SKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUT

SKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUTSKKN INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUT

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INTEGRATED SKILLS

IN WRITING LESSONS

TO IMPROVE LANGUAGE INPUT

Ng i th c hi n:

-6 - 2017

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Making speaking lessons in English textbooks more meaningful

I RATIONALE

II IMPLEMENTATION

A LITERATURE REVIEW

B METHODOLOGY

1 Sample lesson plans

2 Observation and findings

III CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

IV REFERENCES

INTEGRATED SKILLS IN WRITING LESSONS TO IMPROVE

LANGUAGE INPUT

I RATIONALE

most learners will definitely say they are speaking and writing skills, the two productive skills in English acquisition The reasons bedind this are numerous; however, the major cause is that they lack the topical language

After a few lessons, learners of English writing can master the structure a a certain type of writing, but when it comes to writing practice, the majority of learners are discouraged from the task by the lack of ideas and the vocabulary appropriate for a certain topic

During the first two months of taking charge of the writing skill for the English class, the author realised that most of the students use inappropriate vocabulary for the topic given and wrong combination of words or collocation

In the scope of this paper, the author attemps to suggest a method that could be considered effective in helping students improve their language input

II IMPLEMENTATION

A LITERATURE REVIEW

The importance of vocabulary is central to English language teaching because without sufficient vocabulary learners cannot express their own ideas Wilkins (1972, pp 111

As learners develop greater fluency and expression in English, it is significant for them to acquire more productive vocabulary knowledge The concept of a word can be defined in various ways, but three significant aspects teachers need to be aware of and focus on are form,

meaning, and use Nation (2001) stated that use involves the grammatical functions

of the word or phrase, collocations that normally go with it, and finally any constraints on its use, in terms of frequency, level, and so forth Teachers teach

any and all of these different components assists them in enhancing their English vocabulary knowledge and use Jordens , et al (1996:359) believe that vocabulary

is more important than grammar because people generally use vocabulary and

reduce grammar particularly when getting a message across quickly and precisely

is of the utmost importance; like telegrams, panic situations or times when emotions are very high Ellis (1995:42) distinguished between comprehension and acquisition of vocabulary, Ellis asserts that the acquisition increases with the rise of the number of context in which the word appears Learner need enormous encounters with word not only to consolidate a word accrued knowledge but also master the various type of word knowledge, Schmitt (2010:36)

Jack and Willy (2002, p.268) assert that there is a close relationship between vocabulary growth and the amount and variety of meaning-focused input They also stress that vocabulary learning through reading and listening is an essential strand of a language course This can be done by providing large quantities if suitably graded input, and by providing language- focused activities to support it Jack and Willy (2002, p.268) also add that spoken production of vacabulary items helps learning According to the main findings of the research into spoken communicative activities by Newton (1995), Joe (1995) and Joe, Nation, and Newton (1996), the written input to a communicative task has a major effect on what vocabulary is used and negotiated during the task Learners are able to provide useful information to each other on most of the vocabulary in a typical communicative task; that is, if someone in a group does not know a particular word, there is likely to be someone else in the group who knows something useful about it and who can communicate this information effectively As for writing tasks, Jack and Willy (2002, p.269) confirm that writing requiring the synthesis of information from several related sources could provide very favorable conditions for learning from input and strengthening this learning through generative use in written output

Therefore, for any essay writing lesson, the teacher should first provide the students with sufficient vocabulary by using authentic material such as reading texts and audio/video clips, then ask the students to discuss the topic using the language from the material The final stage is to use the language again in their writing

B METHODOLOGY

Subjects

The subjects of the study are 27 students from class 10 English 2, Luong The Vinh Specialised High School in the school year 2016-2017 Generally speaking, all the 27 students are rather good at English However, most of them seem reluctant to write in English

Research instruments: experimental teaching, observation.

Procedures

1 Sample lesson plans

Question 1: Many people say that cooking and eating at home is better for the

individual and the family than eating out in restaurants or canteens Do you agree or disagree?

Type of lesson: Essay writing - Integrating listening, speaking, and writing skills Level: Upper - intermediate

Aims:

To develop note-taking skill

To practice debating skill

To familiarise students with the topical language that can be used in their writing

Stage 1

Divide the students into six groups

Ask students to listen to three short clips about the advantages of home-cooked meals and take notes Groups 1&2 take notes on clip 1, groups 3&4 clip 2, and groups 5&6 clip 3

Ask the students in each group to exchange their notes

Ask 6 representative from 6 groups to come to the board and write down what they have heard

Teacher give the correct answers and highlight the phrases and expressions that students should pay more attention to

Develop language skills

Better grades at school/boost academic performance/the family meal setting was where children learn the most vocabulary/more words makes better readers

Dramatic behavioural benefits for family meals

Less likely to end up with substance abuse problems/risk-taking behaviours

Better health

Strong association between frequent family meals and better eating habit

Instill healthy eating habits

Good for your family mentally as well as physically

Protective factor of dinners together: from depression to anxiety to sexual promiscuity to academic achievement to criminal behaviour

Commit to sitting down and having dinner: better communication, parents are more aware of what their kids are involved in

Willing to talk about their struggles and temptations

Less likely to get involved in risky behaviours

Making family meals a priority

Stage 2

Teacher writes the question on the board

Many people say that cooking and eating at home is better for the individual and the family than eating out in restaurants or canteens Do you agree or disagree?

Ask the students to work in their own group and discuss the question, using the language they have just learned

Ask 2-3 students to present their ideas in front of the class

Stage 3

Ask the students to write an argumentative essay, using the language and ideas drawn from their group and class discussions

Question 2: The exploration and development of safe alternatives to fossil fuels

should be the most important global priority today To what extent do you agree

or disagree? Give reasons for your answer

Type of lesson: Essay writing - Integrating reading, speaking, and writing skills Level: Upper - intermediate

Aims:

To develop reading skill

To practice debating skill

To familiarise students with the topical language that can be used in their writing

Stage 1

Ask the sudents to read a text about the related topic and fill in the numbered blanks with the phrases provided

The biggest energy challenges facing humanity

million terajoules of energy roughly equivalent to what we would use if all 7.5 billion of us boiled 70 kettles of water an hour around the clock Or 3,000

Arizona one of the largest running (3)

in developing nations, hunger for

comes from fossil fuels extracted from deep within the crust It is estimated that since commercial oil drilling began in the 1850s, we have (7)

more than 135 billion tonnes of crude oil to drive

sparsely populated extensive use excessive capacities

deploying these intermittent renewables immediate hike

make some fundamental shifts in our behaviour on the rise

enable substantial economic benefits inextricably linked to

weaning ourselves off our fossil fuel habit chews its way

reached unprecedented levels on a path towards

bring in significant revenue an associated demand

taken a potentially devasting toll at full capacity

global population swelling rising sea levels bleak

sucked up leading contributor gas guzzling outstrip

provide an answer underway panel of experts hurdles

our cars, fuel our power stations and heat our homes That figure increases every day

on the planet Burning of coal, oil and gas has been

The scientists agree that we are (12)

leaves us with a problem How do we ensure the lights stay on?

energy industry is facing decades of according to a recent report by the World Energy Council Yet the implications of the changes underway go far deeper There are political, economic and social issues at stake,

There can be no doubt that implementing a shift in where we get our energy from

is one of the grand challenges facing our planet today BBC Future Now spoke to

we must now overcome and where technology may (17)

Perhaps the greatest issue raised by the scientists, policy experts and companies

demands expected in the coming decades

As developing nations become more industrialised, they will need access to reliable electricity supplies In countries where development is already (19)

energy use will soar as increasing wealth leads to

a swelling middle class and the lifestyle trappings that brings with it

the growth of the middle class in India and China, there will be an (20)

for air conditioning The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggest that by the middle of the present century, the demand for cooling will (21)

the demand for

But faced with global agreements to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, how will we meet this growing demand without dooming our ice caps and drowning low-lying regions beneath (22)

In truth, the picture may not be as (23) as it could

be Around a fifth of the primary energy supply already comes from renewable sources such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal

Hooking up these new energy producers to existing grids be straightforward, however of the big challenges of (24)

like wind and solar is the impact they could have

on the says Watson

electricity from regions that need it least to those that need it most

manager of the Asian Supergrid at Skoltech Institute for Science and Technology

in Russia countries like Japan and South Korea, the maximum seasonal load

conditioning In the Russian Far East and Siberia this is the period of the (27)

to reduce costs of building new energy projects For example, there are plans to develop large-scale wind and solar power stations in the Mongolian Gobi desert and in northern regions of China These regions are (29)

but allowing the excess energy produced to be exported could (30)

Stage 2

Teacher writes the question on the board

The exploration and development of safe alternatives to fossil fuels should be the most important global priority today To what extent do you agree or disagree? Give reasons for your answer.

Ask the students to work in their own group and discuss the question, using the language they have just learned

Ask 2-3 students to present their ideas in front of the class

Stage 3

Ask the students to write an argumentative essay, using the language and ideas drawn from their group and class discussions

2 Observation and findings

Level of using language in writing

Poor Rather good Very good

2016

After 9 months of implementation, the author found out that the number of students who have improved their using of vocabulary in writing has increased significantly from only 2 at the starting point to a massive 22 students at the end

of the school year

III CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

After one year of implementation, the author realises that the students have become more confident in argumentative essay writing Most importantly, the students take more active roles in their learning through reading and listening to more authentic material given by the teacher and of their own research

However, the preparation stage is quite a challenge for the teachers because once you have come up with the idea for your lesson, it is not easy to find a suitable video to use in that particular lesson One solution is there should be a network created for ESL teachers, where they share the videos for particular topics This can really help to lift the burden of material shortage that most ESL teachers have been carrying for years

IV REFERENCES

1 Ellis, R (1999) Learning a second Language through Interaction, pp.46

-47 John Benjamin Amsterdam

2 Jack, C.R and Willy, A.R (2002) Methodology in Language Teaching

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

3 Jordens, P et al (1996) Investigating second language Acquisition, pp.358

-359, Berlin, Foris publication Holland

4 Joe, A (1995) Text-based tasks and incidental vocabulary learning

Second Language Research, 11(2), 149-158.

5 Joe, A., Nation, P., & Newton, J (1996) Speaking activities and

vocabulary learning English Teaching Forum, 34 (1), 2-7.

6 Lewis M (1993) The Lexical Approach Hove: Language teaching

Publications

7 Nation, I.S.P (2001) Learning vocabulary in other in other language, p 9

-21 Cambridge university press

8 Newton, J (1995) Text-based interaction and incidental vocabulary

learning: A case study Second language Research, 11 (2), 159-177.

9 Schmitt ,N and Jiang , X (2011) The relation between percentage of vocabulary knowledge and level of comprehension The modern language

journal , 95, 1, p 26

10

http://www.eajournals.org/wp-content/uploads/Vocabulary-Input-in-

English-Language-Teaching-Assessing-the-Vocabulary-Load-in-Spine-Five.pdf, retrieved on May 24, 2017.

11 Wilkins ,D.A.(1972) Linguistics in Language Teaching Australia:

Edward Arnold

12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFNWbxyivVs

13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Umxbkk2-xLk

14 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLQw_nwrPzc