The effectiveness of task based language teaching to improve writing skills for non majored english students a vietnamese case study at ho chi minh city open university

--- ∞0∞--- TRAN XUAN TRANG THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS FOR NON-MAJORED ENGLISH STUDENTS: A VIETNAMESE CASE STUDY AT HO CHI MINH CITY OP

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TRAN XUAN TRANG

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK-BASED LANGUAGE TEACHING TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS FOR NON-MAJORED ENGLISH STUDENTS:

A VIETNAMESE CASE STUDY AT

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022

Tai Lieu Chat Luong

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

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TRAN XUAN TRANG

THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK-BASED

LANGUAGE TEACHING TO IMPROVE WRITING SKILLS FOR NON-MAJORED ENGLISH STUDENTS:

A VIETNAMESE CASE STUDY AT

HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY

Major: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Major code: 8 14 01 11 MASTER OF ARTS IN TESOL

Supervisor: VO THI HONG LE, Dr

HO CHI MINH CITY, 2022

Tôi tên là: TRẦN XUÂN TRANG

Ngày sinh: 02/12/1989 Nơi sinh: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

Chuyên ngành: Lý luận và phương pháp dạy học bộ môn Tiếng Anh

Mã học viên: 1981401111023

Tôi đồng ý cung cấp toàn văn thông tin luận văn tốt nghiệp hợp lệ về bản quyền cho Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh Thư viện trường đại học Mở Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh sẽ kết nối toàn văn thông tin luận văn tốt nghiệp vào hệ thống thông tin khoa học của Sở Khoa học và Công nghệ Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh

I was able to enrich my intellectual and professional life for my professional development because of their enthusiastic contributions In addition, I want to thank the other members of the HCMC Open University staff who always provide for our needs

as students

I would also like to express my gratitude to my dear classmates During the MA

in TESOL degree, we experienced both good and difficult times together We did form

a team, and everyone on it motivated and inspired the others to keep going toward the goal Furthermore, I want to express my gratitude to my supportive colleagues at the Ho Chi Minh City Open University who helped me a lot when I implemented this study at the university

Last but not least, I owe my family a huge debt of gratitude for all of their help both before and during my studies for the Master’s in TESOL degree I wouldn’t have been able to get that far without my parents, my son and my soulmate

Abstract

This study explores how teachers and students have changed the methods to teach and learn English in recent times Writing has always been perceived as a difficult task for English Foreign Language (EFL) students at Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMC OU), are at elementary level of English with significant challenges in writing, including lack of confidence in communicative skills resulting in their inability to communicate efficiently in authentic out-of-class scenarios In line with recent empirical scholarship on EFL pedagogies, Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) is proposed as

an effective approach that facilitates both the teaching of communicative skills and engagement through the use of the target language and tasks in an authentic manner as used outside of the classroom

This paper, drawing on a mix-methods case study with 60 Vietnamese English major EFL students who are learning English as a compulsory subject at elementary level (A1-A2) at HCMC OU, examines what to extent TBLT can help improve writing skills for these non-English major students at the tertiary level The control group included 28 participants, whereas the experimental group included the remaining participants The data were collected via questionnaire, writing tests, and teacher’s observation For data analysis and statistical inference, Statistics Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 26 was used The findings indicate that the implementation of TBLT tasks in writing lessons provided by the teacher resulted in crucial improvements in students’ writing performance in terms of accuracy and fluency

non-in the classroom In addition, learner’ attitudes generally were positive toward writnon-ing lessons via TBLT in the classroom This study thus reaffirmed the educational benefits

of TBLT in terms of students’ writing abilities

Table of contents

Statement of authorship ii

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

Table of contents v

List of figures and tables viii

List of abbreviations xi

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background to the study 1

1.2 Statement of the problem 4

1.3 Research objectives 6

1.4 Research questions 6

1.5 Research hypothesis 6

1.6 Significance of the study 7

1.7 Organization of the study 7

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW 9

2.1 Writing 9

2.1.1 The definition of writing 9

2.2.2 Principles of teaching and learning writing 10

2.2.3 Writing performance 10

2.3 Assessment of learners’ attitudes toward using TBLT 11

2.4 The integration of TBLT in writing 12

2.4 Task-based language teaching 13

2.4.1 Communicative language teaching 13

2.4.2 The characteristics of Task-based language teaching 14

2.4.3 The frameworks of task-based language teaching 16

2.4.6 The benefits of TBLT vs traditional method 18

2.5 Empirical studies on TBLT and English writing teaching 19

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

3.3 Research design 21

3.3.1 Test data analytical framework 22

3.3.2 Questionnaire data analytical framework 22

3.3.3 Observation data analytical framework 22

3.2 Research site 24

3.3 Participants 26

3.4 Instruments: 27

3.4.1 Writing Tests (Pre-test and Post-test) 27

3.4.2 Questionnaire 29

3.4.3 Observation 31

3.5 Reliability and validity issues 32

3.5.1 Writing test 32

3.5.2 Questionnaire 33

3.5.2 Observation 33

3.6 Chapter summary 34

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 35

4.1 Data analysis 35

4.1.1 Writing test results 35

4.1.2 Survey results 45

4.1.3 Teacher’s observation 62

4.2 Discussion 65

4.2.1 Research question 1 66

4.2.2 Research question 2 67

4.3 Chapter summary 67

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 69

5.1 Conclusions 69

5.2 Contribution of the study 70

5.3 Implications 71

5.3.1 Recommendations for teachers 71

5.3.2 Recommendations for students 72

5.4 Limitations 73

5.5 Suggestions for further research 73

5.5 Chapter summary 74

References 75

Appendices 81

List of figures and tables

Table 2.1: Three aspects of language production 10

Table 2.2: Willis’s Task-based language teaching framework (1996) 16

Table 2.3: Ellis’s Task-based language teaching framework (2006) 17

Table 2.4: The benefits of TBLT vs traditional methods 18

Table 3.1: Observation’s objectives and tools 23

Table 3.2: Key points of observation checklist 24

Table 3.3: Data collection’s procedure 30

Table 4.1: The case processing summary in the Pre-test 36

Table 4.2: Tests of Normality of pre-test scores 37

Figure 4.1: Normal Q-Q Plot for the pre-test results 37

Table 4.3: Descriptive Statistics of the pre-test results 38

Table 4.4: Hypothesis Test Summary for the writing Pre-test results 39

Figure 4.2: The distribution of the writing pre-test results 39

Table 4.5: The case processing summary in the Post-test 40

Table 4.6: Tests of Normality of post-test scores 40

Figure 4.3: Normal Q-Q plots for post-test results 41

Table 4.7: Descriptive Statistics of the post-test results 41

Table 4.8: Hypothesis Test Summary for the writing post-test results 42

Figure 4.4: The distribution of the writing post-test results 42

Table 4.9: Descriptive Statistics of the control group 43

Table 4.10: Descriptive statistics of the experimental group 44

Table 4.11: Questionnaire’s reliability statistics of the control group 45

Table 4.12: Questionnaire’s reliability statistics of the experimental group 45

Figure 4.5: Participants’ ideas before the writing lessons start 46

Table 4.13: Means of items for participants’ feelings toward the writing exercises in the textbook 47

Table 4.14: Frequencies of items for participants’ feelings toward the writing exercises in the textbook 48

Table 4.15: Means of items for participants’ ideas on working in pairs/groups 48

Table 4.16: Frequencies of items for participants’ ideas on working in pairs/groups 49

Table 4.17: Means of items for participants’ ideas on teacher’s support in classroom 49 Table 4.18: Frequencies of items for participants’ ideas on teacher’s support in classroom 50

Table 4.19: Means of items for classroom environment 51

Table 4.20: Frequencies of items for classroom environment 51

Table 4.21: Means of items for participants’ opinions about further exercises/homework 51

Table 4.22: Frequencies of items for participants’ opinions about further exercises/homework 52

Figure 4.6: Participants’ ideas on warm-up activities 54

Table 4.23: Means of items for participants’ opinions about the tasks 54

Table 4.24: Frequencies of items for participants’ opinions about the tasks 55

Table 4.25: Means of items for participants’ opinions on working in groups 55

Table 4.26: Frequencies of items for participants’ opinions on working in groups 56

Table 4.27: Means of items for participants’ opinions toward teacher support 57

Table 4.28: Frequencies of items for participants’ opinions toward teacher support 58

Table 4.29: Means of items for classroom environment 58 Table 4.30: Frequencies of items for classroom environment 59 Table 4.31: Means of items for participants’ ideas on final exercises in class and

homework 59 Table 4.32: Frequencies of items for participants’ ideas on final exercises in class and homework 60

List of abbreviations

CLT: Communicative Language Teaching

EFL: English as Foreign Language

PPP: Present-Practice-Production

SD: Standard deviation

SLA: Second Language Acquisition

SPSS: Statistics Package for the Social Sciences

SRL: Self-regulatory learning

SD: Standard deviation

TBLT: Task-based language teaching

1.1 Background to the study

The context of globalization has spurred a significant interest among scholars in the importance of English as a lingua franca, which bridges the gap in people’s mother tongues from various social and cultural backgrounds The demand for the acquisition

of English as an international language has fostered the growth of language education

on a global scale However, mastery in English still has to confront certain obstacles in both language skills and language constructions (Harmer, 2011b) In recent years, teachers and students have changed the methods to teach and learn English Teachers are trying to enhance the students’ not only receptive skills (listening and reading) but also productive skills (speaking and writing) Of all these language skills, writing is considered the most challenging skill and it is very hard to master (Zhaochun, 2015), especially for those learning it as a foreign language The natural order in which a child learns his or her mother tongue is further supported by Ellis (2003), and it is undeniable that writing is the most difficult ability to master

It requires the synthesis, critique, and evaluation of the topic matters to produce effective writing performance without immediate interactions (Nation, 2018) Compared

to speaking skills as the other productive skill, writing does not allow the readers and writers to generate the speech acts of confirmation, affirmation, and request for further information to ensure the understanding of the target messages Specifically, writing has always been a difficult task for EFL students (Phuong, Van den Branden, Van Steendam,

& Sercu, 2015) Hence, the writing of essays, for example, must be concise, precise, and most importantly, intelligible, so that the readers can understand the exact meanings of the utterances with the low possibility of miscommunication

The progressive development of English language teaching over the last three decades has witnessed the emergence of various methods in language education from different theoretical and empirical perspectives As a part of the strong vision of communicative language teaching, which emerged in the 90s, TBLT is a method that creates opportunities for the learners to obtain language skills in integrating real-world tasks (Long, 2014) Curricular policies, according to research undertaken throughout East Asian contexts, have had a limited overall impact on English language education, which remains traditional with an explicit grammar-teaching focus (Adams & Newton, 2009; Carless, 2007; Hu, 2005; Zhang, 2007) In nations such as China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, national curricula and Ministry of Education policies all state that TBLT approaches to teaching English should be implemented at all levels of the curriculum (Adams & Newton, 2009) Similarly, the Vietnamese government has modified national language policies and curricula to promote various types of communicative language teaching, including TBLT, in order to increase the quality of EFL teaching and learning

in the Vietnamese context (Cao, 2018; Yen, 2016) As a result, policymakers and curriculum projects in Vietnamese tertiary education have endorsed TBLT and they support the organization of workshops and conferences for teachers on TBLT (Cao, 2018) to upskill them professionally

Generally speaking, TBLT engages learners in meaningful dialogue and engagement through communicative and interactive exercises (Bygate, Skehan, & Swain, 2013; Nunan, 2004) According to Ellis and Shintani (2013, p 136) the task is

defined as “These four criteria then are directed at ensuring that a task results in

language use where learners treat the language as a ‘tool’ for achieving a communicative outcome rather than as an ‘object’ to be studied, analysed and

displayed” In addition, the task serves as the major context and emphasis for learning

in TBLT, and it stimulates language use in the same way it is used outside of the classroom (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019) TBLT is a method of language instruction that allows students to engage in authentic use of the target language through tasks (Ellis, 2003) Besides that, TBLT has proved its benefits through many researches in many contexts around the world For example, students in Indonesia are known to have improved their written output results by increasing their vocabulary, reducing grammar errors, improving the language’s syntax, and becoming more autonomous and responsible, according to the findings (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019) Furthermore, TBLT also enabled learners’ faith in the writing process to grow (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019) Another study found that students have positive feelings about using TBLT in language classes in terms of engagement, collaboration, and motivation (Parvaneh & Barzegar, 2020) It was found that TBLT was more effective in fostering language learners’ writing skills than the conventional language teaching approach based on the more pervasive Presentation-Practice-Production paradigm (Harmer, 2011b) Additionally, a replicative research study revealed that student’s learning outcomes in the TBLT classroom improved in terms of vocabulary, grammar, organization, and content in their writing (Sholihah, 2013)

In the context of English learning and teaching at HCMC OU, non-majored English students are learning English as a compulsory subject and they are at elementary level (A1-A2) These students are with different majors, namely economics, technology, business English, so on Students are expected to produce a variety of texts in the General English 4 course, including brief emails, instructions, thank you messages, and a trip

blog, etc based on the subject topics in Life Elementary 2nd edition (2017) published by

Cengage learning from Unit 5 to Unit 8 They are required to practice specific writing skills in the course, such as reference words, punctuation, formal and informal expressions, and the use of words such as “so and because” These writing skills are

meant to enable learners to write effectively in a variety of contexts However, practically, there are several issues of concern, and these will be discussed in the section below

1.2 Statement of the problem

From basic school through university, English is a required and important subject

in Vietnamese education It is regarded as a requirement in Vietnamese society because the government, as a developing country, has an open-door policy to attract foreign investment and is moving toward global integration As a result, English is required for additional career prospects, higher education, and daily communication

The current results of EFL education in Vietnam are far from ideal, according to researchers, educators, and teachers in Vietnam (Canh, 1999; Huy Thinh, 2006; Loc, 2005; Phuong et al., 2015) Vietnamese students typically have a lower level of foreign language proficiency than other students in the Asian area (Phuong et al., 2015) Governmental initiatives to enhance ELT practices are less formal at the tertiary level

To enable teachers to debate and exchange issues, experiences, and strategies for enhancing the efficacy of tertiary English teaching, seminars and conferences have been arranged (Nguyen, 2011) However, these conversations and initiatives have not led to any sustainable and long-term research or educational agendas

Despite the importance of conversational skills outlined above, many Vietnamese EFL teachers still insist on traditional methodologies like Grammar Translation Method (GTM) or Audio-Lingo Method (ALM), and find it difficult to switch to a new strategy (Pham & Do, 2022; Phan, 2018) These traditional teaching methods are known as synthetic techniques, and a typical criticism of them is that they do not assist students in developing a high level of communicative skill (Ellis, 2013) Such traditional models of direct instruction aimed toward gaining knowledge about the English language at the expense of developing communicative competence continues to dominate English language teaching in Vietnam The most prevalent model of language learning in

Vietnam has been seen to include listening to the teacher, then repeating, and finally reproducing linguistic models offered by the teacher (Canh, 1999; Hiep, 2007) The PPP approach is presented with chunks of language focusing on grammatical principles and rote learning of the target language structures (Ahmed & Bidin, 2016) Indeed, one of the most distinguishing characteristics of EFL teaching in Vietnam is the traditional emphasis on correctness and target language forms For a long time, teaching grammar and sentence patterns has been a priority in writing education (Tran, 2001, 2007) Additionally, given the Vietnamese setting, many students experience difficulties in their day-to-day lives (Pham & Do, 2022) Such pedagogical practices lead to ineffective ways of learning and unexpected results in producing writing products As a result, the teacher-centred system instructs students who struggle to communicate effectively in real-life circumstances

This reflects the current reality in Vietnam in general and in the classrooms at HCMC OU in particular At HCMC OU, non-majored English students are at low-language proficiency (A1-A2) It has been generally observed by lecturers, that the majority of them have trouble writing in English Many students’ works are deemed to

be incoherent and unpersuasive when it comes to presenting their views In addition, due

to lack of adequate vocabulary and grammar, students confront a number of writing obstacles Furthermore, they feel a lack of confidence in communicative skills and are afraid of writing which makes it difficult for them to communicate successfully in real-life situations

Based on these identified problems in the teaching context, the researcher intends

to problematize the design of an effective method to facilitate better writing skills for these EFL students at HCMC OU In response to the above-mentioned weaknesses of PPP, TBLT, on the hand, is hereby proposed as a more effective and efficient approach

to the teaching of communicative skills and through an engagement with communicative tasks in the target language in the same way it is used outside of the classroom (Bygate

et al., 2013; Ellis, 2003; Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019; Nunan, 2004) There is compelling evidence supported by empirical findings of previous studies that TBLT helps students enhance not only their comprehension skills, but also their grammatical resources for writing (Ellis, 2009) From the reasons mentioned above, the topic of using TBLT to improve writing skills for non-majored students at HCMC OU is deemed to be of importance, both for teachers and learners in enhancing the facilitation of students’ writing performance

1.3 Research objectives

In alignment with the contextualization above, this study aims to investigate the practicalities of TBLT in improving non-majored English students’ writing skills at Open University To this end, the study attempts to fulfil the following objective: To investigate to the employment of TBLT to improve writing skills for non-English-majored students at HCMC OU

1.4 Research questions

To achieve the research as mentioned above objectives, the current study intends

to answer the following research questions:

1 To what extent can Task-based language teaching help to improve writing skills for non-majored English students at Ho Chi Minh City Open University?

2 What are non-majored English students’ attitudes toward the implementation

of Task-based language teaching to improve writing skills?

1.5 Research hypothesis

The study consists of the following hypothesis based on the research questions: 1) Task-based language teaching enhances non-English-majored students’ writing performance Furthermore, the students and teachers could favour implementing the new method Further, the study hypothesizes that 2) Real or authentic communication is necessary for language learning; 3) Activities in which language is utilized to do

meaningful tasks increase learning opportunities, and 4) Language that is perceived to

be relevant to the learner aids in the learning process

1.6 Significance of the study

As discussed above, traditional methods of teaching English are still used at universities in Vietnam, therefore this study has the potential to create a meaningful shift

in English teaching and learning In terms of its theoretical significance, this study will provide both theoretical and pragmatic fundamentals for scholars to evaluate and critique the particular teaching techniques or methods to maximize the implementation of task-based language teaching in terms of enhancing non-majored English students’ writing skills at HCMC OU Regarding empirical significance, teachers can align their lesson plans on the theory to design appropriate and contextually-sensitive sequences at universities to fulfil course requirements and meet the expected learning outcomes

1.7 Organization of the study

The present study comprises three chapters:

Chapter 1 contextualises the whole thesis with the introduction Seven parts are included: the background of the problem, rationale of the study, aim of the study, research questions, hypothesis, and significance of the research and organization of the study

Chapter 2 is the literature review wherein the theoretical framework, findings from empirical studies, and the conceptual framework are discussed Past studies of relevance to the thesis are presented and critiqued, and finally, a conceptual framework for the study is formulated This conceptual framework is later employed to make meaning in analysing the data, as reported in Chapter 4

Chapter 3 presents the research design and methodology employed in the study This chapter consists of the research design, study setting, participants’ descriptions, research instruments as well as the reliability and validity of the study The main

emphasis of this chapter is rationalizing the methodological choices adopted for this study

Chapter 4 presents the data analysis and discussion of the study This chapter consists of data analysis of writing test, survey, teacher’s observations, and the discussion of two research questions

Chapter 5 presents the findings of the study The several parts comprise of the conclusions, the contribution of the study, the implications, limitations of the study, and suggestions for further research in the future

CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter locates and critiques extant literature on Writing and Task-based Language Teaching (TBLT) in order to problematise the main concepts employed in this study In doing so, it specifically gains a nuanced understanding of the Task-based language teaching approach, its framework, in relation to English Foreign Language (EFL) writing skills

2.1 Writing

2.1.1 The definition of writing

As argued at the beginning of this thesis, writing is regarded as one of the most difficult abilities to master, regardless of whether the language is one’s first, second, or third (Nunan, 1999) Writing in a foreign language involves the ability to use mechanics such as capitalization, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, lexical objects, and their conventional representation in daily writing in a foreign language (Hegarty, 2000) Additionally, writing requires very complicated talents that go beyond simply producing text (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987; Chenoweth & Hayes, 2001; Flower, 1980; Hayes, 1996) For example, understanding grammatical principles, lexical instruments, and logical connections, as well as the ability to conceive concepts, formulate them in sentences and paragraphs, and edit them in well-developed ways, are all necessary for good writing (Nunan, 1999) While students and teachers recognize the importance of listening, reading, and speaking as part of the learning process, writing, while crucial for language practice and exams, is sometimes overlooked as a skill, probably due to the time commitment (Harmer, 2011b), hence the need for this study to specifically look into the feasibility of TBLT in the context of EFL writing in Vietnamese higher education, as manifested in one particular university (HCMC OU)

2.2.2 Principles of teaching and learning writing

Teaching and learning to write are not easy tasks because there are many aspects which must be considered, such as grammar, vocabulary, and mechanics of writing in order to produce an intelligible piece of writing

First, students need to learn time-management skills which tends to take some time and training Second, students must think and organize their ideas to express a message This process of organizing their writing must also follow certain steps (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019) The type of writing that the instructor wants students to write has some bearing on the final result that the teacher receives (Harmer, 2011a) Students are asked to write for a variety of reasons Additionally, these authors feel that writing exercises allow students to explore new ideas, organize them, think critically, and develop their communication skills Because writing exercises make students aware

of the thought process involved, teachers can and should engage students with various assignments in class when they recognize their interests and needs (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019)

2.2.3 Writing performance

According to Skehan (2014), writing task performance includes the three aspects language production: complexity, accuracy, and fluency in studies investigating task performance (Skehan, 2014)

Table 2.1 Three aspects of language production as described by Skehan (2014)

Aspects of language production Description

Complexity

(or new, or emerging language)

It is associated with change, development, and risk-taking, but also possible error

Accuracy This possible error demonstrates a need for greater control,

eventually leading to greater accuracy, as the new language may

be avoided, performance may be halting and slow and probably reliant on a rule-based system which has not yet been automatized

Fluency The next stage is to acquire even greater control, to

proceduralise, and to produce correct language Fluently, without excessive interruptions to flow, and without the need to apply rules with awareness

Writing is often regarded as the most difficult language skill because it involves

a range of linguistic elements, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, etc (Hapsari & Sukavatee, 2018) As a result, in order to write successfully, language learners must meet two criteria: writing fluency and writing accuracy Fluency is described as a learner’s capacity to communicate effectively in a second language by emphasizing meanings and employing a variety of lexical elements (Skehan, 1998) Accuracy, on the other hand, is defined as ability to avoid error in performance, and the degree of correctness to what extent students write correct English (Skehan & Foster, 1999) Ellis (2003, p 340) defined second language accuracy measure as, “the learner’s ability to produce error free target language” It means how language written language during L2 performance was accurate

Writing fluency and writing accuracy are measured in the study using the terms

“content” and “language”, which are based on the writing scale evaluation from the study’s chosen standardized test’s test handbook (2020) (KEY A2)

2.3 Assessment of learners’ attitudes toward using TBLT

Exploring students’ attitudes about learning is crucial in language instruction because it reveals how committed, motivated, and effective students are at learning the language In the beginning, learners’ cognition and affection may be determinants of their conduct when learning a language The behavioral, cognitive, and affective dimensions of learners’ attitudes toward language learning are also mentioned in relation

to attitude components (Brown & Abeywickrama, 2010) These aspects are based on the three theoretical stances of behaviorism, cognitivism, and humanism This line of thought is founded on the idea that a person’s thoughts and feelings influence how they behave Therefore, a positive outlook on the training course aids students in maintaining motivation as they advance in their learning

Next, it is important to consider how learners’ attitudes affect their performance while evaluating their achievement According to Gardner and Lambert (1972), students’

attitudes regarding their target language have a clear influence on their language proficiency For instance, if students have favorable attitudes toward the skill of writing

in English, they are likely to continue to study the skill and engage in communicative activities as regularly and passionately as they can to develop their written communication In this situation, a survey in conjunction with a writing test could be utilized to determine whether students have been motivated and actively engaged in an effective language learning process Hence, questionnaires for assessing learners’ attitudes toward the implementation of Task-based language teaching to improve writing skills are designed by the researcher based on the PPP and TBLT teaching and learning principles

Finally, it is critical to comprehend how students feel about the use of TBLT in writing instruction because this will have an impact on their behavior, tenacity, motivation, and learning effectiveness The development of the study’s questionnaires is thus essential in order to assess learners’ views toward TBLT and English writing

2.4 The integration of TBLT in writing

The integration of TBLT in academic writing has shown several positive effects First, learners’ motivation level is enhanced when they can participate in real-world tasks

as the traditional classroom for test preparation courses are often considered as boring (Long, 2015) TBLT generates the conditions for the combination of skills in one lesson

to diversify the classroom atmosphere and maximize the contexts and complementary skills; hence, writing can be integrated with speaking or reading in the task completion

to mitigate boredom in the class Students then tend to invest more time and pay attention

to the lessons in the EFL classroom

In addition, learners’ writing performance is developed in accuracy, fluency, discourse management (Sundari, 2018) TBLT can shape purposeful content for learners

to create the flow of the writing essay involving a high level of critical thinking and greater metacognitive awareness Successfully incorporating material from a source text

necessitates a thorough understanding of lexical, grammatical, rhetorical, and sociocultural contexts Aside from improving these skills and promoting lexical sophistication, integrated writing enhances them both (Abrams, 2019; Cooney, Darcy,

& Casey, 2018; Gebril, 2018; Grabe & Zhang, 2013) Thereby, in TBLT research, integrated writing tasks should be investigated to see if they minimize cognitive load during pre-planning or increase cognitive burden during execution, and if learners are forced to employ vocabulary or interpret world references that are beyond their skill level (Kormos, 2011) Previous studies of the effects of TBLT on learners’ writing skills

in the world and in Vietnam are discussed in the following section

2.4 Task-based language teaching

2.4.1 Communicative language teaching

The government in Vietnam have promoted communicative language teaching (CLT), and some Vietnamese teachers have tried to adopt it in the classroom (Hiep, 2007; Vo, Wyatt, & McCullagh, 2016) The notion of CLT was first introduced into language education since the 1970s It was believed that communicative language teaching could enhance learners’ communicative competence Communicative competence is defined as understanding and reflecting the communication process (Savignon, 2002) In addition, communicative competence includes the following four main aspects of language knowledge (Richards & Rodgers, 2014) First, learners can use English to reach various purposes and functions in different contexts for both social and academic situations Second, the learner should improvise and modify their language use according to the relationships with the partners/interlocutors as well as the context of the conversation Third, they have to be able to generate and comprehend various textual materials Finally, they can maintain the continuity of conversation regardless of their linguistic limitations and errors – in other words, the emphasis is on fluency rather than accuracy These four expected abilities are the real-life characteristics learners are

supposed to obtain in the normal communication process, which a TBLT approach can promote and facilitate, as discussed in the next section

2.4.2 The characteristics of Task-based language teaching

As a branch of communicative language teaching, Task-based language teaching follows the strong vision of CLT to use language to learn the language In the EFL context, in this model, English is adopted in various contexts and functions of the speech community TBLT has emerged to meet the needs of real-world tasks among learners to reach intended communicative purposes in writing and speaking A task is “real-world activity” that people have to finish as the need of daily life, such as making a phone call

or buying an item (Long, 2015) Tasks in the classroom are the duties or activities organized in the school setting to encourage learners to perform in order to achieve specific intended aims In TBLT programs, tasks provide the basis or units to design, apply and evaluate the program’s organization The learning outcomes of each lesson are identified in correlation with the progressive development of the tasks and the task purposes (Nunan, 2004) As noted earlier, TBLT is a shift from traditional teaching methods such as the grammar-translation method and audiolingual method In TBLT, teachers do not act as the source of control; instead, such learner-centred approach affords agency to learners who take responsibility for their learning process to achieve functional performances

TBLT has several distinctive characteristics that are established in consideration

of constructivism and interaction According to Nunan (2004, p.1), TBLT should follow certain principles The selection of the subject content is dependent on the needs of the learners and the real world, while the tasks themselves are designed based on learners’ characteristics and demands in the actual situation The stimulation of communicative activities is fostered through the interactions in the classroom in the target language Groups or class tasks are the opportunities for learners to propose and discuss their perceptions with others to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses

Moreover, the degree of materials’ authenticity is maximized via replicating the real tasks for learners to display their possible behaviours in real life As an exercise of constructivism, TBLT focuses not only on the language but also on learners’ experiences

in the learning process to formulate soft skills such as collaboration or problem-solving (Willis & Willis, 2013) It is therefore suggested that tasks should be designed to enhance the personalization in learners’ exposure to class activities as it contributes to the overall effectiveness of classroom activities In addition, TBLT also adopts functionalism to generate the bridge between classroom learning and language use outside the class (Ellis, 2003; Ellis, Li, & Zhu, 2019) Hence, extracurricular activities, such as listing tasks, matching tasks, ranking tasks, and sequencing tasks that serve as a handy technique to introduce target vocabulary at the beginning of a task sequence; questionnaires, and quizzes that might be applied to encourage students to share their experiences and discuss about their own lives, can be conducted in the TBLT model

The following categories of tasks should be understood by TBLT users while creating TBLT lessons Willis and Willis (2013) listed various of tasks based on written and spoken texts such as discussion tasks, general knowledge tasks, or sharing personal experience tasks A discussion task is an activity in which learners commit themselves

to an opinion on the issue For example, students are required to answer the questions that the teacher gives them A general knowledge task is the type of task in which students answer the quiz, and discuss their answers with their peers or their group members For instance, the teacher could assign them for the true/false questions, or the open-ended questions in which students need to generate their ideas, then compare their answers with one or two others At last, a sharing personal experience task is known as

a storytelling topic in which learners are encourage to talk about their experiences For example, the students are asked to tell their journey that went wrong, or their best vacation experience

This method focuses on optimizing the effectiveness of communication to ensure the high possibility of mutual understanding and at the same time reducing dependence

on traditional grammatical structures (Willis & Willis, 2013) Ellis (2006) claims that a proper task should fulfil four key features First, the task should focus on the meaning of the activities rather than the form of expression The completion of the task can adopt different strategies and methods as long as the communicative goals can be achieved via the assurance of a thorough understanding of the intention of two communicators (Ellis, 2017) It is necessary to sacrifice expressions with little regard to grammatical structures

to reach a purposeful meaning Second, the real-world task is designed to provide learners with opportunities to perform a function or a goal The task should be meaningful in that it can allow learners to conduct a real task, such as presentation or negotiation, rather than the imitated situations of a traditional classroom Third, it is quite contrary to a conventional classroom which focuses on the grammatical structures and linguistic resources in language learning Task-based learning emphasizes using both linguistic resources (grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation) and non-linguistic resources (images, body language) to optimize the success of the communication Forth, the task should be designed around the expected learning outcomes instead of language only In other words, the assessment of tasks is determined by the products of the classroom sequence, rather than by process alone

2.4.3 The frameworks of task-based language teaching

There are several proposed frameworks for TBLT in the field of applied linguistics In Willis’s framework of TBLT (1996), the sequence includes three stages: pre-task, task cycle, and language focus

Table 2.2 Willis’s Task-based language teaching framework (1996)

Analysis; Practice

It is proposed that the pre-task is the activation of the learning intention before completing the task (Willis, 1996) This stage involves the introduction of the linguistic resources to prepare for the completion of the task cycle In the task cycle, learners participate in different modes of interaction such as group or pair to perform the task towards the intended outcomes At the same time, teachers will serve as a facilitator to provide immediate support or guidance when and if necessary Then, learners have to prepare to present the product of the tasks in front of the class, while teachers will give constructive feedback for each presentation In the language focus, learners are guided

to review the language used in the task Willis’ model follows the inductive sequence, and these language constructions are all consolidated in the language focus

Specifically a succeeding model developed based on Willis’s model and other theories about task-based language teaching to mitigate the dependence on the form of language is Ellis’s TBLT framework (Ellis, 2006) He synthesizes the three main phases, including pre-task, main task, and post-task that characterize many task-based lessons

Table 2.3 Ellis’s Task-based language teaching framework (2006)

A – Pre-task *Framing the activity (e g establishing the

outcome of the task)

*Planning time

*Doing a similar task

C – Post-task *Number of participants

so that they can try and adapt to the requirements of the outcomes

During the main task, learners will have to perform the task as a requirement under time pressure Time pressure can elevate learners’ motivation and trigger their efforts to finish the task within the allocated and allowed time frame Another option of TBLT is that teachers can choose to allow learners to get access to the input language or not Such lack of continuous input from teachers will develop the learners’ problem-solving skills when they have to brainstorm and figure out all appropriate methods to deal with the tasks The last option refers to introducing the ‘surprising element’ in the activities to foster learners’ adaptability; however, this option is not preferred as it is said

to occasionally cause confusion among participants (Long, 2015)

The last stage of this model is the post-task in which learners will report the product of the tasks to the teachers and the class Teachers will provide corrective feedback and signify the strengths and weaknesses of the performance More focus on the form will be discussed in this phase to raise further awareness of the learners towards the impact of the task, so that they can generate particular personal reflections on the activities (Long, 2015; Willis & Willis, 2013) The issues related to the linguistic elements will be discussed in this phase for the learners to understand the problems they have encountered during the task and propose suggestions for improvement

2.4.6 The benefits of TBLT vs traditional method

Table 2.4 The benefits of TBLT vs traditional methods

Traditional classroom TBLT classroom

The emphasis is on changing

roles between teacher and

-Students’ responding role &

performing a limited range of language functions

-Leader and organizer of discussion

-Students able to control topic

- Students’ initiating and responding roles and performing a wide range of language functions

The teacher becomes a guide

and the learners become

more participatory

-Scaffolding for enabling students to produce correct sentences

-Form-focused feedback -Teacher regulates turn-taking

-Manager of group/pair work -Scaffolding for enabling students to say what they want

to say -Content-focused feedback -Turn-taking is regulated by the same rules

The learner is placed at the

center of the learning process Little negotiate meaning More negotiate meaning

In the light of the above discussion, the table above shows the benefits of TBLT

vs traditional method (Kiranmayi, 2012; Nunan, 2006; Willis & Willis, 2013)

2.5 Empirical studies on TBLT and English writing teaching

There have been several research studies investigating the impacts of TBLT to enhance students’ writing performance in various EFL and ESL contexts Generally, these studies have pointed out the importance of TBLT in language education

For example, in Columbia, Gonzalez and Pinzon’s (2019) findings revealed that students improved their written production results; they increased their vocabulary, reduced grammar errors, improved the language’s syntax, and became more autonomous and responsible In addition, students’ confidence in the writing processes also improved (Gonzalez & Pinzon, 2019) In other words, the use of TBLT had enhanced the students’ overall writing skills Another study by Parvaneh and Barzegar (2020) on 60 lower intermediate learners of Iranian EFL context shows that learners expressed positive attitudes towards implementing TBLT in language teaching in terms of interaction, collaborative learning, and motivation The course of English allowed learners to implicitly obtain language and personally identify the rules to apply to the output performance

Similarly, in the context of Vietnam, the application of TBLT in writing has drawn more attention of learners to self-regulated strategies in writing lessons (Phuong

et al., 2015) In the higher education teaching and learning context, Phuong et al (2015) investigated TBLT as one of the conditions facilitating self-regulatory learning (SRL) in

the writing classroom A longitudinal study using qualitative tool was employed in the study which involved 138 students of English Language Studies at a university in Vietnam The findings revealed that students significantly improved their overall scores

of self-regulatory writing strategies, as evidenced in their personal self-regulation scores

In addition, Le Diem Bui and Newton (2020)’s findings are reflections and implications on the TBLT lesson design for teachers and teacher educators The study took place in three Grade 4 classrooms in primary schools in Vietnam to examine how PPP textbook lessons were turned into TBLT lessons The findings revealed that when implemented in real classrooms, the TBLT lessons were well received by teachers and students alike and created richer language learning opportunities

Moreover, Pham and Do (2022)’s findings are encouraging with regards to the implementation of TBLT in Vietnam The results of this study show that the TBLT model significantly impacted students’ grammatical performance in speaking and writing skills, although it did not outperform PPP instruction However, language teachers were still encouraged to use the TBLT model because it had provided numerous opportunities for students to practice the language in grammar classrooms and motivated students to participate in classroom activities, opportunities that were missing in the PPP model

As we can see, the belief that TBLT maximizes learners’ language competency has been extensively researched and applied across many educational settings Although this is not a new concept in language education, there are still misconceptions about TBLT, which leads to further contemporary misapplications of the pedagogy in Vietnam (Na, 2017) Until now in Vietnam, there is little experimental research about TBLT’s impacts on university student’ writing skills, hence the need to conduct this study

The following chapter describes the methodological choices adopted for this study and the theoretical and practical rationales behind such choices

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes the methodology used in the research project and rationalises the methodological choices made for this research The chapter also depicts the research design, study setting, participants chosen, instruments used, and reliable and validity of the study Each of these sections will be discussed respectively

3.3 Research design

Creswell (2012, p 535) defined a mixed methods research design as “a procedure for collecting, analyzing, and ‘mixing’ both quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study or a series of studies to understand a research problem” In addition, due to the limited amount of time and the administrative capacity not allowing the researcher

to apply the randomization on learners to generate an ideal experiment, the participants were selected and divided by the university conveniently available for the study, a quasi-experimental design was used This entailed the use of an intervention but not random assignment of participants to groups (Creswell, 2012; Fraenkel, Wallen, & Hyun, 2012) Hence, this study adopted the mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative approaches with a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impacts of Task-based language teaching (TBLT) on non-majored English students’ writing skills and to explore the factors that are likely to impact the use of TBLT to improve writing skills

In order to investigate the effects of TBLT on participants’ English writing abilities, this study took a quantitative approach and used quasi-experimental research

In addition, a survey was also used to gather qualitative information about the participants’ attitudes toward the writing courses In short, in order to explore the factors that might affect the use of TBLT in the classroom, the data used for this study came from two sources: test data, including the results of writing assessments given to groups participating in the experiment as pre- and post-tests, and questionnaire data, including

information gathered from a survey of participants’ attitudes toward TBLT for writing

As a result, different frameworks for the data analysis were created, as described below

3.3.1 Test data analytical framework

Regarding data analysis statistical methods, descriptive analysis, and Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U Test were used Firstly, descriptive statistics were calculated for all variables For the purpose of describing the participants’ writing ability, the minimum score, the maximum score, the mean, and the standard deviation (SD) of the items were tabulated Scores in accordance with the rubric and mean scores were taken into account to define the similarity before the experiment and difference between the two groups after the experiment Secondly, Independent-Samples Mann-Whitney U Tests were used for comparing means of the control group and the experimental groups’ overall writing performance (CG and EG)

3.3.2 Questionnaire data analytical framework

Secondly, descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and SD were used for description of the participants’ demographics and attitude towards TBLT to explore the factors could affect the use of TBLT in the classroom The data for each thematic item in the questionnaire was based on the lesson plan stage Based on the following interpretation method, item means were used to evaluate learners’ attitudes For open-ended questions, the participants’ responses from Vietnamese to English for the use of analysing data were translated

In addition, participant groups’ score sets were checked for normal distribution

In other words, descriptive analysis of the data was used to produce participant writing tests and survey results, which provided evidence for conclusions to the research questions

3.3.3 Observation data analytical framework

The information gathered through observations was utilized to evaluate linguistic skills such as cooperation, peer interaction, and students’ attitudes toward

non-writing courses, which supported the answers to the research questions The possible observed performance was also used to assess student’s linguistics performance in the classroom, such as interaction with classmates, sentence-level oral production skills, discourse-level skills, and so on To carry out classroom observation, Brown and Abeywickrama (2010, pp 142-143), suggested taking the following steps:

- Determine the specific objectives of the observation

- Decide how many students will be observed at one time

- Set up the logistics for making unnoticed observations

- Design a system for recording observed performances

- Do not overestimate the number of different elements you can observe at one

time – keep them very limited

- Plan how many observations you will make

- Determine specifically how you will use the results

In line with this, the researcher employed the MS Team application for recording

to observe all the participants in each class Notes were taken on participants’ attitudes toward the writing lessons, interaction with peers and teacher during the lessons Table 3.1 presents the observation’ objectives and tools being used during the three stages of the lesson plan in each group

Table 3.1: Observation’s objectives and tools

1 Learner-learner’s

interaction

Groups’ discussion, Chat messages, recording videos on MS Team application; writing on Padlet application

2 Learner-Teacher’s

interaction

Discussion, Question-Answer with Teacher

on screen, recording videos on MS Team application

3 Classroom’s environment

Groups’ discussion, Chat messages, recording videos in MS Team application; writing on Padlet application Discussion, Question-Answer with Teacher on screen

An observation checklist was designed to record notes which document a student’s learning progress included variables such as whole-class, content of the topic, linguistic competence, materials, skill (writing) (Brown and Abeywickrama (2010, pp

142-143) (see more Appendix 1)

Table 3.2: Key points of observation checklist Participants: Whole-class/group discussion

Date…

Material: Textbook Life

Unit 5 – Writing lesson

Responses to teacher and student posed questions show you

were paying attention

Asking for clarification

3.2 Research site

The study was conducted at Ho Chi Minh City Open University (HCMC OU), located in Ho Chi Minh City, widely recognized as the most dynamic city in the area However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all the classes at Open University changed to the offline mode into the online mode during the time of data collection Thus, the researcher taught the two classes by the online mode through the MS Team application

which was provided and supported by the university The research took place in two classrooms throughout the first semester of the school year, totalling 33.75 hours of English instruction The EG was conducted from October, 20th 2021 to November, 20th

2021, while the CG was carried out from November, 29th 2021 to December, 31st 2021 Every week, each class had 6.75 hours of English instruction

The General English 4 class adopted the student book of Life Elementary 2nd

edition (2017) published by Cengage Learning from Unit 5 to Unit 8 Each unit was

divided into four skills – Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing; language areas – Vocabulary, Pronunciation, and Grammar; Review and Memories Booster This textbook was considered by HCMC OU as a comprehensive and motivated tool for teachers to help the students develop all four skills of English

For both the CG and EG, the intervention consisted of two teaching programs spread over 10 weeks The teaching schedules for the CG and EG are displayed in

(Appendix 2) This schedule was derived from the HCMC OU-approved lesson plan for

General English 4 course

The General English 4 course consisted of 05 units each of which divided into 07 sub-units After every unit, there was a revision for the students’ recall of knowledge and practice of skills Sections of Review and Memory Booster were designed to help both teachers and learners relate to necessary knowledge and exercises in a convenient way Besides that, students are offered learning accounts on a web-based learning management system called MyELT which is provided by Cengage Online Learning Through this, HCMC OU students had more ways of self-regular learning to practice English after they studied in class sessions Specifically, in the writing skill lessons, students learned how to write paragraphs or write letters and emails about the specific

topics The requirements of writing skills are in these units (Appendix 3)

3.3 Participants

Participants in the study were selected based on convenience sampling (Fraenkel

et al., 2012) because they were chosen and divided by the university conveniently available for the study However, the students’ levels were reliable when they took part

in the placement test earlier and were categorized into five different General English levels, even though the researcher had no authority to select classes or students at HCMC

OU Sixty freshmen who did not major in English and were enrolled in two of the researcher’s General English 4 classes made up the majority of the participants All participants were 18-20 years old Among them, 32 students took part in the EG while

28 students took part in the CG They attend HCMC OU but do not major in English; instead, they study in other faculties like Economics, Technology, Business English, Bank, Accounting, and Law Before beginning General English 4, they all had to take a placement exam in English In other words, they had comparable levels of English proficiency (A1-A2)

There were 28 more female participants (87.5%) in the EG than male ones; while

there were 17 more female participants (60.71%) in the CG than male ones (see Appendix

4) Students between the ages of 18 and 20 made up the majority of both categories,

accounting for 100% of them Additionally, the majority of the participants had been studying English for over seven years All the participants agreed to be a part of the study

as they orally confirmed with the researcher in the first lesson When the study took

place, these students in both groups learned the same materials (the textbook Life) and

they took mid-term tests and final-tests in a fixed time as required by the English Language department at HCMC OU The participants in both the CG and EG were required to complete a questionnaire once the course was over They all took part and

completed the survey (see Appendix 10)