An investigation into writing difficulties of the first year english majors at ha noi university of industry

M IN ISTRY OF EDU CA TIO N AND TRAINING HANOI UNIVERSITY K IE U N G U Y E T N G A AN INVESTIGATION INTO WRITING DIFFICULTIES OF THE FIRST-YEAR ENGLISH MAJORS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY SU D M IT T E D IN P A R T IA L FU L FIL L M E N T OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL SUPERVISOR’S NAME: DOAN THI MINH NGUYET, MA Hanoi August 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S .I A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S I ll A B S T R A C T IV L IST S O F FIGURES AND T A B L E S .V LIST OF A B B R E V IA T IO N S A ND S Y M B O L S VI C H A PT E R 1: IN T R O D U C T IO N 1.1 B ackground to the stu d y 1.1.1 Writing syllabus 1.1.2 The writing course book 1.2 A ims of the s t u d y 1.3 S cope of the s t u d y 1.4 S ignificance of the s t u d y 1.5 O utline of the th e sis C H A PTER 2: LITE R A T U R E R E V IE W 2.1 A pproaches to teaching writing in EFL/ESL programs 2.1.1 Focus on syntactic accuracy approach 2.1.2 Focus on text approach (the pattern approach) 2.1.3 Focus on the writers approach (the process approach) 2.1.4 Focus on fluency/content approach 2.1.5 Focus on purpose approach (focus on the reader approach) 2.2 EFL/ESL learner - writing difficulties 2.2.1 Difficulties related to features o f writing texts .12 2.2.1.1 Difficulties in morphosyntactic- using 12 2.2.1.1.1 Difficulties in inflection- using 12 2.2.1.1.2 Difficulties in structure-using 14 2.2.1.2 Difficulties in organization .14 2.2.1.2.1 Difficulties in support - w riting 15 2.2.1.2.2 Difficulties in rhetoric - using 15 2.2.1.2.3 Difficulties in mechanic- using 18 2.2.2 Difficulties related to composing processes 18 2.2.2.1 Difficulties related to idea-form ing 19 2.2.2.1.1 Lacking id ea s 19 2.2.2.1.2 Lacking writing steps 20 2.2.2.1.3 Lacking m otivation .22 2.2.2.2 Difficulties related to cognition 23 2.2.2.2.I Difficulties inculture-understanding 23 2.2.22.2 Difficulties in concept-using 24 2.3 S um m a ry 24 C H A PTER 3: M E T H O D O L O G Y 26 3.1 R esearch q uest io n s 26 3.2 S ubjects of the st u d y 26 3.2.1 The students 26 3.2.2 The teachers o f writing 27 3.3 D ata collection instruments 27 3.3.1 Questionnaire .28 3.3.2 Questionnaire 29 3.4 S um m a ry 31 C H A PTER 4: R ESU LTS A ND D IS C U S S IO N 32 4.1 R e su l t s 32 4.1.1 First- year students ’previous learning experience 32 4.1.2 First-year students ’ attitude towards learning writing 33 4.1.3 First - year students ’ current learning experience 34 4.1.3.1 Students’ response 34 4.1.3.2 Teachers’ responses 39 4.2 D isc u ssio n .44 4.2.1 Regarding students ’ writing difficulties 46 4.2.2 Regarding students ’ writing activities 46 4.3 S um m ary 47 C H A PTER 5: SU G G ESTIO N S AND C O N C L U SIO N S 48 5.1 S uggestions 48 5.1.1 To the teachers 49 5.1.2 To the students 50 5.1.3 To the course book 53 5.2 C o nclusions 55 R E FE R E N C E S 58 A PPEN D IX 63 ST U D E N T ’S Q U E S T IO N N A IR E 63 A PPEN D IX 68 T E A C H E R ’S Q U E S T IO N N A IR E .68 ACKNOW LEDGEMENTS First, I would like to express my gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Mrs Doan Thi Minh Nguyet, who read my manuscript with great care, gave thoughtful and meaningful comments and provided valuable support in the preparation and completion of this thesis I am also grateful to the organizers of this master course, Mr Vu Van Dai, Head of the Department of Post Graduate Studies of Hanoi University and Mrs Nguyen Thai Ha who had given many useful comments on my thesis and also the teachers of the Department My special thanks go to the teachers and students who were very responsive to the survey questionnaires, without whom the thesis could not have been possible Addition, who was particularly of great help in my preparing and fulfilling of the thesis is my brother My heartfelt appreciation is expressed to him Last, like many other acknowledgements, mine end with references to my family I am greatly indebted to my parents who, as always, have been wholeheartedly supportive ABSTRACT This thesis examines the EFL writing difficulties of the first-year students majoring in English at HaUI, Hanoi University of Industry In order to this, questionnaires were delivered to the first-year English majors in course 2007-2011 and writing teachers of the subjects concerned to elicit data about (1) students’ English writing activities; (2) the difficulties they were faced with; and (3) their suggestions of what should be done to better the situation The responses from the teachers and students were the bases to decide what to to facilitate students’ EFL writing and improve the quality of their writing The results of the study show that (1) the students did not employ necessary composing processes, they spent very little time on outlining, used translation (from their mother tongue) quite often in the process of writing, and revised drafts mainly for mechanical mistakes; (2) they still had difficulty in writing sentences and in knowing what particularly to to produce a certain type of text The thesis suggests that (1) students’ composing processes should be rectified in several ways: essential composing processes should not be skipped, more time must he devoted to outlining, the use o f translation must be eliminated, and revising of drafts should place more emphasis on ideas and organizational aspects, rather than on mechanical mistakes alone; (2) explicit and concrete instructions on writing a particular type of text should be given Obviously, not only students and the syllabus are responsible for carrying out those changes but teachers, as facilitators to students’ writing, should play an active part in the works as well IV LISTS OF FIGURES AND TABLES Chapter ' Figure 2.1: What writers have to deal with as they produce a piece o f writing 10 Figure 2.2: R.B Kaplan’s rhetoric patterns o f written discourse in different cultures Figure 2.3: English vs Vietnamese new item in patterns 16 17 Chapter Table 4.1 Students opinions about time for writing skillsat the high school 32 Table 4.2 The language skill(s) that first-year students think themost important 33 Table 4.3 First-year students’ difficulties in English writing .35 Table 4.4 Students’ opinions about the difficulties of writing tasks .37 Table 4.5 Teachers’ opinions about the most important textual feature(s) to be taught to first-year students 39 Table 4.6 Teachers’ opinions about the levels o f difficulty o f writing task to first- year student writers 40 Table 4.7 Effects of negative transfer (from students’ mother tongue) on their English writing 41 Table 4.8 Teachers’ opinions about the appropriate writing task for first-year students 42 Table 4.9 Teachers’ opinions about the most appropriate writing approach for first-year students 43 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS EFL: English as Foreign Language ESL: English as Second Language CUP: Cambridge University Press OUP: Oxford University Press LI: first language L2: second language HaUI: Hanoi University of Industry TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Language * : the absence of a compulsory element, which makes the expression inappropriate or incorrect CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION This chapter provides readers with detailed information on background to the study, the aims, the scope of the study, the significance, and the outline of the thesis 1.1 Background to the study The students of this study had Effective Writing (by J Withrow 1987, CPU, New York) as their writing course book There are eight units altogether in the book but the first-year English majors covered only the first five units, including: Formal and informal letters; Writing a story; Reports; Articles; Instructions in 45, 45- minute periods There is one class contact per week and each class is three periods long, the total length of the course is accordingly 15 weeks While effective writing skills are so important to the first-year students, at present as well as in the future, as a teacher of writing to these first-year English majors, I have noticed that these freshmen have many difficulties in writing and there are accordingly quite a number of errors in their written works Although these firstyear students have made considerable efforts to improve their writing skills, many of them are soon disappointed because there are difficulties in writing that they not know how to deal with or that they cannot deal with on their own A s a result, they are discouraged practicing the skill They feel bored with learning writing On that account, some thing must be done to facilitate first-year students’ writing and improve the quality of their writing The first step to solve this problem is to find out the causes that hinder the students from English writing effectively Having identified these causes, feasible solutions will be worked out 1.1.1 Writing syllabus The English Department of Hanoi University of Industry was founded in 2005 There are 152 teachers of English 52 of them are official members and the rest 100 are invited teachers They are divided into four groups Three groups are nonEnglish specialized and only one group is English - specialized In English specialized group, the writing teachers have designed a writing syllabus to equip students with basic skills to write in English There are three courses in English writing that the students majoring in English at the Department of English, Hanoi University of Industry have to take The first course is for first-year students Since it is the formal course in writing, the aims of the syllabus are to equip the first-year students with the necessary basic skills to write well, to form the habits of writing paragraphs and compositions or letters with correct grammar and correct language and become more confident in writing English By the end of the first year, the English of the first-year students is of intermediate level, they are able to write well in English and also they have English good enough to communicate with the native speakers of English about everyday life activities The writing syllabus for the English first-year students at HaUI consists of the following: Theory accounts for 14 periods, practice and discussion 29 periods, and examination periods 1.1.2 The writing course book Effective writing is a book that helps you gain some of the skills you need when you write in English The aim of the book is to help you recognize what good writing is and to g iv e you practice writing com plete, cohesive paragraphs and compositions The purpose, in short, is to help you make what you write more effective (Withrow 1987a:v) In general, the current course book is good for the first-year students Many of the exercises in the book are very helpful The book has been highly valued by teachers and students who have used it With this book, the students were exposed to such practical types of writing as: letter writing, report writing, which were necessary not only for their immediate needs in the academic context but also for their later purposes when they might be working in offices With the exercises in Organizing ideas, for instance, the students could probably be very alert gradually to an essential feature of composition: Coherence, they might have learned a lot about organizational skills, but in fact, they are bad at organizing ideas With Comparing texts, writers could learn a multitude of practical things about what to in particular to improve their texts In addition, Text based on a conversation and Text based on a visual got students ready for university, a very important stage of tertiary education Any tardiness may result in fossilized problems that might be irreparable and students’ writing performance would snot be able to stand up to the rigors of writing requirements in the subsequent year As far as this study is concerned, it is hoped that it brings about practical benefits to the learning of EFL writing of first-year students majoring in English at HaUI 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Assess the importance of the following skills: 1= the most important and = the least important □ listening □ speaking □ reading □ writing Why you think that skill is important? Reason(s) When you are at the university, how much time was allocated for the writing lesson? What you usually before you write in English? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most usual and = the least usual) □ making an outline □ narrowing down the topic □ brainstorming 63 □ organizing ideas □ drafting □ other (s) Do you think that making an outline before writing is important? Give your reason (s) □ yes □ no □ I not know Reason (s ): How many drafts you make before the final version? □1 02 □ >3 10 When revising the drafts, what you pay the most attention to: (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each o f the following items 1= the most attention and = the least attention) □ sentence grammar □ the layout of the passage □ vocabulary □ spelling □ punctuation □ expression □ capitalization □ other (s) 11 How often your teachers correct your drafts? □ usually □ sometimes □ really □ never □ other (s) — -12 If the teacher (s) correct (s) your drafts, what mistakes does (s)he pay attention to? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most attention, - the least attention) 64 □ sentence grammar □ the layoutof the passage □ vocabulary □ spelling □ punctuation □ expression □ capitalization □ other (s) 13 What difficulties you have when writing in English? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most difficulty, 5= the least difficulty) □ lacking vocabulary /ideas □ spelling □ expressing in English □ using affixes □ using the right words □ using English structures □ using punctuations □ lacking motivation □ organizing ideas □ lacking knowledge about culture and concept of the writing language □ other (s) Please specify 14 When you are writing, are you translating from Vietnamese into English? □ yes □ no □ I not know 15 What you usually when you finish your final version? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items, 1= the most usual, = the least usual) □ read the writing text again □ recheck grammar structures □ recheck the meaning of the words □ recheck punctuations, spellings, capitals □ revise the drafts □ other (s) 16 What you usually do, when your papers are returned? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most usual, - the least usual) 65 To the teachers Thank you for your cooperation □ recheck the mistakes to get a better writing □ recheck the mistakes, exchange opinions with friends □ ask for the explanation of the teachers □ recheck then let it be □ nothing 17 In the text book, you have following writing exercises, write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items, = the easiest, to the most difficult □ Selecting and Ordering Information □ Writing a text based on a conversation □ Writing a text based on visual information □ Writing first and last sentence/paragraph □ Writing with an outline □ S e lf- writing 18 How appropriate is the current writing course book? (Write 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most appropriate, = the least appropriate) □ completely appropriate □ appropriate □ inappropriate □ less appropriate and need changing □ completely inappropriate □ use other ones 19 What you suggest could be done to improve current teaching and learning situation? To the students - 66 APPENDIX Teacher’s questionnaire Dear teachers, to complete the thesis on the title of the investigating the writing difficulties of the first-year English majors at the English Department, Hanoi University of Industry, I want your help by answering the following questions, you will tick the option (s) For the questions need the detailed answer, please write on the given blank Personal information will be kept secretly Thank you for your help What you pay attention to when you teach writing (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most attention and = the least attention) □ grammar □ vocabulary □ layout, development skills of paragraph, essay □ spelling, punctuation, capitalization □ other (s) (Please specify): What are the concerned difficult features of writing issues for first-year students? (Write 1, 2, 3, 4, against each of the following items 1= the most difficult and = the least difficult) □ grammar □ vocabulary □ layout, development skills of paragraph, essay □ spelling, punctuation, capitalization □ other (s) (Please specify): - Do you think there are differences between Vietnamese and English writing styles (instruction, paragraph development )? □ yes □ no □ I don't know 68 HH-ow many drafts you want your students to write before handing in their writing? □1 □2 □> HHow many of the students’ drafts you correct? □1 □2 □> ) VWTien you correct your student’s drafts what mistakes you pay attention to?