Thực hiện các chức năng ngôn ngữ tiếng Anh để dạy tiếng Anh cơ bản trong hệ thống Đại học Thái Nguyên

LIST OF TABLESTable 1...53 Distribution of Sample Respondents...53 Table 2...58 Teachers’ Respondents Awareness of the Seven Functions of the English language...58 Table 3...59 Seven Fun

PURSUING THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS

IN TEACHING THE BASIC ENGLISH COURSE AT

THAI NGUYEN UNIVERSITY (TNU) SYSTEM

A Dissertation

Presented toThe Faculty of Graduate SchoolBatangas State UniversityBatangas City, Philippines

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of PhilosophyMajor in English

By:

LUU THI HUONG (JULIA)

December 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

CHAPTER I 5

THE PROBLEM 5

Introduction 5

Statement of the Problem 12

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation 13

Significance of the Study 14

REVIEW OF LITERATURE 17

Conceptual Literature 17

Research Literature 33

Synthesis 39

Theoretical Framework 43

Conceptual Framework 46

Hypothesis 48

Definition of Terms 48

RESEARCH METHOD 51

Research Design 51

Subjects of the Study 52

Data Gathering Instrument 53

Data Gathering Procedure 54

Statistical Treatment of Data 56

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA 57

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 88

Summary 88

Findings 90

Conclusion 99

Recommendations 101

BIBLIOGRAPHY 102

APPENDICES 109

CURRICULUMN VITAE 159

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 53

Distribution of Sample Respondents 53

Table 2 58

Teachers’ Respondents Awareness of the Seven Functions of the English language 58

Table 3 59

Seven Functions of the English Language according to the 59

Degree of Importance 59

Table 4 62

Frequency of Students’ Use Based on the seven functions of English language in Reading 62

Table 5 65

Frequency of Students’ Use based on the seven functions of English language in Writing 65

Table 6 68

Level of students reading performance in the seven functions of language .68 Table 7 69

Level of students writing performance in the seven functions of language 69

Table 8 71

Student's Language Performance in Reading and Writing 71

Teaching the Basic English Course based on the seven functions of language in Reading 73

Table 9(b) 73

Teaching the Basic English Course based on the seven functions of language

in Writing 73

Table 10 (a) 74

Frequency of Students’ Use based on seven functions of English language 74 Table 10 (b) 75

List of seven functions of the English language in reading and writing and their frequency of use according to the respondents 75

Table 11(a) 77

Degree of Importance in Reading based on seven functions of language 77

Table 11(b) 77

Degree of Importance in Writing based on seven functions of language 77

Table 12 79

Comparison of the Assessment of Teachers and Students’ Performance in Reading and Writing 79

Table 13 81

Bases in the design of functional activities for students and teachers 81

LIST OF FIGURES

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM

Introduction

The increasing use of the English language globally has had a largeimpact on many other languages, leading to language shift and even languagedeath, and to claims of linguistic imperialism English itself has become moreopen to language shift as multiple regional varieties feed back into the language

as a whole

English is a global language People hear it on television bypoliticians from all over the world and whenever people travel, they seeEnglish sign and advertisement A language achieves a genuinely globalstatus when it develops a special role that is recognized in every country

These points add to the complexity of the present day worldsituation, but they do not alter the fundamental point Because of the threepronged development of first language, second language, and foreignlanguage speakers, it is inevitable that a global language will eventuallycome to be used by more people than any other language English hasalready reached this stage

English is the dominant business language and it has becomealmost a necessity for people to speak English if they are to enter a global

workforce Research from all over the world shows that cross-borderbusiness communication is most often conducted in English Its importance

in the global market place therefore cannot be understated, learningEnglish really can change people’s life

During the last decades, the world has witnessed lots of cultural,social, political, economical and technological changes In this new, globalworld, people have had to meet the needs brought about by these changes

in order to keep up with them One of the most important needs islanguage learning By the help of the developments in technology andscience, people all over the world have to communicate with people fromother countries, which require the learning of different foreign languages.The most commonly used language in the world is English In fact English

is known as a key to open the door into bustling world of rapid changesand development Everyday an increasing number of people are trying tolearn English for different purposes with the hope that they can use iteffectively

One of the main goals of language teachers is to provide studentswith the tools to be effective communicators in the teaching language.Often when students are assigned projects and assignments their lack ofpractical tools to produce the actual language becomes evident In thesecases, students might very well have the necessary resources to

accomplish the task, but teachers might need to consider a communicativeapproach to teaching the language, focusing on the functions of language,

to properly equip students to complete assigned tasks Those functions arenamely: Instrumental showing the way an individual satisfies the need byasking for something like “May I use your phone?”; Regulatory statingcontrolling another’s behavior such as the teacher requests students “standup!”; Interactional used for maintaining interpersonal like wishing a friend amerry Christmas; Personal is considered as where one talks about oneself

“I feel so happy today”; Heuristic is used to find out the world in general, forexample: “is there any solution for environment pollution?”; Imaginativefocuses on where one talks about one’s imagination like telling stories andjokes; Representational refers to seeking and giving varied types ofinformation like “ How many survivors were there in the terrorism in Francelast week?”

Many people believe it’s important to have knowledge on thefunctions of language for specific purposes Whether they are apologizing,expressing a wish or asking permission, they use language in order to fulfill

that purpose Each purpose can be known as a language function.

Savignon (1983) describes a language function as the use to whichlanguage is put, the purpose of an utterance rather than the particulargrammatical form an utterance takes By using this idea to structure

teaching, the instructional focus becomes less about form and more aboutthe meaning of an utterance In this way, students use the language inorder to fulfill a specific purpose, therefore making their speech moremeaningful.

The basic communication goals can be expressed in terms ofsituations, functions and topics It is up to the teacher to plan the situationswithin which students will be able to use their language for a purpose in theclassroom context By creating a situation the teacher is providing thenecessary context students need to use the language for a function

Language functions have two categories: micro functions which refer

to the specific individual use and macro functions which serve more overallaims according to Finch (1998) Micro functions consist of seven functionssuch as physiological function in terms of releasing physical and nervousenergy, phatic function for sociability, recording function, identifyingfunction, reasoning function, communicating function, and pleasurefunction Macro functions refer to the ideational function, interpersonalfunction, poetic function, and textual function

In the study of language, it is of significant importance that studentsdevelop their language skills These language skills are vital tools forcomplete communication These are reading, writing, listening andspeaking

Writing is one among the basic skills in learning a language It isboth social and cognitive process Students view writing as a necessity.They are aware that this can improve thinking as well Students findwriting as most difficult among the language skills because of itscomplexity Their writing skill is one way to know their academic success orperformance and it is also a basic requirement to participate in anyendeavor in their personal life as well as in the global economy.

The basic level of writing required by colleges or universities forincoming students who want to study is not met since there are largenumber of adolescent graduates from high school who are not equippedwith the basic literacy skills needed like lacking the ability to write to meetthe growing demands of the college curriculum Students who have poorwriting skills are also referred to as low performing writer They are thosestudents whose writing skills do not meet the adequate demands of theclass

Writing difficulties like all other learning problems can be frustrating

on the part of the students’ education and self -esteem A student who hasproblem in writing would experience interference in his learning He isunmotivated and lacks enthusiasm to write because of his inadequacy ofthe skill

Problems that confront teachers regarding students’ problems inwriting are focused on what students will write and how to motivate them towrite about interesting topic If students do not have the proper or rightperspective, writing for them becomes a boring act So that teachers lookfor a way to combine other skills in teaching for students to have freedom

to meaningfully express them

Reading as a language skill helps students expand their knowledge

in large messages or paragraphs It is one of the most important skills that

a person can acquire It helps the learner to understand the world byenabling them to learn about the past and plan for the future For academicsuccess, reading is important since it is also considered a critical skill Inthe educational system reading is well integrated that either educational oracademic success is considered synonymous to reading success

Reading is the key that unlocks the door in the world of enjoyment.Reading is perhaps the most important language skill to develop in alllearners, requiring a multi-faceted process Therefore, reading shouldbecome indispensable to learner because if they don’t learn readingespecially from the beginning, they would surely find difficulty in learningother skills

Students do not become good readers due to the following reasons:poor ability or for making insufficient effort, unsuitable course books, which

do not encourage them to read and do not raise their interest of reading,wrong attitude of the teachers and students about the subject,inappropriate teaching methods and classroom techniques.

Reading difficulties become most apparent when the reader isunable to grasp the meaning from a text passage Reading may beaffected by the difficulties of the text, the vocabulary of the words used inthe text, and the reader’s familiarity with the subject matter, among otherfactors Moreover, reading difficulties have been caused by inadequateinstruction, insufficient exposure and practice, deficient word recognitionskills, deficient memory capacity and functioning, significant languagedeficiencies, inadequate comprehension monitoring and self-evaluation,unfamiliarity with text features and task demands, undeveloped attentivestrategies and inadequate cognitive development and reading experiences

In the process of integration and development in internationaleconomic relations of Vietnam nowadays, one of the decisive factorsrelating to the society’s economic development of the Nation is to extentthe foreign economy, in which learning a foreign language is one of themost important contents to contribute that process It is really necessary forVietnamese people to learn foreign languages in general as well as English

in particular when Vietnam country enters to integrate the world economy,especially Vietnam becomes an official member of WTO Cited from the

Resolution adopted by the tenth Party Congress, Vietnam is planning to try

to become a country where its people could speak English as a secondlanguage like the Philippines today in 2020

In April 2009, the Ex - Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr Ly QuangDieu visited Vietnam and had a very sincere advice to Vietnamese thatVietnam should train English for unemployed people in order to reduce therate of the poor The demand of using English in universities, colleges,banks, restaurants and offices is quickly increasing, so teaching English as

a global language is very significant and effective

With this scenario, as an English Language teacher of Thai NguyenUniversity handling Basic English course, the researcher becomeinterested to look into the writing and reading performance of First YearCollege students in the seven functions of language and come up withenrichment activities gearing towards enhancement of writing and readingperformance

Statement of the Problem

This study aimed to determine the reading and writing performance

of first year college students taking up Basic English course in the sevenfunctions of language at Thai Nguyen University (TNU) System during the

Academic Year 2013-2014 with the end view of proposing functionalenrichment activities

Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions:

1 How are the Basic English course in the seven language functionsbeing carried out in the beginning College English course in terms of:

5 How do the teachers assess the reading and writing performance of

students based on the seven functions of language?

6 How do the assessment of teachers and performance of students in

reading and writing compare?

7 What functional enrichment activities in the English language may beproposed?

Scope, Delimitation and Limitation

This study focused on determining the first year college students’reading and writing performance in the seven functions of language in theBasic English Course at Thai Nguyen University (TNU) System, Vietnam.The study dealt about the student’s writing and reading performance interms of instrumental, regulatory, interactional, personal, heuristic,imaginative and representational language functions as well as theteachers’ assessments on the said language functions The output of thestudy is in the form of functional enrichment activities to improve students’weaknesses on Basic English Course along these language functions.

The study covered the four (4) Thai Nguyen Universities in ThaiNguyen City and used 53 teachers teaching Basic English course and1,266 First Year College students who were presently enrolled in theAcademic Year 2013-2014 Students who were not enrolled in the BasicEnglish course as well as those in the higher levels were not included inthe study Results of the study were limited on the information from therespondents in the Academic year 2013-2014

Significance of the Study

The study was deemed beneficial to the Administrators of ThaiNguyen University, English teachers, First Year students, Parents andFuture researchers

Administrators Results of the study will guide them in the

curriculum development by evaluating the different English proficiencyenhancing activities These will also serve as a guide for the realignment

of the existing curriculum of Basic English to meet their institutional goalsand objectives

Faculty of Basic English Results of this study will make the

faculty, teaching Basic English aware of the student’s performance inwriting and speaking These will provide them insights on what classroomlearning activities would be appropriate to enhance the languageproficiency of their students Likewise, the teachers might propose someenrichment activities to improve the student’s writing and readingperformance

First Year Students Findings of this study will make them aware of

their present performance in writing and reading These will give them achallenge to improve their weak points and enhance their over-allperformance in Basic English

Parents Through this study, parents of the first year students will

become aware of the English performance of their children which will makethem more supportive and cooperative in school activities specifically onthe improvement of the skills in the Basic English of their children

Future researchers Results of this study will serve as reference for

their undertaking

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter presents the review of conceptual and researchliterature which provides the right direction to complete the research study,synthesis, theoretical framework, conceptual framework, hypothesis anddefinition of terms

Conceptual Literature

The concepts reviewed serves as the basis of the study It includedthe following: teaching the English language to beginners, Englishlanguage functions, evaluation of reading and writing performance, andEnglish language enrichment activities

Teaching the English Language to Beginners English as an

international language and the most widely used in the world today is used

in international meetings and conferences It is also the language used ineducation Many non-English speakers study the language since learningthe language would open doors to many opportunities and success

Teaching the English language to beginners is not an easy task.Numerous problems are encountered from students ranging frommispronunciation of words, wrong spelling, incorrect grammar, and lack of

confidence So, that there are suggestions or tips on how teachers canteach English to beginners Myers (2014) shared her methodology onteaching English to absolute beginners These include making sentencesout of words on cards and letting students memorize and repeat shortdialogues In teaching students, vocabulary should be the focus instead ofgrammar especially for production It is suggested that walls in theclassroom should be covered with useful familiar language Likewise, theteacher must use direct method of teaching using mime, gestures, visualaids and wall charts.

Bleyer (2012) on the other hand emphasized that in teaching BasicEnglish to beginners teacher must speak slowly and clearly and makessure that beginner students understand her lessons Students’ names andnicknames must be remembered by teacher and students as well as theplace where they live as these will serve as basis to practice Basic Englishstructures Basic things such as sounds of the alphabet, spelling, readingrules and Basic English grammar structures should be the starting point forteaching

In teaching English to beginners, teachers must remember not tooverwhelm students with new materials; show students that lessons can befun, they can participate in the activities and perform well (busy teacher.org/3773 –how-to-teach-english-to-beginners.html) In designing the

curriculum, teachers must bear in mind the following: for lesson material, it

is important to go slowly in introducing information to students until they arecomfortable with what they covered; for teacher talking in the classroom, itshould be slowed down as students will never understand if it is donerapidly and for drill exercises teacher must enunciate clearly and talk loudlyfor the entire class to hear As for practice, teacher must choose practicethat are simple, easy to understand and easy to explain Demonstration isthe best option as using lots of words may confuse students As theyimprove, more complex activities may be introduced For having fun,students must be given opportunity to learn in a different way throughlanguage studies as the goal of every language teacher is to let studentscommunicate with her and others in a positive creative environment

Andrews (2005) on the other hand provided tips for teaching ESLbeginners and pre-literate adults These are making sure personalconnection comes first; use interruptions as teaching moments that trumpwhatever lesson the teacher planned; try to minimize; feed students’stomachs sometimes, not just their minds; try to meet students half way;communicate slowly, clearly and directly; and avoid books that are toochildish

In addition, the following are suggested in teaching English forbeginners: smiling helps as it is something that can be understood on a

universal level especially in building rapport with the students and supportcapacity; finding an assistant as it creates a great atmosphere in the classwhere students help each other in the learning process and makes thingseasier; use of realia such as flash cards and other visuals; knowing of fewbasic words and phrases in the students’ language; speaking slowly;teaching of all four skills; repeating commands; and chill, relax, be calm,and avoiding stress as well as building a strong rapport with students (busyteacher, org/ 4793-top -8- tips –on- teaching- absolute- beginners html)

English Language Functions Language is a system of arbitrary

symbols used by members of a society to communicate with one another

as defined by Clifford Praetor, head of the Second Language TeachingDepartment of the University of California It is a system of rules,unconsciously present in the mind, that enables humans to relate soundsand meanings (Delahunty et al, 1994) Language is a means by whichsounds and meanings are related There is some sound symbolism inlanguage, that is , there are words whose pronunciation suggests themeaning (Fromkin et al, 1974) If one has the knowledge about languagewords to form phrases, phrases to form sentences can be combined This

is because knowing a language means being able to produce newsentences never spoken before and to understand sentences never heard

before This ability according to Chomsky (1972) is referred to as thecreative aspect of language.

Halliday (1975) stated that language is systemic because it isparadigmatically organized which means any piece of language on anyscale can be described as the output of a system of choices and that asthe child moves into the mother tongue, language functions give way to thegeneralized meta-functions of language In this process, in between thetwo levels of the proto language system, an additional content is inserted.Instead of one level of content, there are now two: the lexico-grammar andsemantics

Function refers to systemic and non- systemic linguistics There arethree particular types of functions in systemic linguistics and these aremicro-function which makes use of constituents like subject, actor, ortheme; macro-function which deals with the language used in early child-language such as functions of imagination, discovery, interaction andothers and meta-function which is the generalized functional principle oflinguistic organization Meta-functions comprised of three types namely:the ideational, the interpersonal and the textual

According to Blor et al (1995) these three functions operatesimultaneously in the expression of meaning In ideational function leaner’sexperience is expressed where elements of the external word and that of

consciousness are expressed The two sub-functions in the field ofparameters of register which are reflected in ideational function are theexperienced and the logical The experiential functions concern withcontent or ideas with the system of transitivity as the outcome Thefollowing are the six process types of transitivity systems: material, mental,relational, behavioral, verbal and existential Logical function is concernedwith the relationships between ideas

Functions are expressions of feeling and attitude that do not typicallycorrespond to grammatical categories Wilkins (1976 ) pointed out thatthese categories could provide a clear rationale, from the standpoint oflearner requirements, for selecting the language to which the learner will beexposed and which the learner will be supposed to acquire Functions oflanguage promotes the constructive interaction between linguistics andsuch neighboring disciplines as sociology, cultural studies, psychology,ethnology, communication studies, translation theory and educationallinguistics (Mackenzie, 2008)

According to Halliday (1978) the seven functions of language isreferred to as the functional view of language where the interest lies onwhat the language can do, or in what the speaker, child or adult can dowith it These language functions are instrumental, regulatory, interactional,personal, imaginative, heuristic, and presentational This functional account

of language used support the communicative language teaching linguistictheory

The language used by children to satisfy needs and desires, and tomake requests, or the language used by older children to persuade isreferred to as instrumental function of language which is transmitted whenthe buying and ordering situations is dramatized by students and is beingcaptured in letters of order and invitation of students

Furthermore, Christodoulou (2009) stated that instrumental function

of language is language used to fulfill a need on the part of the speakerwhich is directly concerned with obtaining food, drink and comfort.Instrumental function of language can also be understood by usinglanguage to get things However, regulatory function of language, is used

to control the behavior of others to do what one wants such as instructingand demonstrating and when writing list of directions or memos andclassroom rules

Interactional language function on the other hand is used to establishand define social relationship Mohr et al (2007) explained thatinteractional language is the language used to build and maintainrelationship It can be compared to transactional language, which normallycarries a message and is the language used to get things done Learners

in a multi-lingual group, chatting together before a class begins are using

interactional language Teachers can present elements of interactionallanguage, and raise learners’ awareness of interaction language byexposure to video and authentic conversation Learner can learn to useparalinguistic features such as gesture, eye contact, and body language,and linguistic features to maintain an interactional conversation includingfunctions such as expressing interest and asking for clarification.

The language used to express feelings, opinions, and individuality iscovered in personal language Sharing personal background and in talkingabout one’s stance on an issue are some areas where this language ismanifested and this can best be reflected in the students’ autobiographicalessay Creating a world of one’s own, and expressing fantasy throughdrama, poetry and stories are avenues where imaginative language can beused

The ability to use and appreciate language as a creative medium isreflected in imaginative language It is based on a model where anenvironment is created to a child through sounds, stories, make-believe,poetry and creative writing The rubric of this language function allowslearner to play with the target language the use of puns, rhyme,alliteration, and other poetic and literary devices Creating and consideringpossibilities are the principal purpose of imaginative function

Use of language in exploring the environment, in investigating andacquiring knowledge as well as understanding are the functions of heuristiclanguage This language of inquiry is utilized in History questions Intransmitting this certain language function effectively the letters of invitationand order are written Using the language to learn and discover is theheuristic function of language Learners using heuristic language learnthrough question and answer and by exploring the environment.

Moreover, the uses of language to communicate information, toreport facts, synthesize material, and inferences and conclusions are theinformational functions of language The students can convey theinformative language through giving of information on current events,general information, and scientific data This describes the sharing ofinformation to enhance knowledge Thompson (1994) stated that variouskinds of information sharing, whether about one's personal feelings, orabout something observed in the real world, may be combined for secondlanguage learner Thus, the informational function, which includes bothideas and feelings, is one of exchanging knowledge

Learning the language is both a social and cultural phenomenon.Becoming literate is a language function as it is tool for literacy andrepresents thinking

Evaluation of Reading and Writing Performance One that

requires students to demonstrate that they have mastered specific skillsand competencies by performing or producing something is termed asperformance assessment or evaluation (https:/ /www /learner.org./workshops / social studies/ pdf/session7/7 Performance Assessment.pdf)

It calls for the assessments of the following: designing and carrying outexperiments; writing essays which requires rethinking of students, tointegrate, or to apply information; working with other students toaccomplish tasks; demonstrating proficiency in using a piece of equipment

or a technique of building models; developing, interpreting, and usingmaps; making collections; writing papers, critiques, poems, or short stories;giving speeches; playing musical instruments; participating in oralexaminations, developing portfolios; developing athletic skill or routine

According to Ark (2013) performance assessment refers to the list inwhich the test taker actually demonstrates the skills the test is intended tomeasure by doing real-world tasks that require those skills, rather than byanswering questions asking how to do them Meyer (1992) on the otherhand pointed out that performance is authentic when it is based onchallenging and engaging tasks which resemble the context in which adults

do their work and further stated that an authentic task or assessment isone which students are allowed adequate time to plan, to complete the

work to self- assess, to revise, and to consult with others Same criteriamust be used in judging authentic assessments

One which requires the student to use knowledge or skills to produce

a product or complete a performance is known as authentic tasks Wiggins(1990) suggested that task, context, and evaluation criteria are the threefactors to determine authenticity of assessment In performanceassessment, it is maintained that there should be performance criteria forevery task This is because criteria defines the type of behavior orattributes of a product which are expected for students and others as well

as a well- defined scoring system which allows the teacher, the studentsand others to evaluate a performance or product as objectively as possible

It is always a relative concept and that it is unrealistic to expect that anassessment will be authentic Fortier (1993) noted that authenticity isalways a relative concept and that it is unrealistic to expect that anassessment will be completely authentic

In the evaluation of reading performance, students must meetstandards or criteria The following are the features of students whoexceed standards: a strong comprehension of texts beyond their gradelevel is demonstrated; word meanings and shades of meaning usingcontextual support are identified by students; knowledge of synonyms andantonyms to make meanings are applied consistently by students; explicit

and implicit main ideas and key details and consistently are identified bystudents; and connections between information found in several points in apassage ca be made.

Further, predictions about outcomes based on information in apassage and understanding when an opinion is used by an author can bemade by students; conclusions about characters’ motivations and intendedpurpose of author’s can be drawn also by students Literary genresincluding story, poem fairy tale, tell tale and literary elements including plot,character, setting can be distinguished by students Information inillustrations, charts and graphs are applied by students to determinemeaning and list of instructions can be followed by them

According to Garcia et al (1994) successful and appropriate use ofperformance assessment requires considerable teacher knowledge andexpertise much more than that which is required with standardize test orcommercially developed assessment system Teachers used to planinstruction for individual students even though the description ofperformance from a rubric may be richer than that provided by a standardscore or percentile rank

The following are the rubrics for student with an exemplary readingperformance Meaning in a text is constructed and reflected by the reader.Sensitivity to linguistic, structural, cultural and psychological nuances and

complexities is also manifested Gaps in text are filled in, warranted andresponsible assumptions about unstated causes or motivation are made aswell as meaning from subtle cues are drawn Literal and figurativemeanings, as well as real or contradictions are recognized; possibilities fortheir resolutions are explored and ambiguities are tolerated Understanding

of the whole work is demonstrated

For writing performance, the criteria used are the qualities of goodwriting which include ideas, organization, word choice, sentence fluencyand voice (www imschool org/ images/ files/ menufiles/ overview 6 traitspdf) Understanding the nature of occasion is considered the first and mostimportant requirement for a successful writing performance In writing,alertness, fears and desires will help

In evaluation, Go et al (2010) explained that it is culminating act ofinterpreting the information gathered for the purpose of making decisions

or judgments about students’ learning and needs, often at reporting time.Teachers need several types of learning assessments as guide posts forinstruction when teaching students These include initial assessment todetermine the beginning level of instruction, interim assessments to paceinstruction and to provide feedback to the learners, and terminalassessment to determine the ultimate achievement of the learners (Green,1975) Classified as formative evaluation are initial and interim

assessments and their major objective is to help the leaner Through thisevaluation, the learner is provided with feedback on his errors, his rate ofprogress, and his level of achievement related to the acceptable level ofcompetence

English Language Enrichment Activities A positive biological

response to a contrasting environment, in which measurably, synergisticand global changes have occurred within the brain is termed enrichment(www education Com/ reference/ article/ enrichment/).Enrichment aseducational policy refers to the revisit of curriculum, assessment,environment, and instruction

Enrichment is the many things that students choose to do beyondtheir academic pursuits Teachers create and develop varied enrichmentschemes that involved students to the many recognized activities (filestore aqa org uk/ AQA- BACC ENRICH) Teachers should decide whichactivities are important and best fit to students as it broadens theirhorizons, as well as develop their personal and social development

Considered useful for supporting career choices is by garneringrelevant experience in a particular area Enrichment activities are alsomeans of realizing potentials (www Sirius- academy Org uk/? Page ID –enrichment- activities) Likewise, participation of students in groupsituations and as individuals are encouraged

Extracurricular activities and experiences that students enjoy and dooutside of school or college are part of enrichment It should be flexible andshould fit easily to schedules It should be offered internally or externallythrough enrichment providers To ensure a broad mix of activities, eligibleenrichment activities have been divided into three core areas: work-relatedlearning, community participation, and personal development (www.aga.org uk./ programmes /aqa- baccalaureate/ enrichment activities ) Throughparticipation of varied activities, skills such as commitment, goodcitizenship initiative, leadership, team spirit, are gained and developed bystudents Out of this enrichment students gained the most importantassessment through reflection and communication.

Enhancing oral communication is also part of enhancement activitieswhere students are given opportunities to interact with other students, andconduct film showing and video presentation ( www dwcc.edu ph/?q=cllenrichment) They were also allowed to have a trip to fast food chains,public market, tribal communities, and conduct cultural programs In mostschool programs, there are primary types of activities where enrichmentactivity is one among them Enrichment activities expand students’ learning

in ways that differ from the methods used during the school day and oftenthey are interactive and project- focused, as well as enhance a students’education by bringing new concepts to light or by using old concepts in

new ways ( www learning pt org promising practices of what is htm).Activities which students participate must be enjoyable and could haveimpact knowledge for them to use in real life situations.

Another type is tutoring and homework help Direct assistancerelative to classroom work are provided by these kinds of activities Duringthe school days, students complete their assignment, prepare for test, andwork on concepts with the help of their teachers or tutors As regards torecreation, it gives students relaxation or playing This is not academic innature, and it includes sports, games, and clubbing Students learn todevelop their social skills, teamwork, leadership, competition and disciplinethrough engaging these kinds of activities High degree of interaction, andproject-focus are some of the characteristics of these enrichmentsactivities Academic concepts are learned by student through enjoyableand engaging activities

Enrichment activities are terrific teaching and learning tool (w/teacher word press com/2011/12/13/ enrichment-activities- in –the-foreignlanguage-classroom-aka- games) To motivate students’ participation toactivities, students must be provided with opportunities to practicespeaking in the target language Likewise, students must also be giventime to play games as these are found useful in teaching and learningprocess Relaxed content for risk-taking is provided by games In the

classroom community is built and students can better engage languageinteraction in an authentic situation Games can also serve as ways toreview and practice structures.

A process in which learners develop their receptive and expressivelanguage skills is called language enrichment It provides learners withstrong foundational skills that benefit the acquisition of higher level literacyskills (www speech and language where house Com/ what –is-htm).Hands-on active learning is an opportunity that is offered by enrichmentactivities in the classroom It goes beyond paper and pencil instruction andincreases students’ interests in new subject areas and foster a love oflearning (www ehow Com/ info 8640862 benefits-classroom enrichment-activities.html) The following are some of the features of enrichmentactivities: these can be simple as teacher’s time or as resources allow; donot have to be in the classroom and give learners a chance to experimentwith occupations and think about future paths

children’s focus on meaning in language, teacher’s tendency to examinelanguage in terms of form rather than meaning and the importance of thestudent/teacher interaction process It also identifies the seven languagefunctions described by M.A.K Halliday at al tells how children developideas and about the ways language should be used in the classroom Firstgrade children engaged in classroom activities are the respondents of thestudy Findings reveal that teacher’s awareness, listening skills andinteractions with children make the critical difference in the development of

a child’s full range of language functions Young children have awareness

of both languages The study concluded in advising that teachers mustprovide situations in which children focus on meaning and use language fortheir own purposes

Rabab’ah (2001) study focused on the communication problems ofArab learners in English where the notions of communicative competenceand strategic competence were discussed Results of the study reveal thatArab learners face many problems in all language skills: listening, reading,speaking and writing The great number of numerous utterance thatArab learners of English produce in oral performance and their recourse

to communication strategies are indication of the seriousness of theproblem as well as of the non- achievement of the objectives of the EnglishDepartment in the Arab world

Recommendations of the study include: raising foreign learners’awareness of the potential of communicative strategies (CS), providingdefinition of communicative strategies and performing the tasks required inusing CS; utilization of electronic media in performing classroom tasks, andassessment of their performance frequently The study concluded thatteachers and learners are not only a matter of developing grammatical,sociolinguistic and semantic competence, but also strategic competencewhich involves the use of CS’s to transmit comprehensive input.

The aim of Alibakhshi et al (2011) research study is to investigate theeffect of explicit teaching of some of the communicative strategies (CS’s) inlanguage performance of Iranian Language learners of English.Respondents of the study comprised of 60 male and female languagelearners Results of the study indicate that there was significant differencebetween the control group and experimental group in the use of CS’s; therewas also a significant difference between the group in the use of seven out

of the nine strategies The study concluded that the effect of teaching CS’swas stable after a language material

Goro (2007) investigates the acquisition of language specificconstraints on scope interpretation by Japanese pre- school children Themain goal of the study is to determine how Japanese children learn theseconstraints on scope interpretations Findings of the study show that

Japanese children productively generate scope interpretations that arenever exemplified in the input Children do not acquire these scopeconstraints through conservative learning and raise the question of howthey learn to purge their on-adult interpretation

Foucart, (2008) investigates grammatical gender processing inFrench as a first and second language It focuses mainly on whether non-native speakers can achieve native-like presentation and processing ofgrades and whether the native language (L1) influences the acquisition ofthe second language (L2) Findings of the study reveal that like nativespeakers English-French bilinguals are sensitive to gender agreementviolations The performance of the German speakers tested suggests thatthe presence of a competing gender system in the native language mayhamper gender acquisition in L2 The influence of the native languagemay vary and that the gender system of two languages may beautonomous in highly proficient bilinguals The study concluded that highlyproficient bilinguals can reach native-like-representation and processing ofgender in their L2 and that such is not constrained by either the age ofonset of learning or the grammar of the learners (L1)

Mourtaga (2010) determine why Palestinians EFL learners are weakwriters Respondents of the study include 30 male and female instructorsfrom Gaza Results of the study reveal that learners do not practice

enough writing in English It is recommended in the study to usepedagogical suggestions that will develop EFL writing in Gaza such asusing innovative classroom, techniques within the process approach andteach lessons in a human fashion.

Obery (2012) conducted a study to examine the influence of the

2011 Oregon Writing Project (OWP) Summer Institute (SI) on theprofessional development of six teachers Findings of the study reveal thatteachers reported a neglect of writing education in their teacher preparationprograms, as well as in the professional development programs offered byK-12 schools Participants tended to report changes in their professionaland personal practices, attitudes and beliefs related to writing following theSummer Institute Participants unanimously identified the characteristics oftime and safe learning environment as significant in their professionaldevelopment experiences

Recommendations of the study include: need for more inclusion ofwriting instructional methods in pre service and professional developmentprograms Pre- study also reinforces pre-existing research that supportsprofessional development models that are designed to be teacher andcontext centered within a collaborative community The present contexthighlights the need to consider factors of time and participant’s feelings ofsafety when designing professional development program The study

concluded that effective professional development may offer the importantteacher learning and confidence needed in K-12 schools.

Mader (2008) introduced speech recognition software to shareadolescents with learning disabilities The process may help students withlearning disabilities especially in the area of written expression, circumventthe frustrations of paper-pencil writing and empower them to express theirideas in written form Findings of the study reveal the quality of writtencomposition improved when using DNS: the effect on attitude and self-perception were tentative and the accuracy rate for all participants wassimilar The study concluded that students may have hoped to faceproblem with written expression on a daily basis in public schoolclassrooms across the nation

Quitadamo’s et al (2007) study compared critical thinkingperformance of students who experienced a laboratory writing treatmentwith those who experienced traditional quiz-based laboratory in a generaleducation biology course The effects of writing were determined within thecontext of multiple co variables Results of the study indicate that thewriting group significantly improved critical thinking skills whereas the non-writing group did not Analysis and inference skills increase significantly inthe writing group but not the non- writing group Writing students alsoshowed greater gains in evaluation skills; however, those were not

significant In addition to writing, prior critical thinking skills and instructorssignificantly affected critical thinking performance, whereas other covariables such as gender, ethnicity, and age were not significant Thestudy concluded that with improved critical thinking skills, generaleducation biology students will be better prepared to solve problems asenjoyed and productive citizens.

Cromley (2005) compared the construction Integration (CI), VerbalEfficiency (VE) and Inferential Mediation (IM) models of readingcomprehension in her research study It tested the fit of four variations onthe IM model Results of the study indicated that vocabulary andbackground knowledge made the greatest total contribution tocomprehension There were large significant differences between low andhigh comprehending participants on all of the predictor variables, except forword reading accuracy, where these were small but significant differences.Both the direct and indirect effects of the components are important forcomprehension It is recommended in the study that vocabulary andbackground knowledge of 9th grade students who struggle forcomprehension be first targeted for intervention

Synthesis