Effects of group work on writing skills for ethnic minority high school students in lam dong

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY MASTER’S THESIS OF TESOL EFFECTS OF GROUP WORK ON WRITING SKILLS FOR ETHNIC MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAM DONG Student’s name Lê Th[.]

BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

MASTER’S THESIS OF TESOL

EFFECTS OF GROUP WORK ON WRITING SKILLS FOR ETHNIC MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAM DONG

Student’s name: Lê Thị Bích Đào Student’ code: 18110083

Supervisor’s name: Assoc Prof Dr.Pham Vu Phi Ho

DALAT, 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY vii

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS viii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ix

ABSTRACT x

APPENDICES xii

LIST OF TABLES xiii

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS xiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Statement of the problem 1

1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Study 3

1.3 Research questions 3

1.4 Scope of the study 3

1.5 Significance of the study 4

1.6 Organization of the thesis 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Definitions of the Terms 6

2.2 Writing 6

2.3 Writing process 7

2.3.1 Planning 7

2.3.2 Drafting 7

2.3.3 Editing 7

2.3.4 The final draft 7

2.4 Group work 8

2.4.1 Definition of group work 8

2.4.2 Advantages of working in groups 9

2.4.3 Disadvantages of working in groups 11

2.4.4 Group work in language learning 14

2.4.5 Group work in EFL writing classrooms 15

2.5 Vygotskian Perspective underlying cooperative learning 17

2.6 Previous studies on group work 17

2.7 Theoretical framework: 23

2.8 Summary 25

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 26

3.1 Research design 26

3.2 Research site 27

3.3 Research participants 29

3.4 Research instruments 30

3.4.1 Pre-tests and Post-tests 31

3.4.2 Semi-structured interview 32

3.4.3 The questionnaire: 32

3.5 Data collection procedures 33

3.6 Data analysis procedure 35

3.7 Summary 36

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 38

4.1 The impact of group work on students' writing performance 38

4.2 Students' attitude towards collaborative learning in writing classes 41 4.3 Discussion 48

4.4 Summary 51

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 53

5.1 Summary of the main findings of the thesis 53

5.2 Pedagogical implications 53

5.3 Limitations 54

5.4 Recommendations for further research 55 REFERENCES 56 APPENDICES 59

The thesis entitled EFFECTS OF GROUP WORK ON WRITING

SKILLS FOR ETHNIC MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAM DONG

was successfully defended and approved on at Ba Ria Vung Tau University

Academic Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Pham Vu Phi Ho

Examination Committee

On behalf of the Examination Committee

Chair

(full name, title, signature)

BA RIA VUNG TAU UNIVERSITY

POSTGRADUATE INSTITUTE

BRVT, April 10, 2022

MASTER’S THESIS REPORT

Student name: LE THI BICH DAO Sex: Female

Date of birth: 29/ 10/ 1977 Place of birth: Lam Dong Province

Major: English Language Student code: 18110083

I- Thesis title:

EFFECTS OF GROUP WORK ON WRITING SKILLS FOR

ETHNIC MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAM DONG

II-Objectives and contents:

This study investigates the effect of group work on EFL learners in writing performance at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school, and it

examines students’ attitudes towards the use of group work The research objectives are as follows:

• To determine the effects of group work on learners’ writing skill

at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding;

• To learn about students' perspectives toward group work at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding's writing classes;

• To find out if there is any relationship between the writing scores and the attitude towards group work

This study was conducted at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school in Dalat, Lam Dong Province The participants were 61 EFL high school students who were in grade 11 In the hope to gain the results, I employed the mixed-method: quantitative and qualitative, three instruments were put

in use: a quasi-experiment, a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview

to obtain the data, both of which were exercised for the students

III- Starting date:

IV- Completing date:

V- Supervisor: Assoc Prof Pham Vu Dr Phi Ho

CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

This is to confirm that the material of this thesis is my own work, to the best of my knowledge This thesis is not for a degree or for any other reason

I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the result of my own efforts, and that I have acknowledged all sources and aid received in the preparation of this thesis

I certify that I am the author of the Master's Thesis entitled:

EFFECTS OF GROUP WORK ON WRITING SKILLS FOR

ETHNIC MINORITY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN LAM DONG

Dalat, April 2022

LÊ THỊ BÍCH ĐÀO

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I, LE THI BICH DAO, a candidate for the degree of Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, hereby declare that I, as

a candidate for the degree of Master of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, accept the University's requirements for the retention and use of Master's Theses deposited in the Library

In accordance with these terms, I agree that the original of my Master's Thesis deposited in the Library should be accessible for study and research purposes, subject to the Librarian's customary rules for the care, lending, and reproduction of theses

Ba Ria Vung Tau, April 20, 2022Signature ………

LE THI BICH DAO

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this time to thank a number of amazing individuals

who helped me complete this thesis by providing advice, support, and

encouragement

First and foremost, I would like to express my gratitude to Assoc

Prof Dr Pham Vu Phi Ho, my academic supervisor, who has been a

tremendous help to me, who spent a significant amount of time advising and

aiding me during my research His patience, as well as his vast knowledge

of academic prowess and performance, are qualities I admire I admire his

constant generosity in motivating and assisting me in completing this project

His insightful comments and encouragement aided me in overcoming

obstacles in completing this thesis

I owe a debt of appreciation to Mrs Pham Thi Hong, the Principal of

Lam Dong Minority Boarding School, for allowing me to complete my

studies alongside the school's students

In addition, I will never forget each and every one of the students who

took part in this research Without their assistance, I would not have been

able to complete my thesis

Finally, I want to thank my family I owe a debt of gratitude to my

parents for their efforts in raising me and providing me with the opportunity

to pursue a career in academia I am also grateful to my husband, my siblings

for their patience and unwavering love They have been my biggest

supporters throughout the long, and at times tough, academic road I've taken

LÊ THỊ BÍCH ĐÀO

ABSTRACT

In this study, the influence of group work on English as a Foreign language as learners' writing performance at Lam Dong Minority Boarding School was investigated, as well as the students' attitudes about group work The study included 61 students from Lam Dong Minority Boarding School in Grade 11, who were separated into two groups: one experimental group and one control group A quasi-experiment was conducted in four weeks to solve Research Question 1 To begin, both the control and experimental groups were given a standardized pre-test, with the findings assessed A standardized post-test was done once the data was analyzed An independent sample t-test and a paired sample t-test were performed to evaluate if there were any significant differences in writing performance A questionnaire and an interview in semi-structured format with members of the experimental group were performed to answer Research Question 2 To find out if there was any relationship between the scores of writing performance post-test and identified cooperative learning attitudes of the experimental group, the Pearson correlation coefficient was used to measure the strength of a linear association between two variables to answer the Research question 3 The study's findings revealed that group work aided students in the experimental group in making progress in terms of English writing abilities, they outscored students in the traditional learning group Furthermore, the findings demonstrated that the experimental group's students had an optimistic attitude regarding group work in English as a Foreign Language writing classes The study also indicated that there was a very small positive association between the experimental group's writing performance post-test scores and their attitude survey score

Keywords: writing performance, group work, student’s attitudes, English as a

Foreign Language learners, experimental group, control group, the relationship between group work and attitude

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Pre-test and Post-test scores trang 62 Appendix B: Semi-structured interview questions trang 65 Appendix C: The questionnaire trang 66 Appendix D: Students’ answers from the semi-structured interview trang 69 Appendix E: T test and Independent Samples Test trang 73

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES

Figure 2.1 Framework for collaborative writing 24 Table 3.1 Control and Experimental group under treatments 36 Table 4.1 Pre-test descriptive statistics for control and experimental group 38 Table 4.2 Pre-test and post-test descriptive statistics for the control group 39 Table 4.3 Pre-test and post-test descriptive statistics for the experimental group 40 Table 4.4 Post-test descriptive statistics for control and experimental group 40 Table 4.5 The attitude towards group work descriptive statistics 44 Table 4.6 The Pearson R Correlation Analysis between the writing

performance scores and the attitude 46 Figure 4.1 Scatterplot of Correlation between GW attitude Survey Scores and Writing performance Post-test score of the experimental group 47

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS

N Number

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

In the contemporary world, people have a tendency to employ English not only to overcome the language barrier but to serve different purposes in their lives as well English plays a significant role in economy, politics, and even education It is undeniable speaking skill takes the first priority in learning a language However, among four basic language skills for learners, writing has been much taken into account currently because writing is a productive, creative skill that connects other skills in the process of learning languages, which ensure the language acquisition Writing, in fact, is an effective and essential means for learners to convey their views, strengthen language knowledge Hyland (2003) stated that performance in language development is the process of writing skill English learners do not only speak the language but they also have to write down it on paper to exchange email, report and so on

1.1 Statement of the problem

To all English as a Foreign Language students, writing is a challenging skill Thorson (1996) believed that it was not easy for EFL students to master writing skill because of their limited language vocabulary and knowledge In Vietnam, Pham (2013) also indicated that the students at his college could not produce high quality writing papers due to the influence of Vietnamese

in depth

Writing in groups is proved to bring back considerable effectiveness

by many international and national researchers In the view of Doff (1988), writing in groups is a learning activity in which two or more students deal with a writing task and work together to solve it Storch (2014) realized that

in the world, group work in writing classes outside the classrooms occurred more often than that in the classrooms Besides, according to Storch, group work would be an excellent way for students to develop their academic writing quality The effectiveness of writing in group work is also pointed out in his study and other studies Kim (2008), Dobao (2012), Inglehart et al, 2003; Lowry et al, 2004)

In Vietnam, writing in group is not a new teaching strategy which is employed by instructors at almost colleges and universities but it is still limited in use at high schools In the high school English courses in Vietnam, the goals of teaching writing are to facilitate students in writing about the topics they have learned in the textbooks Although there has been much innovation in English Teaching Methodology, some teachers tried to instruct their students in their own way Consequently, the students particularly ethnic minority students encounter numerous difficulties in writing in the target language Learners are often passive, even lose their motivation in language learning They report that it is difficult for them to pass the writing tests The answer to this problem might be the way that English is traditionally taught

As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact and wishes to motivate ethnic minority learners into writing skill by group work activity, the researcher conducted this study to shed the light on the effects of group work on learners’ writing skill, to identify their attitudes towards group work

in writing classes and find out if there is any relationship between the writing scores and the attitude towards group work

1.2 Aims and Objectives of the Study

Not only the impact of group work on students' writing abilities but also the attitudes towards group work in writing classes at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding were investigated in this study The following are the research's precise goals:

• To determine the effects of group work on learners’ writing skill at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding;

• To learn about students' perspectives toward group work at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding's writing classes;

• To find out if there is any relationship between the writing scores and the attitude towards group work

2 What are their attitudes towards using group work in writing classes?

3 Is there any relationship between the writing scores and the attitude towards group work?

1.4 Scope of the study

The study aimed to examine to what extent group work can

contribute to improving high school students’ English writing skill at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding school and the students’ attitudes towards using group work in writing classes

The study was managed at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding school Only activities involved in the writing skill of 61 students who were

learning English in grades 11, at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding school were investigated in the study The mixed-methods design was done

by examining writing skill and the students’ attitudes Questionnaires and an interview in semi-structured format were exercised to collect information

To analyze data, SPSS version 26.0 and content analysis were employed

1.5 Significance of the study

The study would confirm the functions of group work in writing to EFL learners in general to students at Lam Dong Ethnic minority boarding school in particular Therefore, it is expected to bring about some advantages

to both teachers and students at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding School The researcher hopes that the students will raise their awareness of the benefits of group work in their writing lessons to help each other to achieve the common goals Besides, it is hoped that the study will notify the teachers

at Lam Dong Ethnic Minority Boarding school to adjust their teaching methods as well as organize some activities appropriately Furthermore, this study is also believed as a reliable source of reference for all researchers who are concerned

1.6 Organization of the thesis

The introduction, literature review, research methods, results and discussions, and implications and conclusions are the five components of this study report

Chapter 1: The first chapter provides an overview of the study's

background, as well as a summary of the problem, as well as the study's goals and objectives Three research questions are an integral aspect of the package Finally, the thesis's breadth, significance, definitions of terminology, and arrangement are all justified

Chapter 2 : The literature review in Chapter 2 shows the knowledge

and theories linked to group writing activity The definition and nature of group work are hotly discussed Aside from that, certain past research in both the Vietnamese and international contexts that are relevant to the current study are taken into account

Chapter 3 : The methodology of the study is defined in Chapter 3,

which includes the research design process, a description of the research setting, research stakeholders, research methods, data collection methods, and data evaluation

Chapter 4: Chapter 4 examines the data acquired from the

questionnaire and semi-structured interview in order to convey the study's findings The discussion of the findings also highlights counterparts and differences with data from relevant studies

Chapter 5: Chapter 5 offers the shortening of the core findings of

the studies, suggestions of the research, restriction of the research, and

exhortations for further research

CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter provides a thorough examination of the literature relevant

to the current study, especially to the key concepts and related studies to the research topic First, an overall picture of the background is provided with some key concepts in detail Then, some national and international studies related to CL are deeply analyzed to illustrate the concepts more clearly

2.1 Definitions of the Terms

For this study, many terms must be defined to provide a specific perspective on the issues discussed

• English as a Foreign language students refer to students who are

learning English in grades 11, at Lam Dong Minority Boarding school

• Group work is a language-learning practice in which students work together to improve their language skills

2.2 Writing

Writing is one of the forms of linguistic competence that is expressed

in written language usage rather than spoken language usage Writing skills, between speaking and reading, are still viewed as the most challenging by the majority of the student or pupils in the category of language skills Listening skills are comparable to writing skills in terms of difficulty

The manifestation of language in the form of letters, symbols, or words is known as writing Expository, narrative, descriptive, and persuasive writing are examples of different types of writing

Writing, in the view of Nunan (2011), is the most accessible and

appealing method since the result, visible language, provides a permanent record of thinking and feeling Writing is the mental process of generating ideas, deciding how to convey them, and structuring them into coherent

statements and paragraphs for a reader to understand As such, writing is not only the process of thinking of something to say and choosing the words that are appropriate to communicate it, but it is also the process of organizing thoughts from information and putting them into meaningful sentences

2.3 Writing process

According to Harmer (2007), the writing process comprises 4 components

2.3.1 Planning

At first, the goal of their writing must be considered not only in terms

of the sort of text they intend to process, but also in terms of the language they use and the information they choose to include Second, experienced writers consider the audience for whom they are writing, as this will influence not only the format of the writing (how it is put out, how the paragraphs are constructed, and so on), but also the language choice, such as whether the tone is formal or informal Finally, writers must arrange the facts, thoughts, or arguments that they have chosen to include in their work

2.3.2 Drafting

The first draft of a piece of writing is referred to as a draft On the path

to the final version, a number of drafts may be produced as the writing process progresses into editing

2.3.3 Editing

Other readers who comment and give suggestions are often helpful in reflecting and modifying The author will be aided in making suitable adjustments by another reader's reaction to a piece of work

2.3.4 The final draft

After the researcher has edited her draft and made the necessary changes, she produce her final version which may differ significantly from

both the original plan and the first draft due to changes made during the editing process, but the writer is now ready to send the written text to its intended audience

2.4 Group work

Three major aspects of group work were discussed in this section of the chapter They came to an agreement on the definition, the benefits of group work in the language learning environment, and the functions of group work in the writing process

2.4.1 Definition of group work

There are a wide range of definitions which are said to be related to group work

In the view of Doff (1988), group work is a learning activity in which two or more students deal with a task and work together to solve it

With more similarities than differences, group work can be explained

as a common activity of group members to create the only one product (Inglehart et al, 2003)

In the view of Lowry et al (2004), group work is a process in which learners make their efforts to reach a common goal through negotiating, collaborating and discussing

Similarly, Storch (2019) adds to the field of group work research when they define group work as an activity that a small group of members work together and produce a common product

Simply, Johnson and Johnson (2010) give a definition of group work

as the utilization of small groups in the classroom so that students collaborate

to optimize their own and other's learning

To sum up, when it comes to group work, there are many distinct definitions

Personally, the researcher highly appreciates the definition of Doff (1988), which stated that group work was a learning activity in which a small group of members take part in working together to solve a common task In this thesis, “group work” will be understood in this way and work as a working definition for this thesis

2.4.2 Advantages of working in groups:

2.4.2.1 A new viewpoint

One of the most commonly investigated and applied teaching methods in the world is group work in the classroom Collaborative learning has been demonstrated to improve academic achievement, communication skills, and confidence in numerous studies

It is true that "two heads are better than one." Researchers discovered that if students can collaborate on a topic, they are able to try out different techniques to finish it Positive and negative feedback could also assist children in learning more quickly

Debating and criticizing one another's arguments and reasoning benefit students since they allows them to discover other perspectives on how to achieve a task According to research, this increases academic, social, and emotional learning by promoting cognitive reconfiguration

2.4.2.2 Personal fulfillment

Working in a group can be challenging When students are able to overcome the anxiety, worry, and long hours that come with group work, the end result of a good score can be incredibly satisfying and motivating

Students who engage in group conversations and concentrate on the allotted problem-solving assignment are more devoted to finding a solution, according to study Students who find that answer report feeling extremely

satisfied with their role in achieving that decision, especially when compared

to students who were not as involved As a result, individuals have a more favorable impression of their group learning experience

2.4.2.3 Skills in collaboration

Teamwork is a critical part of academic life because it allows students

to complete complex activities that they would not be able to do if they were working alone, therefore enhancing individual and group learning Working

in a group allows students to discover new ideas, techniques of thinking, and disagreements

As a result, students will be able to improve their communication skills, interact more effectively, and create new ideas This not only

encourages a more holistic approach to learning, but it can also increase group productivity

2.4.2.4 Improving learning

Working in a group environment benefited students' learning and teamwork skills in some way, according to a survey Some students reported that working in groups was a learning process in and of itself, and that working in groups taught them about groups

According to studies, learning in a group boosts memory recall and comprehension This is due to the fact that students retain more information through group discussions than they would from listening to the same information in a more informative manner

2.4.2.5 Discovering how to deal with disagreements

Some educators believe that conflict in group work is beneficial because it models what students would face in the workplace Students have

a better understanding of communication skills and how to deal with interpersonal disputes in a more controlled atmosphere

Through group activity, students can learn more about themselves and how their peers see them When students receive positive feedback from their peers on how well they completed a task and participated as part of a group, they are better prepared to evaluate their social skills and behavior

However, we only have a rudimentary understanding of how group work improves learning and why it is only useful in certain situations The disadvantages must also be considered, as with any instructional technique

2.4.3 Disadvantages of working in groups

2.4.3.1 Involving in conflict

When working with others, disputes are inevitable due to differing points of view Some students struggle to accept peer criticism and find it difficult to agree the views that are not the same to their own

Furthermore, silent students may find it hard to express themselves in

a group context and may be uncomfortable working with people whom they

do not know As a result, they may be viewed as slackers, perhaps resulting

in conflict

Conflict in group projects has been found to reduce students' pleasure

of the class, limit individual learning, and raise stress levels This is because students believe that reaching an agreement and compromising is a difficult and laborious process As a result of this, many pupils acquired an aversion

to conflict

2.4.3.2 Unequal participation

You'll commonly observe a large disparity in participation among group members when working in groups In group projects, it's common for 1-2 students to take on the majority of the workload, leaving the other members

to essentially freeload, which can result in discord and hatred among the group's members, particularly if the student perceives others are being

rewarded for their attempt

According to study, people tend to delegate job responsibilities to others in larger groups because grades do not always account for

individual contributions A student may offer the solution to their peers without explaining how they arrived at it As a result, no true insight or knowledge has been gained

2.4.3.3 Neglecting

When students are working in groups, it is easy for them to get off track, especially if the assignment requires discussion Some students may use this time to gossip, complete other assignments, or simply relax The group work session will be less effective and productive as a result of this

As a teacher, it is difficult to ensure that everyone is doing their assigned task for the duration of the class, not just as you approach their table

to check on them Some teachers believe that in order for an assignment to

be effective, they must micromanage it, which defeats the objective of group work

2.4.3.4 Time-consuming

As a student, collaborating in a group might take a lot of time Meetings must not only be held outside of class hours, but they must also be

scheduled in accordance with everyone's schedule Due of their already hectic schedules, sixth-form students in particular may find this difficult

Researchers have even questioned if group work was ineffective due

to its time-consuming nature As a result, further study is being conducted to determine when group work should not be used in the classroom and to recommend that students do simpler activities separately

2.4.3.5 The demands of the group above individual needs

Not all students advance at the same rate Some people may need more time to fully comprehend the work and absorb the information On the other hand, certain students may be able to quickly grasp the material

As a result, when working in a group, some students feel compelled to rush through their learning to the point where they either learn nothing or imitate what others are doing On the other hand, those that work faster may

be going too quickly, wanting to move on to the next task before everyone is ready Students may grow frustrated by the learning process, resulting in conflict

To summarize, group learning can be favorable independence of a person's socioeconomic status or if they are placed in the same group year after year On the other hand, the advantages of an active learning environment can only be apparent once it has been successfully implemented

The size of the groups, how they are assigned, and how the teacher manages the groups can all have an impact on learning Because of the hazards, some research suggest that group work can be used sparingly, with easier activities being conducted separately and more difficult ones being completed in groups

2.4.4 Group work in language learning

One crucial purpose of working in group is to enhance the fluency in language using In language schools, group work is a good strategy for enabling students to talk about their issues or engage in arranged activities with one another in an environment which is less stressful (Harmer, 1991)

Group work is known as an excellent teaching method in EFL classrooms for numerous reasons First, group work improves the amount of time students spend speaking the target language Second, it cuts down on the time students spend listening to other students and talking to the instructor; it also eliminated the fear in front of the entire class that keeps some language learners from speaking and communicate with the teacher

Besides, according to Foster (1998), it allows the teacher to have additional discussions with students about the work structure Students may

be able to become more self-reliant as a result of their time at group work

Students in teacher-centered circumstances, on the other hand, tend to

be much more reliant because the teacher does the most of the talking GW, according to several researchers (Brown, 2001; Foster, 1998; Ghaith & Yaghi, 1998; Harmer, 1991), exposes its effectiveness in language classrooms because it provides the chances for the students to handle the target language to interact with each other

Furthermore, group work in the classroom enhances the benefits for students It may be used for creating oral exercises for language learners, to deal with activities that require group bargaining, to share reading and listening activities, and to collaborate with others to create a single document It also has the advantage of allowing different groups of students

to work on different tasks and assignments based on their individual interests

In a Thai English as a Foreign Language environment, McDonough (2004) looked into how teachers and students felt about implementing small group activities, as well as whether learners that engaged in group work activities produced more target forms Learners who participated in more small-group activities created better target forms, despite not considering the activities as advantageous to their learning, according to the findings

Learners will be motivated to aid their group members when working

in groups, according to motivational theories (Pan & Wu, 2013; Slavin, 1983) The group's cohesiveness helps learning; also, because they must care about one another in order to achieve a common objective, students may be driven to help their friends (Prichard and colleagues, 2006) As a result, it is obvious that motivation has a direct impact on achievement and it is particularly important in L2 learning (Oxford & Shearin, 1994)

The above points have firmly showed the vital component of group work in language learning

2.4.5 Group work in English as a Foreign Language writing classrooms

Many academics throughout the world consider group work (GW) to

be an excellent teaching strategy that should be used in EFL writing classrooms (Dobao, 2012; Storch, 2011; Inglehart et al, 2003; Lowry et al, 2004)

In the view of Hyland (2003), Watanabe and Swain (2007), Harmer (2007), Nation (2009) Kim (2008), Dobao and Blum (2013), Pham (2021) ,when students learn in groups, they gain a lot of knowledge from one another and enhance their writing skills

Students who worked in groups had creative ideas, liked collaborating writing exercises, and increased their vocabulary and accuracy compared to

students that worked alone, according to Storch (2002) Collaborative writing exercises, according to Storch, would be an excellent way for students to develop their academic writing quality GW is stated to be able

to promote cognitive processes and learning, implying that through GW activities, students become more thoughtful and aware of their audience's comprehension Furthermore, collaborative writing promotes the grammatical forms and lexical choices that go into the process of creating a language

According to Dobao and Blum (2013) and Watanabe and Swain (2007), students gained a lot from one another during conversation and when they wrote essays together, and the outcomes of the post-tests improved Indeed, GW requires that each group member takes an active role in the learning process and activities, that each person has a high level of passion, and that each member learns from shared tasks Each person is also encouraged to brainstorm and share their thoughts In order to handle the situation, everyone is encouraged to pool their resources and do their best with the ensuing energy

Kim (2008) compared jointly authored papers to individually written papers and discovered collaboratively written papers had superior vocabulary in the post-tests Furthermore, GW activities help students develop stronger motivation, self-esteem, and responsibility feeling; as a result, all of these attributes help students become better and better at writing (Mullinga & Garofalo, 2011; Al Ajmi & Holi Ali, 2014)

The above points are also shreds of evidence that have asserted the valuable part of group work in EFL writing classrooms

2.5 Vygotskian Perspective underlying cooperative learning

One of the theories that underlie and support for writing in group work

is Zone of Proximal Development of Vygotsky (1978)

Language acquisition, according to Vygotsky (1978), is a developmental process For kids learning a language, the Zone of Proximal Development is determined by peer interactions and the learning environment (Pham , 2021)

Thus, in language learning, the affinity between its participants and the authenticity of the environment were essential elements to make the learners feel that they belong to this environment However, these elements rarely exist in individually writing classrooms

Vygotsky's theory provides a solid framework for current tendencies

in applied linguistics It argues for more natural and less organized approaches, as well as communicative and experiential learning, and emphasizes the significance of early human interaction in foreign language acquisition (Vygotsky, 1978)

2.6 Previous studies on group work

Many studies had proven that cooperatively created writing are

superior to those written independently

Wichadee (2005) investigated the impact of cooperative learning on first-year students' English writing skills at Bangkok University Over the course of eight weeks, the author applied the STAD model to the experimental group Before and after teaching, the experimental group and the control group were given comprehension exams A T-test dependent was used for comparing the two groups' pre- and post-test scores The results showed that STAD students scored higher on the post-test than on the pre-test in terms of writing comprehension

Elola (2010) conducted research at a commuter university on the East Coast of the United States to determine the distinctions between collaborative and solo writing The participants were eight Spanish majors whose ages ranged between 19 and 21 Learners in this study were required

to write two argumentative essays: one collectively and one separately Each essay followed the same procedure The findings pointed out that there was

no difference in writing’s fluency between collaborative and individual papers However, the writings of students who wrote essays independently improved significantly from draft 1 to draft 2, whereas the jointly authored papers did not show any significant improvement from draft 1 to draft 2

In a similar way, Li-zhen conducted one ‘s research in 2010 The purpose of this research was to see if students in the experimental class outperform their counterparts in writing and to find out what students think about cooperative learning The research would last 17 weeks Pre-tests, post-tests, and questionnaires were among the key instruments used in the investigation The data show that (1) before and after the experiment, there were no significant differences in writing scores between the control and experimental courses; and (2) students had a positive attitude toward cooperative learning in English writing Most of them developed confidence and improved their writing skills by learning from one another

When compared to individually written texts, Zabihi and Rezazadeh (2013) discovered that collectively produced texts are of higher quality The participants were 306 upper-intermediate L2 students who were split into two groups: independent (N = 130) and partnered (N = 176) Each learner was given the task of writing an argumentative text Three criteria were used

to assess writing quality: complexity, correctness, and flow In every way, pairings outscored independent authors, according to the findings

Although no individual writing groups were used, Dobao and Blum (2013) investigated students' perspectives on collaborative writing in dyads and small groups According to the findings, student-writers who worked in dyads liked this type of activity since it gave them more opportunities to engage in their learning Those who worked on texts in groups demonstrated that when they collaborated, they generated more ideas and knowledge to offer As a result, their linguistic skills increased In addition, with their collaborative written efforts, students improved the grammatical and lexical accuracy in their writing pieces

Biria and Jafari did another study on the impact of collaborative writing in the same year (2013) The goal of this research was to use Edmodo

to combine the Collaborative Writing technique and increased students' writing skills Classroom Action Research was used using 11th-grade students as the research model Data gathering approaches include observation, interview, and test The findings of this study showed that using Collaborative Writing to improve students' writing skills was very successful The researcher also suggested that this teaching method and media could be used in other ways, with different skills, and at different levels

Bikowski and Vithanage (2016) investigated the effect of writing in group work on quality of writing individually The participants of the study were 59 second language writers in a writing class at a United States university They were divided into 2 groups: experimental group (32 participants), and control group (27 participants) Pre-tests and post-tests were used as tools to collect data Analyzed data revealed that both control and experimental group got improvement in their writing papers However,

the students in experimental group had better products than their counterparts

Another study was conducted by Ahmad and Yin (2017) The goal of this research was to show how collaborative writing had evolved as an educational practice over the previous decade They compiled a review of published studies on writing in groups from a variety of viewpoints, including students in elementary, secondary, and university settings, in both first and second languages, and in a variety of locales around the world Their analysis of 68 empirical studies published in refereed journals between 2006 and 2016 yielded three general statements that were supported by evidence: (1) Technology had made collaborative writing assignments more manageable; (2) most students were motivated to enhance their writing skills through collaborative writing projects; and (3) collaborative writing promoted student writing correctness and critical thinking

Talib and Cheung (2017) reviewed 68 articles on collaborative writing published between 2006 and 2016 in 15 Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journals and found that activities in collaborative writing classes encourage the engagement of students in learning process because it helped them improve their writing skills over the previous decade Furthermore, when students collaborated, they produced shorter papers with higher grammatical accuracy and vocabulary learning During collaborative learning, peer feedback activities increased student participation and bargaining during the writing process

Zhang (2018) investigated the impact of collaborative writing in EFL classes in his research To take part in the study, 70 intermediate EFL students were split into two groups A biographical survey, two argumentation essays, and a text quality rubric were employed in this

investigation Complexity, correctness, fluency, and text quality were all factors in the evaluation of the writings Collaboration increased syntactic complexity, but accuracy, fluency, and text quality remained unchanged

Ainul, Lafziatul, and Ririn (2019) conducted research to determine which relevant strategies to use in writing class based on the students' cognitive styles: field-independent and field-dependent This research used quasi-experimental methods The study's participants were first-year English Language and Literature students from Universitas Negeri Padang Two separate tactics were used to teach these students: collaborative strategy and individual writing According to the findings, students that were instructed

by using collaborative writing had higher learning accomplishment than students that were instructed by using individual writing As a result, the findings suggested that teachers should use a collaborative technique in the teaching and learning of writing so as to improve the quality of students' writing papers

In 2019, Sumaira and Abid also conducted a study on cooperative writing The study's purpose was to see how cooperative learning affected the writing ability of 7th grade English students The study included 68 girls enrolled in Government Girls High School Burj Attari, Sheikhupura, at the elementary level (7th grade) In the school, there were two sections of 7th grade, each with 34 students The study was Quasi Experimental because it used a non-equivalent control group, as well as a pre-test and post-test design On the basis of their past class outcomes, one portion was randomly allocated to the experimental group (X1) and the other to the control group (X2) The results demonstrated that the post-test scores of the control and experimental groups differ significantly According to the results of the current study, cooperative learning was more effective among students than

grammar translation Teachers were encouraged to use cooperative learning approaches in the classroom to help students improve their writing skills The current study's findings suggested that cooperative learning was an effective approach of learning

Villarreal and Gil-Sarratea (2019) also investigated the effect of collaborative writing The findings found that the students could generate better argumentative papers thanks to collaborative writing Although the collaborative written papers were shorter than the individually written ones, they are much more complex in grammar and vocabulary Besides, the content, structure as well as organization were far better There was no doubt that group work writing activities enabled learners to discuss, negotiate, generate ideas, and got improvement in their writing papers

The impacts cooperative learning of on ninth-grade students at a Kuala Lumpur middle school's writing ability were explored in the study of Yusuf and Jusoh (2019).The pre-test and post-test of narrative essays served

as the instruments in this study's quasi-experimental approach Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to further examine the data Vocabulary, organization, grammatical accuracy, and mechanics were assessed on the students' writing After implementing CL in the classroom, the students' writing scores improved from pre- to post-test As a result, the findings show that CL has a good impact on students' writing abilities

Pham (2021) did another study to evaluate The Effects of Collaborative Writing on Students' Writing Fluency, which was consistent with prior findings The survey included 62 English-major students from a university in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam After collaborating on a concept,

27 students produced essays separately, whereas 35 students in the experimental group collaborated on writings Pretests and post-tests were

used to collect data for both groups According to the findings, collaborative writing had a significant impact on students' writing fluency Furthermore, the research developed an effective framework for collaborative writing exercises that instructors could use in their writing classes

In conclusion, a wide corpus of cooperative learning research has revealed that collaborative learning has a considerable influence on learners' writing performance and that learners have favorable views toward writing

in group However, only few studies study have been done in the context of teaching and learning English in Vietnamese, particularly at Lam Dong Minority Boarding School, where no research on the use of collaborative learning in English teaching has been done As a result, the current study intends to fill this gap to respond to the three following research questions:

Research question 1: To what extent, group work can contribute to

improving high school students’ English writing skill?

Research question 2: What are their attitudes towards using group

work in writing classes?

Research question 3: Is there any relationship between the writing

scores and the attitude towards group work?

2.7 Theoretical framework:

The following theoretical framework for collaborative writing (Pham,

2021) was employed in this study

Figure 2.1 Framework for collaborative writing (Pham, 2021)

According to the theoretical framework, groups collaborated to develop topic ideas, create paragraph outlines, and negotiate group member

agreement

In terms of collaborative paragraph writing, students in each small group assigned parts of a paragraph to each group member to write based on the shared framework They then joined their writings to produce a full paragraph Then they all read the paragraph and provide suggestions for improvement

When everyone had finished their task, the group member put all of the parts together to make a whole paragraph

To sum up, everyone put forth the same amount of work to produce the same results

Topic selection Brainstorming together

It might be construed as during the brainstorming sessions, the person who came up with a beautiful thought or primary idea to construct the framework of the paragraph should be in charge of that major point to develop that paragraph When they were finished with their sections, they put all of the paragraphs together and negotiated or given criticism amongst themselves to ensure that the writing was cohesive and that the ideas were all in sync As a result, the members of the group worked together well enough to produce an excellent essay

2.8 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter provides the background and frameworks

of some critical factors related to group work, writing, and the relationship between them The chapter mentioned the concepts and ideas about writing

in group work, and the importance of working in groups in writing had been posted Besides group work in writing skill, benefits and drawbacks, and challenges of implementing collaborative writing are also reported Furthermore, some related studies in some countries and Vietnam are stated

as pieces of evidence for the relationship The following chapter intended to introduce the context and methodology of the study