USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE WRITING SKILLS OF THIRD YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF HOME AFFAIRS

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCESGRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES Lê Khánh Linh USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE WRITING SKILLS OF THIRD YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Lê Khánh Linh

USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE WRITING SKILLS OF THIRD YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF HOME AFFAIRS

MA THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE

HANOI, 2021

VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Lê Khánh Linh

USING PROBLEM-BASED LEARNING TO IMPROVE THE WRITING SKILLS OF THIRD YEAR NON-MAJOR STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY OF HOME AFFAIRS

Field: English Language Code: 8 22 02 01

Supervisor: Đỗ Thị Thúy Vân, Ph.D.

HANOI, 2021

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR

I hereby sincerely state that the thesis titled “Using

Problem-Based Learning to improve the writing skills of third year non-major students at Hanoi University of Home Affairs” is the result of my own

research for the Degree of Master of Arts in English Language The

things out of my masterpiece in this thesis are signed by citation and referred in the references

Except where reference has been made in the text, this thesis contains no material previously published or written by another person.The study reported in this thesis was approved by Graduate Academy of Social Sciences

Author’s Signature

Lê Khánh Linh

ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS

Although only one name appears as the author of this work, writing a thesis is indeed a collaborative effort I would like to express my sincere thanks to the many people who made it possible

First and foremost, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my M.A thesis’s supervisor,Đỗ Thị Thúy Vân, Ph.D for her kind consultation, invaluable encouragement as well as thorough correction in the process of completion But for her helpful guidance, this study would not have been achieved

Next, I would like to convey my sincere appreciation and thanks to Mr Đặng Nguyên Giang, Ph.D - Dean of the Department of Foreign Languages and the other staff at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences the Department of Foreign Languages, Graduate Academy of Social Sciences for granting me the honor of writing this thesis as well as their assistance and most valuable comments

Especially, millions of my special thanks go to the lecturers and students at Hanoi University of Home Affairs who participated in this study for their kind and patient co-operation and encouragement They helped provide me with valuable data for the study so that I could have a better view

of activities in English classes at Hanoi University of Home Affairs

Last but not least, I am deeply indebted to my family for their sympathy and support during all the time I was studying for M.A degree at Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Without their unconditional love and sincere contribution, I could not have overcome my difficulties and concentrated on

my studies

TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION BY AUTHOR i

ACKNOWLEGDEMENTS ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS iii

ABSTRACT vi

LIST OF TABLES vii

LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS viii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ix

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims of the Study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Scope of the Study 3

1.5 Significane of the Study 4

1.6 Research Methods 4

1.7 Structure of the Study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 The Concept of Writing 6

2.1.1 The definition of Writing 6

2.1.3 The Process of Writing 7

2.1.4.Characteristics of successful writing 9

2.1.5 Assessing Writing Skills 10

2.1.6 Strategy in teaching writing 11

2.1.7 Discussion Text 12

2.2 Problem – Based Learning 14

2.2.1 Concept of Problem - Based Learning 14

2.3 Previous Research 16

2.4 Summary 18

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Research Setting 19

3.2 Participants 20

3.2.1 The Researcher 20

3.2.2 The Teachers 20

3.2.3 The Students 20

3.3 Research Procedure 21

3.3.1 Identifying the problem 21

3.3.2 Implementing the action research 21

3.3.3 Doing Evaluation 25

3.4 Data collection instruments 25

3.4.1 Observation 25

3.4.2 Interview 26

3.4.3 Test 26

3.4.4 Questionnaire 27

3.5 Data Analysis 28

3.6 Summary 29

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 30

4.1 Analysis of Writing tests 30

4.2 Data Analysis from Questionnaires 35

4.3 Data Analysis from Interviews 45

4.4 Analysis of classroom observation 47

4.4.1 The first cycle – Week 1 – Module 1 and 2 47

4.4.2 The second cycle – Week 2 – Module 3 and 4 50

4.5 Summary 54

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION 55

5.1 Recapitulation 55

5.2 Concluding remarks 56

5.3 Implications 57

5.4 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Studies 58

5.4.1 Limitations 58

5.4.2 Suggestions for Further Studies 59

REFERENCES 60

APPENDIX 1: SCORING RUBRIC FOR WRITING TEST I APPENDIX 2: PRE-TEST FOR STUDENTS III APPENDIX 3: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE V APPENDIX 4: POST-TEST FOR STUDENTS VII APPENDIX 5: INTERVIEW QUESTIONS IX APPENDIX 6: A SAMPLE OF LESSON PLAN XI APPENDIX 7: POST- TRYING OUT QUESTIONNAIRE XIII APPENDIX 8 - OBSERVATION SHEET XV OVERALL CLASS MOTIVATION XV APPENDIX 9: ENGLISH WRITING ABILITY EVALUATION XVII

in writing skills in writing classes with the result we got in the findings

LIST OF TABLES

Table 4.1 Mean scores of pre-test and post-test 31

Table 4.2 The scores of pre-test and post-test 32

Table 4.3 The changes after taking part in the lessons using Problem-Based Learning of students 45

Table 4.4 The observation of teacher’s and students’ activities in Week 1 47

Table 4.5 The observation of teacher’s and students’ activities in Week 2 50

Table 4.6 Overall class motivation scores for all students 53

LIST OF FIGURES & CHARTS

Chart 1: Students’ opinion of being afraid of writing a paragragh in

English 36

Chart 2: Students’ frequency of writing English 37

Chart 3: Students’s problem with writing skills 38

Chart 4: Student’s frequency of practicing writing English 39

Chart 5: Students’ participation in writing activities 40

Chart 6: Students’ opinions of using Problem Based Learning in writing lessons 41

Chart 7: Students’ opinions about their effectiveness of Problem-Based Learning in improving writing skills 43

Chart 8: Students’ improvement for criteria after applying Problem-Based Learning in improve writing skills 44

By writing, we can express our ideas well However, to get our meaning strong, interesting, and clear for the reader, this skill must be improved by practicing a lot Because writing has many contributions to our life, we can make a habit of writing to develop this skill

Writing skills are considered the most difficult skill of language because

it involves mastering grammar, vocabulary, and spelling In addition to that, writing skills need thinking ability and logical skills to compose words into meaningful sentences Moreover, making organized text coherently is not an easy part The writer should make the composition as logical as possible It is started from the introductory paragraph to the conclusion All of the compositions should have logical ideas Writing activity can be ready from simple and then continue with comprehensive writing according to student’s competencies and skills

Then, looking at the point of writing skills at Hanoi University of Home Affairs, a large number of the students in the classroom at Hanoi University

of Home Affairs take higher attention to reach success in the learning In a

occurs in the learning process such as the students do not take attention to the learning activities They change their focus by talking with their friends, some

of them are passive in the class, and they are careless with the material This condition makes it the teacher feeling hard to handle all of the students From that condition, a teacher should have a strategy to motivate the students to participate actively in the experience of learning One of the learning strategies is to develop the skill of student’s thought (reasoning, communicating, and connecting) A strategy of learning is Problem-Based Learning It is the educational strategy that helps students build the reasoning and communication skills necessary for developing successful creativity Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is related to using intelligence from their inner man in a community, or an environment to solve meaningful, relevant, and contextual problems Boud and Feletti (1997) stated that learning through PBL is the most significant innovation in education PBL curriculum helps to increase the development of the study skills in a long life for open mindset, reflection, critics, and active study PBL curriculum is better to facilitate students to solve problems, communication, well-cooperation, and interpersonal skill than other strategies By using strategy, hopefully, can make the students more attractive in the teaching-learning process to make them easier to understand and compose text With the above reasons, the

researcher aspires to conduct a study on “Using Problem-Based Learning to improve the writing skills of third year non-major students at Hanoi University of Home Affairs” to find a better way for the teaching and

learning English writing skills and apply suitable techniques and activities in English class

1.2 Aims of the Study

This study aims to enhance the quality of teaching and learning writing skill at HUHA In order to reach the aim, the study is expected to fulfil the following objectives:

- Investigating the third year students’s attitude towards the Problem-Based Learning techniques used in writing lessons

- Evaluating the effectiveness of applying Problem-Based Learning in teaching and learning writing skills

1.4 Scope of the Study

The scope of English study is so broad We may not be able to reach all aspects to be studied as a whole Particularly in the English learning context, there are so many components that may become the concern of the study such as students, the textbook used, the materials, the process of teaching-learning, etc

In this study, the researcher focuses on the effectiveness of using Problem-Based Learning to improve third year non-major students' writing skills as well as their attitudes towards writing tasks There will be forty-five students participating in this action research The average age of the students

is around 20 They are going to be the main subject to participate in and respond to the survey questionnaires, the trial lessons, and the tests

1.5 Significane of the Study

This research has some significances as following:

Theoretically, this study is expected to make a contribution to development in teaching writing at HUHA to get more achievement not just

in methodology but in further development of as well In addition, the research findings will partly enrich the previous theories and research on EFL teaching and learning, especially in teaching English writing skills

Practically, it is highly hopeful that the results of the study can provide the teachers of English at HUHA with a good alternative way for teaching writing skills and they can make writing activities various In the terms of students, helps them enhance not only their working skills, especially teamwork, but also skills of planning, critical thinking, and creativity ability

1.6 Research Methods

To achieve the objectives, action research will be qualitatively and quantitatively conducted The data will be collected via class observation, tests (pre-test and post-test), interviews, and survey questionnaires

1.7 Structure of the Study

In addition to the references and appendices, the thesis consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1 – Introduction: The first chapter talks about the rationale, aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study, significance of the study, the research method and the structure of the study

Chapter 2 – Literature Review: This chapter focuses on an overview of writing, the concepts of writing, Problem – Based Learning, the previous studies on improving writing ability and summary

Chapter 3 - Methodology: This chapter mainly focuses on the research settings, participants, data collection instruments, research design and the procedure of conducting Action Research for the study In this chapter, the detailed results of the surveys and a critical comprehensive analysis on the data collected are also presented

Chapter 4- Findings and Discussion: This chapter mentions the data analysis from the Action Research results to build the foundation for the activities recommended in Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Conclusion: This chapter sums up the study and suggests some typical activities, practical tips to the other lecturers to make motivation to students in writing activities when using PBL This chapter also shows the limitations of the study and gives suggestions for further study to help the

next researchers gain the better results

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter discusses the relevant research literature, including an overview of writing, the definition of problem-based learning, its efficiency, and the benefits of using in teaching and learning The researcher also notes the literature gap and demonstrates why the current research should be conducted to bridge the gap

2.1 The Concept of Writing

2.1.1 The definition of Writing

Writing is a way to produce language, which we do naturally when we want to express something in written form It is the same with the other skills that we need to take much time to think of our subject If we want to take writing in a second language, we also take much time to revise our work We must consider our choice of words, the form, and grammatical structure so that the reader can understand our writing easily

“Writing is a process of creating, organizing, writing, and polishing” (Oshima and Hogue, 2006) From that definition it can be concluded that writing is a process of creating letters as a medium of communication that must consider the mechanics of writing such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, paragraphing

Becoming a good writer is not easy, some steps must be done to be a good writer They are such practicing it every day, write with your way; write everything in your mind without being afraid to make it wrong, challenge yourself; write with a particular topic to make your writing is better

Writing is often taught in such a way that student failures, rather than success are focused on The writing process is familiar learned by students in their school and environment Creative use of language, intentive thinking,

general purposes of writing and they can all occur in a single essay, although usually one of the purposes is dominant, they are to explain (educate, inform),

to entertain (amuse, give pleasure), and to persuade (convince, change the reader’s mind)

2.1.2 The importance of teaching and learning writing skills

Writing is an action that creates a meaningful text or sentence from the mind It does not only express ideas but also provides information for the media in many ways Vietnamese students, therefore, need good writing skills

to express their thoughts in writing to inform the reader

One of the aims of English is to enable students to write effectively Learning to write is a process in which ideas are uncovered and organized, put on paper, and reworked and revised It means that learning to write is a process of finding and constructing ideas Writing is therefore the hardest lesson in school since the students have to write the text using English They must write what they think and put it on a paper using the right procedure Writing, on the other hand, is regarded as the most difficult language skill to learn Furthermore, the teaching and learning of writing skills in the classroom has a small portion and is often overlooked Writing plays an important role in human life, whether for academic purposes or in other areas

2.1.3 The Process of Writing

In short, the writing process comprises the mechanics by which writers create publishable products It is the method all writers use to generate ideas, choose and organize these ideas, write and revise their pieces, and format them for publication (Sundem, 2007)

Writing process instruction is just that process-oriented and encourages writers to discover for themselves the mechanics of composition At least

toward the beginning of the year, encourage students to use the following steps:

c Revising

Revising is to make the students’ learning technique is better Students will see “before” and “after” versions, and by comparing the two, they will demonstrate to themselves the specific elements that make for a better piece

of writing The revising process is to improve the result It checks content and organization, including unity, coherence, and logic

d Editing (Proofreading)

In this part of process writing, the writers should be aware of technical writing process such as grammar, sentence structures, spelling and punctuation

2.1.4.Characteristics of successful writing

Some individuals believe that writing merely implies writing that is free

of faults, such as grammar, punctuation, and spelling, based on their school experiences However, successful writing entails much more than simply writing correctly Writing that is successful answers to the interests and requirements of its target audience while also reflecting the writer's personality and originality

Successful writing is frequently the consequence of labor and practice as much as skill It might be encouraged to know that writing successfully is not always a talent, or a luxury granted to only a few individuals You can enhance your writing if you're prepared to make effort

If you follow these established rules for effective writing when writing term papers or essays for school, or if you go on to a career as a professional writer—be it as a technical writer, journalist, copywriter, or speechwriter - you should be able to excel, or at least perform competently for any given assignment:

- Good writing has a clearly defined purpose

- It makes a definite point

- It supports that point with specific information

- The information is clearly connected and arranged While knowing appropriate grammar, spelling, and punctuation does not guarantee that you will be a successful writer, these fundamentals are more important in academic and professional writing than in most other genres The key to producing academic or professional writing that people want

to read is to strike a balance between the aforementioned elements and a unique voice Consider the work, no matter how scholarly, as a contribution

to a dialogue The duty of the writer is to make the information that attempting to deliver as clear and understandable as possible

2.1.5 Assessing Writing Skills

Assessment is an ongoing process that encompasses a much wider domain When the students respond to a question, give a comment or try out a new word or structure, the teacher will make the assessment It is on the students’ performance

Assessment designates four related processes: deciding what to measure, selecting or constructing appropriate measurement instruments, administering the instruments, and collecting information (William, 2003)

Writing assessment must consider students’ writing ability It is not a simple task for the teachers It requires teachers to consider a complex array

of variables, the teacher needs to be clear about the objective and the criteria

of assessment Some aspects must be considered in writing, they are content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics

One method that can be used in assessing writing is test Testing writing skills are complex and something difficult to teach, requiring mastery not only of grammatical and rhetorical devices but also of conceptual and judgmental elements The following are varied skills necessary for writing good prose as suggested by Heaton (1991):

a Language use: the ability to write correct and appropriate sentences

b Mechanical skills: the ability to use correctly those conventions peculiar to the written language, e.g punctuation, spelling

c Treatment of content: the ability to think creatively and develop thoughts, including all irrelevant information

d Stylistic skills: the ability to manipulate sentences and paragraphs, and use language effectively

e Judgment skills : the ability to write in an appropriate manner for a particular purpose with a particular audience in mind, together with an activity to select, organize, order the relevant information

2.1.6 Strategy in teaching writing

 Contextual Teaching and Learning

In this strategy of learning, the teaching – learning process does not transfer the knowledge from the teacher to the students by memorizing many concepts but it facilitates the students to touch the real life of their daily life

 Thematic Learning

Thematic Learning is an integrated model of learning that uses thematic approach involved several lessons to give meaningful experience for the students The model of Thematic learning relates one lesson to the other lesson The Thematic concept is that the teacher and the students are together

to choose a theme in the learning process

 Problem-Based Learning

Problem-Based Learning is a strategy in teaching writing where the students actively participated in learning They analyzed problem situation of the topic to find the solution

2.1.7 Discussion Text

2.1.7.1 Definition

Discussion text is categorized as factual text It presents differing opinion view points or perspectives on an issue, enabling the readers to explore different idea before making conclusion

The genre of arguing is an important and influential language process, essential for dealing with many aspects of school knowledge and effective social participation It is a process that involves reasoning, evaluation and persuasion (Knapp and Watkins, 2005)

The purpose of discusssion text is to present different opinion, view opinion or perspective on an issue As Anderson (1997) stated that the purpose of discussion text is to present to the audience different opinions on a topic and, at the end is your opinion

 Argument

In this part the writers give their argument which it consists of giving argument for and argument against Argument for is giving support idea for the issue while argument against is giving contrary idea for the issue In other

word argument for is called pros and argument against is called cons ‘Pros’ means advantage and ‘cons’ means disadvantage of something

When making pros and cons the writer should make it balance The writer can make pros and cons on a list Use these guidelines to make better pro-con lists

 Conclusion or recommendation

The discussion ends by presenting a personal point of view before making conclusion The conclusion or recommendation may sum up both sides of arguments if they are fairly balanced, or it can be one argument if providing sufficient evidence

2.1.7.3 Language Feature

- Focus on generic human and generic non-human participants The topic of discussion text may tell about phenomenon or social issue in the environment

- Use of mainly material, mental and relational processes Material

process is process of material doing e.g: go, run, mental process is process used to express sense such as feeling, thinking, perceiving, e.g: like, believe,

relational process is process to link between information in another word is

linking verb, e.g: are, could have

- Use of temporal and causal conjunctives relations Temporal

conjunctive relation tells about time, e.g: when, since, while, now, then, at

first, as, by the time, finally Causal conjunctive relation tells the link point in

the argument, e.g: because

- Use of modality such as can, could, may, might, will, would

- Use of logical conjunctives relation e.g: therefore, however

2.2 Problem-Based Learning

2.2.1 Concept of Problem-Based Learning

In the Problem-Based Learning strategy, the word "problem" refers to a discrepancy It is a disparity between the actual situation and what was hoped for The problem can pique the learners' interest during the learning process Learners may be interested in observing and participating in something It means that the learners actively participated in the learning process in order to find a solution

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a group of teaching learning process that is focused to the process of problem solving which is faced scientifically PBL is designed in the late 1970s It is kind of approach that challenges students to learn through engagement in a real problem This method is students-centered that refers to give relevant opportunities to the students It will make a fundamental shift from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning The process in PBL is aimed at using the power of authentic problem solving

to engage students and enhance their learning and motivation

This is an instructional method that encourages the students to apply critical thinking, problem solving skill and content knowledge to real world problems and issues Instruction in this strategy is student centered It is likely

to include discussion, reflection, research, project, and presentation PBL starts with an issue, case, or a structured problem that can be researched, studied, or even solved (give solution) A teacher’s role in this method is to pose problems, ask question, and facilitate investigation

Problem-Based Learning has some advantages such as the students are known to develop greater communicative, thinking and problem solving skills with it than with regular lecture based education, PBL encourages students to

gain a deeper sense of understanding, using problem based learning the students combat by always introducing the vocabulary in a real-world situation so that they have not to memorize vocabulary on list It can ease the students write, Using PBL, the students are not passive receivers of knowledge, but are instead required to actively acquire the knowledge (Larsson, 2001)

According to Bound and Feletti, characteristics of Problem-Based Learning:

 Using stimulus material to help students discuss an important problem, question, or issue

 Presenting the problem as a simulation of professional practice or a ‘real life’ situation

 Having students work cooperatively as a group

 Getting students to identify their own learning needs and appropriate use

of available resources

 Reapplying this new knowledge to the original problem and evaluating their learning process

2.2.2 Correlation between Problem-Based Learning and discussion text

In this study, PBL is used as the strategy in teaching writing discussion text Using PBL, the students can explore the skill and create a product In this case the product is a text It can be a way to do communicating each other

in the classroom because problem based learning asks the students to work in group Learning through PBL strategy can make the students respect each other because they study in group

PBL fosters the ability to identify the information needed for a

conceptual framework, and how to communicate the information to others It

is required the students to analyze problem situation They are faced to the latest topic in the real world situation

Experiencing discussion text using PBL can help students to think critically because it makes students give different opinion to find conclusion

in the end of discussion text Moreover, it makes the students become aware

to make conclusion that actually the facts can be intrerpreted in diffrent ways and that a variety toward an issue may be valid In short by learning discussion text using problem based learning strategy is the student will be more wise to face an issue

2.3 Previous Research

Previous research is research that has been conducted previously by other researchers The researcher must look for previous studies that are related to their research in order to compare the differences in content and findings The researcher discovered some studies on to improve writing skills

“Applying Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) Technique to Improve Students’ Reading Comprehension in Discussion Text” by Iin

Afriyanti Umar (2015), English education at Faculty of Tarbiyah and

Teacher’s Training of State Islamic University Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta

In her research utilize action reasearch method brazes where does the objective of this research is to improve students’ reading comprehension of discussion text by applying STAD technique in the third grade of Science Class of SMA Fatahillah Jakarta The result of the study is teaching reading

by STAD got success

“Improving Student’s Ability in Writing Procedure Text Using Realia” by Nuria UlfiHidayati (2006), English Language Teaching

Department of Tarbiyah Faculty Walisongo State Institute for Islamic Studies Semarang

In her research used classroom action research where is the objective to improve student’s ability in writing procedure text The result of her research showed that students’ability was improved in each cycle after they were taught using realia They were better in their procedure writing text It was signed by their improvements of each writing component, i.e.: content, organization, vocabulary, language use and mechanic

“Problem-Based Learning and Writing Process Combination in Teaching Writing” by Khairun Nisa (2017) This previous research was

aimed at finding out whether PBL and writing process combination in EFL writing classroom affect the students’ writing achievement or not, the correlation between the students’ perception towards the implementation of PBL and writing process combination in EFL writing class and students’ writing achievement and how the process is

The results showed that PBL and writing process combination affected the students writing achievement after getting treatment for four meetings Then, for students’ perception toward the implementation of showed that more than 80% agreed with the statement which described that PBL helped the students in generating their idea to start their writing Besides, there is a correlation between students’ perception toward PBL in writing process and writing achievement Next, for the process, the researcher found that PBL was easier for the students to write since they have got ideas from their friends This related to the next point of PBL, which is knowledge construction The students made a discussion about the problems that might be arise from the

topic given by the teacher By this step, the students got ideas to construct their writing in a group or individually

“Using Project-based Learning Approach to improve ESP Vocabulary for the 2nd year students at Industrial Economics and Technology College” by Phạm Thị Khánh Linh (2014) The results of the

study show that both students and teachers made a high agreement on the effectiveness of PBL in teaching and learning process and further applied this

approach on ESP courses at IETC

2.4 Summary

This chapter mentions the theory of writing language and the problems concerned To be good at writing English, learners are required gain certain skills in English All skills supporting writing English are mentioned The methods in teaching and learning also play an important role in having good writing skills To check the effectiveness of this method, many previous studies are discussed and considered as references Finally, the research carries out the study

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents some aspects in the research methods, including the

setting, the participants, the instruments and the techniques of collecting data

as well as the validity and reliability of the research The explanation of each aspect is described in detail below:

3.1 Research Setting

Hanoi University of Home Affairs (HUHA) was founded in 1971 and is subordinate to the Ministry of Home Affairs of Vietnam The University has three main campuses located in Hanoi City, Quang Nam, and Ho Chi Minh City, eight faculties and over 10,000 students Its primary purpose is to provide higher education and vocational training for employees working in the public sector in Vietnam, but it also provides a full suite of Bachelor and Graduate level courses The University aims to furnish students with the skills

to contribute to Vietnam’s dynamic and fast-changing public policy environment and economic development

The University strives for continuous improvement and aspires to be a modern, professional, and quality education institution However, it continues

to face challenges and limitations across the University, including in its curriculum, pedagogy, people management, use of information technology, and external engagement These issues can be categorized into four key challenges: People, Policy, Procedure, and Technology

At Center for Informatics and Foreign Languages, there are about 20 lectures being in charge of teaching English for the entire students at the university To do this, the lecturers must try their best to gain the assignment and purposes of the faculty of foreign languages As everyone knows that English is important at this school and has been taught as a compulsory

care much about what level they can get after studying So when they become the first-year students, their

3.2 Participants

3.2.1 The Researcher

The researcher attended at University of Linguistics and International Studies Her major was English Language Teacher Education She graduated from the University in 2018 She worked for some English centers since 2015

as a part time job After graduation, she applied to Hanoi University of Home Affairs and at present she works as a staff of International Cooperation Department With the passion for teaching, she is taking an M.A course in English Language in Graduate Academy of Social Sciences to teach English for students of Hanoi University of Home Affairs

3.2.2 The Teachers

There are more than 400 lecturers and specialists are working in Hanoi University of Home Affairs In particular, at Center for Informatics and Foreign Languages, there are about 20 lectures being in charge of teaching English for the entire students at the university 10 out of 20 will be do the

questionnaires for data analysis

is a serious problem and needs to be improved immediately An English class with 45 third-year students will be chose to do the questionnaire for data analysis

3.3 Research Procedure

Classroom action research is a process to solve a problem in the learning process in the classroom through reflection to get the solution from the planned acting in the real situation and to analyse every effect from the previous treatment

According to Kurt Lewin, there are four components in conducting a classroom action research It consists of four steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting

In this classroom action research, each procedure takes some steps that form one cycle The procedures of action research in this research are as follows:

3.3.1 Identifying the problem

The first thing to do before planning for the action was identifying the problem faced by the students In this step, the writer identified problems which occur in the classroom during the teaching learning process of writing The problems refer to the factors causing the students difficult to improve their writing skills To identify the problems, the writer observes the teaching and learning process in the classroom, conducts interviews with the teacher and students, and gives pre-test and open-ended questionnaires to the students

3.3.2 Implementing the action research

This research was conducted in two cycles Each cycle uses Problem- Based Learning as the teaching method in writing activity Action research occurs thought a dynamic and complementary process, which consists of four essentials moments: planning, action, observation and reflection

Before implementing cycle 1, the researcher administered pre- test that

the ability of the student of HUHA in writing In the pre-test, the researcher asked the student to make sentences about possitive and negative for shopping

B Implementing

The implementation was done on September 6th 2020 and September 9th

2020 The implementation on the first cycle covers two meetings

a) Meeting 1

At the first meeting, on September 6th 2020, the researcher divided student into five groups and she explained how to apply PBL strategy clearly Then, she gives topic in the form of a text to discussed or shared and asked students to identify the generic structure of that text After that, she asks student to prepare for Problem-Based Learning by given guided question related to the topic Last, the researcher asks the student to solve problem (opinion) using the guided questions with write a short email

b) Meeting 2

The second meeting was held on September 9th, 2020

The researcher helped students to plan and presented their report about their opinion of the topic that was given by researcher and given chance to other groups to ask related to the topic.Then the researcher helped students to evaluate their result of their identification After Problem-Based Learning was

applied, each student had to make a complete email individually; it was done

to know the student’s writing skills

C Observing

This observing phase was actually done at the same time as implementing The objectives of this phase were to know the result of the research and to find out the weakness or the improvement of research implementation

In this steps researcher discussed about data, instrument of collecting data, and technique of data collection And the aim of this step is knows the effect of the applied strategy toward the predetermined criteria of success Therefore, what is observed in this stage is whether the applied strategy is successful in solving the practical problems

D Reflecting

In reflecting on the action, the activity focus on analyzing collected data from each to determine whether or not a following cycle will be stopped if the criteria of success in the study are achieved On the other hand, if the criteria

of success has not achieved yet, it is necessary for the researcher to revise the plan and to have another cycle for implementing the following action

3.2.1.2 The report of Study in Cycle 2

This cycle covers revised planning, implementing, observing and reflecting There are two meetings in this phase

formulated the problem by given some random sentences for each groups Then the researcher asked student to arrange the sentences into good order Finally the researcher asked each groups to write a short paragraph on those sentences

B Meeting 2

The second meeting was held on September 24th, 2020 The researcher helped students to plan and presented their report about their opinion of the topic that was given by researcher and given chance to other groups to ask related to the topic Then the researcher helped students to evaluate their result of their identification After Problem– Based Learning was applied, each student had to make an email individually; it was done to know the student’s writing skills

C Observing

This observing phase was actually done at the same time as implementing The objectives of this phase were to know the result of the research and to find out the weakness or the improvement of research implementation

In this step, researcher discussed about data, instrument of collecting data, and technique of data collection And the aim of this step is knows the effect of the applied strategy toward the predetermined criteria of success Therefore, what is observed in this stage is whether the applied strategy is successful in solving the practical problems

D Reflecting

In reflecting on the action, the activity focus on analyzing collected data from each to determine whether or not a following cycle will be stopped if the criteria of success in the study are achieved On the other hand, if the criteria

of success has not achieved yet, it is necessary for the researcher to revise the plan and to have another cycle for implementing the following action

The results of the observation were analyzed to remember what have happened and have been recorded Meanwhile, the writer evaluates the teaching learning process during the implementation phase From this, self- reflection can be done And from the tests, the students improvement can be known

3.3.3 Doing Evaluation

The writer conducted an evaluation based on the result of observation

to find out the positive result and weaknesses during the action To ensure the improvement of the students writing skill, the writer gave pre-test and post-test to the students The pre-test was held in the beginning of the first cycle to measure the students’ writing skill before implementing the action and the post- test was held in the end of every cycle to measure the improvement of students’ writing skill after the action After giving the test, the writer analyzed the result of the test by scoring it In scoring the data of writing skill, the writer used rubric evaluation of writing The writer also required help from the one who is regarded to have enough capability in scoring the writing skill The writer asked the English teacher in HUHA to be the second corrector It is done to minimize the subjectivity of scoring

3.4 Data collection instruments

3.4.1 Observation

During the study, teaching and learning activities and situations were documented utilizing observations that showed how the actions were conducted in a classroom Four lessons were followed by class observations The class observation lasted one week and was carefully observed by two

developed from Matthew Peacock (1997) to assess overall class motivation, which included student interest, concentration, enjoyment, enthusiasm, and persistence in learning The observation sheet (Appendix 8) contained eight items, each of which was assessed on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high) (high) The observer assessed students' motivation by assigning a total score of eight items; the maximum score was 40

3.4.2 Interview

Interview is significantly useful for getting the data behind the English teacher’s experiences before conducting the classroom action research The pre-interview was conducted on September 19, 2020 It was used to find out the students difficulties in writing skill, and the technique used by the teacher

in teaching writing The interview was also carried out after the classroom action research to find out 5 English teachers response toward the idea of using PBL method in teaching writing skills The writer conducted the interview structurally by using interview guide Here, the writer took 10 students as the samples out of 45 students to be interviewed regarding their responses on the use of in teaching writing The interview was also about the students’ problem in writing before and after cycles

3.4.3 Test

Test is a set of questions or exercises or other instruments to measure knowledge, intelligence, ability or aptitude of groups or individuals The test was used to measure the students’ writing skills from the achievement side

In the study, one of the major tools used to collect data on the students' English writing competency at Hanoi University of Home Affairs was the usage of pre-test and post-test The pre-test and post-test design was utilized

to measure the students' English writing skills before and after the action

The same framework was used to create a pre-test (Appendix 2) and a post-test (Appendix 4) The pre-test was given to students in the English 3 class at the preliminary stage As previously stated, the aim of the pre-test was

to assess the students' English writing competence The post-test, on the other hand, was given to the pupils one week after the activity was completed The post-test was designed to assess students' writing skill following the intervention, allowing the researcher to determine whether there were any notable gains after executing the activity

3.4.4 Questionnaire

In almost all studies, the questionnaire is used to collect primary sources of data for the research Many experts have studied the significance of questionnaires in research It is critical to design a questionnaire that meets the study's objectives in order to collect and analyze good data As a result,

the researcher must design the questionnaire in such a way that she can obtain

the necessary information from the students' responses while also saving time for both the researcher and the participants in this section The questionnaire

is designed to make it easy for participants to understand and respond to the questions The options A, B, C, D, and E are used to design the answers to the questions The options were determined by the questions and the extent of the answers The participants only have to select one of the options They may be able to select more than one option in some cases All participants must

complete all of the questionnaires

The first questionnaire (Appendix 3) in the data collection instruments contains five questions about the third-year students' opinions about learning writing lessons and their feedback on the English lecturer's activities The second questionnaire (Appendix 7) contains four questions about the students'

attitudes toward activities used in optional lessons, as well as their improvement in writing skills

Following the completion of the student questionnaires, the researcher should concentrate on the responses of the students in order to identify the

answer to the research question: “ What is the third-year students’ attitude toward the use of at Hanoi University of Home Affairs in writing lessons?”

3.5 Data Analysis

This section discusses the data gathered and the procedures used to evaluate it in order to determine the research's outcome Figures, tables, charts, and pie chart are utilized to display the results of each section in this section To meet the study's requirements, many types of data were analyzed This action research method employs both qualitative and quantitative approaches These methods produce more precise and trustworthy results

The purpose of the questionnaire was to identify the students' attitudes toward Problem-Based Leaning in writing lessons Each student's response will be collected and counted in order to complete the statistic We may use this information to calculate the percentage of students who chose each option

to represent in figures, tables, charts, and pie charts The researcher then compares the percentages among the students' choices to determine the students' attitudes toward PBL

Examiners use the scoring rubric for writing to assign pre-test and test scores The researcher computes, calculates, and converts mean scores based on the total number of students who participated after receiving the score sheet from the two examiners After completing the steps of the data analysis process, the researcher determines the mean scores, and then uses that result – the mean score, to compare the differences between the pre-test

post-and post-test to evaluate the effectiveness of using in improving the students' writing ability

To the interview, in this part, the feedback from the five lecturers is taken notes by citing relevant responses After that, the researcher will analyze the data to find out the answer

In short, the collected data have been summarized, analyzed, presented and interpreted to learn the results of the study The student has an analysis and interpretation to clarify figures after having data from the student responds in pre and post-test scores, interview feedback and student opinions The researcher can evaluate the results from the results of the analysis in order to find the outcomes

3.6 Summary

In this chapter, the methodology of the research is mentioned Both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined to find out the result of the study This chapter introduces all the data collections instruments used to collect data It also shows the steps in process of carrying out the action research Besides, the subject of the study is also mentioned They are the third year non-major English students They come from Hanoi University of Home Affairs Finally, the description of data collection instruments and procedures, data analysis procedures are clarified The following chapter will show the results of the study