The application of group work to teaching writing at the center for foreign studies at nong lam university

Regarding teachers and learners' attitudes towards the advantages of group work in writing classes………87 4.2.5.. 55 Table 4.5: Learners' attitudes towards the effects of group work on the

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY-HOCHIMINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LINGUISTICS AND LITERATURE

THE APPLICATION OF GROUP WORK

TO TEACHING WRITING

AT THE CENTER FOR FOREIGN STUDIES

AT NONG LAM UNIVERSITY

@@@

Submitted to the Faculty of English Linguistics & Literature

in partial fulfillment of the Master’s degree in TESOL

By NGUYỄN NGỌC MINH THƯ

Supervised by

LÊ THỊ THANH, Ph.D

HO CHI MINH CITY, JULY 2013

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my thesis supervisor, Ms Le Thi Thanh, Ph.D who read my manuscripts with care and patience, giving me insightful comments, enthusiastic guidance and constructive suggestions I am grateful to her for her kindness, encouragement, understanding and sympathy If it had not been for her valuable support both mentally and emotionally, I would not have finished the thesis

Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank all my devoted instructors who taught me a great deal during the postgraduate course and gave me the inspiration to pursue my professional development

My special thanks must go to my mother, Ms Phạm Thị Minh Loan, who is

my first and also greatest teacher in my life as well as profession She has always supported me when I am confused, encouraged me when I am down and inspired me throughout the process Her endless love, constant care and enormous sacrifice have always been a great source of encouragement for me to move ahead in my life

I am also deeply indebted to my beloved aunt, Ms Phạm Thị Minh Kha, who has urged me to take the M.A course and supported me throughout my study at USSH She has always given me valuable advice on my teaching career

Last but not least, I would like to thank the teachers and students who were willing to participate in my thesis, without whom the thesis would not have been possible

iii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

I certify my authorship of the Master’s Thesis in TESOL submitted today entitled:

“THE APPLICATION OF GROUP WORK TO TEACHING WRITING

AT THE CENTER FOR FOREIGN STUDIES AT NONG LAM UNIVERSITY”

In terms of the Statement of requirements for Theses in Masters’ Programs issued by the Higher Degree Committee of Department of English Linguistics and Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City, July 2013

Signature

NGUYỄN NGỌC MINH THƯ

iv

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, NGUYỄN NGỌC MINH THƯ, being a candidate for the degree

of Master of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Master’s thesis deposited in the Library

In terms of these conditions, I agree that the original of my Master’s thesis deposited

in the library should be accessible for purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal conditions established by the library for the care, loan and reproduction of theses

Ho Chi Minh City, July 2013

Signature

NGUYỄN NGỌC MINH THƯ

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE … i

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ….ii

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY …iii

RETENTION OF USE ….iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS ….v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ….x

LIST OF TABLES …xi

LIST OF CHARTS……….……… xii

LIST OF FIGURES xiii

ABSTRACT .xiv

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……… …… ……….…… 1

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY……….……… …… 3

1.2 TEACHING AND LEARNING WRITING AT NLU-CFS……… 3

1.2.1 The Nong Lam University- Center for Foreign Studies……… 4

1.2.2 The current situation of teaching and learning writing at NLU-CFS………4

1.2.3 The writing syllabus……… 5

1.3 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY……… 7

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS……… ………7

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY……….……… 8

1.6 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY……… ……… 8

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS……… 8

1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY…….……….9

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 WHAT IS WRITING? ……….10

2.2 WHY DO WE NEED TO TEACH AND LEARN WRITING?………… 10

2.2.1 Writing for learning……… 10

2.2.2 Writing for writing………11

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2.3.WHAT ARE SOME MAIN PROBLEMS FACING WRITING LEARNERS?

2.3.1 Psychological problems………12

2.3.2 Cognitive and linguistic problems………13

2.4 REVIEW OF APPROACHES RELATED TO TEACHING ESL WRITING 2.4.1 Audio-lingual method (ALM)……….15

2.4.2 Controlled writing………15

2.4.3 Guided writing……… 16

2.4.4 Language-based writing……… 17

2.4.5 The pattern/ product approach………17

2.4.6 The communicative approach……… 18

2.4.7 The process approach……… 18

2.4.8 Collaborative approach………19

2.5 THE WRITING PROCESS………… ……….20

2.6 GROUP WORK AND L2 WRITING……… 22

2.6.1 What is group work? ……… 22

2.6.2 Grouping arrangements………22

2.6.2.1 Whole-class teaching………23

2.6.2.2 Individual work………24

2.6.2.3 Pair work ………24

2.6.2.4 Group work……… 26

2.6.3 The advantages of group work……….29

2.6.4 Drawbacks of group work………31

2.6.5 Group work in teaching writing skills……… 32

2.6.6 Incorporating group activities in writing classes………34

2.7 RECENT STUDIES RELATED TO WRITING AND GROUP WORK….37 2.8 SUMMARY ………38

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 3.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 39

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3.2 RESEARCH METHOD 39

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN 40

3.4 RESPONDENTS TO THE STUDY 41

3.4.1 The learners 41

3.4.2 The teachers 43

3.5 DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS …… ……….44

3.5.1 Learner questionnaire……… 45

3.5.2 Teacher questionnaire ……… 46

3.6 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE……… 47

3.7 SUMMARY ……… 47

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 4.1 DATA ANALYSIS 48

4.1.1 Learners' responses to the questionnaire……….48

4.1.1.1 Learners’ previous experience in learning English………… 48

4.1.1.2 Frequency of pair and group work in writing classes……… 50

4.1.1.3 Learners' attitudes towards the use of group work in writing classes……… 52

4.1.1.4 Learners' attitudes towards the advantages of group work in writing classes……… 57

4.1.1.5 Learners' attitudes towards the disadvantages of group work in writing classes….……… 62

4.1.2 Teachers' responses to the questionnaire………

4.1.2.1 Teachers' evaluation of learners at NLU-CFS………65

4.1.2.2 Frequency of using group work in writing classes………….67

4.1.2.3 Teachers’ attitudes towards the use of group work in writing classes……… 69

4.1.2.4 Teachers ' attitudes towards the advantages of group work in

writing classes………73

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4.1.2.5 Teachers' attitudes towards the disadvantages of group work in

writing classes…….……… 79

4.1.2.6 Teachers' suggestions on how to make good use of group work in writing classes………81

4.2 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 81

4.2.1 Regarding general evaluation of learners at NLU-CFS……… 82

4.2.2 Regarding the frequency of using group work in writing classes……83

4.2.3 Regarding teachers and learners’ attitudes towards group work in writing classes……… ……… 84

4.2.4 Regarding teachers and learners' attitudes towards the advantages of group work in writing classes………87

4.2.5 Regarding teachers and learners’ attitudes towards the disadvantages of group work in writing classes………89

4.3 SUMMARY 90

CHAPTER 5: RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION: 5.1 SUMMARY OF THE MAIN FINDINGS 92

5.1.1 Findings of research question 1 92

5.1.2 Findings of research question 2 93

5.2 PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS……… 95

5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS: 96

5.3.1 Recommendations to teachers 96

5.3.1 1 Concerning the use of mother tongue in doing group work……… ……… 96

5.3.1.2 Concerning the uncooperative and dominant group members……… 97

5.3.1.3 Concerning teachers’ role during group work ……… 98

5.3.2 Recommendations to learners……….98

5.4 CONCLUSION 99

ix

5.5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY……… 99

5.6 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 100

REFERENCES 101

APPENDICES 105

APPENDIX 1: Learner questionnaire (Vietnamese version) 105

APPENDIX 2: Learner questionnaire (English version) 109

APPENDIX 3: Teacher questionnaire 113

APPENDIX 4: Writing task ………117

x

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

ESL : English as Second Language

FLC : Foreign Language Center

L2 writing : Second language writing

NLU- CFS : Nong Lam University-Centers for Foreign Studies USSH : University of Social Sciences and Humanities

CFS……….……… 44

CHAPTER 4:

Table 4.1: Summary of learners' previous experience in learning English………….49 Table 4.2: Frequency of group work among the four skills………50 Table 4.3: Frequency of forms of working in writing classes……….51 Table 4.4: Learners' preference for learning models in writing classes……… 55 Table 4.5: Learners' attitudes towards the effects of group work on their learning …56 Table 4.6: Learners' perceptions of the benefits of group work in writing classes… 57 Table 4.7: Learners' perceptions of the additional benefits of group work………….60 Table 4.8: Learners' perceptions of the drawbacks of group work in writing classes.63 Table 4.9: Frequency of using different models of teaching……… 67 Table 4.10: Frequency of teachers' use of group work in writing stages………… 68 Table 4.11: Teachers' views on learners' preference for the four learning models….72 Table 4.12: Teachers' views on the effects of group work on learners' interest…….73 Table 4.13: Teachers' views on the advantages of group work in writing classes… 74 Table 4.14: Teachers' views on the other advantages of group work for learners… 76

Table 4.15: Teachers' views on the disadvantages of group work in writing classes.80

classes 55 Chart 4.5: Teachers' evaluation on writing levels of learners……… 65Chart 4.6: Teachers' evaluation of the learners’ attitude towards writing skills…… 66 Chart 4.7: Teachers' evaluation of learners' participation in writing classes……… 67 Chart 4.8: Teachers' perceptions of group-work as a good way to learn English… 69 Chart 4.9: Teachers' views of language used in groups……… 70 Chart 4.10: Teachers' evaluation of learners' participation in groups……… 71

xiv

ABSTRACT

The thesis reports the findings of a survey conducted at Nong Lam Center for Foreign Studies (NLU-CFS) to investigate teachers’ and learners’ attitudes towards group work in writing classes, its advantages and drawbacks

University-In an attempt to achieve this goal, two sets of questionnaire were delivered to

84 intermediate learners and 8 teachers experienced in the field The survey elicited data about the frequency of using group work in writing classes, teachers and learners’ attitudes towards group work, the advantages and disadvantages of this application in the context of NLU-CFS

The data analysis and findings of the survey reveal that most teachers and learners have positive and favorable attitudes towards group work in writing classes Both groups of respondents believe that the application of group work to teaching writing brings not only academic assistance but also social and psychological support

to student writers The results also indicate that there is a mismatch in teacher-learner preference for group work in writing classes Despite its agreed-upon benefits, this form of learning is still underused in writing classes Although there are still some drawbacks accompanied with group work, the advantages of this application far outweigh its disadvantages Having students work together is a powerful tool to increase learners’ interest and improve the classroom climate

The thesis contributes some implications and recommendations to teachers and learners on how to make good use of group work in writing classes Throughout the survey, there is no doubt that group work is worth being incorporated more frequently

in writing classes to arouse learners’ interest and thus increase their involvement and participation in class

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY:

Teaching second language writing (hereinafter called L2 writing) has become

an important responsibility of school systems with growing needs for not only academic but also occupational and communicative purposes It has been incorporated into syllabi of universities as well as of foreign language centers in Vietnam

Writing offers learners various benefits on both practical and pedagogical grounds The core aim of learning a foreign language is for communication We develop our language skills to talk to others, listen to them, read what they have written and write to them There are times in our daily life when we are asked to fill in

a declaration form, or give a written instruction to someone There are also times when we need to write an invitation, a business email or letter, an inquiry, a complaint, an apology, congratulations, or sympathy Therefore, according to Raimes (1983), learning to write is an integral part of learning to use a foreign language as in her remark that “learning how to communicate when the other person is not right there in front of us, listening to our words and looking at our gestures and facial expressions” (p 3)

Writing is also worth teaching on pedagogical grounds It helps reinforce the vocabulary, grammatical structures that learners have learned and gives learners a chance to explore the language Harmer (2004) stated that writing “may well provoke

to write well, learners have to face tremendous difficulties not only on cognitive and linguistic aspects, but also on psychological issues According to Harmer (2004), “one

of the obstacles that writing teachers have to overcome, at times, is a reluctance on the part of their students to engage in writing activities with any enthusiasm” (p v)

Through years of teaching at the NLU-CFS, it is not uncommon to notify that learners’ lack of enthusiasm for writing is a real obstacle facing many writing teachers at the Center for Foreign Studies, belonging to Nong Lam University (herein after called NLU-CFS) As in other foreign language centers, learners here are not bound by grades, exams They only attend class when they have interest in learning Most of them show a strong desire to improve speaking skills However, few learners are willing to have a go at writing They often get stuck and give up Moreover, writing activities are often done individually which makes the atmosphere of writing classes not very active

It can be seen that students’ lack of interest necessary to convey their thoughts into words and boring writing class atmosphere is a problematic situation facing many writing teachers at the NLU-CFS Therefore, it is an important part of the teacher’s responsibility to arouse their interest in learning and activate the positive energy of the classroom

With an effort to improve learners’ enthusiasm for learning writing, many researchers and teachers find group work an interesting tool to integrate into writing

as well as in Vietnam, its application is still limited in NLU-CFS, which has now become a popular place to acquire the language for non-major English learners

The application of group work to teaching writing at NLU-CFS is expected to increase the interest of students and improve atmosphere of writing classrooms The study will focus on the attitudes of teachers and learners towards the application of group work to teaching writing, the advantages and disadvantages of this application, and some suggestions on how to incorporate group work into teaching writing to help increase learners' interest in studying writing in the context of the NLU-CFS

1.2 TEACHING AND LEARNING WRITING AT NLU-CFS:

1.2.1 The Nong Lam University- Center for Foreign Studies:

Center for Foreign Studies belonging to Nong Lam University was founded in

1989 The center offers various courses for different types of learners and purposes Courses range from elementary to advanced levels including courses for children, teenagers, adult learners, and busy people at weekends; training courses for companies, for government projects; cramming courses

A common course for adult learners includes integrated-skills periods and separate classes for writing, speaking, reading, listening and grammar with some adjustments according to the focus of the course The center applies a communicative

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and learner-centered approach At the beginning of each course, new comers will take

a placement test to be placed into suitable classes An evaluation test is also given at the end of the course The general course lasts 12 weeks

1.2.2 The current situation of teaching and learning writing at NLU-CFS:

At the center, learners begin learning writing right at the elementary level However, at this early stage, writing is taught as part of an integrated skills approach

to language learning Learners acquire writing skills more as a reinforcement of language learned than as a goal in its own right

At intermediate level, writing is paid more attention Learners begin having two periods per week set aside for learning writing Most learners want to equip themselves with writing skills for practical use in their future career or at present work The writing syllabus of the language center also concentrates on the forms of

writing with practical value for learners The course book in use is Writing for The Real World: An Introduction to General Writing, Student book 1, by Barnard &

Zemach (2005), Oxford University Press

The focus of the research is on the application of group work to teaching writing to learners at intermediate level Learners at this level begin to have separate periods to improve writing skills With the accumulation of vocabulary and grammar they have acquired in elementary classes, they are more eager and capable to invest time and effort to analyze text constructions and to follow the writing process Moreover, as Byrne (1987) states that the type of fluency activities with less teacher control and more opportunities to use language freely in form of pair work and group work should be paid more attention at intermediate level Therefore, we can make good use of group work for learners at this stage For these reasons, learners in two

BE 1 classes and two BE 2 classes are chosen as the target learner respondents of the study

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1.2.3 The writing syllabus:

The writing course syllabus for Intermediate class BE1 and BE 2 is as follows:

The first part of the course book Writing for the Real World-An Introduction to General Writing-Student Book 1 from unit 1 to unit 7 is for class BE 1 and the second

part of the book from unit 8 to unit 14 is for class BE 2

The course for writing has two main goals: to promote writing fluency and to provide language models which are relevant to students’ real needs To achieve the goals, each unit presents a writing need, relevant vocabulary, grammatical structures, punctuation, spelling, conventions in writing and a lot of opportunities to develop writing skills There is a range of activities suitable for pair and group work to maintain learners’ interest

™ The detailed writing syllabus for intermediate class BE 1:

UNIT LANGUAGE FOCUS WRITING TASK

1 Thinking

about writing

X Simple present tense and adverb of frequency for writing about likes and dislike/ routines

X Writing about the future

X Writing a short email to your teacher

X Completing a questionnaire

2 Introducing X Starting and ending an informal

email

X Listing main points

X Spelling and punctuation

X Write an informal email and reply to a key pal

3.Completing

forms

X Using capital letters when completing forms

X Creating an electronic password

X Completing a landing card

by hand

X Completing an electronic application form

4 Thanking X Comparing formal and informal

X Organizing an email or letter

X Writing formal salutations

X Requesting information

X Write a letter to a company

or institution requesting information

6

6 Getting

details

X Yes/ no and wh- questions

X Asking and answering questions

X Writing an email to a host family

X Replying to an email from

a future home stay student

X Inviting a friend to visit

X Accepting and refusing an invitation

™ The detailed writing syllabus for intermediate class BE 2:

UNIT LANGUAGE FOCUS WRITING TASK

X Formal and informal apologies

X Arrange and confirming a hotel reservation

X Canceling a hotel reservation

11 Describing X Describing a place

X Adjectives

X Connectors

X Abilities and interests

X Writing a description of first starting college

X Writing a description of starting a summer course in

a foreign country 12.Giving an

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an interest X Brainstorming ideas using idea

maps

X Writing captions for photographs

interest for a personal home page

1.3 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

In light of the theoretical foundation of the benefits of group work in increasing writing learners’ interest and improving the atmosphere of the writing classroom, the study is an attempt to seek for teachers and learners’ attitudes towards the use of group work, the common advantages and disadvantages of this application

in writing classes in the context of the NLU-CFS

Through the data collected and analyzed, the study shows the similarities and differences in the perspectives of teachers and learners towards the application of group work to teaching writing This helps reduce the mismatches in teacher-learner perceptions and reinforce the use of group work in writing classes From this, some suggestions on how to make good use of group work in the context of NLU-CFS are provided

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1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:

The study results reveal and highlight teachers and learners’ attitudes towards the use of group work in writing classes, together with the positive and negative aspects of this application in the context of NLU_CFS

Besides, the study reviews theoretical foundation for the use of group work and offers some suggestions on incorporating group work more frequently and effectively into teaching writing to promote learners’ interest in this important and

beneficial subject

1.6 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY:

Due to the time limit, the study is not an experiment to measure the effect of group work to learners’ writing performance It only deals with common attitudes of teachers and learners to the use of group work and some main advantages and disadvantages of this approach in the context of NLU-CFS

The paper confines itself to investigating 84 learners at intermediate level in two classes BE1 and two classes BE2 in the course 93 at the main division of the NLU-CFS and 8 experienced teachers there Also, the study is limited to the application of group work to teaching writing to these target learners with the course

book Writing for The Real World: An Introduction to General Writing, Student book

1, by Roger Barnard and Dorothy E Zemach (2005), Oxford University Press

1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS:

According to Brown (1994), group work is “ a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language” (p.173) Pair work is simply defined as “group work in groups of two” (Brown, 1994, p.173)

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1.8 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY:

Chapter 1 is the introduction of the study describing the background, the teaching and learning writing at the research site NLU-CFS, the purpose, and significance of the study Moreover, the research questions, delimitations, definitions

of terms are also presented in this chapter

Chapter 2 reviews the literature related to writing, the reasons for teaching writing, difficulties that student writers have to face and some prominent approaches

to teaching ESL writing This chapter also discusses some theories about group work, grouping arrangements, the advantages and disadvantages of group work, group work

in teaching writing and some group activities in writing classes

Chapter 3 presents the methodology employed to find out the answers to the research questions It consists of the research questions, research method, research design, data collection instruments, data collection procedure and respondents to the study

Chapter 4 includes the analysis of data collected by means of the learners and teachers’ responses to two sets of questionnaires and the discussion of results

Chapter 5 is the conclusion of the study It is composed of summary of the findings, some pedagogical implications, recommendations to teachers and learners, conclusion, limitation and suggestions for further research

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CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter is intended to review theories and approaches related to writing skills, group work and its application to teaching writing to increase learners’ interest

in learning writing

2.1 WHAT IS WRITING?

According to Byrne (1988), writing involves the arrangement of graphic symbols to form words, which are then arranged to form sentences according to certain conventions When we write, we arrange and link a sequence of sentences in a particular order to create a coherent form, which is called a text Writing also means

to translate our thoughts into words By that way, we encode a message, which is expected to be decoded by a reader, who is not present and sometimes unknown to us, except when we write to ourselves (Byrne, 1988)

2.2 WHY DO WE NEED TO TEACH AND LEARN WRITING?

To answer the question “why do we need to teach and learn writing?”, Byrne (1988) states that writing serves a lot of pedagogical purposes and as a goal in its own right (p 6) Raimes (1983) also has the same ideas that two important reasons to teach writing are “ writing helps our students learn” (p.3) and writing is a means of communication According to Harmer (2004), two main reasons for teaching and learning writing are writing for learning and writing for writing From these methodologists’ viewpoints, we will examine more details of the reasons for learning writing

2.2.1 Writing for learning:

An important reason for teaching writing is that writing supports students in the learning process In fact, writing reinforces what they have studied Harmer (2007) considers writing “an aide-memoire and practice tool” to support learners in

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working with the language they have been learning (p.112) Byrne (1988) also considers writing “an aid to retention” (p.6) especially to some elementary learners who do not absorb information easily through means of oral practice Raimes (1983) points out that writing is a “ unique way to reinforce learning” because it makes learners become more involved in the language when they try to express ideas and have a chance to explore the language beyond what they have just learned (p.3)

Another reason that makes writing an important part of an ESL course is that writing fosters thinking about the language Raimes (1983) emphasizes that as learners struggle to think of what to put down and how to put it down, they often discover different ways to express ideas, and a need to find appropriate words, sentences Likewise, Harmer (2007) also states that writing gives learners more

“thinking time”, more chance for “language processing” (p.112) Harmer (2004) points out that writing encourages learners to pay attention to accurate language use, which may result in their language development

Given the support of writing to learners of all levels and the relation between writing and thinking about language, it is clear that writing can be of great value in helping learners consolidate, refine and develop their language use

2.2.2 Writing for writing:

However, the fact that writing supports learning is not the only reason for teaching and learning writing There are times when we need to communicate with other people who are not physically present, listening to us That is when we need writing

Harmer (2004) states that the objective of teaching writing for its own right is

“to help students to become better writers”, “ to communicate real messages in an appropriate manner” (p 34) According to Byrne (1988), at intermediate and post-intermediate levels, writing can be “a goal in itself” (p 7) It is important for learners

to develop writing skills which are of practical value for their future career

2.3.1 Psychological problems:

Some common psychological issues which make the act of writing difficult are the solitary nature of writing, and writing under obligation, learners’ lack of confidence and enthusiasm in writing

Byrne (1988) stated that the solitary nature of writing makes it difficult for most of us Except when we write to ourselves, we have to communicate with someone who is not physically present and sometimes unknown to us Moreover, unlike speech, we cannot get feedback immediately from a reader to make explanation or amendment to our writing piece When writing, we have to imagine the reader’s reactions and take them into our consideration

Another negative psychological influence results from the fact that learners often have to write under obligation Writing sometimes comes easily when learners are in the right mood or have a pressing need to express themselves However, learners are often obliged to write about a specific topic within the time limit, which put them at a loss for ideas (Byrne, 1988)

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Furthermore, a major psychological problem stems from learners’ lack of enthusiasm and confidence to write Some students are always willing to have a go at writing in English while others are reluctant to put their thoughts into words Learners’ reluctance to write may derive from their unfamiliarity with writing even in their own language Therefore, writing seems alien to them The unwillingness of learners may also stem from their lack of confidence in their handwriting or anxiety about their ability to form and link sentences to create a logical organization of a writing piece (Harmer, 2004) Harmer also stated that some learners just said that they had nothing to say If learners are not interested in writing, they are unwilling to invest the time and effort that it takes to meet the demand of a writing task

2.3.2 Cognitive and linguistic problems:

As for cognitive problems, Byrne (1988) and Brown (1994) agreed on a point that writing needs to be learned through a process of instruction while speaking skills can be naturally and gradually developed We can discuss about something in our field of interest or professional issues However, for effective communication in writing, we have to learn written form of the language and structures which are less frequently used in spoken form It is also necessary to obtain knowledge of the organization of a certain form of writing to make it understood by readers

As for linguistic aspects, learners have to face numerous difficulties for meeting the demand of a writing task Writing needs to be accurate and logically organized, which takes conscious mental efforts of writer Harmer (1991) stated that writers are not expected to make mistakes in spelling, grammar, or fragments, otherwise, they would be considered illiterate by native speakers

According to Byrne (1988), in oral communication, we can keep the conversation going with the help of the participants Moreover, speech is spontaneous Thus, we do not pay much attention to sentence structures or connection of our sentences, grammatical correctness of our utterances We can explain, or repeat according to how others react to what we speak in order to convey our message

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effectively In writing, we have to initiate and sustain the communication by ourselves with a known or unknown reader in mind and their possible reactions Moreover, we have to make our message interpreted through logically choosing words, structures, connecting sentences and focusing on grammatical aspects of our sentences

Raimes (1983) showed the difficulties that writers have to face when producing a piece of writing such as content, syntax, grammar, mechanics, organization, word choice, purpose, audience, and the writer’s process These features can be expressed through the following diagram:

Figure 2.1 What writers have to deal with when they produce a piece of writing (Raimes, 1983, p.6)

Sentence structure relevance, clarity,

Stylistic choices, etc logic, etc

Paragraphs WORD CHOICE the reason for writing

Topic and support vocabulary

Cohesion and unity idiom, tone

Combining the different features of the diagram and the way teachers think writing is learned, they have developed a variety of approaches to the teaching of

writing (Raimes, 1983)

Clear, fluent, and effective communication

of ideas

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2.4 REVIEW OF APPROACHES RELATED TO TEACHING ESL WRITING

Throughout the history of ESL writing, there exist several methods and approaches to teaching writing Knowing the development and current trends of ESL will lay a good foundation for writing teachers to be aware of varied facets of teaching writing skills

According to Reid (1993), in 1970s, writing was mostly used as a supporting skill in the process of language learning The common requirements in writing classes at that time, normally, were doing some grammar, dictation or reading comprehension exercises Writing was considered a tool for testing learner’s comprehension levels or understanding of grammatical points

After that, the numerous researches on ESL writing have promoted the influence of ESL writing in the language learning field The ESL composition skills today gain more recognition as a means of cognition and communication The need for using writing for academic and professional purposes has emerged, which has led

to the equal assumption of writing with other language skills (White, 1987)

2.4.1 Audio-lingual method (ALM):

Raimes (1983) states that the prevailing method in second language learning from 1950s to early 1960s was the Audio-lingual method (ALM) The primary focus was speech and writing was used as a reinforcement of speech, in which the mastery

of grammatical and syntactic forms was stressed

Until the early 1970s, ESL writing was limited to teaching of handwriting skills to non-native students, and to grammatical blank-filling exercises, and reading comprehension task (Reid, 1993) According to Reid, writing is seen as less crucial to achieving competence of the language Raimes (1983) also comments that writing served as a means of reinforcement for speech, which was considered primary at that time

2.4.2 Controlled writing:

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According to Reid (1993), the controlled writing was grown directly from the ALM Exercises of controlled writing are composed of pieces of discourse which students are told to copy, make some changes or fill in the blanks Students are taught incrementally, and are expected to prevent errors at all cost, and gradually gain language fluency out of practice (Dykstra, 1977; J.Ross, 1968, as in Reid, 1993)

According to Raimes (1983), students are given exercises with sentences, then paragraphs to copy and make changes in grammar such as changing types of sentences, tenses, words, clauses, or combining sentences Learning in this way, learners have fewer opportunities to make mistakes

Raimes (1983) also considers controlled writing a useful tool to teach writing

at all levels Controlled writing tasks give learners focused practice on one or two problems at a time so that they can give all attention to master the focal point This approach focuses on three features of the diagram: grammar, syntax and mechanics However, they provide only reinforcement and not a writing program in its own right

It emphasizes accuracy feature rather than fluency

2.4.3 Guided writing:

In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, there was a movement from strictly controlled writing to guided writing (Allen, 1981; Carpenter and Hunter, 1981; Raimes, 1978, as quoted in Reid, 1993) The kind of task is often in form of answers to a series of questions, which taken together, look like a paragraph In general, the guided writing activities are mostly language-based focusing on building vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension and even oral skills that lead to a piece of writing (Reid, 1993)

According to Cross (1991), in some ESL writing class today, the controlled, guided writing, which are based on the behaviorist theory: “stimulus-response”, are still in use in writing classes of low level of proficiency to build up learners’ confidence and their vocabulary, grammar knowledge

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2.4.4 Language-based writing:

Closely related to guided writing approach is the focus on teaching writing as a language skill (Reid, 1993) Raimes (1983) also states that one of the important reasons for teaching writing is that writing is a means to reinforce grammatical structures, vocabulary and idioms that learners have learned Teaching writing is “a unique way to reinforce learning” (1983, p.3) Most of the exercises in this approach are based on practising language components (Reid, 1993)

However, the purpose of a writing class has changed during the 1980s (Reid, 1993) Raimes (1985) points out that ESL writing teachers need a new model of language teaching which acknowledges the value of writing as a means to generate language and as one of the language skills but “as an effective way for a learner to generate words, sentences, and chunks of discourse and to communicate them in a new language” (p 252)

2.4.5 The pattern/ product approach:

To meet the demand of students for academic writing, the pendulum of ESL writing swings from language-based approach to writing-based approach With this pattern-product approach, the emphasis is put on the concepts of (1)the thesis statement, (2) the topic sentence, (3) the paragraph unity, (4) organizational strategies and (5) the developmental paragraphs according to patterns such as process, comparison/ contrast, cause and effect, classification/ partition, definition, etc (Reid,

1993, Smalley and Ruetten, 1982)

This kind of method involves exercises like arranging “scrambled” paragraphs, pointing out irrelevant sentences, finding suitable topic sentences for paragraphs, etc This writing-conscious method has benefited learners a lot Although the concepts of audience, purpose and some writing-related issues have been incorporated into the curricula of many ESL writing classes, the main focus is laid on organizational conventions in academic prose (Reid, 1993)

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Raimes (1983) gives a comment that this approach helps “links the purpose of

a piece of writing to the forms that are needed to convey the message” (p.8)

2.4.6 The communicative approach:

The communicative approach in language teaching has placed more emphasis

on oral skills and to a lesser extent on reading, but it certainly occurs in writing classroom (Reid, 1993)

Reid (1993) defines communicative competence as “ an approach to language teaching that holds that (a) teaching materials should be authentic and contextualized, (b) activities should be real and purposeful, (c) the individual learners’ needs are paramount, and (d) language is learned for the purpose of communicating effectively” (p 289)

This approach emphasizes the purpose and the audience for a piece of writing (Raimes, 1983) She also showed that student writers should consider themselves real-life writers and ask themselves the question about purpose and audience: “Why

am I writing this?” and “Who will read it?” (p.8) She believed that students would

do their best if their writing is a means of communication with a real reader

According to Hedge (2005), most of the writing we do in real life is for some kinds of readers Therefore, knowledge of audience offers the writer a context to know what to write and how to write Moreover, students are more interested in writing and more likely to write effectively and appropriately if they have a sense of readers in mind

2.4.7 The process approach:

Raimes (1983) comments that the teaching of writing has moved away from “a concentration on the written product to an emphasis on the process of writing” (p.10)

According to Nunan (1999), the tension between the process approach and product approach has been one of the most controversial issues of writing pedagogy The focus of product-oriented approaches is on “the final product, the coherent, error-

An advocate of process writing, Taylor (1981) stated that students are encouraged to view writing as a process of discovery which requires “a power of revision to clarify and refine that discovery” (p 8)

2.4.8 Collaborative approach:

Collaborative approach is closely related to the process movement and communicative approach Reid (1993) defines collaborative learning as “pedagogy that uses thoughtfully organized group activities as a means of enhancing academic achievement and affective variables” (p 289)

According to Cumming (1989), current approach to L2 writing is in favor of

“the negotiation of meaning between student writers and their audiences, sequential processes of drafting and revising compositions, and the development of learners’ abilities to diversify their capacities for written expression” (p 82-83)

Another advocate of collaborative learning, Clark (1987) states that collaborative approach has been applied to teaching and learning in order to make good use of the varied strengths, abilities and personalities in the common responsibility of educational setting A lot of classroom reports and research on collaborative learning (Bassano and Christison, 1988; Christison, 1990; Nunan, 1989a; Scarcella and Oxford, 1992; C Shoemaker and F Shoemaker, 1991, as

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quoted in Reid, 1993) shows the stimulus effects of group work to get students to

acquire the language

According to Reid (1993), collaborative learning in the ESL writing classroom

can consist of the generation and the organization of ideas, peer revision and an authentic reader besides just the teacher

All of these approaches to teaching writing mentioned above, to some extent, overlap Raimes (1983) comments that “we seldom find a classroom where the teacher is so devoted to one approach as to exclude all others” (p.11) In fact, it is not uncommon for teachers to incorporate and to adapt parts of those techniques to meet the specific needs and proficiency levels of students in their ESL writing classes By examining various approaches related to the teaching and learning ESL writing, teachers can find a suitable proportion of writing approaches to each of their classes

in order to assist students to develop their writing skills These approaches, according

to Raimes (1983) come from the basic assumptions that “ writing means writing a connected text and not just single sentences, that writers write for a purpose and a reader, and that the process of writing is a valuable learning tool for all of our students” (p.11)

2.5 THE WRITING PROCESS:

Different researchers approach the writing process in different ways Harmer (2004) defines the writing process as “the stages a writer goes through in order to produce something in its final written form” (p 4)

Harmer further points out that the writing process has four main elements: planning, drafting, editing, and producing the final version

When planning, the three main points that writers have to think about are the purpose, audience and content structure These issues will affect the type of text, the choice of language, the information they include The second element is drafting Draft is the first version of a piece of writing, which is assumed to be edited later The

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third element of the writing process is editing Writers should read through the first draft and look at general meaning, overall structure before focusing on detailed features such as words, and grammar Producing the final version is the last element

of writing process After reflecting and revising the draft, writers can create the final version of the writing piece, which may look very different from the original version

Having the same viewpoint with other researchers (White, 1991; Hedge, 1988) Harmer (2004) emphasizes that writing is not a linear process but a recursive one It is

a good practice for learners to reflect on what they have written They should not regard their first draft as the final product Harmer also stresses that learners should be given revision checklists to look through their paper and make revision It can be done

by pairs or groups of students They can respond to each other’s ideas or mistakes and give some suggestions on how to make changes Encouraging learners to work together is one way to foster the habit of drafting, reflecting and revising of the writing task

Harmer (2004) is very realistic in his view that “process writing may not be the answer to every learning situation” (p.12) If we put too much emphasis on the process approach, we will fall into what Harmer calls “the process trap” (p.12) The drawback of the process approach to teaching writing is that it takes up a lot of time, sometimes unsuitable to teaching situations and inhibits learners’ creativity

Another view of the writing process is given by Brown (1994) He states that the writing process can be framed in three stages: the prewriting, drafting and revising stages

The prewriting stage encourages learners to generate ideas, which can be done

in several ways:

• reading a passage

• skimming or scanning a passage

• conducting some outside research

• brainstorming

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• listing

• clustering (begin with a key word, then add other words, using free association)

• discussing a topic or question

• instructor-initiated question and probes

• free writing

(Brown, 1994, p.332)

Brown (1994) states that the drafting and revising stages are the main features

of process writing He also stated some strategies which can be utilized in these stages

• Getting started

• “optimal” monitoring of one’s writing (without premature editing and diverted attention to wording, grammar, etc.)

• Peer-editing (accepting/ using classmates’ comments)

• “read-aloud” technique (in small groups or pairs, students read their almost-final drafts to each other for a final check on errors, flow of ideas, etc.)

• Proofreading

(Brown, 1994, p.335)

2.6 GROUP WORK AND L2 WRITING:

2.6.1 What is group work?

According to Brown (1994), group work is “a generic term covering a multiplicity of techniques in which two or more students are assigned a task that involves collaboration and self-initiated language” and pair work is “simply group work in groups of two” (p 173) Group work usually means small group work, groups of 6 students or fewer

Group work is defined by Nunan (1999) as “tasks and exercises completed by learners working in small, cooperative groups” (p.308)

2.6.2 Grouping arrangements:

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Richards & Lockhart (1994) express their view about learning arrangements in second language classroom that the interactional dynamics of a classroom depend on teachers’ choices about the learning arrangements Depending on the types of the lessons they are teaching, most teachers choose the following learning arrangement: whole-class teaching, individual work, pair work, and group work

2.6.2.1 Whole-class teaching:

According to Richards & Lockhart (1994), whole class teaching is that “the teacher leads the whole class through a learning task” (p 146) Whole-class instructional method is the most frequently used model especially for the beginning of

a lesson

They also present some advantages and disadvantages associated with this arrangement Some main advantages of whole-class teaching are:

(1) It enables teachers to teach a number of learners at the same time

(2) It can be a preparation step for the following activities which can be done individually or in groups

Besides the advantages, there are some disadvantages associated with this teaching pattern

(1) This is a teacher-dominated instruction which allows few opportunities for learners to participate

(2) Teachers are likely to interact with only a small number of learners in class (3) Whole-class teaching assumes that all learners are able to carry out tasks at the same pace However, slower learners may not catch up with their peers, and brighter ones may be held back

Richards & Lockhart (1994) also suggest that teachers should include other teaching types to offer learners more opportunities for interacting communicatively and using language individually in class

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2.6.2.2 Individual work:

Individual work is also called “seatwork”, the second most commonly used teaching model According to Richards & Lockhart (1994), individual work is a pattern in which each learner works individually without interaction with peers or public interaction with the teacher Individual work has certain advantages as listed below:

(1) Learners can work at their own speed and in their own way

(2) Learners have a chance to practise skills they have learned

(3) Teachers can assess learners’ progress

(4) Different activities can be given to different learners depending on their needs and abilities

(5) Individual work can be a preparation for the next activity

Some of the disadvantages of individual work are:

(1) Learners have fewer opportunities for interaction both with their teachers and with their classmates

(2) It is sometimes difficult for teachers to monitor learners’ work

(3) Learners may finish the tasks at different times and have nothing to do which can create management problems

(Richards & Lockhart, 1994)

In spite of the need for whole class teaching and individual work, it is often noted that without other kinds of interaction, learners will be taken away helpful

opportunities to learn and use the new language (Richards and Lockhart, 1994)

2.6.2.3 Pair work:

In pair work patterns, learners work in pairs to complete a learning task (Richards & Lockhart, 1994) According to Byrne (1987) the use of pair work

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provides some variety during class time Two or three short pair work activities can

be good break-ups in the lesson We will take a brief look at kinds of pair work, how

to organize pair work and points to consider in applying pair work in the classrooms

First, Byrne (1987) groups pair work into two main kinds:

(1)Fixed pairs:

This is when learners work with the same partner, usually the one on the left or the right to accomplish a learning task They may change partners to repeat the activity or to do something related to it For example, for a questionnaire activity, learners A and B first have to write the questionnaire Then learner A and B use it to interview learner C and D Finally, A and B report back to each other

(2) Flexible pairs:

For this, learners keep changing their partners For example, each learner may interview several classmates in order to find out some ideas about each partner The activity would be more interesting if learners are allowed to stand up, move around and choose the partner they want to work with If it is difficult to move around because of the classroom arrangement, learners can interact with those around them

Another factor worth considering is how to organize learners in pairs in a simplest way possible During the class, very often teachers will want to move from whole-class work to pair work so as to give learners necessary practice Moreover, teachers will want the activity to follow on quickly without taking a lot of class time

to move learners around This is especially important if pair work is to be done two or three times in a lesson to provide variety for a lesson

Teachers should get learners to work with their neighbor and only move learners if it is really necessary If learners are seated in twos or threes, let them work

in this pattern The class can be a mixture of twos and threes The important thing to keep in mind is that learners can form pairs quickly and make as little fuss as possible

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If three learners have to work together for pair work, they can take turn or join

in naturally For example, as for a dialogue practice, when their friends are talking, the other learner can check for mistakes Pair work is a good preparation for learners

to work in groups

To make the most out of this model of working, Byrne (1987) suggests some points to consider:

(1) Pair work should be formed in the most convenient way

(2) Teachers need to make sure that learners know what to do It is a good idea for teachers to give a clear model, preparation, and special points of an activity

(3) The activity should be simple and not take a lot of time

(4) Teachers should carry out selective checking and provide feedback From selective checking, teachers can see how well learners are doing and tell them immediately Teachers can also answer learners’ questions, check their preference for the task and take notes of their mistakes to instruct them at a later time

2.6.2.4 Group work:

In group work pattern, learners work in groups to accomplish a learning task The use of group activities is a strategy for the dynamic interaction in language classrooms (Richards & Lockhart, 1994) We will briefly look at the size of groups, general type of activities suitable for pair or group work, same-ability or mixed ability groups and some points to consider in carrying out group work

Byrne (1987) shows two important differences between pair work and group work that are size of group and type of activity

(1) Size of groups: