Luận văn problems experienced by teachers in teaching writing to english major students at hanoi university of industry and suggested solutions

Contribution of the study ‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wri

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL S

FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

(CÁC VĂN ĐÈ GIÁO VIÊN GẶP PUÁI TRONG VIỆC DẠY VIẾT CHO SINII VIÊN

CHUYEN TIENG ANH TRUONG BALE HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI VÀ MỘT VÀI HƯỜNG

GIẢI QUYẾT)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Tlanoi, 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST — GRADUATE STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

(CÁC VĂN ĐÈ GIÁO VIÊN GẶP PUÁI TRONG VIỆC DẠY VIẾT CHO SINII VIÊN

CHUYEN TIENG ANH TRUONG BALE HỌC CÔNG NGHIỆP HÀ NỘI VÀ MỘT VÀI HƯỜNG

GIẢI QUYẾT)

M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology

Supervisor: Nguyén Thu Lé ILing, M.A

Tani, 2010

Ratlonalc of the study eo een

Aims of the siudy

w Scope of the sty

B Method of the study

xà Contribution of the study

PART Lt DEVELOPMENT

CITAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

1.2 The importance of writing

1.3 Approaches to teaching writing

1.3.1 The product approach

1.3.2 ‘The process approach

1 3.3 Differences betwesn the two approaches

1.4, Factors affecting the teaching and learning of writing

1.4.1, Leamers’ personality

1.4.2 Motivation

eed

"` vi

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

PART LE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Of all four language skills, writing seems to be the most difficult one for both learners and tgachors, Tt rogniros bolh good commumicalive competence and logical thinking Despite thase requirements, writing is very necessary Tn language tzerning process, it helps learuers nol only improve other skills but promote their ways of thinking as well Therefore, teaching writing plays a fimdamental role in teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language

However, there exist lots of problems in teaching writing, especially at Hanoi University of

Industry (HaUD, whore the author of this thesis works Most of the teachers, particularly teachers teaching writing to English major students, tind it measy to motivate their students to write, to make their writing lessons more inferesting and so forth In spite of these obstacles, there is a lack of studics on teaching writing

As a result of the reasons above, the study “Problems experienced by teachers in teaching writing to English major students at Hanai University of Industry and Suggested Solutions”

is condneted in an atlempt to address he gap i the literature and lo offer English writing teachers, especially the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi University of industry, some effective solutions to their current problems Iinally, this study is also haped to lay a foundation on which subsaquenl rescarches into this matter is based and

udy is carried oul with the wish of achieving the two primary aims:

- To find out what the problems that teachers at HaUl experience in teaching writing to English major students are

~ To suggest some solutions to the problerns in teaching writing,

‘These aims are shown clearly in addressing the following research questions

- What are the problems that teachers at ITaUI experience in teaching writing ta English

major students?

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

PART LE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Of all four language skills, writing seems to be the most difficult one for both learners and tgachors, Tt rogniros bolh good commumicalive competence and logical thinking Despite thase requirements, writing is very necessary Tn language tzerning process, it helps learuers nol only improve other skills but promote their ways of thinking as well Therefore, teaching writing plays a fimdamental role in teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language

However, there exist lots of problems in teaching writing, especially at Hanoi University of

Industry (HaUD, whore the author of this thesis works Most of the teachers, particularly teachers teaching writing to English major students, tind it measy to motivate their students to write, to make their writing lessons more inferesting and so forth In spite of these obstacles, there is a lack of studics on teaching writing

As a result of the reasons above, the study “Problems experienced by teachers in teaching writing to English major students at Hanai University of Industry and Suggested Solutions”

is condneted in an atlempt to address he gap i the literature and lo offer English writing teachers, especially the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi University of industry, some effective solutions to their current problems Iinally, this study is also haped to lay a foundation on which subsaquenl rescarches into this matter is based and

udy is carried oul with the wish of achieving the two primary aims:

- To find out what the problems that teachers at HaUl experience in teaching writing to English major students are

~ To suggest some solutions to the problerns in teaching writing,

‘These aims are shown clearly in addressing the following research questions

- What are the problems that teachers at ITaUI experience in teaching writing ta English

major students?

PART Ik DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

Wriling scerns lo be a familiar activily lo human beings and appears in all ficlds of our society Despite ils firniliarity, no one can say cxactly what writing is beomuse there have boon so many definitions of writing, which reflects the complexity of writing itself

According to Byrne (1988), writing is not simply the act of forming “graphic symbols”, but the production of “a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together

in certain ways” in other words, Byme defined writing as the process of forming a text

However, wriling is morc than (hat, Also defining writing based on texts like Byrne, Candlin and Hyland (1999) said: “Writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and parsuade than of the claims thal are mare” Tn this definition, wriling

is proved not to be the process of atranging “graphic symbols” to form words or arranging

words to form sentences and arranging sentences to form texts But it is considered as the

production af texts which comets lo a social proeass mbedding methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies Besides, the role of audience is mentioned as the goal of the writing

Irom the different perspective, Murray (1978) and Perl (1979) defined writing as “a creative

discovery procedure charaolerized by the dynamic interplay of content, and language: the use

of language to explore beyond the known content” However, writing not only shows the reciprocat relationship between content and language and discovers the new content as Murray and Porl’s view but also is responsible for Wansmilting writers’ messages Larmon (1989)

complemented this idea in his definition of wiiting - “a process transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error or whatever into a message with a

definite meaning , a proc

different perspeetives have different definitions of writing Many English teachers like Tribble (1996), Ilanris (1993) and Oshima & Hogue (1991) viewed writing as a language skill Firstly,

s of doliborate decision.” Nevertheless, writing is complex, so

Oshima & Hogue insisted that writing was a process, not a product This point of vicw was

supported by Harris (1993) when he considered writing as “a process that occurs over a period

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

1.4.3 The first languags and culture

1.4.4, The textbook

1.4.5, Students’ communicative competence

1.5 Problems in teaching writing

1.5.1 The interference of the first language and culture

1.5.2 Lack of motivation

1.5.3 Constraints in writing

1.5.4, Students’ communicative competence

1.5.5 Giving feedbaek coi

1.5.6 Adapting the textbook cà

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, The research hypothesis

3.4 Procedure of data collection

2.5, Results and discussion

2.5.1, Problems in teaching writing to English major students at HaUL 2.5.2 Suggested solutions

PART Il: CONCLUSION

1 Sunntary o[ (le sk8Ây series

2 Implivations

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart] | ‘Teachers’ opinions on teaching writing 18

Chart 2 | Factors affecting the teaching of writing 9

Charl 3 | Vietnamese interference in shudents? writing 31

Chart 4 | Mistakes that students make most frequently 2

Chari 5 | ‘The frequency of teachers’ feedback giving 23

Charl 6 | Using teaching aids to motivate sludenls in wriling Ìosserns 6

Chart 7 | Using time in the teaching of writing 27

‘Table 1 | ‘Teachers’ problems in giving feedback to students 24

Table2 | Ways to develop students’ communicative competence 28

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

importance of writing, approaches to teaching writing, factors affecting the teaching and learning of writing and problems in teaching writing and solutions

Chapter ‘I'wo in the Development is wholly devoted to describing the study with details

in the research hypothesis, rationale for using the survey welthod, participants, instruments, procedure of data collection, results and discussion

Finally, the third part is the Conclusion of the thesis dealing with the summary, implications and limitations of the study Furthermore, this part also provides some

suggestions for further studies.

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

"

- WHai are the possible soiutions to these problems as snggested by the teachers at Haul?

3 Scope of the study

The sturly concentrates on problems expcricnced by toachors teaching writing lo English major

students al Hanoi Universily of Industry Besides, on the basis of the findings, some solutions

suggested by these teachers are advanced to further improve teaching writing in Vietnam

4, Method of the study

The study is couducted based on survey research which uses obscrvation, questionnaires and interviews to collect data

- Firslly, observation is used to find oul possible problems in {eaching writing to English

major students at Hanoi University of Industry

- Secondly, a survey for teachers is conducted to address the problems in teaching writing to English major students al Hanoi University of Industry In addition, some

possible solutions to these problems arc also concerned in this survey

- Finally, interviews for the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi Uni

sity of Industry arc carried oul lo gel beller insights inta the research questions

5 Contribution of the study

‘That the study is conducted not only finds out the problems in teaching writing and provides some possible solutions but also shows the reality of leaching wriling in Vietnam in general and at Hanoi University of Industry in particular Moreover, this study is hoped to address the gap in the fiterature as well as to lay the formdation for further studies on teaching and learning writing:

6 Design of the study

‘This study is divided into four main parts to get better insights into different problems in teaching writing

- The first part Introduction - introduces rationale, aims, scope, method, contribution

of the study and provides an overview of the thesis design

- Chapter Onc in the Development reviews background knowledge of writing and problems in teaching writing with five minor parts: definitions of writing, the

PART Ik DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

Wriling scerns lo be a familiar activily lo human beings and appears in all ficlds of our society Despite ils firniliarity, no one can say cxactly what writing is beomuse there have boon so many definitions of writing, which reflects the complexity of writing itself

According to Byrne (1988), writing is not simply the act of forming “graphic symbols”, but the production of “a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together

in certain ways” in other words, Byme defined writing as the process of forming a text

However, wriling is morc than (hat, Also defining writing based on texts like Byrne, Candlin and Hyland (1999) said: “Writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and parsuade than of the claims thal are mare” Tn this definition, wriling

is proved not to be the process of atranging “graphic symbols” to form words or arranging

words to form sentences and arranging sentences to form texts But it is considered as the

production af texts which comets lo a social proeass mbedding methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies Besides, the role of audience is mentioned as the goal of the writing

Irom the different perspective, Murray (1978) and Perl (1979) defined writing as “a creative

discovery procedure charaolerized by the dynamic interplay of content, and language: the use

of language to explore beyond the known content” However, writing not only shows the reciprocat relationship between content and language and discovers the new content as Murray and Porl’s view but also is responsible for Wansmilting writers’ messages Larmon (1989)

complemented this idea in his definition of wiiting - “a process transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error or whatever into a message with a

definite meaning , a proc

different perspeetives have different definitions of writing Many English teachers like Tribble (1996), Ilanris (1993) and Oshima & Hogue (1991) viewed writing as a language skill Firstly,

s of doliborate decision.” Nevertheless, writing is complex, so

Oshima & Hogue insisted that writing was a process, not a product This point of vicw was

supported by Harris (1993) when he considered writing as “a process that occurs over a period

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart] | ‘Teachers’ opinions on teaching writing 18

Chart 2 | Factors affecting the teaching of writing 9

Charl 3 | Vietnamese interference in shudents? writing 31

Chart 4 | Mistakes that students make most frequently 2

Chari 5 | ‘The frequency of teachers’ feedback giving 23

Charl 6 | Using teaching aids to motivate sludenls in wriling Ìosserns 6

Chart 7 | Using time in the teaching of writing 27

‘Table 1 | ‘Teachers’ problems in giving feedback to students 24

Table2 | Ways to develop students’ communicative competence 28

importance of writing, approaches to teaching writing, factors affecting the teaching and learning of writing and problems in teaching writing and solutions

Chapter ‘I'wo in the Development is wholly devoted to describing the study with details

in the research hypothesis, rationale for using the survey welthod, participants, instruments, procedure of data collection, results and discussion

Finally, the third part is the Conclusion of the thesis dealing with the summary, implications and limitations of the study Furthermore, this part also provides some

suggestions for further studies.

PART LE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Of all four language skills, writing seems to be the most difficult one for both learners and tgachors, Tt rogniros bolh good commumicalive competence and logical thinking Despite thase requirements, writing is very necessary Tn language tzerning process, it helps learuers nol only improve other skills but promote their ways of thinking as well Therefore, teaching writing plays a fimdamental role in teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language

However, there exist lots of problems in teaching writing, especially at Hanoi University of

Industry (HaUD, whore the author of this thesis works Most of the teachers, particularly teachers teaching writing to English major students, tind it measy to motivate their students to write, to make their writing lessons more inferesting and so forth In spite of these obstacles, there is a lack of studics on teaching writing

As a result of the reasons above, the study “Problems experienced by teachers in teaching writing to English major students at Hanai University of Industry and Suggested Solutions”

is condneted in an atlempt to address he gap i the literature and lo offer English writing teachers, especially the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi University of industry, some effective solutions to their current problems Iinally, this study is also haped to lay a foundation on which subsaquenl rescarches into this matter is based and

udy is carried oul with the wish of achieving the two primary aims:

- To find out what the problems that teachers at HaUl experience in teaching writing to English major students are

~ To suggest some solutions to the problerns in teaching writing,

‘These aims are shown clearly in addressing the following research questions

- What are the problems that teachers at ITaUI experience in teaching writing ta English

major students?

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart] | ‘Teachers’ opinions on teaching writing 18

Chart 2 | Factors affecting the teaching of writing 9

Charl 3 | Vietnamese interference in shudents? writing 31

Chart 4 | Mistakes that students make most frequently 2

Chari 5 | ‘The frequency of teachers’ feedback giving 23

Charl 6 | Using teaching aids to motivate sludenls in wriling Ìosserns 6

Chart 7 | Using time in the teaching of writing 27

‘Table 1 | ‘Teachers’ problems in giving feedback to students 24

Table2 | Ways to develop students’ communicative competence 28

PART LE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Of all four language skills, writing seems to be the most difficult one for both learners and tgachors, Tt rogniros bolh good commumicalive competence and logical thinking Despite thase requirements, writing is very necessary Tn language tzerning process, it helps learuers nol only improve other skills but promote their ways of thinking as well Therefore, teaching writing plays a fimdamental role in teaching and learning English as a second/foreign language

However, there exist lots of problems in teaching writing, especially at Hanoi University of

Industry (HaUD, whore the author of this thesis works Most of the teachers, particularly teachers teaching writing to English major students, tind it measy to motivate their students to write, to make their writing lessons more inferesting and so forth In spite of these obstacles, there is a lack of studics on teaching writing

As a result of the reasons above, the study “Problems experienced by teachers in teaching writing to English major students at Hanai University of Industry and Suggested Solutions”

is condneted in an atlempt to address he gap i the literature and lo offer English writing teachers, especially the teachers teaching writing to English major students at Hanoi University of industry, some effective solutions to their current problems Iinally, this study is also haped to lay a foundation on which subsaquenl rescarches into this matter is based and

udy is carried oul with the wish of achieving the two primary aims:

- To find out what the problems that teachers at HaUl experience in teaching writing to English major students are

~ To suggest some solutions to the problerns in teaching writing,

‘These aims are shown clearly in addressing the following research questions

- What are the problems that teachers at ITaUI experience in teaching writing ta English

major students?

importance of writing, approaches to teaching writing, factors affecting the teaching and learning of writing and problems in teaching writing and solutions

Chapter ‘I'wo in the Development is wholly devoted to describing the study with details

in the research hypothesis, rationale for using the survey welthod, participants, instruments, procedure of data collection, results and discussion

Finally, the third part is the Conclusion of the thesis dealing with the summary, implications and limitations of the study Furthermore, this part also provides some

suggestions for further studies.

PART Ik DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

Wriling scerns lo be a familiar activily lo human beings and appears in all ficlds of our society Despite ils firniliarity, no one can say cxactly what writing is beomuse there have boon so many definitions of writing, which reflects the complexity of writing itself

According to Byrne (1988), writing is not simply the act of forming “graphic symbols”, but the production of “a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together

in certain ways” in other words, Byme defined writing as the process of forming a text

However, wriling is morc than (hat, Also defining writing based on texts like Byrne, Candlin and Hyland (1999) said: “Writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and parsuade than of the claims thal are mare” Tn this definition, wriling

is proved not to be the process of atranging “graphic symbols” to form words or arranging

words to form sentences and arranging sentences to form texts But it is considered as the

production af texts which comets lo a social proeass mbedding methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies Besides, the role of audience is mentioned as the goal of the writing

Irom the different perspective, Murray (1978) and Perl (1979) defined writing as “a creative

discovery procedure charaolerized by the dynamic interplay of content, and language: the use

of language to explore beyond the known content” However, writing not only shows the reciprocat relationship between content and language and discovers the new content as Murray and Porl’s view but also is responsible for Wansmilting writers’ messages Larmon (1989)

complemented this idea in his definition of wiiting - “a process transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error or whatever into a message with a

definite meaning , a proc

different perspeetives have different definitions of writing Many English teachers like Tribble (1996), Ilanris (1993) and Oshima & Hogue (1991) viewed writing as a language skill Firstly,

s of doliborate decision.” Nevertheless, writing is complex, so

Oshima & Hogue insisted that writing was a process, not a product This point of vicw was

supported by Harris (1993) when he considered writing as “a process that occurs over a period

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart] | ‘Teachers’ opinions on teaching writing 18

Chart 2 | Factors affecting the teaching of writing 9

Charl 3 | Vietnamese interference in shudents? writing 31

Chart 4 | Mistakes that students make most frequently 2

Chari 5 | ‘The frequency of teachers’ feedback giving 23

Charl 6 | Using teaching aids to motivate sludenls in wriling Ìosserns 6

Chart 7 | Using time in the teaching of writing 27

‘Table 1 | ‘Teachers’ problems in giving feedback to students 24

Table2 | Ways to develop students’ communicative competence 28

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

importance of writing, approaches to teaching writing, factors affecting the teaching and learning of writing and problems in teaching writing and solutions

Chapter ‘I'wo in the Development is wholly devoted to describing the study with details

in the research hypothesis, rationale for using the survey welthod, participants, instruments, procedure of data collection, results and discussion

Finally, the third part is the Conclusion of the thesis dealing with the summary, implications and limitations of the study Furthermore, this part also provides some

suggestions for further studies.

PART Ik DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

Wriling scerns lo be a familiar activily lo human beings and appears in all ficlds of our society Despite ils firniliarity, no one can say cxactly what writing is beomuse there have boon so many definitions of writing, which reflects the complexity of writing itself

According to Byrne (1988), writing is not simply the act of forming “graphic symbols”, but the production of “a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together

in certain ways” in other words, Byme defined writing as the process of forming a text

However, wriling is morc than (hat, Also defining writing based on texts like Byrne, Candlin and Hyland (1999) said: “Writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and parsuade than of the claims thal are mare” Tn this definition, wriling

is proved not to be the process of atranging “graphic symbols” to form words or arranging

words to form sentences and arranging sentences to form texts But it is considered as the

production af texts which comets lo a social proeass mbedding methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies Besides, the role of audience is mentioned as the goal of the writing

Irom the different perspective, Murray (1978) and Perl (1979) defined writing as “a creative

discovery procedure charaolerized by the dynamic interplay of content, and language: the use

of language to explore beyond the known content” However, writing not only shows the reciprocat relationship between content and language and discovers the new content as Murray and Porl’s view but also is responsible for Wansmilting writers’ messages Larmon (1989)

complemented this idea in his definition of wiiting - “a process transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error or whatever into a message with a

definite meaning , a proc

different perspeetives have different definitions of writing Many English teachers like Tribble (1996), Ilanris (1993) and Oshima & Hogue (1991) viewed writing as a language skill Firstly,

s of doliborate decision.” Nevertheless, writing is complex, so

Oshima & Hogue insisted that writing was a process, not a product This point of vicw was

supported by Harris (1993) when he considered writing as “a process that occurs over a period

PART Ik DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Definitions of writing

Wriling scerns lo be a familiar activily lo human beings and appears in all ficlds of our society Despite ils firniliarity, no one can say cxactly what writing is beomuse there have boon so many definitions of writing, which reflects the complexity of writing itself

According to Byrne (1988), writing is not simply the act of forming “graphic symbols”, but the production of “a sequence of sentences arranged in a particular order and linked together

in certain ways” in other words, Byme defined writing as the process of forming a text

However, wriling is morc than (hat, Also defining writing based on texts like Byrne, Candlin and Hyland (1999) said: “Writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and parsuade than of the claims thal are mare” Tn this definition, wriling

is proved not to be the process of atranging “graphic symbols” to form words or arranging

words to form sentences and arranging sentences to form texts But it is considered as the

production af texts which comets lo a social proeass mbedding methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies Besides, the role of audience is mentioned as the goal of the writing

Irom the different perspective, Murray (1978) and Perl (1979) defined writing as “a creative

discovery procedure charaolerized by the dynamic interplay of content, and language: the use

of language to explore beyond the known content” However, writing not only shows the reciprocat relationship between content and language and discovers the new content as Murray and Porl’s view but also is responsible for Wansmilting writers’ messages Larmon (1989)

complemented this idea in his definition of wiiting - “a process transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error or whatever into a message with a

definite meaning , a proc

different perspeetives have different definitions of writing Many English teachers like Tribble (1996), Ilanris (1993) and Oshima & Hogue (1991) viewed writing as a language skill Firstly,

s of doliborate decision.” Nevertheless, writing is complex, so

Oshima & Hogue insisted that writing was a process, not a product This point of vicw was

supported by Harris (1993) when he considered writing as “a process that occurs over a period

1.4.3 The first languags and culture

1.4.4, The textbook

1.4.5, Students’ communicative competence

1.5 Problems in teaching writing

1.5.1 The interference of the first language and culture

1.5.2 Lack of motivation

1.5.3 Constraints in writing

1.5.4, Students’ communicative competence

1.5.5 Giving feedbaek coi

1.5.6 Adapting the textbook cà

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, The research hypothesis

3.4 Procedure of data collection

2.5, Results and discussion

2.5.1, Problems in teaching writing to English major students at HaUL 2.5.2 Suggested solutions

PART Il: CONCLUSION

1 Sunntary o[ (le sk8Ây series

2 Implivations

LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES

Chart] | ‘Teachers’ opinions on teaching writing 18

Chart 2 | Factors affecting the teaching of writing 9

Charl 3 | Vietnamese interference in shudents? writing 31

Chart 4 | Mistakes that students make most frequently 2

Chari 5 | ‘The frequency of teachers’ feedback giving 23

Charl 6 | Using teaching aids to motivate sludenls in wriling Ìosserns 6

Chart 7 | Using time in the teaching of writing 27

‘Table 1 | ‘Teachers’ problems in giving feedback to students 24

Table2 | Ways to develop students’ communicative competence 28

viii

3 Limitations of the smdy 3L

4, Suggestions for further studies - 32

APPENDIX 1 (Observation protocols) I

+ MŨI

APPENDIX 2 (Ihe teacher questionnaire)

APPENDIX 3 (interview questions completed by teachers) xv

1.4.3 The first languags and culture

1.4.4, The textbook

1.4.5, Students’ communicative competence

1.5 Problems in teaching writing

1.5.1 The interference of the first language and culture

1.5.2 Lack of motivation

1.5.3 Constraints in writing

1.5.4, Students’ communicative competence

1.5.5 Giving feedbaek coi

1.5.6 Adapting the textbook cà

CHAPTER TWO: THE STUDY

2.1, The research hypothesis

3.4 Procedure of data collection

2.5, Results and discussion

2.5.1, Problems in teaching writing to English major students at HaUL 2.5.2 Suggested solutions

PART Il: CONCLUSION

1 Sunntary o[ (le sk8Ây series

2 Implivations