Conducted at Kinh Mon upper- Secondary school in order to recognize difficulties in teaching and learning writing skills of both the teachers and the 10th form students

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1. Rationale of the study Writing is often not as important as other skills such as reading and speaking and it tends to get rather neglected in many classes. Since the new ‘Tiếng Anh 10’ textbook was in use, teaching and learning writing has been a really challenging job at Kinh Mon upper- secondary school. In literature so far, a few studies have been conducted on difficulties in teaching and learning writing a foreign language. Most of researchers have come to a general agreement to a list of common problems facing both students and teachers. Not many have studied difficulties in teaching and learning writing perceived by upper- secondary school teachers and students in using the new ‘Tiếng Anh 10’ textbook. Hence, it is in an urgent need of taking a serious look at such issue. 1.2. Purpose of the study The main purpose of the study is to probe difficulties in teaching and learning writing skills among the teaching staff and the 10th form students at Kinh Mon upper- secondary school, in Hai Duong province. Within this purpose, the three central objectives are: (i) To describe the difficulties perceived by the teachers and the 10th form students when teaching and learning writing skills in the new “Tiếng Anh 10” textbook. (ii) To investigate factors affecting the success of this process in the writing lessons. (iii) To suggest some solutions to stimulate the students and make recommendations to improve teaching method for the teachers at Kinh Mon upper- secondary school. 1.3. Scope of the study This minor thesis is conducted at Kinh Mon upper- secondary school in order to recognize difficulties in teaching and learning writing skills of both the teachers and the 10th form students. Factors causing such challenges are then found out. To go ahead, the thesis also offers some suggestions to better the current context. 1.4. Design of the study This study is divided into four chapters to get better insights into different aspects of the problem. Chapter 1 introduces rationale, purpose, scope, and overview of the thesis design. Chapter 2 deals with definitions of writing, roles of writing, approaches to writing teaching, and writing teaching procedure. Chapter 3 presents the study of which the Kinh Mon upper- secondary school context is first discussed. The introduction of the new ‘Tiếng Anh 10’ textbook is then elaborated. After that, the method underlying the research and descriptions of data analysis are shown. In terms of method, the background information of the research questions, the subjects, the data collection instruments, and data collection procedure are introduced. More importantly, data analysis provides specific explanations and the findings of the study. Chapter 4 offers some personal recommendations for such current problems in teaching and learning writing skills at Kinh Mon upper- secondary school. Limitations and suggestions for further research are also explained. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1. Definitions of writing Writing has been defined in a variety of ways, which shows a lack of consensus as to what it is, and reflects the complexity of the writing process. Traditionally, researchers focused mainly on form and the final product while current researches on writing emphasize the writing process and strategies which are utilized by writers to attain the final product. According to Byrne (1991), writing can be seen as an “act of forming graphic symbols”; that is letters or the combination of letters. Simply, writing is like “making marks on the flat surface of some kinds” (p.1). Lannon (1989) made a conflicting definition that writing, in fact, is a far more complicated process than the production of graphic symbols. It is “a process of transforming the material discovered by research inspiration, accident, trial and error, or whatever into a message with a definite meaning …, a process of deliberate decision” (p.9). From another view of writing, Murray (1978, p. 29) and Perl (1979, p. 43) defined writing as “a creative discovery procedure characterized by the dynamic interplay of content and language: the use of language to explore beyond the known content.” Writing can also be seen as a social process by Candlin and Hyland (1999). They has asserted that “writing is therefore an engagement in a social process, where the production of texts reflects methodologies, arguments and rhetorical strategies constructed to engage colleagues and persuade them of the claims that are made” (p.107). Noticeably, language teachers have defined writing so differently. As for Tribble, writing is “a language skills which is difficult to acquire” (1996, p. 3). He also stressed that writing “normally requires some forms of instruction” and that “it is not a skills that is readily picked up by exposure” (1996, p. 11). Harris (1993, p. 10) affirmed that writing is “a process that occurs over a period of time, particularly if we take into account the sometime extended periods of thinking that precede creating an initial draft”. From my personal experience as a classroom teacher, I share with Rivers’ definition (1981) that “writing is not a skill that can be learned or developed in isolation but it should be taught and developed in cooperation with other skills and aspects of the language studied.” 2.2. Roles of writing Writing emerges with its own functions and brings along communicative code of the writers. When making a piece of writing, the writer implies a message or a certain purpose. In the modern world, writing (written language) serves a range of functions in everyday life. As Nunan (1991:84) aptly points out, writing is: (i) Primarily for action: public signs (on roads and stations), product labels and instructions (on food, tools or toy purchased), recipes, maps, television and radio guides, bills, menus, telephone directories, etc. (ii) Primarily for social contact: personal correspondence, letters, postcards, greeting cards. (iii) Primarily for information: newspapers and magazines, non- fiction books (textbooks, public notices, advertisement, guidebooks and travel literature, etc.) (iv) Primarily for entertainment: light magazines, comic strips, fiction books, poetry and drama, film subtitles, games including computer games. In classroom, teaching and learning writing also plays an important role. Through writing, learners are able to share ideas, arouse feelings, persuade and convince other people. We are able to discover and articulate ideas in the way that only writing makes possible. Therefore, writing has always occupied a place in the language syllabus. Discussing about this issue, White (1981, p. 1) points out a number of reasons why writing merits a place in the language syllabus as follows: (i) Writing remains the commonest way of examining students’ performance in English (all public examinations include a composition). Consequently, ability to write remains a key to examination success. (ii) In the eyes of both parents and students, ability to write may be associated with evidence of having learnt the language. Writing is tangible parents and students can see what has been done and what has been achieved. So it has high ‘face validity’. (iii) In classroom, writing may be used as one of a number of techniques to help add variety and interest to lesson. (iv) Teachers may use writing as a testing device to provide feedback on what students have learnt. Students’ writing can provide useful evidence of successes or failures in learning, of confusions, and errors. (v) Writing requires thought, discipline and concentration. It is relatively a permanent form and readers judge us by our style, content and logic. So writing demands care and thought. In CLT, the teaching of writing also aims at communication. However, besides being used to communicate, writing helps students learn. In Raimes’ opinion (1983, p.3), “first writing reinforces the grammatical structures, idioms and vocabulary that students have been taught. Second, when students write, they also have a chance to be adventurous with the language, to go beyond what they have just learnt to say, to take risks. Third, when they write, they necessarily become very involved in the new language, the effort to express ideas, and the constant use of eyes; hand and brain is a unique way to reinforce learning”. With all the roles mentioned above, writing really becomes an integral part in almost every language syllabus from elementary to tertiary level. 2.3. Approaches to teaching writing It is confirmed that teaching and learning writing is really complicated work. For students, they must have knowledge of content, organization, discourse, syntax, lexis, and mechanical elements. For teachers, they may be confused of a variety of approaches. In other words, approaches to teaching ESL/ EFL writing have long been a topic of controversy for them, even for researchers. It is being taught in many different ways, and each approach can be effective, if the teacher believes in what he or she teaches. Ann Raimes (1983, pp. 5- 10) presents six approaches to teaching writing: (i) The Control- to- Free Approach, (ii) The Free- Writing Approach, (iii) The Paragraph- Pattern Approach, (iv) The Grammar- Syntax- Organization Approach, (v) The Communicative Approach, (vi) The Process Approach. (i) The Control - to- Free Approach The Control- to- Free Approach in writing is sequential. In this approach, writing is considered as a reinforcement means of speech and is used to master grammatical or syntactic rules. At lower level, students are often given sentence- level exercises or controlled compositions to imitate, copy or manipulate. Students, therefore, make few mistakes. Only at high or advanced level are students allowed to try some free compositions, in which they can express their own ideas. In short, this approach emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency. Syntax and mechanics are main stresses of the approach. (ii) The Free- Writing Approach Contrast to the Control- to- Free Approach, the Free- Writing Approach focuses more on fluency, and quantity of writing than quality. Students are assigned a vast amount of free writing on given topics with only minimal correction of errors. They are allowed to write freely without worrying about grammar and spelling. Content and fluency are taken into account first. (iii) The Paragraph- Pattern Approach Different from the two approaches mentioned above, the Paragraph- Pattern Approach stresses on paragraph organization. Students copy a model paragraph, analyze its form and then write a parallel one. In this approach, students are provided with such kinds of exercises as sentence ordering, sentence inserting or sentence deleting, etc. (iv) The Grammar- Syntax- Organization Approach The name ‘the Grammar- Syntax- Organization Approach’ fully reveals the characteristics of the approach. Writing cannot be seen as composed of separate skills which are learned one by one. Students need to pay attention to organization while they also work on the necessary grammar and syntax. For example, to write a clear set of instructions on how to use a phone card, the writer needs more than the appropriate vocabulary. He needs the simple forms of verbs, an organizational plan based on chronology; sequence words like first, then, next, etc. In the preparatory stage, these vocabulary and structures are reviewed and taught. In general, this approach is the combination of the purpose and the form of the writing. (v) The Communicative Approach The Communicative Approach aims at communicative competence, so it stresses the purpose of the writing and the audience for it. Students are regarded as writers in real life and they are encouraged to ask themselves the key questions: Why am I writing this? (purpose) and who will read it? (audience). Conventionally, the teacher acts as the audience for students’ writing. However, to make it more real- life- closed communication, students become readers for each other. They read each other’s writings, respond, rewrite in another form or make comments, but not correct. Sometimes the teacher creates a context in which students are real readers by making them role- play, exchange letters, reply, ask questions and comment. (vi) The Process Approach The teaching of writing has recently moved away from a concentration on the written product to an emphasis on the process of writing, which leads to the emergence of Process Approach. Process Approach to writing came into play in the 1970s. This approach encourages students’ communication of ideas, feelings and experiences. It is more global and focuses on purpose, theme, text type, i.e. the reader is emphasized. Thus, writers not only concern about purpose and audience but also have to make decisions on how to begin and how to organize a piece of writing. Writing is a process, so students are given time to set out ideas, make plan, write a first draft, revise what has been written after a peer feedback, then they can edit their writing or write other drafts before the final version is produced. Brown (1994, pp. 335- 336) points out some features of Process Approach as follows: (1) focus on the process of writing that leads to the final written product (2) help students understand their own composing process (3) help them to build repertoires of strategies for prewriting, drafting, and rewriting (4) give students time to write and rewrite (5) place central importance on the process of revision (6) let students discover what they want to say as they write (7) give students feedback throughout the composing process (not just the final product) as they attempt to bring their expression closer and closer to attention (8) encourage feedback from both the instructor and peers (9) include individual conferences between teacher and students during the process of composition There are various approaches to teaching writing as mentioned. It is true to say that there is not necessarily any ‘right’ or ‘best’ way to teach writing skills. The best practice in any situation will depend on the type of students, the text type being studied, the school system and many other factors (Steele, 2002). Hereunder wants to clarify the two most popular approaches used in ESL/ EFL classroom, namely (i) Product Approach and (ii) Process Approach. (i) Product Approach Product Approach is a traditional approach which is a largely “prescriptive and product- centered” way of teaching writing. This approach pays much attention to the final outcome of a writing process and supposes that students need to produce only one writing version of the task. The model of this approach is outlined by Steele (2002) as follows: Stage 1: Model texts are read, and then features of the genre are highlighted. For example, if studying a formal letter, students' attention may be drawn to the importance of paragraphing and the language used to make formal requests. If studying a story, the focus may be on the techniques used to make the story interesting, and students focus on where and how the writer employs these techniques. Stage 2: This consists of controlled practice of the highlighted features, usually in isolation. So if students are studying a formal letter, they may be asked to practise the language used to make formal requests. Stage 3: This stage is very important. Those who favour this approach believe that the organization of ideas is more important than the ideas themselves and as important as the control of language. Stage 4: Students choose from a choice of comparable writing tasks. Individually, they use the skills, structures and vocabulary they have been taught to produce the product; to show what they can do as fluent and competent users of the language. (ii)Process Approach On the contrary, Process Approach focuses on the process rather than the final product. Steele comes up with a typical sequence of activities: Stage 1: Generating ideas by brainstorming and discussion. Students could be discussing qualities needed to do a certain job, or giving reasons as to why people take drugs or gamble. The teacher remains in the background during this phase and only provides language support if required so as not to inhibit students in the production of ideas. Stage 2: Students extend ideas into note form, and judge quality and usefulness of ideas. Stage 3: Students organize ideas into a mind map, spider gram, or linear form. This stage helps to make the (hierarchical) relationship of ideas more immediately obvious, which helps students with the structure of their texts. Stage 4: Students write the first draft. This is done in class and frequently in pairs or groups. Stage 5: Drafts are exchanged, so that students become the readers of each others work. By responding as readers, students develop an awareness of the fact that a writer is producing something to be read by someone else, and thus can improve their own drafts. Stage 6: Drafts are returned and improvements are made based upon peer feedback. Stage 7: A final draft is written. Stage 8: Students once again, exchange and read each other’s work and perhaps even write a response or reply. Comparing the two approaches, Steele summarizes their differences in the table below: Process writing Product writing * text as a resource for comparison * ideas as starting point * more than one draft * more global, focus on purpose, theme, text type, i.e., reader is emphasized * collaborative * emphasis on creative process * imitate model text *organization of ideas is more important than ideas themselves * one draft * features highlighted including controlled practice of those features * individual * emphasis on end product Table 1: Differences between Process Approach and Product Approach From the analysis and the comparison of the two approaches, it is undeniable that each approach has its own strengths and weaknesses. It is also the fact that there are few classrooms where teachers are devoted to one approach as to exclude all others. Normally, they still use techniques drawn from other approaches as the students need them and those techniques are useful in the context of the class. The writing lessons in new ‘Tiếng Anh 10’ textbook were compiled following both Product Approach and Process Approach. This Combined Product- Process Approach is found to be more popular, appropriate and effective. The suggested general outline for a writing lesson following this approach may be: Stage 1: A model is given. Stage 2: Students work on the model, analyze its typical features, and pay attention to the language and structure of the model. Stage 3: Students work in groups/ pairs to find out the ideas for the writing topic/ task and produce an outline. Stage 4: Students write the first draft individually/ in pairs/ in groups. The model is used for comparison. Stage 5: Drafts are exchanged. Students give comments on each other’s work. Stage 6: Drafts are returned and changes or improvements are made based on peer feedback. Stage 7: Students write final drafts. Stage 8: Final drafts are exchanged once more; students give response or reply to each other. Stage 9: Teacher gives feedback. 2.4. Writing teaching procedure According to Brown (1994), teachers should follow the teaching procedure including two main stages: Pre- writing and While- writing. This procedure is a combination of different approaches, especially the communicative approach and the process approach. (i) Pre- writing - Exploiting the model text in terms of form, vocabulary, grammar, organization, etc. - Defining the task such as describe..., write a letter of... - Limit the topic - Generate the ideas (ii) While- writing - Draft - Revise - Write the final version Summary This chapter has so far touched upon issues relating to the topic of the study. It has disc