Improving 10 graders writing with guided writing practice an action research

M IN ISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANO I U N IV E R SIT Y ĨRUN8 M M to use g u id ed w ritin g p ctice in high sch ools? 15 2.2.3.1 Guided writing e x e r c ise s 16 2.2.3.2 The role o f the teacher in guided writing practice 17 2.2.3.3 The role o f group work in guided writing practice 18 2.2.3.4 Sequences to teach guided writing practice .18 2.4 S u m m a r y 19 C H A P T E R 3: T H E M E T H O D O L O G Y 21 3.1 T he research m etho ds 21 3.1.1 Action resea rch 21 3.1.2 Action research p ro ced u re 23 3.1.2.1 Identify problem (w eeks - ) 23 3.1.2.2 Collecting initial data (w eeks -4 ) 23 3.1.2.3 Analyzing data / generating hypotheses (w eek ) 23 3.1.2.4 Planning action (w eek ) 24 3.1.2.5 Implementing action (w eeks - ) 24 3.1.2.6 Collecting data to monitor change (w eeks -1 ) 24 3.1.2.7 Evaluating students' improvement after the intervention (w eeks 13-15)25 3.2 D ata collection in str um en ts 25 3.2.1 Questionnaire su rv e y 25 3.2.1.1 Rationale behind the use o f questionnaire su r v e y 25 3.2.1.2 Questionnaire to collect pre-data (Appendix A ) 26 3.2.1.3 Questionnaire to collect post-data (Appendix B ) 26 3.2.2 Classroom o b serva tio n 27 3.2.2.1 Rationale behind the use o f classroom observation 27 3.2.2.2 Observation sheet (Appendix C) 27 3.2.3 Teaching d ia ry 28 3.2.3.1 Rationale behind keeping teaching diary 28 3.2.3.2 Description o f teaching diary (Appendix D ) 28 3.2.4 Document analysis 29 3.2.4.1 Rationale behind the use o f writing papers 29 3.2.4.2 A nalysis o f writing papers 29 3.3 T he participants 30 3.3.1 The obsei-vers 30 3.3.2 The researcher 30 3.4 S u m m a r y 30 C H A PTER 4: T H E R E S U L T S 31 4.1 Initial data from teaching diary a n d Q uestionnaire (A ppendix A ) 31 4.1.1 Students ’ attitude tow ard learning writing (Data from leaching d a ily and Questionnaire ) 31 4.1.2 How students learned writing and what problem s they had 32 4.1.2.1 Data collected from teaching dairy 32 4.1.2.2 Data collected from Questionnaire 33 4.1.3 Students poor writing (Data from teaching dairy and Questionnaire ) 34 4.1.4 Students 'preferences fo r w ritingpractice (Data from Questionnaire ) 35 4.1.4.1 Working in grou p s 35 4.1.4.2 Teacher’s h elp 36 4.1.5 Summary 36 4.2 P lanning action s t e p s 37 4.2.1 Preparation 37 4.2.1.1 Guided writing lesson plans 37 4.2.1.2 Checking the classroom ’s equipment and facilities 38 4.2.2 Group -work 38 4.2.2.1 Grouping and physical settin g 38 4.2.2.2 R ole o f group work in guided writing lesso n s .39 4.2.3 Teacher's giving su pport 39 4.3 D ata collected in the action s t a g e 40 4.3.1 Data collected from teaching d ia ry 40 4.3.2 Data collected from Questionnaire 42 4.3.3 Data collected from observation sh e e t .45 4.3.4 Data collected from writing papers ’ analysis (writing papers 1-5) .51 4.4 A ction research evaluation 57 4.4.1 Evaluation o f classroom observation 57 4.4.2 Evaluation o f writing papers analysis (writing papers 1-5) 58 4.4.3 Data collected from Questionnaires & 60 4.4.4 Summary o f major findings 62 C H A PT E R 5: C O N C L U S IO N 64 5.1 A sum m ary of A R 64 5.2 R ecom m endations 65 5.3 L imitations an d suggestions for further r e se a r c h 67 R E F E R E N C E S 69 A PPE N D IX A: Q U E S T IO N N A IR E (P R E -D A T A ) 73 APPENDIX B: QUESTIONNAIRE (POST DATA) 79 APPENDIX C: OBSERVATION SHEET 85 APPENDIX D: TEACHING DIARY 86 APPENDIX E: GUIDED WRITING LESSON PLAN 87 APPENDIX F: GUIDED WRITING LESSON PLAN 91 APPENDIX G: GUIDED WRITING LESSON PLAN 94 APPENDIX H: RATERS’ CHECKLIST 97 APPENDIX I: RATERS’ CHECKLIST 98 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 99 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 100 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL .101 iv ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I would like to express my gratefulness to my supervisor, Mrs Nguyen Nguyet Minh, (M.A) for the enthusiastic guidance she gave me while I was doing this thesis I am thankful to her ideas, suggestions, instructions, deep comments, and constant support Without this, I could not have been completed my research I am also deeply grateful to Mrs Nguyen Thai Ha, (M.A) from the Department o f Post Graduate Studies of Hanoi University for her helpful advice and support Many special thanks are sent to all the lectures and organizers of the M.A course at Hanoi University I would like to thank all my friends for their help, my colleagues and my students taking part in my research for their cooperation Finally, I would like to thank all the members o f my family, who continuously encouraged me to complete this thesis ABSTRACT With the hope to improve the 10 graders’ writing skill at Pham Hong Thai High School (PHT High School), the research aimed to find out the causes of the students’ poor writing, difficulties they faced with writing lessons, and what could be done to help them To find the answer to the above questions, an action research w^as carried out The steps of the action were carefully considered and adjusted to the real teaching situation The subjects o f the research were 21 students chosen from class 10D2 at PHT High School A combination o f research instruments (teaching diaries, questionnaires, observations and documents analysis) was employed to elicit the data The analysis o f the pre-data showed that most of the students had positive attitude toward learning English and writing; however, they found the skill difficult Many students did not feel confident when they moved into independent writing The results o f the writing papers in the previous term revealed their weakness in organization, coherence, vocabulary, spelling and mechanics Obviously, further guidance should have been provided before the students could write independently It was then hypothesized that if the students had guided writing before they moved to independent writing, their writing would improve An action research plan adapted from the theory on guided writing practice to help students improve their writing was implemented for five weeks After that, the post-data were collected and analyzed The evaluation o f the action research proved that after the implementation o f guided writing lessons, the students’ writing improved and their confidence was enhanced, too The results of the study confirmed that guided writing practice is helpful in teaching 10th graders’ writing and it should be applied in teaching writing in general LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS EFL English as Foreign Language PHT Pham Hong Thai High School MOET Ministry o f Education and Training OHP Overhead projector LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1: The writing section o f English 10 Table a: Students’ attitude towards learning writing before the 42 teaching implementation Table b: Teacher’s guidance during the guided writing practice 43 Table c: Effectiveness of the guided writing practice 44 Table a: Result from the writing papers 51 Table b: Result from the writing papers 53 Table c: Result from the writing papers 54 Table d: Result from the writing papers 55 Table e: Result from the writing papers 56 Table 4: Students’ attitude towards learning writing before and after the 61 teaching implementation LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Action research cycles 22 LIST OF GRAPHS Graph 1: Writing Papers in Category of Focus 58 Graph 2: Writing Papers in Category of Organization & Coherence 59 Graph 3: Writing Papers in Category o f Grammar &Mechanics 59 Graph 4: Writing Papers in Category of Vocabulary Vlll 60 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study and statement of the problem For some students in the EFL classroom writing seems to come naturally and with ease, for some it is a struggle The latter happens more often when the writing lessons are conducted with insufficient writing instructions Many years ago, most Vietnamese teachers applied product approach to teach writing In the writing task, there was only one teacher’s instruction, for example, ‘‘Write a paragraph about your home town” There was no explanation about how to the task and what exactly the teacher wanted the students to write After the instruction, students were left to work on their own The problems with the product approach were detected and gears o f research resulted in the process approach in writing, which classifies writing into a number of activities: setting goals, generating ideas, organizing information, selecting appropriate language, making drafts, revising and editing (Hedge, 2000) In other words, the process approach has brought students with the strategies to write Then came the genre-based or text-type approach with the insight into the nature o f language that has shaped the school-writing syllabus When students learn a second language, they learn to communicate with other people Writing is a powerful instrument of communication Therefore, in writing sections o f our second-language syllabus, teachers have tried to get students writing in a number o f common everyday styles As Flowerdew (1993) points out the syllabus has a range of kinds o f writing such as sales letters, research articles, and reports all linked with different situations All these developments have, to some extent, affected the way writing is taught in Vietnam APPENDIX E: Guided writing lesson plan Topic: Writing a letter o f acceptance or refusal I Level: Grade 10 II Objectives: After the lesson, students will be able to write a letter of acceptance or refusal III Time Allowance: 45 minutes IV Teaching Aids: English textbook Handouts Pictures, OHP V Procedure Activities Warm up (2 minutes) Teacher Students -Raises the topic o f the lesson by asking: -Have you ever written a letter to accept or to decline an invitation? -Asks students Task ( seel) Shows the questions on the screen: Who is the writer? Who is the receiver? What is the purpose of the letter? Modelling & Shared writing (10 minutes) -Reminds students the form o f a letter o f acceptance or refusal (see 2) -Checks with the whole class -Asks students to elicit the ways to thank, to accept and to decline an invitation using the table below -Checks and offers help if necessary 87 -Students answer the question -Expected answers: Helen and David Oldham Paul and Jenny To accept an invitation to the wedding and to thank for arranging the hotel - Elicit different parts o f a letter and give common phrases for a letter o f refusal or acceptance - Work in groups o f five using the given table (see 3) Asks students to Task (see 4) in groups -Gives feedback to group work Stage 1: Choose one topic to write in groups Stage 2: Discuss the ideas to write in­ groups -Refer the format o f the letter in the modeling and start to write the drafts Stage 3: One or two groups read aloud their letters Others comment Independent writing (10 minutes) -Asks students to start their own writing -Moves among groups and gives support - Conference (5minutes) - Uses OHP to show and give feedback to one or two papers -Pay attention to: vocabulary, grammar, organization, spelling, and punctuation and the format o f the letter Homework (3 minutes) Gives handouts and guides students how to prepare for the next lesson (see 5) -Students will have to find information about one famous singer and fill in the table with the required information Guided writing (15 minutes) -Moves among groups and gives support Write independently Interact with peers if necessary Revise Submit their writing Task 1: Read the sample letter and answer the questions below: Dear Paul and Jenny, We are honoured and delighted to accept your invitation to the wedding of Graham and Debbie at St Luke's Church on Saturday June 9, 2007 and to the reception at the Cross Keys Hotel that follows the ceremony Thank you also for arranging the hotel for us We both look forward to seeing you on June Yours truly, Helen and David Oldham Who is the writer? Who is the receiver? What is the purpose of the letter? Form of a letter of acceptance or refusal H eading: Address and date 88 Greeting: Dear Body: ACCEPTANCE A thank-you statement An indication that you will come Your expectation that the event will be a successful and joyous one An appointment for meeting Wishes REFUSAL A thank-you statement An indication that you will not come A reason for not coming A statement of regret Wishes Closing: - Yours/ Cheers/ Love Signature: Table to fill in with useful expressions (Modelling & Shared writing) Useful expressions To thank To accept 3.To decline Task Choose one of the following topics to write Your writing must consist of at least 80 words Topic 1: Your English friend Susan is going on a picnic to Do Son next weekend She wants to invite you to joint her You like the idea because you have never been to Do Son before and spending the weekend there with her must be fun Write her a letter of acceptance Topic 2: Your English friend Susan is going to a picnic to Do Son next weekend She wants to invite you to joint her You like the idea because you have never been to Do Son before and you think that spending the weekend there with her must be fun Unfortunately, you grandfather, who you have not seen for a long time, is coming next weekend Your parents want you to see him Write a letter o f refusal to Susan Remember to thank her and give your reason for not being able to come 89 Handouts for homework: Find information about one famous singer and fill in the table with the required information Profile Full name Nick name Date of birth Place of birth Family Job Childhood events Adulthood events Further information 90 Appendix F: Guided writing lesson plan Topic: Writing a brief biography I Level: Grade 10 II Objectives: After the lesson, students will be able to write a brief biography o f a famous person III Time Allowance: 45 minutes IV Teaching Aids: English textbook Handouts Pictures, OHP V Procedure: Activities Warm up (5 minutes) Teacher Students -Gives students Handout Asks the to a m atching game -Checks the answers (se e l) -Elicits all question about a person’s profile: -Brainstorm to provide as m any questions about a person’s profile as possible -W ho the person is (was)? -W here and when was he or she bom ? -W hat did she before they became fam ous? -W hat m ade him or her famous? -W hat the m ajor events o f her or his life were? -W hat her or his achievem ents have been? -Checks the answers Modelling & Shared writing (7 minutes) -W ork in pairs to match the names, the professions with correct pictures and one thing related to each o f them -Reminds the students the following things: -Organize the events in chronologic order -Em phasize the most important events by introducing them first -Use the appropriate verb tenses -Use prepositions o f time -Use sequence markers (first, after, before, when etc.) 91 -Shows the picture o f the Mozart -Gives students Handout and asks students to Task 1: Use the 10 words or phrases given to fill in numbers 1-10 o f Mozart's b rief biography, then make 10 sentences: Guided writing (10 minutes) -Students work in group to complete the task -Guides the student to refer to the sample text they have taught in previous lessons Stepl: Fill in the in numbers 1-10 o f Mozart's brief biography (see 2) Step2: Use the information they have just gained to write full sentences about Mozart One after another adds a sentence until they finish the task Step 3: Use adverbs, prepositions, connector words to combine the 10 sentences above into a paragraph Students have to write down their paragraph -Share ideas -Asks the students to pay attention to spelling, punctuation, grammar, organization -Notes students that the events can be rearranged -Uses OHP to show groups’ work and comments Independent writing (10 minutes Conference (5 minutes) Homework (3 minutes) - Asks students to Task to write a paragraph about a famous person Their paragraph must consist o f at least 100 words -Goes among the groups and give support -Reminds students to use adverbs, prepositions and connectors to combine their ideas -Use the information in the table of summary (which was prepared at home) and refer to the modeling to write drafts first -Check errors -Share draft with the group members -Uses OHP to give feedback to typical errors - Comments and write down the errors -Gives Handout (see 4) and instructs students how to prepare for the next guided writing lesson -Finish Task at home and submit in the following lesson -Find the information about the film you like Answers for Warm-up: Van Cao-Vietnamese musician Beethoven- German composer Mozart- Austrian composer The Beatles- English pop band Celion Delon- Canadian singer Sean Combs- American rap artist 92 Answers for Task -Use the 10 words/ phrases given to fill in numbers 1-10 o f Mozart's brief biography 1.Full name 2.Bom 3.Place of birth 4.Influenced by 5.Start composing 6.First opera 7.Musical works 8.Masterpiece 9.Last years of life 10.Died -Make 10 sentences: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer Mozart was bom in 1756 He was bom in Salzburg, Austria He was most influenced by his father, a violinist and composer Mozart started composing when he was only years old / at the age o f six He wrote his first opera, “The Simple Pretense”, in 1768 He composed 41 symphonies, 27 piano concertos, 17 piano sonatas and major operas One of his masterpieces is “The Magic Flute” written in 1791 During the last years of his life, Mozart was in financial difficulties 10 He died in 1791 The cause o f his death is uncertain Handout Type Director Release date (s) Filming place Based on Setting Plot Casting Achievement 93 Appendix G: Guided writing lesson plan Topic: Describing a film I Level: grade 10 II Objectives: After the lesson, students will be able to write a description about a film they have watched III Time Allowance: 45 minutes IV Teaching Aids: -English textbook -Handouts -Pictures, OHP V Procedure: Activities Warm up (3minutes) Teacher Students -Shows a picture o f the film Gone with the Wind and asks the question: -Have you seen the film? -What is the title o f the film? -Introduce the topic o f the lesson: -Expected answers: -Yes, I have -It is Gone with the Wind Write a descriptive paragraph about a film Modelling & Shared writing (10 minutes) -Asks students to elicit the things related to a film -Expected answers: They are the title, type, plot, main characters i.e -Gives Handout and asks the students to Task -Introduces new words to students: -Goes around and helps students to complete the task -Checks understanding by asking some guided questions (s e e 1) -Reminds students o f the paragraph’s structure - Read the sample passage about the film Gone with the Wind, then fill in the table o f summary (see 2) 94 Guided writing (15 minutes) -Asks students to Task 2: “ Write a descriptive paragraph about the film you have seen Your writing must consist o f about 120 words" -Reminds students to use the suggested questions in Task -Instructs students the steps to write -Goes among the groups and give support Independent writing (10 minutes) -Moves around to give support -Comments and gives feedback if needed -Collects some typical errors Conference (5minutes) -W rites typical errors on the blackboard and elicits self and peer correction -Provides correction if necessary Homework (2 minutes) -Students can use the information they prepared at home and follow the teacher’s instruction to write in groups Step 1: Gather information by filling in the given table Step 2: Organize the ideas for the paragraph Step3: Write drafts -Start to write independently -Exchange papers with other members of the group Assigns homework -Provide correction -W rite task again and submit in the following lesson -Find a school announcement Teacher’s guided questions for Task 1 Who is the director o f the film? When was the film released? Where was it filmed? What was it based on? Where and when was it set? What is its plot? Who are the main characters? Who played the roles in the film? Why people like the film? 10 How successful is the film? 95 Table of summary Type Director Release date (s) Filming place Based on Setting Plot Casting Achievement Drama rom ance V ictor Fleming 1939 United States M argaret M itchell's 1936 novel o f the same name In northern G eorgia during the dram a o f the Civil W ar and Reconstruction years Gone with the Wind traces the life o f Scarlett O'H ara and her relationships with Rhett Butler, and A shley and M elanie W ilkes The novel addresses such them es as survival, romantic love, and the societal structuring o f gender and class -Clark Gable -Vivien Leigh -Ten Academ y Aw ards -The highest-ticket selling film o f all time in North Am erica and the UK 96 Appendix H: Raters’ checklist Letter-Writing Rubric Description (Adapted from RubiStar) Crit eria Categories Focus Style Grammar & Mechanics Organization Vocabulary Confused Focus Vague focus Clear focus Sharp, distinct focus Complies with less than 75% of the requirements for a friendly letter Complies with several of the requirements for a friendly letter Complies with almost all the requirements for a friendly letter Complies with all the requirements for a friendly letter Writer makes more than errors in grammar and/or spelling The letter seemed to be a collection of unrelated sentences It was very difficult to figure out what the letter was about Lack of word choice variety Writer makes 4-5 errors in grammar and/or spelling Writer makes 3-4 errors in grammar and/or spelling Writer makes no errors in grammar or spelling Ideas were Ideas were somewhat expressed in a organized, but pretty clear were not very manner, but clear It took the more than one organization reading to could have figure out been better what the letter was about Limited word Precision and choice variety work choice Ideas were expressed in a clear and organized fashion It was easy to figure out what the letter was about 97 Writer’s voice apparent in word choice Points Appendix I: Raters’ checklist (Adapted from Bringing the Gap-Education Component) Categories Focus -Demonstrates awareness of audience and task -Establishes and maintains a clear purpose Content -Information and details are specific to topic -Information and details are relevant to focus Organization -Logical order -Logical transitions -Introduction and conclusion are evident Vocabulary -Precise language -Effective word choice Grammar and Mechanics -Mechanics, spelling, capitalization, punctuation -Usage (pronoun references, subject-verb agreement) -Sentence completeness Criiteria Confused Focus Vague focus Clear focus Sharp, distinct focus Superficial content Content limited to a listing, repetition or mere sequence of ideas Specific and illustrative content Confused organization Inconsistent Logical and organization appropriate organization Substantial, and illustrative content; sophisticated ideas that are particularly well developed Obviously controlled and/or subtle organization Lack of word choice variety Limited word choice Precision and variety work choice Writer’s voice apparent in word choice Mechanical and usage errors that seriously interfere with the writer's purpose Repeated weaknesses in mechanics and usage Some mechanical and usage errors Few mechanical and usage errors 98 Points Additional material Handout (Guided writing lesson 2) ((Adapted from Kieu Hong Van, Cao Thi Thu Huong, Cao Hong Lien & Đinh Đai Ngoe, 2008) Match the names, the professions with correct things related to each of tthem •• Van Cao The Beatles Beethoven Celion Delon Mozart Sean Combs *• English pop band German composer Vietnamese musician Austrian composer American rap artist Canadian singer 99 Additional material Handout (Guided writing lesson 2) Task 1: Use the 10 words/phrases given below to fill in numbers 1-10 of Mozart's b rief biography, then make 10 sentences A Brief biography 1_ _ : Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 _ Salzburg, Austria 3." father, a violinist & composer years old : The Simple Pretense (1768) : 41 symphonies, 27 concertos, 17 sonatas, operas : The Magic Flute (1791) : financial difficulties 1791; cause: uncertain 6-_ 7._ 10 " a Last years of life Died Musical works Masterpiece Born Influenced by Start composing Place of birth Full name First opera 100 Additional material Handout l(Guided writing lesson plan 3) Task 1: Read the paragraph about the film Gone with the Wind and fill in the table below with the information from the paragraph (Adapted from Wikipedia) Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American drama romance film It was adapted from Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel of the same name and directed by Victor ^Fleming It received ten Academy Awards Gone with the Wind was ;acknowledged as the fourth best film in the Epic genre The epic film, set in the American South in and around the time of the Civil War, ¡stars Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Leslie Howard, and Olivia de Havilland, and ttells a story o f the Civil War and its aftermath from a white Southern viewpoint