Improving the 11th students’ english writing skills more efficiently by using games at ha van mao upper secondary school

The application of the new English textbooks at high school level in the year 2006 has made Vietnamese teachers and students more familiar with four skills:Listening, Speaking, Reading a

1 INTRODUCTION.

1.1 Rationale of the study.

The application of the new English textbooks at high school level in the year

2006 has made Vietnamese teachers and students more familiar with four skills:Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, especially writing one However,there come two trends when teachers respond to the task of teaching writing totheir students Some may think, “Wow, this is an easy class to teach!” or somemay feel, “Boy, this is going to be boring!” Both of these responses arecommon ones, but actually they do not reveal how difficult it is for students towrite and comprehend a foreign language, nor how challenging it can be for ateacher to help them

“Writing which is one of the four skills of learning English can be one ofthe most enjoyable and satisfying activities for teachers and students to dotogether in a classroom, especially in a foreign language classroom But writingskill which includes language, private knowledge and skill, emotion and theinteraction of personal opinion is difficult and challenging to learn and developfor many students in the world in general and in Vietnam in particular InVietnam, there are many teachers of English who even believe that teachingwriting skill to learners is more complex than teaching other communicativeskills” ( Mazdayasna &Tahririan, 2001)

At Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School, my students often see writingskills as hard work, boring, unrewarding, and not a lot of fun

Therefore, bearing in mind, I decide to do the research with title

“Improving the 11 th students’ English writing skills more efficiently by using games at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School” In this study I present some

games which I have used successfully during the school year with classes ofdifferent sizes and levels to improve the students’ writing skills Most of thegames have a clear purpose and often involves a clear sense of audience (the rest

of the class, for instance) Games have a great educational value and it can beused in the classroom to make learners use the language instead of just thinkingabout learning the correct forms Games encourage learners to interact,cooperate, to be creative and spontaneous in using the language in a meaningfulway Learners want to take part in activities; to play games and are generallyquite competitive Games also encourage learners to keep interested in the work.Feedback is quick, so students get a sense of progress If students are motivatedand involved in games, then there is little need for discipline, but as the gamesinvolves a lot of speaking and information exchanging, these writing lessonswill not necessarily be quiet ones to be done in the school library

1.2 Aims of the study.

This study aims to:

- Improve my students’ English writing skills through using some games

- Wish my experience to be widely applied to students throughout the school

- Know about the fact of teaching and learning writing skills at Ha Van MaoHigh School more clearly

-Investigate whether the games can have positive impact on writing processamong students and can develop their writing skill or not

1.3 Scope of the study

This thesis is also carried out on 81 students of 2 classes which I was in chargefor English in the school year 2020-2021 at Ha Van Mao Upper SecondarySchool

1 Class: 11A4 ( 38 students)

2 Class: 11A7 ( 43 students)

1.4 Methodology of the study.

In this study, I use some research tools to collect and analyze the neededdata:

-Recording is used to record the process of using games

-The next tool used in this study is interviews with students

-Surveying through the answer sheets is used to know the practical situation ofteaching and learning English writing skills

2 DEVELOPMENT.

2.1 Theoretical background.

2.1.1 Background of writing skills.

Lannon (1989) claims that writing is a process delivering meaningfulmessages and including its own specific goal This process requires students towork hard instead of regarding it as an uncomplicated act (Byrne, 1988).However, in language teaching and learning process, Tribble (1996, p.3) defineswriting as a language skill that involves “not just a graphic representation ofspeech, but the development and presentation of thoughts in a structured way”.This means writers need to arrange their ideas logically and systematically Some of the difficulties associated with the teaching of writing in foreignlanguage classes come from the nature of writing itself Writing is an artificialactivity in a way that speech is not; while every normal human being on thisplanet learns, eventually, to talk and to listen, far fewer people become literate,able to write Writing is learned, while speaking is acquired as part of growing

up

Writing is indeed difficult, for several reasons Firstly, the writer has to decidewhat information the reader needs, and how best to express this So there is a

psychological difficulty, in that the writer cannot consult the reader- the

audience is not immediately present, in contrast with most conversations Writerhas no immediate feedback to let them know how they are doing and whetherthey should change their approach There is no immediate interaction between

the producer and receiver Secondly, there is a linguistic difficulty, in that the

language used in written language is different in most ways from that used inspeech It is either simplified (lists, telegrams, notes, etc.) or more elaborate,more formal In our mother tongue we have to learn an elaborate network ofconventions and rules before we become “good writer” In a foreign languagethis process is all the more difficult as there may be interference on a culturallevel, not just the linguistic, between mother tongue and the foreign language

Thirdly, there is a cognitive difficulty, in that students have to organize thoughts

on paper

In schools, writing is taught partly as a vital part of literacy program, butalso in order to show that work is being done Writing is often associated,particularly in weaker students’ minds, with “chores” or even with discipline(the traditional writing lesson is quite quiet, so the teacher is easily able to keepcontrol) This “homework syndrome” can lead to students making less and lessprogress because they are poorly motivated, perform badly, receive low grades,and end up disliking writing more and more

2.1.2 Games and their impact on developing the students’ writing skills.

Games are used as methods or techniques to involve students in learning.Well-chosen and designed games are invaluable as they give students a breakand at the same time allow learners to practice language skills The benefits ofgames range from cognitive aspect of language learning to more co-operativegroup dynamics and as a result games are highly motivating since they areamusing and at the same time challenging

Firstly, Games can play an important part in the language learning process

generally When thinking about the teaching of writing, it is important to have areason for writing As People know from bitter experience, there are few thingsmore difficult than trying to write a letter when the students have no real reason

to do so, or trying to answer an exam question when they have nothing really tosay

Secondly If, in the artificial world of the classroom, teachers are to

encourage their students to write, and expect them to be enthusiastic about thislengthy, tire some business They must at least provide a motivating reason tostart writing Games provide a clear short term achievable aim for students, and

by incorporating games into the writing process teachers help the students toovercome one of the difficulties mentioned above

Thirdly, If there is a clear aim in sight, students will find the writing process

easier (that is not to say they will necessarily write better, but they will find iteasier to get the words onto paper) and they will then commence to find it moreenjoyable

Fourthly, Games can also provide an audience for the writer Classmates will

often be the readers of the texts produced as part of these activities, and the vitalprocess of feedback is made more immediate

Lastly, but not least, games of any kind are usually fun Students who are

having fun are always motivated, so they will find writing made moreinteresting and more enjoyable, and will begin to improve as a result Fun is avital ingredient in the fight against the “homework syndrome”

2.2 The situations of teaching and learning English writing skills at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary school.

* Advantages:

For students in general and at Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School, teachingand learning have been received the attention of teachers, administrators and thewhole students’ parents because most of them have realized the importance of

mastering English Therefore, more and more equipments for foreign languageteaching and learning have been gradually improved English teachers arefostered to improve their teaching quality and reference books for this subjectare also rich and diverse.

* Difficulties:

As far as disadvantageous aspects are concerned the teaching and learningEnglish writing skills in my school have some common difficulties:

-There are many structures which confuse students

-Some students are not really aware of the importance of English, so theyhave not worked hard and their background knowledge is not good

-Teachers have not yet encouraged students self-study, and students’ learning

at school doesn’t receive lots of attention from the students’ parents

-Teaching and learning facilities are limited

-The reference books also do not fully systemize the writing skills Therefore,teachers and students have difficulties in exercising the tasks

Below is the survey of the practical situation of learning English writingskills at Ha Van Mao High School of the academic year 2020-2021

Survey

Practical Situation of learning English writing Skills at Ha Van Mao High School of the academic year 2020-2021.

1 Which of these four

following English

language skills do you

think the most difficult

to learn?

Reading 10%

Speaking 20%

Listening 25% Writing 45%

2 What is your idea

about learning

English writing at

your school?

Very essential 12%

Esse ntial 16%

Not very essential 47%

Not essential

at all 25%

3 What do you think

of your writing classes

at Ha Van Mao High

School?

Really interesting 3%

Interesting 7%

Boring 41%

Really boring 49%

4 What do you think

of the materials used

for writing skill at Ha

Van Mao High

School?

Difficult and boring 51%

Difficult but interesting 8%

Interesting and stimulating 9%

Easy and boring 32%

5 Does your teacher

use games in writing

classes?

Always 2%

Sometimes 4%

Rarely 22%

Never 72%

From the survey number 1, we can see that writing is often done silently at

Ha Van Mao Upper Secondary School This may not make it attractive to

learners as a classroom activity The students often see writing as hard work,

boring, unrewarding Moreover, students are poorly motivated so they dislike being involved in writing activities.

In addition to this, one problem in the writing classes is that some teachersfeel lazy to hold several extra-activities for students They often complain thatthey do not have enough time to prepare the games Surely, some games needpreparation and time If a game needs some stationery (such as some cardboard,paste crayons, etc.), it really takes some time On the other hand there some easygames that do not need any preparation If the teachers have an archive withinstructions of games in their personal file, they do not have to look for gameswhen they need

2.3 Practical solutions to improve the students’ English writing skills.

2.3.1 Planning a writing lesson.

2.3.1.1 For teachers: During the teaching process, solutions are integrated

continuously and used whenever possible to bring the best results in each lesson.For a good writing lesson, I do the following steps:

* Studying the content of the lesson from textbooks and teachers' books: -Textbooks and teachers' books are an important basis for me to plan myteaching lessons

- The careful study of textbooks and teachers' books will help me organize andcontrol the writing lesson with the right focus and allocate time for steps andactivities in a scientific manner

* Researching the required purpose of the lesson:

- The purpose and requirements of the lesson are the goals that both my studentsand I need to achieve after the lesson For writing lessons, usually the purposeand requirements of the lesson are to help students practice and develop writingskills

* Selecting and coordinating writing techniques flexibly and appropriately: Theselection of writing teaching techniques must be determined on the basis of thecontent of the lesson, the characteristics and capabilities of the class, and thestages in the process of teaching writing, including three stages: Pre-writing,While-writing, and Post-writing Each stage has specific writing techniquessuitable for each stage

* It is necessary to make a reasonable and scientific lesson plan: I need toclearly plan my activities, students' activities, time for activities, requirements ofeach exercise, the students’ options

*Discussing teaching plans: The effectiveness of the writing lesson will beenhanced if the teaching plan is discussed with colleagues before teaching.Doing this not only brings positive results to the writing lesson, but applying it

to other skills also brings the same results

2.3.1.2 For students: I ask my students to prepare well for the next class:

- Set up a system of prompting questions about the lesson that my students areabout to learn so that they have time to think, study materials…

- Ask my students to do some exercises related to the content of the lesson

- Encourage and motivate them to raise issues and questions related to the lessonconfidently, proactively and creatively

2.3.2 Well implementing the progress of teaching English writing skills:

In a lesson, there are the following stages: Pre-writing, While-writing and writing

Post-2.3.2.1 Pre-writing : At this stage, I introduce to my students the topic of the

lesson and create them the motivation to learn Since writing is a productiveskill, it requires fairly complete source data Therefore, it is necessary to preparethe students with certain new words and structures; Design or prepare mini-games to keep them interested in learning:

Types of games

* Postcards.

Type of activity.

-Audience and context: matching

-Imaginative stimulus: pictures

Functions practiced:

- Describing places

- Describing actions

- Describing scenes

Useful language: Adjectives for describing places, present continuous, present

simple, past simple

Lexical areas: places, historic features, customs and traditions, holiday

activities

Applied lessons:

- Unit 1 - English 11 (describe a friend)

- Unit 10- English 11(write a description of Cat Ba National Park)

How to use the activity.

Collect a large number of holiday postcards (real ones as cities or towns inVietnam, Cat Ba National Park) and prepare them in advance by sticking a cleanpiece of paper, cut to size, very lightly at the corners with glue You should aim

to have from one to three times as many postcards as there are students in yourclass

Open a discussion about postcards: What kind of things you write onpostcards about the places Bring in a couple of examples and ask the students tocontribute examples, too

Distribute one pre- prepared postcard to each student Ask them to imaginewhere the place is and to write the name of the place Ask them to writesomething about the place such as founding year, population, location, features,etc

When students have written the postcards, invite them to walk around theroom, reading the writing to each other and match them to the pictures

Useful language: Physical characteristics (height, hair, eyes, face, clothes, etc);

personalities (helpful, sincere, honest, etc.); some celebration activities, etc

Applied lessons:

- Unit 1- English 11 (write about a friend)

- Unit 8- English 11 (Describe a celebration’s activities)

- Unit 12- English 11 (Describe the preparation for coming Asian Games)

How to use the activity:

This activity probably works best in groups of three or four, but can also bedone in pairs or individually if the teacher and students prefer

Copy and cut up the Titles so that there is at least one for everygroup/pair/individual Put them in a hat or bag Divide the board into threesections

With the whole class, brainstorm nouns, adjectives and verbs to do with theword (title) in the middle of the first section of the board and ask for suggestionsfor nouns connected with the word Write these above the central word Thenask for verbs and write them below the central word Ask for adjectives andwrite on the right and left of the word The end result might look something likethis:

Winter

Bare cold

Freezing raining snowing

Frost fog flowers leaves

Blooming singing playing

Sunny green

Spring

Ask if anyone has any improvements to suggest the text

Finally, pass the bag/ hat around the class and ask each group/ pair/student totake one title out of the bag

Ask them to write their own diamond poem

Places, scenery; people’s appearance/ personalities; actions

How to use the activity:

You will need a cassette recorder and five or six extracts of very differentkinds of music ( or you will need many different pictures of the film/book)

Introduce the idea of the film music/picture: ask students which films/booksthey have seen with particularly memorable music/picture.

Explain that they are going to see a film/read a book, but it will be theirown private film/book Tell them that you are going to play some music/ hang

on some pictures While it is playing/ they are showing, you will ask them to

think about the main characters, what is happening, etc It is only a short

extract/ picture from the film/book – they need not worry about the whole story.Play your first piece of music for 2-3 minutes Encourage students to relax andimagine the film/ book

After each piece of music, allow 2-3 minutes for students to jot ideas in noteform on pieces of paper

When you have played all the pieces and students have had time to takenotes, ask them each to choose one: their favorite or the piece which gave themthe most ideas Now they should write two or three paragraphs to describe thefilm/book

Actions; adjectives for describing appearance, character, behavior

How to use the activity:

Prepare magazine pictures of different people or use the photographs in theGames material section Try to get pictures that focus on a single person, ratherthan a group, and try to get a range of different types: old, young, happy, sad,etc

Pin the pictures up around the classroom before the lesson begins

Read the poem “Café portraits” to the students Ask them to close their eyes andimagine the people described in the poem, as the teacher read Stop after eachverse and ask them to discuss with a partner:

What the person looks like

What they are wearing

What the person is like

Then ask the students to walk around the room and look at the pictures Thisactivity can be done individually or in pairs as the teacher or students prefer.They should choose a face that appeals to them and imagine (or discuss, if inpairs):

Who the person is

Where they live

How old they are

What they like doing.

When you met each other

They should find three adjectives to describe their appearance and threeadjectives to describe their character

Then ask them to go back to their seats and imagine that the person they havechosen is in a café Ask them to write a verse of a poem consisting of eight lines:Line 1: When you met each other

Line 2, 3, 4 and 5: Describe the person (appearance and character)

Line 6: The time you met him or her

Line 7: The things he or she always does for everyone

Line 8: The things you and she or he usually share with

Then put the students into groups of four or five Try to arrange it so thatstudents who have chosen different faces are working together

Ask them to organize their verses into a poem, to be displayed or read aloud

*Moral tales.

Type of activity:

-Imaginative stimulus: story

-Audience and context: matching

Function practiced: narrating.

Useful language: past tenses, time clauses.

Lexical areas: everyday activities.

How to use the activity:

Copy the half proverbs so that there is one half proverb for every student inthe class Ensure that as far as possible every half proverb can be matched withits other half

Read a fable or two with the students, and ask them for suggestions as towhat the moral might be

Then give every student half a proverb and ask them to find the person withthe other half

When they have found each other, pairs should sit down together and write ashort fable to illustrate the proverb They should write the story on one piece ofpaper, and the proverb on another

When pairs have finished, collect up the stories, give each story a numberand pin them to the wall

Collect the proverbs and redistribute them Ask the students to go round theclass, reading the stories until they find the one which illustrates the proverbthey have just been given

* Circle writing.

Type of activity:

Fast writing

Creative gap: lucky dip

Functions practiced: various.

Useful language: unspecifiable

Lexical areas: unspecifiable

How to use the activity:

This activity works on the “consequences” or “heads, bodies, and Leg’sprinciple”: one student starts by writing a line of dialogue and then passes it onfor others to complete It can be used in conjunction with a drama activity or tohelp students think about intonation patterns.

Prepare a number of script sheets for the students to write on The teacherwill need as many script sheets as there are students in the class (let studentswork in pairs or groups if the teacher prefers) Examples of script sheetbeginnings are in the Games material section Write each beginning at the top of

a sheet of paper, leaving the rest of the paper blank

Seat the students in circles Give out one script sheet to each student in eachgroup

Ask them to write the next line of the dialogue Explain that they shouldwrite only one line of dialogue on each sheet of paper as it comes to them, andthat they should read what has been said already before they write their line.Each line may be as long or as short as they wish

Each student, after writing the line, passes the sheet to their immediate hand neighbor, and waits for the next to arrive from their left-hand neighbor

If, as sometimes happens, a student get a “block” and cannot think what towrite, tell them not to worry, but to pass the script on anyway and try with thenext one

Stop the activity either after a certain time limit has elapsed or when thedialogues reach the bottom of the script sheets

Ask students to read the sheets

Through the process of teaching and watching colleagues, I found that theactivity involved in a game to get information relevant to my school's students

Using games based on some types of activities.

Types of activities.

There are six basic types of activities which I have used successfully:

- Audience and context: Activities where writing develops out of a context or

has a clearly defined audience

* Exchange and Reply

* Guessing and Matching activities

* Role play

- Imaginative stimulus: Using poems, music, pictures, objects as a fuel or

stimulus to imaginative work

- Formula poems or stories: Using simple linguistic pattern to build up a poem

or story

- Describe what you see.

- Brainstorming: Collecting from a group as many ideas in a topic as possible

within a short specified time

- Fast writing: Reacting and writing spontaneously and quickly to a given

stimulus

Note: In many of the games, two or more of the above six types of activity

are combined