A STUDY ON “ USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact, I wish to contributesome suggestions for possible improvements in the teaching and learning ofwriting skill by the means of graphic org

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A STUDY ON “ USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

TO TEACH WRITING FOR CLASS 10V”

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale

1.2.Purpose of the study

1.2.1 Hypothesesof the study

3.1 Participants and setting

3.2 Data sources and research material

3.3 Data collection procedure:

1 Introduction

1.1 Rationale

In the process of globalization, English plays an important role inenhancing economy, politics, culture and international relations between manycountries Therefore, there is a great demand for teaching and learning English

in the world as well as in Viet Nam English users today focus more on theability to communicate in spoken and written languages However, according to Trang and Baldoff (2007), the education quality has not met the society’sexpectation because mostly high-school graduates cannot communicate inEnglish effectively in both oral and written forms Under the urgent demand ofimproving the qu lity, Vietn m’s English l ngu ge te ching h s recentlyundergone a comprehensive reform Vietnamese Ministry of Education andTraining has issued a new set of textbook for high school students in order todevelop students’ communic tive competence he new textbook displ ys twonew teaching approaches They are learner- centered and communicative pproches owever, reg rding Vietn m’s context, the ch nge will cre te lot ofdifficulties to teachers of English who are too familiar to the old teachingmethods, especially in teaching writing skill, which seems to be the mostdifficult work in teaching English

At Son La high school for gifted students, teaching writing skills is really abig challenge One of the major reasons for students' low performance inwriting; however, is the traditional methods adopted to teach this skill In factteaching writing in this part of the word does not go far beyond "the teacherassigns a topic, the students write and the teacher evaluates and (at his/her best)provides feedback"(Marshi&Henatabad, 2011 p.79 ) Such an approach toteaching writing, in the researchers' point of view, is very unproductive anddemotivating It induces the learners to develop negative attitudes towardswriting To make teaching writing more fruitful and less boring, more moderninnovative techniques such as graphic organizers are worth considering and

being utilized in teaching English writing Another problem is the students’ lowlevel of English proficiency That is why they find it difficult to write.Moreover, lack of motivation also faces the students They often get bored andindifferent in the writing lessons In my opinion, the current problem must beworked out and appropriate teaching techniques should be made Up to present,

a few researches have been carried out on the teaching of writing for students inSon La As a teacher of English, who is aware of the fact, I wish to contributesome suggestions for possible improvements in the teaching and learning ofwriting skill by the means of graphic organizers

1.2 Purpose of the study

In response to the problem of student' insufficient writing ability, comes thisresearch as an attempt to determine whether using graphic organizers helps toimprove Son La high school for gifted students' writing performance asmeasured by scores from a modified writing proficiency rubric developed byThe Georgia Department of Education (2008) This research also intends to seehow the use of such techniques impacts the students' attitudes towards writing

1.2.1 Hypotheses of the study

Through the use of graphic organizers to teach writing, it is hypothesizedthat:

1.2.1.1 Students' writing performance will improve significantly

This hypothesis is based on the assumption that graphic organizers providescaffolding or support for new information, help to focus attention, organizeinformation, select relevant vocabulary and offer a reminder for previousinformation

1.2.1.2 Students' attitudes towards writing will become more positive

This hypothesis is based on the assumption that these organizers create

an enjoyable learning atmosphere that enhances meaningful learning Hencethey serve to improve performance and prevent frustration and boredom

1.2.2.Questions of the study

This research is intended to answer two questions that are directly related

to the above hypotheses

1- What is the effect of using graphic organizers on students' writingperformance?

2- How does the use of graphic organizers impact the students'attitudes towards writing?

1.2.3.Significance of the Study

This research is significant as it attempts to investigate the impact graphicorganizers may have on the writing ability and attitudes towards writing English

of the 10th grade students at Son La specialized high school towards thissignificant skill

This study is also significant because its results would demonstrate theviability of using such an occidental innovative technique; the graphicorganizers to improve the writing proficiency of a group of the 10th gradestudents as well as their attitudes towards this important skill If this techniqueproves to be useful, then it goes without saying that it will be adopted to teachthis vital skill to attain better writing performance Better writing performancesecures the academic future of the students and facilitates their educationalprogress

simply putting words, sentences together Many researchers tended to focus onthe nature of writing as an entity of linguistic creation For example, Brannon, Knight and Neverow- urk ( 982, p 2) pointed out “ writing is cre tive rt, not asassembly line operation of locking words together into sentence and boltingsentences together into paragraphs in accordance with a predefined pl n.”

Other researchers considered writing as a communicative process withpurposeful interaction between the participants For example, NuNan (1999, p 100) st ted, “Writing is not solit ry ct, r ther, it is the result of the inter ctionmong people, contexts, nd texts.” Oluw diy ( 990) considered the n ture ofwriting s “ process” of “vi -text communic tion” between n ddresser nd naddressee

However, writing, in l ngu ge te chers’ opinions, is “ l ngu ge skill which isdifficult to cquire” ( ribble, 996, p 3) t is “ process th t occurs over a period

of time, particularly if we take into account the sometimes extended periods ofthinking th t precede cre ting n initi l dr ft.” ( Harris, 1993, p 10)

In short, the definitions of writing are various However, writing ischaracterized with some basic features, i.e being linguistics, creative,progressive and interactive Besides, the word “writing” itself m y imply n ct, aprocess, or a skill, which needs practice and study to develop It requires bothphysical and mental powers from the writers

2.1.2 The importance of writing

NancieAtwel (1998) a leading writing practitioner reflecting on the importance

of writing, referred to it as a way of life She explains that writing is a means to acquire and attain language, confirming that it is an important mode of

communication through which life experience and personal views can be

shared

At another level, Graham and Perin (2007) describe writing as skill that draws

on the use of strategies to accomplish a variety of goals They affirm that

writing is a means of extending and reinforcing knowledge They add that writing acts as an effective tool for acquiring new information

2.1.3 Difficulty of teaching writing

Albeit the importance of writing, many scholars and researchers admit that teaching this skill is a complex and cumbersome process (Calkins, 1994;

Marten, Seagraves, Thacker & Young, 2005) Other researchers confirm that teaching writing is just as complicated as writing itself(Graham and Perin (2007) Ching and Chee (2010) admit that teaching writing is demanding and cumbersome

As a teacher of writing for a long time, I acknowledge the difficulty and

complexity of teaching English writing However, it should also be

acknowledged that the traditional methods which are widely adopted to teach this skill in this part of the world is one of the major causes for the poor level of the students' writing performance

2.1.4 Effective writing teaching requirements

Effective writing teaching requires the use of assistive devices to support and maintain the learning of this skill (Dell, Newton &Pertraff, 2008) It is not enough for the teachers of writing to be highly qualified, but that their practices

of instruction follow scientific based research

Strangman&Dalton (2005) outlines the major principles of effective writing instruction These involve providing support for recognition through

(presentation), support for strategic learning through (expression) and support for affective learning through (engagement) Use of mind maps and graphics, says Strangman, provides the teacher with tools and strategies that help him/her

to adhere to the above principles of effective writing teaching

Currently, visual organizers are widely incorporated in teaching writing These tools areclaimed to provide learners with a concrete structural framework of

information and help to focus the learners' attention on key ideas and the

conceptual relations between these ideas rather than the apparently isolated facts(Delrose, 2011) In fact, the use of graphic organizers enhancesunderstanding, organizing and meaningful learning, and in this way facilitatesthe complex task of learning writing while serving to prevent boredom (Janssen,Beissner&Yacci, (1993)

Lee (2004) regards graphic organizers as the most effective tools for teaching and improving writing skills In fact, dozens of empirical studies were

conducted to verify the efficacy of such organizers, and almost all of these studies asserted their viability for teaching writing It is found that these

organizers help the students visualize the abstract ideas, divide the writing tasks into smaller palatable parts, and monitor their writing progress (Unzueta, 2009)

2.1.5.Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are defined by Bishop (2013) as visual displays of key

content information designed to guide learners and to enhance their

comprehension They are sometimes referred to as concept maps, cognitive maps, or content maps, but they are all used to serve one purpose They are meant, says Baxendell (2003) to help students clearly see how ideas are

organized within a text or surrounding a concept Through the use of

organizers, learners acquire the structure of abstract concepts A graphic

organizer is a visual graphic display that shows the relation between facts, terms

or ideas within a learning task (Hall &Strangman, 2002) The visual

representation of graphic organizers provides learners with a structural

framework of information to be learned This helps to direct the learners'

attention to key concepts and conceptual relationships The use of such

organizers, thus promotes understanding, and enhances organization and long term retention of information It stresses meaningful learning which serves to facilitatelearning and minimize boredom (Janssen, et al, 1993)

2.1.6 Students' attitudes towards writing

The ability to write clearly, consciously and efficiently is important to achieve academic success However, many students have limited writing abilities and struggle to write compositions that adequately convey their thoughts and ideas (Unezueta, 2009) Indeed, the writing process can be very cumbersome and difficult to master Actually many students are classified as low achievers in thisskill This situation is quite frustrating and leads many students to develop negative attitudes towards this essential skill

Educators can play a major role in helping students overcome this problem It isimportant for teachers to provide students with interesting, authentic and

meaningful writing experiences (Chohan, 2011) When these types of

experiences are provided for the students, they become more engaged and

interested in their learning According to Chohan (2011), writing is better

learned when students are engaged, helped to organize their thoughts, and

allowed to express their own experiences

Lancaster (2013) reports that when students have the chance to participate in writing workshops and used a variety of graphic organizers, writing becomes meaningful, creative and more enjoyable Furthermore, when learners are offered the opportunity to practice writing under stress-free conditions, they become more comfortable and confident in the writing process

Marten ,L Seagraves ,R Thacker, S &Young, L (2005) add that teaching writing via the use of graphic organizers is meaningful and interesting because iteffectively shows students' growth with respect to their writing abilities

Lancaster (2013) confirms that the use of graphic organizers in teaching is one way to create a learning atmosphere where students love writing Teachers can prevent writing failure and students' frustration when successful, meaningful ways of teaching are used

2.2 The reality of teaching and learning writing atSon La specialized high school

2.2.1 The teacher’s and students’ attitudes towards the teaching and learning of writing

Writing is not highly appreciated by the students and even the teachers donot take the importance of writing seriously This is because of the main purpose

of teaching and learning English at Son Laspecializedhigh school The results ofthe final exam and university entrance exam are considered the most importance

of teaching and learning English at school so both the teachers and studentsthere focus mostly on grammar and reading skill rather than on other skills such

as speaking, listening and writing This cert inly ffects the students’ writingcompetence and prevents the improvement of their writing ability onsequently,most of the te chers nd the students think the students’ writing competence isbad

2.2.2 Students’ difficulties in learning writing

The 10th form students at Son La Specialized high school are sixteen yearsold Although they have been learning English for four years at lower-secondaryschools, their English knowledge is still limited Besides, they have no cleardetermination on English learning goal Students have to face many difficultiesthat are from two causes: (1) from the students themselves, and (2) from the techers’ lectures

In terms of the first cause, the majority of the students have trouble withwriting because of their low level of English proficiency Their vocabulary andsentence structures are poor Grammar mistakes and spelling are also a commonfear for many of them Besides, their low background knowledge also makesthem feel stressed when writing Many of the students said they found it hard togenerate ideas and make an outline because of their low background knowledge.Their low motivation is also a problem These students consider the result of theexams as the most importance of their learning Therefore, they care much

about grammar, structures and reading skill This, obviously, decreases theirinterest in writing Moreover, they consider time limitation as a trouble Many

of them said they sometimes did not have enough time to complete writing tasks

at class The main reason for this is because of their low level of Englishproficiency and low background knowledge

In terms of the second cause, the students do not highly asses their te chers’ssist nce hey find their te chers’ feedb cks re not comprehensive nd their techers’ instructions re not dequ te

2.2.3 The new “TiengAnh 10” textbook

he new “ ieng nh 0” is the first of three-level English language set oftextbooks for the Vietnamese upper secondary school It follows the systematic,cyclical and theme-based curriculum approved by the Minister of Education andTraining on 23rd November 2012 The aim of this set of textbooks is to developstudents’ communic tive competence in listening, speaking, reading and writing

so that when finishing upper secondary school, students will achieve level three

of the Vietnamese Foreign Language

Competence Framework (equivalent to B1 in the Common EuropeanFramework of Reference for Languages)

2.2.3.1 Grade 10 writing objectives

The aim of the course is to equip students with English writing skill forbasic communication For grade 10 students, the objective is to developstudents’ bilities to provide 0 - 180 word paragraphs or short essay on familiartopics

2.2.3.2 Writing lessons

The writing subsection prepares students to cope with the two biggestproblems they usually experience, which are lack of ideas and lack of necessarylanguage to express ideas It often begins with a pre-writing activity thatpresents the topic and gives students an opportunity to brainstorm ideas related

to the given topic In the following activity, useful phrases are presented andpracticed so that students can use them later Sometimes, a model text ispresented with one or two tasks for students to study its structure and formatbefore producing their own text This approach to writing gives students someguidance so that they feel more confident and are better prepared for the writingtask

In order to realize the course objective, the writing section focuses on dailyand popular topics The required competences and objectives of the writinglesson in each unit are detailed in the following table:

2 Your body and

you

Writing about what to eat and not to eat

4 For a Better

Community

Writing an application letter for volunteer work

6 Gender Equality Writing about the disadvantages of working mothers

7 Cultural Diversity Writing about some typical characteristics of Vietnamese

Table 1: Checklist of writing tasks in TiengAnh 10 textbook

3 Methodology section

3.1 Participant and Setting

The participants of this study were the students from class 10V with 32students majoring in literature They are chosen to be the first students to studythe new textbook designed for those who have been studying English for 10years from grade 3 to grade 12 To study this textbook, students have to achievelevel two of the Vietnamese Foreign Language Competence Framework(equivalent to A2 in the Common European Framework of Reference forLanguages) However, the number of the students that can meet the requirement

is very small, about 15in the total of 32 students Consequently, I faced a lot ofchallenges when teaching students the new textbook, especially writing skill

3.2 Data sources and research material

Both quantitative and qualitative methods are employed to carry out the study The study used two major instruments for data collection: a writing rubric (see App A) and an attitudinal survey (see App B) The writing rubric based onThe Georgia Department of Education Scale was selected and modified by theresearcher to assess the various traits of students' writing The secondinstrument used in this study was the attitude survey This survey was intended

to measure the students' attitudes and feelings towards writing and theirperceptions of the writing task Informal interviews with the colleagues and thestudents are also conducted Besides, reviewing the related documents is also amethod to establish the theoretical background for the study

3.3 Data collection procedure:

The data collection procedure is indicated in the following chart:

Writing pre-test

The teaching of writing skills (3 lessons-Unit 3, 4 and

5)

1st writing post – test

The teaching of writing skills (3 lessons-Unit 6, 7, 9 )

2ndwrtiting post - test

Compare the results of the pre-test and the two post tests

The attitude survey The attitude survey

DATA ANALYSIS

32 grade 10 students

In the same lesson, the students were given the writing attitude survey This was a close -ended survey intended to collect some information about the students’ perceptions and feelings towards writing before the graphic organizers' intervention This survey would be given to the students once more at the end of the study to see if there were any changes in students' attitudes towards writing which could be attributed to the graphic organizers'intervention

In the second lesson of this phase, the participants were informed thatthey were going to do their first writing assignment Evaluation was carriedout by using the writing rubrics designed for this study

4.1.2 Intervention

I applied graphic organizers in teaching writing skill for 10V in Unit 3, 4, 5,

6, 7, 9 and 10.In the first semester, the students had 2 periodical tests, theteacher used these test as a way to check the development of the students’ability on writing skill After each writing lesson, the teacher took notice ofany development of students by collecting students’ writing and that wasalso used for the comparison in collecting date