or • You might choose either …….or Appendix Writing a letter of complaint Useful phrases: Greeting: Dear Sir/ Madam, Dear Mr./ Mrs , Reason for writing: I am writing in order to complain about I am writing to complain about Introducing the complaint: Firstly In the first place First of all My first complaint is The first problem is The first thing I would like to draw your attention to is My first concern is Introducing further complaints: Secondly In the second place 87 Not only…….but also In addition In addition to this Added to this Demanding action: I suggest that you replace the item I therefore suggest that I be given a full refund I would be grateful if my money was refunded I would be grateful if you could give me a full refund Ending the letter: I look forward to hearing from you I look forward to receiving a full refund I look forward to receiving a replacement I look forward to receiving your explanation Yours faithfully, Appendix Model of informal letter Dear Sam, I’m so happy that I’m finally hearing from you It’s so nice to understand that you’ve managed to save some money – I envy you But I also realize how confused you must feel in front of this dilemma Firstly, I’m not sure that spending the money on an expensive holiday is the best decision you can make Of course, everybody needs to have a rest; so you I know pretty well that you had a busy year at school and you were under stress It will be great if you can relax from all this 88 On the other hand, personally, I think it’s not better to put the money aside to buy a car Isn’t there a good bus or train service where you live? If you have a car at college, your friends will take advantage of you while you will be giving them lifts In my opinion, it’s a good idea to spend part of the money on a cheap holiday, for example, somewhere in the countryside, and to put the other part aside for a used car I don’t think that you’ll need a flashy new car as you won’t be driving long distances I’ll be happy if my suggestions appeal to you Write to me and let me know what you have decided to Best wishes, Sara Appendix Writing informal letters and emails Useful phrases: Informal Letters -Greetings: Dear Jim Hello Jim Hi Jim Informal Letters –Introductory paragraph: Sorry I haven't written for ages Sorry it's taken me so long to write How's it going? How are you? 89 How are things with you? How are things? An informal letter referring to good news: Glad to hear about I'm really glad to hear about I'm very happy to hear about I was very happy to read about Great news about your An informal letter referring to bad news: I'm extremely sorry to hear about I'm very sorry to hear about Sorry to read about Its very sad to hear about your I can' tell you how sad I am that Informal letters-Introducing points By the way Did you hear about Did you see Have you seen Tell me about Oh, another thing Ending an informal letter or email: Well, time to go Well, it's time to go Well, got to go Well, time to close I've got to leave off now Write soon Make sure you write soon 90 Love Lots of love All my love Will write again soon Look after yourself Take care of yourself All the best Everything good Your friend, Mai, has written you an email, part of which says: My parents have given me some money for passing my exams I don’t know whether to travel, or whether I should buy something What you think? Write an email in reply in 120-150words Appendix Observations and Diaries Lesson Ss’ mistakes Ss’ cooperation Ss’ attitudes Things they can 91 Things they can’t Appendix Interviews Interview for the first lesson: What you dislike about the lesson? What you like best about the lesson? Do you think it’s easy to write this kind of letter? What difficulties you have when writing a letter? Do you want to work with your partner in the next writing lesson? Interview for the next lessons: What you dislike about the lesson? What you like best about the lesson? Do you like working in pairs and groups when writing a letter? Do you think that pair and group work is helpful? 92 What difficulties you have? If you can change a thing, what is it? Appendix 10 Questionnaire for students This questionnaire is designed to find out your attitude towards writing in English and your writing habits Please answer all the questions Your answers will be kept confidential Thank you very much for your cooperation! What activity you like doing most in your writing lessons? Why? A Working in pairs and groups B Working individually C Listening to the teacher and noting down D Playing games What are your attitudes towards letter writing? Please read the following statements carefully Then put a tick (√) in the appropriate column which indicates the extent to which you agree with the statement Strongly Agree Uncertain Disagree agree Strongly disagree A I think writing letters is interesting B I think it is easy to write a letter in English C I have confidence in writing letters in English D I like being given a lot of 93 guidance from the teacher in letter writing lessons E I like to work with classmates in letter writing lessons In your opinion, how interesting are pair work and group work activities in letter writing lessons? A very interesting B interesting C not very interesting D boring To what extent, pair work and group work activities help you in your writing? A I feel more confident B I can practice a lot C I could learn from my partners D I am more interested in the lesson Do you find it difficult to work in pairs and in groups in writing lessons? A yes, very often B yes, often C not very often D never What factor(s) often cause(s) difficulties when you work in pairs and in groups in writing lessons? A Unclear instruction B Lack of vocabulary C Partners don’t co-operate D Partners speaking Vietnamese What would you like your teacher to to help you when you work in pairs and in groups in writing lessons? A give clear instruction B provide necessary vocabulary C clearly state the focuses and objectives of the activities D move around the class and support How many students would you like to have in each group in writing lessons? A B -5 C D More than 94 Who you want to work with in writing lessons? A Students at the same table B Students who I like working with C Students of higher levels of English proficiency D Students of lower levels of English proficiency E Students of the same levels of English proficiency 10 Read questions below about the writing course then circle the number you choose A How much you like the writing course? B How useful is the course? C How easy is the course? Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all 11 Read the questions below about ‘useful phrases’ in the letter writing lessons then circle the number you choose A How effective is Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all How useful is the Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all ‘useful phrases’ in Extremely Very Moderately Somewhat Not at all ‘useful phrases’ in organizing your ideas? B organizing your ideas? C How easy is it to use the ‘useful phrases’ to organize your ideas? 95 Appendix 11 The rubric of letter writing Task fulfillment Points Organization Points - Only greetings no answers are given - No paragraphs dividing - Only Introduction is given - Using connectors +5 - Introduction and Body are given 20 - Not clear paragraphs dividing 10 - Answer all requirement 25 - Good paragraphs dividing 20 Format - Not understanding the format any Vocab- Grammar - mistake of vocabulary or more −1 grammar - A bit misunderstanding the format 10 - Using only single sentences - Not fully understanding the format 20 and repeated words - Applying right format 25 - Using complex sentences and a +2 +5 variety of words -No mistakes and meeting the number of word requirement 96 20 ... entitled ? ?Using pair and group work to improve students’ letter writing at a High School in Nghe An? ?? because I think that pair work and group work is one of activities in teaching writing skill at high. .. confirming the advantages of pair work and group work techniques in teaching and learning English and it can help other teachers of English be aware of these advantages and apply pair work and group. ..MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING VINH UNIVERSITY TRAN CONG KHANG USING PAIR AND GROUP WORK TO IMPROVE STUDENTS’ LETTER WRITING AT A HIGH SCHOOL IN NGHE AN Major: Teaching English to Speakers