Training Reading Strategies in English Reading Skill Lessons for Grade 10 Students at Le Quy Don High School, Hanoi = Dạy thủ thuật đọc trong các giờ học kĩ năn

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT I hereby certify that the thesis entitled Application of task-based language teaching in teaching writing to non-major English students at Namdinh Industrial Colle

DECLARATION

I hereby state that, this thesis is the result of my own research and that it has not been submitted for any degree to any other universities or institutions Where other sources of information have been used, they have been identified and acknowledged

Signature

Dao Thi Thuy Chung

CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT

I hereby certify that the thesis entitled

Application of task-based language teaching in teaching writing to non-major

English students at Namdinh Industrial College

(Áp dụng phương pháp dạy học theo đường hướng giao nhiệm vụ để dạy viết cho sinh viên không chuyên tiếng Anh tại trường Cao đẳng Công nghiệp Nam Định )

is the result of my research for the Degree of Master of Art at College of Language and International Studies, Ha Noi National University, and the thesis has not been submitted for any degree at any other university or tertiary institution

Signature:

Dao Thi Thuy Chung

Date:

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms Phan thi Van Quyen, M.A for her sympathetic encouragement, valuable advice and patient guidance during the completion of this study

My sincere thanks also go to all of my colleagues at Namdinh Industrial College for their support and encouragement

I would like to acknowledge a particular debt to the second year non-major English students from groups CD52KT1 and CD52KT4 (Economics class) at Namdinh Industrial College for their enthusiastic participation in the experiment

Last of all, I am deeply indebted to my beloved people, my parents and my husband for their sacrifice and encouragement

Hanoi, September 6,2011

Dao Thi Thuy Chung

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, teaching English has received increasing attention as English has become the language for global communication In order to meet the future job requirements, students in general and students of Namdinh Industrial College in particular need to enhance their skills of English, especially the writing skill

However, there exists a problematic matter in teaching and learning English

at colleges and universities resulting from unsuitable teaching materials and instructional techniques The popular teaching approach applied in English lessons

at most of universities and colleges is teacher-centered and lecture-oriented, which normally results in learning passivity and non-involvement in language skills in general and in writing activities in particular Nowadays, teachers and students are deeply unhappy with the present test-driven situation Therefore, it is the high time

to make a change in the traditional learning process of English at colleges in Vietnam in general and at Namdinh Industrial College in particular

Among the modern teaching methods, the task-based one is considered a type of analytic learning and teaching method which owns numerous advantages It

is worth noting that the TBLT approach offer a bridge from reading-based grammar-translation to a sound alternative in which language is learned in the most effective, meaningful and long-last manner possible

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Rationale 1

1.2 Aims of the research 2

1.3 The research questions 2

1.4 The significance of the research 3

1.5 Scope of the research 3

1.6 Methods of the research 3

1.7 Design of the research 3

PART B: DEVELOPMENT 5

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 5

2.1 Definitions of writing 5

2.2 Writing in language learning and teaching 6

2.2.1 The role of writing 6

2.2.2 Writing in language classroom 6

2.3 Writing and other language skills 7

2.3.1 Writing and speaking 7

2.3.2 Writing and reading 8

2.3.3 Writing and listening 8

2.4 Approaches to teaching writing 9

2.4.1 Product approach 9

2.4.2 Process approach 10

2.4.3 Product approach verse Process approach 11

2.5 Task-based language teaching 12

2.5.1 Theoretical basis of the TBLT approach 13

2.5.2 Methodology of the TBLT approach 14

2.5.3 Principles of the TBLT approach 14

2.6 Definitions of task 15

2.6.1 Classification of task 15

2.6.2 The TBLT approach in writing class 16

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 17

3.1.1 The teachers 17

3.1.2 The students 17

3.1.3 The course book 18

3.2 Research questions 18

3.3 The participants 18

3.4 Methodology of the research 19

3.5 Data collection instruments 19

3.5.1 Questionnaires 19

3.5.2 Interviews 19

3.5.3 Class observation 20

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 21

4.1 The teachers’ and non-major English students’ perception of using the TBLT in writing lessons 21

4.1.1 The teachers’ perception 21

4.1.2 The students’ perception 22

4.2 The benefits of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons 26

4.2.1 The teachers’ opinions 26

4.2.2 The students’ opinions 29

4.3 The difficulties of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons 30

4.3.1 The teachers’ opinions 30

4.3.2 The students’ opinions 32

PART C: Conclusion 35

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 35

5.1 Summary of major findings 35

5.2 Suggestions for the application of the TBLT approach in writing lessons 35

5.2.1 Suggestions for teachers 36

5.2.2 Suggestions for students 36

5.2.3 Suggestions for institutions 37

5.3 Limitations of the research 37

5.4 Suggestions for further research 37

REFERENCES 38

APPENDIXES

Page

Table 1: Product and process writing: A comparison (Steel) 12

Table 2: Teachers’ understanding of TBLT 21

Table 3: Teachers’ perception of TBLT in teaching writing 26

Table 4: Teachers’ perception of the difficulties of applying TBLT in teaching writing 30

Chart 1: The students’ perception of the importance of writing skill 23

Chart 2: The students’ perception of the difficulty of writing skill 23

Chart 3: The students’ perception of the importance of teaching approach in the writing lessons 24

Chart 4a: Frequency of writing task assignment 25

Chart 4b: Frequency of writing task fulfillment 25

Chart 5: The activities used to perform the tasks 24

Chart 6: The students’ perception of the benefits of applying TBLT in writing lessons 29

Chart 7: The students’ perception of the writing improvement thanks to constantly writing task fulfillment 29

Chart 8: The students’ perception of the difficulties of applying TBLT in the writing lessons 33

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

TBLT refers to the Task-based language teaching

GTM refers to the Grammar Traditional Method

NH Pre refers to New Headway Pre-Intermediate

PART A INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

Today learning English language is very important, not to say really essential In the process of globalization, English plays a very important role in the society, English proficiency is now seen as a vital requirement for employment There is fluently communication in English demand in any enterprise and in any labor recruitment Moreover, English has facilitated economic cooperation and development with the foreign investment mostly from capitalist countries which require English ability Furthermore, English has helped enhance the cooperation growth especially in higher education with many oversea courses for undergraduates and graduates English has been widely used not only in education but also in daily-life activities Therefore, English has been favorable by both learners and policy-makers and its role was reconfirmed by an Order, signed by the Prime Minister (August 15, 1994), in which government officials would be required to study foreign languages, mainly and favorably English

We have no doubt about the importance of foreign languages, especially English However, English users are on the way to find out a perfect way of acquiring English because the education quality has not met the society’s expectation and mostly high-school graduates cannot communicate in English effectively in both oral and written forms (Trang and Baldoff (2007)

Writing is an important skill in both the mother tongue and second language It is a tool of expressing ideas in a structured way However, due to its complexity and high requirement of linguistic means, it is considered the most difficult language skill to have a good command of Although there are many actions paid attention to on the improvement

of writing learning and teaching, it still tends to be a neglected area in English language teaching in Vietnam The reason for this negligence may be the fact that most examinations in English mainly examine the students’ grammar

Being a teacher at Namdinh Industrial College, the researcher finds teaching writing skill the most challenge work and it is often evaded by many English teachers, especially in teaching festivals because of its difficulties However, being aware of the importance of teaching writing skill and being afraid of those students can not ensure their success in their lives without mastering writing skill, the researcher, to the best

knowledge, hopes to supply them with appropriate guide and support The researcher intends to enable students to fulfill the writing tasks in order to give them the inspiring experience of learning to write in English and the satisfaction of successfully expressing their ideas in written form of English language Therefore, I try to do this research

“Application of Task-based language teaching in teaching writing to non-major English students at Nam dinh Industrial College” with the aim of removing my own obstacles

and my students’ difficulties in writing and understanding the disadvantages and advantages my colleagues encountered when they use the TBLT approach in their writing lessons Another reason of using the TBLT is that because the course book New headway uses curriculum and syllabus with many designed-tasks so TBLT is appropriate to the extent that tasks serves as the means for implementing a methodological procedure The other reason, last but not least, is the advantage of the TBLT “TBLT is more student-centered, allow for more meaningful communication and often provides for practical extra-linguistic skill building”

Above all, in order to get good results in teaching process is the expectation of all teachers No one can be the best teacher in the world with every student Hence, the teaching result of this study may not be the best but it attempts to gain a better way of teaching writing and lower students’ writing difficulties

2 Aims of the research

This study aims at exploring Namdinh Industrial College teachers and students’ attitudes towards writing and their real work in writing lessons Task-based language teaching is applied and evaluated by both teachers and students with the aim at giving some recommendations on how to help students improve their writing

The specific aims of the research are:

+ To examine Namdinh Industrial college teachers and students’ perceptions of using the TBLT approach in teaching writing

+ To investigate benefits and difficulties teachers and students encounter in writing lessons

+ To give recommendations on how to use task-based language teaching to improve students’ writing

3 The research questions

The research is carried out to find out the answers for two questions as follows:

+ What are Namdinh Industrial College teachers’ and non-major English students’

perceptions of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons?

+ What are the benefits and difficulties of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons?

4 The significance of the research

The research provides the English teacher with the understanding of Task-based language teaching and the advantage as well as disadvantage when applying it The result

of the research may help teachers to make their writing lessons more effective and help their students develop writing skill

5 Scope of the research

The study focuses on investigating the effectiveness of application of task-based language teaching in teaching writing to non-major English students at Nam dinh Industrial College Other approaches to teaching writing intended for students at other levels of English language proficiency or teaching other skills would be beyond the scope

of this study

6 Methods of the research

To achieve the aims stated, both qualitative and quantitative methods were used The interviews, questionnaires and class observation will be used to collect data for the analysis of the research

7 Design of the research

The study is expected to consist of three main parts:

Part A includes chapter 1 with discussions of the rationales, aims, significance, scope, and methods of the study

Part B includes 3 chapters

Chapter 2 deals with definitions of writing, the differences between writing and other skills, the importance of writing in language classes and approaches to teaching writing Chapter 3 discusses the methodology of the study, i.e describes the study context, participants, and instruments Besides, the introduction of the course book New Headway Pre-Intermediate is elaborated

Chapter 4 is about the data analysis and findings It describes how collected data is analyzed and presented

Part C includes chapter 5

Chapter 5 provides the conclusion which summarizes the thesis and offers recommendations for better teaching and learning English writing skill when using the TBLT approach Besides, the limitations of the thesis and the suggestions of further study are also pointed out

PART B: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is concerned with the theoretical background of the research which includes an overview of writing skill and Task-based Language Teaching

2 1 Definitions of writing

Writing is a very crucial area in language learning and teaching so there is a variety

of definitions about it According to Klein (1985) “writing is the ability to put pen and paper to express ideas through symbols” By this way, representations on the paper will have meaning and content that could be communicated to other people by the writer Donn

Byrne (l998:1) stated that writing can be regarded as the "act of forming graphic symbols"

or the "making marks on the flat surface of some kinds''

However, some authors agreed that writing is not simply connecting symbols or letter, they had intention of focusing on the linguistics features, for instance, Brannon, Knight and Neverow-Turk (1982, p 2) defined that “writing is a creative art, not as assembly line operation of locking words together into sentence and bolting sentences together into paragraphs in accordance with a predefined plan.” The researchers considered writing as ability and an art, and the writers are considered as an artist In order

to become an artist, of course, it takes much time and challenges

From another view of writing, Murray (1978:29) and Perl (1979:43) described writing as “a creative discovery procedure characterized by the dynamic interplay of

content and language: the use of language to explore beyond the known content.” and

Anạs Nin shared the view “the role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what

we are unable to say” I am interested in this view because it indicates the significance of writing Writing is insightfulness and quintessence of mind Writing is a final product of thinking and creating

In summary, writing is the final product of separate acts that are hugely challenging to learn simultaneously and the definitions of it are various according to the different scholars Additionally, the word “writing” itself refers to an act, a process, or a skill, which requires paying much attention to mastery Writing needs the combination both physical and mental powers from the writers

2.2 Writing in language learning and teaching

2.2.1 The role of writing

According to Clark (Clark:2003:13) “writing is pivotal fundamental skill not only for an education but a career as well” and an other author agreed with him “writing is the most important form of communication.” It would be evident that excellent writing is sure

to earn respect; on the contrary, poor one is difficult to access which leads to misunderstand The ability to write well can have a profound impact on our life Without the competency and practice of basic writing skills, no perfect works of written art can be structured While discussing the role of writing, Raimes (1983) stated “the writing process helps to hone our speaking abilities and perhaps change the way people view us” As the matter of the fact, the ability of each person to write well is becoming the primary source

of communication in society By practicing writing, a person learns proper word usage to persuade the reader to listen to them The writer does this by using “key words” at the proper intervals By playing on words, authors learned how to “enter a person’s imagination and leave lasting impressions in the mind long after their spoken words became silent” Words do not make sentences unless they are arranged in accordance with the rules of grammar, logic, or common sense, when written, words leave behind a record

of what was said This is vital to modern-day society Words are becoming the expressive tools thanks to writing By the same token, it can’t be denied that writing can be an art, but

it is the task of the artist to construct the masterpiece

2.2.2 Writing in language classroom

Clearly, although all students are aware of the importance of it as an essential job skill in their future, students are perhaps reluctant to learn how to write in it because

“writing is the most problematic skill” (Hess,2001: 77) By the same token, language teachers should be very clear about the purpose of teaching writing

In this respect, Byrne pointed out a number of purposes which teaching writing aims at:*Written work helps learners who do not learn easily through oral practice alone with an aid to retention

*Written work serves to provide the learners with some tangible evidence that they are making progress in the language

*Written work means final product with other properly-integrated skills

*Written work provides variety in classroom activities and it increases the amount of language contact through work

*Written work is often needed for formal and informal testing

(Byrne, 1988:11) Writing is an academic job that makes students improve their ability in proposing a research and exploring new findings In his point of view, David (1998:25) defined that learning how to write in English is essential to many language learners, particularly those who are studying at colleges and universities Writing is essentially a creative process and good writers must learn to communicate their ideas clearly to an unseen audience Besides, Troyka (1987:3) suggested that writing gives students unique opportunities to explore ideas and acquire information By writing, students come to know the other fields well and make them their own As a result, writing helps them learn and gain authority over knowledge Moreover, according to Harris (1993), it is common true that “much of our learning, in the most general sense, acquired through written language and that our perceptions of experience are, in turn, influenced by inherent literacy in mother tongue” Needless to say, students will actively construct their points of view, belief and attitudes through language

As mentioned above, writing skill is very important for students to acquire because

it defines their success to attain their target It plays a crucial role in the students’ career when they finished their education Thus, teachers are expected to apply new methods that enable students to develop the students’ writing ability

2.3 Writing and other language skills

2.3.1 Writing and speaking

There are many differences between the processes of speaking and writing Writing is not simply speech written down on paper Learning to write is not a natural extension of learning to speak Unlike speech, writing requires systematic instruction and practice In conversations we use our body language to aid to our meaning In addition, in speaking we have an opportunity to explain ourselves so that the listener is following, and

to provide spontaneous feedback to the listener's questions and need for clarification In writing, we do not have this chance We have only one chance to make our point If we are not clear and succinct, we will lose our one and only chance Conversely, in writing writers can rewrite and revise sentences until writers are satisfied and “the reader is in a

more privileged position than the listeners to some extent” (Donn Byrne:1998; 3) From the point of view of the social functions, “speaking emphasizes on the building of relationship” On the other hand, “writing focuses on recording things, completing tasks and developing ideas and argument” (Tribble:1996; 9)

Clearly, it is helpful to keep in mind some different features between speaking and writing so that the writers avoid difficulties experienced when writing and make the writing pieces perfect with enough care

2.3.2 Writing and reading

Effectively, everybody learns to speak at least one language fluently, but many are unable to write with confidence because writing normally requires some form of instruction How do the writers get instruction? In this respect, of course, thanks to reading This implies that reading process is input and writing is output While writing they were more concerned with setting goals and sub-goals When reading, on the other hand, they focused more on content and validation of the text-worlds they were developing The reading is verbal process in which readers use mouths and brains simultaneously while writing involves the use of perceptual skills along with hands When reading people have to estimate, memorize, understand and pronounce, on the other hand,

in writing people add all above-mentioned with writing skills As far as it is noted that both reading and writing are deeply related activities of languages thought that are shaped through use

While it is clear that there are many similarities between writing and reading It is useful to aware of different characteristics between them so that the English users keep in mind that “the two domains do have an impact upon one another, with implications for enhancing learning It also suggested a need to better understand the underlying processes

of writing and reading and how they relate to one another” (Dyson, 1989)

2.3.3 Writing and listening

Listening skills enable students to acquire insights and knowledge as well as achieve success in conversing with other individuals Similarly, writing process aims at communicating with others Nevertheless, listening skills allow one to make sense of and understand what another person is saying In other words, listening skills allow listener to understand what someone is "talking about" In the contrast to listening, writing means

writers themselves “talking about something” It seems that the writers play many roles: listener, writers and reader as well

In short, speaking, reading and listening are important skills and in language area

An individual may falter in one category while succeeding in another Through education and practice, these skills can be strengthened and mastered, thus increasing literacy levels Further, these skills are all interdependent for one another Increasing the strength of the skills will help an individual better express his/her ideas To increase the strength of these skills, practices should be incorporated into the classroom or daily routine

Admittedly, each skill has its own shape as well as function in literacy It is concluded that writing is a hard area for English users to achieve although the mastery of writing means being fully effective in intellectual organization, not only in the management of everyday affairs, but also in the expression of ideas and arguments and to

be good at it, learners must give much effort (Tribble:1996; 13)

2.4 Approaches to teaching writing

There are many ways to approach writing in the classroom There is no satisfactory answer to the question of how to teach writing efficiently

Raimes (1983; 5- 10) presented 6 approaches to writing, namely: The Free Approach, The Free-Writing Approach, The Paragraph-Pattern Approach, The Grammar-Syntax-Organization Approach, The Communicative Approach, and The Process Approach Besides, Byrne (1988; 21-23) suggested 4 approaches to writing such as: Focus

Controlled-to-on Accuracy; Focus Controlled-to-on Fluency; Focus Controlled-to-on Text and Focus Controlled-to-on Purpose In additiControlled-to-on, Nunan (1991) introduced the two approaches called Product approach and Process approach

It should be noted that there is not necessarily any 'right' or 'best' way to teach

writing skills The best practice in any situation will depend on the type of student, the text type being studied, the school system and many other factors Among mentioned above, the two approaches to writing which have predominated in English language teaching context are the product approach and the process approach

2.4.1 Product approach

According to (Gabrielatos, 2002; 5), a product approach is a “traditional approach

in which students are encouraged to mimic a model text, usually is presented and analyzed

at early stage”, in order to share the view, Evan and St John stated “The product approach

to writing usually involves the presentation of a model text, which is analyzed and then

forms the basis of a task that leads to the writing of an exactly similar or a parallel text” ( Evan and St John, 1998: 116) This implies that students are supplied with a standard sample of text and they are expected to follow the standard to construct a new piece of writing

Product approach comprises of four stages (Steele:2004)

*Stage 1: Students study model texts and then the features of the genre are highlighted

*Stage 2: This stage consists of controlled practice of the highlighted features, usually individually

*Stage 3: This is the most important stage where the ideas are organized

*Stage 4: This is end of product of the learning process

Admittedly, this approach can be used successfully in teaching writing for beginners All learners can not write well as soon as they begin the course but make improvement gradually with estimation and repetition from the sample texts or the teachers Moreover, teachers can clearly introduce grammatical structures, word choices, cohesive device uses, how to vary the content, how to organize the essay in order to make students’ progress in the process

However, the backward of this approach “is exposed in its own nature” Using this approach often leads to a rather simplistic copying of the model text by only changing certain words from the original text to produce a new text It makes learners passive, relying on teacher and samples in stead of creating and being ready for new topics out of samples

2.4.2 Process approach

Process approach has been advocated in contrast with the product approach According to Graham Stanley, “the process approach treats all writing as a creative act which requires tie and positive feedback to be done well” Unlike the product approach which is more interested in the written outcome, the process approach focuses on the thinking processes that are involved with writing Furthermore, Nunan (1991) clearly stated that the process approach focuses on the steps involved in creating a piece of work and the process writing allows for the fact that no text can be perfect, but that a writer will get closer to perfection by producing, reflecting on, discussing and reworking successive

draft of a text This refers that students are not expected to submit a complete writing piece, that the better expression is paid more attention

Hence a process approach tends to focus more on varied classroom activities which promote the development of language use The process approach consists of eight stages:

*Stage 1: Brainstorming: This is generating ideas by brainstorming and discussion

*Stage 2: Planning/ structuring: This is exchanging ideas and judging the ideas

*Stage 3: Mind mapping: This is organizing ideas into a mind map, spider gram…

*Stage 4: Writing the first draft: This is writing the first draft in pairs or in group

*Stage 5: Feedback: This is exchanging the drafts, responding and improving drafts

*Stage 6: Editing: This is returning the drafts and improving them based on feedback

*Stage 7: Final draft: This is writing a final draft

*Stage 8: Evaluation and teachers’ feedback: This is evaluating and responding to students’ writing made by teachers

It is noticeable that process approach is similar to task-based learning in that students are given considerable freedom within the task The process approach aims at achieving the best product possible The process approach is based on the perception of the writing process ac cyclical The focus shifts from the text to the writer and the writer makes it their own and learns from one stage to another when they write

2.4.3 Product approach vs process approach

A distinction is made between two approaches by many authors James McCrimmon saw it as the difference between writing as a way of knowing (process) and writing as a way of telling (product) Linda Flower saw it difference as writer-based and reader-based prose Nunan (1991) clearly stated that whereas product approach focuses on the writing tasks in which learners imitate, copy and transform teachers’ supplied models, process involved in creating a piece of work However, there is an important point which they all agreed “good product depends on good process” A comparison is clearly pointed out as the following table by Steele (2004:1):

Text as a resource for comparison Imitate model text

Ideas as starting point Organization of ideas are more important than ideas

themselves

More global, focused on purpose, them,

text type

Features highlighted including controlled practice

of those features

Emphasis on creative process Emphasis on end product

Table 1: Product and process writing: A comparison (Steele:2004,1)

The clear analysis of similarities and difficulties is showed as above-mentioned The balancing two approaches is all language teachers’ expectation Which approach is to

be used will definitely depend on teachers, on students and on the genre of the text

Arguably, each approach has its own strong point For instance, while teaching business

report writing, teachers and students feel more comfortable in product approach as the task

consists of the fixed layout, style and organization On the contrary, in case of teaching

narrative, process one proved to be the first choice As a result, both processes are

significant in teaching writing Process approach is really significant to let students

generate their ideas It helps students organize ideas in a systematic way enabling students

to write fluently On the other hand, the latter is also helpful for students to recognize the

competence level students are required to meet Therefore, the balancing two approaches,

the using both is a fair argument in teaching writing

2.5 Task-based language teaching

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is a communicative approach to language

instruction, using the successful completion of communicative tasks as its primary

organizing principle In task-based teaching, learners will upgrade their language

competence by focusing on getting something done during using of the language The

task-based approach aims at giving learners a real environment to use language in which

they get many chances to communicate in their real life

Task-based approach has been applied since 1980s It has grown out of

communicative language teaching Is has been welcomed by many teachers and

institutions At the beginning, according to Ellis “task-based language teaching is a bit of a

dark horse as there are so many variables involved in a single task (planning time,

familiarity with task, teacher involvement access, to reference materials…)” (Rod Ellis 2003; 18) However, it has been argued for decades now that “TBLT is a fully-fledged approach to language teaching” (Edwards & Willis 2005: 28) It has been highly appreciated, like many other methodological innovations to many English language curriculums By implementing TBLT, teachers are no longer controllers but partners and learners are no longer receivers but principal agents Through this approach, learners are active and positive in their learning during the task They can acquire language as well as cultures to comprehensively use the target language

There is much evidence to show that task-based approach plays a very important role in foreign language teaching and learning It is said that task-based language teaching works comparatively better than the traditional ones

2.5.1 Theoretical basis of Task-based approach

Task-based approach is a teaching approach which uses tasks as its core programs

to serve language teaching It seems to be similar the Communication Linguistics because they share the same principles in teaching According to Willis (1996), both task-based approach and Communication Linguistics consider the real communicative activities as the most important factor in language learning and they both agree that the language which is meaningful to learners can facilitate the learning process

Task-based approach is a dynamic and developing learning method It serves learning language knowledge and training skills in the process of completing tasks Through this approach, learners will learn how to make full use of their own communicative abilities to transfer from Vietnamese to English Moreover, it provides an opportunity for learners to mobilize their potential abilities to use and handle English skillfully Its functions and value in building learner-centered classrooms and language learning environments, providing learners with chances to communicate and interact and developing learners’ ability to use the target language and solve communicative problems were highly appreciated and recognized by experts and scholars in the field of language teaching

Since the 1980s, task-based approach has drawn more and more attention in the foreign language teaching field It is a learner-centered approach, which considers language as a communicative tool It is in accordance with the movement of English teaching reform in Vietnam Task-based approach aims at providing opportunities for

learners to learn language both in speaking and writing through learning activities which are designed to engage learners in the authentic, practical and functional use of language for meaningful purpose

2.5.2 Methodology of the TBLT approach

As a teaching approach, it is not persuasive when it only stops at the theoretical level; the key factor is the way teachers put it into practice There are many researchers mature with this point The following is the teaching pattern of task-based approach under Willis’s framework Teaching framework can be divided into three stages: pre-task (topics and tasks are introduced, teachers present necessary knowledge, explain the requirements and procedures of the task), task cycle (task cycle can be divided into three parts: task, planning and report- learners are given many chances to express ideas in target language with the emphasis on fluency, learners have to prepare to report under teachers’ suggestion and correction, afterwards learners’ reports are presented) and language focus (learners can learn grammar, vocabulary and language forms with the analysis and practice onwards) The author put the language focus in the last stage This point is different from traditional language teaching process It is contrary to traditional one Learners start with experiencing the practice of language and end with accessing the rules of language

2.5.3 Principles of the TBLT approach

Nunan defined that there are eight principles of TBLT as following:

*(1) Scaffolding: That is content of lesson and supplements related to learning

*(2) Task dependency: That is one task will be developed basing on the previous one

*(3) Recycling: That is recycling language helping the systematic learning principle

*(4) Active learning: That is learners acquire the language by actively using it

*(5) Integration of form and function: That is expectation of learners’ literacy

*(6) Reproduction to creation: That is learners reproduce language models provided

*(7) Learning strategies: That is learners focus on both learning process and content

*(8) Reflection: That is learners get chances of reflecting on their work

2.6 Definitions of task

There are a lot of definitions for the word “task” According to Ellis, “ a task is an activity which requires learners to use language with the emphasis on meaning, to attain an objective and which is chosen so that it is most likely to provide information for learners and teachers which will help them in meaning” (Ellis: 2003,9) The author focuses on meaning that means task must involved in learners’ real life and task is meaningful to learners Long (1985, 89) defines tasks as “a piece of work undertaken for oneself or for others, freely or for some rewards” that means task can be any activities occurred in daily routine In other words, by “task” we mean the hundred of one thing people do in everyday life, at work, at play and in between

However, in foreign language teaching, especially when we refer to task-based approach, tasks always means activities which make reference to real life and can form language meaning In Nunan’s opinion, a task is “a piece of classroom work which involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language; while their attention is principally focused on the meaning rather on form The task should have a sense of completeness, being also to stand alone as a communicative act in its own right” (Nunan: 1989, 15) The author considered all the classroom activities that are helpful to achieve the language learning goals as tasks, including those small grammar exercises or complicated time-consuming activities Many definitions can be summarized from the above review Tasks are a series of correlative and purposeful activities in which learners perform when learning a language, absorbing information, solving problems and achieving goals with target language as they do in real world

Tasks in task-based approach are not as simple and isolated as in-class or class teaching activities It can not be used and combined at random Task is an essential part of the whole course that leads to fluency in speaking the target language The good task should have a specific purpose not purely practice and a language environment The good task should attract attention to learners’ participation so that learners can promote their background knowledge and upgrade basic language skills

after-2.6.1 Classification of task

The task in task-based approach is similar to the tasks in real life in many aspects Basing on the differences and the similarities of the tasks, Nunan divided tasks into two categories They are real-world tasks or target tasks and pedagogical tasks Pedagogical tasks are derived from the tasks in real life and could be sub-tasks in real life Pedagogical

tasks are not apparently similar to the real life and mainly apply to class teaching Teachers should select real life tasks subject to learners’ practical needs concerning the purpose for which learners use the target language

2.6.2 The TBLT approach in writing class

It is common knowledge that writing skill is a burden for both teachers and students despite its significance To help students meet the career’s demand in communicating in English in general, in English writing in particular is the desire of any teacher In this view, TBLT is satisfactory to the greatest extent possible Actually, many teachers are prone to practice the old Grammar Translation method They are more guided

by the control writing format which hinders them in trying new method to writing instruction Teachers’ feedback is based on grammatical and lexical errors in stead of meaning-oriented exploration

Therefore, I chose to do a research to investigate the difficulties and effectiveness of using TBLT to improve writing skills for students at my college

In TBLT writing class, Willis puts forward three steps for task-based teaching: (1) Pre-task: the teacher introduces the task (2) Task cycle: task—students carry out the task; planning—each group prepares how to report their completion of the task to the class; reporting—students report their completion of the task (3) Language focus: analysis—students analyze and assess the completions of tasks by other groups; practice—students practice the language difficulties under the direction of the teacher

In TBLT writing class, Prabhu (1987) suggests activities of task such as information gap activities, reasoning gap activities and opinion gap activities However, Willis (2004) states that those activities include listing, ordering and sorting, comparing and contrasting, problem solving, sharing personal experience and creative tasks and project There are many suggestions of activities for performing tasks from other authors, it is necessary for the language teachers to choose the optimal ones being suitable with the particular settings

It comes to conclusion that there is not a perfect approach for teaching, any approach

is not a panacea To my best knowledge, I do hope that TBLT will be in a fair position to

deal with lowering students’ anxiety of learning writing

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

It is noticeable to say that teachers, students and learning environment play a crucial role in learning and teaching In this part, the teachers and students’ profiles and their language proficiency as well as the course book used at Namdinh Industrial College will be discussed The instruments to collect data for analysis will be described

3.1 The context for the research

3.1.1 The teachers

There are 10 teachers of English in the English group aged from 28 to 51 Their interests in teaching are different, not all of them are really motivated to their teaching job Only two teachers graduated from English Department, University of Languages and International Studies The others graduated from the in-service center in Namdinh city Most of teachers were trained under the traditional teaching methods, they prefer conventional teaching with teacher-centered approach when they teach writing Only some young ones were trained basing on communicative-oriented and student-centered approach They are willing to explore new methodology and flexible in using different teaching strategies in their writing lessons

“grammar focus” and “rote learning” in their lessons The teachers often gave samples of texts and structures, the students imitate and learn by heart the given structures As a result, the students become passive, they rarely work in pairs, groups or participate in some activities such as discussions or presentations Moreover, their majors are not English but Economics, Garment Industry, Mechanics… They do not pay enough attention

to English, they only learn English in order to “pass the exams” In the English lessons in general and in the writing lessons in particular, they are eager for whether the language focus will be examined or not Therefore, the students’ motivation and the students’ English competence are obstacles for teaching English at Namdinh Industrial College

3.1.3 The course book

As for the teaching and learning English at Namdinh Industrial College, the students here have three years training in the College but they only have three semesters learning English with the total of 180 periods The English course is divided into two stages_ General English (G.E) and English for special purposes (ESP) In this study, the researcher only focuses on the first stage The very first stage – G.E for the second year students - lasts 150 periods and it is carried out in two semesters This stage aims at providing students with general knowledge of English grammar, vocabulary as well as

developing students’ four language skills At this very first stage, the textbook New Headway Pre-Intermediate (NH Pre) by John and Liz Soars is used with the hope that we

can develop the students’ communicative competence and the students can learn the real things from daily life The course book consists of four-teen units focusing on communicative purposes with a lot of activities of four language skills

The researcher finds this course book relevant to the learning and teaching at Namdinh Industrial College although some handouts are out of update Arguably, the language teachers should know when and how to use the course book so as to exploit the materials and it is necessary for the teachers to adapt the course book if they want to teach writing effectively

3.2 Research questions

So as to get the objectives of this research which are stated previously, the thesis is designed to find out the answers for the following questions:

+ What are Namdinh Industrial College teachers’ and non-major English students’

perceptions of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons?

+ What are the benefits and difficulties of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons?

3.4 Methodology of the research

This research is conducted in the combination of quantitative and qualitative method Data were collected by means of survey questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews The researcher hopes that the combination of different methods to collect data could provide more reliable and valid information for analysis Questionnaires of teachers and students and interviews are used to discover their perceptions of using the TBLT approach in the writing lessons Questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews with both teachers and students are to explore their difficulties and benefits of using the TBLT approach in writing lessons

3.5 Data collection instruments

To reach the primary purposes of the study, four main instruments were used and described as follows

3.5.1 Questionnaires

The survey questionnaire was chosen because “data can be gathered in several different time slot, all at once in a class at when a suitable respondent happens to come long and different locations at different times but in all of these data is comparable” (McDonough & McDonough (1997:170-171) The questionnaire for the students was written in Vietnamese so that they would not misunderstand the questions The questionnaire was designed to investigate the students’ attitudes toward the learning of writing and the TBLT approach of teaching writing given by their teachers, the students’ motivation and progress in learning writing The questionnaire delivered to the teachers was strictly conducted in English It aimed to find out the teachers’ attitudes toward the teaching of writing and the TBLT approach, their views on applying TBLT in teaching writing and their difficulties when using the TBLT in their lessons After conducting the survey questionnaire, the data gained are analyzed descriptively and statistically

3.5.2 Interviews

According to Nunan (2001), in an interview, the interviewer has a general idea of where he or she wants to interview go to and what should com out of it but doesn’t enter the interview with a list of predetermined questions Topics and issues rather than questions determine the course of the interview Obviously, the interviews help to get better insights into the research questions The interview questions, including 6 questions (three for teachers and three for students), were sorted out based on the survey

questionnaires to get more information in details Ten teachers and 15 students were invited to carry out the interview These students were asked in Vietnamese and they answered the interview questions also in Vietnamese This helped to get the truthful information because the students might be not confident enough to understand and express their ideas in English The results of interview were analyzed descriptively and thoroughly

to serve the thesis

3.5.3 Class observations

It can be said that the class observation is very effective in evaluating the teacher’s approach and the interaction between teacher and students as well as their presentations The researcher observed 3 writing lessons with total 135 minutes

The evaluation was based on the criteria in the checklist in the appendices

Summary: It comes to conclusion that this chapter presents the methodology of the

study It states the aims, context, participants, and instruments of the study and

introduces the course book used at the setting (NH Pre).Given the collected data,

Chapter 4 will depict the data analysis and the study results